A NEW ADVENTURE

Our new business

2011-12-11T08:36:00.000-08:00

Well Derek and I have started a new adventure. Many of you know and understand that I have been working full-time. Derek and I both believe that I should be home with our kids, but with school schedules that hasn't been possible. So we have joined with a business that is web sales. We feel that this is an option for us to potentially get me home while Derek continues to go to school. Our store sells everything you use already, but really specializes in green healthy products that work great. The cosmetic line is Artistry which is awesome beauty supplies, our store also joins with partner stores like the Disney store, Sears, Kmart, Office Depot, Omaha steaks...etc. There are thousands of products and we would really love for you all to check out our online store. To register as a customer you just register like you would any store online...you name and things like that then you just shop on line. Everything is delivered to your door. There are free shipping deals, just ask us and every product comes with a 180 day money back guarantee no questions asked. We would love to earn your business. The URL is listed below just look around and please any questions email me or Derek or leave a comment! Thanks for your support!

Here is the URL: www.childsfamily.mychoices.biz

my email: dancnm@yahoo.com

Derek's email: derekjchilds@gmail.com

Halloween Festivities

2011-11-01T19:35:00.001-07:00

O my goodness we had a busy Halloween season. So it will be several pictures. First it starts with a family party at my mom's house

This included Papa reading to the kids the all time cutest book ever "Goodnight Goon" it's a Halloween spin off of "Good night Moon" and I practiced my baking skills and whipped up a pumpkin shaped cake...I thought it' turned out ok and I was told it tasted great, (I didn't try it since I knew how much butter was in it :) ) If you can't tell Derek and I are Bonnie and Clyde and Andrew is a puppy with Nea as Cinderella.

Next we went to our ward party....

We had a lot of fun and felt a little awkward bringing guns in to the church, but o well...Linnea was able to experience her first trunk or treat and loved to spend another night dressed up as Cinderella. Drew was as chill as ever and just loves watching people especially everyone dressed up so funny.

The next weekend before Halloween we had Crystal and Charles over with their kids to make Halloween shirts and watch a scary movie... We watched the original Psycho after the kids went to sleep...you just can't beat a classic horror film...it actually is pretty creepy even though it for

sure wouldn't be rated R now a days.

su .

making shirts, and Linnea sporting her finished shirt. You can't really see it but it has a pumpkin and glow in the dark mummies on it.

Finally the big day arrived...And then the fun food came out. We have a tradition for Halloween we have pumpkin pancakes for breakfast with apple cider syrup. Unfortunately this year I forgot the apple cider to make the syrup, so anyways we went without the special syrup. For dinner I made "gutsy pumpkins" You just carve a jack-o-lantern face in an orange bell pepper and stuff it with spaghetti...super cute. A funny story Linnea came into the kitchen when I had finished with the peppers and I said "look nea, we're going to eat some pumpkins." she walked right up to the counter and took a huge bite out of one...I thought she really liked a raw pepper at first then it hit her and she spit it right out on the floor!!!! Funny girl. Anyways we ended with a fun night of trick-or-treating. Linnea actually seemed to have more fun handing out candy. What a fun season I absolutely love the holidays and it is killing me not to bust out the Christmas tree right now. Maybe next week :)

Dear Angels.....

2011-10-26T13:21:00.000-07:00

Dear Linnea:

My sweet girl...where to begin. I want to let you know how much I love you. I love your zest and enthusiasm for life, please never change that. You have such a joy about you and a love of all living things. You have such a bright personality that is contagious. I love how you have such a curious spirit about you and you are never afraid to wonder and ask why, however at the same time you have a strong confidence about you that I hope you never shake. You are determined and you can succeed in this life. I am amazed as I watch you at how bright you are, you learn at an amazing speed. You are talented in movment, music and words. You understand and are in tune with others' feelings and nothing can make me feel better than a sweet encouraging hug from you. I know there are times I make mistakes and I hope you will always find it in yourself to forgive me, I try my best. After all you are my first baby so I am still learning along with you. You are beautiful sweet girl, I love you forever and ever. I hope I always express that to you throughout your life. I see your sweet spirit and the innocence and how close you still are to your father in heaven, I pray that you will keep that closeness throughout your life. You will achieve so much Nea girl just keep being you, never let someone make you feel inferior or that you should change yourself. I love you

Love, Mom

Dear Drew:

My little monkey. You have brought such a happiness to our home in the short time you have been on this earth. Your contagious smile could make anyone melt. Your curious nature at exploring this huge strange world is wonderful. I pray that you always keep learning and trying to learn in this life. You have such a special spirit about you Drew boy. I look at you and feel so blessed to have you in our lives. I never imagined I could love a little boy so much! I look forward to you growing, learning, developing and showing us who you will be as an individual. You are so calm and peaceful and love to give love even at such young age. How could I ever ask for more. You are so precious to me and I will forever love you no matter where life takes you. You can achieve whatever you set your mind to. I hope you realize that we are here to guide you, support you, and love you. Always know that you have me and daddy here to help you in any time of need you may have. Keep your sweet spirit, your calmness and happiness. This life is meant for happiness even through our trials. I love you my angel boy.

Love, Mom

Our sweet boy

2011-10-19T15:49:00.000-07:00

Little Andrew turned 6 months old on the 17th! I can't believe how fast time goes. He is so precious to us!

Some fun things about Drew

- He loves to hide his face when he smiles

- paper is his favorite toy

- he can sit all by himself

- he loves squash and bananas

- he loves to eat period.

- he loves to grab everything in sight

- he loves to sleep on his tummy

- he loves his daddy's silly voices

- he loves to play patty cake and peek-a-boo

- he rolls everywhere and so desperatly wants to crawl.

- he loves his big sister...she can light up his face faster than anyone

- he loves to be held and snuggled

- he growls all the time

We love Andrew and are so happy he was placed in our family. He truly has added so much happiness to all of us! I love being his mommy and look forward to each day with him learning all about his sweet developing personality!

Kids

2011-10-08T11:20:00.000-07:00

well I am finally updating. Here are some updates on the kiddos. sorry some of the picturesb turned.

LINNEA:

Nea has changed. She officially is my little girl not baby girl any more...very bitter sweet. I look forward to all the new changes, but still can't get over the fact how quickly kids really do grow up. She has started a pre-preschool with some little neighbor friends twice a week for an hour. It is adorable to listen to her randomly singing the ABC song. She loves learning, one night she just insisted I read her Big Bird shape book like five times. I can't tell you how much I enjoy seeing her grow and develop into own person. She is more independent than ever. I am constantly reminded that she can "do things hersself" :) She even tries to buckle herself in the car...needless to say it means loading the car takes and extra ten minutes, but it's fun to watch her detemination. She has increased her obsession with horses even more, if that is possible. She sleeps with 100 animals I swear every night piled all over her little body and each one must be accounted for as part of the bed time routine. She is constantly playing with her toy horses and I love to watch her talk for them and really show her imagination it is adorable. She loves Disney movies and is really looking forward to going to "big Cinderella's house" in a few weeks (aka. Disneyland). One of Nea's greatest accomplishments these past few weeks is she is now officially POTTY TRAINED!!!! It literally took about 5 days and she is sleeping through the night dry and naps it is AWESOME! Buying the two sets of diapers was really denting the budget. Linnea is such a bright spirited girl, she can't talk to someone without bouncing up and down. I need to work on patience some days, but most days I can't get enough of this independent, tender hearted red-head.....we love you sweet girl

ANDREW:

look how much he has grown

This little man has really grown over the last little while. He is sure developing his personality. He will smile at you then quickly hide his face and be shy. He loves, loves, to be on his tummy. He is rolling all over the place and really trying to get on his knees. He can sit by himself now and play which is a beloved landmark for me...I love to be able to just plop them down and have them be happy cause they can see. He loves his sister....especially her hair (which she doesn't always appreciate) He is almost 6 months old can you believe it! He is super mellow, but he can let you know very quickly when you aren't paying enough attentio to him. He loves to be held and cuddled, such a sweet man. He loves his Daddy because he is super silly and loves to wrestle with him. He tries to eat everything and many times we will see him face plant chasing the carpet :) He is slowly taking to solid foods, he really is so picky I can't believe it. He loves bottles now which is such a relief for me as many of you know that was quite the struggle. He is so curious and loves to look at everything. You can almost see his little mind working to figure this world out. Andrew's newest accomplishment is...he cut his first tooth this weekend!!!! Yay...this little stinker has been playing with him for two months and it cut through yesterday!!!! He cut his tooth alot earlier than Nea. We love you baby boy!

I am amazed at how different my two kids are. I am so grateful to get the chance to get to know them and be their mommy!!!!

Get Thee Hence.....

2011-08-28T08:35:00.000-07:00

I've had a lot of thoughts go through my mind the last few weeks, we've been progressing I thik pretty well in our new adjusted life. Derek will be starting tomorrow full time school, which is very exciting for us. I feel for the most part I've accepted the fact that yes I will be working and buck up and deal with it kind of a thing. How fortunate I feel to work at a place that values family and respects the fact that every rehab employee has young children that need more attention than their jobs. I couldn't have found a better place to work for my first job. Lately, however I've been addressing some issues I've had since I was young. I believe I've posted things like this before, but I wanted to say how much the Savior and our Father in Heaven know us everything about us, but also how much the Adversary knows us and it makes me so mad that he knows exactly how to play on our fears in this life. The other night I finally got so sick of his silly mind games I have decided to fight back and tell him to "Get thee Hence!"
When I was younger my mom always told me to take charge. He will have no control over me unless I allowed it. I have fears of death. I have since I was little. Before I was married it was the fear of losing a sibling or my parents, it has now moved to losing my children or my husband or of me dying young and Derek bringing in some imposter woman to raise my kids. It came to the point that everytime I would allow myself to think of happy moments such as having my grandchildren, or Linnea and Andrew get married or go on a mission...immediatly those happy thoughts would be followed by one of the following or something like them, things like... "too bad you won't be around to see them, or they won't live to see that age, or you and Derek most likely won't grow old together!" What the....yeah my goodness just let me have one happy moment. Talk about drive me crazy. But I started letting that punk downstairs win...I started believing that these thoughts were Heavenly Father letting me know that yep too bad Emily your family will never make it with long lives. Well after having a wonderful husband talk me through rationally I did realize...why would that be necessary for me to know. I believe Heavenly Father lets us know things if it will help us progress, he doesn't just break some bad news to us and sit back sayin, "yeah it sucks doesn't it....well deal with it." Anyways I also know that if you don't feel some sense of peace it probably is not the spirit. Now I know the spirit can warn you in a situation of potential danger and that probably isn't a warm fuzzy feeling, but I don't think it leaves you crying and feeling helpless or so fearful you feel out of control. And these are the things Derek has said to bring me back to reality. I realized I don't fear dying or death...it's the pain afterwards. It's the longing for a loved one, because I know I'll see them again, it's the heartache I feel I can't handle. But I've decided I'm done letting him win and I'm done letting him have a good laugh with his demon buddies down there at my expense. I know he's loving every second of it. So from now on I'm going to say "Get thee hence Satan," He's such a jerk. Anyways I've also made some goals. Each year I'm going to write special individual letters to my kiddos and husband, not just any letter it's going to be one hopefully they want to hold onto that will help them realize how much I love them as the individual person they are. I also am going to get individual books of Mormon and read them with each on of my kids in mind and any inspiration I get while reading for them I am going to write down specifically for them....that is a stolen idea but I thought it was a great one. And when they are older I will give them "their book" so they can have that extra guidance from me and the Lord during the hard years in life. I've decided if one of us leaves this earth early you can bet that we won't leave wondering if we were loved. My kids will KNOW that I cherish them so much individually for their own strengths and weaknesses and Derek will KNOW he is my life long love (cheesy I know) but he is, he will know no man could ever fill my heart as he has. I'm not going to let these fears interfere with our lives, I'm going to use them to make the most of the precious moments we have here with our sweet families! And from now on when I look at my kids and picture them as young adults with their spouses or their kids or in mission tags...that's where the thought will end. I will think it smile and look forward to it, and then move on! I am so thankful for my hubby, and I am so thankful for the Lord. For letting me put my burdens on him, when I have done it for so many years. I'm thankful for his patience, I'm not lying when I say I've had many nights since I was just a little girl of crying over losing family members, but slowly I've gotten stronger through the Lord teaching me and sending others who are close enough to the spirit to know the things to say to help me!!! Life may be short.....so we better make it a good life!

Guilt...

2011-08-11T19:29:00.000-07:00

I'm not writing this to get sympathy it's just thoughts that always come to my mind only at nights...when the kids are asleep and Derek is doing something else somewhere in the house. I've almost made it through my first week working full time, it's been emotional to say the least. I love the work...I love being a therapist, but I feel tired. I have a commute and I wanted to get off much earlier than I have been so I could spend time with my kids, but lately we've been getting home around 4:45 or later so we really don't get as much time as I would like before bedtime. I start to feel guilty after the kiddos are put down...if Andrew doesn't smile much, I think to myself...it must be because I'm gone during the day or Linnea will come home and beg to go for a walk and go play with her little boyfriend, Jude at the park like we always used to do in the mornings, but we can't because it's time to get dinner ready and spend family time together. I think to myself are my kids going to be well behaved because they aren't with me in the day to teach them proper manners or are they going to pick up bad habits from other kids? Are they going to feel close to me over the next few years? Will they ever know how much heartache this causes me? I worry I don't spend enough time with them in the evenings because we still have a house to take care of meals to make. I know what we are doing is right, but I can say this is the hardest most painful thing I've done this far in my life. Anyways I just needed to vent some emotions so they can leave my head. I love my family and I am willing to sacrifice for them, and right now I hope my kids can understand someday we all sacrificed so Derek can acheive his goals....that is our priority right now! And it is the right thing to do, it's just not easy.

A new chapter

2011-07-21T16:10:00.000-07:00

Well we've had some change of plans that I didn't see coming, but we have decided with prayer and now we're going forward with confidence. Derek is going to be quitting his job on August 15th and is enrolled in full time school and I will be heading to work to be the bread winner! It is a scary thing for me. I said many many times that I WOULD NOT go full time until Drew was at least a year old. It's strange how things change. I found a few jobs, but none felt super good until I went in for an interview at Orem Rehab and Nursing. It was a full time position, but they were willing to work with me. They found another COTA who was possibly going to be willing to split the shift with me, if not they would hire me on at 30 hours a week, so I was pretty happy. Then the other COTA decided it was better for her family to stay in Salt Lake. I totally understand you need to do what is best. So here I was going to be working 30 hours, I was still considered part-time even though full time is 32 hours... the plan was to go full time in January and Derek would start full time school then. so anyways it was nagging at me that something wasn't fitting. Our kids were going to be in Day care for about 7 hours a day (sucky) and we would only save about $4000 in four months after child care and other expenses came out from my checks. It didn't seem worth it to me to basically be working full-time, having our kids stay somewhere else all day long if we weren't even going to be able to build up our savings account to a super impressive number. So last night Derek and I discussed the subject of me just starting full time and him going to school full time. The reason I'm working is to get him through school right? Well we prayed about it and I felt a peace about the whole thing, but to my surprise Derek didn't What??? We had never been on separate pages before, so we talked, did some math some more, then took a break for the night, then prayed some more. Derek said this morning he still didn't feel great about the idea so he asked me to pray about him going to school. Well I did,but again I still felt calm about the idea. I was very confused, because I should be the one fighting to stay home right? Don't get me wrong my heart is crushed into pieces at the thought of not seeing my two beautiful kids smiles all the time, but I couldn't help it I had a very peaceful feeling. So I called Derek a little upset and confused. I had it worked out that it would be cheaper for us for me to work full time since he could take after noon classes so the kids would only be at daycare for about three hours until I came and picked them up that is not bad at all in my eyes, and they would be able to at least be with one of their parents! He said that I made valid points and said he would think about it some more. A few hours later he called me and told me he was going to be quitting his job! He felt that the reason he didn't feel super was because he truly hadn't decided yet if going to school right now was the best choice, but as soon as he did he felt the peaceful feeling I had too. It is working out for this semester so far. His schedule is all in the afternoon from about 2:00 on so it won't be long that the kids will be babysat before I get home. We still will be able to save each check if we discipline ourselves since I will be able to make more than we are making now. It is going to be such a hard few years for me, to miss my kids each day, but I know that the sooner Derek is done with school the sooner my hope to be a stay at home mom can become a reality! I am so grateful for the Lord in answering prayers, even if it is a hard answer. This will be the hardest thing I do at this point in my life, but I have a confirmation that I can hold onto when the hard times of guilt and missing my sweet kiddos come up. I hope that others won't judge this decision of me working outside the home, unfortunately I have faced judgement before just going to school. I have read the scriptures and many articles about mothers and working. I like one quote that was given from President Hinkley I believe in one article it said "to those mother's who have to work outside the home for righteous reasons to help support their family, the Lord gives his blessings, because he understands and knows the anguish you feel." So true. Times have changed in the financial world now. It doesn't mean I don't believe a mother should be with her children at home if she can, but I also know and believe if a woman is called to work outside the home to help provide and support her family, not just to have more money and "things" then she is still a righteous person and no one can say that she doesn't love her children, because speaking firsthand there is nothing I wouldn't do for my little bugs and my heart will ache everyday, I'm starting to cry just thinking of it, but I know what is right for my family. If we're lucky we'll only have about three years until my hubby can graduate!!! Sorry for the soap box, but anyways here's to a new chapter in our lives!

Some recipes

2011-07-15T10:55:00.000-07:00

Okay so as we've been trying to eat better here are two things that I think have turned out to our liking the first one is just my made up thing. It started with a night of getting down to the bare minimum of our groceries and trying to make it stretch. Well it turned out to be super yummy and filling and low calorie. Derek actually asks for it all the time. It'll probably be the easiest cheapest meal you can make that is pretty good for you. So anyways...

three cans of whatever beans ( I like black, kidney, and white)
some steamed brown whole grain rice
homemade or bought salsa
some cheese

so obviously there are no measurements just whatever looks good to me. So throw it all in a skillet and heat it up and mix it together. Get some corn chips or tortillas and there you go! It doesn't sound like much but it actually tastes great together and I get full on one serving cause of all the beans. Super yummy! you can even top with lettuce and make a little salad out of it!

Okay I tried the black bean brownies and I have to say I was pleasently surprised. Linnea kept asking for more, Derek said they were good, they had a different texture, but he said he couldn't tell there were beans in them so here is that recipe if you dare to try

1 can black beans
3 eggs
3 T veg oil (or applesauce if you want it healthier)
1/4 c cocoa powder
1 pinch salt
1 tsp vanilla
3/4 c sugar
1/2 c chocolate chips (optional)

preheat oven to 350 degrees, combine beans, eggs, oil, cocoa, salt, vanilla, and sugar in blender. Blend together. Pour into 8 x 8 pan and top with chocolate chips if you want. Bake until top is dry and edges start to pull away from the sides about 30 minutes. I put a little powdered sugar on top at the end and we enjoyed them! They are dairy and gluten free for anyone who has allergies. I told my mom so we'll see if she braves them :) Tomorrow I'm making a low cal garlic chicken so it's a meat recipe we'll see how it turns out. It's kind of fun finding fun healthy recipes and having them turn out to be something my family actually really enjoys!

Our new mission

2011-07-06T10:14:00.000-07:00

Well Derek and I have decided to make some changes in our lives. Healthier changes. Now once upon a time after I had Linnea I was a health nut, very close to being almost a vegan, not for weird reasons, just health. I would have milk from time to time or some eggs, but for the most part I was basically eating plant food. And to be honest I had never felt better in my life! I had so much energy and I lost 60 POUNDS!!!! I have, like a lot of girls, had self-esteem issues that have been there since middle school, and after I lost that weight I actually after years would look in the mirror and liked what I saw...that may sound vain, but it wasn't in a vain way I just felt good and happy all around. So anyways once I started my school program the vending machines became much more tempting and I was sitting most of the day, so I put on a few more pounds, not a horrific amount but about 7 or so and then I got pregnant with sweet little Andrew and all discipline was gone. So here I am again....I know everyone keeps telling me o you just had a baby it's fine. But I can't tell you how frustrating it is to not fit in any of my summer clothes, so anyways without whining too much about baby weight, Derek and I have made some decisions. We are not vegetarians, we both like our meat, but we have decided to decrease our meals with meat in them and increase our plant food intake. So four nights out of the week we have meatless meals, and the other three we'll have chicken or something like that. We have a roast that we'll have on Sunday, but that's about it. I've been doing the bountiful basket co-op for over a year now, and I have made a goal to seriously make sure I use ALL my produce from that basket. I want to make some changes for my family. Linnea is a big sugar holic which is fine, but I also want her and Drew to understand as they grow up what the healthy choices in food are. We did a family home evening last monday on healthy eating to kick start our little family journey. My sister and her family have given us a lot of inspiration. Katie and Eric have truly made some drastic changes in their lives and I hearing how it affects little Sammy, so I know he'll understand what is healthy and I want that for our kids also. Last night we made a black bean bake with some rice...you wouldn't even notice that it didn't have meat in the tortillas! The beans fill you us almost better. Derek has a co-worker that uses beans in their desserts in place of the fat. Derek tried some cookies and he said you wouldn't even know it. I found a recipe for black bean brownies which is the same concept so we'll see how they turn out!!! I've done a lifestyle change before, but I hope this time it sticks, because now my husband is involved, granted Derek has a sweet tooth, but he is trying to take apples and carrots now to work instead of chips and cookies. So wish us luck. I think changing your eating habits is one of the hardest things to do, at least for me!!!
If anyone feels maybe they want to try some meatless meals, I've found some great resources for recipes so let me know!

Blessing, the 4th, Splash park...and other stuff

2011-07-05T18:47:00.000-07:00

We have had a busy last few days! Our Sweet little man was blessed on the third and it was so great. We had tons of family come down to spend the day with us, I love getting together, and of course with our family there is always tons and tons of food! Some highlights that Andrew was told in his blessing that really stood out to me, because a few days before I had the same thoughts of my little boy, he was told a few times how kind he would be, and how he would love people so much and just yearn to share the gospel because of his love for others. I had that thought come to me, more about how he will love his sister and always be one to watch out for her because I just know he is going to be such a loving and gentle personality. So I absolutely loved his blessing and I loved watching Derek perform the blessing!!!

For the fourth Derek and I just did our own thing. We were so spoiled the kids slept in until 7:30 so for most of the day we just relaxed and played outside and recooped from the busy weekend. Before our personal firework show we went and got some ice cream, and yes I gave Andrew his first experience, now before you judge it was a tiny amount and it was hilarious watching him lick lips! Linnea was a little bit afraid of her sparkler and the flowers that we got, but it was still a lot of fun. We didn't watch any big fireworks since the kiddos had had several late nights we decided to put them to bed at bedtime. it was a great day, and I am so thankful to all those who have sacrificed for the freedom of the country. Even though there is drama with the government I would never want to live anywhere else!

And then today we have a brand new splash park around the corner from us that just opened up so I went with my friend Erin and linnea's little boyfriend Jude and we let the kiddos splash, Drew did not appreciate me putting his feet in the water, but Linnea loved it. Jude is fearless and would sit right on the streams of water, Nea was a little bit cautious, but still had such a fun time. Life is so great right now. I have so much fun with my kids and Derek it is awesome. O I am officially licensed now as a COTA, so on the 7th I have an orientation for a job that is on call. I hope to only work a max of 10 hours to 15 hours a week for a little while, but it will be nice to help out with finances a little bit I know it will relieve some pressure for Derek and help us increase our savings yay!!!!! Well enjoy the picture show below :)

The two red-heads loving life

Drew loves his Daddy

mommy and Drew

Linnea being a little unsure about the fireworks :)

Sweet baby Drew

Some of the crazy Carters

Some of the Childs'

Katie and Sammy loving life

Nea and Daddy

Ahhh memories

2011-06-28T12:24:00.000-07:00

I have found after having my own kids how so much of what Linnea does reminds me of some of my favorite things I used to do as a kid, like wearing adult shoes, doing my parents hair, playing with any type of animal I can find....it is so fun to watch my little kids develop and grow!!!! And here is just a picture of cutie patootie drew!

2011-06-22T07:20:00.000-07:00

There are a few things in life that can lift your spirits instantly and are completely irrisistable...a little baby's smile is for sure one of those things...Drew loves to smile at us...I'm still trying to capture one of his open mouth smiles cause those just melt you in a second :)

Father's Day

2011-06-18T12:36:00.001-07:00

I just wanted to wish the wonderful father's out the a great day. I personally have such a wonderful Dad that I couldn't ask for anyone better. He has always been a kid at heart I think. He loves Disney movies and Disneyland more than any other kid out there :). My dad has always worked so hard to provide for his family, for most of my life he had two jobs, but still made time for church callings as well as all of our extra curricular activities including sitting through never ending drill team competitions which I know he has no interest in dancing :) but he did it just so I would be able to look up and see both he and my mom cheering me on! He is a wonderful grandpa to my kids and little Sammy. Linnea absolutely adores her papa!!!

I also have the greatest husband who is an amazing daddy! He is so calm and understanding and is so fun to watch with our little girl...who most definietly adores her daddy, and now to see him make faces and play with little Drew I can almost see the two of them in a few years mowing the lawn or playing catch together. It is such a different kind of love you feel for your spouse when you see them interact and have so much love towards their kids! I love you Derek and think our children and future children are the luckiest kids alive to have a daddy like you

2011-06-05T21:03:00.000-07:00

pictures

2011-06-05T20:57:00.000-07:00

Here are some adorable pictures of our two kiddos!!! love them!

Big Sister!!!

Our bright Eyed boy!

Cute siblings!!!

Aren't they the cutest little bugs ever!!!!

Life of the Childs Brigade

2011-05-20T08:02:00.000-07:00

Here are just some random pictures of our morning...I have been feeling rather guilty of not being a camera freak like I was when Linnea was born so I decided to take some pictures.

I thought this was cute...Linnea made her bed with just a tiny bit of help from mom, this is the final result...pretty good for a two year old.

This is my artist in the making...she loves, loves, loves to paint...as you can see she has a wooden project to paint, but prefers to just paint the newspaper

This is Drew doing tummy time...uh well this is him after trying to do tummy time :) he worked too hard I guess

I love my little kiddos!!

I have a second...

2011-05-19T19:19:00.000-07:00

Well I thought I'd quickly update on our life lately! Drew is now over a month old already it is just flying...it's weird to imagine how it was without him...I thought I was busy with Linnea and could never get anything done...wow now I know what squeezing time for myself is :) The kids are starting to get on a nap schedule that is actually at the same time so thankfully that has freed up some time for me to get things down or just sit down and be alone for a sec! Linnea has been so sweet with Drew the last few weeks, she has her moments, but for the most part I think her biggest challenge is she gets bored since I have to feed Drew so often she just gets hyper or starts to cause trouble, but I'm working on games we can play together while Drew is eating so hopefully that helps. She is going to be going to a dance workshop in July to see if she enjoys dance and if she does we will officially be signing her up for dance classes I'm so excited I think she'll really have a lot of fun.
Drew is such a sweetie, we've been having a pretty difficult time with feeding though. He has some reflux issues and he has the worst gas I have ever seen in a newborn. I had to take him to the doctor today because we have to hold him upright for over an hour before we can lay him back down or else he gets so uncomfortable and he just acts like he is in so much pain. The doctor said his tummy is just full of air and he told me it could be several things, it could just be him gulping air, it could be that his tummy gets too gassy while he is digesting, or he can't handle lactose. He suggested we try to put him on special formula and I would just pump for awhile while we see if that worked...well the poor guy HATES formula...he is so different from Linnea who would eat just about anything. So that means I get to go on a strict diet and cut out foods that can really upset newborns tummys...so no Dairy, corn, or soy....those are the big ones the doc told me to avoid. I had already been trying to avoid dairy...I haven't had regular milk for quite awhile just coconut milk, but I need to be more strict with cheese I love cottage cheese so I guess my little snack is out. I hope this works or else we're going to have to I guess force feed him the formula and that will be a chore! Other than that he is just wonderful and the stinking cutest little guy ever. We're getting pictures taken tomorrow so hopefully I'll have some super cute pictures to post soon.
I am still waiting on approval for my certification exam so I can take that stinking test and get school completely behind me. I have a job that is waiting for me to be certified. I'll just be hired on as on call for a few months, which is perfect since they pay more that way and I can tell them yes or no if I want to work so it'll work with the kiddos schedule and hopefully Derek can do most of the watching instead of having babysitters. Life is great right now, super busy, but we're doing our best and it has been a wonderful month with Drew in our family.

Dear College

2011-05-05T14:20:00.000-07:00

Dear College...
We have been through so much together over the years. Our story first began down south at "party school" Dixie state...so much happened at this fantastic school...not much studying, more playing and discovering life away from mom and dad. I spent my days sleeping through classes, changing my looks deciding every new guy I went out with could be the next Mr. Emily Carter, and then turning around and chaning my mind. What a life! making life long friends and bouncing checks, going from being a teacher, social worker, occupational therapist, english major then back to occupational therapy. It wasn't until you introduced me to a shy, sexy guy that I decided hmmm...maybe there is more to college than playing around....

...you introduced me tothe love of my life and what a change that was! He was different than the other guys, he was GOOD! He knew what he wanted out of life he was kind to others...he loved me for me no matter what our differences were...and most importantly he made me want to be better each day! How can I thank you enough dear Dixie State College for introducing me to Derek. You watched us date and have fun and fall in love, then one day it happened...

...you watched us begin to plan a wedding...you watched us return to school newly married and SURPRISE... a few months later you saw me waddle around your campus fat and pregnant with our new adventure waiting to come out. You could've been nicer during this time...your buildings could have been closer and your weather could have been cooler, but whats done is done.

...I came back to you college after our sweet girl was born because you and I had unfinished business to attend to. Thank goodness this sweet blessing came when she did. I finally decided what I needed to do to end our relationship college...I decided on a degree!!! So we packed our bags and moved from my first college to finish what I had started.

...here at SLCC I began a program and once again made lifelong friends that will never be forgotten, you gave me that college. I found a degree that was perfect for my family, for being a young mom, and for giving me the opportunity to have a job someday that could really help my family especially in uncertain times. You saw me grow and do better than I had ever done in school in this program! You saw us go up and down with struggles, lay offs, and other frustrations.

And finally as I now say good-bye to you college you have once again watched as we have begun another new adventure, by welcoming in this sweet new life! I finally close the door on you college and welcome my new life as mommy with open arms. I have discovered in these five years since we've been together college, that although you were necessary and a very important part of my life...now I get to do what is most important!!! Thank you college for the lessons you've taught me, who knows maybe we'll meet again in the very very distant future, but for now you are just a long, long memory of good times and bad times!!!!

I did it!!!!!!

Easter

2011-04-25T06:55:00.001-07:00

We had a nice Easter weekend, we went up to my parent's house on Saturday and Drew got to meet all of his great-grandparents (my mom has the pictures, I'll try to post some more soon) and then on Sunday we went over to Derek's brother's house for another Easter Dinner and hung out with his family a little bit. We tried to do an easter egg hunt in the morning for Linnea and it eventually worked, but man she woke up grumpy I almost took everything away from her so she wouldn't even get all of her treats, but she cheered up eventually and had fun finding the eggs. Derek wanted to start a tradition for the present our kids get from the easter bunny, he is going to give them kites each year and then when the weather lets us we'll all go fly them as a family I think it's a cute idea. So this year Linnea chose a batman kite (yes I have a girly girl :) ) and she loved to fly it with dad they had a lot of fun. I hope everyone had a great Easter holiday! I am grateful for Easter and the message that it reminds me of. Knowing that Christ died for us so we can all live forever with our loved ones and that we can be forgiven of our sins is such an amazing gift. I can't imagine not being with my sweet little family for eternity. I still struggle with death, it is a fear of mine to lose my husband or my kids, but I am slowly gaining a stronger testimony of eternal life and the sealing power of the temple!

This is what our family does most of the time now!

Cute girl and her daddy heading to church

Adorable boy, how can you resist that face!

Life...

2011-04-21T12:07:00.000-07:00

Well we're working on our 2nd day home and it has been great...my house isn't super pretty, but who cares :) Linnea has surprised me so much with Drew, she loves him...she asks to hold him, she always tries to give him his binki, she ran up to him this morning when he sneezed and said "you ok, you ok baby?" She has to do whatever he is doing. I put him down on a blanket for floor time today and she had to have her blanket down right next to him also. I love my little kiddos...I still feel pretty tired especially in the afternoon, but it has been wonderful having my two kids together and adjusting to our new family. Little Drew is eating better, but we still have a hard time getting him to wake up sometimes to eat so it's a work in progress, but hopefully soon he'll get on a good schedule and get chunky :)

Introducing...

2011-04-18T11:21:00.000-07:00

Andrew Derek Childs

Our little man has finally arrived!

Born April 17, 2011, 4:56 pm

7 lbs 14 oz.

19 inches long

We are so in love with our little man. I started having contractions on the morning of the 17th, around 3:15 am and they stayed 20 minutes apart for HOURS!!!! I sat around thinking this must not be real or I was disappointed because I thought we'd have a long labor like Linnea's was (I heard your second seems to go fast so I was hoping for that) Well eventually I started having contractions coming every 8 minutes and they were getting pretty strong. Then about 30 minutes later they were coming every 5-6 minutes so we called our neighbor to let her know we may be bringing Linnea over at some point in the day. I was nervous to head to the hospital since with Linnea and this little guy we had been sent home so I wanted to make sure when we went we stayed. About 10 min. after calling our neighbor I felt like we better go now. So we grabbed Linnea's bag and took her over when we got in the car my contractions were about 3-4 minutes apart already!!! So we got to the hospital a little before 3 pm, they checked me and said alright your at 6 cm! So we called my mom to tell her to get down to the hospital since we were progressing so quickly. My contractions ended up being right on top of each other so right after we got off the phone with grandma they said "o your at a seven!" Then 10 minutes later I went to 8 the quickly to a 9 then finally a 10. I went from a 6-10 in just a little over an hour thankfully! Unfortuantley grandma didn't make it he came so fast, but she arrived right when he was out. We had such an amazing nursing staff who really knew about natural birth and Derek was sooooo AMAZING I would not have been able to reach our goal of no medication without him, because trust me once I hit an 8 I was really wanting pain relief. I had a hard time controlling the urge to push I started having the urge at around an 8 so thankfully the doctor and nursing staff really helped me try to control that urge! Finally it was pushing time within 4 contractions we had our precious baby in our arms!!! He came out crying which was such a relief since Linnea was not breathing when she was born. He has copper hair and blonde eyebrows and eyelashes! He is perfect! We finally decided about an hour ago that his name is Andrew...completely different from what we had originally planned we were soooo set on Hayden and then he came out and it did not seem like Hayden was his name. So now we have baby Drew! He is a little slow at eating, he doesn't show much interest in it and doesn't root very often, but we're working on it! Linnea didn't seem too interested, but she did pat him on the head when they met and she is having a blast with Nana and Pupa!!!!! I am so in love, I love how quickly such a little person can mean the world to you! Welcome to our family little Drew!

Update

2011-04-15T15:32:00.000-07:00

Well I officially made it through this week of fieldwork YAY! That was our big goal since now if I went this weekend I would only have to make up 4 days after the baby was born, what a stress relief since I feel that is do-able, not fun, but do-able. Well I had some drama on Monday, well technically Tuesday morning and I got in trouble from the sister for not sharing, but basically put I thought my water broke since I woke up in a puddle at 2am. So I thought ok here we go, we made sure we had everything packed, we woke up my parents to let them know, we gathered our little sleeping princess into the car and headed to the hospital. Well they set me up to test to see if my water had broken ( I was waiting for the results before I called my friend who offered to take Linnea once we got to the hospital.) Well it sure was hard for a little two year old to sleep in a hospital room with her brother's heartbeat on the monitor, her mommy all strapped to machines and nurses doing weird things to me :) Ok so once again the tests came back NEGATIVE for amniotic fluid. I was so grateful when that happened at 28 weeks, but at 39 I kept thinking what the heck else am I supposed to think a big puddle of water is? So I have decided my little monkey inside of me likes to make me wet the bed :) I guess all the bacteria and other stuff that you have when your pregnant can mask the smell of pee so we had know way of knowing what all this stuff was. So we walk in the door at 5:15 am put Nea back to sleep and my alarm goes off at 5:20...time to wake up and go to fieldwork. Needless to say I was a zombie, but they were nice and let me go home at 12. Now that it is Friday I am grateful I was able to finish this week, but at the time I had mentally gotten to the point of preparing for labor and coming home with a baby I was not a happy camper when I left without a baby on the outside. Well I did have a doctor's appointment today and he is for sure on his way soon I am dialated to 3 cm 80% effaced and he is at -1 station, which was clarified by the doctor as halfway down the birth canal....so yay I haven't dialated for four weeks past a 2 and so now a little bit of progress is being made. Pretty exciting. I know he'll be here next friday since I'm getting induced so we'll just have to see if he waits another week!

"Exceptionally Low..."

2011-04-08T18:38:00.000-07:00

Well I went to the doctor today for my check up so I thought I'd update. ( I didn't update last week because the doctor I saw was a putz and told me absolutely nothing) New doctor comes in all bright and cheerful and asks me with a lot of excitement, "since you're so close would you like me to strip your membranes?" I quickly said no way, and went on to explain that this little guy needs to stay in as long as possible due to school. So he said he could understand that and we proceeded with the check up. He told me I would have a lot of pressure as he checked for the baby's head since baby's heads are clear up there right.... about two seconds later his eyes get big and he says "Your baby's head is exceptionally low!" So of course that gets my attention and I ask what does he mean by that and I am told "you might not want to hold out for your due date, don't be surprised if it's earlier than that!" Ok Linnea came 5 days early so in my mind that is all I have to go on so it's not a huge surprise, but now our prayers have changed to please just let me get through this NEXT week of fieldwork because then at least I would only have to make up 4 days instead of two weeks! Anyways I am still at 2 cm, I forgot to ask how effaced I was and he forgot to tell me, but I guess we'll see what the next few days bring for our little guy and our family. I can't believe how fast it has gone I don't feel ready. I know I'm a second time mom, but I think with each new addition I'm going to feel a sense of being unprepared and nerves! I feel like there is still so much cleaning and organizing to get done before an infant that needs all my attention joins our family and here I can remember thinking "O it's still months away" well now it could be days to just two weeks!!!! Here we go!

Life is sweet!!!

2011-04-06T18:10:00.000-07:00

Our St. Patrick's Day dinner, we hate corned beef so we just had roast beef and cabbage :) Linnea liked her little shamrock!

Just our sweetie getting ready to go to church

Well I thought I would update the blog since it's been awhile. Our life has taken a turn for the better I feel like, not that it was bad before, but for a while there I felt sad. I felt extra guilty due to more hours at fieldwork, I felt Linnea was almost depressed and thought it was because of a new baby and I felt Derek was stressed with issues at work and with school. The last few weeks however I have come to appreciate our little family so much more. Linnea has been pretty sick and has an ear infection. Now that that is all under control she has been the sweetest little girl and I fall more in love with her each day! Anytime I stand up and grimace due to the wonderful comforts of being 9 months pregnant she runs over and says "you ok mama?" with the most genuine concern I think a person can have. She cuddles with me everyday when we get home and thankfully I feel that she is beginning to adjust to the thought of "her" baby. The last few days she actually pats my tummy and will say baby or just pat it. She told me that she is going to help me give the baby a bottle and binki. A few weeks ago all we got out of her was "no baby" or "no boy" I still feel that she will have an adjustment when he arrives, but I am very grateful for her tenderheart and know she will love her brother so much even if it takes a little time.

Derek had his 25th birthday on Saturday and I am so grateful for him. I don't know how I ever landed such an amazing person. He is so calm and patient and the extent of him being stressed is saying " I'm kinda stressed, and would like a hug" he is such a good daddy and so encouraging to me to meet my goals with the childbirth, and school and work someday. He wants more than anything to see me at home with our kids which I am so grateful for because I know when he gets the chance to go full time in school he will be so dedicated so he can get finished also.

Fieldwork is almost over, I have two more weeks to go and then I can say see ya school...I never want to go back :) I hope that our little man stays in, but at the same time I am not stressing about it anymore I can't help it when he comes and I know that I was prompted to go to school and also we knew it was the right time to have another baby so the Lord will give us a way to finish all of our goals. I am pretty sore most days because he is dropping so of course it puts more pressure on my back and lower body, but it's not too bad. I'm really excited for him to come and have a little newborn in our house again. They are so precious and I do miss the baby stage. Well life is wonderful and I am so grateful for all the blessings that have come into our lives over the past few months and even days. I've truly noticed the Lord's hand in helping us get through school, deal with finances, help Linnea through her difficult days and so much more.

Count Down

2011-03-24T15:36:00.000-07:00

Well the count down begins...I had my 36 week check up yesterday, I can't believe we have four more weeks and we'll have this little guy here it has gone soooooo fast, I still hope that I can finish with my fieldwork, but I feel like he might come a few days early, not a whole lot, but I am not sure if I'm going to make it to my due date, but we'll see. I'm scheduled to be induced on the 22nd, so he'll be here either before then or on the 22nd of April. So the check up went good they say he is measuring great size wise...the stats

dialated at 2cm

60% effaced

The baby is head down so he's in a great position. I feel better pain wise in that general area, I still have the discomfort, but it's bearable. Sleeping is a whole different story as most of you who have been pregnant know at this point if you don't have to wake up three + times to pee it's a good night. With both my pregnancies I have gotten restless legs really bad and this little guy has caused not only my legs to cramp, but also my toes and hands! The doctor told me yesterday that the hand cramps are cause of carpal tunnel since I'm swelling, but it should go away after he's born, so last night I was up for 45 minutes walking off a foot cramp :) it is all so worth it though, I can't wait to hold our little man and kiss his adorable little face! I have a feeling Nea is going to have a difficult adjustment. I feel that she may sense something is going to change, she has been quite clingy to us and a little bit more emotional, but I'm sure some of that is just the age she is! I'm so gratefull that I get to be home to help her adjust and that is the main reason I am hoping I can finish my fieldwork so I can be home and not have to keep dropping Linnea off somewhere else, luckily though if I come just a few days early Derek said he will take the week off and stay with the kids while I finish so at least they'll be with one of their parents! We are about 99.9% sure his name will be Hayden, we can't decide if the middle name should be Derek or maybe Swen after my great-grandpa!!! Well I'll keep updating over the next four weeks and let everyone know when this guy may be coming!!!

All Natural...hmmm

2011-02-22T13:32:00.001-08:00

Well this post may be a TMI post, if you feel that way then my suggestion would be to not read it :) So the last month and a half I have been having and experiencing a lot of the symptoms of Pubic Symphysis...as far as I understand it is a little cartilage or ligament that connects your pubic bone to whatever ( I need to brush up on my anatomy again) anyways when you get prego sometimes you get too much relaxin hormone and it relaxes too much...the issue that you have is when you actually deliver the baby it can break or snap if you don't have your legs placed properly. The symptoms consist of a lot of pain when walking, rolling over in bed, getting dressed, walking up and down stairs...check check check. I go to the doctor tomorrow and I'm going to talk to him about it and see what he thinks. This actually happened to my mom when I was born. They didn't know she was having a dysfunction until my big head came out and she was crippled for a few months after not super fun, since I broke hers. Well the things that doctors recommend is not getting an epidural during delivery so you can be in possible different positions and so you can feel if your legs are getting pushed too high to help avoid breaking the ligament, or c-section, but who honestly wants surgery if you don't need to have it? SO...I have been thinking about it, about not getting an epidural...I had a fine experience with Linnea and the epidural, it made me sick, but I was pain free. I went awhile without medication last time, but I do know it hurts so I have some fear about the "real" pain of actually getting the baby out. I feel though that it would be worth it to avoid not being able to walk for 3 months after, although it still is no gurantee since my mom had me natural and hers still broke (of course they didn't know about it beforehand). I have started my mental game to overcome a lot of my fears because I KNOW that if I mentally am thinking well if it hurts too much I'll just get an epidural, then I'll get the epidural cause thats what I did last time. I've talked to Derek and explained how if I did it natural there is no sleeping and hanging off to the side for him he needs to be right there helping keep my mind off things. I have a great video from a nurse who works with natural delivery, I got it when I was pregnant with Linnea and she talks about all sorts of different techniques and options, but especially focuses on the Dad's part in helping with pain management. I have had some wonderful cousins give birth without pain medication...so any advice would be appreciated. I am interested to know what the Doctor will say about the whole situation tomorrow.

The Room is Complete!!!!!

2011-02-09T13:00:00.000-08:00

This is a picture of Linnea's room shortly after we had finished moving in....everything was the same when we started changing the room except obviously the baby swing and the crib was gone....I think it's changed a lot

And now the after room for boy and girl :)

I had a hard time taking pictures good enough to get the full effect of the new look to Linnea's room, but it is monkey/jungle theme and we have monkeys hanging all over the room and we want to make a cute saying starting with "two little monkeys..." and make it go all the way around the room, but we haven't come up with a cute one yet....we think it turned out great for a girl and boy room on our budget....my mom made the cute valance and we found the dresser for a great deal at RC Willey and I busted out some hidden crafty skills and made the book sling for Linnea.

Bullying Experience...grrr

2011-02-02T14:08:00.000-08:00

Well I had to post little Linnea's first experienc with a bully....and my first real urge to physically slap a child :) So I got off my fieldwork super early so I decided to take Linnea on a date for lunch so we went to good old Chic Fila however you spell it. Things were super fun they gave her two ballons she got fresh squeezed lemonade the sugary works for a kid! Then she wanted to go to the playset since it had a floating car that she wanted to play in so we went in for a little while to go play. Things were fine and then I noticed this little boy, probably about 6 took her book from her that she got in her kid's meal and he ran away. Of course Linnea looked at me and kinda got upset so I walked back over to her and the kid came back, I said to him "will you please give her back her book" his snoty reply was "NO!" and he ran away again. This upset Linnea even more so we walked away and I told her sometimes kids aren't very nice. He eventually came around us again and Linnea reached for her book which he didn't give to her and I said out loud "Don't worry Nea, he's just not being nice so we don't need to play with him." When he heard me say that he held her book out for her to take so I smiled and said "Thank you" and then the little brat snatched it back and laughed...luckily his mom saw this and made him give it back...phew. So Linnea went back to playing and about 5 minutes later this kid was back in the play area. It was like he instantly singled my little tenderheart out. she was trying to climb up the steps to get to the top of the playset and he pulled her legs down so she was on the ground and then Karate chopped her neck on BOTH SIDES!!! What the heck he didn't just hit or push her what kind of kid Karate jobs another kid in the neck!!!!! I was up there so fast since Linnea was of course balling and confused, luckily for that little stinker his mom had once again seen the whole thing and angrily said she was so sorry and pulled him out of the play area!!!!! I wonder though if there might be some issues with the kid since as soon as Linnea started screaming he covered his ears and started rocking...so either he knew he was in deep trouble or hmmm maybe some spectrum issues. I was so mad! I've never watched Linnea be singled out by a kid like that, I've watched her push, hit and be pushed and hit, but man when your kid is just minding their own business and they get picked on it sure ruffles me and breaks my heart at the same time! All I knew to say to Linnea was that we don't hit people and that boy was not being very nice. It was sad every time she looked at her little kid's meal book on the ride home she would say "he hit?" kinda like a question so I would repeat that yes he hit her and it wasn't nice....grrrr life experiences!!

Life update

2011-02-01T18:42:00.001-08:00

Well not a whole lot has changed for us these first few weeks of the new year. I am almost done with my first rotation of 8 week fieldwork, and just worked out the details of my second placement today. I am working at Jordan School District right now and it has been fun. I don't think I would particularly like to work at a school, maybe, but it is doing a lot of things like handwriting and helping kids with buttons and things like that, definetley the academic side of Occupational Therapy, I think I enjoy more of the medical side. I was able to go to a school in the district today that is for very severe kids with a variety of disabilities. I really enjoyed this school because it was more medical. Not one kid that I saw today could verbally communicate, they used a lot of signs or grunts. It was sad, but at the same time I'm glad that there are schools like that in some school districts so kids with more severe needs can get the professional attention they need every day from therapists, specialized teachers etc. My next fieldwork is working with the elderly and the last day of that fieldwork is actually on my due date so pray that this little man comes a little bit late! I really miss Linnea, this semester has been pretty hard for me since it is a full time job basically and sometimes with school I would be done within an hour or something like that, but I keep telling myself that it's only twelve more weeks and then I am done with school and hopefully will be able to take quite a break and be with my two kiddos at home which I honestly CANNOT wait to do. I had a day off last Friday and I don't feel any happier than when I can get my house looking how I want it and play dress up with Linnea or read books together and color pictures...it is wonderful!!

My pregnancy is going pretty good, I have ALOT more discomfort with this little guy with pressure and things like that, but the doctors basically told me it's going to get more and more uncomfortable with each kid that I have so super. We had a scare with him awhile ago, we thought I might be leaking amniotic fluid, but after some tests it all came back negative so things are good. We almost have the room finished for both of the kids. It is a monkey/jungle theme and we just need one more leaf canopy and the valance hung above the window and it is done...pictures to come!

Derek is still working about 50 hours a week and going to school busy busy guy, he may be looking at going to Weber State now instead of Utah State to pursue the Mechanical Engineering Technology degree, it is a lot like the regular engineering degree, but he would be able to do a little bit more hands on work with products instead of working on the computer so much so he's been doing some research and thinks that might be a better fit for him. I guess only time will tell!

We have been so blessed the last few months, we're busy and miss eachother, but we truly count our blessings that we have been able to attend school, that Linnea does so well playing with other kids and that she is watched by family, we are so grateful that Derek has such a good job that helps us have a savings and just what we need. I am excited to have school done and over with, but I am grateful I was able to finish even with being a mommy and everything!!!

What am I doing?!!! I'm in charge....right

2011-01-16T10:18:00.000-08:00

Well a few months ago when Linnea was about 18 months old I thought the terrible twos had come early...boy was I wrong!!! Yesterday was one of the most, heartbreaking, frustrating, confusing motherhood days I have had. Linnea was acting like I remember acting as a headstrong, always right 16 year old who knew better than her parents and wanted nothing to do with them. She would as for something, like a piece of candy, I would say no not right now, maybe after lunch. Tears, screaming, and throwing herself down on the floor followed. So I stay calm and say, that is not the way we get things. She looks up at me and screams "No!!!!" Imagine your two year old shaking her finger at you with a teenage look on her face...it took me back a little bit. Yesterday every limit or every thing we told her to do such as safety things, or breaking rules, or treat and movie limits ended up with an emotional breakdown. Well we eventually decided to get out of the house as a family and go to the store together which Linnea generally loves to do, but we get to the store and she screamed because I put apples in the cart, or I didn't get the bananas fast enough...thank goodness Derek was there to help, he eventually just took her out to the car since it was all screams, not just crying, but disrespect (which I have an issue with at any age.) At this point I think both Derek and I were very confused at this new behavior and how to go about dealing with it. I feel that I should always explain at this point why we don't do things, calmly. So everytime she would yell at me, I would say "look at mom...you don't speak to me that way, we always speak nice." you know just simple things like that. I can hold her attention for a little while if I say to look at me so hopefully some things sink in. The real heartbreaker came later that night, she was screaming at Derek and he was trying to calm her down by holding her and she did the typical squirming and screaming to be let loose, well I walk in her room to help out and she looks at me and shakes her finger and yells, "No, Go!!!" Basically telling me to get out of her room two year old style....well that broke my heart, I actually went and cried a little. It was so hard for me since I have started my fieldwork and basically have a full time job so I don't see her that much during the day, so when I do have days with her I imagine us playing our games and having fun, and baking like we always do over breaks or days I am home, so to have my sweet girl tell me to leave was too much for me at that moment. So Derek put her in time out and with tears in my eyes that were noticeable I went out there and I said in my cracking voice, " You do not talk to me that way!!! Do you know your mommy loves you? That hurts me." Linnea's crying and screaming stopped the second she saw my red eyes and my tenderhearted girl came out again and she ran up and gave me the biggest hug and pat on the back. After that the night went pretty well. I could not believe though the attitude and the change of yesterday. She does have a stuffy nose, so she doesn't feel 100%, but that in my opinion no matter how old a child is does not mean you speak disrespectful to your parents or anyone. I need to be stronger and not let my kids see me break down like that, but yesterday took me completely off guard. I'm not afraid to let people see me cry, but I do realize that my kids will hurt me through life either with choices or stages they go through, but I hope that they never doubt they are loved and that we expect respect from them. Sorry to vent so much, today has been much better with not even a fraction of the screaming fits, she is pushing the limits, but at least she is listening to us when we tell her to stop a behavior. It is all part of life experiencing these different stages, I hope that we can instill the right principles of kindness in our kids by example and remaining calm and collected during freak outs :)

SNOW DAY!!!

2010-12-30T09:49:00.001-08:00

Well due to all the snow I figured it was time to put all of Linnea's snow clothes to good use. We have tons of snow piles since they have been plowing the parking lot like three times a day :) She really liked the snow, a little bit better than last time we played in it. She kept falling down since she was so bundled and the snow was so hard and she would just crack up every time. We made a little snow slide on one of the snow drifts. We didn't last too long since it was so cold, but we came in, had some hot chocolate enjoyed the morning!!! Some of my favorite memories are playing in the snow and sleding then always finishing with hot chocolate....I love having a kid now that I get to play with and see how much they love doing those things too!

She loves having a scarf on....I don't know why

Loving life!!!!

Christmas

2010-12-28T09:33:00.001-08:00

Well we had a fun Christmas this year. We went down to St. George to spend Christmas with Derek's parents. We don't have too many picutres we mostly filmed so sorry not a whole lot of pictures. My sister-in-law and I decided we wanted to make the Christmas Dinner that they do on Christmas Eve so my mother-in-law could just enjoy the grandkids. We had a yummy dinner, and for future reference if you want a good ham, go to honey baked ham...they even cook it for you...they are pricey but worth it. Linnea got to ride the horses ALOT. She loved the horses...one time though I'm pretty sure my nephew and her jumped into a puddle of horse pee...I think her boots may be ruined. Derek and I did a program for everyone on Christmas Eve, we let the kids color these nativity pictures and read a child version of the nativity since Linnea was the oldest kid there we figured they would lose interest if we busted out the scriptures. Then we read Christmas Oranges, we love that story and I tied ribbons around some clementines and had a little saying about charity and the savior that we gave to everyone. Derek's side is a lot more mellow I guess you could say than my family parties so some years it takes some getting used to all the quiet story reading, but it was very nice to see St. George and the Childs' side again. Christmas day we woke up and opened presents. Derek spoiled me so much, he had these beautiful picutures made for me (a picture will come soon) he blew up our favorite wedding picture and had for time and all eternity written on it along with a beautiful picture of the Salt Lake Temple. I have been saying since we got married that I wanted a picture of the temple, like a big one. He had these made months ago! It made me cry a little bit, Derek is the best gift giver. He really does listen to little things that I'll just say I want and then he plans and makes this awesome gift! I love him :) He got a computer that he had to get on black friday so on Christmas I just had some small gifts for him like DVDs and stuff like that. Linnea got spoiled. She got a leap pad with four books to go along with it, other books, a little people Noah's Ark, a my little pony car with mom and baby, coloring books, the Princess and the Frog DVD puzzles and one of the favorite toys of the season...Buzz Lightyear. He is the same size as he would have been in the movie he says soooo much stuff has his wings that light up karate chop action! She loves buzz and has to carry him everywhere! She got buzz a little early since we opened presents with my family before hand so they could see her open her stuff so in St. George all her boy cousins wanted to play with buzz and kept saying it was a boy toy, but she actually was a great sharer. It's funny because she always carries buzz in one hand and her doll from her birthday in the other...funny girl. We had a great Christmas I hope you all did too. I love this time of year, but it comes and goes too quickly.

2 years

2010-12-16T13:09:00.000-08:00

Our sweet girl turned two on Tuesday, I can 't believe how fast the time is going. She is such a joy to have in our family. We had a birthday party on Saturday with family and friends, she got her first fish (which she almost killed just like Darla on finding Nemo), she got a stick horse, babies, a kitchen set and so many fun things. We decided this little girl is spoiled and loved to pieces.

Some fun things about Linnea:

She loves horses-

She loves cows

She loves to ask "whats that?"

She loves to show us every trick she does, and yells "watch mama, watch"

She loves coins and money

She loves Mary Poppins, and Belle (beauty and the beast)

She loves to have her blankies wrapped around her from her head to her toes so she can have a "at" (hat)

She loves her shoes

She loves her play jewelry especially her earrings

She loves to pat our faces and ask for "ugs" (hugs)

She loves to read her mouse book and baa book, and basically any book

She loves to help me with chores

She loves to color

She loves to play in her playroom especially when mom and dad come and play too after she says "mock, mama, mock dada" Mock is translated into come on :)

Linnea is such a sweet girl. She is sassy and loves to give the stubborn attitude, but I wouldn't take her any other way. She has such a tender heart and loves to show affection and be with her family. She is going to be such a good big sister in a few months, we love her so very much!!

Potty!!!!

2010-12-10T12:11:00.000-08:00

Ok so we finally got Linnea a click on toilet seat since she has shown absoulutely no interest in the big toilet, I'm hoping this helps. I got her to sit on the seat three times now and we have a little kid "going to the potty" book. I don't think Linnea knows what peeing is to tell you the truth. She still doesn't really seem like she wants to go potty, but since I'll be on Christmas break for a few weeks I was kind of hoping to maybe start trying because I won't be able to try again until I graduate (since I don't feel like a babysitter should potty train my kid) and at that time we're going to have a newborn...but whatever we'll try it. I have NO idea what I'm doing though. I gave her a little treat for sitting on the toilet for two minutes, I'm not sure how to teach her what peeing is though. I've thought of buying panties and just letting her wear those so when she had an accident I could tell her that is pee and hopefully she would want to go to the bathroom, or should I get pull ups....what....so mommies or anyone who has insight I would love to learn how to potty train. I understand that it will be pointless if she has no desire, but we are really trying to introduce her to the bathroom so hopefully since she gets rewards maybe it'll be some motivation, but tips will be welcome!!!

Drum roll please......

2010-12-08T19:12:00.000-08:00

Well today was the day we were able to find out what our little nugget is and presenting in April 2011 our

BABY BOY!!!!!!!!

we are so excited, honestly I think both Derek and I thought it was going to be a girl so it was such a fun surprise. The cute little guy is super shy, he did not want to show us anything, and actually we still didn't get to see his face because the stubborn little guy refused to move his hands. He seems very mellow, he looked super comfortable and sleepy and didn't seemed to thrilled that we were poking and proding to peek at him!! Once he moved his legs though there was no doubt. We are super excited and can't wait to meet him, now I have to work on making their bedroom generic and loading up on baby boy clothes :)

Ideas

2010-11-30T19:42:00.000-08:00

Ok so next week we get to find out what we are having...Derek and I have been surprised at how few names we actually have thought of for this little nugget....so I would like some ideas these are some names we have thought of so far

Girl- Ava, Kaelyn, Makenna or just kenna
Boy-Carter, Hayden, Aiden, Jax, Daxton, Bryton

Most of these are my names that I like, but very few actually feel like "the one" so pass along any cute baby names for this little one so it'll be easier when we find out what it is actually going to be :)

Sweet Reminders

2010-11-09T20:01:00.000-08:00

I just wanted to write a quick post about my sweet little girl and how she reminds me of how I always need to be watching what I am doing. As adults I don't think we realize how much young children truly watch our every move and learn by example good or bad. So, Sunday you all know was fast and testimony meeting. I actually felt the urge to bear my testimony...something I unfortunatly rarely do. Anyways as I got up there I look down and see Linnea standing on Derek's lap beaming and pointing and yelling "mama" how can you not smile....after I went to sit back down, Linnea climbed off Derek's lap and went right out into the aisle and headed up to the pulpit...it was her turn to bear her testimony! I know she doesn't grasp the importance of the concept quite yet, but it was such a great reminder that she is going to watch what we do as she grows up. I am so grateful she shows an enthusiasm for the gospel already. She loves watching her "jeezy" movie (jesus) and loves to fold her arms and say prayers, she loves her book of mormon story book...I hope that we can always keep that thought in our minds that she may be young, but she is watching and each day is so important in beginning to teach her the right principles! We sure love her and her sweet innocence she brings to our home!

ps the picture was taken by my friend Kara...so cute I think

April 2011

2010-09-21T15:37:00.000-07:00

Funny

2010-09-06T18:19:00.000-07:00

Ok I tried to post this video, but I lied to youtube and said I was younger than I was for some reason so now they won't let me get an account, but Derek and I saw this video on a friend's facebook and it was hilarious!!!! Go look it up on youtube it's called "Tom Cruise on Home Teaching" So funny...I think people have too much time on their hands though.

Family Fun

2010-08-19T08:35:00.001-07:00

We went up to Logan for Eric's surprise 26th birthday party. It was a lot of fun and we packed Katie and Eric's house. We played tons of games by using ideas from the show "minute to win it" it was hilarious. Also Eric had to dance to get each one of his presents Katie placed them in different spots around the room and if he didn't shake it he didn't get it. It's funny what you have to do when it's a surprise party you don't really get a choice.

Ahhh cute :)

This is Linnea dancing to some awesome 80's tunes. It was so cute she got everyone up and moving.

Derek and I having a race to who could blow the cup off the opposite end of the table using just the balloon air. I won. :)

This was the BEST! It's called junk in the trunk. Katie put bouncy balls in kleenex containers and tied it to your bum. My dad had to shake it and dance against someone else to get all balls out first. The next round my grandma competed against Eric. It was awesome!

This was the Oreo game. You have to get it in your mouth without using your hands, it actually is really hard, I was never able to do it.

I love Family. Some of the best memories are made at fun family parties like these. I am so grateful for such an amazing family and for their support through everything.

Home Improvement

2010-07-29T10:39:00.001-07:00

We have been doing some home improvements this last week. We decided to go with the laminate flooring and I think it has turned out beautifully. I now officially have to sweep and vaccum my front room every day since it does show dust and shoe marks alot easier, but I am really happy how it turned out. It makes our house look completely different and newer. We also finally for the first time in our marriage got some media shelving to organize our DVD's so we don't have to dig through an annoying basket. Here are some before and after pictures, I had one other picture of the "new" look but my computer ate it and threw it in some unknown file somewhere so if I find it I'll post it or maybe I'll just take another one. (also my house was not always this cluttered this is what it looked like when we were moving in)

we now have curtains also, but that is the picture that the computer ate...
o
BORING!!!! I love our old purple couch we used to have and our flower power chair...yuck!

So we took the laminate all the way down the hallway...(sorry they are kind of crooked pictures, we have very odd angles in our house :)

Our new shelves!!! Which I antiqued and painted thank you very much

Blog

2010-07-21T09:38:00.000-07:00

My previous post I said I wished I could show you how amazing that family was and I thought duh I can it's an open blog, so if you would like to read their touching story and probably cry a little their blog is www.patrickandashley.blogspot.com, it is a very sad, but amazing story and their daughter is adorable!

Soul Searching

2010-07-19T12:59:00.000-07:00

So a friend of mine in our ward had a friend from Idaho lose her little 19 month old girl the other day. My friend was trying to gather donations while the family was at Primary Children's and she had their blog link so I was able to follow their blog for about 5 days until the little girl finally passed on Friday. This family really affected me in so many ways. I wish I could show you all how these parents were, they are about Derek and my age and this was their only child, but they showed such a strong faith during such a difficult time. The day she passed the mom made a post before and after it happened. Before she told how the spirit was so strong while her little girl was going back and forth between worlds, and after she said how her testimony had been strengthened from the small miracles that had occured because of this experience. Her daughter's story touched many, she had close to 300 comments on her blog, most from complete strangers. The mom explained how someone's marriage had been saved, and how someone was brought to the gospel due to the faith of them and their family. I got really emotional during this even though I have never met them in my life. Their daughter was born three days after Linnea so I could picture what their daughter may have been like, and it broke my heart to think of ever parting from such an innocent person. However, it also caused me to really think about myself and how I should treat my family. Have you ever noticed how we treat our family members different than we treat others? I'm trying to take the time to breathe before I get upset at Linnea throwing everything everwhere or not wanting to go to bed, or throwing a fit. I know there are parents out there who would kill to have the time out moments, the tempertantrums, and all the precious moments with their little ones again if they could on this earth. I realized I need to strengthen my testimony on eternal families and the sealing power, hearing this story in general truly makes me want to cherish family moments since this life is such a short time in the grand scheme of things, I would hate to have someone I cherish (friend or family) go without knowing that I loved them or I would hate to be left behind with regrets! I know it may be strange that a baby girl I never met could have such an impact, but she did. And hopefully I can keep this new motivation and enjoy every moment we have as a family on this earth so that we will have one heck of an eternity!!!!!

I am Lame and I know it!!!

2010-07-14T11:16:00.000-07:00

Ok...we had another fun shopping trip at Smith's I'm sorry but I get so excited when we save money I have to share it I find it really fun when we watch an actual savings account grow!! So here is what we bought
10) propel waters
10) Gatorade
6) yoplait yogurt
8) spaghettios
2) instant potatoes
2) rice sides
2) multipacks of scotch brite scrubbers
2) dove deodorant
1) box of Advil Liqui-gels
2) Loreal Kids shampoo
3) bars of irish spring body soap
1) vitamin water

Grand total- (again) $27.00!!!!!
I know the potatoes and rice aren't the healthiest choices, but I guess I was just thinking food storage wise. I love propel and Derek loves gatorade to take to work and if you buy 10 it's only $.49 so pretty good deal!!! I only used 4 coupons and the rest was just deal watching...super fun!! I know it's kind of sad that this is the most exciting post I have, but it's my blog and I'll post what I want I guess :)

Opinions...

2010-07-12T11:22:00.000-07:00

So Derek and I have flooring issues. Our carpet isn't cute, it's actually really spotty and gross and we've had it prof. cleaned twice in the last year we've lived here. So we have been deciding between maybe getting some laminate floors in our front room and hallway and then re-carpet the bedrooms before we move. I just talked with a carpet cleaning company for a long time and they told us that the life of our particular carpet is set to last about 4-5 years...10 years later it is the same original carpet that has survived tons of traffic and pets and you can tell it is dying. So they said they could come clean it, but it'll probably come back in a few months so no permanent spot removal...hmmm. I would love some opinions on whether you would like laminate floors, you know we're thinking of re-sale, or if you would prefer the whole house carpet? I love carpet, but it's out of the price range at the moment so we'd have to endure until we were moving, but I also love the look of wood (even if it's fake)...so opinions opinions please!!!

I'm A Big Girl Now!!!!

2010-07-06T14:18:00.000-07:00

Well a few weeks ago we decided it was time to get rid of our rickety crib that was recalled and move Linnea to a "big bed" we found a brand new frame at garage sale for $3.00 and bought the mattress and box spring this weekend. My mom let me use one of my old bed spreads and can I tell you that Linnea has loved her bed she could hardley wait to sit on it while we were setting it up!!! Very good choice!!! It is so weird that my baby girl isn't so baby anymore :(

Playing with Gracie and Dad on her new bed

She has a very green room :) (o and ignore the blanket hanging over her window, I've been too cheap to buy curtains and it saves me since she goes to bed at 7:30 and for nap time...)

Princess Party

2010-07-02T14:23:00.000-07:00

Linnea was invited to her first "friend" party on Thursday, her friend Rory turned 2 and had a princess themed birthday. It was alot of fun I think for Linnea. The girls were given tiara's, wands, rings, and they put eyeshadow on her (i didn't really like that) and the boys were given a sword, shield, and crown. It was cute. I dressed her up in the tutu that my sister-in-law made her for christmas, so she was a Christmas Princess in July, but whatever. They played games, hit a pinata??? I don't know if that is right, and ate cake and ice cream. I thouht it was fun to get her all dressed up personally :)

Playing Pin the heart on the necklace

Hanging out with the Birthday Girl

Linnea giving a little curtsy

How fast time flies!!!

2010-06-14T10:42:00.000-07:00

This is Linnea at 6 months a year ago...Look how much she has changed...unbelievable!

Linnea is 18 months old today...that means in 6 months she will be two years old how can that be??? What a huge blessing she is in our lives. This small little girl has taught be more about life and trials and myself than I feel I could have taught myself in 22 years! Linnea has grown so much in just a few months I am blown away I can practically have a conversation and we're almost to the point of explaining why we don't do things not just saying no...to me thats a big landmark. Some fun facts about Linnea:

She has widened her vocabulary, consisting of the words: Hi, Hello, flag (pronounced lag), dog (dot), meow, moo, neigh, no, hi dad, bee, mama, dada, nana, pupa, dane (day) katie (titi, yes she said it yesterday katie it was cute), stars, yeah, balloon, ball, bubble, more, eat, choo choo, beep beep, and she blows a raspberry for a helicopter noise, and just today she said the word mouse when I brought out her mini mouse there are other words that I know I'm just not thinking off, but these are the most used.

Linnea loves to read stories, either to herself or with mom and dad. She loves to cuddle right up with you and show you pictures or tell you what it says

She loves to be outside, after our walk every morning her highlight is to go to the park and play with all the kids.
She loves animals and loves to point them out, especially dogs.
She loves to hold the dog's leash while we walk.
Linnea loves to be incharge of her life, she enjoys playing with her own shoelaces and doing her own hair, feeding herself, etc.
She loves to play in mom's make-up
She loves jumping on the pillows
She loves milk with a passion!!!
She loves Mary Poppins and the Little Mermaid
Barney is her hero
She loves to dance and color
She loves to be thrown around by her uncles
She loves noodles and pasta
She loves to give kisses and hugs....

We love Linnea so much, this is such a fun stage of life for her and us. It is sad to see her grow so fast, but I love every minute of watching her adorable, independant personality come out.

St. George Trip

2010-05-24T08:51:00.000-07:00

We had the chance to go down and visit St. George this weekend. Derek has been doing a job in Cedar City so Linnea, Gracie and I decided to go down there this weekend and visit Grandma Childs and go on a mini vacation. It was great, not too hot, but still warmer than up north. We went hiking, Glenda and I went to What Women Want, we played games checked out the horses, went to dinner...and took a good break. Gracie loved hiking with us in Pioneer Park. She would go nuts when she saw a lizard...she would dart and jump into the bushes after it or chase it into it's hole even though she would crash into the rocks while doing it. We were able to see some old friends from the ward that we used to live in that was great, and also Derek's best friend and his wife were able to come down and play games with us. It was great to see everyone again. I love vacations it is so nice to just relax with your family. I am so excited for our disneyland vacation in two weeks it will be a blast!!!

Linnea was our little mountain goat the whole time she wanted to climb up the rocks all on her own.

Playing ring-around-the-rosies...a new favorite game

Dino-museum

2010-05-19T11:41:00.000-07:00

This was apparently a prehistoric shark...they had a comparison to the Great White and it was a lot bigger

Derek and Linnea playing in the water and sand!

We had our niece and nephews spend the night with us last weekend so we decided to haul the kids to thanksgiving point to go to the museum of ancient life! It really is an awesome museum, very educational. I wanted to spend my time reading all the plaques and learning about space rocks and dino's but no...not with kids :). They had an area where they could play in sand with water so they could understand how water carves out canyons and how that brings up fossils and dinos. At the very end of the museum they were able to dig up dinosaur bones with the brushes and everything, not the cheapest outing but it was worth it I think.

New Additions

2010-05-19T08:39:00.000-07:00

Well as many of you know I grew up with pets and finally after our disaster choice of buying a St. Bernard Derek agreed to fill our house with more animals :) We got Mo, the cockatiel awhile ago my mom's friend wanted to get rid of him totally free cage and all so we thought that would be easy to handle, then another member of my parents ward couldn't handle their Boston Terrier anymore. They have two and they just fought and fought. They just gave her to us for free her name is Gracie and she is 3 years old and housebroken...much easier to manage than a puppy.. So welcome summer and welcome new pets :)

Shopping Trip

2010-05-10T16:56:00.001-07:00

Ok you guys might think this is lame of me for posting my grocery trip, but I had to... I felt that it was a really good trip. This is all from Smith's, I was going to get some things at other stores, but I think Linnea was done shopping so maybe tomorrow. Anyways here is what I bought...

(2) pampers diaper packs
(4) Wheaties cereal
(4) Kellogs Cereal
(2) Tide laundry detergent
(4) Nabisco 100 calorie snack boxes
Apples
Bananas
(2) bags of baby carrots

Grand Total: $27.00!!

Maybe some people do better than me, but for me that's good especially with the diapers and everything. If I would've gone to Target I would also have two Schick Hydro Razors, but not a different price, thats right I'm getting them for free. Coupons are a lot of work and planning but they are sure helping us out right now!

Holy Cow...it's been forever

2010-04-26T19:08:00.000-07:00

I'm sorry it has been soo long since I've updated with pictures, but I found the right cord and figured out how to use this camera that we are using now so here are some pictures and updates on our life. First I took Linnea to Disney on Ice... I was so excited to take her I figured she would love it...She hated it! The music made her scream and cry so for the

first half we were out in the hallway walking around and I missed the Lion King and Little Mermaid. Finally Grandma Childs was able to bribe her to sit through the second half with a sucker. So I was able to see the new tinkerbell movie skaters...I didn't even get it because I'm all about my classics :). Maybe next year. Linnea has never really liked loud noises, I've finally desensitzed her to the vaccum (by getting her a vaccum) and the blender so we're making progress.

Linnea walking the halls

We celebrated Derek's birthday and Easter. Linnea wasn't too sure about her dress since it was conference and everyone else was in their pajama's but I bought her a dress so I was going to get a picture of her in it at least. I think she looked cute even though she doesn't like to smile for me anymore. She really loved the outdoor easter egg hunt, anything outdoors Linnea is there. Derek turned 24 and we had a fun party for him with lots of junk food and ice cream cake. I love him so much and am so grateful for him. It seems like we've been married longer than we have because he was 21 when we got married it just seems like 21 to 24 is a big gap but it's really not...crazy huh.

Derek is finally done with his first semester at UVU....ahhhh it seems like we'll be in school forever. I'm beginning finals this week and it's stressful if you don't do well in your class you are "dismissed" from the program. They haven't called me in to talk to me yet so I'm hoping that's a good sign. I am only doing online this summer so I get to be HOME!!! Yay I am so so so excited I have missed my home and my girl all year! I am trying to complete my AS and my AAS of OTA at the same time so this summer I have to take METEOROLOGY what?!?!? That will be the lamest part of the summer I assure you.

Linnea is almost 17 months old and I can't believe it, she has the BIGGEST attitude I have ever seen, bigger than mine and that's saying something. She loves to shake her head and say "no, no, no" then when she wants me to do something she holds it up and in the sweetest voice she will repeat "mama, mama, mama" until I do what she wants, and if I don't she throw it down and screams no! It's super funny, but I am tired of the word no :) In her defense she does say "yeah" alot too and it is adorable when she does, she has three different tones so we can always tell her mood by which tone she uses. She loves to give kisses and she knows what she wants and nothing any of us adults say is going to change her mind! I love her so much attitude and all. She is such a joy. She is also the biggest goof in the world. She loves the cheese smile it all the time and then sniff really loud, I'm not sure if I described that good. She also does "Flash dance" thats right she does the "Maniac" dance, and twirls and jumps now. Her favorite animal is a "Dot." (dog) and whenever she hears one she yells "dot, dot, dot". She loves to babble in her own language and loves to read mommy books now, not the other way around. I love her to pieces. I hope this is a good update for now I'll do better now that I will soon have more time on my hands!!!! Hope all is well with everyone else

Baby contest

2010-04-14T16:21:00.000-07:00

Hey everyone so I just wanted to let you know that I entered Linnea into a baby contest. I'm usually not all about this, but the grand prize got me...if you win you get a new nursury set and diapers paid for for a year! Anyways I would love you all to vote for her and spread the word. What you do is go into www.971zht.com and type in the keyword "baby" in the search box. It'll take you to the vote page and just click vote now and follow the instructions. Linnea's number is 767. I think you can vote once per email. So spread the word. The first section is just to get the top 10. So I would love diapers for a year so any help would be AWESOME!!! Thanks guys!!!

Spring break so far....

2010-03-17T08:52:00.000-07:00

I'm on Spring break and I am so glad...time to be home with my baby...we'll play together everyone will be so happy, we'll go on walks, I'll organize, exercise, get ahead on homework....hmmm lets see how the first three days have gone...

Monday- I did go for a long walk with Linnea, check, went to the playground- play time check....but Linnea almost ran into the street got pushed by an older kid....ok it was a nice try. time for Linnea's 15 month check up- so off to the doc. Shot time awful...it was the MMR...ouch, then we discover this rash that Linnea has had for about 2 weeks is some super rare rash and she gets passed around the doctors' office so all the other Dr.'s and PA's can see her rash since they only get to see it every few years...the good news it's harmless it doesn't even bother her...apparently it disappears after a few months. Ok onto home with an unhappy girl. We head to the library to get some books and movies, she runs to the play area to make some new friends and some six year-old boy monopolizes the bear she's playing with and pushes her down into a hole in the mats. Ok time to go home and eat dinner. Finally the night is over and my picked on little girl gets to go to bed. 10 pm...Derek makes a run to the store to get some motrin since Linnea is cutting some molars, her legs hurt, and she just had a rough day and won't sleep....

Tuesday- Another good start...went for a great walk up a pretty steep hill came back feeling pretty good. Well we decide to head to the playground again, things are actually really fun, Linnea was socializing having fun, she even figured out to climb up the stairs...uh oh... I tried to get to her in time, but she fell off the play set into the "soft" wood chips right on her face! Poor little girl we decide play set time is up and head back in. I put her down for a nap and she sleeps for about 30 minutes. Linnea wakes up happy so we decide to head to Ross to make a return. Well she gets her hand pinched in the car seat so it's tears all the way to the store, then she realizes that I only brought her water not her milk, so it's tears all the way home. Finally at bed time I put her down at her usual 7:15, but it's daylight outside so she feels she needs to stay awake even though she is constantly rubbing her eyes, so I let her cry for awhile. Finally she just wants a hug and a cuddle good-night and she goes to sleep. I get the chance to catch up on some homework while I wait for Derek to come home from his out of town job...he gets home at 10 and I go to bed....

Wednesday- ok so it's 10:00 am right now, I haven't had the chance to go for a walk yet, but we'll get there. Linnea woke up at 6:00 and has been fussing for most of the morning because she's still tired. We need to get milk because we're out so she's still mad at me for just giving her water. Well I had decided it was walk time so Linnea was playing on my bed and I ran to the laundry room to get my exercise pants out of the dryer...hmmm I get back to my room right as I see her plop down and bounce/flip right off my bed onto her tummy....more screams and tears. Well I've got her asleep right now, and all I can say is wow...I thought that she was supposed to be safesest with me, but she's had more falls, tears, pushes, and sores than I think she has had in her whole life!!!! But even though we've had some bumps the first three days I am so glad I'm home because I know this is where I should be. I can't wait until the day when I can be home all the time, I feel so much less stress believe it or not because I feel like the things that matter most to me, like spending time with Nea, or making sure my house is clean actually get accomplished. I can't wait until summer vacation, and better yet...graduation!!!!!

Introducing

2010-03-07T14:00:00.000-08:00

Samuel Eric Bunnell

This is sweet Sammy!!! He is adorable. He was born on March 2. I am so happy he is finally here, 'm sure Katie and Eric are too. He is such a sweetie and so small. I kept saying that, but I'm used to Linnea. Katie and Eric are great parents and we are so glad to have Sammy in our family

First Zoo Trip

2010-03-07T09:09:00.000-08:00

Well I took Linnea to the Zoo for the first time a little while ago....it snowed and was cold so some of the animals weren't out which was a bummer, but it was still fun. I think I may be investing in one of those kid leashes for real!!! Linnea has a HUGE attitude lately, very independent. She hates when I strap her in she arches her back and freaks out, unless it's the running stroller, anyways so she didn't want to get into the stroller. We went while Derek was at work so I'm controlling two camera's pushing the stroller and trying to keep miss independent in my line of sight...so for me it was a bit stressful but still fun. She got really tired by the end so she just kept walking passed most of the animals which surprised me since she adores animals. We will for sure go in the summer when it's warmer and after nap time and with a leash and I think it'll be a blast for us all.

Savings Update....

2010-02-27T15:25:00.000-08:00

Ok so remember how I said I was going to work hard on cutting down our grocery bill...well I feel like today was a great example, Derek and I are very proud. So Smith's is having a deal on their kellogs/keebler products, if you buy four mix and match products you would get 2 gallons of milk for free. So I looked on pinching your pennies and it said if you buy select kellogs cereals it would print out a coupon for money that you could use towards your next purchase. Ok so here is what we got with all of this (some of this is from WIC too, but still)-

(7) boxes of Kellogs Cereals
(2) boxes of nutri-grain bars
(3) gallons of milk
(1) bunch of bananas
(1) carton of strawberries
(1) bag of wheat tortillas
(1) jar of peanut butter
(1) sweet onion

The grand total: $18.00!!!! I did this in a few transactions. I used a two dollar coupon on Kellogs cereal that I had combined with the $4.00 catalina coupon that printed out after I bought 5 boxes of select cereals. It was a very fun shopping trip needless to say. Also, I have been doing the bountiful baskets co-op...if you guys don't know about this I highly recommend it, it was a little tough this morning because I had to be there for pick up at 7:00 am, but it was worth it. I did the organic baskets this time (you get two baskets by the way) and for $25, I got:
(1) carton of strawberries
(8) avacodos
(10) kiwi
(1) bag of apples
(1) bunch of romaine lettuce
(2) bags of celery
(8) anjou pears
(1) bunch of leeks
(3) beets
(1) head of cauliflower
(1) bunch of broccoli
(1) carton of blueberries
Amazing...it really was worth it I feel like. You can purchase as many baskets as you'd like if your family is bigger, they also have extra things you can purchase, like seasonings, bread, extra produce, cookies etc. It's all over Utah, Washington, Arizona, and Idaho. Go to bountifulbaskets.org. Anyways I had to share, that slowly but surely we are truly saving and building our food storage. Our pantry is getting full and so is our freezer it is such a good feeling. I am so grateful we still have found ways to keep good food, like produce and grains. I always figured couponing meant buying boxed, processed food, but my goodness find some experts to show you how it's done and you can get great food. Hope everyone is having a great weekend!!!!

2 Years!!!!

2010-02-10T19:02:00.000-08:00

I love you!!!!

First Anniversary

New lovers

Honeymoon

Derek and I have been blissfully married now for two years...man it goes fast...throw a baby in the mix and it goes even faster. We had a strange anniversary, we went on our date the saturday before, and then on the actually 8th we were just going to make dinner and have a nice evening at home since we both had school...well of course Linnea decided to change our plans. When I got home from school I got out of the car to go and get our mail and when I came back to get Linnea out I noticed she had a very blue mouth...hmmm what was she eating. Then I saw the bottle of my Tylenol PM in her hand!!! I pulled out four pills and rushed in the house and called poison control....counting the four pills I pulled out of her mouth there were 8 pills unaccounted for. I couldn't give an exact number as to how many I had actually taken in the past so sine htat was such a toxic level I rushed her down to the ER. Ok so maybe rushed is not the right word. Our hospital is in American Fork right...I don't know the area that great. I called the hospital to get directions...they gave me the wrong directions twice!!!! So you can imagine how sick I am feeling at this point now that is has been about 30 minutes since I found the pills. So finally after going up and down the same street and balling my eyes out I called 911 to get help. They had the hardest time finding out where I was. Come to find out the lady at the hospital kept telling me I was in American Fork when really I was in Lehi the whole time. Well I found it finally got her in and they tell me to have a seat. Forget it I go to the nurse and tell her whats happened and she tells me to fill out an information sheet and she'll be with me in just a minute...I break down...I am in an ER right. Well this nice lady helps me and takes Linnea so I can fill out the sheet. Then they take her back to get her Temp. then tell me I need to wait four hours to get her blood drawn, but if she acts weird let them know...ok. Well my mom showed up, and Derek showed up. I felt like she would be fine because it was so fast I didn't think she had time to swallow anything so I told Derek to go to class and my mom and I sat for hours trying to entertain Linnea. Well long story short...they drew her blood and nothing was in it so we got to go home. I felt enormously grateful but guilty that I could be foolish enough to leave pills around my new curious toddler!!! Lesson deeply learned. Anyways that was our anniversary, I love you Derek and am so grateful for the blessing you are in my life and for how hard you work for our family!!! You are my best friend and I am glad that you are my forever!!!!

Get ready...get set...GO

2010-02-05T10:11:00.000-08:00

Ok...so I know everyone is in a similar boat as Derek and I in this economy, as students, young families...etc. So I finally have decided to get off my bum and help out our financial situation instead of just complain about it! We both have listened to Dave Ramsey...he is a guru on getting out of debt....sometimes it seems unreachable on our income, so I have decided to start small. My sister-in-law is a professional coupon, bargain shopper. One month she bought groceries for her family of 5 for $58.00!!! Amazing...I spent nearly $300.00 last month on our family of three, well 2 1/2 since Linnea eats like a bird. hmmmm there's something wrong with that. So she's begining to help me with her techniques. There are so many great coupon sites out there from other people who are masters at saving. Some are pinchingyourpennies.com, coupns.com, moneysavingmom.com and others. Pinching your pennies tracks deals for you at different stores and teaches you how to use your coupons and buy great food for nothing basically. Now I love my produce and as everyone knows there isn't that many coupons on produce, well I found this program that began in Arizona but has now moved to UT, ID, and Washington State (sorry katie it's not back east yet). It's called Bountiful Baskets. They are a non-profit organization that compiles about $50 worth of fresh produce in a basket for you for about $15 every other saturday! Amazing, I've heard some great reviews on this program, the only problem is you have to purchase your basket the tuesday or wednesday before pick-up and you have to go to the pick-up site pretty early on a saturday to collect your basket, but it's only every other saturday and its produce for a great price. The website for them is bountifulbaskets.org!!!! Anyways I know it'll take a few weeks or months to develop habits, but I really am motivated to get going. Any other money saving ideas anyone has please let me know!!!!!

Splish Splash...I was takin' a bath

2010-01-28T20:56:00.000-08:00

The cutest Little Bug ever

Well I guess I like the water?

Getting ready to get in!!!!

Hmmm...I don't know about that water?

Lovin' Life!!

Isn't she just the cutest

My number one stress...at the moment.

2010-01-06T18:15:00.000-08:00

Ok...I need to vent out something...Linnea doesn't eat. It hasn't bothered me so much until the last couple of days...she won't eat anyting. She throws the food no matter what I seem to do. She used to eat bananas and peanut butter sandwhiches...now just like everything else they are on the floor too. Mandarin organges seemed to be a hit, but today she didn't want them. I'm trying to find a pattern, I have obviously found that fruit is her favorite, but today it seemed like she just had no interest in eating. She drinks whole milk just fine, but talk about not getting a variety of nutrients. I ignore her when she eats and pretend like I'm doing something else. At times she will throw her food then get bored with that then start eating again, but tonight was the worst she would throw it then bang her hands on her tray and just not have any interest in eating at all. So we took a break I put her in the tub we had fun then we went out and tried again, but I ended up putting her broccoli and rice on a cheese tortilla to see if she would be more interested and she was...for about 3 bites then it was just sitting with a bored look on her face wondering why she had to sit in her little seat. I have tried feeding her myself, she lets me sometimes, but then other times she locks her jaw and tries to move away. She also, to make matters even better, learned how to spit out her food, so when I actually get a piece in her mouth she sticks out her tongue and lets it fall. At her last doctors appointment she had gone down in weight a little bit, this is when this all happened, so they told me to add fat to her diet, butter and ice cream...what all the things i never want to get my kids hooked on. but I listened to the doctor and tried and it just has gone down hill. I've decided even if she is small I don't want to sacrifice her health by feeding her processed junk food, so I decided to be happy that she wanted fruit and yogurt more than anything else, but now that that is ending up on the floor I'm lost. I called the nurse today and told them she acts healthy, happy, and just fine and I told them she drinks milk and water just fine, just doesn't seem interested in food. They told me by the time she's 14 months old and if she's still doing it they need to see her, then she said that at least the whole milk will give her fat...I'm sorry but 14 months old is a month away I know that having Linnea on a whole milk diet for a month is totally lacking in nutrients she needs. I've been told that this is a stage, but it doesn't make it better. How do you sit and watch your child eat maybe 50 calories in 14 hours make you feel good, cause it's a "Stage". I've been debating on pureeing food and having her drink it I read that sometimes people do that. Sorry to go on, but it's frustrating and scary. She has a stuffy nose and cold right now, I don't know if maybe she has a sore throat or just doesn't feel like eating today if that is why today has been the worst eating day or what. I'm just praying it gets better, she's already a skinny girl, thats just fine, but I don't want her to lose the nutrients she needs. Stress stress...

2009!

2010-01-04T19:31:00.000-08:00

Well it is now 2010 in case you all didn't know...We had a fantastic year in 2009. So much happened and changed...here are some things that happened for our family

1st anniversary, adjusting to a new baby, huge move from St. George, buying our first home, our first lay-off experience, Derek changing career choices, getting a new and better job,Linnea's first birthday, buying a St. Bernard, Selling St. Bernard two weeks later, Timmy leaving on a mission, beginning in Occupational Therapy program at school, falling in love with my life and family more each day!!!! ( the pictures are in a crazy order)

My beautiful family

Mischevious Linnea

Our Fisrt Anniversary...overnight in Salt Lake, Ice-skating, gros restaurants, memories :)

Just some adorable pictures of Linnea getting so big the first year of her life!

School...fun funFirst BirthdayCute Gemma...wish we still had her, but wish we had a yard along with herLoving being a new mom...0k so technically I was a mom in 2008, but just for a sec....

We hope everyone had a great new year and has an even better 2010...great things will happen this year....they always do.

2nd Christmas!

2009-12-31T11:47:00.000-08:00

I am soooo done with presents!!!!

Christmas was great for us this year...it was Linnea's second Christmas and mine and Derek's second Christmas together...kind of crazy. We had a great time

at my parent's house. We went up on Christmas Eve and had Enchiladas? What? Ok so since it's Dane's last Christmas before his mission he got to choose dinner on Christmas eve and he picked to have a south of the border Christmas...ok whatever works. Anyways we had fun we played games then Katie and Eric arrived and we watched A Christmas Story... Linnea took her first steps on her own, well like she took her own steps without me having to urge her she just got up and started walking...she still for some reason prefers to walk on her knees, but we're working on it. On Christmas morning I was awakened by my over excited sister who was wandering around at 6 in the morning asking if she could wake up Linnea...I told her it is never a good idea to wake up a sleeping baby :) anyways I got up and talked with katie until like 7 then we decided it was time for everyone else to get up...I'm pretty sure my parents were hoping their kids had grown up and wanted to sleep in, but I'm afraid we've all gotten worse as we got older. Anyways we had fun and opened presents.. Linnea was

Auntie Katie!

spoiled rotten, she got a vaccum, a barn, a rocking horse that neigh's and makes galloping noises and wags it's tail, Derek got he princess bride audio book (he's obssesed with the movie) and I got a RUNNING STROLLER from my hubby...o man I love it I can't wait for warmer weather no more excuses for me not getting into shape. Anyways I hope everyone had a spectacular holiday and has a great new year.

Derek and his new book

Playing with her new barn, it has shapes animals and letters

Black eye anyone?....

2009-12-23T12:58:00.000-08:00

Ok another advice post. So my adorable, sweet Linnea enjoys...well hitting, scratching, and pinching...it's not cause she doesn't know what she's doing, I ruled that out real quick. She does do it out of frustration or she thinks it's a game. So anytime I don't give her what she wants she'll go straight for the face or now the neck ( who knows why she likes to pinch my neck) I'm a little torn on how to handle the situation...how do you disipline a 1 year old without doing the "NO, NO, NO," all the time ( I've just been told being negative is not always the best way to go), but obviously that is my first reaction everytime. I have tried to show her the correct way to touch, by slowly moving her hands on my face, or I've held her hands and said " no" of course. I've tried to set her on the ground and ignore her for a few seconds, but it doesn't really seem to be doing anything...I know kids do this, I know she is little, but I also want her to know that it is not ok to hit others, animals, but especially mom and dad! I don't know I'm pretty big on not letting your kids hit you. Any good tips would be great, she's little, but she does hurt. She likes to honk our noses, I don't know if maybe that is where the pinching came from because we made it seem like that was ok, so anywhere else must be ok, I don't know. Anyways we'll see how it goes.

Bye for now Louie Louie!

2009-12-17T13:10:00.000-08:00

Sad day...My family's puppy of 9 years had to be put to sleep...he had kidney failure. Louie was a unique dog, but so loyal and part of the family. It always seems like our dogs like to leave the world around Christmas, our last dog, Abner, died on Christmas eve...it may seem silly to some people that I post about a dog, but I loved that puppy and it's not ever going to be the same when I knock on my parents door and don't have him rushing to see me!!! I'll miss my lucy-goo!!!

Happy Birthday!!!!!

2009-12-14T12:32:00.000-08:00

Happy birthday Nea!!!

She loved the candle so much and kept reaching out for the flame My enemy...the lady bug cake!

Pushing her school bus...

My baby is a year old today!!! Unbelievable. One year ago she was so tiny, so helpless and she slept all the time and didn't move hardly at all...now she is a bouncy, outspoken, independant red-head who has the entire world to conquer!!! She is such an adorable baby, I'm not biased I just say it how it is. She loves everyone and she LOVES to learn and discover. It's so funny to watch her see something new and then try to duplicate it herself. I love it when she does something and she knows she did something great you can see her face light up because she knows she succeeded. She has taken about four steps by herself up to this point, we've been a little slow going, she loves to walk alone and loves the praise she gets, but is just a little nervous to let go all the time, but we're getting there. She loves to dance, sing, throw everything, she loves peanut butter and bread, rice cakes, she loves spaghetti, mashed potatoes, kiwi, bananas, carrots, and now of course she loves cake and ice cream!!! She loves to give hugs, she'll reach her little arms up and wrap them around my neck just to give me a hug, she waves bye-bye, walks on her knees everywhere, she loves to read stories, she loves jingle-bells and the ornaments on our trees!!! We love her so very much, I can't explain how much she adds to my life. Derek and I were talking the other night about how different our life would be if we hadn't had Linnea so fast, I can't picture it, what would I do all day? Kind of crazy. We love her and hope she always knows that she is our joy and happiness!!!

She had a great birthday party, I attempted to do a bug theme, since she is out "little bug" don't judge the cake I spent a long time on it...it didn't turn out like the picture I had, but it tasted good. She got so many wonderful toys, she got a school bus, a push car, a new carseat (front facing baby, yay!!!) blocks, books, clothes, a puzzle a huge teddy bear so much...it was funny the night after she had all these new things, but she wanted to play in her carseat box, Derek made it into a tunnel and she would chase him through the box, I decided I'm never buying any more toys she more in to like tin foil and stuff like that :)

A Great weekend!!!

2009-11-29T15:30:00.000-08:00

Well we had a GREAT Thanksgiving weekend. We went to my sister-in-laws house for the actual dinner. They actually weren't even there...they had the opportunity to go to Chile for the week so Derek's parents came up to watch their kids so we still had it at their house. It was such yummy food...I was in charge of making all the vegetables...I get really nervous cooking for people, but I think it turned out ok. We then ran up to bountiful to get family pictures taken with my grandparents and cousins from Washington. I hadn't seen my aunt and uncle since Derek and I got married so it was so great to go and spend some time with them...they are so awesome. I have so much to be Thankful for, especially my beautiful daughter and amazing husband. I'm grateful for holidays like Thanksgiving that give you a constant reminder of the things you may take advantage of. I hope every year to not just be a grateful person at this time of year, but all year long.
Anyways, on friday we went with Derek's family again to the living planet aquarium for all the kids...I think I had more fun than they did. I love to see animals, I feel bad they are in captivity sometimes, but they are amazing. They have a Utah fish exibit, not so exciting, but then you go to the ocean and south America. Linnea loved the HUGE river fish that are from South America...it was so much fun. We also got to pet actual sting rays...I was so excited that I just stuck my arm in the water and forgot to role my sleeve up...kind of embarassing. It was awesome, I think Linnea shares my enthusiasm about animals though...we'll have so much fun.
Then on Saturday we made our way to Morgan so my mom could teach Katie and I all the christmas cookie recipes that I grew up with. It was alot of fun, because some of the cookies are our family's Swedish recipes that my great-grandma Linnea used to bake. Also, my mom taught me how to make just basic chocolate chip cookies...you may laugh and say that everyone can make cookies, but you would be wrong...I have never, NEVER made a good batch of cookies. I was very concerned because when my kids ask to make cookies it was going to consist of hopping into the car and going to the store to buy them...It was alot of fun to get together and actually hopefully be a successful cookie maker!!! I'm way excited.
This weekend has been so relaxing and so great to have Derek for four days straight...I am not ready to go back to the busy day to day, but I am so ready for the rest of the holiday season...it really is the most wonderful time of the year!!!!

Lots and lots of cookies!!!

Me with my wet sleeve and boob apparently...

11 Months...

2009-11-17T19:06:00.001-08:00

Dad won't let me use the drill mom!!!!

Nea working with dad

Our escape artist...she tries to run and hide now!!

Well we are officially in the last month of Linnea's first year...unbelievable she is soooo adorable and such a little genius!!! I can't believe how fast it really has gone. I remember when she was first born I kept thinking that I couldn't wait for her first birthday to come so she could be a toddler and I just thought it would be so much more "fun" now it's like if the years keep going as fast as this one did she'll be all grown up before I know it sad :( Some fun stuff about our Nea,

-She loves to dance...all the time it is so much fun

-she loves to mimick EVERYTHING...

-She loves to sing as she dances

-She loves reading stories

-She loves puppies...and loves to make her barking noise

-She loves to do her picture routine in the morning...I have to pick her up she points at her Jesus picture then she points at herself then she points at our family picture...then we can move on

-She loves to be chased and tickled

-She loves to try and walk, she gets very nervous on her own but she can stand unassisted for a long time...she falls only when she realizes that she is doing it without holding on to anything

-She loves to sleep with her bunny at night and play with her puppy in the day

-She loves to play her piano

-She loves to scream at the top of her lungs when we "displease her" (our princess)

-She loves to cuddle

-She loves to take naps in mom and dad's bed

-she trades off days on who she likes better...mom or dad

-She loves to discover new things and figure out how things work.

We absolutley love this little girl she is so smart and so funny...her personality is developing so well. I am so proud of her and am so excited to be the one to help shape her and direct her...it is going to be such an amazing experience...these last 11 months have been such a joy...I wouldn't ever have it any other way...We love you Nea...

St. George Trip

2009-11-12T18:16:00.001-08:00

This last weekend we made a trip down to St. George to watch Dane and Landon play in the varsity football game against Hurricane, so we also made a stop and stayed with Derek's parents. Linnea had a great trip she went to a park and got to experience those wild things we call slides and she also went on her first horseback ride...I mean she rode a horse for over an hour and she loved it...it was so much fun. So here are some cute pictures

Getting Ready to go sliding!!!

Linnea isn't too sure about those slides...

My future softball player...the fun thing is is she was so into those fields and thats where my old team from high school used to play in the St. George tournament

Linnea and Dad getting ready for the "big" horse ride. I never caught her smiles and laughs on the still camera I wish I could figure out how to post video from our camera cause she was just laughing so much on the horses

Linnea telling the boys to leave her alone and let her do it

She liked the manes of the horses...she's getting introduced for the first time

St. George just became alot more fun with a little girl who is so into anything that is new...she is just like me that she takes such an interest in any type of animal. We're going to have so much fun together!!!

HALLOWEEN!!! Bedrock style

2009-11-01T17:39:00.000-08:00

Well we had a great Halloween. We were the Flintstones it was so cute. Linnea was the inspiration since she has her adorable red hair. We woke up and I made orange and somewhat black pancakes. I usually make pumpkin pancakes with this homemade apple cider syrup, but this last week I have really had a hard time remembering ANYTHING so I forgot my ingredients. Anyways then we went to a classmates house for a Halloween party... it was way fun they had all these real animal parts that we had to guess what part it was and which animal it came from. Derek was able to take a tongue for a souvenier :) then we went over to Crystal and Charles' house because they were Betty and Barney and little Asher was bam-bam so we had to get pictures. We finished the night by watching a weird version of sleepy hollow. It was a fun night. I love halloween, all the costumes and junk food. Such a blast. I hope everyone else had a great time.

School...

2009-10-30T04:49:00.001-07:00

Well I wanted to do a post about my school program so far, I am doing Occupational therapy at SLCC... It's been really fun. Ocupational therapy is kind of like Physical therapy, except in PT they really get people strong again, in OT we get them strong again, then we teach them how to take their new strength and make it functional in life again, and help them do just basic Activities of daily living! It's really cool we get to use all these fun little gadgets alot of times. It's a neat field because some people who like are quadraplegic or had a really bad stroke most people just give up on them and say they won't ever be functional again, thats when OT steps in and really helps them get to a level of functional independance again. My classmates are really fun too, I've made some good friends already, we all say we're going to hate eachother by next year, but right now it is really fun.

Part of the schooling is doing fieldwork with real clinicians, today is the last day of mine for this semester, it's been pretty interesting, the only bad thing is my field work is at a hospital and alot of patients have alot of contagious viruses and staff infections...so sometimes I don't like to go there and then come home and handle Linnea...I promise I clean before, but it still makes me nervous. I am almost done with my first semester in the program, now only two more class semesters then one internship semester and I'm done!!!! I've been talking to the U and seeing how easy it would be to go on and get my Masters done in it someday...I may not be able to right after I graduate (We have to get Derek through school too) but maybe someday after all my kids are in school I could, I think I would like to, but who knows by that point I'll probably say I am not going back :)

Here are some pictures of our lab class...My sister Katie is actually my teacher for this class...it really is the best class because it puts us into disabled people's shoes for a few hours and teaches us how to transfer and gives us the hands on part of lectures that we get prior to the class...In this lab we were all people who had a total hip surgury...they have a lot of precautions they have to follow after surgury, basically they can sit in a wheelchair at 90 degrees and not move. So Katie wanted us to put on shoes and socks...good luck. Then we were stroke victim who lost funtionality in our hand, so she wanted us to put on a bra...Also since alot of the patients out there are the elderly we had to practice our bedside manner with an individual who is hearing impaired! Fun times.

Katie Teaching us how to stand from sitting to a walker as a person who had a total hip replacement! (there are more rules than you think)

Using the grabbers and sock aids, to get our socks, without breaking rules

Putting on our bras with one hand (ok he's cheating, but cut him some slack )

Working with the hearing impaired!

10 Months old!!! Holy Cow

2009-10-19T15:50:00.000-07:00

Our sweet Linnea hit her 10 month mark last week....I know I've been super slow at posting, but better late than never. Some fun facts about Linnea:

-She loves to explore every corner anywhere.

- She is such a fast crawler and loves to have races

-she loves to stand up and take steps, while holding on (sometimes she tries to let go, but she is very tentative)

-she loves, loves, loves to mimick everything I do!

-she sings to songs, especially hymns still, it's sounding prettier

-she loves to clap her hands

-she loves to feed herself off her own little plate in her own little chair (huge mess after)

-she loves ice cream and knows when it is out

-she throws a mini tempertantrum if we don't give her what she wants or we take something away

-she has a glare that could kill, and she loves to use it when you don't meet her standards

-she loves to be outside

-she only wants mom in the mornings (it makes me feel great)

-she is taking an interest in the dishwasher

-she loves to talk

-she likes to bite things (i wish the top teeth would ma k e their way in

-she loves her family

-she loves her toys that make noise and her animals

-she loves to snuggle when she's tired

We love Linnea so much, I can't believe she's almost a year. She is such a joy! We love you cuddle bug

Sad Good-bye's....

2009-09-27T13:55:00.000-07:00

Well last night Derek and I were able to go out to dinner with some of my good friends from high school. We were having one last get together before one of my best friend, Katie, leaves with her hubby, Morgan, to move to Washington D.C.!!! Morgan is going to be entering the MBA program at Stanford in 1 year 1/2, but they defer their students to get work experience so he was offered a job in D.C. I am so excited for them they will have so much fun out of state and they will be living in one of the coolest cities in the country!!! It's just really sad because once they are done there they'll head straight to California for the MBA program!!! I have a hard time when we all change and head out with our own lives...it's sad! It made it harder because people in our condo complex really keep to themselves so it's been quite a challenge to get to know people in Eagle Mtn. so now Katie is leaving :(. I did really good until we left and got into our own cars then started letting loose with the water works!!! I love all my friends from high school and am so grateful we are still in touch and still get together from time to time!!! Katie and Morgan I'm so excited for you guys it will be soooooo much fun and such a great experience! You've always been an awesome friend!!!! Don't forget about the small people in Eagle Mtn.!!!! WE love you guys!

The Girls, Kelsie, Katie, Me, and of course Linnea

The group, Brock/Kelsie, Morgan/Katie, Derek/I & Linnea

9 Months!!!

2009-09-18T16:03:00.000-07:00

Well Linnea hit her 9 month mark a few days ago...but things are kind of busy so I'm a little slow at posting. Some things about Linnea...

-She loves to chew on her tongue

-She likes mom and dad food, not baby food

-she loves to crawl up and down the hall really fast chasing after mom and dad

-She loves to play copy games, like I slash water then you splash water

- She loves it when mommy and her play the sharing game (super cute, I hand her something then I put my hand down and say can I see it, she holds it out and I snatch it really fast and say thank you, she thinks it hilarious)

- She doesn't like to be put in her crib when she's not ready

-She has decided it is needed in the house to use a very shrill scream/cry because she thinks she will get her way

-She loves creamy bites of ice cream

- If mom and dad are eating while she is using a bottle or something she thinks she should have grown up food

-she loves to go for the cords and power sockets....o boy

-She loses interest in her toys and loves to play with mommy's decorations or whatever else may be close by that is supposed to be off limits

-She loves to pull herself up to the coffee table and practice standing.

- She loves to throw things from her chair or knock things off the tables all the time

Linnea is such a joy!!! I miss her so much now that I am in school, I miss her sweet smile, and her little laughs and all the play time we used to have during the summer. She is my little angel baby I absolutely can't get enough of her and I look forward to the weekends more than I ever have before!!! WE LOVE YOU BABY!!!

Stress relief....

2009-09-11T06:31:00.000-07:00

Ok well to just update, Derek found a job...Thank goodness. It's a good blessing. My brother-in-law said his work was a little short handed, so Derek went in for an interview and they took about 5 days to call back, but he got the job. He started yesterday and he said that everyone who works there was super nice and he thinks he will enjoy it. I hope they are flexible with school for him when he starts. I think he has changed his direction from Electrician. As of right now he is looking into Mechanical Engineering. I think he will enjoy that, he's not for sure 100% but at least he has a direction, so hopefully he can start school in the spring and go from there. He's never been to a regular college it's only been tech schools, so he's a little nervous, but I know he'll do great. Thanks for all the support and caring from everyone. I'm really thankful it was such a short time for a job loss....the Lord always, always, always, takes care of you and really knows how much you can handle!!!

Any help.....

2009-09-03T18:38:00.000-07:00

Hey I just was going to ask for some job search help from anyone....Derek got some bad news today...we experienced our first lay off. Derek's company that he worked for hit a rough patch so some apprentices were let go. It was quite a shock when he called me, I had a short cry at school, luckily my sister is one of my teachers so she was around, but I didn't feel panicked surprisingly. We feel ok though. This has made Derek think to make sure this is the direction he wants to go he has been looking at some other career choices and now isn't so sure he belongs in the electrical field...I know we'll be ok...I kind of just wish this happened when I was done with school. I know the Lord is going to take care of us though, but if anyone knows of any job openings in the Salt Lake/provo area it would be much appreciated.

Great day together...

2009-08-29T16:54:00.000-07:00

Ok so I started school on Wednesday full time...ouch...ya so on Tuesday I put all the cleaning aside and my work and decided from sun up to sun down this was going to be Linnea's day, we had lots of fun, practicing crawling, shopping together, reading stories, playing with toys, going for several walks. School is going to be really busy, but when I got in there and met my teachers I really felt like I needed to be there, I need to finish. Linnea loves being with her cousins, (my sister-in-law watches her during the day) so that helps me alot, but man do I miss her and Derek, my binders are plastered with her beautiful face!!!! I love this little girl and I can't wait until these few semesters are over and we see much more of each other!!!! Here are some pictures of our day together

Eating some bananas for breakfast

Taking a walk with mommy and daddy

I want that camera mom!!!

Lots and lots of books to read

A Poopy story...

2009-08-24T07:27:00.000-07:00

Well our little explorer made a discovery down south the other day that I had to share...Derek and I were sitting and eating our dinner and Linnea was sitting on the ground playing with her toys, I looked over to check on her and I noticed she was putting her fingers in her mouth eating something...so we hurried over to take whatever she had found on the ground out of her mouth and Derek saw that it wasn't anything she had found on the ground she had discovered it in her diaper!!!! She had a small explosion and decided to eat the brown chocolate stuff that was coming out!!!! Disgusting, the thing that gets me is she kept trying to eat it, it wasn't gros to her...unfortunately I didn't get a picture obviously because I immediately wiped her hands and got her in the tub and brushed out her mouth, but that is our curious girl, always game for new flavors!!!!

Family Pictures....

2009-08-18T06:05:00.000-07:00

My sister-in-law Crystal is a great photographer and she was nice enough to get some fun family pictures done for us...I can't tell you how hard it is to get a baby to smile at the camera at the same time we do :)

Adorable little girl!!!!

8 Months

2009-08-14T14:59:00.000-07:00

Linnea has hit the 8 month mark!!!! Wow I can't believe how fast it goes. She is sooo funny and is developing so many cute personality traits. I am so thankful I get to be the one to help raise her on this Earth. She is one of the greatest loves of my life!!!!! Here are some things about Linnea

-I love to try and figure out how things work.

- I love to sing to music

-I love to have my back and necked rubbed (big help in calming me down)

-I hate to take naps

-I have discovered I love my binki

-I love the Phantom of the Opera

-I move my arms and get really stiff and excited when I see familiar people or even new faces

-I love when daddy tickles my tummy and neck

-I love the song "Little Bunny Fufu"

-I love my toy box, not the toys, just the box

-I love when mommy reads me stories about shapes and Goodnight Moon

-I love love love tubby time and playing with the foam letters and numbers

-I have learned that my stroller has straps that hold me down just like my awful carseat so I like to make a fuss on walks sometimes.

-I can make about 3 crawls before I have to rest

-I love new foods, especially fruit and veggies

-I love cuddles and kisses

-I love to eat mommy's cell phone and hold the remote

-I love my peter rabbit stuffed animal and stuffed Elephant

-I still like to laugh when others cry especially cousin Asher

-I love my grandparents and love to have my pictures taken.

-I love to eat and eat and eat, but I still am long and skinny!!

-I love to coo and talk to everyone and tell them stories

-I love to roll everywhere to get to place to place.

-I love to give pitty laughs to help mommy and daddy feel better about themselves when they aren't funny.

WE LOVE YOU LITTLE GIRL!!!!!

Sleeping Update...

2009-08-10T12:29:00.000-07:00

Well on a previous post I said that Linnea hasn't been sleeping that great, well it's still basically the same, but I finally stepped up and decided she needs her sleep, I need my sleep, both day and night so I realized when she does cry in her crib it is not hurt, scared or a hungry cry, it is a temper-tantrum. It is amazing if you really listen, babies have a different cry for everything they need, so anyways I realized I need to teach Linnea now that she can't get my attention through temper-tantrums that way and she needs her sleep so last night and this afternoon were my first attempts at the "cry it out" soooooo hard, but I stuck with it. She woke up last night around 2:30 just wanting to be rocked or held...it would've taken about 10 minutes if I chose to do that to get her back to sleep, but I thought if I keep this up I'm going to be having an 18 month old someday not sleeping through the night or who knows. So I turned on her mobile and rubbed her tummy told her to sleep and I loved her and walked out. She hated that with a passion!!!!! She screamed and yelled for over an hour. I would periodically walk in and out to make sure she was safe and guess what eventually she went back to sleep AMAZING!!!! and she slept until like 8:15 this morning!!! It was a rough time waiting for that to happen I didn't even attempt to go to my bed I just sat on our couch and waited! Derek came and checked on her one time because when I would walk in she freaked out 10 times more (she knows mom is the milk machine). Then with nap time today we went through the same issue, I closed her door and tried to do some of my calls, got in the shower so I couldn't hear her. Once again she did fall asleep. Not very long, but long enough to get some jobs done and about 2 or 3 calls!!! So I think we are on our way...She wakes up everytime still in love with me, she smiles and doesn't hate me for making her cry so hopefully sleep will come easier for her tonight, thanks for the tips Andrea and Katie...they are helping alot!!! We'll see how the next few nights go!!!

If you know anyone who wants this sweetie...

2009-08-04T15:16:00.001-07:00

We need to find sweet little Gemma a better home, I just feel so bad leaving her alone all day. She is super smart, she already knows sit and come, we're working on leave it and stay. She is starting to go to the door to outside, so she knows that that is where the potty is, so that is getting better. We are asking $600 (thats what we paid) but I will take $500. She was the "runt" of the litter so compared to other St. Bernard's she won't be as large. I wish we could keep her, it's just not fair to her. If you know of anyone have them give me a call thanks!

Having fun with the Camera...

2009-08-04T12:13:00.001-07:00

Well nothing has really been happening, but I hate when I have the same post on for weeks so I thought I'd just post some adorable pictures of Linnea!!! I did finish my final exam today for my last pre-req for the COTA program. I need to get a B out of the class in order to be accepted into the program so we'll just have to wait and see

what happens. O also you know that cute puppy we just bought, well we are already selling her because my mom is super allergic and I feel just so guilty about leaving a dog all day long while Derek works and when I am back in school full time, so if anyone knows anyone who wants a puppy she is just such a sweet dog!!!! Let me know.

What is going on????

2009-07-27T15:08:00.000-07:00

Ok so Linnea has decided to change her sleep patterns completely!!! She has been an AMAZING sleeper so far in her life, like 3 hour naps and sleeping from 8 to 8 every night. She cut her two bottom teeth and still seemed normal except she woke up about 6:30 or 7 in the morning, now we have a different story...maybe a 45 minute nap during the day and maybe another 15 minute nap later on, then going to bed still around 8 or 8:30 and waking up around 2 then 4 then 5 then finally around 7. This has been going on for the last two weeks, as some of you know I work at home and I count on longer naps to get any work done!!! So any advice to help kids sleep better I would love it. I don't know if her teeth are upsetting her or what, but she is still a happy baby a little bit more needy and when she wakes up from her naps it is LOUD she likes to scream! Some people told me the "let them cry" method, I tried, can't do it...it makes me cry, so anything else would be much appreciated.

Another new addition...

2009-07-26T12:29:00.000-07:00

Well Derek and I welcomed the newest member of our clan on Wednesday...Gemma! Yes, if you're wondering what type of dog she is...she will be a full grown St. Bernard someday. We wanted to look at some pets and found Gemma on monday, but we thought no maybe a parrot...then we saw her again on Wednesday and just said you know lets get her. We names her after a real Italian Saint, Gemma Galgani, I thought it was cool. Some of you may think we are nuts for having a small home with a giant dog, but they are lethargic dogs who do well in the house, we just need to give her some good walks and they are called "nanny dogs" because they are so patient with kids, which she has proven to us when Linnea digs at her eyes and pulls on her lips and ears. I am still kind of hesitant, but she is such a loveable puppy that she makes me forget sometimes. I hope it all works out because I'm sure she will be a great dog that our family will just love!!!

7 Months

2009-07-15T15:20:00.000-07:00

Well our beautiful Linnea has hit her 7 month mark...yesterday...she is such a joy to our little family! Here are some things about Linnea...

-She loves singing along to the sacrament hymns (even though some people don't find it too pretty)

-She loves to dance & spin with mom and dad all over the house.

-She loves playing one for the money with dad

-She loves to reach for everything in sight and try to get it into her mouth

-She has her two bottom front teeth and is sprouting a molar

-She loves the water

-She loves to blow spit all over and make motor boat noises

-She loves her fruits and veggies

-She loves taking walks with mom and telling stories about what she is seeing

-She sounds like Darth Vadar when she is excited about something and is breathing hard

-She is an early to bed early to riser

-she loves to bounce in her exersaucer

-She is trying soooo hard to get on her knees to start crawling

-She loves to be a bully and laugh when other babies cry

-She loves to read books with mom and dad

-She loves her rubber ducky and tubby time

- She is such a social butterfly and loves to show her smile to anyone she meets

There is soooo much more I could go on and on, Linnea is sooo loved by Derek and I and everyone who meets her. I can't imagine life without her and am so grateful for the chance I have to watch her grow into such a beautiful little girl, I can't to see what she becomes!!!! We love you little girl!!!!

She isn't so sure about this picture :)

A New Auntie!!!!

2009-07-12T15:10:00.000-07:00

Well last night we got some great news....My sister Katie is expecting a baby!!! YAY!!! She is due March 4th so she's a little over 4 weeks along. I am already an Aunt to 8 adorable kids on the Childs side, but none on the Carter side. My parents are so excited, they can't wait to have two little grandkids, my mom is already planning the spending sprees all over again :) I predict a boy, so we'll see. I'm so happy for Katie and Eric....it is such a great thing!!! They will make such great parents! Congrats guys!

Bobbi's Wedding/ Lake Powell

2009-07-09T12:37:00.000-07:00

On the 2nd my good friend Bobbi married her high school sweetie in the Ogden Temple. They are so cute together Derek and I were able to attend the sealing and that was a much needed

(Linnea and mom waiting during pictures...I think someone got tired!)

JUST MARRIED!

temple visit. They will make such a cute married couple...they are two of the nicest people ever. Congrats Guys!!!

We also went to Lake Powell with the Childs side of the family, it was alot of fun, I got a little sick one night though and Linnea chose to have her two bottom teeth come in so for a few days she wasn't a very happy camper. Derek was able to take a needed break from the everyday which I know he enjoyed.

(Lookin good!)

(She may not look like it, but she hated that life jacket)

Fun time eating Peas....

2009-06-19T10:55:00.000-07:00

Before....(looking kind of nervous)
After.... (what the heck did you make me eat mom!!!)

Just being a sweeti pie!!!

Some good thoughts...

2009-06-16T06:55:00.000-07:00

For our enrichment night last week we had someone from houseoforder.com come and talk with us about the importance of time management and organization (which i am in desperate need of) anyways she gave us some cute little thoughts that make you think about whats really important in life so I just thought I'd share some...

If I had my life to Live over...

I would have invited friends over to dinner even if the carpet was stained and the sofa faded
I would have taken time to listen to my grandpa ramble on about his youth
I would never have insisted that the car windows be rolled up because I just had my hair done
I would have set my children on the lawn and not worried about grass stains
I would have cried and laughed...less while watching TV and more while watching life
I would have shared more of the responsibility carried by my husband
I would have gone to bed when I was sick instead of pretendin gthe earth would go into a holding pattern if I weren't there for the day
Instead of wishing away 9 months of pregnancy i'd have cherished every moment and realized that the wonderment growing inside me was the only chance i had to assist God in a miracle
When my kids kissed me repeatedly I would have never said "Later. Now go wash up for dinner."
There would have been more "I love yous"...more" I'm sorrys"...but mostly given another shot at life, i would seize every minute...look at it and really see it...live it...and never give it back.

-Erma Bombeck

6 Months....

2009-06-15T07:12:00.000-07:00

My baby Linnea is already 6 months old!!!! I can't believe it. She loves to babble and say "daddadadaddad" she loves to explore and touch everything in sight, animals are the funniest things are the planet to Linnea, She loves to sit all by herself, she hates baby food, but will try it, she loves walks with mommy, she loves to feel daddy's beard when he doesn't shave, she loves music, and loves her family! We love Linnea sooo much and are so grateful for her smiles and laughes each day! Here are some pictures from the first 6 months of her life!!!!

Our new baby!

One Month

two months

Three Months

Four Months

Five Months

Six Months

Joseph Smith Picture...

2009-06-12T07:22:00.000-07:00

Ok I got this email from my mom yesterday and it said that the RLDS church found this picture in their files I guess a few years ago and they believed it to be the ONLY photo of the prophet Joseph Smith, they asked the church to help authenticate it and since then they have stated that it is "almost certainly authentic" so it's not 100% sure if it's him, but they are pretty sure.

They said most of the paintings and portraits of him were done after he was killed and most were just an artist's depiction based on his death mask. So I thought this was kind of cool, it kind of wigs me out for some reason, but it is pretty neat. The church said this was probably taken during his stay at Liberty Jail, he looks soooo young. It made me appreciate more of what he did for this gospel and how young he really was to endure sooo much persecution.

I think he has the nose and light eyes...so kind of cool

Small World...great news...

2009-06-05T12:58:00.001-07:00

So I received another great blessing today. Yesterday I met some ladies in my ward who go walking and they invited me to join them...which was fun. So today I go out and there is only one other lady and we started walking together. We just were getting more aquainted and I mentioned I got a job at the restaurant in Lehi, I just added that it would be great if I could work from home because once my school starts I don' t think my heart could handle full time school and part time work and trying to raise Linnea, I just don't feel good about NEVER seeing my family, as most people probably wouldn't feel so hot, so anyways she just mentioned that she had heard that this dental office that is kitty corner to our condo's was looking for someone to call insurance companies for the patients and see what their coverage was and stuff like that and it was an at home job!!! So I decided to give them a call. The lady who answered was really nice and she got excited when I said I was interested in doing the job I told her we just moved up here and I had a baby so I was looking for a stay at home job, she stopped and was like "what did you say your name was?" So I told her and she said that it sounded really familiar so she asked me if I was related to the Whites...(they are my cousins in Bear River) so I told her I was and she was like That's where I've heard your name...I'm your cousin Krista's sister-in-law,what a small world!!!! She got all excited and told me to bring my resume in so I did and they gave me the job!!!! I have a stay at home job so hopefully Derek won't have to get two jobs and I can be with Linnea and Derek so much more. I'm going to keep the Serving job for the summer I think, but once school starts I think that we'll be good with me just working for this dental office!!!! I am soooooo grateful right now. The Lord has answered every single one of our prayers in such amazing ways it has been such a testimony booster since we've moved up here it's wonderful!!!! I hope everyone is having a great day....

What more can I say.....

2009-06-01T10:48:00.000-07:00

HOW CUTE CAN SHE GET...I MEAN FOR REAL...I'M NOT BIASED THOUGH :)

Very Blessed....

2009-05-26T11:35:00.000-07:00

I just wanted to say that we got a major prayer answered...so we need a second job to pay for alot of our expenses and we have been looking since before we even moved and nothing has come through for us. It has been a neat experience though, Derek and I were talking as we were going through our budget and realizing that we really needed another source of income and we both said the same thing...we know we can't do it with the money we have now, I said I felt concerned in my mind, but not in my heart, and Derek said he agreed. We knew that Heavenly Father wanted us here so we knew he would help us. So on our way home from our memorial day outings we stopped at this little restaurant in Lehi so I could just fill out an application cause I've always worked in restaurants so I figured I might as well!!! Well the manager took me back and asked me if I would like to work there!!! He asked me to work only like three nights a week and he wants me to take both weekend nights which obviously would bring more people which is more money!! And they are closed Sunday's and don't serve alcohol! It just worked out perfectly. It probably isn't the most glamorous job, but Derek will be able to be with Linnea instead of taking her to a day care or somewhere else and they want me on the busy nights! I just wanted to hug that man yesterday and cry :) it just lifted so much off of us. It's amazing when you have faith even though you don't know how things will work out it does and it's just in the way that you need!!! Anyways that is our cool experience.

Memorial Weekend

2009-05-26T11:16:00.000-07:00

Well we had a great holiday weekend. Derek got off work at 10:00 am on Friday so we went up to Logan to visit Katie and Eric. We spent the night at their place then our grandparents and parents came up for lunch that day, it was really fun. Linnea loved katie's dogs, they made her laugh so much it was adorable.

We also got to see everyone's skills on their dance dance revolution on Wii, so that was really funny!

On Monday we went to Gunnison, which is way out there by Nephi and had a big lunch with Derek's family and cousins and played baseball, I'm way glad that it was nice weather for that. It was fun to meet Derek's cousins and let the Grandparents see Linnea again!!! I found out that I really need to brush up on my baseball skills...I was terrible!!! I hope everyone had a great weekend.

(This is our cute niece Carissa, I thought it was a cute picture. )

Question...

2009-05-21T13:12:00.000-07:00

Hey everyone...Ok...so I'm the kind of person who likes to get advice during tough choices. Ever since Linnea came into our life my school road has turned upside down. So my ultimate goal since high school was to be an Occupational Therapist. The only program is at the U and it's a masters. I talked to the lady over the program and she says it takes about 4 years after your associates degree, so in my case it'll be about 4 1/2, which is actually alot shorter than I thought. Also I have been looking at Stevens-Henager college as I've written before, at the Respiratory Therapy program. It is accelerated, but still would take me about 3 years maybe a little less for the bachelors degree. I would need to take out a pretty big loan for the RT, something I haven't done before, but the classes are at night so it might be a little bit more flexible. Occupational Therapist gets paid more thats for sure, after I graduated I could work one day and make the same amount the some people do in a week, so that is the positive about that it is a very flexible job for mommys. Anyways this is a big dilemma for us right now, because I know that I can't just go to school for a few years and hand Linnea off to someone else all day long until I'm finished. I was set on the Respiratory Therapy and then the U called me and told me the length of the OT program, I had originally thought it would take me about 6 more years, so when things like that happen I get all wishy washy and go back and forth. Any advice would be wonderful...even if you've heard anything about any of the schools I would love to know...

8 things

2009-05-18T12:03:00.000-07:00

Ok so I hope this is how this works...Kimi said that she tagged me so now I'm doing my 8 things list...

8 things I'm looking forward to:
1. Graduating
2. Getting a pet!!!
3. Paying off our loan
4. Being all unpacked
5. One of us getting a second job
6. Getting a calling in our new ward.
7. Making new friends
8. Watching Linnea learn how to walk and talk

8 things I did yesterday:
1. Went to church
2. Watched the testaments
3. Went for a walk with the fam
4. Applied for a job
5. Made Sunday dinner
6. Played with Linnea and Derek
7. Read Scriptures with Derek
8. Got things ready to hang on the walls.

8 things I wish I could do:
1. Come into a lot of money all of a sudden.
2. Not worry so much
3. Do more service
4. Be more positive
5. Be really healthy all the time
6. Always be appreciative
7. Love to clean
8. Brush things off when they go wrong

8 Shows I watch:
1. Desperate housewives
2. Wife Swap
3. NCIS
4. 24
5. Chuck
6. Biggest Loser
7. Taken
8. Twilight

8 people I tag:
1. Natalie
2. Aubree
3. Katie
4. Jen
5. Kierstin
7. Brittany
8.Kara