He loves me...

Story behind the picture...

This was taken on our wedding day. We had just finished taking pictures and Mom and I went in the Visitors' Center at the DC temple to change clothes. I still don't know what happened but somehow, my clothes got in the wrong car and that car had already left. I had nothing. I didn't want to wear my wedding dress all the way home (2hours). My new husband came to the rescue with this little number. A button down shirt so I wouldn't mess up my hair, pajama pants and my wedding flip flops. : )

I got an email from a friend this morning saying that she forgot to remind us earlier, but if any of us could make it, she'd like to have playgroup today. We didn't have any previous plans so, I got all of us ready and we headed off to playgroup. We got back around 12:30 or so. I checked my email and read one from Ammon that said "call me". I called him, even though I knew he was out for lunch, and got no answer. A few minutes later, Ammon pulls in the driveway. This is unusual because he rarely comes home during his lunch hour. He said he was just coming to check on us because he had been trying to get ahold of us all morning. He thought maybe a tree had blown over, fell on the house, and killed me. I guess I should explain that... Last night, Ammon and I were laying in bed talking about all sorts of stuff. The wind really started to pick up and made me nervous. I started saying things like, "what if a tree falls on our house?" "what if it kills us in our sleep?" "what would our boys do?" "how long would it take for someone to find the kids?" There were lots more questions but... they scare the snot outta me so, I'm not going to even mention them. The point is, Ammon was worried about us and came to make sure we were ok.

This has happened a lot lately.

A couple weeks ago, I was at a mutual activity at the church. I told Ammon that I would be home late because I had to go grocery shopping after the activity. Well. The man has selective hearing. Bad. I went to the activity, went to Wal-Mart and got home around 10pm. When I got home, Ammon said he had been terribly worried. He had called members of our ward who were at the mutual activity, trying to track me down. He called the local hospital to see if I had gotten in an accident and been admitted. The boys were asleep so he had made arrangements for someone to come stay at the house while he drove around town looking for me. Luckily I got home before that happened.

Probably about a month ago, the phone line wouldn't work. Our phone goes through the internet and for some reason, the internet went out and I didn't know how to fix it. I couldn't call Ammon to let him know and I couldn't email him either. I just figured I'd have a productive day without any distractions. Ammon couldn't get up with us and came home during his lunch break again to make sure things were alright.

Sometimes I get moody. One morning, Ammon and I were not seeing eye to eye. I don't even remember the topic but I know I felt frustrated and upset. We weren't communicating well which we're usually very good at. I wish I remember what this was all about but, apparently I've let go and forgiven him. : ) He left for work and it was obvious that we were both still frustrated. I decided the moment he walked out the door that this was ridiculous and that I should drop it. At that moment, all I wanted was to apologize and hug him. I probably cried. Not even 5 minutes later, he pulls back in the driveway. He walked in and we didn't say anything. We just hugged. We each apologized and I felt so grateful to have married a man who cares so deeply about me.

I'm glad he worries. I'm glad he cares. I can't think of a single day in our marriage when he hasn't told me that he loves me.

Project Life - week of February 14th

Valentine's Day! I saw this idea on a blog and knew instantly that I would make this for Ammon. I bought a 6 pack of IBC Cream Soda and saved the bottles and caps. After washing them, I filled them with different snacks, made a label for each bottle, covered the box and embellished. Ammon really liked it and took it to work to show it off. : ) He surprised me on Saturday with my favorite dinner - lettuce wraps from our local thai place. He also surprised me with a romantic comedy and made plans for us to make a time capsule! I love my husband!

We've gotten A LOT of snow lately but most of it seems to fall overnight. This day, it started snowing as soon as we woke up and the boys and I got to watch it fall. Magical.

Poor Griffin was sick this week. He got sick on Sunday and was miserable. We tried to comfort him with all the snuggles he could handle.

New Beginnings! Here are the cupcakes Ginger and I made for the event. I did all the detail work!

Griffin wasn't getting better so we went to the doctor today. Double ear infections.

The only thing he ate for 4 days - popsicles.

We've made it to the temple 14 months in a row! I love going to the temple with my husband.

Stuck in bed...

Not much else to do but watch the olympics and blog.

This past week has been crazy busy for our family. I had New Beginnings on Wednesday which meant a lot of work beforehand. A LOT. The Mutual theme for this year comes from Joshua 1:9. "Be strong and of a good courage". We decided our New Beginnings theme would be "Be strong and of a good courage - It's a jungle out there!" We set out to find anything that could contribute towards our jungle theme. It just so happens that a lady in our ward had a jungle in her attic! Seriously. She had everything we needed! We put a mosquito tent thing up and decorated that with pink and white sheers. She had palm trees and safari outfits. She had stuffed jungle animals as well as wooden ones. She was so generous in letting us use her things. She helped decorate as well as my secretary and her sweet daughter. I had to leave the decorating party early because Griffin needed a nap and he was pretty sick. I came back later that evening (tuesday) and they had done so much work without me! I feel blessed to have friends who give of their time and talent... I needed to be home with my baby and they saw I was in need, and jumped right in to help out. Wednesday came and the program went great! They walked into the jungle and we had really cool jungle music playing - thanks to Ingram. The girls really enjoyed the evening and learned all about the new Personal Progress program. They received their new Personal Progress books and the ribbons that they've earned thus far. They really loved the jungle animal cupcakes Ginger and I made and want to learn how to make them one Mutual evening. So... New Beginnings was a success! During all the stress of getting ready for this event, Griffin was sick. We were certain it was just a cold but it seemed to be getting worse. I called the pediatrician's office on Wednesday morning and they asked if they could call me back. I said that was fine and didn't hear back from them all day. I took it as a sign that Griffin didn't really need to see the doctor and it was just a cold that he would recover from soon. That night was awful. I got home late because I had to clean up from New Beginnings. Ammon had to pack for a trip to Minneapolis. He was leaving at 6am Thursday morning. Griffin couldn't sleep. He hadn't eaten at all this week. I was starting to get worried. Morning came and Ammon left for Minneapolis. The boys woke up and Griffin immediately started screaming. I couldn't comfort my baby. He wanted me to hold him but wanted down at the same time. He was writhing and touching his ears. He was crying like I'd never heard before. We sat on the couch - both of us sobbing. I called the pediatrician again and they asked if they could call me back. I said no. I told them that they said the same thing yesterday and that I never received a call. She tried to argue this point with me and I asked if I could just make an appointment. 9:30. Great. We were there early. I told Noah that he needed to be a big boy and do what Mommy asked. He whined at first but as soon as we got to the doctor's office, he was great. I was really proud of him. As soon as the doctor walked in, I had to fight the tears. I needed her to fix my baby. She listened to his lungs. They were clear. Phew! She looked in his throat. Slightly red. She looked in his right ear. Infected. Left ear. Infected. :( I was grateful for a diagnosis but heartbroken because I hated to see him in so much pain. We got 2 prescriptions and headed to Walgreens. Prescriptions were filled and as soon as we got home, I gave them to Griffin. He napped 4 hours that day! I missed Ammon like crazy while he was gone. He called late Thursday night and I cried to him for 30 minutes about all sorts of stuff. Another sleepless night. Friday I was determined to be happy for my kids but I was starting to feel sick too. We stayed home but I got them bathed and clothed and played WITH them all day. Griffin started eating again - thank goodness. He went 4 days without eating. Ammon got home from his business trip and I felt a sense of relief. Our monthly temple trip was scheduled for next Saturday. Gigi and Pap watch our boys when we go to the temple but they'll probably be in Texas next Saturday because we're getting a new nephew any day now!! Hopefully sooner than later, for Joni's sake. : ) We called Gigi and Pap and asked if they were available on Saturday to watch the boys. They were. We moved our temple appointment up a week and felt great that we didn't have to miss this month's trip. We've gone 14 months in a row! I'd hate to mess up that streak... Gigi came Saturday morning to pick up the boys. I felt horrible but still wanted to go. We went to the temple and then ate at Panera. Yum! I wanted to go to Target because they were having their semi-annual home clearance. I scored some curtains, napkins, and potholders. We also got Griffin some frog rain boots to match Noah's, easter basket fillers, and super hot swim trunks for Ammon. They're adorable. It was fun to spend a little money. We got back up to Gigi and Pap's house and the boys had a wonderful time. Saturday night, no one slept again. Griffin woke up in obvious pain. At first we didn't know what was wrong but through our own diagnostic testing, figured out it was stomach pains. Ammon gave Griffin a father's blessing and I rocked him until he calmed down. I put him in bed and he couldn't fall asleep. Ammon laid with him til 1am. Noah woke up at 4am and woke Griffin up too. We told them it was still nighttime and they went back to sleep until 6am. Noah and I have caught this sinus junk and I feel miserable. The boys and I stayed home from church - which I hated. I had a lot of responsibilities to take care of but there was no way I could go. I sent Ammon with a list of things to do for me. It was our ward conference today. Ammon took great notes and shared those with me when he got home. We sat at the table and I listened to him talk about the different things that he was impressed by at church. I watched him clip my coupons. I've never had to ask him to do that for me. He just does it. Cute. Ammon fed the kids, bathed them, jammed them and got them ready for bed. They're sleeping now. I'm not really sure what the point of this post is... I'm exhausted. And sick. I feel like my blog is all pictures and no words. So there ya go. Some words.

Project Life

Noah took this picture before we left for church. He wasn't pointing it at us so, that's why we're leaning so bad. At least we're in focus. Noah loves taking pictures... I think we'll get him his own camera one of these days.

Both of my babies enjoy the "I Spy" books. They spend lots of time pointing things out to each other.

Ammon grew up with a wood stove and has wanted to put one in this house ever since we bought it 18 months ago. We found a used one in great shape and with the help of Pap, got it installed in our basement. Ammon is thrilled and so am I! I am always ice cold and this has helped a lot!

Stud.

During playgroup, the boys decorated Valentines cookies. Well, Griffin did more licking than decorating. : )

We stopped by Daddy's truck while he was playing racquetball to give him a Valentine's surprise! The boys made these valentines. Noah made the white one and Griffin made the pink one.

The boys and I went up to Gigi and Pap's house so Gigi and I could make 60 jungle animal cupcakes. The boys were so good! They understood that all the attention couldn't be on them. Here they're watching Wonder Pets, I think. We don't get tv channels so this was a special treat for them!

Project Life

We finally have use of our LoveSac again! Ammon bought this for me when he was trying to date me. : ) Ha. That boy did anything he could think of to try and win me over. Anyway, it's been stored in the basement until we moved the boys in the same bedroom. Now it's in the playroom and gets used everyday. Church was canceled this particular Sunday due to snow. It was a relaxing day for all.

The first time I made roast beef in the crock pot. It was delicious! And the homemade mashed potatoes... Yum!!

This picture makes my heart smile. He is so amazing.

Noah's been taking swimming lessons and has been hesitant to put his face in the water. He put on a pair of Daddy's goggles in the bathtub one evening and the boy had no fear! We went on the hunt for a good pair of kid goggles and found a winner!

Part of their nighttime ritual. Reading a Curious George story. I love my 3 men.

I bought these adorable rain boots for Noah while we were at Target. He doesn't have snow boots so, I thought these could double as rain and snow boots. I would have bought some for Griffin too but, they didn't have his size. Noah put them on once and complained endlessly that they were "too big". I tried to tell him that's just how rain boots are but, he would have none of that. He hasn't put them on since but Griffin is obsessed! He brings these boots to Ammon or myself ALL THE TIME and wants to wear them. We actually had to hide them it was happening so often.

Griffin loves to play in the snow!! On this day, the snow was starting to melt and Griffin had the best time splashing in the puddles. Noah isn't a fan of the snow. He says it's too cold. He watched us play from the front window. : )

More Project Life

So, I'm really behind posting my pictures on here... Here are some from a few weeks ago.

Gigi reading to the boys while Griffin waited for his first gymnastics class to start! Gigi, Noah and I cheered him on while Ammon helped him during class. Griffin did GREAT! He's been coming to all of Noah's gymnastics classes and all this poor kid has wanted to do was go out there and join in the fun. In the first night, he learned how to lunge. Every time Ammon would say "lunge" Griffin would immediately put one foot in front of the other. When they were doing their final conditioning/stretching, Griffin was so worn out, he just laid in Ammon's lap. I'm excited to see him progress in this class.

I wore out my last dish sponge. Instead of buying a new one, I decided to crochet a reusable dishrag. I haven't crocheted in a very long time and it was fun to get back into it.

Snow on the deck.

POTD

I'm still plugging along on my Project Life. I've taken a picture everyday this year and I am already LOVING the results. I just got my first batch of pictures back and into the album. Here are a few of my favorites.

Watching tv.

The day I got my kit!!

One Saturday, Noah really wanted some pancakes. I didn't have any Bisquick so we resorted to Mickey D's. Here's Griffin chugging some orange juice.

My baby.

Trying on Mommy's jams. : )

Noah loves to take pictures.

This was the Sunday that Noah and I both gave talks in church. He practiced so hard and did a wonderful job.

My boys playing in their "tent". Or just under the sheet on our bed. It's the little things...

Mom and Noah.

Play-doh. I thought Griffin was watching a movie... 'til he came down the stairs looking like this!

This was NOT posed. I walked down the stairs and happened upon this precious moment. If you look closely, you can see the bird Noah is watching.

Griffin feeds himself!

This was at a friend's birthday party. While we were singing Happy Birthday, Griffin hammed it up for the camera. I think he thought we were singing to him.

Playtime!

Noah's hair is much shorter now but, for awhile, I really enjoyed giving him mohawks (or "Drew hair" as Noah calls it... my brother, drew, spikes his hair)

Beautiful eyelashes. Beautiful boy.

Got these for Christmas and I wear them ALL THE TIME.

I love when our room looks like this!

Noah's first day as a Sunbeam! I cannot believe that my baby is old enough to be in Primary. It blows my mind. And makes me hug him a little tighter, a little longer.