One Step At A Time

Up until yesterday, Ellie took a very passive approach in learning the all important walking skill. She would walk 2 or 3 steps when it wasn't inconvenient. And if it was inconvenient (or it would take more than 2 or 3 steps to get where she needed to go), she would just as well crawl.

But yesterday? ... Yesterday she decided to try an active approach. I could hear it in her brain, "I AM going to walk today. No more of this lowly crawling business... today is the day!" :) She tried walking everywhere she went. If she fell, she would stand back up and keep going. At first there was a lot of falling. She would take 2 or 3 steps and then fall, BUT she would pick herself back up and try again. Finally, by about 5:00 in the afternoon, she walked TWENTY-THREE steps continuously from one end of our bedroom, out the door, and into the living room! She still had some falls after that, but they were farther between!

I have yet to take pictures of her walking... that is on my to-do list today. But she did it! I'm so excited for her to enjoy the beauty of this world while standing up and walking around. It's a lot different from that vantage point. :)

School

For those of you who may not know yet, Danny has decided to pursue his masters degree. We have researched schools throughout the U.S. There are a few different interests that Danny has found intriguing. Most of the schools required taking the GRE test in order to apply, and because Danny hasn't been in school for over six years, the GRE sounds overwhelming to him. But through our research we found ASU (Arizona State University) to have some very exciting programs, no requirements with the GRE, a lower tuition than most schools, it's one of the top design schools in the nation, and my sister lives in Phoenix (which is a plus)!

We fasted, prayed, and pleaded with the Lord for guidance in this decision. We have three kids to think about and just heading off to school isn't a decision that can be taken lightly. Basically, after all of the time spent on our knees, we have decided that this is definitely a road we feel we should take. It will take some sacrifice and frustration at times, but we are excited for this new route.

Danny has spent the last few weeks trying hard to get his application in to the ASU Arts, Media, and Engineering program. It is officially in and we are now taking part in the waiting game. We really feel like ASU is our #1 (and in some ways our only) choice for school. If we don't get accepted, we're not sure what step to take next. So we are putting our lives in the Lords hands and praying that everything will work out for the best. We know He knows what's best for our family.

We should find out if we are accepted by February. Keep us in mind in your prayers as we really would like this acceptance.

Surprise Visitor

Last night we were just getting ready to eat dinner when the doorbell rang. When I went to open the door, I heard some bells. I immediately thought we were going to have some carolers so I called to Danny to join me. When I opened the door, I was taken by surprise. There stood a jolly old Saint Nicholas with sleigh bells and all!

We invited the old guy in and he came in and talked to our boys. They were so excited! Kaden immediately went to stand by him. Santa asked him what he wanted for Christmas and Kaden replied, "I don't really care what I get. I won't complain." I think Santa was a little surprised by the comment and couldn't think of what to say except, "Well, that's what Santa likes to hear!"

Preston was a little more hesitant. He was scared of Santa last year and then he figured out that he got presents from him on Christmas. So this whole year Preston has said many times that, "I can't wait to see Santa again." Of course, I knew that when the day finally came for him to see the big guy, he would be nervous. And he was. He wouldn't stand by Santa, but he was sure to let him know that he wanted a Transformer for Christmas. (We are done shopping and he is not getting a Transformer - Ellie might have to get him that as her present for him.) :)

Santa gave each of our boys (Ellie was already in bed) a candy-cane and he gave Danny and I each a carmel! Yummy - Homemade! Kaden was so excited to go tell his teacher today about our surprise visitor. (And we're still not sure exactly who it was in that big red coat... ???)

Pictures

SnowBound

The boys have been begging me to be able to go play in the snow. They were going to when the snow first fell, but we couldn't find their snow pants. I finally found all of their snow gear and they were extremely ready to go play in the fluffy white stuff.

They got all bundled, and I had to take some pictures. Then when they finally got outside, Kaden was so excited that he just dived into the snow face first. He had snow all over his face (I think he learned not to do that.) :)

Kaden tried to start a snowman. Preston watched. Kaden held up the start of his snowman for me. And the snowman didn't get any farther than that cause they saw a mound of snow to go play in.

They definitely had a lot of fun together playing in the snow!

Pictures

Pictures of Ellie

I haven't taken pictures of Ellie for a while. I guess I'm falling into the scene where the third child doesn't get as many pictures taken as the first or even the second. I never thought I'd become THAT person. :) But I had the camera out yesterday and had to take some of this little princess who has graced us with her presence in our family. :)

She has gotten so big and has so many expressions. She is so funny and I love spending my days with her.

Pictures

Happy Holidays!

It's been a very crazy couple of weeks in our house. After the last post, Preston and I did indeed get sick. It has been the worst cold! It started with a fever, went to an upset stomach, continued with a terrible sinus cold, and concluded by settling into my chest and throat and therefore giving me a cough for the last week. It's never fun to be sick, but to endure two full weeks of it is torture. But, alas, I am on the mend. (Preston didn't get it nearly as severely as I did.)

Thanksgiving was wonderful. We were able to spend it with my WHOLE family. It was 30 people under one roof and it was a blast. We tried to pack everything we could into the weekend. We had crafts, paintball, a guitar hero competition, a poker tournament, and, of course, black friday shopping - although, I must say the black friday experience this year was definitely less enjoyable than usual. People seemed overly annoying - maybe it was my lack of sleep plus my cold symptoms that made me a little more irritable. :)

Now I am getting ready for Christmas and feeling very blessed. Between a wonderful Thanksgiving and some recent discussions in our home with our children, I feel a strong sense of gratitude for my life. And what a great opportunity Christmastime gives us to feel that joy and gratitude.

Happy belated Thanksgiving and a very merry Christmas to everyone! I hope you feel the spirit of Christmas this year as much as I have felt it in the last week. Love to all!

Seriously???

I am so done with illness in our family! Kaden had the swine flu about 4 weeks ago. Danny had the swine flu about 3 weeks ago. We had about 4 days of health and then Danny got really sick again with a really terrible cold. Last night Ellie acted like she wasn't feeling well and woke up a couple of times. Now this morning Kaden woke up with a 100 degree fever and a sore throat. Apparently, Preston and I have gotten by so far; but I'm not feeling optimistic for us and the next few days. All I can say is I better not get sick for Thanksgiving! I have to be healthy for Black Friday shopping. :)

I just want health to restore itself in our house!

Cutest Comment Award!

Danny and I don't quite know what to get Kaden for Christmas this year. So this evening I asked him.

Mom: "So, Kaden, what do you want for Christmas this year?"

Kaden: "I don't know. I don't really care what I get. I won't complain. Oh, and mom, I already wrote my letter to Santa at school. So I don't need to write another one."

Mom (Still dubious as to what to get him): "What did you write in your letter?"

Kaden: "It was a long letter. I wrote lots of stuff like 'is it cold in the North Pole' and 'how are the elves'. Stuff like that."

Mom (Let's try this one more time): "But what did you tell him you wanted for Christmas?"

Kaden: "Just what I told you. I told him that I don't care what he brings me. I won't complain. I just want a couple of presents, that's all."

What kind of a 7 year-old says that? What a sweetheart!!!

Recessionista

I love this blog! I found it from a friend of mine and they just keep giving things away. Check it out... http://www.recessionistaparty.com/

Things To Remember - Kaden

Kaden has grown up a lot. I can't believe he is going to be baptized in a few short months.

He likes to ask questions, especially when we are reading the scriptures. And we are now in Isaiah, so there are a lot of questions to be asked!

He also tries so hard to please us. He works really hard to make sure we are proud of him, even though it's hard to not be proud of such a good little boy. That's not to say he doesn't get in trouble sometimes though. :)

His favorite phrase is, "huh, mom..." or "huh, dad..." He says it over and over until we acknowledge that he is correct.

He talks a lot during movies. Whether it's questions about what's going on or making sure that he is correct about what's going on, you can count on him to ask the questions in the middle of a really important part of a movie.

Kaden is a little shy and very sensitive. He gets his feelings hurt rather easily, which is sometimes frustrating, but also heartbreaking. Most of the time he is very mellow, unless he is playing xbox. :) He is very caring and is always making sure that others are doing ok. He prays for things like his aunt Jill's feet - that they will be healthy - as well as little things like that Preston and Ellie will be good for me while he is at school. :) He is constantly seeking for approval and that is sometimes frustrating, but also very heartwarming. I love him so much and am so proud to be his mom. He teaches me more things than I can count and wish he knew how much I appreciate him.

Things To Remember - Preston

Preston has a certain look that he gives me to get what he wants. He looks at me and says, "Please, mom?" with an adorable look in his eyes. Whenever he does this, it melts my heart and I usually say yes. In fact, the other day he wanted to take a cup of water up to his room while he was watching a movie. I told him that he would spill it. He looked at me with that unbelievably sincere look and said, "Please, mom... I promise I won't spill it. I'll be super careful." Of course, I let him - and in fifteen minutes he came down crying and heartbroken, exclaiming, "I spilled it, mom!" :)

He also has a GREAT imagination. He loves to play imaginary games and he has to ask my permission every time. "Mom, can I play my new batman game - outside of the xbox?" He has to specify that he is not asking to play the xbox but is asking to pretend that he is batman. :)

He likes to just have my attention. He will stand there for five minutes saying, "Mom, mom, mom, mom..." if that's what it takes for me to say "what". And most of the time his reply is just, "I love you."

He adores his big brother but will stand up for himself when needed. He throws a lot of fits, but is getting so much better at refraining from his fit-throwing. For the past few months he has really figured out the word please, and he uses it to his advantage. The majority of the time he will accept my answer of no as long as an explanation of why is accompanied with the word. He is very sweet to Ellie, and also very overpowering to her at the same time. He will give her a kiss, but nock her down while doing so. He's loving, and sweet, and he tells me I'm so pretty.

I love the little guy so much!

Things To Remember - Ellie

One thing I never want to forget about Ellie is her "going to sleep" routine. Every time I lay her down to sleep, I have to give her the binkie and a corner of her blanket. She then proceeds to tickle her face (nose and eyes) with the corner of the blanket. It is so cute! And the other day, I went in to get her after a nap. She had the corner again, and when I held out my arms to pick her up she bent down for one last tickle on her nose. She does that every once in a while and I love it.

Another thing I don't want to ever forget is the way Ellie says "MOM!" Sometimes she yells it, sometimes she just says it quietly, and sometimes it's even annoying cause she says it over and over and over and over. But I still love it. It's not mommy, or mama, or ma... it's "mom" pronounced very accurately. :)

She has also begun to copy other words. This morning, for instance, she waved and said "bye" to Kaden when he was leaving for school.

Oh, and the way she nods or shakes her head whenever she is asked a question. This morning I asked her, "You want to get up and have some breakfast?" She replied with an emphatic nod of her head. I don't think she quite realizes the difference between a nod and shake, but I do think she understands that it is an answer. It's adorable!

She has almost figured out how to come back down the stairs by herself and is so proud when she does accomplish it. She started trying over the weekend to stand up by herself in the middle of the room. She will take 1 step but then get scared and fall down. She is so close to walking, which I am nervous about cause she already gets into everything. She is more grabby than either of our boys and will get into anything - especially the things we tell her not to. She hits the tv just to see a reaction from us and she will even turn the tv off, just to make us pick her up. She is such a joy in our lives and I love her so much!

Popinjayz Blog

Just wanted to put the word out there about the new blog for Popinjayz.

www.popinjayz.com/blog Check it out! There's a contest running right now to win a $50 shopping spree at our store!

Halloween 2009

This year our kids had the "Batman" theme for Halloween. Preston was Batman, Kaden was Joker, and Ellie was Batgirl. I have to say that I made Ellie's costume and was SO excited with how it turned out. Plus she even kept the mask on.

The boys, of course, had been looking forward to the festivities for a while. They were so anxious to get dressed up and go get candy. They loved wearing their costumes - they wore them almost all day long.

I've decided I have become a lot more lenient as a parent. I remember rationing Kaden's candy and letting him eat a couple pieces each day until it was gone. Now, having 3, I let them go for it as soon as we got in the door. They were allowed to eat as much candy they could until bedtime (which was only 15-20 minutes, but still.) I even gave Ellie some candy to eat. She LOVED it! And I really enjoyed watching them. I've learned to just enjoy the moment just a little more. :)

Pictures

Introducing... POPINJAYZ!

For the past few months Danny and I have been working hard at starting my new business. I would like to introduce you to www.popinjayz.com - my infant's/children's accessory store. Check it out! And feel totally free to order something if you'd like. :)

I am really excited about this opportunity and would appreciate your help in any way possible. I would like to offer a discount to anyone who would be willing to do some advertising. Advertising can include posting on a blog, facebook, etc. about Popinjayz, emailing friends who might have some little girls of their own, or anything else you can think of. If you'd like to take part in the advertising discount, just email me (mardie [at] popinjayz [dot] com) with the varieties of advertising you are doing, and I will send you a corresponding coupon code. I will say - the more advertisement the better!

One more thing. I am open to putting other people's products on my website. If you or anyone you know has products that you/they would like to distribute through a website, just let me know. If I approve of the product, I will only charge a small placement percentage of each product sold through my site.

Thanks for your support as I begin this new adventure. I hope you like it! :)

Family Scripture Study

There is something so very precious and sweet about watching Kaden carefully assist Preston in reading during our family scripture study. He would read a few words at a time and Preston would try his hardest to repeat what Kaden said. It was one of those precious moments that I will cherish to recall. I love those boys!

Blech!

All I can say is there are 4 sick people in our house (fever and all) and the only "healthy" one is still recovering from 2 surgeries. What terrible luck! Can't we just have 1 normal week to catch up on life?

Underwear

Preston: "Mom? Do grown-ups have underwear?"

Mom: ":) Yes"

Preston (incredulous): "They DO have underwear? hee hee"

Where Is Our Number

Preston was telling me how old he was when he got a little confused. He said, "Mom, where is our number?"

Mom - "What to you mean?"

Preston - "Where is the number that tells us how old we are? Where is it on our body?"

Mom - "We don't have a number on our body - we just have to keep track of how old we are in our minds."

:)

The Shoulder Surgery...

I have a little more time now to explain a little about the shoulder surgery Danny had on Friday. The doctor called it a "classic Bankart repair". Basically, Danny's labrum was torn. When surgery was performed, the torn labrum of the Bankart lesion was reattached to the socket of the shoulder. This was done arthroscopically; but that's pretty much all we know right now. I didn't get much of a chance to talk to the doctor after the surgery so we are anxious to talk to him tomorrow for Danny's post-op checkup.

As for my end of the surgery, I had been a little nervous since his knee surgery. Not only did EVERYONE tell us that the shoulder surgery was much, MUCH more painful than the knee. I was also worried about Danny going under with the anesthesia again. Last time it took him 50 minutes to wake up after he was taken to recovery. I know, for some that number doesn't sound like very long. But most people wake up almost instantaneously. Everyone called Danny a "light-weight" with the anesthesia. He is just SO sensitive to it. Plus, they (the doctors) have deduced that his fever (the one that lasted a whole week) last time was an effect of the anesthesia because he is so sensitive. Therefore, I was quite nervous of the post-op effects of the anesthesia.

This time I was waiting for over two hours while Danny was "in" recovery. And every second of that time made me more nervous of how his body was handling the anesthesia. When they finally called me back, they told me that it took him 30 minutes to wake up this time. Yes, that is less time than last time, but they also gave me one more lovely piece of information about what the anesthesia does to him. I found out that both times Danny came out of surgery, he was not breathing on his own and it took them the full time to get him to start breathing on his own. On top of everything, for the first 12 hours at home, Danny says he has to CONCENTRATE on breathing because if he lets himself relax, he catches himself not breathing.

Again, everything is fine and he is doing pretty well considering he has had two surgeries in three weeks. I have just wanted to record these experiences since Friday.

Danny does have another fever so we are trying to stay on top of it with tylenol and pain killers. I personally am hoping it doesn't last for a week like the last time - as I'm sure Danny feels the same. He is still doing physical therapy for his knee and he will start PT for his shoulder soon as well. His knee seems to be doing really well. He is able to walk slowly by himself if he has his knee-brace on. So I only have to be by his side when he doesn't have his brace on.

I am very grateful for everyone who has helped us out and supported us. Our neighbor was so amazing to bring us dinner on Friday and it somehow lasted all weekend long. It was such a good dinner for Danny too! Mashed potatoes and gravy tasted so good to him and it helped with his nausea on Friday. We feel so blessed with wonderful friends, family, and even fairly good health.

Danny's Surgery

Danny had his shoulder surgery today. He is doing fine. It took him forever (again!) to wake up from anesthesia. He is exhausted. And he can hardly walk with his knee yet. I am having to support him everywhere he goes right now. We'll see how long that will last.

A Morning at the Park

This morning I decided to let Preston ride his bike to the park. So we strapped Ellie in the stroller and took off. We had lots of fun swinging. And I love how sweet Preston is with Ellie. They are going to be such good friends!

Pictures

(ok, so Preston isn't always sweet with her - but he was this morning. Maybe if I mention it enough, he'll stop beating her up.) :)

Preston and His Bike

Preston has been doing extremely well with figuring out his bike. He can finally get on and off by himself, pedal by himself, and even get started by himself. He has only fallen once, and he just got back up to continue on his bike. What a trooper! Way to go Preston!

Pictures

Ellie's Growing Up So Fast!

Ellie has been reaching all sorts of milestones lately. In the past two days, she has mastered crawling. No more army-crawl around here! She is up on all fours.

She is also standing up against furniture, and then walking along the furniture. She's going to be taking off pretty soon!

I was doing the dishes today and realized that I didn't know where Ellie was. I looked up the stairs and could only see her feet dangling from the landing. What? When did she figure out how to crawl up the stairs? So here goes the "watch her very carefully" stage.

She has at least ten teeth now, that I am aware of. She talks everyone's ears off. She blabs, and laughs, and throws tantrums when she doesn't get her way. She also likes to show everyone her tongue- she is always sticking it out. She's getting so big and I feel like she's entering the toddler stage. No more little tiny baby!

I love this little girl and enjoy every single milestone she reaches. Even if she is reaching a new one every single day!

Pictures

If All Else Fails, Use Bribery

Preston needed a bath, and therefore was getting into the bathtub. As he sits down, he says, "Mom, if you wash me then I'll get a treat for me and for you."

Mom: "You can wash yourself now, Preston. You're a big boy."

Preston: "But don't you want a treat, Mom? If YOU wash me, I'll get us both a treat. Do you want a candy?"

Oh, the things he will come up with!

Halo Buddy

For the last week Kaden has come home and told me about his friend, Dylan, who wants to come over and play Halo. He has even been given little cards drawn by Dylan with Halo characters on it and talking about how fun it would be to play Halo together. I called Dylan's mom on Thursday night to see if he could come over Friday, but he wasn't able to come until today. It turned out that Kaden has been drawing "Halo cards" as well to give to his little friend.

So they walked home together today and they spent the evening playing video games. Kaden has never had a buddy with the same interests as himself, that he has been able to play with outside of school. We lived by so many girls in Mapleton; I think it's about time that he found a little boy to play with. It was fun to watch them together!

I Have A Brain

Preston climbed up on the counter to wash and dry his hands. As he was precariously walking along the counter top, the following conversation took place...

Mom: Preston, you be careful so you don't fall.

Preston: I won't fall mom. I will be careful.

Mom: Ok.

Then after he had gotten down and thought for a minute...

Preston: You know why I wouldn't fall, mom?

Mom: Why?

Preston: Because I have a brain.

Preston's Birthday

Preston had a birthday on the 9th. He was a little spoiled and had a lot of fun. A couple of times, out of nowhere, he has said, "Mom, my birthday was so much fun. Thanks for my birthday. It made me so happy."

He asked for a "Halo guy" cake this year. I think it has been my biggest challenge for cake decorating yet. But I managed to find a picture to copy and I was able to fake a Halo cake.

Thanks to both sets of grandparents for the presents. He loved all of them. He calls all his birthday presents his "cool toys" as opposed to his regular toys. :)

Pictures

What A Fun and Busy 2 Weeks!

My brother Wes came home from the Tokyo Japan Mission on September 2nd. It has been so fun to see him and we have really enjoyed some "Hyde family time" the last two weeks. He looks the same, but is totally grown up and we are all so proud of him.

The Saturday after he got home we went paint-balling. It was lots of fun! Then this last Friday we enjoyed a wonderful day together. We went to the courthouse with my sister Jill in the morning. Her little baby Noah is officially theirs! And Friday night we enjoyed going to the temple with my nephew Zack. He will be going to the Brazil Belo Horizante Mission in January. It was wonderful to see him go through the temple for the first time. And on Saturday we enjoyed seeing little Noah sealed to his parents. What an amazing experience that was! And then on Sunday we were able to listen as Weston reported his mission in sacrament meeting. What an awesome and emotional two weeks it has been. I'm so grateful I was able to participate in all of these events! All I can say is, "I love my family!"

Airport Pictures

Paint-balling Pictures

Noah's Sealing Pictures

Hyde Family Pictures

Update

It's been kind of crappy around here the last couple of days. Yesterday (Sunday) Danny woke up with a fever of 100.7. We were concerned about an infection so we called the doctor's office. The doctor on call assured me that it most likely was not an infection in his joint. It usually takes at least a week for an infection to present itself in the actual joint. He explained that he might have some kind of virus or an infection in his lungs from the percocet, etc. However, Danny hadn't taken many of his percocet and he didn't feel the need to cough or anything like the doctor had explained. He did however feel sick to his stomach.

By yesterday afternoon, I had a small fever and felt sick to my stomach. Yippee. So we figured there was a possibility that we both had the same illness. But by last night, Danny's foot and ankle was a little more swollen and it looked quite red. I called the doctor once again (just to be safe) and the doctor reassured me that it was very unlikely to be an infection in his joint. He did say there was a possibility of a blood clot and he asked a lot of other questions. By the end of the conversation, the doctor had somewhat ruled out a blood clot and basically said to loosen the wrap a little so his leg could have good circulation. He said the wrap might be too tight and that's what was causing the redness and swelling. He also told us to continue Danny's leg exercises to ensure good circulation.

So in review, we have 1 disabled Danny along with 2 ill parents and 3 young children that we would like to have entertain themselves while we lay out on our bed for 2 days. This equation equals a not so fun holiday weekend in the Bradshaw house. BLAH!

At least there is one good way to look at it - I've lost 3 lbs in the last 4 days! Gotta stay postitive. :)

Successful Surgery

I finally have a second to sit down and let everyone know that Danny's surgery was a success.

The medial meniscus had a very slight tear, so the doctor put a couple of stitches in it. The lateral meniscus had some tearing and damage and the doctor basically had to "trim" that torn portion of the meniscus. His ACL was completely torn through and therefore the doctor had to completely reconstruct his ACL.

Danny isn't in too much pain. He has to keep his leg elevated and iced. He is also on percocet and in his words, "it makes me loopy." He's pretty out of it and kind of tired. He will be on crutches for a couple of weeks and we will see the doctor again next week.

As for the other surgeries, because his right knee is asymptomatic we are waiting to see how it handles all this weight for the next few weeks to determine whether or not to have surgery on it as well. The doctor says that if it isn't bothering him, he probably shouldn't get it fixed (in fact we've had 2 doctors suggest that); so we are going to make sure the extra work for this knee - while he is on crutches - doesn't bother it at all, and then possibly forego the surgery on the right knee. We just want to get the surgery done this year (because of the deductible being met) if he is ultimately going to need the surgery anyway. We will be praying about it to make sure we do the right thing. The shoulder surgery is scheduled for 3 weeks away (we might move that date back, depending on how this knee recovers).

Anyway, thanks to all who have expressed their concern.

Gangsta

The boys decided to put their hats on and this is the picture we got... :)

(click on the picture to see it in full size)

My Big One-Year-Old

Ellie had her first birthday on Sunday! I can't believe it's already been a year!

I let her open a present before church (earrings and bracelets). And of course the boys had to help her with EVERY present. They simply couldn't just sit back and wait.

After church we were lucky to have Grandma and Grandpa Hyde come and help her celebrate. We enjoyed some grilled chicken and shrimp, twice-baked potatoes, corn, and rolls. Ellie REALLY enjoyed her meal. :) Then we opened the rest of her presents. All I can say is I am destined to have a girly girl when she grows up if I continue to buy dolls and jewelry for her birthdays. :) It is so fun to do girly stuff with her after having the two boys. I guess, hopefully, the boys can keep her from becoming too girly. :)

As for the cake and ice cream, well, she wasn't quite sure about using her fingers. It was pretty messy, and apparently she just didn't want to get her hands all dirty. So she started just putting her face directly into the bowl. It was hilarious! Finally, I got her a spoon and she actually did pretty good at trying to feed herself with the spoon. By the end, though, she just wanted a bite and she just couldn't stand waiting until she had the spoon thing figured out. She picked up the cake and munched it down.

Happy First Birthday to my little girl!

PICTURES!

Knee Surgery

Well, it's official. Danny is going to be having knee surgery next Thursday (the 3rd). He went to see the doctor yesterday and he has a torn ACL in both knees as well as a torn meniscus in his left knee. He also needs to visit the doctor for his shoulder to see what needs to be done to fix it. Yes, that is THREE possible surgeries that need to be done for his joints. He wants to be able to have all three surgeries in the same year for insurance purposes. We are starting with the left knee and then we'll see what we can do from there. But 3 surgeries in 4 months seems a little overwhelming to me! Just try to keep him in your prayers next week. Thanks!

Bradshaw Family Reunion - 2009

This last weekend we got to go to a cabin up in Ashton, Idaho. We enjoyed the whole weekend with the whole Bradshaw clan as we enjoyed the 2009 Family Reunion. It was a TON of fun. We enjoyed canoeing, games, hiking, games, 4 wheeling, games, Mesa Falls, and did I mention games? We enjoyed every minute of it and have to tell Grandma and Grandpa THANK YOU so much for the whole weekend. They planned it all and it was so enjoyable. Thank you and we love you!!!

Pictures

Summer 2009

This summer has been so extremely busy (as shown by previous posts), but we've enjoyed just a little down time.

But first there are pictures of a super fun camping trip we took at the beginning of August. We enjoyed sleeping outdoors in the tent and all the kids loved it. I was surprised at how well Ellie handled the whole camping trip. She's such a trooper. And then in the morning, as we were getting ready to leave, our car wouldn't start. We were nowhere near any other campers, up at the top of Heber Mountain, and we had no cell phone service. We decided to say a round of prayers. Preston started by saying his prayer that he was grateful we had not been eaten by bugs. :) Kaden continued with a wonderful prayer about being grateful we could spend time as a family and praying we could make it home.

After we said our prayers, Danny and Kaden walked down to the "main" road. Within a few minutes a very nice gentleman came and offered to take us all down the mountain and into Heber (he didn't have any jumper cables). We accepted his offer and found out that he was lost trying to find his stake's girls camp area. We also found out later that he was on the totally wrong road. I really believe he was on that road for a purpose - to help the Bradshaws find their way home.

Anyway, we ended up seeing a group gathered for a pioneer trek just a couple of miles down the road and they had some jumper cables. We didn't end up driving all the way back to Heber, so we were grateful for that as well. What a blessing prayer is in our lives!

During our "down-time" this summer, the boys enjoyed the xbox and computer games. I think I'm raising a couple of real "gamers". And for Ellie... She's just happy with eating, sleeping, and an occasional bath. :)

Here are some pictures

In Other News...

In other news, Ellie now has THREE teeth - with more on the way. Within a week or two she will probably have at least two more. Yay for milestones! Wow she's getting big!

Bradshaw Family Get-Together 7/11/09

Right after I got back from Phoenix, Grandma and Grandpa Bradshaw came to visit. We ended up having a BBQ with Danny's brothers and their families. It was a lot of fun and the kids REALLY enjoyed jumping on the trampoline. Thanks for the good times!

Ellie Got Her Ears Pierced! 7/6/09

While we were in Phoenix, I decided to take Ellie and get her ears pierced. She did cry, but only for about 30 seconds... and then she laughed. She was such a trooper!

A funny (and somewhat annoying) story: Some random old lady tapped on the glass while we were preparing to pierce her ears. She asked me if I was getting her (she pointed to Ellie) ears pierced and I nodded yes. She gave me a dirty look like I was the worst mom on the planet! I tried to ignore her and we continued with the preparations. She meandered into the store to watch as we did the actual piercing. And as soon as Ellie started to cry, she said, "And those are real tears, too!" with a hugely annoyed tone. Then she walked away. Oh, how I wish she would have stayed for 25 more seconds to see Ellie giggle!

Here are the pictures of Ellie getting her ears pierced and then showing off the bling. :)

Phoenix - July, 2009

I was a brave mom and took all three kids to Phoenix for 2 weeks. My sister, Jodi, lives there and we put all the kids in swimming lessons. The teacher was AWESOME and by the end of the 6th and final lesson, Kaden was DIVING! and Preston was swimming without any sort of floatation device. It was a lot of fun and we really enjoyed spending the time with my sis and her family. We love you all very much and miss you!

Pictures of the Phoenix trip

Bradshaw Family Get-Together 6/20/2009

My sister-in-law, Kayla, had a baby this year. They had their beautiful baby girl (Tora) blessed on Father's Day. That gave us the opportunity to go up to Idaho again. We had a little get together with all the family and of course got some pictures with all the cousins together. It was a lot of fun!

Pictures!

10th Anniversary - Trip to the East Coast

Danny and I had the wonderful opportunity to go back east for our 10th anniversary. We went to DC, then NYC, then to Boston, then back to NYC and home. We had such a fun time and loved every minute of the trip. We went with some good friends and were grateful for the company. I split the pictures into three slideshows:

Washington DC

New York

Boston

Trip to Idaho - 5/31/09

Before Danny and I left on our trip to the east coast, I went to Idaho with the kids to pick up my awesome niece, Cassidy, who watched our children for us. While up in Idaho, we spent some time with Grandma and Grandpa Bradshaw who made s'mores for the boys and gave them a horse ride. They absolutely loved every minute of it.

To view pictures of this event, click here.

Busy, Busy, Busy!!!

We are back from our vacation.  It was TONS of fun!  We really enjoyed ourselves and we REALLY appreciate everyone who helped with our kids while we were gone.  We had babysitters, dinners made, and, of course, a trip to the ER.  :-)   Again, we appreciate EVERYONE who helped us out!  

Pictures are on their way.  We have been SO busy trying to catch up to life back here that I don't know which way is up.  But I do promise to post some pictures.

Quotes From Kids...

Kaden (during prayer):

"Please bless dad that he will work hard so that he can bring home new moneys for us to spend."

Preston (during prayer):

"I'm thankful that I could eat green eggs and ham.  And that I'm a guy."

Preston (conversation with Grandma and Grandpa Bradshaw):

Gpa - "So, who's the oldest person you know?"

P - "The Holy Ghost."

Lil' Fella

Yesterday, Kaden and Preston were outside playing.  I looked out the window to check on them and noticed that they were playing with bugs.  Then Preston started crying.  He came to the door, opened it, and whined, "Mom, Kaden squished my lil' fella."  I didn't quite understand what he was talking about at first.  Then I noticed the potato bug in his hand.  He thought that since the potato bug had rolled up into his little ball, that somehow Kaden had squished his newfound friend.  I had to explain the defensive stance that this bug had taken.  Then I turned around, went back in the house, and had a good chuckle that he was calling the potato bug "his lil' fella".  What great imaginations they have!

Little Red Riding Hood

Today Kaden was in the musical play "Little Red Riding Hood". Last Friday his teacher sent home the script and told each of the students to pick a part that they wanted to play. They were to practice the lines for that character and the 2 or 3 students that had practiced the most and knew the part best got to play that character. Of course Kaden, along with 10 other boys in the class, wanted to be the wolf. So he practiced and practiced. He read the lines over and over again. When he thought he had the lines down, he had me read lines with him. I swear, he was like a real actor trying out for a part. :)

Yesterday, Mrs. Snyder held the "tryouts" and lo and behold, Kaden was granted one of the 3 spots available to play the part of the wolf. He was so excited! Last night he continued to practice and again he had me run through the lines with him. This morning, he kept reminding me that I should be there at 10:00 to watch the play.

I was so proud of my little wolf. He was the loudest and most exuberant wolf up there. He made sure to yell his lines out so that he could be heard. The teacher's husband recorded the whole thing and will be giving each of the parents a copy. I'm really excited to watch it again.

Afterward, Mrs. Snyder told me that Kaden was so cute when they were practicing yesterday. He asked her if she could just be quiet so that the wolves could sing their song by themselves. That's my little Kaden. Wants to prove to everyone that he can do it by himself. :)

Here are some pictures from the play:

But my FAVORITE picture is:

Playground

A few weeks ago I took the kids to the park to play.  They absolutely LOVED it and can't wait to go again.  The pictures don't do it justice, but Ellie was so giddy on the swing.  She had the cheesiest smile every time I pushed her.  But that meant I wasn't taking a picture when she was actually smiling the biggest.  We are glad to live so close (walking distance) to this wonderful park and if anyone wants to come visit us, we'll take a stroll over there and play.  It's a lot of fun!

Mother's Day

Moving has it's drawbacks, like not being able to keep up with things - including a blog.  But I really had to sit down and write this one.

There are a lot of women out there that are special to me and I want to wish them all a Happy Mother's Day!  Especially to my mom and Danny's mom.  We love you both so very much and continue to be grateful for every moment that you have given to our behalf.  You both have done so much for us.

My mom sent me a WONDERFUL new book for Mother's Day (thank you, mom).  And I started reading it last night.  I really needed the messages in the book.  It is called "Contentment; Inspiring Insights for LDS Mothers" by Maria Covey Cole.  I wanted to quote a couple of things from the book:

"As daughters of God, when we acknowledge His goodness and mercy in our lives, accept that life is not meant to be easy, and learn that motherhood is, by divine design, difficult and testing, we will truly be content with the things the Lord has allotted to us."

"If we work upon marble, it will perish.  If we work upon brass, time will efface it.  If we rear temples, they will crumble into the dust.  But if we work upon immortal minds, and instill into them just principles, we are then engraving on the tablet that which no time will efface, but will brighten and brighten to all eternity." (-Daniel Webster, as quoted in Stephen R. Covey, The 7 Habits of Highly Effective Families)

And, one of my favorites:

"I have come to understand that the echo of eternity is found in each and every human being and in the interactions between human beings, and that we must not allow these small yet significant moments to pass by without valuing them.  That is why I treasure holding my newborn babies, delight in chasing my toddlers around the house, prize going on Sunday walks with my middle children, and relish spending time with my teenagers.  All of these simple, ordinary moments of daily life are precious and are to be savored.  And for a mother, this is where true contentment is ultimately found."

I love being a mom!  I find so much joy in the simple moments of my boys snuggling up to me while we watch a movie.  I love it when Preston runs up to me and gives me a hug and says, "Mom, you are awake!"  I love the little talks that I get to share with Kaden as I take him to and from school now.  I absolutely adore my little girl; trying to make her giggle, going in to her grinning face after a nap, and holding her when she just needs to be held.  I find contentment in knowing that my children love me and they know I love them.  In my opinion, this is what motherhood is about.  And I am so grateful for the opportunity to be a mom and spend time with my children each and every day.

Moving

So, I'm sure most of you have heard of the big, long story of our house-hunting fiasco.  Anyway, we have found a place to rent and are moving in a week.  If anyone would like to help with the heavy stuff, we'll be moving it on the 24th or 25th.  We would certainly appreciate the help and possibly provide pizza as a reward.  :)

Easter

We hope everyone had a lovely Easter Sunday! I thoroughly enjoyed our day. I did something new this year and we made Easter cookies on Saturday night. It was this great idea that I found online - http://www.dvo.com/recipes_archive/easter_cookie_story.html

It turned out great. The cookies weren't the best tasting (especially since I used walnuts cause I didn't have pecans). But I think our kids - especially Kaden - actually understood the meaning of Easter. We tried really hard to make Easter centered around Christ this year. It made the whole day extremely enjoyable for me.

After church we tried to take pictures of the kids. Man, it's hard to get a good picture with three kids to work with! The one above is the best one we got.  You have to know, though, that it was the best out of 31 shots!  Here's the other 30 if anyone is interested...  :)

We also took a couple pictures of just Ellie in her Easter dress.  And of course we did an Easter egg hunt.  Then we got to see some friends and family as well and had to take pictures of Ellie with her cousin Karlee...

All in all, it was a great day.  I hope you had a great day too!

Ellie

As you can see below, I was having fun with the camera as I took pictures of Ellie. The boys all left on Saturday (they had a boys day) and I was left behind with Ellie. It had been a while since I took pictures of her, so I went a little crazy. :-) Enjoy...

Interview with Kaden & Preston

Once again, this is for those of you who aren't on facebook....


What is something mom always says to you?
Kaden - “Stop doing that - When we’re in trouble or we’re doing something wrong.”
Preston - “Preston”

What makes mom happy?
Kaden - “When we don’t do stuff wrong and when we listen to you.”
Preston - “Jelly beans make you happy.” (I am not a huge fan of jelly beans)

What makes mom sad?
Kaden - “When you get hurt.”
Preston - “Sparkles make you sad and they make me sad.”

How does your mom make you laugh?
Kaden - “Tickles me.”
Preston - “Jumping beans.”

What did your mom like to do when she was a child?
Kaden - “I don’t even know cause I wasn’t even born. Maybe play on the playground.”
Preston - “To throw a big ball in a pile.”

How old is your mom?
Kaden - “28”
Preston - “6”

How tall is your mom?
Kaden - “I don’t know. I think 1 yard stick long. Thats what I think.”
Preston - “A little bit tall”

What is her favorite thing to watch on TV?
Kaden - “Mmmm, ‘24’?”
Preston - “Um, Spiderman”

What does your mom do when you’re not around?
Kaden - “Mmmm, exercise.”
Preston - “You just run around, and then you was sad”

What is your mom really good at?
Kaden - “Uh, Mmmm, you’re really good at exercising.”
Preston - “When I come back.” (?)

What is your mom not very good at?
Kaden - “Sports”
Preston - “When I leave.” (again, ?)

What does your mom do for her job?
Kaden - “Clean up and make us dinner.”
Preston - “When you work. You just work and be on the computer.”

What is your mom’s favorite food?
Kaden - “I think it is burritos” (Not likely)
Preston - “Jelly beans”

What makes you proud of your mom?
Kaden - “When you help me do my chores every saturday.”
Preston - “When the jelly beans was good.”

If your mom were a cartoon character, who would she be?
Kaden - “Spongebob.”
Preston - “Doctor. And then you got me an eyeball that looked like Kaden. But Kaden was a kid still.”

What do you and your mom do together?
Kaden - “We play together.”
Preston - “We do jump rope. That was when you was littler. And then you growed bigger and bigger. And then you was not a kid.”

How are you and your mom the same?
Kaden - “We both have white skin.”
Preston - “When we both was a kid.”

How are you and your mom different?
Kaden - “We don’t have the same color of eyes. You wear earrings and I don’t. You have long hair and I don’t.”
Preston - “When we just work on something and then we was different.”

How do you know your mom loves you?
Kaden - “Because she helps me when I’m hurt.”
Preston - “When we jump on the trampoline.”

What scares your mom?
Kaden - “When someone’s hiding and you don’t even know and then they pop out and scare you.”
Preston - “When I go upstairs.”

Where is your mom’s favorite place to go?
Kaden - “Taco Bell.” (Um, not really)
Preston - “When we go to the store.” (yeah, right!)

What is one thing you wish you could change about your mom?
Kaden - “That she would be a lot more nicer.”
Preston - “I want to change my mom into a witch.”

What would your mom do with a million dollars?
Kaden - “Spend it on things that she would want.”
Preston - “Go to my dentist so I could have a toy eyeball that sticks.” (Kaden got a sticky eyeball the last time he went to the dentist. Apparently Preston has been jealous ever since.)

What do you wish you could go and do with your mom?
Kaden - “Go to Jumping Jacks and play with you there.”
Preston - “Play with toys.”

What is one thing you hope never changes about your mom?
Kaden - “That she would always love me.”
Preston - “To be mom.”

Kaden is 7!

Kaden turned 7 last week.  He's getting SO big!  We enjoyed a small celebration with just our own family.  He wanted a batman cake, and I must say I think it turned out quite well!  The pictures don't even do it enough justice.  And he got heely's as a present (which he has wanted for 2 years now).  All in all, it was a successful birthday. :)

Feeling the Holy Ghost

Kaden's sunday school teacher stopped me after church yesterday and this is what she told me...

They were having a lesson on the Holy Ghost and what the Holy Ghost feels like.  She decided to do a little exercise with the children and had them all close their eyes.  After about 15-20 "uncomfortable" seconds she told them all to open their eyes and tell her what they felt.  Kaden spoke up and said that she just hadn't given them enough time to feel anything.  She, therefore, told them all to close their eyes again and to open them only when they felt like they should.  After about 3 minutes Sister Berg (the teacher) was still waiting for Kaden to open his eyes.  He was just sitting there with his eyes closed with a serious expression on his face.  Then after a while he got a huge smile on his face and then opened his eyes and said, "I felt it!" 

Then, later that day while he was changing out of his dress clothes, he told me that he had felt the spirit.  "When did you feel the spirit," I asked.  

"Just barely," he said.  "Right after I prayed, downstairs."

"What did you pray for?"

"I prayed that I wouldn't be scared when we move.  Then I felt the Holy Ghost."

"What did the Holy Ghost make you feel?"

"Really good inside."

I just absolutely LOVE these moments.  They seem to be coming more frequently with Kaden lately.  He is such a blessing in our home and in my life.  I am so grateful for his sweet spirit!

Check this out...

This is from Courtney Wilson at thedigichick.com   I love her kits... in fact my blog is using her "Guilty Pleasures" kit right now.  :)

Preston's "Life"

I have to write this story down before I forget it, so...

About a week ago I was trying desperately to get Preston in bed and to stay in bed.  Danny was gone to his brother's house and therefore I was on my own to get the little stinker to cooperate.  He kept getting up, coming upstairs, and telling me that Kaden was bugging him (which from experience I know that Kaden was not doing the bugging - more likely the other way around).  I finally went downstairs, tucked him in bed, and told him that he really needed to stay in his bed so that sleep could make his body stronger.  He then told me that his heart hurt.  To which I said, "that is why you need to go to sleep... so you're body can get better."  I left the room thinking it was over and that he would finally go back to sleep.

A few minutes later he made his way upstairs.  This was our conversation...

Preston: "Mom, my heart and bones hurt."

Mom: "Preston, you need to get back in bed and stay in bed."

Preston: "But, mom, my heart and bones hurt.  My life is just ruined!"

Mom (through a smile that was beginning to show): "Preston, you need to get back in bed and go to sleep"

Preston: "Mom!  My life is GONE!"

Mom (trying so hard not to giggle): "We'll find it tomorrow."

Preston (By this time he had figured out that it was buying him more time): "My life is easy.  But now my life is gone..."  (with frowny face and all)

Mom (giggles starting to come out):  "Preston, you need to go back to bed."

Preston: "My life is gone... Today it is gone and tomorrow it is gone and maybe Saturday my life will come back."

Mom:  "Preston, go to bed."

Preston: "But, MOM, we NEED to figure out my life!"

Mom: "We will figure it out tomorrow, now go to bed."

Preston (while sporting a very disappointed face): "OK, we'll figure it out tomorrow...  (sigh)"

The things that kid will come up with next!  I don't know where it came from or how he comes up with these ideas, but he continues to amuse me with his highly active imagination!  He has brought up his "life" a few times since.  Once it was with Kaden and Kaden explained that if his life was gone then he would be dead.  That helped, I guess, cause from then on Preston says, "mom, my life is back.  I'm not dead!"  :)

House Hunting!

Well...  We did it!  We have officially found someone that wants to rent our townhouse!  And what does that mean?  House-hunting, once again, for the Bradshaw household.  There are some GREAT deals out there and we just have to find the RIGHT one for our family.  I'm hoping and praying that it won't take too much searching in order to find that right one.  But we are looking anywhere from Lehi and Cedar Hills to Payson.  Quite a range to search through!

We start tonight and will go again with our neighbor/realtor/home teacher tomorrow.  And my WONDERFUL friend Angie will watch Kaden and Preston tomorrow afternoon so we don't have to take them.  THANKS Angie... You're a life-saver!

Oooops, I forgot one more important piece of info!

So I forgot one last thing on my list of updates yesterday...

Danny handed over the finances to me! Anyone at all who knows Danny and our relationship when it comes to anything monetarily related should understand how significant this is! I must admit that I'm pretty nervous. With Danny watching over my shoulder until I "prove" myself to him; it's a little intimidating! But now we both get the "allowance" treatment. I get my weekly allowance and he gets his; the rest goes to household expenses and savings.

Now I know what all of you are doing right now. (Especially you Megan.) :) Just pick your jaw up off the floor and think of how frustrating it would be to have your spouse (Justin) not only look over the groceries you bought to make sure they were necessities, but also look over your shoulder as you try to pay every single bill. Danny has already warned me that for the next few months he will ask me to make sure every single bill has been paid.

For anyone who may not know Danny as well as the rest... Let me just say that this is a HUGE step in our marriage. He doesn't necessarily think that I am unable to handle a household budget (I hope!) but he has kept a tight leash on the budget for 10 years now. And when I say tight leash, I mean tight.

I gotta love him though! :)

Miscellaneous Blog Post

I don't even know how to begin catching everyone up on my life, so I'll just start writing...

I booked our trip to the east coast. I am SOOOO excited!!!! Some friends decided that they would be able to join us so we get to enjoy the journey together. DC, NY, Boston, the coast of Maine - Since Danny and I haven't been on a REAL vacation since before Kaden was born, this is going to be a TREAT!!!! (Can you tell how excited I am with the use of exclamation points?) :) June 2-12 we will be enjoying a kid-free 10 days!

Kaden finished up his basketball "season" yesterday. He really loved going every Monday. He started to get a lot better and we will try to keep up with practicing that sport, since it is Danny's favorite one to play. Maybe we'll have to try out football too since it's Danny's favorite sport to watch. :) We actually got him a basketball and football for Christmas. I went out the other day with him to play football and he really liked trying to catch the ball when I kicked it to him. Maybe he'll be a receiver? :)

Preston is trying to grow up. He is starting to pronounce words much better. He used to say his name was "Meston" and now he says it's "Prrrrreston". He is also starting to be able to say Kaden better than "Tayen". He still has a hard time with his K's though. He has also become quite the little rugrat. He is so hyper and loud most of the time. His favorite thing to do lately is jump into the room and yell "SURPRISE". It's great fun unless Ellie's asleep.

Ellie is still the best baby ever! She sleeps like a dream, eats like a pig, and laughs every now and then. We have a ton of fun with her. She LOVES her daddy and he tries to keep a secret how much he REALLY enjoys her. But I can see right through his disguise - especially when I sneak a peek while he is changing her diaper. It's so fun to watch him with her! He acts a lot different with her than he did with the boys. Fun!

Other than that I have been trying to exercise every day - which I have been pretty successful at, other than having a minor pulled muscle; I have tried a few new recipes - some that were good (like homemade granola bars), some that were not so good; I have tried to keep up with the laundry and housework - any mom can attest to how fun and impossible those tasks are; and I have actually started to have a life outside of my family - I have a friend who has come over to "play" with me a lot the past couple of weeks. :)

In other big news, my sister now has a little baby boy! Beautiful little baby Noah Edward Wright was born last Friday and Jill & Spencer were able to take him home yesterday (Monday). I have been giving them a little space in order to let them bond with there precious little one. I am so anxious to meet him though.

Life seems a big blur sometimes and the past few weeks deserve that title. I keep going from one day to the next trying to figure out what happened to my big plans of cleaning the house or cooking a grandiose meal. The past few weeks I have tried to REALLY enjoy my kids, and I guess that is what we're supposed to do, right? The house can be cleaned tomorrow, the laundry can wait another day, and we can have another easy pasta meal tonight as long as I spent some "quality" time with my kids... At least that's what I try to tell myself! But laundry can only wait so long before your 1st grader REALLY needs some clean pants to go to school in! :-)

For Valentine's weekend, we went to Saint George with my sisters. It was a blast.

Here is some pictures of the cousins having fun together:

We spoiled our husbands by suggesting we go paintballing on Vday. Danny got me some flowers before we went out. (He's so sweet!) Then we headed down to the river bottoms to go paintballing. It was a lot of fun, but I sure got some good bruises this time. Then it took a while for the boys to clean up all of the equipment. It was still fun though:

My sister took pictures of our family for us while we were there. I think she did an excellent job!!! What do you think?

All in all, we had a blast! Thanks again to the Ruger's for letting us come with them and enjoy their beautiful home down there. You guys and the Wright's are the best! We had so much fun hanging out with you all!

What Love Means In The Eyes Of Kids

My mom sent this email to me and I really loved it...

A group of professional people posed this question to a group of 4 to 8 year-olds, 'What does love mean?' The answers they got were broader and deeper than anyone could have imagined

See what you think:

'When my grandmother got arthritis, she couldn't bend over and paint her toenails anymore. So my grandfather does it for her all the time, even when his hands got arthritis too. That's love.'
Rebecca- age 8

'When someone loves you, the way they say your name is different. You just know that your name is safe in their mouth.'
Billy - age 4

'Love is when a girl puts on perfume and a boy puts on shaving cologne and they go out and smell each other.'
Karl - age 5

'Love is when you go out to eat and give somebody most of your French fries without making them give you any of theirs.'
Chrissy - age 6

'Love is what makes you smile when you're tired.'
Terri - age 4

'Love is when my mommy makes coffee for my daddy and she takes a sip before giving it to him, to make sure the taste is OK.'
Danny - age 7

'Love is when you kiss all the time. Then when you get tired of kissing, you still want to be together and you talk more. My Mommy and Daddy are like that. They look gross when they kiss'
Emily - age 8

'Love is what's in the room with you at Christmas if you stop opening presents and listen.'
Bobby - age 7 (Wow!)

'If you want to learn to love better, you should start with a friend who you hate,'
Nikka - age 6 (we need a few million more Nikkas on this planet)

'Love is when you tell a guy you like his shirt, then he wears it everyday.'
Noelle - age 7

'Love is like a little old woman and a little old man who are still friends even after they know each other so well.'
Tommy - age 6

'During my piano recital, I was on a stage and I was scared. I looked at all the people watching me and saw my daddy waving and smiling. He was the only one doing that. I wasn't scared anymore.'
Cindy - age 8

'My mommy loves me more than anybody You don't see anyone else kissing me to sleep at night.'
Clare - age 6

'Love is when Mommy gives Daddy the best piece of chicken.'
Elaine-age 5

'Love is when Mommy sees Daddy smelly and sweaty and still says he is handsomer than Robert Redford.'
Chris - age 7

'Love is when your puppy licks your face even after you left him alone all day.'
Mary Ann - age 4

'I know my older sister loves me because she gives me all her old clothes and has to go out and buy new ones.'
Lauren - age 4

'When you love somebody, your eyelashes go up and down and little stars come out of you.' (what an image)
Karen - age 7

'Love is when Mommy sees Daddy on the toilet and she doesn't think it's gross.'
Mark - age 6

'You really shouldn't say 'I love you' unless you mean it. But if you mean it, you should say it a lot. People forget.'
Jessica - age 8

And the final one - The winner was a four year old child whose next door neighbor was an elderly gentleman who had recently lost his wife. Upon seeing the man cry, the little boy went into the old gentleman's yard, climbed onto his lap, and just sat there. When his Mother asked what he had said to the neighbor, the little boy said, 'Nothing, I just helped him cry'

25 Random Things About Me

I was tagged in Facebook for this and since I know that some of you don't have a Facebook profile, I am posting it here too. Enjoy... (I won't tag anyone but if you do this on your blog, let me know so I can see!)

1. I feel lucky that my husband is truly my best friend. Our marriage has been an amazing 10 years!
2. I like video games... especially the old-school ones like Mario and Tetris. I even enjoy watching my husband play his video games and telling him that he missed something. :)
3. You may have heard of people with a sweet tooth, but I think I have the sweetest. I made 2 batches of brownies last week and am going to make carmel brownie cookies today. Really bad for my diet, but life is for enjoying, right? At least that's what I tell myself after eating the whole batch. :)
4. I was absolutely addicted to ice for about 3 years. I couldn't get enough of it from the beginning of my second pregnancy through my third pregnancy. Then after having Ellie, the craving suddenly stopped. I wish it would come back though because that is a better craving for me than my brownies!
5. I never used to like reading at all. I was the person that when a book was suggested to me, I would pretty much roll my eyes and say that I would wait to see if it came out on video. :) Now, though, I can't get enough. I love books!!!
6. Twilight was the first book (other than religious fictional books) that I read and loved! It opened up a whole new world for me in reading. (It's not just a teenage-girl book, right?)
7. I have the best family in the world! Between my siblings and parents and even my in-laws, they are AWESOME! I am so excited when I get to hang out with any of them!
8. I LOVE to digital scrapbook and I just wish I had more time to do it!
9. I like cooking for other people, just not my own family. When it's my family it seems like a chore. When I cook for other people, though, it feels more like an occasion than a daily chore.
10. I have many pet-peeves and one of my biggest is when the toilet paper is on the spool the wrong way. It is supposed to go over the top so you can find the end!
11. Many people dislike doing the laundry, but I don't mind... I just HATE folding socks!!!
12. I used to not mind a messy home, but now I can't stand it. I think my husband has turned me into a clean-freak.
13. I love being a mom. I really do! I just don't like cleaning up after bodily functions... especially when the one I am cleaning up after is over 3 years of age! That includes cleaning the toilets after the boys used it.
14. I find the most joy and peace when I am living the precepts of the gospel.
15. I love being in shape but hate the process. (Again, look at number 3)
16. I have a specific way to load the dishwasher. I'm not as anal about it as I once was, but I still sometimes rearrange things after my husband does the dishes.
17. Having a girl has been bad on my finances. Girl clothes are just way too fun to shop for.
18. I still wonder why I have a facebook profile. I mean, isn't a blog enough anymore? :)
19. I wish all my sisters lived just down the street so I could see them more often. (that does include sisters-in-law)
20. I have a really sensitive nose. Danny makes fun of me, saying that he has to brush his teeth twice, rinse with mouthwash, and still put a mint in for me to kiss him. I swear that's not true, but it's nice when he does. :)
21. I want to travel the world and hopefully we will be in a financial position to do so someday.
22. I love motorcycles and am not scared at all of my husband owning one. I just wish I could ride with him more. (Darn kids) :)
23. I am like my sister in that I do not like pain, but I love paintball. What is that about?
24. I am a shy person but love to have friends. Sometimes I find it hard to make new friends because of my shyness. It's pretty frustrating!
25. Me and Danny are planning a trip to the East Coast this summer for our 10-year anniversary. I have never been back there and I am super excited!

Kaden's First Basketball "Practice"

Last night Kaden really enjoyed his first basketball practice.  He did pretty good.  There was only one time when he just watched the other kids playing around him and just jumped up and down.  :)  Danny told him he looked like a little frog.  :)

Here are some pictures from his practice...

Playing In The Snow With Cousins

The boys got to play with their cousins last Friday.  They ended up playing outside in the snow and had a lot of fun.  Here are some pics...

Feeding Ellie

Feeding Ellie is a lot of fun.  She is a pro at using the spoon. :)  

Anyway, as you can see from the pictures, when Ellie is up in her high chair, Preston feels it is a necessity to play with her.  It's pretty cute, actually.

What's Up With Kaden?

Kaden starts basketball tonight.  He is so excited!  He has wanted to play all sports that are available to him.  We were going to sign him up for soccer, but we were too late to sign him up. We were bright and early on the basketball sign-ups though.  I'll let you all know how it goes and probably post a picture or two.

Another Funny Quote From Preston

Preston put the leapster on the chair where I had been sitting.  He left the room and then I sat back down.  When he came in he couldn't see the leapster.  He said, "Where's the leapster?"  I pulled it out from behind me and he smiled.  He said, "Oh, you were hiding it in your bum..." :)

I promise, it was NOT in my bum!!!  :)

Good Book!

I purchased this book on Monday (as per the recommendation by both my sister and sister-in-law), and I finished it today...  SUPER!  I'm just so bummed that it is part of a series and I have to wait for the next one!  

My Amazing Husband

So, it is ok for me to brag about my husband, right?  =)

Last weekend, when Danny could have been relaxing for a long weekend, instead Danny was hard at work.  What was he doing?  He finished our storage room and then helped to organize all or our tools/utility closet/food storage/and junk...  He's so handy to have around!

Classic Preston-isms

At 2:00 in the afternoon, when we have all been awake for hours...  Preston comes running up to me and grabs hold of my legs in a big hug.  "Mooommmm...  You are awake!"  And then he proceeds to do the same thing to Danny and then to Kaden.  =)

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One evening as we are settling down for dinner...  Something was said about me already having made the kids' dinner or something and Danny made the comment, "She sure is a nice mom."  Preston doesn't even skip a beat and says, "mmm, yeah, and toot".  (For those who don't know the language Preston speaks, toot=cute)  =)

Kids...

Well, our kids are growing up...  

They are doing new things, reaching new milestones, and keeping us on our toes!

Ellie:

She is now four and a half months old!  She is eating cereal.  In fact, we went to the doctor yesterday and he said the "average" amount for a baby her age to drink per bottle is 5-6 oz.  Let me follow that "statistic" with what our little munchkin drinks - 8 oz!  He said that we should try cereal 2-3 times per day and try to reduce the milk consumption down to about 6-7 oz (per bottle).  The thing is, she still seems STARVING after 5 oz.  So more cereal it is, and she actually is doing really well with it.  She did get shots yesterday which resulted in a low fever, but nothing a little motrin can't kick.  And she is now over 16 lbs.  She is in the 96th percentile for her weight and the 99th percentile for her height!  She is definitely growing!

Preston:

Let's just say that he doesn't pee the bed.  :)  For the last 4 nights the little stinker gets up at approximately 4:00 every morning in order to wake us up to tell us that he needs to go potty.  Again, I'm not complaining... He doesn't pee the bed.  But Danny has been trying to train him to just go potty without waking us up.  I think I'll take what I can get.

Kaden:

Tooth-fairy, here we come!  Kaden had a dentist appointment today.  I guess I just haven't really looked in his mouth much lately because he had an adult tooth coming in behind his bottom front two teeth.  Therefore, the dentist pulled his two front teeth out of the way.  One of the teeth came really quite easy because it really didn't have much of a root.  The other tooth, however, was rooted down deep.  I swear the thing was OVER a half an inch long!  Anyway, he was a good sport with only minor yelps as the dentist yanked on that thing with all his might.  Needless to say, the tooth-fairy is feeling a little more generous with how these teeth came out.

Well, that's it for now.  Kids grow and we, as parents, get to experience each new thing.  Ya gotta love it! :)