Boy's Will Be Boy's

Benny's 5th Birthday Party

2011-12-31T18:51:00.000-08:00

We always have such a hard time when it comes to Benny's Birthday because it's so close to Christmas. It's hard for everyone to find time to fit in a birthday party that isn't combined with a Christmas party. This year he decided he wanted a Mickey Mouse birthday. We planned pretty early this year and a lot of our friends and family were able to come!! My family had a Christmas party the next weekend, and since my sisters were in town, we decided to do a birthday party for him then as well. I still can't believe that my crazy little worm is 5 years old.

The yummy food!! Grandma Phyllis made the chicken salad. It was very tasty!

Elias

Present time!!! I sent Tom to the store with Isaac to pick out a present and OF COARSE, they come back with something that shoots :-P

Auntie EmmaLee helped Ben open all of his presents.

Grandma Phyllis gave Ben this really cool book. It's the night before Christmas and her voice is recorded reading it. He loves it when Grandma Phyllis reads to him.

Princess Payton. She's so silly. We were excited when we found out that Sarah and her kids would be here visiting the same weekend as Benny party. Yay!

EmmaLee playing with my other niece named Payton. I have two Payton's, kinda confusing, i know.

Mickey Mouse sign

The cupcakes were nothing special, but Ben was excited about them and boy were they yummy.

Bad picture, but the only one I have of Ben blowing out his candles.

Auntie Theresa, Nama Dena, and Papa Randy

Nana, Auntie Sarah, and Auntie EmmaLee

WILD party, I know :-)

Ha ha, Benny got caught in his holster, and he's not a happy cowboy.

What a blessing he has been to us these last 5 years. We love his crazy little personality. Boy do I love being his momma.

Bragging Moment!!

2011-12-12T10:01:00.000-08:00

So as everyone knows, I am diabetic and work really hard to take care of myself. It is an overwhelming task and some days, I just don't feel like worrying about it. After Aunt Bev died in August, I kinda went through a slump and didn't care about anything, let alone exercising and eating right. As a result, I gained some weight and had a hard time controlling my blood sugars. After much prayer for strength and just sucking it up, I am back to myself again!! Tom and I had our labs drawn this last week for our health insurance and I was so excited with the results! Here is what a few months of HARD work can do.....

Height 5 feet 3 inches
Weight 153 (was 170)
Waist 37.5 inches (was 41)
Blood pressure 106/70
Total cholesterol 181
HDL cholesterol 38
LDL cholesterol 118
Triglyceride 124 (was 211)!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Fasting blood sugar 86!!!!!!!!!
BMI 26.9 (was 31)!!!
Visceral fat (fat around belly) 6%- normal is under 9%
Muscle 22.4%- normal is 24.3%- 30.3%
Body fat 44.4%- normal is 21.0-32.9% (so I still have a long way to go on this one :-/)

I am on cloud nine! The pounds are coming off slow, but everything else has changed drastically!!! Still have a long way to go, but I am up for the challenge!!! I feel great and my blood sugars are better than ever!!!

Family Pictures 2011

2011-11-30T12:54:00.000-08:00

I apologize for how many pics I posted, they just all turned out so good! We went to my sister's grandparents house to take these pics. They live on a farm. The boys made me want to pull my hair out, but all in all, they turned out great. You would think pictures would get easier as the boys get older, but that's not the case with this family!! Urrrrrg!

Thanksgiving 2011

2011-11-27T12:00:00.000-08:00

The Rogers family had the most wonderful Thanksgiving this year! We actually started the holiday on Nov. 20th with my adopted mom and dad. We didn't take any pictures of this dinner, but we had a great time and loved being a part of that family.

On Thanksgiving day, we celbrated it with Tom's family. His mom's parents do thanksgiving at their house every other year and it is HUGE!! All the aunts and uncles and cousins come and it is a blast.

Here is Uncle Lamar and my father in law carving all the turkeys. They made 4of them!!!

Benny playing outside!

Benny's true side (crazy)

Isaac enjoying his yummy dinner! The weather was so beautiful, we all ate outside!!

Boys playing frisbee after we ate!

My stud muffin :-)

Benny enjoying his pumpkin pie!!

We have made a tradition in my family of getting together for dessert on Thanksgiving night! It works out great. Hopefully one of these years we can all get together for an actual Thanksgivng dinner, but this works for us for now :-)

Toms made the pies this year and he did a great job! They were so yummy! This one is apple.

Lemon Meringue

Princess Lily and her mommy, princess Katie!

Me and two of my sisters!! My BFF's!!

Auntie Alecia is so much fun! She played games with the kiddos after dessert. The kids LOVED it! She is gonna make one great momma!

We hope you all had a great Thanksgiving and were able to have time with your families. We love you and are thankful for and the support you give us!

Feeling Better

2011-11-14T17:06:00.000-08:00

I had some very sweet ladies visit me yesterday afternoon and the experience was such a blessing to me. After talking to them, I felt so much peace in knowing that God knows who I am and where I am at in my life. He knows my struggles and He loves me. There are women that endure much harder trials than I do! My life really isn't that bad. I have a husband who loves and adores me, I have two amazing boys, a house to live in! I have so much to be thankful for. Thanks to everyone for all of your support. I am sure that I will hit a bad day here or there, but for the most part I am feeling a lot better. I am so grateful for all of my family and friends who love me and support me!

hard day

2011-11-08T12:47:00.000-08:00

Beware: this is kinda a depressing post. I have been having a hard time lately. I am making a conscious effort to not "dwell" on things. I saw a lady at church on Sunday who had a brand new baby (4 weeks old). I watched her for a while. She just held and loved on her sleeping baby during all of Sunday school and relief society. I have two friends who have had a baby within the last week. I just found out this last week that two more of my friends are pregnant (just adds to the numerous friends who i already know are pregnant). I received and invitation to a cousins baby shower in the mail yesterday. I know that I am very blessed to have the two children I have. I don't want to be bitter. Every single one of these things lately feels like a knife in my heart. It's not any ones fault that I am feeling the way I am and I don't want people to walk on egg shells around me because they don't want me to fall apart. I see all my sisters with their babies who were all born within a year of each other, and my baby isn't here. If anyone knows of any good books or scriptures to read that will help me right now, it would be so appreciated. Thanks for listening to my sob story.

Halloween 2011

2011-10-31T20:23:00.001-07:00

Halloween was so much fun this year!! We continued a lot of our traditions and the boys had a blast. Here are some pics of our Halloween.

Papa Randy volunteered at the Queen Creek trunk or treat, so we went to see him before trick or treating. Isaac is dressed up as Ratchet and Benny is an ice-cream sandwich!! And yes... HE chose the costume, not me, lol.

Here is Abigail (Becca's oldest) after trick or treating. Cutest clown ever!!

Isaac, Liam and Abigail enjoying their candy.

Miss Lily Pie (Katie's daughter) was Minnie Mouse. Isn't she a cutie?

Liam (Becca's son) was Spider Man.

Here's Isaac being his crazy little self.

Anastasia was the banana lady. Forget what her name is, lol. Ana is Becca's daughter.

Ready to get started :-)

Yummiest ice cream sandwich I've ever seen. I just wanna eat him!!

Isaac and Benny, ready to go trick or treating.

It was so much fun having all of the cousins together on Halloween. It was Katie's first Halloween with us in 5 years. Her adorable family moved back this summer and boy are we glad to have them back and close to us.

We also kept our tradition of our Annual Pumpkin Carving Party!! We did it on the Friday before Halloween. Theresa, my adopted sister, hosted it this year. It was a blast.

Can you believe I made these?! And... all by myself!!!! Yummy rice krispie treats. I brought them to the party for dessert.

These pics got uploaded in the wrong order, but here is the final product!! All the boys with their pumpkins!! They turned out great.

Thomas and Papa Randy are hard at work. They "helped" the boys. But the boys ended up playing most of the time and Papa and Thomas did all the work, LOL. Such good guys :-)

Papa, Isaac, and their pumpkin!!

Daddy, Benny, and their Mickey Mouse pumpkin. I LOVE this picture of Tom with Benny!! He sure does love his boys.

So, as you can see, we had a GREAT Halloween!! We hope yours was just as good as ours. We love you all.

A few thoughts on Our Angel

2011-10-21T19:44:00.001-07:00

Gosh, it's been such a long time since I have updated my blog and so much has happened since the last post. It is impossible to catch up in one post. Here are just a few of the major things that have been going on these last few months. Our little family has moved into a new house in Queen Creek and we love it! It is smaller than our last house, but it is perfect for us :-). I will take pics soon and post them for all of you family and friends to see.

We have experienced some major losses in the last couple of months. First, I want to thank all of you who have been praying for me and my family. I have felt those prayers and the Holy Spirit has wrapped me in His arms and comforted me! I will post later with pictures about our Aunt Bev, who I love like a mother. It's still a little too fresh to post about that one. But thanks again for all of your prayers.

For now, I will concentrate my thoughts on the loss of another baby. This one was harder on me in some ways and easier on me in others. This miscarriage was much earlier in my pregnancy than the last one, which I am so so thankful for. If I would have kept that baby, I would be 21 weeks/ 6 days today. It makes me sad to think of how different our lives would be if I were still carrying that baby. I know it sounds weird, but Tom and I really wanted this baby. We have wanted all of our babies, but especially this one. It took us a while to get up the courage to try again, since the one before that ended in a miscarriage. Heavenly Father has helped us get through this. I was blessed to be able to pass this one on my own. I did end up going to the ER because I had fever/ vomiting and a few tiny complications. But in the end, I passed it on my own. I felt so comforted when I thought of my mom being there as this little baby was accepted back into heaven. My mom loved her grand babies. Anyone who knew her, knew this about her. She was the best grandmother a child could ask for. I know that our angel babies are in heaven with my mom and they are happy. They are waiting for us. I feel so blessed to know that there is life after death. We will see our babies again. The doctor has given us the OK to try again, if that is what we choose to do. I am completely healed physically. Once again, I am thankful to all of my family and friends who have been praying for our little family. We wouldn't be where we are today without the support from our loved ones.

Grandpa Curtis

2011-01-31T18:29:00.000-08:00

I received the dreaded phone call on Thursday night. Grandpa is gone. I have many memories of my grandpa and me. Not as many as I would like, but any memory is better than no memory. Aunt Barb and Uncle Mike brought him to AZ for a visit this last summer and I am so thankful they did. It turns out this would be the last time I would get to see him and hug him. I am so happy that he is in a happier place and not suffering. And best of all, he is with my mom and Jesus! I am so thankful that he was able to see my boys before he died. Just wanted to let everyone know how much I love him and how great he was. Love you grandpa!

here is a picture taken from this last summer when he came to visit!

Happy New Year!!!

2010-12-31T20:17:00.000-08:00

As 2010 comes to an end, I am reminded of all the wonderful blessings we have received this last year. It has been a hard year for my family, but we have been blessed beyond measure. We are surrounded by people who love us and support us. I have a few resolutions for 2011 and I am excited about them. So here they are...

Say "I love you" more!

Work harder to take care of my body

Have more patience with my boys

Strengthen my relationship with the Savior

These may seem like very simple goals, but I know they will bring me happiness. I love my family. They are all so good to me. Thank you to everyone for your support and love. We love you!

Christmas 2010

2010-12-26T18:27:00.001-08:00

Christmas was so wonderful this year! All of the Rogers slept under one roof and were able to be together on Christmas morning. It was so fun for me to see the boys with their cousins. Tom's sister and her family came from San Diego to be here. My sister, Katie also came into town. The week was just full of family time, which I LOVE! As a favor to you guys, I have narrowed down the pictures that I am posting to just a few, lol.

Here we all are waiting to come down the stairs to see what Santa brought us!

Santa definitely came! We are so blessed.

He brought me a new gym bag, headphones for working out and fun stuff for my car.

Ya think Isaac is excited?!?!?!? He was so much fun this year. He definitely earned his gifts from Santa!

Here's Benny looking at his stocking. He got a new truck and lots of candy.

Benny's big truck from Santa!

Isaac asked Santa for a dart gun...

and "hand cups". I think I might regret this later, lol. What was I thinking?

getting ready to open their presents.

As Papa Randy would say... "There's my poser"!

so cute. I loved watching him open every single present. This one was a book.

Just look at the musical talent. Good thing you can't hear the picture, lol.

I think he's gonna be a star! American Idol, here we come!

Here's the kids table for Christmas dinner!

And here's the grown up table, lol!

So along with great food and presents, we were able to go to Grandma Greats house to visit and

Papa Randy's house as well. We went to Lily's birthday party. I was even able to talk to my dad on the phone for a few minutes who is serving a mission in New York! It was the perfect day!! I hope all of you had a great day as well and got to spend it with the one's you love. Merry Christmas!

Lily's 1st Birthday!

2010-12-26T18:18:00.001-08:00

My niece Lily was born last year on Christmas Day! She spent the first part of her life in the NICU, but she is growing now and doing great! She is the most adorable baby and so full of love. Here are some pictures of her 1st birthday party!

This is the funniest picture of Suzy. It makes me laugh every time I see it!

Here is Lily Pie enjoying her birthday cake. Super adorable!

Here is her mommy with the cake!

Katie and Lily opening presents.

I am so thankful that they could make the trip down to AZ to celebrate Lily's first birthday and Christmas. Love you Katie!

Guthrie Family Christmas Party

2010-12-26T08:33:00.000-08:00

We had our annual Guthrie Christmas Party on the 23rd this year. It was so wonderful to see everybody. Katie and Dustin and their sweet little girl came from Utah to be there, and Amanda and her kiddos came from Winslow. We missed Mark and Missy, P.D. and Jeannie, and Erin. And of coarse Dad and Marianne who are serving a mission in New York. Anyhoo, Becca was our lovely hostess and she did such a good job! Here are some pictures of our night!

All the adults that were there, except for Amanda, who had already headed home.

Katie, Stacey, Becca, and Amanda

Miss Maci! She is Amanda's baby girl and she is adorable.

This is a picture of me with 3 of the 4 baby girls that were born in the last year! I have been known as the crazy Aunt Stacey lately. Just love being around all those baby girls. From left to right: Lily (Katie's), Suzy (Becca's), and Maci (Amanda's) and #4 is Kynadi (Erins). That's right... every single one of my sisters had baby girls within one year!

Here is Katie with Lily Pie. She is the wiggliest little girl I've ever seen. So tiny, but full of energy.

Lily

My sweet Benny

Ana, Isaac and Liam

Maci, Abigail, and Nate

What did she get?!?!?!

Liam (Becca's little boy)

Kynzie is helping Maci open her present. Such a good big sister.

Nate and Abigail eating dinner. Yummy!!!

Ana, Isaac and Kinzie.

All the kiddos

Dustin holding his little girl. She looks so tiny when he holds her.

Ray and Alecia.

My Becca Boo!

Lily

Maci

and Lily!

It was such a wonderful night and we had so much fun. I'm learning to accept the fact that our family is now spreaded across the country and it's just not possible for all of us to be there for every occasion. It's hard, but life goes on. It was a great party. Thank you Becca Boo!

Family Photos 2010

2010-12-14T19:43:00.000-08:00

OK, last post for the day, I promise! Just had to share these adorable pictures we had taken for our Christmas cards. My super talented sis-in-law did them and I think they turned out awesome! I love them! Thank you thank you Jeannie!

Isaac

stud-muffin ;-)

awww

Isaac and me! Love my boy.

And... here's Benny!!

brotherly love is so precious!

hugs

more hugs

Me and the little worms!!! aka sweethearts!

The whole family!!

My sexy husband and me!

All of us again.

Benny and mommy

kisses

Benny's 4th Bday Party!!!

2010-12-14T19:30:00.000-08:00

So we decided to celebrate Ben's bday early this year so it won't run into Christmas like it always does! He had a Thomas the Train party! It was perfect!

It's still hard to believe that he's 4, and not my little baby anymore. This is a picture of him on his 1st birthday!!!

There's the birthday boy!!! Yummy cupcakes!

so cute!

Getting ready to blow out his candles!

He had a great birthday and I'm sure he felt so loved. He got so many presents and hugs and kisses. He definitely knew it was his day!!! Love my Benny boo. I hope the next four year don't go as fast as the last four!

Thanksgiving 2010

2010-12-14T19:09:00.000-08:00

Wow!!! So much has happened in the last two months and I have definitely been a slacker when it comes to blogging! Hope you're ready to see tons of pictures of the two adorable little worms!

Here are Isaac and Ben in their cute little outfits!

Isaac getting a little too excited for the turkey!

Sweet little Benny!

My cute little family

My boys and me! Love, love, love them!

My in-laws hosted thanksgiving this year and I think they did a great job. It's always hard being away from my family, but we got together this year for a little dessert.

Check out how awesome I am!!! I totally made these homemade, freakin awesome, sugar free pies! Oh yeah! And they were so yummy. Am I the cutest little housewife or what?!?!?! I wish

the other pie!

It was an awesome day and it was so great to be reminded of all the things we're thankful for! Love you guys!

Happy Halloween 2010

2010-10-31T19:51:00.000-07:00

Happy Halloween to everyone!!! I miss my family, all of you! We had a wonderful Halloween! The boys were so excited. I helped out in Isaac's classroom on Friday for the Halloween party. It was fun. These first few pictures are of the boys at Papa Randy's house carving pumpkins. We had a fun little pizza party, and carved a "pumpkin family".

Here's Ben eating his yummy pizza!!!

Isaac saying "cheeseburger"!!!

Isaac and Papa getting down to business!!!!

Benny

Isaac wanted to be a ghost for Halloween. I honestly didn't like the idea. Growing up, we never really celebrated the scary part of Halloween. I was never a ghost, or a witch, or a skeleton. He was so excited to scare everyone. My mom-in-law did his make-up, which was way more than what I wanted. But, he loved it and he was definitely the scariest ghost around!! Benny wanted to be The Cat in The Hat and the costume turned out ADORABLE!!! Thanks to auntie Missy for the awesome hat.

Isaac saying "BOOOOO"

so cute!!

Here's Tom. He decided to go as an angel. So i decided to be a devil. Once again, I was definitely out of my comfort zone. Nobody could understand why. I just simply said "Why would i want to dress up and pretend to be the devil?" I know it's all in good fun, and i shouldn't be so strict about it. At least we wore costumes that went together. I would have much rather been the angel, lol.

Isaac, Ben and me!!!

My adorable little sister-in-law. She is dressed as a pirate.

Me and the sexy hubster!!!

Cheese!

I thought this was a cute picture of Benny playing with his little tail!

Isaac trying to scare Benny!

so adorable!

Just after his Nana had finished his make-up!

Just after Nana finished his make-up too.

Nana doing the boys make-up!

Boo, way too scary for a 5 year old!

So... all in all, it was a great Halloween and we had so much fun. I'm pretty sure this is the first year since Isaac has been born that we haven't done something fun and celebrated together on the Guthrie side. It is sad. It just made me realize that we are not going to be as close as we used to be. It is getting harder and harder to get together and I am definitely having to make more of an effort to stay in contact with everyone. I now have siblings in Utah, Texas, and Maryland, and a dad in New York. I'm not saying this to make anyone feel bad. Just simply saying that we are all grown up, and life happens, ya know! I love you guys and hope everyone had a fun and safe Halloween.

San Diego 2010

2010-10-14T20:05:00.000-07:00

Tom and I took the family on a fun little vacation this week to visit his sister and her family! We had a blast and so did the boys. We went to Sea World and the beach. The boy loved seeing their Auntie Sarah and their cousins. Here are some pics of the trip. They are out of order, sorry. And... Sorry for all the pics. I just had so many cute ones that it was hard to narrow down the ones to blog!

This is Benny and Payton (Sarah's youngest) after a long day at the beach!

showing off my sunburned nose, LOL

The whole family at the beach!

Benny loved the sand. He literally had it coming out of his nose and ears!

Isaac loved the sand just as much!

Jay gave EmmaLee a surfing lesson!

All 4 grand kids buried in the sand. From left to right... Ben, Dominick, Isaac, and Payton

Isaac pretending he's dead.

Auntie Sarah hard at work!

Check out that face!

Ben didn't like the life-jacket.

EmmaLee taking Isaac and Payton for a swim.

All 4 of them playing in the sand.

My sunburned face after a full day at Sea World.

Isaac was fascinated with the star fish. He could have stared at them for hours if we would have let him. He got to hold them and turn them over on their backs!!

At the stingray exhibit!

Isaac enjoying the cotton candy at the sea-lion show!

What a mess!

Isaac showing off his 3-D glasses for the pirate show.

Benny showing off his 3-D glasses

silly Isaac

Ben got so tired! He needed a little snuggle time with his Papa Owen!

The faces say it all! Boy does Benny love his daddy!

My little family at Sea World!

Papa Owen helped Isaac feed the seals and the sea lions.

Isaac

We were making fun of the cute little rides they had there. Ben loved them though.

They had this huge playground at Sea World and it literally gave me a heart-attack! It was completely huge and open. I could not keep track of my kids, no matter how hard I tried. We lasted there for about 10 minutes, until I couldn't take it anymore and we found something else to do. I swear, I needed a leash for them.

It's a tradition in Thomas's family to collect the pressed pennies, so we stopped at all of the pressed penny machines in the whole park, or at least it seemed like it. Papa Owen is helping Isaac reach.

My hubby! Isn't he totally HOT!!! LOL

Isaac, Payton and Dominick at the Polar Bear exhibit.

Isaac

Benny.

It really was the best trip ever! Everything went smoothly and perfectly. I was so sad to leave my sweet little Payton and Dominick! And Sarah too, I guess. jk. You know i love you girly! Thanks to Sarah, Jay, Dominick, and Payton for such a good time!

Ice cream with Papa Randy

2010-10-04T20:45:00.001-07:00

Here are some pics of the other day when Papa Randy took the boys out for some ice cream. They are so blessed to have Papa Randy and Dena so close to them! They remind me everyday, LOL! They love telling people that their Papa Randy teaches people about Jesus. Isaac has even gone so far as to ask a lady at Wal Mart if she knew about Jesus and if she had met his papa randy! I am always reminding him that he can't just talk to strangers like that and that not everybody knows about Jesus. His innocence and sweetness just touch me. He loves Jesus and he doesn't care who knows or who will get offended! I definitely have something to learn from him. I love my boys!

Isaac and me!
Papa Randy with the crazy little worms!

Just look at that face...pure excitement! Getting ready to leave for our ice cream date!!! Love you Dad and Mom Deal!!! You guys are too good to us.

Fun in The Sun 9/2010

2010-09-30T19:53:00.000-07:00

Becca and I decided to take the kiddos to play since they got out of school early today! Here are some fun pics of the kiddos

Ben, Isaac, Ana and Liam

Here's what happens when you get two crazy boys and a slide together!

Liam, Becca's boy

My sweet Isaac!

Anastasia, Becca's 2nd oldest daughter.

Suzy, Becca's youngest

Love the rolls of fat on her back! I call her my "tub of love" and "thunder thighs". She's so cute!

Ana

Ana again

Benny

Isaac

Liam

Ana

It was tons of fun! This will probably be one of the last times we take them out to play in the water before it cools off. I'm excited for the cooler weather, but they sure do love the water. It's great having my sister/best friend living so close. Our kids love it too!

My Pride and Joys!!!

2010-09-18T22:00:00.000-07:00

Here are some updated pictures of my pictures of the boys. They are so sweet and so funny. They make me laugh everyday! Just the other day, Isaac told me all about his wish for "stilts"! It came out of no where. It was the funniest thing. I asked him if he even knew what stilts were, and he sure did. He explained the whole thing to me. What a silly boy. Ben is sweet as sugar and loves being the baby. He is our little herbivore! He will eat every single green thing on his plate and leave the bread and potatoes! What a weirdo. He definitely didn't learn this from his mommy or daddy, lol. Although we have been eating much healthier as a family lately to help lower my cholesterol! Yay! Life is good. We are happy!

Sisters Night/ Katie's visit September 2010

2010-09-12T19:29:00.000-07:00

Here's some pictures from Katie's visit a couple of weeks ago. While she was here, we had a sister night/pajama party, and a family dinner. Love my sisters and am so thankful for all of the support they give me. It scares me to think of where I would be without them!

Beautiful Becca at the pajam party/sisters night!

Me, Katie, Lily pie, and Becca at our dinner get together!

Ana and Isaac enjoying dessert! Maybe a little too much, lol!

The aftermath of Benny's desert! I'm not sure how much actually ended up in his mouth!

Alecia (Ray's wife) and me.

Beautiful Becca and Beautiful Katie!

Me holding Suzy Q at our pajama party!

Katie, Alecia, and Jeannie! Love you sista's!

Sweet Little Suzy Q!

Our yummy healthy dinner at the sister's night/pajama party!

Mini pizza's on whole wheat bagel thins! Yum!

It was a great weekend and I was so sorry to see it end. Being around my family just helps remind me how truely blessed I am. God loves me so much, and although things are hard, he has given me the best people to support me and to love me!

Summer 2010!!

2010-09-01T20:13:00.000-07:00

Wow, it's been a long and crazy summer... and needless to say, my blog has been neglected. So here is a much needed update. Yes, we are alive. And yes, we are doing great.

Isaac's first day of Kindergarten!!!

The little brother of the kindergartner!!!
Here is Isaac on is first day of school. It's still so hard to believe that I am the mommy of a kindergartner!!! Isaac was so excited for his first day and still loves going to school every day!!!

Here he is showing off his new backpack!!! Of coarse, it's Penguins of Madagascar!

Camping over the Summer

Over the summer, the Rogers family had their annual reunion/camp out. As all of you know, I am not much of a camper. I decided to be a good sport and try it out for the boys. ;-) So, as it turns out... I am still not much of a camper, JK!

My sweet little Benny with his sweet daddy!

Isaac picked a flower just for me and insisted that I wear it in my hair all day!

So sweet! Ben playing with the frisbee.

just a super cute picture of Ben with his buzz lightyear wings. I know it's kinda random, but I had to add it in!

Isaac's Preschool Graduation!!!

Isaac's preschool class had the cutest little graduation. This was clear back in May, I just never got around to blogging it!

Here I am with the future rocket scientist!!!

Isaac showing off his certificate!

Singing songs. I love the hat though!

Isaac had the job of holding the flag and leading everyone on the pledge!!!

Don't you love the baseball cap/graduation cap?! It was adorable. I was such a proud mom! Nana even made it for the big day and so did Papa Randy! So, as you can see, it was a super busy summer and to add even more chaos... we have moved as well. YIKES!!! Life is good though. We are all happy and healthy, and that's really all I could ask for! We are very blessed and I continue to be reminded of that.

Family Fun/ Visit from Aunt Barb

2010-05-02T12:14:00.001-07:00

This weekend was full of laughs and tears! My mothers sister (Aunt Barb) and her husband and my mom's dad all came down to visit! Yay for family time. We haven't seen them since the funeral. I didn't realize how much I missed them. It was really hard to see them and have them around without my mom. It made me miss her more. It was such a great weekend though. I posted all these picture for Katie and my dad, i know there's a ton. Sorry to all those who will get bored with the pics.

We went to the cemetery to visit my mom's grave. It was the first time Aunt Barb and grandpa had been there since the funeral. These are the flowers we left. Thanks Randy for helping me get the headstone looking so nice.

Here's the whole bunch.

Grandpa and Aunt Barb thinking about mom.

Love my Benny!

Ray and his wife Alecia taking a moment to think about mom.

Grandpa and Ray.

Mine and Becca's kids took over the cemetery. Grandma Suzy would gave gotten a laugh out of that! She loved watching them run and play. I always think of how she would be with them, now that they're bigger and able to play and talk back, LOL. She loved holding them when they were tiny and sleeping though, that's for sure. She would always say "this must be what heaven's like" when she would hold one of our sleeping babies.

Ray and Liam having a little conversation, LOL. Liam is Becca's boy.

After the cemetery, we all went back to Ray's house for some dinner. Becca made the best lasagna. We always have her do the cooking. My mother taught her well! Here are three of my mom's four kids with Aunt Barb. Katie is living in Saint George, Utah.

Here we are with Grandpa, my mom's dad. My mom's mom is still alive, but living in a nursing home back in Illinois.

Grandpa loving on little Suzy Q!

Ray Ray. That's what we used to call him when we were little.

The kids table. Yummy lasagna. These are all mine and Becca's kiddos. We have 6 between the two of us! Yay for grand babies!!!! (just for you mom)

Me and Suzy.

Grandpa taking a little nap.

This is my youngest, Ben. He's taking a picture of me taking a picture of him, LOL

Anastasia. Not sure if you can notice her black eye in this picture. Crazy kiddos. This is Becca's 2nd child.

Hi!! Liam, Becca's 3rd child!

Becca and her new hair do!!!! I love it!

Abigail, Becca's oldest.

It was such a good weekend. It was great to know that they still remember us and think of us, even with my mom gone. It was hard to not have her there. She loved seeing her sisters and she definitely loves the grand kids. I know it will be a long time until we see Aunt Barb and grandpa again. I just feel so thankful to have family that loves each other so much, even if they do live so far away from us. Love you guys!

Amanda's Baby Shower

2010-04-24T22:05:00.000-07:00

So as all of you know, all of my sisters are either pregnant or have had a baby within the last few months. So, it's Amanda's turn. Jeannie drove Becca and me to the baby shower. She lives in Winslow. It was actually a great road trip and a nice break from the boys. Road trips are obviously not the funnest thing for us since the accident, but we got there safe and got home safe! And... I'm so glad we went.

Here we are with the adorable pregnant one, LOL! Jeannie, me, Amanda, and Becca.

And here is Suzy. She's the only child we brought with us. She did so good the whole time. She was a perfect angel in the car. She is so adorable!
This is all of Amanda's family that was there. I don't know every one's names, sorry.

Kinzie is so excited to be a big sister!

Yay for presents! I can't believe how much stuff she got. As she opened each present, I kept thinking... ooh, that will be nice for when I have a girl. Hint hint Amanda! It was a great trip and it felt so good to be able to support my sister! She has made so many trips to Mesa for Becca and me. Oh my gosh did it make me baby hungry though. ;-)

Kisses from Ben!

2010-04-23T09:41:00.000-07:00

Ben had a little breakdown because I put a video of Isaac on here the other day. So... here is a clip of Ben doing NOTHING! But atleast you get a kiss at the end!

Thinking, once again!

2010-04-21T03:55:00.000-07:00

This last week was full of major breakdowns and disappointments. I am not intending for this post to be depressing or (woe is me) and Grandma Tannie would say it. I feel as if my body is falling apart. I have chronic diseases that i have learned to live with over the years. Since my surgery this last month, I have had nothing but issues when it comes to keeping feed down/maintaining my blood sugar levels. I have had a lot of prayers said on my behalf. I had a Dr. appointment today and was really just hoping with everything in me that i would have some answers as far as to what is causing my pain. I started feeling sorry for myself, thinking "Why God are you making my body go through this and not giving them the answers they need to fix it." The more I reflect on it, the more I realize how irrational I am at times when I'm not feeling good. Once again, I am trying to focus on my blessings. Yes, I am living with a chronic disease (diabetes) which causes some other complications at times, but i am a healthy diabetic. I am responsible with keeping my blood sugar where it needs to be. That is definitely a blessing. Much of the time, my health does not keep me from being a good wife and a good mom to my little worms :-) So my goal for the rest of the week is to not dwell on all the things going wrong with my body and just try and wait in patience. I know...easier said than done. Your prayers are much appreciated and I am sure that they are part of what will keep me going this week. I have a test on Thursday and another one on Friday, both on my stomach. I am just going to put my faith in the Lord and rely on Him. After all, "the son of man, hath descended below them all. Art thou greater than He?"

Field Trip to the Library

2010-04-19T15:01:00.000-07:00

So Isaac's preschool class took a fieldtrip to the Library last week and Ben and I came along.
Here's a picture of the story reader...she was awesome. I almost felt like a little kid listening to her read some
stories. She definitely had all the kids attention

Here's Isaac looking at books.

And the two little worms acting like crazy boys in the library.

Love my little Isaac and my little Ben. Such sweet boys!

My New Dishwasher!!

2010-04-16T19:15:00.000-07:00

Hooray for me!! I have a new dishwasher! And BTW, before you judge me for making my 5 year old wash the dishes... HE ASKED! Lucky me. FYI, to hear the video, you have to go to the bottom of the blog and pause the music on the play list.

Easter and Babies Blessings

2010-04-04T22:34:00.000-07:00

Happy Easter to everyone!! This was the best Easter we have had in a long time with lots of family from out of town! My dad was able to make it here from CO and my sister was able to come from Utah. All for the special event of baby Suzy and baby Lily being blessed on Easter Sunday. I apologise in advance for the number of pictures! It's hard to narrow them down when we had such a great day!

So here are they boys hunting for Easter eggs outside! They had a blast!

My sweet little Benny Boo

and here's how Tom spent the morning, LOL

The Easter Bunny came!!

Ben and Isaac ate some much chocolate, it literally made them sick.

more Easter egg hunt pictures

Ben and Sydni workin together! Aren't they so cute?!

Isaac, the proud finder of many eggs with prizes inside!

Ben found some eggs is what we thought were easy places for him.

Sydni with all her eggs!!

Brennan and Isaac

Easter evening, we all met at the Barney's for the big event... the babies blessings. They were both so completely precious. Here is my little Lily pie in her blessing dress. She is now up to 8 pounds!

And here is little Suzy Q in her beautiful blessing dress!

Our place settings for dinner.

This is my brother ray (youngest of the boys) holding Ana and Abigail. They all love getting a ride from Ray. Ana and Abigail are Becca's oldest daughters.

the family starting to gather for the blessings

an attempt at a family picture. Kinda hard when there's 50 or more people they are wanting to squeeze into one picture. Especially when some of them are crazy little kids.

My sweet little family in our Easter outfits! Aren't the boys just so so so adorable?!

This is me with my little Lily pie. Notice how beautiful her blessing dress is.

Ha, ha, this is what I attempted to eat for dinner. Not quite back to 100% since my surgery last week.

our huge family eating!

one of two tables, LOL. not including the 3 large kids tables!

Me holding my miss Suzy Q! Didn't get one of her before they changed her out of her blessing dress. I was kinda bummed.

Isaac, just takin it easy.

Ben outside playing with the cousins after the blessings!

My dad holding little Lily pie!

Half of the siblings we could scrounge up for a family picture, LOL. Oh well

And half of the sisters. At least we got the best ones in the photo, JK. Anyhoo, this is me (left), Becca (middle) and Katie (right). I just have to say real quick how much i really do love my sisters. they mean everything in the world to me and are such a huge support. They make my life better. I love you all, even the one's not in the picture!

Here are my sister Becca and me with my Dad. I love him dearly and am so thankful he was able to make it down for the blessings. It really is very rare when we get to see him, but it's always a treat.

Awwww, and me and my dadio. Love you more that words can say! It was a great weekend visiting with family, remembering mom and how much she would be loving having all these new babies around, getting teased by the older brothers, etc. We couldn't have asked for a better Easter!

My surgery story!

2010-03-29T20:38:00.000-07:00

So as some of you may know, i was admitted to the hospital on Thursday afternoon and had surgery on Friday afternoon. Here's what happened for those who were concerned. On Wednesday afternoon i was having severe chest pain and it was going into my back. The pain was bad enough to make me throw up several times. So, my wonderful sister-in-law took me to the urgent care. They did a chest xray and some other tests and decided that it had to be my lap-band. Everything else looked good. So i went into my lap-band Dr on Thursday and he admitted me right away. At that point it had been over a week since I had kept any fluids down and he said i was severely dehydrated. They gave me an iv and some pain meds and scheduled me for surgery for the next day. I was at surgical specialty hospital which in in Phoenix. That's about an hour away from home! My husband had such a hard time coming to visit me because he was working/taking care of the boys. Luckily my "adopted dad" Randy was able to be there for me during the surgery. He's the same one that went to Disneyland with us (in case you were wondering). He took good care of me. After i came out of the surgery, i felt better and they slowly started to give me broth and juice. Anyways, i was discharged home on Sunday night and i am loving being out of that crazy boring place, LOL. i missed my boys so much. We have lots of friends and family who have been here at the house helping me with the boys and meals. I am so fortunate to have so many people who love me and my family and who are so willing to help us. I will go on Monday the 6th to get my stitches out and will keep everyone updated. I love you all, thanks for your prayers.

Happy Monday!

2010-03-22T19:25:00.000-07:00

I'm just feeling especially blessed today and thought I would let everyone know. The boys are crazier than ever, but I love them so much. Their energy is so overwhelming, but they are such good little boys. Tom has been busy with work lately. He is such a good daddy and husband. We couldn't be more in love :-) Yay! Happy Monday!

Just Thinking

2010-03-17T22:07:00.000-07:00

This may be a boring post for most people to read, I apologize in advance. I have been thinking about how completely blessed I have been in my life, especially in the last few years. I admit I have had a lot of anger lately because things haven't gone the way I want them to. I have been doubting my love of God and his power in my life. The last few years I have felt and endured more pain than I thought was humanly possible. For some reason, I tried to convince myself that the unfortunate things in my life reflected the amount of love god has for me. Having a positive attitude is a huge effort i take on almost everyday. i had the strongest feeling today that all these negative thoughts in my head are LIES. There is nothing good that comes from it. It is something Satan is using to make me doubt the truth. The truth is that no matter what negative things have gone on in my life, God loves me and he wants so desperately for me to be happy. He has blessed me with amazing children who love me and give me a reason to do better. He has blessed me with the most loving, wonderful, patient husband who wants me to heal and to be happy. He has brought people into my life to support me and to help me grow and be stronger. He must really love me to bless me with all these wonderful things! And that is the most wonderful TRUTH of all!

Marry Poppins, Better Late Than Never!!!

2010-03-08T17:13:00.000-08:00

I found these pictures on my camera and realized I forgot to post them. A bunch of us from work decided to do a mommy daughter date on Valentines Day to go see Mary Poppins! It was so awesome, and the dancing was amazing.
Here's my date, Dena! She has really played a huge role in my healing process from the accident! She is wonderful. I would not have rather spent the evening with anyone else!

Here's most of us from left to right... Ramona, Cecelia, me, Vicki, Malinda, Samantha(Malinda's daughter) and Ramona's sister. Jacki and her daughter were also there and Kathy and her daughter as well. It was a GREAT night!!

Disney Land 2010

2010-03-02T17:33:00.000-08:00

Isaac and I went to Disney Land to celebrate his 5th birthday!
Randy and Dena were nice enough to drive us. Theresa and her
son Elias also came. It was the funnest trip ever. Tom and Ben
stayed home and went fishing. Here are some fun pictures of
our trip!!

Isaac and Elias

Randy and Dena's daughter, Bethany, works at Disney Land and got us awesome seats for the parade and fireworks. Thanks Bethany for making our trip AMAZING!

Isaac, Elias and Bethany dancing with Woody during the parade.

Isaac, Elias, and their Papa Randy.

This is Theresa. Isn't she so pretty?!

The first day we went to Downtown Disney and let the boys do Build a Bear.

Dena and Randy took us to Dana Point. That's where they lived before they moved to AZ. It was beautiful. Here are me and Theresa at the beach.

Isaac with his Papa Randy!

Isaac's 5th Birthday Party!!

2010-02-20T19:35:00.000-08:00

I can't believe we are celebrating Isaac's 5th Birthday!! My little worm is growing up :-( Sorry for all the pictures, just couldn't narrow it down. Here are his awesome balloons. Tom's manager at work let us blow them up there for free!! It saved us about 20 bucks!!

Here is Isaac's adorable little cousin, Ana. Her birthday is a week after Isaac's! This is actually their first birthday party separate from each other. They usually have a combined party.

Isaac did a great job blowing out the candles.

Auntie Jill, Grandma Phyllis (Tom's grandma) and Nana (Tom's mom). Having family around is the best.

Isaac's favorite and long wanted "Octo-battle". It's a hot wheels toy!! Thank you Auntie Jill.

Not sure what this present was, but check out his excitement, LOL. It was something from Nana.

LOL. His face says it all! A new spider man toy from Connor!

Cousins Ana and Sage enjoying some cotton candy. Yum

Auntie Jill trying to figure out the cotton candy machine! No laughing folks... It's was harder than it looks. If you are wondering why Tom wasn't in on all the action, it's because he was eating (Of coarse)!!!

Isaac enjoying his cotton candy

Connor and the birthday boy wearing their Spidey masks!! Awww, aren't they so cute?

Birthday boy's little brother. Awww, my little Benny!

ooops, didn't realize i already had this one in the post, LOL. Well, either way, they are awesome, huh?!

Cute little Tyler! Jill and Matt's oldest child

Awww, my sweet little baby Benny

This is Jeannie holding the newest member of the family. Little Suzy joy, Becca's little girl. She is so cute and i didn't even get to hold her cause I'm super sick.

Check out this awesome cake I made!!! JUST KIDDING, this is the doing of my sexy hubby! Didn't he do such a good job? It tasted so great too!
Awww, what a happy couple. Jill and Matt Cathey
One of Isaac's best friends, Connor.

Isaac's 1st day of Pre School

2010-01-08T11:22:00.000-08:00

Isaac started pre school this week. He has been so excitedto start going to school. I had to work for his first day, so my wonderful Missy took him. I told her she HAD to take pictures since I couldnt be there. She said he ran right in the door and started playing with the other kids. He loves his teachers too! I am excited for him to get ready for Kindergarden and to have a couple hours a week to be outside of the house, and away from his baby brother.

Nothin much, just a fun day at the park!

2010-01-04T06:41:00.001-08:00

Here are some pictures of Isaac and Ben at the park. They had a blast playing woth their big cousin Sydni. I seriously think my boys are the cutest boys in the WORLD! I love them and they make me happy most of the time, LOL.

Our perfect little Christmas

2009-12-28T10:10:00.000-08:00

Ok, so some of the pictures are out of order, sorry. This is Ben on his new bike from Santa.

He also got Buz Lightyear wings!!

And here is Isaac on his new bike from Santa.

We really couldn't have asked for a better Christmas. We worked so hard to be able to spoil the kids rotten! Lot's of overtime, but it was so worth it!! This is my favorite picture we got. Ben was so excited when he ran down the stairs and saw that Santa had come.

We made Santa cookies on Christmas eve and the boys had a blast making a mess!

Every time we turned our heads, Ben had another bite of another cookie in his mouth. It was so funny cause we had all these cookies with one or two bites taken out of them.

We asked the boys what color frosting they wanted and they said BROWN. Gosh, I still don't think I'm used to having boys yet.

What a mess!

I loved watching the boys open every single one of their presents. It was so much fun to see them so excited.

By the time we were done, Isaac was practically buried in boxes and wrapping paper, LOL.

Here's what Santa brought Ben.

And Isaac

Isaac made me this ridiculously ugly necklace and of coarse we had to get a picture of me wearing it.

To make Christmas day even more exciting, my sister Katie who was down visiting from Utah, decided to have her baby! She was admitted to the hospital the entire time she was here :-( for low amniotic fluid and high blood pressure. She was not due to have the baby until February. She delivered Lily at Banner Desert at 9:30 pm on Christmas night. She was 2 lbs something ounces and 15 inches long. She will stay in the NICU at Banner Desert until she is done developing and strong enough to go home. Thank you guys so much for all of your prayers and thoughts. It means the world to us. Happy Holidays. Love you all.

Happy 3rd Birthday Ben

2009-12-20T06:01:00.000-08:00

It's hard to believe that three years ago on this very day, little Ben was added to our family. He is such a sweetheart and a little terror at the same time. We love him so much. Here are some pictures of his special day!!

The big brother
Autnie Sarah was a big help with the presents.

He actually did a really good job with the candles. It's funny how everyone was trying to help him with it... He knew just what to do.

Yummy pizza

Payton and Kinzie, the birthday boy's cousins.

Mommy and Ben

Ana, another cousin

Nana and Grandma Great

It was so cute... We weren't even out of the parking lot and we look back and Ben is OUT!! It was a big day for him. I guess he was just pooped.

2009 Family photos!

2009-12-17T11:50:00.001-08:00

I just couldn't pick a few to post. I know it seems like the pictures go on and on, but these were my favorite.

Gettin' Ready for Christmas

2009-12-05T06:24:00.000-08:00

This last week we got out the Christmas decorations and put them up all over the house!! The boys had so much fun putting the tree up. They are super excited and it makes me super excited! Here are our stockings.

This is the tree all finished .

Beginning of the tree.

Isaac's face say's it all. LOL

My sweet Benny Boo

The next morning we started the outside decorations.

Aww, aren't they so cute when they get along!

I love this video of the boys dancing to their christmas music.
It's kindof blurry, but it's still cute. Just go to the bottom of my
page and press the pause button on the playlist, that way you
aren't hearing two things at the same time!

Funny pics of Baby Ben

2009-11-24T10:08:00.000-08:00

I came across these funny pictures of Ben on my computer and had to post them. This was a long time ago, but he still has the same personality. I guess that's what makes it so funny. He makes me laugh everyday!

Katie's Baby Shower!!

2009-11-14T19:44:00.000-08:00

Becca and I threw Katie her baby shower this weekend. She drove down from St George, Utah. We are so excited for her. After 6 years of trying to get pregnant, it finally happened. We did an Anne Geddes theme for the shower. Our mom would have loved it! Here are some gifts she got!
Some people enjoying yummy food.

Becca, Katie, and me

We got Kaite the baby swing she wanted and filled it with lots of small things for the baby!

More fun gifts

One of my really good friends growing up, Sarah

One of Katie's really good frineds growing up, Kelle. Sarah and Kelle are sisters.

Gifts. She ended up getting her carseat stroller combo, her swing, tons of adorabale clothes, and even more.

Yummy cupcakes.

My neice, Brianna. I love this girl, she is so awesome!

This is my brother, Ray and his wife.

Here is the diaper cake that Becca made. She used real diapers for it, so Katie can use them when she has the baby.

Some of the brothers. (Ray and Mark)

Isn't she lovely?! So beautiful. Brat!! Why did she get the good genes?
Either way we ended up having a good time and we love her dearly. I'm super excited to be an aunt and have another little neice to spoil and dress up, LOL

Halloween 2009

2009-11-05T19:53:00.000-08:00

Halloween was a blast this year. The boys were both old enough to be excited for it, which made me excited! They both wanted to be Spider man so Ben was the red one and Isaac was the black one.

Becca brought her kids over and we all went trick-or-treating together! Ana was the cutest tinker-bell I've ever seen.

Liam was an octopus! It was so funny watching all the legs on his costume flop around while he was walking. He felt just as big as the other kids and tried his hardest to keep up with them. Liam is Becca's youngest.

And here is Abigail. Is she not the cutest little Lion you've ever seen! She is 6 and she was so much fun to have over.

Papa Randy came over and helped the boys carve their pumpkins at Isaac's request. He are their pumpkins. I thought they turned out so cute.

Spider mans to the rescue!!

Isaac in his black spider man costume!!

Ben was so funny. He hated wearing that mask. His eyelashes are so long and the mask just irritated them. He only wore the mask for about 30 seconds. He was still so cute without it though.

I'm cute and I know it! Isaac is so funny. He's always gotta be in every picture, even if that means he has to sneak in, LOL.

Isaac had some friends over for the pumpkin carving party! This is Elias, hard at work.

Here is Ben with his Papa Randy!

Cute little worm!

And beautiful me, getting all the ickies out of the pumpkin.

We started with so many pumpkins. They all turned out so cute. Tom made pumpkin by with the rest of the pumpkins that didn't get used. He also made pumpkin pie filling and canned it! It was so great to have something fun and positive to focus on. We are all doing great. I have been keeping busy with work. We have new cases of the Swine Flu everyday. I feel blessed to have been healthy so far this year and ask for Heavenly Father to keep me healthy every day. Love you guys.

Growing in the truth.

2009-10-06T14:26:00.000-07:00

Wow! Long time since I've updated my blog. Sorry guys, life has been crazy. So many things in my life have changed and I am so thankful for those changes. Tom and I are doing great and are more in love than ever. We recently celebrated our 6th wedding anniversary. Sometimes I wonder why God chose to bless me with such a wonderful husband. He is so wonderful to me.
The boys are doing awesome! They are still just as crazy as ever. Isaac is learning the alphabet and thinks he is the smartest kid on earth. He tells me everyday how pretty I am, and lately he has been calling my cooking "the spice of life", LOL. Isaac has now discovered the hole in the front of his undies! He uses it regularly and reminds me how awesome it is. He pee's like his daddy now, LOL. Ben loves chasing his big brother. He has the sweetest spirit. Some days I feel as if all of my effort is going into just making sure he doesn't kill himself (run into the street, get the knives out of the dishwasher, jump off the stairs, etc). I always end the day wishing I had accomplished more. I'm sure all you moms out there experience the same thing.
I have been focusing especially on healing my mind and my spirit these last few months. I have received many answers to my prayers and know that God wants me to be happy and to live a meaningful life. I still miss my mother everyday and struggle with keeping a positive attitude about the accident. But as I struggle, I pray for help and it is given to me. God has placed new people in my life that have helped me realize the truth. I am sure that things will get easier and I will continue to grow as time goes on. Thanks so much you guys for all of your love and support. You all mean so much to me. Love you guys. I promise I will post pictures soon.

New Week

2009-06-14T21:00:00.000-07:00

This last week was full of tons of emotions, good news, bad news... more than I could handle. As some of you know, I lost my last pregnancy a few months ago. Since then, Tom and I had decided to get pregnant again as soon as the doctors said it was OK. After a frustrating doctors appt this last week, we have decided to put more babies on hold for now. I was so happy about my decision to wait and just get my body healthy. Then I found out two of my sisters are pregnant and only a couple weeks apart from each other! I am so excited and happy for both of them. However, it reminded me that I am not pregnant anymore and I don't have a baby either. It was weird. My family also got some other bad news about a sister that was a total shock to me. It was just a hard week. Lately I have been battling with just being happy and counting my blessings. I have been focusing so much on the negatives. I am committing myself to try harder this week. I have been talking a lot to a new friend who has given me a lot of guidance and advice. She has told me to focus on the truths. Satan is very good at filling my head with lies, that make me feel depressed and inadequate. So... Here are some truths:

I am blessed
I have a wonderful husband and family
My mothers death was an accident and was no body's fault (especially God's)
My mother loves me very much
I will see her again
I love Jesus
Jesus loves me
Trials allow people to grow
My family wants me to be happy and to heal
I can be happy if I choose to be
My mother wants me to be happy

Fun Photos

2009-06-10T02:17:00.000-07:00

I was recently going through some old pictures on my computer and found these. They are a few of my favorites. I hadn't realized how fast the boys have grown. They are so big and I wonder where the time has gone. This picture is when Isaac was into his cowboy stage. He loved those boots. I remember he would insist on wearing them to the store, with his sandals. It may sound weird, but he would wear one sandal on one foot and a boot on the other. You should have seen some of the looks I got:)

Best buds then and best buds now!

"Lap-time" with daddy. I remember when I was little and my mom would insist on "lap time". If we were ever hurt or sad, we would get lap time. It was a special treat. It's one thing from my mom that I've passed onto my kids:)

Another picture of Isaac in his cowboy boots. Isn't it the cutest thing though? Cowboy boots and undies.

I cherish this picture I got of Benjamin with Grandma Tannie. This was about a week before she died. I know that Ben will not remember her, but I'm glad they were here on earth together for a short time. Grandma was 98 when she died and loved life. She is now reunited with her loving husband and sisters and my dear mother. What a reunion! Just thought I would share some random pictures since I have nothing to blog about right now and it needs updated.

Silly Isaac Story

2009-06-04T23:46:00.000-07:00

Isaac has been talking about my mom a lot lately. I don't know why. Sometimes I like it and sometimes it just annoys me. He is a sweetheart and I know he has good intentions. We were leaving the house this morning to go to the grocery store and Isaac yelled "MOM, MOM, COME FAST!". I rushed over thinking Ben had gotten outside and something was wrong. He found a card taped to the door. He said, "look, mom... Grandma Suzy sent you a card". So I opened it and read it. It was a thank you card for a funeral I sang at last week. I tried explaining that Grandma Suzy doesn't live here anymore and that she was not the one to leave the card. I should have just let him believe it and ended it right there. Then he argued back saying, "Yah huh, then what about the flowers?" There were some new flowers growing on the bush outside our door. It was so sweet how he innocently believed that this was all because Grandma Suzy was thinking about us and wanted to give us a card and some flowers. I just hugged him so tight and started crying. He said "sorry I made your feeling owie mom." It made me so thankful for him and realize that I am doing a good job of not letting him forget mom. He's a little worm, but I love him so much. Love you guys.

Ben's Bad Day!

2009-06-02T20:09:00.001-07:00

Poor little Benjamin had the roughest day. I always feel so bad for them when they have bad days. Anyway, Ben's day started off with some fun playtime out front. Both boys were having the best time riding their bikes and just being crazy boys. Ben ditched the bike after a few minutes and was just running around like a chicken with it's head cut off! Then it happened, he tripped in the street and scarped his knee, elbow and toes:(

So I brought them inside and cuddled with him for a while. I gave him some Motrin and then Tom put both boys in the bath. They have some fun soap that they got from the Easter Bunny. However, the Easter Bunny was not paying attention and did NOT get TEAR FREE. Tom said he had soap all over his hands and created a lather around his eyes. Yup, sure enough he got tons of soap in his eyes. I let him cry and cry, thinking this would flush the soap out, and it did.

Then as we were drying them off and getting them dressed for bed, Ben got into my jewelry box. It's taller than he is and he just loves getting in all the drawers. He know he CAN NOT touch it, but of coarse he does. The lid slammed down on his little thumb and he couldn't get it out. By the time we heard his cry and got over to help him, his thumb was pretty banged up and sore:(.

Poor guy, three ouchies in one day is a lot for a 2 1/2 year old to handle. The only good thing that comes from it is more cuddle time with me. I know I'm selfish. He is now comfy in his bed and hopefully fast asleep. I will definitely keep my ears open for more screams tonight, just in case:)

Happy Birthday To Me!

2009-06-01T19:31:00.000-07:00

My friends and I used my birthday as an excuse to have a party at work. It makes a long night super fun when we have food out and take pictures! This is Carla and Vicki. This was on Saturday. No worries, I didn't have to work on my birthday:)

Sorry, these pictures are kind of out of order. This is Vicki and Robin. They are my very good friends from work. They took me out to lunch for my birthday today and we had the funnest time.

Here's all of us. Vicki, Robin, Anne, and me. I have the best friends and they have really been so supportive of me. Sometimes I feel as if Vicki is my second mom. She has a son that's my age too. They have been a huge help to me with the grieving of my mom, my back surgery, the loss of my pregnancy, the whole shebang. Thanks guys, you're awesome.

Here's another picture from work. This is how we spend our nights... getting massages from Vicki:) This is Mindy, my other super good friend.

Becca made me dinner this year for my birthday. She is the sweetest sister and friend. We celebrated it a day early since she had to leave for girls camp today. She made me yummy homemade potato soup and a pink cake! You all know how much I love pink.
Here is the pink blanket she made for me.
And here's the super yummy cake.
Here's all the kids together. They managed to stop wrestling with each other for 5 seconds so I could get this picture. It's not perfect, but it's as good as it's gonna get. Hope you like it dad. Becca really made me feel loved by all the effort she put in for my birthday. Thanks sis, I love you tons.

Thanks

2009-05-29T12:34:00.000-07:00

I just wanted to say thank you to all of you for your tremendous support. Thanks to all of you who are praying for me. Your kind letters and phone calls have meant the world to me. I realize that I have been very negative. It's something I'm working on. I'm OK. I hate to worry people. Thanks again for all your love and support. I couldn't make it through this without you guys:)

My thoughts on Mom

2009-05-21T20:40:00.000-07:00

This post is only for me to clear my thoughts. If you want to read, you are more than welcome. If you don't want to be bored by my rambling, go visit someone else's blog. My family are pretty much the only people who read my blog anyways. So i have been thinking a lot about the accident lately. I don't know why. I don't understand why I can't get past it. Why do I have to remember all the depressing horrible details of that devastating day? Why do I have to know what each and every one of you were doing when you got the news that mom was gone? I wonder why things had to happen the way they did. I know that God has a purpose and needed mom elsewhere. I just can't understand why it had to be right then at that very moment. Doesn't he have enough spirits in heaven right now? I struggle sometimes with just accepting things for the way they are. One day I'm fine with everything and continue to work on my faith. Then the very next day I almost feel as if I'm angry at Heavenly Father for allowing this to happen to our family. I pray everyday for strength and sometimes I feel as if that isn't what God wants for me. If he wanted me to be happy and strong, then he would allow that to be. He would allow my mind to forget those horrible memories I have of her dead body laying there. He would allow me to forgive myself of all the regrets I have about mom and me. I am thankful that more people weren't harmed in the accident. I just can't get over it. I never talk about it, mostly because I feel like I have no one to talk to. I feel like all of you are healed and back to normal. Don't get me wrong...I'm happy for you. I hate seeing all of you hurting and grieving. It breaks my heart and I'm glad you are all over that stage. I just feel as if I'm the only one hanging on to the heartache. Why are all of you doing so great and not me? Am I doing something wrong? I have called a couple of you in the last couple days, just to see what you are feeling and thinking about the whole accident and mom's death. Everyone seems to be doing wonderful. I am thankful that Heavenly Father has allowed the Holy Spirit to heal you. I am sorry if I am being a downer. I never talk to you guys about it and I'm sure you probably had no idea that I was even struggling with it. I don't want you to worry about me and I definitely don't want to cause you anymore pain. I just want to understand WHY? I need to know why this had to happen and I realize I will never have that answer. Why mom, why our family, why now? I love you all and I hope you understand that posting this is just a way for me to clear my thoughts, it is not to make you worry or hurt. I will be OK. I guess I just need more time. I love my family, every one of you. I am sorry for the heartache I have caused.

Swimming Fun!

2009-05-18T18:20:00.001-07:00

We went swimming for the first time this summer and the boys had a blast! I am surprised how much Isaac forgot in one short year. Once he jumped in, he got the hang of it and it all came back to him. He's my little fish. This is Ben's first summer really enjoying the pool. Here he is with my niece Sydni. They had a blast and were not very happy when it was time to get out.
Ben loved the water, but he definitely held on tight. I didn't mind one bit either.

It was a very fun, long, hot day. I'm very sure we will have many more of them before the summer is over.

Isaac Rogers To the Rescue!!

2009-05-17T14:56:00.000-07:00

It was time to renew my CPR certification for work and I was tired of doing the same old boring classes. So, I have a friend at work whose mom teaches CPR. She came to my house and tought a class to me and some friends! It was so nice and laid back. She was so cool. Anyways, Isaac came downstairs and wanted to learn too. It was so funny. These pics aren't the best, but they are the only ones I got. Maybe he will go into mommy's line of work when he grows up:) I told him, this is what mommy does when I go to work and that made him so excited to learn what I do.

Happy Mother's Day

2009-05-11T22:45:00.000-07:00

As each Mother's Day continues to come along, I realize how much I love my mother and how thankful I am for her. I feel so blessed to have been able to have her in my life for as long as I did. Although we were not best friends, like Becca and her were, I know that she knew I loved her. Mothers, some how seem to make everything better. Ironically, I wish I would have had her here to comfort me as I was grieving over her being gone. I definately felt here presence here with me while I was healing, but I couldn't hug her and feel her comfort in that way. I remember the last time I saw her face before we closed the casket and that is all I wanted, a hug from my mom. I am writing her a letter today to tell her how much I love her, feel free to keep reading if you desire.

Mom,
So much has happened since you left us. I know that you are aware of these events and experiences. I feel your presence with me often, but not as often as I would like. I know you are busy and have other things that you need to be doing right now. There are just so many things I want your advice on. I want to know what you think about the ways that I am raising the boys. I want to know that you are proud of me and think that I am a good mother. I have been struggling recently with the miscarriage and all of my other health issues. I so badly want to call you and ask your advice. I really do wish I would have taken better advantage when I had you to talk to. I would talk to you everyday if you were here.
I promise I would. I would come visit you everyday and allow you to see the boys grow and mature. I potty- trained Ben these last couple of weeks and you would be so proud of him Mom. Isaac talks about you often. I am sure to never left him forget you. I will never let that happen. I t hurts me to know that you never had the chance to hold Ben in your arms here on earth and welcome him to this world. I missed you then and I needed you so desperately. I need you in my life right now. I need your advice. I need your hugs. I need your unconditional love and support. I need to see you. I wish that there was some way for me to tell you how very very much I love you. I am so sorry for the times when I made life hard for you and made your heart ache. I would give anything to take those times back. I will do my very best to live my life worthy of seeing you and living with you again. Those days just don't seem to be soon enough. I know you are telling me to be patient and I try so hard. Please don't be disappointed in me. I love you so dearly. There is not a single minute of a single hour of a single day that I do not miss you and think about you. I will be strong and try to move on only because I know that this is what you earnestly want for
me. I know that you want more that anything for me to be happy, and so I will do my best for you. You are the dearest mother and I am so blessed to have you as my mother. I will be ok. I have my sisters who are very strong and we all help each other. It would make you so happy to see the way we support each other and love each other. I love you mother. Happy Mother's Day.

Boy's Firetruck Room

2009-05-06T20:18:00.000-07:00

I love to brag about my husband every chance I can get. I'm sure that it is probably rather annoying to you all, but I love him and can't believe how talented he is. We recently decided to move the boys to a bunk bed to save on room. This bed that Tom's grandpa made is amazing. It has a full set of drawers, a full length cupboard and two beds! Tom got it out of the garage and painted it a couple of weeks ago. You can see the drawers in this photo.

He decided to paint this fish tank that was given to us to match the bed. Thanks Becca for the fish tank. The boys love it. We have had it up for a few weeks now and have been very slowly adding fish. We now have about 10 fish, a snail, a giant sucker fish and two frogs. They feed the fish very diligently every night before prayers. It is so cute to see them so concerned for another living thing.

Here is Ben ejoying the bottom bunk! That's right, your eyes are not deceiving you... He's a thumb sucker. And an adorable one at that. Somehow I will need to break him of that habit. I don't want a sunbeam going to primary sucking his thumb. Or even worse, a kindergartener going to school sucking his thumb.

While I am braging about my hubby, I wanted to add some pictures of the bed he built for me. These are the curtains I just finished this week. They are nothing special, but atleast they are done! There is a window like this on each side of our bed.

Here is the bed that Tom built for me. Isn't is amazing?! We have had it now for a couple of years, I just wanted you all to see it. He loves wood working and kindof wishes he could make a living off of it. He learns something new with every project that he does.

Here is the detailing on the headboard. He made it look so pretty for me. His least favorite part was staining it. But thats actually true on any wood working project that he does. For some reason he hates to stain.I am very thankful for my talented husband. I love him more than anything.

Bye Bye Pee Pee, Bye Bye Diapers!!!

2009-05-02T19:44:00.001-07:00

Warning, Warning, Warning... For those of you who are sensitive to cute naked tooshies, you may want to skip this post! So, this week was full of hair pulling frustration as I potty trained out youngest boy, Ben. Isaac was a piece of cake, and I can't say that Ben was much harder! He has not had any pee pee accidents since the first day I put him in undies. We started on Sunday and it's been about a full week. He is doing awesome!!! And the best part is No more diapers!

Of coarse I had to get some adorable tooshy pics for you guys. We had started potty-training Ben about 6 months ago, but then I had my back surgery and just couldn't keep up with him. He is 2 and a half now and he is just way too big for diapers. I hate diapers and refuse to change them when they are as old as they are. Isaac was completely potty-trained by the time he was two. I just can't stand wasting so much money on smelly old diapers!

I put his undies in a lower drawer where he can reach them. He feels like such a big boy when he gets his new undies all by himself.

There are few things in this world cuter than little boys undies. I know you probably think I'm crazy.

Here is Ben holding his new undies that he got to pick out at the store. We still have a ton from when Isaac wore 2T, so we just let him pick out a few. It was a rough week, but in the end I have no more diapers to buy and a bunch of toilet cleaning to do. Three boys using the toilet now definitely makes for a mess. And yes, when it comes to bathroom cleanliness, I consider my hubby a boy! As for the video, it's a little shaky, but it's cute.

my 5 x 5

2009-04-28T20:21:00.000-07:00

So, before you go thinking that I love rambling on about myself, I was tagged to do this whole 5 x 5 thing. It is 5 things in 5 different categories for a whopping total of 25 random things about me. If you get board it wont hurt my feelings. So, Jessica, here it goes.

5 things I was doing 5 years ago

1. Enjoying being a newly wed:)

2. Visiting my grandparents in law on their mission in New York

3. Walking through the sacred grove

4. Going to school and taking care of my Grandma Tannie

5. Learning how to be a wife and getting anxious for our forst child to be born

5 things on my "To Do" list today

1. Get the laundry put away

2. Help Benjamin with potty training

3. Get the floors mopped

4. Finish the final plans for Annedrea baby shower!

5. Take a nap. (don't judge me, we had a long night)

5 things I would do with a million dollars

1. Pay off the debts

2. Help family with their debts

3. Buy Disney Land and move into the Disney Land Hotel

4. Save

5. Save some more

5 jobs I've had

1. I was a cargiver for my grandma before she died.

2. A receptionist at a hair salon

3. A respiratory therapist ( I currently still have this job)

4. A maid ( I am still staying busy with this one too)

5. A cook (although I am not very good at it)

5 things I want to be doing in 5 years

1. Have atleast 1 more baby

2. Figure out what makes boys stink so bad and find a remedy for it.

3. Help my husband finish Pharmacy school

4. Be closer to my Heavenly Father

5. Be a better mother

And now finally the end.... 5 people who should do this so I can get to know more about you.

1. Katie

2. Becca

3. Annedrea

4. Crystalee

5. Sarah Cherrey

6. Anyone else who wants to

I hope you all had fun reading all about me. I hope I didn't bore you too much. Oh... and all of you who I tagged better do this or I will seriously kick some butt. Yes even you Becca, I guess this means you'll have to actually pull up your blog and read it:)

Fun in the Sun

2009-04-26T12:44:00.000-07:00

For those of you who live in AZ, you know that it was super hot last week. The temps reached 100 degress for a couple of days. For those of you who don't live in AZ, I bet you don't miss the heat a bit! Anyway, the Easter Bunny brought the boys a fun water toy that hooks onto the hose. It has been too cold and windy to get it out, until last weekend! The boys loved it and had so much fun. Notice how dry Ben is in this picture. He wasn't too sure about the water and kept his distance.

Isaac on the other hand loved it! He played out there long enough for me to get the dishes done and the kitchen clean.

This was right at the beginning and he wasn't too sure about the water either. But that didn't last long.

After they were done playing, they enjoyed a nice cold otter pop! It was the funnest afternoon for them. I love days like this when there is nothing important to do and no place to go.

Ben still needs me to push up the popsicle for me. He says "bush, bush?" It is the cutest thing. I think my boys are the cutest boys ever. No offense to any mothers of boys out there. They are just so loveable. Being a mom is the best!

Fun Weekend with Family

2009-04-19T15:04:00.000-07:00

My sister Katie came for a visit this weekend and it was definately much needed. She lives in Utah and we have missed her so much. We had a BBQ at my brother Ray's house and about 3/4 of our siblings were there! It's almost impossible to get everyone together when you have such a big family. My Dad is now living in Colorado, so he wasn't there either. Anyhoo, here is Ben having fun at Ray's house!

And here is Liam, Becca's youngest.

Here are Ray, Katie and me. Becca and Phil had already left by this time so that's why they aren't in the picture.

Isaac just loves Katie and he talkes about her all the time, eventhough he hardly ever see's her. Everytime he sees the mountains when we are riding in the car, he says "Let's drive in those mountains and go see Aunt Katie".

Here's just a fun picture of Tom and me with Ben. I'm not sure where Isaac was at the time, probably playing with the cousins.

Isaac and Ben are giving Katie a good-bye hug. So sweet.

Here is my best friend and hubby Tom at the grill cooking our dinner. It was so good. We had hamburgers and hotdogs and chicken (the usual BBQ stuff)! Isn't he sexy?!

We don't get pictures of the three of us very often, now that Katie isn't living close. Becca and I miss her and sometimes have a hard time because we are just so used to it being the "3 of us". We are definatley best friends and help eachother through the hard times. And now that my mom is gone, it is even more important that we stay close. We love all of our sisters and cherish them with all our hearts, there is just something special about us three. It was a great weekend to spend with everyone. I am sad to see it end.

Easter Morning

2009-04-12T21:45:00.000-07:00

Happy Easter to everyone. Our family had a wonderful day. The Easter Bunny visited our house and he spoiled us rotten, as usual. The boys got bubbles, movies, balls, candy, and so much more. Thankyou Nana for helping the Easter Bunny gather things for their baskets:)! They were so excited when they woke up and came down stairs to see this on the couch.

The first thing Ben did was grab this egg and dump the jelly beans right there on the carpet! But how can you be mad at such an innocent and adorable face?

Here is Isaac showing off his new kite and bubble blower toy.

After we sorted through our baskets, we went to church. Here we all are in our Easter outfits. We had my brother take the picture just for you Grandma Phyllis. We love you and miss you.

Tom's mom got the boys these adorable shirts and ties. They were so handsome and they knew it too. It was really bright outside and the sun was in their eyes. This is the best picture of the two of them together but atlest you can see their outfits. The boys were good at church, eventhough they were loaded up on sugar! It was a great morning.

Easter Dinner at the Rogers'

2009-04-12T21:18:00.000-07:00

So right after church, we ran to Tom's parents house for some yummy dinner and an Easter Egg Hunt. We had ham and potatoes and green beans. It was super good.

This is Tom's younger brother Verd.

And his sister EmmaLee. Isn't her easter dress so cute. She's a sweetheat and I just had to add her to the post.

And here is a video of EmmaLee helping Ben hunt for eggs. And no folks, this is not in slow motion. It makes me laugh. Notice the sunglasses that the Easter Bunny brought him. He loves them. even wanted to wear them to church! How appropriate would that be? All in all, we had a great Easter and were sad to not be able to spend it with more family. We hope you all had a wonderful day and were able to remember the sacrifices that our Savior made for us.

Silly Boys

2009-04-07T07:37:00.000-07:00

So, I thought I would post a few pictures that I took of the boys yesterday. It's nothing special, just a fun afternoon at home with the boys. Isaac's showing off his lovely kool-ade mustache in this one! I had to learn the hard way that kool-ade stains everything, including skin. He will sometimes have a kool-ade mustache for two or three days!

Isaac really wanted to take a picture with the camera, so I let him try. I was actually really impressed. He managed to get this picture of me and a very wiggly Ben without cutting off our head or anything. Pretty good for a four year old. Maybe we have a future photographer here!

Ben was pretending the undies were a hat. He laughed and ran around the house for hours. He just thought it was the funniest thing.

Silly Benjamin. These kiddo's somehow seem to make me laugh and put a smile on my face when I am having the worst day or am feeling so overwhelmed by everyting that needs done. They are definatly a blessing in our lives and I am so thankful for them. They are two very CRAZY, but sweet boys.

Back to Work

2009-04-04T22:44:00.001-07:00

So as some of you may know, I have been off of work for a while due to some medical issues i've been having. I work at Banner Baywood as a respiratory therapist. This last week was my first week back and it was great! I was starting to get so depressed not being with my firends and just sitting at home. Thanks to everyone for helping me get through such a hard time. Anyhoo, here I am with my BFF Tami! Everything is back to normal and i am feeling great.

Isn't she so pretty at 3:oo in the morning?!

That's 3 am, not pm folks! My shift is from 6 pm to 6 am.

These are my other super good friends. They're therapists too.

My lovely locker. Of coarse, it's pink. It's great to be back to my normal routine. I love what I do and most of the people I work with. Everythings going good!

Fourth Photo Tag

2009-03-31T08:53:00.000-07:00

Here you go Sarah! For the rest of you who are wondering what the heck this is all about... I was tagged. Rules are to find the fourth photo in the fourth folder on your computer, then tag four people!
This was taken last year. Ben loves the potty. Sorry for those who think this is inappropriate, you can blame Sarah.
I am tagging Katie Lowe, Liz Flint, Amy J, and Deborah White. Have fun. I'm excited to see what you all come up with.

Silly Isaac

2009-03-25T18:07:00.000-07:00

Just when I think this kid can't get any sillier, he goes and does this! He learned it from the new Madagascar 2 movie. Sarah, please be sure to show Dominick per Isaac's request. Isaac is getting to be so much fun, he makes me laugh everyday. I hope this gives you all something to laugh about today!

Cutest Yard on the Block!

2009-03-23T19:47:00.000-07:00

As some of you may know, I have had a very difficult last couple of weeks. I have had some medical complications that I wasn't expecting and it really took us by suprise. I do have to take a few seconds and say thank you so much to Sarah and Jay, Kathy and Owen, Becca, Missy and most of all Tom for all of the support and love that I felt During such a devistating time. Anywhoo, enough of that. I decided that I needed something positive to work on and the front yard happened to be it. These are the flowers I planted in the pot on our front porch. It was full of dead flowers from last year and it looked kindof ugly.

Ben was so happy and excited just to be outside. He loves running in circles around the cars in the driveway. He could literally be entertained for an hour.

2009-03-23T19:36:00.000-07:00

Isaac was trying so hard to be a big helper!
I wish I would have taken a before picture. I am so proud of myself. This area by our front porch was filled with ugly weeds. I finally got sick of looking at it and decided to plant some flowers. They look so much better than the weeds, of coarse!

Here is Ben trying to show off his new gloves too.

2009-03-23T19:32:00.000-07:00

Isaac and Sydni were so excited to wear their new gardening gloves. They were such a big help in the yard

We really do have the cutest yard on the block!

Isaac and Ana's 4th Birthday Party

2009-03-04T18:02:00.000-08:00

Becca and I decided once again to do Isaac and Ana's birthday parties together. As many of you may know, they're only a week apart and the best friends ever! Because our family is so big, it makes it easier on everyone to just do it all in one day. So this year Becca hosted it at her house. She has a big back yard and the children had the best time. Tom and I got Isaac this scooter. It's so cute, it has two wheels in the back and one in the front. He was so excited!
It was fun watching him to try and blow out the candle on his cupcake with this mask covering his mouth. He just couldn't figure out what was going on and why the candle wasn't going out.

2009-03-04T17:56:00.000-08:00

He literally loved every present he opened. He said "It's just what I've always wanted!", with each present.
Thanks Dominick and Payton

Happy Birthday Mom

2009-02-03T19:20:00.000-08:00

As some of you may know, today is my mom's birthday. What a hard day, but also a good one. It gave me a chance to stop and think about mom. My life is just so crazy and It was nice to have a day just for her. I tend to just simple avoid thinking about her because it is just too painful. I feel like a terrible daughter sometimes. It's like I owe it to her to think about her every second of everyday. I just can't. I decided today that I would try and focus on only the good thoughts and memories I have of her and not think about the accident and that horrible day. These are the flowers that my mom-in-law helped me make for her headstone. I think they look so nice. Ray, Becca and I all went to the cemetary to be with her on her birthday. We all stood around her headstone and shared our favorite memories of her and it brought smiles to our faces. She was a wonderful example to me and all of her other children. She was a wonderful mother, wife, sister, and friend. I miss her everday, but I know that she is where she needs to be. Heavenly Father has a divine plan for all of us. I try to keep this in mind when I am so depressed and just want to talk to her. I would give anything to hug her this very minute. Mom's always seem to make everything better. They can heal any little pain. I just wish there was someway to let her know how much I love her. I think that is one of the things that hurts the most is that I can't tell her that I love her so much and miss her everyday. Atleast all of you can know of my love for her. I was not always a good daughter to her, but she was always a good mom. I will love her and miss her forever. Happy Birthday Mom, I love you.

2009-02-03T18:55:00.000-08:00

Here we all are at the cemetary to visit her on her birthday!

2009-02-03T18:52:00.000-08:00

Look how beautiful the flowers were!