Valentine Photo Shoot

My Friend Nikki had the kids over to her new studio for a Valentine photo shoot. Conor was not in the picture taking mood. He bawled forever. Nikki finally had me leave & her & Marli tried everything to get him to calm down. I ordered Valentines with the kids pictures on them to hand out to their friends. Here's a few of the pictures. She hasn't edited them or touched them up, but I asked her if I could go ahead & post them. She always does such a fantastic job. I'm having her help me put a 5 x 7 book together for Mothers day.




Marli is such a little poser. She loves getting her picture taken & taking pictures.

Nikki pulled out all her props for Conor. She was blowing bubbles like crazy. He was eating some candy & pointing at the bubbles. Don't leave me Mama!

Silly Boy!

Jakey was doing the best at listening to Nikki & doing exactly what she said.
Marli trying to comfort Conor. Jake was not impressed with Conor's outbreak!


He sure looks handsome from behind.

Boom Boom fire power!
Marli loves animals. She wanted to get her picture taken with one of Nikki's aunt's dogs.


Watch out it's Conor
I was trying everything to get the little stinker to smile. I finally told him Papa Bill was hiding. He got really quite & then started laughing. Maybe we'll have to take Papa with us next time. Conor was trying to throw the bear at me. Anything for a smile!

The kids were blowing the flower petals & having so much fun. I'm glad Nikki puts up with us. I really wanted a picture of Conor wearing Jacob's tux that he wore to my brother Kyle's wedding. It's so worth all the pain when you get the pictures and they're pretty stinkin cute.

What Makes It A Great Day

This week has been a difficult one. I've felt like I'm fighting a nervous breakdown. I've had a sore throat & upset stomach. I've had way to many things on my to do list. Last night Marli asked me to play the Wii with her. She looked me deep in the eyes & said "Please"!!! How could I resist that? Instead of tackling a mound of chores...I ignored everything except her. Today when she was eating her breakfast she told me how much fun she had playing with me. I knew I made the right choice. Yesterday was my day off & I wasn't home for five minutes. After volunteering in both the kids classes I had to go to the dentist. I rushed home picked Marli up took her to the dentist & did the same when Jacob got out of school. Then we had to run to the mall & a few errands. It was almost 7:00 when we finally made it home.

I've been really missing Jaxon. He is my Valentine & I really wish I could get an email or phone call from him for Valentines day. Whenever I want to feel close to him I wear red. It's always been one of my favorite colors & he loves it too. I have a very special Valentine from him that's framed on my wall. I get to see it every morning & night. I want him to know he will always be my Valentine! I just got a new Stampin Up stamp set & it's name is I {heart} Hearts! It totally makes me think of Jax. I made the cutest cards for card club & they were inspired by Jax.

The kids & I were going through their old Valentine boxes from the last few years. It's so fun to read them. The friends they made in Pre-school & Kindergarten are some of the neatest relationships. I love that we have a day dedicated to those we think of as our Valentines.
I came across this poem & thought it was pretty perfect. It's how I feel about my loved ones!

Words Aren't Enough
by: Denese H. Boyett

No words could ever tell you,
No action could express
The way I feel about you,
With you, my life is blessed.

You're the light in my tunnel.
You are my pot of gold.
You are the strength that gets me through
When despair has taken hold.

You're my once in a lifetime.
You make my life complete.
You are my blue ribbon
In the shadow of defeat.

There's nothing I could ever say,
And nothing I could do
To let you know just how much
Love is in my heart for you.

No matter what is on my list I refuse to make it more important than my family & friends. I'm so grateful I have the best kids in the world. They are so much fun & make everyday a great day. I love when we all snuggle up in my bed or on the floor. I look forward to reading with them every night. When it's so cold out we cuddle up with Hot Chocolate & have fun hiding under the blankets. I'm grateful for a warm home & a warm heart!

Miss Marli Pooh

I love having a daughter so much. I love that she loves making crafts & projects. I love that she's a total girlie girl & then in a blink of an eye she's a complete tom-boy. We were driving home the other night & she saw a Karnation Intimate apparel billboard. She asked me if the couple on the sign were from dancing with the stars. It cracked me up. I want her to stay this innocent!

We're going to a watch making class next Monday. She's so excited. I love spending time with my sweet Marli pooh! Today we were standing in the hall at church waiting to go to Primary. The other ward was coming out of class. I smiled as I watched how many kids stopped & talked to Marli. It didn't matter if they were YOUNGER or OLDER than her everyone loves her.


She's such a friendly little sweetheart! I have always dreamed of having a sister. I have felt like I really missed out by not having one. I really wanted Marli to have one as well. I'm grateful that I have always had good friends & sister-in-laws to fill in the empty space of not having a sister. I'm grateful that the older Marli gets the more we can hang out & be each others sister.


It's fun doing service projects with her & have her see how important it is to help others when a need arises. She's an amazing little girl & I'm blessed to call her my daughter!

Oh Conor!!!!

We left Conor home with Ryan while we went to church today. He was pretty upset. When we got home he continued to tell us off. Ryan & I made Pioneer Woman's Lasagna & Chocolate cream pie. Marli was picking up some food that had fallen under the table. She didn't realize she was still under the table & stood up & whacked her poor head pretty hard. Poor kid! I was downstairs giving her a hug & laying in her bed with her when Conor came in & grabbed a container of water off of Marli's nightstand & poured it on us. That kid is drawn to cups of water & spills like you can seriously NOT believe. He had just gotten in trouble ten minutes earlier fort playing with the water cooler in the kitchen. I don't know if he's ever going to learn. Little stinker!

It's Been Awhile

I know it's been quite awhile since my last post. I often think that blogging is just too much work. It drives me crazy how long it takes to upload the pictures. However if I don't document what's going on in our world every once in a while how will I ever remember. There has been so many amazing milestones in our lives lately. I guess I'll start there.






Ryan finally went back to work Thursday. He's been off of work since December 22nd. His thyroid levels are still extremely high & goes back into the doctor Monday for more tests. We were hopeful that after the radioactive isotope his thyroid would practically be dead by now. The kids have enjoyed having him home. He finally realized all that magically gets done around here & has stepped up & helped out. He's been able to volunteer in both of the kids classes. Run errands for me & even help watch the kids & clean the house. We all got used to him being home. Now we'll have to adjust to him working. His new schedule is straight days for awhile & all though I like this schedule he despises day shift. He catches the bus at 5:20 a.m. & gets home around 5:30 p.m.







I've had some health issues of my own. My eyes have a protein build up that is causing my vision to really have problems. The eye doctor explained it to me like this. The underpart of my eyelids that are next to my eyeball are extremely irritated. they are supposed to be smooth & mine have lots of tiny bumps. He prescribed a couple different drops that will hopefully clear it up. One is a prednisone steroid drop that is like putting drops of milk in your eye which is extremely gross & leaves a nasty metallic taste in my mouth. I've also been diagnosed with TMD which is formerly known as TMJ. The pain is unbelievable & I'm trying to resolve it with the suggestions I've been given. I'm going to a Brave girls retreat in May. It's going to a awesome Birthday present. I've set a health goal to be in shape by then. I've been trying to exercise everyday & eat healthy. I've made a weight loss goal & am trying everyday to do my best to get to my goal. I've noticed I've been sleeping better & my attitude has improved. I hate to exercise & don;t think I'll ever love to. I just suffer through it & hope my body will thank me for it.








Jacob is reading like crazy. It's so exciting. We read together every night & I had no idea how awesome it would be when the light finally goes on & your child takes off with reading. He's loving 1st grade. I go to the school every Tuesday & volunteer in his class. It's the highlight of my week for sure. Jacob is now in Sr. primary which I had a hard time with. I teach the 4 yr olds & loved sitting across the room from Jacob & seeing him in opening exercises. He's doing well with his new teachers & not being in Jr primary with me & Marli. He's such a strong positive influence on all of us. I am so grateful to have him in our family. He talks about getting baptised this year. We pray daily that Ryan will have the desire to be the one to baptise him.








Marli is our social butterfly. We always have a bunch of little girls over at our house or she's at a friends. She's starting to read & doing extremely well in school. She's quite the artist. She's always making a project. She helps me with Conor all the time. They are best friends. Marli's always asking for a snack...even if we just ate. Ryan & my Dad often tease her that she she has a hollow leg & is going to be as big as a house if she continues eating like a horse.

Conor is by far our most independent child. He doesn't like not being able to do things his way. It's often a battle with him to get him to see your point of view. He loves drinking out of a big cup (and often makes messes). He loves treats & playing in Marli's room. When I'm tired Conor will often get his favorite blanket which is a white & light blue Winnie the pooh blanket I made for Jacob when he was a baby. Along with his favorite baby & cars & trucks & come & lay with me. He sits & plays. I love it when he does this. He doesn't sit & watch movies like the other kids did when they were little. He's a busy little boy.






The kids just had some Valentine pictures done. I'll upload them as soon as I get them.