I'm Having A Thought...

I pretty much suck at juggling.  I've never been one to just whip my hand up and catch a ball, that's why I pretty much sucked at sports.  And yet I'm finding myself lately with so many balls in the air and no clear way to keep them going without wounding myself and those around me by my pathetic attempts and flailing limbs.

I need to {gently} drop some balls.

It's hard to know what things in life are just "good" and not "great", ya know?  And yet we've been counseled by wiser men to let the "good" things go to focus on the "great".  While I TOTALLY agree with said advice, I find myself stuck between many rocks and many hard places: be a better mom or a better wife?  A better friend or better at finding my own peace?  Better at my calling or better at photography?  Better with the budget or a better chef?  Healthier or simpler?  Calmer or more on top of it?  Craftier or more focused?

My patriarchal blessing tells me to beware of the good things in the world because the evil one can manipulate even those things people often consider to be good and worthy to serve his purposes in deceiving us and destroying families.  Whoa.

I need to {gently} drop some balls.

I've thought about it, prayed about it, debated the answer I got, flat out rejected it actually, and finally relented and came back around to the one thing that makes the most sense to let go of - the one thing that stresses me out more than anything else in my life right now {and no, it's not my husband or kids... although they do run a pretty close second some days!!}:

My photography business.

*Sigh*

I've been so torn on this one for SO many reasons - this is supposed to be my creative release!  My outlet from the humdrum of the same day in and day out of every day life!  This is a way to identify myself and set me apart from my peers, a way to earn extra money and give myself some much needed freedom in a controlled way... 

But it's just not anymore.  I'm tired.  It stresses me out to get paid first and THEN have to do the work.  I'm such a perfectionist that it takes me dozens of hours per shoot to edit because I want every last miniscule detail just so.  And it's not like being a photographer makes me special - EVERYONE has a nice camera.  EVERYONE takes amazing pictures!  8 years ago when I started there were like 5 of us in this valley of 40,000ish people.  Now there are closer to 50.  And they're all pretty great!!  Ugh, and I get SO STRESSED out knowing there are people waiting on me to get their memories back that I can't fully enjoy ANYthing I do, ESPECIALLY focus on my own family's pictures.  I avoid getting my camera out because I know I'll never have the time to do anything with the images I capture.  THAT SUCKS.  I hate it.  I hate that something I love and identify with so much, has become a constant dark place in my mind and in my life.  But I need a way to earn extra money to pay for school clothes, Christmas presents, gymnastics, dance, choir, soccer, little league, sports gear, shoes, clothes for myself, books, random crap on Amazon, eating out when I just can't bring myself to cook dinner or something as simple as a fountain drink on a road trip.

But, if I stop now, am I done?  I mean, if I take a step back I will lose clients that I will NEVER be able to get back like school sports teams, town sports leagues, families I've worked with for 8 years, etc. Am I really ok with that?  Is there something else I can do to earn some extra money on the side and yet still let a HUGE stress go without adding a new one?

I hope so.  I really feel like there is.  Maybe I'll make and sell crafty crap on Facebook.  Maybe.  Maybe I'll get into meal planning and prep for others, or finally write some of the books tucked away in my brain and get lucky and become a millionaire by selling the movie rights {hahaha!!!}.  But, you never know.  Whatever it is, I feel really good about this decision.  Weirdly excited to be honest!  Almost giddy.  I'll limit myself this fall and be done for the most part (still do sessions for family and friends because I do still love it, and will hopefully love it more when it's back to being a hobby and not a business) by the end of November.  Just writing it and putting it out there already feels like I've let a huge burden go.

Balls {gently} dropped.

Goals, Thoughts and a New Purpose

The entire reason I started this blog was to document our family's memories and share them with family, friends and whoever else happened to stumble on our little corner of the blogsphere.  If you look to the post list on the right, you'll see that for years I was a rock star and kept pretty much on top of it - I LOVED my blog!  I loved everything associated with it - forming the stories in my head, imagining how I should take the pictures to best complete the memories shared, the comments people left, knowing those moments were being preserved in a way that my forgetful Mommy Brain wouldn't soon forget. 

And then 2 things happened... Facebook and child number 3.  Suddenly no one cared what I wrote, unless it was a quick Facebook post accompanied by a lower-quality picture caught on my camera phone because, let's face it, that's so much easier to keep up on for everyone!  And the arrival of our sweet baby boy... even though he was a dream baby and SO easy, there were so many added factors to our lives with this new addition.  Madi had just started school, Maelee was in the thick of the TERRIBLE two's, we were given the opportunity to sell our house and purchase our dream home all on TOP of visits with Becca (Marcus' birth mom) and her family, court paperwork and hearings and everything that comes with the process of adopting a baby.  Oh, and we went from a family of 4 to one of 5.  Crazy how that changes things!!!  Something had to give, and it was my beloved blog. 

Now, fast forward to FIVE YEARS LATER (WTF??) and here I am, longing to play catch-up and stroll down memory lane before it's lost forever and my kids are all grown up.  I worry I've lost so much already :(  Life won't stop.  Life won't slow down, it won't even let me catch my breath!

-SO-

Shoulders back, chin up, eyes focused, a tall glass of water by my side and a cushion under my tush - and I'm ready.  The original purpose of this blog was to document life as it happened.  Yes, that's still the goal, but now I'm hoping to expand that and add backtrack posts and actually do what I've regretted not getting to all this time - catching up as much as I can in the short time I have.  Some posts will be posted as a flashback, others dated to get them in the proper time frame so when I publish blog books everything flows chronologically.  I realize that most likely no one will read these posts except me.  Maybe Clint and someday my kids.  That's totally fine.  I don't need what I used to from this blog.  This is MY release.  MY record.  MY journal.  MINE.  I don't mind sharing, and if you're reading this don't feel awkward about continuing to check in on us from time to time.  All I'm saying is that where I used to feel a sense of pride in this blog because of how others reacted to it, now my pride will come from inside - knowing that I'm doing this for my family.  That's SO exciting to me!!  I can't wait to see their faces as they finally get the chance to flip through new blog books and see new pictures that I haven't had the time to show them and read the stories that go along with them... that gets me all kinds of giddy inside!!

I guess to wrap this up I ask for forgiveness.  More from myself and my family than from anyone else.  Time to let the guilt go.  Time to move forward by looking in the past and fleshing out what I find.  Holy crap, I can't friggin' wait!!!

::{Happy -late- Birthday Miss Maelee!}::

What??!?  2 posts in one month??  I know what you're thinking, that hasn't happened in so long I actually don't remember.  Like, seriously.  How sad is that?  *Sigh

But on to happy thoughts - our sweet little coconut turned SIX this summer!!  What the what?  She is SO 6 going on 16, complete with spunk, spitfire and sass to spare!  But before she grows up on me anymore, I need to take a few minutes to remember Maelee at 6. 

*She doesn't get a fever, she gets a "tenchamer"
*Reads her "skipchures" with the family at night
*Sings and dances non. stop. all. the. livelong. day.
*She... loves(?) on kitties and puppies a little more than they care for her to haha!
*Has no fear
*Does backflips on the trampoline and back handsprings on the ground
*Wants to learn to read so badly but doesn't have the attention span to actually sit still long enough to learn lol
*Has already been proposed to at school and given a broken guitar keychain as a momento of that love.  Keep in mind we've had 2 days of school so far this year!
*LOOOOOOOOVES make up!  Especially lipstick and eyeshadow
*Smacks her gum
*Will snuggle with anyone who sits by her
*Has a big heart and smile
*LOOOOOOOOVES to tease her brother and sister
*Thinks she will turn into a grandma baby when she gets old cuz old people shrink

Oh we love this crazy tornado girl of ours!!  Maelee, you were our second miracle.  You were the one who answered our prayers after my hysterectomy.  You were our first child to usher us into the crazy world of adoption.  I was the first to hold you, the first one you saw with your earthly eyes, the first to share tears of joy and awe on your perfect, chunky little face.  You have always been the one to keep us on our toes.  You have always tried to bring laughter to our home, even if sometimes we don't exactly think it's funny LOL!!  You have taught us so much just by being you.  I hope you know how much we love you and how much we would do to show you that love.  Happy (late, sshhh!) Birthday Maelee!!  We are so glad you're our little coconut!

::{First Day of School??!?}::

I still need to post Maelee's birthday blurb, and all the fun craziness from this summer but I wanted to quickly post the pics that set today apart...

Today is the first day of school!  Madi has officially entered the realm of 4th grade and my Maelee is a big 1st grader... waaaaaaaaaaah!!!  Make it stop!!

I LOVE THESE GIRLS!!!!!

Nine-Eleven

I don't think we can top last year's post, so here is the link to it.  Hope your 9-11 is full of peace and hope.

Long Overdue

Yes, I know. I am absolutely TERRIBLE at updating this thing. Let me tell you, my personal journal isn't much better. Sad, sad story people. Life is zinging by and I'm missing it because if I don't take the time to write it down, it disappears faster than I can relish it and soon I forget all the small things that make life right now what it is: wonderful.  SO... I'm going to take a second and give a quick update. Someday I will finish all my backtracking posts and get you totally updated on our life over the past 8 months, but that won't happen tonight.  NOTE:  None of the following posted pictures have been edited.  I know you don't care and probably don't notice, but I am absolutely cringing at the thought of posting unedited pictures on here.  C'est la vie!!


We moved into our beautiful home on June 25th and are absolutely in LOVE with it.  Clint took that first week we were moving in off from work so that we could get totally unpacked and settled as soon as possible since this is our forever home and we wanted to live HERE and not out of boxes.  Sorry, the pics are only of about 1/2 the house and unfortunately only one of them are of the outside {kinda, it's our family pic from the 4th of July.  It was taken in the courtyard out front}.  I'm still working on the rest!  It's on my "someday" list LOL

This house has felt like home since we moved in.  We are so excited, even with all the responsibility that has come with it.  We have almost an acre and a half with the house and Sandra {the woman we bought the house from} planted all kinds of yummy stuff.  This fall {ok, every fall from now on} will be a busy one trying to figure out when and how everything needs to be harvested, but it's a great challenge and SO rewarding!  Our garden was very generous, the grapes and figs were fab, apples are just starting to come off and in the next month our pecans, pistachios, walnuts and pomegranates will be ready also.  Crazy busy, bring it on!!  :O)


Next up, we went camping with my family on our beautiful mountain in mid July.  It was such a great weekend - although sorry to my BIL Troy who isn't quite simpatico with heights and had to drive up the cliff-side road with no guardrails... SORRY!!!!  We hiked and found a TON of lady bugs {note the difference between how many bugs are crawling on my girls vs my nephews... city boys!  LOL}.  It was just nice to get to share our mountain with my family.  My grandma had actually camped there as a little girl during the summers and until 2 years ago hadn't been back in almost 70 years!  CRAZINESS!!  Grandma, you don't look that old my dear!

Clint's Grandma GG came down from Oregon in April and stayed through July with Russell and Jonnet.  It was such a treat to have her here, the kiddos LOVE their Grandma GG and she will definitely be missed!

Ah, next comes the 24th of July.  Clint has somehow ended up in charge of our ward's float for the last X many years and this year a few days before he decided that we as a family needed to dress in pioneer garb and walk with the float to hand out all the candy.  Great idea except that we live in 2012 and don't have pioneer garb.  SO, I took a few old sheets and some extra fabric and sewed the girls and I bonnets and aprons.  Well, after working on them for 2 days my sewing machine evidently thought I needed a break cuz it bit me.  The needle went in exactly where the nail leaves the skin at the nail bed, I jerked my finger away from the machine with the needle still in my nail, tearing through the length of the nail all the way to where the nail leaves the skin underneath and turns white.  Yeeeeeeah.  Needless to say I cried like a baby, Clint took me to the doctor and all they did was give me a bandaid and a tetanus shot {which hurt worse than the original injury I came in for!  Hello?!?  Didn't they know I came IN with a needle injury?  I wasn't looking for another one!}.  I was so burnt about the bandaid that I made Clint take me to sonic.  :O)  See, I'm a little baby!

On August 8th, school started.  Madi took her first step as a big first grader {sob!} and Maelee began "Mommy School".  They are both doing great and loving it!  Madi loves her teacher, who is a great fit for us, and she has a lot of friends in her class.  Maelee has already learned to count to 13 {except that she keeps wanting to jump to 6... "1,2,6" "Try again, 1,2,3" "oh, ok!  1,2,3,6"... too funny!  Once she actually GETS to 6 she's perfect!} and most of her colors.  It's going to be a great year for both girlies!

Madi turned 6 in May and is still so sassy!  I mean that as spunky not as a turkey... actually... she's pretty good at both!  :O)  She tested into intermediate swim lessons this year {woot!} and enjoyed carrying Marcus around all summer.  Going back to school has been really good for her, she craves the routine.  She has mellowed out a lot in the last few weeks as far as stinker moments go and her sweet side is really starting to shine.  She's such a great helper and her most recent quirk is when she comforts Marcus, she tells him, "Sssssssh, it's ok."  Except she doesn't leave a space between the "sssh" and the "it".  So, honestly my 6 year old walks around telling my 8 month old "Sssssshit's ok!"!!!  And when he's really fussy, there aren't as many s's!!  Makes me smile.

Maelee is as always... our little coconut!  She turned 3 in June and still keeps us on our toes.  She has the funniest little personality and comes up with the silliest things.  She wants so badly to carry Marcus around and play with him, but typically it ends with him in wide-eyed tears, pleading with me to save him.  Give him another few months sweetie, then he'll be more ready to play!  She loves Mommy School and mimics everything Madi does.  She's also turning into quite the little pesty sister and LOVES to drive Madison crazy - poking, touching, kicking, looking at her... it's all fair game and Maelee eats it up.  Her biggest news is actually a total bummer: she has to have surgery next week.  :O(  She has had 7 UTI's in 10 months, her fever got up to 107.5 twice and it just gets worse with each infection.  We had a VCUG {awful, awful, awful experience for the poor girl} and it showed that she has stage 4 reflux which basically means her tubes which drain urine from the kidneys to the bladder didn't form right and so they don't stop the pee from going back up into the kidneys - which is a big no no.  In the surgery, they'll disconnect the tubes and reattach them properly.  Yuck.  BUT, to have the UTI's a thing of the past will be worth it.  SO not looking forward to recovery but hopefully she'll bounce back quickly!!!!!!

Marcus has grown by leaps and bounds!  We started him on cereal and baby food when we moved in, and now he's eating stage 3 baby food, cheerios and small bites of table food.  He hasn't mastered the pincer grip yet, but is quite proficient at the grab and shove method.  His first little tooth popped through 2 weeks ago and will hopefully be joined in the next week by a friend.  In the last week he has made the transition from crawling backwards to finally crawling forward, and has also discovered how to pull himself up onto his knees AND his feet.  Jeez kid!  I had to move his crib mattress all the down to the lowest setting today and he did NOT like it!  He was so mad at me for taking away his new found ability to look OVER his crib that he refused to go to sleep tonight for about an hour.  Poor kid was exhausted and still protesting!  Marcus has also discovered cause and effect.  When he waves his hand in front of the XBOX it beeps and flashes pretty green lights.  When he waves again it beeps more and the lights turn off - magic.  Or when he puts his hand in front of a night light it lights up.  ACK!  Baby proofing again?!?  :O)  He is the sweetest baby and we are all so smitten with him.  How can we not be?

That's the last 2 months in a nutshell.  A big nutshell.  Like a black walnut shell.  :O)

The Truth

I don't like my computer.

Scratch that.  I'm addicted to my computer.  It sucks me in.  I enjoy that I have a laptop and can set up camp on the kitchen table and not be confined in a room away from my family.  I like that I can unleash my creativity through my blog, photography, Photoshop, Blurb, writing and all that other digital artsy-fartsy stuff.  It gives me an outlet to re-charge my batteries and identify myself when those "I'm a crazy lady and need a break" moments come up.  I find it amusing to wander around Pinterest, catch up on Facebook, read the latest news on Yahoo! or simply kick back to a friend's latest Blog post.  I love the convenience of the world at my fingertips - that even though I live in a small community I have access to anything I {think that I} need. :O)

All that is great.  But it's time consuming and that's the problem.  I don't have enough time.  I constantly feel like I'm running late {by 10 minutes, pretty religiously.  It's almost sad that I'm "that person".  Sigh.  Working on it!!!}, always feel like I've dropped the ball on at least one thing and never feel like the efforts I make are good enough.

Don't get me wrong, this post is NOT to whine.  I'm not having a pity party, honest.  This is leading up to a realization, an epiphany if you will that I have had.  I need to weed out the "good" and only leave the "great".  I need to prioritize.  If I dread getting on my computer, then that's me telling me that I spend too much time on it.  I know that as soon as it turns on, my self control struggles to stay afloat.  It's pathetic, but that's my confession.  I can literally spend hours here, exhausting myself to the very core - emotionally, physically...  I'm like a zombie, a short-tempered walking dead person.

Adopting Marcus has been such a blessing.  I took a vacay from my addiction and was able to see from the distance how bad it was, how little I actually enjoyed it {or at least the consequences of it}, and how little I really needed my daily "fix" of cyberspace.  At first I craved plugging back in, but now...  I literally dread turning this frienemy on.  It's crazy that I'm still plowing through feelings of thinking I'm "so behind" and "such a failure" that I haven't blogged in so long or updated my status.  There is so much more to who I am and who I want to be than my cyberself.  And 2 of those things are watching Super Why while I write this post.  I should be there, huddled under Maelee's purple butterfly blanket with them, waiting to solve the question with my super readers.

By being there, my dear reader, is why I haven't been on top of my posting.  I've been letting go of THIS for THAT.  THAT is where I belong.  THAT is where I want to be and THAT... is the truth.

Cue the Hallelujah Chorus...

No, we haven't sold our house yet {darn it!  Come on guys!  We'll give $100 cash to whoever brings us our buyer...} :O) but in the meantime something pretty darn exciting has happened!  Marcus is officially sleeping through the night!!!  {Here it is, "Hallelujah!!"}  LOL  At TWO MONTHS OLD this darling boy is giving his mama the best gift he can - the hope of a full night's rest.  Unfortunately, his two older sisters have other plans...  In the 2 weeks that Marcus has been sleeping 8-11 hours at night, Madi and Maelee have been bombarding our bed during those same hours!  AAAAAAAGH!  TURKEYS!!  *Sigh*  At least Maelee is totally potty trained {for 2 months now!} so there isn't a soggy pull-up climbing in bed multiple times a night {always look for the positive, you'll live longer!}.  Ha ha!



Two months old.  My baby boy is two months old already!  I'm shocked, partly that it's already been 2 months and partly that it's ONLY been 2 months!  I honestly can't remember NOT having him in our family, NOT knowing him, NOT knowing what he looks like, NOT seeing his ever adorable smile every day... I just can't even fathom that there was life before this sweet miracle.  The girls have adjusted flawlessly to having him around - not ONE moment of jealousy or spite WOOHOO!!



Since it's kinda expected that I record his "stats" for you, I guess I'll throw them out really fast {aaaaand, I want to brag on my boy!!}:

11lbs 6oz
22 1/2 inches long
50% percentile across the board
Drinking 6oz
Smiles and coos when you babble at him
Giggles if you work REALLY hard for it
Loves to munch on his hands
Gets excited when Mom or Dad come in for a kiss {and usually licks Mom in response}
Loves to watch his sisters play
Has greyish, blueish, greenish eyes
Hasn't peed on Mom in about a month {Woohoo!}
Has outgrown about 1/2 of his 0-3 month clothes, but almost drowns in the rest LOL
Had his first haircut {Feb 21st} but still rocks a fauxhawk

Rebecca and her mom Lori came over for a day visit last Tuesday and I'm so glad they did.  The girls were crazy but we had a good day.  Becca actually held Marcus during his haircut {which he wasn't too fond of.  I think the noise of the clippers startled him}, and he totally crashed after - sprawled out over her lap.  Too cute!

Life is good. Busy, but good. We're still hoping to sell our house, so please keep us in mind and send peeps our way. Marcus is fussing so I better skeedaddle! :O) Oh, I love that little boy!!!!!

We are MOVING!!!

Well... as soon as we sell our house that is!  :O)  SO... the point of this post is to brag all about our adorable abode so that word will spread like wildfire and hopefully help us find our buyer!

Let me start with the bragging {but quickly say that we're not leaving town, just buying a different house to call home.  More on that later!}.   Our house appraised a year and a half ago for $130,000 and we are asking $128,000.  It sits on over half an acre with fruit {apple, apricot and the most delicious peaches EVER!} and shade trees, established landscaping in front and a LOT of potential in back.  The back yard is fenced in, and the property continues beyond the back fence {this is where we have the fruit trees and a fire pit} quite a ways and eventually into a grove of mesquite trees.  There is enough land for horses, RV's, a workshop, etc. behind the fence while still leaving the huge back yard {we have a large sandbox for our fort/swing set/playground, partial grass and a shed on a concrete foundation - and there is STILL a TON of yard left}.  We have installed multiple water spickets around the parameter of the yard and have a fenced off area for our dog.

We bought the house {which was built in 2000} the day before our 1st wedding anniversary {7 years ago this June}, and have put a lot of heart and hard work into making it a beautiful home.  It's 1,268 square feet with a split and spacious floor plan that makes it feel a heck of a lot bigger than that.  It has 3 nice sized bedrooms and 2 full bathrooms.  The kids' rooms have large custom closets with built-in organizers and sliding mirror doors.  Their bathroom {or the hall bathroom LOL} is bright and has cream cabinets with satin nickel hardware, a rain shower head and a curved shower curtain rod - which makes the bathtub/shower nice and spacious without invading the rest of the room.

The master bedroom has a sliding glass door leading out to a small porch and a spacious walk-in closet {again with custom organizers to make the most of the space}.  The added crown molding gives the room a nice finishing touch and gives the illusion of a higher ceiling.  The master bathroom also has cream cabinets {with lots of storage} and satin nickel hardware including cup pulls on the many drawers.  The counter top is large, giving you lots of room to spread out when both of you are getting ready for the day.  :O)  It also has an oversize shower {which is SO nice!!} with a rain shower head.

The family room has a large window and is quite roomy - we have a couch, chaise-lounge, book case, entertainment center and hope chest in the room and it's still very open and clutter-free.  There are double ceiling fans and an arch leading into the hallway.  The family room is openly connected to the dining nook and kitchen, which gives these rooms a feel of being bigger than they are.  The dining nook has bay windows, allowing the perfect fit for the table and provides a beautiful view of the mountains.  The kitchen is VERY well thought out.  The storage space is maximized with 2 Lazy Suzan's and 2 deep corner cabinets above, and beautiful custom cupboards that meet the ceiling.  The gas oven/range still looks brand new and the dishwasher is in great shape.

The laundry room also houses the hot water heater and has the same custom ceiling-high cabinets the kitchen sports.  There is room to store the vacuum, mop, etc. and has a door leading to the 2 car covered carport.

I have had fun painting and improving here and there over the years, and have upgraded the interior doors to 6 paneled ones, installed ceiling fans in every bedroom {ok, Clint did those LOL}, 2-inch wood blinds in all the windows and we extended the front porch quite a bit and added a sidewalk down the side of the carport and across the front of the house.  This house still has SO MUCH POTENTIAL!!!  It's set up for an easy addition off the back or a large back porch and the carport could easily be enclosed into a 2-car garage.

As much as we've enjoyed this house, we've known for a few years that this isn't our "forever home".  There's this gorgeous house around the corner and down the street from us that we've been drooling over and dreaming about for YEARS {when we drive past it we always make jokes about "when we live there" or "there's our future home!" or "someday..."}.  Well, last January at Enrichment {or whatever it's called these days} I swallowed my nerves and told the woman who owns it that if she ever decided to sell her home that Clint and I wanted to buy it.  Her response totally shocked me, "Really?  When do you want it?"  Um... Yesterday!  :O)  Turns out her family all live in Utah and she has been debating staying here or moving there for years.  So we talked with her about it all last year and we always felt really really good about it, SUPER excited about it actually {even though until a few weeks ago we had never even seen the inside!  I know, we're total nerds!!}.  When she called us a few weeks back to say that she had made up her mind and was moving we were a jumble of emotions: ecstatic, scared, excited, nervous, thankful, freaking out, hoping it would work out and humbled that we have been given the opportunity to own our dream home so soon.

After walking through it, we knew for sure that we want to buy it so now comes the scary part: making the grown-up decision to sell our home and buy hers.  Things have been so crazy these last few months and so thank heavens for the calming power of prayer to keep us grounded and help us figure out what direction to go with all of this.  At first we wanted to sell ours privately, but after researching online for ideas and tips we decided that we actually were pretty clueless and called the relator who sold us this house in the first place.  :O)  We are officially on the market and almost finished with the last minute projects to get our house ready to sell.  CRAZINESS!!!  Every time I see the for sale sign out front I get this anxiety/excitement attack.  Getting our house ready to sell has made me see it in a whole new way, as a beautiful, fresh home with so much potential {instead of the same old same old we've lived in for almost 7 years}.  I'm so excited to pass this house we've made into a home on to someone new.  I know that someone will love it as much as we have and will make it even more beautiful, and we're ready to do the same with our dream house.

Anyone interested or if you have any questions email me at tippy2by4{at}yahoo{dot}com.  Wish us luck and PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE help us sell our house!!!  :O)

Where were you 10 years ago...?

I was 16 and a Junior in High School.  I turned on the radio expecting music, and all I could get was AP Network News on EVERY station.  At first I was a little annoyed, but then I paid attention to what was being said...

It all seemed surreal, at first I didn't realize how awful things actually were because I didn't have access to a TV and the radio reports were so jumbled in the chaos of the events.  I remember walking into school and seeing the fear on everyone's faces and realizing for the first time that it was more than a plane crashing into a building in New York City.  I started catching more pieces of the puzzle and by afternoon every class had the TVs tuned into CNN and the entire school had an eerie silence as we watched the devastation and wondered how many of our friends and family would be called to fight.  Some were mad and ready to jump into action, others were sick at the thought of what they would be losing in their lives by answering THAT call instead of the call they had always anticipated.

Our imaginations ran wild and we were sure that life as we knew it was over.  How could we possibly pick up the pieces and move on after that kind of destruction?  One of my brothers worked in Newark at the time and could see the smoke across the water.  My uncle worked at the Pentagon and that day had forgotten his security clearance and didn't remember until he was halfway to work.  By the time he had returned home to retrieve it and was on his way again, he turned on the radio to hear that the plane had just crashed into the building he would have been in had he not forgotten.

We had gotten our yearbooks from the previous school year a few days before and I was still trying to hunt down the last few people I wanted signatures from.  One was my friend Jackson who, on September 11th, 2001 wrote, "Life is good."  At the time I appreciated his effort to cheer me up, but later I realized that in those 3 words he had given me hope.  That night I went home and penned the lyrics to a song and the next morning had the opportunity to sit down with my guitar and put it to music.  I titled it "We Won't Forget You", and was amazed to see that become the nation's promise to those who died that day.  I'm not taking credit, I just think it's cool that others were inspired with the same words.

I had the opportunity to travel to NYC and DC the following summer, 9 months after the attacks.  Ground Zero was still a nightmare.  That area of Manhattan was a ghost town.  I cried in silence when I saw the doors to the firehouse covered in memoirs to it's fallen members.  I peeked through a tiny hole in the tarps blocking Ground Zero from the public eye and saw the steel beam cross.

It's been 10 years since then, and my one regret is that our nation seems to have forgotten the unity we felt in the months following 9/11.  My one hope is that my children never have a day when they worry about the future of their country, and whether the call to arms will tear their family and friends from their sides.  I am SO thankful for those who have answered that call and have fought for our freedom and the freedom of others.  I hope we all take a moment this Sunday to remember where we were 10 years ago and to say a prayer for those who lived.

- Tiffany

*****
I can't believe it's been ten years! The morning of the attacks I was serving my mission in Chicago. We had just finished a meeting with our district when I we got a call telling us to stay home until the mission president contacted us. We were told we could watch the coverage at a members home as long as we stayed put. We lived above a member who allowed us to watch with them. I can't explain to you the feelings I had as I watched the 2nd plane crash into the tower over and over. I did not see it when it hit for the first time, I saw the replays of it as they continued to cover the story. My heart ached for those with loved ones inside. I can still see the people who were forced to jump from so high, there was no chance of survival. As the towers fell I was watching it live. The room was quiet. We had tears running down our cheeks. I did not personally know anyone that died that day. I feel for those families who did not know if their loved ones were alive. The fire fighters and police who rushed in to help left families of their own behind. So many American lives were lost! Yet out of the ashes and tragedy, numerous heroic stories also emerged. This attack is my only taste of the emotion that comes from war. I have read plenty of books that tell stories from World War 2. Books do not keep you up at night aching for the strangers you read about, or lead you to your knees for hours at a time. After the dust settled from 911. We saw a different America! One that was united and strong! People caring for others, and caring more for their loved ones. I felt an outpouring of pride to be an American over the next few months. Doors were opened and people allowed us to enter their homes and share with them the peace that the gospel brings. I love America! I love the blessings I enjoy! I want everyone to know how grateful I am for those who fight to protect me and my family. Thank you to the families who have loved ones serving.  I only enjoy the blessing I do because of you! I wish I said thank you more but I'm not always sure how too. So thanks again!
-Clint

Big Changes!

Spring has sprung 'round our house and as it does every year, it's made us itch for some changes.  Closets get cleaned out, things get re-organized and there's some pretty satisfying deep cleaning.  I LOVE SPRING!!

This spring is also bringing a look at our family - where we are now, and where we would like to be in a year or so.  Yeah, you guessed it - I'm talking about adoption.  We're starting to get that itch again, and we're excited to be part of another miracle.

BUT, our house isn't huge, and our car is TINY.  Luckily, tax returns are amazing things that can help in situations like this!  :O)  For over a year, we've been thinking of ways that we can comfortably fit another child {or 2, I keep dreaming about twins... we'll see on that one, eh?  LOL} in our home.  We've come up with a few ideas {aside from serious purging!}.  So, on that note, we went from this:

To THIS!

And this!

The girls are so stinkin' funny with their new bed.  They go up and down the ladder constantly, bouncing around and laughing hysterically.  They even came up with this game: one lays on the bottom bunk and sucks on a doll pacifier while the other one says, "Goodnight baby!  I'll see you in a bit!" and climbs the ladder.  Once the "Mom" is "upstairs", the "baby" starts crying, bringing the "Mom" back down to check on her, "Oh, baby!  Don't cry!  Mama's here!  It's ok!"  Then it repeats itself a few times, and they switch roles.  Too cute!  Maelee isn't sleeping on the bottom bunk quite yet, she's too light a sleeper still.  Since she still hasn't figured out that she could probably climb out of the crib {she climbs everything else!  SO surprised that she hasn't attempted that one yet, but yet she manages to get up on the counter!}, we're still letting her sleep there for now.  I'm giving myself until school starts in August to make the full transition.  At least it's ready for when we'll need to have both girls in there, and probably with more than enough time for them to totally adjust to sleeping in the same room again.  {FINGERS CROSSED!!!}

I loved my car {note the "d"!!}. 

It got GREAT gas mileage {hybrid, gotta love it!}, was pretty comfy and has been awesome to have for the past 2 years.  BUT, it was TEENY-TINY.  If one of Madi's friends rode with us somewhere, they could BARELY fit between the car seat and booster - so there was NO WAY we could squeeze another car seat in that backseat.  Not without some serious plastic bending and possible damage to the vehicle doors...  So for over a year now we have been looking at a possible upgrade.  We... ok, I have researched virtually every SUV of every size - put waaaay too much time into this whole thing.  BUT, it has all been for a good cause because a few weeks ago we bought THIS!!!:

Oh, my laws.  We LOVE our Sequoia!  When we were driving home the first time in it, Madi would point at every car we passed and say, "Ha ha!  Bet you wish YOU had a Sequoia Tuh-oy-ya!  Our Sequoia is faster than YOU little blue car!  And we're faster than YOU little red truck!"  We were dying laughing!  We scored BIG TIME with it: it's an '04, 84k miles, leather interior, moon roof {Madison was adamant that we bought one with a moon roof because the first one we test drove had one and she thought it was the coolest thing ever!}, tow package and is the EXACT color we wanted.  I love that it's not brand new so we're not overly paranoid about the girls climbing all over inside, ya know?  I love that it's not a huge, full-size SUV.  I love that it seats 8 people!  I love that the backseat is comfortable.  I love that even with the 3rd row seat up, there is a TON of cargo room.  I love the 6 CD disc changer.  I love that it has a storage thing for my sunglasses.  I love that it has 10 over-sized cup holders.  And I love that we found exactly what we wanted, within the mileage we wanted, within the year range we wanted, with the upgrades we wanted for the price we wanted to pay.  AND, I'm so excited to finally have the car that we're going to "raise" our family in.  To not have to worry about what we're going to do about our tiny car if our next adoption happens as quickly as Maelee's went.  We absolutely LOVE this SUV!  We can't wait to take it camping this summer.  Literally.  In fact, we're taking it camping this weekend to test it out... anyone up for a camp out?!?

Ok Mommies, let me pick your brains

This is going to sound totally random.  I need your ideas for a project I'm working on; I may not be completely finished for a few years but I would like your help.  Sound good?  Clear as mud?  GREAT!!  :O)

What are some habits of your darling children that drive you crazy?  Things they do that no matter how many times you ask them to stop, no matter how creative you are at trying to help them understand how annoying that habit is, no matter what you do they still keep it up?

So far I have:
Talking non-stop
"Forgetting" to listen
Taking forever to do things {like eating, going potty, getting dressed, etc.}
Being a "turkey" {not a bully, but kinda mean.  Not really thinking of others before acting.  Basically being a stinker!}
Not sharing

That's all I can come up with.  I'm hoping to end up with about 7-10 really good... well... bad habits.  Ha ha.  I don't want to get too specific like hitting or biting, but any suggestions would be great. 

Thanks!!!

Funny ha ha

So I'm standing in line in the evil Wal-Mart last night and was bored so I let my mind wander.  Evidently I let my ears wander too cuz I started paying attention to these two ladies' conversation behind me. 

Lady number 1:  "Oh my gosh!  A secret wedding?  They got married?!"

Lady number 2:  "I thought they were already married!"

Number 1:  "No, they've just been living together."

Number 2:  "Wow!  I can't believe they finally got married then.  They have kids together and everything!"

At this point I take a peek back at them and realize who they're talking about.  On the cover of one of those celebrity trash talk magazines is the headline "Inside Brad and Angie's SECRET WEDDING!" {or something like that}.  I giggle and listen on as they go back and forth about this celeb and that celeb who are married, divorced or "just living together".  I guess the headline "Jessica is a home wrecker!  Details on how she stole her new fiance from his wife!" caught their attention because now they're saying,

Number 1:  "Wait, I thought he was already divorced when they started dating!"

Number 2:  "So did I!  I can't believe she would do such a thing!"

Number 1:  "She must have been just trying to out-do Nick because HE got engaged, like a month before!"

Number 2  "Wow.  What a tramp!  I always thought she was so nice.  What a shame..."

Number 1:  "I guess it just shows you that no matter how well you think you know someone..."

Number 2:  "I know it, I know it." {as she sadly shakes her head}

This next bit made me literally laugh out loud and be very grateful that I had the girls with me so I could pretend I had found them amusing instead of the 2 women behind me...

Number 1:  "I don't really follow celebrity gossip though, so I guess I shouldn't be surprised by all those headlines."

Number 2{as she stares intently on yet another celeb trash mag}:  "Yeah, me neither.  It's really none of my business what they do with their lives."

Were they joking?  Did they then laugh at how ridiculous they just were?  Did they even realize how stupid they sounded and how ironic their whole conversation was?!?

Nope.  No-sir-ee.  Uh-Uh.

Wow.  Then they moved on to gossiping about "real" people and "important" matters.  Too funny.  Made me giggle, I tell you what!

***

Moving on!  The girls helped me make butter pecan toffee right before Christmas, and helped us eat it too!  Poor Maelee's teeth got stuck together and made her make some FUNNY faces while she chewed!  LOL  This first pic is Madi showing me the tiny MnM's and thinking they are so cute and "just my size!  Can I eat ALL of them?!?"  Yes, she is my child and no, I didn't let her eat ALL of them.

This is Maelee's "my teeth are stuck together" face

This little girl does NOT like her hands to be dirty, but the chocolate WAS pretty good...

I love these girls, and they made the Holidays so much fun.  Hope you enjoyed yours as much as we enjoyed ours!!