Mother's Day

I had a wonderful mothers day. On Saturday night, Brandon took me to see X-Men Origins- Wolverine. Brandon's mom Ann watched the kids for us. It has been a long time since we went out in a date or to a movie. It was nice to spend time with my husband without the kids. The movie was pretty good and I enjoyed it. (I think Hugh Jackman is gorgeous so any movie with him is alright in my book.)
On Sunday, before church, I relaxed while Brandon got Kaitlyn and Ben ready for church. At church, I got to teach in Young Women and then teach the Family History class. I think I gave two great lessons. In nursery, Kaitlyn made me a really cute card with flowers on the front. After church, I relaxed some more while Brandon made lunch. I was pretty exhausted from the long week we had just had ( I will explain in another post). I took a nap and snuggled Kaitlyn while we watched a movie. It was a nice relaxing day.

I love Mother's Day and the chance to think about the great blessings that we receive from our mothers. I will try to write some of my feelings about the amazing mothers in my life.

When I heard the word mother, the first person that comes to mind is my wonderful mother Jody. She embodies everything that a mother should be. She is selfless in her love and care for her family. She dropped everything to spend a night in the hospital with me after I had surgery. She got to the hospital to be there with me as my husband was taken to surgey and then helped to care for my children while I spent time at the hospital with him. I know that whenever I call her with a problem she will be there in hurry to help in any way possible. She is constantly taking family members to the doctors and looking after their medical needs. I know she adores all her grandcildren and her grandkids adore her. Kaitlyn pretends to talk to her on the phone all the time. My mother has taught me many lessons on how to be a great mother. I hope I can be as amazing as her.

The next great mother I think of is my wonderful mother-in-law Ann. She was blessed with all boys. She has truly welcomed me into her family and her heart. She treats me like I am her daughter. She also has been there for me during some very difficult times. She watched Kaitlyn for us while I was at the hospital for my surgery and while I was having Ben. She has been there to comfort me and offer me advice during some trials in my life. I love helping her and spending time with her. My kids love her a lot and enjoy hanging out with grandma.

Some of the other great mothers in my life are my sisters. Jessi has taught me how to relax and to not let the little things bother me. She also is an example of patience and understanding. Jayne is a good example of devotion and love. She is raising Alexia to be a kind and generous woman. Jacki, a soon to be mother and I am sure a pretty cool stepmom, is going to be a good mom. She is going to be that fun mom that all the kids want to hang out with. The future mothers, Jeanne and Jasmine are two exceptional women. Jeanne will teach her future children to be stong and faithful people. Jasmine will be great at nurturing and understanding the trials of her future children. I am really blessed to have amazing sisters who teach me how to be a better mother.

I am also blessed to have awesome grandmothers, Norma and Vivian. They are so wise and intelligent. They have taught me a lot over the years. I appreciate the support and kindness they have shown me. I also am thankful that they are always willing to help my family. I have many wonderful aunts and cousins who are examples to me of what a mother should be. I feel lucky to have so many great mothers in my life and now I don't have to space to mention them all.

The last mother I think of is me. Sometimes it is hard for me to believe that I am a mother to two beautiful children. I want to be the best mother I can be so I can spend eternity with my family. I want to teach Kaitlyn how to be a great mother and I know I can do that by being a great mother. I am a blessed woman.

College

I started back at school this semester. I am taking one class, that meets one evening a week. It is a Behavior Modification and Management class. So far, it has been really fun and I have learned a ton. There is so much information to learn and memorize, but I am glad I am doing it. I love being a mother, but it is not always the most mentally stimulating thing. It is nice to feel like I have to really work and think hard again. My brain was in desperate need of exercise. I guess I could take up hobbies that require a little more brain power, but who has the time for that. Anyway, I am extremely excited to be back at school and hopefully I will do great this semester.

Happy Haloween

We hope everyone had a wonderful Halloween. We did the trunk or treating at our church and then visited with a some family and friends. Kaitlyn had a blast trick or treating. She kept saying "trick or treat, smell my feet." That was all of the little jingle she could remember. Kaitlyn was the cutest princess in the world. She loved to spin in circles and sing "I"m a princess" over and over again. Ben was an adorable teddy bear. He did not care to much for the costume, but he loved it when Kaitlyn and Daddy gave him a little sucker. He made a huge sticky mess and finished almost all the sucker before Mommy confiscated it.



We have been pretty busy the last few months. Brandon is doing very well. He had to do a vision and a hearing evaluation. He did very well on both of them, and the doctors only noticed small problems that should improve with time. He also did a driving evaluation and did very well on it. He is extremely excited that he gets to drive again. He doesn't feel like such a prisoner anymore; he can go out for a drive without having to ask me to drive him. We are also thrilled that he gets to go back to work on Monday. The doctor has agreed to let him start back on a part time basis. Brandon is relieved to finally go back to work, even of it is only part time really easy work.

Kaitlyn is still doing great. We have started doing a play group with some kids from church. Kaitlyn loves playing with the other kids and she does surprising well sharing and interacting with the other kids. We have some really great families in our neighborhood. We are still working with her on potty training and she is doing pretty good. Her new love is bedtime baths. She loves to play and soak for at least thirty minutes. By the time she is done, her hands and feet are so wrinkled it is adorable. She has also got some fun princess barbies and horses and loves to play with them.

Ben is my little monster. He is completely mobile now and gets into whatever he can reach. He does really well at crawl dragging himself to anywhere he wants. He really loves to find cords and pull on them or try to eat them. I have had a much harder time trying to baby proof my house with Ben than I ever did with Kaitlyn. He is such a busy baby and has to explore everything we are doing. He loves food and eats a ton. If I am eating, he thinks he needs to be eating with me. Last week, he developed a rash on his tummy and back. I took him to the pediatrician and was relieved to find out it was eczema. I was freaking out thinking he was having an allergic reaction to some food he had eaten. Anyway, she gave me some oil and moisturizing lotion to put on him. The rash cleared up in a couple days and Ben was back to his curious active little self.

I have been doing well. I keep busy with the two kids and husband home all day. I have spent a lot of time canning peaches, grapes, tomatoes, pears, and miscellaneous other stuff. I enjoy canning even though it is a lot of work. Brandon and I have also been doing a few projects around the house. It was nice to get some of my honey do list done. I am going to try to set aside a specific time each week to post, so that I wont take quite as long in between each post.

We are still here...

I know it has been a while since I've posted. It seems I am even busier having a husband home all day than I was with just two kids at home. By the end of the day, I am too tired to get on the computer.

Brandon is doing very well. He went back to work for a week and then the doctor took him back out of work. He was discharged from his therapies. We just have to do several other tests, then hopefully, Brandon will be able to return to work in early October. He is getting very anxious and really wants to work again. He has improved so much since he came home from the hospital. Most of the time you can't tell he was injured. He still has some minor memory and cognitive delays, but those are improving everyday. We are really blessed that he is doing so well.

The kids are doing wonderful. Kaitlyn gets cuter all the time. She talks nonstop and is a great little helper. Ben continues to grow a lot. He is adorable and a big mama's boy, he loves to touch my cheek and give me baby kisses. He has started solid foods and loves them. So far we had tried rice cereal, oatmeal, sweet potatoes, and carrots. His favorite so far has been the carrots. He also rolls all over the place and has been trying to crawl. He is growing up way to fast.

August was a fun month. We went to Brandon's moms trailer in Ogden Canyon several times. It is such a beautiful and peaceful place. Kaitlyn loves playing in the river. We went to Peach Days, which is a parade and carnival. Kaitlyn had a blast going on the rides with her friend Sierra. She loved the big slide. Most of the time, we just stay home or go to the park. I have been playing a little tennis with Brandon. Neither of us are all that great, but we enjoy doing it. Anyway, we are doing well and continue to work on getting even better.

I hope they call Jeanne on a mission...

I am really excited. Yesterday, my younger sister Jeanne finally received her mission call. She will be going to the Texas Dallas Mission. I think she will have tons of fun in Texas. I know she will be a wonderful missionary. We are all very proud of her.

We are doing okay. Brandon continues to work with his therapists and is doing well. Kaitlyn is so cute and watches carefully over Daddy. She also told me that she has a headache like Daddy, so I need to let her go everywhere with Daddy. Ben is getting even longer. We had his four month check-up on Monday. The doctor said he looks great and is a healthy happy baby. Of course, he was being extremely cute talking to the doctor during the appointment. Ben did good while he got his shots, he only cried when they did the shots. As soon as Mommy picked him up he was good. It was Brandon's first time being there for the shots for either of the kids. He did not like watching the nurse do it. He absolutely hates needles. Oh well, that is what brave mommies are for.

New Computer

I am really excited. Yesterday afternoon, we had a little birthday party for me with my family and Brandon's parents. My family gave me a new computer for my birthday. They are so wonderful and will never know how much I love it and appreciate it. Brandon helped me set it up last night and it works great. It is tons faster than my old computer and does not freeze, which was causing me loads of stress. I constantly lost info or had to stop doing something because the computer would just freeze. Anyway, I have already been using my new computer to work on some genealogy. I am really becoming passionate about doing genealogy. It is an amazing feeling to find a name or date I have been searching for. This is a picture of me uncovering my marvelous new computer.

Here are also a couple cute pictures from the party. Kaitlyn and Callie were having tons of fun playing together and pushing each other in the stroller. Kaitlyn looks really cool in Grandpa Jay's sunglasses. Craig had a blast holding Iron Man Ben with Grandma Jody.

As I promised, here are some cute pictures from when Brandon was released from the hospital. Kaitlyn was happy to see her daddy, and Dotty was relieved to finally be with her human again. She has hardly left Brandon's side since he got home. She sleeps right by his feet all the time. Brandon is doing exceptionally well. We know that our Savior Jesus Christ watches over us and continues to help our family. We feel deeply blessed to have Brandon home and doing as well as he is. He still gets tired really easily and rests a lot. He is anxious to return to work. I think he is bored. I am trying to find a new hobby for him, if anyone has any good suggestions we would appreciate it. He has become an expert at napping, and Ben and him are getting some good naps together. We will continue to enjoy our time together and work on getting Brandon's strength and endurance back.