A beautiful disaster

Broad HOrizon.

2010-04-29T06:15:00.003-06:00

Its 6:16 in the morning the sun is about to come up over those lovely mtns and I am about to witness one of God greatest gifts .... the early morning sunrise. I am ohhh soo tired...couldnt get back to sleep after my 3:00 a.m. interuption of Vanessa and Marcus needing "mommy". O- well, Im tuff, I've done this many times before. I just have to make sure to get some caffine in me or there is NO WAY I am going to be able to work out and survive the day. (Marcus just ran across the hall half asleep and naked so that he could go potty. Why do 2 year olds think they need to be naked to go potty?..................ohh good, he made a b- line back to bed.)

Busy , Busy, Busy. Spring makes me so happy... I can never wait until it hits about 65 degrees and I get to throw open the windows and let the sun shine in the sleepy house....wakes us all up into this frenzy of yard work, soccer, cleaning, getting to the dump, fertilizing, planting... best of all...BBQ's. Although this week we are in a cold spell there is still signs of spring emerging from the popcorn popping on the apricot trees and in the leafy treetops the birds are singing, good morning Heidi!

Vanessa is cracking me up lately.. however you cant let her know what she just said was cute, and you can't chuckle.. or at least let her see you chuckle because she might just run into her room crying of the embarrassment that attention brings...yes, I know...totally opposite of me. :)
Our cute little neighbor boy , Cohen Bishop, was sick yesterday. Vanessa came back delivering the message that he couldn't play because he is "sick with a feber.. mom.. I think he has cancer, mom." ohh to be 4 and not know the difference between a fever and cancer...what a glorious world this would be if we could just give the cancer patients a dose of Motrin and pat them on the head and tell them it will all be over in a couple of days.
Yesterday, Vanessa and I went to Target...all by ourselves. It was marvelous! She needed it and I needed it. We found some sparkly shoes, a pink picnic table for the playhouse and a doll to give her cousin for her upcoming birthday party. After we checked out we sat down at the little cafe Target has and shared a cinnamon sugar pretzel and lemonade. Seriously, these are the days! This shopping trip was one marble to add to my jar of memories I hope to never forget.

ohh...here comes the sun!

I was only 6 when I could hear the roosters from the backyard farm that was kitty-corner our house. They would wake me every morning and I remember my mom telling me that what they are really saying is "cock-a-doodle-doo-wake-up-Heidi." I always think of this when I hear roosters in the morning. You know, we have a farm kitty-corner from our backyard and I can hear the roosters right now. What is it about sunrise and roosters anyways? Its not like the sun is a big surprise. Maybe they are just so excited of the beauty of the sunrise that they feel like they have to tell everyone to "hurry, get up , walk out your front door and look...look at the evidence that God loves us and that he created tender mercies, like the sunrise to remind us that nothing matters unless it's eternal." Yeah right... but seriously, sometimes this message is ohh so hard to remember. Sometimes I get so busy, busy, busy with life that I forget to listen to the roosters call. I forget to put that little marble for the day in my memory jar, I forget how blessed I am to be free of cancer or any other serious sickness and I forget that someday my babies will be grown and I will wish that they would call out "Mommy...I wantcha!" at 3:00 am.

Secrets...

2010-03-13T09:48:00.002-07:00

First of all.. can you believe that I am doing another post? Im really on top of things lately.. or maybe I'm am just looking at all of the kids rooms and searching for the computer to help me escape to another world..far away from peed beds, Rice Chex crusted to the countertops and a triple stack of laundry... ahhh... yes, I am starting to remember this blogging thing :) I think I will kick my running shoes off and stay awhile...or at least until I have to break up the next WWF fight between Marcus and Vanessa (for a 2 year old Marcus can KO like he was Hulk Hulgans kid...um did I just say that?)

OKAY... back to my title... SECRETS...

For some of you it might be a secret but for those of you that are out of my daily loop you might not know...

My parents and their friends started a company. Its called "Share the Secret". I know, I know...it leaves you wandering just what "THE SECRET" is. I got involved way back when Elise was 2 or 3 and I was hyper-active (she was my first) about teaching her how to read. My mom and her friend had developed books that had sandpaper and felt letters, prompts to tell the parent exactly what to say and do and high frequency words (words they will need to know in Kindergarten). The methods used are the most up to date reasearched methods that are used when a child has to be pulled out of class because they are struggling readers. They developed them out of frustration that there wasnt more of a link between the parents and the schools on educating the parents of these researched methods. I was excited because I used them with Elise and she caught on SO quickly. She was reading whole sentances and writing whole sentances before Kindergarten...even lowercase!!! wowsers huh? Well, as the years passed on the company started, books were professionaly printed and now they are in almost every school district in Utah!!!...and now into California, Virginia..and most certainly more of the wonderful 50 states. The most appealing thing and what all educators that I have talked to say is that they have never found one resourse with all the researched methods combined. This is the company niche. And I love it!! They asked me to be their rep at conferences around the nation so this means I go out of town for one weekend a month to 'represent. The company is growing and new editions and products are on the horizon.

These Alphabet books are really great for a preschooler or a Kindergartner. Luke, Princess and KO even write their lowercase letters on the shower door...with perfect directionality (I threw that one in there for all of you educators). The good news is that they are giving away one free set for St. Patricks day! All you have to do is comment on the Share the Secret blog.

Normally the whole alphabet set runs 40.00 but I am special enough that I can get you a deal if you are interested in buying them. Just let me know.

So there is my big secret.

If you are in my ward and notice that Vanessa has a Christmas dress on and its the middle of July or if Elise wears the same pants twice in a row to school, or if my house smells like oil because Nate has made homemade french fries for Breakfast, Lunch and dinner for 3 days in a row it's probably because I am out of town on these little ventures...which actually has been therapy for me through the winter months. As you all know how I can get very STORMY (okay, okay... depressed, there I said it) in the cold of cold, and the dark of dark of winter. One day I swear we are moving to St. George or somewhere that snow is not the norm and the sun comes out in all seasons.

Well, I better go, I am starting to smell my pits from my workout...that's never a good thing.

Bare minimum.

2010-03-01T15:01:00.004-07:00

No apologies here! What can I say...one year has flown past!
We are one year old and wiser too...

So, here's the truth. The place for my blog posts fits somewhere between hardly ever and never... as if you didnt know it. So, heres a quick update of all things Payne.

All things Elise...Ellie...Leesie.
Soccer, piano, shopping, illiterations, Dalton Brems, wants short hair, times tables, kick ball, jump rope, idols her mom.

All things Luke...Lukie-Duke
Pwimawy, Wace Caws, He-Man, Belts, Russell, Dessert for Dinner, Scooter, Bathtime, The letter L, singing, Starfall.com, Soccer, asks about when he gets to go to pre-school everyday, idols his mom.

All things Vanessa...Vinney...Nessa
Belle, Cinderella, Snow White, Sleeping Beauty, Princess bedtime story, Halle and Audrey Smith, Playing House, Telling on Luke for when he is "naughty" in Primary or pretty much anywhere. Dance Class, and idolizing her mom.

All things Marcus...Markie
2 years old. Thats all I am gonna say.

Well...okay...
Superman, Spiderman, Only Spiderman underwear, Cohen Bishop, M for Marcus. M for Master Manipulator, showers, brushing teeth, Spiderman scooter. Hates Nursery wants to be with Cohen in Sunbeams. (He thinks he is 4 like the twins.) um... I might add he is smack in the middle of 2...if you know what I mean.

oh yeah...Markie idols his mom too.

Nate and I just turned 10. Can you believe it? Lift your glasses cause here's to us!

2009-02-27T13:38:00.003-07:00

What has happened?
The last 18 hours my family has grown a mile. And its growing pains that make me cry. Last night Marcus climbed on the potty himself and with a little help from me and big sis Vanessa he went ...you know... #2. Then I went to put him to bed and he insisted on sleeping with Luke in a big boy bed... and he did all night. This makes me sad because it means we have no use for a crib... and never will until I have grandkids... probably. Four is a good number. Especially when your talking about kids. But, I must tell you I cried last night because I don't have any little babies. Its been a long time coming and I thought I would love it but... Im sad. I know my limits. I 99% sure were done. Im am 100% sure I done being pregnant.

and if that werent enough....

Ellie is growing in the head... if you know what I mean. This is a daily...

E:Can Shelbie come home from school with me?
H: No, Ariana came home with you yesterday and you have soccer practice this evening
E: Please, Please, Please, mom.... high pitched loud begging... (I'm thinking "girl just chill a little")
H: No Ellie, I want time with you tonight. Let's not do any more school friends until next week.
E: Please Please Please... Shelbie can go to soccer practice with me.
H: NO ELLIE... I said No and I mean it. If you ask me aagin you will end up in your room.
E: Please, Mom.... now in a sweet, nice, pleasant voice.
H: Elise, go to your room...
E: Cry.. bawl... cry a little more... be really mad and post this sign... out side her room door.

So this was the conversation last night before bed and then again this morning but about wearing her grey capris and I wanted her to wear leggings and her brown skirt. Seriously the same thing over and over... The only difference is that she didnt have time to write a note and put it on her door. She just pounded the piano keys really hard while practicing to let everyone know she was UPSET. Then she left the house for school ... crying...

Again,.. growing pains... I cried a little... where is my sweet little girl?... I know she is in there. I think we need to take a trip to St. George together. Just me and her.

2009-02-27T13:36:00.002-07:00

Blue and Brown...... eyes to die for....kids to die for.

2009-02-27T12:30:00.007-07:00

wink and snap

I put them in the shower after they had got into my stamps and decided that they would tattoo their little bodies up and down with a Thanksgiving Indian maiden. They lasted only a few minutes in the shower because I found them here....

So long beautiful, homemade loaf of bread.

luke

wink left
then right
little charmer
little boy

i dont even care!
no ,no, no
time alone boy
reading books boy

gorgeous day mom
dump truck play
you happy mom?
I happy boy
silly boy

eyes are closing
sleep is coming
hush boy hush
kiss once hug twice
sleep boy, sleep

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
vanessa

tricky chicky
little snap
snap one
snap two
snap here and back

snap walking
talking
funny little fingers
snap!

get the mail
big arms full
wonderous little girly
snap!

happy girl
big eyefull
In my face, snap
running past

hush girl, hush
covers tight
sleep girl sleep
kiss left, hug right
little snappers hush...

2009-01-09T06:08:00.004-07:00

It's the dead of winter and like last year I am more than ever motivated to get out of the snow. I am going compltely stir crazy home all day with 3 little kids. I am seriously trying to talk Nate into moving somewhere sunnier.... like St. George. Who knows, we might have to if things with Sweet Pea keep going good so I can be closer to my partner.

The other day I took the kids out and as trashy as it sounds I took them to McDonald's so that they could be entertained without me following them around trying to keep things clean. All winter we have been going to the Dinosaur museum and they protested me when I mentioned it. I thought it would be an easy place to take them all by myself. HA! thats a JOKE! Everything was fine until Vinney had to go to the bathroom. I couldn't leave Luke and Marcus in the play area all by themselves so I had to wait until they got down from the slides. About 5 minutes later we paraded into the bathroom. Sweet Vanessa went to go potty and before she got her pants down, she peed. She must have been holding it along time because it was a huge puddle all over the floor. I went to grab some paper towells to clean it up and thats when I found out that McDonalds only has blowers . So I took a deep breath and unrolled a toilet paper roll and started to clean it up. Well, that was when Vanessa got out of the stall( Naked...cause you know that 3 year olds think they have to totally undress to go potty) and was visiting each stall trying to find Luke who had decided that he needed to go potty too. Once she found him I hear this swish swish sound and I take a break from cleaning up the pee and where's Marcus but in another stall playing with the toliet water. I freak out and wash him with soap and tell him to stay with me... yea right! So Luke and Vinney are in the stall and Luke yells out "mom wipe me!". I call back " hold on a second honey, I have to clean up a mess". They must have not heard me because Both Luke and Vanessa left the stall ( now both naked) to find me and tell me that Luke needs to be wiped.
I paused for a second and seriously was gonna break down and cry. I had left the diaper bag in the play area and couldnt get there with having to take the 3 kids and I couldnt do that because Vanessa was naked and had no pants to wear. I had to become resourceful . After I wiped Luke I told him that we needed to take his sweater and his underware because Vanessa had to borrow it. He was a great sport. He said "okay mommy". I put his underware on Vanessa and used his sweater like a skirt for Vanessa, putting her through the neck hole and tying the sleaves together. Then I got them dressed and told them to hold hands and lean aginst the wall and we sang songs while I finished sopping up the pee with Mcdonalds incredibley thin toilet paper.
You know that song by Natalie Merchant called "these are the days"? Well I have to remind myself that I am going to miss these times someday. I have a hard time believing this and I always tell myself "laugh don't cry" and it seems to help me through. Sometimes I look at people my age that have only one or two kids... evenly spaced about 2-3 years apart, and I just think " You have no idea how good you have it" and I am a little jealous. I figure if I can just get through the next 3 years I will only have Marcus home. And when all the other kids at school I can sit at Mcdonalds with one kid and think back to the time when there was a beautiful disaster in the bathroom.... and laugh.

So here is some pictures from the last few weeks. My good camera broke when Luke threw it so don't mind the B quality
.

2008-12-12T06:38:00.003-07:00

She Won!

Elise entered the reflections contest this year with 3 entries. The first one she drew outfits and picked the fabric that went with each one. The second entry she wrote a story and the third entry she made up a song on the piano, lyrics and all. She won for music and is going on to County Judging. This was all too exciting because she was presented a trophy.. A real bonified TROPHY!

She has taken this trophy with her everywhere. To lessons, to school, out and about... EVERYWHERE! I think I will start handing out trophy's to my kids for cleaning their rooms, not fighting, eating their vegetables and so on. Then maybe we would have smoother days around here.

NO No NO No!
I am really sick of this word! I am seriously asking you the question.. what do you do if your 3 year old tells you NO about 40 million times a day? Sometimes "No" even turns into a song in the back seat while I am driving ..." NO NO No, NO No No, NO no no - no no ( to the tune of Jingle bells) for no apparent reason. Why can't it be YES!...YES YES YES! "Yes, I will pick up my toys", "Yes, I will stay in the cart while at the grocery store", "Yes, I will go to the potty before I have an accident", "Yes I will rub your back mom", "Yes, I will stay quietly in my bedroom and play all day, mom".... Okay the last two are stretching it but FOR THE LOVE OF PETE!

Sweet Pea!
Here's a little update on the SWEET PEA side of things
The vinyl business is going great! We have had several catalog companies that are very interested and we are in the whole process of negotiating designs and such. We also have a rep in Missouri that is going to sell retail to different stores. I am excited to watch this party grow. It amazes me at how much time and effort it actually takes to get something like this off the ground and flying. I have added lots of design and I keep adding them to my ETSY shop. I have a promo right now that all orders are 15% off , If you go to my Etsy shop and order, type in the "notes to seller" of this discount so you will be credited!
Also, I have a little spare time to do custom orders if any of you are wanting anything specific.
Recently I created a Monogram that I absolutely love. It is called the Established Monogram and its meant to go over doorways. It would be a cool gift. Remember, if you are in my area Email me and we can forgo the shipping charges.

Christmas is on its way and It has been so fun with the ages that the kids are. Vanessa asked for a blue sleeping beauty dress, Luke asked for a BIG TRUCK! and Elise asked for a piggy bank that counts $... Mission Accomlished all for under 75 dollars! I even got Marcus the coolest puzzle that has a magnet on the end of a fishing pole that picks up the wooden magnetized pieces.

The other night we went to a live Nativity up at Amberly's Parents house in Alpine. it was so neat! I loved it. The created a mini Bethlehem and saw a camel and the way bread was made and all sorts of things. The coolest was the baby Jesus... of course! The way it was so tastefully done realy made it a spiritaul night I dont think any of my kids will forget. Thanks Watkins Family!

The Ward Christmas party is coming along great! Elises baptism invites are out and after the next few weeks i will be able to get back to normal life. Although, I really do like staying busy. i am one of those people that always has to have a project on my plate. The three youngest really have been great running to and fro to all the palces that weve had to go.

So, I will leave you with a little message that we left with our neighbors this year...

"As we seek Christ, as we find Him, as we follow Him, we shall have THE CHRISTMAS SPIRIT. Not for one fleeting day each year, but as our constant companion always. We shall learn to FORGET OURSELVES. We shall turn our thoughts to others. -Pres Monson

Merry Christmas!
Love the Paynes

2008-12-01T13:20:00.001-07:00

2008-11-30T05:44:00.005-07:00

Whoa!

Life Slow down!

Okay... I have all these pictures that I have tried to load several times and Blogger won't "process my request" so until I get blogger to notice me... there will be no pictures!

Elise had Piano Festival. She performed two duets with Cayden Frost. They did really well. In the festival the pianist are judged and they got 36/40... which is really good!Grandma Vicky came with us and Nate got to stay home with sick kids... he wasnt feeling too well either. Elise turned 8 this past week. WHOA!!!!Double WHOA! 8 years!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
She had a pink pirate party and invited 25 friends. It was a complete blast. All the girls came dressed as pink pirates and Elise had the time of her life. She gets baptized this month and can't wait for this special day. the wierd thing is that I remember when I was 8. I wonder what things she will remember when she looks back to this time in her life. I kept a journal when I was 8 and I cant wait to let her read it. WHOA!!! What a thought. What they tell you about writing a journal does come true. I guess it really is for the future generations.. maybe I will have to read through it first to make sure I come out looking good... if you know what I mean.

Marcus had his surgery... finally! I think you pronounce it homospeadus? I dont know... I DO know that it involves boy parts a scalpel, a cathader for 10 days, lots of Lortab, and a grumpy baby boy. But.. when this is all over Marcus will be a strait shooter... not a side shooter anymore! Speaking of Marcus he has started talking up a storm. He says Heidi perfect;ly and it is so fun to hear him say it. I always tell him.."say heidi" and he does. I could listen to his little voice ALL DAY. He also will sing for you. All you have to do is say sing a song Marcus and he belts one out. Only one time was it recoginzable... it was the Barney song... I love you , You love me.

My new calling is Ward Activities committee chair.. well actually.. I am the whole committee too. But, for The Christmas party I have added a few to my committe to help out. There is so much work that goes into planning something like this. WHOA WEE!

Peter Pan, King, Doggie, Baby, Heavy Equiptment operater... you take your pick.. Luke is the jack of all trades. When he is not in full costume in a different world with Vanessa, he is watching Mater and the Ghost Light. He is obsessed.. You know that mini movie on the CARS dvd? Well, I think he has watched it over 100 times in the last week. Yesterday he was hiding from me, tucked in a corner of my room under a pillow with a 7 inch DVD player watching Mater... again! He is into this hiding thing lately too. Last night we had Chili and Cornbread for dinner. He had already eaten one piece of corn bread and I told him no more until he eats a little chili. Next thing I know he is scrunched under the bar, doubled over shoving a piece of cornbread in his mouth.... checking behind him like he is incognito or something. "Dont see me"... is the family joke when a little one acts like this. As soon as Luke gives me those eyes and says "I wub you mommy" Its all over... I'm a gonner.

Snow White, Doggie, Mommy, Princess, ballerina, Make up artist, or Vanessa. So cute lately. My favorite things hse does is MAKING the boys play make believe with her. she will run around saying PEETAH, PEETAH( Peter-just like they do in the Walt Disney version, accent and all) Chasing luke and Luke will crash to the ground and she will give him a big kiss and suddenly he wakes up. and they do it over and over and over and over and over again. Okay so this game is a cross between Snow White and Peter Pan. Its too cute. I really need to get it on video. She is also obsessed about having a leotard under with EVERYTING! The funny thing is to hear her say yeoturd. It still takes Nate a couple of times before he gets what she is saying.The threes are awesome with twins! Everytime I turn around they are saying something that makes me crack up! The years leading up to this point have all been worth it.. i honestly never thought I would say that. But for any of you that have twins... its gets so much easier and funner.

For thanksgiving we went to Las Vegas to see Nate's family. Mostly to spend time with Nate's Grandpa who is dealing with the first holidays since Grandma Angel Baby passed away. We had lots of fun and he was in great spirits right up until we went to leave. he started to cry. I feel so bad for him but later in talking with Patti she made me realize that Crying is theraputic and that he needed to cry to deal with his loss. its so hard to see someone you love hurt and have to walk away form them. I will say the anti depressants that he has been on has made him a lot more mellow. It was a relief to have him sit back and actually enjoy the beautiful disaster we bring the moment we set foot in the door.
It was fun to see all of the fam there in Las Vegas. We even were able to sneak in a lunch at Micky Dees with Rachel and my cute nieces and nephews. Rae even got Shaunie out of school to see us! Thanks Rae! We had a blast!

Today I was thinking in church how much I have changed the last few years. I can feel myself morphing and its sort of a numb feeling. My connections with friends are different and its sorta sad. In a lot of ways I miss the days where I was so free but ask me if I would ever change anything.. absolutely not. The ultimate gift one can give is oneself. This thing called motherhood is so hard and pushes you to become so selfless. Weather you are ready for it or not. The better mom I am to my kids the more I look at myself and ask... Heidi are you in there... is this really you driving a minivan, putting the ever annoying Christmas blowups on my front lawn, coveting my neighbors designer Christmas tree, and wanting to sip hot chocolate at night (I swear I am being tricked into becoming my mother)... all in the name children. Although amongst all the chaos there is peace. Knowing that when you lose yourself you actually find yourself... I guess that's what this thing called motherhood is about... finding the greater gift.

Heidi

2008-11-11T19:24:00.003-07:00

I love this time of year... Its the Fall. It's one of my very favorite things in the whole wide world. Today I got out in the backyard and raked and raked and raked some more. We have lots of very mature trees in our backyard so it took hours to rake them into piles. It was a good workout.

So, I havent really filled you all up on what we have been up to. Elise got recruted into a sponsered soccer team. She ROCKS THE HOUSE. She is really athletic! She plays 4 on 4 and that includes the goalies. Its fun to watch because its indoor soccer, they play off the walls and it moves really fast. They have no time outs and the only break they get is a 1:30 second half time. Needless to say soccer has been a big hit in our house. Luke is getting into the action this spring.

As you all know we launched Sweet Pea Living recently and a handfull of catalogs are including our designs for their spring editions. Today we had a refferal to Pottery Barn Kids... how awesome would that be??.. maybe they will give me a discount on their stuff if it all pans out! All in all the business is going great and I know it will do well. My partner, Patti is the mastermind of sales and she pretty much makes things happen.

We are still waiting to see where Nate gets in for School. We decided to go next August so I dont think we will know until after the new year. In the meantime He keeps moving up in the company he is with and now he is making comprable $ to what he made at the Hospital. Well see what happens. Its amazing what can happen when you put your life in the Lords hands.

Well, Elise gets baptised this December and I am amazed at how grown up she has become. She is growing out of being a little child and really starting to grasp the gospel. She is so smart and I am so proud of her. What a neat expierence it has been to see her testimory of Christs teachings grow.
For the last 8 or so months she has been taking piano and has gotten really good at it. She is half way through books that are on the second level. I have been relearing the piano right next to her and she catches on much faster than I. We are preparing some Christmas duets together for the Haws Christmas party and Im sure we will WOW all of those that attend... HAHAHA!

Luke and Vanessa are in a Joy school and they are learing to write their "special letter". They are doing wonderful. Lukes been learing about boys.. you know like boys dont wear princess dresses and boys dont wear tinkerbell underwear. Luke has become a litttle man. The other day we were at Maceys grocery store and he was pointing out to me all of the food that Vanessa likes. He asked me if he could get a string cheese and I said "yes" then he said .. for Nessa too? This is not uncommon. He loves her and crys when Vanessa doesnt want to play with him. He is talking really good and is very interested in all the letters in the alphabet. He always takes our alphabet magnets off the fridge and makes choo choo trains. The letter L is always at the first...L for Luke and Lowes.

Vanessa is super girlie. I thought Elise was but Elise doesnt match up to Venna. she wears a princess dress everyday and wears rings and crowns everywhere we go. She is so cute to hear talk becase all of her t's are hard d's. She loves everything princess and loves her Sleeping Beauty socks that she wears everyday. Sometimes they dont make it into the dryer before she wans to wear them again and she wears them wet. I have leared to pick my battles and wet socks is not one of them.

Marcus is the worlds best baby. He thinks he is three. Seriously he is into anything that Luke and Vanessa are into. He knows the difference between a high chair and a bar stool and he will have nothing to do with the high chair anymore. He wont nap unless Luke and Nessa are, he wants what they eat and he wants to even wear their clothes. What a little cutie pie!

Well, now that I have given you the worlds longest blog post I am going to let you go. Just dont forget to enjoy the autumn that lays right outside your door. It wont last for much longer! Love Heidi

SWEET PEA!

2008-11-10T06:59:00.005-07:00

Hi everyone.
Well I am happy to launch a new line of vinyl designs. I know alot of you have those boards with vinyl all over them but check out the new vinyl ideas that you put right on your wall. I think you will find that they are unique and give a whole new phase to vinyl. I will be adding new designs each day so check back. Oh, and I am offering 20% off any order for the next few weeks.Click on the green SP link to visit my Sweet Pea Living Blog.

2008-09-05T15:04:00.021-06:00

I am afraid I have set blogging to the back corner of everyday life. It's something that nags at me and I seriously lose sleep over it. Why did I enter the slow zone in my blogging efforts?... Something has taken a hold of my life and left me in the basement day in day out.
A few months ago Patricia, Nates aunt approached me about going into business with her. I had given her some vinyl for Christmas and she loved it. I have always done the vinyl for a few people here and there I figured that it was tedious and I hated dealing whith custom orders. It seemed I spent my precious time when I was really getting paid pennies for the project when it got done.
A background on Patty is that she has been in the catalog business for YEARS. When I say catalog business I mean catalogs like Ballard Designs. She is successful and when she approached me seriously I told her how my time is SO limited. She told me that she thought that she was going to be laid off soon and that she would want to go into business with me full time. Now.. how can I turn that down?
We made a plan to design for specific catalogs and she would use her expertice and networking to get the designs "out there" and running. So, I get to do what I love.. design.. and Patty is the great organizer and networker.
We are in the works of finishing our first catalog for the catalog companies and have recieved several strong compliments from people "in the know" about how great our designs are.
So If you have been wondering what has happened to me, don't worry I am safe and tucked in the back corner of my basement, designing away!
Here is a taste of my designs or I should say ...Sweet Pea Living ...

2008-06-19T23:41:00.004-06:00

He did it. He turned one! On Wednesday we had a big party for him. I did a Hawiian theme and the kids loved it! Elise did the Huki Lau along with Carston and her friend Chelsea. They knew it because they did it for the dance festival at the end of the school year. It was adorable! I ran out of room on my camera so I am waiting on a few people to send me some shots. I will post as soon as I get them. We invited a few neighbor friends and of course the usual crowd at Grandma and Grandpa Haws' house.

When everyone crowded around Marcus to sing he had this look on his fac that said " what in the world are you cray people doing????? When the candle was ready to be blown out I let the kids blow it out. All day long Vanessa had been thinking that it could be her birthday too. Whenever I would say happy brthday to Marcus she would chime in.."and mine too?" then I would say "yours is in August and she would quickly reply "yes!".I dont think she knew what this meant. I think she thought it meant that yes, it was her birthday too. So, when it came time for the candle to be blown out she couldnt help but blow with all of her might.

All week long the kids have been begging me to go to Thanksgiving poin. It was such a busy week that I kept telling them that on Thursday we would go. so we did and they loved it. They chose to go to the Childrens garden and all 4 of them had a blast!

Make a Smilebox slideshow

2008-06-11T23:00:00.006-06:00

Okay, Okay....

Its just so hard to find time to post. I dont even know where to start. I guess I will just go over the big things.

First and foremost...

Nathans Grandmother passed away at the end of April. I don't really know where to begin with this post. How do you sum up a loved ones life. How do you thank her for who she was and the difference she made? How do you put into words the emotions you feel? Nathans Grandma raised Nathan from the time he was a toddler. So, this loss is deep. However, We know that we will see her again. Dealing this is all so new for me. I have never lost a loved one that I was close to and I did truely love her. I think the hardest part of her passing is that Nathans Grandpa is literally having a breakdown without her around. I wish there was some comfort to give him but we dont have the same religion so how do I convince him that this is not the end.. its only the beginning and then plant a seed of faith that he can live with her through eternity? He once told me that he only has faith in one thing and that is himself. Well, I hope that through all of his suffering he is able to find comfort in knowing that we are all here for him and we need him.

A few years ago I created a professionally bound book for Nancy. It took me about 18 months but I collected several stories and pictures from friends and family and what they all had to say about her. I gave it to her for her 76th birthday and she wrote me the most beautiful card expressing to me that it was her favorite gift that she has ever gotton. It made me cry. In making the book I got to know her even better than I had before . I loved reading her story. I loved knowing about her hardtimes and her good times. About a child she lost in infancy about several marriages and finally finding the love of her life. I love knowing about her rollerskating escapades with Nathan and seeing pictures of her with her small children. What an amazing bond all mothers have! What Nancy didn't realize is that the book that I gave her was really just a glimpse of the gift of memories that she gave all of us.

Next...
Just recently, like yesterday, Nathan decided to quit his job at the hospital. He wants to get a Masters degree in Hospital Admin. but there are no programs for it in Utah. We are looking at Tennessee. Who knows what will come of all of this. We both feel really good about him quitting knowing that he can't get any higher in Healthcare Management if he doesnt have a Masters.

Actually, We have been tossing this decision around for several months. He was scheduled to take the GRE for admission to the program in Tenn the same weekend that his Grandmothers Funeral Mass was. So everything is delayed but still in full force. We will see what kind of a score he gets on the GRE. UNLV has a program that is our second choice if Tenn. falls through.

So,... hopefully at the end of July we will know what our future holds.

Lastly, Marcus turns one next week and I can't believe it! I love this little guy. He is such a pleasant baby. They grow up way too fast!

2008-03-28T09:57:00.003-06:00

EVER SO QUIETLY...

Vanessa in is a corner in mommies bedroom showering baby powder all over her singing showie ( shower), showie, showie....giggle giggle...showie.. giggle giggle. Then she gallops around the house leaving her beautiful scent wafting in the breeze. OH...what would the world be like if everyone could have a

BABY POWDER PRINTNESS

EVER SO QUIETLY....

Mr. Dreamy Eyes is in Elise's bedroom where he is supposed to be getting a litle shut-eye, (well a least thats what mommy think he's doing). But no.......... He has decided to try Elises swimming suit on and play with the doll house. Ohhh....Marcus please grow up so you and your brother can play BOY games.

MOMMIES GETTING A LITTLE WORRIED!

2008-03-25T09:28:00.003-06:00

... to feed himself...need I say more?

We had fun at our neighbrhood hunt. This year everyone hid eggs in their front yards and we went around as a group and hunted. At the first house we took picures and then off they went. Well, apparently Luke thought that"Easter Egg Hunt" means "Whatever you find you can have" He ended up grabbing the neighbors trucks instead of the eggs. He grabbed a BIG toy tractor and ran it over to his wagon (it wouldnt fit in his basket). Then he jumped in the wagon and protecting his new found toy and stayed there while the rest of the kids hunted. It wasnt until the hunt was over that he really understood NO EGGS....NO CANDY. Good thing he has sisters that share.

Luke would not sit on the couch unless he got to hold Jesus.

Notice the haircut? We actually went to the Barber and he would not sit in the chair. So, I gave in and came home. I may be good a lot of things but cutting boys hair is not one of them so don't look close. Hopefully in the future we will be able to get at least one professional cut in.

2008-03-09T09:57:00.017-06:00

8 YEARS
I suprised Nate by planning an overnighter to SLC. (thanks mom and dad for watching the kids)We had a great time. We mainly visited the Church museum and just hung out. It was fun to have a break from kids jumping on the end of our bed at 6:00 in the morning. We took Marcus with us so we weren't completly kid-free. But 3/4 kids free is fine by me.
...My thoughts on 8 years....
I asked Nate if he thought that we would be where we are 8 years earlier. He looked at me with sort of a blank stare and said ... "has it really been that long? It sure doesn't feel like 8 years." Time flies when your having fun huh? The truth is that we thought we would be exactly where we are...raising-crazy.

When I look back at the time Nathan and I have had together, its the quiet moment's amidst all the chaos that keeps it all together. Like you know... the moment that one of your children is born and everything going on around you is blocked out except this intense spritual feeling and a complete love between you and your spouse. Or the moment that disaster strikes and its the look that you give one another knowing that you will prevail. It's the moment that your looking down from the pulpit when giving a talk and you lose all concentration because..."Is that really OUR family ...and count 1..2..3.4....yes, I guess those are all ours, WOW how did we get here so fast?" Yes, I would have to say that it is in these moments that true love is found.

8 years feels like 8 minutes

FESTIVAL

Elise started taking piano and has mastered a handfull of songs. Not difficult ones but that doesn't matter. She played at her first piano festival and she did great. I was so proud of my little girl up there to be judged. She even did a litle curtsie (sp?) when she got done.

Teeth. Or should I say tooth.

Yes, I am talking about Marcus. He got his first tooth on Monday. Finally! We have been waiting for that little puppy to grow in for quite some time. He is back to his rolly polly self and he has mastered the crawl and follows the "crowd" around the house. He actually can pull himself up too and walk around things. Mind you, he is not even 9 months.

I NOT!!!

Luke is such a tease! If you ask him to do anything he replies "I NOT" as in "I am not gonna do it". Then he gives a little smile and runs off. That's when Vanessa's cheetah instincts come in and she runs after him pulling his shirt, hair ,pants...whatever yelling at him ..."YOOK...Non't (don't) I NOT to mommy!" OH...the joys of "I NOT!"
One of these mornings I am just going to say I NOT getting up to feed Marcus. I NOT gonna do the laundry. I NOT gonna change one more wet bed. I NOT going to exercise today..I NOT...you get the idea. I think moms need about one "I NOT" day per month...at least per month.

ON A FEW MINOR NOTES...

I am stumped!
Who the heck am I gonna vote for? You tell me which one is the lesser of all evil? They all seem up to no good. Please enlighten me if you will and tell me who has your vote. I think I will need some persuading.

Hello Sunshine!
Spring is here. I can smell it! The kids are out in the crisp air and I am loving the windows open and the sound of birds outside. AHHHHHH!

American Idol
Brooke White.I would buy her CD today. Love her style of music and her "raspy"voice.

2008-02-13T22:37:00.009-07:00

Where have I been? I have been in the land of sick, sick and more sick! To put it short RSV, NASH, tubes, adenoids and the list goes on. I have never been more ready for the sun to come out so I can throw open the windows and doors and let the fresh air of 2008 in! With all of that said I will tell you that our holidays were filled with friends and family and a new love of PIT. I love fast moving games and this one ranks right up there with NURTZ!

With all the snow blanketing my world I thought I would take my kids out in it for a few shots. Although this post may not be long at least its fun to look at!

2007-12-24T21:23:00.001-07:00

2007-12-24T20:49:00.000-07:00

My Son, My Savior

This Christmas I have discovered Mary.
I have always known her,
always loved her
and always sat her in the background of the birth of Jesus.

I have aquired such great appreciation for her part in Jesus life and in turn, mine. I have come to love her reverence for sacredness. In reading the story of Christ's birth it talks of the shepards being told by an angel of Jesus birth and who he was. When they came upon Christ , Jospeh and Mary it said they proclaimed the things that they saw . When I think of how excited they must have been and literally not able to keep their mouths closed by wonder and awe. I think I would be like this too. I dont think I would be able to proclaim enough how I felt inside, knowing at that the babe in the manger was Jesus Christ and his role that he would play in Christendom.

But then I think of Mary.

I think of how she must have felt. I can't begin to image the enormous burden and blessing the christchild would be at the same time. In the scriptures instead of proclaiming it says "Mary pondered these things in her heart." If ever a person could feel reverence, joy and such a great love between a child and mother, it must have been Mary.
This Christmastime I have pondered Jesus and what he has done for all of us, his brothers and sisters. But, I hold mary close to my own heart. As a mother, I feel so close to her and in Sis. Julie Becks words , she was a "MOTHER THAT KNEW." May I be more like Mary and be able to ponder and keep sacred and close to my heart who Christ is and his purpose for coming into this world. After all, there would be no Easter if it wern't for Christmas.

Baby, Its cold outside.

2007-12-12T15:06:00.000-07:00

Hi everyone! I have been absent, away, ignoring, busy, or what ever you want to call it for the last few weeks. I love this time of year! Its so busy and beautiful and spiritual. Nate has been home a lot lately. Him and his friend Josh are in the middle of starting a new business. i will give more details as things unfold. Its been fun to have to him home and also a bit stressfull. For those of you that have husbands its almost like Saturday and Sunday all week long. I need a few days for everyone to go away so I can catch up on the housework.

I went to Brunch... well it actually was lunch with all of my friends that I have known for so long. Some since Elementry school. Its fun how we all live around here and get together once in a while. Sometimes when you get thinking of old times its almost shocking how much life changes within a matter of years.
Here is a SHOUTOUT to all my G's!

This is who is in this pic.
Starting with the back row...
Tara, Me, Heather
Sara, Amber, Amberly and Cassie

2007-11-24T21:15:00.000-07:00

Thanksgiving.

This year we stayed here and had Thanksgiving with my cousin and her family. I was in charge of making the rolls and pie. They both turned out wonderfully, if I might say so myself. I have never realized how long rolls take to make. Its like 4 hours from start to finish.... with a lot of waiting in between. It made me realize why I dont do it that often. The pies were fun to make. I made apple, its tradition! The kids had fun peeling the apples and Luke has a new found appreciation for apple skins. ( Its all in the presentation, isint it?) he spread out a blanket on the kitchen floor and brought the bowl over to him and had a little picnic right there. The funny thing is that before I brought out the Apple-peeler-corer-slicer he never ate the skins. I will have to remember to do this more often. It was fun.
I coulndnt find Luke for a while when it was bed time.. PEEK A BOO! He has discovered under the crib! tHiS kId ROcKs!

Lucky number 7

Elise is officially Seven. I just feel so 30ish saying that. I am feeling more like a Mom than a mommy and I kind of resent that. She wanted a Rock Star birthday cake so this is what I came up with. We found out from the little girl behind us in line at Roberts Craft Store that Hannah Montana's birthday is also on the 23rd. AHHHHH to be seven and think that you are SO SO cool because your birthday is on the same day as a real ROCK STAR!!! We went and got her nails painted. They were all jewled up. We had alittle family party on the 23rd and then on the 24th she invited two friends and we went to Kangaroo Zoo. It was a blast! About two seconds...literally, after getting in the car Vanessa was asleep.Thats just how much fun it was. I totally reccomend this place to everyone. It's a little pricy.. but most things are, really. When Gma and Gpa come to visit we will have to hit this place. Elise got a lot of cool gifts. Among my favs was a coloring book she got from her Gma and Gpa Looker. This coloring book should not be called a coloring book, its entirely in a class all its own. If you have kids (or dont) you need to check this one out. I think they found it at Barns and Noble. Its called Doodles by Taro Gomi. (Yes, it has an Author.) Put this on your Christmas list for your young un'.

This is what it looks like.
BTW I have been wiating SO long to put this song on here. I have loved it from the first time I heard it. Its Elises little song. When she was two we would sing it really loud in the car when we lived in MD. Its called SEVEN YEARS.

2007-11-17T21:27:00.000-07:00

Well, Last week I informed Elise that she wil have a dish day where she is in charge of the dishes after dinner. She was really excited. Luke and Vanessa were excited about using the stools and bugging their big sis. I was so proud of her that she did them all by herself. She even filled the dishwasher with soap and started it! My mom and dad came to say goodbye before they left to Mazatlan and my mom noticed some bubbles coming out of the bottom of the dishwasher. We started to laugh. I tried not to make too big of a deal about it in front of Elise. However next Friday she will know exactly which soap goes in the dishwasher and which soap doesn't.

2007-11-14T13:08:00.000-07:00

Today Luke Vanessa and I raked up the leaves on our front lawn. We have a few aspen trees that never seem to stop shedding so we took advantage of the crisp fall afternoon. Luke played in the leaves too but he wouldnt hold still long enough to get a good shot. He didnt want me to bury him in the leaves. He thought it was funner to throw them on us. I took a short video of this and then I ran out of batteries. :( Vanessa loved the leaves! When it was time to come inside and wash our hands she had leaves everywhere....even in her nose! When I would bury her she couldnt stop giggling. It was so cute... as you can see. Luke thought it was funner to bang on the trunk of a tree with a stick. What a boy!!

Friday Night- Date Night

2007-11-10T20:21:00.000-07:00

Nate works on Friday night and so Elise and I have a standing "date night" every week. All of the babies go to bed early and we are left to have a party. Our party usually consists of popcorn, a good chic flick, snuggling in my bed and a late, 10:00 bed time. Well, last night Elise decided that she wanted to watch Wynn Dixie. Something about Wynn Dixie puts me right to sleep. I have tried to watch it about 5 times and each time the last thing I can remember is Wynn Dixie wandering into a pet shop. So... last night was no exception. I fell asleep and woke to Marcus crying as I hopped out of bed I stumbled over this..............

It was so cute I had to grab my camera and snap this shot. This little lady is such an easy load. She turns seven on the 23rd and I cant believe it! She seriously is growing up right before my eyes. I was looking at pictures of when she was younger and I seriously dont know where the time has gone. So, cheers to my lovely lady who is "inside the box"

Mi Hermana

2007-11-07T19:09:00.000-07:00

This is my sister Emily. Right now she is Hermana Haws. She is on a 18 month, LDS mission. She is serving in Santa Monica, California but she is in the L.A. California mission. I miss her so much. We are tight, her and I. We have a lot of fun together. Before her mission she was over at my house everyday. She gets home either the end of this month or the beginning of January. After she gets home she is going strait to BYU Idaho. The song that is playing right now is one that reminds me of her. She is very musical and can play several instruments... but her love is the viola. She plays this so beautifully on her viola. Auntie Em doesnt even know Marcus and she left before the twins turned one. On her mission she has grown so much, in so many ways. I cant wait to see her.. this sister of mine!

2007-11-02T21:11:00.001-06:00

We had a very busy day on Halloween. The kids woke up excited to dress up. Elise could hardly contain herself. Vanessa was so excited to be a "print-ness" (Princess). And Luke well, he woke up sick! Fever and all. We kept medicine in him but he pretty much stayed in bed all day. Elise had a costume parade at school and Vanessa got lost in the shuffle. I found her tagging along with Elises class. She thought it was great! I was very relieved to find her. I loved going to the parade. It wasn't seeing the kids dressed up but seeing how excited the kids were to dress up. I don't ever remember being in a halloween parade when I was growing up. This was such a fun thing for the kids! I saw my friend there and she said this was her 23rd halloween parade. Her youngest out of 5 kids is in kindergarten and she was there to watch her. I dont think the magic will ever run out. I do not understand people that don't like Halloween.

After the parade we took Elise home and started getting ready for the Chili cook off at the church. I made a bunch of Chili and got the kids ready for Halloween. I say that with ease but in reality it was hard work. I had to convince Vanessa to wear a shirt under her costume beacause it was a cold outside and I had to convince Luke to not take Vanessa's costume from her. He decided that he wanted to be a print-ness too. I finally got him to be excited about being a print-ness "helper" ( he was Sleepy the Dwarf and Vanessa was Snow White ) This worked. Although he wouldn't let me put on his hat all night and that was the cutest part of his costume. I was just glad that he felt good enough to have fun. Vanessa had a hard time at this party. There were several kids that had masks on and she would not let go of me. I had some of the kids take their masks off to show her that it was a costume but that didn't do much to ease her shrieking every couple minutes.

After the Party we went to my grandma Jackies to trick-or-treat. She was excited to see us. She lives in a retirement center and I dont think they get a lot of trick-or-treaters. Luke had so much fun here. Grandma took us into the great room where there were a lot of elderly people in a big circle. The idea was to go around the circle and trick-or-treat to each person. Vanessa and Elise did wonderful and Elise was so cute with the elderly. Luke melted my heart. He would go around to each "grandma" and say "tick-tee" (trick-or-treat) and then he would reach in his candy bucket and give them one of his candies instead of them giving him one. Everyone got the biggest laugh out of this. About half way through he started doing it the right way. He is so cute. Spending a day with Luke and his cute personality really makes think he could swoon any person in the whole wide world. Elise loves my grandma. I think it has something to do with her swimming pool and grandma letting her watch endless hours of Hanna Montana when shes comes to visit. HMMMM.... whatever works?

Nate had to work the rest of the night so I was on my own with the kids to visit grandma Vicky and grandpa Jay. I was completly worn out. Grandpa Jay gave the grandkids a super duper big candy bar... like the kind that are HUGE that you use for baking. He gave us one for Marcus too... Hmmmm... I wonder who will eat that one?

All in all the day was great and the kids had so much fun. They are still wearing thier costumes around the house and chomping on an occasional treat. I loved Halloween but I am glad that

IT ONLY COMES ONCE A YEAR!

3 TIPS FOR MOMS OF two 2 YEAR OLDS

2007-10-30T22:09:00.000-06:00

1. Never try to fold laundry when your twins are awake. Your house will soon become draped with shirts, pants, dish towells and every unmentionable imaginable right before your doorbell rings.
2.Never try to empty the dishwasher while your twins are within earshot of the dishwasher door opening. They may try to unload all the clean dishes into the sink where all the dirty dishes are.
3. Never leave your front door unlocked. Your twins might just learn how to twist the door handle and end up down the street changing eachother clothes with diapers hanging on by only a tab.
Can you tell what weve been up to today?

don't worry tomorrow is HaIrCut DaY!

2007-10-30T13:40:00.001-06:00

Make your own slide shows and scrapbooks

2007-10-27T12:00:00.000-06:00

Elise woke up this morning and said "mom what day is it?" I said "Saturday." She said " thats weird cause it smells like its Sunday." ....................hmmm ...............I thought. "What does Sunday smell like?" I asked her. She said "you know, like pancakes cooking and that Sunday morning- get-ready-for-church smell."

The funny thing is that I know exactly what she is taking about...
Sunday has a smell all its own.

2007-10-25T07:54:00.000-06:00

It’s not that unusual

When everything is beautiful.

It’s just another ordinary miracle today.

The sky knows when its time to snow,

Don’t need to teach a seed to grow.

It’s just another ordinary miracle today.

Life is like a gift they say

Wrapped up for you everyday;

Open up and find a way

To give some of your own.

Isn’t it remarkable?

Like every time a rain drop falls,

It’s just another ordinary miracle today.

Birds in winter have their fling

But always make it home by spring.

It’s just another ordinary miracle today.

When you wake up everyday

Please don’t throw your dreams away;

Hold them close to your heart

Cause we’re all a part

Of the ordinary miracle.

Ordinary miracle

Do you want to see a miracle?

ohh...It seems so exceptional

That things just work out after all.

It’s just another ordinary miracle today.

Sun comes up and shines so bright

And disappears again at night.

It’s just another ordinary miracle today.

ohh...It’s just another ordinary miracle today.

Viva Las Vegas

2007-10-23T21:49:00.000-06:00

Last Weekend we went to Las Vegas. Some of our highlights were the Halloween carnival on Saturday, meeting baby Troy and just hanging out with Nates Grandparents and my sister, Rachel, and her family. I also met some of my sisters friends, Camille and Cory. OKAY... This Camille girl is amazing! Check out her BLOG( I dont know how to link, check on the left hand side of my blog). She designs quilt patters and she is SOO my style. And Cori has a set of twin boys and 3 other children besides the twins. Its always fun to meet new people. Adia.. you are going to eat these quilt patterns up!

Driving home from Las Vegas was quite the adventure! 4 kids, 3 of them 2 and under. One of them nursing , one of them throwing up and the other one... well, actually he was pretty good accept for the occasional "I want out" scream. Elise was perfect. She wanted to play the"ABC game" with all the billboards and was completly patient in waiting until mom and dad felt like playing. I had a screeching toothache (it turned out to be a root irritation in one of my teeth) and Mastitis ( if you don't know what this is go ask your mom.. let's just say it has to do with nursing...ouch!). I am making this sound pretty bad. It really wasnt all that bad. When the kids werent absolutly perfect, they were absolutly terrible. Most of the time they were perfect.

2007-10-18T23:29:00.000-06:00

Marcus is 4 months old today!

Happy 4 months to my

Happiest

drooliest

giggliest

baby boy!

Write me a message

2007-10-18T13:59:00.000-06:00

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2007-10-16T21:27:00.000-06:00

BroWn PaPer pAckAGeS

tied up with string,

These are a few of

OuR FAvoRiTe ThiNgS.

2007-10-03T00:05:00.000-06:00

happy SUMO

happy BIRTHDAY

happy 30th

happy BRITI

That's a whole lot of happy!

2007-10-02T23:57:00.000-06:00

Rocket Science!

2007-09-26T21:38:00.000-06:00

Elise got picked to be in a program that her school has called Young Astronauts. In the class they learn about Outer Space. She stays afterschool every other day with 14 other students. Mr. Maughn transforms these regular kids into

ROCKET SCIENTISTS!

This was one fun day where family got to see just exactly what goes on in

Young Astronauts

Sweet Serenity

2007-09-22T21:50:00.000-06:00

Everybody is home, the babies are laughing. Our tummies are full of warm Vegetable Soup. The smell of the Apple Crisp that is cooking in the oven fills the air. Its slightly raining outside and the leaves are changing colors. The smell of the earth washed clean becons for me to go on an evening run.

Its Fall!

2007-09-20T22:33:00.000-06:00

G Ma's tunes

for cruisin'with the windows rolled down

ZZ Tops Sharp Dressed Man ..Scroll down to widget to play

I know, I know not the regular Granny music right?

Well, thats because we dont have a plain old regular Grandma

We have a G Ma!

You know what I'm sayin'....G'?

Today is her birthday...G ma's of course! You would never guess that she is a day older than 30. I swear she drinks right out of the fountain of youth. This beautiful lady has a heart of gold and she is known for going all out on her grandkids.

Thinking out loud about

Monica Looker

a.k.a. G Ma

Classy

Spiritual

Friendly

Happy

Smiley eyes

Helpful

Tolerant

Welcoming

Thoughful

Young

Grounded

Listener

Mother of my Love....you are truly wonderful!

The kids spent quite a while drawing these pictures...

Ellie is trying to be like her G Pa Looker.

He is a fantastic artisit!

In this picture I was trying to get the kids to hold up their drawings they did for Gma. They were laughing so hard at Nathan who was behind me doing...

WHO KNOWS WHAT

that they totally forgot about why we were taking the picture.

P.S. Doesn't Marcus look so grown up?

WOW!

What a Weekend!

2007-09-04T21:58:00.001-06:00

Waterfall gazing.

Whispers in my ear

"Angel"

Sweet Cherub.

Bryant... smoke follows beauty.

We had such a great weekend! On Saturday we had a weiner roast with our good friends the Siddoways. We had so much fun just hanging out with another family that has small children. They have a trampoline in their backyard and the kids had a blast! Michelle prepared Tin foil dinners for the adults. While the kids played we hung out and laughed until it was way past bedtime. We love the Siddoways! What great friends we have that live so close by! On Monday, for Labor Day, we got up early and went to a very gourmet place for breakfast... Mickey D'S! This is about the only kid friendly place when you have 2 two year olds and a "every bit of 6" daughter. When we got there a few other families our size had the same idea! Its great living in an area where you dont stick out too much and people "understand" when you have a million kids. After McDonalds we ventured onto Bridal Veil Falls. This is a waterfall up Provo Canyon that had a paved trail up to it. The kids were amazed and they learned quickly that fresh Mountain water is FREEZING even on a hot summer day. W saw Squirlls and Vanessa actualy was able to compose herself. She is getting better and better about not being too uptight about new things. Yeah!!! Then from Bridal veil falls we went to Vivian Park.A steam locomotive (Heber Creeper) was parked there and the kids loved it. They wanted a ride but we decided that it was soon to be nap time and a hour and a half ride might turn into a disaster! We hung out at Vivain Park and then went on a little ride up to Heber. This was fun but we probaby just should have went home from Vivian Park. Elise started to get car sick and so we took a little break and then headed home. It was great to be able to spend the whole day with Daddy. We dont get that chance very often and the kids loved it. I did too.

DADDY AND HIS LOVELIES

No, your eyes don't decieve you... Nate has grown a beard. He did it just to see if he can. He keeps telling me that he is going to shave it but I think he secretly likes it.
......Hmmmmmm.....

HOW DEE DOO Luke and Vanessa are TWO!

2007-08-31T21:14:00.000-06:00

Happy Birthday to you Luke and Vanessa!
Yesterday was their 2nd birthday. Luke woke up with a fever. How sad! I think he got whatever Vanessa had last week. He was miserable for most of the day. I kept Motrin and Tylenol in him in hopes that he might be able to feel good for at least part of the day. Vanessa woke up happy and ready for a party! I have been talking up their birthday for the last week or so.During the month of July there are so many birthdays that they have learned that a birthday means cake. I decided to make them separate cakes this year and I experimented with gel paste. I am not very good at it but they turned out cute. When I wasnt looking Vanessa and Luke thought they would find out how they tasted. I was able to fix them before the party. Nathan and I gave Vanessa a baby stroller. Which she has not let out of her sight for the last 24 hours. She even rode in the car with it on her lap. She calls it her "strollie". We gave Luke a big, tough, wagon. When he saw it he called it his "Ride". He loves it and is constantly giving and gettting rides to Vanessa and Elise. We celebrated their birthday at Chuck-e-Cheese. I dont think we could have chosen a funner place for all of their cousins to PARTY! Luke and Vanessa esspecially liked the duck game. Grandma Vicky helped them play and they had a blast. Luke found a game with a gun ( what is it about boys and guns?)

I cant believe that 2 years has gone by since Luke and Venna were born. They amaze me at how much they learn and grow each day. I think back to the day that they were born and how my Joy was so full. Why have I been so blessed? With each child I have I wonder how will I ever have enough love to give them. But then its like magic as soon as they are in my arms for the first time I fall so deep in love all over again. I am amazed at the infinite capacity we, as human beings have to love others. I have heard that the love of a mother to her child is a glimpse of the love that our Father in Heaven has for us. This amazes me, how can anyone love more than I for my children? As we go along day by day I try to cherish each moment and let is soak in for I know they wont last forever! In Natalie Merchant words "These are the Days!"

The little one said "Rollover..Rollover!"

2007-08-31T20:07:00.000-06:00

Mornings in Mommy's and Daddy's Bed

Yoo Whoo... Tooth Fairy...

2007-08-22T20:47:00.001-06:00

i lost a tooth to day . I was in the cafaterea today and the story is i was in the cafaterea and i was eating a apple and then it felt realy loose and then three people around me was saying that it was bleeding and then my frend gave me a cooke rapper but then i said that wont work so i asked Laceys frend if i could borrow a napcin frome her. and then she said ok here you go. and then on the third time taking the napcin out of my mouth it was gone and my frends couldnt find it. and neethr could i. and then my frend found it and some body was about to step on it and then it took it to my teachr and then she couldnt find a pack for it. and then she just put it in a napckin but then she finaly found a box. and then went to find all my frends and my meanest frend was like i dont care and that was when i went to find my frend Abgail but i couldnt find her. and so i forgot about that end of the story see you later. Elises story.

2007-08-22T15:24:00.000-06:00

Look how cute this is. Nate is so good with Elise. She tells me all of the time how much she loves her daddy. What a man! Today he taught Elise how to drive the lawn mower! I cant wait until she can do it all on her own, that will be a few years down the road though. As much as I love Summer I am ready for Fall to come. Fall is my favorite time of year.

ZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZ

2007-08-21T16:53:00.000-06:00

Today I separated Luke and Venna for nap time. They never seem to get much sleep when they are in the same room . So I set up a crib in Elises room and put Luke in it. About 45 minutes later I hear him saying something that sounds like "pretty". I check in on him and find him with Ellie's empty laundry basket and her play makeup colored all over his body. He must have climbed out of bed and made a party out of nap time! He was right though... he sure did look pretty with Ellie's makeup all over his lips!

2007-08-15T00:26:00.000-06:00

Girls Day Out... with the kids

2007-08-14T22:33:00.000-06:00

On Monday a bunch of my friends got together to go to the Childrens Garden and surprisd me with a be-lated birthday lunch! It was fun to be able to hang out together and just laugh. All of us are from the same ward and we have so much fun together! I dont know what I would do without these guys. They have been a great support to me and my family and being with each one of them makes me feel so unconditionally loved. Thanks Briti, Ash, Amy, Jodi, Whit, Meg, Donna, Nat and Julie!

UPDATES!!!

2007-08-14T14:28:00.000-06:00

My Modem has been down for almost 9 days now. We didn't figure out it was the modem until Saturday. So much has happened in the last two weeks! As you know Elise has been gone. We have talked to her and she is having so much fun! She went to Sea World with her Gpa and sent us some pictures form his new i phone.

On August 5th our little Marcus Jay was Blessed. He is still such a good baby. His first smile was the day after he was blessed on the 6th. The only rough part about Marcus is that Vanessa loves him so much... too much. She is always kissing him and has to be touching him if he is in the same room. Its actually very cute.. unless you are trying to take pictures ... (check these ones out). Its fun to see her nurture and mother Marcus... well pretty much Marcus and Luke.

The Highland Fling was on August 4th. My dads birthday! My dad was in charge of the candy toss. We had a lot of fun there. Elise got her face painted and it was so neat. I had never seen it done so professional and fun to look at. Later on that evening we went to a concert at Heritage park with my cousin, Stephanie and her family, and my parents. Ryan Shupe and the Rubber Band played. The kids had so much fun playing with balloons and glow stix, rolling down hills, dancing, getting lost, and watching the fireworks. Lucas Loved the fireworks. He was absolutely mesmerized. Ever since the Fling Luke will point to the sky and say " fiwoks" and then instinctively Vanessa will say "Pop" "Sky" ... I (s)cared! I guess that tells you what she thought of them. Needless to say Elise, Vanessa and Marcus were asleep by the end of the show. What a night!

mY GirLie giRl

2007-08-06T13:41:00.000-06:00

I just got back from taking Elise to the airport to visit her Gma and Gpa Looker. They live in Carlsbad, California. She was so excited to get on the plane and travel "all by herself" she almost forgot to give me a kiss and a hug. She loves to visit her grandparents and I always miss her SO much... almost to the point of tears! So... here is little tribute to my big 6 year old girlie girl off to California.

"Diney" Museum

2007-08-01T22:11:00.000-06:00

Today I took the kids to the Dinosaur Museum. I was nervous to take them all by myself but they did great! All the kids loved it, especially Vanessa. The twins stayed in the stroller until they saw the water and sand table. From that point on Vanessa was on cloud 9. She went around pointing at everything. I think she was half afraid of most of it and that's what made her so excited. Luke loved it too and was grunting and speaking "Japanese". At one point he started crying and sat down. He was terrified of the life size replica of a prehistoric sharkwith its mouth open. I kept telling him that it was just a big toy... he wasn't buying it though. Once we got past the shark he was great! Elise is such a trooper. She loves adventure and never seems to be afraid of anything. I guess this would be the reason that she has been to the Emergency room 10 times for various things. Broken clavicle, broken wrist, staples in her head, 17 stitches in her 2 year old hand... and the list goes on. After the Museum we walked over to the ice cream shop that is at Thanksgiving Point. I got the kids their ice cream cone (which I paid 25 cents for all 3) Elise went to hand Luke his and she fell flat on the ground. She had been sitting up to the bar and fell quite aways down. She immediately stood up and hugged me and wouldn't let go. It made sort of a scene when she fell. I think she was embarrassed. I wanted to start crying because her little heart was broken. I have never her seen her get embarrassed like that. It was totally out of character.

For the rest of the day Vanessa kept saying "diney". All she wanted to talk about was the Dinosaurs and what she saw. I have a feeling that we will be spending a lot of time at the "Diney" Museum in the future. Fine with me.

2007-07-27T22:04:00.000-06:00

Colorific!

2007-07-26T22:51:00.000-06:00

"I love all of you. I like all of you. You guys are the best like the Bom Digitty Dood!!!"

"You guys are the best. Rock on, rock on , ROCK ON!"

Tonight Elise got the crayons out and Luke, Nesssie and Elise entertained themselves. It was so quiet around here that I had to take a picture. When Luke saw me taking pictures he turned around in his chair, faced backwards and then slowly turned back around. He was trying to NOT smile. It was so cute. Vanessa kept checking out all of the crayons and announcing to everyone that they were "MINE" (hers). Yes, she has learned this word... and she does use it! Elise was in her room writing secret messages. She went and put them in the mailbox and then came to me and said "Mom, you forgot to get the mail." I responded ( not catching on) " no, I got the mail today." Then Elise said "well, I think you might have left some in the mailbox." ( now, I clue in.) So, of course I go to the mailbox while she is peeking out the window watching me and I find several "letters" to me. All of them telling me how much she loves her familyand how she wants to live good so that she can live with us through Eternity. There are no words to descibe moments like this. I love my kids, they are the best!!!

HOME SWEET HOME

2007-07-24T08:22:00.000-06:00

I thought I would post a picture of our new home...well, new to us. We moved in February of 2007 and we have loved having our first home. It was built in the 90's so we have done some updating and remodeling inside. With what a busy year it has been we have not been able to do all that we wanted. Hopefully, over the next month or so we wil be able to finish what we have started. We also hope to finish the basement within the next little while.

Money Pit

2007-07-23T15:47:00.000-06:00

Last year Nathan and I bought this Dune Buggy. We are excited to have it to just play around in. The kids love it... well at least Elise does. Luke and Venna are afraid of it. Later this summer we are planning a trip to Fairview to stay in a cabin and go on some trails that are around. The place we are staying has a swimming pool and tennis courts and a park. We are thinking of carting a babysitter along to watch the wee-ones while we go out on the trails. I'll let you know how it goes. ( notice the name of our little buggy?.. I named it and the name fits perfectly!)

Dear Lizzie...

2007-07-20T20:10:00.001-06:00

I had so much fun with Amber today! She took me to Dear Lizzie, in Highland for a birthday lunch. What a fun girlie place! It was so nice to be able to just sit and enjoy ourselves. I told Amber that we need to do it again. Thanks to my Dad for watching the kids! For those of you who have never been to Dear Lizzie, I highly recommend it. Its not a very kids friendly place so make sure you leave the kids at home,find a good friend and enjoy!! P.S. Dont forget to get a dessert, they are absolutely dreamy!

Say Cheese!

2007-07-19T19:01:00.000-06:00

Here is the deal... I have been wanting a new smaller digital camera for a long time. I have a nice camera but I have wanted a smaller one that is not too burdensome to carry around places. Since I have started this blog I told Nathan that in order to have a nice blog I "needed" a new camera. Much like I "need" a pedicure or any woman "needs" chocolate. So, the other day I was with my mom and we saw this cute red camera, I just had to have it, so I bought it and I am loving it! One more reason to love blogging huh?

Hot Summer Days

2007-07-15T22:46:00.000-06:00

This week was such a fun week. My birthday was on Wednesday and Nathans was on Saturday. Nathan worked on Saturday and so I got all the kids in the car and we visited him for lunch at work. It was quite the process for me. Having 3 kids under the age of two makes for an interesting and tiresome day when I have to buckle them all in, go shopping and try to fend off all the looks I get from people that have "Lady, ever heard of birth control?" written all over their faces. OHHH... What a life I have. After all is said and done (when I finally get the kids down for a nap) I think of how blessed we are to have such a cute bunch of little ones. SIGH...

This week I also got to spend some time with one of my best friends in the whole wide world, Amber Purles. I love this girl. We went to Thanksgiving Point Childrens Garden and had a lot of fun. Elise loved to play with Ben so much that she went with them for the afternoon. When she got back home she asked me who I thought made a better Peanut Butter and Jelly Sandwich, Amber or her? Apparently she had eaten them for lunch and had been pondering this. She really wants to be the best at everything. Sometimes I think that she is a little TOO sure of herself. I love her stinkin guts! Shes a fun one.

Luke and Vanessa are going through this stage where when I put them down for nap time they take everything out of their cribs...including sheets. And after they do this they jump on their beds and laugh at eachother. Its really cute to sit outside of their door and hear them go through this process. Well, cute for the first 100 times! When I walk in their room to tell them to lay down and go to sleep they hurry and lay down and fake asleep. ( Like they are going to fool me that they have been sleeping.) I have to make the beds all over again and sometimes we go through this process 2 or 3 times before they finally give up and go to sleep.

Marcus is starting to unfold. I thought his eyes were going to be Vanessa's color but I think they actually might be blue. It's so fun to do his curly hair. I really hope it stays curly. I would just love that! We went to church for the first time since he was born and he was a dream!

Elise is Famous

2007-07-15T22:35:00.000-06:00

While searching the internet we found pictures of Elise at Gma and Gpa Lookers wedding in Santa Barbara a couple of years ago. http://www.amedleyphoto.com/ It is the photographers website. She is on the homepage and on one of the portrait pages. My beautiful girlie girl.

Catch up...?

2007-07-11T22:11:00.000-06:00

Well, we have officially joined the blogging community! Now, the problem is deciding where to start with filling you in on what has happened in the last 7 1/2 years since Nathan and I started this little "Garden" of ours. I guess I will just give you the basics....hmmmm.

We have 4 children.

Elise Haven Payne
aka Ellie,Elle,Leasie
6 years. Elise is very smart! She is a great leader and the best little mommy to her siblings. She loves water games and she sees everyone as her friend... no matter what their age. She is learning how to do her own hair which is always very creative. She has also informed me that sometimes I "just don't get her style" when it comes to picking out what she is going to wear for the day.

Lucas Anthony Payne
aka Luke, Lukie, Lukie Duke
22 months. Luke is our oldest twin. Luke is such a funny little boy. And I mean boy with a capital B! He is constantly using his hands or placing them on his hips. He acts a lot like his Grandpa Jay although you can tell who his daddy is . Luke is very sensitive to those around him, especially Vanessa, his twin. Luke loves to gives hugs and is very tender. His favorite movie is Cars although Monsters Inc. is a close second. Luke loves to be outside and is very sad when its time to come in. Luke loves Marshmallows and he also loves to Jump. His favorite book is The Big Hungry Bear. Luke's favorite saying is "there it is!"

Vanessa Anne Payne
aka Nessie,Venna, Nessie Noodle
22 months. Vanessa is very girlie. She wears her emotions on her sleeve. Vanessa is shy and new people are pretty scary to her. However, when she comes up to you and tickles your leg you know that "your in" and she considers you a friend. Vanessa loves to find a beat to the music. She catches on very easily to what is being said around her. She understands more than she can say. She loves to let her big sister get her dressed. Vanessa is a good eater, she especially loves noodles. This is why one of her nick names is Nessie Noodle. Vanessa's favorite saying is "I want..." and she loves to tease her brother. Luke and Vanessa's favorite game is "body slam"... WWF style and Luke doesn't always win.

Marcus Jay Payne
aka Markie
3 weeks. Marcus was a lovely surprise to our family. He is a very mild baby. We cant wait for him to come alive as the days pass on.

Happy 29th to me!

2007-07-11T21:45:00.000-06:00

Today was a great day. The kids slept in late and I got to relax in bed until 9:30! I went to lunch with Elise, baby Marcus, Steph and my mom. Nate watched the twins while he realxed as much as he could with a pounding migrane headache. We went to Gandolfos, which always reminds me of Emily. At the end of lunch mom bought a piece of chocolate cake and she put a toothpick in it since she didnt have a candle. While we were eating the cake Elise announced that "now I was 29 because I had ate my cake". Next year I wont eat cake so I dont have to turn 30. Ha ha ha. I am so blessed to have such good friends and family that never forget my birthday. It makes me feel so loved. Thanks everyone, for making my day!