Tuesday, October 30, 2007

Happy Halloween from the Witch and the Butterfly

Today we made the 4 hour drive home from Heather's house, just in time for our Primary Halloween Party. The kids were exhausted from the long weekend, but still excited to get into their costumes, and Adyson thought it was WONDERFUL that she got to wear make-up! I'm raising a 15 year old stuck in a 3 year old's body! Anyways-I hope you all have a great Halloween and can't wait to see some pics of all your cute kiddies dressed up! My bloggin' friends really do have some cute kids!

A Visit to Mountain Home

This past weekend my mom and I were lucky enough to make another trip to go and see Heather and Jody. It was pure heaven! Brielle is getting so big and she is still as beautiful as ever. She is such a happy baby, and a spitting image of Heather. Adyson was in Heaven playing with Kutter, they have quite the imagination when they are together! Sienna played herself into a coma. She loved Brielle's walker, and climbed in it about a million times a day, but she couldn't get out. She was so tired once, that she just hunched over and went to sleep! She stayed in the there for almost 2 hours! We were able to get some Christmas shopping done, and of course, we ate some delicious food! I cherish the time I have with the women in my family-(we missed you ames) and feel constantly blessed to have sisters and a mother who I love and can teach me so much. Heather, your new haircut is hot, I'm still mad I forgot to take a picture!
All the kids painting together.Sienna napping.Heather and beautiful Brielle

Sunday, October 28, 2007

Tagged

Five things I was doing 10 years ago.
1-I too was a Jr. in highschool, and a bratty one at that! :)
2-I was dating my FIRST missionary. That's right, I've had two!
3-I was working at R&G's with all of my friends. I loved that job!
4-I was also working at The Silver Shoppe, piercing ears.
5-The car I was driving was nicknamed the airplane. The muffler went out once and people heard me coming!!!

Five Snacks I enjoy.
1-Dove Chocolate covered almonds
2-ice-cream
3-chips and salsa
4-cold oranges
5-coke!

Five Songs I know all the Lyrics to.
I love music and learn lyrics pretty easily. So you name it, I know it.
I was super proud when I learned all the words to Blues Traveler-Hook and still can't help but sing any old Madonna songs.

Five Things I would do if I were a millionaire.
1-Pay off our Familis debt.
2-obviously, pay off our debt.
3-Go to Spain, Trav served his mission there.
4-Invest.
5-Spoil my kids rotten.

Five bad habits.
1-Angry driver. I get Road Rage!
2-bite my nails.
3-My car is always messy. I love a clean house, but can't manage to clean my car!
4-staying up late for any reason. I am a night owl.
5-I'm not near as patient as I should be.

Five things I'd never wear again.
1-Pleated Pants
2-Shoulder Pads
3-Utah Claw Bangs
4-M.C. Hammer pants
5-Overalls

Five favorite toys.
1-Computer
2-Camera
3-My shears, I cute hair you see.
4-My scanner. I love to make movies from pictures to music.
5-My Girls

Five things on my To Do List Today.
1-Nothing! I am at my sisters for the weekend, and we are doing nothing! Just watching our cuties play together! Jealous?


Five people I tag! Sarah, Heather, Hanne, Courtney, & Amy

Saturday, October 27, 2007

Just Curious?

I was all excited about how cute my new template is, but I am currently at my sisters house and it doesn't look the same as it did at my house. There is only red paper for the background, and there should be red in the middle and flowers on the sides. So can you all help me out and tell me what you can see! And any of you html girls, if you know how to fix my problems, hook me up!

Wednesday, October 24, 2007

A much needed A.A., and some beautiful faries..

I've been in one of those "woe is me" moods for the past few days. I'm not sure why, I really have NO reason at all to feel blue, but just have. So today I decided to snap out of it and just simply remember all the things that I have that make me happy. I have realized that the list is long, and I am one of those lucky people who probably have more than I deserve! So I've given myself a Pep talk and am ready to stop sulking!

The last few days have actually been pretty fun, which makes my blue mood seem even crazier! We went to the pumpkin walk, like so many of our other bloggin' friends. We went on Monday and the place was packed, but still really fun! I forgot the camera, but the girls loved the cartoon cut-outs. Adyson was just about in heaven with all the princesses. Afterwards, we them a small lesson on Joseph Smith. Maybe Adyson wont confuse him with Jon Smith from Pocohautus anymore!

Yesterday was just a beautiful day and Adyson and Sienna wanted to be outside all day. I know that soon the snow will cover the ground, so I let them play an awful lot out there. This is MY type of weather. Not too hot!


Today my bishops wife, who takes some beautiful photos, took the girls to the park to take some pictures for us. Travis helped them with their computer and she offered some free pics in exchange. I haven't received hers yet, but I wanted to post my pics with my crappy camera. I have a feeling hers will turn out just beautifully!Sorry about the long rant, I found this quote today, and thought it fit my feelings perfectly!
"Most folks are about as happy as they make their minds up to be." -Abe Lincoln

Saturday, October 20, 2007

My Husband Rocks!!!!

Yeah, Yeah, Yeah!!! We are so excited about the basement progress this weekend! Travis and Cody spent a good portion of our Saturday putting the rock up on the fireplace. I think that it is coming along beautifully! Hopefully we will get this finished this week, and next week, carpet! Here is a sneak preview, I'm sure I will post the finished project in a few days.

Figured them out...

Sienna has figured out the names of her body parts, and is proud to show her new talent off. Tonight when I went to take her pic, she just started showing me. So here they are! I'm such a proud mama!


Her cheeks! Don't you just want to kiss em?
Her mouth.Her cute curly locks.Her head.And this is the face she makes when we ask her to make a silly face. She's one crazy kid!

Favorites

Adyson's new favorite: Those darn Barbie Princess movies! I know, it's shocking that she loves them so much!

My new favorite: This darling hat my sister picked up for Sienna. Isn't it just the cutest thing ever!

Seinna's favorite: Is still climbing on whatever she can. Tonight Trav said "Hayley, go look in Ady's room." And there she was just sitting on Adyson's baby station, just chillin'. She's so funny.

Tuesday, October 16, 2007

Happy Day Heather!

Happy Birthday Heather! Well, I tried to call you today, and couldn't get you! Are you avoiding my B-day wishes? I hope you had a wonderful day, and I just wanted to name a few things that I love and admire about you.

You are a wonderful mom, your kids love you so much, and you always recognize their needs. I hope I can be half the mom you are!

You ALWAYS look beautiful! ALWAYS!

You are the ONLY person as cheap as cheap as ME, and I love that you are so indecisive that when we shop together, I get to be your personal shopper.

I would let you decorate my house any day of the week!

You make CLOSE friends so easily, it's nice to see so many people love you like I do!

I hope you had a wonderful day and got as spoiled as you deserved! You truly are a FRIEND, just as much as a SISTER! I love you!


Monday, October 15, 2007

Adyson's Apology

So if you read my last post , you know that Adyson has been a grump and crying at every turn. Well last night when we put her to bed was no exeption. She cried and cried because I made her take her tutu off. (I know, the drama!) Anyways, she finally calmed down and went to sleep. I figured that was the end of it.

She just got out of bed and this is how the conversation played out.
Ad*Mom, I have a word for you. Sorry.
Me*Sorry, how come?
Ad*For crying so much yesterday, I promise I will try to be better today.

What? Did she read my post of frusteration last night? I just had to post this because I thought it was so sweet. The real test will be to see how she acts today though!

Sunday, October 14, 2007

The Yucks

Well, this week has been interesting to say the least! On Wednesday a bunch of my cute friends and our kids met at McDonalds to let the kiddies play while we had some "adult chat." (That sounds dirty, I just mean some mommy talk!) Anyways-we had a lovely time, and my kids were in heaven. Just as we were walking out of the door, Adyson pukes. At McDonalds. Fun, eh? That was the beginning of the "bug" that has been all over our house this week. When the throwing up finally stopped, she started coughing, no-barking really. Every year she gets croup and it showed up right after the first bug! YUCK! So to the doctor we went and we got the medicine and we are HOPEFULLY on the upswing of it all. The only thing is that the lack of sleep is making her about the grumpiest kid on earth. She has bags under her eyes and cries about almost everything and Sienna has been BORED to death! Adyson has been too tired to play much, it's a good thing Simon has been here a bit to entertain her! I'm just praying that tonight she sleeps awesome and is her normal, happy self tomorrow, and I'm also praying that Sienna doesn't get it!
Isn't it so funny that even with the flu and croup she still has to dress up?
Simon pushing Sienna around the house. They really have so much fun together!

There were at least a few fun points to the week. Adyson and Sienna have been making Daddy give them "horsie rides" all week long. Sienna FINALLY has figured out how to hold on and they just laugh constantly!
Another silly highlight of the week is playing Monopoly with Cody and Amy. I know we are so nerdy, but it has become our new thing! Here are a few pics from tonight. Just for the record, Travis won and I came in second! Seriously, when you are a parent your pass times just get nerdier!

Wednesday, October 10, 2007

My Personality Type

You Are An ENFJ
The Giver
You strive to maintain harmony in relationships, and usually succeed.Articulate and enthusiastic, you are good at making personal connections.Sometimes you idealize relationships too much - and end up being let down.You find the most energy and comfort in social situations ... where you shine.
In love, you are very protective and supporting.However, you do need to "feel special" - and it's quite easy for you to get jealous.
At work, you are a natural leader. You can help people discover their greatest potential.You would make a good writer, human resources director, or psychologist. How you see yourself: Trusting, idealistic, and expressive
When other people don't get you, they see you as: Bossy, inappropriate, and loud
click the link above.
I stole this from Sarah's blog. Do you agree? Take the test and see what you are.

One Step Closer

Yesterday our bookshelves came making us one step closer to a finished basement! I can't tell you how excited we are to finally have them installed. My neighbor made them for us and we think he did a bang-up job!! Also-as I speak a few guys are in my garage venting my fireplace. We have been waiting for this to get done for months, and then they finally came! It is awesome! All we have to do now is Rock the fireplace, and get carpet! I can't wait to sit on our nice new couches and just do nothing! Here are a few pics.
Above our mantle is where the T.V. will go and there will be rock surrounding the fireplace. Looks pretty good Eh?

Sunday, October 7, 2007

Girls and Curls


When I was little, not a night went by that I didn't sleep with foam rollers in my hair. They were small and I had about a million in my hair, so when I saw these in the store the other day, I snatched them up. Hey, my mom put me through the pain, why not put Ady through it too! Just kidding-but I knew they would make her hair darling. I tried real hard to get a cute pic of Sienna's great curly hair, but she just wouldn't cooperate with me!
The girls in the family. Adyson felt like a little beauty today.

Babies and Snuggles

This week has been the week of the babies! Let me explain.... My cousin, who lives in Connecticut, was here for a visit with her new baby Ayva. On Wednesday the girls in the family got to get together for a delicious dinner at Texas Roadhouse in Ogden, and to meet the baby. She is beautiful by the way! (Yes Heather, we missed you!) It was really nice to all get together and once again, I am lucky to have the family I have! Anyways-back to the babies. Some of our great friends Sean and Kelly had a baby boy-Adam-a few weeks ago, and she brought him over on Thursday. She needed an "I just had a baby haircut!" He was darling too, and it made me wonder if someday I will have a boy. Today Brittney, one of my dearest friends, was able to bless their new baby Allie. They live a few hours away, so they decided to bless her here during the break of conference so all of their family could be here. Allie is darling and I just wanted to kiss her cheeks! She has been pretty sick with some allergies and severe reflux in her short little time of life, leaving her mom a pretty tired mommy. But you can see that she will grow up to be a looker, and an angel-she has no choice, her mom is pretty great! (Love you Britt) Then yesterday, my great friend Ashley had her baby, and I got to go meet her today. Ayda Grace Godfrey. She is beautiful just like her mommy and her sister. It's always amazing to hold a baby when they are so new to life. Her skin was the most beautiful skin and so soft! Anyways-It's not often that I get to meet so many little miracles in just one week. If you are wondering if it made me baby hungry-the answer is no! Sienna has been sleeping like pure crap, and we are much to tired for that! Give me another year! But they babies were all darling! I meant to take pics of these babes, and just forgot-sorry!

Things here have been pretty crazy this week. Travis and I were so excited because my mom offered to watch the kids and let us go out on Friday night. It's always nice to actually miss your kids. Cafe Sabor was divine! Today we got to watch Conference, something I used to sleep through, I now truly enjoy! Its always so amazing to listen to the prophet and to hear some of these unbreakable testimonies.

I decided to do Adyson's hair in front of the T.V. while President Hinckley spoke so she would have to listen a bit. He started talking about Joseph Smith and Trav and I both asked if she knew who he was. Her answer was this "No, wait, who's the guy on Pocohauntas?" Yeah, Jon Smith. It made me feel like an awesome parent. We may need to have a good ol' fashioned Joseph Smith family night!


Anyways-I thought I should post a good family moment. Adyson and Sienna have become awfully close the last few weeks and they are starting to snuggle a bit at night. Isn't it sweet?

Wednesday, October 3, 2007

Mason

A while back I learned that a friend from highschools-(one I haven't spoke to in years) son, who is around Sienna's age, has been diagnosed with Leukemia. I cannot imagine how hard this has been for her family. I think back to when Travis was diagnosed and think that the pain must be magnified so much watching your child go through this. Ashley just gave me the website for her son, Mason. I thought I would put it here so you can all read his story and keep updated and maybe even make a donation. I will worn you though, you may tear up a bit just reading his story. This little boy just looks like a fighter!
The website is www.teammason.us

Tuesday, October 2, 2007

Albinism

For some odd reason tonight I found myself searching for information on Albinism. For those of you who don't know, Adyson was diagnosed with Albinism at about 4 months old. I used to search the websites and blogs nightly trying to soak in all the information I could. It became a bit of an obsession for me, and somehow, I just stopped looking. I guess her "condition" became normal for us and she just seems like such a normal kid, it's very hard to remember that she has anything wrong with her. Anyways, I have been reading the forums and blogs of parents who have just discovered this about their children, and thought I should write down Adyson's story. Maybe someone who is going through all of this will read it and realize that it isn't the end of the world, or even close, thought it may feel like that for a bit-and it just feels like something I should do so I don't forget!

Adyson was born with the most beautiful blonde hair have ever seen. Thick, shiny blonde hair. We didn't think much of this because I had some blonde hair of my own when I was younger. She was a beauty though! She developed very normally-in fact, I would say she was above normal. (I only add that in because I read tonight that a lot of kids diagnosed with OAC don't respond a lot to toys in thier first few months) Adyson did though. She loved to look at books, and she loved toys, and she would coo constantly. (I may be bragging a bit now) but she really was lovely! We always laughed at her because she wanted to look at so many things at once. Our whole family commented on how much she loved to look around all the time. We all thought it was so cute. I never dreamed that it meant that something could be wrong.

When she was four months old we took her to our pediatrician for her check-up. He immediately asked us about her eyes and the way she looked around. How stupid I felt that we didn't realize that something was wrong? He said she had bilateral nystagmus-and he actually said that something could be wrong with her brain. A very terrifying thing to hear of course! But for some reason, we both knew that her brain was functioning just fine. I already said, we thought she was brilliant! I went home and did a lot of research on the internet and found out as much as I could about nystagmus. It very often popped up when referring to Albinism and I wondered if that could be what Adyson had. I didn't know any of the genetics of it, and wasn't sure if it was even possible. I also found other options, but they were much scarier, and the wait to meet a Doctor in Salt Lake was far too long.


Finally, we headed to the Doctor. That day was a long day. As I'm typing this I'm having a hard time remembering every place we went and the titles of the Doctors, so forgive me, but I remember we left very early in the morning and met with a woman first. She checked Adyson's eyes and was amazed at how alert she was, but then she sort of "passed the buck" and sent us somewhere else. I believe he was an opthomologist. He basically just said exactly what I knew. He thought she had OAC, but there was a test to be sure. It was a strange feeling hearing it out loud. I really KNEW somehow that this would be what she had, and honestly I tried to convince myself that it wasn't a big deal, but it was a lot to swallow. We were lucky enough to be at the U and someone who worked there is a huge specialist on Albinism. He has written many articles and traveled all over studying the effects of it. There he did the test, which consisted of hooking some electrical thing up to Adyson and reading waves. A "normal" persons waves would be a certain pattern, and Adyson's were polor opposite. So that confirmed it.

They also sent us to a genetics lab where they asked us first if we were related-nice eh? (we aren't :)) and there they gave us a statistics. The most interesting thing I learned was that it is pretty rare to carry the gene for albinsim, but for Adyson to have it, means that Travis and I both are carriers. People with OAC have little or no pigment in their eyes. Many are legally blind and most have very poor eyesight.

Here are some facts:

1 in 17,000 people are diagnosed with Albinism.

There are about 18,000 people diagnosed in the U.S.

Most have normal parents and no family history of Albinism

After the long day at the hospital, we came home exhausted. We hadn't really talked about how we felt about this and almost felt selfish for feeling bad about it. So what? Ady had albinism. She was physically healthy, and there are deffinetly worse things out there. They checked her eyes and they were actually really good considering her nystagmus. We just had to be careful in the sun and watch her progression. But for some reason, for a day or two it felt much worse than that. All I could picture was my poor Adyson getting teased for the way she looked. I have seen the teasing and I know I have done the teasing. How in the world can we watch our little girl go through this? Would she be legally blind? Would she be able to drive? We just sat and wondered how hard her life would be.

When I think back on it all, I picture myself sobbing and worrying constantly. It seems very silly now. Adyson is just normal. Very normal. She is smart, her eyesight seems to be doing okay. I'm sure she will need glasses soon, but her eye doctor doesn't think her sight will ever get as bad as some. She is beautiful, and I think her gorgeous blonde hair and porcelin skin is a blessing, and just makes her look like an angel. She has OAC1 which means she has some pigment in her hair and skin, I think it is just enough to give her strawberry hair and rosy cheeks, lucky kid huh?Ady has been tracked by the up to 3 program and they have been really impressed with her sight. We have been really lucky there! She will continue to be tracked through school in case she has any special needs. We are lucky that they will help if she ever needs any sight learning tools!
Anyways tonight I read on those forums of so many parents who are just beginning the "wondering" stage of it all, and while I still worry at times, about the teasing, and the sun, and of course, the eyes-it is just normal for us. Adyson is who she is, and I wouldn't change a thing about her. We are just going to have to raise her to be strong and outspoken and she will just have to be herself for people to see how normal she really is.

Forgive me for babbling-I just felt like I needed to write this down! I wanted to do a regular post today, but my camera isn't working, so I will try tomorrow!