The Empey Clan

So glad we're friends...

2010-10-19T23:06:00.005-06:00

Thanks to a WONDERFUL friend who is a GIFTED photographer (although she refuses to believe it), fun memories were captured today at playgroup!

Maddie and Abby taking turns blowing dandelions

Maddie giving Abby a turn

*Right after this shot, both Abby and Maddie dabbled in tasting the dandelion. Maddie literally chomped it, and we spent several minutes trying to clean the seeds off her tongue.*

Abby is, I daresay, Maddie's best girlfriend. When we are not playing with her, she wants to be. When she SEES her, she squeals in delight. And when we have to leave, she asks me when she'll see Abby again. Seriously, two little peas in a pod. Maddie couldn't ask for a better friend. And neither could I--So glad we're friends, Lauren. We so enjoy our time with them and will be sad to see them leave...we just won't even think about that...

Yay for friends!
(excuse the pink pants--Mommy had to change her since she fell in wet wood chips!)

One year older and wiser too...?

2010-10-11T23:31:00.005-06:00

I'm not sure about the wiser part, but I definitely am one year older and more BLESSED than ever, thanks to a WONDERFUL husband (and loving family and friends) who made my birthday so special.

I definitely have a lot to be grateful for.

A couple of thoughts brewing in my mind....

2010-10-04T22:47:00.002-06:00

1.) I DO recognize favoritism when I see it.
2.) Why in the world is my daughter still awake in her crib at almost 11p.m.?? Tomorrow should be fun.

And i'm done.

Sorry, I had to vent.

Pitching our Tents

2010-10-01T21:53:00.012-06:00

(*Preface--the date is ACUALLY 10/2/2010--i started writing this last night, and blogger won't let me change the date*)

In preparation for Conference , our family literally and figuratively pitched a tent towards the Prophet (or the t.v. where conference will be broadcast) this weekend. This came about as we were reading in Mosiah about King Benjamin and how the people pitched their tents to wait and hear his words. We came up with this idea last year and created a dinky little blanket tent. But THIS year, since we have a bigger living room, we decided to get our real tent out and make a weekend of it. And how FUN it has been! Here's some pictures to give you an idea of how much room this tent takes up in our living room:

and we have a PRETTY big living room!

And camping wouldn't be complete without tinfoil dinners!
(Spencer and my brother, Gary, eating in tent)

Turned out quite nicely, I might add--and easy clean up too!

And delicious, hot smores too! :)

The next morning....

Let's just say sleeping in a tent is no where near as comfortable as a bed, but hey, it's part of the camping experience, right? Spencer went quickly to work on our breakfast...omelets in a bag, boy scout style. lol. And here is my concoction:

(Please excuse me--afterall, I just woke up!)

All analogies and family traditions aside, I just LOVE the opportunity I have hear from these wonderful men, these men of God! I honestly look forward to this time of year, and it never comes too soon--i'm always ready and eager to hear what they would have me do. I do remember being younger and sometimes dreading two whole days of broadcasts, but I have learned to appreciate the importance of hearing from our Prophet, especially knowing that he is our Father's mouthpiece and speaks to us by and through the power of God. How incredible is that?!? I know without a doubt that our Heavenly Father has placed a Prophet on this earth to lead and guide us. Many faiths believe that God no longer speaks to those on the Earth, but I say to this--if He wants to speak, He will. He has placed Prophets on the Earth throughout its history, so why would he stop? He hasn't. And to many of my non-member friends who read my blog, I invite you to listen to these wonderful men and hear for yourself the message of Jesus Christs' gospel. Just go to: www.lds.org, and the main page will have a link so that you may listen. Please open your heart and mind to the messages, for they will truly change your lives if you let them.

Enjoy your Conference Weekend! :)

Follow the Prophet

2010-09-28T17:25:00.003-06:00

Family Home Evenings can be challenging with a two year old, mainly for two reasons:

1.) They don’t sit still
2.) They’re not even listening half the time

But I’m an avid believer in consistency in hopes that with enough repetition, it sinks in. And last night, it DID! We are preparing for General Conference this weekend and thought it only fitting to have a lesson on prophets. We told Maddie that Heavenly Father has “helpers” here on Earth to helps us make good choices and they’re called Prophets. And for our activity? While holding a picture of Thomas S. Monson and Joseph Smith, we marched in a line around the house while singing “Follow the Prophet”. Now we did this for at LEAST a half hour, needless to say that Maddie loved the object lesson. And the crowning jewel for Mommy happened afterwards when Maddie was able to repeat this back to me:

SUCCESS! :) And now she can't get enough of Prophets. :) She goes over and talks with their pictures all day!

How grateful I am for the opportunity to teach my daughter the gospel. It is such a blessing for me when I see the gospel in action in my home. Madisen already has a love for temples and makes sure to point them out everywhere she goes. For example, here's a conversation we had in the car today on the way home from the University Mall--she spots the Provo Temple:

Maddie: "Look, Mommy! I love to see the temple! I'm going there someday!"

Mommy: What do we do in the temple, Maddie?

Maddie: We listen and we pray. And get married. Mommy was married in the temple, Daddy was married in the temple, Grandma was married in the temple, Gary was married in the temple...

Mommy: That's right! Except for Gary isn't married yet. Someday he will, and someday Maddie will get married in the temple too!

Maddie: Yeah!

Her knowledge is so simple still and so pure, but she's learning everyday, and I"m grateful for the chance to help her learn and grow. :) Being a Mommy is the best!

I Canned, I Peeled, I Preserved!

2010-09-27T22:26:00.000-06:00

Let me start out by saying that somehow I've become obsessed with canning. I NEVER knew there were so many possibilities with what you could can, and now that I do, watch out mason jars! I'm coming for you!

I got started last year when a co-worker taught me the art, but I was a bit turned off with how long the process took. Lo and behold, you DON'T have to peel each individual peach with a knife--there's an EASIER and more EFFICIENT way to do it. **This technique doesn't work with all fruits, but it does with peaches** You just put a bunch of peaches in boiling water for 30-60 seconds and then dip them in cold water and VOILA--the skins come right off!

With this little tid bit of knowledge under my belt this year, canning became a delight, and even Spencer wanted in. It is somehow therapeutic for me. I love working with my hands and i've always loved cooking. And if I can save a buck in the process by canning my own stuff, count me in! :) We've finished now 14 quarts and have 2 more to go! Now on to apples, then strawberry jam (i'm cheating and buying the strawberries from Costco instead of a local vendor), and then some homemade salsa. If anyone wants in, lemme know! :)

For now, i'm enjoying the sound of popping lids. What a nice sound that is. :)

Insomnia

2010-09-25T01:33:00.003-06:00

How is is that you can be sooo tired that you're practically nodding off in whatever position you're in....but when you hit your pillow, you are wide awake and cannot turn your brain off? It seems in that moment all of the world's problems hit you like a ton of bricks and you feel you must resolve each and every issue before sleeping. And even if you WANT to sleep and try multiple times to turn over or to adjust your covers, pajamas, and pillows, sleep just won't come.

At this point, I had no other choice than to take a Tylenol PM as I have been awake now for 2 1/2 hours just tossing and turning (Poor Spencer..i'm sure his sleep isn't restful either with me being so fidgety). Hopefully this helps as I will have to be up in 6 hours! And let me tell you...I'm quite grumpy when I haven't gotten at least 8 hours.

Bring it! If you won't come sleep, then i'll make the most of it. Heck, Spencer might even wake up to a spotless home, with even nook and crannies sparkling. Eh, I think i'm getting ahead of myself...I AM too tired for that. So Law & Order, I'll settle for you. Which brings up another thought provoking question--how come Dish Network has NOTHING on at 1:30 a.m.?

Sigh....

Where to begin...

2010-09-23T16:09:00.000-06:00

I know this will probably not suffice, but since it HAS been such a LONG time since I have written, i'm gonna have to do most of my updating with bullet points. And if you want to know more on a specific bullet, feel free to text, write, call, or facebook and i'll give you all the info you want to know:

Went on a cruise to the Caribbean with my siblings and parents--we visited Haiti, Jamaica, Grand Cayman, and Cozumel, and had a BLAST! Thanks to Mom and Dad Williams for covering all expenses and allowing us to have such a fun reunion. It's always fun getting together with siblings and parents as we all live so far apart!

While I was gone, Spencer moved us (with help from a WONDERFUL Mother-in-law and sister-in-laws) into our new home! We're so excited to be here even though it's temporary. We love having the space that a little apartment doesn't allow. Along with a new house came a new, more flexible job for me. I'm still in the real estate business, now working for Legend Real Estate as one of their managers. I only work 13 hour weeks from my home and they pay our rent too! Spencer is finishing up all applications for dental and graduate schools (we're covering all our bases this year) as well as working for Marriott and Legend Real Estate. Things are busy, but we are loving every minute, me especially. Since Maddie was born, I worked 40 hours a week at Liberty Square Apartments and never got to be a stay at home Mommy! But now since I can work from home (and only 13 hours!), I'm enjoying life immensely. Not only can I be a mommy, but I have time for a social life and callings which was near impossible before.

We have enjoyed a summer full of fun events with both sets of Grandparents and aunts/uncles. Both the Empeys and the Williams have been able to come visit and spend time with us and it's been so fun! We love having family visit!

Potty training--I expected this to test my patience and leave me quite frustrated most days, but it ended up being quite painless. Maddie is still perfecting the art of pottying, but picked it up quickly. We cleared our schedules for a whole week (no girl time or play dates almost killed me!) and dedicated ourselves to the cause. Within a couple of days of running around half naked, she understood the process and could go by herself. Once we introduced panties, the trick became trying to make her TELL me when she needed to go as she couldn't pull her panties down in time (lots AND lots of laundry). But we're in the clear on that one! She now tells me (sometimes at the last minute though) when she needs to go. With time and practice, she'll have no problems, i'm sure. And now we're not stuck at home all day!

I've become quite obsessed with canning. Spencer let me open my birthday presents early as it was all canning themed--and if I waited until mid-October to open them, i'd miss the opportunity to can peaches and apples, etc. So now that I have the proper equipment, i'm gonna jump right in! We went and bought a 1/2 bushel of peaches from a local provider and will start this weekend! If anyone would like to join me, i'd be happy to have you here to help! I'm planning on doing peaches, apples, strawberry jam, and homemade salsa if any of those tempt you! :)

So far these are the things that I can remember about our summer. I know this is just a quick recap, but I have made it a goal to be better and post at least once a week for friends/family. Unfortunately, writing on my blog is the first thing I start to neglect when there's a lot going on, but NO MORE! Or at least that's my goal. But if it's anything like my goal (or dream, rather) to fit into a size 2, then it might never happen!! :)

Love to all!

I. Have. Been. A. Terrible. Blogger.

2010-09-21T23:22:00.003-06:00

Life has been crazy, and the first thing to go for me is my blog. But no more!! I owe it to my family members and closest friends (who CONSTANTLY ask me to update) to keep all in the loop! But tonight is just not the night to finish at where I left off. Just too much to say... And since t is now almost 11:30p.m. and I'm about to turn into a pumpkin, I will be going to bed now. But I am promising to all who read this that I have made it a goal to become better at writing about all of our adventures!

Much love!

3 Days Left!

2010-05-18T21:48:00.004-06:00

It seems all so surreal--I feel like i've been at Liberty Square for forever (4 years almost to the day), and now in 3 days I will be done! Bittersweet, merely because we'll miss the sweet deals we've gotten like free rent, salary AND health insurance, but MOSTLY sweet since I'll get to go to a more flexible and smaller complex which will allow me to be with our sweet Maddie girl. :) It's ALSO only 4 days before I embark on a Caribbean cruise!! HOLLA! For my dad's 60th birthday, my mom planned a cruise for her, my dad, and all the siblings--only catch? No spouses allowed which means I hafta leave Maddie and Spencer behind for a week. Sad for sure, but I am excited to spend time with my parents and siblings. :) And you know...beaches and sun sure sounds good too :)

Here's a snap shot of what I'll be seeing in a few days....

Be jealous...Be VERY jealous.

Not What We Expected..

2010-05-14T22:35:00.002-06:00

I've been TERRIBLE at blogging lately--so many things going on in life and not any time to sit down to really jot down our happenings. Most importantly, our lives are being taken in a different direction than we expected. Spencer applied to dental schools and after 'X' amount of time, no real offers have been given, so we had to make other arrangements for our family. The stresses of working at Liberty Square have gotten to me, and in about 6 days, I will be done as the Office Manager. This is GREAT news for multiple reasons, mainly that I will finally get the chance to be a stay at home Mommy...

It makes no sense to move outside of Provo, so we found a small complex that we will start managing at the beginning of June called Foxwood Apartments. Although I will still be working, office hours are only a maximum 4 hours a day and the office is the front room of our home. :) This does have both advantages and disadvantages (the only disadvantage being you can't ESCAPE the students--they KNOW where you live!), but i'm excited to at least have the opportunity to be at home with our little Madster. :) Spencer will work maintenance at the complex and has starting working for Marriott again part-time. If anyone needs a "Friends and Family" discount on a room, we can give it to you! :)

It's been so interesting to see how Heavenly Father's plan works--you set up your own ideas of what your life is going to be and then realize that our Father's plan for us is QUITE different than you had in mind. And although there were many tears and stress involved, He helped us through and provided a way for 1) me to be at home 2)financial obligations to be met with new jobs and 3)for us to have a rent free HOUSE while we're at Foxwood. Yes, dental school will have to wait another year, but what's a year in the grand scheme of things? Will our lives be that much altered because of 365 days? I think not. Spencer knows and has felt strongly that he needs to pursue dentistry, so we'll reapply again this upcoming June.

It's nice to know, though, that no matter what, the Lord provides a way for all of us, even if it's not necessarily what you expected. I have grown so much through this experience, mainly because i'm a worrier by nature. But now I have exercised a great amount of faith and KNOW how important faith is in dealing with not only big rites of passages but little moments in a day as well. How grateful I am to know how much my Father in Heaven loves me--He loves me enough to challenge me so I will have the opportunity to learn and grow. What more can I ask for?

Going Private....

2010-05-12T17:45:00.003-06:00

I haven't written in forever, but I'm writing a quick blurb to let you all know that we're going private! :) There's many reasons we're doing this, but mainly to keep our family secure. Feel free to email me if you'd like to be added to our blog, though--we'd love to include all of our friends!

Roadtrip to Ohio

2010-02-02T21:31:00.004-07:00

My sisters only live three hours apart even though they're in two different states (Michigan & Ohio). So after Christmas, we all headed down to visit Kimberly and her sweet family. On the way there, how do you think Maddie was entertained? You guessed it...High School Musical 3 all the way! She LOVES that movie and still asks for it at least four times a day. She can pretty much sing every song and is getting the dance moves down too! :) She didn't seem to mind the three hour trip with her portable DVD in front of her! (Thank heavens for technology!!)

Look at how intensely she's watching! You can tell she's enjoying herself or else those headphones wouldn't be on---normally she hates anything on top of her ears, but when HSM:3 is the movie playing, she doesn't flinch! Oh how I love that sweet little girl! :)

Christmas Day

2010-01-31T21:44:00.004-07:00

So fun to have a child that can participate in Christmas! :) Spencer and I soaked up this day as much as we possibly could. It was a wonderful time for our family! :)

Waiting on the Stairs to open presents

Santa has come!

Maddie's FAVORITE present, a baby doll w/ stroller

Maddie strolled her baby around EVERYWHERE that trip!

Eating a fruit snack from her stocking! How'd Santa know that was her favorite treat?!?

A tired Momma & Dadda

Christmas Breakfast
(Breakfast Souffle, Cinnamon Rolls, & Hot Coco)

Christmas Eve in Michigan

2010-01-31T21:07:00.008-07:00

Now, I know this is like a month late, but better late than never, right? Since pictures are worth a thousand words, I will only write small captions for each picture. Here's our Christmas Eve with the my Mom and Dad, my brother Gary, and the Dyal's (my sister Julie and her family). We had 3 of the 5 siblings together!

Siblings (Julie & Gary), Dad, and me

Christmas Eve Breakfast at IKEA (A Dyal Family tradition)

Aunt Julie & Maddie

Cousin Logan & Maddie

Christmas Eve Afternoon Movie:
Girls went to "Princess & the Frog" and boys to "Avatar"

Cooking for Christmas Eve
Family tradition of hors d'oeuvres for dinner

The Cooks on Christmas Eve
(notice all the prepared food! Lots of work!)

Logan & Maddie playing hide and seek

Empey Family Matching Pajamas

Siblings Matching (3 of 5 children-missed you Kristen & Kimmy!)

Williams Family (Mom-Dad taking picture), Dyal Family, & Empey Family

Almost February?

2010-01-26T16:11:00.003-07:00

I have come to find that is is VERY easy to neglect a blog. My last post was on December 1st and it is already almost February! Time sure flies! I will make sure to post pictures of our Christmas in Michigan/Columbus soon!

Here's a quick update on our family's progress:

We had such a FUN time visiting the Dyals and the Brown's on our vacation this Christmas! It was so fun for Maddie to get to spend time with all of her cousins and for ME to see and spend time with my family, too (all were there except for the Buhlers--we missed you!) It's times like those that I wish I could live close to every member of my family. We had an absolute blast! Thank you, Julie and Kimberly, for opening your homes to us. And thank you, Mom and Dad, for helping us get there! We enjoyed every minute! :)

I currently have only 84 more days as an employee of Liberty Square Apartments (not that i'm counting.lol). Being an apartment manager of 166 units can take a lot out of you and i'm very excited to be done with this part of my life. There's so much about this place I just won't miss--mainly being away from my Maddie girl. It's a struggle every day to leave her, especially when she won't let go of my leg!! haha. I'll be glad when I can spend all day with her soon! ;)

Applying to dental schools: Spencer started the application process for dental schools back in September and we're still waiting to hear back from UNLV. This has been quite the process and has required a lot of faith and prayer, especially for me. I have a HARD time with the uncertainties of life; the sheer fact that our lives are dependent on an admissions committee freaks me out. I know that Heavenly Father will do what is best for us in the end, but i've certainly had to try and align my will with His. Easier said than done...

We have a 19 month old! I know this quick update won't satisfy, but Madisen is continually amazing us with all her knowledge! She can literally quote and sing most of the words to every "High School Musical 3" song and even gets a lot of the dances moves accurate too! The first time she started to sing it aloud, Spencer and I looked at eachother in amazement. She calls this movie "Sixteen" because that's the first musical number of the show. EVERY day, she asks for "Sixteen" at least 4 times. And as a result, both Spencer and I have become well versed with the lyrics and dance moves as well. Anyone need performers for their next party? :)

A family cruise: Thanks to my wonderful Mom, the Williams family will be celebrating my father's birthday on a cruise to the Caribbean (shh--if you talk with my father, he doesn't know about this! It's a surprise!) We'll be touring in Haiti, Grand Cayman, Jamaica, and Cozumel at the end of May! But before that time, I have resolved to lose ALL my baby weight so that I won't be bashful in a bathing suit. My wonderful husband is being so supportive and helpful in this area--i told him to MAKE me exercise even if I fought him on it----it reminded me of when Dumbledore tells Harry Potter to keep making him drink the water to get the horcrux in the 6th movie. (I'm a nerd! lol)---so i'm finally becoming serious about it! Only 15 more pounds to go! Wahoo!

I was released as the primary secretary and called to be the Ward Choir Pianist! I haven't really broadcast the fact that I can play, so when they asked me to be the pianist, I thought it was a joke at first. lol. But i've loved it so far! I do miss the kids with all my heart, but if anything is to fill the gap in my heart, it would be music! :) I'm thoroughly enjoying it thus far! :)

That's mostly it in a nutshell! More updates to come, I promise! And i'll be better about updating more frequently too--I should've made THAT one of my new year's resolutions! But I didn't wanna set myself up for too much failure. :)

Christmas time is here...

2009-12-01T23:28:00.005-07:00

Spencer FINALLY let me put the outside decorations up. We've had our inside decorations up for about two weeks, but he would not allow me to publicly display Christmas lights until after Thanksgiving. But they're up now! Here's a few shots (pardon the blurriness):

They are simple, but beautiful to me! AND no blog post would be complete without an adorable picture of Miss Maddie. She's become quite the social butterfly and is CONSTANTLY talking on her cell phones (that's right, plural--cell phoneS). We can only dread what our phone bill will look like when she becomes a teenager!

And she actually has conversations, mostly to "papa" (that's grandpa in maddie talk). There's a "hi" at the beginning, a bunch of jibberish interspersed with the real words she knows, followed by a "bye", and a quick punch of the "end" button. One must experience this to sincerely appreciate the cuteness.

Oh how we love our Maddie girl!

Piano Prodigy

2009-11-30T21:21:00.004-07:00

Every time Mommy starts to play the piano, Maddie is not far behind. She LOVES to strike the keys and ruffle through Mommy's sheet music.

Hopefully this means she'll be a pianist as she gets older! Time will only tell!

Snowing in Provo

2009-11-22T22:08:00.005-07:00

The last two weekends it has snowed! And Maddie was introduced to it in style. We bundled her up after church last week and let her out to roam freely. She LOVED the snow. She didn't wanna touch it, but loved stomping through it. Here's some highlight pictures:

We're so excited to be able to play with Maddie in the snow! And it'll only get more fun from here on out!!

Crossing my Fingers...

2009-11-09T23:17:00.002-07:00

Anyone who knows me knows that I am quite involved with politics. I like to keep up with the comings and goings of even the smallest political happenings--needless to say that the debate on health care is not a small matter but has become a heated topic (*Disclaimer* I will be getting on my soapbox for a small moment*). AND as most of you know, the House passed this bill in a 220-215 vote. And now it comes down to the Senate vote...I'm just hoping they do the right thing. Don't get me wrong, I think universal health care is ideal, but that's just the problem--it's more ideal than realistic. Giving everyone a chance for health care is a goal this country should work towards, but rushing this bill so quickly is a definite mistake. And in this day in age, too many politicians are in it for their own political gain rather than what is best for the people. This 2,000 page bill (which I'm sure not many politicians took the time to read in its entirety) will:

Put our country into even more debt ($100 billion dollars per year for the first ten years)
Ruin private health insurance companies which means no other option other than the government's plan; who wants to compete with a government run health care?
Coincidentally, put millions of people in the private health insurance out of jobs
Will cost more than other insurance options
The Individual Mandate. You will have to either buy health insurance if you don’t have it or have a 2% tax increase.
Tax Increases to the wealthy--believe me, I don't fall into the "wealthy" category, but something must be said for punishing hard workers to give to those who won't work for it themselves
Increased government involvement--didn't our forefathers break their ties from their homeland to avoid this?

These are only a few things that really worry me. I don't mean to push my ideas or thoughts onto others--believe me, I know that everyone has his/her own opinions on topics, and I respect that. I just needed a moment (and a post) to voice my thoughts and feelings on the matter. I would LOVE to know what others think about the bill even if you don't agree with me. :)

Obama Has Harder Task Ahead Lobbying Tougher Senate on Health Care - FOXNews.com

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A Relaxing Sunday

2009-11-08T14:24:00.007-07:00

After church today, Maddie was in a VERY cuddly and photogenic mood....translation? CAMERA time!! Here some of the precious ones we got, although after a short while she was ready to be done...

Cuddling with Mommy

Two of a Kind

Cheese!!

And then a little later...she was DONE!

So..... Mommy & Daddy took pictures together!

Happy Sabbath!!

2009-11-04T22:14:00.006-07:00

~Happy Halloween~

This year, Maddie was a legitimate "Trick-or-Treater!" We had so much fun visiting family and friends, and Maddie especially enjoyed the C*A*N*D*Y!

Maddie's costume was a little bit scantily clad, so we joined some of our friends and went to the University Mall for trick or treating inside; each store gives out its own candy, so it's trick or treating within a reasonable walking distance for a 17 month old.

Hope your Halloween was as fun as ours--our little Lady Bug kept us moving, that's for sure!

Mackenzie & Madison with our little Maddie

Mommy & Maddie

McKennan & Maddie(the Lady Bug has fallen in love with the chick)

Gloria & I with our little ones

And I know it may seem too early for some, but we are excited for the holiday season coming up--you WILL notice that my post will become more frequent at this time of year because there's sooo much to post!

Stay Tuned!

I've been TAGGED!

2009-10-28T21:54:00.003-06:00

So i first must admit that i'm TERRIBLE about updating my blog, but I make sure to keep up on others' blogs....and today, I read my friend Gloria's blog where she wrote "Six favorite things" about her family--and she tagged me to do the same thing! :) Because there are sooooo many favorites, we've narrowed down our search to discuss one of our most favorite things: Maddie. Here are 6 of our favorite things about our little girl

6. Belly Laughs: We love Maddie's laugh. She laughs often, but we find joy in her "belly laugh" which occurs when something especially hilarious is happening, whether that be tickle fights or a new game invented by mommy or daddy. Her belly laughs brighten up a room and we can't help but chuckle too when we hear it!

5. Hip-Hop dancing--Maddie loves music and will dance to anything. But her FAVORITE? Chris Brown's "Forever". She dances and grooves her little "thang". It's hilarious!

4. "Maddie talk": She's a little jibber-jabber who will constantly talk nonsense words at us and expects us to understand. Recently, she has started adding actual words that she has learned into her jabber, so it's easier for us to understand. :)

3. Social Butterfly: Maddie LOVES people. Wherever she goes, she makes sure to say "hi" to everyone and everything that she comes across. Especially when dealing with little kids, she loves to hug and kiss baby's, toddlers, and especially primary children! :)

2. Singing: Maddie loves to sing and on several occasions, she can be heard as she plays with her toys. Her favorite song to sing is "I Wonder When He Comes Again". Of course, she only knows the first two words, "I Wonder", but sings them on pitch! :) The rest then becomes singing jibberish.

A TIE for 1st:

*Cuddle Bug: Maddie is an affectionate little girl who loves to reassure her parents through hugs and kisses. She loves to be held (sometimes a little too often) and thrives on all the attention we give her. During her play, she takes time-outs to plant wet ones on us and give big loves. We soooooo enjoy this and hope it lasts forever. My favorite cuddle? Little leg hugs--especially while doing dishes or preparing dinner, etc, Maddie will come and say hi and give my leg a little squeeze just to say "i love you".

*Femininity: Maddie is SUCH a girl! She loves her bows, shoes, frilly dresses, mommy's jewelry, and especially LOVES to play with mommy's makeup. She knows what a blush brush is for and will use it accordingly. She also always knows to smack her lips after mommy applies some lip gloss on her lips. In fact, in an effort to keep maddie out of mommy's REAL makeup, I cleaned/washed out some of my old products and made Maddie her own makeup bag. She carries this bag along with her in her little purse which she carries like a diva (around her forearm).

(Girly-girl Maddie picking out which mascara she wants from the store)

Plus there are so many more--it's hard to narrow down completely, but these are a few favorites to say the least. We love our baby girl more than we can say, and we are definitely enjoying the journey. She warms our hearts and brightens our lives so much. We're so glad to have that diva in our lives. :)

Lost in Kohls...

2009-10-15T11:02:00.004-06:00

For my birthday, many of my family members got together and worked out a plan to give me a shopping spree at Kohls for a much needed new wardrobe (thanks again!). Upon our arrival at the store, we found that Maddie wasn't quite digging the whole shopping experience, at least not from her stroller. Being the good daddy and husband that he is, Spencer tackled the big job of trying to keep Maddie entertained while I tried on clothes in the fitting room. After a few moments in the dressing room, I got a panicked call from Spencer explaining to me that Maddie was AWOL!! She wasn't enjoying being in her stroller, so he thought taking her out and letting her walk around would help. However, upon putting her down, Maddie bolted into the nearest clothing area and disappeard (as a side note, Maddie doesn't walk anymore--she RUNS and runs fast). As he told me this, my half dressed self sprinted out of the fitting room to join Spencer in the search. I can't explain to you how heavy my heart was as I thought about the possibilities of what might happen in the moments she was not under our supervision. I quickly went to the front of the store to alert the employees of a missing child--they alerted the other employees of the "code yellow" and all of us, including the employees at the store, were on the hunt for Madisen. A few minutes later, Spencer called to tell me that he had found Maddie in the shoe department! The little fashionista had found her way into the shoes and was happily occupying herself by looking around at the endless possibilities of SHOES!

Don't get me wrong--at the time, I was mortified and so worried! But looking back now, Spencer and I giggle at our fashion conscious little girl who loves her shoes (and accessories, and purses, and makeup, and clothes, etc, etc, etc.) and is willing to get lost in a store (or at least lose her parents) in an effort to see some shoes. Needless to say, Maddie will be less of a participant in shopping until she understands more. However, I can't wait to share in those experiences of shopping with her. But for now, I think it's safe to say that she will stay at home the next time Mommy wants to shop...and i'm sure Daddy won't mind either. :)

I AM a disciple of Christ

2009-10-04T23:09:00.005-06:00

This post is specifically meant for me to share my thoughts and feelings about General Conference this weekend. I soooo look forward to October and April so that I can hear the messages of the apostles and prophets. And then when it's over I have mixed feelings--I feel the need and desire to try a little hard, to be a little better. But at the same time, I yearn to hear and be close to these great, humble men. Two days of inspired sermons is never enough!!

This conference seemed to be centered on the topics of love. Many of the apostles spoke of the importance of loving one another as Christ loves us. And although this topic seems obvious, I find myself knowing that I could do more to improve myself in this area. There were two specific talks, however, that shook my Spirit into wanting to be completely devoted to my Savior, Jesus Christ.

Dieter F. Uchtdorf talked on the importance of becoming true disciples of Jesus Christ. How do we become devoted disciples? Christ himself told us how: "If ye love me, keep my commandments." And when Christ was asked which commandment was most important of all--Love God. And the second? Love others as thyself. LOVE should be at the center of our lives! It makes sense that when we are completely and utterly devoted to God, of course we will want to obey and make Him happy. What we love determines what we do, think, act, & even determines who we are. I love God and my Savior, Jesus Christ, with all my heart, might, mind, and soul and want nothing more than to emulate him in every word and deed. When people listen to or see me, I want them to know of my complete devotion to Him, and I want my actions to reflect my inner beliefs and feelings. I know I need to work a little harder at this. I'm not perfect, but I want to strive to be more like Christ is. His ENTIRE life was devoted to the service to others. His sacrifice for us in the Garden of Gethsemane and then his ultimate sacrifice of giving His own life that we might live with Him again shows how much he truly loves us all. As I think about my own willingness to do as He did, I know I fall short. I know that I can in no way live a perfect, sinless life. And that is why I am also so grateful for the opportunity Christ's sacrifices give me to repent of my sins and continue to try to do all I can to serve Him.

And Jeffrey R. Holland...there are never words to describe his powerful testimony of the Savior. I can only allow those who have not heard his powerful witness the opportunity to hear it for himself/herself (thanks to someone who quickly put these on youtube)

Part I: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ld0_7fKGdRM
Part II: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ITVvtnw1q1k

I, too add my testimony to that of Jeffrey R. Holland's. The Book of Mormon is another testamant of Jesus Christ and only stands as more proof that He lived and loves all. As discussed by Jeffrey Holland, we love and revere the Bible as well; the two are in accordance with one another and stand together as a testimony of Christ's divinity and mission on the earth. I have read this book for myself and feel that my testimony and understanding of my Savior has increased and strengthened as I have read these pages. As I have prayed to know of its truthfulness, I have received a powerful witness that it is true and that men will come closer to God by reading for themselves. The power of revelation is NOT shut to us. God spoke to prophets of old (Abraham, Moses, Peter) as he STILL speaks. Why would God speak to those of other dispensations only to shut His mouth to us? Why would God elect prophets to lead and guide only a few only to leave us in the dark now with no way of communication or direction? Christ HAS a prophet in these latter days as He did in the days of Abraham or Moses. He continues to speak and give directions to prophets today and I am so grateful to have this knowledge. God is the SAME yesterday, today and tomorrow. If He and remains the same, then why would he change His modes of communication? I invite all to learn for himself/herself about the Love of God in allowing us to have modern day prophets and personal revelation to know for ourselves what is right and true. I'm so grateful to be a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints and to know that my Heavenly Father KNOWS me and he LOVES me depsite all my weaknesses and shortcomings. I know that I CAN return to live with Him again one day and am grateful for the teachings of the Gospel. Without them, I would be lost. Without them, I would not know the purpose or meaning of life. And WITH them, I have full purpose and confidence in my role as a disciple of Christ.

Our Little Water Baby

2009-09-17T21:32:00.005-06:00

We did a lot of swimming and water activities this summer! It's already becoming cooler, and we already miss the outdoor water activities! Here are some pictures of Maddie doing her most favorite thing during the summer:

And although the summer is over, we are so very excited for the fall activities to begin! :)

4th of July Festivities

2009-09-13T11:50:00.011-06:00

Highlights from our 4th of July celebrations:

Maddie was named "honorable mention" in the beautiful baby contest for her age group

Went to Provo's 4th of July Parade (it was packed...)

(enjoying treats too....)

(REALLY liking the floats)

(keeping "cool" with the shades)

(quality time with Daddy)

oh...and the parade.....

Enjoyed family picnic with the extended Empey family

Had Flag Cake! (now a tradition in our family)

What a fun and PACKED day! :) We enjoyed celebrating together as a family, but definitely missed the family we had with us last 4th of July when my family was here to meet little Maddie---here she is one year ago----I know this statement is cliche, but time really does go by so fast! We miss our itty bitty Maddie, but our toddler Maddie is so much fun and continually makes us laugh all day!

Madisen's 1st Birthday

2009-09-10T23:13:00.006-06:00

So i have DEFINITELY been absent from the blogging scene for way too long! Life got a little crazy after our family vacation, but there's been A LOT that's happened! Among them......Maddie turned ONE! Her party was "ONE-Derful" too. Thanks to good friends who helped to prepare the cakes (thanks, Misti!) and for those great ones who came to celebrate too! Here are some highlights:

What a fun time we had, indeed! It's hard to believe my baby girl is already 15 months old. The time went by so fast and at times it's sad that she will never be my little newborn anymore...she's growing SOOOO much and developing so fast right in front of our eyes every day. She's so smart and unbelievably sweet. She is willing to give kisses to ANYONE who asks, loves to say "hi" to everyone as they pass her, and is such a cuddle bug with her mommy and daddy. She is the pride and joy of our lives and we are sooooo grateful to have her as part of our family. Funny how it doesn't take long for something so little to completely change your life. In this instance, it's been for the better. Of course, parenting does have its challenges, but we've been so blessed to have such a happy, beautiful girl who has the sweetest spirit. And although it's sad to see her growing up so quickly, we have learned to treasure every day the good Lord gives us and to make the most of it.

....More updates from the summer to come....
STAY TUNED!

Day 2: After American Idol...

2009-06-03T22:18:00.005-06:00

American Idol took until lunch time, but then I met up with my family again after my performance (they really cheered me on in the show!), and we enjoyed the rest of our time at Hollywood Studios. Here are some highlights:

AWESOME CAR STUNT SHOW

Lots of Shows including Beauty & The Beast (Maddie LOVED it!)
The End of the First Day in the Parks

The NEW American Idol--ME!! (Day 2)

2009-06-03T21:59:00.007-06:00

Although i've been to Hollywood Studios many times before, this trip was WAY different because I spent most of my time at their new "American Idol Experience". I had to try out in front of their top producer...which was more rigorous than I thought. I was the third in line and they had turned down the two girls in front of me! But, I made it into the first show along with two other girls. What an experience! Performing in front of that many people--it was incredible! It feels like REALLY being on American Idol, but mostly has taught me that it WAY more nerve wrecking than I thought! But before we went on stage to perform, they interviewed us, did hair and make-up, and even gave us 15 minute voice lessons. Sooo fun! Here's some pictures of my experience:

Downtown Disney--after touchdown

2009-06-03T21:49:00.004-06:00

After flying for 4 hours, we finally got to Florida and were greeted by my sister (Kristen) and my mom. Since it was only 4p.m., we decided to spend the rest of the night at Downtown Disney. We ate at a really cool restaurant called T-Rex Cafe--for those of you who have ever been to Rainforest Cafe, it's a lot like that except for animated dinosaurs instead..PLUS way cooler. Here's some pictures from Disney World's Downtown Disney:

Notice how much Maddie and her cousin Seth like eachother! :)Oh, My Pirate!Maddie's Favorite Characters (besides Mickey)At T-Rex Cafe--huge animatronics
The family at T-Rex Cafe

Downtown Disney is such a fun place to go, and the atmosphere is what makes it incredible. Disney goes to great lengths to make their property look beautiful.

Meeting the Characters

2009-06-01T22:55:00.005-06:00

We have pictures of our Disney World trip! (Thanks, Mom!) We'll be posting pictures for a while, but these are some of my favorites. On our second day, we went to Epcot. Naturally, our family is always at the front of the line and this time it paid off. While we were waiting for the Disney crew to escort us into the park, the Disney characters came out to greet the crowd. Let me just preface this by saying that Maddie absolutely LOVES "Mickey Mouse Playhouse" on the Disney Channel, so she is well acquainted with these characters. Yet, seeing them in life-size costumes proved to be a bit overwhelming...even for Maddie.

The cutest part of it was that every character came over to see her. Minnie spent the most time and she at one point disappeared. Come to find out---she went to find Mickey so that he could see Maddie too. Mickey and Maddie even shared a "nose bump". ADORABLE!!!

It really seems like our trip was a dream. It went so fast so we're glad mom took such wonderful pictures of our trip. This way, we will always remember our first trip to Disney as a little family.

Disney World, Here We Come!!

2009-04-27T22:04:00.002-06:00

We can't believe it's already here!! Tomorrow our little family will board a plane to DISNEY WORLD! We've been counting down for 3 or so months and time has really flown by.

However, there were some hurdles I had to get through before our trip--Fall/Winter checkouts at Liberty Square Apartments. And it is definitely NO picnic. Checking out 800+ residents is definitely hard to keep organized but we did the best we could--and spent 15+ hours a day putting in cleaning/maintenance charges, refunding and then getting ready to send out the refunds. It's been a crazy (and tiring) week, but being at Disney World is definitely a great reward to the hard work i've put in.

The only thing I'm worried about now is Maddie on a plane. She is a VERY good-natured baby, but she DOES like to be able to crawl around and explore her surroundings. Obviously Maddie won't be allowed to crawl around the airplane, so we're hoping that sitting in our laps will be okay. We're definitely praying for a good four hour experience! aaaahh! Our flight is at about 9:30a.m. which means we'll have to leave early to get there with enough time. Translation? Either Maddie will be super tired and sleep most of the way OR she'll be overtired and crying the whole way--we're hoping for the first. :) Either way, wish us luck! We'll be sure to take lots of pictures to post on our blog.

ZIPPIDEE DOO DAH!!

Happy Easter!

2009-04-12T22:26:00.006-06:00

Let me just preface this blog post by saying that holidays are much more fun when you're a parent! And what a fun Easter weekend it's been! On Saturday, we went to an Easter Egg Hunt in the morning with some friends. Unfortunately there are no pictures of that since Spencer and I spent the time helping Maddie hunt things down since she's only a crawler and all the other kids were RUNNING to find prizes. However, Maddie seemed to have fun!

This morning we had a Easter basket ready and waiting on the floor so that when Maddie came down she'd find it right away. And she did!! Here's her approach--

Before the Easter basket was attacked....

She spotted it...

...And LOVED it!!

YAY!!

She's so precious and fun! It was fun to see her enjoy her Easter so much (even if she doesn't quite understand it yet! We finished off the night by spending Easter dinner with friends and family! We had a fun time catching up and chatting. It's sad that the weekend had to go so fast, but it was super fun nonetheless. Thanks to all who made this such a special weekend!

Priesthood Blessings

2009-04-09T21:45:00.003-06:00

Two weeks a go, Maddie caught the "stomach bug" that I had previously. She was sick for 3-4 days and then she seemed to get better. However, after conference weekend, her symptoms started up again but seemed even worse than before. She was vomiting at least once a day and started having nasty soiled diapers (Sorry to those who aren't parents yet...once you're a parent, you seem to become desensitized to such topics). At first, Spencer and I thought that it might be some type of food allergies, so we took her into the pediatrician who told us that nothing seemed out of sort and that she probably just had a little virus. Thus, we were sent home and told to come back in a week if she wasn't feeling better.

That was Monday--almost every night we are awoken by Maddie who has thrown up all over in her crib, poor baby. And she is more clingy than ever before--she ALWAYS wants to be held by "nana" or Mama--(she hasn't quite mastered the "M" yet). One night especially, Maddie was so distraught and sick feeling that Spencer gave her a priesthood blessing. In the blessing he asked the Lord to calm her little tummy so that she would sleep through the night and also for her body to quickly dismiss the virus. And since then, we've seen remarkable improvements. She's sleeping better through the night and seems to be acting like our little quirky Maddie again. This experience really touched me, and it taught me that even when man may not have the answers and/or cure to common worldly things (like the "stomach flu"), the Lord is all knowing and can help in ANY circumstance if we but allow Him to intervene. I'm grateful for Spencer's willingness AND worthiness to perform such blessings in our families' behalf. Having the Spirit of the Lord in our home makes all the difference in the world to the happiness we feel each day.

Maddie has her normal routine check-up tomorrow with our normal pediatrician, so i'm sure i'll be back on to report her progress in weight, height, etc. etc. And in brighter news, only 19 more days until we go to Disney World!! I've been planning our itinerary for the 5 days we'll be in the parks by deciding what restaurants we'll be going to, what rides to go on first, and so on. Half of the fun is in the planning!!! Its getting me really pumped up for our trip! And although some may think this is a little excessive, I absolutely love planning and organizing. I'll be posting our itinerary once it's finished!

Ciao for now!

A Fish Called Maddie

2009-04-04T23:28:00.008-06:00

This weekend Spencer's family came up to visit the Empey's in Utah. So far we've had a blast! This night was especially exciting for little Maddie--for the first time in her life, she went swimming!!!! Our family is staying at the downtown Marriott, so they invited us to go swimming with them in the hotel's pool. Coincidentally, we bought Maddie a swimsuit a few days ago, so we picked up some "Little Swimmer" diapers and headed for the pool. I was a little nervous about how she would react, but she LOVED it. She kicked and kicked her little legs and she had an absoulte blast splashing around, swimming with her aunts, and being thrown up in the air by mommy and daddy! :) Here's some pictures of the first-time event:

(You'll notice the pictures look kinda hazy--that's because the pool room was very foggy, so our little camera did its best!)

Swimming from Mommy to Aunt Andi and Kelli

Mommy and Maddie

Mommy dancing with Madisen

Aunt Kelli and Maddie

Aunt Andi and Aunt Kelli with Madisen

Thanks you guys for coming down and visiting with us! :) I know Maddie has sure developed a love for her grandparents, aunts, and uncles on the Empey side--that's for sure! :)

Since it's Conference tomorrow, Spencer will be making our traditional Conference breakfast "Moco Loco" for the entire family. Moco Loco was a dish that Spencer enjoyed while on his mission in Hawaii, and it's become a tradition in our household on birthdays and Conference mornings! :) Can't wait! It's also a tradition to have a family sleepover on Saturday night so that we don't need to go far to watch the sessions on t.v. Since Maddie's too little still, it'll be Spencer and I tonight sleeping in the living room, but once she's older we'll allow her to participate. And off to bed with us now so that we can get a good nights rest for tomorrow!

General Conference

2009-04-02T22:28:00.004-06:00

The weekend is getting closer, and I am so excited for General Conference. For those of you who are not members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints (LDS), General Conference is a time when world-wide members (around 13 million) all tune in to listen to the Prophet of God and the Lord's apostles.

(For more information about our beliefs, I welcome you to visit our website to learn more at www.mormon.org)

I remember how excited my parents would get about conference when I was little but I didn't quite understand its significance and might have been too young to understand their messages. Now I understand why my parents were so excited. I can't wait to be spiritually enlightened by their messages of Jesus Christ and His gospel. This week, we have been preparing for conference by reading conference talks from October 2008 and also by praying for the Spirit to be with us as we listen.

In my preparation this week, I felt prompted to not only pray for the spirit but also to write down specific questions and concerns I have. Lately I have been really worried about our upcoming year. Spencer will shortly be taking the DAT and applying to dental schools so that we can hopefully be starting into dental school a year from August. I have full faith in Spencer's abilities and I am sure that we will be fine, but I have been seeking comfort from the Lord to reassure me as well as give me the strength to stop stressing so much about our future. I strongly feel that by preparing myself for Conference I will receive the comfort that I am searching for.

I have a strong testimony in my Savior, Jesus Christ, and I am thankful for His selfless sacrifice for us. The gospel of Jesus Christ has been such a blessing in my life, and I hope to instill a love for it in Madisen's life too. I am so grateful to know that families can be together forever because I have the world's most wonderful husband and daughter and I would be lost without them. :)

I hope that all who watch Conference will be spiritually edified as I will be!

Our Little Climber

2009-03-31T21:24:00.010-06:00

Now that Maddie is crawling, it's hard to keep her still! :) Yes, she still loves to be held by mommy, but when she's not cuddling, she is all over the house. Her newest discovery is the stairs. For a while she would just sit in front of them and stare up (we think she was contemplating how to get up them), but now she is ALL action. One night before bed she just decided she would try to climb up them..she almost got to the top of the first flight of stairs (we have a split level apartment). It is so hard to believe how quickly the whole process started. We waited and waited for her to crawl and then one day she crawled from the living room all the way into the kitchen--who knew!?!? She had it in her the whole time, i suppose, but she's such a good natured baby that she was okay with "point A" and didn't really care about getting to "point B". But now the fun of baby proofing begins, especially since she thinks that stairs are free reign for her now--Mom and Dad have to watch her pretty carefully...

Here are some pictures of the journey...

Day One: Sitting close to the stairs...

Day 2: Attempting...still a little unsure

Day 3: Success!

(notice I'm spotting--she's still a little shaky)

almost there--"I think I can, I think I can"
(her face is very determined here, I think)

She is just growing up TOO fast! Her little personality comes out each day and she is sooo quirky and funny! She loves to dance, and will even dance to commercial jingles. Her favorite show is American Idol (with High School Musical 3 being her favorite movie), and she will dance right along to the music as she watches it faithfully. She's our musical prodigy. lol. She also LOVES to clap, wave, and literally say "ha" (hi) to anyone who looks at her. What a social butterfly!! Each day is a new experience, that's for sure, and Maddie is definitely keeping us laughing.

Spring is here! And with it comes outside activities...

2009-03-20T16:18:00.004-06:00

Now that the weather is beautiful here, we decided to take little Maddie to the park for the first time. It was a BLAST! She had so much fun going down slides and on the see-saws, but her favorite above all was the swings! I sat her on my lap while we swang and she squealed and laughed the whole time. It was fun to watch her enjoy the park so much--we'll definitely have to continue going during the summer.

In other news, my parents have been here this week and we've had a blast. They initially came to help my brother with some job hunting searches, but he quickly found one that suited him so we were able to enjoy their company. Maddie's got to know her grandma and grandpa pretty well, too. My mom was quick to take her during the hours that I work and Maddie warmed up to them in no time. She really enjoys their attention and love. :) We'll be going to the zoo on Saturday since it'll be in the 70's that day. Stay posted for more pictures!

But here's two cute pictures that Spencer took with his phone while we were at the park. (My mom has better ones from her camera, but i don't have access to those quite yet.):

The good, the bad, and the cuteness...

2009-03-07T22:10:00.004-07:00

There's ALWAYS something happening with the Empeys, that's for sure. This weekend, however, the happenings were sickening, literally. A flu "bug" has been traveling around at work, and unfortunately I caught it. Needless to say, on Friday I spent the night with a bucket next to my bed. Hopefully I will get to feeling better, but for now i'm trying really hard not to get my little family sick.

My family will be here on Thursday! Very exciting to have them spending time with us on their spring break!! :)

And, as promised, here is a picture of the b-day present we made for my mom. As you can probably tell, the butterfly wings are maddie's precious little handprints. Her footprints are on the back, along with a copyright title for "Madisen's Creations." We had a lot of fun making it and are planning to go back and make more for other family members and for ourselves too! Spencer was the creative master for the border and I did the detail work for all the bugs, etc. GREAT teamwork! What do ya think?!?

And here's an updated picture of Miss Madisen. She is getting cuter and cuter and her little personality continues to shine brighter. Her favorite activities now are "peekaboo" and "pat-a-cake". And she absoultely LOVES talking with Grandma and Grandpa on our new webcam! :) (Thanks again for that great gift!)

Since it's daylight savings time already, I better get ready for bed--hopefully i'll be able to make it to church tomorrow. Fingers crossed!!

Surprise!

2009-02-25T22:08:00.002-07:00

So we just found out that my parents will be coming out to visit during their spring break in March! :) What a fun surprise for us!! I will be seeing my mom at the end of April when we go to DisneyWorld, but I was sad that my dad wouldn't be seeing Maddie since he won't be coming to Disney World with us. But he'll be here in two weeks!! We're very excited to have them come and we always look forward to having family close by.

Only 62 days until Disney World! I cannot tell you how excited we are. Our countdown is still going strong, and we look forward to taking a link off of our chain every day. I've been reading all I can find on how to have a good experience with a small child, and from what i've read so far--going with a small child is the BEST time to go! I think i've called our hotel at least a DOZEN times to see what kind of accommodations they have since we'll have bottles to wash, etc. Long story short, I can't wait to share that experience with Maddie. Now i know everyone is probably sick of hearing about Disney World from us, so i'll stop my Disney commentary short here. Just know that even if i'm not writing about it, i'm still WANTING to. :) Hope you all have a great night.

Happy Birthday tomorrow, Mom! Wish we could be in College Station with you, but we hope you're enjoying Kimmy and Gramps!

P.S. Hope you like your gift. You could say...Maddie had a "hand" in it. lol. (We'll post pictures tomorrow of the present we sent my mom--don't wanna ruin the surprise beforehand).

Maddie Screams

2009-02-11T21:52:00.003-07:00

So Maddie has now learned to "mimic" people when they do certain things. In this little video, Spencer was screaming a little and Maddie picked up on it..take a look..

*CAUTION: Make sure your volume isn't all the way up, or her screaming will burst eardrums!!*

Same ol' Same ol'

2009-02-10T22:11:00.003-07:00

Not much to report on thus far in the week--still trying to get all references and background checks done for our new applicants--and what a long process that is (job security, i suppose). One day i'll finish with it all, but until then i'm trying to keep a positive outlook. Keeping busy DOES make the days go by faster so then it seems that I'm home before I know it spending time with Maddie and Spencer which is the BEST and MOST FAVORITE part of my day.

Stressful Week...Is that an Understatement?

2009-02-03T22:20:00.004-07:00

So far, this week has been ANYTHING but relaxing. At work, we started out the week with "New Resident Sign Ups" and BOY were we asking for it! We had lines out the door and down the street full of girls waiting to sign up to live at Liberty Square. And now, I get to try and place all these people while trying to accommodate all their preferences. What a nightmare! And that's only the first part of accepting the application--now our office girls have to check references (slow going so far...) and then all these new residents have to be entered into our system. NOT TO MENTION--this all needs to be done within two weeks! I suppose the good news in all of this is we're already almost full for girls after a day of accepting applications (To give you an idea of how massive yesterday was, we have a total of about 400 girls spots and they're ALMOST full!). Work now and then relax later, i guess.

In other news, Maddie is just as cute as ever. She had her first Cheerio today and LOVED it. :) Mom almost had a heart attack when she gagged for a second at the texture (I thought she was choking!!) We also found out that she absolutely loves peas! Who knew?!? We were a bit surprised and taken aback when she fussed for more. After all, aren't babies supposed to hate vegetables? If so, our baby is going against the grain. She seems to love them--her absolute favorite (so far) is squash and will eat a WHOLE jar with no problem. Funny how babies are so different, eh? She's getting closer to crawling--she's learned to push her back and bottom into the crawling position and rocks back and forth--no motion quite yet, however. We're not complaining though. We hear that once they're mobile there's no stopping them, so we're enjoying the last "hour" of a free baby-proof home. Although...we can tell she's almost there!

If it's even possible, we're becoming more and more excited about our upcoming trip to Disney World! :) Yes, it's 84 days away, but that gives me something to look forward to every day that I have to go to work. It'll be fun to have that week off to spend at the happiest place on earth with my family! I'll spare you the Disney clipart THIS post, but expect to see it more often than not.

Getting Closer

2009-01-28T21:36:00.003-07:00

Our Little Maddie is getting closer and closer to crawling! :) She definitely has the desire to move, but is still trying to learn how to get those legs to move the way she wants them to! We're giving her a LOT of floor time and she seems to be progressing each day! It's hard to believe how quickly they learn and grow. She's already 7 months! Crazy how time flies.

Pushing Herself Up to the Crawling Position

Trying to get those legs to move

Her little personality shows through more and more each day! She's an agreeable and happy baby, and she definitely loves her mommy and daddy, almost too much! She wants to play with us all the time!! :) And of course, we're happy to oblige.

90 more days!

2009-01-27T22:46:00.003-07:00

91 More Days!!

Disney World, Here We Come!!

2009-01-26T22:51:00.005-07:00

If you didn't get it from the title of the blog, we're going to DISNEY WORLD! I have really been wanting to take Spencer for a while since he's never been, but the flights from Salt Lake City to Orlando have been SO high (like $600 per person). So when the flights dropped to less than $200 per person, we jumped on the chance to book our flights. We'll be going at the end of May through the first week of April, which is one of the best times to go since it won't be too crowded yet. And as anyone who knows our family can tell you, we're all BIG Disney fans. Little Maddie will be coming with us which adds to the excitement because i'll get to share the experience with my own child. Yes, she'll only be 11 months old, but it'll still be very magical nonetheless, especially for Spencer and I as we watch Maddie's reactions to rides, etc. To help us out with Maddie, my mom will be flying out to be with us and my sister who lives in Ft. Lauderdale will be coming up as well. This way, Spencer and I can still ride the fun, non-kid rides--we'll just do "baby swapping" (a cool feature of Disney which allows parties with children to "swap" rides, meaning one person goes while the other watches the kids and then gets to go RIGHT on rather than have to wait in line again). And Julie--if you're reading--you can come down and join the party too! :) We'd LOVE to have you there with us, if you can!

To get excited about the trip, our family will be counting down the days until we go. For family night tonight, we made a "countdown chain" that we put in our kitchen:

The sign says "We're going to Disney World In..." and the chains each have the number of days left. Currently, we have 92 days left! Yeah it's a bit away, but we're very much looking forward to this trip...if you can't already tell. And from now until then, we plan on introducing Maddie to as many Disney characters as possible by watching the plethora of Disney DVD's we have. :) We'll keep you posted on the countdown!! :) Zipidee Do Da!

Family Night

2009-01-19T22:03:00.003-07:00

Happy Martin Luther King day! :) Spencer enjoyed the day off of school today, but I unfortunately had to work--not a paid holiday for the apartment business. Our small little family was sick over the weekend, and I had two days of sick leave on Thursday and Friday. Although it wasn't optimal to be at home sick, I secretly enjoyed it because I got to spend time with my baby girl. Needless to say, it was sad going back today. But I got through the work day with a few coughs and a runny nose, and was super glad to be home.

Tonight we had our family night as we do every Monday. I put together a scripture treasure hunt & picked out scriptures which mentioned "household items." For example, Mark 4:38 talks about Christ being on a ship resting his head on a "pillow"--which is where the next clue was hidden and so on. It was really fun--obviously I was the one who hid the clues, so I wasn't allowed to participate which left Spencer to be the treasure hunter. Once we have more kids, I think it'd be fun to watch our little ones racing around the house to try and find the clues--so i'm saving all of our family night ideas and compiling a "family binder". Afterwards, we had homemade ice cream sandwiches and played Rock Band! :) It's been a fun night--the funnest way to spend the day, that's for sure!

And Maddie is FINALLY getting over her little cold, thank heavens. She has starting rolling consistently now. Before it was hit and miss, but now she seems to understand the mechanics of the rolling process--we're trying to encourage her movement even though i'm sure once she's crawling we'll wish for her to be stationary again. :)

Well, off to bed so we can be ready for another day! Luvs!

Hustle and Bustle

2009-01-16T22:16:00.014-07:00

So the holidays are over, but in the hustle and bustle of things, I have completely neglected my blog!! So much has happened in such a short amount of time that this MIGHT be a long post. :) We thoroughly enjoyed our holiday season, and made sure to do something "festive" almost everyday in December including looking at lights around the city, making Christmas treats, delivering Christmas treats, going to Live Nativities, and so on. It was so much fun, especially since we had little Maddie to share it with. We were able to go down to Vegas for Christmas which was so much fun. After looking through our pictures, i realized that most of our Christmas moments are on our DVD camcorder and not on our actual camera--so the photos I can upload are slim pickings. About a week before Christmas, Spencer's extended family (uncles, cousins, etc.) had a Christmas party and since Maddie was the ONLY small baby, she got to help in the Nativity by being the Baby Jesus. (of course that meant taking off her dress and bow). It was really fun--and I think i went a little crazy with the camera, so i'll just post some of the best ones:

As I said earlier, we spent Christmas in Vegas. A few days before we left to go down, it snowed in VEGAS! Apparently they got 5-6 inches of snow. It had already melted by the time we got there, but it was still pretty chilly for Vegas. We really enjoyed family company and had a blast helping Maddie with all of her presents! She made out like a bandit this year--Santa must really like her! :) Now that she's sitting up and more interactive, she needed a lot of developmental toys and some other essentials like--a new baby bath. Maddie has now outgrown her small bathtub, so "Santa" got her a chair for the BIG bathtub. Makes a BIG difference, too--a lot less mess and a whole lot more room:

Maddie Enjoying her NEW bathtub chair

That's about all we have for photos--everything else has been recorded. So if you wanna see, come on over! :) And since Christmas, lots has been happening with Maddie--her first two teeth are breaking through and they are SHARP!! No pictures quite yet since they are still in the process of breaking through. Once they show up on camera, you bet i'll post them! And Maddie has been making strides to start the crawling process. She shows real desire to move, but hasn't quite mastered it. She'll move her arms and then fall on her tummy. But she's trying! Here's a question for all you mothers out there---when did YOUR babies start crawling?!? I've heard from some that their babies started as early as 5 months and then others don't start until 10 months--i've even heard that some skip crawling altogether and walk instead. Crazy how different every baby is, but we're trying to help her learn the process. That's basically what's been happening with our little family! :) We are so blessed to have such a beautiful baby girl. She is so sweet and loving--she loves to cuddle with her mommy and daddy and LOVES to play. We can't wait to see what other surprises she has up her sleeves!

Our Little Reindeer

2008-12-05T22:05:00.004-07:00

Maddie's learning to love the season just as much as we do!!

Tonight, Spencer and I ordered some pizza and watched "The Santa Clause" by the Christmas tree. Maddie joined us for the first little bit, but had to go to bed half way through. She seemed to enjoy the movie, though, or maybe her eyes were glazed over with sleepiness. :)

We're trying to do something "Christmassy" each night so that we can make the most of the holidays, so tomorrow we'll be doing some Christmas shopping during the day and then we'll be attending "The Living Nativity" tomorrow night. I'm really looking forward to seeing it, and we'll let you know how it is. But honestly, who could go wrong with the Nativity story?!?

20 days till Christmas!

Our Home at Christmas...

2008-12-04T22:03:00.008-07:00

To give you a mere glimpse at our house during the holidays, here's some pictures....

Entryway

Foyer

Sign below stairs

View from stairs

View from kitchen

Advent Calendar on Kitchen Table

As i said, this is JUST a glimpse--there's a lot more decorations elsewhere, but one of my close friends put it this way, "It looks like Christmas threw up in your house." Nice, i know, but a very effective analogy. :) And tomorrow, we're putting up the outside decorations, so stay tuned for those! Let the countdown to Christmas continue!!!! :)

The Beginning of the Holiday Season

2008-12-03T21:52:00.003-07:00

During the Thanksgiving break, our little family traveled down to Las Vegas to spend Thanksgiving with Spencer's family. This was Maddie's first time down to Grandma and Grandpa's, and she did really well. I was especially worried about the car trip down and back (6 hours in the car, both ways), but Maddie did really well--of course she did--she's always so good natured. And normally I dread the drive as well, but I had Stephanie Meyer books to occupy my time...that's right. I gave into the "Twilight" craze and started reading the books before I went to see the new movie. I finished the first book in less than a day and had the ENTIRE series read in less than a week. They are SUPER addicting, and I fell absolutely in love with them. So, needless to say, this time I didn't mind the trip to and from Vegas because that gave me some time to read! :)

We had a great time with our family and are super excited to be going back for Christmas!! I love this time of year as anyone who knows me can tell you. I am somewhat obsessed with the Christmas season and I try, in every way, to make Christmas a part of my families' lives as well. We had our Christmas decorations up before Thanksgiving (thank you, Spencer!) and we've been enjoying local Christmas festivities. On Monday, December 1st, our little family went to the "Lights On Celebration" in Provo. Down Center street in Provo, UT, the city decorates and lights up the entire street starting on the first day of December. So we were there to witness the official "beginning" of the season. Maddie absolutely LOVED it--when the lights went on after the countdown, she could NOT stop looking around! All the trees were lit and lots of decorations were put up--needless to say, she was occupied for most of the night! Later that night, we came home and had homemade hot chocolate. It was a fun day, and we're trying to do something fun each day to bring the Christmas Spirit into our home. So for now, Happy Holidays to all, and we hope you enjoy the season as much as we will! :) Goodnight!

Pictures from the "Lights on Celebration"

Daddy and Maddie

Mommy and Maddie

A Developmental Milestone

2008-11-18T22:23:00.007-07:00

This weekend was a not so great one--I was pretty sick over much of the weekend. Luckily, Spencer was here to nurse me back to health by making his amazing homemade chicken noodle soup. Not only that, but he was at my side and catering to every request all weekend long! Talk about an amazing husband!! Consequently, however, my being sick got little Maddie sick as well. The poor girl is super stuffed up and is having a hard time breathing through her nose--of course I feel responsible for it since I should have shown more restraint and kept my distance from her--but you've seen her!! She's super irresistible!! So when she wakes up during the middle of the night for whatever reason, I automatically think it's because she can't breathe and I rush into her room... :( Spencer, however, hasn't gotten sick, and i'm VERY thankful for that. I'm glad at least one of us is healthy and can get things done around the house, etc.

On the upside, Maddie had her first helping of rice cereal this week. Our doctor said we shouldn't give her any until 6 months, but EVERYONE i've talked with said they had their babies eating rice cereal at 4 months. So, of course, temptation set in, and we fed some to her last night! All I can say is--how entertaining! :) Most of us don't remember having to learn to eat from a spoon, but all of us did--and it was MESSY!!! Here are a couple of snap shots after the entire feeding (i'm thinking she got more on her bib and face than in her mouth!

She's also learning how to feed herself with only a little help from mom. She is so interested in using her hands and she's realized that her hands can do several things, like holding her own bottle. :) Our little girl is growing up...sniff sniff..

And here's the first few minutes of her first EVER cereal feeding...it goes on for a while, but you'll notice that she gets impatient when she has to wait for the next bite--she's used to eating until SHE decides she's done. Halfway through her cereal, she was getting SO frustrated that we let her eat her bottle and then resumed the cereal at a later time. (So forgive the whining she does in between bites at times--she hasn't been feeling too good). Still adorable, though :)

(Video coming soon...Wouldn't let me upload it)

It's fast how quickly they grow up. Now, i know that Maddie isn't super old, but i feel like time has flown. We were looking at pictures of her when she was a tiny newborn, and it's crazy how many physical and developmental changes there are between birth and even five months!! It's sad to me that she's not a little newborn anymore, and every day she seems to want more independence--i'm not ready!!! I guess now i understand why people have more than just one child, not that i'm planning on having any more any time soon...But the memories are sweet, and I have thoroughly enjoyed these last five months of being a mommy. I reccommend it to all :)

Marriage is Sacred

2008-11-09T22:03:00.002-07:00

With so many opinions floating around about whether or not gay marriage is right/wrong, I would just like to remind all my friends (especially my LDS friends) what the prophet of God has said. This is not a new doctrine--in fact, this doctrine has even been set since the days of Sodom and Gomorrah. Anyone who has gained a testimony of the church then believes that there is a living prophet on earth who speaks on God's behalf. And anyone who believes there is a prophet here on earth should also believe that his words are then considered "living scripture" which is EVEN more important than the standard works because it applies to us in our own time. In many instances, the prophets have spoken on the sanctity of marriage and how Satan's biggest attack will be on the family. Because the prophets have said it better than I have, here are some links that capture just how important marriage between a man and a woman is.

http://www.mormon.org/mormonorg/eng/basic-beliefs/the-restoration-of-truth/the-gospel-blesses-families-and-individuals and http://www.lds.org/library/display/0,4945,161-1-11-1,FF.html

Hope this helps any of my friends who may be confused on the church's doctrine. :)

Facts about the LDS Church & Proposition 8

2008-11-09T21:53:00.004-07:00

Here's some great information I found about Proposition 8 and the LDS churchs' involvement:

Get the Facts about the LDS Church & Proposition 8
The Facts:

1. Mormons make up less than 2% of the population of California. There are approximately 800,000 LDS out of a total population of approximately 34 million.

2. If one estimates that 250,000 LDS are registered voters (the rest being children), then out of a total of 5,661,583 yes votes, LDS voters made up 4.4% of the Yes vote and 2.3% of the total Proposition 8 vote (11,050,301).

3. The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (Mormons) donated no money to the Yes on 8 campaign (except for a nominal, and legal, in-kind donation of $2,078.97, to cover the travel expenses of leaders coming from Utah for a meeting). Individual members of the Church were encouraged to support the Yes on 8 efforts and, exercising their constitutional right to free speech, donated whatever they felt like donating.

4. The No on 8 campaign raised more money than the Yes on 8 campaign. Unofficial estimates put No on 8 at $38 million and Yes on 8 at $36 million, making it the most expensive non-presidential election in the country.

5. Advertising messages for the Yes on 8 campaign are based on case law and real-life situations. The No on 8 supporters have insisted that the Yes on 8 messaging is based on lies. Every Yes on 8 claim is supported.

6. The majority of our friends and neighbors voted Yes on 8. Los Angeles County voted in favor of Yes on 8. Ventura County voted in favor of Yes on 8.

7. African Americans overwhelmingly supported Yes on 8. Exit polls show that 70% of Black voters chose Yes on 8. This was interesting because the majority of these voters voted for President-elect Obama. No on 8 supporters had assumed that Obama voters would vote No on 8.

8. The majority of Latino voters voted Yes on 8. Exit polls show that the majority of Latinos supported Yes on 8 and cited religious beliefs (assumed to be primarily Catholic).

9. The Yes on 8 coalition was a broad spectrum of religious organizations. Catholics, Evangelicals, Protestants, Orthodox Jews, Muslims - all supported Yes on 8. It is estimated that there are 10 million Catholics and 10 million Protestants in California. Mormons were a tiny fraction of the population represented by Yes on 8 coalition members.

10. Not all Mormons voted in favor of Proposition 8. Our faith accords that each person be allowed to choose for him or her self. Church leaders have asked members to treat other members with "civility, respect and love," despite their differing views.

11. The Church did not violate the principal of separation of church and state. This principle is derived from the First Amendment to the United States Constitution, which reads, "Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof . . ." The phrase "separation of church and state", which does not appear in the Constitution itself, is generally traced to an 1802 letter by Thomas Jefferson, although it has since been quoted in several opinions handed down by the United States Supreme Court in recent years. The LDS Church is under no obligation to refrain from participating in the political process, to the extent permitted by law. U.S. election law is very clear that Churches may not endorse candidates, but may support issues. The Church has always been very careful on this matter and occasionally (not often) chooses to support causes that it feels to be of a moral nature.

12. Supporters of Proposition 8 did exactly what the Constitution provides for all citizens: they exercised their First Amendment rights to speak out on an issue that concerned them, make contributions to a cause that they support, and then vote in the regular electoral process. For the most part, this seems to have been done in an open, fair, and civil way. Opponents of 8 have accused supporters of being bigots, liars, and worse. The fact is, we simply did what Americans do - we spoke up, we campaigned, and we voted.

I did not write these facts, a man named Kevin Hamilton did, but these facts are floating around the Internet, in e-mails and on blogs, like wildfire.

Please also note Mr. Hamilton's disclaimer that accompanied the original text:

"Any errors are mine and in no way reflect official Church policy or doctrine."

I wholeheartedly agree. If you would like official church statements about anything regarding Proposition 8, please direct your inquiries to the LDS Church headquarters in Salt Lake City.

Thank you!

SOURCES

1. http://www.newsroom.lds.org/ldsnewsroom/eng/contact-us/usa-california

http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/lanow/2008/10/now-the-mormon.html

2. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/California_Proposition_8_(2008)

3. http://www.sltrib.com/news/ci_10842051

4. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/California_Proposition_8_(2008)

5. Here’s just a couple:

Legalization of same-sex marriage threatens parental rights:

Parker v. Hurley

http://link.brightcove.com/services/player/bcpid1815825713

http://www.conservapedia.com/Parker_v._Hurley

Legalization of same-sex marriage threatens religious freedoms:

Ocean Grove Camp Meeting Association v. Bernstein and Pester

http://www.lifesitenews.com/ldn/2007/sep/07091902.html

6. http://www.cnn.com/ELECTION/2008/results/individual/#CAI01

7. http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/lanow/2008/11/70-of-african-a.html

8. http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/lanow/2008/11/70-of-african-a.html

http://www.cnn.com/ELECTION/2008/results/polls/#val=CAI01p1

9. http://www.protectmarriage.com/about/organization

http://www.catholicnewsagency.com/resource.php?n=282

http://abcnews.go.com/Politics/5050/story?id=6137237&page=1

http://www.forward.com/articles/14521/

http://510report.org/2008/11/08/fremont-muslims-vote-for-prop-8/

10. http://www.deseretnews.com/article/1,5143,705260852,00.html

11. http://www.usconstitution.net/const.html

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Separation_of_church_and_state_in_the_United_States#cite_note-0

http://edocket.access.gpo.gov/cfr_2008/aprqtr/pdf/26cfr1.501(c)(3)-1.pdf

Election Day...

2008-11-04T22:12:00.002-07:00

And so begins the end of days....May God bless America. We're gonna need it.

Halloween Festivities

2008-11-01T23:22:00.008-06:00

Happy Halloween to all--a day late, I know, but we were so involved with festivities that I didn't get a chance to write! This year was the first year that Spencer and I had a child to go "trick or treating" with! :) Although we didn't gather much candy, we did go to some of our friends' houses to show off little Maddie's costume. It was really fun to dress Maddie up in her frills, etc. And although she won't remember this time, I will forever and always.

We didn't have very many trick or treaters, so after we took Maddie to a few places, we went over to Grandpa Millett's home--Grandma Williams is in town now, and Maddie is definitely loving the attention she's giving her! So we ate dinner and then stayed up to play "Mexican Train". It's actually a pretty fun game. Because my mom didn't want us to go at Maddie's bedtime, she offered to have Maddie stay the night in a pack-and-play over there. Although it was hard for me to leave her, I did it!!! This is the first time she's been so far away from me!! We left around 11:30p.m., and I was back over to Grandpa's house by 8a.m. I just missed her too much! It was nice, though, to have a relaxing night with Spencer, I must admit.

Today we went to Gardner's Village. Spencer and I had gone about two weeks ago, but it was sooo cute that I just had to show my mother. To recap from a previous post, Gardner's Village is basically the same concept as "Downtown Disney". It's a bunch of shops put together in a village type of setting. My mom really loved it! Because it's the day after Halloween, they still had all the Halloween decorations up which was fun for my mom to see. I just can't wait to see their decorations for Christmas!! Needless to say....i'll love the decorations because i'm obsessed with Christmas decorations & Christmas in general. It's SUCH a fun time of the year...but i'm getting ahead of myself--

Here are a couple of pictures of Maddie as a "Fairy Princess" for Halloween. Could she BE any cuter?? She just lights up our lives SOO much!

Complete with crown & wand
And the wings are to DIE for!
We still have glitter everywhere from her costume!

Hope everyone had a great Halloween and a great beginning to November...

Busy weekend...

2008-10-25T22:53:00.002-06:00

This weekend has already been super busy!!! Yesterday, Spencer and I made batches and batches of pumpkin chocolate chip cookies--some for us, some for friends, and the rest for a primary activity day I had this morning. Lemme just say--it's never fall until you've made a batch of pumpkin cookies. NOW the season feels right :) Last night we also bought "Wii Fit" for the Wii station. That thing is incredible and addicting--exercising has never been so much fun! Not only does it have activities/workouts for you to do, but it also measures your BMI and tracks your daily progress with balance, weight loss, etc. Reader's digest version?...It's motivated Spencer and I to become healther and more fit. We were up exercising until about midnight last night.

And when we woke up this morning...Spencer was back to exercising. :) As mentioned earlier, I had a primary activity day to go to today. I was released from being a teacher in the primary and then called to become the primary secretary. As sad as I was to leave the kids, I'm enjoying my new calling thus far. This morning the kids painted pumpkins (while we tried to keep the GYM from being painted) and they seemed to have a fun time. After the activity day, I came back and watched the BYU game with Spencer and little Maddie. Thank goodness they won, although it seemed like a struggle to even beat UNLV (which, lets be honest, aren't that great at football). Hopefully BYU gets back into shape and plays like the first couple of games they had this season. Otherwise, they're in trouble.

And tonight--watching scary movies at home--yes, I've been watching scary movies with Spencer. It's the LEAST I could do for him..I just hope i'm not up all night tonight waiting for Michael or scary demons to come and get me. Spencer really enjoys October because of all the Halloween movies that come on and although I don't enjoy them, I stay with him for moral support ;) It seems like i've been go, go, going all weekend, and i'm ready for a much needed break tomorrow. Thank goodness it's Sunday tomorrow. Happy Sabbath to all tomorrow! :)

Remembering Grandma Millett

2008-10-22T22:31:00.003-06:00

Happy Birthday to our Grandma Millett!! We love her so much, and although she is no longer with us here on Earth, we still celebrate her life and the love she showed to all of her family & friends. Sadly, Madisen never got the chance to meet her great Grandma, but we will make sure to let Grams live on in our hearts so that Madisen will know and love her too. :)

Ah, Success...

2008-10-21T22:25:00.004-06:00

It worked!!! :) Maddie went down at 9:30 as told, and she slept all the way until 6:30!! I was a little worried that her going to bed a bit earlier might throw off her nap schedule during the day, but she did just fine at all her naps! YAY!! Incredible--and tonight we did the same thing, so we're crossing our fingers for another good night (I'm always a little skeptical after just ONE night--once it's been three nights in a row, then I start to believe. lol). Now the only problem is--when i'm up for a whole hour once she's down, I freaking miss her!!! It's weird being up with her not with me, but at the same time the time I get to spend with Spencer is most welcome. I feel it's still important to strengthen the marriage relationship, even if we only get an hour a day alone together.

Thanks, Alicia, for the gift idea. It's always nice to find cute (but easy on the wallet) gift ideas. :) We'll definitely be taking some pictures and putting them in frames. Like you said, grandparents ALWAYS love pictures.

Just wanted to update everyone on our scheduling success!!! Sweet dreams...

Hoping this doesn't backfire...

2008-10-20T21:35:00.003-06:00

So, we're trying something new tonight with Maddie's routine. Because I want to spend as much time with Maddie as possible, she has had a later schedule than most 4 month olds. We put her to bed around 10 normally--she'll sleep until 6a.m., we'll feed her, and then she'll go back down until around 8:30-9a.m. This has seemed to work out pretty well for us, but around 10p.m., I am SOOO tired that Spencer and I don't really get any quality time together or for ourselves. So tonight we're doing a trial schedule change. Instead of waiting until 10, we started the "going to bed" process at 9p.m. and she was in bed by 9:30p.m. This way, Spencer and I have a WHOLE hour before we hit the hay. haha. I'm just hoping our plan doesn't backfire by Maddie waking up at like 5a.m. since she's used to a 10-6 rather than a 9-6. We'll see i guess. I'll definitely be praying extra hard tonight. :)

And another week begins--Mondays are always a little slow for me at work. It just seems like the day creeps by so slowly. Things in the apartment business are starting to slow down (October and November are the slowest months of the year) which doesn't help either--when there's not much to do, the days seem longer. When I got home, Spencer and I made BBQ chicken "pita pizzas." We made real BBQ chicken pizza last night for our family dinner (everyone seemed to like it, even C.J. who is about as picky as I am), but we had so much shredded chicken and cheese left that we're trying to use it up. And Spencer's really into the series, "Heroes", so we watched that tonight too. I must say, it's really easy to get hooked to any show. I'm not the super hero type, but if I watch it, I wanna know what happens next.

My mom is coming to Provo in 10 days!!! :) We're super excited about her coming, and Maddie has mentioned to me on SEVERAL occassions (a little bit of an exaggeration) that we should do something special for her--so we're trying to come up with a cute gift that Maddie can give my mom--if you have any ideas, let me know! I'm definitely open to suggestions.

Anyhow, i'm definitely hoping for a good night--now it's time for a little cuddle time with Spencer. Ah, the sweet things in life! Goodnight to all!

Saturday Fun

2008-10-19T01:23:00.003-06:00

So we went to Gardner's Village today and had a BLAST--so much so that I forgot to take pictures!! I'm so sorry!! But that place is ADORABLE. We got there around 11:00 and stayed until about 3p.m. They have an amazing restaurant there where we ate, and then shopped around the stores. While we were shopping we found the PERFECT costume for Maddie. We were thinking we'd make her a ladybug or bumble bee, but I melted when I saw the cutest Fairy costume. So, of course, we bought it. When we got home, we put her in it and holy cow--she looked precious! Can I say that I absolutely love being a mommy? That little girl makes me melt.

Later on, we had a "Girls Night In" at my place. My sisters-in-law, my sister in laws roommate, and my best friend Gloria came over and we loaded up on chick food (chips & dip, cookes, ice-cream, pizza, etc) and watched movies (Made of Honor & Bed of Roses). Let me tell you--I seriously under estimated how important girls nights are! It was a blast and I had so much fun hanging out with the girls. Maddie joined us for the first little bit, but when it was time for bed Daddy took her upstairs and put her to bed. Spencer was super sweet to give us girl time--he's really understanding about those things. He helped me put together all of the treats, etc. I'm super glad I married such a thoughtful guy! :) And even though Spencer referred to Gardner's Village as an "estrogen fest" (there were only a HANDFUL of guys, Spencer being one of them), he still came grinning and bearing it. What wife could ask for more?

It's super late now, and we're heading off to bed. We'll definitely be tired for church tomorrow!! Because I'm primary secretary, i'll probably be running around the building doing stuff tomorrow, so that'll keep me up. haha. Wishing all a restful night....

And thanks to all the girls that participated in this weeks Girls Night In. Maybe i'll make that a tradition and add more girls to the roster! :) Goodnight!

2008-10-17T17:46:00.004-06:00

So this is a couple weeks old, but absolutely CUTE! Maddie is SUCH a talker and basically talks to anything that seems to have a face. The older she gets, the more she talks, and we love it. Maddie has this little flower wall hanging in her room and she will literally have conversations with it while i'm burping her at night and in the morning. She even tries to find it so they can finish the conversations they started. We'll have to make sure to get a clip of that for ya, but for now, this is Maddie talking with Mommy (please excuse the screeching and squealing coming from me..haha)

(Sorry it's a little blurry--i took this with my cell phone camera)

And here's one i took today--she was kind of distracted by my cell phone, so she didn't talk as much as she normally does--she normally squeals, screams and smiles while she's talking but the cell phone fascinated her. :)

(Extreme close-up as she's lying in my arms--I could only do so much with the camera angle!)

Friday is here at last....

2008-10-17T14:01:00.001-06:00

Let me start out by saying how sad I am about BYU's loss against TCU!! It's not so much the loss that's frustrating but that we looked like a high school team doing it! Honestly--We WERE ranked #8 in the nation, but since we lost to a team ranked #24 we can kiss that goodbye. We'll be lucky if we're even ranked in the top #25 now. AND--i'm thinking Max Hall will no longer be a Heisman candidate considering how many interceptions, etc he threw last night. Too sad... Oh BYU--the qwest for perfection has been halted. It was painful to watch, but hopefully they learned a valuable lesson--do NOT let rankings, etc get to your head! You have to play every game as if it's your hardest.

You can tell that i'm pretty passionate about football. lol. It's almost embarrassing watching it with friends because I get so into it that i'm yelling and screaming at the t.v. I get that from my mom, I suppose. I remember watching sports with her and laughing when she'd yell at the t.v. And now i do it too! :) As if they can hear me!! At least "The Office" was on last night--i'm addicted to that show. It's hilarious! And Gloria--if you're reading this, we need to have another Office party soon! That was WAY fun! :) Tomorrow, our little family is planning on going to Gardner's Village in West Valley. My friend Jen Lu told me about it, and it sounds really fun. Basically it's a small little town that has been turned into shops, so every house is a store. They decorate really cute for the holidays, so apparently it looks like Harry Potter's "Diagon Alley" right now. We'll definitely post pictures for all to see. Anyhow, I'm on my lunch break right now and Maddie's waking up for feeding time--i'll update soon!

2008-10-15T22:32:00.003-06:00

So today started off with a bang--well, actually screaming from Madisen. Maddie woke up at 3 a.m. for some unknown reason and cried for 45 minutes straight which NEVER happens. So, after she cried, I went in to rock her and console her. She fell asleep in my arms, so i tried to gently put her back into her crib--of course she woke up so I had to start the whole rocking/calming process over again. About 2 hours after she woke up, she was finally back to sleeping soundly. I am STUMPED--we thought maybe she's starting to teethe (she's been fussy about eating and sleeping a bit lately), so we bought her some baby orajel. If she wakes up again, we'll see if that helps. Needless to say, both Spencer and I were exhausted today. He had school and studying, and I had work--a BYU Landlord Conference, to be exact. Other than the confusing night, it's been a good day--once it was morning, I found Maddie cooing and smiling in bed when i went to get her up for the day. It's like nothing ever happened! lol. She was very good natured and well behaved all day and EVEN took good naps (which isn't surprising since she didn't sleep as much as she normally does).

My grandpa is back in town which is a a relief. He watches Maddie on Mondays and Wednesdays from 12-2p.m. because Spencer has a 3 hour lab, and I can't take my break until 2, so there's a gap there where we need someone. He's been up in Michigan and Ohio visiting my two sisters, so we're glad to have him back--it's stressful to have to figure out who'll be watching her from week to week, ya know? Anyhow, my mom will be coming into town in two weeks!!! :) We're super excited to have her and Maddie can't WAIT! My mom is already asking if she can be Maddie's pseudo mother for two weeks. :) It's nice to know that Mom loves her so much!

Tomorrow my boss is coming into town for his monthly visit. I'm prepared and ready for him to be here, but I always get a little nervous when he comes--he can be a little intimidating sometimes, so i'm always a little nervous. But since it's "National Boss Day" tomorrow, I bought him a small gift (a coffee mug filled with candy and a box of assorted chocolates wrapped in celophane and tied with a bow--and of course a card). Hopefully he appreciates the gesture. Afterall, he has been VERY good to me and my family. Anyhow, the weeks almost over, and i'm super excited about both the BYU game (BYU vs. TCU at 6p.m. on Versus!!) AND the Office that will be televised tomorrow!! :) Oh the simple joys of life... Hope to have a good night tonight...i'm crossing my fingers and praying for Maddie to have a calm night. Ciao

A Wonderful Weekend

2008-10-12T22:34:00.003-06:00

What an eventful weekend!! Saturday was my birthday, and Spencer showered me with love and kindness. Maddie wakes up for a 6 a.m. feeding, and Spencer fed her that morning so that I could sleep in. Much to my surprise, Spencer did NOT come back to sleep after Maddie was down. Instead, he was busily working in the kitchen to prepare his birthday breakfast specialty, "Moco Loco". (It's a Hawaiian breakfast dish that he learned to make on his mission). At around 8:30a.m., Spencer and Maddie woke me up to sing happy birthday. While Spencer finished his breakfast preparations, Mommy and Maddie snuggled in bed!! :) That's the best way to wake up in the morning, let me tell you! We spent a low key morning at home until about 11:30 when we headed up to Salt Lake to visit the "Body World's" exhibition. It was AMAZING to see!! Although it was smaller than the normal one in Vegas, this exhibit had so many human preservations to look at. All in all, it reminded me how amazing the human body really is--and also--how there is NO way that we just appeared from a "big bang", etc. There is obviously a Master Crafter who made us because the body is too complex and intricate just to have happened. After spending the day in Salt Lake, we came back to Provo. Our good friends (Gloria and Kyle) watched Maddie for about an hour and a half while Spencer and I had our first date night since having our baby girl! We had a romantic dinner at P.F. Changs. :) It was a FABULOUS day, complete with MANY gifts. Spencer always makes sure to go out of his way to spoil me--I am soooo lucky to have him as mine! Thanks to all who called, emailed, came over, and sent gifts. My day was so special because of all the special people in my life! Here's a few shots of the day. Goodnight to all!

All my wonderful presents! :) SO excited about the piano!!

Close-up of smaller gifts

The loves of my life

Me and my precious Maddie

Precious!!!!!
All bundled up :)...it was in the mid-thirties this weekend!!

A Rewarding Life

2008-10-10T17:58:00.002-06:00

So i haven't updated for a while, and i apologize to you all! Things have been wonderful for us. I've adjusted to working in the office again, and life is good! I was so afraid that Maddie wouldn't know me or prefer me, but my fears were quickly dismissed now that I see that she still loves and wants her mommy! :) And now I have lots to look forward to at 5p.m. Although I had my reservations about going back to work, it seems to be working out okay. We feel really blessed to have this job. Afterall, it's a WELL paying job, we get free rent on a 2 bed/2 bathroom townhome, and i receive health benefits as well. What more could we need?!? The Lord has surely blessed me and my family, and we're so grateful. I'm not gonna say that going back was easy, but after many prayers, fasts, and constant scripture study, I finally feel at peace with this decision. I feel that the Lord has put his "stamp of approval" on my life so far! :)

But I cannot say in words how much I love my Maddie girl! She is constantly learning and growing! Last night we went and met one of Maddie's new friends (my friend Janine had her baby), and i forgot how little they are when they first arrive!! Maddie was 7 pounds 11 ounces and now that she's four months old, she looked like a giant compared to that newborn!! But she's constantly becoming more social day by day. She coos, laughs, and her new favorite thing to do is RASPBERRIES!!! Oh--and she loves her hands! They are constantly entertaining her and she loves to suck on them! She loves to go on walks and is SOOO interested in trees! She never stops looking at them! It's fun to see her explore her new world, and her parents are trying their best to teach her too!

Spencer is doing super well in school! He's got a big load, but he's handling school and being a "stay-at-home" daddy well. Now that Maddie is better about her naps during the day, he's able to do all that he needs to do! He'll be applying for dental schools in the spring of '09, so we're looking forward to seeing where that'll lead us. It's really fun to watch him with his little girl! And what can i say?!? I enjoy seeing his soft side~he's so gentle and loving with her...he's definitely a GREAT father. VERY patient and VERY loving!

And tomorrow is my birthday!! :) Spencer got tickets to Body Worlds, which is basically a museum of preserved real bodies--it shows the muscular, skeletal, and other body systems. We've heard really good things about it, so we're excited to go!! It's only in Salt Lake for a short time, so we're making sure to see it before it leaves. Spencer has been very secretive about all the birthday presents, so I really have no idea what i'll be getting. And--I haven't searched for presents this year either. lol. That's probably because we're constantly busy, so i haven't even had time to search. Later tomorrow night, we'll have a date night, just Spencer and I. I'm really looking forward to that since he and I haven't been alone since Maddie was about two months old.

It seems that everything is coming together pretty perfectly, actually. We love life. Having a baby has really put life in perspective for us and has really given purpose to our lives. Now we're living for someone else which is VERY rewarding. I'll make sure to keep updates coming! But for now, i'm gonna enjoy my Friday night with my family!

Madisen Laughs

2008-09-21T22:44:00.004-06:00

Here is a CUTE clip of Maddie--this is the first time she's ever really "laughed" out loud before, so we about melted when she started a couple of days ago. She really is the pride and joy of our lives and we're soooo grateful to have her! :) Hope you enjoy it as much as we did!!! (you might have to pause the music in order to hear it, just fyi.)

First Week...

2008-09-05T22:10:00.004-06:00

So i've finished my first week back at work, and i'm not so sure how I feel about it all. I definitely miss being home with my baby girl, but it's getting easier each day to be in the office. However, Spencer was telling me how Maddie was giving him big smiles today, and I broke down. I mean, maybe it's selfish of me to think this way, but I missed out on those big smiles because I had to work. I feel like because i'm at work during the bulk of the day, i'm gonna miss out on a lot of her development, etc. I want to stay at home, but for now I must work in order to get Spencer through school. I talked with my parents tonight and my dad made a good point. He said that later in life, I'll look back at this time and say "those were the good ol' days." It's hard to think about, but Maddie will only be small for a little while and once she's grown, I will only have the memories of her as a baby. So even though I do have to work (and i HATE it), I need to focus on my Maddie and enjoy every minute I have with her because it'll go by so fast. And if I have only focused on the bad things or wish for the time to go by fast, I'll look back and regret that I didn't enjoy her more.

So for now, i'm gonna enjoy this weekend with my little family and take one day at a time. I feel like this is the subject in a lot of my posts, but it's a big issue that i'm trying to work through. And MAYBE if i write it enough, i'll start to believe and DO what I write. :) But for now, goodnight!

Labor Day Weekend

2008-09-01T21:31:00.003-06:00

Happy Labor Day!! :) Today was a really relaxing day, and for the most part my emotions were in check. My parents-in-law left today which made me sad because it once again reminded me that real life is knocking on my door. Tomorrow I start work tomorrow...for real. But I feel that this time i'm a bit more equipped to deal with the change. I HAVE to be ready to go back because I don't think they'll give me two more weeks leniency. But this weekend was a great last "hoorah." All the in-laws were up helping Kelli and Andi move. Kelli is literally around the corner from us and is actually living in our old apartment. And Andi is not too far from us either--she'll be living with her cousin in South Jordan which is about 30 minutes away. So all of Spencer's siblings are living close by (C.J., Spencer's brother, is about 5 blocks away as well). It was fun to hang out with them this weekend, especially because it kept my mind off of the dreaded day of going back to work. But I just have to keep telling myself that it'll be okay. It's temporary for the next year and a half and I'll still get to be with her a lot during the day. PLUS, i'm literally seconds away from her if I feel the need to come home and visit for a minute. It seems the more I repeat these things to myself, the more it helps me feel peace. It also helps that both family and friends are supporting me in this decision and are willing to help at a moment's notice. Anyhow, it's about time for Maddie's feeding and bedtime, so i'll go for now. Adieu...

Family Togetherness

2008-08-30T22:40:00.002-06:00

The Cougars won their first football game of the season!! :) It was an exciting day. Spencer, Maddie, and I all dressed up in our BYU garb to cheer on the cougars, and apparently it worked. They won their game 41-17. GO COUGARS!!!!

Spencer's family has also been in town this weekend which has been really nice. I always love having family close, and since both his sisters and brother will be moving up, we'll get to see them a lot. While we taped the game, the whole family went out to Kiwanas park for a picnic and had a blast. Spencer's aunt and uncle were down from Idaho with their three boys. They are such a hoot, especially the four year-old twins, Garrett and Kyle. We basically watched them run around and laughed at the cute things they did. It was pretty fun to spend time with the in-laws. Hopefully we'll get together often during this year. I think having them close will help me to feel a litle more at ease. And later on, Spencer's parents watched Maddie while Spencer and I went swimming at the downtown marriott. It was nice to have one on one time with Spencer. Don't get me wrong--I love spending time with both Spencer and Maddie an doing things together as a family, but I feel it is still very important to spend quality time with your spouse to strengthen the marriage relationship. Anyhow, tomorrow we have church at 9 in the morning, so i should probably start heading to bed. And now that Maddie's down and asleep, maybe i'll be able to sleep as well. A good night's rest would be the best thing for me right now...

Crazy Day...

2008-08-28T22:10:00.002-06:00

Today was the first day of fall check-ins at the apartment complex I manage and WOW was it a busy one. I wasn't planning on going for very long since i'm still on maternity leave until Tuesday, but of course I had to go in for at least a little bit to see how things were going. That "little bit" turned into all day!! lol. Maddie and I went in around 9:45a.m. to see the LONG line of people that were waiting to be checked in. The line was at least two blocks long if not longer, and it took 5 of us about 3 hours or so to chop the line down. They just kept coming and coming. But, the dreaded day is now over, and we won't have to deal with another one of those until next year. :) I was a little worried about having Maddie in the office area (our owner was very concerned that she'd be a distraction), but it turned out okay. She was VERY good most of the day which is no real surprise because she's been good-natured since she was born. Later today, my in-laws came. My sister-in-law, Kelly, is moving to my complex for the fall/winter, so they were helping her move in. It's fun to have so much family around now, especially since Maddie's here now. ***FREE BABYSITTING*** Anyhow, we're planning on pulling at least another half day at the office tomorrow (Maddie was invited back since she was soooooo good). Hopefully these two days will help me transition back into the groove of things. Only time will tell

The Working Blues

2008-08-27T15:18:00.004-06:00

This week is going by so quickly, and before I know it i'll be back at work again. Since Spencer has at least a year and a half more of his undergraduate to do, I will be the temporary provider for the family while he finishes up. I am the office manager of one of the biggest complexes in the area, and they provide very good benefits. We live on site for free, they provide health insurance, AND I get a salary paid position. I would love more than anything to be able to stay home with my baby girl, and I'm having a very hard time leaving her to go back. However, Spencer and I have worked our schedules around so that Maddie is with at least one of us all the time which will be a blessing. She'll always have someone who loves her close by. So, even though I feel very strongly that a woman should be at home with her children if she can, I must do this for my family. I tried going back last week for 2 days, but I was a complete wreck and couldn't make it through the day without having crying fits. So my owner told me I wasn't ready to come back and sent me home for two more weeks to be with my Maddie. The two weeks is almost up, and I go back on Tuesday, Sepember 2nd. I have a feeling I'll still have issues with being away from my baby, but I just have to remember this is temporary. Hopefully with that frame of mind, i'll make it through...one day at a time...

Madisen Brooke Empey

2008-08-25T22:37:00.002-06:00

After two years of being married, Spencer and I welcomed our new little bundle of joy into the world. Madisen Brooke Empey was born on June 17, 2008, and what an entrance she made!!! About a week before my due date, we found out that "Maddie", as we lovingly call her, was breach and would not be delivered vaginally. Thus, we made preparations for a scheduled C-Section to take place about a week later. We were so excited to meet her, and having a scheduled C-section took the guesswork out of when she would come--this was quite a blessing for me because my biggest weakness is impatience--this way, I knew exactly when she would be arriving. At 11:33 a.m. Maddie's first cries were heard by both mom and dad who couldn't hold back their own tears. During my pregnancy, many people told me how our lives would change with that first little cry, but I didn't quite understand what they meant until it happened. The minute she was born, we began living (and worrying) for someone else. As the nurses took Madisen away to get cleaned off, measured, etc., all I did was worry about her and what was happening. To ease my worries, Spencer followed Madisen and never left her side. He took more pictures of this new baby than I have EVER seen before. And she has changed our lives completely, but in a good way! :) Aside from the sleepless nights we encountered during the first month (she's sleeping through the nights now at 2 months, thank heavens), we have loved every bit of the parenting journey thus far. Her bright eyes, little coos, and smiles are enough to warm our hearts for a lifetime. After praying for guidance, both Spencer and I knew it was time to expand our family, and the Lord blessed us with such an agreeable, beautiful girl. We are so fortunate to have little Maddie in our lives and even now we can't imagine life without her. Yes, there are rough times ahead as she grows up, but we're excited to be together as a family. :)

Why start a blog?

2008-08-25T22:32:00.000-06:00

I guess everyone starts blogs for different reasons. So what's ours? With family and friends so far away, it might be nice for everyone to have an easy way to access what's happening in our lives. And with a new baby, there's a lot of special developmental moments ahead of us, and documenting them will not only be good for family to see, but this blog can also be a sort of "family journal" or a way to document the events in our lives. So...we hope you enjoy the entries.