A few things that made me Happy!

I just have too many interests, plain and simple and blogging fell to the bottom of my list. I do still want to blog, but I will just have to get to it when I can! Here are a few things that have made me happy recently.

I love conference weekend, not just because of the great words we hear, but because my family is all together in one room for longer than we ever get to be any other time of the year. Saturday sessions are my personal favorite and this year the kids all chose to sit and really listen, they were angels. My sister Morgan and her son were with us for the am session and Hannah and Tanner Dockstader even joined us for a while too. I got to work on my digital scrapbooking and enjoy just sitting there with everyone, relaxing and listening to conference! And yes, those are jelly beans, in the morning.

For Valentine's Day I made a Love word art with my mother in law that I loved so much I decided to make a similar one for St. Patrick's Day. Tyler hates the word luck, but I persisted and this is what we ended up with. The wood is not what I really wanted but we had it, and after 3 or 4 broken scroll saw blades it finally got cut out. A little sanding and Martha Stewart glitter paint and I was happy. I know the picture stinks, sorry, I am just not a photog and I can't add anything more to my list of interests.
My Grandma, a very interesting lady in many, many ways is somehow still with us and says now that she finally feels back to her old self after her time spend on life support a few years ago. I love this woman. I wanted to spend some time visiting her during Spring Break and it just wasn't working out, so I just went and grabbed her from her house and made her join us in our regularly scheduled activities. It turned out perfect, I think she liked it much better than just us going over for a visit anyway.


Our final creations.
I saw these on pinterest and loved them. Why did I never think of dying the egg whites?
We get to have cousin Essien over a lot and the boys were all enjoying my one and only wii game, the best game ever, Just Dance 3. It makes me so happy to see them all dancing together, they are just too cute, I'm happy to share my game with them any time!

Sit down and Hang on!

I am feeling a bit overwhelmed but I'm tackling this head on. If you want to get caught up on the lives of the Laings tune in and every few days you'll see a little something new! In no particular order, here we go...

June 30th Peyton is a huge animal lover and we are fortunate enough to have the world's nicest cat, seriously. Thanks to my mom for buying us this sweet thing. She claws on all our furniture but really, she's amazing. Peyton drags her around all over the house, pulls her legs, lays on her, carries her around, you name it. Carmen had NEVER, EVER, bitten or scratched her or anyone else. She even comes to Peyton sometimes, she really likes attention.
Grandma Kay bought Jacob a rock polisher for his birthday several months ago and we finally got it running, only 5 days left in this first batch. There are 4 stages and during each one the tumbler runs for 7 days. It's quite an exercise in patience. From now on when we camp or go to the beach we will scout out pretty rocks. The picture below is after the 1st step (July 2nd).
Peyton has a growing Barbie house and amongst many rooms is of course a bathroom. One of my favorite YW, Wendy Freeman (and her family) has made multiple contributions. One of these said contributions is a toilet, a purple toilet. Micah, being the great brother he is will often play with Peyton and her Barbies. Let me assure you, he does play like a boy. He came and got me to show me what Gabrielle was doing to Taylor. Oh my....

July 2nd Yes, I'm a Twilight Saga fan. Not one of the crazies, but I did go a few nights after Eclipse opened with a few of my best friends and my sister. I really liked it, it was my favorite of the three movies so far and I am looking forward to the last 2.

This was also taken July 2nd. I guess I felt like I needed more pictures that day, I don't know. I'm including this because it's a cute pic of the boys and it shows all of their hair "before"

Jacob had quite a mop so he got a few extra shots, the were taken last night, July 17th. Jacob really is a beast when it comes to haircuts and it causes us to allow his hair to get pretty out of control. He claims that his haircuts are very painful, there are 2 places on his head that he always flinches, on each side, so, I am inclined to believe him. I just don't know what the problem is. I cut Tyler's hair as well as Micah's, Jacob's and Benjamin's and none of the other complain about it hurting a bit.



Here is Micah's Before, it's also his After. He is riddled with cowlicks, well 3. His hair looks great short but has to be cut frequently or it sticks up everywhere. He likes it long and it lays nicely when it's long so I have decided not to cut it until just before school starts.

Jacob and Ben's After. Now they look even more alike.

Quick Update

I just wanted to take a minute to thank you all for your prayers. My grandmother was moved out of ICU last night and is starting some physical therapy at the hospital tomorrow. She was taken off life support Monday afternoon and returned fairly quickly to her spunky self. She was even making jokes today. She has been giving her nurses a run for their money since she's been talking, I'm sure a few of them have thought of putting her back on sedation! Anyway, I have been finding at least 20-30 minutes a day to pop in and see her and would like to go and help her get herself a bit more presentable tomorrow so wish me luck! My grandma knows I am busy with my kids but I need her to know that she's important to me too and I WILL find the time for her. I feel like I have also been given some extra time to have her with us. We all love her very much and she had us pretty scared that we were going to lose her. So, thanks again for your prayers!

Your Prayers Please!

Jacob, Grandma Kay, Peyton, Benjamin and Micah April 5, 2010

The last few days have been emotionally exhausting. All last week I kept calling my grandma because the kids and I were going to go spend the day with her and I kept getting no answer. I began to worry. I knew that she is often outside and that she ocassional goes out, but I just thought there was no way that I just kept missing her. I finallt called my Aunt and she told me my grandma had gotten a bad flu and she brought her to her house. Well, the following day she took her to the dr because she was gettting worse and the dr sent her to the er. I went to see her in the er yesterday and she was unresponsive. Her flu had turned into pneumonia, then her white count sky rocketed and she has some kind of infection that spread throughout her body. They put her on iv antibiotics and her kidneys started to shut down. The moved her to the ICU last night. I was the only one there and had to give the ok to intubate her, ventilator and feeding tube. I didn't want to prolong the inevitable, but the dr told me that it could help her recover, I definately want that. I was an emotional wreck all day yesterday. I tried not to think about it today, I weeded the garden, exercised, went to lunch with my friend Donna, played the wii with Ben, made dinner, even Garlic bread for everyone else. Tyler got home right when dinner was ready and I headed out the door to go see my grandma at the hospital. I avoided calling my Aunt all day afraid of what I might hear I guess. I spend 45 minutes talking with my grandma. I decided that no matter her condition I was going to sit there and hold her hand and tell her all about everything going on. The snake loose in our house, me on level 3 of the 30 day shred, Peyton's "say Neigh louder mommy" antics, the denim quilt I'm working on, everything. I asked her to please squeeze my hand, she didn't, but she did move her hand higher up on my arm. I told her that I was a mess yesterday and that today I did my hair and wore makeup in case she could open her eyes and look at me. I said it would be nice if she could look at me since I went through all that trouble to get ready. She didn't open her eyes, but she did raise her eyebrows 3 times like she was trying to open her eyes. I told her it was ok, she could look at me later. They keep her lightly sedated while she is on life support, the tubes in her throat are very uncomfortable, but they occasionally let up on the sedation to see if she is at all responsive. When I first got there my Aunt, my cousins daughter and My Uncle Brent were there and told me her kidneys were working again! I left there feeling good, more optimistic than yesterday. I saw Sam Seamons as I was leaving and we walked out together and I told her about my grandma and she told me about her sis in law and the baby she just had. I cried a little when I got in my car, she's still most certainly not out of the woods yet, but I think I cried because for the first time I feel hopeful. My grandmother is a strong and fiesty woman, she can pull through this. Please send some prayers up on her behalf, I know that works too! I have a great pic of her from a few weeks ago when she took us all out to breakfast. I'm going to go upload it from my camera so you can see who you're praying for. If you're still reading, thanks so much for taking the time to help me out!

VERY cute apron (in my humble opinion)

Well, it is most definately time for another post. I haven't felt like taking the time to blog lately and was thinking I didn't really have much to blog about, until tonight. I took a picture wearing the apron I just made for a prize for my friends baby shower on Saturday. I thought, hey, I can blog this! So I uploaded my pictures from my camera and was a little amazed at how much I actually have to blog about. I thought that not much more was going on than some deep cleaning and decluttering around my house, but we've been up to more than I realized, so, if I can get my act together, I'll blog more often the next few weeks.

On a sad note, and before you get to see the cute apron, my Grandpa Frank passed away on Saturday. We knew it was coming, he had a stroke just before Christmas and then in February found he had a quick growing cancerous tumor in his lungs. My grandma is now living alone and that makes me sad, so I will try to visit her with my kids often, hopefully not so often we bug her! His funeral will be this Saturday morning.
And here is the apron. My friend Stefanie Adams brought me all the fabric and trim and I wasn't very excited to make a 5th apron. I ended up really enjoying it though, funny how some beautiful fabric can make sewing somthing so much better.

November is here! segment 2

It's not yet midnight, so I'm still keeping up on my challenge!

I am thankful that I have a patient grandmother that taught me to sew at a young age and let me use scissors at age 2. I am also thankful that she has a huge supply of sewing stuff and gives me fabric even when I don't ask for it! I can't leave out that I'm thankful for the clearance tables and discounted fabrics at any given store, and my castaway clothing that can be remade into Barbie clothes, doll clothes and little girls clothes.
I'm very thankful for a sister that has finally become my friend. I'm thankful that I get to see her most days of the week and that she still changes poopy diapers and wipes snotty noses and helps with my kids even though she has a new baby of her own.

This may sound silly to some, but I'm thankful that I finally got a picture with all 4 of my kids in it, all 4 smiling, all 4 looking at the camera, amazing!

Lastly, for today, I am thankful I let my husband talk me into digital scrapbooking. I am thankful I can get something productive, worthwhile and creative done without making a mess and without spending any money. Oh yes, and I'm thankful to have 4 beautiful and funny children that give me an endless amount of material to scrapbook!!!

Into the swing

What a day today was. We got so much accomplished that I feel wonderful! Tyler and Morgan and I went through all the boys clothes and did all the various sorting. Pile for Dara's kids, Micah's clothes that shift to Jake and Jake's that shift to Ben and Jake's that get put away for Ben next year and stuff that gets tossed and stuff that gets donated...after that Tyler and I did the shoes and the toys. What a job! Tyler and I then took the boys to Target to conservatively restock for the upcoming school year. We did better than I thought and we are now ready for school to begin!!!
Tonight Tyler suggested a little family walk before putting the kids to bed, so we all went for a walk, Morgan and the dogs too. Our walk ended up turning into a bike/scooter ride around the neighborhood until after 10pm! It was so nice, the weather was perfect, not typical for mid August. When we got back and were putting the bikes into the garage we decided to start cleaning up the garage and got a bunch of stuff put up into the attic. I haven't had such a productive day in a long time, and it isn't even Saturday yet! Those furlough days do seem to come in handy, now, if we could only have them and the money too!

This was a picture from Morgan's shower I wanted to include. Aunt Marcia bought Peyton a dress that someone made. Super cute and simple, it even had a matching hair bow.
Grandma Kay bought Peyton a Madeline doll house from the Goodwill for $4! I looked online and it goes for $150!!! Now we just need to collect some doll house furniture for it. Ben and Peyton still had fun playing with it.

August 3rd, Peyton put her brother's cowboy hat on and I thought she was too cute. She looks like a little cowgirl to me.

She also got into her basket of shoes that she has outgrown and insisted on wearing some. She has quite the shoe fetish. Below she is saying and signing hat.

Toys R' Us, Gramma K, the stroller...

April 13

Grandma Kay likes to take the kids and I to Toys R' Us every once and a while and spoil them. They think this is pretty much the best thing in the world.

This is Ben on our way out. Grandma will even give them quarters to either ride the rides or get candy or toys from the machines. Micah and Jacob always pick the machines, Ben always picks the rides. Smart kid, he just got a toy from the toy store!

He let Peyton share his ride, I like this picture because they are both wearing orange and Ben is being such a good brother.

This is Grandma Kay, my dad's Mother. It was hard to get this, she does not like pictures.

This is pretty much my whole purpose in posting this, and of course because it's a tradition the kids love so much. Anyway, Peyton found this stroller, a doll stroller. She was not walking yet at the time, but this stroller gave her the confidence she needed (it was too light to really be of any help). She pushed that thing all over the store and would not let go of it. The very next day she realized she didn't need it and has been walking ever since. She still likes to push all 3 of her dolls around in it. When one falls out she just stops and tosses it right back in and keeps on going.

Worth the Wait

After 3 boys that statement is most definatley true! I love my boys and I love the new dynamics of our family and I wouldn't have it any other way. We all love Peyton so much and she is such a blessing and a miracle. I'm sure that Heavenly Father knew exactly what he was doing sending her to us, she was just what we all needed.





March 26, 2008
Peyton is always such a beauty, even when she is crying she has a softness and a sweetness to her. I think she gets tired of all my photo shoots!



March 27, 2008
We surprised Grandma Kay with a visit while Micah and Jacob were at school. I brought my camera along to make sure I got some pictures for Ben and Peyton's Jesus loves me books. (Becca made these books for Micah and Jacob and they just love them, so now I need them for Ben and Peyton. They have pictures of all their family members that say Nana loves Micah, etc. The last page is Jesus and it says Jesus loves Micah, really cute.) Well, Grandma didn't have any makeup on, and she wasn't wearing her wig so she didn't want any pictures of her. I had to lie and tell her I just wanted to get pictures of Peyton smiling. It was so cute. My grandma was really getting lots of adorable smiles out of her and she was talking away to Grandma too. I couldn't pass up the opportunity, I think my Grandma is beautiful no matter what. She has been a huge part of my life since I was a baby, she has been almost like a second mother to me and I want her to be a part of my kids lives as long as possible.


I have been making clips for Me and Peyton, and I have made some for Becca and her girls too (Becca, these are actually yours!). I had a pile of them set aside to mail to Becca, well, Jacob comes up to me and askes me to get the camera and take a picture of him and ben. I turn around and they've both got white flower clips in their hair. I thought it was adorable. Even funnier is that when I was taking this picture Tyler walked in the door, home a little early from work. He never thinks these things are as cute as I do, or even cute at all!


That night I was in charge of making dinner at my parents house. The boys were all playing Hogwarts in the back yard. Mind you, my parents backyard is mostly all pool. I knew, I just knew, that one of them was going to fall in the pool. My mom and I are very careful about keeping an eye on them while they are near the pool. Micah and Jacob are very good swimmers, but you never know, and Ben thinks he can swim, very scary. Anyway, my mom went to change Peyton, so my sister and I were both keeping our eyes on them. Earlier my sister told the big boys to run and get us if anyone fell in the pool, just to cover the bases. So, I had just checked on them and quickly did something and then looked back up again and saw Ben in the pool hanging onto the edge. It actually took a moment to register. It would have looked so normal, had it been summer! As I was running to him Micah was running to us yelling, "Ben fell in the pool." He is so responsible, great job Micah! Ben was very calm and I lifted him out and started to strip him when I thought of the camera. I grabbed it and got this photo. I told him what a good job he did getting to the edge and grabbing on. His head never even went under!



He was wearing superman pajamas and his camo crocks, cute huh? He always pics out those silly shoes whenever I let him pick his shoes. It's either those, or church shoes!

I like to prop Peyton up and sit in front of her and just talk to her and smile at her. This makes her very happy and she rewards me with the cutest smiles and coos. I love being a mommy!

Look at those cheeks and chins!