Vacay pix #2

Here is round 2 of the many, many pictures from our trip to Idaho/Utah! While my parents & sister met us at the airport, we stayed to catch up with Joe's family first. We got to spend Father's Day (which was also Kathleen's birthday) in Kaysville with Joe & Kathleen and then stayed there for a couple days. They have such a great guestroom that we wished we could have stayed there the entire trip!
We crammed a lot of visits into those days and got to see Christine & kids, Kelly & kids, Laurie Jo, and Aunt Sheri & Uncle Phil. The other visit we had to make was to the cemetery. We always go to Shauna's grave, but this trip was to say goodbye to Mike, since Joe had to miss the funeral because Josh was about to arrive. Seeing the grave and seeing Mike's beautiful kids helped Joe move on.
We went on to Idaho for a week but then we went back to Utah on July 6th so we could see Jody and family, since they were baseballing the first time we were there. She threw an awesome bbq and we got to see Joe's whole family altogether. So here are pix from all the Utah visits combined.

The 1st time my family all got together was to celebrate Papa Max (my dad)& Gabriel's (Trevor & Kay's son, who turned 2) birthday. Since they share a birthday, it was the perfect excuse to have a party. One of the things I miss the most about my family is that we ALL get together for birthdays, so it was nice for us to just be part of it, as we have been in New York for 2 years and have very quiet birthdays!

More pictures shortly...

Bits & Pieces Through Time

OK, OK, OK!!! I'm sorry it's taken me so long to post something, but here's what's been going on. We got to go home for three weeks and I took literally hundreds of pix. So, with the help of my mom & my sis-in-law, Kay, I decided to spread out the pix over several weeks worth of posts instead of all at once. If you're like me, you don't have much time to check out blogs and I don't want you to be overwhelmed by all that I have to share!
I'm going to begin clear back before we even went out west and share the pix from Mykah's first go at softball. Joe got to be the assistant coach for her team and that made it even funner for her than it was anyway! I'll admit, I never thought Joe would have enough time away from football to coach anything for our kids, so I thought it was awesome! Mykah did a great job and learned alot in the process. Added bonus, I used it as my social hour (Thanks Heather, Diedra & Meegan!) so I got to be mom & Megan at the same time...these days I seem to be one or the other, not both simultaneously!
Please note: although Mykah was playing sports, she was true to herself and did so in a skirt!

Now, the next several posts will be slideshows of our trip. Since we spent our time between Utah with Joe's family and Idaho with mine, I figured the easiest thing would be to divide the pix into families and events. They will be in no particular order, so enjoy the surprise!
These pix are from my dad's house in Montpelier, ID. We took the long way (but most beautiful) from Kaysville to Soda Springs so we could stop and see my dad, Joel, and his wife, Carol. They made a great lunch for us and we had a wonderful time catching up and showing off the kiddos. Thanks for taking time out of your busy schedules, we loved seeing you!

Just in case you missed the captions, Max hates being still long enough to have his picture taken. Add that to the fact that it was around naptime (which he has decided he doesn't need these days) and we had NO chance of taking a nice picture with my dad, Carol & the kids. Max started being naughty and needed a time out, so Joe put him on the couch for his 2 minutes and I took the picture. It might not be the best picture, but it's a pretty good story to tell Max down the road!

So there's the beginning of my slew of pix! I'll try to update weekly now until I catch up! It's officially football season in our family because all the camps have started and Joe is back to work. That only means that I have less time with him, therefore, less time to sit at the computer uninterrupted, but I'll do my best. I'm not complaining, though, because I get to be home with the boys! Mykah is still in Idaho, so we're missing her like crazy. I'll be checking out the softball pix so that I, too, can see her sweet face! August 15th cannot come fast enough...that's the date that our family becomes whole once again.

It's a God thing...

Joe & I don't often speak of our relationship with Christ. We should...we have a great one-but it's very personal, as we both established our current beliefs later in life and they hold deep meaning for each of us. It's almost like bearing our soul for all to see. We agree that now is the time for that bearing of the soul because God is doing the most amazing things in our lives-besides, we should do it more often anyway. In this day & age, there isn't enough God talk, so we're gonna do it now.
Sometimes, blessings are in disguise...we all know that. Ours came in the form of our newest arrival. For as long as Joe & I have known each other, we've been in agreement for what our family life should be. He'll work, I'll be mom & wife. Until we got pregnant with Josh, we weren't living that way, and we were both very unhappy because of it. We both felt, though, that we couldn't make ends meet and it would be very irresponsible of us to even try to go without the income that I generated. Well, having Josh & Max both in daycare, in addition to Mykah's before & after school program, would have completely exhausted my income. We also believed that we needed to put our lives completely in God's hands and show Him that we have complete faith in His control and plan for us. So we made the terrifying leap and He's shown us over & over that He's "got our backs" and it's been AWESOME to be part of.
We have to go back 2 years to really acknowledge all of it. Moving here was scary, but we prayed about it and knew it was supposed to happen. As a result, we've grown rock solid as a family. Joe found me a job months before I was even here just by going to dinner with his new coworkers. That job helped support us until this February, but it also reaffirmed our desire to have me home with the kids. By that job being too much to allow Joe & I the family life that we desire, our decision for me to not return after Josh was born was almost unquestionable-but still more scary than anything we've ever done.
Well, since that day, God's proven to us over & over that He's here and we did the right thing with that leap of faith. Here's a few examples-
When my mom was here, anxiously awaiting the birth of Josh, our car broke down. She & my dad were able to help us get it fixed. My parents have never questioned our decision for me to remain home and remind us daily that they're here for us. They send care packages at just the right times- when the kids grow and we're between paychecks, a package comes from Nana & Papa that has a little something to tide us over. Or, they send little things that they know we won't splurge for...What a comfort to know that we are physically far away, but never far from their hearts and that they also listen to and act on God's whispers that let them know exactly what we need. Mom & Max, you are angels on earth. We couldn't do this without your support. Thanks for always being there for us and for comforting me when I question the direction our lives are going. We love you both, so much. Mom, you keep Shauna Borich close to Joey's heart because you are everything she was...thank you for the comfort you give my husband that she's still looking out for him through you.
Somehow, we overpaid our escrow this last year and recieved a check in the mail... WHAT?! THAT NEVER HAPPENS! In addition, our house payment is going DOWN $17.00 a month. Not much to most, but in our house, it's a whole lot and we appreciate every penny.
We've been planning to drive home this summer for quite some time...we both desperately need recharged by our families. We haven't seen most of them for a year and a half, and only my mom has met Josh. We can afford to take our time, since Joe has a solid month off due to the kindness of his co-worker, Brian Coon. Each full-time coach is expected to cover the football office for 5 days during their month off. The days are picked according to seniority and Joe is 2nd to last on the totem pole. Brian let Joe pick his days before him to help us get as much time as we could. Funny thing is, Brian says it's no big deal. Well, IT IS TO US!! Thank you... In addition, his wife, Heather has been a Godsend for me. She has watched the boys for us countless times through all of my health issues since Josh was born. I've had many doctor's appointments that would have been so hard to take the boys to and she's insisted that I drop them off to her. Max, being 2, is very attached to me since I've stayed home and I know it's not been easy for Heather, but she does it anyway. Thank you, Heather. You've made those appointments so much easier and you'll never fully know how much I appreciate your help.
My brother-in-law, Rich, won plane tickets as a prize in a raffle or something at work. We've been trying to get he & my sister to come back out (they have been here once, our 1st season), but they are eyeball deep in remodeling their house. They called Joe & I from speaker phone a week ago and told us that they were transferring the tickets into our names the following day and we'd be flying home, not driving. This creates an extra week for us to spend with our families and now we don't have to put miles on our very old, high milage cars! Rich, thank you. I know I'm generally a pain in your @#!, but I thank you from the bottom of my heart. You are an incredibly generous gift from God. We love you and can't wait to hang in your beautiful house!
There are many more examples I could give, but I think you get the picture! We just wanted you all to know the small miracles that keep happening here that keep us above water.

Here are pix from Memorial Day weekend, when we went to Mykah's school to fly a kite, play soccer and play on the toys. For my birthday, we drove around the lake and Joe found a miniature golf course that we stopped at. Those days were wonderful, so we want to share them, as well.
WE'LL SEE YOU SOON!!!!!!!!

How a 3rd grade chorus made me cry...

Before I get to that teaser, there's a few other happenings at our house that are "share-worthy." Max got invited to a birthday party by one of his old classmates at daycare. The party was at the fire station, which I didn't even know was possible! The party started with a tour of the station, then the fireman showed all the kids his gear and how to put in on, then ended with rides in the fire truck. They loaded up the truck with 5 parents/kids at a time and took them for a spin...how fun is that?!!! We weren't sure if Max was going to go-he was pretty intimidated by the size-but when everyone else had a turn, including Mykah, there was enough room for Mama & Daddy, too, so he reluctantly agreed. I have to admit, I was pretty excited (even at my age) to ride on the truck!


I had my hand on his leg in the beginning...I knew he had finally relaxed a little when he pushed my hand away and said, "No touch Maxie leg!"

Mykah got to ride in the front seat, right next to the driver!!

And, yes, Joe lived out a childhood fantasy, as well!!!
In addition to crying at the concert, I spent most of Mother's Day morning crying-SHOCKER!!! Joe was in Texas recruiting, so I was expecting a pretty low-key day. My daughter had other plans...
On Wednesday, she took her own money to school and bought a carnation to give to me on Sunday. How she managed to keep the secret, I'll never know! After conspiring with Joe, she laid out a plan. On Mother's Day morning, she was going to bring me breakfast in bed. She knew she wouldn't be able to cook anything, so Joe helped her settle on cold cereal and juice and she spent the next couple of days asking me subtle questions like, "If you could have any cereal in this house, what would it be?" When I woke up after a very long night with Josh, he was not in my room. Luckily, Mykah came in shortly after I opened my eyes and told me not to move and she had taken Josh downstairs so I could sleep a little longer. When she came back, she had a cookie sheet with cereal, juice, flowers that she had been collecting and home made presents! The tears started flowing as I stared at my beautiful and sweet daughter, marveling at her heart. She told me that she knew I would be a little sad because Daddy was not here and she wanted to make up for it...I think she nailed it, don't you?!!!


Yes, the picture had to be taken after I ate, because I couldn't see anything for awhile through the tears...
So, here's how a 3rd grade chorus made me cry (If you want to listen to the music, you have to scroll all the way down the blog and push pause on the music player)
Most of you who read this know that Mykah & I were on our own for the 5 years between when she was born and when I married the love of my life. While those 5 years were far from easy, they helped shape the mom & wife I am today, and for that, I will always be grateful. There were many unanswered prayers that I didn't understand, and many gray skies, regardless of the weather. So as most moms do, I sang to Mykah-every chance I got. The song of choice, You Are My Sunshine. It's how I felt about her...my sunshine when skies were gray. When Mykah was old enough to sing on her own, she sang to me-the same song-but in her 3 year old version the skies were "grape".
Fast forward- the end of the chorus concert, the kids all sat down and the director turned to the audience and said it was time for a sing a-long...I'm sure you can guess by now the song was You Are My Sunshine. And I bawled like a baby...remembering the hard times when she still had eyes full of trust even though I had NO idea what I was doing and cherishing the present time-picturing her pride as she walked into my room with that cookie sheet full of memories. Enjoy the music, I know I did...





Mykah, you are (1/3 of) my pride and joy...I love you forever,
Mama

2 month check-up

So, our little Josh is already just over 2 months old. These first 2 pix are from the day he went to his check-up (4 days ago), which went well! He has grown to 23 1/2 inches (which puts him in the 60th percentile for height-a fact Daddy is very proud of) and at the beginning of the appointment, weighed in at 10 lbs, 14 ozs (30th percentile). I specify "at the beginning" because we elected to see the Nurse Practitioner, who is also a lactation specialist. I took Josh in a little hungry so I could nurse him immediately following his vaccinations, but she took a little too long and I was feeding him enough to take the edge off when she came in to look at him. She & I were curious as to how much he just ate, since he'd only nursed for about 3 minutes. She weighed him again, and he tipped the scales at a full 11 lbs! I obviously know he's an aggressive eater, but 2 ozs in 3 minutes impressed the nurse and explains the double chin, hefty legs and increase in weight from 7lbs 5ozs to 11 in just 2 months! Those of you who know me well know that I LOVE fat babies, so I'm doing my part to get Joshie there!

Good thing I took these before the appointment, because afterwards was not a pretty site. He was so mad that nursing didn't even help and at one point, spit milk out through his nose because he was crying so hard, poor little guy!

Just to show us there were no hard feelings on his part, here's Josh the next evening. He started smiling at us about 2 weeks ago, but has since perfected the art and absolutely melts those who he smiles at. He has little dimples in each cheek, but you can't see them here (Sorry, I'll work on that!) I'm not sure if they are part of him or a result from the fat cheeks-I guess we'll see!

In these pix, Josh is smiling at Joe, whom he ADORES! I wonder if when Josh looks into his Daddy's eyes he can see what a great future he has with a dad like Joe?! I like to believe he can feel it from the love that pours out of Joe and these smiles are Josh saying "I'm so lucky to have you for my Daddy!" Even better, Josh wakes up like this- all smiles, giggles and coos! Nothing like a baby to remind you what's truly important in life...

Speaking of adoration, the other kiddos love Josh to pieces, too. Max has never gotten jealous of Josh (yet) and is always very concerned if we put him in the car first. He looks over at Josh's car seat and says, "Where's baby Josh?-go get baby Josh!"


Mykah is still a "little mama" and hauls Josh around every time we'll let her! Her first softball game is tonight-do you feel a future blog coming?!


All of us who blog know that part of the fun is "blog-hopping"-going in through friends and family's friends and family to see what other bloggers are doing, whether it be for ideas or to read some amazing stories about life outside your own home. In one blog I recently visited, a girl named Molly describes herself and her husband in a way that fits how I feel about my Joe. She says that although neither of them are perfect, they make the perfect team. Finally, a way to put my feelings for my husband into words- He's not perfect (sorry, honey), I'm not perfect (WHAT?!), but together, we make the perfect team. Baby Love, I'll miss you while you're away recruiting. Hurry home to me so our team will be whole-I'm dreading having to run Zone coverage for 10 days straight alone. It's much easier when we can take turns between Zone & Man to Man! Have I been a coach's wife too long?! (and please don't bring home the Swine Flu from Texas! We don't need a souvenir!)