WITNEY FAMILY

2009-11-12T20:40:00.000-08:00

I'm moving to a new blog address. I hope you will follow me there...

www.witneyfamily.blogspot.com

More fun times...

2009-09-04T01:32:00.000-07:00

Carrie and Duncan are participating in a "play school" group. They both started this week and so far, they really like it. I am excited for them to learn new things and make new friends.

Because of some concerns with Carrie's development being delayed, we are starting the process of getting her tested for it. She meets with an audiologist first, and go from there. If she qualifies for help, she will do preschool through the school district. As much as I hope there isn't anything "wrong" with her, it would be such a blessing to have her get some extra help.

This is Carrie right before I dropped her off...

This is Duncan before we dropped him off. I can't believe how big they are both getting. :)

Now, 2 funny pictures.

I don't even know who or what Jack looks like in this picture, but I laugh every time I see it. We went swimming with our ward and this was the only shot I got of him before we left.

Carrie loves to put in ALL of her hair bows to look like a crown. This day, she snuck the camera and took a picture of herself. Not too bad, huh?! Just disregard her cut and small black eye- her brother threw a water bottle at her and got her right under the eye. Don't worry, she gave him a bloody nose today.

Kids will be kids- or maybe my kids are just crazy....

New hair

2009-08-27T12:16:00.000-07:00

I know- another post?! What the crap. Get over it. :)

I am currently growing my hair out. My family thinks I will give up any moment and chop it all off. They have good reason to think that. I have no patience with my hair, and when ever I get bored I chop it off or color it. Not this time. I have stuck to my guns and have been growing it out. It is now to my collar bone and looks awful. The layers are chunky and gross and it just doesn't look good unless it is up in a ponytail. I am trying hard to avoid the ponytail- which means I need it cut so it looks good down. I found 2 pictures of what I would like done. Let me know what you think.

I should note that this picture is from Jenna Nelson's collection. I was looking through her photo's and saw this picture and liked the cut. I hope that it is legal to copy and paste...

Camping Fun

2009-08-24T12:14:00.000-07:00

Even though our camping trip involved a lot of blood, tears, mud, smoke, sun and wind, we all left with smiles on our faces!

Jack was an awesome camper- he only made a peep when he was hungry, and I think he slept warmer than we did at night.

The kids had fun playing with their new friends and Scott & I enjoyed getting to know our new friends even better.

We did spend several hours at the ER in Price, after Duncan's head was split open from shooting a gun and having the recoil hit his head. He is fine- other than a fun scar that he'll be sporting the rest of life.

Just a few pictures...

The property we were at had this awesome cabin. It isn't finished, but the kids loved playing inside of it. I'd love to have family pictures taken here. What an awesome structure...

Carrie and her new friend, Catie. Those two would not leave each others sides- it was so cute to see them play together.

I love this picture. I don't know what could be so serious that they had to sit down and discuss it, but you can tell they are deep in thought. :)

This is Duncan and Johnathan. Even though they are several years apart, they still had fun playing with each other. I am looking forward to more camping trips with this family. It is nice for the kids to have little playmates.

Scott and Duncan shooting. This is not the gun that was used during the accident. That would be his 9mm handgun... Duncan and Scott are best of friends- it is fun to think about what else they will do together throughout their lives.

I hope to go camping a few more times this year. It is nice to have children (including a newborn) who do so well when camping. Although it is nice to come home to a shower and clean bed, I love the chance we have to spend time together as a family building memories for a lifetime.

Wow- has it been 5 months?

2009-08-20T15:35:00.000-07:00

So, I have been thinking a lot about how I wanted to update my blog. Something witty, fun, clever, etc... I can't think of anything. So, just to get you up to speed, I'll just list what has been going on since March.

-I graduated from school. (technically I am not done until I do my externship, but whatever. I totally rocked the stage at graduation)

-Our Geo died. Sad times. But we did get an awesome piece of junk subaru for Scott to drive for free.

-I shaved my mom's hair. She finished chemo, and had her "girls" cut off. She also got a tummy tuck as part of the deal. I am so having that done when I am finished having kids.

-I finally got caught up on my laundry. I swear it has been a year in the making, but I did it.

-We also cleaned out the garage, and I am parking in it. This is a new concept to me as we never parked the cars in the garage growing up. That is what the driveway is for.

-Oh, and I crapped out a kid on July 21st. We named him Jack Bringhurst Witney. He was over 4 weeks early, but when your water breaks, you have now choice but to have the baby. After 2 hours of labor and 1 contraction worth of a push (and no epidural) he was born. He has been such a GOOD baby. I feel really blessed to have another baby, and am excited to be his mother.

Jack Bringhurst Witney

He is 1 part old man and 1 part monkey. :)

I will try to be better about posting, but I am not promising anything....

I love my mom

2009-03-19T09:13:00.000-07:00

I'm sorry if this comes off as a ramblings of sort, but I have a lot on my mind today. My mom started chemo today. She was diagnosed in January with Breast Cancer, and while I know the odds of her beating it is really good, it is still a scary time for all of us. The word "cancer" is not something that I like. It is scary, mean, horrible and life changing. Don't get me wrong- I am SO grateful for modern medicine and all that it can do to help my mom out right now. The alternative would be planning her funeral, I suppose.

I am hopeful for her future. My brother is getting married and 2 grandbabies are on the way. She is young (56) and still has a child living at home. There are several more of us to get married, and lots more babies in the future. She is strong, courageous and always positive. She has already been faced with struggles and challenges in her life- more than I would ever care to see. Her head is always held up high, and I am constantly amazed at the service she gives.

The first week of April will be bittersweet for me and her. She will be visiting us and since the effects of chemo will make her hair to start to fall out, she has asked us girls to shave her head. I know that it will be the hardest on her, but it makes me sad to think of her loosing her hair. I still don't have an image yet as to what she will look like- but I know that it will all be ok. For the occassion, we have decided to shave Duncan's hair as well; to show some support for Grandma. We already talked to him about it, and he just laughs when we tell him that he and Grandma will have matching bald heads!

I love my mom, and pray that she will make it through this just fine. She has an amazing testimony and love of our Saviour. I know that it what is helping her right now. Whatever does happen, I know will be part of the plan, and that we will all be OK- especially mom. Life is good, no matter what happens. :)

Influenza, anyone?

2009-02-18T13:22:00.000-08:00

I woke up on Monday to find myself feeling not so great. After realizing that it wasn't your typical "morning sickness", I curled up on the couch and hoped that it would pass soon. I knew something was not right when I started to get light headed and short of breath. A few times, I thought that I might pass out. I was so weak, I couldn't even pick up the kids. I spent my time between the bathroom and couch.

I had an ultrasound scheduled that I didn't want to miss, so I mustered up enough strength to get myself and the kids dressed. (Don't worry- it only took me 1 1/2 hrs) I then loaded them in the car, barely, and said a prayer. I didn't ask to feel better, but to help me not crash the car on the way to the hospital. My dear sister got to the hospital and took the kids, and I slowly made my way up to get the ultrasound. The baby is great, and getting bigger. I am still in shock that I have a baby growing inside of me, so seeing the baby on the screen helped.

When the doctor came in to go over the ultrasound, she asked how I was feeling. I told her not well. I explained that I had been throwing up all morning and now felt really weak. I was short of breath at that point and when I took my heart rate, it was at 120 bpm- after laying still for 20 minutes on the table. She quickly did another scan and said that she thought I had the flu and I should probably get checked out. She left to call my midwife, so I curled up in a ball on the table and nearly fell asleep. She came back to say that I needed to go the ER to get examined b/c of my fast heart rate, shortness of breath and possible dehydration.

Once I got to the ER and into a room, I just sat in the wheelchair- too weak to even get up in the bed. The doctor came in and asked a million questions. I could hardly keep my head up so he left and sent the nurse in to get me started. She helped me into bed where I got changed, she drew 4 vials of blood, started the IV, and then got me a warm blanket to cover me. I was then wheeled down to x-ray to see if anything was wrong with my lungs. After that, I crawled back into the bed, asked for another blanket and said that I was nauseous. The nurse came back and gave me some anti-nausea medicine in my IV, and then brought back some morphine b/c of the pain I was in from being so achy. I was hooked back up to the heart monitor and BP cuff and pulse/oxygen level. After that, a man came in and sucked out some snot out of my nose to check for infection. I laid back in the bed, wanted another blanket as I was shivering from being so cold. At some point, the nurse changed the bag of fluids and helped me get up to go potty for a urine sample. The doctor came back and said that I had Influenza Type A, which is viral- so NO meds for me to feel better. There is a medicine that will shorten the duration of time you have the symptoms, but since I am pregnant, I couldn't take it. By now, Scott had been in and out with the kids and had been given some tylenol to bring down my fever. Once I had finished the 2nd bag of IV fluids, they discharged me with some prescriptions for more anti-nausea meds and pain killers.

Although I don't feel like I did on Monday, I am still feeling weak and am now pretty congested. I am praying that this doesn't go to pneumonia (I guess there is a chance...) and that I can get on with life. I have done nothing but lay on the couch for 2 days with Duncan and Carrie on the other couch. Scott has been so wonderful to help out in picking the house up at night when he gets home from a long day at work. I have now eaten my 2nd full meal since Sunday night- and haven't thrown anyting up.

I don't think I have ever felt so sick before in my life! I would have rather been in labor on Monday, then felt how I did. I hope that none of you have to experience what I did, as it just plain sucked! Well, I am off to making Carrie a sandwich. Hopefully I don't get too winded from the task! :)

Frustrations

2009-02-02T10:44:00.000-08:00

I have been dealing with feelings of inadequacy and failure for the last few days. It seems as though people are concerned with only telling me what I am doing wrong, or how to do something better. Am I overreacting, or is there validity in their statements?

I can't get over the fact that maybe I really am a bad mom... Carrie is still in diapers; her hair isn't in cute bows; Duncan can't sit still; we hardly ever make it through church without a melt down; my house and car are usually not clean; I'm behind on laundry- all the time; I let my kids watch too much tv; my kids usually end up in my bed at night; I let Carrie sleep in and the list could go on...

I have been trying hard to let the comments roll off of my back, but they don't ever end. I ended up in tears yesterday because of something I hadn't done right with Carrie and Duncan. As I have talked to Scott about it, he reassures me that I am a great mother, and appreciates all I do with the kids.

So, I started to think about what I may be doing right with kids. They love to say their prayers, and remind me of when we need to say them; Carrie and Duncan (for the most part) aren't rude and say please and thank you; I hear "me loves you" all day long; Carrie has been able to get herself dressed since she was 2; they both would rather hear Primary songs than Disney music; they love going to see temples; they make me laugh all day long, etc...

So, forgive me if my kids noses are running, or if they don't go to bed in their jammies. I am NOT perfect. I am learning to be a better mom. I am trying to figure out what works and what doesn't. I'm sorry that my house is messy, but at the end of the day, I love my kids more than I can explain, I am trying to raise them to love the Lord, and hope that despite my shortcomings and faults, people know that my family is the most important thing to me. Maybe one day, when I grow up- things will be different. People won't be so critical, and I won't be so sensitive about it. Until then, I'll keep trying my best to be a good mom.

WOOHOO

2009-01-14T19:34:00.000-08:00

If you can't tell by the odd looking thing floating around on the page... I AM PREGNANT! We have been trying to get pregnant for nearly a year, so we are VERY happy to be bringing a new little one into the world. We are due August 24, 2009. My others were 3 weeks early, so who knows when I'll actually have the baby. From July 29-August 22 there are 6 birthdays in our family, so maybe this baby will share one with an aunt or uncle or grandpa or brother...

We don't find out what we are having, which is a lot of fun- and I recommend it to everyone. We've gotten by on getting clothes after the baby is born, and just deal with gender neutral jammies until then. I don't feel any less prepared for the birth by not having a decked out nursery or closet full of clothes. Since I have one of each, this transition will be a little easier.

I hope that everything goes well for the duration of the pregnancy. We had a scare last week which I'll share in another post, but have learned so much from it. Knowing that Heavenly Father is allowing Scott and I to take care of another one is overwhelming and wonderful.

Thank you for all your love and support! We love each and everyone of you! :)

HAPPY BIRTHDAY CARRIE LOU!

2008-12-31T13:27:00.000-08:00

It is hard to believe that exactly 4 years ago, I gave birth to my sweet daughter, Carrie Louise. She was only 6 lb 4 oz & 18 inches long. She had a perfectly round head with just a little bit of hair. My first memory of her was hearing her cry- it reminded me of a little lamb cry. It was perfect. Since that time, she has brought me joy, heartache, astonishment, nervousness, wonder and awe. She has had her struggles, but above it all, she is sweet, tenderhearted, caring, funny, kind and crazy. Although I wish that she was potty trained and slept in her own bed, she is perfect in every other way. She has brought so much joy and love into our home.

Some of my favorite things she does is:

~Eating ice cream with her "Ice Cream Buddy" (Aunt Cherilyn)
~Hiding her dolly from Ol' Man (Grandpa Worthen)
~Listening to her say her prayers
~Organizing her chicken and fries in a line, waiting to be dunked in "sauce" (ranch)
~Calling her Ken doll, "Boyfriend"
~Saying "DUH" after you do something silly
~Talking like a pirate
~Running around in circles, just because you can
~Saying "Me loves you so much"

She is my little princess and I am eternally grateful that Heavenly Father has allowed me to take care of her here on Earth.

I love you so much!!! Happy Birthday Carrie Lou!

Back to diapers...

2008-12-02T14:22:00.000-08:00

Many of you know that the headache I currently have is from trying to potty train Carrie. She has learned to go pee in the toilet, but has refused to poop. I think in the whole time we have been working with her, she has pooped in the toilet 3 or 4 times. Part of the problem has been the fact that she gets plugged up easily, and then learned how to hold it in. I have tried everything under the sun to motivate her to use the bathroom, but nothing has worked. In fact, she has now started to boycott the toilet all together, peeing her pants several times a day.

I took her to her doctor today, and he said that some children who have "intense" personalities feel like they need to have total control over everything in their environment. One of them being, peeing and pooping (in their pants). He said that we need to start over with her and put her back in diapers. grrr. We will try this for several weeks- making sure that she doesn't get plugged up so her body will start to recognize that pooping doesn't always hurt. After we get her to not hold it in any more, we will then re-train her to use the bathroom.

I am really frustrated about this situation and wish that I had a magic wand to make it all better. I hope that this new approach will help her and that we can move on with our lives and not have pee or poop be the focus.

Wish us luck, keep us in your prayers- and I'll pray that you never have to deal with the same situation as us. :P

A summary...

2008-11-19T19:49:00.001-08:00

I really suck at this blogging thing. I love reading everyone's blogs, but usually have no motivation to update mine.

I am going to post some pictures that summarize the last 2 months, and hopefully you will enjoy them.

Duncan was playing on the 4-wheeler in the garage when I asked him to get off. When I heard screaming, I ran out to find him stuck between the 4-wheeler and the lawn mower. When I picked him up, I noticed that he was now sporting a hole in his face. Off the ER we went where he got 8 stitches. He now has a nasty scar on his chin, but hey- it adds character, right?

Many of you know that my kids are obsessed with pirates, so it made perfect sense to dress them up as pirates. Reid and Cherilyn came down to do the "Trick-or-Treat" part, which was a lot of fun. We then met up with Riley and Alison and ended the evening at One Man Band. Yum.

I finally had to get Duncan's hair cut. When it was wet, the back touched his shoulders, and his sides were past his ears. Other than the curls going away, I was happy to get it cut. (Thanks Debra!) I just wasn't expecting him to look so grown up! We definately have NO babies at this house anymore...

I found Duncan had gotten into the HUGE bucket of flour that was in the kitchen. I didn't know whether to laugh or scream, so I opted to get a picture of him before I cleaned him up. Anytime the camera comes out, Carrie has to get in on the action, so this was her cute attempt at a photo with Duncan. I love it! They really are so cute together!

This was after the first snow fall for the year. Carrie was so excited to go outside with her new hat and gloves. I still can't get over how big she is getting. The other picture is me playing around with the camera. She had mascara on, and I was trying to get a close up of it. I love how it turned out. She is so beautiful!

Well, not a whole lot else has happened, except my deer hunt which was not documented (except a few on my phone) because our battery was dead, again! We really need to buy another one... I did kill a small 2x2, and am happy that we now have a freezer full of meat.

We are looking forward to the holidays this year, but are also sad that my parents will not be out here for it. We miss them tons, and hope they come out soon!

Long time, no post

2008-09-18T11:13:00.000-07:00

I am almost embarrassed by how long it has been since I posted a good one. Life has been super crazy between 1 surgery, 1 hospital stay, 1 deer hunt, and well... just life.

I would post some pics of everything but I need to find my cord to the camera first. I did find it in the kids toy room when I reorganized everything, but I set it down and now I can't find it again. (the story of my life) When I find the cord, again, I will post some pics...

I will try to not be so long winded in updating all of us:

SCOTT: He just finished up a Bow hunt for deer, and while he didn't tag anything, he did have a ton of fun just getting out and being in the woods. He went to Monticello for the first part of the hunt and was missed terribly by his family. (thank you mom for all the babysitting you did while he was gone...) He is staying busy at the temple on Fridays, and working lots of overtime. Maybe one day he'll learn to relax and enjoy his time off without worrying about what has to be done next...

LEANNE: I have been crazy busy with school. (I still have all A's. yay) I am currently studying for my Radiology Tech Certification, and will soon take my CNA Certification. I have had the chance to do clinicals at a rest home in Sandy. While it has made me realize how much I want to be an RN and not work at a rest home the rest of my life, it has opened my eyes to things I haven't wanted to think about yet. 1st - I DO NOT want to get old. It just plain sucks to see all these residents who used to live full lives, now have to be spoon fed their puree'd food. 2nd- I will not put my parents in a rest home. I figure that because I am going in to nursing, I will volunteer myself to care for them when they get old(er). 3rd- When I do get old, and if my kids can't take care of me, just take me out back with a handgun. I don't want to spend the end of my life having crappy CNA's wipe my butt, or yelling at me because they have to give me a shower. No thanks... Anyway- life is good. I love learning, and am excited for my new classes to start again after a hard month of clinicals.

CARRIE: Well, we are officially not in diapers anymore. But that doesn't mean we have conquered potty training. While she uses the toilet for peeing, she flat out refuses to poop in the toilet, so I wash panties everyday... over and over again. I am praying that things click in her head one day with regards to pooping b/c I am so tired of washing panties! At then end of July, Carrie got a nasty virus that wiped her out. She wasn't getting any better, and after having a high fever for 2 days and becoming really dehydrated, her pediatrition admitted her to the hospital. She spent the night and the next day there getting lots of IV fluids to get her re-hydrated. Although she wasn't eating much, they felt comfortable in discharging her to get better. She recovered quickly, but we are very aware of the fact that this probably won't be her last hospital stay. (it was #2 for being dehydrated) Her doctor said that some kids just shut down when they are sick, and if they've been hospitilized once for dehydration, you can count on them going in again. That would be Carrie. YAY for insurance.

DUNCAN: At the beginning of July, Duncan had surgery to fix a problem called "trigger thumb". What is that, you ask? Basically, the tendons in his thumbs were kind of stuck in the sheath that surrounds them so his thumbs were locked in a bent position. The only way to straighten them was to manually extend them yourself which caused him a great deal of pain. So, we met with a doctor who recommended surgery to correct it. He had casts on both arms up to his elbows afterwards to keep his incisions clean and dry. They were bright orange, obnoxious, and ended up being weapons. I was happy to have them removed. He is such a trooper! I'm glad that I had them fixed because he now has full use of his thumbs, and even hyperextends them now. He also turned 2 yrs old July 29th. I am sad to not have a baby anymore. He is a lot of fun and tons of energy.... He keeps us all on our toes.

Well, I hope that you've been able to read everything without falling asleep... I will try to post pics ASAP. Our next big thing we are getting ready for is my hunt next month, and then before you know it, Christmas will be here...

Take care!

2008-08-13T23:27:00.001-07:00

I am still alive.

More to come soon!

happy Rochelle? jk. i love you

Camping up Diamond Fork Canyon

2008-06-30T08:23:00.000-07:00

We went to Diamond Fork Canyon this weekend for a quick overnighter. The weather was great~ nice and sunny with a cool breeze. There were some nasty looking bugs there, but no mosquitoes, thank goodness. We camped right next to the creek, and had lots of trees to use for shade if it got too sunny! The kids really had a blast and are such troopers! Ben, Rochelle & Grant came up late Friday night and we had a fun time with them as well. I didn't get any pictures from our rides b/c it was WAY dusty, and I didn't want to take my camera and run the risk of it getting ruined. (I have ruined a camera before from too many dusty trails) So, maybe next time, if we remember to put the rack bags on the 4 wheelers...

Enjoy these pics from the weekend!

Our tent (which we love) set up right by the creek. We were able to sit inside the tent in the middle of the day because it was shaded just right with a breeze coming thru the screen!

Scott, Duncan & Carrie on the 4-wheeler. They had so much fun with Daddy riding around camp and up & down the road. Carrie is getting quite good at controlling the trottle. (heaven help us) She thinks that she needs her own machine now. Maybe....

Carrie & Scott shooting mom's gun. She did rather well- hitting the coke can several times in a row!

Duncan & Scott shooting. Oh- and of course Copper. She has to be right there with you whenever the gun comes out. It is funny, but good for Scott since he is working with her to be his "hunting dog".

Carrie & Duncan sitting around the campfire. They love their tiny chairs to sit on. It makes them feel important~ or something.

Scott & Copper around the fire. He is always good to get a nice fire going. I'm starting to see his Boy Scout skills being put to good use!

Duncan asleep in his sleeping bag. I know that it is hard to see him, but Scott wouldn't let me take another picture of him for fear of him waking up from the flash! (yes, his sleeping bag is camo)

Carrie getting ready for bed in her sleeping bag. She loves sleeping in it and feeling like a big girl.

It isn't camping until the kids get dirty. You should have seen the bath water when we got home!

Duncan crashed before we even pulled out of the campsite. He slept the whole ride home, which made for a nice and quiet drive.

FUN TIMES

2008-06-22T15:34:00.000-07:00

We are so fortunate to live so close to many beautiful mountains! On Saturday, we loaded up the kids- including Copper and drove into Springville. We then went to Little Caesars and got a pizza and bread sticks and then headed east. Destination = Hobble Creek Canyon. We drove up there and then pulled off at a little field. The cows had been there with evidence of cow pies and the grass being only a few inches tall- as opposed to the knee high grass we had just passed.

We got out our chairs and then enjoyed the cool evening and pizza. We could have used some soda to wash it down with, but forgot to bring some! The kids had a riot in the dirt and finding sticks to throw to Copper. We then went down to creek and played some more with Copper and sticks. Although she is great at fetching the sticks, she has no clue that she needs to bring them back to Scott. So after throwing 20 or more sticks in the water, we headed back to the jeep where Scott shot is bow and then his handgun.

Here are some pics from the evening. We had a blast and hope to do this more often. We already have next weekend scheduled for camping and 4-wheeling up Diamond Fork Canyon. Stay tuned for more posts!

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Carrie was smiling and when I asked her to open her eyes, this is the picture I got!

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Scott and Duncan eating some pizza.
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Copper swimming in the creek, waiting for Scott to throw another stick.

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Carrie hates any loud noises, so when she saw the gun come out-
her fingers went into her ears!

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I really don't like this picture of me, but since I hardly have any with the kids,
I thought that I 'd put it in....

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Duncan's overalls fell down, so Carrie was helping him put them back on- kind of. It was so cute- she kept saying "Lift your leg up Duncan", but his shoe kept getting stuck so Carrie just took them off.

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Scott shooting his gun, and Copper having to be right next him. In fact she kept nudging Scott in the butt with her nose everytime he shot. It was really funny to watch.

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Scott picked this flower. I've never seen anything like it- it's so beautiful!

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Carrie playing with the arrows. She was a good helper to pull them out of the target, and then flail them around like batons.

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2008-05-28T13:04:00.001-07:00

I am only doing this tag because I love you Nicki.....

1. WAS YOUR FIRST PREGNANCY PLANNED? Yes

2. WERE YOU MARRIED AT THE TIME? Yes

3. WHAT WERE YOUR REACTIONS? Excited and ecstatic to not have to be on clomid anymore.

4. WAS ABORTION AN OPTION FOR YOU? Never!!!

5. HOW OLD WERE YOU? I turned 25 the day before she was born

6. HOW DID YOU FIND OUT YOU WERE PREGNANT? Took a test the day I was to get my period, and it was positive!

7. WHO DID YOU TELL FIRST? Scott

8. DID YOU WANT TO FIND OUT THE SEX? Hell NO

9. DUE DATE? January 18, 2005

10. DID YOU HAVE MORNING SICKNESS? I didn't throw up until 2nd trimester, and then continued to throw up until I had her. But it wasn't really morning sickness- I would puke b/c my gag reflex was super sensitive and everything made me gag.

11. WHAT DID YOU CRAVE? Pancakes, red meat & fish

12. WHO/WHAT IRRITATED YOU THE MOST? Peeing my pants b/c I puked a ton...

13. WHAT WAS YOUR FIRST CHILD'S SEX? Girl

14. DID YOU WISH YOU HAD THE OPPOSITE SEX OF WHAT YOU WERE GETTING? We were convinced it was a boy, but were excited to have had a girl.

15. HOW MANY POUNDS DID YOU GAIN THROUGHOUT THE PREGNANCY? I lost 40 lbs.

16. DID YOU HAVE A BABY SHOWER? Yes

17. WAS IT A SURPRISE OR DID YOU KNOW? No surprise

18. DID YOU HAVE ANY COMPLICATIONS DURING YOUR PREGNANCY? Had a small amount of bleeding at 11 weeks, some pre-term labor, but nothing to crazy

19. WHERE DID YOU GIVE BIRTH? Provo, Utah- Utah Valley Regional Medical Center

20. HOW MANY HOURS WERE YOU IN LABOR? 4, and 1 push

21. WHO DROVE YOU TO THE HOSPITAL? Scott

22. WHO WATCHED YOU GIVE BIRTH? Scott

23. WAS IT NATURAL OR C-SECTION? Natural

24. DID YOU TAKE MEDICINE TO EASE THE PAIN? I did get an epidural, after some resistance- but it ended up being the best thing. I was able to sleep and then woke up with her head already crowning.

25. HOW MUCH DID YOUR CHILD WEIGH? 6lb 4oz

26. WHEN WAS YOUR CHILD ACTUALLY BORN? December 31, 2004

27. WHAT DID YOU NAME HIM/HER? Carrie Louise Witney

28. HOW OLD IS YOUR FIRST BORN TODAY? 3 years 4 months 28 days... :)

2008-05-25T22:02:00.000-07:00

So I got these fun potties at IKEA, and the kids were so excited to use them that they stripped down to nothing and sat down. It was too cute of a picture to pass up.

P.S. Duncan did go pee in the toilet a few minutes later. Pretty sure he'll be teaching Carrie how to use the bathroom!

2008-05-13T16:16:00.000-07:00

FINALLY!!! SOME NEW PICTURES.....

I LOVE this picture!
Carrie and Duncan do love each other. They just happen to
fight like cats and dogs in between holding each others hands~

Carrie squatting, for no reason at all other than she can!

Just a funny picture of Duncan. He is getting so big! I want my baby back :(

Carrie LOVES momma's sunglasses! She knows she looks good in them

I spy Duncan in all the camo...

Rrrrrr

2008-04-01T09:55:00.000-07:00

Carrie and Duncan are obsessed with pirates, which is funny in itself... But apparantly Duncan knows what a pirate says... It is so cute. We were trying to get him to say hello because he says it "hewhoa", but we only got a hi.

Easter Fun at Aunt Cherilyn's house.

2008-04-01T09:28:00.000-07:00

This year for Easter, we went up to Cherilyn's house and did an egg hunt there. The kids had a blast, and it was fun to be with Cherilyn, Riley and Kyle. I did realize though, that at these times, I miss my parents a ton and only wish that they could live out here for moments like these.

Carrie was having fun finding all of the eggs..
Duncan really enjoyed it as well. It is funny to see his little

body bending over to collect all the eggs.

He found one!
Carrie was excited to get a Dora bat.
Duncan thought it was hilarious to hide in Coppers dog-box. We had to drag him out as he wouldn't get out on his own!

I think that this is my favorite picture because Duncan thought that he could pick up whatever he wanted. So as you can see, he collected a dog toy during the egg hunt. He was so proud of it too!

Yeah for me.

2008-03-31T21:14:00.000-07:00

For any one that cares...

I have a 4.0 in school.

This has never happened, but I hope to keep it this way.

Yeah for me.

The things that keep me busy.

2008-03-12T09:41:00.001-07:00

As if having two toddlers isn't busy enough, I've decided to go to school. I started at the end of January at Stevens-Henager in the Medical Specialties program. I eventually want to become an RN, but in order to do that program, I had to have a bunch of pre-req's that I didn't have. By the end of the specialties program (it's 20 months long) I will have several certifications under my belt like: CNA, MA, EMT, phlebotomy tech, lab tech, limited radiologist, etc... I figure that the more schooling and certifications I have, the more qualified I will be to then attend the nursing program.

Although this school is VERY expensive and time consuming, I love the fast pace and experience I am getting. I have 100% attendance so far ( a huge accomplishment for those of you who know my history...) and have gotten A's on all of my assignments/tests. Although I hate to be away from the kids at night during the week, I know that my hard work will be rewarded and that my family will be blessed from it.

Scott also stays busy now that he has started working in the Provo Temple. Since he doesn't work on Friday, he now spends his morning in the Temple. I am grateful to him for his diligence and desire to serve. Carrie's favorite song on our Primary CD is "Temple Song" and we listen to it over and over and over... Everytime we go past the Temple she gets excited and says that she wants to go in and see "Daddy's Temple". It is so cute to see her interest in something so important. I can't help but think that she feels the spirit and senses something special about this sacred building.

Well, other than work, school, temple, a dog and 2 toddlers, we stay plenty busy, but love every minute of it.

Great. I've been tagged.

2008-03-08T22:12:00.000-08:00

Rochelle tagged me, so here I go.....

1. 10 years ago:
I was 18 and in my senior year at Lake Forest High School. I would have been getting ready for my final trip to Europe with the Band/Orchestra. We went to Prague, Vienna & Budapest. It was a blast and I am so happy that I had the chance to go to Europe 3 times while in high school.

2. 5 things on my list to do today:
-Find my dumb keys (we did. in the trash! Thanks Duncan.)
-Haul off the crappy free bed (we did)
-Finish cleaning the house (we got a good start, but still need to finish)
-Clean jeep (not so much)
-Return stupid chairs to Ikea (yes, and got a new kitchen table. Yeah!)

3. Snacks I enjoy:
Reese's peanut butter cups (holiday kind like the Easter egg ones in the store now)
Mini vanilla wafers
Tortilla chips

4. What would I do if I were a billionaire?
Pay off my debt; move out of this stupid HOA neighborhood and onto a ranch with lots of animals and a TON of property; get plastic surgery to make me a size 8 so I don't have to shop at the "Fat lady store" anymore; fix my feet and buy lots of shoes; get a Kawasaki Mule & a sweet camper trailer. I could go on, but I have a primary lesson I have to finish preparing after this!

5. 3 of my bad habits:
-I am a procrastinator and I hate it!
-Not putting away laundry after I wash it.
-Sleeping in until my kiddies wake me up.

6. Places I have lived:
-Lake Bluff, IL
-Salt Lake City, UT
-Orem, UT
-Springville, UT
-Spanish Fork, UT

7. Last 5 jobs I have had:
-Cashier at Sunroc
-Cashier/Manager at Christopher & Banks
-Cashier at Lane Bryant
-Staff at group home for mentally handicapped
-Food preparer at Fresh Food Junkies

8. 5 things people don't know about me:
-I'm addicted to Glenn Beck (ok- some of you know this, but others don't!)
-I am baby hungry right now
-I would like to get my tattoos fixed (yes, I have a tattoos- is that even spelled right?)
-I wish I could kick in my neighbors teeth b/c she called the cops about our "barking" dog and demanded that charges be pressed so now we have a fun ticket we have to pay. Oh- by the way, our dog doesn't bark that much....
-I see dead people (not really, I just didn't know what else to put!)

Hope you had fun reading this....

My very first post!

2008-02-27T22:22:00.000-08:00

OK, I am really dumb when it comes to blogging and internet stuff, so please be patient.

I'll start with some pictures of my CRAZY kids, and then hopefully I'll start posting some more stuff!