"My House"

Hanna got a cardboard playhouse for Christmas from Uncle Adam. It is so cute, and you are supposed to color it which is Hanna's favorite thing. We decided to put it up for family home evening this week and we could all color, play in it. Well it opens up to a LOT bigger than I thought it was going to so we had to put it up in our living room. Hanna was so excited, and even Tucker got in on the action and has a few scribbles on the house as well.

Surprise! Hanna popping out the windows was a favorite pass time all evening.

Hanna getting ready to disappear inside.

Coloring the "birt."

Hanna would not take time to turn and smile for the camera.

This was right after Tucker picked up a crayon and colored in the corner. I can't believe I missed it with the camera.

A little daddy-daughter bonding time. I love this picture.

The house has become Hanna's favorite thing. When I told her it was time for bed, she ran and hid in her house closing the door behind her. Ten minutes after we tucked her in she was still calling out "my house, my house." She was not crying or throwing a fit, she was just calling out as calling for a cup of milk. When I woke her up the next morning I said "hi, good morning!" She sleepily replied "my house." We have played peek-a-boo and my little pony and countless other games in her house. Thank you Uncle Adam for providing our entertainment this week.

The Move

This last weekend was great but busy. We moved Dave's office out to the bunkhouse on the farm. And, we moved Tucker into his own room! Dave needed a space for his office that was quiet without so many distractions, namely Hanna and Tucker (and probably me too). He also needed an office that could just be his office. Before his office was also our storage room, Tucker's sort of room, and a guest bedroom if you could get in there. So now we have a storage shed, and Dave is in the bunkhouse. The bunkhouse is kind of like a studio apartment and we are hoping it will work out perfectly to have his office out there. We owe a huge thanks to Mike and Amy, Dave's parents, for letting Dave use it.


Tucker has been sleeping in the cradle that Dave made for me. It has been in the corner of our bedroom, and he is finally outgrowing it. We also wanted our room back, although I have loved having my baby so close to us for so long. Hanna slept in the cradle for nine months, and when Tucker came along people told me not to expect him to sleep there so long. Well they were right. Tucker will be nine months old in 10 days, so he did not quite make it.

This is Hanna sleeping in the cradle the day she came home from the hospital. 

This is the cradle all made up for Tucker.



Dave made me that cradle while I was pregnant with Hanna. I love it; it was a wonderful surprise. It is just one more thing that Dave did that was amazing and thoughtful. He is the greatest.


So now Tucker sleeps in a crib in his own room. The room is camping themed and Tucker has been sleeping great in there. He seems to sleep much more peacefully, and we do too.

Yes that is an actual stuffed pheasant that Koda found and Dave shot. It is their trophy and Koda gets to be called a real bird dog because he has a bird on the wall. I am not much for hunting trophies in your house but I love this bird. I think it is pretty and it works perfectly in this room.

We owe a huge thanks to my brother Paden for helping me move everything (Dave just had shoulder surgery). Also thanks to my parents for letting us use the crib and dresser that all my siblings used as babies, and for many of the camping themed decorations.

Projects, Power, and Patience

-Projects-

Two years ago when we moved into our house we decided that we hated the beige/gray color we had painted our living room and hallway, which make up most of the walls in our house. So I grabbed some of the stain we had left over from staining our trim and rubbed it on a small part of the wall to see if we like it. We did. I started applying it to the entire wall and we like it better and better. Well I got one wall and down on side of the hallway finished and then like many of my projects it got put aside. I was busy with work and Hanna, and then I was pregnant and could not be around the fumes, and I had little babies in the house that could not be around the fumes either. Are you following me? I didn't want to do it and found any and every excuse not to. I hate painting and anything related. Well this week something snapped. I decided that it was ridiculous, and it was time to finish. I put Hanna and Tucker down for a nap, closed their doors, opened windows, put on my gloves, and went to town. And guess what? I finished! It only took me three days during the kids' nap time and I was done. I felt even more ridiculous for putting it off so long when I only took me about 5 hours total to finish. And it looks amazing. Here are a few pics:

I love it. It looks so much better than the original paint, and it looks a million times better than when it was part way done and just sitting. Mission accomplished and it feels good.

-Power-

In this instance I am referring to actual electrical power. I don't do power outages very well. I panic. I think about how limited it makes us, I worry that it will be off for days, I worry what the kids will need or want that I won't be able to give them, I panic about not being able to flush the toilet- Yuck!, and I get so bored so fast. In short, I fall apart. Dave teases me because we are really set up pretty good for a power outage, but I still freak. Well yesterday, just after Dave left for work, the power shut off. It was just me, my two kids, and our dopey but loving dog. I went into panic mode. I made warm bottles and got milk out for Hanna so I would not need to open the fridge for a while. I put the kids in warm clothes, and got out a flashlight for the bathroom. Then I realized how stupid I was being. My parents live just five miles away and their power was on a different circuit. I could just go to their house because odds are they would have power. Then I looked out at our diesel powered truck and realized that it had not been plugged in and there was not way it would start. Great. At this point Hanna was asking me to watch Curious George. I realized that I actually had a golden opportunity. I didn't have to vacuum or clean the bathrooms. I just had to play with my kids and wait for the power to come back on. We had the best morning! We played toys on the living room floor. When that got old I set Tucker up in his high chair with a graham cracker and Hanna and I went to town coloring. We colored all kinds a pictures in her care bear color book, and Tucker found a thousand different places on his body to mash slobbery crackers into. I am GRATEFUL that the power went out yesterday and allowed me to make that fun memory with my kids.

-Patience-

Patience is a virtue. Or so they say. I always thought that a virtue was a gift from God that we were just given. Either a virtue is something you have to work at and develop yourself, with God's help of course, or patience is not actually a virtue. I guess it is also possible that I just wasn't given that specific virtue, and I have to get it some other way. Regardless, I am still working on it. I was told that having kids would teach me patience, another lie. As far as I can tell becoming a parent has taught me how much patience I do not possess. But it is something that I am working on everyday.

These are somethings that I have found helpful:
-Every morning I pray for patience and understanding.
-I remind myself to try to find the root of the problem before becoming impatient (this one usually applies when Hanna is standing at my feet whining).
-I am trying to keep myself and my house organized so that I am not stressed about things not pertaining to the problem at hand.
-I take in all the good things, and there are countless good things, about being a mother and log them into my memory permanently.

              Here are just a few pics of the good things:

                                

   Tucker playing on the floor while gibbering away about Dadda. 

    

Both of the kids buried in the cart of groceries. It is hard to take them both grocery shopping, but we did it and I could still see every one's head (even though the picture does not show Tucker). Sometimes are harder than others but this day we had a lot of fun and even enjoyed the crazy looks we got from others.

Sleeping babies- there is nothing sweeter.

Hanna helping herself to Tucker's walker. At this point she had not thought of how she might get out.

-Keeping the TV off during the day. I was amazed at how much this helped my patience, but I no longer have to compete with the stupid thing for my kids' attention and I don't have to compete with the extra noise.

-One of the biggest helps for me this last two weeks has been a few blogs I have come across and been following. I believe these were an answer to my prayer. The first blog is for my cousin Trent. Trent has Sarcoma cancer and is literally fighting for his life right now. The blog is about him and his family, their fight, their faith, and their experiences. You can read their story here. Also any prayers on their behalf would be very much appreciated. The second blog is two people I went to high school with, but never really got to know. Their names are Patrick and Ashley. You may have heard their story, many have. A few summer's ago their beautiful daughter Preslee passed away after a tragic accident. The blog is about Preslee's fight for her life, her parent's grief when she was taken back to live with God, and their grief as they press forward with life. You can read their story here. These two families are amazing. Their spirit literally pours from my computer as I read. I am devastated by their trials and grief, but so uplifted by their thoughts, and testimonies. I have really been taught about what is important and not so important in life. At first I felt guilty that these families were having to go through these trials so that I could learn a lesson. Then I decided that God wanted to teach me things through them and if I didn't learn what He wanted me to learn that would be a greater insult. So thank you, Rasmussen's and Sullenger's, for being willing to share with me so that I might be a better wife, mother, and person.

Welcome to the Genetti Family Blog

My name is Brianna. I have been following many blogs for some time and decided it was time to join the blogging world. I am not a journalist or even a very creative writer by any means. But, I believe this will be a great way to document our lives. We have great lives and are very blessed, so I would like to share with all of you.

I will start with a breif introduction of our cast and crew,

This is Dave and I.

I will start with Dave. He is an amazing husband and father. I fell in love with his wonderful smile and his natural ability to make anyone around him smile. He the best husband in the world. Before I met him I could have only dreamed that such a man existed. He always makes sure that our family has everything we need and want before he ever thinks of himself. Dave works very hard to provide for our family. He is employed by a company out of Salt Lake that deals industrial equipment. He is the Idaho regional sales rep and is doing excellent. His favorite place in the world is on top of his horse. He is a great rider/trainer and loves every minute of it. Dave loves to play with our kids, and they learned at a very young age that Daddy is the fun parent. Aside from being a father and husband Dave is also the Young Mens' secretary at Church.

I am loving life being a wife and a mother. They are the hardest most amazing jobs I have ever had. I am a stay-at-home mom and I love that. There is nothing in this world that I would rather do. I am also a soon to be full time student at the University of Pheonix. I will be studying Accounting, and I am hoping to become a CPA. I also just got called to be an Achievement Day leading in our ward. I will be working with the 10 and 11 year olds at Church, and mostly just having tons of fun.

This is our sweet Hanna

Hanna was born in July of  '09. She has been a tiny spit fire from the very beginning. She was 6 weeks premature and came into this world at a whopping 3 lbs 13 oz and 17 inches long. She was TINY. But she never needed oxygen (other than once when she was screaming because they were giving her a bath) or any other treatment. She was in the NICU at EIRMC for nine days until she could eat and hold her body temperature. I think the scariest thing I have ever done is to bring home a 3 lb 12 oz baby (that was her weight on the day we brought her home). Hanna has been amazing us ever since. She is now two and a half years old and still a tiny spit fire. Hanna is a very determined little girl but she has a very tender heart. She is so SMART. At two and a half she can speak in full, clear sentences. She can count to 12 (random, I know), identify many shapes, letters, colors and almost any animal, spell her name, and she is beginning to color within the lines! She blows us away daily. Her favorite shows are Curious George and Strawberry Shortcake. Her favorite movie is Tangled, and she loves to play with her toys all day long.

This is our little Tucker Man

Tucker William was born 4/25/2011. He was also premature, and a tiny little fighter. At four weeks early he weight just 5 lbs exactly, and was 18 inches long. He was in the NICU for only four days at Mountain View Hospital. He quickly capture the hearts of all that worked with him at the hospital. He has been the sweetest little boy since the beginning. He is very social and will flirt with any girl in sight. Just like his daddy he is very handsome, and it doesn't take much time for him to win over the ladies. He has recently discovered his voice and he loves it. He gibbers constantly, occasionally throwing in the two words he knows: Dada and hi. I work will him on Momma every day but he just smiles at me. He is almost 9 months old now and still only wears 6-9 month clothes, but his sized never slows him down. He recently learned to army crawl and is making tracks all over our living room. He is sitting up on his own (until he gets distracted) and is working on actually crawling. He is always on the go and has to kick his legs even when you are holding him. It is so fun to watch him discover new things every day.

and we cannot forget Koda

Koda is our family dog. He is an English Setter and a great big furry sweet heart. I have never been around a dog that was so tender hearted. He was Dave's dog before I came along and is eight years old He loves to chase birds and anything else he finds on the farm, and run. He spends most of the day immitating a rug on our floor (as demonstrated by the picture) but also loves being outside and especially accompanying us on our horse rides in the mountains. He is great with the kids and Hanna especially loves him. She is always trying to boss him around and he just looks at us as if to say "do I have to?" We all love Koda; he is the best dog.

A few highlights about our family:

We were just sealed for time and all eternity in July of this year at the Rexburg Idaho LDS Temple. It was an amazing experience. I will never forget kneeling across that altar from Dave and promising to be his wife for eternity. After they sealed Dave and I to each other they brought in our children to be sealed to us. They were like little angels all dressed in white. I will post more about our experience with pictures soon.

We love to ride horses and both of our kids, as young as they are, have been on horses. Hanna loves it and loves horses. I think Tucker is still too young to understand and is mostly just along for the ride. We also love to go camping. We bought a camping trailer this last fall in hopes to take our kids and tour the mountains and country side around us. We were able to take the trailer out a few times before winter set in and we love it.

We have a house that Dave built. We love it. It is beautiful and we love the area in which we live. It is located on the family farm that Dave's dad, Mike, owns. We are working to decorate and put the finishing touches on the house, and this summer we will work on landscaping. Yuck. I love decorating as much as I hate landscaping. However, I am excited to see the end product. It will be completely worth it.

Our amazing family pictures were taken by my very talented cousin Karen Brown.