Cierra is 7!!

Cierra's stats:

Age: 7 years

Weight: 40.3 lbs (She gets mad if I forget the .3!)

Height: 45 inches

Nicknames: C, Sis, Sissy, Princess

Cierra at "Tips for Saydie"!

Such a pretty girl!

Cierra and Daddy..(Dang it, I had this turned..GRR!)

Mommy and Cierra a couple of years ago

C and her brothers!

Meeting baby Konnor!

Meeting Blayke

Princess!

I love this picture

Baby C!

Well. I don't know how we got here, yet here we are. My oldest 'baby' is seven. SEVEN!? 7 years ago today, I held the most beautiful, perfect child! She was gorgeous. She was born shortly after 5 pm, April Fools Day, 2004. Weighing in at a whopping 6 lbs, 8 oz, she was 19 inches long. She had a tiny bit of dark hair, and I was immediately IN LOVE!

Cierra is a wonderful big sis to her little brothers. S She is so responsible! She helps me out all of the time, and there are days that I honestly do NOT know how I would make it through without her! She is a complete sweetheart, and is always ready with a hug and a kiss.

Today, I interviewed her, and here are some things about Cierra from Cierra!

1. What is your favorite color? Blue

2. What is your favorite movie? Barbie and the Diamond Castle

3. What is your favorite food? Pizza and Macaroni and Cheese

4. What is your favorite song? Starlight Star bright

5. What do you want to be when you grow up? A builder and a cleaner

6. If you could visit any place in the world, where would you visit? Japan, to visit my uncle.

7. What is your favorite toy? Barbies and Pet Shop

Oh my oh my, how I love this girl!

My little Princess,

I remember holding you in my arms for the first time. It was then that I first experienced the all encompassing love of a MOM. It was amazing, and so were you.

From that moment on, you have never stopped amazing me. You are so bright. So beautiful. You have such a tender heart. We are so blessed to have you in our family.

You are our oldest and our only girl. Your brothers adore you. (As do your dad and I.) You are such an awesome big sister.

Cierra, I don't know how I would make it through a day without you. You are such a wonderful help to me, and you constantly make me smile and laugh. I love that at 7, you use sarcasm as well as most adults. (This, I am sure, will backfire soon!)

If I can tell you anything, my dear daughter it is this: I love you. Your daddy loves you. Your brothers love you. And your Heavenly Father loves you! I am proud of the example that you set for your brothers and friends.

I have one request though, little one. Please, slow down. You are growing so fast. I feel I can't keep up. It seems unreal to me that it was 7 years ago that we laid together in a hospital bed. That I first kissed your sweet cheeks!

Princess, I love you. More than words can say!

Love, Mommy!

Brayly Kay

Brayly Kay

3-27-2011

7 lbs 13 oz

19 1/2 inches long

My niece Brayly Kay was born last night at 7:38 pm! She was 7 lbs 13 oz 19 1/2 inches long! She was 2 weeks early and the doctor ended up doing a C-section after my poor sister pushed and pushed! (Imagine how big she would have been had she been born on her due date!) She is my mom's 4th grandchild, and 2nd granddaughter. She is my first niece on my mom's side. And my oh my is she a-stinkin'-dorable!

Did not abandon my weight loss/fitness

Ok, so, I haven't given up on the weightloss thing. Truly. But on vacation, it is hard to get a good "weigh in"! I have stuck to Weight Watchers, and have gmanaged to workout five times a week every week! Woody surprised me this Saturday by showing up here, and he was shocked at my loss in just the week and a half or so that I have been here. His exact words, "Where did your hips go?!" I told him I shimmied them off at Zumba! ;) I heart Zumba. I am a total addict! I am even thinking of getting my instructors license and teaching it! (There is an instructors course coming to Minot in June, and that really isn't too far away from where I live!) Another huge feat: I was thrift store shopping, and found a really super cute pair of jeans that are a 27/33. I tried them on, and they fit. I didn't know what "normal" size that translated to, so I researched a little....Guess what?! SIZE 5! OH YEA!

Pickin' up "Chicks"!

So, last July when we were on our way to Idaho, Blayke randomly said, "I go to Idaho to pick up chics!" It was hilarious! We laughed so hard!
Well, on the way this time, Blayke got mad at us for not stopping to "pick up chicks" and said that he wanted a baby chicken. Apparently, my sweet boy was talking about chickens, not girls. (**SOO HAPPY ABOUT THIS!**)
Grandma Pat decided to take all of the kids to "pick up chicks" this morning. They got 6 baby chickens and 2 baby turkeys. (Don't worry, they are stayin' here! No making the 14+ hour trip home with baby chickens!)
Here are a few pics of us all "pickin' up chicks"!

Baby K is missin' his daddy really bad!!

They scared him at first, but then he LOVED them!



Gaykes and Cierra checkin' out the chicks.

Losin' it in Idaho! (Weightloss/fitness week 10)

Well, I posted that I was nervous for the trip to Idaho, and "fallin' off the wagon"..WEELLLL! That hasn't happened! I love that Weight Watchers is easy enough to follow I can even do so while not at home! I have lost 2 pounds! I am sittin' pretty under the 130 mark! THAT is SUPER COOL! SUPER COOL! I haven't seen the 120's since before I had Cierra! I have tried Zumba, and oh my oh my! How I love it! Can't wait to get home and start doing the classes regularly!! WEll, I am going to keep this short and sweet! Feelin' good here!

Idaho!

So, I am, in stark contrast to my last trip here, THOROUGHLY enjoying Idaho. (Not that I didn't enjoy it last time, but it was a lot different than I expected!) I got to spend a night at my moms, but left yesterday morning. We went and saw my BFF, Cherry and did a little grocery shopping, so that I can stay on track with Weight Watchers..By the way, I only paid one dollar and eighty-eight cents for a gallon of milk!! LESS THAN TWO DOLLARS!!! We pay 4-5 dollars back home! I was so excited!!
After shopping, we came to Burley, to spend time with my in-laws. It has been so nice to visit them. I am so blessed to have married into such a wonderful family! I wish my husband could be here! Especially since I know he desperately misses his family! Last night, for the first time, I went to Zumba..OH MY GOSH!! SOOOOO FUN!! I am going back tonight! I am totally addicted!! When we get home, I am going to start going at our local gym!! It is a total workout, and I was sweatin LIKE crazy, but it is so fun, you don't really realize how hard you are working until it is done!
I have now meant my 4 month-old baby nephew, Braxton. What a cutie pie!! And after packin' around Mr. Konnor, he weighs NOTHING!! Such a little cutie boy!
Still waitin' on Baby Brayly to make her arrival..
I want to go see my niece Saydie, who was just diagnosed with cancer, but I think I am catching a cold, so that will be put on pause for now. But I am really hoping that I can see her before we leave!
I head back to Blackfoot Sunday for a while, unles my sister has her baby....

Made it!

Baby K..SOO tired! Poor baby!

Cierra..Also tired...

Gaykes...Dirty face and all!

Well, we are here in Idaho...It was a rather uneventful trip, thank goodness! We left at about 3:30 AM North Dakota time, and drove straight through. We packed food, and only stopped for fuel and bathroom breaks, and made it in about 14 hours. The kids did so well! I am so proud of them. We already miss Daddy! (Konnor especially!) We made the trip with NO fastfood and NO soda! That is huge for me!!

Ok, here are a couple of pictures of the kids!

At the park...in 2 feet of snow...in March...

Blayke in the swing..He could touch...

Konnor sitting on my lap in the swing!

We wrapped this swing around, so that she could actually swing..Then she kicked off her boots....35 degrees..PRACTICALLY SUMMER HERE! ;)

So, my friend "A" and I had similar thoughts a couple of days ago. Watford City hit a scorchin' 35 degrees, so we bundled up our kids, and went to the park. (It was SO warm, I ended up unbundling, and so did some of the kids!!)

The funny, cute, sweet things my kids say/do *13-18*

Here are some new ones for ya!



13-Ok, this one, Blayke can't know I think is funny, cause it's also super naughty, and he gets in trouble whenever he says it, but it is funny. Whenever I tell him to do something, latelty his response is, "Ok, bossybosserton!" (See, super naughty, but secretly funny!)



14-Cierra, "MOM! If Missionaries didn't go on missions, they would just be aries!" This cracked me up!



15-Konnors new thing: Blowing on the leather couches. Makes the same sound as me blowing on his tummy! SOO cute!



16-Cierra, "MOM! You are going to be a grandma soon...Well not soon...But in like 13 years!" (GLAD she added the not soon...)



17-When I am nursing Konnor, he tries to cram his finger in my mouth. I tell him no. He laughs. LITTLE STINKER!



18- Blayke, every single night before bed, after we turn out lights, "GUYS! It's dark in here. I can't see." Kinda the point son!

Oh, these kids. They make me laugh! I love them!

"A new day" (Weightloss week 9..1/2)

Ok, I promise I didn't abandon my weight loss/fitness part of this blog. I am still DILIGENTLY hitting the gym and following Weight Watchers. But I wanted to wait to blog until I officially "weighed in" this week! And that was this morning.

Before we get to that, let me tell you. I feel so good. My energy is so high. I can feel that confidence thing returning. (Please don't yell at me for associating weight loss with confidence. Lets be real..If we hate how we look, the confidence IS NOT THERE!!) I am getting strong. I am building endurance. (I can do 15 miles on the upright bike and 5 miles on the elliptical. Both with some resistance!) I love those 2 things. I hate hate hate running, however! I tried it this week, and can NOT stand it!

So, on my Weight Watchers tracker, I plugged in last time that I lost a pound. (Since I had weighed Saturday and was down a pound, weighed Monday and was up 2..I figured that once things got "moving", I really had lost a pound...So..As of this week, I am down another 3 pounds! YES 3 POUNDS from that Saturday weight!! Soo excited.

I am a bit nervous about sticking to it the next few weeks though, because I am headed back to Idaho. Me going to Idaho is like a recovering alcoholic walking into a bar..I am not EVEN kidding. I have a plan though. Please, help me stay accountable!!

Perspective. **PRAYERS NEEDED**

Perspective. Sometimes life gives us a swift kick in the rear, and it really puts things into perspective. Yesterday while at the gym, letting the kids play, I was complaining about my kids. Konnors super clingyness, (I don't even know if that is a word.) Blaykes constant terrorism, and Cierras sassy attitude. I was whining and complaining about these precious souls. An hour later, I was getting a call that my sweet four year-old niece had been diagnosed with Leukemia.
And I had been murmuring. Instead of being greatful that they are healthy, mostly good kids. Not only that, I had been talking about how hard my life was. No. My life is simple. There are bumps, yes. But in perspective my life is pretty dang good.

Now. I have this pet peeve. It is when people use others hard times to focus the attention on themselves. I have some family who are really good at this. (ex: Their 12th cousin twice removed's brother that they met briefly in Wal-Mart passes, and they are "DEVASTATED") I have never been that person. So, I was taken back by the true heartache that I felt when we got this news. Don't get me wrong, I love my husbands family, and it wouldn't have surprised me if I was sad, but the pain I felt was kinda shocking. I cried for hours. It seemed as though this bubble had been popped. Blown to smitherines actually. I think it made me realize how easily this really could happen to one of my children. Something that was so abstract is suddenly hitting very close to home. Needless to say, I hugged my children A LOT yesterday. Perspective. Funny how quickly it can change!

I can't imagine the pain my sister- and brother-in-law are feeling. I cry when I even try. However, I know the Lord is with them, and will take care of them.

**Dustin, Dusty, Saydie, Allie and Rylee, we love you guys so much, and are praying for you harder than I think we have ever prayed! We hope that you will find comfort in the Lord at this trying time! **

Please, if you could, keep this sweet girl in your prayers. And hug your little ones. Hold on extra tight.

Winter, Woody, Megamind, Kids, Idaho and Friends!

1. WINTER:
Right outside my window, it is snowing. Seriously!? Will this ever end?! We still have 2 feet (or more) of snow all over town! I am so sick of it! Idaho winters hold nothing on North Dakota winters. We aren't even hitting the 30's yet! (At 23 the other day, I was able to go out in a light sweater!) And we are still dropping into the negatives at night! I am beyond ready for sun, warmth, parks, picnics, and dang it I want to wear my flip-flops! (I am a flip-flop addict, and back home would even wear them through the winter. I don't DARE do that here, for fear of losing 1 or 10 toes!)
2. WOODY
Ok, enough of that. Not a lot of excitement here. Woody is sick, has a nasty intestinal blockage that we thought was a hernia...The doctor wants him to try to pass it naturally, but if he doesn't he will have to get it cut out.
3.MEGAMIND
Ok, if you haven't seen this movie, it is worth it. Pretty dang funny. And watching Blayke dance to the closing credits song makes me laugh even more!
4.KIDS
They are doing well. Konnor, however, is in this super clingy phase made worse by the fact that everytime I get him down for a nap his very loud older brother wakes him up. I have been feeling crazy with him lately. And nursing has, in all honesty, been tough. Seems like it is all he wants to do. I just keep telling myself, "This too shall pass". (Lets just hope it does before what is left of my sanity is gone!)
5.IDAHO
The first of April the kids,my mom and I will be making the trip back. We are excited to be going to see our loved ones!! Can't wait! (Gonna get a temporary gym membership while we are there and everything!)
6.FRIENDS
This one, I am super thankful for. In addition to the couple of other wonderful friends I have made here, I am finally feeling like I am getting over this social stunt, or whatever, and meeting people! We had a family over for dinner and games last night, and it was SO fun. We have another family coming tonight! And I have been talking to/hanging out with another girl from church, and she is really super cool! I am excited, and hoping that this makes living here slightly more bearable!

Ok, well that is all for now! I should go clean house...UGH!

First Steps!

(BABY KONNOR 10 MONTHS!)

Well folks, Konnor is well on his way to being a "toddler"! **SNIFF SNIFF**! Yesterday, he took his first step between his bouncy chair and the couch. Then last night he took another one! (Woody even got to see that one!) I have been waiting for this, he has been cruising furniture for a while, and letting go for the last month!! He has taken his first steps far earilier than my other two. Cierra was about 11 1/2 months before she took her first steps, and didn't actually walk until 13 months. Blayke didn't take a step until after a year and didn't walk until 15 months. I am betting that by his first birthday, he will be walking!! They grow SOO FAST!!

HMMMMM.....

So, apparently during Church Sunday, there was a discussion about Facebook and the detriment it is to families. I have been thinking a LOT about this, and it makes sense. Truly. Here is the hang up for me though. I live 14+ hours from everyone and everything I have ever known. I live in a tiny town with VERY FEW friends. I am lonely, and sometimes bored. (There are always things I could and should be doing, but sometimes, I just don't feel like laundry!) Enter Facebook...My link to the "other" world..To my family and friends. Well, Woody and I got into this discussion on our hour long drive home from church, and we have decided I will keep my Facebook account, but limit my time spent on it. I wont be on it when he is home. Ever. Even from my phone.
We have also decided that I am not the only one that is in this boat. To understand this, you would have to come to North Dakota, and spend some time. I think Idaho, Utah and Colorado have doubled North Dakotas population! We read in 3-4 new names A WEEK in church! (And 90% of the time, they are from Idaho! The husbands are here, working 12, 13, 14, 20 hour work days, leaving wives (IF the whole family comes) home all day long, in towns with very little to do, that have LONG, HARD, FREEEEEZING COLD winters, hours away from everything they know, and truth be told, I don't think any person dreams of living in NORTH DAKOTA! It makes sense that we would cling to this lifeline. To this connection to our worlds!
So, the question comes, how do we fix this?? I don't know that there is an answer. However, Woody and I have decided that we are going to make this ward our new family. Our new friends. We are going to give others something to cling to other than Facebook. We are going to start doing a dinner and game night once a month, and invite a different family from the ward to join us. We are going to keep it small, so that we can really get to know people. So that we can visit, and noone gets lost or feels umcomfortable. And we are starting this Friday. And we are starting with some people that, for personal reasons, it is really important that we start with. Pizza and game night! I am excited. (I will only be having 1 slice! ;) ) I hope that this will help me feel at home, help me meet new people, and help others know that we are here, and we want to know them!!