Accomplishments

I think I must have some kind of mental block that keeps me from living up to my potential and accomplishing what I want to. I think I tend to baby myself, I just need to forget about what's holding me back and just do things.

I have a lot of really great examples all around me of people who work hard, serve others, and better themselves and their families. I want to do all those things. I think the idea of 101 goals in 1001 days is awesome, but I hesitate making it because I don't want to fail. I write down goals all the time, but I almost never cross anything off. I want to change that. I was reading the article in January's Ensign by President Eyring, and, although he teaches about extending a word of warning(sharing the gospel, loving people, teaching by example) to those around us, and by preparing people to be taught by the full-time missionaries, I felt that the Lord was reminding me that I am weak, but that through Him, I can accomplish great things. I can't keep trying and failing to prove that I can do everything. I just can't. And so now I must make the choice to turn all of my weakness and failings over to him to make out of my life what I cannot. And that's ok, because He will make it better than I could, and He will bless me with joy. I have to remember that. I thank Him for so lovingly reminding me that He is always there and wants to help me because He loves me.

Christmas

Well, I'm just now getting to documenting our Christmas. We had a great time, probably my favorite in a long time, mostly because of Ammon I think. Christmas Eve we went to Matt's parents to celebrate and open gifts. We ate some dinner and opened the grandkids' presents first. Ammon has been spoiled this year, but I'm very grateful, because, between the two families, he has everything I hoped for. He got some cute books, some pj's, and outfit, a little people farm, and a little piano. Everyone especially loved the mirror stage that Grandma Sue got for Janie.

After the kids were done opening and playing with their gifts, we put them all to sleep, and opened the rest of the gifts, it was nice not to have to worry about kids, and much less chaotic. I wonder, however, as the family grows how things will have to change though, there won't be enough room or pack n' plays for sleeping babies all at once! It was fun to watch everyone open presents, and my sister-in-law Meg went all out on everyone in the gift-giving department. She spent many long and I'm sure, sleepy, hours working on gifts. One of her gifts to Matt and me was a video or our wedding, engagements, etc. I am really excited for it.(She was having problems compressing it to a dvd, so we'll be getting it later). She also arranged to have two of Sue's home videos put on DVD, so we watched a Christmas of theirs in 1990. We went home happy and tired.
Here are Ammon's new Christmas pj's from Matt and me.

Janelle, Bailee, Afton
Me, Ammon, and my cute neices.

Matt and I decided that we would wake up and do our little Christmas exchange before Ammon woke up, so we got up at 7:30 and Matt surprised me with a wonderful, and very creative treasure hunt to open up some books that I asked for. We both got a camcorder for a killer deal which we used the rest of the day to record, which means, there are no still shots, so sorry. I got Matt a laptop desk, which he was happy with and some clothes that he really needed. Matt got me a kitchen aide attachment for my kitchen aide that will slice and grate. I'm really excited, I hate grating cheese...

We woke Ammon up, fed him breakfast and helped him to open up his gifts. He got a wagon/dump truck with mega blocks from Santa and some clothes and a play phone from Matt and me. He loves the wagon and will even walk pushing it sometimes. He had a lot of fun playing with his new toys. It was a really fun morning spent with just our little family.

Next, we went over to my parents. My mom had prepared some great food and we really enjoyed visiting by the fire, safe from the howling wind outside. My grandma got Ammon an adorable big soft dog. When Sean and Christy got there, we opened our gifts to each other and the couples from my parents. We got Balderdash and a gift card to Olive Garden from Sean and Christy and we gave them a skookie(skillet used to make a big cookie, then you put ice cream on it, yummy!). My parents gave us and Sean and Christy a microfiber glider! We were so excited. And we love it, we set it up that night, lol.

We relaxed for a bit there and then headed to my Aunt Moana's house for the Peckham Family Christmas party. We had yummy ham and potatoes, and we actually had to leave after dinner because Ammon hadn't slept more than an hour all day, and was so wired. So we came home to put him to bed. We had a really nice quiet evening rearranging the living room to set up the glider. It's very cozy and Matt and I need to work on sharing it. All in all, we had a really nice Christmas with family, and we are both very grateful for our loved ones and for everything we have been blessed with. We really do have so much, and it is because of the mercy and love of our Savior.

Monumental Monday

Today has been a wonderful day for me! I got up and really cleaned the house for Christmas, as it has been kind of neglected in the past while due to us hardly ever being home. I did a bunch of laundry and had a great day with Ammon. He is just so much fun to play with. Matt ran to the store for a couple of things on his way home from work, and he's so awesome! He got everything that I told him to, and all the right kinds! He also brought home a treat for me, I love treats :D. For dinner, we had pizza and I've been trying to get Ammon to eat finger foods besides crackers or freeze dried fruit, so I cut a small piece of pizza for him and just put it on his tray. Apparently he doesn't like things cut up into pieces. Anyway, he smashed it all up in his hands and made a big mess, but he ate it! woohoo! I'm so happy. He seems to be more willing to try new foods even if they aren't blended up.

Here are some pictures of Ammon taking his first few steps! He has taken up to 6 steps, but most consistently will take 3. Today was a great day.

Baby Steps

Ammon just took 3 steps on his own, hooray!!!! Merry Christmas to us as parents!!

Ammon Speaks!

Transitioning

I can't believe that I haven't thought of posting this until now because I'm so excited!! As far as I can tell from what I've given Ammon, he is NO LONGER ALLERGIC TO WHEAT!!!!!!! I am so happy and so relieved for him and for myself. He now loves goldfish crackers, and most especially graham crackers, he could probably eat those all day. It's hard to get him to eat his vegetables....

Some more updated info on Ammon: he is now almost 1 year! Just a couple more weeks! I can't believe how fast time lies as I get older. Ammon loves to play and talk to himself all the time. None of it is recognizable in the English language, but he certainly knows what he's saying. He's got a really cute voice and makes really funny sounds. I'll post a video tomorrow when I'm not quite so tired and I feel like getting the camera out of the bag and uploading it...it's pretty cute. Ammon now has 5 teeth, 3 on top, 2 on bottom. He still loves balls of any kind, especially the round ornaments on the tree! He loves books, and he is really starting to socialize and interact when adults talk to him, he's not quite so nervous. He loves all his family members, but most especially his two wonderful Grandmas. Everytime he goes to visit, he wants to go to them, I'm really happy that he loves them so much. He's also gotten a lot better at being with other people.

I'm down to nursing him only once a day and I love it. I have really enjoyed nursing him, it has always been nice to sit down for some quiet time with him, but I am ready to have a bit more "freedom" I guess you could say, and he's definitely more active and is almost weaning himself. I have found that I have so much more energy since going down to once a day feeding, and I feel like either I've lost some weight or some inches(which is great because I haven't been exercising...). It could just be in my head, but if it makes me feel better about the way I look, I don't care.

For those of you who know Ammon, he is the type of baby that fights going to sleep. He is not cuddly unless he is actually asleep. He is always busy and always on the go. (I can't wait until he starts walking!!). Anyway, it's been a bit of a challenge to find ways of transitioning from playtime to sleeptime. Books and singing songs helps, but he still really fights it most of the time when he senses he's falling asleep so I usually end up having to just put him in his bed to cry himself to sleep. I feel like a horrible mommy sometimes, but he really does seem to sleep longer and better when he falls asleep that way, and his schedule is much more predictable when he can calm himself down to go to sleep. ANYWAY....finally to my point...I was putting Ammon to bed tonight, and he didn't want to sit still in my lap to sing songs, he just cried and wiggled, etc. So I sat him on my lap in the dark(so nothing could grab his attention and keep him awake)and we talked about his day. We talked about church, the home teachers coming over, and going to grandma's house. We talked about Christmas and Baby Jesus, and how much He loves us. I talked to him about Jesus teaching us how to obey and be happy. All through this, Ammon sat still and quiet in my lap just listening. When we finished, I started singing to him again and he snuggled right up to me to start going to sleep. How sweet! These little ones understand so much more than I think most of the time. I know he knew what we were talking about and I know that we both felt the Savior's love at that time. It was such a special little moment for me. I love Ammon so much, and I'm grateful for the reminder that he gives me to keep things simple.

Warning: LOTS OF PICTURES!

Ammon is all BOY. He loves to throw balls, knock things of the tables, and figure out how things work. While his cousin Bailee was coloring, Ammon was taking all of the crayons out of the box and throwing them on the floor. He was also kind of yelling that gave the impression that he was saying something along the lines of "woohoo! die crayons die!" you know how little boys do??? Poor Bailee, lol, she got frustrated that he kept taking her crayons, but she didn't get mad at him or push him, she went to her mommy and expressed her frustration. She's a great cousin to him, he really likes her, sometimes she'll tickle him and he just grins.

Here's Afton joining in on the fun. Janelle tells me she does this all the time at home too.
Grandma Sue did really well at work and chose to spend her hard-earned money on her grandkids and took the 4 of them with us to Build-a-Bear on Friday. They were having a good sale, so we got to pick a bear and one outfit. Ammon's was a missionary bear of course. As my mom could have predicted, he really enjoyed the box more than the bear at first. But he did give it a cuddle or two. He especially likes to carry around the tiny Book of Mormon that came with it, it's so cute.

Mean mommy was trying to get him to sit still for a picture with the bear. He never wants to stay once he sees the camera...Ok, so I attempted trimming Ammon's hair this morning just around the ears and back. It's OK. One side is more choppy than the other, and he always wanted to turn to the sound of the scissors, so that made it difficult. Plus, his hair is so fine, it was pretty hard. I don't know, I might have my mom fix it if it continues to bother me, but I don't think that it's WAY noticeable...what do you think? Ok for my first time? And to think that I wanted to cut and do hair....
This has become one of my favorite pictures. It seems like ever since Ammon got his teeth, he's been cheesing it up. I love it. This picture says who Ammon is. What a cutie!

The Lights on Temple Square

Matt and I took Ammon to see the lights downtown at Temple Square. We had a short, great time and I think Ammon loved it. He didn't move a muscle!(of course, that could be because he was bundled up so much....I love seeing the lights, and the beautiful temple above it all.

Monthly Case Family Night

Jason: "Those pictures will be on the blogs by noon tomorrow"

Dan: "midnight tonight", and we all laughed....





How about 10 o'clock tonight? Ha ha. I joked that I take pictures just so that I can put them on my blog. But I'm glad because it's getting my to record my life when I otherwise wouldn't.

The first Sunday of each month we get together with the Dave and Sue Case family for Family Home Evening. We trade off doing lessons, activities and treats. Tonight we went to Jason and Meg's house for taco salad(which was absolutely delicious!) and we watched the 1st Presidency Christmas Devotional. After that we decorated Christmas cookies. It was great! Ammon got some good practice in before his birthday in January for eating yummy sweets. Of course, Bailee, Janie, and Afton were already pros. We had a great time frosting, and of course, eating all of the cookies. I think it will definitely be something we do again.

Family Pictures

These are the family pictures we had taken I think it was in September, with Matt's family. I am so happy with how they turned out. And take a look at Ammon's blue eyes! Wow! All the kids look so cute!

Catch up...as always

I often feel that I am in catch up mode in my life. Especially with recording my life. But hey, at least I get around to it sometime right?

I was planning on taking a ton of pictures over thanksgiving with anyone I could get to hold Ammon in the pictures, but alas, he was sick that day and spent pretty much the whole day in my arms, crying, sleeping, and having a fever.

Thanksgiving was really nice and enjoyable. We ate dinner at Dave and Sue's house and did a really neat activity about confessing the Lord's hand in our lives. They had 6 gift backs on the window seat in the living room, each bag with a letter on it so spell the word "Thanks". Dave started about by explaining to us the familiar scripture about confessing the Lord's hand in all things. He had us guess what object was in each bag that was a representation of something we have to be thankful for: T-The Savior H-Home A-All of us N-Nature K-Kisses S-Scriptures. It was nice to talk about what we are thankful for. And after reading lots of blogs expressing gratitude for lots of things, I am going to dedicate a post to that as well.

Because Ammon had a fever, he wanted to be held the whole time. We expreinced a first since he's been a new baby. He cuddled! He just snuggled up in my arms as I sat and fell asleep! It was so sweet! I loved it. That is one thing I defintely am ok with if he has to be sick, although it was sad because I couldn't tell he didn't feel well at all-he happened to inherit my gift for whining when things hurt....

We went to my parents for pie, and my uncle and his girlfriend, my grandma and my aunt were there. By the time we got there, the were playing American Idol on the wii. I got to try my voice at the Titanic song by Celine Dion and got a perfect score woohoo!!!!

The pie, as always, was yummy, and we had a lot of fun with family. That night Matt's brother Dan asked him to go Black Friday shopping with him around 3:30, so they did that and Matt said that it was crazy. I almost wanted to go, but for my dislike for standing in long lines and lots of chaos...Matt was sweet and prior to that got up every hour with Ammon until he had to leave. Friday was Janelle's birthday and we planned on giving her a suprise breakfast at Sue's house when they got back. Kind of sad/funny: We got there AFTER she did, so I walked in with the food that wasn't prepared yet and said "Happy Birthday!" and "Surprise!" and explained that we were making breakfast for her. We planned on being there earlier.....

Friday night we had a stay-cation at my parent's house and watched Get Smart, which was fun. Saturday morning we had breakfast at my Grandma Peckham's house. It was so great to see my cousins that I haven't see or talked to in a long time, and who I've gotten to know better by reading their blogs! We had fun laughing and talking.

It turned out to be a really fun weekend filled with family, poor sick babies, no sleep, and lots of laughing. I really look forward to Christmas!

Goalmaking

I have some goals that I thought about at church that I would really like to get better at:

• I want to have primary planned and taken care of before Saturday(if I don't, then I am scattering all through it on Sunday) I want to be more organized.
• I want to do my visiting teaching and get to know my partner and the ladies I visit teach more than just people I see once a month to check it off a list. I want to make them my friends.
• I want to attend my ward and relief society activities. I love my ward and especially the ladies in it, I want to participate and become better friends with people.
• I want to go to the temple on a regular basis with Matt.
  

I love going to church. I love primary even though I feel so inadequate. I have learned so much in one year. I love the kids and I love the leaders I am able to work with.

I just thought of another two:

• Try out Tiffany's 30 freezer meals in a day(maybe not all in one day, but I would love to have that many meals in the freezer on hand...).
• Get Ammon to take a bottle so Matt can feed him. I'm hoping that after all this time he will finally take a whole bottle! Now that I'm almost done...

I have learned that for my next babies, making sure they will take a bottle is one of the TOP PRIORITIES. Matt needs to be able to have that time, and I need the option.

Since I wrote them down, I'm hoping I will be reminded of them so that I will accomplish them.

On the Job

Well, today was the first day I really worked from home. I technically started yesterday, but I only had enough for 20 minutes of work. Today was about 2 1/2 hours. I enjoyed being productive and talking professionally with adults. That is something that I have missed from being home, I feel like my vocabulary has suffered...Anyway...It was good, pretty easy, and I'm sure it will get easier and go more smoothly as I establish a routine and get more familiar with the system.

I want to make sure I only spend the amount of time I committed to each day. I have found that I really need some down time to collect myself and rest for a bit every day. Maybe it's because I'm used to being a couch potato most days. Nonetheless, I do need it, I just need to balance it(ahhh, balance...). So even if I have more names, Ammon is still sleeping, and I've already had a shower in the morning(which would be wonderful by the way) and I have already done my hours, I am going to put work aside and work on primary stuff, take a quick nap, study some scriptures, watch a show, sit and do nothing! Perhaps that sounds lazy....And maybe it is, but it keeps me sane, and I am happy when I am sane.

I have been coping with things a lot better lately though. I have exercised for the past 3-4 days(excluding Sunday), kept the house clean, done the Laundry, and made pretty descent dinners. I don't mean to brag, but sometimes I am just really lazy! So when I do have a streak of accomplishment it makes me feel good to make a list...ha ha. I love the feeling of being tired at the end of a productive day, and I'm able to go to sleep at a descent hour and actually look forward to waking up the next morning. I know that I have been able to cope because Heavenly Father is answering my prayers. I know He always has, and always will.

My Little Helper

Ammon has discovered the dishwasher and just loves to "help" load, or rather, unload all the dirty silverware. He seems to have grown an attachment to forks, as it is always forks that he takes out. I think he's even learned what it sounds like when I open the dishwasher door and he races in as fast as his little arms and knees will take him. At least he's happy while I'm doing something around the house instead of crying at my legs while I do the dishes right?
Another fun thing is Ammon's dancing. Yesterday I turned the radio to FM 100 so we could hear some Christmas music. He was playing along when a really fun arrangement of "Rockin' Around the Christmas Tree" came on. Ammon turned his head a little to face his ear in the direction of the radio and started dancing. He must have really liked it. It was awesome. I could tell he was totally grooving.

Expiration Dates

Sometimes even I am shocked at my uncanny ability to forget things.

The other day I was doing something online that required me to look at my driver's license. The date issued, and the date it expired....Guess when mine expired? March 28, 2008!!!!!

Last year after I got married I went in, paid the $25, took the eye test, got a new picture, and changed the address to get my new license. Now I can't blame the Driver's License Division COMPLETELY even though they never sent out a renewal form in the mail because I did know last year that I would need to renew my license when I turned 21 in March of this year. But we always want a scapegoat right?

Well, I found this out on Monday, which just so happened to be Veteran's Day, therefore, the place was closed. I called and the automated system explained that if you have a license that has been expired for 6 months or more, you may have to take the written test again.....Can I just say that I REALLY REALLY REALLY did not want to take that test? Luckily I have a great mother-in-law who picked me up Tuesday after she got off work and drove me out to West Valley to renew my blasted license. She took care of Ammon and I tried to think of something I could say to get out of taking the test. My number was called after maybe 15-20 minutes of waiting and I walked over to the elderly man at the desk. I started explaining about getting married etc. etc. and he interrupted me by saying "don't worry, I'll take care of you". He looked up my driving record and said "you have a perfect record, why should you have to retake the test?" Talk about a tender mercy. It was getting close to time to nurse Ammon and his attention was wearing thin sitting still with Grandma Sue. I am sooooo grateful that I didn't have to take that test, and for that nice old man that made my day.

Wandering thoughts...

I feeling like blogging but don't really have anything specific to write about. I guess I'll just write down some thoughts. I've felt a lot happier and calmer, and more secure, and less prone to failure the last few days. I received a blessing from my husband and dad on Sunday because for some reason, I've really been struggling. It has helped so much. I can feel that as I have turned my weaknesses, insecurities, fears, etc over to the Lord he has made my burdens lighter and given me peace. There have been several days where I have stopped to think about how I am feeling, and I feel great! Not much has happened this week to make me extra happy, but I feel joy and peace. Peace, it is so wonderful! I am so grateful for the priesthood, for loved ones that are worthy to hold the priesthood and for a loving Father in Heaven and Savior Jesus Christ. I can't do anything myself. I am learning that, no matter how much I want to make up my mind to be perfect, it will never happen, I will only fail and be depressed that I failed. Once I turn my heart over to the Lord and let him take care of things, I can see changes.

I have been able to exercise, have quality playtime with Ammon, read scriptures with Matt, and even perform some service. Yay! I am inexpressibly(is that a word?)grateful for all that I have. Heavenly Father has extended His arms of mercy to me countless times, and I am overwhelmed, but so happy.

Working Hard...or Hardly Working??

I am kind of ashamed to admit this because so many people I love and admire are such hard workers and such great examples to me of hard work, and I hope that people don't think too less of me...I really don't like working. Like working at a job. I love work around the house...that kind of work. It's really terrible but one of the reasons I looked forward to having Ammon is so that I wouldn't have to work anymore. I know, it's really bad, especially because I know that some women wish they could stay home but can't. I really am so grateful that I have been able to stay at home with Ammon for as long as I have, especially considering the fact that Matt and I have only been married just under 2 years. Fortunately for me, I have been very blessed to have a husband that works very hard so that I can stay home, and we have both been blessed to have what we need, Heavenly Father has been very merciful.

While I do not absolutely have to work, an opportunity has come up to earn some extra money, which is always nice. It really sounds like the perfect at home job, 2-3 hours a day, 5 days a week, and no dealing with customers. My old boss called me a couple of weeks ago wondering if I wanted to do some work for them by calling insurance companies and verifying new customer's benefits. They've been good to work with me and make it so that I can be at home and I plan on working while Ammon is napping. It might be temporary, it might not. I am really looking forward to paying off some things so that we can get out of debt, especially all those blasted hospital bills...

I hope that I don't come accross as bragging or being ungrateful. I am grateful for the opportunities to learn and grow that have been given me. I am also grateful for the many wonderful examples of sisters from both sides of the family, and mothers that offer terrific examples of hard work and perseverance and support to me always. I hope that I survive. I know it's an easy job, but I really struggle keeping any form of balance in my life. Maybe this will help. We'll see!

True Democracy

Last night at my parents house we experienced Democracy first hand. My family is TERRIBLE at deciding and agreeing on almost anything, especially movies or where to go out to eat. Most of the time we say, "let's watch a movie" and by the time we decide(it takes so long because our family is like a crazy mind, full of chaos and lots and lots of talking)it's time to go to bed, and Matt and I have to leave. Last night, we looked ahead however and didn't want that to happen, so we decided to vote. Celeste went downstairs to pull the Sunday-appropriate movies out for us to choose from. After many differing opinions, we decided to actually write down the votes and Daniel would tally them. We did that and narrowed it down to two: Cars, and Yours, Mine, and Ours. We voted again and had a tie. So then we raised hands to vote. Certain fair-weather voters who shall remain nameless changed their minds which moved the votes to be in favor of Yours, Mine, and Ours. I brilliantly came up with the perfect tie breaker, Ammon. We put both movies in front of him to choose, and betraying me, he chose Yours, Mine, and Ours. We tried it again, and even switched them in front of him, yet he remained resolute. He apparently wanted to watch Yours, Mine, and Ours. That decided it. We went down and had a great time with everyone watching and laughing. Thanks Ammon for helping us decide!

More sisters!

I have been very blessed to have many sisters! Next are Celeste and Christy. Celeste is 23 and wonderful. She has a bachelor's degree in Family and Human Development from Utah State University, and has just decided to apply to BYU's graduate school studying Social Work. She works at The Children's Center in Salt Lake helping out little kids with behavior problems, autism, and some that have experienced some form of abuse in the home.

Celeste is a very talented young woman, though, she will not allow herself to believe it. She plays the organ and piano and the trumpet in high school. Celeste has always been the peacemaker of the family, always trying to calm people down, or willing to compromise to keep the peace. She loves the family getting together and talking, playing, or whatever; as long as we're altogether. She's very thoughtful and is always trying to find ways that she can serve those around her. Celeste has a gift to empathize and listen to everyone.

Celeste and I were up at Utah State together for one year, her senior year up there, and my first. We really enjoyed being in IWA(Institute Women's Association) together and she always took care of me even though we didn't live together. I really missed her when she left, but she made USU so much better for me. I love talking with her and laughing with her. She's so wonderful because she will almost always laugh whole-heartedly at my jokes, which I love. I love you Celeste!

Next up is Christy. She married my older brother Sean July of 2006. She is absolutely perfect for him. She loves him and is very supportive and loving. She was a little quiet coming into the family, but who wouldn't be with all us crazies? She is always interested in what others are doing and is really easy to talk to.

Christy is brilliant! She has degrees in Anthropology and Spanish. She went to Spain for a year and Matt enjoys speaking Spanish with her. She is now supplementing her degrees with a Geographic Information Systems certificate. Christy likes anything outdoors; hiking, camping, running, etc. She and Sean have hiked ALL over, and always have great stories to tell us when they get back. They took a trip to Beliz and awed us all with pictures and stories of adventure. Christy has run in 4 half-marathons. Last October we all drove down to Moab to cheer her on. She is so inspiring. I almost want to run because of her dedication! I love Christy because she is so good to Sean. She loves Ammon and I think she really enjoys being an aunt. Christy is very open-minded and accepting of many people and is a good example of tolerance. I love you Christy and look forward to continue getting to know you better!

Finally to the Introductions!

I'm finally getting around to introducing my fabulous sisters! I think I will go from youngest to oldest as I have the pictures of the younger sisters and not of my older sisters yet.
I would like you all to meet Rachel. She is my younger sister by 2 1/2 years. Rachel and I did not use to get along very well at all! I was always bossing her around and we often shared a room growing up. I think we started to get closer when we were in marching band together. I was a junior in high school, and drum major in marching band, and she was going into 9th grade. We had just moved in with my grandma in Cottonwood, so we drove 20 minutes to and from school everyday. The radio didn't work in the car and Rachel came early with me. We talked a lot in the car rides, and got along great in marching band. Rachel is extremely talented in so many ways. Firstly, musically. She's got a great ear for harmony and improv. She plays(played) the flute, saxophones, and bass clarinet, and sung in the school choirs(the only one out of us girls to actually go into choir, which I'm sure made my mom happy). She's got a gift for music. She's great at making friends and having fun. Rachie likes to talk and I am happy that she stills calls me up to talk even though I'm no longer at home. We have a lot of great memories together. I remember that my friend Kara and I used to make her believe we had just gotten retainers(we just bent paperclips). And she would believe the story over and over again even when she found out that we didn't.

I have great memories of playing house, library, store, and any other role play games with her when we were younger. We loved to dress up and play. In Matt's family, he and his younger brother Andy were always called "the little guys" and Jason and Dan were the "big guys". Rachel and I were "the little guys" in a sense growing up. I'm so blessed to have Rachel as a sister. She has a strong sense of loyalty and always seeks to do right. She's a great friend to everyone and is not afraid to state her opinion. Rachel is both a good leader and follower when neccessary and gives a lot of joy to our family. She welcomed Matt into our family without hesitation once she met him and has a gift for making people feel at ease around her. I love you Rachel!

Cute Little Ammon

Ammon is getting really long! But instead of taking advantage of the length of his crib, he likes to sleep sideways. He almost always snuggles his head into the corner with his blankie right there. This is how I found him yesterday morning. It made me laugh:

This video is from last week. Ammon likes to "dance". When music comes on and he's standing up he'll usually start to bounce a little. We love it!

Privacy

Sorry guys. I just made my blog private again. I hope you still come to visit! There was a news thing last night on blogging safety and what crazy people can do with blogs, so I would rather be as safe as possible. Hopefully it won't be too annoying to you all!

More to come

I was going to post more, but I think this is plenty for now, I'll add a video of Ammon "dancing", and introduce some sisters as promised tomorrow or something. I need to get some things done now! There are two posts below, but tons of pictures, so don't miss any!

Hallween and more...

Thursday Janelle, Sue, and I got together to make use of the bushels and bushels of apples Grandpa Dwayne has given us from his trees. We made applesauce I think the week before, and that was a lot of fun. I want to can more next year. This time we worked on apple pies. Due to my extreme memory loss(I think it's getting worse) I forgot a key ingredient and so we didn't get as much made as I would have hoped but it's still nice to get together and visit- in fact, that's the best part!
There's the applesauce. It was a wonderful feeling to have made all that. Sue said "don't you just feel so domestic?" I really enjoyed it.

For Halloween we spent the day visiting grandmas. I dressed up as Ammon veterinarian and I really enjoyed visiting with my grandmas that live up in Salt Lake.
Ammon with Great-Grandma Peckham. He is great-grandchild #20!At Great-Grandma North's apartment. She dressed up as a clown and looked great! I should have gotten a picture, but as I mentioned before...extreme memory loss...plus Ammon was sleeping when I got there. We watched some of The Carol Burnett show until Ammon was ready to leave and then we went to my parents.
My sister Rachel dressed up as Alice Cullen from the Twilight books. I thought it was perfect for her newly cut and colored hair. She looked great!For these next couple of pictures I really wanted some of Matt and me. Our first Halloween together was two years ago and we went as a doctor and his nurse. I was a little reminiscent.

My and sisters and I acting like the crazies we are...This was at Jason and Meg's house, for the party that evening. It was lots of fun and kind of loud as we were playing Rock Band. I played the drums! It was fun! We had yummy pumpkin sausage pasta with pie for dessert. We had a little mishap when Ammon fell down a couple of stairs. I felt like a horrible mother, but I'm learning, and now everytime we're around stairs, I try to teach him to go down the stairs backwards.All of Matt's brothers had a picture in this little sailor suit, and now all of the grandkids. Cute huh?