4 Months.. really?

I can't believe that it's been 4 months since I last blogged. Life sure gets busy. I have been doing ok. Matt and I decided in the summer that we needed to get our debt paid off. It's been hard, but we are almost there. Hopefully with our tax return we will be debt free (except for the house). It was a mess before and it feels sooo great to have things at least organized and to have a plan in place on how/when to pay off our bills. We've been being really frugal and also decided to sell one of our cars to help. We are down to one car, which has been okay. Don't get me wrong, I really wish I had a car sometimes... but I usually don't NEED it. It's just that I want to run out and get a Diet Coke or something. So, really it has been a good thing.

The girls are doing really well. I can't believe the last post I had was about Abby and how well she was doing with potty training. :) She is now fully potty trained. It's the best thing ever!! Abby has been going to special education pre-school at Stansbury Elementary. She was approved into the program for her speech delay. I am telling you she has really grown leaps and bounds in her speech. They have really been helping her. It makes me so happy to see her growing and learning. She is able to write a few of the letters of the alphabet. She definitely knows the letter "A" for "Abby". Today she came home from preschool singing "Jingle Bells.. all the way up". It was cute. She almost had it right, "Jingle Bells... jingle all the way". :) She is so smart, it makes me so proud to see how much she understands and is learning. Abby loves going to Nursery at church and I can't even believe I'm about to type this.. but she is going to be a Sunbeam in a few weeks. That is just crazy. I can't believe it!! Abby says her prayers every night. It's so fun to hear who she prays about. Sometimes it's Grandmas & Grandpas and other times it's friends and sometimes it's aunt/uncles/cousins. :) Just makes me smile.

Lucy had her first birthday. We had a little family party for her. I made her own little cake and she just ate it up! She had cake all over her face. It was precious! She is a little stinker now. She is running/walking everywhere. She likes to get into trouble. Lucy is always making messes whereever she goes. Her new thing is opening the toilet lids and putting all sorts of things in the toilet. Luckily she doesn't know how to flush the toilet - YET! Lucy loves her sister so much... she laughs and smiles the biggest for Abby. Matt and I could try our best and never outshine Lucy's love for her sister. Just a few weeks ago we put the girls into the same room. It was a great time to do it.

Well, I'm tired tonight - so I'm headed to bed. I will try to write sooner.

Nine Years!

On August 5th Matt & I had our NINE year wedding anniversary! I cannot believe it has been nine years. We are still very happily married after nine years. We love each other with all our hearts. We weren't able to do anything fun for our anniversary - but that's ok. We've always talked about going to Japan for our 10th anniversary - just for fun. It's been Matt's dream to go to Japan. Although, it looks like we'll have to try and make it for our 15th anniversary. We're getting our finances and bills in order and have been doing good with it since May. We're working to be debt free and getting into a better place financially. It's tough - and we're so grateful to have some help with many things. Matt went to the dentist for the first time since we've been married - so it's probably been over 10 years. He's had a tooth that's been bugging him.. well, he needs a root canal! Yikes! He'll get that near the end of the month. He's still really busy at work, as an Audi/VW mechanic in SLC. He enjoyed the cooler weather today! I feel bad for him, he works in the heat with no a/c and in a brick building.. so he basically gets cooked in a brick oven!

Abby is still doing pretty well with potty training. She hasn't had a pee accident since the first day. She has a harder time with the poo accidents. There's only been about 4 total, so it's not too terrible. I think she is getting the hang of it. Her and her friend Julia (who is 4) play together every day. In the morning Abby wakes up and asks "can I play with Julia?" - and it's 6:30am .. so I always tell her that Julia is still sleeping. The two girls have recently been getting into trouble at my house. They colored their hands and feet and Abby's white bed with a pink marker. Luckily it cleaned off of them and I made Abby clean it off of her bed. Today they took a gallon of milk (it was almost all gone) down in the basement and were filling cups with milk down there. Some spilled on the couch and the floor. So - I've gotten back to checking on them every 10 minutes or so. Before they could go an hour or more of just playing. The little stinkers!

Lucy is doing well. She is almost crawling.. actually she just scoots on her butt everywhere. It's funny! Matt calls her "Igor". She is clapping, smacking her lips, nodding her head, and cruising. She is such a happy baby - it's a joy to have her.

I am doing good. I have been able to keep my house really good and clean for over a week. I've just decided I'm sick of living in a messy house. It's been great! The only thing I'm doing different is when I see something that is out of place or messy I just pick it up right then. Before I would see it and think "oh, I'll pick it up later"... and it never got done. I've also started counting my weight watcher points - or just basically keeping an eye on what I'm eating. We can't afford to do any weight loss plans, so I'm just doing this on my own with Tiffany. It's only been about a week. Tiffany and I made some cute food journals to help us keep track of food.

Just some pictures

These are just some pictures from camping last weekend at Strawberry Resevoir!

Matt took Abby on the 4-wheeler! She loved it. She kept saying "Faster! Faster!"
Matt & Lucy

Me & Lucy!

Abby - my 3 year old just may be potty trained!

I am so happy to say that I think Abby - my 3 year old - is potty trained! It started 4 days ago.. I told her all of her diapers were gone. She said we should go to the store. I told her they were gone at the store too. Then I asked her where she was going to go pee and poop. She said "in the potty". The first day she peed and pooped in her underwear all day. The second day she would pee just a little in her underwear but stop herself and run over to the potty to pee. The third day she didn't have one accident!! I am so proud of her. I think it was really just her deciding that she wanted to be a big girl. I've tried unsuccessfully in the past to potty train. She just wasn't ready. Not that I'm expecting this to continue so perfectly. I know she will have accidents... but it is SOOOOO nice not having two children in diapers! Yay!!

Camping, Camping, all day long..

We have had our share of camping for the summer! :) We went to Missouri for my family reunion. We stayed in a cabin at a campground. It was so nice! Now don't get me wrong, it was SOOOOO humid! The humidity made it pretty sweaty for all of us. But, it was great to see my brothers and sisters and parents and all the kids. It's been 6 years since all the siblings have been in one place together. The only bad part was that because it was so hot it was hard to hang out all together. Next time we'll know to reserve a meeting room or somewhere we can meet all together inside with air conditioning. I think we'll be doing these reunions every 5 years. We'll get better with practice!

Then just this last weekend we went camping at Strawberry Resevoir with Matt's family for their family reunion. It was hot during the day and cold at night. We had a lot of fun up there. Matt took Abby on a 4-wheeler ride. Apparently she loved it! She kept telling him to go faster. We had a great time with everyone. I got a cold or something while we were up there. So, now I'm sick.. it stinks!

I don't have pictures of either event. I left my camera in Missouri. Luckily someone turned it in and the resort has mailed it back to me. Hopefully I get it and it doesn't get lost in the mail!

Free sod!

The High School near our house is finished being built, now they are finishing the landscaping of a big field. The past week I've noticed they had four pallets of scraps. I decided that I would ask them if they were just going to throw it out. The next day I was watching for someone to be out there - finally in the afternoon there were two guys working on the sprinklers. I walked over and asked if I could have the sod. The guy said yes, they were just going to throw it out. I did 12 wheelbarrows back and forth between my house and the field (it's not that far). Finally the guy came over and asked if I had a big yard, I said kind of.. I just didn't know how much I would need. He had me load as much as I wanted in his tractor shovel and he drove the last bit over to my house... SO NICE! I was just about to quit. This was last Thursday. I had to clear the gravel rocks from the side and move them and then lay the sod. I am so happy to say that I finished the job this morning. :) Yahoo!!! There is still some left over there... in case anyone out here wants to grab the rest.

I met President Thomas S. Monson today!

Today was a cool day! We went to lunch with Matt's family at the Little America downtown SLC. As we were going into the restaurant President Monson and his wife were coming out. I'm sure he saw our faces - like "oh - it's the Prophet!!" He just said to us, "Well, that's a group!" We all said hi to him. My father-n-law Joe then asked President Monson, "would you teach my Sunday school lesson for me tomorrow?" The prophet laughed and said, "sure, if you do my talk to all of the Mission Presidents tomorrow." We all chuckled. Then Joe said that they have a new Bishop in his ward and that it would probably give him a heart attack if the Prophet showed up at their ward. President Monson then told us some stories of from when he was a Bishop when he was 22. He talked about the widows in his ward. He said that The Lord really cares for the widows. President Monson asked Matt how old he was, after having to think about it Matt said "31". (He forgets that he isn't 20 anymore). Joe told him that Matt and Angi (Matt's sister) both served missions. Angi served in Houston, Texas and Matt served in Montreal, Canada. President Monson was a Mission President in that region, from 1958-1961. Matt told him he remembers seeing his picture in the Mission Home. President Monson told some stories from serving as Mission President in Canada. He stood and talked to us for 10-15 minutes! Abby was at least well behaved - phew! :) She came over to me and I had Lucy in my arms. She wanted to give Lucy hugs and kisses so I put Lucy down. President Monson said "you can tell they have so much love for each other". It was just such a neat experience. He was such a humble and kind man. He talked to us like we were family. I've always had a testimony of the prophet. As I just listened to him talk to us I just felt a peace. It just flows from him. It was a really amazing to meet the leader of our church. I know that this is something I will remember for most likely the rest of my life! Just had to share!! :)

Random stuff

Here I am dying my roots and I have time to spare.. :) So I thought I'd post on my blog. I planted a garden this year. We planted: tomatoes, cherry tomatoes, zucchini, cucumbers, watermelon, strawberries, and green bell peppers. We don't have a nice boxed garden and our soil was pretty awful. Since we don't have extra cash we decided to grow our garden in pots. So far, everything is doing well. Our tomato plants have little green tomatoes on them! I can't can't wait for fresh garden tomatoes. Nothing else is better. :) I hope everything else continues to do well. Abby is a little green thumb too - she picked out her own flowers and planted them in pots in the front yard. She is very diligent at watering the flowers everyday, which has helped me to remember to water my garden too. All of Abby's flowers are pink - of course. Lucy is getting ready to crawl - I just know it. She is going from the sitting position to being on her belly. Lucy loves to watch Barbie Thumbelina - it's funny. She honestly would watch the whole thing... if I let her. It's pretty funny. Matt is keeping busy at work and playing on nights and weekends. Matt has started to follow his dad's example.. he takes Abby on candy runs every Saturday morning to 7-11. When Matt and his sisters were young - their dad would take each kid on a candy run every Saturday. Of course Matt would tell you that it's not the same because his dad had a Porsche. Matt just has his regular car. (Poor Matt.. someday he will get a Porsche!). We are really looking forward to my family reunion in July... well actually both of our family reunions in July. OK - time to wash my hair! Happy Summer everyone!! :)

Me & my sweet girls!

You might think I've been avoiding the internet...

Well... I have! Ha! I have been busy since the weather has been so nice. The girls keep me so busy all the time! They are getting so big. It's crazy how time flies. Lucy is now 8 months old. She has got the biggest chunkiest thighs.. we call them thunder thighs. It's so adorable. Abby is obsessed with swimming. Every morning she asks me if we will swim today. For a few days we haven't been able to. My computer crashed or is crashing.. I'm still trying to save as much as possible on CD-Roms, including my pictures. I have them all on snapfish.com, so I could order them.. but if I can get them on CD's that'd just be better & cheaper. I also started a garden this year - wahoo! We are growing our foods in bigger pots. We planted: tomatoes (2 types), jalapenos, green bell peppers, strawberries, watermelon, cucumbers, and zucchini. So far it's all growing and looking great! I hope they continue to do well and that we will enjoy the food that comes from it. I would love to post a few pictures.. but I don't have any on this computer (I'm using Matt's computer).

Our summer is going to be pretty quiet.. although July will be our busy month! We are going to a family reunion for my family. My parents have been married 40 years so we wanted to get us all together again. It's been quite some time since all my siblings families and parents have been in the same state. We'll be flying to Kansas City, Missouri... it's basically the mid-point between all of our families. It will be fun, I'm actually looking forward to it. Then a week later we'll be camping at Strawberry for a family reunion for Matt's family. It will be a fun time. :)

A few things..

Lucy turned 6 months old last month.. she is 7 months old now! It's crazy how fast time is flying by with both my girls! They make life exciting, that's for sure! Here's a few pictures of Lucy & Abby that we had done for Lucy's 6-month mark.

I'm going to be fine!

I heard back from my doctor about the results of my heart monitoring. He said there wasn't anything that was alarming. The doctor said that my heart can get up to 150bpm for no apparent reason at all, so he thinks I'm having stress/anxiety that may be causing the heart quickening. I'll go on some medicine to help with that. I'll follow-up with my doctor in a month to see if the medicine has been helping with the symptoms. I'm sure they will!

My heart

So, I went to the doctor a couple weeks ago with a pain in my left breast. It wasn't a lump or anything so we weren't worried about cancer. My doctor couldn't really explain it so he ran some blood work. This week my nurse called me back about the blood work. Almost everything looked okay, except it showed slight breakdown of my heart muscle. Because of this the doctor wanted me to come in to talk about it and get an EKG. I went in on Wednesday to my appointment. The EKG results showed that I haven't had a heart attack (well - that's great!), but my doctor said I have a slow heart beat. With my symptoms of: slow heart beat, the heart muscle breakdown bloodwork, the pain in my breast, my cholesterol (it isn't too terrible), and some heart fluttering (most likely due to my slow heart beat) -- my doctor wants me to do more testing. I'll have to be monitored for a few days and push a button anytime I feel a flutter (my heart beating faster) or any pain. This is so they can tell what's going on with my heart when I'm having a flutter or whatever. It all sounds scary, but I'm really not worried. I think everything will be fine. Really I'm just typing it out to help it make sense to me. I'm not in any pain or anything.. so I'm expecting it to be okay! I'll be getting the monitoring thing tomorrow - so maybe within the next 2 weeks I'll know more. I'll make sure to post again.

A few pictures

Monkey see... Monkey do! Before you flip out, she can't actually suck the Diet Coke through the straw. I just think it's funny that she wants the straw like mommy!

Did I mention Lucy has decided to be a punk-rocker with her very own mohawk? HA HA!

Riding in the train - we played for at least an hour with this diaper box. It was our very own choo-choo train that we pushed around the house. Abby loved it! Lucy didn't mind it. :)

Hello again!

I'm starting to feel guilty for not writing so much.. it's kind of like how I've started journals probably 10 different times in my life and wasn't very good at writing in them consistently. I will try to be better! We are doing good here. Lucy will be 6 months in a few days. I took her today to get her pictures taken - she was a perfect model! In fact, the photographer put a few preview pictures on her blog.. check it out: http://ashworthphotography.blogspot.com/ She did a great job taking pictures of Lucy and trying to take pics of Abby. Abby wasn't so cooperative. She hasn't sat for 'real' pictures ever since she was 18 months old, so I wasn't expecting much to begin with. I should get the pictures within a week and I will definitely post them! I'll be back soon.. for sure. :)

It's February!!

I can't believe it's February already! Time sure flies by. First, an update on our health. Lucy did great with RSV - she responded well to the breathing treatments so she didn't have to go to the hospital at all. Abby is healthy, I'm healthy, and Matt is sick with a cold. :(

We have been busy in our house! Lucy rolled over (front to back) yesterday. We got out the video camera to capture that moment. She did it like she knows what she's doing. She will be 5 months old in a few weeks, which is just wild! Lucy is sleeping all through the night. She is just such a good good baby! Abby is busy playing with friends, playing games on the computer and online, and she's busy learning! She has just recently gone crazy for reading books. We read 4-5 books every night. Sometimes after I kiss her goodnight I'll go in and check on her a while later and she's just up in her bed reading books (or looking at them). She has also just gotten very very very good at using the computer. She has a new favorite website, http://www.starfall.com/. She is able to navigate herself through this website on her own! I love the website because it is a learning site, learning the alphabet and reading. I just love watching her play - it just makes me think she's brilliant! :)

Matt and I are keeping ourselves busy. Matt is still playing his online games, mostly Maple Story. (And we wonder why Abby loves online/computer games - she takes after her daddy!) I am busy with the kids, my online group: http://www.tooelemommies.com/, and with taking time for myself. My birthday is this month - and I'm turning 29. I'm not sure how I feel about that?? I'm getting old, that's for sure. :P But, oh well - that's life. Well, I'm off to go watch a tv show or do some dishes or both. I'll try and post sooner. Here's a few pictures of the girls for ya! Abby put a bandaid on Lucy - she takes care of her sister! The other one is Abby playing her online game. :)

New Post?

Sure - why not? I love to check my friends & family's blogs and see new posts... so I assume you've probably been wondering why I haven't posted. We are doing alright here in the Bonham house. A few weeks ago Abby had RSV. Because she is older it's just basically a cold for her. We thought we were home free from Lucy getting it since it's been a few weeks. I was wrong. Lucy started a cough on Wednesday so I took her in that same day. YES - she has RSV. However, her oxygen levels were great - 99% & 100% the next day. She is breathing well. She is doing really great! We are just continuing with breathing treatments and praying and praying that she will just continue to get better than getting worse. We're on day 4 and she is still doing great. We are really blessed that she is doing so wonderfully! Through it all she has still been just a sweet little thing!