Time Out!

Last weekend three friends, Erica, Amanda, Katie and I went to Time Out for Women. It's sort of like Women's Conference and Education Week, but it is sponsored by Deseret Book. Anyway, It was a Friday night and then all day Saturday. There were awesome speakers and great LDS artists who shared their talents, experiences, and testimonies. It was a weekend I will never forget! Talk about being pumped up to get out there and face life's challenges! I hope to go again, soon, although Mark may not be too excited about that. No, really, he was great. He listened to me re-tell all the talks when I got home. My favorite was by Mark Mabry. He is the artist who created Reflections of Christ. There is a book of the photos, a DVD, and a CD. It was awesome to hear how he was inspired to start the project and how God prompted him to prepare himself to be able to receive the inspiration. My favorite performer was Hillary Weeks. She is hilarious! Stacie posted a couple of her "spoof" songs on her blog. Hillary did a few different ones last weekend, but I haven't been able to find them on the Internet. I was going to upload myself singing it, but apparently there is an error when I try to upload..lucky for you! So, I will tell you the words, and you can sing it yourself-to the tune of Favorite Things from Sound of Music...."Bedtime, and nap time, and bedtime, and nap time, bedtime, and nap time, and bedtime, and nap time, and did I mention that I love bedtime? These are a few of my favorite things. When the kids fight, when their dad's late, when I'm feeling sad, I open the freezer, take out the ice cream, and then I don't feel so bad!!" Amen to that!! :)

Noah is One!!!!

Happy Birthday Noah!!! Hard to believe that one year ago today, at precisely 12:07am, Noah came into the world-five weeks early and weighing 7lbs 14oz!! His little lungs weren't developed so they whisked him off to the NICU and there he stayed for about four days. He was the biggest preemie in the joint! We never once worried about him, well, maybe once, but we knew he would be okay. Lucky for him he missed sharing his Mom's birthday by 7 minutes!!!

Now he is the chunky, drooly, ornery, cutie pie we have today! Noah is a strong willed little guy who lets his feelings be known. (We have a few of those in our family :)) He is my brown-eyed boy, the one I dreamed about three boys ago! I knew I would get one eventually! I think his eyes look like pools of chocolate pudding! Yummy! He is cute enough to nibble :) Now if only he would walk, crawl, roll... anything!!! He's taking his sweet time, knowing eventually Mom, Dad or one of his older brothers will pick him up and take him somewhere. :)

We love you No-No!! Happy first birthday to you!!!

Bye, Bye Diapers!

Day four in big boy undies for Ty-Ty!!! Granted, he has had some #2 incidents, but hey, we just started 3 1/2 days ago! He goes in and sits on his Spider-man potty whenever I ask him to, and sometimes even on his own! And he hasn't had a "wet" accident, yet! I've NEVER had it this easy (knock on wood). I guess I've finally learned to wait until the kid is ready. Poor Devin and Sam, the older kids always get the trial and error period, don't they? Please tell me they'll be stronger for it! I still have remorse over their younger years. Oh, well. Onward and upward, as Mom would say.

Happy Birthday Mandy!!

K- so I'm a day late...what else is new? Yesterday was Mandy's birthday, and alas, she is still two years younger then I am, and always in better physical condition.
This is a song that will always remind me of her. We used to jump around our room to this song. It was popular when I was 15 or 16 and then came back when she were a senior, I think. Anyway, it's a great one! In fact, music was a big part of our lives, like that Christopher Cross song that would come on EVERY night right when we went to bed.."sailing, takes me away to where I'm always..." I still get the chills when I hear that song! We swore our radio was possessed! And the fact that Mandy hated having the radio on while we fell asleep, and I insisted on it. (sorry) And Sunshine Generation, who can forget Dad teasing Mandy saying that she looked like someone had a gun to her back while she performed.
I couldn't have asked for a better sister to grow up with. Mandy and I shared a room for our entire lives-until I went off to college. And I have to say, that was the best preparation for college roommates and mission companions :). We did fight over clothes, among other things, but it was never anything too serious. And I know none of you will believe this, but I used to be the clean one!! You can ask her...Anyway, Mandy was always the athletic one, and I envied her drive and abilities. She was a very loyal friend, and a loving sister. I'm afraid out of the two of us, I was the snotty teenager who told her younger siblings to "get the heck out of my room!". (I think I've since been forgiven)We loved to lay in bed and talk. Those talks lasted late into the night and early morning when we would come home from college at the same time. We could talk about anything and everything.
Mandy has always had a lot of friends, and she was and is a wonderful example in every aspect of life. In fact, I'm fairly sure she is really "older" then I am. She has always been the one teaching me.
I love that we are only two years apart and have some priceless photos together that I'm sure someone could use to black-mail one or both of us. Scary!

Don't hate us because we're beautiful!!! :) This photo is circa 1989, what do you expect????

This is one of my favorite photos, Mandy and I with Grandpa Keime.


Happy Birthday Mandy!! I Love ya!

P.S. Mandy, doesn't that top photo bring all kinds of weird memories back...the planter hanging in the background and that photo of the Polar Bear...even that brown chair we are sitting in. It's kinda freaky!

Happy "True" Year!!!

Happy 2009! Last night we had a little shin-dig with my family. Some of the cousins stayed late, or slept over and they had a little too much sugar and a little too little sleep. Ty even stayed up with the big boys, and when the ball dropped in NYC they ran outside and yelled and screamed at the top of their lungs. Ty had so much fun that he keeps talking about going outside yelling "Happy 'True' Year!"

I hope 2009 is a 'true' year for all of us, filled with happiness and hope. It seems that every new year brings its joys and struggles, and we end up better for them all. Here's to a wonderful 2009!!

Christmas Blechies

Well, we made it through MOST of Christmas without any sickness. About noon today Mark said he wasn't feeling well, and by the time we were sitting down to eat Christmas dinner at his mom's tonight, he really wasn't doing well. He spent the three or so hours downstairs making trips to the facilities. Poor Mark. I guess there is a bright side, he wasn't sick this morning and was able to wake up at 4:45am when the kids ran into our room shouting that Santa had been here! It is fun to enjoy their enthusiasm, but something inside me can't wait until they are teenagers and will sleep in a little longer...Ty had been so worried that he would have to see or talk to Santa last night. He was so happy this morning that Santa and come and gone without bothering him :)


We enjoyed our traditional Christmas Eve party at my parents' house with the six foot subs, the singing, and grandkids playing piano. We also acted out the manger scene. This year my Mom even put together a service project for the kids. They made newborn kits for the LDS Church Humanitarian Center. We told them that some moms don't have anything but newspaper to wrap their babies in after they're born, so they really need a blanket, diapers, soap, and pajamas. The kids really enjoyed putting the kits together, and it was good to have something to take the focus off of the "gimmies".
Overall, it was a very nice Christmas. We enjoyed time with family and friends, and remembered how much we have to be grateful for! It was also Noah's first Christmas, which seems weird, because he is almost one! Doesn't he look excited to open presents? Too cute!

Lucky Number 13!!

Thirteen years ago today Mark and I were married in the Bountiful Temple! I really can't believe it's been 13 years~in some ways it seems like longer, probably because we were friends and dated for five years before that. We met at Clearfield High in 1990, and boy did I have the wrong first impression of him! He was drop dead gorgeous-not much has changed :)- and a friend of mine had asked him to Sadies. He took forever to answer her, and she was a little bugged. So, I assumed he was a snot. He was quiet, and I never saw him say much to anyone, so I took that as being snotty, too. Well, a few weeks later he called me and asked me out. He says it was the first time he had called someone he didn't know. We went to the 49th Street Galleria, which dates us because it was later called the Fun Dome, and no longer exists! He was the perfect gentleman, so polite and kind. That's when I realized I had judged him all wrong!
Our first school dance was the Christmas Dance, and although we joke that getting married in December was crazy, I love it because December is when we started dating, and when we got married, so it makes the month even more special to me.


I also love the fact that Mark and I served missions at the same time. That was a great experience. He encouraged me to go, and although he may have had alterior motives :), I know he wanted me to have the wonderful experiences he was having. It was such a blessing to be able to write each other and share our ups and downs during that time. Mark returned home six months before I did, and I like to tell people that he waited for me! I got home in July of 1995, we were engaged a month later, and married four months after that.
The day we were married it was frigid, but sunny. It made for really beautiful wedding pictures! It was one of the happiest days of my life, and marrying Mark was by far the best decision I have ever made. He is still my very best friend, and I feel like the luckiest girl on the planet!
Happy 13th Markus! I Love ya!