For the LOVE . . .

I've been contemplating the meaning of make-up lately and why I even attempt wearing it. I HATE putting it on, and when I do put it on, it always looks blah or crappy. I've come to the conclusion the I don't like my finished product face because I don't were lipstick. I DOUBLE HATE it! Why? Because it comes off and I don't want to have to re-apply it 5 times a day (No offense to lipstick re-appliers, you're all better people than me). But I think the #1 reason I don't like lipstick is because when I kiss my husband, it gets on him. So, for the love of my husband I don't were lipstick!
On a side note, I haven't kissed my husband in 32 days and only 2 more till I get too!!! (I guess I don't have a good excuse for not wearing lipstick for the last 32 days.) The girls and I are driving down to Hurricane and Cory is driving up from Phoenix and we're spending the weekend at his Uncles house. Hooray for Dixie weather, Hooray for Mike and Sheila, and most of all Hooray for seeing CORY!
On an even more random side note, I found these old-ish pictures at Cory's Grandma's house.
A very young Cory and Rachel shoveling the snow in Logan in our Sunday clothes. It had to be sometime in the winter of 2003.The ONLY picture of my pregnant belly with Tessa. What a face! This was around 7 months.And these are from Summer 2009; the girls were trying on Grandpa Hulse's glasses and thought they were so funny. What a face, again! I promise I wasn't drunk. (I remember when Emory was a baby and Grandma Hulse would take off her glasses, Emory would get the saddest look and start crying. It was so funny that she couldn't recognize Grandma without her glasses!)

My baby . . .

My baby told me the other day, "I'm not a baby anymore!!!", but then proceeded to say "Hold you?" which means Hold me and snuggle on my lap with her Beebee.
She also turned 2 last week. We were feeling a little sad about it, because Cory wasn't able to make it home for the big day. So, we drove up to Logan last Friday to mix things up a bit. I did a fabric flower demo at Cory's Grandma's Super Friday that went really well. I had 17 ladies sign up and many of them made 3+ flower clips! We went to McDonald's (Tessa's choice) with some Grandmas, Grandpas, an Aunt, and two Uncles and I got to climb up into the play place, one of my favorite things to do! Tessa opened presents and stayed up way too late. On her birthday, we headed back home, napped, then went to Wingers with our Christiansen Family. Tessa decided to gather all the buckets for wing bones and modeled them for us.We finished up with Monkey Cake and Ice Cream back at home with Cory on the Webcam, and watched Snow White. (I got the Blu-Ray for $4.99; it was 19.99 at Toys-R-Us, I had a $10 coupon, and they gave me a $5 gift card on top of that!!)We love us some Lainer! She's a sassy as they come and we wouldn't have her any other way. The other day I accidentally left the bathroom door open and she said, "Oh, be careful Momma! Don't fall in." She makes me call her Pocahontas most of the time, and loves to torture Emory. Sisters know exactly what buttons to push, don't they?

More than I could ask for...

I have had the password to login to the blog now for quite some time, but I never really had a good reason to get on and post something since Rachel does such a great job keeping everyone informed. This morning I felt I needed to and let everyone know what an incredible woman my wife is. During my months away from home I am asked by almost everyone I meet how it is possible to be away and how we survive with two kids and medical school. My unwavering answer is always “I have the best wife that anyone could ask for.” During this last month in Cleveland I have had many days to count my blessings and to remember how lucky I am to have her and my two beautiful girls. I am constantly reminded how much I miss my best friend by the knot in my stomach when I hang up the phone after our calls. I know how much I miss her when sit down to dinner by myself and don’t have her there to talk to. I know how much I miss her when every song I hear reminds me of her (I posted one). What a remarkable blessing to know that I have married someone who I know makes me better, someone who works tirelessly to be a good mother and wife, and someone who is such a devoted daughter of our Heavenly Father. I can’t wait to come home so I can again feel complete! I love you Rach, you’re more than I could ask for!

A Researcher in the Family

I give Cory a LOT of flack for abandoning us for months at a time, and then when he is around, flack for spending too much time on the his phone and computer. But truly, he is so wonderful! I won't go into the details, I'll just say that it's always a fight with these girls to get some "Cory alone time". Last year he spent MANY hours working on getting a paper published with his friend Rob. Here it is in all it's HPV glory!
The Cover of the Magazine (Are we supposed to take this guy seriously with the chain and chest hair?):The Article:Don't feel bad if you didn't read it. I haven't! I just like the last page where it says his name and some of his credentials.

The Boat of Prophets and Layers

"The Boat of Prophets" by Emory Maughan (with help from her Dad, Cory)
Description: Wouldn't this be a true sight to see! Nephi, Noah, Noah's Wife and Baby Moses all cruisin' across the sea. In the midst of all sorts of undersea wild life, and not to mention that storm Heavenly Father's brewin'!
I love this girl! Emory is the drama, with a capitalo D, in our family. Always reading and creating and scheming. Last night, as we were buying our movie tickets for New Moon (YAY!) she tried to convince us that the werewolves wouldn't be too scary for her. I think she's watched a few too many trailers.And modeling the new fall trends, layering and mussled piggytails! (Dress shirt, 2 Jackets buttoned and zipped to the top, jeans, and jingling puppy slippers. P.S. That was my BYU Game Day sweater as a toddler!) I love this girl! As her squishy babyness fades away into an official 2 year old toddler I have to say I'm at peace. She just gets better and better everyday! My mom and I always look at each other with a look that says, "How the heck did she come up with that?"