Month: March 2009

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happy 31st, babe

31 reasons I love being married to you:

1. you are loyal.

2. you are kind.

3. you are honorable.

4. you play with our kids.

5. you take our kids wherever you go, whenever you can, because you want to.

6. you scratch my back every night.

7. you download my shows even though you have little interest in them.

8. you are handsome.

9. you never complain when I cut your hair a little crooked.

10. you do your duty.

11. you love try very hard to follow the Savior in word and deed.

12. you get all giddy about Scouting!

13. you are tenacious, but not uptight.

14. you allow me to see you vulnerable.

15. you do not like to watch ESPN.

16. you push me to do things that I think I can’t.

17. you never say a word about my scrapbooking piles.

18. you kept your buckets of legos for your future boys.

19. you love to travel.

20. you love me despite my failed attempts at producing offspring.

21. you are the quintessential “phone-a-friend.”

22. you talk to people when I don’t want to.

23. you don’t take my ice cream anymore.

24. you let me have your extra fries.

25. you don’t have a lazy bone in your body.

26. you are a really great best friend.

27. you can see both sides of an argument.

28. you are fair and honest.

29. you keep this house technologically sound.

30. you are a friend to everyone.

31. you just love me!

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wompy’s first day of school

6386Happy 1st day of school, Wompies!!!!!

You started school this week, St. Patrick’s Day 2009. We were able to qualify you for a special kinder program that runs through August 8th. Your classroom only has four other students in it. You get extra speech help two days per week. And you even have door to door bus service….seatbelt included. :) When dad and I left the school you were already holding the teacher’s hand and making new friends. No tears from you! I am so glad we waited six months to start you in school. It is clearly evident now that you are bonded and attached to both me and daddy.

Your teachers adore you. You are currently working on writing your name and identifying the rest of the alphabet letters that you do not know. And guess what? Since you started school, you haven’t had a single accident at night. We are keeping our fingers crossed on that one.

And here is a picture of you waiting for your very first bus ride.

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happy 33rd to me

6350YUMMY peanut butter cheesecake from Cheesecake Factory.  My mom and dad were in town on business during the week of my birthday so Adam and I were lucky enough to spend the evening out with both sets of our parents. I had the Luau salad, as usual. And we ordered the Factory Nachos as a starter. Does food get any better? Thanks again, mom and dad, for treating us. And Thank You–Angelina and Emily–for watching the kids–and for the scrumptious cupcakes. They were so cute, I didn’t want to eat them.

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So becoming a mother is the only goal I wasn’t able to reach in my 25-30 five year plan. Instead of one healthy baby, I mourned three losses. Somehow, even at 33, I am still insanely jealous of those who reach that same goal. I think it is simply because I am used to doing whatever I say I am going to do. In that respect, not bearing children has been a completely humbling experience for me. And yet, I am still jealous. I guess I have a ways to go in the perfection department.

There were some momentous positives to my before 30 plan. I got married, traveled to five more countries, and finished my masters degree. All things I am extremely proud of, and grateful for. So at 33 I am left wondering, why didn’t I make a new five year plan at 30? I am all about goal-making and attaining. I think fertility and adoption took over my life for awhile, and it was difficult to focus on anything else. I am now resolved to have a two year plan. I will post the results when I am finished contemplating.

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deadman canyon

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Since all of Adam’s buddies ditched their “boys-day-out-canyoneering-date,” I was roped into a family hike. This week’s hike was supposed to be in a forest. In fact, the name of the dirt road we turned off on was “Hidden Forest Road.” And yet, the picture shows something completely different–especially the name of the canyon. Does anyone else see the disparity between the two. I was promised trees, and I got shrubs. I was promised cooler air, and I got three miles of completely exposed desert heat. I was promised a short distance on a nice dirt road, and I got thirty miles of bumpiness driving through the Desert Wildlife Refuge. And my calves, although needed the workout, were not happy Sunday morning.

Oh well, we had a great time hiking with the Dodds family. The kids were troopers as usual. And we experienced a new hike. I was in the car with Danny the other day and out of the blue he said, “Mom, I love camping. I love climbing. I love hiking. I love scouts.” It was so cute, and completely genuine. I said, “I guess it doesn’t take blood to make you so much like your daddy.” :)

Now that Adam is Scoutmaster, I get out of some of the crazy trips he wants to go on. I’ll let him take the scouts. YES!

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in two weeks…

In two weeks, Danny will be baptized in our friends’ pool.

In two weeks, the six of us will be dressed in white looking toward eternity.

In two weeks, the kids will finally meet primos Victoria and Chase.

In two weeks, I get to squeeze newly adopted baby Truxton, and brand new baby Leslie.

In two weeks, we will join with family and friends in great celebration.

……………………..in two weeks

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the fertility verdict

My post-miscarriage consult with Dr. S. went well. We reviewed the past five years, and talked over all of my options. I appreciate my doctor’s candor. He has never promised me anything, although he is still hopeful. At this point, our only option is to seek a fertility specialist. Been there, done that, not too excited to go back just yet.

After pondering our options for a couple of weeks, Adam and I are both of the mindset that right now all our efforts should be focused on the ninos. They take all of our energy and all of our time, in the most delicious way. Although I have many dear friends who are opposed to this idea, if I had to choose right now, I would opt for Adam getting snipped. But we don’t “have” to make a decision so we are going to wait a year and see how we feel. Maybe we’ll go to a specialist. Maybe we’ll try naturally. Maybe we’ll go on clomid again. But for now we are choosing to do nothing.

So back to square one we go. At least this time around we have a house full of joy.

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helluva lucky girl

A simple card….

“Once there was this guy. A nice guy, really. And he met this girl. An incredible girl-truly amazing. So naturally the guy falls head over heels in love with her, and pretty soon they’re picking out china patterns and rings and there’s a wedding and the starry-eyed couple rides off into what will surely be a rosy future.

Okay, so now some time has passed and the guy is living in that future. He’s still married to this girl, but now their life includes a lot of stuff–appliances and bills and loads of laundry and home repair projects. But between all the to-dos and have-tos, there are these moments when the guy stops for a minute and looks around him.

He looks at his wife, who is still truly amazing, he looks at their life together, all the ways and different directions it’s grown, he looks at all the responsibilities he’s got, and he thinks to himself, so, this is my life.

And then he thinks, I am one helluva lucky guy.”

A perfect reminder.

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do those hiking poles come in pink?

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The juxtaposition of the Barbie cake, tea set, and hiking poles is a crack up. But look how happy our little seven year old is! We had a low-key, at-home celebration. What was on the menu, you ask? Awww, yes. Pasta con queso con chachichas, sin ketchup. Yeah, mac-n-cheese and hotdogs!!!!!!!!!! Gross, right? At least, it was the cheapest birthday dinner ever requested. :) We spent the evening playing the Wii and eating yummy chocolate cake. Nikki’s best friend, Erica, also joined us. That is who gave Nikki the tea set. It is currently the favorite toy in the house. Thank you Stewart family. The kids absolutely adore Erica…she is a wonderful friend.

On a serious note, Nikki’s birthday brought tears to my eyes. It is the first birthday party she has ever had. It is the first time anyone has sung “happy birthday” just to her. It is the first birthday cake ever made in her honor. It is the first time, that she remembers, getting any birthday gifts. Pretty amazing. And we get to do it three more times this year!

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Since Nikki’s bday was on a Friday, we took her new hiking poles out for a spin on Saturday. We had a blast finding the Anniversary Narrows out at Lake Mead. It was a pretty easy hike, and the kids had a great time. After walking down a wash for awhile, we entered a slot canyon that was really cool to traverse with the ninos. They did well. You’ll notice the backpacks loaded down–we are still training them for this spring. We can’t wait to do some overnighters.

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After that, Aunt Marisa picked Nikki up to take her to Build-A-Bear for her gift from her tios. She hasn’t let go of the bear yet! We ended the weekend of celebration with a February Birthday Party at the McCracken’s home. Zoe and grandpa both had birthdays this month too. I think that Nikki was sufficiently spoiled, and the other children were sufficiently jealous. :) Isn’t that the way it is supposed to be?

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brookie’s baptism

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Our little Brookie was baptized last month. Look how grown up she is. The ninos and I made our way up to Logan, UT for the festivities. That meant that Adam and I spent Valentine’s Day apart. But small sacrifices are worth the big difference it makes in a little girl’s life.

While we were in Logan the children were able to play in the snow. And play they did. In fact, I didn’t see them most of the weekend. Uncle Brian brought down snow clothes from the lake, which made their second snow experience much more enjoyable. They played from sun-up to sun-down, and then hottubbed with Sponge Bob until bed. For me, it was the easiest single parent weekend I could have asked for. I was able to play games with the adults most of the time. Yeah!

The best part of the kids’ snow play was watching Danny on the snowboard. Brian and Jaimee’s house is surrounded by massive hills so Danny got a lot of practice in. And since I am snowboard illiterate, Danny was left to teach himself. Here’s a video of his efforts:

httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fc3CSDU9mG8

There’s no holding this boy back. He totally has first child syndrome! Needless to say, we had a blast in Logan, as usual. We are super proud of Brookie and her decision to be baptized. We can’t wait for Danny’s baptism at the end of this month.

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Yes, that is Juan P. in a pink coat. But it is the only one that fit him. I can’t wait to post this picture at his wedding reception. :)

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