[matt & wendy}

Hello friends!

I received an email from my younger brother today. Matt and Wendy are dear friends of his and the family and are asking for a little help. As I read their story in Wendy's own words, on the blog mentioned below, my heart was touched. They truly have been through so much! If you can take 2 minutes of your time please read my brothers message below, go visit the site and leave a quick comment!

Thank you!

FROM MY BROTHER:

Hey everyone,

Some of you know my buddy Matt Ewell, some of you don't but he and his new fiance are asking for a little help. They are finalists in a competition to win free photography for their wedding which would help them a ton! I don't need to say how much they've been through over the years, and how much this would help them. They need everyone to go to: http://amelialyon.net/ and post a vote for them in the comments. If you don't know them that's okay, help me help them! Just takes a second...

Thanks!

{christmas sweaters}

Today at church as we walked in I noticed little Chase had on a darling sweater....it was the same one James had on. I am so glad I had my camera in the car and though James was asleep when we tried to take the picture, they are still too cute!


Then as we were walking out James woke up...here's the boys with their dads

{do you flip 'em}

So how many of you have actually read all the instructions on the back of the fish sticks box? Did you know it says to flip them over half way through the cooking time? Am I the only one who cooks the entire bag for one meal? Seriously what are they thinking? Is it not true that pretty much 90% of the fish stick cookers in the world are mothers with more than one mouth at the table anxiously awaiting these tasty quick fix sticks? And unless I'm totally lost, aren't people who sit around making charts and writing emails to big head hauncho guys telling them who they're main consumer is?

Then who in their right mind decided to put "turn sticks over halfway through baking" in the instruction? Who actually thought any of the consumers they targeted would have the time to sit and turn over every little tiny fish stick on that pan all the while having to explain to the hungry heads at the table that NO they are not done yet mommy has to flip them first?

I, for one, sure would like to meet the person who decided to inflict such a heavy burden upon the mothers of hungry children in this world!

However I decided tonight I would give this technique of theirs a try...so when the time was half over I opened the oven, got my hot dog tongs, and started to flip......then I really flipped! That was seriously an unnecessary annoyance! I was thinking the whole time (even though I knew my thoughts were not in my favor) "these better be the best tasting fish sticks ever!" And after another 10 minutes in the oven you know what we discovered....?

They taste the same!!

so how many of you actually bother to "flip 'em"?

{buddy get the grinch}

Buddy was out to get the Grinch! He growled and snarled and sure showed that Grinch! He was so scared he went right back into the chimney!

{saturday morning cartoons}

{devin}

I am so proud of my baby brother!! (top row left side)

{cousins}

James 2 months old Janice 9 months old

{baby blessing}

Ok so I'm really playing catch up with our family blog! Sorry....I'll get the hang of this eventually!

On Sept 13th of this year my husband gave James a baby blessing in sacrament meeting at church. It was a special experience for all of us especially because it was the first baby blessing Tyler had ever given. We are so blessed to have this new little guy in our family! He has brought so much joy into our home and each of our lives!

sorry it's not a better picture....i was hot and tired, wyatt had ran right in and changed out of church close before we could take a picture and James was so done with all those close on by the time we settled down that he was not letting us take any good pictures...so this is all you get! haha

{one warm coat}

THANK YOU!!!

I want to say thank you to all those who donated coats to the one warm coat drive I did. I don't know your names nor faces but I hope that my Aunt Jeanie will gladly pass on my gratitude! There was a total of 23 coats donated and the look on the guys face when I told him how many there were was priceless!

{october mammoth trip}

We just love this place! It's so beautiful and peaceful and it just seems like everything is right with the world when we are there! Our family as a whole is refreshed every time we visit!

(I love having a tripod!)

Wyatt jumping rocks at Rock Creek

James watching us get all packed up to come home from the last trip of the season
(he looks as bummed as the rest of us were)

{finally}

Well I finally picked a name and started a crafty blog! It's not all fancied up yet but for now it is up and running! I have lots of great things planned for this blog! I'm looking forward to sharing my creative side with family, friends, and the blogging world! Come check it out and follow along for more fun to come!!

My Creative Blog

{Halloween}

So I'm playing a little bit of catch up...sorry!

We had fun trick or treating with James and Wyatt this year! We all dressed up and headed out to see how full our candy baskets would get (well Wyatt's anyway) It was a fun night but a bitter sweet night for mom...James' very first time trick or treating (or at least going along for the ride) and Wyatt's last year! I can hardly believe he'll be 12 soon!

Mom: Witch Dad: (in half costume) Dracula Wyatt: Frankenstein James: Ghost
(they were inspired by a cute halloween decoration we put up in the house every year)

We went trick or treating another family from church.
It's always more fun when the kids have more kids to go with.

{blankies}

James' new favorite thing to play with (aside from his apple) is a blanket...it's so funny to watch. He'll even play with a burp rag if it's close enough to reach!

{if the shoes fits...}

....put it in your own room! I swear my boys can't seem to figure out what a closet is for! I am ALWAYS finding shoes and socks all over the house! But I had to chuckle a little when I came around the chair and found this as I was cleaning up the living room!

{reading material}

I am always pleased when I come into the room and find that my child's choice of reading material is the friend magazine!

{new babies}

James Tyler Allen Simpkins 4 days old

Tabitha Kaitlyn Burk 4 weeks old

What a special joy these two have brought to our families! When they are older we can tell them all the fun stories their mommies had being pregnant together! I am so excited to watch them grow and learn new things! I am eternally grateful to have such an amazing best friend to share this fun time with!! (my husband too of course but let's be realistic...you're bff is the one who will actually listen when you start talking about how grown up your child's poop is becoming!) I love you Jennifer! Thanks for getting fat with me!!! =) Now we can burn it all off chasing these two around!

{helping hands}

I woke up one morning when James was only a two weeks old and this is what I saw! I was so glad my camera was right next to me on the floor! Wyatt had just come in to check on both of us and James was just laying there awake so he decided to try and rock him back to sleep. He didn't want to disturb mommy! It was so precious! Little did he know that mommies don't ever "really fall asleep".

{ice cream}

I scream, you scream, we all scream for ICE CREAM!!!

I found this picture and I thought I had already posted but it looks like I hadn't. This is from our trip to Mammoth in May of this year....you can even see baby James still in the belly!!

{One Coat}

I saw the following post on a blog and thought it was such a great thing to do that I wanted to share it with my readers. I hope that you will pass this along to all your readers as well. The store Scrappin' Table where the donations are being taken is a bit of a drive from me but if there are people who want to donate I would be willing to collect donations then take them out to the store near the end of their collection time. Please let me know if you have anything you'd like to donate by November 15th.

The Scrappin' Table has once again offered to have a drop box for "One Warm Coat". You can help others by donating one or more of your winter coats that no longer fit. All coats and jackets that are donated will be given to the Los Angeles Mission for a person in need. Men, women & children would greatly appreciate your gift of a warm coat.

tammy i will be collecting coats from October 21- November 21, 2009.

You can either e-mail Tammy at tammyi@mac.com or contact One Warm Coat for more information.

{testing}

Ok I guess I should have explained what was going on before I posted the funny poopy story. Everyone has been emailing me wanting to know what's wrong with James! Thank you all for your concerns! The good news is all tests came back normal. So here's the whole story....

About a two weeks ago I had enough of James spitting up on everything all day long. It didn't matter whether he ate 2 ounces or 6 ounces....whether he had just eaten or it had been two hours. The only two things I knew for sure where 1. that it was inevitable that he would throw up at least 1/3 of everything he ate and 2. that he would throw up within 30 seconds of being laid on his back.....I'm sure most of you moms out there are thinking the same thing...Acid Reflux! So after going rounds with the doctor about whether or not he was eating to much and having to explain that the babies in my family seem to have an insanely high metabolism I finally got him to say he'd like to give James medicine for acid reflux! Hallelujah right?!?!!! Well that's what I thought too until one day enough vomit to fill a whole dinner glass shot out of his mouth and clear across the trailer (out camping)! Ugh here we go again...

The medicine we were giving him takes a few days to kick in. The day before we went camping he seemed to be spitting up half of what he had been and I was more than grateful! Then the next day up in mammoth he was spitting up like before again, the day after that was a bit worse and by that night he was spitting up 5 handfuls all through a 6 ounce bottle then screaming cause he was still hungry. Tyler gave him a blessing and he went to bed sleeping through the night for the first time! The doctor had told us to keep on eye out for these exact symptoms because there was a possibility he had a different problem, one which would require a small surgery. So needless to say after he projectile vomited the next morning I called Kaiser right away said I was on my way back from Mammoth and I needed a late after noon appointment.

We made it back in town with just enough time to go straight to the doctor, truck full of bags and towing a boat too! We talked to the doctor who then sent us directly to the fontana hospital for labs and xrays. Then the next morning I had to take him back for one more test where they fed him the "white chalk" and tracked in going through his tummy and intestines....(the poopy story)

So you want to know the funny yet almost frustrating thing about all of this? He hasn't had any severe spitting up since the day after all his testing was done. Bizarre! Anyway I got a call from the doctor just this morning letting me know that all of his tests came back normal but the xrays taken with the dye did show a rather bad case of acid reflux...

So was it elevation? car sickness? some kind of allergy? Well considering we had taken James there a month before and he was fine I'm going to say my prayers thank my heavenly father for a worthy priesthood holder for a husband and find comfort in the miracles that can come from a priesthood blessing!

{lol}

At only one week old James started laughing out loud {lol} in his sleep. I mean truly giggling! And for the last two weeks he's begun to try a half baked laugh with a cute grin. It was kind of a sigh with a hiccup at the end. Then after that horrible day of trying to "pass the poop", James being happy as can be in such a relieved mood, he did it! Mommy sat there next to him making a popping noise and making her fingers pop open like the popcorn popping in the tree song then whooshing the popped open fingers down to his chest purely for James' entertainment and there it was...a big loud laugh, just like the ones in his sleep! Oh how we wished there was a video camera in the house! I'm not sure if it was the fact that he finally laughed with his eyes open or the look on his face as realized he was laughing {seriously there was a 5 second moment when the look on his face was that "i did it" look kids get when they are proud of themselves} but mom, dad and brother laughed just as hard!

{that's just poopy!}

Monday and Tuesday James had to have some testing done at the doctors. The Tuesday test was horrible....no one told me it would be all day long!! They had to take pictures every 15 minutes of flouro dye going all the way through James' system. I was told to bring James in hungry...apparently so he would actually drink the dye. To the doctors surprise there wasn't one complaint from James about the white chalk filled 2 ounce bottle they gave him. However it was taking him a while to get down the half of it they wanted him to start with so I told the nurse to make the hole bigger in the nipple...James is already moved on the medium flow nipples. Well that did the trick! About 60 seconds later the doctor tells me to stop when he's drank half and I laughed as I tried to tell him to late it's all gone!

Well they took a few pictures and waited 15 min then took a few more. The whole while James was screeming. The nurse made a comment about him being madder than most babies about the xray and again I about fell over laughing when I told her "mam HE'S STARVING!!!" she seemed to think that a 2 ounces bottle should have been enough for him so I cleared up a few misconceptions that all babies "follow the rules" and informed her that this baby drinks 6 - 8 ounces bottles. Since he wasn't allowed to have his formula yet she gave him another 2 ounces of that white chalk stuff. Quick as a blink down the hatch it went.

Now for the sad, painful yet photographically funny part of this story.....

Finally I fed him a real bottle and 5 hours later we were headed home. She said the white stuff would pass but to make sure he's drinking his regular bottles so that it doesn't dehydrate him. Noon the next day came and it hadn't passed much more than a few drops. James was plugged up with white chalk. Here's the funny part:

"i think i can i think i can..."

This was only 1/2 as red as his face really got!!

Ahhh much better!!a little water always remedied a plug up baby and after about 4 ounces, a few hours and some very painful effort, the white chalk was history!

{apples to apples}

James: "this apple looks tasty...the worm too!"

Mom: "Silly James that apple doesn't taste yummy"

James: "hmm...maybe if i try to eat this one."

James: "Yuck I don't think I like apples"

Mom: "I told you..."

James: "Moooomm...who gives a baby an apple they can't eat?"

Grandpa does!!
:-P

{story time}

One of my most favorite books as a kid was "Where the wild things are". Needless to say I was more than touched when I walked into the living room after finishing the dishes last night and found this....

"the wild things roared...and gnashed their terrible teeth..."

{first fish}

I never did get around to posting about our mammoth trip in May...it was definitely interesting sleeping in a tent at 8 1/2 months pregnant but it was all worth it!! We just love going up there no matter what the scenario!

On this trip the biggest event was Wyatt catching, cleaning, gutting, cooking and eating his first fish! Buddy tried but the darn fishies just wouldn't let him grab them!

{visitors center}

This was before I started blogging. Tyler and Wyatt in the visitors center at the salt lake city temple. It was such a quiet moment that I will treasure forever! I love seeing the loving father the man I married has turned out to be!!

{Feeling Crafty}

Ok so I am still trying to find the right name for a crafty blog. I have decided I just want something fun and random like "Purple Peas" or "Fancy Pants" (which I think is already a scrapbook company) so I've posted a poll on the right side of my blog. There are 4 ideas I've already thought of and room for an "other" spot. I'd really like you opinions! Please vote for the name you like or if you vote "other" please comment on this post as to what you came up with! Who knows maybe if I choose a name you come up with there might be a fun little treat in your mailbox by the end of the week! =)


Oh and for an explanation on the names I've already come up with well Mandarin Slice I just love orange but didn't want to use the word orange. Wild raspberries is fun but I worry about the colors theme being pink and chocolate (not a fan of pink). Midnight Monkey I thought was very appropriate.....the only time I really get to myself for crafty things is in the middle of the night when all the monkies have gone to bed! As for Purple Peas, well that just came to me as I was typing the blog!

So let me know what you all think....my things to post on a crafty blog file is getting full!! I must choose soon!! I want to have it set up before October starts!! Poll is on the right---->

{trying to win}

My friend Letti is doing her very first giveaway here! I hope to win these beautiful peonies! And you should check out all her blogs...they really are so fun!

Mom I'm Hungry

Just A Blog

Mom I'm Bored

{2 months}

I can't believe James is two months old already! This time has gone by all too quickly! I don't have a picture at the moment because it's a pain in the rear to get pictures uploaded with my ancient computer and I just don't feel like unplugging the internet plugging in the camera transferring a picture to the computer then unplugging the camera and replugging in the internet then finally trying to upload the picture....(we only have enough USB ports to do one thing at a time) So maybe tomorrow morning when I'm a bit more motivated I'll post a two month old picture of James. For now here are some updates on his ever changing ways:

• He is drinking 6-8 oz bottles already and staying thin as a rail....i think this one will be eating cereal very early!
• He is holding his head up on his own now without being too wobbly. He started pulling his head up at about 1 week old but couldn't control it from rolling side to side! Man I wished I had a video camera then...it was very funny to see!
• He is smiling all the time now. He first smiled at about a week old and yes it was voluntary but now he smiles at everything all day long!
  
• He is enjoying bath time way more (as long as the water is hot!) and daddy looks forward the their special bath binding time every night!
• He is fully aware that there is a really cool octopus hanging from his play mat and stares intently at it trying to figure out how to make his arm stop wiggling long enough to grab the octopus' tentacles!
  
• He is sleeping about 5 hours at a time during the night...now to add two more then mommy will be one happy lady!
• He already has a favorite color....green! He just stares at everything when he's on the changing table in his room (it's green) and he LOVES trees!!! He can stare at a tree forever!
• He's discovered exactly when mommy puts down the spit rag and has found humor it his perfect timing to decorate mommies shirts with baby puke! I swear he does it on purpose...he smiles everytime! hehe
• He is growing out of his 3 month closes and in most brands will be wear 6 months in the next week.
• He stretches for 10 minutes after every nap.
• He has discovered his legs!!! Now this is one of my favorite and at the same time least favorite milestones...favorite because I just love that he does jumping jacks on my lap if I hold him up.....least favorite because it drives me CRAZY that he has discovered how to put his foot down and push himself up when I'd trying to change his diaper!!
  
• He is trying to communicate...he makes all the cooing & gurgling noises all day long now! I just love it!
• He loves to be rocked to sleep which while for now i am loving it, I know I need to break the habit soon or bedtime will always be a struggle!!
• He is still making all his humorous facial expressions along with a few new ones my favorite being his new "pouty face" and yes he pouts already! It's is quite pitiful yet hilarious at the same time!
• And lastly but my most cherished....he has a favorite song! What can I say he takes after his momma! I sang I am a Child of God to Wyatt from the day he was born on and I have done the same with James but one night when we were camping he was fussy and I had sung I am A Child of God about 5 times in a row so I started singing other songs. A few primary songs, then christmas, then the national anthem and then there is was....the biggest smile I had ever seen him make. "Oh beautiful for spacious skies for amber waves of grain..." yes his favorite song is America the Beautiful!! I have tested the theory and evertime I sing that to him (so long as he isn't starving) he smiles the biggest eye squinting smiles through the whole thing. So not only does he take after his momma's love of music but he seems to also have mommy's overwhelming sense of patriotism! Mommy's so proud!

Now stay tuned I'll get a picture up tomorrow!

but before I go can I just shed a tear or two for the time gone by so quickly! A two month old and an almost 12 year old...I seem to be shedding those tears often lately!
:'-/

Give away!!

This blog is fantastic! She is an amazingly creative woman! She is having a giveaway for this adorable little hat....I don't have any little girls in my house but I know a few that I would LOVE to give the hat to. Check out her blog post here if you want to see what I am trying to win!

{our little outdoorsman}

James is quite the comedian already....well he is funny to us with his infinite facial expression and big smile. Today he has done the cutest thing....you see for the last 3 weeks or so we've noticed that he LOVES trees! If we go out side he just stares at them and even when he's gassy and I have to hold him all day he stares out the window at the trees behind the computer desk! (not much else mommy can do one handed...sewing or scrapbooking isn't exactly possible on those days) Anyway we've also recently discovered why he's so quiet when we put him on the changing table....he loves to stare at the walls in that room...they're green go figure huh? Well so I was just changing him a few minutes ago and had the curtain open since it only has until about 2pm before the sun blares right in I thought I'd get some natural light for a little bit. When I picked him up he seemed interested in the window so I took him over to look out. I told him that he was "just gonna love going camping next weekend. It's so much prettier and there are LOTS of really green trees." Then we wandered around the room looking at things, with it still being partially my hobby room there was lots of color to look at like the rainbow of ribbons I have hanging or all the colorful paper. Then I said "so are you gonna be a crafty person like your momma?" and he just kept staring...what did I expect he's only 5 weeks old right? Well then I asked "are you gonna be a fisherman like your daddy?" and what did I get another stare? HA!! how about a big fat grin!! Coincidence right? I mean again he's only 5 weeks old....so to test the theory that he's to young to respond comprehensively I said "are you gonna sew things like mommy?" and I kid you not he made a yucky face. Again, "are you gonna be a fisherman like daddy?" and again a huge grin. So for a third time I tried mixing it up, "are you gonna hunt like daddy?" and all I got was a stare....now last try "are you gonna be a fisherman like daddy?" and again another HUGE grin.

Now most of you may say it's a humorous coincidence and that may be true but seriously??? A Fisherman? Aren't we supposed to have higher hopes for our kids when they're this age like doctors and lawyers and such? Isn't it when they are at least 2 or 3 when we become more realistic about the paths our children may actually take?? A fisherman??

Maybe he thinks it will be his number one hobby?!!

{anniversary humor}

They say "romance" changes drastically when you have children....well I was determined not to let the fact that there is a new5 week old baby in our house keep Tyler and I from enjoying our 2nd anniversary. At our wedding we had pie instead of cake and a yummy Marie Calender's strawberry pie sat on top with a "pie" topper. We decided that night that since we couldn't freeze our top layer we would get a M.C. strawberry pie every year on our anniversary and share it together in the comfort of our own home. I also promised to wear my dress every year. Well needless to say the dress didn't exactly fit only 5 week after child birth but I made it work and Tyler came home from his meeting to find his beaming bride and a candle lit strawberry pie picnic on the living room floor....of course he walks in says "awe baby i love it" then comes around the corner with a box of strawberry pie he tried to surprise me with!!! We were both laughing SO hard!! Then we sat there with one fork feeding each other yummy pie again a burst of laughter filled the house when we realized how very "romantic" the melody "rock a bye baby" could be!! And to top it all off Buddy was not havin' any of this...how dare mom and dad try to be romantic and eat pie without sharing!!

Here's to many more "romantic" anniversary pies!!!

{Wedding Memories}

In lu of our anniversary yesterday I thought I'd share some of our favorite "fun" pictures from our wedding (plus one pretty one). It's hard to believe it's already been two years! Then again some days I find myself thinking..."it's only been two years?!" Not so much in a bad way either, it just feels like you've been together for a lifetime when you finally find the right family!

{The new Mr. & Mrs. Tyler Simpkins}

{We knew he Wyatt was happy...even if he didn't want to smile}

{A little newlywed humor}

{Licking the strawberry sauce off the bottom of our "pie topper"}

{The world melts away while we enjoy our happiness}

{Our first dance.....Let's Stay Together - Al Green}
{And Wyatt.....a little to pooped to party!}