Memoires of a Happy Husband

So, I've been thinking about how lucky I am to be married to Catherine. It is no secret that she is an amazing woman, right! Well, in case you didn't know it, she is! I have had the privilege of knowing her for over 7 years now. During that time she has never ceased to inspire me by the way that she opens her heart and hands to all who cross her path. She makes friends with just about everyone she meets instantly, and is willing to do anything to make their lives better. So, when you have the privilege of being her best friend, you can only imagine how great life is.

I have no idea how many of you know, but when we met it was quite literally "love at first sight." It was crazy! I mean, I had only been home from my mission 3 weeks when we first met. As I was in missionary mode still, I followed an investigator up to the Gospel Principles class. Catherine happened to be teaching that day. I immediately knew that she was someone that I wanted to get to know. Two days later, we met again at a "meet and greet" activity at the Institute. From that day on we were inseparable!! We not only hung out, but we started running into each other all over the place. I made her lunch AND dinner most days of the week so she wouldn't have to drive the 15 minutes back to her house in Santa Clara in between classes and evening activities. We had a blast together.

One day, while we were at my place for lunch, she was sitting on the couch while I was cooking…she did that a lot (love ya babe)…I asked her if she wanted an orange. Well, without making sure she had heard me, I tossed the orange to her. I lobed it just perfectly…and wham! It smacked her in the heard. That was the first of many memories like that for us. Others include oreos and cake being smashed up my nose.

Some of my favorite memories include our casual walks on campus, around our neighborhood, or to a park. We like to go on "dream drives" where we drive around in neighborhoods where we would like to live one day and look for houses that we would like to live in. We are huge fans of the old European architecture of Harvard/Yale, as well as in Holladay and some other Sugarhouse surroundings.

Catherine, I love you! Thanks for being my best friend, wife, and the perfect mother for our children.

Dessert Auction and Summer Haircut

I was especially excited to help out with our ward's Annual Scout Fundraiser this year because the young women did half of the work and received half of the proceeds for our Girls Camp. Wahoo! So after a nice dinner, we had the dessert auction which is always a hit. I made a Dinosaur Cake just like the one I made for last year's dessert auction. Easy, easy, easy, yet was still one of the highest bids of the night. Here were some other favorites...

Alice in Wonderland Cake

Berry TrifleGiant Cupcake

Cinnamon Rolls, Caramel Apples, and Rice Krispy Treats sold individually for smaller amounts

The St. Patrick's Day Cake that made Emily and Jon's eyes light up...

...which I ending up buying and spending way too much money on! But it's all for a good cause so Wade didn't kill me when he found out. haha And personally it felt good to earn the"best mommy" award that day by spoiling them and getting them exactly what they wanted. It doesn't happen a lot so they better not get used to it. ;)
Jonny tasting his first caramel apple and loving it,
plus a view of his nice long hair before Wade took the buzzer to it...
...to give him this summer haircut.

I was devastated when I came home from the Relief Society Enrichment Dinner to find my little boy like this. I loved his long, healthy hair, but I have to admit, it's much easier to manage like this. Talk about LOW maintenance haircut, people. I highly recommend it. lol

Disney on Ice

How do I get 2 months behind on blogging? Sheesh! Maybe it's because I finally joined facebook and update that more often, but I promise I will keep my blog rollin' if nothing else than for the fact that I print it each year as a scrapbook. :) And I feel like I can be more authentic and vulnerable with you guys since this is a private blog.I am such a Disney finatic, it's not even funny. I've been wanting to go back to Disneyland since our last trip 4 years ago. But we figured we better get Wade stable in his new job and then save up for a Disneyland trip next spring. But since we've all been craving some Disney magic, Wade and I took the kids to Disney on Ice in March (much cheaper than a trip to Cali!) Emily dressed as Belle and Jonny dressed as a prince. :)

Lighting McQueen was the favorite for all of us!

It was fun to have Jason and Margaret and their kids join us for the show.

My silly nephews Taylor and Alex with a happy Emily and Hailey

My 7pm bedtime kids were plain worn out by the time the show was over around 9:30pm!

Guess what?

We're finally sharing the news, and with only 6 months to go, we're really looking forward to welcome baby #3 into our home! Wade actually wore these pajamas when he was a baby. His mom embroidered the #3 since he was the third child in his family, so we thought it fitting for our third child to wear them as well. :)

We were really hoping to have the baby in the summer since I'm a teacher, but Heavenly Father must have a different plan because the baby is due September 16, two weeks AFTER school starts. We're so blessed to have good friends who have helped us work things out. My friend, Jordan Mabey, will teach my preschool class when I have the baby and while I recover for a few weeks. And my friend, Kristal Joy, will watch the baby while I teach the rest of the year. It was a difficult decision whether I should teach at all, but after fasting and praying, we felt I should. I just love teaching too much to quit! And fortunately, I'm just teaching two mornings a week to help keep life simple.

I still can't believe it, but it's true. And Emily and Jonathan couldn't be more excited!

Mothers Who Know

One of the trade offs of being busier this year is that I haven't baked as much (or cooked as much for that matter...cereal for dinner anyone?) But when I saw Brittany's recipe for The Best Cookies on Earth, I knew I HAD to give them a try, especially since I love rolos so much, and there is a rolo in the middle of every cookie. Oh.my.word. They are good and super easy to make.
1 box chocolate cake mix
2 eggs
1/2 cup cooking oil
1 bag rolos
small bowl of white sugar

Mix cake mix, eggs, and oil. Take a small spoonful of batter and wrap completely around a rolo. Repeat until batter is gone. They will be very small, just big enough to totally cover the rolo. Then roll each ball in the sugar. Bake on a cookie sheet at 375 degrees for 9 minutes.
A week later, I made homemade bread and strawberry freezer jam. The week after that, I made lasagna for dinner and apple pie for dessert. I think I just got the January blues and started baking to help cheer me up. Does anyone else get that way in January?

In the background of this picture is my new "Mothers Who Know" plaque. A few months ago, Cjane reminded me of this powerful talk by Julie B. Beck. I read it and then printed it so I could read it daily. It was/is such a pick me up! Then I asked Stacie Talbot to make this plaque for me of the outline of Sister Beck's talk so that every time I walk into my kitchen, I could see it and be reminded of my goals as a mother. I know it's hard to see in the picture. It says:

Mothers Who Know

Bear Children

Honor Sacred Ordinances & Covenants

Are Nurtures

Are Leaders

Are Teachers

Do Less

Stand Strong & Immovable

Celebrating New Years St. George style

Since we spent Thanksgiving in St. George, we weren't originally planning on going down over Christmas break, but Wade had some business appointments and the kids were dying to ride their new bikes and couldn't in our cold weather, so we headed south to sunny St. George. I really do love living in Salt Lake with the four seasons, but it's fun to visit a place in the winter that looks like this...

Beautiful, eh?

Em did not stop riding her bike the entire trip!

Steve and Stacie had our family for Christmas, and they made Emily SO happy surprising her with her first pair of dress up shoes.

And Jonny is still playing catch with me on a daily basis with the ball set they gave him. They gave Wade and me a beautiful framed picture of the Resurrected Christ. We love it!

Wade had no idea my mom and dad were giving him a GPS for Christmas. He's having so much fun with his new toy! I just think it's hilarious when he uses it to find the house next door.

On New Year's Eve, we put the kiddos to bed, and my parents kept an eye on them while Wade and I enjoyed First Night. Brandi was awesome dancing with the Zumba girls. Proud of you sunshine! And we also bumped into Katie's younger sister, Lizzie, which made me smile so big because she reminds me of Katie, who I miss a ton since she lives in Tennessee.

As is tradition in our family, we went for a hike on New Year's day. Wade couldn't resist jumping for joy being with his lover girl.

Aspen and Emily

Finally, here's some comedy relief for you

Who is that poser nerd? Sheesh!

Christmas at the Reed's

Every other year, Wade's mom and step dad find a family or two we can provide Christmas for instead of getting gifts for each other. It just keeps getting better and better each year because as the children are getting older, they are understanding how good it feels to serve. On Christmas Eve, we had a yummy dinner, program, and then exchanged the craziest white elephant gifts you've ever heard of...foot odor pads, old vacuums, blank gift cards, the list goes on and on. :) lol
Grandpa and Grandma Stoney then surprised all of us with new pajamas.

Christmas at our house is simple, which is how we prefer it to be and definitely easier on the budget. We gave the kids a few books I had received for free from a book fair I hosted at my preschool. And Santa brought them both new bikes. Thanks to my nephew, Alix, who gave his old hand me down bike to Santa to give to Jon. ;)

walking in to see the surprises under the Christmas tree...

Em loving her new book

and excited about her big girl princess bike from Santa and princess helmet from Grandpa and Grandma Reed

Here's Jonny going to work right away with his new tools from Papa and Grandma Lang, while sporting his cool Spiderman helmet from Grandpa and Grandma Reed.

Wade is finding Pirates of the Caribbean in his stocking for the 5th year in a row...it's an inside joke between us, makes Christmas fun, and doesn't cost anything to give him something we already own...haha

Em snuck away for a few quiet moments to put her new baby doll to bed. Thanks Papa and Grandma Lang!

Wade surprised me with a book I have been wanting for months, A Mother's Book of Secrets, written by one of my favorite authors, Linda Eyre and her daughter, Shawni Eyre Pothier. It's very enlightening. I highly recommend it.
Wade modeling his new "man apron," which turned out to not be that manly after all...the bottom flows out like a skirt. Yikes! I went to 6 different stores because I didn't have time to make one, and TJ Maxx had this white one, which is better than my Strawberry Shortcake apron he has been wearing. haha Fortunately, on Christmas Day, he ordered a black apron online and looks very manly in it.
Christmas Morning Caramel Rolls for the 3rd year in a row from the Tokita's

So tasty!