Missing you my friend

Crying was inevitable

My eyes are red and swollen and my nose is stuffy.

I just dropped my sister off at the airport. She extended her stay with us and she and her baby have been here for almost a month.

You'd think we would be sick of each other but it was just the opposite, having her here for so long made it so much harder to say good-bye.

How blessed I am to have a sister who is also my dearest friend (apart from Trev, luv ya honey ;)).

Melissa and I basically spent the last 3 weeks sitting around the house taking care of babies, crafting, cooking, nursing, and talking about life, about motherhood, about faith, about our families, about ... everything.

Melissa, I will treasure the memories of these past few weeks forever. I don't know what I'd do without you in my life... I just love you so much.

P.S. Jeff, you are my hero. Thanks for sharing your wonderful wife and sweet baby with us for such a long time. We enjoyed them more than you will ever know and I know you must have missed them dearly. :)

Family Visit

It was so fun to have my parents and sister with her new baby here for spring break.

(love this shot of Campbell man... he is trouble)
We had a great time at the zoo. The lorakeets are always the favorite.



Got to go to the GAP outlet center in Cinci and do a little shoppin... it's tradition.


Lot's of fun hanging out at home and playing with babies.


Lovin on my new niece, Miss Avery.

I took lots of pictures of our babies... isn't Avery a doll?! She is like half the size of Davis and she's a week older!

I'm so grateful for for such an amazing family.

Thanks for coming to visit us, we love you guys!

The Big day...s

What a great week we have had!

It all started Saturday when Hallie was baptized a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints.

It was such a wonderful baptism.

Hallie looked like an angel in white and the spirit was so strong.

I was so thankful to be there to feel it and be reminded of the covenants I have made.

Sunday we blessed Davis. He is growing so fast.

Seriously, he brings me so much happiness.

My mom, dad, and my sister Melissa and her baby came from Utah to be here for the baptism and Davis's blessing, and even stayed for Hallie and Megan's spring break.

We had a lot of fun.

More posts soon.

Hallie's baptism

Hallie will be baptized into the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints this Saturday, March 28th at 4:00pm in our ward building.

We would love to have any friends and family who can come to be there for this special day.

Hallie is 8

March 20, 2001, I was working my shift as a labor and delivery nurse when I went into labor with Hallie. I knew I had a problem when I was contracting more than my laboring patient was. I told the charge nurse that I needed to check myself into my own room and someone else was going to have to take care of my patients. Hallie was born at 10:10am weighing in at 6lbs 3 in and 18 inches tall. She changed our world.

2 months old

1 year

2 1/2 years

3 years

4 years

5 years
6 years

7 years

I'm not old enough to have and eight-year-old!

Hallie is a joy. She always wants to do the right thing (how lucky am I) and is so good with her younger sister and brothers. She is smart, athletic, a great friend, a hugger, she is a great example, I could go on and on. We are so grateful to have her in our family.

Happy Birthday Hallie Jean.

We LOVE you!

Chapter 7 - The end of the beginning:

Well, Kathryn said she wanted me to finish our love story. What does that mean? It doesn't just finish! I don't understand this stuff. I am not sure if this will be accepted as a true chapter, but I will try. Kathryn is getting her hair cut. I am a very cheap person. I have cut my own hair since I was 15 and I even cut Kathryn's once - she said I couldn't do it any more. It saves money. Doesn't that make sense?

Anyway, back to the story. While Kathryn is back home dating Mr. "M". I am at school. I tell you about me being cheap just so you will know how much I was in love. I drove a 3 speed work truck back and forth from her house to my school, sometimes 3 round trips in a weekend before Mr M. came home (My bishop told me to make sure I was going to my own ward - I used to be so obedient). I even bought a cell phone and would use all the minutes and then use my forwarding minutes to call Kathryn. I bought a long distance calling plan on top of that. This was true love.

I did tell her she could date this guy, I knew I had to, but I did not like it. It was not my personality to be so humble and patient. That is what I tried to do though. There was something about Kathryn that I couldn't let go. Sometimes I would struggle with being frustrated at her for dating Mr. M., even though it was only two weeks, it felt like a lot more. I was tempted to walk away - I guess so it wouldn't hurt.

I am not sure I have ever been attractive to anyone before, but it seemed like my unavailability, made me more attractive to at least one girl in my ward. And she let me know. I didn't quite understand it. Even though it is nice to have an admirer - that made it even worse because it made me wonder why Kathryn needed to date Mr. M - couldn't she just see whatever this other girl saw in me?

Needless to say, we made it through that time. Kathryn dumped "M". I use the word dump, but I think she was much kinder than that. Although I never wanted to admit it, when I met this guy later, I was surprised to find that he was a very good and kind person. When I told my dad this he said, "What did you expect from Kathryn?" That makes sense. If I think she is so wonderful, wouldn't her boyfriend from high school be a good person? But you have to understand, this was survival at the time. You don't have the mindset to want to hug your competition.

In the end, Kathryn chose me. This fact was enough to forget everything else. I was the luckiest person alive. And even though I resisted her needing to figure things out, I knew she needed to not be wondering in the back of her mind when I lost my hair and got fat - "why didn't I give Mr. M a chance?" She may still think that, but that's too bad. Here I am!

Kathryn and I are going on our tenth year of marriage. We have our struggles like any couple does, but I am so grateful to her. She is a great mom to our kids and a perfect friend to me. She helps me want to change and be better. She supports me when I need strength. I am so grateful we are married and sharing this crazy existence called life together.

So there you have it. The end.



Thanks for reading.

Happy Birthday Trevor

31 things I love about you...

1- You work hard so I can be a full-time mom

2- You make me laugh

3- You serve with your heart

4- You make me feel beautiful

5- You can fix ANYTHING

6- Your willing to fix EVERYTHING I need you to

7- You support my craft habits

8- You share your testimony

9- You love to play with the kids

10- You spoil me with cameras, printers, and even a new (to us) fancy yukon

11- You are smart about lots of things

12- You pick up after yourself (most of the time ;0)

13- You are nice to my friends

14- You are loyal and good to your friends

15- You are a wiz with the computer

16- You talk to me before making any big decisions

17- You're never sarcastic

18- You're hot ;)

19- You like to sit by me and hold my hand

20- You are bilingual

21- You brag about your kids

22- You are usually smiling

23- Your not afraid of being silly, even in public

24- You feel it is important to know peoples names

25- You like what I cook

26- You'll get up in the middle of the night with crying babies

27- You are humble

28- You bought me new carpet

29- You make breakfast

30- You love to check our blog

31- You are my husband and I get to spend eternity with you... I love you for that.

"Uh oh, binky broken"

I kept putting it off, with the new baby and then when Cam got so sick I couldn't take away his best friend but last week I had no more excuses and so I finally just did it.
I gathered all of the binkies and got rid of all but 2 of them which I cut off and laid out for Campbell to find. It didn't take long and he came to me with the binkies in hand and a concerned look on his face. "Binky broken?" he asked me over and over again.
Yep buddy, binky is broken.

Chapter 6: Off to the Y

(Ha,Ha, I liked Melissa's comment, I guess I did end up being "the player"... whoops.)


The summer ended too soon. Trevor headed down to BYU and I was busy in my last year of nursing school.

The day Trev left for Provo I was so very sad.
With all those pretty girls... schoolwork... girls with freshly baked cookies... classes... cute girls... I figured it was over. But surprisingly Trevor called me every single night and we talked for hours. He had only been in Provo for a few days when he called me and asked me to meet him in Salt Lake City. We walked around the mall and temple square. Trevor had always been clear about his intentions, one night he said to me "Kathryn, I love you. I'd ask you to marry me right now if I didn't think you'd say no."
Tonight we stood in front of the temple and Trevor kissed me and said, "I've decided on the Salt Lake Temple." He smiled and I smiled... I knew that I loved him.


The time was quickly approaching for M (the missionary) to come home. I was so nervous. I didn't know what to think anymore. I knew I loved Trevor but I also knew that for a long time I had loved M and even though it had been 2 years and those feelings were a bit foggy I felt strongly that I needed to spend some time with him just to be sure. I prayed and prayed and prayed.
I knew what I had to do and I knew that Trevor wasn't going to like it... so I prayed for help and the next day when Trevor picked me up for our date he turned to me and said, "I was talking to my dad last night about this whole situation and my dad said, 'It sounds like you know what you want but Kathryn doesn't know yet what is right for her. If you love her you will do whatever you can to help her make her choice." He then told me that if I needed some time to spend with just M to help me make my decision he would support me with that.

It was an answer to my prayers... that is what I needed to do and I knew it and now having Trevor's support meant everything to me.

Two weeks... I would date M and not see Trevor for 2 weeks.

So M got home and we dated. I told him about Trevor almost immediately (the day after he got home). You should have seen his face, it broke my heart. He was shocked and I think he felt betrayed. I felt terrible to drop all of this on him so quickly but I had to be truthful with him and my feeling for Trevor were very real.

We went out every night and it felt nice to have my friend back but if he tried to get close to me or show any affection I was very uncomfortable and a funny thing happened... around 9:30 or 10pm I became very tired (like couldn't keep my eyes opened tired) and felt like I needed to get home and get some sleep.
After M dropped me off I would walk in the house and unconsciously grab the phone on the way down to my room and dial Trevor's number... I would lay on my bed and Trevor and I would talk until 1 or 2 in the morning... every single night.
Hmmmmm

Cause to Celebrate

* Yesterday I packed up the nebulizer after two full months of breathing treatments... I hope to never have to unpack it again... ever.

* 3 nights in a row Davis has slept for 6-8hrs WAHOO! I feel like a new woman.

* Trevor is home today and is cleaning out the garage and finishing up the new room... and it wasn't even my idea. Good man.

* We have cable for the first time in my life and I am loving HGTV. Seriously, I want to be a carpenter when I grow up.

* Hallie is getting baptised this month and my parents and sister are coming out for like 10 days during their spring break... too fun!

* Spring is just around the corner which means long walks with my great friend... she is my therapy.

CAUSE TO CELEBRATE!

Chapter 5: giving "us" a chance

So, I was going to give "us" a chance.

I knew I cared about Trevor and I definitely felt he deserved a chance but, I had just recently (about 4 months previous) broken up with a guy I really cared about because he wanted to get married and I still felt too strongly about the missionary to marry someone else. We decided to part our ways, at least for the time being... It was so painful and I was worried that I was headed down the same path.

Meanwhile I was still writing the missionary (I'm getting really tired of typing "the missionary" so he will be henceforth reffed to as "M") and talking with his parents about the plans for his homecoming. I felt so guilty since I had grown to love his family and here I was kissing some other guy and then talking to them like I was just waiting for M to get home so we could resume our relationship. But... I couldn't help myself.

Trevor and I had so much fun together, he made me laugh so hard. I remember one night every time he saw a phone (any phone, anywhere) he would pick it up and pretend like he was talking to his mom. He would say something like "Mom, code red, come and get me, this is serious mom! 1040". I was laughing my head off, where does he come up with this stuff?

Trevor was headed off to BYU soon. He kept telling me that he would make the 1 1/2 hr drive (each way) often to see me and I knew he would... in the beginning... but I also knew that the ratio at BYU was 2 girls to every 1 guy and I had heard that 90% of those girls were "barracuda women". I was certain that all those girls would hypnotise Trev with their beauty and freshly baked cookies and that would be the end of it. Long distance relationships just don't work out.

Doesn't She Look Smart

Lot's of Bugs

It's been awhile since I've updated this blog and I know you are all dying to hear how the love story turns out ;)

But first an update on our family.

Holy cow, this has been the longest and sickest winter EVER!

Poor little Davis is not yet 3 months old and he has already experienced RSV, an ear infection, RSV AGAIN, and pneumonia!

Let me add that NO I have not been taking Davis to the local hospital to lick the floors, I haven't even taken him to church yet and we have been buying hand sanitizer by the gallon.

I haven't been able to leave the house for the last 2 months and I'm starting to go a little LoOnY. Luckily I've had my craft blog as an outlet and I've spent a lot of time on the phone.

It has been rough but it has also been a reminder of how blessed we are because usually we are so healthy and we just take that for granted. These are all just temporary illnesses (or at least they are supposed to be temporary!) I know it could be much worse.

February is almost over and March is just days away.

March will bring sunshine, warm breezes, and healthy babies... I pray.

A Giveaway

I'm doing a giveaway on our craft blog and I wanted to let all my friends and family know.

So if you are interested just come and take a look.

Nanny goat

Chapter 4: fireworks

So, it turns out I was wrong... there's a first time for everything people.
Trevor wasn't a player.

After the second date there was a third and a fourth date and at the end of each date we were trying to come up with reasons to see each other again. I couldn't figure out why such a great guy liked me so much, so quickly, but he did... and I liked him... a lot.

I had one problem though. I was going to marry "my missionary" remember?
Well, believe it or not this was still my plan even though I really liked Trevor. I had cared about this missionary guy for a really long time and all signs pointed to us getting married. Now I just had to break it to Trevor. This is where the story gets uncomfortable.

We had just gone on our fourth date (fireworks at Weber state) and it was another amazing night. On the way home we were talking and Trevor started telling me how much he cared about me then he said, "oh yeah, but isn't your missionary coming home next month?" I froze, how did he know? He started laughing and I realized he was just kidding. He didn't know... but when he saw my expression he stopped laughing and I said, "actually he will be home in 2 months."
Silence in the car... very awkward silence.
He finally said, "So you are telling me that you are waiting for a missionary?"
"ummmm" I knew I had to be honest so I explained as best I could the situation... I had a long history with this guy and had been writing him throughout his mission. He would be home very soon...
I felt sick inside. I knew that Trevor was hurt.
We talked about it the whole way home...
The conversation was heavy...
It was a long drive home.
When it was time to say good-bye Trevor hugged me tight for a long time and then out of no where he kissed me. Not a normal "first kiss" kind of kiss, more like a "I'm staking my claim" kind of kiss.
Then he hugged me again and whispered, "just give US a chance."
Still stunned by the kiss I managed an "okay".

Chapter 3: wipeout?

Okay, back to the story (even though Trev pretty much gave away the ending- (me shaking my head)).

So, I was bummed since it was confirmed that indeed Trevor was a player. I had a lot of fun with him on our first date. Oh well, I'm sure he has moved on to the next girl so I might as well move on too.

To my surprise the day after our date he called. We talked and he was so funny and genuine (I found out years later that he used to write a list of things to talk about on the phone with me so there wouldn't be any awkward silences... cute).

He asked me to go boating with his family and said, "basically I'm just trying to come up with an excuse to take you out again". He was so honest and it was so endearing... Maybe I was wrong about him.


Okay, meeting his WHOLE family (including grandparents and 2nd cousins-once-removed ;0) in my swimming suit no less was not my idea of a comfortable 2nd date but I was curious about this guy so I agreed.


We walked on the beach and chatted while we waited for the boat to come get us. The boat came and they had us jump on the tubes first. I had never been tubing before and I'm not a great swimmer so I was nervous. His dad was driving the boat and it was full of members of Trevor's family who were all watching me curiously as the boat picked up speed. He was going fast, really fast and then he started turning and swerving and things got crazy.


I was TERRIFIED. I remember my hands were griped so tightly on the handles of the tube that they stung and my heart was beating in hyper speed. I turned and looked at Trevor who was bouncing and smiling and I tried to smile and pretend like this was actually fun... I couldn't have been convincing... I'm a terrible actor. Everyone was still watching and smiling and giggling from the boat and the water was spraying in my face but I was trying not to choke and spit and I was too afraid to let go of one hand to wipe the hair out of my face. I just kept repeating to myself, -don't let go, hold on- and every once in awhile I would turn to Trevor and give him my fake "this is great fun" smile. Then all of the sudden I found myself skidding across the water without my tube drinking gallons of water. I had fallen off and now I was floating in the middle of the lake alone.

Coughing and gasping for air with water coming out of my nose (pretty) I tried to quickly pull myself together before the boat came back . I was so embarrassed because I didn't know that it was normal to fall off the tube (like I said, this was my first time).

Trevor was cute and jumped off his tube to help me.

To this day I hate tubing.


On the way home we played "the question game". It's a game where you ask each other questions... Brilliant! I asked him questions like, "What is your favorite color?". He asked me questions like, "What qualities are you looking for in a husband?" and "Where do you want to go on your honeymoon?" Hello?! (...blush...)

At one point in the night I looked over at him and he looked at me and... I don't know... we just had a "moment".

Then it was time to say goodnight. My journal reads, "I just really had a good time with him. He gave me a nice hug and we just kinda talked and held hands for a few minutes then I went inside with a smile on my face... I had a hard time sleeping that night... sigh."

Happy Birthday little man

Campbell was born on February 13th 2007. The little stinker was breech so I got to experience a c-section.

It's funny, when I worked as a labor and delivery nurse I had many patients who had to have emergency c-sections. I remember being used to it and telling my patients, "it happens all the time, it's going to be just fine." When I found out that Campbell was breech and that they were preparing the OR for a c-section I suddenly understood how my patients must have felt. I felt a whole lot of empathy and I wish I would have been more understanding of their fear. Luckily everything worked out great and he was a healthy baby.

Campbell has always been SOOOO FUN! He started smiling at 2 weeks and I am not kidding about that.... no, it was NOT gas! He would look right into my eyes and just grin at me.

I couldn't believe it!
Campbell was highly allergic to milk products as a baby. If I so much as had a bite of a brownie and then nursed Campbell he would be in terrible pain and even have bloody dirty diapers... poor baby. I was on a very strict diet and we prayed and prayed (for his sake) that he would outgrow the allergy and he did at 14 months. Oh HAPPY DAY!

Campbell delights in making people laugh. He loves to dance and make goofy faces (he also loves to pull hair and throw things but we won't talk about that).

Campbell is a VERY busy boy. He loves to get into everything and is bored with toys quickly. He would much rather play with cords or your camera or cellphone (he likes electronics like his dad).

I can't believe my little man is 2.

I can honestly say that Campbell has made me smile everyday of his life.

It is a gift he has.

Happy Birthday Campbell.

Chapter 1: The Party - Trevor's take

OK, this was the best party I have ever been to. My friend Wade invited me, but unfortunately later I had forgotten about it. Another friend invited me somewhere else and I had said OK. Later, realizing that I had double booked (OK, I didn't go to many parties, but it was July 4th and you take what you can get). Now this is where I am grateful for my conscience. I have always wanted to do what was right. This was no exception. I had messed up and made two commitments, but I had told Wade first that I would go with him. Honestly, that was the dilemma. So, anyway I went with Wade to the party. While were were walking through the condo complex we saw some girls that caught our eye. I was not super excited to be going to the party, but I did wish that they were going - then it would be worth it. It didn't cross my mind that they actually might be on their way to the same one. Anyway, they showed up at the same door. Yes we actually really did play fag tag and eat dinner. It was the best fag tag I have ever played. I hooked arms with a beautiful "Kathryn". I watched her throughout the night. I had this feeling I should talk to her. I am sure it may sound corny to you, but I thought to myself that this was an important thing to do and that God may be guiding me to over come my fear and talk to her. I was nervous and almost chickened out. I psyched myself up to talk to her, I remembered that as a missionary I often was guided to talk to someone, and it wasn't always in my comfort zone. So I got up the courage and walked across the room (I hated that I had to leave for my curfew) and asked Kathryn if she would go out with me. She said, "Me"? I guess she was confused because she had no clue I was interested. She wrote her number on my hand. I was so scared that it would sweat off, as soon as I got into the car with Wade, I wrote it on a receipt that was in my wallet. What a night. I got home, I think it was the next day or two and we were having a family reunion. I asked my cousin Lindsay how long I have to wait to call. She said, "You are just wasting time." Ahhh! I didn't want to waste time. I called. Melissa, Kathryn's sister, answered and said Kathryn was at work. The next thing I knew I got a call from Kathryn from her work. She was very kind and we talked and set up a time for a date. I was so impressed. She called me back, and it was a real number. This girl was so beautiful and kind. The best way to describe her was wonderful and classy. I think I was smitten even before I really got to know her. I talked with Wade and decided to bring out the big guns. We were going to finally do the date we had talked about doing all through high school. Take 4-wheelers into the mountains and have lunch. I know, it probably doesn't sound that exciting, but that was our dream. Funny huh? Well that is what we did. Taking Kathyrn out was the best thing I have ever done. Heavenly father guides us sometimes, I was guided to her. She is my soul mate. Today is Valentines. I am not very good at telling her how great she is. I wish I could express myself better. I love her and am amazed by her. She always helps me when I struggle. When we got married I thought I knew her and she though she knew me. I guess it is hard to really know someone without being married. I belive I was guided to her, I could not have found someone so perfect for me on my own. I love you Kathryn.

Chapter 2: Is this guy for real?

Trevor called me a few days later to let me know we would be four-wheeling that Sat. and when he would pick me up.

My parents weren't thrilled that I had agreed to go out with a complete stranger so my dad was there to "greet" Trevor at the door.

First on my dad's agenda:

- Find out the boys last name.

-Scare the crap out of him.

He asked him his full name and invited Trevor to sit down (that's when I knew we were in trouble) and proceeded to list all of the people we know who were killed riding three/four-wheelers... nice.

Trevor took it well and eventually dad let us go.

It was a double date with his best friend and after picking up some food we headed up to the bountiful "B" to ride the trail.

Trevor was cute and charming and funny... a little too cute and charming and funny. I couldn't help but wonder, "is this guy for real?!". Then we four-wheeled up to a peak just when the sun was starting to set and Trevor stopped and turned and looked at me and said, "This is my favorite part... It is the most beautiful spot on the trail... It's called 'Kathryn's Point'."

It was then I knew... he was a total player.

After a too perfect evening (that ended with his cousin playing the guitar while he sang a song... about me... that he made up as he went... He was hilarious! ) I was convinced this guy was too good to be true but I had to get a second opinion.

A girl in my nursing school attended high school with Trevor so I asked her the next day if she knew anything about him. She said, " I didn't know him well but I do know he had a lot of girls after him and I think he was kind of a player."

Yep, just as I suspected.

Our "Love Story" Chapter 1: The Party

My sweet friend was feeling down after a recent break-up and in an effort to "get back in the game" asked me and a few other girlfriends to go with her to a work friend's party. I remember standing in front of her closet the morning of the party picking something to wear and making the comment "Who knows Jana, maybe you'll meet your future husband tonight." Little did I know...

I wasn't very familiar with the big city (haha) of Salt Lake but we finally found the apartment complex where the party was to be held.
Two guys wandering around the complex immediately caught our eye. They were very cute and one friend thought out loud, "I hope they are going to the same party we are". Me and you both I thought.
We found the apartment and were thrilled when a few minutes later the mysterious guys knocked at the door. My journal reads "they were cute and fun and one of the two wasn't just cute, he was HOT" (gush). So what did I do?... I avoided him.

I should back up. You see, I had a missionary and although I had been dating the whole time "my missionary" was gone he was almost home and I was going to marry him... so there you go.

I was successful at avoiding the "hot guy" for most of the night (except when we played a crazy game of "fag tag" and I was forced to lock arms with him for a few nervous seconds). My friends enjoyed his company while I watched from the other side of the room hoping my friend had found a new love interest.

Then at 11:30pm the "hot guy" (it turns out his name was Trevor) turned to my girlfriends and said good-bye then stood up and walked across the circle (we were playing some kind of party game) to where I was sitting. He crouched down and asked, "Will you go out with me next Saturday?" "Huh?... me?...um, okay." I wrote my number on his hand and then he was gone and I was left dumbfounded... I didn't even know his last name.

2 months today

Davis is the sweetest, most good-natured baby.

He loves to be held and loved but he is also happy sitting and watching his brother and sisters.

Hallie and Megan love to hold and rock Davis in the rocking chair. They adore him.

He isn't the greatest sleeper but that is the only complaint I have about this little angel (he can't be totally perfect right?). We spend a lot of time snuggling at night, just little Davis and me.

He is 2 months old today but it feels like he has been in our family forever and I guess in a way he has.

We love our little Davis Mack.

Now for some more pictures...

Okay, I know I'm his mom but seriously... don't you just want to eat him up?!?

To the Rescue

She flew in.

She saved the day.

She flew out.

Such is the life of a Supermom.

Thanks mom.