Tender Moments...

Today I was able to experience something wonderful. For all of you moms out there you know what I am talking about when I say that you could have 100 children in the house and still feel alone. I only have one child so many of you who have more probably understand this even more.

Why is it that there can be countless children at home with you but you still feel alone? For me I think it is that I cannot have an adult conversation with anyone and sometimes I need to vent. Today, I realized that I don't give my daughter enough credit for the company and love we share and how in tune to my emotions she truly is.

I was sitting down stairs in Chloee's play room and I just started to cry. Not even knowing why I was crying, I was even more frustrated. My little girl stops completely with EVERYTHING she is doing and comes over and gives me a big hug and lots of kisses. As she stared at me she said, "Mommy sad". She then proceeded to try and wipe my tears away with her fist and she punched me in the eye. I knew her intentions. As I was trying to pull myself together she runs over with a book and sits down next to me. I said, "You want mommy to read the book to you" as I proceeded to take it out of her hands. "No" she said then ripped it out of my hands and read me the book to make me feel better. Whenever she is sad, I read her a book and it always makes everything better. She read it to me just as I read to her. Looking at me after every page to see my reaction and licking her fingers to separate the pages. The tears came even heavier than before and it was in that moment that I realized with Chloee, I am never alone!

Her sweet spirit and tender heart warmed my soul and I understood the tender mercy that God sent to me through my child to help me never feel alone as I struggle to be a stay at home mom and raise my children.

Complete Randomness

Look out Micheal, you have some competition. The plate? No, the delicious dessert that was on it before Amy snarfed it down and started to lick the ganache off the bottom. OK, before you all start thinking she is an absolute pig (which she is) just kidding.... I made her do it so that I could take a picture.

All the chillin' brushing their teeth together. Okay, Kennet... not so much. Just mainly dancing around on the counter staring at himself in the mirror.

Josh calls this the "Chloee hot dog". She thought it was so funny to be wrapped up in the blanket.

The hot dog tries to escape!

Loved this picture. She never looks at the camera and smiles when we are in a picture together. Maybe that is because she is so used to seeing me behind the camera and she doesn't understand what is going on.

What do you get when you put a chocolate cupcake with white frosting and a mischievous little 2 year old together?

Kai turned 5 on February 22nd. He LOVES Transformers and that is an understatement. He just opened the Transformer we got him. He was much more interested in that than he was the clothes we gave him. Oh well, the clothes are for mom anyway!

Amy and I conquered Bubble Bobble and SUPER Bubble Bobble! No wonder I am so wasted when she comes and visits, I don't ever get to bed before 1 am. That time it was at least 2 am before my body winded down and then Chloee got up at 5:45 am. What was she thinking? Doesn't she know I am tired?

She has to put her socks on by herself. Can you see that they are only on her big toe? She wants to wear them like this and expects them not to come off when she walks around. She is so particular, it's not even funny!

Hubby Tag

What is his name? Josh, Daddy, J dawg, menasie-ase-a-twasie and Chloee's slave.

How long have you been together? 6 years this July.

How long did you date? For a year before we were married.

How old is he? Will be 27 in April.

Who eats more? Josh, all the way. I like to call him my human garbage disposal.

Who said I love you first? Josh.

Who is taller? Josh. We are a whole foot apart. I'm only 5' and he is 6'.

Who is smarter? Hello, Josh on this one too! He's an engineer for crying out loud, I can't beat that! I remember looking at his homework when he was in school and thinking, "That doesn't even look like ENGLISH"!

Who does the dishes? I do usually just because I am home and sick of looking at them. Josh is ALWAYS great to help.

Who does the laundry? Before I had Chloee, I, embarrassingly have to admit, Josh. The last 2 years that I have been staying home, me all the way.

Who sleeps on the right side of the bed? I do, I have to. Every time we move, I have to sleep on the same side of the bed, I can't sleep on the left.

Who pays the bills? I do. We have always thought it is good for the spouse who isn't working to do the bills, then the one who is working doesn't feel like it's "their" money. Josh has never been that way and plus Josh has a million other things to worry about. I've got a system that works great!

Who mows the lawn? Me. I love to mow the lawn. Always have since I was little.

Who cooks dinner? Whoever isn't lazy that day. Josh is an AMAZING cook but I'd say we both do an equal share. Ok, maybe Josh wins by a little smidge.

Who drives when you're together? When Josh was still commuting, I ALWAYS drove, you can't blame him and I didn't mind. Now, it's probably 50/50.

Who is more stubborn? Everyone that knows us, KNOWS that is ME! Josh is a total peace maker, not such a great thing all the time though.

1st to admit when wrong? Josh. I honestly have the hardest time saying I'm sorry or admitting I'm wrong. It is a sickness really, I HATE saying I'm sorry because then I'm admitting I was wrong. I know you are thinking I'm a bad person right now but refer to the previous question. Josh is so good about that, I can learn a lot from him.

Whose parents do you see most? When we lived in Cache Valley, I'd say my parents. Actually, since we have moved I've seen Josh's mom a lot more. So I'd say now that we live in Layton, probably Josh's.

Who has more friends? Friends, what are those? I'd say my friends are his friends and vice versa. So they are "our" friends.

Who kissed who first? LONG STORY... but I kissed Josh first.

Who asked who out first? If you ask Josh, it was I who asked him out. If you ask me, it was totally the other way around. A constant battle at our house.

Who proposed? Josh. It was adorable. He took me on a memory lane scavenger hunt with something at each spot. There are a lot of details but it was beautiful, he put a lot of thought and love into it.

Who has more siblings? Josh definitely does. If you count all of his step brothers and sisters and all of them, it amounts to 23, including Josh.

Who wears the pants? I'd like to say that I wear the underwear and Josh wears the pants. Which one goes on first, has the most protection and is the MOST important? Mine!

I love Josh so much. I can't believe how love can grow. I thought that when I married him I loved him the very most that my body was capable of doing and now I love him even more. I love the incredible husband and father he is. He is loving, forgiving, selfless and most of all I love that he is truly my best friend and that I can tell him ANYTHING. I struck the gold mine with him and I feel like I married way out of my league.

For all of you that don't know Josh that well, he has turned out to be an amazing man considering a lot of his past and trials that he has gone through. He was a man at 10, no longer a boy, he was forced to grow up at a very young age and MANY other extenuating circumstances in his life have proved to me that you can have any kind of life and still turn out better than amazing.

I love you Josh and all you do for me. I am so grateful for your love and compassion. You have helped me become so much of a better person that I hate the one I was 6 years ago before you entered my life. Thank you for sticking with me and pulling me back to the church despite how hard I made it on you. I am forever indebted to you for so many things and for loving me despite all my many faults. Thank You and I love you!

18 Month Picture

This is Chloee's 18 month picture. Ok, I didn't get around to doing it until she was 20 months but still, it is considered her 1 1/2 year photo. When I was taking pictures of her, she kept trying to pull the flower out of her hair. This is one of the shots I got and I LOVE it! I love not having to go to a studio and worry and pray that she will be good. I always felt like I was walking out of Kiddie Kandids sweating up a storm because of how worked up I would get. Don't worry Grandparents, I already have one of these for you.

Sister Missionaries

We had the sister missionaries over for dinner on Tuesday night. I originally signed up for Monday but they called and wanted to switch. The one on the left is Sister Henningsen, she was going back home to New Hampshire the next day. The one on the right is Sister David, she was from Texas and had been out for five months. It was a unique experience!

Get To Work Little One

Before Chloee's hectic day of work, daddy took her for a stroller ride. As you can tell she was ecstatic! What a cutie!

"Whahooooo, Daddy, let's get this mean machine moving".

He is such a good dad. He comes home from work and the first thing that he does is take Chloee out and give me a break! Yea for me!

Here she is hard at work. Come on little one, get to it! We were cleaning the floors because the missionaries were coming over for dinner. She insisted that she do it herself.

I would point out the dirt or crumbs and she would run over as fast as her little legs would take her and suck them up. She screamed and kicked the vacuum a few times because it wasn't moving with the hose. Big shock, I know!

A daddy's girl. She is chowing down on dark chocolate and the only thing she was saying was, "MORE"! I am a milk chocolate lover and Josh says that dark chocolate is the "pure" chocolate. He gets that from his mom, they share a love for chocolate!

Ice wars

First, here is a picture of the dessert Josh made for Valentine's Day, just a day later. It is ganache on the bottom, pastry with chocolate and caramel inside, baked and topped with more ganache (that Josh made) with whipped topping, also homemade. YUMMY!

My dad and Matt went down to the Wrestling State Championship at UVSC and dropped my mom off on the way. We had a great time and they slept over. Don't you just love Chloee's tongue?

Our ice machine was jammed so we cleaned it out and Chloee is trying to clean all of the ice up with the broom.

Mom threw some ice at dad and it was WAR. Dad got cubes of ice and shoved it down her pajamas and held it up against her back as it melted. Chloee was not happy!

She thought that my dad was hurting my mom and she screamed at him and was crying. She wanted nothing to do with him after that. How dare he hurt her "Amama". It was quite amusing.

"Stop Bumpa or you will have to pay the wrath of the Chlo and it not pretty." She is so funny. She always thinks that Josh is hurting me when he holds me down and tickles me and she gets mad at him. What a little softy!!!

Valentine's Day

Every year for Valentine's Day we alternate who plans the evening. I don't believe that it is a holiday where men should always be doing something for their loved one. Why not share it. Well, this year it was Josh's turn. We have had to tone things down a bit since we had Chloee, no babysitter, yadda ya. Anyway it was eventful and fun!

For all of you who REALLY know Josh, know that he is one INCREDIBLE cook. If you have ever had the opportunity of him making you food, you know what I am talking about. One night we ate at Johnny Carino's at Jordan Landing. I had the most amazing "Fiesta Bowtie Pasta" with Asiago cheese. IT WAS SO DIVINE. Well, Josh knew how much I loved it so what do you think he made for Valentine's Day? That's right, he duplicated it perfectly! Thanks sweetie!

Here we are eating dinner. I am actually eating leftovers now for lunch. YUMMY!

I always have to post cute pics of my little Chlo!

Yes, she is wearing my shirt. It is a Dave Matthew's Band shirt. I put it on her while she "draws" at her table. She always writes on herself so this is the best way not to ruin her clothes and she still gets to have fun. We went to the store and she refused to put on her shirt. It was so embarrassing, she looked like a street urchin with her shirt and her furry boots on with her pants tucked into them.

Well, some weird side notes about the day. I finally lost my toenail that has been black for 5 months. I was filing it down and off it popped, it did not feel good. We got a phone call from our credit card company saying that our credit card had been stolen... Long story. We watched, "No Reservations" and it was one of the cutest and cleanest shows I have ever seen. We are making dessert tonight (we were too tired last night). It think Josh said truffles or something like that. We exchanged gifts and had a great time. Thanks for all you did Josh, you are a great husband and I love you.

P.S. The doctor called about Chloee's results on her culture and the UTI bacteria is E-coli. I cried on the phone, there are more details but I won't bore you with them. Hopefully the antibiotic clears everything up.

Daily Events

Yesterday Chloee decided that she needed to find all the gum in the house and shred it to pieces. This is what I found on the table after using the restroom. Nice, don't you think? There were more piles spread throughout the house. I think she used about 7 packs of gum.

This girl loves her Froot Loops!

And she loves to feed herself, NO HELP. Period. I don't even try anymore. I just know that when she's done, she will be covered in milk.

Today she was mad and took the whole bowl, milk and all, and dumped it all over the kitchen floor. Oh, got to love sticky floors. Oh and today she thought it would be funny to poop in the bathtub. What am I raising, a monkey?

Her daily events change but without a doubt everyday there is something else that made the floor sticky, a towel ruined, a shirt ruined and SHOUT is being used to scrub her clothes. It is neat to see her personality develop but it is scary when she gets that 'Look' in her eye or when it gets really quite.

It all started...

My bad day all started when Chloee decided to get up early. Especially since I didn't get my tired behind in bed until around 1 am, 6:00 am came very soon.







Chloee had been screaming every time she would urinate. I was nervous that she had an UTI. She also was running a low-grade fever on and off for a couple of days. I called the doctor's office and OF COURSE it was my doctor's day off. So I agreed to see another one. Appointment at 11 am.





I go out to start the Pathfinder, battery dead. You have got to be kidding me? I tried and tried to start it, no such luck. I had to call Josh and he had to drive from Layton to West Point and pick us up then we went back to Layton for the appt. Yadda, yad, you get the picture.








We get to the doctor's office and they decide that they are going to do a catheter to get some urine so they can test it. Oh, it was not good, I had to leave the room as Josh, a nurse and the doctor held her down and proceeded to put a tube inside my little girl. As she lay there screaming and I was outside the door, I was horrified and in tears listening to my little girl scream at the top of her lungs, for her "mommy". I sobbed and in that moment time stopped and it felt as though the whole world had been put on hold and that I was doomed to experience this torture for the rest of my life.
It was a UTI and they put her on some medication. As I brought her home she screamed as she would grab at her diaper and bawl. She did this for 3 hours straight. I could see this excruciating pain that she was in was not going away so I phoned the doctor. He said some kids are more sensitive from the catheter and that I was in for a rough 4 hours or so. Oh joy!!!



Josh comes home a little after 4 pm in the snow storm. We had to go and get the medication then. So, we pile in the car and get a new battery for the Pathfinder while we are at walmart. Of course we forgot the old one and were then charged the extra $9 until we bring it back in. Arg!!

The prescription was going to be 30 minutes. Another joy. She's screaming in the store and we decide to go home and get the old battery. I went back onto the slippery roads and tried to take care of it all. Oh, of course the line for the prescriptions was so incredibly LONG! I waited 25 minutes just to get the medication, all the while Chloee is at home screaming.

It was a long and very much hated day. I was so physically and emotionally exhausted!

Happy Birthday Jordan!!!

My little brother Jordan's birthday is today. He turns 21!! He is in Trujillo, Peru serving an LDS mission. We are so excited for him to come home in June. He left May 31, 2006, just 3 days before Chloee was born. I actually think he said that he comes home on her birthday this year!

How cute are the little kids in this picture? I love to hear stories about the people and how much he loves them. He doesn't want to come home, he feels like he has only been out for 3 months, not coming home in 3 months. He is a great missionary who always has a positive attitude and loves serving the Lord. You can tell that he loves what he is doing by this emails, I love reading them.

Beats me what they are doing in this one. I don't think he has ever had an American companion. They have all been from Peru.

Well, I just wanted to do a post for him, even though he can't look at it. Happy birthday Jordan, we are so proud of you and all that you do and the man that you have become these past 2 years.

Laugh 'Till You Cry...

I KNOW THIS LOOKS REALLY LONG BUT I PROMISE IT IS WORTH
READING. I GOT THIS A WHILE BACK IN AN EMAIL. WHETHER
YOU HAVE KIDS OR NO KIDS, YOU WILL LAUGH YOUR PANTS OFF.

A 3-year-old tells all from his mother's restroom stall
By Shannon Popkin

My little guy, Cade, is quite a talker. He loves to
communicate and does it quite well. He talks to people
constantly, whether we're in the library, the grocery
store or at a drive-thru window.

People often comment on how clearly he speaks for a
just-turned-3-year-old. And you never have to ask him
to turn up the volume. It's always fully cranked.
There've been several embarrassing times that I've
wished the meaning of his words would have been masked
by a not-so-audible voice, but never have I wished this
more than last week at Costco.

Halfway, through our shopping trip, nature called, so
I took Cade with me into the restroom. If you'd been
one of the ladies in the restroom that evening, this
is what you would have heard coming from the second
to the last stall.

"Mommy, are you gonna go potty? Oh! Why are you
putting toiwet paper on the potty, Mommy? Oh! You
gonna sit down on da toiwet paper now? Mommy, what
are you doing? Mommy, are you gonna go stinkies on
the potty?"

At this point I started mentally counting how many
women had been in the bathroom when I walked in.
Several stalls were full ... 4? 5? Maybe we could
wait until they all left before I had to make my
debut out of this stall and reveal my identity.

Cade continued, "Mommy, you ARE going stinkies aren't
you? Oh, dats a good girl, Mommy! Are you gonna get
some candy for going stinkies on the potty? Let me see
doze stinkies, Mommy! Oh ... Mommy! I'm trying to see
in dere. Oh! I see dem. Dat is a very good girl, Mommy.
You are gonna get some candy!"

I heard a few faint chuckles coming from the stalls on
either side of me. Where is a screaming newborn when you
need her? Good grief. This was really getting
embarrassing. I was definitely waiting a long time before
exiting.

Trying to divert him, I said, "Why don't you look in
Mommy's purse and see if you can find some candy. We'll
both have some!"

"No, I'm trying to see doze more stinkies. Oh! Mommy!"
He started to gag at this point. "Uh oh, Mommy. I fink
I'm gonna frow up. Mommy, doze stinkies are making me
frow up!! Dat is so gross!!"

As the gags became louder, so did the chuckles outside
my stall. I quickly flushed the toilet in hopes of
changing the subject. I began to reason with myself: OK.
There are four other toilets. If I count four flushes,
I can be reasonably assured that those who overheard this
embarrassing monologue will be long gone.

"Mommy! Would you get off the potty, now? I want you to
be done going stinkies! Get up! Get up!" He grunted as he
tried to pull me off. Now I could hear full-blown laughter.

I bent down to count the feet outside my door. "Oh, are
you wooking under dere, Mommy? You wooking under da door?
What were you wooking at, Mommy? You wooking at the wady's
feet?"  More laughter. I stood inside the locked door and
tried to assess the situation.

"Mommy, it's time to wash our hands, now. We have to go
out now, Mommy." He started pounding on the door. "Mommy,
don't you want to wash your hands? I want to go out!!"

I saw that my "wait 'em out" plan was unraveling. As I
sheepishly opened the door, and found an open sink, I
thought, Where's the fine print on the 'motherhood
contract' where I signed away every bit of my privacy?

But as my little boy gave me a big, cheeky grin while
he rubbed bubbly soap between his chubby little hands,
I thought, I'd sign it all away again, just to be known
as Mommy to this little fellow.

(Shannon Popkin is a freelance writer and mother of
three. She lives with her family in Grand Rapids,
Michigan, where she no longer uses public restrooms.)

Thoughts of a Child

We were coming home from the store on Friday night and Josh was asking Chloee some inquisitive questions. Usually we ask what all of the animals say just to keep her detained until we get home. This is how the conversation went.

Josh asking Chloee: "What does the cow say?"

Chloee: "Mooooooo"

Josh: "What does Mommy say?"

Chloee: "Mooooooo"

Josh (after lots of laughter): "What does Daddy say?"

Chloee: "Bye bye"

So... to sum it up, I'm a cow and Josh is always leaving!

The Men in Georgia

Josh went out of town this week for work to Georgia. Micheal, Amy's husband is in Georgia at Basic Training for the Army so us girls got together this week and partied. Ok, so our dad wasn't in Georgia but the majority of the hubby's were. While the cats are away, the mice will play... and that is just what we did.

We did pedicures. Alright, our version. We soaked our feet in a massager and then went to town on our toes. Amy supplied some cute colors and the little stickers too. It was fun to do together. Left to right: Amy, Me and Mom.

Chloee saw what all of the "girls" were doing and insisted that she have the same but on one condition. Only "Mamy" could do it. That was Amy for all of you that don't know my daughter's language.

She is such a little girlie girl. She wanted to pick the color and let Amy do the fingers and toes that only she decided wanted to be done. That doesn't sound like my opinionated daughter now does it?

One cute picture of Amy and Chloee. At first when I look at it, I think that Amy is me. No compliment to Amy but definitely to me!

Poor Kennet! Chloee was so mean to him the ENTIRE time we were there. They really don't get along, mainly because they have the EXACT same personality. My little one was the only one to blame this time. Kennet would just be watching TV and she'd run up to him (when she thought no one was watching) and would claw at his face. It is amazing that Amy is still so sweet to Chloee after the way she treated Kennet.

Everyone but me went out and played in the snow. Grandma pulled Chloee around on the sled and took her down the hill and she loved it. The snow was so deep that the kids couldn't get around outside. Needless to say, it didn't last long.

Grandma and the Chlo!

What can I say.... other than, this girl loves her boots! She wants to wear them ALL day and preferably without any clothes! I had to throw it in.

Just Like Her Daddy

Josh was visiting his dad the other day and every time we are there, we inherit something else that J has been storing for who knows how long that is Josh's. When we finally get everything of Josh's out of there, J will be surprised at how much extra space he has. This adorable picture of my hubby was in there.

In this picture Josh is only 4 years old. When Josh showed it to me last night I cried. Look at how much he looks like Chloee. The big, dark eyes (although theirs are different colors), the long, thick, dark eyelashes, the adorable smile, the cheeks and of course the CRAZY hair. When Josh asked me last night why I was crying, I replied, "Because this means that I didn't have an affair". Hey, who says you can't have mixed emotions and joke around while you are crying? I love this picture so much, I am framing it and putting it at my bedside. It brings a smile to my face every time I see it.

Side Note: Written on the back of the photo in his mom's handwriting is:

Joshua Adams
4 yrs. Old
768-4619
Skinniest
Swimsuit Contest

Ok, so evidently this was a swimsuit contest, but where's his swimming suit? I am assuming by the "skinniest" written on the back that that was the award he won. The most "skinniest". Oh, I don't know why that was so funny to me but I still can't stop grinning. Thanks Kathy, for putting my sweetheart in a swimming suit contest, I LOVE THIS PICTURE!!!