Hormone check on line one!!!!

Ok, here's the deal. If you are reading this and needing a life-is-so-good-I'm-actually-growing-flowers-out-my-butt kind of post, well, click the back button and keep looking. I will admit that my life is pretty good right now, but that is not what this post is going to be about. I am going to bitch a little and it might get really ugly, SO, if you don't want to read something like that...... go somewhere else.

I don't know where to start, but I feel like I'm about to explode. I am sooooo mad that I miscarried. I hate all the stupid e-mails that I signed up for when I found out I was pregnant in August. They are weekly reminders of how pregnant I SHOULD be right now. I have unsubscribed to most of them, but when I think I got them all **BOOM** there's another one!!! Just when I get that under control, I get the realization that I was going to be pregnant and due with 2 of my good friends and 3 of my nieces!!! That's right, all 6 of us were due within 5 weeks of each other. Well, they all continued to be pregnant and left me in the dust. Now, they are all finding out what they are having, shopping, planning, getting cute little pregnant bellies and all that fun stuff and what am I doing? Failing at getting pregnant. After my D&C, it took 5 whole weeks for me to have a period, so that means it was THAT much longer before we could try again to get pregnant. That 5 weeks is an eternity when everyone around you is pregnant and you want to be. Then I log onto Facebook and hear some other pregnant moms COMPLAINING about being pregnant and it takes everything in me to not drive over to their house and kick them in the face. Do they have ANY IDEA how lucky they are that their baby is kicking them????? DO THEY???? Oh my hell, give it a break already!!!! Whoa.... sorry. *count to ten* Anyhow, it's just really hard to feel like I am failing at something I should be able to do. Now, don't get me wrong, I know I will get pregnant again, I'm just not a patient person and I want it NOW!!!!! I'm not getting younger and the time that goes by is just makes it easier for me to question the decision we have made. I think it's just hard sometimes when I realize that all those sweet girls that are due when I was, are still pregnant and feeling exactly how I want to feel. I don't want to make it awkward for any of them, so I try to keep it to myself. It just gets really hard sometimes when a friend announces that she's having a girl and my niece just found out she's pregnant, all in one day. I am so happy for them, but it feels like salt in a wound. Kind of like they are standing on a hill and shouting, "I AM HAVING A BABY AND YOU AREN'T!!!!!". Holy cow, I sound like the biggest brat on the planet, but I don't care. This is MY BLOG and I can write MY FEELINGS on it. Now, by the time you read this, I will probably be all better, so no need to powder my bottom, I'll be ok. I'm a big girl and can handle real-life situations, I just needed to get a few things out. I am starting to feel better already. Sorry if I brought you down, don't say you weren't warned.

Feel the love!!!

Sometimes I REALLY love being a mom. There are times that I wish I had a recorder on my brain that I could rewind a situation and play it back for everyone. Today, one of those moments happened.......

Tyler, "mom, I'm going to be famous when I grow up!!!"

Me, "I sure hope so!!!"

Tyler, "how do you get famous?"

Me, "you have to be really good at something"

Tyler (said with the excitement of a 7 year old boy), "MADDISON!!!!!! YOU'RE GOING TO BE FAMOUS!!!!!!!!"

Maddison, "Why?"

Tyler, "Cuz you're such a good artist!!!"

Me *holding back tears*


Isn't that so nice? I know that brothers can be a pain in the butt, not from my own experience, but from what my girls tell me, but I think he just made up for a lot of that.... what do you think?

A word from our sponsor.....

I have lots of pictures to put on my blog about Christmas, but until then, please enjoy my newest favorite song. In the spirit of this song, I request that you dance around a little and then get hooked on this song the same way I have!!!!

Happy Birthday Jesus!!!

In college, I had the opportunity to sing Handel's Messiah at Christmas time. It was such a wonderful experience. One I will never forget. I have such an appreciation for this music. On this Christmas day, I hope to hear one song in my head over and over.


For unto us a Child is born, unto us a Son is given: and the government shall be upon His shoulder: and His name shall be called Wonderful, Counselor, the mighty God, the everlasting Father, the Prince of Peace.

Hopefully you all have a Merry Christmas with your families and give our Heavenly Father for giving us His son, Jesus Christ. I love you all!!!

The lights of Christmas

One of my favorite parts of the Christmas Season is Christmas lights. I love seeing how everyone expresses themselves with lights at Christmas time!!! Now, we're not the Griswold's from National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation, but we enjoy the lights that brighten up our home at Christmas time. This is our light display this year, notice the lights that need to be replaced? I don't buy any Christmas decorations until the day after Christmas when I can get them for cheap enough that they're almost FREE!!!!


Like I said, we're no Griswold family, but you get the point. Then we have my mom and dad's house. This year I am especially grateful for my brother-in-law, Michael. He put my parent's lights up on the house this year because my dad was going through radiation treatments and didn't have the energy. Mike knew how much my parents enjoy the lights at their house at Christmas time and so he took time out of his busy schedule to take that burden off of my dad to get them up. My kids especially like the candy cane walk way, it's like a magical sidewalk leading up to Grandma and Grandpa's house!!! I have vivid memories of going to bed in my house growing up during the month of December and staring at the lights through the blinds in my bedroom window until I fell asleep. I think our kids will be remembering some of these lights also!!!

And then you have Randy's parent's house. They have some really fun blow up decorations.


And also some really cute wood cutouts that Randy's dad cut out and a neighbor of theirs painted for his mom a couple of years ago. Out of all of these cute decorations, my absolute favorite is this one.

I love the idea of Santa kneeling down in respect and admiration of Baby Jesus. I am so grateful to get to see that cutout every Sunday when we go over in December. I will speak for myself and say that I sometimes get lost in the retail end of Christmas. When I see this display, it puts me right back in my spot and remember what we are really celebrating. The birth of Christ, our Savior.

I hope you enjoy the Christmas light displays as much as we do each year and let the light of Christ illuminate your life. Merry Christmas!!!

So sad :(

Tonight I am so sad for my sister. Her youngest son and his wife had their 3 girls taken away from them permanently by the State of Utah for abuse and neglect. It became final just this month. This was excruciating for my sister to see her 3 grand daughters, that she was so close to, get taken away from the family because of poor choices made by my nephew and his wife. Well, my nephew and his wife had a baby boy this week and we just got word that there is a court order in place that is giving the State custody of their baby. We're not sure what happens next, if this is permanent or temporary, but my sister's heart is hurting so bad right now and it's so hard to see her in so much pain. There is no doubt in my mind that my nephew and his wife DO NOT deserve to have any of their children, in fact, I was one of the main ones that put calls into DCFS to get the State's attention about the abuse and neglect that was going on. But the pain it has caused my sister is horrible. My nephew and his wife couldn't care less about losing their children, but it just goes to show how bad choices don't just affect us, but it affects our whole family. I just hope that as her sister, I can be the support she needs. Hug your babies a little tighter tonight, there are some out there that wish they could.

Drum roll please......

Today is the day I officially get to announce my new calling. I am the new 1st counselor in the Young Women's Presidency in our ward. I am so excited!!! I am excited to work with the presidency, those girls are all such wonderful women and I'm also way excited to work with the girls. I was blessed to have some really amazing leaders when I was in YW. Women that made a huge impact on who I am today. I hope that the girls like me and I can do a good job.

Randy spoke in Sacrament today and I had called both of our parents to come over to help set me apart, so they all got to hear Randy speak and hear his testimony. It was really great. After the great Christmas Program, I got to be set apart by the bishop with Randy, my dad and Randy's dad in the circle. I am grateful for those men and their willingness to be there for me.

So, here we go!!!! Time for lots of work. I can't wait!!!!

And the winner is......

This morning was Randy's work Christmas party. His company owns the movie theatre in Hurricane, so we always go first thing in the morning, eat breakfast, learn about insurance changes for the new year, prizes and then we get to pick from 2 movies to watch. Today's picks were Avatar and Did You Hear About the Morgans? We chose the second one to go to. I was tired, so I kept falling asleep... whatever, what parts of it that I saw were great!!! So, they were giving away prizes at the meeting and I might have nodded off a little, and then I heard Randy's name called, everyone clapping and I looked up and the table full of prizes was empty. Did he win the grand prize this year? I didn't know what was happening and that's when I realized that HE WAS THE WINNER!!!! What did he win? A new 32GB Ipod Touch!!!!

That's a $300+ Ipod!!!! The funny thing is, at Thanksgiving, I bought my cousin's Touch from him to give Randy, but when I realized how cool they were, I confiscated it and made it mine!!!! So, now Randy has his OWN and it's twice as big as mine!!!! So cool, huh? Maybe our luck is turning around!!!!

Look at my little understudy!!! She saw me take his picture,
so she grabbed the other camera to take care of business also!!!

The Angry Nutcracker!!!

My kids don't get freaked out very easy, but they watched a Ghost Whisperer episode about dolls and since then, we've had a little problem. The problem isn't with dolls, it's with nutcrackers. Tyler LOVES nutcrackers and last year, he got this HUGE nutcracker.

Look how big it is in comparison to our couch!!!

He's had it in his room since last Christmas. It was never a problem until they saw that scary episode of Ghost Whisperer and now Mr. Nutcracker has to stay in closets and facing the wall wherever he is. They scare each other with the gigantic nutcracker IF they dare to touch him!!!! It's so funny to get in my closet to get dressed in the morning and that huge thing is hiding in my clothes because the kids can't handle him anymore. Well today, Cambelle came to me with this Scottish nutcracker and said, "Mom, this nutcracker is ANGRY"!!! I stared at him for a while, trying to figure out what was so creepy about him.


I thought maybe my kids had got to me with the "freaky nutcracker" thing and that's when I saw it.... his mustache is on his eyebrows!!! I laughed sooo hard!!!!


Cambelle had been playing with him, obviously his mustache fell off and she decided to mess with him a little!!!!! Leave it to my kid to make my day!!!!

Dear Santa:

Dear Santa,
For Christmas, I would like a new water pump for my Tahoe. I know they are a lot of money, but I have robbed as many banks as I can this year. I promise, I have been a good girl this year (please just don't read ANY of my blog posts)!!!

Love,
Hopie!!!

P.S. I still believe in you!!! And did I mention that I have been a good girl this year?

Yep, I'm in trouble!!!

It's not the first time I've been in trouble, nor the last, I'm sure. I accepted a new calling tonight, I'm not supposed to say anything, but I can tell you, I know you wont tell anyone. They want me to be the .............................................................................
Oh, come on now, you didn't think I would give that easy, did you? Stay tuned until Sunday and I'll spill the beans, that's IF I don't get apposed!!!! Don't laugh, it happened to my sister that acts JUST LIKE ME!!!!!

Am I in trouble????

Bro. Christensen called me yesterday to tell me that the Bishop wants to meet with me tonight. I'm sure it's about a calling, but do you ever get that feeling like you're being called into the Principal's office? Not that I would know what that is like. It's not like I got called into the Principal's office almost every week of my middle school years or anything!!! So, knowing that Randy would know why I am being called in tonight, I naturally asked him why and he wouldn't say A WORD. Not a single word. He played dumb at first then he reminded me that he couldn't talk to me about stuff like that. So then I yelled at him and called him a chicken and yes, I felt better. This week, he just got a promotion at work and his boss told him not to say anything until it became official, so he didn't even tell me!!!!!! Can you believe THAT? He came home on Friday and told me he was going to be taking on more responsibility at work and that he had known for a while and not told me!!!! GEESH!!!!! So, if you ever have a secret you need to tell someone and need to know they'll keep it to themselves, Randy's the man. He wont break, even under pressure. I guess some of us have to be that way!!!! Well, wish me luck tonight!!!!

Christmas letters!!!

I just finished our Christmas letters for this year. It was hard because it was like, "we got sick this month, he got hurt this month, then they got sick again, then I had to have a surgery, ect...." (said in a very monotone and boring voice). I re-wrote it several times before I came up with one that I was pleased with. It's never been that hard, but GEESH!!!!! This has NOT been a normal year!!!! If you don't usually get a Christmas letter from us but want one this year, just leave your address in the message box and wait by your mailbox!!! Every letter comes with a complimentary picture of my family!!! How exciting is THAT???? Now, I'm off to read the cards and letters we have got this weekend!!!!

That's what it's all about....

After doing the Santa pictures on the last post, I wanted to counter them with a picture of something that really touched me. Cambelle and I were home alone the other day, setting up Christmas decorations and talking about every single one as we put it up for display. When it came to the Fisher Price Little People Nativity, I let her set it up by herself. I told her which shelf to put it on and told her to display them the way they think they should be. This is what I saw when she was done.


When I asked her about it, she said, "those wise men went so far to see Baby Jesus that I think they want to look at him and nothing else". I have to agree with her. I love how she already "gets it". Something similar happened a few years back when we were hanging our ornaments on the tree and when we were done, I realized that Tyler had faced all his ornaments facing the tree. When I told him that we couldn't see any of their faces, he replied, "Well, they want to look at the pretty tree too!!!". Now, I don't tell them which way to face the ornaments on the tree.

For Activity Days last week, I had them write their names on a paper and then we wrapped it and put it under our trees as the gift to Jesus. I talked to them about giving themselves to Jesus for Christmas. One of the best presents we can give to Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ is ourselves. If we all try just a little harder everyday to be a better person, I think that would be the best present ever. A few days after that activity, I was talking about presents and Cambelle piped up, "Remember mom? We're giving ourselves to Jesus!!! That the kind of present that is really important". It took me by surprise, but ohhhhh how proud I was of her. I hope my kids understand why we celebrate this wonderful holiday. The gifts are fun, but the reason for the holiday is so much more then that.

Pictures of Santas past....

I was looking for a specific picture of our kids with Santa. The one I'm trying to find is soooo funny. Tyler is pretty freaked out by pretty much anyone dressed as a character. Santa is the WORST!!!! One year, he freaked out sooo bad. The cute lady was waiting till he calmed down, I informed her that would not be happening, and just to take the picture. It's one of my favorite pictures of all time. I will find it, but until then, I decided to put on some of the other pictures we've had taken with Santa!!!

Brrrr....

Ok, so there's more than one reason I live in Southern Utah. But, one of the BIG reasons is because I'm a baby when it comes to being cold. I have been pampered my whole life, flip flops and t-shirts in December, that's how I roll. Golf and tennis all winter long (not that I play, but it's fun to see others enjoying those sports)and you wont ever find a snow shovel at my house. See what I mean... BABIED!!!! Well, this morning was 20 degrees at my house. That's right.... 20. I didn't run right out with thermometer in hand to check the accuracy of the weatherman, I just trusted that he was right. I have a big problem with it being that cold. When it's cold, I want to snuggle up in my denim quilt that Anna made for me for Christmas last year
(yes, it has a pink backing and a huge "H" on it!!!)
and do NOTHING.

I do NOT want to look like a smoke-breathing dragon when I go outside... EVER!!!! I get chilly if it dips below 70 degrees. So, JACK FROST, take it back and take it back RIGHT NOW!!!! I don't need the cold and frankly, it makes me crankier than normal (which is down right awful).

Oh, and by the way... Happy Holidays y'all!!!

Faithfully we will go....

This is my handsome husband on his way to one of his various church meetings. I know I am so blessed to be married to a man that honors his priesthood and serves his calling faithfully and with diligence, but that doesn't mean that I'm not going to complain occasionally. He was at the church for over 10 hours yesterday. Neither one of us knew how long he was going to be, or the kids and I would have gone to Hurricane without him. Instead, we waited for HOURS for him to get home with the kids asking me every 10 minutes when daddy was coming home. I have never heard him grumble about serving. I think he sees the big picture better then I do. Like I said, I am not ungrateful, I know how lucky I am to have a husband like that, but it gets to be a little much sometimes. Sorry if that shocks you that I would be the type to express what a lot of people wont (you should know better by now)!!! I am human and that is my rant!!!! Yes, I feel better!!! AMEN!!!

Dear Mr. President...

Dear Mr. President,

This is my nephew, Chuck. He is married to my niece, Brittney. Since this picture was taken, they have had another cute little boy. I know Chuck looks really cute in camouflage, but PLEASE, I am begging you, PLEASE don't send him overseas again. It was hard last time, but this time would be so much worse. I just don't think our family can handle it right now.

Sincerely,

A loving Aunt.

Oh Las Vegas, how we love thee.....

For some people, Vegas is all about gambling and strip clubs. For us, it's all about family. I have loved going to Vegas my whole life and consider it a treat anytime I get to go, even still. My biological dad's family is in Vegas (most of them) and I was raised going down there whenever I wanted to. My first trip driving alone to Vegas was when I was only 16, and that was before cell phones were so popular!!! I love that my mom and dad have allowed me to have a relationship with the Albrecht side of my family and I am blessed that they have been so active in my life. This Thanksgiving was special because my uncle Barry and his family came down from Northern Utah, so all but 5 of us were at Thanksgiving dinner. That doesn't happen hardly EVER!!!!

First things first, Macayo's... it's tradition. It's our favorite place to eat as a family. Macayo's is the reason I never knew what a quesadilla was, for us, they are called "TCTs", toasted cheese tortilla!!! And Macayo's is the reason my kids know what a Shirley Temple is!!! YUMMY!!!! Looking at these pictures makes my mouth water!!! We had a great time, especially when my cousin, Jacob, got the explanation from my Grandma of who Lorenna Bobbitt is!!!! Ohhhhhh, THAT was GREAT!!!!!!
There were so many of us, they had to seat us in an "L" shape just so we could fit!!! Good times!!!


Then it's Thanksgiving day. Dinner was at Aunt Vicky's house, that's where we always stay. They are always so willing to have us down, even though we out number them!!!! We love spending time with the Hoppel's!!!

Here's my Aunt Vicky..... she's gonna LOVE that I put this picture on my blog!!!! LOVE YOU AUNT VICKY!!!!!!!

And my Grandma Albrecht. I love these two women so much. I have always looked up to them and they continue to be great examples to me!!!



Now, enough of the small talk.... BRING ON THE FOOD!!!!!!! You can do a Coke count if you want to!!!! It's like Where's Waldo!!! How many Cokes? haha!!!

Let us eat TURKEY!!!! Here's my biological dad (in brown), Scott, and my Uncle Barry. Both of them are WONDERFUL cooks, in fact, Scott is one of the top chefs in Las Vegas. As a funny note, Scott pulled the turkey pan out of the oven WITH HIS BARE HANDS!!! No pot holders for him!!! Barry made the yummy mashed potatoes, Scott carved the turkey that my Aunt Vicky seasoned and cooked, Grandma made the green been casserole and everyone else brought stuff!!!! I'm just wondering why that cooking gene skipped me? DANG IT!!!!
Here's my Aunt Vicky, Aunt Iva, my cousin Rebecca and Tyler..... just waiting on the final touches before we dig in!!!
LOOK AT THAT!!!!! Can you hear it? Can you hear the angels singing? I can!!!
I don't know what my Uncle Gus is telling us about, but it looks exciting!!!!

Dinner was delish and the company was fun too!!! The only ones we were missing was Debbie and Andre that were at home, Little Ricky, who's in the air force and currently in Washington state, and Dallen and his new bride, Brittney. They stayed with her family this year. Not too bad, huh?

Then we had family picture time.

Here are some of the people that I love the very most in my life.....

Scott, my Grandma, Uncle Barry, Uncle Ricky and Aunt Vicky. It's fun to see my Grandma with all of her kids. That doesn't happen much. I love these people soooo much!!!!


Uncle Bear with his family, Elizabeth, Danielle, Iva and Danielle's FIANCE, Daniel. We had a great time with them. I love these guys so much. It's hard for them to live in Pleasant View, they're just so dang far away!!!
Here's my Uncle Ricky, Dalin, Jacob, Rebecca, Rebecca's boy toy, Matt and Aunt Rhonda. My Uncle Ricky is louder than me, you heard it... you didn't know that was possible, but yes, he is louder AND more obnoxious than me!!!! Man, I love him!!!!
And then I have my Aunt Vicky, I've always been her favorite (don't tell Rebecca). That's KC, Uncle Gus and Trey.... the Jacob look alike from Twilight (only better)!!!! These guys always let us invade their house when we come down, in fact, they left on Friday to go to a ball tournament in California, but we got to stay anyway!!!! These boys are the nicest boys you will ever meet, and aren't they sooo cute?
Here's Grandma with all the grandkids (minus Andre, Little Rick, and Dallen)...

Danielle, Grandma, KC, Jacob, Rebecca, ME, Joanna, Trey
Cambelle, Savanna, Tyler, Elizabeth and Maddison.

This picture was great, but not as good as the next one my Aunt Iva got, right as she said "3" to take the picture, I grabbed Rebecca's boobs!!!! It was so funny!!!! I can't wait to get THAT picture!!!! We had everyone in stitches!!!
Thursday night, we went to New Moon (yes, that's #3 for me!!). We had to take Grandma to see her boyfriend, remember THIS POST about my Grandma's love for Jacob? Needless to say, she wasn't disappointed!!!!

Friday morning started off with us saying goodbye to Aunt Vicky, Uncle Gus and the boys. Randy went over to RC Willey with Rebecca and Matt to get us a camcorder. I'm so glad he did, black Friday saved us 50% on the camcorder we've been wanting!!! We got our $400. camcorder for $210. including tax and a bag!!!! YEA!!!! When he was done there, we went to Grandma's. The boys went to Dick's sporting goods for ammo and the girls (and Daniel) went to the mall. One of the highlights for me will be my Aunt Iva asking the saleslady in Macy's where the women's lingerie is and Daniel, without missing a beat, asking where the men's lingerie is!!!! That poor lady!!! I laughed soo hard!!!! After all our shopping fun, we went back to Aunt Vicky's for dinner and to hit the jacuzzi!!! It was sooo relaxing!!! It makes me want a "jubi" as Cambelle calls it!!!!


This is what everyone looks like after a long day of shopping and a night sitting in a hot jacuzzi!!!

Saturday morning was "Grandma pancakes" time (or skinny pancakes as my kids call them)!!! My Grandma Jorgensen passed down a love of crepes, we always love it when Uncle Bear will make them for us!!!
One HAPPY customer!!!! Ohhhhh they are so good!!!!
Then Aunt Iva needed some snuggle time with Cambelle!!! Who doesn't?

Then it was off for home. We had such a blast. My cousin, Danielle got engaged to her boyfriend, Daniel this weekend. Poor Daniel took crap all weekend, just like Randy did almost 14 years ago!!! He's a good sport. I think he'll survive!!!

One thing that I learned this weekend, is that my family loves me for who I am. Not what I used to be, or what I might become. They care about TODAY and love me for what I am. They don't care that I swear and they love Coke just as much as I do, both things that I regularly get judged for by others. I love that they will take me for what I am and love me so very much unconditionally!!!! THAT is what I would call Christ-like love. After spending time with them this weekend, I realized that I am so much an Albrecht and a Jorgensen. They complete who I am. I am so blessed to have that understanding. It's like the icing on the cake. Isn't that what we all want? To be loved NO MATTER WHAT? Well, I have it and I'm very grateful for that!!!!

I hope you all had as great of a holiday as we did!!!

HAHAHAHA!!!!!

So what? I missed another day!!!! Therefor I will post 2, yes, 2 posts on what I am thankful for!!!

Monday-

I am thankful for a sense of humor. I love to laugh. Laughing loud, long and hard is one of my favorite past times!!! Whether it's a knock, knock joke from one of my kids or a very funny story about my mom, I love to giggle. Speaking of my mom, here's one of my favorites. Mother, please forgive me for the story I am about to tell.

A few weeks ago, we were in SLC for my cousin's wedding. I called my mom to check on her while we were gone. My dad was driving school bus up North, so she was home alone. When I called her, she was really unsettled. She told me that everything in the house was dim. The lights, the computer, even the TV. As if it was only running on half the power. She called 2 of my brothers-in-law and quizzed them about it. She flipped a few of the breakers and nothing helped. She was really worried that there was something dangerous going on, electrically, in her house. The boys informed her that she was safe to spend the night there, but if it kept going to call an electrician on Monday. No one could figure out what was going on.

So, fast forward to a couple of days later, we were at my birthday lunch and Blanche mentioned something about my mom's lights (with a laugh), as my mom threatened her from spilling the beans, I tried figuring out why my mom would be so mad at Blanche if she told and THEN IT HIT ME!!!!!!!! I turned to my mom and asked one simple question that would keep us laughing for the next few hours....... "mom, were you wearing your sunglasses in the house?". With an angry/embarrassed look on her face, she confirmed that on that night, she indeed, had her sunglasses on!!!!!!!!!!! Oh, I have never laughed so hard. It was great fun on my mom's behalf.

Some people are funny when they try to be, like my dad. He can keep you going for DAYS with laughter, and then you have people like my mom and grandma Albrecht. When they TRY to be funny, it totally bombs, but when they are just being themselves, it cracks everyone up!!!!! I love that I have parents with 2 different kinds of sense of humor. It keeps us all on our toes!!!! This last year has been an absolute joke, between the 6 kidney stones I've passed, Randy's broken pelvis, my dad's cancer diagnosis, the kids getting swine flu, my miscarriage, my crash and Cambelle's possibly broken elbow on Wednesday, if we didn't have a good sense of humor, I would be in the loony bin by now!!!! The fact that I get to laugh at situations that would make anyone else go crazy, has saved my bacon more than once!!!! Randy has a great sense of humor also, I think it's saved our marriage!!! He makes me laugh so hard I will start dry heaving!!!! Now, that's love!!! So, let's keep laughing!!!!

Tuesday-

Today I am thankful for Angie.
She is going to cut my hair today and make me look purty. She makes everyone look purty. Her talent has enriched our family for years, now!!!! I am as low maintenance as they get and she knows that, therefor she never gives me more than I can handle. Today, I am just cutting some layers into my hair, so don't expect a blond mohawk or anything!!!!! Now, I'm off to the land of cutty, cut!!!

My chillins

Today I am thankful for my kids. I am thankful for them EVERYDAY, but today I will post why!!!

Here is Maddison, she is your typical "oldest child". Responsible and obedient. She is so creative, she'll take a piece of paper and make furniture for her Littlest Pet Shops. She got my love of music and can feel music like most people can't. She's naturally talented in music. She is taking piano lessons and took violin lessons last year and loves them both. She's so kind and doesn't want anyone to ever be uncomfortable. She is such a blessing to our family. I feel blessed to get the chance to be her mom!!!!


This is Tyler. He is ALL BOY!!! He has more energy than any single person needs. He is very sympathetic. It pains him to see anyone sad. He is my little "lover boy". He'll snuggle with my ANYTIME I ask him too!!! He has a math brain. He is not quite 8 and our favorite trick to do with him is tell him someone's age and he'll tell us what year that person was born, just THAT quick!!! He also has been blessed with a natural ability to learn music. When it's his time to practice piano, there have been a few times I've heard Maddison's songs and have gone in to see him playing HER music!!! He is such a fun boy and I'm grateful to get to raise him!!!


And then we have Cambelle!!!! She keeps us going!!! We named her after my MIL's family, the Campbell's. I should have thought this through more, they are a family of red heads with OCD. She has that red head temper and is obsessive about a lot of things!!! I'm telling you, don't make this girl mad!!! But I wouldn't trade her for the world. She is our little mama. She babies everything she can. She would rather nurse her baby dolls then play with her friends!!! She is at such a fun age and I can't believe now, how upset I was when I got pregnant with her. I can't imagine our family without this little fireball!!! A blessing sent straight from Heaven!!!


We have such good kids. We are truly blessed!!! They teach me new things everyday, whether I wanted to learn it or not ;) I love having them by my side every single day!!!

Thank you, thank you, and THANK YOU!!!!

I can't believe that I haven't blogged for 3 whole days!!! I have been posting everyday about something I am thankful for. Since I haven't blogged for SOOOO LONG (hehe) I have some catching up to do!!!


Thursday:

I am sooo grateful for Randy's job. He works for a great company. One that is always very modest with their spending, which has kept them in business in these hard times. Randy is such a hard worker. He's worked for Interstate Rock for 14 years next month. He started out driving a cement truck, then a few years later he became a foreman and started to dispatch. A few years ago at a cement convention, he learned that he was doing the job of 2 people. So, needless to say, he's a hard worker!!! He can also run most of the heavy equipment that IRP uses. He's even learned how to test concrete. Well, when things started to slow down for construction, they temporarily closed their St. George plant and he's been working out of the Hurricane plant. He drives cement truck a lot (and can still run circles around most of his drivers), he dispatches, drives dump trucks, and pretty much anything else he can to stay busy and make people's jobs easier, even learning how to do bids for concrete and sales. I am so thankful that he has a job right now. Remember when you used to work harder for bonuses and perks? Now you work that hard just to keep your job. I am so grateful Randy is such a hard worker. He has proven himself so many times in his company and they have shown us several times that they really care for the well being of our family!!!


This is Randy teaching Maddison's 2nd grade class what his job is all about!!! They loved it!!! They all got a turn lifting a chute and they loved how loud the horn was!!!

Friday:

I am thankful for New Moon finally coming out in Theatres!!!! Dumb? Maybe a little, but it's a day I've been WAITING for!!! My girl, Holly and I went to the midnight showing of it and had a BLAST!!! Then later in the day, I got to go again with my kids, Randy and his brother, Cory. We had a great time and loved the movie... everyone loved the movie!!!


Here's the shirt that Holly and I got just for the midnight show!!!! Cute, huh?


And now we're to Saturday:

I am grateful for my camera and the chance I get to take so many of my friend's and families pictures. I got a Cannon Rebel last year and this year, I had a great opportunity to buy Cory's camera from him for a steal. So now, I have a Cannon EOS 30D!!! It is such an amazing camera and I am excited to get to use it more. In the last week, I've done 3 family photo shoots for my friends and have had a great time doing them. Photography is so fun for me. I enjoy it so much!!! I have a PHOTOGRAPHY BLOG that I started and it's come in handy when my friends have wanted pictures, I just refer them to it and they can tell me what style they like!!! I have got to do a few weddings and lots of family pictures. My goal is to do it for a price that will allow everyone to be able to do them more often. I hate that there are people out there that charge such ridiculous prices for photos. Most people just want a family picture that is suitable to hang on their wall. I want my friends to look at their photos and remember how much they love their family, not how much they paid the photographer!!! Anyhow, I have more editing to do on those fun shoots, so I better get off my blog!!!

Maybe I'll actually blog tomorrow instead of waiting 3 days again!!!

20,000 and going strong

Today I am grateful for all my blog readers. I put a ticker on my blog last year in the fall and today, I noticed that it's gone over the 20,000 mark. I find it interesting that anyone is entertained by my crazy life!!! I have always been a big journal writer, so I have just made my blog that place now!!! I will make my blog into a book at the end of the year, so that way we can refer to it like a scrapbook. I know that some people are shocked about the personal things that I put on here, but if you know me, you know that there is nothing off limits!!! I like being open about everything, it's just who I am!!!

So, my acceptance speech for my 20,000 mark.....

First off, I would like to thank my Heavenly Father for pushing me out of Heaven when he did, if it would have been earlier then I wouldn't be into blogging. Then I would like to thank my parents for closing their eyes and letting me grow up and make mistakes that I would later blog about. I would never be able to do this without Qwest for supplying me with the internet and Mac for making a kick ass computer that makes it easy for me to blog. I would like to thank Randy for not ever editing my blog posts, even when he wanted to, my kids for providing me with crazy stories to tell and the medication I am on to make me seem more normal to the outside world than I really am!!! I would like to thank Blogger. Who (what) ever you are, thank you.... thank you for letting me say what's on my mind. And last, but not least, the readers. I would like to thank you all for laughing with me, crying with me, and questioning my sanity just like everyone else!!!! Here's to another 20,000 log-ins!!!!


Update on the last post.... Makayla Jo McInnes was born last night. Weighing in at 7# 3 0z. and 20" long. She is as cute as a button and I can't wait to get my hands on her!!!

Sweet miracles

Today I am thankful for the sweet miracle of birth. I have always been a sucker for babies, I just love how they are sent to us right from Heavenly Father's presence. Our friends, the McInnes' are at the hospital right now to deliver their 6th baby. I am so happy for them. I was in the delivery room with my sister, Launa, when she delivered her last son. It was the most spiritual experience I had ever felt. I could feel the room change as Weston was being born. It was a feeling I had never felt before or even knew existed. I KNOW that all of our family members, past and future are there to help us when we are delivering our little ones. I am so excited for Paul and Heather right now, and not to mention how excited I am to get to slobber on a new little baby!!!

A little BEHIND....

Sorry I haven't kept up on my gratitude list. I had some unexpected things happen.... so, I will catch up now!!!

Friday- I am thankful for in-laws that like to keep my kids for sleepovers on a regular basis. They are not afraid of having all of our kids over at the same time and they even usually invite the other grand kids over at the same time!!! My birthday was last Monday and Randy arranged to have the kids sleep over the following Friday so he could take me out!!! We went to Couple's Retreat, a hilarious movie and then we went to dinner. It was nice to be alone with Randy. I love having date nights!!!!

Saturday- I am thankful for seat belts. I have always been the "seat belt nazi" and on Saturday, I was glad I am!!! I had done a photo shoot for my friends, then I ran to Wal-mart and then on my way home, I was going up Bluff Street and the light at the Blvd. turned yellow, so I slowed to a stop and BAM!!!!! I got rear ended!!! I was the first car at the light, so I didn't hit anyone else, but if anyone would have been in front of me, I would have hit them too. The lady hit me so hard, more than half of my car went over the line I was stopped behind!!! I was so annoyed, but I stayed calm because I knew it was harder to be the other lady at that point!!! I called the police, then I called Steven, he was working but didn't answer his phone. I looked over and could see my mom's truck in their driveway, so I called them and they came over for moral support!!!

If you look in the background of this picture, you can see my dad in the "concerned" stance.





There's my mom taking pictures!!! Can you see the white line where I was stopped? It's between my front and back doors. NIIIICE!!!!
My car will need the bumper replaced, but her 2008 Toyota Avalon is totaled. Oopsie!!!


When I called Randy to tell him that I was in a crash but that me and the car were fine, I think that was the straw that broke the camel's back. He was soooo mad. I think we're both so sick of all the garbage we keep going through. I am so glad I didn't have my kids with me. That would have brought out the mama bear in me.

After I was done with the police, I went and had x-rays done at the hospital so I knew nothing was wrong. My chest was burning from where the seat belt caught me and my neck was already stiffening up. The x-rays show that I have pretty bad whiplash in my neck and back. I was warned that I would have 2 bad days and then it should be feeling better.

After all that, I was going to Vegas for the show I have been waiting so long for.... So You Think You Can Dance Season 5 tour!!!! I went with my neighbors and it was SOOOO fun!!!! I had to be careful how I moved my head, but I was comfortable other than that. It was sooo amazing!!! I never knew their tour was THAT good. I can't wait to go again!!! If you're a fan of the show, you'll remember some of the dances that I got to see.....

*The Zombie Dance
*The Pick Dance
*Addiction
*Gravity
*If It Kills Me (the necklace one)
*The BUTT Dance
And who will ever forget A Woman's Work AKA, the Breast Cancer Dance?

It was amazing in so many ways!!! I am so glad I went!!!

Here are the girls I went with... my neighbors Heather and Camrie Brey and Camrie's dance teacher, Kell.


Look how close I was to the stage!!!! Look at that talent... self portrait AND the sign? WOOHOO!!!



It was such a great night!!!

Sunday- I am thankful for muscle relaxers and Percocet. Without them, I would have been in a LOT of pain!!!

And now... MONDAY!!! I am thankful for modern medicine!!! My dad started his radiation treatments today. If it weren't for radiation treatments, my dad would die of prostate cancer, but now he will have a 95% chance of being cured!!! I am so grateful for that!!! One treatment down, 24 to go. Our good friend, Joe (more like family), will be doing his treatments, so it's a big relief to my dad and our family that Joe will be with him. He is one of the most gentle men I have ever met, so I can't think of anyone better to be helping my dad!!!

Maybe I wont be such a slacker for the rest of my month of gratitude!!! Thanks for staying tuned!!!