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MyHeritage: Family tree - Genealogy - Celeb - Collage - Morph

Tyson Look-alike Meter

MyHeritage: Family trees - Genealogy - Celebrities - Collage - Morph

Those 3 little words...

Today was payoff for all the frustration and tears of the past few weeks. As we've been struggling with Emma, there were times I was sure I wasn't going to survive motherhood. But today as I was putting Emma in the car, she put her arms around me and said " I love you so much!". That's what we mothers live for.

Happy Valentine's Day!

Valentine Cuties

Five years ago today I was getting engaged up the canyon in Cedar City. It was a beautiful night, right about sunset. I had opened some presents from Tyler, and he said he had one more. He handed me his laptop and a slideshow with pictures of us starts playing. Then he starts singing this beautiful song he wrote about our lives together. I just kept thinking, " He should have saved this for the proposal!" I finally realized what was happening the last verse of the song, as the last few lines were the proposal! This is a memory I will always cherish. It was just so perfect! Now we've enjoyed 4 years of marital bliss (at least most of the time).
In stark contrast to this very romantic Valentine's Day, this Valentine's Day Tyler and I had a very romantic dinner of Taco Time, eaten in the car, accompanied by our two little girls. Not exactly what movies are made of, but I was surrounded by the people I love most. And rumor has it that Tyler has something romantic up his sleeve for next weekend. No pressure, honey! I love you! Happy Valentine's Day!

I need help!

So, I've been spending a lot of time searching the internet lately. My google searches have gone a little something like this:
" How to know if your toddler has a behavioral disorder."
or
" How to deal with a toddler who won't take naps."
or
" What to do for an insecure toddler"

Needless to say, Emma has been a bit of a challenge lately. There have been a lot of big changes in her life, so some of it was to be expected, but she has gone above and beyond my expectations. Lately she will not stay in her room to go to sleep unless someone is in there with her. She gets out of her bed and runs out crying. Then almost every night she will run into our room crying at 3 or 4 in the morning. This has been going on since we had to go to the hospital with Mya. I figure it stems from that. She woke up one morning and we were gone. Maybe she's afraid that will happen again. I just don't know what to do about it. She is really insecure. She says she's scared of the monsters, but its hard to say if its legitimate or not. When she was 6 months old we had to learn to let her cry herself to sleep. Once she did, we have never had a problem until now. But now she can get out of bed and open the door. If she really is scared, I want to comfort her, but I don't want to make the problem worse by giving her too much attention. So, I wonder if any of you child psychiatrists (a.k.a Moms) have any suggestions for me on how to handle a kicking, screaming, hitting, crying, won't go to bed, 2 year old. And if you could tell me this is normal, I would feel a whole lot better too!

Smiling in the face of adversity

We are happy to report that Mya is home and doing pretty well. We were able to bring her home last night. As you can see, she is in good spirits.

I have been so humbled these last few months. It has been one of the hardest times in my life. When it rains, it pours. Its kind of been one thing after another. But at the same time, I don't know that I've ever felt so grateful for all the good things I have in my life. My trials have certainly put things into perspective for me. I've realized its not "what"in your life, but "who" that matters. I have been blessed with wonderful family and friends. Those who dropped everything, no questions asked, to come help us in our time of need. Not only with our kids, but with our house as well. Those who have offered their support in other ways, whether it was a phone call of concern, or a comment on a blog. I just want to say thank you. I could never express in words the gratitude I feel for all of you. And especially for those who went above and beyond. You know who you are. Thank You!