One Month Old!

I know I said I was going to create shorter posts for 2010...but how could I resist sharing more than enough pics of our little Ty guy??!!  There are so many changes and adjustments that happen in the first month, so why not celebrate a little?  Here's a quick overview of one month of life from Tyler's point of view.

A few members of my fan club displayed posters to welcome me home from the hospital.

Loves from Grandpa Ed.

Loves from Grandma Marge.

All of my clothes are too big for me and I can do a disappearing act in my carseat.

Abundant offerings of the best toys ever created as a token of acceptance from my fan club.  

I was one of Mommies best birthday presents ever.

I think I found my twin brother even though we were born almost 6 years apart.

I discovered my fan club may not love me as much as I thought.  They put me through some torture routine they call a 'bath'. 

One other thing I discovered...there can never be too many naps with Mommy!

Happy One Month Tyler! We are so happy to have you in our family.

Seriously???

It's my blog and I'll gripe if I want to,

gripe if I want to,

gripe if I want to...

you would cry too if it happened to you.

Now that I have tried to be optimistic as I reviewed the positive things from 2009, I would like to give 2010 a kick in the pants!  My patience is wearing very thin...

It all started over 2 weeks ago. Luke woke up with a stomach FLU.  Not bad I think.  I can handle that.  Our family hasn't had a sick visit to a doctor for a year to be exact.  I think we must be doing a great job with handwashing and etc.  No one else got the flu and a few days passed.  Then Luke got CROUP for only a day or so.  Not bad.  A few days later, possible PNEUMONIA and breathing treatments and a lung steriod.  Ok...I am starting to think..."What the heck is going on". 

Luke gets better.  A few days pass...blasted PINK EYE!!!  Then, a few days later Ashlynn, Ben and I develop PINK EYE.  I send Luke to school thinking all is well with him.  He comes down with DIARRHEA and misses a few more days of school.  A few days later, Ashlynn and I get the stomach FLU on the same day.  Ashlynn and I both develop a bad COUGH to top it off.  After several hundreds of dollars spent on copays and medicine.......guess what???  Luke enters round 2 of PINK EYE on Thursday, Ashlynn throws up AGAIN on Thursday evening and Ben and I get PINK EYE on Friday AGAIN!!!  Is this a bad, mean joke? Did someone put a curse on us?

I would like to thank the Physician's Assistant who, when asked why our family keeps getting pink eye, answered me by saying, "You need to learn to wash your hands better."  Guess what dude?...YOU DON"T KNOW SQUAT. I would think a whole family staying healthy for one year says a lot about handwashing!!!  I would like to thank pink eye for being responsible for over $300 we have spent on copays & medicine and being responsible for my 'perfect attendance' child now missing the maximum allowed days of school.  Thank you pink eye for messing up my schedule for several weeks, making me lose wages at work and sending me out of our infested cave looking like a no makeup, glasses wearing, very pregnant, pink eyed DOG.  Thank you for zapping me of any and all my energy to prepare for a new baby in 5 weeks.  Thank you for giving me cracked and bleeding hands from all my HANDWASHING!  Whew.  Am I done yet?  Here's to one more week of pink eye...

Did I mention, the car broke down and required over $400 in repairs too?  Maybe it has  #*$@  pink eye too!

9. Create!

My whole life I always thought and believed I didn't have any talents.  There was nothing I was good at.  There was nothing I could do well.  Thinking those thoughts sure makes a person feel worthless.  I feel like I have spent most of my life admiring the talents of others and wishing I had those same talents.  It wasn't till a few years ago that I actually came to the realization that I could draw and do crafts well.  I have always enjoyed doing those things-but I never thought anything of it.  Last summer I came across this quote from a Visting Teaching Message in the Ensign magazine: 

“Lifelong learning is essential to the vitality of the human mind, body, and soul. It enhances self-worth and self-actuation. Lifelong learning is invigorating mentally and is a great defense against aging, depression, and self-doubt” (“The Journey of Lifelong Learning,” in Brigham Young University 2008–2009 Speeches [2009], 2, 8–9).

I think developing one's talents is lifelong learning.  This last year as I have fought depression every waking moment, it wasn't till I reviewed my 1300 photos that I realized one more blessing in my life...finding enjoyment in 'creating' things.  Each time I made something and took a step back to look at it...I felt joy and more self worth.  If you haven't seen this YouTube presentation from Elder Uchtdorf called 'CREATE'- click on it!!  It will be worth the 1 minute 54 seconds it will take you to watch it.  One of my favorite people in the world is Elder Uchtdorf and his message is undeniably inspired.  Enjoy!

I didn't take photos of all my projects, but I am so happy I took a few. To the rest of the world these may not look like much, but to me and my family they brought us a few smiles.

My first princess birthday cake for Ashlynn.  I have a feeling it won't be the last one I make for her. She loved it, but was a bit traumatized when we cut it up and ate it. 

Made in honor of Luke's deceased pet snail named Snaily Pyster (pronounced PIE-STIR).  He was so distraught about losing him that I thought making him a t-shirt would help him feel better.  He LOVED it and tried to wear it for a week straight. 

Back Story: My mom is not afraid of bugs, snails, snakes, mice....or anything like it.  At her cabin in the mountains she saw a snake one day and ran around the front yard chasing it.  She wanted to catch it and show it to Luke.  My Dad, Ben and I all yelled out, " I wouldn't do that if I were you...what if it is poisonous?"  She didn't care and kept chasing it.  Luke's eyes were popping out of his head.  He looked terrified and amazed by what his Grandma was doing.  She caught the snake and showed it to Luke.  Forget the snake...Luke couldn't take his eyes off his amazing Grandma.  A week later I overheard Luke talking to a group of boys at my work.  He said, "Did you guys know that Grandmas are the only ones in the world who can catch snakes?"  Thus the reason for creating the t-shirt. :)  I love it.

8. Friendships Made In Heaven

     One of the things in life that has brought me so much unexpected joy is watching my children play, interact with and love their cousins. It is a simple joy that I never tire from observing.  I guess part of it comes from the fact I never had the opportunity to develop friendships with my cousins.  My sisters and I were always the youngest and lived far away from any of our cousins.  Sadly, I don't even know how many cousins I have and I can only name two of them!  This is not a tradition I wish to carry on.  I am so thankful my children know each of their cousins from both sides of our family.  They can name them all by name.  They worry and think about them.  They miss them.  They include them in their prayers.  They don't want to say good bye to them....these are truly friendships made in heaven.  I LOVE it!  Luke even made up a rule all by himself..."If cousins come over, then I don't want the TV to be on.  ONLY PLAYTIME!"

     For example, at the close of a visit with my sister and her family, we asked Ashlynn to say goodbye to cousin Avery and her brothers.  Ashlynn and Avery both started crying...a lot.  I (being clueless to this particular bond of friendship) kept asking Ashlynn what was wrong.  I asked her if she was hurt.  I asked her if she was fighting over a toy with Avery...and etc.  Finally, Ashlynn blurted out between sobs..."I'm SAD MOM!!!"  I was startled and couldn't believe my 3 year old was crying at the thought of saying goodbye to her cousin.  Ashlynn followed Avery out to the minivan...crying and hugging her all the way.  After their minivan drove away, Ashlynn ran up to her room, buried herself in a blanket, curled up in a ball, and repeatedly told me how sad she was. She didn't want to play or do anything.  The poor girl was needing some chocolate to help the situation!  It was sad, but so adorable.

7. Luke's 1st Day of School

I want to finish my Top 9 of 2009 by the end of January-so I better keep writing. 

Another wonderful thing to come out of 2009 was watching Luke go to kindergarten for the first time.  Luke was nervous-but I may have been more nervous.  When the time came to separate, I discovered I was more excited for him than anything and I didn't end up crying.  Luke started reading in preschool and he was more than ready to keep going with his new achievement.  It was making him mad that he couldn't read more than he could.  Every night he would thank Heavenly Father he was able to read and he prayed he could read even more the next day.  It was too cute. 

Here's a side effect of your children learning how to read:

After Luke ate all his Halloween candy in one night and became sick the next day, I wrote on the white board, "No more candy for the kids."  Luke decided he didn't like that message and he erased and rewrote the message to say, "No broccoli No carrots".  Since he didn't know how to spell broccoli or carrots, he drew pictures instead and added "I love Dad".  Later on when I asked him why he did it, he asked me, "How did you know it was me?"   Ummmmmm.....I am not sure....the next suspect would have been his Daddy! 

6. Two Trips to Cascade

During 2009 we were able to make two great trips to visit my parents in Cascade.  During the first one, my parents borrowed a pontoon boat and we had a wonderful day on the lake.  It was perfect weather and perfect company.  My sister Jaime and her family came too and we loved every minute we were able to all be together.  I can still remember how good the sun felt that day.  I didn't want the day to end.

     During our second trip we went canoeing, had a few great campfires and even tried a zip line at a friend's house.  Luke may be shy, but he is quite the dare devil.  He LOVED the zipline and insisted he do it with no hands every time.  I lost count how many times he went down the zipline.  I almost had a heart attack each time he did it.

     Overall, it felt good to surround ourselves with family and enjoy all the yummy food my mom makes. Our kids love visiting their Grandma and Papa. 

5. My Heart Dances With Her

Okay, I have to admit something.  I always thought people who put their daughters in dance class at the age of 3 were mostly doing it just for themselves.  Let's face it- what little girl dressed in a dance costume couldn't make her parent's heart melt?  Because of my preconceived ideas, I was very reluctant to have Ashlynn join a dance class.  Since she was 2, she had been telling me she wanted to learn how to dance.  I thought to myself, "You are 2...how could you possibly know you want to dance!" 

Well, I finally signed her up this past fall and she has absolutely loved it! She wears a smile on her face during every practice. A day hardly passes without her asking when her dance class is. She loves her girl friends in the class, she adores her teacher, she loves the beautiful costumes and she feels so good about herself. Every little girl deserves to feel that way and... it's great exercise!

Here is Ashlynn getting ready for the recital.  She, of course, had to wear her princess robe while she was getting ready and she loved wearing mommy's mascara and blush-a requirement from the dance company.  She performed in front of hundreds...yes, hundreds... of people!!!  I almost had a heart attack for her.  At first I felt really bad for putting my daughter in that position.  I naively thought there would be about 50 people in the audience.  Why didn't anyone tell me?  Ashlynn was a little stunned when she saw all those people, but she got over it and just danced.  Backstage she told me she wanted to do it again!    My heart rejoices in the fact she has this opportunity and that she isn't paralyzed by shyness and fear like her mommy.

This is her whole class.  Aren't they darling?  Believe it or not...Ashlynn is only 3, the youngest in her class, but the tallest one in the group!

4. A Visit From an Angel

No, this wasn't a visit from a heavenly angel, but it sure felt like it.  Last April was really rough.  There was an entire week my children ate fish crackers and cheesesticks for breakfast & lunch and then had cold cereal with their daddy for dinner.  I was a mess.  Although my children claim it was the best breakfast, lunch and dinner they ever ate-go figure!

My sister Jaime found babysitters for 2 of her children and loaded the other 2 up in her van and drove 6 hours to come to my aid.  Before she even arrived at my door, she had menus planned for the week and all the groceries purchased to make those meals.  She made yummy meals for us, cleaned my nasty house, entertained my children, and most of all let us know she loved us and cared about us. 

When the rest of my world seemed to walk away...she was the only one to walk in.  I think that merits the title of an angel.  She just happens to be my sister too!

3. Deer Man!

This is something that cracks me up everytime I think of it...because it is 100%  L-U-K-E! After driving through the Smoky Mountains this summer and observing so many deer, Luke returned to Grandma's house and quickly invaded the girl cousin's stash of crafts and.........

....invented the one and only....DEER MAN!!! 

Notice that he even made attachable pipe cleaner claws on his feet.  We informed him that deer don't have claws...but he was quick to inform us that DEER MAN did!  He even acted out a few moves that only Deer Man can do.  I guess if there's a Batman, Spiderman, Aquaman, Hawkman & etc....then why not a Deer Man?  I LOVE this kid.  He was put on this earth to bring us so much silly, pure joy.  I love his mind and his boundless creativity.

2. Family Fun In Tennessee

In early July we had a family reunion with Ben's family at a lodge in Gatlinburg, Tennessee. The Smoky Mountains are so beautiful and Ben has a wonderful, fun and loving family. We felt so blessed to be able to attend considering how far we have to travel with kids. This photo only shows Ben's family...but not his Aunt and Uncle, Cousins and their kids. I don't have a pic of everyone:(   But it was a joy to see them too! They are also so loving and FUN!

We tie dyed t-shirts, chased fire flies (which they don't have out West!), went to the most amazing aquarium, saw the best fireworks show we have ever seen, ate too much yummy food, enjoyed Mayfield ice cream, and best of all...watched our kids soak up much needed cousin and grandma time.  We really needed this trip in so many ways!

1. (Top 9 of 2009)-A Birthday Present on the Way

Our top 9 moments from 2009 will not be listed in any particular order...but I really do feel like this one needs to be first.  The rest of them will be completely random.

We are expecting a baby in 9 weeks!!!  We don't know if it is a boy or girl yet.  We are looking forward to the surprise.  The baby is due on my birthday, March 20th.  I couldn't of asked for a better birthday present.  We don't have any baby names yet....so if anyone has a few suggestions...that would be helpful!  Send them our way. 

2009 felt like the longest year-especially after enduring 2 different first trimesters (my least favorite...nausea, severe migraines, exhaustion & etc).  I can honestly say I didn't feel good for almost an entire year.  After I hit 20 weeks (October) and could feel this little baby moving, I have slowly felt like I have permission to be happy again.  What a blessing.  Our family couldn't be more excited about this little baby. 

Keeping It Real For 2010!

Last night I spent hours uploading 1300 photos from our camera to our computer. We hadn't done that since January last year! I guess you could call us procastinators?...maybe...but I think 'indifferent' is more like it. I recently reviewed my list of fellow bloggers and realized that many of them have also fallen off the 'blog wagon' and converted themselves mostly to facebook. I like facebook and blogs both-for different reasons of course. I loved blogging for a while until life got really hard. My mom always said, "If you don't have anything nice to say, then don't say anything at all." I guess that is what happened to us. I have mentioned before that part of 2008 and all of 2009 hasn't been kind to us. We had no problem saying good bye to 2009 and welcoming 2010 with open arms. To be honest, I have a few choice words for 2009, but I have realized some happiness had to exist at some point if we ended up taking over 1300 photos!

Even though blog followers are becoming extinct and their comments (which are always fun) seem to be even more extinct, I realized that my blog in the past helped me to focus on the positive and form a gratitude journal of some sort. I have been a journal writer since I was 8 years old and in some ways my real journal suffered from my blogging. I didn't have time for both. For 2010, I think keeping blog posts simple and short with a few pictures might be more beneficial than documenting every waking moment of my children...accompanied by 10+ photos at a time! I don't want my blog to take away moments from my children and family because I am spending so much time on the computer instead of being with them. To help me focus on the 'good' from 2009, I am going to individually post our top 10 fun, funny or enjoyable moments from 2009. These are the moments that brought a smile to my face, put a beat back in my heart and light at the end of the tunnel.

A Cursed 2009? What do you think?

We will save you the wait for the annual family newsletter we usually share in December. Here is our 2009 so far:

January: Everyone in the family gets sick. (This was the easy trial)

February: All appliances break down at the same time = very expensive repairs!!! Water leak in kitchen destroys new flooring.

March: Ben gets car totaled by a woman running a red light. We end up buying a lemon to replace it and it sucks up all our money.

April: Ben almost loses his job and we lose our baby after 3 months of pregnancy. (Not to mention a few other personal issues we can't list here.)

May: (you probably won't believe this one...) Tanya discovers a man dressed in black hiding in our garage at 11pm. Tanya screams at him to "Get OUT!" and then Ben chases the man down the street (with barefeet) into the darkness and returns 15 minutes later empty handed. Police show up 2 hours later to investigate and search the neighborhood hoping to still find the mystery man dressed in black. (a little late guys!...but thanks anyway!)

So... is this a cursed 2009 or a rather especially exciting one??? Should I be scared for June?

Just Thought You Should Know...

Our Sweet Baby

Today was the day
we were going to meet you.
The ultrasound appointment was set.
For 12 weeks I was the only one to cradle you
now no one else can.
Our families and friends didn't even know you were there.
We had planned to wait and surprise them.
Instead of announcing the day of your coming
they will hear of our loss instead.
I cried all night at the thought
of losing a little one so dear.
I loved you already and didn't want you to go.
Now miscarriage is another word for fear.
Such pain and such anguish!
I didn't want to believe it!
We will never forget you or stop loving you.
Somedays there is deep peace and comfort.
Other days nothing but pain and sorrow.
Your 12 week existence will never be in vain,
you have united our family in ways we can't explain.
Losing you in springtime will always remind me
of a promise told long ago.
Just like the trees and flowers
who shine with all their glory after a long winter's nap,
someday we will see those arms wiggle
and your eyes will bear witness of an eternal plan
made possible by our loving Savior, Jesus Christ.
Goodbye our sweet baby, enjoy your heavenly home
for we shall meet again.

--With Love, Your Mother & Father
4/23/09

Random Purchase

A few weeks ago, I purchased a face painting kit online and we have had so much fun with it! The paints are professional grade and come with an awesome book full of cheek art and face painting examples. My kids are THRILLED to say the least.

Face painting is harder than I thought it would be-especially on children. They are so dang wiggly!

Luke picked a baseball theme because he was learning about the letter B last week at preschool. These face paints are so fun and I would recommend them to anyone.

Christmas-All Wrapped Up

Okay, so I am still working on posting Christmas pics. Hopefully this post will wrap up all our events and we can move on to the new year!

This year I made 'Reindeer Food' as gifts for our neighbors and friends. The kids helped me make it and they couldn't wait to sprinkle it all over the snow on Christmas Eve. As you can see in the photo, Luke dressed up for the 'sprinkling' event.

Here is a sample of one of the Reindeer Food gifts. I made them into ornaments so that people can refill and reuse it every year. I love making homemade gifts! It takes a lot of time, but I love every minute of it.

Santa brought Luke the BATCAVE!!! Yay!

Aunt Jaime had this Halloween crayon case made for Luke. Isn't it the coolest thing? (Click on the photo to get a better look at it). Luke had to drop everything and quickly color a page in his new Cars coloring book.

The 3 Santas. Luke started it, of course!

Princess stuff, baby stuff and candy . What more could a girl ask for?

Looking for Santa.

Yearly tradition: visiting the 'Christmas Houses' in a nearby city.

The kids love coming here. This window/house displayed elves making Christmas cookies.

Gma and Papa drove 8 hours to come visit us! Yay!

Excuse the pigsty in the background, but check out Miss Sassafras sitting on Mommy's lap! I swear Ashlynn is 2 going on 14!

More Christmas visitors: Aunt Kris-Kris and Gma Carolyn from Tennessee! What a special treat to be with them.

Stay Calm Mommy!

Yesterday Luke was trying to play a computer game and exploded when he hit the wrong key causing the game to shut down. He was so angry and looked around the room for everything and anything he could throw, smash or break. Well, our camera happened to be right in his path. He threw it across the room and smashed the LCD screen and some other things. Needless to say, I may not be able to post pics for a little while.

Can I just say how much self control it took to not injure this child? I broke down and cried instead. Luke immediately stopped his tirade and ran over to give me a hug. He said, "It's okay Mommy cuz Daddy is at work making money so we can buy a new one! You don't need to be sad!" These were my thoughts..."Stay calm...stay calm...say a prayer...stay calm...don't hurt him...stay calm...etc..." Since I already had these photos uploaded, I thought I would post them and remind myself how much I still love this little guy.

Luke LOVES pumpkins! That may be an understatement! He wants a pumpkin birthday party some day, a bed shaped like a pumpkin, he wants pumpkin decorations in his room, etc...pretty much anything pumpkin. He can't wait until Halloween. Everyday he asks if it is Halloween yet. The other day he decided to make pumpkins for Daddy and all of his friends at work. He couldn't imagine drawing pumpkins without actually being dressed like a pumpkin too.

Here is documentation of Luke's first written word without ANY help from me. He drew the Easter Bunny carrying a basket of eggs and candy. He then drew a big Easter egg for his 'DAd' and I think he attempted to write 'Mom' too. How fun to see your child spell a word with no help!!!
Just practicing their broom skills for Halloween. Doesn't every child do this?
Oh...and practicing his scarecrow skills too. He has got all his bases covered for Halloween.

BTW, his Aunties Beth and Kay (from Tennessee) gave Luke this orange shirt. He loves it to say the least.

Grandma Fern turns 90!!!!!

Grandma Fern is an amazing woman and she turns 90 this December! All of her family members decided to throw her a party early because we all know how crazy the month of December can be with the Christmas rush and crazy weather. Gma Fern still takes line dancing classes and does all her own gardening and canning.
Aunt Kris-Kris (that's what the kids call her) giving cart rides around the yard and garden.
Ben's family.
His sisters Kay and Beth and his mother, Carolyn flew out from Tennessee to attend the party. It was so fun to visit with them. Kristen lives with Gma Fern so we get to visit with her frequently and Ben's brother, Ron, was the only one not able to attend.
Another photo of the Purcells.
'Primpris Ashlynn' (that's how she says it) waiting for her carriage ride.
Ben had so much fun visiting with his sisters, mother and grandma. We all had a great weekend and the weather was unbelievable. What a fun weekend!!! We are sad it is over. Happy (early) Birthday to a wonderful woman and grandmother!!!!