My Burdens & Joys

We were just messing around a few mornings ago with the camera and this is what we came up with. It is near impossible for me to get them all looking and smiling at the same time....this one works.

Cole loves Morgan....and she really gets a kick out of him. (When he is not squishing her!)

My little Carson. He has been my mellow, easy going little guy for so long. We are now entering in a new stage with him. He is defiantly changing. Yesterday he told me in his mean little kid voice that he was going to go be smart. I wish I could convey in writing the tone and his little look when he said it. He meant it to be mean and hurtful but I found it quite comical. He also likes to tell me when he is mad that he doesn't like me.

Cole had a good one the other day too. I have never been called an old creep before and I have to admit I was really offended. Cole got mad and he said "you're an old creep mom". Don't ask me where he picked that one up from but number one, I don't like being called old and two, I am not creepy.

Now on to the sweet thing that can't talk back yet! She is doing wonderful. It is so different having a girl. I am so thankful I have her. She brings so much joy to us all. She is 5 months in these pictures.

Our Valentines

Yes, we went shooting on our special day. Mike loves to teach me about this kind of stuff and I really don't mind learning. I think it is a good skill to know.


Our day was spent doing some chores around the house till noon. Then we went shooting for awhile and then off to Reno with the kids. It was really neat day...we went to the planetarium and checked out all the cool stuff they had on display. I think the boys enjoyed it.


I just want the kids to be exposed to a variety of things to make their world seem exciting. They say when they are little is the best time to introduce them to all sorts of things. I hope they had fun and learned something new.

To Which Do I Choose: Panic or Peace?

I love this country and I love the freedoms we enjoy. I love learning about how this country came to be and how God's hand was so evident in its birth. George Washington said this of God's hand in the matter.


"I am sure there never was a people, who had more reason to acknowledge a divine interposition in their affairs, than those of the United States; and I should be pained to believe, that they have forgotten that agency, which was so often manifested during our revolution, or that they failed to consider the omnipotence of that God, who is alone able to protect them."

So it is with this perspective I will look at the transpiring events of the day. The stimulus bill has passed and we don't know what is in the 1,071 pages of this socialistic bill. I have heard of many disheartening things that make me what to panic and head for the hills, so to speak... but I know where to turn for peace.

Part of me wants to put all the blame on politicians and greedy men and women who seek for gain, but I think that all the blame on them alone would be unjust. I think some needs to fall on us...all of us, for letting principals of righteousness fall by the wayside. For not standing up for honesty and integrity. I think now is the time to turn back to those principals. Benjamin Franklin said that only a "virtuous people are capable of freedom. As nations become corrupt and vicious, they have more need of masters." And we have plenty of people right now wanting to be our masters. And plenty of people without virtue.

I guess I need to get to the point of the matter. I feel we are on the fast track to some pretty ugly times. I feel that I have two options with the way things are going. I can choose panic and take a negative stance on the world and get stressed out about things that are, for the most part, out of my control or I can choose peace. With the later choice I mean to turn to God in prayer and ask for the Holy Ghost to be with me.

Last year I put more emphasis on temporal preparedness, this year I want to put more on spiritual. I am happy to report that my study on recognizing the Holy Ghost more in my life is paying off. When I have that thrid member of the Godhead with me things don't bring me down and I am able to stay positive even with bad news.

So in conclusion I choose peace. I choose to focus my thoughts on the positive in life right now. And that does not mean turning a blind eye on what is going on out there in the world. It means staying informed

and active in my community and keeping it in the right perspective and remembering who is really running this show...and it’s not the crack pots in Washington or anyone else who has a corrupt agenda. Last quote by John Adams:

"Our Constitution was made only for a moral and religious people. It is wholly inadequate to the government of any other."

Carson City Museum Play Day

So this past Saturday was family day (we are trying to keep up with some New Year goals) and Michael thought it would be fun to take us to Carson City to the children's museum there. So we drove the 45 minutes and had a good time. It was not what I thought it was going to be but the boys had a blast and that is the point.

Carson, in this first picture is at a train demo/ride. This is what was most interesting to him. They had little play rooms set up. There was a jail house, doctors office, bank, grocery store and more. Carson looks pretty offical at his desk while on the phone.

Cole really got into it while he was there. He loved playing in the grocery store and being dressed up like a doctor. I really learn a lot about my kids while watching them at play. They are really funny to listen to.

And of course here is a family shot of us all. It was a good time had by all. Even Morgan I think had a good time while we were there. We stayed for almost two hours. This is something we will have to do again as a family.

We have to do something!

There are many things that I don’t understand but I do understand one thing right now. .. our country is headed down the wrong road….a really bad road that I don’t think it can come back from. We are in a financial meltdown right now and our government thinks that spending another almost trillion dollars is going to help. Their 800 billion dollar “stimulus”/”bailout” package here a few months ago didn’t help. They told us that the sky was going to fall on us if it didn’t pass. Well, it passed after being forced through both houses and the funny thing is…… it did nothing! And the really funny part, actually it is not funny at all its infuriating, is they didn’t even spend it on what they said they were going to spend it on.

I don’t know a ton about economics but I can say that it’s not working. And now our new President wants to spend another almost trillion in another “stimulus” plan. Either everybody that is for this deal is crazy or I am a complete idiot. Are they trying to ruin us?

And what are our elected officials doing up there? Aren’t they supposed to be working for us…listening to us? Are they so selfish to think only of lining their and their special interest group’s pockets with this stimulus money before the good of the country?

I have wanted to use this blog for family history and such but I stray from that in this post. I want all and any who read this to contact their elected officials (right now) at http://www.usa.gov/Contact/Elected.shtml and let them know where you stand. Tell them you don’t want a government bailout. You want a free market economy not a socialist run government. And you don’t want them spending your money #1 and #2 there is no money to spend anyway. We are the people and we need to let them hear from us!

I love my country and I love the freedoms that I have. I do not want to lose them.

Morgan's First Four Months

It is absolutely amazing to me how fast they grow. Here she is only a few days old. My little newborn! I think it has been such a joy with her because she came to me at a good time in my life.

Cole he was my first, so I had all sorts of anxieties of whether I was doing this or that the right way and whether I was accidentally going to break him. (I had zero experience with kids before Cole.) So his baby days I was somewhat anxious all the time. And sweet little Carson was a Big surprise. I got pregnant with him when Cole was 10 months. So Carson's baby days I had to share because Cole was still a baby.

With Morgan I had no worries... this was my third round and I felt good about the space between her and Carson and confidant in my ablities to take care of her.

This is when she was one month old. The days of sleeping all the time, only to wake up to eat. I am thankful that babies do that. It makes the transition smoother to me.

Here she is at two months. This is a special picture because this is her blessing day. Michael gave her a beautiful blessing that day. I could not have asked for a better one. Her Grandma Pressley bought her blessing dress, which she looked so precious in.

I love this one. Three months old and developing lots of personality.

And this is her currently....4 months old. We moved her to her own room now and I am only getting up with her 1 - 2 times a night. I look back on the last four months and see how they have flown. I am happy kids grow up but I hope I can be one that lives in the moment and enjoy them for where they are at. For I know soon I will look back with longing and wish for days that are past. But I hope when I do that I don't do it with regret. So maybe I should implement some prevenative measures of a little less yelling and ordering them about and more playtime and laughter.

Tribute to Carson

This is Carson on his 3rd birthday. Holding one of the things he loves dearly....a Thomas the train. He loves to pack around his trains and cars and tracks in a little brief case and set up shop where ever he is. If you look closely in the picture you see he has a scratch under his eye. (I'm so thankful it didn't touch his eye.) Surprisingly, this is not a war wound inflicted by his brother. This was something he did all on his own.

Carson has always been a little more accident prone than Cole. Even when Carson was little he was always hitting his head on something. He's a little toughie though.

Here is Carson with his cousin Maddox and Cole. Carson and Maddy get along okay. Granted they don't spend a lot of time together because of distance but it was interesting to see how they played together. I think Cole and Maddy get along better than Carson and Maddy. What do you think Cass?

Carson has always been sensitive and gentle. However, I see the gentleness fading a little as he is getting older. He likes to wrestle with his brother now that he can hold his own. And instead of him getting picked on all the time by Cole, its starting to be the other way around.

Here is a picture of us bowling a few months back with some of the boy's friends. It was fun to get together with our friends and all bowl together. Well, the kids bowled and us mothers "tried" to visit amongst the mayhem.

Carson loves to play with his friends. Some of them are Olivia, Felicity, Drew, TJ and all the other kids in nursery with him. In fact, I just asked him who are his friends and he named Maddy, Megan, Kylie, and Ashley too. He loves his cousins.

This is the boys on Christmas Eve in their new PJ's. I think they had a great Christmas. We didn't go crazy but it was still really nice. Carson is really in the habit of getting in these funny poses when its time for pictures.

It is so fun and scary for me to watch him grow. Fun, in that I get to relive through him (and Cole) what it was like to be little again. Its the little things that excite him and that's a good reminder to me. Plus, all the crazy stuff they say because they really don't know any better. When I am not mad at him I can actually laugh at it.

Scary to watch him grow because he is growing up really fast. Scary because I have to teach him so much before he is out of my care. Scary because one day he won't be little and will move away.

But for now he is still my little Carsonator and I love him very much. I am so proud of the little boy he is and look forward to watching him turn into a young man.