*Corrections*

For those of you who may be holding a different idea of how my little Keegan behaves from previous stories, allow me to rectify the situation. Here is a conversation we had yesterday when Keegan brought me this book to read to him before naptime:


Keeg: Mom, will you read me some of the bad stories in the scriptures?

Me: The bad stories? The scriptures have good stories in them.

Keeg: No I like the bad stories better.

Me: What bad stories?

Keeg: You know, the bad stories where they kill people. Those are my favorite.

Me: Keegan, those stories are in there to teach us that it is wrong to hurt people. Heavenly Father doesn't like it.
Keeg: Yeah. Well, I love the stories where they fight with swords and kill people. Will you read me one please?

At least he wanted me to read him the scriptures. That counts for something, doesn't it? I read him the story of Ammon. I tried explaining to him that Ammon was being a missionary. All he wanted to know was "where was the picture with the arms that got cut off?" Boys.

Ballet and Opera....they go hand in hand

Need I say more?

Uncle Sam wants YOU for the Army....crawl!

This was Monday. It is crazy how fast babies learn - today he is ten times better and already about to do real crawling! And I don't even have anything baby-proofed.....guess I better get a move on that!

Ahhh, randomness.

Aren't these pictures great? We took advantage of the sunny Saturday and went to the park to dust off Keegan's baseball skills. He's still got it! Pegged a couple of good hits over Daddy's head and into the woods behind him. It was so much fun just to get out and enjoy the day! A little cold breeze picked up, but it was still fun! Kayden looks slightly bored in his stroller though, I'm sure he was thinking "I could totally hit better than that...." The picture of Keegan in his..ahem...underclothes, needs some explaining? We got home from church on Sunday and I said to Keeg "Run upstairs and change out of your Sunday clothes into a shirt and pants." Apparently, without specifying which shirt and pants, he decided his undershirt and "man-undies" would suffice. Zach couldn't stop laughing. Doesn't he just look like he belongs on a porch in front of a dingy trailer sitting in a lawn chair? The only thing missing is a "beverage" (Zach said it, not me!). Lately, Keegan loves to help me with the dishes. The other day he scrubbed all the breakfast dishes and put them in the dishwasher for me! I am crossing my fingers that this will continue for MANY MANY years. It will, just not always with him doing it so cheerfully :-) In my house growing up, we kids cleaned up after dinner, and I intend to follow in my parents footsteps! I can't wait until the two K's can do it all by themselves.........

Aside from all that, this week has started off pretty good. I have some fun videos to post, and I plan to overload my little blog with them! Kayden has learned to scoot himself around the house! A mixture of rolling and army crawling and just plain determination to get to what he wants. It's so cute, but he's picked it up so fast! I'm sure full-fledged crawling is just around the corner. What am I complaining about, he's given me almost 2 1/2 extra months of containment that Keegan did. By this time, Keegan was pulling up and unloading anything he could get his hands on....I'm glad Kayden has taken a little bit longer!

This evening for FHE, we had a little lesson about prayer (thank you to Krista B), and I was reminded of how much faith children have. We talked about how our Heavenly Father answers our prayers. I did a little object lesson where I quickly told Zach all about my day as fast as I could, asked him a few questions and before he could answer, turned around and walked away. We then talked about how Heavenly Father wants to hear what we have to say and that He has things to say to us as well, but that we need to listen for His answers. After our lesson, Keegan gave the closing prayer. When he was done, Zach and I stood up and said that it was time for bed. Keegan sat there and said "shhh!" with his hand cupped to his ear. I have to admit, at first I laughed a little at his literal interpretation of our lesson, but now I am humbled by his example. After a moment, he nodded to himself and got up, saying that Jesus told him he heard his prayer. I have no doubt that with his sweet and tender faith, that he received an answer. I was taught by my son exactly what I was trying to teach him. Heavenly Father does hear our prayers, and although He may not answer them as quickly as He answered Keegan's, He does answer them!

SUPER good marinade

Alright, I just have to pass this along. It's been a little while since I have made it, and I can't take any credit for it. Here is the truth: I got this recipe from Kristen Mason!! I think she got it from her mom, who is one of the cutest gals I've ever met. I generally use this marinade for salmon, but it is also fabulous with chicken. Zach doesn't like fish, so I usually separate it and marinate fish in one bowl and chicken in the other! This is SO SO SO GOOD!!

Teriyaki Marinade

3 Tb sesame seeds
3 Tb canola oil
1/4 C soy sauce
2 Tb brown sugar
1/2 C finely sliced green onions (I usually do less - like 1/4 c)
1 clove garlic, chopped/pressed/minced, whatever you like!
1/4 tsp pepper
1/4 tsp ginger

Combine; marinate for at least 2 hours. Grill! Being the sad apartment dwellers that we are, I usually use the Foreman grill. I'm hoping to branch out into the real grilling world sometime soon - we do have a little deck we could put it on! But really, this is super yummy, and I love it! Thanks Kristen!
I love sharing recipes and trying new stuff, so feel free to share some!

Wordless Wednesday: Fascinating Fishies!

Glasmann Weekend

This last weekend we spent down at the Glasmann farm. My brother and sister-in-law, Jayme and Virginia, were in town over the long weekend from Utah! It was so much fun to see them and spend time with the whole family together. It was hampered slightly by the fact that currently, my parents are remodeling their kitchen, which means that half of the main floor is completely torn apart. Oh yeah, and they don't have a kitchen......and they had 8 adults and 2 children there! It made for a lot of fun! Really, it did. Many thanks to my parents for taking everyone out to eat...a lot...and for sponsoring a fun-filled weekend! I have lots of pictures to post, but right now I am headed to bed. Here are some cute pictures of the Ks. We went to the Oregon Coast Aquarium on Monday, and Kayden was fascinated by the fish! He would just stare at them as they swam by, it was so cute! He would try to reach out and grab them and then look back at us and smile to make sure we were as in awe as he was. It's amazing to watch him discover the world!!!

ps Sorry Mom too....Keegan and Grandma bonked heads during the weekend....Mom received a free makeover as a result! I'll have to get up some pictures of her mini-shiner!

Happy V-day!! A tribute to my eternal valentine....

Alright peeps, brace yourselves. This may get a little...dare I say cheesy? In Zach's words, he would probably describe this as being "too Autumn and Loren-ish."

Ten things I love about my Zachy:

- He loves me ALWAYS. When I am prego and crying, he loves me. When I am prego and GROUCHY he loves me. When I am not prego and either of those things happen, he still loves me. When I am stressed out and gripe at him when he comes home, he still comes and gives me a kiss and a hug, and tells me he loves me. What more could I ask for?
- He is the best Dad. Last night, I sent him to the store at 10pm to pick up some cards I had forgotten for a Valentines party. He came home with the cards....and a dozen yellow roses for me, a Lightning McQueen balloon for Keegan, and cards for both Keegan and Kayden. I came downstairs wondering where he was to find him setting out the surprises!! Keegan LOVES his balloon and card, and Kayden tried to eat his card...I'm sure he will appreciate it in years to come :-)
- He always does the dishes. As long as he doesn't have some place to run off to, he cleans up after dinner for me! I LOVE IT.
- When he comes home, he takes both the kids off my hands right away. I'm usually making dinner while trying to tell Keegan that "it's ALMOST done, I promise!" and juggling Kayden from arms, to floor, to arms again. The song "I'm so glad when Daddy comes home" is my FAVORITE song!
- He might not be happy about me sharing this one....Zach likes to keep his feelings private. A few weeks ago, he wrote in his journal that his favorite thing about coming home is how Keegan starts yelling at the top of his lungs "DADDY'S HOME!" And then in the same exuberant manner, proceeds to tell him everything we have done moment by moment as fast as he can. I think it is so cute that this is the highlight of his day. What a sweet guy...
- He doesn't fall asleep as easily as I do, but at night, since I am a cold-blooded mammal, he will snuggle with me until I fall asleep, and then he will roll over and read a book. I appreciate this greatly, because I think he has twice the body heat I do. Plus he puts up with me sticking my seriously frosty feet on him.
- He hardly ever snores. THIS IS FANTASTIC. I am a really light sleeper, and I am SO thankful he doesn't keep me up all night snoring. Our neighbor does that instead ;-)
- He spoils me. One night, we were trying to make it to the temple, but got there too late - no more sessions. I was pretty bummed, because we don't make it that often, and we actually had a babysitter....on our way home,, he pulls off the freeway and into the parking lot of RED LOBSTER! I love seafood....he hates it. He makes such great sacrifices for me!
- He is our priesthood holder. I can't even tell you how thankful I am to have the priesthood in our home. It is so reassuring to know he is there for us no matter what. Recently, he gave me a blessing of comfort while we were in the midst of these tests and all. I had the assurance that everything would turn out just fine, and that I and my family were being cared for by our Heavenly Father. I am so thankful that he is a wonderful priesthood holder!
- He loves our kiddos! It is so great to see him with the boys. I know he loves them as much as I do, and wants everything the best for them. It is equally rewarding to see how much the boys love him in return, and I am thankful they both have such a wonderful example to look up to.

I love you Zach! I am thankful for all that you do for me and our family, and I am thankful for your testimony of the gospel. You teach me a lot and I am glad I will always have you by my side.....I can't imagine weathering anything without you. xoxoxo

The votes are in...............

And..........I don't have lupus! HURRAY. You have no idea how relieved I am. Honestly, this has been a nightmare the past few weeks for me, and I feel like right now I can breathe a huge sigh of relief! (complicated only by my shortness of breath) ;-) Apparently, whatever abnormalities the previous tests showed were resolved with this "more specific" test for lupus, and it came back negative. I was so elated when the doc called to tell me this. So, now what? I get to keep pluggin' along. I will have another echocardiogram (big fancy words make me feel so smart) in May to check and see if anything has changed. Basically, they will just keep monitoring it until it changes. When (or if, I suppose) it changes, then they will decide to do something.....But for now, I don't have lupus, THANK GOODNESS, and thank you to everyone for your faith and prayers. I have no doubt that Heavenly Father is watching over our family!

Too good to pass up............

I know it's not Wednesday, so I'm safe here. It doesn't have to be wordless! I was scrolling through old pictures and found this one....I just had to put it up! This is from back in Delaware, Bethany Beach to be precise. Zach was supposed to be training for a marathon with my brother Josh. The day before this picture was taken, Josh broke his toe, putting him out of the marathon, and Zach too, because my family was our ride to the marathon! Zach had resolved to not shave or cut his hair until he weighed a certain weight (I don't remember what it was). When the marathon was in view, the haircut was just around the corner. With the marathon suddenly out of the picture, it became a problem......Anyway, I just thought this pic was too funny remembering how shaggy his hair and beard was (he kept it for about 3 more months before I overruled). The funny thing is, his brother (Jace) who was on this trip with us, mistook him for an Arab (no, I'm not racist or stereotyping here) when he was walking on the beach one day. Love him with a "goat" (that is what Keegan calls it) but can't stand the full beard..........I love taking a walk down memory lane - thanks for putting up with it!

Wordless Wednesday: My little boy is growing up too fast..........

Latest news.....

So I heard from Dr. Lazarus yesterday. Isn't that the greatest name? Same name as the character in the movie Galaxy Quest, which is really dumb, but really funny as well. Anyway, for the most part, everything is good! No heart disease, no sleep apnea, no lung disease, no blood clots in my lungs. My lungs are functioning "normally" which is good to know. My blood work was (and I quote) "interesting." What is that supposed to mean? Apparently, he said it isn't bad, it just wasn't clear. After speaking with a rheumatologist, Dr. Lazarus doesn't think I have rheumatoid arthritis, but there is a possibility of lupus. I get to have more blood tests next week to see if they can figure anything out. If those come back negative, then we just get to play the 'wait and see' game. My hypertension is mild enough at the moment that he doesn't want to start treating me with medication for it, so I will have checkups and more EKGs to keep an eye on the pressures in my lungs. That's the latest!