Good Friends:

When Daddy Comes Home

A Cory Update

Cory Has A Job!

A great Dad

Just a few shots of Cory doing what he does best lately. It has been great to have him home a little more (he has 4 weeks off a school, but is still working at the Olive Garden):

(In the one wiht the guitar, the boys were totally singing at the top of their lungs...it was awesome!)

Read-a-thon

These boys just love their Daddy, and for good reason too. He is awesome and he spends as much time with them as he possibly can. This was the middle of a 45 min read-a-thon they had the other night. Hopefully, they will end up loving books as much as their Dad does.

Cory, you amaze me!

For those of you who don't know, Cory has been working crazy hard this semester. He is gone 7 am - 10:00 (occasionally later) pm most days. He has Sat morning off and typically Wed night. He is taking two classes, working 20 hrs a week at Olive Garden as well as working 40 hrs/week at an internship for free...well, actually we are paying thousands of dollars in tuition for him to work in this internship. It is a good opportunity b/c he is clerking for a corporate attorney who is doing what Cory would like to do eventually. This is an area of law that is very difficult to get into, so we have been a bit nervous about how this experience would go.

Well, it is going GREAT according to his supervising attorney! Here is a bit (I can't post anything that has to do with specific assignments as Cory has signed a confidentiality agreement with them...) of the mid-semester review she just gave Cory. (You will have to click on the image to make it large enough to read) I only had access to the Adobe file, so I couldn't copy and paste the text.

Way to go Cory!



Coming soon....our trip to Disneyland!

Why Kids Need A Dad...

What lucky kids!

Random

This is how Noah sleeps. It's just so cute, I had to record it for posterity:


These kids love their Daddy (no, this was not staged, he really was playing with all three of them):


What a cute girl:

CELEBRATION

Congrats to Cory who just finished his 2nd year of law school!!!! He took his last final yesterday.

He works so hard for our family and I/we are so grateful for all he does. He is a great father.

Just one example:

I remember talking with girlfriends before I was married about how we thought we should be willing to let our husbands have some wind down time when they got home from work/school before we asked for/expected help with the kids/house etc. I know, I know, many of you are laughing and I have since learned that this is much more difficult that I'd ever imagined.

But my sweet husband is wonderful. Every time he comes home, the first thing he does is get down on the ground and play with his boys. If they are asleep, he will often straighten up the kitchen or put the sheets on the bed, or do something else that needs to be done. This is usually after a full day of school and/or work...sometime 12+ hours.

He takes his responsibility as a husband and father seriously, and I am so grateful. I'd put money on his being the only person in his class with three kids. At times, it adds a heavy extra load, but he never complains and I'm sure we will be blessed for his faith.

Next semester he will leave for his internship around 6:00 am, get home around 5:00 pm, and then work at Olive Garden most nights. He will also be taking one class on Tuesday nights. He then has one more full semester of classes and will graduate in April. He will then spend April-July studying for the bar and will take it last July of next year. So the end is in sight!

So, last night we celebrated! Well, as much as you can when you have an infant and two 2 yr olds! (-:

We ate homemade Cafe Rio pork salads and had peanut butter cheesecake. It was tasty! Congrats Cory!

Mr Fix It...Just Like Daddy

Noah wants to be just like his Daddy. He loves to watch anything Cory is doing....he even follows him to the bathroom!

Cory was fixing the leg on our piano and Noah just had to be a part of what was going on. I thought it was cute, so I pulled out the camera:

Cory & Misty Update

Cory and I are doing well. I am recovering relatively well from the birth. I starting hemorrhaging yesterday though. The after hours nurse recommended the ER, but we were about to bless Samantha, so we called a L&D nurse in our ward and she said I should be fine to wait until Monday to see my doctor as long as I stay completely off my feet until then. She said although it could be serious, it is more likely that I have just been over doing it. We feel very lucky that this happened while my parents were here as they have been able to help out a lot.

Although I am very overwhelmed at the idea of taking care of all three kids by myself (Cory will be gone from 6:00 am - 9:00 pm M-F starting in Sept), I am still loving being a mom. It has been fun to have just one newborn...a completely different experience than twins. She is a wonderful, sweet little girl, and I can just enjoy her while I feed her and am enjoying this stage much more than I was able to the first time. I also look forward every day to seeing Micah and Noah as they are learning so much these days. I just love this age. Although it can be exhausting, I don't want it to end. They make me laugh and smile every day, and I am so grateful to be their mom.

Cory is still doing well in school and is taking a full load this summer. He is also working around 25 hrs a week, so he has a full plate as well. As always though, he puts me and the kids first and is always ready and willing to help with anything I need. He is a wonderful husband and father. The boys absolutely adore him. There is just something different about playtime with your Dad, and they love it. They love rough housing with him, tickling him, making noise and just being boys. Cory has been cute with Samantha too....he says it is actually fun to see all this pink in the house. I'm excited to see their relationship develop.

Father's Day

Father's Day was fun. Cory got to sleep in while the boys, Kelly and I made him breakfast. Around 8:00 we took him breakfast and a small gift/cards the boys had colored. The boys sang their Father's day song (which Cory loved...he watched it a bunch of times and sang it around the house all day long), and then we put them up on the bed while he opened his cards and gift. Micah was really interested in what he was doing and what was going on. Noah was done as soon as he sang the song. Funny how they are so different.

Both the boys love that song though. Once I'd taught it to them, they would ask to sing it all week long. "Dada song?" they would say. I was afraid Cory would find out b/c he was home most of the week, but he said he never caught on. They still ask to sing it or to watch themselves doing it every day. I'm really glad it was such a hit.

We didn't do too much else that was special. Cory got to take a nap, which is rare b/c he always lets me nap instead, and we had Tilapia for dinner per his request. We played a few rounds of settler's that night and I let him win to make sure he had a good night. (he actually killed me)

Happy Father's Day!

Happy Fathers Day, Cory/Daddy! We love you so much and are so grateful for all that you do for us. You are a wonderful Father/Husband. We hope you have a great day.

Misty, Micah, Noah, Samantha

All about Cory

I know, I know...I am WAY behind on posting just about everything. It's sad, cause this is our family journal. I will get caught up eventually...just A LOT going on right now...it's had to take a back seat.

However, I did want to take just a minute and post a few quick thoughts about my wonderful husband. With everything going on these past few months he has been rather neglected by me. Yet, he has continued to amazing me with his ability work hard, see the positive side of things, stay optimistic, and make me laugh. I couldn't ask for better support. We actually just celebrated our 4 year anniversary and I can truly say I am happier today than I was the day I married him. Here are a just a few of the reasons why:

He is an amazing Father. He watches the boys for hours at a time, and not only does he just watch them, he builds forts, takes them for walks, teaches them to throw and kick a ball, as well as how to use a bat. He reads stories, dances "happy feet," sings them songs, throws them, spins them, feeds them. He is incredible. The boys adore him. They ask for him every time they wake up. They sob when he leaves and run to him when he gets home. This morning Noah would not let go of him. Cory was going to be late for the Coaster, but Noah just didn't want him to leave.

He is extremely patient with and helpful toward me. Lets just say, I am definitely pregnant, yet he is ever patient, humble and willing to serve. He cleans the kitchen nightly, sometimes multiple times a day. He rubs my back and makes runs to Jack in the Box when I need a Sour Dough Jack. He cleans the bathrooms w/o being asked. He even gets up with the boys in the morning on the weekends so that the new baby and I can "get some extra rest." He never gets to sleep in...and he gets up at 5:30 most school mornings, so I'm sure he would like to. In fact the reason he gets up at 5:30 is so I can have the car. He could get up at 6:30 and take the car, but he wants to make sure I can get out of the house if I need to.

Aside from all of this, he is helping immensely with getting our business off the ground, spending hours each week invested in it. He is pretty much designing and building our website and since he has very little experience there, he has had to learn a lot in the process. However, he is doing a wonderful job.

In addition, don't forget that he is still a full time law student! He rarely misses class and works exceptionally hard to do well. And it has paid off! He just got his grades from last semester and he got an A- average! He also got an academic award for getting the top grade in his Advanced Legal Writing Course, which is incredible. Writing is something that I am just not talented at...especially something like legal writing, yet Cory and whip out 20 page papers in a couple of nights and consistently get A's on them. He amazes me.

So, that is my husband. Sometimes, I really wonder how I got so lucky...

HAPPY BIRTHDAY CORY!

Cory, thanks so much for being such a great father and husband. You truly are amazing in so many ways...much of which goes unseen by most the people in your life. I love you and hope you have a great day! Happy Birthday!

I'm So Glad When Daddy Comes Home

Welcome Home Daddy! We sure missed you!

Seriously, the first night Cory was gone, Noah just crawled all around the house whining and saying "Dada," "Dada." Then he wouldn't fall asleep for over an hour... just kept crying and saying "Dada." Things got better as the week went on and we had a great week. Then, yesterday I talked to Cory on the phone when he got out of the canyon. Since then I've been telling the boys that Daddy is coming home and they both just keep saying "Dada" over and over again. (not whining now, just hand clapping excited). Pretty cute. I guess that means they have a pretty great Dad if they love him that much.

ps...my mom is the amazing scrap booker, not me. I worked for 3 hrs this morning trying to make something far simpler. Finally, I decided there is a reason I don't do digital scrap booking (I stink at it) and I called my mom. Five minutes later, she sends me this page and says: "Not, my best work, but it will have to do." She is amazing. What talent.

Happy Father's Day!

One Year Down!

I can't believe it, but Cory is DONE with his first year of law school! He has worked so hard and done exceptionally well. What is even more amazing is that he did so with a lot of other things on his plate. Up until the twins started sleeping through the night a few weeks ago, he has gotten up to help me feed them every night. For a while, it was twice a night! Then he would get up early the next morning, go to school, attend class and study all day. (many days were 12 hr days, some days were 14-15 hr days). He would then come home, play with boys for a while then help me bathe them and put them to bed. He was always willing to help clean or take the garbage out or listen to me ramble on about my day/life/needs. I truly am married to an amazing man. Congratulations, Cory! I am so proud of you. Thanks for working so hard. You amaze me!