SHEPROSAURUS'S

Bear Country

2011-10-01T18:15:00.000-07:00

This is what was on our front porch the other night.

Black bear black bear what do you see? I see some bird seed waiting for me. We left a big box of bird seed out on the porch and this bear couldn't get enough of it. We couldn't get him to leave! Silly bear, don't you know bird seed is for birds:) Kaitlyn started kindergarten!

She loves it, her teacher is great. I am enjoying watching her grow up, it's brought back some beautiful memories of my own childhood that had gone dormant. Kaitlyn has made lots of friends, she came home with a friends phone number the other day and has not stopped asking me to call for a play date since. I'm not exactly sure what to do with ALL the papers that come home from school. The pile is growing exponentially and it's only a month in. I'm determined to come up with some unique way to preserve the memories for her but at the same time not have them overtake my house. The other thing that made me laugh was the first week the teacher struggled with Kaitlyn over her lunch. Katie REALLY wanted school lunch but we always sent one with her. The teacher talked it over with me and I told Kaitlyn if she went a week without complaining about her lunch she could have school lunch once a week. She complied and now she enjoys her once a week greasy delicious school lunch. It's been fun to hear all the typical kindergarten stories, like boys chasing girls at recess and so forth;) We found a fabulous preschool here for Adam he LOVES it and is growing up so fast.

He is a natural reader. So good with words and sounds. He also started up in Hockey, although he has a lot to learn, just seeing how much fun he has makes it worth it.

Kaitlyn got to try out the first day with Adam and was a natural on the ice but was already committed to soccer and dance this year. Fall is in full swing here we got our Halloween all planned and our door decorated with bats and spiders. Just picked up our pumpkins today. I am trying to figure out what to do with myself now that the kids are in school. I am working at the office with Joseph and taking it slow till I find exactly what I want to do. Dr. Joseph, which is what he is called at the office since both him and his Dad are Dr. Shepro, loves being a Chiropractor. He is in Yakutat this weekend seeing patients and will be home soon. We are excited to spend the first ever holidays in Juneau and with Joseph's parents. They have been so generous with letting us stay with them and work in their office. We are anxious although to get out on our own and start our lives up for real. For now we got to find a new car as our Honda took a turn for the worst. Poor car, took us to Iowa and back 3 times and got us to Juneau here. Lots of memories were made in that car, it's funny how cars can hold cherished moments for families. I remember so many cars from my childhood and all hold special memories for me and my family...lots of funny stories too.

Juneau Girl

2011-04-27T17:36:00.000-07:00

Well we have been here in Juneau for almost 2 months now. I have to say I have become a good ol' Juneau girl. I am loving the weather, the mountains and the family up here! Despite the lack of shopping I have found that this place suites me rather well. Kaitlyn and Adam are loving it as well, they think everyone should move here. I have heard Kaitlyn say 8 million times, "Can't Aunt Amanda move up here and Grandma and Poppy"! Joseph is really loving his job. His Dad and him make a good team and his Mom and I work hard to keep the office running smooth. Not living in Iowa among the avid Chiropractic fans that are there it has been interesting how little the rest of the population knows about Chiropractic and it's benefits. Exspecially for kids. So I have been spreading the Love all over town and sharing how AWESOME chiropractic is! I am just about done unpacking and now have the fun job of getting crafty and decorating some more. Joseph's parents home is beautiful and I am excited to do some fun stuff with it, especially outside:) I will post pics as each room gets done, I have been finding lots of fun ideas on blogs and have a huge crafting bucket list! Here are some of the pics I had on one of my SD cards..I have a few cards FULL of photos so I'll keep posting as I have time.

2,185...SERIOUSLY!!!

2011-04-05T23:20:00.000-07:00

That is about how many children go missing EVERY DAY! I am astonished, today I got a terrible taste of what it might feel like to have a child go missing. Kaitlyn, Adam and I were all together in the living room. The kids were playing with their toys and I was unpacking some books onto a bookshelf. I asked the kids to put away their toys and ended up having to put Adam in his bed because he refused to help (go figure). I came back to the living room and Kaitlyn was gone. I did'nt think much of it at first, I started calling her name and looking for her so she could finish helping pick up but I got no response and could not find her anywhere. I got a little more curious and started looking everywhere. Under beds patiently thinking she was hiding or something. Then as I still had no luck in finding her I started to worry she went outside. We live right on a river now and it worries me a little but the kids are scared to go down there with me let alone by themselves so I doubted she would go down there. But alas she was not to be found out front, in the car or in the house so I started to panic. I asked Grandpa for help and he said, "Go run down by the river and I'll continue scouring the house for her". I ran down to the river, shouting her name. My heart was racing, I started to feel a panic attack hitting. My mind was racing a thousand miles an hour of all the possible terrible scenarios. What if she was taken, or was lying helpless hurt somewhere and couldnt shout my name. What if she was down by the river swept away in the current. I was starting to shake and shout her name louder and with more emotion. I ran inside having not found her anywhere outside. I yelled to my father in law.."Where is she?"..his eyes were full of worry and concern, he had called Joseph as Kaitlyn was no where to be found. Joseph called back and Grandpa ran outside to search the river more. I pleaded with Joseph to hurry home, he was already close by and told me to call 911. I called and the police were on their way. Joseph arrived with his Mom who was the only calm person through all of this, she having had lots of experience with these situations as her 5 kids were full of suprises. Joseph's Mom ran in the house and called Kaitlyn's name, I turned to her and said.."Joan I'm going to loose it, I am loosing it." It had been at least 20 min now and I was convinced that she was gone-I was faced with for a moment the idea that my sweet little Kaitlyn was missing..FOR REAL. My whole body was swirling, I was seeing colors, I felt like the world around me was spinning and I could not stop it. Joan ran up the stairs and said, "Kaitlyn I have some candy for you, come and get it". She repeated it a few times and I melted on the stairs. I had looked everywhere at least 5 times. I prayed another prayer of many and heard Joan say-"Kaitlyn, there you are"! I looked up the stairs and there was my sweet little Kaitlyn with her big brown eyes and precious little hands. Oh my how relieved I was-I balled and sobbed and sobbed some more. I am SO LUCKY! Then as I held her in my arms and pleaded with her to NEVER do that again I began to ache for those mothers who don't get that opportunity. Whose children really are gone. My heart goes out to them and I hope that somehow they can find the faith and strength to move on. It would have been so hard for me, I am not sure how I would have been able to go on even for another minute not knowing where my daughter was. The gosepl gives me strength I would not have on my own but it would take hard work even with my faith to overcome a challenge as hard as losing a child. Kaitlyn was hiding in a closet behind some boxes that looked so packed together that there would be no space for her in amongst them. She had a flashlight. It took her literally 1 minute to find that hiding spot which is how long I would assume it takes for a child to go missing-so quickly. Hold tight to the ones you love. Tell them you love them and enjoy every moment. I am not sure I'm gonna let my kids out of my sight any time soon, I hope I never have to endure such a terrible trial and I wish more than anything that those two thousand some odd families would not have to endure it either. Tonight I kissed Kaitlyn and Adam extra hard and long and squeezed them so tight. Oh and I told Kaitlyn she is NEVER aloud to play hide and seek EVER again!

These Two are to Blame!

2011-02-08T21:10:00.000-08:00

Since I've been home it has been my pleasure to spend some time with these two adorable creatures.

My Niece Stella

My other Niece Layla
I thought it was going to take me a LONG time to talk myself into having another baby (like maybe NEVER). Not that my two are horrible, in fact they are wonderful. It's just that having them so close was a little traumatic and the added stress of being in school and living in the wonderful state of Iowa didnt help either. Somehow though, lately, I've been having those "baby" thoughts. I never thought this was possible and when I have the thoughts I get a little irritated because I know what having a baby means...9 months of torture plus no sleep, getting NOTHING done and a complete sacrifice of myself. Plus, now that I've had two I would require myself to do it perfectly this time..make no mistakes because I'm experienced now, I should know what I am doing..right? I'm blaming these baby thoughts on these two. I mean look at them..They are adorable! Plus their little personalities are just darling. I can't help but want one. Dang cute kids, I gotta stop hanging out with them:) Anyone got a colicky baby I can hang around for a few days?

Exhale!

2010-12-19T19:36:00.000-08:00

My Little Princess

Adam will FINALLY let me touch his hair...He is my Handsome Boy

Kaitlyn's new FAVORITE pass time is Dress up..if you can't tell:)

Party Time..Daddy Passed his Last set of Chiropractic Boards..NO MORE BOARDS!!!!!

Katie's been begging me to have a Baby..She LOVES her Little Cousin Layla

TIME OUT FOR WOMAN..me and Hilary Weeks! She is a beautiful song writer/singer. She helped me change my life through her music. Was so glad to meet her!

Kaitlyn and her new BEST FRIEND, her cousin McKenna!

GO BEAVERS! The gang went to see a OSU game and we just happened to Win despite the horrible season we had...

SPIDERMAN!!!

I asked Kaitlyn what she wanted to be for Halloween, she said a Girl who rides Horses..so I said.."oh a Cowgirl?"..she said, "No mom not a girl who rides cows, horses!"..lol

I feel like I can finally breath again. What a crazy Fall, which happens to be my favorite time of year. Growing up in the Northwest you can't help but live for the vibrant colors that come when fall hits. The valley's are soaked with amazing shades of reds, oranges, greens and even purples. I love being back near the mountains and right next door to the crashing scenic Oregon Coast! With the change of seasons this year came a lot of change in our lives. Because of my sudden development of panic attacks (see previous post on IUD), my loving husband quickly flew with the kids and I home to Oregon and moved us in with my parents in Tualatin. He flew back immediately to Iowa to finish up school and two rigorous sets of National Chiropractic Board exams. My parents and brothers and sisters took us in and helped me recover. Within a few weeks of being home and a few visits to a very good doctor, I began to get better and better. I have been panic attack free for a while now and it feels so liberating. I have to give a shout out to my Heavenly Father who even though I tend to turn to Him only when I need Him for something, was totally there for me, which is what has made this Christmas season even more special for us. I feel so grateful for the atonement and for the accessibility we have to our Savior through the scriptures, modern day Prophets and through Prayer.
We have had many wonderful adventures since arriving here in Oregon. Kaitlyn and Adam have been LOVING being near all there cousins, aunts and uncles and of course their Poppy and Grandma. They are also LOVING their Preschool classes and the two dogs my parents have. We had an amazing Holiday Season and a very Merry New Year which we spent at the Coast with Joseph's family.
Joseph and I will be heading over to Iowa in February to attend his graduation and then will be starting the migration North up to Juneau in the Spring to start work with his Dad. Joseph has been enjoying his internship and loves doing Chiropractic work..thank goodness right?? since we just spent 5 years and a lot of money on it:) I am working for my Dad in his office, which I LOVE, and am helping my sister out who has 5 kids and some crazy stuff going on.
I'm disappointed I have not kept better notes on life here on my blog for family history reasons' but it's hard when you haven't posted in while because you feel the need to go back and post about everything you might have missed. Somehow this makes me feel so overwhelmed that I just avoid posting at all, so I gave up on that idea and am not going to go back and try to cover every detail over the past few months but will make a better effort to post more often for a while at least. So here's to a lot of posts for 2011!!!! Love and kisses to all our friends and family!!!

HONK HONK!!!

2010-09-06T17:41:00.000-07:00

Our neighbor's boyfriend is a Semi Truck Driver and our kids got to be lucky enough to check out his Truck when he was in town today. Having driven on I-80 plenty since being here in Iowa our kids have developed an interest in Big Semi Trucks. You know Iowa IS home to the Largest Truck Stop in the USA......

Here are some photos of them checking out his sweet ride..he even let both of them pull the horn! We are gonna miss our Iowa neighbor, she and her family have become a part of our family and we will never forget them and their love and generosity!

Kaitlyn Pulling the Horn...the pictures after it are to show how excited she was afterwards...the camera could not keep up:)

Slumber Party

2010-08-21T12:12:00.000-07:00

Kaitlyn had her first Slumber Party. Her friends Mom and I are good friends so we all spent the night together. We did pedicures, manicures, facials, made neclaces, watched a princess movie and went on a firefly hunt. Unfortunately our AC decided to die that night so our house was super hot and humid but we still had fun. And of course no slumber party is complete without a pillow fight! The girls had fun, they slept well and we look forward to more slumber parties.

This is the popular play time activity lately at our house. Make a train out of whatever they can find.

Who would of thought..

2010-08-15T19:40:00.000-07:00

..that this little thing could have changed my life. Let me preface this post by saying that I usually would not write for everyone to see things that might be considered too "personal". My intent is to provide information for other woman who may suffer the same way from having the Mirena IUD placed. I know for many woman the Mirena IUD works great. To you I say, AWESOME! I although had a different experience. 4 weeks ago I went in to have the IUD placed. The midwife who placed it said she wanted me to be on my period when they put the IUD in so to be sure I was not pregnant. After placement I had severe cramping and bleeding. I went home and took some pain medication and went to bed. The next day at noon I was hit by some intense nausea with NO stomach cramping and shortly after started throwing up constantly. Despite throwing up the nausea would not subside, it was constant and felt like morning sickness times 10. I started to get severely light headed and at this point very scared. Nothing made sense. If I was sick or eat something weird, my stomach should have hurt at least a little. But my stomach was fine this seemed to all be up in my chest and head. We called the nurses line, they were unsure of the cause and had never heard of the IUD causing these symptoms. I was instructed to stay hydrated. I suffered through the night and woke up the next morning with the same thing only the lightheadedness turned into episodes of tingling running up through my chest and into my head and than feeling like I was going to pass out. It was very scary. Fortunately I had an amazing neighbor who helped me throughout this process and came to my rescue that morning until Joseph could get home from school. He took me into the doctor where I was prescribed Phenergen for the nausea and was told to take an easy. My doctors office was a OBGYN. The midwife I was seeing had a hard time believing this was due to the IUD. She had never heard of it before and apparently did not want to look more into it. She did get out the brochure and read the fine print which did say a side effect of the Mirena was nausea. The whole week with the Mirena in was THE WORST WEEK OF MY LIFE! by the weekend I was losing my mind. I was hormonal like nothing I have ever felt before and trust me..I have PMS so I know what hormonal feels like. I was pacing the room ready to admit myself. Monday exactly one week later, I still had the nausea (despite being on the phenergen) and the lightheadedness. I asked to have it removed. My midwife walked in the room abruptly, said.."so we're taking it out now?"..and than without waiting for a response said.."this was quite the expensive experiment!" I replied taken back by her sassiness.."this was not an experiment." She removed the IUD very easily, signed her paper, and walked out of the room. I felt totally violated. She did not ask me how my symptoms were, she had no concern for my well being. I left the clinic and hoped I would start to feel better now the IUD was out. One week later with the same symptoms, woke up to a bad episode of lightheadedness and tingling in my chest and face. It was so scary I went to the Urgent Care Clinic, where was than sent on to the ER as they needed to do tests they could not do at the clinic. They wanted me to go by ambulance but I declined, I've only been dealing with this for two weeks I was pretty sure I could handle a car ride to the ER. They did a whole slew of tests..EKG, blood, urine etc. My heart rate was perfect, no heavy breathing no NOTHING! Just the nausea and lightheadedness. No one had an explanation. None of the doctors would even come close to relating it to the IUD. I was told to see my Regular Doctor within 2 days to follow up and to get my thyroid tests back. At this point I was so discouraged. The only thing that gave me hope was the testimonies of woman online that I found when I googled.."mirena nausea and lightheadedness"..there are hundreds of woman who have gone through exactly what I have gone through. I decided it was time to humble myself and go see my Chiropractor who had told me several times how awful the IUD was and how the hormones mess with woman's bodies. I was trying to avoid confessing I had tried it but knew he would be able to help me recover. Of course he was totally understanding and knew exactly what was going on with my body. Because he understood the body and how it works he knew how the hormone in the Mirena was causing me the symptoms I was feeling and knew how to help me get better. He adjusted me and got my nervous system reset and gave me some supplements to help de-tox my body and get my hormones back where they should be. Within two day of seeing him I was 80% better. Now two weeks later I am a changed woman. Not only because I'm not nauseous or dizzy all the time anymore but because this whole experience changed me in so many different aspects of my life. I love and appreciate my children so much more. They were the only thing that kept me going and they were so comforting when I felt literally like I was dying. I have a new found LOVE for service. So many people offered help to our family. There is nothing like accepting help and humbling yourself enough to ask for it that helps you see how amazing service is and how much I want to be the type of person who freely gives it. My husband and I bonded so much, he was there when I needed him and I learned to appreciate him so much more. I was humbled to my knees before the Lord. I had become so distant from Him and had not even realized how horrible my life had become because of it. I reflected a lot on my life while I was sick and chose to make some changes. I am determined now to turn to my Heavenly Father and Savior Jesus Christ FIRST when I am faced with a challenge instead of the world. I have been praying a lot lately and have been finding that The Lord is ALWAYS there when I need him. He can comfort me in the darkest moments and help the bright moments seem brighter. I am so excited to have Him back in my life and am grateful for this experience if only to say that it saved me from being spiritually numb! So for those of you out there who feel like crap it just might be your IUD. I am still getting my body back to health, I am determined to treat my body better. I got to THINK better...EAT better and MOVE better. I am a NEW woman determined to make my 30's Healthy so my 40's and 50's are wonderful. On to the next challenge. Moving Home! Yay....

Kaitlyn's Farm Birthday

2010-07-24T07:03:00.001-07:00

For the longest time Kaitlyn has been saying she wants a Dora party, but I didn't believe her because we don't watch Dora or have any Dora paraphernalia. Fortunately, last minute, she changed her mind and decided she wanted a farm birthday, well this I believed. She adores animals, ex specially horses and it seemed a bit more like the little girl I know. We started off the day by Kaitlyn and I going to the mall for a little shopping and girl time. We headed to the spa and got our first mommy daughter pedicures. Kaitlyn is a girl after my own heart, she LOVED being pampered and knew exactly how to relax and enjoy the pedicure. Kaitlyn can be a girly girl but also is rough and tough. Most of her good friends end up being boys, she just relates to them better for some reason. While we were at the mall Daddy and Adam were busy putting together Kaitlyn's Farm Party. They got ice cream cake and put up farm animals all over the walls. Kaitlyn was so excited when she got home. We played farm for a while and than our adoptive Iowa family..our neighbors..came over for fish dinner. Kaitlyn loves fish, ex specially salmon, but our poor student budget only could afford Tilapia. Sorry Kaitlyn one day we shall have a salmon feast!

Diaper-LESS

2010-07-19T08:30:00.001-07:00

Every parent who has potty trained knows that it's NOT easy! It's funny to think about what an important skill this is to teach your children. It's something they will do every day..mutiple times for the REST of their lives. I don't think we appreciate enough our Parents for teaching us to go potty in the toilet. Let's face it, if they didnt we'd still be wearing diapers, which could be rather embarassing as an adult! So Thank you Mom and Dad for teaching me and teaching me well:)

Adam was way more stubborn than Kaitlyn with the potty stuff. He made me want to give up soooooo many times. You can only handle so many messes before you want to scream. But alas, I had bought my last box of diapers and I was NOT going to buy anymore so I stuck with it. I tried really hard to always help Adam be successful by asking him to go OFTEN. It was really fustrating and time consuming but I knew at some point the switch would go off in his brain and he would finally DECIDE to do it himself. After a good month, he finally chose to do it and not only during the day but he was waking up to go at night too. Yay! I was so afraid about the night time with Adam but he has been perfect for a few weeks now. I may really suck at a lot of Mom stuff but I feel pretty darn good that somehow I got both my kids potty trained.

Now I just need to teach them to wipe:)

The Claw

2010-06-20T18:57:00.000-07:00

Ready to watch Toy Story 3 (Joseph looks a little tired, but he's actually excited)

Sayin Goodbye to Nathalie and Paige

Awesome Storm that rolled in the other day...Gotta Love Severe Thunderstorms!!!

Fun with Nathalie and the kids...

BLOCK PARTAY...Oh Yeah!!!

Paige loved this Tiger,I shoulda let her take it home!!!

Adam and Kaitlyn coloring, Kaitlyn is now drawing in the lines, I am such a proud Mom!!!

Our Favorite Neighbor Corey Graduated from High School..we got invited to his Graduation party...we felt so "cool"!!! The kids absolutely adore Corey and he has been such a big help to me over the past 3 years. We will miss him when he leaves for college:(

We thought Toy Story 3 was a Hit! The story line was interesting and the cheezy drama made me laugh and cry! The kids had so much fun going to the theatre and were laughing histerically throughout. It captured their attention, the theatre was surprisingly quiet and well behaved for the amount of young kids being in there. I guess that's one way to tell if the movie is good....Definately going to add this movie to the duo we already have. Way to go Pixar!

We had fun this week, Nathalie and Paige came for a visit. We went to the zoo, eat lots of delicious food (Nathalie has some great recipes and is a wizard in the kitchen), partyed it up! I love me some Nathalie and Paige time! Can't wait for another visit....

Joseph finished up another trimester at school. We decided to stay home for the break so this will be our first and last official "summer" in Iowa. We are usually out of here as soon as school is out but seeing as we move in 4 months we thought it was best we lay low and enjoy these last few months in the heart land.

Here's to summer break in Iowa...CHEERS!!!!!

Chatterbox

2010-06-11T07:46:00.001-07:00

Joseph FINALLY brought the camera home from school...whew! Time to blog again! Kaitlyn finished her first year of school at Chatterbox Preschool. The teachers are awesome and Kaitlyn LOVED it. In fact last night when putting her to bed she asked with her Big Hazel Eyes if she could go to school the next day, I had to remind her that school is out for the summer and that she will have to wait till Fall. Hmmm..if only her enthusiasm for school can last for forever! A parent can only hope-right?, I bettter start a college Fund for this one!
This is taken at the beginning of the school year. This is a typical Kaitlyn face. Notice how she is holding her pen, her teachers have worked hard to teach her to hold it correctly and she finally has gotten it down.

Kaitlyn's Last Day, again typical Kaitlyn Silly Face! You can see how much she has grown over the last year. At school she has learned a lot. I love that she has started drawing "things" instead of scribbles and can count and do all sorts of fun stuff!

Speaking of College, Look Who Got his MBA..Our Superstar, DAVID!!!!!!!
Joseph got to travel down to Virginia to Cheer him on for us, We are so proud of our Uncle David!

Pretend Play is my Best Friend

2010-06-02T05:59:00.000-07:00

Yesterday Adam and Kaitlyn played forever in their room. I was getting so much done, it was worrying me. How could they possibly play so long with out any need of my help...right? So I went to check in on exactly what they were doing (fully expecting to find a disaster). To my delight they were sweetly pretending to have a birthday party for their friend Antonio and all their Iowa friends. They were naming off all their friends and making sure their was a plate set for each one. Kaitlyn was especially concerned about Karter and Ryker. It was sweet joy to see their little minds being creative and to see them play together, quietly, and with out needing me! I am not sure how every mother feels but I know for me this was so relieving. It's been a long 4 years and it finally feels like I can relax again. Well at least for now:)

What comes to mind...

2010-05-26T08:03:00.000-07:00

My husband left our camera at school this last week and there have been several occasions that I have wanted to snap a few photos and make a blog post but couldn't. For instance, I really wish I could have snapped a photo of Kailtyn reading to Adam on the couch. She has recently taken up this hobby of pretending to be "mommy" and so she read all the books just like I do. It is cute most of the time but when she copies some of the things I'm not so proud of, I tend to put a stop to it! I also would have wanted to post a picture of the kids at the zoo. We have LOVED the zoo here, I have a lot of pictures of them when they are little at the zoo but wanted to capture how grown up they have become, it was our first year going without a stroller....It's so liberating to not have to take a stroller everywhere you go but it does kinda stink not to have something to put your purse in or to hold your drink. I also would have wanted to take a picture of us going to our favorite neighbors baseball game. Robbin and her son Corey have been our family while here in Iowa. Corey is pretty much the best adopted uncle Kaitlyn and Adam could ask for and Robbin is not old enough to be my mom but she makes me feel comforted like my Mom and she is so sweet to the kids. They always go to her door and ask to look in her "treat" cupboard. They run down to her car when she gets home from work and they ask if they can help pull her car into the garage. Kaitlyn and Adam love them so much, it will be so hard to leave them. I also would have wanted to take pictures of our super fun Memorial Day Camping trip we went to on Friday Night. We packed it all up and headed just a few miles out of town to the local campgrounds and settled in with a few other families. We hiked a little, roasted a little and looked at the stars. Fortunately Kaitlyn and Adam LOVE camping and we will hopefully have many more wonderful camping trips as a family. The next morning we woke up to some friends making us biscuits and gravy and it was oh so delicious. We headed down to the pool and the kids splashed a little and than we all headed home completely drained. We had so much fun. It was nice this year not to have to guard the kids from the fire, they understood it was dangerous and it was so relaxing to just watch them enjoy the outdoors and get a few minutes of peace myself under the trees and by the fire. I looked at the calendar tonight and realized we have a little over a week left in this trimester. If things go as planned we will be leaving after the next trimester. It baffles me to think about being done here. Looking back it seems like it was so short of a time but when we were in the midst of it, it seemed like it took forever and to be honest I didn't think I was going to make it. Joseph bless his heart has always done his part well but sadly I am the weaker link, our time here in Iowa has brought out the good and the bad in me. I have a lot to be proud of and some things I'm not so proud of but I've learned a lot and know I will learn more in the next few months as we make some BIG decisions and close this part of our lives. I have a TO DO list sitting next to me, it's LONG...I hope this week is productive and that I get my camera back so I can post as the week goes on with photos to go along with the moments I want to capture...

Little Underwear Bum

2010-05-23T07:25:00.000-07:00

I am lovin Mr. Adam's Underwear Bum! It has got to be refreshing for them to get those diapers off and the undies on. Freedom! I'm off to pinch those cheeks...so so cute!

Homemaker or something like that....

2010-05-21T19:28:00.000-07:00

My life is at this weird crossroads right now....

I recently passed on my job at the Chiropractic Office because of time conflicts with Joseph's schooling and also in anticipation of being done here in Iowa fairly soon. I LOVED my job and the people I met through it.....the patients, the Doctors..Everyone! It feels strange and a little sad not to have that responsibility anymore.

I also am passing the ICAA President baton on. It's been a year since the current Board took the reigns and I have definitely LOVED being a part of such an awesome organization and being amongst such an amazing group of woman. We accomplished a lot this year and know the next board will do the same! A lot of energy and passion went into this role and I LOVED every minute of it.

I am just about to finish a rather large project of putting together a Student Planner that the ICAA has traditionally done for the bookstore to sell. It was a lengthy project but has been a really great experience. We send it to the printers on Monday and it feels so rewarding! It has taken up a lot of my time and energy.

We are the next family in our ward to graduate from Palmer and that feels so strange. We are so close to being finished. Our time here feels like a big blur and I am so anxious about the future and what it holds.

Somehow my little babies grew up, I am on the brink of being done completely with diapers and have discovered I am in denial about how grown up they really have become. I gotta start challenging them more and stop zipping up their jackets for them;)

So, all of these huge responsibilities that have taken up my time and energy over the past few years are all coming to an end and now I need to refocus it all into something. My Goal is to put it all into "My Kids" and "The Home". I have always tended to feel totally inadequate when it comes to motherhood and homemaking. I am thinking I need to develop some really good skills and habits...so if you know of some good websites, blogs, forums or even just have some plain old good ideas that I can get passionate about send them my way. I am going to have a lot of time on my hands here soon...I gotta find things to fill it with.

So here's to being a Full Time Stay at Home don't get involved in too much Momma!
Yeah!

Two 3 Year Olds! The Making of a Tradition..

2010-05-18T20:31:00.000-07:00

First it was two 1 year olds
then...two 2 year olds...
now it's...two 3 year olds!
It's one of the fun things about having kids so close in age, ours are the same age for a month and a half. In a way it makes it easier because when people ask how old your kids are, which all parents know happens A LOT!!!!, you can simply say, "they are 3". But, then again...that creates a whole series of other questions because they are obviously not twins and everyone has to know how "that happened". AWKWARD!!!!! Seriously though, having the kids be so close together was one of the best surprise gifts of my life. Kaitlyn and Adam are the perfect duo, I can't imagine having one with out the other. Today we celebrated Adam's THIRD BIRTHDAY! He has grown into such a handsome boy, he is my Little Man. We had a wonderful day and Loved all his presents. Kaitlyn was the perfect older sister, she let Adam have all the attention and even kept secret what all his presents were as she helped me wrap them while he napped:)

So, seeing as every year for the rest of their lives they will have a month and a half of being the same age, I wanted to start a tradition where we do something as a family during this time to recognize the uniqueness of their relationship. So I decided we would do a family camping trip. The Irish Twin Camping Trip! I am really hoping that even when they get older and have their own families they will continue the tradition and do a camping trip together during this special time!

This last weekend, Joseph had a few days free from school, and my awesome friend Nathalie suggested I meet up with her in Arizona for the weekend, of course I thought that was a great idea. Flying on a buddy pass is not the most glamorous way to fly, except when you luck out and get first class (which I did twice...YES!) but I was ready for a few days off from "mommy hood" and decided to take my chances. I had so much fun, was able to meet up with some good 'ol friends, relax in the sunshine and do a little shopping...and eating. I really like Arizona it is a great place to visit. After getting back I came up with the most brilliant idea EVER! I told Joseph about it and he "agreed"...that every year as a tradition when our kids turn the same age I should take a vacation by myself!!!! YEAH!!! So where I will go next year will be in the works, I'm thinking it will be to visit a old friend each time, so if you are looking for a house guest next year around this time, give me a shout out:) You think I'm joking but I'm not!!!!!!

Here are some pics of the last few days......

Sprinkles Cupcakes..My Worst Enemy;)

The Magnificent "Sister Cundiff"...One of my favorite Mission Friends!

And her Cute Girls!

The adorable Miss Paige...Nathalie's Baby

Just after getting Pedi's, which are way better in Arizona than in Iowa...by FAR!!!!

Sister Wilcox..this is for you..he did this all on his own!

Adam's Favorite place is the airport so we swung by their to pick up my lost bag and also so we could hang out for his Birthday..he got "Winged"!

They just started dancing under the airplane, it was precious!

This is my....I Get a Vacation Every Year Right Honey?!..Look

Birthday Cupcake!

Adam LOVES salad, he is definately all Shepro!

This is the infamous apron I bought for Mother's Day...It makes all motherly and house duties way more glamorous and fun!!!

Shake Your Booty

2010-05-07T18:12:00.001-07:00

Whenever Kaitlyn is asked a question she does not want to answer or if she is put on the spot she always resorts to saying..."shake your booty". Not sure where it came from until the other day when the kids were dancing in the living room and I said with out thinking..."Go Kaitlyn, Shake your Booty!". Well, as you can imagine my shock, when I realized I was the one who taught her to say that. Who knows what other little wonderful tidbits of joy I teach my children to do that is a little innapropriate.

On a side note, of all the things Joseph could have fed our child with the stomach flu, he chose red...that's right...red spaghetti. It has not found it's way up yet but when it does he really better hope it makes it into a bowl or toilet or else he is going to be in a whole world of hurt. Who does that? Seriously!

Rain Boots

2010-05-07T07:47:00.000-07:00

My kids get soooo excited when it rains because they know it means they need to get out their rain boots and umbrellas. Too bad we were in a hurry to take Daddy to school because they really wanted to spend some time stompin in the puddles. We had a few minutes though and they stomped and watched the water run down the cracks in the parking lot. Something about watching them do this sparks a memory from my childhood at my Potter Street house in Eugene Oregon. I have fond memories of making paper boats and sending them down the rushing rain water out front in the street gutters. I also remember picking all the moss out from inbetween the cracks in the sidewalks. Kids do this, they pull memories out of you that you never thought possible. The other day Kaitlyn was making a witches brew with leaves and mud and rocks in the water bucket out back. I thought to myself...i made quite a disgusting witches brew in my time if I remember correctly:)

At Target this morning, while I was distracted looking through the fresh basil trying to find the most "fresh" bunch, Adam swiped a whole green pepper. I did not notice until moving on to the next isle and sure enough Adam was chompin on the green pepper like it was an apple. I resisted the urge to scold and just smiled and said, "were you hungry Adam?"...he looked up with a smile took a bite of his green pepper and said "mmhmmm". He just now finished the whole pepper and looks very satisfied. Kaitlyn tried some and was not impressed as you can tell in this picture. Oh Adam...you are my cute little green pepper!

This Evening

2010-05-06T18:52:00.000-07:00

We got a free pizza and watched a silly kids movie with the kids, to celebrate Joseph passing his second set of National Boards! My favorite thing in pretty much all the world is when my kids offer an "I Love you" without me first saying it. Tonight when I put Katie down to bed I went over to her bedside and she reached her arms up and smiled a big smile and said sincerely, "I love you" as we squeezed a nice big hug. mmmmmmmm so so so yummy those moments!

Hats off to my reliable husband who has never failed us or his tests. We LOVE YOU DADDY!

This Morning

2010-05-06T07:48:00.000-07:00

Instead of getting fustrated that Adam always climbs in the back of the car and fools around when we are trying to get out...I climbed in with him and we played for a bit. He drove me to the grocery store and to get a drink. He also helped me send my packages at the post office this morning. What an awesome helper and buddy to have around!

Up too Late..

2010-05-05T20:52:00.000-07:00

Reading old blog entries, I actually read all of my blog entries. Wow! Blog's are awesome. I did not realize that going back could be so much fun, and so eye opening. Time here in Iowa has become so blurry I can't remember the who, what's and when's. It was fun to have the memories saved. I feel so motivated now to keep posting and to do it more often. So, for the sake of blogging, here is the bitter truth about today...

It started out really good, well it could have been better if I had ran but Joseph had to be at school early and running with the stroller is not my cup of tea so I opted out on the running thing and headed straight to the shower. Mostly because I was super greasy from the day before when I was outside playing with the kids allllll dayyyy! We had a tub full of water out with all the bath toys and Kaitlyn had a few friends over. The kids got wet but it was so warm that within half hour the clothes were dry again it was nice. Kaitlyn made special watering holes for her horses and set them up all perfect. She kept turning on the hose and I was trying my hardest to practice my "positive parenting" techniques and not tell her "what to do" but help her decide it wasnt a good idea to "waste water":) It required creativity and a lot of patience but she got it and I didnt have to shout orders at her, which I HATE doing and hope this positive parenting thingy will help with. So yes I was greasy from the busy day before and was ready this morning for a nice shower. Got all gussied up and took Joseph to school. Kaitlyn left without her hair getting combed which made me feel a little uneasy but hey, I'm trying to get stress out of my life so I let it go. Later we went to the zoo, it finally opened after being "under construction" and closed for forever. The zoo was just not the same...it was like a woman at a salon..getting fixed up but not quite ready to be seen...which on a side note..don't ya hate looking in the mirror when your getting your hair done, something about the lighting in the salon's or maybe it's the tin foil in the hair or something, I always look away from the mirror cause it just bugs me...The zoo was fun, the friends we went with were fun, and the weather was perfect..oh and we got to see two turtle's mating. The kids had no idea but Tamara and I were laughing pretty hard. It was funny...beautiful...but so so funny!
After the zoo the day progressively got worse. I usually am not a sit around type person, it makes me feel anxious to be lazy...but today after getting home my plan was to clean. Ok so what did I do? I sat around and was lazy and low and behold I got so cranky. I get so anxious when things are not getting done and than to top it off my car dealership called me back about our non existent car warranty and gave me some blah blah blah blah answer which totally set me off. Whew, it was a bad moment for me. I felt a little out of body like I was going to like have to do a count off from 10 and at the end I was going to explode like a rocket up to the moon. So what does any girl do in this time of craziness...I called my husband. Yep and blew off some steam on him and he brought me back to reality and made me laugh and sigh...now I'm here typing this blog which no one will find intersting but me...ten years down the road when I get reflective again and read all my blog posts. Hello me, remember that day you about lost your mind and than got it back. Yeah that was great! I have resolved to care less and do more. That is do more of the things I love and that make me feel good inside and less of the stuff I feel like I have to do but don't! Tomorow I'm sending out two packages filled with crafty goodies I made for my Mom and Sister..now that is what I call feel good stuff:) Yeah!

Sayin Goodbye..Again...

2010-05-03T19:54:00.000-07:00

Kaitlyn has had the most wonderful friend live just two doors down from us, but today our neighbors moving van came. I think our family is starting to get a little worn out from having to say goodbye to friends, specially those who are a part of your every day life. Kaitlyn's friend is always outside willing and ready to play. She has the most creative mind and is such a great example to Kaitlyn. Because her friend is a little older than her, Kaitlyn learns a lot from her and looks up to her in such a dear sweet way. I hate to say it, but some days I had to close the blinds just because I knew if Kaitlyn saw her friend outside, she would beg and plead and cry and beg some more to go out and play when I just couldn't. Some days I wish we could spend every waking moment outside but alas, I'm cursed with the clean gene and so have a really hard time going outside until the house is clean. It can be very fustrating to have this gene specially when you have two toddlers:) Anyways, back to Kaitlyn's friend. Today when I explained to Kaitlyn that her friend was moving, her little mouth started to frown and tears started to swell. This was like real true emotion I was dealing with here. Not a tantrum or a boo boo crying but real "I'm a girl and have emotions" tears. It was terrifying but extremely satisfying at the same time...scarry because, I knew I was entering into a whole new realm of parenting that I'm not sure I'm ready to deal with but also wonderful because my daughter is growing up into a beautiful young lady. I love her so much and am so proud of who she is becoming. She is so full of love and excitment, which is why I loved to watch her play with her friend. Her little character came out when she was with her friend and it was beautiful to watch. We are going to miss our neighbors, they were such a big part of the neighborhood, it won't be the same here without them. A lot less interesting for sure! We miss all our friends who have left Iowa and Palmer. We feel like we are next and thank goodness cause it's about dang time:) No really we just want to stop having to say goodbye and start having to say hello again for a while. I really hope someday soon we can settle down and nestle ourselves into a amazing community, throw down some roots...ya know...YEAH. I'm liking the sound of that.

Kaitlyn's First Soccer Game

2010-04-18T16:13:00.000-07:00

We got lucky and were able to add Kaitlyn to a soccer team very last minute, like the day of the first game! I was unaware that they had teams for kids her age, but after watching Katie play, she is definately ready. She had so much fun and it was so fulfilling to see her play my most favorite sport of all time! I've learned one of the negatives of having our kids so close is that Adam has to watch Kaitlyn do all the fun stuff cause he's "not quite old enough". He get's fustrated when he can't do what his Big Sister is doing. Poor guy, I'm gonna have to make sure he has his turn and that I make just as big a deal about him as her:)

2010-04-11T19:14:00.000-07:00

Easter pics...I am NOT a photographer AT ALL just FYI, and I'm not sure why I love to put Katie in black..but I do.

We had a great Easter and have been enjoying the Spring Weather....Got out our jogger and am ready to use it...oh and I'm down 17 lbs, Easter without candy was a little rough but the more you resist the stronger you get..so here's to no sugar!

Coming out of Hybernation

2010-03-24T13:10:00.000-07:00

As the sun peeks it's rays down on the freshly uncovered green grass and the last pile of snow melts, I think to myself we made it through one more winter here in Iowa! Woo Hoo!!!! Lots of snow and cold chilly weather later we are all doing well and are excited to get outside and enjoy nature and get some Vitamin D. We recently went on a trip to Oregon. My famiy suggested we come out for a few weeks as they sensed my winter dillusions. We were fortunate enough to be able to drop the kids off with family and head to Hawaii for a week just Joseph and I. Joseph was so excited to go back to see his old Mission Stomping Grounds and I was glad to share it with him. We got to Hawaii the day before the recent Tsunami warning, we woke up to a bombard of text messages asking if we were ok. We had no idea what was going on so we turned on the news and sure enough the beaches were closed, so we made a quick decision to head out of Waikiki and head towards the center of the island. The day was actually sunny and nice and we enjoyed seeing the countryside of Oahu. By the end of the day we were back on the beach and we were able to enjoy beach time the rest of our trip. We got lucky and got a free upgrade to a Convertable Mustang so cruisin around the island was the favorite part of the trip for me. We had plenty of shaved ice, puka dogs and sushi. I also loved my morning lox and bagel, so so yummy. I just love Hawaii, it is my favorite place I've ever been. I love everything about it and want to go back again soon. It was nice to get to know my husband again after 2 years of really hard work at school we had a lot of catching up to do. Once we got back from Hawaii Joseph quickly flew back to Iowa to start studying for Boards which he just finished up...whew! and the kids and I stayed in Oregon for two weeks and hung out with family and friends. My kids loved playing with their 11 nieces and nephews and also their Poppy and Grandma and Aunt's and Uncles. They ask if we can see them every morning now. My two brothers had their new babies blessed together and we had a huge family celebration afterwards. It's crazy now when we all get together, the house is full and the kids are all over the place playing. It is so awesome! I love my family and can't wait to be closer to them someday. I flew home by myself with the two kids which was actually not hard at all. They both did great on the plane, to be honest they are better flyers than myself. I'm a big ball of anxiety when I fly. We are home now, I put up summer flowers all around the house to cheer it up a bit and am looking forward to the next couple of months as we are working on getting some concrete plans for the future. We are done here this coming February so the clock is a tickin. We know the "real world" will be our next adventure and that it will not be easy but we are ready to be done with the school and on to the next challenge. Peace and Love to you all!!! Enjoy the pics:)

Snowmen

2009-12-23T05:46:00.000-08:00

My lil' Sista is here from Oregon and Joseph's Bro is here from Virginia. We had a little craft day yesturday and made these awesome snowmen with the kids. The boys were very creative with theirs. Notice Joseph's has dreads or something and David's is covered with sequins, kind of a picasso if you may. Sunday we put the kids in their Christmas Outfits that I've been holding on to for months. I loved the plaid as we have a lot of Scottish ties. We recently went and saw xmas lights, one house had a show that went to music on the radio it was pretty awesome.

WhoVille

2009-12-18T08:08:00.001-08:00

It's WhoVille at our house today. Crazy hair and Christmas cheer:) I also found this sticker faced child after doing some baking. She was so excited about the stickers until we had to pull them off....ouch! Now check out this video of Kaitlyn, Adam and David their Uncle (Joseph's bro) sledding. Adam was all about it...no fears in all the world. Kaitlyn was not as excited. Watch at the end when Adam just hops on the sled and GOOOOOOOOOOOOO's! Yeah Adam.

Will post again soon.

After Turkey Day Ramblings

2009-11-28T19:53:00.000-08:00

Having family in town is bitter sweet. It's bitter because you know at some point in the very near future they have to leave and that you won't see them for a while but sweet because it is good to be able to share your life with them. I miss my extended family a lot. I guess I am just one of those people that finds tremendous strength from my parents and brothers and sisters. I love my family and am so grateful for them. We look past each others weaknesses and shortcomings and just appreciate the love that we have developed through time and experience. We have had so many challenges as a family...growing up in our household was not all sunshine and roses...but despite it all we love each other and forgive one another for any mistakes we have made and for our weaknesses. I can only imagine the mistakes I am making with my own kids...I am not the perfect parent and have a lot of weaknesses. I just hope that they can learn as much as I have from my own family of love and forgiveness and that they can desire to share their life with me and find strength from that relationship. We had a wondeful Thanksgiving with my parents and are looking forward to Christmas. Happy Holidays and may they be filled with family and love and lots and lots and lots of yummy goodness.

Pretty Much THE Perfect Day!

2009-10-10T20:14:00.000-07:00

Woke up..cuddled hubby and kids...love to cuddle exspecially in the winter!

Husband gave me a healthy breakfast of apples and a Nutrigrain Bar with a glass of water...not how I usually start out my day but I gave it a try:)

House was clean when we woke up...oh so nice!

Went to the Farmer's Market to pick out some Pumpkins, gords and some Veggies. It was oh so bitter cold so we ran quickly back to the car and will probably not be back to the market till next year. (I feel bad for the vendors who are toughing it out for 3 more weeks...yikes it will be cold)

Headed to our new Burlington Coat Factory, almost bought something but the line was way too long to wait for a leotard and some headbands...no not for me, for Kaitlyn. On our way out realized it had started snowing. At this point I was getting kinda anxious b/c it is not even November yet but still had a childish grin on my face b/c well, it was snowing.

Decided to get Kaitlyn and Adam some boots, hats, mittens etc for winter at Target. Found what we needed and hustled to Sam's Club. Did some good food shoppin and some food testing:) They had some really yummy samples today. I usually don't try much at stores but today I was particularly pleased.

Headed home for a good ol' nippy nap nappety nap with my girl Kaitlyn. Naps with Kaitlyn are my favorite time of day!

Woke up to a happy husband who had 2 hours to himself and his playstation that he never gets to play.

Made our pumpkin faces with the kids and put them on the back porch. We are not quite ready to venture to carving pumpkins with two toddlers. Knives and goo and mess...they would love it but one more year..than we will try it! Plus they are cute this way too right?!

Put in a yummy meatloaf and watched "Polar Express" with the fam. It was so nice we all cuddled on the couch and watched our winter movie. Perfect way to invite the Holiday Season:)

Invited a neighbor over for meatloaf and gobbled it up. Put the kids to bed, who went very willingly. Adam even did his first poop on the potty before bed, it's a sweet victorious feeling when your kids start going bathroom on the potty. Don't know why, but it just feels really good.

Had our neighbor watch the kids while we went to Wal'Mart to finish off our food shopping. It's not very often Joseph and I get to food shop together. It always is a treat. I know that is a little sad but it's true.

Finished the ward bulletin, even printed it out so now in the morning I won't be cursing at the printer b/c it's taking too long as we are always running a little late for church:)

Bed time and it's 10:30....the perfect time to go to bed.

Good night!

Not procrastination just VERY busy!!!!!

2009-09-21T05:31:00.000-07:00

So do not be decieved I do read your blogs I just never have time to post on my own once I've read all of yours:) I just realized it's been 3 months and oh my goodness it's been a crazy three months. I will give a recap and than post some pics. To spare you all from my dialogue I will simply do a bulleted list of what we've done..if you want more details just ask...here we go...

1) Drove 4000 miles to Oregon and Back
2) When to the Oregon Coast..had a BLAST
3) Saw over 20 Chiropractic Clinics, got some good ideas
4) Spent some Time with Family...Miss them a lot
5) Went to Temple Square and hung out with Sis In Law Alisyn...SOO FUN!
6) Lots and Lots of playing outside..had a super good summer season
7) Joseph's parents came for Palmer Homecoming, was good to see them
8) Drove back to Utah for Joseph's brother's wedding saw all of Joseph's family it was awesome! They had not all been together in a VERY long time
9) Kaitlyn turned 3---I LOVE 3! 3 is good!
10) Took binkies away from both kids....ended up giving them back on our road trip to Utah when Joseph wanted to drive straight through from Iowa to Utah for the wedding. Yeah, it was crazy. Kids actually like traveling but that was a bit much.
11) Took binkies away again but ended up giving Adam back his at night...poor guy loves his binky. Kaitlyn claims "binkies are NOT for babies" but does not protest for long as she knows as with most protests in our country they get little accomplished:)
12) Potty trained Kaitlyn she is currently wearing Minnie Mouse Undies although a friend just bought her leopard print ones...Joseph refuses to let her wear them. Nathalie, I told ya so.
13) Adam is the epitomy of the Terrible Two's...textbook tatrum thrower and refuses to use words to express himself. We are working on it although I must say he throws a pretty good tantrum. Very impressive!
14) Been camping, Adam got stung twice by a wasp. He was upet for about 10 minutes then wanted to go right back to the same playground infested with the wasps to play. Did some hiking, remembered how much I LOVE hiking. Miss those Oreogn woods.
15) Went to Chicago with some friends, had so much fun. Eat at the Grand Lux Cafe, soooo yummy!
16) Craft-Craft-Craft
17) Bought a huge flat screen T.V. one of Joseph's only purchases since we have been married. He claims,"You would have spent the money anyways so I went ahead and spent it before you could". He is probably right.
18) Have completely stopped exercising but plan to get right back on track tommorow...yeah right...
19) Going to start a diet soon...like when pigs fly.
20) Have been trying to give my kids choices instead of telling them what to do, it requires a lot of creativity and thinking on your toes. Not a master of it yet but plan to be.
21) Been planning a trip to anywhere for forever and really want to go but apparently I have two kids and a husband who is too busy.
22) Been holding my friends new baby, Paige, she is adorable! I actually got to see her be born. Not on purpose, it just kind of worked out that way. So I pretty much consider myself her auntie. Which is good because I'm not ready for another of my own yet but I still get my baby fix. PERFECT!
23) Joseph starts clinic in November, we are starting to see the light at the end of the tunnel. Tute tute! I think I can, I think I can, I think I can. I am not naive enough to not know although that once school is done it only presents a whole new world of challenges and hard work. If it's not hard..it's not worth it...that is what I keep telling myself at least.
24) Kaitlyn started pre-school...She LOVES it and the teachers are awesome!
25) So looking forward to fall and for my parents to come visit.
26) Miss my family and friends in Oregon and everywhere across the world...a lot!
27) Some of my good friends from here are finishing school and I am really sad to see all of them leave.
28) Got released from Nursery and am now the ward librarian. Can I get a woop woop.
29) Almost went to Hawaii but the flights were completely full and we were flying on passes...makes me want to cry.
30) Is anyone else so tired of finishing folding and putting away laundry only to find that sitting in the hampers are 3 more loads. The job never ends...
31) That is how old I am....curse those gray hairs they just keep coming.....Sigh, not sure if I'll ever feel my age again cause last I remembered I was 25

Well hope you laughed at least once. Give me a shout out...which means leave me a message....word to your mama! Peace out Pony... (those are Kaitlyn's two favorite things to say when saying goodbye..well that and giving knuckles)

Two Two Year Olds

2009-06-10T06:32:00.000-07:00

That's right! My kids are both two right now. Every Year from May 18th to July 5th my kids will be the same age. It's kind of crazy. As we speak they are chasing eachother around the house wrestling and playing. I hope they will be best friends, for the most part they already are besides the occasional bite or bump. We are gearing up for summer here in Iowa. We are traveling home to Oregon and will be there for most of our break. We have had lots of fun this spring. Adam celebrated his 2nd birthday at a pizza place with a play gym that has lots of tubes, tunnels and slides. He is getting to be such a big boy and is now talking a lot. Kaitlyn is our little princess. She is so much fun and has so much sass. She has lots of good friends and loves to play with them all the time. She is so lucky to be surrounded by so many cool kids her age. We have been going to the zoo weekly and enjoying the moderate weather we've been blessed with. Low humidity and heat and a lot less severe weather than last year. Joseph is finishing his 5th trimester at school. He is doing really well and is looking forward to what this next year will bring. He took his part one Board Exams and passed with flying colors..wooohoo! Only 3 more parts to go:) I am a crafting maniach. I currently have 8 million projects going. I am almost done with our bedroom wall hangings, been making bows like crazy, nursing covers, Table runners, cards, blankets and all other kinds of fun crafty type stuff. I am loving being involved on campus with a group of partners and spouses of the students. I am going to be the President of the Club this next year and am excited to do some fun outreach type things for the community and to be more involved with Joseph's school. My best friend Nathalie is almost due with her first baby...I am so excited for her and am looking forward to helping her through the first few months of motherhood. I think I'll get my new baby fix from her baby and than I can wait a little longer to have another of my own. I am still a little worn out from having the first two so close. Here are some pics from the last couple of months....enjoy!

NKOTB

2009-04-05T08:52:00.000-07:00

Yeah, the New kids on the block were just in town. Did I go to the concert? No...Did I want to? Yes....Was I willing to pay $80 for a ticket? No...I was in 5th grade when NKOTB came out..I was not as obsessed as some but I must say I could dance up a storm to their music and had a very large button and poster with them on it. I heard them on T.V. recently and sorry to say was not impressed but still it takes a lot of guts to come back after so long....I'm not sure what would have been more fun...to see the New Kids re-live their younger years or to watch all the 30 year old momma's go crazy over their old teen heart throbs...actually I think the funnest part would be to break out all my old dance moves...roger rabbit..running man..mc hammer...oh yeah!!!!

I have been on a crafting binge. A friend from Oregon got me started making Hair Bows over winter break and now I can't stop. I have found many different techniques and love to come up with my own ideas as well. It's a fun craft, you should try it out. I also have been making cards, it is one of my favorite crafts because you can start and finish all in one day. I have a hard time with crafts that never really end. I also have been doing some home decorating. I made our family name with wood letters and Amy Butler paper. I modge podged the paper onto the wood letters and put them on the wall. It turned out great....I plan to do something similar in our bedroom with Amy Butler Paper and our Wedding Photos even including a matching blanket and pillows for the bed. I'll post it when I'm done. I get most of my ideas off of blogs that are dedicated to sharing their crafting ideas and projects. If you know of a good site please let me know. I love new ideas. My sister Amanda recently came and crafted with me. She brought her new baby Estelle who is THE CUTEST BABY ON THE PLANET! I could not get enough of her, or my sister. I miss the both A LOT!

Recently a friend from a club I am a part of on Joseph's campus was diagnosed with Leukemia. Shortly after receiving treatment she had two strokes and underwent brain surgery. Her life completely changed in a matter of moments. I went and visited her just after surgery and she was on life support unable to move her body. She looked completely different, her future looked uncertain. Although she was not LDS our ward felt compelled to fast and pray for her. Her chances of living were one in ten. Miraculously within just a few weeks..I just last night had a phone conversataion with her. I have to tell you after I got off the phone I could not help but smile with amazment, I could not believe that she had come so far so fast. Through this experience I have learned so many things but most of all it is to not take anyone for granted. This girl was one of those people who did not stand out in a crowd, she was quiet and easily unnoticed. I have to admit that I did not make much of an attempt to befriend her beyond just casual conversation. Yet now that I have had the chance to get to know her through this experience I have seen how amazing she is and feel sorry that I did not develop a friendship previous to this experience. It makes me wonder how many people I let pass me by who either need me, or I need them. I want to strive to notice the unnoticed, to get to know everyone I can and not let an opportunity pass to get to know someone and to be friends with them. I want you all to know that I care about you and follow your lives through your blogs and am inspired by your creativity and charisma. You all make me want to be better and do more. Thank you for being my friend...despite my imperfections:)
Till next time...

Wickedly Good

2009-02-18T19:42:00.001-08:00

It has been a "Wickedly Good" Winter! It was filled with family and friends and so much fun. Joseph's family made it in for Christmas and the New Year and than the kids and I made a last minute trip to Oregon to visit my family for a bit. It was so good to be back home. I miss Oregon and all it's simple pleasures. The fresh air, green mountains, beautiful coast line and the best of all family. It was so great to entertain and visit with Joseph's family for Christmas. I decorated the house all festive and made my own stockings. I tried to get real crafty but time slipped away and I did not get all the projects done that I had wanted...in the end though none of that mattered, it was the time spent together with family that made this winter so "Wickedly Good". We all got the chance to see the Broadway show Wicked in Chicago and go to an indoor water park. The play was outstanding, it was good to spend some time in Chicago, we are feeling more and more familiar with it and love to go there. Now we are all back at home. We have had since, a few colds, stomach flu and are hoping we have caught all the viruses that are out this year and are good until next winter:) (Yeah Right) Joseph just celebrated his 29th birthday, we hung out at home and had tacos and cake. Than Kaitlyn was in charge of the entertainment so she organized a game of hide and seek. Joseph is about to head into finals and than start getting ready for his first set of board exams which are in a few weeks. We have a spring break coming up, I am watching 5 kids over the break while some friends head to Hawaii for a vacation. They watched our kids while we went to Spain so we have been planning this for a while. I am gearing myself up to be a "Super Mom" and make having 5 kids look like a piece of cake. I have so many crafts and projects in my basement waiting for me, I like to find ideas off of other woman's blogs, there are a lot of good ones out there. Below are two recipe's I recently found from a magazine my Mom ordered for me. They are simple, easy and turned out great.

Shredded Beef Tacos

Pork Shoulder
Enchilada Sauce
Can Diced Green Chiles
Cilantro
Red Onion
Lime
Corn Tortillas

Put the Pork, Enchilada Sauce and Chiles in a Crock Pot for up to 8-10 hours or until the meat is easy to pull apart. 20 min before serving add some Chopped Cilantro to the Crock Pot let simmer. Also Cut the Onions into thin slices and soak in some fresh lime juice. They will become wilted in 20 min. Stir them occasionally. We like to fry the corn tortillas so they turn a little stiff but you can just warm them up. The recipe just had the tacos having the meat and onions in it but we of course added all the works and they turned out delicious and the best part...SUPER EASY!

Berry Cobbler
oh my gosh this is good

Fresh Berries...I used blackberries and strawberries
Lemon 1 tsp lemon zest and 1 Tbsp Juice
2 Tbsp Corn Starch
1/2 Cup Apricot Preserves
16.5 oz Sugar Cookie Dough (Store Bought)
1/2 cup Oats
1/4 cup pecan pieces

Cut the Strawberries in Half and mix them with the other berries. Add Peach Preserves, Corn Starch, Lemon zest and juice. Mix together until evenly mixed. Pour evenly in a 2 qt baking dish. Knead the cookie dough and oats together. Break into pieces over the berries. Sprinkly with Pecan's. Bake at 375 for 35-40 min or until browned and fruit is bubbling. Put foil on top if it begins to get too brown before finished. Serve warm or at room temperature with ice cream.....

So EASY and So Yummy!

Here are some pics from the many that have been taken this winter.

3 Visitors, A Trip to Alaska, Santa Monica, Hawaii, Atlanta and Spain and a whole season Later....

2008-10-15T17:13:00.000-07:00

Disclaimer: the following and any posts on this blog will not be grammatically correct. I have had the life long disability of poor grammar. Not due to my lack of education but due to my own lack of interest. So if I use "their" instead of "there" or if a comma is incorrect I apologize and warn you that if it sincerely bothers you DO NOT READ THIS BLOG:) This is for you Krista....PS...this is totally friendly people. I am making fun of myself and a previous post of a friend with whom writes so well she could be an employee of the New York Times.

There is a beautiful tree in our front yard that shades us in the summer and gives us privacy from the main road. I love to look out the front window and see it's beautiful blossoms in the Spring, the Green Leaves in the Summer and then in Autumn watch it as it slowly changes through all the beautiful fall colors. Right now it is an amazing mix of light green and yellow. I keep looking at it and thinking, man I got to do some sort of craft project inspired by these beautiful colors. In the Winter our tree becomes an abstract piece of art, bare branches weighed down by the ice and snow that covers it. I just love our tree!

My parents came to visit, and spoiled us rotten. They got us a great BBQer which we have used almost daily and also got us a zoo membership which we also use EVERY week. The last time we went the weather was perfect and the animals were all so friendly and happy. Our little zoo here is the perfect zoo for toddlers. We will miss it over the extreme winter months. My parents also bought me a bike for my birthday so we recently added a bike trailer/jogger and now we can go on bike rides and runs. WE LOVE IT! I can't tell you how good it feels to be able to bike again. The wind blowing through my hair, the speed, the freedom it gives me. It just feels good and the kids LOVE it. We have a really cool bike path (7 miles worth) right at our doorstep. It winds through town and hits an assortment of parks along the way. It is lined with woods and streams, bridges and lots of fun critters. It's one of our favorite things to do. My parents took a walk with us one day while they were here. We also took in the Iowa State Fair which is one of the top 100 things to do in the USA. It was definitely a site to see, complete with tractor dancing. Yes the tractors indeed did dance. We had the most incredible corn dogs imaginable and we saw lots of fun horses and livestock. We were able to see the Nauvoo Pageant and Festival, what an amazing show. David, Joseph's brother, was also here, we enjoyed having his company. We all got to go on a cruise down the Mississippi together as a part of Homecoming at Palmer, where Joseph goes to school.

Ok so I just remembered one of my good friends, who is completely honest, said my blogs are always too long so I am going to stop myself here. My parents came, we had fun!

Then this summer we went to Juneau for a few weeks to visit Joseph's family. We helped out and spent time with the family. Kaitlyn celebrated her birthday while there. She got to ride a helicopter up to the top of the glacier where she drank glacier water and got very very cold. Joseph went with her and said she LOVED it. Joseph also got to go on the zip line tour where he had the time of his life. I settled for a ride up the Tram and a nice hike on top of the mountain.

We went on our first family camping trip a few weeks ago to a nearby campground just to see how the kids would do. We had tin foil dinners and Sm ores of course. Adam slept perfectly. Kaitlyn woke up in the middle of the night and wanted to wander the tent but overall she did just fine. I think once the newness wears off she will sleep just fine in her little sleeping bag. The kids LOVED painting the car with mud and going on an adventure through the woods. The campground, though only 15 minutes from home, was absolutely amazing and we will definitely go back again next spring.

I have been busy with two jobs, one at a chiropractic office working the front desk and soon will also be doing billing and the other at a ice cream store called Maggie Moos. We serve fresh made ice cream and mix in extras on a granite table just like at Cold Stones. It's a lot of fun and it is super yummy too. I work in the evenings with both jobs so we don't need any babysitters and it gets me out as well as brings in some extra cash for gas and diapers:) I am the Nursery Leader at church, which is super fun. If you are also a nursery leader let me know we can exchange ideas. In addition to all of this I am a part of a club on campus where we support and learn about chiropractic. It's a club for spouses or partners of the students and we do educational and fun activities. I enjoy that and especially enjoy the friendships that have formed from it. OH and I turned 30. No big deal. Had a good birthday and decided to cut my own bangs, just for a change. I am getting them cut professionally on Monday, I can't wait. Note to self, when bored and feeling like I want a change, lock up the scissors.

Recently a good friend of mine who works at the local airport took me on a dream getaway to Hawaii. With the accumulation of many fortunate circumstances I was able to go with free babysitting and on a very low budget. My friend Nathalie and I stopped in Santa Monica for a day and visited a friend there and did some major good shopping. Santa Monica really is a dream. It is so beautiful and super exciting. We stayed 5 days in Kauai, which was like heaven. We just layed on the beach, saw all the natural wonders and enjoyed a wonderful boat ride. We saw dolphins, turtles, lizards and cool looking moths. I made some good friends and had a nice relaxing vacation. I owe Nathalie big time for her generous gift and her steadfast friendship. She is amazing and I am so grateful for her and her husband. I love to hang out with them and they have done so much for me. Thank goodness for good friends!

We recently went to the pumpkin patch and got some pumpkins. The kids rode the pony's and petted all the animals. Kaitlyn especially liked the llama. Adam enjoyed the bunnies.

At Palmer they have a Trick or Treat day. I made Kaitlyn and Adam's costumes the morning of. I found some cute furry material and decided to make them Mommy and Daddy's little Monsters! Roaaaar. They turned out well, I was pleased. Kaitlyn thought it was the best day of her life to walk around and have people give her candy. She just quietly walked up to the bowl of candy, took two (which is as much as her hand will hold), and would put them slowly in her bag and walk away. Surprisingly her favorite thing ended up being a note pad she got. What can I say, she loves to draw.

Which leads me to our trip to Spain, where our camera was stolen so we have no pics of the monster costumes. Just think furry and blue. For Joseph's break we went to Madrid and Barcelona. Despite having a bag stolen from literally underneath our noses we had what I would call an amazing time. I had never really experienced Europe and thouroughly enjoyed the ancient history and awe inspiring architecture. I def want to return to Europe it was unforgettable. If you want to see pics of the most beautiful architecture check out my friend Nathalies blog. They took really good pics and were great guides in some of Europes busiest cities. I cannot forget to mention our nights stay in Atlanta and our visit to The Worlds Largest Aquarium. Go people! It is worth the trip, Atlanta is so friendly anf fun. We are going back with the kids FOR SURE!

Since we have been home, life is back to normal. Winter is now upon us. When I started this post fall had just arrived and now all the leaves have fallen and the air is cold and crisp. Snow will soon arrive and so will the holidays. How quickly time goes by, I am so greatful for the amazing experiences we have enjoyed this year. Sorry for the long blog.......you deserve an award if you made it the whole way thru....

There you have it, I am all caught up...wooohooo. Take Blog off the TO DO list, at least until next week when I get to update you again:) We love and care for you all. Let me know how your doing. Even though I don't blog a lot, I do check your blogs....often. Blog on my Blog friends...Blog on!

It's about Time!

2008-09-02T20:34:00.000-07:00

We have been super blessed to have had soooo much go on this Spring and Summer. I have recieved many emails and notes from some of you about my delay in posting. I just want to say Thank You for caring. I got one post done for you today but plan on posting more in the next week of all that we have done so far this summer. Just after Adam's Birthday in May my Older Sister Amanda came to visit us and we were fortunate enough that she could also bring her two little kids Aidan and Mckenna. We had the most fun while they were here. We made a trip to the zoo, The John Deere Museum, the Family Museum the park, the ball pit and had many fun times just staying at home and playing outside. Aidan and Adam loved to wrestle around, well actually Aidan would just lay there and Adam would run up and tackle him over and over again. I am pretty sure Adam will always look up to Aidan as a good friend and cousin. Mckenna and Kaitlyn loved to play together, they had a little hard time here and there with sharing but overall they played well. I can't tell you how much I love my sister. With this visit my heart and mind were made up that after we are done with school here, I have to live close to her and her family. It kills me to think of all this time I am missing out on developing our Eternal Friendship and bond. I love spending time with her and our regular phone calls are what get me through till I get to go back home again. So, I've convinced Joseph that when we are done here we will head directly back to the Portland Metro area where my family is and set up a practice there. We are so excited to find a community to settle down in and be able to serve with Chiropractic Care. While I have been here I have learned a lot about Chiropractic and I just love it. I think it is a important contributor to our nations health and well being. I hope all of you get the chance to experience what Good Chiropractic care can do for you and your families lifestyle. We so enjoyed having my sister and her two kids come to visit. I am so greatful for that experience for Kailtyn exspecially because she can now remember names and faces of people she meets. She asks for Aidan and Mckenna and when I ask her if she loves them she responds with a very enthustiastic , "YEAH"! It makes my heart melt. There will be several more slide show's as the week progress's so come back and check them out soon. Love to you all.

Adamsaurus Turns One

2008-05-28T05:40:00.000-07:00

Adam had the best birthday ever. His birthday was Sunday the 18th so we had a small family dinner with the missionaries. It was fun to have the missionaries here to help us celebrate, hopefully one day Adam will want to serve a mission as well some day. Serving a mission was the best thing Joseph and I have ever done besides have a family. I made Adam a cake but he was not interested so Kaitlyn had his piece:) We got Adam a bunch of balls for his birthday, he LOVES anything to do with sports gear. He was born with the ability to throw a ball, it's pretty amazing actually. He also tackles a football like a pro, and I'm not even kidding. He just automatically knows what to do with the balls it's really kind of weird. I am pretty sure he will be a sports nut. Then later in the week Adam had some visitors, his Aunt Trish and my friend Robin. I went up to Chicago to pick them up, a friend of mine was gracious enough to watch the kids for a day so I did not have to trek them up there and it gave me a chance to explore the city a little. Robin and I while waiting for Trish's plane to get in went and saw Navy Pier and went up the Sears Tower. It was awesome. Thank you so much Michelle, you ROCK!!! Friday we all got ready for Adam's party which originally was planned for a park but it was raining so we switched it to the Institute. It turned out to be so much fun, Adam had lots of friends come and he got some cool presents. Thank you so much everyone. My neighbor and I made him his Dinosaur cake which turned out awesome. I learned lots about cakes, they are fun to make. Saturday we all went to Nauvoo and went on a wagon ride of the city and then headed to Iowa City to go to the outlets where we all found a few new things for summer. Then on Sunday we all relaxed and Robin made us an amazing dinner. She has been taking some cooking classes and boy oh boy have they payed off. Yummy! Monday our guests had to leave, we were sad, we loved spending time with some of our favorite people. Trish and Robin and I laughed a lot and probably stayed up way too late for our own good but we felt we had to make the most of the little time we had. Trish is off to Spain for a month for a study abroad and Robin is back to work, she works hard. As for us, we are getting ready for a few other visitors. Amanda and her kids are coming on Saturday. Adam and Kaitlyn have no idea how much fun awaits them. I don't know how we got so lucky to have such good friends and family. Here are some pics of the last week. Happy Birthday Adam!!!

April Update

2008-04-20T19:03:00.000-07:00

Time is flying by really fast. Next month Adam will be one and Kaitlyn will soon be two. They are the gem's of our lives. It is so much fun watching them learn and grow. I think sometimes as parents we feel like we need to work so hard at teaching our kids things. We plan activities and try to read to them often, expose them to new things etc etc. It's amazing although how easy it is for them to learn at this age. Without even knowing it, you teach them things. I guess what I am saying is, I think as parents we don't have to stress ourselves out so much about what we are and are not teaching our kids and just live. They learn more from just watching what we do and from who we are then anything else I think. Kaitlyn has been learning more and more words each day. It's amazing how quickly children can pick up on words. I'll tell her the name of something once and the next day she will remember it. She loves to ask, "What's that?". She asks that question at least 20 times a day. I love it. Her favorite animal sound is a rooster and she loves this cute web site called Boowa and Kwala which has free games and songs for kids. She laughs so hard at some of the songs, which have animations to go along with them. It's a great site for kids, check it out...http://www.uptoten.com/kids/boowakwala-home.html go to the tab that says 58 songs and go through all the pages. We really like the Toucan Song the best. Adam is standing on his own now and can walk with a walker. He will be walking very soon I believe. Yay! He is such a kind little boy and has a very sweet demeanor. He loves his sister Kaitlyn and follows her around everywhere. He also has learned to climb the stairs so it's time to block them off once again. Adam's hair was getting super long so we took him to a local children's hair salon called "Cookie Cutters". It's so cute it has a play gym inside with chairs that are trains or cars for them to sit in while they get their hair cuts. The hair dresser was really nice and we had a fun time getting Adam's first real hair cut. You can see pictures below. Hope you all are doing well and enjoying Spring. We love and miss you all....The Shepro's

I'm Dreaming of a White Easter

2008-03-26T17:39:00.000-07:00

This Easter was a white one for us. It started snowing Saturday night and then Sunday it snowed off and on. The weather is fairly warm though so it did not stick around very long. Saturday we went to a friends in the morning for a brunch and Easter Egg Hunt. Kaitlyn actually understood a little bit of what was going on this year so it made all the Easter activities fun. She knows that the bunny goes, "Hop-Hop-Hop"! I did not dare try Egg Dying this year but I hope next year we can start that tradition. I saw a cute idea in a magazine to dye easter eggs with chalkboard paint and then let the kids draw on them with chalk. It looked like it might be a little less messy for young kids then egg dying. Anywhoo, Saturday night we went to a chili cook-off and made a super yummy creamy chili, it did not win any awards but it sure was good. If anyone wants the recipe just let me know. Sunday we dressed the kids up in their Easter gear, and went to church and then that evening we went to another friends for dinner. It was a fun weekend even though Joseph had a super lot of studying to do. This trimester is turning out to be one of his hardest ever. Everyone says this is the hardest of them all so we are taking it seriously. Joseph comes home for dinner, helps put kids to bed and that is about all we see him. He does make sure to take a few hours each weekend to have family time with us which is nice. If it's not hard it's not worth it! Kaitlyn is learning words by the minute. Right now she loves to say Cockadoodledoo! We went to the zoo today and she LOVED it! I am so excited to go often this summer since it's only 20 minutes away. Here some pics of our Easter Adventure and of the Quillow I made recently. Cheers....

Spring Is On It's Way!!!!

2008-03-16T20:08:00.001-07:00

This week was eventful. The previous routine I posted went way out the window (Thank Heavens)! The weather actually warmed up, the snow has all melted, the birds are singing and spring actually looks like it may happen. So, the kids and I played outside quite a bit. Kaitlyn LOVES to play at what I call the "Rock Pit"-it's behind the garages in our parking lot and Kaitlyn loves to find different kinds of rocks and then throw them as far as she can. When we are done I kick them all back into the pile. Lucky me! I started making a Quillow, which is a quilt that folds into a pillow..thus a quillow. I met Joseph down on campus for lunch a few days this week which was fun. Friday we all went to the YMCA for the first time. I am so excited to get into an exercise routine. The kids did awesome in the daycare (which is FREE) so I am going to add exercising to my routine on Monday, Wednesday and Friday mornings. Saturday we tried to go see the St. Patricks Day Parade but ended up leaving because it was a little chilly and the parade was getting off to a slow start, really we left because Kaitlyn wanted to run out into the middle of the street and also dig in the gutters which were full of cigarette buts...She is so curious I love it and usually I am all about letting my kids get their fingers dirty but I had to draw the line on this one. Kaitlyn is talking more and more. I think she talks more then I think because I have noticed what I thought was just babbling has now turned into actual words. It's AWESOME! There is something about your child learning to talk..it makes you feel comforted to know they are learning something from you (or maybe Sesame Street). Adam is pulling himself up onto things, almost standing. He is such an animal, he has fast hands. He can grab something like the speed of lightning. He also has started making a noise that sounds like a machine gun so we have started giving him the nick name Ammo. It is so cute. Joseph is really busy lately, studying and involvement at school and church. He is such a trooper. I think he thrives on having work to do. The cutest thing happened Saturday Morning. We went to get the kids up and brought them into bed with us to cuddle and play for a bit (one of my favorite times of day). It was cute though because Kaitlyn and Adam did not want to cuddle us instead they cuddled up to each other and held hands. It was the sweetest thing on earth. They looked at each other with such loving eyes. Adam has been following Kaitlyn around like a puppy dog and most days Kaitlyn will play nice with him. They are really becoming good friends and nothing could make me more happy. I am looking forward to Easter and hope everyone is enjoying the beginnings of Spring. Here are some pictures from this winter....enjoy!

Clarification

2008-03-04T12:12:00.000-08:00

No Joseph is not pregnant (see last blog post).

Under Construction

2008-03-03T12:02:00.000-08:00

Be patient with me while I try to figure out how to make my page more interesting. I have a minute or two here or there to work on it. Currently Adam is at my feet whimpering for some love but I just wanted everyone to know that I am working on it-slowly but surely-I am working on it. Please don't be offended either if you don't see your name in my friends list anymore....I still love you-I just have to re add everyone. We are doing good, Joseph starts his second trimester tomorrow so we are gearing up for that, everyone says the second is the worst so this may be a trying 4 months. Adam is now rolling across the floor as if he might die and any minute due to lack of attention....so better run...

Blog Betrayal

2008-02-20T20:23:00.001-08:00

I have betrayed my blog. I don't update it near enough and I apologize for those of you who check my blog regularly only to find the same old pictures and boring monologues. I am making a new resolution to be a better blogger and hope you all will continue to send me your notes and messages. I love to hear from you more than I enjoy updating you on my ever so routine life. One of my good friends said she does not get an idea of what life is like for me from my blogs so here is the day in the life of Robyn:

6:30 am wake up- don't need an alarm, I wake up at 6:30 am on the dot every morning without fail. The first thought in my head is..."are the kids awake yet"..and I listen for Kaitlyn who usually is talking to Adam and making him giggle. Yep they sleep in the same room now and they sleep mostly through the night. WE DO NOT go get them if they cry, I am a firm believer in the "cry it out method". It has worked wonders for us. Anyways, I think it's funny how much my mood changes between when I put the kids down for bed and when I go to get them up in the morning. At night I can't wait to put them down and in the morning I can't wait to pick them up.....mothers are quick to forgive I have found.

7:00 am put on some sweats and feed the kids breakfast. It takes extra long b/c I still have to feed Adam his cereal. I can't wait till Adam feeds himself, although it will get messier so I guess I'm not sure about that. I usually always watch the news in the morning although, sometimes Kaitlyn watches Sesame Street. We are still teaching Kaitlyn not to throw her food on the floor when she is done, she is slowly getting it but usually every meal includes an intense pick up of Kaitlyns leftovers.

8:00 am Depends on the day, Most days it's time to get ready, other days it's time to veg on the couch while the kids play. It just depends...

Getting ready is fun with two babies. It used to be easy b/c I could put both kids in the shower with me every morning, which makes it easier b/c I know where they are and what they are doing. But it's been so cold here, that a shower every day makes their skin dry so lately I jump in the shower as quickly as possible and leave the kids in their room hoping that when I get out their dresser drawers aren't emptied all over the floor or that Kaitlyn is not sitting on Adams head. Then by this time Kaitlyn is mad that she can't play in the toilet or climb up the toilet to the sink and or get into my makeup and Adam is super upset that I am not holding him and or that he cant play with the cord from the heater. (He LOVES electrical cords) So I get ready while I listen to them cry and whine, every so often I try to find something to entertain them but for some reason at this time they have short attention spans and they just want Mommy so either I am able to finish getting ready or I give up and just make do.

9:00 Whew, I made it to Adam's first nap. He goes down and I give Kaitlyn her nebulizer treatment for asthma. She watches cartoons to distract her, usually Elmo's world and then it's time to play. Depending on my mood I will be creative with the kids or I will let them just wonder and play on their own which they are good at. Kaitlyn loves to get into the kitchen drawers and play with the utensils, we read books a lot and make forts with the kitchen table. We also love to put on music and dance. But I'll be honest, I usually have shows recorded on my DVR that I want to watch so sometimes I play with them sometimes I watch one of my shows. The shows I tape are, American Idol, Project Runway, Lost, Oprah, Supernanny, Biggest Loser...I am waiting for the new Top Chef..yay.

10:30 Snack Time...yes all of us get a snack. This is usually when I start getting excited b/c after snack time is NAP Time...yay! My favortie time of day, only b/c I cuddle Adam while he sleeps for like 2 hours. Just the most precious time of day. He is so cute and I love to just wrap my arms around him and watch him sleep. When he wakes up he smiles so big at me and we play a little bit. He is such a sweet heart. I sometimes take a nap with him but most of the time I watch T.V. while he sleeps. If I have "things to take care of" I'll set him down and get them done but to be honest, all my bills are on automatic bill pay, I don't have a lot going on that requires attention and my crafts I do at night so anyways, I don't have a lot of pressing issues to deal with. It's not necessarily a good thing, I like having stuff to do, so it's weird to not have a pressing to do list. I miss it.

11:00 Nap time....

1:00 Lunch Time....usually at this point I am thinking what can I do for the next 4 hours to get me through until Daddy get's home.

2:00 I battle myself, try NOT to turn on the T.V. I wish more then anything I could just take the kids outside but it's SOOOO Cold and we have only one car so usually I don't have transportation to go anywhere so I have to be creative at home. As of late Kaitlyn likes to stand on a chair at the sink and play with water, dance, bubbles, play upstairs in her room and look out the window, slide around on a blanket, jump on me, get into everything she's not suppost to, Play in her playhut, climb the stairs and read. Adam loves to just crawl around and find electric cords to chew on. He follows Kaitlyn around and usually gets squished by her.

3:00 Adam goes down for his last nap and I spend quality time with Kaitlyn. Lately by this time Kaitlyn is really "spirited" and so to calm her down and keep her from waking up Adam I'll put on a movie..her "FAVORITE" is Finding Nemo. She LOVES it.

4:00 Think about dinner and start it while Kaitlyn and Adam climb at your feet. It's a challenge to make dinner. If your smart you plan out strategically how each child will be entertained while you make it. Usually Kaitlyn is at the sink and Adam is having a bottle in his high chair. But often I am fighting to make dinner and keep from stepping on Kaitlyn who "needs me NOW".

5:00 Hope that Joseph is home and ready for dinner. He stays at school and studies so that when he get's home he can help put kids to bed and give me some attention. We eat dinner as a family which I love and then it's time to start the bedtime routine.

You know the routine....usually a bath, lotion, pj's and then we play with them until 7pm and then whew say our prayers and time for bed. Then I walk down the stairs, exhale and decide what I want to do with the rest of my night....Below are my options..

Clean
Food shopping
Craft store
Relief Society Activity
Internet Surfing and Blogging
Sewing ( I've been making these cool nursing covers for friends)
Little crafts
Watch T.V.
Talk on the Phone
Go see a friend

I usually get to bed by 10:30pm....I try to always read some scriptures and have been as of late reading a book called Temples and Cosmos by Hugh Nibley...

Well there you go my life in a nutshell. I do have fun...I have lots of good friends who help make life interesting. Joseph is so busy all the time but he still finds moments to make me laugh. My life has never been so routine but it also has never been so full of joy. Kids are awesome they just bring pure love into your life and teach you so many important things. I feel blessed that I can stay home with my kids and watch them grow up. I know it's a blessing and I feel like sometimes I fail to give them all they need. But I have watched myself grow as I have overcome challenges, found ways to be creative and learned how to be more patient. Maybe some of you can relate to my life...I hope this may comfort a few out their, just to know that they are not along in this world in the daily routine. I am here with you girls and we are doing it together. Yay for stay at home Mom's. I am excited for this next week..Joseph has a break so watch out world here I come...

Christmas 2007

2008-02-01T21:14:00.000-08:00

We were so blessed to be able to fly home for Christmas. My sister Amanda flew over here to Iowa and helped me get ready to leave and then flew back to Oregon with the kids and I. Joseph stayed behind for a few weeks and finished school and then joined us just before Christmas. I feel so grateful for a family who is so supportive and caring...everyone pitched in to make our stay amazing. Joseph and I even got to get away for 3 days while family watched our kids. We went snowboarding and I got to go clothes shopping. Yay! It was so good to see friends and family and to just feel "at home" again. My sisters and I went to a spa and had massages, manicures and pedicures. I think every Mom deserves some pampering every once in a while. I felt like a new woman after four hours of pure relaxation. I love to be with my sisters too. They always make me feel good. Amanda is a Mom of three and makes sure she is deeply involved in all of her kids lives. She is always on the run, doing things for others and trying to better herself. She has this amazing ability to know what others are in need of and fulfilling it. She is always anxiously engaged in service for others. My other sister Trish just started Law School and survived her first trimester, way to go Trish! She is always there to add a fresh perspective on things and is so intelligent it makes me feel like we come from different gene pools. She has an amazing sense of fashion and keeps my sister and I young. Despite her sophistication Trish will always be the sweet little angel we all loved to cuddle when we were younger. She is so precious. I love my sisters to pieces. While were in Oregon my brother Tim and his wife had their first baby. He is so cute and they are besides themselves with joy. I am so happy for them. It was a long road of up's and down's but now looking back it all seems so right. Little Sam came at the perfect time. My other brother Mark and his family were finally able to move into their newly remodeled house (my parents old house) and are having lots of fun with all the extra space. My parents recently moved into a new condo in Lake Oswego. They love living in the city and have really found themselves a nice place to live. My parents work together doing Financial Planning and are super busy managing a Beneficial Life office there in Lake Oswego. I've never seen them so busy, but then again, I've never seen them so happy either. Well, there is an update on my family for those of you who know them. I love them so much and am so glad I got to be home for Christmas this year. Hope everyone's year has gotten off to a good start. We are excited to plow through this year and make it a good one. Here are some pictures of our Christmas Break...

Tag

2007-11-14T19:11:00.000-08:00

Can't we play Red Rover, Red Light Green Light or Sardine's even? I suck at tag. I am super slow and have no endurance. But whatever, I guess I've been tagged so watch out I'm coming to get you.....(Please sense my sarcasm...)
"Tagged" RULES:
1. List the link to your tagger and also post these following rules.
2. Share 7 facts about yourself on your blog - some random, some weird, etc.
3. Tag 7 people at the the end of your blog also leaving the links to their blogs
4. Let them know they are "TAGGED" by leaving a comment on their blog.

Alison Bevans Tagged me the little stinker. She even commented that I may not even check my site to notice....well Miss Bevans...I want to set the record straight. I regularly, weekly at least, check all your blogs. I love to keep up on all the goings on with those who have meant so much to me in the past. What did people do before blogging? We would be left to wonder how our good old friends or "kindred spirits" were doing and hope that maybe one day there would be the off chance of running into them and that you could somehow catch each other up on the last 10 years. Thank you Blog inventors for your genius and inspiration, making it possible for all us Bloggers to enjoy our friends and families from a distance. I've come to the conclusion although that I'd much rather check your blogs out then update my own. By the time I've read all your blogs, I'm tired and ready for bed usually. I am going to try harder to post more regularly and please send your comments because I'd love to know who is checking out our Blog and I'll comment more often so you all know that I've been peeking in on yours as well...

Let's see seven facts about myself....

1) I tell myself I'm not good at crafty stuff, but the more stuff I try the more I realize, I'm not half bad at it...I've taken up card making, sewing, Relief Society Craft Night's and want to get into photography. Not as a business but just so the family pictures I take can look a little better. By the way you all are amazing photographers!

2) I like to watch reality T.V. I recently got hooked on Wifes of Orange County. It's one of those shows you tell yourself you would never watch but then one day you somehow watch a little and the next thing you know your DVR'ing the next couple episodes to watch later...don't think less of me please.

3) I am a major "To Do" list person. I have a master To Do list, then I have a smaller list I take around with me that has the immediate items to be done on it. Then I sometimes have more lists depending on how much is going on. One thing I hate though is that before I can cross off everything on my list, I update it and erase all the things I've done and add more. My list pretty much always stays the same size. I also hate the items that never leave the list like, clean house, do laundry, pay bills, buy diapers.......you get the picture.

4) Is it ok that I like to take pretty much every opportunity to leave the kids at home with Joseph so I can have a break. I am involved in every Relief Society Enrichment Group not only because I like to be social but mainly because it means I get a night off with the kids. Am I a bad Mom?

5) I worry a lot about everything. I wish I could be more like my husband who is so calm, collected and knows how to relax. I guess I have a worry wart, but I can't find it anywhere, it must be hidden somewhere inside me but man I wish I could burn it off!

6) I actually like to give talks in church and or give lessons. I try to act like I don't because that is what everyone else does and I don't want to seem like I have a big head but I like the process of studying and learning and then getting passionate about sharing what you've learned. Maybe that's why I want to be a teacher.

7) I LOVE TO COOK! Yes people this is a new passion of mine. If I could go back I would have started learning a long time ago. I don't even like to go out to eat anymore because well it's not as fun and usually not as good. Not because I'm a good cook as much as there just isn't a lot of options here and going out to eat with a one plus year old....yeah most of you I'm sure know my pain. Cooking really isn't that hard, you just have to learn the techniques and know how to follow a recipe. I love to get recipe's from Food Networks internet site and to try new things. Today I made a lentil soup with Kielbasa Sausage...it was YUMMY! I also think it's fun to share recipe's so if your a cooker too, we should do a recipe swap. I have some good ones!

Well hopefully you all still like me....I'm kind of a sarcastic person so please read everything I write with that in mind. I try to be funny but most of the time no one gets my humor but me. I'm one of those people that is funny because I'm not funny...if that makes sense....

I tag...

Amy: coatesfam.blogspot.com
Garth: adriaandgarthtingey.blogspot.com
Bethany: davemadden.blogspot.com(Dave you will have to sit her down and make her do it)
Jodie: jodhubmorrisonfamily.blogspot.com
Heather: donaldson-family.blogspot.com
Mandy: tay-tay-young.blogspot.com
Anna: fowlerfam.blogspot.com

Hello From Iowa...

2007-10-01T11:34:00.000-07:00

We are doing good out here in Iowa. Last night there was a Severe Thunderstorm, strong winds and lots of rain. It was a tid bit scarry but I hear it's nothing compared to what is to come. We recently had JJ, Alisyn and Sione (who are Joseph's Sisters and Nephew) to visit. We had tons of fun with them, we went to Nauvoo and also saw Carthage Jail what an amazing experience. I feel so lucky that the closest temple is the Nauvoo temple. Joseph and I got called as Temple Patrons so we have to go each month, oh darn right?! We also drove around Davenport and went to our local zoo, which is actually really good. You can get super close to the animals and they even have a great petting zoo. Joseph is a week away from finishing his first trimester here. He is excited because next trimester will be his first in the Chiropractic Program. Finally he is going to start learning what he is interested in. We are having a good time here, lots of wonderful families and events to attend. The relief society here is really good about doing enrichment groups so I have joined I think all of them. I love to get out, can't stand sitting at home all the time so I try to do everything and anything. I recently bought a sewing machine and started sewing nursing covers like the "Hooter Hiders" you can find online. They are super easy to make and are Fabulous for nursing. I just make them for friends, I also have been making cards. I also thought I'd try knitting something this year. Yikes, I'm getting crafty, never thought I would but I must admit it's kind of fun. I think I spent almost 2 hours at the craft store the other day, and actually enjoyed it. Kaitlyn and Adam are growing up so fast. Adam is pushing his chest up off the ground, starting to grab and play with toys, starting to talk a lot more and is almost ready I think for some cereal. Kaitlyn is still cutting her two front teeth so is VERY cranky and not her usual fun loving self. She loves to be outside though so whenever it gets to be too much for her we go to the park or play out back. She is pretty easy to please. She is beginning to talk but is a little shy about it and is currently addicted to her daddy. She wants to play with Joseph all the time and gets upset when he has to leave. I do to actually:) We are doing good and are so grateful for the gospel and it's teachings. We feel sheltered from the many storms that come, not just the thunderstorms but the storms of life as well. We love and miss you all a ton. Hope Fall is as beautiful where you are as it is here. The Shepro's

Just a Slide Show

2007-08-25T19:38:00.000-07:00

One Long Blog Ago....

2007-08-03T12:04:00.000-07:00

It's about time, Right? One long Blog ago, we used to keep this thing updated. It's been hard with both babies to keep all my different accounts going. I have friends with Blogs, friends on Myspace and even some friends on Facebook. I wish I could get everyone I know to be in one place. Just for your information my myspace url is http://www.myspace.com/rshepro and you can find me on facebook as well. Anywhoo...What is going on with the Shepro's. Well we had Kaitlyn's 1st birthday part at Silver Creek Falls Park. It was lots of fun. She is just now walking, at her own leisure, and starting to do sign language and copy whatever I say. So, I've had to watch what I call her b/c the last thing I need her to do is to start calling people "stinker butt". My favorite thing Kaitlyn does is when she has to go to the bathroom, she stops whatever she is doing and gets a very serious look on her face and makes grunting noises. It is disgusting I know, but oh so funny. If you don't appreciate potty humor, sorry for that comment. Adam is now almost 3 months old. He is getting more and more charismatic as you can see by the photo above. He likes to smile and laugh and is holding his head up well. He has been such a good baby despite the scary start we had. Thank goodness for his patience b/c having two so close together has not been the easiest. And now that I said that, he just started crying, I'm going to have to feed him. Why is that whenever you say something nice about one of your children they have to go and instantly prove you wrong. For instance every time I say how well one of my kids is sleeping- that night they will sleep terribly. It's almost like they hear you and think to themselves, "oh ya-ya think so. Well we'll see tonight won't we". So we moved to Davenport Iowa. It's right on the Mississippi River, part of the Quad Cities, which means it's part of 4 cities so it's actually quite busy here. Lots of good ol' American roots, it's nice to experience a different culture. Davenport is full of art, music and sports. Everyone seems to run, besides me of course.. just kidding I run, when I have too. I do like going on walks though and they have the absolutely best trails for walking. 7 miles worth in fact that run through different parks and even take you by the new public library. Can't get much better then that when your a "mommy". The trail goes right by our apartment too. We love our town house. It's very large, well maintained and is surrounded by other LDS couples going to Palmer (the chiropractic school) and they all have young kids like we do. I know I'll make some good friends here. There is also an Institute at the school so I am taking a course independently. Joseph is studying hard, he is currently taking some classes to get his Bachelors in general science and Organic Chemistry. He will start the Chiro program the beginning of November. He is loving it, definitely in his element here. I love watching him learn and get excited about his career. So, besides missing my family and friends a TON, this place is turning out to be pretty amazing. Plus the corn is to die for. Even if none of you come to see us, you got to come just so you can have some corn. (you all are welcome anytime! anytime!! I mean it anytime!!!!!) We love you all to pieces and hope life is bringing you lots of good things. We are so grateful for the Lord and for the Gospel. It has brought us to many great places in our lives and I'm sure to many more.

Down of the Mississippi River...

Pumpkin Patch and Kaitlyn's Blessing

2006-11-06T12:16:00.000-08:00

Well, it's already November and Christmas is right around the corner. I can barely believe it. Time is flying by so fast. Joseph is working hard in school, learning lots about anatomy, physics and chemistry. He is really busy with school but somehow still finds time to be a good Dad and husband. He is "Super Dad"! We just moved to Albany, across the street from LBCC where Joseph goes to school. That has made life a little easier for us. We are lucky enough to have some friends in our new ward and so we felt right at home. We went to an orchard to pick out our pumpkin for Halloween. It was a lot of fun, the fall colors are so beautiful here in the Willamette Valley this time of year. Kaitlyn was blessed a few Sundays ago. She was beautiful in her white dress and she was so quiet for the blessing. We had a big party for her and her cousin David who was blessed the same day as well as for the many Birthdays that were in our family this time of year. I think we celebrated six birthdays. Kaitlyn is getting soooo big. She is over the 100th percentile for weight and average for heigth. She is laughing and giggling and is almost sitting up. She also likes to try to stand. Her favorite pass times are watching Baby Einstein and playing "peek-a-boo"! We love her tons and are so excited to see her grow. We are also excited because we are expecting a little brother or sister for Kaitlyn. Yep, I am prego again. It wasnt exactly what we had planned on, and it's going to be really hard, but if any family can do it-we can! (Or at least that is what I'm telling myself) We love you all so much. We would love to hear from each of you. Have a very happy Thanksgiving!

Our Photo Gallery

2006-08-21T17:32:00.000-07:00

Hey guys, just wanted you to know we set up a link from our blog here to our Kodak photo gallery. See the links that are on the right of this page. The photos are on a cool web site put out by Kodak where you can easily share a lot of photos at once with family and friends. It is a lot easier then trying to post a lot of pictures on the blog or through email. Check them out if your interested. Love you all lots. The Shepro's

Kaitlyn Joan Shepro

2006-08-15T17:34:00.000-07:00

Here she is, our "Sweet Little Angel-Sent From Heaven". She arrived July 5th at 1:30pm weighing in at a whopping 6lbs 11ounces. She came as a surprise (2 1/2 weeks early), we were not ready, but I guess who really is their first time? We were scheduled for a weekend lamaze class the weekend after she was born so we had no formal training :) but we saved $70 bucks by not taking the class and we did just fine without it. That is of course thanks to my sister Amanda who coached me through the about 12 hours of intense contractions and then about 35 min of pushing. YIKES! I did it all without any drugs (not by choice) and do not reccomend it to anyone who does not enjoy severe pain. IT HURT! I plan on making sure I get an epidural next time. But once our beautiful Kaitlyn was here it was all worth it, the whole thing, and yes I will have more kids despite how awful pregnancy is!

Joseph did a fabulous job, he was right there with me the whole time, cheering me on and stuff. What a man, what a man, what a mighty good man.....here is a sweet picture of him...as you can see he is really excited to be a new Dad!

It has been fun and challenging to learn all that comes with being parents. We are developing many new skills, like being able to function on little to no sleep and change a diaper in less then 30 seconds. We also have learned that it takes just a little bit longer to get ready to leave the house, we can't just up and go anymore. But those precious moments, staring into your little childs eyes are priceless and unforgettable. I am doing great, had a quick recovery and have a hard time staying at home. I take Kaitlyn out everywhere and have shown her many new things. She is such a good girl and is growing up so fast. It's been almost 6 weeks already since she arrived and she has definately developed tremendously. She is starting to smile, coo and hold her head up while on her tummy. She is a quick learner. We love her to pieces and honestly believe she ist he cutest baby in the world :)

We recently arrived in Juneau Alaska and will be here for the rest of the summer. This is Joseph's parents first grand baby so we had to come and let them enjoy her. We had an adventure getting here. We stopped in Seattle for a few days and visited Joseph's Grandma and Cousin. It was neat for Kaitlyn to be held by her Great Grandma and to spend some time with them. The day after we arrived in Juneau, Joseph's sister, JJ, had her baby boy. So Kaitlyn got to meet her cousin and they have enjoyed taking naps together and such. They are the cutest. I will post some pictures of them together soon. We are glad to be here in Juneau with Joseph's family and send our love to all of you. We hope everyone is doing well. We will post more often now that the storm has settled. Love lots, The Sheprosaurus's

Batman Surprise

2006-05-15T22:36:00.000-07:00

My older sister Amanda's son Aidan turned three last week. Anyone who knows Aidan knows that he is one special kid. He loves Batman, as you can see he even sports the Batman clothing line. For a few weeks before his Birthday his Mom and I arranged for Batman to come to Aidan's birthday party, but only if he started to go pee pee in the potty. We made a few phone calls to the Batline and had Aidan talk to Batman in anticipation of his birthday party. Batman told Aidan he would only come to the party if Aidan went pee pee and poo poo in the potty. Well, Aidan did start using the potty and he talked about Batman and his birthday party for weeks until finally the day came. Aidan's party was at my house, we had a Batman cake and everything. About half way through, Batman really did arrive at the door for Aidan's party. Aidan was in awe. He hardly believed his eyes, he really believed it was Batman. When it was time for Batman to go and get back to fighting crime, he made a extravagent exit, leeping from the balcony with his cape flowing in the wind and all. Aidan was left with his mouth wide open and feeling content that truly Batman had just come to his party. It was a day to remember. Batman's true identity still is not yet known, although I saw something in his eyes that looked remarkably familiar. Poor Joseh missed seeing Batman, he mysteriously disapeared just before Batman arrived. Hmmmm....

Fancy Feet

2006-05-15T22:08:00.000-07:00

We had an exciting Mothers Day Weekend. All the ladies in the Clements family got together Saturday morning and got spa pedicures. Mother Clements had never had one and the rest of the girls were definatley in need of some pampering. We all laughed and giggled and talked about girl stuff. I highly recommend it to all you woman out there who work hard and need a break!

Chillaxin in the Sun

2006-05-08T20:47:00.000-07:00

Watch out! It's the Maddens.......

Spring is here and we could not be happier. We planted a few things in our small garden and have been watching them slowly grow. We have tomatoes, cucumbers, a variety of herbs, a gerber daisy (one of the most happiest flowers) and some snapdragons (which are fun to play with because you can make them talk and sing). Joseph is working hard in school and getting good grades while I am recently with out a job and finding myself with a lot of extra time on my hands. I started a prenatal yoga class, which I LOVE, and have been helping my sister with her kids while she gets ready to go back to work. I am attempting to get started on making a baby blanket and finally getting to all those pictures that need to be organized, they go as far back as high school (I have ALOT of work to do). Something about scapbooking and me just don't get along. I just got my invite to my 10 year high school reunion which is kind of scarry but at least I'll have had the baby by then and had a little time to hopefully shed off some of the baby weight. The baby is growing fast and packin quite the punch. It loves to sit on my bladder which is lovely when you are nowhere near a bathroom. I have had to waddle my way to the car quite a few times and head to the nearest restroom. I am on my 30th week and am getting really excited to meet this bundle of joy that has been inside me for the past 7 months. Plus I am excited to have something to do that is as worthwhile as being a Mom! Well, we have not taken any pictures recently but here are some from the wedding and so forth for those who havnt seen them. We love to read about all of everyones stories and news here on the blog waves. You all are so wonderful. We are looking forward to Memorial Day weekend because we get to go see Ben Harper and Bedoin Soundclash in Bend. We are also going to camp the weekend out, if we can find a campsite that is. (If anyone knows of a good campground near Bend that is first come first serve, let us know..thnxs) Till next time....over and out.

The Prehistoric Sheprosaurus's

2006-04-03T10:41:00.000-07:00

We finally are waking up to the world of Blog. Who came up with that name anyways, "BLOG", whoever it was, was a genius! Just say it a few times, it's fun...Blog Blog Blog. Well, anyways Joseph and I are doing well. I am now 5 1/2 months pregnant. It's been a weird experience, at first I felt invaded and couldnt help but feel like I was in the movie Aliens and that any minute this weird creature was going to explode through my stomach, but now I am slowly coming to terms with the fact that, that probably won't happen. No really, I am learning to find joy in the nausea, back aches, weight gain, flatulence, heartburn, headaches and all the other fun things that come along with being pregnant. All you other mom's know what I am talking about I am sure. It's all worth it though when you feel that little thing squirm inside you. It's a miracle really and we are so excited to be parents. I am sure all the suffering will be worth it in the end. Joseph is working hard in school, he is studying general science right now heading to Chiropractic School here in the near future. We are both working part time and making all the pennies count. Joseph has helped me learn to hate the mall-we have saved a lot of money since. We hope you all are enjoying the beginnings of spring and are finding joy and happiness in life. We are loving more than anything being married and starting a family. We miss terribly all our family and friends who are far away and wish you knew how often we thought of you. We will keep blogging hope you will let us know how you are doing. Blog On...Blog On my friends...