Julia & Little Red

Sadie in 2009

2010-01-09T17:16:00.004-07:00

I am the worst at writing on this! Clearly but here is a newer collage. Sadie the last year! How I miss my little redhead!

2009-01-30T01:16:00.001-07:00

Sadie Eva Foley....7 lbs. 9 oz. 19 in. born November 28th, 2004 @ 5:15 p.m.

2008-11-28T14:47:00.002-07:00

4 years old?! For real? Has it been 4 years? Sadie is convinced she has been 4 for the last 6 months but she is in fact just turning 4 today! I went through around 23 hours of labor in the hospital with my cute little redhead. It was hard and not so comfortable until I had the epidural of course! My whole family was in CA for Thanksgiving and Patrick and Monique's wedding so I had my cute little, extremely pregnant herself, Kari with me. It has definitely not been an easy four years but it has most certainly been action packed! The cute little red headed girl who came into my life four years ago has helped me and blessed me in so many ways. She has a temper. She has attitude for sure. But she is the smartest, most sweet little soul I have ever known. She is so generous and sharing and loves to be around people. She loves her family and her friends. She is so outgoing, sociable, independent and so many other things I wish I were. She loves to sing to the radio and loves to make up words to songs. She has from the very start loved to read books and now has most of them memorized. "Green Eggs and Ham", "Oh, The Places you'll go", and her all time favorite "Goodnight Moon". And SOOOO many others that we usually read about 15 per night. She is the perfect cuddler and loves to help me clean. Even if it isnt always classified as "helping". She loves primary and loves her Heavenly Father and Jesus. She likes to remind me that we need to pray when at times I will forget. She is what I am most grateful for this Thanksgiving holiday. Although at times it is a struggle to be a single mom I have never once regretted the decision to have this little girl and raise her. I have been helped by so many people, especially my family, and without them I do not know how I would have been able to do it. So here are some pictures, only ones I could get since I'm in California and dont have the pictures on my computer so here we go! Happy Birthday Sadie Girl! Okay. I will have to add the pictures later...maybe when I get home. Having problems with uploading them right now. But just so you know, she was the cutest bably and still is the cutest and most beautiful girl ever! Red hair and green eyes? That little girl is so lucky! I love you sweet girl!

I know I promised.

2008-11-09T15:20:00.009-07:00

As my family and close friends know a lot has been going on the last couple of weeks and blogging hasn't been a priority for me. I do want to just share some pictures from the last couple of weeks though. Through the Sacrament Meeting Primary program, Halloween and my birthday and just life. I love you all so much! I know some are worried and I appreciate the prayers and calls. I feel good today and know that I can get past this hard time with all of your help and my lessons learned from the past. I know I am not always the most demonstrative when it comes to being grateful but I am so very aware of how lucky Sadie and I are to have such an involved and loving family. I know that you all try very hard to understand what I have gone through and I appreciate it so much!

xoxo - Jules

So this is was the program for the primary program this year. I have obviously never been involved in it before and I'll tell you what! I am glad I wasn't in charge of it because it was A LOT of work! I am amazed at all the primary presidency had to do to get this ready! I have a great class (CTR) and if you look they are the ones in the front row on the right side of the picture. I had a lot of fun and Sadie LOVED giving her speaking part which was "Jesus loved and taught the children" The scripture on the bottom of the program "All of you are children of the most High"? Sadie is still saying it every now and then. Its cute!

The night before Halloween Maureen, Monique's AWESOME mother, came and took Sadie and i out to dinner at Olive Garden (yummy) for my birthday! Sadie loves Maureen who brought her a Halloween bag of treats! We had a great time with her and I love being able to have a surrogate mother and Sadie a grandmother while ours is gone. Sadie also tried on Snow White for her! Which was definitely a hit! Next came Halloween. Sadie had her mind set up to be Snow White for some reason since September when I asked her what she wanted to be. That is until the day before Halloween where she was convinced she wanted to be a witch. I talked her into waiting until next year and she made a very beautiful Snow White! She wore it to her daycare and loved the attention she got! SO much unlike her mother! Anyway. I didn't dress up (no surprise!) but my work had a fun party that they have every year with contests and everything. It was also the end of the quarter so we had a catered lunch and stuff. It was a good end to the week. Halloween should always be on Fridays! After work we went to Halloween on the Triangle for a short time. A dinner in our ward that is outside on Yalecrest Ave. We got there just when it was wrapping up so then we just rick or treated down that street to a few houses of friends and then came home when it started raining. Sadie sat at our front door with a bowl of candy ready for trick or treaters but as with every year not many came which devastated her. The few that did got a heck of a lot of candy from my very giving little girl! Roy came over on Saturday with a pizza and birthday cake and we had a good time with him. Sadie charmed him like always and the cake was a fun surprise! Roy is truly a great uncle. He plays the lottery for me and calls me twice a week to tell me if I've won anything. So far $6! Which believe it or not, I definitely can always use! While he was here I received some GORGEOUS flowers from my cute mom and dad and I loved the orange roses SO much! Here is a picture of them. I had a lonely birthday with some problems along the way but I know I need to reach out more to the people that are doing well and are there for me. I appreciatie all the love and prayers I know my family and friends have for me. My addiction has changed the course of my life so many times and I'm hoping that this time it is soon enough to not have it affect too many things or too many people. It wasnt a sudden thing I decided. I have been through a lot of treatment and a lot of groups and I know now, and even a little on the way, that the relapse was coming. I could have stopped it and didnt reach out for the help I needed but am doing so now. Its hard to explain to people who haven't been in my shoes but I just want you all to know its no one's fault. Its not from being too stressed as a mom, or my family not being there for me. I am a 33 year old woman! (gulp) and I know better. I know what I need to do to stay sober and I am sorry that I let some of those things go. I am not willing to go back to where I've been in the past and am working hard to make sure that does not happen. My bishop is awesome and is letting me continue to teach primary. As soon as I know more of what I will be doing as for treatment or group or therapy I will let you all know. Sadie and I are doing well for today and appreciate the emails and calls. Sorry if I havent answered right away or to the ones I wasnt too nice to. I know its because you care and I'm sorry that I still act as if Im a 12 year old at times! Maureen & Doug helped a lot with Sadie and I appreciate all the awesome gifts she got! She has been SO sweet and good since Friday when I picked her up! I guess they have some miracle potion up there in Bountiful! Anyway. I will keep you updated. either through my blog or email. Here's a cute picture of Sadie in one of her new outfits that Maureen bought and one of her in her new coat! She loves both of them!

I Promise Mommy

2008-11-03T21:44:00.004-07:00

So I have been extremely sick with bronchitis this last week. It seems to only be getting worse. Many fun things and bithday's (mine and sissy Heathers) have come and gone and yet I still have not blogged about it. If there is any more solid evidence than that that Heather and I are not identical I don't know what it is. I promised my mom I would try to finish blogging tonight but as I sit here my eyes and drooping and a hot bath is waiting and my cute mom understnds what a temptation her bathtub is at the end of a VERY long day. So I promise mommy! As soon as I can sit at this computer after sitting at mine at work all day I will have the worlds longest blog (well, maybe not longest) written and posted with plenty of pictures!

xoxo
Julia

Seriously...

2008-10-25T23:34:00.004-06:00

So, honestly? I don't know what my problem with blogging is right now. I feel I have no life to even talk about. And even if I do why would others want to hear about it But I'll try. So at work I've been dealing with clients more one on one than I did before which means concentrating on my books that I listen to is more difficult and it makes me kind of sad. But its also good. Since I took my headphones off I have been able to get to know the other employees in my dept better. I wasn't a recluse or anything but in the past I learned that getting to be too close to co-workers isn't always the best idea. I am still trying to find that balance. Extremist that I am it is hard to do. So I did learn how much you learn about people from listening to them chit chat all day and its kind of nice. I still feel like an old lady compared to them. I (at one week away from 33) am the oldest woman. 2nd oldest person. Sure, they say they dont think I look old but when they heard my age I know a couple of them gasped. Just kidding. Anyway. What else with me? I am not a big fan of Halloween. Its actually probably my least favorite holiday next Valentines Day. I despise dressing up. I despise hay, which for some weird reason seems to go along with Halloween, and I despise people trying to scare me. But I am a mother of a daughter who inherited a love of candy. She knew right off that she wanted to be Snow White although I am almost positive she has never actually seen that movie. Here is a picture of her costume that I just finished getting from Ebay. Hopefully it fits her right cause there no more time after it comes. She is more than a little excited about Halloween and I have to pretend to be to. I'm hoping if I pretend it will come true. She adores everything about Halloween but her new pet peeve is the fact that all these people are putting up decorations for Halloween and its not even Halloween yet! Its funny. I've tried to explain it to her but it still makes her mad! "No, its not Halloween yet! They cant put that pumpkin out!". And when her mind is made up its made up. Another funny thing she said in her prayer the other night was "please bless that mommy wont be mean from 7 until midnight." I was like, Um, okay. I better hurry and get it over with cause its almost 7! Where do kids learn these things? It cracked me up! She and I both are getting ready for the primary program in Sacrament meeting tomorrow. I am a teacher for the CTR 6 class and she is in Sunbeams. I talked in church last Sunday, which happened to be the first time in 15 years that I spoke in church. Terrifying. If only I had my cute little redheads bravery I wouldn't have made myself sick over it. She adores speaking. Tells me that she should be able to speak every week in church and that it isnt fair that she cant. Anyway. After a long long time of consideration I have finally decided who I'm voting for. Obama. Yes. I actually deliberated and went back and forth and my choice is made. I tried really hard not to vote according to personality cause I personally cant stand John McCain but I can honestly say that its not based on that. I was one of those undecided voters that chose carefully. Anyway. Its the first time i've voted for president. Sad but true. So I am a little excited although I know my vote doesn't really count. So thats it for now. Otherwise same old same old. We liked having Patrick and his angel nephews Landon and Sheldon here. The boys are angels and I actually wanted to trade them in for Sadie but it was a no go. We are so happy that Braxton is getting better and grateful to my brother Patrick who never stops trying to help his family and everyone he cares about. I know I have not always been great at showing my gratitude but Patrick is definitely at the top of my list of people I am grateful for!

I know we are boring....

2008-10-11T18:35:00.002-06:00

I look at my cute sisters and I feel I have NO life but I really can't think of much to say about our lives lately. Same old days. Work and Daycare for Sadie. Work has been really busy which I like since I keep busy. I actually didn't listen to any books last week while I worked. It was very different and I think I just needed a break from it but starting Monday I will be again because I don't want to get behind on my "To Read" books! I have been called to teach Primary (eeeek) and I have my very first class tomorrow. Needless to say I'm terrified and I am not even teaching tomorrow. I'll have the 5 & 6 year olds and Sadie is very angry that she wont be in my class. Me? I am just eternally grateful for that. I have been a helper at her old daycare and taken care of her class. She does NOT act well with me as the teacher. And more than I notice this. Her teachers always tell me how different she is when I'm not there. The stinker! But I think its that way with most kids. Anyway. I am teaching with another woman from my class and I've sat in in once before but I officially get my calling tomorrow. So as I have never had a calling since being the Beehive President at 12 years old, I am nervous but I am sure I will love it. Thats about it. We are looking forward to our vacation next month to Oregon. We will be there for Thanksgiving and Sadie's 4th birthday. I dont know exactly what she thinks of her birthday since she is already convinced that she is four. She tells me all the time and when I tell her "No, you are still 3" she does a somersault or counts to 20 and then tells me, "See? I told you I was four." And its so cute that its hard to disagree with her. Its too bad she will be four for a couple extra months cuz I'm sure 5 will be just as exciting to her since she knows that is when her grandparents come home from their mission. Anyway. Just wanted to let everyone know I am still alive in the blogging world, but my life isn't as exciting as theirs! I'll catch you up soon!

Dedicated To Her Far Away Grandparents

2008-09-28T20:41:00.013-06:00

Sadie made these for her Grandma & Grandpa Foley. Well, I actually drew the one of the family but per her instructions. She has become quite the little artist lately drawing all sorts of interesting things. As with these pictures I am not that she knows what it is she is drawing until she's done and sees what it looks like or if she sets out to draw those particular things. I've tried asking her but she looks at me blankly. Oh well. Sadie and I miss you very much Grandma & Grandpa! Keep on truckin.

Pic. 1: Sadie's Blue Dolphin
Pic. 2: Sadie's Blue Heart
Pic. 3: Sadie's Family: Grandpa, Grandma, Mommy & Sadie
(drawn by Mommy - Julia)

Not Much Happening

2008-09-21T01:15:00.002-06:00

Just thought I'd write a bit about nothing. I haven't had much to write about the last couple of weeks. Days are all about work and daycare for Sadie. Nights have been good. No crazy fun things but we live a very tight budget these days. Sadie is getting so big learning her letters and driving me crazy with books! Some of the things she says either amaze me or crack me up. She had a spell there for a few days where her temper was out of control but we are doing better now. I am definitely trying to stay consistent with what I say and not back down. She is really into the Barbie Dancing Princesses right now and dances around the house and wants me to pretend to be Derek to her Princess Genevieve. I had a relief society retreat up at Brighton last night and had a good time there. It was awesome of my friend Lisa to watch Sadie so that I could have that break with the wonderful women of my ward. We learned all about scalp massage, knitted, had a great dinner, and just visited. It was fun. It was also nice to come home and have Sadie sleeping over at Lisa's. That gave me the opportunity to sleep in today! Yay. Today we went on some errands and to the Library. Afterwards we went back to Lisa. I have been very much a hermit on the weekends which leads to depression at times, so we just went over and visited and watch movies and let the kids play. Much better than sitting around our house. Sadie is going to give the scripture in sharing time tomorrow and she is very excited. She has given the prayer once before but it is yet to be seen how she does at this. Being the complete opposite of me in these sort of situations I'm sure she will do great. Anyway. I'm adding a picture of Sadie that is kind of silly, but is such a "Sadie Face" that I just had to have it on here. Off to bed.

Dilly-Dop and Sadie

2008-09-06T13:57:00.021-06:00

So I've had a pretty good week. I watched my friend Kari's little girl Maia on Wednesday night and when she came to pick up Maia she offered to have Sadie spend the night so I could have somewhat of a break! She is an ANGEL! Since my car was in the shop she offered to keep her one more night so that I didn't have to worry about getting Sadie and myself to her daycare and then my work all on the bus before 7:00 am! This was a very much needed, long time coming break and it was just what I needed. I was missing her quite a bit by last night when I picked her up after work. So feeling rested and appreciative I decided to pay it forward and offer to watch my best friend Lisa's son Dylan overnight. She seemed to be in the same mental state I had been just a couple day's before. Lisa and I have been friends ever since I was pregnant with my cute Sadie girl! I love her like a sister and we even lived together for awhile with our kids. She is also a single mom and we have babysat each others kid's quite often. I love Dylan SO much! He is a year younger than Sadie & they love each other, but fight like brother and sister! They also act a lot like each other however which is not always good, for I tend to feel ganged up against! :) But I love him and it's fun to see how much he acts like Sadie, not only in bad ways, but in the good as well. For example the amount of books he wants me to read, how smart he is, and how easy it is to make him giggle and giggle and giggle. I remember when he was just a baby and I would wrap him up like a burrito and rock him to sleep! He is getting so big! I can't believe he's already potty trained, talking like crazy, and giving me attitude! (I guess he was taught by Sadie who the the queen of attitude! :) So anyway we enjoyed having Dylan over. Since we moved back to Sugarhouse we haven't seen nearly enough of him! Here are a couple more pictures. They are of two very cute and exhausted kids and you can see why once you see the second picture. At least they centralized the mess to Sadie's room. Now we only have 1 room to deep clean, but as you can see that will be no easy feat! Here's hoping we have a nice restful Sunday!

Tagged

2008-09-04T17:16:00.004-06:00

Okay so my sissy Heather tagged me. I am not too fond of things like this and will most likely break a couple of the rules, since that tends to be my personality but nonetheless I will try. Hmmm. I am usually quite a private person so some of these things most likely are surprising to everyone. So here we go...

I have always had the desire to go hang gliding.
I love to watch ice-skating but hate actually doing it.
My neck is the most ticklish part of my body.
I love the Italian language and want to learn how to speak it.
I hate shopping. I only like to go to a mall with something in mind to buy.
I am constantly amazed at how outgoing, social and brave Sadie is and wonder how she could be mine!

Okay so now I tag Karen, Laura, Leann, Jen, Mom & Monique. Here are the rules

These are the rules which need to be passed on:

Link to the person who tagged you on your blog.
Post the rules of the tag on your blog.
Write 6 random things about yourself.
Tag 6 people at the end of the post.
Let each of the people know they have been tagged by leaving a comment on their blog.
Let tagger know that your tag entry has been posted

Meltdown...

2008-09-01T18:41:00.004-06:00

So I love being a mom, but could I be a stay at home mom? Um...NO! After a 3 day weekend I'm usually ready to go back to work. I truly admire those mom's who do it day in and day out (my sisters!) because I'm pretty sure I'd lose my mind! Sadie just had the mother of all meltdowns! It was record breaking and it ended with this picture of her falling asleep on the floor by the door because I wouldn't let her go out to watch any more t.v. It has been a rainy couple of days so I thought that because the sun had come out this afternoon a trip to the park would help things but I'm afraid it was only a temporary relief. She was cute at the playground but when it was time to leave she didn't want to. Then she thought I should give her a back ride the whole way home...not happening. She freaked out the whole way and I am quite certain that people that we passed on the street thought I was the worst mom ever! When we got home I told her she needed to pick up her toys since she told me she would if I took her to the park. She flatly refused and proved her point by throwing her toys in the garbage...okay. Fine with me! Then after dinner she knew she wasn't allowed to watch any more TV and had to go to bed and she completely freaked! Oy! I was astonishingly patient and just watched it all go downhill from there. She FINALLY wore herself out and fell asleep on the floor by the door. My daughter definitely knows what she wants and she is so stubborn and does not give up no matter what. I hope I can help her use these traits for good and not evil! And I am for sure ready to go back to work tomorrow! It is my break! Sad, but true being a single mom.

Window On The Ward

2008-08-31T15:09:00.004-06:00

We have this each week on the back of our program and this week is was about us! I liked the picture, even though Sadie is awfully serious in it, and thought it would be fun to share with everyone.

Not much to write about...

2008-08-30T15:13:00.012-06:00

I really don't have much to write about right now. We are spending our holiday weekend doing pretty much nothing! I am helping my good friend Chantell plan her wedding and that is fun! I am very happy for her and her Brady Bunch family. The man she is to marry also has 4 kids as she does. Oy! No thanks! But it's good for them and I'm happy that she is happy! What else? Not much! I love facebook! Its fun to find people you haven't been in contact with for so many years and just be able to see what they have done with their lives and catch up! Now that the Olympics are over I'm reading alot again and I am currently reading a really interesting book called Dear American Airlines. I love it and want to keep skipping to the end to see how it ends but I haven't. Sadie is getting wrestless from us being in the house all day and I'm considering taking her to the park once it cools down. It's suppose to rain tomorrow and Monday and I'm praying that it does! the grass definitely needs it! Sadie is in the older class now at daycare and she's loving it! She is learning her letters and loves to identify them for me! I will have her reading in no time! I can't wait to put her in pre-school next year! She is so stinkin smart! I loe my new banner that Mandy did for me! Thanks so much! Here are some pictures of Sadie that I love! They aren't current but I miss my little baby! She's just too dang big!

Sadie's Little Brother

2008-08-19T16:56:00.010-06:00

Sadie wants Braxton to be her little brother very badly! Ever since

her Uncle Patrick told her that he was. I have to say for someone who wants a little brother so bad, she wasn't very pleased at sharing me with Braxton. Oh well. I suppose she isn't too used to it being the queen of the house that she is. It was fun babysitting the little guy on Saturday! We took him to our favorite park, Laird, and played in the sand. It took awhile for him to warm up but I think he finally got into the fun once he let me put him down. He liked playing on the swings but the sand wasn't as much fun for him as it always is to Sadie. Here are some pictures! I love watching him and got the opportunity again last night! Hopefully we will see more of you guys while you are here! Otherwise not much else is going on. We have Uncle Roy coming over in a little bit to have some nummy pizza from Papa Murphy's and I am very excited about that. Then tomorrow we have a ward picnic that should be pretty fun. For now here are our pictures from Saturday.

Flash From The Past

2008-08-15T17:05:00.009-06:00

Sadie and I went down to Pleasant Grove to my old friend Karen's house! We had a lot of fun seeing her and Laura and her two kids! It has been a very long time since we all got together and it was great catching up! We all met when I was 3 years old and living in Orem. It definitely reminded me of my childhood. We were all very close along with Chelsea and my twin sister Heather. Of course we always had the fights and battles over who was best friends with who but I will always remember the neighborhood games, the pretend island we had underneath our stairs, our "club" 2nd Blood, buying penny candy at Coronet, going to Classic Water Park, University Mall, Scera Park Pool, sleepovers, and SO many other good times. I remember the day we moved to Arizona back in 1986 (over 20 years ago!) and just crying and crying! We have kept in touch on and off over the years but its been quite a few years since we got together! Karen came over a few weeks ago but I hadn't seen Laura in I don't know how long! I hadn't met her children and she hadn't met my cute Sadie girl! Sadie automatically adored Lindsey (who is in this picture with Sadie.) She wouldn't leave the poor girl alone for a minute! It was nice and relaxing to go swimming since it's been so hot lately and catch up with each other's lives. I hope we are able to get together a lot more now that we are all living pretty close to each other! Next time hopefully Heather and Chels can be there!

Good Friends...

2008-08-09T14:40:00.020-06:00

Kari & Daisha (1999) >

I was just talking to my dear friend Kari who is going through a hard time right now and I just was remembering all the times she has been there for me. The most memorable being of course when I gave birth to my cute little redhead. The labor was not easy and lasted more than 22 hours but my cute, little, and VERY pregnant friend was there with me during it all. I am grateful to have known her for the last ten years and I am lucky to have her near me once again. She is still so willing to help whenever I need a babysitter or a friend and I love her 3 girls, Daisha, Anna, and Maia to pieces. I met her when she was pregnant with her oldest Daisha who is getting so big and it has been fun seeing them all grow! She is a single mom like me and with 3 girls instead of just one and believe me, I don't know how she does it at times! She is one of the best mom's I know and her kids are well behaved and always match! I cannot always say the same! I love you my dear friend! I know things are going to get better for you soon!
Julia, Sadie, Kari & Maia
(December 2005)

^ Maia, Sadie & Anna
(June 2008)

Hot! Hot! Hot!

2008-08-04T16:09:00.004-06:00

I haven't written for over a week so I thought I'd say a few things! I have had a very hot week! It's depressing using so much of the expensive fuel for my car on the air conditioning, but it can't be helped! This picture of my cheesy Sadie on the right is of her in her new Strawberry Shortcake shirt that she has been wanting. Seriously. She's asked me almost daily about it since I firs saw it at Gap. She is seriously so into clothes and shoes I can't believe it! Crazy little 3 year old! Just wait until she's a teenager! I finally got it for her as a congrats on her completion of her swimming lessons! (and since it was on sale) She got a certificate and everything and I believe she was the best in the class! She is quite fearless which is very frightening at times! One very scary moment when she walked into the deep end without thinking about it! I had to explain that she needs to stay near me. Just because her swimming lessons are in shallow water... Anyway. I just started Breaking Dawn today from the "Twilight" series! Yay! I am very excited but am trying to pace myself so as not to avoid all motherly responsibilities including paying attention to and feeding my daughter! A few of us at work are all very excited about reading it and I know one girl who is just about done! And I thought I was fast!

Busy Week So Far

2008-07-22T21:01:00.004-06:00

We had a great weekend! It was spent with family and like in my earlier blog I showed our day at Raging Waters. Yesterday after work we went to get Sadie's hair cut @ a place called Cookie Cutters who does a great job and Sadie loves it there. My daughter is constantly amazing to me. She is just such a social butterfly and charming to every new person she meets. I know that she doesn't get this trait from me. She also loves to learn new things. She is absolutely thrilled about the swimming classes she started yesterday at Fairmont Pool. She just is such a quick learner and isn't afraid to try new things! I love that about her! After swimming lessons my friend of more than 25 years (yes over 25 years), Karen Thomas came over to meet my cute little redhead Sadie! We hadn't seen each other in about ten years so it was great to catch up and see each other! It's so weird to think I met her when we were only 3 years old! She looks so much the same! I wonder if I do....Anyway. It was great to see you Karen! Here are some pictures of Sadie, my little sea monkey, at her swimming lessons.

Raging Waters

2008-07-20T13:18:00.013-06:00

Sadie and I had a great time with Patrick, the kids, Monique and her family at Raging Waters. We all got a little sunburned but it was worth it! We barbecued and played, played, played. Here are some pictures from our day.

Family Resemblence

2008-07-18T19:08:00.005-06:00

So, is it just me or does Sadie look ALOT like her Great Grandma Jones? I was looking through all my pictures today and although my mother has pointed it out before it just amazes me how much they look alike! This is a pretty old picture of Sadie. Thanksgiving 2005. And I'm not sure how old Grandma Jones is but I can't believe the resemblance. The eyes, the nose, and even the mouth! Sadie even has her color of hair for all of those who didn't know my sweet Grandma Jones! Anyway. I just thought this would be fun for you all to see!

Kenya and Books....

2008-07-15T18:48:00.010-06:00

I haven't been keeping up with my blog! I am not as good as my dear sister Heather, who is a blogaholic. I have decided comparing myself to her is just setting me up for failure! :) Anyway. This past week we have done many things. Work for me, daycare for Sadie. I have been trying to do a deep clean of the house but sometimes it feels pointless because Sadie is constantly undoing my efforts! The hot water heater got a leak that couldn't be fixed and we had flooding and had to get it replaced on Monday. Kenya came last night and Sadie has been stuck to her ever since. As you see in the picture, Sadie adores her! She stayed home from daycare today with Kenya and was passed out cold for hours when I got home. She definitely wears herself out around her cousin. My life hasn't been that exciting. All I do is read, read, read. Oh and work. I have been reading some awesome books. I'd love anyone on Goodreads to add me as their friend! If you aren't a member of Goodreads you definitely should become one! Its awesome! www.goodreads.com! I love having a record of the books I've read! Of course I've read many more than what i've put on there but can't remember all of them. Right now I'm reading "The History of Love" by Nicole Krauss. I've had this book checked out for so long that I have overdue fines at the library. I don't know why I've put off reading it but I almost returned it the other day without reading it. I decided I would start it and I can't put it down! It is such a great book! I love the characters and the writing and its just so different than anything else I've read in awhile. I love all sorts of books! I go from chicklit to serious fiction and from a complete suspenseful thriller to humor or nonfiction. This one is just great writing and creates deep emotional characters that make you care for them and gives you new ideas to truly think about. I love that kind of book! I am also reading "Three Cups of Tea: One Man's Mission to Promote Peace . . . One School at a Time" by Greg Mortensen & David Oliver Relin. It's an incredible story as well. Its a true story and it's very moving. Anyway. We are excited to have Kenya here and to have Patrick & Monique's family coming later this week. Sadie and I are also supposed to spend some time with my dear friend Karen Thomas this weekend and I can't wait to see her again and for her to meet my cute little redhead! Karen and I met when we were only 3! Which makes her my oldest friend in the world. Besides my dear twin Heather who has been my friend since before we were born!

4th of July

2008-07-05T17:51:00.018-06:00

So. I've been pretty lazy about writing in my blog. Oh well. I'm doing it aren't I? Today has been a day full of laziness. I need to do about a zillion different chores around the house yet I am not getting much done! Oh well. Laziness isn't all that bad sometimes! I have come to discover EBAY and realize today that I need to be VERY careful. I can see myself becoming extremely addicted to it. I find such cool things on it! Books for so cheap and cute, cute, cute clothes! I have to make myself step away from the computer! Anyway! Sadie and I had an extremely fun 4th of July spent with my friend Chantell and her kids. We barbecued and did fireworks and Sadie and I were both worn out by the time we got home. The heat is getting to me a little! Don't get me wrong! I do not look forward to winter but the heat is exhausting. I also spent the day trying to find my camera since my daughter likes to hide it from me. I found it in a cupboard. I will write more soon but for now here are some pictures from our 4th of July.

TGIF

2008-06-27T18:08:00.011-06:00

So. As much as I love to work, and I really do enjoy working and the people I work with, I honestly don't remember the last time that I was this grateful for it to be Friday! It has been a long hard week at work. Full of 12 hour work days, complaining clients, and a nasty & extremely painful kidney infection! Yesterday after enduring pain for about 3 days I went to the emergency room and found out that I had a very bad kidney infection. NO FUN! Being a total drama queen and somewhat of a hypochondriac I had told myself all week that it was the mental stress and long hours at work that was making me sick.But by last night, when I had 102 degree fever and had been at work for 12 hours, I decided to get it checked out! I am glad I did. The Dr. told me it was a bad infection and it was good I hadn't waited too much longer because that's not a good thing! The pain is already much better and even though the Dr. told me to stay home today, I couldn't do it. My partner in crime at work has the week off and is enjoying Portland with his wife, and I honestly don't know how I could have called in sick. So instead of 12 hours, I got out of there in only 9! My mom would be so proud! I have never been shy about missing school or work for things such as cramps or "pretend sicknesses"! It's definitely a good sign! I have Monday and Tuesday off work and my brother Sean and his family will be staying here this weekend. It will be a lot of fun to see them. Not to mention Sadie will be thrilled to have her cousins here. I am going to my Aunt Janet & Uncle Randy's homecoming from their mission on Sunday and am excited to see them. My plan for the weekend is to get better and enjoy my daughter. She has been somewhat neglected this week with my crazy work schedule and has been quite the trooper about getting up @ 4:45 in the morning and being at daycare for so long. This morning was the first time all week that she cried and believe me, I was feeling the same way. So I am excited to spend some 1on1 time this weekend with her. My girl is so smart it's scary! I can't believe how much she grows every day! She is so perceptive and already knows how to read certain letters! She also has been saying some awfully funny things lately! She told me last night that when her Grandpa & Grandpa move back in their house then she wants to move back to our old house. Then she said, "well, as long as we take their t.v., it has better shows!" She didn't really understand when I told her that we have cable here and we didn't at our old house! She is also obsessed on "growing up". She thinks growing up is her ticket to happiness! SCARY! I believe she thinks that once she is big she will be able to do everything in the world she wants to. Oh, if only....

Midway

2008-06-21T21:46:00.012-06:00

Today we went to Midway (near Heber City) for a summer party! I work with an awesome group of people in the QC department at Future Vision Technologies. We didn't have a summer party for the whole company this year so our department decided to have one of our own. Our manager Jen had us all over to their AWESOME house and we had a great time! We barbecued, had a ton of food, went swimming, played basketball and of course everyone's favorite...karaoke'd. As I am the oldest person in my department....yes 32 is the oldest, most of them don't have children. Jen is expecting her first in August. Luckily my old boss Brian had his son Riley there and Sadie has a blast playing with him. They had fun swimming and they are now number 1 fans of singing karaoke style! I even got coerced into singing Pat Benatar's "Hit Me With Your Best Shot". While at first it was a little humiliating we all had fun doing it! It was nice going up to Midway with it being so hot down here in Salt Lake and it was fun to be able to do something with my department at work outside of the stress and bustle of the office. I may get frustrated with my new position at work sometimes but one reason I wanted to move over to that department was because of the people in it and the way they treat each other. I am very lucky to have such great people to work with. And even if they make me feel old sometimes, I love working with them! Here are a few pics from today!

Happy Birthday Daddy!

2008-06-15T18:41:00.012-06:00

¡Feliz Cumpleaños Papa!
(hopefully that is right)

We love you so much daddy! Have a wonderful birthday! Wish we could spend it with you!

Happy Father's Day!

2008-06-15T18:10:00.020-06:00

Happy Father's Day!

I am so grateful that I have such a wonderful, intelligent and involved Father! He has always been an example to me and has been such a great father figure to Sadie. He reads her story's and takes naps with her. She loves her Grandpa so much! He has always been there for me even in times when I tested his patience way beyond certain boundaries and I know how blessed I am to have him. He has given me countless Father's blessings and was there to give Sadie her name when she was just a month old. I remember my baptism very well and how lucky I felt to have him be my dad. He is very involved with all his children and grandchildren and is a great example of what is means to hold the priesthood. I love his quirky sense of humor and his silly teasing nature. I know I have inherited many of his qualities and I feel so lucky although I know that at times us being so much alike has caused tension. Some of my best memories are of fried hotdogs and of him taking me to the library. Which I now do with Sadie. Him and I living with Grandpa and Grandma Foley when Grandpa was so sick was a chance to see a totally different side of him and I feel lucky I got to spend that time with both of them before Grandpa Foley passed away. I have never known anyone else who is so caring, intelligent and spiritual and the people of Mexico City are very lucky that he is there to teach them. We love you Daddy! Happy Father's Day!

LOST....

2008-06-10T20:06:00.005-06:00

So in the last few weeks I managed to watch 4 seasons of LOST. I am truly addicted. I LOVED the season finale and it left me crazy for more! I seriously don't know what I'm going to do until January without knowing what's going to happen next! I am in love with this exciting and fun show. I am even more in love with Sawyer. He was so great in the season finale! This show has distracted me from getting things done and not getting as much sleep as I should have but it truly has been a fun escape and I now feel like one of the group at work. My whole team is obsessed with this show and now I understand why. It's also fun to talk to my two sisters, Heather and Kathy about this show. But I know that I want to definitely buy this series to own, which I can't say about any other show. Anyway. This may be a boring post for some of you but since it has been so much a part of my life the last few weeks I figured I comment about it and put a picture up of my pretend husband Sawyer so you may understand the obsession...

Dream On...

2008-06-08T18:14:00.002-06:00

So today after me and Sadie's nap (Is that proper grammar?) Anyway. I love my Sunday naps with Sadie. She is no longer allowed to sleep with me unless it's our Sunday nap and then we get to cuddle up and she is always so cute and sweet after the nap. So when she woke up today she went on and on about how last night she and her friend Maia were flying and all these crazy things! I couldn't quite understand what she was talking about and then realized that she must have been remembering a dream! This is the first time she's ever told me about a dream she had and it must have been quite confusing to her. But I love that she dreams! I have crazy dreams almost nightly and almost always can remember them and I think its awesome that she remembered a dream and told me about it! We have had a great laid back weekend. Uncle Roy brought us a pizza over for lunch yesterday and it was fun visiting with him. Sadie is quite the showoff. I think she got that from her Aunt Heather, who was not nearly as shy as me when I was little. Then her little friend Maia came over while her mom, my good longtime friend Kari, worked. I took the two little spaz's to McDonald's to get out some of their energy and then we rented a movie. Today church was excellent, I really enjoy Bonneville Ward. Sadie loves her primary and loves sitting next to "her Karen" a great friend of mine from the ward. She is an angel for Karen and this allows me to actually enjoy Sacrament. I also found out that I got visiting teachers assigned to me. Two women whom I love and have always been so good to me. One being Karen, Sadie's Karen, and the other Geri, who is our dear Bishop who just got released, wife. I am very excited about this. I am also excited for Sadie to start taking swimming lessons in two weeks. I never got swimming lessons and still am not the best swimmer in the world so hopefully she will enjoy this. I pretty sure she will. Anyway. I hope everyone has a great week!

Same ol' Same ol'

2008-06-02T16:48:00.008-06:00

So life hasn't been too exciting as of late. Just work and home and work and home. We have done a couple fun things. On the very rainy Memorial Day weekend I pretty much stayed home all weekend watching the first season of Lost. I had never watched any except some of the first season and now I'm completely obsessed. I am now just about done with Season Two and have to force myself to pace it more not watch constantly so that I can get other things in my life done! That Sunday we went to my friend Chantelle's house for a barbecue. She has 4 kids and 4 stepkids so Sadie always has fun when we are there. Here is a picture of Sadie and Justice who is 4 years old. They act like each other and I think they look a lot like each other! Other than that not much has been going on. Sadie is just getting so big and says so many funny and smart things each day I wish I had time to write it all down. It's amazing how much she has grown. She misses her grandparents but refuses to talk on the phone unless bribed. When I tell her that she wont see them for a long time, she says "that's okay mom, I'll talk to them when i'm five!" I'm sure they hope that she'll give in before that, but she is my little stubborn redhead! And the concept of time doesn't mean much to her. Everything is either yesterday, today, or tomorrow. We really are enjoying being back in the Bonneville Ward. Everyone is so nice there and it's definitely home for me! We are lucky to be in such a great neighborhood! On Saturday we went and saw our dear Leann at her garage sale at her home in Salt Lake. It was fun seeing her and Misty who I haven't seen since before I was even pregnant! My, how old am I getting! She enjoyed meeting Sadie! I also bought a really cute firefly lamp that I love! Leann always did have great stuff! Too bad I didn't get there earlier in the day! But here is a picture of the cute lamp! Hopefully soon we will do something fun or I'll have some great idea of what to write!

One Day At A Time

2008-05-19T17:56:00.006-06:00

So today is my 2 year birthday of being clean and sober. It doesn't feel any different. If anything its been a more trying day than most, but I am proud of myself and am grateful that I have this length of time. Every day is a an accomplishment and if I just remember how much life sucked then compared to now, my trivial complaints of today seem like nothing. I am truly blessed. I just have to remember the Serenity prayer.

The Serenity Prayer

God grant me the serenity
to accept the things I cannot change;
courage to change the things I can;
and wisdom to know the difference.

Living one day at a time;
Enjoying one moment at a time;
Accepting hardships as the pathway to peace;
Taking, as He did, this sinful world
as it is, not as I would have it;
Trusting that He will make all things right
if I surrender to His Will;
That I may be reasonably happy in this life
and supremely happy with Him
Forever in the next.
Amen.
--Reinhold Niebuhr

So, the reason I need to remember this particularly today is that on my way home my beautiful, incredibly wonderful 3 year old daughter told me that somebody at her daycare told her she was fat and ugly! It made me so crazy to hear this! She is 3! I know that she didn't fully comprehend this but I know that she has a sponge like mind and she will remember it. I couldn't believe that kids at this age are saying things like this. I already have to hear swear words and things that I never heard until I was in the 5th grade. It really scares me for what she's up for in the coming years. I remember so clearly something that a mean, nasty girl said to me in the 7th grade which obviously still affects me. I guess I have to remember that a lot of it is up to me to encourage her and help her realize her self worth. But seriously! 3 years old? Argh! Look at this face! She's so beautiful I can barely stand it!

Live Green Festival

2008-05-10T16:32:00.012-06:00

So today we went to the Live Green Festival @ Library Square and it was really fun! It was fun spending time with Leann and enjoying the Spring Weather! Sadie only have a couple minor meltdowns which was pretty good considering it was right during her nap time! She loves Leann like every kid I know does! We also love the library! Her favorite thing is books and whenever we go to the downtown library I am required to ride the glass elevator up and down and up and down again. Le-Le was a good sport and rode with us today. And there was some good booths there but not as many as I was expecting. But the food was really good! We are also getting ready for mom and dad to leave. The house is crazy with all their packing and its finally starting to sink in that they are really leaving. MONDAY! Can you believe it! It will be sad for us but great for them and I'm very happy for them!

The Promises

2008-05-04T20:03:00.003-06:00

This month I will have 2 years of sobriety. It is a big milestone for me but if there is one thing I have learned in the last 5 years of recovery is that I will always be in recovery. I have been to many AA meetings and know many other addicts. My family is very rare and amazing. I am lucky to have the support and love that I do and I know that I am not always good at showing it but I am grateful for them. I have learned that even if my loved ones don't know exactly how I feel or what I have been through it is important to include them in my recovery process. I have had relapses in the past and this 2 year mark is very important to me. I know that the main part of my recovery this time is that I have included spirituality and been praying and asking for help. I just want to let everyone know how much I love them and thank them for their prayers and love. It is appreciated more than you can imagine. For a long time I lost hope. I have that back now. I hope to stay humble and some day fully be able to make ammends for the mistakes I have made but am happy to have started. As they say i'll take it "one day at a time" I love you all so much! The following is from The Big Book from Alcoholics Anonymous.

Promises
If we are painstaking about this phase of our development, we will be amazed before we are half way through. We are going to know a new freedom and a new happiness. We will not regret the past nor wish to shut the door on it. We will comprehend the word serenity and we will know peace. No matter how far down the scale we have gone, we will see how our experience can benefit others. That feeling of uselessness and self-pity will disappear. We will lose interest in selfish things and gain interest in our fellows. Self-seeking will slip away. Our whole attitude and outlook upon life will change. Fear of people and of economic insecurity will leave us. We will intuitively know how to handle situations which used to baffle us. We will suddenly realize that God is doing for us what we could not do for ourselves.
Are these extravagant promises? We think not. They are being fulfilled among us, sometimes quickly, sometimes slowly. They will always materialize if we work for them.

Single Motherhood

2008-05-03T11:24:00.012-06:00

It is hard being a single mother. Rewarding as it is sometimes I feel like pulling my hair out! Today happens to be one of those days. Sometimes I just want to be a kid again and be able to sleep in on Saturdays. What is a weekend anyway? The trigger for today's meltdown was the binky situation. I have been saying I will get rid of the binky since Sadie's 2nd birthday. That was about 18 months ago and its ruining her teeth but I find that I may rely on it more than her. To stick it out without the binky is much harder on me than I think it is on her. I have taken many hours of parenting classes. Read a lot. And still. Well. The pictures tell the story. I have had COUNTLESS advice from many well-meaning friends and family. But when it comes down to it, its one addiction that is gonna be hard to kick. For now I am just going to continue to "breathe Julia, breathe" as my little redhead likes to say and try to stick with it.

2008-05-01T17:36:00.005-06:00

April showers bring May Flowers! And clearly snow here in Utah on the first day of May. Here is a picture of my mom's pretty tulips that are surviving regardless of the crazy up and down weather here in Utah the last week. Hopefully I can keep my mom's garden up at least a little bit while she's gone! (I DO NOT have the greenest thumb! And don't really want one...)This has been a challenging week. Sadie has had a hard time with all the changes. She misses our truck while we are driving Grandma's car. She's also having a hard time understanding why we are living at Grandma & Grandpa's house but they aren't here. When they come back from Oregon and leave again I am sure it will be even more confusing but we are looking forward to having that week with them before they leave for 18 months!

2008-04-26T16:21:00.005-06:00

So. We finally moved in. And yes. It was as much work as I thought it would be but I being the organized girl that I am and the total opposite of a "pack rat" we got it done! Mom and Dad are amazing. I am 30 years younger but don't have the stamina that they do! They helped me SO much! Sadie on the other hand...Well, she got very sick to her stomach last night and was up a couple times so I wasn't able to take her to my friend Lisa's. I didn't want her son Dylan to get sick! This is a picture of her room. The only thing that I've unpacked. But we will get there sooner or later. This other picture is of her playing with her toys. Yes. She has a MILLION of them and she watched me VERY closely to make sure I didn't throw any of them out. She definitely has more stuff than I do.

2008-04-14T15:32:00.005-06:00

Sadie and I have lived @ Lifestart Village in Midvale for 15 Months and we will miss it there! We are excited for our move into Grandma and Grandpa's but we will always be so grateful for the experiences we had there. Believe me when I say the first year was NOT easy but we made it and I know the structure there helped me a lot. We have made a lot of good friends there and love the staff and our ward there. We especially love our little cottage that we lived in the last 7 months! Thank you so much to the staff there and our friends, especially Lisa, Tricia, Tamara, Bobbie, Estee and anyone else I forgot! It was great having so much support! We love you guys!

Gymnast Sadie

2008-04-06T12:25:00.001-06:00

So Sadie has been taking Gymnastics for the last few months and LOVES it! Here is a picture of her in her leotard! She loves going and hates it when I end up working late (which I have a couple times) and misses class! She is especially good on the balance beam and at saying "TA DA!" when she is done with something! She is quite the performer.

It's been awhile....

2008-04-06T11:54:00.002-06:00

So. It seems I am not so good at this blogging thing yet...I am working a lot and preparing to move to my parents house while they leave to go on their mission. It will be an adjustment with us being in a new house and especially with my parents leaving. Sadie and I will miss them a lot! But we are happy for them! Work is still busy! I got a promotion to an Account Manager position a couple months ago and it has been a lot of work trying to learn this new position. My old position was very kick back...listening to books all day. My new job...not so much. But after two months I am starting to get used to it. I really like my new manager Jen and having more interaction with people. I do miss my books too though! We had a lot of fun with The Duffin family while they were here! Sadie sure likes having her cousins around! Especially Noah who is a little younger than her so she thinks she can boss him around.

Our New Blog

2008-02-09T15:27:00.001-07:00

This is Sadie's and my new blog. I do not have a digital camera at the moment. Or a computer for that matter. So I will update it as soon as possible. But for now here are a few pictures of my cute redhead.