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! :)

Who Said December Is A Busy Time Of Year?

Well, I know I have a TON of pictures to show off. (~Yes I understand that blogs - for the most part - are just for showing off your kids :) ~)  We had a super busy December and we had a wonderful Christmas season.  But let's start from the beginning...

Ellie is getting so big!  Time goes by so fast and the kids just continue to grow - especially when they are from 0 to 12 months I guess.  But I am enjoying her so much.  She has recently discovered her voice and is making little squealing sounds that neither of the boys ever made.  She smiles and laughs all the time now.  She is the BEST sleeper ever!  She is always so content.  And she is becoming more and more separated from the boys as she continues to grasp her girly nature.  We love her so much!

The boys definitely have enjoyed the snow so far this season.  From having a snowball fight in the beginning snow fall to enjoying sledding with their dad in windy Idaho.  They have gotten a lot of use out of their snow boots.

We made sugar cookies on Christmas Eve.  The boys REALLY enjoyed that!  They were supposedly going to be for "Santa" but we forgot to set them out for him that night...  Oops! :)  It was fun nonetheless.

We all got to talk to my brother Wes on Christmas Eve as well.  He is in Japan on his mission and he sounds so good.  I couldn't stop smiling after I got off the phone with him.  It was just so good to talk to him.

Christmas was extremely enjoyable!  The boys truly loved the whole day, including eating dinner and playing with their cousins.

New Years Eve was AWESOME!!!  My wonderfully amazing sister put on a Vegas-themed murder mystery and it was one of the funnest things I've ever done.  My role was that of the floozy cocktail waitress and Danny was the bartender.  My whole family got into it and I haven't laughed that hard in a while.  We also had a poker tournament (how can you have a Vegas-themed night and not have poker?)  And guess who won the jackpot?  Yep, you're right...  I actually even beat my dad at Texas Hold 'Em!  Tons of fun!

Then the next day - New Years Day - we took our new paintball guns out for the first time.  We had so much fun with my family!  Thanks a ton again to Tresa and Chet for hosting a wonderful couple of days!

Then on Friday we had a game night with Danny's family, complete with all the food you could imagine.  I think I gained all of the baby-weight back that I had lost after Ellie.  It has been an extremely food-filled and fun holiday season. 

Anyway, that's our last month shortened for all of you to read.  Hope you had a wonderful holiday season as well!

'Tis The Season

I love this time of year. Thanksgiving for me includes family, games, food, laughter, games, and of course family. I love being able to sit down with those I love in order to laugh and play together. Such was the case last week. I was able to spend a small amount of time with my parents and then come home and spend more time with Danny's family. It was so much fun to play basketball and other miscellaneous games with them.

On Friday morning my sister-in-law and I enjoyed the shopping season of Black Friday.  It is always fun to witness those people that take the shopping SO seriously that they fight over things.  We even saw an ambulance in Wal-Mart, but thankfully they left with the stretcher empty - it mustn't have been too serious.  

Anyway, now it is time for Christmas parties, candy, gift buying and wrapping, and of course the all important "Dear Santa" letters with the kids.  

I love the different traditions that we continue to improve on and add to.  A couple of years ago we started the tradition of doing the 12 days of Christmas for someone in the neighborhood.  We are beginning the preparations for that.  We are also going to make the yearly batch of yummy fondant candy.  

And thus it all begins.  The time to think of the beautiful birth of our Savior.  The time to remember the importance of Him in our lives.  The opportunity to bear witness of Him to those around us.  The chance to show Christ-like love to everyone we come in contact with.  And the possibility to spend time with those we love the most.

May you enjoy this December and remember that which is most important.

Pictures

Just a picture update:

Family

It has been a while since I sat down to work on my blog. In fact, it has been a while since I even looked at others’ blogs. As most of you know, my sister-in-law, Megan, gave premature birth to her twin boys. Dex received his body then went back to be with Heavenly Father again; and Crew is at Primary Children’s Medical Center right now trying to get strong enough to come back to UVRMC’s NICU.

Throughout the past couple of weeks I have gone through an array of emotions. It has just taken me a while to sort through my feelings enough to deal with them as well as read other people's emotions on the matter. Let alone being able to sit down and write about them.

I guess what it all boils down to is that I love my family! I am so grateful for having them in my life and being linked to them for all eternity. I’m not just talking about my wonderful sweetheart Danny and my three beautiful and wonderful children. The family that surrounds me in this life are the greatest examples to me...

Parents: I have two amazing sets of parents who have taught Danny and I right and wrong. They have ALWAYS been there whenever we needed them and have sacrificed so much for our behalf. I could say they are the most loving and giving people on the planet.

MY SIDE

Traci and Rick: Strong family values and very, very talented in many, many ways. My sister is a wonderful homemaker and I always wanted to be just like her when I became a mommy.

Tresa and Chet: The funnest people to hang around! No matter what we are doing, it is always fun when it’s with them. I also look up to Tresa and the strong testimony she has.

Jodi and Felipe: The most kind-hearted and giving people. I could go on and on about their many kindnesses and the great friends they are to me. I love to just talk to Jodi and enjoy the wonderful spirit that she exudes.

Jill and Spencer: Amazing, giving, and wonderful family values. They are a complete combination of all of the above. Family-oriented, fun, kind, giving - all words that would describe Jill.

Weston: Great missionary! He has been blessed with all of the traits listed above as well - maybe due to having 5 sisters. :) I miss him so much, and am so proud of all he is doing for the Japanese people.

DANNY’S SIDE

Justin and Megan: Where do I begin... They amaze me! Their strength astounds me! Megan is outgoing and fun and super strong in the gospel. Justin is a great friend and an amazing husband and father.

Kayla and Adam: They also are the most giving people. They would give you the shirts off their backs if you needed them. Adam drove our Uhaul truck to Las Vegas for us - as a favor... What more can I say?

Matt and Kim: Spiritual, funny, strong, and giving. I love ‘em both to pieces! Matt worries needlessly about EVERYONE and EVERYTHING and therefore would be there for you at the drop of a hat. I love to hear his testimony, too.

I didn’t sit down expecting to write all of that... But it is how I feel. I have been blessed with the most amazing family members in the world and as I have observed them I can’t help but realize what a great blessing the gospel is. We DO have the opportunity to be an eternal family. When someone goes back to our Father in Heaven, we WILL have the opportunity to see that person again. How grateful I am for these people as they witness to me of this truth. I love you all!

Ellie's Baby Blessing

We had Ellie's blessing on Sunday.  It was a wonderful day!  Thank you to those who came and supported us...  And to those who couldn't make it - we missed you but understand.  Ellie actually has a little rash on her head but you can't see it in these pictures thanks to Photoshop. :)  But this is Ellie on her special day.

Ellie with Aunt Tresa and some cousins

Ellie with Grandpa Hyde

Ellie with Grandma Bradshaw

Ellie with Grandpa Bradshaw

Thanks Grandma Hunsaker

Grandma Hunsaker sent Ellie some money to go shopping, so Ellie and I went out on the town. Danny laughed that I called it a "Girls Day" - I'm just excited that I can say it's a "Girls Day." Anyway, we went shopping and found this cute little outfit. Isn't she cute in her new jeans and shirt? Thanks Grandma Hunsaker!

Wanting Attention

Ok, so I stole this off of my sis-in-law's blog.  While watching this, I laughed so hard!  This is Kaden to a T - I swear.  And it is always when I'm on the phone or talking to someone or even when I'm just trying to get some time to myself.  Don't you just love kids!

Ellie M Bradshaw

Nope, we haven't fallen off of the face of the earth. :)  It has been a crazy couple of weeks but we are all doing really great!  Ellie has changed quite a bit so I wanted to post some updated pictures of this beautiful little girl.  

Also, I didn't want to forget the details of her birth so I wrote them down below - mainly for myself.

PS. Girls are so much fun to dress! :)

Ellie Enters The Picture

August 30th at 1:29 in the morning I woke up to a contraction.  In order for a contraction to wake me up from my sleep it has to be a fairly good contraction.  But I had had so many false alarms the past two weeks with what I like to call fake contractions that I didn’t dare believe I was going into labor.  Little did I know that within hours I would meet this little bundle of joy that had been growing inside my tummy.

At 2:30 in the morning Danny finally woke up to my struggling through the contractions.  He asked how long I had been having contractions and I told him.  He asked how far apart they were and I explained that I hadn’t been keeping close attention but that I thought they were about 5 minutes apart.

For the next 2 hours we struggle with deciding what to do.  Not only were the contractions not regular, but we also needed to contact someone to come stay with our boys.  We had already asked Matt and Kim to be on standby, but should we make the call and have them travel the 20 minutes to our house when the contractions weren’t regular yet?  In fact, we kept the record of each timed contraction...

5.46

5.20

4.00

2.24

6.25

7.07

6.48

2.15

4.38

7.35

7.47

7.10

3.19

1.33

2.01

11.14

5.30

2.00

1.10

1.29

2.48

3.00

3.25

4.37

7.51

3.25

1.58

2.02

3.22

4.13

2.27

1.52

3.55

8.00

5.28

As you can see, there was absolutely no regularity in each of the timed contractions.  We just didn’t know what to do.

At approximately 4:30, we decided to call Matt and Kim and let them know what was going on.  That way, they would truly be on standby.  But just one problem...  Their phones were on silent.  We tried calling for about 15 minutes to no avail.  They simply couldn’t hear their phones.  What were we going to do?  We decided to just continue to wait to see if the contractions got regular and take it from there.  But about a 1/2 hour later Matt just happened to wake up, look at his phone, and call us back.  Danny explained the situation, Matt took his phone off vibrate, and we continued to wait.

At about 5:15 I could no longer take the pain.  I wanted an epidural so badly!  So we called Matt and they headed to our house.  Meanwhile, all we could do was wait until Matt and Kim got there before we could leave for the hospital.  But it hurt so bad!  I got impatient and at 5:40 we called Matt to see where he was.  Thankfully they were just pulling in to the subdivision, so we left.

When we got to the hospital, they didn’t even monitor me - They simply admitted me.  When they checked my dilation, I said to the nurse, “Please don’t tell me I’m still a 3.”  The nurse replied with, “You’re definitely not a 3.”  And she proceeded to tell me that I was dilated to a 7.  To which I responded, “Please give me an epidural!”  :)  Then I turned to Danny and proudly said, “I made it to a 7!” - You see, with both Kaden and Preston I had an epidural by the time I was dilated to a 4.  Now I actually know what a true contraction feels like. :)

They got the anesthesiologist in and he gave me an epidural.  It worked everywhere except on the right side of my back and my right leg.  I explained this to the nurse and she called the anesthesiologist back in to give me more.  

After I got some more epidural, I started to feel nauseous and then light-headed.  They had given me too much and I felt extremely weird.  Meanwhile, I had progressed enough that it was time to push.  I had to push while feeling like I was going to pass out and I couldn’t feel a thing from my waist down.  And to top it all off, Ellie was face-up so the doctor had to try to turn her with the forceps.  And then she wouldn’t turn because her shoulder was caught on my bone.  I ended up pushing for an hour; but towards the end of the pushing, the epidural started to wear off.  So they had to call the anesthesiologist back in to give me even more.

But finally, at 8:59 AM on August 30th, 2008, Danny and I welcomed this beautiful little angel into the world.  She weighed 8 lbs 2 oz and was 20 inches long.  And she took my breath away.  

Childbirth is truly an indescribable event.  It was emotional from start to finish, and I still get tears in my eyes when I think about the first time I saw her.  Once again, children bring a whole new perspective in to our lives and I am so grateful for my opportunity to experience each joy, pain, happiness, misery, frustration, and proud moment.

Catching Up

Well, I guess I had better catch you all up on our life. I know it has been a long time and for good reasons. We have been extremely busy with life! We finished the basement, Danny took a business trip to California for a week, Kaden started the first grade, Preston is now potty trained (yippee), and of course - WE HAD ELLIE M BRADSHAW!

She was born on Saturday, August 30th. She weighed in at a whopping 8 lbs 2 oz. She was 20 inches long. And she is absolutely beautiful.

It was a fairly difficult delivery. She was face up and the doctor tried multiple times to turn her to no avail. The epidural was a little iffy at first, then they overdosed me, then it wore off too early... A little painful and difficult. But one of the first things I said after getting to hold my wonderful little girl is that it's amazing that no matter how difficult, it is still so incrediby worth it in the end. She is already my little angel and she definitely has Danny wrapped around her little finger. :)

Now for pictures... I will start off with Ellie and work backwards.



This is Preston being potty trained. (Am I a bad mom for taking pictures of this? :)



And, lastly, this is Kaden and his 1st grade experience. We met the teacher and found his class the day before school started. Then he wanted to ride the bus because he is now a big boy. They grow up way too fast.

Memory Game

Here is a fun little game... leave a comment on my blog of a memory that you and I have had together. It doesn't matter if you've known me for a short time or a long time, anything that you remember! Next, re-post these instructions on your blog and see how many people leave a memory about you. It is pretty funny to read the responses. If you leave a memory about me, I'll assume you are playing and I'll come to your blog and leave one about you. On your mark... get set... blog those memories!

Getting Ready For A Baby

Has it really been that long since I posted on my blog? Wow! Time flies!

What have I been up to? Between being sick, exhausted, and trying to do some fun things with my kids during these months that are called summer, we have been painstakingly trying to get ready to introduce this little girl into our family. Number one priority right now is to finish our basement. Danny has done all of the work thus far and we are starting to make progress. But I didn't truly have a sense of appreciation for all that Danny has done until this past weekend... We hung the sheet rock. (Yes, I said WE!)

It started on Thursday. Danny worked on the computer most of the day until about 3:00 and then we started hanging the ceiling pieces. Yes, I'm basically 8 months pregnant and I held up one side of the sheet rock while Danny screwed in his side then he would come relieve me. It started out as being pretty funny. Who in their right mind would help their husband hang sheet rock while 8 months prego? I guess the answer to that question is a pregnant woman who is REALLY motivated to get their basement finished. :)

Well, then we ran into some problems. One of the ceiling joists was bent or something - basically there was nothing there to screw the sheet rock into and it was at the very edge of the piece of sheet rock. We ended up having to take it down and Danny had to nail up a two by four in order to have some support for the sheet rock. The problem came when after nailing the two by four, we noticed water leaking from the ceiling. Because of the insulation Danny couldn't see the water pipe on the other side of the joist. He accidentally punctured the main water pipe when using his nail gun. Ooops!

So we had to take a detour. After calling all plumbers in a 20 mile radius, we found one able to come and fix it within about two hours. So we got the kids fed, bathed, and to bed and went back to work on the basement. We finally gave up around 10:00, cleaned up the house a little, showered, and went to bed.

Friday I woke up a little sore, but not too bad. And I was still quite anxious about the basement getting finished. We got the kids fed, dressed and told Kaden that he needed to be a "big-boy babysitter" for us. (Which he did pretty good for being a six year-old.) Danny and I ended up spending all day down in the basement (with an occasional trip upstairs to tend to the kids) and we were able to finish the ceiling.

Saturday I woke up quite sore. But after seeing how hard Danny works on our basement, I wasn't about to let him do it alone! I slowly crawled out of bed, ate breakfast, fed the kids, and once again asked Kaden if he could be a big helper again. We made our way down to the basement and started on the walls. At around noon, Danny's brother Justin was nice enough to come help us! It was so nice to have someone else lift the heavy stuff with Danny while I just measured and cut the sheet rock. By the time we ended on Saturday, we were about half done with the walls, and our feet, legs, backs, necks, and arms were killing us (or at least mine were).

Sunday was a welcome relief. We actually sat around and relaxed the whole day. Sadly and regretfully we stayed home from church - yes we are bad examples! But it sure felt good to relax the WHOLE day!

And now we come to yesterday... Danny woke up at the usual weekday time and got ready for work. After eating breakfast he came back upstairs and told me he was thinking about staying home one more day so that we could finish the sheet rock. I was torn! I was really looking forward to a day in which I could put our house back together, but I REALLY wanted to be done with the sheet rock! So we did as before, leaving Kaden and Preston to the TV/Xbox/Wii to entertain them, and went back to work.

Now, I have to pause by saying that on Sunday night I went to bed feeling sick to my stomach. So when we started the work yesterday, I was still a little queasy. Then it got a little worse. Then I got light-headed - I felt like I was going to black out. Then I got a super bad bloody nose - the kind that drips like a faucet. Needless to say, I needed a break so I went upstairs and lay down for an hour or so. Danny stayed downstairs hard at work.

After about an hour I felt MUCH better so I slowly got back into pace with Danny. I measured and cut all the pieces. We would put them in place and he would finish screwing in that piece while I started measuring and cutting the next piece. We actually had a great system going. And we FINALLY finished around 8:00 last night. And let me tell you, as soon as we finished (and my body realized we were finished), my whole body ached worse than I could imagine. And we hadn't even eaten yet.

So after being very neglectful parents, working as hard as I could imagine while being 8 months pregnant, and feeling like I couldn't move even my little toe without being in pain, WE DID IT! We have officially finished the sheet rock in our basement.

I have to say that not only do I feel such a sense of accomplishment in what we did, but even more, I feel a huge sense of gratitude for my wonderful hubby. Not only was he so sweet with me (every 2 minutes asking me if I was ok and trying to take most of the weight on himself so that I didn't have to); but he also is so motivated to learn how to do things himself and he works so hard to do them. He taught himself all that he knows about construction work - which is quite a bit!

Again, Danny has done everything in our basement so far. He did the framing, electrical work, HVAC, and insulation. Doing the sheet rock with him made me realize how hard he has worked just on our basement. What an amazing person I am married to!

I am also very grateful for the time that I had to spend with Danny while we worked. Even though it was truly laborious work, I wouldn't give up the one-on-one time that we had together. I really love him with all of my heart! He really is my best friend!