The Veals

Snow day!

2012-01-17T23:02:00.001-08:00

Well Oregon has kept up with the string of oddball weather. It's been snowing off and on for a few days. The kids had a blast playing outside! Ty liked it enough but Ruby loved it!!! Fun times!

There's an app for that...

2012-01-13T16:04:00.001-08:00

I must apologize. I am a horrible blogger. Luckily for all of us I recently found out that there's an app for that. One of my new year's goals was to update my blog at least once a month. So here it goes...

Welcome 2012!!!

Ruby is 18 months old!

2011-03-21T22:41:00.000-07:00

Ruby absolutely loves art. Markers, paint, crayons, playdough... if it's artsy she loves it.
She loves animals, babies, purses, and shoes... seriously such a girl!
Ruby likes to get us ready to go. Here she is dragging her coat around. Its actually funny how pushy she is when it's time to go bye-bye.
This Lady loves to play with the big kids, and she can totally keep up!
Honestly I am amazed by this Sassy lady everyday. I am not sure where she came from or how we ever lived without her. She is too smart for us and knows it! Ruby can say a few words, knows a few signs, and knows all of her important body parts.

Merry Christmas!!!

2010-12-28T22:50:00.000-08:00

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!!! I got an e-mail from blogger saying that it had been too long since my last post... so here we are.

The 2010 Veal Family newsletter.

Ruby turned 1 in September, she is quite the little pixie! Ruby was another early walker and loves to climb as high as she can get... Ruby loves to play with purses and almost always has one around her neck. She is very fashion forward and knows EXACTLY what she wants to wear and what she doesn't. We are still waiting for her hair to come in... We love our little Ruby so much, she has such a sweet spirit and is such an amiable lady. My nickname for her says everything about her, she is truly my "sassy lady"

Ty turned 3 in May. He is such a character, which any of you who follow me on facebook can attest to! The things that come out of his mouth truly astonish me everyday. Ty is such a boy, he loves anything "superhero". His favorite thing to do is play dress-up, and got quite a few "man" costumes for Christmas. I love this little man more than I can even say. He brightens my life everyday...

Aaron turned 33 in September. He is still working at FedEx, celebrated 10 years in July. He is taken a well deserved break from school right now. His big project was building a chicken coop. Aaron and I designed and built it together. It took about 2 weeks (because neither of us are terribly handy) and we now have 3 chickens in our backyard. I am so very thankful for this man. we celebrated 7 years of marriage in October. The time has truly flown, but I wouldn't want to be anywhere else. Aaron is such a great father and both kids love him so much.

I turned 27 in August. I am back in school, taking online classes when I can. I think I have finally decided on a career path, but we will see how it works out. I re-injured my eye and I am desperately trying to avoid a procedure called "corneal scraping", yes it is as painful as it sounds. In March I decided to switch Ruby to cloth diapers and am LOVING it!

All in all 2010 was a good year for us. We went to the beach a few times and went to La Grande to visit family, Aaron and I even got away by ourselves for our anniversary. I am looking forward to the future and can't wait to see what 2011 brings. I hope the new year is good to all of you as well.

Fun Photos...

2010-09-28T13:19:00.000-07:00

This photo is of Ty bunjee jumping at a birthday party 2 weeks ago, he went higher than all of the other kids, he was also the youngest! We also took a new family photo in the foam pit. That thing is like quicksand, it was so hard to get out of that pit! And the last photo? Well that one just cracks me up!

RUBY!

2010-09-28T13:02:00.000-07:00

Seriously, how can you not smile when you see this face?!? Ruby is such a breath of fresh air in our home! She just turned 1 and that makes me so sad :(

Ruby started walking about a month ago and is having so much fun being a "big lady" This girl is ALL GIRL! She loves babies and animals and says "oh" when she sees something cute. She knows how to use a phone appropriately and loves accessories.

She is adventurous, to a point. Ruby is very much a momma's girl and likes people more from my arms than from the floor, on her own.

She has this way of smiling so big that you can feel her soul reaching out that makes everyone love her.

TY

2010-09-28T12:40:00.000-07:00

I feel AWFUL!!! I have not updated this blog in WAY TOO LONG! Not that I have anything important to say but still... This little boy is truly a joy in our family. Watching the world through his eyes is a magical experience. The way that his thoughts come out of his mouth is HILARIOUS!

His favorite color is still orange and he loves to let everyone know that.

He is such a CRACK UP! I love his silly faces and "jokes"

Ty took swimming lessons this summer and he was AWESOME... of course. Swimming really helped Ty to come out of his shell, he is so much more adventurous now!

I love this little man so much.

On my mind... Mother's day...

2010-05-08T23:06:00.001-07:00

This year I have been thinking a lot about the evolution of Mother's Day in my own life. Please bear with me, I just need to get these thoughts written down and sent into the great cosmic void that is the internet.

When I was little Mother's day was a day where my siblings and I got to make something special for our mom, as well as breakfast and dinner. It wasn't until I was 8 that it began to mean something more. I don't know when my Mom got sick, but she did. What I do remember is hugging her in her mint green bathroom, in front of the sink, as she was packing. I still have flashbacks of that very moment. She knelt down, looked me straight in the eye, and told me that she was going to get better. I remember wondering if we would have another Mother's day of celebrating her and not remembering her. She of course pulled through, but that was a defining moment in my childhood. My Mom became an important person in my life, that sounds funny, but she became more than just my Mom.

Fast forward a few years, I am 22 and struggling to overcome infertility. Wondering if I will ever become a mom myself. Looking at friends that have children and becoming angry with myself for causing this. The worst part was knowing that because of my insecurities and fears as a teenager and the poor choices I made, I might never get to experience Mother's day. I might have robbed my husband of experiencing Father's day as well. I was so angry with myself, but I found help and I got 2 beautiful babies. After complications I am again facing infertility and may never bring another baby into my family, but I am at peace with that.

As a mother of both a son and a daughter I wonder... Can I raise my son to be a gentle but hard working honest man? Can I help to get him through tough teenaged years? Can I protect my sweet baby girl from the evils of the world? Can I raise her to be a confident woman when I myself am not one? Will my children ever have to face the possibility of losing a parent early in life? How can I protect them? All I can do is teach them right from wrong and that they are safe at home, that I love them more than my own life.

At the end of each day I pause and ask myself "Did I love them enough today?" Most days I can honestly say yes, the others I need to work on. I am truly thankful for the opportunity I have of being a mother. I still get teary eyed when Ty calls me "Mom" and when Ruby looks at me with that I-know-you-and-I-trust-you face. I love my husband and all that he does to support me as a wife and mother. I love my Heavenly Father for trusting me enough to care for these sweet spirits. I'm thankful for my Mom for being my friend and for keeping her promise of getting better.

Ty Marshall aka Brother Bear

Ruby Ray aka Sassy

My Babies!

2010-04-19T08:00:00.000-07:00

I realized that I haven't posted in quite awhile so I thought I'd post some new pics as well. Ruby is now 7 months old! She is just over 18 lbs, not quite as big as Ty was but still chunky! She is in the 90th percentile for weight and the 25th for height, short+fat=no modeling career for my little beauty ;) We discovered that she is tongue-tied, so now we have 2 minor surgeries to put this baby through, bummer.
Ruby is still a dedicated thumber, usually the right thumb but will switch to the left if the occasion calls for it. Ruby is truly an "Angel Baby", she is just so good and sweet. We get stopped ALL THE TIME by complete strangers complimenting her. The last time we were at the Zoo I actually kept track... 47 "she's so adorable"s etc. in just under 3 hours! I love it!!!
And my Ty is almost 3! How can I have an almost 3 year old?!? These pictures were taken at Ty's second favorite place in the world, the small park directly behind our house. I think we go everyday and there is never anyone else there, its great! His number 1 favorite place to go is my Mom's house, in case you were wondering.
This boy constantly amazes me with the things that come out of his mouth. I wish I could be in his head so badly, to see what goes on in there! He carries around latex gloves and a mask because he wants to be a doctor when he grows up. Today we are going to plant our garden, and he is very good at digging the holes.
Sometimes having 2 kids, and a husband who is always at work or school, is difficult but they love eachother SO MUCH! I love watching Ruby's face light up when Ty comes into the room. Or seeing Ty sit next to Ruby on the floor, just so he can be close.

Big news...

2010-02-16T13:22:00.001-08:00

We had our family pictures taken and here are my favorites of the kids. I'll post the family ones later. I made Ruby's tu-tu and headband, do you think its too much?
Here is my sweet Ruby. Her big news is that she loves to sit up and eat food, yay! She is so big and is so good at taking all of the abuse Ty dishes out in the name of love ;)
Now for the BIG NEWS... Ty is potty trained! for over a week now! He is even dry during nap and overnight. I am so proud of my mister. I love you Ty!

My littlest joy... Ruby Ray

2010-01-07T11:09:00.000-08:00

So, my good friend told me that I haven't posted enough pictures of Ruby. So here we go, friend who shall remain nameless, this post is for you!

Ruby is the sweetheart of our family, she is truly a joy! She is still sleeping through the night, but like to have mommy close at hand. Speaking of hands... Ruby is a thumb/finger sucker! It is so cute and she is always very happy when she can get her digits in her mouth.

Ruby is very quick to smile and loves looking at faces. She is very talkative and LOVES to laugh. As soon as she laughs, however, she gets the hiccups and then gets mad. Its quite the vicious cycle. Ruby still sneezes a lot, she also has half-sneezes that are very funny.

She loves to roll over and be on her tummy. She is also very close to being able to sit up. Ruby also loves jumping in her jumparoo.

Ty still loves being a big brother and is a tremendous helper. Aaron is wrapped around Ruby's little fingers. I am a big fan of headbands with big flowers or bows, they are so much fun to make and show off. Ruby gets TONS of compliments on them.

*I don't know why the photos are so unevenly spaced, but at least they are cute!*

Fall Fun

2009-10-25T19:02:00.000-07:00

We went to the farm! It was so much fun! This is my new favorite picture of Ty and Ruby, sitting in the pumpkin patch. Ty absolutely loved seeing all of the pumpkins, he kept trying to pick them up and ended up rolling them all over instead! For those who aren't privy to Ty, his favorite color is orange ;) We went with another family from church, the Ryders, who have 2 little boys. Ty loves them, he calls them "my boys". Here are a couple of pictures of the 3 of them.
Give me a break! It is hard to get a 3, 2, and 1 year old to sit nice for a picture!
We went through the corn maze (what an odd pastime) and ate fresh kettle corn, yum. And as you can tell from the pictures, it was a beautiful day! We didn't have to wear coats! I think it was the last nice day of the season, I'm so glad that we could enjoy it, outside, with great friends. Happy Fall!

Busy Month!

2009-10-24T12:30:00.000-07:00

Hi all! Its been a little bit of a crazy month, I'm so sorry that I haven't updated in so long! Ruby is over 5 weeks old now! I can't believe how quickly the time is passing. Ruby is such a blessing to our family. She is so sweet! She started rolling over last week, can support her weight when standing on her feet, and has been giving us the sweetest smiles!

She is doing everything early, just like her brother, which I am so bummed out by! I really wanted a paperweight baby, one that didn't do anything for months. I had a really hard time breast feeding, but that is going well now, you can tell by the formation of new rolls on Ruby :) And I am pretty much fully healed from my surgery, the recovery process from a planned c-section is so different from an emergency one!

They almost always end up sleeping head to head at naptime.

Ty is adjusting marvelously well. He loves his sister so much. He has changed one poopy diaper (he thought that was tons of fun) and he is great at getting things for me.

Welcome Ruby Ray!

2009-09-20T05:00:00.001-07:00

Here she is! Ruby Ray Veal was born at 12:38 pm on September 18th. She was 7 lbs even and 19 inches long, I got a small little girl! She was SO NOT a fan of being born! She was literally pushing and kicking back at the doctors during my whole surgery, they thought that was pretty funny!
She has long fingers and TINY feet! She might even be able to fit into newborn booties (unlike another child of mine)! She does have a cute little skin tag on her right ear that will need to be removed in a couple of months.
So far she is very alert and mellow, as long as she is getting what she wants. She already turns her head to look at sounds and loves to be sung to.
Here is the proud big brother! I *think* he loves her, he has already kissed every piece of her exposed skin and likes to put his ear by her face, because she makes "nice noises" He thought it was hilarious the way that I was feeding her, I think a little confused at first, but is ok with it now.

As for me... I have decided that a scheduled c-section is about 100% easier than an emergency-life-or-death one, thank goodness. I was up and showered less than 24 hours after going under! I did get really sick again, but we had anticipated this and I was on some heavy anti-nausea meds, I also had a reaction to one of my painkillers so I was on extra meds for that too. Well, I think thats it for now as my little squeaker is calling for me.

Cute Kid :)

2009-08-20T21:50:00.000-07:00

I love this kid! He is too much fun and I just had to share a bit of his goings-on :) I just love his sweet spirit and his love for life and family. I never imagined him to have such a big personality so young, silly mom I know.

So Ty comes downstairs and says "How you doin' Mom" I said that I'm good and asked him how he was and he said "I'm dreat!" He wore his tie all day and slept with it in his hand all night! You may also notice his orange "sip-sops", I don't threaten him with time-outs anymore, I threaten to put his beloved flip-flops in timeout, works pretty well too...

Ty loves the nursery rhyme "Do you know the Mussin Man?" and was calling this subway guy the Mussin Man for days. He thought that he was too cool for having met him!
Can you tell what Ty's favorite accessory is? He loves wearing ties! Such a strong fashion sense for a two year old, I'm in big trouble! Anyway, along with his ties comes his love for the color orange. He will pull out a bucket of anything, and in seconds have every single orange piece out in its own separate pile that he will carry around for hours.

I can see again!

2009-08-19T12:32:00.000-07:00

On Saturday night Ty hit me really hard with a coupon book... square on my eyeball! It hurt so bad!!! I ended up going to the eye doctor (that I used to work for and my mom still does). Turns out that Ty has REALLY good aim. He took off a good 1/4 of my cornea! I now have a bandage on my eye, that will be removed Friday, and I'm on a few different eye drops. Doctor said that normally he would prescribe painkillers BUT I'm pregnant so he couldn't. Apparently it is a pretty serious injury and will take a few months to fully recover. Too much fun! He is trying to get my cornea stable before I have Ruby (in 30 days!!!) because, apparently, my "new" cornea could just "fall off" putting me back at square one, aack!

Oh well, it makes for a great story and at least I can see again. And, no, I didn't take any pictures...#1 I couldn't even open my eye and #2 It was really gross!

Six years and counting...

2009-06-14T18:03:00.000-07:00

Exactly six years ago today Aaron and I spoke for the first time. He followed me around all day at church and I am so glad that he did. Our first conversation was about allergies (as we are both sufferers) and sunburns (I had a 2nd degree sunburn at the time and was in A LOT of pain). We only talked for about ten minutes after church that day, but it was enough for me to seek him out at FHE the next night where he asked me out for our first date.

I am so happy to be married to such a wonderful man and father. And I guess this means that our wedding anniversary is just under four months away!

On a side note, Aaron graduated from PSU yesterday with a double major. Ty and I are so proud of him!

Strawberry season is here!!!!

2009-06-03T20:27:00.000-07:00

So, I don't know why I forget every year, but Oregon Strawberries are so good! I just ate our first berry of the season. There is always one that gets ripe a few days before the rest. Mmmm, it was SO good. I can't wait for the rest of our fruit to ripen.

Oregon berries make our awful summers totally worth it :)

My baby is 2 today!

2009-05-31T10:32:00.000-07:00

Today is Ty Marshall's 2nd birthday. He is such a big boy! We had his party last night, and here his is posing on his new big boy bike...

Here is my favorite photo from the day he was born.

First, some things I expected from a 2 year old...

Tantrums

Being picky

Now some things I didn't expect...

How smart he is

How funny he is

Potty training already

Counting to ten

ALLERGIES!!!

Not sleeping through the night yet

I guess I really didn't know what to expect ;) I just need to say how much I love this little boy. I love how he fits into our family so well. I'm in awe of how much he has learned in his 2 short years. And even though he may drive me nuts sometimes, there is no other boy I could love as much as him, except his Daddy of course :)

You think you know a person...

2009-05-08T12:48:00.000-07:00

So Aaron and I have known each other for 6 years, as of next month, and have been married for over 5 and a half years. I just found out that he can't cross his fingers! That is just so funny to me!

Ty learned how to cross his fingers this week and loves to see who else can do it, he was kinda bummed that Dad couldn't :)

Ha ha ha, I guess you can learn something new about your spouse everyday.

Our Garden is in!

2009-05-08T12:41:00.000-07:00

This year we have expanded our garden by quite a bit. We still have our herbs, strawberries, raspberries, blueberries, pear tree, and apple tree. This year we have added; salad lettuce, spinach, beans, peas, broccoli, cucumbers, walla walla onions, green onions, tomatoes, peppers, watermelons. My ultimate goal is to have 1 month where we only buy meat, grains, and dairy at the store, we shall see :)

Anyway, Ty loves helping in our garden. His favorite chore is watering everything, which he is very good, nice and thorough ;)

So far everything is doing well, I can't believe that our lettuce is over 7 inches tall and the spinach is loving this sunny weather.

I'll let you know how well everything grows. If it does well we will add a lot more for next year!

Well I had my big ultrasound today and its a...

2009-05-05T12:47:00.000-07:00

GIRL!!! I am so totally excited! I finally get my little Ruby Ray! I have to get another ultrasound in 2 weeks, because I breed stubborn children, which will be so fun! Ruby wouldn't turn around, so we couldn't get a good look at her face or heart, which means I get to see my baby again :)

Just had to share! Have a great day!

Counting my blessings...

2009-03-31T14:00:00.000-07:00

You know that feeling you get after hearing a really bad story on the news, the one where you think "I'm so glad thats not me."

Well after hearing

some sad stories about a few different ladies my age I am so thankful for my life.

I am so thankful for my dependable Husband. I love that when I come home I know that he will be in his sweats wat

ching sports center. I love my little boy, while not totally easy, he is SO MUCH FUN! I love my boring pregnancy. Its so boring that my Doctor doesn't even need to see me every month.

I just love my stable, boring, uneventful life and am so thankful for it

everyday.

Rice pudding...

2009-03-22T16:15:00.000-07:00

A couple of people have asked for my recipe so here it is...

2 c cooked rice (not instant)

1 c 1% milk

1/2 c egg beaters (or other egg substitute)

1/4 stick butter

1/3 c sugar

1 tsp vanilla

cinnamon to taste

1/2 c raisins (optional)

Add butter to milk, warm until butter melts. Add rice. Stir in egg beaters, sugar, and vanilla. Add cinnamon and raisins. Bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes. Turn off oven. Let pudding set in oven until thick.

And, for the record, I am not a huge fan of rice pudding. I will eat a bit, if it is chocolate but thats a different recipe :)

Good news!

2009-03-22T16:11:00.000-07:00

Aaron's wrist is not torn!!! That means no surgery, no 3 months in a cast!!! We are so relieved. On the negative side, he does have a SEVERE deep bone bruise. The doctor also told us that Aaron's arm might never look "normal" like it used to. Oh well. He does need to start physical therapy again, 3 times a week, the doctor's specific words were, "work him hard."

Thank you for all of your positive thoughts.

I DID IT!!!

2009-03-17T12:33:00.000-07:00

So for the past almost 6 years Aaron has told me about his Grandma's rice pudding, the kind he ate as a kid. His voice always gets soft while he remembers those memories so fondly. So for the last 6 years I have been trying different recipes and none have turned out.

Until last night that is...

I made, for Aaron of course, the perfect rice pudding! He has talked about it nonstop and has eaten the whole batch!

I am so totally excited because I did something right!!!

Cross your fingers and say a prayer for us...

2009-03-16T11:34:00.000-07:00

Aaron is having an MRI done on his wrist this afternoon, so scary! His Doctors are just not happy with how he is healing (or not healing) and think that his wrist should have been much better by now. We are hoping to rule out a TFCC tear as that would mean surgery and a cast... Aaron is so very nervous but is trying to put on a brave face. I on the other hand did the stupid thing of googling his suspected injury. I am now terrified as to what he might need to go through, granted I can have 2 c-sections, I'm not sure how Aaron could deal with a surgery and more pt.

He Sleeps...

2009-02-23T22:36:00.000-08:00

Keep your fingers crossed and pray really hard for us because Ty slept 11 hours straight through last night. For the first time in his little life!!! I was so excited, I'm just really hoping this becomes our new habit :)

First Ultrasound... and a booboo :(

2009-02-14T11:05:00.000-08:00

And I'm not having twins!!! Don't get me wrong I would have been fine with twins but 1 will be so much easier :) Baby looks perfect and is measuring right on schedule. It was even moving around for us and that was so cute! My doctor is wonderful, as he was looking at my baby and pointing out the strong heartbeat he told me that he was sincerely happy for us and that this baby was truly a miracle.

Ty also had a nasty run-in with our table and almost needed stitches, that was fun. The only reason he didn't get stitched or stapled was that we would have had to knock him out completely and our doctor just didn't want to do that.

Ode to a good Fishy...

2009-02-07T13:40:00.000-08:00

Today it was discovered that Fishy had passed sometime in the night. He lived months longer than we thought he would (since we found out that Ty was a ninja in a former life as he grabbed said fish out of the tank.) So while Mommy cleaned the house Daddy and Ty went to pick out new Fishy. Ty was so excited to put new Fishy in his tank. Ty was even more excited to see old Fishy flushed down the toilet (is that what you are supposed to do? We couldn't find it in any of our parenting books. Haha.)

Aaron even admitted that having a pet fish wasn't as bad as he expected.

Also dead Fishy almost made pregnant Mommy lose it, it was SO gross, gag.

Good times and good luck new Fishy.

Good news all around...

2009-02-04T11:49:00.000-08:00

Yay! A new month, a new attitude, and a whole new outlook. Aaron went back to work on Monday and was happy to be busy again. Ty only woke up once last night (thank goodness). And I am proud to announce that I am expecting our second little monster! After 3 months of fertility treatments I got a positive pregnancy test!!! Our new little one will be arriving via repeat c-section in mid September. We are praying so fervently that this little one sticks, any extra prayers would be great :) I have my first appointment next Friday and I am totally sick and tired, yay!

This semester just might kill me...

2009-01-12T22:04:00.000-08:00

Okay, classes started last week and I am taking another online course. Its only the second week and I am so overwhelmed. It doesn't help that Ty has started in with the terrible two's early, or that we doubled my dosage or that Aaron is just sitting around not working, while I am still in charge of the kids and the house.

Ugh, is it March yet?

Aaron's Harrowing Experience...

2009-01-08T10:00:00.000-08:00

On Saturday, January 3rd Aaron was in a really bad accident at work. He was outside of his truck when truck started rolling, knocked him over, and pinned him underneath for about 15 minutes. I met him at the hospital where we found out the he, miraculously, was not broken. He did tear the ligaments in his wrist, sprained his back, and is very bruised.

We have a newfound testimony in the power and protection of the priesthood and garments.

2008-12-27T20:51:00.000-08:00

Ok fine, we will start a blog so that we can keep up with friends in various places. Let me quickly introduce ourselves as a refresher for anyone that we have not seen in a REALLY long time. Aaron 31, Stephanie 25, Ty 1.