Footprints...on the roof?

The Monday before Thanksgiving, Ben's good friend Doug and his wife Nayomee and their little boy Clark, came to visit us. Clark was born less than a week before William, so it was fun to see the two of them together. Ben has known Doug since they were just little boys and they have all sorts of hilarious stories. We were so excited that they were going to come spend the day with us. We talked for a while and did all of the catching up stuff and then Ben and Doug disappeared.
They are both snow ski fanatics, and when you put two snow ski crazy people together, crazy things happen. Nayomee and I went outside to see what they were doing, and they were busy shoveling away to make a landing for this.



Yup, Ben decided that Doug's visit would be the perfect time to jump off the roof with his snow skis. We ended up with a small crowd in the yard cheering him on. The bishop was the most excited of them all. In fact, the other day, we noticed that his son had snowboarded off their roof. Good thing I previously told the neighbors that we would not be responsible for any damages done by their children copying Ben. It was a joke at the time, but now I see that maybe I should have been more serious when I said that.
Poor little Sam stood there on the driveway begging Ben not to do it. He was near tears. It was so sad, he was worried for his daddy.

Ben landed it just fine and did it one more time. He was all grins. It was great!

So, like I have said, everyone that comes to our home leaves their footprints. Doug, Nayomee and Clark left footprints of fun, laughter, friendship, and of course, footprints on the roof.

Christmas Miracle

I am a big believer of Christmas miracles. I think they happen because everyone is just a little more giving, a little more loving, a little more focused on others, and a little more focused on Christ during the season. People help make miracles happen most of the time, but sometimes, they just happen.

Remember this.

Yeah, the $400 a month formula.

I am proud to announce that for the past week or so, William has been drinking this. (with no harmful side-effects)

It cuts the cost of formula by more than half.

And this folks, to be happening so soon, is a complete miracle.

We definitely have something to be thankful for this Thanksgiving.

12 inches

of SNOW!!!!

We went to sleep with snow slowly, softly and silently trickling down from the heavens, but when we woke up, we still couldn't believe our eyes!!!

We looked out our room window and saw this!


Within the next half hour, the snow clothes were dug out of the box in the garage and everyone was out. ALL of the neighbors were shoveling away and talking about how amazing it all was.



Mary was so excited to try out all of her new ski clothes. She stayed out for a very long time. The snow gear must be pretty good.



Of course, a neighborhood snow ball fight commenced...(in the bishop's yard, hehehe)



Ben can't stop grinning and already made the "perfect landing for when he jumps off the roof with his skis tomorrow." No comment from me.



Sam was so excited that he kept on giggling while we were getting his snow stuff on. He and Landon had a great time getting stuck in snow piles and helping eachother get out.



I stayed inside with William and did this.





and MUCH more.

Aside from a few more little touch up decorations (like a stocking for William, the Christmas tree, another piece to add to my North Pole Village, ect.), the house is all ready to celebrate the Christmas season and bring happiness and magic in our hearts. I planned on waiting until next week, but the excitement in the air and the warmth in our hearts brought on by the snow, changed my mind.

The decorations will be topped off with a warm yummy dinner cooking away in the crock pot, homemade cinnamon rolls, and a Christmas movie tonight.

What an awesome Sunday.

Buckle Your Belts...

I am on a blogging frenzie!! I very rarely blog every day of the week. Usually, I just don't think about it, or I can't find something to blog about. I guess this past little while has been full of stuff. And here is another one to add to the list.

I found a gold mine! Allow me to explain...

Ever since we pulled Mary from gymnastics, I have felt so badly. Not because it was fun for me, but because I was a mother who knew her daughter had a very unique and awesome talent for something and a strong love for something, and I took it away from her. I just felt so wrong about it, but I knew I was making a good decision at the same time.

The gym we found for her here was not going to work with our lifestyle. Yes, it is an incredible gym and they produce absolutely incredible gymnasts, but you have to pay the price in all sorts of ways. We are not down with that. It is a sport, and that is all it is. It was WAY too demanding and it was so incredibly expensive. It was absolutely crazy to put in that much time and money for a 5 yr. old girl. We made the right decision to pull her out of that gym, but maybe it wasn't the right decision to pull her out of the sport.

The feeling that I messed up on this one has never left me, and it has been driving me crazy. Mary has missed the sport a lot as well. She has enjoyed dance and it is fun to watch her dance, but the spark just isn't there for her. It was bitter/sweet to watch her dance sometimes.

Yesterday I decided to look up another well know gymnastics gym in the area. I couldn't believe my ears when the lady on the phone told me the price! It was totally reasonable and completely able to fit into our budget! Then she told me the hours Mary would be in the gym, and I was sold. Mary will be in the gym the same hours she was in Colorado (which is wonderful) and the cost is exactly 1/2 the price! None of this 9 hours in the gym sort of thing. She will only be there 2 and sometimes three hours a week. I was so excited when I got off the phone.

I talked to Mary about it when she got home from school and she is so happy and excited. She can hardly wait for her trial class on Thursday. They are going to test her to see what level she will be in.

The program is very similar to the one she was in in Colorado and the gym looks almost identical.

I feel great about the price, the amount of time, and the coaching Mary will have. It is completely reasonable and fits into our lifestyle. Most of all, I feel a lot more settled and at peace about the whole thing.

We will be pulling Mary out of dance, which is a bummer, because it was really cute, but she is just not a dance girl. This gym will be a great fit for her and I can't wait to see her flipping, climbing, bending, challenging herself, and doing what she knows best, once again.

Uppers

Yesterday, at church, I talked to a guy that is living here while his family is home in Colorado Springs trying to sell their house. They will be moving here when it sells. Talking to him about the Springs gave me a huge lump in our throat, especially because they were in our old Stake. And then we discovered that his daughter goes to Aerials gymnastics in the Springs. We then discovered that I know his wife and have talked to her several times when Mary was in gymnastics. She is a twin, and her twin sister had a daughter in Mary's class. When we put it all together, I had a big cloud come over me. I felt horrible about taking Mary out of gymnastics, especially because all of the memories from Aerials and how happy she was there came flooding back. Thinking of Aerials made me then think of the rest of the town, and it went from there. I was 2 seconds away from tears the rest of the afternoon.

That evening, Mary asked me if she could call Tyler, her friend from Colorado. She was really missing him, I could tell. So, she called him. We talked to "the good neighbors" on the phone. It was sooooo wonderful to talk to them. Mary LOVED talking to Tyler. I was beyond excited to talk to Mel. Since then, however, I have been a blubbering mess. I can't seem to shake it.

We are doing fine here in Utah. We have friends, we like our house, we love our neighborhood, ect. BUT, we are still in the adjustment phase and at times it makes me crave the comfort and joy of our life in Colorado.

In order to try to get back on track, I am trying to focus on the "uppers." The good things that have occurred. There is one in particular that just melts my heart.

The other day, as we were walking in to wamart, Sam noticed a firetruck parked next to the store. Sam walked over to the truck in complete awe and admiration, he touched the truck. It was as if he were seeing a real dinosaur for the first time. He was so awe struck he wasn't even talking. He just kept stroking the truck.

I finally got him to go into the store, and right when we got through the doors, the firemen came walking by. Sam stopped right there in his tracks and stared at the firemen. It caught their attention and they waved to Sam. Sam stayed perfectly still, jaw wide open and very slightly raised his hand and waved back. They firemen began walking away and Sam kept staring. They looked back and Saw him still standing there looking at them like they were Gods. They waved again and walked out the door. Sam followed them in his stupor and stopped right outside the door. He was watching them get into the truck. Again, his jaw was down and he was frozen in place. The firemen noticed Sam standing there, so they turned on the truck lights. Sam's only reaction was a very soft and reverent, "cool" coming out of his mouth. His eyes were still fixed on the firetruck with the firemen in it. I was standing next to him trying to gently get him to go back into the store. It was FREEZING.

A few seconds later, the door to the firetruck opened, and one of the firemen hopped out and walked over to Sam. He had a blown up latex glove balloon in his hand. He knelt down in front of Sam and said, "hey little dude. We don't have any fireman badges to give you, but we wanted to give you this balloon. Have a good day, o.k." Sam muttered a soft, "thank you." Then the fireman got back in the truck. As they drove off, they gave a small honk of the horn and waved to Sam. Sam finally got over the shock and immediately was so excited he could hardly stand it. His glove balloon had a cute smiley face drawn on it, and it didn't leave his hands the rest of the day. Such a precious moment for my little boy.

A Mother's Touch

On Friday afternoon, I met my mom, my sister-in-law, and her two kids at the exit that leads to....OUR HOUSE!!!

That's right. My mom came to visit! And she brought Juliet and her kids along with her. My brother and Juliet live in Alaska, so this is a very rare thing to have her in our home.

Just for a re-cap, my mom has been to our house twice since Ben and I graduated from college 6 years ago. The first time was when I had the horrific miscarriage and ended up severly anemic for weeks on end. My mom came the day I got home from the hospital and stayed for a week. Sadly, it was her first time ever coming to see us, and I only remember a few bits and pieces of it. I was on heavy meds that week and I don't remember much at all. She came in a time of great need though, and I am so grateful for her love and service.

The second time she came was exactly a year later, the day I got home from the hospital after giving birth to William. That week was absolutely out of control. William was so incredibly sick and we were in the tailspin of trying to figure out what was wrong with him. He was crying ALL day and ALL night and Ben and I were complete wrecks of worry and exhaustion. Ben and I got less than 2 hours of sleep a night that week. It was pretty bad. My mom saved us by taking complete care of Mary and Sam.

So, her visit this time around, I was elated to be healthy, happy, rested, and able to treat her as a guest and not have her working the whole time. It was awesome to have her see our new home and leave her own footprint here. She bouyed me up in ways that only a mother can do. She praised all of my hard work with painting. She gushed over the kids rooms and the decorations I have throughout the house. She smooched all over Williams fat squishy face, and she played with Mary and Sam. She brought my favorite goodies, and she brought LOTS of them. Cinnamon rolls, pumpkin rolls, cinnamon bread, giant cookies, ect. She brought such a feeling of comfort and love to our home.

Juliet and her kids left their footprints as well. The kids played and played and played. They are very cute together and I love that Mary and Sam will be able to connect with and have a bond with their cousins. The fact that Juliet traveled all this way brought a feeling of family unity and love to our home. A feeling of sacraficing for eachother and making family a priority. I am grateful for her willingness to come and for what that teaches my children about the importance of family.

We crammed a lot in a little time. We went to chick filet, we talked, we brainstormed lots of decor ideas for some places in our home that I am stumped with, we drove to Mary's school so grandma could see it, we went to Hobby Lobby and had a very "successful" trip, we made Christmas plans, we set up all of Sam's car tracks, and we had a good time just being together.

Our home was left, once again, with such a feeling of love and happiness.

We have been starved for visitors for so long, and I don't take any of it for granted. I LOVE getting the phone call that someone wants to stop by, or stay the night, or just come visit. It means so much to me. It makes this very difficult move a lot easier and reminds me over and over again, that there are reasons the Lord needs us here, and even though we have yet to see some things unfold, and it may take years for some of them to come to pass, other reasons are already being shown to us. I feel that they are our tender mercies in our time of hard adjustment. Some of those reasons can be fun ones. We need to be here to see family more often and to feel more of that love. We all need eachother. I am down with that. It has already blessed our lives and our home so much.

Thank you so much for coming mom and Juliet. I love the footprints you left in our home. Love you!

Another Footprint

O.K., you got me. No, I had not done my hair before the picture was taken. It was a rushed morning o.k. Katie looks awesome though..don't you think?


My best friend in the whole wide world (since 1st grade) came to stay at our house last night with her husband and three absolutely adorable kids. It was an unexpected surprise when I got the phone call that they needed a place to stay. I was very excited.

The visit was short, but so nice. I LOVE opening up our home to family and friends. We had so little of it in California and Colorado, but I am really hoping that things will change now that we are closer, and we live in an awesome middle ground for travelers. So far, it is proving to be true.

As mentioned earlier, each person that comes here leaves a footprint in our home that is here to stay, and it makes our house even more a home. I am so glad Katie and Landon chose to stay here and leave their spirit of love and friendship here with us.

During this time of adjustment with the move and feeling so vulnerable in the friend department, it was so nice to be with Katie. She knows me more than most anyone, and she loves me for who I am. I feel the same about her. She has been a constant and dedicated friend to me for almost my whole life. Our stories could go on forever. It was very refreshing to just be me and to know that we have our friendship no matter what.

It was so cute to see our little girls playing together. They are just 1 year away from the age Katie and I were when we met. Talk about a time warp!

We are so glad they came and we look forward to seeing them again during the Thanksgiving break.

Thank you for coming Katie, love ya tons....come back soon!

Retired

Dear Running Shoes,
We have run many miles together, approx. 800+ to be exact.
We have run in four different states.
We have trained for and been through a full marathon together.
We have run with a dog pulling us along.
We have run through rain, wind, blizzards, blazing hot sun, fog, light and dark.
We have run inside and out.
We have run through 1 and 1/2 pregnancies.
We have run with stomach aches, side aches, leg aches, foot aches, head aches, gallbladder aches, and so on....
We have had gorgeous, peaceful, energized, wonderful runs.
We have been through, torturous, exhausting, painful, and difficult runs.
You have molded perfectly to my feet, we go so well together.
I am afraid however, that I have run you ragged.
Your spring is now a thud.
Your soft comfortable cushion is now a rock hard lump.
Your cute and fun colors are now stained and torn.
You have done well my friends. You life was well spent.
You have stayed there with me through thick and thin.
You have earned your place on the Maynard wall of fame, in the garage. (right next to Ben's retired snow skis and your mentor...my previous running shoes)
There you can hang with pride and dignity, the marathon medal hanging around your neck, a constant reminder of hard work, discipline, perservenance, reward, achievement and great satisfaction.
Maybe someday, another pair of shoes will hang just under you, and the legacy will live on.

A Visit From Bop

This weekend was wonderful! A lot of fun things happened. Church was awesome and after church, we hung out with some couples that we really clicked with and had a great time with. They invited us over for dessert with a few other people, and we all ended up staying and talking and laughing for a long time. It was so refreshing! I miss my friends so much and I started to feel a little bit of that hole being patched up that evening.

BUT, the highlight of the entire weekend was our special visitor.

My dad (the kids call him Bop) came to see us for the first time ever. I am not exaggerating. It was the very first time my dad has been able to come see us since we graduated from college. He works very hard (18 hour days) and has two jobs, so getting time off for him is next to impossible. He always wants to come see us, but he just hasn't been able to. This visit meant the world to me. I was excited all week.

He came Saturday night, stayed the night and hung out with us until 1:00 the next afternoon.

I love the feeling that now resides in our home. Bit by bit, and visitor by visitor, our house will become our home. Each person that visits leaves a part of them here and therefore brings a part of our family and friends here to stay. To me, that is what makes a home.

I loved how my dad was just my dad. He walked in our house and the first thing he did was fix our basement bathroom toilet. (in about 2 seconds) Next he went right to the closet with our furnace and stuff and checked it all out. Then we were out in the yard with him checking out the sprinkler system and helping us know how to blow it out.

He and I talked into the late hours of the night and had a great time looking over a bunch of family stuff he brought. He played Batcave with Sam, talked with Mary and held William. He joked with Ben and made sure all was well with us.

We went on a walk with him Sunday morning and showed him around our neighborhood. He was full of compliments and admiration about our home, our family and the life we are working to make for ourselves. It meat so much to me.

I was so sad to see him leave, but he left a footprint in our home that is here to stay. I can feel it.

Thank you for coming dad, I love you.

5 months!

William is 5 months old today! We love him so much. He is such a bright light in our home. He is our sunshine.

Here are some stats...

He is over 17 pounds, but I am not sure how much he truly weighs. We will find out next month at his appt. I do know, however, that he is SO HEAVY to carry around. My arms actually get sore some days and when he is in his carseat, it is almost impossible for me to lift him up and put him in the car. I would bet he is very close to 18 pounds, if he isn't there already.

He is very alert and aware of his surroundings. He knows what bottle is when you say it. He will immediately cry or get really excited when you say the word. He knows his family. He gets very excited to see Mary and Sam walk toward him. He cries when we leave the room and gets so happy when we come back. He knows the house, his bed, the swing and all sorts of good stuff.

He is only waking up once in the night!!!! Sleep, precious sleep!

He can sit up on his own for a while, but he hunches forward a lot. He has a nice big belly to balance on.

His laugh is absolutely adorable! He laughs with his whole body. He just lights up. We all do almost anything to get him to laugh. It makes us all laugh when he does.

William is practically bald. The little hair he does have is blonde, so you can't really see it. Hence, the hat in the picture. No, it wasn't cold, it was actually very warm and I was worried about his bald head getting sunburned. Mary was kind enough to run home and find a hat for him. The best part about the baldness, is that I can see each and every fat wrinkle on his head and I kiss them all the time.

He is grabbing everything. His favorites are my hair and my earrings. He also loves to grab the shirt collar of anyone who is holding him. He loves to grab and hold on to my finger when he is drinking his bottle. I love it when he does that. It is so nice to have his chubby fingers wrapped around mine.

The doctor took him off of his reflux meds for a trial run, but it wasn't so great, so he is back on them. I think I did 6 loads of laundry during those few days. He just threw up (projectile vomited) over and over and over and over and over again. EVERYTHING was soaked. Because of the formula he is on, when he throws up, Ben and I see $$ signs. And of course, we feel so bad for William as well. The poor kid smelled like acid all the time. Imagine what his mouth must have tasted like.
We will try to take him off of it in another three months or so, but I am in no rush.

We have been mixing his bottles with 1/3 of regular formula (doctors orders) and 2/3 of the stuff he is on. (Nutramigen AA) So far so good! I cannot tell you how elated we are! The hope is to have him completely on regular formula by Christmas. We could really use the extra $400 a month for something other than formula. The best part of all is that this tells us that Williams stomach is maturing and forming the parts it needs to in order to break down protien. Hooray!

William grew out of his 3-6 month clothes a few weeks ago and has now graduated into 6-9month clothes.

William weighs the same, right now at 5 months, that Sam did at 11 months. We have experienced small and big babies now. We love them all the same.

We love our Bubba head, jet puff, bumbo, big buddy, and buddy boo, so much. I just stare at him during the day and feel my heart melt. What a precious gift from God he is.

Happy 5 months William!

A Moment

Don't walk in front of me, I may not follow.
Don't walk behind me, I may not lead.
Just walk beside me and be my friend.
Albert Camus