Amazing Grace

A Boy of my Own...

2012-01-24T08:39:00.000-08:00

*I shared this post on BIB and I wanted to have a copy of it on my personal blog as well!

I am sitting here staring at my new born son....in awe of how beautiful he is and what a miracle this little life is. I am so overwhelmed with blessings and joy that it is hard to put into words how I feel. I have a daughter that is almost two now, not a baby any more....and I remember having the same feelings about her...knowing what a miracle giving birth is and how amazing the little ones are...but this one is just a little bit different.......

......this one is a boy.....I have a son......I have finally had a chance to have a boy.....another boy.....almost 6 years later.....not to replace the one that I gave up but a chance at the one that is supposed to be with me....a boy of my own!!!!!

Almost 6 years ago they placed my son on my chest and I heard him cry for the very first time. I know that as a mother there are very few things in this world that are more precious and more amazing than that first moment...I also know that I was sharing that first cry with someone else...that it wasn't just for me. I knew that out in the hall was his mother....waiting, listening....and I know that when she heard that first cry of her son.....she wept!

It is so hard to put into words the emotion that is felt during those few days in the hospital as a birth mother during placement...they are mostly a blur of love, and anger and joy and pain and hate and humility and so many more....those few precious days in the hospital with Derek were some of the most cherished and painful days of my life..I have yet to experience anything like them. I was a mother....on one level, I had just had a son and I was amazed and overwhelmed by what that all meant....but it had such a different meaning 6 years ago. Being a mother then and being a mother now......I am not the same person, the same "mother", the same woman.

My time with Derek in the evenings of the hospital are truly some of the most sacred times of my life...and times that I don't talk about much. I have shared many feelings about the hospital and many experiences that I had but rarely do I talk about the time that I spent with my son....at night....when we were all alone...while he slept...the things I said to him, wished for him, cried for him, pleaded with him...They are to precious to share....but for those few hours in the evenings that I had with him....all alone....he was my son...and I found myself crying over my new son....my baby boy...pleading, wishing, crying many of the same things that I did almost 6 years ago!

This is Derek, this is the son that I know....this is the son that spent the nights with me. This is the son that I placed in the arms of his mother. I love getting updates from his family and I love getting pictures..I am so blessed to have the peace of mind that he is happy and healthy and so very loved by his family.....but every time I hear his name, or see a picture...My thoughts still go back to this picture...to those precious nights...that is the son I had....

I know that I am blessed....I know that my situation is rare. As a birth mother I have been through many horrible and life changing events, I have hit bottom and then dug even deeper than that. I have been in a darkness that I never thought could be lifted....and yet somehow....here I am....Almost 6 years later blessed with the most AMAZING husband that anyone could EVER ask for, a daughter that can melt your heart with one smile and now a son....a boy of my very own.

.....I can't even express how excited I am to have him...how much I love him...how different it is this time....how I know that my pictures and thoughts and memories of him will go way beyond that of our nights spent in the hospital.

This is my son Oliver. To me...he is the most precious and amazing miracle on the planet. While I was in the hospital I had sent a text to Derek's mother...letting her know that he had finally arrived...she sent me a text message that is one that I will never forget....she expressed her joy and excitement for me that I was finally able to have a son of my own....even now, almost 6 years later, as I gave birth to another baby boy...she was there with me...sharing in the moment...only this time I didn't have to share him....he was coming home with my husband and I....and it was a beautiful moment...it was an amazing sense of accomplishment...the missing piece...the final piece had been filled....a son!

I asked Derek's adoptive mother if she would be willing to write a few words about what it is like for her from her perspective to be able to watch her son's birth mother have a boy...another boy...years later! This is what she wrote:

""It's a boy"! For the past five years, I had been waiting for this news. I had been praying faithfully for Ashley, my son's birth mother. I wanted more than anything to see her enjoy all that she afforded me through the miracle of adoption.

As she poured over families for her unborn son, Ashley had sensed that our family, especially my husband, needed a son. My husband lost his father at the age of 16 to cancer. She would never fully know our joy of being able to pass on his name, his legacy and create a new generation of father and son.

We were overwhelmed and humbled that Ashley would invite us to be part of our son's birth. After spending two precious days together in the hospital, our time was nearing an end. No one could have prepared me for that bitter/sweet moment of saying goodbye. I couldn't understand how my heart could be so full of joy yet be broken all at the same time. As I watched Ashley's sorrow as she left her sweet son to us, I knew I could never be whole until she received all the blessings that had been showered upon me.

As a mother of biological and adoptive children, I know first-hand that there is no difference in the love you have for them. They become yours the moment they are laid in your arms. There is, however, one difference. Each time I looked at Derek, I would forever be reminded of Ashley and her selfless love and sacrifice. I knew I had an added measure of responsibility to see that Derek had all the love, kindness, and opportunities that I could give him not just for me, but for both of us.

Few things have brought me as much joy as seeing Ashley find happiness in her life--a loving husband, a beautiful daughter and being sealed as an eternal family. But, as Ashley's little Oliver arrived, I finally felt at peace. She would now have the opportunity to raise a son--her son--and enjoy each and every moment that she willingly offered to me over five years ago. Through our faith, and in time, prayers are answered!"

One of the reasons that I started BIB was to help the birth moms find what I have found all these years later. I know that I am blessed, I know that I am not the norm, I know that not everyone will be able to fill some of those missing pieces.....but I know that it is possible....that there are opportunities available...and I want EVERY birth mom that I come in contact with to know that I was there....and now I am here...

I have a boy of my very own....I don't have to share him or place him in the arms of another mother...I have come full circle. I LOVE both of my sons....I know that Derek has an amazing mother that showers him with more love than most boys get.....except maybe this new addition to my family! :)

My life is so blessed and I pray for all of those that have been through what we have...for all the Big Tough Girls....to be able to one day claim a boy or girl of their very own...with a family and an amazing husband...

Bringing Oliver home from the hospital will always be one of the most treasured memories of my life!

Off With the Cord

2012-01-23T10:55:00.000-08:00

Ollie's cord fell off today! I always feel like that is the first big event that happens for the little one! Yay for Ollie and his big accomplishment!

Ty's fell off at exactally one week.....Ollie was a day ahead

Coming Home!

2012-01-19T07:19:00.000-08:00

I am always very anxious to get home and recover in my own bed! Mom came over to the house this morning to watch the Tweedle so that John could come and get me home with the baby without having to worry about her too much! Check out time was 11:00am! I was up, dressed, packed and ready to go by 7:00am. haha! Baby Ollie was discharged by 8:00am and then it was just a matter of hearing from my doctor! The hospital was actually pretty awesome and they did everything that they could to speed things along! They were very efficient! I was nervous about coming home and having the chaos start! Reality was about to kick in but we are excited about this new adventure!!

One last pic with mom in the hospital

Two VERY tired parents ready to go home!

Snuggled up and ready to go...he was SO tiny in this car seat!

Recovery

2012-01-18T16:00:00.000-08:00

Finally we were moved to recovery at about 3:30pm. The room was so much nicer, the bed was more comfortable and I had a lot more privacy! Right after I got moved over there I had some fun visitors! Mom and Dad came by on their way home from the airport...they had been in Arizona when the baby was born! And John and the Tweedle came back to say hi and goodnight! I have missed my family and have been a little lonely in the hospital with everything that has been going on so I was so so glad to see everyone and to have John there!

We are anxious to be going home soon but I was able to get a full night sleep in Recovery and I haven't had that in a very long time so it was very nice!!!!

{it had been a long few days if you can't tell!}

Meeting the Tweedle

2012-01-18T15:42:00.000-08:00

This morning John brought the Tweedle to the hospital to meet Oliver for the very first time. I had missed Ty while I was away and was very excited to see her! I was also very nervous to see how she was going to act with the new baby...I knew that she would be confused but I hoped that she would be excited. I was still in Labor and Delivery and was not able to stand up, still had my catheter and was still on my Mag. I was told to keep the visit to a "non-stress" level because of seisures...UM...have you met the Tweedle??? I was hooked up to tons of machines and had the IV coming out of my hand and had my blood drawn every hour so I was really bruised and sore.

Ty came in and was very excited to see me but then started to freak out a little bit when she saw me...she was saying "mommie owie!" She is so sweet and was very worried about me. We ate McDonald's breakfast and had the Princess and the Frog playing on the T.V. We tried to get Ty to be on the bed with me and the baby...and she would for a bit and then she got nervous and wanted to get down and run around. There were too many sounds, lights, buttons and more in the delivery room and I couldn't get up and hold her and she didn't understand.

She thought Ollie was very cute and wanted to touch him and play with him but she had NO idea what was going on. She got really frustrated and fussy and they didn't stay very long. John took her home for nap time!

Oliver John Grace "Ollie"

2012-01-17T10:24:00.000-08:00

Oliver John Grace

"Ollie"

Born: January 17, 2012 at 5:57 pm

7 lbs. 2 oz. 19 inches

John and I went in to the doctor this morning for my last check up before Monday. We felt like we had everything ready to go and had accepted the fact that our baby would not be coming until the 23rd. I have been so sick with headaches etc for weeks but nothing new to report!

The doctor walked in to the room and told me that my blood pressure was up and I have a high protien count in my urine again...she said "lets go have a baby"...so then of course I kicked it into panic mode!

We ran home, tried to clean a little, got Ty to the Mitchell's...and we were off to the hospital...checking in by about 11:00am. I was already dilated to about a 4 so we didn't think that it would take to long.

It doesn't matter how many times you have done this...it is always a little bit scary!

John and I getting settled in bed!

After I was hooked up the waiting game began. I had a doctor come in a break my water about 2 hours later and then it was just a matter of time. We got the epideral pumping when I was dilated at about a 7...then it didn't work so we had some re-adjusting and upage of the medicine doses...it kicked right in time to push! I had terrible headaches the entire time but we worked through it.

We only had to push about 5 times and he was here! It was amazing...John is amazing. One of my favorite things about having a baby is watching the tears flow from such a big guy! He loves the new babies!

They got him cleaned up and we were able to snuggle him for just a bit!

We didn't get much time with him before they got to work on me. I was at risk for seisures, massive clotting and more with my blood pressure and headaches. After they took him and got us cleaned up they put me on 13 hours of Magnesium {Mag} and it is nasty stuff. I was only allowed to have my baby for short amounts of time because of the risk of seisures, I had a catheter for the entire time because I was not allowed to get out of bed and I could not leave Labor and Delivery to go into Recovery in case of an emergency. The first night was a long one.

Finally on Wednesday I was able to have my catheter removed, have the Mag IV turned off and was able to get around. I still had to stay in L & D to be monitered and I was scheduled for an MRI that morning. The MRI scan was for the massive headaches that I have been having...they were clear which was a relief.

Once I got into recovery it was a much easier ride!

We are so excited that baby Ollie is here and we LOVE him so much already!

More to come....

Baby Doll Ready...

2012-01-07T12:33:00.000-08:00

We have been very busy running around getting the last minute items for the baby to come....since he could come at any time. We decided that Tweedle needed her very own BABY so that she could feed it and snuggle it and tuck it in....then she could learn to be soft and she could do things like feed her baby when mommy was feeding hers. We found a baby for her and she LOVES it. It makes drinking noises from the bottle and cries a little. She is so sweet and it has been fun to watch her put the doll in the car seat, wrap it up and just love on it. We are excited to see her with her new baby brother.

Alien Update

2012-01-06T11:39:00.000-08:00

I had a doctor appointment today. My blood pressure was up again, my swelling was worse, had more protien in my urine and my headaches are out of control....more pre-eclampsia signs. SO...the doctor is having me do ANOTHER 24 hour urine catch. I will drop it off at the hospital tomorrow...if she sees anything that she doesn't like in those lab results along with my blood she will be delivering me this weekend. She said to "pack a bag just in case"....oh geez, that doesn't make me feel better!

If the labs etc look ok I am still going back on Monday to be checked....then we are going to have a look at the calendar...we are going to be delivering earlier than the 23rd.....new date coming soon!!!

We hope we go at least until Monday, we don't want this to be a super panic, emergency delivery but we wll be grateful to delivery earlier than expected...we are ready!

Time to join us Baby Alien!

Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix

2012-01-05T11:26:00.000-08:00

Wow....yep, we are still reading Harry Potter! But I am getting closer to the end now! I just finished Order of the Phoenix and I LOVED IT! It has been my very favorite book so far. It was super intense. I loved the history and all the back ground of the characters, I loved the politics instead of just school and Quidditch, I loved the characters......It has been the longest of all of them and it took me awhile to read {especially because we had to finish season 10 of Smallville inbetween} but it was so good!

I was hoping to get the books finished by baby time but it doesn't look like that is going to happen...oh well. Now off to year 6 at Hogwarts!

Bath Baby

2012-01-03T11:33:00.000-08:00

Ty still LOVES to take a bath. She got some new bubble bath from Santa and now she wants a bath every day. She could sit in there for hours if I would let her. She just sits with her cups and fills them and dumps them, fills them and dumps them...over and over! She loves the bubbles! She is a great helper and will grab the jug of bubbles out of the cupboard, watch you fill up the bath and then put them away....strip down, give the dirty diaper to daddy and then she wants to jump right in. She is getting so big and wants to wash and do everything by herself!

Infusions and Baby Update

2011-12-30T21:10:00.000-08:00

I had to start getting a blood infusion once a week at the hospital. I will have a total of 3 rounds before our little Alien joins our family. They are long 3-4 hour sessions, painful and make me very sick...but we are doing whatever we need to so that me and the Alien make it through this delivery safely!! My iron levels have been below 20 {average is 37} and I have been sick and VERY tired....non functioning would be a better way to describe it....plus because of my high blood pressure they are watching me very closely. I love my doctor and the woman that I do my I.V. Therapy with is so awesome so I feel like I am in good hands.

I had a check up today with my doctor and I am dilated to a 3, baby is head down and I am about 60% effaced. We are on our way and are thinking that we may NOT make it until the 23rd of January. We have been running around this past weekend getting all the final touches put on everything just in case we have an early delivery. We raised the crib mattress, we washed and re-assembled the rear facing car seat, put hospital bags together and completed a last minute shopping list. We are not planning on anything happening early but you never know! I will see my doctor again in a week and see how we are doing....

This has been a long, long pregnacy...hard and frustrating...we are excited for it to be all over...but are praying for a healthy baby and a safe delivery.....

The Nativity

2011-12-24T09:58:00.000-08:00

It has been a little tradition in our family that every year the grandkids get dressed up in costumes and put on a presentation of the nativity. This year was so fun because the Tweedle got to be a part of the program! Some of the kids are getting older so it was fun to see a new group of kids playing the different parts. It is always fun to watch and brings the spirit into our activities.

Ty was the cutest Camel EVER!

Grandpa helping Jake with the reading of the Birth of Christ

The Cast!

Gingerbread Contest

2011-12-23T07:09:00.000-08:00

This morning we all went to Grandmas! It was the first morning that we got to see Angie and her family...we LOVE when they come to visit!...Angie looked amazing {which makes me strongly dislike her when I am 200 lbs} but it was still great to see her! Grandma had some Gingerbread Train and House kits and we split into teams to start the decorating. I was super lucky and had Devyn on my team. We had tons of great ideas to get started and then I TOTALLY got burned out when it didn't start looking anything like what it did in my head. Angie was sitting next to us creating the most random Arizona House I have ever seen...we could not stop laughing about the things that she was putting together. We ate a lot of the candy, talked smack but mostly had a great morning!

Boe, Mitchell and Grandma

Devyn

Grandma and her handy work

Angie and the Tweedle made a GREAT team!

Angie and her....um...house

Christmas Kitty

2011-12-21T06:25:00.000-08:00

Ty and Fergie are best little buddies and I LOVE to watch them play together. Fergie is a GREAT sport and puts up with a lot from the Tweedle....she even got into the Christmas spirit and let Ty "decorate" her for the holiday season. We love Fergie and she is very much a part of our little family!

White Chocolate Covered Bliss

2011-12-20T19:43:00.000-08:00

There are three things that I REALLY look forward to every year at the holiday....the tree and its lights, the snow AND

White Chocolate Covered Oreo Cookies!

Mom, Angie and myself will go from store to store to stock up on these cookies...and it is not uncommon to have more than one box at a time in our cupboards. These truly are a HUGE part of Christmas to me and I enjoy them all month long!!

Don't judge me but this was trip 3....this season we went through about 12 boxes.

This was a trip to Target and we found them hidden on a SECRET endcap. I did not waste any time putting them in the cart. The sad thing is....these were going to be gifts for people and I ended up keeping them all! I know....I know but if you have ever tasted them you would understand why!!!!

Until next year you little slices of heaven!!!!!

Meeting Santa

2011-12-16T07:28:00.000-08:00

We have been working with Ty on what Santa says and who he is....she gives a great HO HO HO. Santa came to our apartment complex so we decided to take her up for a visit so she could meet him in person...I knew that she was going to be scared but she did pretty good. He had a darling Elf assistat that Ty took the candy cane from and then I had to hold her on the opposite side of Santa for the picture but she still had fun and was saying HO HO HO all night after we got home! We love the holidays and are looking forward to spending tons of time with the family!

New for the Holidays!

2011-12-15T12:45:00.000-08:00

I have always considered myself a "short-hair" person...I think I can wear short hair well-I have a face for it...I think it fits my personality {whatever that means} but I always get caught up in the LONG HAIR thing...that you have to have this beautiful long hair, and boys like long hair better, and think how pretty when it is done and curly and blah blah blah....I have great thick hair and when it is short it is awesome...but every time I try to grow it out I HATE IT! I don't ever take the time to do it...it never looks pretty {maybe once every 3 weeks for church or something} and it ends up in a bun on top of my head. I decided that it was finally time to let go and just be the SHORT HAIR person that I am! I was really worried about cutting it when I am due in 6 weeks because I am packing so much extra weight and I didn't want to look even thicker through the face....I decided I didn't care that much and couldn't stand the hair anymore! It only took me 5 minutes to do my hair today...It was awesome! I think that my short hair is here to STAY!!!

LONG

{this is the "once in three weeks" clean, styled hair}

SHORT

Change

2011-12-14T06:41:00.000-08:00

As we have been preparing for the little Alien to come into our home I have realized more and more how much Ty has grown up. She is still such a little Tweedle but when I see new baby clothes and diapers and everything baby I can see that she is NOT a tiny baby any more and it makes me a little sad!

Ty is in size 6 diapers and then she will be in pull-ups! Look at the newborn diapers! I can't even remember changing a bum that small!!!

We are excited for the Alien to come, to have a sweet tiny baby again...and we hope that Ty is a sweet wonderful big sister to him!

Alien Update!

2011-12-13T22:07:00.000-08:00

We went to the doctor today. We were very anxious for an update. We are 33 weeks...and we have an official date that I will be induced...Unless he comes early we will be going to the hospital on

January 23, 2o12!

YAY...we are excited to have an official date on the calendar. Until then we are still on "partial bedrest", blood pressure is still up and we are going to have to start going to the hospital twice a week for iron-blood infusions. We are NOT excited about this but we don't have a choice. Depending on how my blood pressure looks and how my body handles the infusions we may possibly be delivering early..but for now we are praying to get through the holidays without too much sickness!! The infusions are not going to be that fun.

Tweedle is doing great...she is getting better with her bed...some nights are better than others but we keep working away in hopes that it will continue to get better.

We are making all the arrangements that are needed and will be cleaning and shopping and getting ready for the baby after the holiday! BUSY, BUSY

We are blessed and so excited for January....6 more weeks!!!

From the Crib....to the Bed

2011-12-09T10:47:00.000-08:00

Let me just start by saying that *THIS HAS BEEN THE MOST FRUSTRATING WEEK OF MY LIFE SINCE THE TWEEDLE WAS BORN!

We had a twin bed delivered for Tyler on Friday the 2nd . We would not be doing this so soon but we need the crib for the Alien and so we wanted to make sure that we had enough time to work with her and help her adjust...wow, it is going to be a long few weeks while we work through this! Ty is going through some big changes right now as she is approaching her 2nd birthday and we just want her to be as comfortable as possible.

The Crib-We were kind of sad the last night that we put her in her crib...she has been in her crib since the first night that we brought her home from the hospital. She never slept in our room or in anything else but the crib. It is crazy how fast they grow and change.
We have our nightly routine and it consists of brushing her teeth, saying prayers and laying on our bed waiting for her bottle...then one of us will carry her to the crib!

I LOVE this picture of John taking her to the crib. You can tell on his face that he is a little sad that this will be one of the last nights that gets to do that with his Tweedle!

She is all snuggled with Mrs. Kasoogie {her fave ugly doll} and her minky!

The bed was delivered early Friday afternoon and we spent the day playing on it, putting down the new sheets, putting up the bed rail and exploring what this new piece of furniture was all about. Ty was very excited about it...but that is because she didn't really understand what it was all about! Fergie didn't take long to jump up and get it figured out either...

She is very excited about finding the light switch! It goes on and off alot!

She had all her friends all snuggled up with her!

I am working on her new minky quilt to go on her bed and will be excited to add that to the room!

So it has been a crazy week of adjusting to the new bed and since I have NO CLUE as to what I am doing it has been frustrating....we are doing the very best that we can! So here is week one of the new bed:

Friday: The bed was delivered and we spent the day getting it all ready for Ty to sleep in. It was a long day and by the time we layed down to go to bed I was not feeling well and was very frustrated with Ty. We tried to just give her a bottle and walk out of the room...she was out the door in about 2 seconds...So I went and layed down with her. I was there two and 1/2 hours and was so so mad and frustrated with her so finally just put her in her crib and called it a night! She was alseep before I could leave her room...

Saturday: A new day and a new perspective. I felt so bad for being so mad at her the night before and I knew that I was the one that had to adjust some expectations. So I set a small goal for myself. I would lay in there with her as long as I had to until she fell asleep. She has never fallen asleep anywhere but her crib so I realized that this was new and different. If she got up at some point I would put her in her crib but I wanted her to get the feeling of falling asleep. I layed with her for 2 hours and 15 minutes. She fell asleep and slept through the whole night. Sunday morning at 7:30am she opened her room and crawled into bed with us...it was wonderful!

Sunday: We had a wonderful day all day. Ty went to Nursery for both hours and played a lot so she was tired...we pushed her bed time a little longer as well so she would be really tired. Tonight I had the same goal...just get her to go to sleep. I layed with her for 1 hour and 45 min. before she fell asleep....then I creeped out of her room. The time was shorter tonight and she slept until 6:00am. I don't like that if she wakes up that early that she can come right out of her room. She did not go back to sleep. It was a long day.

Monday: Tonight we went to Thanksgiving Point and had a little bit later night so we were glad for that. I only layed with her for about an hour and 1/2 before she fell asleep. She did wake up at 4:00am and so I gave her another bottle and put her back in her crib. She went back to sleep until 9:00am.

Tuesday: We are getting frustrated!!! She is going to sleep faster now, she is a little more used to falling asleep in the bed but is getting up earlier and earlier! Tonight I only layed with her for an hour before she fell asleep and that was wonderful but she woke up at 3:00am. I was sad that she woke up but it is sweet when she comes into the room looking for us. I really should have layed back in the bed with her but I was too tired and in too much pain so I just put her back in her crib and she slept until 8:00am.

Wednesday: Tonigt I went to the Relief Society Christmas Party and that left John to lay down with Ty. I guess she was doing ok and then she heard me come in right before 9:00pm and then she wanted to get up and have me lay with her. at 11:00pm I wanted to rip my hair out! She would NOT go to sleep, she was running a fever and would NOT let me out of the room. Finally I gave up and put her in the crib....she was asleep within 60 seconds! I am dying!! This is so hard and frustrating.

*she is still taking her nap in her crib during the day!

Thursday: Tonight I decided that I was NOT going to lay with her. I was going to put her down and no matter how many times she got up I was just going to be firm with her and put her back in bed! I feel like the biggest B tonight and the worst mom ever. I was getting mad at her and spanked her for not staying in bed. She was up, turning lights on and off, playing in her closet, emptying out all of her dresser drawers and more. Finally at 9:20pm I think I got mad enough at her that she left the light off, and didn't try to come out of her room again.....now at this point I don't know if she is just sitting on the floor in the dark or if she is back in her bed...I didn't dare open the door to check! I heard her talking to herself but I couldn't tell where the voice was coming from.....I am feeling horrible at this point! I want to go in there and make sure she is ok but I told myself I was not going to do that....."She has to learn..." I just kept telling myself that over and over...I even texted my sister in tears because I was so frustrated! Finally it was quiet and at 10:00pm I went in to check on her and make sure that she wasn't on the floor....she was up on her bed fast asleep...all by herself. I covered her up and kissed her cheek. She slept in her bed until 8:00am. Maybe she will start to understand now that bedtime is the same...we just sleep in a different spot...prayers for tomorrow night!

Friday: Well, Well....here we are on Friday night at 8:10pm and it is very quiet in Ty's room and no lights are on...she is barely talking to herself. I layed her down for night time...gave her a bottle, she sat up when I walked out of the room and she only opened the door once. I told her to get back in bed....she cried for just a minute and then I said again from the other room to get back in bed....it has been quiet ever since. I will be checking on her again later in hopes that she is in her bed and fast asleep.....I am keeping my fingers crossed!

I am going to be moving the crib out of her bedroom so that I am not tempted to use it at nap time and so that she is not confused as to where she is supposed to sleep...maybe it will help. We have to get used to taking naps in there too so we may as well get started!

We are going to continue with the bottle for awhile...she is going through enough changes.

I have learned a great lesson in patience this week...even though I haven't shown it always with Ty this week. She is still so little, just 22 months and there are so many big changes happening to all of us right now and I just really want her to be ok...

I am praying for more and more progress as we move forward...we don't have a ton of time to work with her before the baby comes and we are saying lots of prayers!

I know everything will be just fine!

Family Home Evening

2011-12-05T20:33:00.000-08:00

Tonight for FHE we decided to head down to Thankgiving Point and drive through the light parade and feed the reindeer! We met up with Mom and Dad and drove through the lights together! I love going to the lights and Ty was a little bit older and could enjoy them a little more...still a little young but she had a great time and she loved the reindeer. It was FREEZING so it took us longer to drive down and back then the actual time spent at Thanksgiving Point but it was fun to get out of the house and experience a little bit of Christmas Cheer!

Perspective

2011-12-04T10:47:00.000-08:00

Today was an incredible Sunday and I was so blessed with great perspective and motivation. We have been so touched by the gospel this year and have grown and learned so much. We love our callings and are learning to know more and more people in our ward. I am so grateful to find such peace and joy when I am at church and I know that it is where I am supposed to be.

Sunday is not an easy day...Tyler is hard, and I have a hard time sitting for 3 hours, and John and I teach, and blah blah blah. We have been trying to get Ty into nursery but she has screamed and cried everytime and I HATE to leave her...not because she cries but I hate doing that to the nursery workers! So we have been switching off on which hours we go to, what meetings we attend, nap time and teaching schedules etc. It has been a mess and EVERY Sunday always feel so guilty and say...WE JUST NEED TO GO AND GET THROUGH IT...and then we try and I get so frustrated and have a horrible attitude and no spirit with me and it is just ugly....

Last night I got a call from our Young Women's President and she was sharing a message that the Bishop had for all of the teachers and advisors in the ward in every auxillery. He was concerned with the attendance in Sacrament Meeting and other classes...teachers were coming only on the Sunday that they were scheduled to teach and that there was not being an example set to those that we are called to Serve. At first of course I was a little offended and got defensive but that is because I was totally guilty of doing that on any given Sunday.

So...today, more out of defiance than anything, I told John...we are going to ALL of our meetings and I am going to make sure that the Bishop sees us and Ty will just have to deal and the nursery can come and get me and we are going to STAY!!! When we got to church I marched up to the stand to pay my tithing in front of everyone to make sure that the whole ward knew I was there!.....and as the meeting continued and John, me and the Tweedle were able to partake of the sacrament together as a family and listen to testimony meeting...I was overwhelmed with the spirit...I knew that I was where I should be NO MATTER how hard or challenging..and if Ty was in the hall, she was in the hall and it didn't matter, we still needed to be there. Well, Ty sat through Sacrament meeting without going out and being totally crazy...we dropped her off at nursery and she found a toy and we left...I was worried about her the whole time but John and I got to sit together in Gospel Doctrine, we got to participate and share comments and listen to others...then I peaked at Ty after second hour and she was playing and having fun. John got to teach his lesson and I got to sit through Relief Society with my Laurel Class for the first time in months. I got to hear an incredible lesson from Sisters that I do not even know. I went to pick up Ty at the end of church and they said she was great...only sad for about 15 minutes! I was in tears as we were driving home.

I realized that by me letting Satan work on all the stresses and challenges that come with trying to be obedient was only causing Sundays to be harder and more work. I know that not every Sunday will be that easy and that there will be days that are worse than others but it was worth making the effort, to do everything we could to be there and partake in the spirit. And we were blessed because of it...We got to take the Sacrament, we were able to learn of the gospel during class, I was able to reach out to Sisters that I didn't know, Ty was able to play with other kids her age and learn and grow, we had a peaceful home the rest of the day....I was blessed today and learned a lesson on obedience.

I am grateful for the Sabbath. It is a hard day and a day that will be challenging to me, but a day that needs to be honored and respected. I needed an attitude adjustment about my Sunday and why we go...I am so grateful for that reminder today and look forward to tackling our responsiblilities again next week!

Happy Thanksgiving

2011-11-24T05:37:00.000-08:00

We had a wonderful Thanksgiving this year...with some hard things..but mostly happy things! John go off work at about 1:00 on Wednesday afternoon and had the whole rest of the weekend! WE LOVE long holiday weekends and LOVE when daddy gets to be home to spend some time with us! We always need to find ways to keep the Tweedle busy because she is crazy and into everything! So when daddy is home we get to do things like play on the computer with Fergie and have dad pull us around on the swiffer! haha..Ty loves the swiffer!

Wednesday night we went down to Mom and Dad's to see Todd, Jax and Brody...went to Cabella's and saw all the fish and then went to JCW's for dinner..it was so yummy and a great way to kick off the weekend.

On Thanksgiving morning John left early to go play in the Family Turkey Bowl. Ty and I got up and headed down to Grandma's to help get Christmas out, eat breakfast and spend time with Brody! We missed Tyler's kids this year and didn't get to see them on Thanksgiving but mom and dad's house was warm and welcoming and we had a wonderful time together!!! When the boys got home from their game we had Kneaders French Toast and just sit and talked and laughed and helped get more Christmas out...with mom in a cast and dad just having surgery they needed alittle extra help!

After we got to play in the morning we went down to Grandma Belt's for our traditional Thanksgiving dinner with all of our favorite Aunts and Uncles....and of course Terry's mashed potatoes...at least 5 plates! I think they were his best ever...maybe because I am pregnant or just becaus they are AMAZING! It was wonderful to see everyone and I am so so grateful for every second that I get to spend with Grandma Belt. She is so sweet and wonderful and I love her!!!

Thursday night was the SETTLERS GAME. My family loves to play Settlers. I have never played {I have decided that Todd and I should NEVER play that game together} but I have been able to be the banker the past few times it has been played and it has been great! It was SO funny to be able to just sit and watch and listen to everyone get after each other about settlement placement, trades, longest road and more. My family is way to competitive to play but it sure is fun to sit and watch!

{Classic Todd Face when no one will trade so he goes to the bank!}

Friday I went down to mom's to help her get more decorations out of the basement and sat and chatted for a bit while John and the Tweedle stayed home for a bit. It is nice sometimes to run and go alone without hauling kids and diaper bags and everything else! Friday night John, Tweedle and I just got cozy on the couch...I got to sit and put my feet up and we just hung out. It was really nice.

We also at our own Thanksgiving dinner at home...because we needed more food for sure! I cooked a turkey breast in the crockpot and so we heated it up, did potatoes, stuffing, rolls and pie. It was wonderful to have another feast at home in our jammies!!

We are so blessed this year and have had many great changes in our life. I wrote a post over at BIB that mentioned a few things that I was personally thankful for {read HERE}. I am so grateful for my family and for the changes and challenges that have come our way. We have made leaps and bounds of progress and are looking forward to 2012 with the arrival of a new baby!!!

Happy Thanksgiving!

Snow Day!

2011-11-18T18:19:00.000-08:00

We finally got some snow that was worth playing in! I LOVE the snow...it is so wonderful and magical and sparkly...I was so excited to wake Ty up, get her bundled and go out to play! She LOVED it and even Fergie, our snow leapord for the day wanted to get outside!

Alien Update.

2011-11-15T18:32:00.000-08:00

I went to the doctor today and did not get the greatest news...we knew that with all the cancer issues and surgeries that I have had that there were be a chance for some complications but we were not happy with what we found out. My urnine tested through the roof with my protien levels and my blood pressure was way up. My doctor was immediately worried about PreEclampsia. They took about 6 tubes of blood for further testing along with me being sent home with a pitcher to do a 24 hour urnine collection. I have been really sick with headaches, horrible backaches, and bad stomache pains....this is NOT all regular pregnancy issues, being my 3rd pregnancy I am able to tell the difference between normal and not, and obviously we are experiencing some abnormal issues.

My blood came back with my Iron levels extremely low, which we knew would be an issue. My anemia is a big problem during my pregnacies. My 24 hour urine came back with better results than my original but still not out of the woods and my blood pressure was still up. My doctor put me on "partial" bed rest..whatever that means. Basically, whenever possible I needed to be sitting and resting to keep my blood pressure down.

PreEclampsia is one of the top causes in death before, during or after child birth so we are watching it closely and will continue through the holidays taking it as easy as possible during this crazy time of year.

With all of that going on.....Ty is having to be a little more on her own. I have been sick, down and out and it has been VERY emotionally challenging on me not being able to do the things that I want to or that I need to. Ty has been so good but she is a little crazy!!!

So when momma is on bedrest here is what we do:

We play in Moms Make-Up

We eat Cheeseburgers from McDonalds

And we take over the bed while mom is on the couch!

We are so lucky that Ty is so good and so sweet and she does an amazing job taking care of me. She wipes my tears and gives me lots and lots of kisses! John has been incredibly patient with me and is really good about kicking my butt back to bed when I try and do more than I need to...he wants to keep me and the baby around for a very long time! We will be VERY ready for this baby to get here and to have some surgery done to get me better and to MOVE on from all of this nightmare that has been my health!!

Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire

2011-11-12T07:09:00.000-08:00

Another year at Hogwarts has ended! I LOVED this book. They just keep getting better and better. This was the longest of the books that I have read so far and I had a hard time getting into it. I started it about a month ago and when I finally said "I am finishing this book!" It only took me about a week and a half!

I cried a little at the end. I think that because I have seen the movies more than once that the SHOCK factor isn't there so when sad things happen I don't get too emotional, because I know it is coming. STILL it was great and there was TONS in this book that wasn't in the movie so it was exciting to read a bunch of new stuff and it changed the story a lot!

Off to read the next one....

Happy Halloween!

2011-10-31T06:15:00.000-07:00

This Halloween we dressed up the Tweedle as the cutest kitty EVER and then went to Grandma and Grandpa's for pizza and treats! Ty was so so crazy at Grandma's. She LOVED helping with all the trick-or-treaters! Every time the doorbell rang she got all excited and ran to the door to help pass out the treats! She was loving all the crazy kids costumes and was saying "HI" to everyone! I told John that he was NOT allowed to take her trick-or-treating until she could actually say Trick Or Treat herself...because it is just creepy for him to go to the door to collect the candy!!! John and I love scary movies and we were excited to be able to spend a night or two watching movies together...Happy Halloween!

Going on a Witch Hunt....AGAIN

2011-10-28T19:07:00.000-07:00

hahaha....well, daddy was so jealous that he missed out on all the fun that as soon as he got home from work....we went to see the witches-AGAIN! Tweedle didn't mind at all and we found LOTS of different witches this time around! We love when daddy gets to come and play!..

Going on a Witch Hunt!

2011-10-28T15:08:00.000-07:00

I have wanted to take the Tweedle to see the witches at Gardner Villiage for about a month and we just kept putting it off...but I finally decided to take her before it was too late and I am so so so glad I did! I LOVE Gardner Villiage this time of year...it is one of my very favorite places in the whole world! There where little kids in crazy costumes everywhere...We had a great time and I am so glad that we could go on this fun little date together!..it was a beautiful day! The only thing missing was grandma and the free sample of fudge...didn't make it to the sweet shoppe this time!

"I Have An Idea"

2011-10-21T08:59:00.000-07:00

I LOVE my art classes...I take them when I can, where I can. There is something so soothing to my soul when I am creating, painting, designing...I love it. I have been able to take some amazing classes from BRAVE GIRLS CLUB. I just took a class called "I have an idea" and we painted this amazing canvas. I had the opportunity in this class to use things that I have never used before...like a deep edged canvas, gold leaf, heavy body acrylic paint, a palet knife and more! It was really awesome! I am so grateful to my hubby who puts up with my needs and is so supportive when I have gold foil flakes ALL over the house!

This class was all about IDEAS...everything around us...all of our favorite things are here and within our grasp because one person had an idea and was brave enough to put it out there. What would our world be like if no one shared their ideas?? It is a great reminder and everytime I look at this canvas I get a little braver. More pics of my NEW ART WALL coming soon.....

{canvas is 16x20}

Tweedle and BABY updates!

2011-10-20T10:37:00.000-07:00

Wow-Times goes so so fast! We are getting excited about the new baby to join our family! We can't believe that we are having another baby....AND....

He is strong and healthy and we are doing good! I have about 14 weeks left. I am not sleeping at all {but what else is new?} I am still getting sick early in the morning which is annoying and am always tired but for the most part we are doing ok! I am running around like crazy trying to get the apartment ready for the new one...rearranging the Tweedle's room, making quilts, buying newborn stuff and more! We are looking forward to the holidays...that always helps the time go faster. I am as big as a house but we are looking forward for the next stages of our life!

The Tweedle is growing like crazy! She is wild and busy and wears me out totally!!!! We are getting ready to put her in a big bed {pics coming soon} so that we can free up the crib for the baby. She knows that changes are happening and has been a little clingy to mommy but I LOVE the extra snuggles! I worry about her and hope that she will be ok! She has started eating up at the table with us because she thinks she is such a big girl....and she LOVES to snuggle up on our bed in the mornings to watch a movie!

She just cracks us up all the time!!! She is always talking and cracking herself up....she loves to play with Fergie and LOVES to be outside. She loves to go WEE! I am so proud of her...she is learning so much and every day she comes up with something new! Our new favorite thing that we are teaching her is to fold her arms for prayer. She gets such a serious look on her face and will get right up in your face while you are praying and say AMEN! It is so so sweet.

Busy time for us right now....and getting busier! Looking forward to 2012~

Makutu's, Canning Craze, Scones and FroYo!

2011-10-10T13:17:00.000-07:00

My sister and I have been talking about canning for a long time and it is something that I really wanted to learn and figure out how to do. We finally decided that the best thing for me to do: was make a trip to Arizona to spend a week canning....AND...hanging with the kids over fall break! Here was our schedule and activities for the week!!!

Sunday: Me and the Tweedle packed up the car and left at about 3:30am in the morning. Ty is a great travel partner! I love taking road trips with her. She had a new thing going on where when she was getting ready to fall asleep in the car she wanted to hold my had. I had a very dead shoulder after hours of holding her little hand but she was so so so sweet!
After we got to Arizona we unpacked, rested and just played around the house...The kids took Ty out to play around the yard where of course she found the dirt!...Just the start of a crazy, FUN week!

Monday: The Canning Craze begins!! Because this was the main reason for the trip we spent a lot of time in the kitchen! Angie was such a good sport because we made a MESS...everywhere!! We got up early Monday and went to buy all of our apples. We bought two cases...TONS of apples...Angie's poor kids are eating apples as a snack for months!...then the cutting and peeling and cooking and blending and canning began! Mitchell and Devyn were the best canning partners! They sat and peeled and cut apples all day and LOVED it...Angie is not allowed to do any canning any more without her kids! It was fun to see them excited about it! The house smelled so good and the applesauce was delicious!

Tuesday: We took the kids to Makutu's Island. It was a super cool, awesome, huge treehouse play place with millions of places for the kids to crawl through, climb on or slide down. Because of my big preggo belly I wasn't able to go through alot of the tunnels etc. so Angie being the awesome MOM that she is took the Tweedle with the other little kids and went on some fun adventures. The kids had a great time!! It was fun to watch them explore, run and be wild n' crazy!

After we were done at the Island we had lunch, naps and then more play time at Becky's house. She was nice enough to take the kids, feed them dinner and let them jump on her tramp for a few hours. Angie and I were able to go without the kids..run some fun errands and take a breather...it was so nice of her to take all the kids...the tweedle loves the big kids and they had her on the tramp with them...she did NOT want to leave!

After the kids were in bed Leann came over and the three of us {me, angie and leann} piled into her car and went for some FRO YO {total trendy thing for Utahns} We had a great time...they had a couch and we sat down with our creations and talked and laughed...about being fat and the gym and food storage and everything else. It was wonderful to see Leann. She is darling and we love that her and Angie are such great besties! We got back to the house and talked more about food storage and of course watched the BREAKING DAWN trailor because we are cool like that! {total twilight flashbacks} So much fun!

Wednesday: We hung out at home mostly on Wednesday. Angie had a few appointments with her kids that had to be taken care of so that allowed us to sit and hang out for a bit. One thing that the kids wanted to do while I was there was have a SCONE EATING contest. This is a time honored MITCHELL FAMILY tradition...since we can't even eat without it turning into a compitition. We were super excited to eat the scones....so while we waited for the dough to rise we made sugar cookies, and more sugar cookies and MORE sugar cookies!!...with 3 different colors of icing. All the kids helped out in kitchen with the cookies...it was so much fun to sit there and bake with them!!

When the scones were ready then the contest began. Mitchell kept saying how he was going to eat everyone under the table...I laughed of course because a little boy can NOT out eat a pregnant woman! He quit after only 5 little scones! WEAK SAUCE! Boe hung in there with 9, I stopped at 10 {I ate way too much cookie dough before we got started} and DEVYN did us proud with a PR of 14 scones! She and I both slid away from the table feeling very sick!! We ate almost 3 loaves of dough in deep fried scones!

In the middle of all the dinner mess and clean up we then started the crazy pasta sauce prep for canning! It had to cook for several hours in the crockpots before it was ready to be put in the jars...so Mitchell and I dumped what seemed to be a thousand cans of tomato sauce, paste and diced tomatos into a big pot while Angie cooked up the onions and garlic! By the end of the night I was dying and SO ready for bed! I had started getting ready for the drive home the next morning and Angie was so so amazing to finish up all the sauce for me...luckily she had some family company that kept her a little occupied!! ;) We spent ALOT of this trip in the kitchen....Angie said that she would be okay with NOT being in her kitchen for many days!! It was hot with every range being used as well as blenders going and crockpots cooking. We had cleaned up one crazy mess after another in her kitchen!!

Thursday: It was time for our crazy drive home. I was very ready to come home and I think that the Tweedle was also {sustaining only a minor injuries including a cut up lips and gums from a lego piece...Rylie only "gently shoved her"}. I woke up about 1:48am and thought...lets get the heck out of here! So, I loaded up the rest of the car, got the Tweedle up, made her a bottle and we hit the road by just after 2:00am. I was glad to be getting on the road. I love getting at least half of that trip out of the way before the sun comes up...then I feel like I only drive a short way in the daytime. I was DYING of sleep pretty early on and that was off and on the whole way home. The worst was the swelling of my legs. {I really should have taken a picture}. I was in tears from Nephi to home because of the pain in my legs and the swelling. I know that I will not be traveling again until this baby comes. I had to call John and have him come and help us get out of the car.....I spent the next few days with my legs up! We pulled into the apartment at about 2:30pm and I just cried and cried.....we had a GREAT time but there really is NO PLACE LIKE HOME!!!!

Thank you Angie for such a great trip, for being such a generous hostess, for all your lessons in canning and storage and so much more! We love you and your family!!!!

Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban

2011-10-07T04:51:00.000-07:00

I have been reading Harry Potter (Angie is making me) and I have been worried that I was not going to be able to get into them. I didn't LOVE the movies and it is not really my favorite topic....plus I knew that as I read them there would not be much left to the imagination because I have seen the movies. BUT my sister told me to just get through book 3 and they would be SO AWESOME...she said even at the end of book 3 it will start going into more detail and there will be NEW stuff that wasn't in the movies and you will love them. Well, I just finished book 3 and I LOVED it. They are getting bigger and bigger by the book but I am excited to continue pushing through. I am excited to be able to say that I read Harry Potter, I am excited to finish my year with such a huge accomplishment....well, I may not finish by the end of the year...what with a new season of Grey's and Smallville...BUT I am getting a little more hooked into Hogwarts and hope to have a desire to read more during these cold winter months when I am too pregnant to do anything else! I love cuddling up to a book with the snow falling!! ......

I really enjoyed the last few chapeters of this book. I loved the information that was behind the story of Moony, Wormtail, Padfoot and Prongs. It brought a lot more detail into the events that took place and was very exciting! I will be glad to get into more back story about the characters as the books go on....that is the best part!

On to our next year at Hogwarts!

No Empty Chairs

2011-09-10T10:32:00.000-07:00

John, myself and the Tweedle FINALLY made it to the temple to be sealed as an eternal family. I can't even express what an incredible experience it was. For so long we have been waiting to take this next step and we have been tried and have had to learn great lessons in patience and humility. When we got our letter of approval for the sealing in the mail we were so excited and relieved...it was actually becoming a reality.

We decided on September 10th at the Oquirhh Mountain Temple. John turned 37 on September 8 so it was a wonderful way to celebrate a new year. I was so nervous! We had everything prepared and ready to go days before we were supposed to go through. Mom and Grandma Belt helped us get John his own temple clothes, Tweedle a beautiful white dress and me a new dress to wear to and from the temple..because I am pregnant I really needed something new!....even though we had everything I was so nervous. I had been waiting for so long and this had been the goal for so long that I almost had a "What Now?" moment. Now that I had everything we had been working so hard to accomplish I didn't know what to do next.

The morning of we got up and got ready to go....and met Mom, Dad and my wonderful sister at the temple who were so willing to sit with Ty in the youth center while she waited her turn! Then we split into different dressing rooms. I got to go into the brides room and get ready which was so fun and such a different experience from when I went through when I was 19. Now I was prepared..now I knew what I wanted...I was married to a wonderful man, I had a beautiful daughter and was excpecting a new baby boy! I was so blessed and so overwhelmed.

When John and I walked into the sealing room I just cried and cried....seeing that beautiful room full of my family that I love so dearly..it was a moment I will never forget!
With us in the temple were:
Jon Mitchell (witness), Carol Mitchell, Tyler Mitchell (witness), Lindsay Mitchell, John and Shawna Edwards, Sarah Edwards, Tom and Linda Urquhart, Grandma Belt (so special and I know Grandpa was there) Lorienne Lundgreen, Landon and Becca Houston, and my sweet sister Angie Houston.
We missed greatly:
Trevor Houston, and Todd and Jacque Mitchell who were not able to make the trip!

I don't remember much from the ceremony....I remember them bringing Ty in, all dressed in white thinking I am the luckiest MOM in the whole world...and then she cried through the whole thing...little stinker! ;) But she sure looked like PRINCESS.

I love my family and was so blessed to have loved ones around me. I love my husband and daughter so much. I am so so blessed! We are excited to welcome our son into this family and continue to grow in love and in the gospel.

He turns 37!

2011-09-08T11:47:00.000-07:00

Today is John's Birthday! He is 37 years old today! He is not handling it that well but we are very blessed to have a "seasoned" man around the house! WE LOVE YOU DADDY!!

Kick-Off Weekend!

2011-09-03T11:02:00.000-07:00

We LOVE this time of year...the leaves changing, the chili and other soups, the weather and of course FOOTBALL!! We look forward to football kicking off all year long!...and this year was no different! We even got Tweedle in the mood...

Go Hokies...just like her Dad!

We are looking forward to another GREAT season!

You can join in on the fun at http://www.footballfieldfantasy.blogspot.com/

Sink or Swim

2011-08-30T11:22:00.000-07:00

Ty is getting so big and she just wants to be right in the middle of everything!! She is able to climb on the barstools and to the kitchen counter...she LOVES to play in the sink and help to wash the bottles and put her hands in the water....it is a great activity for her while I clean around her!!

Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets

2011-08-29T11:24:00.000-07:00

I finally finished the 2nd Harry Potter. I have been in a SMALLVILLE trance for over a month and so I haven't been reading at all. I was finally so close to the end that I told myself I was not aloud to turn on the t.v. again until I finished the book.....just wrapped it up!

Book 3 here we come!

Dinner at Gma's and Gpopcity's

2011-08-28T11:03:00.000-07:00

We love having dinner at Grandma and Grandpa's! They always set up the greatest spread of food and have lots of fun for everyone! It was a beautiful evening...we ate, played in the water, played on the playground and more! Thanks for having us over!!! We love you guys!

Ty started in her dress...

And finished in her diaper...

Grandma and GiGi

Jake eats like a grown man

The Hills Are Alive...

2011-08-18T21:03:00.000-07:00

We had the chance to go up to Sundance to see The Sound Of Music with mom and dad. It was so much fun. John and I felt like we haven't left the house on a date for a year and half...since the Tweedle. We were so excited to be able to go on a fun date! The performance was so much fun...the weather was so beautiful and Sundance as always was breathtaking!

My beautiful Mother!

Stage before the show

Don't mind the fat pregnant lady in the picture!

The Cast

Tweedle and the Vet

2011-08-14T09:57:00.000-07:00

The Tweedle and I went down to Grandma and Grandpa's today to give John a little break...he has been working nights on this construction job over the weekend and needed some quiet. When we got down there Grandpa was washing his Vet so the Tweedle decided that she wanted to help!...this should totally be a Chevy Ad don't ya think??

18 Months!

2011-08-09T20:36:00.000-07:00

Our Tweedle is 18 months...I can't believe it! She is getting so big...we have been going through some big changes and she is doing great! We are officially only to one nap and she is loving nursery. She is ALL over the place. She is able to climb on everything...up on the bed...and off the bed...and up on the couch...and off the couch...etc, etc, etc. She LOVES her daddy, her grandma and grandpa and playing with her cousins. She thinks she is such a big girl and wants to DO EVERYTHING on her own...from dressing to undressing and so much more! She still loves to dance, swim and play. We love her so much and are so very blessed to have her!
She is the cheesiest thing...don't know where she gets that from!

Nursery and Bottles and Naptime OH MY!

2011-08-02T18:37:00.000-07:00

Wow-we are coming up on 18 months for the Tweedle and there have been some big changes for her! I can't believe how big she is getting!....I have been worried about having a second baby and still trying to make the BIGGER transitions with Ty. I know that there will already be some major adjustments that are going to take place for EVERYONE and I just want her to be as comfortable as possible. So-we have been working on a few things!

1. Nursery: She went to the nursery on Sunday for the first time and did GREAT! I sat with her for the last 15 minutes of the second hour and then she was in the third hour all by herself..John and I had to take a peak at her...she was on the other side of the room just pushing a truck around having a great time! She looked SO BIG in there and I can't believe that she will start going in there on a regular basis. We have been looking forward to this and now that it is here it makes me a little sad!

2. Naptime: This has been SO SO hard on me trying to make the transition from two naps to one. I didn't know if she was ready or if I was ready for her to only take one nap..Church has been ridiculous and SO hard because I was still putting her down for a nap around 10:00am...it was hard to go and do anything in the morning because she was get so tired and I felt like she needed the nap. Finally, while my sister was here this past week we have been going around playing like CRAZY and we have not been home in the morning for her to take a nap....SO...she has just been taking one. It has been hard and she still will melt down around 11:00am but we are doing good and I think that we have officially made the transition to ONE NAP! I will make that transition a lot SOONER with the next one...love that 3 hour nap in the afternoon and they will both be on that schedule! We are moving her to a big bed in December to free up the crib so lots of things coming in the next few months...here we go!

3. The Bottle: Now that Ty is taking only one nap we have eliminated one bottle by default. She is still getting a bottle at nap time and at bed time. I would really like to have her off the bottle by the time the new baby is here (I don't breast feed and don't want to be making two bottles) and I know that she doesn't NEED it but for now she enjoys the bottle, it is a comfort thing and we don't want to change everything on her all at once...so at least for a few more months we will make her a bottle!

Lots of things happening and lots more to come!! I know everyone does it different but this is how we are doing it...right or wrong we are just trying to figure it out...we have NO clue what we are doing for real! haha! A new adventure every day!!!!

Splash Pad

2011-07-28T07:04:00.000-07:00

Soda Row in Herriman has an awesome little splash pad so we decided to take the Tweedle over there to play in the water. We have a pool at our apartment but it is always so crowded that I don't like to go over there very often but Ty LOVES the water so this is a perfect place for her!....she gets to run around all she wants and the water is clean and warm! I love her in her swimsuit and her swim diaper!...

Our First PonyTail!

2011-07-28T06:53:00.000-07:00

Tyler's hair has become kind of a joke in the whole family because it is really crazy and hasn't grown a whole lot. People think that I cut her bangs in a perfect line along her forehead because they haven't grown since she was born....I think FINALLY it is starting to grow all over...so for church we decided that we were going to try and throw her hair (at least the mullet in the back) into a ponytail. It was a little rough...John had to hold her while I threw it in so it wasn't great but it sure looked cute sticking out of the back of her head! We will get better I am sure....lots of ponytails in our future!

Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone

2011-07-27T12:44:00.000-07:00

So I may be one of the only people left on the planet that has NOT read Harry Potter. Angie decided that they were the next books that I have to read...so since she is picking everything for me...we are off..ONE DOWN and only 6 more to go.

I have seen all the movies and I was worried that I was not going to be able to get through the book and enjoy the story very much...I actually tried to read the Sorcerer's Stone many years ago and just could NOT get into it...but I finished this book now in about 2 1/2 days. I actually loved it...loved the detail that is left out fo the movies and I am very excited to read the remaining 6 books!

Off to start book 2!

Note to Self...

2011-07-26T16:02:00.000-07:00

No matter how tired the Tweedle is...don't give her a pen on the ride home to keep her awake!

Color Your World

2011-07-25T16:06:00.000-07:00

Ty is starting to LOVE to color and draw....well, ok scribble but it keeps her entertained!

Golden Urchin

2011-07-15T13:01:00.000-07:00

I just finished reading the Golden Urchin by Madeleine Brent. It has been by far my favorite book that I have read this year...and I have read some great books! It was so hard to get into..I had read about 3 books in a row and I was a little burned out from reading..didn't want to jump into a harder read but I decided to push through it...

I only read about 80 pages over a months period...and then I finally decided that I was going to finish it! I read about 220 pages in about 2 and half days! I loved the story once I really got into it. It was full of adventure, mystery, suspense, humor and romance...it had it all!

I really loved Mitji! She was such an awesome character...I love the adventure books with the really strong female characters..

I think this book is out of print and I was so glad that my sister let me borrow her treasured copy!

Ok Angie....what is next??

YaYa Sisterpants!

2011-07-13T08:46:00.000-07:00

I took Olivia to the cutest class at the incredible Fiore Studio called YAYA Sisterpants! We were able to bring anything we wanted to paint and decorate. I brought a hat that I wanted to paint and Olivia brought a shirt to decorate for Tyler to wear to the Feis! It was so cute and she was so excited to decorate this shirt for her dad! I LOVE Laurie and she is an amazing artist. I am excited to take more classes from her and learn more technique from her.

Sitting on the floor in the studio with our class

Me and Olivia

Olivia working on her shirt for Tyler

The hat-BEFORE

The finished product!

Our class

The hat-AFTER

Staples for Alien #2

2011-07-11T09:14:00.000-07:00

During this pregnancy there have been some MUST HAVES that I didn't have with my other two.

LemonHeads

Foot Long Italian BMT on wheat EXTRA PICKLES!

Strawberry Lemonade Powerade

Saltine Crackers

I am so so so lucky to have a husband that will run out and get me what I want when I want it! I love him so much and I am totally spoiled! I am also going to gain about 100lbs with this baby...we are going to be in trouble!...I hope we will cut back after this first tri-mester...gotta get past the morning sickness!

Baby Update!

2011-07-05T18:52:00.000-07:00

We had our first doctors appointment today. We love our doctor and I love getting that first ultra sound and hearing that heartbeat! We were very very relieved to only hear one heartbeat! I had an idea put in my mind by Lindsay that I was going to have twins because of the crazy early pregnancy dreams! I was very happy when we found out that there is only one alien joining us!! YAY!!!

We got tons of goodies and a picture of Alien 2!

DUE DATE: January 30th, 2012

Fourth of July Weekend!

2011-07-04T06:46:00.000-07:00

We were so excited for the 4th of July weekend and to have John home for a few days! We spent lots and lots of time with each other and the Tweedle!

Saturday we spent the day at Farm Country. Tyler loves the animals at the farm and so we were so glad we decided to go. We got to ride the pony, see all the duckies and we even got to see a baby goat being born. It was pretty exciting...after we spent some time at the Farm Counrtry we headed over to the ice cream shop for banana splits, chocolate malts and kiddie cones! It was a great day!

Sunday was a wonderful day at Church. I received a new calling...moved from the Mia Maid advisor to Laurel advisor. I am excited to teach the older girls plus now I only have to prepare 2 lessons a month and that is great! After church we took naps and then went to Tyler and Lindsay's for dinner. We got to play with all the crazy kids. Ty LOVES playing with her cousins and it was great to spend the day with family!

Monday-Happy 4th of July

We wanted to get out of the house and odo something fun but we didn't want to spend a lot of money so we decided that we would go and bum around DownTown Salt Lake City. It was a great day..a little overcast so it wasn't to hot. We started at Trolley Square, went up to the Capitol building and then past Temple Square. Then we stopped at the store for our dinner and headed home. After Ty went to bed John and I stood out on our balcony and watched the fireworks over the valley! It was great.

Ty plugging her ears while we were listening to music!

Canceling Big Tough Girl 5K

2011-07-01T13:29:00.001-07:00

Hi everyone,
Due to some unforeseen circumstances BIB has decided to cancel our Charity 5K this summer. Stay tuned for information on our rescheduling this event.

Thank you for your support and understanding!

BIB Team.

Happy Fathers Day!

2011-06-19T08:51:00.000-07:00

I don't know how I got so lucky! John is so amazing. He is the best dad ever to the Tweedle and he is so excited for Alien 2 to join the fam. I know that he is a huge reason as to why I will be able to handle two under two! I am so grateful for everything that he does...he works so hard, has an amazing testimony and is always trying to do the right thing...I love him for that..and my favorite thing...HE LOVES ME and THE TWEEDLE...

How lucky am I that he makes ME dinner over Father's Day Weekend! I guess crazy pregnant woman with cravings trumps dad holiday...John made me his famous Runza...oh my..it is so so good!

And he does it with a HUGE smile on his face...always!

The Tweedle wanted him to have something that represented her...so we made him this awesome button with her picture on it and he wore it all day! hahaha! It was really funny but he was not ashamed...he wore it to church with great pride in his Tweedle!

John is one of the good guys and I love him very much! I feel so blessed to have him in my life and I know that I am better because of him.

Happy Father's Day!

We also went to my moms for dinner to hang with PopCity, and my brother Ty was there. I was so mad because all i wanted to do was get a picture of the three men but of course I forgot...

Happy Father's Day anyway!

CK Scrap n' Play

2011-06-19T08:32:00.000-07:00

I had the great opportunity to help teach a class at the CK Scrap n' Play that was located at the incredible and beautiful Zermatt Resort in Midway, Utah. The hotel was so awesome and I hope to get to stay there one day!

They have a darling carnival theme set up and the treat table, prizes, table decorations...everything was so awesome! The best part was the back drop for the pictures that you could take! We had a great time. I wish I could have spent more time there with all the awesome ladies from Imaginisce, CK and more. I got to catch up with friends and help women scrap....it doesn't get better than that!

When life throws lemons at your head....

2011-06-18T09:40:00.000-07:00

Wow! It has been a crazy few weeks in our house. I think that the biggest thing that I have learned over the past few years is that CHANGE is a huge part of life and you don't really have any choice but to change with it. We have had some majors changes happen to us from the time we met. Our life together has taken us to some scary, crazy places, some peaceful wonderful places, and some unwanted places. We are very blessed but it is not easy...we are challenged and pushed to our limit every single day of our life. We were just talking about how we never have a "smooth" ride...even for just a minute. Life goes on but we feel like we are fighting for air every second. I really do believe that we are watched over, protected and totally blessed...it is hard to keep perspective..hard to remember the big picture...hard to keep the faith.

Just when we think that life is REALLY going to be ok..when we see a light at the end of the tunnel: Ty will be out of diapers soon, the gym membership will be paid next summer, the car will be paid next fall, we can stay in the two bedroom for a while if we need to, Ty is getting a big girl bed at Christmas etc...all these things are exciting and make me feel like we are going to be able to breathe...we were planning my

hysterectomy at the end of this August...we were making exciting plans for the three of us, our sweet little family to take some fun trips and making fun plans for Ty's future...no more cancer, healthy and excited to hang with the tweedle....we had excepted the fact that we were just going to have one sweet child and were moving forward...AND THEN

We found out that we are having another baby!!! WHAT???!!! We are seriously expecting baby #2 by the first of February 2012. Wow-talk about being hit by a truck, talk about decisions being made for you, talk about accepting the changes of life and learning to adjust! It has taken me about two weeks for the shock to wear off but I am not going to lie..I am totally freaking out! I don't know how we are going to get through this or if I can even do this but we don't have a choice...we are adjusting and changing ALL future plans that we have made...all plans that we were so excited about...all gone, all changing! Time to make new ones! I am so grateful that for this pregnancy we are here in Utah, surrounded by family and friends that can help with The Tweedle, and balancing doctor appointments, and dealing with scary cancer stuff for 9 more months, and keep the place clean, and BIB, and church callings and the list goes on and on and on...

I can't even imagine our life with another baby...it is hard to imagine that I could love another baby like The Tweedle...it is hard to imagine that I will NOT kill everyone around me over the next 9 months!

Life is crazy and is changing ALL the time...with no respect or care for the plans that you already made!

We are excited for the changes in our life!

More baby updates to come!

Farm Country

2011-06-15T19:00:00.000-07:00

We had a very exciting day today...and we are exhausted at the end of it!! My dear friend Marie and her kids invited us to go to Farm Country at Thanksgiving Point...if you haven't been there you should go because it was super fun! We got to see ALL kinds of farm animals and even have a pony ride! TY LOVED THE PONY RIDE! We had a great morning with our good friends..

Ty wanted to crawl right in with the animals

Ty and her friend Maggie

Ty on her very first pony ride!

She LOVED the pony

Marie and her darling kids! We love them!

Ty and Maggie were cracking me up at the geese that were honking at them!

SWIMMING!

Just when we thought our day was over we all decided to go swimming. Marie, Megan, Me, Jamie, Stacia and Kilee with ALL of our kids decided to spend the afternoon at the pool. It was so much fun. Ty is a natural and LOVES the water...I think that she will be taking lessons for sure because she was not scared at all..which in some ways made me very nervous! There were tons of kids in the pool with even more toys! It was so great to catch up with old friends and see all their darling kids!

We had a great day...we are very very tired but it was totally worth it!! THANK YOU to all our friends for inviting us to play!

16 Months

2011-06-09T11:43:00.000-07:00

The Tweedle is 16 months old today! I can't believe how fast that time goes. I have been looking back at baby pictures and I almost can't even remember her every being like that, looking like that. You are so "in the moment" at every age so it is hard to remember...

She is so much fun right now! This age has been so challenging yet one of my favorite stages! She is so funny and energetic, she is loving and sweet, she is crazy and sneaky! I love spending time with her...

Here are some of her favorites:
She loves to read, she still loves Mickey Mouse Clubhouse, she will eat anything that you put in front of her, she loves her bath time, she loves loves loves grandma and her cousins, she loves the water and playing outside...and of course she loves her daddy!

The hard stuff:
trying to figure out a nap schedule, chasing her, sitting through church, NOT sleeping in, keeping her entertained...

Reading with Daddy

At least twice a day she will take me by the hand and drag me into her room to turn on cd player. She LOVES to have dance parties...she loves to dance to Garth Brooks. She is already a country girl. This is one of my favorite parts of the day!

(video coming soon)

She is gettig so big and I am so excited to continue to watch her grow into the little person that lives in our home. She is so smart and I love her so much...she is my TWEEDLE...I pray that she continues to stay healthy and happy!

2011 Reunion in the Dirt- Day 2

2011-06-03T19:23:00.000-07:00

After breakfast we started the morning with the "Quilt Challenge". Lindsay found an amazing quilt top and purchased it for the reunion. Mom taught us all how to set up the frames, mark the quilt and tie it. It was great! For our challenge we had to take our light pens and find the hidden letters that were written on the quilt. Once we found them we discovered where our next hike destination was going to be. The quilt was so much fun...everyone pitched in...even though Todd's marks were the worst on the quilt it was still fun and funny to try and mark that thing! We were all over the place!! I got to quilt a lot of it and that was really cool to learn. I also earned extra bonus points for the work so it was totally worth it!

After the quilt instructions we all loaded up in the cars and headed back into Capitol Reef for our next hike. This was not a challenge..we were just hiking to spend time together and enjoy the amazing view. It really was so beautiful. Some of us (ME) really struggled on the hike...I didn't know that I was pregnant and that explains the need to throw up every 10 min. but I don't know what the other excuses were! hahaha! It really wasn't that bad...we all had a great time and got some great pictures.

After our hike we had another challenge. It was a picture scavenger hunt all over the town of Bicknell. It was really fun to go through the small towns of Wayne County and Lindsay made sure that we experienced everything and learned about her family history. These are the pictures that my team took:

After the scavenger hunt we headed back to the barn for pizza that we ordered from Torrey, hang time and more late night Settlers! Another big day...time for bed!

2011 Reunion in the Dirt-Day 1

2011-06-02T13:30:00.000-07:00

What an incredible reunion this year! Tyler and Lindsay were in charge and we went to Wayne County/Capitol Reef for 3 days! Lindsay organized "The Amazing Race" so the whole weekend was filled with different challenges, points earned and lossed, team activities etc. It was intense and for our super competitive family is was perfect. A lot of it was themed around Lindsay's family history and around our family getting to know each other better. It was so wonderful!

Our first challenge started the day before we left. We had a box delivered to our home that had a story and our first challenge that we had to "de-code" Each car (family) had to go to a destination, complete a challenge and then receive their package...our "dirt shirts" that we wore all weekend!

The shirts had the #73 on the which represented the year that our parents were married and the Mitchell family officially started!

John and I had to stop at a Sinclair gas station and eat 4 rice crispy treats and a huge bag of pretzels with no drink before we were able to get our shirts! The people at the gas station were cracking up as we tried to shove all those pretzels down our throat! We were the first team to make it to the cabin! It was awesome!

We stayed in the awesome barn in Loa! It was a great set-up and perfect for our renion crew! It had as super cool loft for all the kids to stay together, an awesome game room and our own individual rooms and bathrooms! We had a lot of fun together, ate great food and tossed the football around a ton at the barn!

It is tradition to take a family picture at our reuniuon..one that shows off what the theme of the reunion was...this picture was perfect on the first day with all of us wearing our shirts! We are 21 in number this year...it is a huge production to put our reuinions together and is one of my favorite times of the year!

Another challenge for day one was a hike through "the Wash". We split up boys against girls and each started at different ends of the wash. We were to hike through, pass keys off when we passed each other and drive the other vehicle back to the visitors center...the girls got KILLED!..and we had a few younger ones that were not excited about our hike but we had a good time talking and getting to know each other better. After the hike we were asked questions about each other and were able to gain points.

At the end of the day we were all together for our last challenge for day one. "How Well Do You Know the In-Laws" there was a survey sent out that the in-laws had to fill out...then we all had to figure out who said what! It was so much fun...some answers were easy to figure out and others were very hard! Then of course a very late night of Settlers. It was a great first day...we were exhausted and off to bed!

Tuesdays With Morrie

2011-05-30T22:31:00.000-07:00

I just finished readng "Tuesdays with Morrie" and I cried my eyes out. There are so many things that I marked and wrote down from this book that I want to remember. It was so crazy to read this book because everything in it are things that are SO present in my life right now...things that I have been thinking about, fearing, wondering about!

I thought this book was so amazing, inspiring, motivating, honest...it touched on life, death, love, relationships, perspective and so much more!!

Dealing with cancer you can't help but think about death, no matter how little your threat of actually dying is...it changes you, your thoughts and your perspective...you think about things ,you fear things, you ask questions, you examine things more closely....it was so so so amazing to read this book during this time in my life and I don't know if it would have had the same impact on me had I read it at a different time.

There were things that I will take from this book and look back on OFTEN...I was so moved and am grateful for the inspiration to have me read this book!

Read it, open your heart, take one day (that is all it will take) and read it...have a highlighter or a notebook near by...you will want to write some things down!!!

Thank you Angie, reading has truly become a great joy in my life and I look forward to reading many more books that move me and touch my soul!

What is next???

Sand Dunes

2011-05-29T22:15:00.000-07:00

We went out with mom and dad to Little Sahara to meet Angie and her family to play for the day at the Dunes. It was so much and I was so excited to go...it has been a few years...I always loved going to the Dunes and it was so much fun to kick off our "Reunion in the Dirt" week a few days early!

Ty was IN LOVE with the pink fourwheeler and spend most of her time on or around the quad! It was so much fun watching her in the dirt playing and running around! She is getting so big and it is so great to see her so curious!

Getting ready to head out on the Buggy for an AMAZING ride! It was so much fun...Trevor's brother took me, John and PopCity..dad was motion sick the rest of the day!

Ty getting comfy with her new "Toy"

PopCity!

Angie and her fam are so much fun to play with and are always doing GREAT things as a family. I am always my happiest doing activities like this and hope to do much more of this now that Ty is getting older and we are here for the long haul!

Thanks Ang, we had a blast!

Let "Reunion in the Dirt 2o11" Begin!!

How Does Your Garden Grow?

2011-05-27T19:41:00.000-07:00

One thing about living in an apartment is the lack of space. You don't have a yard and you don't have a place that you can plant. I LOVE to have flowers and decorations on my deck of the apartment because I feel like it is my "backyard" so I want it to look nice and be cozy. My mom and dad have a Better Homes and Gardens backyard...it is SO amazing...they plant great stuff every year and had a few extra flowers and veggies that they gave to me so I could have something growing on our deck. We have a great flower that is beautiful and a huge planter with a tomato plant and a green pepper plant...both of which are staples at our house! We will see how they grow!

Until Proven Guilty

2011-05-21T07:00:00.000-07:00

Ok, stayed up all night and woke early this morning to finish 218 pages of my book...Until Proven Guilty. I read Hearts in Hiding back in April and I fell in love with this author and her Haggerty Mystery novels. So..Angie said that I needed to read this book.

It was a GREAT story about a girl who has a fiance that dies on the day of her wedding...as she rejoins society several years later she is asked to move in with Jack Gamble and his daughter Chloe to determine for the courts if he is a good father..well...he is a lawyer and in the middle of a big murder trial...TONS of crazy things happen and it was very exciting and a total page turner...and SUPER easy read...

Compare and Contrast: so overall I almost liked this better than Hearts in Hiding...well maybe not better but just as much and how do you decide whether you are more in love with Jack Gamble or Mark Iverson...hmmmm it is a tough one but I really think that Jack is my pick...

It was great and I love her stuff...I am sure I will be reading more of her in the future...

Ok ANGIE...What is next????

Our 1st Trip to the Zoo

2011-05-15T15:15:00.000-07:00

It was such a beautiful day today! John has been working a ton of hours lately which is such a blessing but we miss him and he hasn't seen the Tweedle much so we decided to head up to the zoo after church to spend some time together as a family. It was a WONDERFUL day and we had so much fun. Ty was so darling the whole day..she wanted to WALK everywhere, even up the big hills and she loved the animals! She wanted to hold all of them and would get very mad when the glass would get in her way!

John and the Tweedle

Ty walking the bridge to Asian Land

Ty LOVED the Giraffes. They were her very favorite.

She was such a trooper the whole way!

We had to buy her a giraffe because she loved them so much! She would NOT let go the whole way home and she was A VERY TIRED TWEEDLE. We had so much fun and can't wait to go again!

Climb on In!

2011-05-14T21:40:00.000-07:00

Ty has a new thing that she loves to do...she likes to climb into anything that she can fit into! It is so funny to watch her find and collect things around the house to crawl into...here are some of my favorites!

My Luggage

The Frying Pan

The Trash Can

haha! She cracks me up!

Follow the River

2011-05-07T07:48:00.000-07:00

I just finished FOLLOW THE RIVER. It was so amazing and I loved it, another great pick by my sister Angie.
So....about the book:

This was my first "adult" book. It was long, it was hard for me to read, it was REALLY small print so I was very proud of myself for finishing it. As you all know I am "new" to the reading world and each book that I finish is a huge feat!

I would recommend this book to anyone with a little bit of a disclaimer. It was really good. It was intense and emotional and yes I cried several times. It was very detailed...and given the nature of the story there was violence that would bring anyone to tears, there were physical changes that were enough to make you sick to your stomache and tons of nakedness!

The story was about a young woman and some of her family that were taken captive by a band of Indians after a horrific massacre. There were many tragic affairs that happened on the road to the Indian camp. The young woman decided that getting back to her family was the most important thing in her life...something she was willing to die for. The book is her journey of her escape and the thousands of miles that were walked to get back home. This book was based of true historic memoirs of Mary Draper Ingles.

It was a great book!
Now on to the next book....

Park...Again!

2011-05-06T15:27:00.000-07:00

The weather has been so beautiful and we have not been able to resist getting outside. My brother Tyler was home from work today so me and the Tweedle, Grandma and his little kids met at the park...played like spider monkeys and then went to Chick-Fil-A for lunch. It is always so great to get together with family...and I love my family very much! Time with Grandma is always a good time...she brings treats and lots of fun!! Thanks for coming everyone!...the Tweedle loves to play with the cousins!

India

Mom and Tyler

Isabel

The Tweedle

Lake Side

2011-05-04T18:35:00.000-07:00

We woke up this morning and it was a beautiful day. I decided that we had to get outside in the sunshine and try out Ty's new swimsuit. We went over to the lake in DayBreak and spent time in the park. This was Ty's first time on the beach...and this close to that much water! We took off her shoes and she squished her toes in the sand...she had a GREAT time. She was afraid to put her hands in the lake water but she still walked along the waters edge. After our time at the lake we went and played at the playground. She LOVES to swing!! {that sounds worse than it really is!}

Tweedle on the Beach

Mom and Tweedle

Ty LOVES the swing!

On the playground!

PlayDate with the Tweedle!

2011-05-03T06:09:00.000-07:00

Tuesday has turned into playdate day. There are two little girls in our ward that are just a few months older than Ty and are both only children...so we have started getting the girls together once a week. Today I took Ty to Herriman Farm Days so Ty could see all the farm animals. (don't have any pictures) Ty LOVED the animals...especially the baby lambs. She was screaming at them and they were screaming back! She was a little nervous around the big horse because its nose was bigger than her head but she still pet him and got really excited!

After the Farm we met up with the girls for our playdate at McDonalds. I am so grateful that there are other moms that are making an effort because it is not easy for me. I am getting better and know that it is good for Ty so we will continue to go....She had a blast at the Play Place!

Family History.

2011-05-01T13:11:00.000-07:00

I started taking a family history class at church and I LOVE it. I have made the decision to work on all of John's family history, pedigree charts, personal history etc. I am very overwhelmed. His family line is very complicated and there are lots and lots of holes...it is going to be a very huge project but I am so excited to jump in and start finding his ancestors. He is really wanting to know where he is from and who his family is...so we are going to find out!!

Anyone else doing family history? Any tips on how to get started? Where to find information? Any help would be much appreciated!

It is an amazing thing to do the work for your ancestors. I never really understood the importance or the obsession until I started this class. I am so excited to start this crazy journey down John's past. Wish us luck!

The Royal Wedding

2011-04-29T13:17:00.000-07:00

I have been obsessed with the Royal Wedding. I have watched all the specials on LifeTime and have watched the BBC coverage over and over. I love the Royals...they fascinate me! I think I have cried over a dozen times while watching the re-runs on t.v. and totally picture myself as Kate...

It lets me escape from all of my reality.

aw to live the life of royalty! ....

Big Shoes to fill

2011-04-19T05:41:00.000-07:00

Ty is going through a shoe phase...she has to put on every pair of shoes around the house...mommy or daddy! It is fun to watch her try and figure out how to put them on and then walk round in them. I think that this picture in John's shoes is so funny! She loves loves LOVES her daddy and they always play all sorts of fun games and play little tricks on me!

Temple Date

2011-04-16T08:51:00.000-07:00

John and I had the opportunity to go and do a Temple Session at the Jordan River Temple today. We had our babysitter come and play with the Tweedle so that we could go. We have been anxious to go, just the two of us, since John took out his own endowment. We were very excited. I am amazed at how every single temple experience is different. This was the first time that I have been without my mom or grandma with me so we were totally on our own (we are getting so big!) We got John's clothes rented and then went our seperate ways to the dressing rooms.

As we were sitting in the chapel reading and waiting we were approached and asked to be the witness couple! WHAT?! I was hoping that John would say that he wasn't comfortable since this was only his second time but OF COURSE NOT....he said that we would love to and away we went. It was actually a really cool experience and kept us very focused and aware of all that was going on.

I was very emotional after we were finished and sitting together, holding hands. It has been a long time coming for me and I was feeling very overwhelmed and blessed. I am so proud of my husband and I love him so much. I am so amazed at him and his dedication to the church and his willingness to take it all in!

We couldn't wait to get home to see our dear Tweedle! She was on my mind so much while at the temple and we can't wait to be sealed to her! It was a GREAT way to start our day and I am so blessed...We can't wait to go back!

Work Out

2011-04-14T18:49:00.000-07:00

Ok, another work out today...even more improvement on my mile..It is feeling great...NOT but it is getting alittle bit easier!

Mile: 11:20min

I also had John give me some toning exercises so after my mile run I did sit-ups, push-ups, kick boxing, biceps, triceps, chest and back...

I am going to be dying tomorrow!!!..but for now I am breathing!

YW Activities

2011-04-12T06:10:00.000-07:00

I am serving as the Mia Maid advisor in our ward. We have been able to do some really fun activities. I have a small group of girls but a big group coming up to Mia Maids in the fall. I teach every Sunday and then get to participate in our weekly activities on Tuesday nights.

We have secret grandma's in our ward. Each of the girls are assigned to a senior sister and once a month we create a little gift for them. A few weeks ago we made Ribbon Flower Pins. The idea came from my sister and her {Fancy Rings}...they were really cute and fun to make. The girls loved them!

Tonight for our activity we had a super fun Scripture Cookie Chase. We had a list of scriptures that we had to look up and in the scriptures were the ingredients to the cookies that we were making! It was so cool and really fun...after we read and found all the ingredients we were able to make the oatmeal cookies! It was a great activity and tied in both spiritual and temporal fun!

Back on the Treadmill

2011-04-11T18:18:00.000-07:00

I have missed a few days running...ok, lets be honest it has been about 2 weeks and boy was I feeling it..RIGHT AWAY! But, I was back on the treadmill tonight and I improved my mile time! I ran in 11:34. I know it is still not great but it is getting better and better. My shins are killing me and I am so tired and sick to my stomache. It is amazing how fast it leaves you....also, the cajun chicken pasta for dinner didn't help the run much! Oh well...back on the sadal tomorrow!...

New favorite running music: NNEKA

She is the JAM!

1 YEAR

2011-04-11T09:02:00.000-07:00

On April 11, 2010 my dad and I were sitting in the parking lot of his hotel in Nashville. They came to visit and for Tyler's baby blessing. I was at that time drinking about 4-5 Diet RockStars a day...lets just say that I was drinking a very unhealthy amount of caffeine. Part of that was from loving the drink and part was because I have horrible insomnia and could never function through my day without it.

He made a deal with me right then and there...if I could go a whole year without drinking ONE DROP of caffeine then he would help me pay for some plastic surgery...something that I have wanted since I was a junior in High School! I shook his hand and that was it......

GUESS WHAT!!??

It has been 1 YEAR today since I have has ANY caffeine...including all energy drinks, sodas, medicines etc...

Well...I thought about my plastic surgery almost every day for a year! I wanted so badly to have some work done...BUT I decided that something else was more important.

I have been wearing glasses and contacts since I was in the third grade. I have never ever known what it was like to see without the help of lenses. It is a hard concept to understand if you have never experienced it but I will tell you that it is a different world. My eyesite with my contacts is 20/20 in one and 20/15 in the other...but without them I am 20/400...legally blind on any test!

I decided that I should have some LASIK done instead of my plastic surgery. I recently broke one of my contacts and was having to wear my glasses....I HATE my glasses and I don't like to be caught ANY WHERE in my glasses...I am very insecure in them! But because I can't see I didn't have a choice.

After talking with my parents I made the appointment for a free consultation for LASIK at Hoopes! It was an amazing process with lots of testing and crazy machines and stuff being blown into my eyes and things being dropped into them..but after my 3 hour appointment I finally got to talk to the surgeon. He was very honest with me about my options and told me that he could not guarantee better site with the surgery than he could with the hard lenses. I have been told before that hard contacts are the best in perscription that you can get and so...................................we decided to keep the contacts instead of the surgery.....which is great!!! My parents paid for two pairs of contacts and a new pair of glasses! It feels great to be out of my glasses and back into my contacts!!!!!!

I would still LOVE some plastic surgery.....................maybe we will come up with another bet for that!! Thanks MOM and DAD for looking out for me and helping me with what I need!

As for the caffeine......John asked if I would celebrate today with a Diet RockStar................................I think that I am off caffeine for LIFE!!! Wow......never thought that would happen!

YAY for me!!!

Hearts in Hiding

2011-04-10T13:10:00.000-07:00

I just finished my next "assigned" book...Hearts in Hiding by Betsy Brannon Green! It was great! It is an LDS fiction romance/suspense novel. I really like the cheesy love stories but I LOVE this author and the suspense that she ties in with it. She has written many, many books and I think I will have to read more from her.

This book was about a woman and her husband worked for the FBI, he was killed while he was undercover. Because of the danger she had to be taking into hiding with a new identity. There was an FBI agent that had to pose as her new husband so that she could be looked after at all times. It was a GREAT story.

And oh my....do we LOVE Agent Iverson!! YUMMY!!!

I LOVE LOVE LOVE the town of Haggerty where this town takes place, in the south. It is totally a place that I would love to live and the neighbors and the lifestyle would be awesome!

If you are looking for a great easy read with love, suspense and drama this is a great book! I actually stayed up until 3:00 this morning and read 166 pages to finish the book...it was great...couldn't put it down.

What will we read next Angie??

Nate and Sarah Wedding

2011-04-08T07:40:00.000-07:00

My cousin Nathan Edwards got married today and it was wonderful. We were not at the temple but invited to the luncheon after. It was so much fun! My brother and I sat at a table with my grandma, Tom & Linda, Terry & Hollie and it was hilarious!! Linda and I were trying to steal smart cookies off all the tables the entire dinner! We had so much fun and I LOVE any excuse to get together with my family...we always have so so so much fun! There were some great pictures that were taken but I stole a few of my favorites!

Congrats to Nate and Sarah...I am so happy for you!

The awesome Edwards Family

I LOVED this picture and LOVED the umbrella! I may still it when John and I go through the temple!

The Cool Kid Table!

The newlyweds leaving for their honeymoon in their sweats! They were darling!

Nathan and Sarah-Wedding Shower

2011-04-06T09:16:00.000-07:00

My cousin Nathan is getting married to a very sweet girl named Sarah. My mom was in charge of hosting the wedding shower for the family. We had a GREAT time! It is always so much to get together with my aunts and cousins. We had a fun game, tons of AMAZING treats, gifts and of course tons of FUN crazy family stories!

I made a SheArt canvas for the gift from my mother and I...it was so much fun to make and I was happy to see everyone enjoy it!

I have a wonderful family and there is always so much love when we get together...plus I got to leave the Tweedle at home with John so it was a fun girls night...with adult conversation!!

Rebecca and Melanie

Connie, Linda and Lindsay

My beautiful Mother

(notice she is rockin her Big Tough Girl Shirt!)

The AMAZING treats!

Smart Cookies, cakebites from Sweet Tooth Fairy and the most amazing brownies

on the planet!

The Canvas!

A two car Family

2011-04-05T08:37:00.000-07:00

John and I have been sharing a car since September of 2009. It has been very hard and really frustrating. When we lived in Nashville and I was pregnant I would wake up every morning with John and take him to work at 6:00am. Then when Ty was born I would haul them both to drop John off, take Ty to the babysitter, go to work, go pick Ty back up and then go get John. It was never easy but at that time we didn't have a choice. When we moved back to Utah in the summer of 2010 and I stopped working full time it made it a little bit easier. If I needed the car Ty and I would take John and keep the car for the day but for the most part we would just stay at home.

At the first of March we had the chance to buy a car from a man that John worked with. We were not really in a position to take on a new car but John thought that it could help with our situtation and make it easier on us. Well, along with the GREAT deal that we got on the car we still had to get it serviced (it had been sitting for two years) safety and emissions and registered which we could not afford. Thanks to my parents, who by the way are the most wonderful people on the planet, we were able to get the car taken care of...including a new windshield to pass inspection.

So as of today, we have two vehicles. John drives the Toyota that is our primary car, gets the best gas milage and is the newer car...and I now drive the 94 Explorer when I need to run errands etc. It is just comforting to know that if there is an emergancy that I have a car to get somewhere!

Aw...just more joys of trying to be an adult.

Happy Birthday Derek!

2011-04-04T10:56:00.000-07:00

Derek turned 5 years old today. I had the chance to meet up with his family and spend some time with them! It was so much fun and I was so so happy to have John and the Tweedle with me! You can read about my day {HERE}

Derek, Me and my Tweedle!

The Disappearing Tweedle

2011-03-30T18:29:00.000-07:00

It wasn't that long ago that I found our cat Fergie in our dryer when I open it with the warm clothes. Well, I had just finished drying our sheets and some of the Tweedle's blankets, I opened the door and walked down the hall into the kitchen just for a minute. I heard Ty playing in the hall and then...nothing...I walked down the hall and didn't see Ty anywhere. I thought maybe she went back into her room, or was in our room...nothing..I called out her name and she started to giggle....I walked back down the hall and there in my dryer was THE TWEEDLE...she just crawled right in there! She is so so sneaky!!!

Gamers!

2011-03-28T01:12:00.000-07:00

John loves to play Madden on his PlayStation. We have a few controllers that have died on him that we keep around the house because Ty likes to play with them...so now, when Daddy plays, then the Tweedle plays! Just what I need...two crazy gamers in the house!

Scrapbook Expo

2011-03-25T00:48:00.000-07:00

I had the opportunity to work the Scrapbook Expo this year at the Imaginisce Booth. I was so grateful for the extra money. I have been out of the industry for several years now but it was so much fun to be back with all the crazy scrappers! I love the craft and hobby industry!! It was two LONG days with hours on the register but it was a lot of fun to be back with friends. Thanks Bridget for giving me the opportunity. I have been put on their pay roll and will be able now to help at all their local events. It is such a great blessing. Bridget also donated a bunch of show product to BIB for our Big Girl Retreats. I am so excited to dig into the product and start putting stuff together for the birth moms! Thanks again Bridget and Imaginisce!!

Bridget, me, Jen

Big Tough Girl!

2011-03-24T19:25:00.000-07:00

Alright...I was very excited tonight with my run. I dropped 20 seconds off my time that left me with a 12 minute mile. I was stopping for less time, breathing better and running at a faster pace. We are getting there! I am so excited to see the improvement even though I HATE this stage of the "getting into shape" process. Everyone has been really supportive and that helps a ton. I text my time every night to TODD and he gives me tips, encouragement and motivation...I am lucky to have him helping me...he is great if any of you are interested!
I am training to get in shape for the Big Tough Girl 5K. I am so excited to be hosting this event! It is going to be so much fun and there will TONS of information coming.

I hope you will ALL register and join us! Register HERE If you sign up early you get $5.oo off your registration fee.

Well, I am tired and my legs need some TLC. Happy Running!

Fergie and the Warm Clothes

2011-03-23T09:37:00.000-07:00

Fergie has become very much a part of our little family and she does silly little things that just crack me up. One thing that Fergie likes to do is to hop into the dryer when the clothes are still warm and take a nap. She goes through 3 different stages:

Step 1-getting the lay of the land

Step 2-getting more comfortable

Step 3-down for the count

YW Activity-Personal Progress Journals

2011-03-22T09:23:00.000-07:00

I am serving in the Young Women of my ward as the Mia Maid Advisor. I was in charge of putting together our YW combined activity. We decided to have them make personal progress journals.

My Temple Journal

My Personal Progress Journal

See Ashley Run

2011-03-22T08:12:00.000-07:00

I ran track when I was in high school and I was in the greatest shape. I have always been a pretty natural athlete but for at least the past 5 years or so I have NOT been actively working out or taking care of myself. It has been really hard for me to watch my body change with kids, age, sickness etc. I have always been insecure with my looks but now I have way to many reasons to be insecure! So I have started running again. I was reading several blogs about girls that run and totally inspire me...starting with Ashley Urie. She is so so motivating and has tons of links to amazing runners and girls. I love reading about her runs, product and the relationships that she has built because of her running...it truly has become part of who she is.

Now, I know that I am not going to ever have this amazing desire to run miles and miles like Ashley and so many others but I do know that to get to where I want to with my body I can't get there without the CARDIO and I want to be able to get through that training without wanting to die. So, I am starting my journey and I am going to write about it.

My brother Todd, founder of Trophy Fitness, is helping me train and get back into shape. I decided that if I was going to host the Big Tough Girl 5K that I should be able to run it. We are starting from the very beginning and this stage totally sucks!! I hate starting over and it has been years so we really are starting from the very beginning...but we are taking baby steps and making progress.

My first mile that I have run in over 5 years was a 14 min. mile. It has been one week and my mile time is at 12:20min. My goal that Todd gave me was to run a mile without stopping at speed 5 and no incline. I know that all the runners out there are laughing at me and that is ok, I know it sounds pathetic but you have to start somewhere. As soon as we can get through that (by the first of April is the goal) then we will be on a new workout plan that I will give all the details to at that point.

Ok, that is it for now...the very beginning! Thank you to the runners out there for being so inspiring and for writing about your running adventures!

Now we just need to get John motivated!

These is my Words by Nancy E. Turner

2011-03-21T12:14:00.000-07:00

I have never been a great reader. I have never LOVED it and have always struggled to find books that I could get through. My mother and sister read like crazy and is something that they love very much. I have always wanted to read and finally my sister took charge and decided that she was going to pick all of my books and I had to read them no matter what! So for about a year now she has been picking all of my books. She has introduced me to Twilight, The Host, Night, Hunger Games and several others that I have finished this year.

My most recent read that I just finished today was These is my Words by Nancy E. Turner. It was amazing! Sarah Prine was such an incredible character and I LOVED Capt. Jack Elliot! hubba hubba!!!!

I was so amazed at the strength that they had to just keep pushing on no matter what! It was such a great story and I was left feeling like I was so blessed and should never complain about anything!

I hope you will all read it...it was so amazing! Can't wait to see what Angie picks for me next!

John enters the Temple

2011-03-19T06:32:00.000-07:00

My heart is so full and I am not even sure that I will be able to express how happy I am for John and how blessed I feel. We went through the Salt Lake Temple today for John to take out his endowment. I was so excited and nervous for him. We gatherd all his stuff that he needed and then my mom and dad picked us up and went as our escourts. I am so thankful to my family! They are an amazing support system and I am so grateful to have them. It was such an incredible experience and there were many of us that have never been through SLC Temple so it was kind of new for all of us! We were so lucky to have so much family join us...thank you to all of those that came: Mom, Dad, Tyler, Lindsay, Melanie, Grandma, Landon, Rebecca, Shawna..and Eric.

Eric was one of the missionaries that baptized John in TN and he is here going to school at BYU. He is like family to me and we were so blessed to have him there. I was so proud of him for coming and joining us and it was so special to John.

It was just a wonderful, spiritual, happy day and I can't tell John enough how proud I am...he is amazing and I am so grateful for him and for taking these steps to bless our family. The temple was so amazing and beautiful and I am so grateful that we can go to the House of the Lord and partake of those sacred covenants.

John and Eric Call

Pay Day= Humility

2011-03-18T06:15:00.000-07:00

I have decided to make my blog more like my actual family journal and I think it is important to write about all the things that we have been experiencing so this blog is about to get a little more personal...so be prepared. We have been inspired to write in our journals and keep a family record. I will be printing these in a book every year and I want there to be some substance to it. That is it..that is all the warning I am giving you...onto my post.

Ok, onto payday! It has become one of my LEAST favorite days of the week. Let me explain. I am so thankful for the job that my husband has, and I am so grateful that he has a job during this time. But it is SO SO hard to live and provide and take care of responsibility. I don't know if we are ever prepared enough for what it means to really be an adult and what comes with having a family, kids, home etc. I also think that some people are just better at it than others. I look at other people and think "what are they doing that I am not." I know that we are not supposed to covet but sometimes it is so hard. I feel like John and I live very much within our means but we are still just making it. We struggle pay check to pay check...down to the very last penny.

I shouldn't complain. We are so blessed in so many ways...and I know it is all about money but when the bills pile up and the phone rings off the hook for payments to be made it is tough. I hope that I am not the only one on the planet that struggles with this but sometimes it feels that way. It is really hard because John has other obligations with child support that he pays and it leaves us struggling. I have such a hard time and I am so negetive about it. I know in my heart that he is doing what he feels is the very best but I feel very frustrated when her money comes out first and we have to just make it work with what is left and we struggle and don't have ANY extra for anything else. I keep telling myself that we are doing the right thing and that we will be blessed for our actions...I guess I need to change my heart and my feelings before that would even happen! I am working on it. "This to shall pass" I just hope it is long before John's kids are 18 but I have a sick feeling that it wont....

One thing that we are learning very quickly is the great gift of humility. We have had to be very humble in our dealings. We have had to turn opportunities down, we have to go without, we have to ask for help and none of that is easy...especially for John. It is hard being the head of the household and feeling like you are not providing for your family. He works so hard and I am so proud of him...I keep telling him to keep the faith and that things will be ok...I should really listen to my own advice. Ty is healthy and John and I are happy and that is all that should matter...RIGHT??? Right????

Well, heres to another week, another battle, another struggle.....I will work on changing my attitude. Payday can't get here soon enough.

John is going to the Temple!

2011-03-13T09:21:00.000-07:00

John met with our Bishop today and received his live endowment recommend. We are so excited for John to be able to go through the temple.

We are going for his session on Saturday March 19 @ 10:00am

John has worked so hard and I am so proud of him!! More to come on the temple this weekend!

Thank you to all those who have supported us!

Tweedle on the playground!

2011-03-13T09:09:00.000-07:00

We have a little playground right outside of our apartment complex and it has been so cold that we haven't been able to go outside much and play. It was a beautiful Sunday afternoon today so we decided to take Ty out to play. It was her very first trip to the playground. She was a little bit nervous but she did pretty good. I will be very excited for it to warm up so we can spend some time at the pool and the playground this summer!

St. Patty's Parade at GateWay

2011-03-12T11:39:00.000-08:00

John and I and the Tweedle joined up with Tyler and his family to go to the Patty's Day Parade to watch Olivia and Isabel dance...It was so much fun and we are so glad that we went. The Tweedle had such a GREAT time!!! She was dancing and laughing the whole time!! It was so great!! We took tons and tons of pictures but here are just a few!

The Tweedle

Baby GiGi

That's a horse of a different color!

Daddy and Baby Ty

Olivia and Isabel in the Parade!

The girls after the Parade! They were Awesome!

My and John...we had a great time!

I'm a Caffeine Free Diet Dr. Pepper!

2011-03-11T19:24:00.001-08:00

SheArt Workshop

2011-03-10T20:13:00.000-08:00

I have been taking an amazing class that I love so much by Christy Tomlinson, called the SheArt Workshop. I have learned so much and it has given me a chance to work on canvas which I have never done and I am starting to work more with paints and it has been scary but so much fun! I totally recommend this class if you are looking for a fun new art class...it was NOT expensive and it is a three week online class...tons of great videos and pdf's.

Here is what I have made so far:

SheArt Girl #1. I am working on decorating the Tweedle's bedroom with all pink, black and white using the "Paris" theme. We have darling eiffle tower pictures and fabrics for her quilt, darling chandeliers etc. It is going to be so cute when it is finished....so for my VERY FIRST girl I decided to design a girl in Paris. She was so much fun and I LOVE her!! I am going to attach a great pink ribbon to the canvas and hang her on the wall in Ty's room. She was so much fun and I learned alot about this first girl that I will work on for my next canvas SheArt.

SheArt Girl #2: For my second girl I didn't have another canvas so I found a cheap composition journal that I was going to use for my Spiritual Journal and decided to create my Personal Progress girl. I printed all my text from Sugar Doodle

and then created my girl around the text. She was so much fun and I LOVE going to my journal now to write about my personal progress...this would be a great activity for your Young Women!

This has been such a great class...I can't wait to show you more! Coming next...my Big Tough Girl!

Harry Potter is out of the Closet!

2011-03-07T05:13:00.000-08:00

My family has been calling our Tweedle "Harry Potter" because we have been living in a one bedroom apartment which means....baby Ty has been sleeping in our master closet! I know, I know...it is not as bad as it sounds...what do you do when you don't have the space!? Any way, our lease ended and John and I had the opportunity to transfer into a two bedroom apartment...we feel like we have MILES of space and the Tweedle has her VERY OWN ROOM!! We are so excited and she LOVES it...she knows that it is her own space and she takes off down the hall and runs into her room talking and screaming...she will play in there for awhile...pop out to show me something then it is back in the room again! I have lots of decorating to do but...that will have to wait...it is going to be darling when it is done!....

The Closet!

The Room!