The Rest is History

Mr. Stannix and I have been together four years today. The first time I spotted him was when I moved away from home and started attending fourth branch in Red Deer. The first Sunday I was there, so was he, up on the stand, ready to give a talk. I couldn't stop looking at him, and he amazed me with his knowledge of the Gospel. It wasn't until mid October of that same year that my journal pages began to be filled with the name, Mike Stannix. The very first time he wrapped his arms around me I had my eyes closed. We were playing grounders at a park with a bunch of friends, and I was "it". Butterflies filled my stomach and I was suddenly falling for his spiky hair, brown jacket and the smell of his cologne.

 In mid October, Mr. Stannix asked me to go to the Halloween dance the following Friday with him, as well as set me up with someone for a group date that evening (funny story). That morning we had a two hour chat at the LDSSA table on campus at the college. He was so easy to talk to and we talked like we had known each other for ever! I had this "list" of qualities that I wanted in my future husband. I would make a new one each year at the end of my journals. I had been doing this since I was 14 years old and was pretty sure I knew what I wanted. As I matured, so did my list. It started to focus more on important things and values than it did physical characteristics. The more and more time we spent talking with one another in our free time at the college, the more and more I found the qualities on my "list" in my new friend.

I would often go early to church because I enjoyed playing the big piano in the chapel before tons of people showed up. One Sunday I looked down at the benches and noticed a spiky haired boy bent over reading the Book of Mormon and listening to me play. He showed up early to church every Sunday following. One Sunday, he told my roommate that he wished he could put me in his pocket so that he could pull me out again whenever he needed uplifting. She was sold, and thought I should definitely go for him.

On Friday, October 26th 2007 we had our very first official date, and became an official couple (Mr. Stannix moves fast apparently). As we were dressing up in our costumes for the dance he asked, "Would you ever consider being in a relationship with me, like steady dating?" I looked at him, and thought, and sorted through what I was feeling and finally replied, "Well, yes.....? Are you asking me out?" After saying "Yes" I asked him why he thought to ask me out before we even went on our first date!! His reply, "Honestly, you're amazing and...I feel the spirit around you. You make me happy. It wasn't a matter of 'if' I was going to ask you out, but 'when'. So why not now?" The next little while was full of fun dates and good memories.

Whenever Mr. Stannix and I would walk together around campus he would sweetly offer to carry my books for me. We only ever bumped into each other in the Library or during institute when we were at school, but outside of school we would spend almost every waking hour together. He would leave messages on my machine singing "You're Beautiful" by James Blunt, or tell me "there's only one thing better than looking at the stars, and that's looking into your eyes". He also did a mean job pranking my car in response to a date I asked him on.

He was the perfect guy for me. One time, when he was walking towards me through the gym at church, he literally made me go weak in the knees. You think people make that stuff up and it only happens on movies, I beg to differ. I always thought that it is important that the people we're around make us want to be better. One of Mr. Stannix's friends  told me that she thought he had a new sense of life when we were together. That was true for me as well. He made me happy.

We spent lots of time together and got to see each other in every kind of situation you could imagine. On the first of December we shared our first kiss, in the back of his best friends car (also a funny story). We were all driving home from a wedding reception together, it was late, and the stars were the only things that were shining outside.

Soon, I love you's were being exchanged and the topic of marriage came up more often. I say more often because I'm pretty sure it came up a lot even when we were newly dating. He would always hint at it, or slyly talk about it. On Saturday, January 12th 2008 he asked me to marry him when we stopped our quads by a frozen pond. When we arrived home, my mum had a heart shaped cheese cake on the go. They knew, he had asked my dads permission the night before. Dad told him that if he could beat him in a game of Mario Kart, he could marry me. It was pretty much a given because my Dad is no video gamer.

We were sealed for time and all eternity by my Grandfather in the Edmonton, Alberta Temple on June 26th 2008.

Don't Mind if I Do

Last night we had a fabulous family home evening. Mr. Stannix taught us (well mostly Camilla) a lesson about temples and forever families. It always makes me happy to see Camilla excited for family home evening and learning about these important Gospel principles. We finished off the night with milkshakes, a word that pretty much accompanies family home evening. Hyrum was smacking his lips as he watched us all drink, and then he started to complain. Sadly, he's still too little for milkshakes. He loves his food! He pretty much vibrated with excitement as he reached out to help himself. He's only six months old and already knows how to use a glass! Too bad he can't have any yet!

She Finally Does it!

Camilla couldn't wait to get outside this morning and jump in the leaves. The morning air was cold and crisp, but the sunshine felt warm on our faces as we stepped out onto the back deck. I sent her to play while I tidied up the office. A few seconds later she came back in, brought me my favorite red shoes and said,  "Put your shoes on Mum. It's healthy for you. It's booful out to-mornin'!" I went and grabbed some more jumping-in-the-leaves appropriate shoes and Mr. Stannix's brown jacket and joined my little girl in the morning sun. She was right, it was beautiful out. She finally worked up enough courage to jump all by herself! After she landed in the leaves, she looked up with a giant grin on her face and exclaimed, "That was awesome!"

First Annual Fall Rake Up

Today we held our first annual Fall rake up and it was awesome! We woke up to blue sky and beautiful leaves all over the ground. Mr. Stannix has been planning this for a while now, and today seemed like a great day! 

I love the smell of this season, the sweetness of the leaves, the freshness of the air. We had a lot of fun jumping in the piles that Daddy would rake for us and throwing leaves around the yard.

Soon it was time to "get down to business". The kids loved being outdoors for the afternoon.

Mr. Stannix was surprised at how many leaves there actually was. It took us forever to get them all into one huge pile. Camilla helped load the garbage can, and even used her little blue bucket to cart leaves.

Hyrum enjoyed sitting in the leaves and playing with them. I am so happy he can sit up and enjoy things differently now. Soon it was nap time though and he wasn't as content to sit and watch the cars go by.

Then the pile was finally big enough to have some real fun! Camilla had to work up the courage to actually jump...

In the end, she needed a little help. I didn't realize how bouncy a pile of leaves could be to a two year old, but she came out laughing (and without any broken bones, don't worry Mum).

It's been a while since I've laughed that hard and long. It was so much fun!

 Every time I look at this photo I cringe. Camilla can sure flip high!

I have never had so many leaves stuck in my pants at one time.

After the children were in bed tonight, Mr. Stannix and I chatted in the living room about how wonderful today was, and how we both felt so happy. What a perfect day. I am an extremely lucky woman to have the husband and family that I do. I am full to the brim with joy. We had a blast together today! If you don't believe me, check out our video. I've watched it a thousand times, and each time my face hurts from smiling so big. 

We don't plan on moving the pile anytime soon, so if anyone wants to get in on the action and maybe have a marshmallow roast, come on over!

Dancing in the Kitchen

Today was a busy day. Our house was like a giant revolving door with friends and family coming and going all afternoon. I love days like that! It's so fun to visit with everyone. Camilla's vocabulary is growing everyday and I just love the things that she says and does. This morning she tucked all her babies under a blanket on the couch and sat at their feet and read to them. It was adorable to watch her. Some of my favorite moments from today are from watching Camilla interact with Hyrum. Those two just love each other. I turned on some music while we were tidying the house and Camilla pushed her car into the kitchen. I walked in on her standing on her car, Hyrum's little hands in hers. I giggled out loud as I watched her shake her cloth diapered booty to the beat while swinging Hyrum's arms around. He was giggling too. She told him he was her "best friend EVER!"

Sleepless Nights Explained

"Yeah, I can sit up, no big deal!"

Trigger Happy

It's been a weird weekend. My camera memory card busted last week and I was trying to make due, but when I realized I couldn't even use my internal camera memory (because I couldn't find my USB cord) I had to take action. What's a blog without pictures? How was I going to take a picture of my little man in his flashy church suit? (Thank-you internal memory) I was kind of bummed about the whole situation.

This afternoon as I snuggled Hyrum, pressing his cheek against mine and looking out the window at rush hour traffic, I felt peaceful and wonderful. I think a weekend "off" was just what I needed. Instead of photographing my kids this weekend, I committed their tiny faces to memory. Instead of blogging, I had more play time (not that I think blogging is bad, it was a good/better/best scenario).  I enjoyed watching Camilla giggle as we sipped "microwaved" tea in the living room on the floor. I enjoyed watching Hyrum steam roll around the living room exploring new toys and places. I was full to the brim with joy. A weekend off from technology was just what I needed. 

Today I caved though and bought a new XD card for my camera. Apparently they're really hard to find, and going out fast. Who knew? Another blessing in disguise I guess. But I am back recording my families memories and mile stones just perhaps slightly less trigger happy. We're making pictures count now!

Count Your Many Blessings

When Mr. Stannix and I were first married, we bought my parent's Honda CRV for $1.00 and today we watched as all of the nines rolled into zeros. It pretty much rocked. I love that car.

Mickey Stannix Goes Shopping

Camilla's Mickey came shopping with us the other day. She carried him out to the car and he sat with her in her seat all the way to Wal-Mart. After only two minutes in the cart, Mickey had already fallen out twice. I faked my best stern face and told Camilla to keep Mickey safe or I'd have to take him away. I then put Mickey in her coat pocket so he wouldn't get lost. We did our shopping and wandered around for a little while. It wasn't until dinner time at McD's that we noticed his absence. We wandered up and down a few aisles, retracing our steps while Camilla called, "Mickey! Where are you Mickey?".

We made our way to the check out, and then into the parking lot. As we approached the car, our girl burst out into uncontrollable tears. "Mickey, Mickey, Mickey! He's looooost!" Mr. Stannix looked at me, then back at his little girl, alligator tears streaming down her face, then back at me and tenderly said, "Oh, Addie, I have to go get him". What a loving Daddy. My heart melted and I fell in love with that man all over again. I buckled in the kids, and reassured Camilla that Daddy would find Mickey. After a long wait, Mr. Stannix emerged through the automatic doors, wrinkled up his forehead and shrugged. No Mickey...

On the way home we held a short funeral for dear Mickey. He was a very patient toy, letting Hyrum goo him to death with slobber all afternoon. He was such a sport with all the trips to the park and rides down the slide. Mr. Stannix and I couldn't help but laugh as we thought whoever had him got one soaked Mickey because Hyrum chewed on him all afternoon, even Camilla noticed when she picked him up to go to the car earlier. We finally arrived home, unlocked the door, and turned on the lights. As I was getting Hyrum out of his seat, I couldn't help but smile, and giggle a little, as I lifted Hyrum's arm. Camilla was pretty excited too. Hyrum, well, he was pretty oblivious to the whole thing.

 

Toe Tapping

 Both of the children were snuggled into bed in their streetlight lit room early in the evening. Mr. Stannix and I cozied up on the couch and watched The Fringe. We went to bed way too late and just as I was falling asleep I was hearing baby cries in the distance. I finally came to and realized it was my own baby. My feet hit the cold floor and I went and nursed my baby boy. He was still wide awake. I changed his bum. He was still wide awake. After a few long, cold minutes of bouncing, I gave up and tucked him back into his crib. I crawled back into bed next to Mr. Stannix to warm up. Five minutes later, I was up again, gave up, put him into his crib, and went back to bed. Repeat. Finally around midnight I was able to get him to sleep. I looked down at his little face and he grinned in his sleep. Just as I crawled back into my cozy bed, he awoke once more. I continued to try everything to get him back to sleep. As he cried I could hear Mr. Stannix in the next room tossing and turning. Finally, Camilla woke up and started angrily whispering, "BE TOW-IT High-am! BE TOW-IT!" as she tossed and turned and grunted in her bed. I snuggled with Hyrum in the big green chair until he finally fell asleep in my arms.

Just as I was falling asleep, I heard grunts and movement coming from the crib. My body was exhausted and didn't move until he actually started crying. I had been doing this for an hour and a half. I started to cry in frustration as I walked across the cold floor and scooped up my sad boy. There was only one thing left to do, so we went downstairs and hit the couch for the rest of the night. He snuggled in close and fell right to sleep. I have to admit, I was missing those night time snuggles a little bit. Around 4:00 am the couch and I weren't getting along very well, so I scooped up Hyrum and brought him up the creaky stairs. Sadly, he woke up and I had to nurse before I could return to my cozy bed.

Our day started early, a little too early for me. Camilla jumped out of bed shortly after 7:00 am and the creaky floor woke up Hyrum. She snuggled into our bed while I went to feed my boy, but he refused to go back to sleep. Mr. Stannix hopped into the shower shortly after and my crazy haired little girl found me in her bed with Hyrum and scratched my back. I forced my aching eyes open and smiled at her lopsided pig tails that were left in from last night. We went downstairs and turned on Franklin while I prepared her a bowl of dried mangoes and a granola bar. I was so thankful to wake up to a sparkly clean kitchen. Mr. Stannix worked hard after dinner scrubbing my dishes and wiping everything down (including the outside of the garbage can). I popped in some toast and got it ready for Mr. Stannix. With a kiss good-bye I was left to care for the children for the day.

I sat at the computer, read a few blogs, and found this darling song. As soon as I started playing it, Camilla ran into the office and started tapping her little toes to the music. She can't help but move her little body when there's music playing. I grinned from ear to ear as I watched my little girl toe tapping in her striped footy jammies with her messy, lopsided pigtails. Soon her shoulders got into it and alternated bouncing up and down to the beat. Then her arms and eventually her whole body were moving. One of life's sweet little moments. 

I finally got Hyrum down for a nap around 10:00am, but that didn't last long at all. I am missing the little boy who used to sleep long hours. When I changed Camilla's night time diaper  this morning she said to me, "I do not have poops, hey?" It was cute. Then I went to upload a picture for this post, and my camera card stopped working, and had to be formatted and now has an unexplainable error. Fabulous.

And now I feel as if my morning has escaped me. We've just finished breakfast and it's time to start thinking about lunch already. I told Mr. Stannix when he left that I wasn't making any promises regarding what the state of our house would be like when he returned. He just smiled. I'm thinking afternoon naps are in order for all!