2009 Years Worth of Reflection...

I am a little early on it this year, but I have the time now and figured...well I better do it NOW!

Life is considerably busy right now in our household but Shon and I couldn't be happier. We asked for total chaos and got it. We haven't lost too much and we have been blessed with much!

We had prayed that 2009 would bring us some better days and we got them!

In February, despite my first case of bronchitis and a really bad allergic reaction to medication, we attempted to celebrate our 6 year wedding anniversary.

In March, as most of you know Shon and I were sealed in the Manti Temple.

In April, Shon was able to be apart of Ashton's baptism. We also celebrated Ashton's 8th birthday.

In June, we started preparing to be foster parents.

In October, Shon turned the BIG 3-0!

In November, my family came out for Thanksgiving.

In December, we were blessed with David and Jordan. We celebrated the best Christmas we have had with all of our kids home!


For 2010 Shon and I are hoping again for the best. For health, for a bigger home and most importantly...to be able to adopt David and Jordan and have them sealed to us! We hope and pray your families continue to have a safe holiday season and hears to a happy, safe and healthy 2010 from our family to yours!

Love,
The Frarys'

Christmas Morning with ALL ours boys...

It was a wonderful event this morning. We were able to have all the boys together to ope Christmas presents together. We recorded pretty much all of it.

**VIDEO IS CURRENTLY NOT WORKING. I WILL TRY TO GET IT UP ASAP!

After Openiing presents we always go over to someones house for breakfast. So this year we went to Shalynn and James' house to eat.

Feeding time can cause damage...BEWARE!

Jordan is quite the character...and if you can tell, he LOVES to eat! But it seems to take a lot of energy out of him! Enjoy these!

Christmas Angel

We can not even BEGIN to thank all of those who have donated time and effort for not just our very own foster children, not to all of the foster children in the state of Utah. Here is whom we know of, however there are many whom haven't been named of mentioned. We thank all of you from the deepest of our hearts:
Utah DCFS
The LDS Church (more particular the Relief Societies of Utah Stakes)
Utah Foster Care Foundation
Utah Christmas Box for Children
and last but not least my sister and her boyfriend!

Note, these pictures do not include what my sister has gotten them as we have already wrapped all of it and what we have purchased ourselves for the two boys alone.

Oh Christmas Tree, Oh Christmas Tree!!!

We finally decorated our Christmas tree! Although it is almost dead cause we were impatient and got it a little early this year, it still turned out to our liking! David was SO excited! And Jordan, well Jordan just wants to rip everything off of it, so we are trying to teach him better. LOL!

Head, shoulders, knees and toes...

Jordan has learned some of his body parts and I just thought this was cute...

Snow is falling...

Santa Clause is coming to town...

Kids are here!

David and Jordan have joined us in our home FINALLY! They were dropped off on Thursday morning and fastly made themselves very comfortable. We are taking our trip today to see Santa Clause. All 3 boys are excited! They have seen the present wrapped under the tree and you can just tell they are ready to get the show on the road! (Christmas that is). I will be posting many, many pictures! We are so happy and blessed they are with us. It was 6 months in the making and we are just glad they are here!

Teacher! Teacher!

Shon and I both have a new calling! We are now going to be teaching Sunday School to 11 and 12 year olds (I believe is the age group we will have). We are really excited, especially since we will still be able to go to Priesthood or Relief Society. And we really haven't had a chance to work with older kids, so this will be something very new to us and something we will be able to learn from. We love our time in Primary, but knew we needed something new. So this will be great as we certainly do love teaching the kids in our ward. We have an awesome ward and we love everyone!

Foster Care Update and More...

Kinda of a boring post, but I am getting lots of emails, texts, IM's from friends and family asking what the status is.
We FINALLY has our home inspection after rescheduling about 3-4 times. Everything went very well. There was nothing in the home we had to adjust or fix, other than a screen that was coming off the corner in the kids room. But a little tap back in to place and it was done.
We have been contacted by the attorney general's office for court hearings. We haven't been subpoened yet, but it could be coming.
We were hoping to get the boys before Thanksgiving, but it doesn't seem as though that will happen. We are planning on Christmas for sure though.

Ashton has been doing a lot better in school. He got his report card and is doing very well and has improved. He will be playing basketball after the holidays.

We are planning on Thanksgiving with a lot of family. My parents and sister are flying in for the holiday this year.

We are really excited for Christmas this year! we have high hopes for the boys being here and making it a great holiday for them.

We have started watching our collection of Christmas movies already!

Look to some pictures from Thanksgiving to be posted here next week!

Cristinaa

Here a pig, there a pig, everywhere a PIG PIG!

So us girls in the office FINALLY got our H1N1 shots! We have seen SO many people who have had it, thought they had it or are just plain scared of getting it.

So as a healthcare worker (note I am not licensed, but I have been in the biz for over 10 years now, I kinda know what I am doing) here are some things you should or shouldn't worry about to all my friends and family.

YES! You should get the H1N1 vaccine if offered. This is free of charge as the government has issued the vaccine this year. You may still be billed for the administration (i.e. the nurse giving you the shot, which is legal).

"I am throwing up! I have the Swine!" Uh--wrong-o! Like the seasonal flu, the swine flu has different symptoms and vomitting isn't necessarily one of them.

How can you prevent getting the Swine? Well, if we lived in a perfect world and if people stayed home when they were sick the virus wouldn't spread. Or if people didn't cough on others and coughed in their arm rather than their hand and then shaking a person's hand. Typical prevention would resolve this. Now I am not saying walk around with a mask on your face, but certainly be aware of your surroundings. Shon went to the store the other night and just drenched the shopping cart with sanitizer. All he got was funny looks. But atleast he knows the cart was clean!

If you think you have the H1N1, call your doctor to discuss your symptoms. Symptoms of the H1N1 could be a different viral infection.

If I get the H1N1, what do you do? STAY HOME! Lots of rest and push tons of fluids..mostly water.

There ya go. It's out there.

Love y'all!

Cristina

Bambi isn't dead....

So today was the end of the deer hunt. It lasted one week. And no deer. Yay for me! But boo for Shon. Ironically, each year we have been married he hasn't been able to shoot a deer. Maybe my praying that he doesn't bring one home is work! Just kidding honey! Shon enjoyed his time with his family and he took Ashton out with him for his first time observing the hunt. Ashton had a blast. I know Shon was able to take some pics, so I will try to get those up soon.

Shon is 30!!!

So, as we all know, I still have camera issues. Shon turned 30 years old on the 14th of this month! We kinda had a day planned, then it rained and I wound up having to work later...so we played games at his sister's house and hung out. Ashton and I were compiling a list of 30 reasons why we loved him. I had to stop at number 5 cause it was just too darn cute. You will see why.

Me: "Ashton, let's make a list of things we love about daddy!"
Ash: "ok, I can start. He hunts!"
Me: "ok, I have one. He loves his family with all his heart"
Ash: "Yeah...oh! He loves broccoli"
Me: "Yes, he sure does huh? But what else can you think of"
Ash: "He can work on cars."
Me: "ok"
Ash: "I love him cause I am his son".

Can you really go on after that? I can't...

So we can't really come up with 30 reasons cause there are things words can't describe. We love you Shon! Happy Birthday!

Warming the bench today, tomorrow the NFL...

Ashton is in his 4th year of playing flag football. His team name is the Steelers. He LOVES it. He gets upset when isn't the quarterback all the time. So we always have to tell him that a football TEAM consists of more than just the quarterback. But he always corrects us and tells us that the quarterback makes the most money. And....well we can't argue with that one!

From our neck of the woods...

Hello there family and friends! Just thought we would give y'all a little update before the chaos runs mad in our home.
First and foremost...we have the best family and friends one could ever ask for right now!
Shon's aunt in Ogden, Utah (about 2 hour drive north of us) had a bunk bed that we really needed. Well Shon's truck is dependable, but not 2 hour drive dependable! So Shon's uncle drove through that and picked up the bunkbed for us and delivered it right to our front door! It was totally cool! So that was a total blessing because we were totally stressing about it. The original plan was to drive up there, but we had to go get new tires on our car and that took longer than necessary so he just went up and did it for us! We love our Uncle Mikey!
Then....we had found a crib that we thought would be ok for our little 2 year old, but we really aren't sure how long he would last in there...if at all. So one of my friends sold me her toddler bed for super cheap and it is practically brand new! I love my friends!
There are still some little odds and ends things we need. And we still need to get some safety things like our first aid kits and another smoke detector. Our biggest thing is car seats. I am still working on that one!
Our caseworker was thinking the end of this month, but Shon and I have been so busy with classes, work and Ashton's football that WE are actually behind on schedule and not the state...imagine that!
A lot of our friends and family have asked us numerously if there is anything they can do...so we have created a little wish list...by all means, we aren't asking for these things, but to put some peace out there on those who keep asking, here it is:

1. Booster seat(high back-David is kinda petite) and a 5 point harness carseat
2. twin, full and toddler mattress sheets for boys (obviously).
3. clothes, clothes and more clothes...boys are messy...they can never have enough clothes!
4. sippy cups
5. any toddler toys...Ashton's toddler toys were given away, so we have very little.
6. first aid kits (3 total)
7. fire estinguisher (we need a specific one required by the state).
8. Plug in safe's....the little plastic things you put in your socket for little kids.
9. A lifetime supple of spray and wash (I am kinda kidding, but not really!) lol

Anywho, the sooner we get things taken care of on our end the better, so we are just chuggin a long trying to get the little things done to get it ready. Thank you all for your calls, emails, thoughts and prayers. We love you all!

Our new family picture!

So we were all up the canyon finishing off the summer season for BBQ's this past weekend and we all took some new pictures...thanks to family for posting these!

You might be a Frary...

1. If Ashton has started football season...you know it is fall at the Frarys'.
2. If Shon is yelling at the television watching sports (in particular-football) and the cops are call...you know it is fall at the Frarys'
3. If we are MIA (aka missing in action) on Friday nights because we are at a Pleasant Grove football game...you know it is fall at the Frarys'.
4. If Shon has all of his hunting gear ready (regardless that his deer hunt is over a MONTH away)...you know it is fall at the Frarys'.
5. If Shon has a beard growing out of control...you know it is fall at the Frarys'.
6. If Cristina is setting up decorations (usually more than Christmas decorations)...you know it is fall at the Frarys'.
7. If you constantly see all of us watching Hocus Pocus or It's the Great Pumpkin Charlie Brown...you know it is fall at the Frarys'.
8. If Cristina is insisting on getting pumpkin roll scent for the scentsy burner....you know it is fall at the Frarys'.
9. And the final reason you will know it is fall at the Frarys...when two little munchkins named David and Jorden are here so we can dress them up for Halloween!

Happy Fall!

Fall, fall, fall and more goods!

What a month! Just when you think you don't have ANYTHING to do...boom! It pops right out at you. Since the whole move thing didn't follow through we have been doing some major spring cleaning. Well I guess it should be called summer cleaning. We have gutted out old crap-for the most part...more stuff has gone to storage etc.

I am SO excited for fall! Ashton starts football. High school football has already started...and yes you guessed it....we are there cheering em on! Ashton loves his class and his teacher...so we are happy to have a good start there!

I am still trying to get use to the idea of possibly being a mom of 3, yes THREE boys! We drive up to Ogden on Thursday to sign some papers and get the paperwork ready. Fingers are crossed and we are doing some serious praying. I don't have the boys' room done yet...far from it! I am gonna be calling up my girls to get some estrogen relief!

Things are definate yet. But we are sure hoping it works out!

I am excited for the holidays. I reminded my girls at work yesterday that Christmas is 4 months away, so happy shoppin! They all hated me! LOL!

But I have my sister and mom and dad coming for Thanksgiving, so we are looking at quite a full house at the Frarys'!

So that is our little update! I think we might have some pictures soon, so check back!

So...

Yeah still no pictures. So sorry about this people! Little update. As many of you know we are NOT moving now. LONG story, but that is life! We are happy to be staying in our great ward that we are in now. We decided to work on getting the small things we want in our house, then maybe try again next year.

Ashton is getting ready to start 3rd grade! We can't believe it. He just finished with this seasons baseball, so next year he will be a little leager! He is growing up SO fast!

That is really about it on our little Frary side. We hope all of you are well!

Bad Mom Award

So I will admit it. We let Ashton go see Transformers with us. He had been bugging us ALL weekend! So I made him swear he wouldn't repeat anything in the movie...and if he did, he was grounded from all movies until he is 13! Ok, well we know I wasn't serious but Ashton thought we were and that is all that matters right? Anyways the movie was awesome and I am glad we saw it as a family.

Rambles...

Nothing much is really new in the Frary home. We are still working on our house and it is SLOWLY coming along. We were looking at the end of this month, but I am thinking mid August or even September. We have very little time with work, Ashton's baseball and just life in general.

So it finally feels like summer in Utah-literally. We have oh about 3 weeks of what felt like non-stop rain. Now we finally have hot weather, the fireworks are cracking in the middle of the night and we even got our very first tiger's blood today (that's a cherry hawaiian ice for those who don't know).

Now a little off the subject. I came across this talk a few weeks ago and I didn't think much of it. Then I had a friend post this on her blog and now I feel like I need to share this. Not to go all religious on our fellow bloggers, but this is so true and sometimes we just need to take a step back and remember this.

Joseph B. Wirthlin (whom I have quoted before) did this talk about how our Sundays will come. As we all know, Jesus was resurrected on Sunday-which was a joyful day. Friday before that was a deep dark day-as that was the day he died. Elder Wirthlin compares us as people having a Friday (bad, dark day)--yet our Sunday will come where there is peace, love and happiness.

I have inserted quite a bit of Elder Wirthlin's talk-and I am not sure anybody else could have said this better. I know now that maybe I should have read this talk a few weeks ago. But I am glad I have now. I hope you all enjoy.

"In the lonely hours I have spent a great deal of time thinking about eternal things. I have contemplated the comforting doctrines of eternal life.
During my life I have heard many sermons on the Resurrection. Like you, I can recite the events of that first Easter Sunday. I have marked in my scriptures passages regarding the Resurrection and have close at hand many of the key statements uttered by latter-day prophets on this subject.
We know what the Resurrection is—the reuniting of the spirit and body in its perfect form.1
President Joseph F. Smith said “that those from whom we have to part here, we will meet again and see as they are. We will meet the same identical being that we associated with here in the flesh.”2
President Spencer W. Kimball amplified this when he said, “I am sure that if we can imagine ourselves at our very best, physically, mentally, spiritually, that is the way we will come back.”3
When we are resurrected, “this mortal body is raised to an immortal body. … [We] can die no more.”4
Can you imagine that? Life at our prime? Never sick, never in pain, never burdened by the ills that so often beset us in mortality?
The Resurrection is at the core of our beliefs as Christians. Without it, our faith is meaningless. The Apostle Paul said, “If Christ be not risen, then is our preaching vain, and [our] faith is also vain.”5
In all the history of the world there have been many great and wise souls, many of whom claimed special knowledge of God. But when the Savior rose from the tomb, He did something no one had ever done. He did something no one else could do. He broke the bonds of death, not only for Himself but for all who have ever lived—the just and the unjust.6
When Christ rose from the grave, becoming the firstfruits of the Resurrection, He made that gift available to all. And with that sublime act, He softened the devastating, consuming sorrow that gnaws at the souls of those who have lost precious loved ones.
I think of how dark that Friday was when Christ was lifted up on the cross.
On that terrible Friday the earth shook and grew dark. Frightful storms lashed at the earth.
Those evil men who sought His life rejoiced. Now that Jesus was no more, surely those who followed Him would disperse. On that day they stood triumphant.
On that day the veil of the temple was rent in twain.
Mary Magdalene and Mary, the mother of Jesus, were both overcome with grief and despair. The superb man they had loved and honored hung lifeless upon the cross.
On that Friday the Apostles were devastated. Jesus, their Savior—the man who had walked on water and raised the dead—was Himself at the mercy of wicked men. They watched helplessly as He was overcome by His enemies.
On that Friday the Savior of mankind was humiliated and bruised, abused and reviled.
It was a Friday filled with devastating, consuming sorrow that gnawed at the souls of those who loved and honored the Son of God.
I think that of all the days since the beginning of this world’s history, that Friday was the darkest.
But the doom of that day did not endure.
The despair did not linger because on Sunday, the resurrected Lord burst the bonds of death. He ascended from the grave and appeared gloriously triumphant as the Savior of all mankind.
And in an instant the eyes that had been filled with ever-flowing tears dried. The lips that had whispered prayers of distress and grief now filled the air with wondrous praise, for Jesus the Christ, the Son of the living God, stood before them as the firstfruits of the Resurrection, the proof that death is merely the beginning of a new and wondrous existence.
Each of us will have our own Fridays—those days when the universe itself seems shattered and the shards of our world lie littered about us in pieces. We all will experience those broken times when it seems we can never be put together again. We will all have our Fridays.
But I testify to you in the name of the One who conquered death—Sunday will come. In the darkness of our sorrow, Sunday will come.
No matter our desperation, no matter our grief, Sunday will come. In this life or the next, Sunday will come.
I testify to you that the Resurrection is not a fable. We have the personal testimonies of those who saw Him. Thousands in the Old and New Worlds witnessed the risen Savior. They felt the wounds in His hands, feet, and side. They shed tears of unrestrained joy as they embraced Him.
After the Resurrection, the disciples became renewed. They traveled throughout the world proclaiming the glorious news of the gospel.
Had they chosen, they could have disappeared and returned to their former lives and occupations. In time, their association with Him would have been forgotten.
They could have denied the divinity of Christ. Yet they did not. In the face of danger, ridicule, and threat of death, they entered palaces, temples, and synagogues boldly proclaiming Jesus the Christ, the resurrected Son of the living God.
Many of them offered as a final testimony their own precious lives. They died as martyrs, the testimony of the risen Christ on their lips as they perished.
The Resurrection transformed the lives of those who witnessed it. Should it not transform ours?
We will all rise from the grave. And on that day my father will embrace my mother. On that day I will once again hold in my arms my beloved Elisa.
Because of the life and eternal sacrifice of the Savior of the world, we will be reunited with those we have cherished.
On that day we will know the love of our Heavenly Father. On that day we will rejoice that the Messiah overcame all that we could live forever.
Because of the sacred ordinances we receive in holy temples, our departure from this brief mortality cannot long separate relationships that have been fastened together with cords made of eternal ties.
It is my solemn testimony that death is not the end of existence. “If in this life only we have hope in Christ, we are of all men most miserable.”7 Because of the risen Christ, “death is swallowed up in victory.”8
Because of our beloved Redeemer, we can lift up our voices, even in the midst of our darkest Fridays, and proclaim, “O death, where is thy sting? O grave, where is thy victory?”9
When President Hinckley spoke of the terrible loneliness that comes to those who lose the ones they love, he also promised that in the quiet of the night a still, unheard voice whispers peace to our soul: “All is well.”
I am grateful beyond measure for the sublime true doctrines of the gospel and for the gift of the Holy Ghost, which has whispered to my soul the comforting and peaceful words promised by our beloved prophet."

The House Before...

Shon and I are crazy and we figure we don't have enough chaos in our lives, so why not add another project to the plate. This is the house we are moving in to once we get it all cleaned up and tidy. We are getting new carpet, new paint, new oven, tile in the bathroom (later on down the road-what we have now will do for a bit), the cooler needs replaced and so does the dishwasher. Plus there are piles of trash to be hauled off to the dump. Knobs need to be replaced or placed, there are a couple of new doors that need to be put in...and I am sure there is more I am missing. But it is a cute house and perfect for our first house ever. This is the video I shot today while Shon was mowing the yard. Again keep in mind...this is a before! I will be sure to post AFTER pictures.

Outside:

Inside:

Foster Mom and Foster Dad

So Shon and I met with our Foster Care rep last night. We were recommended and now we are just waiting to start the classes in July. We have a class every Monday and Wednesday night in July...in Spanish Fork. But apparently those classes are smaller than the ones in Orem, so that's ok. Once our classes are complete and we do our background check, we have our home study with DCFS. We have some things we need to do around the house, so looks like we will be homebodies for the next couple of weeks anyway.

Not much else to report. We are just plugging along loving life!

It's the middle of the night and blogging is what I do!

We all know by now that I tend to blog in the middle of the night, cause my mind just rambles away!

Anyways, I thought I would update you on the last couple of days. We decided NOT to move. As much as we wanted a larger home to do foster care in...we both got really bad feelings on moving right now. We want to get more things paid for, maybe attempt to save a little more and at that point maybe we could buy a home.

We are very comfortable with our surroundings now...and why fix something that isn't broke? So we are spring cleaning (or attempting to) and getting things put into storage, making everything look nice to get ready for foster care. Our rep comes on Wednesday to talk to us more about it.

Ashton had his first Scout Day Camp today--but was very upset when they all got rained out! :-( He was getting ready to do some canoeing when they called it off. He told me he was even in the water ready to go and they told him to stop. So he was pretty bummed. Now dad has to figure out how to get him in a canoe! He should be getting another merit badge the end of this month. I think he barely missed it last month, but that's ok.

This poor kids allergies are terrible! He swells like a balloon. We give him medicines, but he is kind of like I am. Even though you tell me it "shouldn't make you drowsy"--it does. So he either deals with it until he wants to go to sleep, or we have a grumpy child on our hands for a long time cause he is tired from the medicine.

I am still looking for the camera cord. I even bribed Shon the other day to find it. And although he did try, obviously as you can tell, he didn't find it.

We are excited for Manti in two weeks! We haven't been to the pageant in a couple of years and although we are going to miss Strawberry Days-Manti is a good substitute!

Happy House Hunting...and little updates

So we have decided house hunting totally sucks! We use to love looking at all these places and just being able to say "yup, we'll take it". Well, it seems like maybe more people are renting now? Instead of buying a home. So now...we have to submit an application and WAIT for them to call you! If they choose you! I think that is dumb! First come, first serve...then you're done folks! We found the CUTEST duplex in Pleasant Grove, right down the road from my work (I could walk to work) and it is on Shon's parents way to work, so they could carpool! It is kind of on a main road, but not SUPER crazy traffic. Anyways, it has a huge backyard, upstairs and downstairs with two bedrooms up stairs with a bathroom, kitchen, living room and all. Then downstairs has a huge bedroom that would be a play/guest room, with a set up to add drywall and make a fourth bedroom if we wanted. But we are talking major storage room downstairs! We don't have wierd neighbors or anything. I mean we are DYING for this place! Rent is decent and all. But of course...we have to wait for the call. Some of these people are up in the night! They want almost $2000 to move in to a townhome or duplex! Um...can you say mortgage?! We just need something with a little more room to move and grow in and isn't $500 more a month! But I guess we are asking too much!

Anyways, on to the more interesting things in life. I was told to now see one of the doctors at my Ob-Gyn's office because the nurse practitioner isn't sure what to do with me next. And they don't have a female doctor....eh.

Shon went in for his physical. He had some bloodwork done and is having an ultrasound done. So we are hoping everything comes back ok with that.

Schools out for the summer for Ashton. So he is way excited.

That about sums us up!

Memorial Day...

We like to think we are semi-patriotic to our country. We are so proud to be Americans and to have the rights and choices we have.

So...

Thank you to all those who are serving our country...friends, family, neighbors...

Little updates...

So I have been waiting for my camera cord to do some of these, but still can't find it...just like my cell phone. Lord help us! LOL!

Since our last update we have (deep breath in)...
Baptized Ashton (well Shon really), enjoyed a nice mother's day, done an EXTREME amount of yard work and gardening, made contact with the state of Utah to become the newest foster home, set up our DTV (are you dtv ready?), enjoyed a ward talent show (well, it was our old ward, but we still enjoyed it), signed Ashton up for his third year in baseball, fathers and sons camp out (again with the old ward), yours truly enjoyed a much needed night out with no husband or kid (no pun intended), attempted to buy a suburban from a friend-but the motor was dying so we gave it back, got a quad from that same friend (yes it works), signed up for a first aide class and slept..A LOT!

*Sigh* Hope you enjoyed life as much as we have these last two weeks!

New Calling? Not really...

So Shon and I started going to our own ward about two weeks ago. We met with our Bishop prior to going and he mentioned it was a small ward and everyone is utilized for some sort of calling.

So it isn't a surprise that the ward call us less than one week being in the ward and asked to meet up with us. Which as we all know if 95% of the time a calling.

We were primary teachers in our previous ward for over a year teaching 4 year old, then 5 and 6 year old children.

Our new calling...Primary. And the age group--6 and 7 year old children.

So, not only are we veterans to primary, we are veterans to the age group as well.

At first I was concerned at this calling because of my hormones being funny lately with the Clomid. And I really wanted to get the know my ward more.

However, Shon and I love the kids and we are excited to teach them the gospel. We have a couple of challenging boys...so candy and rewards are definately going to be good ammo for good behavior--or bribary!

Summa Feva!

We have summer fever really bad right now! Shon and I worked all day on getting our plans in a row. June is coming and we can't wait! We have Summerfest (Orem Days), Strawberry Days (Pleasant Grove Days), and Manti for the pageant all in a week's time! So we are planning it up to make it work this year! Before it was either/or, but not this year! We can't wait for some summer fun!

Pay It Forward...

So I was actually reading Ladies Home Journal and saw something to this idea and told Shon I would totally do some of those things--key word "some". But then I realized that defeated the purpose and I am suppose to do ALL of those things. So then I saw my friends Steph's post--thank goodness for blog stocking, he he. So here it goes. I would like to add a little disclaimer that I would like maybe 120 days rather than 90. I AM a busy woman! But I will shoot for 90 I promise!

Pay It Forward

The Rules:
1. Be one of the first THREE blogger's to leave a comment on this post, which then entitles you to a handmade item from me - something crafty or yummy, who knows?!

2. Winners must post this challenge on their blog, meaning that they will Pay It Forward, creating a handmade gift -anything!- for the first THREE blogger's who leave a comment on their post about this giveaway!

3. The gift that you send to your friends can be from any price range and you have 90 days to make/ship your item. This means you should be willing to maintain your blog at least until you receive your gift and have shipped your gifts. And, remember: It’s the Spirit and the Thought That Counts!

4. When you receive your gift, please feel free to blog about it, sharing appropriate pictures and comments! If you are not one of the Top Three Commenter's on this post, you can still play along. Go ahead and start your own Pay It Forward chain, and encourage your blogging friends to do the same!!

Good luck!

I have come to realize...

So we all know if life there are things that we really want and would probably do anything to get. But, I have recently decided the following things probably won't happen or I won't get...and I think at this point, I am ok with that.

I have come to realize...

...that I will never be a rich woman (although pretending is fun).
...I will be extremely blind without contacts or glasses the rest of my life.
...my house will NEVER be completely clean so long as Shon and Ashton live here. :-)
...even though I like to think so, Shon can not read my mind.
...money is the root to MANY problems (and I am not just talking about my own life).
...people will lie to you with a straight face.
...I can be very judgemental and that is bad.
...like it says on the side of the blog which I copied from a friend; there will always be someone who has something you want, but on the other hand, they could be thinking the same thing!
...I create way too many projects at one time.
...I MIGHT have a shopping problem when it comes to clothing.
...that one day my computer my crash on me and I have no clue as to how we can buy a new one or fix this one. So let's all pray that doesn't happen soon!
...I can be a little tempermental-but it takes a lot to get me there!
...sometimes it is just a "red-head" thing.
...that no matter what anyone else thinks or does, I am proud of Shon and I and the things we have done and accomplished!

That's My Boy!

So Ashton was just initiated into the Boyscouts about two weeks ago. When you enter into the Boyscouts you are a wolf. Well we just found out that he is already going to be a Bobcat which is the next level up! He has already done all of his duties as a Wolf! How cool is that?! We are so proud of him and can't wait for this weekend when he baptized! Good job Ashton!

Here they are-take two!

Cristina and Ashton...

Frarys and the kids...

P.S. So there are more pictures...but they need some editing!

Here they are!

This is one of the guys that started it all!
All the boys!

The Frarys!

Andrea and Bish Cook, Cristina, Shon, Bish Newcomb, Cheryl, Sis McQuade

Phew!

So I wasn't going to post this until we had the pictures, cause we all know pictures are better with posts, BUT I don't don't have them yet. We took a bunch, so keep checking back!
Anyways! This weekend was a blast and Shon and I are so blessed to have family and the many friends that we had to come out on both Friday and Saturday.

Let's start with Thursday--I know we all have good Bishop stories, but Shon and I would put money down that our Bishop is the best! Even though he isn't our Bishop anymore...but he is SO incredibly awesome with such a huge heart. And Andrea, his wife...omigosh! Love her to pieces, would do anything for that woman! I could just squeeze her! They bought ALL of our temple clothing, bag to put it all in, all the way down to our white socks! Shon and I are SO grateful to them! We love them so very much!

Friday was just as packed as Saturday. Shon and I got up, went to get my blood work done (see previous post), had breakfast out (even though we didn't eat much-nerve thing), had some errands to run, then came home and got ready to go to the Timpanogos Temple to receive our endowments. Thank you to Shon's aunt and uncle to escorted us and ALL the friends that were there! We couldn't believe how many of our good friends were there to support us during our Endowment session! It was wonderful! Afterwards, we were all starving! So we went to Los Hermanos with Jay, Debbie (Shon's uncle and aunt), Kellie and Schylar (cousins), Ashton of course, Shon's mom and dad and Shons's brother and wife.

Saturday we started at 5:30 a.m.---yes a.m.! We had to be in Manti BY 10:30 a.m.--we made if by like 2 seconds! Shon loves it when I curl my hair, which only takes about 2 hours to do...but I love him and he is stuck with me FOREVER, so I did it. Our Manti sealing was also packed with so many close friends and family! Thank you to all of you who showed up. It was so spiritual-and we couldn't have asked for a better Sealer! He was so awesome! We were so surprised at the support of some of our ward members who drove all the way down there. I am not sure there was a dry eye in that room! I love the Manti Temple. It has ALWAYS held a special place in our hearts. We always knew that was the temple we wanted to be sealed together in. The workers there were so sweet and I loved the bride's room! I was really having a hard time going by my maiden name for two days by the way! Everything said "Mays" for my maiden name. It was so awkward.

Shon and I are so happy. I didn't think we could be happier, but we are. It is such a great feeling to know you are sealed to your best friend for all time and eternity! He's stuck with me now! LOL!

Thank you Shon for loving me and waiting for me to find out for myself how I wanted our future to be. You truly saved me and I'm not sure where I would have been without you. I can't wait to return to the temple to seek answers about our children with you. I know I picked the best of the best when it came to you.

Now we have forever with eachother! I love you!

P.S. check back for pictures..and Shon made a slide show of a few years we have had together. I will try to post that too! He did a good job!

Lab work...

So I had my labwork done on Friday. I was able to call this morning and check in on it. Everything looked good, except I did NOT ovulate, which is the entire point of using the Clomid. So the dose will be raised again to 100 mg of Clomid this next month. I think I will move out for the week! Last time I was SO emotional with it and every little thing got to me. But hopefully it will work this time around! Cross your fingers!

Spring Fever

We have spring fever really bad! And we are suppose to get snow--AGAIN! I totally thought we were done with this white stuff! Anyone outside of Utah, feel free to share the sunshine! We really do like sunshine in Utah contrary to popular belief!

If you are being ignored, you may not be the only one...

Hi to our friends and family. This last few weeks and more weeks to come have been so incredibly crazy and busy! We are rarely home, and when we are it is because we are sleeping or getting ready to go to work-seriously! So we are so sorry we haven't returned calls or emails! It is late when we can get home. We love ya guys and I promise we'll call soon!

Guess Who's Turning Eight?!

Our little Ashton...well not so little anymore. Valarie from Forever Designs has impressed us againwith her artistic skills on making his invite. We are so excited for Ashton's big day--and so is he! He talks about it everytime we see him! We are so grateful for Ashton. He keeps up on our toes and we love it!

Infertility Update...

I went to the doctor last Tuesday actually, sorry for the delayed update. I just have to say I love the nurse practitioner that I see! She is honest and blunt and that is exactly what I need. Although she did call my fallopian tubes a crap shoot, so Iwasn't sure what to think about that!

Anyways, I started and finished another round of Clomid. I am still trying to stomach the Metformin (it makes you seriously feel like you have the stomach flu). She wanted to up my dosage on the Metformin but I had to tell her "no way"! We purchased an ovulation kit (where you pee on a stick to see when you are ovulating or when you will ovulate). So far--nothing. BUT it is still a little early.

I will do more blood work at the end of the month to make sure I did ovulate. If I did, great, Clomid worked, but no baby. Or Clomid worked and baby. Or it didn't work and we still just try again.

Invitations...

So Valarie with Forever Designs is awesome! Here are the two she designed for us! Y'all are just going to have to wait and see which one we chose...it'll be in the mail! :-)

Family Pictures!

We FINALLY took some new family pictures. It had been almost two years since our last one's...with the exception of some random ones last year. I posted some of them...we are working on taking some more. We were strapped for time and it was kinda cold, so we worked with what we had. Hope y'all enjoy! And thanks Shalynn for taking them for us!

Come What May and Love It...

Elder Wirthlin was by far was of my most favorite Apostles of the Church. I think mostly because he reminded me of my own grandfather. I am sad I didn't get to see much of Elder Wirthlin before he passed last year. However, the Church has a new area on YouTube that is Church approved, that has great videos and out-takes from conference and such. I came across this one by Elder Wirthlin of course.

It put so many things in place for me.

People will always have something you want--a better home, car, job, hair, body, kids, husband (or wife), etc. But Heavenly Father gave you specific blessings, whether you accept them or not, or much less--whether you recognize them or not. He endured much more than you and I ever have in this life. We exist on Earth to learn and to be like Him. We received daily trials to make ourselves that much better. Heavenly Father never promised it would be easy in this life and why should it be? That would make our time on Earth boring and we would never learn a thing.

He did promise that if we follow his commandments and do the things he wants us to do that we will have great blessings in store. I was once told by a good friend in our ward this: Read the scriptures and recognize the one line of Jesus asking us to follow a commandment. But then recognize the 4 or 5 lines after each commandment that are full and promised blessings...many blessings for following one simple commandment. How hard is that?

I know it is hard. We have agency and the advarsary that can change our minds and take over us very easily sometimes.

But I think we could all try harder. No one is perfect, that is why we are here. But we can all improve and that is all He wants us to do. Try...

So I hope you laugh the next time someone makes you mad, seek for the eternal, understand the principle of compensation, trust the Lord and come what may and love it.

Here is the link to the video--I hope you all go to watch it.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tVNYhcYEwIE

6 years and counting...

So on this day, 6 years ago, at about this time, Shon and I said "I do"!

What was I thinking?! Oh wait...I mean, what a great decision! :-)

We couldn't be happier...and we can't wait to see what's in store 6 more years from now!

Oh and in case anyone needed reminding...I won the cake fight hands down!

Loves!

Cristina

Just call me Ms. Pharmacy...

I rarely--seriously RARELY get sick. I get a little cold or sinus infection here or there, but nothing like the last couple of weeks. All the girls at work warned me this was my first year in a pediatrics office so I will get everything. Well I am in the back away from everyone doing my own thing so I didn't think it would be that bad!

Two weeks ago today I got a cough, which turned into bronchitis (never had in my life). So we started cough syrup and an antibiotic and even had a breathing treatment (another first).

So last week, as my cough was getting better, I finished my first dose of antibiotics. But, Wednesday I woke up with a major fever and a migraine. This all started with chills Tuesday night so I never slept. Fever topped off around 103 degrees. So of course I started rotating ibuprofen and tylenol, which didn't work, so I took a really cold bath--yeah that sucked!

So then I started having sinus issues after that, fever coming and going, nausea like no other and of course I am really tired cause I can't sleep. So Dr. Whiting, the doc I work for, prescribed me another dose of antibiotics as he doesn't really think my first dose cut to the chase for me.

Now I am left with a drug rash like no other all over my body! All I wanted was to just stop feeling icky and be able to sleep!

I think I got more than I bargained for...ah well, life goes on.

Spring Cleanin...

So we have been spring cleaning-slowly but surely since I have been sick for a week now. Our computer was kind of apart of the spring cleaning...here are some photos I came across while doing so. We have a fun, strange family...let me tell ya! I adore Shon when he picks his nose!

Shon hearts smoochy lips...so I did it.
Maybe his future is modeling? I will send this in as an application right away!

I think Shon was inpersonating the cat having to mark it's territory???

We lost a tooth!

Losing one of your front teeth is kind of a big deal when you are a kid. Ashton had been working on this tooth since Christmas! It finally came out...now he is working on the other side. Tooth Fairy gave him a whoppin $1 for this guy!

Excuse the blurry photo, I had to use my Palm over my camera cause someone stole my batteries...I think his name is Shon?

We Have a Date!

So March 28th is the date Shon and I have set to go through the Manti Temple. We are working on invitations now...so if I don't have your address, send it my way...they are bound to be the cutest ever!

Draper Temple

Shon and I had the opportunity to go to the Draper Temple last night. It was so beautiful and peaceful. Shon and I were so excited to see it inside!

Salt Lake Temple

Shon and I had to make a trip to Salt Lake for some business. We both noticed when we were done, the Temple was only about 5 minutes from where we were at. So, we decided to stroll through Temple Square.

What a peaceful place! We both had a terrible day (so far), and all it took was a little walk around Temple Square to feel the spirit and talk about our plans to FINALLY go to the Temple.

I am so grateful for Temple Square and just Temples in general. I am grateful we can go there to get peace of mind and answers to things that might be bothering us at the time.

Holy Cow!

What an up and down week this has been! Seriously! At one point we seriously thought Shon was out of a job, then the next minute we are being told they are trying to promote him! Phew!

We all know, and it isn't a secret that out economy is less....well, it sucks. So we weren't totally surprised when Shon had a huge meeting at work, and pretty much everyone had to be there for this mandatory TWO hour meeting about the company. Well I have been around the block a few times with large companies and this was NOT a good sign!

We heard all sorts a rumors. The worst of course was layoffs.

Well all they really are doing or not doing per say is:
No longer contributing to 401K (temporarily)
Bonuses will suck--big deal!
And all the big wigs get a pay cut--I am sure you all know, but of course Shon isn't a "big wig".

So yea! And a huge deep breathe!