Witness

Seven years ago on Sunday, June 21, Ryan and I got married. He was 22 years old, and I was a newly turned 20 year old. Getting married so young went against everything I believed or had planned for myself. I had a 10 year plan which did not involve a husband. Then I met Ryan. How could someone who had never had a serious boyfriend, really only started dating in college, find the man they are supposed to marry before they are 20 years old? By design beyond my understanding, that was the plan for me.


I have heard experts, comedians, psychologist, talk show and radio hosts, all conclude that no one should get married in their 20's. I would have whole-heartedly agreed with them before I met Ryan. "You are too naive, inexperienced, immature to make such a commitment." If I was ever asked by one of these marital cynics why on earth I would want to get married so young, and remain married to him for time and all eternity; what would I say?

I have come to the conclusion that I want a witness to my life, and I want to be a witness to his life. I am a different person than I was 7 years ago. I have had amazing personal triumphs and devastating tragedies. Many of my weaknesses have become strengths, and vice versa. And although I can take satisfaction in what I have learned over the past 7 years, it means that much more to have Ryan there for the ride. And to know he appreciates it just as much, or even more, makes it all the more meaningful. Even more, I have relished in being the witness for Ryan's life. Why would you not want someone to come home to after being laid off, to comfort you? Why would you not want someone to celebrate with you when you get your dream job? Why would you not want someone there to cry with you when you get bad medical news? Why wouldn't you want someone there to witness your life, and unconditionally love you through everything? I can't imagine making it through the past 7 years without him.

Pregnancy Insights

• How rare a "healthy pregnancy" really is. The more women you talk to, the more you realize how many things can go wrong, and do go wrong!
• What the inside of my belly button looks like. Prior to kids, I had a good looking stomach. And a great inny belly button. Now, I wish I never knew what the inside actually looked like! It ain't pretty.
• Where my sciatic nerve is and I think his (yes, that specific nerve is male!) only purpose is to be a major pain in my behind!
• How uncomfortable my walk looks. I wouldn't even call it a walk, Ryan refers to it as the Sarah Waddle. It is visible how my body isn't adjusting to my expanding girth.
• The bigger you get, the less you eat. Which would be surprising, until you realize you have no room for a stomach, along with other major organs!
• How much your kids can really do on their own. Brenna has been amazing, especially in the morning. She has appointed herself responsible for getting her and Cannon's milk and cereal and turn on a show. And I always knew Cannon could walk, but now he has to walk everywhere. No more carrying him into the grocery store or out of Sacrament meeting. He is on his own!
• Swimming makes you feel not pregnant! Water is the best way to get the belly weight off your back. And our ward has a pool play group every Wednesday, which is very much appreciated!
• How long 8 more weeks sounds. We are definitely not ready for her, but my body is ready! She needs to incubate longer, but oh...I am looking forward to her coming!

Quickie to Houston

This past weekend the fam made a quick trip to Houston for Ryan's cousin's wedding. Ryan's sister Heather tagged along, we left Thursday afternoon and returned Sunday morning. It was a great trip, but a long ride. We realized during the trip to Houston, that Cannon is a happy camper but needs noise and physical activity. For at least an hour Cannon kicked his feet at Ryan's seat and yelled "Dad! Dad! Dad! Dad!" But considering everything, the kids were great during the 7 hour car drive! We stayed with Ryan's brother, Eric and Wendy, along with Ryan's parents and sister. It was a full house, especially considering they were leaving the same day as us for a 10 day trip to Alaska! Thank you Eric and Wendy, we had a great time!

Friday morning, we spent some quality time at their neighborhood pool. I wouldn't classify it as a "neighborhood pool" because it included a beach style swimming pool without the sand, a lazy river, waterslide and enough room for everyone.
Isn't Cannon's cousin partner (one month older) Brandt adorable? They were so funny to watch interact. They would jabber to each other, and sometimes scream at each other when they weren't "sharing".
Here's the Chunk eating crackers waiting out the "adult swim". Every hour the pool would give the life guard breaks for 10 minutes, and labeled it an "adult swim". All kids out, which means all adults out, because moms with kids were the only adults! Soon after we got there was the "adult swim", and Cannon kept trying to sneak towards the pool unnoticed. (The picture below shows his 'sneaking position'!

I am so glad Ryan came with us. He was one of the pools climbing toy for all the Bushmans. Cannon was absolutely crazy, and could careless if his entire face was submerged and he couldn't breath. Brenna also did great making her way around the pool in her safety innertube! She feels confident as long as she has her pink tube.

Here are the terrible twosome. They followed each other around, and loved sitting at the piano together. Both of them understand the concept of "Cheese!", but we were too slow to catch them at it! We spent a lot of relax time at the home, and let the kids just enjoy each other.

And here is the real reason we came. Susannah and Adam were married on Saturday in the Houston Temple. It was a sweet ceremony, and a beautiful day! It was fun to see the extended Bushman family, especially since we are missing the Bushman Family Reunion in the end of June in Utah. I'm glad we could be apart of such a beautiful day!

We had an uneventful ride home Sunday, and I could tell that the kids, the dog and Ryan and I were relieved to be home after a whirlwind weekend! This is our last (scheduled) trip before the baby is born, and I'm glad we were able to do it!

Parenting Advice

Dear Supernanny, a.k.a. Jo Frost:

I am not one who solicites parenting advice. I especially avoid advice given from any tv show. And no offense, I have only caught a few of your shows over the past few years. However, what we have seen has actually worked for our two kids!

First up was the "naughty corner". We started this with our oldest when she was around 2 years old. It has worked wonders, and we still use it to diffuse temper tantrums. And now our little guy who is a couple months shy of being 2 years old will walk himself to the corner if he thinks he is in trouble.

And our latest applied Supernanny technique is how to handle a bad bedtime. This past Saturday, we moved Cannon into his very own Big Boy Bed. First night we used your method. We did our typical routine, put Cannon in his new bed, and walked out. Of course within seconds he followed us out. We put him back in without saying anything, and I took the stoic position sitting on the floor imbetween the bed and the door. He climbed out about 7-8 times, each time I would put him back in without saying anything. He cried, and climbed, and talked, but stayed in. I slowly scooted towards the door, but the entire process took about an hour. Sunday night was Ryan's turn. We got the process down to a half an hour. And tonight, he didn't try to get out of bed and we were done in about 10 minutes! Wooo-Hooooo!!!

So I guess what I'm trying to say is, it can be valuable to take other's advice. I guess I've learned my lesson!

Thank you!

Sarah B.

First Official Day of Summer

I love summer! Today was the first day I didn't have to take Brenna to school at 8:15am. It threw Cannon off. For the first part of the morning, he kept saying "Car. Car. Please." He is used to waking up and going straight into the car. I love not having anything scheduled or set-in-stone. We can make our own schedules. And today, we were invited to go swimming and have lunch with a few of Brenna's classmates and good friends. It was so much fun, and the kids were awesome! Brenna is beyond the fearful of swimming stage, although she needs her floatie ring. And Cannon is a crazy man. First off, his outfit was hilarious. It looks like a wrestling spandex uniform with built in muscles. And his chubby thighs bulging out were so funny. But thank goodness for that built in life jacket. Cannon was a pro! He was jumping off the edge of the pool, figured out how to stay upright, and loved every second he was in the water! He was watching the big boys do tricks, or play with squirt bottles, and wanted to do the same. I loved watching him have the time of his life, and see Brenna grow into her swimming-self. She is definitely confident in what she's comfortable with, and content. Thank you for letting us enjoy our first day of summer by the pool! It was perfect!

Saturday is a special day

Saturday is a special day. We have taken full advantage of the past few Saturdays to complete many, many, projects. First on the list was the fence. You saw it previously, after the windstorm, with several panels fallen over. Ryan singlehandedly tore down the fence, and put up this new one!

I am amazed at how much he can do on his own. Sure, I brought him ice water and held a few things in place while he screwed the panel to the post. But, I am not in a fence-building state! I am in a "fragile" state! Ryan is just too cheap to pay for someone else to do something he can do himself. And he does it so well!

Project #2: Bunk Beds. With our little girl coming soon, we needed to get the kids situated and settled. I didn't think we would accomplish it already! But this past Saturday, we painted and put together the kids bunk beds. Brenna had had the bottom bunk bed as her bed frame, so we really just needed to do Cannon's. The kids were so excited to see it all put together, we decied to put Cannon in his "big boy bed" Saturday night. (I will post about this experience later!)

Project #3: ORGANIZATION!!! Yes, I am nesting. And my home, hubby and kids love it! We have gone through all of our closets, gotten rid of A LOT, and sorted and organized what was left. One project Ryan came up with, was moving our computer to a location where Brenna could use it. We needed more room in our bedroom, and want to get rid of our big desk. And since we have gotten our laptop, we didn't need our bigger computer. Anyway, Brenna's room didn't need more things. And we have a lot of closet space, so we took more advantage of it!

We created a little home office for Brenna. It is in our hall game closet. There is a light inside, and Brenna can just close the door and play on the computer. (She loves playing on Microsoft Word. Funny, I know!)

I am soooooo grateful I have a husband that will work beside me to accomplish all of these projects. It would take me three times as long, and I don't have the energy or physical strength (or emotional!) to get it all done. And what was funny to watch this past Project Saturday was how different our strengths are. He is an amazing problem solver. He works extremely efficiently, simplifies everything to a science. I love the details. I want things done perfectly, and won't stop until everything is absolutely done. We were the perfect team! And I love the quality time we get while we work.

Nilla Wafer

We have Church at 12:30pm. I hate that time. It is right in the middle of Cannon's nap. He usually falls asleep on the to Church, and falls asleep on the way home. Yesterday, on the way home from Church Cannon was snacking on Vanilla Wafers. I looked back to see if he needed another one, and saw that he had fallen asleep with one in his mouth! And it stayed there for the entire 20 minute drive. Thankfully we were able to transfer him from carseat to bed without him waking up.