Grandparents are Special!

Wade and I both feel so blessed to have parents that are the sweetest grandparents to our children. And we also feel blessed that our grandparents are still around and can be a part of our children's lives, too. We think that grandparents are so special. Wade's Grandpa Reed is the most amazing man! He's 95 and has the energy of a 25 year-old. He even went white water rafting a couple of years ago. Since he lives in the most northern part of Montana, we don't get to see him that often, so we were excited when he came to town.

Our little family with Great-Grandpa Reed

Wade's dad is the kind of grandpa that gets on the floor and plays with the kids. Who do you think is having more fun, Emily or her grandpa? :)

Father and son relaxin' in the recliner...We're going to have to buy one some day because Wade's a big fan of recliners! And as you can tell from the picture below, the kids are pretty fond of them, too, all that rockin', who wouldn't enjoy that?

"Just one more snuggle, Grandpa"

Meet in the middle

Two of my good friends and I decided to get together earlier this month to celebrate their birthdays. Since Cherie' lives in Saratoga Springs and Cynthia lives in Ogden, they decided we could all meet in the middle at my house in Sugarhouse in Salt Lake. Between our three families, we have 7 kids under the age of 3! It was a NUT HOUSE with lots of giggles and screams and, of course, lots of fun! :)

Cynthia was one of my best friends growing up. We met in 7th grade and were inseperable! She thought the world of me and helped me see the best in myself. You need friends like that in life, but maybe especially in middle school. I was really lucky to have her. Some of my favorite memories are the slumber parties she and I would have with Katie, another solid TRUE friend! We would stay up all night and play the game of "Life," play "MASH" and watch romantic comedies, like While You Were Sleeping, and eat treats! To this day, I still can't eat an EL fudge cookie without thinking about how we would "bite" the dumb boys heads off! :) Good times!

Cherie' and I became really close when we served together in the Relief Society presidency in the student married ward at Dixie College. When you serve together, you can't help but connect spiritually and in other ways. I love this girl, and I want to be more like her! She is soft-spoken, patient, gentle, and kind--all the qualities I want to develop more. She married Jonathan Dick, one of the cool guys I sang with in the Institute Show Choir, Inspiration. (Pause here for a shout out to my Inspiration pals who read my blog: Julie, Spence, Melissa, Aubrey, and any others! I love you guys!) Ironically Jonathan and Cynthia are cousins, plus Cynthia and Cherie' lived in the same ward for a few years. So the three of us girls have these connections from the past PLUS all of our kids are born within WEEKS of each other. So it's fun to get our kids together to play while we moms chat...or at least "try" to chat over the craziness of the noise the kids make. ;)

Making changes

I just love "The Biggest Loser"! It's so refreshing that there's something on tv that is all about making postive changes in your life. That show is literally changing lives and not just for the contestants, but for America as well! I was excited that Ali became the first female "biggest loser"! She has been an inspiration to me! She went from being lazy and depressed and using food to cover up her pain to being a determined, postive, animal athlete!



The theme song for the show totally empowers me. I ask myself all the time, "What HAVE I done today to make me feel good?" When I was 9 months pregnant with Jonathan, and at my heaviest weight, something snapped inside of me, and I thought, "I want to be healthy. I want to be my best self, and I never want to be this big ever again, pregnant or not." As most of you have experienced when you're pregnant, you feel like eating everything in sight, but I didn't need to be eating the junk I was eating. I wanted to make a change. That's all it took, and I've been on fire ever since! I'm so passionate now about my healthy lifestyle changes, and I'm thrilled that these simple changes have influenced my husband and children as well! Since post-pregnancy, I have lost 36 pounds, and I'm happier than I've ever been because now I'm taking care of ME so that I can have more energy to take care of my family too.

I really believe that it's not about having the perfect body, it's about being the best YOU. For me, I wasn't as concerned about the number of pounds to lose, I just wanted to be healthy and look GOOD in my skinny pants! ;) First I would need to FIT into those skinny pants, and then I would shoot for the looking good part! I read books, like Eat Right, Walk Strong by Leslie Sansome and Body for Life. I even pulled out my textbook from my college Nutrition class so I could educate myself on what's healthy and what's not. I soon discovered I was doing a lot of things that weren't healthy... Yikes! So I just took baby steps to improve my nutrition and exercise habits. I bought wheat tortillas and wheat rolls for sandwiches, low-fat or no-fat dairy, ground turkey, chicken, salmon, and lots and lots of fruits and veggies! I still had white rice and white bread from time to time because I knew I couldn't cut ALL bad carbs out of my diet overnight. It takes time, little by little, to make these changes. I started drinking a glass of cold water before every meal and working on portion control. And now, even when I do have ice-cream 2 to 3 times a week, I scoop smaller portions, and if I have worked out earlier that day, I know I can afford those calories, especially if it's at 2 in the afternoon and not 11 at night!

I discovered Turbo Jam, which is the most fun I have ever had working out! It pumped me up every morning, and I found myself wanting to get out of bed at 6am to work out, as crazy as that sounds! My friends and family have played the biggest role in helping me get in shape. Many of you would ask me how I was doing with my weightloss goals, and it helped me stay on track to meet those goals. Kathy, my amazing walking partner, was/is always so positive and encouraging. She's been like my personal trainer, coaching me along the way. I don't know how I could have done it without you, Kathy! And then of course Wade has been my partner in crime to help our family make these changes permanent! He's been really good to help me prepare healthier meals and to cut up fresh fruits and vegetables for Emily and Jonathan. (And to hide the Nesquik so we all don't drink chocolate milk as often!) I feel proud of our family and I feel proud of me. And it feels good!

Baby Hungry?

I went to visit my friend, Michelle, in the hospital yesterday, and I fell in love with her beautiful baby girl, Lacey! She was so tiny and precious, and when I was holding her in my arms, I got baby hungry all at once. Of course it only lasted for maybe 30 seconds, at which point Jonathan started whining and trying to climb up me (a little jealous, I think) and Emily started whining for food. My kids aren't big whiners, so it surprised me that they were both wanting my attention so immediately! And I was really enjoying being in the moment with this cute newborn! Oh, well, what do you do? They're my kids, and they deserve my attention. When Wade and I do have our third baby, we'll need to learn how to divide our attention among the three kids, and then the four kids, and then the twelve kids...no, just kidding. I REALLY don't think we'll have that many kids, but I bet your eyes got big for a second, huh? ;)

As I drove home from the hospital, I thought about how Heavenly Father is so amazing to create these perfect little infants. I just think all babies are miracles! I think about my sweet friends whose babies had complications and who then had to spend extra time in the hospital, and I truly believe those babies are perfect little miracles too!

2 years and 6 months ago, Wade and I were blessed with this little angel. After two miscarriages and a lot of tears, I was so grateful to finally be a mother! Being a mom feels so right to me. It's like I was born to do this--to love and teach my children. I still look at Emily from across the room, and think "You are so pretty!" Don't we all do that with our kids?

Emily, I want you to know how lucky I feel to be your mom. You're the happiest little girl, and have always been so calm and easy going, just like your dad. We love you Emily!
We thought it would be fun to be surprised about the gender of baby #2, so I didn't know Jonathan was a boy till literally 5 seconds after he was born. The nurse told us and then handed him to me, and I just gleamed with tears in my eyes and whispered to my newborn boy, "I have a son." I was thrilled to have a boy, and I know Wade was as well!
Jonathan, you are so special. It's been fun to see how different you are from your sister. You're full of energy and life. You're even a little fiesty at times, like your mom! :) You make us so happy, with that great, big smile of yours and an even bigger personality! Thanks for being a part of our family! We love you Jon!