Merry Christmas

I noticed something recently about myself. The other day I was looking at an email someone had sent Cody filled with Christmas jokes and pictures. Before I started going through them, Cody warned me that some were a little more questionable than others. As always, I blew his warning off. I consider myself to be pretty thick skinned and always felt like there wasn't much that could bother me or make me blush. However, while I was going through them I noticed there were a few that did offend me just a little bit.

That night I realized why.

Through choices I have made and diligent efforts and habits I have formed, I have slowly moved closer and closer to all things that are good and worthwhile. Not that I am a saint, or perfect in even the loosest sense of the word (I'm really not even that great at all), but just that through each little step I take I become, naturally, that much closer to Him and His spirit. I know this shouldn't be such a stark realization, because I have been told it would happen, and it just makes sense. But, to actually feel a difference in who I am, and to acknowledge and realize that I am growing (and not just in my belly, bum and thighs) was something really amazing.

I truly do love Jesus Christ, more than words can express. I anxiously await seeing his face and being physically in his presence once more. I am grateful for him, for his birth, and for what his perfect life means to my imperfect one.

I love Christmas. I love that we have a designated time of year in which we try extra hard to become closer to Him and remember what He means to us. I hope that I can keep on an upward path, so that one day I can be with Him forever.

Merry Christmas.

Temple Square

We rode trax up to Temple Square to see the lights two Saturdays in a row. The first time with some lovely family members (thanks for the invite Holly :) and the second with some friends. Its always nice to be close to the temple with people you love, look at something beautiful, and contemplate Christ and his birth. Honestly, what more could you want?


First night.

Luckily, my big coat hides my expanding belly and body :)

And, the second.

And, of course, a big thank you to all of the people that made each night fun and worth while!

Snow Day

Yesterday we woke up to a winter wonderland. I was so excited. Having a child, and wanting them to enjoy life, makes things like 10 inches (Cody measured) of snow fun instead of a pain.

So, as soon as church was over, we were fed and rested, we headed out on a family snow day.

Camdon is obsessed with looking at and talking about snow. He has been for weeks. However, he hates touching it or it touching any other human he knows. Cody and I dove in backwards to make snow angels and our little Camboslice screamed as if our lives were ending. But, when we walked down to the new Cody Clarke shop to see Grandpa, he was grinning ear to ear. It was so cute.

Then, of course, we headed home for a movie and hot chocolate.

(Too bad I didn't have our camera, once again. Just my phone.)

Cody out measuring the snow on top of his truck.




 

Camdon in his snow suit looking as cute as ever.



LOGO

Hey all.

Sorry it took so long to get back to you. I'm a little busy working 2 full time jobs and all. But I need some help. Good news we chose a name. Thanks for your feedback it was very helpful. We are now officially Cody Clarke, LLC. Now we need a logo so we can get business cards and signs. So...... Any ideas or submissions would be very welcome. Anything you can offer would be great whether it's the name of a designer, if you have a design program I could borrow, or your own original design suggestions. I would like to offer a prize or small wood project to anyone who provides me with a resource that leads to a great logo that we use. Not sure what it would be yet but it will be something nice.

Anyway, I have some ideas of my own if you have a desire to have a go at it let me know and I'll give you the details of what I have in mind. But I'm totally open to any ideas you may have as well. Just leave a comment if you'd like to help and we'll get in touch. Or you can email me at cody{dot}hopkinson{at}gmail{dot}com.

Also, check us out at codyclarke.net and leave comments if you have suggestions on how to improve it, especially regarding the photos and the usability of the site.

Thanks for all the support. I'm loving this whole thing and can't wait to go to the shop everyday. Feel free to come by and visit us any time. Our address is on the website.

Peace

Now-a Days

I keep looking at our blog and thinking I need to update it. We've been going 100 miles an hour everyday for months, but I can't quite think of anything new or exciting to post.

Cody's shop has been going strong. He and Clarke are working hard to make it wonderful. You can check out the website at http://www.codyclarke.net/. Don't be too critical of it, because I've been the one putting everything together...for now. When we finally have the time and means to hire a professional, we definitely will.

Besides that, Cody is still the top dog over at FedEx; although I am sure he would like to wave that gig goodbye ASAP. I am, however, a mean wife and make him keep going so we can have insurance for our second bundle of joy.

Speaking of baby number 2. I am about 18 weeks, and at my last appointment the doctor said he was pretty sure it was a boy. Now, that CAN change, but we're thinking it wont. And, to be honest, we're pretty pleased about it. Although, I think we would be pleased no matter what. To make the baby news even better, I have two good friends due right round the same time. Which should be quite excellent.

The goose egg looked much bigger in person.

Camdon, bless his sorry little heart, was stricken with croup, strep throat, and some funky virus on his face all at the same time. He's been on antibiotics, steroids, and some facial ointment. He spent a few days just rolling on the floor screaming in pain. The worst part was, there was absolutely nothing I could do to help him. Which made me want to join in, but I had to be a grown up and sit instead. Oh, then to top it off, he was jumping on our bed, fell, and hit his head on the window sill. Giving him one of the biggest goose eggs I've ever seen. I swear I'm not a bad mom...

As for me, I'm still editing for the magazine and trying to keep things around our home semi clean and comfy, while also attempting to provide sustenance. Its a tough job, but somebody has gotta do it.

If you made it this far, bravo.

Camdon with a very loved family friend, Glenn.

Does This Need Explaining?

Cody is usually in charge of sharing the BIG news in the family. But, he has been SO busy that I decided to do it.

May 1, 2011, or some date close to that, we'll be bringing another bundle home.

Don't believe me? Then, take a look (picture of a picture, sorry).

Headbands

Something you might not know, Camdon is obsessed with wearing headbands.

Is it really all that bad that I let him? He just looks so cute.

HELP!

Okay folks, we need your help.

Cody started his own shop. He has the tools, he has the wood, he has the space, now all he needs is a name.

That is where YOU come in. To the left of this post is a poll with the choices Cody (and Clarke) have been floating around. Now, we need your help to pick the best one.

Keep in mind:

The purpose of the shop is to create high end custom furniture, creative spaces (closets, craft rooms, offices), and pretty much anything your little heart can dream up, with a personal, unique touch.

(the first name listed in the poll would be "Cody Clarke" in big letters, with "woodworking, furniture, creative spaces" smaller underneath)

Now, vote away. And, leave a comment explaining your choice.

Thanks!

When I grow up....

So.... How are you all? Whoever "you" are. It's always weird writing about my life to a group of unknowns. Some of you I know, some, not so much. But once in awhile something happens in life that I feel the need just to inform those I love what's happening. Or if you're just one of those folks who is so bored that our life is entertaining to you then I say hello to you too.

It has been quite some time since I've felt the urge to write anything. Or even had the time to think about writing anything. Life is a blur. Working 2 jobs and hating most of it has caused me to rethink my decisions and start to reanswer the question of "what do I want to be when I grow up?"

I graduated with a degree in Accounting last April, which is still weird to me, and as many of you have experienced when you come to a cross roads such as graduation it causes you to slow down and evaluate where you're at and where you'd like to be. Some are blessed with knowing exactly what they want to do with life and they go for it right after high school and make a good life for themselves. I'm not one of those guys.

I don't care about money. I don't care about fame. I don't want to ever wear a tie to work, or spend more than a couple of hours a day (Maximum) in front of a computer. I want to wear jeans or shorts to work. I want to listen to my music as loud as I want. I want to get dirty and I want to be creative. I want to use my organizational and design gifts to help others and if I make money at the same time, well that's just a bonus.

Ever since I was a kid I have liked art. I love fixing and building things. I love powertools. When I tell people that I want to be a wood joiner, or a woodworker, or a wood artisan I kind of get looks like "yeah, good luck making it with that." Similar to the response you might get if you tell someone that you want to be a pro baseball player or a rock singer. But someone has got to do it right? So I thought, "Why not me?" Someone has to be the best at what they do. We only have so much room in the world for lawyers and doctors anyway. And let's be honest, I was good at accounting but can you say BORING? I wanted to understand it and I wanted to be good at it but there is no way I could do that ALL DAY. So I won't. I refuse. For now.

Instead, I have taken the leap to use my gifts and strengths and to live my dream. I have bought a shop and we're going to let the sawdust fly.

My dad and I are opening for business ASAP. We will specialize in custom wood projects and front doors. We love to build furniture and have toyed with the idea of starting a food storage furniture line. High quality furniture that utilizes interior space for food storage. Our product is quality based and we are NOT in competition with the low end furniture market. If you want cheap furniture just to get the job done, stick with Walmart or IKEA. When you have the perfect idea for a table that would fit just right in your odly shaped kitchen and you want people to walk in and say, "Wow, that's a nice table." then give us a call.

I finally know what I want to be when I grow up and I'm going for it. Wish us luck.

This is the custom breakfast nook that my dad built that really solidified for me that "I wanna build stuff like that everyday."

First Time Out

(I know this stuff is probably boring to you, but I like it and thats all that matters)

Well, Camdon was finally naughty enough to get his first time out.
(He threw his sippy cup at me, then hit me in the face - I think that is pretty deserving)













I sat him on the couch for one whole minute. Then, when his time was up I asked him if he was ready to be nice to mommy and come out of time out, he told me NO and continued to sit there on his own for another 5 minutes. At least he was honest.













p.s. He also fell off something high for the first time yesterday. He went head first into the small space between the wall and the kitchen table. And, all of that pain was for one little ball of Reese's Puff cereal.

Baby's First Haircut

I guess I should call it "Toddler's First Haircut" since I got a 10 minute lecture the other day from an 8-year-old explaining to me that after you turn one, you are no longer a baby, and until you turn two you are not a child. Therefore, I must refer to my spawn as a toddler. She sure told me.

Anyway, people kept complaining about Camdon's hair being too long (Mom...Heidi...) and although I was determined to let it grow until his 18th birthday, we decided to give it a trim.
















I actually took a bunch of pictures; however, most of them included a close up of Cody's nipple and armpit hair. And, as hot as he is, I thought I would spare you all the sight and keep it just for me. ha.

Lake Powell 2010

The last week in August we headed to Arizona for our yearly Lake Powell trip. It is an understatement to say that Cody and I were excited. Unfortunately, due to work circumstances some of the regulars (Holly and Jordan, plus their families) couldn't come. So, with a little extra room on the houseboat, we decided to invite some friends of ours instead. Which turned out great until the last day when Payton, there 1-year-old, broker her leg. Whoops.

We didn't take very many pictures, mostly video. This is all I've got.

San Diego/Disneyland

We (me/Camdon, Heidi/kids, my mom) went to visit Holly in San Diego and made a 3 day detour at Disneyland. Surprisingly, Camdon LOVED it! Don't let the pictures fool you.

New Boy Things

A few things to remember about CamDonny.

He can walk. Although he prefers to crawl.

He LOVES to eat yogurt, chocolate, cheetos, and anything with pasta.

His favorite toys are his stuffed elephant, stuffed dog, pretty much anything stuffed, his lightening McQueen car, and his slide.

Words he can say:
Duck
Quack
Truck
Book
Pretty much any word that ends in a K, since all he can say is the K
Chance
Food
Cook = cookie
Juice
Dog = any and every animal, even some people
No, No

He shakes his head and finger at me to tell me no, then laughs hysterically.

He constanly tries to fit his head in the stair railing.

He still loves to hug, cuddle, and is always laughing and goofy...until we leave the house, then the stranger danger sets in again.

Thats all that I can think of right now. I'm distracted by America's Got Talent.

Update

Well, a lot has happened in the last month and a half.

Cam turned 1.












We went to Bear Lake with the Childers clan.

We've been camping and boating and BBQing like crazy.

And, there were a couple of rodoes thrown in too.

We've had visits from family.

My sister Holly moved to San Diego :(

Cody's been working non-stop, even more now that the other manager quit.

We've also been getting ready to move. Although, all I have packed so far are our DVDs and my bathroom stuff. I guess that shows whats important to me.

We are excited, but sad and nervous to move. We really like where we are living and the friends we have made. Its going to be hard to leave them, but hardest of all to leave is Zoee.

Our new place doesn't allow pets (at least not yet, but we're working on them). I've never been a huge animal person, but it tugs at my heart strings to see how much my two boys love and will miss her.

Utah Valley Marathon

Saturday I ran the Utah Valley Marathon with Holly, Chantelle, Tyler, Caleb, Hayley, Andrea, and Emily.

I stuck with Hayley for the first half. It was pouring rain and freezing cold, but we kept on going.

Then we parted ways, as the wind blew down the Provo canyon and against my back forcing me to keep running.

I felt pretty good until I hit the 20 mile mark, which was just after I passed Cody, Donny, and the rest of the family waiting on the side of the road.

The last 6 miles seemed to take as long as the first 20. I was dead. And, I was kicking myself for not training better. Running once a week just wasn't enough.

I finally made it to the end. The time on the clock when I passed said 4:52. I'm not sure what my official chip time is, but my goal was 5 hours.

That day and the next I felt really sore. Today I can just feel it in my left achilles tendon, which I believe I tore since I can barely walk on it.

I do not think I will be running another marathon, but it was a good experience to try once. I guess I should thank Tyler for tricking me into it.

Our Meeting

Today our family of three had a meeting with some people that could potentially be very important for our future. We were supposed to meet at 11, but we arrived at 10:40.

Cody decided to use the extra time to deposit some money in the bank. As we were waiting in the drive through, we smelled something nasty coming from the back seat. So, after we made the deposit, we pulled over to check it out...with now 10 minutes until our meeting.

That little child of ours had ANOTHER blow out. Poop was everywhere. On his face, arms, legs, pooled in the car seat, on the binky that was in his mouth. It was incredible. We weren't sure what to do. We went to clean him off, only to find that the wipes were all gone. Of course.

So, Cody ran to the nearest store to buy more wipes. Unfortunately for us it was a health food store, so all they had were these stupid organic wipes that did not work at all and a $2 roll of crappy paper towels.

Now there was 5 minutes until the meeting.

As I cleaned him off, the boy screamed bloody murder. Cody tackled the car seat. The people in the car next to us just stood and watched, which is understandable. It's hard to look away from that much nastiness.

0 minutes until the meeting, Cody calls to buy us 10 more minutes.

We finally get things as clean as was reasonable to continue, put the boy in a new outfit, and took off down the road. We arrived 10 minutes late, flustered and frustrated.

Then, during the 45 minutes we were meeting, our dear sweet child screamed, wriggled, cried, threw fits, threw his binky at the other people's heads, and was the worst I have ever seen him. It was awesome. I told the people at the meeting I was sorry. I promised he is a better boy than that.

Then, relieved that the ordeal was finally over, we got back into a car that smelled so bad I almost vomited.

Oh, the life of a parent.

Just a few things that have been going on...

1. Cody got one, and maybe even another, new job.
2. We decided to move to Salt Lake county, now we just need to figure out where.
3. We went to the drive-in for the first time this summer.
4. We went to Idaho to watch Chelsea and Katelyn graduate.
5. From Idaho we went to Nevada to help my brother Daniel with his campaign.
6. We had our first experience with Memorial Day in Caliente, NV, which included a 3 block long parade (that we were in).
7. While in Nevada we made a quick trip to visit Clarke in St. George.
8. On our trip Cody and the boy got sick, leaving a lot of puke and poop to clean up.
9. I did not get sick.
10. We had a BBQ at Ken and Babata's.
11. Cambodia (you're welcome Katelyn) started swim lessons and is now part fish.
12. We went to a Bee's game with Vaughn and Shelby, most of which was spent chatting.
13. The marathon is this Saturday, and I have been really bad at training, so it might kill me.

Thats all I can think of for now.

It Was My Birthday

Yesterday was my 26th birthday (in case any of you forgot and would like to send a last minute gift) and Cambo's first day of swim lessons. He didn't love it, but was better today. So, I am hoping by the end he'll be a pro.












Thanks Shelby and Bri for joining the class with us. We sure like you guys!

Sunday Walk

Surprise, surprise our little guy is sick...for the hundredth time (I'm not sure what I'm doing wrong!).

So, we decided to give him a little fresh air. This is him on our Sunday walk. Honestly, I can't get enough of his cute little face. Its hard to imagine that we could love him any more than we already do, but every day somehow the love increases.

Happy 11 months!

Old Photos

Okay, so I might be a little late posting these (like 3 or 4 months), but here are a few of my favorites from C-dogs photo shoot (minus the ones already posted, because you guys don't need any repeats).

Surgery Update

The surgery went well. We go back in on Thursday, then again in another 3 weeks. We are keeping our fingers crossed that everything heals the way that it should. He has handled it like a champ (which I think is partially due to the pain medication he is on).

Graduate 2010

Last Tuesday Cody took the last final of his undergraduate career. And, he managed to finish in the top 10% of his class.

Now, he is the proud owner of a Bachelor of Science degree in Accounting.

I couldn't be more proud of him! All of his long, sleepless nights of studying have paid off!

Way to go Mike!

On an unrelated side note...Little Donny has his surgery tomorrow. And, although we are both nervous for him (especially Cody, since he suffered the same fate) I am sure things will turn out just fine.

Nothin' New

Sometimes I get overwhelmed with life. Lately that has been the case. It keeps me up at night and makes my head hurt.

Then, I read something inspirational (today it was on nienie) and I take a weekend trip to Idaho and I start to feel better.

Only 1 more week and Cody is done with school. yay!

p.s. Can you believe our little baby boy is 10 months old? He is starting to lose his baby-ness and look like an actual little boy. I'm not sure how I feel about that.

Sawyer

This Monday my brother Jordan and his wife Amy had baby boy #2, Sawyer. When he was born we were all sick so I had to wait a few days to see him. But, it was worth it. He is so cute and SO tiny!













And here are a few pictures of our baby boy, just because.

Easter

Just a quick snapshot of the Egg Hunt at Mimi's.
The scrunched up nose is his new favorite face to pull.

The April Fools Joke

I decided to make sponge brownies, something I came up with one year in college. I cut sponges in half, soak them in Hershey's syrup, freeze them, then frost them.

In the end they look exactly like a nice, moist, delicious brownie. You can't tell a difference unless you already knew it existed.

I was going to give them to some of our friends that live next door, but then Clarke told me that he had dinner planned with Caleb (Cody's brother) and that he would be more than willing to bring them to him instead.

I thought that was a brilliant idea.

After dinner Caleb was too full to try them out, so he put them in his car. He was going to take them into work with him, but was late so he forgot.

Sometime after that I got a text thanking me for the brownies and saying I was the best sister-in-law ever. It made me feel kind of bad, but not bad enough to tell him the truth. Not yet at least.

After his shift was over he was feeling quite hungry. When he got to his car he remembered the brownies. He took one big bite, that strongly resembled cardboard, then said my name in a bitter 'you got me' tone.

That's when I received a second text message informing me I was no longer the best.

My only regret is that I didn't get to see him try it out. But, I guess hearing about it was funny enough.

Kisses

I don't feel like working on my articles that are due for the newspaper tonight, so I thought I would post instead.

The little guy has been sick, again. Croup plus an infection in both ears. He is definitely my son. And, when there is a sickness within 500 yards of me, no matter what it is, I'll get it too. Which I did.

So, I laid on the floor today next to him, feeling sorry for myself, while he played with his purple-ish elephant-mouse toy. He must have noticed something was wrong because every minute or so he would crawl over and kiss my cheek. I loved every minute of his slobbery goo-ness.

Its things like that which stop me from spanking his little butt when he messes with the computer and deletes all of the notes and interviews for my article I've been working on.

Grrr.

Right Now

Since the weather has been warmer I've been gone. It feels SO GOOD to get out of the house. Well, until it decided to snow yesterday and today. So, here I am, back and home, which means I have time to blog. Unfortunately, I don't have much to say.

We have a new niece Attylee Marie. She was born on Monday. We love her, lots.

I'm still training for the marathon in June. Most days when I go running I think, "What in the world did I get myself into?" I'm really not very good at it. But, I'm improving little by little.

Cody is getting close to graduation. Which is both really exciting and really scary. Exciting because he will finally be done! And scary because then we will officially be a part of the real world and we'll have to start making real world decisions...or at least that's how it feels. Even though we have already been doing it for years.

The little guys is getting bigger and smarter and better each day. Last night was the first time that he chose his daddy over me. Now I know how Cody has felt for the past 9+ months. Sad. He crawls like a champ, is trying to stand, and really wants to walk; but he isn't close at all. Oh, and he is teething like crazy. Right now he is screaming because his mouth hurts. I guess I better go give him some more of that numbing gel.

Until next time.

p.s. I had a great April Fools joke, but I'll have to share it with you tomorrow because it is still in the works. Mwha ha ha.

Spring Break 2010

This weekend we went to Idaho. We had a blast bowling, skating, playing word games, watching movies, eating good food, and just being together. Here are a few pictures to prove it...