Be Satisfied, Be Grateful, for all that you have and all that God has given you.

Darrek is 8 months old

2010-03-23T04:55:00.004-07:00

Time flys when you are having fun. I hate it. Haven't we all thought about time freezing our little ones and keeping them babies? Darrek has been such a blessing in my life and I hate that he has to grow up. Here is the 8 month old expectations from the experts.

Your baby shows definite signs of becoming more independent. For one he is increasingly interested in his counterparts. Secondly, he is able to self-soothe instead of relying on you all the time. This is clearly visible in his attachment to inanimate objects such as a pillow or a blanket or a soft toy. While it is true, you are becoming less important, you are still irreplaceable in baby's life. One such situation where he will still need you the most is when he wakes up in the middle of the night, which seems to happen quite frequently in this month or the next. Another sign of independence is his desire to self-feed, which seem to happen around this time. During mealtimes, he will try to grab for the spoon or pick up bits of food - even pureed stuff. Right now, he can manage to grasp crackers or biscuits with fair amount of success with his thumb and two fingers. It is around this time too when he starts to become shy in the company of strangers; this is related to separation anxiety. Another notable change is when baby holds two objects at the same time. He compares them visually, bangs them together and maybe even tries to fit one into the other.

So this is pretty true to form other than the part about him becoming more attached to a blanket or a stuffed animal. I am still the most important thing to him. It is so nice to be able to say that. It feels so good to know that someone loves you so much and appreciates everything you do for them. Babies are truley one of God's greatest gifts. He is waking quite frequently during the night now, something I am not used to with him. I really do think it is his teeth. He has cut the first one, but that second one keeps coming up and then going back down. There are two good things about this frequent waking up: I can't get back to sleep half the time so I come and do my computer stuff that I don't get to do during the day and most importantly, Darren has finally given up and we have moved him to his real room down the hall in his real crib. He said, "I can't do this anymore. He is going to sleep in his room tomorrow night. I can't go and work on the farm like this. I am so beat!" Of course it also helped that the night he said this was the night he had to get up with him because I had the stomach flu! Needless to say, Mother and Aunt LaSchelle will be so proud!

The other things that Darrek is doing are:
-Claps and squeals like crazy (I think the squeals take place of the YAY that he hears me do when I clap)
-Mimmicks, such as:
Gives High 5's (Nana taught him that one)
Says: Dadda, mamma (when tired or sad), ba ba, ba (ball), tries to make the sound for UH OH
Sings when he hears others singing.
He is all over the place now. He isn't up all the way on his hands and knees, but it will be any day. He gets to the edge of the carpet and pats the tile before he feels that it is safe enough to go on. I am going to have to do a better job cleaning my floors now because he likes the feel of the cold slick tile and sucks it!
His favorite people (people that he reaches for and gets happy to see) are: Me, Darren, Matthew, Morgan, Jensen, and Nana. Pretty much the people he sees every day. He will go to Grandma Nell after hearing her talk and smile at him for a couple of minutes and then you can't get him to let go of her. He loves to eat, but is still such a little guy. At his 6 month appointment he was a hair away from being a "NON THRIVING BABY". They told me to put him on more formula so I did. I only nurse him when I really just need to feel comfortable (drain myself), but that too is easing up.

Spring Break

2010-03-18T18:28:00.005-07:00

Spring break is usually a really fun time for me. I love that I actually get to spend time with the kids without worrying about homework and bedtimes. We usually like to do something fun with them too. Last year we took them all to Tucson for a spring training game (D-backs).

Jensen wasn't feeling well. He slept through the whole game.

After the game we took the kids to Funtastics and had a lot of fun. Jensen still wasn't feeling good so I took him out to the car so he could sleep while Darren and the rest of the kids finished up. I thought it was a little chilly outside so I turned on the heater. I think I kinda of cooked Jensen. I didn't know that he had gotten under a big down comforter and his red fleece blanket. When Darren and the kids came out to the car, we tried to wake him up and he was OUT OF IT! His face was all red and his eyes were glazed over. He was talking nonsense and banging his fists on the seat in front of him. He scared all of the kids and put Morgan into tears.

This spring break Morgan and Jensen went to New Mexico to be with Scott and Amanda and Garrett and Rylee came down to be with us. We didn't really do anything exciting because Darren was busy on the farm. They are behind this year due to the rainfall that we have gotten.

We took Matthew, Garrett, and Rylee to Globe last night and will go back to get Matthew on Sunday and we will go get Morgan and Jensen on Saturday. I hope next spring break will be funner! I want to save money to go on a cruise with the kids. I better start now!

Darrek's First Tooth

2010-03-18T18:15:00.003-07:00

It seems like Darrek has been teething for about 3 months(He will be 8 months in a couple of days). He started to sleep through the night at about 2 months old and ever since he started teething that went out the window! It was really nice to get a full nights rest. The past couple of days he has really been a bear. I have also noticed what a little momma's boy he has become. If he decides he will let someone hold him, it will usually only be for a few seconds, or if your lucky, a few minutes. He started army crawling last week, but doesn't like to venture off to far from me. Don't get me wrong- he is still the best baby anyone could ask for. He still lets us take him on the road trips to and from Globe and will even go for a day trip over to the valley to watch Morgan play club volleyball. He really has been by far my best well mannered baby.

Well, today I went and picked up mom to get some of our errands done. We like to do that a lot lately. The company is nice to have! After the banks, City of Safford Municipalities, and Subway, we stopped to get some groceries at Bashes. While in line at the check-out, mom was talking to Darrek and was asking him when he was going to get his tooth so he could stop putting his tounge out. She put her finger in his mouth and SURPRISE, a tooth! We were so giddy we could hardly get through the line with our purchases. My baby is growing up way too fast! I called Darren on the way home and called Morgan and Jensen a little later. I think I am going to text Matthew and Garrett with the news a little later.

Welcoming Matthew

2010-02-05T09:34:00.000-07:00

After many late-night talks and tears with his mom, Matthew has decided to live with us. Thatcher will provide Matthew with the good friends, good school and all the wonderful small town experiences a teenage boy would want. He first told us that he prayed about it and felt that it was what he wanted last summer. We talked to him and told him that he needed to think and weigh all the options of this big decision. He decided to stay with his mom because he realized he wasn't ready to leave his siblings behind and he wasn't prepared to break his mom's heart. He is such an amazing boy to be able to put others feelings above his own. Summer and Shawn have been noticing a change in Matthew and felt that they needed to let him go. Summer is a special woman and mother to do this for her child.
He has been here for almost a week now. He enjoys being a Thatcher Eagle and loves that he has seminary during school and most of all loves that he gets to leave campus for lunch. He usually goes to Coby's house or here for lunch. It has been fun having him here. Morgan and Jensen count down the minutes to when he is suppose to walk in the door from school. They love having a big brother in the house. They like to sit and do homework with him and especially love the nerf gun wars down in the basement. Last night Matthew played in his first church basketball game. Our ward got beat, but Matthew scored the most points. We told Matthew that he had to go out Friday night, so we'll see how he does making plans. We already know that he is planning to go to the Varsity basketball game. We are so lucky to have him in our home and look forward to the time with him. Darren and I were both really nervous about him coming to live with us. Our biggest concern was that we provide him with what he needs in this last stretch of his teenage years to be ready for his mission. Summer and Shawn have done such an amazing job with him (and Garrett and Rylee). We look forward to the challenge and are hoping that we can provide all the love and stucture that he needs. We are just so blessed to have him here. Welcome Matthew- we love you!

Happy 10th Birthday Jensen!

2010-02-05T08:36:00.001-07:00

Jensen has turned 10 years old! I am such a lucky mom. Jensen is so special and has always held such a big spot in my heart. From the time he was born, he has been such a pleasant little boy. He is so creative. He will spend hours on end creating things in his room with scraps of paper and anything else he can find. I love when Jensen comes home from school. He is always so happy to see me and gives me a big hug and kiss. He has always been so aware of my feelings and makes sure that I am happy. He has such a sweet spirit about him and I know that he loves his Father in Heaven and Jesus Christ. His prayers are so honest: asking for everyone to be safe and everyone to be kind and that he is grateful for everything in the whole world. He has picked up a new love this year- wrestling. I am so proud of him for trying something new and having such a good attitude about it. He went to practice everyday from 3:00 to 5:00 pm. The whole team liked Jensen and seemed to have a really good time with him. He still pays very close attention to his grades. He got his first B on his report card and came home crying. I had to convince him that a B is okay. We just took trip to Disneyland for our Allen Reunion and I learned that Jensen loves to spend money. He got $50 from his Grandpa Jack and Grandma Lucia for Christmas. We told the kids that they could use it on whatever they wanted for this trip. He had a ball spending his money. He was naturally sad when it was gone, but quickly the feelings went away when he got his birthday money. He has already gone to store to spend the first bit of it. I love him so much and I am very grateful to be his mom.

Darrek's 3 Month Photo Shoot by Aunt Rachel

2009-11-09T08:05:00.000-07:00

Rachel called a few a weeks ago and asked to borrow Darrek for some pictures. Heck ya- who wouldn't enjoy some good pictures of their baby! Rachel is getting quite good and I am quite jealous! They were all so good, but I could only choose a few to post because it takes forever to load pictures and I hate waiting! Thanks Rachel for these beautiful pictures.

So I decided to just add a slide show because it is way faster and I could post all the pictures I wanted!

Harvest Time and Updates

2009-10-29T20:04:00.002-07:00

I have a hard time getting to the computer these days. I just find that if I get on the computer, I waste precious time I could be spending with my children. Then by the time they get in bed, Darren is home and I like to spend the time with him.

Darren is busy picking! Darrek and I take him lunch every day and spend about 2 hours riding with him. Darrek usually smiles, laughs, and talks to him during the first 5 minutes and then falls asleep for the rest of the ride. This has put a wrench into the whole schedule, but it really is necessary. If we didn't go ride with him for these few hours a day, Darren wouldn't get to see, or maybe I should say Darrek wouldn't get to see Darren at all. Darrek is usually still sleeping when Darren leaves in the morning and is already in bed before he gets home. Darrek and Darren are the best of buddies. It really is quite extraordinary to see Darrek light up when Darren walks into the room and talks to him. He gives him the biggest smiles.
Darren, Darrek, and I went for a ride around the mountain yesterday. It was too windy to pick so they stopped around 1:00 and Darren called home to ask me if I wanted to go for a ride. It was a beautiful ride. I love to get to spend time with my best friend. Darrek just slept the whole time. He loves to be in the car!

Matthew is doing well. Darren took him hunting a couple of weeks ago. They saw 15 bucks total and he ended up shooting his first white tail, but second deer. This was the first night Darren was away from Darrek. He missed us both, but it was for a good cause. Darren loves to spend time with his boys when he gets the chance. Matthew is such a good kid, or teenager and does really well hanging out with all of the younger kids. We took a weekend trip up to Nutrioso to help Uncle Verle and he was so kind to play with all the kids. Jensen loves it when Matthew comes to town!

Garrett is doing fantastic as well. He is such a smart little whip! All of his core classes are honors classes and he is getting straight A's. I think he spends all of his time doing homework to get such good grades as he does. He is also such a hard worker. He loves to drive the gator around up at the cabin to help Verle out. Verle said that if they could give out licences for Gators, he would make sure that Garrett had one.

Rylee is still as cute as ever. All she wants to do and talk about is getting to Thatcher to ride in the cotton picker with Dad. She enjoys school and we understand she is quite the social butterfly!

Morgan is growing up! She has been babysitting for our Bishop and making more money than I do (of course)! She has picked up volleyball lately and loves it. I got a volleyball for her and she carries it with her everywhere. She is getting all A's and is doing well in school. Her friends talked her into trying out for the choir and she was just told that she made it. She has a really pretty voice and I am so proud of her for trying out. She is a great big sister to both of her brothers. She is always kind to Jensen (we will take it while it lasts) and such a great help to me with Darrek. He absolutely knows who his brothers and sisters are. I had a good time taking her shopping last weekend. My little girl is growing up. She got new jeans, and hoody, and some perfume at Aeropostle, and new black vans from Journeys. We just had a really good time spending some time together. While we were shopping, Grandma and Grandpa Evans watched Darrek. When we got back to Grandma and Grandpa's I took the kids swimming down to the pool. Needless to say it was too cold and the trip lasted only ten minutes.

Jensen is loving school as always and getting straight A's. He is such a sweetie and I love it when he walks in from school. He is always so happy to see me. He can't wait for Halloween, or as we call it around here, Darren's Birthday! He is going to be some guy with a pumpkin on his head. I think he got it from a book cover that he read. He loves to read books. Both Morgan and Jensen got the H1N1 flu shot last week. Jensen does not like needles! He got hives when he had to get his shots for kindergarten! He didn't know he was getting a shot until I told him to get on to the table. It worked-he didn't have time to stress about it.

Darrek is doing so well I can't even believe it. He is such a dream baby. He is so well natured and doesn't cry very much at all. He just grunts when he is unhappy, hungry, or tired. He is now officially sleeping through the night. He is wanting to fall asleep around 7:00 at night and wakes up to eat around 5:00 in the morning. He loves his daddy, loves his baths, and loves to go for rides in the car. I can't wait to see how much he weighs next month for his 4 month check up.

And last, but certainly not least- I am so happy with my life I can't even tell you. I just feel that for the first time in my life I am completely at peace and happy. I am married to the most wonderful man who loves me and his children with all that he has. He goes to work each day and earns a good living to provide the necessities of life for us. My children are so happy and all great examples to me. They love Christ and it shows in their everyday actions with others, but most importantly they love each other and for that I am truly grateful. I am so thankful that they are all healthy. They mean the world to me. I am grateful for my parents. They always claim not to be perfect, but I think they are perfect for me. They both try really hard to still make their children's lives easier. I enjoyed getting to go through a temple session with them and with all, but one, of my siblings. That was a day I will never forget; Getting to hug everybody in the Celestial room and to see how happy it made my parents to see all of us there with them. I love my Father in Heaven, my Savior Jesus Christ, and am thankful to them for all that is so good in my life. My life is wonderful!!!!

TMC

2009-09-17T08:43:00.000-07:00

Well, I thought that I would take the time to sit down and add more to the story of Darrek's first week of life. I would have loved to have added pictures of his way out of Safford in his helicopter ride but, the pictures are being held captive by Curtis and Chantel's computer (that darn thing). Anyway, the flight team arrived and got him all transfered over to their machines and wisked him away over the Mountain to Tucson. Darren and my dad actually arrived to TMC before Darrek did, so they were waiting for him when he got there. I arrived the next morning with my mom. I am so thankful to have such wonderful and supportive parents. They are really awesome considering all that they have going on in their lives.

Darrek stayed in a clear box until he was able to breathe enough on his own for the canula. He also couldn't nurse or take a bottle until he was able to do that. This picture is when we came in and the nurse had him out of his box and feeding him. We were so happy. I started to nurse him every four hours after that.

The nurses and doctors where so awesome. I appreciate their abilities to know how to care for such sweet little things. Darrek was a giant in the NICU compared to all the other babies. There were some babies that would fit in your hand. The experience I think really made Darren and me appreciate our baby so much more. We were so happy to bring him home a week later on my birthday. I told the nurses that the best birthday gift I could ask for would be to take my baby home. I think they really tried hard to wheen him off of the oxygen after I told them that.

This is the helicopter that he rode in.

These are just some his visiters in the NICU. The kids were really excited to see him.

Rylee and Garrett

Matthew

Grandpa Paul

Morgan and Jensen finally arrived from New Mexico. Darrek had some jaundice and he is in a billi-blanket or as Darren called it, The Glow Worm. I love his eye mask!

His last day! My birthday Present!!

We are finally Home! His first photos at home.

He Has Arrived!

2009-09-02T16:50:00.001-07:00

I know it has been a month since our little joy arrived, but I have been busy okay! I also have been trying to wait for pictures to come from Garrett because we had his camera at the birth. Needless to say, we haven't seen the Evans kids for a whole month and they are coming tonight! And just so this doesn't happen again we have broken down and invested in our very own camera! Morgan and Garrett are pleased. So here is the story of how Darrek McCoy Evans, aka Jr., came to our family.

Monday July 20- 3:00 p.m.
I go to my regular scheduled Dr. visit to find out that once again I was going to be sent to Labor and Delivery because of high blood pressure. I was also contracting every 8 min. and dilated to 2cm. so the doctor said that she probably wasn't going to let me go home even if my blood pressure came down. As I was headed over to the hospital, I called Darren immediately because he has been very clear that Jr. was going to come on the 20th of July. Darren had a dream a few months before that we were at the hospital on the 20th. He really didn't believe me when I told him. He just kept saying, "Are you serious?" I made a few more phone calls to my mom and to April.

When I got to Labor and Delivery they got me all hooked up to everything and the waiting game began. My mom arrived first because Darren had to finish up some things on the farm and then he went home to take a shower. My mom told me that Chantel, Curtis' wife, had been contracting all day as well and was trying to decide whether or not to come in. Thirty minutes later, we were blessed with her presence! They hooked her up to everything and then later on in the evening we walked the halls together. All of the staff thought that it was pretty funny that we were in there together. It was fun to be able to walk the hall with her, it definitely made the time go by faster. It also made me try to walk faster, I am very competitive you know! April also arrived two and a half hours after I called her. She is awesome!

While we were walking we saw the next best thing to the Savior, the anesthesiologist! I kept making jokes that he better not go far and when I called for him, he had better make it snappy. I even offered him a $20 bill. Darren thought that was funny because he was probably making that every minute he was there. I always knew that I was going to have an epidural. I just know my body and my pain tolerance and I believe in having a nice experience during birth instead of screaming and pushing the baby out uncontrollably. My nurse had told me that he was getting ready to go home for the night, but that he would come back when I needed him. Oh NO he wasn't! I was not about to let him leave and then come back when it was too late. So even though I really was not in need of any pain medication yet and didn't want to slow the process down, I told him to give me the epidural before he left. Darren opted to step out of the room while I got poked while April stayed in to let me lean on her during the process. Even though it did slow the dilation process down quite a bit, I was glad that I did not experience any pain. The only down side to getting it was that it made me itch all night long which was a bummer because I was really looking forward to sleeping. I also wished that I could have had more control over my legs during labor. They kept flopping everywhere and mom and April kept laughing at me. It is also really weird to push as hard as you can, but still not be able to feel anything.

The funniest thing about the whole hospital thing was that Chantel and I were just right on with each other. She would dilate to a 5 and then I would. We went on like that all night long. We also had the same doctor delivering us and we both dilated to a ten at the same time. The doctor looked a little frantic, but handled it well. She decided to deliver Chantel's baby first because the baby's heart rate had dropped slightly. While she was delivering Chantel's baby, April graciously got me pretty with her makeup. You have to look pretty for the little one (and pictures)so you don't scare him/her!

Darren has been telling me the whole time that he was not going to be in the room during the birth. You see, he doesn't do well with blood, needles, etc. Well, he was a trooper and stayed the entire time and even did the videoing of it. He only fell to his knees once. I am very thankful that he stayed in there. It was nice to keep looking up at him, it made me feel stronger. April and mom were also in the room with me and helped me push, literally. April pushed my back up every time I pushed. Mom gave me a lot of coaching and moral support. She even cut the umbilical cord because Darren couldn't stomach it. I am very thankful for both of them.

Tuesday July 21, 2009
Finally after pushing for twenty minutes, Darrek McCoy plopped out at 7lbs. 2oz. at 9:49 a.m! He really did plop out. A little too fast they think. The nurse (Becky Householder) didn't like the way he looked and the way he was breathing. She just kept saying, "I don't like the way he sounds". After I held him for about 2 minutes I started handing him off to everyone. He was with us long enough for Darren, mom, April, and dad to hold him. Then they took him to the nursury to get his shots and things they usually do while I cleaned up to go to my recovery room. When I got to my recovery room is when Darren told me that they were keeping him in the nursery to watch him because of his breathing. It was very frustrating not being able to hold my baby. Finally, they decided to wheel him down to me. I was so excited. Matthew, Garrett, and Rylee were also in the room and really excited to see him as well. He was only in my arms for a few seconds before Becky started to get worried about his breathing again. She yanked off some tubing off the wall and hooked him up to the oxygen. I got worried, started cying, the kids started flipping out, especially Rylee. Darren called in Curtis to give him a priesthood blessing. He still didn't sound very good with the canula in so Becky took him back down to the nursery and put him in an oxygen tent. That is when my night truly became one of the worst nights of my life!

Darrek in the oxygen tent at Mt. Graham Hospital

Back Blogging- gotta love insomnia sometimes!

2009-06-13T03:01:00.000-07:00

Couldn't sleep tonight so I am doing some updating. I commend all of you mothers who find the time to keep up on this stuff. It is really time consuming. I started working on the Lake Powell Blog at about 12:45 am and it is already 3:00 am.
Anyway, Morgan wanted to play softball again this summer before she left for New Mexico. She got to play one whole game. She did really good.

Annual Lake Powell Trip

2009-06-13T01:59:00.000-07:00

Well, another Lake Powell trip down! We had such a great time and didn't even get sunburned this year. The three younger kids all tried to wake board this year. I am so proud of them for trying every day. I have some really good video of them and I will have to find the time to upload it. Matthew is getting really good on the wake board- he is catching some air now when he jumps the wake. Garrett is also good at wake boarding, but he likes to spend a lot of the time fishing when he can. Darren only got to get in the water (to wake board) once this whole trip. I felt bad for him. He has to do all the driving for everybody else. I only got to wake board a few times. Darren was scared the entire time so I would only go about fifty feet and then throw the rope. We usually share a houseboat with the whole Palmer family, but this year we were lucky enough to have our own (Thanks to Dennis and Mogie). There was only one day that we really couldn't go out and enjoy the smooth water, so that day we did some tubing and played a lot of cards. I would have to say that the most improved Lake Powell Goer award goes to Jensen. I can still remember our first trip and Jensen wore a shirt the whole time and just about had a break down if he got a drop of water on him. This year he was the first one out of the boat! He did such a great job trying to wake board and didn't whine. He was out in the water whenever he got the chance whether it was to slide down the slide, swim across the cove, wake boarding, knee boarding, or jet ski rides with mom. We are lucky to have great opportunities like Lake Powell. The kids will always remember what fun trips they were.

Darren taking us out to Padre Bay. He asked to borrow Jensen's earphones so he could feel more like a captain.

Baby, Baby, Baby!

2009-06-13T01:53:00.000-07:00

So this post is for my dear cousin Rissa. She keeps asking me to post a belly shot. This is the only one I have and I actually stole it from Chantels blog (thanks Chantel for being such a good blogger). This was last Sunday. It goes in order of who is due. Rachel is due any day now, Chantel is due a week before me, and I am due July 30. I will have to get some better belly shots. Wasn't expecting having a picture taken that day.

School is OUT!!!

2009-05-30T09:08:00.000-07:00

I am so excited for school to be out. I absolutely love the summer vacation. It would perfect if I could have all my kids with me though. Morgan and Jensen will be leaving after we get home from our annual Lake Powell trip that we are taking in just two days! The kids love this trip and look forward to it all year.
I have decided not to go back in the fall to teach. One of the greatest responsibilities in this life is to be a mother and I am going to stay home with our little "JR". It is sad to leave teaching for awhile, but it will definitely be worth it. Morgan and Jensen are excited for me to stay home as well. I put in a lot of extra hours at the school my first year and they want me to be home more. I am really looking forward to that!
All of the kids did so well in school and got excellent grades. Morgan and Jensen had straight A's, Matthew had all straight A's except for one class (I think), Garrett got all straight A's, and Rylee got some A's too! Smart kids!!
We went to Garrett's 8th grade graduation and was pleasantly surprised with him getting one of the most honorable awards (in a parents eyes) that a student and son could receive. He received the "Character Counts" Award. Out of all the kids in his graduating class he was selected as having the best character. There are six "pillers" to this program (which I don't remember at this time). He is such a great kid and we are so proud of him.

Valley Vista Baseball

2009-04-21T19:27:00.001-07:00

We went to Matthew's baseball game last weekend and had a lot of fun watching him play. He is a sophmore this year and on the JV team. Valley Vista is a 5A school and Matthew is so talented to be able to make the team. Their team is really good and enjoyable to watch. Good thing because they went in to extra innings and finally had to be called at a tie game because there wasn't any more sunlight to play. Matthew did really well and we are so proud of him for getting back on the diamond after his accident with the ball. He hit a ball and it came right off his bat into his face. He broke his left cheekbone,got quite a fat lip, and suffered a concussion. He will have to wear a cage on his batting helmet for the rest of the season. His team mates have given him the name of Angelina (After her famous huge lips). His first time up to bat he took the first pitch and hit it right up the middle and got on base!

Surprise!

2009-04-21T19:23:00.000-07:00

I had a surprise birthday party for Morgan and it went off without a hitch. Morgan has developed some really good friends this year and I am so pleased! It has been complete drama since first grade. This year has been so different and I believe it is because of the friends she has. They all come from great families and are really down-to-earth girls.
The hardest part about the whole thing is that she was getting frustrated with me because she wanted to have a party and I had to tell her that we were going to have a party with the family. She loves family parties, but after her last friend birthday party (drama, drama, drama) she has had family parties since. She even told me that she was aware that her last two parties have been with the family. I knew it was killing her.
I had Jensen get her address and phone book for me when she took a shower one night. She takes extremely long showers so I was able to call all of her friends, but two which I called the next day, to invite them. They all were really excited to play a trick on her and never gave her any clue that they were going to surprise her.
I had my mom keep her and Jensen over at her house while I picked up the girls. Then my mom told her that they were going to get some pizza for all of us to eat that night (us, nana and papa, and visiting family from Tucson). When they were on their way back from Papa Johns, I called my mom and told her that I needed Morgan to come back home because I was cleaning her closet out and needed her to come help me because it was a disaster! Morgan hates cleaning with me- I throw everything away! The girls got into place and we heard them come in. She immediately came downstairs and we got her good. She was so surprised and excited to see all of her friends.
We ate pizza and then her teacher, Ms. Elliot (also my friend) taught them how to play NERTZ the card game. They caught on really well and played a few rounds. Then we made flower hair clips. They had a blast doing this. I am glad I thought of this because it probably was the funnest thing they did. They all kind of made the same ones and then decided which ones they were going to wear each day of the week the following week at school. Then I put in a movie, Bolt, and they watched it for about 15 minutes before they got bored and played hide-and-seek. They stayed over until about 9:30 pm and then I took them home. They really enjoyed themselves and I am glad I could make Morgan happy. Happy 11th birthday Mogie!

Gotta Love the Innocence

2009-04-21T18:20:00.000-07:00

If you know Rylee, you know how young and innocent she still is. She found these treehouses in a magazine and brought them to her dad and told him which one she wanted him to build. I guess she showed Garrett first and Garrett just laughed and asked her what she was thinking. She couldn't understand his doubtful attitude! She told him that we had the "sticks" to build it!

What Do You Think?

2009-04-21T14:35:00.000-07:00

I was wondering if I could get some feedback on this Twilight issue I am having. The series is definitely good and I enjoy it. However, I have a problem with my daughter reading them. Now, some of you might have let your daughters or sons read them, but I would like to know how you came to that decision. I feel that they are too adult for my barely 11 year old. None of her friends are aloud to read them and I have teachers emailing expressing their concern about it. What are your feelings?

Power Outage and One Smart Boy

2009-04-21T12:32:00.000-07:00

The whole Gila Valley's power went out the other day. It was interesting to experience this 3-4 hour ordeal. It showed many of us what we should have during something like this. After staying at home for awhile and the kids getting restless with not having any lights, video games, or TV, I decided to go up to town and do some grocery shopping. While on my way, Chantel called and asked me what we were doing. I told her that I was headed up to town. She reminded me that it was pointless because the registers at all stores were down. Jensen was really bummed because I told him that he could spend some of his birthday money at Blockbuster to buy this toy "bob" from Monsters Vs. Aliens. He really had a hard time with no power available to him and now to find out about the stores not working either was just too much to handle.
We decided to go over to my mom's house where Chantel, Rachel, and all the kids were at. My mom found some really annoying gun blasters that they all started to play with. After a while we all decided to go back to our own homes. I decided to get comfortable with a good book. After I got into it, Jensen came walking in with a white envelope.

Jensen: Mom, can we open this and read it?
Mom: Why Jensen, what is it?
Jensen: It is a letter from the electric company.
Mom: Why do you want to open that?
Jensen: Maybe it will tell us what we need to do to get the power to start working again.
Mom: Well Jensen, that is not going to tell us that because it is just a bill and besides, there is nothing we can do about it. The whole valley doesn't have electricity.
Jensen: Well, maybe we could just read it to make sure.
Mom: Jensen, go find something to do. Go read or practice the violin. Enough about the electricity. We can't do anything about it honey.

5 minutes later.....

Jensen: Mom?
Mom: Yes Jensen.
Jensen: I think I know why we have an electric bill!
Mom: Why do we have and electric bill Jensen?
Jensen: Because Matthew and Garrett left the Wii plugged in all weekend and it is still plugged in!!!

You see, Darren had heard on some radio talk show that the Wii game console takes up as much electricity as a refrigerator. So he gave a great lecture to the kids about turning off the power bar when they are done playing with it. Jensen was thinking that our power got turned off because we had an electric bill and Matthew and Garrett were to blame. He wasn't too happy with them.

Smart boy though- he found the electric bill!

Terrible Blogger!

2009-02-20T08:58:00.000-07:00

So I have decided that I am a terrible blogger. I have never been one to keep up on journaling. I get so busy with life that I don't ever think about getting on the computer to update everyone on it. I also don't think that anyone actually cares to look anyway. Well, just to update: Darren and I are expecting our first and LAST baby! We are really excited, especially Darren. We went to our ultrasound a couple of days ago and got pictures. When I walked into the bathroom to get ready for work this morning, I noticed that he had one of the pictures on HIS mirror. What a proud daddy! He always is asking me how JUNIOR is doing. He has been calling it JUNIOR since the day we found out I was expecting. Anyway, he always has to ask whenever I do anything, how Junior did. When I take a shower, he asks if Junior liked his bath and asked me if I washed his hair. He is certainly a trip! The kids are all excited as well. Of course Morgan really wants a girl and all the boys, of course, want a boy. I don't know what Rylee wants or if she really even cares what it is. She is just happy to be alive!
Teaching is going much better. I have gotten into the swing of things and pretty much have it all figured out. The first year is definitely no fun though. I don't know what is going to happen with next year. As all of us know, our country and state are in an economic crisis and it is even affecting the schools now. My principal told me that I may not have a job next year because the state is cutting all full day kindergarten programs. Yes, I know that I am not a kindergarten teacher, but there are kindergarten teachers who have been here longer than me that get first dibs on a teaching position. This means that I would have to let my position become available to them because I was the last hire. It is definitely a bum deal, but if I were in their position, I would expect it too. There are definitely other options for me to look in to if this does happen.

Jensen just celebrated his 9th birthday on February 1st. We had a lot of fun having family come over to eat. We realize that our house is definitely not baby proof. Our travertine floors caused a lot of accidents! He also was in his very first pinewood derby. Darren and he worked very hard on his car. It looked great and Jensen was so proud of it. Darren thought he was out of the woods when Garrett raced his last race. Little did he know! Anyway, Jensen got third place which is perfect, no district races. He will also be receiving his Wolf next week. He is such a good boy and a fun addition to the family.

Matthew just made the JV baseball team and we are so excited for him. He is such a good ball player! This is such an accomplishment because he goes to a 5A school were the compitition is FIERCE! He is also turning SIXTEEN next week. Darren is definitely not old enough to have a sixteen year old, okay maybe he is, but he does not LOOK like it. And what about me? I am really not old enough for this, but I might look it- all the sun damage you know!! Matthew is such a good kid and we are proud of him and his acklomplishments.

The other kids are all doing well too. They love to still hang out with each other. They have started this new game were they go down underneath the bridge to our house. They pretend it is a town. They make weapons and stuff because Matthew of course loves to torture them, being the older brother and all. They decided to "kick him out" of their town and have wars with him. They all have made up names for this town underneath the bridge too. They are all so funny and hilarious to watch. I am so glad that we have a house like the one we have where they can have these kind of memories to look back at. We love all our kids so much and our proud of the people they have become. They only get grounded every once in awhile!!

Lastly, I just wanted to thank all of you who have been so supportive to me during the "rough" times I have gone through and am still not done going through. Most of you may have heard that something took place that went very well in my favor. FINALLY. I do not want to directly comment on this because of the privacy of the issue and those special "little ones" who are involved. Thank you, Thank you, Thank you!!!!!!!

Happy Anniversary to Us!

2009-01-22T14:16:00.000-07:00

Darren and I just had our 2nd Anniversary (sealing date). Because of my wisdom tooth and some other things going on right now, I completely spaced it! Darren asked me if I wanted to go out to eat with him. We haven't been doing that lately we are trying to be more frugle. He seemed kind of different over the phone and I asked him if everything was alright and if he needed to talk to me about something. He told me yes and that he would talk over dinner. I knew it wasn't bad because he was in a good mood. When we sat down for dinner, he pulled out a card. Can you believe that I still didn't figure it out until I started reading the card! I felt like an idiot!! Leave it up to my sweet husband to remember such a wonderful thing. I am so glad we were sealed. Life is good!

He Likes His Present!

2008-11-12T23:26:00.000-07:00

I got Darren a 40 calibur gun for his birthday. It was fun to suprise him and keep it a secret for about 3 weeks. I had his friend help me out a little. . He would ask Darren everyday if I had caved in and told him what I got him. I think it was harder for him to keep the secret from Darren than me. Guys and guns, it's a strange thing! This last weekend we had, or generously, went to go pick up Morgan and Jensen from Casa Grande. We stopped on the farm on our way out to do a little target shooting. It was Darren's first time to shoot his new gun. I couldn't believe his shot. He hit this can the very first shot and then hit the milk jug on the first try as well.

I have to mention that I shot the can and jug on my first try too!

Jensen's Soccer Career Has Come to an End

2008-11-12T23:12:00.001-07:00

Jensen is done with another soccer year under his belt. I didn't think that he would want to play this year because last year he pooped out towards the end and didn't even want to go to his games. However, when I asked Morgan if she wanted to play this year, Jensen piped up and said he wanted to do it again! I couldn't believe it! The kids don't really get the opportunity to be involved in any activities over the summer so I think this is why they really jump on the chance to do stuff like this. I think it's good for them to learn how to be part of team and to realize that they can't give up when things get hard. Jensen had a hard year this year, but I am so proud of him for sticking with it and being to all of his games, but three. He missed the last game, which he really wanted to play in, to go see his father in Casa Grande. I was disappointed to see him not be able to finish out the season strong and most importantly to be there for his team who counted on him. His coach was a single man without any children who volunteered to coach these young children after work and every Saturday. He will get his trophy tomorrow night at Bashas in the Deli area (I don't know, it is just were the coach said to meet)! He is so excited!

We Have a New Driver in the Family!

2008-11-06T21:01:00.000-07:00

Watch Out, Matthew is on the road! It seems like just yesterday our little Matthew was having his dad push him down the road teaching him how to ride a bike. Well, now I am the only one brave enough to let him drive. We kind of broke the law because he didn't quite have his permit yet. Oh well, who needs a license! I would take my brothers car out on joy rides when they were in football practice when I was in seventh grade. We were headed to Nana and Papa's house for Sunday dinner. Garrett was too scared to ride in the car so he went with Darren who was taking back tables we borrowed for the big birthday bash the night before. Rylee, Morgan, and Jensen all braved it with me. He did really good and just needs some more practice. You can count on me Matthew!

AYSO Fun!

2008-11-06T20:19:00.000-07:00

Morgan enjoyed her first year playing soccer. Because she was ten years old she was suppose to be in the league that is co ed. I took her to her first practice and just about died when I saw the other kids on her team. They were giants! Ok, so maybe Morgan is just a tad bit short! Anyway, this team was like crazy good because they had been playing since they could walk and poor old Morgan didn't even know what boot the ball meant. So I went home and told Darren and he of course fixed everything. He called someone he knew that used to be in charge of the AYSO program here and they gave him the information he needed to plead Morgan's case. So Darren talked to the commissioner and told him why we thought Morgan needed to go down a level. He said that he would take it to the board, but was worried that they wouldn't let her because of her age and being too aggressive and running over all the 9 year olds. They ended up letting her go down only if she wasn't going to bully the girls on the field. We assured him that he had no problem. I took Morgan to her first "new" practice and she fit in just nicely! In fact, she was probably the smallest one on that team too! She had so much fun and wants to do it again next year. She is going to have to talk me in to that one because she will definitely have to move up and I don't know that I want to give up all of our weekends to soccer again. It lasts FOREVER! I am a softy though, so we will see!She loved to be a defender which is the player the defends the goal before it gets to the goalie. She did wonderful! Her team ended up only losing one game all season and it was the game that Morgan missed. She got her trophy and is just so proud of herself. We love Mogie!

Happy Birthday Darren

2008-11-04T22:13:00.000-07:00

Darren's birthday falls on Halloween so it makes it really hard to focus all on him. We try our best though! Someone once told Darren that you start counting backwards once you hit forty, so we are celebrating Darren's 39th birthday this year! Doesn't he look great! He will always be a thirty year old in my eyes no matter what. He is such a blessing in my and Morgan and Jensen's lives. We love him so much and appreciate all that he does to make our lives wonderful and fun. He is my best friend and eternal companion. I love you sweetie! Happy 39th birthday!

Happy Halloween!

2008-11-04T21:44:00.000-07:00

This year's Halloween went pretty well considering it is Darren's Birthday, my first classroom party, all the kids being here, and Morgan and Jensen wanting homemade costumes. I love the fact they think by telling me they want me to make their costume this will save me money, but in the long run it always ends up costing something and most importantly my sanity.
Morgan was pretty easy this year. She loves to play dress up at Nana's with April's old Girls Dance dress, so she wanted to wear that and be a "princess". I ended up buying her a tiara at Wal-Mart in the wedding section and some sparkly shoes. She looked cute and we all got a good laugh at Aunt April's dress.
Jensen had his costume in mind for about a month. He told me it was going to be really easy to make. All we needed was a red shirt, white gloves, a hat, and overalls to complete the costume of Mario from Super Mario Brothers. Everything was pretty easy to find except the overalls and the red hat (go figure). They apparently do not make overalls any more. So I thought I would try the good ole thrift store. Well, I didn't find any overalls, but I did find a woman's dress! Now I am no seamstress, but how hard could it be to cut it down the middle and then sew a straight line up the two legs? So that is what we did and I only pulled out half of my hair working with the sewing machine! For the hat I found a white one at the thrift store and dyed it red. Jensen made his own "m" patch and I hot glued it on at school the next morning. He seemed to love his costume. It makes it all worth it to see how happy they are and to think that they are the cat's meow!
Matthew, Garrett, and Rylee came to Thatcher that afternoon with Grandma and Grandpa Evans. Rylee was also a princess, but she said it was the princess from "Pirates of the Caribbean". I did her hair all up and she looked great! We ended up going to the school carnival where we met up with Cambree, Ridge, and Luke. We didn't stay long because we wanted to go see Grannie and Grandpa before they went to bed. So we all made our way over there. Grannie wouldn't let us leave until the kids all had candy. My mom and Aunt LaSchelle were at Wal-Mart trying to buy the candy.
We went over to G.G.'s house next and got our special treat (chocolate rolls and star crunches)! This has been a tradition ever since I could remember. Grandma always has something good to give!
Darren got home early that day because it was his birthday!! He ended up meeting us at Grannie and Grandpa's and then went with us to Nana's to trick-or-treat! We made our way around town a little bit and then ended up at Casa Manana for a birthday dinner for Darren. We met up with Darren's parents, Paul and Nelda. It is always such a pleasure to have them come and visit. We enjoy them so much.
All-in-all it was a great Halloween.

Kate's Baby Blessing

2008-11-04T21:32:00.000-07:00

We all had so much fun together at Lan and Sarah's for the blessing of Kate. Lan has done an amazing job with his house. He is so handy. The cousins had a wonderful time getting to play with each other. We love cousins. We love family!

Warning!

2008-11-04T14:45:00.000-07:00

This morning, from a cave somewhere in Pakistan, Taliban Minister of Emigration, Mohammed Omar, warned the United States that if military actions against Iraq continue, Taliban authorities intend to cut off America's supply of convenience store managers and possibly Motel 6 managers. And if this action does not yield sufficient results, cab drivers will be next, followed by DELL and AOL customer service reps. Finally, if all else fails, they have threatened to send us no more candidates for President of the United States !

It's gonna get ugly!!!

Mom's are Great!

2008-10-23T19:47:00.001-07:00

I have been having one of the hardest years of my life, which seems really weird considering the past, and my mom stepped in and helped me out big time the other day. At school, each grade level takes a turn to feed the staff and it was our turn (2nd grade). I volunteered to bring the guacamole and lettuce (taco salad). I called my ever knowledgeable mother to ask her where avocados were on sale and she told me that she would be more than willing to make the guacamole for me. Normally, my mom is really busy taking care of my sick grandparents, but her sister came from Kentucky to help out. My mom has had a lot of time to herself that she rarely gets! Thanks Aunt Kim! Anyway, she smashed up avocados for over 30 people. Thanks so much mom. I don't get to tell you enough how lucky I am to live here so close to you. Thank you for everything you do. The kids really appreciate you coming and supporting them at their soccer games. Your the best and I love you!

While I am on the topic of mothers. I can't forget about my wonderful mother-in-law! I always wanted a mother-in-law that would love me just as much as I loved her, and guess what, Darren's mom is just that! She has helped me in so many things. She even sewed my classroom curtains! Thanks Nelda for everything you have done for Darren and I. We love you so much!

2008-10-08T19:32:00.001-07:00

I'm In Trouble!

2008-10-07T23:18:00.000-07:00

Darren came in and saw the video I put in. UH OH! He said, "Honey! You better put in there that it's a joke (the kneeboard)! Some people might think it's serious and think I'm really a dork. They might think that those shorts (his cousin's Mila's) are mine and that life jacket is for real!" So for Darren: The video of him kneeboarding is a joke. They all make fun of kneeboarding because they are really awesome wakeboarders! Good thing I didn't put in the video with him double skiing with a speedo on racing by fishermen yelling "HI!". Yes, he did that 2 trips ago!

What the Heck!

2008-10-07T22:58:00.000-07:00

So how do you get to be special enough to view your cousins blogs? As you can see I have been taking a break from grading papers and making lesson plans to "waste time" as Darren would put it, to learn how to do this whole blog thing. I figured out how to add music, add videos, change the style of how I have my "friends and family", and even how to add more friends and family. However, I tried to add some of my cousins and I was very shocked to find out that I was not allowed to view them. So if you're out there, give me some compassion and let me IN!!!

Check It Out!

2008-10-07T22:13:00.001-07:00

I found this hilarious video we took of my dear sweetheart (champion knee boarder) at Lake Powell. He loves to make Mogie (Palmer) laugh. This is her favorite. I guess it's a tradition. Hilarious!

To ALL of my family

2008-09-17T05:01:00.000-07:00

For those of my family who do take the time to view my blog, I don't really understand how to do the whole invite thing. So here is the generic one- YOU ARE ALL INVITED TO MY BLOG!
I also don't know how to add you to mine. Chantel did that for me.

Lori, thanks for the comment about "Cowboy". I am not a pet person either. These kittens were just so darn cute and so LOW maintence (except for the whole car thing).

Hook'em Horns

2008-09-17T04:51:00.000-07:00

Since we haven't had internet in awhile I am playing catch up while I can't sleep! Darren and I went to our first Longhorns game. It was good to be able to spend some much needed time together. It was great to get away and not worry about the farm, house, or classroom.
When we found out they were going to be so close to us, we jumped on the chance to go see our favorite (college) football team. Darren has been a fan for years and loved every minute of it. I don't mind good football either so I had fun too!
Thank you to my parents and to whoever else helped out with Morgan and Jensen while we were gone for the 12+ hours. I think there is COWBOYS game in the future!

2008-09-17T04:50:00.000-07:00

They even brought BEVO!

Insomnia

2008-09-17T04:20:00.001-07:00

So I randomly wake up every now and then and can never go back to sleep. I start thinking about everything. Does anyone have any suggestions besides Tylenol PM? My school kids are going to hate me tomorrow! Thank goodness it is half-day for them.

A very first pet tragedy, well kind of!

2008-09-14T16:36:00.001-07:00

If you know Darren at all, you know that he is definetly not an animal lover. We had a dog named "Macho" that Darren just LOVED( can you sense the sarcasm?) Well, Macho was purchased for a lot of money one Christmas. He ended up not being exactly what we paid for, which was suppost to be this fluffy, curly, cute little dog. Instead, he was a skinny, straight haired, ugly dog that found its way over to my parents house (about 3 blocks away) every chance he could get. We ended up giving up and just letting him stay there. Sorry DAD! And he became more of my parents ugly little dog than ours. So when he dissapeared one day on one of his neighborhood adventures, we weren't too terribly upset.
As most of you know we built a lovely home on an amazing piece of land. When we first cleared the lot, Darren killed about 4-5 rattlesnakes. Even though he hates animals, he agreed and was really the one who pushed the issue of getting some cats. He said that they would keep the rattlesnakes, scorpions, and mice away. Lan and Sarah graciously let us have two of their kittens from like the 4th litter of their cat. Sarah said these cats would be great hunters. Darren loved the sound of that and jumped on the chance of having two more great hunters as part of the family.

We waited patiently as they grew to be old enough to leave their mom and "learn how to survive in the mean and cruel invironment in which they have to live". When we finally got them home, they were wonderful and Darren actually liked them. We let Darren name them. He named them after his beloved football team. The girl he named, "Dallas" and the boy, "Cowboy".

Yesterday, I spent all day trying to clean out the garage so that I could park my car in it. Since we have moved in, a lot of our "things" haven't been moved in and are just sitting in it. Dallas and Cowboy have this annoying love for the vehicles. They are always climbing up into them. I was getting tired of taking the 5 extra minutes in the morning to get them out of my car so that I could go to work. I needed the garage cleaned out so that this wouldn't be an issue any longer. Well, I got really close. I actually only needed Darren's help to get a few big, heavy things moved to the side. We ended up not moving them because we were so tired.

Darren and Jensen went to church a little early to save us seat (our ward is so much bigger now you know!) and Morgan and I finished primping. When we were done we headed out to the car, which was not in the garage, and called for the cats. They will usually come out if you call or honk the horn. I honked the horn about six times before deciding they were not in it. I even said to Morgan, "Well, if they are still up there, it will be their own fault if they get killed". I still didn't see anything jump out from the bottom of the car when I started the engine. I looked one more time to see if I could see them on the porch. I didn't and thought that maybe they were on the front porch. So I put the car into drive and started to move. As a made a turn I heard something that didn't sound right from under the car. Morgan thought that it was just the stuff in the back shifting. I heard this a few more times on my way to church. I looked behind me a few times to see if there was a kitten that had fallen out. Nothing. When I parked the car at the church, I told Morgan that I was going to check one more time to see if I could see anything under the car. As I bent down and looked, I saw Cowboy's cute little tail hanging down in the front. I screamed. Morgan looked and saw it too. I tried to keep it together for Morgan's sake. She had already started crying. We went into the church building to get Darren. Darren went to go see if Cowboy was alive. He came back and told Morgan to go sit down with Jensen and not to say anything to him. After Morgan left I couldn't help but cry. I had killed their kitten. All of the "what ifs" flooded my mind and made me cry more. What if I had just cleaned out the garage enough to park the car in it last night, what if I had just gone with Darren (we would have taken his truck), what if I had just taken the extra 5 minutes that I usually take to find them before I left.

We still didn't know where Dallas was. Darren told me to go back to the car and call for Cowboy. He said that maybe he wasn't coming to him because he was still scared or something. I knew that was wrong because they would both go to Darren before they would come to me (that is a MAJOR first). As I approached the car, I noticed Cowboy's lifeless body had fallen from the car. I cried uncontrollably. When Darren made it over with his truck, he had to come and lift me off of the ground. He told me to"hold it together, we are in public!" I wasn't even thinking about what an idiot I must look like. I got in Darren's truck and Darren put Cowboy into the back. We followed the path that I took to church. We didn't see Dallas anywhere. When we got back to the house we still couldn't see her. Finally, Darren found her in one of the hollow pipes laying on the back porch. She seemed a little scared or confused. I don't know if she was in the car too and had just made it out, or if she was there in the pipe the whole time.
We went back to church and after sacrament meeting, a sister came up to me and asked me if I was okay. I started to tear up a little and told her what had happened. She said that her husband had heard me crying from his house (not very far from the church, across the street infact) and started to rush over to me when Darren pulled up in the truck and scooped me up into his arms. I told her that I was sorry for making such a scene over a kitten. They probably thought that one of the children had died or something. After church, I had Jensen go home with Darren so that I didn't have to be the one to tell him. When we got home I watched for Jensen to get out of the truck. He was crying. My heart was breaking. It was breaking for my children, for Dallas, and even for Darren. Darren loved to come home from work and sit on the back porch and watch Dallas and Cowboy wrestle. He would laugh. It was quite a show to watch them.

It has been hours later and I still feel so heavy inside. I wonder if this how my mom felt when she ran over my childhood cat "Taffy". This is such a horrible feeling. The only thing that makes me have any comfort, is knowing that Lan and Sarah's cat loves being pregnant just as much as Sarah. She will give birth in about 4-6 weeks to a new litter. Sarah already said that we could have one to replace Cowboy. The children and Darren say that they will name it Cowboy. Is that wrong??? Anyway, I guess all of the kittens from the litter, that we got from Dallas and Cowboy from, have all passed on to kitty heaven the same way. I guess they were all CAR RIDERS. Dallas is the only one left. I hope this next litter doesn't like cars!

Sorry for such the long blog. I guess I just needed to get it out.

We have Internet!!!

2008-09-11T16:46:00.000-07:00

We just got internet this afternoon. So hopefully I will find a little time to keep up with my blog. But, not right now! I'm off to a school board meeting!! My new life. IT'S CRAZY!

A New Beginning

2008-07-31T15:14:00.001-07:00

Well, I thought that I would join in on the blogging world since life has slowed down finally. This past year has been quite eventful and has kept me pretty busy. A couple of my sister-in-laws have been getting after me to start a blog and my excuse has been that I am too busy. I am still busy, but not as much as I used to be. So yesterday Chantel helped me get up and going with a pretty layout and taught me how to post all the pictures. I will try my hardest to keep up with the posts.

Yesterday was Darren and I's third anniversary! Every year just keeps getting better and better. I am so blessed that Darren walked into my life when he did. We are truly meant to be and enjoy being with each other. We still have never spent a night apart since we have been married. We think that's an accomplishment while others think we are silly, oh well!

Tonight we are going to go get Morgan and Jensen. They have been with their dad for the summer. Fortunately, we have been able to see them on two different occasions this summer. It is so hard to go all summer without seeing them. They are such a joy to have around and I feel quite a void when they are gone. They have enjoyed their summer visit with their dad, but are glad to come home to a new house.

Speaking of the new house, we have been busy building our dream home for the past 9 months. It has been hard, but so much fun. Darren was the general and did a fantastic job. He definitely does not want to quit farming to become a home builder though. We are so blessed to have the opportunity to build a home for our family and are very grateful to all our family who has helped out along the way and made it possible for us to do this.

Matthew, Garrett, and Rylee have been here with us all summer and enjoyed being able to move into the house before they went home to be with their mom. They are amazing kids and I am so thankful to have them in my life. They never once complained about their living situation this summer. The apartment affectionately known to us as the "love shack" was very small and hard to endure during the summer months. Matthew and Garrett were such hard workers all summer long and helped me with the move. Rylee, bless her heart, had to do a lot of playing on her own and keeping herself busy while we moved in to the house. She is such a sweetheart and so well mannered.

I am glad that I have started this blog. It will help me remember just how blessed I am and record it.