All About The Tanners

Sweet Memories

2011-09-02T10:45:00.002-06:00

The time has been going by so fast. I feel like there are so many things I want to write down or record before I forget them, but the days are so packed and go by so fast, I never quite find the time. So I thought I'd take a couple minutes to write a few things quickly. It may not be as eloquent as I would like, but hopefully when I read this later it will remind me how sweet and wonderful my little ones are.

So here are a few thoughts about each of my angels.

Sarah. Here are a couple recent pictures of her that are my favorites.

Sarah starts preschool this year, but not until Sept. 6th. Ashley and Ty started back to school on Aug. 22nd. Sarah of course thought she was starting that day too, and she got all dressed and even got her lunch box packed and ready to go. It was hard to tell her she couldn't go to school, she didn't quite understand why she couldn't start that day too. It was sad, but I'm happy to know that she is so excited for school!

Sarah says the funniest things. Here's something she said last February:
Sarah: "Mom...what if all the dinosaurs were dead?"
Me: "Well, honey, they are all dead."
Sarah: "What?! Who shot them?!!"

Sarah has a unique ability to make me laugh and to make me cry. She is so smart. She learned her letter sounds when she was 2 years old. She loves to write her letters and is already starting to try to read. Her smarts can get her into a lot of trouble though. She is so independent, since she was just little she often escapes and goes where she wants. When she was just two, I think, she escaped once while I was on a phone call and went down the road where a neighbor driving home saw her and took her home so she wouldn't get hurt. They called me to say they had Ashley, but I knew that wasn't true, I said surprised, "Do you mean Sarah?!" I didn't even know she had gone, so I immediately drove up to their house, only to see police cars there. Sarah was sitting on the couch next to my neighbor, while the police asked me some questions, and she didn't even come over to me. When they were done, the neighbor said to me, in a very condescending tone, "She said she's hungry." Well, that's because I let her wander the streets and don't feed her, I felt like saying. Anyway, it was embarrassing and scary to say the least. When I think how quickly she could have gotten down to Fort Union Blvd., a very major road, I was so grateful for my neighbor, despite her response. I tried to come up with ways to contain Sarah, but she is hard to contain. For awhile she would disappear and go visit Nyandang, our next door neighbor. She loved to go ring their doorbell and visit for the few minutes it would take me to realize she was gone.

That's one thing about Sarah. She has no fear. She will just jump into the pool whether you are looking or not, even though she can't really swim. She will talk to anybody and is not intimidated by any adult at all. If they say hi to her, she will respond, "Hi, I'm Sarah. I'm four. When I turn five, I get to get my ears pierced. This is my brother, Ted. He's one and has teeth." I love that she is not shy. None of my kids are. I was so shy as a kid, so I am so grateful they are not.

The fact that Sarah has no fear makes it difficult to discipline her. She really is unaffected by any punishment at all. Even from her dad. Brent has a look that even I would be afraid of. Not Sarah. When she was just learning to talk, Ashley taught her to say, "Shut up." (Yes, thank you Ashley. She now regrets that too.) Sarah would go around telling us to "Shup." As she got older, she learned even more delightful words. One time when Brent was disciplining her, he was trying to be very stern to get across the seriousness of her offense. He gave her a very stern look as he finished scolding her. Sarah just looked directly at him and very deliberately said, "Shup....jerk." How do you respond to that? We are still trying to figure out what to do with Sarah sometimes.

For all the anger and frustration Sarah can cause me (she has a way of constantly creating havoc and messes, and has "flogged the toilet" as she puts it, too many times to count), she is a real sweetheart too. She loves to give presents. Last year I watched my nephew, Jack, in the mornings and took him to Kindergarten each day. When Aunt Kim would come in to drop Jack off, Sarah would run off exclaiming, "I have a present for you!" She would return with something she drew or a toy and always wanted to give Kim a present. Every time I say we are going to go see someone that day, she gets into my drawer for a gift bag and tissue and wraps up some thing she has made for them. It really is a sweet thing.

When I was about five, I remember that I began to understand that I would one day die. I didn't want to die and I remember once laying on the floor beside my parents' bed crying and saying, "I don't want to die, I don't want to die." Sarah must have started to have similar realizations, but she had a different response that I like. Sarah didn't cry, she just said, "I want to live!"

While driving to dance last Wednesday, I looked back to see if Sarah had her seat belt on. She asked me what I was doing, and I told her I was just checking to see if her seat belt was on. She said, "Cuz you don't want me to die?" I said yes, I don't want her to die and she started going on about how if she died I would be sad. I agreed and she said, "Then you'd have to bury me and put on my grave, 'Poor Sarah is dead.'" I had to laugh a bit at the thought of putting that on her grave stone.

Ted

This is a funny look he gives you sometimes when you smile at him. It cracks me up.

The other night he came walking towards me with his blanket over his head like a little ghost. It was so cute! I love seeing him discover new things and seeing his personality come out more and more.

Ted is my little sweetheart. My nickname for him is "Teddy Bear." I can't believe he is already 18 months old! Here are some of my favorite things about Ted, things I hope to always remember.

When Ted was born, he broke my tailbone, so I couldn't feed him sitting down, I had to lay in my bed. I would just keep him there all night usually to make things easier. One of my favorite memories of him when he was not too old, was that when he would wake up in the morning, he would fuss and I would feed him, and then he'd spring up all happy and crawl over to his Daddy, who was usually lying on his side, facing the other way. Ted would pull up onto his arm and start hitting it or his head over and over, saying, "Hi, hi, hi, hi," until he got a response from Brent. It was too cute.

I have a lullaby I have sung to each of my children to put them to sleep--"Baby Mine" from the Dumbo movie. It is always so sweet when they start singing along with me. Ty will still sing along with me, or have me sing it to him, when he needs a little comfort. I remember Sarah singing it with me when I would put her to bed, her sweet little voice chiming along. Now it is Ted's favorite song. He started to sing along quite early it seems, of course not with perfect words, but I could tell what he was singing. He often starts to sing the tune when he wants me to sing it with him. He kind of just gets the first sounds of each word and it is funny to hear his raspy little voice draw out each sound as he sings along with me. It absolutely melts my heart. I love how often he starts singing it, waiting for me to join in, as if that is his way to ask me to sing it to him. It is the sweetest thing. It's fun to hear my older kids sing this lullaby to Ted too.

There are two things that will get Ted to come running to you when he hears them. One is the bath. Whenever he hears Dad start the water in the bath, he comes running and wants to get in too. (Of course that applies to each of my kids, except poor Ashley now, who is officially too big to join everyone in the bath.) The other thing that gets Ted to come is the vacuum. It is the funniest thing. Every time I start vacuuming, sure enough Ted shows up, stands a few feet in front of me like he's daring the vacuum to come get him. As I move the vacuum towards his feet, he squeals with laughter and steps backwards, letting the vacuum "chase" him. It is so funny how much he loves this!

Another thing Ted loves is shoes! No one's shoes are safe if they are left out. Ted will put anyone's shoes on, it doesn't matter if they are high heels or Dad's huge dress shoes. He loves to walk around in other people's shoes and will even steal visitor's shoes if he gets the chance.

Another game Ted has discovered is hiding under the covers. He loves to tunnel under our big down comforter and hide, waiting anxiously for someone to lift the covers and yell, "Peek-a-boo!" He just laughs and laughs and can't get enough.

As Ted has gotten older, he's become more expressive. He hasn't picked up on saying, "No!" yet, thank goodness, but he has started to ask, "Why?" Whenever I tell him he can't do something or touch something, he replies with the funniest little raspy, "Why?" His little voice will break in the middle of it and it is the funniest thing. It sounds like he is a whiny teenager asking why they can't do something. It cracks me up that he picked that up before other words.

Something else he does that makes me laugh is that whenever you do something he doesn't like, he raises his hand behind his head like he is getting ready to hit you or throw something at you. It's almost like he does it as a threat, like he's telling you you better do what he wants or.... Sometimes he has actually tried to hit us, but usually he just raises his threatening hand and stares us down. I love seeing him start to assert his independence. It is so funny and makes me wonder what is going on in that little mind of his.

Ty

Ty has to be one of the absolute sweetest boys I know. Everyone loves Ty. It's easy. He is sweet, unassuming, so positive, happy, and kind. He does not judge others. If they will play with him, especially if they are willing to play army, he is their friend. His uncle Scott has often said that if his son Ryan turns out like Ty that he will be the proudest father ever. Friends' parents love to have him over. One parent told us, who has four boys, that their house is a little happier and calmer and the boys get along better whenever Ty is there. One friend's family affectionately calls him, "Tiny Tim." His teachers all love him and say he is one of their favorite students because of his sweet, positive attitude and how hard he tries at everything.

Some favorite things about Ty are the way he says some words. He still says "macation" for "vacation." He wanted to go to "Doon Dogs" for his birthday this year, a.k.a. "Boondocks." For the longest time he would say, "Brudder" for "brother." When he started school, I knew I would need to really start correcting him on these things, but I just couldn't with some of my favorites. I liked the Ty pronunciation better than the real one. I guess I just hated to think that he would one day grow out of it and say everything right and that one day his sweet, little, sometimes squeaky voice will get deeper. I will miss that little voice.

In kindergarten, Ty met a little girl named Olivia. Actually, the first day of kindergarten I got to meet her dad first when he pulled me over for taking too quick of a left turn in front of his police car as I was hurriedly trying to get Ty to school. (How embarrassing!) Luckily, her dad happened to be taking Olivia to her first day also, or he might have been more apt to give me a ticket! Well, Ty got to know Olivia and it has been true love ever since. One day I asked Ty why he loved Olivia. He thought for a second, and said, "She's kind, and nice and beautiful. She's the best person I know." Just now as I was writing this, Ty starting drawing a picture of a butterfly. He said, "Mom, guess who this picture is for?" I answered, "Olivia?" "Yep!" He then went on to tell me that she likes it when he gives her pictures and then she talks to him more. "I love her voice. It sounds so cute to me. Every day I just want to hear her voice," he said. Awwwww. He's the sweetest little guy.

For some reason in 2nd grade while Ty was learning to read, all the books were trying too hard to be politically correct. Every name was some Hispanic, African, or other ethnic name. For a little boy struggling to learn to read, "Tom" or "Jane" would have been much easier. Instead there was "Berto" and "Jamaica." Every time he saw "Jamaica" he would read it "Jamocha." Every time he saw "Berto" he would read "Burrito." I started to get a little frustrated that they made the names so difficult for him, but the more he read it wrong, I had to laugh. It reminded me of a favorite song of ours and I started to sing, "Jamaica, Jamocha, Berto, Burrito, let's call the whole thing off!"

Speaking of that song, that used to be one of Sarah's favorites. She loved to sing it. All I would have to do is sing, "Tomato..." and she'd chime in, "tomato." I'd sing "Potato..." and she'd chime in, "tomato." She never did pick up on "potato." But she sure loved that song.

Here's another funny reading story about Ty that I wrote on Facebook last February:
The other night Ty had to read a story about the Inuits and he just could not remember that word. It repeated over and over in the story and each time he would try to figure it out, but I'd have to keep reminding him "Inuit." I was getting a little impatient until he came to that word again and read, "Narf-u-dah." I just busted up laughing. How he got that for "Inuit" is beyond me, but we both had a good laugh.

Ashley

Ashley is only 9, but to talk to her you would think she was much older. This girl has got ambition. She has set the bar high for herself. She plans to go to college, serve a mission, marry in the temple, invent the first water powered engine, be a lawyer, and be the first female President of the United States. I know! I get tired just writing it!

How did she come to these goals? Well, one day, she sweetly told her mom that she was a good example to her and she wanted to make all the same decisions she did--thus the college, mission and temple marriage. :)
Her dad inspired her to make the water powered engine as they were one day discussing cars and gas prices. Ashley said, "I'm going to invent an engine that runs off water!" Brent said, "If you did, you'd be the richest person in the world." Well that cemented that resolve in Ashley's mind! (She really wants an iPod Touch, after all!)

Being a lawyer was a natural extension of Ashley's personality. She LOVES to read. She will read for hours and has an awesome memory. Ashley remembers who gave her each gift and for what occasion. She has done that since I can remember, it is amazing. Ashley is also very argumentative. Not in a negative way, she just questions everything or has a retort for whatever I may say. One day I said, "Ashley, you should be a lawyer!" As Brent and I actually began to think about it, we began listing the qualities that would make her a great lawyer, and it became obvious to all of us that she seemed made for it. Her grandpa and uncle are both lawyers and she loves and admires them both, so she was pretty excited about that idea.

The President idea came from being forced to listen to talk radio with mom. I listen often when we are in the car and Ashley from an early age began to ask questions about people and ideas and so I would have political discussions with her. She would get so frustrated about certain things and want to change them. So she decided she wanted to be President so she could do something about it! I love that Ashley already cares about politics and what is going on in this great nation. I think this is a very unique quality for a 9 year old. I have to wonder what the future does hold for her, as she seems uniquely prepared for something great.    Brent once told her that the President doesn't really have much power, that the Supreme Court is where she could really make a difference. That made her think a bit about which she'd prefer. Whatever she does, I'm sure she will make a difference for good.

Another quality about Ashley that is unique is her conscience and understanding. As my other kids have gotten older, or reached certain ages, I have really noticed how unique Ashley is in this respect. When Ashley was not much older than Ted, Brent was having a lot of back pain, but had to wait to get surgery, so he was taking a lot of pain pills. Sometimes, those pills or others would fall on the floor. Ashley was so little and I was so worried that she might eat one, that I taught her what his pills looked like and told her that if she ever saw one, she must bring it to Mommy and never put it in her mouth. There were a couple times that she did just that. I didn't realize how remarkable this was until Ty and Sarah got to be the same age and I realized that they might not have been capable of understanding that or doing the same.

Even as they have reached other ages when Ashley understood certain things or did certain things, I've been amazed that Ashley did that at that same age. Sarah is almost five. That is when I let them get their ears pierced. Sarah can't wait, but it's hard for me to believe she is the same age Ashley was. Ashley seemed so much more responsible then. I really can't imagine Sarah taking responsibility to twist her studs and put on the ear care solution. And yet, Ashley did just that. Ashley was also not much older than Sarah when we began having "the talk" in age appropriate doses. Over the years we've had more in depth conversations about why we don't have sex before marriage, about the no-win situation of having a baby out of wedlock, about why I pray she will do all these things in the proper order. Ashley does understand and is easy to talk to about these things. Ty is 8 and still seems too young to truly understand or care about any of it.

Ashley used to come right home and tell me whenever something happened at school that bothered her. I was always amazed at what she felt compelled to confess, like that someone had said a bad word around her, or talked about something inappropriate. She always felt better after she told me and we would talk about it. I loved it too, because I knew she would give me the opportunity to teach her and I could tell that she had a very strong conscience and was still very sensitive to inappropriate things. She's gotten a little less sensitive (thank you public school) but we still talk easily about things and she is usually very open about what happens. I love my little grown up Ashley, wise beyond her years.

Ted William Tanner

2010-05-05T14:54:00.004-06:00

When I found out I was pregnant, I was elated. It had taken me a few months longer to get pregnant this time than before. With all of my first three, it was exactly three months after I stopped taking the pill that I found out I was pregnant. So when this one didn't follow suit, we got a little worried. Brent blamed it us getting older. I said we probably had to actually "try" a little more than we had been. So it was more like six months after I stopped taking birth control that we finally got that positive test result. When I looked in my book to find out the due date, I felt that maybe there was another reason for the delay. The due date was March 3--my birthday. It also meant that he would be a spring baby, which meant that I would have one in each season. Ty is in the summer, Ashley is fall and Sarah is winter. I love those kinds of patterns, so I was so excited about that. And then when I found out it was a boy and we got two boys and two girls in order of girl - boy - girl - boy, I thought that was pretty cool as well.

This was the first baby that I did not want to have early. March 3rd was already pushing it to be considered "spring," so although I actually didn't want him to come on his due date (I didn't think he would actually want to share his birthday with his mom), I didn't want him to come until March. Having also had some awful experiences with Brent in the hospital on weekends, I also didn't want him to come on the weekend. March 3rd was a Wednesday, so I figured March 1st or 2nd would be perfect days to have my baby.

So when I started having lots of contractions throughout the morning of Feb. 26th, a Friday, I realized that this baby wasn't worried about his mom's perfect birth date. The contractions were so constant, although not too close together, that my mom took me to lunch because she thought any time now I would be heading to the hospital and I better get some food in me.

Well, the contractions slowed down alot through the afternoon, but they kept coming now and then. As night approached, I tried to get some sleep, but was very uncomfortable. Brent had taken the kids to bed and had fallen asleep in their beds. I wanted so badly to get some rest, but kept having contractions wake me up. Since I couldn't sleep, I decided maybe I better get some things ready to go to the hospital--just in case. I was still hoping I could put this off until at least March 1st. I kept trying to go to sleep, but I couldn't. And finally at around 12:00, I realized these contractions were not "practice" contractions, these were the real deal. I started timing my contractions and getting everything ready to go. I didn't want to wake Brent until I was sure we needed to go, and I wanted to try to labor at home for as long as I could. I woke him up at about 12:30, but I don't think he really realized what I had said. I kept getting stuff ready, and went back in a few minutes later and told him he needed to get up. I called my mom to have her come over to watch the kids, but already I knew we wouldn't have time to wait for her to get there, this baby was coming. We packed everything in the car and headed for the hospital just before 2:00 a.m. I called my sister, Kim, on the way to tell her I was in labor and ask her to come.

We got to the hospital quickly, but it seemed like forever. I couldn't believe how quick and intense my contractions were coming. I remembered that with Sarah the contractions had slowed a little on the way to the hospital when I was sitting compared to when I had been walking around at home. But this time was different. They were coming fast and were very intense and very long contractions. I was a little worried. I was hoping I could try to have a natural birth. After my experience with Sarah when the epidural didn't work, I realized it was actually quite cool to see how my body worked to get the baby out. It was painful, but I also recovered much much better and more quickly. I actually really liked the experience and was hoping to be able to do it again.

But by the time I got to the labor & delivery desk, I could hardly talk. When I would have a contraction, I would have to stop talking or walking to get through it. The nurses seemed very surprised at how long I would stop. I told them I was hoping to try for a natural birth, but that I was going to feel it out. They thought I should try for it too, but it wasn't long after getting into my hospital gown that I realized my contractions were way too intense, long, and coming one after another. The nurses were even calling them "monster contractions," since they could see them on the monitor.

Kim got there just before 3:00 a.m. and about that time I asked for the epidural. I asked the doctor if there was any way to control how much numbness I got--if I could get just enough to take the edge off the pain, but still be able to feel to push. He said unfortunately it really couldn't be adjusted that way. He said the amount he was giving me should last for about 1 1/2 hours and then he would give me more if my labor lasted longer. The way things were going, however, we were taking bets as to whether I would have the baby before 4 a.m. or 4:30.

Well, the contractions kept coming--still long and intense, but luckily I couldn't really feel them. The baby wasn't coming down though. As they examined me, it seemed the baby's head wasn't facing the right way, it was turned to the side, and they thought that might be slowing the progression down the birth canal. For some reason, despite the epidural, I couldn't really relax or get too comfortable. Thank goodness Kim was there with me to calm me down and talk with me.

An hour and a half passed by and I didn't ask for any more epidural medicine. I was actually happy when I began to feel the contractions again and began to feel my legs and be able to move them. By this time, the baby was coming down, so I knew he would be coming soon and maybe the medicine would have worn off enough that I would get the experience I had wanted after all.

Actually, it was perfect. Ted was born at 6:32 a.m. The epidural had worn off just enough that I felt everything--I could move my legs and body, I could feel to push, but I didn't have pain. It was awesome. When they lifted him up and I saw him for the first time, I just cried. He was so beautiful and perfect. Knowing this would likely be my last time giving birth, I cherished having that new little body placed on my chest, holding my tiny newborn, being the very first person to hold him close and love him.

This time in the hospital was a different experience. With all the others, we had quite a few visitors and our kids had been able to come visit. This time, because they were worried about the spread of the H1N1/Swine flu, no kids were allowed to visit, which meant that my mom, who was watching them for us, also wasn't able to come. We spent our two days in the hospital, just me, Brent and the baby. I was sad that our kids, who were so anxious to see their new little brother (especially Ashley), couldn't come see him and be a part of his birth. But it actually was also quite nice to have some time to enjoy our little guy by ourselves for a couple days. The hospital wasn't busy at all, so everything was quiet and calm and I just enjoyed getting to know my little Ted and taking care of him those first two days.

Another thing that was different was that my tail bone broke during Ted's birth. Thank goodness I did end up having that epidural, because if the pain of breaking it was anything compared to the pain after, I am very glad I didn't feel it break. I remember trying to sit in my hospital bed to feed him and I couldn't--the pain was awful. I asked the nurse how long it would take to heal, expecting her response to be one or two days. I was shocked when she said a few weeks! I couldn't imagine having this pain for a few weeks! Little did I know that it would be at least a couple months and today as I write this, I still can't sit comfortably in my rocking chair to nurse and it is still very tender to the touch. That was really the only bad thing about Ted's birth though, so considering all that can happen, I feel lucky.

We brought him home on March 1st. It was a beautiful sunny spring day. My mom brought the kids home from her house shortly after we arrived. They were so excited to see Ted. They each wanted to hold him and play with him. It was so fun to watch them with their new little brother. I remember how sweet it was when we brought Sarah home to Ty and Ashley and it was so sweet to see each of their reactions now to Ted. Sarah instantly took on her new role as "big sister." It's kind of amazing to see that happen.

The Simpsons

2010-02-17T18:25:00.003-07:00

Anyone who knows our family, knows how much we love The Simpsons. My mother-in-law has told me that the first time Brent brought me home to meet them, she was so mortified when he turned on the TV and turned on The Simpsons. That is until she realized that I was laughing right along with him and loved them too. Then she knew that we were made for each other.

When I was in college, back before DVDs and DVR, I loved The Simpsons so much and I remember being worried that one day they might be taken off the air and I wouldn't be able to watch them anymore, so I began to record the episodes every night on VHS. (Little did I know that they would be the longest running show on TV--celebrating their 20th year this year. Nor did I know that my recordings would fortunately become obsolete and we would own all the seasons on DVD.) When Brent and I met, we spent many hours watching The Simpsons on my VHS tapes together and that tradition of watching The Simpsons has continued throughout our 11 years together. It is a family staple, something we can all enjoy watching together. My kids will protest going to bed if they haven't been able to watch The Simpsons first. I know, I know, perhaps not the best show for kids their age, but if that's the worst I do as a mom, I'll consider them lucky. Plus, it is a very clever show.

So it was only natural that our family become our favorite TV family for Halloween. I actually had wanted to do it last year, but soon realized that it would require much more advance planning than I had thought to do it right. I started in early September this year to find a suitable Marge dress and shoes and spent many hours trying to get everything else. It took quite a bit of creativity since I also didn't want to spend too much money, but it was very fun. We had a great time paying tribute to our favorite cartoon family.

Bart, Lisa, and Maggie.

Maggie makes her scary face.

Ashley and her cousin Izzy.

The kids out trick-or-treating at my mom's house in Daybreak. We had such a great time. Sarah was absolutely loving it.

Ashley's Baptism

2010-02-04T18:42:00.007-07:00

Ashley got baptized on Oct. 25, 2009. She was so excited to be baptized. She said, "I've been waiting for this day since I was 4." We were so proud of our sweet little girl.

She was the only one baptized in our stake so she had the whole day to herself. We had many people come to see her baptized. She was so happy to have them all there to support her. Pres. Tom Bagley spoke about baptism, Mom spoke about the Holy Ghost, Daddy baptized her and Grandpa confirmed her. Grammy and Grandma gave the prayers and Bishop Anderson also spoke. Everything went smoothly and it was a wonderful day.

In Pres. Bagley's talk he told the story of a little girl who was recently baptized, whose mother went running to her after she heard her scream. She was in the bathroom staring at her reflection when her mother asked her what was wrong. She began to cry and said that she had "lost her sparkle." Her mother asked her to explain and the little girl said that after she was baptized she had a sparkle and then she admitted to her mother that she had been mean to her sister and when she came into the bathroom, she noticed that her sparkle was gone. Her mother told her how she could get her sparkle back and Pres. Bagley challenged Ashley to always keep her sparkle.

On the way home from the baptism, Ashley and Ty wanted to ride with Grandpa & Grandma. Grandpa told me that on the way home, Ashley was teasing Ty, and Ty turned to her and said, "You've lost your sparkle, Ashley." I had to laugh. For one thing, I didn't think Ty was listening at all, and for another, he had found the perfect way to guilt his sister into behaving.

Before she was baptized.

In her new baptism dress with Grammy.

Grandma Tanner and Ashley

Our little family.

Angel?

2010-02-04T18:17:00.004-07:00

I was just reading through some of my old posts and then I read the little side bar under our family picture again. It's been quite awhile since I wrote that. Did I really ever refer to Sarah as an "angel?"

Since I will be updating that soon to include our new addition to the family here is what I originally wrote back when I first started this blog:

"From the moment I met Brent, I realized my life with him would certainly never be dull. He always had the most outrageous stories to tell and soon we had some pretty crazy ones to tell together. Brent and I are the proud parents of three adorable children, who bring a whole new level of adventure into our lives. My life is now filled with a princess, a pirate and an angel. It's one great story after another!"

Ashley's Birthday

2009-11-02T11:33:00.006-07:00

Our sweet little Ashley turned 8 this year. To celebrate, we had a bowling party for her & her friends. We had 14 kids at the party, so we drove them to the bowling alley in our friends' motorhome. The kids loved it! We had a great time.

After the party, we took Ashley out for a family birthday dinner at Joe's Crab Shack. My mom, me, Brent, Ashley, Ty and Sarah were all there. They played one song where all the employees got out and danced. Ty jumped right up and joined in. It was hilarious.

Later, they came out and sang Happy Birthday to Ashley. They gave her a goofy clown wig to wear and a hulla-hoop. She was very cute. We had a great day!

Her Prince

2009-09-30T18:02:00.005-06:00

Sarah has always been our little Princess. Which is fitting, because her name means "princess." When I was pregnant with her, I had a very strong feeling that she was a very feminine girl--a very classic kind of feminine. She has a very strong personality, but one thing is for sure, she is very feminine. She would rather wear a dress than anything else. My two other kids (especially Ty) kind of groan and grumble when I announce on Sunday morning that it is time to get ready for church. Not Sarah. She lights up and says "Church?!! Yeah!" She picks her pretty dress and is ready to go. This is not due so much to an affinity for church, although she does love going to Nursery, it is simply because she gets to wear a fancy dress and shoes.

She, of course, loves the Disney Princesses. She pretends to be Snow White, Sleeping Beauty, or Cinderella and Daddy is "her Prince." His character is the only constant. Ty is sometimes the dragon. Ashley and I are sometimes other princesses, but her Daddy is always her Prince. It is the cutest thing. When she calls to him, she says, "Come here, Prince." When we drop him off at work in the morning, she gives him a hug and a kiss and says, "Goodbye, Prince." It is the sweetest thing, it just melts my heart and I love to see the smile it brings to Brent's face every time he hears it. Once I replied, "Are you Snow White?" She responded very matter-of-factly, "No, I'm Sarah Tanner." That's when I realized she wasn't pretending--Brent really is her Prince.

Winter?

2009-09-30T10:10:00.002-06:00

Well, the leaves have just begun to change color. They haven't even started to drop, but here it is September 30th and it's snowing outside!!! Must be global warming... I mean, climate change.

The News

2009-09-19T17:57:00.007-06:00

It sure has been a long time since I last wrote. There is a lot to catch up on.

Ty and Ashley started back to school. Ty is in 1st grade and Ashley is in 2nd. They both go the full day now, so it is just me and Sarah at home. The first couple days of school I would walk them to the bus and Sarah would get her backpack on too and cry because she wanted to go to school with them.

Sarah did start dance lessons this year, however. She is so cute in her leotard. She loves dance and gets so excited to go. Here are some pics from her first day.

Ashley is still doing dance and cheer this year, but she and Ty also started taking Tae Kwon Do. They are so cute in their uniforms. They are getting pretty good already. It is fun to watch them and it makes me want to get up and do it too! Sarah has had a couple chances to try it. She is so cute and takes it quite seriously for a 2 year old.

I have been quite busy too. This year I volunteered to be the PTA Treasurer at my kids' elementary school. It's fun. I really enjoy being involved at their school. I also started my cheer classes again, which I love. This year we are cheering for the Brighton Little League football. I went to Brighton High so it has been fun to cheer for my school again. The little girls are so cute and I absolutely love teaching them and getting to watch them learn new things and have fun.

But the biggest news of all is that I am pregnant again!! I am already 16 weeks along, so we haven't found out what we are having yet, but it won't be long until we get to find out. We are excited! Ty is hoping for a boy. When we told them we were going to have a baby, he said it better be a boy or he and dad are leaving, because they will be surrounded! I'm sure he'd change his mind if he saw a sweet little baby girl and he'd love her to pieces too. But it would also be nice if he got to have a brother. It turns out my due date is March 3rd, my birthday. What a wonderful birthday present to look forward to!

Brent has been doing good. He's been working very hard and has so much going on. I don't know how he does it, but I'm sure grateful to have him and for all the things he does for me and the kids.

Ashley will be turning 8 on Oct. 6th. She is getting baptized this year!!! I can't believe my little girl is growing up so fast. Her baptism will be on Oct. 25th at 5:00 p.m. for anyone who would like to come. She is getting very excited about being baptized. She's such a good little girl. I just love her. I really do have the best kids in the world. Can't wait for the next one to join us too!

Sarah's Birthday

2008-12-19T15:20:00.005-07:00

Sarah turned two on Wednesday. We had a very low key party with just Ty, Ashley, Mom and Dad, Grammy and Krisstina at Jungle Jim's. Sarah was scared of all the rides at first, but after riding the merry-go-round a couple times, she warmed up to them and had a great time! Here's some pictures.

The scary rides. (Notice her nervous face.)

The merry-go-round was much better.

I absolutely love this one!

Sarah blowing her candles out.

Brent making fun of my "Dave Ramsey" cake. Yes, it was a no-frills, inexpensive, homemade cake, but it sure did taste good! (Okay, it looks a little pathetic. By the way, I did not put the candles in. I would have at least centered them. Poor pathetic, yummy cake.)

A Day at the Zoo

2008-09-01T10:11:00.001-06:00

Let's Cheer!

2008-08-27T13:35:00.009-06:00

I just wanted to let everyone know that I am going to teach cheerleading classes! I'm so excited! It will be so much fun. My company is called Let's Cheer! We are starting classes on Sept. 5th which is just around the corner, so if you have girls ages 6-18 who would like to learn to cheer, or if you know anyone else with girls who might, please let them know. The classes will be on Fridays and we are registering now for the Fall Session which runs Sept. 5th- Dec. 19th. Classes are being held at eMotion Dance Studio located at 9119 S. Monroe Plaza in Sandy just off the I-15 at 9000 South. It is just $15 per month and the classes are divided into age groups as follows:
Ages 6-9 Fridays 4:00-4:30

Ages 10-13 Fridays 4:30-5:00

Ages 14-18 Fridays 5:00-5:30

Ashley can't wait for the classes to start. A few of her friends have already joined and she is so excited! I am too. Call me at 801-230-2079 for more information. Thanks for helping me spread the word!

First Day of School

2008-08-26T21:52:00.006-06:00

Today was Ashley's first day of school. I was so emotional. At the beginning of August, Brent and I decided that we would not be able to send Ashley and Ty to St. Sophia's this year, which was such a hard thing, because we loved that sweet little school and so did the kids. Instead they are attending Butler Elementary. Ty will start Kindergarten there next week and Ashley started 1st grade today. It is the same elementary school that I went to, which is kinda fun. We went to an open house last week and it was fun to walk the halls again after so many years. I was surprised how much was still the same.

The kids in our neighborhood are bused to the school, so Ashley has to be at the bus stop at 7:45 a.m. This morning, my sweet little grown up girl woke up on her own at 6:55 and jumped in the shower. It was a bit of a shock to have a morning routine again, but we got it together and Brent and I walked her down to the bus stop.

Half way down the hill, she whispered to me, "Mom, I'm scared." I told her not to worry, and to remember how she made friends at the pool this summer just by introducing herself to others, since the other kids are probably shy and nervous too. When we got to the kids at the bus stop, she walked up to the group of "big kids" and no one said hi, even though she knew most of them. I watched my sweet little scared girl standing there quietly and I was nervous for her too. When the bus came, I snapped some pictures and watched my sweetheart get on the bus. Then I started to cry.

This seemed so much harder than St. Sophia. St. Sophia was safe, kids there were nice and everyone knew each other--big kids and little kids. Now here she was entering the unknown world of public school and I knew all too well how unkind that place can sometimes be.

I prayed she would have a good bus ride and that she would make lots of new friends in her class. I prayed she would enjoy her first day so that she would not miss St. Sophia and would look forward to going to Butler.

Brent and I walked back home. When we got inside I realized she had forgotten the paper doll we had made to look like her that her teacher had asked her to bring today. So Brent and I got the kids in the car and drove down to the school. Brent took her doll to her as she was outside waiting for the teacher to open the 1st grade door and let all the kids in.

I'm actually glad that she forgot the doll, because when Brent got back in the car, he told me she was already chatting away with the kids in her class and when he brought the doll, she just said, "Oh, good! Thanks!" and then turned right back to chatting. I was so relieved that she seemed fine. I think I would've been a nervous wreck today if it weren't for that.

When she walked in the door after school today, she called out, "I'm home!" She had a great day and made lots of new friends. She is excited about school and likes her teacher. I'm so glad it went well. I'm still quite emotional, however, about my baby who is not a baby or even much of a little girl anymore. She's the big girl who rides the bus.

Sarah

2008-08-20T23:35:00.006-06:00

Sarah is now 20 months old. Over the last few months it has been so much fun watching her personality come out. There are definitely things Sarah loves! Sarah loves shoes. She calls them "Shoo-shooes." She always wants me to put her shoes on and if anyone's shoes are lying aroung the house, she always finds them and puts them on.

Yesterday while I was busy trying to clean the kids' toys in the family room with Ashley, I heard what sounded like Sarah coming slowly down our wood stairs. Every so often I would hear a "Clop, clop. . . clop, clop." I didn't think too much of it, because she is very good on the stairs now, and I just kept cleaning. Well, I had no idea just how good she really is on the stairs, because when she walked in the room, this is what she was wearing.

She had gotten into Krisstina's room and put on her stiletto heels and somehow managed down the stairs without falling! I had to laugh because I can hardly make it down those stairs in heels without slipping! What a girl!! She is hilarious.

Sarah loves dogs. She goes crazy whenever she sees one and she always finds little toy dogs to hold. She loves cats too. I never realized this as much until she started saying, "Meow." But she says it so funny. It sounds like a cat in pain. A real low extended "Meoow."

One of Sarah's first words was "Spongebob." Which made me laugh, because I don't think she had ever really seen the show. Now she watches it alot. She always asks for "Bongebob."

Sarah also loves the water. She has no fear of going under or getting water in her eyes. When we recently went swimming, I showed her how to plug her nose and go under. After that she kept looking at me and grabbing her nose to tell me to do it again.

Sarah also loves hair. When she was nursing she used to always play with my hair. Now it is so funny because the minute I hand her a bottle, her other hand immediately goes to her hair to play with it.

Sarah's newest love, however, is Hannah. Yes, Hannah Montana. She has started saying her name--it is so cute--and she absolutely goes crazy anytime she sees something that makes her think of Hannah. Today in the car she suddenly started shouting "Hannah, Hannah." She sounded like a true fan who just spotted her idol and was getting all out of breath saying her name. I can't wait until she's 3 or 4. She'll definitely be one of those star struck little girls who cries at concerts.

Sarah even knows which Barbie is the Hannah Barbie and will not let Ashley play with it. She has to have Hannah.

There is someone that Sarah loves even more than Hannah though. And that is her big sister Ashley. She absolutely loves her big sis. Every time we pass a picture of Ashley, she points and says, "Ashley." Everytime she sees something of Ashley's she does the same thing. The first thing she does each day is go in Ashley's room and put on her necklaces and bracelets and purses. And Ashley is such a good big sister. She always takes good care of her little Sarah. I know they will be best friends always.

Ty's 5!

2008-06-29T16:17:00.007-06:00

It's hard to believe our little pirate/spidey/master chief is 5 years old! He had his birthday on Friday, but we had his party yesterday. It was a lot of fun. We had a carnival in our backyard. We had face painting, silly pictures, lots of games, a bounce house and even a fortune teller. It was so much fun transforming our backyard into a kids' carnival. We had 24 kids come! It was a huge party and the kids seemed to have a great time. I sure was grateful for all the help we got from my sweet family. Thanks guys! Here's some pictures.

Ty chose to go to "The Pirate Restaurant" (a.k.a. Joe's Crab Shack) for his birthday dinner on Friday.

Ashley, Ty, Krisstina, and Sarah at Joe's Crab Shack.

Our backyard carnival.

In the gazebo we had Segunda--the mystic mind reader and fortune teller, played by my sister Kim's mother-in-law, Cathy. She did a great job reading the kids' minds and telling their fortunes!

Aunt Kim and Ty. Kim did a fishing game that the kids loved. We also had a pool toss, knock 'em down, and pin the tail on the donkey.

We took silly pictures and Ty's turned out great. Ty is ever the pirate!

I love Ty's face in this picture of him with his pirate cake. He sure had a great time with all his friends.

Lullaby and Good Night

2008-05-19T22:43:00.003-06:00

I love putting kids to sleep. Especially little babies. It is such a wonderful feeling to rock them in your arms and watch their little eyes slowly start to droop and then close, even though they are fighting so hard to keep them open. It feels like I am magic when I can take them from a toddler running around laughing to a little angel sleeping soundly in my arms. I love that I can make them feel so safe and so comfortable that they can just go to sleep so easily. There is no better feeling than cradling that snug little baby for a few minutes before you put her in her bed.

I love when my older kids fall asleep in my lap or next to me in bed. I love that the last thing they always want from me is for me to cuddle with them so they can fall asleep. Sometimes I have things I need to get to before I go to bed as well and wish that they would let me go, but I try to remind myself that before I know it they will be the ones wishing I would go and I'll be the one wishing they still wanted to cuddle. So most nights I am very content to just lay there with Ty on one side and Ashley on the other and hold my precious little ones until I hear their deep heavy breaths and know my magic worked again.

I often sing my kids a lullaby. When Ashley was a new baby, I could not remember the words to "Lullaby, and Good Night," so I just made up my own. That is how me and my kids have sung it for the last 6 years. Here is our version:

"Lullaby, and good night,

Go to sleep little Ashley. (TyTy, or Sarah)

You are loved

Very much

By your Mom and by your Dad.

Go to sleep, little one

It is time to close your eyes.

Go to sleep, little one.

We'll see you when you awake."

Another lullaby we love I think we got from the Dumbo movie. Again, I don't know that we got the words all correct, but here is our version.

"Baby mine, don't you cry.

Baby mine, dry your eyes.

You are dear, dear to my heart,

Never to part,

Baby of mine."

That one is Ty's favorite. He always asks me to sing it for him and he sings it to me too. It is the absolute cutest thing when he sings it. I'll have to record it tomorrow and post it too.

Good night!

Krisstina

2008-05-15T20:44:00.004-06:00

I recently realized that many of you probably don't know who Krisstina is. Since she has become part of our family, I figured I better fill you all in.

Krisstina works at Realty Executives (our brokerage) as the receptionist. That is how Brent came to know her. Last December she was in need of a place to stay, so we offered to let her come live with us. We both felt that this was where Heavenly Father wanted her to be, which was a pretty sobering thought for both of us, but we hoped we could be a blessing to her. She later told us that she felt like Heavenly Father had led her here too, which was a pretty amazing experience for all of us.

Since that time, Krisstina has become part of our family. She is like our adopted daughter but also my good friend. She is the big sister Ashley always wanted. It is so cute how much Ashley adores her and wants to be like her. Krisstina is very sweet to Ashley. She does her hair and lets her hang out in her room. Ashley loves shopping with Krisstina. Ty and Sarah absolutely love her too. When she first started living with us, she and Brent would drive to work together since Krisstina didn't have a car. At night when they would come home, the kids starting yelling, "Krisstina!!" instead of "Daddy!!" which made Dad feel a bit neglected but at the same time happy that they loved Krisstina so much.

Now you can understand why Krisstina has her place in Ashley's family tree. She is part of our family now and we all feel blessed to have her with us.

Family Tree

2008-05-11T18:13:00.004-06:00

Today in Primary Ashley drew her family tree. I absolutely love it! The best is her dad. Yes, that's the bearded man in the bottom left circle. (Brent says he looks like a Jewish Rabbi.) The circles at the top (left to right) go as follows: Sarah, Krisstina, Ashley, Ty, Grammy. What a sweet and precious family tree.

How We Met

2008-05-01T23:44:00.004-06:00

On May 4th, Brent and I will celebrate our 9th anniversary. (Just a side note in light of my fascination with numbers especially for this year. We were married on 5-4-99. 5+4=9 and the year was 99. It is our 9th anniversary. My lucky number is 3, which is the square root of 9. 3 is my lucky number, and it seems that 9 is "our" lucky number.)

In honor of our upcoming anniversary, I have decided to spend a few days writing down some of my favorite stories about our life together.

First is how Brent and I met. Actually, what I find interesting is all the times we didn't meet that we could have. Brent and I were actually in the same BYU ward before I went on my mission. We never met, however, because the semester before I left, my bishop from my home ward called me to be a primary teacher, so every Sunday I drove down to Salt Lake instead of going to my BYU ward.

Brent also played football for BYU the same time that I was a cheerleader there, but we never met then either.

Also, Brent's sister, Julie, and I were roommates long before I met Brent. We roomed together for the full winter semester and became best friends and I still never met her brother until the next fall. Interestingly, the reason Julie and I became roommates is that after my mission, I had a hard time finding an apartment. I ended up going back to the apartment I had lived in before my mission and the girl whose parents owned it had just decided not to stay for winter semester since she had just graduated. So I got to take her place in my old apartment. Julie had just transferred to BYU from Utah State and found the same apartment because Brent, who had lived in the same ward and had heard good things about the complex, recommended that she look there.

Here is how we finally did meet.

When Julie came back from summer break, we were roommates again. Many of her siblings and cousins were also at BYU and were going to get football tickets together. She asked me to come get tickets with them, so I did. I only went to two games all season, but they happened to be the only two games that Brent went to as well. Julie knew right away that I liked Brent. Maybe it was the huge smile I got when I saw him again. I think she thought he might also be interested in me. Maybe it was his comment about how great I smelled. Anyway, I can thank my sweet friend Julie for my sweetheart Brent. I later learned that she was the major reason Brent asked me out. (He wasn't too sure about dating a returned missionary, but Julie assured him I had a bit of a wild side too.) So I was lucky twice. I married a wonderful man, and got to have one of my best friends become my sister. How great is that?!

We Love Disneyland!!!

2008-05-01T22:31:00.003-06:00

Well, we had a great trip to California last week. We are so grateful to Glenn and Kirsten for letting us stay with them. It was wonderful to get away. We spent two days at one of our favorite places--Disneyland. Then we spent some time on Friday doing one of my favorite things--looking at houses. Saturday we got to go to the beach and the kids and Brent gathered tons of sea shells. It was so much fun. We headed home Sunday with a stop in Mesquite for the night, then finished the long journey home on Monday. (Our DVD player broke before we left for home, so the long drive seemed even longer for three bored, energetic kids and their poor parents.) Here are some pictures from the trip.

Our favorite stroller. We bought this in France when Ashley was 14 months old. It has been the most awesome stroller. Just before this picture was taken we were just saying what a great stroller it is that it can carry all three children and our heavy bags full of water bottles, diapers, etc. Right after we snapped the picture, we broke the stroller. I guess it had had enough of our abuse. Luckily, we had another stroller in the car.

We love Disneyland! It really is so magical!

Two pooped kids. On Wednesday we got to the park when it opened and stayed until close. It was a long, but great day and there were practically no lines. Brent, who is the FastPass master, didn't quite know what to do. He got all the FastPasses, but we never needed them because there were never long enough lines. April is definitely a good month to go.

This is one of my favorite little alleys. I think it is so beautiful. It is tucked away and always reminds me of the quaint little tucked away streets I saw on my mission in Switzerland.

Waking Ty

2008-04-20T15:33:00.002-06:00

My Little Dancer

2008-04-17T14:17:00.005-06:00

Ashley was in a dance concert last Saturday. It was all modern dances. Brent's response to the concert was, "I don't get it." Whether you get it or not, Ashley's dancing is sure fun to watch. Here is a clip of my energetic little girl.

My Little Singer

2008-04-16T13:19:00.001-06:00

This video was actually taken Jan. 9th, and I've been meaning to put it on since then. Here Ty sings "Five Little Speckled Frogs."

The 4th Category

2008-04-07T21:44:00.004-06:00

My sweet sister-in-law, Julie, did a cute post about the crazy life of a young mom and her theory about the three categories of moms. http://uschristensens.blogspot.com/2008/04/secret-is-out.html

I would like to add a category. It's the category that I fall into: The To-Do Mom.

The To-Do Mom has a million things to do. She sometimes has a list--it helps to keep her organized, but mostly because since she had children she has somehow lost her memory completely and needs the list to remember pretty much anything. Somedays she skips said list and finds the to-do's all around her. While putting away the laundry, she sees some toys that need to be picked up. While putting the toys away she notices something that was stolen from her office and puts it away. While in her office, she realizes a bill is due today. Jumping online to pay the bill she decides to check her email. Checking her email she realizes the time and grabs the baby, who first needs a diaper change, and then packs the kids into the car to pick up her child from school. And so on and so on.

The To-Do Mom is not really great at cleaning or cooking and unfortunately, with so many things that have to be done, sometimes playdates fall by the wayside (especially during tax time, since she also does all the family financials.)

It makes me sad sometimes that I'm not a better cook, or that I let my kids watch too much TV or play too many video games so that I can get things done. But I have realized since reading Julie's post and thinking of my own category, that I do get a sense of satisfaction out of accomplishing a lot of To-Do's during a day. For me, that does feel great. I guess I've always been that way, with school, work, and hobbies as I was growing up. But I do have days when I tuck my kids into bed and think, "They are growing up too fast. I need to slow down and enjoy them more."

Unfortunately, I don't think I will ever be able to change that I am a "To-Do" girl. But what I am going to try to do instead is put "play date" at the top of my list.

The Winter Blues

2008-03-31T10:02:00.003-06:00

Just when I thought Spring was finally here, this is what we woke up to this morning.

What an absolutely crazy winter we've had this year! I've never seen anything like it since I can remember.

Some Pictures

2008-03-29T20:11:00.004-06:00

Sarah & Ty

Ashley & Ty

Sarah & Ashley

This is one of Sarah's favorite things to do: climb into this drawer.

One day she actually fell asleep in the drawer!

Brent & Sarah on Easter morning

Ty & Ashley looking for eggs

The kids and me on Easter Day

To My Third-Born

2008-03-19T20:54:00.004-06:00

Dear Sarah,
I know one day when you look through the family albums, or read through your baby book, you may think, "Hey, what's with all the pictures of Ashley!" "Why aren't there as many of me?" "What's with all the blank lines in my baby book?" "Wasn't I as important?"

And so, my sweet little girl, I am writing you this note to explain. I have come to realize that no matter how hard I try to make sure everything is as equal for each of you precious children as possible, there probably will always be times when it seems that one of you is forgotten. You see, life as a mother to one is much different from the life of a mother to three.

Instead of grabbing my camera, I am trying to keep hold of three little hands. Instead of immediately writing the date of the first instant you crawled, or said "Mom," or danced, I am trying to just enjoy the moment and take in every little smile, sqeeze every little hug out of you, and prolong every little giggle.

You see, one thing a mother of three realizes more now than when she was a mother of one, is that much much much too soon, you will no longer be a baby. You will be mommy's grown up little girl. It's not that I didn't want the pictures and the dates, believe me I do. I want to remember everything. It wasn't that you were forgotten--it was that you were cherished. And my time enjoying the moment became much more important than spending time recording it. I can only hope that you will have many happy memories of your time with mommy and remember how much I truly loved you.

You will all always be my pearls of great price. I love you each so much.
Love,
Mommy

Thank You!

2008-03-08T08:48:00.003-07:00

I just wanted to thank you all for your kind notes and phone calls. You have all been so sweet and made me feel so grateful for my wonderful family and friends. I truly am blessed to be surrounded by so many amazing people and I love you all so much. Thank you!

Lucky Number 3

2008-03-03T23:00:00.003-07:00

I was born on 3/3/75. I was born on my parents' 3rd anniversary, 3 minutes apart from my twin sister. Because of this, I have always thought that "3" is my lucky number. So it hit me that this will be my lucky year, because today I turned 33.

Last year I told Brent that from now on I would continually be turning 27 each birthday. I admitted that when he was 60 and married to a 27-year-old, it might seem a little odd to others, but he still agreed that 27 it would be. So I was hesitant to admit that I am, in fact, now 33. That is until I realized it was my lucky year. Here's why:

I am 33. I have 3 children. Brent and I will celebrate our 9th anniversary this year (square root is 3). Brent will turn 36 this year (multiple of 3). We are 3 years apart in age. So you see with so many 3's surrounding this year, it is bound to be my lucky year.

When I told Ashley about this, she said, "Mom, maybe you'll have triplets!" Now that would be very unlucky. So I'll stick on the birth control and look forward to my very lucky year!

New Blog

2008-03-01T12:20:00.007-07:00

I have been incredibly depressed the last couple months. While I have chalked it up to the horribly gray, snowy weather this year and to the tremendous stress Brent's development has placed on both of us and our finances, I'm afraid there may be more to it. I've always thought of myself as a fairly happy, positive person, and even through hard times like now I've still always maintained that I have joy in my life. And so I was shocked when Brent revealed last night, as we were debating whether I have joy, that "happy" is not a word that anyone who really knows me would use to describe me, and that "there's no joy emanating from me," and hasn't been for years. That was maybe the saddest, most heartbreaking thing I have ever heard. Certainly not what I would want people's perception of me to be, especially not my sweet children. So, as my wise mother suggested as a way to cure my depression, I am rededicating myself to reading the scriptures daily. I have to admit, it is a very hard thing for me to do. So to help me, I am creating a new blog that will just be for spiritual things. I have always wanted to write a book about spiritual things and have decided on a topic or two here and there that I have thought might be good, but for now a whole book is much too much to think about or attempt. But this morning I realized a blog post might not be. And it would give my scripture study a goal, which would make it much more meaningful to me. If you would like to read that blog you can find it at http://givebeautyforashes.blogspot.com/

"The Worst Thing I Have To Say"

2008-02-15T21:00:00.003-07:00

Well, I've just been sitting in my bed looking on the internet. When I got up to go get a drink in the kitchen, it felt like I had kinked something in my leg and it hurt to put weight on it. Brent was laughing at my strange hobble. Ty, who had been sitting next to me in the bed, saw me limping out of the room, and as I was walking down the hall, I heard his little voice say to Brent and Ashley, "Guys, this is the worst thing I have to say. . . Mom is getting old." I had to laugh. Apparently, he even put his hand to his head in despair. It was as if he was breaking some horrible news to them. What a funny little guy!

She's 1!

2007-12-30T20:30:00.001-07:00

It's hard to believe that we now have a little one-year-old! Sarah turned one on December 17th. It's amazing to see how much she has grown and changed over the year. She was always such a sweet natured little baby, but now she is definitely finding her voice. I think it is partly due to her newfound independence that comes with crawling, feeding herself, etc. And partly due to being the third child, with two other siblings competing for mom and dad's attention. And boy is her voice loud!

Sarah has always been the noisiest of our babies. When she was just tiny we called her our little piggy because she would make the funniest grunting sounds when I fed her. I even got the cutest piggy pajamas for her because they reminded me of our little piggy. Then as she got a little older and she started to experiment with making noises, one of her favorites was a little growl that sounded like a bear. Our little piggy turned into a little bear, so we dressed her as a bear for Halloween. Now she has a very distinct new sound. It is hard to describe, but it is very loud. One day as Brent and I were trying to figure out how best to describe this new sound, I realized she sounds just like some very angry geese we used to tease at the zoo. Her noise sounds just like the angry "honk" of a goose. It is hilarious! Now we call her "goose." This used to be my nickname for Ashley, because I used to call her "silly goose," which later was shortened to just "goose." But now Sarah has very much earned the nickname. We laugh that she has always been related to some kind of animal from our little pig, to our bear, and to our goose. Sarah is certainly one of a kind. We sure love our sweet little girl and can't believe how quickly she is growing up!

My grown-up little girl on Thanksgiving

2007-11-22T22:33:00.000-07:00

Today for Thanksgiving we had our third annual dinner at Mimi's cafe with my mom and my sister Kim and her little family. As I was getting ready to go, I was thinking to myself what a wonderful tradition this has become. No cooking, no cleaning, we eat yummy food and then get to relax the rest of the day, with enough leftovers to last us the rest of today and even some tomorrow. Then literally just a couple minutes later, Brent came in saying this was the last year he wanted to do this. He said next year he wanted to have a traditional Thanksgiving dinner at home. So much for my wonderful tradition.

One tradition I hope to keep is our Thanksgiving movie. Today after we ate we all went to see "The Bee Movie." I wasn't too impressed. In fact, I thought it was downright boring. I kept waiting for the redeeming funny part to come, but it never did. It was fun to be out with our family though.

Then we came home and had a nap. The movie that Ashley and I had wanted to see was "Enchanted." So Grammy suggested we go see that one after we had a nap. We got the baby to bed and Brent stayed in bed with her. Then my mom, Ashley, Ty and I went to see "Enchanted." It was so cute! Ashley absolutely loved it! It was so sweet to see her so excited throughout the movie and laughing out loud. On the drive home, my mom was asking her if she liked the movie. She said emphatically, "YES! But not the kissing, I don't like to see the kissing." My mom replied that was how her true love had to bring her back to life. She said it was just like in Sleeping Beauty and Snow White, they also had kissing in those movies to bring the princesses back to life. Ashley responded, "Yeah, but I was four then. . . I didn't understand!" My sweet little grown-up girl--she cracks me up.

Fortune Cookies

2007-11-11T19:51:00.000-07:00

Brent and I love fortune cookies. But for some reason Brent always gets the funniest fortunes. Back when we were just married, we had gone out for dinner with our family and everyone had gotten some great fortune promising each wealth, fame, happiness, etc. Then Brent opened his fortune which read: "The laughter of children is a joy to behold." Most fortunes tell you that you will be successful in life or that you possess some great character trait. I still laugh thinking about his reaction to what he considered such a cheesy fortune.

Having now had three children, this fortune has a whole new significance for me. In fact I was reminded of this story as I wrote the previous entry. Brent and I didn't realize then that this fortune did predict wealth and happiness far beyond anything we could imagine. I've always thought that fortune was so goofy, as far as a fortune cookie is concerned. But now I think it's one of the most accurate fortunes we've come across. Along with one other one. Before Brent and I got married, my mom took my sister, Brent and me to a Chinese buffet. After dinner we each grabbed for a cookie, and then read our fortunes aloud. Finally Brent read his which said, "You and your wife will be happy in your life together." We all marveled that he had grabbed the one cookie that specifically mentioned a "wife." Surrounded by three women, it was definitely meant for him.

We have had a happy life together and there is no greater joy than seeing our children laughing together. Who knows, maybe we will travel to a distant land, attain great riches, have a pleasant surprise, and hear great news soon! :)

Funny Baby!

2007-11-11T19:21:00.000-07:00

One of the sweetest things in the world is when a little baby laughs. That is the sound of heaven. There is nothing quite like getting those little giggles and those big belly laughs out of our sweet Sarah. Except seeing her try to get those laughs out of us. Sarah's little sense of humor has been coming out and she is a little ham. She especially loves to make me laugh when she's on the diaper changer. She thinks it is so funny when I am trying to get her diaper on to roll over, start to rock back and forth on all fours, and then sit down. Her little face in the second picture tells it all. She loves to tease me. She looks right at me with the same face she has when she knows some tickling is imminent and she already can hardly contain the giggles. Only this time she is about to bust up at the idea of making me laugh. It's so fun to hear her laugh and it's so fun to know she likes to hear us laugh too.

Name impaired

2007-11-07T21:34:00.001-07:00

Brent always cracks me up. He is notorious for calling people by the wrong name. He'll come home from work and tell me about a new person he is working with, let's say for an example, Tom. Then he'll continue with the story about Tom, only he'll keep calling him Ted. I'll be a bit confused, and ask, "Do you mean Tom?" "Yeah, Tom," he'll reply with a hint of "aren't you listening" in his voice. So I say, "Well, because you keep calling him 'Ted.'" "Oh. No, it's Tom," he'll explain. Then again with the story, and within a few minutes "Ted" has once again entered the picture. It cracks me up so much because even as Brent gets to know Tom well he'll still often slip up and say "Ted."

The funny thing too is that it doesn't just happen at home. One story just makes me laugh every time I think of it. Brent was recently meeting with a man named Lane, who besides being one of his best friend's brothers, also runs 13 companies for a very wealthy man here in Utah. They were discussing business, having a very in depth discussion and yet Brent kept calling him "Blaine." Finally Lane said, "Brent, my name is Lane." "I know, I'm sorry," Brent replied apologetically.

It seems this trait has passed down to his son. Ty started his first year of preschool this fall. After school I would often ask him about his day and he'd give a quick reply about something they did, but he never talked about the other kids. I didn't think too much about it until a couple weeks had gone by and when some of the other moms would see me with Ty they'd say, "Are you Ty's mom?" I'd smile and say yes and they'd continue, "Oh, my little boy loves Ty. He talks about him all the time." I'd give a little laugh in response since Ty had never mentioned their sons, so I couldn't reply that Ty talks about them all the time as well. I started to wonder what was going on. Then one day, it became clear to me. We were walking out of the building after school one day, and Ty seemed to be particularly happy. He spotted one of his friends playing not far from us while his mom was talking to a friend. I happened to know the name of this friend, it being one of the boys whose mom had mentioned that he--Will--talked about Ty all the time. As we were walking past, Ty yelled out to Will very enthusiastically, "Bye, Johnny!" Nobody's head turned, so he again yelled even more fervently, "Bye, Johnny!" Now if you know Ty, he will not quit asking you or telling you something until he gets some sort of response or acknowledgement from you, even just "Ok, Ty." He will say it over and over and over until you say something back. So once again he yelled even louder, "Byyyye Johnny!"

Yep, he gets it from his dad. So if you are ever talking to Brent or Ty and they call you by the wrong name, don't be offended, they do know you and love you, they just happen to both be name impaired.

Halloween

2007-11-06T23:31:00.000-07:00

Halloween is one of my very favorite holidays. Ever since I was a kid, I have always wanted to have "the scary house" at Halloween. You know, the one with headstones sticking out of the lawn and scary music playing. The one that you were nervous to go ring the doorbell, but always looked forward to each year to see what new thing would be lurking. Last year I even saw the most awesome blow up haunted house that kids could walk through at Sam's Club.

This year I had grand plans for the greatest Halloween costume party ever. Our family had decided we would be the Simpsons, our favorite (and fitting) TV family. Brent's costume would be pretty easy. A white short sleeved shirt, pink tie, and jeans. We'd shave his head and draw the famous zig-zag lines for the hair by his ears. My one hang up was how to get my hair up like Marge's and make it blue--that was going to take some major creativity. Ashley would be Lisa, Ty would be Bart, and Sarah would be little Maggie. For the last few months Ashley has constantly been reminding me that she would need a little orange dress and a pearl necklace, or ask me how we were going to paint our skin yellow. She was so excited and so was I.

Yet each year something always seems to come up to derail my fantastic plans. This year situations with Brent's project made throwing a huge party impossible, and I was a little bummed. That is until the weekend before Halloween came, which would have been the weekend for my party, when Brent suddenly had to go in for the angiogram. Then I realized that I would have made all these wonderful plans and would have cancelled them all to care for my sweet hubby. I suddenly realized what a blessing that was not to have had that additional stress. So here's to next year! You will all want to come see my fabulously scary house and see our awesome family costumes! :)

Until then, enjoy this year's pictures. Since we wouldn't have done it the justice it deserves, we decided to forgo the Simpsons plan and instead, Ashley was a witch, Sarah was a bear, and Ty was .... Spiderman! You thought I was going to say "a pirate," but our little buccaneer has become quite fascinated with Peter Parker and his web-slinging counterpart. But don't worry he is still very much a pirate-- a pirate dressed as Spiderman.

Ashley was a little unsure about that nose.

My sister's kids came trick-or-treating with us.

Here's one of Ashley without the nose.

Phew!

2007-10-27T20:37:00.000-06:00

Well, we were all shocked Thursday afternoon when Brent said the doctor wanted him to go in Friday for a heart procedure. He'd been having chest pains, tiredness, shortness of breath, etc. and our family doctor had recommended he go in for a stress test. The results gave that doctor reason to believe Brent might have some blockage in his arteries, and he wanted him to get an angiogram done. He told Brent he would likely need some stints put in to open the blockage and if the blockage turned out to be too bad, it might require surgery. I couldn't believe it! We didn't have much time to think about it, they scheduled Brent to come in the next day. They actually wanted him to go right in on Thursday, but Brent said he couldn't because of a couple important meetings. So Friday Brent and I went to LDS hospital for his angiogram. We were both quite nervous, but the doctor seemed very nice and we had heard he was one of the best. They took Brent back and told me it would be about 1-2 hours. After a couple hours they wheeled Brent back in. He was sound asleep, but looked good. The doctor told me he looked everywhere on his heart and could not find any blockages! He said that certainly doesn't happen very often there. He also said he has never had a patient that was so hard to sedate! He said they kept giving him more and more medicine and Brent just kept on talking! (Sounds like my man!) The doctors and nurses were all pretty amazed because they honestly had never seen someone like that before. We had a good laugh over that.
Well, Brent took a couple hours to wake up, but soon we were on our way back home, very relieved that his heart was fine. Brent's been very tired and sore. They put the catheter into an artery in his leg and then up to his heart to get the pictures, so I can imagine that would make one quite sore. But he's doing well. Thank you all for your prayers and calls. We sure love our family and friends and are grateful for your concern and support.
I'm so happy that my sweet hubby is okay. He had me quite worried for awhile there.

The "Happiest" Place on Earth!

2007-10-22T14:44:00.001-06:00

It sure has been a long time since I wrote on here. I would've sworn it was only a couple weeks ago, but now I see it's been over a month! Sorry!

Anyway, we continued our newly founded tradition of going to Disneyland for our kids' birthdays and made the trip again for Ashley's 6th birthday. We left on Friday, Oct. 5th and stayed with Glenn & Kirsten.
The birthday girl--our little rockstar.

Scott & Megan surprised us and were there too, so we were all able to spend the next day, Ashley's birthday, together. We had a great time going to the Huntington Pier and going to the mall. Then we took everyone to dinner at El Torito to celebrate. It was a great day.

This is Ty's "being brave" face. He was so proud that he was brave enough to stand next to the railing.

The following day we went to Disneyland. But something was wrong--very wrong. Brent finally discovered it. He had been suspecting that things seemed a little too happy, even for Disneyland. He stopped a security guard and said, "Is today a little 'happier' than usual?" The guard replied, "Do you mean is it Gay Days?" Brent nodded and the guard confirmed it--it was Gay Days. You should have seen Brent's face everytime a couple with red shirts passed by. I kept asking, "What is wrong?" And then immediately remembered what was causing him such distress. I have to say it was a very strange thing to experience at one of our favorite family places. And not something you necessarily want to have to explain to your curious 6 year old. But, we had a great time. It was awesome because Glenn & Kirsten offered to take Sarah for the day for us, so we were able to all ride together. We had a lot of fun!

The next day, Monday, the 8th, was the last in the series of four Gay Days, so we opted out of going to Disneyland that day and went down to San Diego for a little while and then came back and went to dinner with Glenn & Kirsten. The next day all five of us went to California Adventure for a few hours. Sarah was loving it and taking it all in. We tried the Tower of Terror for the first time and it was great. Ty even went on it once and Ashley went twice so that Mom could go too.

Wednesday was our last day. We packed up our car and decided to spend a few last hours at Disneyland that afternoon before heading home for Salt Lake. We actually got to go on the Finding Nemo ride with only a 50 minute wait! Ty and Ashley each chose their favorite ride to do one last time. Ashley chose Space Mountain and Ty chose the Haunted Mansion (because it was decorated like "The Nightmare before Christmas" for Halloween. He loves Jack Skellington.) Then we rode Pirates of the Caribbean twice and then the park closed for the night. We drove through the night (well, Brent drove through the night, the rest of us slept) and got home in time for the kids to go to school the next day. What a trip! We sure love Disneyland and can't wait to go again! Yea for annual passes!!

Pirate Ty

2007-09-15T09:12:00.000-06:00

We live with a little pirate. While he may not look too fearsome, he is a true pirate. Every thought revolves around his pirate life. He has a pirate room with a treasure chest, a talking skeleton head, a "turning wheel" for his ship, many swords and guns, and even a shrunken head. Every day is filled with brave swordfights, finding treasure (Dad's spare change buried deep in his bedside table drawer), asking mom to draw new treasure maps (over and over and over), and of course, watching his hero Captain Jack Sparrow (again, over and over and over).

At first. we thought this pirate obsession was just a passing phase. Now we realize this is no phase, Ty is the real thing.

Ty's 3 Year Old Birthday picture (above) and his 4 Year Old Birthday picture (below).

For example, Ty gets horrible leg aches, usually at night and he gets them quite often. The other night he came into our room, crying over his hurting leg. He sat in our bed holding his leg to his chest, rocking back and forth while Mom went to get the medicine. He said, "Stupid leg, stupid leg. I wish I didn't have this stupid leg. Just cut it off. I want a peg leg!" See...pirate!

Also as I mentioned before, Ty now goes to St. Sophia school, which is run by the Greek Orthodox church and is held in a wing of its church building. There is a huge bell tower that chimes the hour and at the top of the tower is a cross. The first thing Ty said as he jumped out of the car and caught sight of the tower is, "Look Mom! They have treasure under there!" I realized that to him the cross was simply another "X" marking the treasure. He can spot an "X" anywhere. Cracks in the sidewalk that converge, exit signs, just about anywhere that two lines cross. I am convinced that should there ever actually be buried treasure, he has the eye to spot it. In fact I'm banking on it. Pirate Ty should turn out to provide a very nice living for himself and his family. Arghh!

Here's some pictures of Ty's pirate room.

Back to School

2007-09-14T12:51:00.000-06:00

Well, Brent & the kids got back from the mountain man rendezvous the day before school started. They had a great time and Ty picked up a great hat. I guess he saw a guy walking by with this hat on and he pointed at him and laughed. He loved the hat. The guy came back shortly after and gave Ty his hat because Ty seemed to love it so much. You can't see it too well in this picture, but it is a buffalo hat with two horns and it is huge, especially on little Ty.

Ty is hiding the new Ashley. Here she is! She looks so much older without her two front teeth!

Well, the official first day of school for Ty was Sept. 5. Ashley's teacher was doing assessments the 4th & 5th, so she didn't actually start until the 6th. They are both going to St. Sophia's, where Ashley went last year. Ty started his first year of preschool and Ashley started kindergarten. Ashley now has to wear a uniform and it is so cute. Here is a picture of her in her full dress uniform (back in August when we bought it.)

Here are the pictures from each of their first day.

They both seem to be loving school. Ty gets out at noon, but Ashley goes until 3:30! As I was putting Ashley to bed last night, we spent a few minutes just talking about her day and school and I realized how little time I now had during the day to do this with her. It really made me very sad. It is all going by so incredibly fast. My sweet little angels are not so little anymore. Except this little angel.

Of course, she's getting so big too. This picture was taken on Ty's first day of school. I loved the position she was sleeping in. Her head was tilted up so funny.

My Ticket

2007-09-02T22:25:00.000-06:00

I just finished reading "The Hiding Place" by Corrie ten Boom last night at 2:30 a.m. I have been reading it for the last five days and going to bed after 2 a.m. each night to finish. What an incredible book and what incredible people. It was truly one of God's tender mercies that I would read this book this weekend. I really needed the lessons it taught about love, forgiveness, faith, obedience, etc., etc.

I knew I was inspired to have read this. For one thing, those of you who know me well know that I am not much of a book reader. Newspaper, yes, books, not so much. This has alot to do with the fact that I am horribly slow (hence the five days of reading with little or no sleep for a 241 page book.) I also am never allowed to read by my attention craving children. Short newspaper stories are about the maximum time allowance I get. This last weekend was different because when I started the book on Tuesday, we were camping together as a family in Yellowstone. Brent took the kids out for a bear hunt, and Sarah was already asleep so I finally pulled out the one book I brought, which in itself was inspiration. After a history of bringing a book (or books) along on trips and never, ever reading a page, I finally realized that for all my good intentions, it wasn't happening and would seriously question the added weight each time I packed. Figuring that once again "The Hiding Place" like so many others would remain packed, I nonetheless packed the book for our trip to Yellowstone. Wednesday we drove to Lava Hot Springs, so I was able to read while Brent drove the motorhome we had borrowed from our friends (thanks Jayson and Christie!) and the kids were plenty occupied by being able to stand up, run around, play, eat, and use the toilet while driving. We got home on Thursday, but then on Friday Brent took Ashley and Ty to a mountain man rendevouz with most of my family, so I have had lots of time to read while Sarah naps and sleeps.

There are so many little jewels of knowledge I gleaned from this wonderful book. I could go on and on about the things I learned from Corrie and Betsie and their dear, wise father and things that were spoken to my heart through the Spirit as I read. It was incredible and I would highly encourage you to read this book if you haven't already. I plan to read it again and again. (Yes, the whole thing! :)

One thing I loved was a story she told about her father. As a young girl, Corrie had gone with her mother to visit a woman whose baby had just died. When they entered the home, the dead baby was lying there next to the door. It was the first time she'd seen a dead body and the reality of death hit her, particularly the thought that if the baby could die, that her father, mother, sisters and brothers would also one day die. As her father came upstairs to tuck her and her sister into their shared bed, as he did each night, Corrie burst suddenly into tears crying, "I need you! You can't die! You can't!" Her father's response was this: "Corrie, when you and I go to Amsterdam--when do I give you your ticket?" Corrie replied, "Why, just before we get on the train." Then he continued, "Exactly. And our wise Father in heaven knows when we're going to need things, too. Don't run ahead of Him, Corrie. When the time comes that some of us will have to die, you will look into your heart and find the strength you need--just in time." Corrie found this to be true through her experiences during the Occupation and in a concentration camp. Everytime she had to do something difficult, the Lord would give her the things she needed to accomplish it. I have found this to be true throughout my life and even just this weekend.

I have also been inspired to love more purely. Over the last couple days when thoughts would come to my head that were very much driven by the natural man in me, I would wonder "How would Betsie see this or respond to this." It has made me realize how truly complacent I had become about taming such critical or negative thoughts, thinking I was doing pretty well in just not expressing them. And yet, as I have tried to change even my very thoughts, it is amazing to me the increase of the Spirit that I have felt. And how my heart has been changed to actually feel the way I was making myself think.

Another thing that hit me on Friday was something that actually I have been taught for years in church and it is the standard answer to any gospel question--"Read the scriptures and pray daily." And yet, for all my saying it, teaching it, believing I should do it, this has been a hard habit for me to maintain for very long. As I was reading on Friday, I was amazed that this family had such faith. They had the faith that moves mountains and very literally such equally profound miracles occured on a daily basis for them. I pondered this faith, and specifically, the power they possessed through such great faith and I wondered "How did they develop such great faith, their whole family too." They all had such faith. Then it hit me with more power than I've ever felt. Every morning and every night their father pulled from the shelf their big family Bible and together they would read the scriptures and they would pray. Over every decision they made they would first pray. With every action they took, they would first pray. By the time they needed miracles, their prayers had become more of a continuing conversation with a very real loving Father in Heaven, whom they knew well. When the scriptures say, "Ask and ye shall receive," I can think of no better example of one asking in faith than the prayers of this family. And they were answered every time because of their great faith. I commited to myself that I would actually do what I've known for years I should do. I finally realized why it is the answer to so many questions, because it is THE answer. There is great power from these two simple principles. I have read and prayed every night since and I have felt the Spirit so strong. It has been a welcome, much needed addition to my life.

As I was reading some talks last night, I came upon the scripture in D&C 121:45-46 which says, "Let virtue garnish thy thoughts unceasingly; then shall thy confidence wax strong in the presence of God; and the doctrine of the priesthood shall distill upon thy soul as the dews from heaven. The Holy Ghost shall be thy constant companion, and thy scepter an unchanging scepter of righteousness and truth; and thy dominion shall be an everlasting dominion, and without compulsory means it shall flow unto thee forever and ever." I thought once again about Corrie and Betsie ten Boom and here too, was an answer to how they had such great power. They had virtuous thoughts. Because of this, the Holy Ghost was their constant companion and their power was righteousness and truth. I further commited to change my very thoughts so that I could have the Spirit's constant companionship and the power that comes therewith.

I am very grateful for my loving Heavenly Father. I'm so grateful for Corrie ten Boom and her experiences which have forever changed me. I'm grateful for the "tickets" that were given to me this week from a wise Father, who knew what lay ahead. Who has always known and has always provided me the strength and answers I needed to handle some very difficult things right when I needed it. May you also find this to be true.

Now I have some scriptures to read and prayers to be said. Goodnight!

Teeth

2007-08-05T23:08:00.001-06:00

July has been a month of changes when it comes to teeth. Sarah got her first tooth on July 4th. We loved that single little tooth! Ashley and Ty seemed to get their teeth in pairs, so having just one little tooth sticking out was so cute and goofy. We all loved Sarah's new smile.

Well, it wasn't long before another tooth came in. On July 23rd she got her second little tooth. She is getting so big!

But, the one who is really getting big is Ashley. She has 3 loose teeth!! A couple weeks ago, I was looking at Ashley's smile and I thought, "My goodness she has a big space between her teeth." So I did some probing and found that she has one really loose tooth and a couple that are becoming loose. Her teeth are really spreading apart to make room for the new teeth.

She is pretty excited, but also a little nervous about losing her teeth. I am so sad to see those cute little baby teeth go, but I love to wiggle them. I can still totally remember the feeling of having loose teeth myself. What a strange feeling it was. I loved to wiggle my teeth and try to pull them out. Now I keep wiggling Ashley's teeth, but just a little, because I really don't want to make them come out. Brent gets mad when he sees me wiggle them because he really doesn't want her to loose those cute little teeth. So whenever I ask Ashley to let me wiggle them, she says, "I'm going to tell Dad" or "Dad will get mad!" But she always relents and lets me wiggle a little. She is so cute. I'm so glad I had her picture taken recently (see the previous post) before she gets a whole new smile. What a grown up girl she's becoming! Sarah too! We joke that Sarah is getting teeth and Ashley is losing them! Today Ty kept telling me to look at his teeth too. I guess he's feeling a little left out.

My Sweethearts

2007-07-25T14:15:00.000-06:00

Every day I think how grateful I am for these three little miracles. They make life so fun! Ashley is getting so big and grown up. She is such a considerate little girl and such a big help to me. Ty is a little cuddle monkey, all 31 pounds of him. I absolutely love his hugs and kisses, he just wraps those little arms and legs around you and squeezes with all his might. Sarah is such a little sweetheart. She is such a pleasant little baby and just grins whenever someone looks at her. I'm so grateful to have been blessed with this little family. It is amazing how much joy these little children bring into our lives.

Disneyland

2007-07-02T22:21:00.001-06:00

When we started thinking a couple of weeks ago about what we should do for Ty's 4th birthday, Brent suggested we go to Disneyland, and of course we all agreed! We drove down last Tuesday, got right to sleep, and went to the park the next day to celebrate Ty's birthday. Grandpa and Grandma came with us to the park and then Glenn & Kirsten joined us later that evening for dinner at Downtown Disney. Ty had a great birthday! At one point during the day we were standing by the pond in front of the castle for a picture and then Grandma gave Ty & Ashley three pennies each to make some wishes. Ty immediately threw in his pennies, one at a time, and made his wishes: "I wish I was a pirate!" "I wish I had a chest!" . . . . " I wish I had a key!" We all thought that was pretty funny. He did get his wish! He got to go on a pirate island, do a pirate jig, (see below) and sail on a pirate boat, and we found some cool pirate keys at the gift shop. He already has three pirate chests at home, so we figured he was already well taken care of there.

When asked what their favorite part of the trip was, Brent said, "Watching Ty dance his pirate jig." Kris said, "Eating at the Blue Bayou, Ty's jig, and the Bug's World area of California Adventure." Ashley said, "Seeing all the princesses (in the Fantasmic show)." Ty said, "Jack Sparrow! Taking my picture with him." Sarah couldn't reply, but our guess is she really liked It's A Small World. She was really taking it all in.

This was Sarah's first trip to Disneyland and we've lost count how many times Ty and Ashley have been, but it certainly won't be our last since we decided to get Annual Passes this time for our family. It's a good thing since the wait time for the Finding Nemo submarine ride was 3-4 hours long! We decided it definitely wasn't worth it and we'll try again on another trip when the park is less crowded and the novelty has worn off a bit.

Twenty-something

2007-07-02T11:22:00.000-06:00

I am the Mia Maids advisor in our ward and I always notice my girls on their cell phones sending text messages. I never could quite understand texting and always wondered why they would sit and text for hours instead of just actually talking! Then I heard somewhere that you can tell your age by whether you text or call. People over 30 generally will call someone and those under 30 will usually just text. That made me realize maybe I'm becoming like my mother, who still can't figure out our Dish TV remote. (Editor's note: There are many other ways I hope to become like my wonderful mother.) So I'm following Julie's lead and doing something else I never thought I would do--create my own blog. Who knows I may even send a text message later.
Wow...I already feel ten years younger!