Zack Thinks He's Mastered Feeding Himself . . .

These shots were examples of our little Mr. Man feeding himself back in November. What a funny little guy, he was insistent that he do it himself, but I'm pretty sure he got more on himself than IN himself.










I am blessed in this precious life,

Trip to Utah and Zacky's first Thanksgiving

Ben and I went out to Utah for our Zacky's first Thanksgiving. We went to grandpa and grandma Durney's house for the feast and of course it was nice to see so much family. Zack of course was happy as a clown and everyone absolutely loved him. ( why wouldn't they?) I was able to share with Ben's family our family story about the first Thanksgiving and we sang "Because I Have Been Giving Much." (my favorite hymn) After we all ate we just chatted with each other and had fun.

The Saturday following Thanksgiving was the big BYU vs the U game. Ben's parents had tickets for the game and his sweet mom gave up her ticket so Ben and his Dad could have a little male bonding time. . . SO my lucky Ben got to go to the game. While the men were bonding at the game and tailgate party, Ben's sisters, mom and I (Zack too of course) went out to lunch and indulged ourselves with pedicures. After all that indulgence we went to Uncle Dean and Aunt Tonis' house to watch the game. The game went into over time But at the end BYU won 26 to 23!!! It was a perfectly fun way to end the afternoon.

On Monday my wee little family popped over to visit my high school alma mater -- Liahona Academy. It was wonderful to visit with and see the Degraffs again and be able to introduce my handsome, sweet husband Ben and the joy of my life, Zack! I was invited to audit one of Br. DeGraff's classes. We laughed so much and Ben was able to witness what wonderful educators the DeGraffs were and the type of education I received at that school.

A Long Year

Today is the one year anniversary of Duane's passing. My sister and the kids have made it through all of the firsts. Not to say it would get any easier but at least all of the firsts are over with.

Duane was a good, kind, hard worker etc. whom was loved and respected by so many people. Becky and Duane had one of those rare marriages that they were always looking like that they were falling in love, they were newlyweds or still on their honeymoon.

Last week, while Ben was in the hospital, I took over the after-school/dinner duty with Becky's kids. I went up to Becky's room to help make the bed and tidy things a bit and she has displayed a LARGE picture of Becky, Duane and Molly as a baby; I showed Zack the picture. Zacky let out this loud squeal, which I thought was for his Aunt Becky, but the fact was he completely ignored Becky and the baby and went straight for his Uncle Duane. He smothered Duane's image with kisses; it was so sweet. I know that he recognized his Uncle Duane and he wanted to give him a kiss. Duane loved babies and I am sure the two of them would've had a great relationship. In fact, I know they have this great love between the two of them.

We were so blessed to be a part of Duane's earthly journey, he really loved everyone, especially his family and he made all of our lives better just knowing him. As for me, I am glad all the firsts are over as well. There are so many memories that I will treasure all of my mortal life about Duane. (Like giving me his jacket the day of my wedding, when I was so very cold.) I really miss my big brother today.

1st Halloween!!!

I love Halloween and to make it even more special it was Zack's first Halloween. I decided to have Zack be a monkey! (seriously, what else would I choose, a murloc? LOL) Not surprising, he was absolutely adorable in his costume!
Ben was the crocodile hunter who ventured to Africa to pick up a monkey. I was Storm from X-MEN. As Ben said it: he was the crocodile hunter who went to Africa to pick up a monkey and called up Storm to have clear weather for the entire trip.
We had our traditional Halloween dinner pizza and cheese bread from Nico's pizza and rootbeer to drink. The weather was on the warm side so we didn't build a fire in the fireplace but we did have some hot apple cider -- YUM YUM!!! My precious husband, Ben was so sweet and surprised me with a Halloween present. He got us two Halloween plates and mugs from Pfazltcraft and got our Zacky two Halloween cups.

Ben took Zack to a little bit of trick-or-treating -- he took him around our little cul-de-sac. When they got back home Zack did have a little bit of candy and he had a blast getting into his trick-or-treat bag. He inherited my old trick-or-treat bag that Duane made for me when I was only 9 years old.

Didn't Put the Pieces Together . . .

If my little monkey is pulling up on the furniture that he would do the same in his crib!

Time to lower that mattress!

Oh what little things can do!

The other day while I was starting dinner Zack was squealing with delight and laughing and I went over to see what it was and it was the connector toys. Just two of the links, he keep grabbing them and they kept rolling. He was having a blast.
Oh what little thing can entertain a baby.

Piano Buddies

One of the things I love about my dear husband is his love of music and his talents. He is very proficient on the piano and clarinet. Both Ben and I play the piano although Ben plays so much better then I do. Lately, Zack has shown a real interest in "playing the piano." He plays away and is quite proud and happy about it. (He does use enough strength to make them strike the strings on the piano.) What tickles me so much is that Zack even looks at the music when he "playing" the piano. Now lets hope he gets Ben's music ability rather then mine.

I'm In Love -- 'nuff Said!

The smile that wins my heart every single time. I am so blessed and grateful that Heavenly Father sent my Ben to Tulsa so that we could meet, fall in love and create this precious boy together. He is truly a happy, funny little guy.


Wearing my old Future Missionary tag. I hope and pray that we can instill in him a deep love of the Gospel of Jesus Christ and a sincere desire to serve the Lord by serving a mission!


His first biter biscuit! Yummy! Surprisingly he didn't make the mess I was forewarned about. However, we were not so lucky his 2nd time around.



What can I say, for a fella who's vocabulary is limited to mama, dada, baba and ear piercing squeals of delight, and other babblings, he sure has an way of expressing himself.

Fever and a Runny Nose

My Poor Little Man

I've been so incredibly blessed with a healthy baby, even with all the various flues and colds flying around this area. But today, those teeth finally did him in. He has a runny nose, red eyes and an elevated temp of 101.5. I didn't know why my normally extremely happy boy was so cranky and so clingy but then realized he felt warm! The picture is right after I put him down for a nap. I decided to change him out of his blue jean overalls and put on some warm, comfy jammies. I put him down and he rolled from side to side and then was scooting to grab his favorite monkey "Eddie." I picked Eddie up, tucked him into the corner Zacky always sleeps in and he rolled over to his tummy, put his arm around Eddie and immediately fell asleep.

Lions, Tigers and Bears Oh My! (And a few monkeys too!)

Recently, we decided that our little family needed a mini vacation, well instead of wandering off to distant cities or neighboring states, we decided to get a hotel room in our own fabulous area and toured Tulsa. One of the highlights of the staycation was our trip to the Tulsa Zoo -- it was so fun watching our own little monkey taking in their little monkeys! We even enjoyed simple things like eating pizza and watching cable tv in our hotel room. It may have seemed silly to some, but it was such a delightful adventure taking in Tulsa as a tourist. I love my family so much, from my #1 big monkey to my #1 baby monkey. I couldn't be more blessed to have those two fellas in my life.

A Blessing and a Blessing

When looking back at my short life, I can't recall ever having that overwhelming desire to be a Mom. My big sister, Becky was destined to be the mother of many children (and she is) because it was inherently a huge part of her soul. Me? I was content just being the spoiling, attentive aunt for a very long time . . . then I met, fell in love with and married my dearest husband and he changed my mind. So, we decided to start a family. After one failed pregnancy, which just broke my heart and was physically hard on me it took nearly a year to conceive my Zacky. Zacky started out a bit rough, I lost his twin and nearly lost him as well and as I look back now, I realize that it was all Heavenly Father's way of jump starting that maternal side of me.

Zackary Duane was so very welcomed into our family and indeed, into my heart. He has been that blessing that I was searching for and didn't know I needed all my mortal life. I love this boy so very much, I can't imagine my life without him now.On Easter, we gathered to name and bless our precious blessing. Ben's parents and brother traveled to Oklahoma from Sandy, Utah and Ben's Uncle Alan and family came over from Jenks. From my side, I had my sister Becky and her 7 children, my parents, of course and unbelievably, my non-member grandparents came!!! The blessing was so sweet, it was so wonderful to hear him bestowed the name of Zackary (a name I have loved since I was a tweener.) Duane (for my dearest brother-in-law whom we lost to colon cancer . . . a truly great man!) Ipson and to hear all the promises and possibilities that will be his if he continues a righteous path. I can't wait to see all that our Heavenly Father has in store for my boy.Zack was dressed in a beautiful hand-made blessing gown that his Great-grandma Ipson sent. (Thank you so much Grandma Durney, you are such a treasure in our lives.) In the circle stood Zack's: Daddy (my DH), Papa Pete Barnett, Great Uncle Alan Durney, Grandpa Larry Ipson, Bishop Anderson, Br. Mike McLea, Br. Bryan Dabney, Br. Randy Hill, Br. Tom O'Dell and my sweet nephew Ben Summers held the mike, so he could at least represent my brother-in-law Duane (his namesake) that had passed away during my pregnancy.

My America

I was thinking lately about what the different components or qualities make up my America, my country, the land that I am so passionate about.

In my America. . .

you have freedom in speech and religion, but we are mindful not to abuse that freedom.

you take a stand and fight for our freedoms and are always victorious.

there are no party lines, marxists, communists, socialists, only one nation that is indivisible in the pursuit of Life, Liberty and Happiness and protecting and defending the Constitution.

we know that we need to choose the right path, not just the easy one.

What happened to that America? Too many Americans are choosing the easy path; not voicing their fears, choices and opinions; feel they are entitled to free healthcare, housing, food, education, etc. instead of rolling up their sleeves and working for those items. We are entitled to Life, Liberty and the pursuit of happiness, not healthcare, housing, education and cheap cars.

America, we need to stand up for our rights and our beliefs. We need to defend and protect our Constitution. We need to stand together as one Nation under God. We must remember that all that we are and all that we have is because it has been bestowed upon us by a benevolent, loving Heavenly Father.

"Ya Gotta Have Friends!"

The most beautiful discovery true friends make is that they can grow separately without growing apart. ~Elisabeth Foley

I love that quote. I had the opportunity to visit with my dearest old friend Holly this past week. She married and moved to Missouri, her family lives here and so she is able to get back a couple times a year and then, we always get together. Holly, like me is a brand new Mommy, so this time when she traveled home, I had her over for lunch and to watch our babies interact.


Her precious daughter Annabelle is only 3 months, but is the sweetest thing.

We talked, laughed, shared secrets, ate and then talked and laughed all over again. Oh how I miss my dear friend, but feel so blessed that I had that afternoon with her.

Hiking in Paradise

This summer, we traveled to Utah and Idaho for a variety of occasions, one of them was the Ipson Family Campout, where we spent a few days with the ENTIRE Ipson clan up on Mt. T. One of the events was a hike -- it was breathtakingly beautiful. I certainly appreciate the majesty and beauty of the mountains. Zack was a regular trooper and I think enjoyed his "front row" seat with his sweet Daddy. How blessed we were to be able to spend more time with Ben's family and to be able to spend time in my favorite place on earth -- Mt. Timpanogas. Mt. T is paradise on earth.

Game Time or Zack's 1st BYU Game!

It's Zackary's first BYU football game. (which just so happened to be BYU vs. OU.) He experienced it through television (large-screen high definition) at his Great Uncle Alan's house. We were all excited to don our BYU apparel. Zack wore an old shirt of mine. It may be as long as a dress for him, but it was cute and it was BYU.


So the three of us headed to Alan's house to share this momentous event with their family (plus, they were the ones with the TV and the satellite connection).

The game started out excitingly enough, but after a while we started to get worried. BYU just kept making too many mistakes.



But we were greatly relieved when BYU made a come back and pulled it off! Zackary had already fallen asleep due to the lateness of the game, but Mommy and Daddy celebrated for him.
One more interesting note: On the TV they showed the reaction of Quarterback for BYU Max Hall to a missed field goal attempt by the other team near the end of the game. He was saying, "Oh, my gosh," or whatever it is they say in Provo (that is a quote from the ESPN people).

Do You KNOW Who I Am?

That's right, I am the Ma-ma. The Ma-ma-ma-ma-ma! Zack has been uttering my name for a couple of weeks now, but I had a witness to it when Mom took Zack and I to Wal-Mart with her on Wednesday. Mom's eyes popped open wide and smiled from ear to ear . . . LOL, just like Zack at the same moment.

That's right, I AM the Ma-ma, and you? You're NOT the Ma-ma!!!

MOBILITY!

Our life has become a little more interesting. Little Zackary has started to become mobile!

It started with learning to roll from his stomach to his back. That was exciting for him because he did not like to be stuck on his stomach. Then he also learned to go from the back to the stomach. This combination started allowing him to roll around.

He also discovered that he liked being on his stomach after all because he started being able to lift himself up higher. Along with lifting himself up, either the front end or the back end but not both at once yet, he started to be able to scoot around. This added ability allowed him to move around the room to different toys.

For instance here he is reaching for one of his new friends (of course another monkey)

This new position also gives him a whole new perspective on one of his favorite toys.

And even stretching things a bit farther as a true overachiever might, we make sure there is plenty of practice standing too. Of course he has to hold on to something (or usually have someone hold him), and what better way to hold onto something than with your mouth?!

All this new-found mobility is nice, but it is also still very hard. It is a lot of work just to get across the blanket to a new toy. The best way to get around is still by using Daddy.