July 31, 2008

Madalynn Kay


July 28th would have been Madalynn's 4th birthday. I have often thought about how different my life would have been had she survived. Madalynn was a difficult pregnancy for me. I remember April 5th was our first ultrasound. Lance and I were so excited and just filled with anticipation, wondering if we were having a boy or a girl. We both arrived and Lance was all smiles from ear to ear. I remember every thing specifically about that day. I remember the smell of the office, the look on the doctor's face when he told us the news and more than ever the thousands of tears I cried that day and every day after that.
I was admitted into the hospital on May 13th, Lance's birthday for pre-term labor. I was in the hospital for a week when the doctor's finally told me that whether I stayed or went home the outcome wouldn't change the fact that our child had a 50/50 chance of survival. So we made the decision to get out as fast as we could. The doctors said that I would be back within a week to deliver her because I was so close to having her. So my mom stayed with us until she would be born. Three months of being on bedrest and still pregnant the doctors were amazed that I carried her that long.
Lance's brother Lee came home from his mission on a Tuesday. I had made the decision to live my life and get off the couch and leave it in the Lord's hands. So we headed to the airport to see him. It felt so good to be out and with others and take my mind of my frustrations. That Thursday my mother-in-law had reserved the Stapley swimming pool for a welcome home party for Lee. Again I went with my famiy to have a good time. I mostly layed on the lawn chairs that were there and my mom visited with me. We left about 10:30 that night and I remember feeling strange. I wasn't in any pain just felt something different. On the way home I told Lance that we better stop by the hospital to have it all checked out. Maybe I was just excited at fact that I was close to having this baby. So we went in and sure enough I was in the middle of intense labor. The only pain I felt during her birth was the I.V.. I think Heavenly Father blessed me with as little physical pain as possible because the emotional woudl be too great. About 5 hours later Madalynn Kay Snyder was born. She was so peaceful. She never opened her eyes, and never cried. She was born as if she were in a deep sleep. She had a very faint heartbeat. I remember when they handed her to me and told me that we probably had a few minutes to be with her before she would pass away. I won't go into detail about that because I hold that very sacred. But she was the softest, most beautiful angel I had ever seen. I still remember the way she smelled. It was the sweetest smell.I can't describe it. All the doctors, nurses and medical staff left the room so we could have our time with her. She lived for about 56 minutes and then she quitely passed away.
The next two days we were able to stay in the hospital and have friends and family come and see her. The day we left the hospital we dressed her in her burial clothing my grandma so kindly got for us. I am not sure if most people think about those mothers who have to leave the hospital empty handed. All that work with nothing to show for when you leave the hospital doors. I was wheeled out the back entrance so I would not have to wait in the lobby with all the other moms waiting patiently for their husbands to drive the car around and load up their new little one.
As soon as we left the hospital we went to the Funeral home to make arrangements and pick out the casket. I don't know if anyone has had the chance to go and pick out a coffin but picking out one for a little baby is quite the humbling experience. We found one and the next day we laid her to rest in the Mesa City Cemetary next to all the other little ones who have passed away on Lance's side of the family. There under an orange tree are 6 babies laid to rest. It was the perfect place.
Now every year on July 28th I think about her and what my life would have been like. I have been blessed by a Heavenly Father who knew my needs and the needs of my family. Someone once told me that "there are things worse than death." I have come to accept this and believe it. She is in a much better place than I could have provided for her here.
So we just work hard every day as a family to make it back to her. She is waiting for us. Sometimes I pull all of her things out to look at them and think about her. People ask me if I still cry for her. My answer is yes and no. Yes for the fact that something will trigger a memory or an emotion and no because I know she is where God wants her. I just know there is someone up there who will rock her and sing to her. Until then I just dream and wait.

July 30, 2008

A good day after a bad night

Last night was the worst night we have had since having a newborn in the home. Our boys just really struggled to sleep. They both started out in their own beds and then after multiple awakenings we just put them in our bed and Lance and I found other places to sleep. I got about 4 hours of sleep last night. We are really tired today!
This morning my sister called to see if we wanted to go the park with her and her friend Justina and her kids. So I loaded them up in our new car and started to back out when the car was driving pretty funny. I got out to check all the tires and sure enough the back tire on the driver side was completely flat. So my sister came over to get us. We all fit in her car too! The kids had a tight fit in the back but we all survived.

We went to Settler's Park. It is a great park because it so big and the best part of it is the turf they put down. It is really springy when you walk on it and it is not cement so if they fall they won't get scraped up. It is the greatest invention for parks.




The kids all played for about an hour and then we took them to McDonald's for a quick lunch. It was so hard to get my boys of our there. They loved to play with all those germ infested toys that are there. Needless to say we did a complete scrub down when I got them home. I think it really wore them out even more since neither of us slept last night.
Now they are sleeping. Let's just hope they have a great nap. Thanks Rachel and Justina for a fun morning!

July 26, 2008

Pioneer Day Celebration

Our Stake puts together a big event for the 24th of July Celebration in honor of the Pioneers. We started the day early this morning about 8:30. We loaded the kids up and headed down to the church for a parade (which never happened), breakfast and some fun activities that were planned. Our good friend Kelly parachuted in the American Flag to start the celebration. Keaton and Andrew really liked watching that. It was fun to watch them make their way down from the sky. Keaton was just amazed that someone would want to jump out of a plane.
Breakfast was really good. The boys ate tons. I think they were starving. They slept in really late this morning. It was nice, they didn't get up until after 8 am. That is a record in the Snyder household.


There was a petting zoo, snow cones, cake walks and a fishing booth. The boys had turns with each and by about 10:30 they were done, so we headed back home.
I spent the afternoon at my parents home. My dad won a moped/motorcycle through his work so we had some fun riding that around their home and then I went and did alittle shopping with my mom afterwards.
This evening we had a few couples from our ward over for a BBQ and some swimming. We had a good time. I hope everyone had a good time.
It was a good day. I love weekends!

July 25, 2008

Keaton's prayer

I just had to write about this because I am still laughing about it. Every night before our boys go to bed we kneel down as a family for family prayer. Keaton usually says it because he loves it. So tonight we knelt down and he started his prayer and it went something like this...
"Heavuny Fader fankful for mommy and daddy, bwess sis Tanner, bwess Uncle John on mission, bwess me at school, bwess my eyes to be strong and that we can eat carrots and we don't push, we don't hit and we don't kick.
Bwess us to sweep all night in our beds," and then out of now where Keaton farts and then he pauses and looks around and then says "Excuse me!" and then continues on with his prayer. Lance and I were dying. It was so hard not to laugh when your son is trying so hard to be reverent saying the prayer. After he said amen we just lost it. He wasn't quite sure what was going on but both of the boys just started laughing too.
I love hearing Keaton say his prayers. Heavenly Father must have sense of humor because these sweet kids say the darndest things.

July 24, 2008

Is it just me?


Is anyone else excited for Breaking Dawn to come out? This pretty much sums up how I feel about it. I am glad I haven't had to wait for too long unlike some other I know who have had to wait over a year to get to this point. All I can say is that I will be so mad if she ends up with Jacob. What are your thoughts? Has anyone read it?

July 23, 2008

Tell me a story

Every night when we put our oldest son to bed he wants a story. Most of the time we make up stories, recite fairytales, or tell him stories of his ancestors from a long time ago. Lately we have been running out of ideas and we have had to put our imagination to the test. From Great Grandpa's green horse to magical apples that makes grandma's cows fly, we have come up with quite the collection. Now when we tuck him in at night he starts telling us the stories. Sometimes I forget how I made them up or what I said. I am so amazed at how well he pays attention to detail.
Sometimes I wish he could put me to sleep with these stories. I love putting my children down for bed. I love cuddling with them, singing to the them and just being with them. They are such sweet children.

July 22, 2008

A trip with the Miamaids

(Judy and I will our Miamaids)
This was my third visit to the Twin Falls temple open house in one week. I can't believe I did it! Last Monday Lance and I took our boys on the way home from Utah and then last Friday I took the boys again with my family for the actual open house and then we took our Miamaids today for our mutual activity.
We are a small group but we had a great time. We tried to leave about 8:30 this morning but like all Mormon events nothing ever happens on time. We didn't get out of town until 9:30 so we didn't get there until 11 a.m. but that was ok. We had a fun trip up there and we sang a lot and the girls just had a fun time giggling. It was so nice to visit with them and with Judy, the other Miamaid advisor.
I am so amazed at the beauty of the temple. I have noticed different things each time I have gone. This time I noticed that all the windows have stained glass symbolizing the Syringa flower, which is the Idaho State flower. They mentioned that the floors were from India and all the wood in the temple was from Africa. It is amazing how many things were outsourced from the United States.

Afterwards we went to Johnny Corino's for lunch. I love Italian food. It was fun to have a girls day out. The ride back was even crazier but I won't go into detail about that. Thanks girls! It was a fun day!

(crazy car ride home)

July 19, 2008

Going Private?

I have been debating this for a long time. I think we are finally going to do it. One of my friends has seen some really strange activity on her blog site. I am not sure if someone was trying to download their pictures or what but weird things happen and you can never be too safe when it comes to family. So please send us your email addresses and we will get you signed in to view our blog. I hope this won't keep people from seeing what we are up to. I just want to keep my family safe.
We love you all!

Twin Falls Temple


Yesterday we went to the Twin Falls Temple Open house. It was such a great experience. I took my boys with me so they could experience the temple before it's dedication. My grandmother, my sister Rachel, my mom and my Aunt Sheryl also joined us. We left pretty early so we could get there in time to visit with my cousin Becky and her family who just moved into their brand new home. The drive was good. My boys did so well. They were quite the good travelers! The drive was a little under 2 hours and we got there just in time to eat and then make it to the temple's open house at 2:20 p.m..
The Twin Falls temple is located right at the top of canyon. It overlooks it. It was so beautiful. It was pretty small. I couldn't believe how small it was inside but it was still beautiful. We had to wear those small annoying booties that you have to wear for any open house really. My boys did not like those so we ended up carrying them through the tour.



Afterwards we took some pictures outside the grounds and then we went for treats inside the cultural hall in the buiding behind the temple.
My boys missed out on their naps but did suprisingly well. I couldn't believe how well they behaved.
Then it was back to Becky's house to help them unpack. We ended up staying until 8 p.m.. We helped them get alittle situated.
It just reminded me of how much I hate moving! Here are some fun pictures of our trip.


July 15, 2008

three


Today my oldest son Keaton turned 3 years old. I have been in shock all day at the fact that I have a 3 year old. What a wonderful three years it has been too. We had such a fun day today. We played at Grandma Quinn's house today with Ava and Rachel. We went swimming and then came back home for his birthday party. We made it a simple family get together and we made homemade pizza, which all the kids loved, and they we went swimming in our swim pool and then came back for cake and ice cream. This year I wanted to make something cute and fun for Keaton's cake. I found this really cute idea at Target. The idea was a cupcake dino. I completely blew it. But thankfully he is still young and doesn't care. I don't think I am a cake maker at all. Keaton loved all of his gifts! Thanks to all of you who made Keaton feel so special and so loved on his birthday.





Here are some fun things about my little man Keaton that we have noticed over the past 3 years.....
- when Keaton was born he weighed 9 lbs. 9 oz. and 21 1/2 inches long. When the nurse looked at him she commented that he didn't look like the typical newborn.
He was HUGE!
- Keaton was a colic baby. He would drive his mom nuts after 7-8 hours of screaming but his mom still loved him very much.

- he has always been a daddy's boy.
- there is always room for treats
- he loves baseball or any sport that has a ball involved. He will usually hit the baseball 9 out of 10 times. He is that good.

- he is a very sensitive boy when it comes to feelings.
- he loves grandma and grandpa's house
- his best friend is his Andrew, his younger brother.
- he loves nursery and all the stories about Jesus.
- he loves to be tickled to sleep just like his mom.
- he loves The Incredibles
- he is a leader, he is so willing to help out (especiall in nursery, he helps out quite a bit)
- he is very creative and has started to play well by himself
- he loves to wrestle
- he is just so darn CUTE!

Happy Birtday sweetheart! We love you so much and we are so happy you are in our family. Life just wouldn't be the same without you. I think Heavenly Father sent you to us so that we wouldn't feel that lonely space that was left empty. You have changed our lives and we can't wait to see what life has in store for you. We love you so much Keaton. I LOVE YOU!

July 14, 2008

Mini-Snyder reunion


(me and all my sister-in-law minus 2 others)
I got home late Wednseday night around 8:30 p.m. and then had enough time to wash clothes, clean my house and get packed up again leave for Utah. Every other year my in-laws have a family reunion. This year it happened to be in Arizona and since it was so far away we decided to have a get together with all the siblings that wouldn't make it down there in Provo. We left Thursday morning and got home this evening.
I love my in-laws. What a great group of people. They are so different from my family but that is what makes them them. Lance is the 4th of 10 children and it is fun to get together with all of them. We don't see them much so when we get together they know who to have a fun time. Everyone was there minus 3 siblings. John, in Brazil on his mission, Lee and Jaclyn who live in Arizona and couldn't make it and Shauna and her family because of the same reason as Leea and Jacly. We sure missed you guys!
We went swimming, shopping, and stayed up late every night just talking. That didn't help with my girls camp hangover but we aren't going anywhere anytime soon so hopefully we can all catch up on some sleep. My boys were hammered.
On our way home we stopped in Twin Falls to see my cousin Becky and her kids who just recently moved there. It was fun to see them. Kimberly, Idaho is a very small town. I couldn't believe how redneck it really was. No offense Becky, we still love you. We saw their brand new home that they have built. It is a very nice home. We can't wait to come over and stay a weekend. We also took the boys to see the Twin Falls Templs. The open house is until the middle of August. We didn't have time to go in but we are going back on Friday with my family who got tickets for us. I think they will really enjoy that. Keaton keeps asking me questions about the temple. He is intrigued by the Angel Moroni on top.
Keep posted for more pictures to come. Here are some from our week in Utah.

(this was the water slide we brang up so the kids could play on it. It was a hit)

(my neice Emma, with the best bitter beer face)

Girls Camp


It has been awhile since I last posted and so much has happened this past week. I went to Girls Camp this year and I LOVED it! It was so much fun! I honestly do have the best calling in the world. The girls were great, most of them anyways. We had an action packed week. We had a great hike, one girl got heat exhaustion but made it back safely, movie night under the stars, "The Utlimate Gift." That was a great movie. I recommend it to everyone. Then we went waterskiing and tubing. That was a lot of fun. We just camped on the lake and it was easy access. The girls loved the water. Then our last day we played a great game of Ultimate Frisbee and then we ended a great camp white water rafting down the Payette River. It was so much fun.
The only bad thing I am suffering from my camp hangover is sleep. We honestly didn't got to bed until 2-3 am. and then be up by 7 to help get things moving again. We had a smore eating contest and I am proud to say I won with 7 smores in one night. It is no wonder I didn't sleep well that night. All that sugar kept me up. We had a great time and it was such a neat experience to get to know the girls better and honestly become best friends with some of our leaders. Thanks to everyone who came and we missed all of you who didn't make it. Next year will be here soon!


More pictures to come when I get a hold of all of them.

July 6, 2008

twenty-nine


I remember when I was in my teens thinking that 20 yrs. old was old. Now I am twenty-nine years old and I feel really old, but not really. This year my birthday was on a Sunday, fast Sunday if you will. Birthdays on a Sunday are pretty low key. But it was a great day. Our testimony meeting was incredible. I was so touched with all of the testimonies that were shared. It was really sweet to attend that meeting.
Afterwards we all took naps and then went to my parents for a fabulous dinner my mom put together. You would have thought it was Thanksgiving. Thanks mom for a great dinner. Then we had family over for cake and ice cream. It was so yummy!
Everyone was so generous with their gifts, I got a certificate for a pedicure and manicure, extra spending money, thoughtful cards from so many, a swimsuit and great gift cards. Thanks everyone, I have the best family ever!
I love being 29! I can't wait to see what this year has in store for me and my family.
Also, one other thing. Our Stake President has asked that then entire stake turn the t.v. off and all nintendo games. Cutting back completely from screen time for one month. We have the goal as a stake to read 500,000 pages. We are suppose to keep record of how many pages we read as individuals and as family. This is going to push us to be creative. It has been so nice to put a movie on for a short while to get them calmed down or to keep them distracted so I can get some work around the house done. Wish us luck!

I am off to Girls Camp tomorrow morning until Wednseday. Lance will be in charge of the boys until then. I think they will do great. They are going to love just having "dad" time. I will post it all when I get back.

July 5, 2008

4th of July


I love this time of year. The warm weather, the late summer night when the sun doesn't set until 10:30 p.m. and just being with family. This year was kind of relaxed. We didn't do much during the day. Lance has been studying really hard for this new job he will start in August, so I took the boys over to my parents home so he could study in peace. We just hung out and played with my parents. They love it over there. I also love being over there.
Later in the evening we had dinner and fireworks at our place. It was fun to have all of our extended family with us. Some went swimming and some stayed to relax. About 9:30-10 o'clock we started the fireworks. I remember when I was a little child thinking that the ones we bought at the firework stand were the best and nothing could beat them. Well I have realized over the years that they are all the same fireworks but just in different wrapping. I swear every firework we set off was the exact same. It kind of lost its effect once the big ones started all around us. I swear it would have been easier to put me on a lazy susan and spin me around in time to see all of them take off. We had some amazing shows put on. We stayed up until 11:30-mindnight to watch them.
Another great year. Thanks to all of you who came and contributed to our fun evening.



July 3, 2008

Twilight


So I finally found out about the Twilight Series. It has been the talk in our Young Womens and among the grown-ups too. I couldn't believe how much everyone was getting into it and telling me I had to read them. I bought the series yesterday and I must say I am pretty hooked on it. I didn't really think a story about vampires would be taht interesting but let me tell you IT IS! I recommend it to all of you who love to read. You won't want to stop.