Leah & Clayton

'I'm a Survivor'

I have decided the song from Destiny's Child - 'I'm a Survivor" is my theme song for Medical school. When our families ask us how we are doing, Paul and I look at each other and chuckle and say, "We are surviving!" Medical school is crazy! I have no idea how Paul does it all- school,family, etc. I am so proud of him; last semester he honored in THREE classes! GO PAUL!! Leah is well, lets just say a 3 year old! Leah is sweet. She is always wanting to help, whither its helping me, Paul or Clay. Then the next minute she is stomping her feet and throwing a tantrum! I have to keep telling myself, Patience! Leah is now in Primary- CRAZY! I feel so old that I have a child in Primary. but then I feel so young because I remember being in Sunbeams. Clayton is a sweet, but ALL boy! If he gets in trouble he starts crying or when you tell him 'No' he looks at you in a very sad face. His favorites toys are remotes, tractors, balloons and any type of a ball(football, basketball and soccer). The past two days have been so nice. The past month and half its so been so depressing, fog and rain/cloudy. But, the past two days have been heaven. We have been going to the park(there is an awesome playground at an elementary school across the street) and both times there has been boys playing either football or basketball and he goes straight to the boys to "play". As for myself, I am doing pretty good actually, now that it is sunny. A group of some of my friends have been going to the gym every morning and it has been a blessing! There are 5 of us and one of my friends, Mckenna is a trainer and she comes with us 3x's a week to help us. I am so grateful for all the friendships that I have made here in Yakima. I really I have no idea what I would do without all of my friends, it truly has made med school A LOT easier. We all know how hard med school is and that our husbands are gone a lot so we just stick together!

'I often go walking'

Yesterday marked five years of my mom passing away. Five YEARS!! These past five years have gone by so fast, but yet so s.l.o.w. My family has gone through so much since then. My mom and I were so close, we did everything together. From going shopping(yes, I went grocery shopping with my mom in high school) to going to the mid-night premier of Twilight! I remember going dress shopping for Prom my senior year of high school and as I was trying on dresses and showing my mom and seeing her get excited about certain dresses, I remember trying to hold back tears in front of her because I knew she wouldn't be there for that day when I go wedding dress shopping. I sometimes get jealous of other girls my age who still have their mother alive and they do fun mother/daughter things. My mom wasn't there when I brought Paul home to met my family, she wasn't there when I got married in the temple, when I had my kids, when Paul graduated from BYU,etc. At all of these monumental times in my life, I ALWAYS have felt her in spirit. How grateful I am that the veil is so thin, so I can feel her at times when I need her. So to all of you girls out there who still have your mom, call her and tell her how much you love her. I would give anything to talk to my mom and tell her that. Also, tell her that motherhood is so hard and ask how she raised 6 kids and still battled colon cancer for 12 and half years. With Paul being in Med school, I really need my mom. I need my mom to tell me,"Jenn, keep going, you can do this!" I love you mom!

Visiting cousins in Tacoma and going to the zoo

"If Life Were Easy, It Wouldn't Be Hard" - Sheri Dew

I love this quote by Sheri Dew, "If life were easy,it wouldn't be hard." So simple. But yet, so complex in a way. If life was easy, there would be no reason or purpose for the Savior to have crucified on the cross. I guess, I'm saying that I am glad that life is hard, so I can learn from my mistakes and live with my Savior and Heavenly Father again! But hey, I am human and most days are hard and that I wish everything would be handed to me on a silver platter:) A few weeks ago, I was doing the dishes and it was a hard day for me. The thought came to me, "Why does motherhood have to be so hard? If it were easy there would be more children on the earth and more woman wanting to have kids." Right then and there I was overwhelmed by the spirit and had tears streaming down my face. The Holy Ghost had testified to me, that motherhood is hard so that I can lean and rely on my Heavenly Father, whom too is a parent and understands the hardships of a parent. I am so bless to have had this experience to help me every minute of every hour each day. Motherhood is not easy! I love Leah and Clay so much, I can not imagine my life without them. Paul is amazing! He is so great at juggling med school, studying and spending time with us. The kids get so excited when Paul gets home, especially Clay. Clay is such a daddy's boy. Once Paul is home, Clay doesn't want anything to do with me. I love that Clay looks up to Paul, every little boy should have their hero be their dad. Thank you Paul for being a wonderful father to our children! Leah has been stinker lately. She keeps me on my toes. Today at Wal Mart we were in the check out line, she grabs a Twix candy bar and runs away from me, which meant I had to leave Clay in the cart all by himself. I felt so embarrassed. I bet people were thinking, "That mom needs to be more strict with that child." I try so hard everyday to teach Leah to be obedient and listen to me. Some days are good and some days not so good. I sometimes feel like other moms are judging me and that if I did this or that Leah wouldn't be disobedient. I have to remind myself, that I am doing the best I can and trying to teach her to be obedient. 2 year olds are hard! I also, I have to tell myself she is 2 and to give myself a break. Did I say motherhood is hard?! Haha!

I feel my Savior's Love

Well I survived the actual first week of med school and I am on my 2nd week. I know Heavenly Father blessed me with a great week first week, so I could go onto this week, ha! The past couple of days, Clayton has been whinny and not sleeping at all. On Tuesday night Clay went to bed around 8pm and by 10:30 he was crying and not happy. Finally by 2am on Wednesday morning Clay went back to sleep. Wednesday morning I knew Clay was suffering from an ear infection, so I TRIED calling every doctor in Yakima! Every doctor office told me the same thing," Sorry, but you need to fill our a new patient forms and wait for a 24 hour process and for the doctor to okay the papers." WHAT?! The place I called I was crying, no one would help my son or me and he was in so much pain. I felt so discouraged and frustrated. FINALLY after what seemed forever, I was able to get Clay a doctor appointment in Mattaw, which is an hour away. As I was about to head out the door so we could make the appointment, my neighbor, Lauren knocked on my door saying she heard Clay had a rough night and asked if she could watch Leah for me. I told her we were leaving to the doctor, she said,"Let me take Leah." I told Lauren that its a pretty far drive and I wouldn't be back for few hours, but she insisted. Lauren saved me! Another tender mercy happened today. My friend Jayli(whose husband is a first year med student) asked if she could bring me dinner tonight. She has 4 very young kids and here she is serving me. The past couple of days I have felt our Saviors love for me as well as feeling humble. The Lord is aware of our needs and when we need a hand. This experience has strengthen my testimony and how I can feel my Savior's love for me. He does care about all of us and our needs. He knows when we need an extra hand. Thank you Lauren and Jayli for being Christ-like and serving me. Both of you have taught how to serve and be a true friend. Thank you!

Leah's first time feeding ducks

When we first got to Yakima, we drove past by this beautiful "park" and Paul and I both made the comment on how pretty this "park" is and how I need to come and bring the kids to play and feed the ducks. Well, we found out that the "park" is a cemetery, but you can go feed the ducks. Today Paul took the car, which meant I was car less. I thought it would be fun to run and push the kids in the double jogging stroller and we could feed the ducks. I told Leah we had to do some chores before we left and that she had to pick up her toys, etc. away. She did pretty good at listening:) The kids and I had such a fun time, I think I may have had more fun then Leah! I seriously could of stayed all day to feed the ducks. Here are some pictures of our fun morning:

'I wanna see you be brave'

First off, it's been LONG time since I have blogged(oops!) Life has definitely changed for us. Clayton was on August 14th 2013, two days later I got out of hospital and went to Paul's BYU graduation. We then moved to Othello, so we could save some money a before med school. Paul was the Athletic Trainer(Sports Medicine) for the high school. We applied to schools and all the process that goes with applying to med school. Paul got into his top choice, Go Paul! On July 21st we moved to Yakima, Washington to start our long, but exciting adventure of med school. We already love it here, our ward is so welcoming. The med students and their spouses have been AWESOME! By everyone being so welcoming has really made this transition a lot smoother, at least for me. Paul is the outgoing person in our relationship, I'm the quiet one who doesn't say much when we get in big groups, but if I'm in a small group I am more outgoing. I guess there can't be two outgoing personalities in a relationship, right? Paul has had orientation all week, which has been good and bad I guess you can say. Good part is he has been getting home around 3 or 4 each day. The bad part- I have been anticipating of being a med school widow and I just want it to either happen or not happen. Next week everything will sink in, Paul getting up early for school and being in class from 8-5 and then being gone all night to study and me putting the kids to bed all by myself. Boo! This week I have been so moody and emotional.I have had a couple wive's telling me this happened to them last year when their husbands started school. Apart of me thinks I can't do this and I won't be able to handle it, but the other part of me is saying, "I can do this!" I have been listening to General Conference talks each morning as I am making breakfast and with each talk I am hoping I will hear some amazing quote on how to do hard things, but with each talk I hear the same, but powerful lesson: Have faith and the Savior is ALWAYS near whenever we need him and how important the gospel is in our lives. I know that I am going to have some really bad days, and I may say,"This really sucks" but, I do KNOW the Savior will be right beside me cheering me on and giving me the strength I need to be a great mom and wife. How blessed I am to know the Savior loves me and that the gospel of Jesus Christ is true! How lost I would be without the true and everlasting gospel. So here goes to a new school year,new trials, new adventure, new friends and new memories!

Happy Father's Day!

Happy Father's Day! What a wonderful and special day it is to celebrate the wonderful men in our lives. I feel so blessed to have been born into a family where my father was around and apart of my life. My dad is not perfect, but he was always there for me, whether cheering me on at races, dance performance, or anything that I had going on in my life. I'm grateful that my father taught me the importance of hard work, my dad knew had to work. Being a born one a ranch and raised as a Cowboy, he for sure kneiw what hard work was.He also taught me a wonderful principle of helping those in need. I'm grateful that my dad taught me how important it is to have a relationship with our Heavenly Father and to gain a testimony of the Gospel. I am so bless to have a father who loves me! Another special man in my life is my amazing husband, Paul. I know I say this a lot, but how did I get so lukcy? Paul is the best dad! Every morning, Leah and I drop off Paul at school and EVERY single time Paul gets out of the car, Leah starts whinning/crying. That little girl LOVES her daddy. I love looking at Leah's face when we get Paul from school and she sees him walking towards the car, she has a smile from ear to ear. Or when he walks in the door, she smiles and starts dancing, it is so sweet. Those two are two peas in a pod, they will laugh and play for hours. I'm so happy that Paul is a hands on dad and doesn't sit around and let me do all the work. He is always helping me with Leah, wether it's taking her outside to play while I finish up dinner or help me make dinner(even though he was at school for 10+ hours). He will do the dishes without me asking him, clean the bathroom. I could go on and on about this amazing man:) Paul works so hard at everything he does. He recently took an Organic Chemistry test the other day and studied for 20+ hours for it and got a 92% on the written part and overall he got an 84% on the test. I mean Organic Chemistry, that is hard stuff. In his class the avagerage was a 66%, so he did WAY above avagerage. Sorry, for bragging, I know Paul would want me to stop. I am just so proud of my husband:) Paul, is kind to me and is ALAWYS there for me. For instance, I was having a hard day with Leah and Paul has been gone a lot lately because he takes the MCAT this coming Thursday so he is studying his brains out. Anyways, I was having a bad day and I kept texting him about how horrible my day is going and how our almost 18 month old wouldn't listen to me. Even though he was spending his day off studying away for our future, he told me he was so sorry. He never told me to stop ad suck it up, he just supported me and listen. I know he could of complained about how horrible reading about equations for Phyiscs, but not once did he copmplain. I wish I could be more like him! I'm also grateful that a married a man who loves our Savior and has a testiomony of the Gospel. I can always ask him a question about something I read in the sciptures and he can either give me an answer or we will look it up together. Paul, is just wonderful! I am so happy that is the father to our precious little girl and soon to be son. I love you Paul! Happy Father's Day! I just want to Thank my father in law for being a great example to his son. Raun, is always helping someone. He is always serving someone else, besides himself. He too knows what hard work means. Raun never sits down, he is always doing something. He taught his sons not to be idle and work. How grateful I am that he taught his sons the principle of working hard. He also taught them the Gospel and to honor their priesthood. Thank you Raun, for teaching your sons so many wonderful and valuable life lessons.

Happy Mother's Day

Happy Mother's Day! There a few days of the year that are really hard me and Mother's Day is one of them. I miss my mom so much. I would give anything to call her and wish her Happy Mothers Day, but I can't. Sad thing is, is I don't even remember her last Mother's Day, did I even get her a present or even a card? Did I make sure she knew how much I love and appreciate all she did for me? I sure hope I treated her the way she deserved. I LOVE my mom so much,s the is the BEST mom in the WORLD. One of my favorite memory that I have with my mom is when my sister was newly pregnant and my mom and sister wanted to make sure that she was really pregnant, so we went to Walgreen's to pick up a pregnant test. Well, my mom had a great idea that I should I buy them and tell the cashier that my parents are going to kill me when they find out that I'm pregnant and that my mom was my aunt and that my "aunt" was going to let me live with her! Haha!! I said, "No way"! Now, I wish I had, how funny would that of been? My mom was so much fun! My mom was my best friend, we did EVERYTHING together. We were so close that my niece and nephew thought we were friends instead of mother/daughter. My mom ALWAYS put her children first. I don't ever remember my mom complain about being a mom or how she never got to do something for herself. She lived for being a mom and a grandma. To show how much loved us kids, was the fact she suffered 12+ years of Colon Cancer. She wanted to me grow up and graduate high school, that was her goal; to see my graduate. She went through the horrible experience of chemo therapy just so she could be with her family longer. I'm not sure that I could handle going through chemo and being sick all the time because of the chemo just to be with my family. Don't get me wrong I adore my family, but there is nothing worse than being sick and not having the energy to do anything. But, yet she still made the time to raise her family, send her son's off on their missions, hoping and praying to be still alive when they came home, help plan weddings, be there when her grandchildren were born, go to college graduations, serving the Lord, bringing dinners to those who needed it, the list goes on. She taught me through example that being a mother is the GREATEST calling a woman can in her life. Yeah, it will be hard and challenging, but the joy that children and just being a mom brings is what life is all about. I have been a mom for only 16 months, but so far I know that she RIGHT! Being a mom is not east by any means, it is long, hard, tiring, some days I want to quit, but there are tender mercies that the Lord gives me throughout the day that gives me a boost to keep going and not to give up. To all of you girls out there who still have your mom alive, you are so lucky. I would give anything to go grocery shopping, have my mom hold my little girl, give me hug, call my mom and just cry and tell her how hard motherhood is, have a conversation, go see a movie, eat chocolate with her, be there when my children are born. Again, I could go on . So, to you women out there with your mom still alive, call her and tell her how much you love and appreciate her, because there will be a day when you won't be able to. Enjoy the fact you can call your mom and talk and hear her voice, have her hold your children, she was there on your wedding day and helped you pick out your wedding dress. I don't mean to be a "Debbie- downer", but this is what I wish for on Mother's Day. I'm very lucky and bless to have a WONDERFUL AND SUPPORTIVE husband. I LOVE Paul so much. He is always there for me, even when he is super busy with school. He always knows what to say to me when I'm down and need a pick me up. He makes me laugh and love being around him. I'm grateful he leads our family towards the straight and narrow path. I love the way Leah and him play together, she always has a smile on her face when her daddy comes home. She is a daddy's girl and I love that! Paul treated me with getting a pedicure and new nice Fossil wallet. My wallet has been broken for over a year now, so it was a much needed gift. Plus, he did a great job at picking out the wallet, he knows me well:) He also got me roses, man how did I get so lucky? I love you babe! Happy Mother's Day to all the women out there, whether you are a mom or not, you still have an important roll to the lives of children.

BYU Game Pictures

BYU Game

I have lived in Utah for 2 and half years and I have never been to a BYU football game. Paul is graduating next August, so this would be my only and last chance of going. This was going to be the last home game and it happened to be the coldest game of all season. My sister in law, Nicole has season tickets for the student section and didn't want to go and offered us the tickets. The only problem was, we didn't want to take Leah in the freezing cold and it was a late game. We asked Nicole if she would watch Leah for us and she said,"okay!" Yay!! Not only did we get to go to the game, but we got a DATE NIGHT! Another awesome bonus was, it was all FREE! Thank you so much Nicole for giving us the tickets and for watching Leah! I guess BYU grounds- keeping didn't have enough time or enough people to help,but they didn't shovel off the snow of the bleacher part of the stadium. So, when we got there, we(meaning Paul) had to shovel the snow off with our shoes. Yeah, that was fun. Paul is a gentleman, there were two girls sitting by us, who didn't have snow shoes and were trying to shovel off the snow, so he offered to shovel some of the snow off for them. He is so thoughtful!

Pumpkin Patch...

Pumpkin Patch Cont..

Pumpkin Patch

Halloween..

Halloween Cont.