We hope that everyone had a wonderful Christmas. Ours was great. We got to spend time together as a family and with our extended family. What more can you ask for? We did have a great Christmas though with Colsten. It was his first Christmas and though he didn't really know what was going on, it was still so fun. He got some fun little toys. One of which Tally and I are excited about. For all of you who don't know Tally, he is a HUGE baseball fan. His favorite team... well... that would be the Yankees. Yes I know there are not many fans out there, but he loves them. So Colsten received a soft Yankees baseball bat and a soft squishy baseball. So the wooden bat was taken away which is great because he would hit the walls, windows, floors or anything else that would make noise.
Saturday was fun. We had a big celebration party for my sister Natalie because she finished up her chemo and is almost done with radiation. That is great! Her hair is starting to grow back. It is great. She looks so good.

Monday we spent the day at Primary Children's Hospital. Colsten had a scheduled orchiopexy. (you can click on the link for more info) Any way he was born with one testicle. So they had to go in and make two incisions on his little man parts. One towards the abdomen and one down in the little sac where it was supposed to be. They thought it was just tangled up in some tissue, well once they got in there they found out that the canal that it drops down into didn't even form, so they had to make a canal. He also had a little hernia in there that they fixed for him. I think hernia's are hereditary. Tally has had 3 and grandpa Thomas has had a few. Poor little guy. He is a little black and blue. They gave him a prescription for Lortab and sent us on our way once he was awake and drinking clear fluids. We got home and he slept pretty much the rest of the day. Then yesterday he woke up and was talking to himself. He was so happy. I got him out of bed and he was running around the house like nothing was wrong with him. I haven't really given him a lot of medicine because he doesn't act like it hurts. So if you saw him you would never guess that he had surgery on Monday. He is just his happy self which we are grateful for. Sorry the pictures are a little blurry. They were taken with my phone.

Anyway we hope that everyone has safe, fun evening tonight celebrating the New Year. We have so much to be grateful for.

Ward Christmas Party

Last week was our ward Christmas party. It was a lot of fun. Towards the end Santa came. It was Colsten's first time ever meeting Santa so I was a little worried because you see a lot of little children that get scared and cry. Well we stuck Colsten on his lab and I don't think he really knew what was going on. He was so oblivious. He just sat there and stared around. It didn't even faze him.

Anyway we are so excited for Christmas this week. It will be fun to spend it with family and mostly to reflect on the birth of our Savior, because with out that birth Christmas wouldn't exist. I am so grateful for my Savior and that we do have this time to honor him. I pray that everyone will stop and take more than a few minutes thinking about the presents and the treats and everything that is so temporary and think more about Jesus Christ. Without him nothing would be possible.

I hope that everyone has a very Merry Christmas!!

Colsten is walking

I know that most people don't post their children walking, but hey he is our first and we still get excited over the little things. :)

He is still a little wobbly. He puts his arms up and it reminds me of those monkey's that walk with their arms in the air. It cracks me up.

I don't know if I am ready for him to walk yet, but he is a busy body and wants to do what everyone else does. He won't sit still for 5 seconds. He is a lot of fun though.

A little late...

Halloween was last week and I am now just posting the pictures. Oh well. We had a good halloween. I took the day off and took Colsten to visit my work and then we were able to go see Grandma and Grandpa Jolley, aunt Natalie, uncle Ty, aunt Kristen, uncle Adam, and cousin Brooklyn. Colsten was Yoda from Star Wars and Brooklyn was a cute bunny. Then we went to see Grandma and Grandpa Thomas and then aunt Erma and uncle Trevor and cousin Tatum came over. Tatum was a cute lamb.

Colsten and his cousin Brooklyn



Colsten and his cousin Tatum

When we got home our street was blocked off by our house. (We live in a cul-de-sac) Our neighbors are great and are always doing fun things. In the middle of the cul-de-sac they had a fire pit on the right side a blow up grave yard (a ghost playing the organ) and had music going then on the left was a blow up haunted house. At the beginning of it all, one of our neighbors made a pumpkin out of their trampoline. They are great. We are blessed to live in such a great neighborhood. They are so fun.

Monday was Columbus Day so that meant that Tally had the day off. He was going to spend the morning cleaning the house and taking care of Colsten. He is great at cleaning the house. He is a huge help. He is especially great at cleaning the toilets. How wonderful is that! I have not had to clean one toilet since we have been married. I guess it pays to marry someone who is a clean freak. :) Anyway he was cleaning the toilet and of course Colsten has to be in the middle of it. He tried to get to the toilet, but fortunately Tally blocked him every time. When he was done he took Colsten to the family room while he did some other stuff. Tally said that it got quiet. So when he went to find him, this is what he found...

Free Handbags

To celebrate the launch of there new handbags on October 15th Handbag Planet is giving away a free handbag every hour. Go to there website and enter to win! There are some pretty cute bags!http://www.handbagplanet.com/

Enjoy!!!

Try JibJab Sendables® eCards today!

Marathon for Natalie

Natalie is my baby sister (who is now 20. Not really a baby. :)) She was diagnosed on August 31, 2007 with a cancer called Ewing's Sarcoma. It is a form of bone cancer. They found it in her spine and pelvic bone. It has been a long hard year. Through it all she has had the best attitude and has fought so hard. She is a blessing in my life and such a huge strength to me. Anyway she was attending a singles ward at Weber State when she was diagnosed. Her bishop of that ward has kept in such great contact with Nat this last year. Well he has decided to run in the St. George Marathon for Nat. Below is a message that he wanted us to pass on to everyone.

For more than a year now, Natalie has fought a courageous battle with cancer. In a way, she has been in a race for life. In honor of Natalie’s valiant courage to fight cancer, I, Scott Conlin, Natalie’s Bishop, am running another type of race, the St. George Marathon. This marathon takes place on Saturday October 4, 2008. I am running this race as a fund raiser for Natalie and am seeking donations of any amount. The distance of a marathon is 26.2 miles and some people are donating a certain amount per mile or just a flat amount. I would appreciate your support and encouragement in the race and any donation in behalf of Natalie. 100% of the donations will be given directly to Natalie and her family. If you wish to support this effort you may contact me Scott Conlin at: conlinsj@ldschurch.org or cell phone (801) 718-3490 or office phone (801) 240-5374
We love you Nat!!!

Just a quick update

Well the stand off lasted until about 9 or 9:30 last night. The man shot himself in the chest and then died at the hospital. I think it is so sad. I feel bad for his family. Especially his 10 year old son. I have thought a lot about the whole situation and thought how does it get to that point. It started out as a domestic despute with his wife then I heard it was a hostage situation. He ended up sitting in his truck the whole day with at least 2 guns. The police tried everything to get him out of his truck. They broke the windows with the robot and threw tear gas in there, they threw the loud grenades, nothing would get this man to budge. Anyway it is a sad ending. Just wanted everyone to know.

In case you want to know...

... there is a hostage situation right outside my work building. It started this morning around 9 ish. I work at Davis School District in the Payroll office for all of you that don't know. Well around 11:15 this morning the Superintendent's office upstairs called us and told us that our building is on lock down. (Well we can still get out the south and west side) They told us to stay away from the windows, so of course we all flock to the windows to see what is happening. They told us it is for our safety incase gun fire starts they don't want us to get hit. It is now 2:40 so it has been an all day event. The news people have been all over the place. They have had the S.W.A.T team out there with all of their guns. So it has been an interesting morning/afternoon at work. You can go to www.ksl.com for the story.

First Day of Fall

Today is the first day of fall. I love the fall season. Right now it is currently raining which makes it all that much more fun. I love the memories that come with this time of year. On my mission in North Carolina the best time of year was the fall. There are trees everywhere and it is so beautiful to see all of the leaves start changing colors. In some of my areas we would tract, the streets were lined with trees. We would walk down the sidewalk and the leaves and little acorns would crunch under our shoes. I loved it. My companions and I would purposely try to crunch them. I loved that crunching sound. The excitement that also comes as the holidays approach. There is a certain scent that feels the air. I also remember my sweet grandma loved this time of year. She lived right up against the mountain in Ogden. She loved the fall. She loved being able to watch the leaves change. Some of my greatest memories are of her and my sweet grandpa and the holiday time. I was also married to my sweetheart in the fall. I just love this time of year, when it seems families come together more often and enjoy time together. So I hope everyone will enjoy this day, and enjoy the fall season.

Oh how they grow up so fast!

It amazes me at how fast babies grow up. They certainly don't stay babies for long. It is sad and exciting all at the same time. I love watching Colsten trying to figure new things out or trying to find out how something works. What a wonderful creation human life is and the progress that takes place every day as they learn and do new things that just seem so simple and easy to us.
Colsten crawls everywhere. He hates to sit still. He is a very active little boy. He absolutely hates church and he lets us know every week. He doesn't want to just sit on someones lap for 3 hours. He wants to get down and play. But we try not to let that happen to much. He has already figured out if he screams loud enough and long enough during sacrament meeting then one of us will take him out into the foyer. So we are trying to overcome that obstacle. He is also pulling up on everything. He is even starting to walk around the furniture a little. It kind of scares me because I don't know if I am quite ready for my baby to be walking yet. He is just getting to big too fast.
We also found out tonight that he has cut his first tooth. I was feeding him a small piece of cookie and I went to pull my finger out of his mouth and felt the tooth. I got all excited and told Tally that he had a tooth. Tally didn't really believe me so I told him to feel. Sure enough there is a tooth poking out.
I love it. I love watching his face when he does something new. There is nothing else like a baby. What a blessing they are.

Did you know...?

I was tagged by Tiff so I better do it. :) Mostly for those restless nights that she has.

Did you know that...

My favorite color is Carolina Blue and Lavender.
My favorite dessert is chocolate ice cream... with a little milk on it. I know weird huh?
My favorite Sunday CD is... I love my Women of Destiny CD's.
My favorite anytime CD right now is Carrie Underwood.
My favorite show is... I like some of the reality shows. American Idol, Survivor, Amazing Race. I also love to watch Ghost Whisper.
My favorite place to be is anywhere with my family
My favorite time of day is when I get home from work in the evenings and then it is just me and my boys.
My favorite holiday is Christmas
My least favorite thing to do is work outside the home.
My least favorite thing to wear is panty hose --- I agree with Tiff.
My least favorite place to be is at work. I would love to be home with my baby.
My secret obsession right now is blog surfing. It really is addicting.
I miss North Carolina. I would love to go back to visit one of these days.
I have been terrible at keeping in touch with people from my mission. -- Me too.
I have not seen a lot of my good friends in a very long time and I do miss them.
I have the sweetest baby that brings joy to my life.
At night after i get done nursing him and he falls asleep I just want to hold him, and rock him and not put him down.
I hate pumping everyday at work, but I enjoy nursing Colsten.
I will be sad when I have to stop nursing because I feel like that is my bonding time with Colsten that no one else can have since I don't get him all day long.
I look forward to the day that I will be able to be a stay at home mom.
I love my husband and son more than anything.

I now tag the following people to post a "did you know" thread on their blogs: Kristen, Nancy, Whitney, Teresa, Diana, Kara, Shaylee, Kourtney, Amanda, Angie, Bonnie, and Sherry.

I was told that I need to add some pictures. :)

Look at those little baby boobs. :)

Colsten eating his oatmeal. Mmmm...

Colsten with daddy and Uncle Scott

Colsten with mommy

Colsten in his stationary walker that he loves and pratically runs around.

Quick update on the last couple of weeks

Yesterday was Colsten's 6 month appointment. The doctor said he is very impressed with how fast he is learning physically. He had Colsten up on the table to check him and Colsten rolled over then got up on all fours and trying to sit. Then he pushes his legs up so his bum is in the air. This is normal for us, but our doctor seemed suprised that he was already doing these things. Colsten is trying so hard to crawl. He has almost got it and then we are in trouble. We haven't even baby proofed our house yet. I have some Willow Tree Statues that were in the bottom of our entertainment system. Tally told me that I probably needed to move them up. I told him that I have a few weeks. Well last Sunday I was in the kitchen and heard some clunking noise then Tally started laughing. I knew right then what was going on. Colsten was in the bottom of the entertainment system from the waist up playing with the statues. He was sucking on the head of the baby and just having fun. They are officially moved now. We have been giving him cereal. He wasn't doing well with the rice so we tried oatmeal and that was so much better and he has had sweet potatoes. So we are on our way to real food. He weighed in at 18 lbs 13.5 oz. (70%), his height is 26" (25%), and his head is 17 1/4" (50%). Things are looking good with him. He is so happy and loves to laugh.
Last week we had a suprise anniversary party for my parents. We figured it would be fun to do something for them. They have had such a hectic year with Natalie. It was fun having everyone here. Scott & Kourt came up and Alan & Amanda came up and suprised them. We got to meet Zach. He is adorable. We are glad that he is here and things are going well. It was fun to have all of the grandkids together. My mom tried to get pictures with all 5 of them, but there were a couple that didn't really want to cooperate. That is ok, there will be plenty of other times.
Natalie finished one more round of chemo this last week. She has 2 more rounds left and then she will be done with chemo hopefully for good. She is an inspiration to me. She has been so strong through all of this and had such a great attitude. It will be a year since she was diagnosed at the end of this month. She was diagnosed on Aug 29. It will be so good to have it over. It has been a very rough year. I am so blessed she is my sister. I love her so much.

Memory Tag

My cousin had this on her blog, so I thought that I would put it on mine. Here are the rules.
1. As a comment on my blog, leave one memory that you and I had together or one that you had with Tally.
2. Next, re-post these instructions on your blog and see how many people leave a memory about you. It's actually pretty funny to see the responses. If you leave a memory about me, I'll assume you're playing the game and I'll come to your blog and leave one about you.

People with my name in the US

HowManyOfMe.com

There are 550 people with my name in the U.S.A. How many have your name?

Birthday

Well yesterday was my birthday. It felt like any other day. We went to church then up to my mom's house. I did get get a great present for my birthday. I got a nephew. :-) Zachary was born yesterday. He belongs to my brother and sister in law. They live in Grand Junction so I didn't get to go see him, but we are excited that he is here and that Zach and Amanda are doing well.
Things are going well for our family. Colsten just gets more fun every day. He has discovered his toes. He is doing very well sitting up of course he still topples over occasionally, but he is getting it. He rolls all over the place which is scary because sometimes I will put him on my bed in the morning while I get ready for work and one of these days I am worried that he is going to just roll right on to the floor. He is such a happy baby. Everything is starting to go into his mouth and he is trying to crawl. He gets his knees under him and tries to launch himself. Of course he doesn't go very far but he is trying. It is a very fun stage for him to be at. I am loving every minute of it.

Colsten is so happy. I just can't get enough of him. In the picture where I am holding him, I had given him a little chocolate... I know it is bad and I will probably get lectured for it, but he looks fine doesn't he. He doesn't seem to be suffering to much. Anyway so the chocolate got smeared on his face and dad wanted a picture. He is just so adorable. :-)

Father's Day

I hope all of those father's out there had a great day. It was a very good day here. Tally spoke in sacrament meeting today. It is the first time that he has ever spoke in sacrament. For those that don't know Tally, he was a wayward many years ago and just came back to living the gospel about 5 years ago. He spoke on father's. He did an amazing job. I was in tears. I am very blessed to have him as my husband and as the father of my son. I was very impressed with him. Then we went to visit my family and I got to see my dad. I am so grateful for my dad. He is such a wonderful man. I am grateful for how he raised us and how much he loves and adores my mom. It was always so great to have him show her that love growing up. I have never heard my dad say one unkind thing to my mom. I know that he loves her and that is a blessing. You see a lot of men look down on women these days and I know that that will never happen with my parents. Then we went and saw Tally's family. His dad is a softy with a very thick outer shell, but he is a great man. He has been a great father in law to me. We are both very blessed to have the parents we do. So to all the father's out there... Happy Father's Day.

Friday was Colsten's 4 month check up (he is almost 5 months though) He had to get his shots. That is the worst part. I don't enjoy it at all. The Dr. said that he looks good. When he was born he weighed 6 lbs. 13 oz. and 19" long. That was on January 22. On Feb. 1 when we went in he weighed 6.90 lbs, his height was 19 1/2 and his head was 13 3/4. Then we went back on Feb. 7 he weighed 7.30 lbs his height was 20" and his head was 14". On March 26 for his 2 month appointment he weighed 11.40 lbs, height was 22" and his head was 15 1/2". I don't know the percentile on those ones. On Friday when we went in he weighed 16 lbs 9.5 oz. that is in the 60%, his height is 24 1/2" that is in the 15%, and his head is 16 3/4" that is in the 40%. So he is short and chubby. But he is adorable. He is getting more fun every day. We love him so much.

On friday (June 6th) my sister Kristen called me and said she was experiencing contractions. She didn't think they were braxton hicks. She talked to me a for a minute about it being real. The problem is her due date is July 10. She was 5 weeks early. I told her to call our mom. The next thing I know she is at the hospital and they are monitoring her. And then the contractions got worse they, started coming closer together, so they admitted her. She had her baby that night. Little Brooklyn has come into our family. She is a premie, but weighed 6 lbs 11 oz. (yes she would have been a big baby at full term) Since she is a premie though her lungs weren't fully developed so she is in the NICU right now. She has been on oxygen, had a feeding tube, all of that fun stuff. Kristen and Adam are well and Brooklyn is doing well. It would be nice to just get her home out of the hospital. She is cute of what I saw of her. But I am grateful that she is here safe and everyone for the most part is well. The reason she came early is because the placenta tore away. And since the body is an amazing thing it knew that something was wrong and that it had to get the baby out or she would die. It really does amaze me at our bodies. They are wonderful things. I just wanted to give everyone an update. Love you all.

Okay I found this and thought it was funny. So hopefully all of you will have fun with it.

1 . YOUR ROCK STAR NAME: (first pet & current car)
no pet... camry

2.GANGSTA NAME: (fave ice cream flavor, favorite cookie)
Chocolate sugar

3. YOUR “FLY Guy/Girl” NAME: (first initial of first name, firstthree letters of last name)
MTHO

4. YOUR DETECTIVE NAME: (favorite color, favorite animal)
Blue dolphin

5. YOUR SOAP OPERA NAME: (middle name, city where you were born)
(I don't technically have a middle name. I use my maiden name) Jolley Ogden

6. YOUR STAR WARS NAME: (the first 3 letters of your last name, first 2letters of your first)
Thome

7.SUPERHERO NAME: (”The” + 2nd favorite color, favorite drink)
The green water

8. NASCAR NAME: (the first names of your grandfathers)
Steven George

9. STRIPPER NAME: (the name of your favorite perfume/cologne/scent,favorite candy)
Love spell milkyway

10.WITNESS PROTECTION NAME: (mother’s & father’s middle names )
Call Barrett

11. TV WEATHER ANCHOR NAME: (Your 6th grade teacher’s last name, amajor city that starts with the same letter)
(I don't remember my 6th grade teacher, but I do remember my 5th grade) Speechly San Diego

12. SPY NAME: (your favorite season/holiday, flower)
Spring daisy

13. CARTOON NAME: (favorite fruit, article of clothing you’re wearingright now+“ie”)
Watermelon scrubie

14. HIPPY NAME: (What you ate for breakfast, your favorite tree)
Oatmeal squares dogwood

15. YOUR ROCKSTAR TOUR NAME: (”The” + Your fave hobby/craft, faveweather element + “Tour”)
The reading sun tour

16. YOUR CELEBRITY COUPLE NAME: (half of your name, half yoursignificant other's name, mixed together in whichever order soundsbest.)
Talanie

Ok so it is kind of lame but that is okay.

This last week my whole family had the opportunity to go to a friend of my parent's cabin about 30 minutes East of Heber City, up in the mountains. Scott, Kourt, Cooper, Alan, Amanda, and Jaida all came up. They live in Cedar City and Grand Junction. It was fun to see and spend time with all of them because we don't see them very often. Next time we see Amanda she will have had her baby. Her and Kristen are both due in July. Amanda is having a boy and Kristen a girl. It was good that they came, because I know traveling long distances when you are really pregnant is not the most fun. Jaida and Cooper played so hard. They ran and ran and when we thought that they couldn't possibly run any more they did. They are 14 hours apart... not twins just cousins. They are 2 1/2. They are so funny. They just love each other so much. It is amazing that they can go months without seeing each other and then the minute they come together they are best buds and they just want to play.


On Wednesday we went to the Hogle Zoo. I haven't been there for a very long time. Colsten didn't really know what was going on, but he was a good sport and looked at the animals and played. We did wear him out though. Look how cute.

It was just a really great week. I was so grateful we had the opportunity to go up there. We haven't really done a lot since Natalie was diagnosed with cancer last Aug. Her and my mom either spend there time at home or in the hospital. Nat gets tired very quick and so she doesn't really like to travel far or do much, but she was a trooper. She always keeps a great attitude. I love her so much. I am proud to call her my sister. She is a huge blessing in my life and she has taught me so much in these last 9 months. I know that the lord is watching over her and carrying her through this huge trial in her life. It has been a huge testimony builder for me. So to be able to go as a family and spend time together and build and strengthen our family was so great for me. What a blessing families are.

Here is a picture of me and Nat at the zoo. They have a little Asian village type thing. We just found the hats and decided to try them on. And then there is Nat with the electronic wheelchair She was tired and didn't want me taking her picture and she was also trying to eath ice cream so she was giving a funny look.

So on Thursday we had the opportunity to go to Salt Lake and meet up with a family that was in my first area on my mission. The Rose family lives in Clayton, North Carolina. Karen is attending BYU and so sister Rose came to visit. It was so fun to see them. The Rose family took really good care of us sisters. It was fun to be able to introduce Tally and Colsten to them. I wish I could get back there and see other families that I grew to love. Maybe one day.

Here is a picture of Karen and Sister Rose.

Scentsy Candle

Well I have signed up to start selling Scentsy. For those of you that don't know what Scentsy is, I will tell you. It is a candle company. It was started back in 2004. It is a safe, healthy way to have the good smells a candle offers. There are no wicks, it doesn't get too hot and you don't have to worry about your house burning down if you forget to turn it off. It uses a 25 watt light bulb to melt the wax. There are different warmers to purchase for your home and over 80 scents.
Tally and I love scentsy. Especially now that we have a baby we don't have to worry about when he is mobile. When we got married we would always burn candles. There was one night we went to bed and forgot to blow the candle out. I woke up in a panic the next morning realizing what we had done. I went out to the kitchen and the candle was still burning a little. Lucky for us nothing happened. Since then we have not lit a candle. We have several Scentsy warmers throughout our house and we love them.
I have provided a link to my website. I would love for you all to go check it out. You can look at the catalog and see what great products there are. If you feel like you would like to try Scentsy, the you can set up a party or just order on my website.

Well it has been a good week. Alan and Amanda came to visit this week. They live in Grand Junction right now and we don't get to see them very much so that was fun. Jaida loved Colsten. It was Alan's birthday on the 16th so we got together and had a family party. It was a lot of fun. We were sad that Scott, Kourt and Cooper couldn't make it. They live in Cedar City and it is hard to get up here.

We also had a new addition to the Thomas family. It is so fun to watch both families grow. Tally's brother Trevor and his wife Erma had their first baby on April 16th. Her name is Tatum. She is adorable. She did have some trouble breathing on her own so they admitted her into the NICU. What a blessing the priesthood is. She recovered quickly after receiving a blessing and is now home and doing so much better.

Babies are so much fun and Colsten is getting his share of new cousins. On the Thomas side we have Koy who is 9, Brook who is 7, Leah is 1 and now sweet Tatum. On the Jolley side we have Jaida and Cooper who are 2 and then little Brooklyn and Zachary will be here in July. We are so excited. It is so fun.

Colsten is doing well. He is such a good, happy baby. We are so blessed to have him in our family. He smiles all of the time and just really seems content with life. It is fun watching his little personality come out. He is definitely stubborn like his mom. :-) But he sure is cute.

Well time is just flying by. We blessed Colsten last sunday. It was wonderful. Tally did a great job and Colsten was so good. I am so blessed to have a husband worthy to hold the priesthood and have him bless my children. It was a very neat and special experience.

This weekend is conference and it has been so wonderful. I love conference. I know that the speakers are inspired on what to speak on. The spirit is always strong. It is fun to see how the church changes and yet is still the same. I love it so much.

A couple of weekends ago we had my whole family together. It was a lot of fun to see Scott, Kourt and Cooper and also Alan, Amanda and Jaida. We don't see them enough. It was the first time any of them have seen Colsten so that was fun. It was also fun to get the cousins together. They love their new little cousin. Cooper didn't want to put him down.
I have also had the opportunity while being off work to go down to Huntsmans with mom and Natalie for Nat's radiation treatments. Colsten sure loves his aunt Natty. We will be glad when radiation and chemo are done. But she sure is cute.