Blogiversary

My cute kiddos one year ago.

One year ago today I started this blog. I am thrilled that up to this point I have somewhat kept up with it! I've never been great at keeping a journal. Let me rephrase that, I always KEPT a journal, but after a few months it was forgotten. Instead of starting up again I would use this as an excuse to get a newer, fancier, cuter, newer smelling journal to take it's place. I have a dozen of these unfinished journals. But blogging is for me. I can't go out and buy a new one when this one doesn't have that freshly printed smell anymore. AND most importantly I don't have to see MY ugly hand writing. I think that's the best part.

If I had my way I would celebrate this anniversary with a spankin' new camera. Mine died a few weeks ago. I haven't been able to let it go. Not that it was a good one, but it was the only one I had and times is tough. So no camera for me for a while. I hope this blog AND the summer activities can survive with out the luxury of taking pictures. I think I might cry a little.

Barefoot and...

PREGNANT! I can't think of a better way to finish off 2009 than with a new baby. It amazes me that I am this excited. I guess I never thought baby #6 would be as exciting as 1, 2, or 3 (or 4 or 5.) I feel so blessed to be having another baby. I LOVE witnessing the changes a new baby brings to our home and especially with my other kids. They learn things from this experience they wouldn't learn otherwise. So, here we go again!

Catching Up

I've always had a hard time keeping up with my journaling. I tend to get behind, then overwhelmed by the thought of catching up. I am NOT going to let that happen. Well, I already did a little. But I'm determined to catch up. So, as not overwhelm myself, here are a few snippets of whats been going on in my world this month.

Todd has been gone a lot. But he was in town the whole week of spring break. He needed an escape so of course he wanted to go camping. But get this, he offered to take the kids and let me get some much needed "Jeanne" time. How awesome is he? So Todd, Brigham, Mallory, Quin, and Cole, loaded up a borrowed motor home (with a little help from me) and headed for Moab. They had so much fun hiking, making smores, watching movies, and just spending time with Todd for a few days.

While they were gone Haydyn and I had some fun of our own. My friend Hillary lives way to far away and we usually only get together a couple of times a year. So I headed to her house for the day. I came home with these:

Not to mention the other 5 pair of shoes, AND a great new doo. Hill- Thanks for a great day of chatting, hair do-ing, and munching!

I had been wanting to paint our bathroom for a long time now and took this opportunity to finally get it done. But having 4 kids out of the house I had more time on my hands than I was used to. So I took my paint job 1 step further than planned. This ended up being a HUGE pain!! Not to mention the fact that the brown glaze looked like someone wiped poo all over the walls. So when my kids actually do wipe poo on the wall no-one will know. ;) When all was said and done, it turned out better than I had anticipated.

Last but not least, yesterday was our 12th anniversary. Todd was out of town but sent beautiful flowers. Sweet Mallory brought home a big poster she had decorated at school and secretly hung it on the wall. She amazes me sometimes. I wish Todd could have been here. I had to celebrate at Carl's Jr. with the kids. :) I love you babe! Happy Anniversary!

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!