Monday, October 19, 2009

more pictures, and a movie!

I'm so excited to show you a bunch of new pictures. It may help you to be up to speed on the family. First a few pet shots: Bosco with the baby's head band on, and the cat stretching outNext we have a few of Mark working out with his kettlebells. He loves it!
It is not snowing, it is actually the chalk that he uses on his hands.
Mark and I disagree on what hairstyle looks good on him. He LOVES the "high and tight" while I like just a little more length on the top with it short, but not shaved on the sides. He is also constantly changing his facial hair. I've started taking pictures of the various looks of Mark. Vote on your favorite.

Longer hair, side burns, and low beard
high and tight with shaved off sideburns


sideburns and hair on the side of his head are coming in, cutout of beard, and he seems to have lost some eye brows . . .
here we have the flat top with the Wolverine beard
Makayla is ready for Halloween with her cat p.j.s. She positioned herself perfectly with the tail stretched out.

Best of all, the baby laughing:

Sunday, September 27, 2009

flu and the heat

You would think that the flu (influenza) would only come in the cool weather. Here in AZ it's over 100 degrees and we have lots of swine flu (influenza A) being passed around. I've had several patients positive on the testing, and even my own medical assistant went home early on Friday when she tested positive for influenza A. Mark has been sick today, having a fever this morning, and feeling lousy all day. Hopefully he hasn't caught the flu and will be feeling better soon. The baby has had a stuffy nose all week, but not much more than that. Here's hoping that the antibodies she gets from my breast milk will help to protect her.

Mark is still looking for work. He can get quite discouraged when things don't work out for him. Please keep him in your prayers. We are praying for a job that is right for him and for our family, in a location that will work for us. It's tricky when his daughters live in Utah during the school year, as we would love to live closer to them. If not, then we'd like to live close to an airport where we can go to see them, or fly them to see us.

We finally did it. We bought a King size bed yesterday. We've been sleeping on a queen for a couple of years. Now when we lay on the King, we'll say things like: "what are you doing way over there?" or "you seem so far away." We've been trying to wait on buying a bed until we get into a house. (There are several things on this list of "when we get a house") It got to the point that we just weren't sleeping as well as we would like to.

Sunday, September 13, 2009

We had a week with several "firsts." I was invited to play Bunco for the first time with some friends. It was fun. I really enjoyed the game and the company. I also changed a tire by myself for the first time. We finished watching the first season of the TV series "24"

Makayla had some "firsts" this week. She started growling. She tried some baby cereal on a spoon and gagged. Maybe I'll make it a little thinner next time. (See video, don't mind me with the glasses and PJs). She also slept 10 hours straight!!!! She is now 5 months and is just as sweet as ever. Makayla is starting bite (mommy's favorite ha, ha) and still doesn't like to bear weight. Hopefully that will come soon.

before trying cereal

video of first bites of cereal.



Saturday, August 29, 2009

8/29/09







We took Hannah and Ashlyn back to St George at the beginning on August. Hannah had decided to be baptized a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, so Mark was able to baptize and confirm her. It was a very special day and we are very proud of Hannah and her decision. I was also very proud of Mark and the great job he did.






Our little kitty Pepper has been naughty and scratching up the furniture. We decided it was finally time to declaw her. Here's a picture of what happens to bad kitties at our house.




Summer is coming to an end, but it still feels sooooo hot here. This morning, Mark was planning to go for a run. It was 90 degrees at 7:30am, and he messed around, and didn't leave to go running outside until about 9am when it was 94 degrees. He ran for nearly 2 hours and was a sweaty man when he finished. The silly man put some red sugarfree punch in his camelpack to drink on the way. Well, it was leaking on his navy shirt, but wasn't noticable until we saw that his underwear was stained pink. Lovely. Looks like our local Sheriff Joe's inmates who really do wear pink underwear.

Mark is still looking for work. We pray daily for a lineman apprentice job for him that is appropriate for our family. He has interviewed most recently in Dallas and Kansas. He has applied for other jobs around Texas, Georgia, and Oregon. In the mean time, he is doing a great job of taking care of Makayla at home. She sure loves her daddy.

I'm still working at my daytime job 4 days a week, and then at my evening job usually once a week. I like my work, but I sure love coming home to hold, feed, and play with my baby. She is such a sweet person with a happy personality. I love being a mom. I'm excited when she meets her milestones, but it's a little sad to see her growing up so quickly.

Sunday, July 26, 2009

hot, hot, hot

Hannah's 8th birthday party

Ashlyn at Hannah's party -- she got in trouble for getting Cale's shirt wet and put herself in this time out.

Swimming at Hannah's 8th birthday party


My attempt at making soccer ball cakes for Hannah's party. They weren't pretty, but I don't think that the kids cared. (Pardon the no makeup and unfixed hair)



Science center with our friends Danielle and Bethany; learning about momentum on the spinning pole.


Science Center, learning about pulleys


Ashlyn on the pulley chair

Karen with Ashlyn and Makayla. Makayla has been swimming a couple of times and seem to enjoy it.


Makayla's first MLB game. The Diamondbacks actually won this game. We had nosebleed seats.

Hannah got in trouble, and was consulting with Makayla about the situation. It was so cute because Makayla was just sitting there looking at her as Hannah was complaining to her.

Makayla using her Bumbo chair. She starts out strong and then slowly leans to the side
here is Makayla in the beautiful dress that Mark's aunt Julie made for her to be blessed in.


Notice Makayla's toe sticking out :) !

Our family with Mark's aunt Martha and uncle Richard


our family with my sister Sharon, her husband Spencer and their kids


Nanny with our girls pulling their faces

Sunday, July 19, 2009

Summer is coming to an end

Time sure seem to fly. We only have 2 more weeks with Hannah and Ashlyn at our home. Then we will be taking them back to their mom's house for the school year. Hannah will be turning 8 next week and is very excited for her birthday and baptism. Mark will be baptizing her in St. George on Aug 1. It's been a good summer. It's definitely been challenging as the girls are trying to adjust to a different environment and household. They are pretty good sports about it though, and try to work things out well. Mark has done a great job at taking care of all of the girls. I know his patience wears thin, and many times when I get home in the evening, he just needs some "alone" time. He's still jogging, nearly daily, and this is a great stress reliever for him.

Makayla is growing so well. She is outgrowing some of her newborn outfits, and so it's been fun to start trying on other clothes that previously were too big for her. She is smiling so much now, and will even giggle a little here and there. The girls love to hold her and to play with her. Hannah had her giggling a little tonight too. I think they will miss each other, and it will be interesting to see how their reunions go in the future.

I'm doing fine. I'm plugging along at work, wondering how the next few months will play out. Wondering if I will continue working there, or if I'll be leaving. Wondering what kind of job I'd be able to find in another city. I enjoy the evenings with the family. When I get home, the baby usually just wants me to hold her and feed her.

Friday, July 3, 2009

baby blessing

This past Sunday, Mark blessed Makayla at church. He did a wonderful job and blessed her with many great things. I was very proud of him. Makayla was such a good girl and didn't fuss or cry. Mark's aunt Julie crocheted a beautiful blessing dress for her. We invited my sister Sharon and her family as well as Mark's aunt and uncle (Martha and Richard) to come. Mark's mother, Cynthia, was in town and was able to come. I invited my good friend Julie and her husband Dave Rickard. We also invited my co-worker and Makayla's doctor, Paul Cluff to come. Afterwards, the family went to Martha and Richard's house for lunch. It was a really good day.

This week, Mark flew to Houston for another interview. He was nervous to travel by himself, but did very well. We're hoping and praying that something will come out of all these interviews and applications that he has put in. He is looking for an apprentice lineman position. He has interviewed with the Southwest Union as well as the union headquartered in Salt Lake City, UT.

Wednesday, June 24, 2009

Tuesday, June 9, 2009

summer days







Summer is here, and we are getting used to the triple digit weather. Mark and I have been going out to exercise at about 7am when it is only 80 degrees. Once in a while we will sleep in and then go later, in the 90+ degree weather. He has been picking up jogging and doing great! He was pleased when he was able to jog 3 miles, then 4, then 6, and then 7. I'm very proud of him and very impressed too. He's knees have been starting to bother him, so hopefully he can keep it up. Our good sport dog Bosco loves to go with him, and seems to be a little sore too after the long jogs.

I've been working 4 days a week at my "regular job" and then my moonlighting job one evening per week. It's been going well. The thing that makes it so much easier is that Mark is at home with the girls. He is doing a super job with them. It is such a relief to have him with the girls. I often think about this poem:
Cleaning and scrubbing can wait 'til tomorrow
For babies grow up, we've learned to our sorrow.
So quiet down cobwebs, Dust go to sleep,
I'm rocking my baby and babies don't keep

Hannah and Ashlyn are great helpers with Makayla and just love to pick out her outfits and to carry her around. Makayla is smiling more and is cooing a little. It's so cute. Poor baby got her shots this last week. She was a little grumps for a couple of days. She now weighs 9lbs7oz and is in the 10th percentile for height and weight.

As a random thought, I'll share my bread troubles. I love to make whole wheat bread. Usually it turns out pretty good. Lately, though, I've had some issues with the bread. First, I didn't have any gluten flour. That batch also had trouble in the oven as it wasn't actually turned on, but the oven was cooling. Those loaves of bread tasted ok, but just collapsed and crumbled. Finally we got through those loaves and it was time to make another batch. This time I made sure I had the gluten flour so that it would stick together, and that the oven was on. Unfortunately, I forgot to put in the salt. Well . . . I guess we'll just have low sodium salt for now. The bread doesn't taste very well. Maybe next time I will get it right. I never can quite knead it and form the loaves as well as my mom can. She seems to have loaves that are all the same size and are smooth and pretty. Mark made homemade pizzas last week when I was at work. He reported that he had to throw out the first batch as he accidentally put in too much yeast (1.5 cups!)


Our library offers free passes to local museums. Last week we took the girls to the Arizona Museum for Youth in Mesa, AZ. It was really fun. There were kids art projects displayed as well as activities for the kids to do. We made pipe cleaner people, played with puzzles and puppets, as well as put on costumes for a play. One room had black lights and cool paint on the walls where we could play with puppets and put on hats. Hannah especially enjoyed the art room for chalkboards, white boards, and drawing paper.

Monday, May 25, 2009

memorial day

Mark drove to St. George on Fri May 22 to pick up Hannah and Ashlyn. It was about 15 hours round trip. I'm pretty impressed that he can do it all in one day. I was glad that Makayla and I didn't have to go. The girls have been cute with the baby. They were a bit shy about her at first and now they constantly want to hold her. They love their baby dolls, and now they have a live baby to play with. Ashlyn even said, "I'm glad that you had a baby so that now I have a baby to play house with."

I have one more week off for maternity leave and then I'm back to work. We need to have the paychecks, but I'm not really sure how things are going to go at home. Mark is still looking for a job and has a couple of interviews coming up. Much of the problem is that there isn't much work to be done, so many companies aren't hiring, or just aren't hiring much.

Thursday, May 14, 2009

Here we go!

Perhaps it's time to finally join the bloggers and make my own blog. Our family is growing. Hannah and Ashlyn finally have a baby sister. Makayla Kristine was born on Easter 4/12/09, which was 9 days earlier than her due date. I was quite pleased that she was born early! She weighed in at 8lbs even, and 19 inches. She is beautiful and such a good baby. Hannah and Ashlyn haven't met her yet, but are counting down the days until they are here for the summer. I'm sure that they will be big helpers with the baby.

Mark just finished his lineman classes, YEAH!!! Congratulations to him. He has really come a long ways since he started school. Now the challenge is to find a job. The economy isn't helping, as there aren't many jobs available. He is looking anywhere for a lineman apprentice job, so if you have any tips, let us know.

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