Videos Make Me Happy

I finally set up my big computer. It had been hibernating since our move out to Surprise. I found a lot of my old videos on it, and I have had so much fun watching them, I just had to share! So if you're in the mood to kick back and enjoy some musical, memory-lane fun, tune in!!!

This video is from Christmas Break 2005. We had so much fun over that month vacation from NAU. If you want to know if this video is worth watching, here are some familiar faces you might recognize. Me, Selena, Devin, Daniel Dawson, Nick Sorensen, Ryan Gardner, Josh Fults, Alison Francis, Kirsten Allen, Catherine LaRosa, Scott Sorensen, Marci Pickett, Whitney and Brad...and the list goes on. Enjoy!

This video is from my and Selena's road trip to California for Jessica's wedding in October 2006. If you stick through the whole video, you get to see me take out my tooth! You also get to see Selena do a nasty tongue movement. Have any of you ever seen her "tongue show?" It's something.

I Never Would Have Thought

10, 5, or even 3 years ago I never ever would have thought I would be a Mormon. Whenever I'd see pictures of temples, I saw them as dangerous, because I had always been warned of the falsity of the Mormon Church. Now, when I see a picture of a temple, I am proud. I am proud that I know for a fact that this church is true. I am proud that I know that revelation is real and that God answers prayers. I am proud that I understand what to do when I need knowledge or direction (James 1:5). I am proud that I was raised by parents who taught me to revere God and to study his scriptures. I am proud that I don't have all the answers, because that allows me to grow. I can't believe how real the Holy Spirit is. I always knew I was guided and directed, but ever since having the gift of the Holy Ghost conferred upon my head, my life is so incredibly, physically different. I want the world to know that I do not take this gift for granted. I am so proud of my membership in the Lord's church. I remember riding in the car with Selena, Amy, and Marcus about 5 years ago. We were in Cottonwood, about to take their engagement pictures. When we passed by an LDS church building, Marcus looked out the window and said, "There's the only true church." Of course my face turned red, mad because I knew Marcus was only saying that because me, the Baptist girl, was in the car. Now I know why he said that. I understand how you want to take every tiny opportunity to share the truth. How grateful I am for the truth!

No-TV Challenge

Devin and I had a "No-TV Week-Long Challenge" this past week. We wanted to see how different we would spend our time if we turned off the TV. Here are some of the things we did.

Made home-made dinners

painted our kitchen

hung pictures

organized the pantry

attended enrichment

hung out with family and their dogs

visited Owen and Abbie

Celebrated Brenda's birthday

Played a VERY FUN card game with Brad and Whitney

(Whitney gets mad at Brad when he's competitive)

Devin thought a whole week without TV was pretty tortuous, I thought it was amazing. We spent a lot better "quality time" together, accomplished things around the house, and had the Spirit in our home more (I know when Devin reads that part he'll say, "Oh boy." Love you Dev!).

Sam finally pooped!

As of this morning, poor Sam has not had a poo since Sunday! I called the pediatrician and she suggested giving him 2 tsp. of Karo syrup in his bottle. We did that last night, but there was still no action as of this morning (although he was letting out STINKY farts). My mom had mentioned that when we were little, she used to stick q-tips up our bums to stimulate poop. I tried that with Sam this morning, and no sooner than I had that q-tip removed, he SQUIRTED out poo everywhere! It got all on the bed, on the floor on the way to the sink, and all in the sink. It was hilarious. It looked just like one of those play-dough toys...you know, the kind where you put the play-dough in, press down, and out comes a huge line of play-dough...that's exactly what it was like.

Photo Shoot

I finally figured out how to take consecutive pictures (like when the camera flashes over and over), so I went a little crazy with pictures of Samothy. Here are a few of my favorites.

2 Months Old

My little darling is 2 months old today. I love that he is getting older and more interactive, but it also makes me so sad. I see him getting bigger and bigger everyday and I just want time to slooooooooow down. He is so sweet. My life is so happy with him as my full-time job.

I have one question for you.

Whatcha gonna do with all that junk inside that trunk???

Spit-up barf puke projectile VOMIT

Sam has had a tough time lately. He can't seem to keep his food down, throwing up approx. 2 oz. per feeding. We took him to the dr. this past Friday.They then sent us to get an ultrasound done. The technician was my least favorite person of the day. I'm mad that his hand made it into my picture. I won't go into details because I get too mad, but he was very rude. Here's Sam in action. Bibs beware.

Long story short, the ultrasound came back negative for whatever they were looking for. We went to the dr. again today. He prescribed Sam Zocam. So far, it actually seems to be helping!

being a mom is time consuming!

Hello everyone! It's been a while since my last post/Sam update. I never knew being a mom would take up so much time (most of it trying to catch up on sleep because Sam is a party animal at night). Sorry to everyone who has tried calling me and repeatedly getting my voicemail- It's not personal, I promise! And I do listen to my voicemails, but by the time I'm done listening I've already forgotten who left the message. Having a baby makes your brain more stupid, just so you know.

Maw-Maw and Paw-Paw left this past Friday after being here since Nov. 5. It was pretty cool having them here at the end of my pregnancy. They got to see Sam from the very beginning. They are 2 very important people in my life. I would always pray that they'd be alive long enough to see me get married and to meet my kids. I am so glad my Heavenly Father answered those prayers!

Here is sweet Paw-Paw cooking his famous french toast. He cooked every single meal for us. He said it was his way of paying rent. Unfortunately, he is from Georgia and cooks Southern-style, meaning butter-coated, fat-loaded, and extra wonderful. They have been gone 4 days and my baby weight has already dropped 2 more pounds (it was at a stand-still while they were here).

Here's dear Maw-Maw holding Sam. She begged me every night to wake her up in the middle of the night while Sam and I were awake. She wanted nothing more than to help out. I didn't have the heart to wake my sleeping grandmother at 4 in the morning, but her offers were sweet just the same.

My dearest, best friends are in town! I am already extra happy from hanging out with Amy, and I can't wait to see my love Selena. Then next week Jess gets here! I love Christmas.

We had the Barry family Christmas party last night. Man I love that family. Anya made an amazing slide show of all the happenings of the past year. We are so blessed! I am so happy that I love my in-laws, and that my family lives so close. I am so happy Sam will grow up with so many amazing people.
And here's my absolute BFF Sam. We hang out a lot.