Cheeeese

The past few years have been TOUGH. This little lady and her sweet, happy spirit have brought sunshine to many cloudy days. Haydyn makes me smile during times that nothing else can. The other kids are full of giggles whenever they are with her. What a blessing this charmer has been!

My Heros

I am blessed.

Motherhood is the only job I know that continually brings out ones faults. Each day I'm reminded of something I can improve upon. And rarely do I want to give myself a standing O for a job well done. This isn't a bad thing. I don't even want to imagine the person I would be without my children. I have learned more about myself from being their mother than I ever thought possible. And it's only been 9 years. Imagine what the next 9 years will bring.

February in review

WARNING: extra long post ahead!

Haydyn's first haircut.

Now I'm no hairstylist but this is pretty dang cute. Of course when I tried to get a picture of the back of her head she kept turning around. I'll post a better picture later. Here's a picture of her ponytail that I snipped off. Sorry about the flash.

Friday night "sleepover"
Mallory, Quin, and Cole had a sleepover in the family room. As for Brigham, he declined hoping for his own sleepover with Mom. (Dad was out of town). I guess I should enjoy these moments while I can. He's probably not going to want to do this much longer (sigh).

Mallory at Rad KidsOkay, so why did I get emotional at Rad Kids? It all started when the kids all shouted together, "No one has the right to hurt me, including myself!" I guess it sadens me that our kids even need to know how to get away if someone tries to grab them or hurt them. Just the thought of any of my children being involved in this type of situation kills me. Mallory was so dang cute showing off all her sweet moves. I pray she NEVER needs to use them.

Happy Birthday Buzz!!!

Todd's birthday was low key but fun. What could be better than ribs, corn bread, corn on the cob, black forest cake, and your family? Todd had been out of town for over a week. We were just glad to have him home, and we was happy to have a home cooked meal. We LOVE you!!

Happy Valentine's Day!
How cute is that Valentine hairdo? I got the idea off of a hair blog. I'm pretty proud of myself for actually doing it. I'm not that hair savvy ya know.

Draper Temple Openhouse
It was amazing to sit in the sealing room with Todd and all of our kids and know that we are an eternal family. I feel so blessed to have the gospel and the knowledge that we can be together forever.

Happy 4th Birthday Cole! (For more info on this read the next post.)

"Birth" Day Surprise

Four years ago today.

I have a nervous ache in my stomach when I wake up this morning. I can't help but do a play-by-play in my head every year on Cole's birthday.

6:00 am. Was that a contraction?

6:10ish Yep. Yesterday I wasn't even dialated. He said another week.

6:45 "Hey Hon, I think we need to go to the hospital this morning."

7:00 "Hi Mom can you come? No rush, I just started having contractions."

7:02 Plenty of time. I guess I'll shower.

7:20 Ouch. Hmm. When was the last one?

7:30 Wow... these are getting really intense.

7:40 Where's my mom? Maybe we should go ahead and go.

7:50 "Todd call Tara to come over, I think we should go. NOW."

8:00 Hurry. These are REALLY painful!

8:02 Please God... please make them stop, please, please make them stop.

8:05 "Jeanne, should we go to a closer hospital?" I can't do this. "NO... I want my doctor."

8:06 POP! Gush. Oh my gosh. My water just broke.

8:10 Thank goodness. A police escort. Hurry, hurry, hurry. "What is he yelling?" "Slow down, SLOW DOWN?!" "Help me please!" I CAN'T believe he just drove away?

8:11 "Todd, I feel like I need to push." Terror. Unbelievable pain. "PLEASE hurry!!"

8:12 I can't do this! I can't DO THIS! PLEASE HELP ME!

8:15 (Todd calls 911) "I'm driving on the freeway and my wife is about to have a baby!" Or something... I don't really know. I'm too busy screaming my head off. AHHHH.

8:17ish AHHHHHHH! "THE HEAD IS OUT!"

8:20 He's here. The cord is wraped around his neck. Twice. I unwrap it. He's quiet.

What do I do now?

Freckles? I didn't know babies could be born with freckles. Must come from Todd's side of the family. "Jeanne is he breathing? Is he BREATHING?"

"I... I don't know."

"CHECK HIS CHEST, LISTEN AT HIS MOUTH!"

"Yes. He's breathing."

I still can't believe it. So surreal. Like a dream. I prefer not to mention most of the gorry details. But this pretty much tells the story.

Happy Birthday buddy! Although a lot of people know you as "the boy that was born in the truck" we know you are so much more. I love your funny faces. The way you tease. Your energy. Your cool dance moves. The funny things you say. Your eyes. You. I love YOU!

Mr. Bean

This is Cole's immitation of Mr. Bean. Of course it's much better in person. If your kids havn't seen the Mr. Bean movies I highly suggest it. Unlike the other movies they get addicted to and want to watch 3 times a day (or 10), YOU won't be hearing the same annoying words/songs over and over. (Ahem...Wiggles). Mr. Bean rarely talks. Ahhhh. The art of SILENCE. I'm hoping my kids will catch on. I know, I know... it'll never happen. A girl can always dream.

It's all about me.

So I was tagged on facebook and I thought I would share. Here is my list of 25 random things you probably never wanted to know about me.

1. I want to cry. I just finished my 25 things and it disappeared! Not to mention that was my FOURTH time trying to get it finished. AHHHHHH!
2. I've never done anything like this (except for the above mentioned) mostly because it takes WAY to long for me to think of anything interesting.
3. I didn't eat a hamburger until I was 21.
4. My first crush was Ricky Schroeder. Ponch was a close second. . . (too old.)
5. If I had a crush now (other than Todd of course) he would be a cross between Josh Groban and George Clooney.
6. I love school supplies and libraries. Maybe thats why I became a teacher.
7. I taught third and fifth grades.
8. The thing I want to do most right now is go away for a few nights with my hubby. ALONE. Mmmmm.
9. I've never had braces, but wish I did.
10. I was the only child in my family to graduate from college. (Go Cougs!)
11. I delivered my 4th child in the front seat of Todd's spankin' new truck WHILE he was driving down the freeway. Yep it's true.
12. I'm a closet John Denver fan.
13. I went to an Aerosmith concert in Tel Aviv.
14. I have a hard time not comparing myself to others.
15. I admire people who choose to have big families.
16. I can't stand the sound of fingernail clippers. Ewww I cringe just thinking about it.
17. The smell of Polo cologne reminds me of highschool dances.
18. I generally enjoy making dinner for my family.
19. On rainy days I want to curl up with a book or bake something yummy.
20. When Todd and I were dating we both thought we would have 3 kids. Oops.
21. I still have dreams about going to school at BYU-Hawaii. I will always love it there.
22. I don't mind doing laundry, picking up, or wiping down. I CAN'T STAND scrubbing. Anything.
23. My nickname growing up was Bean.
24. Phew... 2 more left. Here goes: I always thought I would end up with a blond... until Todd.
25. I am drawn to people with a good sense of humor.

S.W.A.K.

One of Brigham's many pictures of himself.


5 days and counting. I'm hoping Todd will be home Wednesday.

Today . . . was a long one. But I did it. 6 of us cleaned, clothed, combed, fed, and at church by 8:55. I'm not bragging, just documenting. (Now that I think about it, that is pretty bragworthy.)I don't know how single mothers do it. You ROCK!

So last night we were driving home from Pizza Hut (5 free personal pan pizzas with reading certificates . . . and yes, you can still use them if they are from last year!) and my kids were daring each other to touch tongues. Now come on, we all did it when we were little. Brigham and Quin stuck there tongues out as far as they would go. Slowly they inched closer, closer, closer...touch. Scream...giggle, giggle. "Ewwww! I'd rather do it with Mallory." Says Brig. Once again with Mally. Stick out, giggle, closer, giggle giggle, closer, Mallory puckers up and sneaks in a kiss. "Ewww! I knew she would try to do something ROMANCY!" Ahhh I love it.

Buzz - can't wait until you get home. XOXOX