Stylin'

Check out this new orange purse I bought at Kohl's using a free $10 gift card I got in the mail! Is it me or what?

Communication

Keith has been talking more lately. It's a miracle to see his mind open up as he grasps that he can communicate with us. Today he did the sign for cold, hot, happy, and yes. Whenever I say it's time to eat - Keith is at his highchair within a minute all ready for food. He has been speaking actual words which is wondrous to hear. He is saying hi, bye, mama, love mama, i love mama, love daddy, daddy, kristina, anna, keithy, cold, hot, happy, yes, no, & all gone.

Also, I think he's gained about 20 pounds or something. Seriously, this kid is a tank now! His thighs are chunking up - something I didn't know was possible for him - and his tummy is big.

My recent post about Kristina saying "all gone" instead of "all done" was not defiance, rather, she thought she was saying what I was saying. In her mind "all gone" is the same as "all done." Cute. Kristina has gained a little weight, but I am thinking that she will be tiny forever. She barely eats at meals unless we really REALLY insist on it or feed her ourselves. She will, however, eat a bunch of bananas without any hesitation whatsoever.

What's going on in my world

My friend, Nicole, gave me a recliner for free yesterday! I am loving it! It rocks and reclines - and is leather! It has quickly become the family favorite seat in the house - even Maggie and Jasper prefer it to the couch. Thanks Nicole - you are wonderful!

I have been tired lately - I think that my weight is catching up with me. I'm 30 years old and over 300 pounds - but I haven't really felt the effects of being obese before now. I also think that my sleep apnea is acting up - I need to have another evaluation. I am going to have a tonsillectomy in July which should help with the sleep apnea. Has anyone had a tonsillectomy? I have heard that it is extremely painful as an adult. I am hoping with pain meds that it won't be too bad? We'll see.

My best friend, Sarah, moved away this past week. I'm sad that she's gone. Texting just isn't the same when you're 4 hours apart. :o( We are going up to visit her in July, so that will be nice - but bittersweet, since after that visit I don't know when we'll see each other again after that.

My "wibow" (tennis elbow caused by playing the wii) has been acting up. I am wearing my arm brace to help with the pain. I've had this for a year and a half now - I even did months of physical therapy - no relief. *sigh*

My mom is coming to visit us tomorrow for a whole week! I am so excited! She will get to meet her newest grandchildren, Keith & Kristina. I am busily trying to get my house cleaned so I can relax while she is here. I can't wait!

My niece

Here are some recent pictures of my adorable niece, Iliana. To see them - click here.

Conversation with Kristina

The following occured after Kristina was finished sitting at the table and wanted to get down:

Kristina: "All gone!"

Me: "All done."

Kristina: "All gone!"

Me: "All done."

Kristina: "All gone!"

Me: "All DONE."

Kristina: "All GONE!"

Me: "All gone, I mean, ALL DONE!"

AUGH!!!!!!!!!!

Independence Day

So - let's hear your Fourth of July traditions! Do you make a certain meal? Do fireworks? Sing patriotic songs? Any fun crafts for the kids? Go watch fireworks? I am planning ours and want to know how you celebrate our country's birthday!

Precious Moments

Anna & Maggie enjoying some snuggle time.

One, Two, Three, GO!

Check out this action from Keith!

Anna & Kristina like to run relays back and forth down the hallway. We begin this relay by stating the title of this post before the girls take off running. Keith began running his own relays and you can hear him saying his version of the title as well. So cute!

Birthday girl!

Kristina turned 5 years old today! We are so happy that she is a member of our family! Since we celebrated her birthday with Keith a couple of weeks ago, today was just a small family party. Here are some pictures of her eating her dinner tonight:

Kristina usually doesn't eat much protein at all - but she LOVED these chicken kabobs that we grilled tonight. LOVED THEM! (She ate TWO!) We also had fried rice, jello with pears, watermelon, and ebelskivers for dessert. YUM!

There are so many things that I love about Kristina! I will name a few today: she is very empathetic, always running up to anyone who is upset or crying with a desire to help them. She forgives easily. She always has a smile on her face. She loves to give hugs and kisses. She loves Larry Boy from VeggieTales. She loves electronic toys that play music and say numbers and letters. Her favorite foods: watermelon, bananas, macaroni and cheese, peas, milk, & just about anything I serve her! She is easy to please! I love my little Kristina Louise!

Harvest time

I actually planted sugar snap peas ON TIME this year! (you are as surprised as I am) Guess what? If you plant on time - you actually get some peas! Check out our harvest this year:


Last year we planted sage and oregano. By the fall, they were pretty pitiful, so we didn't harvest them. Guess what happens if you leave them in all winter and let them grow all spring?

Huge bushes!!!

How is your garden growing this summer?

Nice day for a white wedding

Hello there. I apologize for my lack of posting. But I really do have a good reason. REALLY! My brother, Evan, married his sweetheart, Shelbee, in the Dallas Temple this past Saturday. I feel priviledged to have been able to fly out and be a part of it all. Below are some pictures.

Evan & Shelbee coming out of the Temple.

Evan & I.

My sister, Jennifer, who is expecting her first baby (a boy) in a month - isn't she adorable?!?!?!

Evan & Shelbee walking around the Temple grounds.

I FINALLY got to meet my brother-in-law, Alex, with his wife and my sister, Rachel. Aren't they a cute couple?

Here I am with MRS. OKLAHOMA 2009, also known as my little/big sister, Heather!

A picture of the bride and me - isn't Shelbee a beautiful bride???

The whole family: Alex & Rachel, Coulter, Willis & Jennifer, Me, Heather & Yury, Uncle Kurt and Aunt Rachel, my Mom, Evan & Shelbee. Got all that??

Me, Jennifer, Rachel, Evan, Heather, & Coulter.

Add the bride in there - what a good looking group!

Happy Father's Day

On this day I honor those men who have been father's to me. My grandpa McElwain. My father Brent. My dad Bob. And now my husband, Tyler. It is my priviledge to be married to a man who is a excellent father to our children. Thank you, Tyler, for taking this role seriously and for loving our children the way you do.

No words can describe this

Piano girl

This summer I felt that Anna was ready to being piano lessons. I am happy to report that she is doing really well and is very excited about practicing. I realize that many children enjoy it at first and then lose interest down the road - I hope that Anna will stick with it. Here are some pictures:

Oh yeah, she also got a haircut. Cute, eh?

Game night

Last night we had a game night - a last hurrah of fun with Sarah before she moves away. *sniff sniff* We played LOADED QUESTIONS and had tons of yummy treats and lots of fun conversations.

Rachel, Stacey, Margaret, Sarah, Trish, Nicole, Beth, Cristina, Jill, Angie, & Arlene - we had a ball!

Sarah, Nicole, & I - great friends!

First day of summer

Today is the first day of summer, although it's hard to feel that when it's raining outside with a high of 66 degrees. It is June, right?!?!? Anyhow, this kind of weather makes me want to take a nap and it's only 10am. :o)

My plans for this summer are fairly simple. The therapist for the twins recommends that Kristina needs for her world to become smaller, meaning less outside activities and more time at home. Because of that, we are only going to do gymnastics this summer and forego on swimming lessons and t-ball which we have done in the past few summers. It will be less expensive, too, which will help us with our upcoming move this fall.

Anna has desires to being piano lessons and whereas she has an incredible ability to focus on things, I think she is ready. She has already begun her reading schedule program from the library and has read 10+ hours in 5 days. She LOVES to read and I LOVE to encourage her in this. I don't care to read much, myself, other than the scriptures and TWILIGHT books - but I know how important and helpful it will be if Anna gains a love for reading at a young age. I am just tickled that she likes it so much.

Tyler has 2 weeks off from school and then will begin his LAST QUARTER for his MBA at Ohio State University. I am so proud of him! It hasn't been easy - doing an MBA program while working full-time and being the Elder's Quorum President AND having 3 children, plus a needy wife at home. We are thrilled to spend more time with him!!!

We found out that we will have to fix the wall in the backyard. It will cost quite a bit of money, but we're hoping that we can take out the wall ourselves with jackhammers and therefore, reduce the cost considerably. Anyone want to come and tear down a wall???

Say CHEESE

Here are some pictures I took recently. It does my heart good to see these beautiful smiles from my kiddos! I never tire of their happy and fun personalities!


Ready for lunch.


Waiting for the bus.



Lately I've been pondering over the way that people respond and treat Keith & Kristina. I notice how people give them special attention and want to watch them and see how they have progressed since we brought them home last November. As I pondered this, I realized how wonderful it is to have so many people who care and love these children and who pay them so much attention - because while they were in Ukraine, they received none of those things. It brings tears to my eyes as I think about how lonely they must have been for their first 4 years of life and then more tears come when I think about how much love and attention they now have. It is a blessing just to be a part of their lives. I am so grateful to be their Mama.

Awards Assembly

Today we went to Anna's school award assembly. She was happy (read: ecstatic) that our whole family came to support her.


The kids sang songs and they announced several awards for the kids. Anna received an award for straight A's AND for completing her reading goals - she's quite the reader!



Here is Anna with her teacher, Mrs. M. I am very happy with Mrs. M., she has been a very encouraging teacher for Anna during this life-changing school year with the twins joining our family and while Tyler & I were away in Ukraine for a few weeks. Plus Anna LOVES her teacher, that always helps. :o)

Backyard fun

We LOVE our backyard! This swingset is always a big hit with the kids, especially for gymnastics fun!


Kristina never fails to give a BIG smile when I have the camera out!

For the twin's birthday, we got them a sandbox. Keith can (and does) spend HOURS playing in it.

Happy outdoor fun!

My little first grader

Isn't she lovely? My sweet little Anna Belle!

Guess who's eating his own dinner?

Keith has made some big steps this past week. He is now feeding himself with very little help AND he has taken a few steps without his walker or our help. It's all very exciting!

Summer activities

Summer is upon us. Kristina finished up pre-school today and Anna will finish up 1st grade next week. And then - they'll ALL be home with me for a couple of months. I find it interesting to learn what other people spend their time on during the day when their little ones are home with them. I'm in need of some ideas to structure their summer activities. Oh, what do you do in the summertime?

Having fun

Here is a video that Tyler took recently of Keith. He has this funny shaking-back-and-forth-thing that he does when he wants to play. It's so cute! The video is a couple of minutes long, just fyi. Towards the end you can hear Keith talk some - he's coming along so well! Enjoy!

S L O W I N G D O W N

So I'm still pretty sick (read: really really sick) and I haven't seemed to learn how to take it easy yet. Today I am charging myself with the idea of not doing ANYTHING but rest and allow myself to heal. I am worried that something else is wrong other than strep throat. I feel dehydrated despite drinking TONS of fluids and my gums in my mouth are very swollen. My primary care nurse called today and scheduled me a followup on friday. She said that my symptoms show that I am not recovering the way I should be. So hopefully I'll get some answers on friday. Until then, I am trying hard to relax.

I remember back after I had a c-section with Anna, I was trying to do any type of chore once I felt even a little bit recovered. Tyler would make me SIT DOWN and try to rest. Last night I took some excedrin for a headache and it gave me a bit of energy, too. So what did I do? I cleaned and did some laundry. At 3 separate times, I felt very prompted that I was doing TOO MUCH and that I need to just sit down and stop working, cleaning, etc. I am grateful to God for helping me keep things in perspective and not running faster than I have strength.

The Doctor Channel*

Yesterday I woke up at 4am with a BAD sore throat. It was hard to swallow and I developed a fever of 102 degrees. Not good. Ned came over and said it looked like strep throat and then he & Tyler gave me a blessing. Tyler called Marie to come sit at the house (the kids were in bed asleep) while Tyler took me to the ER. I was beginning to feel dehydrated, which reminded me of this post. They took me back and tried to get me on an iv. After 6 or 7 unsucessful sticks = 6 or 7 blown veins (hello bruises) they called in the doctor who tried for a vein in my neck. He blew the vein. Then he tried the other side of my neck and was finally successful. Tyler took some pictures of all my various wounds. I give you permission to pity me.

Edward, eat your heart out.

I was REALLY cold while I was there. They brought at least 3 blankets to cover me up.

Tyler sang songs to me and read some TWILIGHT aloud for me. He's so sweet. Living with Tyler makes life so wonderful. I am truly blessed with a beautiful life.

*Anna supplied the title for this post.