Willie John

One toothed Willie is 1! I cannot even begin to tell how much I love this little piggie. I can't get enough of his bright blue eyes, his scowl, his wide smile, his giggle, his growl, his fearless head dives, his macho little build, his 1 tooth, his feisty attitude, and his kisses. LOVE HIM! We had a fun first Birthday Party with family (what's left of em'). Willie got spoiled rotten with clothes and 2 lawn mowers. We had fun but definitely missed our family members who could not make it. Happy Birthday little Studly Budly.

Carrot Cake (minus raisins and nuts)

3 generations of Talbot

Great, Dode, and Shaman

Adessa claiming that she and Hannah are "Avatar's." No, she hasn't seen the movie!




Gucci

Alli and Dan

Aunt Donnie (my grandpa's sister)
Poppa and Nana


The two Willie's. Grandma Great and William

One Year Ago Today

One year ago today I was feeling REALLY crappy. It is so hard to know if you are really feeling that crappy or if you are just wimpy. I have never considered myself to be wimpy, but I had felt moderately crappy for so long that I was beginning to wonder. Lack of fetal movement is bad, I learned this with my first born so you can imagine my stress when I noticed it with #2. Monday night I swung by LDS after my teaching shift at the studio (where I had demonstrated some fine dance moves), and asked them to monitor me. They said I was fine and if I was still worried to come back in the morning. Couldn't sleep, the pain was too much. The next morning I was having contractions 2 minutes apart so I hopped in the tub. After my bath I was so sick I decided to drive myself to the hospital. I honestly thought they would say the same thing as they had the night before, you are fine, but if you feel worried come back. The contractions I have are not like normal contractions. I know it seems weird, but it is pretty much my placenta abrupting and my uterus freaking out. When I got to the hospital they hooked me up to the monitor at Maternal Fetal Medicine for about 15 minutes and then literally rushed me to maternity. I will never forget the nurse marching in with an IV and my eyes as big as saucers. I asked her what the IV was for and she told me, "This is because you are having a baby today." Immediate tears. I knew that I was 2 weeks further along than I had been with Adessa, but I wasn't ready for another 6 weeks in the NICU. The Doctor came in and told me that John had 1/2 hr. to get there or he would not see the baby be born. Needless to say, John came into the operating room just as they were cutting me open. William John Talbot was born 4lbs. 1oz. a beautiful silver haired little nugget. They gave him a little oxygen and then incubated him. I will confess that it is always hard not being able to see the babies after they are born. You always see how they place the wet gooey little thing on the mothers chest and she seems so happy. I get to go to recovery and then after everyone else in the family has seen the baby, I get to be wheeled down. It's all good, I love them just the same. William lost down to 3lbs. 12oz. but after only 10 days in the NICU was able to gain up to 4lbs. 4oz. and come home. Bringing home a 4lb. 4oz. baby is another story for another day, but today is my Willie's Birthday. I love my little fighter, they nick named him Wild Bill in the NICU. My favorite nurse told me that there is an advantage to having IUGR babies (intra uterine growth restricted- meaning they should be bigger than they are at birth) and that is that they have such a will to survive because they start fighting in the uterus. That's both of my piggies. Happy Birthday Willie. I always fall apart on my piggies Birthday's because I wonder what would happen if I hadn't gone in when I did? I am so blessed to have them.

Hardest Thing EVER!

I swear to you on everything sacred and holy that my first Marathon was NOT this hard! I told my sister after the race that it was really really hard and she said, "Yeah Ash, that's why it's called a Marathon!" She's right. If it were easy, more than 2% of the population would be running them. But still, it was soooooo hard! I remember my first marathon being hard around mile 21, this one started to seem hard around mile 18. Since 2008 they have changed the route of the Salt Lake Marathon and have you running up State Street to South Temple with 3 miles left and then hanging a left to the Union Station. When I saw bodies running all the way up at the Eagle Gate I wanted to cry. Who in the heck has the last 3 miles of a Marathon up hill??? Morons. I did make it up the hill and to the finish line to beat my first Marathon time of 4.18:01 at 4.14:47. I know 3.5 minutes doesn't seem like much, but I have had another baby who is less than a year old and am still carrying a few extra pounds. I'll take the 3.5. My goal was to beat my first time and I nearly killed myself to do it. But....I did it! It is finished, it was hard, I wanted to quit, but I didn't. Glad I did it. Next up is the Layton Half Marathon in October. Honestly, a half Marathon is like a walk in the park compared to a Marathon. However, a half marathon will keep me running and enjoying the beautiful outdoors. Sigh. Time to rest.

Maren sent me a care package from Texas with a new polish to sport. For my First Marathon she sent me "Fuchsia Bling Bling" this time it was "Mint Sprint." So clever.

My Awesome Finish Line support crew which included family and friends.

What other hubby would be at various locations of the race and clean the church himself to be at the finish line?

My inspirations for enduring. If these two piggies could fight to survive an early birth and all of the challenges that preemies face, I knew that I could be strong enough to push through the difficult.

The strong women in my life who taught me that "when the going gets tough, the tough get going"

Cute Alli is one of my former Jr. High Students and one of my former studio students who also ran the Marathon. She did awesome for her first Marathon, and I was super proud of her!

16 weeks, 404 miles, 63 hours

Ready or not... here I come. It has been 16 weeks, 404 miles, and 63 hours of running. Saturday is the big day, and I am nervous! Training is always good for me; it clears my mind, strengthens my body, and most importantly it teaches me how to endure. Confession: I hate running. I really do. However, each day when I complete my run I say to myself, "There, you did it. You hated it, but you did something that was hard and you didn't quit!" Okay here it comes, the big analogy:

Marriage: hard, super hard, want to quit.
Kids: hard, super hard, want to quit.
Family: hard, super hard, want to quit.
Friends, Church, Work: hard, super hard, want to quit.

Is it always hard and super hard? No. Is it often hard and super hard? Yes. So how are we able to endure the difficult times if we haven't trained ourselves to be able to do things that are difficult? I always like to think of my ancestors who fought for what they believed in sacrificed and endured. Putting down the peanut butter cups and remote to go out in a snow storm and do a 6 mile run is a sacrifice, and I have to endure. I feel like I am stronger, and no I am not talking about my rippling calves, I am talking about my soul, my character. I feel like I am able to gracefully endure the difficulties, not the ugly endure that costs you all of your friendships, but gracefully. Now, does this take a marathon for everyone to develop? Nope. But...I can bet your bottom dollar that if you train for and complete a marathon you will change. You can never be the same person before the marathon as you are after. You can't take away growth, progress, healing, and what I like to tell my dancers "mental toughness." I am about to venture into the hardest part of the past 16 weeks, am I nervous? Yes. Can I do it? Yes. Will it he hard as he!!? Yes. But I can do it. I can do it. I can do it. There I am convinced. Saturday at about 11:25 I will be crossing the finish line (on cobblestone no less) and shoving my face with peanut butter cups. You know why? Because I will have earned them. Yep, there are great rewards for just simply hanging in there, enduring. Head held high with chocolate smeared all over my face, hobbling, but proud of myself for doing something I hated and was hard. Enduring.

First born

Let's face it, raising a normal well adjusted first born is a challenge. As first parents we project all of our fears, onto that precious first child. We are protective, tidy, nervous, and want our kids to be "normal" while doing everything in the world that makes them "abnormal." The poor things spend X amount of time hanging with mom, not having to share, or work things out, and becoming a bit socially awkward. Adessa is no exception to the typical firstborn, however, she would be way more of the aforementioned things if not for the Jenkins. The Jenkins parents are the same age as John and me, only they have a perpetually buzzing busy household of 4 kids rather than the somewhat boring 2. They have always included Adessa in their family home evenings, activities, and feedings when she has protested that "my mom NEVER feeds me." There isn't a day that she is not welcome in their home or that they don't make her feel like a Jenkins. Honestly, I don't blame her, I would also want to be where there was more action and fun. Hanging with mom and dad and a baby is less fun than playing with Maddie-8, Spencer-6, and Emma-4, (baby Max is the same as Willie, doubt he is as much fun). Any given day of the week you can drive by and see Addie and Emma "partners in crime" running and playing "make believe" between our 2 houses. We love the Jenkins and feel so blessed to have them across the street helping raise our child and making her feel a part of a big family. I know that the Jenkins love our Addie and we love their Emma Lou. Thanks neighbors.

Addie, Emma, Maddie, Spencer

Tundra

When you have these....

You shouldn't have this!

I feel like I live in the Tundra. Tired of being cold, tired of being wet, tired of running with frozen muscles, tired of grey and brown, tired of puddles, tired of snow and hail and rain. I am a Swede and have cold weather running through my veins, but I feel like I am going crazy. How in the world do people from the warmer countries even endure? Sunshine, get your butt here now!

Love my Piggies

Is there any question as to why I love my piggies? Look at their glorious faces, "one toothed Willie" and "Adessa the beautiful." I am the luckiest mom. Here are the tweedles in their Easter best, Willie decked out in bow tie and Addie in her flower wreath (I made last minute). I am sure that when they are teenagers I will have to listen to them saying, "I can't believe you made me wear..." which is why I am enjoying them NOW!

The Fam

Adessa the Beautiful
One toothed Willie