The Way She Counts...

Being the mother of a toddler who recently turned two is an adventure. Well, Let's be honest - that's an understatement. Life can go from true bliss to a melt-down in less than a second. This age is also an incredibly rewarding time. I wanted to post this video before the holidays. Here it is now. I got out the camera a day after I heard Gracie count to ten all by herself. I got so excited. We count all the time - but I had never heard her say the numbers, all by herself, without any prompting. She makes me laugh everyday!! This girl is such an amazing blessing in my life. I love her so much.

A New Decade...

The year 2010 brings much hope and extreme excitement for me - a Brand New Decade. A chance for me to try harder in many areas and accomplish the goals I have set for myself. One of my favorite books is, "I am a Mother," written by the former Co-Host of The Early Show on CBS - Jane Clayson Johnson (Love Her!) It seems every time Jody finds me reading it, I have tears streaming down my face. He then replies, "Are you okay?...Oh you're reading that book again."
She says this in regards to the challenges and rewards of motherhood in her book,

"The poet William Ross Wallace wrote that, 'The hand that rocks the cradle is the hand that rules the world.' I love those words. I even believe them; but how can I rule the world when I can't keep my eyes open?"

My goals this new year include: being an influence for good, being a better mother and making sure I'm alert and awake enough to enjoy all the special moments 2010 has to offer! :)

One of my dear friends had a description of her life in the last decade on her blog. I'm going to follow in her footsteps and reflect on the past 10 years. If you want to, I tag you to do the same.

2000

I recently had graduated high school and was attending UVSC. Tried out for the Miss UVSC pageant, and was chosen the winner. (The judges saw something in me much beyond what I saw in myself. Really - for my talent, I danced with a cane and sang while wearing a top hat and tuxedo coat tails!) I found that now people listened to me when I spoke about my brother Michael and his disability. It became my new platform on which I stood.

2001

My parents moved from the home where I grew up in Orem. I moved in with roommates, and served in Student Government at UVSC as the Director of Service.

2002

Finished up at UVSC with my Associates Degree, had a new set of roommates who are still some of my dearest friends, dated some real unusual guys (understatement!) and won the Miss Orem Pageant. Advocated for those with Special Needs statewide - and learned some serious lessons in humility. Before attending class, I spoke at Elementary Schools about accepting differences and loved it!

2003

Transferred to the Y - officially a zoobie. Studied in the Broadcast Journalism program where a guy named Jody Tait started saving me a seat in class. I thought he was too good to be true. Got those amazing butterflies every time I saw him. Lucked out when he asked me to be his girlfriend at the end of the year.

2004


Competed at the Miss Utah Pageant and was named 1st Runner-up. Then competed at the National Sweetheart's Pageant in Illinois to represent UT. Walked hand in hand with my sweetheart Jody, at BYU's Graduation Commencement - We both graduated with our BA Degree in Broadcast Journalism. Traveled to South America, with Jody, to film a documentary on the banks of the Amazon River for my internship.



Jody proposed to me, on Halloween, by coming Trick-or-Treating with a ring in hand.


2005


Married for all time and eternity in February. Had a serious budget, ate Hamburger Helper ALOT, realized we didn't agree on everything - and that was okay. After seven months of renting an apartment - we made a daring jump and moved to Butte, Montana - where we bought our first house.

2006

I worked as the one-woman band at the tiny CBS affiliate in Butte. Jody woke up so early to make his shift at the Butte Airport. We froze for 10 months out of the year - built a snowman on Christmas Eve, and it was still there (all 6 feet of it) come May! We laughed alot, bought a truck (Jody convinced me we were living in MT) traveled four hours to get to a LDS temple and appreciated the gospel in our lives.


2007

Now living in Missoula, MT - we made new friends, bought another house, transferred jobs and found out we were expecting a baby. Gracie was born in November, and she brought a slice of heaven with her.


2008

Sleepless Nights. Learned Motherhood was no walk in the park - but the most fulfilling and marvelous walk I'd ever take. Still working at KPAX-TV...it was time to move HOME. Sold our Missoula house, packed up and headed home to Utah in October. Great to be back.

2009

Bought a home we plan to stay in for a long time. I work sporadically for channel 2 as a reporter. Jody still makes me walk on his back, and I still beg him to rub my feet. He tells me he loves me everyday before he leaves for work, and I still get those butterflies in my tummy when he holds my hand. Some things never change. This next decade is sure to bring new surprises, and I can't wait to see them unfold.

So This is Christmas...

Here are some of our JOYS OF THE SEASON.


LITTLE GIRLS IN CHRISTMAS DRESSES. Thanks Grandma Wiscombe for the darling dress.


LENDING A HAND TO SOMEONE IN NEED. Gracie loves Uncle Michael. She enjoys helping give him his medicine and pushing him in his wheelchair.


THE ULTIMATE LAWN ORNAMENT. Jody creatively equipped our snowman with arms and a cold beverage.


GETTING RED NOSES, WHILE EMBRACING THE CHILL OF WINTER.


SEEING THE LIGHTS AT TEMPLE SQUARE.


The 2-year-old in Gracie shows through in this picture. Look at her yelling at us, telling us she is done with pictures. :)


AN UNEXPECTED VISIT FROM SANTA CLAUS. The Big Guy up North knocked on the door when we were visiting Grandma and Papa Tait. What a Wonderful Surprise.


THREE JOLLY ELVES.


THE THRILL OF CHRISTMAS MORNING. (It looks like a Toy Workshop Exploded!)


We hope the spirit of this season warms your heart throughout the entire year.

A Bad Sweater Birthday!

If you are celebrating your 30th Birthday in Style - You Better Be Wearing an Ugly Sweater!


We had a Hideous Holiday Sweater Party for Jody's Birthday. Here are the boys showcasing off their fashionable sweaters.
Roommate Jeff, KC, Jody, Brother Jeff & Josh.


The Girls! Chiante, Janelle, Nahla & Lacey, Brittany and Sally.
My mom let me borrow this amazing snowman vest, wreath broach and Christmas Tree earrings. The mistletoe turtleneck is mine...I actually wore it back in 7th grade.


The cake is an Ugly Sweater. Not my best work...but goes with the theme of bad sweater. Notice the classy snowflake in the middle.


Do you have any pictures like this stuffed in a box somewhere? Think Wal-mart or Sears Photo 1989...


The Birthday BOY!!


Our White Elephant Gifts!


The Back to Back Pose. Classic.


Josh and Janelle are looking so good. Check out Janelle's sweater vest...yes, there are barn animals on it!


Happy Birthday Jody. We love you.

Sesame Street was Brought to You By the Number 2...

...And the Letter of the Day is "G".


I made her an "Elmo" cake. It's the first cake I've ever decorated, and maybe that's why Elmo turned out pink - not red. (I color corrected it in the picture below - but as you can see in the above picture - Elmo was really Pretty in Pink!) Gracie didn't seem to mind, and we just called the cake "Elma" all day anyway! :)


Gracie turned two on Thanksgiving this year. I can't think of a more perfect day for us to celebrate the blessing she is in our lives!


She was really excited to blow out her candles on this cake that Jody made for her.


Gracie had a few days of celebration. We spent Thanksgiving day with Grandma & Papa Tait and family.


Then on Saturday, we put on our eye patches and pirate hats and celebrated at Pirate Island with the Wiscombe Crew.


We played lots of games in the arcade and sharpened our shooting skills...


Gracie grew quite fond of the blue elephant, and rode the carousel until our tokens ran out...


Celebrating Gracie's 2nd Birthday has made me reflect on the past two years. It hasn't always been a breeze...


Thanks for hanging in there Gracie! :)

Dear Gracie,


We have come a long way. Both your father and I never knew how much love we could have for a 7 lb 4 oz package of joy. You have made our lives so happy. We are humbled that Heavenly Father has let us have the remarkable opportunity to be your parents. We love how you always wave to everyone and have a friendly smile to give. We love how you enjoy dancing and giving hugs. You make us better people. We love you. Happy 2nd Birthday Sweetheart!


Love, Mommy and Daddy

What Do You Think?

I haven't had bangs since 1994. And even before that, when I was too young to have any control, my bangs seriously started halfway back on my head and fluffed into a giant round piece of cauliflower out of my forehead. Not really good memories for me.

However, my husband has wanted me to try out a new 'do' for some time now...more specifically BANGS! So I did it. What do you all think?

STRIKE!

During the Thanksgiving Break, I got together with some wonderful friends for a night of bowling - Just us Girls. Life gets so hectic, and time is so precious...so we don't do these get-togethers very often. However, they are always a riot when we do!


My score didn't quite make it to 100. I'm not the most amazing bowler...so when I got a Strike - everyone in the Bowling Alley knew it from my celebration dance.

Back to You...

We went from Fall Weather to Winter Snow over the weekend. Below is a link to the story I did on Saturday. The real story is HOW many layers I had under that coat...Brrrr.

**Snowstorm Creates Messy Roads For Drivers

A Time to be Scary...A Time for Treats!

Trick or Treating with Gracie, this year, was so memorable. As we were walking down our neighborhood sidewalk, hand in hand, I really wanted to just freeze the moment. "This is what it's all about", I thought. She was SO excited about EVERYTHING. She was just jabbering away. "Moon"..."Pumpkin"..."Spider". I really enjoyed watching her toddle to each house in her LION costume. (It was a tad bit warmer than the Alice in Wonderland Dress.)


I just loved her in this "Alice" dress!


We attended our church ward party where we enjoyed some chili, cornbread and Trunk-Or-Treating. We are standing behind one of the homemade "Houses" attached to some one's trunk. People had fog machines, pumpkins, the works...every decoration imaginable dotting their "trunks". I must have missed that memo...We had Candy. And that's what counts. Right?


On Halloween night, we had a visit by some Spooks (AKA my parents and Michael)


Michael was a Blind Referee, my Dad was a Biker and my Mom dressed up like a Witch. They looked great. My Dad looked completely legit. I guess he went into a gas station after stopping at our house. The guy behind the counter said, "Nice Costume." My Dad replied, "What Costume?" :)


The fun just continued. We headed up to a Halloween Bash hosted by Kylene & Greg. Here we are with our Good Friends, Josh & Janelle.


Janelle made a good looking pirate...and I am rocking my Cheshire Cat costume... thanks to Jody sewing on the giant pink circle on my shirt. Very cat-like. Yes.


And then there was the doughnut eating contest. Jody showed off his skills.


Hilarious.


If the string hadn't been way out of reach for a majority of the race...I think I could have taken home the prize. Look at these pictures. I'm really putting forth an effort here...Janelle is just nibbling and laughing at me.