Valentine's Day

I want to say I love Valentine's Day, but in truth, in the 5 years that Jeff and I have been married, it has become a non-holiday. Jeff dislikes it for the overcommercialisation(is that a word?) and the expectation that he HAS to do something over the top romantic and lovey dovey. Jeff is not romantic. At least not in the ways that most people think of when the word "romantic" is said. He has never been one to make huge gestures of love and has only bought me flowers on only a few occasions, one of those occasions being his own birthday. He has never been one to go out of his way to tell me when I look nice. He's not a fan of gift giving when giving gifts is generally expected, such as holidays, anniversaries and birthdays. He doesn't plan dates for us and doesn't really see the nessecity of having them. Despite all this, he tells me and shows me everyday how much he truely does love me.

Example: We had a desperate need to go grocery shopping yesterday and because he had my car all day, I wasn't able to do it before he got home, so we went after dinner. I forgot to wear my belly support belt so by the time we got home I was in a lot of pain and couldn't even bring myself to take a shower, even though I needed one badly. Gross, I know. As soon as the boys were in bed, I got into my pj's, climbed into bed and got out the laptop for a while. Because I have been doing a lot of sewing lately, the house has been a mess and I just haven't had the chance to get it clean. It doesn't help that everytime I do clean, you can't tell within 10 minutes of me finishing unless the boys are sleeping. Anyways, while I was vegging in bed with the laptop, I heard him doing something in the living room. When I asked if he had cleaned the living room he gave me a smirk and replied in the negative. I woke up this morning to find a spotlessly clean living room and he'd cleaned off the washing machine, which was covered in a huge pile of stuff. In my mind, this was probably about the best Valentine's Day present he could have given me. I can't eat chocolate, so that was out, and we're leaving on a 5 day trip to Montana for my sister's wedding in a few days, so I wouldn't have been able to care for any flowers had he decided to get me some.

Before he leaves for work in the morning, whether I'm concious or not, he gives me a kiss and says "I love you." As soon as he comes home from work and detaches the instant cling-ons(aka kids) he comes and gives me a hug and a kiss "hello." If I need him to go to the store before coming home, he'll sometimes pick up a random goodie(such as soy ice cream or cookies) for me to enjoy. I love Orchids, so for our anniversary the last 2 years, he has bought me Orchids and has nurtured them to be spectacularly beautiful. They have never stopped blooming and the blossoms are gorgeous. They sit in the windowsill in our kitchen(and are part of the reason my kids aren't allowed in the kitchen) as a constant reminder of how much that dear man loves me. He has given me pedicures and does such an amazing job of it, I'll never need to pay for one while he is around. He ties my shoes, because I can't reach them anymore. He puts up with my constant sewing messes and rarely says anything, but will start cleaning up if I haven't already. He is such an amazing cook and has whipped up delicious desserts according to my cravings, modified so that I can eat them without getting sick. He happily watches the boys one night a month so I can play Bunco for a couple hours with some friends. He is not the perfect man, but he is the perfect man for me and I can't imagine my life without him. He is my one and only Valentine, for all eternity. :)

Busy busy busy...

This last month has been a whirlwind of activity in our home. The week of Christmas I came down with a nasty cold and was pretty much a slug for the whole week. Yes, a slug, slime included. Thankfully by Christmas Day I was back to feeling almost normal and had about 2 days of energy before I came down with a stomach bug that lasted for about 3 days. That one was mostly just nausia and nothing more, but it was enough to keep me on the couch and lazy. Needless to say, I was very happy when I was finally feeling completely normal and able to give our little home some much needed attention.

Despite being sick the week before, Christmas was great for us. Our Christmas actually started on Wednesday when we were "forced" to go on a much needed date so a couple teenage girls could spend some time with our much adored children. We went to dinner and did some last minute shopping. Sure I felt like I had sludge pouring from my face and I was in a slightly congested fog, but I still had fun with my awesome husband. :) Anyways, on Christmas Eve, just as we were suiting up to head out to the in-law's house, we got ding-dong-ditched. Some very kind and wonderful person or people decided we needed a few more presents under our tree. It really shows us that people are aware of how hard things are for us and that we have a lot of people who care about us. We think we know who it was, but we figure it probably doesn't really matter. We are greatful and we feel such love. It always seems like when we are needing a little extra help, it always shows up in the most unexpected ways and I always feel the Spirit so strongly. I know Heavenly Father is keeping an eye on us. He's not going to forget about us and when we need a little help, He will always send a "Good Samaritan" in our direction. We have been so greatly blessed these last 4 1/2 years and we know that without the Lord's help, we probably wouldn't be where we are now. We make sure to thank Him everyday for all that He has done for us.


One other thing that happened on Christmas Eve was a short visit from my brother Justin and his wife Morgan. Even though we saw them at Thanksgiving, it is always so wonderful when we get to see them again so soon. They are currently living on the farm, so we only see them when we go over there. They were headed to the Seattle area to spend Christmas with Morgan's side of the family. The boys really enjoyed climbing all over Justin and I'm pretty sure he had a great time letting them use him as a jungle gym.

On Christmas day, as soon as we ate our breakfast, we packed up most of the presents and headed back over to Mom and Dad Q's house to open presents and spend the rest of the day with family. Jackson was so excited he was trying to open everything he could get his hands on, whether it was his or not. He was being such a turd, he actually had to sit in time-out a time or two for not listening(not that not listening is anything abnormal for him, I swear his ears are made of lead sometimes). Owen had a blast opening his presents too, but was trying to follow his big brother's bad example and was bound and determined to leave no gift wrapped. Despite all that it was a great day and everyone was very pleased with everything they got. Neither Jeff or I could think of reasonably priced gifts to get eachother, so several days after Christmas we compromised. He'd been wanting a new game for our Wii and I wanted some snap pliers so I could put snaps on the cloth diapers I'm making. Since they were about the same price, we each were able to get what we wanted for Christmas, even it was several days after the actual day :) The boys favorite toys were a couple remote control cars from my sister and a train track set that we gave them. We don't really have a good place to use the cars, but we make do and the boys love every minute the get with them. As for the train track, it is constantly being rerouted and remade and taken apart and knocked over and just overall loved. Not a day has passed without me tripping over some peice of train track. We love Christmas :)

On a sadder note and going back a few days, on the Tuesday before Christmas, my mom called with some very upsetting news. My cousin Eric and his wife Jenny, who are probably the strongest and most amazing people I know, woke to find their 14 month old had died of SIDS during the night. His funeral was on the Tuesday after Christmas and was probably the most uplifting service I can imagine even though I started crying as soon as I walked into the church and saw all the beautiful pictures of Andrew on display. Jenny talked about little Andrew's personality and how his relationships with his siblings were so different, yet so special. I can't exactly remember what Eric talked about, but I know as soon as he stood up, I felt this amazing calm and I felt so comforted. Having met Andrew only a couple times, I know it probably isn't as hard for me as it is for those who knew him better to cope with the loss of such a sweet little boy, but knowing that they have been sealed together as a forever family has brough such comfort to all of us. Eric mentioned that they now have more reason than before to be as Christlike as they can possibly be because they now have someone waiting for them on the other side, someone who will still be very little and will be needing parents to guide him as he grows. After the service, we all went to the cemetary and all the children who were there, released balloons. It was so beautiful and we were so greatful that we were able to attend. Because of the funeral, we were able to spend time with some family members that we don't see often enough. All in all, even though it was very sad, it was also wonderful, if that makes any sense at all.

Our New Years Eve was extremely uneventful. I don't even remember what we did, but on New Years Day, Jeff came down with the cold that I'd had and spent the entire day in bed sleeping. Thankfully, he was able to recover much quicker than I and was back to normal again by the following Tuesday. I think being able to sleep all day without having little people to look after is probably why he was able to get over it quicker than I was. I wish I had that luxury! :)

This last week has been a flurry of fabric, thread and my trusty sewing machine. I've been working on making a pattern for some cloth "pull-ups" because Owen has decided he is ready to use the potty. So far, I've made 3 "prototypes" and I think my first attempt(which I started but didn't finish until today because I though it was useless) was actually the closest to what I'm hoping the finished product will end up like. It's a bit snug, really bulky, and just looks strange, but I think it's usable, as are the other 2 I made. The 3rd one would be super cute if I'd done it just slightly different, but right now I think it looks kinda crappy. I'm just glad that I have snaps to use now instead of using Velcro. I hate Velcro.

Today I had another prenatal appointment and everything looks good. We're measuring a week or 2 ahead of where we should be, but I personally don't think it's going to make a difference. With both Jackson and Owen, my measurements changed so much all the time, I'd be small one month, then big the next, then small the next, then normal, and so on. I learned that going by size just wasn't a good way to determine anything other than that things were progessing as they should be. My babies were still late and will probably always be late, and for this reason I moved my due date back a week so I'm not so anxious when the "time" has come and gone. I know for most women, the second half is the fun half, but for me it's always been the more miserable half. I don't really get much morning sickness, but I get big fast and I'm all out in front. Oh, and my babies all seem to be football players and they think my bladder is their football. Or soccerball, take your pick. Anyways, things look good, baby's heartbeat is around 140 bpm, he's fairly active and hates it when I pick his big brothers up. I guess they squish him just a bit too much when they sit on my belly. Imagine that. We're all getting too big to be picking up or be picked up, so that needs to end anyways. Maybe getting an unexpected kick in the bum will cause big brothers to quit asking to be picked up...:)

Well I hope you'll all forgive me for posting this late, but like I said, the last several weeks have been a bit crazy. Also please excuse the lack of pictures, I gave the camera to Jeff and hoped he'd actually use it for more than a paperweight, but oh well. I guess I'll just be happy with the ones he took, even if I look like a blimp and you can't see the boys faces. I hope you all had a great Christmas and New Years and I hope that you will all be able to keep whatever resolutions you made for the year. Love you all!!

The results are in...

and the verdict is that our baby is most definatly a BOY. There was absolutly no mistaking that the little wiggle worm definatly has parts that are masculine, male, boyish. Why is it that my boys are so obviously boys? Maybe next time we just won't find out because it will more than likely be another boy. Guess I just better get used to stepping on random cars/trucks/napping animals and the color blue. At least with a boy, we're saving a ton of money! I'm a bit of a pack rat and have hung on to almost every peice of clothing that has been giving to us or bought from the time Jackson was an infant, so we're set in that area. We have blankets, but I'm still going to make this little guy his own to love and drag around and I may be crazy, but I'm going to be Cloth Diapering this baby so I've got a lot of diapers to make for him. I've got a lot to keep me busy for now and I'm excited to finally get started on my stuff making. Maybe this time I'll be able to figure my baby shoe pattern out :) If anyone has any ideas what else I could make or if you have a request for me to make something for you or the little person in your life, let me know and I'll get on it! I need to keep busy from here until the baby is born so I don't go crazy with the wait. Love you all and hope you have a wonderful week!!

Thanksgiving

View from my parent's living room window. Under the tree on the left is the milking cow, Molly.

This year for Thanksgiving we were able to spend the entire week in Montana with my entire family. When we left Wenatchee on the 18th, the weather was mild and around 35-40* F. and when we arrived at my parents farm on the 19th(we stopped in Missoula for the night) the temperature was around -15*F with winds about 20-30mph. Needless to say, the boys and I stayed inside for most of the time. Jeff braved the weather several times to help with the chores that needed done, including milking the cow by hand and corralling the calves. Jackson had been talking about helping Nanny and Papa with the cows the entire week before we left, so he got bundled up a couple times and was able to go and "help" with the milking. He loved it and kept asking to go out again, even if it was dark and the wind was blowing hard enough to blow him away. Thankfully, we were able to see the cow out one of the living room windows, so he was able to watch from there a few times when it was time for the others to go out. Owen stayed inside with me most of the time, but by the end of the week, it had warmed up just enough for him to go out without freezing for a few minutes at a time.

Owen and Uncle Aaron sledding

Snuggling in the warm house while watching a movie

Because of the terrible weather, many of the extended family members we usually see at Thanksgiving weren't able to make it, so the crowd was smaller, but just as much fun as always. Because all my siblings were home, we attempted to take some family pictures. We got a few good ones and we got some pretty funny ones, but we weren't able to get all the ones we hoped for. Jen and her fiancee had to go all the way back to Billings and it was already dark, so we did a whole family picture and sent them on their way.

Our drive home was the clearest and the prettiest we have ever seen and we made great time. The roads were clear and dry for most of the way and the only place it was even the least bit slick was going over Roger's Pass in Montana, and even that wasn't bad. There was some snow on the road, but within 5 miles of the summit it had melted and was dry all the way down. Thank goodness for a Heavenly Father who hears and answers our prayers. I am so grateful He takes care of us and keeps us safe when things aren't looking very safe. I hope you had a safe Thankgiving as well and I will update you after my next Dr appointment and let you know when we get to find out if our little bundle of joy is a boy or girl :)

This was almost the best we could get of the 4 1/2 of us :)

My whole family, L-R clockwise

Morgan, Jennifer, Chris, Aaron, Jeff, Nathan, Me, Liz, Jackson, Owen, Dad, Rachel, Mom and Justin

Blood test results!

So it turns out that my funky white blood cell count was just due to the fact that I was indeed very sick when they drew my blood the first time and they came back completely normal this time. Thank goodness. As for my food allergy panel, it looks as if I'm going to have to avoid wheat (but not nessecarily gluten), peanuts, sesame seeds, walnuts(which I don't like anyways) and scallops and hopefully I will start feeling better. I'm not allergic to any of these things, but I am highly sensitive to them and avoiding them will hopefully help me to feel better. Yay for answers! Now to find some replacements for wheat flour...

Appointment #2

Ok, so this is try #3 with this post, so lets hope 3 times the charm. My internet keeps quitting on me for some reason, so I'll make it quick. I took both boys to my appointment with me this month even though I knew Jeff wouldn't be able to come with. I was a bit nervous because my boys get into everything when we go somewhere new for any period of time. When I say everything, I mean EVERYTHING. Nothing is safe from their little fingers. Anyways it went a lot better than I expected and I am happy to report they were both good the entire time. Jackson actually stayed in the waiting room and quietly played with a wooden train set the entire time I was in the exam room. Owen stayed in the stoller and with me, which was as it always is, he wanted to get out and explore. When he was released, exploring is what he did, for a little while at least. It wasn't long and he was back in his restraints.
As for me, so far everything but my white blood cells look good. We aren't sure what's up with them, so they are being retested and if they are still funky when the results come back I'll have to go to a hematologist, or blood specialist, to figure out what the deal is. I'm not sure if it's good or bad or what at this point, so I'm just waiting to see what comes back. Because I've still been feeling not well lately, and I know it's not related to pregnancy, I'm also having a full food allergy pannel done to see if we can pin-point exactly what is making me feel like crap. Baby was hiding so we didn't get to hear the heartbeat for long enough to measure it, but we heard it and that's all that really matters. Anyways, I think that is all I have to report for now. I'll try and let you know what my test results say when I get them but keep me in your prayers until then and just hope that they came back weird because I had a cold and felt terrible at my last appointment. Love you all and hope you are well.

Hair Cut and Pictures

My sweet little baby's curls have all gone bye-bye :( I don't know if I have any good pictures of them on here, but it was definatly time for a hair cut. He would wake up with a literal poof of fuzz on the back of his head that was usually calmed down by his milky covered fingers during breakfast. He definatly liked to play with his hair because it was long enough to play with. All sorts of food stuff went into it and I was nearly tempted to bathe him every single night just because of it, but every other day does just fine :) Now his hair is short and it isn't as soft and he doesn't have ringlets sticking out the sides of his head, but he is still darn stinking cute.

Before haircut. Look at those curls! And the poofiness!

After his hair cut.

The beautiful curls are all gone :(

We can tell his hair is still going to be really curly, which is something I was a little worried about. I've seen little boys and girls with beautiful curls until they get their first haircut, and then the curls just go away. I just love curly hair on babies, don't you? Anyways, here's a few overdue pictures. Enjoy!!

Apparently Bananas with ketchup is pretty good. At least these two think so. Eeeeww!

Cheese!

Dipping it

Ew.

This boy loves his ties.

 

Where's Owen? He's figured out how to put on his own shirt and can occasionally take it off too. Sometimes he even manages to get his pants off.

Boo!

Announcement!!

Hello my loved ones. Now, this is one post I have been purposely putting off and therefore I do not consider it procrastinating. There is an actual reason why I haven't posted sooner, so I know you'll all forgive me, as you have done in the past :) This last week has been a bit of a rough one for me physically. Between being fairly nausiated to having a terrible cold, I've been verging on miserable, but I think I see a light at the end of the tunnel. At least for the cold. The nausia, on the other hand, may be here to stay for a while longer. Yes, it is morning sickness. I had my first doctors appointment yesterday and got to hear the heartbeat, but because I'm seeing a midwife this time, I don't think I'll be getting ultrasounds unless I or the baby need one to make sure everything is alright. The heartbeat is about 164 bpm and I'm around 8 or 9 weeks, which puts me due in early May. Knowing me and how my other babies have been, I have no illusions that this one will be on time or early, so I'll probably end up with either an anniversary baby (our anniversary is the 12th) or a birthday that he/she gets to share with an uncle and a cousin on the 10th. Obviously I'm hoping for a girl, but I think I might come to terms eventually if it turns out to be a boy. At least we have all the stuff already, but I'm a bit girl crazy right now. I need a bit more pink and purple and a few more ruffles in my life. I'm craving red meat all day and Jeff thinks I may be slightly anemic. My bp was lower than it normally is, 90/60 rather than 120/70, but that could be because I've been so sick with this darn cold. So far my nausia hasn't been too bad, but this cold has been overpowering any affects it has had, but now that the cold is starting to subside some, my stomach is churning. Whether it is still the grossness from the cold or something else, only time will tell. I'll try and keep you updated with all that is going on. Good luck and keep safe. I love you all.

Home again...

Once again we've just returned from a wonderful trip to Montana, although it seems we took the bad weather with us only to bring it back to Washington again. The weekend was supposed to be the perfect temp, highs in the 80's, lows in the 70's, but instead I don't think it got above 65 the entire time we were there. Thank goodness we didn't actually go camping, even though we slept in my parent's 5th wheel. Despite the chill, I think we all enjoyed ourselves.

Jackson was outside as much as I allowed him to be, which was pretty much all day every day except Sunday. I got a call from my brother one of those days asking if I knew where Jackson's shoes were. Apparently he'd wandered down to the shop in his socks even though I'd just told him to put his shoes on before he went back out. Silly boy. Even though it was pretty muddy, his socks weren't in too bad of shape. A little dirty, but not completely ruined as I expected.

Jeff was out with the guys doing target practice or trying to help where he could. I rarely saw him any time other than first thing in the morning, when it was time to eat and when the rest of the guys came in for the night. I'm so glad I packed some grungy-er clothes for him because he got filthy doing all his manly-man things.

Owen entertained himself chasing my mom's chi-weiner(dachound/chihuahua, but mostly a wuss) around the house and giggling. Oh and he got into EVERYTHING! I cannot even begin to tell you how many times I found him behind my dad's recliner with a pile of movies and a portable dvd player he'd found, trying to watch a movie, yet when we'd put one in for him, he'd be off to do something new in 10 seconds. What a silly little boy. And so busy!

I mostly just hung out with the girls, attempting to help with whatever needed done around the house, or with the many quilt projects that were going on or sneaking in a few minutes of uninterrupted reading. I finished to book I started the last time we were there and figured out what I'm going to do for Owen's quilt. I was even able to raid my mom's fabric stash for some fabric that will hopefully work with what I already have.

We had the camera with us, but my mind has been a jumble of too many things that I need to get done, and because I somehow become the offical photagrapher when we go anywhere, it was only taken out once or twice. I hoped we would be able to get some family pictures done, but because Jeff was gross the whole time and it was either windy, rainy or just plain cold until the last day we were there, we never got the chance to. It didn't help that I planned for warm weather and we ran out of long pants for the boys to wear and all the had left were shorts. At least we had some long pants so Jackson could play to his hearts content. We are all happy to be home now, but we seem to have brought a bug home with us. Poor Owen has a runny nose and sore throat and is just feeling yucky and I'm heading in the same direction. Yuck. Anyways, I hope you all had a wonderful Labor Day weekend too! Till next time :)

Ok, ok...

Once again, who is a slacker? That would be me. I can't tell you how many times I get on here only to realise there are so many other things that need my attention and my blog seems to come in last. Doesn't help that the boys think that when I get the laptop out it's suddenly time to be in mommy's face and ask over and over again, whatchya doin mommy? or try and get up in my lap. Oh those boys. Good thing I love them :)

Anyways, this last month has been full of joy and full of tears for me. Much has happened and I think I'm stronger for it. I've had a couple fairly personal trials that many know about but that I don't feel comfortable sharing with the world of blogging. By far the best news has been that my older sister has finally found the man of her dreams. Though this news came on the hardest day I had, it cheered me up so much and made such a dreary day so bright and wonderful.

We were able to make a quick weekend trip to Montana to meet the man and to see everyone together. For the first time since before my little brother went on his mission, the entire family was in the same place at the same time, even if it was for a few short hours. Unfortunatly we weren't able to get a picture of everyone because those hours were in the middle of the night. Despite the trip being a short one, we had a blast spending time together and I can't wait to see everyone again. It seems like we never get to see them enough and we savor it when we are able to spent some time with them.

As for a family update, we are doing well. The boys are growing and they seem to be thriving. Jackson is nearing the end of potty training and is now fully in underwear with little to no accidents daily. We don't have a problem with him going potty at night because he is somehow able to hold it until morning. Hopefully that means we'll skip the bedwetting and not have to worry too much about it. He is quite the chatterbox and will talk the ear off a donkey given the chance. I am still constantly amazed at what comes out of his mouth and I can tell his imagination is really starting to grow. He likes to pretend and will tell me really random things or give me imaginary objects and tell me what I need to do with them. His current favorite things are chewing on random things, riding his bike and getting into anything and everything he can reach, even if it means climbing to reach the desired objects. He is such a little smarty pants and thinks very much like a boy, if you know what I mean. He can count to 10(usually skips 5 though) and can sing the ABC's song(with some of the letters a little mushed together) but he is more physical in his thinking and learning. If he cannot reach something, he will find himself something to stand on or he will try to remove whatever is blocking his path. He knows exactly how to work the tv and the blu-ray player(though he's not supposed to touch either on) and he is always trying to figure out how to work the other electronics in our home. He is definatly a hands on learner and if he sees you do something, he will most definatly try to copy you. He is always asking me questions like "What are you doing, mommy?" or "What's that Mommy?" even when he already knows the answer. Like I was at his age, his curiosity is incredible and he wants to know about everything. I have a hard time keeping up with him sometimes and would love to find better ways to help his imagination and curiosity grow.

Can you tell he's so excited his quilt is FINALLY finished?

Owen is almost 18 months and had his first time in Nursery last Sunday. I was super occupied in Primary and only heard him crying once, but other than that he seemed to have a good time. I think it helps that big brother is in there with him for now. He isn't offically old enough until the beginning of September, but I was a little stressed and Jeff is usually late coming to get him from me before church. Like his big brother, Owen too likes to chat up a storm though his vocabulary obviously has a long way to go before much of what he says is recognizable as actual words. His favorite things are his belly button(he always has his finger in it) following his brother around and randomly emitting high pitched screams just to see what we'll do about it. He is definatly entering into the terrible two's and I have to deal with daily fits that consist of him throwing himself backwards with or without me there to make sure he doesn't wack his head on things. This is usually accompanied by the high pitch screaming as well and usually results in crying and more screaming or screetching when he does land on something harder than the floor. He is also trying to become sneaky and if he knows he has something he's not supposed to have, he will try to hide it from me or run away as fast as his chubbly little legs can take him. I know it probably shouldn't, but I find his little fits highly amusing and have a hard time keeping a straight face when I should be getting after him. He's just so cute I can't help it :)

Helping out on the farm

I seem to be almost unchanging in the way I do things. My body, on the other hand, is changing of it's own accord. Remember me talking about that dairy free diet I was on? Well, it turns out that avoiding dairy has done more for me that just helping me feel better and get though the day without intestinal upset. In the 3 months since I first decided to make the change I have lost about 25lbs. All the other things I have tried, the wieght loss tips, the working out, the eating less, none of it has given me the results I've been looking for and the one change that I was so dreading and that has by far been the hardest, was the one that has made all the difference. I can't tell you how good it feels to have someone I haven't seen in a while take a double look and say to me, "You look good, have you lost weight?" I honestly don't see the results when I look in the mirror and didn't even realise I'd lost that much until I stepped on the scale at the dr's office. I was shocked. Surprised. In awe that something seemingly so insignificant to others has imacted my life so thoroughly. I feel better. I'm able to wear clothes that have been hiding under the bed since before I had Jackson and Owen. The downside though is that all my other clothes seem to fall off my behind now. We went shopping for some summery clothes about 2 weeks after I quit eating all things dairy and couldn't understand why, after a few weeks, they all suddenly seemed to be too big. I guess I'll just have some clothes to wear after our next baby :) So all in all, it is more clear now that ever that blessings will come through trials, we just have to look for them sometimes. Oh and another change for me, I highlighted my hair, so now my hair color really matches my personality :)

As for Jeff, he is as hardworking as ever. Between work, church and school I feel lucky to even be able to say Hi to him somedays. Right now he isn't actually attending any classes, but he will be starting again soon. Since he was accepted to BYU-Idaho but we aren't able to move down there just yet, he is planning on taking some online classes for this fall. We are still waiting to hear if he has been accepted into the nursing program for January and we probably won't find out until mid-November at the soonest. It is frustrating not knowing where our lives are going to be heading in the next 6 months and it's really hard to make any definate plans when our answers seem to take a long time to come. I don't know what his plan is, but my tenitive plan is to be moving to Rexburg, Idaho come January. I'm not looking forward to moving a household of things in the dead of winter, but I don't think we'll have much choice. If anyone can help me out with apartment hunting, specifically for subsidized housing as neither of us will have a job when we get there, please let me know. I've found a few places online, but the information and pictures are hard to find and don't really give details. I figure we better get our applications in now so we'll have a place to move into if we do end up down there, which I really think we will. Anyways, I hope you all stay safe until I'm able to get on here again. Love you all and hope you are well. Thanks for reading my rantings :)

I love this man!!!

Owen hanging out with Auntie Liz

Jackson found one of Papa's many "tractors"

Owen hanging out with Uncle Aaron

Dad aka Papa working hard

Uncles Aaron and Nathan hardly working :) They claim this is their better side! Personally I think the other side is less dangerous.

Vroom Vroom!!

My beautiful sister, my crazy husband and me. Aren't we adorable?

Owen got to take a ride with Auntie Liz and Uncle Nathan. He had a blast.

Jackson was glad when we finally got home.

Celebration time!!!!

Yes!!! I have finally finished the never-ending quilt!! I totally couldn't wait to get on here and announce it to the world. I'll take pictures after it's all washed and ready to but put on a bed and loved to death. Anyways, that's all. Love you all!!

~Melissa

Long time comin...

Happy Birthday Jackson!!

We had a birthday party for Jackson on the 13th and I've been meaning to get on here and post pictures from it, but life has been a little crazy, as always. His actual birthday was on the 21st and we made sure we did a little something, just the 4 of us, to celebrate it. Happy Birthday just happens to be one of his favorite songs and he's been singing it for about a month. I wish I had newborn, 1 year and 2 year pictures to post on here along with his birthday pictures, but they are all on CD and it's too late for me to have the willpower to go through all of them right now. If you really want to see some, check out my facebook. They make me cry. I can't believe my baby is already 3 years old. Seems like only yesterday I found out I was pregnant...sniff... anyways, enjoy the following overload of pictures. Love you all.

Fishing pole and hat from Grandpa

Have I told you Jackson loves broccoli? It's one of his favorite foods. Aunt Krissy, Uncle Jake, and Cousins Brayden and Kira gave him this adorable outfit, the following gun and spinners and an awesome little ball that you can see in the picture of him eating his pre-birthday cupcake below.

The gun has been used to "shoot" people and is now in permanant time out whereas the spinners are being used as great chew toys by both boys :)

The awesome pool we got him for his birthday and it didn't cost an arm and leg. Plus, both boys love it and have a ton of fun playing with it. Thank goodness we have a battery operated pump so I don't pass out from trying to blow it up.

Yummy pre-birthday cupcakes! PS Cupcakes are much easier to send with people than slices of cake and you can decorate them so cute! :)

Have a great month everyone!

I Know...

Yeah, I'm a slacker. Sorry all. I've been trying to avoid the computer in hopes of actually getting something done, but I'm not sure how succesful I've been. Whatever I manage to do quickly comes undone around here. Example, last night I cleaned and vacuumed before dinner so that it would be nice and clean when Jeff got home and before I went to my game night with the girls. Before breakfast this morning, it already looked like a hurracane had blown though our tiny living room. Our kitchen only stays clean from one meal to the next and I honestly don't feel like I have the time to clean it up every single time I make a meal. As soon as the boys are done eating it's time to play and I feel like a constant referee making sure no one is getting hurt or is hurting someone else. When I finally feel like I can breathe again, I'm starving and have to go and make myself something to eat as well before I faint of low blood sugar or something. While I'm eating, I've got 2 boys trying to take my drink, steal my food or just sit on my lap and poke at whatever I'm eating or me(Owen is facinated with 'beeping' noses and poking eyes while saying 'eye'). Naptime is the one and only time it is actually quiet around here and it's usually when I'm finally able to get some lunch(2 hours after the boys) and sit for a few minutes before the chaos starts up all over again. Also during naptime, I have to decide what I need to get done before my attention is once again demanded, like clean the living room (again), do as many dishes as I can, pull out one of my many sewing projects for a few unbothered minutes of peacful sewing, or do absolutly nothing. Today, I obviously chose do nothing. I ate my leftover meatloaf and am now devoting my time and attention to this blog. Lets just hope Jackson takes a longer nap than yesterdays which only lasted 20 minutes. Ugh.

The last couple weeks have been chaos on top of the usual chaos, and that is the other reason I haven't posted for a while. All of last week I was feverishly working on making some bean bag chairs so that we could play our new wii in comfort instead of the akwardness we've been playing in. I was hoping to be done by Thursday or Friday but quickly realised that wasn't going to happen when I had to undo and redo many of the seams I'd worked so hard to finish. The first chair ended up being more like a lovesak and was way too big for the small amount of space we have, so I had to rework the entire pattern and make it much smaller, but not too small. Jeff's butt needs to fit comfortably and have a bit of back support as well. Lining 1 is done, filled and currently the boys favorite toy. Lining 2, cover 1 and cover 2 are all in varying stages of doneness and hiding in my sewing closet, waiting for me to have the willpower to pull them back out and finish them. I hate putting unfinished projects away because I either forget about them or I move on to something new and never finish them. I can't tell you how many unfinished projects I have in the closet, but I know there are several. The boys hate it when I sew and that is part of the reason I don't do it as often as I'd like to. Jeff complains that I make a huge mess with thread, but really that's the boys getting into the ziplock bag I've pinned to the wall as my makeshift sewing garbage bag. He also complains that when I'm sewing I lose track of time, but that is only beause I want to get as close to being done as I can before my poor project is condemned to the closet once again. My house turns into a mess, my back aches, the boys(all 3) grouch and moan and complain and I feel like it's not worth it. Someday I will have a sewing room with a lock so I can leave things where they are and not have to put anything I'm working on away and I can shut the door so no body bothers anything and not have to worry about someone climbing on a chair and changing all the settings on my machine when my back is turned. Oh and not have to worry about little people crawling under the table and playing with the foot pedel when I'm trying to line something up before I start sewing. I'm lucky I still have all my fingers.

Anyways, I started this blog to keep in touch with friends and family, but it seems to have turned into my personal venting place with a few family updates thrown in and a few random pictures. I'll try to do better, but for now naptime is over and the babies are calling. Until next time, make sure your projects are easily finished and keep the kiddos away from the machines. Love you all!

~Melissa

My new diet...

is not a fad. For as long as I can remember, I've had cronic stomach aches and it wasn't unusal for me to have not only daily acid indigestion but severe stomach cramping, (sorry if tmi) diarrea after meals, most often dinner, and horrible clear-the-room gas. I've had several people suggest I try this or I try that or that that I might have this problem or that problem, but seeing as I currently do not have any heath insurance whatsoever, I have been unable to have any tests run to find out exactly what the problem is. I did try while I was at BYU-Idaho to have my problem diagonsed, but the doctors at the clinic were unhelpful and uninformitive.

A couple weeks ago I was able to attend Time Out for Women with a couple of my aunts, sisters and my mom. I got to ride there with one of my aunts who happens to be a nurse and she was telling me that she has had some of the same problems and she knows several of our family members also have issues along the same lines. She suggested, as other before her have, that I go on a dairy free diet for 2 weeks to see if that was possibly the problem and also try a daily antacid such as Prilosec, which you can now get otc. She also suggested that if that didn't work I should try a Gluten free diet to see if that was possibly the problem. 

Before I took her advice I did a ton of research about not only lactose intolerance, but acid ingestion, heartburn, IBS and a couple other digestive related issues and was surprised to find out they all pretty much go hand in hand. So that convinced me that I needed to do something. I was sick of living in near constant pain from the acid and avoiding not only foods but certain smells that were bound to make my stomach churn and hurt even more.

I decided to first try the diary free diet, which sounded much easier than going gluten free. In order to do so, I had to make sure that anything I would normally eat was free of any dairy products or by products. I am amazed at how much I ate that had dairy in it and ended up buying some interesting things, some good, others not so much. I immediatly noticed a huge difference in how I felt. For the first time in I don't know how long, I spent the entire day without a stomach ache of any kind. It was amazing and I felt so good I think I might have cried.

I am one of those people who could drink an entire gallon of milk in a day if I didn't have any self control. I love milk and cheese and sour cream and butter and cream cheese and all other dairy things. They are like heaven to my tastebuds and realising that eating them was making me sick broke my heart but at the same time I was a little relieved. I now know what a big part of my problem is, but sticking to a strict dairy free diet isn't going to be easy for me.

I admit I have cheated a couple times and have been sharply chastised for my weakness by my intensly angry digestive tract. I've found a soy milk that is palateable and that I actually like as well as a cream cheese that works for what I need. Finding something to replace the large amounts of cheese, butter and sour cream I would normally consume has been a bit of a trial, but I know it's out there. I just have to find it.

Oh and on the worst day last week, the boys had been driving me insane all day and I was feeling really down and really craving some serious chocolate, I had a complete meltdown after I'd sent Jeff to the store for groceries. Who'd have thought that not being able to have chocolate would create hysterics in my kitchen? Well there I was trying to get dinner on and compose myself, when Jeff came home and promply presented me with a pint of SoyDream Turtle Icecream, completely dairy free and full of caramel and chocolate. Needless to say, I started bawling again. I hadn't told him that I was having such a rough day, so he had no idea what I was feeling and was baffled as to why I was bawling all over him about ice cream. When I explained, he said he'd had a really strong feeling that he needed to get it for me. I am so glad he did because it was just what I needed and it helped me to realise not only is my dear sweet annoying husband looking out for me, so is my Heavenly Father. He knows and understands how hard this is for me and inspired my husband to provide me with the love and support I was needing so bad.

Ever since then I have been looking even harder for suitable subsitutes for my favorite foods and have found a wide source of information on the web. I ordered myself a dairy free cookbook and and anxiously awaiting its arrival so I can start cooking up delicious dairy free things for my family. Jeff's not too keen on going completely dairy free, so I've told him he's welcome to continue eating and drinking anything he wants, but whatever I make from now on will be dairy free so that I don't get sick. I refuse to make seperate meals for everyone. I think that is just ridiculous. The only time I did was when the boys were too little to eat whatever we were having.

We will keep regular milk, butter, sour cream ect on hand for him and the boys and I will continue to search for alternitives that we can all be happy with so that we can eat as a family. I'm hoping it is only going to get easier and I'm trying to be optomistic, but for now I'm just trying to make it day to day. Man I'm sick of tuna fish sandwiches, but I'm sure I'll get better at making a nutritious lunch for myself that won't make me sick. Until next time, stay heathy, stay optomisitc, and enjoy your icecream and chocolate!

Happy Anniversary!

Today is the 4th anniversary of the day Jeff and I were sealed for time and all eternity. So much has happened in these last 4 years, but it still seems as if time has just flown by. I love that man more now than I did when we were just newlyweds and it seems with every day my love grows stronger. Well, I guess on the days when he drives me insane that love stands still for a bit. He drives me crazy and annoys the heck out of me, but I still can't get enough of that rarely-clean-shaven-face and those beautiful blue eyes. We aren't doing anything special today just because Jeff won't be home until almost 8pm tonight, but hopefully we'll do something this weekend. Hope you all have a wonderful day!

Oh Montana...

I do love you. I love you so much, I decided I needed to live on Montana Street in Washington State. But, I have decided that never again will I try to visit your beauty without my dear husband. Don't get me wrong, thing went much better than planned until the day came for us to go home. Montana didn't want us to leave and I got really sick and spent a day and a half feeling like I was going to die. It wouldn't have been so bad except Mom and Racheal got deathly sick as well and there was no one to take care of us or watch the boys for most of the day. It was awful and just about the worst sickness I've ever had. Thankfully, I was recovered enough after 3 days I was just able to make it home, but I pushed myself too hard on the way home and relapsed the next day. Over a week later and I am still feeling the effects of it, but that could be partly due to the weekend I just had. I had the opportunity to go to Time Out For Women in Spokane with a couple of my aunts, sisters and mom. It was wonderful, but I am completely exhausted. I know this is short, but I don't have the energy or willpower to write anymore, so I'll leave you with these delightful pictures of our time in Montana. Love you all and I hope you are doing well!

What I woke up to at 6am the morning we left. Maybe this should have been my sign to stay home, but all things considered I'm really glad we did go.

He's getting to be such a big boy! No, he can't actually work the tractor on his own yet, he had help getting up there.

Cake time! Liz's birthday was on Friday the 16th, but we didn't get to celebrate it until Sunday night because of Stake Conference. Morgan, Justin's wife, made her an ice cream cake that was really yummy :)

My Daddy

Uncle Aaron, fresh off his mission! He left for his first semester at BYU-Idaho on Monday the 19th and was as sick as we were on the first day of classes. Fun stuff.

Guess what! No, I'm not finished yet, but I am one step closer! I have a half a monkey left and Jackson's name and then I'm completely done. I just have to find the bag with my thread in it...

They loved this! Owen would climb in there by himself and Jackson would pull him around.

This is what Jackson did while I was bringing myself back from the dead. He made a friend and kept himself out of too much trouble. I was so proud of him for being so good while I wasn't feeling so hot.

So much for getting things washed, folded and packed nicely. Of course my human tornado would find it and make short work of it. I love my baby.