Cats in the Cradle

I know that I haven't really done a great job keeping up my blog.  I decided to add a few videos taken in the last week.  It is so crazy and amazing to me that this little baby developed inside me, growing and learning all the time. It is truly amazing to have a baby.  N8 and I love being parents and the excitement that it brings everyday. About 5 minutes before we left to see the family for Bryce's mission farewell, Brooklynn was in the kitchen and started pulling herself along.  We had to stop everything to try to get it on video. Then just 2 days later, we took another video the day of her 8 month birthday and she was just cruising along.

It is hard to get stuff done at our house because I feel like I have to spend most of my time with Brooklynn. I keep thinking about the song Cats in the Cradle. I never want to feel like I never spent enough time with her, I don't want my life with her to have regrets.  I guess we will see as our life unfolds.

 My child arrived just the other day
He came to the world in the usual way
But there were planes to catch and bills to pay
He learned to walk while I was away
And he was talkin' 'fore I knew it, and as he grew
He'd say "I'm gonna be like you dad
You know I'm gonna be like you"





I also thought I would add this video of Lilly "ditto"

Another dream...

I know, it is about time that I update my blog....

 Last night I was blessed with another dream about mom.  I love these dreams, whether real or not, I always feel that I get a little insight for who my mother really was.My dreams are always scattered with not much of a story, this one was enough to remember and wake up happy with the thought of meeting her. It started out with Laura calling me about a family reunion that we were making plans for.  She surprised me by telling me that she had been in contact with mom and that she was finally going to make it to the reunion this year.  I was so excited about getting the chance to finally meet her.

The day we met at the reunion, I approached and hugged her like a relative that I had wished to get to know my whole life but life had led us in different directions that prevented us from doing so.  It seems as though we talked for a bit I don’t remember what it was about.  She was dressed in older clothing, I guess made up from my memory of old photos.  She had short hair, large glasses and just a plain sweater.  She had lots of visitors and so I left to see who else had made it to the reunion.  As I left her camping spot, I noticed she had set up a sign language learning center for anyone that wanted to pick up a few things. She had several tables set up with different crafts and it soon became the hang out place for everyone.

I soon found Aunt LeAnn, Kirsten with her girls, Laura with her kids, and Becca.  They too seemed just as eager to spend time with mom. She spent a lot of time doing crafts with the grand kids, who grew to adore her.  As the days went by, everyone got their chance to spend some quality time with mom and soon my time came.  I was helping her pack up her car and finally asked her why she never came back after she got better.  She told me that she did for a little while but saw that my dad had a job that she knew would not last or support the family and so she chose to leave.  She had been living in California this entire time while we all grew up without her.

I was a frustrated that she chose to walk out on us and do something else with her life. She took the easy way out and didn’t feel that she did anything wrong. I finished helping her pack up her things so she could again leave us and go back home; wondering when we would see her again.

When I woke up I was happy that I got to see her, even though it was just a dream.  I thought about that last part and how annoyed I was to find out that she left us by choice. Then I came to realize that I would not be the person I am now today if she was a part of my life, as sad as it sounds.  I could have ended up with a completely different life.  I would not have the family I have today. I became who I am today because of my step-mom, step-family, my dad and my brothers and sisters.  I realized that I should not try to wish it all away. I should not try to wish it had been different because I would have missed out on everything I have today. 

I don't know if the dream had any meaning but I try to document each dream I have so I can always have those memories and reminders.  It has been about 3 years since my last dream.

Excited to Announce...

We have been waiting for so long to share our news! Most of our close family found out on Christmas but I wanted to let the rest of you know as well!

I am only about 14 weeks and FINALLY the sickness is already dying down and getting much better!!!

We are due around July 4th and are extremely excited!!

4th of July

We had an awesome 4th of July this year. We went with N8's parents to Colonial Museum for the Freedom Festival. They had some pretty neat stuff there and a lot of old machines, like the printing press.

Then we went to Chiska's house for a BBQ. It was good to see everyone and spend time with Eem and Hunadu.

We left Chiska's house at about 8pm and went to Rock Canyon park to watch the fireworks from the Stadium of Fire with Bryce's friends, Amity and Jacob. It was fun to finally get to spend some time with Hunadu, it was the first time in nearly a month since we had seen each other.

I LOVE MY CALLING!

I love my calling! I get to be with Primary kids on Sundays. I love seeing all the kids there, their excitement to sing primary songs, the weird comments that they come up with.

I have been in this calling for almost 6 months and I hope to be in Primary for a long time. Relief Society has always been hard for me. It just wasn't appealing... I tried for months to enjoy it but I just felt like it was sooo cheesy, so fake.

Primary is so different, if someone has something to say, they say it. I will go home some days and my cheeks will hurt from smiling too much.

I also wanted to apologize for slacking on my blog posts. Summer is coming up and I am sure I will be better at it these next few months! Yay for warm weather!!

The Boy in the Striped Pajamas

N8 and I just watched The Boy in the Striped Pajamas.  I guess I wanted to blog about it because it really had an effect on me.  It is about the Holocaust, which has always been interesting to learn about.  This movie is about a boy that loses his friends when the family moves from Berlin to the country, to live near a "farm". He's lonely and bored. He likes to explore and gradually realises the truth behind his father's job – he's an official in charge of a concentration camp. This movie is heart wrenching but I really enjoyed it!  

A little late....Nate and Laura's visit

I do not have too many pictures of Nate and Laura's visit from a few weeks ago. We went to the Bean Museum and they had a reptile show with a turtle, lizard and a snake.

We have listed our house on the MLS.

We have decided it is time to give up our awesome house and get something a little more realistic! :(  We hope that it sells quickly but you can never tell with this market.  Here is the link to the virtual tour that I shot myself... I know, I am not a professional but it will do.  Take a look at the video tour are the top right of the virtual tour window.  http://www.circlepix.com/home/HEADJN

Yeah for Valentine's Day!!

Hope everyone has a memorable Valentine's Day!

Validation!

I found this on a co-workers blog and loved it so much! I want to pass this along to everyone, kind of like a 'Pay it Forward' theme! "Validation" is a fable about the magic of free parking. Make the time to watch this, it is about 14 minutes. Also, I hope you like me new playlist, I am pretty excited about this!