marzo memories

One Year Ago

2011-05-17T08:05:00.001-07:00

May 17th, 2010 I put some ramen noodles in the microwave to cook for lunch. Pig was at school for the day and I was home with our 3 kids. Usually I would boil the water on the stove top but was trying to hurry so I decided to use the microwave. I put the bowl of noodles and water in and pushed the "add a minute" button probably 4 or 5 times. I went upstairs to get Mia who wasn't feeling well, while on the phone with my friend to get a recipe for dinner(we were having the missionaries over). I heard very loud, panicked screaming and yelling. I immediately hung up and ran out of my room where Tayli had met me on the top of the stair case. She was screaming while pulling her shirt off and yelling," get the noodles off, get the noodles off!" I looked at her arms at what I thought had noodles all over when I realized it wasn't noodles, it was curled up peeling skin. I panicked as I grabbed my phone to call pig, then something came over me and said don't call pig- call 911! The dispatcher was very calm with me and told me to get Tay in the cold shower. I don't think I have ever been so scared in my life as I watched my daughter suffering. I was trying to talk to her, hold her and force her to stay in the cold shower as she was screaming and turning white as if she was going to pass out soon. Meanwhile, Pig not knowing what was going on at all decided to come home from school for lunch(he had taken a sack lunch that morning). As he entered our neighborhood he followed behind the ambulance and fire truck. The ambulance pulled up in front of our neighbors and pig gave a sigh of relief. He got out of the car and was very confused when the other guys followed him to our door asking if he lived here. He thought surely there was a mistake and they were at the wrong house. He let them in and they all rushed upstairs to the screaming. Since we were in the bathroom Pig thought maybe Tay had been burned in the shower. They wrapped her up and carried her downstairs to take her vitals. They rushed her out to the ambulance and gave her some morphine. They let me lay on the stretcher to hold her. The paramedic told Pig where they were taking us but not to rush or worry because she was just fine. One of our good friends came over right after he saw the ambulance. He told pig to leave and he would take the kids to his house. As he and Pig went to the garage they noticed a big bowl and water and noodles all over the kitchen floor. They tried to put it all together and figured Tay probably had a minor burn. Pig left and good buddy cleaned up the mess and took our kids. What a long ride it was in the ambulance. Tay stopped screaming(thanks to morphine) and I uncontrollably cried. She was all covered in a warm blanket so I still didn't have any ideas where she had been burned except her arm. When we were finally in the ER they took all the blankets off to assess and analyze. I was completely shocked! The burn started right under her face on her chin, went down her neck and half her back, along with her forearm and up passed her elbow. I couldn't even imagine the pain that my little 5 year old was feeling and going through. All I wanted to do is go back and redo the day, how did this happen? why did I put the noodles in the microwave? why did I go upstairs? why did I, why did I, why did I?? I felt like a failure and was very scared for what was to come. Pig arrived 30 min after we had. I remember looking up as he saw Tay uncovered for the first time at the doorway. He began to sob. We both just cuddled as close to her as we could and cry. We both felt horrible for what had happened. I could go on and on with details and the different emotions that we all experienced but my main reason for sharing this story is to reflect on the blessings we received and how well Tayli has recovered. The pix may be too graphic but I really wanted to show the progress of her skin in just a years time.

2nd night, Tay was really drugged up. It was hard for the Drs to figure out the correct rx and dosage for the first 14 days.

3rd day they began to scrub and do dressings.

3rd day

After a few days when the burns had manifested. Its almost like the skin was still burning. The Drs. explained how burns change each day and we wouldnt know if they needed grafts or not.

Every morning she had "bath time", this was miserable! They scrub off the dead skin. Tay would get so mad and splash anyone in sight. It took me a while before I could watch them torture her like this. It was hard for me to understand that this had to be done in order for her to heal properly.

After baths she would get all new dressings on and was wrapped up pretty good.

The morning before surgery. She had stayed up so late talking to Pig and I- wanting to know all the details of what the Drs were going to do to her during surgery. She was very concerned and wanted to be clear on everything. She even asked if she could see the tool that they were going to scrape her skin with from the donor sight- its basically like a cheese grater, OUCH!

Waiting for them to come get us for surgery.

They had just given her some sleepy meds to prepare her for the grafts.

After grafting. She had one on her shoulder/back, another on her back and two different spots on her arm.

Few days after surgery they took the bandages off. You can see the outlined areas are the grafts.

It was so nice to be home after 18 days at the hospital. We still had a lot of recovery ahead of us but at least she could be at home.

look how well its doing, you cant even see the burn that went all the way up into her hair.

She had to wear this cute little compression sleeve for 7 months, which originally was supposed to be 1 year. wahoo.

Sept- she was able to start school as planned.

We have to lotion her like crazy to help keep the skin hydrated.

AMAZING! You can hardly see the lower graft, and barely see the upper. The rest of her back looks awesome.
There are tiny little hairs starting to grow in some places on her arm now. We are so grateful that she is such a strong little girl and has healed so well. We are forever grateful to our amazing family and friends who helped us through this trial. We were so blessed to live in this ward and to feel the love and support from those that we didn't even know yet(only lived here for 6 mos). So so grateful that her face wasn't burned- our microwave is up high on the refrigerator and it is a pure miracle that as the bowl came down her face was protected. Grateful for a husband that was able to give her blessing after blessing and feel the comfort of our Savior. Grateful for Drs and nurses who took such good care of us. Grateful we are to this point and she doesn't have to go back to the burn unit anymore for checkups! Love you little Tay, sorry you had to go through this all.

Tayli's 1st day of Kindergarten

2010-09-13T14:34:00.000-07:00

I remember back when Tayli was at the fun terrible two age and thinking to myself,"I cant wait until she goes to kindergarten!" Now that its here I am wishing I never said that!

It was the longest morning for her

Is it time to go yet Dad?

Mom trying to act happy and excited

G and Tay always give these silly fake smiles that make me crazy

Tay and her best little buddy S

This is where I started to feel a little anxiety. But she couldnt have been any more ready or excited.

I had to go sneek a peek once she was in class but it would have probably been in my best interest to not see her doing so well without me- Yep I did start crying.

She was so cute coming off the bus and greeted both me and pig with a huge hug and smile. She had a great day and we celebrated after with pizza and ice cream.

MIA TURNS 1 (a month ago :)

2010-05-05T20:11:00.000-07:00

This has been the fastest and craziest year of my life. It is hard to believe that she is already 1. Our little Measle is so much fun. Both her grandma and nana gave her baby dolls for her birthday and when she opened them she gave the biggest wide mouth smile I have ever seen. She smothers her babies with kisses everyday. Mia loved having her own birthday cake and wasnt afraid to dig right in. Mia is such a joy in our lives, I am so glad that my husband let me bribe him with a four wheeler to have a 3rd kid-hahaha. We definitely feel very blessed that she is in our family. She is a pretty affectionate little girl- she loved being in Utah and gave lots of love to her cousins. She loves being toted around by Tay and G. She loves to blow kisses and can now make the kiss noise while she scrunches her cute button nose. Mia loves to eat! If anyone is eating something she wont stop begging until you have shared with her. She just learned how to walk and is very excited about it. Mia is pretty squatty- she is in the 20th percentile for her height(who would have guessed) and weight. We love you Mia girl!

SPRING BREAK

2010-04-03T12:28:00.001-07:00

We had an awesome week with K, J, and E Marzo, A, D, and A Nichols, And Mom and Dad Marzo! Thanks for coming to play with us!

Make video montages at www.OneTrueMedia.com

2010-03-15T21:43:00.000-07:00

Look how tall she is getting
Mia likes to play peeka boo but covers her cheeks instead of her eyes(she also found out how to climb into the kitchen cabinet)
The other day the kids were playing outside and they kept running in the house to find certain things. I wasnt really paying attention to them as I was busy with Mia. Finally they came in and told me that they were practicing for when Uncle Jason comes. I asked what they were practicing and they pulled me outside to show me this.
Last year uncle Jason taught them how to catch chipmunks. They had set a trap with carrots and peanut butter inside a capri sun box. It was so cute as they sat and waited for about an hour for any chipmunk to come(unfortunately they only saw a few birds fly by)

We had a surprise 1/2 hour long visit from Uncle Kris- fun to see him and the kids loved wrestling him.

Look how blue the sky is in the background :) We have definately enjoyed some beautiful warm days lately and yes we believe the bluest skies are here in MV

I know all of you in Utah are jealous of this green grass

This little guy loves to "exercise". He always wants me to watch him while he exercises like his dad does. Unfortunately he is not very graceful and this time he ended up face planting and scratching up his nose and forehead pretty good(Tay did the same thing the next day)

We play pretty hard around here and this is what we get during dinner time.

Museum of Flight

2010-03-15T21:06:00.000-07:00

The first Thursday of every month after 5 pm is free to attend the flight museum- we enjoyed it with the kids and especially were grateful that it was free!

Is anyone sick of this stupid music on my blog yet, I really need to change it I know!

2010-02-27T21:06:00.000-08:00

Mia has turned into this funny little ham lately. She pulls the cheesiest smile and makes us all laugh. Grayden has taught her how to scream/yell and seems to think thats how she can get her way. She has learned to make the cutest little kiss sounds and waves and says bubye.

She has 6 little chompers and seems to be cutting one more on the bottom.

The kids have really been into drumming lately....especially Gman. Usually he "sneeks" in the cupboard to get some tupperware and then comes to tell me that he was "sneeky" and is going to use them for his drums. One day I was going through clothes to put the small stuff away and when I pulled out the bins to put them in Grayden says" those will be my best drums mom!"

Mia was happy to join the drum fun

Grayden seems to think pretty deep sometimes. The other day we were going to the grocery store which is about 1 mile away and as we are walking out the door he says" oh mom, dont forget the GPS so it can tell us how to find the groceries" he is a funny kid
Tates is begging to go to kindergarten. Whenever we drive pass the elementary school she asks if she can go yet. Tonight I made Tay and G clean up the toy room since all day they had played hard and pulled alllllll the toys out. I came up to check on them and Tayli says " I wish I could be the mom so that I didnt have to clean up the toys and have my kids do all the cleaning and not even help them" hahahaha It took every ounce of me to hold back the laughter as I calmly explained that I wasnt helping this time because I was making dinner, doing laundry, cleaning downstairs and taking care of Mia.

SECRET MESSAGE!

2010-02-14T15:02:00.000-08:00

HAPPY VALENTINES!!! can you figure out our secret message?

YEP! we love you all and hope you have a great LOVE day!

Thanks for all the valentines from our families :)

the first mess of the day

2010-02-02T11:23:00.000-08:00

Usually while I get ready in the morning Mia sits on the bathroom floor and plays with toys. Well now that she stands and grabs anything in reach she found that tp is pretty fun!

Graydens 3rd birthday

2010-01-25T12:04:00.000-08:00

We LOVE this little guy! He never seizes to amaze us! He is such a sweet little boy and we hope he never loses his tender side. I love that he always says "thank you mommy" whenever we do something for him. He loves playing with trucks and "brooom broooms"(four wheelers). He loves to take things apart and "fix" things. He loves playing with Tayli outside in the jeep and riding his bike. On sunday Grayden and I went to church together while the others stayed home sick. He was coloring and without looking I handed him a pink crayon"MOM- I CANT USE THAT CRAYON, IT IS ONLY FOR GIRLS!" He always reminds me that he is a boy and can only play boy things. Another funny thing that happened recently- he was sitting on the potty and asked me to come help him. He said"mom I almost fell in the toilet" "oh no, are you ok?" "yes but if I fell in the toilet then daddy wouldnt have a boy anymore and he would be so sad."

Grayden we love you and are so greatful you are our little boy! You are so smart and we love to watch you learn and grow! Happy Birthday buddy!

The night before his birthday he decorated his legs with stickers and said "heres my present!"
He woke up and was so cute! We sang happy birthday to him while we were still in bed and he started hugging us and saying "I love you mom! I love you Dad! Thanks Tay! Oh Measle!"
He wanted spider man waffles so we tried to dye them blue
We told G that he could choose all the activities for the day. He wanted all of us to go on a bike ride....it was so much fun. He was a little trooper in the rain and peddaled so hard up the little hills. We stopped at a park and soaked our pants on the slide.

We came back and enjoyed hot chocolate!

playing with his new train with daddy

He asked for Hot dogs and watermellon- yummy!

He went to the store with pig to pick up his cake and all day long he just wanted to sit on the counter and stare at it

FABULOUS 5 YEAR OLD

2010-01-15T20:32:00.000-08:00

My amazing little girl I cant believe how big you are getting! YOU ARE SO SMART! I love watching you learn new things and love to see your excitement as you are learning to read. YOU ARE SO BEAUTIFUL! I love your glowing eyes and your sweet smile. You have such a tender spirit and are so kind. YOU ARE THE BEST BIG SISTER! I dont know any other 5 year old that loves there little brother and sister as much as you do(you will make a great mommy someday). G and Mia look up to you so much and you are a great example not only to them but to mom and dad. YOU ARE THE BEST HELPER! I appreciate you willingly helping me with laundry, dishes, babysitting and all the other chores that you love to do along side of me. YOU ARE SO TALENTED! We love to watch you run, ride your bike, dance, play soccer, sing and play piano. We are excited to see you develop more talents as you get older. YOU ARE SO FUN! You always make us laugh! You always want to play with friends! You are so silly sometimes and we love to watch your creativity. WE LOVE YOU TAY and are so grateful that you are a part of OUR family and that you remind us of our goals in life. YOU ARE THE BEST!!

the fun birthday hat

Tay had a "dress up" birthday party

Fun little girls(she was sad that all her cousins and friends in Lehi couldnt make it :(

Thank you for the new bike Grandma and Grandpa!

Mia loves balloons

She had to try out her new umbrella right when she opened it early this morning(notice it is still dark:)

Look how tall she is. We hope you have an awesome year Tayli!

ps. thanks to our family for all the birthday calls and gifts! We love you and appreciate your support.

BACK TO SCHOOL

2010-01-04T12:46:00.000-08:00

Yea Piggy! We are so proud of you! We love you and hope you have a great day at school!

SO FAR. SOOO GOOD

2009-12-05T16:10:00.000-08:00

WOW! What an amazing year it has been for our family.

Here we go

March 16, 2009 I get a panicked phone call from my husband asking me to come pick him up from work, "Why its only 11:30, are you sick?" " NO, JUST COME GET ME!" The longest 15 minute drive I have ever had. Yep, Pig was laid off. After 10 wonderful years working for Mountainland Design there was no longer a need for him there.

April 6, Our beautiful daughter Mia joined our family. 3 days later we took a road trip to Moab- Yes we are crazy but it was alot of fun.

May -Planted our very first garden(which turned out very succesfull and had so much fun doing it). Alot of job hunting and interviews-nothing came of them. Enjoyed the Richmond cabin.

June -Pig ran his very first race. He participated in the Ragnar Wasatch Back- its a relay race that his team of 12 ran 188 miles! Pig did amazing and while training he lost 35 Lbs! More job hunting. We had Fun family time with Richmonds in Boulder at Roberts Ranch.

July - Took the long road trip to Yellowstone and enjoyed the bears and Marzos. Pig and I became a Duncle and Dauntie(double uncle and double aunt). Still job hunting.

August- Tayli learned how to ride a 2 wheeler in just 1 hour- she was so thrilled. Still job hunting.Pig decided he wanted to go to school. We prayed long and hard and decided to attend Air Traffic Control School in Washington. We put our house in Lehi up for sale, which was a lot harder than we had ever imagined. Lots of wonderful memories and great friends acquired in that house. We flew to Washington to find a house-didnt find one.

September- Started the fun potty training process with Gman- it lasted for about 2 weeks until we decided there was too much going on. Pig went to Washington a second time, still didnt find a place for us to live yet. We were under contract with our house and decided to move in with my parents. Thanks mom and dad for taking care of us.

October- What a miracle, we sold our house!! Pig, Mia and I went on a vacation with some of the Marzo adults to Moab- it was so beautiful!! We had a great time and really enjoyed the family time. Wahoo- Pig and I along with my oldest sister Rochelle ran our very first half marathon! Pig beat us at 2 hours 6 min and Rochelle was kind enough to stay back with me and finished together at 2 hours 9 min. We had a very fun halloween with Tinkerbell, Spiderman, and a Bumble Bee!

November- We found a house to rent in Maple Valley. Actually we have some wonderful friends that found it for us. Thank you Gustins for all the time and efforts you spent on finding us a house. We really appreciate you!! We made the big move on the 17th. It couldnt have gone any better. Thanks to all the wonderful help from family and friends on loading all our stuff. Thanks Nana and Papa for taking the long journey with us.

December- My 8 month old learns to crawl :( - we dont want her to grow up. We really like it here and are very happy with our new house(especially since we didnt see it until we moved in). We love our new ward and are excited to get to know more people there. Our neigborhood is really cool and surrounded by lots of huge trees and feels like we are in the mountains. Our kids are adjusting and are happy they have new rain coats and rain boots.

We just found out that right before we moved into our ward the head controller for the western United States air traffic controling moved in with his family. We met him last Sunday and he is happy to help Pig and is going to take him on some tours of some facilities. Oh yea-- Grayden is really potty trained this time :)

Pig will be starting school on January 4, and we are all excited to get into a routine again.
Pretty amazing how things have worked out for us and how blessed we feel. It maybe hard for others to see all the blessings we have recieved this year but they are very apparent and obvious to Pig and I. All the trials and hard times have and are still bringing us closer as a family and help us to realize and be greatful for all the miracles we have in our lives.

We miss everyone in Utah and hope you all have a good Christmas and 2010.

SOOO CUTE!!!

2009-04-18T14:07:00.000-07:00

sorry so small-the copyright wont let me enlarge them.

Finally a post with pix!!

2009-04-18T11:06:00.000-07:00

First family picture with 3 Little Pigs

Papa came right away to take pictures for us

Grandpa loving Mia

Sweet Big brother

The hospital set up a fancy steak dinner for us the second night. It was pretty fun

Tayli cant get enough of Mia and wants to hold her all the time

Our little angel.

Shes not very big but she definately has mamas round cheekies

First bath after hospital

enjoying the swing

Mia Lorraine

2009-04-11T11:24:00.000-07:00

YEAH! she is here finally! I have lots of pictures to post but i dont have my camera cord to download my pictures so for now i will just tell the really long delivery story.

I went to the hospital on Monday the 6th to be induced. We checked in at about 7:45, my dr broke my water at 8, gave me pitocin(i dont know how to spell that) at 8:30, i pushed two times and Mia was born at 9:56! 6 lbs. 2 oz. and 18 in long

long story ey? Everything went so fast I can hardly believe it. She is beautiful, healthy and has the sweetest spirit. We are so blessed to have her and to have had such a wonderful pregnancy(i can say that now that im done :)) and delivery. It is so amazing what a spiritual experience it is to have a new baby and I love being a new mommy again. It is fun to watch Tay and G love her and be so gentle with her. Its even funner to hear all the questions they have about everything :) Thanks for all the love and support from everyone. I will get pix up later.

yesterday and today

2009-04-07T09:34:00.001-07:00

thoughts for the day

2009-03-02T13:21:00.000-08:00

I love nap time and bed time at our house. Not only because its quiet and I have time to think but because I get to lay by my kids and snuggle them! Today I was laying by Grayden watching him fall asleep and all of a sudden I felt so sad thinking that he isnt going to be my baby for very much longer! He was such a hard little guy as a baby but has turned out to be sooo much fun. He is so smart and growing up so fast and Im sure that once he is a big brother he will seem alot older too. He loves to do what Tayli does- sometimes Tayli asks "why does he always say what I say Mom?" We are very excited for this new baby to join our lives and hope that its sooner than later. The other day we were at my parents and Grayden came up to my belly and lifted up my shirt and said "hey baby, looka at mea!" It was so darn cute. Tayli and Grayden love this baby so much already and love to talk and sing to her and bless her in their prayers. I love you Tay and G and am greatfull for the joy that you bring into my life every day!

SO SCARED

2008-12-08T11:24:00.000-08:00

Sunday night Pig, the kids and I were all sitting on the couch watching the Christmas devotional. All the lights were out in the house besides the christmas tree. All of a sudden we heard someone fiddling with the front door lock. Pig jumped up and ran to the door. I grabbed the kids and was thinking of where we should hide. I couldnt believe that someone was breaking into our house on a sunday night at 8:30. Pig grabbed the closest weapon he could find which was one of those toy horses on a stick. It sounded like the people trying to get in were using a key on the door. Pig was so nervous he didnt even look through the peep hole he just hit the door really hard with the horse in hopes to scare the people off! He heard someones voice so he decided to look out the window. All he could see was a lady holding a baby so he decided to open the door. At this point I decided to come up and see why he was opening the door. I looked up and saw MY SISTER and her husband and baby who live in Philadelphia standing on my front porch. I was so excited and frantic and thought I was dreaming I pretty much peed my pants!(remember im pregnant) So my brother in law who is in med school in PA got a rotation here in salt lake for the next month and they didnt tell any of my family and just packed up and drove all the way here to surprise us. TOTALLY AWESOME! what an awesome Christmas surprise. We had to go with them to surprise mom and dad and it was so fun to share in the surprise and excitement. Pig and I had a very hard time getting to sleep cuz we still are in shock that they are here and keep playing it back in our heads and cant stop laughing. We love you Ali and Ryan- wish that you could have brought webbies home too!

Then and Now

2008-12-03T19:45:00.000-08:00

this was almost 2 years ago- so fun to look back and see how much kids change.

i love her sweet little voice- try to ignore my annoying voice in the background.

you have to notice Grayden wearing Taylis boots! I love watching these two dance together- yes on top of the coffee table.

Random pix

2008-12-03T19:30:00.000-08:00

riding tracks downtown to see them turn the lights on for the season. Thanks Lynni and Jase for going with us.

Daddy Matt with gman

Thanks for the fun hockey game uncle Pat

I have a hard time getting my kids to pose and smile for the camera.

MOAB in october

2008-12-03T19:04:00.000-08:00

In October Pig and I went on a wonderful adult vacation to Moab. We always go with all the marzos over easter but have never experienced it without any kids and in October. It was Awesome! So nice to get away and enjoy the four wheeling and scenery and company. Unfortunately I am not very good at remembering to take pics so I only have a few and not even one group shot :(

cabin fun & pioneer day

2008-08-02T19:27:00.000-07:00

provo falls on the way to the cabin

Ts fun new hairdo

we went for a long four wheeling ride up to Lily Lake-i didnt take many pix but it sure was beautiful. We stopped to take a break and the kids enjoyed the dirt.

this shows how lovely our faces look after riding

relaxing at Nana & Papas

slippin slide fun

Echo Lake

2008-07-11T13:06:00.000-07:00

Amazing Mccally surfing like a pro at only 12!

Kim and Kris took us boating this week and we had such a great time with them! I was surprised at how much both my kids enjoyed it. They loved riding on the tube and watching the others surf. Thanks Longsons! we love you

Random Pix

2008-06-24T13:23:00.000-07:00

so long

helping aunt lynni mow the lawn

dont they look like brother and sister?

Sleeping on the four wheeler

my "best girl"

yummy summer treats

2008-06-24T13:18:00.000-07:00

Emotional

2008-06-24T13:02:00.000-07:00

So for some reason today has been a wierd day for me. Im not sure why I get stressed over silly things and why stress makes me emotional- maybe its cuz i didnt have my morning walk!!!
So today at 10:15 we decided that we were going to go to story time at the library so I was scrambling around to find all of our shoes, get the kids hair done, and make sure they had all gone potty. We made it to the library just in time and sat down to enjoy the songs and stories. The kids were being so good and I was feeling relieved that i wasnt having to wrestle Grayden to make him hold still for once. At the end of story time Jeanette(librarian) got out these cool little busses and truck for the kids to play inside of. I heard someone start to cry so I looked down and G was on this other little boy. The mom of the other boy threw G off of her son and I noticed G had bit the boys leg. I felt horrible and I was very apologetic and the lady grabbed her son and ran out the door. As I was skolding Grayden(no excuses but the poor kid is teething) I was watching her leave and she is just bawling and telling another lady outside what happened. I felt so stupid and so awefull that i started to cry also. A few friends at the library were telling me its ok, dont worry about it he didnt know and hes just a kid, yadee yadee yadee. Jeanette(librarian)was also trying to make things better and we were joking how brave I was to bring 4 kids to the library and how they all acted better than this other lady with only 1 child. I started to gather the kids to leave and noticed that my sweet leecy lou had wet her pants all over the carpet. Of course I started to cry again. But this time I was able to laugh because it was just icing on the cake. So here is a cute little story that my dad sent me that you other moms may appreciate.

JUST A MOM?

A woman, renewing her driver's license at the County Clerk's office,
was asked by the woman recorder to state her occupation.

She hesitated, uncertain how to classify herself.

'What I mean is,' explained the recorder, 'do you have a job or are you just a ?'

'Of course I have a job,' snapped the woman.

'I'm a Mom.'

'We don't list 'Mom' as an occupation, 'housewife' covers it,' Said the recorder emphatically.

I forgot all about her story until one day I found myself in the same situation, this time at our own

Town Hall. The Clerk was obviously a career woman, poised, efficient, and possessed of a high

sounding title like, 'Official Interrogator' or 'Town Registrar.'

'What is your occupation?' she probed.

What made me say it? I do not know. The words simply popped out.
'I'm a Research Associate in the field of Child Development and Human Relations.'

The clerk paused, ball-point pen frozen in midair and looked up as though she had not heard right.

I repeated the title slowly emphasizing the most significant words.
Then I stared with wonder as my pronouncement was written,
in bold, black ink on the official questionnaire.

'Might I ask,' said the clerk with new interest, 'just what you do in your field?'

Coolly, without any trace of fluster in my voice, I heard myself reply, 'I have a continuing program

of research, (what mother doesn't) In the laboratory and in the field, (normally I would have said

indoors and out). I'm working for my Masters, (first the Lord and then the whole family) and already

have four credits (all daughters). Of course, the job is one of the most demanding in the umanities,
(any mother care to disagree?) and I often work 14 hours a day, (24 is more like it).
But the job is more challenging than most run-of-the-mill careers and the rewards are more of a

satisfaction rather than just money.'

There was an increasing note of respect in the clerk's voice as she completed the form, stood up,

and personally ushered me to the door.

As I drove into our driveway, buoyed up by my glamorous new career,
I was greeted by my lab assistants -- ages 13, 7, and 3.
Upstairs I could hear our new experimental model,
(a 6 month old baby) in the child development program, testing out a new vocal pattern.
I felt I had scored a beat on bureaucracy!
And I had gone on the official records as someone more distinguished and indispensable to

mankind than 'just another Mom.'

Motherhood!

What a glorious career!
Especially when there's a title on the door.

Does this make Grandmothers
'Senior Research associates in the field of Child
Development and Human Relations'

And Great Grandmothers
'Executive Senior Research Associates?'

I think so!!!
I also think it makes Aunts '
Associate Research Assistants.'
May your troubles be less,
Your blessing be more,
And nothing, but happiness comes through your door!
AMEN!!

PA VACATION

2008-06-02T08:23:00.000-07:00

taking care of business....on the plane

we went to an awesome "please Touch" museum and the kids got to have all sorts of fun exploring and playing with everything there.

Baby Mo loves to eat any hair that she can get her hands on

eating elmo and cookie monster cupcakes

"mom, why did you let me eat so much sugar? Im sick now!"

five dollar, five dollar, five dollar foot long

say cheese Ryan

you're too young to low ride buddy!

STORY TIME-part 1: we were driving to pick up Ryan from school and I had told Ali earlier how she has become a scary driver like all the other people in Philly (fast, tailriding, jerky, cutting in etc). Then she was bragging to pig(who was co pilot) that she was getting good at running yellow lights today. Right when she finishes saying this she gets pulled over!

Luckily she only got a warning for completely running a RED light!

STORY TIME-part 2: Later that day we were all in the car driving to Pittsburg to see Webbs and all of a sudden we here another sirin go off. (pig is not a very good co-pilot)

Ryan was not as lucky as Ali and got a pretty hefty ticket!
at least we got a good laugh out of it.

amusement park fun

Much funner than Lagoon! Thanks Keith for taking me on the fun ones since my husband didnt dare to.

pig shooting his very first gun

K-dog looking so tough. He can shoot alot better than both pig and I

Bonnie trying to convince us that sen sen is good and it freshens your breathe! nasty

if you cant read the sign it says"Its not easy being male"

The zoo was really cool but it was too humid that day to fully enjoy everything.

Tay and Pig pretending to be a Puma- like on pigs awesome new jacket, thanks wehoos

Breakfast picnic on the deck on our last day

THANKS Wehmanns and Webbs for letting us come see you! We had so much fun and love you all sooo much!

HAPPY MOTHERS DAY.....to me!!!

2008-05-10T17:52:00.000-07:00

I am so greatful to be a mom! I love everything about it and even on those bad days I still find reason to be greatful. I love waking up to Tayli getting in bed with me to get "cozy" at 6am, I love waking up to Grayden talking to himself in his room after his lazy self gets up about 7:45. I love to watch my kids learn and grow physically and mentally. I love that my kids play together and love to tease. Graydens new thing is that he loves to wrestle Tay and bully her a bit. I love to hear Tayli be so tender and loving when she expresses her love for her family and friends. I love Graydens little fish kiss lips and the kisses he blows to me. I love hearing Tayli sing primary songs and watching her dance. I could go on and on and on. I am so blessed to have such amazing kids and feel very greatful to have them in my life. I love you Tots! I love you Gman!
Happy Mothers day to all! Thanks for the wonderful moms in my life too!

Tayli Talk

2008-05-01T13:02:00.000-07:00

So, today before nap time I asked the kids to use the bathroom(tay and alex-seperately). I was in my room and was walking across the hall to Taylis room when i noticed her still in the bathroom. She was standing with her pants at her ankles and facing the toilet. I looked at her "what are you doing?" "Can I pee like this mom?" "NO" "Oh, when I get bigger will I get a curly bum bum?" (referring to the male parts)I had to turn and laugh so that she wouldnt see me. I guess we need to work on being a bit more private in our household. Im so greatful for Tay, she always makes me so happy and gives me plenty reason to laugh. have a good thursday!

5 under 4

2008-04-29T19:40:00.000-07:00

Heres my handfull of kids for the day! I had to laugh at myself as I was pulling a wagon with 4 kids under the age of 3 with one hand and carrying a stack of 10 books back to the library(the 5th child was at preschool for now). I'm sure people driving past me are thinking im crazy too. We love having extra kids around the house and love when they all are asleep at the same time :)
Tay and Alex(almost 5) were arguing last week about something when I heard Al say,"well my dad is bigger than you!" Tay says"my dad is taller than your dad!" Alex, "oh, yea- your dad is alot bigger than my dad"..... His dad is at least 6'5 and pig is barely 5'5. Its cute to see kids perception on things and i love how they both think the world of their dads!

WARNING! picture overload

2008-04-21T20:32:00.000-07:00

my internet hasnt been working for along time so here are some fun things weve done in the last month!

oh man, i've been caught riding a pink horse

little stinkers

we went to 5 mile pass and had a great time. mom and dad on their new bike.

newest member of our family-the sparkly red one!

its chocolate this time, not poo!

.
i thought we bought a red bike?

nice tights pig!

how long since you've washed your face jase?

Gardens at Thanksgiving point are so fun and beautiful

at least grayden had fun.

"who" the heck are these people?

2008-04-21T20:00:00.000-07:00

my sister Ali sent me this picture and it brought back some fun memories of warm summer nights in the mountains. I know, arent we hidiously ugly?!

2008-03-23T09:31:00.001-07:00

HAPPY ANNIVERSARY PIG!!!!

2008-03-17T15:15:00.000-07:00

Most people get married believing the myth that marriage is a beautiful box full of all the things they have longed for: companionship, sexual fulfillment, intimacy, friendship. The truth is that marriage, at the start, is an empty box. You must put something in before you can take anything out. There is no love in marriage; love is in people, and people put it into marriage. There is no romance in marriage; people have to infuse it into their marriages. A couple must learn the art and form the habit of giving, loving, serving, praising--keeping the box full. If you take out more than you put in, the box will empty.

Thanks for filling my box for the last 4 awesome years Pig! I love you so much and appreciate all that you do for me and our family. Pretty awesome that we met 9 years ago and sealed the deal 4 years ago. Its fun to look back on all of our memories and also hard to remember my life without you in it. Thanks for being my best friend. Thanks for making me smile. Thanks for taking care of me. Thanks for being silly with me. Thanks for being a wonderful father. Thanks for being you. Thanks for choosing me to be your eternal bride! You have stolen my heart!!!I LOVE YOU!!!

2008-03-16T20:10:00.000-07:00

Yahooo! Grayden is really attempting to walk now.

He takes about 10 steps at a time but doesnt know

how to stand from a sitting position to start walking

I love this kid!

Trip to Wheeler Farm

2008-03-16T19:48:00.001-07:00

heres the crew- Emily, Kylee, Josh, Ashton, Tayli, Grayden
Haley, and Jackson.

Josh & Gman posing on the tractor.

Cutest little animals on the farm.

"yuck, dont lick the wires Tayli"

One with the ducks!

Its always fun to have playdates with cousins! thanks
Mandy and Julie for playing with us, hope we can do
it again soon.

MISCHIEVOUS KIDS

2008-03-10T15:07:00.000-07:00

What happens when I leave my 1 year old and 3 year old alone for too long?

Grayden plays with pantyliners and Tayli gets out all of her toys at once! Thankfully it only took a few minutes to clean it all up.

medicine for your ARMPITS

2008-03-04T19:34:00.000-08:00

It seems lately that we have great conversations with Tayli right before she goes to bed. Tonight Pig and I were laying on our bed with Tayli and she asked me to tickle her arms(which im sure you all know she loves to have her limbs softly tickled). I was rubbing her arm when she said "I need some medicine for my armpits" Pig and I looked at each other with a confused look and I questioned Tay "what do you mean, medicine for your armpits?" "you know, that stuff you put in your armpits, what is that for?" of course my reply"oh, you mean deoderant?" I explained that its not medicine but we use it so that when we get sweaty we wont be stinky. "Yea, mom i need so reodrant for my armpits and my feet too. my feet get stinky"
wow! what a smarty pants.

Thanks SUMO

2008-02-28T13:42:00.000-08:00

thanks for the stickers Aunt Sumo. Tayli has decorated herself and her bedroom with the dots that you gave her on sunday! Tay always has fun with Uncle B and Sumo.

Yea! nice weather

2008-02-28T12:40:00.000-08:00

YEA! its finally nice weather again. The last 3 days we have played out side most of the day. Tayli is such a lover of being outside, its been a struggle getting her to come in for naps. Grayden likes to be outside but he hates crawling on the prickly grass so if he wants to move somewhere Tayli just drags him around. What a good big sister she is.

2008-02-26T14:42:00.000-08:00

cute little piggies

two phones

2008-02-26T14:34:00.000-08:00

I love to talk on the phone, especiall to my Daddy! I got lucky this time and found 2 phones.

EAR PIERCING

2008-02-26T13:24:00.000-08:00

For the last 2 months Tayli has been talking about getting her ears pierced. Pig and I have just been putting it off and kept telling her that it would hurt. Finally Monday night we were at them mall and Tayli saw the jewelry store so we decided to go in. She told us she wanted to do it so we started to fill out the paper work and she picked out the earings she wanted. It came time to do it and she changed her mind. We said alright and continued on with our shopping. 20 minutes later she said,"Dad I really want to get my earings pierced now." We sat down and had a chat and explained to her that it might hurt and that we werent going to keep going in and out if she was going to keep changing her mind. We went in and she did great....for the first ear. they couldnt do them at the same time so after the first ear she was too scared for the next. Pig had to hug her while the lady did the second ear. She looks darling and is very excited about them.

nightmare at kiddie kandids

2008-02-26T13:15:00.000-08:00

Saturday afternoon we took the kids to get their pictures taken at southtowne mall. I had called ahead the night before to schedule an appointment so that I could plan around my kids schedule to make sure they had slept and eaten ect. We get there at 3:45 to check in for our 4:oo appt. They said to walk around for 15 minutes and they would be ready for us. That was not a problem at all. We came back and they werent ready for us yet so we just hung out in the tiny waiting room that only has 3 things for the kids to play with. I could go on and on about the long wait but i will shorten it up- so they finally started taking pictures of our kids at 5:15 and only got good ones of Tayli because Grayden by this time was tired, grumpy and ready to eat! Whats the point in making an appointment? IM NOT SURE! The nice lady told us we could go feed G than try again. So we fed the kids dinner, tayli chewed on her sleaves(which is a frustrating habbit she has started) and we headed back in. We had to wait for another 1/2 hour than finally got some great pictures of the kids. what a headache.

2008-02-23T12:35:00.000-08:00

I LOVE THESE KIDS!!!
There is nothing sweeter than hearing your 3 year old say "mom, im so glad you are my friend!" Tayli is always telling Pig, Grayden and I how much she loves us. She grits her teeth and kisses Grayden while saying"buddy, buddy, buddy, i love you buddy." When Pig leaves for work in the morning she says" I love you my honey" or "have a good day at work babe"
She is a very smart and active girl.
Grayden is also a smart and busy boy right now. This week he took his first four steps all by himself! He has played in the toilet and splashed water all over. After that was cleaned up I kept hearing the toilet flush- come to find out it was grayden again, he likes to hear it flush over and over again. He likes to sing and play with his cars and trains. Hopefully he will really start walking fairly soon.