Princess

Yup, no doubt in my mind. This girl is royalty!

Boys Will Be Boys

I'm not going to lie to you, this is most definitely NOT for you if you aren't into disgusting things... especially the second video... I can't even watch it all the way through. It makes me gag.

The story? My awesome niece, Sam, had her sweet sixteen birthday bash last night. We were the last there, along with my brother and my brother-in-law... and a few others. Anyway, they decided to be boys and take on some ridiculous challenges. My brother Kacey (always the crazy party boy) decided that he could do the gallon-of-milk-in-an-hour challenge, thus the results of the second video (thanks Sam, for your priceless and too detailed cam cording). My bro-in-law, Kirt, and my cute hubby tried the whole eat-six-saltine-crackers-in-a-minute challenge.

Although the three boys failed,a great time was had by all.

Watch videos at your own risk. I am not responsible for what happens to you, or your stomach, for watching.

Hahahahahaha (yes, there are six of 'em)

Here are the rules:
1) Post rules on your blog
2) Answer the six '8' items
3) Let each person know by leaving them a comment.

8 favorite TV shows:
1. So You Think You Can Dance, Dance, Dance
2. Rachael Ray
3. The Today Show
4. 2News This Morning
5. American Idol
6. Anything having to do with Hollywood Gossip (my guilty pleasure)
7. Everybody Loves Raymond
8. Oprah, although she’s really starting to annoy me.

8 Things I did yesterday:
1. Exercised
2. Fed Mercydez
3. Bathed Mercydez
4. Took Mercy to her cousins birthday party
5. Read my scriptures
6. Cried
7. Hugged my hubby and (again) realized how much I love him
8. Ate a bunch of pancakes with a bunch of people I don’t know, in my kitchen.

8 Things I'm looking forward to:
1. Nic graduating
2. Taking Mercy to the park, on walks, and to the library… when the weather is better
3. Spring!
4. Having more children
5. Completing my education
6. Being with my family and friends for all eternity
7. General Conference
8. Vacations with the fam

8 favorite restaurants:
1. El Azteca
2. Flemings
3. Ruby River
4. The Roof
5. Subzero icecream
6. Jamba Juice
7. Kneaders
8. Nothing is as good as homemade cookin’!

8 Things on my wish list:
1. That Mercy wouldn’t have to endure so much
2. To go on a very nice vacation once a year with my hubby.
3. To go on another very nice vacation once a year with all my fam
4. That children and elderly didn’t have to suffer. Well, that pain and sickness would be GONE.
5. That everyone would recognize and accept truth
6. That the evils of the world would forever disappear.
7. Nic could be completely finished with school.
8. Nic and I to serve lots and lots of missions.

8 people I tag:
1. Adrienne Braun
2. Pinky Homer
3. Sheila Nielson
4. Wanda Adams
5. Andrea Peery
6. Donna Tolman
7. Gayle Johnson
8. Jenni King

Be Mine!

Although this comes a bit late, I want to hold on to this memory. Valentines Day this year was so much better than last year. Last year I was so sad, so upset because I wanted my baby home with me so we could make cookies for Daddy. It was very difficult because we visited her in the hospital (where Nic gave her her first Valentine... an adorable little Elmo). And we had to leave her there. I'm so grateful we aren't re-living that. It was so hard.

This Valentines Day was spent with family. We made cute little hearts to hang throughout the house. Nic gave me some beautiful flowers and Mercy and I gave Nic some "Gourmet" Cupcakes! We decided to keep it simple. Sometimes less is more!

Nic had to work Valentines Night, so I got to have a beautiful candlelight dinner with my parents, Adrienne and Travis, Kacey and Crystal, Eric and Kerri, and my date, Mercydez and my Grandma. It was beautiful, and it was yummy!

Right infront of one of my hero's!

So, last Thursday, Sister Julie Beck came to speak to our Stake. Sister Beck is the General Relief Society President of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints. I love her stand on women and especially on MOTHERHOOD. She stands as a wonderful example of boldness, of love, and service. I don't know entirely why I love her so much. It just seems that each time she speaks, she touches my heart and helps me find my inner strength. She helps me strive to be a better woman, a better wife, a better mother.

So, I went TWO HOURS EARLY to the chapel where she was to speak. My SIL, Crystal, came with me. We got the second row, DEAD CENTER!!!! She was RIGHT in front of me when she spoke. I LOVED IT! I even got the chance to ask her a question in front of the congregation. It was a neat experience. I just love seeing women who hold high positions of leadership, who are not afraid to be WOMEN, and who are so full of charity. It's so inspiring.

I took the picture above as we were leaving. We were asked to NOT take pictures, but I couldn't help it! I know, I know. I'm just waiting to be struck by lightening. No, honestly, I bet Heavenly Father is okay with it. I'm sure He got a good chuckle out of my craziness. :) I was, however, chastised by the sweet sister wearing the black and white polk-a-dot-ish print (you can see her in the pic above). Yes, yes. Even I have room for improvement. Surprise, surprise. ;)

PS Sister Beck is the lady between the two ladies in black dress coats. Sister Beck is wearing the blue jacket.

PSS So, after re-reading my post, I want everyone to know I'm not some crazy stalker freak-o. I'm really not. This was just a really exciting experience for me... a much needed boost. :)

Mercy gets her first invite!

Yesterday was cute little Benny-Boo's birthday! He's the big FIVE!!! I can't believe it! Where did the time go? He was born right before Nic purposed to me. Ben looked so cute at our wedding... he was just this tiny li'l guy in the cutest tux! I can't believe he's already five. Wow!

We were so excited to go to his birthday party yesterday! It's the first birthday party our little Mercydez has been invited to, so OF COURSE we HAD to go. So, I proceeded in getting her ready. Well, things were going so smoothly. Of course, because everything was going so well, SOMETHING had to happen, right? Well, something did happen! 45 minutes before we were supposed to be up there, Mercydez sneezed causing her formula to spill all over her cute little outfit and her newly washed face and hair! I was so distraught! I cried! It doesn't sound like a big deal when typing or reading it... but, I just broke down. Mercydez was great though. She didn't get upset at all. She just lay there, all calm, waiting for Mommy to clean her up. I chuckle thinking about how cute she is.

Can I just say, I have the most wonderful husband in all the world? He came home to a crazy, upset, crying wife and he was so good. I was so frustrated! But, Nic just hugged me and told me he loved me. I'm so blessed.

We made it to the party right as it ended... but HEY! WE MADE IT! That was a great accomplishment.

Happy fifth birthday my little Benny Boo! We love you sooooo much!

Goin' to the Temple

Alysson and I went to the Draper Temple Open House on Monday! That temple is so beautiful. I loved the colors they used... it felt so calm and peaceful. The colors are a blue and white. And the wood is absolutely beautiful. Apparently the wood was brought in from Africa. I'm so grateful that so much time, love, and care has been put into the Temple. It truly is the House of the Lord.

If you haven't had a chance to attend the open house of the Draper Temple, there is still time! It's open to anyone! You can obtain tickets by clicking HERE It's a good chance to see the beauty that is found in each and every temple.

She Makes Me Melt!

Need I say ANYTHING? Well, I'm gonna... She has the sweetest little cry! She was being so adorable last night! Just talking and making little cries. I loved it! She seriously melts my heart! I would do ANYTHING for this little girl!

So Sorry

To those who had the misfortune of reading my angry blog entry I posted about 25 minutes ago (and just deleted), I apologize. It wasn't the right place to open my feelings to the world. I'm sorry.

However, I do want to share something. I was just reading my scriptures and I found a verse that just struck me. It's exactly what I need. It says:

Behold, I send you out to prove the world, and the laborer is worthy of his hire.
And any man that shall go and preach this gospel of the kingdom, and fail not to continue faithful in all things, shall not be weary in mind, neither darkened, neither in body, limb, nor joint; and a hair of his head shall not fall to the ground unnoticed. And they shall not go hungry, neither athirst.

I just need to remember to do that which I am called to do. I am trying so hard to remember that it isn't about what man thinks, it's about what God thinks. I'm trying to remember.

Again, I am so sorry if you read that entry. It was very therapeutic to write it, but I shouldn't have posted it so quickly. I feel like I'm in that moment where you open your mouth and say something before you think about it, only to realize that if you'd be thinking then you wouldn't have said it at all...

Questions

I don't know why, but I absolutely LOVE these questionnaires! I love reading them on others' blogs and I love to answer them too! This is one that has been circulating on Facebook... but I'm not addicted to Facebook. I'm addicted to Blogging. So, in following Andrea's example... here it goes.

* Was your first pregnancy planned? Yes!

* Were you married at the time? Yes, for two-and-a-half years.

* What were your reactions? I was completely shocked and I couldn’t WAIT to tell Nic. I wanted to do it in some cool, creative way… but my excitement got the best of me. We were driving in our truck, taking a lawn mower to a family-friend’s place and I just said, “so, guess what?” And, jokingly he said, “You’re pregnant.” And I said, “Yup.” He was totally blown away! He lifted his arms up (while driving) and shouted “Wahooooo!” It was great!

* How did you find out you were pregnant? The first time I noticed something weird was when I was helping Nic mow his parent’s backyard. We were each on separate riding lawn mowers. I pulled my lawn mower over, turned it off, and fell asleep. I was sooooo tired during my pregnancy. It didn’t matter how much sleep I had the night before, I was still wasted.

* Who did you tell first? NIC!!!!

* Did you want to find out the sex? Yes, we did! I always knew we’d have a little girl first. It’s tradition in the Haws family to have a girl first.

* What was your due date? January 24th, 2008.

* Did you have morning sickness? Does Maple Syrup have sugar in it??? THEN YES!!! (Sorry, couldn’t resist quoting Elf) Um, yeah. I was really, really, really, REALLY sick. I was starving and literally could not eat anything. And NOTHING worked for me. I truly thought I was going to die. But, I didn’t. Will I do it again? YES!

* What did you crave? Sour Skittles and Salsa.

* What is the sex of that baby? A sweet li’l princess.

* How many pounds did you gain? I actually only gained about 16 lbs. Probably because I couldn’t eat anything. I’m surprised I gained anything. In the beginning, I actually lost weight. It was scary.

* Did you have any complications? Yes. My little sweetie has CHARGE syndrome. This comes with many complications… the most pressing was her heart. She’s our sweet”heart”. I was also extremely sick the whole time. They wanted to hospitalize me, but I disagreed.

* How many hours were you in labor? Zero. She was delivered via C-Section earlier than planned. I never felt any labor pains. Although, I suffered greatly afterward.

* Who was in the delivery room? A few doctors, Peter my anesthesiologist (he was awesome) and of course, my forever prince, Nic. He watched the whole thing and thoroughly enjoyed it.

* When was your baby actually born? January 3rd.

* How much did she weigh? 5 lbs 4 oz

* What did you name her? Mercydez (said like the car, Mercedes… but spelled much cuter… she’s our Mercy)

CHD Awareness WEEK

Today starts CHD Awareness Week. What is CHD, you ask? Let me tell you...
CHD stands for Congenital Heart Disease/Defect. My little girl, Mercydez has been diagnosed with Complex CHD. CHD is heart disease or heart defects that are developed BEFORE birth.

Here are some shocking statistics...
1. ONE IN TEN children diagnosed with CHD will not live to see adulthood.
2. Congenital Heart Defects are America's NUMBER ONE birth defect. Nearly ONE IN EVERY 100 babies is born with a heart defect.
3. There are more than 40 different types of CHD's. Little is known about the cause of most of them. THERE IS NO KNOWN PREVENTION OR CURE FOR ANY OF THEM.
4. In the United States, TWICE AS MANY CHILDREN DIE from congenital heart defects each year than from ALL forms of childhood cancer COMBINED. Yet funding for pediatric cancer research is FIVE TIMES HIGHER than funding for CHD.
5. Only ONE PENNY OF EVERY DOLLAR donated to The American Heart Association goes toward Congenital Heart Defect research.
6. The Children's Heart Foundation is the only organization that was created to exclusively fund Congenital Heart Defect research.
7. You can visit The Children's Heart Foundation by clicking HERE.

Mercydez's diagnosis doesn't stop at Complex CHD. She has what is known as CHARGE Syndrome. This syndrome includes many, many other difficulties.


There are so many other facts that would just blow you away! These few CHD facts are just the beginning. Please spread the word about CHD's. There is so much support and love available to those experiencing life with a CHD, or families who have a member diagnosed with CHD.

We love CHDrs! And even through the heartache and pain of watching these little ones go through surgeries, pokes, pain, and many times even losing them for a time in this life, I personally feel privileged to be blessed with such an amazing sweetie pie. ..Better to have love and lost then to never have loved at all.

Yes, I'm one of THOSE...

Yup, just for the fun of it, me and my brothers and my sister-in-law decided to go to Denny's for the free breakfast on Tuesday. The line was forever long and the wait for the food was even longer. Was it worth it? In terms of the freezing air and mediocre food, not so much. But for the memories and just to say we did it? Heck yeah!