Homemade Happiness

Simple Joys

2012-02-05T15:04:00.000-07:00

The weather around here is beautiful and we have had a great weekend. On Friday I got to see my brother Ryan (love that guy) and spend time with Kristyn and her girls. We had a grand idea of packing all the kids in her van and going to Lethbridge together...but all the carseats can't fit at the same time so she picked up what I needed in Lethbridge and I kept Emma here.

She is such a doll. Just a pleasure to have around. Emma was trying to mother Rylan a lot. She loved to feed him and just be around him. Spencer usually wants cheerios as a bedtime snack so here they are eating cheerios just before Emma was going home.

Saturday morning Spencer dumped a whole bunch of cheerios on the floor. At first I wanted to just get all upset and then sweep it up (like I had the day before) but I was good and was just firm about him cleaning them up. He was back and forth between time-out and cleaning up for quite awhile but when he realized after each time-out he was just coming back to clean up he finally figured he better just do it. I'm hoping the cheerio dumping stage is over and we don't have to go through that again. Since reading Love and Logic Magic for Early Childhood I've looked at these learning opportunities differently and I'm grateful for teaching opportunities while he is young so we will hopefully have less problems later.

Rylan is getting into everything and one of his favorites is the buffet. I save myself a lot of stress by only keeping table cloths in the area he usually goes for. He is getting so big-his birthday is in a week. Nursing is coming to a close which is a little bittersweet-we're down to once in the morning and once at night.

Yesterday, I started feeling a little cooped up and wanted to get out of the house, all by myself, and go shopping with no limits! I told Hakon about it and he said for me to just take the day off and go to Lethbridge. In a way I wanted to but I also wasn't sure that was truly the best thing for me to do that day. After talking about options and ideas we came up with a better solution: we each get some time off from the kids next weekend to just do what we want to do. I get some time Friday and he gets some time Saturday. But as for yesterday we had a wonderful family outing for the afternoon. We drove out to SpringGlen Park and enjoyed the fresh air and sunshine. It was wonderful! Some fun memories were made, including Hakon throwing my volleyball in the air and accidentally getting it stuck in a tree.

It took awhile but he finally dislodged it by throwing rocks. I think that was his favorite part of the day. Sometimes simple pleasures are just what we need!

We also played on the tram they have there. Hakon and I took turns on it as well, although we aren't pictured.

Spencer loved it and went multiple times. By the end he could do it by himself if Hakon sat him on and let him go. He even got off by himself at the end.

We are always glad to have Rylan along.

He appreciated that we had cheerios on hand and that it wasn't windy, what a treat!

What is it with boys and rocks? Any time we go to a waterfront or park Hakon always wants to throw rocks. I think it is in their nature. I notice it all the time. I hope we can make it through raising boys without too many injuries from rock throwing! So far, so good.


Rylan and I were glad we didn't get pegged!

After SpringGlen we visited my Aunt Diane's family who lived outside of Glenwood. We realized we see them less since we moved here and never go to church in Glenwood anymore so we just popped by their house for a visit. It was so nice to catch up with them. My cousins Jenae and Kalina were both home and had fun stories to share about boys, basketball, YSA, etc.

Before we left they showed us the animals on their farm. The bunnies were so soft, I could hardly believe it. Spencer loved feeding the horse and petting the dog. Hopefully we can make it out there again when they have some baby calfs for Spencer to see. We decided we need to make a trip out to Jefferson to show Spencer around the family farm there soon.

All in all I was so glad I didn't take off for the day and leave Hakon stranded at home with the kids (though there is a time and place for that for sure). Instead we had some real quality family time and built relationships that provide so much joy in our lives. I am so grateful to be a part of a wonderful family and have simple joys in my life.

Little People, Little Victories

2012-02-02T15:08:00.001-07:00

Remember when I posted the picture on the left of Spencer when he loved to play in the fridge? Well, now it's Rylan shown in the picture on the right and I can hardly believe I'm already dealing with my second fridge lover. Time really is flying. It's so fun to see pictures of the boys side by side. They are surely brothers but I think they look so different from one another. A funny sidenote is that we had the exact same fridge in Strathmore as the one we got with this house. It was actually really nice. It gave us a sense of home right off the bat. That may sound strange but it was nice!

Now these two are playing "together" if you could call it that. This is a view from this morning. Spencer got out a few unconventional toys to go along with the Little People. I love our storage benches in the living room for keeping some toys upstairs but they can be out of sight in a hurry.

Spencer has been obsessed with puzzles for awhile now. Rylan only gets a chance when Spencer isn't around but he tries his best to put it together. When Spencer is doing a puzzle Rylan usually plays with some other toy close by or wants me.

The other day Mama and Henrik came by for a few hours. Spencer loved it when they read to him during Rylan's nap. One of the pages has a picture of magnets on it. We got out a couple magnets for Spencer to play with. It is easy to forget that he still needs to be shown lots of everyday things that he doesn't know about. Magnets are fun to play with and it's neat how they pull together when they are close. Spencer was amused for quite awhile.

Last Sunday afternoon we had a family in our ward over for dinner and had a great time. Every time we invite people over we wonder why we don't do it more often, especially when the kids all get along. After they left Hakon and Spencer crashed for the afternoon leaving Rylan and I some time for ourselves until we all went to Mom's house for a birthday get-together. It was fun to get together with some of my family. We celebrated Mom's birthday the night before as well at Rustin & Kristyn's house with Cafe Rio Pork Salad (yum!) and Bananagrams. We had to come home a little bit early because Rylan would calm down for the babysitter but that was okay since we came home at 9:45 pm and Hakon had to be up at 5:00 am for meetings on Sunday.

A little Rylan update:

-He's feeling a lot better since he got past a bad stage of eczema and his ear infection is cleared up.

-He loves climbing up and down the stairs and is really good at it.

-He loves, loves playing the piano.

-He is enjoying more toys including the Little People buildings and animals.

-He tries to do puzzles.

-He is switching from 2 naps a day to 1. It's hard on both of us.

-He's down to nursing 2 times a day, morning and night.

-Sometimes it sounds like he actually says cracker and a few other words but I'm only sure he knows mama and dada.

-He reaches for Grandma and Far-mor sometimes.

-He is such a mama's boy. Whenever I leave he searches for me most of the time.

-He has taken 1 step!

-He goes to bed at 7pm and doesn't usually wake up in the night. He gets up for the day around 7:30 or 8:00 am.

-He always wants to play with the computer if he can reach it.

-He is so hard during church now. He just wants to go, go, go! I usually take him during Sunday School, and Hakon takes him for the last hour while I teach Young Women.

-He can get really loud when he runs out of food in his high chair.

-He is truly a joy to have in our family.

A little Spencer update:

-He doesn't take a nap every day but will often times fall asleep on the floor around 2:30 pm. Some days he still naps in his bed, like today-which is why I can blog mid-afternoon!

-He usually has a bedtime snack which is often times prepared by Dad.

-He got his very own Book of Mormon which he loves. He got it on Saturday and I've seen him "reading" from it daily on his own outside of the time he "reads" from it during family scripture study. I hope he will always love the Book of Mormon. In the picture above he is looking through our family one.

-He likes to choose who says prayer, for now we let him, if he doesn't grow out of it I guess we'll have to do something about that.

-He loves, loves doing the dishes with me. I hate the occasional splashes of water but try to remind myself it is worth it. It really is fun to have him pull up his chair saying "dishes" and keep me company.

-He can be really sweet to Rylan sometimes. I caught him saying "What happened? It's okay, come 'ere. It's okay. What happened?" and trying to give Rylan a hug when Rylan was sad that I left the room. It's great to see he's learning some empathy even though many times he is the one causing the crying.

-He is a little parrot lately. We catch him copying us all the time. He also tries to sing a lot.

-He is still very organized and likes to clean up if he has fair warning.

-He loves jumping on our air mattress. At first we weren't sure if we should let him and chance getting a hole in it. We soon decided it was worth the chance since he gets so much energy out on it and we don't have a trampoline to send him to. I think he's been jumping on it for over a year now and it is holding up. We always talk about how great it is to have for him. Knock on wood-now it's going to pop! (Even if so I think we'd just buy another and let him jump on it too.)

-He's still on medicine but is basically over Strep Throat. We both had it this week and Hakon had it last week. Things are looking up though.

-He is very full of energy and loves to have fun. He's funny and laughs a lot. He does well when we get out of the house and see other people and places.

-He is so much fun to have in our home.

Although I love my kids very much and am glad to stay home with them, yesterday I was just so irritable. As I looked back on the day I found I could have changed a lot of things to make it better. I could have had my house cleaner, worn comfortable pants (I find this makes a huge difference in my day, crazy enough), and had more meaningful prayers. I did get it together before Hakon came home for dinner and we shared some good family time before Hakon spelled me off so I could go to our ward temple night. It was wonderful to be in the temple with the peace and quiet there. At the end, I was able to sit in silence for awhile and pray and just open up to Heavenly Father about my true desires. It is so good to do that because it reminds me of what I should be focusing on and working toward. It reminds me that my kids aren't just slowing me down and causing havoc in my life, they are my life and they are what I have time for. I'm grateful I have time to become a better mother and wife, and all the roles I have in this life. It's exciting when I see improvement in my life and makes me want to work harder and do better.

A recent triumph in our home has been better dinner times. A few weeks ago Hakon and I talked about our concerns with the chaos of dinner. Spencer was always up and down, away from the table and back, and causing havoc. As we talked about it we started wondering if it was largely our own fault. We decided to get everything on the table before saying the prayer was said and, as much as possible, staying seated for the entire dinner. We explained to Spencer that if he left the table he needed to go play and not bother anyone in the kitchen until dinner was over. It has gone incredibly well. It was a great reminder to me that if I want my kids to change their behavior, I need to look at my own first and make sure I'm setting a good example. It feels good to have a victory amid the countless every day failures.

Life with Boys

2012-01-19T15:40:00.000-07:00

Lately motherhood is always on my mind. I don't want to just go by natural instinct all the time because too often natural instinct would be to yell and yank, or ignore and be annoyed. I want to be deliberate and intentional in my mothering. It is too important to be left to chance. I am almost always reading some sort of parenting or homemaking book. I also love to read blog posts on these topics. Something I'm working on right now is taking the emotion out of disciplining. I'm trying to remember to be sad for Spencer (as opposed to being angry at him) when he makes mistakes and quickly give the consequence while at the same time being grateful he is learning these lessons early. A lot of things run through my mind on a daily basis that help from the Love and Logic book I read and A Joyful Mother of Children. I want to read 5 Spiritual Solutions for Everyday Parenting Challenges which is also written by Linda Eyre with her husband. Just focusing on the ideal more, although I am far from it, makes me a better mom. The key is to try harder to do better. I know my kids don't expect perfection but they can sense when I'm trying and that is really important.

I'm trying to really enjoy the activities I do with them even if it is playing hockey and ping-pong with a 2 year old multiple times a day. I find it helps to have some good music going and to pull the camera out now and then.

Spencer loves playing goalie. He thinks the whole idea is to crouch and fall when the ball comes. He doesn't yet realize you are supposed to try to stop the ball. He's got the moves down pretty well though!

Rylan crawls around while we play and pulls all the shoes off the shelves. He recently wanted to climb in the ride-in car. He can sit in it well and likes for Spencer to push him around if it's not too fast.

Poor Rylan has been sick for about a week with a runny nose, mild fever on and off, and conjunctivitis. To top it off his eczema has been worse than ever.

The above picture was taken a week ago. He is doing a lot better by now (you can tell in the next pictures that were taken today). It's not all better but people aren't asking if it is a carpet burn anymore. Poor little guy!

The boys love playing around the windows and fireplace. Rylan can climb up and down on it which makes him so proud! He is also doing very well going up and down stairs now and is trying to climb on the couches. He's cruising around everywhere and is into everything.

We spent a few hours last Saturday in Glenwood so Hakon could help Papa and Henrik put insulation in the kitchen. There was a little bit of time to relax and watch some hockey afterward.

Spencer was excited to see Mickey Mouse waiting outside the front door for him when we arrived at their house. He loves seeing him when we visit. Spencer is still very much into Mickey Mouse, I'm sure he would still sit and watch Mickey Mouse Clubhouse on youtube all day if we would let him. He probably wishes I was still painting all the time, he got to watch a lot more then.

Spencer still loves spending time with his Dad. It makes him so happy when they are together.

We are still working on this house here and there though we should be going full-tilt. The boys always want to be involved and get into Hakon's tools. We finally got a fan for the living room-that was extremely hard to find one we liked!

Rylan reached the weight limit (22 lbs) for his carseat so we bought a new one for Spencer and moved Rylan into Spencer's old one. The lady at Toys'R'us assured us that he didn't need to be rear facing since he is above the weight limit though not yet 1 year old. I thought that was strange, but great. So Rylan got to sit forward facing for the drive home. I researched to make sure she was right and found she was wrong so Rylan is back to rear-facing for another month. It will be so fun to have both boys facing the front again on February 13th!

So that's what's been going on in this house of boys I live in. I hope I can hang onto my femininity through all this boy stuff. It's quite the ride, bumpy and tiring and thrilling with a few peaceful moments to break it up. I'm sure glad it's not over yet!

What Matters Most

2012-01-06T22:13:00.001-07:00

I haven't forgotten about my theme for the year yet. Here's how my first experience with it went:

I hadn't gotten around to finalizing my lesson plans for teaching last Sunday and it was Saturday afternoon. I had 4 couples coming over for New Year's Eve and I wanted to decorate (okay, they were all immediate family, but the point remains). So here is the dilemma: I don't have time for both! "Put your effort where it matters most" pops into my head and the decision is made: I will spend all the time I need on the lesson to feel really ready regardless of whether there is time left over for party preparation. Well, there is no time left over. The party was fun because it was with some of my most favorite people in the world and I was proud of myself for doing what I thought was most important.

Now, fast-forward to church the next morning. A water line breaks in the parking lot, my class is cancelled, and we all go home. Great, so much for "putting my effort where it matters most".

I know I still did the right thing, and the bonus is I have my lesson ready for the next time I teach way in advance. I had a good sleep and good morning because I was prepared, and I actually learned something from that lesson about being a daughter of God. I think I've been acting more like one lately.

So, I still like my theme. It's a good exercise for me.

One thing that I think "matters most" is spending time with people you care a lot about. I got to do that over the holidays with some of my best friends. It's so easy to let the time slip away and not get together but we made the time and had some fun.

Megan (Bennett) Heavenor, Kami (Allred) Berezay, Leah Lacey, and Katie Wood came over for an afternoon. Awesome, awesome girls! I look up to each one of them and thoroughly enjoy each time I see them. Kami and Megan had their babies here who are each adorable! It was fun to talk about our lives now and reminisce about the past.

Leah and Katie are so much fun. I can not begin to tell all the good times I've shared with these two lovelies. They are the girls I can tell anything to and I know they will always still love me. I will never stop loving them either! Even though we are in totally different stages of life we've been able to stay friends and I get to hear all the fun stories about roommates and school, work and guys. I love to hear all their crazy stories!

They were so good to Spencer while they were here as well. Katie won his heart with her attention and the iphone helped too I'm sure. They didn't even get upset about him continually jumping between the two of them and begging for tickles. When everyone left I realized I had made the mistake of not telling Spencer to come say goodbye as he was in the other room. He came straight to the loveseat to find Leah and Katie and was so upset they were gone. He was only consoled by calling each of them on their cell phones to say goodbye.

I also got to see another good friend, Monica (Redd) Harker and her husband David over the holidays. I was so happy to hear they are expecting a baby and doing so well. Becoming a parent is so exciting! I love the holidays when so many people come home and I get to see them!

Spencer's new favorite thing to do is puzzles. I'm impressed with how well he is doing. I need to find some new ones to challenge him since he has completely memorized the ones we have.

Rylan has taken a step and loves to crawl over everything and climb. He is starting to learn to climb down the stairs and to get on and off the seats by the fireplace. He is almost 11 months old. Seriously-where did my baby go?? He is learning to share with Spencer and they sometimes play together. Nothing makes me happier than seeing them have fun playing together.

But nothing makes me more angry than when Spencer hurts Rylan, over and over! I didn't know I could be so mad. Consistent consequences have helped but haven't totally stopped Spencer from crawling right over top of Rylan or head-butting him. I can tell he just wants Rylan to be old enough to rough-house and he probably is trying to get a reaction from me but in the mean time it makes me so mad! I don't think I am one who is easily upset or incensed but he found the right button to push. It makes me wonder how Heavenly Father feels when his children (all of us) don't get along. It must hurt Him so much!

A book I just read was fabulous: A Joyful Mother of Children by Linda Eyre. A friend let me borrow it and I will soon order one from amazon. It was jam-packed with ideas to use to become a better mother while at the same time finding more joy in it. This lady had a bunch of kids and talks about real life. I feel like she has really been where I am and has great ideas for how to make it through joyfully-for the most part! There is so much for me to work on. I know I will want to refer to this book many times over the next 20 years or more!

Hakon had the week between Christmas and New Year's off from work. I loved having him around. This year from Christmas his mor-mor (Grandma who lives in Norway) sent him fine chocolates because they said "Kong Haakon" on the package-which means King Hakon.

The truth is, he is meant to one day be a King, and I his Queen. Isn't that surreal! That is what we are working toward in our every day running around, trying to make it through this life. That is what it is all about. I love him and want to be his Queen for eternity!

Chrismas Festivities and 2012 Theme

2011-12-26T12:56:00.000-07:00

I didn't send any Christmas cards in the mail this year. Please forgive me, and consider this the best I could do this year. It felt too overwhelming to figure one out earlier in the season with renovations and all the activities that go along with Christmas.

We have had a lot of fun with the Christmas season. It started out with an FHE at the Chinook Lodge. The Women's Ensemble I'm singing with sang and we added numbers that our children wanted to do. Spencer stood up front during "Jingle Bells" although he didn't join in the singing. It was great to get out and give some service. Hakon was good to take care of the boys while I sang.

December 17 we had a grand time at a Norwegian Christmas party at Darren and Stacey Atwood's house. We watched a slideshow of pictures from Norway, had smorbrod and Norwegian treats, and went on a hayride. It made me so much more excited about carrying on Norwegian traditions in my family and grateful I have the opportunity to learn more about a different country and culture and enjoy the benefits that come along with it. 2 of the Young Women from my ward are in the Atwood family. It was fun to see them with their family. They are so good with all the young children and are so much fun to be around, as are their parents!

The next evening was the Rotary Carol Festival which I sang in with the Women's Ensemble. It was so wonderful to be singing in a talented group again. I actually sang alto with Leslie Dittmann who led me in choir from grade 5-12 and who took the Girls Choir on tour when I went to Germany. It was a bit intimidating at first to sing with her but then it became really fun because we started blending nicely and just enjoying singing together. We are a group of 8 right now but will probably expand to 12 in the new year. We sang "You are the New Day", "Carol of the Bells", and "Mary, Did you Know". I think people enjoyed "Carol of the Bells" the most. It felt great to sing well and feel the spirit during it.

December 22 we had a Family Adult Christmas Party! It was great to have an evening without the craziness of all the kids being there. We had a scare when our babysitter called 25 minutes before we needed to leave to say she got the chicken pox (it's been going around town). I called about 12 other young women from my ward but nobody was available. Finally I called my neighbor ReNae Jensen and she was so kind to come over for a couple hours. What a relief! We started with dinner at Athens (the new restaurant in Cardston). Unforunately Hakon ended up at the front of the picture again and looks like a giant...again! We just laugh about it now. He really isn't that big!

After dinner everyone came to our house for games and visiting. Darren and Christal brought a bunch of Minute to Win it games which really got us laughing! Such good times.

We even played Werewolf afterward with those who weren't partied out yet. It was a blast!

The Norwegian Christmas gets into full swing on the 24th. I cut my thumb that afternoon just before we were going to take treats around to friends and neighbors so that got put on hold until after Christmas but the celebrating went on as planned a couple hours later.

We had a pork dinner and Ris Krem og Rod Saus (rice pudding and red berry sauce) for dessert. Mama got the hidden almond in it but didn't confess until Hakon had taken a second bowl of dessert.

Afterward Santa made it to our place and found that Spencer and Rylan have been good little boys this year.

Spencer watched out the window for him to come and was so polite when he came in. He wasn't quite sure what to think about it all but was on his best behavior. Spencer got Mickey Mouse Clubhouse figurines and Rylan got a wooden train.

Some other gifts to mention are the car ramp from Far-Mor and Far-Far and a pingpong table for the family which Grandma and Grandpa Bevans contributed to. Emme and Mike sent us Bananagrams and toys for the kids. We missed having them with us as well as the rest of Hakon's family. I was excited to surprise Hakon with the complete set of the History of the Church, which he has been wanting for years.

It was nice to do Christmas at our house with Hakon's parents and Henrik. We were able to put Rylan to bed around 7:30 when he got tired and still enjoy the rest of the evening together.

Christmas Day we had a fabulous Sacrament Meeting with a beautiful Cantata. I enjoyed singing with a group of 8 women from the ward. Although I lost my voice earlier this week and didn't have it all the way back for Sunday I was still able to sing well enough to join in. It was great to practice with these ladies and get to know them better. We love our ward family here!

We had fun being little helpers for Rustin by taking a piano to their house to surprise Kristyn. We dropped it off while they were at church and she had quite the surprise when they got home. It was fun to be sneaky! I am so glad to live here and be able to help out with these things. At 3:00 we went to my parents' house for dinner, presents, and the nativity. Alley and Brady are up this year and surprised us with the announcement that they are going to have a baby in June!!! That made my Christmas!

The most exciting present was an Ipad for mom. She was totally surprised, although I'm sure she was hoping for one. She continually amazes me with how she keeps up with technology. I'm sure she will put it to good use.

This was Spencer's first year in the Nativity. He was a shepherd. The cutest part was that he kept holding his arms out like an angel because Grandma told Emma to. He really wanted to do things right and follow along with the other kids. He sure loves being around his extended family, as do the rest of us.

I feel sad that Christmas came and went so fast. I think doing renovations at the same time took away from pondering and reading as much as I would have liked to. Although there are times when you just have to get to work and get a project done, I can absolutely see the wisdom in not letting our lives get too busy for the simple, quiet moments that allow us to focus on Christ and our blessings. I am grateful He did come to show us the way and provide the way for us to return to live with Him in the mansions of His Father. I hope and pray that I will live faithful and obtain this blessing along with all of my family.

I've also been thinking about "simplifying" my life. I don't think life is meant to be simple in the way that it is easy and laid back and meaningless. I think I need to focus less on simplifying and more on putting my effort where it matters most. Sometimes we put our effort where it shows the most but it doesn't have any eternal significance. I think we are not supposed to just be hurrying around trying to keep up with everyone else but we aren't just supposed to do nothing either. We need to be anxiously engaged in a good cause and lay up treasures in heaven. These things take effort, work, and deliberate actions. We can't achieve eternal life without any effort but just being busy with unimportant things won't get us there either.

So my theme for 2012 is going to be:

Put Your Effort Where it Matters Most

I hope everyone enjoys this week between Christmas and New Years! It truly is the most wonderful time of the year if we let it be that!

Boys Update

2011-12-16T15:30:00.000-07:00

Spencer and Rylan are getting more fun by the day. I love how quickly they change, learn, and grow.

Rylan Facts:
Night Sleeping: 7pm-7am but sometimes wants to nurse at 6 am. He rarely wakes in the night anymore but if he does he just needs to be laid back down, given the soother and his blankie.
Saying: mama, dada
Wearing: 12-24 month p.j.'s, 12 month pants, shirts, and sweaters
Eating: most anything, has a little milk with cereal sometimes, loves oranges and smoothies, raisins, cheerios, water
Nursing: 6 or 7 am, 1 pm, sometimes 4pm, and 7pm
Playing: loves, loves, loves to be tickled, pots and pans, wooden puzzles although he can't do them yet, and anything Spencer has
Napping: 9am and 1pm usually totally 3-3 1/2 hours between the two naps-he does alright skipping naps if needed

Rylan is crawling all over the place, pulling up on furniture (and my legs), and standing on his own for a couple seconds at a time. He started crawling right at 9 months.

He has only gone after the Christmas Tree decorations a couple times which I have been pretty happy about. It's nice to have carpet in now for him to crawl on. We also put carpet on the stairs now since it had linoleum before and he is climbing those like a champ. We still stay behind him but he doesn't need any help. He hasn't slipped once.

Rylan loves his food. Any time food is around he will start getting frantic until he gets some. If food was always in sight I think he would eat all day. He still needs a bib very much though. Sometimes I forget to check the bib when he wants more food and I think he is just downing everything I'm giving him. Then I realize it was mostly in his bib afterward!

Spencer and Rylan both LOVE smoothies. Spencer says it "mooeys" and if I try to correct him he says "ssss-mooeys". I love when Spencer gives himself a uni-brow with his cup.

These two are playing together more which is so much fun! They have the most fun when Spencer gets down and crawls around with Rylan. But with more interaction comes more troubles and Spencer doesn't like how quickly Rylan can get to his toys. Spencer will either say "My toys" or "Don't touch" about a hundred times. The dynamics are fun though between the two of them. I hope they will always be good friends to each other even if they have their quarreling moments.

Spencer Facts:
Sleeping: 8:30pm-7:30am with a nap from approximately 1pm-3pm or no nap and bedtime at 7:30 pm.
Eating: most anything but loves, cheerios, applesauce, yogurt, smoothies, egg, bread, pancakes, popcorn, and fries. It is sad but true that he can pick out fast food restaurants and then asks for fries. Truthfully, I like fries a lot too. We don't have them very often though so he'll survive.
Sings: parts of "I Love to See the Temple", "I Am A Child of God", "Book of Mormon Stories", and "Jingle Bells".
Playing: puzzles, little people, trucks and cars, jumping and running, ride-on cars and bikes
Reading: favorite books right now are the Mickey Mouse and Donald Duck ones from the Laycocks, and Dr. Zeuss and Robert Lopshire board books.

Spencer is saying so many words now. Some of his funny ones are "cake-fuff" instead of "pancake" and "ae-dee-dee" instead of "thank you". Recently he has started to use the correct words on occasion. It almost makes me sad when he uses the correct word, isn't that silly?

He really enjoys books now and will calm down well if I can sit or lay with him to read. He had the special treat of reading with Far-Mor after making Norwegian Christmas cookies yesterday. That should explain the aprons they are both wearing.

The other day he wanted to go outside and since the driveway needed shoveled I recruited him to help. He used a beach shovel we had and I used the real one. He actually was a good little helped and stayed with me to the very end. I think he was proud of himself but not as proud as I was of myself. That was my first time shoveling the whole driveway. Afterward I called Hakon for some praise and thanks which he gave in abundance.

He still really into copying his Dad. The other day we realized he was laying on the couch crossing his legs just to copy what Hakon was doing. He will sometimes pray (or pretend to pray) beside Hakon while he's saying his morning prayer.

This was another time he copied Hakon so I got a neck rub from both of them!

Apparently Spencer wanted to be like me one time because he tried out my makeup without me realizing it. I'm thinking that was all he needed to know makeup isn't for him!

I love having this little Christmas tree for him to decorate. We've ended up decorating our real tree late at night the last couple years so this is a fun way for him to still be involved on his own tree. The little wooden ornaments are adorable and were 1/2 off at Extra Foods!

Spencer's 1st Snowman!!! Alright maybe I should have done this with him before now but who really cares. We had fun even though he is tiny. The snow was not cooperating, I guess the temperature wasn't quite right. We enjoyed it anyway. Spencer was surprised the snowman's twig arm couldn't hold up his big hockey stick. It was a cute attempt anyway. He said "arm off" and tried to stick it back in which I helped him do afterward. It was a lot of fun spending some time just with Spencer while Rylan took his morning nap.

These years when my boys are young and with me all the time are precious and are going by so fast. I want to spend my time right so I don't look back with regrets later. But hey, who doesn't have a few regrets along the way? I just have to try to do the best I can and forgive myself when I fall short. These kids are so forgiving and loving even when I slip up. I don't have to be super-mom, I just have to be do the best I can and learn as I go.

UFE Results

2011-12-16T14:35:00.000-07:00

On December 2 the results came out for Hakon's UFE exam (the exam you must pass to become a Charter Accountant). He has been working towards this since we got married 4 years ago. First, he had to take a few courses at U of L to get into the CASB program. Once finished there he took his first job in accounting in Strathmore where we lived for 2 1/2 years. During that time he passed all 6 of his modules on his first try. He studied many, many nights and there were few Friday nights open for dates since his assignments were due Friday at midnight. There were times that he wanted to quit or thought there was no way he could succeed. It is a hard program and takes a lot of inner strength and stamina. I am so proud of him for pushing through. He wrote the final exam in September. It was a 3 day exam in Lethbridge and we thought it wise to get him a hotel room for it. Then the wait began. It was almost 3 months from the time he wrote until we got the results.

The night before the results I woke up so many times thinking it must be morning by now. It was like Christmas but I had a knot in my stomach. Hakon felt unsure of whether he passed or not so I felt uneasy as well. I know he is very smart and worked really hard to do well but I knew that was no guarantee. In the morning he got up early because he couldn't sleep and shoveled the driveway. I watched the clock and called him back in the house at 7:58am. The results were released at 8:00am. Hakon searched his number and saw "Competency Achieved" as opposed to "Competency Not Yet Achieved"! That was it, all we needed to know! What a relief.

Hakon made some phone calls, then I posted on Facebook. Here is the status update with responses:

Katelyn-Hakon Skoien said:

Hakon passed the UFE! He's really going to be a Chartered Accountant!! I'm so proud of him for his dedication and hard work.

· · December 2 at 8:45am

Loralee Merkley Laycock, Gail Stanford, Hailey Lynn Sommerfeldt and 28 others like this.
- Cheryl McMurray Congrats hakon! That is BIG!!
- Melanie Bevans Hall Yeah....congrats!!
- Christal Fredriksen-Bevans YEAH!!! That is awesome!!!! congrats guys on all your hard work!! Love you guys! have fun tonight!
- Linda Redd Thanks for sharing the great news. Congratulations.
- Kameka Landon That's awsome! So happy for him and you!
- Dave Olsen Congrats!
- Jennifer Schindler Yanos so awesome!!!
- Leah Lorna Lacey WAHOOOO!
- Kym Tillack Peavoy Woohoo! Yeah Hakon!!!
- Chelsie Kay Cornu Congratulations Hakon! How exciting, hopefully now you''ll get a little break!
- Diane Bevans Hunsperger I knew he would do it. Congratulations to both of you!
- Anne Marie Jensen Smith Congrats! We're just about to start all that. Tell me it will go by quickly.
- Donna Rawcliffe Walls ‎"BRAVO" Hakon, was there ever any doubt that a brilliant mind like yours would fail. I say "no" Congratulations ! ! !
- Carina Skoien Richardson What a good feeling! Congratulations, Hakon! I'm proud of him too. And you've worked hard at home too, Katelyn. It's not easy for the wife either :)
- Marie Antonio- Go Congrats! Happy for u guys!;)
- Emme Skoien Boushka that's awesome!!! congratulations!
- Katie Wood Congrats!!!!! So happy!
- Whitney Jo Quinton Congrats! Where is he working?!
- James Russell Awesome & congrats.
- Allison Bevans Thomas Congratulations!
- Dorene Seeley Holt Hurray! Congrats!!
  
  We celebrated that day by going out for lunch courtesy of Hakon's firm, then we got a babysitter that evening so we could go to "Courageous". It was a great day. Hakon was on a high for a long time and days after was still saying "I passed" while it sunk in. We feel very blessed and grateful for a priesthood blessing Hakon's father gave him at the beginning of this journey. I don't recall the exact wording but something to the effect that he would be successful in achieving the CA designation. It provided extra needed blessings throughout the whole process and a sense that everything would work out. We were just glad it didn't involve multiple times of taking the tests. Now onto bigger and better things with our future, things are looking up!

Welcome Winter

2011-11-15T07:30:00.000-07:00

November is here already and we are steadily working toward our goal of being done the house projects by Christmas-cross your fingers! Naptimes and bedtimes have turned into working-on-the-house-time so I haven't spent as much time online...not nearly as much! It is great to see some improvements though. I'll share pictures soon.

As far as family life goes things have been pretty normal around here. Since moving to Cardston I've loved having the opportunity to have nieces and nephews over to play with my kids. It is fun to get to know them better and also have a place for my kids to go when I need it. Emma and Madi came to play when the leaves were just right for jumping in. The kids were in HEAVEN!

We also had Joseph and Mark over recently. I was just glad Joseph wasn't sad. He just liked to observe what Rylan was doing or stay with me.

Spencer still loves to copy what Hakon does. Sometimes he copies me too. It cracks us up when we realize he is copying us. Here is a picture of such a time:

He also loves for us to read to him at bedtime then pray together. He usually wants me to help him pray to begin with then in the middle says "Dad help" so we just switch and go on with the prayer. Here you see the view of the temple from his room at night:

Spencer is still very much obsessed with cars as well as Mickey Mouse and Donald Duck.

Halloween was fairly low-key. Spencer was a skunk and Rylan was a bear. Spencer's costume was a little small because it was Emma's from last year but it did the trick. In the morning we went to the Parent Link center where they played and had a little Halloween treat. In the evening we went to both grandparent's homes. He didn't care for trick-or-treating and flat out refused to take any candy. That is bound to change!

The weather has been pretty good considering it's the beginning of November but I think winter is really coming. Hakon came home from work yesterday looking like this:

Welcome winter-I'm looking forward to Christmas!

The Big Catchup

2011-10-26T07:39:00.000-06:00

Last night we carved pumpkins for the first time as a family! Hakon and I have actually never carved pumpkins together before and Spencer had never seen it done. He tried sticking his hand into the pumpkin to pull out the seeds but got too grossed out and stood back for us to do it. He preferred using the waste bowl as a hat instead. Rylan was obviously not very involved. At the beginning he was just finishing his taco soup. He needed a bath after that meal so I carved my pumpkin in the bathroom while he was in the tub. He loves bath time and could stay in there for a really long time. Hakon did the Mickey Mouse carving in honor of Spencer's love of Mickey Mouse and Donald Duck right now (thanks to Hakon for introducing him to those cartoons on YouTube). We hear requests for Duck and Mouse fairly often around here. I did the moon and stars-no reason other than I wanted to.

We also had a lesson on "I am a Child of God". Spencer is getting more involved in the lessons now that he likes to repeat what we say. It is fun to see him learning. Soon enough he wanted to jump on the air mattress though. Our lessons are short and interrupted often, but I guess it is the consistency that counts most.

Spencer is in a big bed now! Up until recently I thought for sure we would have issues with him coming out of his room and not going to bed. Recently he has been asking to go to bed and naps and doing really well so I decided to give it a shot. He is loving it. He will often get in his bed by himself for naps right after lunch. He still often wakes up a bit upset after naps. One day in particular he was just standing by the door crying after his nap which was 1 1/2 hours long. I decided to just wait until he came out on his own. Soon I heard nothing so I checked on him and found him fast asleep on his floor. Yesterday he also wanted to go back to sleep after waking up from his nap so he climbed back in bed for another 45 minutes. It's nice that he can get in and out so he doesn't scream for me to get him out of his crib when he wakes up any more. I am so proud of him for adjusting so well!

Rylan is changing so fast. He is already over 8 months old! Here are some Rylan facts:

is feeding himself at most meal times now and making a real mess, but he loves it and my hands are free!
He is trying to get into a crawling position but hasn't quite made it. He will fall forward to get onto his tummy then pushes himself backward with his arms. He gets frustrated when he backs into a wall or under furniture but is a pretty patient little baby waiting for me to help him out.
He loves to splash in the tub but gets scared if Spencer splashes too energetically.

He says mama, dada, and other nonsensical sounds. He says mama most though and it melts my heart.
He is taking two naps a day at 9am and 1pm. Bedtime is at 7pm and he wakes a few times wanting water or the soother or maybe to be nursed around 10:30pm. He gets up for the day around 7am.
He loves attention and will give the cutest smiles before burying his face into something because he just can't handle the excitement anymore.
He has two teeth (bottom middles).
He is still so chubby and squeezable!
He is very ticklish but he holds his laugh in until he can't handle it anymore.

Spencer is growing and changing just as fast.

He talks about his friends now including his cousin Emma, our neighbor London, and Kami's daughter Lynden.
He loves vehicles. He can recognize the different types of vehicles of most of our family members and loves to play with toys cars and trucks.
He can buckle his own carseat sometimes. Usually he only needs help with one of the buckles.
He is learning to say "please" and "thank you" and use many different words. He is combining words as well like "Gramma house fun".
He likes going to bed and often wants a water bottle in bed with him.
He is riding a bike with training wheels.
He likes to eat off of Rylan's high chair tray with Rylan.
He sometimes leads the music during hymns at church.
He dresses himself quite often. He often needs help straightening his pants and socks.
He likes to wear winter boots right now.
He likes to help rake leaves although he finds it more fulfilling to rake away from the pile than towards it.

Any toy can be a guitar for Spencer and a wreath hanger is a microphone for him when standing on his footstool.
"Mine" is probably his most common word right now.
He is quite social. We saw a neighbor outside when we were on a walk and he ran up to her and gave her a big hug. Then proceeded to chat with the next neighbor who was out cleaning his golf balls. He brightens everyone's day with his smile.
A girl in Y.W. tonight told me that Spencer's smile is just like sunshine! I absolutely agree.

L to R: With Lynden, at London's 3rd Birthday Party (London is far R), beside the Nature Trail

Facts on Hakon:

He works at Price, Comin & Johnson and is enjoying his new job.
He is the ward clerk so he goes to early morning meetings on Sundays and sometimes has meetings Tuesday nights. He is very organized and dedicated to doing his duty. I know he will do a great job.
He is doing lots of work on our home. I help too but he's the only one in the pictures. Spencer and Rylan get in there too but we do most of it when they are in bed. So far we have taken down the old light boxes above the kitchen, had the electrician put in some new lighting (recessed lights in the kitchen and a couple in the living room), got a new textured ceiling after scraping off the old, and painted the ceiling and part of the fireplace. It is a work in progress but it will come together at some point.

Facts about Katelyn:

I am now the Advisor in the Miamaids class in 2nd Ward Young Womens. I am LOVING this calling. I have been to 3 activites now and taught 1 lesson. The girls are lively and good girls. There are 8 girls in my class. I am so excited to continue to get to know them and try to be a good influence on their lives. I know my Young Women leaders had a lot of influence on me for the better, I only hope to do the same for these girls.

I am actually using my Treadmill again. It is about time.

Dad's 65th Birthday:

I was having a hard time thinking of a gift for my Dad's 65th Birthday so Hakon and I came up with the idea of throwing him a birthday party where the guests are not family but friends. We recruited other family members to help, got a guest list from Mom and Dad, made the phone calls, and threw the party. We made and served dinner, did a Trivia and Reminiscing game, served cake, and cleaned up. Rustin and Kristyn were with us the whole way thankfully! We could not have done it without them. After cake most of the couples stayed for a Rook Tournament and visiting. We went home at 10:45pm but some couples stayed until midnight. I asked each guest to come ready to share some memories of my Dad which they did while eating cake. I sat in to hear them and enjoyed it very much. My Dad is often quiet but has a great sense of humor. My favorite story shared was that of him calling a Brian Allred to see if he would go on a blind date. When Brian asked what she looked like my Dad responded with, "I'm not telling you, I didn't tell her what you look like!" They are both good looking people and ended up getting married and being guests at my Dad's 65th Birthday party. I believe they all had a really great time and so did we.

It was fun to see my parents with friends and not having to do the work of preparation and cleanup that goes with a party. They looked stress-free and happy which made us so glad we did it. I love my parents very much and am so grateful to live close by now and see them frequently.

I am really enjoying how things are right now. I feel motivated and needed and like we are making progress on our goals. It is so fun to see Rylan and Spencer growing and changing. I'm also enjoying doing home projects with Hakon. I find life to be very fulfilling when spent with those I love and in service to the Lord.

Last night...

2011-10-04T15:43:00.000-06:00

Last night I woke up at least once every hour from 12 am until 6:30 am to help Rylan get back to sleep. He just couldn't stay settled! I felt exhausted and even more so wondering how many more nights we might have of this. This morning I got a nice surprise in the form of his first little tooth popping through his bottom gums. That one little tooth gave me hope for the next few nights to get better and reminded me that I'm so glad to be the one to comfort him in the night and play with him in the day. I love being mom to my sweet Rylan.

Family Facts

2011-09-05T13:54:00.000-06:00

Here is a little update on each family member.

Hakon

passed module 6, and studying for the UFE, it is mentally exhausting but he is plowing through.
has vehicle half the time when he studies in Raymond.
has been pruning trees in our backyard when he has time-there is a lot to do!
enjoys watching Flashpoint with me when the kids are in bed.
so patient with the boys, sometimes I ask him for lessons.
helps me with the dishes sometimes, which helps a lot while we are without a dishwasher.

Spencer loves doing what his dad does.

The boys love it when Dad is home. Hakon has always loved laying on the floor so they take advantage of the opportunity to play.

Pruning the trees.

Hakon's 29th Birthday was on September 1! It is strange to think he is 29 while I am still holding on to 23. He is staying young though! Here he is the with the boys in the morning before leaving to study for the UFE.

We enjoyed the evening in Glenwood with Mama, Papa, Henrik, Kolby, Natalie, and Brother Law who visited part of the time. Hakon requested smokies for dinner and he got it.

Afterward there were cards, presents, singing and Dairy Queen cake. I gave Hakon a new polo and gray dress pants both on great deals from Banana Republic. I know Hakon loves the fit of their clothes so I watch for good deals online.

To end the night Papa wanted a Priesthood blessing from Hakon and Kolby because there is something in his eye that cannot be surgically removed. Following Papa gave blessings to Kolby, Hakon, and Henrik. Spencer got some one-on-one time with Far-Far reading in the animated Book of Mormon.

Katelyn (Yes, that would be me.)

Loving staying home with the boys.
got to see my cousin Kameka who was up for Ryan's wedding.
wants a calling and to be a visiting teacher.
excited to decorate this house. There's a lot to do but it is an exciting challenge.
less time to myself since Spencer isn't always napping and Hakon is home every evening-hence, the lack of blogging.
spoke in church last Sunday and was surprisingly at ease most of the time.
needs a new haircut. A lady came up to me to tell me she thought I was a youth speaker until I mentioned my 2 little boys. I decided I need a new haircut asap.
loved being involved with preparations for Ryan and Carly's wedding. I made the pages to be filled out for the guest book and organized the desserts. I felt bad about providing way too many desserts but better too many than too few. I also glued plates to candlestick holders and shot glasses to make more dessert stands. I think they turned out really cute and for only about $2 a piece besides the $10 glue.

The two boys love books and being together until Rylan touches something Spencer doesn't want him to.

Me and Spencer washing the door.

Spencer

went to nursery second time without crying! (The first time was his first week when he ran in to play with the toys without looking back.)
sat so good with my cousin Jeff's family while we spoke in Sacrament Meeting.
almost got into the temple twice during the picture session of Ryan's wedding.
loved crawling around the floor with Janalee's baby Andrew.
paying a lot more attention to Rylan with kisses, pats, hand shakes, pushes, holding, etc.
loves playing in the garage and outside. I am so anxious to get a fenced in backyard.
wants to see the temple every after bedtime prayer. He has a great view from the window in his room. He calls it something like "bapple".
is becoming quite the smartie. I was told that in nursery there were 18 children in a circle looking at a picture during the lesson. There was a rule they could not get off their chairs to have a closer look. Spencer outsmarted the system and pulled his chair closer with him to get a better look. The leaders found it amusing and would have left him had it not started a trend among the other children. The rule was changed to include no scooting your chair!
still hates getting in the bathtub.
loves visitors. He sometimes gets a little overbearing-but hey, he is 2. We are working on it.

Spencer got Conjunctivitis just a couple days before the wedding. Luckily we got him on drops in time so he wasn't contagious when everyone was around.

The two boys are interacting more and more. It is so fun to see how Spencer wants to be around Rylan and Rylan smiles and finds Spencer very intriguing.

Spencer's outfit of choice. He can put on his own socks and shoes now but needed a little help with the mittens.

Spencer is so helpful. He helped Far-Mor bring in her groceries then Far-Far bring in his tools. Afterward they were both taking off their shoes.

Spencer always wants to do what Dad is doing. Here they are flossing.

Whenever I'm in the laundry room Spencer wants me to put Rylan in the basket with him. It gets a little squishy but they seem to like it.

Rylan

is 6 1/2 months old.
can sit! He began right at 6 months.
just became our little mover. He can roll all the way across the living room now and get himself stuck against the couch or fireplace.
has quite the squeal now. No more quiet baby though he is still fairly relaxed with sudden loud outbursts.
can pass toys from hand to hand easily.
started solids. He LOVES food. There was no need to ease him in.
can feed himself some foods like crackers and wants to feed himself with a spoon.
always grabs at what we are eating, especially popsicles or ice cream.
has been waking up more in the night again. Just when I thought we had it down.
has no more brown in his hair. I am no longer asked if I dyed his hair.
has the cutest chubby thighs.
sticks his legs straight out with toes up and wiggling when sitting on the floor or in the stroller.
has white hair.

Rylan can sit! This was on his first day right at 6 months.

Spencer likes to tickle Rylan and try to hold him. I think we are past the pushing stage. It didn't seem to be mean-hearted. He just thought he could rough-house with Rylan like he does with Dad.

Eating solids!

As a family we have done a lot of visiting lately. We were so excited our friends the Hansen's came to visit us last weekend and we invited Rustin and Kristyn's family over too. We became friends with the Hansen's in Strathmore and Rustin and Justin Hansen have been friends for years. We had more hot dogs and smokies and visited while the kids played. Spencer was a little out numbered with 5 other girls running around.

Yesterday evening I took the boys to the temple grounds for a little while. We were all sick earlier in the day but felt a bit better at that time. I love living just a block from the temple.

I adore my little family of 4.

There is no one else I would rather

work toward eternity with!

Ryan and Carly's Wedding

2011-08-31T14:42:00.000-06:00

My little brother (or big brother as he thinks) Ryan got married last Saturday August 27. But let's backtrack for a second to August 20 when we held a bridal shower for Carly. It was at my house, in Cardston! I designed the invitation while still living in Strathmore using picasa, yes I know I use picasa for everything! It was really handy because I just uploaded it to Walmart photocenter and had them printed in Lethbridge so my sister Allison could pick them up and delivery them. She was so kind to do this on her holidays!

We did a little game where I had videoed Ryan answering questions about Carly then I would pause it to hear her answer before seeing what he would say. Kristyn had the best idea to do mini fruit pizzas for dessert, mmm! And our friend Sharon Jensen brought slush. I did a little decorating with a banner and pom poms. Christal tipped me on the link for printable banner letters at Martha Stewart website. The shower turned out to be a lot of fun. I loved meeting Carly's mom and sister. She comes from a great family. Although it was hot in here it was fun to have it at my own place. I think I will have to throw a baby shower for her when she and Ryan start having kids so everyone can see the many changes that will have taken place between now and then. It was a great evening with the ladies. I hope Carly knows how happy we are to have her in our family.

Oh, and a special thanks to Hakon for taking Spencer out to Glenwood for the evening so we had the house for the ladies!

So back to the wedding! It is hard to believe my entire family is married off now. It was the most incredible thing to have all 20 of us in the sealing room for the wedding.

Dad, Mom, Kenyon, Cynthia, Matthew, Janalee, Darren, Christal, Kendall, Jenni-Rae, Rustin, Kristyn, Eric, Melissa, Brady, Allison, Hakon, Katelyn, Ryan, and the newest member Carly.

Wow! I have a big family and I LOVE it. It makes for a big party! The weekend was filled with fun starting off with last minute family pictures with all 43 of us Friday night. Warren Toth from my parent's ward was kind enough to do it very last minute and his wife came along with props and everything to get the kids attention.

We were lucky enough to have Janalee's family stay with us Friday and Saturday nights. Saturday was fun-filled starting off with my nephew Travis needing an inhaler for his asthma so I called Katie Wood and asked if she had one. A gracious response and a quick trip to Spring Coulee saved the day. 10:15 am I picked up the babysitters so we could be to the ring ceremony. (Carly is the only LDS member of her family so they exchanged rings in a ceremony before the temple wedding and sealing). It was very nice. Afterward we ran home and fed babies before the temple sealing. Then we ran home again to get the kids to the temple for pictures before Ryan and Carly came out of the temple. We got there in plenty of time.

Spencer with Uncle Doug

Ryan and Carly with all nieces and nephews.

Hakon with Masen and Rylan

Spencer chatting it up with the bride

Lauren holding Rylan

Happy baby boy!

Spencer right in there with his girl cousins

The evening was at the Lethbridge Lodge. We were so thankful Hakon's parents willingly took care of Spencer that night so we didn't have to keep him still for 2 hours straight. That was a good choice! The room was decorated beautifully and the catered dinner was delicious. They had a nice program followed by a dance. Oh, how my family can dance. I didn't even realize it before. Hakon is great with Country Swing so we danced it up as much as we could. We got home around 11:15pm exhausted. Spencer had been great for far-far and far-mor thankfully. We got some shut eye once Jana's family got home and everyone was settled. In the morning they rushed out the door by 9:00am to get on their way home to Utah and we cleaned up and prepared for church and tried to calm our nerves about speaking in church. It was a whirwind of a weekend but it was so much fun.

I loved having everyone together to celebrate Ryan and Carly's wedding. They are perfect for each other. I love seeing them so in love! Ryan and I have been close for a long time and I felt protective of him. He is a real catch! As I've gotten to know Carly I see that she is a real catch too! They are perfect for each other and do make each other better people. Carly has now made our family complete.

CONGRATULATIONS RYAN AND CARLY!

Last Days in Strathmore

2011-08-31T13:59:00.000-06:00

Hakon was doing Module 6 during our last few weeks in Strathmore. He carpooled with a friend into Calgary so I was able to have a vehicle half of the time. I spent most of my time taking care of the boys and packing. We did lots of visits to the park as well. Kinsmen Park was by far our favorite in Strathmore. We went there almost every day this spring and summer.

Spencer and I did go to the Heritage Days parade in Strathmore. He was making friends with all the old ladies around us. One lady asked if we lived on a farm because she noticed Spencer mostly liked the animals and tractors. I guess he may be a farm boy at heart. Good thing we can visit my dad's farm a lot.

My friend Janay Stanford asked me to make some pillows for a huge party they were throwing to celebrate the adoption and sealing of their two beautiful little girls. It was so fun to give pillow making a try. It was my first time. She gave me the fabric to use and showed me the tutorials on pinterest. It was so much fun. They turned out really cute. The party was to die for with pink and white every thing and it was all hand made. Alas, I have no pictures to share but this one of the pillows.

The bow pillow tutorial was at E TELLS TALES and I don't have the original source for the ruffled pillow but the tutorial I followed is on my pinterest account.

Hakon was home in the evenings during Module 6 which was a nice treat. The boys loved having him around almost as much as I did.

We went to the Royal Tyrrell Dinosaur Museum in Drumheller a couple weeks before the move. Spencer basically wanted to run around so the best thing there was the huge playground outside. I would have loved to read more inside the museum and take longer looking at each thing but we just went at Spencer's pace. I'm glad we got there while we lived so close.

Spencer got a fever about a week before the move which was his first. It was sad to see him just laying around but it was actually quite helpful to have him laying down watching a movie while I rushed around packing and cleaning. I got some sweet snuggles out of it too.

Rylan was pretty happy through all the packing and running around. He is a good little baby. I missed getting him out of the jumparoo once before he got too tired. He just zonked out right where he was.

We also had a fun visit from my sister Alley and her husband Brady. Spencer wasn't quite himself. They saw a lot of tantrums because I had made the mistake of buying popsicles for the occasion and Spencer couldn't bear for them to sit in the freezer. We had a good time in spite of Alley getting hives. It was nice to have them in our place before we moved.

A couple days before we moved I met up with my friend Lindsey and her little boy Jackson at the park. We saw them a lot at Ribbitz the children's store that was a block from our house. As a going away gift they gave Spencer the hat he wore every time we went to the store. It was so kind of them. For about a week he only took it off for prayers and meals because we insisted. After a week we decided no more hat at bedtime. He still wears it a lot and keeps track of where it is.

Our last Sunday at church in Strathmore made me so sad. I grew to love the people of that ward and will forever be thankful for the things I learned there and the way it shaped the person I am now. We miss the Hansens and the Laycocks and the many other good people there. Heavenly Father knew that I needed those good people in my life. I know that the ward was a big reason we needed to move to Strathmore. Even with all the great things about moving here, I still miss the people in the Strathmore ward.

Just outside the Strathmore chapel.

The packing was tiring. I'm so glad we started a couple weeks before the move so we weren't too overwhelmed. We were so spoiled to receive 2 meals the week of the move and help loading the truck up. We got the biggest U-Haul available. Spencer was in heaven hanging out in the cab while we packed it up.

We barely fit everything in. I had started to tell Hakon which things we could leave because I was sure it would not all fit. He was amazing though and crammed it all in.

Our last family picture in Strathmore in front of the U-HAUL. Excited for out new adventure.

Before we pulled away (me and the boys in the van and Hakon in the U-Haul) Hakon gave me a kiss and I was getting teary and nostalgic. The first 30 minutes of the drive were quiet with the boys sleeping and me reflecting on this stage of my life. The next 2 hours were on and off upset little boys and all I could think was, "I am so glad I do not have to do this drive anymore!".

We pulled into Cardston around 4:30 pm Friday August 12. We did a quick walk through got the keys and started unloading. Members from both of our families came to help. It was so exciting! I should have gotten more pictures of our moving crew but this is all I got.

There are many more pictures to come of our new house. We will be doing some upgrades beginning the end of September! It is so fun to be in our own place. One of the first things I want done is a dishwasher installed. I feel like I'm either doing dishes or seeing dishes in the sink all day long.

I absolutely love living 1 block from the temple and our church. We have fantastic neighbors and a great new ward. We have already spoken in Sacrament Meeting here (on our 3rd Sunday) so a lot of people know our faces already. I have a lot of new names to learn though.

It has been fun to get to know the shops in Cardston again. I loved taking my boys to IGA to go grocery shopping and putting Spencer on the horse I used to love to sit on when I went as a kid with my mom. She never put money in it and I won't either. Spencer doesn't know the difference anyway. He is learning to say "giddy-up horsey" each time we go.

Probably our favorite thing is lots of visits with family then driving home for bedtime in our own place. I love having my mom and other family members just stop by when they are in town.

We feel very blessed to be here at this point in our lives and thank our Heavenly Father for opening the way for us.

Bullets

2011-07-18T14:08:00.000-06:00

We bought a house! We can't stop thinking about it and talking about what we want to do with it and where we will put things etc. We got $10,000 added to our mortgage for improvements we plan to make within 6 months of moving in. It is all very exciting. To think, a place of our own. We didn't think this would happen for a long time but everything fell into place so nicely. We feel very blessed. More updates and information after we take possession August 13.
Why does almost every movie or book need to have swearing or sexual innuendo? Seriously! Hakon bought My Big Fat Greek Wedding (which I think was rated pg) for 50 cents the other day and we sat down to watch it. (It was probably the first time all year we sat down to watch a movie and we were so excited to just unwind.) It wasn't very long before we turned it off because of all the implications of sex and Hakon busted the movie and threw it away. Where have the morals of society gone? He did get Fiddler on the Roof as well for 50 cents and I'm pretty confident that will be clean. There is still hope for a good movie at home date night.
I love pinterest. It is so easy to keep ideas organized from all over the web.
Online shopping is great, especially when free shipping and free return shipping is included like at Old Navy. I ordered a bunch of stuff for Hakon to try. He prefers that I buy clothes for him to try and then return them if they don't work. That is usually harder than it sounds. This was perfect though. I ordered tons of clothes for him and although he only kept 2 items it was very successful. I didn't have to make a trip to the city to shop with kids and he got some clothes. I am hooked! Thank you Christal for telling me about it. I also got jeans (love the elastic adjustable waistband), flip-flops with elastic backs and 1 piece pajamas for Spencer. Aren't they cute?

We got Spencer a tricycle at a garage sale and he is loving it. I loved the price tag.

Hakon finished Module 5 and PASSED! So he will continue his summer as planned and take the UFE in September. Here he is uploading his test as soon as he got home from Calgary where he wrote it.

Our neighbors Fred and Irene Rieger moved to Airdrie. We miss them a lot. We feel blessed to have had them here almost the entire time we lived here. Spencer always wants to go up to their door to see them. They moved when we were in Cardston so he didn't really know they were gone. Here he is trying to make sense of me telling him they are gone.

I think I've figured out what Spencer needs for sleep, for now. We either skip the nap and do 7:00 bedtime or have a nap early afternoon and do 8:00 or 8:30 bedtime. I have to be careful that he doesn't fall asleep on accident around 4:00 like he did in this picture.

Rylan is still an easy going, happy baby. We love having him in our family. Spencer is paying more attention to him and giving him hugs lately. He knows which blankets are Rylan's and brings them to him as well.

I've gotten teary the last 3 Sundays during the closing song in Sacrament Meeting. I'm going to miss our ward a lot.
I'm loving Summer! Please stay awhile.

Time Goes By...

2011-07-18T13:27:00.000-06:00

...too fast! Way too fast. I thought the month of June would be so long away from home but it sped by and now I'm glad I at least have some pictures to show for it and bring back the memories. Most of the time was spent with my side of the family since Cynthia, Janalee, and Melissa (and their families of course) were up to visit. We did have some quality time in Glenwood as well and it was a nice break from the craziness of so many people at my mom's house. Here's what we've got to show for June.

Naptime wasn't always predictable. Hakon and I slept on this mattress in the family room all month because it was better than sharing a room with Spencer and keeping him up all night.

Karsen, Spencer, Masen

Fun and games.

Spencer and Far-mor.

I was so happy to finally get together with Kami and meet Lynden. We have been friends longer than we can remember. It was fun to catch up and have that feeling that nothing had changed in our friendship since the last time we saw each other two years ago.


Spencer had a serious addiction to this hat. What a cutie!

Ryan got ENGAGED! My newest sister-in-law will be Carly Raslask soon to be Carly Bevans. Aren't they so cute together. They are great for each other. I can't believe this will be the last wedding in my immediate family. But it will be nice for us to all have a spouse and be in the temple together. It is going to be a great day!

Canada Day annual BBQ at Darren and Christal's house! We love going to it every year. Next year we will only drive 35 minutes instead of 2 hours for it! Yipee.

Spencer, Karsen, Masen

Some birds flew in their backyard and the little girls started making sounds to imitate them. Next thing we knew there were about 20 of them flying around the yard. I felt a little panicky but no damage was done!

Hakon can come up with so many simple, fun games. Here we were taking turns tossing the ring onto his finger.

Not the best shot of the kids but at least we got a picture. Janalee and Andrew (7 1/2 mo.), Jenni-Rae and Joseph (10 mo.), me and Rylan (4 1/2 mo.). I think I have a big baby for his age!

Grandma and Bethany giving Rylan some love.

Burger Baron milkshakes.

Exhaustion from a crazy month in Cardston.

Hakon got through his first month on the new job. It is so nice to have that out of the way. He stayed evenings to do CASB so we didn't see him a whole lot. It was fun to be there for the excitement surrounding Ryan's engagement and all that went along with that. I can't believe we will live in Cardston this summer and be moved in before Ryan's wedding August 27! Craziness is all I have to say about that.

Hey there Delilah (I'm at the MTC)

2011-07-05T20:59:00.000-06:00

Pretty funny! Take a look. Thanks to Aunt Ruth who shared this on facebook.

Ramblings

2011-06-21T21:41:00.000-06:00

Just some thoughts...

Looking at houses to buy can be exciting, frustrating, overwhelming, exhausting (especially when both kids come with), and fun. I'm partly hoping we can get something suitable to buy and partly wanting to just stay in the world of renting. We'll see.
Hakon is doing well at his new job and excited about it. He started June 1. He has great people to work with but wishes he still had a window in his cubicle. I can understand that.
My parents are so good to us to let us stay at their place. It's already been 3 weeks. Only 1 1/2 more weeks before we are back to Strathmore for the summer (since Hakon has to be in classes in Calgary most of the summer).
It's fun to be back to cooking in my mom's kitchen and chatting with everyone when they come home from work.
I like being able to keep up with Ryan and his life in the YSA world. It's always interesting!
I want a yard.
Everything takes longer to get done when you aren't in your own home. Since when did getting ready for the day take all morning?
I miss my ward. I miss having a calling. I feel a little lost.
I'm surprised at how many people I don't know in Cardston. Even in a small town, there are a lot of people to get to know. I'm excited about it.
I hate mosquitoes.
I miss seeing Hakon for lunch. I used to see him so much more! I did get him most of Saturday and Sunday though so that was a real treat.
Spencer has turned into a Mama's boy. It happened the week he didn't see Hakon at all. It was hard at my cousins wedding when my parents were more than willing to help with the boys but Spencer would only let me help him and Rylan, for some odd reason, would cry with anyone but me. Exhausting I tell ya.
I'm wanting to get settled. I feel at loose ends. This is basically like a long vacation which is great, but come fall I need my own space for sure.

And some pictures:

Rylan's first haircut. You can really see his blonde roots in the picture on the left. His hair just started laying down a couple days before the cut and his sides became funny wings. My mom gave him a little trim and showed me how to do it for next time. He sat pretty still for it. He is such a cutie!

I'll admit, I was jealous. Spencer rarely lays down with anyone and uncle Henrik was the lucky one. Spencer sure loves him.

The peaceful ending to a tantrum over having to get off the lawn mower and come inside for lunch. I set him down on the couch because his screaming scared Rylan and I needed to comfort him. Next thing I knew, Spencer was zonked out for 3 1/2 hours before I had to wake him to go to town. I guess I wasn't that surprised since he stayed up until 10:30 the previous night playing with cousins.

Spencer's cousin Mark came to play when Jenni-Rae was with Peter in the hospital. (Peter broke his arm really bad out in the barnyard). Mark was so good to Spencer even when Spencer kept trying to wear his shoes.

One of my favorite pictures ever. Far-Far is so good to Spencer. He took him out to work with him for awhile. Spencer loves spending time with him, especially outside. I am so glad Spencer is getting to know his grandparents, they are all such neat people.

Nelson

2011-06-20T15:16:00.000-06:00

Mom, Spencer, Rylan, and I went to Nelson, B.C. to visit Melissa, Hannah, Lydia, and Emmelyn. I went last March and was excited to go back this year! The rain tried to ruin our trip and Spencer attempted to make us deaf with eagle screams on the drive home but in spite of the obstacles we had a great time.

These pictures aren't in the correct order but that's okay, right?


Good thing I bought Spencer a raincoat before this trip-we used it almost every day. Spencer couldn't get enough T-ball or pretend bike riding.

Spencer hair stood straight up from the static on this slide but the moment he jumped off it would lay back down. Spencer and Emme have a love/hate relationship. Either Spencer was yelling at her to scare her or he was hugging her. I felt so bad but no amount of time-outs quite got him to stop the yelling. Hopefully this improves before our next get-together.

Gyro look-out. Nelson is so beautiful. Spencer just wanted to be up climbing with Hannah and Lydi. He made my heart jump a few times but came out without a scratch.

This is right beside Melissa's place. I couldn't believe she had a beautiful forest with a path so close! I love Nelson more and more all the time. We went on a walk through the forest and came to a nice clearing with a bike park. I've only seen these in concrete before so this was a little different.

The outdoor exercise equipment down by the lake. As we walked along the path Spencer would wait until Hannah or Lydia would leave a bike empty so he could jump on. (Hence the pink helmet and bike.) Surprisingly he was pretty gracious about getting off when they were ready to use their bikes again.

Lydia was obsessed with how good Rylan's hair smelt. She couldn't get enough of him. He loved it and I loved it because she could keep him content for such a long time. She was always making him comfortable with her stuffed animals tucked into his blanket. Lydia is such a sweetie! Rylan laughed at her the most.

My mom and Melissa. Aren't they both just beautiful! I'm so lucky to be a part of such a great family.

A few memorable things about this trip:

Spencer throwing up as we pulled into Melissa's driveway. Ew! His first time. It scared him and he got a little frantic so it was hard to get his clothes off. At least it wasn't in the middle of the drive.
Rylan was SUCH a good baby the entire trip. He is really a sweet boy.
Going to Hannah's school. Interesting to say the least. My favorite part was the poster reminding the kids to bring their own plates for pizza. There is one hot lunch provided per week and it is always organic, 100% whole wheat pizza. They are so conscientious about not having waste that the kids are asked to bring their own plate from home. Sometimes they also have each class count up how many pieces of garbage is left from their lunch and the class with the least amount wins. I don't know if every school is like this now or if it's just Nelson. Different from when I was in school anyway.
The most impressive tantrum ever thrown by a 2 year old was had in the toy store downtown. Wow! I was the lucky mother dealing with it. The clerk even came over to offer assistance.
It was just really nice to be with Melissa and understand a bit more of her life in Nelson and chat with mom on the drives.
Extending the trip an extra day because Spencer got sick the morning we planned to leave. He felt better after a doctor's visit, some medicine, and a nap. I was so glad though because that was the day we got out the most and there was finally good weather.

If you get the chance you should visit Nelson. It is a one-of-a-kind place and I love it.

A Favor?

2011-06-20T13:42:00.000-06:00

Could you do a favor for me and my brother's cute family?

This was last summer when Jen was 8 months pregnant. Now they have another cute boy in the mix.

I realize a lot of you probably already know about this but I wanted to reach anyone I can that doesn't know yet. I hope you can take a minute to help. Here is the info of what to do as written up by my sil Jenni-Rae:

Peter’s getting braces this fall and we don’t have dental insurance. It’s going to cost us $3000.00 just for the first step in correcting his bite. We’ve entered a home reno contest online and the most-voted for is the winner of $3000.00!

· We’re hoping you can take the time to go to facebook and type in “1stchoicesavings” in the search.

· Then choose to “like” 1stchoice savings.

· Then go to “photos” on the left hand side and click. A bunch of home reno pictures will come up and mine is the bathroom reno. The “before” picture is of our “hoolahoop” shower which I had to use in my third trimester of pregnancy and the “after” picture shows what it looks like now.

· You can click at the bottom of the picture that you “like” it and tell a bunch of other people for us and you’ll be helping out to improve Peter’s smile and comfort.

Thanks a Million – well .003 of a million!

Jenni-Rae Bevans

Rylan

2011-05-24T22:30:00.000-06:00

Here are a few current pictures of Rylan. He is so much easier to get pictures of than Spencer-for obvious reasons.

I love to hold my Rylan.

My chill baby.

I didn't think he would be old enough or sturdy enough to like the jumparoo yet but he actually likes it and stays steady.

The floor isn't so bad when you have comfy carpet like this.

Love the expression on his face! Can you see his blond roots?

The way Rylan sleeps best-swaddle and soother.

I guess Spence did jump in for one picture. Doesn't he look like a happy yet mischievous little boy here?

Birthday Bash

2011-05-24T22:11:00.000-06:00

On Sunday Spencer turned 2! We had a two day celebration and he had a lot of fun. Saturday night Hakon blew up 30 balloons and we put them in his room while he was sleeping so he would wake up to them in the morning. The problem was, he woke up to them at 11:20 pm instead. We could hear him saying "ball, ball, ooh, aww". He was just waking up more and more. He threw the ball that he had in his crib out into the pile of balloons and then asked for it back. I could not find it as hard as I looked in the dark room. I got him out of the crib so he could get it but he thought it was morning and went to the living room and then to find Hakon in the bedroom. During this time I quickly shoved all the balloons under the cribs so he couldn't see them anymore. He seemed so confused but went back to bed really well after giving each of us a hug. He did wake up a few more times that night which was odd. I guess we should have waited until 7 am to put the balloons in the room!

Sunday morning he played with his new toy for a long time before getting ready for church. We picked this up at a garage sale Saturday morning. He didn't want to leave without it and I liked it so I went to pay for it. I handed the lady a $20 and said, "I think the tag says $10". She replied with "Oh, we'll just take $5 for it." and handed me $15 back. Spencer has had lots of fun with it already.

For his birthday present I made him an ABC book using picasa. I got the idea for sewing with page protectors for the covering here. Instead of sewing the binding I pushed the picture against the left edge of the page protector and used the original holes in the page protector to tie ribbon through. I sewed along the top and right edge of each picture set of pictures. I also put a piece of cardstock between each set of pictures so each page would be more sturdy.

It's hard to see but I sewed along the top and right side of each page.

Just before we left for church we gave him his new ABC book.

Spencer actually really liked it which made me so happy.

After church Hakon picked up his sister Emme and her husband Mike from the airport. They flew here from their home in El Paso. We felt so privileged to get them to ourselves for a whole day! It was so good to have some time with them. They were so good to Spencer and Rylan. This picture makes me laugh because it looks like they are a little family.

I went on a walk with Spencer that afternoon. I loved the one on one time with him. He is such a good kid, I love spending time with him.

We had cake that evening and it was a hit. Well, the peanut mm's were a hit! None of us really felt like cake after eating the mm's so we decided we would just refill the mm's and have it the next day with the rest of the family who would be joining us.

I got the idea for the cake here. I'm sure I'll make this one again sometime. It was cute, fun, and easy.

A little pricey I guess for a cake, but I'd say it was worth it.

Monday was Mama's birthday so we celebrated that as well. Hakon's parents, Henrik, and Carina's family joined us at about noon on Monday. We had lunch, went swimming, had supper and cake, opened presents, played games, and enjoyed visiting. Just being together was such a treat!

Poor Henrik wasn't feeling well most of the day but he got a bit more energy at the end. Olivia, our 4 year old niece is such a party girl. She kept talking about the cake, presents, and games. Luckily I had a couple games planned in case we had time so I pulled those out when she asked.

Does anyone remember playing "Don't Eat Pete"? It was one of my favorites in elementary school. It is a simple, fun game. You just draw a grid as if you were to play tic-tac-toe then put a candy in each square. Send somebody out of the room, pick one candy to be "Pete", call the person back in and allow them to keep all the candy they pick up until the reach for "Pete". At that point you all yell "Don't Eat Pete" and hopefully cause them to startle pretty good. Poor mama picked Pete very first but Olivia picked Pete last. It was a lot of fun.

We thoroughly enjoyed the entire day with the family. I still feel like I am on a high from all the fun and good feelings of being together. I'm looking forward to being in Cardston so these get-togethers will be easier to plan.

I had fun decorating for this birthday. I decorated a few days in advance which I thought helped us all get excited for the big day. I made this wreath out of cupcake liners. There was no wreath form at Walmart so I improvised with styrofoam balls I had on hand and a wire hanger. I just used pins to secure the liners to the balls.

In the works.

I got the idea for the ruffled streamers at MADE.. They were fun to make-I'm sure I'll make more in the future.

I got the framed printable at 1825.

So that was our big birthday bash. We had so much fun! I loved all the preparations and the actually party. Best of all, Spencer had a great couple of days and was a happy boy almost the entire time.

Things to remember about Spencer:

The way he says "Thank you". The inflection in his voice is the only thing that gives away what he is saying because the words sound nothing like it.
Blowing kisses always precedes waving "bye-bye".
When blowing kisses his hand never actually goes all the way to his mouth but he clicks his tongue to make the kissing sound.
He has a smile that will brighten anyone's day. He truly has the most happy smile I have ever seen.
He never says "Yes". Instead he says "mmm-hmm" with a cute little upward nod.
When he gets really excited he has a laugh that is more of a growl/grunt/French flirting sound. Hard to describe but unforgettable if you've heard it.
The way he runs to see Daddy as soon as he hears the door open. He gives a huge hug and Hakon lifts him up then he promptly turns and dismounts and is on to the next thing.
He has some serious zest for life. He has so much energy.
He is a social little boy. At the park he always wants to be with the other kids and talks to them in his little language.
The way he celebrates when he learns something new or does something hard for him. He puts his hands into fists and raises both arms straight up in the air yelling "YA!"
He is such a tough kid. He rarely cries when he falls. He will usually just brush himself off and get going again.

I am so happy to spend every day with Spence.

He has a great personality and I'm glad I get to be the one

to see him learn, grow, and develop every day.

I love my little boy.

Happy 2nd Birthday Spencer!

Home Sweet Home

2011-05-19T14:44:00.000-06:00

A couple months ago Hakon got a phone call from Price, Commin & Johnson-an accounting firm in Southern Alberta. He had a good visit with one of the partners and a week later met another partner for dinner. They were looking for a new employee as one of theirs was taking a new job. Initially Hakon didn't think much about the opportunity and thought it could not really work out for us. After his dinner meeting, though, we both got really excited and saw it as a real possibility. We started getting our hopes up for an official offer. We were told he wouldn't get an official offer until tax season ended so we waited and waited.

Well, Hakon got the job offer a week ago and we took it! We could hardly believe how it just fell into our laps when we really were not looking to change jobs or move. It feels right and exciting! But there are mixed emotions for both of us. I actually cried just after we got the offer thinking of how I will miss so many things here and this phase of our lives.

It was fun to tell our family members because they were all pretty shocked. I was expecting a little more enthusiasm from both my mom and Hakon's mom. They were both completely surprised and didn't really know what to say. I think it is safe to say however, that they are all as excited as we are.

We have always talked about moving back to Cardston and settling there but thought maybe we would do that around the time Spencer starts school. We wondered if it would ever really be a possibility for Hakon to have a career there and if we would need to be in Lethbridge or Calgary instead. We feel so blessed to have this opportunity now.

A few things I am really looking forward to in Cardston:

The temple.
Family, lots of family.
Carriage House Theatre plays.
We can use holidays to go places other than Cardston!
Being close to Waterton.
Being closer to the States.
Being around more LDS people.
Familiarity.
Old Chief and the beautiful Rockies.
Seeing old friends more often when they come home to visit their families.

Some things I will miss:

Our ward.
My calling. Yes, I just barely got put it and I will already miss it. I already love the women I serve with and I love Relief Society more than ever before. I'm glad the president knew before calling me that I might be moving or I would feel pretty bad about this.
Good friends in Strathmore.
Our friends in Calgary. Luckily most of them are from Cardston so we should still see them from time to time.
Our neighbors-Fred and Irene Rieger. I think we were supposed to be here for each other during the past 2 years. They moved in a couple months after us and they are moving away in June. They have truly treated us as their own and I hope they know how much it has meant to us.
Our housing. I love this place and it has been just perfect for us. Seriously, living a block from Hakon's work has been perfect! I really would like a yard in our next place though.
Unfamiliarity.
The recycle center. I know, I know it is ridiculous! But it's true.
No Frills. It's cheap and I like that.
The pool. The fact that it's indoor so we can go year round and it just got a really nice addition.
Being close to Calgary.

All this being said, we have a few more months to enjoy all the things we love about Strathmore and find a place to live in Cardston. We probably won't actually make the move to Cardston until September although we will be back and forth some between now and then. We feel this is an answer to prayer although the answer came sooner than we anticipated. The Lord's timetable is always the best to follow though, so here we go!

Livin' the Life

2011-05-09T22:18:00.000-06:00

Hakon finished tax season and had a week and a half break before beginning CASB again. We loved, loved, loved having the evenings free to just be with our boys until they went to bed and then have some time to just relax together. One highlight of the break was having a visit from Mama, Papa and Henrik. They came up Saturday afternoon (April 30). We went swimming at the pool here in Strathmore and had a great time. That evening we just hung out and enjoyed visiting and Rylan's sweet smiles.

Can you tell they are family?

Spencer got right in there with the guys.

A little Saturday night hockey watching.

Rylan was more exciting that the game.

Rylan stayed up way later than he usually does but was so happy the whole time because he had loving faces smiling down at him.
They stayed over night and came to church with us. That afternoon Spencer joined in for some Yahtzee and we went out for a stroll.

I thought it was so cute that Spencer leaned on one hand just like far-far and uncle Henrik.

We loved the visit and feel so happy that they wanted to come be with us. We understand much of this is because of our cute little boys but that is just great.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Mother's Day weekend was very nice as well. Saturday we went to Calgary to use Hakon's $125 gift certificate to Sears from his employer. We wanted to get a new comforter for our bed and thought that should cover the expense. We don't go all out and get a super fancy, expensive set because I like change but couldn't justify changing my bedding every few years if we spent a lot of money on it. We found 4 sets we really liked and I had such a hard time deciding on one but ended up choosing this one:

I like having some more color on our bed and I love the fresh blue in this one. It didn't come with throw pillows but I used the bed skirt (since we will obviously never need one) to make the three little pillows. It was so easy! I rushed through it during the boys naptime this afternoon. They are not perfect but I like them and they do the trick. Sometimes it feels good to just create a little bit!

If you are in the market for new bedding you should go to Sears soon. Every set we liked was at least 50% off. We got this set for $42.99. It included the comforter, 2 shams, 2 pillow cases, bed skirt, fitted sheet, and flat sheet. Seriously, such a good deal!

Because we saved on that we still had money left over so we found a tie for Hakon, some little tool set for him, and new Sunday clothes for Spencer. It felt so good to put him in a really nice outfit for church on Sunday. It made it feel more special. Hakon had shared some quotes from "A Sense of the Sacred" by D. Todd Christofferson earlier in the week and we both felt that Spencer needed some better church clothes-at least a tie that wasn't way too small! Here is the best picture we could get of his new outfit on Mother's Day.

I have had a really hard time finding black Sunday shoes for him but they had really nice ones at Sears so we got those too. Now I know where to look for future church needs!

I wanted a picture with both boys but it just didn't happen on Sunday as their sleep times just seemed to alternate through the entire day. Spencer is the one who first made me a mom though and I am so grateful to be one.

I am so grateful for my own dear mother. I have the privilege of knowing her better than many people because I am her daughter. I am continually amazed by how much she does for others. Her whole life is devoted to serving others. She loves God and she loves her neighbor. She is truly my role model. I love my mom and hope to be the same kind of mom to my kids as she is to me.

On Sunday I was released as the Primary Pianist and called as the 2nd Counselor in our ward Relief Society Presidency. I have known for a few weeks now and have had time to think about it quite a bit. I am so looking forward to serving with the other ladies in the Presidency and feel blessed to associate with them. I know this will be a growing experience for me. I believe I wasn't called to this position because of what I am but what it will help me become. Every calling I've had in the past has been a growing and learning experience for me and has helped me love the Lord and love others. I know that with the help of the Lord I can be made equal to my tasks, I just have to ask for help and do my best. I'm really looking forward to our Stake Relief Society Conference this weekend and the chance it will be to spend some time with a lot of sisters from our Stake. I really do love Relief Society and I'm excited to focus my attention on it more. I especially love any chance I get to listen to Julie B. Beck, the general Relief Society President. She is such a powerful speaker and I always feel motivated to do better after I hear her speak. All week I have been checking online for the text from her address at BYU Women's Conference. It should be up soon and I'm really looking forward to reading it.

After attending just one meeting this morning I felt very strongly that I never want the responsibility of a Relief Society President. Woah! I am happy to be a counselor, that is for sure.

His Way

2011-05-04T07:17:00.000-06:00

When you are told over and over that you can't, well sometimes you start to believe it. You can't be in school and get married. You can't have a good marriage if you have children too soon. You can't have children and go to school. You can't be truly happy staying at home with children instead of pursuing your career. You can't handle having any more children, slow down. You can't make a real difference in this world if you don't have a real job. You can't, you can't, you can't. We hear it ALL the time. Sometimes it is subtle and sometimes it is loud and clear. Sometimes it is actually true, sometimes it is not.

Do you know what I want to hear instead?

I want to hear, "With the help of the Lord, you can do whatever God has planned for your life. You can do it!"

I want to hear, "Have you gone to your Father in Heaven in prayer about that decision? I know with His help you will make the right choice."

I want to hear, "You are more capable than you even know. You can do more and be more than you realize."

In my case, this is what I have heard. I am blessed with parents (on both my side and my husband's side) who "get it". This has been a great help to me in making the big and small decisions in my life. My parents give great advice and counsel but let me know they trust me to make the right decisions by following the promptings of the Holy Ghost.

Sadly though, it is often the people we are closest to who limit us the most, who make us feel unable to make the right choice. Parents can unknowingly make their children feel less capable than they really are. Many parents tell their children to wait to get married, wait to have children, but hurry to get a house and an education. What the child hears is "I am not capable of doing more than I am currently doing". The biggest problem I see with this is that those parents have fallen into the group who think "one size fits all". They think there is one formula for success that works for every young single adult and forget that their children are actually capable of receiving revelation for the course of their own lives. And that course may differ from child to child. True, parents do have a more full life experience to draw from and can give invaluable advice and counsel. Our parents are usually the ones who love us the most and know us the best and will give the most loving and thought out advice. Often times answers to prayers will come through our parents. But there is a parent of us all who shouldn't be forgotten about in the major and minor decisions of our lives. His answers should never take back seat to anyone else's advice, even that of our earthly parents.

Isaiah 55:6-9

Seek ye the Lord while he may be found, call ye upon him while he is near...For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, saith the Lord. For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways, and my thoughts than your thoughts.

I know there are seasons in our lives and we can't do it all at once. I know the seasons in my life changed much more quickly than I had imagined. Maybe I will never be able to do all that I had planned for my life or maybe it will just be in a different order than I thought. But I know that I will have a full mortal experience that will lead me back to my Father in Heaven if I include him in my plans and pass my decisions by Him. I know that He does have a plan for my life that will give me all the experiences necessary to be able to go back to His presence someday, to continue to learn and grow, and ultimately become like Him.

Easter, etc.

2011-04-28T11:51:00.001-06:00

Well this will be one of those long catch up posts with lots of pictures to tell the story of our lives the past couple of weeks.

First up, a little paint project. I found this table at the recycle center. It didn't quite fit in my van but I found a skipping rope there to tie my van door down with. I was so proud of myself, loading the table into the van, tying the door down, hauling it into the house, and finding a place for it to go. But then I got lazy. I didn't want to put the effort into painting. Once I got going it was a fast project though. It looked pretty bad to begin with but paint can sure freshen things up.

It is so nice to have a table to put things on now. (I can't find the source for the printable I framed now, sorry.)
edited to add: Okay I just found the source: craftaholicsanonymous


Here it is all decorated for Easter. The mini-eggs in the previous picture disappeared somehow before Easter arrived.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

This represents my first all day shopping trip with both boys by myself. We went to Cross Iron Mills. I was gone from 9:00 am-4:30 pm. The day went surprisingly well. The only real mishap was Spencer dumping pop on his pants while I was changing Rylan's diaper. Luckily I had just bought him these shorts so he got to wear them. He also preferred no shoes, which I was okay with me as long as he was in the stroller. I must have looked like an incredibly irresponsible parent though since it was snowing outside and everyone else was in winter attire.

I got this hoop for Spence at the recycle center. He got sooo attached to it, to the point that I was ready to take it back! After a few nights of sleeping with it he got over it a bit. I love the picture of him in the crib. Notice how his arm is extended from throwing his last duck in before falling asleep.

Spencer has figured out how to undo his pj's. This is how he looked one morning. He slept like this all night.

Rylan loves to look up at the lights in the bathroom. He enjoys his baths as well.

mmm...yogurt

Spencer is a very organized boy. He loves to line up his toys as you can see. He lines everything up and gets upset if he can't get it just right.

Spencer's first throw-up. Hakon was so bothered by a smell and was hunting all over to clean it up. I couldn't smell it until I sat down with him on the couch. Then we realized it was on him. It was too funny. It was odd because Spencer hadn't acted sick at all and it was such a small amount. Hakon couldn't get the shirt off fast enough, although I did get him to stop for the picture.

Spencer has now learned to give "thumbs up" with out his pointer finger sticking out as well!

Our make-shift car ramp. Hey, it works.


Cutie-pie.

"Take a liking to a Viking". The same onesie Hakon's friend Russell sent for Spencer. Rylan, you make a great little Viking.

We can not get over his hair. It is just so foreign to our home.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Day Surgery:

Monday April 18 I went to the hospital for a Dilation and Curettage. There was a tiny piece of the placenta left from Rylan's delivery. (That is why Rylan is in the picture of me with my hospital bracelets.) Spencer was able to go to a friend's house for the day-about 9:00am-6:30pm. We were so grateful for that! Spencer and Miles had a great time together. Terrah (Miles mom) was so kind to take care of two busy boys the whole day and send supper home with us. So, so nice!

We took Rylan with us because he wasn't taking the bottle well enough for me to feel comfortable leaving him that long. He was a joy to have with us though.

My surgery was only about 15 minutes, but somehow I was at the hospital all day! It was kind of neat to go into the operating room, get put out, and wake up on another bed in another room. They told me I would just be in and out a little bit, but would still know what was going on. Nope! I was completely out. I felt back to normal a couple hours afterward.

Spencer had a blast with Miles but was so tired when we got him home after a big day without a nap. He ate a little, got his pj's on and zonked out on Hakon in a couple minutes. Looks like he was all ready for prayer but we just weren't fast enough.

I am grateful for medical technology. It was such a blessing to have such good care for a small problem...that otherwise could have been a bigger problem.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Easter Weekend:

The Bed Project:

Hakon was waking up sore and wondered if we needed to get a new mattress or if the box spring was the problem. We tried putting the mattress on the floor and it absolutely solved the problem! But that created a new problem...ya, a mattress on the floor is a problem to me. Hakon ended up getting a couple days off Easter weekend so we got the bed made last weekend. We could not decide on a headboard so I informed him that all I care about for now is getting off the floor. I am yet to figure out what headboard I want and what I want hanging above the bed but at least we are off the floor now. We also painted another sewing table his parents gave us so we each have our own. How exciting!

Now I just keep thinking about a new bedding set. Maybe soon! Sometimes I get impatient and wish I could have everything I want NOW but that is usually not the best way to go so I will wait and work at this room a little at a time.

We all went to the park together on Saturday. It was a little chilly but nice to get out.

Sunday afternoon we had a little egg hunt at home. I hid and Hakon helped Spencer find them. I was surprised he didn't stop to eat any until it was all over. He was always concerned about dividing the eggs evenly between the buckets. It was a blast!

My favorite part about Easter week was reading in Jesus the Christ by James E. Talmage. I didn't read everything about the last week of the Savior life but quite a bit. I had to skip some so I could read some about each day on the actual day of the week. Reading the story from the scriptures sometimes confuses me because some details are left out in some accounts. It was great to read the full story without flipping between the books in the New Testament. I am so grateful for my Savior. I know that he suffered for our sins, voluntarily gave up his life, and took it up again. He stands at the right hand of God. He cares about each detail of our lives and stands ready and able to help us with any problem we face. We don't need to live beneath our privilege of coming to him.

The sun will come out...

2011-04-14T16:29:00.000-06:00

Sometimes I feel down.

And then I remember that things could be a lot worse.

I think of certain individuals I know of who have hard things to deal with.

I know I don't have it as hard as them, not nearly as hard.

Then I just feel worse because I know I shouldn't feel down.
But I do.

I felt down this morning but now I feel much better. Here's what helped.

-Crying

-Eating Nibs (but I felt bad about that later)

-Praying

-Cleaning the house

-Paying bills

-Talking to my husband

-Doing something out of the ordinary-making a tent

-Making a smoothie to share with Spencer

-Singing

-Looking at pictures

These pictures in particular make me smile. Spencer was so excited to go on a walk...as you can probably tell by the first picture. He got out his boots by himself, asked for his coat, and stood at the door until we were all ready. He did really well on the walk for a long time and then decided to ignore my warning to not go in a huge puddle. He ran right in and fell flat on his face. Even the insides of his nostrils were dirty from the muddy water. I was laughing so hard, I wished I could share that moment with a million people, but I was the only lucky one there to see it. It was really warm outside so he didn't get too cold on the way home, but man he was sure walking fast to get home and get those clothes off. I hope you can tell in the second picture how wet his clothes got!

All ready to go.

The front of his jeans were completely soaked. This shows the small part on the back that stayed dry.

And of course this little munchkin makes me so happy. Especially when he smiles.

I hope you are having a great day. But if your down just think, or better yet sing:

"The sun will come out tomorrow, bet your bottom dollar that tomorrow there'll be sun!"

Love Like Crazy

2011-03-31T15:55:00.000-06:00

I heard this song on the radio this morning. It has some great advice for a happy marriage. I also love that it says "never let your prayin' knees get lazy". You don't hear enough about prayer and God these days so it was refreshing to hear it in this song.

2011-03-30T09:35:00.000-06:00

Do you think my sweet little Spencer is almost 2?

He can leave your ears ringing with that "eagle scream" of his.
He just realized he can throw that toy car across the room to hit the wall when he is mad and in his crib. All toys are now removed from the crib during time-outs for the sake of our walls.
He began refusing a toque or coat even though it is below freezing outside, not to mention his aversion to putting on shoes or bibs.
He goes the exact opposite way from where he was asked to go, especially when it involves going into the house or going to the vehicle.
He adds slamming a door to his already impressive tantrum
He now has a preference on what he wears for the day. Lucky for me he keeps choosing his nice sweaters and jeans.
He knows that arching his back and screaming will leave an otherwise capable adult completely unable to buckle him into his carseat.

After all of this, guess who ends up being the bad person. Me!

You see, the little mr. is still learning how to express and control his emotions.

We are working on these things in our home and giving consequences for the actions but the truth is he is not yet accountable to God.

He is completely innocent before God.

However, when my frustrations heighten and I'm short with him or pick him up too forcefully-

well, I'm the bad person.

I'm the adult who is accountable for my actions before the Lord.

I am the one at the end of the day who must repent for my mistakes in dealing with my toddler and

then try to do a little better tomorrow.

Average Day in My Life

2011-03-24T22:27:00.000-06:00

Wake up

Already? I got enough sleep. Better get Rylan before he wakes Spencer up.

Breakfast

Try to get some fruit in with breakfast. Make sure Spence has his favorite spoon. Ask a blessing on the food. Enjoy the fact that Spencer hasn't mastered interlocking his fingers yet, he is trying. Enjoy that he is pretending to say the blessing on the food as well.

Get ready for the day

Comfy or dressed up? Hair up or down? Keep cords out of Spencer's reach. Stand on rug because floor always gets sticky from hairspray.

Get out of the house

Strollers? Baby Bjorn? Moby? Boots or shoes? Warm up vehicle. Stock the diaper bag. Where should/must we go today?

No Frills. Walmart. Playgroup. Totem. Post office. Bank. Visiting Teaching. Ribbitz. Recycling Center. Canadian Tire. Warehouse One. Dollarama. Park.

Lunch

Make sure Rylan is happy. What will Spence eat? Should I eat now or with Hakon, or both? What isn't too messy since Spencer never wears a bib. What is fast and easy?

Naps

Diaper change. Blankie, please say it's not wet in the washing machine. Water in a sippy cup. Spencer talking to himself for awhile. Silence.

Me time

Finish cleaning up. Scripture study. Blog. Facebook. Phonecalls. Nap. Refreshing.

Play

Tickles. Hockey. Laughter. Treehouse. Chasing. Wooden block towers. Mega blocks. Fisher price barn. Toy cars. Trying on shoes. Puzzles. Snack. Dance. Explore pantry.

Dinner

When will Hakon be home tonight? Should it be prepared when he gets here or a little after? When will Rylan need to eat? How do I get Spencer to stop getting between me and the counter and pushing me away from the counter? Don't spill hot water or let Spencer get close when opening the oven. Water or milk? Hoping Spencer leaves what he is doing willingly to come to the table.

Spencer bedtime

Bath. PJs and diaper. Family Scripture Study (1 verse in Book of Mormon). Family Prayer. Wave and blow kisses to Dad and Rylan. Just me and Spencer in his room. Look at book about fish. Sing song. Pray. Spencer throws blankie, teddy bears, assortment of other toys, and sippy cup with water into crib (always count 1,2,3 first). Count 1,2,3 and lift Spencer into crib. Lights out. Love you. Close door. 5 Second protest from Spencer. Silence. Sigh.

Rylan bedtime

Hold. Love. Smile. Feed. Swaddle. Soother. Lay down. Give soother back when it falls out. Easy. Angel baby.

Me and Hakon go to bed

Wake up Rylan to feed. Brush teeth. Change clothes. Personal prayer. Couple prayer. Lay down. Talk. Kiss good night. Dream. Wake up to Rylan's noises. Is it time to feed or just give the soother? Surprised Spencer never wakes up to Rylan's noises anymore. Lay back down. Cuddle into hubby. Dream vividly. Wake up. Do it all again.

*Of course we are pretty flexible in a lot of areas but this is a pretty normal day.

Memories Made

2011-03-24T13:16:00.000-06:00

The happenings 'round these parts:

Rylan is as content as ever. Don't you just want to kiss those chubby cheeks?

Hakon and Spencer set up the tent in the basement. They had a blast. Please excuse the pantless boy...sometimes that just happens.

Rylan is such a relaxed little baby. I set him down in his crib to help Spencer for awhile and found him fast asleep a little while later. I love how his arms are spread out.

This would be one reason I'm so glad Spencer is still in a crib. When I leave them alone in the room to sleep he can't do this. He loves to check up on Rylan every now and then and make sure he is doing okay.

What a classic Spencer face! He has been loving his baths lately. He just hates it when he can see the camera but can't have it.

Spencer pulls Hakon downstairs to play hockey anytime he can. He usually succeeds before Hakon even has a chance to change his clothes after work.

This week Spence decided to help vacuum. He pulled/pushed it all around the house. He is a tough little guy.

Hakon made ice cream and strawberries for us the other night. It was so delicious that I even gave it a name-"Strawberry Splendor" I think it made him feel so special that he'll make it for me again whenever I want some.

I love my evenings with Rylan. I love it when he holds onto my finger or relaxes as I run my fingers through his hair. He is giving the sweetest smiles now. Is there anything more contagious than a baby's smile?

I finally finished a project I started on while I was still pregnant. I had to wait until we decided on a name before I could order the letters though. Now it is done and I'm so glad! I started with 2 canvases like this:

Real pretty eh? I picked them up at the recycling center and figured I would eventually have a project to use them for. They worked great for this one. I stapled on batting, then fabric, and then painted the wooden letters I ordered on etsy to hang with the ribbon. Easy-peasy. I'm glad to have something above their cribs now.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Aside from everyday life, last week I had the opportunity to go to Cardston to see a bunch of my family. It ended up that Melissa, Allison, and Ryan were all going to be in town at the same time. I was not about to miss out on the party! Hakon is in the midst of tax season so he was not able to go with me. I was brave and took Spencer and Rylan by myself for 3 days and 3 nights. I was also brave and took Spencer's crib (yes his full-on wooden crib) and assembled and disassembled it all by myself. Yay for me! It was worth it-he slept great and so did everyone else in the house.

Friday night we had a big get together with my brother's families who live in the area and I was able to meet my little brother's girlfriend. That was a different experience. She is a great girl and my brother seems really happy but I couldn't shake the protective feeling I had. Being the 8th of 9 kids, this is my first experience being the older sibling. When I've met boyfriends or girlfriends of my older siblings I didn't feel the same way. I just enjoyed getting to know them. This time I was subconsciously thinking "this girl better be really good" or "she better treat my brother right" or "she better know how lucky she is to be dating Ryan since he is seriously the best guy!". You get the point, I felt possessive of my brother and that was new for me. I wonder how my siblings felt when they met Hakon? I just love my brother so much and want him to get the best girl. His girlfriend is great from what I've seen though, I would love to have more opportunities to be around them and really get to know her.

Probably my favorite part of my time with family was a quick shopping trip to Lethbridge with Melissa, Allison, and mom (as well as the babies-Emmelyn and Rylan). I wished all of my sisters (including sisters-in-law) could have been there but it was great to have as many as we did. We barely squished into Melissa's vehicle with one of us having to climb in from the back to sit in the seat there and another one squishing in between two carseats in the middle row. I'm sure we looked funny each time we all got in or out of the vehicle. I had to be very careful to not let myself become claustrophobic! It was a ton of fun just chatting and being together. Eric and Brady were so nice to babysit the other kids while we were gone and didn't even get mad at us for arriving home 2 1/2 hours late. oops!

Unfortunately I took a total of 0 pictures on the trip. I regret that. But I am grateful to have made more good memories with my family while they were up.

“God gave us memories, that we might have June roses in the December of our lives.” Thomas S. Monson

It felt great to get home to Hakon and back in the regular swing of things. I came home to this note on Spencer's closet door:

This picture was taken a few days after coming home, I usually leave his notes up for awhile.

It was nice to come home and do the laundry and put everything away without having to make a mess for dinner. We went to A&W and while there I had the biggest blond moment of my life. We ordered mozza burgers and after my first bite I said, "What kind of cheese do you think this is?" We had a good laugh afterward.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

And lastly here's something to make you think...and laugh:

The light turned yellow, just in front of him. He did the right thing, stopping at the crosswalk, even though he could have beaten the red light by accelerating through the intersection. The tailgating woman was furious and honked her horn, screaming in frustration, as she missed her chance to get through the intersection, dropping her cell phone and makeup. As she was still in mid-rant, she heard a tap on her window and looked up into the face of a very serious police officer. The officer ordered her to exit her car with her hands up.. He took her to the police station where she was searched, fingerprinted, photographed, and placed in a holding cell. After a couple of hours, a policeman approached the cell and opened the door. She was escorted back to the booking desk where the arresting officer was waiting with her personal effects. He said, "I'm very sorry for this mistake. You see, I pulled up behind your car while you were blowing your horn, flipping off the guy in front of you and cussing a blue streak at him. I noticed the 'What Would Jesus Do' bumper sticker, the 'Choose Life' license plate holder, the 'Follow Me to Sunday-School' bumper sticker, and the chrome-plated Christian fish emblem on the trunk, so naturally....I assumed you had stolen the car."

Just my boys

2011-03-08T13:56:00.000-07:00

A few thoughts from these pictures:

Spencer can be a really sweet big brother. He loves to hold Rylan's hand and make sure he is doing alright.
While I was taking these pictures Spencer took off and came back with some buns my mom made and left with us on Sunday. She makes the best buns!
Katie Wood gave these pajamas to them. It was super thoughtful of her and she bought just the right size for each of them.
Hakon was bent on buying a big puppy for Spencer's first Christmas. So we did...and our neighbor bought him another one the same year. I love these puppies more than I thought I would. They are great for cuddling or rough-housing and now I'm finding it is a nice prop for Rylan when I dare to put him on the floor with Spencer.
Isn't it funny how different these little boys look? My mom said that is how it was with each of her babies. None of them looked the same and each time it was a fun surprise.
I'm having so much fun with the option to have them matching sometimes.
Being a mom is a great job.

In other news:

Thanks Christal for the adorable polo!

We found out Rylan actually has a pretty strong cry when he decides to let it out. He was doing just fine with all these pictures and then bam, he decided he was done and was ready for a nap. But seriously, could he be any cuter even when he is crying? The great thing is he can be calmed quickly. Just a quick swaddle and soother and he was out for the next two hours. I can deal with that kind of crying :)

Rylan's Blessing Day

2011-03-08T13:19:00.000-07:00

Sunday March 6 was Rylan's special day. Hakon gave a beautiful blessing in Sacrament Meeting. I almost had to leave to take Spencer out because he was upset that Hakon left us. Luckily he calmed down as soon as he heard Hakon start giving the blessing. It was a special experience to witness my husband being worthy and willing to bless our child. We were so happy that some family was able to come share the day with us. Hakon's parents and younger brother came as well as my parents and two of my brothers with their families (Darren and Kendall). I know it isn't always easy to make the trip, especially with kids but we so appreciated their support.

Hakon, Me, and Rylan

Grandma, Grandpa, and Rylan

Far-Far, Far-Mor, and Rylan

After church we had a dinner at our place. I did most of the preparation because Hakon has been working a lot with tax season but Hakon did all of the cleanup while he visited with people here. It was so nice to not worry about it when everybody left-the kitchen was already spotless.When my nieces and nephews were going home a lot of them wanted to stay which made me really happy. I was glad they weren't just bored out of their minds. It was nice to have a basement where they could play.

Rylan was content as could be during the blessing and most of church as well. He got passed around from Irene (our neighbor came to church for his blessing), his dad, both grandma's, and then Aunt Christal. I was playing the piano in primary so it was nice to have so many people to hold and love my baby while I couldn't. Rylan is just a pleasure to have with us. He is sure a beautiful little boy as well.


The whole gang. Thanks to Christal for taking all of these pictures for us! We missed those who couldn't make it but felt their love and support even without their presence.

There is a feeling that I love when I am together with family at a special event. Everything that matters in life becomes more clear, daily troubles seem to melt away, worries of being judged or criticized are absent. Sunday felt so good. In Norwegian they use the word "koslig" and I think that is really the feeling I had but I just can't quite describe it in English. I am so grateful for good relationships in my family. I have built in friendships which I know will always be there. I want to raise my own family to be this way too.

Pictures are posted!

2011-03-02T15:26:00.000-07:00

I have been waiting ever so patiently and checking Leah's blog ever so often for a post including pictures she took of us on Family Day. And they are up! I couldn't resist stealing at least one picture from her blog for this post but there are lots more that I love...

So go on over to Leah's blog and if you like what you see don't hesitate to leave her a comment.

She bought a camera about a year and a half ago and has picked up photography sooo quickly. She has put a lot of time into learning her stuff and figuring out how to make people like me very happy with the pictures she takes. What she did for us was newborn pictures and then a "lifestyle shoot" basically with us just doing the stuff we like to do together at home.

She does all sorts of pictures so go check out her blog. You may just find your new favorite photographer for your family!

Shopping with Two

2011-03-02T12:57:00.000-07:00

Yesterday was the first day I ventured to out with both of my boys and no husband. Truthfully, I was putting it off. The cold weather added to my desire to just stay home, but I was also just nervous about the task of both boys and only one of me. I know, it seems like no big deal...but I was kind of scared. I could tell Spencer needed to get out of the house though and I did too. We were out for about 1 1/2 hours getting some groceries and other necessities. Rylan slept the entire time thankfully. Overall Spencer had a great time with a few "hiccups". A couple times I found myself carrying the Rylan in his carseat with one hand and Spencer in the other arm. This might not sound so hard, but it is when Spencer does NOT want to be carried. I just kept telling myself, I've been carrying both of these boys for 9 months-this is no big deal. Of course it is not the same but somehow it helped to tell myself that. I've come to expect that sometimes we have meltdowns at Walmart when we can't play with the airplane machines that take a dollar or two (we never put any money in to make them "go" and Spencer doesn't even know the difference). Also, sometimes only getting one cookie at Sobey's is upsetting. At these times some well meaning people try to talk to Spencer and make him happy...it doesn't work and it is kind of awkward. Other people just try not to look at you or give a sympathetic look. I just try to keep my cool and hope the cashier isn't new (meaning slow) and that every item has a barcode so there will be no phonecalls to different departments, etc. We all came home in one piece though and I don't think I broke a sweat during the tantrums so in my books that is good news. Even though things didn't go as smoothly as I had hoped, overall I still enjoyed myself. In a way the challenge of keeping kids well mannered in stores is an exciting one, and it is something we can work on each time we go-I know there are lots of chances for improvement!

Other than that we've been doing a whole lot of staying home. Here are a few pictures as of late and an update of each member of our family.

Hakon

Hakon with Rylan in his favorite evening hold.

Hakon started into tax season yesterday. He has already been working a lot of overtime to save up for his summer of studying for the UFE but now he is doing a bit more. He is still the executive secretary in our ward so he gets up for early meetings on Sunday too. I am so proud of him because he puts in extra time during the week during tax season so he doesn't have to work on Sundays (usually it is just a given that you have to work 7 days a week). I'm also grateful that his firm is fine with that. He is always making sure Rylan is comfortable and warm and enjoys holding him when he is home in the evenings. He and Spencer have a blast together as well. This past Sunday Spencer hung out with Hakon instead of going to nursery because he had a cough. I bet it will be harder to get him to go to nursery next week because he so enjoyed being with his dad. I am still so glad we live super close to his work so I still get to see him every day for lunch and our evenings aren't shortened by a commute to work.

Katelyn

Me and my handsome boys after our first Sunday back to church. Do you think Spencer needs a nap?

I am recovering well from delivery and enjoying being at home with these boys. I have been pleasantly surprised at how much sleep I am getting and glad to be past the hardest part of nursing. I was called to be the Primary Pianist and enjoy being in the primary with those cute kids. Some clothes are fitting nicely and others are not so nice yet so I'm working with a reduced wardrobe and looking forward to getting all the way back to my old self.

Spencer

Spencer in my boots.

Spencer has an obsession with wearing shoes. He is getting pretty good at putting them on and walking around in all sorts of sizes and styles. He is a hard one to find shoes for though. His feet are still really thick. We were fortunate to find two pairs at The Children's Place that actually fit and were both on sale. They were both size 7 which sounds way too big, but they worked. Yay! He got some other additions to his wardrobe on that shopping trip as well because we happened upon a huge sale there where lots of racks were priced at $3.99. When we got home we added it all up. Regular price for everything came to $190 and we only paid $50. Sales make me happy! Spencer also loves to put the soother in Rylan's mouth. It is a hard concept for him that it doesn't always have to be in his mouth. Whenever he hears Rylan cry he runs to his aid and instructs me in his jibberish as to what I should be doing to help. He is a great big brother. Spencer loves shrugging his shoulders and pointing right now. He also started shaking his finger sometimes when he says "No, no, no". Not sure where that came from, I don't think I ever do that. His jibberish sounds so much like regular talking with his inflections and dynamics but we don't understand much. He has said so many different words but then he gets sick of them and refuses to say them anymore. I'm sure someday it is all just going to come out at once in full sentences. Spencer loves to be chased. We run in circles around the stairwell in our basement daily and get just as many laughs as the day before. He also loves trail mix, gold fish, and usually apple sauce. He hates his bib. He is such a bright little boy and makes me laugh and count my blessings daily.

Rylan

Rylan in the swing.

Rylan is just a pleasant baby. He sleeps a ton and is happy when he is awake. He really only cries when he is hungry or needs a diaper change. He likes the swing and bouncy chair, as well as being held or in the Moby wrap or Baby Bjorn. I am glad he took to the swing easily-it took Spencer a few months to like it, he absolutely hated it whenever we tried the first month of his life. Rylan likes his soother and his carseat once he is in and bundled up with blankets on him. His first Sunday at church he slept through all of Sacrament Meeting. I was in heaven! I don't think I sat through a whole sacrament meeting with Spencer until a few months ago. He seemed to instinctively know to cry just before I was able to partake of the sacrament. I guess that experience made last Sunday that much sweeter. Rylan is so good to me at night, we usually get up twice for 30 minutes each to feed and do a diaper change and then it's right back to sleep (this is from about 10:30 pm to 8 am). Hea-ven! I sure love having time with just him and Hakon in the evenings during Rylan's awake time. It's such a treat.

Spencer and Rylan in their matching outfits. I have to take advantage of the opportunity now before they can refuse!

And here is something for all of you who are living in the prolonged cold like we are:

Finally

2011-02-23T13:10:00.000-07:00

Although most of you have already heard all about our new little addition I just have to do a post with some details of the last couple weeks.

I was a week past my due date when I finally went into labor. Once labor started it progressed rather quickly. I woke up with some pain at 2:45 am, woke Hakon up at 3:30 am, left for the hospital at 4:00am, got into the delivery room at 4:45 am, continued laboring 15 minutes, pushed 15 minutes, and then I saw my beautiful brown haired baby boy for the first time at 5:15 am Sunday, February 13. I couldn't believe how fast it all went and I was overjoyed to finally meet my baby. I was so surprised at how much hair he had and that he didn't just look exactly like Spencer had-as I had imagined.

Hakon's parents and brother surprised us by showing up at the hospital that afternoon and then took Spencer to our house so we could have a few hours just the 3 of us. It was nice to have the visitors and feel their love and support.

While in the hospital I asked to have Rylan's tongue checked because I suspected a tongue-tie like Spencer had. I was so glad I asked because they don't routinely check that and he had a full tie. The doctor clipped it Monday morning (he said he had to clip about a centimeter which is a lot under that little tongue!) Hakon and Spencer came to pick us up and Hakon surprised me with beautiful flowers (4 roses representing each member of our family) and a card with shopping money! He is so thoughtful. It is good to know that he values the work I do as the mother of our children.

We were able to come home about noon on Monday. I was surprised at how good I felt. My mom arrived that evening. She is an angel and stayed until Friday afternoon. It was wonderful to have her here cooking, cleaning, doing laundry, playing with Spencer, and offering her support to me. I had a couple of crying sessions during the time she was here and it was nice to have my mom to tell me everything is okay and this is all normal.

Hakon's family came up again last weekend. It is fun to share the experience with family. I wish everyone could have a sweet little newborn to hold and cuddle and it is nice when other people can get a little bit of that when they visit us. Monday we did some newborn and family pictures and I am so anxious to see how they turned out. I'll post them as soon as they are done!

I've been surprised by Rylan's calm temperament so far. I was never able to feed and diaper Spencer in the night in our room because he was very loud and would definitely wake up Hakon so I just assumed I would be out in the living room during night feeds like last time. But so far I've been able to stay right in our room the whole night. We just moved the chair and lamp with a dimmer in to the room. It has been a lot nicer for me. We haven't had any crying yet that we couldn't quickly calm. That has made this week a lot easier! I'm just thoroughly enjoying having this little boy in our family.

I'm also loving having time to still give Spencer lots of attention since Rylan has been so easy going. I have used the Moby a couple times so I could play hockey with Spencer in the basement. I love it! I have been amazed at how big Spencer seems now and sad at how fast the time has gone. Sunday night I longed to hold Spencer as a newborn sleeping in my arms again. I just want to soak these little boys in while I still can. Hakon reminded me that 10% of Spencer's time living at home is already over (yes he is an accountant, always thinking in numbers). I want to make the most of the time I have with my children at home. They are such treasures.

What to do with the time?

2011-02-03T13:18:00.000-07:00

I went to the doctor yesterday 39 1/2 weeks pregnant and guess what he says? "Make another appointment for next Tuesday. I highly doubt you will have the baby before then."

Late last night Hakon snapped this picture. We just don't know how many more chances there will be so I can't wait for the perfect moment to get these pregnancy pictures.

Alright. So what do I want to get done before this baby comes if I really still have about a week? Well a couple things I have done that I'm glad to have the extra time for include progress on Spencer's baby book and soother clips. I finished a blanket for this baby a few weeks ago and thought I should post some pictures of that too.

The blanket is made of the same material as Spencer's blankie. I wonder if Spencer will try to take it a lot?
I didn't make Spencer's, it was a gift at his baby shower. Now I appreciate it even more. This material is slippery and stretchy but it turned out pretty good. I liked the zigzag topstitch on the blanket I was given so I just tried to replicate that. It was nice to do a project with my sewing machine, it's been awhile.

Soother Clips: I made 3 different ones and will probably make more. They are so easy! I bought the suspender clips 2/$1 at Fabricland. I decided to do velcro on both ends so I don't have to buy as many clips. I can just interchange the ribbons on the clips.

I was super excited to find a cute ribbon to match the blanket I made. I sure hope this baby likes soothers. Soothers were a life saver with Spencer.

I hand stitched the velcro on even though it was sticky. My sister told me that it won't stick without stitching it on when drool gets on it. I didn't want the brown thread showing on the green ribbon so I was careful to only stitch on the brown polka dots.

I thought a black ribbon would come in handy. Sometimes too many colors and designs get annoying when you want it to match an outfit-or at least not clash!

Spencer's Baby Book:
I have had a debate going on in my head of what to do about a scrapbook for Spencer since he was born. I have a baby book with all of his information that I filled out each month from Deseret Book but it doesn't have space for very many pictures. I've thought of tons of different options but came back to digital scrapbooking with picasa after reading about it at Clover Lane. She has lots of great information and pointers. I decided on this because I can do it without making a mess and getting overwhelmed and I think I can actually do this for each kid even if I have a lot of kids close together. I think I will only do 1 book per kid up to 18 months. For now that is the plan. I've made 12x12 pages that I will send to be printed after I finish them all. But just for the sake of seeing what they will look like in the actual book I've made them into side by side collages (12x24). That has helped me visualize it better and make it more coherent. I am doing it really simple. Each page I have his age and some facts about him at that age and then my favorite pictures from that month. I may add a few captions for pictures if I think it is important but not much. I'm all about keeping it simple! I am using the same font for the whole book (ckjot) and the wingdings l to make the circle around the month. I hope I love it when it is all done! Here are a few pages I've put together.

A feature I love with picasa is that I can choose the font color by holder my curser over a color on the collage. It makes it easy to match the font to the scrapbook page.

Aside from these projects we have just really been enjoying our evenings with Spencer and then as a couple after he goes to bed. We recently bought a chair (you guessed it...found it through kijiji). We love it and were super excited to find it because it is very similar to one we loved when we worked at The Brick but couldn't afford it even with staff discount. New this chair would probably go for around $1100. We got it for $150 and it is in mint condition. The chair swivels and reclines but is not a rocker. Someday I will get my rocker though, when the right deal comes along.

Of course Spencer is watching "Mountain of the Lord" here. I don't know why he loves it so much, it honestly has saved me a few times when I just need him to sit.

This is Spencer's blankie. I chose a color other than white for the back of the blanket I made for the next baby because it is sure hard to keep clean. I do try to wash it at least every other day.

Hakon made a ramp for Spencer to send his toy cars down. He loves it. It was a step up from the ramp I made for him earlier that day with a baking sheet and empty shoe box. He loved my ramp at the time though. He filled up the sink of his play kitchen with all of his cars so he could send them down one after another.

Oh and welcome to our unfinished basement. We love it, seriously!

And here is Spencer with a few of his prized possessions. I never know which items he will latch onto for a few days. I loved this telephone that I saw left at the Recycling Center and so I brought it home and disinfected it. Spencer loves having a phone with a cord to play with. Here he is sitting in the playpen set up for the next baby. He has no idea I didn't set it up for him. I think he is in for a big surprise soon!

I got my hair cut and eyebrows waxed on Monday! I love getting my eyebrows waxed but hadn't had it done since I was engaged. I also went grocery shopping by myself while I had a babysitter for the appointments. That was a nice Monday! Overall I'm feeling good and ready. I'm pretty excited to take this next step. Hopefully the next post will include a handsome little newborn!

Proud Wife

2011-01-21T12:14:00.000-07:00

Most of my focus since Christmas has been to get ready for this baby. But I'm not only a mother, I'm a wife too. And I'm so proud of my husband. Last week we got the results from Hakon's most recent exam (Module 4 in CASB). He almost had me convinced that he would receive a failing grade (we had to wait 4 weeks after he wrote the test to find out) but it turned out that he did better on this exam than any of the previous ones. I was ecstatic when he told me he passed and immediately called my neighbor Irene to see if she would come over for a couple hours while Spencer slept so we could go out to celebrate. She is a gem and came willingly. We were able to go out for dinner and then pick up a few things at Walmart. It's funny how a trip to Walmart can count as part of a date if we don't have Spencer with us!
Hakon works so hard to provide for our family and doing school on top of work has made for a busy schedule for him at times. But he doesn't complain and just keeps working away. The next few months should be pretty busy with audit season, tax season, and then straight into more schooling on top of a new baby but we are up for the challenge. It is good to have opportunities to grow and see how much patience and perseverance you actually have. It also provides more opportunities to see the Lord's hand in your life, helping you accomplish more than you could on your own. We truly feel that we have been blessed and helped by the Lord in our responsibilities.
Some other things I love about Hakon:

Last night he willingly learned how to make a loaf of bread in the bread machine so he can help do that in the future. (It came out perfect by the way and we had some for breakfast.)
He listened to me and sat with me while I had a moment of realization that I'm going to go through something really hard pretty soon and there is nothing I can do about it. At times it is scary.
Quite a few mornings lately he has gotten up with Spencer and fed him breakfast so I could sleep until he needed to leave for work.
He is handy with tools and has some background in construction. It is so handy.
He cares to know the details of my day even if it only involves organizing the house and playing with Spencer (which I have been overly excited to "show and tell" about when he gets home).
He makes sure that we read our scriptures together every day and I never have to nag him to participate.
He is such a caring father and takes time to be with Spencer.
He loves music and brings beautiful music into our home.
He is careful with money and motivates me to be smart with money as well.
He lets me know he loves me, there is no doubt in my mind.

Last night I told my mom that I'm so glad to be past the point of choosing a spouse. That was stressful at times for sure. She replied that I feel that way only because I married the right man. So true. And my life is so good because of him.

2011-01-13T20:22:00.000-07:00

I thought I would just do a post of some things I like right now. It's fun to find new things that work for my family and add some variety to our lives.


A Christmas gift for Spencer from Far-Far and Far-Mor. It says "3 yrs +" on the box but he is already getting good at it. It was a great gift.

Not actually our globe but I picked up one that looks really similar for free at the recycling center. We have wanted a globe for a long time. I think it is great to have one on hand, and for free.

We were going crazy with Spencer waking up because of soaked pajamas. He has gone through phases like this before and when it started again I finally looked around a bit and found these. They are working like a charm for night time and I just use regular diapers during the day.

I find myself turning The Mormon Channel on around 4 pm many days. I know most people are busy with their kids and I don't want to call and disturb but I still want some adult conversation (or at least voices) to get me through until Hakon gets home. The programs are always uplifting and informative. Although I only hear about half of it with Spencer in the house I still feel like I have learned something and the Spirit is in my home.

A friend in our ward suggested this book to me when Spencer was a newborn and I'm so glad she did. Like any other parenting/baby book, there are parts I don't particularly agree with but I found a lot of it really useful with Spencer. I just checked it out again from the library so I can refresh my memory before baby #2.

36 Weeks-Only 4 more to go

Gettin' Ready Baby

2011-01-10T12:10:00.000-07:00

If only I was always as motivated to get things done as I have been for the last week, I swear I would never be behind on anything. It has been a fantastic week of organizing, dejunking, and cleaning. I guess I am "nesting". I found this explanation of what "nesting" is on PregnancyWeekly:

Around the fifth month of pregnancy, the "nesting" instinct can set in. This is an uncontrollable urge to clean one's house brought on by a desire to prepare a nest for the new baby, to tie up loose ends of old projects and to organize your world.

Females of the animal kingdom are all equipped with this same need. It is a primal instinct. Just as you see birds making their nests, mothers-to-be do exactly the same thing. The act of nesting puts you in control and gives a sense of accomplishment toward birth. You may become a homebody and want to retreat into the comfort of home and familiar company, like a brooding hen. The nesting urge can also be seen as a sign of the onset of labor when it occurs close to 40 weeks of pregnancy.

I didn't really hit the nesting stage at 5 months (or maybe that's when I really got excited to be ultra prepared for Christmas) but it's in full force at 8 months. I've gotten out all the newborn clothes and organized the boxes of older clothes so it will be easy to transfer clothes that Spencer and the new baby grow in and out of. I didn't think of having a system for that before Spencer was born. Just one of the things I've learned since I became a mom. I feel like I have a much better idea of how to prepare my home for a new baby this time. I know how I like to have the diapering necessities organized, and I know what things I want high or low, or in or out of the bedroom, etc. But of course some of those things will change with baby #2 and I will just see how things go.

Spencer has been surprisingly happy while I clean and organize. He loves finding new things to play with as I pull items out of boxes or the closet. When cleaning out his closet he found these items: gum boots, sweater, and backpack. He had to wear each of them and carry the broken cell phone around everywhere. He is a one-of-a-kind boy!

Last Friday I set up the playpen in our room and in the process of figuring out how to rearrange things I just moved our queen bed by myself. Spencer thought it was hilarious and Hakon was pretty surprised when he got home. I felt the effects on my body for a day or so and realized I shouldn't have done that by myself, oh well.

Saturday we planned to go to Calgary to do a couple errands but the weather looked a little unfriendly so we decided to stay close to home. I am so glad we did since the highway on either side of Strathmore was closed later that day and we would have been stuck in Calgary. (Apparently it was pretty bad with lots of crashes. We didn't have church yesterday because of the weather and I heard school is canceled today as well.) So instead of going to Calgary we went to Totem and got supplies to build a bed frame for the single mattress we were given. Some great friends let Hakon use their saw and he had it all put together Saturday night. Now we have a decent place for my mom to sleep when she comes to help with the new baby! Again I got the urge to organize and Hakon and I spent our Saturday night dejunking and organizing the basement. It felt so good. So good!

Last night Hakon and I sat down to think about names. It is ridiculous but we have such a hard time choosing a name. Hakon loves to organize and make lists so as our scribe last night he made an 3 lists of names we like (A,B, and C) and we ranked the names accordingly. I just hope the baby looks like one of the names of our A list because last time we had such a hard time choosing Spencer's name because it wasn't one of our top choices before he was born. I feel like he is such a "Spencer" though and haven't regretted that choice.
It would be a lot easier if this baby could just look like the names we like most though.

I have been getting lots of sleep, at least 8 hours a night and sometimes 10. It feels great and maybe it feels even better because I know it won't last so I'm relishing it now. "Tums" are also a good friend these days as are my support stockings. I love that all of our living space is on one floor and all of our storage downstairs so I don't have to go up and down stairs all day. It is so nice. Overall I'm feeling great.

With less than a month to go I feel like I can't get things done fast enough. It has felt so good to stay busy though especially since I don't feel like going outside in this weather. I think a winter baby is the way to go. At least a winter pregnancy has been great. Regardless of the time of year, I am so looking forward to a new baby. I really feel like this baby is coming at the right time to our family. I am so excited to meet him. It will be a fun adventure I'm sure.

Christmas 2010

2011-01-04T21:24:00.000-07:00

We had such a great time with family over the holidays. I don't have many pictures to show for it because our camera was being problematic and I was just enjoying being there and forgot to take many pictures. We split up our time between our two families and it worked out quite nicely. Spencer and I were down for a total of 10 days but Hakon came back home to work 2 of those days. Here's the breakdown:

Christmas Eve is always spent at the Skoien home. We read the Christmas story from the bible then have a traditional Norwegian pork dinner by candlelight. Dessert is a special rice pudding. Somewhere in the bowl is an almond and the person who gets it wins a prize. That is one of my favorite traditions! Then we usually sing some Christmas carols, open presents, and stay up late together. This is all done in the evening and since Spencer just wanted some sleep we let him open presents right after dinner then put him to bed. It was a treat to spend the rest of the evening off-duty. I thoroughly enjoyed that night. Some gift highlights included an accordion for Papa (Hakon's dad). It was the brilliant idea of Emme and she was kind enough to let us in on it. Another favorite was the gift I made for Mama. I got pictures from all of Hakon's siblings and made a calendar with a collage of the family for each month. I used Picasa to make the collages then just uploaded that instead of a single picture. I thought it turned out well and I loved watching her flip through the months and smile at the pictures and memories associated with each one.

Christmas Day was at the Bevans home. Spencer was the only grandkid there most of the day because everyone else celebrated there on Christmas Eve. We loved spending the day with Dad, Mom, Alley, Brady, and Ryan though.

Spencer testing out his new cell phone with Uncle Brady and Aunt Alley.

Darren's family dropped by for a bit and we went to Grandma Bevans' home that evening so we still got to see lots of family. Hakon gave me a scare that night though. He needed to make a visit while we were at Grandma's house so Spencer and I stayed there while he went. He ended up making another visit on his way back and I couldn't figure out where he was. I made a few phone calls to places I thought he could possibly be and tried the cell phone a few times but couldn't find him. Never before have I really worried that something bad had happened to him. It was so hard to keep my emotions under control because I had a cranky toddler who needed to go to bed and I was so worried about my husband. When he got back I couldn't get out to the van fast enough. I just sat there and cried. There was no lecture necessary. My sobbing said it all. It may have been worse because I'm pregnant but I'm not sure of that. I was just so worried. I wasn't mad at him and I know he will be more careful in the future to let me know where he is and when he will be back. It was just a scary few hours. I'm so glad we all went home together in safety that night.

Boxing Day I attended my parents ward. It was so good to see so many good people who have helped shape my life. The nursery only had one leader when I went to drop off Spencer so I just stayed the whole time. That night was pretty laid back and included scones for dinner. I love scones.

Monday we were back at the Skoien home and even made a trip to Pincher Creek for some swimming. I decided to just sit this one out and Spencer didn't really enjoy it this time so we hung out together and watched the others.

Other than that we just enjoyed hanging out with the family, playing games and eating more food. Kolby and Natalie came up from Idaho so it was great to spend some time with them while they were here.

The rocking horse Papa made years ago.

Spencer loves chilling with uncle Henrik.

Tuesday was back to Cardston. Alley and Brady were good to us and they watched Spencer while we attended the temple and ate lunch at the cafeteria. It felt so good to not be in a rush. When Spencer was nursing I always felt hurried to get back to him. It was great to just relax and come home to a sleeping Spencer and a good report of how he was for them. Hakon had to leave that afternoon to come back to Strathmore. Spencer was quite unhappy about it. He always prefers for us to all be together. Every time Hakon called while he was away, Spencer could sense it was Hakon on the phone and would get upset all over again. He sure missed his Daddy.

While Hakon was gone I attended two receptions for guys in my grade and enjoyed catching up with some old high school friends. I can't believe how fast the time goes. How have I been out of high school for 4 1/2 years? I guess it makes sense when I consider that I am married and have baby number 2 on the way eh!

Friday night (New Year's Eve) Hakon, Spencer, and I went to Lethbridge before going to Darren and Christal's house for a New Year's party with lots of my family. We got a couple things we needed but were surprised to find out at 6:03 that Walmart and Superstore both closed at 6:00 pm. Oops! We didn't have the white elephant gifts we needed yet so those poor people who got gifts from us ended up with Pringles and Gum from the gas station. Oh well, live and learn. At least we made it to Costco for the egg rolls we were bringing. The party was tons of fun though. Christal decorated their house so cute and all the food was delicious. We tried getting Spencer to sleep but it was in vain so he got to stay up and party with the rest of us. He actually did incredibly well. He usually gets really touchy if he doesn't get to bed but I guess he could sense it was an exciting night.

Saturday and Sunday we were back to Glenwood with the Skoien's. It was so nice to sit and chat with Mama Saturday night after we had played a few games with everyone. It was one of those chats that bring you closer than you were before. I'm so glad she is never too busy to talk. With Spencer in nursery, Hakon and I thoroughly enjoyed attending all of our meetings uninterrupted. I have been in primary for the last year and it was really nice to attend Relief Society and Sunday School. I love attending church each week. I can't believe I will soon have another baby and be spending ample time in the mother's lounge again.

All in all our holidays had the perfect amount of relaxation and business. Way too much good food, but I won't complain. Spencer slept great except one day when Hakon was gone and he was happy almost the whole time. I feel closer with many family members and reconnected with a few friends. Now I am rejuvenated and feel ready to just prepare for this baby. Here we go!

Missing Grandma Dayley

2010-12-11T12:06:00.001-07:00

Today is my Grandma Dayley's funeral (Blanche Gail Peck Dayley). I'm here at home wishing to be in Oakley and Burley, Idaho with many relatives and especially with my mom. But I am taking this quiet time while Hakon is at the office and Spencer is napping to go back in time with memories of my sweet grandma.

The above picture was taken February 2009. Hakon met her for the first time and it ended up being the only time.I was expecting Spencer at the time so he never met her. I'm so glad we took the chance to go see her on that trip. I'm so grateful for all the good memories with grandma. Up until a few years ago she lived in the house pictured below in Oakley, Idaho. It is over 100 years old and was built by the Dayley family. It has stayed in our family all that time as well. I loved visiting here many summers and sometimes at Christmas or Easter. Grandma would always have lots of food for us to eat and ice cream cones for dessert. She would take us to Clarke's to buy penny candies and we would often rent a movie. I loved going on walks around Oakley and seeing all the old houses and buildings imagining the previous generations who lived in them.

Grandma loved to hear us play the piano or sing and we usually put on a little program for her while there. My mom somehow got all of us to participate. She even got my teenage brother to show grandma how he can lead a hymn while my sister played it. Grandma was always delighted with these programs. Since we lived about 13 hours apart we would sometimes make videos to mail to her. I've been transferring home videos to DVD for my parents and have seen a few of these programs. It is such a treasure to have those memories preserved, especially since we can't go for a visit and do a program anymore.

Grandma was always very concerned about having things just right and made us feel so welcomed. We would usually show up at her house late at night after a long day of driving and she would be asleep in her chair trying to wait up for us. Since my grandpa died in 1992 I don't have as many memories of him on these visits.

Although she had many grandchildren, she knew how to make me feel really special to her. Just being around her made me want to be a better person and always do things that she would be proud of. She would make a big deal out of any small accomplishment of mine that she knew of and would remember it for years. I wrote a poem for a competition in Grade 5 about the pioneers who came to Cardston. I won first prize and was asked to read it at a town dinner when a wagon train came to Cardston commemorating the early pioneers. I'm sure I would have long forgotten about this but Grandma made a great deal out of it.

Wagon Train

Wagons are rolling along the trail.
Alberta's our goal the pioneers yell.
Grinding up mountains
On northward they go.
New lands to find, new lands to sew.

Tomorrow will come and it will go.
Rain or shine, wind or snow.
Although it is hard
It's worth it still.
Never give up and Never you'll fail

She talked about that poem for years to come and kept a copy of it in a special book. Then she sent me a wooden doll with it written on the back in her own handwriting!

Even though we lived far away I definitely still felt her love.

I heard her bear testimony of the gospel many times and I know she was sincere. I am so grateful for her example and legacy. I'm grateful that she raised my mother so well and blessed our family by her love and testimony even though we usually only saw each other about once a year. I miss her but know she is in a better place having a grand reunion with my grandpa and all her other loved ones who passed on before her. I know I will see her again but she will be in a perfect state, without her pains and aches that became so bad over the years. I bet she will be a lot taller than I remember her! I look forward to that sweet reunion.

I Think of Christ

2010-12-01T21:03:00.000-07:00

This month I want to focus more on thinking of Christ-always remembering him. I promise to do this every Sunday when I partake of the Sacrament but I fall short each week. I am going to give a more fervent effort this month. With some forethought it isn't very hard with all the Christmas music, videos, books, decorations, and events. These two videos have especially touched me tonight.

These videos have also made me reflect on the miracle of life and motherhood. I have an increased sense of the how sacred birth and newborn babies are. I am so grateful to be awaiting my second child and look forward to snuggling him in my arms. I have the opportunity to play Mary in a cantata our ward is putting on this year and have been thinking more of her this year than any previous year. She must have been an incredible young woman. I would like to meet her someday. I wonder how it would be to love Jesus Christ not only as my brother and Savior but also as my son? I'm grateful for opportunities this season that help me focus on Christ and His glorious gospel.

A Girl Can Dream

2010-11-29T21:05:00.000-07:00

Day 15: Pictures of my dream house

It is a good thing I am not at the point of deciding on my dream house because I haven't quite figured out my style. And even when I do I am sure the practical side of me will take over and I will do without a lot of the things I think are aesthetically pleasing. Here are some homes I sure wouldn't mind having someday though.

I love how clean this looks. Notice the cute lantern out front, the windows, and the little balcony areas. I love it all.

There is something about shutters and this colonial style that I love every time. I would probably end up going with white for the house but I like this color scheme too.

I like some stone and the angles add nice variety. I like that there is pretty landscaping out front. I like how the garage doesn't overshadow the archetecture of the rest of the home.

Nice lighting at night adds so much! I knocked on many doors to homes like this in Nashville.

I also like a simple little house like this. Unpretentious, yet neat, clean and inviting.

And look at all this space! Huge yard, wraparound porch and dormers. I'm not so sure about the red brick but the rest I like.

And there you have it...I'm done my 15 day challenge! Not in 15 days, but who is counting anyway?

Favorite Pictures

2010-11-23T19:52:00.000-07:00

Day 14: Favorite Pictures (sorry to anyone who got the list from my blog, this was supposed to also say "favorite pictures that I have taken")

My beautiful parents

I went visiting teaching and asked Hakon to get the chicken out when it was done. When I returned home the first thing I could smell was burnt chicken but he couldn't smell anything.

One of those rare cuddle moments with Spencer.

Striking a pose with the toothbrush.

My little model boy

lasagna, mmm

chubster

hanging out

almost too big for his recliner

Saturday night nachos with dad

wrestling with the puppies

well rested

4 generations

daddy's boy

sent from above, our bundle of joy

Goals

2010-11-22T21:49:00.000-07:00

Day 13: Goals

Pray on my knees morning and night (besides other less formal prayers throughout the day) individually and as a family/couple
Read my scriptures every day individually and as a family

Do a weekly meal plan and a weekly grocery shopping trip
Read each monthly ensign cover to cover

Funny thing about this Ensign is that Hakon was roommates and is still good friends with the dad's brother (I hope that makes sense). He recognized the whole family when the Ensign came in the mail.

To neither physically hurt my children nor yell at them for discipline
To not gossip

Memorize "The Living Christ"

I have actually memorized it but I need to keep going over it to keep it fresh, how easily I forget!

Stay out of debt (except to get a mortgage...eventually)
To have a 3 month food supply, money in reserve, and water storage

and to have it as neatly organized as this picture!

Have Family Home Evening every Monday night
Manage our money as best I/we can so I can remain a stay at home mom if at all possible.
In general: to raise confident, faithful, clean-cut children who build testimonies of Jesus Christ and prepare to make and keep sacred covenants in holy temples of the Lord.

To have a successful/fulfilling marriage that will last through eternity.

As you can see, a lot of my goals come from what I have been taught through my religion. It is everything that is most important to me. I experience the most personal growth by doing and striving to do these things.

What I Believe

2010-11-22T21:11:00.000-07:00

Day 12: What you believe

I believe in a God of love, justice, and mercy.

I believe in Jesus Christ and His great atoning sacrifice.

I believe families can be together forever.

I believe in prayer.

I believe in the ability to change.

I believe we lived before we came to earth and

will live again in our resurrected bodies after we die.

I believe in loving others even if it hurts sometimes.

I believe in tender mercies.

I believe we can be answers to other people's prayers.

I believe I can receive inspiration and personal revelation through the Holy Ghost.

I believe in reaching out.

I believe in doing my duty.

I believe in the power of music.

I believe Jesus Christ will come to the earth again.

I believe in living my life to prepare for that glorious event.

Favorite TV Shows

2010-11-22T21:04:00.000-07:00

Day 11: Favorite TV shows

Well you probably already know this but I really like this show. I have never watched one by myself though. Hakon and I always watch it together on the laptop while Spencer is in bed. We always watch the episodes in order. We have only skipped a couple that had a theme we thought inappropriate. It is almost always clean and captivating. I usually cry at the very end of each episode (honestly I have probably not cried at the end of 2 out of 40 episodes).

Occasionally I like to see this show but I don't even know when it is on so it is a fluke if I turn the TV on to this station at the right time. I saw it more often when Spencer had me confined to the couch for hours on end nursing.

Day 10

2010-11-19T20:07:00.000-07:00

Day 10: Something your afraid of

One word for you: MICE!

My worst experience with mice: One night I was babysitting and the kids were asleep. I was sitting on the couch when suddenly a mouse ran from under the couch to the loveseat and back and forth. Looking back now I'm sure it was just afraid of me, but I was more afraid of it. I seriously was standing on the table to stay safe. When the parents got home the dad asked if I just got out the broom and took control or if I freaked out like his wife would have. I don't remember my reply but I do remember being slightly embarrassed.

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

A friend of mine posted this on facebook. It really touched and excited me. Christ really is the center of Christmas!

These Days

2010-11-18T20:59:00.000-07:00

Day 9: Put Your Ipod on shuffle, the first 10 songs

How Firm a Foundation: Mormon Tabernacle Choir
Piano Fantasy: William Joseph
Sunshine: Matt Costa
Consider the Lilies: Mormon Tabernacle Choir
I Cannot Find My Way/Three Kings: Michael McLean
The Innkeeper (Let Him In): Michael McLean
Lullabye-Goodnight My Angel: Haley Gibb
Callin' Baton Rouge: Garth Brooks
I Do Adore: Mindy Gledhill
Brahms Lullaby: Mikel Azpiroz

The main thing I actually use my ipod for is to listen to previous General Conference addresses. I also like to download BYU devotionals and speeches. If you know of any other great (free) podcasts let me know.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Things have been a bit crazy around here since we had our first good snowfall a couple nights ago. We have not been outside nearly as much as usual and I guess it is affecting both me and Spencer. We are enjoying spending some pretty laid back days at home together. Yesterday afternoon was the first time I actually sat down to watch a movie while taking care of Spencer. We watched "The Sound of Music" while eating, coloring, and playing on the floor. Wow that is a long movie, I didn't quite realize how long until it took up the whole afternoon. I won't be doing that again for awhile but it was kind of fun. Today Spencer decided his 2 minute nap in the van exempted him from an afternoon nap but it caught up with him by 5 pm when he turned off like a light and there was nothing I could do to stop it. So I just held him until my legs and feet fell asleep and Hakon took him. We both enjoyed holding our sleeping boy since it is a rare occasion.

And in other news: Spencer has remembered his love of books and is pulling them out frequently again. (Probably because I just switched the books in his room with some from a box downstairs.)

See that nice, soft rug Spencer is reading on? It is our early Christmas present. The rug that we have been wanting for over 1 1/2 years. It is finally ours and we are loving it. We spend way more time in the living room now.

And an exciting find was a little church jacket for Spencer. I found it at a consignment shop in town priced at $10. I didn't have my wallet with me that day but went back the next day on a walk with Hakon and Spencer and decided to get it. Lucky for me it ended up being 50% off that day so I got this cute little jacket for $5! I was surprised he really liked wearing it and insisted on the buttons being done up. I think he could tell he looked good because he would actually stand back for me to get a picture and then come over to see it in the camera!

Wow my little guy is growing up. Now he is all ready for his first day of nursery on the 28th!

Germany & Austria

2010-11-17T12:06:00.000-07:00

Day 8: A place I've traveled to.

I had the incredible experience of going to Germany and Austria with the Cardston Girls Choir Summer '07. I was just finished my Freshman year at BYU and was invited to come with the choir as well as a few other older girls. I LOVED the experience. I loved singing in cathedrals as well as touring-I'm so glad I did this trip with the choir. During this trip I also made some big decisions. 1.) not to return to BYU in the fall 2) to stay in Alberta and marry Hakon 3) I wrote my final email to my high school boy friend serving his mission. Giving up something good (my life-long dream of attending BYU and my deep friendship built over 5 years) for something better and right was so hard. But it felt good to come home from this trip with some firm plans for my future.

Nneuschwanstein castle. It was gorgeous. We weren't allowed to take pictures inside though.

Monica Redd on the left found her non-biological twin in Germany. Isn't it crazy how similar they look!

Me and my besties on the trip! Katie Wood, Monica Redd, Trisha Zemp

Umm, I was tired by the end. This is just before arriving to Cardston.

This trip was something I could really only do while I was single and I'm so glad I took the opportunity.

Favorite Movies

2010-11-15T20:10:00.000-07:00

I have to say I don't care much for this category. I seriously am not a movie watcher. Sure I watch one here or there but honestly I don't even remember most of the ones I've seen. I guess it is kind of the same way I am with jokes, I can hear the same one over and over and still not remember the punch line or important details.
Hakon and I have become so frustrated with trying to find a good movie that we almost get mad thinking about trying. I always try to check www.imdb.com to read the Parent's Guide of any movie we are considering renting...but it seems that I end up reading too much filth as I try to go through the warnings that I just give up. It makes me think of Elder Christofferson's recent General Conference talk where he said:

Having spoken in praise of labor, I must also add a kind word for leisure. Just as honest toil gives rest its sweetness, wholesome recreation is the friend and steadying companion of work. Music, literature, art, dance, drama, athletics—all can provide entertainment to enrich one’s life and further consecrate it. At the same time, it hardly needs to be said that much of what passes for entertainment today is coarse, degrading, violent, mind-numbing, and time wasting. Ironically, it sometimes takes hard work to find wholesome leisure. When entertainment turns from virtue to vice, it becomes a destroyer of the consecrated life. “Wherefore, take heed . . . that ye do not judge that which is evil to be of God” (Moroni 7:14).

I know there are a lot of good movies out there but I get frustrated with the work it takes to find them. I always appreciate it when a good one is recommended to me since it saves me the work. Anyway, a couple of the movies I can remember and love are:

The Sound of Music: I have watched The Sound of Music so many times. I love the singing, the patriotism, the family unity, and the lack of immorality. It is an uplifting movie. While in Austria I was able to visit a couple sites from the movie and it was so neat.

Fireproof: This one is on my list not because the acting is phenomenal but because I could not stop thinking about the movie for days after I watched it. It had a powerful message about marriage and it made me want to be a better spouse.

I guess I actually am glad we did this category so I can get good movie ideas from your blogs!