Binky Boy

Somehow, Jacob managed to get his binky in his mouth sideways.

The Guys

I am officially the only girl in the family. With all these handsome guys, who can complain?

Jacob's Sealing

What a wonderful day--we were able to have Jacob sealed to us! It's such a neat thing--most people believe in "Families are Forever," but the gospel of Jesus Christ offers that promise and covenant in the temple. We let Adam choose the temple, and he picked Draper. We had a chance to go through this temple during the open house, before it was dedicated. Adam loved it. The picture I really wanted was of our family all dressed in white. Adam even wore a white tie. He looked so grown up! And Jacob was in the same outfit Adam wore to be sealed to us 5 years ago. This is a picture of the sealing room (I copied this picture from LDS.org, so I know it's okay to post it). It was so wonderful to be there surrounded by family. I missed having my mom and dad (they are on a mission in Africa), but as my mom pointed out, they are serving the Lord and our family will be blessed. Jacob is just one of the blessings that has come since they've been gone. Again, many of my siblings took off before the pictures, but here is about half of the group.

Jacob's blessing

We were very happy to be able to bless Jacob in church on March 28th. He was an angel, and the blessing was so sweet. Thank you to all the family who attended, we were grateful to have you there and enjoyed your visit! Here we are with Sam's mom and her husband Angus, and Sam's dad and his wife, Leslie. Adam was a little tired, and so he snuggled with his blue blankie. This is not his official blue blankie (which must stay at home), but his "traveling blue blankie." It was wonderful to have Jacob's birthmom, Savanna, along with her daughter Samara and her mom Moana. Her sister and brother-in-law came as well, but weren't able to stay for pictures. My family is also noticeably absent in the photos. In this case they had all returned to my house to make a family dinner. But this is not unusual--we don't have a single picture from our wedding with my siblings in it. Just not a picture taking family, I suppose. :)

This picture is a little blurry, but so cute!

The boys together!

And here is Jacob with Samara, his birth-sister. Aren't they cute?!?

Spiderman

Life is great when you have the coolest dad in the world who will transform you into Spiderman.

Adam plays Sakura

Adam's been taking lessons from Aunt Christie online (www.peerypiano.com) since January. Here's his first piece.

Goodbye, Old Friend

I've done it again, and hopefully this time it's forever. I've given up Diet Coke.

Let me give a little history here--I did not grow up drinking a lot of soda. At parties I chose Sprite or maybe Root Beer. I wasn't opposed to drinking Coke, but if I was going to have the caffeine I wanted the sugar too.

It wasn't until I married into Sam's family that I was seriously introduced to Diet Coke. These folks love their Diet Coke. It's like nectar. I often joke that they nurse their babies on one side, and give them Diet Coke for the other.

Diet Coke is a way of life. It's an entrenched part of the family culture. Sam's family is always a little shocked when they come over and we don't have a 12-pack chilling in the fridge. Over the years I've taken to drinking it--to the point that I needed a Diet Coke nearly every day.

Sam and I have given it up before (for a bet of $50--loser pays winner), and whenever I do I'm in for a week of crazy migraine headaches. But eventually I forget the pain. I'll be at a family event, feeling deprived since I'm the only one drinking water. And I give in. At first it's just recreational, but soon I need a DC at 5pm, just to get me to bedtime. Then I have a headache at 3pm, and so I run to the gas station. Soon I am having one for lunch, and when it gets really bad you find me filling a 32 ouncer after dropping Adam off to preschool.

This may seem crazy, but Diet Coke influenced what restaurants I would eat at. Sorry Subway, you serve Pepsi. So do most Arby's, Applebee's, and others. Sam and I also know which gas stations carry the best ice (pellet ice) and add ins (vanilla syrup, fresh limes and lemons). They had me at "Hello."

So, I've done it again--suffered through the week of horrible headaches, body aches, and overall feeling crappy and detoxed from Diet Coke. I had to take a nap nearly every day. But after 7-10 days, I really start feeling better. I have more energy--not just the crazy "push through" energy from Diet Coke. I sleep better, eat better--in fact I crave healthier foods.

And this time I'm determined it will be the last time. I am doing it on my own, regardless of the fact that Sam still enjoys the drink. I will not feel deprived. I will feel liberated. When I get tired, I will have a nap. When I have a headache, I will take other drugs, but rest assured it is NOT from caffeine withdrawal. When the weather is dark and the clouds are low, no matter how much it feels I cannot keep my eyes open, I will not turn to Diet Coke. Because, yes, I will feel better for a little while. But the temporary fix is not worth the price I will pay in the long run.

My new mantras:

"Diet coke will bring me nothing but pain."

"There is no room in my life for Diet Coke."

"Diet Coke, you are not my friend."