How big is your heart? Guest blogger: Jothan

Hi guys. Remember last year when I guest blogged for my mom?

Well, I came home again last Friday from school, and I begged, and begged, and begged my mom to let me jump rope for the American Heart Association. Last year I raised well over my goal and this year I hope to raise at least $100 for the American Heart Association.

I need your help.

Let me tell you a little bit about my little friend Parker.

(His blog is really cute and I like to look at his photos. You should check it out sometime. He sat behind me at church yesterday and I felt pretty lucky and thankful that he was healthy and able to come to church and be my friend.)

Parker has a special heart. When he was inside his mom the doctors discovered his special heart. It didn't beat as fast as my heart beats. In fact, it beat really. really. really. slowly.

My heart beats like this. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

While Parker's heart beat like this - - - - -

His heart should have beat more like this.............................

Parker almost had to be born REALLY early to help save his life.

Parker is really strong and he held on super tight to his mom, and he was born healthy.

When he was ONLY two days old, he had heart surgery on his special heart.

He now has a pacemaker attached to his heart. His pacemaker is in his tummy.

Here is a photograph my mom took of Parker when he was 3 weeks old:

He is getting bigger and stronger every day. Except he is still smaller than my baby sister was when she was born. He is that tiny.

I want to jump rope for Parker and for other kids with special hearts.

I have until Friday, February 4, 2011 to raise $100 for the American Heart Association.

Will you help me?

You can donate here:

American Heart Association

Thank you so much for helping me achieve my goal. I learned some cool things about the American Heart Association and wanted to tell you about them. Sometimes it helps to know what you are donating to, and why your donations are so important.

Thank the American Heart Association Research if:

A loved one has had a successful heart bypass

Someone you know has recovered from a heart attack.

You had open heart surgery and slept through the whole thing.

You take medicine to treat your hight cholesterol.

CPR saved your life or the life of a loved one.

An Automated External Defibrillator (AED) saved your uncle's life.

Someone you know has a new heart valve.

You take medicine to regulate your hight blood pressure.

If pacemaker regulates your son's heart rhythm. (Like Parker's.)

Clot-busting drugs helped reduce the severity of a loved one's stroke.

You are one of the one million survivors of a heart attack this year.

You were able to return to work after having a stroke.

A friend or family member received a heart transplant.

For more information please visit:

www.americanheart.org

Yearbook 2010: February

February looks super lame. I took 5 photos that month? They were all digital? Sad, sad times. (Okay, so I may have taken more, which I am almost POSITIVE I did, proof may be in the stack of 5 or so discs I just found from Walgreen's.) I'll check them out and let you know, but for now...

Yep. That's it. Not even a photo of Joth. BOO.

Anyway. I'll share another one of my resolutions. Take time each day to hug each of my kids, look them in the eye, and do SOMEthing that THEY want to do. Today, I took time to help Memms write a story. She REALLY likes writing stories and drawing pictures to go with them. Actually, she draws the pictures and then we write the story together. Afterwards I kissed her ginormous cheeks repeatedly. She is the sweetest girl I know.

Millz? Well, I held her on my lap for what seemed like two hours while I worked. That is what she seemed to want to do, so I let her. I also gave her some of my leftover birthday cake from The Cheesecake Factory. She really liked that.

Joth? He has been at school all day, but I plan on taking him with me to run a few errands before we are off to our cousin Lance's funeral. Jobby tends to get super tired and crabby after school, so I hope to tickle him and be silly with him and let him pick a treat from the store. Possibly I'll give into the Hot Wheels car he always tries to get me to buy.

Yep, these are the days, and they are quickly speeding past us. This week I lost two family members. Lance, and my Great Grandma Thurgood. Tears well up when I think of all the times I let the 'other stuff' get in the way of the right now.

Trying super hard to remember this each and every day.

Hope your days are full of as much joy as I am trying to find in mine.

xoxo

Happy Halloween, er uh...Thanksgiving!

So, I have had these photos for a few weeks, but with the busy season lots of things have been neglected, things like my own photos, my blog, and the dishes. (Although I don't care much about the dishes.)

This year we got to go trick or treating on Mr. J's birthday. He was super adorable in his racecar driver costume. He was so excited about wearing it, in fact he did for a few weeks before the big day. Memmy chose to be a witch again. She was a witch when she was 2. I always hope they will choose something new and exciting, but I also love for them to choose for themselves, so a witch she was. A cute and adorable witch at that. Zilly was Little Bo Peep. Oh my goodness, I just want to kiss on her all day long. That little face of hers. Gah.

We went and visited grandparents that day, and went trick or treating at the mall. Where are those photos you ask? Well, I only brought the Polaroid and my lens broke after the first photo I took. I was SO bummed but super thankful that I had taken these shots before leaving.

When we got home that night all prepped to make Jobb's cake, but he got sick...SUPER sick for a few days and we weren't able to make his 'cake' (really brownies that he chooses every year...) until a few days later.

Here he is feeling MUCH better and ready to blow out his seven candles:

Love you buddy. Hope this is one of your best years yet.

I know...

...I am a cracker jack blogger.

For that I apologize. It is THE busiest time of year for me. Fall = family photos for EVERYONE. It also is the beginning of the holiday season, which for the r house couture, means crazy orders and boutiques. (Which we love.) Did I mention we just celebrated our first birthday, the r house couture I mean? I didn't...well we did, and it is incredible.

But this post is not about that, it is about how I left you for an entire week with no new posts. Nothing new is really going on besides said busy-ness. I have been incredibly happy, incredibly busy, and trying with all of my might to keep these people from growing.

But alas, they don't listen to me. Just like my cravings for brownies COMPLETELY ignored me the past weekend. (I was doing SO good with my diet and exercise.) I feel so icky for eating them, but they tasted SO good. (I blame Aunt Flow, damn her.)

Anyway, enough of this MEZCLA of a cracker jack post for this cracker jack blogger. Come see me next Thursday in Draper mmmmmkkkk? The ladies and I will be having a boutique with our new lovlies. Designs only available at our boutiques this year.

(pssst. click to enlarge.)

Okay. Done. Next time you come it will be a lot better and I promise to not blog at 1 a.m. and to make sure I am well rested the night before I blog. Love you all. Really, I do. xoxo

First day of 1st Grade: A love letter to Joth

Dear Joth,

I have tears in my eyes just thinking about writing this. I don't want to call you J-Man on my blog anymore. You are my Joth, and my Joth you will always be.

It has been extremely bittersweet to see you enter first grade. I miss you so much everyday. Your sisters miss you. My heart is only gladdened by the fact that you are learning and that there is so much joy upon your returning home to us each day.

I LOVE this face on your first day of school:

I love your excitement. Especially your nervous excitement on this day. I could tell you were super happy about your teacher being your teacher. I could see you were a little nervous and unsure about going to school the entire day, and bringing a lunch, and trying to remember to bring your lunch box home each day. We are still about 50-50 on that one. :)

I think this photo of you with your teacher pretty much sums up your feelings on that morning.

I loved seeing your new big boy desk with the fresh box of crayons and new pencil.



And this face that looks almost like it might cry, but it is trying to be SO brave.



And I love how you always go for the blue crayon first. Blue is your favorite color and you always start with that when you draw or color.

I am so proud of you. Sometimes when I have the girls and I drop you off to walk to your line by yourself, I am pretty sure you don't realize I am still watching over you until your teacher comes to get you.

Yesterday, I stayed in my car and watched you help a little boy whose backpack fell down the steps. You ran and got it for him. And then again when a little girl in your class lost her flip flop down those same steps. Will you remember standing in that line, with the drop off and playing on the handrail? Will you remember helping those two kids without a thought or care in the world except that you saw a need and you fulfilled it?

I love you. This is who you are. Please always stay that way. Stay so kind, and loving and helpful. Continue to grow, but I beg you at the same time to always be my little boy.

I love you Joth.

Completely.

...and FOREVER.

xo

-Mom

Taekwondo Orange Belt Level 2 Testing

J-Man had the opportunity to test for his second level orange belt a few weeks ago. I am SO proud of the love and joy he has for Taekwondo.

He is always very serious, focused and attentive. His moves are strong. He is not a ship passing in the night, he is anchored and ready and fierce.

I love watching him! I can't wait for him to get his black belt (and neither can he!)

Love you J-Man. Keep it up!

McBloggled's

So many posts swimming in my head. The last two weeks have been painfully rough as far as the big "D" (depression) is concerned. I wish it wasn't so consuming and I could get my grip easier. Some days, like the weekend, were so great, so light, I felt like I could do ANYTHING! Then it is amazing to me that the next day I don't even want to crawl out of bed. Just wishing I had been home this weekend to clean up the mess that piled up while my niece and nephews were here (an entirely different post in itself.)

Well, the past two weeks, although a roller coaster "D" wise, has been fun watching J-Man move from Kindergarten, into the next stage of his life. The big boy stage. We got to go to his school while they did a little program. (Not a 'graduation' oh thank GOODNESS!) It was super adorable. How I love him. (Please don't tell him I may or may not love him more when he is on his regime of going to school daily, and on a regular schedule, because the past two days have been terrible! I know he misses his friends and school.)

Afterward, we celebrated at McDonald's. I am 99% sure that my kids hate the food. They beg me to go regardless of this fact. They want the toys of course. I don't blame them, on either regard.

Can you believe I fixed Memms hair? Me either. It was the one and only day she let me. She hates 'ponies' and I will be the first to admit she doesn't look like Memms without her normal doo.

Does anyone else find it ironic that the happy meal is called a happy meal, but my kids look awfully upset?

• How is your summer going?
• What are you doing to keep your kids entertained and yourselves sane?

Year End

It has been such a busy month for us. When I was younger, school ended in the beginning of June, and then we had three months to just play and be lazy until school started up again. Our elementary school here, the one J-Man goes to is year-round. Oh how I love and hate it all at once. He was in school until last Friday, with one more day this week. It has made the month of June slide by so quickly, and it seems summer is almost halfway gone already.

In May, Memms had her preschool program. She was so adorable singing with her classmates. Her SUPERB teacher made these adorable books for each student. Full of photos throughout the year, and special questionnaires about 'your mom' and things of that nature. It made me bawl my eyes out.

The same day, J-Man has his karate testing. He got his orange belt and was BEAMING. He loves karate. He is really, really good. He can't wait to get his black belt one day...and I know he will. That boy puts his mind to something and he runs with it until it is his! (Hopefully this fall when he takes piano, he will have the same gumption.)

I love these two little people. They are the sweetest, most obedient little things ever. They make me smile, they hug me and kiss me a million times a day. If I am leaving, they are always screaming, "Miss you! Love you! Bye! Miss you! Love you! Bye!" Then running a million miles an hour, come and wrap their arms around me and kiss me until I am out the door. Being a mom is the hardest, but one of the most fulfilling callings I have ever had.

The best thing? They genuinely love one another. I mean, REALLY love each other. I couldn't ask for anything more than that.

I am very proud of them. So very proud of them.

School Days: The Slob

My mind wandered a bit today as I thought about my oldest child's birthday in October.
He turns 7 this year.
His pants had a hole in the knee today.
I remember a lot of things about being 7.

I got my first 'real' bike on my birthday.
The Pink Schwinn.
The day after (I am not really sure if it was the day after for certain, but I remember it being almost the same day as my birthday) my parents told me that they were getting a divorce.
One more year and I would be baptized.
(Ironically, this is a photo of me in my baptism dress...purple. Pretty huh?)

I am not quite sure, but 7 is one of the birthdays that sticks out in my mind, where I grew from being a child, and carefree--to being not so much that way.

I want to make that different for my kids, but this post is not about that.
This post is about being 10.
Being 10 and getting called a 'slob'.
Being 10 and being called a 'slob' by your 4th grade teacher.

So, as I discussed earlier in this post, when I was 7, my parents split.
That left us with a single mother, who worked really hard for us.
We lived across the street from my Grandma and Grandpa.
There wasn't much money, and what little money we had was spent on necessities,
food, shelter, and clothing.
Many of my clothes came from Sears at the time.
My mother worked for a subsidiary of Sears, therefore she got a discount, and they had some sort of amazing children's clothing dealio (I think they still have it!).
Anyway,
In late spring that year, when the school year is getting close to being over,
(and school clothes are near being worn out...)
I went to Kmart with my grandma.
We were in the women's clothing section when I saw THE t-shirt.
It was pink.
It had a kitty on it.
I wanted it SO much!
It was a little big for me (of course) but they style back then was to wear the big tee and tie a knot in the bottom and wear leggings.
She bought it for me.
I was THRILLED.

I couldn't wait to wear it to school the next day.
I put it on, slipped on my black leggings (which had holes in the knees).
Tied the knot, and was off for the day.

I cannot remember how the conversation turned,
or what would possess my (male) teacher to say what he did to me that day.
(In an inner-city school none the less.)
But he did.
"You are such a slob."
Tears.
All because of my big pink kitty shirt and my holey black leggings.
I cried.
Hard.
I was embarrassed.
I know the other kids heard.
What an ass this guy was.
I knew it then, I know it now.

What I learned?
I will protect my kids to the moon and back.
Mean words hurt a lot from kids.
Those same mean words hurt a lot more coming from an adult.
If that man EVER crosses my path, I may punch him.
And that even through all of this, even though the memory still hurts, when I looked back at my 7 year old today, and he had a hole in the left knee of his pants, I let him go to school just like that, and I smiled.

Home Made Bump-its

Have you seen that commercial for bumpits?

Well, my kids have. And apparently they have seen it a lot.
I caught them the other day making home-made bumpits.
(I am not sure if I am more disturbed that bumpits is one word
(think bum-pits)
or just disturbed period?)

See for yourself:







I about died when my friend Jon saw these and was all, "Is that a bumpit?!"
Hilarity.
According to J-Dawg this was the "Hollywood Tall Bumpit".
After eating lunch in Provo last week, and I saw all the hair...I am wondering if Utah County is the number one buyer in the country of bumpits.
(love you Utah County!)

Still rolling.

Tell me YOUR bumpit story.

How big is YOUR heart? Guest Blogger: J-Dawg

I wanted to tell you a story about my Uncle Jason.

He was the same age as my mom.
I wish I had a picture of me with Jason.

He was born with a special heart.
He was born with Pulmonary Atresia.
That is a fancy way of saying that he was born with no pulmonary valve.
His artery was also not attached properly.
My grandma told me about it, but it is hard to understand.
She told me that they were using part of a pig's heart to help him to live a long and happy life. The reason I don't have a photo of me and Uncle Jason, is because he died during the operation. He was only one year old.

This week my school is doing a fundraiser for the
American Heart Association
to help kids who were born with special hearts like my Uncle.

My mom knows a lot of people with special hearts.

She was telling me that the AHA Research is responsible for so many things:

Heart Bypass
Heart Attack Recovery
Open Heart Surgery
High Cholesterol Medications
CPR
Automated External Defibrillators
New Heart Valves
Pacemakers
Heart Transplant

Will you help me raise $100 for the American Heart Association?

Click here to donate through my web page

If you do, it will help people like my friends:

Weston
Duston's wife
My Uncle Jason
My daddy's Uncle Mel who lived 10 more years because of a successful heart transplant

And many more!

Thanks a bunch...and I promise to jump really good.
I am practicing all the time.

Love,

J-Dawg

Fighting back the tears...

...of JOY.



So, yesterday was J-Man's FIRST official SEP.

Call it what you would like:
"Student Educational Plan"
"Parent Teacher Conference"

It is what it is.

Seeing how it was J-Man's first...that automatically means, it was also MY first (as a parent).

We got to the school, sat across from his teacher, and she just goes on and on at what a great boy J is.

How sweet he is.
How kind he is.
How SMART he is.
How helpful he is.
How loving he is.
How he helps her SO much.
How she rarely gives '5''s...but how he had almost ALL 5's

I did not doubt that he would be just as good at school as he is for me.
I had to try really hard to fight back the tears of joy that I felt for my little man.

He is a rock.

Upon leaving she told Jothan:

"Come around the table and give me a hug."

Which he did. She proceeded to whisper lots of things in his ear, finishing off with what I assume was the question:

"What do you want to be when you grow up?"

He promptly replied:

"A missionary."

First on his list. I don't know where he gets it.
The tears spilled over.

I love this little man.
So proud of the person he is becoming.

Alien Names

****If you weren't aware, Hubbs originates from the land of Brazil.
He came to the United States just shy of age 18.
This is important information to have upon reading this post.
Enjoy.***

A few weeks back, we were all driving in the car as a family.

We are conversing about names and whose dad is "Grandpa Fur-Face", and what is
his REAL name, and what is Grandma's name, etc...etc.

So I begin to tell J-dawg and Memms:

"Well, my mom's name is Mary.
her Husband is Joseph.

My dad's name is Don.
his wife's name is Tisha.

Grandma Lorraine's name is Lorraine.

Get it?"

To which J-Man promptly replies:

"Wow! At least they aren't alien names."

Me: "Alien Names?! What do you mean?"

J-Man: "You know Alien Names like: Flavio, Zuleide and Claudio."

The names of his dad, grandma and grandpa.

What I will or will not admit is that maybe just maybe I think they sound a bit alien too.
Hubbs just broke out into sheer laughter.

Needless to say upon further discussion,
(according to him mind you)
J-Man will under
no circumstances
be passing
along ANY of these family names to his children.

"Mom?"

"Did you just give Millz a bath?"

Me: "Ya sweetie, why?"

"'Cuz she smells like donuts."

Squish, squish, squish. I love him.

BTW Memms is guest posting today at the r house.

GO READ!

Baby 'Grande' and Toes are WAY more exciting than me.

When J-dawg was a little tiny man, he got this baby doll for Christmas.
(Incidentally she is like half the price now...geez.)

My hope in getting him his own little doll (and I am obviously using that term loosely) was to prepare him for the eventuality of a little brother or sister one day, hoping that it would ease the transition.

The problem? The first words out of his mouth the instant he held it were, and I quote:

"Ooooooh! Bebe muito grande!"

(said like gah-ran-jee)

Basically my tiny boy was telling me that this doll was TOO freaking huge for him to handle,
it was seriously SOOOO big!

So, the name stuck.
To this very day, having been played with by J-dawg, and Memms, and one day soon, Millz...this doll is still called,

"Baby Grande".

Meet Baby Grande...
who may or may not have once been a "boy" to ease Hubbs into the idea of his son having a doll...and who somehow has blossomed into a yellow polka dot wearing baby girl.
Who knew?

Note Millz with Baby Grande just this week.
Please consider that Millz is now three months old:

Hilariousness.

Do you see Millie in that last picture?
My other dilemma.

She is in LOVE with her feet.

She just discovered them.

While I dearly love her in every way possible,
as a mother, it is hard for me to accept that she no longer wants to look at my face,
and as a photographer she no longer eagerly looks at my camera either.

Instead she would rather look at her toes.
Another sign that she is getting bigger.
Pause while I shed a tear.

Just don't tell her that I love her toes as much as she does,
if. not. more.

Happy Halloween

...from my goblins to yours!