This is my first entry!

Wow I can't believe I finally did it. I know the page looks awful right now but give me a week or so to figure it out and I will put some pics up that are large enough to see.

So what does one put on their first blog? I guess I can give the short version of my life. I will cut to the Scott part. Scott and I met at a singles branch after I had been inactive for about seven years he was the Elder's Quorum president and they had been prepped by the branch president on my loooong absence. He invited me to a get together that evening and so casually got my phone number. Believe it or not he really did call me the next day. That was in late September of 1995. We knew within a few weeks that we were going to get married. He officially proposed on Valentines Day 1996. That is a whole other story that I will tell later. We were married in the Dallas, TX temple on June 22, 1996. A year later we moved to Wash DC so Scott could attend school. We found out December 26th, 1997 that we were pregnant. Shock. August 15th 1998 we became parents to Mikol Reece. Four months later we moved to Kansas City (technically Overland Park, KS) and bought our first house. We welcomed son #2 in June of 2000. Just to keep it all interesting we moved to Orlando in July of 2001. Later that fall we moved to Louisville for a temporary position--six months max. Eight years later we are still here and also welcomed sons # 3 and 4 in 2002 and 2005.

So I am the only female in a house full of men. I want my own bathroom where the lid does not even go up. Little boys have the WORST aim.

I digress. We are currently contemplating a move to Dallas, TX. Do I think it will happen? I dunno. We really like Louisville but there have been many times that I have felt lonely by the lack of family that I have here. Also when we first came here there were other families who seemed to have kids that were the same ages as mine but we just never connected. I would have to put the blame more on my shoulders as I tend to be an introvert and I think I come across as not interested in people if that makes sense. Basically I can be somewhat shy. People who know me are probably falling out of their chair laughing but seriously I don't know how to talk to people I don't know. That is why I married Scott. He can talk to a cornstalk.

I really do miss my family and I miss them for my kids as well. I had such a tight relationship with my grandparents and cousin growing up and my kids are missing that. But the debate currently raging is this: Do we uproot them from the only place they can remember and take a chance that we will like a new area all to be within a few hours of the family. I don't know yet. The talks continue.

My boys are the lights of my life. I marvel everyday at what I have been entrusted with. My oldest is the classic oldest child. Very responsible with his siblings, always my go-to kid. He is crazy smart and reads like a sponge soaking up the info. He is in a hurry to grow up but wants his mom to tuck him in every night. When he got stitches in his forehead last week he kept asking me if I was OK because "you get worried about me when stuff like this happens". Isn't that supposed to be the other way around. He usually has several girlfriends at any given time. He is quick to laugh and tries to make me laugh daily. #2 is a classic blond. He has the best of intentions but sometimes just forgets (in about 2 seconds). He just has so many things going on at one time. He is also my daredevil. I swear this kid was born without fear. If it is dangerous then he is all over it. If it isn't dangerous he will find a way to make me shake my head in amazement that he is still in one piece. He still finds time every night to sit on my lap and snuggle. #3 was my challenge for a long time. For awhile we thought he was somewhere on the spectrum but we have since discovered he has gobs of OCD and equal parts anxiety with sensory issues thrown in for fun. In the past 18 months he has gone from being overwhelmed and scared of everything to being a funny, affectionate, chatterbox who is also reading two grades levels above his own. He is the class clown and amazes me daily. Son #4. I hope someday I can write the same things about him as the other three. At the age of 3+ he still does not talk. He has a genetic disorder called Neuorofibromatosis type 1. I will not go into the looooooong mundane details but it was just a spontaneous gene mutation that has made him very developmentally delayed. He communicates but not verbally and not through signing. He knows what he wants and will figure out how to get you to understand. He cannot get his mouth and brain to work together yet so if he wants me to get something he takes me to it.

Scott. This could take days to sum up. He is an amazing husband and he sets the bar for fatherhood. He is my absolute best friend and is there for me when I need him. He works hard so I can be home with our children and for that I am so grateful. He is a great example to me and our sons. One of my daily goals is to make him smile. He has great laugh lines around his eyes. I am honored to be his wife for time and all eternity.

My extended family will have to be another post. I have to get the munchkins into bed. They ALL have school tomorrow. Three whole hours to run errands alone. I love them but I also need some time without them. It keeps us all happy.