Chaston Family

We've grown

2011-11-13T11:54:00.000-08:00

We were so excited today to have a new family move into our ward. Even more exciting is that they have four children!!! Two of their girls are Primary age, and we couldn't be more thrilled. They also have two other children who are not quite in Primary yet. Due to the fact that today was our Primary program we all 11 out of the 12 expected primary children at church today. With the two new girls, we had FOURTEEN children in Primary. We actually had to make a third row for sharing time. This is very exciting for our small ward. I love the children in our ward, and am so grateful I have the opportunity to serve them.

Beautiful Stormy Day

2011-10-08T14:10:00.001-07:00

I know that most people would not think a night and day full of dark clouds, thunder and rain would be their idea of a beautiful day, but here in West Texas it is something we don't see too much of these days. So when it happens, we think it is beautiful. Since we had a rare day of no plans, I thought we'd enjoy a lazy Saturday morning with homemade blueberry muffins. This is the 3rd time I have tried this recipe, and I believe I have perfected it. They are the most fabulous blueberry muffins I have ever had. I especially like the way they look and smell just coming out of the oven. The best part is the wonderful crumbly top. Yuummmy!!

Yumminess!!

Sweet Anticipation :)

French Toast for the Boy Who Hates Bread

2011-09-01T14:39:00.000-07:00

This morning Takara had school, and wanting to send her off with a half way decent breakfast, I made french toast. Brigham despises bread. Won't eat a sandwich in any way, shape, or form (and I've tried them all). Won't eat rolls or even the bread for the Sacrament. But, he LOVES french toast. It's funny how if you just disguise it with a little cinnamon, sugar, and nutmeg and he thinks it's great. Maybe it's the syrup he loves best of all. Well, I finished my stack of french toast and went to gather the troops for breakfast. As I left the kitchen to get the others, Brigham was entering the kitchen. He saw the french toast, and was so excited he started jumping up and down. I came back with the other kids, and I saw Brigham carrying a towering stack of french toast. As he was walking toward the table he kept saying, "Sanks, Mom. Sanks, Mom." I just love that kid :)

I Survived...Barely

2011-08-14T20:16:00.000-07:00

Today was the dreaded......Stake Conference. I have always enjoyed Stake Conference, especially the Saturday evening session, which is an adult only session :). Even after having children we managed to make it through in one piece and with most of our hair in tact. Today was a different story. Let's just start off by saying that there were no seats available except on the stage. I have memories as a child thinking the stage was such a cool place to sit, but as an adult, the charm has definitely worn off. Of course, the conference was right in the middle of Emi's naptime, so Dev took her out to see if he could get her to sleep, which he usually can. I was left to fend for myself with Brigham and Takara. Normally I am able to handle this in a somewhat capable manner. I don't know if my children ate bowls full of sugar for breakfast or if someone fed them "don't listen to your mother pills", but I might as well have been talking to the wall as much as they listened to me. I couldn't get Takara to stop talking or singing, and I couldn't get Brigham to stay in a chair, on my lap, or even sitting on the floor for more than 3 seconds. What has happened to my parenting skills? I realized that I probably should have had slightly more realistic expectations, and probably should have stayed in the hall after the fourth or fifth time I had to take Brigham out, but I guess I am a glutton for pumishment. I have never felt so discouraged as a mother as I did walking out of that meeting. Alas, we made it through and after the hour drive home I was feeling a little better as I got my adorable sleeping children out of the car. I believe I have learned a few valuable lessons for our next Stake Conference. I will try again in six months, and hopefully my report will be a little more uplifting. :)

The Faith of a Little Child

2011-03-04T06:30:00.000-08:00

Takara received a kitchen from Santa this past Christmas. Although she was terrified of Santa, she would quickly tell you that, "Santa is bringing me a kitchen for Christmas." It turned out that the highlight of the kitchen and Christmas was the phone that came with it. She calls it her "march away phone". Why? I don't know, but that is what she calls it. She took this phone everywhere, and that is probably why she can no longer find it. Everytime she sees a picture of it from our Christmas pictures she tells me, "Mom, we need to find my march away phone." Well this morning I had finished my exercising, and she had come downstairs with me. She even gave step aerobics a try once I was done. So cute! We were putting everything away and she tells me, "Mom, Jesus made my arms." I told her that's right, and asked her what else he made her. She tells me he made her belly button. Then she said, "Mom, Jesus will make me a new march away phone." I love the faith of a little child.

Swing Me, Daddy!

2010-03-31T10:05:00.000-07:00

Takara absolutely loves the swings. So much in fact, that one day when I took her to the park she was in them so long she threw up. An important lesson was reaffirmed to me that day...Yes, you can have too much of a good thing.

Nephi Rodeo

2010-03-31T09:26:00.000-07:00

A few years ago we attended the Nephi Rodeo with Dev's family, and had such a blast that we hope to make it a traditon. This year's trip was super fun as Takara is now old enough to start enjoying some of the rides. I was always such a whimp about rides growing up, and there is no way I would even entertain the thought of going on any ride that went upside down. That is until I was sixteen and our family was at Lagoon. Betsy and I were riding what we considered the "safe" rides when the boys ran past us telling us how much they loved the Colossus. Betsy and I looked at each other and knew there was no other choice but to go on the dreaded upside down rollercoaster. The boys were younger than us, and no way were they going to out do us. Turns out I had the best time, and ever since then, the more loop-d-loops the better!!

I LOVE my cowgirl boots!!!

Where to Begin?

2010-03-31T09:21:00.000-07:00

I feel like I am about to sing the same song I have been singing all my life, but just a different verse. I have never been very good at keeping a journal, or in this case, a blog. So every time I sit down I feel like I am playing catch up and that just feels overwhelming. So, this entry may seem very random, and that is because it is. I guess that is just me.

Happy Birthday Svester

2009-07-08T14:06:00.000-07:00

What a delicious day! And I am not just talking about the salads Betsy and I had for lunch. It was so great to visit with my Svester on her birthday. I appreciate all the insight to motherhood she is able to give me, and I am so glad I have her experience to glean from. Happy Birthday, Svester!!

Almost Brothers

2009-07-06T13:45:00.000-07:00

Betsy and I agree that there is something about the two of these that is so similar. Although Betsy's Cannon and my Brigham are cousins, they do look quite a bit alike. We hope they will be extra close because of it. One thing they do have in common is they are both adorable!! If I must say so myself. :) This picture was taken at the Riverton Parade 7-3-09.

My Favorite Blanket

2009-07-06T13:34:00.000-07:00

All I can say is "I'm so proud". Just kidding. I don't know that it is necessarily a good thing that Takara is so much like me. For those who know me well, they all know about my famous baby blaket. For those who don't know about it, well, it is probably for the best. You might not look at me the same again. Well, this is Takara's favorite blanket. When it goes into the wash she pounds on the washing machine door until I can distract her with something else. When it comes out of the dryer, she cheers, and it makes her happy for the rest of the afternoon. She loves to put a finger through the crochet holes on the edges. She even loves the matching burp cloth that goes along with it. I am sure she will be forever grateful to Barbara for making it for her :) She even loves to share it with her baby.

Five Months Old

2009-07-06T13:23:00.000-07:00

I meant to post this the day Brigham turned 5 months, and although I am a little late, I guess I should be glad I posted it at all. Brigham is five months old now and I am just wondering where the time has gone.

Growing up so fast!

2009-07-06T13:11:00.000-07:00

I can't believe how fast Takara is growing up. I took this picture yesterday, Sunday, July 5th. Of course she has her trusty little baby "Brigham" with her. That is what she calls her baby.

Manti & The Mormon Miracle Pageant

2009-06-28T20:05:00.000-07:00

We were able to take a little road trip last weekend down to Manti and the Mormon Miracle Pageant. This is the first year we have gone since having kids, and I was greatful that it went pretty well. At least as far as the kids it went well at least. It was one of those trips that was riddled with small mishaps from start to finish. We decided that we would go down with the trailer so that we didn't have to come back so late at night. We didn't even get the trailer out of the yard before the mishaps started. We almost had the trailer out of the yard when the back end caught the last fence post. Unfortunately, the trailer got the worst of it. Don't you love our patch job to keep the rain out that just screams, "LOOK WHAT I DID!"

We also backed the ball of the hitch into the tongue of the trailer, but luckily that time there was no damage. We stayed in Nephi on Friday night then headed to Manti on Saturday. As we were leaving the RV park a gentleman saw that we had forgotten to raise the jack all the way and luckily stopped us before we got out onto the main road. It wasn't until we got to Manti that we realized that we left our yellow cone jack stand in Nephi. We were grateful we had some extra cut railroad ties we could use in place of the stand we left behind. It had been raining all weekend so we went to Walmart to get some ponchos and a tarp, and the last poncho sold out to the customer right in front of me. Of course!! We were blessed that in the end the weather for the pageant was clear. Brigham fell asleep on the walk to the pageant and stayed asleep until the next morning. Takara fell asleep half way through it and also fell asleep in the stroller on the walk back. I thought she was just having fun, but this is how I found her once we got back to camp, and she was totally asleep!!

Once we got home we jack knifed the trailer half way through the gate and the tail light of the car hit the front of the trailer and bent the metal on the front of the trailer. Luckily there was no damage to the tail light. Can you tell we are beginners when it comes to trailers. It then took us an hour to get the trailer backed into the back yard properly. I must say in our defense that the gate in the fence is not very wide and the trailer has to go over the curb and then over the grass and through the small gate which is not much wider than the trailer. We have decided the gate needs to be widened. It is like threading a needle to get it in the yard. While I was helping Dev back the trailer in, I was standing outside and not only did it rain on me, but it hailed pea-sized hail on me then marble-sized hail. Let me tell you that I looked FAB-U-LOUS once we finally got the trailer in. Here are a few more pictures from our trip.

Takara's breakfast of Champions - eggs, hashbrowns, pancakes, and Trix cereal

Happy Camper :)

Mommy & Takara - Subway sandwiches

Manti Temple

I Love to see the Temple

2009-06-28T19:49:00.000-07:00

What a wonderful opportunity it was to take the kids to the Oquirrh Mountain Temple open house June 6, 2009. It was great to be able to share that experience with good friends as well. We went with Barbara and Allison and Cathy Lamoreux and two of her girls Megan and Rachel. Her two girls were so good with Takara and she didn't want to let them go. Her favorite parts were the baptismal font and the fountain outside. I love to think that I have been in the temple with my hubby and kids. I love them dearly.

Sitting at the Big Table

2009-03-21T20:43:00.000-07:00

Lately Takara has not been wanting to sit in her high chair, so today instead of fighting her, I decided to let her sit at the table with us using a booster chair. Just thought I share one of her big girl pictures. I can't believe how big she is getting. It is wonderful that she is understanding the things I say to her and can do what I ask of her. So fun to see them learning and growing.

Cheese & Green Beans

2009-03-21T20:36:00.000-07:00

I was doing dishes the other day and Takara was eating a piece of cheese while I did. Well, I looked over to see how she was doing and she had stuck pieces of cheese to the pantry door. Why, I don't know, but as I got my camera out, she started eating the pieces off the door. Where do they come up with this stuff? As for green beans, she used to love green beans, and then recently she didn't seem to do anything with them but squish them up. The other day I was watching her with them, and she actually doesn't just squish them up. She carefully opens each one and eats the little seed pods out of it and then places the main part of the bean to the side. How did she even figure out she could open them and that there was a seed pod inside? Again, who knows!

Always Watching

2009-03-21T20:32:00.000-07:00

This just goes to show you how much kids are watching those around them. Takara was taking very good care of her dog as she carefully placed him in the carseat and then rocked him while quietly saying, "Shhhhh". I got such a kick out of watching her.

Draper Temple Open House

2009-03-21T20:29:00.000-07:00

We finally made it to the Draper Temple Open House on the last day. It was a great outing, and I was so glad we were able to make it. Here is the family at the Chapel afterwards for treats. Of course Takara loved the cookies.

Happy Mommy!

2009-03-13T11:32:00.000-07:00

Well after what was Brigham's worst night's sleep, we had his best night's sleep last night. He went to bed at 8:45 pm and didn't wake up until 5:00 am. Now, I don't expect this to be the norm yet, but boy, was it nice to sleep through the night! I am definitely a happy mommy today :)

Welcome, little one!

2009-02-16T10:39:00.000-08:00

We are so excited to have a new addition to our family. Brigham Dev Chaston was born on January 24, 2009. He weighed 7 lbs. 3 oz. and was 19 1/2 inches long. By his two week check up he was 7 lbs. 13 oz. and 20 1/2 inches long. He is such a sweet baby and is starting to sleep longer each night. Takara just loves him, although adjusting to having to share her mommy time is still a challenge for her.