I Need Help!

As if you all didn't already know that! But seriously, when I changed my background around Thanksgiving, I happened to delete my friends list. Would you all mind, if you are comfortable with that, sending me your web address so I can get things back to normal. I appreciate it! Thanks to Sherstine, I was able to change it again. Thanks lady!!

Quirks or Peeves?

Well, it has been quite awhile since I have posted on here. Shall I say life has been rather busy to say the least! Being in Graduate School and working and raising three BUSY kids has taken a tole on me. I don't have much time for myself anymore. So I noticed on a not so busy day that my sister-in-law, Lisa, in Cali (Jon would kill me for saying that) has tagged me for my 6 quirks or peeves. You mean I have to keep it to 6? Since they will most likely pertain to me, I could go on forever! But I hope to entertain you with the ones I will have the guts to list.

1.) With my 30Th birthday vastly approaching, I have a big peeve on how people think turning 30 is such a horrible thing. Are you at your peek prior to then? If so, I am screwed! I have bigger worries in my life then turning 30. I overheard a guy at the gym yesterday saying he is deathly afraid of turning 30, it will be the end of his life. He is 27. Come on now! Are you that pathetic?

2.) I absolutely hate how I cannot get my house clean enough. I always feel inadequate! No matter how hard I try, it is not good enough. Jon is sooo good about this. He has taught me to relax a little more. I guess it is more of the inadequate thing, with just about everything in life.

3.) I am not a very open person. I guess that is how I should word it? I am not good at meeting new people, maybe that is better. I am horrible at it actually. I always feel like they would rather be talking to someone else. I have missed out on getting to know some really great people on a better level because of this!

4.) Oh, one not about me. I hate how Jon farts and burps all the time. He has passed this trait on to Miranda, not very pretty! Gas in general. Working with Special Needs kids, I hear and smell a lot of it daily. GROSS!

5.) I hate that we can't get more done on the house. We have tons of work that needs to be done and we can't do it. ie: money, time and life. It is a daily struggle for me. I get really in the dumps cause I feel once again, that it is not good enough.

6.) Back to the gym thing, I am peeved that I can't lose that last 20 pounds! Those three kids have destroyed my body. I like to pass blame! How could it be my fault? ;) Or maybe I should say that I am peeved that I don't have more will power when it comes to food?

Tag to those of you who want it!!

Anyways, I could bore you with my life, but wait, if you didn't want to hear about it, you wouldn't be here, right? Yeah, one of those days. I have many of them.

I will hopefully post some pictures of my birthday. I hope to find the time. We are actually getting a full night without the kids. I am going dancing!!!!!!!!! Watch out!

Back In School Again!

It's official. I am back in school again! I have officially registered at Western Kentucky University for my Masters in Special Education. I already have a headache from dealing with all the information and to do lists! They waited until Friday to get my updates completed. Never mind that classes start today, Monday. I won't be able to start yet, my email has to update and many other things, but the teacher seems very understanding! I am grateful for this. I know this will give us many blessings for our future. I have known this is what I wanted to do for many years. I just never had the guts to go forward with it. Thank you Anna for the push! I don't think I could have done it without you! My life seems to finally be falling into place. I am so grateful for all that I have and look forward to what our future brings us!

Adoption time has come!!

Some of you know, but for those of you that don't...we have been working on something for about 3 years. It has been a very long a grueling process. Involving contacts with people I never intended on contacting and money we really didn't have. But all in all it is well worth it! In case you haven't figured it out, Jon is adopting Cody. We have had interviews with Child Services and many phone meetings with our attorney. After 3 years of working at this, our date is set for August 7th at 2:00 p.m. We haven't said anything about this because we never knew where it would take us. You never know going into something like this. We wanted to wait and see when the court date was and then let people know about it.

Though this may come as a surprise to some of you, I hope you will support us in this journey. If you so choose to join us in the occasion, we would greatly appreciate it! We plan on having a bar-b-que to celebrate on one weekend. We will let you know when. We are excited about this and hope you all will be for us too!

The adoption will be at 700 W Jefferson St in the court house. They said to go in and go to Family Court. We have to meet the attorney at his office at 1:30 but I'll be there shortly after. Send me a call or an e-mail if you need any details! Thank you to those that have supproted us in all that we do. We appreciate it so much!!

More Wonderful Picture!!

Here we are in Jackson Hole Wyoming. Only a two hour drive from our cabin!! I remember this place form when we went when we were younger. I LOVED this place. I could have spent the whole vacation here! This was an archway made of antlers. It was really neat!

Here is Evelyn becoming one with the antlers!
My sister I never had and Miranda enjoying a rest, looking a little homeless.
The whole crowd, minus Larry and Jon.
A little bit of Heaven on the trip. Two luxurious hours on horseback.

Ahhh! To be back there. Best day ever! Our guide was really cute. Too bad he was only 18!

Oh, the Sites You See in Yellowstone!!

Following, you will see many picture we took while on vacation in Yellostone. This is all while we were in the park. It is one of the most beautiful places we have ever been! I am so greatful that places like this still exist!

Some of the snow drifts were actually taller then us and the car. We happened to stop off the side of the road to snap this picture! It was unreal how much snow was there in June.
This picture speaks for itself. WOW!!
One of the steam holes.
More beautiful country-side!

First leg of our vacation

On our LONG trek cross country to Yellowstone National Park, our first "real" stop was in Mitchell, South Dakota to see the Corn Palace. It was really neat. All decorated with corn. Inside and out. A must for those of you that love the touristy type things like me. I am a sucker for these things!!

Here is one of the designs inside. They change the designs every year. They were truly amazing!

Our next stop was at Wall Drug, South Dakota. Also a must for those like me. I think she liked me much more then Jon! Jon got a little jealous of the lady! Her eyes were very intense!

Just around then ben, were the Badlands. Seriously just 20 minutes down the road. We saw so much neat stuff here. Amazing how the terrain can be so different in other states!

More Badlands pictures! It was really pretty there. We saw so much buffalo there. They were not even 20 feet away from us. Jon was so excited until he realized it was not proper climbing material!
I have to say this was an amazing vacation. More pictures will be to come. We eventually made it to Yellowstone. Several bad storms later, but we made it. Stay tuned for pictures of the next leg of the trip.

Eight Years of Love!!

On May 13th, 2000, my life changed forever. I married the man that I love more then life itself. Our marriage has been full on love, hardships and dreams. Call me crazy, but I wouldn't change it for the world. I love you Jon! I love that you try your best to make me happy. You are not like any other man I have ever met in my life. You are crazy and exciting! You still give me butterflies!

Our family

Yes people, he wore a kilt!!

My one regret-not having a professional photographer. No Jon, I wasn't going to say marrying you. I am posting this on a good day! ;) I will have a professional at the next one. Which will be to Jon again. Don't get any ideas people!! I love you Jon with all my heart and I know we are meant to be together forever!!

My Big Girl has Graduated!!

Ok, ok, ok. I know it is just from pre-school. What you don't understand is this is a huge deal for us. Evelyn is our last child to go through the 3 year old pre-school program. Our lives are flashing before our eyes. Seems like I just gave birth to her. I feel old. One of the teachers at school didn't believe I was only 29. She thought for sure I was in my thirties. Don't rush things on me.

Life with Evelyn has changed our lives. She is full of energy and chaos. For those of you that knew Jon before he somewhat matured, she is just like him. Imagine him, only as a girl. Though she is full of attitude and mayhem, I love this little girl more then anything. She is our little miracle. Through the years of not being able to hear and colic, she is the light in my eyes. I pray for many more years of accomplishments and excitement for her in her life!!

Nana, Evelyn and Mommy

Papa, Evelyn and Nana

Here she is on her way in for Graduation!!

Singing "twinkle, twinkle"

Here she is receiving her diploma

I am so proud of my little girl. I hope you remember how much fun you had in school at the beginning. Just please don't continue you morning ritual of throwing fits because you didn't want to let go of my let to get on the bus!! I hope this is just a phase!! I love you Evelyn!

A Little Love for Jon

Though this is not Jon's Jeep, I wanted to post some pictures of our date night on Saturday. Yeah we spent it in the woods....We decided to go off-roading with Jason. One of Jon's friends from work. Since I was in the Jeep most the time, I only was only able to take pictures of Jason's truck. I will have some of the Jeep later. It was a blast!! The truck spent the whole time stuck and these are pics of Jon getting it out. It was a cake walk for the Jeep-sorry Jason!

The first place it was stuck

The second place it was stuck,

this is on the up side of the same hill

Here is a video of Jon pulling the truck out of the last place it was stuck. Well, it got stuck leaving again too!

Ok, I am double posting!

I noticed I was tagged by Sherstine. I am new to this so bear with me. Hum...six things you may not know about me....

1.) I absolutely love to cook! You know all those cooking magazines out there, I get almost all of them. I am the wife that would love a blender for Christmas or our Anniversary. Needless to say, Jon and the kids are happy with this trait!

2.) I love to go to the gym. If I have extra time, you bet I am there. Not that I am losing weight cause of it, but man is it a stress reliever! I go 3-4 times a week.

3.) I love to dance. I miss when I was younger (haha) going out and dancing all night long.

4.) Before I had Evelyn I had an ectopic pregnancy. We didn't know for sure if we could even have Evelyn. That was one of the hardest things I have dealt with. Wish I could have more but Evelyn was a miracle!

5.) I snuck out when I was younger and got snowed in at my friends house. More snow then the 14 inches we just had too! Boy was that a sneek out gone wrong!

6.) I too am a basketball freak! I played Varsity my Freshman year. I received a college scholarship but for some unknown reason didn't take it. I also ran track. I think the two go hand in hand. I placed in our All County runs for that.

Ok, I tag....Amy, Meridyth and Deanna. Have fun ladies!!

Our Latest Adventure

About a week ago we had a great snow. We wound up with about 14 inches!! We took the kids to the park near by and went sledding. We had so much fun. Brought back some memories of when I was younger. My family use to go sledding at the same park. We had a blast! Here are a few pictures of the fun we had!


The girls decided to make snow angels. But I think they wound up falling in the snow since it was so deep!

Evelyn decided to eat the snow. She was soaked that day. She just couldn't get enough of the snow. It was her first significant snow!

The girls are getting ready to go down the hill. Cody didn't come out for this part. He wanted nothing to do with the hill. But me, Jon and the girls had a blast!

Here's a picture to show how much snow we had. Much more and I think the roof could have caved in! Good thing it is a new roof! Can you tell it is 14 inches?

Here is Cody making his angel. He loved it. We were all surprised he liked it so much. We had made a snowman until Cody decapitated it. And then proceeded to lay on it. But he had so much fun!!

Jon making his angel. He needs all the help he can get! This was the most snow Jon has ever seen in his life. He soaked in every moment of it that he could. Good thing he was here to shovel it!

Judo Master Cody

Well, Cody has been taking Judo lessons with the Kentuckiana Association of Blind Athletes. he absolutely loves it! This is how they start every session. They bow to the Sensei and the proceed to practice their "Big Outside Sweeps" on each other.


This is Cody's favorite part. When Logan "lets" Cody pin him. Sometimes I think they are out for blood.

You know you made it big when you can sweep the Sensei! This program has done wonders for Cody's flexibility and stamina. He loves it! Watch out though, he may try to come and sweep you or throw you over his shoulder!!

working on sunday

How does one put it? I have a problem with working on Sunday, the Lords day, the Sabbath, the day in which I participate in one of the most important and sacred rites in the LDS church.
Working on the sabbath makes this very difficult to take part in. In a moment of anxious questioning, I saught the counsel of my bishop. And he told me of something that President Hinkley had once said. He said that we must prioritize our time in an order that begins with the most important things. First being our family. Second, being a surprise to me and the bishop, our employer. The reason he stated was that if you do not maintain a job that allows you to meet your needs, then this can put an unnecessary strain on your family. Third is your church callings and responsibilities. Wow!. But I can see the reasoning behind this.If you spend way too much time on callings and activities, you can begin to strain your family and work situations. And third, yourself. How can you be happy if everything you do causes stress on the most important thing in your life? Be true to your family. It is affected by everything you do, whether for yourself, your church, or your employment. So what I am trying to say is, no matter how much I hate it, it may be necessary to work on Sunday. BUT, the Lord still wants us to strive to keep the Sabbath as best we can. He knows our hearts. And if we desire to keep the Sabbath day holy, then we will be blessed.

Welcome

Ok, I am new to all this blogspot stuff. So bear with me. Hopefully it will be a happy union when I am finished setting this up.

The kids have been sick this week. Cody has had some stomach things going on. He is doing much better now. It took the whole week to get over it though. This seems to have been a rough winter for him. One thing after another has happened. But he is strong and has pulled through it well.

Our days are totally jam packed with things to do. But I guess that is how it is when you have three kids. The girls are doing basketball and loving it. I get to coach them both! Talk about living through your kids. Cody is taking Judo lessons. He has already tried to flip me over his shoulder. Boy, was that a fun time!! Then, Cody and Miranda have scouts during the week. I go to the gym with my brother 3-4 times a week. Oh yeah, Cody is starting back with piano lessons on Monday! WOW!!! Can we cram any more into our week. I miss the dinners at the table with all of us, earlier in the night. We still manage the dinners together, but it is much later then I would like. They love their busy schedules, it keeps them from being bored I guess.

I sell Mary Kay, for anyone who is interested! Had to put a plug in there for it! I have been selling for just over a year. I didn't think it would be so hard to get new customers. I have my regulars, but it is hard to get new customers. I am starting to branch out and get more though. I will never be the pink cadillac driving gal, but I love the bit I do. It fits my schedule perfect.

Well, this hasen't been too bad. I will write more later!