My Cup Runneth Over...

I have been meaning to post a picture of Jesse's Paramedic Certificate that came in the mail a few days ago, but haven't had the chance. Well tonight I had one of the sweetest and emotional moments with Ryker that fits perfectly with the picture. I have to share it.

After putting Cy to bed, I came back upstairs to have Ryker read to me. He got these kids novel books for Christmas and he has been reading a page a night. What a great little reader he has become. It's so much fun to sit and listen to him sound out some of these tougher words, and get them.

Anyway, Ryker has our 2013 Christmas Card serving as his bookmark.  And as he was patiently waiting for me, I see that he's looking at the card. Not thinking anything of it until he says to me "Mom, I'm just so happy for my Dad."

At this moment I realize the tears welling up in his eyes. So I ask him "What makes you say that?"

He says, in a shaky voice "I'm just so happy and proud of him for finishing his test." And looks again at the card. I can tell he's fighting back the urge to just break down and cry.

But then I start to get emotional over the fact that my, almost six year old boy can feel that "happy cry" feeling, recognize the hard work his Dad has put in over the past year and know that it's a big deal that his Dad passed his final test.... That kid is amazing. The tears are welling up in my own eyes as I write about the sensitive boy I have. He is something else. The Lord has blessed me with a special boy!

As soon as we finished reading I called Jesse at work to tell him about it. We both agreed that it's so sweet and weird at the same time. So weirdly sweet that we (as parents) are having a moment like this with our own boy, who doesn't seem old enough to us, to express that kind of love and emotion about someone. He has always been sensitive to others feelings, but to see it at this level of "maturity" is AMAZING!

My goodness, I love this kid. He certainly is destined for Greatness!

It also goes to show that this past year didn't only affect Jesse, it affected all of us in one way or another. We can all feel that relief of it being over. And a sense of pride towards Jesse! We all can't help but boast that he is a Firefighter Paramedic.

Potty Training Continued...

I knew it was too good to be true. All day yesterday Cy didn't go to the bathroom in the toilet, only in his underwear. Poor Jesse was just flustered with the whole thing when I got home from work.

So then I thought, Heidi will be with the boys today and she can help Cy get back on track. When I got home from work she told me he had gone to the bathroom in the toilet all afternoon.

But since I've been home he's gone in his underwear 3 to 4 times. #2 and #1. Yuck!

This is going to be a challenge.

.....Right as I was typing that, Cy just told me he needed to pee. And so we went to the bathroom, he sat down, and went!

YAY! There is hope!

I'm praying that by Sunday he has it down.

This day just keeps getting better...

I have been dreading the task of Potty Training Cyrus. He can certainly be stubborn at times and do the complete opposite of what you want him to do. So I thought I would struggle with it. I was kinda putting it off, saying that I was watching for signs of when he was ready (mostly true). Well, I decided today I would go for it. After picking Ryker up from school I had no where to go, so we could focus on the chore at hand with a positive attitude.

 

First, I pulled out Ryker's old underwear and I put a pair on Guy (Cy's bunny) and a pair on Cy. Cy thought that was so funny that Guy had a pair on too.

 

Second, we set up a small toilet for Guy and a small seat on the big toilet for Cy. So Cy and Guy could go together. We read a book and while Cy wasn't watching I poured some water in the Guy toilet to "simulate" him peeing. Once I showed Cy that Guy went potty, then Guy got a treat.

 

So we sat and sat...Nothing. By this time it was nap time. I knew once I put a diaper on him for bed he'd wake up wet. But I wasn't going to stress it. If things work out today it'll be great. 

 He took a nap for a few hours and when he woke up he came running upstairs with a soaked diaper and really concerned that he went pee in his diaper. So he asked me to take it off so he could go in the toilet.

Still nothing.

So back went the underwear and out came the Sippy-cup with Gatorade. I needed to get his bladder full again.

Over the course of an hour I would ask him if he wanted to try to go potty. Each time he obliged and he tried. But still nothing.

Finally at one point I catch him removing his underwear and running to the bathroom and climb up on the toilet. I asked him if he was going to go potty? and he said "Uh-Huh". Before I we know it, he went! AHHHH!

Of course you have to make a big deal about it. Give him a treat and call everybody in the family to tell them his good news.

The remainder of the night he did that 2 more times. Went to the bathroom without me asking him if he needed to go. Then he was so excited to get a treat after each time.

So I think he's got it down. But I'm still shocked how quickly he caught on. All this time I have been dreading it and it turned out to be so simple. Lets hope it carries on into tomorrow.

What a great day for our family! Two HUGE mile stones have been conquered. I'm very pleased.

HE PASSED!!!!!

Jesse left for work this morning and within a few minutes I received a text from him that said... "I passed officially".

My first response was "WAHOO!!!" but then the tears started to come. I didn't expect to cry over it. I knew I'd be excited but never saw myself getting emotional about it. But it makes sense. This last year has been a big trial for our family and what a rewarding feeling it is to be done with it. My heart feels so full that the tears are spilling out. Words cannot express the feelings of my heart right now. I feel a sense of relief, pride, love, and gratitude for Jesse and his hard work. Never  was there a doubt in my mind that he would pass. He is AMAZING!!!!!

Congrats to Utah's Newest Paramedic! I love him OH so much!

Next step is to secure a Paramedic position in Ogden. And we are crossing our fingers that it'll be on A-shift. Jesse has really liked that shift. But if he has to switch to B or C shift, we'll just deal with that then.

National EMS Test

I'm a little emotional writing about this because I can't believe we have come to this point.  Today Jesse went and took his National EMS test! It's strange to think that we started this long, rough and trying journey a year ago. But here we are. It feels almost like yesterday, yet at the same time, so long ago. So much happened that it seemed like two years should have gone by.

Today I was doing some small studying about Faith. And a thought struck me. What has Faith done for you in your life? And the answer is simple. Faith has given me strength to endure the hard and trying times of my life. Knowing there is a Father in Heaven watching out for me and my family is comforting. With that knowledge I feel like I could take on any hurdle he puts in my way. It may not be easy, but I will come out of it a stronger person.

Now, this last year was hard on me and the boys, but not nearly as rough as it was on Jesse. Words can't express the gratitude I have for his dedication. He suffered long and hard to get to this point. And the boys and I are so proud of him and we LOVE him for it.

Back to the test. Jesse is hesitant to let me write about this test because he doesn't know if he passed or not. Results won't be available for a few weeks by mail. But luckily he can look online tomorrow. So we anxiously wait.

The test is an adaptive test. It adjusts questions on how you are answering them. Also the amount of questions for every person that takes it is different. The max amount is 150. So the fewer questions you get, the better. Today Jesse finished at 80 questions. When he told me that he said that was a good sign. But he has heard of a guy failing at 70 questions and another guy passing at 150 questions. So it's unpredictable. But I'm pretty confident to say that I think he passed.

Only time will tell.
Until tomorrow.

New Year's Sledding

Keeping with tradition we spent the afternoon sledding. It's a fun way to celebrate the New Year. Happy 2014! Not gonna lie... I've been looking forward to this year for a year now. Haha. 2013 brought some challenges, but truthfully I wouldn't change it. We made it and we are better people because of it. YAY!!!

 

Last year I was sick for the sledding day so I couldn't go. This year Jesse had to work, so he couldn't come. Kinda funny how things balance out. So I got to spend time with these munchins. 



We met at a park near Mike and Heidi's house. Andrew, Emily, Sterling, Mom and Dad all came. 

 We got a few good runs in. But it was just so busy on the bigger hill, we thought it would be safer for the little ones to stay on the smaller hill. There were so many people walking up while others sledding down super fast because the snow was iced over. It was a formula for disaster. We saw one kid walking up the hill, crying with a bloody mouth.

 Eventually we went off on our own and had a little snowball fight. Well I watched and took pictures as Grandpa and the Grandkids had a snowball fight.

 Then the boys noticed the park, so they wanted to play on that instead of the snow.

 So the girls watched and talked with each other. Haha.

 Before we left Heidi wanted to get a few runs in with the boys. And they loved it.

After two hours we were all tired and hungry, so we went to Mom and Dad's. Mom was so great and had Chili all ready for us to eat. So Yummy!

30 is Coming Fast...

28 years old. Huh. 10 years ago I would have told you that sounds old. But now that I'm here, I don't feel any older than I did 10 years ago. I've actually really enjoyed my 20's. Several of my greatest moments have happened during them. Two of them are my boys. They make me so happy and have given me the title "Mother". I strive every day to live up to that title. Even though it isn't easy at times, it's certainly worth it.

 

Another great moment is discovering the love for health and fitness. I am grateful for the knowledge that I have learned how to be and become healthy/strong. I not only believe that what I do in the gym not only strengthens me physically but mentally. Which in turn plays out into my family. I take care of myself, so I can take care of them.

 

The greatest moment in my life didn't happen in my 20's, it happened before. About 10 years ago I met Jesse for the first time. And over the course of these 10 years, we have grown from acquaintances to a strong team. So even though I met him when I was 18, he has filled my life with great moments throughout the years. Oh I love him.  

 

On the day of my birthday we gathered as family, both my side and Jesse's side, at Mike and Heidi's home. Heidi spoiled me with a yummy Salmon and veggie dinner and homemade German Chocolate Cupcakes. All of my favorites.

 

When my family arrived, I opened my gifts. New clothes, a sewing machine, money, gift cards, jewelry and 2012's blog posts printed up in a book. 

Manda is in town for a little while. I was happy to have my siblings there to show me love and support. They are AWESOME and they make me smile.

 A big shout out to the woman who gave me life. Wouldn't be celebrating this day if it wasn't for her. I forever am grateful for her and her sacrifice. Love her.

 Everybody just hanging out. Which I love.

Monday Night. Jesse took me to dinner at Mikado. A favorite of his, and now mine. I'm changing my ways as I get older. He's always loved Sushi and I've grown to love it too. I'm picky though. I don't care for the seaweed, so I get Rice/Soy paper instead. And I still struggle with some of the raw fish. I always seem to enjoy the ones that have crap and/or shrimp instead. I'm sure eventually I'll get there. Baby steps.  I'm just happy to spend time with my #1.

Afterwards he took me to see "Saving Mr. Banks". Even though it was a Disney Movie I REALLY enjoyed it. The plot is about how the movie "Mary Poppins" came about. Very well done. The whole time I was simply taken by it. It was funny, emotional and relatable. AWESOME!

Had a simple, yet good birthday this year. I had a huge amount of birthday wishes on Facebook, which made me feel loved. Grateful to all my friends and family for helping me feel special on my special day. Love you all!

Continuing Christmas Day

To simplify Christmas Day we went to my family's house the day after. Since my parents had given us the trip for our gift this year, it was a chance for the siblings to exchange presents and to give back to Mom & Dad.

 

The boys were spoiled because they have so many Aunts and Uncles that like to get them something.

 And they know just what they like too. Ryker LOVES to learn about the Ocean Life.

 I was so excited to give this blanket to the parentals. It's a photo throw. I designed it and then uploaded the picture to Costco, where they made it and shipped it to my house.

After we opened gifts, we ate a yummy breakfast cooked by Mom and Dad. Everyone ate themselves into a coma. The living room was spotted with bodies laying on the ground. I for some reason was ready to hit the gym. So I had to anxiously wait for Jesse to be ready to go. An hour later we left the boys with the family and went.

When we finished we headed back home to pick up Manda and the boys because we were going to visit Grandma and Grandpa Schrader. They wanted us to join them for lunch. We couldn't stay too long because Cy was starting to get cranky for his nap. We thanked them for the meal, wished them a Merry Christmas and we headed home.

The rest of the day was spent lounging and relaxing. Ryker went with Manda, Ty and Chan to see a movie with Craig and Alexa that night, while Jesse, Cy and I held down the fort at home.