CHRISTmas!

Well, another Christmas has come and gone, I cannot believe how fast this last year has gone by!  I know I say this all the time, but it really is crazy to me that just a short time ago we were holding a brand new baby and now she is one and walking and talking.  The boys are getting so tall and so big.  The other day Zack was showing me how much more he had to grow before he will be taller then me!  They had a great Christmas and they got VERY spoiled as usual.  We all did in fact.  Mom and Dad Barton gave us a BRAND NEW MICROWAVE for the second time, I don't know what we are doing wrong, but we have been having the worst luck with those things lately!  I LOVE my new microwave.  It's funny how you just don't even realize how much you use something until you don't have it anymore.  They were lucky enough to go to Oregon for Christmas this year to see Cindy, Matt, Kyle, Tyler and K.D. for a change.  They come home on Thursday, and we are excited to see them again.  Just as they are getting ready to come home, Mom and Dad McCleary are preparing to leave for St. George soon.  (I really hate it when they leave)  They also spoiled us this year and decided that we needed a new couch, so they went out and got us one!  I LOVE IT!  It is so pretty!  One of these days, I will figure out the whole picture thing and get one posted.  They also gave all of us season passes to Lagoon, so I am sure we will be spending a lot of time there this summer!  The boys got new sleds (we can't wait to try them out! All we need now is some snow) they got new jammies, underwear and socks, some clothes for school and some church shoes.  They also got these really cool remote control cars that store themselves in their box and they are so small they fit in Jacob's pocket!  They got movies, and a robot, they each got a D.S. from Santa.  Emma got a case of diapers (YAY) some much needed jammies, TWO adorable Christmas dresses, some clothes, some tennis shoes, new babies, and a my little pony, which she loved so much she kissed the box when she saw it!  SO CUTE.  Scott got a George Forman grill, Santa brought him a wii fit this year, and I got a new vacuum, some clothes, and a small crockpot that I have been wanting FOREVER it seems.  The crazy thing is, is that with ALL of this, we are still not done!  We have another "Christmas party" to go to tomorrow night, and at least 3 more that I can think of...No wonder my boys think that Christmas goes for 2 months straight!  We are very blessed and very grateful for those blessings. 
     I had to teach R.S. the day after Christmas, my lesson was on spiritual gifts.  I had not wanted to teach this lesson and was actually supposed to teach it 3 weeks prior, but we all got sick and I went without a voice for a week.  Anyway, as we were sitting at my mom's house, watching Despicable Me, on Christmas, I could not concentrate because I knew that I had to give this lesson, so I went downstairs and started writing it out.  My thoughts were quite selfish, and I was thinking that it wasn't really fair that I had to be doing this on Christmas.  As soon as the thought entered my head, I realized how selfish I was being , and was humbled to think that of ALL days, I  got to sit UN-INTERRUPTED and focus on Christ, and everything that he has done for me!  On the day that we celebrate HIS birth, what better way to invite him into my thoughts then to read from the scriptures.  I truly am grateful for the sacrifices that He has made for me.  Although I do not particularly love teaching, I am enjoying the things that I am LEARNING each month as I teach these lessons.  I am blessed to know that I belong to the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, and that this really is the only TRUE Church.  I am blessed to know that we have a prophet who speaks with our Heavenly Father.  I am blessed to know that families are FOREVER, and that we will see our loved ones who have passed away again, and we will be a family again someday.  I am grateful for the spirit that is in my home.

BLESSINGS!

I read this blog patrickandashley.blogspot.com.  It is an amazing story that you really should read if you are looking for a modern day miracle.  If you are looking for your testimony to be lifted, you should read their story.  It is a devastating story though, so be prepared.  I will not do this story justice to try to explain to you what it is other then it's about a little girl who died tragically.  When I was first reading the story, my husband told me to stop reading it, because I would sit at the computer and sob, my heart was breaking as I was reading this story, and yet..I couldn't stop.  I am so glad that I didn't stop.  As hard as it has been to read this blog, it has also been a blessing.  When I read the blog, I am reminded to be more patient with my kids.  I am reminded that having them HERE and HEALTHY is truly a miracle.  I continue to read this blog because the testimony's of this little girl's sweet parents is simply AMAZING, it is uplifting to see how they have grown in just a few short months.  It very much reminds me of how my own parent's were following the death of their own precious daughter.  My mom and dad really could have just stopped, I'm sure they wanted to at times.  But they didn't.  They kept on going, they got up every day, my dad went to work...my mom got Kristin and I up for school, we were at church and our testimonies grew because of the spirit that was in our home.  When I hear stories where people have lost their child, and I think of my parent's, I wonder why I have been so blessed.  We have three beautiful healthy children, and quite often, I feel guilty that I have all of these blessings, when so many others struggle so much.  I have known friends who have had babies born under tremendous hardships, and I have seen firsthand what it is like to watch someone lose their child, which is something that I cannot even imagine.  I honestly don't know how people survive it.  Babies are sick all the time, a friend that I grew up with, has a baby girl that was born within weeks of Emma.  This little baby has been through more health scares than a 95 year old woman.  Again I marvel at the health of my family, I am SO greatful  that I have been blessed so much, I just can't get over feeling a guilty for my blessings.  Today, on what would have been this sweet little girl's birthday, I will hold my own daughter a little tighter, and kiss her cheeks a little more.  I will listen more closely as the boys tell me about their day at school, and most importantly I will thank my Heavenly Father again for these beautiful children and the blessings that I have been given.

My name is Melissa and I am a SCATTERBRAIN!!!     The other day, I was thinking to myself that it had been a while since I had blogged anything, and since the whole purpose of me creating this blog is for journaling purposes...I started to feel guilty.  I felt guilty because I had not written anything about Emma's birthday down.  So, I sat down at the computer and began to type, a short time later, I decided that I had said all that I needed to say so it was time to be done.  Well.....When I done, I began to read some of my older posts again.  Guess what I found????  Right there in black and white, was the ORIGINAL post that I had done of Emma's birthday!  HA HA HA HA HA HA!!!
The really sad thing is...that even after reading it...I BARELY remember writing it!  I'm telling you, there is TRUTH to the rumor that you lose brain cells with each baby!  I guess somewhere in between homework, making dinner, feeding and changing a baby, attempting to have some kind of order in my house, driving carpool, and everything else that we busy mom's do....I FORGOT!  Oh well...to know me is to love me (I hope), and for those of you that do know me...you can laugh right along with me..just as long as you are not laughing AT me!

My last 1st birthday!

Well... I cried the day she was born, and I cried on her birthday~!  Despite my reservations and me BEGGING her not too, Emma turned one!  She was very spoiled by everyone in her life and got some fun new toys to play with and some adorable new clothes!  It's always a little crazy to me how much kids can change literally overnight.  One minute I was rocking my sweet baby to bed and the next thing I know..she grew up on me and turned one!  I feel like Zack was just being brought home from the hospital and now he is 8, Jacob is 7, and Emma has completely passed by the whole baby phase.  I am still trying to mentally adjust my brain to the fact that I am done having kids.  I know I should not be complaining about this, there are so many people on this earth that would make amazing parents and are not blessed with children.  After going through our own infertility issues, I KNOW how blessed I am to have my three miracle babies!  Each one of these beautiful children teaches me something different every single day, I really am thankful that Heavenly Father trusted me to be their mother, it is the best gift EVER...(I just wish it didn't all have to go by so fast.)
     Let's get back to Emma's birthday.  She had an adorable princess cake (it was adorable because I didn't make it) She was lucky enough to have her Daddy off from work to spend the day with her, and her mean mommy scheduled her 2nd dose of her flu shot on that day.  I know that sounds horrible...but I am not so good with the needle department on my own body, let alone somebody hurting my baby~!  I had to do it within a certain time frame anyway..and I knew Scott would be off on her birthday, so I simply allowed him the privilege to help :)  She was a trooper, she only cried for a minute...(I cried for a lot longer then she did)  SO after getting her shot, we took her to lunch with her Aunt Kristin at her favorite restaurant..SIZZLER!  Isn't it funny that her FAVORITE place to eat also happens to be mine?  Crazy I know...It must be in the genes :)  I ordered a steak and a salad bar, thinking it would be easier to feed her from the salad bar...it was, UNTIL she had a bite of my steak, she LOVED it!  I could not get her to eat anything else for the rest of our lunch, and every time she got a piece in her mouth she would sit there with a big ole happy grin on her face and say MMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMM......until I fed her some more.  Does this mean that because she likes steak she will have a taste for the finer things in life?  If so I may have to get a job!  After lunch, we took her home to get some beauty rest so she wouldn't be cranky for her party.  When Scott was done opening her gifts (she had no interest in opening presents) we took her upstairs and stripped her down to her diaper and watched her eat her cake.  When Zack and Jacob were 1, as soon as they figured out what this cake stuff was, they were all over it, there was frosting everywhere...they made such a mess!  I kept waiting for Emma to discover this yummy treat, but she would not get her hands dirty (that's my girl!!)  She would very daintily stick one finger in the frosting and lick a little bit off, and that is as crazy as she got.  We had to put her hands in the cake in an effort to get some funny pictures!  She is most definantly a GIRL!!! 
Happy Birthday Emma!!!  (Yes this is a little late...but hey...better late then never~!)

Happy Birthday Emma!

Emma had her 1st Birthday!  Scott and I cannot believe that she is one year old already...Where did the time go?  I guess the old saying is true "time flys when you are having fun."  We are having the time of our lives!  We are so blessed to be the parents to three beautiful, healthy, smart amazing children.  I know that at times I get so frustrated with them...but what parent doesn't?  For Emma's first birthday, she had quite the day, her daddy stayed home from work to be with her.  Scott and I went to Toy's R Us to look at things and get ideas for Christmas.  While we were there, we discovered that our generation has all of  a sudden become "retro"  LOL  Are we really that old?  All of the toys that we had as kids are now back in action, everything from Cabbage Patch dolls to Heman!  After we were done at the toy store, we met Kristin for lunch at Sizzler (And YES, I do see the irony in asking if I was really that "Old" in my last sentence!)  Emma enjoyed her steak lunch very much.  I couldn't cut it fast enough for her.  We had a birthday party for her at home, in attendance was all 4 of her grandparent's, Aunt Kristin and Uncle Jeremy, Jen, Hailey, Ty, and Justin Carter.  Emma was spoiled beyond belief and loving every minute of it!  She got some clothes, books, 2 new cell phones (let's hope these ones don't end up in the toilet!), a pretty Christmas dress, and some shoes to match.  She also got some much needed new toys!  When it came time for her cake, we set her up on the kitchen floor on a mat and handed her HER smash cake.  She is such a GIRL!!!  She was not about to get her hands dirty for nothing.  She very delicatly placed her pointer finger in the frosting and licked it off, we thought for sure after that first taste, she would dig right in...we waited, and waited, and waited.  It never happened!  She would eat it, but she didn't go crazy with it like her brothers did when they were 1.  Somehow though she did manage to get enough on her to make for pink bath water.  She had a princess cake, because after all...she is our little princess!
Emma, at one year old these are the things you can do.
walk
sleep through the night
say dada, mama, mmmmmm (when you are fed something good) yum,
you can wave...but only when you want to
climb up the stairs
climb down the stairs although you give me a heart attack when you do it!
give kisses..again when you want to
give loves...this will never get old to me!
You LOVE the phones
You love to be chased just like Zack did when he was little (who are we kidding..he still does)
You weigh 17 lb.s 11 oz.
You have 3 teeth, with 4 or 5 coming in
You love your bath
You love your "spa time" (when mommy puts you in the sink and combs your hair)
I think that you enjoy riding in the car
When your brothers are at school, you will walk over to their pictures and "talk" to them several times a day!  You put your little pointer finger out and TUNE THEM UP!!!  It is so funny!
You LOVE to watch football...it's the only thing that you watch on T.V. despite what your mommie thinks!
Your brother's love you almost as much as your parents do! 
Happy Birthday Sweet Emma!

GO SCOTTY!!!

I just have to write about the progress of our diet.  It would probably be more accurate to say "Scott's diet"  since he is the one who is doing so great!  I really thought I would be better at this then I have been, it's almost the mentality that if you tell me I "can't" do something then I just want to do it more.  Since we have started, I think I went one whole day with no sweets, Scott has gone every single day.  For the past 12 years I have watched this man eat cookies every single night at bedtime.  Since this whole thing started, I have not seen him eat ONE!  We even had a tin of his favorite holiday cookies sent home, and he is so strong that he can open them up and hand them to the kids, but he refuses to take one.  He literally will open the container and smell the cookies and then put them away.  I am so proud of what he is accomplishing with this diet and hope to soon say that I am doing well also.  One of the reasons that I fell in love with Scott was his determination.  To me, he can do anything!  I love that he has such great motivation, I asked him the other day where all of this motivation was coming from and he told me simply that he wanted to be around for a long time.  He wants to be around when the kids get older. 

A good thing...right?

Yesterday, Emma took her first steps!  At 11 months old she is starting to walk.  Sitting at my mom's house we were talking about how close she was to walking so we tried to get her to do it, and she took 3 steps.  It was the cutest thing I have seen.  She was so proud of herself and just beamed from ear to ear.  She sort of looked at herself like, "whoa, what the heck did I just do and how do I do it again?"  It's amazing what a baby can learn in one day.  The 3 steps that she took just yesterday have now turned into about 10 today.  I am constantly in awe of how fast my kids pick things up, once they see it done and figure out how to do it, they have perfected it in a matter of hours.  I wish I could learn something that fast.  I am trying to convince myself that this is a good thing, she is walking.  To me, the fact that she is (or soon will be) walking is just one less thing that she needs me to do for her.  I LOVE babies, I always have...I wanted 6, I would still love to have more babies but I know that it won't happen.  The fact that my baby is turning less and less into one honestly makes me sad.  There is just no other word for it.  I have really struggled watching her grow up so fast.  I can not believe that just a short year ago, I was miserably sick and wishing that whole pregnancy experience away.  What I would give to have more time now to enjoy the movements of carrying a baby, and the joys of a newborn.  I am not in any way saying that I am not enjoying her now, because I do.  I love that she reaches for me or her dad when she sees us.  I love that she will lay on her tummy on the floor and watch a movie with her brothers.  I love that she says Mama and Dada and Yumm...  There are so many sweet things that she does that are simply adorable, that she would not be doing as a baby.  I am greatful for all three of my children and the things that they learn and accomplish each day.  I just feel as though time with them is slipping by too quickly.  With the boys in school all day the years just fly by.  I ENJOY being a mommy and I guess what my point is, is that the older your kids get, the less they need or want you around for a while.  Emma learning how to walk is a good thing right?  She is still a little girl who needs to have her mommy and I know that, but oh how I miss the baby days!  I guess that's why grandma's are born right?  I know it's a LOOOOOOONG ways off, but it is comforting to know that there will be other baby's in my future!  :) 

No more skittles???

Well today starts a new journey for Scott and I.  Scott told me about this fitness challenge they are doing at work a while ago, and told me he would really like to participate, but he also knew that he wanted me to do it with him.  So for the next 16 weeks, and hopefully beyond that...we will be eating healthier and exercising together.  I know this is something that we have BOTH needed to do for some time now and I am excited to see how we will do.  At the end of the 16 week challenge, we are supposed to run a 5K...Well, since I have never ran anywhere in my life this should be interesting.  This change can only bring about good things right???  This is LONG overdue!  So for now...it is goodbye skittles, and hello treadmill.  Wish us luck!!!  (we're gonna need it)

Sometimes I feel like all I do during the day, is wait for my baby to wake up!  The house is so quiet when she is sleeping and the boys are at school, I don't know if I will ever get used to it.  I am one of those moms who crys every year when the kids go back to school.  Our summers are fun, and I hate to see them end.  I miss my kids when they are gone, and yes some days, it only takes a minute or two before I begin to wish that they had stayed at school just a tad bit longer!  Today I may just have to wake Emma up a little early, I feel like I have a thousand things to do and I can't get anything done because I can't leave the house without her of course.  I really do have a good baby, as I was typing this and being a little stressed about not getting stuff done today...she woke herself up, she NEVER wakes up during this time period.  Good job Emma :)  Yay another picture!!!  Not the one I wanted...(I was trying to get one of her sleeping) but hey it's a start right???

Thanks Sista!!

Do you see this cute little sunflower border?  Guess where it came from?  No, no...not me of course, as I have mentioned, I am a little computer slow, sooo..my cute lil' sis decided to hack into my blog and change it for me.  The funny part about this is, is that I have not spoken to her about this at all and she just happens to pick out the one that I tried forever yesterday to download!  Am I that predictable?  Guess so lol.  My next challenge is going to be learning how to insert a picture.
     Ok, I have no idea how I just did this, but this is the picture I tried to get on here earlier.  Yay, something worked.  Hmm..wonder if I will ever be able to do this again.  Probably NOT!

I have been sitting here trying to figure out how to change my background and it's not working!!!  Oh well. 
So yesterday, I took Emma to the doctor for her 9 month well check (even though she is now 11 months)  oops, time really does seem to fly.  Anyway her doctor said AGAIN how tiny she is, and even seemed a little concerned, which concerns me just a tad.  If I really am honest with myself in my gut I really think that she is fine.  I have thought all along that her tiny size has been such a blessing to me.  I have a really bad back and it is hard to lift her now, let alone if she were in the "normal" size that they think she should be.  At 11 months old, Emma weighs 16 lbs.  She is in the 3rd percentile for her weight and the 8th percentile for her height.  She is such a joy to us all.  After spending the last 8 years completly throwing myself into all things BOY I have to admit that it is SO MUCH FUN to have a little (ok, A LOT) pink in our house.  I love to watch the boys with her.  They are so protective of her, and shield her from anything that might hurt or upset her.  I hope they will always treat her the way that they are right now.  I hope that they will always look after her well being and make sure she is treated right by ANYONE.  Our little lady is very lucky to have such great big brothers!!!
     At 11 months old Emma can wave, she says mama and dada.  She loves her brothers, and giggles often when they are around.  She is a quiet little thing when she wants to be, but man if you upset her at all, she will let you know.  She stands for long periods of time.  I know she could walk if she wanted to, but she is nervous to take that first step.  Her favorite toy is a little book that talks.  She eats EVERYTHING in sight!  Don't let her size fool you, she eats!  Trust me...  She loves to eat paper, which is a little wierd to me, but the doctors say it is normal.  She has pink and brown sqeaky shoes that she is trying to figure out how they work.  She still loves to play with Jacobs cars, but now she has her own little keys (pink of course) and her cinderella phone that she "talks" on.  She is a great sleeper, she has slept through the night since 5 weeks old.  Another BLESSING!  We are all pretty fond of our little lady, her smile can melt your heart in about 2 seconds flat, (Just ask her daddy and her Uncle J. about that one).

Halloween

Well, we survived another Halloween!  Zack was a vampire and as always, loved every minute of it, I think Halloween is his favorite holiday.  Jacob was a Ligtning McQueen race car driver.  He is very consistent on what he likes thats for sure.  I think we are going on 4 years with him LOVING anything "Cars" related.  Emma was a cute little puffy pink kitty.  We froze our butts off at the trunk or treat, it was raining so the turnout was not as big as it has been in the years past.  We went to my mom's for chili, and then the trunk or treat, and warmed up at Scott's mom's house.  Saturday morning (the day we celebrated) I was downstairs on the computer and I heard a HUGE crash, I went running up the stairs to find Zack pinned under the dresser in his room.  I really don't know what goes through his head at times, but for some reason, he pulled out the bottom drawer and stood on it (A very big no no at our house), as he did it the dresser and the 27 inch T.V. came down on him.  He is very lucky that he didn't get hurt!  Some days I honestly wonder if he will survive his childhood with some of things he pulls.  We had to sit down and explain (again) why he was not allowed to climb into his dresser.  I wonder if we will have to have this conversation again or if he finally understands!  I love my little clutzy man, but he sure knows how to scare me to death, and it had nothing to do with being a vampire!!!

CHINA!

O.K.  As I have mentioned, I started this mainly for journaling purposes.  Everyone is always telling me that I need to write down the things that my kids do or say, as I look at Zack now 8 years old, I am sad that I did not actually do this before now.  Scott and I were talking the other day and laughing about things that our kids used to do.  One of them was Zack, every time we were in Walmart  or somewhere and they would announce something random over the loud speaker, Zack would YELL, "HUH??  What did you say????  As if EVERYONE in the store was talking about or to him!  Giggle..  I will always smile when I remember this story.
     Antother one happened just the other day with Jacob.  He had a quarter that Scott had given him, it wasn't just an ordinary quarter (of course) it was one of the state ones with a train on the back, well...he dropped it when he was taking something out to the garbage.  He was very upset about it and I hate to see my kids upset about anything so there I was at about 9 pm with him, looking (by flashlight) for this quarter.  I told him I didn't think we would find it, and he sighed and said, "Mom, this would be so much easier if we were in China."  I thought about this for a minute, and could not figure out what he meant by that.  I asked him WHY it would be easier if we lived in China, and he looked at me like I was stupid and said, "Because in CHINA it's not dark!!!"  

The joy's of boy's!!! (Is that what this is??)

There are days that I wonder if I will EVER be able to go to dinner at someone's house and have my kids actually behave.  I am beginning to think that I have made some very big mistakes with the boys.  I thought that (and sitll do) I taught them how to have manners and when to use them, but after going to dinner last night at my mom's house, I am starting to wonder where I went wrong!  I was so frustrated that I don't feel like I want to take them anywhere because every time I do take them anywhere, they act up and I can't get them to calm down.  I feel like I'm in a difficult position right now because I am the only one in my family with kids, so people are not used to the chaos that has become my "normal".  I understand the frustrations that others have, however, I also see 2 beautiful healthy little boys who just want to play (all the time) and have fun.  It's hard to teach them that what may be considered O.K. at one house, is NOT O.K. at another.  I am also very aware of the fact that many times, my kids do not listen to ANYTHING I say, and I am beyond frustrated with that!  I see mom's all the time that tell their kids to stop doing something and it actually works!  I can't figure out what they are doing that I am not! 

Ok, so let's be honest here.  My first post was not from me, anyone who knows me knows that I am computer stupid and I could not for the life of me figure out how to start this blog.  My sister (Kristin) came over and spent the afternoon with me showing me different things, and although I really appreciate the effort...I'm not sure I will remember one single thing!  Anyways, the whole reason I am doing this blog is strictly for journaling purposes.  I have so many funny stories of things my kids either did, said or are doing that I am afraid I will never remember them.  IF I actually did this right (which I highly doubt that I did) then there should be a picture of 4 boys.  Two of them belong to me and the other two are my nephews, who live in Oregon.  We were just lucky enough to go to Oregon to see our oldest nephew Kyle get baptized and become a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints.  Although the drive was LOOOOOOONG we had a great time visiting with Scott's sister and her family. 

New Blog

Hi everyone,
   I am going to try to do this blog thing!  I hope it works so look later for more posts!
See ya later
Melissa