Marc

A few weeks ago, a couple of my friends wrote blogs dedicated to their husbands. I loved the idea, and of course as I read their shout outs to their husbands, I thought of all of the things I could write about mine. Not to mention, I don't think I publicly give him the credit he deserves often enough, and so honey, I just want you to know too, that I love you so much, and I mean every word of this from the bottom of my heart.

My husband is definitely a one of a kind man. I have honestly never met another man quite like him. He has such drive, dedication and focus to the things that he cares about. He is determined to be successful in his life, and has learned to believe in himself and his capabilities. He works so hard for our family at his job, and pushes himself to excel so that he can provide the life that we hope for. He gets up at five o clock in the morning every day to support our family, and spends his day working, while looking at a picture of our family for motivation. He worked so hard in school to be able to graduate from college and continues to study every day so that he can get his licenses to better support our family in his field of work.

He adores me...sometimes more than I deserve to be adored. He teaches me more every day at what it means to unconditionally love another person. I always thought I knew what that meant, but Marc is a firm believer in loving someone for who they are, regardless of whether they ever change the things that maybe you don't agree with. To me, that is a perspective that is so incredibly Christ-like, and an amazing example to me. It is something that I really need to work on, and I don't think I give him that courtesy as often as I should. He tells me all of the time, "I just want to make you happy." I know this is the honest truth. I know that as long as I am happy, he is happy.

He adores our sweet daughter, and is an amazing father to her. His ultimate joy in life is when she gives him hugs and kisses. I honestly don't know what makes him happier. He would lay his life down for either one of us to protect us, and I feel so safe and comforted knowing he is the patriarch of our home.

He has a testimony of the Gospel and honors his priesthood, as well as the temple covenants he has made. He has a deep love and appreciation for the Savior and the Atonement. He works with the youth, and has such an amazing Spirit that can get through to them. He uses his past experiences to motivate, and inspire youth to make it through hard times and succeed.

He has such a passion for sport and athelticism. This is something I love and again take for granted. He values being in shape and getting physical exercise, and it is something we both share as a passion. Its important to me that we both enstill the value of a healthy body into our family, and I am grateful I have a husband that knows the importance of that as well. Not to mention, he's incredibly handsome. I truly have never been so attracted to a man in my life. At the risk of sounding insanely cheesy, I just have to say he's buff and sexy, and I'm a lucky girl! :)

Mostly, I am so grateful for him being my best friend. He knows me better than I know myself. He knows every thing about me and loves me for the things I can't even love myself for. He has an amazing heart and although his approach on things is different from a lot of people, his intentions are always genuine, pure and good.

I love him more than I could ever express...and I am so grateful to have him as an eternal companion. I hope that I can show him as much love as he shows Montana and I everyday. I love you, sweetheart!

Easter!

We had a wonderful Easter...a few easter egg hunts, an easter egg dying/cousins birthday party, and family time at the Petersen and Rogers side. Unfortunately, my camera was out of batteries by the time we got to the Petersen side, so I don't have pictures off my camera of the Easter family fun there. Once my mom or sister get theirs uploaded, I'll post them.

Our ward Easter Egg Hunt was Saturday morning at the Daniel's beautiful home. Montana picked up the concept right away.

Saturday night, we dyed easter eggs, egg hunted, decorated cookies and celebrated our niece Ellee's third birthday at Aunt Mo's house.

Montana liked to eat the frosting more than frosting the cookie. :)

Then Sunday morning, we got up and put on our Easter Sunday best, and went to take pictures in our backyard.

Our Sacrament meeting was beautiful. I love Easter and the emphasis on the Savior's life, sacrifice and resurrection. It's a great reminder of how we should feel everytime we go to Sacrament meeting and partake of the Sacrament.

Then it was off to the families homes for food and fun. At the Carter's, we took some family pictures, a grandkid picture (without the Newman kids...we missed you!), and one more egg hunt.

Montana got an awesome easter basket from Mam's and Pompi with a special $5 stuffed easter egg, and then new croc sandals and a puzzle from Grandma and Grandpa Petersen. We had lots of fun at the Petersen side as well, and the grandkid pictures of the three on that side are also very cute. Hopefully I will get a copy soon and I can post those.

Hope everyone had a wonderful Easter!

Got milk?

So I just want to give a shout out to everyone who told me to drink my milk (or take calcium pills) during pregnancy...you can go ahead and say, "I told you so...!" I'll let you have that, because I now know why you were telling me this. Now, in my defense, I did take calcium pills occasionally. They were huge, horse-like pills, and so some days, I couldn't force them down (and a dosage was two of those huge things!) I did however take my prenatal AND folic acid everday, but the calcium is where I lacked. I made sure to try and eat lots of cheese or yogurt (and by cheese and yogurt I mean ice cream... :) haha) to get my calcium, because I really don't like milk. Occasionally with cookies, definitely in cereal, or maybe after a good chocolate chip cookie or brownie, but other than that, I'm not a milk drinker. Now I wish I'd put my small dislike aside, for my teeths sake.

I finally made it back to the dentist for the first time in, (to save myself the embarrasment of telling you the actual time frame, I'll just say...) since before I was pregnant. I knew it wasn't going to be good. I was always the kid that had cavities...no matter what. I would brush, floss...not eat as much sugar as my brothers, yet, I always had a cavity. I've been told its genetics and I quite like that excuse, cuz it makes me feel less guilty about it. So, needless to say, I've never had a nice little check up, see ya in 6 months, type of visit, which is why I usually am scared off and stay away for a while after my procedures. So, two weeks ago, I head off to a new dentist, and I loved him. His office was great and he's a nice guy. (Jerome Daby, DDS). However, he still had bad news. SIX CAVITIES and I needed a root canal on one tooth, with obviously a crown to follow on that tooth. He said, "Okay, we need to talk about diet...do you drink multiple soda's on a daily basis?" No, not at all. "Do you drink coffee?" No, not at all. "Do you chew multiple pieces of gum daily?" No, not at all. "Do you have acid reflux or throw up a lot?" No, not at all...(is he asking if I am bulemic?) He's trying to diagnose why my teeth are so weak...and of course, he realizes its the pregnancy, lack of calcium thing coupled with genetics. Montana stole all my calcium, and I hardly had enough to begin with. (It's okay...she needed it). So...long story longer, I went and had a root canal last week. I heard it was going to be the worst thing ever...but I figured, it couldn't be that bad compared to labor. And it wasn't. The endodontist I went to was AMAZING...I didn't even feel the novacaine shots...and was hardly uncomfortable. I'd reccommend him to anyone. (Dr. Do of Laguna Endodontics).

The worst part has been the after pain...and not being able to chew on that side. In a week and a half, I go for the crown procedures, and hopefully some fillings, and within the next few months, I hope to have much healthier teeth. I am going to really try to start taking my calcium supplements again, and drink a little more milk (a.k.a. eat more ice cream...), so that I can have my teeth in my head for the majority of my life. :)

I had to share some funny "numb face" pictures...cuz, its just one of those things in life that makes you realize how grateful you are for all the feeling and movement in your body. From the smallest things like puckering up for a kiss....

to the more important things like smiling. (Guess which side is numb?)

HAHA....but just in case anyone was wondering, because I know we all fear this while we're numb, my feeling did come back and my face is not paralyzed. I am now able to smile and pucker up fully once again! :)

Never underestimate the power of positivity!

Another one of those "inspired" daily gems for me. I loved this quote, and pray that I can apply it to my life so that I can be positive enough to see more beauty in the world around me.
Looking on the Positive Side
"You have a choice. You can wring your hands and be consumed with concern for the future or choose to use the counsel the Lord has given to live with peace and happiness in a world awash with evil. If you choose to concentrate on the dark side, this is what you will see. . . . Now the brighter side. Despite pockets of evil, the world overall is majestically beautiful, filled with many good and sincere people. God has provided a way to live in this world and not be contaminated by the degrading pressures evil agents spread throughout it. You can live a virtuous, productive,righteous life by following the plan of protection created by your Father in Heaven: His plan of happiness." - Richard G. Scott

I just had to share!

So tonight for family home evening, we decided to go over to the driving range with the Barkers. We bundled Montana up in her warm jammies, and headed over. She spent the majority of the 1/2 hour or so that we were there in her stroller, and was so good while we all hit golf balls. But of course, she was getting a little restless, so at the very end, after Rachel and I were done hitting our golf balls (I don't think the boys gave us as many as they had...:) jk). I let her run around for a little bit. K, in this video, this is not very sanitary, but it was hilarious and she was loving it. It made her momentarily happy and made us pretty happy watching it too. Enjoy.

She kept running around lifting it up and poking her head out saying, "Pee-boo" (which is peek-a-boo). I just love her...she is the best!

Daily Gems

Everyday I get emails from a church website subscription called "Daily Gems". I love them because they are just that--gems. There is never a quote that I read daily, that I don't draw something from and try to apply to my life. Sometimes, I even feel that the daily gem was meant and inspired specifically for me. Today's was one of those quotes:
"[Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-nego] knew that they couldtrust God--even if things didn't turn out the way they hoped.They knew that faith is more than mental assent, more than anacknowledgment that God lives. Faith is total trust in Him. "
Faith is believing that although we do not understand all things, He does. Faith is knowing that although our power is limited, His is not. Faith in Jesus Christ consists of complete reliance on Him." (Dennis E. Simmons, "But If Not . . .," Ensign, May 2004, 73)

I really feel like this quote was inspired for me today. I think so much of my life I try to control and take into my own hands. Sometimes I feel like I try too hard to force things to work a certain way, and then I realize if I have to force it in such a way, then it must be something that isn't in complete alignment with Heavenly Father's will. I've been really trying to relish in everyday, and not live my life from event to event, from year to year like "When we own a home..." "When I can go back to school..." "When we get to go on a vacation...", and just be grateful for everyday, and the experiences and lessons that can be found in each and every day. The reason I feel like that relates to faith, is having the faith in knowing that Heavenly Father truly does know the desire of our hearts. He truly wants us to be happy, and more importantly, knows exactly what it takes to make that happen for us. When you think enough about it, not aligning our will with His is completely counter-productive, because we'll eventually be either back where we started, or worse, furthur away from our goals. And waiting for the next thing to happen to be happy, is saying that the blessings and experiences that Heavenly Father gives us in every day life, aren't enough for us. And defintiely, for me at least, not learning the preliminary lessons and experiences that Heavenly Father has put in my path, would be a complete tragedy when it comes to the test of those lessons and experiences...when I realize why I was meant to have gone through what I was faced with.
So this just really touched me today, and helped me to realize that, no matter what every day is going to bring me, I am going to try to have the faith to accept it and look at it as His hand in my life, giving me the blessing of experience, that leads me ultimately, to what He knows will lead to real and lasting happiness.

Golfin'!

I just went on a "blog binge", so keep scrolling down to see more after this. Saturday we went to the driving range with Rachel and Trent, and her brother Brad and his daughter Taylen. We've been wanting to get Taylen and Montana together to play, and Brad wanted to teach Taylen to golf (so cute!) so we headed off to the range at Emerald Lakes. It was a lot of fun, and even though us girls chased the little girls around most of the time, it really has sparked my interest that much more into learning to golf. Marc and I have been talking about me getting into it for some time...and I've gone to the driving range with him a few other times, but this time I did better than before. And now that Rachel is getting into it with me, thats even more motivation! Let me tell ya...that girl can hit a golf ball! Go, Rach! Anyway, I'm excited that we all have this to do together...but definitely Rachel, we've gotten ourselves into a long, expensive ride. Nevertheless, we'll have lots of fun, and like you said in your blog, hopefully establish a good bond with our husbands to last until we're old and gray!


Marc workin' on his golf swing...





The boys...from left to right, Brad, Marc and Trent...

The girls!

And of course a trip to Sports Chalet to look at (and buy, usually) more golf stuff. Tana loves her daddy!

Keith and Carrie!

As I had mentioned in my Valentines Day post, Marc got me tickets to the Keith Urban and Carrie Underwood concert. Our friend Matt got his wife Jessica tickets as well, and so last Wednesday, she and I took off for a girls night at Arco. I was so excited about Carrie...love her! And I definitely was looking forward to Keith, but I wasn't as familiar with his songs and stuff. After the concert though, I became a HUGE fan of Keith! He is an amazing musician, and one of my new favorites. Carrie is awesome as well...and even though I'm jealous she gets to sing for a living, I love her! Thanks babe for the tickets. Love you!

Carrie rocks it! She looked gorgeous, and she is learning to play the guitar. Way to go girl!

I didn't get as many good shots of Keith, but he ROCKED it! Guitar, Bass, Piano...and of course Vocals! This guy can do it all! Pretty sure I ran out and bought his greatest hits album...and I must say, it is great! Defintely a new #1 Fan!

Jess...it was a blast! Thanks girl!

Our every day lives...

Here are just some fun/random pictures from the past few weeks with no real rhyme or reason to them:
Our little biker chic on Aunt Tiffany's pretend motorcycle.

Montana in her jogger. She loves this thing!! Every morning, Rachel comes over and we go jogging (no pics of that cuz I don't look so cute in the mornings! ) and then Marc and I frequently take her on walks in the evenings and on the weekends. This is our walk last Sunday:

And then from our Family Night walk to the grocery store to pick up a few things...

Montana learning to feed herself. She almost refuses anymore to be fed...she wants to do it herself! This is her eating mashed potatoes. She loves potatoes! Sorry for the ragmuffin hair on her, it was the end of the day!

Mommy and Tana

And then Daddy and Mommy (its funny how you start to refer to yourself as Mommy and Daddy after you have kids! )

Our Favorite Babysitter!

I just wanted to give a shout out to my younger sister Whitney for all of her help with Montana. She is our clutch babysitter...always there when we need her and I'm so grateful for that because Montana loves her and is comfortable with her. Thanks Whit, you're the best! You will see from the first picture why I call her my YOUNGER sister, and not my LITTLE sister, because she is a good three to four inches taller than me! Then Montana and I treated her to Ihop for breakfast. Tana loved the orange juice.

ABC's

ABC's
A-Attached or single: Very attached!
B- Best Friend: Marc is my best friend. I have lots of other close friends though...my parents, my sisters, I have old ones, new ones...but Marc is my best!
C-Cake or Pie: Probably cake...I don't love original pie crust, but I do like chocolate or graham cracker pie crusts....so I'd probably eat chocolate creme, or banana creme with graham cracker crust over cake anyday. Cake is always good though.
D-Day of Choice: Saturday...the whole day is at your dispense for whatever you want or need to do!!!
E- Essential Item: Anyone who knows me knows my cell phone is essential to my survival!
F- Favorite Color: pink
G- Gummi Bears or Worms: Worms...Marc's gotten me into gummies more...he loves them!
H- Hometown: Elk Grove, CA
I- Indulgence(s): chocolate, Carmel Delites Girl Scount Cookies, manicures or pedicures.
J- January or July: JULY! Summer!
K-Kids: One so far! Our darling daughter.
L-Life is incomplete without: Marc and Montana....family
M- Marriage Date: December 3, 2004
N- Number of Siblings: 4 sisters and 2 brothers
O- Oranges or Apples: Oranges.
P- Phobias or Fears: heights, edges
Q- Quote: This too shall pass...
R- Reason To Smile: I am blessed...life is good
S- Season: Summer for sure
T- Tag Six: Rachel, Maran, Cori, Samantha, Anng, Meg (and anyone else who wants to do it...)
U- Unknown Fact About Me: My Chemical Romance is my favorite band
V- Vegetarian or Oppressor of Animal: I am a meat eater.
W- Worst Habit: Being overly sensitive, renting movies and never watching them, then getting a phone call that they are due back and taking them back without watching them. WASTE!
X- X-Rays or Ultrasounds: Ultrasounds!!! Ultrasounds have brought me nothing but joy when I was pregnant...all X rays ever gave me was a broken ankle and cavities!
Y- Your Favorite Food: I love sushi from Mikuni, Marc's tri-tip and fettucini alfredo
Z- Zippers or Zebras: I could probably live without a Zebra...they aren't a huge part of my life, although they are beautiful wonderful creatures. Zippers, now that I think about it are a part of my daily life. I'd probably have a hard time without zippers!

The Great Adventures of Tana Belle...

I have been meaning to blog these pictures for the last few weeks, but we have been a little under the weather in our household. Montana has experienced many firsts this month: Her first trip to the zoo, first time feeding the duckies at the pond, first "haircut", and her first stomach flu that she caught from mommy...yuck. The following post will have many pictures of these events (except for the flu, believe me, you don't want to see that! It was so sad!)
First was the zoo with Daddy, and her Uncle Mike, Aunt Brooke, and cousins Blake and Maryn. Mommy had to work that day, so Daddy got some quality time at the zoo with Montana.

Because of the beautiful weather, we've spent a lot of time outside. "Outside" is Montana's new favorite word. Every day at Grandma Petersen's house, she goes to the sliding glass door and says, "outside", and "jumpy-jump", to jump on the trampoline. So, since she loves being outside so much, we've tried to take advantage of the sunny days to go to the park.

This last Saturday, she was feeling better and getting over her flu, so we decided to take her to the pond at Elk Grove park to feed the ducks. She was fearless and loved being outside. We tried to get her to throw some bread to the ducks, but she just wanted to hold it. I had to watch her very carefully standing there holding the bread, because the ducks out there are ruthless! When they want their bread, you better get it to them. Marc couldn't tear it apart quick enough!

Then on Saturday morning, I decided it was time to cut her some little bangs. I've been trying to hold out, but they've been looking really scraggly, so I just trimmed off the tiny little pieces that hung uneven in her eyes. It's probably not that big of a change to anyone other than her mommy, but I feel like our little baby looks like a little girl now! :)

One more thing that is part of Montana's day that she really enjoys are our morning walks or runs (depending on Mommy's energy level), with my friend Rachel. I am so grateful that I can count on her in the mornings...it really makes me get my butt out of bed! Montana gets all bundled up like the Michelin tire man, and rides along in her jogger. She loves it!

Lastly are some pictures of our little munchkin that I took one day. She just is the joy of our lives and we are so happy, proud and blessed to be her parents! Don't you just want to squeeze those cheeks??? :)