What an update

WOW!! What an update. I haven't been able to blog since OCTOBER! I am a slacker. Hopefully it wont be that long before the next update comes. Life is sure busy though. In the last 3 months we have moved into a new home, Halloween, painted our shed and plowed our lil field, had family come for the weekend, Thanksgiving, Doug's birthday, Trip to Las Vegas, 6 Christmas parties, Teaching sunday school, ward temple night, double dates with friends, my best friends farewell, putting up christmas lights and shopping for the holidays - And during all of this I have had strep throat and tonsilitis, Stetson had an ear infection which perforated his ear drum, and Doug being sick so we have made up to 3 trips a week for him to see his specialist in salt lake. There are some days that I dont get all of the dishes done or the floors swept and mopped and I have learned fast that its ok - I know that the most important job for me each day is to spend time with my baby and take care of my husband. I have missed blogging though and hope that I will be able to find more time to keep in touch with everyone.

Merry Christmas

We had a really Wonderful Christmas! We had dinner with Great Grandma Black and another dinner with Great Grandma and Grandpa Cox. We opened gifts, played games and enjoyed each others company. All of the Grandkids got pajamas and one toy from Grandma and Grandpa Black on Christmas Eve. Christmas morning we were at the Blacks again and then we went to Grandma and Grandpa Hatch's for lunch, gifts and games. It was so good to see everybody and get everyone together. Christmas is such a wonderful season and we were happy to share it with all those we were able to. We love you and wish for you the best in the upcoming year. Merry Christmas!

Family Christmas Parties

I love the Christmas Season and the spirit it brings! I wish it was Christmas all year long. It is so good to be able to see family and play catch up with all of the exciting things that happen through out the year. It's kind of unfortunate that life gets so busy that we only get to see some family just once a year or at special occasions. It was so good to see everyone. We love you all and miss you throughout the year. Although we cant see everyone throughout the year, you are in our thoughts often!

Viva Las Vegas Baby

Viva Las Vegas

Doug and I were able to have a well needed vacation and it was Great! We were able to get vacation package with the hotel room, rodeo tickets, transportation to and from and food. We road down with the best friends anyone could ask for, Cash and Sarah. We stayed in Mesquite the first night. We went bowling and then go-karts with Cash's family which were a blast! Then the next morning the we all went to a clay pigeon shooting range. Sarah and I drove around in a golf cart from station to station as the guys attempted to shoot the clay pigeons. Then we headed out to Vegas! The rooms were really nice and the food was good and cheap. There was so much to see and do there and we didn't have enough time to do it in. We did alot of shopping and to a horse sale and the belt buckle ceremony. It was cool to see the cowboys and their families up close and personal.

We really enjoyed ourselves and were so thankful to Doug's parents for watching Stetson. We missed him dearly but it was really a great vacation.

All of us at the Rodeo Finals!

Cash & Sarah


We had really good seats and could see everything!

And of course the Clown!

Bucking Bronc and Bulls!

Doug is Sick

Doug is Sick!

I have had several requests to post updates of Dougs condition and what is going on since I often am to busy to update everyone. I told Doug that it was just because they care about and are concerned for him and asked Doug how he felt about it since it can be personal. I got him to agree as long as its not to detailed.

The 1st of November, Doug got really sick. He wasn't able t0 keep any food down him and their was blood coming out of both ends. He was in a lot of pain and he said that he felt like his insides were on fire. He was so weak I had to help him get up to the bathroom and take a bath. He said he didn't have enough energy to go to the hospital in the middle of the night so first thing in the morning we went in and they sent us directly to the ER room. They did every test you could think of and once they received the results from most of the tests, they said us down and told us that he was pretty sure that Doug had Colon Cancer which is surprising since he is so young. I was shocked. I thought bleeding ulcers, irritable bowel syndrome but not that.

They allowed us to go home with follow up appointments. I did all I could to nurse him back to health starting from water, gatorade, soup and he is finally able to eat. He had more tests and a colonoscopy done. When they received the results back from that, the doctors said us down in amazement and apologized for the wrong diagnosis and that there are several other possibilities of what it is.

We are now seeing a specialist at the U of U hospital in Salt Lake. We really like him and are glad that he is willing to work with us to figure out what is wrong and find something to work for Doug. The only down fall is that he is in Salt Lake so, we have taken up to 3 trips to Salt Lake in a week which is 3 hours from where we live.

Right now we are doing a series of a few different tests in hopes of getting some answers. In the mean time we are enjoying Doug being home. I think one of the very frustrating things for him has been staying home and not feeling well enough to do very much. Although he would like to go back to work the doctor is still not signing a release for him. He does have his good days and bad days. We are hoping for the best and doing what we can. We really appreciate everyones love and support. I have to apologize for not being good at keeping everyone updated or not informing them at all. One of the hard things when talking to others about this is that we dont know what is wrong and there are questions that we dont have answers to and it is hard to tell people and answer their questions when we dont know ourselves. The other problem is, we have been extremely busy and I hope that no one takes offense because of it. I will do my best to keep you updated. We probably wont know anything more until he is done with 2 more tests which take 2 weeks each.

We sincerely appreciate all of you love and support and understanding! We have been so blessed through it all. We know that the lord knows what is best for our family and that he has a plan for us. We are very hopeful that everything will turn out the way it is supposed to be.

My Growing Boy

Oh Boy is Stetson growing! He is in 18-24 month clothes at 10 months! He weights 24.6 lbs. He has 8 teeth and working on more. He crawls all around and is almost walking. He waves hi and bye but I dont know that he knows why he is doing it other than everyone else is and he gets attention for it. He is laughing more and "talking" more. He loves people in general and can brighten anyones day. We love you Stetson!

He loves to be in water. We took him swimming for his first time and he was kicking and splashing and blowing bubbles.

Doug & Stetson shopping for Cowboy gear!

Stetson on Uncle Jason's motorcyle

A Visit from the Black Family

Grandma and Grandpa Black brought Stetson's cousins, Shaylee, Hallie and Makell for the weekend to see our house and to play with Stetson. We had tons of fun. We went to The Dinosaur muesuem that had a really good play area for the kids. Then we went and played at McDonalds and had lunch. The girls went shopping and the guys went home. We played lots of games and watched movies to. Shaylee was so excited for pretend make-up and oh boy what a big mess it made. Stetson thought he was such a big boy playing with his cousins that all tried mothering him. We had Thanksgiving dinner early on sunday before they had to go back home. We had a wonderful weekend with them!

Happy Halloween

My Little Horsie!

Stetson was a horse for Halloween! He was so cute. We went to the school in Lapoint for a Halloween party. Stetson loved seeing all of the kids dressed up and was so excited. We had fun!

Making Cookies

Stetson loves to be in the kitchen! He loves to watch things bubble and stir things and mix things. It can be really fun unless I am in a hurry to get dinner done. He is My Little Cookie Monster! He was so good to sit on the counter and help me mix in things in the mixer. We had so much fun making pumpkin chocolate chip cookies. He played with the spoons and bowls. Then the best part was after they were done we ate them!!

Our 1st House

We are finally in a house! We had several ups and downs in the house buying process but we are so happy to be settled into our home. We are so excited to have our first home and we already have projects in mind. It is a very modest home that works for Doug and I right now. We both wanted to be in a small town, he needed a little land for a dog and a horse and I needed a bigger kitchen. We love the small town feel and being out of the city. We are so grateful for the wonderful friends and neighbors that have made us feel so welcome! We feel like they have taken us in as one of their own. We even have invites for Sunday dinner which is so nice. We are happy to be in our 1st home and in such a great home!

We have a wonderful ward. We are in the Choir and we teach the CTR 5 class which some days can be alot of work but they we are excited to be their teacher and are doing our best. Last Sunday I worked so hard on my Christmas lesson and walked out of the classroom wondering if they learned anything and then a little girl yelled "Mommy, mommy thats my teacher." She gave me a big hug and said Merry Christmas which made it all worth it. :)

Anyways, here is our home!

Front and Back View

Family and Dining Room



Kitchen and Bathroom

Stetson's 6 Month Pictures

Stetson is growing big and strong. He had his check up and is 28 inches and 21 1/2 pounds which puts him in the 90% for his age. He can sit up on his own and is so close to crawling it makes me nervous. But he still gets around pretty good on his own and is playing more indepenantly now that he can move on his own. He has two teeth and is working on more. But even with just two teeth he manages to eat alot of big boy food. He just started his clingy stage and thinks I need to hold him at all times. He will still go to other people he just cries when I leave the room which makes it hard to get things done. But I do enjoy every chance I get to snuggle him and read to him. Doug and I enjoy spending our time making him laugh. We are so grateful that we have him in our family and the joy he brings. His smile could light up anyones day. He is a very sweet spirited boy whom we love and adore dearly.

Happy Anniversary

Happy Anniversary!!
Doug and I have been happily married for 2 years now. I just wanted to thank my wonderful husband for all of his love and support. For always making my laugh, for getting up each morning to provide for our family and for making time for us to be together as a family. I am so thankful that he is a worthy priesthood holder to lead and guide our family. He is such a great father and I know that we will be together for all eternity. I love you Honey!

FUN PLAYDATES!!

Stetson and I spent a week having to much fun. We visited both Grandparents, Aunt Danica, Uncle Tyson and Jolene, Tamie and her baby Evan. It was so good to see everyone that we were able to. We love you and miss you all!!

Day 1 -

My bestest friend in the whole wide world had just received her mission call TO... RICHMOND, VIRGINIA speaking spanish. We are so proud and happy and excited for about her decision to go. We were able to spend time with her having a picnic at the temple. We were watching the missionaries come and go to get ideas for her and then we decided to go and do some shopping. She got some cute skirt and stetson got cute outfit and shoes.

Day 2 -

Stetson loved playing with his cousins, Isaac & Ethan. He thought he was such a big boy and they were so nice to share their toys while Jolene and I chatted away. When Tyson got home we loaded up, grabbed dinner and a movie and chilled. It was so nice to spend time with them. We love you tons!