My happy thought

They say a picture is worth a thousand words...

...these just leave me smiling.

Sleeping Angels

There is something about a sleeping child that makes me very happy. Especially after several sleepless nights and sick boys. They were both so cute sleeping that I had to creep in and take a picture. Oh, and the puppy in Gabe's picture is actually Payton's just don't try to tell him that.

My first pickle

Here's Angie feeding Payton one of his first foods. Welcome to the world of real food, Payton. Alright, maybe it wasn't the best choice for a starter food, but he seems to be teething and he went to town with the texture of that pickle on his gums.

Nice Hats!!

Ok, so I'm aware that this may be a form of child abuse but they actually won't know it for another several years. Let me explain what brought this on...

Every naptime and bedtime I ask Shayne to go get me a pullup so she can go to bed. Knowing that bedtime follows the pullup she usually protests this. Its not until I tell her that I'll just get it myself that she hurries to beat me to the job. Well, on this day thats just what happened only Gabe wanted to help too and he brought me a couple extra pullups. He insisted that he needed "pants" on as well. I tried to explain that they were girls, that he wears diapers and that they aren't even pants, but he really didn't want to be left out... so like a dorky mommy I put it on his head. Shayne entered the room at this point to find that she was not the source of the laughter and insisted on having a princess pullup hat as well...

Lets just hope they find it as funny in 10 or so years... (wink)

Just a quick note...

I forgot to mention before that for those of you who didn't know it, the kids and I moved to Layton, Utah this last weekend. It all happened really fast, and I want to apologize that I didn't tell a lot of people. The idea was presented, it felt right and it happened... but here we are and we're excited to start a new adventure and chapter of our life story. Wish us luck, cross your fingers, or maybe even pray for us... cause here we go.

Special place in heaven...

If there is a special place in Heaven for people that really go out of there way to help others, I have a long list of names I'd like to nominate for a spot in that place. I'd like to take a quick minute and name a couple of those in particular.
First is my cousin, Angela. When I was in a rut and trying to find direction, Angie came to the rescue. She opened her home and her heart to my three kids and I. She helped clean up throw up and sat out on the balcony at 2am with a fevered child, she sang songs and read stories, gave baths and hugs. She has been a great friend as well as an amazing and supportive part of my family. I love you Angie!
Next are two people who have gone way above my expectations for friends. Julie and Camille are angels here on earth. It takes a special kind of person to look at a situation like mine and see an opportunity for growth and love rather than a lot of work. Not only have these two special women taken me under their wing but they have pooled all their resources to help me and my children in anyway possible, and still they seek to do more. All the while they tell me that its their pleasure. I love you both so much!
Its a very humbling feeling to be in a place in life where you are so very dependant on others. I pray that with faith and God on our side, we'll make it to a place where we can stand on our own and be able to pay forward all the wonderful things that people have done to bless our lives.

A unique name...

HowManyOfMe.com

There are 0 people with my name in the U.S.A. How many have your name?

Dance Party!!

I couldn't figure out how to edit the video to rotate it but you can still see the fun they had and what cute dancers they are. Sorry you have to pause the music on my blog at the bottom of the page. Enjoy

Payton's First Word

So here is Payton with his first word... This is enough to make any daddy proud! Oh and you'll have to pause the music on the bottom so you can hear it. Sorry.

PRECIOUS MOMENT

This little story began this last Tuesday. I was clearing the table when I dropped Shayne's sippy cup and the lid popped off spilling orange juice on the floor. I was clearly distressed and my sweet little Gabriel noticed. He offered his help by taking the bib off the back of his chair and using it to wipe up the juice. I was so touched that I didn't mind the bib now dripping with orange juice. Two days later I was dealing with a sick 5 month old at the absolute peak of chaos in my day (a.k.a. dinnertime). I left my browning hamburger to get Payton from the couch where he was fussing. I had just barely picked him up when he threw up all over me, himself, and the floor. I was expecting a couple brethren from church to show up at any moment to give Payton a blessing so I hurried in to change my clothes and his. As I rushed out to check the now extra brown hamburger, I noticed Gabe walking toward the puddle on the floor that I hadn't cleaned yet. I quickly stopped him and explained that it was "yucky" and momma was gonna clean it up, then hurried in to rescue dinner. As I came back around the corner there was that same orange stained bib on the floor next to a sloppily scrubbed, puddle of baby throw up on the floor.
Yet again, my cup runneth over.

Weekend with Dad

This last weekend Matt came to town and the kids had a blast with their daddy. The first day he got here we all went to the zoo and the kids had a great time!

Shayne liked it a little more than Gabe but we'll say that was an age thing. We ran them till they were ready to sleep good.

The following day we hung out and were lazy, we watched conference in our jammies and just lounged around... hooray for conference at home!!

On Monday we ventured to the outlet mall just down the street and skipped naps for the kids. We were there for about 4 hours before everyone was hungry, tired, and thus a little grouchy.

Tuesday, we hung out at home till we took Matt to the airport in the afternoon grabbing shakes on the way.

All in all it was a good weekend. Mom got a break and some help, and the kids got to spend time with daddy.

Painted Faces

At the zoo we bought a small bag of cheetos and the kids went to town with them. By the time we got back to the car and I looked in the back seat I laughed at their "war paint" all over their faces. They had a good time though and thats what matters most!

Zebras!!

Here is Shayne and Mom at the zebra exhibit. There was one picture where Shayne was picking her nose, but I figured that this one was a little better.

Animals at the zoo

Here are some of the "Aminals" at the zoo. The Leopards and the Rhino.

Turtles on a Log...

These turtles were right before the zoo entrance. You had to walk over this bridge and there were tons and tons of turtles swimming and chilling on floating logs. On the way out the kids threw the rest of the buns from their hot dogs to them... Lucky we didn't get kicked out!

Biter Biscuit

Payton got to experience his first biter biscuit and he absolutely loved it!

Here is the aftermath all over his face.

Arizona Temple

In an attempt to better our moods and enjoy the great weather we made our way to Mesa where we walked around the temple.

I've had many peaceful walks around temples... this was not quite in the category of peaceful! Ha Ha
But we did have a good time and the scenery was so beautiful!!

Smile... please?!?

She really is a happy girl, I promise... ha ha. I kept trying to get her to smile but no such luck. She just kept getting down and running off so this was the best I got... still adorable though. So cute!!

Mr. Blue Eyes

My shirt color matches my eyes, my shirt saying matches me!

Payton

Payton was so happy to be enjoying the outdoors.

Puppies

As we were walking on the temple grounds there was a family there with these adorable puppies. Gabe saw them and freaked! He was laughing at that little puppy and saying "Its so funny" over and over. He even gave it a kiss twice. The family was as amused with Gabe and Shayne as we were with their little puppies.

"Hey mom! There's money in this water!!"

As we went from one pool of water to the next on the temple grounds the kids were just dying to get in. It was all I could do to restrain Gabe from jumping. So I let them touch it a little... maybe not the best idea but it was better than fishing them out completely. Just as they were both dipping their hands in the water they stopped and almost at the same time said, "Hey mom! There's money in this water!!"

You can do it too!

Can you guess which one is the accomplice?
This was actually a really cute moment. They are the best of friends when they aren't fighting, of course. Ha ha.