Our Birthday

We are lucky enough to share a birthday, and 2013's was the 8th birthday that we have celebrated together. We started the morning off by sleeping in and then going to Denny's for our free birthday slams, I got a sub for preschool so we could spend the morning together. After breakfast we just hung out until I had to go. I donated blood on our birthday, I know it seems a little weird but a friend from the gym hosts a blood drive at her church every other month and this time it landed on my birthday. I thought why not give back on my birthday, I wore a tiara.. 

I took this screenshot of my phone, it was a little creepy that it "knows" so much. Haha

"Graffiti" from a co-worker on my white board

GF brownies from a student! Delicious!! 

Inside a birthday card from a student.

Birthday drawing on a student's iPad. 

On December 9th, we got to go out with Grandma & Grandpa Wiberg for a birthday lunch, just the 4 of us. A fun new tradition, we luck out being local we had the choice of a gift card or a lunch date. So we went out to Bob's Burgers and Brew, they have a pretty good Gluten Free menu, and so I enjoyed my first GF burger at a restaurant. 

January 25th, 2013

This was the day that our newest nephew was born, Sean Robert Bready. 

To Alisha and Marc, and big sisters Tori and Sera Jean.

This makes us Aunt and Uncle x7.

Brand spankin' new

Big Sisters.

Tori looks so proud, and Sera is like "brothers stink!" 

Alisha and her 3 kiddos. 

Tori 3, Sera 21mo. and Sean born 3 years and 10 days after Tori!

It's always a party when Oma comes to town. 

(don't worry it's cream soda.)

pictures courtesy of Mom, mostly.

December 2012

Birthday

Our birthday is December 4th, it's fun to share.... 

we sure celebrated well this year.

Denny's for breakfast, yup free grand slams. awesome.

Olive Garden for dinner, they don't do anything for birthdays, 

but our waiter brought us a load of mints! 

picture from our actual party, 

the candles were "sparky" and a little freaky up so close to our faces

Gift Basket from the Mechams, yummy

The best Birthday chocolate bar.... soooo good. 

Dinner at Red Robin, we got balloons instead of dessert, we already had our fill. 

So yummy, gonna be a yearly thing for sure.

Cable Bridge Run

Swanger Crew all ready to go. 

The kids all did a 5k and Mom & Dad did a 10k.

**Disclaimer: Joseph is NOT wheelchair bound, we do use a wheelchair when traveling and he wanted to do a 5k in his chair, and he wheels most mornings. It's a great freedom for him.**

Joseph on the Bridge

 We did have to run to keep up with him at times. 

The only part he needed help with was the railroad tracks,

 they tried to "buck" him out of the wheelchair.

We finished in 46 min. 

Seaside Oregon

Travel was good and almost uneventful until we were closer to seaside, 

when we actually needed to chain up. 

Valerie and I learned how to put chains on, it wasn't hard. 

The worst part was getting them off, 

Valerie and I were wet and dirty when we arrived at the resort.  

But it was worth it...

View outside our condo. 

We went to the Seaside aquarium, not too exciting but fun.

The seals were so cute, especially when it was feeding time.

The sky was beautiful, this was taken on our walk to the aquarium.

It did rain A LOT one of the days that we were there, this is right off the side of the road.

 We were trying to go to Canon Beach, but the road was flooded.

Joseph at the shipwreck on the beach, fun times were had there. 

We had to hike to get there, quite literally the sand had blown up very high,

 up to the parking lot and beyond.

Astoria Bridge. My first Panoramic.

Seaside was amazing, relaxing, fun and wet. 

Vacations are good, vacations with family are the best.

Christmas Time

we got to spend time with lots of family and lots of relaxing. 

Keeping up our tradition, we went to see the hobbit on Christmas day.

We have been doing this for 4 years now, 

it started the year Joseph was diagnosed blind at Christmastime. 

This makes that memory happier and makes for a fun tradition for us. 

The cat was really insecure, she was very cuddly when we got home. 

She's right up between our heads in this picture, very unusual.

 More scenes with our lovey-dovey kitty, un-posed

She would hop up and snuggle anytime we stopped to sit.

she stuck her paw in while we were holding hands

Sleeping on my chest in the morning

trying to open the door while we were getting dressed.

2012 went out with a bang, literally. 

The back-door neighbors were setting off fireworks, 

totally freaking out the animals. 

No, not little fire crackers but BIG fireworks

 and once they started landing in the backyard

 we called the cops, twice. 

Does that make us old? 

We weren't planning on being up until midnight,

 but when it sounds like your house is being bombed it's hard to sleep.

Not exaggerating, seriously.

So goodbye 2012,

we weren't bff's or anything, 

so see you around. 

2013 please be kind. 

A little Quiz... with answers

We are having our Birthday party today, and this is a little party game we're playing... let's see how well you know us. (Answers to be posted later) 

How well do YOU know the Birthday Couple?

1.  What year was Joseph born? 1982

2.  What year was Shaylee born? 1985

3.  Where was Joseph born? Idaho Falls, Idaho

4.  Where was Shaylee born?  Spokane, Washington

5.  When did J & S discover they share a b-day? On our first date, October 2005

6.  Where did J & S meet? Byu Idaho, same student ward

7.  Where were J & S married? Portland Oregon

8.  Who is taller J or S? Shaylee, just a little

9.  What is Shaylee’s natural hair color? Blonde (-ish with brown and red, in the winter)

10. What was Joseph’s high school mascot? Russet Potatoe! 

11. What was Shaylee’s high school mascot? Lion

12. What is Shaylee’s favorite flower? Sunflower

13. What is Joseph’s favorite color? Blue

14. What is Shaylee’s favorite animal? Giraffe

15.  How long have J & S been married? 6 1/2 years

16.  Is Joseph a “ righty” or “lefty”?  Lefty

17.  What is Joseph’s shoe size? 7 1/2- 8

18. What is Shaylee’s favorite dessert? anything chocolate

19. What is Joseph’s favorite candy?  Reeses Peanut Butter Cups

20. Where did Joseph grow up?  Shelley Idaho

21. Who has had more stitches J or S? Joseph (10+ sets, Shaylee 5)

22. Where did Joseph serve his mission? Porto Alegre North Brasil

23. What is Shaylee’s least favorite color? Orange

24. Are J & S morning or night people? Morning

25. What is Shaylee allergic to? Sulfas, Broccoli & seafood

26. What would J & S do with a million dollars? Buy a house, adoption

27. What is our cat’s name? Speckles

28. Who is more ticklish J or S?  Joseph, Shaylee can ignore it sometimes

29. What is Joseph’s favorite fruit? Peaches

30. Who had braces J or S? Joseph

Good Luck! 

nag nag nag...

You know when there is something that you just can't get off your mind,
and it nags,
and nags,
and nags until you do something??
Well I have some of those..
there are a lot of things I worry that Joseph is left out of
reading definitely (but he's never been much of a reader)
the biggest one lately is that he can't read his scriptures.
We listen to them on CD (thanks so much Joy)
but he has no real portable way to carry them,
or listen without help.
Until now...
that nagging in my head has (almost) gone away.
Joseph has an ipod.
a big one,
I am downloading all the scriptures in English from lds.org
and the Book of Mormon in Portuguese.
And the last general conference (or two or three.. whatever he wants)
and church magazines
and Jesus the Christ
all audio, mp3 files!!
We can add John Bytheway talks,
and other books we've acquired
and talks my mom downloaded for him a while ago.
And oh the music!!
(he has requested his brasilian pop for sure)
eek!

Now I can sleep!

*s*

Party time!!

Anyone around the Idaho Falls\ Shelley Area we are having a graduation party. At Joseph's parent's house in Shelley. Food Games Fun... Friday afternoon. Email us if you want the details and directions!!!

-S & J

Counting

We're counting down the days until graduation!!! 10 days!!
We're counting the number of visits our adoption profile has had so far! 13!!
We just need to get through the next couple of weeks with school and work and packing, we can do it!

APPROVED!!!

WE ARE APPROVED TO ADOPT!!!!
GOT THE PHONE CALL TODAY AND WE ARE MEETING OUR MAIN CASE WORKER TOMORROW MORNING!!!! WOO HOO!!
WE ARE SO EXCITED! :)

Living Life.. and lovin' it

Graduation looming near... so close! We are so excited! And we are so happy to get most of our adoption stuff out of the way before the craziness coming up packing, finals, switching insurance, selling stuff, doctor appointments, getting copies of our medical files, address change, fun stuff huh? Adoption stuff have been crazy too but we are mostly done, we are now just waiting to be notified if we are approved... should be really soon! And then waiting and networking!


High Five to Joseph. He is done with harsh and dangerous medication. So far he has only experienced one unpleasant side effect: his balance is off, he is a little wobbly. That is the ONLY symptom that we have noticed. Besides that he has had so many improvements, his vision is better, his energy better school still wears him out,he has other improvements that are too personal to put on the blog. But he is biking which helps build up his leg muscles and giving him more control. I can't tell you how hard the winters are for him, he lost muscle mass in his legs. Right now we are researching natural ways to help Joe out. He has tried some vitamin supplements and they have helped a lot, we are also going to consult a chiropractor who is a nutritionist and a natural path. I have had success with it and hope that there is a way for Joe to experience success with his lasting MS symptoms.We are happy with his improvements and hope to keep away from drugs that may cause more harm than good.

-S

Woah!!!!

We had our last interview before being approved to be adoptive parents today!!! It was great, yes we were nervous! Our caseworker is coming to our house tomorrow to check it out and make sure a baby would be safe in our house, etc. And our caseworker is pushing to have us included in their staff meeting where they evaluate the couples and approve them!!! AAAaaaahhhh! I am so excited!!

Our caseworker even joked that it would be funny for us to have a baby placed with us before we move in 3 weeks! haha. He says it is possible, not probable... what a thing to say to us! I thought it was funny though!

Tonight's the night , the night of nights!

Elder Samuel C. Mecham is arriving in the Idaho Falls Airport, from his mission in Copenhagen Denmark!! 10 pm!! Man we'll be pooped tomorrow!! ha ha :)

Announcement!!

We have officially turned in our adoption paperwork, we are completing our online stuff, flying through it as fast as we can actually.

We want to know if you guys want to help us network! We are going send out copies of our collage and business cards (when they get printed) and we wanted to get feel for who is interested in having some and passing them along. Let us know in a comment we'll ask for addresses after our online stuff is approved and ready to go up.

Bloggers, I am designing a button that will link to our adoption blog, and we wondering who would be willing to post that on their blogs.

Thanks so much!!

-S

Quick note...

We got our fingerprinting done today!?! And the triplets in our class are getting baptized on Saturday, I am so excited!! It will be wonderful!

-S

Been a while...

Well things have been a little busy since I wrote last, we went to the temple open house - Amazing!! And we were ushers for the open house the same night (Dec. 29th) We were set and excited for the dedication that was supposed to be tomorrow, but President Hinckley's passing changed that. I know a lot of people are sad that Pres. Hinckley won't be the one to dedicate our new temple but I think that it is exciting to know that our temple in Rexburg Idaho is going to be the first one that the new prophet dedicates... How cool is that?? I am sad that Pres. Hinckley is no longer with us but I am happy for him and know that he and his dear wife are together again. And it is comforting to know that the church doesn't fall apart when the prophet dies that there is a plan for everything and the church will still be true even with a different prophet at the head of it.

Joe and I are in school and doing our best to stay ahead and get done quickly. If I am not mistaken I may be able to graduate in July.. we'll see! I have also started working, I work at Homestead an assisted living home and it has been a lot of fun. It is amazing what you can learn from your elders.. even a 98-yr old scottish woman that swears when you take her to the bathroom!

We are still serving in primary in our ward and that is an adventure every week we are there. Those kids are amazing (and tiring). I have found that answers to prayers come from some of the most unexpected places: kids and old people.. they are so close to our Heavenly Father and somehow they know just what you need.

Update

Since I am a horrible blogger I thought that I would start over and make it a new years resolution to blog and keep family and friends posted on the goings on of our little family. It has been a really crazy month.

Miri (my sister-in-law) her husband got in a bad car accident and was in the hospital for about a week he is now in a recovery center, he has been making good progress but it was really scary. We are so glad that he is doing well. Joe and I had finals we made it though and are totally enjoying the time away from school.. for the next couple weeks anyway until we start again!

We finally had time to prepare for Christmas. we don't have a christmas tree but I do have an old ceramic one that my great-grandma made and it will do, it even has lights! It is starting to look like Christmastime here with all the snow, We love snow!! But not the drivers that don't know how to drive in it! We don't get to go to the Tri-cities for Christmas, work! So my family is coming here to Idaho to stay with us until the temple open house!!! We are all going to go through together and then that afternoon Joe and I are volunteers as ushers for the open house!! We are so excited! We have watched as the temple was built and now we will finally see inside that beautiful temple on the hill.