Question...

To those who are great sewers and can sew just about ANYTHING...Would you be willing to sew something for me? I would pay you of course. I want to present you with a plan and you tell me whether it would be cheaper for me to just buy it or for you to make it for me. If you are interested email me and i will email you back with what i am talking about. ashspassion@hotmail.com Thanks so much!!! :)

Feeling the need to type...

I just finished reading Sherrie's blog and Audrey's blog and after reading through it it totally made me think of memories that i wanted to write down. Thanks ladies!

1. My kids feel the need to vomit on me when they are sick. Not kidding. Everytime they are sick they vomit on me. Ever since Gavin turned 3 he stopped doing it, but before that he did and Tanner still does. Example, a few months ago we were in Once Upon a Child. Tanner was acting exhausted(i didn't know he had heat exhaustion)... As soon as i pick him up he vomits all down the inside and front of my shirt. It was so disgusting. I had more down the inside of my shirt than the outside. Everyone around us looked at us like we were the most disgusting thing they had seen in awhile. Not only that, but my In-laws will remember this...TWO separate times when we were at their house Gavin got sick. I think they get sick everytime we visit. It's horrible. Anyway, everytime Gavin puked, he puked all over ME. Not kidding. We were even able to laugh about it in the middle of me getting puked on. There is something about me or something about my boys. As soon as mommy holds them they puke.

2. We were driving down a street in our neighborhood the other day that is getting torn apart by the city. They are doing construction on it. Gavin said, "I don't know why the city won't fix the road!"

3. Today after preschool Gavin said to me, "I love you m-o-m." I couldn't understand what he was saying so i told him to say it a little louder. He acted so shy everytime he said it. Anyway, he spelled out "mom" rather than saying it. It was so cute!!

4. Gavin has two friends that he just loves. Avery and Talmage. He tells me all the time, "Talmage and Avery are my best friends."(of course Jocelyn is too, but since she isn't here he forgets.) He will role play talking on the phone with Avery. It is so funny how he can be two different people. This is what i hear, "Hi Avery. Hi. We have preschool today. Oh we do?! Yeah! Are you gonna come over to my house today. Oh yeah, i will. Okay. HUh? Oh, okay. Bye. Bye." It is just so funny. He puts his hand up to his ear like their is a phone there. He will just have conversations with all kinds of people.

5. He told me the other day, "When we hear pretty music the Holy Ghost comes into our minds." He really likes to talk about the Holy Ghost.

6. I totally had other things in my mind to write down, but have forgotten them already. I will have to add more as it comes to me later. :)

Sort of Tagged....

My friend did this on her Blog and tagged whoever wanted to do it... I tag whoever wants to do it too! :)

**18 questions about my ONE and ONLY!
1. Where did you meet? In the Hart Building at a basketball game in Rexburg, ID.
2. How long did you date before you got married? 3 months, yup. We sure didn't waste anytime.
3. How long have you been married? 5 yrs. in November.
4. What is your favorite feature of his? eewww, his lips and bum. :)(this will probably embarrass him. sorry hun)
5. What is your favorite quality of his? His compassion for everyone.
6. Does he have a nickname for you? Hun or Ash.
7. What is his favorite color? Blue
8. What is his favorite food? Lasagna, a good steak, mashed potatoes.
9. What is his favorite sport? Basketball
10. When & where was your first kiss? On the steps of my apt. on our first date.
11. What is your favorite thing to do as a couple? Watch movies, lay in bed together talking and laughing about silly things, etc.
12. Do you have any children? 2 boys
13. Does he have a hidden talent? He has tons of hidden talents..oh my gosh. He can cook, which he doesn't like to admit. He has an amazing memory. He can sing. He is really good at speaking spanish for never having been on a spanish speaking mission.
14. How old is he? 28
15. Who said "I love you" first? He did. He said it in spanish. I love when he speaks in spanish. He does it so beautifully. :)
16. What is his favorite type of music? hhmmm...good question. OOohhhh, 80's music! Eurasure! Is that how you spell it? All kinds of 80's music.
17. What do you admire most about him? Wow, so many things.I admire his drive. He accomplishes whatever he sets his heart on. When he wants something he gets it. He knows how to succeed in everything.
18. Do you think he will read this? Of course.

{Gavin William}

Gavin is turning 4 in a couple months. I can't believe it. Seriously. We are no longer in the terrible two's and are heading out of the horrible three's. I can't believe we are past those stages already. He never really was a horrible three year old though. Two was a lot harder. I just wanted to post a few things here that he has been doing lately!

1. I was saying goodnight to him and Tanner last night. I turned the light off he said "mommy, there are skeletons flying around my room!" Maybe it is b/c of Halloween that he thinks that. He said, "I see them flying around my room at night."
2. For some reason he has been calling me "Momma" instead of "Mommy".....Maybe it is horrible of me, but when he calls me "momma" it drives me nuts. Why you ask? I have no idea. I just prefer mommy. Don't worry, i say it as nice as i can to him that i prefer mommy. I don't know where he picked up "Momma".
3. If we EVER forget to say prayer at dinner he ALWAYS reminds us. If we take ONE bite he quickly says, "WAIT, WE HAVE TO SAY PRAYER!" I am so glad he helps us out! What a good little reminder he is!
4. He always asks for snacks at lunch time. I tell them it is time to eat lunch and all he wants are snacks. I don't know when he will learn that lunch is not snack time. It never has been, but he still asks. :) AND about 2 hours after he eats lunch he comes to me and says, "Mom, we never ate lunch. I am hungry." haha. He must think i won't remember that they ate lunch. :)He wants to eat all day. Just like Tanner.
5. He loves to talk about the Holy Ghost. If anybody ever gets frustrated or upset in our house he is quick to tell us, "The Holy Ghost just left." It is so cute and it quickly makes us smile. He is our little peace maker. :)
6. He can be pretty demanding and high maintenance. He needs something to do all the time. There are a few times where he and Tanner can play all day upstairs together, but sometimes he just acts like he is going to die of boredom unless i have something planned for him every minute of the day.
7. Oh, he is so fun and so funny. He just makes us laugh everyday. He brings us so much joy. And he is the sweetest little boy ever! :)

{Did you miss me?!}

Gavin and Tanner can be so sweet with each other. They have little tizzies once in awhile, but for the most part they love each other and show it. Today i picked Gavin up from pre-school and when he got in the car he said to Tanner, "I missed you Tanner, did you miss me?!" Then Tanner said, "Yeah". They are always so excited to see each other. Tanner starts kicking his legs and making squealing noises when we pick Gavin up. They couldn't live without each other. They always have to be with each other. Tanner is always calling Gavin's name if Gavin didn't follow Tanner into the other room with him. They are each other's shadows. When Gavin is in pre-school Tanner is always calling Gavin's name out. He must think he will appear around the corner or something. It is so darling. I love those two munchkins! :)

{Need an excuse to go shopping?}

SOMETIME AROUND MAY OR JUNE: Sometime around May or June i went through my closet and got rid of a bunch of clothes that i don't wear. I filled bags full of clothes that i would go put in those bins all over town that send them to places like the Salvation Army. I also needed to put away my winter sweaters for the summer that i wanted to keep. So, I filled a bag full of my winter sweaters that would go into hibernation until fall, and filled 3 other bags full of stuff i was getting rid of.

SOMETIME AROUND YESTERDAY(cold weather): I went upstairs yesterday to find my winter sweaters so that i could be WARM! I searched and started to wonder why i wasn't finding them. They weren't in the attic. We searched anywhere else they could possibly be. No sign. You are probably realizing what happened to my sweaters by now. We must have accidentally grabbed my bag of sweaters that i wanted to put in the attic and thrown them in the car with my bags of clothes that i was getting rid of. Yup.

END RESULT: I have NO winter sweaters. I am not talking about pull over hoodie sweaters. I am talking about the nice sweaters that cost a lot to buy no matter where you go. Wool sweaters, fleece sweaters, winter sweaters. Luckily about a month ago i bought two winter type shirts that i found a good deal on. I can't believe what has happened. Sure i would love to go shopping, but how in the world do i replace everything lost when i have been trying to save my money for other things I REALLY NEED? Goodness gracious. I had the thought at first of blaming my husband and then maybe he would buy me some sweaters because it would be all his fault, and he would feel bad and buy me some(that was a fleeting thought). haha! Isn't that horrible!! :) But i realized that i am an idiot and that they are my clothes and my responsibility. So, maybe I need to win a shopping spree. That's it! I will try to win the lottery or a shopping spree. Wish me luck. :) Desperate times call for desperate measures. haha. OR, i have another idea....if you have been wanting to get your family pictures done, maybe this will be a push you need. You will get those pics done you have been meaning to call me about for awhile and in the meantime you will be doing me a favor...not only will i get the privilege of being able to take your pictures, but your payment for pictures will be going straight to my "Need clothes" savings. How wonderful. So, if you have been wanting those family pics, don't wait any longer. Get up off that seat and give me a call! :) Ohhhh, how horrible. What a way of advertising.

{Pumpkin Patch}

We went to the pumpkin patch over the weekend. It was a bit chilly. We enjoyed the BEST apple fritters i have ever had. They were sooooo scrumpdiddlyumptious. haha. We didn't last long there because Gavin fell off the hay stacks and hurt his cut. He popped a stitch, but luckily the cut seems to be doing okay and Gavin is fine. We enjoyed the yummy smells of the donuts, the kettle corn they were cooking up outside and all the smells of the apples. It was a real Fall day. It was fun even though we weren't able to pick out our pumpkins yet. We will have to go this week to get them. :)

{Tanner's new outfit, Gavin's stitches, and their new Beds}

Here is Tanner new outfit that he got from his Grandma and Grandpa for his B-day. He looks so cute in it and the pants look great on him. He needed pants so bad! He loves his new outfit. Thanks!
Here is Gavin's new bedspread that he picked out all by himself. He loves it. He says that Optimus Prime will protect him from the monster's in the night.
Tanner just got a new big boy bed and a new bed spread that he picked out all by himself too. We did have him laying on his crib mattress in the corner in this same spot. Now with his big boy bed it looks a lot better AND he LOVES it. He gets excited to go to bed at night.
Here is a picture of Gavin's stitches. Looks like it hurts huh?! Poor thing. He gets terrified when we take the bandages off to look at it. He starts shaking with terror. It is so sad.

{Stitches and the Debate}

Yesterday while i was getting dinner ready Gavin started crying this terrified cry upstairs. I ran to see what was happening and he was standing at the top of the stairs with blood just gushing down his arm. It was all over his shirt, the floor, his arm. I was surprised by how much blood there was actually. I took him to the bathroom, looked at it quickly and could tell it would need stitches. It was quite a cut. I don't think i have ever cut myself like that. It was right under his pinky finger. We didn't have gauze so i wrapped it up with toilet paper and put pressure on it and waited for Shane to get home, which was just a few minutes from then. We took him to the Hillcrest Pediatric ER. They ended up telling us that he cut an artery. When the Doctor looked at it it started squirting blood on him. It was so weird. AND it wouldn't stop bleeding unless we kept pressure on it. Even after 30 minutes of pressure, once they took that pressure off it started dripping blood. Sorry for those of you that can't handle blood stuff. I am just describing it the way it is. :) Anyway,they ended up giving him VERSED, which makes a person very drowsy and makes it so they won't really remember what happened later on. If you have ever gone into surgery, they usually give this to you through an I.V. before the surgery. It is a weird feeling. Well, it did make Gavin's eyes VERY droopy, BUT it made it so that he couldn't stop laughing!!! He was laughing and laughing. It was HILARIOUS. All the nurses wanted to be in there to watch b/c they thought it was so funny. Tanner was feeding off of Gavin and so he kept laughing as well. It was about an hour of laughing. Much better than crying!!! :) It was an eventful evening. He ended up getting 5 stitches. He woke up this morning crying b/c he wanted the bandage off. They wrapped it up for him. Anyway, he wasn't happy this morning, but he is doing fine now. :) I must add: I LOVE hospitals. There is something so comforting for me when i walk into one. I think part of it is b/c my dad is a Doctor. Everytime he came home he always had that hospital smell(NO, it is not a death smell.). I love that smell. It's a clean, sterile smell. I would also go in to visit my dad at the hospital and sometimes i would go into surgery with him to watch procedures. So, maybe that is a huge part of it. AND everytime i walk into one i realize how bad i want to be a nurse or even a DOCTOR!! Maybe one day when the kids are in school! :) Anyway!!! Onto other things...

And as far as the debate last night. McCain totally sealed the deal for me. He won. I have been wishywashy about who to vote for. I only watched the last 45 minutes, but in those 45 minutes i realized what an extreme liberal Obama is. How could i vote for him?!!? I am very much PROlife. People say, "what about girls who get raped?!" Well, what about the morning after pill? I think the morning after pill would solve that problem. Once the heart starts beating it is human and alive. EEeewww, then when Obama said he would "look into" protecting the babies from being aborted in the last trimester. SICKENING is all i can say. That alone changed my mind about him quickly. There shouldn't be a question. It shouldn't be allowed. That is horrible. Then he said,"we have to consider the mothers health." Whatever. Someone needs to have a voice for that baby and that is McCain. Anyway, can you tell i am passionate about that? McCain's plan just made more sense to me last night than ever before. He explained things the way i needed to hear it and he was definitely on the offense. He made Obama have to explain a lot of things and i didn't like Obama's explanations. McCain it is. It makes perfect sense. Now, we don't know if either of there plans for healthcare or the economy will ultimately work, but i am willing to take my chances on McCain's side before i would on Obama's side. AND what about putting Government in more control as Obama wants! Who wants that?! Seriously. The GOVERNMENT??! Like McCain said, he wants us to be able to decide and make the decision and not have the Government decide for us. Makes sense to me.
UPDATE:SORRY ALL...I realize that i forgot to put HOW he cut his finger!! :) sheesh. He was throwing the ball around upstairs and it hit the light fixture on the ceiling...it broke into pieces and came falling down and he says that one of the pieces sliced his finger on the way down.

WANTED: Those with mixing and matching skills...

We are redoing our boys room. They now share a bedroom, and the room across from their room is the toy room. We want to make it really cute and fun for them. We recently organized the toy room and it is a cute toy room, but we really want to do something fun for their room. We just let them pick out there own bed comforters. Gavin picked Transformers and Tanner picked Cars. Now click here to see the color of their carpet. http://www.buyaurapaint.com/sw-6509.html... it's a blue color. Their bedspreads have red, blue, yellow, black, and grey in them. What color should we paint the walls? Their is moulding in the middle of the wall. So we could paint just the part under the moulding or we could use two different colors. The ceiling doesn't have corners like your family room would...instead it rounds off so there isn't a crease to stop us from painting the ceiling. Does that make sense? You see that alot in attics here and in upstairs bedrooms. So how would we paint that!? There beds and dressers are a dark wood color. Should we paint those or leave them that color? I just can't decide what to do!!! It is a hard room to figure out!
Here is what i have thought...i thought of painting their dressers a country red color...you know the kind that isn't bright red...its like a dull red. I thought that would look good on the dressers and bed, but then what color would i paint the walls? Maybe paint the wall a dull yellow color? Would i paint just the lower section of the wall the yellow and leave the upper part white?! Please, i know there are a lot of creative minds that read this, let me know what you think!! :) I have also thought of sky blue or grey for the walls, but then what color would i paint the dressers? Maybe the grey walls would look good with the country red dressers and bed?!

{That's Life}

Well, we haven't been up to much lately. BUT our Saturday this past weekend would explain otherwise. We weren't able to go out as a family on Saturday because there was lots of busy stuff going on. I had the primary activity on Saturday morning.

Here is my story. I woke up at 6:30 a.m. like i do every morning. I ran, showered, ate breakfast and fed the boys. Then Gavin and i left for the church at 9:25. I stopped at Giant Eagle to get donuts and Chocolate milk. They didn't have enough donuts so then i stopped at Amy Joy Donuts. I got to the church. Helped set up the activity. The activity was great. We raked leaves, decorated little pumpkins and ate the donuts! Yum. I didn't get out of there until 12:20. I had a photoshoot at 1:00 at the Botanical Gardens and i had not eaten lunch yet. I dropped Gavin off at home. I didn't have time to eat. I changed my clothes.(By the way, i wore heel boots to this activity. Wrong move. The next day my legs were sore. Who knew that your legs could get sore from heels!) Suddenly i realized my ticket to get into the Botanical Gardens was missing! Oh my gosh. I searched for 10 minutes or more. I was also panicing because i knew i was gonna be LATE! How horrible! Finally i found the DARN ticket. I headed to the Gardens and 2 minutes down the road the thought popped into my head "You don't have your SD card". CRAP!!! I turned around, headed home and grabbed that card(you have to have this in order to take pictures!). I headed down the road back to the Gardens again. I got there about 20 minutes late!! eek. The nice thing is that when i went to go into the Gardens i had no idea who to give my ticket to. There was nobody anywhere waiting to take my ticket. So, i still have my ticket. I will have to take my boys now! As soon as that photoshoot was done i headed straight to another one at the South Euclid Library. That was at 3:00. I got there 5 minutes late. Mostly on time. After that i went home, hurried and sat down and ate a salad. Then the boys tell me they are ready for dinner already. Soooo, i make dinner. Yippee skippee. Sometimes i HATE cooking. TRULY. Then after dinner we of course had to clean up everything spotless again. Shane is tired of having a home that is dirty occasionally. HEY, i don't like a dirty home EITHER,who does, but it is nearly impossible to keep it clean all the time! BUT HEY WE'LL TRY!!! :) And i should mention that he cleaned the whole house while i was gone the whole day. How sweet. My husband is such a good helper. :) After that we took off to Target to get Tanner his Birthday present from his Grandma Jenks. She had us pick it out and so we got him a cute NEW outfit! It is fun being able to get him new clothes b/c all his are hand-me-downs. He loves his new outfit. He feels soooo proud wearing it. Anyway, Tanner started throwing a HUGE OLE FIT in Target so we left. We came home and did the bedtime routine, which sometimes isn't fun depending on how busy the day was, and in this case it was a busy day. Bedtime can be the time when the boys are the sweetest. I love it. BUT sometimes i am not in the mood to hang around for it. Ever feel paniced to get something done so bad before you lose your mind? That is what it was like for me . I was just ready to put them to bed so that i could sit down and relax!!!! Now people, i do my best to find Joy in the Journey, BUT i am NOT super woman. Yes, this definitely sounds like a day where i could put my "food for thought" to good use(the stuff i have posted recently from my book). But i find that there will just be days like this. That's life.:) Finally at 9:30 p.m. Shane and I sat down and were able to relax.
aaaahhhhh...

{ Brothers}

I haven't posted pictures of my boys in awhile. I can't believe how fast they are growing! Gavin just got his Optimus Prime Costume from his Zsa Zsa. He loves it and wears it all day around the house. Tanner just continues to show more attitude everyday. :)

And here is a quote that is so true. When i read it i totally realize that our little family is soooo this way... " It is a curious thought, but it is only when you see people looking ridiculous that you realize just how much you love them". There is nothing more fun than seeing your kids or husband doing something ridiculous or weird. It gets the biggest laugh and brings pure enjoyment.

Micromanagement...

I found another good thought in my book Eat Pray Love. This is for the micromanagers of the world.
"I have searched frantically for contentment for so many years in so many ways, and all these acquisitions and accomplishments - they run you down in the end. Life, if you keep chasing it so hard, will drive you to death. Time - when pursued like a bandit - will behave like one; always remaining one county or one room ahead of you, changing its name and hair color to elude you, slipping out the back door of the motel just as you're banging through the lobby with your newest search warrant, leaving only a burning cigarette in the ashtray to taunt you. At some point you have to stop because it won't. You have to admit you can't catch it. That you're not supposed to catch it. At some point, as Richard keeps telling me, you gotta let go and sit still and allow contentment to come to you". Here comes the part for those who feel they need to be in control of every situation....
"Letting go, of course, is a scary enterprise for those of us who believe that the world revolves only because it has a handle on the top of it which we personally turn, and that if we were to drop this handle for even a moment, well - that would be the end of the universe. But try dropping it. This is the message i'm getting. Sit quietly for now and cease your relentless participation. Watch what happens. The birds do not crash dead out of the sky in mid-flight, after all. The trees do not wither and die, the rivers do not run red with blood. Life continues to go on. Even the Italian post office will keep limping along, doing its own thing without you - why are you so sure that your micromanagement of every moment in this whole world is so essential? Why don't you let it be?
I hear this argument and it appeals to me. I believe in it, intellectually. I really do. But then i wonder - with all my restless yearning, with all my hyped-up fervor and with this stupidly hungry nature of mine - what should i do with my energy, instead?
That answer arrives too:
Look for God. Look for God like a man with his head on fire looks for water.

Earlier this author quotes Walt Whitman, which has to do with what i just typed up. "stand apart from the pulling and hauling...amused, complacent, compassionating, idle, unitary...both in and out of the game and watching and wondering at it all."

I am sure i will have more to post from my book later. :)

General Conference Weekend...

I know there are some of you that read my blog that are uncomfortable with spirituality. Well, that is what i am talking about during this post sooo i just wanted to let you know so you can stop reading if you don't want to hear it. :)
I felt the Spirit of this General Conference so strongly. I felt inspired and motivated. I felt like almost every talk had something i needed to hear. My favorite talk was by the Prophet in the third session. I still feel touched and filled with the Spirit today even after a busy morning! :)

Things learned during conference...
1. One thing Elder Joseph B. Wirthlin said is that when we experience trials , hardships, here is what we can do...
Laugh. Instead of getting angry, laugh. When we can laugh we create cherished memories. Example....We went to California with Shane's family during our first year of marriage. We were on the highway and took a wrong turn, so we pulled off at the next exit, got back on the highway, sure we wouldn't miss the ramp we had to take again. Well, we missed it again. We all started cracking up. It was hilarious. We couldn't stop laughing and even right now i am laughing about it. Laughing about it made life more enjoyable for ourselves and those around us. It became a cherished memory.
2. The Lord sends Angels to watch over and protect us...Heavenly Angels and Mortal Angels. More than anything they are family and friends, and maybe those we don't know that have come into our lives as angels to bear us up in hardships.
3. Jesus Christ is the way. The truth. He is the way to happiness and fulfillness. He is the Bread of Life. He is the light of the world. He is the Savior of the World. He is our one true constant.
4. We live in perilous times. We are faced with many hardships, trials, worries, stress, anxiety. We cannot let this stuff get the better of us. We need to remain positive and optimistic. We need to stay close to the Lord. We need to have faith and hope. If we fall we need to get back up and learn from our mistakes and hard times, and become stronger b/c of them.
5. We are so blessed to have been born in this country of opportunity. We are so blessed to be members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.
6. Follow the Savior's example. When we feel like we are being mocked or harrassed or questioned b/c of what we believe in, respond as the Savior would. He is our greatest example of how we should respond. Silence, meekness, and forgiveness is not weakness. That is faith, strength and courage. Be compassionate and tolerant. In this case, we stand with the Savior.
7. My favorite was when the Prophet spoke in the third session. He talked about CHANGE. Nothing is as constant as change. We must deal with change throughout our lives. Good or bad. Changes take place subtely and slowly. Here and now is our one and only chance at mortal life. Don't let those most important things pass you by. Find joy in the journey now. Don't dwell on the past, make most of today. We should not let stress get in the way of what is most important-family. We should always let family know that we love them. Our regrets will come if such things are omitted. Always express thanks. It is so easy to take others for granted. "The bitterest tears left over graves are words left unsaid and deeds left undone." One day each of us will run out of tomorrow's. Love one another. We need to find the meaning and wonder of life while we are living it. Our realization of what is most important in life goes hand in hand with our gratitude for our blessings. Don't focus on what is missing from our lives. Focus on what you have. We can experience heaven on earth when we do this. Whatever God has blessed you with, take it!

These are just a few things i learned. I loveD this General Conference. I feel so grateful in my heart for the Church, my Savior, and my family. Those three things are my life. I don't know what i would do without them. They each fill my heart and make me whole. I hope you all enjoyed Conference as much as i did. I am sure you did. I love our Prophet. I love my Savior. I am so grateful that i was born into this Church. I wish General Conference could be every month. I love it and always look soooo forward to it. I love the messages, i love the peace and calm it brings for the whole weekend, i love hearing the talks by these wonderful men, and i love the spirit that is felt. It is the best feeling. It motivates me, strengthens me, inspires me, fills me with love and with the spirit, and makes me try better everyday at everything i do.