All Kinds of Vampires

Vampires every where! These are the vampires I love most of all, besides Edward of course!

We were a parade of vampires, it was so much fun. Parker and Makay really fit the part too, can't you tell? I played down the makeup on the kids for the ward party but some of the other kids still said they were scary. I noticed that ours was the only family that had anything remotely scary. Everyone else were fairies, monkeys and traffic lights. Oh well.

That's me, the scary mom. Not many adults dressed up at our ward party. . . lame! My friend told me that if she didn't know me I could totally pull off this look. I don't think that's a compliment, or maybe my makeup was sooo good that it convinced her. Either way the Bishop didn't know what to say to me, it probably didn't help that he doesn't know me that well.

This was our ency, weensy spider. Too cute!!

Terrible picture, I know, but it was the only one we took. I go to book club with a few of the ladies in the ward and one of the books we read was Twilight. We decided to go to the midnight showing on the 21st. It was a ton of fun!

In Case of an Emergency . . .

Most of my time is spent at home with my five children who are six and under. One day I was pondering the possible outcomes if something was to happen to me. Do my kids know what to do in the event of an emergency?

At dinner I asked them. "Parker, what do you do if mommy falls down and won't wake up?"
Parker - "Get out of the house as fast as you can!"

I think she's definitely on a "save yourself" mode. I was hoping Eastons answer would be better. "Easton, what do you do if mommy gets hurt and you can't wake her up?"
Easton - "Stop, drop and roll!"

I guess I know what our next Family Home Evening lesson should be about.

Fall Fun

Being inspired by the talented people around me, I tried my hand at a little photography. It's exhausting! I think I need an assistant next time. Thank goodness Beckham was cool with hanging out in his stroller for a couple hours. Here's what my efforts turned out.

I asked Creed to lay in the leaves and this was the pose he gave me. I think we have a male model on our hands.

This was the coolest wall! I got to meet one of my neighbors when I asked him if I could take pictures of my kids by his front yard fence. It was a little embarrassing but he was nice enough about the crazy lady and all her kids taking pictures in his front yard.

They sure do look like they get along don't they. I would say it was my exceptional photography skills but really I think they are just good actors.

Our little miss blue eyes

This is my absolute favorite picture!!!

So just in case you thought this was all fun and games, here is just a taste of our bloopers.

Oh, you think Easton has spotted a UFO! No. . . there was a fly on my watch.

Oops, Makay fell and got a bloody hand. At least this was a genuine expression. She learned how to say "cheese" for the camera and most of her pictures came out looking very pained.

Is it too much to ask to have at least one real smile for a picture with four people in it?

A Beautiful Moment

Between the hours of 3 to 7 pm my house is chaos. Makay (who will be 2 in December) no longer takes naps, but really still needs them. By that time of day the boys are home and the stimulation that they bring just about sends her over the edge. Beckham is particular about being held, he doesn't really like much else. He can eat, sleep and poop being held and would prefer it that way.

With this information you can understand why my house is a disaster and the act of cooking is basically extinct. With all of this swirling around me, along with the joyful screams of four playing children I sat in our "papa chair" and was caught up in the beauty of a baby.

The miracle swept over me as I looked at my little boys' perfect face and acknowledged that not too long ago he was in the presence of our Father in Heaven. My body was designed to provide for him. He grew inside me and birth, though so incredibly painful, is a miracle. My body can still provide for his needs and when he sleeps in my arms it's like we fit together so perfectly, like we did when he was in my tummy.

Maybe this is too much information for some and way too sappy for others. I get so caught up in the chaos of my life that I don't have beautiful moments like this one very often. Thank you Heavenly Father for letting me be a women that can have children. They are my joy and my trial. How can you know love until your a parent?

Horrors in the Check-Out Line

Beckham, already learned in the ways of men by his brothers, doesn't like to shop. Therefore he protests. Crying is of course his only form of rebellion for now so that is what he does. He is very good at it too. Unless, by chance, he forgets his need to make a point and enjoys himself. He occasionally does this when the grocery cart is moving fast enough. But if I stop to compare prices or make sure I'm getting everything on my list, he quickly remembers that he is a man and must protest the shopping experience. The crying soon follows.

Makay, already learned in the ways of women by her sister, loves to shop. She is too young to be a proficient shopper. She is impulsive, a quality any professional shopper would look down on. She goes for the first thing that catches her eye and snatches it up. Another cardinal mistake is to shop without a budget. Luckily Makay has someone who is now very good at putting back on the shelves half the things that go into the cart right there with her.

I, being a women, should love to shop and think that one day I might enjoy it again (if I make it till then). For now, making it home safely and with food is an exhausting success. Take for instance the check-out line. The cart isn't moving so Beckham must protest and I have to stay in one place so Makay must try to go and find more things for me to buy. Just two days ago I was in this very situation. . .

I had a cart heaped with food, over $250 worth! Beckham was screaming so I was rocking the cart back and forth, back and forth. People in Pittsburgh don't know what to do with kids in a grocery store let alone one that's crying, it really makes you feel the pressure. Makay was surprisingly staying close to my legs. While I was checking my watch I felt a bump on the cart. I look down to find Makay with a very red face clutching her right hand. I realized the silence was from the enormous intake of air to support the howl that followed. The ring finger that just four weeks ago received many stitches was red, wet and dripping. She had her hand on the floor, I clipped it with the cart wheel and popped open half of what was once "healing nicely".

The next 15 minutes entailed both Beckham and Makay "protesting", Makay and me with bloody hands (mine from squeezing hers until the blood stopped flowing), a new cashier who didn't know what to do with my 4 WIC checks, me sweating profusely from holding Makay in one arm while loading my cart with bagged food, signing checks and trying to keep Beckhams pacifier in to stifle the sobs, and a man with makeup and a headband on running and getting band aids for us. So you see, when I say making it home safely and with food from the store is a success, I really mean it!!

School Boys

Easton and Creed are in the same preschool class.
This was their first day of school. We have had
several comments about Creed, most of them
from strangers, saying that they aren't sure
which is bigger, him or his backpack.

Creed is 3!

We celebrated Creeds third birthday on July 7th. It was a great day. In Creeds' mind being three equals being a "big boy." I'm not sure where that rule is written but he swears by it. I attempted a Mike Wosouskii (from Monsters Inc.) birthday cake for him. It didn't turn out like I had wanted but thank goodness that that never matters to kids!

Beckham Hastings

Please welcome Beckham Hastings Button to the world. He was 9 pounds 7 ounces and 22 inches long. He was easily the biggest baby in the NICU by a couple of pounds. He was in the NICU because he was born so fast that when he came out he popped his lungs. They put him on antibiotics and watched him for a couple days to make sure it healed up okay before he could come home. The bandage on his arm is for his IV, thank goodness I wasn't there when they put it in.

His birth was by far the craziest. We were lucky that we made it to the hospital. I only had contractions for about two hours but they never got regular. They hurt so bad that I wanted to go to the hospital just so I could get an epidural even though they were still about 7 minutes apart. While Ryan was trying to get hold of a Dr. I started involuntarily pushing. YIKES! He hung up the phone and we sped to the hospital. He was born about 12 minutes after we got there. The Doctor said that my water (which hadn't broken) was the only thing keeping him in there.

My mom was here, what a life saver. The kids loved having her full attention for two weeks. She and Ryan took the kids swimming while Beckham and I were recovering.

Did you miss us?

Hello world! We have finally climbed out of the deep, dark hole that we have been drowning in for the last three months. We have the Internet again! Our blog is back and will be better then ever (because I - Berni - am now in charge of it). Stay tuned!

Hello Everyone,

So sorry for the "no news" state we have been in. We are still adjusting to Pittsburgh and trying to get settled before the baby comes and school starts for everyone. We should start getting the internet at our house in September so I'll start this thing back up again then, with pictures!

Things are good though. I'm huge with only 19 days left of having this baby on the inside. The kids are getting pretty anxious and they keep telling me to "uncover" the baby. Oh, if it were only that easy! We'll try to keep you all posted. Love to all.

The Buttons

PITTSBURGH!

Hey everyone! Just letting you know we made it to pitt. No internet yet so this will be the last blog for awhile. Thanks to everyone that helped us get here! Special thanks to Doug, Jeff and Kendy (aka-the "button moving/cleaning/babysitting crew") and to Nick & Emily and BJ & Kiki. Don't wanna even think about what it would have been like without all of your help! We are going to miss all our friends and family in Rexburg. Love you all! One more HUGE thanks to Doug, you-are-beyond-amazing!

The Potty Train

We have been wanting to potty train Creed for awhile so we won't have three in diapers when the new one is born. After his bath yesterday he announced that he had to go on the "potty train." We threw him on as fast as we could. This time was a success!

Hooray for Captain Potty Train!!

Translation please

Learning how to translate is a must with kids.
Lets see how you do with our childrens rare dialect:

1) leaking mountain --- drinking fountain
2) pikey pone --- pine cone
3) dandy flower --- dandylion
4) taste bugs --- taste buds
5) green watermelon --- kiwi
6) ho-nay --- okay
7) fwy-gok --- side walk
8) bee-naster --- disaster

all grown up...

all our bags are packed...

Rexburg...definetly gonna miss all the good times you've given us...but we are MOVING ON BABY!!! Pittsburgh here we come! Yep, it's official, public health is our future. U of P's deposit check is in the mail, the budget truck has been reserved and boxes are in collection. As of June 1st we'll be starting a new adventure out East with our growing family. So exciting. Thanks for all your prayers!

Makay Footage

The other day we realized we hadn't seen makay
for quite awhile. After Ryan found her he quietly
grabbed the camera. Just thought we'd share our
cute daughter with you.

restin easy

Great news. Yesterday we recieved an email from U of Pittsburgh accepting us into their Masters of Public Health program. We are very excited to know that we'll be moving on after 2 long years of waiting. Can I hear a Hallelujah!

140 baby!

This is Berni's halfway mark for her pregnancy. She's been able to feel the baby move around recently as well. It's all down hill from here. ;)

Grad School News

Today we found out we're on the waiting list for Drexels Pathology Assistant program in Philly which starts in May. Ryan leaves tomorrow for his PA interview in CA. We are very excited.

Voice from "Heaven"

So the other day, Berni and Kendy (sisterinlaw) were shopping at Sams Club w/ Easton. Shopping can be very tiring so they each bought a slice of pizza and took a little break. Suddenly a voice came on over the intercom. Eastons head shot up and as he looked around asked "Do you guys hear that?" Berni nodded and asked what he thought it was saying. Without hesitation, he replied, "It's probably telling us to repent."

Creeds Treasures

Discovering a great hiding place for his treasures has kept us on our toes when it comes to washing Creeds pants. New motto: always check the pockets. (FYI: this was one pair)

Late Thanks

We would like to thank our creative blog designer, Kiki Comin, for this spectacular birthday present, our blog. You are so thoughtful and amazing. Thank you so much!
Love the Button Bunch

Cure for the winter blues

As you can see, the kids are kinda excited to be out of the house, no matter how cold. We only lasted twenty minutes, but hey, when you are living in Rexburg, every bit helps.

In Control

Parker is turning into our third adult in the house. She really likes being the oldest and takes charge of every situation no matter what. The other day Parker and Easton were fighting during their quiet time so Ryan went in to handle things. He asked Parker why she is always fighting with Easton and she said, "Well, Creed does what I tell him to do so we don't fight. But Easton never listens to me so I have to make him."

Anxiously Waiting

Physician Assistant Program - interview coming up march 13

• pomona, ca

Pathologist Assistant Program - interviewed and waiting for decision

• philly, pa

Public Health Programs - waiting for decision

• philly, pa
• pittsburgh, pa
• oklahoma
• arizona