"Mother I want you for a little while"

Rylynn is so stinkin cute right now. I am loving this phase she is in at the moment because she really likes having one on one time with her mother. Yes, lately she has been calling me Mother because "Little Bear" calls his mother that. She is obsessed with Little Bear right now. Anyway, Daddy is usually her favorite so it has been really fun lately that she has been wanting me. Her new thing is that when I am in the other room she will call for me and say, "Mother, I want you for a little while" It always just makes me smile and gives my heart a little tug. I love spending time with her. She is so entertaining! Now that Carter is a little more independent I feel like I am getting back to where Rylynn and my relationship was before he was born. She had a hard time sharing me at first and it was a difficult adjustment for her, but lately it has all clicked and everyone seems happy and secure. I am so thankful for these times in my life. It never ceases to amaze me when I look back over a hard stretch of my life that I can see the Lord's hand guiding me and strengthening me. This probably sounds like there was some terrible thing that happened to me and there wasn't, but there are just years that are more challenging than others and the transition for Rylynn and I to two kids was a little rough. But I am grateful that when I endure and cast my burdens on the Lord in prayer, he always delivers me. Whether it be a huge trial or a small one, he is carrying me through. I am especially grateful for his perspective. He knows all of us and He knows what we can be and I need to rely on his wisdom more. Anyway, I wasn't planning on this turning into a sermon, but I am just so thankful for my kids and for my relationships with them. I love my husband and I love how Christmastime helps to put into perspective what is most important in life. I am so blessed. Merry Christmas everyone!

"I Want My Carter"

We had an interesting night on Monday night.  Rylynn kept waking up in the middle of the night, which is out of the ordinary for her.  So, we took turns checking on her, but something wasn't quite right.  We finally hauled her into bed with us, thinking that maybe she was scared.  Well, she threw up in our bed.  I know that's disgusting and you probably don't want to hear about it or think about it, but it was actually kind of cute/funny.  As she was heaving she kept saying, in a strained tone, "Sorry about that."  Honestly, I was totally grossed out and sad for her, but I thought it was hilarious.  We gave her a bath at 3:00 am and as we were putting her PJs on she starting yelling "I want my Carter!  I want my Carterman!"  Carter, however, was sleeping soundly so she didn't get her wish.  She lay on the floor for a while, just resting quietly as I told her stories about when I got sick as a boy.  She was a real sweety!

Rylynn is a tough girl and she likes to do things on her own.  She is very sweet, but it is often masked by her intensity and on-the-go personality.  Seeing her in such a vulnerable, needy state was actually a special experience.  I just wish it didn't take vomit to bring that out. :)  Incidentally, how bad is the word "vomit"?  

Top 5 people I would love to punch in the face

Okay so this is a long time coming, but I saw this on one of my friend's blogs and I just had to do it on mine!

5. Dr. Phil
4. Brittany Spears
3. Oprah Winfrey and a bonus punch for Gail
2. Angelina Jolie

and the number one person is, drum roll please.....

1.Hillary Clinton

Please share your lists:)

Christmas Lights!

Last night we went to the Lake FarmPark Christmas lights for FHE. The kids had a blast! We got to go on a horse and wagon ride to see all the lights and then we stopped so we could go in the barn and pet some animals. Rylynn got to ride a pony which she loved, and then it was off to see Santa! Rylynn was sooo excited. Rylynn and Carter sat on Santa's lap and Rylynn told Santa that she wanted a baby for Christmas and a baby bed, and a bottle and some food for her baby. Can you tell she is a little obsessed with dolls right now? Then we got to go to Santa's workshop where you pick a toy to make and you help an elf put it all together and then paint it and wrap it up. It was so cute. It was definitely worth the 19 bucks to get in! The kids can't wait to go again next year.






Rylynn was clearly effected by meeting Santa since this morning she woke up and exclaimed, "It's Christmas! Let's go open presents!" I had to explain to her that it wasn't going to be Christmas for a couple more weeks and until Nana and Papa get here. She got over that quickly so we could run out to the family room, as we do every morning, and turn on the Christmas tree lights and put up another ornament on our advent calendar. We are all getting really excited!

Christmas Cards

** I apologize in advance for offending anyone who uses his/her Christmas card as an excuse to brag about how incredibly brilliant, talented, and/or amazing his/her kids are **

You know the Christmas cards I'm talking about, right?  They devote a full paragraph to each of their kids, usually starting out the paragraph with something like, "[kid's name] is our little future President."  Then they proceed to paint the most lovely picture of how each child is extremely talented and has a gifted intellect.  In case you aren't familiar with these kinds of cards, and you would like to write one of your own, I have come up with 10 steps to writing a really conceited Christmas card.  Here they are:

1. Definitely compare your 1 year-old to a genius - past or present.

2. By all means, please list every activity in which your child is involved.

3. In addition to all of the in-your-face "we're-awesome" comments, throw in subtle comments that show how great members of your family are.  Example: "John is still playing a lot of golf - being in the Bishopric hasn't affected his game too much."

4. Project what your child will become in 20-30 years...it's fun and easy.

5. Write your own ambitions for your children as if they were your children's ambitions.  Example: "Britney( 2 years old) really wants to be a surgeon."

6. Mention a couple of negative things (to show you're humble) in a way that, in the end, show how great you are.  Example: (From Michael Scott; listing his "weaknesses") "I work too hard.  I care too much.  And sometimes I can be too invested in my job."

7. 1 page is not enough.  You should really be pushing 3 or 4.

8. Go very light on information that will help people get to know your kids.  Instead, it is extremely important to list their accomplishments.

9. Tell us about what "people" say about your child without mentioning who these "people" are.  Example: "People say Elizabeth looks like a model."

10. Remember, the world revolves around you.  Assume that everyone on your Christmas card list is just as interested in every detail of your life as you are.  Always write from that perspective.

Good luck!  I look forward to hearing from you!

- Garrett

Oh Christmas Tree

Yesterday we went to Whispering Pines tree farm to cut down our Christmas tree. It was so much fun. We drove out on a horse-drawn wagon and they drop you off with a saw and you just cut down whatever tree you like. Rylynn loved the snow and laid down in it like she was taking a bath. She also made huge snowballs to eat as we walked through the rows and rows of trees. After much debating(Garrett and I are pretty picky about trees we learned) we finally found our perfect tree and Garrett sawed away as Rylynn and I yelled, "Timber!" By the time we finally decided on our tree Rylynn's pants, shoes, and socks were soaking wet and she kept reminding us that she was freezing and she was ready for the hot chocolate and hot dogs. So we headed into the lodge and roasted hot dogs and had hot chocolate. It was a really fun adventure. Of course I brought the camera to capture this fun family memory, but unfortunately we discovered as we posed next to our tree that our batteries were dead so we have no pictures! We did come home and decorate the tree and that was a lot of fun, so I will post a picture of our decorated tree as soon as we get some new batteries. Only 16 days until Christmas! Hooray!

Red Paint Nightmare!

Okay so I know I already posted today, but I just had to blog about this awful thing that happened today. I figured it might be therapeutic to share it with the world, we'll see. So after church today I was supposed to take some paint and craft supplies home from the Relief Society closet since we are having a make up freaky friday night at my house on Tuesday. So of course, I forgot until we were 2 minutes away from our house so we had to turn around and go back to the church which is about 15 minutes away. So of course by the time we got there the closet was locked and there was no one who had a key around. Luckily the main paint I needed was left outside the closet. So I decided to take the three gallon sized cans to the car and then come back in and see if I could find anyone with a key. So as I went to open the door, I shifted one of the cans so that I could open the door while balancing the three gallons of paint, little did I know that the lids were not closed. So as you can imagine, Red, not the beige of course, but the bright Red paint shot out all over the door of the church, all over the carpet, all over my brand new sweater that I bought last night, all over my skirt, and my leather boots from London! It was one of those moments when I was so shocked and so overwhelmed that my first impression was just to run and never look back. Just as I was processing what had happened this poor guy from the next ward walked by minding his own business and saw me covered in paint with a look of terror on my face. I just looked at him and said, "um I have no idea what to do!" He then said, "Neither do I!" He was so nice though and as I ran to the bathroom to try and salvage my sweater, he ran and got the custodial supplies and began cleaning. Once I rinsed out my sweater, I just stuck my whole foot in the sink to try and save my boots. Then I ran out to the car and made Garrett give me his sweater so that I wasn't shirtless in the church. Then he being the wonderful husband that he is got out of the car, rolled up his dress shirt sleeves and started cleaning. Our kids were champions as they had to sit in the car for hours after three hours of church. They of course were starving, but luckily our van has a dvd player so they were entertained for awhile. Another nice guy missed all of his sacrament meeting to help us and Brandon Kofford also got down in his suit to help suck up the paint while he waited for tithing settlement. We got it cleaned as best we could and finally we had to go home and the guy from the other ward asked someone he knew to bring their carpet cleaner over to finish the job. I am so thankful for kind members of our church! I had never met the two guys that helped me, and they probably thought I was crazy, but it was so nice of them to help me. On the plus side, I tracked down the RS president from the next ward and she opened the closet for me so I was able to get all my supplies. When we got home it was 2:45pm and our church gets out at 12:00pm! What a nightmare. I did manage to save my sweater, and kind of my boots, but the skirt went straight into the trash, oh well.

Christmas is coming!

The presents from Grandma arrived the other day and Rylynn was thrilled as you can see! She had so much fun playing with the box that she forgot about the presents, well for a few minutes at least. I love how easy it is to please children. Give them a box of pink packing popcorn and they are good for hours. Notice that yet again Rylynn is not wearing any clothing. This activity was definitely not Carter approved as he just tried to eat the packing material. Luckily when the box arrived he was sleeping so Rylynn got to have her fun before we had to throw it away. We are getting so excited about the Christmas season and the kids can't wait to for Nana and Papa to come to town!

Winter Picnic

I was running around doing some cleaning the other day when I found Rylynn and Carter in the hallway having a "picnic". So they invited me to join them. I couldn't resist taking a couple pictures of it. Also, you will notice that Rylynn is not wearing any clothes, because even though it is freezing outside, she refuses to wear clothes while in the house. I think she is in denial about it being winter.


Doesn't that sandwich look tasty!? Rylynn is a very good fake food cook.


Carter is our smiley little boy! I am constantly stopped in the grocery store because Carter is such a smiler. If anyone looks in his direction, he grins ear to ear and people always just laugh. He has such an expressive face; it must be his Monson genes shining through!


Carter is cruising around the house now and the only time of day we can keep him in one place is bathtime. He loves taking baths with his sister, and I love doing funny things with his hair after the bath:)

Out with November and in with December

So I don't have any exciting pictures to post today, but I wanted to give a quick Thanksgiving overview. We had a lot of fun. Our friends, the Andersons, invited us to their house with a few other families in the ward. There were 11 kids and they all ran around and had a blast! The Andersons have a great kids basement so Rylynn was entertained for hours, so much so that she had her first potty accident in public which was sad, but she recovered well. I must say I am thankful for good friends here in Cleveland to spend the holidays with.

No matter how old I am, I miss my family madly around the holidays. I especially missed my sister who is on a mission in Estonia right now. I am just so thankful for good friends, for a family that I love so much, for the blessings, as well as the trials of motherhood, a wonderful husband, the gift of the spirit, a healthy body, and a warm home to live in, and good food to eat! The Lord has blessed me so much and I love the month of November so that I can focus on how much I am grateful for in my life. So I will try to carry the spirit of gratitude into the upcoming Christmas season!

I love Christmas so much! We have been playing Christmas music non-stop ever since Thanksgiving because it brings me back to my childhood so much and I just love it, especially my new Josh Groban Christmas cd! I am especially excited for this Christmas because my parents are coming and it is the first Christmas that I am hosting at my house. I am a little stressed about living up to the expectations (mostly my own expectations) but I am getting so excited to see Rylynn this Christmas. She is at such a fun age when all the magic of Christmas comes alive. I can't wait to make cookies to leave out for Santa with her and to see her face on Christmas morning when she sees the tree and the presents. Holidays are just so much more fun with kids.