Family

Feel the Joy...

noreply@blogger.com (nicole) — Wed, 23 Dec 2009 00:29:00 +0000

I have to admit I have not been feeling as much joy as I should be this month. I really do love Christmas, I love the smells, the music, the feelings, being with family, the excitement from all the kids. But the past couple weeks I have felt very overwhelmed, stressed out, tired and have
had a hard time getting into the spirit of Christmas.
I contribute this to a few things, I will try to make it brief so I don't bore or depress you.

First- I have been really frustrated and struggling with my two beautiful children. It seems like the past two weeks they have been trying my patients like you would not believe. And I am not proud to report that I have not handled it well. This gets me to wondering if maybe I can't have any more children because the Lord doesn't think I can handle it.
Second- I feel like no matter what I do I can not keep my house in order the way I like it. It has been driving me crazy. Plus there are so many extra things I would like to do, besides just keeping my house clean.
Third- I feel like we are living in limbo, I really wish we knew what was going on with Dustin's school. I am a planner and not being able to plan is killing me!
Fourth- I feel like I don't get out much, I am such a dork, I need some friends...
Oh and fifth- I am pretty sure I have gained a few pounds. ugh!

But today I have decided to stop feeling this way about my life. Today has been a better day and I will tell you why.

First- I realized that my attitude towards my children is making their attitudes much worse. So I decided I was going to be more positive. So far we have had a great day. We exercised this morning, played with play dough, did puzzels, had a good lunch, then both kids took a good long nap so I got some things done that I wanted to, now they are awake and watching their one movie for the day. They haven't had any temper tantrums and they have listened very well. We are all much happier. Even though there are times I get depressed/sad/angry that I am not able to have any more kids on my own, especially when almost all of my friends are pregnant with their third babies, I am also happy and excited because I get to experience this great thing called adoption. I have faith that Heavenly Father knows the desires of my heart, and he knows that yes I can handle more children and I want more children and my baby will come when the time is right! That's exciting!!!
Second- I just have to realize that I have two kids, my house is not going to be immaculate, I just have to work a little harder to pick up as we go, it does help. And as far as my other projects go. I will just plug away slowly at those, when the kids are in bed.
Third- I just need to relax! Again Heavenly Father knows what is best, we have a great home and good jobs, we aren't really in limbo.
Fourth- I do need more friends (that live close by)
Fifth- My new years resolution is to eat right and work out, along with a million other things. So I am waiting until January to deal with that one.

So in summary, As of today I am ready for Christmas, the stockings are hung, the presents are almost all wrapped, the Christmas music is playing, the kids are happy and excited. I am excited to be around family, eat good food, exchange gifts, and celebrate the reason for the season, so...

Bring on the JOY!

Halloween (Just a little late)

noreply@blogger.com (nicole) — Fri, 20 Nov 2009 05:25:00 +0000

We had a fun Halloween so I thought I would post a few pictures of what we did, I figure if I do it before Thanksgiving I'm still ok.
A few weeks before Halloween we went to a local amusement park, it was all decked out for Halloween, with all sorts of scary things, and then when it got dark it was transformed from Silverwood to "Scary-wood". There was a haunted house thing and all around the park there were people, or zombies, that would try to come scare you. It was pretty intense. I didn't think it would be that scary so I was planning on bringing the kids for the night stuff also, but a lady that worked there suggested that we didn't bring the kids in for that part. So my mom took the kids out to the car when it got dark, which turned out to be a very good thing, it was pretty darn scary! But Carson loved the amusement park during the day. Mersadie was not a big fan, probably because if was FREEZING cold!

Then for Halloween we carved pumpkins, Carson wasn't too sure about that. Then we dressed up, Carson was a spider (I made the costume, if you couldn't tell) and Mersadie was a Ladybug (I didn't make that costume, I'm sure you could tell). We went trick or treating at our ward trunk or treat, I love it because it goes by fast, all the candy is in one place, we know most of the people, and I feel like it is safe. Our trunk or treat is huge, the entire parking lot is packed with cars and little people. This was the first year that Carson actually figured out what he was supposed to be doing. I think he had fun...

All About Carson

noreply@blogger.com (nicole) — Tue, 17 Nov 2009 01:59:00 +0000

My little boy turned 4 last month, I know everyone says this (but it's so true) they grow up too fast. I am always telling him I just want him to stay little, and of course he tells me he wants to "get big", darn it... But I do love watching him grow and learn and become more independent. He has been one of my biggest challenges and also my greatest joy. He makes me want to scream and laugh pretty much everyday. He has a very loving spirit and a very kind heart, and it continues to amaze me how great he is with his little sister, there are many times when she gets mad at him because she is sick of him kissing her or trying to hug her. I just hope and pray that I can help him focus all of his little boy energy into good things.
Here are a few pictures of his birthday party, he had a small party with his friends at preschool and then we had a more festive party at home with family and one of his other friends. Oh and we went to Red Lobster for dinner, did I mention he also has expensive taste! This year he request a spider cake and I was very happy with the way it turned out.

Finally

noreply@blogger.com (nicole) — Wed, 11 Nov 2009 22:12:00 +0000

I think it is really funny that my last post was about how I want to be better about posting more often, and that was about 5 months ago! I really can't believe it has been that long.
I do have a good reason though. I have been working on another blog. It is our adoption blog, that's right adoption! We are officially trying to adopt, and we are so excited! So I invite you to click on our button to the right and go check it out, and then help us spread the word and tell as many people as you can, because you never know who might know a young woman who is searching for a forever family for her baby.
This last weekend we went to an adoption conference in Portland, it was a really good experience, we learned a lot about adoption, birth parents, legal stuff, and got to meet other couples who are hoping to adopt.
Oh and along with our blog we also have "pass along cards" I know it sounds really weird, but this is a great (low pressure) way to help us spread the word. They are just little cards that have a picture of us and then our contact information. If you are interested in helping us spread those around let me know and I can send you some to pass out. Some ideas of people to give them are: bishops, relief society presidents, friends, teachers, doctors, pregnancy related organizations, the possibilities are endless!

Now on to other things,
I just got overwhelmed when I looked at all of our pictures from this summer and realized I haven't posted about anything we have done. So I am going to try to hit some highlights.

We took a two week vacation and went back east. Here is a quick description of what we did
Day one-Flew in to Baltimore- got settled in
Day two- Went to the Baltimore aquarium, and little Italy in Baltimore
Day three- My sister watched our kids (thanks Jen) While Dustin and I went to DC and saw, Fords theater where Lincoln was shot, the Holocaust museum, and the National Archives museum.
Day Four- We all went to DC and went to the top of the Washington Monument, the air and space museum and the museum of natural history. Both of the kids threw up on the way in to DC but once we got there they did great and loved it
Day Five- went to church, then went back into DC and went to the Arlington Cemetery, which was way bigger than I imagined, and the the Lincoln Monument, really cool
Day Six- Carson got sick and so my sister stayed home with him (thanks again) Dustin and Mersadie and I went to Gettysburg, it was amazing I would highly recommend going there
Day Seven- We started to head north, and stopped in Philadelphia, it was a crazy city and we didn't plan our time well so the only thing we got to see was the liberty bell, still a good time!
then we ended up in New York
Day eight- Went to a beach on Staten Island to relax for a little bit. Then met up with Dustins parents and brother and sister.
Day nine- We ventured into the big city of New York, we walked around for a while then went to the top of the Rockefeller center and looked around the city. Then that night the adults went to the Broadway show Wicked, which was AWESOME!
Day Ten- Went to Statue of liberty, walked the Brooklyn Bridge and then saw times square at night which was fun.
Day Eleven- Spent the day in central park, and didn't even see half of it!
Day Twelve- Went to church, then went to the bodies exhibition, which we loved! Then we had a girls night out in the city, the girls went shopping on Canal street, which is where I got my black market purse, yeah I know its a great Sunday activity...
Day Thirteen- Drove down to York Pennsylvania so see my good friend Ashley, we stopped at the Hershey Chocolate factory, they had a fun little ride we went on.
Day Fourteen- Went to Lancaster to visit the Amish farm and learn about the way they live.
Day Fifteen- Drove to the airport and flew home

I am sure I missed something, but as I was writing this I was thinking, HOLY COW, what kind of crazy person would plan a "vacation" like this. We did a TON of stuff and the amazing part is we really were not to tired at the end of it. We had a great time! Here are a few pictures...

I think that is enough for one post, I will catch up more tomorrow...

noreply@blogger.com (nicole) — Thu, 11 Jun 2009 04:16:00 +0000

I set aside the past couple days to clean and organize my house. Right now Mersadie is still in our bedroom and we are really running out of room. So we are going to rearrange, but as much as I really want it done, I DO NOT want to do it! So I have put it off like you wouldn't believe, and now two days have gone by and the house looks pretty much the same. Instead I have been doing some research on the internet and have found some really amazing blogs. How do people find the time to do all they do? But they have inspired me... There are a few things I really want to get better at, here are my top five:
1. Blogging, my blog is way lame compared to the ones I was looking at
2. Keeping my house clean, it really shouldn't be that hard, but it is at the same time
3. Cooking dinner, as much as I like to eat you would think I would like to make dinner but I don't!
4. Doing more learning activities with my kids
5. At the end of every day have at least an hour of personal reflection time, I would love to just sit down and read, write in my kids journals, pray, what ever, just kind of a meditation time. Right now at the end of every day I find myself wondering what in the world I did all day, I feel bad because I think I should have done more productive things with my kids and myself.

Anyway, thats what I have been up to the past day or two. Wish me luck...

noreply@blogger.com (nicole) — Mon, 25 May 2009 04:02:00 +0000

Here are a few pictures from the past couple months.

My brother Tyson got home from his mission in March, we were all so excited, I can't believe he was gone two years! Carson and Mersadie think he is great, however Carson has a REALLY hard time telling Tyson and Cody (my other brother) apart. Whenever he sees one of them he has to ask "are you uncle Tyson?" or "are you CooCoo?" Yeah Carson calls Cody CooCoo, like the bird, or like "crazy" its very fitting!

I know it is WAY past Easter but I saw these pictures and realized I hadn't posted any and they are so cute I just had to share. I love their outfits (of course I do I bought them)!

The weather has finally warmed up here, and I think its for good! So we have been outside a lot, working in the yard and just hanging out. I love it, and so does Carson, he is an outside boy all the way. He has been in a very good mood lately too, just about everyday he recalls what we have done and then he will say "we had a fun day", or in the morning he will say "it is such a good day" He is such an optomist, and it doesn't take much to make him happy right now, all we have to do is go oustide and play! Today we were out in the front yard, because we put more grass seed down in the back, and he turned on the hose and filled a low spot in our sidewalk with water and then proceeded to "swim" on the sidewalk. He then took his shorts off because they were wet, then he took his shirt off because it was wet too, I thought he was amusing until he then took off his underwear because they were also wet. We live on a busy road and I can only imagine what people thought as the drove by and saw a naked boy running down the sidewalk! So we came inside and called it a night!

These are pictures from another day when we were out playing in the sun.

Creative Madness

noreply@blogger.com (nicole) — Tue, 28 Apr 2009 05:09:00 +0000

Here is the result of my insane idea that quilting would be a fun new hobby! (Actually I really do like it, it is just a lot more work and a lot more stressful than I thought it would be.) I am so lucky to have a great husband who put up with nights of midnight quilting madness! For my first quilt I thought it turned out pretty well. Thanks to a great teacher, thanks Sue! I am giving this one to my sister for her new baby, she is due any day now. I think she is going to use it for her crib set. I guess I better get it in the mail.

This is the fabric for the next quilt that I still have sitting around, it is going to be the same main design as the one above only it is in girl colors and it is going to be a twin, which again was a more work and stress then I thought it would be. Which is why it is still not done, not even close!

I just thought I would throw this one in there, I made this cake for my dad for his birthday. It was cute and not too hard to make. I am excited to make a fun one for Mersadies birthday, which is coming up fast, oh my!

noreply@blogger.com (nicole) — Sun, 26 Apr 2009 01:42:00 +0000

I finally put my pictures on my computer and I realized a lot has happened and there is a lot I want to share. I will just do a few for now and post more in the next couple days.
Mersadie is walking all over the place and has been for about a month now, she is not even a year old, but she has a big brother she has to keep up with. Oh and she gives great slobbery kisses and loves her dad.
Carson is still busy and loving gymnastics, although I am not sure how much his instructor loves him... He is a great big brother, he always wants to know where Mersadie is, just to make sure she is ok. so cute.

Here are just some random ones of my very cute kids!

Carson finger/hand painting

I love Mersadie's tongue in this picture, what a goof

So tired she doesn't know which end is up!

Check back soon much more to come...

New Hobby

noreply@blogger.com (nicole) — Mon, 23 Mar 2009 23:06:00 +0000

I have started a new hobby. Quilting! Real quilting, not just tying yarn knots. I cut out about a bizillion little pieces then sew them together then sew cool designs on it, then put the binding on. There is this lady in my ward who I work with in young womens and she is a really good quilter so I decided that I would take the opportunity to learn from her while we are here. It is a lot harder and takes a lot longer than I thought it would. I finished my first quilt a couple weeks ago, it is a baby quilt and I am actually giving it away! Crazy I know. The one I am working on right now is a twin size quilt, which is A LOT harder than a baby quilt and I am keeping it, yeah! So I set up a little sewing station in my living room and I have been staying up late at night to quilt! Dustin has been a good sport about it, considering I have been obessed with finishing them. In fact he has even helped a little bit :)

Life

noreply@blogger.com (nicole) — Wed, 11 Mar 2009 05:07:00 +0000

My lovely cousin reminded me that I do need to post something a little more regularly. In my defense we just got a new computer and we are still trying to get it all set up. So that is my excuse for why I haven't posted for the past month. I don't have any pictures loaded on this computer yet so you will have to wait a little while longer for those.
Here is a quick up date:
Mersadie- is now 10 months old and trying to learn to walk so that she can keep up with her brother who she adores. She can only take about one step by herself right now and I am not in a huge hurry for her to figure it out completely!
Carson- is still just a busy as ever! This week he finally started gymnastics, I have been talking about it for a while but just haven't taken him. So we took the plunge. This is his first "organized" activity (besides church) and I think it will be really good for him. Although we really need to work on his summersaults, I realized that I don't think he has ever done one, and he was really confused about what the lady was asking him to do. Yeah I know I am a bad mom, my kid has no idea what a summersault is! Although it was kind of funny.
Carson is also now a sunbeam, and although he had no problem going to nursery (in fact leaving nursery is when he screamed) he does not like sunbeams! He never wants me to leave, luckily he has a great teacher and he is finally getting used to her and now as long as she is there he will let me leave.
Dustin- is still working in the ICU at our hospital and loving that. But we are also waiting to hear back from a masters program. He is on the waiting list at Midwestern and they said that they could call any day right up until the first day school starts and tell him to come on down. So it is totally up in the air right now. Which is hard for me, I have NO patience!
Me- I am still working about one day a week in the PCU, right next door to Dustin, which is kind of fun when we work the same day, although we really don't see each other that much. I am also so excited about our new computer so that I can start editing our home videos which I love to do. I love to watch my kids over and over again. They are so much fun and bring me so much joy!

My goal now is to blog more often so I don't feel like I have so much to catch up on. And I will have my pictures for next time, because those are way more fun anyway!

New Hair Cut

noreply@blogger.com (nicole) — Mon, 09 Feb 2009 00:42:00 +0000

I got my hair cut the other day, and even though it is not exactly what I wanted I actually really like it! The only bad thing about having a short hair cut that you like is that you have to get it cut more than once a year, which is what I usually do. So we will see how long it lasts.

Then there are those of us who don't have to worry about hair cuts at all! I won't mention names (Mersadie) Hopefully she will get some hair soon, I can't wait to fix it cute. She is getting so big and she makes me smile everyday, what a silly girl!

noreply@blogger.com (nicole) — Tue, 27 Jan 2009 04:34:00 +0000

We love how peaceful they look when they sleep!

I am really good at looking at everyones blogs and wondering why they have not updated them since the last time I look at them. Then I realized I haven't added anything to mine in a while. oops.

Christmas was great we did a lot of driving and although Carson does not do well in the car he did surprisingly ok. He only threw up three times and we consider that an accomplishment! We had so much fun hanging out and seeing family member we hadn't seen in a while.

It was a needed break, but we are glad to be home.

Mersadie is getting so big, she loves to eat and if you get in the way of her food or take too long to get it to her she will usually growl at you. Actually she has started growling at a lot of things lately, it is kind of funny. She is also getting very mobile, yesterday she climbed to the top of the stairs all by herself.

They are both so much fun, they make me laugh everyday, and I am so lucky to have them!

noreply@blogger.com (nicole) — Thu, 01 Jan 2009 18:22:00 +0000

noreply@blogger.com (nicole) — Sun, 21 Dec 2008 05:40:00 +0000

Ok consider my blog updated! Don't forget to read about what has been going on in our lives in the previous post!

Family Pictures

Don't ask

She is just too cute

Sorry I know there is a lot, but when you have some of the cutest kids ever there are just too many pictures to choose from. And besides I love pictures and I firmly believe a picture is worth a thousand words!

Halloween #2

Halloween #1

Cody comes home!

Carson and my friends little girl Ella

Carson turns three, (how did that happen?!?!)

Oregon Coast Vacation

He wants to be a cowboy baby...

Blessing day, my mom made that dress out of her wedding dress!

Summer fun

Summer baby

Looking and feeling much better

Traumatic delivery of baby Mersadie

Easter-2008

Hawaii- January 2008

noreply@blogger.com (nicole) — Sun, 21 Dec 2008 05:23:00 +0000

I put our blog address on our Christmas cards so that it would force me to start actually using and updating our blog. So here it goes, my first blog entry!
This has been an exciting and busy year for our little family.
Our family vacation was in January, we went to Hawaii and loved every minute of the warm weather. Carson LOVED rolling and playing in the sand and I am pretty sure his goal was to see how much he could take home with him.
In May Mersadie Hunter made her very grand entrance into this world. We are so grateful for the joy she brings to us. She is always smiling and loves life.
In July Mersadie was blessed and we were so glad to have family here for that event.
We took another family trip to the Oregon coast in October. It was windy and rainy but still a nice little get away. Then we got back and celebrated Carsons 3rd birthday. He is such a boy and makes us laugh and want to pull our hair out, all in the same day, just about everyday! I have been told by severeal people that it doesn't get any better as they get older so we are just learning to love and enjoy it.
The end of October Dustins brother got home from his mission and it was great to go Rigby and see him.
I started working at the hospital in September, I worked full time for 3 months during orientation and now I just work one day a week which is perfect. I get to keep my foot in the door and keep up on my nursing skills, but still feel like a stay at home mom! I work in the Progressive Care Unit, and Dustin works in the Intensive Care Unit, which is right next door. So that has been kind of fun.
Dustin has been applying to masters programs and has at least one interview in January, hopefully it will have one or two more, we are just waiting to here back. We are keeping our fingers crossed!
We are excited for Christmas, for some time off and time to see family and friends. Hopefully this will be a fun and easy way to keep in touch with people we haven't seen or talked to in a while.
Have a great holiday season and stay tuned for more post to come...