A Broken What?

Last week Maryjane was playing on my bed with Jeter right before being sent to bed and of course happened to fall off. No big deal right? It happens all the time. Well not this time. She started crying a "real" cry and saying she heard it crack and that she needed to go to the doctor 'cause she thought she broke her arm. Well, that's a little dramatic, I thought at first. She could still bend her arm. I wanted to wait a little bit and see if the pain went away. And it didn't. She kept crying saying how bad it hurt. Jeremy got home from Mutual and she was still crying. So...he took her in to get in checked. Better safe than sorry, right? Right before they went out the door, he told her "You better not be faking this". Well, xrays showed she had a fracture on the radial head a.k.a the elbow. Crazy!!! She fell on carpet for goodness sakes. And she tells the doctors that her dog pushed her. When we were getting her cast on the, the Dr. asked How big is this dog? ha ha.

So they sent her home with a soft cast and a sling. The next morning we were to make an appt. with an orthopaedic Dr. to get it checked again and she got a real cast. She chose pink of course. Why are all the colors you get to choose from flourescent? She was so excited to get her cast. She really wanted to go back to school to show it off, but it was a 1/2 day and no school fri. either, so she had to wait 'til mon. Darn.

Driving home I asked her what she wanted for lunch and she wanted a McDonalds happy meal. I gave her a "look" (cause we don't do happy meals very often anymore) and she said "What?...I was really good. I deserve one." Yes I agreed, she did deserve one. She then said " Did you know that McDonald's is a proud sponsor of the Olympians?" Oh my gosh, I laughed at that one, silly girl. Where did she learn that?

Mason's been so good and helpful. I think he and George secretly wish they had a cast too. Why, I'm not sure. But you sure get a lot of attention when you do have one. I guess it's the same as wanting braces when you're younger, and then you finally get them and it's a drag. He mentioned to MJ - "If you would have broken your leg you'd need crotches." Yes I spelled that right, 'cause that's they way it came out of his mouth. I quickly corrected him, but funny none the less.

We've had to get used to dressing differently and bathing differently. The first day she came to me and said, "Now that I broke my arm, I don't feel like I know how to get dressed anymore." At first it was tricky, but now she can pretty much do it by herself. Overall Maryjane has handled this whole situation very well. She LOVES all the attention, of course. The other morning when she was getting on the bus, at first she had her coat on and it was covering her arm, but as soon as she started to get on the bus, she brushed it off her shoulder, just to show her cast so that everyone would see it. Where did she come from? She is just so dang funny. I know you can picture it too. I have a little Diva on my hands. Although she did come home today and said she was tired of everyone asking her what happened. It's just so exhausting telling the story over and over.

So don't feel too sympathetic, she's doing pretty darn well. She'll have it checked again next week, right before we leave for UT for spring break. And then we'll see if she still needs the cast on or not I guess. Not sure what the Dr. will do at that appt.

This is for G'ma Paula.

{Grandma's Funeral}

Jeremy's grandma passed away a couple weeks ago.  She was diagnosed with Pancreatic Cancer last year, but a few days before she passed, she fell and had bleeding on the brain and ended up not coming out of surgery. She passed a little sooner than was expected. We are going to miss her so much. She was such a sweet great grandma to our kids and a wonderful grandma to Jeremy and I.

This picture was taken April '07 on Easter. G'ma Jean and Paula love the holidays and we were coloring Easter eggs for the Easter bunny that was coming the next day.

This picture was taken last year when we went down for the family picnic (reunion) and g'ma bought cowboy hats for all the grandkids. So cute.

We had been planning to head for California for G'ma Jean and G'pa Don's 50th Wedding Anniversary which was the next week. But unfortunatley we got the news of her in the hospital, and then her passing. So we ended up going down for the funeral. It was going to be a quick trip and not a pleasant one, so Jeremy and I ended up going by ourselves and left the kids with my mom.

My mom came up and watched the kids for us. She kept them busy with knitting and latch hook projects. And for the weekend she took them back to her house and took them to the zoo. They loved their time with their Ma♥Key and Poppa. They sure know how to spoil them. And we are grateful she was able to make our trip easier, we didn't have to worry about them one bit. I only had to worry about her survival. Good thing they're all in school all day so she could get a little break. Stepping back into motherhood with young kids can be pretty exhausting when your not used to the day to day routine. Thanks again mom.

The funeral was very sad, but yet couldn't have been better. The program went so well and was so hearfelt. She was so loved by so many people that came to support her and the family. And we couldn't have asked for a better day, the sun was out and beautiful. The day before and the day after it had rained, so we got the best day of the week to gather and be together as a family.

While we were there we went for a walk around Lafayette Resevoir. It was a really nice walk and fun to spend time with Mark Paula and Austin. A little quieter too not having the kids interrupting every other word. We only got to see Alisha a little bit since she had to get back to work the day after the funeral. She's a busy girl.

Instead of driving straight through on our way home we took 2 days. So we left Sat. afternoon and on our way out of town we stopped by the grave one last time. It sure seemed more final seeing the grave this way and just so hard to believe she's really gone and won't be there the next time we come to visit.

We also stopped to say goodbye to G'pa Don on our way out of town. We really pray for him to have the will to keep going and to keep living life no matter how hard it might be without having g'ma by his side. It's got to be so hard to lose your companion. I just can't even imagine.

Losing family like this really puts life into perspective. We need to live life to it's fullest and enjoy eachother as much as can. Any of us can return to our Heavenly Father at any time. I'm so grateful for the knowledge of the plan of salvation, to know that we will all be together again after this short earthly life. It helps heal the hurt a little faster when we lose someone we love. I love you : my family and friends who might be reading this. I might not be the best at showing it all the time, but I really do. I'm trying. Constantly trying to be a better wife, mother, sister, daughter, grandaughter, cousin,  friend. It's a little overwhelming at times and I'm so not perfect and never will be. So please forgive me for my little downfalls, but I'm trying. It'll be a life long process for me. I love you all more than ever.

"FAMILY: Always, forever and no matter what"

Valentine Cards

Valentine's morning the boys brought these in to Jeremy and I while we were getting ready for church.

It was a sweet surprise.

{Roses are red, violets are gray, Please forgive me for being bad yesterday. From, Mason}

George wrote both of the poems. He meant to write To: Mom and Dad, oops. The boys had gotten in trouble the day before, so that is why he wrote this one asking for forgiveness.

{Roses are red, violets are gray, since I gave you this card will you give me an A. From, George}

Who knew they were such cute poets. I loved it when they gave these to us. I just love sweet surprises, especially from my boys, who you think most of the time, just don't care.

I have the best kids ever. Love 'em to pieces!!!

Valentine's Weekend

My Sweet Love brought these home for me for Valentine's. Very unexpected, he's not much of a flower giving guy. And he brought them home on Thursday so I could enjoy them all weekend.

I love this close up shot.

We went to Olympia on Saturday to spend the day with MaKey and Poppa and Marnie, Whitney and Austin who came over for the weekend. The kids squeezed in the back of the van. Can you tell who's having fun and who might not be?

Marnie had a crazy idea to go running. Well not really crazy, 'cuz we are training for our 1/2 marathon, but she wanted me to go with her while she was here. Her long runs are on Saturday's, so she wanted to go 8 miles, but we only ended up going 3. We went around the lake that's right below the Capitol. And Mom took the kids inside the Capitol to look around and keep them busy while we were gone. Too bad it was a rainy day, we were soaked.

Our triumphant run up the capitol stairs to meet everyone.

My cute poser.

Makey and MJ have matching ipods.  (I sure love those cute little hands)

We went to McD's after for lunch and Whitney got her drink stuck in the door holder, so she was trying to drink it down so she could get it out. You had to be there, it was a great laugh. Bending over that far was a little tricky. ha ha

Aunt Marnie taught MJ how to knit with a loom to keep her busy while the boys were outside playing basketball. It was short lived and then I took over, but didn't quite finish before we left for dinner.

Dinner at Happy Teriyaki. Yumm

Poor Poppa hasn't felt well lately, but he made it out with us for dinner.

MaKey sent us home with cookies that she made. They were soooo good. I couldn't stop eating them all day on Sunday. All I ate on sun. was leftover Happy Teriyaki, chocolate, cookies, more chocolate and more cookies and repeat again. I really felt gross by the end of the day, but I just couldn't help myself, I have little self control when I have yummy treats around.  I've been trying so hard to eat good and watch my calories the last couple of weeks and I so blew it. But oh well, it was a Holiday and it was soo worth it. It ended up being an eat whatever you want day at our house. That's just they way we roll around here sometimes.

♥♥Happy Valentine's!!!♥♥

Busy Weekend

Saturday was Home Depot day for the kids. They made a car display. Mason hit his finger with the hammer so he couldn't finish his, poor guy. He finished it later at home.

We finally got haircuts done. Boy did they need it. I hate when the boys' hair starts growing over their ears. I don't like shaved heads either, but it's so easy and they love it, so I always give in.  And MJ talked me into cutting a little off her hair too. (I added a little photo editing for fun just in time for Vday.)

Relaxing Sunday after church,  until this happened:

MJ cut her head. There's sharp corners of wood that sticks out from the half wall that goes up the stairs and she hit it pretty good to make a nice gash. Mason did the same thing last summer. I hate head wounds, I should be used to them by now. They've all done it many times. This is MJ's 3rd on her head. I wasn't sure if it was bad enough to take her in to get stitches or not. I'm sure if we would have gone in, they would have, but we decided not to take her. It's healing fine now. Just one more scar to add to her many she has already. Ugh.

Ma♥Key and Poppa came over Sat. night to take us out to dinner. They were up our way searching for eagles, but they didn't see any this time. It's been too warm, so they must've gone already. They made this cute Valentine's Sundae decoration. I thought it was a bunch of goodies for us to eat, but nope they're glued on, darn it. It gets to sit there and tempt me. Super cute idea. Thanks Mom and Dad.

What a fun weekend we had. There's always somethin' goin' on here, I tell ya.

Happy Moments

Valentine's Craft

Last week my friends and I got together and made these heart wreaths. We got the idea from theidearoom.blogspot.com. It's just so fun to get together, do something fun, and just hang out and laugh.

Aren't we so cute? We're just proud of our accomplishment.

Hanging on my door, proudly. I should make more for the inside of my house, since I don't have any valentine decor, as least I don't think I do. I can't remember. If I do, it's packed a way, and I have no desire to go looking for it.

These are the girls I hang out with the most, Sarah, Beth and Robin. And we have the best time. We try as often as we can to get together. I've been so blessed to have them in my life. My girlfriends are very important to me, I just plain need them, they help me a be better person.

Project Life Scrapbook

Today I ordered 'Project Life'. It's a scrapbook kit that comes with tons of things to help journal and scrapbook your pictures for a whole year. I am so excited about it. I've never been a good scrapbooker, my kids don't even have baby books, but I want to be better. So I think this might be the solution. I started reading Becky Higgins blog a while back (http://www.beckyhiggins.com/). She used to work for a scrapbook magazine, can't remember which one, but she stopped and has started her own business. And it's to make it more fun and a lot easier and not so overwhelming, which happens to me whenever I begin to think about it. She has challenged for everyone to take a picture a day for the whole year and then journal about it. She did this challenge for the first time last year and she had great responses. But you can scrapbook weekly or monthly even too. It's what ever suits your wants and needs. So I'm taking on that challenge for fun and am taking a picture everyday. She talks all about it on her blog, so you have to go check it out. So I've been taking pictures since Jan. 1, but the kits haven't been available 'til today. They switched there shipping process over to Amazon.com and it took a few weeks for that process to all happen. I'm so excited to get it in the mail and start putting it all together.

So this is a picture from her blog that shows what comes in the kit. It's a lot of stuff. It's 49.99 and the shipping is free. I think that's a pretty dang good deal. There is a digital version also, but I want something tangible that I'm able to play with all year. Maybe next year I'll do the digital one. We'll see.

And this is what a page layout would look like (taken from her blog). Taking a picture a day, you get to be creative, random and silly with what really goes on through out the year, in your everyday life.

I'm hoping that once a week I'll get my pictures printed out from Costco and then get together with my friends that are doing this too and put them in the book. Sounds fun, huh? I ordered my kit this morning and it's already been shipped. Yay! So go check it out.

Craft Projects

My hands have been busy lately. I've been getting together with some friends doing crafts and loving it. I'm always finding fun new ideas on blogs and have been wanting to try them and lately that's just what I've done. Going down my list and now checking them off. It's been a lot of fun.

So these bows are made out of magazine pages cut into strips. Each piece is folded then put on top of eachother. Don't know what I'm going to do with them, but they sure are cute. MJ loves them in her room for decoration. But now I know how to make them at least.



This purse was fun too. Found the pattern last summer and have been sitting on it just waiting for the desire to make it. Way cute I must say. There are so many cute free purse/bag patterns out there, I think I'm going to have to keep trying them all, just because.

Then these slippers are from Martha Stewart and are made from felt. The hardest part was cutting out that darn leaf pattern.

My friend Robin made some for her daughter too.

Then the other night I saw a similar project, like the one i did below, on someones craft blog and just had to do it.

I made fabric yo-yo's, for the first time, and put them in a shadow box frame that was just sitting in my closet.

How cute are these yo-yo's. I just love them.


I love to sew and I love to quilt, but I've been having a hard time wanting to send my quilts out to have someone else quilt it everytime I make something. So, being inspired by the blogs I read I decided to buy my sewing machine a darning foot and try it myself.

I just need some practice, ok maybe a lot of practice, but I think I can get the hang of it. I'm excited to learn and finally get my quilts finished and then make new ones.


Yay for projects. I love having fun things to do that keep my hands busy and I love trying new things.

Next up is a cute felt heart wreath to hang on my door for Valentines. The girls and I are getting together on Fri. to make them. You can see it on theidearoom.blogspot.com. I can't wait.

What comes with age?

Wrinkles and more wrinkles.
I'm sitting here blogging (and maybe a little bored this sunday afternoon) and there's something about this computer light that really makes my hands look extra wrinkly. I was trying to get the right angle and light to show just how wrinkly they really are and these pictures still don't even show every line and crease. But despite all those wrinkles they are mine. And to put it in Jeremy's words "I've always had old lady hands." True dat!
(I swear they looked like this at age 16 too.)