#3- Describe your relationship with your spouse

My relationship with Jacob is the purest sweetest relationship I have ever been in. Jacob is everything to me. He is my other half, my best friend, my lover, my companion, my dream come true, my knight in shining armor, my light in the darkness, my everything. He makes me want to be better. Be more spiritual, more patient, more kind and caring. He is so kind and encouraging and loves me despite my mistakes. We talk about everything. I know if I want to know where he stands on any subject I can ask him and he will tell me. Always. He is completely honest with my and I try my hardest to be completely honest with him. I know that he will never talk bad about me or tell my secrets or make fun of me. I trust him completely, in everything. Honestly I feel bad for everyone who isn't as happily married as we are. I wish everyone could find some one as perfect for them as Jacob is for me. I'm not saying that our relationship is absolutely perfect. I get after him sometimes and we have hurt feelings sometimes, but I am completely happy being married to him. I am so blessed he came along when he did. I would have settled for someone who wasn't as good of a match for me if he didn't, but I'm so glad he did because the relationship I have with him is beautiful. I'm grateful for him and is influence on me. I'm grateful for his influence on our kids too. He is always explaining things to them and teaching them things I wouldn't think to tell them or teach them. He is always telling them the why of things and I love it. He is willing to provide for our family without complaint and he makes it possible for me to live my other dream of staying home with my kids. I love him and honestly can't imagine my life with anyone else.

#2- 3 Legitimate Fears

List 3 legitimate fears and how they became fears.

1. That Jacob won't come him from deployment. I know it's quite silly because he is actually pretty safe. But there is a part of me that worries about him. Even if he is safe from terrorists, there is always the random accident that could happen like a plane crash or something. I worry because I'm not sure I would be good enough to take care of my kids on my own forever and to teach them what they need to know and to be kind people on top of trying to provide for them. Preople say that when their spouse  is deployed it is like being a single monther, but it is nothing like being a single mother. I get to stay home with my kids all the time. I don't have to worry about providing for them financially, and when I have a rough day, I can email or text Jacob and I always have his feed back and encouragement helping me along. 

2. Heights. Like as in roller coasters. I seriously get freaked out on them. In fact I have even cried when the ride has started because I was so scared. I kind of like going on them with Jacob because then I can cuddle close to him or squeeze his hand and he thinks its funny but I would never go on one by myself. I especially hate the ones that go upside down! They are the worst!

3. Death. I never used to be afraid of dying. I know where I will go after I die and I'm not afraid of that at all. The thing I am afraid of, is what would happen to my family, especially my kids. Who would take care of them? Who would sing them songs and play with them? Who would kiss them and teach them and love them? I know they would still have Jacob, but it's a big job to do on your own, and he would still need to work. I don't want anyone else to have to raise them. That's my job, and I want to have the opportunity to do it. I love being their mom. 

9 Months

WHERE IS THE TIME GOING? I can't believe Kent is 9 months already! Before I know it we are going to move and he will be a year old!

Oh my goodness, I love this little trouble maker of mine. He is into everything! He can open cupboards and drawers and he can reach onto my table and onto the bathroom counters. He finds all of the things I don't want him to get into and puts it all in his mouth. I can't even tell you how many little pig tails that I use to do Rachel's hair end up in his mouth, and he chokes on everyone of them. I am pretty good at the finger swipe, but he is also pretty good at dodging me.



Kent is a very low-maintenance kid. I have to keep an eye on him because he likes to explore and get into things, but he likes to go off and play by himself or with Rachel. He never sits still. He likes to be off and into something all the time.  

He is a master at pulling books off of the shelves. It drives me crazy. I honestly wouldn't mind too much except he is also very good at ripping the books. It makes me sad. 

 

This picture makes me laugh. He had fallen asleep in the high chair and this was him whining when he woke up. :)

Kent can and does climb into the bath tub to play with the bathtub toys all on his own. He can also turn the water on in the bathtub all by him self. Like I said he is trouble! :)

 

He is the messiest eater ever. It doesn't matter what we are eating, but it ends up all over his face, hands, shirt, tray, the floor, you name it. He often even has it in his hair! Also when he is done eating he has taken to dropping whatever is left on his tray, onto the floor. He knows he isn't supposed to do it too because he looks at me like he is trying to tease me.

He is a really good eater though. He likes most any food I give him. Lately he has been boycotting bread products but other than that he usually eats just about everything. Some nights he eats more than Rachel does.

Kent is no longer sleeping in a crib, or in my bed. He sleeps on a twin size mattress on the floor. He is getting better and better at sleeping on it by himself. He even occasionally puts himself back to sleep when he wakes up during the night. He still wakes up often to nurse, and I often fall asleep in his bed nursing him, but its a step in the right direction at least. 

He is a super happy baby and he loves to tease his mama and be teased. Sometimes he comes up to me and pulls my hair until he gets a reaction. He likes when I rough him up and push him around and tease him. He also likes to tease his sister. I think that just comes with being a little brother though. 

He is incredibly sweet and cuddly. He loves to cuddle with his mama.

Kent has started signing and I love it. He signs more, milk, water, and all done. It is kind of funny though because his sign for more is clapping. Close enough.

This is his sign for water.

Kent is walking. He just took his first steps a few days ago, but he is getting braver and braver and can take 4 steps now. I will have to wait to get a video of it til I have an extra person to take it. I just don't have enough hands to get one on my own. I'm really excited for him to start walking. It will open up new things for him and I know he will love it. I'm also excited because this kid is heavy. He only gained a half pins this month puttin him at 23.6 pounds. He makes my arms tired from holding him so it will be nice to be able to just hold his hand and let him walk instead of carrying him everywhere.

He pats my back when he hugs me, but instead of a pat it is more of a whack. I love it.

 

Kent says more, mama, and dada and I think he says no sometimes too unfortunately. He also babbles a ton and I love it. He also likes to sing. He will sing if we are playing the piano or if we are singing and it is the cutest thing ever!

I love this little Kent boy so much! Even though I say he is trouble, he really isn't. He is just really curious, and wants to see how everything works. I love seeing how his mind works and seeing just what he is going to get into next. 

#1- 20 Random Facts

List 20 Random facts about yourself.

1. I get easily excited about things. More excited than is normal I'm sure. When we lived in Monterey anytime we saw the ocean I couldn't help but be happy. Going to a book store or having a little party with my family. Reading a book or going for a walk. Going swimming or playing a card game. I take joy in the simple pleasures of life.

2. I like to cook. I like making meals for my family. I like making fun and yummy things out of nothing. I like keeping my family fed and happy.

3. I love to read. Reading is my number one favorite thing to do in my alone time. It helps me escape from worries and responsibilities and gives me time to just be free. I love getting lost in books. I also love reading books with my kids and showing the wonder that is books. I also love reading with my husband. I love hearing what he is thinking about what we are reading and getting an insight into his mind.

4. I am an introvert. Making friends was never a strong suit of mine, but thankfully other people have been willing to reach out to me. I am a very private person and don't share my thoughts and feelings as often as I probably should. My smile I can share with anybody though.

5. I love snuggling with my husband. Seriously it is the best thing in the world. I love to snuggle and talk with him or snuggle and sleep or snuggle and watch a movie. I like to snuggle with him when I'm sad and  he is comforting me, or when we are happy and it just makes us happier.

6. I'm a chicken. Especially at night, and especially when I'm alone. I can't shower at night when I'm by myself because I'm sure someone will sneak into my house and murder me or kidnap my kids. I have to be careful what books I read when I'm alone. I like mystery books but if I'm alone I get too freaked out!

7. I don't like to decorate, and you can tell by my house. I don't put a lot of effort into it. I do it once when I first move into a house and things stay where they were initially put for the rest of the time we live there. I like making decorations though but I don't like getting them out and putting them away and deciding where they should go. I wish they would do that on their own (or that my mom would come do it for me.)

8. I plan on homeschooling my kids. I'm not sure if we will home school all the way through high school but at least in the beginning we are going to home school. We have many reasons we are choosing this route, but I'm quite excited about it.

9. I like military life. I like moving around a lot. I the chance to see so many new places and meet so many new people.  I love the fact that my husband is serving our country every single day. I like the military community. I like being in wards that have lots of military families in them. I like being a military spouse. I don't love being apart from my husband, but I love the fact that we can trust each other and that going through the separations just makes our loves stronger and makes us appreciate each other more. We definitely don't take each other for granted that is for sure.

10. I love swimming but I'm afraid of water. I've never been a good swimmer. In fact I never learned how to swim until I took a swim class in college. I've always been somewhat afraid of the water, but I absolutely love being in the water (as long as it isn't too deep). I love feeling so light in the water. I love how happy it makes my kids to go swimming. I love feeling the hot sun and the cool water. I especially love being in the water when I'm pregnant. It's the best feeling ever!

11. I loved school. Elementary school, middle school, high school, and even college. Even now I wish I could take a class now and then. I loved learning new things and I didn't even mind taking tests about them. I'm kind of a nerd that way.

12. I love to be warm and hate being cold. I've never liked the cold (unless you count ice cream). I love summer and I love when it's warm outside. I think my perfect outside temperature is probably a little warmer than most people's. if it is a little cold than I want to be inside with a warm snuggly blanket. I'm so thankful that we haven't ended up living anywhere with snow yet!

13. I kind of wish I had gone into elementary education instead of nursing. it was my second choice when i was deciding what to go to school for. I never got the opportunity to work as a nurse and be way things happened I wouldn't have had the opportunity to work as a teacher either, but I could have used my knowledge to help me in homeschooling my kids. I loved getting my nursing degree and I loved loved loved working in the hospital and with my patients. I don't regret the knowledge that I've gained or the confidence it gives me with my kids when they are sick, but I feel like if I had gotten a degree in education it might have helped me better in my life as a homeschooling mom.

14. I love to wear Jacob's shirts, mainly because they are sooooo comfy. I feel like I'm getting a big hug from him the whole time I'm wearing them. Rachel likes it when  wear them too and she always comments on it.

15. I love July. And October. And May. And December. And November. And February. And August. And June. And January. And March. And September. And April. I get excited when the months change because there is something fun and different about every month. I love July because it is summer and my birthday and hot, and the 4th of July and the 24th. I love October because it means Halloween and pumpkins and themed dinners. I love May because it is our anniversary. I love December because of Christmas and all of the focus we put in Christ and giving and traditions and family. I love November because of being thankful and Thanksgiving, and fall, and Rachel's birthday. I love February because it is the time to focus on valentines and doing fun romantic things for your spouse. I love August because it is Kent's birthday and growing up it meant school was starting. I love June because it means the pool is open and it's finally warm enough to go swimming. I love January because the hustle and bustle of Christmas is over and it's time to start something new. I love March because its spring and time to plant a garden and flowers and make things beautiful. I love September because its Jacobs birthday, and I love April because it is spring and happy.

16. I love playing music. There is something in the joy that comes from playing a song on the piano or violin or cello. I even love singing even though I,m not the best at it. Creating beautiful music where there was none. I love the challenge of learning an instrument and mastering a new piece. I hadn't played much music since Rachel was born and I really missed it. I love that it has become part of my life again. 

17. I love pumpkins. They make me incredibly happy! I love the fun oranginess of them and love making things out of them. Pumpkin roll, pumpkin lasagna, pumpkin bisquits, pupmkin muffins, pumpkin pancakes, pumpkin pie, pumpkin cupcakes, pumpkin fudge, pumpkin hot chocolate, really I could go on all day!

18. I love sugar. I think I'm addicted. I'm totally a comfort eater. I'm not too picky either. I'll take it in the form of cookies, chocolate, jelly beans, jolly ranchers, ice cream, brownies, reeses, caramel, milky way. Because of how much I love sugar it is astonishing to know that I have gone a few years with out sugar. Not consecutively but when I was younger I would go without sugar every other year. It was quite an accomplishment and I felt really cool just knowing that I could do it

19. I love my husband. He is so perfect for me. I couldn't ask for a better companion and friend to go throughout eternity with, and I am soooo glad we do have eternity together. Anything else would be too short! He is such a good husband and daddy. I could go on and on all day about him but I think there is another question about him so I will talk all about him later. :)

20. I love being a play at home mom. Seriously being a  mom is the best job ever. I love being my kids best friends. I love the chance I get to be with them all day long. I'm so thankful to my husband providing for our family so that I don't have to work and miss out on all of the things my kids are doing. I love teaching them and talking to them and teasing them and tickling them and hugging them better and hearing all of the funny things they say.

30 Things I want my kids to know about me

A while back, I sent Jacob a package with a note book and a list of things to write about in it. I told him I would write about those same things and put them on my blog. Well, slacker that I am, as soon as I sent the package I forgot about the list and the notebook and my promise. Jacob told me today that he had been working on his list and is on number 9 already! I guess I better get to work! So I'm posting this here to motivate myself and to help me remember to actually do it. I saw the idea on pinterest (I love pinterest!) and thought it would be fun, and since my blog is my journal, I thought this would be the perfect place to put it. (One day I'll make a book out of my blog.) Anyways, here is the list. Hopefully there will be the answers to the questions on here before too long.

1. List 20 random facts about yourself.

2. Describe 3 legitimate fears you have and explain how they became fears.

3. Describe your relationship with your spouse.

4. List 10 things you would tell your 16 year-old self, if you could.

5. What are the 5 things that make you most happy right now?

6. If you could have three wishes, what would you wish for?

7. What is your dream job, and why?

8. What are 5 passions you have?

9. List 10 people who have influenced you and describe how.

10. Describe your most embarrassing moment.

11. Describe 10 pet peeves you have.

12. Describe a typical day in your current life.

13. What’s the hardest part of growing up?

14. Describe 5 weaknesses and 5 strengths you have.

15. Describe when you knew your spouse was the one or how I fell in love.

16. What are your 5 greatest accomplishments?

17. What is the thing you most wish you were great at?

18. What do you think your spouse loves most about you?

19. How did you feel the moment you became a parent?

20. Describe 3 significant memories from your childhood.

21. Describe your relationship with your parents.

22. Describe your favorite quality in each of your children at their current age. 

23. What’s your favorite holiday and why?

24. What’s your favorite and least favorite thing about parenthood?

25. What is the biggest fear you have for your children?

26. What is one thing you would do more often if you could?

27. What is your favorite part of your body and why?

28. What’s your favorite quality in your spouse?

29. What are your hopes and dreams for your prosperity?

30. List 10 things you would hope to be remembered for.

Little Mother

My Rachel girl is such a good little mother. I love watching her play with all of her stuffed animals and dollies! The other day she was playing with Mr. Grinch and she told me, "Oh! I need to feed Mr. Grinch! My milk is coming out!" She then proceeded to sit and "nurse" him. After a few minutes she said, "He but me! That means he is done! But I told him not to bite me so he needs to go in the corner."

She is always taking care of her babies. :)

Here she is helping her bear hold her baby. 

And she has to make sure that everyone's teeth are clean. (Kent was nice to let her use his tooth brush.)

Oh and this one needs his diaper changed!

This cracked me up the other day. We were eating green eggs and ham the other day (a staple at our house) and she needed to share some with her babies. 

After putting the ham in her babies mouths and eating more of her food she started cracking up. When I asked her what was so funny, she said. "They still have the same bite in their mouths!"

In this one she is nursing her baby and actually doing an excellent job being modest! I'm impressed! 

I love this little Rachel girl so much! She keeps me laughing all day long! I love to see what a good little mother she is! 

Friends

I don't know what I would have done with out my friends and my ward during this deployment! I have had so much support from so many different people while Jacob has been gone. From meals and groceries being brought over to prayers being said, to invitations to dinner or just to play, to the simplest but most important thing they could offer, friendship. 

Yesterday was my 5 anniversary and while its the third one I've missed with Jacob, it was still nice to have friends who cared. One of my friends invited us over to play for the afternoon and they had made a cake and they ordered pizza. They even sang to me and I got to blow out a candle on the cake. :) It was nice to have an evening out and not have to worry about making dinner or being alone for an evening. I'm so thankful to Heavenly Father for putting such awesome people in my life! I hope that I can be as good of a friend to others as they have been to me!

5 years

5 years

60 months

1,825 days

2 kids

5 moves

1 deployment

A total of 18 months spent apart

2 anniversaries together and 3 apart

3 job changes between us

Too many kisses to count (but never enough)

A whole lot of laughter

And a whole lot of love

 

I feel truly blessed to have found Jacob (or rather he found me)! He is my knight in shining armor, my lover and my best friend. I love you Jakie! My heart aches to be near you.  I can't wait til you get to come home! Happy Anniversary my love!

 

Another Book Review

I just read The Guardian by Beverly Lewis. I really enjoyed it. Before recieving books to review from this company, I had never read any books about the Amish and its been fun and informative. This is an Amish fiction book about a little 4-year old Amish girl who gets lost and is found by one of the "fancy folk" as the Amish would put it. The woman who finds her (the main character) is not from around there and just happens to be house sitting for family near by. She finds the little girl while on a morning run.  Her sister has just recently passed away and the time she starts spending with the plain folk helps her work through her grief and strengthen her relationship with God. The little girl's mother is a widow with 4 children. The experience of having her youngest go missing helps her to realize that the children need a father again. I liked this book. The part about the little girl going missing really played with my emotions. It made me think about how awful and scary it would be to have your child go missing! I kept thinking about my daughter and it made me want to bawl! Especially because her husband was gone and she didn't even have him to help her. It hit home with my husband being deployed right now. Anyway it was a fun read and I didn't bawl, (I just felt like it) and I stayed up way to late two nights in a row reading it because I just had to know what was going to happen next. 

I received this book for free from Bethany House Publishing in return for an honest review. If you would like to review books follow this link: www.bethanyhouse.com/bookreviewers

Book Review

I recently read the book The Icecutter's Daughter by Tracie Peterson. It was a pretty fun little read. A brief synopsis: The main character promises her mother before she dies that she will take care of  her father and brothers and dedicates her life to doing so. Even if she had wanted to get married and leave them (which she would have felt guilty about) her brothers were pretty good at scaring off any potential suitors. One day a man comes to town  to help his uncle and instead of being intimidated by Merrill's brothers, he works well with them and he comes to care for Merrill. But his ex-fiance comes to town and she is willing to do anything to get back together. I enjoyed reading the book, and something I liked was the description of the main character. She is strong from working alongside her brothers and she is tall, and a hard worker. You don't find the main girl character in many romance novels that are tall. :) Usually they are small and petite and extremely feminine. Since I'm a pretty tall girl myself, I thought it was fun! This is the second book I've read by this author and I enjoyed it. If you are looking for a light clean romance, than I would recommend this book.

I received this book for free from Bethany House Publishing in return for an honest review. If you would like to receive books to review then follow this link: www.bethanyhouse.com/bookreviewers

Sleepy Boy

I love this funny boy of mine! Kent is so different than Rachel was as a baby. He is so wiggly and wild but the minute he is strapped down (like in his car seat) he is asleep. Today I turned on a Signing Time movie for the kids while I took a shower. I put kent in the high chair because if I let him roam with out supervision there is no telling what that boy would get into. When I came back down from my shower, (I was gone no longer than 15 minutes) he was zonked in the chair like the first two pictures. I moved him to his bed and he slept in the funny position in the second two. I had been trying to get him to nap all morning long because he was super tired. I guess I should have just left him in his high chair sooner. Funny kid! I love him!

Kissing babies

Kent is such a sweet baby. He always stops to give me kisses. In fact sometimes he attacks me with kisses! I love his wide open mouthed super wet slobbery kisses. They are so sweet! He has always been pretty kissy with me and with Rachel, but while we were in St George he gave both of my parents kisses too. Since we came home, he has been kissing me and Rachel like normal but he has also been kissing baby dolls and I even caught him kissing the grinch the other day! It was so cute! Baby kisses are so sweet! Even as wild and wiggly as my baby is he always takes time to stop and kiss his mama. I love my baby boy!

Funny Kent Story

Last night we got to FaceTime with Jacob (yay!) and I was trying to get Kent to show his daddy some of his tricks. I was trying to get him to shake his head no so I said in a playful voice, "No no no no no!" Well it totally hurt his feelings that I was telling him no and made him cry! He is totally understanding more and more things. He is such a cute baby!

I love my ward!

We've been home less than 24 hours and already someone from our ward brought is some breakfast groceries so we would have something to eat this morning, and someone else offered to watch Rachel while got some things done this morning! I was able to unpack and put way everything, a feat that usually takes me days to accomplish. Kent took a nap while Rachel was gone this morning and it is amazing what I can get accomplished with out two kids undoing everything I just did! It was awesome!
Rachel cracks me up! She just talks and talks and talks. She told me all about her morning in the first few minutes that she came home, even admitting to throwing a fit when the little boy she was playing with "fighted" with her.
I love my ward!

Home

We are home!!! We decided to take a couple of weeks to visit family while Jacob is gone and it was so much fun! It was a LONG drive with two little ones in the car all by myself and Kent hated it, but I'm glad I went! We stayed busy and i took hardly any pictures, but it was way fun! The first few days there were hard. The kids take to kindly to the changes in their schedules. Rachel had a lot of tantrums and had a hard time with everything, but she loved seeing her grandmas and grandpas and cousins and aunts and uncles! When other people would try to help her with things she would say in a naughty pouty voice, "I just want my mommy to do it!" Although by the end of the trip she had agreed to live with a few different people forever. My dad is a major tease and Rachel loves being teased. She calls my dad "the funny teasing grandpa" and she calls Jacob's dad "the normal grandpa." My little girl cracks me up!
Another funny thing she said while on this trip: we went swimming one day and while I was taking her potty she said to me, "This is so so so so many funs!" My girl loves swimming! It's probably one of her very favorite things to do! I was excited that it was warm enough on our trip home to swim in the pool at the hotel! Kent loves swimming too! He kept trying to get away from me and wanted to swim on his own though. I swear this baby has no fear! Rachel loved swimming at this age too, but she always help right to mama at least with one hand, if not both!
My kids discovered how much they love playing in the sand at my sister Caralee's house. After Rachel played in the sand box, she would find other places of dirt at my moms house and tell me she was in a sand box.
Kent took a little bit of time to warm up to everyone, which I've never seen him do before. Usually he just plunges right in to everything, but it was a very new situation for him. Once he got used to everyone, he had a lot of fun playing with cousins and grandparents. He really liked my dad too after a few days. My dad would take him and "rough him up" which is exactly what Kent needed most of the time. He would get this great big grin on his face the whole time (until it went a little to far and he needed mommy). It was so fun to see my kids having so much fun!
My sister Sarah came down with her brand new baby and it was soooo fun to see them! Her little baby was so sweet and so cute and Sarah is such a good little mommy! I'm so glad I got to see them!
We were there for two birthdays, my niece Joy turned 3 and my nephew Brock turned 4. It was fun to get to see them know their special days! I miss getting to see my nieces and nephews! They change and grow so fast!
I also got to see my sister in law Lex and her sweet Audrey-girl! Rachel got to go to nursery with Audrey and she was pretty excited about it. When I asked her what she did in nursery she said, "I just played with Audrey!"
We tried to break up our drive so that it would be easier on the kids. We got a hotel and we made stops at the zoo and the park. On our way home we ordered pizza from the hotel and Rachel kept going on about "the nice boy who brought us pizza!" She kept telling him "Thank you for bringing us pizza!" And she kept telling me, "I'm so excited!!"
It was a fun long trip and I'm so glad we went, but I'm glad to be home again. It will be nice to try to get our schedules back and Jacobs return see so much closer on this side of our trip! I miss that boy and I can hardly wait for him to come home!