Pictures and Links...

Sometimes it is hard to get her to smile for the camera (she likes to be silly), but when she does...b.e.a. - utiful...the horse was one of her Birthday presents...Kya braided her up!Aren't oversized sunglasses the thing right now, Jadyn is so fashion forward...especially with the sequin and heart, pink and purple - hair accessory. She has two of them, because she loves them so much...this is the very most recent picture, unless I take one now....hold on a second, just kidding!
Here are three video's of her throughout her birthday. I need to do some editing, but a mother loves even the boring stuff, not that any of these are boring...I think all you have to do is hover and click. Happy viewing, of the Happy Birthday!
http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-7621835579812975673



http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=7432865305458253511



http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-364744589674802949

Happy Birthday Jadyn!

Well, what a day. Today we celebrated Jadyn turning four. Amazing. In honor of her birthday, it was decided that daylight savings time start early this year - and boy did that through me off...but that is a different story.

Over the last four years I have seen this amazing little girl blossom. My life is blessed everyday because she is part of it.

This picture says it all, we are exhausted. Jadyn and her monkey...2006

March 9, 2004

Sleeping when you are pregnant and uncomfortable is never easy, even though you are always tired. I had a little more than a month left and I had just been put on bedrest...bedrest, seriously, do you know how hard that is? Not to mention that allowing other people to take care of me, that is impossible. So my bedrest, luckily for me, only lasted four days. Then Jadyn decided she wanted to come. And come she did. Having your water break is a very unusual sensation, waking your family up at 3:30 in the morning because of it, is sureal. I was not ready to have a baby a month early, not at all. And the thing that keeps running through your head over and over....it's too soon, it's too soon, she's not 37 weeks, are her lungs ready, it's too soon....I had had at least five sonograms, we were going to the doctor three times a week, so I knew she was progressing fantastically, but all I could think about was - it's too soon.

I tried to be strong, my mom was with me and she had six kids without drugs (I don't know how that is even possible), I broke down and said GIVE ME SOME DRUGS!!!! We went to one of the two childbirthing classes and I said this is a joke and didn't do the second. My mom told me that day she had been very concerned about that, but saw that I knew what I was doing. (Those classes were a joke...) I can't tell you how much I read, but you are never prepared...it hurts like the dickens and then the drugs and I could actually sleep through them. AWESOME.

So Jadyn was born at 8:57 p.m. after a long day that started at 3:30 a.m., and I remember the first thing I said - how are her lungs...my doctor sweetly replied, "They don't cry like that if there is a problem, she is fine." Oh relief, I have to say, clearly my question wasn't logical, but that had been my biggest worry. It was like she did as much growing as she needed to inside me and said listen I gotta get outta here for my mom's sake - I can finish the rest on the outside. And she did. "Premies are this, premies are that", they kept her for a week pretty much for observation, because she never had problems. She had jaundice, but I did too when I was born, they didn't keep me in for a week...she quickly packed on the pounds as she was a measly 5 lbs 7 oz when born and then lost a few oz before we left the hospital...but that didn't last long. Our bodies are amazing...even though I still have not yet recovered...the way my body provided what she needed and she just grew and grew and grew. She is in the 96% for height, weight is average, so she is tall and trim. Her feet were big for awhile, but now her body had caught up to them...they grow so fast.

It was funny when we did our exit the hospital interview...those questions, I was dying...I finally said to the nurse...I am the oldest of six children, and babysat countless others, I have got this...and if I had any questions then I will CALL MY MOTHER! Wow. Either the hospital has been sued a few times, or they really have some unexperienced parents...

So now tonight, four years later I reflect on that day, they day Jadyn came into this world. She is fantastic and I am grateful for her. To know her is to love her. She lights up not only the room, but your life. I know all parents think so, but she is amazing! I have a few videos of today, but as she is the greatest child, I am still trying to be up to par as her mother. I went to take pictures, and the battery was dead...talk about unprepared. Hopefully these videos will give you a glimpse at the wonderful little girl that she is. Happy Birthday Jadyn.

There is no song of the day, only Jadyn. She is the music and the melody yet to be written.

OK, I will have to post video in the morning. They are taking forever to upload, and our day has been full and I am tired! Click to view movie:

http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-7621835579812975673

So I finally did it....

I bought the 80GB ipod classic...my first ipod. It felt good! And I made a new playlist. I am addicted to itunes, only gripe - play more than 30 seconds and charge less money - hehe. I didn't budget that much money for music in my budget - whoops!

So I made a new playlist...fun. I put my blog song...I couldn't find the one I was looking for - Honor & Harmony, from the Thicker Than Water soundtrack...but that ok because I freakin love this song! My Baby's Got Sauce - thanks Jill for introducing me to my love - GLove.

I will have to come back later and add a picture of my new baby...

Through Jadyn's Eyes

I love this picture of Jadyn. It was taken at the 'Princess Temple Castle', aka the Mt Timpanogos Temple...

I picked up Jadyn from school today. She was coloring a picture and was VERY excited to show me. "Look mom, it's a heart and a one-e-corn." See to her a unicorn is a one-e-corn, and honestly I think I might like one-e-corn better.

As I was driving Jadyn to school the other morning, she told me, "Momma, I want your sister to pick me up." Well as I have four sisters, I went through the list - Jennifer - "no", Rebecca - "no", Elizabeth - "no", ok Michelle - "no". Your other sister, man Jadyn those are my only sisters. "No, the one with the long hair." I finally figured out who she meant - Jill. "Yeah, momma. Her, I want her to come with you to pick me up." Sweet Jadyn, Jill came with me during her visit to pick up Jadyn. And she must have liked it...and yeah she is kinda my sister, true? Love you Jill.

Jadyn was taking her bath the other night. She has a lot of bath toys, she happens to have two dolphins. She was on her belly pretending to swim, she loves to do that, and I came back in the room she lifted up her dolphins and said, "Look momma, I am swimming with the dolphins." Where do they get this stuff? They pick up everything...so cute.

I was doing Jadyn's hair the other day before school, and we were talking about how her birthday is coming up and I asked her what she wanted. She said quickly and with a huge grin, "Sprinkles!" Perfect, I can handle that...

...Speaking of sprinkles, we were in the kitchen one day and she saw the muffin tins. She says, "Mommy, I want to make some hupcakes." I was like hupcakes? Sweetie, they are called cupcakes. "No momma, they are hupcakes." Interesting theory Jadyn, why would they be called hupcakes, when they are shapped like a cup? What exactly would a hup be? She got tired of trying to convince me, but she still calls them hupcakes.

For the longest time, she refered to my mom and dad both, as 'Gampa', my dad loved it, I am not sure my mom did though. Although, my mom embraced it towards the end and even put her name on her cell phone as 'Gampa.' Beautiful.

My grandma passed away this past December, and Jadyn often says to me, 'I miss your grandma.' She met grandma only a few times, but it is so interesting to me that she thinks about her and misses her, that she has an awareness of what happened. It shows me we are more connected than we understand. We were able to visit my Grandparents this past September and Grandma and Jadyn had a great time playing with all of Grandma's necklaces. I wish I had taken a picture...

She has a ton more, and I will keep sharing them...Enjoy.

Pimpin' People's Blogs...

This blog was not intended to be a religous blog, although my faith is a big part of my life, I am trying to have this blog as friendly and religion is often a very sensitive subject, and while I wrote a blog with my testimony, I was doing it for me and my family and friends that may have wondered over the years where my mind was at.

Additionally, I wanted to express to Amy my love. I don't love someone based on the decisons they make, so no mater what she does - I love her for who she is. I loved her before she was Mormon, I did not love her because she was Mormon, and I don't stop loving her when she is not. If you would like to express your thoughts about Amy's decisions and your love for Amy, I am sure she would love it, her blog is: http://www.dampenningtons.blogspot.com/ I know she would love to hear from you.

Secondly, my brother-in-law (it's cool to have one - finally), has a great blog that talks about all kinds of things. And it is faith based...and a perfect place to learn more and express your opinion. He loves it, he welcomes it. Aaron, has a great perspective of the gospel, and his journey has been atypically. And I appreciate and value his opinion, check it out: http://graceforgrace.com/

I include the picture to illustrate that he is very easy to talk to (yes he is running in a mullet wig), so write some of your thoughts and opinions on his page. I don't think Becca will like that I put this up...so I will put up a nice one...

Random

As is it president's day and I am currently enjoying my day off I thought that I would share a little thing I just learned from yahoo.com, yeah I learn stuff from Yahoo sometimes, the are worth way more that 15 billion or whatever obsence amount Microsoft devalued them by offering...

Anyway, according to yahoo.com Abraham Lincoln is the most requested president for quotes. Can't say I am surprised. Number two is Thomas Jefferson, etc...here is the list with links.

Abraham Lincoln Quotes
Thomas Jefferson Quotes
Theodore Roosevelt Quotes
Ronald Reagan Quotes
George Washington Quotes

Anyway I thought I would share a few...quotes that is...

Lincoln -
"Let us have faith that right makes might, and in that faith, let us, to the end, dare to do our duty as we understand it."

"I have been driven many times upon my knees by the overwhelming conviction that I had nowhere else to go. My own wisdom and that of all about me seemed insufficient for that day."

"I am rather inclined to silence, and whether that be wise or not, it is at least more unusual nowadays to find a man who can hold his tongue than to find one who cannot."

Jefferson -
"When angry, count ten before you speak; if very angry, an hundred."

"Delay is preferable to error."

"Bigotry is the disease of ignorance, of morbid minds; enthusiasm of the free and buoyant. Education & free discussion are the antidotes of both."

"I cannot live without books."

"Religion is a subject on which I have ever been most scrupulously reserved. I have considered it as a matter between every man and his Maker in which no other, and far less the public, had a right to intermeddle."

Have a great President's Day!

Pondering

One of my friends recently sent me an email to read her blog, and on her blog it said she was leaving the LDS church. I have been wondering how to respond, if she wants my response (she did after all just email me to look at her blog, she choose not to tell me herself – so I am not sure if she is interested in my opinions), and what exactly my feelings are about the situation are. I thought this gave me a chance to bear my testimony, so here it goes...

First, I love a person no matter what they believe. I have many friends from a wide variety of backgrounds, a wide variety of lifestyles, a wide variety of beliefs. I would like to think that they know that regardless of their personal choices, I accept them and love them although I might not love or agree with everything they do. That is not my call, they have to be ok with their life. They will be accountable for their choices, not me.

Second, I have thought in the past, how much easier things would be if I wasn’t part of the church. I have considered choosing a relationship over my beliefs. Putting aside my upbringing and being more open to different ways of life, to be more ‘worldly’ and have less argument and discord in my relationship with Jadyn’s dad.

Third, there is something I know that keeps me from doing that. I have read the Book of Mormon and I have prayed about the Book of Mormon, and I have a testimony of the Book of Mormon. There are many people and churches that believe that Jesus Christ is our Savior. I believe that too, with everything I am, but there is only one church that has the restored gospel, that has the Book of Mormon. That is the LDS church. I cannot deny that I have received a testimony. And I knew I could not live with myself if I made that kind of compromise.

My hope is that when my friend was choosing to be baptized, she wasn’t doing it to please me, but she was doing it because she had a testimony – that she believed that the Book of Mormon is the word of God. Had she not been baptized I would have loved her with the same strength and fervor that I do today. She is my sister regardless. And now all these years later I wonder, Why? Sometimes, being a member of the church is hard. It is hard if two people in a relationship believe in different things, I know I would have never been happy compromising myself. I didn’t take the sacrament for 5 years. I was starving myself from my relationship with my Savior. I knew what was right, I knew I wasn’t living like I needed to, and it is a daily effort to put off the things of the world and embrace what I know is right.

I wish her happiness in her choices, that she can find the peace she is looking for. I know personally the only way I feel that peace is when I am living the gospel. My thoughts for investigators of the church - if you do not have a testimony of the Book of Mormon, then don’t get baptized. You need that testimony to help you be strong in your faith. To keep connected and not leave the church. That testimony is what has kept me connected even in the dark times, and I am grateful everyday that the Holy Ghost bears witness of the truth and that I was able to receive that testimony. I challenge anyone – if you don’t know, or if you have ever wondered – read the Book of Mormon and pray. You will receive an answer. And that answer is what keeps me from talking myself out of my faith. I know, and I know that God knows that I know – the Book of Mormon is the word of God.

Amy, I love you the same as I did that day. I love you no matter what choices you make, I love you when you doubt yourself, I love you when you remember that you love yourself as much as everyone else loves you, I love you as my sister. I will always love you, and I pray from the bottom of my heart that this is going to bring you the peace you are always looking for. That is all I ever want for you. To love yourself as much as you are loved and too be comfortable being who you are - my very precious Amy.