Thanks Giving

Thanksgiving is my favorite holiday. So, since we already cooked our Thanksgiving dinner (we weren't sure what Tyler would be working this yr and he had a day off ) I am going to go ahead and share what I am thankful for a little early.

This year has been one of the best years of my life. I have so much to be thankful for! Having Tyler come into our lives was truly the best blessing we could have ever asked for. He is such a wonderful father and husband and is so full of compassion and love for us. Every one of our children brings so much joy into our lives. Children are the best gifts that God can give a man and a wife, and I am so blessed that he loved and trusted me enough to bless my life with 4 of his children. Tyler and I have been discussing a lot lately about how many more children we would like to have. It is so nice to have a husband who loves children the same as I do, and desires to add more children into our lives. We decided that in around a year from now if things are financially sound in our lives we would like to talk about having another baby. We realize that people thing we are crazy, but we don't care. :) We just both know that when our family is complete, we will know and right now we don't feel like our family is complete yet.

Being a stay at home mom for the last 18 or so months have been the most rewarding times of my life. For the first time as a mother I have been able to watch my children grow every day, at every moment. I have been able to be here for the bumps and the bruises, and to love and console and to watch the teeth come in and watch their first steps. Being a mother is such a wonderful thing.

I am also thankful for my mother and my father. Without them and their guidance in life, I might not be the mother that I am. I might not have appreciation for the little ones in my life. I am thankful for my mothers love of cooking, it is one of the things she passed on to me....because I do so love to cook. Cooking and food represent happiness to me (yes, I know that this isn't necessarily a good thing lol). My father is a very wise and spiritual man.  He has given me so many Priesthood Blessings throughout my life and I remember being so emotionally touched at each and every one of them. The Spirit of the Lord flows through my father very freely.

Savannah pointed out to me this morning that she will be in middle school in 2 years. At first I disagreed, mostly because I didn't think that there was any way possible..and then when I thought about it I could not believe that my little girl will be in middle school in just over 2 years! She brings  smile to my face when I see how loving she is with the babies. She is always doting over Jackson or Layla and loves to come into my bedroom in the morning and get her first smile from Layla. Jackson is so attached to Savannah as well. Every night he starts out in his own bed and by midnight he wakes up and I can hear him saying "Nanny, please" and then I hear Savannah wake up and say "Well, come here sweetie" and then Jackson tottles into her bed and cuddles up with her. She has been begging me to move Layla's crib into her room so that she can have Layla in her room too. I don't think she understands that Layla wakes up at night and isn't easily put back to sleep like Jackson is.

Carter is my most destructive child so far. He gets his little feelings hurt so easily, and yet he is such a rowdy child too. He can have some bully in him so we have to try and keep it in check.  He likes to say "But, Bbbbut" when asked to do something, but he always does it and does a good job at it. He says that he is Layla's favorite brother, and I think I might agree. Carter is always able to get the biggest smiles out of Layla.  It's fun to watch Jackson and Carter wrestle around too, Carter is often the one being asking for help first. :)  He has tried to eat our pet fish before he really understood that they were pets. He tried to eat our clownfish once but he said that he was too fast to catch (he had just turned 4 I think) and then he actually did catch a neon goldfish and put it in his mouth and chew it up before he spit it out. Yuck. Everytime I think about that I get the heeby geebies. He is very explorative and mechanically inclined.
Jackson is a cry baby. We love him anyway. He is also a screamer. We still love him anyway. Jackson is doing so well with his ABC's and lives repeating everything we say. His vocabulary grows daily and he is pronouncing words so well! He is also my most lovable baby. He loves to cuddle and give hugs. If there is anyone sad in the house he is always saying "awww, cry" and he will give you hugs and kisses until you feel better. He has a big heart, literally and figuratively. ;)

I am still trying to figure out Layla's personality. She is strong willed, and has little fear, but is also very spoiled. She has just started exploring the house and getting into trouble. She has the biggest smile and is very relaxed and "chill" most of the time. She's such an angel.

I am very thankful for my brothers and sisters as well. We, unfortunately, still aren't very close, but I love each and every one of them so much. It's strange to be starting my own familiy traditions here, so far away from what I'm used to. It's hard to be cooking thanksgiving dinner here, alone, when it used to be our family's most favorite holiday together. My mom cooks a magnificant thanksgiving dinner. Turkey, Salads, Pies, Breads, Rolls, desserts.  You name it, it's the best. Thank you mom for those wonderful thanksgiving memories.  It was very hard last year to be here while they were doing the family BINGO party around Christmas time.  I've missed it for 2 years in a row now :( Well, I send my love to you Jackie, Jared and Spencer and hope your families are doing well.

I am thankful for the love and support of all my other family members as well. Grandpa's, Grandma's, Aunts, Uncles and all alike.

Love,
Jessica

Report Cards!

Well, today the kids brought home their report cards and I'm very proud to announce that Savannah made the all "A" honor student list. She is so great at school and really does try her best and enjoys learning. Carter's report card isn't about "A"s but is "I", "P" and "M" which is slightly irritating because it "I" meant "introduced", "P" meant "progressing", and "M" mastered. Well, I find it hard to believe that Carter is only "progressing" at jumping on 1 foot. First of all, I can watch him jump on one foot all the time (lots of times in a row) and second of all...JUMPING ON 1 FOOT. Seriously, this is why I am sending him to school?! I can teach him to jump on 1 foot at home! Some of the other skills for Carter included: Balance on one foot, kick a ball (SERIOUSLY?), Gallop (isn't that for horses?), and skip. The more and more I think about this absurdity, the more and more I get upset. I don't know...maybe Junior Kindergarten wasn't such a good option for Carter, maybe we should have put him into regular kindergarten. I intend on talking with the teacher about my concerns on parent teacher night.

I have been extremely sick lately and haven't been sleeping much so it's become harder and harder to keep up with all the kids. We went to the hospital the other night because I couldn't breath. I was sent home with breathing treatments, cough suppressants, and inhalers. It's been 2 days of medicine to help with coughing and I have slept sooo good! Thank Heaven for medicine!

Our new household routines are going so well! The kids are waking up on time and getting ready when they are suppose to and things aren't so chaotic anymore. The dogs are being taken out for potty times, rooms are getting clean and beds are getting made! YAY for routines! Carter decided that he was a big boy and wanted to take a shower every morning just like Savannah and it's so cute to see him get all excited to get out of the shower and do his hair. He's such a big boy. He even likes to use some of Tyler's cologne. :) He says that his friend Jase always smells so good and that he wants to smell good for the girls too. Such a cutie.

Savannah has started to notice boys too. UH OH! She told me yesterday that all her girl friends are "dating" in her class and she didn't understand why she wasn't allowed to "date" or have a boyfriend because she was pretty sure that "Dakota" really likes her. LOL. I told her they didn't even know what dating is. :) Its funny how things in Elementary School don't change. Savannah still sings the same recess songs that I sang and they play the same games, and have the same silly rhymes. Oh to be young again.

We recently got some terrible news in our family that my grandfather, Frank is suffering from a very serious form of cancer and they don't expect him to live more than a few months. My heart is very heavy for my mother and the pain that she must be experiencing in hearing this news, and I am very saddened at the thought of losing my wonderful grandfather. My grandfather Frank is truly a wonderful man. He has an awesome smile and he can be very funny. With every one of the grandkids as babies he rubs their chubby little cheeks against his rough face because it always had a day or two growth on it. Some babies loved it, and some babies would SCREAM...either way...he loves loving on those babies. He has been enjoying life in Glenwood, Utah in the home that his mother lived in and the home that he grew up in. It's a very pretty home in a very lovely little town. I do so love my grandpa and hope that he is able to die without pain and can embrace the journey that is in his path and will live for all eternity in the presence of our Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ.

Halloween Treats

I will be the first to admit that when it comes to Halloween, my husband and I are on opposite sides. I hate (no LOATHE) Halloween. Tyler LOVES Halloween. So, as a compromise, he is going to help the kids pick out costumes and I am arranging for a treat making night for Halloween family night since I love to cook and be in the kitchen. So, this Saturday we are making Halloween Butterfinger Eyes and Halloween Tombstone Treats. I must admit I am really looking forward to spending some time with Tyler and the kids and doing something fun.

Then, unfortunately, we have to do the trick-or-treating thing. Luckily, Gillette has a Treat Street where you can trick or treat in a popular hotel if you bring a donation of canned goods. Local businesses set up with treats in hotel rooms and you can just go from door to door. It was a lot of fun last year.  We will also be going to the "Hay Maze" on Saturday over by the Rec Center.

Yesterday Jackson and Layla were under the kitchen table giggling and when I went to see what was going on I found the two of them sharing a yogurt.  Jackson had sneakily taken the yogurt from the fridge.

Jackson was saying "mmmm....good" to Layla and feeding her the yogurt. :)

My poor husband. He was working in a grease pit all day and was the only one who could fit through the tiny entrance hole to get into the hole. All of this grease soaked THROUGH 3 white chemical suits and duck tape holding the suit into place.  Here are a couple pics. :(

We recently went and picked up some pictures of the kids in Casper and had a pit stop while we waited for the store to open. Layla LOVED the playground and had such a fun time crawling around.

YAY to having a computer again!

Well, we're up and running again! Yes! Yes! Yes!

I am very proud to say that this year was the first year that I went hunting and shot a wild game animal. Tyler was so wonderful to be so patient with me and teach me the things that I needed to know to be safe and still have fun and properly shoot and harvest my first antelope.  I had such an amazing time. Except, now Tyler says he doesn't want to go hunting wiht me because I'm such a great shot that he would be embarressed to shoot something along side me, lol. I shot at my antelope from about 375-400 yards and unforunately shot him in the leg....or what would be the ankle portion on a human.  He ran around a little, so we ran around a different path to get a better angle on him ( he was walking away from me at an angle when I shot at him). We got within 100 yards of him and I aimed behind his left shoulder and pulled the trigger. He dropped instantly and when we got over to him Tyler looked at my shot and I entered into his chest cavity from behind the left shoulder and the bullet went straight through his lungs and heart. He says this is the most perfect kill shot he has seen in a long time. :) Thanks baby!

This is my first antelope. He had 14" horns (antlers or paddles lol) His paddles were 4.5" wide. I don't know much about antelope but Tyler says this one is pretty good, but I don't know what "good" means in this case. LOL.

When Tyler took us hunting for his antelope (we wanted lots of jerky this year) we had the best time! Jackson was particularly interested in what we were doing and as soon as we got him and Tyler was cutting up his buck, Jackson kept saying "Daddy. Shoot. Lanalope" LOL. The rest of the week he wanted to do nothing but watch hunting shows on TV with Daddy.  He would see animals on the shows and Tyler would tell him what kind of animal it was (elk, boar, moose, etc) and Jackson instantly remembered what it was. The next time he saw it on TV he would repeat it's name and say "daddy. shoot."  He is so cute! Oh, and if the hunter on the TV missed while shooting, Jackson would say "oh crap" He's such a peach.  Oh! We have been working on his ABC's and he is going SOOO good....he knows "A, B, G, H, I, J, M, N, O, S, T, U and Y" It's strange how he has remembered some of them so well, and choses not to remember the others. Whenever "S" comes he says "S, Snake, ssssssssssss" and when "U" comes he says "U, Up" and puts his arm way up high in the air.

Layla is getting her first tooth in and it's been a rough few days for her...and me.  I haven't ever had a baby get teeth this early (sooner than 12 months) and I haven't had a baby that the teething process bothered before. It was usually just one day a tooth would come in.  So, we are nursing poor Layla through it one day at a time.  She has also started to crawl around like crazy so I have been baby proofing all my cupboards and floors.

Carter and Savannah are doing very well in school and seem to be enjoying it very much.  They come home each day excited to have the day over, but are learning very much as well.  Carter can write his name and is working on other letters and sounds as well. The fighting between the two of them seems to be happening less and less now as well. (THANK GOODNESS!)

We went and had some pictures done at Sears and are really excited to get those back.  It was probably very entertaining to watch me wrangle the kids around Casper all day. Me vs. 4 others means I'm always outnumbered, lol.

More to come soon! It's nice to be back!

West Yellowstone, Montana

What a long weekend! We were missing my mother very badly and talked her into coming and seeing us for several days and told her that we would meet her halfway (from Idaho) in West Yellowstone, Montana where my Uncle Bill lives and owns a Motel (it's called the Hibernation Station and if you are ever staying outside of yellowstone...this is the place to stay!) We stayed the night one night in Worland on the way to pick up mom, stayed one night in West Yellowstone and then planned on driving all the way home on the 3rd day. Well, I took the wrong turn out of Yellowstone and we ended up in the Grand Teton National Forest instead of the Shoshoni National Forest...so we had to turn around and go through the South part of Yellowstone Park again, lol..so we spent a full day in the National Park on accident. We did stop to see Old Faithful and the kids loved it and seemed to really enjoy the Park as well. Jackson pointed out "goose" in the river and "ruffalo" (buffalo) in the fields. He saw all the fall trees and kept saying "cute" :) He has really developed over the last few months and is now saying his ABC's with me. When I count down from 5 for Cartern when he is in trouble,  Jackson beats me to "4"!

Layla also has grown a lot and she started crawling over the weekend. Before she was getting around either by rolling or doing a sort of army crawl.  She is really developing a very cute personality and enjoys being around Jackson and stealing his binky from his mouth.  She is eating a lot of table foods now and I find her picking out the marshmellows from the Marshmellow Mateys and she feeds the dogs all the "matey's" lol. She picks out the green jacks in Apple Jacks and won't eat the orange ones.

On a side note, it may be a while before I can write again as my desktop computer has quit working and the MacBook that my mom loaned my has decided that it doesnt want the keys to work properly and several of them do not work and when you push them, a series of random letters appears instead. None of the numbers work so I can't type in my passwords to sites either, lol. Oh well, it can't be that bad being computer less, can it? AHHH...yes it can...I am going to go crazy!

So, until next time....Good morning, good day and good night!

"Daddy Work"

Ugh. Poor Jackson. The last few days have been so rough for him. He has been an absolute terror. He just screams and screams.  He gets very upset over little things and then doesn't calm down. He just looks at me with big tears in his eyes and he is either screaming mad or crying sad. I couldn't figure out what was wrong with him until this morning I just decided to ask him and see what he would say.  He was particularly upset and I asked him what was wrong and why he was crying. He looked at me and said "Daddy, work".

:( Made me so sad. I knew that I would miss Tyler and that the older kids would miss him a lot but it didn't really occur to me that Jackson would have such a rough time with it. Poor guy, he loves daddy so much and just misses him. He's acting out because he misses his daddy. :( Hopefully he will understand that daddy is coming home soon.

Hot soup on a cold day

It is starting to get very chilly outside, and the kids asked me to cook some home made chicken noodle soup with a special request for homemade egg noodles.  It sounded good to me too, so we went to the grocery store and got the remaining items we needed but they didn't have a thawed whole chicken so it's going to have to be turkey noodle soup, that's just as good I think.

Having turkey cooking on the stove smells so wonderful! Every time that I make home made soup I always think about my dad.  I remember him sitting at the head of our table with a steamy bowl of soup in front of him on a cold day. Often times he had just came back inside from shoveling the sidewalk and driveway.  He would always say "The worst thing about hot soup on a cold day is that your bowl never gets empty" and then he would sniffle. LOL. He is such an amazing father. He's always there for any of us when we need him and loves us unconditionally.  My mother is quite literally the most wonderful person that I know. She is more compassionate than anyone I have ever met, more loving, more giving and more selfless than anyone I have every met as well. She knows just what we need before we need it and we don't have to ask.  She is always thinking of something that could make someone else happy or what would brighten someone else's day. She has evolved into the best grandmother with all her grandchildren as well.  I am sorry that so many things have been allowed to drive a wedge into our family relationships because we truly had the best of parents and they deserve to have their children be close.  Hopefully some day bygones will be bygones and we can all get back to being a big happy family.

"You don't really understand human nature unless you know why a child on a merry-go-round will wave at his parents every time around - and why his parents will always wave back. " ~William D. Tammeus

"Ding Dong"

I think that I might have the trouble makers in the neighborhood. I sent Savannah and Carter to check the mail and they came back arguing over who's idea it was to go "DING DONG"(we used to call it.....something different when I was growing up) the other houses on their way back from the mail box. So, after some investigation I discovered that Savannah was the culprit behind the idea and was sending Carter out to do the deed. Hopefully they won't be doing that again.

Then I sent them outside to play a little bit and they came back in the house after like 5 minutes and Savannah ratted Carter out for jumping into the back bed of someone's pick-up truck. Ugh. Needless to say I'm finding it difficult to explain to the kids that just because things as specific as staying out of other peoples trucks and don't ding dong the neighbors aren't spelled out in the rules does not mean that it's okay to do. So tonight we went over things like having respect for out neighbors and our friends and for other people belongings. Again.

Layla is getting around so good now. When put down on the floor she can find anything within a 10 foot radius. She really reaches out now and is loving exploring her surroundings.  She has also started pulling hair and scratching faces when she gets frustrated. Most afternoons both the babies end up napping on me and when they wake up they have a binky war.  Layla will notice Jackson's binky and reach for it and take it out of his mouth and Jackson will yell "NO NO LAYLA, NO NO" lol. I have been very surprised at how gentle Jackson is with Layla and never gets angry with her or tries to hit or hurt her. I think that they are going to be great friends.

I have been shopping for Halloween costumes and have found some very cute ones for Layla, but can't make a decision. I found one that's too small for her but I think that it's hilarious...it's a whoopy cushion for an infant.  I guess that I will keep looking...I have plenty of time. :)

Woopie Cushion Baby Bunting Infant Costume - Costumes

Woopie Cushion Baby Bunting Infant Costume - Costumes

Carter and his "Bro's"

This afternoon when Carter got home from school he came in and was going on and on as fast as he could about playing at school with his friends. Only, at first I couldn't understand what he was saying because he kept saying "me and my bro's".  I couldn't stop laughing when Savannah told me that Carter calls his friends his "Bro's". LOL. It's very strange to hear a 5 year old refer to someone as "Bro". "What's up Bro?" from a 5 year old?! HE HE HE! The things he is learning in school are amazing. I'm impressed at how fast he is picking things up! He can count backwards down from 20 and can already write his name.  He wrote a letter to Tyler today by drawing pictures and asking me to write the words "I LOVE YOU, YOU ARE THE BESTEST" on a seperate sheet of paper and he copied the words onto the letter for us to mail in our care package to Tyler this week. It's the most adorable thing to see Carter leave for the school bus in the morning because he has the best looking 'skip' I have ever seen. His skipping has a very "bouncy" nature to it and he just leaps right off the ground with each step. Every morning he skips too, it's not just occasionally.  He has been doing so much better with his behavior again and really seems to be understanding rules better and following instructions, yay! for some sanity around here!

I found an AMAZING website that is doing awesome things for me. It is www.flylady.com and let me tell you....I have never felt better and am actually enjoying keeping the house all nice and tidy nowadays. I shine my sink every single night just like she has you start with. When I first read that I thought, seriously? Shine my sink every night? What difference is that going to make if there are toys strung out all over the living room? I followed her instructions and shined my sink that night. The next morning I got up and went downstairs and saw the most beautiful site.....a glorious shining sink without any dirty dishes in it!!!  It made my day. I was so excited about the sink that it encouraged me to keep the downstairs clean and start on organizing the upstairs too! So, this whole week I have been working on getting "MOUNT WASHMORE" (laundry) done and put away and I keep my sink shining every night and I am starting to get my own bedtime routines down. I have always tried to establish night time routines for the children but never realized that it could be so very beneficial for me as well.  This has helped me let go of some of my perfectionist traits, and do things one at a time. I have a really hard time with starting one project and finishing it without finding another project that needs to be done in the process. For example...I would be cleaning the bathrooms and go to put away the cleaners into the closet, and realize that my closet needs re organized so I would start that without having finished the bathroom. To further explain something (because I know if my sister read the word "perfectionist" as a reference to me, she would laugh from now until Sunday) I am a perfectionist in my EXPECTATIONS and not so much in my ACTIONS. Read: I like things to look clean and tidy and perfectly organized but actually getting it there is a very big struggle for me. Guess what?! I'm doing it. One day at a time my house is getting cleaner and cleaner, and while it wasn't a huge cluttered mess before..the little things are getting done more often now. I am hoping that by establishing these things into my routine...I will learn to actually enjoy cleaning the way that my sister does. When you walk into my sisters' home, it is immaculate. She must bleach her mop-boards and wall trim weekly, maybe daily, lol. He floors are always shining and everything has it's place. She is my hero and my best example of who I want to be like. :) Best of all, her children have learned those traits from her and are also clean people and that is a trait that I would like to see my children absorb. We certainly don't want any Hoarders in our genes! 

Off to bed! Can't wait to wake up to a shiny sink tomorrow morning!!! 

Here goes!

Wow! Here we go on the blogging thing I suppose. It just seems like there is always so many funny things that happens in our family that I either don't have the time or opportunity or I just plain forget to share with the people that we love, so I'm going to try and stay up to date on them here for you all to enjoy and share in. I always enjoy reading my sisters blog but she seems to be a lot more creative than I am but I will do my best.

Tyler has been working out of town for a week or so and its looking like he will be out of town for another 3 or 4 weeks. He will come home for a few weeks and then be gone again until the end of the year. :( Unfortunate but I suppose we should be thankful that he has a job because in this economy there are so many people who are not so fortunate.

Savannah and Carter both started school this year. I can't believe it but Savannah entered 4th grade and Carter entered Pre-Kindergarten. They both love it so much and Carter looks so precious in the morning as he is skipping down to the bus stop. Warms my heart to see him enjoying something so much. Every morning when he gets up he gets ready for school and comes into my bathroom and puts his little hands under the sink faucet and wets his hair down and then puts the hair gel in his hands and rubs his hands together and then does own hair. He looks at himself in the mirror and fixes each spike so that it is just where he wants it to be. He's growing up so fast. Savannah is making new friends as well and seems to be enjoying her new school. She reads a lot and is currently working on "Inkheart". She is such a tremendous help for me around the house and all the kids have been so helpful lately with picking up and doing things that are asked of them. It's been a long haul to get there, but I think that things are looking up as far as routines go in the household.

Layla and Jackson are the only ones that are left with me in the house during school days now. It can be pretty quiet but we are all enjoying it. Jackson saw that there was a job opening for trouble maker in the house when Carter went to school so he has been quite a handful lately.  He is learning his independence and having a power struggle with mom. LOL. Layla is growing so fast I can hardly believe it. She pulled herself up from a seated position the other day and I was so amazed. She is working on crawling but prefers scoot around on her head. Jackson was my only other baby who actually crawled. Carter did the crab crawl  and army crawl and then started walking and Savannah just started walking at 9 months bypassing crawling altogether. Jackson turned 2 in July. He was so excited to see the dinosaur cake that we got him. It was interactive so the first time that it roared and popped forward he got scared and screamed, lol.

I have enjoyed living away from Evanston but do miss my family. My parents and I were really close and it has been very hard to be away from them but I think that Tyler and I made the best decision for our family to move away and start our family out on our own. I miss my sister and brothers very much, it's hard to keep in touch when everyone is so busy with their own lives. 

There is not much to say about me, other than I do a lot of cleaning and laundry. HA! I read a lot and I am always looking for new books so if you know any, share, share, share! I just ordered a book call "One thousand White Women" by Jim Fergus and I am really looking forward to getting it in the mail so I can read it.

I am thankful that we have cellular phones so that I can talk to Tyler every night when he leaves for work (he is working the night shift on this job) and every morning when he gets off work before he goes to bed. I am so thankful that Tyler and I found each other and fell in love. He has truly been a blessing from God for me and the kids. He's so caring and compassionate and will do anything to make sure that we are taken care of.  He won't read this because he hates computers and technology but I'm going to send a big "I love you, you're the best" out into cyber space for him.  He is so good about taking the family out to do fun things. We go fishing, walking and for outdoor "adventures" all the time.

We went out fishing for 2 days over Labor day and both Carter and Savannah caught their first fish that was cast and reeled in entirely on their own.

Well, I suppose in closing I will add that in the future I will try and post some more intriguing reads and try and have a little creativity in my posts while still keeping you updates! Happy Blogging! Here are a few scenery pictures from our outdoor adventures!

Here are some recent pictures that we took of the kids.