Because I know prayers work...even from strangers.

Meet our friends Caitlin and Ammon. They moved to Kingman about the same time as us and were in our ward until just recently, after buying a new house in another ward. Caitlin and Ammon had been trying for 3 years for a baby and this spring, they were blessed to become pregnant. Their little girl was due in December, but in a sudden change of events, she was born early yesterday morning. More than 3 months early.

Little baby Sharon was flown from Kingman to Phoenix shortly after being born and is a tiny, perfect, and feisty little thing! Read about her, pray for her, and please pray for our friends. You can see the joy in Caitlin's face and I am in awe of her positive attitude and strength. I have seen miracles happen in situations like this and I know prayer is an incredible source of aid, comfort, and healing!!

Weekend Recap

Well, you all heard about the burn. It got darker, and scabbier, and funnier actually, as the days went on. It's still there on my cheek in case you are wondering.

Because I feel super awkward taking pictures of myself, here is me loving on my crazy-haired Emily.

Gracey had another soccer game. That was fun even though it was a lot hotter than the week before. I am really impressed with her coach. He is super cool with them but is teaching them early how to be a team. I snapped this picture when he gathered them all to warm-up and stretch. As these kids were preparing for their game, I looked around and saw the opposing teams all scattered doing their own thing by themselves. This coach is teaching great team skills at a young age. I am happy.

We threw a game of rockband together with some friends, all while Gracey was documenting.

Lizard Catcher....

That would be me, Morgan. I saved the day this morning, or rather this lizards little life, by catching him finally. I saw him last week scurry into my bedroom and since then he has made random appearances, but has been too quick for me though.

Finally this morning, I saw him just hanging out in the middle of my room, being perfectly still. I thought he was dead actually, until I saw a tiny little movement out of him. It made for an easy catch. I grabbed a jar and just scooted him inside. I take his weakness as a good sign that my bedroom was not a good feasting area for him.


After catching him and showing him off to the girls for a few minutes, we released him outside. Hopefully he will stay away. Does he not realize that I have a cat in my house? Cats like to kill lizards. Any lizard coming into my house must be suicidal. What's worse (selfishly of course) is that lizards bleed on my tile when injured or killed. Who cleans that up? My cat sure doesn't.

I hope that lizard is thankful!

Update on the burn.

It is worse today.

I look stupid.

"I am so smart! I am so smart! S-M-R-T!!!!"

*Name that quote!*

So today was going to be a pretty chillaxing day. I didn't have any errands to run and no place to go that didn't require a ponytail. I couldn't go to the gym in the morning like usual because I was babysitting my friend's kid. Knowing the gym wouldn't be until the afternoon, I knew I had my chance to practice curling my hair. Please note, I have a lot of really thick hair and have worn it short for a few years now. If I don't flat iron it daily, it is a little poofy. I have tried curling in the recent past but it just poofed even more. Since I knew my hair would be in a pony tail anyway, I thought I would see what it looked like now that it was a little longer.

I am definitely out of practice. I don't know where my mind went for a split second, but I let the curling iron touch my cheek. Not the cheek right by the ear. Not my neck where burns usually occur...but the front, highly visible, already blemished enough, cheek.

At first I thought I pulled it off quick enough and it wouldn't be too bad. The burning sensation continued and I was nervous, but went on with my morning. My friend picked up her kid earlier than planned and so I had time to get my workout in a lot sooner. I changed my clothes and was about to head out when Gracey asks, "What is that line?"



I know it is small and you have to click on the picture to see. And I know it most definitely could have been worse... but feel sorry for me okay?

On a good note, my hair isn't as poofy as I was thinking it would be.

It's official

I am officially a soccer mom!! Is that not the most ridiculous thing? Not the soccer part, but the part that I have a child old enough to be playing?

So what that she is swimming in her uniform? Or that she does push-ups (by herself) randomly through out her practices? My oldest child plays a mean game of soccer, even scoring one of the goals for her team!!!

The soccer league here is great. They split the two opposing teams up and they play 2 separate games of 3 on 3. Instead of the soccer field looking like a herd of 22 kids fighting to touch the ball....now its only a herd of 6!

Last Saturday was Gracey's first game. We could tell the rain was coming, but luckily it stayed dry until after. It was a cool 80 degrees and we were all in heaven!!! Until of course Gracey stole the ball from Emily during warm-ups, then we had a few moments of trouble.



Gracey is #7


Emily kept saying, "I am going to play soccer when I turn Foa!" But she got pooped just watching the game. Or maybe she was throwing another one of her fits. I don't remember.




The games ended and we had a celebratory lunch at In & Out!


I could get used to that!

Too much info?

Forgive me if this crosses some kind of "TMI" line...but I just couldn't believe it.

I never understood when people told stories of forgetting their bra? I mean, who does that? How do you not remember your bra?

This morning, about an hour after getting fully dressed and getting ready to leave the house, I see a lone bra next to my dresser. That couldn't be my "regular" bra could it?

It was!!

After feeling myself up for longer than appropriate (because I just couldn't believe it) I realized I FORGOT TO PUT ON MY BRA!!!!

Again, who does that?



*Updated (about an hour later)

So after typing all that up and thinking to myself "I have never done that before," I realized that I have totally done that before!! How did I forget that one time?

It was over 5 years ago, Corky and I had just moved to California and we were waiting to get into our house on the military base. Because we were going to be moving on to base soon, every Sunday we would make the 45 minute drive to church.

It was about 40 minutes into the drive, basically pulling right onto the base, that I realized I was not wearing a bra!!!!! We couldn't just turn around and go back at this point so I panicked. Then proceeded to attend church...and nobody noticed. ( I think....or hope)

This was when I was pregnant with Gracey. Also before I had clocked over 2 years of nursing in....so my bra-less day was a little more forgiving.

And that's that.

Little Miss and a crown

2 weeks ago I went to the NO DOUBT concert in San Diego with some friends. It was a quick trip but deserving of its own post...so I will leave it at that for now! While I was gone for a whopping 30 hours, Corky and the girls partied like they were the rock stars!

One of those events being a daddy/daughter trip to Burger King, where each girl got a crown with her kid's meal.

For the next few days, that crown was glued to Emily's head.

(Keep in mind, I only got 1 day's worth of pictures. These events were repeated the next day as well!)

Both girls insisted on eating a royal breakfast with the crown.

Emily insisted on a royal movie.


Then prepared a royal feast in her kitchen!!!


The little queen did fore go the crown (and the shirt...at my request/demand) to enjoy a Popsicle!

I have GOT to get back into the swing of this!

This weekend we will pack up the crib and toddler bed, overdue by about a year, and set the girl's new (new to us/them) bunk beds up! The girls are really excited about the new beds and I am excited to be able to lay in bed with them and snuggle, read stories, and chit chat. I am not going to lie, I have been known to climb into the crib and toddler bed a time or two, but a real bed will be lots easier to do that with.

Anyway, I think the girls have been subconsciously saying their goodbyes to the crib this week. They have both been playing in it with their baby dolls together, reading stories together, and finally sleeping in it together. Of course I took advantage of the photo-op since this will be the last chance of seeing them like this.

This is how I found them the other day during their nap time. Stripped down to their skivvies and completely out cold.

Laughable? I think so.

Yesterday I was at the gym getting my cardio on when I heard someone's music playing. I look over to see a man a few feet away from me who pulled his headphones away from his ear. His headphones were playing "Rockin the Beer Gut!"

Does anybody find that funny besides me? I laughed quite loud at that one. That has got to be one of the funniest "motivational" workout songs that I have heard!

It's not you, it's me.

The passion is gone. The romance is dead.

I think we just need some alone time. A weekend getaway, maybe? I wish. My weekends are jam-packed until almost the end of August.

Excuses. Excuses.

I have faith that those old sparks will reignite this old flame once again that is my blog!

"Dear blog, I still love you...but am not in love with you."

All relationships have their ups and downs right?

*cue the sad EMO music*

Thank you Monsoon.

Last week it rained here in Kingman, and it rained hard! I love the rain and so I particularly enjoy Monsoon season here in Arizona. One day it rained pretty good on our way home from the gym and Gracey begged to play in the rain when we got home. From my perspective, this was not a good idea. The girls had bathed that same morning and we were only hours away from jumping in the car and heading to St. George. Of course, my first instinct was to reply with a quick "no". As quickly as I almost responded, that little voice in my head that so often makes me feel guilty said "Let them be little!" So I put away my weird, clean-freak tendencies and told the girls that they could play in the rain.

By the time we got home, the pouring rain turned into a slight sprinkle, so I knew our time was limited. We rushed inside, put the girls in their bathing suits, and ran outside to go look for rain puddles. We walked halfway around the block before spotting the perfect one.

This was no easy thing for me. I was biting my tongue with every dirty splash. When they had the fun idea of sitting (SITTING!!) in the puddle, that nearly put me over the edge. I was having an internal panic attack. However, I let them do it and they LOVED it.



I wish I would heed that laid back, inner-voice that is trapped in my head more often. The girls had a great time and I really enjoyed watching them.

On our walk back home, you can see the sun is shining and the roads are nearly dry. Gracey and Emily were playing this silly game where Gracey would be far away, turn around, then run towards Emily saying "I missed you!" They kept this up until we were all the way home. It was so cute!!!

Snowflake, Trailer rides, and Spook. Fruit Loops and Porch Swings. Grandma, Old Grandma, and old jewelery.

A few weeks ago we went to Snowflake, AZ to visit Corky's mother and grandmother. We hadn't been since last spring and so we went for a quick trip. I will admit, Snowflake wasn't the most fun place to go before having kids. We have always enjoyed visits with his family, but unless all the cousins were there as well, there wasn't much entertainment value to it. Then the kiddos came along and it is one of the most fun places to be. Corky took the girls on countless 4-wheeler rides. They loved sitting in the back of the trailer and riding the streets of Snowflake. Of course, the dogs were tagging along. Either the little (big) pup Rascal, or the beefy Spook. Where ever the girls were, the dogs weren't too far behind....even if it meant sitting in the trailer with them.

This is Spook. This old dog is one of the most mild-mannered dogs you will meet. The poor guy fell out of the back of the moving pick-up a few years ago and so his mouth is a little droopy....but he is a sweetie.

This picture of Emily in the sprinkler, you may think it is nothing out of the ordinary, but it cracks me up! Emily is our less outgoing child and so when Corky and I peeked from Old Grandma's back porch and saw her getting wet on purpose, we not only had a proud moment, we got a good laugh!

That afternoon, we had a late lunch of Old Grandma's famous beans with homemade tortillas. (Only the Gibson cousins know the wonderfulness (is that a word?) that are those beans!) Since we had a late lunch and since they are at Grandma's, they had a dinner of Fruit Loops and watermelon!!

Old Grandma Ruby has all sorts of treasures in her guestrooms. She has old letters that were written between her and Granddad, letters to old friends, letters from old friends, old trinkets, and some old jewelery that Corky let Emily wear for a minute.

So as you can see, we had a great time in Snowflake. We loved visiting Grandma Jean (Corky's mom) and Old Grandma Ruby (Corky's grandma).

Greetings World! We finally emerge once again.

I am pretty sure this has been the longest hiatus from the blog that I have taken. Partly intentional, partly because things are crazy! Should I just plan on summers being incredibly busy for the rest of my life? We have put miles and miles on the car and we aren't even done yet. We still have a trip to Phoenix, trip to St. George, and a trip to Snowflake....all in the next 3 weeks!! Let that not come off though as a complaint. We are having a blast and basking in the joys of summer, parenthood, families, and life!

Over the next few days, I am hoping to catch up on what has happened in the last month. Starting with these little gems that had me cracking up when I uploaded them to my computer.

A few weeks ago, Gracey was webcamming with my mom. We don't do it all the time, but when they webcam, it is like having a babysitter. I can get whatever it is done that I need to. For example: cook dinner, vacuum, and catch up on dvr'd show. Kidding, mostly. Apparently Gracey wanted to document the occasion!

Mini-triathlon 2009!

Saturday morning, bright and early, Gracey and I headed to the Wellness Center where they were holding a mini-triathlon for the youngsters. It was so fun to watch, and more fun to see Gracey do so well.

We showed up and picked up her packet and number. She seemed pretty happy.


Then she got all marked up.


Then got distracted by the rocks!! (She is totally Corky's child! Very social and fun, but also loves to putter and do her own thing!)


Finally it was time to get ready for the race and she was already tired of pictures!!

All the rest of the pictures that were taken were taken by two of the awesome young women in my ward. Somehow I manipulated them into waking up at the crack of dawn and take pictures for me since Corky wouldn't be there! I am so appreciative of them because these pictures are priceless. With me having to swim next to Gracey, then helping her with the transitions, there was no way I would have been able to take any good ones.

Anyway, so onto the race. It began in the water. The kids had to wear flotation devices AND have a parent next to them. A little overkill if you ask me, but better to be safe than sorry. I wanted her to do everything she could on her own so I didn't touch her in the water.


After the water, I did help her with her shoes and helmet. She was freezing but didn't want to waste any time putting clothes on! She was off to do the bike loops.




After she did the bicycle portion, she went straight to the run. She took off!!! We could barely keep up to take pictures!! When Corky saw these pictures, all he could say was "good form! That's my little runner!" (side note- did you know Corky ran cross country in college?)


As all the parents there were, I was quite proud. I was so impressed with her memory and ability to follow directions, not to mention the athleticism she showed at such a young age. Before the race started, we walked through the course. Of course there were a lot of volunteers to help guide the racers, but she never once seemed confused or nervous!


And not an entire minute went by before she was jumping in the bounce house!!



If only I had that kind of energy!!

It was such a fun time. Hopefully next year both girls will be able to participate!

Camping and movies.

This wasn't the first time that Corky and I have to divide to conquer, and I doubt it will be the last. All I can say is that is was a SUCCESS!!

Corky had one more night of going to the mountains for scout camp but the next morning Gracey was racing in a mini-triathlon. I had to be in the pool next to Gracey (so lame!) and wasn't sure what to do with Emily. It was Corky's idea to take Emily with him camping. We were nervous about how we would present this to Gracey because I was sure she would rather go camping.

I told her that her and I could go to a movie that night while daddy took Emily. Surprisingly, Gracey was ecstatic!!! We drove Corky's truck all night long because Corky had to take our car so he could drive some of the stinky scouts home in it. According to Corky, Emily had fun. She is a pretty mellow kid when she is in a new environment. She ate soup, cheese and crackers, and lots and lots of gummy bears!


Gracey and I loaded up on popcorn, red vines, and snicker bars while we watched movie "Up"!! It was great!

There is always next year I suppose.

Mine and Corky's anniversary is this Saturday. It will be 6 years. I love this man of mine and have loved being married to him. Last year he totally surprised me with an anniversary band. He had heard me say once (maybe twice) that I would love a band to wear every single day on my wedding finger. It wouldn't snag or catch or injure anybody else. (which it had, I sliced a kid's head once when I flung my hand around!) Not that it is a competition or that I am trying to "one-up" him, but I wanted to get him something really great this year. He is usually the one giving the well thought out, well planned, and meaningful gifts that I absolutely love. I figured it could be his turn to receive one.

As much as I try, I can never surprise him! He always has a clue. Somehow he always knows what I am getting him. This year I wanted it to be a surprise. I looked up the traditional 6 year gift and was excited to see I had options. Traditionally it is something wood, or a candy of some sort. More modern gifts though include something iron. I was pumped. If you know Corky at all, you know he is obsessed with golf. I contemplated purchasing a new golf club (wood/iron, get it?) But then decided against it because there was no way I could get that one right. I also didn't want to be so typical of me and say "Here honey, go get yourself a new golf club!" That would be so predictable.

This is turning into a long story. It's almost over.

So I have the BRILLIANT idea of buying my husband private golf lessons. That way he has to use his irons and woods! Make sense? So I make some phone calls to Butch Harmon School of Golf and purchase him some private lessons with the pros. And when I say pros, I mean PROS!!!

So the lady tells me she will mail me the gift certificates but not to expect it before this Saturday. So I go through a process and have her fax a copy to my friend's husband's work. It was going to be perfect!

Until today......

Corky gets the mail while I am cooking dinner. He walks in, places a large envelope on the counter with "Butch Harmon School of Golf" in HUGE letters and says "This is interesting!" I swear I blacked out for a minute. I totally panicked! There was just no getting around this one. So after stewing about it for 10 minutes or so, I decided that he gets his present early!

I was SO CLOSE to finally surprising him. He didn't have a clue.



But he loves it, and now we have a funny story!

Love you so much, Corky!!

A little more productive in the treat department!

Don't get me wrong, last night's treat was delightful. I thought about it throughout the day today and it still was making me smile. Tonight though, I wanted to be a little more productive in my food creations while Corky was away again.

I had a big bowl of apricots from the my neighbor's tree (she gave them to me...I didn't steal) that were ripening nicely, and I was also out of bread! So while I waited for my bread dough to rise, I made a batch of apricot jam. It still sort of felt experimental since I had never made apricot jam before.

My house smelled so good. There was a hint of the vinegar smell from the small amount I add to my bread dough, but that cooks off quickly. The combo of the baking bread and boiling jam were just too much for me. I knew I would be up late so I could enjoy them both fresh and most importantly, together.

My midnight (almost literally) snack did not disappoint. Even though the jam wasn't set up yet, it was still divine! I also feel so much less guilty after eating it. After all, it is %100 whole wheat, and real sugar....that's totally healthy! :)

Is your mouth watering yet?

What a mood changer this is!!!

Tonight was very much like my last post. I was dealing with two very irrational children while trying to put them to bed. Corky made his way to Scout Camp for the night and the girls were just out of their regular routine. Not to mention, they both skipped naps today and so both were just so tired!

It was a night full of sobs, tears, time-outs, and screaming. I was at my boiling point!

Finally after sending Emily to her bed for the 50th time, she finally stayed. I took a small walk across the street to get the mail and during that time I decided that chocolate cake would surely fix this. I wished so much I had one of those Warm Delight Desserts in my pantry. So I came straight to my computer and was on the hunt for a homemade version. Sure enough, I found the cake in a mug. After reading a few reviews, I felt pretty confident that I would make this work PLUS have some on hand for the next time!!!

Cake in a Mug

1 (18.25 ounce) packaged cake mix (I used triple chocolate cake)
1 (3.4 ounce) package instant chocolate pudding mix (I only had the family size box....didn't care, used it anyway)
2 2/3 cups confectioners' sugar
1/4 cup cocoa powder

1. Check your coffee mugs to make sure each one holds 1 1/2 cups water.

2. Place dry cake mix and dry pudding mix into a large bowl and blend well with a whisk. This will be about 4 to 4 1/2 cups of dry mix and will make 8 coffee cup cake mixes. Divide mix into 8 small plastic bags (about 1/2 cup each). Place mix into a corner of each bag and tie it there with a twist tie.

3. Make glaze mix: in a medium bowl, combine confectioners sugar with powdered cocoa. Divide into 8 small plastic bags and close bag with a twist tie. Attach each glaze mix to the cake mix bags with a twist tie. Place one of each bag into each cup.

{I am cheap and after adding the cake mix to the bag, tied it off real tight. Then added the glaze mix to the top of that before closing! It is a tight fit, next time I might consider not being such a cheapskate.}



4. Attach the following instructions to each cup: Generously spray inside of cup with cooking spray. (I skipped that part) Empty contents of cake mix packet in cup. Add 1 egg white (or a little less than an egg white, 1 tablespoon of oil, 1 tablespoon water to dry mix. Mix 15 seconds, carefully mixing in all dry mix. Microwave on full power for 2 minutes. While cake is cooking, place ingredients from Glaze mix into a very small container and add 1 1/2 teaspoon water. Mix well. When cake is done, pour glaze over cake in cup. Enjoy while warm.

This is nowhere near gourmet, but oh my goodness it was still good! It totally gave me my chocolate fix! Please try it. I liked it! :)

No Title

I am, at this very moment, literally cringing at the sound of my two children. They are fighting, and crying, and screaming...and it is taking everything I have for my head not to implode because of it. They play together most of the time pretty well. Today is not that day and I am pretty sure I am turning into that crazy-psycho mom. If it isn't Emily's whiny little voice because Gracey isn't taking her shoes off, it is Gracey being the world's biggest nark about Emily coloring on the table. I know I must discipline and stop it because I don't want it to be a habit....but just for today I wish I could say "Have at it, little one. If it keeps you quiet!!!"

Now my bossy 2 year old is saying "Mommy, make dinna!" Do you ever resort to the old elementary adage "You're not the boss of me!"?

You don't? Am I really the only one that stoops to that level with my young kids?

Children are a joy and a blessing! I really do believe that.