Maddi's Pictures

Trouble

For some reason, I could not upload pictures with my last post. I'll try again tomorrow. I'm entirely too annoyed at this point to try it for the 10th time :)

Miss Maddisen

Maddisen Ashlee came into our family 18 months after her older sister McKaylyn was born. She was born into chaos-- we were building our first home, with Jason doing most of the finish work himself, finishing college, Jason was starting a new career, we were running our own painting business and trying to figure out how to be parents to an 18 month old. In one weekend, we moved out of our apartment on Thursday, into our new home on Friday, Graduated from college on Saturday, and blessed Maddisen on Sunday. She was a very fussy baby. I blame myself, since I was just about as stressed as a new mama could possibly be. It was bad timing for a newborn, however, she and I eventually figured things out, and about the time she turned 4 months old, I learned how to relax, and she stopped crying. Imagine that. From then on out, she was all smiles and fun. She really has amazing bright blue eyes, and round chubby cheeks. And unlike her older sister, Maddisen LOVES to get messy. She was constantly into things, and was never far from where the action was. She is still like that today. She is a very social girl, not at all quiet or reserved. She is not afraid to let you know exactly what she is thinking, good or bad, and she is a constant tease. She really keeps us all o our toes- and loves to play pranks and practical jokes. She is great at smiling and making you laugh...even when you are mad at her.

She is almost always outside playing and never can sit still. She struggles a little bit with school- but not because she isn't smart enough-- She's VERY smart. She just would rather be outside playing, or coloring her latest art project instead of doing her Math assignment(Something her mom can really relate to...). She has a very creative side, and is great at art and writing stories. She has lots of friends at school, and loves to play with all the neighborhood kids in our backyard and on our trampoline. Maddisen is very good at sports and athletics. She likes to dance and will be beginning gymnastics this fall. She has played softball every summer since she was 5, and is quite a good hitter. she pitched her first inning the last game we played. She plays the piano, but as of now does not "LOVE" it. She has decided she likes to sing, and she and I are currently working on a song to sing in Sacrament meeting next month. Maddi is the life of the party-ever craving attention, and always trying to be the loud, funny one. She gets along really well with all the boys her age, a fact that scares her dad to death. By the time she turned 5 years old, she had already kissed 4 different boys. She is great with little kids and babies. She can make any little kid laugh, and her dad gets a real kick out of her antics. Maddisen's nicknames are Maddi, Maddi-Patty, pat-pat, and last but not least, "The Cupcake Baked by the Devil." She is soooo sweet, but there's a whole lot of hell in her too. And, that, my friends, pretty much sums up my sweet little Maddi. What would we do without her in our lives??? It certainly would be boring around here! I love you, my little miss Maddi.

Miss McKaylyn

So now that I have some new-found family members, as well as friends who we don't get to see often enough, I have decided to write a post about each of my kids, and fill you all in on the sweet little spirits that I am lucky enough to be a Mother to. So we'll begin at the beginning.

McKaylyn is our first daughter. I loved the name Mikayla when I was growing up, and always wanted to name a daughter that. Jason liked it with a 'LYN' on the end, so we compromised, and so far, we have not met anyone else with her same name. She does not have a middle name because we could not think of one that sounded good with her first name. She was the biggest miracle in our lives the day she was born. I can remember holding her, all bundled tight in her blanket at night, and I would just start to cry because I had never experienced so much love for anyone before. And then I blinked, and now, she will be 11 this year. She has the most beautiful brown eyes that I have ever seen. She is quiet and reserved, much like her mother, but she can also be very funny. She is somewhat of a perfectionist. She hates to mess up, and practices whatever it is that she might be doing until she can do it very well. She scored 100% on her end of level testing this year in Language Arts and Reading. She scored in the high 90's in all the other subjects. She is picking up the piano really quickly now, and is becoming a really great player. She also loves softball. She is great on first base and has even pitched a few games so far this season. She gets a little upset and impatient with herself when she walks someone. She and Maddisen have been outside every day with their mitts and a ball, practicing pitching, catching, batting, and running bases. (It helps that we have a neighborhood full of cute boys around their same ages who like to play as well :) Up until recently, McKaylyn has been the perfect child. I'm not kidding, either. She has been responsible, obedient, kind, and a great big sister. Yes, you did read the "up until recently" part correctly! Lately it seems she is towing the line a little bit... Rolling her eyes when we ask her to help, arguing with her sisters, becoming impatient with her brother, not doing her chores correctly... I am afraid the teenage mentality is creeping in... and she is still only 10. Heaven help us! :) All I know is that we'd better find a way to get through to her now before she is 16 and knows entirely more than we do. I really feel so lucky to be McKaylyn's mom. Although she won't wave to me or give me a hug in public anymore, she does give me a big hug and kiss every night before bed. She likes to have one on one time with me, and she and I have developed quite a close friendship that I really cherish. She is my brown-eyed angel, with ever-listening ears, and a quick, quiet wit. She wants to be a photographer when she grows up, and has quite an eye for it. (Her grandma gave her her first digital camera when she was 4, and it has turned into a real hobby for her.) I wish I could take a picture of her and keep her this age forever. We are so lucky to have her in our family.

Spring is moving in

So, the kids and I have been very excited for spring. We keep hoping for warm weather, and dreaming of flowers- and then it snows. So today is Sunday, and we decided to brave the cold wind and fire up the grill for a little BBQ after church. And what did we find? Spring has definitely moved in.

My "NEW" Family

I never really know how much of my personal stuff I should post to this blog since it is not a private one. Perhaps I'll leave out names "to protect the innocent." A few weeks ago, I had an awesome opportunity. I had to work at the International Sportsman's Exposition, (which is not, by the way the opportunity I am speaking about...) It was a long show. I was gone from a Wednesday morning until that following Sunday night when I arrived back home at 9:00 that night. It was a LONG time for me to be away from my husband and my kids. The show itself was okay- not our best show, by any means. Now, none of this sounds awesome. However, while I was there, I had the opportunity to get together with my Biological Father for dinner.

This was only the second time we had met in my adult life, and so we made plans to go to dinner together, just he and I. We went to a great Mexican restaurant called Guadalahonkies. (Spelling?) The food was GREAT. But the company was even better. Honest, it was really cool. I had an amazing time visiting with him, hearing his stories, telling mine, and all together, just connecting on a much deeper level than we had the first time we got together. He was so genuine and very kind. After what seemed like not nearly long enough, it was time to go. He promised he would visit me at the show, and he did. Several times. Each time taking time to visit with me, buy my lunches/ dinners, and yes, even signed up for the Hunting magazine I was selling. :) I met his friend, and his ex-wife, and really enjoyed my time with all of them.

The shows are very busy with big crowds. I get very tired of hearing my own voice, as I have to give my sales pitch hundreds of times each day. One of the afternoons, I noticed a guy in an Orange plaid shirt with bright blue eyes, who was holding a little boy. You could tell right away the boy was his- He had his same brilliant blue eyes, and yes, even a orange plaid shirt. They were cute, the two of them wandering the show together. I thought to myself, Now there is a good Daddy--bringing a not quite 2 yr old to this show all by himself. Thinking back, I'm pretty sure I saw them a couple of times before they ended up in line behind a man I was selling the magazine to. When it was his turn, I just plowed right into my whole sales pitch, telling him all about the magazine. When it came time to sign him up, I asked, "So what do you think? Can we get you started with a subscription?" His reply: "Well, I didn't really come here to talk to you about magazines." OKAY?? (Insert a little awkward pause) "What's your little guy's name," I asked, still wondering why he stood in line and waited to talk to me. "(insert baby's name here-still protecting the innocent)" was his reply, and then it clicked.

This was my Half-brother. My Brother. My little brother who I had never ever met. He is 23. He is Handsome and charming. He is a Daddy to a beautiful little boy--MY NEPHEW!! I was overwhelmed. In a good way. I was so excited, and so touched that he would want to come and meet me. I could hardly hold back the emotions-- and you know what's crazy? I think he felt the same way. I had wanted to meet him ever since I had found out about him a couple of years ago. And did it meet all the expectations I had imagined? Yes it did. That and more. It was crazy. I was instantly comfortable with him. I had thousands of questions racing through my mind- tons of things I wanted to know about him. I had 23 years to catch up on. I was thinking how impressed I was that he is still young, and yet has such a genuine heart. He's a rough and tough hard working, a not-backing-down-to- anyone type of a guy, and yet, he was so NICE. He asked me lots of questions, too. And the whole time, we were holding and chasing after my NEPHEW!! Did I mention that??? Oh man, I love that little guy already. He is BEAUTIFUL. And sweet. And sooooo very precious. He has a smile that melted my heart. He has the cutest locks of light hair, and the most amazing eyes. He was fascinated by the horses and saddles that we saw, and had fun running up and down the ramp of an enclosed trailer. He reminded me in so many ways of Landry, and I just kept thinking how awesome it would be if they could play together. Later that night I was really blessed to be able to go to dinner with my nephew, my brother, and his girlfriend. She was GORGEOUS and funny, and really personable. I was so happy to meet her. (The only thing I regret is that he and I really spent a lot of time at dinner talking and catching up on things- and I hope she knows that I can not wait to get to know her better as well. I hope she didn't feel ignored.) There is so much to learn about all of them. I am just soaking it all in, too. I feel so great. I feel like my family, who I am VERY close to, has just expanded, and NOTHING in this whole world could make me any happier. I can not WAIT to see them all again-- and don't worry... It's on the calendar. :)