OK

So, i never do these "tagged" thingys but i figured this one is good to have in a journal- so, here you go........

10 years ago...
I was a junior at Canyon High School. 17 and a dancing queen. learning more and more everyday how incredible a certain boy named jason is. working at Baskin Robbins, waiting for that certain boy to come and get some ice cream- which he did probably more frequently than he should have! trying to figure life and family out. still doing a little bit of "sittin on the corner of flowerpark...." with danielle. and well, being a teenager.

what hasn't changed?
still learning everyday how incredible that boy named jason is. still trying to figure life and family out. still dancin- even if it's to "old MacDonald had a farm"

What is different?
i'm married to that incredible man now. we have two incredible boys. i live in utah. i'm ten years older and starting to feel it. (getting a little too close to thirty!)

5 things that are on my list to do today

1- SLEEP
2- cut jared's hair
3- give spencer a real bath- his button fell off last night!
4- vacuum
5- SLEEP

What would I do if I became a billionaire?
I think every one would do a lot of the same things- taxes and tithes, donate to charity, pay off debts, buy houses, invest a lot of it, travel... etc. i don't know if there is one thing specific that i would do if i all of the sudden received a ton of money. oh, i would buy us a big ranch in colorado.

5 jobs that i have had

1- baskin robbins ice cream scooper
2- old navy sales associate
3- graveyard L/D housekeeper
4- group home counselor
5- HEB cashier

5 places i've lived
(only 5?)
1- Canyon Country, CA
2- Utah- ST George, Provo, Woodland Hills, Ogden
3- Texas- all over the east side of Houston (where i served an LDS mission) and San Antonio
4- Romania- Brosav and Timisoara
5- Thousand Oaks, CA

5 Things some people don't know about me:

1- I can't go to the bathroom unless i have the toilet paper already in my hand. it's weird, i know. but my body won't let me go unless i know i can clean it up. don't ask, i don't know when or how that started, but it's just the way it is.

2- I absolutely love to travel and hope that i'll be able to take my family all over the place (maybe that's why we've joined the military.....) some of the places i've been are: Vienna, Austria, Frankfurt, Germany, Budapest, Hungary, all over Romania (even to "Dracula's castle" which is kind of a joke, but hey, it's a famous spot, right?) Rosorito, MX, the Bahamas, Maui, Washington DC, Orlando, FL, Jackson, WY, and well, lots of other random places all over the US.

3- I was born with an "atrial septal defect" aka, a hole in my heart. it's still there. it doesn't really bother me unless i'm stressed and then it just creates a little heart murmur- and i tell myself it's why i could never be a runner. it hurts when i run (maybe that's just 'cause i'm soooo out of shape though!) i have to have penicillin IV'd into me whenever i have anaesthesia to make sure my heart doesn't stop- yes, even during labor.

4- i love to hike. (read: i love to take long walks that aren't too strenuous through the mountains or really just outside anywhere) there is something about walking outside that makes me happy. i would walk everywhere if i could. (ok, technically, there is nothing stopping me from doing that. but you know, realistically, i can't walk everywhere- especially with two kids.)

5- i have a bachelors degree in health education, with an emphasis in nutrition. just don't remind me of that when i'm eating chocolate or cookies or ice cream or all three at the same time :)

now i tag..... you. pretty much this is the meme that everyone is doing these days- so if you actually haven't done it yet- go ahead. enlighten us a little.

PLAY!

When I talked to Jason on Sunday, he asked what Jared does all day long- since i pretty much am not going anywhere for a while.
soooo, I sent him this (and a few others) just a small example of the wonderful imagination my little boy has! (those are little animals in his hands- they are playing together)

Family Fun

Gramma McKe, Aunt Dee-boo and Baby Bridgett came to see us the other night. (sorry dee, we didn't get a picture with you!) Jared LOVES having people over. I think he is getting sick of just hanging out with mom- he has become quite the social boy.
Anyway, he started crying really hard when they left. at first i thought it was because he just wanted to keep playing the little game his gramma had been playing with him. but after his insistant crying, i realized he really just didn't want them to go. he is having a really hard time trying to figure out how it all works- that people that he loves can come and go and come back again.
he misses his daddy soooooo much. the first thing he does when he wakes up in the morning is asks to watch movies of dada (home videos.) how grateful i am to have those for him!
this is our fancy new stroller from gramma carrie. jared can't get enough of it. he sits in that little seat like he is the king of the world. thanks gramma!
in reality, i think with the visitors, friends and so forth, he has had a lot more interaction with other people recently than in the last few months. i guess he just needs more. He loved having his gramma carrie here with him. they became quick friends.

it's the little things.....

Gotta love it

Spencer's bili levels are a little high, so his doctor thought we should get him his own little tanning booth! i was scared that he would just scream the entire time he was in it- but he doesn't! he just loves it!
i don't know how long he will have to be in it. He was only borderline needing it, but we decided to be safe rather than sorry about starting it. we will have him tested again tomorrow, after its been 24 hours and see if he really needs to keep doing it.

we finally got a picture of him with his eyes open. yes, he has socks on his hands. i couldn't find my little hand mittens and he has to be nekked (with a diaper of course) in his little light bed. i didn't want him to scratch his face all up and wasn't going to go to the store today. so he got socks.

jared thought they were pretty funny! he kept saying "spencer...... socks....... gloves??"

Pictures!

Warning-- might be a little gross- but not indecent!

INTRODUCING.........

.....................SPENCER ISAAC MCKEON!!!......................

He is one big boy!! Born on love day 2008, weighing 9 pounds 5 ounces. yes, you read that right! i delivered a 9 pound baby "3 weeks early!" he is 21 inches long and the greatest snuggler of a baby. he loves to cuddle!

and, as you may or may not be able to tell from the above picture, he looks a whole lot like his older brother- just exactly 2 pounds heavier! (this smaller picture is of jared)

the delivery and everything went really well. i definetly can 't complain. i went in at 6:45 am. had my water broken at 7:30. they gave me my epidural pretty early, so by the time i was ready to deliver, i couldn't even tell i was ready. my doctor came in, checked me and said, ok. he set the room all up and i pushed for about 10-15 minutes. at 1:55 pm out popped (face up of course) a very chubby little boy! every nurse in the hospital had to come by and look at my chubby baby. he is definetly the cutest!

as far as his name goes- his daddy picked it (and of course, i agreed.) i got to call and give jason the message that i had had the baby through the american red cross. then they had to call the hospital and verify that i did indeed have a baby that day. then they got a hold of jason. and after a little while, i got a phone call from him.

it was great. we actually got to talk for about an hour. no, it didn't fill the emptiness of not having him there, but was wonderful to be able to talk that long.

neither of us had really decided on a name. i had about 3 that i narrowed it down to. when i told jason what they were he said "what else was on our list?" :) so, i read him the list. he said spencer. that one has always been one of my favorites, so i said sure.

we debated a little on his middle name. we were going to use jason. but then decided we still may want to use that as a first name for another boy-- maybe-- we shall see! isaac was one of the names i had choosen for a first name. when i had gone through our list of names and looked up the meanings of each name, isaac was the only one i felt described this little boy. it means: he will laugh.

jason liked that. so it is his middle name. and we LOVE it.

we feel so blessed that all has gone so well. my mom made to the hospital 20 minutes before i gave birth, so she was excited to be there. erin was with me the the entire time. such great blessings.

we are healthy and soooo very happy. more info and pictures to come soon!

Update

so no, haven't had my baby yet. bet that's what you thought i was going say.
BUT....... if i haven't had him by 6:30 thursday morning, i will be going in to get it started!

i went to the doctor this morning, and i'm still only at a 3, but my doctor is great and said we could still do it. it feels really weird to have it planned, especially since i'm only 37 weeks. but that is when i delivered jared and, i feel really good about it. this baby needs to come out so that it is at least 6 weeks old when we go to kentucky to jason's graduation at the end of march. that means he has to be born this week.
so, as unnatural as it feels, it feels good. not to mention the fact that i can hardly move anymore and am way more uncomfortable than i ever remember being with jared- and i had pre-eclampsia with him.
we are having a little cupid baby!! (most likely!) when we set the time up at the hospital, i didn't even realize that it was the 14th. we just kept saying either thursday or friday, and then let the hospital decide.
i mean, i guess if i didn't like that i could change it. but i figure v-day isn't that big of a holiday that my son's birthday will get totally overlooked for his entire life. at least i hope not.
so that is the update for now. i will try to post pictures and such as soon as i can after it all happens!

It's the little things....

new posts

So, i am going to start a new recurring blog post entitled "it's the little things" it's a way for me to post random pictures that i love that happen to remind of of the wonderful little things in life that make me smile. sometimes i'll explain the pictures, othertimes, i'll just let you guess what part of it makes me smile.

Also, for recording purposes, there are a couple things that my cute boy has started doing that REALLY make me smile.

• jason uses the same stationary and envelopes everytime he writes us. we got one yesterday, and as i was flipping through the mail, jared grabbed it and said "da-da!" he was sooo excited to get a letter from his daddy.
• jared has started saying his own name. it is so cute to hear him look at pictures of himself and say "jerrrd!"
• he is sooo excited about having a baby come. i have had the infant carseat sitting out, and the baby swing, the last few days to try to get him used to it (and hopefully get all his investigating of the new equiptment out before the baby is actually in them). he understands that they are for the baby and pretends to buckle a baby in.
• he loves to lift my shirt up and give the baby kisses. he has done this for the last nine months, but lately it is more of a cuddle/understanding that there is something in there.
• i love that even though he is having some serious separation anxiety problems right now, he still expresses his longing for his daddy in adorable ways. he'll carry his little plastic animals around in twos, one is "jerrd" the other is "da-da". he has become obsessed with movies that mainly involve a dad and son- ie "Nemo!" and "King!" (lion king) all he talks about during the movies are the da-das.
• when we go out to play in the snow, he can't really walk in it because of the depth, so he just leans up against it and eats it. it is hilarious.
• he sat quietly and read his books for over an HOUR today (not even kidding) while i was getting stuff organized for the baby. then we went upstairs to get lunch, and he sat and read his books up there while i was fixing lunch.

Doctor, Doctor

Sooooo, i went to the doctor this morning. And........ I am very pleased to say that my doctor and i (and this baby) are all on the same schedule. Pretty much, this baby is coming next week!!! how exciting is that?

at just about 36 weeks, it already weighs 7lbs 12 oz. I'm only dialated about 1 1/2- but thinned at least 50%. my doctor said if i had been dialated to at least a 5 today, he would have sent me to the hospital.

so, pretty much, we are all planning on next week. even if he has to start me- he will. that is exactly what i wanted to hear. assuming it all happens, that would me that the baby would be at least 6 weeks old when jason graduates boot camp-- which means i would feel ok about taking it on a plane to go and meet his daddy.

oh, did i just say "his"???

Charity- The Pure Love of Christ

Happy month of LOVE!!! I know, my new template is so girly, you thought you went to the wrong site! I think it's fun!

So, this month, I am going to try REALLY hard to focus on charity. I think it is a great way to forget about myself and focus on others. And at the same time, rejoice in love for others.

It's that "L" word that always gets me. there are so many different aspects of it. so for now, at least the next little bit, i'm going to focus more specifically on charity.

Keeping that in mind-- here is my favorite quote on what charity is and can be:

"Perhaps the greatest charity comes when we are kind to each other, when we don’t judge or categorize someone else, when we simply give each other the benefit of the doubt or remain quiet. Charity is accepting someone’s differences, weaknesses, and shortcomings; having patience with someone who has let us down; or resisting the impulse to become offended when someone doesn’t handle something the way we might have hoped. Charity is refusing to take advantage of another’s weakness and being willing to forgive someone who has hurt us. Charity is expecting the best of each other." Marvin J. Ashton, Ensign, May 1992

Yep- He's a McKeon

We are alive!

So, we spent the last two weeks in Seattle at my mom's house. I watched my "little" sisters while she and her husband went on a cruise. It was quite the trip.

Jared did really well on the plane both ways. he is such a good little boy. He felt like such a big boy using his daddy's computer and head phones to watch jungle book. definitely made the flight go by faster!

They were so cute and celebrated my birthday when we got there. i hadn't had a cake with my name written on it in who knows how many years! Above is me and my sister rachel, below is my sister becky.
At the beginning of the week, jared got really sick. the worst he has ever been. poor kid had a fever of 103 for 5 days with random vomiting about once a day. I took him to an urgent care (where he freaked out, threw up all over me, and wouldn't let the doctor near him). the doctor decided he must have and ear infection. yeah right. the guy didn't even get to look in his ears. the next day jared's fever finally broke and he was covered in a rash head to toe.

at first i freaked out, thinking he was allergic to the amoxicillan (he's never been on an antibiotic before) but then after giving him benedryl and his rash not going away, i realized it must have been roseola virus.

He is doing a lot better now. very happy to be home. needless to say, we didn't do a ton of playing while there. jared mostly just had to be held and was acting like he was dying.

we did finally venture out on monday 'cause the girls didn't have school. we went to the famous pike's place market. it was way cool.

the adventure kind of got started on the wrong foot- the keys (and my bag with everything in it) got locked in the car. thank goodness for AAA. we had to spend the first hour hanging out by the car.

it was also pretty cold, and jared still wasn't doing too well. so, you know, all things considered, at least i can say i've been there. i'll have to go back sometime with different circumstances.

i still haven't gotten any mail from jason yet. BUT i have talked to him TWICE on the phone. how lucky am I? both the last two mondays he has gotten a 5 MINUTE phone call. and yes, it's really like 4 1/2 minutes 'cause he has to hang up early.

he seems to be doing alright. this last call he was sooooo sick. i could barely understand him because he didn't have a voice. but, he said other than having some type of flu, it really hasn't been too bad.

he's started the physical training. he said that there are actually a lot of "older" (as in closer to his age than 18) guys in his group. which is nice because they don't mess around too much- which means they haven't had to do a lot of extra push-ups.

i'll continue to keep you posted. we are happy to be home and sooooooo ready for this baby to come!

NOSE!!

that is what jared calls snow. he's gotten this funny habit where he puts the "s" at the end of every word that should begin with 's'. so, his uncle scott is "cotts" and snow is "nows", etc.

but, boy did we get some real snow today. i think it is close to 2 feet. and still going. i was talking to my neighbors (who very graciously snow blowed and shovelled for me) and they said that ogden hasn't gotten snow like this in at least 15 years. it's crazy!