I DID IT!!! My last day of Student Teaching was today. It was bitter sweet for me. I have grown to love the kids, but at the same time I am ready to be finished. I have had so much fun during this past year. I really liked my last mentor teacher. She is the one that I can give all of my credit to for all I have learned about being in the classroom. I had her as a mentor teacher last semester as well. I have seen improvement in myself from when I taught my first lesson last semester in her classroom to teaching the last lesson yesterday. I love teaching and having fun with them. Yesterday I made the kids laugh and I had to laugh with them because it was funny. I talked to inanimate cubes. A long story, but I got my point across on fractions and mixed numbers!!! Most of them got 100s on their homework last night and that makes me happy that they understood the lesson that I gave even though I looked like a complete idiot! LOL. College has been one of the best times of school for me. I have enjoyed every minute of it. I am going to be taking a break from school for a few years, but don't be surprised if you find that I have gone back for a master's degree. I need a break right now though.

BY the way... I am having a graduation party/ going away party on Friday the 12th of December. If you are in the area and have nothing to do come and say by to us! It is at Valerie Sauter's home in McKinney. The address is:

4104 Carmel Mountain Dr, McKinney, TX 75070

It is an Open House and it starts at 4:30 pm.

We would love to see all of you come and see us off!!!

Pathetic

I know! I am so pathetic. I have not had a moment to blog in FOREVER! I have been checking on all my fellow bloggers, but have not taken the time to blog. We moved last Friday! Thanks to all that came to help. As the men were loading the truck I couldn't help but think how blessed we have been to have such good friends! I am going to miss the Frisco area! We got everything out of our house on Friday (the day after Thanksgiving.)
I took a well deserved Saturday off and relaxed in the morning. I went to lunch with the sister missionaries, who I love and admire so much. They make me wish that I had gone on a mission and not gotten married so early. Although who can resist having such a beautiful family! I know that I wasn't meant to go on a mission. Maybe that it is why I appreciate them so much!!! We went to a birthday party in the afternoon and came home and relaxed some more.
On Sunday I went to the house to clean. I know I broke the Sabbath. I figure the Lord knows my heart and how much I have to do before we leave this area. As I was finishing up so that I could get home to go to church with my parents, Elyse came to me and said that she was really cold. When I went to hug her she was burning up! She ran a fever all day yesterday and through the night. I took her to the doctor after school today for there to be nothing wrong with her. DON'T YOU HATE THAT??? There was nothing they could do for her. Maybe it was my imagination that she was sick. At least that's how they made me feel.
I also want to give a big Thank You to those of you who helped me pack and clean! It really does mean a lot that so many people came to my rescue.

I Heart Shopping!

Though I love shopping (especially for girls) I can't help but have a smile on my face when I can go shopping right from my very own attic! Here are some of the 18 month clothes that I found up in the attic for Madyson! How wonderful! I am so excited! Time to put away the 12 month summer clothes! Winter and Christmas here we come!

Random Picture Tag

I really liked this picture tag so I am going to do it.
Here are the rules:
1. Go to your folder that has all your pictures.
2. Pick the 4th folder and the 4th picture.
3. Post the picture and write a story about that picture.
4. Do it if you want to! I thought it was a fun way to look back in the past and remember what some of my pictures are!

Here goes....

This picture was taken with Elyse and I on her first Christmas. (Elyse was 8 1/2 months old.) Actually it was an early Christmas with my family since we spent Christmas that year with Clay's family. We were at my parents house and this is Elyse and I opening her Christmas presents from Grandpa and Grandma Minson! I love Christmas time and look forward to the next few months of cool weather and the anticipation of Christmas!

Reflections of Christ

This came on my email today from Deseret Book. It is a slide show of Christ. I was so touched by this slide show! I just want to tell all of you that I truly have a testimony of my Savior. The pictures in this show truly reflect who the Savior is. Throughout the time that Clay was without a job I truly became closer to my Savior. I know that it was through our faith that he held us up during that trial for our family. I know that the Savior loves each of us! I know that quite a few of you are going through trials right now and I tell you "Lean on your Savior. He is there waiting for us to come unto Him."
Here is the Link. Let me know what you think!
http://deseretbook.com/reflections/

Prop 8 must see

This is a must see! I know most of us don't live in California, but I can't believe this is something that we will have to deal with if Prop 8 gets passed. I thought that this was definitely worth sharing and you watching if you have about 6 minutes of spare time this week! Happy Halloween to all!

http://link.brightcove.com/services/link/bcpid1815820715/bctid1822459319

Scary or Not?

These girls aren't scary on Halloween they are Pretty as Princesses and Giraffes.

These pictures are for you Clay!




Tonight we are going to the ward's Trunk or Treat. This is a great time for me and the girls to spend time with friends from church. We haven't been to church in ages it feels like. It has been not stop around here for the month of October. Hope everyone has a safe trick or treating this Friday. And for those who I will see soon I look forward to seeing the costumes you have for your kiddos!
P.S. Mady wouldn't take a pictures by herself for some reason. Hopefully I can get some tonight!

So in Love

I am so in love with my daughters. They bring such happiness into my life. Mady looked so cute today that I had to take her picture and when I did I received the happiest and cutest smile EVER! She is in the cheese stage! She loves saying cheese and gives the cutest smile when she does. My mom put her hair in pig tails for the first time today and she sure looks cute in them and I think that she knows it. Mady loves talking on the phone. She especially loves talking to Daddy at night. Daddy is working during the week down in San Angelo. The girls miss him! I think it is taking its toll on all of us, but it is a sacrifice that I have to make at this time! We miss you and love you Daddy!

Last night we carved pumpkins. I had so much fun with my girls. Elyse had fun! She was really intent on getting all of the seeds out of the pumpkin. I love this time of year. More to come hopefully soon with Halloween pictures.

What we Want...

I got the cutest t-shirt this weekend. It made me smile! Here is how it goes!

What we Want...
A bear-huntin'
ice-fishin'
wave-makin'
corruption- bustin'
God -fearin'
head turnin'
game-changin'
lipstick-wearin'
pistol-packin'
Mama.

Sarah Palin for Vice-President!

I usually don't express my opinions about politics because usually people tend to disagree on that and I am not a confrontational person, but GO MCCAIN AND PALIN!!!

PLEASE HELP!!!

This is the first time that I have ever had to move somewhere far away while on my own. Those of you have moved and know what it is like can I have tips from you. Especially those who have had to sell or rent their houses. We are renting ours so we at least know that we have somewhere to go if we ever decide to come back out this way. I am sure we will eventually. I am addicted to DALLAS, TEXAS!!! I love this area and am really sad to have to move. Our house is going on the market at the end of October. I need to have the house somewhat packed by then. Anyone up to helping??? Just thought I would put it out there! Thanks for all the ideas. I will take whatever ideas I can get.

Conference Weekend

I sure love conference weekend. We usually miss Saturday sessions because we tend to always have something going on, but this weekend I was able to at least get in the 1st session live and then the 2nd session I watched while Clay was at the Priesthood session and after I put my girls to bed. The talk that I came away with the most out of was Elder Holland's talk. I love how he talks. He reminds me of my dad for some reason. I loved his talk on angels. I cried throughout his whole talk because I had a witness during that talk that I have had angels watching over me and my family. I felt so strongly of this during the time that Clay was laid off. We have felt comforted and at peace. We have also had many angels on earth in mortality that have watched out for our family. I want to thank those "Angels" who have helped me or my family. We have been so blessed by those around us in our time of need. I don't know I can ever repay the generosity that has been given unto us. I know that someday I will have the opportunity to repay in a way of me being an angel to someone. I love this gospel. I love how caring we are for each other. It truly is the work of the Lord. I know this with all of my heart.
Clay left this afternoon to start his new job in San Angelo. He is really excited about this. I am looking forward to this move not because I want to get away from here (I love it here!). I just want to meet new people and have more opportunities to share the gospel with my neighbors.I look forward to serving in the kingdom of our Savior. I know that our family is doing the right thing. This is what our Heavenly Father wants us to do at this time.

UPDATE!!!

I have good news and not so good news! The not so good news is that my daughter decided that she wanted to be just like Sister Hoquenson (can't spell). For those of you who don't know who Sister H. is she is a missionary in our ward who is a licensed beautician. It is not bad that my daughter wants to be like her, but it is bad that my daughter wants to be like the beautician. She cut her beautiful hair all by herself yesterday. I should be a proud mommy or NOT! She came in my room yesterday morning asking me if her hair looked pretty. Me being a little bit drowsy still told her her hair always looks pretty. Than I started looking at her and realized that she cut her hair. Her is the picture of her hair cut. You probably can't see it that well, but she pretty cut one side of her head pretty short. Luckily I can't part her hair down the middle and it is not very noticeable.






Now for the good news! CLAY FOUND A JOB!!! YEAH!! We are so happy and excited for this next adventure in our lives. He got a job with a military housing company. This will be a stable job I am sure, but it is requiring us to move from our beautiful home in the Dallas area! We have loved it here. We have such wonderful friends. We live in a great ward with a wonderful Bishop! There will be a lot that will be missed. We are going to San Angelo, Texas. From my understanding it is about 3-4 hours south west of here. There we will be in between my family and Clay's family. The bad part to this is that I cannot leave right now because of my finishing up school. I will be here with the girls during the week and Clay will be able to come home on most weekends. I know that it will be tough so don't be surprised if I am calling some of you to relieve me or at least talk me back into sanity! I will try and keep everyone updated. I am sure as it gets closer to graduation and getting everything ready to move that I will need some help so if you are interested in helping a friend I would love it! Just let me know!

10 things

Finally a free moment to blog! This week has been so busy. I know that I keep saying this, but that is my life right now. I had a better week with my classes at school! These are the things that I have realized these past few weeks...
1.) Being a teacher is hard work.
2.) I love teaching middle school! Call me crazy but it is awesome!
3.) I especially love teaching 8th graders math.
4.) I love teaching the struggling learners. It is fun seeing their successes.
5.) Math is the greatest subject!
6.) I love the technology that we are able to use today. It is so much different than when I was in middle school or high school. It is great!
7.) I don't mind being observed by other teachers. One of the special ed teachers came in and observed the class that I was teaching and I really wasn't nervous. It was really exciting and she told me that I did a really good job! That for sure boosted my self esteem a little!
8.) I have not had time for anything personal whatsoever. I hardly even read at night which is so unlike me! I am so tired at 8:30 that I go in my room, read my scriptures and go to bed.
9.) An all boy class is really hard work. I can't decide who talks more boys or girls. I am beginning to think that boys talk more than girls do.
10.) Sleep is very important! It is hard going from not working for 3 1/2 years to working. Where I was able to pretty much get as much sleep as I needed I am now forced to go to bed much earlier and get up much earlier! I like it though. My days definitely feel more productive. It is certainly an adjustment period that I am going through.

I did teach my first class this week. It is nice that my teacher is letting me teach two of her classes because she guides and helps me for the first one and than I can pretty much do the second class without any help. I am now dreading teaching this advanced boys class. I will try to step up to the challenge sometime this week or next.
I was able to help the sister missionaries out this week and it really made my week! I love giving service to others even though I am so busy. I love having the sister's in our home and feeling of their sweet spirits!
This pretty much sums up my week! Hope the rest of my bloggin' friends had a great week as well!

1st week

I thought that I would catch everyone up on my first week of student teaching. It has been really busy that is for sure! My mentor teacher is really intense and I had a hard time with her for the first few days. We had a nice chat on Friday and I feel much better about her now. I will be teaching my first lesson on Tuesday after the LONG weekend! This middle school has about 5 advanced math classes (algebra). They are piloting a new thing with having an all girl class and an all boy class and the rest of the classes are mixed. I am going to be teaching the all boy class. I am really excited! They seem like a great group of kids and I am anxious to see how this works! I am also taking a night class on Wednesdays. This week was the first class. I drove all the way from Allen to Denton to wait for 45 minutes for a teacher who never showed up. I was pretty upset because I had been at school all day and the last thing I wanted to do was drive for an hour and then sit in a class. Anyway, apparently there was a technology glitch and the teacher didn't know she was supposed to be teaching the class. To me it sounds like someone didn't check his or her email. That is me being a little critical though. This week has been great overall. Clay has the girls twice a week and is finally realizing what I do everyday is not easy! My mom is taking the girls the other days. I am so thankful to her for doing this for me! She is really helping us out a bunch. I love you Mom!

First Day of School

All I can say is I am exhausted!!! I did not get a nap today. Ha Ha! It was a day of just information overload. The middle school that I am at reminded me of an elementary school. I have never seen teachers have to walk the students to the bus when in middle school. Hmmm.... Maybe Junior High is different then middle school because this was nothing like my junior high experience. I guess probably because I am looking through it from the eyes of a teacher and not a student.

What Olympic Sport are You?

Thanks for the Friday Quiz Sarah! This fits for sure. This has always been my favorite sport and I LOVE watching it on the Olympics!

You Are Volleyball

You enjoy a fast paced, somewhat chaotic life. You don't like to over think things. You like to act in the moment. You are good at solving problems at the very last minute.

What Olympic Sport Are You?

Going Private

I was trying to avoid going private at all costs because I have enjoyed coming into contact with friends from Idaho and staying in contact with friends from Texas, but I have decided that I need to go private. I am still debating it, but think that this is probably for the best. I was placed in a middle school for my student teaching, but since kids are so computer savvy these days I am afraid that they will start looking at my blog and want to get into my personal life. Does anyone have any comments on whether or not I should do this or not? Rene any comment? I really don't want to. I will give it a little while if I do decide to do this. Please email me if you want to keep up with us! I would really love it especially if all my friends from Poky will email me so I can put you all on my blog. Here is my email: alhooten@gmail.com. Anybody have any good ideas that I can try before totally going private???

Waiting Game

I hate playing the waiting game. It is not fun! Clay's job interview went well yesterday, but they did not offer him anything yesterday. I don't know why I was thinking that they would. They said that they would let him know in 4-5 days! 4-5 days! Seriously! We have been waiting for a month for this interview and they want us to wait that long! Oh man... I am so not a patient person. I know that if he is supposed to get this job than they will hire him. It is just the waiting that really stinks! I will let everyone know when we hear something. Thanks for all the thoughts and prayers from my fellow bloggers!

Favor!

Who's finished with Breaking Dawn that is willing to let me borrow??? Anyone??? I don't want to buy it since I did not buy the first 3.

Wish us luck!

Wish us luck everyone! Clay has a job interview today!!! This is a great opportunity that he is being interviewed for. We are really excited and are praying that he gets this job! I will let you know what happens later!

Summer Lovin'

With Summer coming to an end I thought I would pay some tribute to some of the things that we have done. I have 2 weeks before I am in the classroom doing my student teaching and have mixed emotions about going! I have had so much fun being home with my girls this summer, but at the same time I am looking forward to getting out of the house during the day and doing what I love! Teaching young minds!! I feel like I am not a good SAHM because I am not good at the homemaking things that go with the job. Yes I get my housework done and I make sure my kids are taken care of and that dinner is on the table (okay I might be going too far by saying dinner is on the table. There are some days that I don't even want to cook even though I have been home doing nothing.) I just don't feel like it is satifying to me. I know some of you might look down on me for saying this, but this is how I feel. I like that I chose a profession where I can have a few months out of the year to spend at home. I feel like I don't accomplish anything when I am home all the time. Sounds unusual and maybe selfish, but it is what it is. We have done some fun things this summer. We started off the summer doing well by going to library just about every Friday. We slacked off towards the end though. We LOVE story time over here. My Elyse loves to read. She is taking after her Mommy. Mady is getting where she loves to read to. Elyse got her first library card this summer and she was so excited. BTW we have the COOLEST Library here in Frisco, Texas! It beats any library I had while growing up.

Here is Elyse getting her Library card and checking out her books.

Tyler, Mady, and Elyse on the boats having fun playing with the bells. That was a hit for all of them!

Here we are with my sister Jenny, her son Tyler and Elyse and I on the Tilt - A- Whirl at the the Sandy Lake Amusement Park in Carrollton.

We have been spending summer evenings outside playing with our next door neighbor Alex. He is a good kid and Elyse loves going over there. This is them having some ice cream before saying Good Night.

The best part of the Summer was that my brother Scott came into town. He is the handsome Marine that I have previously mentioned and did not have a picture of a few months ago! He is awesome! We spent a lot of time with him when he came in town last month! We had a couple family dinners at the Minson house and then went bowling in the middle of the week at Main Event. We had a lot of fun! We had dinner one night at my house and played the Wii. It was fun! My dad and I had a boxing fight and he beat me. I think this was one of the best times I have spent with my family in a long time. My dad made the BEST blueberry cobbler ever! Scott leaves for Iraq on Wednesday. Please pray for the soldiers to do their jobs and to come home safely and in a timely manner! These guys are great for serving our country. We all are in debt to them for what they do to keep our country the way it is!

Sorry for this post being so long! I needed to catch everyone up with pictures and things from the Summer. Hopefully I will be able to keep up with blogging somewhat once school starts! Wish me luck!

The Joys of Blogging...

Messes! Need I say more? Apparently I need to spend more time focusing on my children even though I left them in the kitchen eating breakfast for 20 minutes this morning. Mady began to fuss and Elyse being the good big sister that she is decided to pour Mady some more cereal. Except that she poured what was left of the Kix onto the floor and covered the high chair. It's a good thing that she didn't come up with the idea of pouring milk. That really would have been a disaster to say the least. A funny moment, but I was a little upset. It's a good thing I hadn't swept already! Apparently I need to spend less time checking on all my favorite bloggers and more time with the kiddos! It is so addicting and I love it! But perhaps I should spend a little less time blogging. Oh well, my blogging days will be less once school starts in 3 weeks.

Crazy!

How would you like this thing living with you? My brother sent this picture to me from his mission in Ecuador. This little guy (iguana?) was inside his apartment.

Tagged

I know this tag is going around so I chose not to tag anyone else. Do it if you want to!

Here ya go...4 Things You May Not Know About Me:

1. I secretly or not so secretly love ice cream! That is my favorite thing at night. Hence the reason why I can't get the last 10 pounds of baby weight off!

2. I have to brag...I graduate in December and will be graduating Magna Cum Laude which means that I had a 3.8 for my end in college! It is exciting! I know I should be humble, but I am proud of myself considering the fact that I had kids for the majority of my college!
3. I love to read just about anything! I have a new found love that should have been a love a long time ago...the scriptures! I love the Book of Mormon and cannot put it down! This is only the second time in my life that I have read it. I know call me horrible!

4. I am shy and have a hard time meeting new people. Once I get to know you I don't seem so shy anymore.

4 Places I Go Over and Over:
Walmart
Church
the neighborhood pool
my Mom and Dad's House

4 People That Email Me:
Sarah
Brooke
Elder Minson (My brother)
Dad

4 of My Favorite Foods:
Homemade pizza
anything my husband cooks
a good steak
shrimp

4 Places I'd Love to Be:
On the beach in Hawaii
San Antonio
Utah with family
Florida

4 Movies I Watch Over and Over
I don't really watch movies over and over.

Memory Tag

This is a great idea so I thought I would play along. I would really love to hear about memories that you all have had with me.

1. As a comment on my blog, leave one memory that you and I had together. It doesn't matter if you knew me a little or a lot, anything you remember!

2. Next, re-post these instructions on your blog and see how many people leave a memory about you. If you leave a memory about me, I'll assume you're playing the game and I'll come to your blog and leave one about you.

Girls Night!

Okay...what do you get when Mommy's are in need of getting out of the house + delicious food + awesome husbands who take care of the kids? Well of course a fabulous girls night out! This is what I did last night! Tons of fun! Thanks all you girls who shared this with me! It was tons of fun! Maybe we should make this a consistent thing!

Horray!

Things do go right! No job yet....but I passed my teacher certification tests! I am so happy and excited! Now all I need is the diploma to go with it!

Pity party or not

I have been hesitant to write lately because I know that anything I say will come out sounding like a pity party. Which I am having at times by the way. Clay came home last Monday from work well before the time that he should have. I knew something was wrong immediately when he walked in the door at noon. He said that it wasn't good. He was laid off. The housing market isn't doing so hot here. Not to mention he was working for a really small company that had less than 20 employees. He was the one to be booted. That is just my luck because he was laid off last year right before Madyson was born. It just isn't a good time right now. We had to cancel Elyse's surgery for her ears because we didn't think that we had insurance. When Clay talked to the owner of the company this week we found out he kept us on the insurance until the end of the month. The problem that we are having now is we will need the money that we were going to use for her surgery to pay bills. This is such a mess. I wish that I was finished with school so that I can help out, but wishing isn't going to change anything. So we are in the same position as we were last summer. Yipee! (Notice the sarcasm.) Funny enough I have had a week and a half to let this set in and I am feeling more at peace. I know that we will be taken care of as we were before and that there are bigger and better things awaiting our family. We are trying to stay true and faithful and by us doing this the Lord will bless our family.
The good part of this is that we are able to spend more time with Daddy. We have gone to the pool quite a few times. We had a great 4th of July. He has been able to play with the girls more. And he isn't so tired at night. Ironically enough we just bought a Wii. We have had fun playing it at night after the kids go to bed. I am pretty competetive and every time I lose I make him do a rematch. Okay not every time just sometimes. By the way boxing is by far the funnest game on the Wii sports. We laughed and played for almost 2 hours the other night. This is funny because I usually do not play video games. For some reason this wii sucked me into the deathly grip of video games.

Temple Night!

I have been so horrible about attending the temple lately. Clay and I were talking about the last time that we went and that was back in October when my brother went through for the first time. I can't believe we have waited that long to go to the temple. Clay was able to get off work early. I don't mean a few minutes early. Almost a half a day early!!!! Surprising! That never happens. He spent a few hours doing something with his truck and then my mom came over at 4:30 and we were able to leave right after that. The session was at 7:30 so we had lots of time to spare and to spend time with each other. We went and had dinner at this Greek restaurant which I don't recommend. We laughed about it afterward because we thought it was going to be really good, but it was pretty much bar food. Not so good! Oh well! You live and learn! We then went to the bookstore near the temple. We only have one LDS bookstore in the Dallas area so it is a big deal when I am able to go. I always spend way more than I should. I really needed to go this time because I just got called as the Nursery Music person. Aughhhhhh! I don't know why singing with 3 year olds intimidates me, but it does. I also picked up the 3rd book in the Great and Terrible series. Which I totally recommend to anybody who likes to read! It is an awesome book. Finally we made it to the temple. I love going to the temple. Everytime I go I feel so much better and more ready to take on the world when I leave! I felt rejuvenated! I love the feeling of peace that it brings to be in the House of Lord, the most sacred place that we have on this earth. Anyway, we had a great night!

The Cannery

I had my first experience yesterday at the cannery. What an awesome experience it is to know that I am doing something for my family that can help us in times of need. I had an interesting experience when I went into the cannery and started to put the foods in cans. I felt the spirit so strongly. It was very similar to the feeling that I had when I went through the temple my first time. I knew that this was something we are supposed to be doing. I truly have a testimony of storing food and having a supply to sustain life through the times that may come. We had a great time. There was 5 sisters that were able to make it. I liked the feeling that I had to work to put the food together. Work is good. I feel better knowing that we are more on our way to having a year supply. Unfortunately we were only able to can 6 cans of each item. I guess I will be going back soon. Anyone want to join us next time??? Also does anyone have any good ideas of where to store this stuff? Eventually under the beds is not going to cut it.

My Brothers!

Elder Minson

I love my brothers! I want everyone to know this because they are two very important people in my life. They will probably never see this, but I want others to know how proud I am of them and the things that they are doing in their lives. They are both serving missions...one is serving for our Church and the other for our Country. My brother Scott is 21 years old and is serving our country. He is in the Marines. Currently he is at Camp Pendleton, CA. He is training to go to Iraq in August. I am so nervous for him, but I know that he is doing the right thing protecting us from danger. It is men like him that give us the freedom that we experience and enjoy. I am so proud of him! I don't have an updated picture of Scott, but he makes a handsome Marine.

My other brother Eric, is 20 years old and serving a mission in Ecquador for our church. I am so proud of him and the decision that he made to serve this mission. It has been difficult for him to learn the language, but the last two companions did not speak much English and that has helped him out a lot. He has been out for 6 months, but has had much progress in those 6 months. He is a bright young man and has grown so much in the gospel these past few years before his mission. I know that his testimony will become deeper as his mission progresses.

I miss both of my brothers very much, but I know that they are doing the work that is required of them at this time. I am proud to call them my brothers!

Pictures

Okay... So I have finally taken the time to redo my blog from boring. When I started adding pictures on the side I have realized that I don't have any recent ones of my 3 year old. Do you want to know why? Elyse, my 3 year old won't take pictures. When she does she has the funniest grin that it doesn't even look like she is smiling. What happened to my photogenic child? Mady took good pictures until she started walking. Since she started walking she wants to walk towards the camera instead of staying still. While I am on the picture thing...I think it is time to update our family photo as well. I don't have any recent pictures of my husband with me and the girls! Pictures are a thorn in my side right now with uncooperative children! This will have to do for now!

Indy Car 550

The cars were super fast and super loud! As you can tell from this picture.

So last night we had the BEST DATE in a long time! Clay called me on Friday afternoon and asked if I wanted to go to the car races this weekend at Texas Motor Speedway! I totally jumped at the offer. He got them free from work! Although I asked him if he wanted to take a friend instead, but he said no that he wanted to spend time with his wife. I smiled knowing full well that I wanted to hear that from him. We dropped the girls off at my parents house and right as we were leaving Madyson decides to throw up. I don't mean just a little either. I felt really bad and told my mom that I would just take her home. My mom was so sweet and said that she had sick kids before and this was something that she could do for us. I really appreciated my mom taking care of a sick little girl. I am thankful to her for recognizing that we needed this night out! My mom is THE BEST!

I did not know much about racing except what I learned on the movie Cars. Did you know that they really change tires that fast? I wish that they could change my tires that fast and not leave me stranded at Walmart for half the day! Ha!

Happy Anniversary!

Today is our 4th anniversary. I thought that today would be a good time for me to write how Clay and I met. I haven't written this on paper. I know I am horrible! This should be in a journal somewhere. Oh well! I am mainly writing this for myself because then I can say that it is written down.
First I have to write a little about the previous years before we met because it connects to the story in a small way. When I was a junior in high school I was living in Idaho. My dad got a job in Dallas, Texas and so as a family we decided that we needed to move. We picked up and moved pretty fast. Actually it was a matter of a few weeks. Anyway, the whole time I was here I wanted to go back. I liked it, but felt that I didn't have very many friends. I was one of the few members of the church which had never happened to me up until this point. So I decided that I was going to go back to Rexburg to BYU-Idaho for college. I went for a year (actually a summer semester and a fall semester.) When I came home i was planning to back to school in Idaho. I had really been praying about what I should do and I felt that it was not right for me to return to school in Idaho. So I stayed here. It was hard finding friends again because most of the LDS friends that I had made were away to school at BYU or BYU-I. My mom suggested that I try going to institute. This was the BEST advice any mom can give to their young adult child. I really loved institute. It is a great program that the church has put in place! Clay and I met at institute. Clay is a convert and I met him at the first institute that he went to after he was baptized. I remember that our institute teacher had asked Clay to stand up and bear his testimony. Imagine a man who has just recently joined the church bearing his testimony. It was so strong. I remember being very touched by the testimony that he had gained. Although I was touched by his testimony I was also dating somebody else at the time so I didn't really think anything of it. A few weeks later he introduced himself to me. I was having a bad night (going through a breakup) and he came and said "Hi, my name is Clay." He intrigued me. I guess I still remembered the testimony that he gave and began talking to him. (Just an FYI our dance at our wedding was You Had Me From Hello by Kenny Chesney.) It seemed perfect for how we really met. We dated and soon became engaged. These past four years have had there ups and downs. While I love being married it was a hard adjustment for both of us. I would never tell anyone that marriage is just bliss. It has its blissful moments, but it also has its other not so blissful moments.
We have been through a lot. But I have gained a deeper meaning of love and appreciation through these 4 years. I look forward to many more years and know that it will only get better!!!

Trips and Doctor

The past few weeks have been crazy. I took the girls out of town to El Paso to see Clay's family. I was really excited because I got to go to my sister in laws Baby Shower. I flew with the girls and that was just as crazy as driving 10 hours. Halfway into the flight Elyse said that she needed to go the bathroom. I looked at her and said that she needed to hold it. What a bad mom I am. I felt bad. I saw that the flight attendant was coming towards us and I asked him how I could take both of the girls to the bathroom. He said that he would hold the baby for me! What a relief! She is afraid of any stranger and she actually sat with him for the few minutes that I was helping Elyse! Clay met us about a week later and we went up to Ruidoso, New Mexico for his brother's senior graduation. We than drove home on this past Monday. The usual ten hour trip took us almost 13 hours with all the stops that we had to make. Torture! Looking back flying is definately something I am going to push a little more often!!!
Today I had to take Elyse to the Ear Nose and Throat Specialist. She has been getting ear infections like crazy! (About once a month since December.) We went to Presby Allen and as we were driving up to park this is the conversation that we had.

Me: Elyse, this is the hospital that you and Madyson were born. Do you remember last year when Mommy had Madyson and you came to see us?

Elyse: (nod of the head and silence)

I proceed to take her out of the car.

Elyse: But Mommy... I don't have a baby in my tummy why are we coming here?

I started laughing it was the cutest thing she has said in a while that I can actually remember.

Needless to say...she is getting tubes in her ears on June 11th. She also had ANOTHER ear infection. I am ready for the tubes. I missed a lot of school and work this sememster. I want her to feel better as well. Speaking of feeling better I had better get off and go pick up her medicine!

Kenny Chesney Here We Come!

Clay and I went to the Kenny Chesney concert in Frisco on Saturday for my early Birthday present! What a great present! I love watching Kenny. He is way cute! I will post some pictures as soon as I take Elyse to preschool. The songs were great! Clay even asked me to dance so we went up top and danced! How romantic!! It was outside at Pizza Hut Park! It was a great night! A little chilly as the night progressed. We also heard Leann Rimes and Brooks & Dunn. Kenny Chesney was definately the best! We have been wanting to go to his concert since Clay and I were dating. Speaking of dating... I can't believe how fast these past 5 years have gone since we started dating! We have almost been married for 4 years!

I suppose it is time for an update on school! I have been crazy busy. My first semester of student teaching is FINALLY finished!!! It is official...I am graduating in December! And I have the whole summer off! Which I have not had since I began this long long journey 6 years ago. I didn't realize how difficult going to school is with kids. I had my only final yesterday. We drove all the way to Fort Worth to go to the Science Museum for my science final. The museum was cool, but the final took all the fun away from the museum.

Our Sweet One Year Old!

Madyson Lee Hooten

Born: April 19, 2007

Happy 1st Birthday!

Our Precious baby girl!

I thought that I would show a picture of Mady when she was born. She just turned a year last Saturday the 19th of April. We had a small family party. It was nice to have family to come and celebrate with us. We are sad that some of our family were unable to make it. Mady is a pure delight to our family. She is the happiest baby! She went through a time where she screamed a lot! Now she really doesn't scream anymore she talks! She has the cutest baby babble. Mady took her first step about 2 weeks ago! She is stumbling along now. I am sure it is only a matter of weeks before she will really be walking! My favorite moment of this past year was that Mady said "Mama" for her first word! I was excited! Elyse said "Dada" first so I thought it was great that Mady said Mama. She just learned to say "dog." Sylvia Holegate has been watching Mady during the day. Sylvia does a wonderful job with her! They have dogs in the backyard and she said Mady likes to watch them through the window. She now also says "woof." I am going to have to give Sylvia or the dogs credit for that one. We love Madyson. She brings a special spirit of happiness into our home!

Time Out For Women

Mercy River

My Mom and I at TOFW




I am so excited! I finally had the opportunity to attend Time Out For Women. For those of you who are not familiar with Time Out For Women it is a 2 day spiritual event for women. It is a time of laughter and learning! I had so much fun with my mom! It was so nice to go and spend a day and a half with her. We left on Friday afternoon and drove to Oklahoma City. The drive was beautiful. There were so many colorful flowers. At time out for women their was a new group who just came out with their first CD. Their name is Mercy River. They sound great together! They are a group of 3 women. The first night was a lot of fun! Micheal McLean preformed and spoke! He is a great man and performer!


I learned so much both nights. The theme this year was a Joyful Life. I really needed this weekend more than I think I will ever know. I want to thank my Mom for thinking of me. We had such a nice time. It was nice to reconnect with my Mom. I would definately suggest this time for anyone who might need a break and some spiritual enlightenment. A big, extra big thanks to my sweetheart for taking the girls for me!

Swing Set

We have a swing set!!!

This thing is great for the girls. I think this will be my saving grace this summer. Now our trips down to the community park won't be as many. Well maybe it will since the pool is down there, too. I imagine we will see our fair share of the pool!

Here are a couple pictures of the girls on their new swing set!

As for me with school....when will it end? I have three weeks left and looking forward to being finished! I only wish that I had the diploma to go with being finished for the semester. Not quite. One more semester! As many of you know I am studying to be a teacher. This has been a long process, but looking back I feel that I will benefit in so many ways!

Clay is still working for Newport Homes. He has been there since last August. I have heard many homeowners say how happy they were with the quality of his work! This is a great job for him. Although the commute is crazy! I guess most of us (or our husbands) have long commutes.

Happy Birthday to you!

Happy Birthday to you!
Happy Birthday dear Elyse Bryanne,
Happy Birthday to you!

On April 1st Elyse Bryanne had her 3rd Birthday!

We are so proud of the accomplishments Elyse has made this past year. She is talking so well now. In fact sometimes it is hard to get her to stop talking. She loves to play Princess and she has been saying that she is getting ready to go to the "Ball." This past year she has learned to count to 10. She recognizes her numbers as well. She knows her colors and some she even knows in Spanish. She is learning the sounds to the letters of the alphabet. She is still working on them, but is doing very well! A funny moment from this past year was just the other week. Elyse said that she was going to the ball and I asked her who was taking her. She said, "a prince." I then proceeded to ask her what her princes name was and she said, "Mommy, Daddy is my prince. I am going to marry daddy when I grow up." It was the cutest thing I had ever heard. I then told her that Mommy already married Daddy, but Daddy could be her prince until she found her own prince. She did the same thing to Clay yesterday. So Daddy had a talk with Elyse about getting married and the importance of marrying in the temple. When Clay came home and told me this my first thought was "Not this talk already. She's only three." I got to thinking of how important a temple marriage is and if we talk about it now she will have no questions of where she will be married in 20 years from now.

Texas Winter

This past week was crazy! We had a weird weather week last week. One day it was 80 degrees the next day it was snowing. We had two snow storms last week. Elyse loved playing in the snow! On Thursday during the snow storm she and I went outside and made a snowman. We had a lot of fun. Madyson was inside taking her nap so she missed all of the fun. I really enjoyed spending time with Elyse. I have been so busy lately that sometimes I fail to give her my full attention. It is so hard going to school and being the mom that I should and want to be. Hopefully when school is finished I might be able to stay at home with the kids for a while. Hopefully Heavenly Father will bless our family so that I might be able to do that.