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Life in the Fast Lane (Pics coming soon)

2012-02-13T08:20:00.000-08:00

The last few weeks have been nothing but CRAZY!

We officially moved on January 30th. It was a CRAZY day. Cris got the stomach flu. Of all days to get the stomach flu, this was THE worst! He laid around while we moved stuff into the truck. I am not proud to say I got a little resentful of him, slightly irritated, but tried to be understanding, it was HARD!

We didn't fit everything into the truck we rented and that made me BONKERS. Some things we left behind were a broom, dish soap, any and all cleaners, my pants and clothes for the next few days, pretty much anything that was laying around at the end before we drove out. I was so busy so I didn't get any pictures of our last day, which is pretty disappointing!

Some ups of leaving the above mentioned things were I got a new pair of jeans because mine were packed away in some box, not to be found for a couple of days. I INSISTED we get me some new pants before people from the new ward helped us move in!

Cayten has started at his new school and he LOVES it. It seems to be a much more advanced school so he has a bit of catching up to do, but I am not worried at all. He has already met many friends, some of which are in our ward as we found out yesterday and he was thrilled!

Rysa was probably the least affected by this move. She didn't really care and hasn't cared still. We moved in and there were purple curtains in her bedroom left behind and she has been in heaven ever since. There is also a little castle playhouse built into the basement and they LOVE that! It has almost been a heaven sent while Carsyn is napping, they go play.

I have missed my friends dearly, but came to realize quickly that home is where my family is. I thought it would take a long time for this house to feel like home and quickly realized that home is where Cris is. Although the area of Cache Valley still feels like home, I am with Cris and so much stress has been lifted off my shoulders. I can be me again, a fun mom that wants to do things with her kids, not shut down and sit on the computer all day to forget about her life!

Carsyn was pretty good with the move of course. It actually took him about a week to get use to it here which is WEIRD! Every time we entered his bedroom to put him down for a nap he would cry and not want to go in the room which is not like him. He is back to himself now.

I am sure Cris likes it here. His commute is only about 15 minutes top, even with traffic so it has been nice having him home nearly at 5 every night. As our house gets more unpacked, it will be nice to settle back into a routine of FHE, nightly scripture study, basketball games, mom nights, girl nights, etc. I am really excited to be here in this new chapter of my life. PICS will be coming soon, when my house looks somewhat presentable!

Moving

2012-01-28T18:26:00.000-08:00

We are moving on Monday to Spanish Fork!!! So excited to be done with this "single mom" part of life and be back as an entire family! I am going to miss many friends here in Cache Valley and I hope I can find just as good of friends there. Here's to a new chapter in our life. When I get a minute to breathe, I will post pics!

Welcoming 2012

2011-12-31T18:09:00.000-08:00

2011 brought many changes, a new baby, a new job, a time without my husband, a new vehicle, a sold house, and 2012 will NOT leave us disappointed. We should be moving around January 25th to Spanish Fork. This entire time we had planned on building a home. We found a builder, found a plan, picked the design, but it just didn't feel right. We decided to go down to Utah County and look at some homes and found a few that really would work for us. We ended up choosing a home that had 6 Bedrooms, a finished basement, a beautiful yard with established fruit trees that I probably wont kill. The only thing I don't like are the kitchen countertops and cabinets so look forward to seeing a kitchen re-do sometime in 2012!

At first I was a little reluctant to let go of my pride and vain-ness of not having everything new, but I couldn't sleep, I tossed and turned, knowing that this was the home we were suppose to choose. Now I am getting SO excited to embark on this adventure instead of feeling tremendous amounts of pressure. Life is GOOD!

We had a WONDERFUL holiday. My grandma made me the most BEAUTIFUL quilt I have ever seen. I got to pick out the design and fabric and it turned out more beautiful than I could have EVER imagined!

My sister's little boy came to play one night in December. They were all watching a movie and we found Gunner holding Cayten and Rysa's hand!

My cute boy on Christmas morning. He went to bed before we opened the pj's on Christmas eve so I hurried and threw in in to his pj's so I could get some cute pics!

All in all we had a GREAT Christmas and time with the family. We were able to visit almost everyone in our family and sad for the ones we missed. I am looking forward for 2011 to be over and rush into 2012! Is it bad that I am old and probably will not stay up until 12. I had a friend say "tell your kids new years is at 8, they don't know the difference"!!! I think I may do that this year.

Life in the FAST lane . . .

2011-12-05T19:29:00.001-08:00

I wish I were a more eloquent speaker/writer. I read other blogs that go on about their lives and they are funny and insightful, and a pleasure to read. I feel that my blog is just throw-up on paper . . . so here is my blah!
WOW, Life is crazy right now! Cris is living in Provo and has since October 10th. OH MY what a change in lifestyle. It is crazy how dependent I am on my spouse, I didn't realize it until he was gone of course. Life is very stressful as a somewhat single mom. Cris leaves on Sunday night and comes home later on Friday night. It makes for a VERY long week. I unfortunately become a very stressed out maniac. My kids are neglected a bit as I get into my zone of survival.

It was a long 6-8 weeks but our house FINALLY sold! We were even able to get more than our asking price, which was a huge relief and answer to many prayers. The only downside is the loan doesn't close until January 17th or it could be a week longer. Life in the fast lane is beginning now however! This weekend we are going down to Provo/Lehi to celebrate Cayten's 6th b-day at Trafalga, Next weekend we are going to Temple Square and Mo-Tab Christmas Concert, the next weekend is Christmas, then New years, then my anniversary. The only way I will have a break on a weekend is if closing gets delayed by a week and I am truly hoping it does NOT!

We have decided to build a house in Spanish Fork. I am so EXCITED and nervous and scared all at the same time! Unfortunately we wont be able to start the building process until this house in Nibley sells. We wont be breaking ground til the beginning to mid February which means we wont be in our new home until mid April or so.

http://www.utahrealestate.com/report/public.single.report/report/detailed/listno/943763/scroll_to/943763

http://homesite.obeo.com/viewer/default.aspx?tourid=603506&refURL=http://admin.obeo.com/edit_tour.cfm?fn=1&HouseID=603506&locale=en-US

Cayten is LOVING school. He is an excellent reader, stupendous in math, and loves having friends. He is turning 6 next Monday and I can't wait to post about all his birthday festivities.

Clarysa is wonderful. I love her spunk most days. She sure knows how to take me for a ride but I wouldn't give her up for the world. She misses her daddy and prays constantly for us to be together soon. One of her spunky days she said "I am never being nice again until daddy is home forever" and even as I type that I can hear her saying it over and over and over again.

Carsyn is such a big boy. He is already scootin around and can get nearly everywhere he wants to be, it just takes a while. He is already 20lbs and 27 inches tall. He is the size of a 1 year old at age 6 months! My kids are always chunky but don't usually reach 20lbs until 9 months or so. He is a happy baby and we love every minute with him. He sleeps through the night pretty consistantly and loves eating food and laughing and smiling.

***A little disclaimer of my last post, nothing against Cris's previous place of employment, they were great to us for many years, but it was never a career and could never pay the potential Cris amounted too. A little bird got back to me saying they were offended that I was posting on my blog what a horrible employer they were but that is not the case. It was wonderful while it lasted, however, all things must come to an end and all things have their time and purpose. I enjoyed the friendships made while he worked there and have no ill feelings towards those still there, it was just time for us to move on, so I apologize if things were taken out of context in my blog***

The Lord's Timing

2011-10-10T03:55:00.000-07:00

The past few months have been hard in the blogging world. I couldn't post what was really going on in my world, in my life, in my mind, and in my heart because no one could really know Cris was looking for a new job. We have had numerous job interviews over the last 9 months and yet nothing worked out. There was much fasting, prayer, and blessings and still nothing. We decided to take a leap of faith and put our house up on the market in the beginning of August with hopes of it selling while Cris looked for another job so I wouldn't be stuck here when it happened.

During all of this, I was getting frustrated with the Lord. We were doing all we could (scripture study, prayer, FHE, fasting, temple attendance (although we could have done better on this one), church attendance, magnifying our callings, etc.) and yet the Lord didn't see fit to bless me with what I thought we needed most. There were times I felt he wasn't hearing my prayers and I became a little resentful of him and his timing. Don't get me wrong, I know the Lord loves me and I know he has a plan for me, but sometimes it is a little frustrating when it doesn't go the way we want it to. Last weekend was General Conference and a lot of the talks I was able to listen to were about prayer, the Lord's will, and not feeling forgotten. I felt the Prophets were talking to me. I finally had a peace come into my heart that everything would be ok, even if we stayed in Nibley for a while and Cris didn't find a new job. It felt good to find that peace. I started planning my next few months of living here by getting photo sessions lined up, thinking about new sessions of my workout group, and many other things . . . fast forward to the next day (Monday)!

On Monday (10/5) Cris got a call from a company in Provo he interviewed for over a month ago. We thought he didn't get the job. It had been over a month, they needed someone immediately, and they didn't respond to our follow up emails. We figured, eh, oh well, who wants to live in Provo anyway (HAHAHA). He's always gotten emails about jobs saying they've chosen someone else never a phone call to tell us that so we kind of figured there would be an offer on the table and there was, one that nearly doubled our current income. Of course there was no doubt in my mind that we would take the job. There were little promptings of the Spirit the rest of that day telling me that Cris would accept the position, but he wasn't so sure.

On Tuesday (10/6) Cris went to work, not knowing for sure what he was going to do. He had been asking for a raise for a while and it looked like they were going to give it to him (nowhere near the amount of this offer but a substantial raise), he was also looking into a training program that supposedly would place you in a job after 9 months (if it sounds too good to be true, it probably is). All of these things weighed on him heavily. He went to a meeting about the training program and found out it wasn't what we thought it was, and when he got to work he had an email from his boss. It pretty much said you have 3 options . . .1) accept this salary and our terms (which was no where near what you would want to raise a family of 5 and still no benefits), 2) you can terminate your employment without any further notice, or 3) work with us for the next 2 months while we find your replacement and then you will be terminated. Cris emailed me a small line that said "interesting timing don't you think". I don't think the timing was interesting at all. I think the Lord's timing finally worked out, was finally where it needed to be for everything to fall into place.

Needless to say, we took option 2. Cris had planned on finishing the week out, but made Tuesday his last day. I was able to have him to myself all week and we got a lot done on cleaning our house and getting it ready to sell. Cris starts his job today. He will be staying in Provo somewhere (right now in a hotel, who knows where after this week) during the week and come home Friday through Sunday. There was a lot of crying involved last night before he left. Funny to say but in almost 7 years of marriage, I have never been away from him for more than a couple days and it was me always leaving him for something, he never leaves me.

It's funny. I was laying in bed thinking and praying at the same time. I thought to myself, I begged and pleaded for Heavenly Father to give us a job. Help us know where to go, etc. and he finally does and all I do is ask for more. Do you think he gets tired of us not being happy with what we get. We got the job now I want our house to sell (so much so that we dropped it by $10,000 so if you know anyone looking for a house, spread the word) ASAP! I don't think He gets tired, but I think I would. I guess that's why He's God and I'm Callie! I have a new found testimony of the Lord's timing in all things and His Hand in our lives. I know that I am scared for this new road, scared to move so far from family (even though it's pretty much the same distance from where we are now, it seems FAR), SCARED to be a single mom until our house sells, scared for a lot of things in my future, but I do not FEAR it, I am nervous more than scared, and excited to be going down a new path. I know that Heavenly Father is still listening to my pleadings and always will be. Even if my house doesn't sell tomorrow, it will when Cris and I have learned what we need to learn by being apart and then we will be together again!

OH YEAH . . .it's 4:30 AM, my first night alone Carsyn woke up at 12:30, 1:30, 2:30, and 4:00 and Cayten and Rysa woke up around 3:00 . . . needless to say I think they can feel the change in the air and I didn't get much sleep! Here's to a good first day alone!

Weightloss journey

2011-08-21T16:31:00.001-07:00

Please, if you would like to follow me and my ramblings of my weight-loss journey, join me here: http://weightlosswithpower.blogspot.com

3 Months!

2011-08-17T21:44:00.000-07:00

My baby turned 3 months old today. It really surprises me that time has gone by so quickly. I don't know if we will have any more kids and so it is a shock to me and I don't want it to go by. He is such a good baby. He constantly sleeps from 8-4:30 and then 4:30- 8:00 again (most nights, not all). He loves to talk to us in baby coos and giggle and smile.

Today Cris took the older 2 kids to scouts with him and it was the ONLY time I had to fit in my 30-day shred. Carsyn should have been sleeping but he wouldn't. I was worried I wouldn't get the shred in before Zumba and then I wouldn't do it. I said a silent prayer that although Carsyn wouldn't sleep that he would be content for my 30 minute workout! It was GREAT. He cooed and cawed and his toys for 20 minutes then the last 10 minutes I put him on his tummy and he stared at the colors of the mat he was on or sucked his thumb. My Heavenly Father heard my simple prayer. It may seem so silly to pray for something like that but that is what this journey will be, constant times when I don't think things are possible, turning to Heavenly Father to make them possible, and he will!

FAILED

2011-08-04T14:05:00.000-07:00

WOW, do I ever fail as a blogger! Life is CRAZY busy once you have 3 kids. Not that it wasn't with 2, but even more so now! The last posting I had was June 12 and a lot has gone on since then. We blessed Carsyn on July 3rd, I had a birthday, Cayten was in a community play, we went on a BEAUTIFUL hike, we were able to go to Brigham and see the angel Moroni placed atop the temple, we've been up the canyon a few times for hot dogs and mallows, Rysa smothers Carsyn on a daily basis, and Carsyn jumped from the 5th percentile to the 50 percentile by his 2 month check . . . oh, AND our house is up for sale. WOAH, and that's why I haven't posted for nearly 2 months (not that many read this anyway, but for my own documentation, sheesh, I FAIL!)

We went up Green Canyon in North Logan and helped some friends burn their Christmas trees. It was pretty fun. They had bought the HUGE roasting mallows and they made one gooey mess! The fire got HUGE at times and the kids had a blast!

We were able to see the Angel Moroni go on top the temple on MY BIRTHDAY. It was pretty amazing. The first few hours we were drenched and chilled because of rain but the Spirit there was VERY strong!

Cayten was a "little fish" in our Nibley days community play. He did very well. I put Rysa and Carsyn in the baby show and it was a lot of fun.

On July 4, we went up waterfall canyon in Ogden. It was Cayten's first hike and he beat us all with his auntie Allycin. It was BEAUTIFUL because of all the rain. Cris hiked up to the top and got a view of the waterfall he had never seen before. It was pretty fun!

Whew, What a weekend!

2011-06-12T16:36:00.000-07:00

Life has gotten a little crazy around our home the past few days! I had a comment on my blog or facebook saying hopefully my next post would be a positive one (mainly for Carsyn's sake) . . . SO, I will post the positive first! In two days, he gained 4 oz so I was SUPER happy about that, however, Cris had also just given him 2 oz of formula just before he was weighed and I didn't get to talk to the doctor about my concerns as I was in SURGERY!

UGH, yes, you read that right. On Thursday night I ate ONE chicken enchilada. No big deal. It was even a pretty healthy version with some black beans, corn, etc. My gallbladder decided to go on the fritz! It started with a pain just under my ribs but the pain continually got worse and then seemed to encompase my ENTIRE back. I had had problems with my gallbladder before but nothing this bad. I ended up throwing up that entire night. It was the saddest thing. I was nursing Carsyn and felt the urge to throw up so I ran from the living room, to my bedroom, handed him over to a sleeping Cris who had NO idea what was going on and spent the next 6 hours or so in the bathroom.

I try to stay strong and be like a man and not go to the doctor but the pain wasn't going away. I decided I would just go to the instacare while Cris stayed home with the kids. I figured they'd give me some meds and then I'd be on my way and Cris could get to work. NOT SO, the doctor didn't even flatter me, she said "people that look as bad as you, we don't even treat them, we just send them to the ER". And so, off I went to the ER with Cris stuck at home, no car or car seats for Cayten or Rysa . . .

I spent a few hours in the ER with some really nice drugs and then at 3:00PM on Friday I had my gallbladderectomy! That is not the right term, I know, but when the doctors asked me if I knew what they were going to do, I said you are going to do a gallbladderectomy and they said "pretty much"! My mom was able to come over and get Cayten and Rysa and bring Cris and Carsyn to the ER with me.

I was able to come home Saturday morning and am ordered to take it easy. No Mowing the lawn, major cleaning, or lifting for 2-3 weeks. That will put me 6 weeks post partum and then I will be able to get back into the real world. Surgery kinda sucks. I think having my baby without an epidural is better than having surgery. With surgery, you are left hurting, after delivery I felt WONDERFUL. Here's to hoping we are fully on the mend now!

Thank you for all the concerns and get well wishes on Facebook and through phone calls, they are very much appreciated!

I came home o

Breastfeeding issues . . . read at your own discretion!

2011-06-08T18:47:00.000-07:00

Carsyn was 7lbs 15 oz at birth. When he was 6 days old he weighed 7lbs 5 oz. At 15 days old, he weighed 7lbs 0 oz, and today at 22 days old, he still weighs 7lbs 0 oz. I went to a lactation person today and we did a weight check, fed, weighed again, fed, weighed again, and at most he was getting about an ounce from me. Later today, I went to his pedi for another weight check and his pedi is SUPER concerned. I told him about some regurgitation issues that I thought were reflux and that his stools are still pretty thick, greenish in color sometimes and sometimes yellow. He just called me back and is pretty concerned. He thinks he is dehydrated and not getting enough calories.

Last week he wanted me to start supplementing 2-4oz of formula/day. I didn't want to, and so I didn't. I started feeding him ever hour and a half and at MOST gave him 1-2 oz of formula everyday. Now he is wanting me to give him 4-6 oz of formula in addition to his feedings everyday. The problem I have with this and as you are all aware I am sure, is that when Carsyn has any formula, he tends to sleep for hours and it is hard to even try and wake him for any feedings.

The lactation consultant issued me a hospital grade pump and I am to pump for 10-15 minutes 6-8 times/day. Hopefully, during those pumpings, I get at least 1 oz and can give that to Carsyn 6-8 times a day. I figure this will give him the extra 4-6oz my pedi is suggesting, I am just worried there aren't enough calories in my milk. My milk is not cream like some peoples. . .

Any suggestions you all have? Pray for Carsyn and me that in the next 2 days he will start gaining weight, we have another weight check on Friday at 2:45 to also address my concerns of the dehydration, stools, and possible reflux issues.

Carsyn's newborn pics

2011-06-05T19:39:00.000-07:00

Over the span of a couple days (because apparently, trying to photograph your OWN newborn is MUCH harder) I was able to catch these photos of Carsyn. I can't wait til he is a little bigger to get some with Cayten and Rysa and get them posted on my wall!

Life with THREE!

2011-06-05T19:36:00.000-07:00

My how time flies! Carsyn will be three weeks old on Tuesday. It seems like yesterday I was tired and complaining of being uncomfortable and hating life of being pregnant and now I have such a sweet family of THREE! Carsyn is such a good baby for the most part. He doesn't really have hunger cues besides waking up and screaming saying "Dude, I'm hungry, can't ya do something about it!" Our family really loves him.

Last Wednesday we had his 2 week check. It didn't turn out so well. At birth Carsyn was 7lb 15oz. Normally by 2 weeks as we all know, they should have gained some if not ALL their weight back. When he was discharged, he was 7lbs 5oz and at his 2 week check he was 7lbs even. He has almost lost a full pound. Not sure what was going on but we think it is on the mend. I am taking him in for a weight check this Wednesday and hope it goes well.

I was just sitting on the couch on this beautiful Sabbath day listening to the laughter of Cris and Clarysa goofing around while I was feeding Carsyn. The thought came to me wondering what Carsyn was thinking. I don't know the science behind infants thought process but I do know they are way more knowledgable than we give them credit for. The thought came to me (and I'd like to think this thought was from the Holy Ghost) that he was thinking how great it was going to be living in a home filled with laughter and love. I got really excited when I had this thought and decided I better document it.

We have had a wonderful 3 weeks. It has been interesting as I battle feeding Carsyn, keeping him happy, keeping the house clean, keeping Rysa and Cayten entertained, having warm dinner ready (rarely happened), and getting all the other crazy menial stuff done but it has been wonderful. The one thing I was able to get out of church today (after not getting to listen or attend class because of the many distractions of a newborn) was that God placed us here on this earth at this exact time for a reason. The children and trials I have from them are mine and God didn't send us here to fail. How wonderful is that? He knows we can succeed if we trust in him and use Him as he tries to guide us back to him. As we all know, God will NOT give us anything we cannot handle, which means in the end, there is no reason to fail, and in fact, he has set us up for complete success if we will just follow Him!!!

I'll leave you with a bunch of pictures to admire HAHA!

Life is Wonderful!!!

2011-05-22T17:46:00.000-07:00

Life with 3 kids has been WONDERFUL so far! It's been interesting, but I am constantly overwhelmed with a sense of love for my family everyday.

During my entire pregnancy, I seemed to not be able to connect to the baby. I wasn't super attached but I think it is because we had multiple complications up until 26 weeks and I was scared. Then as the end drew near, I was terrified. I was use to it being Cayten and Rysa, how could I handle adding another person into my life, into my heart, etc. It didn't seem real. Cris even expressed this same thing the night we had him. He asked me what I thought when he came out and I didn't have a whole lot of thoughts because I thought I just died. I asked him what his thoughts were and he said he was really emotional for the first time when we have had our kids and that it just didn't seem real. Here we are 5 days later and I couldn't imagine life different!

Carsyn has jaundice, just like my other two. So far he hasn't been put on the lights which is GREAT! His numbers were getting high and I really despise the lights. I got Cris and his dad to give him a blessing and I prayed A LOT that we wouldn't have to do lights. His numbers dropped for the first time from yesterday to today. YAY! It could be in part to having gone outside for about an hour in the sun yesterday . . . and in doing so, I received the horrible mom award as Carsyn got a bit of his first sunburn.

The day after we had Carsyn, Cris's mom had taken the kids to McDonald's. They were playing on the toys there and Cayten grabbed onto Rysa's arm and dislocated her elbow. Cris's mom brought her to the hospital with us and I figured it was probably dislocated. It has happened NUMEROUS times. This time though, I couldn't get it to pop back into place so Cris took her downstairs to have it taken care of. It was pretty convenient!

The night we got home, Cris was playing basketball with Cayten in our toy room. Cayten went after the ball and whacked his head on a wooden horse and had a big (seemed big but was small) gash in his head. I was in my bedroom when it all happened. I hear "SMACK", "WAAAaaaHHhhh", "CRAP" . . . I go running in and sure enough Cris and Cayten both had blood all over their hands. I thought we would have to get stitches but thankfully I was able to calm Cayten down and get the bleeding stopped.

It truly has been an interesting few days. Tomorrow the real life begins. Cris will go back to work and I will have no one here to entertain the kids. It will be an interesting ride for sure!

Carsyn Thomas Chinen

2011-05-19T20:07:00.000-07:00

Phew-What a ride!

Carsyn Thomas Chinen was born May 17, 2011 at 1:14 PM. He weighted 7lbs 15 oz and was 20 inches long. He has much lighter hair than Rysa or Cayten did and not as much hair either. I would like to say the birth was an amazingly wonderful spiritual experience, but it wasn't. It was hard, horrifying, and way different than what I was anticipating. Below the pictures, you will see the birth story if you want to read it.

On Tuesday morning we called the hospital to see what time they wanted us to come in. I was choosing to be induced because I was just plain uncomfortable. I couldn't imagine still being pregnant just 2 days later! They asked us to come in at 7:30 AM. I was pretty excited about that because I had heard of a lot of friends not getting in til the afternoon or evening. The night before I couldn't sleep. There was too much adreneline I believe. Everytime I would wake up, I would pray that either I could fall asleep quickly OR that when I called in the morning, I would be able to get in first thing in the morning. There was an instance when I woke up doubting that I would even get in that day and had the thought . . . "How can I expect Heavenly Father to answer my prayers if I am doubting him." He heard my prayers as I was able to get in first thing!

They didn't start the pitocin until 8:30 AM and I was at a 3+. I was hoping to be a bit farther but I wasn't. My doctor came in and checked me around 10:30-11:00 and I was still at a 3. That was REALLY disappointing because my labors were usually really quick. He broke my water and in the next hour I went from a 3 to a 7. That was all doable. The anesthesiologist came in and gave me my epi and the contractions kept on coming. There was still pain but I was able to breathe through them. Around 12:00 the contractions were strong and I couldn't keep breathing through them. The epidural didn't work and they didn't have time to replace it.

I hate to talk negative about the whole birthing process, but it was awful for a person not wanting to have a natural delivery. I have never felt so much pain, pressure, stretching, pulling, in areas I did NOT want to feel. I couldn't breathe during the contractions, or I wouldn't breathe I guess. I started hyperventilating and that was a REALLY weird feeling. My eyes kept going dizzy so I had to keep my eyes closed. I had to have an oxygen mask and that was HORRIBLY annoying!

Once we realized the epi failed, my nurse grabbed another nurse who was an angel. She knew pressure points in the body to help you relax and other things. They didn't work for me, but that was besides the point. She was truly an angel. She calmed me down and coaxed me through each contraction. She kept telling me to breathe but I didn't want to. She told me to keep focused but I didn't know how. I distinctly remember hearing a loud voice tell me to count. I know it was the Holy Ghost telling me to count. Through each contraction I would count. I started soft and as I got to 15-28 seconds, I was LOUD and couldn't really breathe and count and then as the contraction wore off and I went down to about 38 seconds, I could breathe again. With the help of this wonderful nurse and the Holy Ghost, I was able to relax for about a minute in between contractions.

The pushing was probably the hardest thing for me to do. With Cayten and Rysa it was easy. One Two, push, and DONE! With this one, I believe I was so exhausted from dealing with just the contractions I couldn't put all my energy into pushing. I felt everything. I have heard it told as an amazing feeling, I felt like it was awful. I felt as if my body was being torn from the inside out. I felt Carsyn get stuck and then with my final push finally come out. And I only pushed 5-6 times. I don't know how women do it that have to push for hours. I could barely handle 10 minutes.

When Carsyn came out, that was the amazing part. That was the wonderful part. I had my little boy. I could hold him in my arms. I could cuddle with him. I could hear his crys and his groans. It was beautiful. We didn't get ANY pictures of his birth. NOTHING until we were in the room and he was getting his first bath. I feel kind of bad about that but Cris wouldn't leave my side and I was completely fine with that.

I still can't believe he is here at times. I have THREE children. It is weird, but it is wonderful!

Spiritual side of Easter 2011

2011-04-25T20:57:00.000-07:00

My post for Easter 2011 got a little too lengthy so I decided to break it into two. It was a rough emotional Sunday for me. I am nearing the end of my pregnancy which always means emotional breakdowns for me (3-4 weeks left)! I can't sleep, everything I eat causes heart burn, my maternity clothes are starting to not fit, I have gained more weight this pregnancy than ever before (and I have to lose it all again, UGH), and I just want to be done with this! I also was having a hard day with Rysa and knowing how to deal and parent her and had frustrations with Cris that were menial and ridiculous, but it all added on top of each other and made for a trying morning.

After all this, I went to Sacrament hoping and wishing for a way out of the rest of church. Maybe a sudden onset of nausea, hunger, exhaustion, anything, but Heavenly Father knew what I needed and I had no excuse to leave.

I dropped Rysa off in nursery and she had a melt down. She hasn't had a meltdown in ages but it was just one of those days. I stood in the hall and just sat there, wondering how I am going to handle 3 kids. I am still terrified, I don't know how I am going to do it. When I went to Sunday School I was fine, Cris put his arm around me, and asked me if I was ok. I was ok. I was fine, but the fact that he cared, he could tell I was struggling, I broke down and the tears started coming. As we sat through the lesson the Spirit calmed my nerves. I still felt fat, I still felt worthless and like a failure. I still felt overwhelmed, but I knew it was all from Satan and that the feelings would subside. I was much calmer and it allowed me to have the ability to listen during the Relief Society lesson, and that is where the Spirit really testified to me that day.

The thing that amazes me the most and has built a stronger testimony in me is how amazing our Heavenly Father is. He knew and knows exactly what we need, when we need it. He had a lesson prepared ahead of time, a topic chosen months in advance, prepared days to weeks in advance, that I needed to hear at that very moment! He KNOWS me, He LOVES me, and He KNOWS what I need.

The lesson was on President Monson's talk from October 2010 "The Divine Gift of Gratitude". This Easter Sunday I was focusing on everything I wasn't, everything I didn't have, everything I couldn't be, and here was this lesson prepared to turn me around and focus on everything I was, everything I have, and everything that I can be!
We were asked to write down a few things we were grateful for before the lesson was really given. A few I jotted down were:

-- Cris knowing when I am not ok and being willing to love and listen to me
-- My Children and the love they give and show me
-- Heavenly Father for loving me for who I am inside and helping me to realize I am not the person Satan wants me to think that I am.

The last one was the one I needed the most. I may be over weight. I may have gained back nearly all the weight I lost last year, I may not have the most fashionable clothes or awesome hair. I may not have a million friends in my area and feel like a loser a lot of the time but those things don't define me! I am grateful for who I am. I know I can and will lose the weight again. In 3 weeks I will be able to go buy me some new summer like clothes to feel better. I will have a beautiful little boy to help me relish in all my joys. I am a kind person. I have two of the BEST children, even when they are trying, hard, difficult, and everything in between. When they are those things, moments later they are coming up to me, giving me hugs, telling me how wonderful and beautiful I am. I still feel fat, I still am overwhelmed, and I am still terrified of what these next 3 weeks will bring, and even the next few months, but I know Heavenly Father loves me and knows what I need, when I need it!

Learning to deal with the Lord's timing and not my own has been a trying experience these last few months. I am looking forward to between May 17th and May 24th when this little no name guy makes his debut. I am looking forward to things that can't be mentioned in the public eye (if you wanna know, message me but life will be changing, just some can't know about it), I just wish those things would happen NOW, not a few months or longer down the road. I want everything to work out when I want it to work out and I am learning very quickly that WHEN I WANT doesn't matter because Heavenly Father knows what and when I need certain things in my life and for that, I am grateful!

Easter 2011 and then some . . .

2011-04-25T20:30:00.000-07:00

This past weekend we celebrated Easter. It was a wonderful weekend! I sure love holidays that help us to remember our Savior and what he did for us. I try to think about it often but it is nice to have a special reminder.

We started off the weekend with a visit from Cris's parents. They came up for a visit and to meet with their financial advisor. Cayten wanted them to go to the Easter egg hunts with him so they stayed the night and we had a fun time. We were able to have a Hawaiian BBQ dinner and invited some friends from Maui over. They moved to Providence recently and we had a good time. It is really funny when Cris gets around those from Hawaii. His pigeon talk comes back full force and you would never know he has lived in Utah for more than half his life now! It was fun to hear stories from Hawaii and get to know the family better. The wife is due May 9th with her 4th and I am due 2 weeks later!

On Saturday we went to 2 Easter egg hunts. Our friends (the Jensen's) invited us to the Smithfield egg hunt. It was by far the better of the 2 we went to. They have a limit of 2 eggs per kid and then gather all the candy you wanted. It was great. Inside the eggs were special prizes. We walked away with like 7 free frosty's just for being there. Cayten won a $2 dollar bill, a stuffed animal, some floss, and toothpaste, and a whole lot of candy. Rysa got a free subway cookie, a frisbie, a stuffed animal, floss and toothpaste, and more candy. The way my kids eat candy, it may be Halloween before it is all gone!

Caleb and Rysa getting ready for the hunt! Rysa got pretty nervous at the beginning but took off in the end.

Rysa putting her candy in the bag, she got pretty excited!

Gathering as much as she can!

All tuckered out!

Cayten looking for some candy and eggs!

One of the most frustrating things about Easter egg hunts, or anything that divides your kids into age groups for that matter, is HOW IN THE WORLD do you get pictures of both kids? I divided and took some of Rysa at one hunt and then some of Cayten at the other this would have worked but . . .

Nibley's egg hunt was HORRIBLE and ended in 30 seconds!

They didn't even have 1 egg for each child there, they had the eggs spread SO far that the younger kids couldn't get them before all the older kids had snatched up 10, and it ended in 30 seconds. It was awful, we wont be doing that one again!

We came home and ate lunch and put Cris's big b-day present together. He said this present has to count for his Birthday, Father's day, Christmas, Birthday 2012, and Father's day 2012 presents, and I kind of agree, it was pretty pricey but he will enjoy it! I bought him a portable basketball hoop. Not any dinky portable basketball hoop either. It ranges from 7.5 feet to 10 feet, has a 52" back board, it is PRETTY awesome! It took Cris and his dad a few hours to put it together and then Cris and Cayten played for a couple hours! I will get pictures once the weather clears up!

Life . . . and then BOOKS!

2011-04-11T12:23:00.000-07:00

Life sure catches up to you some days (most days if you are pregnant)! I technically have 6 weeks left of this pregnancy as of tomorrow but am hoping it is actually only FIVE! I had both Rysa and Cayten 1 week early and so I am hoping that saga continues because I am pretty tired of being pregnant already. It was all great until this last week when I started feeling uncomfortable when sleeping, walking, moving, etc. This little one still does not have a name however I think I have it narrowed down to Carter, Connor, Corbyn, Carson, or Cameron. I only THINK because every time I talk to Cris about it I say "we ONLY have ?? weeks left" and he says "we STILL have ?? weeks left". So, this little guy will continue on without a name for now.

The NESTING phase has set in a couple of times and then fades quickly. Today I am in the process of organizing our Toy Room closet to accomodate the toys that are being stored in the kid's room. I realized that when the baby is down for a nap (which will likely be a lot of the time in the beginning unless he is another Rysa) Cayten wont be able to play with his most favorite toys. I am trying to declutter and de-junk the closet.

And on to the BOOKS . . .

I LOVE to read. I don't read as often as I use to, but I LOVE to read. In my single days I bought every book I wanted. I then got married, started living on a student life budget and realized the days of buying books were over. I only read books once or TWICE if the book is really good and then it sits on my shelf. There are books in the mentioned closet above that haven't been looked at in over 3 years since we moved here. I went through the books and decided on which books I will be giving away to friends or donating and wanted to list them on here for any friends and family that may want them. Nearly all the books are in excellent condition (remember they have only been read once)! I will list them by Author and Title. If anyone wants any of these books, leave a comment here and we can figure out how to get them to you!

~~Cheri J. Crane: Kates Turn, Following Kate, Sabrina & Kate, The Girls Next Door, and Forever Kate~~

~~Susan Evans McCloud: Sunset Across Inda, Sunset Across the Waters, Sunset Across the Rockies, and Out of the Shadows.~~

Chad Daybell: Chasing Paradise

~~Jack Weyland: Ashley & Jen, Cheyenne~~

~~Stephenie Meyer: Eclipse~~

Pamela H. Hansen: Running With Angels

Sunshine for the Latter-Day Saint Teenagers Soul

Beverly King: Picture Perfect

Sierra St. James: Masquerade

Dr. Laura Schlessinger: 10 Stupid Things Women Do To Mess Up Their Lives

Michele Ashman Bell: Timeless Moments, An Unexpected Love

Karen Kingsbury: Maggies Miracle

~~F. Burton Howard: Eternal Marriage and the Parable of the Spoons~~

~~Chris Heimerdinger: Passage to Zarahemla, Eddie Fantastic, Ben Franklin and the Chamber of Time~~

Joni Hilton: That's What Friends are For

Janet Bergera- Vital Signs

Lisa McKendrick- A Life of My Own

Steve Roos- Deep Cover

~~Corrie Ten Boom- The Hiding Place~~

Anita Stansfield- Return to Love

~~Dan Yates- Lack of Evidence~~

Julie Wright: To Catch a Falling Star

Annette Lyon: At The Waters Edge

Laurel Mourtisen: Turning Point

~~Robison E. Wells: On Second Thought~~

Garbage collection

2011-03-30T07:43:00.000-07:00

I don't get a lot of comments on my blog so I am sure hardly anyone reads it, BUT, I am in need of some little advice.

I have 3 areas (sometimes more) in my home that are garbage collecting spots, or random collecting spots. Ya know, the area you just put something because you don't know what else to do with it, OR some days you are just to lazy to put it away in the right area SO you just set it there! These areas are driving this mama crazy. I have an area on my kitchen counter, sometimes on my washer (when I want it invisible), and an area in my room . . . Am I the only one with these areas? If you have any suggestions, leave me some comments, it's driving me crazy (to the point that I stare at these piles, ponder about these piles, and get overwhelmed by the idea of the piles that I do nothing else the rest of the day)!

LegoLand

2011-03-25T21:08:00.000-07:00

LegoLand California was PERFECT for my kids. It wasn't too big for them like I thought Disneyland would be, there were rides, shows, and things for the kids to do. There was a water park, water rides, and a SEA aquarium. It was GREAT FUN! The only downfall I saw was we spent too many days there, (I was done after day 2 but the kids weren't) and Rysa was too small for some rides. A lot of the rides kids had to be at least 34 inches but some rides, like the roller coaster ones, the kids had to be at least 42 inches and some even had an age limit of 4. With those with the age limit, we just told them Rysa was 4 if she met the height requirement.

This picture was taken as we were waiting in line for the roller coaster ride I think. Cayten had never been on a roller coaster and I didn't want him scared so I didn't say anything but "if you get scared or nervous, just scream as loud as you can". He was terrified but survived. He didn't want to go on that one again. (I guess another downfall would be if you wanted any pictures of you on the rides, you had to buy them because there weren't many places to capture the big rides. The price for ONE 6x8 was like $20!)

We were constantly taking turns on who would go with who. This ride was one of Rysa's favorite rides. The airplanes went up and down with a lever she could push. I think she went on this ride 3 times but a different airplane ride she could ride herself was her all time favorite.

Rysa is usually a SASS or a HAM! She would usually scowl or totally ham it up as you can see in the photos above. She LOVED Legoland for the most part and suprisingly enough only got tired the last day we went. She wanted to swim every day but one day it was cloudy and rainy. She loved every ride she could ride and took in everything. She is Rysa and loved being independent. I was REALLY worried about her running off but we never had any incidents (at Legoland that is, hotel is a different story). Her favorite area was the splash pad area or Duplo Land which was an area for the younger kids to climb, run, play, and get wet.

Cris HATES roller coasters and Cayten we now know isn't too fond of them either! There was NO line for this coaster and since there was NO line, I was able to catch a picture of the two of them. Cayten wouldn't go back on this coaster either. There was only one coaster (his favorite ride in the end) that he would go on. It was a dino coaster and you got to go twice without waiting in line is why it was his favorite he says! (again, had to pay for a picture for that one too)

One nice thing was that the kiddy rides Rysa could go on usually didn't have lines. While one of us waited in line for the longer lined rides, the other would take Rysa to a kiddy ride that she could go on. She loved them all. She is a fan of coasters and ALL rides and we decided that her and I will go to Disneyland by ourselves and leave Dad and Cayten home!

This airplane ride was Rysa's favorite. She got to ride it by herself and it was fast.

They had life size figures there (dressed up and Lego men). Rysa was TERRIFIED of the dressed up men and wouldn't go take a picture with them without me.

There was an area where you could take Lego's and build a car and then race it to see how fast it was. I enjoyed just resting in there while Cris showed Cayten what to do. Cayten loved building new things in all the areas they had legos. (Another nice thing (sorry posting as I remember) was with the rides that had REALLY long lines, they had lego areas where a parent and the kids could play while the other parent stood in line.)

Some of their favorite rides were the most simple rides like this slide. Again, there were usually no lines and so they could go multiple times. The areas with no lines were the rides we rode again and again. They may not have been the thrilling rides or most popular to adults, but the not having to wait in line really topped it off for the kids. Simple really is best sometimes!

Family Vacation (Days 1&2)

2011-03-25T20:43:00.000-07:00

Cris and I have been blessed with GREAT family that have allowed us to take multiple trips with just the two of us. This year however, we REALLY wanted to have our FIRST real family vacation. We decided to go to San Diego. One, because the San Diego temple is my ALL TIME favorite temple in the ENTIRE world and Two, there are many different places and things to do. We hadn't really decided where to go until I happened upon some tickets for Legoland. We were able to FIVE days at Legoland for the price of ONE, plus, my kids were the perfect size for the rides, they weren't too scary or too big, etc.

We were a little nervous for the drive. We haven't driven more than 2 hours in the car with Rysa and even those 2 hours were a challenge. We were a bit apprehensive but the drive was a success with a couple battles here and there. We stopped in St. George for a few hours to cut up the drive, eat lunch, and visit Cris's sister who lives there. The house she lives in has a little ditch/stream in front and the kids had a blast playing in the water (we had just come from 30-40 degree weather to 70's, it was wonderful).

Cris's sister Allycin took us to "Dixie Rock". I am NOT scared of heights, I am not normally paranoid, but man, Allycin probably got a kick out of me. I will blame it on the pregnancy! I was a wreck, I was terrified the kids were going to fall, Cris wasn't watching them good enough, etc. I had a rock in my stomach and I really couldn't handle it. In the end I overcame and we got some fun pictures of the kids!

We then went to the St. George temple and toured the grounds. We were traveling on a Sunday to avoid traffic and it was about the only spiritual thing we did that day, it felt really good.

We then headed to Vegas to sleep and then we were off the next morning. The hotel we stayed in was HORRIBLE, but I couldn't complain since we paid a total of $18 for that night! I asked both kids what they remembered about the first day and all Rysa could say was "It is berry berry FAR"!

We got to San Diego in pretty good time and were able to go to the beach before sunset. I LOVE the beach and would LOVE to be able to live closer to a beach one day in my life. The kids had a fun time at first at the beach. Cayten constantly called it a lake and Rysa kept throwing sand into the ocean as "food" for the water.

AND THEN, the kids were standing on the sand when a smallish wave came up. I was video taping them and Cris was standing behind me. The kids got a little nervous when all the water came in and as they tried to run away, the water brought them DOWN. It was sad and hilarious at the same time.

The video isn't as good as it could have been! I got a little nervous for Rysa and dropped the camera to my side as I rescued her! Needless to say, they were drenched and covered in sand and the sun was going down. Rysa was freezing and we hadn't thought to bring extra clothes (they were at the hotel) because we weren't going to SWIM. Looking through my pictures now, I didn't even get good pictures of them after they were drenched. Here is what I got with my SUCKY camera!

Personal Revelation

2011-03-25T19:46:00.000-07:00

I want to make a post about our trip to San Diego but before that, I need to post about some thoughts I have been having recently on prayer and personal revelation. I don't want the gospel to be a back burner part of my life on this blog any longer and hope to post more gospel related thoughts, ideas, and what nots.

While we were traveling to San Diego (2 day drive when you have 2 kiddos), I was able to get a book from the library that I have been wanting to read for a VERY long time but it was ALWAYS on hold or not on the shelf. Looking back I am grateful I insisted to Cris that we stop by the library to check out a few books for me and the drive, and that this book was on the shelf this time.

The book is The Undaunted by Gerald Lund. I am sure many have read it but I had never gotten the chance. It is about the families sent from Cedar City to form a settlement near the Four Corners area and be a buffer towards the Native American relations. It was a GREAT story and a GREAT read but what I found most wonderful of all was the underlying message of prayer and how important it is in our lives.

Cris and I have been working so hard on doing better at family prayer and scripture study but our personal prayer and scripture study has been slacking for quite some time. We are going through some stages in life right now that I am ashamed to admit we haven't asked our Father in Heaven for guidance or we have asked for guidance but when we don't get the answer we are looking for, we forget to continue in prayer until we have a need for guidance again.

As I read this book, I could really relate to the main character David and his not having such a good relationship with our Heavenly Father. I KNOW prayers are answered and I know my prayers are heard but I don't pray with full earnest of heart, and sometimes (too often) my prayers become too generic in format. I have been struggling with learning how to follow the guidance of the Holy Ghost and personal revelation and sometimes I feel as if I don't know how to heed the guidance given. Last night I was able to resolve to do better.

When we came home from our trip I was disappointed to see the Friend had come but not the April Ensign because I had been slow on renewing the subscription. Today my copy of the Ensign came and in it are a few articles on prayer. Amazing to me as this seemed to be such a quick answer to a prayer that was given to Heavenly Father JUST last night. I didn't think I would get the April Ensign and in it held a wonderful message on prayer!

I read two articles but the one that hit me the most was by Elder Brent H. Nielson, titled I Need Thee Every Hour. The heading is what brought me in saying "If the Savior of the world felt the need for constant prayer, how much greater is our need?" Isn't it so true? The whole article had a great message but the reason for this lengthy but much needed post is in a section labeled We pray to give thanks and to request temporal and spiritual blessings. I am simply going to type what is written because I cannot get over how astounded I was when I read this.

The Bible Dictionary offers this statement about prayer's purpose:
"The object of prayer is not to change the will of God, but to
secure for ourselves and for others blessings that God is already willing to grant,
but that are made conditional on our asking for them."

Is it possible that the Lord has blessings in store for us that He is waiting for us to request?

This has hit me like a ton of bricks and I can't help but share. It is crazy to think but I know what this Elder said is true, that all I have to do is ASK and Heavenly Father has blessings waiting for me but for now, as I deny myself and my family the blessings of prayer, I am also denying them the blessings our Heavenly Father has waiting for us. I know not every prayer is answered the way we want, and I know we can't always receive the blessings we want but this hit me that some blessings, if we don't ask for them, although our Heavenly Father is willing to give them to us, we cannot receive them because we simply have not asked, seeked, or knocked.

"Whatsoever they ask the Father in the Son's name it shall be given unto them, that is expedient for them" (D&C 88:64)

It's been a while again!

2011-03-09T13:51:00.000-08:00

Facebook has KILLED my blogging. It is so much easier to post photos there and quick updates rather than a full post but I want to print my blog into a book one day as my journal so I better keep it up better!

A lot has happened since my last "REAL" post but at the same time, not so much! We are in the process of packing and getting ready for our FIRST family vacation. We are headed to San Diego soon and are SO EXCITED. We will be going to Legoland and a bunch of beaches as we get out of Sprinter (spring/winter) here in Cache Valley.

Rysa turned 3 on February 23, 2011. I can't believe how fast time flies, and I can't believe in about 10 weeks, we are going from completely independent children to adding a completely dependent child. It will definitely be a change!

Rysa wanted pink cupcakes and this is what I came up with!

I had a REALLY hard time deciding what to get Rysa for her B-day. Both Grandma's gave her a loot of stuff and all the toys for her age seemed so cheap and not fun. (I am 100% anti-barbie) so I had the idea of making her a princess/super hero cape. This was a sanity breaker for me because her and Cayten fought over his Superman cape CONSTANTLY! I LOVE how it turned out!

The weather has been CRAZY here lately. January held very little snow and February we got DUMPED on. Normally we get dumped on in January and everything thaws out for February. Mid February we were able to go to the park for ONE day and then we got slammed with another foot of snow that still hasn't melted! (hopefully by the time I get back from our Vaycay!

Here are a few photos of us digging out of the storm! (or maybe more than a few, they're just too cute, how do you narrow it down!)

This is called a Sun Dog . . . you learn something new every day! It was REALLY bright!

Rysa made up a song to go with the next photos . . . it went something like this "When it's cold, you put the snow, in your gloves" and then she proceeded to eat the snow out of her gloves like ice cream!

And of course, you can't end a snow day without a snowball fight!

Photography Contest

2011-01-31T10:00:00.000-08:00

Last year around this time I entered a photography contest for an AMAZING opportunity to go to a workshop hosted by an amazing photographer here in Utah. The normal cost for her workshop is $550! Last year I probably came in close to dead last. (you can barely see my name on the graph)

I have been invited to enter the contest again this year!!! Anyone wanna help me out by sending them the link to vote? Voting opens today at 10 AM!!! I would be truly grateful if I could have this opportunity and it would take my photography to amazing heights I am sure! VOTE HERE

http://julieparkerphotography.blogspot.com

It's a . . .

2011-01-18T17:46:00.000-08:00

BOY! He was very fond of mooning us the entire ultra sound. No matter what angle the tech did we got a full butt shot or a spine shot. We didn't get any shots of his face so that was pretty bummer and also makes it so I don't have any pictures to show on the blog. We are pretty excited and I am nervous. I am nervous to have 2 boys, I hear they are destructive! I am nervous to go from completely independent kids to a 100% dependent child. I am also nervous for a baby like Rysa that had to be held by ME and only ME 99% of the time. It shall be an interesting ride!

Not What I thought . . .

2010-12-30T10:06:00.000-08:00

Today as we started out our new "schedule" things went well through MATH and play time. It is now 10:50 and my kids are playing. We only did about 10 minutes of Language Arts, maybe 15 before I got flustered and frustrated. Cayten is reading simple I AM SAM books. He knows probably 10 words from sight and some short words he can sound out. I wanted to teach him phonograms as I have heard wonderous things about how it will help your child learn better to spell, read, write, etc. I just don't know how to teach it. The letter A has FIVE sounds or something like that and I wanted to go through 3 or 4 cards. I sound like a seal just making sounds and Cayten just laughed. While he was having a good time, I was getting frustrated. Does he get it? Is he learning? I know it is day one but am I going to be flustered like this all the time when things don't work?

After we were done with Language Arts of 15 minutes I wrote a few things down and then started researching how to teach phonograms. This is a splurge of what I wrote:

Overwhelmed, don't know how,

What to do if they don't cooperate?

I get frustrated EASY when they wont do what I say

How do I add Rysa into the mix when

she doesn't understand what I am teaching Cayten?

I know I have a lot to learn, and today is only one day, the first day, and I am not even through. At 11:00 we are going to do reading. I am going to read probably 5 or 6 books TO them. I will ask Cayten to sound out small short words or ask him what certain words are if I know that he KNOWS them. I need to institute some sort of snack time because not only is Rysa hungry, but I am hungry before lunch and her and I are both focused on if we can eat yet.

Today after reading and lunch, we will have art time. I like art time and both kids got playdough for Christmas so we will make creations, maybe some letters and numbers, who knows. I think my idea for structure might fly out the window, but I have to have some sort of structure that is just who I am. I am not "enjoying" the teaching and fun time with my children, so far I am dreading it, worried if they are "getting it" or not. I hate the feeling of being flustered and not knowing what to do. Next week my kids will be gone and I have a feeling I will be doing a LOT of research on how to teach, what to teach, why, and many more questions that are running through my head.

I came upon this article and I agree with it to a point, but can't there be an in between because I feel I am the in between, I want structure and I want free learning.

http://www.hepg.org/hel/article/479#home
http://www.redshift.com/~bonajo/early.htm

Here we go . . .

2010-12-29T22:07:00.000-08:00

Well, Cris and I have reached an impasse and I want to make an well informed decision, one that is best for Cayten, for me, for our family, and most importantly not a selfish decision! Here is the dilemma:

Cris wants me to home school Cayten for Kindergarten. Only for Kindergarten, but I have NO Desire to do so. I have the stereo-types of home schooled kids in my head, unsociable, awkward, nerdy, etc. I am afraid of getting gruff from family and friends that don't agree. I am lazy and just plain selfish because, HELLO, how nice will it be to have 2 1/2 hours with just Rysa and new baby time.

I will be reading, researching, observing, and evaluating all my options. Most of all, I will be doing a lot of prayer and some sort of fasting whether it be making Cris fast, me not eating any sweets for a certain amount of time, etc. Today as I have been stressing over how to prove to Cris that this isn't for us, I came up with the idea that I could try it out on my own before kindergarten comes. As I was talking to Cayten about doing school at home, I had NO IDEA how terrified he was of actually going to school, having home work, not having friends, people making fun of him, and he just turned 5!

One of my problems with home schooling that I know is there isn't much structure, a lot of "learn as they go", "don't pressure and push", "worksheets and things like that don't work", and more. I am a well structured, very planned person. I work so much better on a schedule, knowing exactly what will be happening, when, where, why, and how. I am also terrified my house would be lost to disaster because I will be focused on teaching and not clean my house but that is just silly because really, I don't clean my house as it is HA!

I lost my husband to his Wii game he got for Christmas and it was a REALLY long day for all of us )as in LOTS of messes, fighting, broken toys, stressed mother, etc. and so the chillins went to bed at SEVEN! (that doesn't mean Cayten isn't awake at 10:45 (this very moment) and is outside shoveling snow with dad,) While I had nearly 3 hours of peace, watching TV shows, and pondering, I couldn't stop thinking.

I came up with a schedule that I hope will help me teach Cayten and Rysa better but also be a better mom. One that doesn't get lost on Facebook, internet, cleaning, phone, and many other distractions that take up my time, and FOCUS on my children and what they need. As I sat on the computer totally ignoring my children today, I realized I wouldn't have had as many fights, messes, and broken toys if I wasn't so distracted with mundane things in my life, and so here goes, my schedule. We are trying this out tomorrow but are headed out of town Friday and the kids will be at Grandma's all next week while Cris and I celebrate our SIXTH anniversary and find out WHAT WE ARE HAVING and so this will be put in place the following week! HERE GOES:

Monday-Friday
8:00 AM Eat breakfast, brush teeth, make beds, clean up and get dressed for the DAY (no pj's all day for kids OR mom)

9:00 AM School- Math (games and various activities and worksheets to teach math)

9:30 AM PLAY/CLEAN

10:00 AM School- Language Arts- Phonograms

10:30 AM Play/Clean

11:00 AM School- Reading/Writing

11:30 AM Lunch/Play Time

12:30 PM School ( not sure about this one yet, not sure if there is enough I want to work on with Cayten right now)

1:00 PM Play/Clean

1:30 Quiet Time

WEDNESDAYS ARE FREE DAYS

The reason I have everything in half hour increments is because I couldn't imagine trying to force Cayten to sit down and learn for 2 hours and I don't think it will take me that long to teach him most concepts. I also have play/clean time. Playing is for the kids and cleaning is for me so I have a half hour to clean up, get organized, whether it be to get ready for the next part of school OR just to clean a certain part of my house. All of this will give me time with my kids, time to clean, and keep me off the DARN computer. I will be blogging about it daily. If I have links to what I will be doing for certain subjects, I will be posting them. Wednesdays will be free days because I usually have A LOT going on those days.

Tomorrow will go like this:
Math: Indoor Hopscotch, Magic Bag
LA: Phonograms And basic Alphabet
Reading/Handwriting: Read stories to the kids, point out simple words, Practice writing the letters for Cayten's name -- Handwriting Printables--

And so, HERE WE GO!

Catching up!

2010-11-04T09:09:00.000-07:00

Well, it has definately been a LONG time since I posted, and when I did post last, it was about my daughters birthday in February even though I never got around to posting until July! I have made a bunch of collages to detail our summer and a little bit of fall fun!

We started our summer off by heading to the local zoo. It is small but perfect for little feet that don't want to walk forever! We saw some gorgeous animals, including a blue billed duck which I don't think I had ever seen.

We also had some crazy animals of another kind!

There is a new splash pad in Providence, not too far from our house and super close to Cris's work. We went and had a picnic one day there. Can't beat swimming and beating the heat for FREE!

I LOVE how well my kids play together. They rarely fight and when they do, it is over in a matter of minutes and they are best friends again. They play for hours everyday. They have wonderful imaginations. I think they were pretending to be swimming or on a boat this day.

This year for Halloween Cayten was an "enja" or a ninja and Rysa was a "PINK PRINCESS" screeched in a high pitch squeal. We got all the candy we could handle at main street at the mall so we only went to 5 houses around our neighborhood. Not to mention the fact that I came down with a stomach flu while walking around and had to run home to the toilet.

The other night Rysa wanted to sleep in Cayten's room and have a sleepover. It was so much fun for them. We had gotten a big delivery that day and Cayten used the boxes as his house. Rysa slept on the floor and loved ever minute of it! Cris went in to check if they were warm and we found this! I especially thought Rysa's sock was so funny, I don't know why!

And last but certainly not least . . .

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We are adding #3 to our family! This was 100% a surprise although we weren't not trying, I thought it would take MUCH longer to get pregnant than a few weeks! I have been horribly sick which really sucks since they say if it is opposite than your other pgcy's it is probably the opposite gender . . . I don't know what gender this baby is going to be then because Rysa and Cayten's pregancy's were a BREEZE! I am 11 almost 12 weeks and starting to be less freaked out and getting more excited. The idea of 3 was almost terrifying! He/She will be due around May 24, 2010!

Giveaway

2010-08-26T19:57:00.000-07:00

another fun giveaway! http://laurawinslowphotography.com/blog/2010/08/24/a-giveaway-designer-love-butterflies-and-bees-boutique-clothing-photographer/comment-page-2/#comment-25160

hORRIBLE

2010-08-13T15:46:00.001-07:00

I am horrible about posting lately! There is a giveaway for craftaholics anonymous and Ribbon retreat, would LOVE to make some cute bows!

Rysa's B-day

2010-07-19T21:55:00.000-07:00

Rysa's Birthday was February 23, 2010! WOAH, Almost SIX months late of posting so I will do it with just a bunch of photos!

Mock Photo Shoot

2010-07-19T21:28:00.000-07:00

I was able to get a new backdrop for a newborn photo shoot I was going to do shortly after returning from California. I decided to have a little mock photo shoot with my kids! Rysa was a pain and Cayten was a ham!

The ONLY sweet, innocent little girl one I got!

I love how Rysa looks as if she has a secret, like she did something to Cayten or something! She probably did LOL!

So Stoic and well behaved!

I love how much they have fun together . . .

Not so sure Rysa liked this of Caytens doing or not!

What did I do?

Such a handsome little guy!

Rockstar, crazy little girl?

She finally convinced Cayten to let loose a little bit!

April 21 - April 26

2010-07-19T21:06:00.000-07:00

Cris and I were able to travel down to CALI in April. It was a fun little get-away! We went to this little town called Ridgecrest and stayed with our friends there. We were then able to travel to LA and spend some time at Midevil Times, the LA temple, and the beach! Random order of photos as follows~!

Santa Monica Pier, CA

Rainbow on the drive down

Self Portrait

Art on the wall

Cris and I

Ryan and Candi, Our travel buddies! I have since determined it is REALLY fun to travel with other couples!

More art on the wall!

This was the best we could get out of Cris . . . not very photogenic!

Pretty Cool swords at Medieval Times

Low Light, no tripod, not a very low f-stop= not a very good picture!

Los Angeles Temple, CA.

Birds of Paradise

Humming Bird

GORGEOUS FLOWERS on the temple grounds

Beautiful Sunset= Lesson learned, California is filled with pollution and so it makes it hard to get decent pictures sometimes!

Can you see the bird?

Lino

2010-06-22T21:34:00.000-07:00

I have a VERY dear friend named Lino. His mothers home burned down last week and I have created a blog for donations. Please take a look and if you have anything in your home that you can donate please let me know. We are planning on driving down to New Mexico the Fourth of July weekend. http://helpfootracerandbrownfamily.blogspot.com/2010/06/updated-list-of-needs.html

Callie

2010-06-06T13:11:00.001-07:00

@ErinMichellePhotography on of my favorite photographers is having a HUGE giveaway right now... Go see! http://www.erinmichellephotography.blogspot.com/

GiveAway

2010-05-26T12:46:00.000-07:00

I entered a cute giveaway for a darling NECKLACE here:

Working Backwards

2010-04-13T15:15:00.000-07:00

I am hoping to work my way backwards to Rysa's birthday in posts over the next few days. I have neglected this blog for FAR too long and I am headed to Cali next week only to get more experiences and photos to load onto this thing! So, here goes

Cris's brother Cory and his wife Aya and baby Lia moved back from Hawaii to Ogden UT! What a change huh! They will be here until Cory finds a job in the tourism business. He just graduated from BYU-H! We were SO excited to go down to Ogden and see them. If it hadn't been for our recent trip to Hawaii last May we wouldn't have seen them for over 2 years. Cayten was barely 2 when they were here last and Rysa wasn't even born!

We had a really fun time playing games, eating, and just having fun. We were also able to celebrate Cris's moms b-day while we were there. It is her b-day today.

This is Baby Lia . . . Cayten and Rysa's only cousin on Cris's side. This was the first time they met her!

My future photographer!

Rysa has to be our most daring child. She will be the first with a real broken bone, I am SURE of it! She LOVES to do crazy things as you can see on the monkey bars!

"Ahhh, I'm gonna fall"

Oh, that's right! Daddy was under her the WHOLE time ;)~

Cayten was playing Hide and Seek with Grandma Chinen and this is where he chose to hide LOL!

WOAH!

2010-04-08T07:20:00.000-07:00

Holy COW! I haven't updated this thing in almost TWO MONTHS! Everytime I think about updating it I get frustrated because of how irritating it is to upload pictures onto the computer. I am going to make 2 posts today because I have one contemplating post, and one family post that will include Rysa's b-day, Easter, Conference, and much much more but for now, I am going to start uploading my photos!

awesome giveaway

2010-02-25T07:05:00.001-08:00

There is an AWESOME giveaway here http://diaryofacraftaholic.blogspot.com/2010/02/heart-smiles-giveaway.html

Valentines Day (weekend)

2010-02-15T20:58:00.000-08:00

This year I decided I would "TEACH" my husband how to be romantic for V-Day by doing romantic stuff for him . . . in return he better have learned something and treat me to something similar in the future!

Cris's parents took the kids for the weekend so it was absolutely peaceful! I really needed the break and had a great time without the kids. I don't think I even missed them until right before going to get them. Does that make me a bad mom?

Since the kids were gone I decided to make Cris dinner on Friday. I went ALL out! I got candles and fancy cups. I dimmed the lights and we had ourselves a candle lit dinner for the FIRST time in our marriage or even our relationship together! I made Tiny Spicy chicken, eggrolls, rice, and strawberry slushi! It all was delicious although the chicken was SO spicy we almost couldn't eat it. I didn't take any pictures but I sure wish I would have . . . maybe I will re-create so I can get some proof!

On Saturday we went to the temple and did Sealings. It was WONDERFUL. There is such a Spirit in the temple but when I do sealings, that Spirit is even stronger. After leaving the temple we went and bought a dining room table. We have been looking for over a month as ours only has 2 chairs left. I had browsed and decided between the two we chose from. I let Cris have the ultimate decision and he picked the one I wanted even though it was $100 more than the other one! I do have a picture of that!

On Sunday we were able to go to Sacrament with NO kids. It was amazing to actually sit through the entire sacrament and get something out of it! It was on Charity, the Pure Love of Christ! It was GREAT.

Cris was too tired to go to Ogden to get the kids so I went with my little sister and then headed over to my moms. She fed us some YUMMY dinner and we watched the Time Travelers wife . . . I hated it! After we got back we went to a neighbors and decorated some V-Day cookies . . . Whew, it was quite the weekend but it was WONDERFUL! I loved every minute of it!

Click Here for a detailed tutorial on how to make this DIVINE pizza!

He has a bed . . . I promise!

2010-02-04T14:37:00.000-08:00

Cris works at a company where he gets big boxes ALL the time. Every now and then he will come home with a box and I cut windows and doors and stuff. The other day he REFUSED to take a nap so I drug the box to his room. A few minutes later I found him like this! I KNEW he was TIRED~! He does have a bed!

He started to wake up as I was taking pictures so I quickly stopped!

Cris and Cayten had a boys day on Saturday and while I was cleaning Rysa was watching her "pwinsess" show just happily laying on her beanbag and getting one on one time with mommy!

Bean Bag Chairs

2010-01-27T10:44:00.001-08:00

I came across this GREAT tutorial from a blog called Trey and Lucy

She took a pattern and created bean bag chairs for her kids. I found my fabric at JoAnns for 50% off. You will need 6 yards of fabric for each bean bag chair. I made the inner bag with clearance fabric I found for $2/yd. I also was able to get the Velcro for 50% off and the beans were on sale at Smith's Marketplace for FREE (I had bought grocery's that gave me $35 in coupons on your next purchase)! Normally the beans are about $12/bag and you will need one bag for each chair.

All in all it cost about $20/bean bag to make (with the free beans, or $30 if you have to buy them). This can sound like a lot considering I saw some in Walmart for $15 but these are CUSTOM! You get to choose how much fill is in them, what color of fabric, etc. I love them!

I wouldn't say it was the easiest tutorial but the only hard part was figuring out the velcro. If you know how to sew a straight line and a zig zag stitch, you will have this made!

VOTE for ME

2010-01-21T09:04:00.001-08:00

I LOVE photography. I am getting pretty good! I could be EVEN BETTER if I could win this opportunity to go to a free workshop! If you could see me kneeling and begging and pleading, I would do it, PLEASE VOTE FOR ME!

http://julieparkerphotography.blogspot.com/2010/01/its-time-to-vote.html

My Latest Ramblings

2010-01-19T07:53:00.000-08:00

A Lot of my life is updated to the world on Facebook. It is usually more convenient to do a quick post there than log in here and type up a long post. I decided to post a few of my ramblings from Facebook to tell you what is going on in our life!

"wants to find a fun family vacation that can be fun for Toddlers AND adults! I want to go the the Grey Wolf Lode in Washington but it is far and $170/night . . . hmmm"
We would LOVE to go to Washington with the kids. It isn't too far of a drive, not too expensive, and we have A LOT of friends to visit up that way. I am pretty sure we will head there sometime in April or May after Cris takes his actuary test.

"Cayten gave his first scripture in Primary today. We lucked out as we had been memorizing one scripture a month and he memorized the one he gave! He did AWESOME and only needed help with one word! My little boy is growing up!"
I can't believe my little guy is old enough to give a scripture in Primary, let alone memorize it! We are working every month on memorizing the scripture of the month from the Children's Friend Magazine. It didn't even take him the whole month to memorize it! Not even half the month, WOW! He did such a good job! He stood up there and I was going to go stand by him and he said "No mom, I don't need your help!" And he mostly didn't, I was so PROUD!

"Teaching Cayten about the Iron Rod . . . "What happens if we let go of the rod?" Cayten: "We turn into a tree" . . . "no, we don't turn into a tree, you don't reach the tree" . . . yeah, we get lost and turn into trees!" . . . . OKAY, ! ! ! oh and the fruit on the trees is pineapples . . . little does he know, pineapples don't grow on trees!"
For FHE we are acting out the scripture stories we can. Cayten LOVES it and remembers them. We have done Daniel and the Lions Den, Nephi building a boat, the Tree of Life, and last night we did Nephi and his broken arrow! It is so much fun to see him grasp the concepts and recite the story back to us days later.

"Callie Chinen 's body does not like getting up at 5:30 AM no matter what time it goes to bed . . . . BLAH!"
I workout every Tuesday and Thursday at 6:00 AM. It is so great! Today I rand 3.1 miles in 32 minutes. It was on an ellyptical so I know it is very different from actually running but I kicked 15 minutes from my time last June. I am SO excited for the Spring to come so I can start running outside! I am doing the Top of Utah half Marathon in September and I am stoked! I also workout every MWF in an aerobics class. It is amazing how good I feel even though I still have at least 50lbs to lose (which I hope to get to by September!)

I am currently working on making bean bag chairs for my kids. They are almost done! I will probably finish them this weekend but then I have to wait to get the beanbag fill. They are so CUTE and I can't wait to take pictures of the finished product!

After I finish the beanbags I am starting Rysa's birthday dress or Easter dress depending on when it gets done! I am a little intimidated by it since the WHOLE thing is lined but I have amazing seamstresses in my family that I am sure will help me along the way!

The person that baptized me passed away this last weekend. His name was Cole Westergard. He fought a long hard battle with cancer. When we moved away after I was baptized we lost touch with his family but there will always be a special spot in my heart for the person who baptized me into such a wonderful Gospel!

I would post the latest pictures but my computer is having issues so that is all for now!

Fixed

2010-01-12T08:12:00.001-08:00

I fixed my pictures so they weren't so large . . . now those who wanted to take a peak can!

Looking back at 5 Years!

2010-01-07T08:40:00.000-08:00

Cris and I are celebrating our 5 year anniversary today! We aren't doing anything today but he has a "SECRET" planned for all day Saturday, I am QUITE excited. In our 5 years and the other year of dating, he has only done secrets a handful of times.

Cris and I met in August of 2003. I will recap my version of the story, although Cris's is slightly different! We lived in the same dorms but I didn't really KNOW him until March 2004. My roommate Sarah and him were really good friends so he started coming up to our apartment quite often. I quickly got a crush on him but also quickly dismissed it as I never thought any guy would dream of dating or even looking at me! We hung out a lot and I couldn't dismiss my crush and it drove me crazy. He didn't help things at all by cuddling with me while reading scriptures or just hanging out. My friends and roommates would ask him if we were just friends or more and he ALWAYS said just friends. That is CRUSHING to a girl like me, so again, I dismissed my feelings for him.

On the last day of school that semester we stayed up til 5 AM and just had a blast hanging out with my roomies and friends! The next day was Sarah's (from above) birthday so we decided to have a birthday bash in SLC where all my friends lived. I picked Cris up from his home in Ogden we went on our way. While we were driving I had my arm on the arm rest and Cris grabbed my hand and held it . . . . I was smitten and confused, WHAT DOES THIS MEAN! (He says my hand was on gear shifter so I was "wanting" him to hold my hand! Part of that is true)

We got to my friend Ang's house and I told her all about it. She talked to him and still he said we were just friends. So I gave up! The next day we went home and I left for Oregon for a week. While I was in Oregon I couldn't stop thinking of him and we talked every night for a few hours.

When I got back, Cris and I went on a drive and he pulled into a parking lot. I was fully expecting Cris to say "Callie, I am sorry to have led you on but we are only friends" Instead he said "Callie, I think we should start dating!" I BUSTED OUT LAUGHING! Shocked the poor guy to death! IT SERVED HIM RIGHT!

We began dating and never looked back. Cris is the only guy I have dated and I am the only girl he has ever seriously dated. We have only kissed each other and I think that is just NEAT!

He proposed to me on September 6, 2004. We were at his parents outside in the back yard at the park. We were reading scriptures under the tree and he explained to me what the scripture meant. It was a scripture about the Top of the Mountains and Utah and temples. He kept asking me what I thought that meant and I didn't know. He then asked me to stand up but I wouldn't so he stood up first then knelt down and proposed to me!

We were married on January 7, 2005 in Bear River City. It was an amazing day. So laid back and relaxed. I stressed over NOTHING and was in Heaven! We only invited a few close family and friends and partied all night long (ok, really just until 9:00 when we realized it had snowed close to 3 feet in a matter of hours!)

Cayten joined our family on December 12, 2005. I don't remember a lot from that day but I do know that my life will never be the same! I am constantly looking at him and am in a complete blissful state as I remember the past 4 years with him!

We were sealed in the Logan temple on May 18, 2006. That day changed my life forever! There were so many feelings in that sweet Celestial room and in the Sealing Room. I don't remember anything the Sealer said unfortunately but I know that Cayten was having sweet dreams of Jesus that day as he slept through the entire ceremony only to wake up as we said AMEN and he was quiet as can be.

Cris and I have taken a few vacations without kids and I HIGHLY recommend them! Right after we were sealed we went to Oregon to celebrate another friends wedding. We travled to Portland then down the coast of Oregon and back home.

In May 2007 we began building our home. That experience was one in a lifetime. I will never do it again, but I will always be grateful for the 4 bedroom house we built with our own two hands!

That same year I graduated from USU with a Bachelors in FCHD and Family Finance. I never gave up on an education and even though I don't use it, I will always be grateful for that time in my life. Cris was always encouraging and helping me along the way. Not once did we look back and think maybe I shouldn't do this.

The year we were building our home we didn't really do anything. We had to be stuck in Logan EVERY weekend for way TOO long!

In February 2008, we welcomed Clarysa into our lives. She changed our lives forever. I Love her with every ounce of my being but let me tell you, she is one independent stubborn little girl even when she was a newborn and that hasn't changed. Many ask us when we will have more but Rysa is enough for 2 or 3 children alone! There will be more but not for a while, I still have to convince Cris!

Cris graduated in May 2008 with his degree in Statistics and Actuarial science. Since we had just moved into our home we looked for jobs around here and still haven't found anything career wise but he has a decent job and we love the area for now!

In May 2009, Cris and I got to take a trip of a lifetime to Hawaii. We went for nearly 3 weeks without any kids. It was AMAZING. It was a little too long but AMAZING just the same! I consider that our 5 year anniversary present just 6 months early is all!

And here we are today. Not anything majorly exciting but we love our life together. This morning Cris woke up and said "Happy 5 YEARS" I responded "glad you survived!" There have been ups and downs as there is with any marriage but as I look back I remember 95% more ups than downs and that's the way it is suppose to be!

New Blog

2010-01-06T09:45:00.001-08:00

My sisters friend has started a new blog and she is doing a giveaway. I thought I'd through it out there and try to win! The new blog is http://balancedmoms.blogspot.com/ I am suppose to share a video but I don't know how to do that so go to her website and try to win too!

A New Year, A New ME!

2010-01-05T15:07:00.000-08:00

Well, these last few weeks have been tornado like in our home. We went out of town for Christmas and New Years. It was great, Relaxing, and most of all a BLAST! I didn't take as many pictures as I would have liked mainly because I just sat back and watched all the festivities take place. It was wonderful!

I am not a person that makes new years resolutions because I NEVER keep them. But, I am going to make one resolution and a lot of different little goals to complete each month. I figure if I go little by little and re-evaluate each month, I might actually accomplish something!

MY MAJOR resolution is to do a half marathon in September! It sound so scary, intimidating, and daunting at the same time. I did a 5k last year and decided I could take it up a notch this year. I LOVE running sort of! I love the way I feel after I have ran 3-5 miles. It is WONDERFUL! I also like the losing weight part of it. I have currently lost 20 lbs and am hoping to lose 50 more or so! I know I can never be 130 or 140 or maybe even 150. But I am going to get in better shape, better than I have been in my ENTIRE life. I have lost all Rysa's baby weight and only have 10lbs to go to get to the weight of pre-Cayten. I am excited for that day to come and it will! I have turned exercising into a habit. I HAVE to do it now and I LOVE it!

Other goals are small and mostly personal. I will share some but not right now. I am on the road to a new me in this new year so I hope all will have fun watching the transformation!

Happy New Year to ALL!

12-12-05

2009-12-14T08:59:00.000-08:00

Cayten turned 4 on December 12. I am amazed at how brilliant and wonderful he is. He is ahead in many areas. He does things kindergarteners do and thinks he is so big. He now says "I am 4, I don't fight" or "I am 4, I clean up!" He is such a great helper and a cuddle bug. He loves to just snuggle when we are watching movies and stuff. He is so sweet. He will just stop what he is doing and turn to me and say "mom, you are the bestest mom I have ever had" or "mom you are beauiful!" He is constantly giving me compliments and saying things we say all the time. I love him so much and love having him in our home. It wouldn't be the same without him! He had a wonderful birthday. He woke up to presents on the floor. He thought they were for Christmas but I explained to him they were for his birthday. He was so excited. I wanted him to wait til after breakfast to open them but he couldn't wait, and neither could I!

He is OBSESSED with transformers right now. I don't know why, he has never watched the cartoon and only watched the movie once! He got 2 transformers, snowboots, sandals for next summer, and an outfit.

We bundled up and went sledding around noon. He loved EVERY minute of it and we can't wait to do it again!

Birthday Presents

2009-12-14T08:52:00.000-08:00

Here is a video of Cayten opening his birthday presents at Cris's parent house after ELMO! We opened them there as we were going to get a HUGE snowstorm (which we did . . . like 18 inches of SNOW) and they wouldn't be able to make it up (even though they still came)!

Elmo Live

2009-12-14T06:58:00.000-08:00

For Cayten's birthday Cris's mom took him to Sesame Street Live: When Elmo Grows up! I was able to tag along and it was such a blast. We went down to West Valley and wanted to find a good pizza place . . . we couldn't find one at all so we decided to go to Smashburgers. It was really YUMMY. And Cayten ate 3/4 of an entire burger along with nearly all his fries. I was so happy!

WHAT TO EAT? I can't decide! (Just kidding, he was just being funny!)

Cayten and Grandma at Smash Burger

Cayten sitting in his seat just before the show started. We were in row 5 so we were really close and it was just plain fun!

My new favorite picture of me with Cayten. Moms aren't in the pictures very often and this one turned out GREAT!

Our first look at Elmo and Big Bird

Almost the whole crew!

I have a TON of pictures like this . . . Cayten couldn't take his eyes off the show!

Cayten being silly!

Cayten getting to shake Elmo's hand!
During intermission Cayten told Grandma "I dream to hug Elmo" We were lucky enough to get him to be able to do that. I was so excited! They run away so fast though so this was as good of picture as I got!

The end of the show!

It was so much fun. I don't think I have had that much fun in a very long time! I am sure Cayten had the time of his life as he can't stop talking about it!

Trains and Lights

2009-12-04T07:29:00.000-08:00

Cayten has recently become obsessed with trains and transformers. He thinks Santa is bringing him a transformer . . . this Santa didn't so we shall see what happens! We were able to take him on Frontrunner the day after Thanksgiving to see the lights go on at Temple Square.

Sorry the pictures are blurry. I took my point and shoot camera and I really haven't figured out how to use it very well. All the pictures I take are blurry. I guess it doesn't help that this train was moving quite fast!

Getting ready to board!

Cayten with Auntie! He was SO excited!

The whole crew minus mommy, grandma and grandpa Chinen. (are moms ever in pictures?)

We got to the entrance of Temple Square right as the lights went on. It was pretty neat. We were able to listen to the story of Christ's birth but there were SO many people that we didn't get the full effect. I would like to go again but I don't think we will get the chance.

Rysa was so cuddled up and warm. After the lights we hopped on TRAX and headed to eat dinner at a Hawaiian restaraunt called L&L's. It is oh so ONOS (yummy).

After eating we got back on TRAX and headed to catch the Frontrunner. We had to wait for 35 minutes or so for the train to come. My mom and sisters and Jen's kids were in Salt Lake too looking at the lights. They didn't ride the same train up but as we were getting ready to get off the train, my mom yelled my name and voila . . . they were on the same train as us only we sat on top and they were on the bottom. Pretty Crazy!

eating

2009-11-28T20:52:00.001-08:00

I am going to go insane and need some help. My children will NOT eat. I have NEVER had picky eaters. Cayten will say he is hungry, I make lunch/dinner and he will gag and act like he can't swallow it and then spit it out. I am starting to get worried about him. He has dark circles under his eyes and is tired. I have cut out ALL sweets to use them as bribes but not even that is working. Rysa will eat a few bites but not much. I think with her it is more of a growth spurt. Please, any advice would be GREAT!

Been Too Long

2009-11-25T08:16:00.000-08:00

It has been way too long since I posted. Life sure does get the better part of you when you have 2 kids, a small side job of photography, a husband, babysitting daily, etc. I have been blog stalking a few blogs to come up with fun things to do this Holiday season. We started off by doing a Thankful Jar. It was a jar filled with papers to count down to Thanksgiving. It was so much fun doing new things every day. One of the days said "I am Thankful for cars. Clean out your car and go get Ice Cream Cones" It was so much fun. I wish I would have taken pictures everyday of what we did. It was always a blast.

One of the days was "I am thankful for my teachers: Take your teachers a plate full of goodies" My children aren't in school so we decided to take cookies to Cayten's primary teachers and the girls I visit teach.

Rysa's cookie . . . oh so beautiful!

Cayten refused to eat his dinner so he didn't get to help decorate the cookies

Another of the days said "I am thankful for my hands: draw or finger paint" and "I am thankful for Turkeys: make a paper turkey" We made these paper turkeys with the little boy I babysit.

Rysa is below her turkey and Cayten below his. What you fail to see however is how covered in glue Rysa's turkey actually is!

I started with my own turkey and gave them each piece separately to build their turkeys.

I made an Advent Calendar yesterday. I have always wanted a cute fun one. I think I found it and it only took me a couple hours to make it.

It is a mini muffin tin. In each of the muffin spots there will be papers with things like "read the story of Christs birth" "have a cup of hot chocolate and watch a movie" "go Christmas caroling" etc. It am excited to start the new tradition.

Those are our ramblings for now. I can't wait to start the Christmas season and do many fun and wonderful things. I hope to get a picture of everything we do for our advent calendar! We are going to see the lights at Temple Square go on on Friday. I have never been there for that. We are going to ride Front Runner and have a grand ole time! Til Then. . .

2009-10-26T09:32:00.000-07:00

Fun Times and changes ahead

2009-10-25T21:49:00.000-07:00

I know it has been a while since I posted. Life gets busy when you are sick, busy every weekend taking photos, and just having 2 kids!

I LOVE photography. I am so lucky to have found a hobby and joy that is so rewarding to me. The only part I don't like about it . . . taking pictures of my own children. They DO NOT obey me! We have gone out a few times and I was FINALLY able to get some images of them I felt worthy to put up on my wall. I was able to catch a hilarious picture of Clarysa, it truly defines who she really is, ALL SASS!

Cris had a major interview 2 weeks ago. It is for a position in Clearfield for Hill Air Force Base. I have never prayed so hard for something in my life. We have been searching for 1.5 years for a good job for Cris. This one seems to have fallen out of the sky and into our lap. It seems too good to be true and there is this doubt in me that thinks it is. We will find out sometime this week about the position. If we don't hear anything til the end of the week, this week will probably be the longest week of my life.

I have been so BUSY this last month with photography. I have had 3 photo shoots every week and a wedding. The wedding was by far my favorite. You can check out photos here: http://bycallie.blogspot.com

I have a video to post of Clarysa and her dance. She is so crazy and pure cuteness (even if she is all sass)! She talks so much and says her prayers. She is OBSESSED with brushing her teeth. Anytime we walk into the bathroom she wants to brush her teeth. She is learning to jump and she is a DAREDEVIL. She thinks she can do everything Cayten can. We are slowly working on potty training. Not because I want to but because she loves to go. She has pooped and peed in the potty a few times every week. It will be nice to be done changing diapers for a very long time. (BTW- to those wondering after my last post No new babies coming to this home for a VERY long time, I will have to suffer amnesia before that one will happen!)

Cayten is growing like a weed. He wishes he could go to school and so I HATE Utah laws because he is late born and there is nothing we can do about it unless we move to Hawaii for a few months and transfer back. He is so smart and already learning to read some words. He loves sports and is very competitive. I can tell he is going to be just like Cris which could be a good thing but not when it comes to telling me everything that happens wrong! We are working on the sucking of the thumb with him. We promised him a new bike if he stopped sucking his thumb so he is working really hard at it. We have tried everything else so far to no avail.

Contagious

2009-10-09T12:19:00.001-07:00

A few weeks ago my kids ended up going through Hands Foot and Mouth disease. It was so miserable for all of us. The kids had blisters on their hands, feet, bums, and in their mouths. Clarysa probably got it the worst. She wouldn't really eat or drink anything and she was in a lot of pain. One of the worst things about this was we were contagious the entire time they had blisters so Cayten didn't get to sing in his primary program. He was so sad and still talks about it. It would have been his first one!

We also just had a scare of the H1N1 (not swine cuz my little sister sells pigs and she hates it when every one calls it that LOL) flu. The little boy I babysit dad got the flu and so I was worried we would get it too but we lucked out and didn't even get a fever.

Cris applied for a job today. Not even 2 hours later he was contacted for an interview this Monday. The job is in Layton so we would have to commute til we could sell our house which wouldn't be for a year and a half. I guess I am getting my hopes up as we don't even know what the pay starts out at or that he will even get the job but we are praying and crossing our fingers!

A few more contagious things . . . These smiles. Such a wonderful thing and you can't help but smile when you look at these faces.

Relief Society Conference and Mo' Bettah Steaks!

2009-09-27T07:13:00.000-07:00

Yesterday I had the privilege of going to the General Relief Society broadcast is Salt Lake City. It was THE first time I have been to any sort of Conference. Oh it was SO wonderful, LOVED EVERY MINUTE but why wouldn't you. I was on the lower portion of the conference center

I sat on Plaza Level 10 in the VERY front row. The choir was AMAZING and we could sing as LOUD as we wanted. It was awesome. We could feel the Spirit before the session even started, it was so wonderful. When President Monson and the others walked in, everyone stood and it was silent. It was AMAZING . . . I am saying that word a lot! After the speakers spoke, Pres. Monson was leaving and he waived to everyone, President Uchtdorf blew a kiss to everyone and I am sure Eyring did something too but I didn't see. It was AWESOME.

After leaving the conference center and a few bad instructions on how to drive, we were looking for a place to eat dessert.

We were in Bountiful and this is where Mo' Bettah Steaks comes in! Oh so ONOS! We had Shave Ice there and I was back in Hawaii except for the humidity. It was SO delicious. The only sad part was they didn't have my favorite flavor of Strawberry Cream (which when we were in Oahu, right after we had flown in from Maui, we went to Matsumoto's and got Shave Ice there, I got Strawberry Cream and it tasted JUST LIKE Guri Guri) . . . don't worry if you don't know what that is! They did have Lychee which was DELISH, and I also got Orange Dreamsicle, and Hawaiian Delight. It was glorious with ice cream in the bottom! Here are some pictures below!

Spread The Word

2009-09-24T15:48:00.000-07:00

I am spreading the word about Fallow Field Marketplace so I can enter to win a tutu for Clarysa . . . go here for more info:http://fallowfieldfarm.blogspot.com/

365-2

2009-09-03T11:15:00.000-07:00

365 Days in a YEAR!

2009-09-02T10:10:00.000-07:00

I am starting a challenge of 365 self-portraits. I don't know if I will post everyday or 7 photos at the end of the week, or a mix and match but here are my first few pictures. I can't only take ONE of course!

Swagbucks . . . again!

2009-08-31T17:57:00.000-07:00

So, I have to let you in on a little secret again. SWAGBUCKS.com It is a search engine just like google but you get points for searching. When you earn 45 points you can get $5 to amazon.com or many other prizes. It doesn't sound too rewarding until you notice that in 2 months I have earned $15 to amazon.com. In just another 2 months I could EASILY have enough gift cards to purchase a new game . . . and you know how fascinated we are with GAMES! If you sign up under me, I get some extra points to, so don't hesitate to ask or click on my sidebar for Swagbucks!

Over a month

2009-08-28T09:58:00.000-07:00

It has been nearly one month since I posted. We are gone nearly every weekend and when we are home we have a yard, a DOG (yes, I said dog) and kids to take care of. I am doing my photography so when I am on the computer, I am doing that, but I will try and update for anyone who still reads.

We went swimming the last time we were at Cris's parents house. I made Cris take pics of me and the kids cause I never have any of me and them.

My kiddos rockin out!

FHE Ideas

2009-07-30T14:33:00.000-07:00

How many of you are tired of trying to come up with last minute FHE ideas? Are you tired of all the FHE helps out there being to advanced for your young children? I have an idea!

I have been brewing with this idea for over a year now and I am now trying to enforce it. I want to get together with a group of girls, preferrably mom's with children around the same age as mine (1 and 3) every few weeks and plan FHE ideas for the month.

Here is how it will work (for a group of 4 girls, if there is more, then we would meet less often)

Each mom will create one FHE Lesson plan for the month. That person will gather all the needed crafty items if needed for 4 people, or just prepare a lesson plan type outline. We will then get together and swap. You would then have 4 lessons from 4 different girls and your FHE will be planned for an entire month.

Does that make sense? It is an idea that could use some work, but I think it will be an awesome idea if we could get it going. If there are those wanting to do it but have older children, that would work too, we could just adjust for age differences.

Any ideas, tips, comments?

Let me know if you wanna join me in the endeavor!

So much to catch up on, so little time!

2009-07-12T08:43:00.001-07:00

A few weeks ago we had a FUN FHE. We went to this place called The Spring Creek Miniature golf course in Providence. It was only $2.50/person because children 3 and under are free. The person that wins also gets a free game, so every time you go, you get in pretty dirt cheap! We invited some friends to go.

Colby and Lily with their first shot

The kids didn't really care about the golfing part. In fact they tried to play in the water constantly and Cayten lost his treasured "blue" ball to the dreaded water. This is a picture of them hitting the ball into the trees. We had such a blast and can't wait to do it again.

Cris and I really enjoy having friends over for games. We try to have someone over every week to play, we are sort of addicted but it is so much fun and so much better than sitting in front of a tv. Here is a picture of the kids one night during game playing, they wanted to watch a movie.

Last week on the Fourth of July we went to Cris's families house in South Ogden. We went on a hike on Friday afternoon/night. It is a beautiful hike that leads up to a beautiful waterfall.

We ran into this friend on the hike, he was as big as Cris's dad's hand.

This is only the TOP of the waterfall

And this is the view from the hike, so BEAUTIFUL! ! !

We also did fireworks on July 4th. It was so much fun! It was Cayten's first time doing fireworks and he had such a blast. He was so much fun to watch.

Last but not least, Cris came home with these on Thursday. Totally surprised me and melted my heart. I don't think he has given me flowers for 2 years or so!

More to come later about our weekend this weekend, it has been a blast so far and I am sure it will continue to be! ! !

So much to catch up on, so little time!

2009-07-11T21:05:00.001-07:00

June 20th

2009-06-21T19:18:00.000-07:00

June 20th marked a day in history for me. I ran my first 5k. It was exhausting and yet wonderful at the same time. I had 2 friends run with me. Back in March I asked my friend Becky to start walking/running with me and the Couch to 5K program. I went to Hawaii and she kept trudging along so she did a lot better than me. Cris and the kids were great cheerleaders. I had no idea he was going to do this, (I had planned on him taking beginning pictures and finish pictures) but he drove with me the entire way so here are a few photos of my journey.
This is the beginning, have no idea where I am in this picture, somewhere in the back.
I ran past Cris here, notice my hands in I Love You sign? I was signing to my kids the entire race!
This was about the 1st mile mark where I saw Cris and the kids for the first time. Rysa was in her car seat clapping and Cayten was cheering me on from the window.
Here is the 2mile mark. I wanted to give up here but seeing my cute husband and kids really pushed me along. I had just gotten done going up a huge hill.
This is the finish. My friend Becky (mentioned above) had already finished the race with her husband but came back to where I was and finished with me. Such great friends! ! !
The end was the most AWESOME experience ever. I had chills going up and down my entire body as I realized I had accomplished one of the biggest goals of my life.
And here I am finishing. I am hoping to run another on July 24th and my goal now is to shed 5 minutes off. I should be able to, I have about 5 weeks. After I shed the 5 minutes off, I am going to work at getting to 30 minutes and hopefully continue to get better. I am so glad that after running this I am not saying ok I did it, that's the end, but dreaming about the next race!

Swagbucks

2009-06-11T21:21:00.000-07:00

There is a little icon at the top of my blog for SWAGBUCKS. I don't know if any of you have heard of it but it is WONDERFUL! If you are like me and have a million questions a day that you search on google, you should try swagbucks. All it is, is a search engine that gives you points. Those points eventually accumulate to rewards such as gift cards to places like amazon.com . It is said that on average a person can earn 3-5 points a day and you get a $5 gift card to amazon at just 45 points. Not bad for just seaching like you normally would. If you click through my link, I get points to, so start clicking!

What I've Been Up To . . .

2009-06-01T07:02:00.000-07:00

I am currently training for a 5k. My first one will be on June 20 at 7:45 AM. I am pretty excited. I am hoping to get Cris to run it with me but we don't really have anything to do with the kids, anyone willing to come help, there is a big parade afterwards! In July I will be doing one in Bear River for the 24th of July. I am hoping to find another one for August and then in September I will be running the Top of Utah 5k here in Logan. I am so excited I have come this far and I hope to continue on this journey!

Splish Splash

2009-05-30T18:19:00.000-07:00

Today the kids and I went outside and filled up the pool while Cris was mowing the lawn. It was GREAT fun. In the beginning, Clarysa and Cayten didn't like how cold the water was but Clarysa was the first to start having fun by sitting down and splashing everyone. We love the warm weather!

More Pictures

2009-05-23T20:04:00.000-07:00

This is a place called Iao Valley on Maui. It was beautiful. I had a chance to play with my shutter speed and learned how to make the water look like that!

The next few are of Haleakela on Maui . . . this was SO worth waking up at 3:00AM to see. It was so peaceful, beautiful, wonderful place to meditate, and cold . . . but oh, so worth it!

Quick Post

2009-05-23T18:22:00.000-07:00

We are home, and oh it feels so good to be home, other than the real world has hit! We came home and we have a whole lotta junk to do . . . including figure out our sprinklers, finish our back yard (really, this is last on the list, mainly trying to keep it under control!), put in our gate for our fence, and deal with kids . . . Oh the joys of the real world, but I wouldn't give it up for anything!

I am hoping to work on some photos in the next few days to show you all our wonderful, beautiful, trip. I took over a thousand photos (the joys of digital) so I am going to post a few here and there as the weeks go on!

There is so much to catch up on in this internet world that I fear it isn't going to happen. Instead of going through all 200 or so blog posts I haven't yet read, I am going to say . . . I will read them, I have read some, but I wont comment, not enough time in the days! But I will start fresh and start leaving comments soon!

2009-05-14T18:18:00.000-07:00

Sunrise at Haleakela

2009-05-14T18:10:00.000-07:00

More . . .

2009-05-07T19:58:00.000-07:00

Yesterday we had the opportunity to go to Pearl Harbor. That place has been the main reason I wanted to come to Hawaii for a long time. It was beautiful, somber, and wonderful. I will post more pictures of that when we get home.

Today we went to Kualoa Ranch (where Cris's brother works). They film Lost there, and have filmed many others such as Pearl Harbor, 50 First Dates, Mighty Joe Young, etc. It was pretty cool. While we were on the beach in the early morning (PRIVATE BEACH=AMAZING) there were big and little crabs everywhere. If you are ever on a beach and see little wholes in the sand, if you dig, you will eventually find a crab most likely. Cris found this one . . . it pinched him too LOL

We went snorkeling and on a catamaran. While on the Catamaran, we circled China Man's hat. We also did Kayaks. While snorkeling we saw a huge ole turtle. It was AWESOME! I am SCORCHED today even though I used sunscreen. I guess I will have to layer it on even more UGH!

Our trip thus far!

2009-05-06T00:27:00.000-07:00

These stairs are the stairs I climbed to the top of Diamond Head crater. At first I thought I would die but I survived and the beauty as seen below was worth it!

I had to post pictures of the Turtles for Cayten. I miss him so much, and Rysa too!

Pneumonia and Croop

2009-04-23T07:19:00.000-07:00

I am going to re-cap my living nightmare to everyone that is wondering what is going on and if Rysa is ok. No pictures . . . I would have got some if we would have stayed til today but we got to go home last night!

On Tuesday morning Rysa woke up with a fever at 5:00 AM. She has NEVER had a fever in her 14 months of life. I gave her some tylenol and the fever stayed away until about noon so I just figured she was teething or something. Throughout that day she started coughing and getting a little wheezy but not too bad. At about 7:30 we called a neighbor to help give her a blessing. I don't remember what was said in the blessing because I was too focused on Rysa but it worked for us. She started breathing better and acting better. The next morning (yesterday) she woke up with a major fever again of 103 . . . her average temp is 97 so this was SUPER high. I couldn't really get it to go down. This was at 6:30 AM. I had a few choices . . . go to the ER, wait til 8:00 and go to the insta care, wait til 8:30 and go to the clinic by my house, or wait til 9:00 to go see her pediatrician. So, I chose wait til 8:00 and go to the insta care.

When we got to the instacare they had to give her a breathing treatment and then do chest x-rays. That was the saddest thing I have ever seen. They put her in this contraption with her hands above her head then lock her in so she can't move. That was not fun. The dr. looked at her x-rays and she had pneumonia AND croop. This is a little discerning given the fact that the two are not normally combined. They could only treat one and then treat the next after the first was treated. The dr. had us do a round of steroids to decrease the inflamed bronchial tubes but she didn't respond so we did a different breathing treatment. Still . . . no response so we were sent over to the hospital to visit with her ped.

When we got to the hospital Rysa had fallen asleep in the 10 blocks it takes from insta to hospital. She was calm and breathing much better but because of the x-rays we still had to be admitted. She had breathing treatments 3 times, every 2 hours. and was started on an antibiotic. The hospital stay was the worst, along with the breathing treatments. She only did one really good and that was because she was sleeping LOL. She was hooked up to 4 different wires and could only walk like 5 feeet away. If she walked further, she would fall down, unplug the wires, and then her monitors would beep as if she had died. It was not fun, I was constantly plugging her back in.

They brought us dinner around 7:00 and she was acting normal again. Playing having a blast, eating, and breathing fine. I had gotten sick of the wires so I asked the nurse if we could unplug them for an hour until she went to bed and they said yes so we played and played and played. At about 7:45 the respitory therapist came in to check on her and she was all clear. She asked if we were staying overnight and I said "I sure hope not, but it looks that way" she went out into the hall and our dr. was out there. She told him that Rysa was doing much better and we could go home. So, he came in and sent us home. My prayers had been answered. I just wanted her to be able to sleep in her own bed. We got home around 8:30 last night. I hope we never have to do that again!

Random

2009-04-20T19:52:00.000-07:00

I took this picture on Saturday before my photoshoot which you can see here

Goofing around

2009-04-16T22:06:00.000-07:00

I got a new lens for my camera and decided to take some snapshots. These pictures are straight out of the camera and no editing whatsoever!

Cris hate his picture taken and taught Cayten how to hide so . . .

I made Cris show Cayten it was ok to get their pictures taken.

She is such a goof!

Basketball seems to be Cayten's life as it is his daddy's too. We got this AWESOME basketball hoop for him when he became potty trained. It is 5 feet tall and he can make it from like 5-6 feet, may farther away!

I love her eyes, I can't get enough of them.

I can't help but laugh . . .

2009-04-11T20:05:00.001-07:00

I am a bit behind on pictures and will try and get caught up in the next few days but I had to post this one. I can't help but crack up laughing each and everytime I see it. Sometimes to the point that I can't stop.

Easter Egg PARTY!

2009-04-11T19:10:00.000-07:00

We colored easter eggs and Cayten loved it. I locked Rysa in her chair so she just watched, but it was a blast!

Whenever Rysa would put the egg in the basket, it would fall right back out because she always had her basket tilted.
After the boagie Easter Egg Hunt at the park near our house, I decided to have a hunt at our house. I put candy and $$$ in the eggs. Rysa got $2.00 and Cayten got $1.50!
Cris and Clarysa on the way home from the park.
He is done with the Easter Egg Hunt and got 3 eggs . . . that was pretty good for how many kids there were, however, it was kind of stupid because the eggs had PAPER in them with an ADVERTISEMENT for a pre-school . . . and a jolly rancher.

Call Us CRAZY

2009-04-02T10:42:00.000-07:00

I know a lot of people will think we have turned weird, crazy, and all of the above, but Cris and I (mainly I demanded it) have moved the TV from out of our living room into the toy room where we will place a couch. Last night I realized I spend more time in front of a TV than I do with my kids some days. It made me SUPER sad and I realized that I don't get a lot of things I want to do done because of it. We can still get channels if we really want them but mainly it is set up just for movies. I am super excited about this although I will miss my shows I watch:
CSI NY
CSI Miami
Life
Biggest Loser
Private Practice
Greys Anatomy
And any other show that just happens to be on . . .

We have used the TV as a means for noise and get caught in front of it instead of having actual conversations with each other. Then, Cris and I stay up til midnight talking because we don't start talking til 10:00 when all the shows are over. I hope this is a good move for us and will help us where I am hoping!

Photo Shoots

2009-03-31T07:49:00.000-07:00

Hey guys . . . I have had 3 photoshoots this past week including a newborn and a one year old! They were so much fun. I would really appreciate it if people would go here and leave comments . . . . the more comments, the more my blog will show up.

Budding Artist

2009-03-26T07:35:00.001-07:00

Cayten spent HOURS drawing the other day. These are his FIRST drawings he has ever done that aren't just scribbles . . . I love this little guy so much, he is SO sweet, however, you will laugh when you see the picture of me!
A funny story to go along with these pictures:
The entire time he was drawing I thought to myself . . . WOAH, he is drawing with his left hand. Crazy, he must be left handed like my brother . . . I don't want to try and teach a lefty to write, too confusing to write backwards. . . . Then I looked at my hands both in the shape of an L because we all know whatever hand shows the L is the Left hand . . . OMGosh, it was his right hand the ENTIRE time . . . I still don't know left and right and I am 24!

This is a picture of Cayten and Clarysa together. He loves his little sis so much . . . it is fun to see them interact together. I LOVE this stage.

This top and bottom one are toy spiders (so they aren't scary) with LOTs of legs.
This on below is a picture of PIG off of Super Why, one of his favorite shows. He was telling me all about him and he drew the M's and W's that pig does with his hammer.
This one below is of Clarysa. I find it AWESOME that he drew Clarysa smaller than everyone else.
And here is MOMMY . . . As he was drawing his picture of me, I listened as he talked to himself
"here's mommy with a BIG nose" . . . sure enough, he drew me with a big nose . . . I don't think my nose is that big but compared to his little nose it is.
And this one is Daddy. At first daddy only had 2 eyes but then Cayten decided daddy needed LOTS of eyes because "daddy is always finding me" . . . meaning daddy always catches him when he is being naughty unlike mommy!

General Conference

2009-03-09T10:58:00.001-07:00

I am getting a post ready about this stupid snow that showed up today, but until then . . . Cris and I read an article in the March Ensign last night about preparing our children for GC. I thought it was impossible for them to have ideas for a three year old, but they didn't miss ANY age groups. A few of the ideas for Cayten's age:
Have a bowl of treats out and any time he hears a word like Temples, Repent, Heavenly Father, or Jesus Christ, he would get one treat.
Take the middle insert with all the Presidency's pictures on it, tape it to the TV and every time the speaker came up, have Cayten try to find him.
Have a picnic while watching and pretend like we are the Nephites listening to King Benjamin.

I thought these were a few GREAT ideas. I hope to always keep a copy of this article so I can refer to it in the future as my kids get older.

Rysa's b-day pics

2009-03-05T10:19:00.000-08:00

I asked Cayten to give her a kiss . . . she then kept leaning into him to get him to give her another kiss LOL!
Blowing a kiss
blowing a kiss

2009-03-01T17:42:00.001-08:00

This past weekend Cris and I went on a date to the Draper Temple Open house . . . it was BEAUTIFUL! I guess why wouldn't it be? ALL temples are BEAUTIFUL! I took some pictures. I didn't take my tripod so they might be a bit blurry and they really don't do the building justice. I have a new goal . . . take pictures of EVERY temple I go to. I really hope to get pictures of all of them at night. That is when I feel they are the prettiest. I would rather have the sun setting though . . . not all GONE!

The rest of the weekend we spent at Cris's parents home. His mom just got back from Hawaii and Cayten missed her SO much. He didn't want to leave her and constantly asks when we are going again. I hope we are able to go during spring break for a time!

Today Cris, Cayten, and Clarysa stayed home from church. Both kids have got rotten colds they got from me last week. Poor things . . . the colds have settled mainly in their eyes. Rysa seems to be on the mend but Cayten is just starting.

I substituted in primary today and realized how much I miss being a primary teacher. It has been a really long time but I miss it just the same. The children have such sweet spirits and they never cease to amaze me with how much they know. The lesson was on the Priesthood and each of the children . . . 5-6 year olds, new just what it was and each had a story to tell of a blessing they had received. It was a great experience.
Cris is teaching the temple prep class tonight by himself. I don't think those in the class want us to infect their kids with sickness. Cris just left. It is such a wonderful class. There are 6 lessons but each lesson takes about 2 weeks because we have such wonderful conversations.
I also need to appologize if I don't read your blog. . . if it is private, I don't get updates and I don't know everyone that is private. . . . also do you have problems commenting or does no one read my blog, LOL.

FUN FUN!~

2009-02-25T11:14:00.000-08:00

Everyone wants to be a winner sometime in their life. :)

The first five people to respond to this post will get something made by me! My choice. For you. This offer does have some restrictions and limitations:
1. I make no guarantees that you will like what I make!
2. You have no clue what it's going to be.
3. It may not be complete until after the summer is over!

The catch? Oh, the catch is that you must repost this on your blog and offer the same to the first 5people who do the same on your blog. The first 5 people to do so and leave a comment telling me they did win a FAB-U-LOUS homemade gift by me! *Oh, and be sure to post a picture of what you win when you get it!

2 Videos

2009-02-25T09:05:00.000-08:00

Dancing before lunch . . . we always have a great time gettin our "groove" on. Glad I am videoing so all you hear is my voice LOL!

Rysa's b-day. The only disappointing part of this video is that Cris hit the wrong button at the end so we had about 3 minutes of us singing happy b-day and Rysa not wanting frosting on her hands that had to be deleted :( Still a memory though!

Rysa is ONE!

2009-02-23T22:10:00.001-08:00

Today Clarysa Mae Chinen turned one. She was born exactly one year ago around 10 AM, or was it 8, I don't remember already . . . I remember Cayten's, horrible, I know. I had been trying all day to remember what day of the week she was born since today is Monday you would think it was a Sunday but last year was a leap year (my original due date) so I couldn't figure it out. I finally pulled up a calendar from last year and I had her on a Saturday. From that Saturday on, it has been an adventure.
This picture was from right after she was born. Such a wonderful day, I was so SICK of being pregnant.
This is a six month pic. She is BEAUTIFUL! I love her so much!
This is a 9 month pic. She was already walking by this point. I can't believe how fast they grow.
And now for todays pictures . . . Today has been one of the MOST hectic days in a VERY long time. I left my house around 11:30 thinking I would be home around 2:30 or 3:00, I didn't end up getting home until 4:15 with 2 VERY tired kids. Tomorrow we are going to go to the dentist for Rysa's first appt and Cayten's check up.

This is the hair she woke up with today. Pardon the messy face but I sure do love the hair. The next few pictures are of our photo shoot, they are SOOC(straight out of camera) so I will be posting the final versions on my photo blog (CCCPhotography)

Here are the start of her b-day party tonight. It was fun. We invited two friends over and had pizza and cake. Rysa is lactose intolerant (I said adventure above right, she has many issues!) so we skipped the ice cream.

This is the picture of her b-day cake. It was personalized and FREE. Albertson's has this deal where you can get the 1st b-day cake for FREE. It was super cute and fun.
She was a little mad. We were getting ready to put her in the chair and our friend Lino scared her a bit. Cris asks why I take these pictures but I love them. So much fun and they make me laugh when I look at them.

And now, it is all better, LOL. It only took a few minutes.
Rysa was pretty excited to get her gifts. She tore open the wrapping paper but didn't really care about the clothes that were inside. She just wanted the paper.
I got this cake for her so she could smash it up and get all messy . . .
She looks AMAZED at the fire. She wanted to reach at it and touch it.

Starting to dig in . . .
I don't like this so much . . .
Get this off of me, I am done, I HATE THIS.

So goes the adventures of Rysa. I think she will like one thing and she hates it. We still had a lot of fun. That picture was literally the last she had of the cake, she wouldn't even really taste it. I guess I am getting my wish of having a girly girl!

I am so lucky to have both my kids in my life. They are pure joy. Rysa has been an adventure from the beginning. She was coliky, spit up fountains daily, and was miserable for a few months until she was about 7-8 months old. I never got sleep until then, it was AWFUL, but I still loved her! She started walking a few days after 9 months and has been on the go ever since. She is now running and loves to be chased. She peeks around the hall and sees you coming and takes off. Of course right now I can catch her but I know it wont be long until I can't. A lot of friends that had babies the same time as I had Rysa are having more babies. I am so excited for them but have to say I will stick with this adventure for a little while longer. I have had many ask so there is your answer, LOL.

Pics

2009-02-18T10:06:00.001-08:00

My friend let me borrow his external flash for my camera. I LOVE it and was able to get some pictures of Rysa and Cayten. They aren't great, just snapshots, but I love them. I can't believe Rysa is going to be one on Monday. Time fly's too quickly . . .
Here she is with her baby doll. Grandma Maxine gave her this for her Christmas. She absolutely loves it. She rocks the baby and says baby, baby.
She loves to play with her blocks and in the toy room. Her and Cayten can play together for hours in there. It is fun to watch them interact.

Cayten doesn't like me taking pictures. He shoved his hand in front of Rysa's face so I couldn't take a picture. She didn't like that so much.
Another one of him trying to put his hand on the camera
These are about the only pics I really get of him anymore :( He has grown tired of my picture taking!

Valentines Day

2009-02-17T12:23:00.000-08:00

Well, I had a great belated Valentines day! Cris and I celebrated yesterday because on Saturday we were in Ogden and sort of snowed in. It was snowing like CRAZY there and it just kept coming. A few hours later, we looked outside and it was BEAUTIFUL, the snow was melted off the roads and so we decided to trudge on home. The drive was great until we reached Sherwood Hills. It was like driving into a wall. We could just see the storm as we drove into it. Blue skies then black. It was like night and day. We made it home but weren't really able to do anything.

Yesterday Cris and I were able to go out to dinner and grocery shopping. I was able to pick up some outfits for Rysa's birthday on Monday and I am super excited to get some pictures with them! We went to El Toro Viejo, a Mexican food place here. I love it there. I had a chimichanga and fried ice cream. I have always wanted to try that and it was pretty good. It is funny how grocery shopping without kids is so much fun. Thanks to my good friend Alina who watched my kids for me. And the best news of all . . . . RYSA DIDN'T CRY!

I was so happy to hear that good news. Cris's parents are going to take the kids for 2 weeks when we go to Hawaii in May and I was a bit reluctant but it seems she is getting better. Coming up . . . Rysa's birthday pictures!

A Father's Son

2009-02-13T07:15:00.000-08:00

The other day when it snowed I decided Cayten and I would go out and play in the snow. Cayten is so much his father's son . . . he said, "we can't play in the snow, we have to shovel first" And so we did . . .

Another example of him being his father's son . . . always correcting me when I am wrong or doing things wrong . . . I was putting my sweater on and I said "Cayten, hand me my shirt" and he goes on to say . . . "It's not a shirt mom, it's a sweater" . . . TWO OF THEM IN THE HOUSE, OH NO!

I don't have any pictures of Rysa. I am hoping to make some sugar cookies and taking V-Day pictures . . . . If I do, they will be up tomorrow so stay tuned!

It's been too long!

2009-02-09T12:21:00.000-08:00

WOW, I guess life kind of sneaks up on you and really makes you busy. The funny thing is I really don't think I do much . . . just clean and play with the kids along with photography stuff . . . it really can get busy. I am starting my own photography business. I am pretty excited. I have had a few clients already and I am working my way into making a portfolio for myself. I am finally done editing the ones I have taken so far. I will be putting examples up on my website soon. (http://cccphotography.blogspot.com). I ABSOLUTELY LOVE IT!
We are teaching the temple prep class right now. IT is so rewarding and wonderful to be helping families reach a wonderful goal. We are working with one couple that has 3 girls and another baby on the way, a woman that has become active without her husband, and a young returned missionary. It is so great. We are able to go over some of the basics of the Plan of Salvation, being worthy, etc. and it is a wonderful discussion. We are only able to teach the class at night because of some work schedules and such but it makes it nice and peaceful.
Clarysa is almost one. She will be one in 3 weeks. I can't believe it has gone by so fast. She gets into anything she can. She loves to pester Cayten and I believe we will have our hands full. I haven't been able to get many pictures lately. I hope to tonight for our FHE.
Cayten is a handful. He learns more everyday. He is smart in what he wants to be. He knows his alphabet and can recognize almost all the letters but he still refuses to count to 10. Man it is frustrating. We practice EVERY DAY too. I believe he gets his stubbornness from Cris (and a little from me LOL).
February is a BUSY month for us with V-Day, B-day, and plenty of church activities. I am pretty excited. I like being busy when it comes to doing things with friends (not so much when it comes to doing things I HAVE to do.)
I am hoping to get some pictures up in the next day or two so stay tuned!

Hawaii!

2009-01-26T14:10:00.000-08:00

Cris's parents are in Hawaii for a bit seeing his brother and their new baby. . . we got a package in the mail and got a few things . . . here were our favorites (what we could get pictures of at least . . . gotta love uncooperative kids)!

Now I want a MU MU! Can't wait for the day I get to go there too . . . THIS FALL CROSS OUR FINGERS!