Merry Christmas, from the Garfield's!

2009 brought surprises around every corner. From finding out we were expecting another baby to Joseph losing and starting a new job.

• Talhon (1 mo) - What a rough entrance into this world...this little guy has managed to create quite the upheaval. On November 19th, Talhon "popped" into the world at a scrawny 7lbs 2oz and only 20" long. He spent 4 days in the NICU and then 10 days in the hospital for RSV a week later. He has steadily gotten better since we've been home. He is slowly being weened from his many machines, but is expected to make a full recovery by the end of February. Everyone adores him and we are thrilled to have him here.
• Kaleyna (1) - What a joy it has been to have a little girl in our midst. Her brothers are quite taken with her and she is the happiest, and most smiley girl that ever was. She is almost walking and is growing as fast as her brothers are. She loves to sing and clap and laugh...and she always has a twinkle in her big brown eyes.
• Brogan(2.5) - My coy, little imp...is always into something...mostly snacks or candy, but with a twist of his head and a coy smile, he seems to get away with a lot more than we intend. He talks a lot and manages to still befuddle us with his speech, but he is eager to make his desires known and even more eager to keep up with his two older brothers...but is also always careful to keep a close eye on his two younger proteges.
• Landon (5) - Started pre-K this year and he LOVES it! He enjoys learning and seems to excel in making friends and participating in singing and show-and-tell. He loves to go to Grammy's house and playing with his cousins. Clone wars, xbox, and TMNT seem to be his favorite things this year...next year, Kindergarten and the BUS!
• Braden(7) - In 1st grade and as successful as ever. He has reached new levels of achievement and continues to soak up all he can learn. He will be entering the "gifted" program at school in the new year and has participated in advanced reading and math groups this first semester...he has even gotten to read to his last year's teacher's class. He looks forward to getting baptised next year and is on his way to finishing the Book of Mormon before that happens.
• Joseph - Started a new job only a month after he was laid off from Ista. The timing hit at a critical point in my pregnancy, but we managed through. He has been involved with scouts and enjoyed taking Braden and Landon with him for good bonding time. He is eager to get in shape this new year and we both look forward to looking better.
• Me - Had our 5th child in November. Started a food storage group to get our year's supply...for info on a great system watch the Wendy DeWitt videos on youtube. Life has been overwhelming to say the least. But we look forward to having a pregnancy free year and moving into a bigger house.

Through all the unexpected and joyous occassions we could not have survived our year without the constant love, support, and endless prayers of our ward (church) family, close friends, and beloved family. It is to all of you that we owe our successful year and are reminded of the constant love and individual attention the Lord gives to each of us. We appreciate this time of year to be able to honor and celebrate the birth and life of the very man who gives us hope for the future, charity to our neighbor, and love to our loved ones. Merry Christmas and may God continue to shower his blessings upon you all.

All our love for the 2010 year and may God Bless you all,

Joseph, Becky,
Braden, Landon, Brogan, Kaleyna, and Talhon

Things we've worked on:

So much has happened. I'm not sure where to begin. So will start at the last post and move forward. (there are some pics, but more to come!)

July:
We found out we are having another boy. His name will be Tahlen Reed (spelling is still up for debate) and we expect him around the end of November. PreTerm Labor has been held at bay thanks to injections I've been taking. We'll hope they continue through the cold that I've acquired!

Went to the Atlanta Zoo for the first time and it was a lot of fun. Spent a lot of time with cousins and in-laws before the start of school.

Started a Canning Club at the beginning of the summer and it has been pretty successful. We've had two meat canning parties and a trip to the cannery with more scheduled for the fall...hopefully.

August:
School started! Braden went to first grade with Mrs. Sheppard (his reading teacher from the previous year) and Landon started preschool at Legacy Academy. He has thrived and learned so much. It really has been a wonderful thing for him. Aside from the driving to and from, it's been perfect!

Family Vacation to Florida! Paid "work" vacation for the family in St. Augustine, FL. We went to the beach and the pool, but really stayed inside because of the muggy hotness. We went to a mini golf place and the old fort. Had dinner thrice with Joseph's boss and good friends the Giovanni's. And had a really relaxing time without any hurricanes!

Still no baby problems. Looking forward to being done with the pregnancy. But more excited for the hot summer to be over.

September:
Went to the Depeche Mode concert in Atlanta with Mark and Carrie Clark. It was a blast and such a great concert...Joseph's first ever concert. He liked all the ballads that Marvin sang.

Braden turned 7! My little man is 7! He had his first sleepover with 3 friends. Rocco Cooper, Sam (from down the street) and Jayden Johnson. What fun they had! He was challenged by his grandma that if he read the Book of Mormon by the time he got baptized then she would take him to Disney World. Nice Grandma! Will he do it? It took him a year to get to half way through 2 Nephi?? We shall see!

Landon went on his first Field Trip. He got to ride the bus and he got to pet some baby animals at the 4H farm.

Super bad flooding in Georgia after two days of non-stop rain. Our Air Conditioner went out and we had to use our attic fan which in turn got Kaleyna, Brogan and I sick. Thank you Adamss for fixing it for us!

Joseph was laid off from his company. He did get a 4 week severance, but how quickly will he be able to get a job before it runs out. Baby comes in 7 weeks and what to do about insurance? We have full faith that he will find a job quickly and even more faith that the Lord will take care of us regardless. But I do worry about no insurance and what will happen if anything happens like it did last time. I have faith though!

All-in-all, we are great! Kaleyna is almost walking. Brogan is almost potty trained and Joseph has several prospects for jobs. Braden and Landon are doing great in school and Braden is in the gifted program at school. We are proud, positive and anxious for the holidays. Hope you all are doing well and we'd love to hear from you!

Love,
US!

A little bit of summer....

Well, here we are, nearly July and I haven't posted since April?? Scary! I know some people think they are the worst bloggers in the world, but I am positive that I take that prize! Anyway, a lot has happened and rather than bore you with details, I will list them all for you.

- I'm pregnant! Due December 15th...it's high risk and I'm feeling great minus the migraines!
- Kaleyna has 7 teeth, won't eat anything, just started rolling over, and went to the pool for the first time and loved it!
- Joseph took and passed his CCNA (the only one of 10 in his class that passed both tests) and enjoys his job immensely.
- Braden finished his first year of school and excelled in every way. He started on a 15 reading level (which is half way through 1st grade) as a Kindergartner and finished off at a level 32 (which is a quarter of the way through 3rd grade). He loves science and reading the most, but thoroughly enjoys playing with his friends and consistently beats mommy in XBox.
- Landon has been accepted into the Georgia Pre-K program and will be attending Legacy Academy on August 10th. He is still a very sensitive boy and seems to require a little more attention than the other kids, but is learning to appreciate the time he gets and makes really good use of his play time with his brothers. We hope preschool will give him a more well-rounded and social experience...not to mention the help it will give me when his new brother or sister comes.
- Brogan is a monster at 2, but still sweet and endearing at the same time. So smart and so adventerous. Nothing really scares him. He's got an amazing bond with his sister, but seems to enjoy cuddling with Mommy and Daddy the most. He is saying quite a lot, but has a hard time articulating the ends of his words so it makes it difficult to decipher what he says...at least to Joseph anyway.
- As for me, I'm just trying to keep up with the mom thing. I sometimes wonder what the Lord could possibly be thinking by giving me another baby right now. He obviously has more faith in me than I do in myself, but we were rather shocked at the news. But, when the Lord tells you He knows I can do it...what more can I say than, ok...Thy will be done! I got my hair cut short...which I love...and I have been working on Food Storage and have started my own group to help others get it done. Now you can see why it's so hard to keep up the blogging!

That's us for now. We have enjoyed going to the pool and Stone Mountain, Helen and Helton Creek Falls, a hockey game, a Braves games, and Gatlinburg, TN this summer. We look forward to Lake Lanier, to a small vacation to the beach...finances permitting...and finding out what we are having. Hope you all are doing well and we look forward to hearing from you. God Bless and stay cool!

Love the Garfields!

So much to post about...and no time to blog!

Well, an old month has passed and a new month has arrived...and yet...a 1000 things happen every day. I will have to edit with pics later, but I know if I don't start sometime, I will never get it all done.

March flew by like nothing...did it even happen? Several things happened, but the biggest one for our family was Food Storage! I have been bitten by the food storage bug. I helped my MIL give a presentation on a program she found that was done by Wendy DeWitt out of Arizona. It was a wonderful and easy approach to food storage and one that I am trying to implement with my own. Then, I got the crazy idea that it would be really fun to do it with people and I would be so much more likely to get it done if I had a "buddy" to do it with. So, I thought, "why not start a food storage group for enrichment?" Well, easier said than done. Lot's of walls and hoops to jump through, nothing has happened yet, but I'm determined to start something on May 9th. (so let it be written, so let it be done!)

Then, we found out that Joseph's brother Johnny was being sent to Afghanistan for the military and he will be missing the birth of his 2nd daughter in June. Super sad, but we are trying to have a better relationship with his wife and her family so she won't feel so lonely.

Then, we found out that Joseph's brother, Jared, and his family are coming back to GA from UT to live with my in-laws. So, my in-laws are trying to move into their garage until their new house can be built. Life is crazy, but I am thoroughly glad I'm here in my own house! I have enough crazy to deal with!

After March was over, Spring Break arrived. We have been paying for a vacation since last year and had really been looking forward to taking the kids and my in-laws on the MUCH NEEDED vacation. Well, the "time share" we were booking it through went under and another one bought out these mini vacations. So, when we contracted to receive $250 cash, 2 tickets to Dollywood and a gas card and found out that all we were getting were vouchers for my "time share" vacations we were a little miffed and our plans were shot. Not to mention, it snowed 2 days on our 4 day vacation, so the free stuff was even limited. After we got over the crash in our budget and the snow, we really had a nice time and we were able to enjoy each other, the indoor water park, and a lovely picnic in the Smokey Mountains! (side note: STAY AWAY FROM TIME SHARES! THEY ALL SUCK!!)

So, here we are in April and things continue to be fun and chaotic! Joseph is back at work, going a little crazy, but really enjoying himself secretly! The CEO of the company gave us these great tickets to the Tuesday night Braves game and we were literally 25 feet from the catcher. We only had 4 seats so we got a babysitter for the boys, took Kaleyna and some friends that took us to Joseph's first Hockey game. It was a littl e cold, but you couldn't get better seats. VIP boxes weren't this good. I was truly amazed out how close together everything seemed. The bases and outfield don't seem nearly as far away on TV as they are on the ground! Thank you Kearney for the fun night at Turner Field!

With Jared and Diane arriving on Friday, Joseph's and Brogan's birthday on the 23rd, Joseph's and My anniversary on the 21st, and my mother's being for 6 years on the 20th, there will, I'm sure be a huge amount more to blog about later, but for now, this will have to do.

By the way, Congratulations Katy and Brian on getting married on the 4th of April! We wish you a long life of happiness and success!

Until the end of the month!

Hail to the Leather Gods and the philosophy of a 4 year old!

Funny thing happened on the way home from Grammy's house:

(the following may be too much for your stomach's, so be forewarned!)

Daddy: "Landon, you need to eat the whole slice of pizza if you want to have a tractor ride."

Landon: "But my tummy hurts, Daddy!"

Daddy: "Landon, you need to eat your food so you can be big and strong...ok?"

Landon: "Ok, Daddy!"

(A couple hours later)

Grammy: "Landon, do you want a cookie for finishing your pizza?"

Landon: "No thanks, Grammy, I don't feel good."

Mommy: "Landon, what's wrong?"

Landon: "I just don't want anyfing"

(about 30 minutes later, in the car on the way home)

Landon: "Aghhh...I gonna throw up...(blaghhhhh - 3 times)...Mommy, I throwing up!"

Mommy: "It's ok, Honey, we'll clean it up at the gas station."

Landon: (a few seconds later) "Mommy! I feel better....the throw up made me feel better!!!"

Mommy: "Good Honey! Oddly, my car is now sick and so is Mommy!"

The wonderful played out philosophies of a 4 year old! If everything worked so easily. We ended up stopping at the gas station just before we hit the freeway and had to change his clothes (Daddy's job) and clean off the seat (Mommy's job). He managed to only get it on his chair...and seat belt. I love leather! And I will never own another car without it! Hail to the Leather gods!

Winter colds and Valentine Sorrows

February has been filled with many highs and lows already and it's only half over. My sister Wendy and her husband Keith have had their baby, Hannah Miriam Burton. She was born on Friday, February 6th, at 3:28 and lived for almost an hour.

They were expecting this because Hannah was diagnosed at 17 weeks with Trisomy 18 - a chromosomal disorder - that would not allow her to live for very long, if at all. They were prepared as they could be for the tragedy that awaited them.

They are at peace with it and know that she will be theirs for all eternity. What a wonderful gift the gospel is when things like this happen. Because of it they know that, not only is my mother holding Hannah right now, but that someday, they will both be there to greet them when it's their time to return to Heavenly Father. I love the Gospel of Jesus Christ!

I love this picture! With Mommy, Daddy and their eternity rings with Hannah! So precious!


Keith and Hannah



Lisa got to be there with Wendy! I'm so glad she was!


Wendy and Keith get a real meal after the hospital stay!

As for our little family, I still feel like I'm 4 months behind on things, but I am dealing with that. I did finally get my packages sent out to at least a couple of my friends that had babies this past year. Patty and Holly and Wendy, your packages are coming...promise!

My kids have all been sick with one thing or another. Even Braden, who doesn't ever seem to be sick for anything, has had middle-of-the-night wake ups with ears hurting or tummy's hurting. Anyway, we could be getting over them in a bit, but the weather could change again and someone else will get an allergy or a cold. Such is life at the Garfield abode.

Joseph's employer finally hired him a "helper" and now "he's going to be home more" theoretically anyway! In this economy, we are just so grateful to have a job and that we know he'll have it for a while. The sad thing is that, we have this horrible pit in the back of our stomachs that won't let us assume he can't lose it tomorrow. Everyone around us is losing their job. My father-in-law just lost his and decided to up and fly to Utah so he could sell insurance door-to-door. He has no money and because of frivolous spending, they are at risk for financial turmoil. It has really made Joseph and I think about what is important. We are trying to build up our food storage and get our two months reserve and put ourselves in a position to be stable for a few months if he loses his job. The government is doing crazy things and we have really felt a need to be ready for the worst. There is no telling what could happen, but we do know that if we put our lives in the Lord's hands, that he will bless us and guide us to do the things that will protect us from these hard economic times.

On the up side of things, we have been so blessed. Life just seems to get ever sweeter. The kids are happy. They are growing up so fast and I feel as though life seems to fly faster than I'm wanting it to. But all-in-all, we are truly blessed and loved by our Heavenly Father. We could not be more grateful!

It's almost February and I still feel behind...but getting there!

So, I've gotten used to the idea that I'm not going to be perfect at the routines and resolutions that I've tried to implement since the first of the year, but I'm finally on the road to getting there.

I still haven't started back at the gym and I still struggle with getting dinner on the table at a regular hour every night. Joseph is still working like a mad man and the kids are just about at their peak with cabin fever...they crave to get outside for any reason. Yesterday, Brogan sat at the door for about 30 minutes hoping and waiting to see if we'd make it out. About 3 hours later, Braden came home and as soon as I opened the door, he jetted out in his socked feet on the wet ground and the rain coming down.

When I quickly swung him indoors, he burst into tears..."maimy - ou, ou, ou" (which mean Mommy, out out out - in toddler talk). All in all, we are all ready for Spring. I do love the cold weather, but I don't like the constant change in the weather. I look forward to it being consistent...does that actually happen???

Anyway, my rant is over, but I wanted to give those that read my blog and the future generations that will read it, that we do have good days and we can be productive if we just make up our minds to do it. Yesterday, I cleaned out my car and am proud to say that the Laundry Demon that has been taking over my life is now tamed...not gone, but definitely under control. Today, I cleaned my kitchen including - get this -the baseboards, the floors were spot cleaned with Clorox wipes and the walls too. Of course, 1 minute later, I had a bowl of cereal fall on the floor...luckily no milk was in it, but still...

My goal now is to take each opportunity as it comes and utilize it to the maximum potential. That means that if Kaleyna is asleep, I focus on one room and then get one of the kids to help out. If she's awake, then I read an article from the Ensign while I feed her or strap her to my back and try to play with the kids or read them a book or fold the laundry or make cookies. I am not always going to have good days and I'm going to be lazy when I'm tired, but when moments come, I'm going to do my best to make them happen. And definitely take more pictures along the way! (hopefully! ;-))

Brogan watching basketball - Papa, he's on his way!



Brogan loves to hold Kaleyna and give her kisses!



Kaleyna is not so sure about her swing



Landon is just all sorts of fun right now!



Kaleyna after church showing off Daddy's new wedding band



Brogan's new "cheese" smile



Brogan and Landon - Landon always has a messy face!



Brogan and Kaleyna - the best of friends!




These pictures were just too cute to pass up! I love my little princess!




Mommy and Kaleyna on Sunday



Would you believe that this was after we took the one below??