May 20, 2004

Today is our 10 year anniversary.  Our wedding day was so lovely.  It had rained the entire week before our wedding and I was so afraid our wedding day would be rainy.  It was a little overcast, but perfect otherwise.  

All of our family and friends made it to our wedding.  It was so nice to share our day with so many wonderful people.  I love to look back at our wedding pictures and look at how much things have changed.  

Kyle and I love each other more today than we did 10 years ago.  We have been through so much together.  I look back at our pictures and think, "we didn't know or understand anything."  We were so young and in love.  

I still think we are young and in love, but much wiser now.  I can't even begin to fathom what the next 10 years have in store for us.

The new Mr. and Mrs. Maybury

Lee, Kyle and Chris

(they look so young!)

Me and Blair

I was looking at this group picture and realized how much our family has changed.  Yes, some people have passed away, but our family has really grown in the last 10 years.  

We are missing six spouses.  Six of our cousins/friends have gotten married.  Two share our anniversary of May 20th.  Allen and Gretchen were married in 2005 and Derek and Cyndi 2011. 

We have added 24 children plus Grant and Celeste so a total of 26!

Six people have passed away Bernell, Grandma Toombs, Grant Maybury, Grandpa Art, Albert Maybury, and Uncle Jim.  

We are celebrating our anniversary by going on a week cruise to Eastern Mexico. We leave in 10 days! I am so excited to spend some quality time with Kyle.  I am a little nervous to be gone from my kids for more than a week.  I am sure we will have a great time though!

Sleeping Grant

I love sleeping babies.  Here is some proof!

The Mission Field

As members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints we have often heard people talk about "the mission field" and see picture similar to the ones posted above.  

First, some back ground information...

Today at church we had a missionary farewell for Sister Sadie Peterson, who is going to be serving in the Oslo, Norway mission.  Kyle served in Oslo and since the mission isn't very common, like Brazil, she was really excited to talk to Kyle.  She mostly wanted advice on climate and what to expect for weather.  

Sister Peterson is full of the love of the gospel and will make a wonderful missionary.  Hearing her talk about going out into the mission field reminded me of a childhood memory.

As a child I remember having "fancy" pictures on our sacrament meeting programs.  There were a couple of different missionary ones, but one I remember specifically had a picture of two missionaries standing in a wheat field.  People would often talk about heading into the missionary field, serving in the mission field, finding investigators in the mission field, and so on.  

I remember thinking it was great to have all these wonderful experiences in the mission field, but I couldn't help wondering how they found all these people in a wheat field.  I also found it somewhat of a tragedy to have all these handsome young men and women in nice dresses and suits basically farming!  I also could never imagine going on a mission myself and having to wear a dress just to work in a stinking wheat field.

Sister Peterson made a comment today about she has always known she wanted to serve a mission.  She told a story of how even when she was a little girl she would one day serve a mission.  I on the other hand had no intention what so ever of trying to find people in a wheat field, or any other type of field for that matter.

Neighborhood Nativity

We were invited to a family neighborhood nativity this year.  The kids between ages 2 and 8 got all dressed up in the traditional outfits and acted out the nativity.

I really appreciated this opportunity to help Grant grasp the true meaning of Christmas.  This year I got a little book about the nativity to read during bedtime.  I had a few Christ centered books, but not very many.  The book I got was basically Luke 2, but with pictures and simpler text.  Grant picks it almost every night.  If you ask him who was Jesus's mother he will tell you Mary a girl from Galilee.  I think it is pretty cute!  I was glad we had read the book a few times before we went to the neighborhood nativity.

Grant insisted he be a shepherd. I was glad he didn't want to be Joseph because he was already taken.  I think Grant makes a pretty cute shepherd!  I took a ton of pictures of the whole group, but with that many kids and all the parents taking pictures from different angles I didn't get the best shot. 

I remember acting out the nativity when I was younger.  My cousins and siblings took turns being different characters.  Eventually we got a little old and we stopped doing it.  

Memorial Day

I love holidays and family traditions!  On Memorial Day we always meet all of Kyle's extended family at the cemetery.  We usually stay and visit for a while before we head to other grave sites.  It is a nice opportunity to see our loved ones and remember the ones who have passed on before us.  

It is never a family get together without someone doing something silly.  This cemetery in Ogden is on the bench of the mountains.  It is really steep!  A few years ago one of the aunts lost her balance and rolled down the entire hill.  She couldn't catch herself until she had rolled all the way to the bottom.  This year was less climatic.  One of the cousins came to the cemetery with really long hair.  We were all amazed at how long her hair had grown since we last saw her.  She went on to show us these fake hair extensions she had put in her hair.  Kyle's Aunt Joni thought they were so cool!  She asked if she could try one.  We would all agree that you need to buy more than one hair extension.  Otherwise it looks a little silly.  

Thanks Aunt Joni for the laugh this year!

The Hardest Thing...

What is the hardest thing you have ever done?

This is a really hard question for me to answer.   I have been through some tough times.  In fact I am struggling with a hard thing right now.  I will have to go into the details on a different post because it is just going to take too long.

I have to say one of the hardest things I ever went through was after the birth of Grant.  I am not saying the labor and pushing for more than 2 hours was hard because it was awful!  Grant started going into distress and so her was delivered via c-section at 1:40 AM.  When Grant was born he wasn't breathing.  He had to be rushed to the NICU and the doctors had to make sure he was going to make it.

I was forced to lay in my hospital bed for nearly 7 hours before I was allowed to go see my baby.  I was told shortly into the wait that Grant was doing ok.  So luckily I wasn't stressing out about whether the first time I saw Grant he would be dead.

A kind nurse from the NICU sent up this picture of Grant so I could at least see my baby.  I stared at the picture for a long time.  I never remember a picture meaning so much to me.

At about 9:15 AM a nurse finally came in to tell me I could get ready to go see my baby.  I remember being so excited.  I never thought I would get to see my sweet baby boy.  I know it was only a few hours of heart ache and turmoil, but it was so hard.  I have never seen a clock move so slow in my entire life.

I shed a lot of tears when I got to hold my baby for the first time.  I hate this picture of me because I look like I just got hit by a bus.  However, considering that I had endured 21 hours of labor, 2 hours of pushing, and more than 7 hours of waiting to see my baby I think anyone would look like they had been hit by a bus!

10 Random Things

I just read a random post on a friend's blog. I love Jill because she always does the most random and fun things.  I thought I would copy her idea of posting 20 random things.  (Because it is a random list they are in no particular order.)

1.  I love going to the dentist.  I love the suction device and the hygienists always think I am funny because I get a little possessive over it.  I also love the feeling of my teeth being sparkly smooth and clean!

2.  I have always loved the color pink.  I had friends growing up that didn't like pink and so I pretended that I didn't like it either.  But, I really do!  (They also hated hearts and I pretended I thought they were lame too, but I like hearts and pink)

3.  I hate camping!  I mostly hate the smell of camp fire.  I hate smelling like smoke.  When I was in Young Women's my mom would have to pack all my stuff for me.  I would always not mention anything about camp hoping my mom would forget about it.

4.  I love to sing along to the radio! It is one of my favorite things to do and I do it at the top of my lungs!

5.  I competed in piano competitions all through high school.  I tried to keep it up after I graduated, but it wasn't easy.  I lived in 2 wards that never even knew I could play.

6.  My roommates Jill and Leslie were two of my favorite roommates.  I think about that year with the most fondest of memories.

7.  I love barbecue sauce.  I love BBQ pork, steak, and chicken.  It is also very good on a hamburger.

8.  I can't stand the smell of onions!  I hate how the smell gets on everything, but I use them all the time in my food.  I like the flavor.

9.  I love dark chocolate!  I can hardly eat milk chocolate any more.  I can only eat Reese's Peanut Butter cups and M&M's in milk chocolate.  That is it!  I can hardly drink chocolate milk any more.

10.  I can't go to sleep unless I do this whole hour long ritual.  It includes washing my face, brushing and flossing my teeth.  I have to read a book for about 15 minutes.  Usually it is my Book of Mormon, but sometimes I will read something else too.  I have to stretch my legs for at least 15 minutes, otherwise I get restless legs and can't sleep for hours.

11.  I can't hardly stand watching a movie or even a t.v. show with out doing something while I watch.  It can be crocheting, stretching my legs, or folding laundry.  I have to be doing something.

12.  I can't stand staying in my pajamas all day.  I have to get up, get dressed and do my hair.  I like to put my make-up on, but it is not always a must.  I don't remember ever being too sick to at least put a bra and a pair of pants on.

13.  I love going to church!  I don't like to miss a Sunday.  If I do I feel like my whole week is in a funk.  I really enjoy going to church.

14.  I used to have about 30 people's license plates memorized.  I stopped memorizing license plates when I was on a date with Kyle and we were getting a parking pass.  They asked for his license plate number and he didn't know it, but I did.  He thought it was creepy!  It was a really hard habit to break.

15.  I love to cuddle with Grant.  If I sometimes have a hard time falling asleep because of restless legs or Kyle is snoring I will go sleep with Grant.  I love to cuddle with him.

16.  I don't like things rubbing on my neck or arms.  This includes bracelets, scarves, long sleeve sweaters, and turtle necks. I love scarves and turtle necks on other people, but I can't stand wearing them.  I also don't wear long sleeve shirts except for coats and sweatshirts.  I think it is partly that I have long arms and so long sleeve shirts are always 3/4 length sleeves.  It bugs me.  I will sometimes buy long sleeve shirts and scarves because I think it is cute, but it usually just sits in my closet for ages.

17.  I can't hardly stand to watch The Little Mermaid.  I like her and I think she is a cute princess I just can't watch the movie since I became a Speech Language Pathologist.  It bugs me really bad that Arielle couldn't get Eric to kiss her in three days.  Seriously! She loses her voice but she should still be able to gesture, write, sign, or something!  It bugs me so bad!  I have decided that she has a language delay or maybe even Autism! HA HA!!!

18.  I love playing with Play Dough.  I love the smell! I also love how it is cool to the touch when you first pull it out of the container.

19.  I love family! I miss my family so much since we have moved out of state.  I love my parents, my siblings, cousins, and all of my in-laws!  I love family parties! I really missed all of our Christmas family parties this year.  Family isn't perfect and sometimes we can all get on each other's nerves, but I love them all any way!

20.  I love my mother-in-law's carmel popcorn.  It is so chewy and gooey!  I love that she always make a HUGE batch!  It is so tasty!

Fun Fun at the Nursing Home

One of my favorite years of college were when I lived with Jill and Leslie.  We had so many good times and so many laughs.  Jill's job was a frequent source of laughter and jokes.  She was a CNA at the time and was working at a nursing home and going to school.  (She is now a RN!  I would have her take care of me in a heart beat!)

The people at the nursing home were always doing funny things, especially at night when Jill worked. I can't remember any of the specific stories except a lady that thought there were germs or bugs all over the bed next to hers.  She wouldn't let anything of hers touch the bed.  Oh, I also remember a funny one about a a couple who were quadriplegic (Jill will remember, but it isn't really appropriate to share here).

I never dreamed I would work at a nursing home and like it.  I LOVE it!  I have learned so much and really enjoyed the therapy I do there.

I have shared a few funny things on facebook.  I have recently met a patient that has dementia (they all seem to have dementia).  She loves to play on the slot machines.  Obviously, her health doesn't allow her to go to the casinos and play slots.  So her family found a slot machine and put it in her room.  The woman sits at the slot machine all day long and pulls the handle.  You can hear "ching ching ching" all through the halls.  Everyone once in a while you will hear her yell, "I won! I won!"

Now that is the life!  Sit in a nursing home and use the same nickels over and over again.  She has her glass of tonic water or soda sitting next to her.  She probably plays slot machines 8-12 hours a day.  The family just brought in a second slot machine and she is in heaven.

It is really not that funny when it is all typed out, but now that I typed it I am going to post it.  Enjoy!

To My Roomies

Over the last two weeks I have pondered many things. As of late I have been thinking back to my roommate days. I have recently shared a couple of college day experiences with friends. I have also had a chance to spend some time with a couple of roomies I haven't talked to in a while.
I have the tendencies to look back on life and see things in a totally different perspective. I think I have struggled with this my whole life, which is why I am trying to learn to enjoy the moment and not worry about the future and stress about the past. With that being said I would like to share my thoughts and insights to you my dear roomies.
I first want to tell you each how much I love you girls. I think about at least one of you almost every single day. You were all so much fun to live with. I miss dancing and singing with Laura and Katrina. I still love the song "Walking on Sunshine" because of you. I miss my little chats with Julie. If I ever put socks on before I go to bed I think of you. Bekah I can't hear a Ucayali without thinking about you. Crystal I wish we could've had more time to get to know each other better.
I miss eating Scotch-a-roos with Kayla and Natalie. Remember when we ate the whole pan of those things. I wish I would have taken the time to go country dancing with you. You were so nice to ask every Thursday if I would like to go and I should have just gone. Ashley, Lisa, and Jess I apologize we didn't get along very well. I want you to know that because of you I really did some soul searching. I found out who I am and what I truly believe. I thank you for that.
Jilly Bean, I miss cooking together. Everytime I make scrambled eggs I think of you. If you ever want some just swing by. I loved scrapbooking during General Conference and movies. I can't sit and watch t.v. any more without having something to fiddle with. I am so proud of you for achieving the dream of being a nurse. You never gave up! You could be my nurse any time. I have learned to 'fly by the seat of my pants' because of you. What is the point of planning, when it is so much more fun to just go where the wind takes us. Random, I know! I appreciate Leslie teaching me how to do little "stichy" projects. I am so lucky to have you so close by. You are one of the most positive and patient people I know. I want to be a better person because of you.
My party roomies, Becca and Evelyn, we always had some one at our house. I miss having people fly in and out of our house. It is kind of boring these days. Kisty, you are a wonderful cook. Thank you for making all kinds of yummy treats. I still crave your peanut butter cookies. Stephanie, I appreciate you letting my come shopping with you. It was a blast. Do you remember that strange lady that wanted to be in the dressing room with you?
Cherie, you are one of the most caring people I know. I still admire you for taking care of your Grandma when no one else would. Rebecca, I wish we had watched more old movies together. It was so fun to bust out the old VHS. Oh, the olden days! I am sorry you were tortured living with two girls who were engaged. We were annoying!
I love my husband and my son more than anything else in the world. I wouldn't trade the life I have now for anything. Sometimes I just itch to sing "You Don't Own Me" at the top of my lungs. I crave Jill's scones and Navajo tacos. I miss staying up until 2 AM talking about...well...nothing. Now real life has hit I miss the good old roomie days! It is because of each of you I have learned what is important in life. When I look back I don't remember the papers I wrote, the projects I did, or the tests I took. Rather I remember laughing at our crazy neighbors, pulling pranks on the boys next door, exploding Pyrex dishes all over our kitchen, laughing until our sides hurt, writing love notes on the fridge, pulling Q-tips out of a clogged toilet, dancing in the rain, jumping on the couch just to bug the girls below us, coming home to a flashing heart, making each other laugh until we blew tooth paste out our nose, coloring each others hair to every shade not on the box, and being girls!
I love you!
Thank you Laura, Katrina, Crystal, Julie, Bekah, Jessica, Lisa, Ashley, Natalie, Kayla, Leslie, Jill, Evelyn, Becca, Stephanie, Kisty, Cherie, and Rebecca! Thank you for being a part of my life.

Flashback Friday

I was going through some of my pictures on my computer. I found these pictures of Grant. This was exactly a year ago. I can't believe how fast time flies. I really try and cherish every moment I have with Grant. He is getting way too big way too fast. He still feels like a baby to me, but then when I found these pictures I thought, "no he is a big boy!"