bad blogger...

Sorry for the long overdue update. We have been pretty busy.

For Jason's birthday we went camping for 3 days. Yes, I even slept in the tent. Jenna brought her cousin Landon with her and they had a lot of fun together. Jason was fly fishing and Landon asked him to teach him how to fly fish, so Jason took the time out to help Landon learn to fly fish. Jenna & Landon spent a lot of the time playing with Braydon, Jenna's 2nd cousin. They loved "fishing" without hooks. And get this...Jason and I went on a 2 hour hike! We were so worn out and hot by the time we were done, but it was so great to accomplish that.

I have been so busy at work - Basic Grey released a new line and started discontinuing 4 other lines and then in mid-July they will be releasing more lines...so, I've been working as many hours as I can. I've never done manual labor before and it kicks my butt.

Well, it is late, and I am getting tired - I will try to be more diligent about updating this blog.

Oh, guess what? I have been writing in my journal lately - up until these most recent entries, my last entry was made 5 years ago!!!

Full of updates

Wow! This week has definitely had it's ups and downs.
Jason was called to Elders Quorum secretary and was set apart today. He has been in primary every since we were married pretty much. It's going to be a BIG stretch for him because he hates, despises, fears the telephone...well guess what the secretary does. He has to call people to make sure they got their home teaching done, make appointments, etc. Oh, will this be good for him.
Jason also sold his first painting ever! They put their paintings up at the university he works and someone emailed Jason and wanted to buy it! No, we're not millionaires - or thousandaires. But, how about $75-aires!

In other, not so happy new, my really good friend gave birth to her little baby daughter, Chloe, this last week. She wasn't due until October, but somehow managed to live about 30 minutes before returning to her Father in Heaven. My friend and her husband were able to bless her before she died, so that does give them some comfort. They are such a strong family and I am amazed at how well they are doing. Tomorrow will be hard, they have to meet with the funeral home and get a spot at the cemetary. I could never imagine having to do this - how hard. They will be having graveside services later on this week.
My friend's brother also has a child that is a little over 1 week old that is struggling to survive. She was also born premature and is in the local children's hospital.
Please, pray for this family - they are struggling so much right now and could use all the prayers available to them.

More than ever, I love Jenna and am so thankful for her blessing in my life. She is not always easy, but she brings so many smiles to my face and makes me laugh all the time. She is learning and growing and is healthy. I couldn't ask for anything more. I will never understand why it is that I have been so blessed to not have such trials as others. I am blessed to have a Heavenly Father who loves me so much - that he knows what I can and cannot handle. He and His son, Jesus Christ, are my rocks, they comfort me, they carry my load. I am grateful to know that no matter what happens, I will have my family forever - that if anything were to ever happen that I will be able to live as a family again with them. No matter what, I know this and am eternally grateful for this. I love all my friends and am grateful for you. Your thoughts and prayers are always so wonderful - they comfort me. I wish I could repay each of you for your kindness. I hope by reading this you will know how much you mean to me and how much I love my Heavenly Father and his son, my brother, Jesus Christ.

Arthur and the Backstreet Boys

Boy, in the last few weeks Jenna sure has been getting her fill of Arthur on PBS. Not so much that we are actually catching when it is on the TV, but her G-ma Mary has been bringing home episodes from the library for Jenna to watch. A few weeks ago Jenna fell in love with the Backstreet Boys because there is an Arthur episode with the Backstreet Boys as cartoons (by the way, it's hilarious to see what they look like). The girl, Francine (I think), is in love with Nick from the Backstreet Boys, so now Jenna is in love with Nick. Now, I was in college when the Backstreet Boys, so I never got into the whole "boy band" craze, but now Jenna is. She wants to know who my favorite Backstreet Boy is and is unrelenting until I tell her who it is - ummmmmm...I have no idea. I will admit I liked a couple of their songs when they first came out, but they really got old FAST! Here's a little link to the Backstreet Boys visit to Arthurs town.

We finally got Jenna to give that one back to G-Ma Mary (ok, I snuck it back over and told my mom she had better take it back). So, this week G-ma Mary gets another Arthur movie for Jenna - something about scary stories. Now, mind you, the stories themselves are not meant to be scary, but to teach children that there aren't monsters in their room. Thankfully, Jenna got that point. Unfortunately, one of the characters is embarrassed that he sleeps with a nightlight and doesn't want anyone to know. The point of the story is that most children sleep with nightlights. This point was lost to Jenna, who now keeps making Jason and I promise that we won't tell anyone she sleeps with a nightlight. This is her major concern right now. Thanks G-ma Mary!

And my last thought on Arthur. You know his friend, Buster, who has his own TV show? Well, Buster is Jenna's imaginary friend and we thought we had gotten rid of him, but apprently not. He came to visit yesterday and then his parents went on a date so he had to spend the night. I guess I should be thankful that Barney isn't her imaginary friend.

Poppy Seeds....

First off, here's my official disclaimer
DO NOT READ THIS IF YOU ARE SQUEEMISH

OK, I love poppy seeds and this experience will probably not change my mind about eating poppy seed muffins, but I really have to try hard not to think about it.
Yesterday my mom made poppy seed muffins and Jenna loves muffins so she ate one. Well, about 2am this morning Jenna woke up screaming that her tummy hurt and before I knew it, she was throwing up all over her bed. Of course, being that poppy seeds really don't digest fast (as I found out) - she had little black dots all over everything. Of course I went and threw all of her bedding and pj's in the washer and remade her bed. I went to change the laundry a little while ago and there are little black dots all over her mattress pad, those darn poppy seeds don't wash out apparently. Grrrrrrrrrr.
Jenna is not eating much today - she has probably only eaten 2 saltines, which she normally loves. She still complains that her tummy hurts, but she has had a little bit to drink, so hopefully it was just a 24 hour flu kind of thing.
So much for falling asleep early.

At the Zoo

On Friday we went to the zoo with Suzanne, Landon, Alia, g-ma Mary, Crystal, and Charlotte. We had a blast! We watched the elephant program and saw how they are trying to help the elephants adapt to their new surroundings (they made their area much bigger and it has water now and seems more fun for the elephants). As they were working with one elephant, the other would be on the side doing the same things trying to get food - it was so funny to watch it trying to get the attention. By the elephants is a large iron elephant that sprays water out of its trunk every so often, sometimes it's sounds like it's going to sneeze and other times it sings a song. Landon loved playing by this elephant and enjoyed cooling off.
We also got to see the white alligator. The picture I took shows it, but it's through glass, so it's not the best picture.
Landon wanted to see the snakes and Jenna was crying that she didn't want to, but when we got in there, she loved them - she even touched the glass (something her mommy won't even do).
My favorite animal isn't there anymore, the polar bear. I guess they are going to be re-doing their habitat so they aren't there right now.
We also some some baby geese swimming with 2 adults. They were pretty cute.
Even though the zoo has overhauled the children's play area, I found the egg that we put Jenna in when she was just a few months old and took another picture. I'll be fun to compare the 2 to see how much she's grown in 4 years.

Way to go Utah Jazz!!!

The Jazz won the Golden State Warriors 100-87 to win the series 3-1!

We are now in the Western Conference Finals with our opponent yet to be named (either the Spurs or Suns, both good teams). I went to the game last night and it was awesome! What a nail biter! I barely have a voice anymore. Funny how you yell and scream at the refs, the other team, your team and you know very well that they can't hear you. Most people know me as a pretty quiet person (sarcastic yes, but quiet), but put me in a sports arena - especially with the Jazz playing and you will see a whole different side of me.

I didn't have time to grab my camera to take to the game because I got home from work as my ride was pulling up, so I got some pics with my phone, they aren't the best quality - but I told my mom she needed to invite me to another game so I can take better pics. I did get up close to the floor while the teams were warming up, but our seats for the actual game were in the nosebleeds - where the REAL fans sit! I am so tired right now, we didn't get home until 1 AM - the game ended around midnight.

the first pic is of the Jazz warming up
2 - the Warriors warming up
3 - The view from my seats
4 - the celebration

A friend in need

I have a friend who has a little boy name Owen. Owen needs a service dog, but his family has to raise the funds in order to buy her. Today is Owen's b-day and so in honor of him, I wanted to post this website - where if you want, you can donate even $1 to help fund Owen's service dog!

http://www.realitycharity.com/view_item.php?listing_id=238

mother's day/anniversary

yup, I couldn't get into blogger and then when I finally got it the internet went down. If it's not one thing, it's another.

Anyway, yesterday was not only Mother's Day, but also our 8th anniversary! I can't believe that we have been married for 8 years. We made it through the 7 year itch (with no itches). We celebrated on Friday night by going to see Blades of Glory and eating at Chili's. The movie was pretty funny, but had a ton of adult humor - I don't think it will be one that we buy, but we sure laughed a lot.

For Mother's Day, Jason gave me a framed picture of Jenna that he had taken for his class. I attached it to this post. I promise, I was very close by Jenna when he took the picture and the roof was actually not that high, it just looks higher than it was. Jason got a new camera not too long ago so he's been having a lot of fun with it.

Jenna has a new friend, Lexi. Lexi's g-ma lives next door and she comes to visit often. And whenever she does, the two have been playing. They play so well together. It's kind of sad, my baby is starting to become independent.

Well, I actually cooked tonight, and for those who know me, this is a miracle. Jason is home so we will be having dinner now - hamburgers & french fries & Kool-Aid. Have a great day!

A request

They say that the internet is an amazing force in today's world and I got to thinking...with the friends I have who read this who also have blogs, websites, and myspace accounts - I bet they could help our family grow! So, this is what I'm asking. If you can put a link on your websites to our adoption profile maybe, just maybe our child's birth parent(s) will find us.

The birthparent(s) don't have to be LDS, just want their child to go to a loving family. They can contact us directly through our profile on the contact page and we can get them more information. There are chapters of LDS Family Services (our adoption agency) throughout the US as well so things on their end can be done on a local level as well.

I only have one request, please don't give out our last name or any other identifying information. This is for our safety and so that we can decide with our child's birthparent(s) what type of adoption situation is optimal. We are looking at a semi-open adoption, meaning we will continue contact with the birthparent(s) if they are comfortable and want that.

Here is the link.

Easter

We had such a wonderful Easter. Jenna had 4 Easter egg hunts and made out like a bandit - she really knows how to hunt for eggs now.
The Easter Bunny also visited our house and left Jenna 4 goldfish! She loves them so much. Here are some pics of Jenna taken by Jason and his new digital SLR

Jenna is turning 4!!!

Can you believe it - 4 years ago I was wondering if she was evr gonna come out! Now she's 4 and a complete princess. Today we had her birthday party and all she really wanted was a princess pinata - so that's what she got. We invited family and some close family friends to celebrate. Jason and I got her a Fisher Price camera, it's pretty cool - but not her favorite toy at the moment. Here's a few pics from the party.

I stole this

I stole this from Auntie Cathy's blog who this from Lesle’s blog, which she stole from Christy's blog where she stole from someone else’s blog . . .

My “accomplishments” are in bold: well - they would be, but I'm having technical difficulties, so my accomplishments have been ***
Some of these things I'll never do, but is was fun to go through the list


1. Bought everyone in the bar a drink
***2. Swam with dolphins
***3. Climbed a mountain
4. Taken a Ferrari for a test drive
5. Been inside the Great Pyramid
6. Held a tarantula
***7. Taken a candlelit bath with someone
***8. Said “I love you” and meant it
***9. Hugged a tree
10. Bungee jumped
11. Visited Paris
12. Watched a lightning storm at sea
***13. Stayed up all night long and saw the sun rise
***14. Seen the Northern Lights
***15. Gone to a huge sports game
16. Walked the stairs to the top of the leaning Tower of Pisa
***17. Grown and eaten your own vegetables
18. Touched an iceberg
***19. Slept under the stars
***20. Changed a baby’s diaper
***21. Taken a trip in a hot air balloon
***22. Watched a meteor shower
23. Gotten drunk on champagne
24. Given more than you can afford to charity
***25. Looked up at the night sky through a telescope
***26. Had an uncontrollable giggling fit at the worst possible moment
***27. Had a food fight
28. Bet on a winning horse
29. Asked out a stranger
***30. Had a snowball fight
***31. Screamed as loudly as you possibly can
***32. Held a lamb
33. Seen a total eclipse
***34. Ridden a roller coaster
35. Hit a home run
***36. Danced like a fool and not cared who was looking
37. Adopted an accent for an entire day
***38. Actually felt happy about your life, even for just a moment.
39. Had two hard drives for your computer and a 300 gig external!
40. Visited all 50 states
41. Taken care of someone who was drunk
***42. Had amazing friends
43. Danced with a stranger in a foreign country
***44. Watched wild whales
45. Stolen a sign
46. Backpacked in Europe
***47. Taken a road-trip
48. Gone rock climbing
49. Midnight walk on the beach
50. Gone sky diving
51. Visited Ireland
52. Been heartbroken longer than you were actually in love
53. In a restaurant, sat at a stranger’s table and had a meal with them
54. Visited Japan
55. Milked a cow
56. Alphabetized your CDs
57. Pretended to be a superhero
***58. Sung karaoke
***59. Lounged around in bed all day
60. Posed nude in front of strangers
61. Gone scuba diving
***62. Kissed in the rain
***63. Played in the mud
***64. Played in the rain
***65. Gone to a drive-in theater
66. Visited the Great Wall of China
67. Started a business
***68. Fallen in love!
69. Toured ancient sites
70. Taken a martial arts class
71. Played D&D for more than 6 hours straight
***72. Gotten married
***73. Been in a movie
***74. Crashed a party
75. Gotten divorced
76. Gone without food for 5 days
***77. Made cookies from scratch
78. Won first prize in a costume contest
79. Ridden a gondola in Venice
80. Gotten a tattoo
81. Rafted the Snake River
82. Been on television news programs as an expert
***83. Got flowers for no reason
***84. Performed on stage
***85. Been to Las Vegas
***86. Recorded music
87. Eaten shark
88. Eaten fugu (pufferfish)
89. Had a one-night stand
90. Gone to Thailand
***91. Bought a house
92. Been in a combat zone
93. Buried one/both of your parents
***94. Been on a cruise ship
95. Spoken more than one language fluently
96. Performed in Rocky Horror Picture Show
97. Raised children
98. Followed your favorite band/singer on tour
99. Taken an exotic bicycle tour in a foreign country
100. Picked up and moved to another city to just start over
101. Walked the Golden Gate Bridge
***102. Sang loudly in the car, and didn’t stop when you knew someone was looking
103. Had plastic surgery
104. Survived an accident that you shouldn’t have survived
***105. Wrote articles for a large publication
106. Lost over 100 pounds (45.5 kilograms)
107. Held someone while they were having a flashback
108. Piloted an airplane
109. Swam with a stingray
***110. Broken someone’s heart
***111. Ridden a bike
112. Won money on a T.V. game show
113. Broken a bone
114. Gone on an African safari
115. Had a body part of yours below the neck pierced
***116. Fired a rifle, shotgun, or pistol
117. Eaten mushrooms that were gathered in the wild
***118. Ridden a horse
***119. Had surgery
120. Had a snake as a pet
121. Hiked to the bottom of the Grand Canyon
***122. Slept for more than 30 hours over the course of 48 hours
123. Visited more foreign countries than U.S. states
124. Visited all 7 continents
125. Taken a canoe trip that lasted more than 2 days
126. Eaten kangaroo meat
127. Eaten sushi
***128. Had your picture in the newspaper
***129. Changed someone’s mind about something you care deeply about
***130. Gone back to school
131. Parasailed
132. Touched a cockroach
133. Eaten fried green tomatoes
***134. Read The Iliad and The Odyssey
***135. Selected one important author who you missed in school, and read
136. Killed and prepared an animal for eating
***137. Skipped all your school reunions
138. Communicated with someone without sharing a common spoken language
139. Been elected to public office
140. Written your own computer language
141. Thought to yourself that you’re living your dream
142. Had to put someone you love into hospice care
143. Built your own PC from parts
144. Sold your own artwork to someone who didn’t know you
***145. Had a booth at a street fair
***146. Dyed your hair
***147. Been a DJ
148. Shaved your head
***149. Caused a car accident
150. Saved someone’s life

Ode To Scrapjazz

This is the challenge I gave to someone who couldn't think of what to say in their blog, so I thought I would do it too.

Ode To Scrapjazz

Oh Scrapjazz, how I love thee
When I get on the computer
you are the first thing I see
When I'm sad or lonely
You come and rescue me
And with all the time on spend on you...
I usually have to hold my pee!

(there ya go, my ode to SJ)

My blog challenge

I posted a comment on my favorite scrapbooking message board, Scrapjazz, to tell everyone to update their blogs...so I am taking after my own advice.

The weather has been so nice here the last couple of days. On Sunday, we spent the day outside (after church of course). We went to my cousins missionary farewell. He is going to be heading off to Russia on March 28th for 2 years! He did such a wonderful job on his talk - I can't believe he's so grown up. After the farewell we went to my aunt's house for brunch and I ate soooo much. My grandma makes the best cookies and since she couldn't be at the farewell, she sent some! Jenna had so much fun playing with all of her second cousins while I enjoyed talking to some of my cousins I don't see very often.

Then...get this - I cooked fajitas for my family lunch! Yup, I cooked! And they turned out delicious! Everyone was very impressed. We had a birthday party for me and Suzanne (my OLDER sister). We didn't sing happy b-day or anything, just got together. I had already gotten most of my presents - Suzanne paid for me to get a massage, my mom and dad bought me a moist heat heating pad, Crystal bought me a hoodie, MIL got me a gift card to Joann's, and I bought an outfit and had Jason give it to me. Russell (my younger brother) forgot about presents - of course. It was a great day and I fell asleep out on the lawn in the sun.

This is also my 4th week of working for Basic Grey. If you haven't seen the paper and scrapbooking supplies they have - check out their website www.basicgrey.com They have the most beautiful paper lines and I love their magnetic stuff. I am so lucky to be working there - and everyone is so nice. The boss has already bought us lunch twice!

Hello! Life still exists here at the Francis house, I've just been pretty busy. I got a PT job at a wonderful scrapbook company, Basic Grey. If you're an avid scrapbooker, you know how wonderful their product is. The great part, the people who work there are even better! The owner, Greg, is very nice and pretty laid back. I was hired to collate their paper collection packs - so I walk around 2 tables gathering 1 sheet of each paper along the way, then stuff it into a bag and repeat over and over and over again! I had a dare from some of my ScrapJazz friends to take some pics of the inside of Basic Grey, so I did that one day - they all thought that was pretty funny. If you haven't ever seen their lines, check them out at www.basicgrey.com most people love at least one of their lines. Right now, I would have to say my favorites are LilyKate and Phoebe. The best part of this new job is the damaged boxes. When product doesn't meet their high standards for shipping to customers, they put it in a box for us to dig through and take home for free. This week, I got some chipboard letters & numbers, lots of papers, some sticker alphabets and some tags and a rub on sheet. All for FREE!!! How great is that?

Last Saturday I got to meet some of the Utah Scrapjazzers for the first time. We had so much fun and actually got quite a bit of scrapping done (unlike the other crop help in Michigan where it seems they don't :p) I got 13 pages done in my Hawaii 2005 vacation scrapbook. I got the airport and our first day done and am working on our trip to Sea Live Park.

Well, I had best be trying to get some sleep.
Have a wonderful day and keep us in your prayers for our child to find us soon - or for us to find them!

so...some people are bugging me about being a bad blogger. First, sorry - second, I have a great excuse. I went to the dr last week and found out I have a bunch of kidney stones in my right kidney and 2 more in my left - so needless to say, I haven't been up to much of anything. They aren't extremely painful right now, but very very uncomfortable all the time.

Here are some random pics I took of Jenna last week when she decided to be a princess - enjoy

Jenna - a sunbeam?

I can't believe that Jenna is already out of nursery! She started sunbeams last Sunday and she loved it...but now I have to be wary about what she says. Jason is also a teacher in the primary so he got to witness this next event. Our bishop was in the primary talking about faith and he asked the kids to raise their hands if they have faith that their mommy would make them dinner. Jenna spoke up loudly and said, "we're going to g-ma Mary's to eat" so the bishop said, that it was nice of her g-ma Mary to cook for her and then he asked in another way the same question. This time Jenna said, "my mommy doesn't cook" So, now I am officially labeled a non-cooking mom. I just had to laugh at it because it's true - I don't cook. So, this week I made chicken one day (crockpot style) and then I made pancakes tonight for dinner. Jenna loves pancakes so she was very happy about that.

Frosty - our snowman!

Yes, we have gotten a lot of snow lately - finally! The last storm that went through dumped a lot so Jenna wanted to build Frosty. She told us that she wanted a magic hat so Frosty could come alive. We didn't think she really thought he would come alive. When she put the hat on Frosty's head she stared at him and then knelt down next to him and started crying. It was so sad - she was crying, "please frosty, please come alive, please". It was so hard because I could tell how upset she was. She even asked Jason to take him home with her and he stayed on her back porch for quite a long time (until Jenna let Jason kick it over).
There's also a pic of us playing out in the snow.

My scrapbook gallery

So...I'm trying to be more diligent about putting my scrapbook pages online - here's a link to my gallery
http://scrapjazz.com/gallery/showgallery.php?cat=500&ppuser=26453

Some of you were wondering....

so I thought I would let you know. Jenna is our biological child. I had a ton of difficulties with my first pregnancy and had 3 specialists that strongly advised me to not get pregnant again (the short of the story). I have also been asked, how did Jenna end up with blonde hair if you and Jason both have dark hair....hair dye! My little sister is a cosmetologist!