Keepin' Up With The Jones'

A Pretty, Pretty Princess Room for a Pretty, Pretty Princess!!!!!

2010-03-31T12:58:00.000-07:00

Daddy painted the room and did a fabulous job. Eva Dean, one of Ava's namesakes sent us the beautiful lamp for her room, the colors match perfectly!!!! And the Dresser I found on Craigslist for $30, it is in great condition, I am very pleased with it.

Her crib is adorable!!! The crib bedding we got at TJ Max and notice her Build-a-Bear, love it!!!!

Random pic: This is the boys back in December making the Build-a-Bear for their sister!!!!

Oh Happy Day, Baby Girl is Finally HOME!!!!!!!!

2010-03-31T12:41:00.000-07:00

My parents were watching Bryson (and Christopher was at school) so we could go to the hospital and see Ava, she was being discharged that day but they called us that morning and told us that it wouldn't be until later on in the afternoon. We were going up to see her mid-morning and by the time we got there, they said give us an hour and you can take her home. It almost made me shed buckets of tears b.c she was born on the 4th of January and I came home on the 7th and she didn't come home until the 11th, which made for a very hard time for me trying to cope at home without her there with her family. But by the grace of God I was able to make it through.

Papa loving on his only granddaughter, what a tender moment!!!!!

Big brother, Christopher literally meeting his sister for the first time. Cool thing, he didn't even know she was coming home that day, he was soooo shocked when he got off the bus, I loved his reaction, I wished I had of taped it, for all to see, it was truly priceless!!!!!

Ok, Bryson, my funny, always has me laughing, child, really does have a very soft tender side, HE LOVES BABIES!!!!! So, when we brought his baby home he was truly beside himself. I love the way she is looking at him, like she is studying his every move, how priceless!!!!

The 2 happiest big brothers ever!!!!!

No words could describe the joy they are feeling inside knowing that their little sister is finally home!!!!

The NICU Diaries!!!!

2010-03-31T11:42:00.000-07:00

Right after she was born, she started having some breathing issues. She was breathing too fast and it was pretty labored. So after about a few hours in the nursery, they decided to put her in the NICU. So that meant that she was not able to come into my room the whole time I was in the hospital. They told us that once she was in the NICU she would be in there until she was ready to come home and would be discharged from there. So, I was pretty sad but I knew that she was in very good hands b.c the NICU at the hospital I was at was one of the best and I was very grateful for that. So, that meant that I had to go and see her and recovering from a c-section, amongst all the pain, it was worth it to see my little angel!!!!

This was the first time holding her!!! I was and still am in love!!!!

All the tubes were annoying but I knew they were temporary!!!

Who couldn't love that face!!!!

Daddy holding his baby girl for the first time!!!!!

So happy!!!!!

He even has his "World's Greatest Dad" Shirt on to prove it!!!!

Sad pic, they had to put an IV in her forehead, OUCH!!!! I really HATED it!!!!!

Love me some baby girl!!!!!

A face only a mother could love!!!!!

She had to tan for a few days, jaundice.

No more tubes, she was finally breathing on her own, YAY!!!!! Prayers are answered!!!!

Happy momma, tired of going back and forth to the hospital though, she will be home soon is all I could say to keep myself motivated!!!!!

IV out of her forehead, YAY!!!! Look at that adorable face, I could kiss it forever and ever!!!!!

Adorable hat, we got to keep it, funny thing is it doesn't even fit her head anymore, sad!!!!

We love the no tube thing!!!!!

So sweet, a cherub from above!!!

Getting close to going home finally, she can't wait to meet her big brothers!!!!! And see her adorable room that her Daddy painted just for her!!!!

Finally able to go home, YAY, we were thrilled beyond belief, no more tubes at all!!!!! NICU it was great while it lasted but it is time to go!!!

After Ava was born we were showered with gifts!!!

2010-03-31T11:35:00.000-07:00

Absolutely gorgeous pink roses from my sis, Shelly!!! Love ya bunches!!!

And a quilt from my mother-in-law.

Ava Grace Jones!!!!

2010-03-31T11:20:00.000-07:00

Randy dressed and ready for the c-section!!!

Enjoy the quick video of her first born!!!

Miss Ava Grace in all her glory!!! She is FINALLY here and boy was she worth all the trouble!!!

Hair, hair and more hair, LOVE IT!!!!

My beautiful Angel!!!! Mommy loves you!!!
Her stats were:
Jan. 4, 2010
7 pounds 13 ounces
20 inches long

My Baby Shower Jan. 2, 2010

2010-03-31T11:14:00.000-07:00

Unfortunately, these are the only pics that were taken with my camera. It was a lot of fun!!

Top pics: Steph, Shelly, Me, and my cousin from Northern VA, Mandy
Bottom pics: Bethany, Kasey, Kelly

Random cellphone pics from the past couple of years!!! Enjoy!!!!

2010-03-31T08:16:00.000-07:00

After all this time I finally figured out how to transfer my cellphone pics to my computer, YAY!!! I hope you enjoy them!!!!

My oldest baby!!!!
Funny cellphone picture frame!!!

Great pic of my Brycie for being a cellphone pic!

Daddy and Brycie probably plotting something "TOP SECRET"!!!

My Daddy at my sister's house!!!

Brycie on a horse!!!

Chrissie on a horse too!!!

No words!!!!

LOL, this is my most favorite pic EVER!!!! This was taken last summer when I was so sick with pregnancy in one of my many hospital stays, laughing was good medicine!!!!

Tomatoes from our garden, summer of 2009, yummy!!! To bad, I was too sick to enjoy them :(

Christopher doing karate!

Bryson passed out before we even left the parking lot of the pumpkin patch.

A long time ago!!! My 2 baby boys!!!

Am I cool or what?!?

On our 5th wedding aniversary, 8-8-08!!!!

Another pic frame on my phone!

And another!!!

And again another!

My funny, funny Brycie!!!

And my funny, funny Chrissie!

LOL!!!!

Hey cowboy where is your zebra?!?

My favorite face of Brycie when he was younger!!!

Me and my boys!!!!

Funny Momma!!!

Football playing Papa!!!

Same with Daddio!!!

Bathtime!!!!

@ Toys-r-us, they loved this jeep!

No words needed!!!!!!

2010-03-31T08:02:00.000-07:00

The Belmont YW are awesome!!!!!!

2010-03-31T07:46:00.000-07:00

The girls in this picture are literally angels from on high!!!! They were my saving graces last summer and and I love them all so much b.c of it!!! They came to my house every morning Tuesday through Saturday at about 8 am and took over the mothering duties for my boys while I laid on the couch in agony and despair from pregnancy sickness. I will be forever indebted to them for there gracious acts of kindness towards me and my family. They are teenagers and it was the summer but they choose to help me instead of having a carefree summer, again I will always love them bunches and bunches!!!! Thank-you so much girls, you are my hero's and I know I would of never made it through this pregnancy without you!!!!!

Ava Grace is finally home!!!!!!

2010-01-23T10:52:00.000-08:00

We are having so much fun with her, she is definitely our BONUS!!!!!

Daddy & her passed out fast asleep, I love her arm acrossed his chest!!!

She still has milk in her mouth!

I love this pic b/c this is her build-a-bear's hat and it fit her head!!!!

My cousins sent this outfit and I just love it, she had a doctors appt. this day so I decided to dress her in this for it. Doesn't she look adorable???

Ava Grace 1/17/10 at OneTrueMedia.com

2010-01-17T19:52:00.001-08:00

Make video montages at www.OneTrueMedia.com

Disney Cars Tire Game!!!!

2010-01-17T18:51:00.001-08:00

Christopher got this game for Christmas so decided to have a little fun with it myself!

The boys didn't seem too excited!

My Christmas 2009 Montage 1/17/10 at OneTrueMedia.com

2010-01-17T17:04:00.001-08:00

Photo and video editing at www.OneTrueMedia.com

Christmas morning-The boys seeing their loot for the 1st time!!!

2010-01-17T14:44:00.000-08:00

Playgroup Christmas Party

2010-01-17T14:38:00.000-08:00

Santa came to see the kiddos!

She is so cute, I had to get a pic!

First year he has not cried in his lap! Miracle!

Cutie!

Getting her present!

Belmont Ward Christmas Party

2010-01-17T14:30:00.000-08:00

The Nativity--notice Christopher and Randy!

My 2 cuties!!!!!

2010-01-17T14:23:00.000-08:00

Before church one Sunday, (Bryson wouldn't stand up)!

Bryson turned 3 on November 10th!!!!!

2010-01-17T13:04:00.000-08:00

I know I am day late a dollar short but I figure late is better than never!!!!

Happy 3rd Birthday my little Bycie!!!!

Yummy, Costco cakes are the best!!!!

My guys---Daddy, Brycie, & Chrissie!

I was trying to get a pic of him looking at me and of course it didnt' work.

Opening his present at home!

Disney Cars book from Mommy & Daddy!

He was wiping his eyes b.c he started crying b.c all he wanted was a Lighting McQueen and The King cars, so we had to have him open them next, he was much happier then.

I love this boy!

He got Mac too from his Nanny & Papa!!!

He loved it!!!

Bass Pro Shops!!!!

2010-01-17T12:57:00.000-08:00

My parents took Bryson and I to Bass Pro Shops in early November, it was a lot of fun!!!! I want to go back but this time I won't be big and pregnant, YAY! The fish tanks there are really awesome and I know that the pic doesn't really show the size of these fish but let me just tell you they are HUGE!!!!!

I love the Fall!!!!!

2010-01-17T12:53:00.000-08:00

I know this is way late, but I really do love the Fall!!! The trees are so beautiful and make me so happy!!!!!

Halloween Fun 2009 at OneTrueMedia.com

2009-11-04T15:22:00.001-08:00

Make an on-line slideshow at www.OneTrueMedia.com

Disney On Ice 2009 at OneTrueMedia.com

2009-11-04T15:21:00.001-08:00

Make video montages at www.OneTrueMedia.com

Bryson being a race car!!!!!

2009-11-04T07:37:00.000-08:00

Randy decided to make a video of Bryson running around between the living room and kitchen, full speed ahead!!!!!

1st Day of Kindergarten!!!!!!!

2009-10-17T14:26:00.000-07:00

Since I was very sick with pregnancy, I couldn't go out to the bus so these pictures will have to make do. I can't believe that he is old enough to be in school or that I am old enough to have a school-age child. His teacher's name is Mrs. Parr and she is really nice. We like her alot.

What a big boy he is!!!!!

Ready to go get on the bus and start his school career!!!!! I cried my eyes out after he was gone!!!!!!!

Finally writing his name, YEAH!!!!!!!!

2009-10-17T14:16:00.000-07:00

I cannot tell you how LONG I have fought with him to write his name and do it all by himself without any help and he finally did!!!!!!

And we worked on his middle and last name and he did that too!!!!!

I was so proud of him!!!!!

Bryson feeling a little left out with all this school stuff!!!!!!

2009-10-17T12:53:00.000-07:00

Can I just say how much I LOVE this kid!!!!!! He is definitely my comic relief, that is for sure!!!! He was feeling so left out b/c of all the pictures we were taking of Christopher, he wanted in on the action too!!!!!!!

What a great dollar store find and, boy, have we gotten our moneys worth out of it!!!!!

Another one of his silly looks!!!!!!

I love this picture, he looks so grown-up in it!!!!!!

Christopher's 1st day of Summer School!!!!!!!

2009-10-17T12:51:00.000-07:00

Our county offers a summer school class for rising kindergarteners to prepare them for school in the fall and since he had no formal preschool, I thought this would be just perfect for him and it was!!!!! He loved it! It was only 5 weeks long and half a day.

Here he is all ready for school like a big boy!!!!

Getting ready to go to school!!!!!! Love the great smile!!!!!!!

Christopher turns 5!!!!!

2009-10-17T12:16:00.000-07:00

Christopher's birthday was July 1st and we had a very fun birthday party for him, even though I was sick!!!! We had it at the local fire department and boy was it fun!!!!! The firefighters were so sweet and kind and loved having us there as much as we loved being there!!!!!!

This is of Christopher, Tyson, and his cousin Mollie, and of course the firefighter. They let them get on the fire trucks and look around and boy, did they have fun!!!!

Mollie & Christopher posing for a picture!!!!!

Bryson & Christopher-Best Buddies forever!!!!!

Todd the firefighter & Christopher! He put on all his equipment to show the kids.

The kids with another firefighter in the ambulance. Audrey wasn't so sure about sitting on the stretcher.

Back in the kitchen, opening presents!!! YEAH for birthdays!!!!

Daddy made this cake for him and did a GREAT job!!!!!

Blowing out his candles!!!!

I love that smile, I can't believe my baby is 5 years old already, where has all the time gone?!?!?!?

I must of NOT pushed my easy button!!!!!!

2009-10-17T11:50:00.000-07:00

Well, I want to apologize for not posting anything for months on end first off!!!!! Secondly, I wanted to say that most of you already know but we are expecting and I have been VERY VERY sick to say the least. In early pregnancy, in a 5 week time period, I had lost 21 pounds. Overall, I have been hospitalized 3 times and have been to the ER about 14 times or so. I have had to 2 picc lines, the first one got infected so they had to put a new one in. All this b/c I had for the 2nd time, a disease that some pregnant women can get that is called Hypermemosis, basically in a nut shell it is SEVERE nausea and vomiting with no relief in sight!!!!!! There are many days that you feel like you are going to DIE!!!!!! So b/c of this, this will be our last child!!!! When I have my c-section, Dr. Smith will tie my tubes!!!!!! I am VERY okay with that though b/c we are having a GIRL and I know my family will be complete then. Plus, I am 33 and I just don't see myself having kids after I am 35. Her name will be Ava Grace which I just love!!!!

My Great Grandma's name was Ada and I have a cousin on that same side of the family whos name is Eva, so I am mushing the names together to come up with Ava. And as for Grace, my Great Aunt Lady's real name is Eleanor Grace, so Grace will be her middle name after her. I decided to kept it all in the Bradshaw family. Aunt Lady is Great Grandma Ada's daughter and Eva is her granddaughter. Plus, she will have to have an "A" name b/c Christopher is "C" and Bryson is "B", so it was only fitting for my last child to have an "A" name for C, B, A.

This is little Ava Grace on 4D Ultrasound back on October 12th. It just amazes me the technology that we have this day and age. My sister said that she has "Angelina Jolie" lips, I would have to agree with her!!!!!! I can't wait to kiss them when she is born. As for when she will be here well that day is soon approaching. January 11th, 2010, she will make her appearance into this world. So her birthday will be 01-11-10, so cool, I think!!!!!

The Boys and a Friend!

2009-05-16T13:30:00.000-07:00

I took this picture this morning of my 2 and a friends little boy named, William. His parents went to the Temple so I watched him for them. My 2 were entranced with the TV and William was watching me mess with my camera. Too cute!!!!

The Messiest Art Student Ever!!!!!!!

2009-05-16T13:22:00.000-07:00

The boys take an art class on Tuesday mornings at a local Community Center and here is the results of the class they attended last week. He had paint everywhere, infact there was paint where paint should not be!!!!!!! But he had a great time and that is all that matters.

I guess he was trying to get it off his hands, I am not sure, but if you notice his shirt down at the bottom on the side, yeah, by the way, that did not come off , darn paint!!!!!

Mother's Day with Uncle Malcolm!!!!!!

2009-05-16T12:52:00.000-07:00

Randy's Uncle is getting ready to go to Iraq and we will miss him dearly so we had the opportunity to spend the day with him on Mother's Day. We hope for his save return in 6 months. Uncle Malcolm we love you very much and will remember you in our thoughts and prayers always!!!!!

Jamestown at last!!!!!!

2009-05-16T12:00:00.000-07:00

After the awesome ferry ride, we arrived in Jamestown. Because of the 400 year celebration last year of Jamestown, they have really changed things quite a bit. There was a brand-new building and a HUGE museum that would take hours to go through. We went through a small part of it and saw an exihibit about Pocahontas. The neat thing about this is that Randy is related to her 16 generations back, she is his 16th great-grandma. Isn't family history neat???

There was a flag for each state represented in the parking lot, which I thought was really neat.

At the start of the flags was this wonderful waterfall, but of course I had some very tired and uncooperative boys on my hands.

For those of you who have never been to Jamestown, they have an English village, and Indian village and the 3 ships that successfully made it to Jamestown. This is part of the English village, I think this was the Governor's home.

This was a church but being there that day we found out that they did not come here for religious freedom, their voyage was taken merely for trying to find goods and services in which they could take back and make money with.

The guys at the puplit giving the best surmon of their life's.

Bryson is trying to figure out what in the heck is on his head!!!

Oh, isn't that the cutiest little Englishman you have ever seen????

Why that is the 2 cutiest Englishmen I have ever seen!!!!!!!

I cannot remember to save my life the names of these ships but we got to go on all three and they were all really neat.

This is the same one from up above but the pic is a little dark so I put this one on here too.

There is Randy and the boys getting on the ship!

This was the last ship!

This was their voyage from England to America, these 3 ships were the first vessels that successfully made it to the new land.

The James River Ferry!!!!

2009-05-16T11:34:00.000-07:00

Because of Randy's work situation being so crazy, we decided to get the heck out of dodge one day he didn't work and go down to Jamestown. We road the ferry over to Jamestown, which is always neat. I can't tell you how times in my life I have been on the Jamestown Ferry, I am sure a ton, but everytime it is still fun and exciting. For my boys, Christopher LOVED it and Bryson thought it was okay at first but started hating it at the end, he wanted to go get back in the car. Giselle, do you remember when you were back here, I took you and Alex on it, and we drove the car right on it and it takes you on a 30 minute ride across the river. I also remember we went on it 2x because we went the wrong way down to the ferry.

Daddy with his boys!!!!

Mommy and Christopher, Bryson was to worried about watching the seagull in the pic below to take a pic with us!!!

Crazy seagull, Bryson was entranced with him!

Here was the other ferry going back the way we came, if you look closely you can see vehicles on it.

Easter Sunday Afternoon @ Grandma's & Grandpa's!!!!!!

2009-05-16T11:24:00.000-07:00

Christopher & Bryson with their cousin Mollie and Issac (My sister-in-law's grandson)

The boys just goofing off, being themselves!!!! Why Bryson has a stick in his mouth and a frisbee on his head, I do not know!!!!!

Easter Bunny Cake!!!!!

2009-05-16T09:21:00.001-07:00

Pretty much every year when I was growing up for easter we would make an easter bunny cake just like this. So of course, I want to pass that tradition down to my own children that was started so long ago with me. We took the cake down to Randy's parents house for a cook-out on Easter Sunday. Everyone loved it!!!!

Not only did it looked great but it tasted good too!!!!

The Easter Bunny came to our house!!!!!!!

2009-05-16T09:09:00.000-07:00

We did something new this year that I think we will keep doing every year because I thought it worked out really good. The Easter Bunny came to our house on Saturday morning instead of the normal Sunday morning. My reasoning behind this idea was that I knew the rest of Saturday we were going to be super busy with a baby shower and a wedding reception and on Sunday mornings Randy had to be church at 6:30 AM so we that wasn't an option either.

The boys waiting patiently to find their easter baskets and the eggs that the Easter Bunny hid. They were both super excited!!!!!

Bryson cheesing for the camera after he found all the loot the Easter Bunny left him!!!!!

Christopher doing the same!!!!

Man, the boys must of been really good to get all that stuff!!!!!

I told Randy to get behind them so I could take a pic of the 3 of them and this is all he gives me-- an extremely serious face!!!!

So after I fussed at him, he decided to smile and hug his boys!!!!!

Christopher got this really cool book that opens up to make a garage. It also comes with paper people and vehicles, plus some stickers. I love Ollie's, I found this there for $3.99. I will pay that any day for my little boys happiness. I LOVE Ollie's book section, you could literally get lost in it.

Still playing with it, Bryson got the truck at the top of the pic, that was only $4.99, and was regularly priced @ $25. What a deal!!!!! Plus, the Incredible Hulk t-shirts they got, I got on
clearance at Wal-mart for $3 a piece. Sweet!!!! I love good deals!

Dying Easter Eggs!!!!!

2009-05-16T08:52:00.000-07:00

I took a ton of pics of them dying easter eggs but I decided not to bore everyone so I picked the best three.

Christopher is an old pro at dying easter eggs now, he loves it!!!!

This was Bryson's first year really knowing what he was doing, he a great time and had fun too!!!!

The finished product almost, we did put stickers on them, but I must not of gotten a pic of that!!!!

Playgroup Easter Egg Hunt!!!!

2009-05-16T08:28:00.000-07:00

The moms wanted to get a group pic of the kids waiting to start the hunt and my 2 and and Christopher's best buddy decided they were going to put their buckets on their heads while they were waiting, what silly boys!!!!!!

Oh, there they are coming out of hiding!!!!!

Still waiting with the buckets over their heads!!!!!

More waiting while they are given directions!

I love their happy faces after they found the eggs, what great smiles!!!!!

Mommy & her boys checking out all their loot from the easter egg hunt!!!!!

Easter Egg Hunt at the Bensley Community Center

2009-05-16T08:05:00.000-07:00

Bryson loving on the Easter Bunny, Christopher wouldn't go anywhere near him. He has always been afraid of fuzzy characters.

Bryson eagerly awaiting for the easter egg hunt to start!!!!!

Bryson and Mommy trying to find easter eggs!!!!!

After a very uneventful hunt, the boys were able to go on the tractor barrel ride, they loved it!!!!!

This is a good friend of ours, Miguel, his Mom and him met us there, he had fun too!!!!

Youth Baptism Trip to the Temple!!!!!

2009-05-16T08:00:00.000-07:00

Randy wanted to go help with the youth baptism trip and I said I wanted to go along, so since I had the kids plus one extra child (I watched the Young Womens Pres. little boy too so she could go in), I wasn't able to go inside to help with the youth but my boys really enjoyed hanging out in the vistors center, it is such an awesome place!!!! Just being able to take my boys to the temple is a wonderful blessing. Christopher is just in awe everytime we go, he loves it!!!!!!

New pics of our crazy puppy, Diego!!!!!!

2009-05-16T07:57:00.000-07:00

He was cute back then what happened, now he is as crazy as ever!!!!!

Another pic of his cute stage!!!!!!!

Yummy Dessert!!!!!!!

2009-05-16T07:48:00.000-07:00

Randy had to leave to go run an errand right after dinner one night and he told me to save him some dessert. So, while he was gone the boys and I cut him a HUGE piece of angle food cake and decorated it with whip cream and strawberries, ummmm.....YUMMY!!!!!! We totally surprised him, he laughed when he saw it!!!!!

My Silly Little Brycie!!!!!!

2009-05-16T07:46:00.000-07:00

I just had to post this pic because he is just so funny. He keeps me laughing all of the time!!!!!!

Happy Birthday, Randy Dear!!!!!!!!!

2009-04-01T19:34:00.000-07:00

Well, I have seen on other posts, where they have dedicated one whole post to their husband on his birthday or anniversary. Well, here goes nothing, I am going to give it a try. He turned 29 on March 21 and I know I am a day late (well, okay many days late) and a dollar short but I am still going to do it.

He has been so wonderful since the day that I met him that I am going to give 29 reasons why I love him sooooooooo much!!!!!!!!

He is a wonderful husband and father.
He is a great provider.
He makes me laugh with his great sense of humor.
He lets the boys jump on him like he is a jungle gym and plays hide and seek with them in the house, and also sometimes plays dead which makes Christopher go crazy when he won't answer him or wake up.
He is very good with music.
He was a wonderful missionary and served faithfully which shows me how much he loves the gospel.
He is a wonderful handyman and can fix just about anything.
He loves me and his boys unconditionally.
He loves animals and hates when others are mean to them.
He is from Massachusetts but doesn't have an accent at all.
He honors his calling and takes it very seriously.
He loves to cook and bakes great cookies and New York Style Cheesecake, YUMMY!!!!!!!!!
He cooks dinner often.
He also helps with the laundry.
He is my BFF.
He puts up with me and my nagging on a daily basis and still loves me at the end of the day.
He has 2 older brothers and a younger sister and I have two older sisters and a younger brother.
He has moved around just about as much as me growing up.
He talks in his sleep and has even gotten Christopher out of his bed in his sleep.
He loves to serve others when they are in need, he has a very kind heart.
I am so glad we are eternal companions!!!!!!!
I think that we were made for each other, we are always thinking the same things, weird but awesome!!!!!!!
He keeps me grounded and focused so I don't flip my lid!
He has really been focused on planting a garden this year and so far so good!
He is a great example to his family, he was the only one to serve a mission!
He and I are dying to work on our family history, it is such a wonderful feeling when the names get taken to the temple and the work gets done!
No matter what we do together or how we spend our time, we always have the best time when we are together as a family!!!!!!!
I am glad that we have spent the past almost 6 years together as husband and wife and mommy and daddy!!!!!!!!
This is harder than it looks, I hope he appreciates it and knows how much I love him!!!!!

Randy, sorry this is WAYYYYYY late but know that I love you forever!!!!!!!! I hope you had a wonderful birthday!!!!!!!!!!!

Welcome the newest addition to our Family!!!!!!!!

2009-04-01T12:50:00.000-07:00

March 21st was Randy's birthday and I had not gotten him anything because we had purchased a Wii and some other things in the past couple of months so he told me that would be for his birthday. Well we dropped Christopher off at a birthday party and had to go to Wal-mart to get some stuff and there was a lady out in front that had a box that said "free puppies". So we were intrigued and walked over to the box to see if she had anymore, she had one left and we snagged him right up. (Now, I am not sure why I agreed to get a puppy but I thought it would be a great gift for Randy and plus the puppy laid in the cart right on Bryson's lap and fell hard and fast asleep.) Well, we are now dealing with a 7 week old puppy as best as we can. The only I am SICK of is when he uses the bathroom in the house and nips at the kids but puppies do that. So I will be glad when he gets potty trained and stops nipping. Other than that he is a really great dog and the boys LOVE him. Well, why we were there a friend of mine, who's daughter takes art with my boys was there with her oldest selling girl scout cookies, she came over and saw us holding the puppy and she actually helped me name him. I was telling her about my parents new puppy and about how they wanted to name her Dora but my sister said no way, well, she said wouldn't that be cute--Dora and Diego. Well, I was hooked after that, I loved it, he is Diego even though my parents puppy will not be Dora. And in a funny way, with his coloring, he looks like Diego. My other sister calls him, Go Diego Go!!!!!!!

Puppies, Puppies, & More Puppies!!!!!!!!!

2009-04-01T12:39:00.000-07:00

My sisters dog, Daisy, had 2 little puppies, I think they are both female. My parents are getting one and a friend of my nephew is getting the other one. My parents are naming their puppy, Dixie. All 4 of these pics were taken the day they were born, and they are now 7 weeks old.

March 1st--Snow Day!!!!!!!

2009-04-01T08:51:00.000-07:00

We haven't had a really good snow storm in the Richmond area in years, and I think we were finally due for one, but in March, that was the only crazy think about it. The boys were a little sick and I didn't want them to go out and play in the snow but I couldn't hold back any longer and also a couple days later after repeatedly begging me, I caved.

Christopher all bundled up, and of course I don't have any snow gear for them because it doesn't snow enough, so we just made due with what we had.

Bryson actually walking in the snow, I don't think Christopher ventured out into. Bryson is more of a daredevil than his brother.

Posing for a pic!

He was looking at the moon.

This was taken from our back door, what a winter wonderland!

Monster Truck Show!!!!!!

2009-03-30T21:29:00.000-07:00

Let me take you back in time a moment: While I was laying on the ultrasound table at my OB about 5 years ago and Randy sitting by my side, the second the technician muttered the words, "It's a boy!!!!", I could see the wheels turning in his head of all the AWESOME things he could do in the future because of this little bundle of joy growing inside of me. And now this is probably the start of a long tradition of monster truck shows. My boys LOVED it!!!!!!! Hope you enjoy the pics as much as we loved the real thing.

Oh, and yes, it was VERY loud, Randy had to run down to the concessions and get these ear covers and he even bought me some ear plugs, thank goodness!!!!!

This was Christopher's favorite truck, it was called Backdraft.

My silly boy, I was lucky to get this pic, he was so entranced with everything.

This was Bryson's favorite truck, its name is Monster Mutt. Its ears and tall were floppy and its tongue would go in and out while in motion. Bryson would say "bye-bye doggie", everytime it left the arena.

It competed against Gravedigger, which was also really cool to see.

I don't remember what the name of this truck is but I thought its jump was way cool.

Totally airborn!!!!!!

At the end, all the trucks had a turn to freestyle, almost all them at the end of their time made doughnuts.

As you can see, the trucks tore the arena up with all the doughnuts that were made.

An Awesome Playgroup!!!!!

2009-03-30T21:13:00.000-07:00

This playgroup was one of the best that we have had in a long time. The mom that hosted this playgroup had a wonderful idea of having it be her daughter's 3rd birthday party. She borrowed a bunch of different kitchen sets from friends and even one of the sets came from our doctor's office believe it or not. The sets were all lined up around the gym and the kids had a wonderful time playing with them. Then she prepared lunch for all the kids and had cupcakes for them too. I know my boys had a wonderful time!!!!!!!!!

All the kids eating lunch.

Christopher with his best buddy ever, Avery!!!!!

Funny story--Last year when he was in Sunbeams, one Sunday, Avery wasn't there and Christopher was so upset by it that he refused to go into Primary for the longest time. He finally calmed down and went but not with out a lot of convincing on my end.

My great big smiley boy sitting next to the birthday girl, Emma!

This is my little buddy, William, he is a great kid, I love him!

Would ya for a penny, would for a dime, would ya, would ya, would ya, be my Valentine!?!?!?!?!

2009-03-30T20:59:00.000-07:00

My hubby is awesome, he stayed up late the night before and made me a cake!!!!!!

And on top of all that he bought me these gorgeous tulips (to bad they died already :( )!!!!!

The color of the tulips were truly amazing!!!!!!! He also bought me a chocolates and a stuffed monkey that is soooo cute but I didn't get a pic of it. He really spoiled me on V-day, I felt extremely loved!!!!!!!

Crazy Squirrel!!!!!!

2009-03-30T20:46:00.000-07:00

The boys and were home one lovely day and watched a squirrel take a whole roll off of our deck (I had thrown them out for the birds and squirrels a couple days before) climb up the tree with it in his mouth and then went out on a very small tree limb and then jumped to another very small tree limb with it still in his mouth. Needless to say, the boys and I thought it was very funny and too cool to see such a sight.

Random silly pics of the boys from the last 3 months!!!!!!

2009-03-30T20:15:00.000-07:00

My silly boy being himself!!!!!

More of the silly boy!!!!! Thanks Nanny for the kazoos,

even Bryson knows how to make music with it.

Bryson's trademark smile and Christopher's fish face, gotta love it!!!!!!

My Mickey Mouse addict!!!!

Gotta love free stickers that came in the mail.

He was hooked and wanted them all.

Silly boy #2!!!!! He insisted that he wear his brothers bike helmet and elbow and knee pads, or yes, and we can't forget the gloves. Crazy boy!!!!

The Jones' Family

2009-01-10T10:08:00.001-08:00

Get your own Family Sticker Maker & MySpace Layouts.

2008 Bradshaw Family Christmas Gathering

2008-12-30T12:18:00.000-08:00

Alex, my 15 year-old-nephew, LOVES the Dallas Cowboys. I HATE them, but that is beside the point. My Mom had me make him a fleece blanket. He LOVED it!!!!!!!!!!

His brother Logan, to the left, LOVES the Minnesota Vikings, my Mom just bought some fleece for him the other day, after Christmas, because she felt bad that he didn't have one, so I am making him one too. He doesn't know it yet.

He keep wanting me to take his pic, he is a really silly kid, boy, I LOVE my nephews.

A friend of my Mom's found the cup and the football for him, he loved those too.

My dad got the funniest present of all.......

HAHAHAHAHA!!!!!!!!!

Christmas Morning 2008

2008-12-30T11:47:00.000-08:00

Children and Christmas go hand in hand and this video says it all, Enjoy!

My boys were soooooo excited for Santa to come!

Christopher was checking out what Santa brought.

He got a Harley Davidson Scooter, that revs like a real motorcycle.

Bryson got a tool bench, and it is just his size.

He also got a Mickey Mouse with a fleece blanket.

Another pic with Christopher on his scooter.

They got a construction site that has a crane that runs on a remote control.

Christopher got a Planet Hero's spaceship. Randy and I found it back in November on clearance at Walmart for $13.00. I saw them at Toys-r-us for $25.00.

The boys opening up presents.

Christopher holding up 2 new sleepers, that he desperately needed. Plus, they glow in the dark.

Randy must of been a really good boy this year, he got the biggest present under the tree. Smile = Priceless!

Christmas Gathering with the Extended Jones Family

2008-12-30T11:42:00.000-08:00

The kids opening presents from there grandparents and Aunts and Uncles.

Christopher @ Karate!!!!!

2008-12-30T11:37:00.000-08:00

We signed Christopher up for this Karate class through the county parks and rec. It meets for one hour on Saturday mornings. He loves it.

He has really caught on and is doing well.

Belmont Mommies Playgroup Christmas Party!

2008-12-29T11:46:00.000-08:00

Gotta love the smile! This is my messy face kid, he is so funny when he smiles for pics!

Christopher icing his cookie.
Brycie probably with a mouth full of candy, I love the pirate look.

Christopher being very particular!

Getting ready for the gift-exchange.

Opening their gifts, they just exchanged.

Brycie inspecting what he received.

Holding their cool gifts so Mommy can take a pic.

Visits with Santa!!!!!!!!

2008-12-29T11:38:00.000-08:00

We had to go to the bank and we saw my Mom at work while we were there and low and behold there was Santa Claus! Christopher has never cried when he is with him but Bryson on the other hand has everytime except this time. He even let him pick him up.

This is the guys waiting in line at the mall to see Santa, we went for FHE. Bryson was sooooo excited and then when he actually got on his lap.......
He screamed bloody murder!

He hated it! At least, I have a pic of him not crying.

2008 Belmont Ward Christmas Party & Nativity

2008-12-29T11:22:00.000-08:00

The kids were so cute!!!!!!!!If you look closely, to the right at the bottom, that is little Brycie sitting there as a little sheep. I was so shock that he sat there the whole time because he is still in nursery.
Here is a better pic of him, a leader told me that they had a little hat on him to match his shirt but he took it off.

Christopher is the last Shepherd on the left holding the broom handle, he did a great job too. I was surprised as well, that he participated.

Here is a video, showing some of the nativity, like is said earlier, the whole thing was really cute!!!!!

Shelly's Graduation--Bachelor of Nursing!!!!!!

2008-12-29T11:01:00.000-08:00

On December 12th, 2008, at 7:00PM at the VCU Seigel Center, Shelly graduated, YEAH!!!!!This is her walking in with her class. I am so proud of her, she has worked really hard to get where she is at.
This is the whole class, 3 doctoral candidate's, 2 rows of masters, and the rest bachelors.

Sorry this is blurry, but this is her walking across the stage, GOOD JOB, SHELL!!!!

This was right after she came down off the stage, they let family members come up and take close ups if they wanted and of course, I wanted too.

This was after everyone walked and the whole gym was going crazy cheering for the Grads! Shelly was looking up at me so I could take her pic.

With her very proud parents, this makes #3 of their 4 kids to get their bachelors, Robbie is close to finishing as well.

The whole crew, I wouldn't of missed it for the world.

A very proud sister and nephew!

My boys LOVE Christmas Lights!!!!!!!

2008-12-29T10:47:00.000-08:00

My Mom and I went shopping on a Saturday afternoon and was stopped at a light and saw this, the antlers on this SUV, I laughed and thought I really have to take a picture of this, so cute!
This is a house not to far from us, it is really amazing!! We have been past this house a few times and the first time Bryson cried as we were leaving it, he was sad that he couldn't see it anymore. So Daddy turned around so we could drive past it again, that made him happy.
This is another house not to far from us, we actually got out of the van and walked around at this one, I took so many pics but decided not to bore you with them so I just picked a few to share.
The homeowner's left no space uncovered, it was really amazing!
There was even a path that took you to the side and back of the house, everywhere you looked there was something to look at.

Thanksgiving!!!!

2008-12-29T10:37:00.000-08:00

I made this cake for Thanksgiving at my parents' house and boy did it turn out great. The cake was so pretty I didn't want to cut it.

Bryson's 2nd Birthday Party!!!!!

2008-11-20T09:26:00.001-08:00

This was the cupcake cake, Randy & I made for his party, we both thought it turned out really cute. Cupcakes are definitely the way to go especially if the party is at a restaurant which it was. He is so in-love with Cookie Monster right now.

Every time we asked him what kind of party he was going to have he would say in his own little way, "Cookie".

His Great Uncle Malcolm came to his party, he was really happy to see him. He drove just over 1 hour to get there and he brought this great gift.

An awesome Elmo book!

Some good friends of ours, in fact my visiting teacher and her family came as well, we sure do love them.

At the last minute the night before I decided to make sweatshirts for the boys, I did not make the shirts themselves, I just sewed the character on the front.

His beloved Cookie Monster!

He is entranced with this gift from Mommy, Daddy, & Christopher!

We found this at Wal-mart and firgured he would love it and he did.

He loved his cake.

He blew out his first candle.....

And finally his second!

As you can see he ate every bit of his cake and ice cream.

His friend Jack loved his cake and ice cream too!

Last but not least, the smile on his face after his fun birthday party.....Priceless!!!!!

Dance #3

2008-11-17T13:51:00.001-08:00

Send your own ElfYourself eCards

Disco Fever

2008-11-17T13:48:00.001-08:00

Send your own ElfYourself eCards

The Jones Family Elfves with Guest Appearance by Uncle Robbie

2008-11-17T13:41:00.001-08:00

Send your own ElfYourself eCards

Our Free Trip to Kings Dominion!

2008-11-10T14:52:00.000-08:00

Make an on-line slideshow at www.OneTrueMedia.com

I won a family four pack to Kings Dominion off the radio two weeks before it was closing for the season. So the only day we could go was the last day they were open, which was November 1. We had so much fun and I forgot how much I loved Kings Dominion. And the boys had a wonderful time. Randy was excited because he got to ride some roller coasters. Overall, it was a fabulous day!

Belmont Ward Halloween Party!!!

2008-11-10T14:03:00.000-08:00

We had so much fun and as you can see the boys did too!My little Firefighter and Viking!!!!
Grandma & Grandpa Jones, Firefighter, and Viking!
(Randy and I won for Best Couples Costume)

Me and two friends at the trunk-or-treat!

Our friend missed my legs in the first picture so she took another one.

Chesterfield Berry Farm Adventure!

2008-11-10T13:43:00.000-08:00

I have lived in Chesterfield since I was 9 years old and had never been to the Berry Farm, so I decided it was time to go, especially since I had free passes from the paper. The bunnies were sooooo cute and looked soooooo soft and cuddly.

This was a newborn caff, he still had his embilicord on.

This was our hayride to get the pumkin patch, it was very BUMPY!!!!

The boys really enjoyed it!

I don't think Bryson quite knew what was going on. He seemed a little confused.

We bought 4 small pumkins at the Berry Farm also and I let the boys paint them. They turned out really good and they had a wonderful time doing it.
This was Bryson's first time painting and it was like he was an old pro at it, I didn't even have to tell him what to do, he already knew. What a smarty paints!

On the other hand, Christopher is an old pro at painting, he is so funny.

Finally taking time to smile for Mommy!

Showing off his cool masterpieces!

Sunrise from our front window!

2008-11-10T13:39:00.000-08:00

I was up with Christopher a little early and was looking

out the front window and this is what I saw.

Happy Birthday, Mom/Nanny, a day late and a dollar short!!

2008-11-10T13:21:00.000-08:00

My Mom's Birthday was on October 4Th, 2008, we went to eat at this Mongolian Grill, it was okay, my parents have eaten there before, but it was my first time, I probably won't ever eat there again. We still have fun though.

Christopher is taking an Art class also and he painted that wooden box for her and I put his picture in it. Of course my Mom loved it.

He also made the "Happy Harvest" sign.

Alex and Logan are crazy as usually.

My silly Brycie!

I took my two and my nephews to get their pictures done for my Mom for her Birthday, I will scan them in and add them so everyone can see them. They really did turn out great and this is her reaction seeing them for the first time, she loves them and still talks about them.

Karate--Bryson Size!

2008-11-10T13:16:00.000-08:00

Christopher has been taking karate since the beginning of September. The class was taking a water and bathroom break so Bryson decided he was going to have a little fun.She is not his teacher anymore and we sure do miss her. She was wonderful.

Chesterfield Safety Day

2008-11-10T12:12:00.000-08:00

This was such a fun day, my kiddos are SOOOOOOO into Fire Trucks and Policemen that they could of stayed all day.

They were definitely in awe about this motorcyle!

Christopher in his element, he was having the time of his life!

In the back of the front of the fire truck, he loved looking at all their equipment.

The police had an obstacle course set up, he was so cute!

Go, Chrissie, Go!

Over the wall he goes!

Christopher was practicing how to make 911 calls. We actually got to go into the call center and take a tour of it. It was really neat to see where all of the 911 calls go to in the county!

The last couple months!

2008-11-05T12:22:00.000-08:00

I promise I will get the pictures put on the computer from our happenings of the past couple months as soon as possible. I do have some really cute pics to post. I also want to say thAT I love living in Virginia sometimes, especially in the fall. I think because we have had such a slow start to fall this year that the leaves have taken forever to change but now that they are changing they are staying on the trees longer and let me tell you they are absolutely GORGEOUS!!!!!!!!!! It seems like everywhere I go even in my own yard or street, I can look out the window and see such wonderful colors and beauty all around. I LOVE IT!!!!!!! Plus, the colors seem so rich to me this year, I find myself not being able to take my eyes off the trees as we are driving down the road, they just make me sooooooo happy and full of joy!

The Busy Jones Family!

2008-11-05T12:07:00.000-08:00

My little family has been very busy the past two months with Randy working a lot and birthdays (My Dad's, mine, and my Mom's) and pumpkin patches and Halloween. Christopher started taking an art class on Tuesday mornings and a Karate class on Saturday mornings. I found the classes through the county parks and rec. The art class is a steal, 7 sessions for only $10 and the karate class is 7 session for only $25. He loves both of them and enjoys attending them each week. I also registered Bryson up for the art class this time around and he has been 2 times now and really enjoys it too. They make the neatest stuff. Plus, they can get as messy as they want and it is not at my house, YEAH!!!!

My Dad is a living walking, breathing, living miracle. The Orthopedic Surgeon told him it would be a GOOD 6 months before he was back to normal and now he doesn't even have to go to PT anymore or wear his brace. He still has pains every now and then and he is still doing his PT exercises 3 times a day as directed by the doctor which is still helping him a ton. So, I would say that he is about 95% better or more which is a HUGE blessing to him and our family. I am soooooo grateful for the gospel and the knowledge that I have of eternal families because I sure do love my Dad and Mom (for that matter) and couldn't imagine not being with them forever.

I am alive and Barack Obama is President-Elect, YEAH!!!!

2008-11-05T08:53:00.000-08:00

For everyone wondering if I am alive, I am. I have been meaning to post for sometime but other things have taking precedence over blogging. I have been very much into this election and I am extremely grateful of the outcome. I know many people do not agree with the way that I feel but I have felt the same way my whole life about politics and I can tell you that it has always been something my parents have talked about openly in our home throughout my childhood. I have come to form my own opinions and sometimes I think that maybe I should of majored in political science instead of home economics because I am so passionate about it. I am going to post this article I found off LDS Living that states very much how I feel right now and because it is MY blog I feel like if I offend anyone or make anyone mad then that is just too bad, because it is my blog and I can write what I want.

LDS Official Calls for More Political Diversity
Dan Harrie, Salt Lake Tribune, May 3, 1998
10/27/2008 05:51 PM MDT

On May 3, 1998, the Salt Lake Tribune reported the following interview with Elder Marlin K. Jensen of the First Quorum of the Seventy of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Elder Jensen, at the time a member of the Church's Public Affairs Committee, was "designated by church officials to respond to The Salt Lake Tribune's request for an interview on the topic of partisan imbalance in Utah and among LDS members."

The LDS Church, through a high-ranking leader, is making its strongest public statement to date about the need for political diversity among members, while expressing concerns the Republican Party is becoming the "church party."

"There is sort of a division along Mormon/non-Mormon, Republican/Democratic lines," says Elder Marlin Jensen, a member of the First Quorum of the Seventy. "We regret that more than anything -- that there would become a church party and a non-church party. That would be the last thing that we would want to have happen."

Jensen said major national political parties may take stands that do not coincide with teachings of the 10 million-member Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, but that should not put them out of bounds for members.

A former attorney and lifelong Democrat, Jensen was careful in his comments not to suggest an official LDS preference for any political party but to maintain the church's traditional stand of partisan neutrality.

The First Quorum of the Seventy is the third tier in LDS Church leadership after the Quorum of Twelve Apostles and the governing First Presidency.

Jensen for the past three years has been a member of the church's Public Affairs Committee. He was designated by church officials to respond to The Salt Lake Tribune's request for an interview on the topic of partisan imbalance in Utah and among LDS members.

The Tribune's inquiry came on the heels of two significant developments: Utah Democrats' unprecedented failure to field a candidate in a congressional race and a statement from the LDS First Presidency -- read over pulpits in January -- urging members to seek elective office.

In an hourlong interview at the church's worldwide headquarters in downtown Salt Lake City arranged and overseen by LDS media-relations director Mike Otterson, Jensen discussed leaders' views about the seeming demise of two-party politics among members. Among the concerns he aired:

-- The LDS Church's reputation as a one-party monolith is damaging in the long run because of the seesaw fortunes of the national political parties.

-- The overwhelming Republican bent of LDS members in Utah and the Intermountain West undermines the checks-and-balances principle of democratic government.

-- Any notion that it is impossible to be a Democrat and a good Mormon is wrongheaded and should be "obliterated."

-- Faithful LDS members have a moral obligation to actively participate in politics and civic affairs, a duty many have neglected.

"I am in shock," Utah Democratic Party Chairwoman Meghan Zanolli Holbrook said when told of Jensen's comments. "I have never heard anything like this in the years I've been here."

"That's an earthshaker," said Democrat Ted Wilson, head of the University of Utah's Hinckley Institute of Politics and a longtime critic of the close connection between the Mormon Church and Republican Party.

"Mormon Democrats have been praying for this," said Wilson, who is LDS. "This is more than seeking -- we have beseeched the divinity over this."

Utah Republican Chairman Rob Bishop's reaction was less enthusiastic. "Any time a major player in the social fabric of the state, like the church, says something, it will have an impact."

"We obviously will not change," Bishop added. "If Mormons feel comfortable we welcome them. And if non-Mormons feel comfortable, we welcome them, too."

Jensen, who was called as a general authority in 1989, said high church officials lament the near-extinction of the Democratic Party in Utah and the perception -- incorrect though it is -- that the GOP enjoys official sanction of the church.

All five Congress members from Utah are Mormon and Republican, four of the five statewide offices are held by GOP officials and two-thirds of the state Legislature is Republican. Nearly 90 percent of state lawmakers are LDS. Democrats last held a majority in the state House in 1975, and in the Senate in 1977.

President Clinton finished third in balloting in Utah in 1992, the only state in which the Democrat finished behind Republican George Bush and independent Ross Perot. Utahns last voted for a Democrat for president in 1964, when they supported Lyndon B. Johnson.

Public-opinion polls show voters identifying themselves as Republican outnumber Democrats by a ratio of about 2-1.

However, a statewide survey taken in April by Valley Research, The Tribune's independent pollster, found the state equally divided when asked if the question if Republicans had too much power. Forty-six percent of the 502 respondents answered yes, 45 percent did not believe the GOP held too much sway and nine percent were unsure.

"One of the things that prompted this discussion in the first place was the regret that's felt about the decline of the Democratic Party [in Utah] and the notion that may prevail in some areas that you can't be a good Mormon and a good Democrat at the same time," Jensen said.

"There have been some awfully good men and women who have been both and are both today. So I think it would be a very healthy thing for the church -- particularly the Utah church -- if that notion could be obliterated."

The idea that Mormonism and Democratic Party affiliation are incompatible traces back to the early 1970s, when LDS general authority Ezra Taft Benson, who later became church president, was quoted in an Associated Press interview as saying it would be difficult for a faithful member to be a liberal Democrat.

Church officials later claimed the comment was taken out of context, although the AP stood by its account.

Jensen said concerns exist on two levels about the unofficial linkage of the Republican Party and Mormon Church.

One is the fear that by being closely identified with one political party, the church's national reputation and influence is subject to the roller-coaster turns and dips of that partisan organization. Also bothersome is that the uncontested dominance of the Republican Party in Utah deprives residents of the debate and competition of ideas that underlie good government.

"There is a feeling that even nationally as a church, it's not in our best interest to be known as a one-party church," Jensen said. "The national fortunes of the parties ebb and flow. Whereas the Republicans may clearly have the upper hand today, in another 10 years they may not."
Closer to home, he pointed to the Democrats' precarious toehold in Utah -- a circumstance highlighted by the dearth of minority-party officeholders and the current one-sided election in the 3rd Congressional District.

Republican Rep. Chris Cannon in 1996 defeated Bill Orton, a conservative Democrat and Mormon who had been the lone member of the minority party in Utah's delegation. This year, Cannon is seeking a second term without any challenge from a Democrat -- a first in Utah history.
(In 1982, Democrat Henry Huish missed the filing deadline and had to run as an independent. Still, he had the backing of the Democratic Party.)

"The Democratic Party has in the last 20 years waned to the point where it really is almost not a factor in our political life," Jensen said. "There is a feeling that that is not healthy at all -- that as a state we suffer in different ways. But certainly any time you don't have the dialogue and the give-and-take that the democratic process provides, you're going to be poorer for it in the long run."
There also are more immediate, tangible costs, he said.

Jensen blamed the Republican monopoly for contributing to Utah political leaders' inability or unwillingness to grapple with long-range planning issues. He pointed to the lack of state leadership on issues of open-space preservation and land-use planning.

He also pointed to the massive, catch-up highway-building binge that has disrupted Salt Lake County commuters and businesses. "One might say that the transportation crisis that we're in might have been averted had there been better balance in the parties and something was thrashed out 10 years ago, perhaps during Gov. Bangerter's time, rather than being allowed to wait until we reached a crisis situation.

"There are probably issues like that environmentally, educationally that we'd really benefit from if there were a more robust dialogue going on. But we've lacked that and I think we've suffered somewhat because of it."

Jensen's comments are bound to cause ripples among the 70 percent of Utahns who are counted as members of the LDS Church, as well as millions of faithful throughout the country, say political observers.

"This is the second dramatic time in the history of the state when forceful signals have been flashed from church headquarters calling on Mormons to choose up political sides more evenly," said J.D. Williams, retired University of Utah political scientist.

Williams compared Jensen's public pronouncements to the church's attempts in the 1890s to divide congregations up evenly among the two major political parties.
"Thus, wonder of wonders, theocracy was the mother of democracy in the territory of Utah," Williams said. "We achieved statehood five years later."

Jensen also referred to the 19th-century splitting of congregations along partisan lines, when the territorial People's and Liberal parties were abandoned in favor of national party affiliations.
He repeated an anecdote told by prominent LDS Democrat Oscar McConkie about his father's recollections of a church leader telling a congregation during a Sunday morning meeting to "sign up to be Republicans."

At that time, Mormons favored the Democratic Party because it was less stridently anti-polygamy than were Republicans.

When members of the flock returned for an afternoon session, the Republican sign-up sheet remained blank, Jensen said. "Brothers and sisters, you have misunderstood," said the church leader. "God needs Republicans."

"And Oscar said his father would wink and say, `And you know, Oscar, those damned Republicans think they've had God on their side ever since,' " Jensen said.

"I don't know if you can make any use of that but it's a great story. And there's a little of that embedded in our culture, unfortunately," he said.

Elbert Peck, editor of Sunstone magazine, said it is noteworthy that it is not LDS President Gordon B. Hinckley or one of his counselors breaking the church's silence on political imbalance.

"It is not as official as if it was an apostle or a member of the First Presidency saying it," Peck said. "Still, the quotes are out there and people will use them. You can bet they'll be remembered and taken as a sign."

Peck, whose Salt Lake City-based independent journal publishes articles on historical and contemporary Mormonism, predicts similar comments will be made in other settings -- church firesides and the like, because messages sent by LDS general authorities are repeated.

"Privately, I've heard reports of these opinions, but not publicly," Peck said. "The church leaders have been careful about saying anything publicly."
The tremendous growth of the Mormon Church worldwide has forced attention to its image as a good, trustworthy neighbor in the communities, states and countries where it is taking root, he said.

"We need to develop a tolerance -- so we don't demonize people that we have a disagreement with," Peck said. "It really was the church leaders' position on abortion and the Equal Rights Amendment [in the 1970s] that was the death of the Utah Democratic Party, because it became a litmus test," he said.
Pro-choice and, more recently, gay-rights stands of the national Democratic Party have helped Republicans paint the donkey-symbol party as taboo.

Jensen said it is time for LDS members to take a broader view of political affiliation.

"We would probably hope that they wouldn't abandon a party necessarily because it has a philosophy or two that may not square with Mormonism. Because, as I say, [parties] in their philosophies ebb and flow," Jensen said.

"You know, the Republicans came very close last time to bringing a pro-abortion plank into their platform. That was maybe the biggest battle of their [1996 national] convention," he said. "Which shows that if you're a pure ideologue, eventually you're going to have trouble in either party."

"Everyone who is a good Latter-day Saint is going to have to pick and choose a little bit regardless of the party that they're in and that may be required a lot more in the future than it has been in the past. But I think there's room for that and the gospel leaves us lots of latitude."

2008 Chesterfield County Fair

2008-09-11T13:38:00.001-07:00

Make an on-line slide show at www.OneTrueMedia.com

Happy 5th Wedding Anniversary!!!!!

2008-09-11T12:26:00.000-07:00

Ad mist all the craziness, Randy and I still made time to celebrate our wedding anniversary. We had Randy's Mom come and stay with the boys over night on August 7th. We drove down to Raleigh, NC and stayed the night in a hotel that was about five minutes from the temple then the next morning we went to the 9AM session and were invited to be the witness couple which was really neat because the night before we were married five years ago we did a session and were the witness couple then also. Then at 11AM we did a sealing session which was the icing on the cake because that was the same time we were sealed 5 years ago to the day and time. It was really a neat experience and one that I will always remember. We hadn't been to the temple in a long time and it was really nice to go especially since it was our anniversary. Everyone kept saying, "Well, what a wonderful way to spend your anniversary" and I couldn't of agreed more. I don't know why the Raleigh Temple has some of the kindest temple workers I have ever known but they do, they are just so loving and have your very best interest at hand. Man, I love going down there more than any other temple. Overall, the day was wonderful and we stopped and ate at Red Robin in Raleigh on the way home which is one of our favorites. They are building one in our local mall here in Richmond and boy we can't wait until it is open next month.

Shelly's Birthday Dinner!

2008-08-31T17:36:00.000-07:00

Bryson eating pizza @ Bottom's Up!

Rolando (Naomi's Hubby) , Naomi (my oldest sister) , & Logan (my 13-year-old nephew), & Brycie

Naomi, Alex (my 15-year-old nephew) , & Logan

Shelly (the birthday girl & my middle sister) , & Logan

My Momma & Shelly

I always love when my whole family gets together, Robbie, Maribel, & Randy were the only 3 people that we were missing that night.

Crazy Times!!!!!

2008-08-31T17:00:00.001-07:00

Well, we have had some sad and very unexpected events happen in our extended family lately, that is another reason that I haven't blogged in awhile. The first incident happened in mid July, Randy's 20 year-old cousin, Tyson, died very unexpectedly on a Friday morning. The ME said the death was caused by low insulin. He was a type 1 diabetic but I never thought he would die from it. He and his father, Randy's uncle have been living in Charlottesville for the past 2 and half years because he is in the military. We have gotten to be very close to them and so this was a totally sad time for my little family. He loved my boys and they in turn loved him very much and even though Bryson is too little to know he is gone, Christopher understood a little. He told me that Tyson is with Heavenly Father now and he is okay. What sweet innocence a little child has, I love it! We will miss Tyson very much but we know that one day we will be with him again. We love you, Tyson!

On August 6, in the morning, my Dad had changed the oil in his truck and was cleaning up and walked into his shed and back out after putting something away and saw something on the ground and took a step back to pick it up and didn't realize the 2 foot step ladder was behind him. Well, needless to say, his leg got tangled in it and the other leg went down underneath of him. He was so hurt he couldn't walk so he had to crawl back into the house and call for my brother who was asleep upstairs. After about 3 or 4 calls he finally heard him and came downstairs to find his Dad laid out on floor. So, he called me and I went and got my Mom from work and we rushed to the house and Robbie stayed with the boys and my Mom and I took my Dad to the ER. Well, to make a long story short, he ended up messing his knee up really bad and had to have surgery on Friday morning, the 8th (mine and Randy's anniversary). He now has a cast from just below his hip to his ankle for a total of 6 weeks and then physical therapy. The Orthopedic Surgeon said that this will take a good 6 months to get over and get back to normal.

Then this week my Mom, on Wednesday, started having what she thought was just heartburn, well, she went to the doctor and he sent her to the ER and they ended up keeping her for 24 hours and ran all sorts of tests. Friday morning she went and had an ultra sound of her heart and also went home with a heart monitor attached for 24 hours. As she said, she was all wired up! Well, at the ER, she was having irregular heart rhythms so they are just trying to get down to the bottom of everything.

So, as you can see, I have been quite busy trying to help my parents as much as possible. I love them very much and would do anything for them. My biggest fear in life is seeing my parents age. I hate it! It makes me sad sometimes. But, I am so grateful for the gospel of Jesus Christ and the knowlegde that I have about eternal families. Knowing that I will be with them forever makes it wonderful!

Sunday Best!!!!

2008-08-31T15:50:00.000-07:00

I always find joy in dressing my boys for church. I am a little biased, but I always think they look so cute. This little outfit was my nephew's, who are now 15 and 13. The suspenders and shorts match and they have frogs on them. And who couldn't love that cheesy smile.

We found these pinks shirts on clearance at Wal-Mart for I think $7 each (ties included). He didn't want to get his pic taken.

Christopher let me take his pic as long as he could take a funny pic afterwards.

My silly boy!!!!!!!

Randy had me get his 2 suits dry cleaned, my doesn't he look handsome!!!!!

DVD Players are awesome!

2008-08-31T15:44:00.000-07:00

First, I would just like to say sorry, I have really fallen behind on my blogging, my last entry was July 22nd, WOW! But, here I am. Well, our new van has a DVD player and boy, I don't know what I did without it. Here are two funny pics of my boys watching some movie with their headphones on, sorry the pics are kind of blurry.

Car troubles!!!!!!!!!!

2008-07-22T14:25:00.000-07:00

Well, where do I start!? Our van decided to start giving us problems about a month ago with the check engine light coming on so immediately we went to Advanced Auto to get a test ran on it and it said that the EGR Flow Valve was bad or dirty or who knows what, so that was the first of our troubles, then our vans inspection sticker runs out in July so Randy and I decided to take it to get inspected and the guy calls me from the place to tell me that the rear brake drums are leaking fluid and that won't pass inspection and also that the rack and pinion are starting to leak but that would pass. So, we got the van inspected and the fuel system cleaned and the rear brake drums fixed from leaking to the tune of $363 and some change. My dad was wonderful and took us over there to pick it up when it was finished and as soon as we pulled out on to Hull St. the check engine light came back on and it started sputtering again, so the $60 we paid to get the fuel system cleaned didn't work one stinkin' bit. We should of just drove down Hull St. which is a street we frequent quite a bit and let 60 one dollar bills blow out the window, that is soooooo the way we felt. So, since paying all this money we didn't have anymore to fix the other problems and were getting really sick of our 2004 van that we have had since Christopher was two weeks old. Then to top it off Randy's new car (not new but new to him) that he got for work has been giving him problems too. We think it is just the battery and he is in the process of getting a new one as I type. So needless to say, we have been really sick of vehicles. Well, come to find it wasn't his battery after all it was his starter so that had to be replaced. And, then yesterday, he blew a tire on 95 going to a customers house and ended up getting all four tires replaced. But good news, two Mondays ago, (July 21,2008) we ended trading in our 2004 Dodge Grand Caravan for a brand-new 2008 Grand Caravan. I have been so happy with it. It is so beautiful and it has a DVD Player for the boys, which they love and it also has the GIG entertainment system in it with Sirius satellite radio free for one year. I have found an awesome 80's station that I love, it brings back memories, lets just say that. I am going to take some pictures of the van and post them soon. Plus, we got a really good deal on the van and now we don't have any car troubles, YEAH!

Blogs are the best!!!

2008-07-22T14:07:00.000-07:00

When blogs first came out, I didn't know what they were about or even what they were used for and then I found out by accident when my dear friend in Utah started one and she emailed me the address. I loved the idea that you could let your friends and family that are sooooo far away or maybe even close by keep an eye on the happenings of your family. Me, being a very into my friends and family kind of person, finally decided I should start a blog and I am so glad that I did. I have also found old friends and now can keep in touch with them by blogging, I LOVE IT!!!!!! Life can get so hectic at times and for me I am glad that blogging is my outlet to de-stress. It has been so good for me. My dear friend that I mentioned above has two adorable twins and I wish Utah and Virginia where closer or next to each other would be even better but they are not so seeing these two adorable babies through their mommies blog has been wonderful. (G, keep the pics and videos coming :) Lastly, I just wanted to say that I love my friends and family, old and new, very much and am so grateful for them.

Chesterfield's own-Smithfield the Pig

2008-07-22T13:55:00.000-07:00

We went to see Smithfield the Painting Pig at our local library and he is actually from Chesterfield County where we live but he has been on Regis and Kelly and I think Oprah. His latest trip was to America's Got Talent, if you watched the opening of the show on July 15th you would of seen him for about 2 seconds but that was it. He has also had cancer 2x. He does tricks and he paints. He is about 11 years old, she said she bought him when he was 6 weeks old at the Chesterfield County Fair. We went the evening of Christopher's Birthday, sorry this is getting posted so late. It was really fun and the boys enjoyed it.

Cake and Ice cream!

2008-07-02T21:05:00.000-07:00

A girl in our ward made the cake and she did a AWESOME job! Our ward had a girls camp fundraiser dinner and silent auction, we won the make a cake auction, YEAH! I researched on line and found a cake very similar to this and emailed it to her and this is what she produced. She is really good. I was pleased and so was Christopher. Those rocks on the cake and next to it were eatable, I found them at Baker's Kitchen (I love that place).

Christopher blowing out his candles, I love this picture with his cheeks all puffed out. I call that perfect timing.

This picture says "I can't believe my boy is four", all over it.

More birthday party pics!

2008-07-02T20:51:00.000-07:00

In this game, they had to knock over the tower with the swinging ball. They really liked it.

My brother has worked every weekend for a very LONG time and he finally isn't anymore so then he could come to the party and this is what he does. I feel the LOVE, let me tell you.

This game was red light, green light, they really had fun running.

Nanny and Papa are so awesome, they found this at Harbor Freight and got it for him when we were all down in NC for the Reunion. Notice the red and black chalk box thingy, he decided to unroll the whole thing the other day and I spent two hours untangling a huge mess, let me just tell you, I was not a happy momma after that.

For Christmas, we got him the geotrax grand central station starter set, and so for his birthday we decided to get him some more accessories, he was so excited. Since Saturday my living room has looked like a toy store full geotrax exploded in my living room. And every time we build a cool track little brother has to break it apart. Aren't little brothers fun!?

My baby turned 4!!!!!!!

2008-07-02T20:37:00.000-07:00

His actual birthday was yesterday, July 1st, but we had his party on Saturday June 28th, at the park. It was a construction themed party. It was a lot of fun. It wasn't as hot as it could of been, thank goodness.

The kids wore hard hats, tools pouches, and goggles, and at each of the four games they won a tool to put in their pouch.

Mollie (cousin), Bryson, Christopher, Wyley, Ty, and Genecee

This was the first game they played, the bean bag toss. Randy and I made it.

Wyley taking his turn.

Monday night softball adventure!

2008-07-02T20:21:00.000-07:00

This is Randy's 3rd softball season and now that the boys are both old enough, they really enjoy going to his games. Alot of their friends come so that makes it fun. Here are some pics of my boys being just what they are BOYS.

That cheesy grin is great. I am suprised he had time to stop for a pic as hard as he was playing.

Christopher kept doing it so my 19 month old thought he was big enough to do it too. This was only once of many times that he zoomed down the hill and of course mommy had to bring the bike back up the hill everytime and if I didn't he would cry and scream. Way to funny!

Some of the time he would make it all the way to the fence.

The safety day at the Mall!

2008-07-02T20:05:00.000-07:00

Bryson was crying to get of the stroller because he wanted more than anything to get in the fire truck, as soon as we put him in it, you can see what happened, the cheesy smile emerged. He would of sat there all day probably if we let him. Now, Christopher, on the other hand, wanted so badly to get in the fire truck and as soon as we got close he chickened out. He wouldn't even talk to the fire fighter and he was going to let him get in the very front and he still wouldn't get in.

My boys posing in front of the truck, Christopher is kind of hiding, I don't know what was wrong with him that day.

Once we got into the mall they had more tables set up with neat stuff on each one. At this table, the paint and play store allowed each child to pick a small ceramic figurine to paint, I thought it was awesome and Christopher loves to paint, so he picked a fire fighters hat. He painted it red. I am going to put a magnet on the back and put it on the fridge. It is really cute.

The new look!!!

2008-07-02T20:01:00.000-07:00

I have seen other blogs and thought it would be cute to change mine and get a new background, well, I have seen other blogs that have used the site "thecutiestblogontheblock.com" and so I decided to check it out and I am glad that I did. I chose the fire trucks because of course I have boys and I thought it would be cute. I really like the way it turned out. I soooo am proud of myself.

Last Reunion Pictures

2008-06-19T19:17:00.001-07:00

These pictures were taken when most everyone had left the reunion, my boys saw some cupcakes in a plastic container sitting there and Bryson picked up the whole container and brought it to me. Everyone that was still there was laughing at him. Needless to say, I gave in and gave them both one each, well, Bryson, of course, made a terrible mess. I took him over to was his hands and mouth off and he loved the water. He cried when I turned it off so I turned it back on and this is what happened-- they both got soaked but had a really fun time doing it.

He loves water so much, he is not afraid of it at all.

The awesome museum!

2008-06-18T11:18:00.000-07:00

Mommy, the firefighter!

This is a beehive, this boy even showed us the queen bee.

The heart, another climb-in! (Right next this, where the little girl is standing is a huge Operation game, I should of taken a picture of it but I forgot.)

I guess because I was having to much fun with this, it is an organ that you play with flip-flops.

This is a 3 story hospital crawl through. All this stuff was downstairs and there was more stuff upstairs we didn't even get to see. There is always next year, especially since it is all free.

Playground & Museum

2008-06-18T11:11:00.000-07:00

This playground is sooooo cool!

Even Randy wanted to have some fun!

The train right next to the playground, it only cost $1 to ride and the driver took us around twice. There is also a tunnel that the train goes through.

The stomach, it has two levels, it is way cool.

Another angle of the stomach!

2008-06-18T11:00:00.000-07:00

If you look closely, there is a hermit crab in this shell.

If you look closely at the this picture, you will see a blue crab, I thought it was really cool.

This starfish was moving in Randy's hand and when he put him back in the water he buried himself back in the sand.

This was a baby starfish, too cute!

This is a stuffed fish mounted on the wall.

More Nature Center

2008-06-18T10:53:00.000-07:00

This is a chinchilla, it looks like a ball of fuzz.

I really hate snakes, I am glad they were behind glass.

Yuck!

Yuck again!

These are 2 flying squirrels, wrapped up in balls.

More Nature Center and Museum pictures

2008-06-18T10:47:00.000-07:00

Madagascar hissing cockroaches, Yuck!

These animals have all been stuffed, but they are still really cool.

So many birds!

Stuffed wild turkeys!

Thank goodness these bears are stuffed!

Pictures from the Nature Center and Children's Museum in Kinston, NC

2008-06-18T10:40:00.000-07:00

This bird is amazing, his name is Oliver and he talks to you. Bryson had a fun time screaming and Oliver screamed back.
I thought this alligator head was amazing so I had to take a picture.
This frog is cool, I wish he was facing the other way.
This tarantula is spooky, thank goodness he was behind glass.
This is a huge lizard, I don't even remember what type it is.