Emery said...

Emery's interpretations of a few Christmas songs...

"Hosanya, Hosanya, Hosanya to Disney"

"Feliz Nubby-dub, Feliz Nubby-dub..."

I just giggle inside everytime I hear her sing these songs.

Make a Smilebox newsletter

The Sweetest Thing

Our girls' bedtime routine consists of reading books, scripture stories, prayers, singing songs, and then Lots of Hugs and Kisses! I always whisper "I Love You" to each of them when I hug them. Well, tonight Maycie whispered back:

"I-la-lu"

It was the sweetest thing ever considering that Maycie hardly talks.

WHITNEY

HAPPY BIRTHDAY WHITNEY!
Although she is no longer with us we think of her often. We are grateful to have this day to celebrate her. It will always be a tradition for our family to celebrate Whitney's birthday. Although Emery has vague memories of her and Maycie has never met her we want them to know how her through the memories we have of her.
We will always remember her sassy smile, raspy voice, and the spontaneity that she brought to the fam!
LOVE YOU WHITNEY!

Best of Friends

Our really good friends, the Unck's, moved to Omaha a few weeks ago. I was just emptying the pics from my camera and came across the sweet pictures. We have many sweet memories with the Unck family! We miss them lots. Emery still talks every about how next time we drive to Utah we will stop in "Homaha". And that she is going to marry Tyler.

4 on the 4th!

Today was Emery's 4th birthday!

I cannot believe that I have a 4 year old. Oh my how time flies. On Friday we took Emery to get her hair cut, which was very special for her because it was her first time at the salon. I usually cut her hair myself. We then went to her favorite place for dinner, McDougal's Chicken Fingers. And then that night she went to have a sleepover with Kinzy and Kaylie. Since Sharalee and Steve were out of town Mama Sharon was there watching the kids. For breakfast the next morning Mama Sharon fed them ICE CREAM w/sprinkles and M&M's, and Banana Bread... Oh and pears! They are so spoiled! Our tradition is to have a pancake(with a candle) breakfast for our kids birthdays. We did it at Sharalee's house so we could watch General Conference with them. Then after General Conference we celebrated with family and friends at our house. Emery wanted a Dora cake but since I am not a fan of character cakes I asked her if she had any other ideas. She said a rainbow cake would be good. So rainbow cake it is. And I, loving to create in the kitchen, went all out and even died the cake in rainbow colors. Emery LOVED it!

Ok, so I am proud of the cake!

Finger Lickin' Good

Last night for dinner I made BBQ ribs. YUM! As soon as Emery came to the table she saw them and with a smirk said, "What is that?!" We told her it was ribs and she said that she didn't like them. Emery is not a picky eater and we do have the rule that we must at least try 1 bite of everything. Emery tried her bite and couldn't get enough. She probably ate 4-5 herself!

When You Wish...

Emery and I went on a date on Friday night!! We went to see a play called "When You Wish", a Disney Musical. Emery put her Cinderella dress on and we were off! She thought that it was great that just she and I were going, WITHOUT MAYCIE!!

Waiting for the show to start!

A friend of ours from our ward was Snow White in the play! She did great!

Birthday Girl

Today is Maycie's First Birthday!!

Just one of Maycie's many silly faces

Mom, are you sure this is ok!?!

Maycie has beautiful curly hair. She is full of life and is developing a sense of humor like her daddy's. She loves to make us laugh! Maycie loves to read books, pat her knees to "We Will Rock You"(taught by Emery), wrestle with daddy, and play with Emery. Maycie is already proving to be a girly girl. She can often be found playing with purses and whenever we try shoes on at the store, she smiles and twirls her feet around! Whenever we see a dog she barks and pats her knee(sign language). She loves to EAT! And this girl can EAT! Although Maycie is so much fun and full of energy, she also has a very loving sweet side. She is often found holding and loving on a baby doll or stuffed animal or cuddling with her lovey! And she gives us many loves and kisses as well! We love you sweet Maycie!

Last night we celebrated with family, friends, food and Loads of FUN!

It is tradition for us to wake up and make pancakes a candle for our kids birthdays. But since it was fast Sunday we decided to do that for dinner for Maycie's Birthday.

And because Sharalee and Steve were not able to make it to her party they have invited for dinner tomorrow night to celebrate! Maycie just has the birthday that doesn't end!

Maycie loves all of her new toys! And just notice the cute skirt. Yes I made it! And I made the lovely birthday hat

Twilight baby... WHAT?

For some reason I get a lot of comments from people that my baby could be the Twilight Baby. Maybe her cute little teethies have something to do with...

And believe it or not... I have yet to read Twilight or see the movie. Maybe one day. I actually have my sisters' copy of the book and the movie at my house right now. I read the first chapter am just a little weirded out by the idea of vampires.

Summer Fun!

We have been so busy, busy around here that I am so far behind on posting. We were so lucky to have been able to go visit my family in Utah for 3 weeks! Sharalee and I drove out to Utah just before Memorial Day so that we could be there for the Stokes Family Reunion. That was a big adventure in and of itself. While in Utah we went to Kelsey's graduation, visited with friends and famiy, ate at Cafe Rio, went to a concert, I got to sew a lot, we cooked a lot, went to Emily's singing concert, went to the Farmer's market, the movies, ate at Cafe Rio again, stayed up late, went to every quilt shop in town, watched David play baseball, ran the Springville Art City Days 5k, and we threw a big bash for my mom's 50th birthday! Scott and Steve joined us in time for that. While Scott was there we went to the temple and also to Salt Lake to see Temple Square. Scott served his mission in Salt Lake City, so he took us around and told us many stories of his adventures there. After that we were all off to Disneyland for a week! What a blast! Although we did come home with 2 sick kids. Yeah pink eye, strep throat, and double ear infections is a rough time!
We recovered from that just in time to have Scott's sister and her 5 kids come to town. We spent every day for 10 days with them. We swam, played games, ate, did a talent show, stayed up way too late, celebrated birthdays, swam more, ate more, went bowling, and we all participated in the "AL"-ympics! For the "AL"- ympics, aka Allen Olympics, we did a water fight, Dance Dance Revolution competition, Apples to Apples competition, and a paper airplane competition. SUPER fun! Thanks Chaz for putting it together.
As soon as they left we spent the rest of the week with my sister Kimberly who was in town. We went bowling, blueberry picking, played games, ate S'mores, swam, ate at McDougal's and went to see "Up"! She was here and spent July 4th with us! Now Kim is gone and party time is over...
It has been fun, but we are ready for a bit of rest!

We got to see Whitney's headstone for the first time! It is BEAUTIFUL!

Temple Square

DISNEYLAND

5 Years Ago Today...

It is hard to believe that it has been five years already. Five GREAT years since Scott and I were sealed for time and all eternity in the Salt Lake City Temple. Sadly, I have no wedding pictures on the computer. So this is our engagement pic.

I can definitely say that I am married to the man of my dreams! Scott is my best friend. I can hardly stand to not be with him and can't wait until he walks in the door from work every day! It is so wonderful to have someone to experience life with. To share every happy moment together and to get through the tough times too! Often times all we need is a laugh and Scott has taught that to us well! I am so excited to spend ETERNITY with the man I love, SCOTT!

AWAY

FYI:
We are in Utah visiting family for a few weeks

Yummables

A friend of mine and I just started a food blog. We both love to cook and share recipes so we figured why not make them easily accessible to EVERYONE!! You can find our blog here

Class of 2009

Today was a big day for Scott as he walked with his class to receive his diploma from Trevecca Nazarene University. He received a Bachelor's degree in Business Management and Human Relations. WAY TO GO SCOTT!! I am so proud of you and the hard work you put into this great achievement.

Side Note: This was Scott's first time walking because he was homeschooled. He was so proud to get up there so everyone could hear his name and know that he did this. I have never seen the man smile so BIG!

Feels so good!

My family has made it a tradition to run the Country Music Half Marathon in Nashville, this being their 5th year doing it! Scott and I walked it together for our first time 3 years ago. I pretty much hated every minute of it. The last month or so of training was miserable and the race day wasn't anything to shout about. I swore I would NEVER do it again. It was good enough for me to say I did it.

For the next 2 years after that Scott joined my family in doing it and I was very content to bring all of the kids and cheer! Cheering is so much fun!

This year my mom talked one of her good friends, Cathy, into doing it with her family. Cathy was going to walk it and didn't have a partner to walk it with so my mom talked me into doing it with her. WHAT WAS I THINKING?? I didn't really want to do it. The only thing that really sounded good was having a training program to stick to.

I worked hard and followed the training. I decided this time that if I had a better attitude it would be a better experience. Plus, this time I knew what to expect. I began to really look forward to the time that I got to go run/walk. It was time that I had to myself to be in my own world and to just enjoy the beauty of the earth around me. I never thought I would catch myself saying that I like to run. I have always loved working out, just not running.

I didn't necessarily care what my time was, how many people I passed or who passed me. All that mattered was the sense of accomplishment that I felt when I crossed the line and knew that I had given it my all! It felt so good! So yes I WILL DO IT AGAIN!


This is the only picture Scott took of me. He brought all the kids to cheer us all on and I stopped quickly to give them LUVS!

P.S. I was so proud of my Mama, Sharalee, Cammie and Kelsey who ran the FULL Marathon (26.2 miles!) for their first time ever! Steve also ran it for his 2nd time. WAY TO GO GUYS!

At the finish line!!

Way to go Dad, Emily, Jake, Jorday, and the Johnson Family who also ran the HALF!

Yesterday I was listening as Emery was talking to Aunt Cammie on the phone.

Emery said to Cammie: "My daddy is a trick. He makes things "umpear" from the house. He makes them "umpear" out of my ear."

After that Cammie talked to Scott and said, "Scott did you pierce your ears!?!"

"Umpear" = Disappear/Appear

We just had to laugh!

I just didn't like the looks of this rash so I took Emery in to the doctor yesterday.

The Verdict: The doctor said that the rash is Fifth's Disease and was going to send her home. I mentioned that I was getting over Strep so she looked at her throat and it was red so she swabbed her and sure enough Emery has Strep. Good thing I took her in!

The crazy thing about Fifth's Disease is that once they break out they are not contagious anymore but by the looks of it I am sure any mother would want to get their children away!

It made my day!

I have been anxiously awaiting the arrival of this package and it came yesterday in the mail!

I'm sure you are wondering what was in it!

I will post some pictures in a few days!

Hint: It was just in time for Easter!

Don't you just love the suspense!

Thanks Mama!

In the meantime I will be taking Emery to the doctor to figure out what we can do

about this awful rash!

On the Mend

Well, it has kind of been a rough week for me! I woke up Monday morning sore and achey and assumed that I was still recovering from my 6 mile run on Saturday. I was wrong! As the day when on I got rapidly worse as a sore throat, earache and headache settled in. I had chills and sweats on and off all day. I just did not feel good. It felt like strep. It was so hard because I could hardly get off the bed or couch. Mostly all Emery did was watch TV until she would get bored and I would read a book or two. Emery was a big helper and would play with Maycie and feed her snacks. When Scott got home I turned the kids over to him for some attention and went to bed! He took them to McDonalds so Emery could run and play. And Scott, being the sweet husband he is, brought me back a smoothie, a Rachael Ray Magazine and a Redbox movie "Marley and Me". He knows me well! That night Scott and his dad gave me a priesthood blessing and I figured that if I didn't feel better by the morning I would go in to the doctor. Sure enough I hardly slept that night.

When Emery got up in the morning I was talking to her and she said "Mommy you are still sick!" I asked her why she thought that and she said in a grovely voice, "because you sound like this."

I took Emery and Maycie to Gram and Pop's while I went to the doc. I had not been to the doctor for illness for at least 3-4 years. I went in and they knew it was strep before they even swabbed my throat to test it. I got the penicillin shot because I knew it was usually a quicker recovery. Emery spent the rest of the afternoon running errands and going out for lunch with Pop. He had to return something at the mall and he took her on the Merry-go-Round, and she talked him into going to the Disney Store and buy her something. She knows what she likes!
When Emery came home we took naps and watched more TV(BLAH!) until daddy came home from work. I just wanted to cry all day because it was the second day of all of this and my kids were getting restless.

Today I feel a bit better but still have to take it easy. Scott was able to come home early(too bad he couldn't earlier in the week) and did some laundry while I took a nap. Bless his heart we don't really have any clean clothes and he knew it would be helpful. He's so good!

Thank you Scott for all you do!
Thank you Gram for watching the girls while I went to the doc and for the yummy chili!
Thank you Pop for taking Emery for the afternoon! She is so spoiled!
Thank you to my fam for all the calls, love, and prayers!
Thank you Sharalee for the yummy Turkey soup and for checking up on me everyday even though you were busy going out of town!
Thank you to Yvonne for taking over YW and checking up on me everyday!

It was a rough week but I was well taken care of!

My Hunk of Burning Love

Happy Birthday Scott!

A few things that I love most about him...

He is a great dancer

Very artistic

A good cook
Waxes my eyebrows (he is dang good at it too!)
Great teacher
Always make me laugh

Has a Testimony of Jesus Christ
Always puts his family first; NO MATTER WHAT!!

I am so grateful for days like today to celebrate the life of a great man!

Love ya Babe!

A Day of Remembrance

It has been 2 years now since my sister Whitney passed away. It has been long enough that some days it is hard for me to really remember what her voice sounds like. Somedays all I want is to hear her voice. I do have some videos and there are many pictures to remind me of the memories and I am grateful for that.
We love you sweet Whitchick!
Oh and by the way, whenever Scott or I wear our shirt with Whitney on it people ask if it is Brittany Spears!

Age Aint Nothin' But a Number!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY to my beautiful wife!!!



It is definitely a time to celebrate this wonderful woman and the many things that she does on a daily basis. Without Tasha I don't know where I would be right now. Everyday I can't help but think how lucky I am to have her in my life. I LOVE this women!! I am not a man of great words, but Tasha, I love you and HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!

I'm off to make some of my world famous mug cake and wake Tasha from her beauty sleep to sing to her! Please join me in wishing this amazing woman happy birthday! (you don't have to make her a cake though...)

Why Mormons Build Temples

The temple is a place where I go to be reminded of the Plan that our Heavenly Father has for me. There is no place better than the temple to get away from the worries of this world we live in. It is a place that I like to go often. Every time I step foot into a temple I feel an instant sense of peace. I leave the temple lifted up knowing that Heavenly Father will be with me every step of the way through my journey in life.

Happy Birthday Emily!

EMILY
Emily turns 12
Emily is so sweet with kids

Emily is a good singer
Emily is VERY good at basketball
Emily is smart
Emily has a contagious smile
Emily is good at playing games
Emily is good at making smoothies
Emily is a fashionista
Emily is fun to play with (Emery's suggestion)
Emily is always willing to help
Emily is beautiful
We love you Emily

This morning when we told Emery that it was Emily's Birthday she got very excited and made this cake for Emily and came out singing Happy Birthday to Emily! I couldn't help but get a video of it! SO CUTE!

Popcorn Popping

Today we were driving home from the Library and Emery said that she

"would like to try some of the Popcorn from the trees!"

When we got home she ran to one of the trees with blossoms and then came back disappointed.

She said, "Ohhh! Mom they are just little white flowers."

I then had to explain that they only just look like popcorn, but that the flowers are beautiful.

Alright All You Huggies Fans Out There!

Many of you that know me know that I love to coupon and bargain shop! Who doesn't love to get a good deal, RIGHT? Well, this one I thought was blog-worthy because I know there are many Mama's that read this that could benefit from CHEAP diapers. Ok, so here is the deal:

Find your local Walgreen's!! They are doing a deal that if you purchase $25 (before coupons) worth of Huggies then you get a coupon for $10 off your next purchase. Huggies are on sale for $10/pack. So where are the coupons? You can just print them right from your computer! Click here. There is a $5 off and a $3 off. You will have to scroll through to find them. You are only allowed to print 2 of each coupon per computer. So if you have more than one computer you are in luck, and I am jealous! To print twice you first print the first and then you click back and refresh the page then it will print out the second one.

The math:

3 pack of Huggies= $30
- (3) $5 off coupons
= $15 for 3 packs and you will get a coupon for $10 off your next purchase
So it is like you are getting 3 packs for $5

If you are like me and know this is a good deal and want to stock up then you will find more coupons and do the deal again only you will use the $10 off coupon that you just got. So you will truly only be paying $5 for your diapers and you will still have another $10 off coupon. When I get the $10 coupons I use them for more diapers or milk, or it would even be a good way to get some Easter candy! HAVE FUN! And let me know if you decide to try it out!

To really add to the FUN I will gather my Garnier and Colgate coupons and get some FREE hair products and toothpaste while I'm there!

What other really good deals am I getting this week? Cheerios and Toilet Paper FREE, oh and we are meeting Scott for lunch to get FREE Quizno's subs! And I am getting Ritz crackers and Wheat Thins for $.70/box!

What Does the Tiger Say!?!

When we were at the zoo we stopped to see the tigers and all of the kids were growling at them. Maycie got really excited and I thought I may have heard a growl out of her too! Well that night while we were eating dinner, Emery was telling Daddy all about the zoo and then we asked Maycie what the tiger says and then we said "Rrr!" and she repeated. What a smart little girl! I guess we could kind of say that was her first word!

Here is a video of Maycie growling:

Sunshine

The last 2 days have been ABSOLUTELY BEAUTIFUL!! It is a big change from the snow we got a week ago! With the weather being so beautiful we couldn't help but be outside. On Friday we spent the day at the zoo with some friends, and today we worked out in the yard a bit and then we went to the park in the afternoon! My family says they don't see enough pictures so I am going to post a few from the last few days!

Sunday Snow

One of our Sunday rules is that we don't play outside, since it is the Sabbath day. Well, we broke that rule today! Since it is only 1-2 times a year that we get snow, it is really exciting! It came as a big surprise to us this late in the season but we will take it! It will all be gone tomorrow and then we will be ready for the 70 degree weather coming later this week. I LOVE Tennessee!!



P.S. Lucky for us we have an artistic Daddy! He made the Snow Dog. Mommy would not have ever been able to do that!

Conversations with Emery

Emery was playing house with her cousing Rebekah and was getting a little bossy...

Me: "Emery, are you using kind words?"
Emery: "No, I'm the mom."
Me: "So moms don't use kind words?"
Emery: "No."
Me: "Does your mom use kind words?"
Emery: "Well some days you just yell my name."

Biting Medicine

Last night Emery bit Maycie. I was horrified! Emery is 3 years old and has never bit anyone EVER! I was so upset that I cried (I tried not to let Emery notice that). Scott was not home but we called him and he said that she needed to go right to bed. No stories, no songs! I knew that she knew it was wrong but it seemed like it was just out of rebellion. So I felt like just putting her to bed was not going to get the point across. I decided that she needed a drop of "Biting Medicine" (hot sauce). She was actually excited when I told her that when we bite we need biting medicine to help us not bite anymore because some medicine is actually quite tasty. I admit that I felt a little bad when I put a drop in her mouth and she realized it wasn't so good. Needless to say, I don't think that Emery will bite again!

Maycie

I cannot believe that Maycie is already 6 months! But at the same time I can't really remember what our family was like without her. Maycie is off the charts for her height and in the 75 percentile for her weight. She has BIG beautiful eyes and rolly polly legs(Ilove to squish them).

Maycie has always been a cuddly baby and I love it! Although the down side of it is that it does make her a bit afraid of strangers. I usually go to the gym about 4 times a week and whenever I walk into the nursery there she starts crying, then they say she does fine when they give her a toy, and always when I come back she starts to scream. She knows how to work it! But all the way around she is just at a fun age! She is rolling around to get to things and loves to laugh and be silly. It is funny because whenever we are all laughing, which is quite often (we have a silly daddy), she will just laugh like she totally understands us!

She absolutely loves her toes, well and her socks. Whenever I put her in her carseat she immediately goes for her socks. She will play with those for awhile and then will be on to her toes. It is just so cute! Along with eating her toes... Maycie also loves to eat baby food! She has only tried rice, oatmeal, carrots, sweet potatoes, squash, green beans, and peas. And so far she loves them all! I think she just loves eating. She will fit in well with our family!

OUR SWEET MAYCIE IS PERFECT IN EVERY WAY!

Polka Dots

Last week Emery got what she called "POLKA DOTS"! She broke out in hives and we don't really know what caused it. But I thought it was pretty bad!

Serving the Lord

I was just sustained today as the new...

Young Women's President

in our ward! I am SO excited to be able to work with the Youth! I have never served with the Youth before and am now realizing what a BIG undertaking this will be. Nevertheless, I know this is where the Lord wants me to be. In subtle ways I was very much being prepared for this! I know that as I am faithful in serving the Lord and building up His Kingdom that He will bless me and my family with the things that we stand in need of.

Baby It's Cold Outside

Emry is sick so we stayed in all day yesterday and will probably do so again today! But even if she wasn't sick I don't think we would be going anywhere...

Currently it is 8 degrees with a wind chill factor of -4 degrees due to humidity! (High of 20 today)

I grew up in Utah where it snowed all winter and it was pretty cold. But, with the humidity here, when it gets cold you just don't go out! Oh and just to tell you how bad it is... School was cancelled today due to cold weather. HAHA!

The nice thing about living in the South is that when it does get this cold it doesn't last long. It is supposed to get right back up to 40 again by tomorrow!

So what to do on a cold day?

There is no snow, so no reason to be outside. We will just stay in and stay close to the fire, play games, read many books, and maybe roast some marshmallows, and drink hot cocoa!

Hooray for Old Friends!

What did I do this afternoon while the kids were napping??

I was about to attempt folding the mounds of laundry on my bed, and doing the dishes in the sink, and organizing the pile of coupons on the kitchen table but the phone rang...

It was an old Friend

We had much to talk about since we do not live near each other! It felt so good to just sit back and chat for an hour. Thanks Katie for calling. It made my day!

Now I am ready to tackle the chores!