It all revolves around Family.

Cord, Amberly, Cayden, Kennadi, and Quaid!

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Thursday, January 26, 2012

The end of one road and beginning of another

I started taking college classes when Cayden was about 15 months old. My plan has always been to become a nurse. 4 and a half years, and 2 more kids later, here I am apply to nursing programs and finally getting my associates of science from Dixie. I know its not much, and I really cant do anything with just an associates degree in science, but for me its kind of a big deal. 

Its no secret that I got married and had Cayden when I was really young, so this is actually my first time graduating from anything! Maybe that's why its so exciting to me :)
                  I have been super busy trying to get everything all together and ready to apply to Mohaves nursing program and Dixie's as well. Its a whole process. Its not just submit a paper or two, its actually tons of work. So, I am still working on it! I need to have my application in to Mohave by March 1 and into Dixie by March 23rd. Thank goodness they are not due the same day!!

                                        Valentines day is coming up! I am excited to start doing some crafts for around the house. I love Valentines decor, but I have never really decorated my house for it before! So this year we are busting out the wood and paint and some other fun frilly things to decorate with. Its really fun not going to school every day of the week, I actually have time to do other things! Its amazing ;)


Okay, before I end this post I better talk about my zumba experiences.  In March, Cord and I will be celebrating out 7 year anniversary. I have been telling myself for years now that I would be at my goal weight for our anniversary, year after year....and I have never made it. So this year I am going to do it!! I have about 8 pounds that I want to lose. Last Friday my mother in law and friends Amanda and myself decided to try out zumba in Laverkin. I have tried other zumba classes, but for people who have never done it before, its super not fun to try to shake body parts like that in front of others who look like super models doing it :) So I have never stuck to any class in particular. BUT, the zumba class in laverkin is full of really great, down to earth, fun people. I have actually felt way comfortable going there! We have been having lots of fun, and we have gone 3 times already this week. Its nice to be able to work out and feel good again! I know everyone has heard the whole "it seems like you have to be in shape to go to the gym"...yeah that's how I felt!  so its good to find a place that doesn't make anyone feel like that!! 

I still need to post before and after pictures of our kitchen. i am loving the way it looks now that its transformed. :)  Hopefully I will do that this week sometime!

Well, that's all for now!

Monday, January 23, 2012

Lately...

I thought I would update with some pictures since lately my post have been all words :) I have to start with this super handsome little guy. I cant get enough of his little face and smile. And this attitude he is getting, I love it! He is really so much fun. I have been kicking myself for not taking many pictures with my camera lately. I always just pull my phone out and snap a picture. Its convenient but my phone camera is really terrible!! So most of these pictures are blurry and the light is terrible. So dont mind the bad lighting and fuzziness, I just wanted to show the cute kids :)




Of course every picture has a story, so I will quickly tell a little about some of these! If you notice Quaid is standing on the table in the above picture...he is wearing his wolf shirt that his Aunt Brooke made for him and both of the other kids for Christmas. They are all in a "wolf pack" together. Its so cute, it just like a little club they all have together. They think its fun and its a cute idea. Now they all have wolf shirts. I need to get a picture of all three of them wearing their. Its hard enough to get Quaid to hold still for one picture though.


Sorry everyone, I know we each believe our own kids are the cutest...but I gotta say this little guy has sure stole my heart! He is just so super handsome! I love him <3


Ok, Quaid got this little drum for Christmas. Apparently he thinks its better to wear it. He actually loves the drums, just not this little one. He wants to play the real drums with the big kids :) And Kennadi can rarely keep her little hands off of Quaid. Wherever he goes, she follows and play with him or bosses him around. Whatever they are doing, they play so well together and they are fun to watch.


Me and my baby girl. I love her! She is so much fun :) Its fun to have someone who follows you around and wants to be just like you. She sure knows how to make her mommy's heart feel very happy!

Just another pic of these to playing together. While we were re doing our kitchen the other weekend they decided this box was a great toy, They had fun playing with it.
Aww!! My Cayden boy! I gotta say, its completely different having the baby boy you love so so much turn into a big kid. I mean this boy is seriously almost as tall as me! He knows it too and loves it. I love doing everything with him!!
Again, me and Cayden on our date a few weeks ago. This was actually taken in the Dairy Queen drive through.
He is getting so big! notice the teeth coming in FINALLY :)


Thats all for now. Just thought I would share some pics!!

Wednesday, January 18, 2012

Oh wait...

One last thing I wanted to mention.



I finally fixed my photography blog and put public!! I still have more posts I need to put up, but for the time being its atleast there :)

Check it out, share it with friends, comment on whatever..or not, its cool ;)


http://fireflyphotographybyamberly.blogspot.com/

Thanks!!!

Let me Blab...

While doing laundry I decided I needed to update the blog. Of course that's when I'm thinking about blogging ;)
It seems that life has picked up again after the Christmas break. Things are finally into a routine and I don't feel bored all the time. Don't get me wrong, some days I just want to be bored and do nothing but its nice to have deadlines and homework and something productive to do.
I am looking forward to this semester for many reasons, one being that I am not taking 14 credits :) I'm only doing 10. I'm also not taking multiple hard classes so it will be a lot less stressful. But I am excited about the classes that I am taking.

For all of those family member and friends who are wondering about my mom, her court date has been pushed backed to the 31st of January. I am hoping that I can make it up there for it, but I am not sure if I will. We have been waiting for this court date for so long so of course they keep pushing it back. This is the big one, where we find out if she will stay in jail or go to prison, and for how long. She has officially been incarcerated for 4 months now. Some days I miss her so much, some days I forget that I cant just call her. Even though she is better off where she is right now I miss her encouraging words. Even when she was doing who knows what (I know I dont want to know) she would always tell me that I was doing great and would be wonderful at whatever I was going through and attempting to overcome. She has been a different person for so long but I still remember the mother she once was, and I miss her.

Off of that subject, Blake graduates from law school this May. (Whoop WHoop) Cord and I are very excited to start planning our trip out there. Cord has never been to Virginia and only to the east coast once. (when I took him to New Jersey for Christmas with my dad when we were dating.) I am so excited to go back there and see where Blake has been living these past years. Also I need to remind my nephew of who his favorite aunt is :)
Right now the tentative plan is that we leave the kids here with Cords family, but we are debating whether to take Quaid with us or not. Either way we are going to have a really great time.
(Let me vent for one second about me leaving my children for any amount of time...I have never done this. So I know I will have a hard time leaving them! I have always had a hard time with it which is why it has never happened before. I mean, Cayden with be 7 in June. 7!!! Its hard to not be with them all the time when they are everything to me, and I enjoy every minute with them. So we will see how this works out :) )

Ok my last random idea for today......maybe...

The song "you'll find out who your friends are...." keeps playing and playing in my head today. Its funny how people run when you need them. Its sad that difficult times in ones life is when you really see who is there for you no matter what. To those who are here...THANK YOU. To those who get attitudes and run, that's ok. Thanks for allowing me to find out who the truly important people in my life are. I am blessed with good family, great kids, a wonderful husband, and a few friends that I am truly thankful for.

Thursday, January 5, 2012

New year, new update!

Since its now 2012, I thought it would be fun to do a little update about our family! I cant believe how fast time goes by, especially with little kids. They grow like weeds, its so amazing. Of course I'm nuts and occasionally have a good cry about how big my kids are!

My Cayden bug, oh this little boy. He is so big! He is almost up to my shoulders (not that I am that tall, but I its incredible that he is almost as tall as me!) Its funny for me to look at his hands and feet, because they are also about the same size as mine. I mean, this kid wears my socks sometimes and they fit him! It blows my mind. My favorite things about Cayden currently are the way he smiles and laughs. When something funny happens, its like you see it in his eyes before you see him smile. His big eyes lights up and they seem to laugh before his mouth even does. It brightens my life. I love it. His smile is also changing since he is FINALLY growing front teeth. This kid has not had top front teeth for about 2 years! They both are about halfway in and look so cute! I think he is pretty proud of them too ;)
He is doing so good in school, he reads everything he can see. He is ahead of his class in reading and its fun to see him do it so well. He loves doing it too! I hope he keeps that up. He has so many little friends in his class, and a best friend too that he loves to spend time with. He of course still loves to make everyone laugh, its still pretty much his goal in life. He is getting better at the whole 'time and place' thing though. I just have so many reasons why I am so proud of this kid. He is super great, and I love him a whole lot!

Kennadi is my little diva girl. She is super funny. This girl pulls the best faces, and does thing with her eyebrows that I thought only I could do :) She has so much personality and attitude, its fun...but sometimes drives me insane! She is her mommy's biggest helper. She loves to help me cook and bake and pretty much do anything that I do. She helps with Quaid all of the time (to the point he screams at her!) She never lets anything get her down though, or discourage her. She will be everyone's mommy and boss whether they like it or not!
Its been really fun to see her start playing Barbies and babydolls. ITs hilarious to listen to her and watch her do it. It seems like not that long ago and I did the same things. She is so funny and she knows it. She loves spending time with her Aunt Brooke, and her big brother Cayden. While she can be such a girly girl, she also loves to dig in the dirt and shoot guns with her brother and daddy. She also loves helping Cord do whatever he is doing, fixing the car or feeding the dogs.
She is such a good girl and has a great heart. She loves school and to pretend she has to do homework just like Cayden. Having a daughter is something that is very special to my heart, she is so fun!

Quaid is 15 months old now!! He is so big and I cant beleive it. I forgot how much fun this age is. He walks and runs and dances and plays. I love watching all 3 of my kids play together, and they do! Quaids favorite things are to play with Cayden (they literally wrestle around and laugh super hard!) he loves to be outside, he loves our dog Dizzle, playing Barbies with Kennadi, eating chocolate chips, and dumping out the dogs food and water all over the kitchen floor. (little stinker) He is into everything!! He has learned to pull out the bottom drawer on anything and climp into it to reach whatever is on top. He is like a little monkey! We always have to push the kitchen table chairs under the table or he will be on top of the table! He dumps out anything that he finds, including the kids drinks on the table when he climbs on. And if he sees your coming to grab the cup before he dumps it, he does it faster!
He is so smart, and understands about everything we say to him. He is even talking. His favorite thing is "why" "mama" and "caadeen(Cayden)". He now has 6 teeth on top, 4 on the bottom, and 2 top back molars. He is still really well tempered, and he loves to make us laugh at him and get our attention.
We love this baby so much! I'm thankful for him, and the other two kids, every single day!

Cord is still working life away. Im glad he has kept his job all these years even though the economy has been tough. We are blessed he works for a good company. He supports me in all the things I do, even when they are crazy, and he is an amazing dad. He loves our kids so much and would do anything for them. He is a self proclaimed rock star, especially now that the kids have the new drum set. He can really play pretty good :) He got a new gun for Christmas and we have had fun shooting it. He also got to go snow boarding last week, which we havent done for a couple years now. It was always his favorite thing to do so I am glad he got to go and have fun!

I am still going to school full time. I am just now getting some nursing applications out. I am really hoping this is the year I get accepted into a program and start that , finally! Its only been 5 years and 2 babies later since I started my college career. I should be a doctor by now ;) But I enjoy learning, and hope I can continue to do so until I am completely done!
I have really been working on my photography stuff lately. I hope I can get it going a little more this year. I really really love doing it!! And I think I do pretty good :) I guess I need to thank my dad for getting me into taking pictures from a young age. I dont know if he even knows he is the reason I love it so much!

We are hoping and expecting that 2012 will be a great year for our family! I hope all of our friends and family have a wonderful year as well!!!

<3