My latest DT entry...

Wish me more luck, remember this is the lucky month, right??

It's not a great picture, cloudy day today. I'm not in love with the white letter title, but what can you do?

Laila at Eight Months

I love this girl. I love that she is just happy "being". She doesn't need to DO anything. She's moved up to having eight teeth, loves her toes. (they're still painted from our Florida trip) She's pretty close to sitting up, doesn't want anything to do with being on her belly. Absolutely loves her siblings, and oatmeal. This year is flying.

Here's a couple pictures from Hallie's Birthday, isn't she gorgeous?




I just barely caught daddy, you know he's a sport (he has to be, he's got two girls), he just wasn't as excited about a picture!



And here's a few more from Colson's Birthday. I loved that he was reading his birthday cards, he's doing so awesome!! And see if you can see the excitement with Colson's gift, he really wantd the long shot. This super annoying gun toy thing, that's as big as he is! He loved it though.

Who's raising hoodlums? Not me.

Or so I thought.

Hallie was changing into pajamas the other night, and informed me that she peed outside. You're not wet, you didn't pee your pants. I know I took them off. What do you mean you took them off? I peed in the grass. You peed in the grass? Yep. You mean to tell me you took off your pants and peed in the grass. Yep. Where did you go? Right there. Colson why didn't you tell me that Hallie was peeing in the yard. I tried to tell daddy but he wasn't listening. ah ha. Mom's sick. The house falls apart. Um. sorry to the sweet old lady neighbors that witnessed said event. I so thought I was doing better at this parenting thing.

Birthday Girl

Here she is my baby girl. Not so much anymore. She turns four today. Can you believe that?? FOUR. So I've already crossed the threshold of being a mother when I had this little one, but your first girl. What can you say about that?!? My dad always said I would have SEVEN boys to make up for me as a child, I honestly pictured myself with four boys, no girls. Maren, this is you!! I knew that was my future. Josh and I never find out what we're having, we love the surprise. It keeps me from spending unnecessary loot, on cute sales clothes, and well, it gives me something to say when the baby comes! With Colson I knew it was a boy. With Hallie, deep down, I kind of thought she was a girl. I made a baby announcement with both a boy's version/girl's version just in case! Sure enough, my little girl had arrived. And dad, I didn't need seven boys. I needed one Hallie. Oh my is she a mini me. (personality wise)

Hallie was born in Indiana, while I was living with my mom temporarily. Our lease began March 1st. Yeah, you do the math. Another exciting adventure for the Heaths. She was born I think at 2:30 p.m., My water broke as soon as I got up, actually it's what woke me up. That was fun. Thankfully my mom was still home, and took me to my sisters who was going to be with me through the process of it. This one I had to do alone, Josh was at the end of his training in Texas getting ready to deploy to Korea, and we didn't want him to miss the final tests. (hindsight, we should have said screw it flew him home, and delayed him, he would have then missed the Iraq fiasco, but whatever, it was meant to be)So Bec and I headed to the hospital, where they basically induced me because nothing was happening. This was by far the worst doctor on the planet she was a disaster. Originally an English Teacher, decided to go to med school, and here she was an ob. I begged the nurse to not call her in time. I promised not to sue. BUt to no avail she arrived in time. Although here's a warning to you all that don't find out, it doesn't happen very often so they foget to tell you that it's a .... So finally someone said it was a girl, and Becca was amazing, she called Josh right away and he was able to hear all the first cries of Hallie, somehow he missed the next eighteen months of them!! Lucky duck. Anyway, this was by far the most emotional of deliveries. It is no fun doing it alone. The emotions are intense no matter what, and to throw the absence of dad in the mix, is like a perfect storm for an emotional women. Brandee I'm coming!! :) Either way, my sister was fun, she was definitely the person that brought me some good laughs, right when I needed it. My mom came through for me then too, and showed up with all kinds of fun things for the kids and I. I think secretly she was ready for me to move out! :)

Well about Hallie. If you know me, then you know Hallie. She's intense, passionate, strong, opinionated, loud, rash, and all those wonderful things that are me! Josh recently pictured me as a little girl in his head and had started laughing out loud. He could totally picture it. She's really me.

She is loving gymnastics, has started "writing", can shoot a gun as easy as Colson, while wearing princess shoes, and jewels. I love her ability to communicate, and her great laugh. She drives me crazy with her finger sucking, and her attitude. Oh, and well her incessant demands. i am not wearing that, I not going to the grocery, I not want a pony tail. She often hides her brush from me, while we are getting ready in the morning. She used to hoard food, which was funny, I don't know why she would do that but I would find half eaten cookies, crackers, or bars in her drawers, so wierd!

She is a fantastic eater, she's the favorite to cook for because she will eat anything. Oh except worms (shrimp).

I've been meaning to do a scrapbook page called "Swimsoups and Sunscream." I love her little words, like Squares. What are those, nope not the shape. The things in the yard that run around and collect nuts. Yup, you got it. Squirrels.

She too has been a sport, and considering her dad showed up when she was eighteen months, she's bonded well. She resembles her Grandpa Heath, and I love it. I can totally picture him sometimes when I look at her, and I just love that she's a great combination of heaths and me.

So here's to the princess turning four today. We love you, and happy 4th.

The Fam at the Beach

I have some friends wanting to see my tan - there was only one picture taken of me all week, because poor Josh doesn't know how to use my fancy camera. So here it is, I would run into position and here we are the night before we left. Oh I wish I was there now!

Birthday Boy

Today is Colson's SEVENTH birthday. Wow. I thought turning thirty would make me feel old. This is a bad year altogether for the age thing...

What do you say about your first born?? Are there words to describe the moment before you were a mother, to the moment after? Only mothers can understand this incredible moment. And how lucky I feel to have been able to have children. Wow, what a blessing!!

I won't bore you with the "birthing story" but I'll tell you a little bit about Colson. We started "trying" almost right away after getting married, thinking it would take a few months to get pregnant. Not so much. We were prego immediately. I still can remember Josh sitting on the bathroom floor with his head down, asking are you sure you did it right?? :) SO FUNNY!! We were not ready for that little guy quite yet, but Heavenly Father knew we needed him right then. I was six days late with Colson, and boy was that the longest week ever. He was born at 4:02 in the morning, after a decent labor, with drugs, and thankfully fairly quick.

I immediately felt like I knew what I was doing, which is a great feeling to be confident as a mother, I think that was only at the beginning, because now, well, times have changed and the confidence is slowly creeping out the window.

He's been a pleasant child, very easygoing, and is full of personality. He's my intellect, and loves all things science. He's built like his dad tall and lanky,, with an amazing aptitude for learning. He's the only one of my children that looks anything like me, no matter what anyone says!! Hallie has my personality but looks like her Grandpa Heath. He is joyful, passionate, considerate, a deep thinker, and has a spirit like no other. I've known for quite sometime that he is sensitive to spiritual things. He was 3 years old and building an alter to pray to Heavenly Father out of toilet paper. In this world where things of the world seem to be more important, like money, cars, houses, nicest clothes, etc. It's a breath of fresh air to have someone like Colson around. I know he still desires "worldly" things, and I think he's spoiled considering my upbringing, but overall the boy is quite uplifting. He treasures his friends, and misses them dearly as he's moved from place to place, he remembers Matthew, from Indiana, Katie, from Muncie, Brendan from Fort Carson, Haley, Livvy, and Emma from Cali, and Chris and Stewart from Fort Meade. How I've hated moving him away from his friends.

He's also been through more than most kids, his dad has left for Basic Training, and three deployments, totaling over 2 years. He's lived in five states in five years. And has prayed often for his dad's safety. I can't imagine carrying that burden for such a little guy. He's been a sport through it all and has even prayed for me, when things have gotten rough. He's been memorizing the Articles Of Faith, which are about our basic beliefs, and doing a great job!

I also can't not mention his ingenuity, as he's created costumes, art, and elaborate knex and lego structures.

He is also my only son, so far! Which makes him that much more special to me.

So, as I'm sitting here, making 20 key lime pies in cupcake holders for his 1st grade class, I have a smile on my face thinking about Colson and how fortunate we are that he was sent to us 7 years ago.

We love you, and happy 7th!!

Wish you were here.

I hear we're coming home to some ice and winter like weather. At least I'll be sporting a tan...

Greetings from the Atlantic

The beauty of the south. (sigh) We've arrived!! We stepped out of the car yesterday and took a deep breath of 78 degrees. It was marvelous.

Yesterday, we checked in about 3:30 and were at the beach by 4:30. It wasn't that great of a beach, but it was the ocean, we just kind of sat and relaxed and let the kids run and play!

Today we got up and went to church, LOVE THAT, we can go anywhere and know exactly what to do. You have the typical ward with families, singles, and the grandmas, and grandpas. It was the most diverse congregations I've ever seen, people from everywhere BUT, we met two fellow hoosiers. Sweet. The talks were on serving the Lord in our callings, which I just gave a talk on, so that was kind of fun to hear it from a different perspective. The Relief Society was neat, a lot of needs in their ward, and the primary was great. Small building, but still felt like home. So here's a clue we were in Florida. We started to walk through the building to get to the van, when DUH we realized it wasn't 20 degrees, we could walk around the building outside!! Awesome.

We then spent the Sabbath at another beach, this one was much better, a bit crowded, but nicer area. We arrived in time for stopped traffic due to what we later discovered was a Man of War warning, one of those yucky jelly fish, apparently got somebody. There was part of the beach that was closed so we had some fun watching the lifeguards keep telling people to stay out of the water. Colson is much more adventurous this year and loved the waves. I even got a full moon view, that was SO FUNNY!! Thanks for a good laugh Colson!! Laila did all right, she didn't like the ocean much, and Hallie had a scary moment with a big wave that surprised her, so she wouldn't get near the ocean again. I'm sure by the end of the week she'll be over that. Oh, and Hallie found a jelly fish that was washed up... she can't NOT touch something so I thing she got stung a little bit on her finger, we haven't heard anything more from her, so thankfully wasn't too bad. It was kind of gross

We've got the zoo lined up, a moon science thing for Colson and Josh, a downtown party, and more beach.

Would you believe I've only taken one picture so far??? HELLO!! Hopefully I will get on that soon, we're just having too much fun.

Anyway, wanted to give you an update of our happenings. We are SO MUCH enjoying the time together, we almost don't know what to do with ourselves. It's such a break.

Last night I cooked these turkey, brie, monterey Jack, apricot preserve quesadillas for dinner, they were so good. I know that sounds wierd but they were yummy.

So I guess some things even on vacation never change... Still gotta cook!!

Josh and I have decided, that next trip it's just the two of us. ;) We're signing off, and we'll check back soon.

Braggin Rights, Baby

I have this friend, she is amazing. Really I have a billion amazing friends, you're all reading this, but anyway, there is one where we like to challenge each other with our scrapbooking. We both encouraged each other to enter this contest, and we just finished that. BUT, we kept going each of us making a layout, and then posting it on a gallery and would you know that we both landed a "Layout of the Day" Honors?? Mine is not quite as awesome as hers, BUT, I think it's a sign for our future... Check them Both out here:

EMILY


LUCY

All right, I'm really off... I've got a van to load, and kids to pack, and a house to vacuum, clean, and get to bed by nine!!

Thanks for letting me share!

Fantastic Book

I randomly found this in the library, and it was so worth it. I love it when I find a great book by accident it's like winning the lottery. Seriously the best book I've read in a long time. Twilight Schmilight. Give this one a whirl and let me know what you think.

Next book on the list is "Hoot" and I'm going to be reading it on the vacation... Until next time...

It's beginning to look a lot like....

Paradise!!

Ten - Day Forecast for my Vacay... SWEET!!!

Sat
Feb 16 Scattered Showers
80°/69° 30%
30 %


Sun
Feb 17 Partly Cloudy
81°/69° 20%
20 %

Mon
Feb 18 Scattered T-Storms
81°/57° 50%
50 %

Tue
Feb 19 Mostly Sunny
70°/58° 10%
10 %

Car Care Tips
Wed
Feb 20 Scattered Showers
75°/60° 30%
30 %

Thu
Feb 21 Partly Cloudy
76°/65° 0%
0 %

Fri
Feb 22 Partly Cloudy
78°/66° 0%
0 %

Plan a Scenic Drive

MONSTER Cookies

This is a recipe from my mom - Something I remember from long ago... They're monster cookies because it makes an enormous amount. I found they're best when you use an ice cream scoop to measure cookie portions, and let them finish baking on the pan. I made these to take on our VERY LONG trip to Florida... They have Peanut Butter, Oatmeal, and a bit of chocolate!! Perfect right? They're like cheap granola bars. WARNING - You can NOT make these in just any bowl...

12 Eggs (yes, that is a dozen)
2 Pounds of Brown Sugar
4 C Sugar
1 TABLESPOON Vanilla
1 Tablespoon Karo Syrup
1 Tablespoon Baking Soda
1 pound butter melted
3 pounds of Peanut Butter
18 CUPS of Oatmeal
1 pound Chocolate Chips
1 pound of M & M's

Mix in order, spoon onto ungreased cookie sheet, Bake 12 minutes, leave on sheet to set.

You can freeze these, but prepared for a month of baking at least that's what it feels like, oh and when you get sick of scooping, I did make two batches of "bars", I pressed the dough into a 9 X 13... it takes longer to bake, but you don't have to keep scooping.

You can 1/2 the recipe, and it still makes a ton!

Have fun!

I finally did a scrap page about me... It was so hard to think of nine things I love about me... Is that bad?? I still couldn't do a photo of me... What IS my issue with that. I think it has to do with the imminent 30th birthday coming up.

Sweet Treat.

We had the missionaries for dinner, and had to make a sweetheart treat. Red Velvet Cupcake with the egg white frosting, you know the kind that is a pain in the neck with a double boiler and a mixer...

More fun to make, I only had a bite!

Check this video out!!

Eavesdropping....

Yes, I do it often, especially with the kiddos. Today while the kids were talking I heard the following conversation:

"Hallie where'd you get your gum."


"I got it off the street."


WHAT!! I look in my rearview mirror and there is Hallie chomping away on this piece of gum. I'll wait. You can go heave into the toilet. Had I not been driving I would have done the same thing!!! I'm totally freaking out, screaming at Hallie, Telling Colson to get her something to take it out and put it in!! She proceeds to tell me that someone just left it there, and she was going to save it for later. AAAAAAAGGGGGGGGGGGGGHHHHHHHHHHHH!!! SO gross.

At dinner Hallie tells Colson "That's disgusting." He was eating his dinner without his hands.

Um Hallie. You win the prize on that one. I'm still creeping out. Crazy girl. Please watch for stray wads of chewed up gum. Maybe your little one will have to satisfy a craving too. NASTY!!

Here's an artist who creates using chewed up gum. Jamie Marraccini. I wonder if they chew their own gum, or collect it like Hallie does?


Title: Bish Bam Boe
Dimensions: 12" x 24"
# of Pieces of Gum: 2672
Date Started: 1/5/99
Date Completed: 2/25/99

New Years Resolutions - How ya doin?

Check. I accomplished my first New Years' Resolution last night by submitting a portfolio of my work to a magazine. Ta Da!! Hard Work but it feels good!! I've started a 2nd resolution and I'm making progress on that one!! There's a third I'm not doing so great, and a 4th that I've forgotton. I'll have to go find the paper. Anyway it got me thinking, It's the beginning of Feb. and where are we on these resolutions. I think it's so important to have goals, to set them and work towards reaching them. It's something our church encourages regularly i.e. Faith in God for the Primary kids, Duty to God and Scouting for Young Men, and Personal Progress for Young Women, not to mention the Pursuit of Excellence for Women. But, sometimes we falter at our goals or lose our focus. I found I'm most successful, when I keep plugging away even if something comes up! Anyway, I found these great tips on resolutions! Hope this helps!!


Tips for Making Good New Year's Resolutions


There is a right way and a wrong way to make a New Year's resolution. Here are a few expert tips to see that your resolution actually makes a difference:


1. Create a Plan

Setting a goal without formulating a plan is merely wishful thinking. In order for your resolution to have resolve, (as the word "resolution" implies), it must translate into clear steps that can be put into action. A good plan will tell you A) What to do next and B) What are all of the steps required to complete the goal.


2. Create Your Plan IMMEDIATELY

If you're like most people, then you'll have a limited window of opportunity during the first few days of January to harness your motivation. After that, most people forget their resolutions completely.

It is imperative that you begin creating your plan immediately.


3. Write Down Your Resolution and Plan

myGoals.com exists to help you formulate a plan, which we then help you stick to. But even if you don't use myGoals.com, commit your resolution and plan to writing someplace, such as a notebook or journal.


4. Think "Year Round," Not Just New Year's

Nothing big gets accomplished in one day. Resolutions are set in one day, but accomplished with a hundred tiny steps that happen throughout the year. New Year's resolutions should be nothing more than a starting point. You must develop a ritual or habit for revisiting your plan. myGoals.com helps you stick to your plan by providing email reminders that arrive when it's time to work on a given task.


And finally...

5. Remain Flexible

Expect that your plan can and will change. Life has a funny way of throwing unexpected things at us, and flexibility is required to complete anything but the simplest goal. Sometimes the goal itself will even change. Most of all, recognize partial successes at every step along the way. Just as a resolution isn't accomplished the day it's stated, neither is it accomplished the day you reach your goal. Rather, it's accomplished in many small increments along the way. Acknowledge these incremental successes as they come.

Laila's First Trick

I love the age when they're starting to pick up a few things. Well today is Laila's first trick. Josh and I were watching Colson at his swim lessons, Hallie was playing in child watch, and Josh was holding Laila, we both had a piece of gum, and sure enough a few minutes later Laila was "chewing gum"!! It was hilarious!! We were laughing so hard, and she ended up doing it all evening. Such a cutie. I didn't have my camera with me to take a picture... but I had to share. Particularly for the grandparents! :)

Could it be, the biggest upset in NFL history???

I think it could. The only way I would be happier is if it was big brother Peyton. How beautiful. I could not even watch the last few minutes, I turned the volume down, I didn't want to scream and wake the entire family. What an awesome game!! It was awesome, IN YOUR FACE PATRIOTS!! Karma is a wonderful thing, got caught cheating in game number one, and screwed up your perfect season in game 19. WAHOO!! GO ELI!!!!


To celebrate I made a special treat for the fam, what do you think?? They were pretty yummy!



The tradition continues with a photoshoot for Laila at 7 months, this time, the kids wanted to be a part of the action, and would you believe I got a perfect shot for a Christmas Card?



This is Laila on her side... can you tell she's teething? Oh, and she has the funniest pattern of the teeth arriving... her bottom four, in. Her top left in. Her top right not in, but the one next to it, in.!! How funny is that?!








I have another special treat in store for my loves... Josh and Kiddos, with the leftover chocolate from the footballs I made these cute little chocolate hearts (Jamie these should look familiar!! :)) I will tuck these into our FHE treats tomorrow!

Smuggler

The sucking of the fingers. This is the problem when your kids don't take pacifiers. I have been trying to figure out how to break this child of the habit. Most recently we said "Good-Bye" to her green blanket. We folded it and put it up in the closet, so when she missed it she could blow kisses to it.

Hallie's soothing technique includes, fuzzies, (pulled fuzzies of blankets, sweaters etc.)and her fingers. She rubs the little fuzzies under her nose, and sucks her fingers. Don't ask me! ANYWAY, we said good bye. We hoped without the fuzz she would then stop sucking her fingers. But, to no avail. She found daddy's manshaw from Pakistan to fulfill the void of the green blanket. Needless to say, when she wasn't feeling well on Tuesday, I yanked the green blanket down, and she took a great nap.

Any Ideas on how to stop this habit, I'd love to know it!!

A Prophet, Seer, Revelator.

The Prophet President Hinckley died last night. You can read more in this article.

I loved our prophet. He was an amazing leader, and loved his people. He always encouraged us to be a little kinder, a little better.

I was able to see him in Chicago, and in Salt Lake at General Conference. I remember sitting in church for a general conference as he told us his inspiration regarding smaller temples, I wasn't even married yet! In those ten years or so, the number of temples has already doubled. I remember his talk on the "BE'S". I loved his wit, and wisdom.

We'll miss our Beloved Prophet.

A Favorite Thank You

The weeks before Josh made it home from his "trip", I was asked to accomplish a seemingly difficult task. However, as honored as I was, I could not say no. Nor did I know, how I would do the project for my friend. A scrapbook to remember a daughter lost. It happened a little over 14 years ago, a pregnant mommy, and a terrible car crash. She lost a little girl, Emily. I was able to make a small scrapbook with shadow box for her. I wanted to focus on hope and peace, and the eternal nature of families. I knew my friend did not know how to thank me, and truly it was an honor to share in the sacredness of their story, a thank you wasn't even needed. I was happy to do it. While working on the project there were some pictures of Emily, they had tried to save her, and so she was bruised where they intubated her. Colson happened to see it, and began to ask several questions about her. I tried to explain to him what happened. He paused for a moment and said. "I know who I'm going to do at the temple, when I turn twelve." I was so impressed with his tender heart. That is my son, sweet, pure and future apostle:). So, to my friend, I thank you, for giving me the opportunity to see such compassion in my little boy. And thank you for the wonderful note, and beautiful flowers. Fresh flowers are truly one of my favorite things.

For those of you of other faiths you can learn more about what Colson was talking about HERE.

Valentines' Times Twenty

I found a new love. I might just have to subscribe. Anyway, one of the ideas I discovered was this super cute cell phone valentine. I had to make them!! Tonight while Josh was at a priesthood meeting, the kids and I, Hallie included, Laila not included, made these for Colson's Class:

Oh, OOPS!!

I forgot to mention, a particular thing. My Sweet husband who took the kiddos to give me a break, and completed the Honey-Do list. which was SO DANG sweet. I love you.

Scrapbook Retreat: Year Four

I've been fortunate in the Army, that's right. You heard me correctly I've been fortunate in the Army. Fortunate in that I've made the most amazing friends wherever we've been. I literally have friends spanning the world. I LOVE YOU AND MISS YOU ALL!!

Our last duty station, has been no exception. I've been a part of this super fun group year after year that gets together to celebrate the life of Dr. King. O.k., well maybe it is more scrapbooking than anything.

This is the 4th year, I was in Indiana during the first year, and so I've been able to share in the last three. I'm not sure if it was just that I needed this more than ever or that it really was the MOST FUN weekend yet. I laughed, I cried, I slept, I ate, I did scrapbook, and even more I bonded deeply with some awesome women. What is so cool is that we're all different ages, have different interests, it seems the one thing we ALL have in common is the gospel. Other than that our personalities (in some cases night and day) are different, we enjoy different things, some of us have kids some don't, some of our husbands are in the military some aren't. But, yet, throw us together in this spectacular five bedroom OLD home, and we have a total blast, learning about each other, lifting one another, and share tips and techniques about the world of scrapbooking, or maybe just about the world.

Let's talk about the house, I'm not sure but I think we found out that it was mid 1800's, it's been added on since then, but it had the wide plank wood floors, and full of charm. We had FOUR full bathrooms, a kitchen, a dishwasher, which has been a change since last time. Oh and it can NOT go without saying that we were a little bummed we weren't drinkers, because the house was FULL of drinks, everywhere!! It was hilarious that we literally could not walk five feet without having the option of having an alcoholic beverage. We were taking some fun pictures when I realized none of us had a clue about alcohol, I thnk we even thought one bottle was maple syrup!! :)

We also had internet access, which was new this year as well. This added some fun conversation as we reminisced on the Darwin awards, and also discussed politics as some of us figured out "Our Candidate" for 2008. Looks like I'm a McCain fan. We ate great, played harder and had the best conversation about ice cream. We even came up with a diet of ice cream every day for two weeks. A few of us are giving it a try. We'll let you know how it goes! And some of us are going to have an Ice Cream Party in a bit, which will be interesting, to say the least!!

We talked about real issues like politics, religion, families, marriage, parenting, and finances. I learned about a psycho girl, and psycho guy, a sweetheart suffering from some depression, a journey faraway, a soon to be deployed spouse, and even met the "skin whisperer". It was a much needed break, and had such an amazing time. Here's a few pics of my weekend away. Thanks girlies. You know I love ya!! Now go get yourself some ice cream...

My To Do List.

Let's see laundry, dishes, diapers, scrapbooking, bake cookies, help Colson with homework, take stuff to recycling, make dinner, etc. Sound Fun? Of course it is!! Joy in the Journey, right?

Oh ye of little faith.

That is me today. Colts lost. I'm in mourning.