Sunday, July 29th

This morning I had a meeting with Bro. Gunnerson from the Bishopric in which I was released from Young Women’s and called to be a Bear leader. I hope Bro. Gunnerson could not read the detestation oozing from my face for two reasons – one for being released from Young Women’s and the other for being called to Cub Scouts. He thanked me for my service with the young women and told me how I could continue to have even better relationships with them, but all I wanted him to do was stop talking to me so that I could leave and let the tears flow freely. I’ve known since Thursday night that something was coming but I wasn’t sure if I was going to be released, and it was worse than I anticipated. I’m pretty sure that I have said the words (and meant them), “I would rather die than be in scouts.”

I have never been sad when I’ve been released from a calling, but probably worse than the fact that I’ve been called to scouts is the fact that I’ve been released from Young Women’s. Who would do such a thing to me? I love my girls. I LOVE them. I’m happy in there. And somehow the Priesthood feel it is their job to disrupt the happiness of the members they serve and call it the opportunity for growth – that’s just a fancy way of saying, “This really stinks, but you’ll have to learn to suck it up and like it.Such is life.” But here I am sitting at home, not in Sacrament meeting with my husband and children, because I can’t stop crying and feeling too angry to be at church. Because if I see my Young Women they’ll make me cry. Or if I see the person taking my place, I might punch her for cozying up to my Young Women. I can’t decide who I’m more mad at – the Bishopric for ruining all my happy plans with my Young Women, my husband for knowing about this and giving them permission to call me to Scouts, my mother for teaching me to sustain my Priesthood leaders and that there is never a good reason to say no to a calling, or Heavenly Father for thinking all these changes up in the first place.  Or perhaps myself for believing my mom when she said that you shouldn’t say no to a calling and that you should always sustain your Priesthood leaders.

Now, I know that Bro. Gunnerson said that I shouldn’t feel like I wasn’t doing a good job, but I just feel like if the girls needed me I’d still be in there, but they apparently don’t need me anymore. So I also feel unneeded.

When Bro. Gunnerson said the word “bear” I chuckled – not  happily, but I did chuckle. My dad always laughs when he’s mad, maybe that’s where I got it from. Bear leader. Is that even a real calling?! What kind of calling is named after an animal?  They should not have told me that I was released before church. They should have waited until after church to tell me about it and given me the week to come to terms with this madness before I was officially released for everyone to know about. Bro. Gunnerson is officially on my list for today. Along with all the other people I already mentioned.

This past Thursday (the 26th) we made some more progress on our kitchen island. Later in the day we stayed at Aliante Hotel with Bec, Jud, and Sadie. Becca’s in-laws had accidentally booked 2 rooms for the wrong date, so Becca invited us to use one with her and Jud. We checked in to the hotel around 5, went to eat at Café Rio, then took the kids to see Ice Age (we dropped Logan off to Mom Edgel before the movie started), and then went back and hung out in our hotel room. Joe and Laura came too and hung out with us in our room. Jacob left to pick Logan up from his mom after hanging out for a bit with all of us. The kids had so much fun. In the morning, we woke up and went to eat breakfast at the buffet, which was gross like all buffets are, and then we checked out and took the kiddos swimming for a bit. The hotel has a really nice pool that the kiddos were excited to swim in. After swimming, we dropped Becca and Sadie off at their house, came home and got Logan down for a nap while Jacob went to look at guns with Juddy and his dad, and then we headed back to Becca’s house to swim and watch the opening ceremonies of the Olympics. I’m really sad that we don’t have TV service right now because the Olympics are my absolute favorite.

Yesterday we got more done around the house, and Jacob installed the baseboards on the kitchen island. I just need to sand it all down now and paint it. Hopefully soon I can start on my cabinets.

Around 7 pm we had a ward activity by Jacob's parents’ house, so we went to the ward activity and then I headed over to the Edgels to feed Logan while Jacob and the boys cleaned up at the activity. We got home pretty late last night, and then I had that dreadful meeting this morning where my happy calling was torn from my life like a baby from its mothers arms. And now I better go wake Logan up and get us to the remainder of church.

Wednesday, July 25th

I’m going to give myself a pat on the back for actually blogging before midnight. It’s only 10:20pm! I have the worst bedtime habits. I always go to bed so late, but luckily my darling little boys typically don’t wake up until 9am. Logan has been sleeping from 8pm to 8 or 9am. Bless his almost-4-month-old heart!

I did a lot of cleaning today, scrubbing toilets, laundry, sweeping, etc. I managed to get half a workout in before I gave up and decided how much I hate Insanity and can’t wait until I’m done. It’s the worst workout ever. Only a person like my sister would actually enjoy doing it. But I’m trying to hang in there and not give up before the 60 days is up.

Most of our day was spent just getting things done around the house. Bec and Jud brought Sadie over around 7pm, so she played with the boys for a while and we went for a walk. I really love that my boys get to live by their cousins and that they are such good friends with them. Sadie borrowed a pair of Teagan’s shorts today (which were entirely too big) so that she wouldn’t get her white shorts dirty outside, and then the goofs came downstairs wearing beanies. In the summer. In Vegas, mind you. Children certainly make me smile.

 

I’ve been reading talks from the April 2012 session of general conference. I know that I heard most of them, but there were some that I missed. And even the ones that I’d heard I’d forgotten about. I love reading words of encouragement that remind me to endure through trials, study the scriptures, pray to receive personal revelation, live as an example of the gospel teachings, and refrain from judging others. As I read today, I felt grateful that revelation has not ceased in our day and that we get to hear from prophets and apostles the messages that Heavenly Father knows we need to hear. Mountains to Climb by Henry B. Eyring and Faith, Fortitude, Fulfillment: A Message to Single Parents by David S. Baxter have been 2 of my favorite reads over the past few days. If anyone needs a pick-me-up or just a reminder of how to get through trials, these are great talks.

Tuesday, July 24th

I am always happy on Tuesday night when I remind myself that Jacob only has one more long day of work, and then I get him for 4 days straight. It isn’t as bad as I thought it would be, but the days are definitely long when he doesn’t get home until 9:30pm. I didn’t work out this morning because I had to shower instead. Easton had a dentist appointment at 2pm, and since I had greasy hair I had to wash it. With Logan being more needy these days, I can’t work out and shower (meaning wash my hair) on the same day if I have somewhere to be that day. He only takes two 2-hour naps, so I have to manage my time wisely. I don’t have anywhere to be the rest of the week, so I’ll be able to work out. I missed a couple days last week. And I don’t think I’m losing any weight which is so discouraging when I’m trying so hard. Curse my short and stocky genetics. Why can’t I just be naturally thin?

Easton did so well at the dentist. He had to get a tooth pulled that got infected after it had a big filling done on it. I don’t know how the tooth got a cavity in the first place since we were religious flossers right around then. Anyway, he doesn’t whine or cry or make a peep once he hits the dental chair and realizes that he’s numb and can’t feel anything. It’s only the apprehension before we actually go to the appointment that kills him. All the ladies in the office just rave about how cute he is and how cute his accent is (he can’t say his R’s) whenever we go in. He’s a very good patient. Throw in his dashing good looks and charm, and he’s an office favorite.

Mom Edgel watched the younger two while we were at our appointment. Once we got home, Logan woke up from his nap, I started dinner, and the boys hung out watching TV until I suggested we go for a walk. They like their walks, and Mr. Logan was all smiles and cute little faces as I pushed him along in the stroller. It’s still so dang hot out there, even after the sun has gone behind the mountain.  But I don’t mind because all the children are happy, so that makes me happy too. All the world is right when your children are content. Logan was happier today, too, and he’s been sleeping 11-13 hours a night, so we are pretty darn good friends these days. Sure love these sweet little faces.

Monday, July 23rd

Saturday was an eventful day for us. Jacob picked the boys up from my parents’ around 11am, and then we headed to Amanda’s at noon. She had a party for Ryan’s birthday, so we hung out there for a few hours eating good food, swimming in her pool, and chatting with our friends. The boys love to go to Amanda’s, and we do too. Logan got in the pool for a little bit too, but since he’s been fussy he didn’t love the water. He tolerated it, but he didn’t love it. I have a cute new swimsuit that only looks cute on me from the chest up.

From Amanda’s, Jacob and I went home and quickly changed to go to the sealing of a family in our ward. We took the boys back to my parents’ while we went to the sealing. I love to go to family sealings.  They had 5 children, and the youngest 3 are under 3, and they were screaming so loud in the sealing room. That’s the loudest I’ve ever heard the sealing room, and it was really quite funny. But always a sweet reminder of what I felt when I was sealed to Jacob over a year ago now.

After the Temple, we picked up the boys and headed home. I dropped the boys off and then headed to Andrea’s for a girls night with Becca, Andy, and Staci. We didn’t do much at all – we chatted, watched some TV, and then went grocery shopping because we all needed some things from the store. Not super exciting, but we didn’t expect to do much since Andy just had a baby and can’t really be gone for long.

Logan was a bit better today. He was okay to sit on the couch for about a half hour and was content when we were outside and also while he was in his swing today. He was kinda fussy during the 2nd hour of church yesterday, but otherwise I think that we are adjusting to his fussiness. Not that I’m inviting it to stay, but we’re just trying to make the best of it. I could get a lot more things done in the day before this past week, but now that he needs more attention, I’ve been looking kinda shabby. I got my workout done, but then I didn’t have time to get ready after that, so I just spent the rest of the day looking homely. There’s nothing I can do about that for now. We’ll just wait for Logan’s fussy stage to pass and for him to return to that angelic child that he was for the first 14 weeks of his life.

The boys have been spending a lot of time playing outside these days, even though it’s always 100+ degrees out there. I am completely happy with the time they spend outside because that means they aren’t inside watching television or asking me for food. Most days they are out there with their friends Taj and Leah. They are the best of friends. Earlier today we were outside watching the lightning and listening to the thunder (we were in the garage with the garage door up). Logan contentedly sat on my lap for a while and watched the storm with us. And then as quickly as the storm came and cooled it down outside, it passed right through and took it’s cool air with it. But I swear, the kids have no idea how hot it is. Hence, Teagan is wearing a polyester Spiderman costume. I’m not sure what the little boy’s name is on the far right, but Taj and Leah’s parents watch him sometimes. Anyway, these kids play for hours a day outside riding their bikes and scooters and inventing all sorts of games. Sometimes they fight, but the majority of the time they are just really good pals.

Friday, July 20th

Goodness, our little Logi Bear has been so very fussy this whole week, always wanting to be held and bounced and never seeming to be happy. I’m not sure if he’s fussy because he’s teething or because something is bothering him or if he just spent so much time being good that Heavenly Father feels like it’s time for a trial. I hope it’s A. I hope this is not the new Logan. He’s still been sleeping great and hasn’t woken up in the night like he did a week or so ago that one random night, so I’ll count my blessings there. I love him to be awake, but it’s so hard to get anything done with a baby that just wants to be held. So I prefer an awake happy baby, and not an awake fussy baby. But there are people out there with cancer and real problems, like the people involved in an early morning shooting rampage in a Colorado movie theater this morning. And then suddenly my baby beings fussy seems almost pleasant. I’ll quit my whining.  I also watched 17 Miracles last night with my YW for mutual, and after seeing the hardships the Saints in the handcart company endured, you realize that you can do hard things and that the things you thought were hard are simple in comparison to other things.

Since Jacob was off work yesterday, we took the boys to the library so they could check out some books. They love the library, and Logan did pretty well too. Today Jacob did a lot of home projects, and the big boys went over to G-Ma and G-Pa Romero’s house to spend the night. Jacob and I wanted to work on the kitchen island, so we sent them off to play with and be smothered by their grandparents. After I got home from my parents’ house, Jacob and I along with our fussy little man went to Lowes to get the rest of the materials for our kitchen improvements and then to In N Out for dinner. I’ve been eating healthy this whole week, and we both thought In N Out sounded perfect. Logan was actually very good for our trip. Once we got home, I fed him and put him to bed, and he was just sweet and smiley as he tends to be at bedtime every night. I think he’s just deliriously tired. I’ll take it. A sweet little picture of him from Wednesday.

 

 

Also on Wednesday, Easton came running up the stairs saying, “Teagan! You have to come see this! There are bubbles everywhere!” And there were. But both of them said that they didn’t put soap in the toilet, and oddly enough, Anthony was the last one in there after picking up Jaedyn.

 

Oh, and I love my husband. I have so much fun with him doing house projects together. It’s my favorite thing! There is nothing more fulfilling than being in a happy marriage with an amazing man that makes me laugh and feel secure and feel at home in his arms. I sure love him for the husband he is to me and the daddy he is to our sweet little boys.  Plus, he thinks I’m beautiful. Like SO beautiful. I’m raving about my husband, and it’s not even Father’s Day or his birthday or our anniversary which just goes to show that these words are genuine and not motivated by my obligation to say something nice. Seriously, I love him!!

Tuesday, July 17th

This morning I had to take Easton to the dentist because he developed some kind of puss pocket on his gum yesterday. Well, he told me about it yesterday, but I don’t know when he got it. He has to have the tooth pulled because it was a really big filling and since it got infected they’re just going to take it out which they will do next Tuesday after the swelling goes down. Mom Edgel was kind enough to come over and hang out with the kiddies so that I didn’t have to take all 4 of them with me and so Logan wouldn’t miss his nap. Thank goodness for that.

Mr. Logan was fussy again today. He has not been his normal self this whole week, maybe even last week. Unless this is the new normal for him, in which case I say no, thank you. I suppose he’s not bad, but for the first 3 months of his life he did NOT want to be held. Well, Mama got a little spoiled after 3 months of independence. He’s also been fussing when I put him down for his naps instead of just going right to sleep. He’ll still go to sleep but I have to put his binkie in a couple times before he’ll go to sleep. I hope this passes. I’m used to a perfect little baby. No fussing, no attention needed. Is that too much to ask? I’m ok holding him sometimes, but not all the time. I have too much going on in my life, especially Monday-Wednesday when Jacob isn’t home. What’s funny is that I don’t think he’s any worse than Easton or Teagan ever were as babies. They needed more attention, and I considered them good babies. I just got a little spoiled with Logan, that’s all. I still love him, and he’s still adorable, but I need some time. I know, the baby stage passes quickly. I did move him to a 4-hour schedule today. Hopefully he will do well with that.

We spent most of the day home doing not a lot. I did some cleaning, some cooking, some baby-holding. Later in the evening, I took the boys on a walk around our neighborhood. They rode their bike and scooter, and I pushed Logan in his car seat in the stroller. He really enjoyed our walk, and I love how much the boys love to go on bike rides. We’ll have to make that a regular thing. Babies seem to like being outside for some reason, and if Logan likes it, we will do it for sure.

Tonight as we were kneeling to say our prayers, Jacob looked at me and sweetly told me how beautiful I am. My hair was flat against my head, no makeup on, so it was certainly not my shining moment, but he meant it. He always does, and I can feel how beautiful he thinks I am. Love is blind. But I love my blind man, he is so sweet to me. It’s funny what you think of when you’re a teenager and you think of being in love. And then you get married and learn what love REALLY is.

True love is peeing the bed the first week of your marriage because you just had emergency surgery, and you’re on a pain killer for the first time in your life, so you’re apparently so out of it that you don’t even notice you’re peeing. And then you wake your new husband up to tell him that the bed is soaked, and there’s no-one to blame it on but yourself, but he nonchalantly changes the sheets in the middle of the night and acts like it’s no big deal that his new wife just peed the bed. True story of true love. It’s so much better than you ever imagine it will be. I didn’t understand the depth of the love that a husband and wife have for each other until I married this sweet man. I’ll keep him always.

Sunday, July 15th

I woke up this morning thinking that I had a meeting before church, but it turned out that it’s next Sunday. So we were able to get a head start on the morning since I started getting ready for church earlier than I needed to. We’re always on time for church, but we were about 20 minutes early today. I like to get there that early to get a bench. Our ward is huge, so you have to get there early if you like bench seating. After church we came home and stuffed our faces with whatever we could find as we usually do when we get home on Sundays. Typically we eat breakfast around 9, but we don’t eat again before we leave for church so we’re ravenous by the time we get home at 2:30. That’s 5 1/2 hours without food.

Our home teachers stopped by after church and brought us some frozen pomegranates. We are big pomegranate fans around here, and our home teachers pick out all the little seeds and freeze them for the year. We are definitely going to do that this year with the pomegranates we get from Jacob’s parents. After they left, I fed Baby Boy and then we left for my parents. We didn’t do my birthday dinner last Sunday so we did it tonight. My dad made chicken with rice, green chile, and homemade tortillas. And my mom made peach cobbler for dessert as I requested. It’s insane how much I love peach cobbler and ice cream. It’s my number one favorite dessert in the world.

 

 

I love going to my parents’ on Sundays and being with my family. They are the best. We laugh a lot, and we are the type that can tell each other anything and not be offended. We are not easily offended people at all, and I often look at siblings that are grown adults and hold grudges against each other and wonder how anyone could ever hold a grudge against their very own sibling. We just aren’t that way. We say what is on our minds to each other so there’s never any behind-your-back issues going on. I love that we are that way because it makes for a close-knit family. I hope my children are that way, never taking offense and never holding grudges. I find that a lot of people can’t say what they are thinking to their siblings because it will cause drama or a fight. But if I think my brother is being dumb, I’ll tell him, and he won’t get mad about it. I just love that we can be honest with each other so that there aren’t feelings of repressed anger towards each other. We have good communication skills, and I love that I have that relationship with them. I’ve always loved my siblings, even when my friends were complaining about how much they couldn’t stand theirs, and I can’t even imagine that someone wouldn’t be best of friends with their brothers or sisters. That’s just craziness! They are missing out on the best kind of friendships. I don’t think I’ve ever mentioned how well we all get along.

My parents love seeing their grandchildren every Sunday. One of my dad’s favorite things is to take the kids out in the backyard while my mom is cooking. If one of us has a baby, he just loves to swing that baby to sleep on the swing they have hanging from their patio. My dad always has his iTouch with him so that he can fill it up with pictures of his grandkids. So cute. He pushed Logan in the swing until he fell asleep and then took pictures of him.

And this is Joe and his lady Laura. Bless Laura’s heart for actually letting me take a picture of her. She’s as bad as Becca with her self-conscious issues. I know that I don’t win any awards for self-confidence, but Laura and Becca take the cake when it comes to being self-critical. Anyway, we love Laura and we can’t wait for these two to get married. We are pretty sure they will. We are friends with Laura’s siblings, so we are rooting for this relationship on both sides. They love Joe, and we love Laura. And we love Laura’s family.

Saturday, July 14th

Thursday, July 12th – Jacob’s first day off for the week. Have I mentioned we love his schedule? I got to go to lunch with my friend Hillary. We went to Café Rio, always a good choice. Jacob spent a lot of the day working on his car that got hit the day before. We had the missionaries over for dinner, and I made a delicious meal complete with crescent chicken bundles, twice baked potatoes, sweet corn, and peach cobbler. We don’t normally eat that way, so it’s nice to have people over for dinner.

Friday, July 13th – Jacob did more work on his car and projects around the house. After I worked out and showered, we headed to Lowe’s with all 4 children (Jaedyn was with us) to get supplies for our home projects. We are converting a dresser that my brother found in someone’s trash into a small island for our kitchen.  We applied the bead board today, so I forgot to get a picture of it before we started. But you get the idea. We took out the top two drawers, and we are going to just put two shelves there instead. I’ll probably put my pots there or something. The dresser is in terrific condition. It just needs a new paint job, an countertop (we’re very indecisive about this), and some new hardware. Those handles have to go.

Hopefully my ideas will come together nicely. We have to take the poor people route for now, so we are being creative. I think we will start refinishing our cabinets next week, and I found a super cheap way to do it. After Lowe’s, we went to Hillary’s house to feed her dogs because she went out of town. When we got home, Anthony arrived shortly after and asked us if the boys could spend the night with Jaedyn and Sadie. So off they all went. He’s a brave man for taking on 4 children on his own for an all-night sleepover. Since Bec and Jud were kidless too, they came over and watched Sherlock Holmes 2 with us but left before it was over because they were too tired. We are old.

I took these pictures of the cute little man yesterday. They were just taken on my phone while I was feeding him. I love this view of his cute little face. So perfect. 14 weeks. Very drooly these days. And very smiley. He’s been wanting to be held more lately, and that’s ok because he can’t be perfect all the time.

And these ones are of him hanging out on his mombo (like a boppy) that he likes to hang out in on his play-yard thing. He’s starting to put things right to his mouth when I put something in his hands. It seems that he’ll be grabbing within the next couple of weeks. He’s on the verge of it now. It’s too cute when your babies start doing new things, no matter how many babies you have.  He’s getting so big, and we love it.

Baby boy woke up in the middle of the night 3 times last night. I don’t know what the deal was since he hasn’t woken up in the night for like 6 weeks now, and he hasn’t woken up 3 times in the night since he was a newborn. He didn’t stay awake, I just put the binkie back in and he went to sleep, but it was still very odd that he’d wake up at all because he NEVER does that. There’s not a peep that ever comes from his room from bedtime until morning. Hopefully he doesn’t do that tonight. He might have had an upset tummy or something.

Today we worked on some more projects. I stained the EAT sign that Jacob made for me, worked out, and took care of baby boy.

I also made a quick trip to Target and then brought Café Rio home for dinner. Jacob picked the boys up from Anthony’s and then stopped at his parents, so the boys stayed there to play for a while and Jacob ended up coming home after helping pick stuff from his parents’ garden.  We made another trip to Lowe’s before the big boys got home, and then Janea brought them home about 9pm. I missed their cute faces. As soon as they got home, it started pouring rain. Easton and Jacob made a mad dash for Jacob’s car to roll up his windows and they came in soaked. Easton thought it was the most fun thing ever and wanted to play out in it, but aside from it being their bedtime, it was lightning out pretty good so that was out of the question. I’m sure people from other places that actually get rain think Vegas people are nuts when it rains because we talk about it on Facebook and take pictures of it and run around in it like children at Disneyland for the first time. Teagan wouldn’t go out because he was afraid of it, so we stayed dry watching Jacob and Easton run to the car from the doorway.

Tomorrow I have a 9:30 meeting, and after church we have my birthday dinner at my parents’. Yes, my birthday, was 10 days ago, but we weren’t able to have the b-day dinner last Sunday so we are doing it tomorrow. Well, I’m going to finish up my glass of ice and head to bed.

Wednesday, July 11th

Goodness. It’s been five days since my last post.  So I have to recap.

Saturday, July 7th – Jacob had to work Saturday to make up for one of the days that a co-worker worked for him when he went to San Diego. I washed my hair that day, and yes, that’s always an event. It was also day 6 of Insanity. Later in the day we went to Bec and Jud’s to watch the UFC fight. I didn’t want to stay home all day, so while I don’t so much care if I see a fight or not, it was nice to just get out of the house with the kiddies.  We got home late, and Jacob ended up being able to catch the last fight at a friend’s house in our ward.

Sunday, July 8th – We went to my parents’ house, but my dad was in UT with Adam, Amber, and Anthony on a camping trip. Nothing else really happened.

Monday, July 9th – Jacob woke me up at 7 am telling me he had to take the van to work because someone had hit the car in the night. People are so mean. I spent the whole day at home thanks to whoever did it. Patti came over and let me use her car to get groceries since we were all out of some key ingredients. Luckily, the damage is cosmetic and we are not out of a car like I had originally thought when Jacob woke me up Monday morning. I was half asleep, so I swear he said that the car was totaled. He had to fix the door because it wouldn’t open, but we are grateful that the car wasn’t damaged any worse than it was. We’ll count that as a blessing because we own this car free and clear and it gets 38-40 miles to the gallon.  We only have liability on it since it’s an older car, so we wouldn’t get anything for it if it were totaled. And the last thing we can afford is another car payment. With Jacob going to school full time for the next 4 years, we won’t be affording a car payment for a while. So like I said, it’s a blessing it wasn’t  damaged more.

Tuesday, July 10th – Yesterday I  didn’t do much. After my workout I didn’t really even get dressed for the day. I made dinner for Andrea, and Joey picked it up since I didn’t have a car again. Jacob won’t be able to fix it until tomorrow. The boys watched TV in the morning, and once I could stand no more laziness and brain-dead activity, I told Easton to turn off the TV and play with toys. If I let him, he’d waste his life watching TV. I hate it. But he’s also fine once I make him turn it off and play with toys or color or play outside with his friends in the water or something. The boys play outside with their friends across the street a lot. I should get a picture with them one day. They absolutely love Leah and Taj. And even though it’s blazing hot outside, the boys and their friends will ride their bikes and run around like it’s not 110 degrees out. They have been playing in the water a lot, though, and I don’t mind one bit as long as they aren’t sitting in front of the TV or eating me out of my home. Easton is VERY good at that.

Okay, I’m all caught up and onto today. Hopefully Jacob will fix the car this week so that I won’t be out of a van next week. Jaedyn came over today. I had her Monday as well, and I’ll have her through next Wednesday. Geana is in Idaho visiting her mom, and Jaedyn is hanging out with us while Anthony is at work.  I love cute little Jaedyn, but whenever you add just one more into the mix, there seems to be double the crying and fighting and tattling. The only one that didn’t tattle on or fight with anyone today was Logan. He sleeps 12 hours a night and doesn’t fight with his brothers, so there are many days where he is my favorite. Not really, of course, but sort of.  Yes, he has been sleeping 11-12 hours a night. And he’s so good. His day begins typically between 7:30 and 8:30.

This is Logan’s typical schedule:

Wake up, eat - 7:30-8:30am

Nap 9:30 - 11am

Eat – 11am

Nap – 1 - 2:30 pm

Eat – 2:30pm

Nap – 4:15 – 6pm

Eat and to bed – 8pm

This is the schedule he follows daily. Sundays he often misses naps because of church, and sometimes on the weekend if we go somewhere he might get to bed later. He’s so much into his routine, though, that when he gets off of it for part of the day, it’s no big deal and doesn’t effect his sleep for the night or his happiness in the day. I’m really glad we made it through the first couple months and that we’re now at this point.

The boys love to dress up in their super hero clothes. And sometimes they put on their long-sleeved super hero clothes and go outside in 110 degree weather and ride their scooters or bikes. I love them. I just smiled to myself as I looked outside and saw this sight today. I am certainly the mother of boys. And just when I feel like Easton is getting so old,  I am reminded that he is only a little boy in a Darth Vader costume from 2 Halloweens ago, a ninja headband that is really a tie, and an eye mask. These moments are priceless. Dare I say perfect.

My friend Brittany and her 3 girls came over today. She had a baby 2 weeks ago, so we did some pictures of little Jane. The boys love to play with her daughter Taylor, and they play so well together. Brittany also just refinished the cushions for the rocking chair in Logan’s room. I’ll have to take pictures and post that tomorrow. I love how it turned out, and I’m grateful for a super talented friend. By talented, I mean she taught sewing at BYU. She’s good.

Tomorrow I have a lunch appointment with Hillary, one of the girls in my ward that I visit teach. But we served together in YW’s before I was her visiting teacher, so we were already friends. We’re having the missionaries over for dinner, and that’s about it for my plans. I’m off to bed!

Friday, July 6th

Yesterday was my 28th birthday. I woke up to flowers, which I always love. We didn’t do much most of the day. Jacob worked, I worked out and took care of kids like I usually do, and then later in the evening Patti came over to watch the boys so that Jacob and I could go out to dinner and a movie with Bec and Jud. They dropped Sadie off to Patti too. We went to Olive Garden and then to see the new Spiderman movie, and we all liked it. I ate healthy the whole day until we went to dinner, and then I justified my cheating by saying that it was my birthday. Food will be the death of me, I just love it so much! I don’t eat a lot, but I wish I could. And I wish it could all be unhealthy. But then I’d be fatter than I already am. We had a good night, though.

Today Jacob was home, but we didn’t do anything. He did a few things around the house, I worked out and cleaned, and then we took Logan and Teagan to the doctor for their well checks. Logan was 14.2 lbs today, so he’s a nice healthy growing boy. And Teagan was 35lbs and right around 50% for everything. So good healthy boys. After the appointment we came home, the boys played outside, I made dinner, and that’s about it. I did register for classes starting in the fall. I will be going full-time again to finish my degree in Speech Pathology. When I say finish my degree, I mean I have like 90 credits left after this semester. I suppose I won’t be finishing anytime soon. I also made big plans for our kitchen makeover that we will start one of these days. I have grand ideas but not a grand budget. The story of my life. I actually think that’s the story of most people’s lives. And the countertop I need for our new island is sold at Ikea, but there’s not an Ikea near us. Stupid Ikea.

Well, it’s late. My kiddies are sleeping, and I should be too. Same ol’ story. I’m always so tired but just can’t seem to tear myself away from my late-night personal time. I just love it so much. And I need it.

Oh, and tomorrow is day 6 of Insanity. So that means it’s my last workout for this week, and then I get Sunday off. My body is sore and tired. I have been sore since Tuesday, and it hasn’t gone away. Sunday will quickly become the most anticipated day of the week, I’m sure of it.  Goodnight.

Wednesday, July 4th

I have to catch up on just a few things before I start talking about today. On Sunday, Becca and I went to visit Andrea after we got out of church. She had her sweet little baby Iris on Saturday, and Jacob worked all day Saturday so I wasn’t able to go visit her until Sunday. Iris is such a sweet little thing, although she was nearly 9 lbs. That’s surprising coming from little old Andy. After visiting them at their house,  we left and went to my parents’ house for dinner. We celebrated my dad’s birthday, which was Tuesday. My dad had called me earlier in the week to ask if the boys could spend the night on Sunday night, so they stayed over there.  Sadie saw that they were sleeping over so she wanted to stay the night too. Grandpa slept in the family room on the couch and put Easton, Teagan, and Sadie on a blow-up mattress on the floor. They had such fun. On Monday I started Insanity and a healthy eating regiment. After I worked out and showered, I headed to Andrea’s again to do pictures of little Iris. I got there about 1, and spent two hours doing pictures. I had Logan with me, and he ended up napping on a blanket on her floor while he did pictures. He is SUCH a good baby. After that I went grocery shopping, made some dinner, and then picked up the boys from my parents. We left their house late, so Teagan fell asleep in the car like he always does. It always makes me smile that he never fails to fall asleep on a drive to or from my parents’ house.

Yesterday we spent the day at home, but we did venture out to Target later in the evening to get a couple little toys for Logan’s car seat and play mat and also to get a new monitor. After Jacob got home from work, I made a late-night trip to the grocery store as I so often do when the boys are asleep. I prefer to shop without the kiddies as often as I can.

And today was my favorite day of the year. I absoultely love the 4th of July. I was super bummed that it was cloudy and rainy until about 5 or 6 pm, but then the sun came out and the kids got to swim and play just like we wanted them to. We went to Coleen’s house for a feast and day of fun. What’s great is that my parents went and so did Jacob’s parents and Janea. Tyler and Breanne stopped by for a bit too. How many families do you know that can have 3 groups of in-laws get together to celebrate the holiday? It was great that we got to be with my family, Jacob’s family, and Juddy’s family. I love that we all get along and can hang out like that. I don’t feel like too many in-laws are friends like that. We spent most of the night eating and swimming and enjoying each other’s company. The kids got to hit a pinata that Coleen filled with really good candy and then had fun playing with water baloons.  I am super happy that it stopped raining in time for us to enjoy my favorite day of the year. Oh, and I ate WAY TOO MUCH. My workout this morning was all in vain. But we had a wonderful time. I actually prayed half-way through the day that the rain would go away soon enough for us to be able to enjoy swimming and fireworks, and I’m pretty sure that Heavenly Father answers prayers even for our simple and seemingly unimportant requests. Here are some pictures from our day with the Romeros, Edgels, and Berkabiles.

I have to brag that my little Logan is an angel baby. He was an angel at the beach, and once we got home I’ve figured out that when he wakes up before 7 am that all I have to do is go in his room and stick his binky back in his mouth. So he’s been sleeping 11-12 hours a night, and I am just thrilled about that. He is so good and just so easy to do things with. I was amazed at how well he napped when he was supposed to and how he was happy when he was supposed to be and did everything just like a good little baby would while we were at the beach. I feel like that’s when he really fell into his schedule, and he’s now like clock work. I love it. Mom Edgel was so in love with his schedule when she watched him those 2 days that I was at girls’ camp. She said it was so easy to know exactly what he wanted, and he did everything just like I wrote down that he would. I can’t believe he is 3 months today, and he is just full of the best little smiles. He loves to be talked to, and he’ll just smile and talk right back. He is pretty famous in this house. The boys just eat him up with all his cute little baby tricks. And they are just so adorable with their constant doting. This is a Logan-loving house. I took this picture on Monday.

Sunday, July 1st – Girls Camp

Like I mentioned in the last post, I went to Girls’ Camp on Thursday and Friday. I don’t think it’s a secret that I love my calling. I love my young women, and I love the other women I serve with. They have become some of my best friends in the ward. I drove up on Thursday with one of the new Laurel advisors, Cassie, and even though we just met Thursday morning, we are like new best friends. She is so much fun. It was nice to be able to spend Thursday and Friday with the girls. On Thursday evening, there was an awesome fireside about being virtuous and choosing to marry in the temple. On Friday I drove up with Lindsey, and there was another fireside where President Tew talked about the sanctity of marriage between a man and a woman.

I love the firesides they have at Girls’ Camp. They are always so powerful, so strengthening, even to the leaders. As I sat there Thursday night,  I had one of those moments as I gazed up at the stars and listened to the speakers bear testimony of the Savior and of Heavenly Father’s plan for us. By one of those moments, I mean the ones that are so brief and seem to last just a small second where you have absolute clarity that Heavenly Father loves you and that the things that you believe are true. I always know that, each and every day, but nobody lives their lives with a constant and overwhelming burning in their bosom. It is not always easy to FEEL or to SEE the love of God in our lives, especially in hard times where you seem to wonder where He is or why He’s allowing certain things to happen. But the presence of emotional pain is not the absence of Heavenly Father’s love for us.

At camp, there were quotes posted everywhere that the girls were supposed to read and check off in the Spiritual Challenge booklets they were given to complete during the week. Two quotes really stood out to me.

“Think of the purest most all-consuming love you can imagine. Now multiply that love by an infinite amount – that is the measure of God’s love for you.” - Dieter F. Uchtdorf

“Nothing is going to startle us more when we pass through the veil to the other side than to realize how well we know our Father and how familiar His face is to us.” – Ezra Taft Benson

A lot of times, we live by faith. I think that’s how we live most of the time, in fact. But sometimes, after our faith has been tried and proved and we have remained true, Heavenly Father sends witnesses, powerful personal witnesses that the things we believe in and fight for are true. And that His love is infinite and all-consuming. As I sat looking up at the sky, I had just such an experience. I’ve had it before. The clouds part, light shines through, and for a moment you are enlightened more so than you ever have been before. It is clarity, it is warmth, it is a surety, an assurance that you have felt that love before – that you have actually abided in its presence. And in that moment I think, “I KNOW this love, I know my Father.This feeling is familiar to me. This feeling is home.” And it isn't familiar as if I’ve known it on this earth, but it’s familiar as if it is a memory embedded in my soul. And then, as quickly as it comes, it is gone, but the memory of this witness and surety that I just felt the love of God so tangibly, as if I could reach out, grab it, and wrap it around me, stays with me forever. Now, these quiet, powerful moments don’t come all the time, and I don’t think that Heavenly Father intends for us to always feel things so intensely, (at least not yet in this life) but I believe it is a tender mercy poured down from Heaven, a glimpse of what it was like before I came to this earth when I was in the direct presence of His love and what it will be like when I am one day again in the presence of that all-consuming love, only this time to go no more out of that presence.

I like the quote that we will be startled to see our Father’s face and realize how well we know Him and how familiar His face will be to us because I believe that to be absolutely true. I have felt it. It’s not just that I’ve been taught about Him in church, but in those intense moments it’s as if I REMEMBER that I know Him, that I REMEMBER what my home in His love feels like. I remember having this same powerful experience when I was 19 and sitting in a chapel with Richard G. Scott while he spoke to Las Vegas young single adults. I can remember the lighting in the room, the feelings I felt, the words that were spoken, and exactly where I was looking just as I can when I had the experience at Girls Camp while gazing up at the stars Thursday night. It was as if nothing separated me from God - not this earth, not the Heavens, not my lack of remembrance of my life before this earth. While I have felt the power of the Spirit so many times in my life, these specific events are a bit different. It is amazing to me that these moments have been so quick but powerful enough to remain at the forefront of my mind for the rest of my life. That is exactly what the love of God is to me – powerful, all-consuming, and entirely unique. I am so grateful for these witnesses, where it seems to no longer be faith but instead becomes knowledge.

I bore my testimony to the girls Friday night during testimony meeting about this love and these experiences and told them that one day we will abide in the physical presence of Heavenly Father’s love. And instead of being just a moment, those feelings will be eternal. I want to be good enough to always feel what I have felt in those brief but powerful moments. I want to make it and be able to be in the presence of God, and I want those that I love to eternally abide in that presence with me. There is nothing like that love, nothing even slightly comparative to the joy and peace I have felt when I have been given those merciful glimpses of what it will be like when I can reach out and touch Him and see the love in His face for me personally. I know that I was there before, and I can’t wait until I can be there again with those that I love.

Sunday, July 1st - San Diego Trip

We are home! We got back into town on Tuesday night, but there has been so much to do since we got home that I haven’t had a moment to blog. I had Wednesday to get things done, and then I went to girls’ camp on Thursday and Friday, so really I just had yesterday but had so much to do again for being gone at girls camp. I didn’t sleep there, but I left each morning around 8:30 am and got home at 11pm, so I was basically gone all day. Patti was sweet enough to watch the boys for me all day on both days because Jacob had to work to make up for the time he missed while we were in San Diego.

I’ll start with San Diego. We were gone for a week, from the 19th to the 26th. And what fun it was! We left late Tuesday after Jacob got home from work so that we could drive through the night while Logan and the boys would sleep. They slept the whole time, and Jacob survived on an energy drink. We left at 11:30 and got there at 5am on the dot. I’m glad we did it that way, even though I was super exhausted from going to sleep at 5am and getting up at 8:30am with Logan. I don’t sleep well on car rides, so I didn’t really get to sleep. But we were at the beach staying at a beach house that we didn’t have to pay for, so who’s complaining? We spent Wednesday at the beach and the bay. We’ve gone to Missions Beach for the past 3 years, and it is super nice. The boys prefer the bay because there are no waves and hardly any people, but I love the sound of the ocean waves. While we typically spend a lot of time at the bay, we also spend at least one whole day at the beach. I got to go on a few runs along the beach, and I even got to run one evening with Jacob and one morning with my sister. Bec and Jud came up Thursday morning at 11am. They were originally going to get a hotel and come for a couple days, but there ended up being enough room for them to stay on the couch at the beach house with us. It was so fun to have them there for Thursday and Friday, and they would have stayed longer had Juddy not had to get back to do some work he couldn’t get out of.  The boys were so happy to have Sadie there, and Sadie had so much fun sleeping on the floor in our room with them.

Most of our time, like I said, was spent between the beach and the bay, and out beach house was right smack in the middle of both of them, about a 2 minute walk both ways. It was so nice! Jacob and I always go out one night and lay on the beach together. It’s one of my favorite things to do on our trips – just cuddle up next to my husband under a blanket listening to the ocean. Aside from that we had a bon fire on Thursday night while Bec and Jud were there and made smores. And on Sunday we were really good about obeying the Sabbath, so we didn’t do the beach at all. We went to Sacrament meeting and then visited the San Diego temple grounds. After that we went home and ate and then headed to the Mormon Batallion. It was nice to be able to do those things. We then spent a lot of Monday and the beach before heading to the bay. Easton learned how to swim this summer – actually he learned how to swim last summer but was too afraid to do it without being in the shallow end where he could stand up, and now he’ll swim all over. Anyway, since he learned how to swim he decided to try boogie boarding and did so well at it. He had a lot of fun, and it was cute to watch him ride the waves with G-Pa Edgel.

The night before we left we walked along the beach and got monster ice cream cones, and I got a snow cone as big as my head (We got ice cream cones with Bec and Jud too before we left). It was pretty cool out because we went at night, so we were freezing by the time we finished our treats. Anyway, we had so much fun on yet another beach trip, and we are so grateful that Jacob’s wonderful parents put it together for all of us every year.