Snips and Snails and Puppy Dog Tails....

Our son Jacob was born May 26th at 2:30 pm. The delivery was quick and easy (thanks to the epidural). We arrived at the hospital at 9 am, started pitocin around 10. My midwife came about 11:30 to break my water. We listened to the baby's heartbeat and I watched my contractions on the monitor. When I'd see real big peaks I'd think, wow that one would've hurt! :)  I tried going natural with 3 of them and that's a pain that I never want to experience again. With Olivia and Jocelyn I was actually at a 9 1/2 when I got the epidural. So I know what it feels like. No thanks! It's worth every penny! I actually got a spinal headache with this epidural that lasted a week but it was still worth it.

Anyway, it was a great epidural because I could still move my legs and feel everything, just dulled the pain. I pushed a few times and 'wallah' the newest member of our family came to join us. The peace and joy and love that you feel at that moment is beyond description. I love having babies!!! If I didn't have to be pregnant, or raise them all, I'd have a million babies just to experience that feeling over and over. It overwhelms me, it is pure love. I'm sure that that is what our Heavenly Father must feel for us all the time. 

After Aaron cut the cord he came and sat with us. We kissed and held each other for a long time. There's nothing to explain the feeling between a husband and wife when you have a brand new baby. I'm so lucky to have Aaron. He's such an amazing man and such a great dad. 

We're so happy to have our son here. I love all my kids so, so much. I've got wonderful children. We are so blessed!

I saw a bunch of different midwives during this pregnancy. Roberta, on the right was one of them. Erica in green on the left was new. I had seen her once but this was her very first delivery. It was emotional for her and she did such a terrific job! She gave me a sweet little white hat for Jacob afterwards. Only the first baby delivered receives this tiny hat. Thanks Erica! The nurse in yellow on the left is named Brittany. She's one of the best I've ever had. She was right there helping and comforting. She was awesome!!! 

Here we are, proud parents...for the 5th time! 

I swear the IV added 10 lbs to my cheeks! 
Here are the boys! I love that Aaron's aunt pointed out that it looks like Jacob has a big smile under that blanket. His eyes are smiling. I wouldn't be surprised at all. I'm sure they're very happy to finally be together! 
Blue eyes and brown hair, I love it! I'd be surprised if it stayed that way though, most likely his hair will go blonder and his eyes will go brown. He'll follow in the footsteps of his sisters. 

My parents had the girls for us that day, they all came to see the new addition. It was love at first sight.
Macey loved touching his toes. I don't think she realized he was real and not a doll.
Olivia was so excited to see her baby brother. She's such a great helper. She's really the only one I trust to hold him by herself for a long period of time. 
Makell kept saying, "It's ALIVE!" It was so funny. Like he was Frankenstein or something. 
Jocelyn was so excited to finally get to hold him. She said, "Your tummy was big mom, but now it's small".  (If it were only true! ha)
Macey couldn't get enough of him. I think she thought he was a new toy. She keeps trying to poke him in the eyes. "Eye" she says. 
My mom was so cute with him. She kept saying, "I just love him so much!"
This was the first time my dad held him. I love how he just looks at him for a long, long time. The next picture is when he looked over at me in the bed. He had tears in his eyes! 
When I first saw Jacob I thought he looked like my family. His eyes and eyebrows especially remind me of my dads. 
Olivia said she wanted to get a bed like this one that can move up and down. 
The Girls.
The Boys.

Just a few hours old.

Jacob was 2 days old here. Getting a little jaundiced but nothing to worry about. Nothing that milk and sun can't cure. I was supposed to go get it checked to make sure he wasn't getting worse. I didn't. He's my fifth kid people, I know what to do. Why should I let them prick his heel again just to tell me he's jaundiced? I'm not blind, I can see it and I know how to take care of it too. I know that some babies can get it really bad but I know my own kids and they get over it in a few days. 
Just over a week old. He lost the belly button, and he's not jaundiced anymore. 
No he's not crying here, just a big yawn. 
My little sweetheart. 
I got a few pictures of him "smiling". It's when he's asleep so I know he's not really doing it on purpose but it's still dang cute.
Love that toothless grin! What a sweet boy!

My little sister had her baby exactly one week after Jacob was born. We thought they might look a little bit alike but here's the  picture to prove they don't. At all. This is at the pool in AF. Our husbands took the girls swimming while we watched. Ryan is a little jaundiced here I think. He is 4 days old and Jacob is 11 days old. How cute is that!?!

39 Weeks...almost there!

As of last thursday I am dilated to a 4, effaced 90% and at the station 0. The hospital has me scheduled to be induced this tuesday if I don't go into labor on my own. I will be a few days short of 40 weeks. There are 13 women ahead of me on the waiting list though so hopefully I'll get in. I've been feeling so miserable lately and can't wait to have this little guy. I'm sure I'll get less sleep, if that's even possible, but at least I'll be able to bend over to sweep the dirt into the dustpan without having a contraction. I'm excited to see what this little guy is going to look like. I can't wait to hold him...just two more days!! Wish me luck!

Thanks to Aaron for sticking with me through the photo shoot and being a great photographer! I love you babe!

34 WEEKS

Yay! This is the good time in pregnancy because now I get to start going to my midwife EVERY week. I think it helps the time to go by quicker! That said, that is the only reason this is the good time in pregnancy. Unfortunately it also includes sleepless nights, backaches, hiccups(that aren't mine), heartburn and really weird dreams just to name a few. I am counting the days until I get to hold this precious baby in my arms instead of in my tummy! 

Olivia is my photographer, hence the angle on most of these. I finally made her sit on our bed so she was a bit higher up. Thanks Liv!

I wuv you baby boy! (Even if you DO kick me all the time).
Whoa! Undeniably pregnant. How do some girls hide THAT? How do some girls not even know they're pregnant until they go into labor? No mirror? Can't see their shoes to begin with? That just boggles my mind!

Olivia and Makell got haircuts!

BEFORE........

......AND AFTER............

Since she was a baby, this is the first time Olivia has had short(er) hair. Makell has had short hair for a while because I think it looks DARLING on her face and also because it's much easier to brush. I think they both look like angels with their new haircuts.

I just took them to Fantastic Sams in Draper. They couldn't wait for Aaron to come home so they could show their daddy. "Do you think Daddy will like it?" they kept asking me. "He's gonna LOVE it!" I said, and I was right. They run around the house flipping it around. It's so cute. 

Need some advice...

So far about the only name we agree on is/was Brock. We both really liked the name until we realized that people might assume we named our son after Barack. I'm sure Barack is a nice guy, but I'm definitely not naming my son after him! What would YOU do?

We're leaning towards Jacob now but I still really like Brock. Help!

Sugar Goal.

I figured I should come clean and let you know that I put the sugar-free goal on pause while I was on vacation. I'm adding 10 more days onto the end to make up for it though. Let me tell you, it's harder starting it the second time! I can't wait to be done with it to tell you the truth. It's seemed extra hard this year but I will see it through.

I went in for my 30 week check up a couple of days ago. So far I've gained almost 30 lbs!! Ouch, I've still got 10 weeks to go. I'm gonna look like one of those whales we saw in Mexico by the end of this pregnancy! :) So the sugar-free thing definitely hasn't helped with that. I'm sure the baby and I are healthier though and that's good. 

29 weeks and our vacation to Mexico.

I've been slacking on my blog lately. Too busy moving (again) and homeschooling and just being pregnant (that's an excuse all on it's own). Aaron and I also took a vacation to Mexico. We have a timeshare we bought when we got married and if we didn't use it then we'd lose it so we saved our pennies for airfare and decided to do this one last fun thing before the baby is born. Since the timeshare was paid for it ended up being pretty cheap too. It was a much needed trip for our sanity. We've both been so stressed lately that it was so nice to relax for a bit. My wonderful mother-in-law watched the girls for us so I didn't worry one bit about them. Thanks again mom!

There's nothing that compares to the ocean. I love it! We snorkeled a bunch and saw some really pretty fish, turtles and coral. Aaron unfortunately got stung by a jellyfish too. Ouch! 

We got a discount on a sunset cruise for going to listen to a timeshare presentation. We got to see some beautiful whales really close up. The dinner was wonderful and then they had some mexican dancers for entertainment. It was so fun! I wish I could cook like this!

Here are a few pictures of the whales. I've never seen them this close before. I was blown away by how massive they are. I got some good pictures of the display they were putting on for us but unfortunately missed the best one. They both jumped straight up out of the water at the same time right in front of the boat. It was spectacular. It was the highlight of the entire vacation. We were so lucky to be in the right place at the right time.

Here's my 29th week of pregnancy to keep up with my updates. Don't be blinded by my whiteness. I wore SPF 50 sunscreen the whole time, so I'm still pastey white. Aaron however has the nicest skin from his mom's side and is nicely tanned. (That makes him sound like a hide! Ha, ha)

This picture was taken on the Pacific Ocean side of the famous arch. You aren't allowed to swim here because of the undertow, rip-tides and dangerous currents. This side is also called "Divorce Beach" while the other calm side is called "Lover's Beach". Allow me to explain...

Although you can't tell by the looks of this picture, the waves here are MASSIVE. Aaron wanted a picture in front of a big wave so we went down for the pose. He kept coaxing me to move further to the water. I was paranoid (for good reason) and kept saying, "that's far enough." He moved us closer. We took our eyes off the ocean for a second and suddenly a big wave came up and took Aaron's feet out from under him. We were holding hands and he pulled me down too. Hence, divorce beach. :)

It was pretty funny actually and everyone was so worried about the "pregnant girl". We had sand everywhere, head to toe. Now it's just a silly memory but I'm glad nothing bad happened.
Aaron caught us a Mahi-Mahi or also name a Dorado. We grilled it up and ate it the whole trip. It was excellent, probably my favorite type of fish I've ever had. Yummy!

Here's the famous Cabo Arch. 

Aaron will hate this picture if he ever sees it but I think it's great! We went parasailing and this is the harness we had to wear.
This is Aaron out all the way. The rope is 600 ft long. So they said approximately 300 ft out and 300 ft up. Look how high that is!
Normally I'm not scared of heights at all, but being up that high with only a little rope to connect you to the boat was a bit freaky for me. It was a little hard to just relax and enjoy it while I kept thinking of falling 300 ft into the shark infested ocean. They say it's like hitting cement you know. Anyway, I'm glad I did it now. I don't think I would've been able to do this in the States being 6 1/2 mo. pregnant, but hey it was Mexico, anything goes there!

Here we are on our last full day there after we went snorkeling. What a beautiful place! 

The Sugar Goal.

I'm still going strong on my no-sugar goal, are you? Aaron officially lasted a week. He came home with ice cream and it was over for him. I know of a couple of others who have started drinking their 'devil-water' (diet coke) again too. Oh look at the little pansies! :) Come on ladies, if you're gonna give up at least drink coke and not DIET coke. Yuck! You're drinking all that cancer-causing sweetener. You know I have to raz ya! I love you guys, even if you're not physically or mentally strong enough to keep up. Ha, ha, ha.  :)

I've been craving juice the most but haven't taken a sip. The valentine's candies are also calling my name but I won't cave! I've started reading my scriptures daily and even walking on my treadmill. I've decided I can't get on the computer until I'm done with both of those things. Hotmail, Facebook and blogs are my 'dirty little secrets' so I reward myself if I get my reading and walking done. We'll see how long it lasts. I'm hoping I can be strong with it. 

So we found out yesterday that the bank accepted the offer on this house. We've got until Feb. 23rd to find a new place to live. There's a house we're looking to rent in Highland or a guy in Heber offered to let us live in a house he just bought (for 6 months) if Aaron finishes the basement. We're trying to stay in Utah County until the baby is born and then who knows where we'll go after that. Life is definitely crazy right now but I hope we can look back on these days and these experiences someday with fondness and be able to laugh about it all. Some people say that financial burdens can hurt a marriage but I don't agree. If anything it has made me look at Aaron in a different light and love and appreciate him even more (I didn't think THAT was even possible). It has brought out his best qualities of hard work, dedication and perseverance. He works so hard to provide for us and I've been able to stand back and see the hand of the Lord in our lives. I'm in awe at the opportunities that have been opened up to us for work. We have grown together and have learned how we both cope with difficulties. We have learned to rely on Heavenly Father and have not been disappointed. It has been hard but I'm so grateful for the experience to live through it and the empathy I've gained for others. I'm so grateful to Aaron for being willing to wake up early in the morning to go to work and come home late at night, sweaty from a hard day's work. I know a lot of men would give up but he is so driven. I can see on his face and the proof in his sweat the love that he has for his family. How blessed we are to have him in our lives! I love and appreciate him so much and I don't think another man exists that's greater than him! He's truly one of my greatest heros! 

Well, this post got a little more personal than I had intended when I started. I only meant to talk about the sugar-free stuff and somehow it turned into that. I get a little emotional when I'm pregnant and just wanted to say how much I really do love and respect Aaron, he's my superman. I'm glad I get to walk through this life with him by my side.

23 Weeks

I'm not taking pictures every week because the change is so slight that it's barely noticeable right now. If it's possible I think my belly actually looks smaller than 2 weeks ago. Trust me that's not the case. I feel huge already. I can't see my feet and I can't eat a lot without having a tough time breathing (but I eat a lot anyway and deal with it). lol. I feel him kicking all the time now but it doesn't hurt yet. The first time Aaron felt him kick he was asleep with his head on my lap. The baby kicked him right in the head. He woke up and said, "Was that the baby?!" It was pretty funny. 

Test your RESOLVE.

Every year I go on a sweet, treat, soda pop, sugary snack break for 1-2 months. I always invite friends, family and blog stalkers to join me. So here's your formal invite. Join me and see if you have the resolve to do it for two months. Last year Aaron lasted 3 days. He's going to try again this year. I don't do this necessarily to lose weight (especially not while I'm pregnant) but that is always a benefit and natural consequence. I figure I might as well reverse all the effects of the crap I eat during the holidays. 

Although I'm not Catholic, this is like my 'LENT'. I think they've got something there, those Catholics. From what I've researched, once a year they have lent. It lasts about a month and ends on Easter I believe. Anywho, they give up a vice for a month and some of them replace that vice with something good. Like, oh I don't know, going to church, reading your scriptures EVERY DAY, keeping the house clean, not raising your voice, writing in a journal, exercising, not watching t.v., whatever it may be. I've never replaced my sugar with anything good so maybe I'll try that this year. Perhaps I'll grow sprouts and eat them instead or read the BOM faithfully everyday or keep my voice down, I don't know yet. I've heard it takes 30 days to start a good habit, so by the end of 2 months it should be well established for sure.  

So if you're not a pansy then do this with me. It's really hard at first. It's amazing how addicted to sugar we all are and you will go through withdrawals in the beginning. But after it's over, the first time you drink some pop or have some sugar it will be so strong and way sugary. Our bodies don't need as much as we eat. I personally don't eat that many sweets and hardly ever drink soda pop but it's still a fun thing to do every year and I know it's beneficial as well so it's win-win. Test yourself and see if you can do this with me. I always lose 10 lbs when I do it, but like I said, being pregnant that's not my goal. In the next 2 months I'll have gained at least that much but my body and baby with thank me for giving up junk food for awhile. 

I'm starting this on February 1st and ending on on April 1st. Don't be a wuss and do it with me! :)

Makell turns 5 today!

My sweet Makell! You have been so fun to have in our family. This year has been especially fun because we've been able to watch you grow and learn. You've been going to The little Redd School House where you've been learning how to read. I've loved being a part of that and seeing the confidence on your face when you read to me. This is the year you learned how to kneeboard too. You flip the handle of the ski rope around and around as you go, it's your own little trick you made up. Makell is flitty and flighty, always dancing around, playing with sisters, friends or by herself. She's got quite an imagination when she plays and is constantly singing little songs she's made up. Makell is tedious and likes to get things just right, she doesn't ever hurry. Sometimes that tries my patience but I see how meticulous you are and love you for it too. You are always fun to be around, always giving hugs and kisses. You are very smart and it's been such a joy to watch you bloom this year. You are beautiful with your big brown eyes and your sweet models-would-die-for big lips. Happy birthday Makell, we love you and can't wait to see what you'll do during this new year!

Makell's 4th birthday.

The next 4 pictures are all in the same year. 2006. You were about 2 1/2 years old.

Daddy used to do your hair every sunday morning.

Flower girl at aunt Mandi's wedding.
In the playhouse Daddy built for you...that was too big to get out the driveway so we had to leave it Ogden. So sad. It was the cutest little house.
5 1/2 Months at Lake Powell. Getting in the spirit of the 4th of July. 
Makell on her blessing day. Olivia got a little overzealous on the kiss! Looks like CPR to me. :) She sure was in love with her little sister!

Our brand new little Makell...

21 weeks belly shots

I've never documented any of my pregnancies but I saw my sister-in-law Mandi do it and she inspired me. Now the world wide web can watch me grow and grow and grow.  Here I'm about 21 weeks along so, roughly halfway. This is nothing folks. As you will see my butt likes to play catch-up with my belly, and they both get very, uh voluptuous. Ha, ha, ha.  I think it's helps me to not fall over frontwards! :) Enjoy the freak show over the next 19 weeks...and then enjoy the transformation back to myself, assuming I've got the stamina to lose 35 lbs for the 5th time!

Jocelyn turns THREE!

Jocelyn had her 3rd birthday on Jan. 6th while we were in Las Vegas. I wanted to post a few other pictures of her as a baby. She has been so fun to have in our family. You'd think that when I saw that we had had another girl that I'd have been a little disappointed. It was the contrary. I was so thrilled to have another little bundle of pink in our home. I love my girls! Jocelyn is a good helper around the house. She loves dolls and puppies. All of her teachers have told us she's the best in her nursery class. She loves to be outside and wants to do everything her big sisters can do. She has been a typical two year old this past year. She has to do things her own way and loves to learn new things. She gets frustrated when she doesn't get what she wants or can't express herself. She is very funny and I wouldn't be surprised if she ends up being a class-clown someday. We're so glad you came to us Joci. We love you more than we can even describe! 

Aaron came into the kitchen to find Joci and Macey making hot chocolate for the entire family. Aw, thanks girls!

This is Jocelyn on her second birthday.




Ice cream mustache. Thanks Daddy!


Our brand new little Jocelyn!


Happy 3rd Birthday Sweetheart! We love you!!!!!!!

Our spur of the moment trip to Las Vegas

We have a time share with Worldmark that lets us go pretty much anywhere. We love it because it allows us to go on spur of the moment trips like this for cheap. My parents and April and her family came with us. We had so much fun. It was still a little cold but anything beats Utah in January! We swam and hot-tubbed and went around Vegas and saw so many fun things. Aaron and I went to see Mystere at Treasure Island. It was one of the most amazing shows I've ever seen. We saw lions and tigers and statues that move, waterfalls, volcanoes, light shows, pyramids, castles, the eiffel tower...the list just goes on and on. It was funny to see people's looks when we showed up with 6 little girls and two pregnant women (April and I). I've never felt like we have a TON of kids until I was there. There was a child for each adult! The only down side was all the smut there too, although they have kept all the men handing out cards to one side of the strip so we just avoided them but we'd still see billboards and ads. Our girls would say, "That girl is dressed immodest." I'm sorry that they saw that stuff even though we avoided it as much as possible. It was a teaching time for us though and we took advantage of telling them how inappropriate it is and how sad Heavenly Father is to see his daughters dress like that. The trip was a great success and the girls are still talking about it!

At the Luxor.
Joci and Brooklyn and Hannah with the M&M.

New York, New York.
Excalibur or more commonly know as "The Princess Castle".
Joci turned 3 in Vegas and we let her believe the whole trip was all for her. :) I even made her a cake in the condo and she got a pretty Barbie that was a hit with her and her sisters and cousins.
We went to Circus Circus and saw fun Circus acts.
Here's Macey freezing in Las Vegas. We were walking outside a lot but luckily she was bundled up in the stroller. (Thanks again Ryan and Jess!)
This was outside at The Flamingo. There are really neat exotic birds there. The girls loved seeing them and chasing them. 
This guy was a cool street dancer/robot. He was so realistic. 
This was at the Bellagio. The music/water show is fantastic. This was one of our favorite things.
At the Silverton there is a huge fish tank and once in a while the mermaids come to feed the fish and visit with the kids. As you can see all the girls loved them. Olivia asked if mermaids were real and we told her they weren't. She was devastated. That would be my dream job, seriously, I love being in water. 

IT'S A BOY!

I wanted to change my background to blue for the announcement of our BIG NEWS but I can't figure out how to change my template without deleting all my widgets. Does anyone know how to do that?
We went in for the ultrasound at 10 this morning. I saw right away that it was a boy but waited the 10 minutes until she checked to make sure all was ok with the baby to verify it with her. She said it's for sure a boy (although we've heard that before!). Aaron squeezed my hand and when I looked at him he had a huge grin across his face. Aaron had called his parents to tell them before we even left the office. He's more than excited and I'm so happy for him. I'm excited too but I'm a little nervous as well. Boys are crazy! I'm just glad he will be last so I will have hopefully gained some more patience by then. Now we're in search of the perfect name. I never thought this would happen so it still seems so unreal to me. I think I need to let it sink in still, I'm not used to saying "he, him" or "his". I'm so excited to see our SON and can't wait to see Aaron with him. He loves his girls and would've been more than happy to have another one but this is something that is so special to him and I'm so happy for us.

I'm sure someday he'll be mortified by this last picture but Aaron wanted to give "proof" that it's real and we (HE) really can make a boy!! :)

Christmas Morning 2008

Here we are showing off our loot.








Our kids slept in until about 7:30 as usual. They were so excited when they saw all the presents under the tree. (Thanks to mom and dad Sharp mostly) After opening all their gifts we sent them on the traditional scavenger hunt for the 'big' present of the year. We got a Wii for that. (Thanks to Mary Ann who paid Aaron extra on a construction job he did for her) I'm sad that Christmas is over but looking forward to getting our house back to normal. Thanks to everyone who helped our family out this year. Our christmas was wonderful, we couldn't have asked for more. Hopefully we can sell all our houses and 2009 will be a bit nicer to us! We love you!!

Christmas Eve Day.

On Christmas Eve day my family came up to our house and we drove a block away to the golf course to go sledding. It was a blast. I don't remember the last time I went sledding and I think this was the girl's first time. They weren't so sure of it at first but when it was time to go they begged to stay, all except Macey who was freezing. It was a pretty steep hill but the three older ones all went by themselves at times.








For you to be able to appreciate this steep hill you must have seen the movie 'Better Off Dead'. This hill is the K-12 in my opinion! Aaron and my dad both took turns going down it which was nigh unto suicide but somehow made it out alive. Fun was had by all then we went home to make scones, and hot chocolate. Then I made a yummy shrimp ceviche before we had our hawaiian haystack feast. We ended off with homemade ice cream and fudge. We played Josh and April's Wii, watched a movie and ended off with a spiritual lesson. It was such a fun day. I was so happy that almost my whole family was here. Mark and Jody and their kids went to Indiana to see Jody's family. I just love my family so much and I love spending time with them. Thank you for all coming. Let's do it again in 2010!






After my family left we ended off the day by opening our new pj's from grandma and papa Sharp.

Black Eye compliments of Church Ball

Aaron came home with this shiner a couple weeks ago. The first pic was a couple days later when it just looked really bad, the second was the night of when is was all swollen. Apparently he was going up for a shot and got elbowed in the face. He was bleeding all over so you'd think there would've been a foul called but nope. Not to mention not even an apology. Oh well, boys will be boys. I told him he needed stitches but it's healed up quite nicely with a homemade butterfly bandaid.

Polar Express House in Lindon

There's the coolest house in Lindon that is set up like the Polar Express. There's a little train that you sit in and ride all around the block. While we waited for our turn we watched The Polar Express in a theatre (garage) and had "hot, hot, hot chocolate" and ate snacks. Half way through our train ride we stopped at the 'North Pole' and got to see santa. The girls loved it!

Some christmas-time moments.

Olivia is teaching Makell to read. Ah, the sweet rewards of teaching HER, now she teaches them

I don't know how Aaron's going to be able to fit one more in his arms! Good thing they come small!

Winter Fun

Olivia and Makell were out trying to catch snow on their tongues while Jocelyn and Macey were inside drinking hot chocolate in front of the fireplace.

I have nothing to really blog about, but since this is like a journal then I better write something. Pella paid completely to have our van repaired and the guy who hit us was fired. They wouldn't/couldn't tell me who he was (privacy policy) so I never did get to look him in the eyes and ask for an apology. Pella apologized for his behavior several times which was wonderful of them however it's not the same as it would be to hear it from him. So why are we all so concerned about hurting feelings and keeping things so "private"? Especially of people like that? Why can't it be public knowledge of exactly who is doing what. Why do we have to be so dang politically correct about everything? I think they should be flogged in public or cut off a little finger. SOMETHING to dissuade them from repeating their actions. Our society cracks me up or depresses me is a better phrase I suppose. If we would stand up for right and put down the wrong then we'd probably still have prayer in schools, people would say Merry Christmas instead of Happy Holidays, women would not be able to senselessly and brutally murder their unborn babies and marriage would still be considered a holy and only correct union. I know that most people in the U.S. are Christians. Why don't we all stand up and insist on what is right and good. Is it because we feel that we need to be Christ-like and not hurt anyone's feelings? Yes we should be Christ-like and God-like in the fact that we love everyone. But I seem to remember a little story in the Bible about a God that sent plagues, turned the water to blood, sent fiery hailstones, and killed the first-born child. He LOVES everyone but He also gets sick of all the horrible things that wicked people do and tells them to knock it off. It scares me to death to raise my children in this world today. How much worse will it get? How many more evils will we let people get away with because we don't dare or don't have the law behind us to stop them? How many of us KNOW what is right but don't have the courage to voice it? I'm so grateful to have a still, small voice to help me. I will teach my children right and then hope they will always stand in holy places, always stand for righteousness and what is good. I'm sure we will be hated and persecuted for standing up for right but someday there will be and end, I mean a real END. And then we will all stand before our Maker and be judged on that great and dreadful day. It is my sincere hope and prayer that on that day that my family and I stand before God that we will be found worthy to be in His presence and be able to stay with Him. Together forever.
I realize that this post may sound a bit peculiar to those who do not share my same beliefs. That it sounds like the ranting of a religious fanatic. Unfortunately religion is becoming peculiar and something to mock at. I am happy to be a peculiar person. I feel true and honest peace inside when I do what I know is right. There is no guilt, no turning on the radio all the time so I don't have to be left alone with my own thoughts. I know this is right. I don't share the strong testimony I have inside of me often because of the nervousness I feel to stand in front of a congregation, but that doesn't mean it's not there. I have always known the gospel of Jesus Christ is true. I absolutely cannot deny it. When I take the time to sit quietly and ponder it, it is confirmed again and again to me. I just know it and I don't doubt it. I'm so grateful it's in my life.
Well, I guess I did have something to blog about after all! Have a great day and a wonderfully Merry Christmas!

We got side-swiped by a drunk driver!

So we were on our way back from CAL Ranch's grand opening in West Jordan yesterday at around 5pm. Now anyone living in Utah County knows that 5:00 is not the time you want to be on the road. Not because of drunk drivers, of course not, but because of the horrid traffic jams! We finally made it down I-15 to our Alpine/Highland exit. We took it and were merrily on our way home. Makell was asleep, Macey was crying and I was trying to console her and the other girls were just hanging out. We were completely stopped in traffic when out of the blue this big white Pella van coming the other way swerved right at us. Luckily he only broke out our driver's side mirror but by the sound of it you'd think he ripped off the entire side of the van! Aaron made an instant U-turn and we were in pursuit! I figured the guy would pull over but he didn't. We got up on his passenger side and motioned for him to pull over. He saw we were there and then just kept going. It was obvious that something was wrong with him. He was totally out of it, nodding off and swerving all over the road. I gave him the benefit of the doubt and said he was probably in a diabetic shock or something. I thought for sure he'd kill himself or someone else. We called 911 and reported the incident and were told to follow him until the police pulled him over. He got on I-15 southbound and we followed but he had run a red light so we were a ways behind. He took the Lehi exit and so did we but got stuck at 2 red lights and lost him. We kept driving for a while but couldn't find him. The police called and told us to meet them to fill out a police report. When we met the officer he told us they'd finally caught him in Eagle Mountain!! I can't believe he got that far and I can't believe he didn't kill someone. They found him intoxicated. What a LOSER!!!! How can people do that?! He could've killed a father, a pregnant mother and 4 small children! It just makes me so mad and sick! He'll probably get off easy too. Piece of crap!!!
I called Pella (he was driving the company van so I assume he works for them) today and left a message. I told them that I want to bring my entire family in and I expect to get a major apology from the LOSER himself. I do not hold Pella responsible or liable in any way, (other than they obviously need to screen their employees better). I hold this jerk totally responsible for drinking himself into an idiot and then taking other people's lives into his hands. If you know anyone who drinks and drives, do me a favor...punch them in the face (and then the cajones) for me!

Soon to be Seven Strong!

Well, I guess it's finally time to announce that we're having another baby. It wasn't something we planned but we're very excited to be bringing another special spirit into our home. Before I knew I was pregnant I kept feeling like someone was missing. I would have all my girls in the room and kept looking around for someone else. So I wasn't too surprised to see 2 lines on the pregnancy test. I went in for my first doctor's appointment last monday. The midwife wasn't able to find the heartbeat and had to go get the ultrasound machine. While she was gone getting the machine I realized how much I already love this baby and was praying we'd see a heartbeat on the ultrasound. It took a minute (one of the longest of my life) but we did finally see the little flicker of a heartbeat. We can't wait for June to be able to hold our little one in our arms!

Aaron's 29th Birthday!

We headed down to the Tuacahn in St. George to see Big River. It was awesome! If you've never been before I highly recommend it. Tickets are decently priced and there's a dinner before. If you go on a wednesday night, like we did, it's considered "date night" and you get free popcorn and 2 sodas. We got there early to check out the place. A little old lady gave us a ride up to the theatre from the parking lot and told us stories and showed us some crazy rock formations that we're still not sure were even there. Aaron says when he's a little old man he wants to mess around with youngsters like that. You know like say "Do you see the indian wearing his head-dress riding on that horse? It's right there next to the big frog..." Whether it's there or not he wants to see how many people would say, "Oh yeah, I totally see it!" just because he's a cute old man. Anyway we were there from about 5:30 p.m. until 11:00 p.m. We got back to the hotel, put on our swimsuits and walked out the door just in time to see them locking the pool and hot tubs for the night. D'oh!



Thursday, which was Aaron's official birthday we headed downtown to the St. George temple. My parents were married there so it was really special for me to be there in the same rooms I imagine they had been in 38 years or so ago. Then we made the trek back home and Aaron went straight to play softball. They kept winning and ended up playing 3 games so he didn't get home until around 10:30 p.m. That's what he loves to do though so I hope it made his birthday even better.
I love you Aaron! Thanks for letting me share your amazing life with you. Happy Birthday! Hopefully we've got many more to come!

Our alone day hike in Lake Powell.

At the end of August we went to Lake Powell again. My parents watched the girls for us while we went on an amazing (scary) hike. We rode on the wave runner over to Lost Eden then crawled up the sandstone. This is usually impossible because of how low the water normally is. But this year it was high enough to venture to unknown places. These pictures are very deceiving. In the first one we are about 15 feet up from the water. The wave runner is down there, you just can't see it.
The rest of this post is more like a journal entry. You're welcome to read it but it is just thoughts and feelings of mine.
We hiked through a bit of sand once on top. There were jagged cliffs around us and we could tell the water carved through here during flash floods.
We had a rope to pull one another up ledges (Aaron is not light FYI). A couple of different times we had to scoot across v-necked sandstone. 15-20 feet below us were large holes filled with water and rocks. We waded through ponds and at the end Aaron swam across a very cold pond. He could not see nor touch the bottom. He encouraged me to come but I said I had had enough adventure. Looking at the other side I didn't think we'd be able to get up the wall, which ended up being the case. The pictures of Aaron straight up and down in the rocks was as far as we (he) went. I was happy that I hadn't gone because when he came back across the abyss I had to pull him up with the rope. He had nothing to stand on and there was about 3 feet of sheer rock to get up. There were no hand-holds and it was smoother than smooth. I began to think later what would've happened if I would've swam across too? He never could've lifted me up onto the ledge to get back out. Have you ever tried lifting something real heavy out of the water when you can't touch the bottom? All you do is sink. Scary to think of. If that was the worst thing that happened though I would stop right there. It gets worse. On our way back we had to cross the same chasms. I remember thinking while going across the first time "Crap, I've got to come back over this on the way back!"
We came to the final big V-neck (or H-neck if you will since it had a large opening at the bottom) to cross. Aaron went first (thankfully in hindsight). I'm not that tall 5'3" to be exact as you can see from the first time crossing I am stretched to practically fingertips and that wasn't the widest part. My ankles were at a painful angle and my shoes were slipping. At one point I just couldn't go anymore. I've never felt the way I did then at any other point in my life. I looked at Aaron standing 4 feet away and then looked down at the jagged cliffs and rocks 20 feet below. It wouldn't have been a nice straight down fall. I was sure I would've banged my head several times before ending up at the bottom. I'll tell you what, when people say your life flashes before your eyes before you die they're lying. I honestly thought I was going to die and I was only worried that Aaron would try to save me and die too. I've had a couple of near death experiences before (almost rolling our Ford Bronco down a ravine when I was 17 and one other time on my mission while we were hiking around with heavy backpacks on slippery rocks above a waterfall-the angels were with me that time) but they happened in a split second and I never had time to actually think about dying until afterward. This time was different. I didn't think of my loved ones and their futures, I just thought that it was really going to hurt like heck and I was scared. I was shaking and sweating and couldn't move. All I could hear was my heartbeat rushing in my ears. Aaron could see that I was scared and panicking. He calmly told me to look at him and asked me if I could move. I tried but I really think I was in shock at that point. Then my loving husband leaned as far as he could on tippy toes and put his hands on either side of the wall just under my feet. "Use my hands as a foot hold," he said. I was scared his hands would slip if I put any weight on them but I had no other choice. I inched my way the remaining few feet and finally got down. I hugged him, shaking like crazy. I told him I thought I was going to die. He kind-of smiled. I don't think he really realized how close I was to letting myself fall because I had no strength left. It was so scary for me and pretty stupid too, I shouldn't have pushed my limits that far. Anyway, it's over and I'm still here but I won't be doing that ever, ever again.

Here's our second trip to Lake Powell for the year. Out of my entire family only my parents came so we only needed one house boat. As you can see it was a blast as usual. This is one of our favorite places on earth!


Family Picture at a place that we named "Witch Wart Bay". There were little round rocks stuck to the sandstone that looked like warts.






Early morning sunrise. This was our last day.















Olivia with the wind blowing through her hair.






























My mom with Makell and Jocelyn
















Makell on the knee board.














Aaron doing a back flip off the wave runner.














My dad on the knee board.














Sweet cheeks Macey.

Makell and those tomatoes!

Have you ever met a four year old who loves tomatoes as much as her? She eats them like apples. Although she always makes me cut her apples. Silly girl.

I finally got around to adding some more wedding pictures. The first one is right after we got engaged up at Bear Lake. Do you think I could be happier? Life just kept getting better from here on out. I love this man!

I obviously need to put some better pictures on this post but that will have to wait seeing how I'm already a few days behind on it.
We had our 7 year anniversary on Sept 8th so I wanted to do a small tribute to our marriage. I think we have the best in the world. My husband is amazing and I still find myself questioning why he picked me. I'm the luckiest girl on earth. I am so blessed to have such a kind, funny, humble (surprise, surprise to those of you who think you know him, it's a front, he's actually very humble), loving, giving, wonderful man. I know he's the best husband in the world and best father hands down. My mom said to me once, "I don't know how you ever lived without him." I said back to her, "I didn't." Aaron has brought "life" to my life and has filled it with love and kindness. I adore him and am so blessed to have him forever and ever. These past 7 years have passed like 7 minutes, now I know why our loving Heavenly Father lets us be together forever. I'm so glad eternity is a long time! I love you Aaron!

Family Picture Time...always a pleasure.

After the family reunion we went back over to my aunt Karma's house to take some family pics on her gorgeous back lawn. Out of seriously about 40 pictures these were the ones that turned out.
































































My kids say "gross" when they see this one. I just laugh. I remember thinking the same thing, when does it change from gross to good? In their cases I hope it's not until they're 20! :)

Saturday August 16th we went to the annual Earl and Judith Kenney Reunion in Fillmore. The men went to play golf while the women and children went to a park.

Here's my mom playing with Joceyln on the slides.












Here are a couple of cute kids...can't remember their names but I know I'm related to them.










Jill, Karma (middle), and Ruth (end). The other two girls married cousins of mine and I'm awful because I can't remember names. Sorry girls, love ya though. :)










Aunt Ruth getting ready for our humanitarian project.














My dad taking Olivia, Makell and Joci over to the "big" swings. So cute!















After playing at the park we all went to the church to have lunch. There were 2 bouncy houses there which kept the kids busy.















Macey





Olivia and Hyrum making geckos out of beads to be sent to the soldiers in Iraq to give to the children there.





As you can see Aaron was having a blast!













Aunt Karma helping Olivia and Julia make geckos.















Dianne and Mariah and Adam.














My mom and April













Uncle Mark, my dad and my uncle Joe







Uncle Lloyd and Bretton

Church Softball

Last time Aaron played against this team they lost by a point. They had something to prove this time...and they proved it. They beat them 31-5! Yahoo! (Just givin' ya a hard time Josh). Josh, my brother-in-law was on the other team, not to mention almost the whole team Aaron plays with in the city league. It was funny to see him play against them instead of with them. Good job babe!




See that smile? He loves this!

Not looking our best here, but still needed a picture to document it.

Hooked at the hip...when they're not fighting anyway.

See the ladybug? She let it crawl on her for a bit then got freaked out and flipped it off her hand.

Macey tried to hold it too but was just squishing it between her fingers!

As you can see she was not too happy when we took it away from her.

She got over it when we gave her some animal crackers.


Jocelyn climbing the fences.

No I'm not on the team, we just stayed around a little longer and played. I managed to hit the ball a few times, something I haven't done since I was about 12 years old. I was pretty impressed I could even hit it. (I was impressed Aaron took pictures too! Now why can't he take them when I've got makeup on?)

You can definitely tell Macey is the baby. Almost all the pictures are of her. I don't have favorites, I love all my girls the same. The older ones just run off and play and Mace can't go very far yet.

Logan High 15 year class reunion.

Wow, even just writing the title for this post makes me feel like a geezer. I thought I'd be dead at thirty, let alone thirty-three! Seriously, in high school I figured thirty was knocking on death's door, but here I am and I'm not dead, I feel great actually. "I'm not dead yet." Now if you can name me the movie that quote comes from then you probably graduated a long time ago too.






The reunion was really fun. The food was mmmm, mmmm good. (So much better than 5 years ago!) The company was great too. Aaron of course, my number one and then we sat next to Lisa Johnson and Kristi Davenport and Chrissi (don't know her last name now) and a few others throughout the night. It was fun to see everyone (well not everyone came but some) again. The atmosphere was nice and it seemed like everyone had a good time. I think Aaron was bored out of his mind but at least Luke was there for him to talk to. Thanks again for coming babe! So here are a few pics. Remember if you click on them they will get big so you can actually see faces in the group picture. Several people had already left so it's too bad someone didn't suggest the group pic earlier. Oh well, we'll do that in 5 more years!

Oh thank heaven for little girls and boats!

On saturday we went out on Utah Lake again. Ryan Hamilton has been staying with us for a few days until his parents move here from Pendleton Oregon. He's going to be a football/baseball/basketball star so he had to come early for practices. Anyway, there's a cute picture of him holding Macey on this post. The girls adore him and are constantly jumping all over him. So we took Ryan and another young man from the ward. We all got to get in. The water wasn't great but it was still boardable. (Yes, I know that's not a word). Even Olivia and Makell got up on the knee board. (Makell's first time and it was HER idea!) I was very proud.

Olivia, Makell and I had a post-birthday 'girl's night out'. I took them to IHOP. Everyone loves breakfast especially when you get a pancake with a face on it! After dinner we went shopping to get Joci a treat since she didn't get to come with us. The girls picked her out a bunch of flavored candy sticks.


Joci kept coming into our room so after the third time Aaron locked the door. When I went to get a drink of water later this is what I found. She must've been trying to watch us from under the door. She probably got mesmerized by the light of the t.v. and fell asleep. Aaron carried her to bed. It must be weird falling asleep somewhere and waking up somewhere totally different.

Olivia's 6th Birthday

Aaron's 10 year high school reunion.

This past weekend was spent in Pendleton, Oregon. Aaron had his 10 year reunion so we left the girls with Grandma and Papa Sharp in Idaho and made the drive without them. It was so nice to spend 7 1/2 hours straight with him with no interruptions! His cell phone even died at the beginning of the trip so there we were just the two of us. It was one of the best road-trips of my life! We talked and laughed and sang and reminisced and dreamed together. Every once in a while Wanda (that's what Aaron named the GPS) would tell us where to go but that was it. The drive was over before we knew it and we were in Pendleton. The view from the top of the pass was breathtaking. You're so high you can see the checkerboard quilt of all the fields! After the descent into the valley (and popping our ears a thousand times) Aaron showed me around his town. It was so fun to relive old memories with him and talk with old friends. One family in particular were the Megehee's. We stopped and talked with Allyson and her family for a bit. They were so nice and other than my own in-laws I've never seen more doting grandparents. They love that little Jack! The picture is with Allyson and unfortunately the only one we took the entire time. We had the camera in the car the whole time but just never got it back out again darn it.



The reunion was held in the Let 'er Buck room which apparently is infamous for alcohol and wild parties...we'll it didn't disappoint. Of course we only drank water or pepsi (which frankly is the "hard stuff" in our book). We had a great time catching up with old classmates and friends. Aaron was in his element as he went around saying hi and talking to everyone. At one point he came back laughing. Apparently some classmates were joking with him asking him when he was going to work at the 'Chip and Dales' (is that even how you spell that? How would I know?) Anyway, we had a good laugh over that one. I always thought he was one hot babe but apparently he should be getting paid for it!!! Bring on those one dollar bills-no wait, make that 100 dollar bills! Ha, ha. For a reference as to what he was wearing to merit such a comment see the picture on this post. He just makes everything look good! Anyway, we had a blast there and at the picnic the next day. It was good for him to be back and fun for me to see where he grew up. We'll be back in 10 more years!!

American Fork Days

We went over to American Fork to their Steele Days. We started out watching the children's play "Beauty and the Beast". Then we went swimming (oops no camera) and then went to the carnival. Joci didn't come to the carnival because it was late and she was going to sleep. They loved the rides!

Macey's 1st Birthday

So I'm posting these a little late but better late than never. I can't believe my baby is 1. It seems like she was born just a few weeks ago. Time has flown by. Is that why I'm getting wrinkles?
This was my attempt at a ladybug. Of course everything has to be pink. That's what happens when you've got 4 girls!

Fun in the Sun at Grandma's and Papa's

This honestly has to be my all time favorite trip to my in-laws. We went to Shelley Idaho and stayed with them for a week. My wonderful mother-in-law (who I dearly adore!!!) watched the girls and I got to go work with Aaron. Not that I don't love my kids but it sure is nice to get away from them once in a while and just be with Aaron. Actually Olivia was helping too (more than me at times) and we thought it was fun spending some alone time with her. She worked very hard. We made a playhouse, Abby's (the dog) shelter and 3 shelters for the cows up at the ranch. I can't believe I forgot to take pictures of 'The Ranch', it's gorgeous there. 48 acres of beauty. 3 horses (but our favorite is Roxy) and lots of cows. The view is spectacular, the weather was great and the thought of that hot tub on the deck doesn't hurt either.
Thanks mom and dad Sharp for having us. It was so fun, you probably couldn't tell by all the bruises I got from working but I had a great time.
We all got to be in the 4th of July ad for CAL Ranch. Here the girls are running through the sprinklers for the commercial/paper.
Makell has the cutest buns in the world!
Thanks again for the 'swimoot' Aunt Chewey!
Sweet cheeks cheeser.
Aaron on one of the many of Papa's toys.
Olivia and Macey on G&P's front porch. Macey got to watch as the other girls ran through the sprinklers. It's so hard being little!
Olivia and Gizzy. I love this picture.
Aunt Mandi got matching pink overalls for all the girls. They are so cute, thanks Mandi.
We took the new boat out for a spin. The girls all got in and swam around until they had blue lips. It was COLD. Aaron entertained us with a few backflips off the back of the boat. We kept wishing we had brought our wakeboards with us!! Darn it.

Saratoga Splash

This day started out with a bike ride down to the park to watch the wakeboarding competition. I'm sure it would've been good but they started 2 hours late so we left just as it began. Sleepy little girls don't care about wakeboarding apparently. After that we went to the carnival (which wasn't so much a carnival but just a bunch of bouncy toys). Then we went home and Aaron made us all his famous lemon chicken.
Yum! I ate too much of it as usual but worked some of it off walking down to the parade. I thought it was smart that a dentist's float was first and they threw out toothbrushes. Of course we had bags of candy after that. The day finished up with a concert and fireworks. It was so nice spending the entire day with Aaron and most of my side of the family.Here's Aaron, Jocelyn and Macey at the concert that night. Ryan Shupe and the Rubber Band played who I LOVE. They are hilarious in concert! I actually have one of their songs on my playlist for this blog called 'Dream Big'. Click on it and you can hear them. They played that song and it's even better in person.
This is one of my favorite pics of Macey. I love that big two-toothed grin!
There were a bunch of bouncy toys there that the girls had a blast on. Makell is thoroughly enjoying it here.
As is Olivia here. I got some of Joci too but they didn't turn out too well.
Macey fell asleep in Aaron's arms. There wasn't anything for her to do so I can't blame her.
I love this picture! You can see the adoration in my dad's eyes for his granddaughter. He would tickle her with his whiskers and she'd laugh. It was very cute.
Olivia and Mariah (Dianne's 2nd to oldest) at the concert.

Movie Night at the Park

It's time to play catch-up. We went to see The Waterhorse at the park about 3 weeks ago. Aaron was gone to Youth Conference so I ventured out on my own with the girls. It was a blast. It got pretty cold so we left around 11pm.

Our Sprint Triathlon

We did a sprint triathlon on June 14th in Pleasant Grove. It was awesome! Aaron had already done one in Salt Lake but this was my first one. We ran a 5K, biked 8.5 miles then swam 500m. Aaron was on a relay with his mom. He ran and biked and she finished off with the swim. I did all the events and am thankfully still alive to write this post! No really, it was fun and I'm looking forward to our next one we're planning in September. Come join us!!!

Here we are before it all began.
















Here are the triathletes! It was so fun having Aaron's mom with us. She was amazing! She trained hard for it and did great, so I hear anyway. She was done and out of the pool before I even started swimming. Excellent!
Here I am during the swim. It was so nice that they had it last. It felt good to jump in the cool water after running and biking. Pretty gross to think of all the sweat in there!! Blah, but that was the last thing on my mind at the time. I was only trying to "just keep swimming, just keep swimming..."Aaron and I right after I finished.
Aaron and his Mom with their awards. They took 2nd place out of all the relays. I couldn't be more proud of both of them!
Out of approximately 200 people Aaron and his mom came in 70th and I came in 145th. I accomplished both of my goals, to finish and not to be last. Yahoo!!

Lake Powell

Olivia's Kindergarten Graduation

FHE in the Emergency Room.

These first two are before the stitches, after the bleeding stopped.


These two were taken when Aaron brought her home. The cut went all the way through! Aaron said that when they cleaned it with a stream of salt-water he could see it spraying through on the inside too. She ended up getting 4 stitches on the outside and one inside. They didn't have to sedate her but they had to put both her arms behind her in a pillow case then lay her on a board and strap across her arms and legs. She got 4 shots inside the wound to numb it. Aaron said she complained a bit but did a good job of keeping her head still. The fourth stitch must have hit a part that wasn't numb because she cried and kept saying "Ow hurt, owie hurt". He said the inside stitch hurt her as well. It took about 5 minutes to stitch her up and we go back in 5 days to have them removed. She's acting normal today and slept great last night. Poor baby!

Jocelyn's trip to the emergency room.

So it's 12:12 am and I'm sitting here waiting for Aaron to call me from the emergency room to tell me what's happening with Jocelyn. She split her face open on the coffee table tonight while we were having family-home-evening. She was just dancing around and tripped. I saw her face bounce off the corner and knew it was going to be bad. The blood was dripping down her neck by the time I got her to the bathroom. Sorry about the graphic details but I'm sure she'll want to know them when she reads this later. She has a huge gaping hole. I've never seen anything so gross before. I can't tell if it goes all the way through to the other side or not though. I just knew she'd have to have stitches. We loaded everyone up in the van then decided to leave the other 3 girls with a neighbor.
First we stopped at the urgent care who informed us that they usually can do stitches but she would need sedation and plastic surgery to repair it. Our second stop was at my parents house for a blessing (they live about 2 blocks from the hospital) then off to the emergency room we went. If you've ever been to an emergency room you already know that it takes FOREVER to actually see a doctor. Good thing the bleeding had stopped already. They just take their sweet time there. Anyway, after about 20 minutes they called us in and got some info and then sent us back out to wait another 25 minutes. We decided that I should come home and get the girls and Aaron would stay with Joci. She cried for me when I left, it was heart breaking. Aaron's cell phone is dead so I can't call him to see what's going on and I'm a worry wart so I can't sleep either. We were told that the doctor at the American Fork hospital would take a look at it then if he didn't feel confident enough then they'd send us up to Salt Lake City to Primary Children's Hospital. I guess it's a pretty serious laceration because it goes from the skin on her face into the lip-color part so they have to be sure to sew it just right so her lip line will still look normal. Poor baby. She didn't cry too much considering the severity and was getting ready to fall asleep at the hospital when I left. She's a trooper. I'm worried about her being sedated. I've never even been "put under" before so it makes me real nervous to think of a 2 year old going through that. I hope everything will be alright and that Aaron will call soon. It's past 12:30 now and still nothing. I'll update as soon as I know.

Triathlon/5K at the U of U on April 26th

Here are a few pics of Aaron's triathlon he did and the 5K I did with my friend Kyra. We had a great time.

Aaron started out with a 300 meter swim.

In this picture he had just finished the swim and was running to get his bike. He saw me and winked, can you see it? That's my man!


Next he did an 8 mile mountain-bike ride in the hills where he got 2 flat tires. He changed them quickly and still finished that strong and fast.

He finished running a 5K (3.1 miles). His over all time was just over an hour. Good job babe! I'm so proud of him, he's an inspiration!

Here's my friend Kyra and me. I hope she doesn't mind me putting a picture on here of her. We ran the 5K together. She recently had knee surgery and still kicked butt!

I ended up running it in 30 min. I was happy with 10 minute miles considering this is the first time I've ran since middle school and only trained for 3 weeks.

Here we are after our races. Aaron and I are looking forward to the next triathlon we're doing together on June 14th. I'm going to attempt it so tune in for more pics then and wish me luck!

My Macey Moo

I went into her room and found that she had fallen asleep hugging her bear.

I gave her a few ramen noodles and she loved them. She'd get a little in her mouth and then suck in the rest. It was so funny.

Tulip Festival at Thanksgiving Point

A friend of mine invited me to Thanksgiving Point last week. I in turn invited April who invited my mom. We had so much fun and took a LOT of pictures. See for yourself...

Tagged Again...

I guess it's a good thing I'm such an interesting person. lol
Thanks to my good friend Lisa you all get to learn a little bit more about me.

How long have you been together? It will be 7 years this September. Yeah-Lucky number 7!
How long did you date? Before we were engaged or married? We dated 1 1/2 months, got engaged then got married 1 1/2 months after that. It was 3 months total-to the day! June 8th to Sept. 8th
How old is he? 28 although I wish he were older so my kids would stop making fun of me. "You're older than dad!" they keep reminding me.
Who said ‘I love you’ first? Aaron did. I think I said "thanks". My "I love you" wasn't far behind though.
Who is taller? Aaron, by a foot.
Who is smarter? I'd have to say he is because he married me! :) He probably really is smarter than me, he graduated from college and I didn't. Not yet anyway. He's very smart at figuring things out like sudoku. He likes math and I like english.
Who does the laundry? Me, although once in a blue moon (every 4 years or so) Aaron will throw a load in. Especially if I haven't done whites for a while!
Who does the dishes? Me again but occasionally he'll load the dishwasher. He does rinse his cereal bowl out every morning though.
Who sleeps on the right side of the bed? Depends, if you're at the foot of the bed looking at it then it's Aaron. However if you're actually in the bed then it's me.
Who pays the bills? I used to until we bought a ton of houses, now he does it all. Ever since our second year of marriage I think he's done it.
Who mows the lawn? Well, when we happen to live in a house that actually has a lawn then Aaron does. I think I mowed it twice in Ogden. As a side note- Don't mow in cream colored pants!!
Who cooks dinner? Me most of the time. However he's been cooking this amazing lemon/garlic chicken on the grill lately and I'd love to let him just have that job.
Who is more stubborn? Neither one of us really. It just depends on what. We pretty much agree on just about everything so it's easy.
Who kissed who first? Aaron FINALLY kissed me. Just kidding babe. I don't remember the day but I do remember I was right in the middle of a sentence. I was talking about cavemen dragging their women around by their hair. (Don't ask me why) It was a sunday and we were watching 'A Walk in the Clouds' obviously we weren't paying attention to it though.
Who asked who out? Aaron asked me out (he didn't know my name or number and put in a lot of effort to find me. That's a whole other story.)
Who proposed? He did at Bear Lake in front of his whole family. It wasn't a planned thing. He didn't have the ring or anything. He just felt like he should do it and Ryan helped with encouragement. (Thanks again Ry- I still think I should've name a kid after you!) The ring came a couple of weeks later when we went to the temple together. I think that's when I finally SAID yes too. The first time he only got two thumbs up- I was too emotional to talk.
Who is more sensitive? Actually I'm gonna have to say Aaron is. He's real sentimental and romantic and I'm not, usually. If he forgot my birthday or our anniversary I don't think it'd even phase me. I don't get bent out of shape over things like that.

So now I tag Gabrielle, Alyson, Jessica, Staci, Heather and Jane Ellen. Have fun!

Let's go fly a kite...

Last night my family came over for a 'family home evening'. It was a blast. We ate yummy food and flew pretty kites on the golf course and then went swimming down at the pool here. Aaron's 'canon-ball' was similar to a tsunami and my mom's backflip off the diving board can't go unmentioned either. I took the camera to the pool but left it in the van. Oops. I only got a few pictures of the kites and a few kids. I was too busy having fun with my family to take pictures. It seems like when I spend the whole time taking pictures I miss out on all the fun family togetherness so I let it go this time-but now I regret not having pictures of the whole thing. Aaron spent almost the entire night in the garage trying to fix our waverunner with the help of my dad. It still won't work and now he wants to "sink it to the bottom of Lake Powell!" The girls and I had a blast flying kites off the green. Macey loved just crawling around on the soft grass. It was so warm yesterday, it was just perfect. Today the weather has turned cold again so I'm really glad we got out yesterday and enjoyed the first really warm day of the year. I can't wait for more!

Here are a few of Dianne's kids flying their kites. Adam, Brigham and Mariah.

This is Olivia's kite. Super pink and girly of course. I actually flew it later on and it went so high I ran out of string. She took a nose dive and got caught on the neighbor's roof. We had to cut it down.

Olivia fighting against the wind.

Brigham helping Jocelyn down from the green.

My parents got these kites when they went to China years ago. We've been trying to get together to fly them for a long time and tonight we finally did. Too bad my dad and Aaron were stuck in the garage and didn't get to see them in flight. These eagles were the coolest, especially how my mom took the picture just as they crossed paths and were next to the moon. Great picture mom! Let's do it again sometime!

Serenity

This is kind of a random post. It had just started raining on the other side of the lake. I loved how the water turned this beautiful green color and then just blended into the rain. It was one of those still, quiet moments that you get to enjoy every once in a while and look at the beautiful world we have. It looked like a water color painting of the lake. It was much better in person, but you get the idea.

Utah Lake in March pictures.

Here are some pictures of our first boat trip of the year that I wrote about in my last post. Notice the snow on the mountains behind Aaron. He's crazy!

More boat pictures.

It was cold enough that we needed blankets, but that doesn't stop Aaron.

Here he is getting ready to get in. Brrrrrrrrrrrr!

Kell sitting on the back of the boat.

Macey has to sit in a jumper attached to the wakeboard tower or she'd crawl right out or fall over when we stop or go. It works so well. Aaron thinks it makes our boat look "ghetto". But it works so....
I love the in-your-face look on her face it's like she's saying, "Bring It!"

Nice 'rooster tail' Aaron. See the snow? The water was freezing. He was red everywhere the wet suit didn't cover.
Have you noticed that I am the photographer, driver, and babysitter-all at the same time? It's a good thing we were the only ones on the lake. But seriously who else would even contemplate going out to ski yet? The lake only thawed a few weeks ago!

Aaron has this funny habit. When he gets ready to do a big jump or cuts really hard he unconsciously holds his breath and puffs his cheeks out. If you click on this picture to make it bigger you can see his cheeks. It cracks me up.

Water, Agua, H2O... however you say it, it still spells F-U-N!

I haven't been on here for a while. Time for a new post, although I hate to write anything after that last one- man it was a good one wasn't it? My favorite so far.
So Aaron took a day off from the grind yesterday so I could get my visiting teaching done. We went to IHOP. Tell you what, you hop in but roll back out. Gluttony was the big winner! Yeah gluttony!
When I got back we took the girls down to the pool. Makell is learning how to swim without her floaty swimsuit. She's doing pretty well. That being said, there will always be lifejackets on in the boat (besides the fact it's the law) and at Lake Powell. Olivia was excited because we let her play hooky and miss school because some of her friends were at the pool too. After being in the warm water for so long I think Aaron had wishful thinking for the water in the lake to be warm too. So we took the boat out for her first voyage of the year. The girls and I were all huddled under blankets and Aaron was in a wet suit. He's crazy. He skied first then we cruised around for a while so he could warm up then he got back in the icy water to wake board. It didn't last long as the wind promptly picked up. For those of you who know Utah Lake you know how the water can get as soon as the wind blows. For those of you who don't, just try to imagine big waves slamming into your boat. It's seriously insane how quickly it can change. We decided to call it a day and came in. We all got a little burned. Everyone else's will turn into a tan. I however will peel and be just as white. At the end of the year last year Makell said, "Daddy's brown, Olivia's brown, I'm brown, Jocelyn is brown but Mommy is white." Pathetic. I can thank my own mom for my pasty whiteness. Yeah, thanks. :)
Today I've got cub scouts. I'm trying to find a sitter because Aaron is staying the night down at Yuba Lake again. He's been building some cabins for Uncle Gary down there and has decided to sleep over a couple of times because of the cost of gas. Last time (monday) he woke up at 1AM freezing so this time he took two sleeping bags, warm socks, a big blanket, his hoodie, and I think gloves too. I hope he stays warm. He starts his fire with the blow torch at night to cook dinner on and warm up a bit before bed. Such a good little boy scout. Who needs lighter fluid when you've got a blow torch? We've been watching a show on the Discovery channel called "I Shouldn't Be Alive". It's awesome, I highly recommend it, however now I've become very paranoid about him being alone in the middle of nowhere. Not to mention being in the middle of Utah Lake with 4 little girls, freezing water and big waves. I know I'm just a worry wart but I don't think I'd be a real mom if I wasn't always worrying about something.

My Wife is Amazzzzing!!

As many of you know, I married way above myself. Bonnie has changed my life so much since we were married. I say changed as a good thing. I fall in love with her more each and everyday. I sometimes sit back and watch her and wonder why she choose me. She is very good to me and a great mother of our four children. She does an amazing job of teaching them the gospel. It does help that we were blessed with great children. I think that with the trials we are going through, unlike others, our marriage has been strengthened. She never gets short with me and we talk about what needs to happen next. We draw strength from one another in an amazing way. I am so happy that we were married in the temple for time and eternity. She is truly my best friend.

RE-TAGGED

I was already tagged once, however a friend of mine re-tagged me so here are 6 more silly, strange and slightly-interesting secrets or facts about me...
1. I loathe laundry. I grew up running a family business Bed & Breakfast and my job was to wash, dry, hang, and fold all the laundry. Needless to say it scarred me for life!
2. I love to sing the hymns at church. I don't know why I love it so much but I do. Maybe it's because I feel that it's almost like my personal time when I can be in my own little world. Because of that it really drives me crazy when my kids try to talk to me during the hymns. Of course I will talk to them but then I feel like I've missed out on one of my favorite parts of church.
3. This goes along with number 2. I'm an alto. I'm not a great alto, but I do pretty good. I believe that altos make sopranos sound good. You sopranos may get to sing the melody but you don't sound half as great without us altos backing you up. You're welcome!
4. I have done the math and during the 6 1/2 years that we've been married, I have been pregnant for 3 of those years and nursing for 3 years and 8 months of those 6 1/2. I realize that adds up to 6 years and 8 months, how could that be you ask? Because I was pregnant AND nursing for 6 of those months. (Not fun and I don't recommend it.) That means that I have been my normal self for approximately 3 months of my entire marriage! One was the first month we were married and the other two were between the time I stopped nursing Makell and got pregnant with Jocelyn. I need a break!! And Aaron would probably like to know who he really married, I bet he doesn't even remember since we only knew each other 3 months when we got married!
5. Following along the same lines as number 2 and 3--I love to hear Aaron sing the hymns. He has a fabulous voice and varies between a tenor and bass. We sound great together (when I hit the notes). I really miss sitting next to him in church. Now that we have 4 little girls in between us (and talking during the hymns) it's hard to hear him.
6. This isn't necessarily a silly, strange or unknown secret or fact about me, but I adore my husband. Every ounce of him. He is what I refer to as Mr. Right and Mr. Perfect. We are 100% compatible and compliment one another perfectly. His hardware is compatible with my software. It's like we are a computer and program without viruses. I KNOW that we were made for each other. I used to say that there wasn't just one right person out there for any given person. Sure, I used to say that. But that was before I knew Aaron. We were meant to find one another and live happily ever after. I don't understand when people say "The first year was hard". We just never went through it. We have other trials, but marriage just doesn't happen to be one of them. When we were dating he said the most beautiful thing to me that I will never forget. It was August. We were standing next to his car. The air was warmly blowing and the stars were shining down on us. We were holding each other not wanting to say goodnight. He looked down at me and said, "I've been waiting my whole life to fall in love with you."
It still makes me cry. I love you Aaron.

Have you ever wondered what a SWEET POTATO GOATEE would look like? Let your mind rest at ease and speculate no more...

Last year at this time...we were in Hawaii! It's going to be tough to top that Valentine's Day!!

Here's Aaron building a rock trail marker. It ended up being taller than him and he's 6'4". We hope it didn't fall on some poor hiker later! That could ruin a vacation.

Here we had hiked to a blow hole on the west side of Maui. My sweater was the same color as the water there. You can't really see it in this picture but trust me it was exactly the same color. It was unbelievable!

We hiked in to this gorgeous waterfall. Aaron actually continued hiking all the way to the top of it. He's crazy lucky to be alive.

Check out that water! He had a great time boogie boarding on Big Beach. I didn't do too much, if any being pregnant and all. Actually, the first time I felt Macey move we were laying on the beach. That was also when we still thought she was a boy!

This was us on our snorkel trip. By the time we got to the little island I was SO sick. I get motion sickness any way but on top of morning sickness, ughh, it's making me sick just to think of it again. We got all our gear on and jumped in the water to look for the huge sea turtles. I ended up puking in the water. It was pretty gross, but we attracted lots of pretty fishes!

Valentine's Photo Shoot.

It's been forever since I've put a new post on here. Life just keeps going doesn't it? Aaron and I went with some friends to see Fool's Gold for Valentine's Day. (Thanks Dan and Jaime!). The movie is definitely NOT a must see. It's more of a don't bother. Alright, Kate Hudson and Matthew McConaughey are cute together but the story line is pretty non-existent and there's a scene in the beginning that should be rated R. Lucky for Aaron he was still getting food so he didn't have to see it. So, if you're going to see it anyway, in spite of my good advice...GO LATE so you'll at least spare yourself the porn. Blahhhhhh! So much for PG-13's huh?! I guess I should've figured, seeing how the world is turning a blind eye to that stuff. We really are "peculiar" people now a days.
The day after Valentine's we went to our ward party. It was a lot of fun besides the fact we were trying to swing dance and slow dance with a baby between us! The food was good and the entertainment was fun. We had good company at our table. Our Bishop and his wife Jane, the Moores and the Sliders. The other girls were in bed by the time we got home so that was nice.
I spoke in church 2 weeks ago on "Blessings of Adversity". It went really well, Aaron said so anyway. It really made me think of all the blessing we've received during this time in our lives. I finished the book of Alma this morning. I used to think the war part of the Book of Mormon was unnecessary, but now I GET IT. I finally see that it totally applies to our lives, it always did, I just never put it together until now. I wanted to quote a verse. I read in spanish so I had to search for my english scriptures first.
First of all to preface, the war is finally over between the Nephites and the Lamanites. It had lasted several years and was very hard on them.
"But behold, because of the exceedingly great length of the war between the Nephites and the Lamanites many had become hardened, because of the exceedingly great length of the war; and many were softened because of their afflictions, insomuch that they did humble themselves before God, even in the depth of humility."
In the midst of afflictions we have two choices. Become hard or become humble. Granted we haven't experienced anything as awful as a war. Our problems haven't lasted for years either but over the course of almost one year it has gotten progressively worse. It seems the worse it gets the more we have learned to depend on our loving Heavenly Father. I know our problems are small compared to many others out there, but they have been tough and sufficient to humble us, which we're grateful for.
As the history goes on it states, "And the people of Nephi began to prosper again in the land, and began to multiply and to wax exceedingly strong again in the land. And they began to grow exceedingly rich. But notwithstanding their riches, or their strength, or their prosperity, they were not lifted up in the pride of their eyes; neither were they slow to remember the Lord their God; but they did humble themselves exceedingly before him. Yea, they did remember how great things the Lord had done for them, that he had delivered them from death, and from bonds, and from prisons, and from all manner of afflictions, and he had delivered them out of the hands of their enemies. And they did pray unto the Lord their God continually, insomuch that the Lord did bless them, according to his word, so that they did wax strong and prosper in the land."
What great examples! I like to liken this to us, (apart from the multiplying part that is) because I know that some day this will all be our own history and I know that one day we will be prosperous again. This was a trial but I think we have weathered it pretty well. I don't mean that in any way as a challenge to God to give us a bigger one either. At least not yet anyway, as I'm sure more WILL come I would just like a break for a while. (I never would've made a good Job-that poor man!) All that matters to me is that I end up with my dear, loving husband and our sweet little girls, all together when this is life is over. And I have faith that we will.

January Birthdays!

We've got two in January and two in July. Funny how things happen sometimes.

First is Jocelyn's birthday on Jan. 6th. Here she is with her big sisters who had a great time decorating the cake for her.

I was trying to give her a bite of her cake here-I think she wanted me to put the whole thing in-look at the size of that mouth. That comes from Aaron. As a matter of fact we played 'chubby bunny' with his family during christmas and I think his final number of marshmallows was 27!

Second comes Makell's birthday on the 19th of January. She was so excited to finally have boy barbies. "Now there can be daddies" she said.  She loves to go in her room and play by herself with the dollhouse Aaron made for them. She'll be in there for hours. Sometimes I think she must have fallen asleep so I'll go check-but she's awake and just playing with those dolls.

Now here's a sad story. Aaron made this awesome birthday cake for Makell-then he made the frosting. It was so runny that it soaked into the cake. I attempted to peel the layers apart to cut it and make it into a cute little cat shaped cake but it was stuck together. So I drizzled the rest of the frosting on top as best as I could making a cat face. It was pathetic. I gave Makell the first big piece and here's the kicker-she wouldn't eat all of it. What kid doesn't devour cake and then ask for more? Well, I guess presentation really is that important-even for a four-year-old.

We went to St. George with my family last week. We used our Worldmark points (which we love) so it was basically free. While the guys went to look for more real estate the girls (and kids) decided to pile in the hot-tub. I don't think we could've fit one more person! (Who said this was only a 6-man tub?) It was a blast and much needed R&R for my family! Thanks Aaron! (It was his idea to invite everyone a long and I was so happy-he's always so thoughtful.) 

Well here it is January. I made it through the holidays. The decorations are taken down, not to mention almost all my regular decor as well. Aaron is getting us ready for "the move" although we still don't know where or when. As far as where we're considering St. George for the moment. We found a cute little house there for only $1400/mo. 3 bedrooms 2 bathrooms, fenced yard and a gardener (and it's not me-not that I did it anyway). Now we just need to find a job... Actually a general contractor called off an ad that Aaron has posted and said he wants to hire him to finish a 4500 sq. ft. basement. Yeah!!! If he likes him I'm sure he'll keep using him too. He'll like him-who doesn't? I sure do. :) He's also past his 2nd interview with Edward Jones. He's got one more and then he'll begin working for them. We'll see how that goes. He doesn't like the door-to-door thing very much from what he's told me but he's so great with people so who knows! My friend and cub scout leader partner Jaime brought us a huge plate of muffins a few nights ago. Seriously there had to be 40 on there! She's so sweet and this isn't the first time she's brought me sweet things. She's such a great example to me. I just love it here-it will be so hard to leave, if that's what ends up happening. We still haven't had any buyers for this house so I think it's going to go into foreclosure. So sad. What's worse is my entire family is in the same pickle we are. Rick sure did a number on all of us-we never should've trusted him with everything. He still says he's going to pay though-although he hasn't now for 9 months. Wow, I can't believe this has been going on for that long.
Macey has been sitting up and rolling over for a couple of weeks now. She's so dang cute. I'm actually really glad that she's a girl now. I was quite disappointed when we first found out but now...I just think she's great. She's sitting in my lap right now trying to help me type. When I put her on the floor she can be across the room in no time. She just rolls and spins and rolls some more until she gets to where she wants to go. I get the feeling she's going to be very independent. She's going on 7 months now and I've been trying to give her rice cereal. She hated it until I mixed it with a banana last night. She ate a little bit after that. She still is waking up twice in the night and it's killing me. I feel like a zombie all day. It probably doesn't help that Aaron and I stay up until almost 11pm every night either. I'm hoping that she'll cut it down to at least once. She was sleeping through the night for a few nights in a row but then she went back to this, hence the rice cereal. Any other suggestions? You'd think after having done this 3 other times I'd remember what to do-actually I think the other ones did the same thing now that I think of it. Thank heaven they all sleep great now. Jocelyn figured out how to get out of her crib two nights ago. Aaron put her in it and next thing we knew she was coming out her door. So I lowered her mattress to the last slot. She can't get out now but i'm sure that's not going to last for very long. I'm planning on moving her to a toddler bed and Macey into the crib as soon as we move anyway so it's not that big of a deal. Well this is getting quite lengthy and the girls need a bath before Olivia is off to school so I'd better go. Have a great wednesday-and go spend time with your family. Like my visiting-teaching companion says (who just found out her sweet 11 yr. old boy has cancer) "Go spend time with your family-you'll never regret it". I just love her, and if you're still reading this please say a little (or LARGE) prayer for her little boy, his name is Jacob. Thanks.

Merry Christmas from the Sharp's

We took a few pictures on sunday (thanks to Josh and April). When we tried by ourselves it was a sad experience. I almost gave up and decided to just print the ones where the girls were bawling or pulling hair or falling over or glaring or sticking out tounges, etc...but Aaron had a great idea. "Let's go to the Lindsay's." He's good looking AND smart! Lucky me.
Well, I don't usually send christmas cards so this will have to suffice. Merry Christmas to all my family and friends out there! We love you all so much!!


It looks like Jocelyn is reaching for a pretty little ornament doesn't it? Nope. I'm holding lollipops above them to keep their attention. Hee, hee

I figured I'd add a couple of photos of the devil-house (as Aaron puts it) and boat since a few friends have asked me to. The boat actually wasn't too expensive considering we went in on it with April and Josh, but I'm afraid it's still gonna go. Anybody want a boat? A house? I'll give you a great dealio....any takers? :) Ha, ha, ha..seriously though. LOL :)

Olivia's Miracle

Olivia and I experienced a miracle yesterday. She was looking for a ziplock bag that had a piece of paper in it from her teacher. The paper has a list of all the books she's supposed to read and then Aaron or I have to sign them off. Well, we couldn't find it anywhere. I think she probably could've simply asked her teacher for a new one. I pretty much remembered all the books she had read so it would've been easy to mark them off again. I normally wouldn't have bothered with such a simple thing and told her to just ask for another one. However, the Spirit prompted me to tell her to go and say a prayer that Heavenly Father would help her find it. As she left to go say her prayer I was nervous. I pleaded in silent prayer that He would help her find her paper so that her faith would not waiver and so she would know that she could ask and He would answer. She returned and told me she was done. I should've prefaced this saying, at first I didn't want to help her look, and I didn't. (I've been trying to teach her to be responible for her things.) However when she told me she was done praying I had the strong desire to help her. I went about doing my normal work but was constantly looking for it as I cleaned up. With in minutes, I found it. She never would've seen it. It was inside a book cover behind the couch that I just happened to see. I wasn't cleaning anything by the couch I just felt like I should walk over to it. I called her into the room and showed it to her. We both cried together, but then she said, "But mom, Heavenly Father didn't answer my prayer because you found it and I didn't." I then got to explain to her how prayers work. Most of the time He uses other people to answer your prayers. I quickly thanked God for helping us but forgot to teach Olivia that important step. About 10 minutes later I saw my daughters "The Friend" magazine laying open to the story "Ten Lepers and a thank you note". I immediately called to her again and told her to go and say another prayer to thank Him for helping her. It's so amazing to see that as I am teaching them--He is teaching me. I think that my faith was strengthened just as much if not more than her's was. She probably had sufficient to find it but He wanted me to trust in Him.

On with the saga....

So far we've cut up 2 credit cards, hooray!!! What a great feeling. It's going to take a while I'm sure but we'll slowly get all our debts paid and be back to normal. No credit cards (with balances that is) and no large mortgages. I can't say no more boat because that was the best thing we have ever bought for our family. We'll just have to be happy with one we can afford next time. I don't think we could live without one now--nor could the YM and YW of our ward (or the cub scouts for that matter). Although, we'll have to live without it until everything else is paid off. You know, as bad as being in this situation is, I still consider it worth it. We sure had a great time thinking we were getting all that interest. We made some wonderful memories over the last two and a half years that we probably wouldn't have. And we would've been able to afford all of it too if we just wouldn't have bought this last house, darn it. Oh well...at least we got to live in the BEST neighborhood and ward we've ever been in. I still know that we were supposed to be here. Perhaps it was because I really need to learn humility--and I am. And, I've really got to say that I'm so grateful for it. I love me more now than before. I'm a much better person for having to go through this. I know that sounds like pride, but I, like Ammon, "...do not boast in my own strength, nor in my own wisdom; but behold, my joy is full, yea, my heart is brim with joy, and I will rejoice in my God." I continue to see God's love for me and He has shown me my weaknesses and I am trying to strengthen them with His help. "Yea, I know that I am nothing; as to my strength I am weak; therefore I will not boast of myself, but I will boast of my God, for in his strength I can do all things; yea, behod, many mighty miracles we have wrought in this land, for which we will praise his name forever." (Alma 26: 11-12) I sincerely think this will be my all-time favorite Christmas ever because of this. I feel like I say more earnest prayers, I read my scriptures more diligently and I continually have a prayer in my heart and think of my savior Jesus Christ more often. Truly this will be the best Christmas because I have been compelled to be humble. "And now, because ye are compelled to be humble blessed are ye;..." Unfortunately I had to be compelled. Alma goes on to say, "And now, as I said unto you, that because ye were compelled to be humble ye were blessed, do ye not suppose that they are more blessed who truly humble themselves because of the word." So my homework is to be humble without being compelled to do so. It's a lot less painful that way anyway.

Gee Whiz

Have you ever been on the verge of tears but you're doing a pretty good job of keeping it together---until someone gives you a hug or asks "What's wrong"? Well, Gabrielle that's what your response to my last post did to me. I just bawled. You've seen Monsters Inc. right? You know this part..."Keep it together man!" and then the little monster slaps the big one? If you've seen it you know what I'm talking about, if not...well, you should. I feel like I need a slap. (Please don't anyone take that literally or it would really just make matters worse.)
Now, get into your best downward dog pose and imagine with me.....Let's just say that you put some money into a bank account, ok not just some but ALOT, ALOT, ALOT of money into this hypothetical account. The bank says it's going to give you a great monthly interest rate. Said bank then begins making interest payments monthly to you. Life is grand right? The interest it's giving you is even more than you need or can spend so you reinvest it or you put it back into your account. Now the monthly interest is even more so you just keep putting it back in although you allow yourself to buy a nice house and a boat one year. Then a few more houses to rent out and then sell the boat and buy a really great boat the next year. You finally feel like you've got some elbow room. Those houses have a lot of equity in them so you decide to take that and put it in your bank account too. Now not only are you easily paying the mortgages but you can even reinvest the extra. Life is GOOOOOOD. But wait, suddenly your bank tells you that they aren't going to pay the interest anymore! Their timing is especially lousy because you just closed on a huge, nice home and moved into it. (Not because you felt you deserved it, it was only meant to be a great real estate investment) This bank then promises it will pay again "soon". So you continue with your perfect life but are slightly beginning to worry, but they said they'd pay so they will right. In the meantime you still have to make all your mortgage payments. Your husband starts working like a dog to pay the bills. Sure he was working before, but that was just side jobs because you didn't really need the money and you still had plenty in savings. Even though he works from sun up to sun down (literally) it's not enough...all those house payments...Little by little your savings is drained (which was substantial--being squirreled away for a rainy day). Next you begin to use your credit cards because you know your bank will give you the interest soon and you can easily pay off all your cards (and then some) with the great interest rate you are getting. Last to go is the money you've been saving on behalf of your darling children ($50 bucks a month for the past 5 1/2 years). There's not too much there but you still feel guilty (besides the fact it's yours anyway). Now your bank tells you the best news of all...they were never giving you interest at all, they were just giving you back your own money! Yes...just let that sink in...deep down. Your mind races, "but I took out all that equity, I used credit cards (which I NEVER do), I bought a BOAT for Pete’s sake--why, I never would've bought a boat until I could pay for it with cash...but I had all that interest and..." You must sit down before you fall down. Your heart races and you begin to sweat. "How can I make all my payments without that interest I was counting on?!?" Anger, remorse, depression, humility. You can't. Well, you can just barely pay for everything but that last stupid house if your husband works his butt off. (Which he does. Work his butt off I mean--he's lost 20 lbs. so far). You put the house and the boat up for sale, but no one wants it at the price you need to get. Now everyone wants to help you buy Christmas presents and food and it's humiliating. You don't really need the help, you think, I got myself into this mess by making a dumb decision to trust someone else with my money, and I can get myself out. Humiliating and embarrassing at first, then it's just so very humbling and you're so grateful.
"This too shall pass". You thank Heavenly Father that it's only money. It could've been something much, much worse that taught you this kind of humility. You're still healthy, you're family is all still alive and well. You still have your newborn baby that looks up at you from her place in the crook of your arm with angelic eyes and coos back at you. You feel a bit; ok a lot, weathered and a little wiser. You know it's not the end but at least it's more in the right perspective and you've gained empathy for a lot of other people in your same boat. (Man it was a nice boat too, to bad it’s got to go!)

life lately

Well, I read my profile and think back to the good old days when we were naive and happy. I don't write in a journal so this is it. If you're a friend or family and you can't handle black and white bluntness you might just want to skip this part. I get on my family website or my blog every day to just forget about my present life if it's only for a little while. As far as Aaron and I go--we're great, I can't state that enough. We are very much in love and I couldn't be more grateful for that. I know our girls know it too. We're all so happy when Aaron finally gets home. He's been killing himself working so hard lately. He gets up at 5:30 am and doesn't get home until around 7 or 8pm. He tries so, so hard to take care of his dear little family and it kills me to watch him. I am so thankful I've got such a good man for a husband. I don't know what I'd do without him. Christmas is around the corner. It's crazy, I NEVER thought in a million years that we'd be the family that people are helping. I know I am prideful but it's just so hard for me to accept. We used to be the ones helping. I guess what comes around goes around and I've had to eat a nice big helping of humble pie. We're starting to slowly pull ourselves out of the deep hole of debt we dug by trying to keep paying for this gigantic house. It's embarrassing to say that we might have to short sale or foreclose but we see it as the only way out now. My mom always used to tell me, "If it sounds too good to be true, it probably is." Boy, was she right. We invested almost everything we had and what savings we didn't invest we used to pay our mortgages (we've got 5). We've been desperately trying to sell all of them but they all have prepayment penalties so we can't yet. As far as this one is concerned though, it's squashing us so between good advice and prayers we've decided to let it go. Who knows maybe we'll end up back in Ogden living in the ghetto. (It wasn't all that bad, actually we were happier there than living on the golf course here.) I have to look at the bright side and figure that way at least Olivia would learn spanish in kindergarten. I really hope that no one is still reading this, it is very personal but I posted it on the web so what did I think would happen? Oh well. Hopefully it will help my posterity out someday. We're not as bad off as it sounds on here. As long as we're not paying this mortgage we can afford more important things like food and diapers (yay for diapers, I can't imagine using cloth like my mom used to when I was a little girl, I remember poking April with one of those big pins. Ouch! Sorry Ape.) So, anyway that's my rant for the day. This is the first time I've written it down and it feels good. I know that within a year we'll be back to normal (other than credit scores that is). I guess I shouldn't feel too bad about it, we're not white-trash dead beats that refuse to make their payments (like soooooo many renters we've had in the past) we're just losing our home along with half of America right now. Thank heaven for a prophet and for food storage. We were very lucky that we listened to him and were prepared for this.
On a lighter note, although I'm admittedly not the best mom in the world, my kids are little rays of sunshine in this cloud of despair. They are so oblivious and therefore silly and crazy and funny. They make me laugh every day. Especially Macey, she's my littlest angel and her sweet smiles melt me. We've still got PLENTY to be thankful for! :)

Halloween '07

Hawaii

Aaron took me to Hawaii for Valentine's Day last year. My blog is totally out of order because this is when I was 4 months prego with Macey. Oh well, the only people looking at my blog are friends or family anyway so they won't care, right?

Here's our little "Chubby Bunny" dressed up for Halloween. So cute!!!

Macey's blessing day

As you can tell this was after church. The girls were hungry and weren't too excited to sit for pictures. All things considered I still think it's pretty dang cute.

Here's our little angel....She's about one week old here.

Just a couple of my fav's from the good ol' days....oh yeah, those were the days...

Aaron and the girls being crazy on the waverunners.

A couple of WILD WOMEN at Lake Powell. Yahooooo!

GOOD TIMES....out on Utah Lake last summer.

Here are a few pics from the pumpkin patch last year. Olivia only smiled for two and it was lucky that we caught it.

Proud daddy Aaron. (Not to mention HOT!)

Mommy and Macey

The Sharps at the temple. Makell, Olivia, Jocelyn and baby Macey (obviously not at the temple but what the heck)