Preserving Memories

My life these past weeks has seemed to be revolving around preserving my family's memories. I have finally started to organize, format, and burn our home videos onto DVD's. I have also been making a ton of picture slide shows, journaling for me and the kids, and typing up a recipe book of our little family's favorite recipes in what I call my master cook book. Scrapbooking is on hold as I am doing the computer end of things, but I have been thinking about it a lot. :0)
Basically from taking a million pictures, video taping, saving them and making them cute, to even my business as I am always making samples with the kids, all my energy seems to be poured into trying to capture how special this time is with my babies. Watching all our videos starting from Bridger's pregnancy to now I have re-realized what a truly happy life Stew and I have had and are having. I just cant express how much joy my husband and kiddos have brought to my life. They really are everything to me. And the icing on top is knowing that, whether they like it or not, they are stuck with me for eternity! :0) Well, here are some of my little slide shows I just finished. Hope you enjoy them!

I guess I was tagged!

Well my cousin Megan tagged me on her blog to answer these questions about myself on my own blog. So here they are! :0) Oh, and Bethany, Becca, Anjanae, and Treva tag your it! and yes that means you should start a blog of your own too! :0)

Four Places I've Lived:

Glendale California - used to be such a great place to live but now its so expensive and crowded these days

Burbank California (the real Hollywood)

Provo Utah (Go cougars!)

Sparks Nevada (med school)

Four Jobs I've Had:

Caterer’s assistant – loved it

Attorney’s assistant – hated it

"Assistant Manager" (wow wow) of Big Dog’s Sport’s Wear - liked it

MTC cafeteria worker - wet, hot, and smelly! Once I started college my jobs went all down hill

Four Things I'd like to do before I die:

Get my master’s in history and become a professor teaching at a small college

Travel all over, especially Thailand and Europe

Serve a mission or two with my hubby

Fatten up all my grandkids with goodies and give them lots of hugs and kisses

Four Favorite Desserts:

Seeing how I have been living on Halloween candy all day nothing sounds good but I guess…

Angel food cake with whipped cream, ice cream and strawberries

Chocolate chip cookies and milk

Ice cream in my cereal and milk (try it! It is so good!) ice cream and milk is a Smith tradition :)

Anything my mom makes that includes sugar

Four Interesting Facts about Me:

At age five I had seven cavities - too much candy and not enough toothpaste I guess

I dyed my hair four times in one night during high school ending in the color black. It did have a hint of purple though (its never been the same!)

I gave a speech in the California Senate building

I ran the San Diego marathon 3:40 or something like that - my sisters Anj and shayla were my cheerleaders that made it possible! Thanks!

Four Favorite TV Shows:

Charley and Lola- its on the Disney channel .I love it! So cute because they are sweet kids and they are British

The Office - thanks to my sister Anj introducing it to Stew and me

CNN – dorky I know, but it’s the truth these days :0) "Planet in Peril" is good stuff. Lee would be proud of me :0)

HGTV – most anything dealing with decorating and I am in heaven. Ever since I was a little kid my most common day dreams have been about remodeling my house - I get it from my mom who is a decorating genius

HAPPY HALLOWEEN!!!

Happy Halloween! We had a fun Halloween this year. The best part for us was getting our kids all dressed up. Angeli was a baby chick. Eden sent her her costume and it was so perfect for her. When I brought her home from the hospital at 5 lbs. my mom and I nicknamed her my "chickeny" girl because her legs were so skinny they reminded us of chicken legs. I still call her my "chickeny" girl as she is still such little thing. Bridger was a puppy dog. Eden sent him his costume too, she is such a life saver!, and his costume was perfect because he has always LOVED doggies. As far as our Halloween activities go we didn't do anything too exciting but none the less we had a blast.
Stew had his last test of his "hell month" ( he thinks he did really well) and was able to come home early. Yay! :0) This is the first Halloween of our marriage (except for when it was on a Sunday) that Stew has been able to be home because he's had to work at UPS. But now there's no more UPS so he was able to be with us! So happy! I worked on my ceramic stuff- - - fun fun, we had a leftovers dinner, got the kids all "cutified" and headed to our ward's Trunk-or-Treat. It was so fun to do trunk-or-treating this year because Bridger is old enough to be excited about getting all the candy. Yum! He didn't quit get that you only take one candy. If they'd let him he would have taken the whole bowl! :0) After the Trunk-or-Treat we headed home and web-camed Grandma and Grandpa Rasmussen; which was a great way to end a great day. Overall it was so much fun to show off our cute kids and see Bridger starting to get the whole trick-or-treating thing down. We are so excited for next year with Bridger totally getting into it and Angeli being where Bridger is now. Kids make everything so much fun! :0) We love them! Hope you had a very Happy Halloween too! Love, All of Us

The little Chick clucking around

Our little puppy dog scarfing down his chow

Such a cute picture of Stew and his baby chick

Me and my cute boy again

And our "chickeny" girl

Perk of being a Nevadan - - - Nevada Day!

After this long week with Stew coming home around 12 am every night I was very excited to enjoy our first Nevada Day. What makes Nevada day so great is it means no School! Stew and I were able to go to the temple, let the kids get a nap while stew studied for his Monday test, go to our local pumpkin patch, and Stew and I cozied up while we gorged on sweets and watched the movie we rented. It was a much needed change from our daily drill.
Saturday was a busy and fun day too. Angeli and Bridger got their pictures taken that turned out pretty darn cute, Stew studied once again, and then we went to our second pumpkin carving party of the season that one of Stew's med buddies was throwing. I was also able to get some impressions done! We are crossing our fingers that these ones don't crack! :0)
Sunday was filled with church fun as Stew taught Elder's Quorum, I chased kids around in the nursery, and we did some end of the month home/visiting teaching. After we had our third pumpkin carving party, which like the others, left stew's and my pumpkins very much just that- pumpkins. I don't think we'll have our high class jack-o-lanterns this year but the kids' look pretty cute. Bridger had a lot of fun helping his dad cut out the eyes and stuff.
Well there is our play-by-play of our weekend; I am sure it was exhilarating! :0) We really did have a great time and really needed it after the crazy weeks we've been having with Stew's tests. But before I sign out I also want to fill you all in on our latest little updates. So here I go...

Friday was Angeli's 9 month birthday! I can't believe she is already nine months old. However, when I think that she has been outside of my tummy only as long as she was in it I realize just how LONG pregnancy is! She is little miss self sufficient but lately she has started to want to cuddle with her mommy more so that has been really sweet. I am totally loving it. She is at the beginnings of "cruising"- - -walking holding onto furniture. Bridger doesn't make it very easy though as he is such a boy tackling her all the time. :0)
Bridger, my long time cuddle bug, is starting the very very first steps of potty training thanks to my sister Anjanea's coaching. We are starting to teach him the entire process before we give it a full on try with his very own potty. It is fun, believe it or not, teaching him how to pull up and down his pants, flushing the toilet, washing hands.... He loves pleasing his mommy and daddy so he thinks this new challenge is a great way to show what a big helpful boy he is. He beams with pride whenever he gets a "good job" from us. He's such a cutie! I counted yesterday that I changed 8 diapers. Just for fun I figured that in a week that's 56 diapers, in a month that is 224, and in a year I change a whopping 2688 diapers! If all goes well potty training will be a great change for all of us!
Stew did awesome on his two huge tests this week! He is such a stud. He broke/fractured his foot/toe this week playing football. Ironically the future doctor wont go see a doctor so I am crossing my fingers that it heals however it should. In the mean time I guess he'll just be a bit of a gimp = ( .
And Me...I am plugging away at keeping my business going, making sure we are feed, clean, dressed, within budget and basically sane! My latest gripe has been me wondering why I have no winter clothes purchased after high school. I know I have bought stuff these past winters. But yet there is nothing. Today it dawned on me, I have been pregnant these past two winters!!! So I have been buying tons of clothes but they are all maternity! In the spirit of that revelation I actually busted out my favorite maternity dress and wore it to church today. :0) Stew got a laugh out of it and I think I pulled it off pretty well. :0) Luckily for me I look so un-pregnant when I am pregnant that I don't think it was too much of a stretch. Plus I figured that if I can wear my normal clothes all of my pregnancy why not the other way around?!?!?! :0) So with our budget the way it is I will just have to sport my high school clothes this winter and perhaps a little maternity too! :0)
We love you guys and We hope you enjoy the pictures we took of our very fun weekend together.

Our family of four pumpkins

The one with two teeth is Angi's and Bridger's is the slightly bigger one

Angeli checking out the pumpkins

Bridger LOVED the farm animals

Me and my little pumpkin

Bridger being manly by taking on the tractor

By far his favorite was the bounce house!

One of our favorite things to do is throw family dances. Here is part of our post pumpkin patch shin dig.

Here's my cuddly boy giving Angi a nice big bear hug mid dance. They are so sweet together even if it is a little bit more of a choke hold then a hug!

A Deadly Combination: Toddler + Sharpie

Well it is another one of those golden mommy days for me. :0) Honestly, my kids have been angels today but My Goodness, did they have a surprise for me! I was on the phone with my mom when I realized the house was a bit too quite so I started to investigate. I saw that my bedroom door was open and realized they were in their favorite off limits hang out- - - the master bathroom! As I entered my room I saw my scrapbooking stuff strewn around the room and what I assumed was my eyeliner drawn all over the carpet. I was annoyed about the eyeliner but the scrapbooking mess is almost a daily occurrence. When I entered the bathroom there sat Angeli eating my scrapbooking paper and Bridger coloring all over the bathroom with not eyeliner but a SHARPIE! It was all over the floor, the cabinets and my bedroom carpet. Oh, it is so sad! My bathroom is ruined! I quickly took the magic eraser to it and now I have purple drawings all over my floor and cabinets. Thus, I am resorting to sending out a plea to all you brave moms who have gone before to tell me if you know about anything that is more magical then the magic eraser. I guess in the mean time I will just have to decide my Bridger is a budding artist who has redecorated my bathroom in an effort to show his great love for me, oh and of course, never let him near a sharpie again!!! :0)

the crime scene with the kaput magic eraser

the mischievous culprit trying to hide the evidence!


tricking him to put on his sweater I am able to revel the evidence against him!

and of course Bridger's sneaky looking accomplice!

Angi's New Hairdo!

Yesterday I realized my little girlie's hair is getting a little out of control. So I bought some hair stuff to start experimenting with in hopes that I could find a style that she could sport in her upcoming 9 month picture extravaganza. This is my first attempt at giving my Angi girl a new do. Stewart and I aren't sure if its absolutely adorable or totally silly looking. I think we are stuck with it being a lovely mixture of the two. :0) Tell us what you think and if its worthy to make it to JCPenney's next week!

PS I curled it a little after I took these pictures which tamed the "palmtreeness" of it quite a bit.

Stew's Getting to be an Old Man! :0)

Well Stew is now 26! He's ancient! :0) Well it's easy for him to feel that way as most of the kids in class with him are 22. To celebrate we had a fun birthday dinner yesterday with a couple of his med school friends and their families. We ate dinner, the boy's talked med school, the women folk talked about kids and surviving med school, and the kids ran around like crazies trying to learn what sharing is. Stew is doing so well in med school. Going into it most people told us how hard it was and we hoped they were all wrong but we weren't sure what we'd find. And now that Stew's in the thick of it we've found that Stew loves it and that I see more of him then ever before in our marriage. :0) We actually feel like we have it pretty good. He is rocking all his tests too. On his big test this week he got a 96% and on his quiz he got a 100%. He did all of this with having to turn in two papers as well (well I wrote one of his papers for him so I don't think that it should really count!). The one he actually wrote was a 10 page paper on his Grandpa Rasmussen. I Think he really enjoyed writing it. This month is what they call "Hell Month" with a rough average of two test a week. But so far we don't feel like its too "hellish". However, that might change in a couple of weeks. :) We are so glad he has such good friends to study with, that he is loving what he is learning and that he is really doing well despite all the other demands he has. We are very proud of Stewart and are so grateful to have him as my hubby and the kids daddy. So basically we had a very Happy Birthday for Stew and are excited about all he is accomplishing!

My business - a hard yet very happy time

Stew took this picture of me today as we headed out of the house. He was headed to school and I was headed to place my sample impressions up in doctors offices. I had dreams of posting my picture with a blog that told a story of how my 17 samples were cutely sprinkled in waiting rooms across Reno. But now at the end of the day I have a very different blog entry to write. It went OK but was a little disappointing and left me with a lot on my heart and mind. And now I have 13 samples dumped, not so cutely, in my garage wishing they had a more clinical home. :0) So here is what I am left to write about: This year has brought us so much growth as a family. We have embarked on very unknown paths, many of which we are still wondering where they will take us. I have felt very prompted to start my home business. We felt strongly that it was what the Lord wanted us to do. It sort of fell into our laps and we weren't really wanting to take it on knowing how hard medical school is by its self but in time we were excited about it and knew it was right. So I have invested my whole heart into this business. Much of our money, time, tears, smiles and energies have been poured into it. I somehow thought that I would be able to get it off the ground quickly and surprise all my family and friends with how well I am doing with it so that any doubters would become believers. But all along the way Stew has given me blessings that have counseled me that it would be longer and harder then I thought it would be. And He was right. I have slow and small achievements and many set backs. But every time I feel discouraged and afraid of how we will survive with no income and a mortgage I feel this very clam reassuring Spirit wash over my mind and heart that seems to tell me that it will still be hard but that in time I will look back and be so grateful we had the faith to take this difficult path. It seems during this year we have had so many opportunities to grow. I have never had so many fears but also so many opportunity to feel the Spirit reassure and comfort me. Everyday I seem to find a dozen miracles in my little families behalf in the face of all the set backs we seem to encounter. Here is a prime example....

Just the other day as I sat worrying about how to make ends meet I got a call from the guy whose car I accidentally hit in a parking garage when I was pregnant with Angeli. I had left a note for him with my number. We talked shortly after but he never called me back to set up arrangements on how to pay for his car repairs. And I counted myself very lucky. But now almost 18 months later he called just when we are by far the poorest we have ever been. I was therefore feeling worse. So as I worried I felt I should check the mail. It appeared to be bills and junk but to my utter amazement there hidden in the junk was a reimbursement check from way before I was pregnant with Bridger that some how was mailed to us in Reno. How on earth this happened I don't know, but I do know it was through the hand of our Heavenly Father. As I looked down at that simple check for 17.98 I felt the Spirit testify that the Lord is mindful of us and is capable of making great and small things happen in our behalf. This guy's car repairs will be more then 17.98 but I was reassured not to worry because if this check can find me some how we will survive. At the end of this episode, like many others before it, I felt ever needful of the Lord's help and ever mindful of what a kind Father we have. He has numberless children and numberless worlds yet He took the time and effort to get that little check to me on a day when I would need a reminder of His love and a little extra money. So while we are constantly bombarded with set backs we are receiving so many blessings. I have always known we were watched over but it seems these days we are relying on His miracles every step of the way. We are so very grateful to all of you that have made many of those mighty and mini miracles happen for us. From Eden's surprise package for my babies so they would have winter clothes and Halloween customs to my 17.98 dollar check we know that the Lord and you are all watching out for us. Thanks for being our miracles we love you all so much. All our love, The Ras's

A Verry Happy Birthday Indeed!

Well, Happy Birthday to me! :0) I am now 23. That is a pretty insignificant birthday year but none the less I am one year older and hopefully a little wiser too. We were so excited when mom and dad Ras told us they were coming up to visit for birthdays (as stew's is the 11th) and to hangout with us during conference. We had such a fun time with them. While most of the trip was watching conference together we snuck in some extra fun things like going out to eat, playing games, eating lots of junk food, showing off our little abode, and many hours playing with the kiddos. Stew had fun going to the priesthood session with his dad and of course keeping their tradition of getting ice cream after too. It was also fun to have a bigger crowd sing happy birthday to me! We feel spoiled that they came out here to be with us and hope we'll have lots more time with them soon. Here are some snapshots of our time together.

watching Sunday Conference.

Our handsome little guy

Angi and Grandpa showing off their beautiful Rasmussen eyes!

Bridger in his Halloween costume (a Dog) playing in Sammy's kennel. Saying "woof, woof" over and over again. :0)

Us outside our house after our between session walk.

Our Cute girlie

Grandma and Angeli playing during Saturday sessions

A Grumpy Mom Day

Well I am feeling really grumpy and I cant seem to stop feeling this way so I am going to write on my blog to see if that helps. Stew is staying late tonight which is hard because 7 am to 9 pm is a lot of hours of single parenthood. Every evening just before Stew gets home I feel "Done". My patience is running thin and my kids patience is as well. And then Stew comes home and Bridger runs to him saying "Daddy! Daddy! Daddy!" and stew picks him up and they start wrestling on the floor as Angeli crawls over to join in. And suddenly everything is happy and bright again. But that wont be happening tonight. I have a million things I want to do but cant seem to get them done with the kids all over the place. Today has really been made of endless dirty diapers, endless feedings as they cant seem to get enough these days, and endless messes as now that both of them are mobile nothing is safe anymore. Angeli lost her last pacifier today so her naps have been too short and Bridger woke up too early from his nap too. So we are all tired, and grumpy. Just now Angeli pooped yet again, and Bridger has just drained out his bath I just put him in because I caught him with his diaper off and playing in his own poop! I guess I wasn't quick enough in getting him a diaper change so he thought he'd take a go at it. And I am trying to be light hearted about the whole thing. Well that is my life today. I think the highlight today will be bed time! :) Well, Bridger is screaming for me I better go. I love you moms out there that know exactly what days like today are like. And to be honest I do feel a little better now that I have this written out. Maybe I'll go for a run or some other activity where the kids are locked in one place. :0)

Two New Teeth!

Making Friends as a Mom

Well, my new friend here in Reno shared with me a new philosophy I have decided is very very true. Here it goes. Once you become a mom you need to make yourself mommy friends. Also, moving means you have to start all over again which is exactly what I am having to do now that I am in Reno. She said you have to go after other moms the same way you would go after a guy when you were single. Instead of going to bars (church dances) to pick up guys you go to parks to pick up moms. You have to get up the nerve to ask for their number. You tell them their kids are cute, you tell that they look nice, you invite them on play dates. You then invite them to dinner to meet the whole family and slowly you make advances into mommy friendship. I realized when my new friend said this that I have always been surprised at how hard it is to make new friends. I think I felt this way because we have the expectation that it is something that just naturally happens when you find compatible mommies around you. However, everyone acknowledges that getting yourself a man can be very hard so we aren't as put off when it takes a lot of work. Thus, I have committed to work just as hard to make my mommy friends as I did to get Stew!:0) After all it is fundamentally the same thing; trying to make someone like you enough to make room for you in their lives. In fact I have been doing this in small amounts with the very same girl that introduced this idea to me. I decided I wanted her to be friends with me. But I could tell she wasn't overly excited about that idea. But I put myself out there anyways. And now we are friends! So ladies. Work for those mommy friends just as hard as you did to get your Man. And I think you'll soon find yourselves with a little back book full of fellow mommies ready at your call to go to the park, the zoo, or just to chat on the phone.