This Week

-  My husband has been home the past two nights! It has been amazing and almost as good as vacation.

- I hit the third trimester and am feeling pretty good with the pregnancy. I have to do my glucose test on Thursday and am looking forward to getting it over with.

- Natalie is talking up a storm. She loves to copy cat and is a very agreeable child. We ran errands all morning and she was very content to sit in her stroller or cart and wait patiently for me. We will see if that lasts.

- Got the fourth book in "The Walk" series by Richard Paul Evans from the library today. My goal is to finish this series before the baby gets here. I need some good reading time.

- Have been working diligently on a wheat order for our Stake and doing lots of food storage research. I forgot how much time and effort it takes to learn, but it is always worth it.

-  I planted seeds in some pots on my porch last Thursday. They are beginning to sprout through. Last week at a Relief Society Activity the speaker described her seeds sprouting as "magical." I agree, it is amazing what something so tiny can do with proper care.

- Spring is here with warm weather.

- Natalie goes to her first dentist visit Thursday, it will be interesting to see how it goes.

- Looking forward to an impromptu Stake Conference this Sunday with a visiting General Authority.

- Made a delicious BBQ Chicken Salad for dinner tonight. It had black beans, corn, avocado, tomato, lime juice, cilantro and ranch mixed together, on lettuce with chicken as a topping. Justin had his in a tortilla as he never eats lettuce.

-My bathrooms got cleaned today and the floor mopped, which means I can check this off my to do list and rest peacefully tonight. Hope you are having a great week!

Justin and Ruth Blazzard

81 Years

It was this amazing ladies birthday today. She is 81 years old and still has a radiating smile.
A couple of weeks ago I got news that she was in the hospital with pneumonia. Things were not looking very good for her. I packed mine and Natalie's suitcases and was out the door a couple of hours later. We made the 6.5 hour drive to Ontario and got there at about 8:30 that night. Grandma was doing a bit better than she had been that morning.

Over the period of her week long hospital stay she improved a lot. However, it had become apparent that she could no longer live at home by herself. The hard decision was made and I helped move her into an assisted living facility. It is a nice new facility, with a large room and she seems to be doing well.

 It is so hard to go through changes in life. Our brains so easily get to a point where we feel that things will stay the same forever, people will always be there for us and never age. However, the opposite is quite true. A lot of life changes come in such tiny increments that we don't recognize what is happening until it brings about a reality that is totally different than what you have always thought it would be.

I love my Grandma very much and look up to her. I am glad things are going as well as they can be in her new place. I am especially grateful I was able to spend a week helping her and my parents with the transitions life has brought.

Happy Birthday Grandma Corn! You have been such an example to me of positive thinking, living life with a smile, creating strong family traditions, and always learning. We miss you and wish we could have been there to sing Happy Birthday and to eat an ice cream bar with you!


Justin and Ruth Blazzard

St. Patrick's Day

Happy St. Patrick's Day! Since I was too sick at Christmas time to deliver any neighbor/ friend gifts, I decided Natalie and I would have some fun with this holiday. I assembled these simple gifts for Natalie's little friends.

 

She looked like a cute little leprechaun delivering them with her red hair and basket. It was fun to watch her be able to do a little act of service for her friends. All she asked in return was to play with their toys. Most houses I tried to keep her on the door step, but a couple she sneeked in and began playing. 

She especially enjoyed eating the Lucky Charms for breakfast. We don't each much sugary cereal around these parts, so she was quite pleased with the 'magically delicious' marshmallows in her bowl.

On another side note, our baby is growing well. I think we have her name picked out, but I am not telling yet. She is a big girl and I am feeling rather round. I am grateful to have most of my energy back and to be doing pretty well with food again. I really hope to make it a point of getting more walks in. It has been a little bit harder this pregnancy to be really active with having a toddler and the time of year right now. 

Justin is wonderful, but was especially so this last weekend as he pretty much took care of Natalie the whole time. I had several meetings and responsibilities with my church calling that took me away from home Saturday and Sunday. This calling has given me a whole new perspective on how much time especially the Priesthood leadership in our church spends away from their family serving other. I am grateful for their sacrifice and always learn much from their example. 

We are excited to have Justin home tomorrow and I am looking forward to our Relief Society Birthday Celebration with a Tea Party as the theme. Happy Week to you all!

 

Justin and Ruth Blazzard

Hiking

Last weekend, Justin had to work Saturday because of the Oregon Logging Conference.

My Primary Presidency was supposed to be doing a temple trip, but because of sick kids, and my husband being out of town, we called it off.

The Elder Quorom was supposed to be going sledding, but because of the weather they went hiking instead.

By Elders Quorom I mean the President, his three kids, his parents, and myself and Natalie went hiking.

Natalie had been sick, but needed some fresh air, and I always need the exercise and sunshine.

It was a delightful hike and Natalie did pretty well for part of it in the Ergo. 

I had to pack her on my hip the last half, but thankfully the hike was short and flat.

It definitely would have been more fun with Justin, and we need to take him on this hike on our next sunny day.

Justin and Ruth Blazzard

Good things that happened today:

1. We made it to story time early!
2. Strawberries were on sale at Winco. These are Natalie and I's favorite fruit. We were both pleased.
3. Natalie and I took a nap.
4. I was able to find the house I wasn't able to find before, that I needed to go do a Primary Visit at.
5. Natalie got a giant bag of pretzel's from the house listed above and she ate the whole thing. She was happy about it.
6. Justin will be home tonight! 
7. We made it half way through January.

 

 Great things that have happened the last two weeks:

1. The sun has been out more than it hasn't meaning we were able to go on walks and play at the park frequently. A rare occurence on the West Side in January.

2. Justin and I were able to go listen to Elder M. Russell Ballard who is a Twelve Apostle for our church speak last Friday in a fireside for our stake.

3. I saw baby #2 on ultrasound again last Monday. So far I have not had the energy to come up with a better announcement. So here you go, We are expecting Baby Blazzard #2 on July 16th or there about and are really excited!

4. Morning/All Day sickness is improving most days.

5.  Lots of time for reading these days.

Justin and Ruth Blazzard

A Day in the Office

We had an extra fun day last Friday. Natalie and I got to join Justin in his office. The beautiful outdoors. His work had a display up at the Oregon Logging Congress Show.

The beginning of the day was a little rough. We drove out past Molalla only getting lost once and then parked our car and rode a big yellow school bus another 15 minutes up to the mountain. Justin had told me to text him when we were on the bus, but with holding Natalie who was a little afraid of the bus ride, I forgot. When we arrived, we followed the ribbon to the registration tent. I didn't figure that my lack of contact with Justin would be a big deal. I thought the booths would all be in a central flat location. I guessed wrong.

Upon my arrival at the registration tent the women in charge got me started filling out a registration form and proceeded to try and collect $15 from me. I had purposely left my wallet out of the diaper bag to lighten my load and because my husband had assured me it was free. The lady helping me was an ESL speaker and I was having a hard time understanding everything she was saying. The ladies finally agreed that I could come back later with my husband and pay, and handed me two yellow hard hats. One for me and one for Natalie, and no her's was not kid sized. They then told me after it fell off her head twice that she must wear it or OSHA will give me a $300 fine.

I was relieved to get away from the registration booth, and was sure my husband could not be far. Well after another 13 minute hike up hill packing the diaper bag, a goody bag, and the 25lb. 18 month old who's hard hat continued to spin and bounce off her head, my husband was not far. I was a bit flustered when I reached the Pierce Booth. The first person we encountered that was familiar was his boss and all I could say was, "Where is Justin?" He finally appeared and the day got better after that. It was a bit of a frustrating 20 minutes though. I am definitely glad that I work out or I may have died on that hike. :)

The rest of the day was really fun and I learned a few more things about the logging industry. For instance that the spotted owl took the Oregon Timber market from producing over 5 billion board feet of wood to under 1 billion and the market has never gone back over 1 billion. Crazy, huh?

We were both tuckered out on the drive home. Little Nat fell asleep on the bus ride out. She really loved being out in the forest and walking over all the sticks and everyone enjoyed having her there.

Justin's two babies. 

Justin and Ruth Blazzard

26 Years

This happened on August 15th,  it is true, I am over the quarter of a century hump. It is still shocking to me to not be 19 anymore, haha, but I have learned a lot in the last decade. I had a few simple requests for my birthday that really emphasize my age.

 I wanted to go on a date with my husband by ourselves.

I wanted to eat a lot of butter and cream and bread at Olive Garden.

 I wanted a large chest freezer. 

All three of my wishes were fulfilled. 

The date was much needed, Olive Garden was fabulous, and the freezer is slowly filling up. 

It has been a great year and I can finally say I am a true adult with our first ever mortgage! 

I know I have a lot to look forward to and learn in the coming year as well.

All joking aside though, something that has really changed in me over the last year is my testimony of my Savior Jesus Christ. I have always had it, 

but each year it is such a blessing to watch it grow as I nourish it.

 I know that there are great things in store for me, but hard things as well. I also know that my Savior will be there with me every step of the way, through both the good and the hard. 

I am so grateful for the beautiful family that I have been blessed with. My dear husband and sweet little girl Natalie. Living the Gospel of Jesus Christ brings so much sweetness and joy to life, that makes my cup runneth over.

Justin and Ruth Blazzard

Trip to Utah Part 1

The last part of June, first part of July we traveled to Utah for Justin's 10 year high school class reunion. We did a lot in 10 days and the reunion was only about 2 hours of it. Enjoy the pictures

Waiting or the world's largest pickup parade to start. (Literally, the town of Vale was trying to set a Guiness World Record)

Seeing our good friends the Maughan's. This was our first time meeting Rowan. These two had a great time playing together.

We splurged and stayed at a hotel two nights while on our trip. I went through some hoops to secure a pack and play for us both nights. Well, we didn't use it. She just slept with us.

Future Aggie! (I hope)

Old Grist Mill, waiting for our food.

Sister's from Justin's mission he served with. They are awesome!

After church in Woodland, UT

She looks so big here!

Justin had to go do work one of the days while we were gone. Here is his second baby.

Justin was so excited to set up and use his saw mill he built as a senior in college. Sadly, we still don't have room for it at our home. Hopefully our next home we will though.

Walking to the river, hoping to not meet a bear or cougar. Some of my irrational fears about where Justin's parents live. Haha.

Grandpa Barry with his grand daughters. He spent so much time with Natalie while we were there. She loved being outside with him. He even insisted on making her a tire swing.

At the Hogle Zoo. It is a really nice Zoo, but I was hot and tired. Good thing I can fake it and smile for the camera right...

Watching the Big Tiger walk.

The second hotel we stayed at in Jerome, ID. Headed back to Oregon.

Weeks in the Summer

We have sure enjoyed having Justin around for the last week. He dilligently worked each night and Saturday to build these shelves for our cluttered garage. We both cannot wait to get all of our stuff on them and have a clean garage!

 Natalie and I have been enjoying the warm sunshine and play time. We live really close to a park with a splash pad and usually end up there at least once a day. Each Wednesday we meet up with some other moms and toddlers for a play group. This week we hosted and made good use of the splash pad once again. I am so grateful I have made friends with these ladies. We are all unique and come from very different walks of life, but really learn alot from one another.

We went to the Washington County Fair last Saturday to see family friend's animal exhibits. We had a good time smelling hay and enjoying some Oregon Dairy Women ice cream. That night I cut Justin's hair for the first time. It was a big confidence booster. I refused to do it when we first got married. He is so patient and like his dad says, "The difference between a good an bad haircut is about 3 days." I think his looks pretty alright for a first timer.

Natalie is signing and communicating more and more. She is definitely changing into an all out toddler. Over the last week she has really gotten into playing with and trying to wear my shoes, necklaces, holding her baby doll, and wearing an apron when in the kitchen with me.

While Western Oregon may not have good sweet corn, they do have amazing berries. Natalie and I went and picked at a U-Pick last week. She isn't really a fan of blueberries and mostly just squishes them and throws them on the floor. Justin and I really like them though, especially in muffins.

Just a few more quick pictures from life with our little 16 month old:

 She was pleasantly surprised to find the mop bucket still full after her nap yesterday.

 

Prior to going to bed last night, she insisted on going outside to sit and read her book.

I think she is getting pretty good at putting off the bedroom routine.

Justin and Ruth Blazzard

Being Brave

Something that has been rolling around my mind for the last couple years is the debate over redefining the definition of marriage to allow gay couples the “right” to be married. Being LDS, knowing and believing the doctrine, and wanting to follow the prophet, I know that it is possible to love Gay people and be kind, but not to agree with gay marriage. This is my stance on the issue and how I try to live.

While this is a fine opinion, I have always felt like there is so much more to the argument, than just “because God says so.” While searching for more material on the subject, I feel as though it has been hard to find specific reasons of why Gay marriage would be a negative thing for our society. Over and over again I hear, “It is their civil right,” or “If they love each other they deserve it,” and or “How will it hurt you? Just live and let live.” 

These half-truths can be very convincing, but I knew there was much more to this issue. Yesterday, I stumbled across a video from an address given by Ryan T. Anderson at Stanford University. It was a short 4 minute clip. In that four minutes, I felt like the real questions we should be asking and clarifying were finally being addressed and answered. 

This peaked my interest and as soon as N was down for her nap I watched the full hour long presentation and thirty minute Q and A portion. It answered all of the questions and the statements the media keeps feeding and asking the public. It was enlightening, entertaining (he is a great public speaker), and refreshing to finally hear someone address this topic clearly, concisely and address the real issues. What is the true definition of marriage and why is it that? How will this effect society? Why does marriage even matter?

I feel as though everyone could benefit from watching this presentation. I know it is long, but I promise, it is well worth the time. Anderson presents his material purely from the stance of why marriage is important in society. He does not mention religious, tradition, or moral reasons. Those are perfectly fine reasons to be opposed to gay marriage. However, it has been great to see how Sociology supports the teachings of Theology.

So please, if you can. Make the time to watch this. I don’t think you will regret it. I would love to hear everyone’s opinion on it. I know that because I share his point of view, he was basically preaching to the choir. However, I believe each side could gain greater insight by listening to the facts he presents and the civility he uses when discussing the issue.  

The Q&A portion.

 

Thank you for reading and hopefully watching.

Justin and Ruth Blazzard

When I take a shower and get ready for the day while Natalie is awake, 

this is what the bathroom looks like.

She loves going in and out of the sliding doors on our shower.

 

Today was a much needed peaceful Sabbath day.

 It is so important for me to have that time to step back and look at life through the lens God wants me to, and not the way the world would have me.

We attended church, I was able to study the scriptures and do some indexing, had a nap, and played as a family together. We also visited our dear friends and shared an ice cream bar and walk to the park.

I worry and ponder often if I am doing all that I can or not enough, or too much. 

Being a stay at home mother is awesome and a great privilege, but with it comes it's own set of worries and struggles.

One of the things that is hardest for me is that there isn't a set standard of 

what you need to do each to day to be successful. 

That is totally up to you, your own motivation and your priorities as to what you do.

 I don't know if I am making sense to anyone reading this, but not having set boundaries of what to do to be successful can be stressful for me. 

During college I learned in an education class about different kinds of learners. 

One of these types is those who like to have the specifications laid out before them so they know exactly what they need to do to succeed (or get an A). 

That type of learner would be me.....

Tying this all together, there are tons of voices out there telling you what makes you successful and important as a mother, human being, etc

During the week, I feel like these influences pull me in so many different directions.

I could spend all my time trying to do what others value and find important for a family, 

and still not find the success I am looking for as a mother and the nurturer of my children.

While there are many different good things, ultimately I want to be doing 

the right and best things for my family.

The only one who knows that and can guide me is the Holy Ghost.

 Today helped me  be still and regain my focus on what the Lord needs

 me to be doing for the success of my family.

Taking time to slow down and remember God is one of my favorite parts of our life each week.

Home is Where the Heart Is

For the past three and a half weeks, Justin has been traveling back and forth to Canada for a week at a time. 

Tonight he came home and will hopefully be a little closer to home for the next few weeks.

This picture sums up our feelings about him coming through the front door. 

It warms my heart to see how excited Natalie gets when she sees her Daddy after such a long time.

I often get the question, "How do you handle it with him traveling so much?"

It is hard, but I am really try to focus on being grateful and relying on the Lord for strength each day.

It has gotten easier with time, but there are still hard days. Mostly, if I stay busy and work hard while he is gone,  and talk to my sisters, mother  and friends for moral support, I do a lot better.

I have been working on painting our kitchen chairs and table.

Two years ago, before we moved up here we painted our table, and then we realized we should have primed it first.

The paint has chipped and scuffed like crazy and looks terrible. 

I am so relieved to finally be able to fix our mistakes and make them beautiful. They have been a bit of an embarrassment to me for the past couple of years.

Yay for DIY projects! They are always way more work than I realize when I start, 

but usually worth it in the end.

Starting this week, Natalie is eating off a plate, throwing fits, and has even folded her arms a couple of times for prayer during meals. She can say, "Daddy", kitty, Mama, Je (Jesus), and Hi. She is getting better each day at communicating what she wants through actions. It is so sad and exciting at the same time to watch her transition from baby to toddler. Her and her Daddy are watching Frozen right now, and I need to join them.

We had a wonderful productive week. We are so blessed and are looking forward to a great Memorial Day Weekend. I will miss visiting graves of family members who have passed on, but they and the service men for our country will be in my thoughts. 

Happy Memorial Day Y'all!

Justin and Ruth Blazzard

Memories

One nice thing about moving is that it requires you to sift through all of your belongings at least twice.

Once in the packing and again when you remove it from the box.

I found these little gems the other day and cannot decide whether to hold onto them or escort them

to the round filing cabinet.

Justin and I made these as one of our projects in the welding class we took together TWO times. 

The first time we both failed because we were engaged and made some poor decisions about going to class or hanging out a while longer. :)

Thankfully we learned our lesson and the next semester were outstanding with 100% attendance.

These little guys always bring a smile to my face when I find them. Thinking of all of the fun, hard, and growing up times college gave us. 

The teacher for this class was one of my favorites as well.

Mr. Reece, he was always encouraging to us and has a very inspiring life story.

He decided he didn't want to be a big machinery mechanic all his life, so he and his wife went to college, after having their four kids. 

He went on to earn a masters degree and built biofuel plants in many different locations.

I think our fisherman will have to stay a few more years.

I also stumbled across is picture. It was taken during the days known as, "Justin wasn't sure he was really ready to seriously date me so he did some stupid things," days. It was the first picture I had of him and I sure cherished it. I was bummed when I got the camera roll developed and he was sticking his tongue out..... That funny joking side he has is one of my favorite things about him though. The picture was taken after we were done snowmobiling when it was about 0* outside and had only half thawed on the ride back. Fun memories! 

What memories do you enjoy thinking about from your past?

Spring from March to April

From Friday March 28th to April 7th Natalie and I were in Ontario, OR hanging out with my parents. Our trip to visit them was not supposed to last this long, but like life always does, there was an unexpected twist to our week. Two weeks ago Justin announced he would be driving to South Dakota for work leaving on Friday and returning the following Thursday. He intended to make it to his parents home in Utah and hopefully squeeze in a snowmobile ride on Saturday before finishing the thousands of miles trek to South Dakota. Since my parents is on the way he offered to drop me off so I could catch up with them. At first I was reluctant to go. I had some things planned for the week and didn't want anything to come up during this closing process on our home, and not be here to address the issue, causing the process to be drug out. Then Wednesday afternoon I had a strong prompting that I needed to go with Justin.

So, Thursday I packed our bags and Natalie gave us a great wake up call Friday morning at 4:30 a.m. We were on the road and safely arrived at my parents house at 1 p.m. Justin chatted for a while and continued to Utah. The day went well and we retired to bed. Natalie had a fitful night of sleeping. The last time she woke up was about 4:30 in the morning again. After I got her back to sleep, my mind was racing and a feeling of deep concern and worry came over me for Justin. A few minutes later my phone began to ring. It was about 5:30 a.m. at this time. I don't know about you all, but a phone call at that time is very unusual for me. Justin was on the other line. 

"We found Dad passed out on the bathroom floor at 3:30 this morning. I am in Park City right now at the E.R. They are preparing to life flight him to Salt Lake. He had a blood clot break loose in an artery in his head and there is intense bleeding that isn't stopping. He is going to have to have surgery and it is life threatening."

I cried, and prayed and worried. Barry (my father-in-law) is only 52 years old. When Justin started talking I thought for sure he was going to tell me his Grandfather or something had passed away, not his Dad was teetering on the edge of death. Justin was a rock and supported his family through the next four days of surgery, ICU stay, tests, and procedures.

It is a miracle, and happened because of Priesthood blessings and prayers, but my father-in-law woke up without any severe damage and was walking within two days of the surgery. It was a wild week, but there were many apparent tender mercies. 

If Justin had not been there that night, his mom would have been all alone to handle the situation. Since Justin was in town, his younger brother Brad and his wife came to visit as well. Both of them were able to give Barry a blessing as soon as they found him. They were also able to help support and get there mom around to where she needed to go. It was also a blessing that this took place early that morning, because Justin and him were supposed to go snowmobiling later that morning. If this had happened in the woods, who know's what would have happened.

It was also a blessing for me to be with my family that week. Justin didn't have to worry about us being along through this difficult time and I was able to get a lot accomplished for my Grandma's 80th birthday celebration that is coming up.

Natalie and I missed Justin terribly. I would like to say that I was perfectly supportive of him being gone for so long and just maintain a positive attitude all hours of the day, but that would be a lie. Having a husband that travels alot for work and then having to extend this trip for a lot longer is highly stressful and hard. I am working on choosing to be happy and grateful, but some days are better than others. 

Natalie had an ear infection on Monday the 31st, followed by a week of fighting a cold and horrible teething. She had her first antibiotics, 103* fever and fall down the stairs. She also loved all of the fresh air, Grandma's black lab tux, being able to play outside and not have to worry about strangers or cars, ice cream, chasing grandma's indoor kitty and sharing her cat food.

 

My parents were so kind to host us for that long and are always great about lending a listening ear and helping us have fun while there. Any time not spent taking care of Natalie was spent working on decorations for the birthday party. I think I went to Jo Ann's like 7 times that week. After many hours, and some worrying about paint not sticking to glass jars that I tried to paint for two hours, and a older sister who helped me push through to touch up the jars, we finally had success. Hopefully they look as nice as I think they do at the party.

It was wonderful to get to spend time with my siblings and nieces and nephews. Becoming a mother has really helped me have a greater appreciation of human life and seeing others as individuals. I guess it has just helped me overcome a little bit of my selfishness. I am grateful to have so many woman in life who live to share the good that comes from their mother heart. Even the sisters who do not yet have children are amazing nurturers who teach, help and love all children or any person placed in their path.

                         Playing with cousin Trey.

March 29th was the General Women's Meeting of the LDS church. My sister Mary happily had me and Annie (another older sister) and Megan (her daughter) over to watch the broadcast and dinner. Mary went out of her way to prepare a yummy dinner and let Natalie tear her house apart for a few hours. We went to ice cream afterwards. 

My brothers were also very kind. One day during our visit we rode to the dump with my younger brother Kevin. He then treated us to donuts and ice cream. He also listened to me vent several of my frustrations later that week.

Living away from family for so long has given me a better view on how amazing my family really is when I go to visit. Justin felt the same way as all of his family lent their love and support that week. We are both so blessed to come from strong families with people who live exemplary lives. 

Lastly, I was terrible at taking pictures this week. I feel so bad because there was so much to capture. My camera's battery was dead and I never fully charged it, so it wouldn't work when I did think to take pictures. Next time will be better, I promise!  

The morning after fevering through the night. Thankfully it broke, but she had some wild hair.

Natalie was not a fan of the ride home. The morning we were getting ready to leave my mom asked her a couple different times if she was excited to go home. Natalie shook her head yes each time. I guess she didn't realize the car ride was part of the package. We had to pull of a middle of no where exit for her to take a break. Justin and her were playing for a minute here.

Us at the exit.Thankfully she didn't have a fever this day.

Natalie loved being outside at my parents house. She was excited to go outside this morning at our house. All of the walking she was able to do on flat ground in Ontario really helped her improve her walking overall. She would walk back and forth and all over the sidewalks at my parents. Funny thing though, she really didn't want to have anything to do with the grass. If she falls down on grass, she won't touch it to get up. She just waits for someone to come pick her up. She doesn't like the texture of it.

Justin's aunt was so kind to send him with a ton of little girl clothes she was getting rid of. This hat was one of the items. Natalie looks adorable in it, but won't leave it on. So, I tried it on her favorite toy 'Sadie.' Justin said she looked like a gypsy.