Blue Steel

For those of you that have seen Zoolander, Jace is giving me his best "Blue Steel" look. For those of you that haven't, Don't. I am embarassed to say that Jon thinks it is hilarious. My little baby is 10 months old. He has graduated from Baby Jace to Bubba Jace. This is not a KY thing, I never called any of my brothers bubba, and I didn't know anyone that did. But somewhere along the way Jace became Bubba. I literally could not get him to hold still for 10 seconds so I could take a picture. He is busy, busy busy! This month Jace had his first haircut. Jon cut all of his pretty curls off while I was at the dentist. So now he only has a short little afro. After Tate and Bradan left for KY I moved Jace's port-a-crib into Bradan's room, from our room. We were going to test out the-it is time to go to bed-no more rocking you for 30 minutes-you are going to have to cry thing. And low and behold he has started sleeping all night. Who knew, that he just wanted a little privacy. This is a MAJOR accomplishment, as some nights he was getting up 2 or 3 times to eat. I am not sure what we are going to do when Tate and Bradan come home? Maybe the garage?

4 Years of Wedded Bliss

Okay, here is the story...Jon and I met, he fell madly in love and begged me to marry him. I wasn't so sure, but then he promised he would tickle my back every single night of our lives. How could I pass that up? I would love to report that he kept his word on the back-tickling, but you know how it goes. To celebrate our 4 years of holy matrimony we were able to go away for a little break, thanks to my wonderful in-laws!!

We had a great time lounging by the pool, reading, watching movies, eating some yummy food, and lots of sleeping.

In 4 years, we have both grown, literally-we have both packed on a few pounds, spiritually-we have seen the hand of the Lord in our lives countless times and have felt his love for us, and emotionally-we are stronger together and continue to develop a bond that will last for eternity.

Called to Serve

Our nephew, Jordan, recently received his mission call to Puebla, Mexico. Jordan is a super cool guy! We will miss him, but are so excited that he has chosen to go on a mission. We are very proud of him and know he will make an awesome missionary. I am thankful for his and Trevor's great examples. I hope that our boys will follow in their footsteps.

Happy Father's Day!

One of the things I love most about Jon is that he is a great dad!He has gone from 1 kid to 5 kids in 4 years, and has handled it like a pro.

He is such a good stepdad to Tate and Bradan. He loves them and they love him.

He tries hard to teach our kids the gospel and to help them make good choices. He is an excellent example of service and hard work. He is always taking the older boys hometeaching with him or to help someone in need. He honors his priesthood and uses it in our home.

He works hard for our family and goes to school, so that I can be at home. He never complains and he always lets me know that the things I do are appreciated.

As soon as Jon walks in the door, Jace is at his feet. He LOVES his daddy! He loves for his daddy to rough him up. He laughs and laughs. Jon is by far his favorite. He can pick out matching outfits and bows for Addy Boo. He plays with her and always tells her how pretty she is. Jon is the big boys expert on music, movies, and sports. He makes paper airplanes, draws tanks and guns for Bradan, helps Tate and Nathan with their scout stuff and homework and answers those hard questions, that I would rather avoid.Even though Jon is busy with schoolwork, church callings, and work he always helps me out. He is usually the one that gets stuck doing the laundry.(And he is much better at it than I am) He gives baths, brushes hair, changes diapers, makes bottles, takes care of the yard and the garden, and anything else that needs to be done. I could leave him with the kids all day and he wouldn't complain or call me 100 times asking when I am coming home. I know that he loves all of our kids. He wants them to succeed and be happy. He prays for them and would help them any way that he could. I am grateful Heavenly Father has blessed our family with such a great dad! We love you!

It's Great to be 8!

Or almost 8...Bradan has been so excited for his upcoming 8th birthday. He can't wait to be baptized! Because he always goes to Kentucky for the summer, he is never here on his actual birthday. So I told him that because it was such an important birthday we would have his party before he left for KY. He chose to have his party at Amazing Jake's. They rode go karts and bumper cars, climbed the rock wall, played laser tag, twisted and turned on the teacups, and played video games. It was a grand celebration!

The Party Animals

Nicholas, Bradan, Thomas, Nolan, Tate, Nathan, Joshua, Addison, and Casey

Our 2 Mr. Cleans

A few weeks ago I realized that I was afraid to look in Tate and Nathan's room, much less enter it. We tell them to clean their room almost everyday. So they go up there and clear a square out of the middle of the floor, by piling everything on top of their desks, dressers, in their closets. Putting away clothes is another nightmare. Clothes are shoved everywhere and they can't ever find anything. So Jon and I put on some rubber gloves, grabbed some trash bags, and waded into the mess. With the boys help we got everything clean and organized, even their drawers and closet. Now why I am writing this, is to brag about what an awesome job they have done keeping it clean. They dust and vacuum regularly and are even putting their clothes in the right drawers. It is a miracle. I am super proud of them! Keep up the good work, guys!

Teething is TERRIBLE

At the present, Jace has four teeth-his two top teeth and two on the bottom. Each was a hard fought battle, that usually waged in the middle of night. He has the hardest time. He doesn't sleep or eat well. His nose drains enough snot daily, to fill a bathtub. He cries and cries and wants to be held constantly. It is rough on everyone. Now we have discovered two more top teeth trying to break their way through. It has been a rough few weeks, with little sleep and an unhappy baby. But for the last few days he seems to be feeling better and has only woke up once at night to eat. We cherish those days, and pray that next time the teething won't be so terrible.

Addison's First Haircut

I took Tate and Bradan to get their haircut on Friday. I decided I would see if Addison would let them cut hers. I was not expecting it to actually happen. She acts like I am touching her with a hot iron when I just try and brush her hair. But to my complete surprise she actually sat up in the chair like a total big girl. I of course forgot my camera, so I didn't get any action shots. These are the after pictures. I was so proud of her. I can't believe how big she is getting. She is finally, talking up a storm. She loves the Disney princesses right now. She wants to watch Cinderella at least 5 times a day. It was cute at first, but now it is driving me crazy. She has a princess pillow and blanket that she loves. She has us convinced that she is the sweetest, smartest, cutest little girl in the world.

Beans, Beans Good for your heart...

These are the fruits of Jon's labor, in our garden. Our very first harvest, consisted of these 5 Contender Bush beans. Jon was very excited that he succeeded in growing something and we were all very proud. Addison ate almost all of them herself, raw. I tasted one. It tasted like mowed grass, or exactly like mowed grass smells. Pretty nasty. I am sure they will taste better cooked.

Just Peachy

We have been trying hard to get our food storage built up, so when Jon's cousin Brooke called and said she had some free peaches, I felt like I should try and do something domestic and make some jam. I haven't ever done anything like this before, so I spent almost the whole day (in between taking care of kids) peeling and cutting up peaches. I learned later that I could have just put them in a steam bath and the peeling would have just fallen off. I guess some good info for next time, if I ever do this again. It was kind of a pain, because I didn't know what I was doing. But it all set up and all my jars sealed. Not bad for a first-timer.