The Jeppesen Five

Oh Look! I Do have a Blog

2012-01-31T17:17:00.001-07:00

I have so many half started posts in my head and finally just sat down to actually get them out. We had a great New Year's and we started a new tradition. We are going to pick a country and celebrate their time and the country. This year we celebrated Brazil. We ate Cafe Rio, made Brazillian Lemonade and said "Feliz Ano Novo" at 7 pm our time. Then we were all asleep on our regular schedule. I love it and next year we are celebrating Vietnam at 10 am.

We are really busy these days. Anikka is doing swim lessons daily and that is getting tedious. I love them and they are so good but it is a lot of time. Ben will start them next. I am getting anxious to move just because I don't know how to live in any one place for very long. The longest I have ever lived in one place is four years. We are closing in on three years here. There are no plans to move at all and I am trying to be patient and learn to stay in one place. It just isn't time to even look.
So to summerize our life right now. School is Good, Church is Great, Life is tedious and good, often at the same time.

The End of the Year

2011-12-11T15:29:00.005-07:00

I always get a little sentimental at the end of the year and feel the need to write up a Christmas newsletter. It helps me to be more mindful of the good times and blessings of the year.

Ryan: Ryan has had a very eventful year. He became a High Priest in March and changed jobs in May. He loves his job. He really enjoys working for a Medical Company. Something about doing good in the world, and something about not having to be in touch with his feminine side. No more crafts and no more pink. Ryan has been traveling more the last half of the year. He likes it but I really miss him. Ryan got a new calling today. He moved from being the Ward Mission Leader to the 1st assistant in the High Priest Group. We will have to wait and see what the new calling entails. My guess is busier Sunday's and less busy Thursdays'. Ryan is still an amazing artist and creative guy. He is the coolest one in the family which is evident in the fact that everyone wants to sit by or on him at Church.

Brooke: One thing I've learned over the past year is that life has a way of getting busy. I guess chasing around 4 growing kids will do that to you. I love to spend time travelling with my family. We got to do a few more road trips this year and I loved every minute of it. Sometimes I feel that I struggle to find my own identity in the middle of raising a family... but I wouldn't trade it for anything. I love to see my kids grow and to see each of their personalities develop in their own independent way.

Anikka: Anikka is growing up a little bit each day. She is starting to develop opinions in everything. It has been great to watch. She is in 5th grade and doing very well. She has been getting straight A's. She did a sports camp over the summer and really enjoyed volleyball and tennis. She also played flute this semester and while she had fun, she is ready to move on to the next thing. She continues to be the best big sister that three little boys could have.

Bennett: Ben is such an obedient child. If we say "kids go get in the car," He is the first one there. Ben is developing his drawing this year. He is also a very visual learner. His report cards have been stellar! He is reading very well and loves math. He is even showing off his multiplication skills to his 1st grade class. Ben played tackle football this year. He had an okay time but really loved being a part of a team. We loved watching him.

McKay: Mac has been so funny this year. He just wants to have fun. He is in preschool and really loves it. He likes super heroes right now especially Captain America. He gets really excited about all things. On Christmas morning we came downstairs and Mac ran straight to Ryker's pile and said "Wow, look at what I got!" We said Mac that is not your pile, yours is over here. He turned to his pile and said "Wow, look at what I got!" He was just happy to get something. Mac has Charisma and we just love him.

Ryker: Ike really keeps me on my toes. He is such a Momma's boy and I am not really discouraging it. He loves to cuddle with me and will not stay in Nursery. We have not tried very hard to get him to stay. He is our last baby and it really is bitter sweet to watch him grow. He is into everything and is very stubborn. He loves Anikka, Ben, and Mac so much and loves to yell their names when ever he can. He speaks very well for a boy and is so good in the car which is such a great thing since we are in the car a lot. Our lives are totally complete with him in them.

I Would Be Happiest...

2011-11-19T15:29:00.002-07:00

I am trying not to have this blog be all about Mac but he is just so funny right now. On the way home from Preschool the other day he started telling me that I "built him human." I told that I did build him human as he grew in my body. Then he proceeded to tell me the story of how we really got him. "You [Mom] went to a group of Monkeys and asked them if there was a baby monkey that you could have and they gave you me. Then you took me and built me to be human. And I am Wolverine too. I was a Wolverine Monkey and then you built me human. And you know what Mom, I would be happiest if you just took me back there." Can you tell that he recently watched "Tarzan"? He has got the most amazing imagination. I am just hoping that he will someday like his own name and want to be called be it.

We had to quickly do our entire month of thankful pennies so we could give them to our primary for the deadline of Pennies by the Inch fundraiser. So we just wrote down and counted all the things that we were thankful for for the whole month. Here is our list.
11th 13 for our 13 years of marriage
12th 10 for tithing
13th 10 for the years we have had Anikka
14th 7 for the years we have had Ben
15th 4 for the years we have had Mac
16th 1 for Ike
17th 3 for our Bishopric
18th 12 for the Prophet and Apostles
19th 9 for all of our Primary Teachers
20th 4 for our Home Teachers and Visiting Teachers
21st 10 for our copies of the scriptures
22nd 0 no debt on Ryan's car and Credit Cards
23rd 13 for the Articles of Faith
24th 2 for our Cats
25th 2 for Ryan's jobs
26th 12 rooms of our house
27th 2 for Food and Water
28th 12 years of the kids education so far
29th 2 for the Doctors we know
30th 6 for our Modern Conveniences
The grand total of our thankful pennies was 382. It doesn't seem like that much when you put the decimal in the right place, $3.82. It was really fun and the kids loved it. I think it will be a great thing to do every year.

More Thanks

2011-11-10T16:41:00.002-07:00

Yesterday I was rear-ended. It wasn't very fun but with all the really nice people that I have been dealing with it has just become a minor inconvenience. It was just Ike and me in the car and we are both totally fine. I am thankful for nice people and safety.
On Saturday we were thankful for Grandparents so we put in 4 pennies. On Sunday we were thankful for all of our aunts and uncles and we put 15 pennies into the jar. On Monday were we thankful for our cousins and we put 15 pennies in the jar. On Tuesday Ryan said he was thankful for water, gas, electricity, TV, Internet, and garbage pick-up so we put in 6 pennies. On Wednesday, Ben said that he was thankful for Temples so we put in 135 pennies and nickles. (Cool, huh! 135 and that does not include the 15 under construction or the 16 just announced). Today we put in 2 pennies because we are thankful for our cars. I sure am liking this penny jar. It is so visually cool to see all the things that we are thankful for.

Mac = Big

2011-11-04T10:29:00.002-06:00

Mac has a huge personality and he often over shadows everyone else in the family. Especially quiet and obedient Ben. He is big fun and also big trouble. We are trying a few new discipline tactics around our house. One is the Repenting Bench. It is a gospel centered time out. When they sit on the bench they are to think about what they did wrong, say sorry and then ask for forgiveness. Mac spent a lot of the time on the Repenting Bench the other day. That night when it was time to report and say good night to Dad who is in Chicago this week, Mac told him that "Today was the happiest day of my life because I love the Repenting Bench!" Ryan couldn't help but laugh. We have a long road ahead of learning to balance him and the rest of our children.

Today we were thankful for our eyes and we put 12 pennies in the jar.

Stealing Thankfulness

2011-11-03T09:02:00.002-06:00

Well we are hanging in here. Life is rough and good too. I have had more down days than up over the past year. I am just dwelling on the negative and thinking mostly about myself. I am wallowing and I would like some sympathy for it too! So in trying to act like I am a happy, thoughtful person until I become it (fake it til you make it), I am stealing a super great idea from one of the great blogs that I read. My friend Beth's blog vermillionrules.blogspot.com is so great and she is the most service oriented person I know. She is so kind and thinking of others all the time. Every day in November she and her family are counting things that they are thankful for and putting that amount of pennies in a jar. The jar will then be donated to a charity at the end of the month. The other day they counted shoes. I love this idea and I am so totally stealing it. On the first day of November we put in six pennies for every person in our family. Yesterday Mac said he was thankful for God. We put in 3 pennies for Heavenly Father, Jesus, and the Holy Ghost. Today Ben said he was thankful for our country. We put in 50 pennies. I am excited to see how this evolves. I am very thankful to others for their great ideas.

The 2nd Bi-Annual "Steak" Conference

2011-09-13T15:30:00.002-06:00

Steak Conference was semi successful this year. The Steaks were awesome,thus the success, the children were less than reverent, thus the semi. Ryan and I spent most of the time in the hall with the two youngest who did not want to sit in the dark watching the TV screen speakers. On the plus side at home that evening Mac informed us that he is "The Strongest Man in the World." We laughed a little bit and said "Oh Yeah" He said " Yes, cause I hurt Dad." I guess that Ryan used to be the strongest man in the world until Mac bent back his fingers (during Stake Conference) til they hurt. Ryan has lost his title to the 4-year-old. He will try to earn it back soon. We wish him luck, maybe he can have some of mine!

My Lucky Streak Continues

2011-09-13T15:20:00.002-06:00

I have considered myself to be lucky. When I was a kid I won a week's free lessons to a Karate studio. That is when I started thinking that I was a lucky person. Today I won a $25 Gap gift card. I am pretty excited. When your a Mom it is really the small things that make your day. In the past I have won $50 from a weekly drawing, a sweet Breville panini grill (that is probably the largest thing that I have ever won), I have won a gift certificate at the school book fair and a gorgeous baby quilt from a drawing. But probably that luckiest I have ever been was when I met and married my husband. I feel so lucky and blessed to be married to him.

The Things Mac Says and The Rest Of Us

2011-09-08T14:57:00.003-06:00

Oh my little Mac. He is just a force of nature. The other day he and Ike and I were in Mac's room and he turned to me and said "Mom, are you keeping Ryker?" I swallowed my guffaw and said "Yes." Then he looked very sad and said "Then how am I going to be the baby?" It is very funny that after 15 months he still had doubts over whether we were going to keep one of our children.
Mac has started preschool. It was very fun for me to see him be a little bit nervous. That is an emotion that I rarely see in him. He said that he would miss me. I love him! When school was over I asked him if he had a good day and he said "yes I got gummy bears and popcorn!" I asked if he learned anything and he told me no. I said "Did you listen to your teachers?" He said "Yes, when we said more popcorn, more popcorn, she told us to stop and we did." I am glad that he listens.
Ben and Anikka started school and we have officially become a busy family. It has been a little hard to find time to read the scriptures together, we had to move from right before bed time to early morning, I have never wanted to move it to morning but that is the best time. What we do for the benefit of our children. Ben has started Football, which is really time consuming for both him and Ryan who is helping as an assistant coach. Anikka started band and is learning to play the flute. She seems to really like it. But now there is a 45 min. window to make and eat dinner between picking Anikka up from band and seeing Ryan and Ben off to football practice on Tuesday's and Thursday's. It is busy and it is only going to get worse over the years! It is a really good thing that Ike is so good in the car because he is going to have many, many car trips over the years.

Ben's Birthday

2011-07-27T14:38:00.002-06:00

Bennett turned 7 on July 19th. I am so proud of my browned-eyed boy. He is so interesting to watch. He is a rule lover and really wound tight. He got that from me. He wanted a Pirates of the Carribean cake, and Dad really came through. Ben started football recently and I could not be happier. I love football! I really hope that he loves it too. Ben has learned to watch out for his two little brothers and he is the first one to help set up chairs when we get to Church. He is such a good boy. He played T-ball this spring and he was the kid that was always two steps behind the Coach and listening to what he said. Ben really knows how to follow directions. Ben also has epic tantrums. He is trying to work on controlling his temper, it is a learning process. I took Ben shopping for school clothes and he really didn't know what to do with himself as the center of attention. It was quite funny. We really love our sweet, obedient child!

What Do You Do In The Summertime?

2011-07-05T17:30:00.002-06:00

Well, I have not been blogging. We have not really been on the computer at all. June was a good month. We celebrated Anikka's 10th birthday and our 13th wedding anniversary. Anikka is just learning to enjoy going shopping and out to dinner for her birthday. We had fun. I appreciate her so much. She is the best big sister and so not shy. She is really good at public speaking and still bears her testimony on a regular basis. She is the first to volunteer for anything and is really an independant person. She was able to stay with her sweet Aunt and Uncle for five days, to help out. She had the best time and was not homesick at all.

The 26th was our Anniversary. I am still very much in love with my husband and could not ask for a better man. He is so thoughtful and dependable. He takes such great care of us. He is enjoying his new job quite a bit. He is having fun and still misses working full time for the old bosses. When I asked him what was different about the new place he responded with, "Well, there is a lot more swearing now." It was a good move for our family and I hope provides a good future too.

Ryker's Birthday

2011-05-31T09:24:00.002-06:00

It is still fine if I do a post in the month of his birthday, right? Ike turned 1. It is really a weird feeling to have my baby grow so fast. Each kid grows faster than the one before them did. His birthday was May 9th and we made him a cake. He recieved a new outfit and one new toy. He is the third boy so we have plenty of toys. He speaks really well for a boy. His very first word was mama but he has since expanded his vocabulary to include: bath, bye-bye, dada now daddy, go, he will even say go bye-bye. So maybe that is his first sentence. He is walking pretty well now. He took his first steps shortly after turning 11 months. He has the cheese face down and can yell his displeasure well. He loves to watch Mac and go outside to play with the big kids. Anikka and Ben love him so much and help him and me with anything. Mac also loves him and wants to tackle him regularly. I really like that his birthday is two days before mine. I also had a good birthday and Mother's day. For Mother's day Ryan bought me flowers and nice european chocolate. and for my birthday Ryan and I went out to dinner at the Blue Boar Inn in Midway. It was really fun and thanks to my sweet sister-in-law it was kid-less and quiet. We are really grateful to have such a sweet little boy to be the baby in the family.

Mac's Birthday

2011-05-02T13:06:00.002-06:00

My little ball of fire turned 4 on April 30th. He is so busy and into everything. Over the last year he has earned the nickname of Mac the Destroyer for obvious reasons. The kid just enjoys being destructive. We made up a little story for him in an effort to teach him to be nice. It goes like this.
Once upon a time there was a little boy named Mac the Destroyer. He was a special little boy. He good bounce off the walls. He could talk his Mom's ear off. He could knock down buildings with the sweep of his arm. One day Mac the Destroyer slowed down long enough to notice something. He noticed that everyone around him was sad. When he asked why they were sad they told him it was because he broke their things. Mac the Destroyer did not want others to be sad so he promised to stop destroying things and use his powers only for good. He learned to help others and be kind to their things and soon they changed his name to The Amazing Mac.
He likes his story and I can only hope that he catches on to the moral of the story soon. We had a good family birthday party for him. He requested a lava cake so Ryan and I put forth some of our best efforts and tried to make a volcano cake with red lava icing spurting from it. Not the best looking cake ever but it really did taste good and that is really what counts. Mac is so stinking cute and really funny. He is also very polite and is quickly learning the power of words. Like if you say something nice it sure gets you far. We are so grateful to have our sweet white-haired little boy in our family.

"Steak" Conference

2011-02-20T14:33:00.001-07:00

Last year around the Holidays, Ryan commented that there really needs to be a holiday that celebrates steak. So we spent the remainder of our drive discussing when would be a good holiday in which we eat steak. We decided that Stake Conference is just the time and place to celebrate. We had a very special Stake Conference today. Ryan was Sustained to be advanced to the office of a High Priest. Ryan said that all this means is that he will have to be really good at doing his home teaching from now on. I sure love him. He is so great and special and he is really humble. I think this is the perfect Sunday to start our new tradition of Steak Conference.

When I Cry, I Get Little

2011-01-10T15:01:00.002-07:00

Mac is going up a lot lately but he still reminds me on occasion that he is still my little boy. One morning Mac put on his socks and shoes all by himself and I was very impressed. Later that afternoon, the boys were fighting and Mac ended up crying. As is often the case when they fight I think it is because they don't have anything to do so I give them something to do. I told Mac to go and get his shoes on because we needed to leave shortly. He brings me his shoes while still whimpering a little bit. I said "Hey I thought you could put on your shoes all by yourself?" He answered "I can't, when I cry I get little." Me too Buddy!

Today, He was telling Ryan that he only likes Ben, Mac, Ryker and awesome Dads'. He does not like Mom or Anikka because we are girls and he does not like girls. He just likes boys. He is really into the boy vs. girl thing. Anikka and Ben were not into the boy vs. girl thing nearly as much. Here is to hoping that he learns to like his Mom and sister because we are really not that bad and we smell good too!

2010 A Year in Reveiw

2010-12-15T10:50:00.003-07:00

RYKER
It has been a great year for Ike so far. He was born. We are so lucky to have such a sweet baby join our family. He is just so pleasant. He is working on his first two teeth and is 7 months old. He is a great roller and I think he will be crawling soon. He is happy and smiling 95% of the time. If he fusses I just have to look at him and he is smiling again. He loves baby food vegetables and is not into fruits much. Prunes and bananas make him gag and shudder. He loves all of his older siblings and loves to watch the cats. He is also a very tactile baby. He loves to feel anything. The other night while I was rocking him I rubbed the palm of his hand softly and he smiled himself to sleep. I am so pleased with my sweet baby and have really enjoyed him immensely.

MACKY KAY RAWLINGS JEPPESEN(this is what he says when you ask him what his name is)
Mac is Mac. He is so funny and wild. He doesn't like to listen too much and I think it is just that his mind is moving too fast to the next thing that he can't stop to listen. He is such a fun kid. He is our dare-devil and reminds me that it is okay for him to do dangerous stuff because "I am amazing, Mom". Mac is looking forward to pre-school next year and talks about it often. He did go through a bit of sibling rivalry with the new baby and he still likes to pretend that he is a baby. He loves to play the part of the baby when Anikka has friends over. He is so funny and I sure love having him in our family. He is good, smart and AMAZING.

BENNETT
This has been a banner year for Ben. He turned 6 in July and headed to Kindergarten in the fall. Shortly after school began I received a phone call from his teacher. She was asking permission to work with Ben on her reading recovery program/class that she was taking. She said that because he tested so well with his literacy and his personality that she would love to work with him. She also needed my permission because they would be observed by the others in the class at the end of the semester. It was so wonderful. I would drive him to school Monday through Wednesday a half hour early and they would work together on reading. I was able to go and observe with the others on the observation day. It was so neat to see Ben work with his teacher and their rapport. I loved hearing the comments that the others made about Ben and his teacher. He is reading at a level E and they want kids to be at a level C when they start 1st grade. He also got such a great report card, all 4's with the exception of two 3's. I am so proud of him and wish that I could take all the credit for him being so smart and such a good reader but it is all Ben. He is such a good, smart and wonderful boy.

ANIKKA
Anikka is growing up so much. She turned 9 in June. Anikka is the best big sister that three boys could ever ask for. She watches out for her brothers so well, especially Ben. She and Ben have such a good relationship. It would not surprise me if the grow up to be best friends. Anikka is also doing well in school. She got straight A's on her report card. She continues to amaze me spiritually. I love to hear her get up and bear her testimony. She is so thoughtful and kind in all she does. She has started writing poetry and songs lately. She also loves making paper crafts. I love her creativity and the way it is starting to manifest itself. I love having a good and sweet daughter.

BROOKE
I have had a good, sometimes bumpy year. The first part of my year was spent waiting on Ryker's arrival and the last half of my year has been spent focusing inward on our family. I am thankful on Ike's good timing of not being born on my birthday. He was a great Mother's Day present. I am enjoying motherhood quite a bit more this last year. I have spent more time living in the moments and less time looking for what is going to happen next. I try hard to be a good mother, a good wife, and a good person, sadly this does not leave me any room to be a good housekeeper. The poor house suffers. Better that than my kids. Recently I have been participating in my Relief Society's challenge "Forty Days Closer to Christ". It is a challenge where we read the Book of Mormon in forty days. It has been hard but I really wanted to show myself that I can do hard things and I will be able to let my kids know that they can do hard things as well. I have learned a lot and feel like I have grown. I feel like I am a better wife and friend to my great husband.

RYAN
This year Ryan started a new job in January. He loves his new job. He feels useful. He thinks that he is able to use his unique skill set more fully at this company. Along with his new job he inherited new habits. He has been working out 5 times a week with his bosses. He is stronger than ever and that is saying a lot. He feels better, too. He paticipated in a mini triathlon in March and was happy to not be the last person to finish. He is still the most amazing person that I know. So incredibly talented and smart. I love being married to him. He impresses me daily and is a rock for me. I can really depend on him.

Ma Ma Ma Ma

2010-10-21T19:05:00.002-06:00

Ryker said Ma Ma today. Actually it was ma ma ma ma ma. But still I was happy that he can copy these sounds. He is growing up so fast and I love it and miss it all at the same time. Mostly I love it. He is very funny and seems to love to touch things. The other day when I layed him down for tummy time, he bunched up the blanket that he was laying on so that he could touch the carpet. He then just rubbed open hands up and down just to feel the texture of the carpet. He just really loves to feel things. Babies sure are fun.

The Evolution of Ben's Toys

2010-10-12T16:11:00.002-06:00

Ben is a collector. Not to be confused with Anikka's hoarding. Ben is very precise in what he collects. He knows what he collects and so help you if something goes missing or if I go in his room to "clean" aka throw away stuff. It all started in Nursery. Ryan and I were called to nursery shortly before Ben was old enough to attend. We started to notice that the moment the toys came out Ben would start his search for all of the Fisher Price farm animals in the same set. Once he had them all he would just hold them until it was time to clean up. His obsession moved onto the Seven Dwarfs. Some how he found one little 2 inch figurine and that is all it took. He soon acquired all seven of the dwarfs and knew all of their names. He carried them around for months. He was always so cute during his obsessions and so excited when Mimi (my Mom) would buy him something else. They soon made weekly trips to the thrift store in search for more "characters" for Ben. His love of the characters grew into Super Heroes and soon he had many little super hero figures. The Super Heroes grew into Star Wars. His Star Wars phase still continues slightly to this day. He and Mimi spent countless hours on ebay searching for new guys. I don't know very many 4 year olds that can navigate ebay as well as he could. He knew to look for free shipping and under $5. And the joy he would get when they won their bids. If he becomes an ebay addict and maxes out all of his credit cards when he is older I will totally be blaming Mimi. His toy circle continued to grow until it encompassed the Wii. All of the Wii Lego games which are really fun helped pave the way for his new obsession of Legos. I don't like Legos they are so small and get everywhere but it is now all he wants and all that I have heard about today. I do however really appreciate they way that he takes care of all of his toys and for his focus on all the stuff he likes. Evolution is a good thing for Ben.

No Lack of Confidence Here

2010-09-30T13:39:00.002-06:00

Today on our little walk I told Mac that he was being a good boy for sitting so good in the stroller and his response to me was " and how wonderful I am." I said "yes, you are wonderful." He then said " and I am amazing!". Yes Mac you are amazing, and so humble.

Songs

2010-08-09T10:06:00.006-06:00

As each one of my kids have been babies I have sung them their own lullabys'. I wanted to write them down so the kids will remember the ones that they have.

Anikka's song goes like this:
Rock a bye

Don't you cry

We'll go down to Grammies

Up on the hill

Down by the mill

To see the little lambies.

Ben's song is the mocking bird lullaby

Hush little baby, Don't say a Word

Mama's going to buy you a Mockingbird

If that Mockingbird won't sing

Mama's going to buy you a Diamond Ring

If that Diamond Ring turns Brass

Mama's going to buy you a Looking Glass

If that looking Glass gets Broke

Mama's going to buy you a Billy Goat

If that Billy Goat runs away

Mama's going to buy you anotherDay.

Mac's lullaby was very hard to find. When he was almost 4 months old I heard the song Edelwiess and that was a perfect lullaby for him.

Edelwiess, Edelweiss

Every morning you greet me

Small and white, clean and bright

You seem happy to meet

Blossoms of snow

May you bloom and grow

Bloom and grow forever

Edelweiss, Edelweiss

Bless my Homeland forever.

Ike's lullaby seemed to just come right away. It is a Church song and it is just his.

We have been born
as Nephi of old
to goodly parents
who love the Lord.
We have been taught
and we understand
that we must do
as the Lord commands.
We are as the army of Helaman
We have been taught in our youth
and we will be the Lord's misionaries
to bring the world it's truth.

I love that each song was just a good fit for each child and I love that they will still ask me to sing them their songs occasionally. I hope it helps them know that each one of them are so special to their Dad and to me. We love all of them so much.

Postpartum + Exhaustion = Emotional Mom

2010-06-17T13:09:00.002-06:00

So, I am pretty emotional as it is and it is just worse when I am getting about 5 hours of sleep a night. Yesterday I needed a emotional release and as I was crying I made a noise that startled the baby. Ryker looked up at me with a furrowed brow, he really looked at me and then he smiled. It just warmed my heart right up and it just makes me know that he really is supposed to be in our family. He is such a great baby and a really good grunter.

Trust

2010-05-26T15:39:00.002-06:00

On the way home from pre-school today Ben told me "Soon I will be six and I will FINALLY be trusted to do things that kids that are trusted get to do. It all starts when your six." After further inquiry into what he will get to do when he is six and trusted he said "I will be able to be play with friends and have more chores." Bring on the more chores yoo hoo!

I Am Surviving, Barely

2010-05-25T14:56:00.003-06:00

I am exhausted. Ryker is a good baby and he is sleeping about 18 hours a day and eating really well. I am sleeping about 5 hours a day and that is really interrupted sleep. I am not getting any naps in because I have three other children who feel that they need attention and parenting. I don't like naps any way. I love how in just a few short weeks my brain cannot remember not having a new baby. It just seems like he has always been here. This is the last week of school and I am excited to be able to sleep in and not have any where to go. On the other hand I hope that the children do not get too bored and start fighting all the time. I think they will get a little stir crazy this year.

Mac is having a rough time getting used to a new brother. The other kids were really happy about having a new brother but Mac really liked being the baby of the family and is not happy being displaced. Ryan is such an amazing father and husband and keeps me sane and helps the kids through this new transition in our lives. He is great.

Yesterday Ryker and I had our two week check up. I forgot the PKU card so we have to go back on Friday which is good because Ryker weighed in at 9 lbs and 5 oz. which was his birth weight and that makes the doctor nervous and he wants to check Ryker's weight again and make sure he is growing well. He did grow 1 1/2 inches. I am trying to savor all of these little moments since we are done having kids but it is so hard for me to not think about life in a few months and years and to want every one to get a little bit older. I need to remember the moments and really live in them.

Ryker Kent Jeppesen

2010-05-13T19:06:00.004-06:00

I had a wonderful Mother's Day. One of pain and bliss and joy. I woke up at 4:45 Sunday morning with a pretty strong contraction and a half/asleep memory of two previous ones that I needed to breathe through. I got out of bed and starting walking and timing the contractions. They were coming 5 minutes apart and were getting pretty strong so I woke Ryan up and got in the shower and I was wondering when to wake up the kids. Anikka's alarm went off at 6 so I told her to quickly get dressed because we were going up to Heber to have the baby. I think it freaked her out a little bit because she believed me when I told her we were going to have the baby the next daywhen I had a scheduled app. to have my membranes stripped. The ride up to Heber was fairly painful but not to long at all. Ryan kept trying to make jokes but since I was in labor I really did not find him to be too funny. I am pretty vocal through my contractions. I tend to say owwwww through the contraction but it really helps to get through the pain.

When we arrived at the hospital at 7:00 am I was taken right to the maternity room where they checked me and I was dialated to a 6 and I said all right let's get that epidural going. By the time I got the epidural and spinal combo I was already dialated to an 8 and they said we could really just go natural and it would be really quick and I said NO. I love epidurals and the epidural/spinal combo was really nice.

My sister Tawnya who was already here for the weekend came and was able to see to baby being born. I don't know how long I pushed but I only pushed through 4 or 5 3 minute long contractions and out came the baby. He tried to take a big deep breath too soon and sucked up a lot of mucus so they had to suction him out quite a bit. Ryker was born at 9:26 am and he was 9 lbs. 5 oz. and 20 1/2 in. long. The doctor was able to stay and get us all to a good place then he ran to go conduct Sacrament Meeting in his ward and then he came back to check on us.

So I spent the rest of the day really blissed out. It was all really good timing and such a great day to have the baby. I love especially that it was a year ago on Mother's Day that I recieved the prompting to have another baby and here he came on this Mother's Day.

Mac's Birthday

2010-05-06T09:16:00.004-06:00

On April 30 Mac turned three! We sure love our little ball of fire. His hair is still white and he is very funny. Just the other day while using the bathroom he told Ryan that he was "a little sick in his reah." He loves his big brother Ben and is getting pretty excited to meet his new brother in a few days. We went to the Doctor for a well child check up and he was in the 95% in height and 25% in weight. He is tall and skinny. He is very active and is a bit of a bully to Ben only. He still expects his older siblings to run and fetch things for him even though he is perfectly capable of getting his own stuff. He is always friendly and polite. We are sure lucky to have him in our family.

No Baby Yet

2010-05-04T09:14:00.003-06:00

Alas, I had a Dr. appointment yesterday and I was not yet ready to have a baby. I was at 2 1/2 cm. dialated and about 25% effaced. We did make an appointment to strip my membranes on Monday May 10 so I am sure that we will have the baby that day if I do not go into labor sooner on my own. I am hoping to have him on the 10th because it is somewhat planned and it is not my birthday yet. I am going to take it really easy (even more than before) this week. It is nice to have a really good excuse to not do the dishes.

Kids

2010-04-26T15:02:00.003-06:00

Anikka is showing a lot of first child traits. She is very independent and bossy. She was able to go sleep over at her Grandparents home over the weekend. It was spur of the moment and when Mimi and Papa were invited out to dinner with their friends Anikka was able to go spend time with Uncle Matt and Aunt Meagan. Meagan took care of Anikka and treated her like a queen. After the special treatment of making her dinner(not that she doesn't have dinner made for her everyday) Anikka said "Wow Aunt Meagan you are treating me like a guest, I am just your niece." The next day was Sunday and Anikka went to Church with Mimi and Papa. Anikka likes to act older than she is, during Sunday School she bribed two loud boys to be quiet and listen with Papa's candy. Then during singing time all the women went to Relief Society and the Bishopric taught primary, Anikka volunteered to lead the music for a song that the men didn't really know. She really is not shy and probably is a little bossy. The way all older sisters are. I know because I have a bossy older sister. I also know that bossy older sisters are really awesome to have because they just know everything and give the best advice.

I have hope that I will have the baby next week. I hope that my body will progress enough that the Dr. will strip my membranes and that will start labor. I would like the baby to be born on May 3rd. I really hope that I get my way. The names have been narrowed down to two. We will take them into the delivery room. They are Ryker with the nickname of Ike, and Cooper with the nickname of Coop. Our family is divided with me and my extended family prefering Ryker and Ryan and his extended family prefering Cooper. We will just have to wait and see what he looks like.

Reminiscing

2010-04-21T16:20:00.002-06:00

I hope it is no secret that I think my husband Ryan is the coolest thing in the world. I was just thinking about how we met. I really love to hear about how people met and how they knew they were in love. I want to write down the story of how we met so we can re-read it whenever we want. I first saw Ryan the very first Sunday of the begining of Fall semester way back in 1997. When my roommates and I walked in I saw him up on the stand ready to bless the Sacrament when it was time. I immediately pointed him out to my roomate as a possible love interest for me. I then continued to crush on him from afar and I tried to "put myself in posistions to be noticed by him. It wasn't until some weeks later that I was able to catch his eye and get myself on his list of girls to ask out that year (our girl to boy ratio was 3 to 1). I got a ride to Church that day with a neighbor and as we were leaving meetings that day Ryan said goodbye to our neighbor and I turned to give him my most winningest smile and he waved bye to me. I sighed loudly and our neighbor heard and said all right who do you have a crush on and I told him it was Ryan Jeppesen and he said, oh he is such a great guy I am so going to set you up. He introduced us that night at ward prayer and they had a class together the next day. Our neighbor, Ryan, asked my Ryan what he thought of the blond from last night and my Ryan said he thought I was cute. Neighbor Ryan told my Ryan that he needed to ask me out on a date. After school that day Ryan Steck came over and told me to make cookies and I immediately complied. I took those fresh cookies over to my Ryan's apartment and then left after a few minutes. That night at FHE Ryan asked me out on our first date for that Friday. I was so thrilled to be going on a date with him. I will post about our first date later but just for the record it has been really fun to sit and remember all those fun times and feelings.

Our Home at the Moment

2010-04-20T09:20:00.002-06:00

Our home at the moment is a little messy and I don't care. I have pretty much stopped bending down to pick up things. I am fully in to the "kick things into the general direction of where they need to go" mode. Things are starting to come together for the baby. We had a preparatory Family Home Evening to try and get the kids used to the fact that there will be a new addition to our family and what to be ready for. Anikka was really not phased at all. She has been there and done that all ready but she is willing to learn to change diapers this time around. We had Ryan give Father's Blessings to each of us and it was really nice and it brought a lot of peace to each one of us. I went to the Doctor yesterday and I am almost dilated to a 2 which means nothing except that I am slowly making progress in the right direction. I still have some hope of maybe having a baby on the 3rd of May. I think that would be a good day but again my opinion does not mean too much when it comes to what the baby is going to do. I just want to have the baby before my birthday on the 11th, I do not want to share it with my child. I am going a little stir crazy. I am in a waiting period and I am just looking for something to do everyday to pass the time. I sure hope that the time passes more quickly than not.

Ryan's Birthday and Easter Sunday

2010-04-05T10:47:00.002-06:00

Saturday April 3rd was Ryan's 35th birthday. Ryan as usual did not ask for anything and I was just too tired to think about anything fun to get him. Fortunately I was able to talk him into going shopping to find him a gift. We were able to get him a new outfit and then he was done with spending money before I could talk him into going to Best Buy. He was so nice to me and asked for chocolate dipped strawberries for his birthday cake so that was easy enough to pull off. We love Ryan and are so happy that he is in our lives, that he agreed to share his life with me and raise our kids together. Ryan is the best husband and father that we could ever ask for.

The next morning the kids woke up to Easter baskets filled with candy and that was the extent of our commercial celebration. It was really not a big deal. We then watched General Conference and enjoyed a nice day of worship. It is really nice to refocus over conference weekend. We are looking forward to this week of spring break and hope we do not get to sick of each other.

Freaked Out

2010-04-02T10:38:00.005-06:00

I received a call from Heber Valley Medical Center yesterday to pre-register me for delivery, this is the hospital where I will have this baby and the hospital where all of our other kids were born. They called me because "their records show that I am due to have a baby next month." I said "well, yes in May, Wait that is next month." Insert a slightly hysterical giggle. I am having a baby NEXT MONTH and I feel so ill prepared. I am getting physically ready to get the baby out of my body but I am so not ready to bring him home. To be responsible for another new little life. To have FOUR kids. Four seems like a lot of kids. I don't even really have a name for him yet, just a lot of names that we are throwing around but nothing is sticking for sure yet. I am not nesting at all. The crib is not even up, to be fair we just moved Ben and Mac together last week and so we have to finish with that move before we start on the baby's room. I guess that I just don't feel ready at all, mostly scared. I am sure that it is just anxiety about the unknown. Will he be a good baby? Will Mac be nice to him? Will we ever make it once to Disneyland when the kids can all remember it? Well I guess that it is a lucky thing that I still have a month or so to get prepared and to find a name and get us all to a good place and welcome this baby to our family because we are stuck with each other and we wouldn't want it any other way.

Days 30 and 31

2010-04-01T09:00:00.003-06:00

Day 30

1. I am grateful for being able to get my hair done. I really like to be pampered on occasion and the shampoo she uses smells so good.

2. I am grateful that Ben is such a good sick kid. He had a slight fever and a tummy ache and pretty much crashed on the couch all day.

3. I am grateful that Anikka is going to be starting piano lessons. I think it is just a good thing to know how to play the piano.

Day 31

1. I am so grateful for my Mom. She came over to watch the kids so Ryan and I could go to a work thing. The kids just absolutely love her. I really appreciate her sacrifices.

2. I am very grateful for Ryan's work. It is really a good place for him and he is happy to be working there.

3. I am grateful for this experience of gratitude. I think that it really carried me through some of the harder, more hormonal days and kept my spirits above the water. I don't know that it made me appreciate the things around me more but it did make me think more often about the things I am grateful for. Overall I am glad that I wrote all of these daily gratitude's down and I think that it will be such a good thing to read again and again.

Days 27, 28, and 29

2010-03-29T10:02:00.003-06:00

Day 27

1. I am grateful for our neighborhood. On Saturday we went to a neighborhood Easter Egg Hunt. There were 1400 eggs thrown on the ground for the kids to pick up. It was fun. Anikka got it and was off and running. Ben skipped the eggs and went straight to the loose candy all over the place. Mac filled the bottom of his basket and announced that he had enough and was done. They all really liked it.

2. I am grateful for our cats. Thor gave Mac a "kiss" by touching his nose to Mac's cheek. Mac's response was "ewww Thor yucky." We have some great cats.

3. I am grateful that the boys slept well in their shared room. This is the second time we that we have had them share a room and it went over so much better this time.

Day 28

1. I am grateful that Ryan did such a good job teaching Gospel Essentials on Sunday. I sure like to listen to him talk.

2. I am so grateful for my In-Laws. We had everyone there minus two kids and I sure missed those two. It was so good to see everyone and to catch-up. I married into such a great family. I am very lucky.

3. I am grateful for little conversations that make us laugh. When we were getting ready to leave last night Ryan told Mac that he was too tired to drive home and asked if Mac would drive home. Mac immediately said "sure I will be Dad and I will drive home and you be Mac and sit in Mac's seat. You start car first."

Day 29

1. I am grateful for a good nights sleep. I have not gotten a good nights sleep in a long time and I miss them and I cherish them.

2. I am grateful that Mac thinks "underwear is fun to wear" and yells that around the house often.

3. I am grateful for our house. It is nice to have shelter and to try and make sure our house is a home.

Day 26

2010-03-26T09:44:00.002-06:00

1. I am grateful that I have a daughter. She is my only girl and I am sure glad that I have her. Girls are so fun to go shopping for. She also is so good to her little brothers.

2. I am grateful that all three children went to sleep well for me last night. Ryan went to a basketball game last night and so we had a night to ourselves and they all went to sleep, even Ben who insisted that he was going to stay up for Dad.

3. I am grateful for DVR's. I love that Ryan and I can record shows and watch them together later and not be interrupted by loud children.

Day 25

2010-03-25T09:17:00.003-06:00

1. I am grateful that Ryan still finds me attractive, even though I am so ornery and scowling all the time. He still finds something behind the huge belly and frown to like.

2. I am grateful that it is sandal weather, or close enough to it for a pregnant woman to start wearing sandals. I love my KEEN sandals. They are comfortable.

3. I am very grateful that the boys play so nicely together. I especially like it when they play together in the same room but with separate toys. There is little chance of any fighting when they are not playing with the same thing.

Day 24

2010-03-24T18:59:00.002-06:00

1. I am grateful for waiting. I love to be early and I kind of like waiting. Waiting gives me peace because I know that I am on time. I really enjoy being 15 minutes early to everything. I like to use the time to think and to observe my surroundings. I am very grateful for waiting.
2. I am grateful the I have three brothers but today I am grateful two of them that are putting in our sprinklers. They are really handy to have around and I am sure they can fix anything.

3. I am grateful to Ryan for coming and teaching art to the Activity Day girls. He is so nice and kind and he really is a good teacher when he takes to time to teach. I think the girls really enjoyed this lesson.

Day 23

2010-03-23T09:24:00.002-06:00

1. I am grateful for snow falling in the spring time. It is so pretty and just sparkles in the sun and it does not stay!
2. I am grateful when Ben and Mac play so well together. Ben is very nice to his little brother.
3. I am grateful that Anikka is finally starting to enjoy reading. It seems to have taken long enough but what a sweet corner to turn. Reading is such a fun way to pass the time. I am glad that she wants to read books now.

Day 22

2010-03-22T08:14:00.002-06:00

1. I am grateful for foot massages. They feel so good and Ryan obliges me more often when I am pregnant. What a sweet husband.

2. I am grateful for my doctor appointments. I love to go see our Family Doctor. I love the break I get from the normal routine. I love that he has and will deliver all of our kids. I love that he is so nice and when he has a mustache he looks like Ned Flanders. He is a very good Doctor and I drive and hour to see him and have him be our Doctor.

3. Today is my Father-in-Laws Birthday and I am very grateful for him. He is such an good man. He is a major reason why my husband is a good man also. He is a strong, silent cornerstone to the Jeppesen Family. He taught his children the difference between right and wrong and how to work and to provide for their families. He mostly leads by example but if he ever gives his advice we cherish and follow it without question. We love him and all that he has given to our family.

Days 20 and 21

2010-03-21T20:39:00.003-06:00

Day 20

1. I am very Grateful that Ryan ran a sprint triathlon yesterday. He did a very good job and ran it in 1 hour and 49 minutes. That is a much better time than he had anticipated and this was his first time. He is only a little bit sore and is right back into the swing of being the kids' jungle gym.

2. I am grateful that Ryan let me go shopping later in the day that he ran a triathlon. He really does do nice things to show me that he cares.

3. Ryan is grateful for spring breezes that allow you to open the windows and air out the winter from the house.

Day 21

1. I am grateful for good speakers at Church. I really do appreciate all the speakers and on the days when the speakers are a little bit boring it is probably that I am not in the right spirit of things but on those days when the speakers are just great to listen to and share their personal thoughts and feelings I appreciate life a little more from having listened to them.

2. I am grateful for the knowledge that people have and that they are willing to share with others. In Sunday School today our teacher did not show up so a man just hopped right up to the front of the class and began to teach us. It was a wonderful example of a life being well-lived.

3. I am very grateful for a daughter that is always the first to raise her hand and volunteer to say prayers whenever those dreaded words of "who wants to say the prayer" are spoken. I really need to follow that example that she has set.

Day 19

2010-03-19T10:51:00.003-06:00

1. I am grateful that Mac did not soil the sheets as he slept for the first time in underwear last night. I am calling us officially potty trained and I imagine there will be a few accidents here or there but Mac is now trained.

2. I am grateful that Mac has been comparatively easy to potty train. He practically did it himself and with such good timing with the new baby.

3. I am grateful for my monthly "allowance." I really enjoy having money that is my own and that I don't have to clear where I spend it. It has also helped our marriage because I am a spender and Ryan is a saver. It has been a very good thing for us and we have done it for 9 or 10 years now.

Day 18

2010-03-18T08:25:00.002-06:00

1. I am grateful that the new baby is moving so much. I think it is just the coolest thing to feel a baby move inside a belly. I wish my family thought it was a neat as I do. But they don't get the opportunity to feel it all the time like I do.

2. I am grateful for older siblings that can explain the basics of potty training. Ben is a good big brother.

3. I am grateful for Thursdays. Thursday has always been my favorite day. I still feel the sweet anticipation of the weekend with none of the impatience of Friday day waiting for Ryan to get off work so the weekend can officially begin. Thursday means the majority of the week is behind me. I really like Thursdays.

Day 17

2010-03-17T13:08:00.003-06:00

1. I am very grateful that our ward has decided to start doing monthly Relief Society meetings. Our ward is so big that it is pretty essential to get together monthly so that we can get to know one another and become a stronger sisterhood.

2. I am grateful for our Enrichment Leaders' plans for the monthly meetings. She is very in tune with what will be great monthly activities for all of us.

3. I am so grateful for Ryan's talents and creativity with helping our kids with their homework. He and Anikka made a Leprechaun Trap for school. It is awesome.

On a side note, After the RS meeting last night I came home to a dirty house (still dirty from me not having cleaned it earlier.) and I said "Wow, You would think that after the day I had that I would come home to a clean house." And Mac being the smart alec kid he is replied, " I don't know what a clean house is." I do clean more often than not and the kid should know what a clean house is.

Day 16

2010-03-16T16:58:00.002-06:00

I am having a hard time feeling grateful today. I am so pregnant and emotional and hormonal so I will have to try harder to find things to be grateful for.

1. I guess that I am grateful for the downs in life because if we did not have downs we would not have the ups. The ups are worth knowing about and having so I am grateful for feelings.

2. I am grateful to have had a FHE that went pretty well last night. The kids listened for the lesson and seemed to have learned a small inkling of what was being taught to them.

3. I am grateful for teachers that are not afraid to correct my children when they are not behaving in the right way. It is always hard to hear when your kids are less than perfect but really important to know so that we can work on the problem.

Days 13, 14, and 15

2010-03-15T09:45:00.004-06:00

The three things that I was grateful for on Saturday are:

1. New Babies, I went to my cousins baby shower and it is nice that we are able to celebrate new babies.

2. I am grateful for Saturday cleaning. I really hate to clean but life is better when we all work together to make the house clean enough to keep up throughout the week.

3. I am super grateful for my sweet sister-in-law that agreed to watch our three kids at the last minute so we could go out with Ryan's missionary companion. Not only did Andrea agree to watch our kids she was even HAPPY about it. The kids had the best time and do not stop talking about how much fun they had. They love their little cousins and they were all so happy about their night.

Day 14

The three things that I was grateful for on Sunday are:

1. I am grateful for Church. I really like that the kids climb all over Ryan all through Sacrament Meeting and I am left alone to listen to the speakers.

2. I am grateful that the nursery leaders took Mac to his Dad when he needed to go to the bathroom with 10 minutes left until Church ended. Ryan had been dozing off a little bit and was woken up by Mac saying "that's my Daddy!"

3. I am grateful for the peace I feel in the car. I love going for drives. It is just relaxing to me and the kids are really good in the car.

Day 15

1. Today I am grateful for texting. It is nice to be short and succinct on occasion and not have to do the small talk that comes with talking on the phone.

2. I am grateful for early out Mondays. Anikka gets out of school at 1:30 on Mondays and that is a whole lot of day left to do whatever we want.

3. I am grateful for Mac's self-esteem. On the way to Ben's preschool today I hear Mac saying something in the back that sounded like "I am pretty cute". I said "Who is pretty cute?" and Mac answers with "me".

Day 12

2010-03-12T14:11:00.003-07:00

1. I am grateful for peanut butter. It has helped me through breakfast for many months now and I think it will last me til this baby is born.

2. I am grateful that Anikka does not mind being very "bright". This morning she left for school wearing a lavender purple dress, hot pink tights, white gym shoes, green jacket, and blue gloves.

3. I am grateful for magazines. I like to read and I read to escape my life for short moments. I like that magazines are little breaks, five minutes here and there, that I can have throughout the day.

Day 11 - Ryan's Contributions

2010-03-11T19:34:00.008-07:00

I am grateful that Brooke makes me get involved in things like posting on our family blog (that counts as one of the things I am grateful for, right?). 3 more to go.

2. Bedtimes. I am grateful for bedtimes. Kids' bedtimes, my bedtimes, all bedtimes are good bedtimes. Nothing like laying down after a (usually) long day and unwinding. Of course, bedtimes typically end up in morning times... something I'm not grateful for. We'll leave that one for the month of ungratefulness.

3. Mini-vacations. I am grateful for the times that we can go on mini-vacations as husband/wife or as a family. Getting away from the normal daily grind helps me appreciate my family. We get to see things in a little different light after being away for a few days. We haven't gone on any extended family vacations for a while, so we look forward to the time when we can do that again.

4. I am grateful for the mother and wife that Brooke is. Sometimes things get hectic at home and she feels that there is more that she should be doing. But, she has kids that are happy and that love her and look up to her as a mother. I think that is the best way to gauge the quality of the job that a mom is doing.

4a. I am somewhat grateful for the 2-ish times a year I let down my guard and be (a little) cheesy. Brooke has been trying for years to get me to do this more often. I give her Valentines day and her birthday.... that's it (and occasionally on her blog, I suppose).

Day 10

2010-03-10T13:00:00.002-07:00

1. I am thankful for my calling in Activity Days. I am always anxious the day of and I am exhausted after it is over but it is such a great calling for me at this stage in my life and the girls are really great.
2. I am thankful that Mac is so entertaining. The new thing that he is doing lately is being other people and telling me what I should say. For example Mac goes to the bathroom and I say good job and he says "No you say good job Frodo" the names are interchangable. Sometimes it is big Anakin or Gimli or little Anakin, mostly Star Wars or Lord of the Rings. He is very funny.

3. I am grateful for the once a week playgroup that Mac and I go to. It is nice to see other mothers and to just get out of the house.

Day 9

2010-03-09T08:54:00.002-07:00

1. I am grateful for my kids behavior when we go on outings. They also love to go places and they are well behaved when we go especially when we go in the morning. The later we wait to go the less they like to go. I am grateful for morning errands.

2. Ryan has started working out in the mornings because he is training for a mini triathalon. So while I am not entirely grateful that is is gone more often, I am grateful that he feels better and is setting a good example for all of us.

3. I am grateful to be 30 weeks pregnant today. Here's to the next 10 weeks going by quickly.

Day 8

2010-03-08T09:52:00.002-07:00

1. I am very grateful for hot water. That 10 to 15 minutes of hot water relaxation in the morning is just wonderful.

2. I am thankful for daily learning. We all learn something new everyday and it is often hard to see that as an accomplishment but when we actually see something huge that has been learned it is a great reminder of our wonderful brains.

3. I am thankful for my brother Matt. He is a little rough around the edges but he is the first one I think to call if I am ever in need of anything, from advice on how to get something done to a emergency tow. He is the man to call.

Days 6 and 7

2010-03-07T20:08:00.002-07:00

The things that I am most thankful for yesterday are:

1. Introducing my daughter to Girls Weekends. Eight years old is probably a little young for her to fully appreciate the sisterhood but she was really able to get the overall point.

2. I am grateful for restaurants. I love to eat out and I really love not having to clean up after the meal.

3. I am grateful to be able to change the scenery occasionally with mini trips. It is fun to be able to see new things, even in Pocatello, Idaho.

The things that I am most grateful for today are:

1. I am grateful for the feelings of accomplishment and closure of finishing a good book. I am also grateful for the fun anticipation of starting a new book whatever that may be.

2. I am grateful that I have a good sister that is very amazing and strong. I am grateful for a good mother that is such an amazing example to me of how to be a good mother and person. She is someone that truly cares about people on their base level. I am grateful to have a daughter to carry on the bond that we share as women.

3. I am grateful to come home after being away from my boys. I love them and it is nice to be able to miss one another occasionally.

Day 5

2010-03-05T09:13:00.002-07:00

1. I am so grateful for blogs. I love to read the incredible and inspiring stories that people write about. I am so impressed with the honesty and joy and sadness and perservence that people choose to write about. Blogs help me to want to be a better mother like all of you out there.

2. I am grateful for our amazing bodies. I think the way a body adapts to building a baby is just incredible. So while I can feel my hips moving apart it is just cool that my hips can even do that to bring a new baby into this world.

3. I am grateful for short trips. This weekend Anikka and I will go up to visit Auntie Tati, (my sister Tawnya). It will be a fun little girl trip and Anikka is so looking forward to it. I hope I will just get some good rest and relaxation in.

Day 4

2010-03-04T09:12:00.002-07:00

1. I am grateful for "late night Dates." Those are the ones that you have after you put the kids to sleep and watch a movie together while cuddleing on the couch. It is just a good thing to be able to spend time together.

2. I am grateful to have someone to cuddle with in the middle of the night when I have bad dreams. I don't have bad dreams very often but when I do it is just nice to scoot right up next to Ryan and get warm and cozy for a bit until I can get my imagination under control and go back to sleep again.

3. I am thankful to be able to sleep-in (7:30 whoo hoo) on Tuesday's and Thursday's and not have anything to rush us through our mornings. I am thankful for no rushing.

Day 3

2010-03-03T08:34:00.002-07:00

1. I am so grateful that Ryan wakes up in the night with the kids. Mac still wakes up in the night and tries to get in our bed. Ryan is the one that takes him back to his own bed. And in the next few months Ryan will get the new baby and bring him to me so I can nurse and then take the baby back to his own bed.

2. I am grateful for pre-school. I really like the pre-school that Ben goes to. It is just a fun and happy place.

3. I am grateful for the job chart. A few weeks ago Anikka informed us that she wanted an allowance. Ryan told her that she would not get an allowance but she can get paid for jobs around the house. It has been working very well and the house is staying pretty clean.

Day 2

2010-03-02T09:25:00.002-07:00

1. Ryan says he is very grateful that the kids greet him at the door with hugs when he gets home from work.

2. I am grateful for cereal, eggos, and granola bars. The children can get their own breakfast when they wake up at the crack of dawn.
3. I am grateful for "bed-head" hair. It is so cute and just puts a smile on my face.

So far I am feeling pretty grateful and not as onery as I usually am. I think it really does put in a person in a great frame of mind to always be looking for things to be thankful for.

Graditude

2010-03-01T09:33:00.002-07:00

Last night I was reading the March Ensign and there was an article that suggested having a daily gratitude journal to write 3 to 5 things that you are grateful for so I am going to give it a try for at least the month of March.

1. I am grateful for where we live. I have really felt that we are where we are supposed to be. I have felt the hand of God in all of our choices of where we should live. If we had not moved to this particular area Ryan would not have gotten his new job and that has been a really good thing.

2. I am grateful for Ryan's clothes. If it weren't for his clothes I would not have anything to wear this pregnancy.

3.I am grateful that Mac is learning to potty train himself and that He pees in the toilet. I really have not pushed him in any way and he just decided to start himself one day so it has been relatively easy. We just have to get better with the number 2.

So here is to March and feeling more grateful and happier.

Romance

2010-02-23T13:44:00.003-07:00

Ryan is many things, He is creative and talented and not at all romantic. Because we celebrate our own Valentines Day on the 7th we are very low key for the real Valentines Day. We give each other cards. I search for the raciest cards I can find and I love it when Ryan makes a home made card for me. This year he wrote me a poem and I got permission to put it up on our blog.

Dear Brooke,

A single rose has many meanings,

And the meanings run quite deep.

"A single love saved just for you,"

Or, maybe your husband's cheap.

But when its paired with a homemade card

And a custom poem to boot.

You know your hubby wants to say

Much more than "I'm saving loot!"

So yes, your husband is quite frugal

But, you've known that from the start.

Just remember on this day of love

His love comes from the heart.

So keep this poem and this card

Ever close and handy.

And know that your husband thinks

You're much more sweet than candy.

(ps Anikka helped with that last line)

Love Ryan and the kids

I guess that he is romantic but only when there is a lot of cheese and making fun of romance over all. I am grateful that he really puts a lot of thought into his semi-romantic gestures.

We were in the process of getting Ben registered for Kindergarten and needed to get his shots done. He was pretty anxious about it all and one night he said. "Mom if I am really brave for my shots will you get me something awesome?" My reply (based on the fact that Ryan is cheap) was "Hmmm I think you need to ask Dad about that because he knows all about awesome things."

Ben nodded totally agreeing with me and said "yeah and you know all about the boring things!"

So there you have it Ryan is awesome and I am boring. Ben did do well with his shots and got a traveling game of Candyland, and as of today is registered for Kindergarten.

I'm In Love

2010-02-05T13:37:00.002-07:00

I love Ryan! I really love my husband. 12 years ago on February 7th we got engaged. We got engaged the week before Valentine's Day because I am impatient. I found out that he had already bought the ring and was going to wait another week to propose I told him that I could not wait. He accommodated me. I was so excited to marry him. I knew we would have a wonderful life together. I love that we can celebrate Valentines a week early with a fun anniversary of getting engaged. It is like having our own personal Valentines to celebrate our love.

Ryan is such an amazing person. Sometimes when you meet a new couple and one half of the couple is a little more awesome than the other, that is us. Ryan is a little more awesome. He is so incredibly talented and creative. I am always surprised at the depth of his skills. He is very smart and remembers so many things. He is a good person to his very core. He honors his Priesthood and is a shining example to our boys of what type of men they should become and to our daughter what type of man she should look for when she is older. I want to spend all of my time with him. I really am looking forward to when all the kids grow up and leave the nest then we can be just us again. Ryan is an amazing provider. I do not worry about running out of anything, I do not worry about if we will ever have to struggle financially. He just would never let that happen. Ryan has a farm boy work ethic. He will work hard to get the job done. He can also handle kid throwup much better than I can. However it is funny to see him get woozy around blood. Ryan is just well liked. People instictively like him and want to be around him. He is also very cute, with his big blue eyes and his great smile. I love his lips. I just love to sit and watch his lips while he sings. He sings very well. He is always willing to let me have breaks from the kids. He loves to be home but he is always willing to take drives with me when I just need to go somewhere. Life is just good being married to him.

Mac's Prayers

2010-02-02T08:41:00.002-07:00

Mac has been saying his own prayers lately. They go like this
"Dear Heavenly Father,

Thank you for blessings,

Jesus Christ

Amen"

Sometimes he just amazes me with his vocabulary skills. It sure is handy to have an older brother and sister to learn things from.

Abundance

2010-01-30T13:15:00.003-07:00

I went to our Stake Women's Conference today and when I got home the house was clean and I said I was so happy and it was a dream come true to come home to a clean house. Ben laughed and said "you dreamed about that? That is funny." He is a good boy.

So it was really good for me to attend the Conference. I have not been doing my part as a wife, mother, chef, teacher, house cleaner, volunteer, friend, daughter and what ever else I am supposed to be doing. I do the bare minimum of these jobs and I have been selfish about it. I am fighting giving my whole self to these things and it is not working for me. I am trying to hide parts of myself and to keep those parts only for myself. I am unbalanced and I need to find a way to become balanced and I don't know where to start. I don't want to lose myself and I don't really know what I am trying not to lose. The guest speaker was Emily Freeman who has written some beautiful books, her latest is called The Promise of Enough; Seven Principles of True Abundance. Her talk was so beautiful and inspiring and I cried through most of it. I think I might need to read that book because it sounds like it would improve me and my flawed thinking. I have a hard time giving anything. I just want to run and hide and just get through the the day. I do not desire to be proactive and instead I just want to left alone. It is not working and I have been trying it "my way" for two years now so I really know that what I am doing is not working. My biggest problem is how well I can rationalize anything. So I tell myself when I am done being pregnant I can do more, I will be better. My other problem and this a big one that I have had for most of my life is I really don't know what I want. So I take the easy way out by being ornery and complaining and not doing anything about bettering myself. I am doing just enough but that is not helping me grow into a better person. I have been thinking a lot about the scripture in Matthew 10:39, "he that findeth his life shall lose it" (I feel okay there because I don't feel like I have found my life yet so I haven't lost it.) "and he that loseth his life for my sake shall find it." This is where there is a conflict inside me. It is hard for me to imagine giving up everything of myself to another to find myself. I guess that I am not taking this correctly because I think of it as service. I need to serve my family in all perfect ways 100% of the time and lose myself in the service of my fellow beings. I just don't think I can do it well so I don't want to do it at all. I don't feel like am making any sense and this is all just a bunch of jumbled up words, but I am trying to figure out a good way to go about my life and to be balanced. I need to find balance, I need to serve more, I need to be there for others, I need to not hide away. I am working on this. I think I need an entire lifetime to work on this. I am so grateful that I have things in my life that help me in my journey of my life. I have the most amazing examples of motherhood and women hood in the women around me, in my ward and on these blogs that I read. I am impressed on a daily basis of these examples of Motherhood and how everyone cares so much for their children and the happiness they find in life and family. My Mother is the most unselfish person that I have ever met and my Mother-in-law raised five spectacular children. I hope I can raise my children half as well as they have. Thank you all for teaching and inspiring me and helping learn to become a better person each day.

Just Tired

2010-01-06T15:54:00.003-07:00

Well, if the first days of 2010 are any indication it is going to be a really sleepless year for me. I know that is a totally wild prediction what with me being 22 weeks pregnant and already uncomfortable and then having a newborn in May and all of the sleep deprivation that comes with that.

Mac is giving me fits with his sleeping schedule. He usually goes to sleep between 8 and 9 and then is up and in our bed at 4 or 5. Luckily he has started going back to sleep so that is nice but the moment Anikka's alarm goes off at 6 he is out of bed to spend some quality one on one time with his sister. Mac has also decided to name his new little brother, Kookaburra. That is a brand of licorice that I like and received as a present for Christmas. Mac is very cute in the way he talks to the new baby. He is so much more interested in the baby in my belly than his siblings were. The other two didn't care too much about their impending siblings until they were here and they could hold them.

Ben is being 5 and a little wild. He seems to be in the middle of every fight and it is never his fault. He is a lot of fun to play Wii games with. We love Lego Star Wars and Lego Indiana Jones.

After months of begging I let Anikka get bangs. She looks like a whole different kid. She is happy with it so I guess that what matters.

So we are looking at boy names and here are four that we like lately and probably in this order.

1. Xander

2. Cooper

3. Thomas

4. James

I would love opinions on these and other suggestions along those lines.

I am getting very excited for Ryan's new job. I think he is as well. He is so excited about being able to do so many things. He gets to plan, start, do, and complete every new project that is needed. He gets to go on a work trip to a trade show at the end of January and He was thrilled to be included. This new job feels like such a blessing in our lives and it should continue to be such an amazing thing in the future. We are grateful for this good opportunity and for this fun year that we have ahead for us.

It's a Boy!

2009-12-28T20:04:00.002-07:00

Just a quick post to say that we are having another boy. I haven't even looked at boy names because I wanted a girl, so now I must start the search for a good boy name. I am a little worried for three boys that will wrestle the house to rubble and for the teenage years of always needing to keep the house stocked with food. It will be a good thing to have another boy and I am very grateful for the one girl that I did get. It is nice to KNOW that our family is now complete and that we have everyone here.

Christmas Card 2009

2009-12-21T09:58:00.004-07:00

It now appears that we are not going to get a Christmas card out again this year. So I will do a run down of our year. We have had a busy year.

Ryan:

Ryan finished up his MBA and graduated in May. We are very proud of him. We bought a house in Lehi and moved in July. He continued to work for Moog throughout the year but He was offered a new job at a company called KS Marketing and he will start working for this new company in January. He will have a much better commute and I am sure that the environment will be much better and he will be much happier at the new company. He will also be able to use all of his talents and skills to a greater level and be a benefit to this company. We are very excited for this new opportunity.

Brooke:

I am doing fine. Earlier this year (on Mother's Day) I was given a feeling that we were not done having children. So we agreed to have one more baby. The baby is due in May. We will find out what we are having later this year. I am enjoying being a stay at home mom and I enjoy laughing daily at the things the kids say and do.

Anikka:

Anikka turned 8 this year and was baptized by her father. She has adjusted well to the move and is enjoying 3rd grade. We love that she is on the A track and goes to school from 8 am to 2:30 pm. She has discovered that she likes to wake up early and read for her daily 30 minute homework and then be done for the rest of the day. She is still an amazing big sister and very helpful to her brothers.

Bennett:

Ben is so funny and wound so tight. He introduces himself as Bennett but he will answer to either name and is mostly Ben at home. Ben turned 5 in July and since his birthday was so late in the year we decided to do another year of preschool and start kindergarten next year. I am so happy with this decision. Ben is doing really well at preschool and has started picking up on sight words. He does like to let every other child know that he is the oldest often. He is usually very pleasant until something unpredictable happens like when Mac touches something that he shouldn't.

Mac:

Mac is such a handful. He speaks very well and I am amazed by the stuff he comes up with to say. Like a phrase that he came up with on his own and says often, "Open the Light!" Ryan really loves that because a direct traslation of turn on the light in Vietnamese in open the light. Mac turned 2 in April and I think he will always keep us on our toes. He likes anything that Ben likes and is Ben's constant shadow. He is still a little bit of a Mama's boy and loves to cuddle. I hope he is kind to the new baby and is fine sharing his Mom.

We have had a great year and have been so blessed. We are grateful for the Church and the Gospel in our lives. We are grateful for the new events that will happen in the next year.

The Car

2009-11-30T09:25:00.002-07:00

I love going for drives, road trips and I love just being in the car. So if any one wants to invites us anyplace we will be very happy to go. Our kids are also very good in the car. I think I have trained them very well to enjoy going places like me. Another reason I love being in the car is that we get to overhear what the kids are saying to one another.

Ben said to Anikka "I 'member' lots of things, I remember things for a long, long, long, long, long, long time. I have a good memory. I remember things good."

Anikka said " Oh yeah, What happened yesterday?"

Ben replied "I remember, but I am not going to tell you."

Kids are just great and a treasure trove of good laughs.

We had a good Thanksgiving the only problem was that it was just too short. I need another week of everyone being home and not having any thing else to do. Hopefully Christmas will get here quickly so we can have nearly two weeks of no work and no school.

Vacation and Sleepwalking

2009-11-24T10:03:00.002-07:00

I know that I have a boring pictureless blog but I don't like to put up pictures. I will make myself do it on occasion but mostly I just don't. Sorry.

On Saturday November 7th I left to go on a vacation with my Sister and our Parents. We went to southern Utah and visited Zion's and Bryce Canyon. It was one of the better vacations we have had. I think it was that my Dad went this time so Tawnya had someone to go with her on the harder hikes, and so we did not have to spend too much time together. It was a good time except they made me go on a three mile hike that was called "The World's Best Three-Mile Hike." It was really beautiful and wonderful except for the last .5 miles which was stunning and really hard. I am pregnant. We returned really tired on Wednesday the 11th. I don't think that my kids missed me at all. Well, maybe Mac missed me a little bit. They do have so much fun with Ryan. He made them all secret agent badges and he is just fun. I often feel that he is the better parent.

A few nights ago I was in bed watching TV and I see a dark shadow walk by my room and then I see the shadow go to the office chair and begin to sit in it. I jump up and say "Anikka the is not the bathroom, what are you doing?" She just stumbled into the bathroom and I then notice what she is wearing. She is fully clothed including her boots. I ask her why she is wearing her school clothes and her boots and she just stared at me. I remind her that she is done and that we need to go change in her clothes and get into her jammies. She then walks into my room and sits on my bed and I say "What are you doing?" and she starts getting a little bit upset and starts saying " I, uh, I can't find it." I asked"what?" She says "it, what I am looking for." " So what are you looking for?" I said. By now she is pretty upset with tears starting to brim her eyes and she says with a deep breath " the sandwich." So I am trying so hard not to laugh and I say okay as I guide her back to her room and get her changed into her jammies. When I tried to get her to help me in putting on her jammies she would only lift her legs one at a time so I could get her dressed. The next morning she woke up very confused that she was wearing jammies because she went to sleep wearing the clothes she wanted to wear to school that day. Then I told her about her adventures that night and she just laughed and laughed because she could not remember a thing. We also asked her not to wear her clothes to bed again, and to definatly not wear her boots to bed.

Patience

2009-10-29T10:58:00.002-06:00

What worked for me in the past sure isn't working for me now and I am slow to catch up. I don't really want to catch up because then all the rules will change again. I don't know how it is with anyone else but I sure have a lot more patience with my children when they are younger. Ben is giving me fits lately, real literal screaming fits. I used to be pretty lucky when shopping with my kids in stores that we have had very few fits. I have only had to remove them from the store on two occasions. Yesterday we went to Costco to buy Anikka a coat and to look at what kind of pajamas they had. They did not have the one pair of jammies in Ben's size that he liked. There was another style and he started whining about the one he liked. He has been whining A LOT lately so I put the jammies down and said when you whine you do not get anything. Then we proceeded to leave the store with Ben screaming but we had to buy the coat first so we stood in the thankfully short line for a short period of time. We were the ones everyone was looking at and probably judging. It was embarassing but the biggest problem is I don't think that Ben got that when he screams like that he does not get his way. He is still screaming and whining today about everything. If I ask him to clean his room he answers with a screeching wail. I also don't know what good "time out" does. It just doesn't seem to work for my kids. Discipline is so hard. Ben is 90% of time a awesome little boy and he is so reverent in church except for this last Sunday when I had to take him out from the chapel for a fit. Maybe it is just this week? I am hoping it is a growth spurt that has him all onery like this and in a few weeks we can get back to our old way of doing things. I hope I can learn to develop more patience with my kids because they are all only going to get older.

Pajama Day

2009-10-27T12:37:00.002-06:00

Today is a pajama day. It is snowing and I am so tired and we don't have any thing else going on. I really like these days. It started too early. I think the wind woke up Mac a 5 am and he woke up crying about spiders and he did not go back to sleep until 10:30. Ben and I woke up at 5:30 and he was able to go back to sleep and I was not. I have never been a good sleeper when I am pregnant and it just gets worse as I am further along and worse when the baby gets here. I like these pajama days and I will take them as often as I can.

Last week while driving in the car Anikka asked Ryan who he loved more Ben or Mac. Mac starts chanting, "Mac, Mac, Mac, Mac" at the top of his lungs. I start laughing and Ryan successfully did not laugh when he answered that he loved both of them equally. Poor Ben sure has to put up with a lot with his bully of a little brother.

Hard Day

2009-10-15T15:13:00.003-06:00

I went to a funeral today. It was for my college roommate's older brother. He was killed by a drunk driver during the Las Vegas Ragnar Race. My roommate is such an amazing person and they come from such a wonderful, close-knit and spectacular Family. They are from Star Valley, Wyoming. I love that place and am forever grateful to have roommates from there that could introduce me to such a great place. I wanted to post this so that I could remember the very inspiring words that were spoken today. My roommates father got up to speak and the congregation sniffled throughout his talk. He spoke about how difficult this has been to bury his only son. He said that if he had known that this was coming He would have done everything in his power to stop it, He said that is a gulf of difference between him and our Heavenly Father. He said he needed to grow more like his son to become more pure of heart so that he will be able also to see the face of God. He spoke of the comfort he recieved from being inspired to memorize scriptures 3 weeks ago not knowing then what he would need it for. The scriptures were D&C 101, 14-16. I am grateful to have known and know that amazing family and I can only hope to raise my children half as well as they have raised theirs.

Good News

2009-10-09T07:46:00.002-06:00

I had my ultrasound appointment yesterday and there was a little baby in there and I was even able to hear the heartbeat. What a relief, and this has been the absolute weirdest pregnancy I have ever had. I am grateful for this good turn of events. We are happy to be adding to our family and I really would like to have another girl but we will take what we get.

Giving My Kids a Complex

2009-10-06T08:23:00.002-06:00

4 times in the last 6 days our smoke alarm has been going off and it is so loud and there is also an annoying voice that repeats "fire" over and over again. We figured out that it is steam from the shower that is setting off the alarm. Ben is so scared. Sunday night he was up 6 or 7 times in the night saying he heard the alarm and that his alarm keeps going off since the light changes from green to red occasionally. This morning the alarm went off and woke Ben and Mac up with tears. Ben accused me of taking too long of a shower, He said that I need to get in the shower, wash my hair and get out. On the plus side the children are suitably scared of the alarm and it did wake them all up. Hopefully we can get it all figured out soon and without having to take 5 minute, really cold showers.

What We Have Been Up To

2009-09-22T11:05:00.003-06:00

So good news first:

Anikka started 3rd grade here in Lehi

Ben started pre-school

Mac is still 2

I am pregnant

Bad news:

3rd grade is harder than she thought

pre-school is ten minutes away

Mac is 2

I'm worried about miscarriage

I thought I was pregnant before I expected my first period and so I took a pregnancy test and it was negative. So much for testing up to 5 days early. The day, which was a Saturday, I expected my period I had period cramps but nothing else. Really weird. I continued cramping through out the week and still kept getting a negative result for the pregnancy test. By Friday I tried to make an appointment to see my doctor and couldn't get in. I took another pregnancy test and it was positive, barely. That night the cramping moved to my left back (kidney area) and was really painful. We went to the ER and they did an ultrasound and found something in my uterus and told me it was not a tubal pregnancy and to see my regular Dr. On Tuesday I went to see my normal doctor and he gave me some anti infection medicine that helped with the cramping and had me schedule another ultrasound for when I was 7 weeks along. The medicine worked and I don't have any more pain. So I went in for the ultrasound and we saw an empty uterus and it was measuring 5 weeks instead of 7 weeks. It really scared me and I heard the term "blighting ovum". That day I was so convinced that I was going to miscarry and it was just a matter of time. The next day the doctor's office called and said it is looking like a "normal early pregnancy" but just in case come back in three weeks and have another ultrasound, in the meantime if you have any bleeding come right in. I am still worried. I am hoping everything is going to be just fine. If everything does turn out to be fine and good, we will be expecting the baby May 6. If not we will try again.

Busy, Busy, Busy

2009-08-02T19:48:00.003-06:00

We had a super busy end of July! We closed on our house on the 17th of July. So it is now ours. On the 18th we went to Ikea. It was my first time. I liked it. We bought some very nice shelves and we took them immediately to our new house and set them up for the sole purpose of unpacking things to put things away quickly. The next day was Ben's 5th birthday and unfortunately I had already packed the camera. He received all the Star Wars things that he could possibly want and Ryan the Man decorated the cake to look like Obi Wan Kenobi and Anakin Skywalker fighting in the lava (Star Wars 3). Ben liked it a lot. Then we took a load out to the new house. The rest of the week was spent taking out random stuff to the new house.

We had been planning to have the big move on Saturday the 25th with little help but it was decided to move on Thursday the 23rd because there would be more help that evening. So we moved. I felt really pretty settled in the new house but there was a big feeling of not being done because we still had to clean the old house. That stunk. I hate cleaning the old places. We finished cleaning that day with some help of the neighbors. On Saturday night we had our first house guests. Ryan's brother came to visit from New York. I really enjoyed having them stay with us. On Sunday we went to our new ward for the first time. It was so loud! It made our kids seem like they were really well behaved. It was fun and I am really looking forward to being here.
On Friday, July 30 We had the start of Camp Jeppesen. The Family gets together in Mantua at Grandma and Grandpa "Jeppies" house. We even get t-shirts that say Camp Jeppesen on them with our own squirrel mascot. I really like Ryan's family and we all had a great time being together and letting the kids play.
School starts on August 20th here and I am so not prepared. I have not gone school shopping yet and I don't know when I will get a chance to go. We just bought a house and we are on a major budget. I am in a major love-hate relationship with our budget. Ryan loves the budget, it really suits his personality. I have always been the spender and so I now just can't run to the mall and get a little something here and there.
I feel like I have had to grow up a lot these last couple of months. This was my first move that I have done on my own with little help from my mom. It has made me have to face being a grown up more than I ever had. It wasn't as much fun and excitment as there has been in the past moves. This time it was just a lot of work that I was responsible for. I am very happy to be settled. We unpacked every box before Ryan returned to work and it is nice to have our own house. I am still trying to get used to it and to try and get a routine going. The kids are happy and used to our new house already. I am really looking forward to the new friends we will have.

Mac's Pretties

2009-07-12T16:08:00.002-06:00

Mac found some nail polish and asked his Aunt Meagan to put it on him so she painted his toe nails. Mac has been very proud of them and shows everyone his "pretties". When we were driving the other day Ryan asked Mac where his pretties were and Mac pointed in his shoes "there" and then Ryan turned to Ben and asked him where his pretties were and Ben disgustedly said " I don't have pretties, I have Handsomes" I love boys!

June

2009-07-07T11:16:00.005-06:00

We have had a fun June. Ben had "picture day " at the Bat Cave. His Characters were all very happy to be there.Anikka advanced to her green/white belt. I love this studio so much and I am so sad that we are moving away from it. I will miss the program so much and so will Anikka.

Anikka turned 8 on June 11. She wanted chocolate dipped strawberries on her cake and she wanted Beans and Rice for dinner. She loves her beans and rice.

Ben enjoying the party. He is so excited that his birthday is next. He can not wait for July 19 to get here.

Anikka's Baptism. It was so nice and quick. Ben was able to give a talk and He loved it. Anikka was able to get ready after the Baptism in record time and beat Ryan out of the bathroom by a good 5 minutes. After Ryan confirmed Anikka a member of our Church he got a little teary-eyed. I thought that was so nice to see. We are so grateful to the family members that were able to make it there and super grateful to our friends that made the journey. We have some great friends.

Ryan and I celebrated our 11 year anniversary by cleaning the house and getting ready for the Baptism the next day. Not the best anniversary ever and we didn't exchange presents because we are buying a house. Never the less I am very grateful to be married to such an amazing man I really did marry the perfect man for me and I really like being married. I am Blessed!

This is a painting Ryan did for the Karate studio as a thank you for all they did for Anikka. I love the painting and am sad to see it go but we got a picture of it. He is so talented.

Mac has been a crazy little two-year-old and it only seems to get worse as the kid gets older. We went to a park that had a big duck pond and as it was time to leave Ryan was letting the kids say goodbye to the ducks and Mac got a little too close to the water and as Ryan went to grab him Mac saw him coming and took off running right into the water. He fell to his knees and was soaked. Ryan had no choice but to step in to his ankle to retreive our crazy boy. Ryan and I have been certainly blessed (cursed?) with three very active children. I sure love them all but I occasionally wish for a child the is content with quietly driving a car across the kitchen floor for an hour.

Our house is coming along nicely. When we last looked at it all the drywall was up and it is ready to paint. I am getting really excited to move and I would really like to have a specific date of when it will be done. All we are getting now is that our home inspection will be the week of the 15th. It will all happen soon enough.

Girls Colorado Trip

2009-05-29T10:26:00.002-06:00

My Mom, Sister Tawnya and I planned a girls trip. We have seemed to get it in about every three years (when my babies are old enough to leave them with Dad for an extended period of time). We left early Saturday the 23rd and drove straight to Glenwood Springs, Colorado. It took about five hours. I loved it there and it is a great kid destination. We shopped the main street and took a walk that night. On our walk Tawnya and I were stopped by a group of four less fortunate people that asked for change. Tawnya gave what she had in her pocket and was very kind. As we walked away Tawnya asked if I was a little uncomfortable and I said I was and asked if she felt that way as well. She said a few months ago yes but now these people are just like my clients and I know that they are harmless and pretty good people. Tawnya is a Defense Attorney. She likes her job. The next morning we visited the Glenwood Caverns that were great. We then drove up over a Mountain Pass to get to Denver. We stayed at my Aunt Charlotte's house and it was really nice to have the comforts of home and family. On Monday we went shopping and to a movie and just relaxed. Then on Tuesday we drove to Steamboat Springs, and ate at the worst place of the trip. The Ore House, it just wasn't good. On Wednesday, We shopped again and then came home late that night. It was a overall great trip filled with relaxation and all the fun things that we like to do. Here's to the next trip in three years.

Anikka has her last day of school today and next year will be a third grader. She is such a trooper to be fine starting a new school next year. I really appreciate her and her ability to adjust to new things. Yea! For Summer!

Mother's Day

2009-05-15T09:19:00.002-06:00

Usually Mother's Day is not my favorite holiday. It is because my birthday is on the 11th and so I get one present for both celebrations. Ryan really doesn't mind that. He really likes the two for one deal he gets. On Sunday, We were sitting somewhat quietly during the Sacrament and I experienced a major spiritual prompting, I am talking the whole bosom burning thing, That we need to have another baby. I turned to Ryan and told him "we are supposed to have another baby, " and he took one look at me and said "okay". For some time we had discussed being done and I had been praying about being done and asking if there was another spirit up there that needed to come to our family to let me know otherwise we were done. So I guess we are not done. It is neat how right it feels and I am getting more excited. The kids have always talked about us having another baby, I guess they knew something that we didn't know. Ryan joked a few days later that it was a good thing that I recieved that little inspiration because if it had been him he would not have done anything about it. So my hope is to get pregnant in September so I can have another summer baby because I sure love that time of year to have a newborn. Whew four kids seems like so many. I hope we can handle them all.

Ben's Futures

2009-05-07T16:34:00.002-06:00

On the way home from Pre-school Ben told the carpool his futures. He told everyone that he and Anna (a girl that lives behind us and is in the same pre-school class) are going to marry because it is in their futures. They will also live in a basement when they get married. He also let everyone know that poor Mac does not have any futures. When I asked Ben why Mac does not have any futures, he said "I haven't seen any". Anikka said "that is not true I did his and he is going to marry Samantha or Holland, I can't remember." Then it clicked for me and I got it. A month or so ago I showed Anikka how to play the game MASH. That is a fun, silly game that you play to see who you are going to marry and where you will live and how many kids you will have and so forth. Anikka has been playing the game often and also plays one for the boys and that is how Ben got his idea of futures.

Mac's Birthday

2009-05-04T15:52:00.003-06:00

Mac turned two on April 30th. We had the hardest time trying to decide what to get him for his birthday. He has so many hand me down toys. We settled for bath toys and chalk.

He seemed to have a good time. When you ask him how old he his he will always say "three".

He already thinks he is older than he really is.

On Friday May 1st we attended Ryan's MBA graduation. We are very proud of him. The kids lasted all of twenty minutes. Good thing Ryan was hooded and walked in those first twenty minutes. My children are all very, very active. They have a really hard time sitting still. Even Anikka who is nearly 8 just can't sit still. I often look around at church and see all these other families with their quiet little children quietly looking at books. Then there are our children who need to break out the snacks 5 minutes after arriving at church (keeping in mind this is 30 minutes after eating breakfast.) Ben needs Ryan to draw some highly irreverent pictures of Mario brothers characters, evil He-Man characters mainly Trapjaw and Skeletor, and "Dark" Vadar. Then Ben will color and he will mostly be quiet unless Mac gets too close to him or colors on his picture then he will breakdown. Anikka just seems to never be comfortable. She is always shifting around like her underwear is always riding up or something. She just can't sit still. Mac is always trying to go out of his way to entertain who ever sits behind us. He has to stand up and smile, and climb on the arm of the bench and "ride" it and then he will hang on the back of the bench in front of us, he also likes to poke the poeple that sit in front of us as an attempt to get them to turn around and smile at him. Just any way to get attention. I still have some hope that my kids will grow out of the wiggly stage but Anikka has made it hard to imagine that any of them will ever sit still EVER. Oh, well They are my children and I do love them.

Catching Up

2009-04-20T19:01:00.006-06:00

April has been a good month for us so far. Ryan had a birthday on the 3rd and it was not one of his better birthday's. We bought him an apple turnover and stuck a candle in it and that was his "cake". We then said goodbye and sent him off to work and didn't see him again until 11:00 pm. We did buy him a nice TV a couple of weeks before so no one needs to feel bad for him for his mediocre birthday.

Mac is growing like crazy. I was able to get these cute pictures of Mac and how well he plays with our cats.This picture is of Mac going "night night" with Thor. Our cats are so gentle with the kids and they are really good cats. They do love Anikka the most and sleep with her every night.

This picture is of Mac and Loki's favorite game. When Loki is sleeping on the couch Mac will sneak up close to the couch until Loki puts his paw on Mac's head and then Mac just giggles. They have done it so many times and I am glad I was able to take a picture of it.
And now the best for last. Ryan and I bought a house in Lehi. This picture is of the model home but our house will look just like this one. We are pretty excited. The timing is really good right now to buy the house. I know that there are five nurseries in the ward that we will be moving into and the neighborhood is packed full with kids. I am so excited to live by so many young families. I will miss Heber and living so close to my family but I think that I need to become a little more independent at this time in my life. The house is to be built and will be done in mid to late July. Again, really good timing.

I Survived!

2009-03-30T08:55:00.002-06:00

Hooray to me for surviving this past week. Ryan left for a training meeting in Buffalo last Tuesday and I hate when he is gone. I just don't sleep well when he is not home. He had a good time and I was exhausted. Ryan is the one that wakes up when any of the kids wake up for any reason in the night. Mac decided on Wednesday night that he needed to wake up at 10:30 and not go back to sleep until 1:00. Now it is Monday and I still feel so tired. Good thing next week is Spring Break and super good thing that this weekend is General Conference. Maybe I can catch up on rest, relaxation and general feelings of goodness then.

Long Time

2009-03-19T16:23:00.002-06:00

So, I have now discovered how easy it is to get out of the habit of writing things down. It all started while I was looking for wedding pictures to post and still I haven't put any up. So over the last month or so we have just been hanging out and waiting for spring. Early in February the kids and I went on an "adventure" when I was making a left hand turn on a cold, snowy evening and slid off the road. Within a minute a policewoman stopped to see if we were okay. I was able to call my Dad and brother to come and tow us out. Hooray for cell phones! After a half hour of trying and hitting a barbwire fence and knocking off the head light. We decided to throw in the towell and call a tow truck. The car is good. The headlight just popped right back in.
A highlight of the month was that we were able to take our first family extended (6 hours each way) road trip to Boise, yes that's right, Boise . All three kids did very well. It made us as parents a little more hopeful for future road trips.
I am starting to get really sick of school and schedules. I am really excited for summer and summer break. I am excited to have everyone home and to just be able to do what we want to do. Unfortunatly that optimism ends after only a few weeks of having everyone and doing whatever we want. Ah, the pitiful life of someone who thinks their own grass is pretty green and fine but that grass on the other side of the fence sure looks perfect. Never satisfied. Good thing Celestial progress takes a lifetime!

Funny Boys

2009-02-03T16:05:00.002-07:00

In the car going home from my Parents house Ben asked us this question. "Do you know how Jesus makes our bodies?" "How?" Ben said "He decorates us." That just makes me feel pretty.

Mac was pretty whiny one night and everyone was helping Anikka clean her room so no one was paying too much attention to Mac until he finally grabbed Ryan's leg and in his one year old language said "I Stinky." Ryan could not stop laughing. It just might be his first sentence and something to use to embarrass him later.

Happiness Found

2009-02-03T14:58:00.002-07:00

My number one and two happiest memories are very close together and they run into each other. So I will just write them together. My number one happiest memory is my wedding day. It was June 26, 1998. I remember arriving at the temple first (early, of course) and being so nervous that Ryan wasn't there. He arrived right on time and I sighed a breath of relief. We were married by the sweetest man named Ned Winder. Ned Winder was Ryan's Dad's mission president and he married all the Jeppesen boys to their spouses. I remember how choked up my Dad was after the ceremony and how he stifled a sob when we hugged and that was the closest I came to crying that day. It was so wonderful to be married to him for all time and eternity. Our Luncheon was at the Sherwood Hills golf club. It was good. Then our reception was at the Jeppesen home in Mantua. It was so beautiful and the perfect spot for a reception. My Aunt Cynthia made our amazing chocolate iced wedding cake. I had always told my Mom that I wanted a chocolate iced wedding cake and she always said, no those things are just not done. It was however the absolute best tasting wedding cake ever. We left the reception as quickly as we could and drove to Park City which leads to my second most happy memory of our Honeymoon. We spent two nights in Park City then we left to drive to Oregon. We had the best time. Highlights of the trip were the seaplane ride and all of the beautiful sights. I just love road trips and I am very much in love with my husband even after all this time. I really want to take a road trip with all of my kids someday to show them all the cool sights there are in the world.

Closer to Happiness

2009-01-29T15:37:00.004-07:00

Here is my continuing list of my most happy days. These do not have too much order.
5. The day we met Mac. I went in for a regular check-up on April 30 (his due date was May 10) and I told the Dr. that day would be a really good day to have the baby and asked if we could try to make that happen. He laughed and stripped the membranes and I started labor. It was my second most difficult delivery. Mac also had the cord wrapped around his neck tightly which caused his heart rate to drop a little bit, but no one seemed to be too concerned and we held off the delivery a few minutes for Ryan to get there. Mac was born at 10:03 pm. When we first saw Mac we were blown away by his long blond hair. It was so amazing. The first thing that Ryan said when he saw him was "he looks like Jeff!" He really is such a joy!
4. The day we met Ben. Ben was my easiest delivery. On July 19 I went to a regular Dr. appointment and the Dr. said wow I think you are going to have a baby today and I said "That can't happen, I have another week." Ben's due date was the 21st and I planned on going over it. I went home to see if I would start contracting and called Ryan and told him to go home and pack for us, because I hadn't packed yet because I had another week. I was so excited to meet him and the whole thing seemed very laid-back. Ben was born at 9:57 pm. The next day when we took him home from the hospital we got stuck in a cloudburst that was so scary. But we made it home just fine and have a great memory from the second day of Ben's life.
3. When we had an ultrasound with Anikka we were very excited to find out if she was a boy or a girl. The tech couldn't tell and said if she had to guess she would say 70% for a girl. It was not great odds so we bought all of our 0-3 month clothes in neutral colors which has been so great with her two brothers. Anikka was a week late and I went in for a regular check-up and the Dr. stripped the membranes and that sent me into labor. She was my hardest delivery because I was dialated to a 7 before I recieved my epidural. When she was born the Dr. said "wow she's big. She's big like a boy, Oh Wait" That really confused me and I had to ask Ryan if she was really a girl. Anikka was born at 7:13 pm. We had been prepared with two names to name her if she was a girl. She would have been Elijah if she had been a boy. So Ryan turned to me and said "what should we name her, Anikka or Allyse?" I said "I don't know, What do you think?" He said he didn't know and we then turned to my Mom who was holding Anikka and she said "She is not an Ally, She is such an Anikka!" Ryan and I both said that it sounded good to us and that is how she got her name.
I will finish the next two happy days in my life on another day.

Something That Stuck

2009-01-24T21:18:00.002-07:00

In our house we really try to stress taking care of one another. Anikka is in charge of taking care of Ben and Mac and helping them with what they need. Ben is in charge of taking care of Mac and helping him with his needs. They are siblings and really need to learn to love each other. Last night I was helping Anikka wash her hair, Mac was standing by me watching, and we got some shampoo in her eyes and she starts screaming. We immediately start rinsing out her eyes and then Mac arrived with a towel that he got out of the closet and starts giving it to Anikka. He seemed very concerned and kept saying "Ah, Ah" which is what he calls her. It appears that some of what we are trying to teach is sticking. It also proves the old addage of "what goes around, comes around." It is nice to see that first hand. I sure love to see all children care for their siblings. They all do it so uniquely. It sure puts Eternal Families into perspective. I really know why our Heavenly Father created the family unit. There is nothing more special than families.

Chasing Happiness

2009-01-23T08:58:00.003-07:00

I have been reading a pretty interesting psychology book called "Change Your Brain, Change Your Life". In it the author tells you to write down in great detail 10 of your happiest memories. Since this is my journal I thought I would write them down here. These are in some particular order but not much.
10. When I was a kid my family always struggled with having enough money. One year it was particularly bad so my Dad got a second job on top of the 10-12 hour days he was already working. His second job was a paper route really early in the morning. I remember that I got to go with him one morning. I thought it was so much fun to just spend time with him and drop off news papers at doorsteps. After we were done he took me to get doughnuts for breakfast.
9. In 4th grade we were living in Lakewood Colorado. I remember being friendly with most kids but not really having a good friend until later that year. My teacher Mrs. DeGuire must have noticed that or something because she chose me for a little program that they had started at the school. They started a program called young Ichthyologist's basically we were able to go to the library before school and feed the fish and learn a little bit about them. It was just nice to be chosen for something.
8. My senior year in high school I was able to go on a trip to Virginia and New York with my Mom, Grandma, 2 aunts and some cousins. We went to see Les Miserables. It was just nice to spend a long time with two of my favorite family members.
7. I remember the two years of living in Payson to be some of the happiest times in my life. We lived there during my 7th and 8th grades. I had two best friends named Shelby and Janet. I also met other amazing and wonderful people there. We always had so much fun together. Looking back I worry that Janet didn't have as much fun as Shelby and I did. Some of the fun was at Janet's expense. We had so many fun sleepovers. My life those two years was pretty carefree. I loved living in Payson and still love Shelby and Janet for all the great memories that we have.
6. Ryan and I got married in June and I got a job at K-Mart. It was not very fun but a worthy life experience. I had to work long hours around Christmas and was feeling pretty sad about it. On Christmas Eve I worked until 9:00 that evening and Ryan picked me up after work. When we got home the, Christmas tree was lit and had all of our sweet home made ornaments on it and underneath the tree were a lot of presents that hadn't been there before. Ryan had gone shopping several times while I was at work and bought me presents. He very specifically got me nice comfortable shoes that I could wear to work. He was so thoughtful and that year I learned how much he loves Christmas. It was really one of the best Christmas' ever.

I will stop now and save the other five for next time

My, Oh My!

2009-01-22T10:56:00.009-07:00

I haven't posted pictures in a while so I thought I would post some to show what we have been doing this past month. This is the kids in their Christmas clothes on Sunday Dec. 22nd. We opened these presents that morning mostly because I really wanted to see them in their cute clothes. I think I can be pretty impatient at times with waiting for presents. For an example, just ask Ryan why we got engaged on Feb. 7 instead of Feb. 14 like he was planning.

So these pictures are of Ben and his big bump. He was spinning in the living room and crashed into the corner of the TV. It is the biggest bump we have yet encountered in our 7 1/2 years of child rearing.

This is Mac posing for the camera. He loves to have his picture taken and then to run and look at himself on the back of the camera.

Here is Mac looking into the camera trying to figure it all out.

After contemplating when to get Anikka's ears pierced for a while now. We just went and got them done. On Monday we went to the mall in Orem and waited until it was Anikka's turn. She picked out the June birthstone earrings and she had to try not to cry and she succeeded, Although we did have to tell her to breathe. The last two days she has been feeling pretty sick and has a fever today. Her cheeks always flush so red when she has a fever. But she is still pretty happy about her earrings.

When I went to the closet to get out the thermometer, I was startled by Ben. He was sitting in the dark closet playing Anikka's Nintendo DS. He has quickly became obsessed with video games. It is now all he talks about. I hear at least every hour "Mom, can I play the Wii." I am pretty close to packing it away in a closet for a few years. If only Ryan didn't like it so much. I do have to be honest that it is pretty fun to play.

Life is good even with the bumps!

Spectacular Ryan

2009-01-09T11:00:00.002-07:00

On Tuesday I felt the need to parent (tell my children what I want them to do) Anikka. I told her I needed to stress something of great importance to her. She asked what that meant and I told her that I needed to tell her something very important. I said "Anikka when you get bigger and start looking for a man to marry I want you to find someone who is spectacular, special, and one of a kind to marry." She turned to me with a sad look on her face and said "But Dad is already married." We told her that we were sure there would be at least one guy out there near her age that will fill the criteria for her, then she will be able to marry him. I love that Ryan is such an amazing Dad to our children that Anikka isn't quite sure if there is another man out there that is as cool as her Dad.

Merry Christmas

2008-12-28T15:24:00.006-07:00

This year we (meaning Ryan) have opted out of doing a Christmas card. We (and again I mean Ryan) are just feeling too busy and overwhelmed at the moment. So I decided to give a brief update on our lives through the blog.

Ryan is really busy. He is working for a company called Moog. He does a bit of everything. He does anything and everything visual and creative. He is really amazing and so very talented. Not a day goes by at work when he does not get a positive comment on the work he does. He is serving in the Elders Quorum as secretary and is pleased in doing what he can to serve. He is also going to Utah State University (in Salt Lake City). He is working on his MBA. We only have three classes left and are really looking forward to him graduating in June.

I, Brooke am busy also being a stay at home mom with three kids. I have been feeling really overwhelmed this year which is so crazy because I am so blessed in my life. I am able to serve in primary as a Valiant 9 teacher. I really love primary.

Anikka(7) has been growing so much this year, physically, intellectually, emotionally, and spiritually. She is still in Karate which I just love. It has been so good for her and she is so tough. She does really well in school. Especially with spelling and math. She is discovering more about herself and is learning better ways to make choices and to find good people to be around. She has also bore her testimony in Sacrament Meeting a few times this year. I really love to hear her heart and the wonderful example she sets for her brothers.

Bennett(4) is such a crack-up this year. He informed me early this year that his name is Bennett. He will still answer to Ben but when asked what his name is he will say Bennett Charles Jeppesen. He is so focused on where he is and what he is doing at the moment and he is not likely to forget when we talk about doing something in the future. He seems to be taking after his Mom in that he is really good at remembering names. He knows all Seven Dwarfs by heart. He now has hundreds ( and I am not exaggerating) of "Characters" these are all little action figurines that he has collected over the year. He loves tham all. They range from Disney figures to Star Wars figures to Super heroes. He knows when even one goes missing. He really is determined and also seems to really like to know all rules ahead of time and really likes to follow all rules.

Mac(1) Oh Mac. He is a handful of trouble but he is so stinking cute that he gets away with a lot. He is my climber and I just can't seem to keep him off the counter. He has also developed a very cute pout and can stick out his bottom lip so far. He is in to everything but he is so happy all the time that you don't realize until it is too late that he has gotten in to something that he shouldn't. We do not have a single outing go by without at least one person commenting on how cute he is and how white his hair is. He really is a bundle of joy. A really big, bouncing every which way bundle of joy.

We have had a really good year. I am, however, really looking forward to 2009 because I am excited for big changes that may be happening soon in our lives. Stay tuned....

Talking Back

2008-12-04T14:03:00.004-07:00

Bennett Charles Jeppesen is expanding his vocabulary in a smart alec way. We were at the store on Monday Morning and Ben asked nicely for some goldfish crackers for a treat. I said sure. When we got to the car he wanted to eat his goldfish right then and I said no we can eat them after lunch. He promptly threw a fit and said "Mom you ruin everything!" It was pretty hard not to laugh and to sternly tell him that he cannot speak to his mother like that. The very next morning, I was getting Ben ready for preschool and trying to get his bed head wetted down and combed. He kept trying to run away until he turned to me and said "Mom, I am so tired of you". Again I have to really try to not laugh and tell him to speak kindly.

Then just yesterday Ben turns to me and asks, "Mom do you know what is wrong with Christmas?" I said "no Ben I don't." He replied "nothing it is FUNtastic!" Hopefully he will learn soon that if he can't say something nice don't say anything at all.

ABC' s af Thankfulness

2008-11-22T08:31:00.003-07:00

My cousin just did her ABC's of blessings so I am going to copy her and do all the things I am thankful for.

A: Anikka

B: Bennett Charles Jeppesen

C: Church

D: Dishwasher

E: Entertainment ( Crazy things the kids do)

F: Family

G: Grandparents

H: Home

I: In-Laws (I really do have the Best)

J: Jeppesen Name

K: Kitty's (Thor and Loki)

L: Love

M: Mac

N: Neighbors (near and far)

O: Outings

P: Parenthood

Q: Quirks (the little things that make us all unique)

R: Ryan, the love of my life

S: Sitting Still ( for 3 minutes a day)

T: Talking

U: Undershirt (modesty)

V: Vietnamese food

W: Water

X: X-Rays ( modern medicine)
Y: Youth
Z: Zoo

So some of these are a bit of a stretch but I think I get points for creativity. These are also not the only things I am thankful for. There are numerous things that I am thankful for that start with a lot of letters But I only used one thing for each letter. Happy Thanksgiving

Something Fun for Christmas

2008-11-13T14:13:00.003-07:00

Midway Utah is most known for Swiss Days. Recently they have started hosting an Interfaith Creche Exhibit. If you are ignorant like I was a Creche is a Nativity Set. People who collect Nativity's exhibit them at the Swiss Stake Center in Midway. The entire church is put to good use to show off all these Nativity's from all over the world, it is a really cool thing to see. The free exhibit is December 5th, 6th, and 7th. It really is worth taking a drive to see it, all of you that are close enough to come. E-mail me if you want more information.

Just Like Pulling Teeth

2008-11-13T13:53:00.003-07:00

Anikka had gym day on Tuesday and the gym teacher sent home a note telling parents to make sure the kids have good shoes to run around in. That got me thinking about gym, so I asked Anikka what they do in gym class. She immediately got embarassed and said "well, today I did 27 push-ups." I said "Great! nice to know that you learned how to do a perfect push-up in Karate huh? Did your teacher see how good your push-ups were?" Then she got even more embarassed and said "Yes, She had me go up in front of the whole class to show them how to do a perfect push-up." I told her that was so great and she said "I don't want to talk about it because I don't want to brag." Then the rest of that night and the next day I would ask her questions to try and get more information about it. It turned out she did the most push-ups in the whole class and was singled out for it and she didn't quite like the singling out. Ryan, who is also very shy and humble about his many abilities was so postive with her about not wanting to brag. I felt that she should celebrate her accomplishments and be so happy about doing well that she would skip home to tell about what she accomplished. I didn't realize that I needed to deal with self-esteem issues and the balance of humility and pride at the age of 7.

Halloween Pictures

2008-11-02T09:34:00.005-07:00

Mac the Cow

Old Ben Kenobi Anikka the Snow Princess

Ryan's really awesome vampire pumpkin.

Buffalo, New York

2008-10-29T13:45:00.008-06:00

Ryan and I were able to go to Buffalo last week. It was so pretty there and so much fun! We left on Wednesday and it is a really long day to fly out there. There are no direct flights.Here is a picture of a pretty tree on a residential road in Orchard Park, New York. I would love to live in Orchard Park. This trip was a work trip for Ryan and a vacation for me. On Thursday, Ryan was Art Directing a photo shoot and I was able to see the sights of East Aurora. It was very neat to walk the main street. I really loved the Roycroft Campus. It was a haven for the arts. They did pottery, leather work, and copper work. I really enjoyed walking through those great buildings. On Thursday night we went for a drive and went by the LDS Church in Orchard Park. There were a lot of cars in the parking lot so we stopped in and said hi to the locals. We asked if it was really as bad there in Buffalo in the winter as everyone says. They all said "No, We get snow but it isn't as bad as everyone says. However we are a hearty people and we can handle anything that comes our way." It was also just nice to be able to visit with other members of our church.I loved seeing all the squirrels everwhere. I thought they were so cute and seemed so much bigger than our squirrels in Utah. On Friday, Ryan and went to Niagra Falls. That place is so very neat and as usual pictures just do not do it justice. A picture of me to prove I was there.

A picture of Ryan. Yes, that is a grimace on his face. It was one of the few times I was able to get the camera away from him.

The American Falls

Looking down the American Falls.

It was just so amazing! We had a great time and even decided to count it as a belated 10 year anniversary trip. What else says Second Honeymoon like Buffalo and Niagra Falls. It was great to be able to miss the kids. I was also somewhat vindicated when both my mom and Ryan's mom said that Mac is at a really hard stage and he is exhibiting this hard stage very physically. They were both worn out and I got some sympathy. Win, Win. We would also like to thank our sponsors for the great trip. Moog Medical for paying for Ryan's trip and our livelyhood. Aspen Aire Home Care and Little Valley Lawn Care for watching our kids, Thanks Moms and Dads!

Love is in The Air

2008-10-16T15:08:00.003-06:00

In our Ward/neighborhood we started a "Soup Kitchen" to help get us through the long cold winter. We just get together to have lunch (soup and pot luck salads and bread) and to let the kids play. As we were leaving a cute little girl that is nearly 4 yelled to Ben, "Wait I haven't given you a hug and a kiss yet!" Ben said "Oh." She said "Can I give you a hug and kiss?" Ben said "Sure." And he gently sets down the pot he was helping me carry and throws his arms wide open and he is smiling so cute. The little girl stepped in for a hug and they give each other a big bear hug and she kisses him on the cheek. It was very cute! Ben really is very sweet most of the time.

Life Lesson Learned the Hard Way

2008-10-13T19:14:00.002-06:00

My dear, sweet daughter Anikka got herself into a bit of trouble the other day. Her friend suggested that they help themselves to some of their teacher's treats. Anikka said no, but her friend went in the classroom and took four Jolly Ranchers. She kept two and gave two to Anikka. According to Anikka she just couldn't resist and ate one. When the teacher found out about the missing treats and asked the class who took them, everyone in the class said they all said it wasn't them. So here comes the redeeming part of this story. Anikka started feelng really yucky inside. She then told her teacher what happened and returned the Jolly Rancher that she did not eat. So her teacher sent her to the principal's office where Anikka and the Assitant Principal discussed what happened and what the consequences should be. They decided that one detention will suffice. When she got home that day she was very upset and feeling very bad. We talked about what we needed to do and decided that she take her tooth fairy money that she had been saving and to make resititution by buying her teacher another package of Jolly Ranchers, and to write a note of apology. I also told that there was one more person she needed to repent to and she said that she already had. This was a very hard experience for Anikka and me but the silver lining is that she was able to feel bad and then to try to make right the wrong that she did. She also learned a lot and will never do anything like that ever again.

Funny Ben

2008-10-06T12:39:00.010-06:00

The other morning Ben turned to me and said.

"I am a good boy, Mom."

I said "yes, Ben, you are"

He said "And you love me."

"Yes, Ben, I do." I said.

"Do you know how I know?" He asked.

"how?" I asked.

He said " you give me your 'I love you' smile."

I smiled at him.

He said "yep, that one."

It is times like these that just melt your heart and make up for a lot of the daily screaming and fighting that these kids do. It also makes it easier to forgive him for throwing his little brother to the wolves quite literally.

On Saturday morning Ben went outside and left the door open so naturally Mac goes out too. One minute later Ben comes running inside and slams the door shut with Mac still outside. He is yelling "Sophie is Coming" Sophie is a neighborhood dog that the boys are a little afraid of, she jumps on them and she is not a small dog. So Mac is outside screaming. I run to open the door and Mac is pinned against the door with a big dog licking his face. As soon as I picked him up he was totally fine and wanted to pet the dog. Later that afternoon I asked Mac to show Dad what the dog did and he stuck out his tounge, just like this. It is very cute.

Too Many Close Calls

2008-09-19T19:22:00.005-06:00

Shouldn't a third child instinctively know to stay close to his Mom and to really try not to get into trouble. By the time the third one comes along a mom starts to feel a little relaxed, thinking I have two other kids that I have taken care of, I can take care of another. A bit of a "been there, done that" attitude. My little Mac is really not one I can ever let out of my sight for even a second. He is a climber and a busy body. Today He escaped me while I was distracted went outside because Ben left the door open and ran into the road. It is normally a pretty busy road, but thankfully there was not a car in sight during those 3 seconds he was out there. Then during bath time tonight Mac was done with his bath and in his jammies. I was ushering Ben into the bath just in time to see Mac fall in head first. He was fine and didn't go under at all but still it is scary. I am so grateful that we have a Heavenly Father in our lives to look out for my little ones. What a blessing! Right now I am thinking that I will be keeping Mac under lock and key until he is 19 then he can leave the house to go on his mission. I can only hope that he will quickly learn Rule #1 and really stick to it. Rule #1 in the Jeppesen house is to "Stay by Mom". That is THE rule whenever we go anywhere, Anikka knows it by heart, Ben is still learning it but how do you explain that rule to a 16 month old. Whew! What a day.

Counting My Blessings

2008-09-18T15:38:00.006-06:00

Some days are more difficult to be a Mother than other days, and I often feel like I am the only one that thinks that. So in an effort to feel more positive I will write down 5 things I love about each of them.

Anikka

I love having a little girl to go shopping for!
I love that she is such a great big sister.
I love that she keeps her room so clean.
I love that she loves Karate.
I really look forward to girls nights with her.

Ben

I love that Ben has brown eyes.
I love that Ben loves to draw.
I love that he loves his "Characters".
I love his determination.
I love that he is such a collector of things.

Mac

I love his white-blonde hair.
I love that he is such a cuddle-bug.
I love that he loves a bath-bath and his "b b"
I love his dimples
I love his smile, He is mostly a happy baby.

Well, I feel a lot better maybe I can get dinner done tonight!

Anikka's Testimony

2008-09-07T15:35:00.008-06:00

In the spirit of using this blog as a journal I want to post a memory that I always want to remember.

On August 3, which was fast sunday, I was visiting my sister in Idaho and Ryan took the kids to church. When the member of the Bishopric finished with his testimony he invited everyone to come and bear their testimonies. Anikka turned to Ryan and said "everyone?" Ryan said "yes". She then said "even Me?" Again Ryan said "yes". So she quickly jumped right up to go bear her testiomony. She ended up being the second one up to the podium and didn't know quite what to do, then Elder Jeffery R. Holland pulled down the seat next to him and motioned for her to sit down. Elder Holland is in our ward so we get the joy of seeing him about five times a year. When it was Anikka's turn to bear her testimony she stood up and said:

"I want to bear my testimony that I know this church is true. I know that this is Jesus's church and he wants us to be happy."

Then, not remembering quite the right protocol to end her testimony, she stalled a little bit and finished:

"I hope that we all like to go to church, and..... Jesus likes us all to go to church and wants us all to be happy like him. I want us all to remember to be good to others and always choose the right. In the name of Jesus Christ, amen."

She then walked off the podium giving Elder Holland a mini high-five. He whispered in her ear that she is beautiful and she did a very good job with her testimony.

Anikka has always shown a talent for public speaking. She has performed in different plays and productions, and has given speeches in front of hundreds of people. I need to find a forum to help her further develop this talent.