Merry Christmas!

I know it is a little blurry, but at least with this one you can see everyone's gorgeous smiles! Christmas this year was amazing and wonderful...and quiet. This is the first year we've had as just our family since John and I's first Christmas after we were married. It was different, that is for sure. Different in a good way, that is. We invited everyone over for our traditional Christmas Eve feast (Christmas Eve pig out might be a better way to phrase it...), which was so wonderful. Thanks to everyone who came, it meant a lot (especially to Rachel, who is still hyper emotional after the baby and all the lovely hormones that come with...). After that, we mostly just got dinner cleaned up, dishes done, Christmas cartoons watched, Christmas stories read, Santa's milk and cookies (and of course carrots for the reindeer) put out, and kids put to bed. The next morning there was no mad dash to prep anything, so we just took it easy. At our house, Santa doesn't wrap any gift he just puts your stash in a pile with your stocking in front to identify who's whos and covers it all up with blankets. The next morning, the rule is that the kids can't wake us up before 7 am...little did I know that I was going to wake up at 6 and not be able to get back to sleep! Everyone finally woke up about 7:30, and after shuffling around to make sure their rooms were all clean we got to uncover everything. Oh, what joyous rapture, can you believe it? Santa came! He ate all the cookies, fed his reindeer, drank his milk, and even left stuff for everyone...everywhere! After managing to sort out who's stuff was who's, Rachel spent the morning helping to unpackage toys while John made breakfast (you know how the Who's down in Who'sville would "feast, feast, feast, feast"?). After that, the kids had so much fun playing we couldn't get them to get things completely cleaned up until about 4 pm. Then we finally got to the business of unwrapping all the gifts under the tree and we were off again! At least we didn't have to worry about cooking anything...

Anyway, since then we've had ever so much fun playing and watching and playing some more. Thank you to everyone for all the wonderful gifts and thrills, not to mention all the goodies and treats. And that doesn't start to mention how much we've loved all the phone calls and e-mails and Christmas cards!!! We love you all, and give our thanks to God every day for all the wonderful people we have in our lives. We send our love out while wishing every good thing for you this next year, and since I'm feeling terribly original I'll just end by quoting Charles Dickens: "God bless us, everyone!"

Grand Beginnings!

Well, it is official: I'm finally getting the sales blog up and running. I even had my first open house today! Check it out and let me know what you think: www.thehandmadeheritage.blogspot.com. If anyone is wanting to try and sell anything through the site, let me know. For that matter: please check out the site and let me know what you think. The more input I get, the better the blog will be (assuming I can figure out how to work your suggestions in!) and the more people will approach it. Let's help each of us find the Christmas money we are all looking for!

Damon Gabriel

Well, just to make it official: he's here!!! Damon Gabriel Martin was born October 4, weighing in at 7lbs. 9 ozs. and measuring an adorable 19 inches long. He decided to surprise us all and show up 2 weeks before scheduled, but everything went well and both baby and I are healthy and strong. I promised lots of pictures, so I'll try and make up for all the delay. Hope you (and your internet connection) are ready for us!


I couldn't resist showing this one. John doesn't love his babies at all, does he?



Just in case anyone was wondering: Kieran absolutely and completely adores "my baby"!



And yes: he learned to smile!!! He is getting to be sooo fun! Now, if I can just get him to start sleeping through the night...what a Christmas present that would be!

Here We Go Again!

Well, shall I simply make everyone's lives easier and say "Ditto" to the last entry? Suffice to say, yes, it has been that long since we've had a safely and truly fixed computer. It has only taken several months, a brand new hard-drive, not to mention the hours re-loading and re-loading and re-loading yet again all the software, but...we're here! Please send your sites, I'm dying for updates on everyone!!! I'll get on the same vein of updating everyone with all of our exciting news and photos and such in the next day or two.

Heads up

As always, sorry that it has been soo long since I actively updated. I'm afraid that between one thing and another, this is the first chance since we resurrected the computer last weekend that I've had to even post this. I'll include more details as I'm able later.

However, I do have a plea for help out. We had to format our computer to be able to get the whole thing working again, which means that I've lost all my bookmarks for everyone's websites and such, plus other vital info. Would you guys mind sending me your addresses? That way I'm able to check up and bug you all later!

All you help and patience would be appreciated!!!

It's a blob!

Yep, it's official! It is a very active and healthy blob that should finish baking (get this!) October 22nd. That's right, happy birthday to me and Caelen! I knew I shouldn't have had a doctor's appointment today of all days, but the impatient side of me just didn't want to wait. I promise, that really is the date the doctor gave me today. It is actually a little later than originally figured, and the actual due date that they are filing with the insurance company is a couple of days earlier so we don't have a fight on our hands when we try to schedule the surgery as the doc is a little worried about timing (I guess I had actually started labor before Kieran was delivered which he doesn't want to repeat because of complication issues), but I thought it was funny enough to tell you all this one! Happy April Fool's day!

Way past due...

Alright, I know. I'm way past due for an update. So here I am working on one...

In the past month, several things have occurred. First of all, as far as my last post, we no longer have a dog. That's right, after all that (and so much more that I don't want to think about at this point), thanks to the lovely manager at the apt complex here at Hanbury Manor not representing things honestly between us and the owners we no longer have the puppy. We had to find her a new home immediately. Lesson for Rachel: never trust the manager, require full paperwork and a contact with the owners first. We still have the cat, but only because we haven't told them yet about him. The reason: I don't want to be screwed over the same as we were over the puppy. So until after next month, we are keeping mum about him.

Other things that have been occurring: The biggest has been Tia's birthday. That's right, my baby girl turned 8 on the 10th! I'm still reeling a little bit. Her baptism has been set for the April 11th at 11 am at the Logan Tabernacle, and yes family and friends are invited. We're hoping to get the invitations out in the next week. We also had a birthday party for her last weekend, which was of course insane. It didn't help much that Tia ended up inviting her entire class from school, but the kids all seemed to have a lot of fun, and I was sooo grateful for all the adults who showed up and stuck around anyway! We ended up seeing around 20-25 kids (including nieces and nephews of course), so I was terribly grateful we did things at the church. And boy, has Tia's 'little' collection of bobbleheads exploded! I think this was the year of the "My Little Pet Shop" bobbleheads, since almost all of her gifts were various critters from this collection. She of course is terribly thrilled. I wish I could catch her on tape so you all could see how she plays with them all! She's been so fun, and we absolutely love to have her as a part of the family!

One other big piece of news, then I'll end the post for now. And this is big: we just found out that we're pregnant! I'll find out the exact due date at the end of the month, so I'll let you all know then. The kids are all excited (though I don't think Kieran has figured out what he's excited about yet), and absolutely convinced we're having a girl. I don' t know, but we'll find out either way.

Anyway, more details coming soon. Sorry for the absence of posts!

Decisions made

Alrighty, thanks a million to everyone who had an opinion about pets that dared to offer it! I might be repeating myself in this post, but if so just skip to the new stuff. If not, well... either way, get ready for a novel. If you don't want to read, I understand. This is pretty much a way of updating everyone as well as explaining myself to everyone who thinks I'm off my rocker for doing all this!

First of all, thanks again to everyone. Whether it was through posts on this blog, or responses to e-mails, or simply conversations, everyone's advise did help a lot. Even if it doesn't seem like it at first as we may be doing something that was discouraged. When you give the reasons why you have a particular like or dislike, it helps in making an informed choice. And in one particular case, I know that you think I'm nuts. But then, most of my family would agree with you since a lot of them aren't really into pets to begin with. Plus we got the happy news that all we needed to have a pet was a pet deposit and contract update, which is so much better than the other method.

Anyway, the decision was to get both a kitten and a puppy. The kitten was partly because we knew that we would want to have a cat someday so if we get a puppy now we'll need to have a kitten to raise it with so the dog doesn't consider the cat part of it's food chain in the future (yes, this does really work). The other rub was that we found an adorable pure-blood persian male who really desperately needed a new home. I called originally to ask just to see the kitten to test John's resolve. Little did I know that when we would meet the kitten it would be in such sad shape. Usually I'm against getting a sick critter, however this little one was soo sad, and any sickness was due to neglect rather than bacteria. Fortunately his little face isn't so squashed up as to drive you crazy, but his fur was completely matted and filthy plus he was soo skinny I was starting to think I was seeing his spine and a rib or two even through the long hair! So when John said yes, we ended up bringing him home. He got a bath first thing the next day along with a full grooming (we had to cut a bunch of matts out they were so bad). Talk about your drowned rats! All things considered he really didn't do too badly, and dried out in about 1/4 of the time I'd expected. In the last week since he joined in the mayhem we call home, he has filled out so much and his coat has gotten incredibly silky and full. He even started playing with Kieran a couple of days ago which I didn't think would happen for at least a month. But the kitten has adjusted to the life and love found in abundance around here pretty quickly. I wish you could see Kieran and Zephyr (the kitten) play chase, not to mention the way Tia gets him to chase his tail and Caelen bundles and snuggles him like a baby!

As far as a puppy, things have happened incredibly quickly. First of all, we decided on a Siberian Husky. When I first told people at a family birthday party last week, most people thought I was nuts. They all said the dog would be too big, especially in our 'little' apartment, or in the case of one aunt I asked personally there were other problems. Personally, I've never lived in such a large apartment so I can't really see how a dog that is only 20 in or so at the whithers when she matures would be too big. And yes, that means the dog's head at the most will only come up to just above my knees! Plus you add in the factor of the back yard (we're on the ground floor with easy access to the back yard) full of other kids who love playing with dogs, and the fact that I'm walking usually twice a day...you get the idea. Oh, and as far as the howling that I've been told of: according to books, vets, and breeders (as well as previous owners both for and against the breed) the howling is something that comes from training the pup as a pup rather than waiting until the dog is older. I've been told of several ways of dealing with it so the neighbors won't totally hate me, as well as the shedding issues. Add all that up with the facts that this breed is incredibly well known for being extremely friendly, intelligent, and tolerant when socialized early, not to mention soo appealing to look at (which does help for therapy pets, which I intend to do), and incredibly good with kids...you get the idea. Of course, it doesn't help that John couldn't agree on any other dog breed that I had picked out, so a Siberian Husky (also known as a Sepolla) it is.

Anyway, to get off of my defensive soapbox: I figured it would take weeks to find a pup, particularly at this time of year. However, as luck would have it, I got onto ksl.com's classifieds and found a lady who breeds huskies in Bear Lake advertising for a litter that was about ready to go. As I got to talking with her, I found out that she competes with her dogs for sledding (and other pulling races), and as such had helped my cousin compete as well. She even told me about how she would let him use the dogs in the winter where he would often beat her with her own dogs! After asking around a little bit (plus calling my uncle), I can honestly say that she comes very highly recommended both as a breeder and also as an obedience trainer. I'll admit I'm a little excited about lucking out so much for a good breeder which can be incredibly hard to find here in northern Utah. She asked several questions about the family and our lives, and helped us pick out a puppy that really was responsive considering she was scared from her first car ride not to mention cold as she's been raised inside. But she didn't shy away from us, nor did she jump out at us. She sort of just sat back and accepted what we did, and then snuggled for all she was worth. And she is a gorgeous red point with bi-colored eyes (one brown, one blue). Plus, while she wasn't acting like the "leader of the pack", she was loving on the other pups rather than just huddling with them which seemed a pretty good sign to me. Now the only problem is that we are stuck waiting on the stupid paperwork from the apt owners which officially give us permission to have a pet (I know, the kitten was a little premature, but as they aren't going to see her and it is easier ask forgiveness than permission...) and pay the pet deposit (currently sitting in a money order, waiting as well). We didn't want to push our luck in getting the pup home only to be told that we would have to find a new home for her for a week or more. So unless anyone here in Logan is able/willing to take her until papers come through, we are stuck waiting and hoping until we can go fetch her. It was so hard to put that puppy back in the truck and walk away!

Anyway, that is where we are on the whole ordeal. I'll include all kinds of funny/cute stories of how the kids are dealing with all the pets as we go.

I know how much many people I know hate joke forwards (because their inboxes get so full), but I figure that if you are looking at this site you have a sec and I just got one from my friend that I thought was really fun. If you've already read this, go ahead and skip it. My all important permission has been given...Enjoy!

Please join me in remembering a great icon of the entertainment community. The Pillsbury Doughboy died yesterday of a yeast infection and trauma complications from repeated pokes in the belly. He was 71.

Doughboy was buried in a lightly greased coffin. Dozens of celebrities turned out to pay their respects, including Mrs. Butterworth, Hungry Jack, the California Raisins, Betty Crocker, the Hostess Twinkies, and Captain Crunch. The grave site was piled high with flours.

Aunt Jemima delivered the eulogy and lovingly described Doughboy as a man who never knew how much he was kneaded. Doughboy rose quickly in show business, but his later life was filled with turnovers. He was not considered a very smart cookie, wasting much of his dough on half-baked schemes. Despite being a little flaky at times, he still was a crusty old man and was considered a positive roll model for millions.

Doughboy is survived by his wife Play Dough, three children: John Dough, Jane Dough and Dosey Dough, plus they had one in the oven. He is also survived by his elderly father, Pop Tart. The funeral was held at 3:50 for about 20 minutes.

Crazy Enough Thing to Ask...

Ok, I would like to hear some people's opinions. Crazy thing to ask, I know, but here goes anyway:

People have heard me talk about having PCOS for awhile now. To give a brief overview that doesn't cover all the issues: it is a hormonal imbalance in the female body between insulin levels and reproductive hormones which can lead to things like obesity, infertility, male hair growth patterns, etc. It can also mess with your emotions massively (every woman, and most men who live with them, should understand a little of this based on all the PMS jokes), which is something that is beginning to come up for me. However, I passionately don't want the hassle and expense that comes with visiting a shrink (and any nasty prescriptions that would entail). My doctor's advise was to think about other methods of stress relief which included a pet. Since the kids have been rabid about getting a pet before this, and the doctor is signing off on the paper work with the apt complex which would allow us to get a pet, we are trying to decide what to get (I know, a lot of people in my family think it is nuts to have an indoor pet like that, but please bear with me).

In the past, John and I have had cats which we enjoyed. They are fairly low maintenance, very cuddly (if you are smart about the kitten you choose), when kept indoors they aren't susceptible to diseases as much as dogs (hence a smaller vet bill), and don't have a problem with apt living. However, I'm worried about how well the kitten would survive the boys' playing with it. Plus we're interested in getting a purebred animal to show and breed. When it comes to this, cats are notoriously more expensive both initially, and for show you have to travel pretty extensively as there aren't as many cat shows period.

Our other option is obviously a dog. Both John and I are pretty against small breeds (stupid, I know, but ankle biters are fine for other people just not for us), and while I would be happy with a golden retriever John isn't. The only other breed we can happily settle on are huskies. That is partly because of how beautiful they are, plus a lot of breed specific details regarding health, training, family living, etc. Plus they are notoriously popular as show and work dogs, so finding homes (and studs) wouldn't be difficult in the future, not to mention the fact that there are shows held locally. And while I know that they require a lot of excercise and grooming, the grooming doesn't bother me as we are looking at getting a long-haired cat which requires daily grooming and the excercise because we live downstairs which allows us ready access to the back yard and I go walking on average twice a day anyway.

The other issue that is a factor is that I would like to use the pet that we pick as a therapy animal outside of just our home. Whether that is done through the retirement homes (which Cache Valley has a ton of), or other medical centers (I don't know the qualifications for places like the hospitals and such yet?), or handicapped centers, I know of several doctors and therapists that eagerly accept volunteers who are willing to share their animal and make the rounds because of the immense amount of good they do.

Having said all that, we're having a hard time making up our minds. I've never owned/trained a dog before so I don't know how much is dictated by breed vs. personal training from puppyhood so things like barking/howling and realistic approaches to excercise, etc I simply don't know for myself. Cats are wonderful (if initially expensive), but the devil's own to show and compete with, not to mention the fact that I really want the animal to be as much for the boys to learn from as the rest of us, and I don't know that they would really get into caring for a cat as much. I would love to hear from anyone else who has experience with these animals/breeds? Or even if you only know specifics about people I can talk to about them who are preferably with in reach of Logan? Thanks a ton for all your help, especially if you are already in on the search!

It's Gone!!!

Everyone help me in cheering for Johnny! The 'great green curse' is gone!

After some hassle with various situations, John finally decided that it was time to bid Jade (our little green money-eater) adieu. It hit a point where the expense if fixing the darn thing was way more than the car was worth to begin with. So as of Monday, he drove it out and dropped it off at the junk yard and then we went to the grocery store to celebrate...with Rachel grinning from ear to ear the whole way. In all honesty, I don't think I've stopped grinning every time I've thought of the car now that it is gone. I can't begin to tell you how much of a relief it has been to not have to worry about where we were going to get the money to fix it, not to mention feed it oil and gas. If you can believe this, our van actually gets better gas mileage than the little car did!

So clap him on the back when you see him next, John has made the sacrifice and Rachel is skipping down the sidewalk!

"It's Alive!!!"

I know, I know. I fell severely behind in ever-thing, and the blog updates suffered the most. But at long last I'm finally getting around to posting some few things, including a plea for forgiveness? I can only plead that between the crazy holidays this year and a bout of the cold that has run through most of the family, I've been running my toes off.

The holidays were really good to us this year. For those of you that we didn't get to see, I promise that we've been thinking of you all. Not just collectively, either, though there are a lot of you at this point, I know. October started things, what with my parents moving to E. Nevada, making it possible to see them much more frequently. Then of course Caelen and I's birthdays, and Halloween, which was so much fun. To top things off, John was even able to go trick-or-treating with us this year!



Then November blew past, taking Thanksgiving with it. My grandmother had a heart attack the weekend after the holiday and my mom ended up staying in Utah to help Grandma and Grandpa with things for the next month. Then of course there was also the typical holiday social whirl, so between trying to get in to visit Grandma (and see every one else), plus desperately trying to get everything ready for Santa's late night, and the family gift exchanges...I'll just say it was crazy. Fun, emotional, and crazy. But we had tons of fun, got to see much more of family than usual, and got to really sit back and appreciate all the blessings we've been given through the birth and life of Jesus.


Aren't they cute? I was trying to keep them occupied Christmas morning long enough for John to get all the blankets off of Santa's offerings, and couldn't resist the opportunity.

I know that I say this to a lot of people in general situations, but I just want to say to each of you (family and friends alike) how grateful we are for each and everyone of you. We may not be rich in the world's view, but we are among the richest of people thanks to the blessing of being able to know you and above all thanks to the amazing knowledge and understanding that we have been given from our Heavenly Father of the things (and people) that really matter; the ones that we get to take with us vs. the things that get left behind. Please know that you are all in our prayers and hearts, and may God bless each and every one!