James 7th... I mean 27th Birthday!

So Thursday was James' birthday. Since we have been married (3 years) James and I have never had a birthday party with friends. We have always just celebrated with immediate family. James has done so much for me in the last few years I thought it would be so fun to surprise him with a "real" party. I have never thrown a surprise party of any kind and was really nervous and anxious.



His brother Jared and I set it up so that he thought he was going to the movies with Jared and then Jared and his girlfriend, Danielle, would watch madi so we could go to dinner. When Jared brought James home from the movie we would all be out in the yard and yell "Surprise!" Everything went smoothly as planned, but Jared had to kill about 30 minutes after the movie before he brought James home. Trying to stall Jared decided to tell James that he needed to go to the grocery store to get some milk on the way home. So I am at the house getting set-up and James calls to ask if we can just give one of our gallons of milk to jared so he doesn't have to go to the store. I of course know that Jared is just making up excuses to stall so I have to pretend to be the greedy sister-in-law and say... "I don't think so honey. I just bought all that milk and I really don't want to have to go to costco again next week." It was pretty classic. But james arrived at the right time and was completely surprised so the mission was successful.






If you know anything about my husband he is infatuated with BATMAN. So I threw him a Batman birthday complete with a pinata and and Batman cake. I told him maybe next year is he is good we can have a spiderman birthday :)

A New Artist In The House

So I hear this scrapping noise coming from behind the hallway door... and this is what I find...


... Oh yes, all you moms probably already know exactly what it is! We have a new artist in the house named, Madi who has decided walls are much more fun for pencils than paper! Here is the proud artist posing by her artwork :)

Mother's Day!

Mother's Day had a whole new meaning for me this year. James and I recently found out that due to my cancer treatments I am not able to give birth to any more children. We feel so blessed to have our little Madi and hopefully many more of our own through adoption. That being said this Mother's Day I was able to reflect on the joy and blessing it is to be a mother. I love my precious daughter so much and can't imagine experiencing this life without her. I know that I am not always the perfect mother, but everyday I love Madi even more (which I didn't know was pssible) and I am constantly trying do better. James' parents gave me a sweet mother's day card and my Mother-In-Law, Dolly wrote the sweetest quote in it. When I read it I realized my best isn't that bad.

"A mother relating to her child in the private intimacy of her home, with no audience but the unseen angels, is the predominant influence for all that is good and decent in the world."
- George D. Durrant

I am so Grateful for my mom that taught me to be loving, kind, selfless, forgiving, and patient through example. She is my bestfriend and I love her so much. I am thankful for my "new" mom, Dolly. She has taught me all of the same endearing qualities as well. I am continually learning from these two amazing mothers in my life and everyday I look up to them for love and guidance. Thanks Moms!


This is an old picture of Madi and I




My Mom (Pat) and Madi




My Mother-In-Law (Dolly) and Madi

Splish Splash I Was Taking A Bath

Madison was being a little ham in the bath today. She will hardly ever smile at the camera so I took advantage of the opportunity and caught a picture of her beautiful happy smile as well as her mouth full of teeth.





And yes I know it's probably not the healthiest thing for her to drink her bath water everyday out of the cap to my shave gel... but you try explaining that to her cute little face when she is having the time of her life :)

Salt Lake City Marathon

On April 19th some of my family and I ran in the Salt Lake City Marathon. Here is us all stinky and sweaty after running the Half Marathon (13.1 miles) holding up our finishing place on our hands. We didn't come close to winning the race , but we all did so well and competed against each other. I had been planning to run the Full Marathon in June of 2006. I was about a month away from the race and had Madi growing in my stomach. I thought my training was going great until one day I just felt like I hit a wall and had no energy to run. I decided no to run the race and soon found out I had cancer. I then understood why by body didn't feel like running. It obviously thought pregnancy and cancer was enough to deal with. So this last fall while I was lying around in the hospital I came up with this great (I think I was delirious at the time) plan to run the Half Marathon in April. I somehow convinced my mom, dad, sisters (Erin, Stacey, Gioia and Gioia's Boyfriend Jonathon) and my Aunt Karen to compete with me. I am so thankful for them participating because without them I don't think I would have followed through. We all had such a fun time and a great weekend. Who knows maybe we will make it a yearly tradition and get the rest of the family involved next time.

Goggle Girl

So Madi found these goggles... need I say more!!

Point Loma Tide Pools

One of James' favorite places to go when we visit San Diego is the Point Loma Tide pools. It is always such a beautiful walk along the cliffs and fun to play in the tide pools. Unfortunately we went at high tide and didn't get to venture down too far with Madi. We still had a great time though. I miss living by the ocean so much... It is my most favorite place.




Madison was so cute. She would walk around and pick up the rocks one by one and hand them to James. She thought she was a good helper cleaning the beach up! Then she found a little puddle to play in. I just love watching her little mind work as she explores and experiences new things. Watching her learn is definitely one of the most rewarding experiences for me as a mom. I am so thankful for her sense of adventure and curiosity.

Easter!

So this blog is a little late, but I have been sick for over two weeks now while in San Diego with my family so I just haven't cared much. Easter was so fun this year with Madi. I understand now why my parents love having everyone around on the holidays because they really are all about the kids. We re-started our old Family Tradition of going to El Monte Park the Saturday before easter for a picnic and egg hunt. Here are some pictures...



Victoria and Nicole



Luke



Nolan



Kade



Madi and Luke



Coley, Gioia, Madi, Jonathon, Stacey



The Family... most of it at least



Madison actually knew what to do with the eggs... I was surprised because usually her attention span and patience aren't long enough to actually look for multiple eggs without pulling the first one apart to get the goodies... although that came very quickly as soon as her basket was filled.





On sunday Madi and I got really sick and spent the day on the couch... and then I spent the next coupl of weeks there with all the bugs that were going around. Oh well it was better to be sick with my family around to play and help with Madi then in Utah alone. We had a great family dinner on Easter Sunday as always.

A-Z Tag!

A- Attached or Single: I'll be celebrating 3 years of marriage on June 4th!
B - Best Friends: Heather, she is my first true GIRL friend... I always hung with the boys ... that is until I got married and now I have many more great girl friends... Brook, Jen, Alysia, Cheryl, Karen, and many more of you.
C - Cake or Pie: Absolutelty no pie and I love cheap generic boxed cake mix, but it tastes much better as cupcakes.
D - Day of choice: Saturday... James is home and we can do whatever we feel like.
E - Essential Item: Wallet
F - Favorite Color: Blue-grey
G - Gummy Bears or Worms: Gummy Bears... I raid the bulk candy section at Ream's every week for them.
H- Hometown: Spring Valley, CA
I - Indulgence(s): coke, the real stuff, no diet for me.
J - January or July: nothing beats the summer sun in July.
K - Kids: 1 precious daughter Madison born 12-6-06
L - Life is incomplete without: My Family
M - Marriage Date: June 4, 2005
N - Number of Siblings: 2 brothers, 4 sisters
O - Oranges or Apples: Oranges
P - Phobias or Fears: Nada
Q - Quotes: "You are a once in a lifetime, never before on earth, never to be again personality, understand the importance of that." (I read it in a hallway at BYU 6 years ago.)
R- Radio station in your car right now: The Eagle 101.5
S - Season: Summer
T - Tag Three Friends: Jen MacKay, Cheryl, Jen Ross
U- Unknown fact about me: I absolutely hate eating when I wake up. I like to wait 3-4 hours before I eat of drink anything.
V - Very favorite store: Target... I always manage to find somthing I desperately need.
W - Worst habit: Cliking my tongue on my teeth and cutting off my husband's stories
X - X-ray or Ultrasound: Ultrasound
Y - Your favorite food: Chips and salsa. I always have them stocked at my house!
Z - Zodiac: Libra

My Miracle Baby Turned Into A Little Girl...

It seems like only yesterday Madi was born. Now when I look at her I don't see my baby, but a little (okay BIG) girl. I love spending everyday watching her grow and learn. She is a ball of energy that hardly ever sits still. I love her laughter, silly faces, constant chatter, hugs, and kisses. I love watching her play "mommy" with her baby as she feeds, rocks, and sings to her. I get a kick out of watching her play video games with her daddy and trying to play Wii by swinging the controller at the TV screen. I enjoy chasing her around the house all day with my keys as she heads for the back door with her baby and thinks she is going somewhere :) My favorite thing though is checking in on her asleep every night before i go to bed and making sure she is covered and warm and giving her one last kiss for the night. Watching the cutest girl in the world lay there asleep and then climbing into bed next to James reminds me that my dreams came true... I have a beautiful child and a loving husband who adores me. The folowing pictures are the evolution of Madison from a little baby to a little girl.



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