The Jonkman Family

Fresh start

2011-10-07T21:32:00.002-05:00

Ok folks, I just finished updating the best pictures from the last year. I missed a bunch of great stuff. So, here I go again. A fresh start. A renewed effort to do better. I blog to share with friends and family the adventures of our crazy life. But mainly I blog as a way of documenting and recording. So we can look back and remember all the incredible times of this incredibly busy life. Thank you iphone for my new app that lets me blog on the go. Ironic to me that I have so much gratitude for my iphone, the day after the death of its creator.

While the kids are at school.

2011-10-07T07:52:00.001-05:00

Max goes to preschool till 11:30 except for special play days, where he stays a couple hours longer.
This morning:
Max: Is today playday?
Me: yep
Eric: Max, do you like playdays?
Max: yes
Eric: I bet mom likes playdays too.
Max: yeah, because she gets to lay down longer.

First try at cereal

2011-10-06T18:02:00.002-05:00

I think she likes it.

2011-10-06T18:00:00.002-05:00

Who wants to go to the beach?

2011-10-06T17:56:00.001-05:00

First Day of School!

2011-10-06T17:45:00.002-05:00

Three months

2011-10-06T14:45:00.002-05:00

One month

Two months

Three months

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Aiden loves to read! His school has a program called accelerated reader or AR. Aiden had the second most AR points in the whole school this year!

Jenna Grace graduating preschool.

Here comes Kindergarten!

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Eric's busted achilles

2011-10-03T15:20:00.002-05:00

2011-10-03T14:50:00.003-05:00

Because of Aiden's super high AR points, he was selected to be one of the kids at the ground breaking for the new school.

This year Aiden designed his own pinewood derby car. He wanted it to look like Super Man flying down the track. He drew it, helped cut it and painted it. Then he won 2nd place overall!

Sweet funny Max!

2011-10-03T14:36:00.001-05:00

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Yey!

2011-10-01T13:33:00.001-05:00

I found this app for my phone that let's me post from my phone! So now I can blog from the carpool line, or from the dentist office. I no longer have to wait till I have time to quietly sit at my home computer. Which never happens! Hopefully this works and I can start updating much more often. Yey!

Long time over due.

2010-09-18T21:44:00.000-05:00

So, I haven't really been able to accomplish my goal of blogging at least once a month. But I am not giving up. The busyness of my life is caused by the blessings of my life!

Here are some of the things we missed....

Snow man in the deep south!

Papaw had as much fun as the kids did on Easter!

Max and his soccer team.

Jenna Grace loved her dance class! She missed her recital so we could go on a great vacation. She's made me promise that she will make it to the stage next year!

Cousins getting ready for Aunt Christie's wedding.

Carpool line is a tough thing for a three year old.

It is pretty tough on four year old's too!

A flower girl twice in two months. Jenna Grace thinks the world is perfect.

Classic Max in a monkey suit.

The most handsome little men!

Poor Jenna Grace, and poor dad. When mom is away the kids give dad a run for his money! This happened while dad was cleaning up the mess Max made.
Grandma's roll brush met its match with Jenna Grace's hair.

Yellowstone! I love vacations!

I don't think camping in a tent will ever be as much fun as camping in the RV!

Every one loved it!

There is nothing like having the entire outdoors as your outhouse.

While we were in Yellowstone Aiden became a Jr. Ranger.

Max making a mess of his sandwich.

Cow appreciation day at Chick-fil-A.

Aiden is 8! He had a Super Mario birthday!

Aiden on Baptism day.

The best Seminary teacher ever!

The view from Eric's office.
What a great place to work.

Happy New Years Day!

2010-01-01T15:09:00.000-06:00

Happy New Year!!

My new year’s resolution is to get and stay more connected with friends and family.
I guess my first step is to update my blog. The best way to do this might be to write my Christmas letter, even if it is a week late.

What a busy year 2009 was. The biggest adventure came early in the year as Eric was transferred from corporate headquarters, to a mill. We had to sell our home just as the market was taking its biggest hit in our area. Thanks to IP the move was a lot easier than it could have been. We are finally feeling settled in our new home. Our new ward is making us feel loved and accepted.

Aiden is in first grade! He is becoming the best reader. His school has an accelerated readers program that gives points and prizes for books read. Aiden thrives on competing with his classmates for the most points. My favorite part is when he reads stories to Max and Jenna-grace. Aiden also started Pee-wee football this year. He had a ton of fun, but I think he is really looking forward to baseball in the spring.

Jenna-grace just turned 4. She loves bossing her older and younger brother around. I don’t think that will ever change. She loves her new dance class, and her pre-school class. Her new favorite thing to do is tell everyone that she is smarter than they are. Jenna-grace gave us our biggest scare this year. Around September she started having serious dizzy spells. I took her to the ENT thinking it was her ears, because all my kids have their dad’s bad ears. He sent us in for an MRI where they discovered a cyst on her brain. Several months of being shuffled between doctors (including a pediatric neurosurgeon) and tests we are finally starting to get some answers. She does have a cyst, but it is definately not a tumor. It seems at this point, that a bad sinus infection could be the cause of her dizzy spells. The cyst could be something she has always had and is something we just need to keep an eye on. Needless to say it has been a long few months full of stress and prayer and we really hope that it is just the sinus infection.

Max is quite a mess! He turned 3 in October. Max knows how to keep me busy! He loves to get into any and everything. He is mastering the idea that forgiveness is easier to get than permission. He scours the kitchen and pantry for snacks and treats that I might be hiding from him. When he finds something, he goes back looking for the scissors to open his treat with. There are only so many places that I can hide things. Everything sharp or full of sugar has to be locked up. He starts baseball in the spring too! I can’t wait, and neither can he!!

Eric is doing great. I think he really likes his job, for the most part. He has kind of a long commute, but he gets to read (listen to) a lot of books during that time. He is the seminary teacher now, and really enjoys it. He has about 10 students who love him. Every time I run into one of the parents either at church or around town, they tell me how much their son or daughter is enjoying seminary and how glad they are that Eric is their teacher.

I am also doing well. I had a tough adjustment with the move. I simply did not want to uproot my life. But I feel now that it was the best thing for our little family. I love my new ward. I am in the primary again, but am finally figuring it out. My cake business is keeping me a little too busy, but I can’t complain. I am on a new intense gym schedule to make up for all the cake in the house and to get ready for my sister’s wedding in April and my sister-in-law’s wedding in May! My goals for the new year include getting to the gym at least 4 times a week and updating the pictures on my blog at least once a month.

We hope you and all those you love have a happy and healthy new year!! Thank you to those who have been praying for our family. We felt every single one.
The Jonkman’s

School Pictures!

2009-12-28T17:22:00.000-06:00

Florida!

2009-12-20T14:17:00.000-06:00

brothers

2009-11-10T12:52:00.000-06:00

Mischievious Max

2009-11-10T12:42:00.000-06:00

Max took all my spices and mixed them with water and each other.

Halloween

2009-11-10T12:35:00.000-06:00

Aiden the Mummy

Jenna-grace the bunny and Max the Frog.

Max was eating candy every time I turned around.

Most of the time he would eat two suckers at a time!

One of Jenna-grace's friends, Jenna.

Hop on Pop!

2009-09-19T19:10:00.000-05:00

Go Cougars!

2009-09-08T16:27:00.000-05:00

We drove over 6 hours to get to Arlington to see the game! Totally worth the drive!

It is hard to see, but the final score is on the bottom of the big screen.

Next week Tulane in New Orleans. Without an endless supply of babysitters, I think we will have to watch this one at home.

Funny Face

2009-08-27T14:11:00.000-05:00

More Max Mess

2009-08-27T14:08:00.000-05:00

I don't know what to say except I get tired just looking at the pictures. This summer has been long and hot. Every time I turn my head, Max is making a mess! It is nearly impossible to get this house organized, because I am too busy cleaning up the messes.

Max painted his yogurt on the floor.

Not just the chocolate powder but the fridge too. So much for a grocery list.

You would be amazed how little time he needs to take a room from clean to disaster. Most of the time he does his best work while I am cleaning up the last mess.

Maggie Doll

2009-08-26T14:04:00.000-05:00

Cakes

2009-08-25T14:02:00.000-05:00

Just before Aiden's birthday, I got really bad strep throat. My sisters came to the rescue! Christie and Leanna came in to help with the party and the cake. Isn't it great!

Then my Dad's birthday was the next day. Christie made a cake we are calling

The Chocolate Covered Strawberry. Yum!

Katie's birthday was before I got sick and I got to help Christie make her cake.

It is one of my favorite cakes. So pretty!

What a busy Birthday July.

1st Grade!

2009-08-24T13:59:00.000-05:00

Wow, my little boy is in 1st grade!

The car-pool lane for the first day was ridiculous!

Jenna-grace thought so too.

Aiden's art projects

2009-08-23T13:56:00.000-05:00

For his birthday Aiden got several art projects from his Grandma Elaine. He has so much fun! He pestered me everyday to let him work on it. Then once he started we would stay at it for as long as I would let him. He loved it.

He did all the painting himself too.

His Aunt Nicole sent him this giant puzzle. So much fun!

Max in motion

2009-08-22T15:48:00.000-05:00

Make an on-line slide show at www.OneTrueMedia.com

Aruba

2009-08-21T14:06:00.000-05:00

Eric's dad has a friend who lives in Aruba. It is a Dutch colony!

We were lucky enough to get an invite!

It was an amazing place!

My favorite part was land sailing. It was crazy fun!!

I will try to find some pictures and post them later.

Moving

2009-08-20T14:22:00.000-05:00

Not the biggest truck they had. But pretty darn close. We have so much junk, they even had to strap a few of the garage shelves on the back "Clampet" style.

This is a picture of our new pool.

This is Aiden's new ATV.

And this is the best box-fort ever!

The most beautiful children being adorable.

With every new home, there is handy work that needs to be done.

Good thing I have such a handy man.

Letter to GT ward

2009-08-17T21:35:00.000-05:00

It has been on my mind for weeks now that I needed to tell everyone how much I will miss them and how amazing my experience in GT has been. During the 5 years that I lived there, I gained friends, family and many cherished experiences. My heart aches that we had to move away from people that I have come to know and love.

I am from many places, mostly the south. I did spend about 5 cherished years as a youth here where we are living now. Even though I have lived more of my life elsewhere, those 5 years as a youth were influential enough for me to call this my home ward. Over the last 5 years I feel like I have gained a second home ward. With the people of the GT ward my little family has experienced times of health and times of sickness. We have been poor and prosperous. We have had miscarriages and births, blessings and trials. Through those experiences I feel I have gained more than friends. I feel like the members of the GT ward are like family. I miss you terribly! Thank you for your love, friendship and support.

I hope I do a much better job of keeping in touch.

Love to you all!

Butt size!

2009-06-08T12:19:00.000-05:00

I am crazy busy and just plain crazy right now trying to unpack all my junk. We have incredibly too much stuff!! But I wanted to stop and share something incredibly funny. I am pretty sure it will sound like one of those things you had to be there to understand but I thought I was going to die laughing. So....
The kids were sitting at the counter eating lunch and I was (as usual) in motion cleaning and organizing. Aiden noticed that I was drinking a diet soda, and asked if he could have some. I explained that it was not good for him. "why not?" because it is not for people who want to get bigger like you do. "Is it for people who want to get smaller?" Yes. "why do you want to get smaller?" because when mommies have babies, their tummies get really big. When the baby comes out and start to grow into big kids like you, they want to get rid of the big belly, and the big butt.
(Then I get concerned about my son's future self image, his future body image.)
I go on to say that I am trying to make myself healthy, and that it doesn't really matter what size your tummy or your butt size is. What really matters is what is in your heart and how you treat others.
Max who has been completely silent, mostly because his mouth is stuffed with food, suddenly yells out, "I HAVE A LITTLE BUTT!!"
I really am not sure why, but I think the comedic timing of it all was so funny, I couldn't stop laughing.
So as not to leave Jenna-grace out, she really didn't care about any of it. After a few moments of laughter, Jenna-grace pipes up to ask us to be quiet so she can hear the radio!

Where do I start?

2009-05-07T13:39:00.000-05:00

I have sooo much to say about the last few months. So much has been going on! But instead of waiting to post pictures until I have time to explain them. I am just going to post all the pictures and then go back and add in the explanations when I have time. So here are a few pictures from the last few months.

While I was away

2009-05-06T14:44:00.000-05:00

Girls Week!

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New York

2009-05-06T14:31:00.000-05:00

For our anniversary this year Eric told me we were going on a trip, but the destination was a surprise! Then he left a web page 'accidental' open for a national park just north of Atlanta. He left a Six Flags park map (Six Flags over Georgia) in his car when he knew I would borrow it. He wouldn't let me pack more than a carry on. Then he told me to bring comfortable shoes as well as clothes for a nice evening. When we got to the airport and boarded a plane for Atlanta I tried to show surprise and excitement. Half way through the flight he handed me a card with our second boarding pass for the flight to New York and tickets for The Phantom of the Opera! Needles to say, I didn't have to pretend to be surprised. I was blown away! Then then next day I got a card that had "adventure day 2!" written on it. Inside were tickets for Wicked! Wow!!

The next day we went out exploring and saw so many amazing sights.

Some of Eric's favorite places were...

Some of my favorite places...

Two places got to me emotionally, unexpectedly. One was ground zero. I expected to feel the same way I do every time I see it on TV, or hear about it on the news. But this was so much more. There was a poster pined to a building wall, made by a family who lost their husband and father. It would have been his 50th birthday on April 19th. They were saying happy birthday and we miss you! I was overwhelmed with the pain that was still so very raw in that place.

The second place was the temple. New York is so BIG and so Busy. We were constantly being barraged with sights, smells and noise. Then amongst all the huge buildings Moroni pops out!

Can you see him?

We were walking past the door and the man at the desk inside the door saw us looking began waving for us to come in. He was a large man (reminded me of what I imagine a nephite warrior might look like) wearing dark sunglasses. He was sitting behind a desk that resembled a reception area. He handed us a pass along card and asked us where we were from. After we talked to him for a minute he invited us to go on into the main temple entrance. We knew we would not be permitted in with our street clothes on but he said we could go as far as the recommend desk and catch a glimpse of the amazing stained glass that decorated the entrance. After walking all morning all over the not so clean city, we didn't feel like we should. But there were glass doors that we could peek through. As we peered through the glass I was caught off guard by the strength of spirit that I felt. I've felt the spirit of the temple before. But the contrast between the feeling of the city and the feeling of temple overwhelmed me in that moment.

Thank you sweetheart for an amazing adventure! I can't believe that it has been Eight years! I love you more and more every single day.

Eric told me that if I had to blog about this trip, that I should make sure and tell everyone that he used all his hotel and airline points he racked up working for E&Y to pay for the whole trip. He is very frugal, my little dutch boy.

Mischievous Max

2009-05-06T14:29:00.000-05:00

Hide and Seek? My sweet little Max is like an ostrich.

Every time I say "bed-time" he runs in his room to hide. He lays down on the floor between the air filter and the dresser with his legs laying out in the middle of the room. He hides his face in his blanket and giggles, like he is so clever and we will never find him.

Easter

2009-05-06T14:21:00.000-05:00

blackmail

2009-03-05T13:00:00.000-06:00

(Deleted as promised, even though she said only my few friends look at my blog and she doesn't care what they think.)

This is a picture of my sister Christie and her boyfriend Adam from Christmas. She moved to Starkville to go to MSU. I am extremely proud of her and how she is making her own path in life. I just wish that path included calling her big sister once in while. So I am posting this picture on the great World Wide Web until she gives me a little update on her busy life.

Do we still live in Memphis?

2009-03-05T10:10:00.000-06:00

Our kids asked us to make the world biggest snow ball! In Memphis! In March!

So, we did the best that we could. And then we made the giant snowball into a drunk snowman. Seriously, we couldn't get him to stand up straight.

Aiden!

2009-03-05T10:08:00.000-06:00

Aiden my little monkey is getting to be such a little man.

I just wanted to share some fun pics!

Ain't he cute!

Word girl turns 30!

2009-03-04T21:40:00.000-06:00

My friend Sarah drove all the way from Birmingham to spend her big day with the girls in Germantown! What a great girl! So I made her a cake. And we partied! You may all know her as Sarah. But I know that she is truly Word Girl! Happy Birthday! And Happy Birthday to Leanna, Valorie, Catherine, and Celeste!

(Katie Kerr... this is Sis Nickels from the square!)

January and February

2009-02-24T14:05:00.000-06:00

Well, I didn’t give up on blogging. I just got a little busy and distracted. Southern Sweetcakes is going great! But most of my elective time is filled with cake planning. Along with that, I have been doing all that I can to get and keep my family healthy. It has been an incredibly long winter. Here are some of the fun things that I have been needing to post.

Father Son moment

2009-02-24T12:06:00.000-06:00

Eric is going to kill me for posting this. Hee! Hee!

Gas low

2009-02-24T12:05:00.000-06:00

Several weeks ago I had hope. This was the lowest the prices got before they started going back up again. Such a short dip.

Road Trip

2009-02-24T12:03:00.000-06:00

I forgot about these funny pics from the tail end of our trek out west and back. We had a blast but were completely exhausted at the end.

It is bad news when even the driver is sleeping!

Good thing the co-pilot never sleeps when Eric is driving!

The Great Outdoors

2009-02-24T11:58:00.000-06:00

Slave labor?

Something scary in the back yard!

It was wet and cold outside and I had been avoiding the outdoors. The kids got tired of waiting for me to finish whatever chore I was working on, and decided to get their boots on and go out by themselves. The attentive mother that I am, didn't notice their departure until I heard Jenna-grace screaming "Snake!!! Mom there is a scary snake!" I captured and pictured (bagged and tagged) Eric thinks it is actually a Skink. Whatever that is.

After spending Christmas in Utah, the kids were pretty disappointed with the Memphis snow.

Jenna-flower Nursery Graduate

2009-02-24T11:54:00.000-06:00

One day when I went to pick up Jenna-Grace from school she had this cute flower headband on. I took about 10 pictures with my phone. Every single one was blurred or frowny. This was the best shot. I think I want to make one of these flower headbands. She is such a beautiful flower.

Jenna Grace is a Sunbeam!

Here are some fun pics from Nursery Graduation.

Big Boys Bed

2009-02-24T11:52:00.000-06:00

While we were moving out Jenna-grace's toddler bed, we decided to go ahead and move out Max's too. So now Max and Aiden share the Big Boy Bunk Bed!

Big Girl Bed!

2009-02-24T11:51:00.000-06:00

Jenna-grace had a Dora bed.

Now she has the bed that I had when I was a little girl.

Southern Sweetcakes

2009-01-11T15:14:00.000-06:00

I am starting a little business. I wanted to share with you, my favorite people, a little about what I have been up to.
Southernsweetcakes.blogspot.com

31!

2009-01-07T15:12:00.000-06:00

I am no longer 30. I am now in my 30’s. Turning 30 wasn’t so bad. It was kind of fun. I felt like I was finally a grown-up. It was a bit empowering. Now, however, I’m just getting old! Don’t get me wrong. I am not sulking in pity here. Rather, I am resolving to be happy in life. Life is a journey, not a destination. Live it up, no matter what is trying to bring you down. All being said with an assumption that righteous living is the only true source of real peace and happiness. I resolve to worry less about the clutter and more about the giggles; less about things I can’t control and more about my own state of mind. I resolve “to make the next 30 years the best years of my life”.
Trivia Fun! Who knows who said that?

Utah!

2009-01-03T13:43:00.000-06:00

Let it snow, Let it snow, Let it snow!

It is hard to tell, but in the very middle of the picture is Eric and Jenna-grace.

We had so much fun in the frozen wonderland.

It started snowing the day before we arrived in Utah and didn't stop the whole time we were there. It was great! But we were a little cold. The thermometer at the bottom of the ski lift read 4 degrees! I wanted to take a picture, but I really didn't want to take my gloves off.

The kids had so much fun in the snow that they never seemed to get cold. They wanted to play and sled all day.

By the end of the trip we were all exhausted!

We had the best trip! We visited family and friends that we miss so much. And loved every minute of it. I am sorry that I don't have any pictures of our great friends and family. They were so good to us, and helped in so many ways during our visit.

Our Christmas Letter

2008-12-24T10:17:00.000-06:00

For those of you who are visiting our blog for the first time. Welcome! I wanted to send out a paper version of our Christmas letter along with a card. But time got away from me. This blogspot is my favorite way to keep up with happenings of my own family and with all my friends and family far away. In a way it is a journal of our life.
I feel so very blessed as I ponder the last year of our lives. The world seems to be in such turmoil. But our little family is healthy and happy this Christmas season. The kids seem to be growing so fast! Even though Aiden has understood who Santa is for a few years now, I feel this is a new Christmas with a deeper understanding of why we celebrate Christmas. We love singing “baby Jesus” songs, as Jenna-grace calls them. And we are learning more and more about the beautiful symbols of Christmas. We are spending this week with Eric’s family. The kids are loving the snow and the mountains. Last night we went to Temple Square and enjoyed the lights and also the beautiful nativity scene. This is the perfect place to be at Christmas time.
Eric has been at International Paper for almost a year now. The hours are much better than public accounting. I think he really enjoys his new responsibilities. IP, like most companies, is doing its best to weather this difficult economy. But we are hopeful that all will be well with Eric’s position and we can stay with this company for several years to come.
I am still the happy homemaker. I am continually chasing after children and trying to stay on top of our busy schedule. I love working with the Young Women at Church. And recently I have toyed with the idea of starting a little cake business.
Aiden turned 6 this summer. He is our little bean sprout! He is just bursting with energy and growing like a weed! He loves Kindergarten and especially riding the school bus. He has really grown into quite a neat kid. I can’t believe some days how grown-up he really is. He is the best big brother to his little brother and sister. (Even though they are learning how to get on his nerves on occasion) On Friday we went skiing and Aiden is almost better than his Mother! (that really isn’t hard to do) I am really impressed with our little man.
Jenna-grace turned three in November. Most people think she is older than she is. She is tall, but mostly because she is so talkative. She loves to sing and tell stories. All of her baby dolls are very well taken care of. They each have to be tucked into bed along with her. She is our little princess (a fact that she is well aware of and tries to take advantage of whenever she can).
Maxwell is Eric’s little clone. He turned two in October. Not only does Max look like Eric, he also has his dad’s easy going personality. He is only frustrated when I can’t understand what he is trying to tell me (which happens less and less) or when he can’t keep up with his favorite big brother, Aiden.

We hope you all have a Merry Christmas, stay safe and warm and that you keep in touch!
With Love,
Jamie and the rest of the Jonkman Family

Way behind

2008-12-23T10:39:00.000-06:00

Over the last few weeks I have been uploading pictures and then saving them as drafts with the hope that I would have time later to go back and add the text before I posted them. Then life happened. In the last few months my family has had strep throat, pink eye, the stomach flu, the real flu, and a fever virus. We had a few days that we were all healthy. During that time Max decided to put about 6 or 7 macaroni noodles up his nose. For lunch one day the kids were eating Macaroni and cheese while I was cleaning the kitchen. I looked up to see Max shoving a noodle up his nose. I fussed at him and pulled it out. Later that day I realized that there was another one still up there. We got it out with some tweezers only to find that there were still more up there. Long story short we had to go to the after-hours clinic that night and to the ENT the next Monday. Never a Dull Moment!
So what I am trying to say is that I am about to post several of those pictures from the last few weeks with just a little bit of explanation about what is going on. You will need to follow the link to older posts to see them all. If you have any questions, just leave a comment and I will try to clarify. I hope you all enjoy!

Merry Christmas!

2008-12-16T14:02:00.000-06:00

pouty princess

2008-12-16T13:56:00.000-06:00

We went to my Mom's for an early Christmas. Jenna-grace had so much candy, and cookies. When I finally said no more, she began to throw a tantrum. After a few minutes in time-out, I went and asked her if she wanted to get up, or stay and keep crying. She said that she wanted to stay and keep crying! The crown and jewelry were gifts from my sister and her family. I thought this was the funniest picture of a pouty princess sitting on a thrown of pillows and not getting her way!

Max's Boo Boo

2008-12-16T13:53:00.000-06:00

Max can't go anywhere with out his "boo-boo!"

Snowmen

2008-12-16T13:51:00.000-06:00

Aiden on the prowl

2008-12-16T13:49:00.000-06:00

Daisy

2008-12-16T13:44:00.000-06:00

My mom got a new pet for her farm. Daisy is half pony and half donkey. The kids love her!

Check out the goat! Nibble nibble! Hee! Hee!

Tubes again

2008-11-23T15:11:00.000-06:00

My poor kids got their dad's ears. Max had to get tubes again. He is such a tuff kid! He woke up a little groggy but not fussy at all. He got a football as a prize and he carries it around with his blanky now.

Kush Ball fun

2008-11-23T15:10:00.000-06:00

For Jenna-grace's birthday, Grandma Elaine sent these kush balls. The kids love them.

I thought this was a great picture

The Ole Miss Game

2008-11-23T15:09:00.000-06:00

Tailgating in the grove!

Hotty toddy!! Go Rebels!!

Pretty Pretty Princess

2008-11-23T15:08:00.000-06:00

Happy Birthday Jenna-Grace!

2008-11-23T15:02:00.000-06:00

Monkey Talk

2008-11-06T20:45:00.000-06:00

Last Saturday Eric had to go to a football game with his boss. Poor boy! I took the kids to the Memphis zoo. It was an amazingly beautiful day and we had a ton of fun!

What do you suppose they are talking about?

Gold Fish

2008-11-05T20:25:00.000-06:00

The theory is that buying in bulk is cheaper.

One morning while I was brushing my teeth, Max went all the way downstairs and got the giant Costco sized bag of GoldFish out of the pantry. He then carried it all the way back upstairs to the toy room and decided that the only way to really enjoy them was to spread them all out on the floor.

Giant jar of Yogurt. I dished it out into little bowls and put the bowls on the table. When I turned around Max had pulled the container of yogurt off the counter, gotten a spoon out of the drawer and helped himself.

Later that day.... More goldfish!

Halloween!

2008-10-31T23:30:00.000-05:00

Aiden the human Whoopie Cushion

Super Max to the rescue!

Jenna-grace the Purple Poodle!

She was so hard to get a good picture of, because she would get so wiggly and goofy whenever she had her costume on. Her favorite part of the costume was the tail. Anytime someone said she looked cute, she would put her bum in the air and say "I have a tail!"

Mimi and Papaw

Bee and Bee Keeper

Eric pulled out the Chewbacca costume that he didn't get to wear the year Max was born. Our neighborhood has a great party and parade Halloween night. This sweet kid below was a little chewbacca! I thought the two of them together were sooo cute!

All of us together.

Tree Hugger

2008-10-30T20:14:00.000-05:00

Jenna-grace is learning the art of stalling. If there is something she doesn't want to do (like take a nap or get in the van) she will stall. Her latest tactic includes giving every tree we pass a hug.

Me: "Jenna-grace, please get in the van."

Jenna-grace: "Mom, the tree needs a hug!"

Time Out!

2008-10-30T20:13:00.000-05:00

Every now and then when people find out that Max was born only 11 months after Jenna-Grace, I will get asked "is it getting any easier?" For a while I could honestly say that it was getting easier everyday. But now, I feel things are shifting a bit. Jenna-grace has gotten used to pushing her own agenda. Max is now old enough to have an opinion and has started voicing it. More than that, there is even a little rivalry between them. If I ask Jenna-grace to get something for me, Max will start yelling "I do it, I do it!" The next thing I know they are screaming, pushing and fighting each other to get what ever I asked for. Sweet... I know. That is how they act when I am asking for help. Can you imagine how they handle sharing toys? Some days I feel like we have been crying all day.

So, we have a rule in the house, that I have recently started enforcing with these two. *No Screaming in the house. This seems to work better than No fighting, because that is like saying No wiggling. For two year olds, that is impossible. But I am trying to help them figure out how to resolve their conflict with softer words. Or at least with any words.

Our time-out place is the bottom of the stairs. I think these two feel like they are being given cruel and unusual punishment. It just might be. . . for me.

My Little Toothpaste Monster

2008-10-30T20:12:00.000-05:00

Aiden got this hat a few months ago. He was so excited it finally got cold enough to wear it. He wears it as often, and for as long as he can. Every time he gets off the school bus, he pulls the hat down in front of his face and pretends he is a monster.

Two 2-year-olds!

2008-10-26T19:37:00.000-05:00

On Saturday Max turned two!

Happy Birthday Big Boy!!

By the way, Jenna-grace doesn't turn three until November 13th.

T.V. time

2008-10-26T19:34:00.000-05:00

This weekend my sister and her son Morgan came to visit. Aiden loves to play with his cousin Morgan! Saturday morning was so beautiful, and the kids were driving me crazy, so I sent them out to play in the yard. A little bit later I found them like this.

They wanted to be outside, but they also wanted to watch the TV.

The cutest part was, the show they couldn't keep their eyes off of... was a sweet princess movie.

Race for the Cure

2008-10-26T19:33:00.000-05:00

We did it! Race for the Cure 2008 is in the books!

My mom and sisters, Caroline and Leanna, also participated in the Race.

Eric and I are so proud! We had the goal of finishing in under 30 minutes. Although that didn't happen, we each beat out previous best times.

Here is a picture of part of the Germantown Latter-day Saints team.

fun pics

2008-10-23T11:25:00.000-05:00

Poor Max. Even when he is miserable he is still so hard not to smile at.

Aiden loves making milk mustaches. It is hard to see in this picture but he was really proud of this one. And I thought the picture was cute enough even without the milk.

What an innocent face. So deceiving!

Mess

2008-10-23T11:24:00.000-05:00

Cleaning and scrubbing can wait till tomorrow,
For babies grow-up we’ve learned to our sorrow.
So quiet down cobwebs, dust go to sleep.
I’m rocking my baby and babies don’t keep.

Well maybe I’m not rocking a baby… but don’t you think cleaning and scrubbing can wait for a while?
A few days ago my friend Becky asked how I was able to get my blogging done. She wondered if my kids were being really good or if they were busy trashing my house. The answer is that even when they are being good, they are still trashing the house. Lately I have been feeling a little overwhelmed with the mess that is generated on a daily basis. If my kids aren’t sleeping, then they are making some kind of mess. If I am busy cleaning one room, they are messing up the other room. I am going is circles all day. I have tried being more organized. I have shoe racks with little cubbies for each pair of shoes. Everyone puts their shoes on the floor in a pile in front of the rack. I have toy boxes with cute little pictures of the toys that belong in each one. Yet the toys are always anywhere but in the box. My kids aren’t bad. They are just kids. And more specifically two of them are toddlers. This Saturday I will have two, two-year olds. So, at the end of the day I am exhausted, and I feel like I haven’t accomplished anything. Sometimes I give up the circle game and get a few things accomplished. Truly my house suffers for it. My greatest blessing is that my husband loves me and doesn’t give me grief when I take a break from the cleaning and scrubbing on occasion.

On the same note, I had a small moment of profound thinking this morning. I live about 5 minutes from the preschool where Jenna-grace and Max go two days a week. At 9 am I start putting on shoes in an attempt to get them to school by 9:30. Yet every single day we are at least 15 minutes late. If I put socks on and I don’t put shoes on right away, the socks disappear into a parallel universe. If I turn my back for even two seconds, Max climbs up to the counter and tears into anything he can find. If it is messy, it is all over his school clothes. While I am cleaning him up, Jenna-grace is spilling chocolate milk on the floor. As my brain begins to boil with frustration and striving not to overreact, I wonder why I feel so crazy! Anyway back to my moment of profoundness. I was thinking about the big picture, and about what I am supposed to be learning from this craziness. I really believe that Heavenly Father has a divine plan that includes teaching me patience. I don’t mean that in a negative way. My kids have been the greatest teachers I have ever had. My profound thought was that I need to spend more time learning and less time pushing. I need to try to be okay with the flow of things. And mostly I need to remember that they are small for only a short moment. The best thing I can do is try not to be so hard on myself or my kids.

So, today, instead of cleaning my house while the kids are at school. I am recharging my mommy batteries and blogging about it.

Banana Bread

2008-10-23T11:22:00.000-05:00

My family loves Banana Bread! As fast as I can make it, it disappears. This last batch was still cooling when I found that a little critter had already gotten a nibble.

I got a quick picture before the critter tried to make an escape.

Christie's Birthday

2008-10-22T13:21:00.000-05:00

Today is my sister's birthday!

Christie, check out ChristiesCakes.blogspot.com

Happy Birthday!

30 is just the beginning!!

2008-10-21T13:05:00.000-05:00

WOW!!! Look who is 30!!

Just in case Eric doesn't know it, he is the most amazing man. I am so blessed to be a part of his world. He is kind and generous almost to a fault and goes out of his way to help everyone around him. He loves his kids and they know it! He works hard at everything he does. He has sacrificed many of his "big ambitions" in order to be a great dad and a wonderful husband. And we love him so much for choosing us over being a millionaire by the time he turned 30.

I love you Eric! Happy Birthday!

Side note: doesn't this picture look a little like Aiden's a few posts down?

My beautiful kids

2008-10-21T11:40:00.000-05:00

This week has been so beautiful. We spend as much time as we can outside. I thought it might be fun to get some pictures of the kids. Aren't they beautiful?

Max

Max and Jenna-grace

Jenna-grace and Maggie

Poor Maggie! She gets so much love!

Aiden with his slick new hair-do that Dad gave him.

The rest of the pictures are an attempt at getting a picture of all three of them together.

I think I give up.

At least for now.

Boys at door

2008-10-21T11:30:00.000-05:00

My friend Catherine picked up Aiden and took him to the Zoo with her and her kids. Aiden was so excited he waited by the door until she arrived. Max was curious about what he was looking at. I found them both just sitting at the door, and I thought it was so cute!

Then I was discovered....

And then Aiden.... well does what Aiden does.

I love my boys!

Jenna-grace's lip gloss

2008-10-21T11:25:00.000-05:00

Jenna-grace is in the two year old class at pre-school. She loves it.

The other day she came home with a goody bag. One of the girls in her class had a birthday. I thought that cupcakes were good enough. I didn't realize that goody bags were required for a class party already. Anyway, In the bag was a little princess lip gloss. She brought it to me and asked me what it was. I showed her how to put it on her lips and then forgot about it. About twenty minutes later I found her looking like this.

The pictures don't really show how the purple lip gloss is all over her face!

What a cutie!

Barbara's Wedding

2008-10-21T11:20:00.000-05:00

My friend Barbara got married this month and my sister and I made her cake! It was so much fun.

Three days to make and only a few minutes to eat!

The wheels fell off!

2008-10-20T21:27:00.000-05:00

The Race is next week. I haven't posted for weeks 5, 6, or 7. Because everything pretty much fell apart. The wheels of my stroller broke and literally almost fell off. So, I couldn't go to Stroller Strides. Then Max got Strep throat. So, I couldn't go to the gym. I tried using the Tread-mill at home. But, with the kids at home all the time, I either had to get up before them (before 6 am) or wait till they all go to bed. (after 8 pm) With Max being sick, and getting up during the night, getting up early or having the energy at night wasn't an option either. After Max started to get better, he caught the stomach flu.
I am not giving up. I just, am not as far along as I thought. Now, I will simply do my best this Saturday and keep on trying to get better.

Week 4

2008-09-28T15:24:00.000-05:00

Halfway there! Only 4 weeks to go!
Fleas, Weevils, Ants, Dust Mites, Kids, and a Snake.
This week was a week of plagues. I am still battling the fleas that Maggie brought into the house two months ago. Vacuuming everyday and washing her bedding every few days.
I discovered a weevil outbreak in a small pack of crackers and didn’t want it to spread any further. I spent two days cleaning out my entire pantry and putting everything in plastic containers.
Just about when I was finished with the pantry, Aiden started yelling about the ants on the kitchen floor. I thought that he was just overreacting to a few small ants. When I finally came to see what he was so concerned about, I found a highway of what looked like a million ants who were loving a sticky spot on my floor. So the kitchen floor and all the floor boards got a good scrub.
Aiden has been coughing for several weeks. I finally took him to the allergists who reminded me that Aiden’s biggest allergy is to dust mites. I needed check the pillow covers, mattress covers, no stuffed animals, etc. So of course I had to get busy cleaning. I gave Aiden’s room and all the upstairs a serious cleaning.
By Friday I was more than exhausted. I skipped my stroller strides class and let Max and Jenna-grace play in the back yard. I didn’t want them to step in any of Maggie’s poop, so I spent a few minutes scooping. With my handy scooper claw in hand, I was focused on a particular target when I realized that I was standing about two feet away from a snake!! After the shock wave passed, I got a good look at it and determined that it was just a garden snake. It was a decent size; definitely not a baby. As soon as I baked away, it quickly retreated under a very large planter box. Even though it was not a poisonous snake, I still had a very thorough talk with each of the kids about what to do if they see a snake.
Needless to say, this week, exercise was not at the top of my list. But I did get to class a few times and I ran 2.5 miles in 26 minutes on Saturday!

As a side note.... BYU is now ranked 8th in the Nation!!!

Fun Pictures

2008-09-23T12:33:00.000-05:00

I couldn't resist posting this funny picture of Max. Often, I will take Max's cloths off before dinner because he is so messy. After dinner the kids headed into the back yard while I was cleaning up the dishes. I think Max is saying that his tummy is nice and full. That or he swallowed a frog.

I have a great picture from that same evening of Jenna-grace holding a frog. But she has the same amount of clothing as Max does here. I am not sure if I want it out there on the Internet. She found three little frogs and said that they were a family. A mommy, daddy and baby. I made the mistake of asking which one was which and how she could tell. She said, ''that one is the mommy, because it is the biggest." Eric and I just busted out laughing!

Aiden my Mountain Climber! Wow!

At the Germantown Festival they had a climbing wall. Aiden seems to have grown out of the baby rides and wanted to climb. I had no idea he would be able to do it all by himself! He got almost to the top and decided he wanted to come down. But he didn't realize that the rope would slowly lower him if he let go. So he got scared, until we convinced him to just let go.

Look out world! We are all in trouble when these two get ready to drive!

Can you guess what was Jenna-grace's favorite ride?

Week 3

2008-09-23T12:18:00.000-05:00

Last week was my most difficult so far. I'm tired and whiny. I missed two days because of other obligations. I was loosing motivation fast. But Friday night I ate a giant Huey's Burger and felt much better. Hee! Hee! But in all seriousness, I realized that I was not eating enough. Your body needs fuel to burn. Even when you have plenty in storage, it still needs some to get the engine started. So my focus for the next week is to remember that I am trying to get healthy. It is not all about calories! It is more about healthy food, and lots of healthy exercise! I did 2 miles in almost 20 min. on Saturday! This next week I am moving up to 2 1/2 miles.
Oh, BYU still rocks! 44-0 over Wyoming!

Week Two

2008-09-15T13:59:00.000-05:00

A great week! I only missed Friday, because of a Young Women’s (church) meeting. I had plans to go play racketball that night, but the courts were all booked.
Saturday was the best. I ran 1 1/2 miles in 15 min! I wanted to puke, but I did it. And then BYU killed UCLA 59-0! Rise and shout! The Cougars are out!

For all of my readers who don't care about BYU and only want to see more pictures of the kids... Don't worry. It can't be too long before they do something worth blogging about.

The 8 week Plan

2008-09-09T18:54:00.000-05:00

Over the past two years (since Max was born) Eric and I have been working on our health. We both felt that we had put on a few too many ‘baby pounds.’ Me gaining with the pregnancies. Especially the last two, being born only 11 months apart. I felt like I was pregnant for a solid two years! (Aren’t Elephants pregnant for that long?) Eric gaining out of sympathy for my pregnancies. (Who wants to eat ice cream alone at two in the morning?)
But over the last two years Eric and I have lost over 60 pounds each! We feel stronger and healthier, but not finished. We have more to lose, but the whole process is getting old. We took a break over the summer. Now we are ready to give one good last push before we put the diet on the shelf and just maintain a healthy lifestyle, for a while, without trying to lose.

It is an eight week program that we started on September 1st. Counting down to the Race for the Cure on October 25th. Our goal is to exercise everyday (except Sunday). On Monday, Wednesday and Friday I am going to either Stroller Strides or to kickboxing at the YMCA. Eric is doing push-ups. On Tuesday, Thursday, Saturday we are running. Our running plan starts at 1.5 miles each day and increases little by little to get us further and faster by race day.

I wanted to share this with you, our friends and family, because we have been so supported by you over the past two years. Your support and encouragement has made the difference for us.

Week 1: It is so hard starting any new routine. I ran the Chick-fil-A 5K on the 1st. I barely made it through the first two miles, and then had to walk the rest. 39 min. Not impressed. My best time is 35 min. I want to do the Race for the Cure in under 30. I have my work cut out for me. Then I skipped Tue. Uhhh, is busy an excuse? Wednesday’s kickboxing class was not up to par. It is not good when your instructor is more tired than you are. Then I skipped Thursday. Busy again! Still not an excuse. Friday I went to my first Stroller Strides class in over four months. Wow! I forgot how tuff and great that class is. I was sore for three days! Saturday was the first group meeting of the team I put together for the Big Race. I ended up helping a slower runner keep up her effort. Only 1 mile completed. Not the best week, but it can only up from here.

If you would like to join the team for the Susan G. Komen Race For the Cure. Check out our team page. Click here.
Love you guys!

By the way, BYU won again last Saturday!! A game that we completely deserved to win, and won it fairly, no matter what the sports news people are saying! The officials made quite a few calls that were “iffy” against both teams. UCLA next week. It is going to be a tuff one, but this one is at home.

The Quest Begins!

2008-08-31T19:00:00.000-05:00

BYU gets its 11th straight W with a 41 to 17 finish against Northern Iowa, Saturday.
The Quest for Perfection Begins!
Go Cougars!!! Anyone who would like to join our weekly party, here is what the season looks like. All cougar fans are welcome at our house for the game. (Yes, we even have The Mtn. network)

Date -Day -Opponent -Place/Time- Television
AUG 30 -SAT- Northern Iowa- PROVO, UT4:00 PM- The Mtn.
SEP 6- SAT -Washington- Seattle, WA12:00 PM- FSN
SEP 13 -SAT -UCLA- Provo, UT1:30 PM -VERSUS
SEP 20- SAT -Wyoming -Provo, UT1:00 PM -The Mtn.
OCT 3 -FRI -Utah State -Logan, UTTBA -TBA
OCT 11 -SAT -New Mexico -Provo, UT4:00 PM- The Mtn.
OCT 16 -THU -TCU -Fort Worth, TX7:00 PM -VERSUS
OCT 25 -SAT- UNLV- Provo, UT12:00 PM- The Mtn.
NOV 1 -SAT -Colorado State -Fort Collins, CO4:00 PM -The Mtn.
NOV 8- SAT -San Diego State- Provo, UT12:00 PM- The Mtn.
NOV 15 -SAT -Air Force -Colorado Springs, CO1:30 PM -CBS C
NOV 22 -SAT -Utah -Salt Lake City, UT4:00 PM -The Mtn.

Lessons learned

2008-08-31T17:04:00.000-05:00

Have you ever had one of those days when you feel like you can only fail. A day where the only thing you have accomplished is to learn how not to do things. I feel like I have had a couple of those days in a row. Lessons learned... #1. Pulled pork sandwiches are quite simple to make and are perfect in the crock-pot after about 4 hours on high heat. After about 8 hours they are gross and only taste like soggy mush sandwiches! #2. Cakes only need to cool until they are cool. If you leave them out on the counter for several hours (even if it is because you have three children distracting you) the cake becomes very dry and un-tasty. #3. Gum paste is rather heavy. My cute little sheep below started out quite a bit taller and thinner. But that didn't bother me as much as when it sank into the top of the cake like quicksand and when I tried to save it, all its legs and curls fell off. That happened of course after I learned lesson #4 Jenna-grace will eat gum paste even if I tell her that it is play-dough, very yucky and not to touch it! The baby carriage on the front of the cake was supposed to have wheels and sit on the top of the cake. But after I glued it back together and filled in the cracks with frosting I didn't dare try to stand it up on its own.

All is well. No one complained about the pulled pork sandwiches, because they were all to polite to say anything (except Eric, but I still love him). I had time to remake the cake. And after I reassembled the poor little lamb, I had just enough gum-paste left to make a little blanky to hide a base for it to sit on. The curls aren't as well placed any more. But I think it was a great first attempt. And definitely a lesson just begun to be learned.