Tuesday, December 30, 2014

About this girl they call Mina.

Mina turns Three today! THREE!!!! 


Where has my little girl gone. 

I remember when she looked like this: 



my itty bitty 7lb 11oz babe. 

I could never imagine her growing into THIS GIRL:


A girl who is OBSESSED with daddy. He is her "buddy" Mommy is her "baby" but Daddy is her "Buddy". She loves to do things with him. She gets so excited when he comes home! 

Mina loves music and loves her aunts and uncles. This is from when she got to see her Uncle play in the marching band! Mina's current favorite songs are Boom Clap, Shake it Off, Ain't it Fun, and Madness.

Mina loves to be outside. She loves Water. She loves to help mow the lawn and chase grasshoppers.

Mina loves to wear socks on her hands. She calls them her Guh-loves. a LOT of nights she wants to wear them to bed. She will go to the grocery store in them and everything. I am glad she is unique and quirky. I wouldn't have it any other way.


My beautiful baby turning into a beautiful young girl. 

her current favorite words/phrases:

For example
Nannylicious (my mom)
Grandude (my dad)
___, you are so great, good  choice
___ you are beautiful
Evan is my brudder? or is he my sister? 
No Evbot, you wittle stinkhead


her current favorite movies/ shows:

SuperWhy
Nightmare Before Christmas
 (random note, I hadn't seen this in years, Izzy showed it to her and now she is OBSESSED with this movie.)
Clifford
Despicable Me 2
Wreck-It Ralph
Up
Cloudy With a Chance of Meatballs


her favorite books:

Good Night Gorilla
Anything Dr Seuss
Anything Eric Carle
Five little monkeys
Anything with trucks in it


Happy 3rd Mina Mooseph.


Sunday, December 14, 2014

Reference 2009-Present

While bitten by the blogging bug I'm going to add one more post. Actually, I'm doing this because it's almost 3pm and my kids are still asleep so I have some time to myself. I'm going to write about my wife because I don't think many people have heard my side of our relationship and I can brag about her accomplishments for her. Lets face it, we all know that people who talk about their own accomplishments are narcissistic d-bags that toot their own horn one too many times. Plus, I'm pretty quiet and reserved and up until now readers are probably like, "what?! Jessa has a husband, I've heard of him but never seen him or knew he really existed." Well, these questions can be answered because I'm only slightly overshadowed by my social pariah of a wife. Plus, I'm like a dog who only comes out of kennel when someone says the word "frisbee."

But joking aside (joking not fully aside) if you know Jessa, and I'd like to believe I kind of know her now after six years of being together, then you know she is the real deal. I'm writing this now because of her nose to the grindstone tenacious work ethic. Jessa knows how to hustle. She has been presented with a fantastic opportunity that she earned by working her butt off. Not only that but an opportunity that she feels will make a difference in other peoples' lives. 

I met Jessa almost six years ago when she helped push my brother's car out of a snowy ditch. Even then she was making a difference in two people's lives, namely, mine and my hard of hearing brother. To make a long story short I fell in love with an incredible woman and birth mother. Little did I know that being a birth mother was/is as much a part of her as being human. It is characteristic that makes up Jessa's personality. Jessa is probably the most genuinely caring and giving person I have ever met. I'm not kidding when I write this, If Jessa could she would adopt every baby or child in foster care. Countless times when I have come home from school or work there has been a new animal that she found without an owner. I have made her get rid of the animal every time but if I'm to be honest with myself, I really do love that about her. She wants everyone to have a loving home. Even the most pathetic, sickly, and ugliest of Gods four legged creatures to ever walk the face of the earth deserve a loving home. Jessa and I have also had people live with us for most of our marriage. I'm not talking about our kids, I'm talking about vagrant wanderers that were competent enough to put an add on craigslist (that was a joke). Our doors have been open for tenants since 2009. She is always willing to help someone out and loves to do it.

Jessa jokes with me that I am a better stay at home parent that she is but it's not true. Yes, I am very much a helicopter parent and am borderline obsessive compulsive about cleanliness but she is a fantastic mother to our children. Jessa loves to play with our kids and probably buys them a toy most every time they go to the store because she can't say "no". I can't really say it either, kids just have that effect on parents. Jessa's list of accomplishments are vast, five years military service, birth mother, mother of two, advocate of open adoption, plethora of business ventures, and the greatest accomplishment of all, she married one cynical sarcastic individual. 

I just wanted to post this because I'm very proud of your accomplishments and you deserve this new job. You earned it and worked your butt off for it. I don't really know if people think about gender rolls often but I'm comfortable being a stay at home dad for the next little while. I still have more schooling to finish up and you sacrificed a lot by dropping out of college to raise our kids so that I could finish my degree. Even that didn't stop you from chasing your passions with adoption advocacy. So congrats Jessa and thanks for being patient with me, I know this past year was a tough one for you. Cheers, here's to sunny souther California and the next adventure that awaits. All my love!

Homage to Logan

Although this blog began when Jessa and I were first married this is my first ever blog post. It has been a long time coming. I have never done this before and this post is really for meant to be a memory for myself and hopefully Jessa will enjoy. I apologize for those that follow Jessa and those that are used to her writing style, I don't have a clear direction for this so it might get a little off track and disjointed. So now that I have made clear how my audience is I want to try to compose some things that really capture my love for the city of Logan. I will attempt to write more about Logan itself and some things that I have come to love.

I moved to Logan in January 2009 from Portland, OR to start school at USU. I thought Logan was a quiet little city and much more rural than I was accustomed to. I have spent the last five years of my life here and when I look back it's crazy how different my life is now compared to that single kid clear back in '09. I didn't know it but I met my wife two months after moving here. Believe me there will be a separate blog post about my wife and her accomplishments soon. Living in Logan in the winter really helped me to find my inner snowboard bum self. I didn't do very well my freshman year of school so I decided to spend three days a week at Beaver Mt. instead. So, besides winter activities what else is there to do in Logan? EAT! That's right, I have never seen more restaurants per capita in my life. I feel that this post would be amiss if I didn't give a shout out to some of the local eateries in Cache Valley. God bless the Tandoori Oven, it honestly looks like an after thought as it is connected to a gas station on 1000 N tucked away near campus. Don't be fooled Jessa and I have a fond love for this place and my compliments to the chefs', you will be sorely missed when we move. The rest of these good eats are in no particular order but must be mentioned. Herm's Inn, La Tormenta, El Salvador, Callaway's, Elements, Charlie's ice cream, Takara sushi, Romo's, and Firehouse, you had me at fahzookie. Logan has some great local eats and I will miss them dearly.

Cache Valley is home to a pretty awesome ultimate frisbee community. I have always loved playing sports but my love for ultimate grew ten fold once moving to Logan. I will miss the USULT team and the great ultimate community. Plus, Logan is a beautiful backdrop to huck some disc around.

 The mountains that surround the valley are gorgeous. Logan does a fairly good farmer's market every summer to boot. I have really enjoyed the local cheese and produce from this valley. Gossner's dairy has also become a regular in our household.

Well, to wrap up let me say "thank you" Logan. There is a lot more I could say about Logan but it's hard to sum up my last five years of my life here. It has been in eventful five years of my life. I met my wife, worked at a job I have really come to enjoy, both my kids were born here, all of our pets are from here, I've met some of my dearest friends here, some of the most stressful and tragic events have happened here, the greatest joys and happiest moments of my life have also happened here as well. I'm excited for the next step our family's life and thanks for a great five years Logan, keep it real.


Saturday, August 16, 2014

I didn't wait til marriage to lose my virginity, and I wish I had

I keep seeing this post go around about a girl who waited to lose her virginity. While I agree with some points in the article (I.e sex made out to be shameful and guilt ridden) for the most part, I don't.

I didn't wait to have sex. I had sex with someone I thought I loved and would love me back forever. I lost my virginity at 18 years old. I knew it was something I wasn't supposed to be doing because of my religion and the morals I had been taught, but I did it anyway. Why? Because if he loves me then it's okay.

Further down the road, I was an 18 year old girl who was pregnant. At 18 I didn't even know which way was up half the time. I had to make grown up choices, because I made the grown up naive choice to have unprotected sex. I chose to place that baby for adoption and it was equally the worst, hardest, most beautiful experience of my life.



Further down that road, I met a man. A man I really did love. A man I wanted to spend forever with. He was willing to accept me, he was willing to love me, even though I had already lost my virginity and had a baby.

The problem was every time we had sex I enjoyed it, but then afterwards all I could think about was how I hadn't waited. One time early on in our marriage I had a pain "down there", I was sure it was an std. It wasn't. But it was the first thing that popped into my mind.

I was and still am, emotionally connected to the person I chose to have sex with, and the person I had a baby with. I have a part of me that is emotionally unavailable to my husband, that isn't fair. It isn't fair to me and it isn't fair to my husband.

So while I think sex shouldn't be taught as a shameful thing, I do believe in teaching women it has emotional consequences. I do believe in teaching girls it is best to wait. 

I lost my virginity before I was married and I so so wish I hadn't.

Tuesday, June 24, 2014

Nostalgia.

These past few weeks I have been going through a period of NOSTALGIA.

In two months it will be Josie's 6th birthday. 
6 years ago and 2 months ago today:
 i had just placed a baby girl into the arms of her loving family. 

6 years and 2 months ago today:
 i was in complete and utter shock. 

6 years and 2 months ago today:
i was in my dorm room, crying my eyes out, 
trying to figure out how to muster through the heartbreak of my newfound birth mom hood

This is me while I was pregnant. Single, pregnant, living in a college town, I was ashamed I was pregnant and single, I was never ashamed of my sweet babe. I was proud of her. I knew she was going to be special. I knew she was going to do good things. 




^^ This is me, doing what college kids do, having the time of my life.^^



^^ This is me, a day before I had Josie. Not knowing that my earth was going to be shattered just a short time later^^



^^ This is me with J. In Love. In Pain. In Confusion. In Heartbreak. In Awe. ^^


^^This is me. Fighting through tears. Trying to pretend for everyone I was okay^^

^^ This is me. A few days after. My Best friend's attempt to make me smile. It worked. If only for a short while.^^


The struggle is real my friends. I have been so emotional. Struggling so badly this past month. I know this birthday has hit me the hardest so far. I love that baby girl. I do not regret my decision. But that doesn't change the fact that things are hard on me emotionally. I still can cry, even if I don't regret it.

One thing hasn't changed:


^^ This girl is still my best friend. I can call her for anything. She gets me. She went through it all with me. She knows everything about the situation. And understands my emotions.^^

And some things DO change:


^^I have these goons to take care of me. To love me. To see me through. ^^

All of these memories, these experiences, I am grateful for them. I always will be. They made me who I am today. "There is always gonna be a part of me that is sloppy, that is dirty, with all the other parts of me. And I like that. " Experiences are what make us. Memories are what help us. 
Love is what gets us through. 








Tuesday, June 10, 2014

Getting Bigger Everyday






MINA ALYSON

Mina is now 2.5. 
*Her favorite foods are Bratwurst, Pizza, Salad, Watermelon, And Strawberries
*Her favorite activity is to play outside in the pool or swing in the hammock. She also loves to give the dogs a bath and read books. 
*Her favorite book is Barnyard Dance, Happy Hippo/Angry Duck, and The Very Busy Spider.
*Her favorite songs are Happy, Ain't It Fun, Let It go, and Madness
*Her favorite Tv show is STILL Yo Gabba Gabba, But she will now watch Blues Clues.
*Her favorite Movie is Frozen. We know it word for word. 

She can Count to ten, kinda say the alphabet, almost name all her colors, and say her full name.
She has a lot of the songs on the radio memorized, all her favorite books memorized, and she quotes movies all the time. 
She has a love/dislike relationship with Evan. She will hug him one minute and beat him up the next. 

Her phrases as of late:

Yahhhh Buddy
I got Two ems (two of them)
Daddy is a buddy
You are annoying me
I'll Show Ya (from UP)
Somebody's Gonna Die Tonight (Despicable Me 2)
No! I'll do it. 
I don't want to daddy.
You have to work Thursday?
It's 2:56 a clock

Also side note. Mina wears socks on her hands EVERYWHERE! For realsies….she calls them her 2 guhloves. If we do not have them, she loses it and throws a major tantrum. 





EVAN

Evan is 11 Months (on the 30th)

His Favorite foods are Sweet Potatoes, Peaches, Prunes, and anything he finds on the floor crawling around. He also really likes watermelon and strawberries. 
His Favorite Activity is to crawl in the grass, swing in the hammock, and make mom carry him everywhere. 
Evan is a cuddly dude. He just wants to be cuddled all the time. 

He can crawl.
Pull himself up.
Feed himself finger foods.
Stick his tongue out. 
Sit up in the bathtub by himself. 

He isn't talking just yet because he is a little delayed due to him being deaf for most of his short life. But now that he is hearing he is starting to babble a lot more and i expect him to start saying words sooner rather than later. He is also close to cruising and maybe walking. 

This kid is seriously the happiest kid in the world. I don't even know what to say but i hit the jackpot. 




Friday, June 6, 2014

Dear Single Dad Laughing:

I feel your pain. I do.
I once was single. and pregnant, then placed my daughter for adoption. 
I was "unworthy" for a LONG period of time. 
I missed a lot of my friends weddings, adoption sealings, and what not. 

But THIS article. This made my stomach hurt. I love your blog. I think it is hilarious. Every time you write another article I sit up in bed and laugh my butt off. This article though, I think it was just bad. 

I understand what it is like to be left out. I understand how it feels to be a little angry towards God, The bishop, the ward, whomever you choose. No one likes to be told they aren't "special enough" or "worthy enough", No one enjoys being excluded. 

Your article reached a new level of bashing, rude, and downright mean in my opinion. If you were once apart of the church you know that for the most part, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day saints are good people, filled with good hearts. Just as Catholics, Jewish, Baptist, Seventh-Day, Evangelical, etc. The LDS faith focuses on service, love, and family. I got married in the temple. I had to go through the church court, the interviews, everything to get there; but i made it. I loved every minute of it. I sat across the alter from my husband and we were married for time and all eternity. 

Guess what? The church did pay millions for the temples. They do get that money from tithing, but they also get that money from businesses they run. They are self sufficient. You know what else the church has done for me? They paid my rent when i was going to be evicted, they paid for groceries when I had no food, and they helped me find a job when i got laid off. ALL while I was unable to PASS THE QUESTIONS. 

So they have the temple that is sacred and separate. That is their right. Unfortunately it does leave people out, but that is their right. 

You like to get personal so I will too, I have someone very close to me going through a faith crisis. He is the one man I love more than anything in the world. He isn't so sure how he feels about things in the church anymore. He had to miss my sisters wedding, he had to miss our closest friend's wedding. The crazy thing is, No one was upset or appalled by him. They loved him. They hugged him. They invited him into the pictures. It isn't people pretending they care about you (at least in my experience, if it is your experience…you need new family and friends) They genuinely loved him and missed him being there. They are happy you are there to celebrate anyways. 

Here is something I think you were unaware of, as I just became aware of it. In the temple recommend interview, the question that is mostly end all beat all (unless you hate mormonism) Is " do YOU feel worthy" This is an INCREDIBLE question to put in. They are asking you what you think about yourself. They are asking you to take responsibility for yourself. I could not be happier that they chose to put this question into the interview. 

Your lifestyle is different from mine, It is very different. You expected everyone to jump off their seats and be loving and supportive of your new found bisexual lifestyle. Guess what? For the most part people did. But even more important is, shouldn't we Mormons expect the same from you? Can you not give us the same respect that our lifestyle is different? I love you and continue to read your blog even though you are gay, even though you have decided to not be Mormon anymore. Can I not expect the same from you? I thought I could. 

I encourage you to re examine how you talk about other religions so harshly. Because if this was an article about Gays. you would be all over that infuriated. Gays are a group of people, Mormons are a group of people. Not the same? Okay what if I wrote a seething article about confessional in the catholic church…then what? Same thing.

Let us be accepting. You have the right to be hurt. YES. You don't have the right to be mean. 





Monday, June 2, 2014

Springing into Summer!





Mina enjoyed Easter. She found candy and then ate it. That would be stellar for any two year old. Wes this year thought it would be rad to hide papers in the eggs and gave books to the children. The books were things like Barbara Bush's Biography. yah…not so stellar. 



Then we took our family pics on actual Easter Sunday. My kids are so cute, it kills me. 




It was my birthday and Richard's Birthday. We are May 3rd Twins. I love having someone who is always as excited about my birthday as I am :) 





Went to Tucanos with some of my favorite people!! It was so fun!! I love meat, and i love hanging out with friends so overall it was a wonderful day!


Mina is into picking out her outfits. She currently like snow boots even when 80 degrees outside. 

My sister in law send me my FAVORITE thing from Oregon (besides Burgerville, but I doubt that would last in the mail)

Desha came to visit and I was so happy!

The next week Alysia came! Brought friends for Mina and good times. 





Wes and I went to New York and DC. I will post a blog post about that soon!



I love my Mina Mooseph! She is learning her alphabet, colors, and numbers. She is really smart and blows my mind. 


Evan is turning 1 in July! he is getting so much better! He got tubes in his ears and everything changed for him. We found out he has been deaf and has LaryngoMalacia. He is able to imitate sounds, crawl, and now pull himself up!

Then to top off the awesomeness, I got a rad card from Josie for birth mother's day. notice how She is brown and I have jaundice. Also notice that she is taller than me. This is probably going to be accurate soon. That girl is growing like a weed! I love her so much!

Wes and Jessa

Daisypath Anniversary tickers