Counting down...

It's almost Christmas and I am so excited! This year is going to be especially wonderful since Jocelyn understands what is going on. She has loved opening the doors on her advent calender and is eyeing the presents daily.

Matt had his second round of shots in his knees yesterday which will hopefully last at least another six months. Unfortunately the epidural he got in his back last week lasted only for a day. We are hoping to get a second opinion on the whole back thing in the next couple of weeks.

On a more positive note, Matt has enrolled at Salt Lake Community College and will be starting classes in January. He is going to be teacher when all is said and done - I am so proud of him for going back to school and pursuing his dream.

Remember, if Christmas isn't found in your heart, you won't find it under a tree.

~Charlotte Carpenter

Happy Holidays!

Thanksgiving

It is Thanksgiving morning and before I start to run around around getting things ready to go I thought I would post about what I am thankful for.


I am thankful for Jocelyn who is the light of my life and for Matt who is my best friend, my rock, and the love of my life. They both make me happier than I ever thought I could be.

I am thankful that Matt and I have the most amazing families. They are always there for us and tons of fun to be around.

I am thankful that we all have our health.

I am thankful that I have a job... even though I need another one.

I am thankful that I get to look outside each day and see the beauty of the mountains.

I am thankful that on Saturday Matt and I will have been non-smokers for 1 month.

I am thankful that the Lord is in our lives and has blessed us so much.

I am thankful for love, all kinds.

It is overwhelming to me how much I have to be thankful for - and when I start to look at all the good things in my life the bad things seem to just fade away.


Happy Thanksgiving.

Conversation

This was the conversation between Jocelyn and I last night...

Me "I love you baby girl"
Joss "Love too"
Me "That's sweet, thank you"
Joss "Welcome"


It just warmed my heart!

October :)

Happy Halloween!
Jocelyn dressed up as a duck this year and had a blast! She picked up the trick-or-treat concept pretty quickly and was thrilled every time she got a piece of candy to put in her bag.

First time trick or treating

Jocelyn, Cayden and Nana

Quack Quack

Coloring on her pumpkin, Matt later cut a moon and stars out and she loved it!

Hanging at The Little Gym Halloween party

Our little duck

A couple of weeks ago we went to Seattle to visit our friends Jason and Holly and their little girl Brooke who is 6 months old. We had a wonderful time going to Pike's Place and just being able to relax and visit with friends. Matt and I took Jocelyn to the Children's Museum one day which was a huge hit. Jocelyn also had a fabulous time making Brooke laugh.

Jocelyn holding Brooke

Jason, Jocelyn and Matt (Joss was trying on Brooke's Halloween costume)

Joss and Matt trying to stay warm

Painting at the Children's museum

Ice cream at Pike's Place

Brooke

One of Jocelyn's new favorite things is the aquarium. I bought a pass that gets us in for a year and we have been going at least once a week. She loves it and gets excited every time we go.

At the aquarium

We have had a fun filled busy October and are looking forward to the holidays.

I have to apologize for the picture quality, our camera is slowly dying.

Coupons!

I had to copy my sister-in-law Sarah and post a picture of my grocery savings this week for all the non-believers. :)

I got:

2- 3 packs of Popcorn

3- 3 packs of juice boxes

1- box instant oatmeal

3- boxes of cereal

4- boxes of granola bars

2- bags of chocolate chips

2- bags shredded cheese

3- cheese sticks

1- package American cheese

7- yogurts

1- bottle coffee creamer

1- package cookie dough

1- Welch's juice

2.5 pounds of grapes

5 pounds of potatoes

My original bill was $86.77 and I paid $36.66 - that's a savings of $50.11, more than half!

No!

The inevitable has happened... Jocelyn's favorite word is now 'no'. I think I had heard the word no at least 50 times by lunchtime today. It doesn't matter what the question is, the first word out of her mouth is no... although she reserves the right to change her mind after she thinks about the question. I hope this phase passes quickly!

On a good note, Matt and I are now licensed foster parents! We meet with our coordinator this afternoon. We are so excited!!!

Love Hope Believe Dream

To the right on the sidebar is a link to buy bracelets and key chains to benefit Cici and Christian. These little toddlers need all the help they can get. Please visit the links below to see their stories.
http://www.colofisch.blogspot.com

http://www.christiansjourney.org

Jocelyn, Matt and coupons galore!

Jocelyn had her 18 month appointment this week and she weighs in at 25 pounds and 33 1/2 inches tall, still 95th percentile. The bottles have been gone for 2 weeks now and the Binky is next on the list. She is talking more everyday, I love hearing her try new words. She loves Elmo and the Wiggles, M&Ms, Mac and Cheese, tacos, spaghetti and pizza. I can not believe how much I love this beautiful little girl.
Matt had an epidural in his back two weeks ago and it worked! Woohoo!!! He is having so much less pain than before it is unbelievable. The epidural combined with the injections he got in his knees in July have made it so he is almost back to normal. We are so lucky it worked and it is wonderful to have my husband back!
We made our second trip to the grocery today with coupons in hand... the shopping cart was fully loaded and the original bill came to $162.00... after the value card and coupons we spent $50.00 and that included buying diapers and coffee!!! Between this trip and the trip last week our pantry is fully stocked, we won't have to buy a lot of our normal staples for a long time. I am so thankful that Sarah showed us how to save money!

Another overdue update :)

Four generations

Cayden and Jocelyn on the Merry-go-round

Swimming with Marcia

With my Nano

Ready for the road trip (thank goodness for Elmo!)

Jocelyn and I spent last week in Kansas and Illinois visiting my family. It was her first airplane ride and she was fabulous!!! She either slept or was content watching Elmo on the portable DVD player. I was worried about her sitting still since she is normally so active but I couldn't have asked for better behavior!

We spent time with my Nano and family in Illinois and then made the 5 hour drive drive to Kansas to see my Grandparents and family there. Jocelyn got to spend time with Aunts, Uncles and Cousins in both places as well as three great grandparents.

The only downside was Matt not being with us. Hopefully he can come along next time and meet my family.

Jocelyn at her first ball game

Cayden and Max at the zoo

Fun in the sandbox

The fountains at Gateway

Joss' first time bowling

Doane Family Camp Out

Last weekend we went camping at the Sunrise P Ranch in Rupert, Idaho. We had an amazing time! It was Jocelyn's first time camping and I thought she did pretty good :). The ranch was wonderful, right on the river with a huge water slide, plenty of sleeping space, a log roll and playground... absolutely beautiful. We played volleyball, went on a wagon ride, enjoyed fabulous cooking, and most people even sang karaoke.
I am so thankful that Jocelyn gets to grow up with all her aunts, uncles, cousins and grandparents close by. I really missed that growing up and I am glad Jocelyn will get to know and experience what being part of a big family means.

Life update

It's been a while since I have posted - it is amazing fast life goes by when you get busy!

This morning Matt, Jocelyn and I, along with the dogs, participated in our first 5k. I am so proud of us! We finished it and weren't last, in fact I think we were in the middle of the pack somewhere. This is huge for Matt who was having trouble even walking a couple months ago.

We also started taking classes last week to become foster parents. This is something both of us have always wanted to do and although it will still be six months or so until we get a child, at least we have started the process. There are so many children in need of a home and we are excited to be able to be in a place in our lives where we can help.

Although I have been anxiously awaiting summer, I was not excited to have to go through another one with no air conditioning in the house - and as of Monday we won't have to! Woohoo! After all these years living without it I am so stinkin' excited that we are not going to gave to spend the entire summer being uncomfortable at home.

Jocelyn is getting bigger all the time. She is starting to talk more and we are at the point in potty training where she is telling us right after she goes (sigh) but there are a few times a week she gets it right and that is so thrilling!

All in all we have been feeling extremely blessed lately. Everyone is happy and healthy, what more can you ask for?

Four wonderful years and counting...

Matt and I celebrated our four year anniversary on Wednesday. I thought it would be a nice day - we'd exchange cards and have sushi for dinner as a treat... little did I know that Matt would surprise me with the most fabulous gift! He made me a book filled with pictures from our life together so far; marriage, friends, vacations, family, Jocelyn. It is incredible! It means more to me than anything else he could have bought or done. If anyone has seen the book Joey made Sarah, it is the same type of thing - what thoughtful men we have Sarah! Thank you Matt for making our fourth anniversary a day I will never forget!

First visit to the dentist

Jocelyn went to the dentist today - thanks Aunt Elaine for getting her in so quickly and being so helpful! Jocelyn was much better than I expected, she cried during the x-ray but that was it! It turns out her tooth is still there... it has just been shoved back into her gums. Dr. Baker said he had never seen anything like it but that it should work its way back down and be fine. If not we may have to have it removed in a year or so but we'll worry about that later. I am so glad that everything is okay!

My poor baby!

First tooth...lost

Jocelyn lost her first tooth today although not the way that nature intended. She was running at my Mom's house and tripped as she is prone to do, only this time went headfirst into a wooden footstool. She has a fat lip, cuts on her chin and of course the front top tooth is gone. I feel so terrible for her! We have a dentist appointment tomorrow afternoon so hopefully some of my questions will get answered and my fears calmed. Pictures will be posted soon.

Mother's Day 2009

What a wonderful day! It started out fabulous since Matt kept Jocelyn entertained while I grabbed an extra hour of sleep and then the day just kept getting better. Matt and Joss took me out for a wonderful brunch at Market Street followed by a visit to the beautiful Red Butte Gardens. We then had awesome visits with our families. I couldn't have asked for a better day. Thank you so much Matt and Jocelyn! I love you tons and am so blessed to have you!!! XOXOXO

























So big!

















You can do it babe!

















She did not like posing there at all.






















Most of the time she enjoys cheesing for the camera!

















She loved the fountains!

















Blowing me kisses :)

















Such a beautiful place!

Plan of Action

Matt and I went to see the back specialist this morning and I think we finally have a plan of action.

He has a lot of irritation in his back joints so he will be going to physical therapy for the next 6-8 weeks. After that he will have steroid shots in his lower back which will hopefully solve the back problem. The doctor said that most likely the hip and back pain showed themselves because he went from an active job to a desk job which let everything stiffen up - and here we thought it was a great move for his knees to get out of the warehouse and at a desk!

He is scheduled to have shots in his knees in June. These shots are the consistency of hair gel and will give him added padding in his knees which should eliminate the pain there for at least a year. I tell him he's getting a boob job in his knees :).

Later this summer he will most likely have to have the surgery on his hips to shave off the extra bone growth which should take care of the hip pain. So keep your fingers crossed that he will be completely mobile by the end of the year! Woohoo!

Potty Training

We started potty "training" Jocelyn on Thursday... what an interesting experience! She has gone to the potty four times so far in her little toilet. Out of those four times, three were good timing on my part and the fourth she actually let me know she had to go. So exciting!

I know the norm these days is to wait until they are older but after reading up on the subject I decided that now was as good of time as any. It turns out kids used to be potty trained much earlier than they are now, most by the age of 7-9 months until the washing machine was invented. Then the average age became 12-18 months until Pampers hired a doctor as a spokesman who touted that it was bad for your kids to start the process too early and you should wait until they are "emotionally ready". I would have started much earlier if I had know this!

I am hoping to have her completely "trained" by 18 months. It will be so nice to not have to buy/change diapers anymore!

Happy Birthday Matt!

Matt - you are a person who loves, who cares, who sees a person’s need and fills it. You encourage and lift people up, you spend energy on others rather than yourself. You are someone who touches each life he enters and makes a difference in the world, because ripples of kindness flow outwards as each person you have touched, touches others. Jocelyn and I are so lucky to have you and appreciate all that you bring to our lives. We love you more than you will ever know. Happy Birthday!

Just a quick update on Matt...

We went back to the hip specialist today and he recommended that Matt see a back specialist. So... he is having an MRI on his back tomorrow and will see the back specialist on May 4. We are keeping our fingers crossed that this will yield some answers.

Busy day!

We started this morning with Jocelyn's first swimming lesson. She was excited to go play with the kids and thrilled to be wearing her Dora swimsuit (she has carried it around the house for weeks)! It was her first time in an actual pool so I was a little worried about what her reaction would be. As usual with things that concern her I worried for nothing! She loved it - she kicked, splashed, attempted to blow bubbles and by the end of class was jumping off the side to me.

After swimming we hurried home and rinsed off and were off to the first birthday party of the day. Our friend's Mindy and Matt's son Owen had his first birthday party today. He and Jocelyn are about the same size and were so cute together today. I can't wait to get them together to play.

Unfortunately we could only stay a little bit at Owen's party since we had to be at Myah's 3rd birthday party at Jungle Jim's.

Jocelyn had a blast at Jungle Jim's riding the rides and watching all the kids. She can't wait to be big enough to run after them.

There was a jeep ride there that had a weight limit that kept any adult that eats from riding with their children. Matt assumed the role of overprotective parent this time while I was the more casual one for once. He did not want her riding without an adult. Jocelyn on the other hand thought it was the coolest thing ever. She turned the steering wheel, and waved and laughed. At one point she stood up in the cart and I thought Matt was going to hop the fence and run grab her. Thankfully he kept his cool and she sat back down. She did not want to get off this ride!

We had a wonderful time and the day flew by. I guess this is a taste of what it will be like when she's older and we turn into chauffeurs instead of parents!