Prayers and Persuasion

Tyson and I love to read together and the most current book we are reading is "Inheritance," the last book in the Eragon series. It is a lot of fun to read it with Tyson because he can read really fast during the action parts and it makes it exciting. We don't get to read together a whole lot because Tyson is taking classes right now and the only time he can work on homework is after the kids are in bed. And since he is taking two classes right now, he does homework until really late. (Only a week and a half left until he is done, hooray!)

Well, so, the night before last we read a few chapters after he is done with his homework for the evening and I fall asleep listening to Tyson read. I remember very little of this, but Tyson says he woke me up so I would go to bed and I shot up and sped walked to the back, got under the covers then shot up, ran back to the dining room and unplugged the laptop (I remember thinking in my head it was going to start a fire and I thought I had saved us all, haha, who knows I guess). Then I dove back into bed. Tyson asked me to say the prayer and apparently I prayed for Eragon to be safe, I prayed that Matthew would be safe from Galbatorix and yes, I said I was SO thankful for Alegesia (I don't remember the correct spelling for that). Pretty funny huh? Tyson was dying laughing and I was so embarressed when he told me what I had said. Guess I like the book more than I realized. Hehe

So the next morning I wake up and I feel sicker than ever (I have had a cold, and lost my voice, nothing serious). I can't stop coughing and I needed to take Josh to preschool and go grocery shopping, something I didn't feel like doing in the rain, coughing up a storm and dragging the two little ones with me who for sure would start crying or throwing fits I was sure.

So I tried to convince Tyson, as I do every day, that I want him to stay home with me. He, like he always does, says "that would be nice wouldn't it?" And I think "um, yes, it would. Do you really need to work? Um, no, I don't think so. One day off won't hurt anyone." But I don't say anything, because that isn't nice. I am really thankful he does work so hard and he is dependable and doesn't let me be a wimp. So I do my best to quench my cranky thoughts and try to prepare myself to take care of three little kids and run my errands like I'm not sick.

So Tyson gets all ready for work, kisses me and the kids and walks out the door in the rain. I watch him walk away, allow myself 10 seconds of self pity, then put the kids in the bath and get their clothes ready. Suddenly in walks Tyson and he says "would you mind if I stayed home and took care of you this morning?" He is wearing this totally confident grin that he gets when he knows he has done something amazing and surprised me to boot. (I have a severe addiction to surprises, I LOVE them).

Yes, I hugged him super tight and cried because it was so nice to know I wouldn't be alone. And there is no one I would rather be with than him. It would have been even more perfect if we didn't need to go grocery shopping and take Josh to preschool because then he would have been with me the whole time. But it was SO nice to take a shower without worrying about the kids and to just sleep/relax with little Matthew. It is so weird to think that 4 years ago that was my life, just one little guy.

So here is my shout out to my husband for putting up with my craziness and letting me persuade him to take the morning off of work to take care of me. Hooray for my handsome hunk of a husband!

The Best Man in the World.

Okay, so these are just random pictures. I just wanted to say that I am so blessed! Tyson has been so good to me, especially lately. I have been gone a lot with chocolate parties and events. Tyson has been Mr. Mom a little more than I think he ever expected he would be, but he is awesome.

The other day I came home and Tyson had made big fat pancakes (Josh's favorite) and banana boats. What a cool dad! The day before Mother's Day, I was gone all morning, so Tyson took the boys to Walmart and got fingerpaints and paper to make cool cards for me and our moms. He also got a super long piece of wood so we can measure the boys every mother's day. Then they went and played by the river.

Mother's Day they spent about an hour cutting up fruit because I said I wanted fruit salad for breakfast. Then of course Tyson leaves notes like this for me all the time. Yes this is in the fridge. Seriously, how lucky am I? Big fat pancake dinner

The biggest pancake. :)

These are just funny pictures that Kenni (I'm pretty sure it was Kenni) took. She did Caleb's hair super cool. Super cute Zuri pic too.

Happy Day

Happy Valentine's (Yester)day! I hope it was wonderful for everyone. I love holidays, they are always full of surprises and I think that is why I love them so much. Tyson somehow stole the car yesterday afternoon, went to the store, got stuff for bologna sandwiches, went to his office and made them (and cut them into heart shapes) and cut brownies into hearts too. Then he picked me and the kids up and we went to this baseball field where five years ago yesterday we had our first kiss. (Tyson made bologna sanwiches for us then too, that is why he made them this time). It was the cutest thing ever. He always says he isn't creative, but he totally is. I am so thankful that five years ago I was probably sitting in Spanish class, not paying attention, and dreaming about the kiss I had the night before. How little I knew that five years from then I would be married to that guy, in our cute little brick house, watching our two little boys play with blocks and feeling sick with the next one (hopefully a girl, but boys are great too) in my belly. What a happy day. :)

Hershey, PA...our fifth honeymoon

This was after the freakiest roller coaster, it went up to 60 mph I think. I was barefoot, with my feet dangling, ahh! So cool!

What a hunk of chocolate I get to have with me everday. :)

Our hotel room (with the one green door-haha) was pretty big for not much money. Huzza!

These are flowers from Tyson from a few weeks ago, I just thought I would add them here because Tyson is so wonderful. Everyone should know how lucky I am.

So every year Tyson and I try to get away at least once by ourselves.

Summer '06: actual honeymoon

Summer '07: camping for our anniversary

Fall '07: Jamestown

Summer '09: Staunton, VA for our anniversary

Fall '10: Hershey, PA

Tyson has been to Hershey before, otherwise I would have never heard of it. So we have both been dying to go since we got married. We finally just decided go we must and it would be way more fun, at least in most ways, without the kids. This past weekend we went. I was terrified to leave the kids, afraid of everything that could go wrong, afraid they would be hopeless without me. I'm not very good about leaving my kids with other people. I kind of micro-manage everything the kids do and I like to do it my way. So it is hard for me to trust that other people can watch my kids just fine and it won't kill them to not have me around 24-7, in fact, they probably need it every once in awhile. So we left. Thank you Jordan (and Jake and Conner), Becca (and Trent, Ethnie and Leo), Cassie (and Seth and Tori), Kenni and Chris (and Zuri and Kelso), and Chanson (and your apple cider)!

We had a GREAT time, I LOVED it. I became the old Cami, the one that is fun and happy and crazy. We cracked jokes the whole time and it was so nice to be free for a little while. It was weird feeling "adrift" with no responsiblities, but nice for a few days. We went to a really neat resturaunt called the Hershey Pantry, I loved the food.

Hershey Park was SOOOO cool. I started crying after the first roller coaster because I realized that I extremely dislike roller coasters. Once my brother KJ only got me to go on a roller coaster with him by promising to get one of his friends to kiss me. Haha, but anyways...so Tyson got me to go on one more and then I was hooked. I became an adrenaline junky. I wanted to go on all the roller coasters from then on. Lucky for Tyson time and exhaustion didn't allow it. But everyone should go to Hershey at least once, it was seriously a blast. It was nice to get home to the kids, but after a few hours of their crankiness, I was ready to go away again. :) Thanks Hunny Bunches for taking me to the sweetest place on Earth!

Just Bragging

I am hopelessly in love with the man I married. Today, he is home for lunch and we are talking and I start walking backwards toward our front room. I don't notice Josh's rocking horse, slamming my foot into it, which somehow catapultes me backwards to the floor. My first thought it "ow," my second is, "I feel like a complete idiot." Tyson hovers over me asking if I am okay and I just bust up laughing. How he can still love me even when I make a complete fool out of myself everyday is beyond me.

I love him so much. I watched him walk back to work and just stared after him thinking about how lucky I am. He is so handsome, wonderful, funny, serious, just all around perfect. I just wanted to type it all. Maybe I just like to brag, I don't know, like I just want to tell everyone, "see that hot guy? Yeah, he married me, cool huh?" :)

The Best thing about being Married: Spending Eternity with Your Best Friend.

So I have been thinking a lot lately about being married and weddings and such. A lot of my friends are getting married and either calling me for advice, or I just want to hear the proposal story and such. But I find myself thinking each day about my experiences with Tyson. It has almost been exactly three years since the night Tyson and I decided that we wanted to get married and when I asked if he was sure, he said "Cami, will you marry me?" Of course I said yes, and from then on our relationship was planned to be eternal, until we went to the temple and it became eternal. I am so thankful for that day, that I wasn't too scared to say "yes," that we made covenants with each other and with the Lord to be faithful and true to each other.

I am so thankful for Tyson, he is so good to me. I used to worry that our happiness would quickly go away when we got married, but it hasn't. It is true he can be a turkey at times and there are lots of things trying to keep us from being happy and in love, but I have never been more in love with him than I am today. I still call him "hunny bunches" and I still get so excited when I hear him coming up the steps. I still get all giddy inside when he hugs me and I still laugh when he kisses me (although we still haven't figured out why I laugh). There is no one I would rather spend time with than him.

The wedding ring Tyson gave me is very much like the one above. The middle diamond is huge and gorgeous compared to the other two. I would stare at this ring for hours when I got it, and often find myself watching the sparkles reflected in the sun. It has always reminded me of eternity and our marriage. Eternity because it is round and circles never end. And the three diamonds remind me of how our marriage needs to be. The large diamond in the middle is the Lord, it is higher, prettier, far more radiant than the other two. And the other two represent Tyson and me. We are still sparkly and beautiful, but much smaller. However, with the three of them together, it is gorgeous and whole and perfect. It reminds me that with the Lord, our marriage can be gorgeous and perfect, far better than it would be without Him. He is how we found each other, He is the reason I had faith to marry someone I knew so little, it is because of Him and His atonement that Tyson and I can work out our differences and heal our arguments or "discussions" as Tyson calls them. :) The Lord is everything.

Life can be hard, and a lot of marriages end unhappily. But if we do our part and put the Lord first, trying our best to become like Him and then putting our spouse second, then we will be happy, no matter the challenges of this life. Anyways, I would just like to say that I am thankful to be married and to such a wonderful man.

Missing my lover boy

I miss Tyson!!! I have absolutely loved being with my family and his, but I am ready for him to be with me. I know to some of you this may be silly and it is only a week left, but my goodness, I don't want another minute. I miss him. I miss his smile and his hugs and his voice and how he makes me and Josh laugh when we are tired and grumpy. I miss how he always makes everything better. I just miss him. I am very thankful for his job and how hard he works but I wish he could get a really long break and come here to me. I think that is a great idea. :) Tyson, run to me! I love you!

Happy Birthday Tyson!

My Darling Honey Bunches,
Whatever would I do without you? My life is completely happy because of you. Thank you for dancing with me in the rain, thanks for sweeping me off my feet, stealing me away from all my plans, thank you for giving me such a darling little boy, thanks for kissing me everytime you see me, for appreciating even the little things I do. Thank you for being so handsome and adorable and sweet and kind. I could never tell you I love you enough!
I love you forever!
Love, Your Lover Girl

P.S.- Tyson I love you

So last night Tyson and I watched the movie "PS I Love You." I don't think I have cried that hard in years. And since Tyson promised me not to tell, Tyson didn't cry at all. :) It felt really good to know that someone loves me so much, that it breaks his heart at just the thought of me leaving. After the movie was over we just held each other for a long time. It feels so good to love someone so much. I can't wait for every morning waking up to his face, or the sound of him singing in the shower, or him kissing me goodbye as he goes off to work. And I call him right at 5 just because I can't bear to be away from him one more minute than I have to. Sometimes I think that I drive him crazy because he never really gets alone time, but I know that he loves me and he wouldn't have it any other way. This morning I have been remembering all the fun times we have had. How he asked me out for our first date while he was on the phone with his mom. How he suprised me at the airport when I got back from spring break and two days later we got engaged. How we used to play spitting games into the sink to see who had the best aim. Going through the temple for the first time with him there smiling at me, watching me and loving that I was there. Getting sealed to him and knowing we would never really be apart for very long. Deciding to have a baby and getting pregnant a month after. Watching him be a daddy, and blessing our baby. Our marshmallow gun wars and water fights. Tyson is just so much fun and I only feel whole when he is around. I cannot imagine how hallow and empty I would feel without him, but as we talked about it last night, how that is each other's greatest fear, I realized that because of the Lord, we don't really have to be scared at all. I mean, if Tyson died, sure it would be the worst thing ever, and I have no idea how Josh and I would survive, but the Lord giveth and the Lord taketh away, but the Lord never leaves us. He always loves us and He would only do what was best for us. And I know that as long as I keep my covenants, then I would see Tyson again, and we are married forever. The Lord has been so good to me, I am so blessed. I am really glad for that movie, it made me stop all my worrying about everything we don't have and be thankful for the wonderful things that I do have. And Tyson, I love you.

Gotta Have Faith

So I just wanted to write something about my mom and being a mom, I know I am a few weeks late, but well, better late than never right? So I used to be baby crazy, the older I got the more I wanted a kid. I thought I knew all about kids, how to raise them, that I would be natural and all that. Well, I was dying to have a baby, especially right after Tyson and I got married. I thought I was soooo ready, I mean I worked with kids 40 hours a week, I could take care of like 4 babies at a time, being a mom really couldn't be that hard. But it really isn't. I cannot believe how much longer it takes just to do laundry and clean my apartment. Before Josh came, I could do that in maybe a few hours, now I have to split those activities into different days during the week so it is actually possible to accomplish them. I cannot believe how tired I am sometimes, how many times I wake up during the night, how much I worry about Josh. I never realized how selfless moms have to be, and how hard that is. How did my mom do it?! Seven kids?! How?! Not only that, how does she let them go? I know, Josh is only six months old, but still, I keep thinking about what my life would be like without him. When he grows up, how will I give him away to some girl? How will I know that girl will take good care of him? Then there is the horror that maybe he won't even be a good kid, that he will sell drugs and have a gang and run away and me never even see him again. But then again I am rather dramatic and I would rather not think about this. How do people raise kids when they don't know and believe in the Lord?

He is in everything, He helps with everything. I know I can trust Him and even my greatest fears don't seem so bad, because He will make everything okay if I trust Him and keep the covenants I have made with Him, and teach my children of Him. This knowledge makes me love and respect my mother all the more. I miss her a lot. But being so far from her has really helped me in a way, I have had to learn how to do these things without always being a weight to her and I have had to grow up. When Josh doesn't sleep at night, I can't call my mom to have her come over and watch Josh the next day so I can sleep. It has really made me be strong and it has helped me lean on Tyson more than I would have otherwise. I feel really bad sometimes because I am so short tempered with Tyson now. Things bug me now that never used to. I am so grouchy without any warning and it makes me sad, I miss that newlywed "I could never be mad at you" feelings. But at the same time, I am thankful that our love has to be built stronger and with more patience. It has to withstand storms (which will probably later on in my life look like mere drizzles in comparison), and it always comes out stronger and deeper. I love my family, I love little Joshua, I love how he calms down when I hold him or even when I am near, I love how he lights up when Tyson walks in the room, I love that Tyson loves Josh so much. I love being a wife and a mother. It is so different than I expected it to be, but I love it.

p.s.- the rose was from Mother's Day from church and Josh looks awesome in all the pics, but in the one with me (I look crazy, I still haven't gotten the photo of myself thing down), but if you look close, you can see one of his two teeth, so cute!)

My Hardworkin Men

Josh trying to help his Daddy fix the table...pretty cute.