A Strange Request

While we were out to dinner last Saturday we were approached by a guy (probably in his early 20's) who had a really strange request for us. I was away from the table when it happened but was told all about it when I returned.

I guess the kid came over to the table and asked my mom if he could take a picture with her little boy. Elliot was sitting by my mom but she deferred the question to BJ, but they were both pretty confused by the request. I guess the kid could tell that BJ was confused so he told him that he just had to have a picture with Elliot because he looks JUST like the kid in Meet the Robinsons.


I can see it, what do you think? My mom has always said that Elliot looks like a cartoon character.....I guess she wasn't kidding :)

At least everyone seems to like his new glasses. I should add that we took the rectangular ones back and got him a different pair that are more round, they fit him better and look nicer too!

Thankful Thursday

This week I am thankful for.....

Hope. Life sure would be a lot harder if it weren't for hope. No matter how bad things get, there is always hope. And coupled with faith in Christ, hope can get us through anything.

My Beautiful Kids. No matter how frustrated this mommy gets during the day, I have two adorable kids that love me and give me good cuddles before bed. I wouldn't trade those hugs and kisses for anything.

My Talents. You know it's interesting, a lot of times I think that we're given talents to bless the lives of others. That is definitely true and I do feel it is important to use our talents to help others. But I also think that our individual talents were given as gifts to bless ourselves too. I don't know about you, but the things I consider my talents are things that I enjoy. So when I use them I may be blessing others but I'm also bring fulfillment and happiness into my own life.

What are you thankful for this week?

This is What Happens

When your 14-month old refuses to take a nap.....

How Do You Make a Cute Boy Even Cuter?

Put cute glasses on him!

We had the Neo-natal follow up clinic for Elliot today. We get to go at least once a year (usually more than that) and see a slew of medical professionals all in one spot. We see a pediatrician, a developmental psychiatrist, a speech therapist, nutritionist, physical and occupational therapists (if needed) and an awesome pediatric ophthalmologist.

We got to see the ophthalmologist first. Actually, he caught us before we even had a chance to sign in. He put some drops in Elliot's eyes and sent us back out to the waiting room. When we went back in about 20 minutes later, he asked me if we had any history of childhood eye problems in our family. Well BJ has worn glasses since he was a child, so I guess so. Then the Doctor told me that Elliot needed glasses.

It was funny because I've been thinking for a while that he might need glasses. For no reason in particular, it's just been in the back of my mind. So I wasn't really surprised. He gave us Elliot's prescription and sent us on our way. That was really the only thing that changed with today's clinic....everything else looks great. Yay!!

After Daddy finished work, we all headed to the mall. Even Magah, Papa, and Ashley. We picked out some glasses which was tough to do because they were all so big. Even the ones we picked were too big, but they were one of the smallest pairs and looked the best.

After dinner we went back to Lenscrafters to pick up his new glasses. I think he looks pretty cute! They are definitely going to take some getting used to but in the long run I think he'll be happy that he can see better now :)

New Adventures

Due to some extenuating circumstances in my extended family, we are (unfortunately) taking a break from the Preemie Tee making business. My mom needs to take a break and focus more of her attention on some family matters. I totally support her in this decision, but it was more than a little sad when we packaged up the last orders a few days ago. I have devoted so much of my time for the past three years to this business. It's meant so much to me to be able to "give back". To feel like I was repaying some of the blessings we were given while in the NICU, even in the smallest of ways. Of course I'll never be able to repay all the miracles that were performed on our behalf, but it was nice to think that we might have been making the NICU roller-coaster ride a little easier for someone else.

This isn't the end of Elliot's Preemie Tees. Just a break. At least that's what my mom says. I hope she's right.

Anyway, here I sit at a crossroad. I'm sad to be leaving my Preemie Tee making days behind (even temporarily) but I'm excited to try my hand at being a real stay at home mom. I think I did the stay at home thing for a couple of months. Elliot was still completely immobile when I started helping my mom though. And I'm beginning to realize how NOT stay at home I've been over the past three years. Even though I have called myself a stay at home mom, I think it would have been more accurate to call myself a working mom who just happened to have her kids with her all day too. I see now lots of ways that I've been distracted and lots of ways that my family has sacrificed for me to be able to help with the business. But that is all going to change.

In fact it started changing today. I made a weekly menu and did REAL grocery shopping for the first time in who knows how long. I about passed out when it came time to pay the cashier for the food even though it was far less that what we have been spending. Fast food is SO convenient, especially when you've been working all day. But it adds up really fast. Now I'll actually have time to cook real dinners, and save our family some money. Plus I have several closets that are just dying to be cleaned out. A quilt and some Christmas stockings to finish. Some redecorating to do. Places to explore. Playgroups to attend (at least I hope....they might not even have a playgroup around anymore) And a branch full of people I'm dying to get to know (after nearly four years of living here).

I'm a little scared too. Who knows if I'll be any good at any of this. I guess there's only one way to find out.

Question

Why do kids seem to think that a five minute "nap" on the way home from church (and really I'm being generous on the length) is enough nap for the whole day?

Anyone know the answer? Anyone at all?

Thankful Thursday

I haven't done one of these in a while and it's time. So here goes nothing....

The Spirit. I've had some interesting experiences this week. I would by lying if I said they were all pleasant, but I can definitely see how the Spirit has guided me through this week. And how some of the things that happened, had to happen at such precise times. There's no way I could have orchestrated that. All of this gives me hope that the Spirit will continue to guide me if I let it. And if I do, no matter what happens, everything will be okay.

My amazing Husband. He's ALWAYS here when I need him. He gives the best hugs. He knows just what to say to comfort me and he knows when it would be better to just hold me and let me cry. He makes me smile and he makes me laugh. He's a great daddy. And he goes out for ice cream whenever I ask, even if it means changing back into his clothes after he has gotten comfy in his jammies. I love you honey!

The Pfizer Bridge Program. This is something I just recently found out about, thanks to Elliot. We have decided to give growth hormone therapy a try because of his small size. He is still not even on the charts. And his peers are getting taller and taller as he stays pretty much the same. Unfortunately, our insurance doesn't cover growth hormone shots because they aren't "necessary". A years worth of shots we might actually be doing this for two or more years) can cost anywhere from $10,000 to $30,000. OUCH! Luckily, the Pfizer Bridge program swooped in and saved they day. They are covering the cost of Elliot's shots. One hundred percent. For the whole year (we'll have re-apply next year). Amazing! We thank them for giving us a chance to help our son be a little taller.

I'm sure there's more, but I better go eat that ice cream BJ just went to get for me....before it melts :) What are YOU thankful for this week?

Bronchitis, Gastroenteritis, and RSV.....OH My!

I could go on. But since I'm feeling completely drained and a little grumpy right now, I'm pretty sure you wouldn't want to hear it. Let's just say it's been a hard/long month or more and leave it at that.

Tomorrow is a new day.....hopefully a healthy one :)

Have You Ever Had

One of those moments where you know you need to keep a straight face but you just can't?


That happened to me today.


I was busy cleaning when I noticed that Elliot was playing with the blinds, trying to hit Evie with them. So I asked him nicely to stop. Nothing.

So I asked again. Not even a flinch. Again.....STILL nothing. So I raised my voice "Elliot.....STOP".

And that's when it happened.

He turned. He looked at me with the crustiest look on his face. Pointed his little finger at me and said

"You want a piece of me???"

I could not help myself. I laughed. Hard. I about peed my pants right there in the kitchen.

Where does he learn this stuff? At least he stopped, right?

Memory Lane

I haven't done one of these for a long time, so really I'm due.

My sister-in-law, Tami, has been posting things in various places about how excited she is for her 5th wedding anniversary (congratulations Tami and Nate!!). Seeing all of that has reminded me that it was this time of year, five years ago that BJ and I first met. Crazy! Some of you know how we met and some of you don't, so I thought I'd share "our story".

I came home from my mission in October, 2003, to a home I had never seen before. My family moved from Colorado to Kansas while I was gone. I had never even been to Kansas before. I came home, found a job, and eventually decided that the best place to meet people would be the single's ward. I was a little disappointed. That particular single's ward seemed to be full of people that were about to get "kicked out" for being too old. Don't get me wrong, I had a LOT of fun there with the people that I met but the dating pool seemed to be pretty small.

I must have complained about it because my mom suggested I sign up for one of those LDS dating sites. I told my friend Christy about it thinking that she'd get as big a laugh from the idea as me, but she actually though it sounded interesting. At the very least, we could laugh at everyone else. So we signed up one afternoon. I wish I could remember what I wrote in my profile, but this....is the picture I posted. I used to be so skinny :) It was only a few days before I had a "smile" from BJ. I checked out his profile...(where it said his little sister Tami had just gotten married) and sent a smile back. Then he sent a message. And an invite for instant messaging. And pretty soon we were chatting online every day. He even hooked up a webcam to prove to my mom that he wasn't a 65 year old man.

Then he asked if he could call, but I decided it would be safer if I called him (with a calling card so my number didn't show up on caller id). Even though that first call was a bit of a bust, it wasn't long before we were talking every night (after my parents went to bed.....I was being sneaky).

I had already decided to come out to BYU for school and since BJ was in Kaysville we decided to meet when I moved out here. We had planned to meet at the temple, figuring that was a safe place. My dad vetoed that idea as soon as he caught wind of it. He said that if I really wanted to meet this guy,we could meet while he was helping me get settled. So sure enough, our first date was with my dad. But we met up again only a few hours later... after my dad had gone back to his hotel :)

Pretty soon BJ was skipping class to come visit me. I saw him pretty much everyday. We did everything together....he even went job hunting with me. We were engaged by the end of the month.....
and married four months later. When it's right, it's right.....no sense in waiting.

So there you have it. We've known each other for five years. And have been married for 4 1/2. In some ways it seems so much longer because of all we've been through. But in other ways it feels like it was just yesterday. I'm so grateful for him. There's no one else I could possilbly love this much or want to share forever with. He's my perfect match.

A Night Out on the Town

I know the pictures show us at home, but we actually had a fun night out tonight. After a weekend of being held captive while mommy was so sick she could hardly move, let alone breathe we decided it might be fun to get out for a while.

I heard of a bakery opening in Provo, and with my new found love of cup cakes I was dying to check it out. We hopped in the car as soon as daddy got home and payed a visit to the Sweet Tooth Fairy and sweet she sure was! The bakery was so cute, warm, and inviting. And the owner was just as sweet as her treats. If you're ever in Provo you should stop by her shop.

We decided it wasn't exactly responsible to eat treats before eating something a bit more substantial, so we braved Red Robin for dinner. And the kids were amazing. So well behaved. It was really nice and relaxing. But it made me wonder where my children were ;)

We came home to eat our sweets. They are SO yummy! BJ and the kids got cookies and I got a cup cake. Seriously one of the best cup cakes I've ever had. The frosting was amazing. I would seriously pay for just a spoonful of that frosting. Elliot didn't eat so much of his cookie (that's okay because guess who gets the leftovers) but Evie devoured hers. I can't blame her....my cup cake was gone in about two seconds.

More Firsts

A couple weekends ago... hmmmm, when was that? I really want to remember the actual date.....oh yeah it was January 17th! Anyway, on January 17th we took Evie to get her first hair cut. Magah gave Elliot his first hair cut but she was a little uneasy cutting Evie's hair. Girl hair is harder to cut than boy hair, she says. She's probably right.

We didn't cut much of Evie's hair. Just a trim really. She was just starting to look a little disheveled. You can hardly tell the difference but I think she looks cute anyway.

Here are a few pictures from our adventure.

what the heck is going on here?

I really don't think I like this!!

Oooooo, pretty animals

She liked it a little better once she could see herself in the mirror (not that she's even looking)

The after shot....So pretty!