100 Reasons..

Some friends of ours gave us a book when we were having Liam. It is called "Why I Need You"...it's full of great baby and family pictures and lists 100 reasons why our babies need us. I get really overwhelmed sometimes with motherhood responsibilities. Not just the laundry, cleaning, feeding, etc. But with the teaching, nurturing, and spiritual responsibilities. I'm really afraid sometimes that I'm seriously going to screw them up, that I'm not giving them enouugh. But this book is so sweet. It simplifies it so much. Here are a few of my favorite quotes.

I need you...

to understand that for a while things aren't going to be as neat and orderly as they once were.

( I love this because it really doesn't matter to them if things around the house aren't perfect. I need to realize that it's only me that feels that way!)

I need you...

to believe that one day I'll be able to thank you for all that you have done for me.

not to worry about your mistakes-I won't remember them.

not to worry about being perfect-I won't be either.

to remember that what I want to hear most is "I love you"

I need you...

to keep a watchful eye on me.

to comfort me when I am afraid.

to kiss me often.

to understand that I didn't intend to awaken you, I just missed you.

I love this because it simplifies what they need from me so much. I know I put too much pressure on myself. But, if what they really need is kisses and I love you's I guess I can handle that! The laundry has waited this long...18 more years won't matter, right?

RRRR....

I forgot a funny story.. We were driving home from Show Low on Saturday afternoon. The kids were tired but being really good. We stopped in Globe or Superior ( I'm not sure...one of those towns in the middle of nowhere) to eat. We were on our way again when this lovely note came flying up to me from the back seat. It was in the form of a 5 year olds paper airplane.

Translation..."I am exhausted mom" along with the grumpy RRRRR face. I guess she was ready to come home, huh?

Arizona Winter Wonderland...

...or NOT!!!

This past weekend we had planned to go to a friends cabin and stay the weekend and play in the snow. Well, plans changed last minute and they couldn't go. Cody had already taken Thursday off work so we decided to go anyway. The kids have been begging to go play in the snow all winter and it just hasn't happened. So, Cody jumped on Craigs List and found a cabin for rent. On the website they made it look like private cabins out in the forest covered in beautiful snow. We thought we could just send the kids out and let them play. Well, when we arrived it was totally in a track home neighborhood that looked like cabins and this is how much snow we had!!! We were a little dissapointed, but we made the best of it.

Back porch...covered in snow right?

Liam threw a tantrum when we first started unloading the car and taking stuff inside. He isn't a fan of change and he thought we were moving or something. He just wanted to go back to our old house!! It took some convincing but then he was ok with our "pretend house"

My fabulous snowman

That was actually this tall.

There was a park in the neighborhood with enough crusty snow to make these little guys.

All Avery wanted to do was make a snowcone and eat it and make snowmen, we did both...sort of.

Emrie getting in on the snowman action.

Avery was proud of her creation

Our little snow family

We did drive almost to Sunrise ski resort to find a good sledding hill, but we found one and the kids had a blast sledding. They were actually braver than I thought!!

My cute little eskimo baby. She didn't like it after awhile. I turned her around in the Bjorn and she went to sleep. It was pretty cute.

Although we were dissapointed at first. We actually had a fabulous time. No work, no phone calls, no swat callouts for three whole days. We watched movies together, ate popcorn, had hot chocolate, went to the movies, played at the park and slept in. Things we could do at home, but somehow don't always find the time to. It was great memory making fun!!

So, I guess the time has come....

for us to make this blog private. Cody was showing someone at work our blog, and while she loved our pictures she was concerned about too much personal info being on the web. Because of the nature of Cody's job, it's probably better if we know who is reading about us! Please send me an email at candicarmichael@yahoo.com or leave me a comment if you would like an invite to keep reading. I know it's kind of a pain, but I guess a little caution isn't a bad thing. Thanks!!

Still in Love...

after all these years! Today is our 8th wedding anniversary. Cody and I dated for over 5 years before we got married. So, we've actually been together for about 13 years. It is amazing to be married to someone you love so much. And someone who you know will love you no matter what! It feels like we were kids when we met (well, I guess we were!!) We've always had a lot of fun together, and known that we have alot in common. But, I don't think you realize how much time changes. We've had new jobs, new houses, deaths in both our families, babies, and all kinds of other things. We've seen eachother at our best and our worst. We've had some really exciting times, and some that weren't so easy. But through it all we've been together. Life is interesting and amazing. I'm so glad to be going through it with someone who loves me no matter how many extra pounds I'm packing around, how messy our house is, and with all of my imperfections. He is a great dad, he loves nothing more than being with his children. They look forward to him coming home so much because they know he will go play with them. They have so many silly games they play, it makes them so happy. We've done lots of fun things together, and now most of those things just involved the little ones we have together. I feel really blessed!

Here are some fun pictures of our journey. Some of the old ones are pre-digital so they are pictures of pictures.

This is at his brother's wedding in 2005. I was 5 1/2 months pregnant with Liam.

Our little family right after Liam was born.

Cody and his motor squad when Avery was born. Yes, they are all in my hospital room.

In Alaska summer 2003

Hawaiian Cruise in June 2006

Temple lights with baby Avery. Christmas 2003

Diving in Hawaii 2006 (I know the wetsuit is super flattering!)

The week before Avery was born

a candid shot of our wedding day

Going into the Temple to do our endowments. We were so excited and so nervous all at the same time. It was cool to do it together.

Opening wedding gifts. Apparantly he was really excited about that crystal bowl!

This was just minutes after we got engaged. We set the camera on a rock withthe timer on.

my sister's wedding in 2000, skinny cody was running his butt off in the academy.

Summer of 96 or 97? first time I went to Alaska with his family

Holy cow we look like babies!! Cody's birthday in March of 96.

It has been a wonderful 8 years of marraige, I can only imagine what the next 8 will bring. (It won't be three more babies, I'll tell you that!!)

I love you Cody, couldn't have picked better!

SMARTIES...

This is my buddy Liam. He is sweet and grumpy all at the same time. He is just a funny, random child. Sometimes he likes me best, and sometimes he's daddy's buddy. He is getting so smart and growing up so fast. He is going to preschool, and LOVES his teacher. All day long he tells me "Mom, Ms. Candace says"... Ms. Candace says lots of things like, he can have two treats, or we say excuse me when we burp. You know, all very important. He comes home singing songs I've never even heard. He is constantly reading letters and telling me what they are, and what sound they make. I'm seriously amazed at what he picks up at this age. He wants to know everything. He is fun right now (when he's not throwing fits!) I was trying to get him up for church yesterday, which isn't easy because he's such a night owl. He was telling me that "waking up is BORING!!"

ANYWAY, whenever we ask him how he got so smart he says it's because he likes to eat SMARTIES...just shows you how a three year old brain works!

My friend Erika of Yellow Pear Photography took a few pictures of Emrie for me last week, when we were at her house playing. ( Erika and our other friend Jolene both have cute little boys a month and a half older than Emrie.) So we were having a play date with her boyfriends. I can't get over how talented she is. They are amazing and totally capture Em. I love the tongue in this one. She is always playing with her tongue. We had a heck of a time keeping her swaddled in that blanket, she is a wiggler!

Another sweet one, I love her eyes. Thanks E, we love ya!

10:54pm...

and this is what my house looks like...

This is a cute baby who does NOT like to sleep in her bed, however, sleeping at all before 1am is a huge improvement for her so I guess I'll take it.

This is LIAM, who took a late nap and just isn't ready for bed yet. Building an elaborate train track sounds much better to him.

This is the messy bed that Cody got into about 9pm, then promptly got out of when his pager went off and he had to go to work. (Why do people always go crazy at night? )

It's also where I would REALLY like to be.

It is now 11:10pm, Cody isn't back, Liam is still playing, and I'm still not in bed! Hope you are all getting a wonderfully cozy night of uninterrupted sleep!

Life goes on....

Just a little update (it's been a while!) Life is just moving right along at the Carmichael house. Emrie is growing like crazy. She is smiling and finding her voice. I love hearing their little voices. She tells lots of stories. Sometimes excited, sometimes happy, sometimes very sad. But it's all cute to me. We continue to work, try to find time to have fun with our kids, and do all of the other things that life demands. Sometimes I'm even dressed before noon!!

Emrie's first time in the bumbo..She was happy for a minute then started tipping over. We'll keep trying.

I went in to help in Avery's classroom last week and noticed that she had lost a tooth sometime that day. She didn't even know it. Don't have a clue where it is. She's halfway through kindergarten. She is reading and writing on her own. It's amazing how fast they change and learn.

This is just Liam and I messing around with the camera. He wanted a picture of all three of us. This is the best I could do on my own!

Well, I hope everyone is doing well and having a good week. Life moves so quickly these days. February will be over before I know it!