The House of Este

Where's Spring Gone?

2011-04-22T10:32:00.000-07:00

Today there is snow everywhere and you can hear and see it melting slowly away. But seriously snowing the way it did yesterday and last night was meant for november or december not the end of April. It's easter weekend, but it doesn't look like, although where and when you can see the grass it is very green. And before the snow covered them you could see flowers popping up everywhere, and perennials getting their color back from the previous year. Now.... White with bits of green, and cement. Luckily the roads aren't bad except for being wet.
An update on Seviah: She is gaining weight now, thanks to mothers milk supplement, a lot of water, and 1 to 3 oz of formula every once in a while after she eats. We were supposed to get her weighed yesterday but I didn't want to drive in the blizzard; so we rescheduled for next tuesday. I am a little peeved to not have the blood test results that were supposed to be rush delivery. But I guess at this point there's a pretty good possibility she doesn't have CDU. Her arm that was hurt during delivery is doing well, and she is moving it more every day, though she still favors her left. It's like her security blanket. Always near her face, and crunched up. She is starting to take better naps, and is happy I don't wake her up in the middle of the night to feed her. She wasn't getting enough sleep when I did that. She has been sleeping through the night for a while, except when I woke her up to eat. She is more alert now too during the day. She doesn't constantly sleep. She is still very serious and intense. She doesn't smile much except when asleep or right after eating. Every once in a while you can coax one out of her, but it's rare, and when she does smile, she is gorgeous. I love it!
The kids love her too. Amoz loves watching his baby sister and making sure she is happy. He sings to her gets her things she needs and always wants to be kissing, hugging, feeding, and holding her. Jade too, though Amoz is a little more attentive.
Amoz is reading everything these days. If there's a word around he'll sound it out and let you know what it says. We're still working with the comprehension part of reading but he does an awesome job and can sound out or figure out almost any word now. He is also stellar at math comprehension and numbers, and problem solving skills. My son will be smarter than me any day now it seems. He has already surpassed what they expect him to have learned by the end of the kindergarten school year. He takes after his dad that way. He is just a good boy.
Jade still loves to dance, and has added singing to her many talents. She loves to sing, and does it all the time. Whether it's primary songs or nursery rhymes, or just a song she made up, she loves it and is very good at it. She has gotten so big... I don't know where my little girl went. She enjoys watching Barbie movies, and has a few to play with. She loves them and polly pocket the most. along with Horses and polka dots. the polka dots are a new thing for her. She loves to dress up and wants to go to school and ballet. She's so funny, she's full of melodrama, when she describes things it's always with a word you wouldn't expect from a 3 yr old., such as beautiful, delicious and ridiculous. Her personality is very much like the little girl in despicable me. Especially when she hugs the stuffed animal and screams "It's so Fluffy!" Jade can say it exactly like her. it always makes me laugh. She also can't say her r's so she sounds like she's from new yok, and she's always susty (thirtsty). She is so much fun!
Well here's to a novel and a half. Until next time.
The Estes Clan

It's a Girl!!!

2011-04-14T10:45:00.000-07:00

For those who don't know because i slacked off bad at announcing it. Three and a half weeks ago we welcomed a new baby girl to our family. Her name is Seviah (seh-vi-uh) Azrael (like Israel only with an A or Ah sound at the beginning). She weighed 8 lbs 6 oz, was 21 inches long and had a 14 in head. She was born at our house (yes it was planned) on March 19, 2011 at 11:27pm. She is now almost 4 weeks and has been having a hard time gaining weight so far. She dropped a little over a pound right after and has only gained about 4-5 oz. For the last 2 days we have been supplementing her with formula on top of breast feeding, hoping that will help. Today the midwife comes to weigh her again and see if she's doing better. She also had to get another blood test because she tested positive for low carnatine uptake, we hope to get those results today with a negative result. Although that could be the reason for her not gaining weight.
Our midwife, Cari, has been here almost every other day since Seviah was born, weighing her, helping me and trying to figure out the best way for us to go about things. She has been so supportive, she's truly amazing. I'm so glad we went the midwife route! Although a very small part of my labor sucked because of pain and discomfort, the rest of my experience was wonderful. Their knowledge and experience is priceless and made for a truly remarkable experience. If we have more kids I will be using them again.
We had the baby blessing for Seviah on April 4, 2011, conference Sunday, as both my parents were in town, and I wanted my dad to be a part of it. We also had a lot of the estes cousins come. We were also blessed to have Jake and Christy and their family be there over the weekend, they had to leave before the blessing but I was glad we got to see them during that time.
We also had a distant cousing Ally come and take the kids pictures. I will be posting some up on here when we get them back.
Until next time....

The Estes Family

the skinny

2010-07-22T10:26:00.000-07:00

Well i'm calling it the skinny cause that's how much I know. But here it is.
    Dad Estes is going to have a triple bipass on july 26 in seattle WA. His recovery will be about 7 days in the hospital and then he can come home and do as little as possible for 3 months. no shooting no fishing, no manual labor. just resting and getting better.   I guess he has been okayed to travel to Utah in Sept for Mollies Wedding. Which they delayed for a month so Mom and Dad could go. Peggy and her hubby are coming to see mom and dad and mollie and val and their family are also coming. I think this weekend. Sandra left last tuesday, we miss her already. So..... that's the skinny. As far as I know it. I reserve the right to correct myself at a later date. ;-)

So Yesterday we finally poured and stamped the patio in the back yard. Well, Isaiah and Dad did, don't worry dad took it easy. It looks pretty good, although i wish it was colored already, we have to wait 28 days to color it. Isaiah was sick and still did it. He's such an awesome guy!   He's still sick today and he went to work, and will do more work when he gets home. I don't know how he does it.   Jade is sick with some sort of fever, and throwing up illness. Amoz is healthy and busy being a big "little" boy. I am also feeling under the weather, but am slowly getting better day by day. I am mostly tired and nauseous, with a few cold symtoms. I think it's cause i haven't been sleeping well lately. The last week of nights has been pretty rough on me and Isaiah, i don't know why.
     Amoz has been trying to be a helful big brother to Jade today and for the most part jade is being ornery to him, but they're trying and that make me feel good that they love eachother enough to try and get along. well i'm done for today. we'll catch ya another day on " THE SKINNY!" J/k
i know i'm a weirdo.

Later!

The News

2010-07-14T13:45:00.000-07:00

     Well, I haven't ket up on my blog the way I had hoped. I guess life is always coming at you fast, and you have to figure out your priorities. I would like people to know what is going on in our lives and how we are doing, but I also know that other things are more important than being in front of the computer. I had intended it to be a diary or sorts, but some things are just too personal for the web.
     Two big things that happened are my kids. Amoz turned 5 this past May and Jade turned 3. My baby is 3 yrs old. Crazy!! Had things gone the way we planned them we would already have another child, but in what world do things ever go according to plan? Right!? We have gone camping a lot this summer. Mostly out to Isaiah's parents cabin in Plummer, ID.
     We have done a great deal of 4-wheeling and exploring around the places we like to camp. Because of a battery problem one of the 4 wheelers is out of commission currently but we hope to have it fixed soon. Our nieces and nephews also had a great deal of fun on them this summer while visiting. We went to Dworshak Resevoir and Plummer and Bumblebee campgrounds this summer camping. Lately though we'd like to focus more on getting to the lake as much as possible. Our boat has a problem we have yet to diagnose but have hopes that it will run soon as well. Fishing you know?!
     We are setting the forms for the back patio today, and hope to pour this weekend. That is a task that we are completely ready to have done finished. It will span the length of the house and eventually be covered. That will be a great asset to our home. We always have big dreams. It's just a matter of them coming true or not that we struggle with.
     More currently, we have been focused on Grampa Estes. He's had a lot of health problems lately, first with a series of little strokes called transient strokes. He did get better though, even with the limitations of treatments. When he was in the hospital we got to see Jake and Elisa, and Mindie came up to help Mom, and give them support.  He was scheduled to go in and do some follow up tests. The other day when he went in for those tests the doctors decided they didn't like what they saw in his heart during the stress test they administered. They kept him there till they could feed him and administer another test taking pictures of his heart and blood flow. They diagnosed him with having more blocked veins to his heart with the possibility of the main ventrical being blocked as well. Treatements being stents ( which he got a few years ago. His body doesn't react well with the way stents are put in.) The other option being to put a baloon in to clear the pathway. The last option being a bypass. Since the strokes Linda has applied for more coverage through the vets hospital and Fred now has full coverage through the VA. The only hinderance being he has to stay within the confines of the VA hospital. They took him yesterday to seattle to have more tests run. I am assuming because it is a bigger VA hospital than we have here in spokane, and have a heart surgeon on staff. As far as I know they will conduct some tests there to see the treatment options, and either treat it in seattle or send him to the SLC VA, i can only assume once again because it is bigger or more well equipped. But nothing is decided as yet, and I have not heard any of the results of tests they may have conducted. Sandra flew in last night to come support Mom and Dad and will drive with Mom to Seattle on Thursday to be with Dad for the weekend. That's all i know and it's not much. So I'll keep posted when I hear more. God be with you and may you have as much peace in your lives as possible.

The Estes Family

Blogging is Hard...

2010-01-29T11:39:00.000-08:00

   So, it's not as easy as I thought it would be to keep a journal online, especially as I want to remember specifics of things that happened but don't necessarily want the world wide web to read about it. So I find myself being edited. It makes it hard to want to write, but instead of writing a journal it'll be more a frequent christmas card that changes with the year.
   I don't think I can catch you up with everything so i'll just let you know what pops into my head while i'm writing and hopefully not keep you here all day.
   This Week:
           Isaiah started training for a half-iron-man. It is swimming for one and a half miles, bike riding for 56 miles, and ending with a 13 mile run. All events have a maximum time limit, but I don't know what they are. You can check it out at http://www.oliverhalf.ca/Oliver%20Half%20Web%20Site/index.htm. it's also kind of cool because it's in canada. ROAD TRIP!!!! We're very excited! It's June 6,2010. Just this week he has done: MON- rode his bike to and from work = about 20 miles. TUES-running hill/speed intervals, swimming 30 laps ( to one side and back) = 1 mile.  WED- run 3 miles. THURS- Run 6 miles. and FRI- he's going to swim and SAT - he has a 90 min bike ride. He is very sore, as you can imagine. His only means of working out before this week was playing basketball 2 times a week. Talk about kicking your butt into shape. He and I are also in a play called "Check Please" It's about a series of horrible blind dates. We are both playing multiple characters thought he has more than me. He is a Pirate, a cousin, an 80's hair band rocker, and a gay actor method acting to be a straight guy. I'm sure most of you can imagine him playing these roles. I am a sweet, innocent, soft spoken, Bears fanatic! and a Control freak! you know the kind that does background checks on her dates and such.
   Isaiah is also trying to start a business. Though he does enjoy his work at Greenstone Homes. They are so good to us. Isaiah also plays basketball on Thursdays, once with people from work and then with the church league.
   We are also still trying to sell our house.
  Amoz's teacher from HeadStart came to our home this week to do a kind of parent teacher conference. They do it to set goals for the children and families, to help them succeed. As of this week every goal Amoz set and his teacher and I set has been accomplished. He is such a fast learner. There wasn't anything she could think of to have him work on other than raising his hand before answering a question. So for the rest of the year he'll be focusing on learning to write numbers better and start learning to read. I'm so proud of him. He truly is Amazing. We are so blessed to have such a Son. He also helps around the house more. He helps set and clear the table and takes out the garbage for me. (usually with a little help from me or daddy), but he tries his best. We're still working on the cleaning up as you go instead of all at once, it's not a concept he enjoys either way.
    Jade is getting a rather large vocabulary, and is also learning to pronounce them better. ( she clicks on the c or k sounds, sometimes g sounds) like pin-(click) instead of pink it's very cute. I thought it was very ingenious of her to think of another way to make a sound that was hard for her. She is very smart! and Soooo.... CUTE! Her hair is almost to her bum now, curly and light brown with some blonde streaks from last summer. She is getting so big, she wears 3t now and is almost in a 4t. OH! and she is potty trained!!! she's not perfect yet but we are extreeeemely grateful she gets there most of the time. We are hoping to get her into preschool this fall. AH! my baby isn't a baby anymore. (she tell me so) She is also cute when she tells people to stop it. It's so clear and in a cute little voice. She still has her super powered scream though. I hope she grows out of that. I might go deaf before my time.
   Both the kids are excited for swimming and parks and fun this summer as we haven't had much of a winter up here. It's still cold, but it fools you almost every day. It looks so beautiful outside and then it freezes you when you go outside. Although some days feel like the middle of beginning of april. We get snow and then a couple hours later it's gone. Freezing at night. Sometimes raining. Wacky weather this year. Isaiah and I went snowboarding and it was like falling on cement each time I fell. I got pretty beat up during that adventure.
   Well I have work around the house and errands to run. I hope this finds you in good spirits.

Later,
Carrie

What a way to bring in the new year...

2010-01-04T23:28:00.000-08:00

Well, I haven't been very good at writing lately, I could blame it on christmas and new year's but I actually thought about writing everyday, I was just too lazy to do something about it. I can say that my lack of sleep contributed to my laziness but that would be an excuse as well. Our Family had a good christmas in Utah with my family and a few from Isaiah's family. It was spiritual as well as social. I was glad to see my cousins and family that I haven't seen for a long time. Staying in touch is important, and I'm sorry i'm not better doing so. My mom told me of about a singing group she was in called the 10 virgins, and that they sung songs and dialogue from a CD called the 10 virgins. I have not heard it, but I have heard a few of the songs my moms group sang and I was touched deep within my spirit. I plan to buy it, but if any of you have it or know of someone who does, I strongly suggest you listen to it. It is very.. powerful. It contributed greatly to my Christmas.
I did not get to do everything I wanted to on my trip to Utah, I'm sure Isaiah's grateful, he hates it when I plan every second. To a certain degree so do I. But as our vacations are few and far between, I feel the need sometimes to take advantage of the situation to get the most out of it I possibly can. Not always a good idea. We left early on the 27th, to catch a flight on delta at 8:45am so we left at 7:30am, got to the airport at 7:45 or so, it took us.... I don't know how long to get all our bags in line to check in. I had to stand in line and move 4 bags with Jade with me, then Isaiah my mom and Amoz brought the other bags, there was a lot of baggage. We had to pay 100 dollars to check our bags! If you have a lot of stuff to take, don't take Delta, it's not worth it. They 're nice people but the money you save on tickets you end up paying double on baggage, no money saved but more money lost. After checking in we had to get our gun checked, that was fast thank goodness. Then we took the long trek down to our flight, but because it was such a small flight when we got to gate check in they were paging us to tell us we were late. right as we got there over the intercom came last call for the estes family. then more hurrying through a long outside hallway and on to a small plane we went. it was a decent flight and the attendant was nice. When we landed we had a long way to go with a lot of luggage, and then baggage claim. The kids thought it was all kinds of fun. Ah the innocence of childhood.
It was nice to get home early we had all day to relax and unwind. That day seemed really long, as you can imagine. We got up so early, but we just opened presents, watched movies and ate food. It was a perfect christmas, except for the part where we had no snow. well, i want to get to bed. so i'll catch you up tomorrow. if i'm good. later!

Another Weird Day

2009-12-22T22:31:00.000-08:00

   Well today was another fast paced fun-filled day. And I'm half serious half sarcastic when I say that. I got more sleep last night which was a definite change. I needed it; I woke up a lot happier. I won't go through all the details of the day today. I'll just summarize. Today it Snowed!!!! My mom, Becca and I (and my kids) went shopping today at shopko, and costco. It was fun at the beginning, my kids woke up happy. And in the car Jade and Amoz quoted grandma saying " It's the party van." However, it didn't stay that way. At Shopko, they started to test me and frustrate my mom and sister.  They were that unhappy. We also had the added problem of Amoz accidentally seeing what his sister got for him for christmas.  I pretended to put it back because he has the memory of an elephant, but really put it in the cart underneath him. But he was devastated that he hadn't gotten anything from the store like Jade had. He figured that meant he wasn't getting any presents for christmas.(probably a bad move on my part but it was hard to think clear at that point) That made it very difficult to cheer him up. Luckily my family did a great job of being persistent and loving to him, which I appreciate. (a phone call to his daddy also helped with that.) They're good at helping me out. Even when the kids are annoying and driving them crazy. Which I feel bad and embarrassed about. But what can you do? They're 4 and 2, they're supposed to test you at those ages. Even if we don't like it. I really can't complain I have 2 excellent children, and truth be told when to me they're being "bad" in my eyes, to others they're still angels, so I have to give them credit where credit is due.
   We all took a nap after getting home from Costco and eating lunch. That was nice. When naps were over I helped mom get Rebecca's birthday dinner going (potatoes and BBQ Ribs with croissants too) I have to admit I actually kept to my diet for dinner. It was especially good since I blew it at lunch. It makes me feel better when I don't cheat myself. We did cake and opened presents. She got a shirt from Mitch, a bike from mom and dad and a coat and scarf from me. She loved the scarf but not the coat, which I regret to say, really bummed me out. I guess I was so sure she would love it that it hurt a little to see that she didn't like it. So I told her I'd take it back tomorrow. Which I will. All the kids helped clean up after dinner. That's when the night ended pretty much.
   But it brings me to my rant for the night. I hate it when I'm selfish. I mean I really hate it, especially when I'm not really aware that I am being that way. It makes one upset and disappointed in everything and everyone around you. It eats at your mind and feelings and brings you down. It irritates and often times hurts the ones around you, usually your loved ones and close friends.  Being selfish keeps you from sharing, serving, nurturing, loving, listening, forgiving, and a I could go on and on.  It makes you spiteful and hard hearted.  NONE of these things helps in any aspect of our lives. Especially our relationships with loved ones, family, friends and most importantly our Heavenly Father.  It causes us to drive people away. Either us chasing or them running of their own accord.
   A lot of selfishness I feel comes from us trying to make people fit us when we should be fitting ourselves to others. Not changing who we are at the core, but making ourselves more maleable, so as to be able to love others as unconditionally as our Lord loves us.   Then all of those characteristics we were lacking before can emerge and grow until it no longer takes effort for us to have true charity towards others.
I share this because I have caught myself being selfish before, but in the last 2 or 3 days have discovered new ways I have been selfish. Tonight I caught myself pouting and feeling sorry for myself. Thinking of myself and how picked on I was. These feelings came out of my pride being hurt. (though it took me till now to pinpoint it). Selfishness! It's a sneaky little bugger. And though I don't know if my thoughts took on actions that hurt those around me I feel responsibility to apologize and ask forgiveness for the hurt I may ( or may not) have caused.   My challenge: to remember, think of and serve others. Not just think but ACT. Though it may be hard and maybe even forced at first we will be rewarded with those attributes we require most to return to our Heavenly father, and He will make it easier and easier as we strive each day to do so. Soon our "work" will become more convenient, it will seem more like service, then maybe to a simple pleasure, and soon after that it will be our Joy!
I hope to read this again soon to help myself establish good goals of service. To one day have true Charity. That day I'm sure is a while in coming but I look forward to it none-the-less.

Till tomorrow.....

Playing Catch-up

2009-12-21T23:12:00.000-08:00

   So, today was a busy day. We were going nonstop from 8:30am to now. (Not fun by the way) I hate feeling like I couldn't have fit anything else in, and always in a rush, even if there was no avoiding it. It's maddening.
   I haven't written for the last 3 days, and I'm feeling the repurcussions of my procrastination. I want to tell you all about what happened, to give you the details that filled up each day, or even to just be able to share with you the lessons I've learned and my thoughts of the day.
   I'm not really sure what happened on the 19th, my memory doesn't serve me well over a span of time without something significant to anchor it to. I know that my sister Becca's friend (and family friend) Brian came over and visited, he has just come from canada on a one month vacation. I'm not sure where it started, he lives in cali, so I assume it started there but not sure, and he ended up in Utah. He didn't get in till like 2:00am Dec 20. So I got to meet him. He was a funny dude, nice and a good sport about being beat up by my kids, and the weirdness that happens at the Riddle Home.(mostly when we're tired) He had driven for a long time like 16 hrs. or something like that. My parents let him crash at our house. So nice of them huh? He ate with our family on Sunday and left a little after that to see family. However, he didn't get in till like 2:00am Dec 20. Before that all I remember is going to the park with Mom, Dad, my kids, and Becca. Cold, but fun.

   Sunday, was amazing. At church we had 2 wonderful lessons, and a lot of musical numbers during sacrament meeting. I had my eyes opened and was humbled by the spirit that was in each meeting. I want to go into more depth but i'll wait till tomorrow. (to keep things short) but the journal entry I write about that will not be a short one, (just a warning).

   Today was the busy day. I once again went to bed very late talking to Becca, and it was a good talk, even though it was cut short by brian's entrance. I'm glad I had the opportunity to sit and just go on and on about things and catch up. It made me very happy, and very fulfilled, though I also felt great sorrow that she could not confide in me at the times she was having great hardship. I hope that I can make myself more readily available to her if she needs someone. And that I can show her that I am always her sister first and nothing can change that. I don't know if she is aware of how much I love and miss her, and long to have a better/closer relationship with her. My sorrow is of my own doing though and it must be me to repent and start anew.
   I got off topic, but anyways, My kids woke up every 45 min last night after my already late night I didn't get consistent sleep. They were restless from exhaustion and not enough sleep. So I was extra tired from that. Then, Jade woke up early as usual, and said she was hundary, I sent her to see grandma, then my mom yelled up that she and Mitch were leaving to go to Ogden to get Mitch's stuff. Right after that, Amoz woke up and was hungry as well, and wanted to watch a movie. I got up gave them breakfast, and started a movie. I had just sat down after the movie started when becca mom and michelle came home, and when mom found out becca had missed her dentist appointment she got upset at us for staying up so late that we would skip out on our commitments we'd made that day, or be lazy. My mom and I had a difference of opinion on that note, but worked it out.
   We went and saw her Decibelle performance at the church office building and Joseph Smith Memorial building. The first one was really nice, the second one with my kids was kind of frustrating. Thankfully my sisters were there and willing to help me out. We took a long time to leave after the last performance. Then we made a stop at a cooking supply store called Orson Gygi, but we were running late and had to run in and run out without being able to look around very much, we did that while becca and michelle went to becca's rescheduled dentist appointment. Then we dropped off mom's friend that had ridden with us to their performance, and went home. The kids took a cat nap in the car but woke up after taking them inside. Then dad came home, mom got ready and went to the church with him so he could do an interview. Before they came home I ordered Royal South Seas (south seas) and they picked it up and came home, we ate and mom made cinnamon rolls while she ate. By the time we got done, Scott and Sarah arrived and ate some of the chinese food. As soon as they started eating people started arriving for the Berrett Christmas party. We had the party it was fun to play games, and see everyone. I chatted with a lot of my cousins and Jade and Amoz were in heaven playing with all the kids. Jade played and angel in the nativity and loved it. (especially her costume) and Amoz got embarrassed and was ornery from no sleep so he threw a fit and wouldn't participate. My dad had some people from the single's ward come and sing him carols, that was nice. We did the White elephant gifts and this year Mitch wrote a new story to go with it. That was nice. Then we had the goodies people brought and people started to leave.
   I still had hard time getting the kids to bed, but scott helped tuck Amoz in and then couldn't remember his name, he asked my mom who that guy was that was sitting next to sarah, and after 2 guesses found out he meant scott, he said " the guy in the white shirt.... the big guy" He must have been tired cause he never forgets names. It was nice of him to help him get to bed.
   I talked to mom for a bit before heading to bed myself, however, I only got ready for bed and in bed before I started journaling and then I talked to my Man on the phone a little,(I miss him so much, and think about him all the time). So now I'm all caught up to the present, and am extra ready for bed. I really need to start this earlier. Sorry my entries are so long, I don't realize I have a lot to say till I'm done. I also don't want to forget things so I put more detail than most people probably would, but that's okay right cause it's my journal.
   Hasta Luego

Better Late than Never

2009-12-18T23:52:00.000-08:00

   Well, we made it to Utah safe and sound and ..... a little bit squished.  I would have written yesterday (Dec. 17 2009) but I was busy Wednesday Night getting ready to get ready to leave, went to bed at around 4:30am. My lovely children woke me up at 8:00am, and I started to pack and get things in order. (Procrastinate much?) I was surprisingly alert though, for not much sleep. Mitch came over at 9:30am and helped with the kids and my brain power.(Mind you we planned to leave at 10am). So I got things together, remembered a lot of important things and we got packed and left at 11:30am.  A little late but I was sure I didn't forget anything so it was worth it. We figured we'd eat driving out of town, but town after town passed and we still hadn't eaten, we were eating snacks in the car and the kids were really getting hungry. We passed kellogg. Still waiting........ We didn't eat till we got to Missoula, MT. Wow that was a long time. Nearly 3 hrs.  After that it was a lot easier, even though we were crammed in the honda we moved things around like sitting Amoz on his bag so he wasn't squished by it and also put him higher since his car seat mysteriously didn't get put in the car. (I really don't know how I forgot that it was in the Truck... with Isaiah..... in WA). He was happier though. Then we put on movies with our handy little dvd player we got over the holidays on Black Friday. (first time i've ever shopped that day) That thing was/is a lifesaver the kids were zoned and then Jade zonked 20 min in. Amoz forced himself awake for a while, but I got worried he was watching tv too much so I took it away. 30 min later, he zonked and they were out for at least 3-4 hrs. I got a nap in too, though not as restful as theirs.
   Mitch drove most of the way. I helped a little when we went through a weird on and off again snow drift at the top of lo lo pass and had already gone through a lot of fog. I went till we got to the last rest stop in Idaho. At that point the lack of sleep was catching up to me. I pulled over to stretch but when I sat in the passenger seat I realized just how tired I was.   Poor Mitch had more fog she had to go through after we got into Utah but she was a lot more confident than before. All in all the roads were dry, and no bad weather other than fog, the snow drift and a 5 min rain when we came off 4th of july pass, and no car trouble.   We were extremely blessed.
   It was still a long trip though, it seemed so much longer than ones before. I'm not sure why. We finally pulled into the driveway at 1:30 am after a 14 hr trip the kids were asleep and we were glad to be home. We got the kids in, unloaded and when that was done, Dad had waken up to see the kids, Rebecca had waited up for us and Mom got home from her visit right after we got there, so it became a party. The kids were so excited to see everyone and visa versa. We ate something, talked and at 3:30am finally went to bed.

   Today, (Friday, Dec 18) I got to sleep in.   That was sooo..... Nice! Thanks to my Wonderful Mother. She took care of Jade when she woke up and Amoz too after Jade woke him up. They played a little first then they had oatmeal with all kinds of goodies. All kinds of fruit and sugar and even some sprinkles. (Which I have no doubt they were excited about. )
   I didn't wake up till 10 or 10:30am I'm not exactly sure but it had a 10 at the beginning anyways. I  chatted with mom and the kids, Becca wasn't upstairs yet and Mitch went to see about getting her old job back at the Daycare. I love talking with Mom. It's good to have her to talk to face to face.   Instead of on the phone.
   (Sidenote: It felt so good to take a shower this morning not sure why but who cares it was Awesome). At around noon I decided to go to the store, but ate first since I hadn't eaten yet. Becca came upstairs and I asked her if she'd join me. She said she would but she vacuumed out her car before we went,(while i was eating) then it took us a little bit to get out the door. Mitch came home and she went with us. We went to Walmart and Harmons. At Walmart I got socks and underwear for Amoz and Jade (you know since i was sure Yesterday that i didn't forget anything.) Plus Jade has been doing so well with going to the bathroom in the potty that I rewarded her with new "big girl panties" since i'd only brought one pair. After we just went to Harmon's to get some groceries for my salad and other goodies we wanted to make over the holiday. When we got home we put the food away, I cleaned up my room and put clothes and things away, and went downstairs and played "no name game" with mom. We quit early to make dinner since dad was on his way home. I cleaned off and set the table, made a salad, and cleaned up a bit. Mitch went to dinner with some friends, Becca went to rockreation to rock climb with Scott, so it was just me the parentals and the kids. It was a nice dinner. After dinner I helped clean up and put away the food and dishes, it felt really good to help. Dad played with the kids after dinner, and I'm pretty sure mom joined them after we were through cleaning up.
   I came up stairs to check my email and heard voices, so I went downstairs thinking it was Scott but it was Mitch's friend Able, they came to get Mitch's swimming suit and go hot tubbing at Able's new apartment complex.
   At bedtime I waited to get Isaiah on the phone for family prayer but he had a performance and so we said it with Grandma and Grandpa. It was really hard after that to get the kids to stay in bed. I wanted to read the scriptures with mom and dad but the kids just wouldn't settle down. I separated them and it that worked for a little, long enough for mom and I to start a game of "no name" and were continually interupted by my adorable children telling me why they couldn't sleep. (Now most of the time you don't want to remember the awful things you do, however in this case it's to remember things Amoz said.) At one point I spanked Amoz and sent him back to bed but we got tangled and I hurt his arm which I apologized for. As he went up the stairs to his room, he passed grandma and said he hurt his arm and he couldn't use it anymore (as he shook it up and down.) He told grandma it was broken forever.  (How cute is that)  He is so adorable.
   Well anyways, 3 hrs. after starting bed time, I went to bed (11:30pm) and since the kids weren't cooperating I took Jade in with me and got ready for bed.   Amoz didn't like being along in the room, he wanted Jade, and then got kind of emotional and said he wanted to go home, I reminded him how much fun he was having and told him it was just cause he didn't want to go to bed that he was acting this way and he said" It's because of Eclipse and Santiago that I want to go home"(and of course he misses his Daddy). I loved him better and came back to my room to write in my Journal. Jade was out after 20 min. Amoz maybe 30min. Either way, they're not taking naps tomorrow.   I'm not doing this night over 2 times in a row. lol...
So Good night and Sweet Dreams, whether night time or Day. I'm putting my baby in her bed, calling my Sweetheart and getting some much needed rest. Hasta manana!

(i hope that's how you spell that, i don't know how to do the fancy n on the computer.)

Repurcussions..

2009-12-16T11:16:00.000-08:00

So, as you may know from my last blog, time posted was very late or very early whichever you prefer. I woke up this morning with a headache, stuffy nose, sore throat and sort of sick to my stomach. I went back to bed hopeing it would go away, it hasn't yet. The part that smarts is that I know this happens when I don't go to bed at a good time, and I still do it. I am disappointed in myself because I also wake up upset, and that never feels good. Especially if it falls onto your children and those you talk to during the day. I know I see it while I'm doing it and just loathe myself for being so selfish as to take my stupidity out on others.
   A positive note to all this is that I have found a solution to my forgetfullness as it affects my journal entries. I am going to write more than one a day, therefore they will be shorter and more accurate. I'm very proud of myself for deciding to do this, that way I don't smudge parts of my day into nothingness, but reflect on what I have done and am going to do. It's good to not have an idle mind. You learn more that way. I learn more because I become more aware of what i'm doing and how it's going to affect me and others. It also allows me a way to ask myself whether or not I am doing something I would want others to read in my journal and thus make better choices. That can always change ones mood and attitude; to feel good about what you've done and in affect bring us a little bit closer to achieving our personal goals.
   So far this morning, I have had to get on to the kids about climbing on our couches that we didn't bring upstairs last night. My goal is to get the upstairs cleaned so that when Isaiah gets home it will be ready for us to just get them upstairs and set up. Alleveiating some stress for him in process.
   The kids are really enjoying the carpet downstairs, especially the stage. When we got home from preschool lastnight they just ran and jumped, danced and wrestled with Isaiah and me until dinner time. They have been at this morning as well. We did put some furniture up there since last night though and they seem to like that as well.
   I am constantly thinking about what I need to do to get ready for our long trip to Utah. Laundry for one is my most challenging. I would also like to not leave the house in shambles. Though Isaiah said it was alright if I did. I don't feel good about leaving more stuff for him to do, he does so much already. Getting ready to leave this week I definitely need to do the dishes, the kitchen floor, and clean up the kids rooms and of course laundry. For Isaiah I would like to do a little ironing so he won't have to go to work with wrinkly shirts. He hates that.
   Mitch came over and brought a table she borrowed from us that we got from her back to us. ( did you follow that?) lol... The kids were very excited to see her, but she couldn't stay long. She has a fitness final (?) to take today at 1pm. She also brought back a book she borrowed and is taking her tires back to her house in coeur d'alene. She will give them to a friend to take down to Utah for her. I'm glad to be rid of them we couldn't use them and we have no place for them so Hallelujah! I like talking to her better in person. It feels like we communicate better that way, than on the phone. I hate that it feels like we get in arguements on the phone every time I talk to her. It's not what I want and I don't know why it happens.. nevertheless, I'm glad that when she came over things went well between us.
   Well, I have a lot to do today, so I'd better get started.

Until next time...

Evening is Finally Here

2009-12-16T01:00:00.000-08:00

   Well, it's been a long day.  I've tried today to pinpoint the things I would like to remember and write down. Alas, when you try to think of all you would say, you are flooded with the day and things get muddled. That's where I am right now........ Well it's later and I'm sore and tired.  The carpet is in the basement!!!! It looks wonderful! We also thought that this would be a good time to rearrange furniture. Maybe not Isaiah's first choice, okay not at all but we did it anyways. We took pics that i'll upload hopefully tomorrow.
   Amoz and Jade played out in the snow today, first time this year, and they must have been warm casue they stayed out for a long time. While they were out the layers told me of some problems we needed to fix before the carpet could go in. I called Isaiah and told him he needed to buy wood to fill in the gaps on the stage of the theatre room. What a nice thing to have to rush and do in the middle of your work day. I felt so bad. But he did it anyways and was quick and efficient. I'm so proud of him and all that he does. He just makes things look easy. I'm grateful he's so good at doing so many different things. He does more than his share. After we fixed the stage I talked him into staying for lunch, it is always fun to have lunch together as a family. The kids and I enjoyed it very much.
   I did a lot of cleaning today. I just kept cleaning and cleaning and cleaning. When one area was done I moved to another, when that one was clean I moved stuff back to the place I just cleaned, and so on and so forth. So, my carpet looks wonderful however, the rest looks like a trainwreck from sticking everything where carpet wasn't being laid. They carpet layers were here from 9am to 5:30pm. Luckily I had a neighbor that has kids that goes to the same preschool as Amoz and we worked out a schedule to split up the driving to and from school. That was very helpful.
      I had all the smoke detectors in the house go off today. I had just put Jade down for a nap and started making myself a hamburger(one of the only things allowed on the diet i'm on) but since I cooked them inside the smoke went everywhere. FYI- our microwave died a few weeks ago and I bought another one on sale right after thanksgiving. Isaiah installed it for me last week and I love it. The only problem is that it doesn't vent properly, though neither did the other microwave we had that came with the house. So now Isaiah has to take it out and fix it again. Poor guy. And now we've come full circle I tried to use the microwave fan to help with the smoke, alas, it did nothing so I ended up opening the sliding door, which just teased eclipse since I couldn't let him in. Jade couldn't sleep because of the beeping everywhere. Frustrating much?!
   Isaiah had dress rehearsal tonight. I hate it when he's gone. But, I think I smother him. Socially I mean. I have a hard time letting him go do things without me. I am getting better at it though. I tried moving the couch out of the theatre room while he was gone so he wouldn't have to do it. Tried being the key word it. I couldn't do it and in the process of attempting this feat I pulled the couch up on my toe and part of the nail just ripped. The rest was bruised, I trimmed my nail and stopped the bleeding but man did it hurt. I decided to take a rest so I sat and watched "so you think you can dance" Isaiah came home and sat by me to relax and unwind. We did for a while then ended up moving furniture. Towards the end of the night we came up with a plan for the furniture but isaiah had a migraine so once again I went off on my own to remove our trapped sliding recliner out of the clothes in the laundry room. I ended up dropping it on my poor toe that had already been abused. I tried really hard not to say bad words and decided to count instead. It worked. (sort of)
   Isaiah and I figured out the seating arrangement but Isaiah wasn't relaxed cause of his headache.  After some coersion we decided to go to bed (Finally) which is where I am now. Not sleeping in bed, but at least Isaiah is. He needs it.
   I know I said I wouldn't write a book, but hey this is my journal so take it or leave it I guess. I won't be offended. Takes a lot to do that. I hope tomorrow I do a better job of remembering the things I want to write down. It's very frustrating you know to feel like you don't have control of your brain. Although, it can be funny as well. Half glass full you kow.
   In closing, I hope all is well and good with all you out there. And hope and pray you get the blessings you need.
   I'll be back tomorrow.......

Carrie

My First Blog

2009-12-14T12:30:00.000-08:00

So this is my first blog, it feels a bit weird to be writing it. I always thought they were not my thing, however, I recently decided I needed to keep some sort of journal and I hate writing things down in books that I lose or only write a few things here and there. Also, this gives me a way to keep in touch with those that want to hear about me and my family, the two are mutually exlusive.

After writing that last sentence I realize I don't know if I used the term "mutually exclusive" correctly, if I didn't I apologize and you should correct me. It sounded intelligent anyway.

So getting to the point.....

My family and I are getting ready to go to Utah for Christmas. My children and I will ride down with Mitch in the Honda on Thursday or Friday, whichever is the best day to travel. Isaiah will join us by flying down on the 23rd and we will all be there till we fly home on the 27th.

Amoz is 4.5 years old now, and has been going to preschool at Headstart (a free government funded preschool that helps kids get ready to go to Kindergarten). He loves it there, and excels in all the areas the teachers challenge him in. He is to set goals each week and work to accomplish them with the teachers and parents working together to help him. His 2 teachers are Teacher Amanda and Teacher Tonya. They adore Amoz and always have praise to give. (Amoz loves that too as you can imagine). He loves learning and trying new things, making new friends and being a "big boy." He speaks very well, knows the the alphabet, how to spell his name, can count to 20 and is learning to count above that. He is starting to recognize words when we read so learning to read is coming along quickly I'm sure. ( Something i need to do more of with them). He is a Wonderful kid with so much personality it's hard to take it all in sometimes. He love video games, he plays diego on the Wii and also Indiana Jones - lego guy. he's very good at it. Better than me. Yesterday, he tried playing the playstation 3 for the first time (the game was infamous). It's fairly advanced and I have finally gotten the hang of it. He however, played it for 30 minutes and figured out almost everything out on his own and I thought Isaiah was playing but it was Amoz, we were both amazed! If he needed help we would instruct and he followed with precision. He learns so quickly, it astounds. He and Jade argue a lot and challenge eachother, but have a lot of moments where they are just so sweet to eachother, they love and serve eachother when it matters most and that makes the rest bearable. He loves cars, his blankies, and his stuffed animals; he named all of them (not the cars).

Well, I think that's enough about amoz today. We parents can always go on and on about how awesome and unique each of our children are, so i'll tell you about my other child now.

My baby Jade. We all call her Jadeybug (even Amoz). We used to also call her baby girl but recently she is insisting "me not a baby". She loves pink, stickers, babies, dresses, pretty things, sparklies, jewelry, makeup, horses, shoes and food. She likes to build.... stack things, she'll stack some of the giant legos on top of eachother and say " your happy birthday mommy" it's a birthday cake she made for me. About five minutes ago she had me cut up her banana and before she ate them said " me stack them" she stacked them up and ate them one by one. She stacks our soup cans, and boxes asl well.

Jade is very ticklish, and it is so fun to hear her laugh. She is so silly sometimes she asks to be tickled. She loves games, playing hide and go seek and horsey with daddy, or whoever is willing to be the horse, are 2 of her favorites. (She is horse crazy). She loves to talk, and though not always understood she thinks she was quite clear and will look at you funny if you ask her to repeat what she said. She has a cute stutter when she gets excited, and tries to tell us about it. When she gets to the small words that sound similar she just says the vowels sounds and keeps saying them like she got confused with how many of them there were. It's adorable.

She dances a lot and is quite good. She learns fast. She also loves to sing. She sings with the family, with the radio, or to herself. She knows a few primary songs,(mostly the ones i sing to them at night) and sings them with me Amoz, and Isaiah.

Through all of this she is very kind and likes to please others and make them happy. When she is in a good mood, which is most the time, she will share, try to make you feel better ,tickle rub your back or hair to console you, or kiss you better wherever you are hurt, she is always very concerned for other. On the other side of all this Angelic behavior she is VERY stubborn, and has a mean little temper. she will scratch and lash out to protect herself if she feels wrong is being done to her, and she can be really ornery sometimes. She will ignore you and give you the silent treatment if you offend or embarrass her. She reminds me of me sometimes. (when i was little that is). She also Screams A LOT! We call it her super power. It is high pitched and very loud it just pierces through everything. Speaking of super powers she likes to play pretend. She likes to be bat girl or super girl. Sometimes she's a cat, a dog, a mommy, a grandma, a baby, or anything else she can think of. Her favorite pretend playmate is Amoz.(of course) She likes reading books and coloring (sometimes on things she shouldn't like walls). Something she has struggled with is potty training but in the last week has been very excited about it and is getting and A for effort in getting there when it's time to go. In a nut shell she's my little baby that wants to be my big girl! She is a mommies girl as Amoz is a daddies boy.

I can go on about my kidsbut I won't right now, i'll save some for tomorrow.

Now I can give you and update on me and Isaiah.

Isaiah works at a company called Greenstone Homes. They are a builder that does master plan communities, and subcontracts the work to build the homes, parks and neighborhoods. Montrose is one such neighborhood that we so happen to live in. It is located in Post Falls, ID. We have a 10,000sqft backyard that has been taken over by our massive dog Eclipse (a husky/wolf hybrid) that we got in May 2007 when he was 5 weeks old. We also have a cat(santiago) that loves attention, is very finicky about where he drinks his water, and keeps our house vermon free.( he likes his water fresh from the sink). Isaiah stays busy with work going in around 6:30am and comes home between 4 and 5 pm. He plays basketball on monday and wednesday evenings and in the last 3 months has been acting in plays at the liberty lake community theatre. Rehearsals monday through thursday 6:30pm-8:00pm. Scouts is on Wednesdays 6:30pm to 8:30 pm.(Isaiah is assistant scout master) On top of all that we are just finally putting the last touches up on finishing our basement. A project that has taken us 3 years to accomplish. Better late than never. The carpet goes in Tomorrow and we have to take almost everything our of the basement that we can for the installers. Yeah Carpet!!!! then it's just a few little things and we're done. We've also been trying to sell our home since april 2009 and are hopeing we sell but if not by april 2010 then we'll take it off the market and live happily in our beautiful home that we love. I am currently looking for a job, and also going to school for medical transcription through Allied Business School. As if we weren't already doing a lot, I personally am striving for goals most would consider "everyday" but that I struggle with "everyday". I am struggling to learn to sew (one project at a time.) I'm also on a weighloss regime (is that how it's spelled?) and am doing pretty good, I have slipped a few times but have remewed hopes for today. So far 10 lbs. It's a start anyway. I've lost more inches than pounds, I guess they'll go last.

Housekeeping is not a forte of mine, and I have been striving to be better at that. I really don't like it but I love it when my house is clean so I try to focus on the result rather than the work to get to the result. It's very overwhelming. Ontop of this there are my personal and families Spiritual goals. They seem so easy but with the everyday intricasies I get lost sometimes and have to re-establish my priorities in the clarity of the evening. I hope one day to achieve the challenge given by the prophet to "Simplify our Lives".

This is probably the longest blog I will write so if you got through this one then then the other ones will be cake. If you do decide to read our families "Journal" I appreciate the support, and thank you for wanting to take a part in our families lives, no matter the distance.

My wish to you is that each day feel like Christmas, it's called the ""Present" after all. ( I know that was cheesy but it's still true.)

Until tomorrow.....