Mother's Day

Seriously...where did April go?? Time is flying by faster than I can keep up with!!

I've had the most wonderful Mother's Day yet! I was able to attend the Temple yesterday with Mom and Dad while Will stayed home with the boys so I could go. I had a fabulous dinner of Dungeness Crab with M&D that was the best I've ever had. When I got home the boys and Will had scrubbed the Van (it was sooooo dirty it took them over 1 1/2 hours), fun gifts were awaiting me, and there were lots of hugs, smiles, and loves. This morning I woke up to waffles, eggs, bacon and hot chocolate, tons more hugs and loves, and lots of "Happy Mother's Day" wishes. This afternoon I got lunch made for me and soon I'll be heading over to Mom and Dad's house for family dinner. I feel so blessed to be the mother of 4 amazing boys. They make me so proud to be their mom! I am so grateful for my amazing husband, who did all those fabulous things all the while feeling pretty lousy and is now sleeping peacefully next to me, at least for a little while.

A little catching up needs to happen, but I think I'll save that for another day...I want to go spend some time with those amazing boys that give me a reason to wake up every morning!

Happy Mother's Day to all my amazing friends, sisters, and moms!! I love you all!! I love that we all can be mothers, because we all make a difference in children's lives, whether they are ours by birth or not.

YES!!

Will got a job! Will got a job! Will got a job!! :)

Happy, Happy Birthday!!

Logan, sweet Logan, is now 6 years old! When I woke up and told him happy birthday he said, "I can't believe I'm 6!!" He's been counting down the days and weeks for this day! He was able to go to school today, thank goodness. He's had a fever for the last 4 days. I was so glad he was fever free this morning! It would be so sad to miss school and not be able to see all your friends.

My amazing Logan is such a blessing to have in our family. I am so grateful he was sent to us. His loving charm still catches so many peoples hearts. He's our angel, with a bit of a temper and silliness, sent from above!

Happy Birthday my amazing Logan!

Here are just a few of the reasons why I love you!

1. Your silly disposition, loving to make others laugh
2. Your intelligence and memory
3. How easily you come out of your angry funks, still
4. Your desire to ALWAYS be playing with a friend from school
5. How you know what you want and can voice to anyone exactly what you want
6. Your knowledge of good and bad, Christ, and the gospel!
I love you little man!!

Tyler's in the double digits now

My amazing Tyler turned 10 on January 13th! He's so much fun to have around! He tries to be as goofy as possible, sometimes in wrong situations, but he's such a card it's hard to get mad at him. Will was in Seattle for Tyler's birthday so he ended up with quite a few nights of celebration to make up for Will being gone. On Tuesday we went out to eat at Franks with Mom and Dad then we came back to the house to hang out for a while. On Thursday Mom and Dad took us out to McDonald's for dinner (totally unexpected) and I had purchased some mini chocolate chip muffins from Costco to give him a little birthday celebration that night. He got a couple small gifts from his brothers that night, too. It was a lot of fun!


I made his birthday cake Saturday night so we could have it for the Sunday whole family celebration. Well, Will and Logan ended up getting sick on Sunday so we postponed the celebration for Monday at lunch time since it was MLK Jr day and there wasn't any school or work for the men. Tyler kept asking for Nintendo DS games for his gifts, well, I had something else in store since he had grown out of his bike he got 3 years ago...I think he was pretty happy with his gift! :) We had a great day and lots of wonderful small days of celebration. He is one special kid!!

10 Reasons I love Ty:
1. His sense of humor
2. His desire to the best he possibly can
3. How he wants to take on more responsibility
4. How he can remember whatever he chooses to remember
5. His sensitivity
6. He follows examples very closely, so it keeps me on my guard to speak with a kind voice always (at least I try)
7. His understanding of the gospel and desire to choose the right
8. He loves having friends and feeling loved by them
9. How much he loves being so close to his Gramma and Grampa
10. His desire to please the Lord

I love you so much Tyler!!!!

Better late than never, right?

Ok, so Derek turned 8 July 3rd. I am way late in posting about it, but it was such a busy time and such an important birthday, it's worth posting late. We went down to New Orleans the week before his birthday and had a great time with our family and Mom and Dad Scott. We got home the day before his birthday. On Saturday our community had a 3rd of July bike parade for all the kids in the neighborhood. The boys had a blast participating in that parade! We then made preparations for Derek's baptism to become a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. It's so neat to now have two children that have been able to be baptized on their birthday (Kaleb was, too). Mom and Dad Scott, Papa Whited, and his cousin Colby were able to travel from afar to be at his baptism. Derek loved having his loved ones here for him. After his baptism we ate somewhere that is escaping my memory right now and headed home for cake, ice cream and dessert. When evening fell we had a bit of a firework demonstration, as well. It was way cool! :) We had an amazing day! I am so proud of Derek and the wonderful young man he is becoming. He's a joy to have in our family and I feel lucky to be his mom!

Here's 8 reasons I love my Derek:
1. His spontaneity in some of the things he says.
2. How he keeps growing older without looking much older.
3. His entrepreneurial spirit, following his daddy's footsteps.
4. The way he loves everyone unconditionally.
5. His huge personality.
6. His tender heart and brilliant mind.
7. How his laugh is so contagious.
8. What a spiritual giant he is becoming.

I love you so much Derek! Don't ever change for anybody!!

My Ty turned a whopping 9 years old on the 13th of this month. I posted this on Facebook on his birthday, but failed to get it up here on our blog. He makes me so happy! I am so grateful he chose our family to come down and join. He is such an amazing young man. I am so proud to be his mom! Here are 9 reasons I love my amazing Tyler:

1. He's so eager to do the right thing and feels regret when he doesn't
2. He loves to make everyone laugh
3. His care taking of Logan melts my heart
4. What a loyal friend he is to all who will befriend him
5. He is such a big help around the house
6. He loves to read, as do I
7. Learning new things is a joy to him...as long as I don't lose my patience with him when he doesn't get it at first :)
8. He looks to others as examples
9. He's nearly always got a smile on his face which brightens my days!

Ides of March

In our family the Ides of March is very famous...it's the day my parent's got married. I am so glad they did! I love my mom and dad so much. All my friends that think my parent's are so wonderful, you are right! They were very insightful in my teenage years (much to my chagrin) and are so supportive as grandparents and friends in my life today. After 41 years I hope William and I are doing as great as they are doing in their relationship! I love you mom and dad!

LOGAN'S 4!!!

My baby turned 4 yesterday! He is growing up so fast, I feel like life is slipping by and I'm not taking advantage of it. I miss infants...I don't want anymore...I just miss the baby stage where they are so precious and tiny and rely on your every decision. I enjoy holding other people's babies...that's good enough for me. What a strange stage to enter...now leaving child bearing years and entering child rearing years. I'm looking forward to all the changes life is going to afford. Today is a beautiful day. The sun is shining, all our blinds are open, a window in every room is open, I've cleaned most of the house, there's a nice breeze that comes in through the window as I sit on my bed and type this post, and I'm feeling very calm inside. I can hear the frogs croaking outside and I'm half tempted to go catch some so the boys can take care of them (I know who will end up taking care of them, so I'll refrain). They do sound like so much fun. Saturday night Logan started getting scared of the croaking from the frogs...I just reassured him that they are nice and he was fine. He's growing up, but still so small. I love having him home with me. He's so independent, yet wants to be with me all the time, too. I'll let him stay little a bit longer. :)

I know I'm raising a little man that can speak up for himself. Yesterday at church the Primary Secretary was not around and they didn't have a list of the birthday's for Jr Primary. Well, Logan said it was his birthday, and they hearing that nearly every week from one of those little faces were hesitant to say ok. I was told he was very adamant. His words were, "I'm serious, I'm 4! Today is my birthday! My birthday is March 8th, Sunday, this is my birthday! I really am 4!" Or something to that effect. I'm glad he stood up for himself and didn't back down because adults were questioning his knowledge. That's a little glimpse into our little man's personality, too. He's very vocal and knows what he wants. He's a joy to have around. I love him so very much and I am so grateful the Lord sent him to our family!

Here's 4 reasons I love my Logan Bogan:
1. He's so very loving...always saying "I love you" to everyone he can
2. He loves his brother's so much and loves to play with them, as long as they are nice to him
3. He always gives me big "Eema hugs" which are "Gramma Scott hugs" and I feel a bit closer to my mom whenever he does throw his little arms around my neck
4. He's attached to my hip, but he can be his own person at the same time. He can let go when necessary, and that's all I can hope for.

I LOVE YOU MY SWEET LOGAN!!

Ty's birthday bonanza

It was Ty's 8th birthday on Tuesday this week. I can't believe my little man is 8, and ready to get baptized! It was a great day that started out with William's famous and amazing French Toast. Off to school he went with cookies for his classmates. Upon returning from school he quickly did his homework then set off to play the Wii. That was a special treat because they rarely get to play the Wii on the week days (when school is the next day). Dinner was Pasta Roni, Shells and White Cheddar, as requested. KC was here for the festivities and Sean, Julie and their girls joined us for the finale, cake and ice cream and presents enjoyed by family and friends.It couldn't have been a better day. Pictures will come shortly, that's actually why this post is late, but I realized I'd better just post it and get pictures downloaded later.
(here he is being his silly self!)
Here's eight reasons why I am so proud of Ty:
1. His sweet heart that is so tender.
2. How timid he is in new situations, then once he is comfortable he lets it all loose.
3. His desire to make everyone happy.
4. How quickly he loves people and will be friends with them forever.
5. He loves to be in control...with life and the TV.
6. His joy in living...he is silly and loves to make us all laugh.
7. His faith in Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ.
8. His excitement in being with extended family and friends and his unending love for them all.

I love you my sweet Ty Bug! You help make my life full of love, joy, and purpose!

Thanksgiving in Maryland

We had the privilege of visiting Will's family in Maryland for Thanksgiving. It was so great being there! I love only being 10 hours away! It's a little hop, skip, and jump to get there. His mom is looking so much better and is in pretty good spirits. She's at home, in bed, but at least at home! Michelle (Will's younger sister) is able to help take care of mom and does an excellent job at it, I might add! She is so patient and learns everything so quickly. I'm so grateful she is able to be there with mom during this difficult time. I do have to say that it's great how close almost all of Will's family is to his parents. His youngest sister, Kim, lives really close and is there most days, too. She's there with her beautiful baby girl, Baelee, which helps mom feel even happier. I love Will's family so much. I feel so lucky to have such loving and kind in-laws.

While we were there Rhonda, Will's older sister, had three children baptized...Maddie (8), Colby (9), and Heather (10). Maddie asked Will to baptize her, and he was thrilled for the opportunity. It was nice to see Mom up and around (in her wheelchair). I was able to give a little talk about the Holy Ghost, I think it went well. It was short and to the point, I do believe they listened through the whole thing. I was grateful to be included in the affair! I am so proud of those three amazing children for choosing to become members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. I know they have made a very important first step to making it to the Celestial Kingdom to live with Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ again.

Christmas Memories

My friend Ashley is a graphic designer and made a Christmas Advent Calendar. I was responding to her request for favorite Christmas memories and I came out with a novel. Instead of making her post my lifetime Christmas story on her blog, I decided I should just make it a post on my blog. So here's what I wrote:

Christmas is my favorite, so I have a lot of great memories! One thing my family did growing up was always be "Santa's Elves" by taking food (lots of meat because we were dairy farmers) to a family that was in need (most farmers were). We'd put the food on the door step, ring the bell, run like crazy and hide so we could see them open the door and thus see their reactions! I always felt like we were rich because we could share with others, when in reality we weren't rich with money, we were rich with love and it helped me learn the meaning of Christmas from a very young age.

There was the year my Brothers and Sister told me the red flashing light in the sky was Rudolph and I'd better get to bed or Santa wouldn't leave any presents (it was an airplane), but I believed them and fell asleep right away. I am the youngest and they all knew about Santa already.

When I was 3 we were driving up our street on Christmas Eve and we saw Santa going into someone's house! We looked for his Reindeer (they told me they must be on the water tower, haha). The little kids ran inside, threw on our PJ's and jumped into bed, so excited that we had see Santa and that he was on his way to our house.

I think it was the year before that my Gramma and Grampa were with us for Christmas. I remember all the presents were open and my Gramma asked me if I saw anything else that hadn't been given to who it belonged to. She pointed up into the tree, and there was a grey stuffed mouse waiting for me to find, I still have it and will never get rid of that wonderful memory.

Looking at all my memories I see that family and giving is the recurring thing that stays in my memory. I don't remember every gift I got, or every gift I gave. But I do remember being with family and feeling joy and happiness because I was with them. My parents did a wonderful job helping me know from a very young age that Christmas was not about getting, is was about giving.

The thing I love to say to my children when they ask if Santa is real is: "The Spirit of Santa Claus is very real!" He is such a wonderful example of being Christ-like. I feel that I can say that, they then feel happy that Santa is "real" and I haven't had to tell a lie. I know the day is coming soon when Kaleb will know about Santa and maybe even Tyler. I hope they will know that the Spirit of Santa is real and that they can keep their new found knowledge to themselves. :) They know some people don't believe in Santa ("Polar Express" and "Miracle on 39th Street" made that very obvious) and that some do believe in Santa. I love the magic "Santa" brings into every Christmas morning.
Our Family Tradition we have continued in our family from when I was growing up is giving a gift to Jesus. On Christmas Eve we get a small box (usually a check box), wrap it up in tinfoil, write a letter to Jesus telling Him the things we will do better the coming year (New Year's Resolutions, of sorts), close up the box with the letter in it and put it under the Christmas Tree. It stays closed until the following Christmas (or you can open it to refresh yourself on what you promised) and see how well you did at the things you wrote down. It helps us, and the children, remember why we celebrate Christmas and brings things into perspective for at least a little while.

As Thanksgiving approaches and Christmas draws near I hope all my beautiful family and friends know how much I love them. I am so grateful for all the wonderful people I have in my life, especially for our Savior and Redeemer. I hope you all have a safe and grateful Thanksgiving. We get to be with Will's family for Thanksgiving. I can hardly wait to leave Saturday morning. We will definitely be Thankful this year, as we have been every year!

*The picture is of the boys at the end of the Christmas season last year...we'll see how much they've grown in a month or so. :)

Welcome Baby Giles!

I just got a text message that my sweet friends, Becky and Garrett (see below post), had their baby girl!!! She's two weeks early! No other info as of now...stay tuned and I'll update this message when I have more. I'm so excited for them...first time momma and daddy! Congratulations you two!!!!!!

Becky's Baby Shower

Today is my very good friend's baby shower. Originally, Krissy and I were supposed to throw one for her. My sadness is sooooo overwhelming that I don't get to be there in San Luis for her shower today! So, for you Becky, I tell you congratulations and I really missed being there with you today (and everyone else that was there, too). I hope you had a fabulous time and were able to celebrate joyfully this wonderful day!! Little flutter will be here soon!!! :) :) :) I love you, Becky!

And to Krissy who had to throw Becky's shower without me...I missed being able to plan and have fun doing that with you! Way to go for getting it done! I'm sure it was absolutely wonderful!!!! Missed you guys!

Happy Birthday Kaleb!

I had a friend ask me if I felt like I was getting old since Kaleb was turning 9. I simply looked at her and said, "No, because I'm not getting any older, only my kids are, right?"

WOW! Kaleb turned 9 years old on Monday. I wonder if I will ever get over my amazement at how old the children keep getting. It feels like it's happening just right, but then I start to think about how quickly he is going to be teenager and I wonder if he's still going to want to give me hugs and zerberts much longer. It will be a sad day when he's done with the zerberts!

We had a great time for his birthday! We had great friends come over to help it feel like a real family birthday party. After leaving so much family we were so used to celebrating everything with it's nice to have loved ones here we feel so comfortable calling family. Here's a few pictures from the events of the evening.














Kaleb definately was excited about his presents!











Make a wish! That's a face most of you in SLO will recognize!











It was a house full of fun, laughter, and family!!




We even managed to keep it a BBQ in the midst of a crazy downpoor. This is how we were able to manage BBQing on the back porch without it having a cover. Thanks babe, for being willing to get soaked to the bone and sacrafice for all of us! We all appreciated what you did! Our tummies were happy, too!

Here's 9 things that amaze me about Kaleb:

9. How he can find joy in anything he does.
8. How easily he makes friends.
7. How everyone immediately becomes his "best friend".
6. The ways he takes after his dad...he's a techie!
5. The determination he shows in doing his best.
4. What a great big brother he is.
3. The way he understands Math so well.
2. How amazing he is doing in 3rd grade! He's blowing my mind away at his accomplishments so far. Thanks Ms. Eagan for being the teacher he needed you to be!
1. How much he knows about Jesus Christ and His gospel.

10 Years!

WOW! We've made it 10 years so far. After all the years of happiness, tears, joy, stress, love, and eternal bliss it feels good to say we've made it this far. I love being married to William!! I wouldn't trade it for anything. He is the only one for me!!! I look forward to the rest of our years with joyful anticipation and excitement. It's good to feel safe and secure with the one I love. Thanks babe for all the years so far and for all the years to come! I love you with every beat of my heart!

(don't miss the previous posts, there's pictures of our home)

Time Out for Women

Mom, Tracie, Emree and I all went to "Time Out for Women" put on by Deseret Book. It was amazing! Kenneth Cope was one of the musicians. There was also a group called "Mercy River" mercyrivermusic.com/index.html and a group from Nashville that go around the world singing their tribut to the Prophet Joseph Smith and the Pioneers. You can go here www.highwayrecords.com/joseph/ to check out what their group is all about.

They all touched my soul, but I'd have to say the most impressive of course was Kenneth Cope. You can visit his Myspace here www.myspace.com/kennethcopeofficial. I even got to get one of his CD's signed and got a hug from him. It was inspiring to listen to all the music. And the speakers were motivating, comforting, funny, and touching. Mary Ellen Edmunds was there and was funnier than all get out. She is so honest and shares real life dealings and is real. I loved being able to thank her for her words and was able to get a signature from her also.

Getting away was most amazing. It was so fun to be with Mom, Tracie and Emree. We were up until 2:30 am Friday night just talking and enjoying each other (Emree was asleep, thank goodness). It is cherished time I will never forget! William was awesome (and Brennan) for watching the boys and not ever calling me once while I was gone. I'd love to make a yearly thing out of it. It's so renewing and revitalizing. Next time we'll have to make sure ALL the women of the family can go (that's you Carrie and Sarah!) It would be great if at some point I could go out to Maryland and go with all of the women on the other side of my family!

I feel like a new woman and ready to face things with a better attitude, to not be so hard on myself, accept my follies and just continue to improve. I learned I had forgotten about myself, especially my Spiritual Self. I need to focus on me more often and not get so caught up in life. I need to enjoy each moment and stop rushing around all the time. My "self talk" is going to continue to improve. I'm going to talk myself through moments of stress to stop and look at the other person's point of view (especially my children's). I feel happy inside. My moments of frustration are more easily replaced with calm and compassion. Let's just say that I really needed a "Time Out" and I suggest one for everyone!!

A Few Things

I have joined the ranks of the seeing! Tuesday I went through Laser Eye Surgery...a little scary, a lot of pressure (on the eye), and amazing vision! It's so weird to take a shower, wake up, see what time it is in the middle of the night when one of the kids come into bed with us; all being able to see just fine. My eyes are very dry and I have a lot of glare still, but that will go away soon. I went to my post-op appointment yesterday and my vision was 20/20 in my right eye and 25/20 in my left...this from starting at worse than 2500/20 (they can't tell how bad it is after you can't see the big "E" on the chart at all) in both eyes. I am ecstatic about it! I woke up yesterday when Tyler came in and I exclaimed, "I can see you!!!" I can't wait until my sight is 100% and I can wear make-up again, but I am soooooooooo happy with what I have right now! I think I am getting a headache because my vision is so much clearer than I am used to. I'm not complaining, I think it's awesome!

A subject I'd like to broach is Autism. I have a few friends that are currently learning about autism because their daughters have it. If I remember right 10 years ago it was normally boys who had autism...not so much the case anymore. One of my friends, Corinne, has known for a while about her oldest daughter having ASD, and is now concerned about her third daughter exhibiting the same signs. She has some great information on her web site about vaccinations and diet, with more information to come. You can visit http://www.ckcclan.blogspot.com/ to see what she has posted about her sweet little girls and what she has been able to find out.

Another friend some of you may know is Ashleigh Bayard. She has found out her children have very severe asthma and is learning a lot about how to help their environment become safer, not only for children with asthma but for all families with children. She's learned a lot about lead and what may contain lead, what toy companies are staying lead free, and other great information. If anyone would like to receive emails from her about her research post a comment with your email address and I'll pass it on to her. Or you could email me to let me know.

I hope you all have a wonderful day. The sun sure is helping me to feel more energized and enthusiastic. May you all find sunshine in your day!

Ode to Sarah

William kept saying that when my Sister in law lost her hair from her Chemo treatment that he would shave his head. Well, here it is. He came out of the shower without hair, and said that he thought it would be nice to let Sarah know how much we love her and think about her. Here's a post just for her, so she knows how loved she is.

An update for all who knew she was diagnosed with Leukemia...she is back at home after 4, or so, weeks in the hospital. Her body did not like the Chemo at all, but after a few weeks was fit enough to be away from her hospital bed at Utah Valley Hospital. She's going in this next week to have her bone marrow tested to see how things are looking before they determine this next treatment set. She is gaining energy back more and more every day and finds that she is energized by her sweet nieces that live so close (I wish we still did!).

Sarah is an amazing woman! She's had such a great attitude throughout this trial. She sets such a great example for her family and friends. I call myself lucky to call her Sister!

Happy Anniversary

It's my Mom and Dad's 40th Anniversary today!!! I'm so glad they got married 40 years ago, or I wouldn't be here. So, thanks Mom and Dad for getting married 40 years ago so I could be here (and Brennan and K.C. and Carrie and all the family that's with them now, and my cute little family).

We love you, Mom and Dad! We are so glad we get to see you so much. We are grateful for your friendship and love. The boys (and Will and I) would love to see you every single day (and I guess we come pretty darn close to it).

It's awe-inspiring to see you both staying strong and making it through all the years you've been together. Another ten and you'll be setting records. :)

WE LOVE YOU!

OUR BABY IS 3!!!

Logan turned 3 today, and boy did he know it. It was so cute last night as he was going to bed I asked, "How old are you tonight?" He held up 2 fingers and said, "'Night I 2." The next question from me was, "How old will you be when you wake up?" His response with 3 fingers held up was, "'Morrow I be 3." It was so cute! He really is growing up! His little personality catches everybodies heart! His pouty lip when upset and huffy breathing make me laugh (inside or he'd get more upset). He sure knows what he wants and will let whoever needs to know what he wants.

William got home tonight! YAY! We went out to dinner for Logan's special day. He chose "Cool Cats" instead of "Franks" or "Pepe Delgados", and he really did choose! Dinner was yummy. We came home and had a "Cars" or "Lightning McQueen" cake, whichever you prefer. He got 3 small "Cars" cars, Sheriff, Dinoco Helicopter, and Tow Mater, "Cars" and "Mickey Mouse" shirts, and toddler roller skates. They start out with one wheel in front and 2 in back and can switch to 3 inline wheels. He was actually getting the hang of them after a few minutes. I'll have to get some video of him on them and post it soon. From all the things involved with his birthday, I'm sure you have no idea what his favorite movie and/or characters are. Haha! We totally cater to this love, because everything is so cute. My guess is that some day he's really going to be into Nascar!

I think that's all for tonight. Till next time...