Back to Blogging!

I haven't blogged in forever, but want to keep on it since it is about the only journaling I do, so here goes.

A quick recap of the last 7 months:

Mattea and I had a blast out in Maryland and New York! I wish that I could make it an annual trip, but it probably won't happen! I will just be grateful I could go this year.


Carson turned 2 in July. He loved his birthday this year and really understood what was happening. His cake had real trucks and tractors on it, so he didn't really care about opening presents once he saw all those fun toys on his cake. We were lucky to have my grandparents, parents and two cousins here! It was a perfect day for a two year old!


Later in July, we had a Wright family reunion. It was really nice, just a family picnic in the park, but the first time that Brent's family had all been together since before we were married. We got some wonderful family pictures and had an enjoyable time visiting and playing with cousins we don't get to see often!

A quick hello from the East Coast

Mattea and I are in Serverna Park, Maryland for the week. We are having a blast seeing the sights. We have been to the inner harbor in Baltimore, to the National Zoo in DC, and are headed to NYC tomorrow. She has been awesome, great in the plane and loves laughing at all the people. My other two kids don't even miss me (my biggest concern on this trip) as they won't even talk to me when I call. So much fun to be able to travel and see good friends. I will post more and pictures when I get home!

Happy Anniversary Brent!!

This post is for Brent, who on our fifth anniversary is on a boat in Seattle! I love you. Thanks for five great years-they are only getting better!

10 Reasons Brent and I have made it to five years (in no particular order)

*Brent is flexible and easy-going.

*A few good books: The Five Love Languages, An Act of Marriage, and What We Wish We'd Known When We Were Newly-Weds

*Three beautiful kids that bring immense joy to our lives

*Communication daily...several times a day-even when Brent is not home we talk during every one of his breaks. (We started this when we were first married and I wondered how long it would last, five years later he still calls me during every break-you know your loved when know the time of day because the phone is ringing!)

*Remembering what we found so attractive in each other when we were dating and continuing to try to improve those good qualities for each other!

*Did I mention that Brent is flexible and patient

*Jacque had discovered that the old adage, "A way to a man's heart is through his stomach," really is true! :)

*We've learned a note, gift, or a simple text saying, "I love you," goes a long way!

*A love that started as tingles and romance has grown much deeper and stronger than either of us imagined!

Thank you, Brent for all of this! I love you and miss you. See ya in a week and a half!

Single Motherhood

I have to preface this post by stating that my kids are awesome. I would like to think it is because of my excellent parenting skills, however I think it has more to do with their kind and patient little personalities.

Anyways, as some of you may or may not know Brent has to travel a lot for his work. A lot. We're talking being gone three and four weeks at a time. A prime example is when we bought our house-he was gone for 22 days came home for three, in which we signed papers and moved all our possessions, and then he left for 25 more days. Sometimes we travel with him, which is fun and hectic, but during the summer it is to hard to keep up with a garden, lawn and activities if we are gone. So in my weeks of being at home...with three small children...weeks at a time I have come to somewhat appreciate what single mothers go through. I thought I would post a few life lessons learned from my experience as being a single mother.

1. I have learned that I can get three children and myself ready for church by 11:30 and not be late. This includes curling Mailee's hair, packing snacks (because we go during lunch) toys, diapers, etc..., and making sure I have everything necessary for my primary lesson. Whew, just thinking about it makes me tired.
2. The swimming pool with three children is exhausting, but creates three happy children (yes, even Mattea likes a good cool down) that are not whining or throwing tantrums. I love the pool.
3. Paying a babysitter to go running hardly seems fair, but my running stroller only holds three and I haven't come up with a better solution yet. Any suggestions?
4. Sacrament meeting is to be survived. With one nursing baby and two toddlers we learn how to share and be quiet and not run away from mom, but seldom listen to the talks. Good thing I had a lot of single years to listen to excellent talks without so many interruptions. Good thing I can download talks onto my Ipod and listen to them while running and good thing we have a ward full of grandmas that love to help out with my children, especially when I have to go feed Mattea!
5. Shopping carts are made for three children. Or one child and food. Take your pick!
6. We can go to the store, mall, etc and not lose a child. (Okay so I did momentarily lose Carson once and let me tell you mall security is awesome!)
7. I can maintain a clean house, grow a garden, take care of three kids, and have a social life. WOW!! I didn't know I had that much energy.
8. While not enjoying it and definitely complaining about it, I can pack all of our stuff, unpack all of our stuff, and clean our rental while taking care of kids (It's amazing how much junk you get rid of if you have to unpack everything you own by yourself...so long old college texts and kitchen gadgets I have used maybe once since being married!)
9. Synchronized naps and early bedtimes are crucial. As much as I love my children a break during the day and at the end of the day is essential for my sanity! Oh and a good book with a bubble bath is magical!
10. Great friends are crucial. THANKS to all my wonderful friends, family and an excellent ward, that have really helped me out. Really I couldn't do it all without their support.

And Finally I have to say that I can't really compare to closely with single motherhood, because at the end of every day I get a phone call from a loving, supportive husband that is so appreciative of my efforts and encourages me along the way.

What a HUGE blessing it is to have so many supports in my life. I know that I have become so much stronger because of not-so-fun situation. It has forced me to try so many things I never would and depend on people, which is hard for an extremely independent person!

Going...Going...Gone...Bald is beautiful

Time for Carson's summer haircut. He has had it cut several times, but never shaved. We have been chewed out several times for, "cutting off all those beautiful curls!! What were you thinking?!" Oh well...it will grow back
Before

During

after


And Brent had to have his done also!.

Our Little Dancer

Mailee started dance just after we moved to Burley. She loves it and does a pretty good job. She does both ballet and tap and likes them both equally. These are pictures from her end of the year performance! The Hair: one hour and half a bottle of hairspray...
The Costume: more money than such a small amount of material should cost...
The outcome: One happy three year old dancing her heart out!!! (I have a video of the performance, but can't get it to upload...pictures just did not turn out with the lights.)

We're back...and better than ever!

(A huge thanks to Zinser Photography for our AMAZING pictures)

We are finally back to blogging again and I'm not sure where to start! I guess start with the biggest news-Mattea Kaye, our beautiful baby born on January 8th. She is absolutely wonderful. She is happy and cuddly and all the precious things a new baby should be. Both Carson and Mailee and infatuated with her and are very protective. We are so blessed to have her.

January 9th


Three months old

In February we sold our house in Gooding and even made a profit off of it. It was such a HUGE blessing. Then we were able to purchase a new home just a week or two later. It is an older brick home, but completely remodeled inside-new carpet, kitchen, retextured walls-it is beautiful. Brent's favorite part is that it is on
1.88 acres. We are going to have a huge garden, an orchard and raise some turkeys! Farm livin' is the life for us! We have some work to do outside, but the inside is perfect. It is 3 bedrooms 1 1/2 bath with a huge kitchen and family room. My kids are so excited to have room again after our tiny rental. Currently, we are still in the process of unpacking and deciding where to put everything.



Our new house

That's our life in a nutshell...in 8 months we've done a lot, but if I kept going this blog would be eight pages long!!

So Long, Farewell...

I KNOW!!! It has been a long time since I posted, and we have had so much happen that I should be posting, but we have had so much happen it is hard to post.

Starting at the beginning...Brent got a new job two weeks ago in Burley. He will still be welding, but it is a better job, and we will have insurance when the baby is born! (Yea!) So, because he found a new job, we have been looking for a new place to live, getting our place ready to sell and packing. Our house will go on the market in about two weeks-we have a few minor fix-it ups. We just found a place to rent today. (We want to rent for a little while to get a feel for the job and the area.) And now we are packing like mad. I'm really excited. The area is closer to the mountains which will be nice, and is right on this beautiful part of the snake river. We will miss good friends here, but are only 60 miles away. It will be good.

In the way of other updates...My brother Jeremy and his wife just had a baby two weeks ago. We are due sometime between Dec. and Jan., and my brother Josh and his wife are due in March. My parents are ecstatic and the cousins will have a blast being this close. What fun!

Also we had an awesome family vacation in Moab seeing the parks. We also got to see my great grandma, and went to a cousins wedding.

Someday I might post pictures, but we are actually cancelling our internet for now, so it may be awhile until I post again!

We are the 1 Percent!!!

I have been putting off this blog for awhile, because I am still adjusting to the shock, and believe me I was in more shock than any of you will be. So we are pregnant...yes pregnant, and it came as a complete surprise because we were definitely preventing. It took awhile for me to adjust to the idea of another baby so quickly after the last--Carson and this baby will only be 16 or 17 months apart. The baby will be due in Dec. or Jan. We will find out next week when I go in for the first appointment, which I put off as long as I could.

Anyways, even though this has been an extremely hard thing (sorry to any of you that have fertility issues...I would gladly share some of mine,) it has also been spiritual. The first night I found out, I cried and prayed for about 12 hours. Finally in the middle of the night the following thought came to me that has been a blessing (and for once I wrote it down):

I shed a few tears,
I will not deny.

The choice was not mine,
That's why I cry.

The decision was made
by One, who's hands are greater than mine.

And that's why I love,
This baby growing inside.

Whenever I start feeling overwhelmed with the thought of three kids under the age of three, I re-read this and find comfort! So that's our big announcement!!

Carson's Turn

These pictures are a little deceptive, because they look like Carson is just wet, but in reality he is covered in Vaseline. Brent changed his bum and put vaseline on him because he was a little sore. I didn't realize that Brent hadn't put the vaseline away, and I look down to find Carson looking like the above pictures. As well as, Mailee's blanket, stroller, doll, and my carpet. Needless to say, I was not as patient as when Mailee drew all over herself because 1) Mailee did just draw on herself, and 2) Vaseline DOES NOT COME OFF!!! So after washing Carson in the tub (again) with Dawn, and throwing the blanket and all rags used to clean up everything else in hot water in the washer-with Dawn, we made some progress, but you can still see the nice darker grease spots in everything. ERRRGGHHH!!! Husbands not putting things away, and babies having extremely quick eyes and hands!!!

Mailee+Black Sharpie Marker = FUN

Last week while planting our garden (I was using the Sharpie to write on the stakes) I went around the corner to plant the squash, and Mailee found the marker. I was gone about two minutes and returned to the above pictures. I started busting up laughing, but Brent didn't think it was so funny (his sense of humour is not as um...developed as Mailee's and mine!) We had some pretty funny comments at church the next day, because that stuff does not come off. She still has it all over her legs and tummy 5 days later! Luckily I caught her before she got to Carson!

Don't you love the troll feet? :)

Our crazy, fun week!!

This week was absolutely crazy, but a lot of fun!!! It started on Monday...over the weekend I got a phone call from my best friend from high school. She was flying into Boise from Washington D.C. and wanted to get together one of the days. Naturally I was ecstatic to see her and her new baby. However, I had had great intentions for the last couple of months to make a baby blanket for her, but I had not yet started. I started Monday night and finished on Tuesday around 10:00pm. I even had time to make cupcakes with my kids and go for a bike ride. (My new sewing machine makes sewing a dream:))


So this is me holding the finished product. I am really proud of myself. This is the first quilt I have made that is not just 8X8 blocks. I also machine quilted for the first time -- SCARY!! But it turned out great.



The entire quilt!!



While in Boise we went to the zoo. My kids loved it. They really liked the statues and toys more than the animals, so that is where we spent most of our time. This is Mailee and Carson in a turtle shell.



Kaylee Grace and Nicky. Kaylee is absolutely beautiful.


Mailee sitting on the lion. (Don't crink your neck. I forgot to rotate!)

So we got back on Thursday from Boise around 6:00. I made dinner and told Brent I was going to bed because I wanted to get up early to clean--my parents were planning on coming on Friday morning. However, at 8:30 I got a phone call from my parents saying they were on their way and half way here!!! AWWWWWWW...MY HOUSE WAS A WRECK!! Sewing just seems to do that! So, I got out of bed and cleaned until they arrived at 11:30. It looked and smelled great.

Friday morning we ran some errands in town for my parents, then my mom, a couple of friends, and I went to a scrapbooking class from 4-12p.m. It was great...a nice break from the men and kids.

My brother, his wife and daughter arrived Friday night, and the couple I lived with my senior year and their daughter and boyfriend came Saturday. We had a blast just visiting, catching-up, and geocaching.

Sunday we said goodbye to everyone in time to head to Brent's sister's house in Twin Falls to see his parents, brother and wife (whom we haven't seen since Dec 2006) and another sister. WE SAW A LOT OF FAMILY!!!

We needed all of yesterday to catch up on our sleep, but how lucky we were to share this week with so many, and for our kids to play with cousins, aunts, uncles and grandparents. It was almost a family reunion.

Life without a computer!

Last week our computer was having difficulties and being the illiterate person I am (when it comes to computers) I didn't know what to do. It wouldn't even turn on. It was like it wasn't getting power, but all the cords were in the right place. Luckily, one of the kids in a Sunday School class that Brent and I taught was home for the weekend and came to work on it. It was really minor, but I wouldn't have known what to do (although, if it happens again, I now do.) Anyways, the whole point is: Do you realize how much you use your computer in a day. I had to balance my check book with the paper things they send in the mail. I had to pay my bills through the mail. No email, blogging, or my space. No getting a quick recipe, checking the weather, or any of the dozen other little things I do throughout the week on the computer. I wonder how we lived 10 years ago without computers, internet, cell phones, sidekicks and all the other tech we know use without a second thought. Maybe life would be easier:)!

Let's Go Fly a Kite!

Last weekend we bought a kite and have been waiting for the perfect day-today was the day. We had a lot of fun. Here are some pics.

Brent was the master kite flyer-he ran out of line!

200 feet out there!

Carson was all giggles.

Mailee had more fun with the stroller.

Getting the kite started!

Mailee and Carson giving it a try.


It is a really pretty kite.

Taking a break while the breeze was down.

Everyone loves the slide.

Released

Yesterday I was released from the Young Women's presidency. It was really a bittersweet day. I have been in Young Women's for collectively almost 4 fours (I was in it, we moved to Twin for a couple months and I was released, we moved back and I was put back in it.) I am really going to miss working with the girls, their energy and giggles, especially now that I am not teaching it was fun to work with the youth. I am excited though to see what the Lord has in store for me, what will my next calling be. Yesterday Brent said, "Maybe you won't have a calling for a while," and I just burst into tears. For me, there is such a feeling of service and dedication to helping the Lord and others while holding a calling. I don't want a break from that, but if that's what is in store I guess I will enjoy sitting in Relief Society. :) It's exciting to think about what's in the future!

Nap time at the Wrights

Today I put the kids down for their naps, and normally they lay down and go to sleep with a little singing or talking, but not so today. I was sitting on the couch reading and listening to them giggle and giggle. I peeked into their room to find Mailee laying in bed, with nothing but her underwear on, and Carson standing in his crib looking at her. She would pull back her covers and yell boo, to which they would both erupt in giggles. By the time I got the camera, Mailee was out of bed playing with Carson and both of them were still laughing their heads off. It's moments like this that really make me enjoy being a mom.

Sunday afternoon I caught Brent and Carson catching some ZZZZs before Easter Dinner. It was too cute to pass up.

Carson's Fear

The other day we were at some friends, and they had one of these spiky gel balls. Carson has a huge fear of it. They showed him the ball, he touched it and started to cry. Every time he would see it, he would scowl and move away from it. He wouldn't even come to me if I was holding it. That is a strong fear if a child won't even come to his mom. It is amazing how early in life little ones create likes and dislikes, fears and know what comforts them. I wish I still had their natural abilities to sense good and bad and their closeness to Heavenly Father that we tend to lose as we grow older. I just feel blessed to have him and Mailee in our home and be able to feel of their sweet spirits!

Pain

Just a quick blog, but I found out today that I either have a stress fracture in my hip, or something wrong with my SI joint in my lower back. I also have a Baker's Cyst in my knee. Oh the joys of running. I can't find out for sure if I have a stress fracture without a bone scan, and I would have to ween Carson. My doctor cut off my exercise for 10 days and put me on high doses of Motrin. If things aren't improved I will have to go in for the bone scan. I am just happy to have a better idea of why I am in so much PAIN!

On the Run Again

Last Saturday I ran my first race in about five years. It was good. It was 5.5 miles, and as I have just started running, I was planning on finishing in about 55 min. I ended up finishing in 48.51 min and took first in my age group. (I was okay with just finishing, so this was a nice surprise.) It ended up being a COLD, Snowy day, which made me even happier with my time.

So We Finally Become Bloggers...

Well I created a Myspace page a couple of months ago to keep in touch with family and friends, but now a lot of my friends have created bloggs and I really like the set-up and tone of them much better, so we too, have decided to become bloggers. More for my own benefit of journaling than anything else (but I really love to read your comments also). I hope to keep in touch with friends and family through this page, and have enjoyed reading other's bloggs.