First Born

Well, I have been tagged by my daughter, Shantel for the "First Born Questions" so here it goes!



1. WAS YOUR PREGNANCY PLANNED? No, not really! We weren't trying either way!

2. WERE YOU MARRIED AT THE TIME? Thank goodness, YES!

3. WHAT WERE YOUR REACTIONS? We were both very excited

4. HOW OLD WERE YOU? 21 Yrs. Old

5. HOW DID YOU FIND OUT YOU WERE PREGNANT? I was late so I took a home pregnancy test

6. WHO DID YOU TELL FIRST? Clay
7. DID YOU WANT TO FIND OUT THE SEX? Yes, but clear back in 1982 they didn't have that!

8. DUE DATE? July 24

9. DID YOU HAVE MORNING SICKNESS? Very badly, everything made me sick even water! But it stopped at 4 months.
10. WHAT DID YOU CRAVE? TacoTime
11. WHO/WHAT IRRITATED YOU THE MOST?Only the last month when I was just DONE!
12. WHAT WAS YOUR FIRST CHILD'S SEX? a little girl
13. DID YOU WISH YOU HAD THE OPPOSITE SEX OF WHAT YOU WERE GETTING? Nope, I wanted a girl and got it!

14. HOW MANY POUNDS DID YOU GAIN THROUGHOUT THE PREGNANCY? 25 lbs.
15. DID YOU HAVE A BABY SHOWER? Yes

16. Did you know or was it a surprise?I knew about it.

17. DID YOU HAVE ANY COMPLICATIONS DURING YOUR PREGNANCY? Not one
18. Where did you give birth? Cottonwood Hospital

19. HOW MANY HOURS WERE YOU IN LABOR? 5 hours
20.WHAT CAN YOU REMEMBER? I was very scared because it was just Clay and I. My Mom lived in California at the time. I tried to get off the table and take my IV out because I was so scared!
21. WHO WATCHED YOU GIVE BIRTH? Just the doctor, nurse and Clay
22. WAS IT NATURAL OR C-SECTION? Natural

23. DID YOU TAKE MEDICINE TO EASE THE PAIN? Yes, a epidurial and I LOVED it!!
25. WHO DROVE YOU TO THE HOSPITAL? When my labor started I was at home with the car. Clay was at work so I drove and picked him up and he drove to the hospital.
24. HOW MUCH DID YOUR CHILD WEIGH? 6 lbs. 12 0zs..

25. WHEN WAS YOUR CHILD ACTUALLY BORN ? July 17, 1982

26. WHAT DID YOU NAME HIM/HER? Shantel Dawn

27. HOW OLD IS YOUR FIRST BORN TODAY? She is 26 and just became a mother herself 8 months ago!

Sweet Little Oliver

Our sweet little 8 month old nephew Oliver Bauer passed away on Valentines Day. He was a very special little man. I say man because he seemed so much wiser than his young age of 8 months.He had a quiet spirit about him but looked like he was always looking around quietly taking everything in. Maybe he was trying to take as much back with him as he could.He had the best parents anyone could ever ask for. Watching Sara with her baby you could feel so much love between them.They were so devoted to him.What a great example they are to everyone they come in contact with.You think 8 months isn't that long to fall so madly in love with someone, but that second picture is my grandson Talan and Oliver. They are the same age.So I can tell you it feels like a lifetime.Goodbye little Oliver, go play with grandpa for now.

It's a Good Thing

Okay so I stole that title from Martha Stewart. I had to share my favorite show on TV at the moment. It is on the FLN network and is called Whatever Martha! Martha's daughter Alexis and her friend are the hosts. They watch clips from past shows of the Martha Stewart show and make commments about it. I think to most kids this would be a dream job. I know at least a couple of my kids would drop at the chance to make fun of their mother.They would have plenty of material! Let's be honest who can't make fun of their mother.I love you Mom but.........I used to be in awe of Martha and my mom even took me to go see her live. But that was before I learned there is no such thing as perfection!So if you need a good laugh and understand that life is too short to be wasted on perfection turn it on. It's a good thing.

GOOOOOO CHYNNA

>
On Saturday we got to go watch my niece Chynna compete with her Cheer Group. We couldn't believe how many kids are involved in that! They are all very talented but of course we think Chynna is exceptional!! She is definitely the cutest one out there.Her Cheer team is Ignite and the senior team got first and the junior team she is in got 2nd. Good job Chynna!! We are so proud of you.


All the teams waiting to hear results



Chynna's group performing



Little brother Cooper performing his own dance

Other Brother Colton, not too happy to be there
Aunt Britt and Cooper cheering on Chynna


Proud Dad and Chynna

Hanging With Talan

This post is really for Shantel. Talan is at the age where he knows who mommy is and goes through the typical separation anxiety! I think some of that anxiety is with mommy too.Truth be told! So we were thrilled that we got to watch him twice this week. He does just fine with us. Once in awhile he will get looking for her and his little lip will come out but then someone new will walk in the room and he forgets.We really have a lot of fun with him. So the proof is in the pictures.





Gracie is giving Talan a big hello



He thinks he is a big man walking around the furniture


Head butting with Uncle Jeremy


Cereal time

Aunt Brittany shows up for some loving

Talan and Papa

Nana and her little buddy

He is one speedy little crawler

Home Sweet Home

The other day I was trying to find a client's home and I got lost of course! The street seemed very familiar to me though. And then all of a sudden I knew why.... because there stood our first apartment. Yep, that lovely picture is our first home. At first I thought it looked like it had age badly but as I looked closer...NOPE it looked the same as it did back then!! It was a cheap tiny 2 bedroom apartment. I think we only paid $180 a month and could barely afford that.Clay was 19 and I was 20, we were both young and naive. It didn't matter where we lived, we just wanted to begin our life. Both families thought we wouldn't make it so we had a lot to prove.We faced many trials in that little apartment but there were many more happy memories...our first Christmas,bringing home Shantel,her first words and steps, our first anniversary etc...






That's us with Shantel on our lovely couch from my favorite store the D.I. and to the chagrin of my children still is one of my favorite stores. And by the way, yes big hair was in then!!!!! So it goes to show you it doesn't matter what the outside of your home looks like but what goes on in the inside!

Christmas Wonderland

Christmas has come and gone but what FUN we had!! It was so much fun having our little man Talan with us. I don't think he understood much but he seemed to love it all. He wasn't even scared of Santa or maybe that voice under the beard sounded familiar....... We had a Christmas Eve get together at our house with my brother Bo and his family along with Nate, Shantel and Talan.

Little Santa

Nate, Shantel, Talan and Starr with Santa on Christmas Eve.

My brother Bo and his family

Talan and Mommy opening present from Santa.

My cute nephew Cooper showing off his present, a police uniform.

The boys Jeremy, Spencer and Colton.

Auntie Britt holding Talan.

Nana with her grandkids!

Starr and Sophie find safety with Jeremy from bully Gracie!

Shantel and Talan opening gifts on Christmas Day at our house.

I think Papa was more excited about the puppet than Talan!

Talan loved the paper more than the presents!
Talan loves his Jeep at Nana and Papa's house!

Clay and I in the kitchen doing what I dread most....COOKING... but my mother was no where to be found!

Harrison Family

We also had a get together with Clay's family at Jennifer's house.

Playing Mormon Bridge.

The cooks, notice who is missing. Yes, me!!

Gracie's Makeover

Since it has been a crazy week of getting ready for Christmas, I haven't had much time for anything else to blog about! But I had to share some funny pics of my new puppy because well they are just too funny!! I'm sure we have all watched those makeover shows where the person looks completely different and..........usually much better! Well, this is what it would look like if it was for dogs.

BEFORE MAKEOVER


AFTER MAKEOVER

Shout Out To My Brothers

My brothers are celebrating their birthdays this week. Darrin's is today and Bo's is in a few days. I think they are amazing brothers. My brother Darrin went through some really tough times that were life changing but he never gave up hope. Even when times were at their worst he was always there for his kids. He tried very hard to make life as normal as possible for them. Some people never find love and Darrin was lucky to find it twice! He recently got remarried to a girl named Nancy. Not only are we lucky to have a new sister but also 5 new nieces and nephews. Happy Birthday Darrin! I love you.

My brother Bo is also a good example of what a good father is all about. Just like everyone else the bad economy has hit their family too. But instead of complaining or giving up, he has made sacrifices to take care of his family. He has had to go out of town or even the state every week to work. This is not an easy job being out in the cold doing physical labor. I want him to know I admire him for that. I know it is not easy being away from his family. Happy Birthday Bo! I love you.

Santa Who????

My family has many traditions to do with Christmas. One of the things my parents did when we all started to have little ones was having Santa visit on Christmas Eve. Christmas Eve is the big day in our family. We would all get together for food and fun! Then the younger kids would ransack grandma's house looking for costumes to put on a little play about the birth of Christ. Next we would start singing Christmas Carols and in our family that isn't really a pretty sound but we didn't care since it always brought a visit from Santa! It was always someone in the family but usually my brother Bo. We have decided to keep this tradtion going in our family now with Talan and anymore that will come along. I'm sure there will be some nieces and nephews thrown in there too. If you haven't guess yet....... Yes that is Clay as the Jolly St. Nick! If there is anyone that would enjoy being Santa more than the man himself it is Clay!! He is a natural. He has informed me that he has some paying gigs to play Santa! I guess even being Santa doesn't take out the salesman in Clay! Good for you honey keep the money coming, Momma needs new carpet!!