For Now

I have been remiss on my blogging efforts - apologies to all. Our Internet reception is patchy up here since we don't have our antenna hooked up yet.

Things are gradually falling into place. We haven't gotten everything figured out yet, and we're still thinking about piracy in Tahiti, but grad school at BYU is looking more and more likely. Penn State has fallen out of the race, but SUNY ESF in Syracuse is back on the radar. BYU still has the clear lead with likely funding sources and two cooperative (though temporarily elusive) professors. Keep on praying for us!

As for the here and now, Aaron is working with his dad's business, North East Well Water. They basically take ultrasounds of the earth to find aquifers before people drill wells so they don't have to (literally) throw thousands of dollars down a dry hole. So if you know of anyone that needs a well east of the Mississippi, drop us a line. Aaron's just working on a per-job basis, so it's a little unpredictable. However, we have been working a little bit behind the scenes to get a little more marketing out on the Internet and things. I'm hoping to get some search engine optimization juju going on soon.

Aaron is also helping Eddie and Dad rebuild the sap house in anticipation of making maple syrup this year. Things are looking promising there. I am looking forward to a lot of pancakes in March...

As for me and myself, I have been attempting to keep Noah out of trouble, which seems to get harder as he gets older. He understands more, but his little hands want to explore more too. He gets into ABSOLUTELY EVERYTHING! He absolutely loves it here, from the cats on the front porch to his cousins to the snow, he's in hog heaven. He knows the word "hot" very well from our wood stove; thankfully he learned it without having to burn himself. He has also learned "deer" (go figure) and "teeth" and "turtle." I also got him to say "cheese" today. He knows "Jesus" really well too, which melts my heart.

As of Friday, I'll be a working woman again. I'm going to be an office assistant at a search engine optimization company in Schenectady. I'm not thrilled about the job title, but I am thrilled about the prospect of learning that industry. I think it will do great things for my writing and for North East Well Water also. I'm also writing online articles on liposuction, which you can view here. Not my passion in life, but it's a start.

That about sums it up for us, for now. More interesting stories and pictures once we get reliable Internet service for our desktop.

The Cell Phone

It's every baby's favorite toy. I've even known parents to charge old cell phones so they actually work when the kid plays with it. Noah has now figured out what big people do with the cell phone.

Hee Haw Farms

We went to Hee Haw Farms in Pleasant Grove with the family for FHE this week. Noah had a blast! It's a place akin to the VanDerWerken Pumpkin Patch for all you New Yorkers out there. We came away with some great ideas for the farm if we ever have a festival like that. And I think our family will have a corn box instead of a sand box whenever we get settled.

"That's the biggest pig I've ever seen in my life!" (I'm pretty sure that if I had a nickel for every time I heard that outside Leroy's pen on Monday, I'd be a rich woman.)

Aaron and Noah horsin' around...

"Me and Aunt Nat are goin' to the corn maze!"

"Me and Aunt Nat are lost in the corn maze..."

...still lost in the corn maze...Aaron and Blake and the kids actually found the exit. Nona, Poppa, and I cheated and took the short cut.

Horsey swings made of old tires.

Uncle Ben and Aunt Nat trying their hands at roping. Looks like our cousin Quinn is the only one in the family that can actually do that - even with a stationary target.

Noah and Morgan riding in the wagon. You can't see it in the picture, but Clayton is steering. Giddy up, Daddy!

The corn box is Noah's new favorite toy. He would cry loudly every time we tried to take him out. I guess he is a Sisson after all.


Noah playing in the pumpkins and gourds. (Aaron snapped this shot, and I think it looks professional. Yeah, he's pretty much awesome.)

Mommy and Noah.


Noah and Daddy (cautiously) feeding the goats. PS - their tongues are super long!


Noah and Daddy.

At the Park

We have a park a few blocks from our house, and thanks to my sister's generous gift of a camera, I snapped a few pictures of Noah last week. He's getting so big so fast!

Today he said "ball" and "more"; well, primative attempts of those words, but he's working on mimicking sounds, which is one step closer to getting him to say what he wants instead of whining it.

"Mooooooommmmm! I need a push!"

Through the tunnel...
Noah decided to sample some of the bark he found on the steps. Mmmm ... fiber ...

"Check out my choppers!" (He has six now - four on top and two on bottom)

Teeth ho!

At long last, my little munchkin has teeth! He cut five of them in a span of two weeks, so needless to say, things have been a little rough at our house. Although I think the worst of this particular spell has passed, as things are starting to go back to normal. I'll put up pictures when I find batteries to put in the camera my sister gave me.

School starts for Aaron at the end of the month. I just keep chanting to myself, "One more semester. One more semester." Everything after that point is one big question mark. We've discussed getting a job, going to grad school, flipping a house, and becoming pirates in Tahiti. So anything we've told anyone regarding our future plans is subject to change at any time and without notice. We'll blog as soon as we have things figured out.

In other news, I got a new job - yay! I'm going to be tutoring and babysitting a few kids. I'm still teaching couponing classes when they come around, so if you know of anyone that is interested in learning how to save lots of money on groceries or wants a cheap subscription to the Daily Herald, please send them my way.

Aaron has officially checked out for deer season. He got rained/sleeted/snowed/hailed out of opening morning, and he's seen lots of deer since then, but no bucks. I hope he gets one soon. The rest of the Sisson clan gets here in September for the elk hunt, so I hope he gets something before then, lest he be laughed off the mountain by his brothers.

New Job

After much thought and prayer, I have decided to quit my job to be at home with Noah more. I had a great time working for KLAS for the last 2+ years, and I'm bummed that I don't get to see my coworkers everyday anymore, but I think it will be good for our family.

I was blessed enough to find another job that will let me be at home with Noah during the day; I am now teaching couponing classes for the Daily Herald. I've been using their Savvy Shopper program to match coupons to sales for about 6 months, and it has helped me get some killer deals and beef up my food storage. For instance, today I got crab legs and fish for Aaron's Fathers' Day dinner. After a coupon and a rebate, I'll end up getting paid $4 to eat this seafood feast. Three weeks ago, I paid $83.53 for $271 worth of groceries. I've also gotten lots of free stuff like BBQ sauce, rice cakes, ketchup, donuts, and hot dogs. Given the crazy economy out there, I'm glad to be sharing ways to save money with people.

So if you or someone you know is interested in learning the art of couponing, shoot me an email (jmorgan14357 at yahoo dot com). The class is free, and it's as long or short as you want it to be. (And no, you don't have to be a genius or a stay-at-home mom to do this.) I do give information about subscribing to the Daily Herald, but I've always hated salesy people, so I don't EVER pressure anyone buy anything. For more about the program and what it entails, visit www.savvyshopperdeals.com.

The Gods are Angry

I'm not sure how, but it seems that I have angered the technology gods. In the last 6 months, my computer charger, 2 digital cameras, computer AC port, DVD player, truck, and Aaron's telemetry unit have all died or been severely injured. Even Aaron's cell phone and GPS unit had a brush with death in a creek up Nephi Canyon. I think I might have to sacrifice some old cell phone chargers on an alter or something to get my electronic life back, since those are the only things that haven't died yet.

So given the dismemberment of my computer charger and the comatose state of my digital cameras, my blogging capabilities are greatly impaired. However, as books without pictures have known to be entertaining, perhaps it's possible that people will still read my blog, even if I don't have cute pictures of my munchkin to put up.

Life in P-town is crazy as usual. Aaron is still chasing turkeys, and seems to be chasing a bear as well. He ran into one three times on Tuesday after trying to track a mortality signal. We think the bear ate the turkey—radio collar and all. Needless to say, Aaron is no longer tracking that particular radio signal, and his wife now insists that he carry his gun with him at all times.

Noah is growing like a weed—a very heavy weed. He's getting taller and now that he's learned to crawl, he's shedding a good deal of baby fat in exchange for muscle, making him very difficult to carry. I know I'll eventually take back any wish I had for him to walk, but it sure would be nice not to carry him. He can pull himself up on the furniture now, though he hasn't figured out how to get down yet (aside from crying until somebody picks him up). He walks really well while holding onto your fingers. I think we're probably only a month away from full-fledged walking.

As for me and my bad self, I am in the process of quitting my job. Yes, it is actually quite a process; though I suppose it's a compliment that my boss was dragging his feet in hiring a replacement for me. It looks like I'll be working until the end of June to tie up loose ends and train the new editor. In the meantime, I'm looking for freelance writing and editing work and any job that will let me work from home, bring Noah, or work early in the morning or late at night. So if anyone has any job leads, please send them my way.

The Noah Returns

"It's chow time!"

"Mmmmm...more please!"

"Okay - I ate my green beans. Do I get dessert?"

"This is where Mom sticks me after I get grub all over my face."

"Dad finally let me at the Cabelas' ads. Perfect for ripping..."

"Does this berka make me look fat?"

"Dad made my pajamas into a straightjacket."

Yeah, yeah, I know. It's been a while...

So here's my excuse for not posting, lame though it may be. Yes, the H is a peacock, but Aaron and I have redone the letters and they look so much cooler than they did, that we wanted to try to sell them on Etsy.com. So I wanted to take a really nice picture and I was going to post that on Etsy and the blog, but I never got around to it, so that's why I haven't posted yet. Lame, I know. Lamer still that I still haven't taken that picture yet. Oh well. Someday...

In the last month, a lot has happened. Aaron got a new job at a greenhouse measuring plants. Not exactly the most prestigious thing in the world, but he gets paid well. He's going elk hunting in Colorado with his brothers in the fall, which he thinks about and plans for every day. He's way excited since this is the first big hunting trip they've gone on together. He also took me out to Red Lobster this week on a date. That was the most fun we've had together in a long time. Their coconut shrimp defies description.

Noah has learned how to say consonants now, and he's practiced almost every sound on the IPA chart. His favorite syllables thus far are "blah blah blah" and "dada." I can't get him to say "mama" for the life of me. He still hasn't made the connection that the sounds mean anything yet. He slept for 10 hours the other night - hooray! Still no teeth and no crawling, but he's stayed up on his hands and knees a few times when I've put him there. Not much, but progress is progress.

As for me, I think I'll post my news later on since a little bit of it is time sensitive. I'll just leave you all intrigued... My family comes into town for spring break this week, and I am stoked to see my parents and my lil' bro and have lots of diet Coke and drag my hubbie to Gardner Mill, etc.

Here's a video of Noah's new talents.

Decorating the Nursery

So Aaron and I are finally getting around to decorating the nursery. We made these the other day, and we're taking a poll. What to you think the design on the H is supposed to be? Leave a comment and tell me what you think...

A few updates on our lives:

1) Aaron is waiting until next year to apply to grad school, since we'd have to get his application in within 2 weeks and he'd have no break between undergrad and grad school. So in other words, we'll be in P-town forever.

2) Noah has finally turned the corner and is feeling a little better. His fever has gone down considerably, though he's been really klutzy. Maybe he's just tired.

3) We went to Gram's memorial service yesterday. It was quite a nice tribute to her and a lovely day to spend with family. They talked a lot about how life was for her growing up - no running water, no electricity, two sets of clothes, and living out of their garden and off the land. It made me realize that we can make life great with so much less than we have - recession or not. We miss her a lot.

4) Training for my half marathon has been going well. My stamina is increasing nicely; still working on the strength aspect of things. I haven't been perfect in working out, but based on my progress, I should be on target to run my race on April 4th. Yahoo!

5) Team Monkey Spit is well on its way to intermural fame once again, this time in soccer. Thanks to Aaron's offensive and defensive prowess and his willingness to run his lungs out, as well as my two lucky assists to Blake, we're maintaining a healthy 1-0-1 record. Intermural Championship T-shirt, here we come!

And here are some more pictures of Noah, cuz he's cuter to look at than we are.

Torture and Tricks

Nothing spells torture for a little kid better than a trip to the D-O-C-T-O-R. Poor little Noah had his 6 month check-up today. He coincidentally decided to get sick just for the occasion, but there's not any medicine that's okay to give a 6-month old for a chest cold. He's had to endure Mom and Dad wiping his nose and using the dreaded nose vacuum on him several times a day. To add insult to injury, he had to get shots today, too. Luckily, he's a trooper and pretty easygoing, so hopefully he won't hate me forever.

On a brighter note, our highly trainable primate is developing well and does the following tricks:

-talks to himself and others in unintelligable babble
-chews on his toes
-rolls over from front to back
-grabs toys, hair, plates, paper, and kitchen utensils
-smiles and flirts with the ladies
-sits up without help
-leans forward and falls on his face
-eats solid foods (he seems particularly fond of squash)
-can pull all of the rings off of the rack-a-stack
-laughs in response to you laughing at him
-splashes in the tub with his legs
-plays peek-a-boo
-puts anything and everything into his mouth

We love you, Noah!

The Apple Doesn't Fall Far From the Tree

Like father...

...like son. This is Noah and Bucky, his new favorite toy (much to Aaron's delight). Thanks, Aunt Melanie!

Catch-Up Post #3: Christmas Strikes Back

More Christmas pictures...

"My auntie's cooler than your auntie..."

Check out those cheeks!

Nonna introduced Noah to all sorts of fun things over Christmas.

Mikey, I think he likes it!

Okay, Poppa, be honest. Which of your grandkids is cuter?

He got the double chin from the whipped cream, I think.

Zoe trying out the drums.

Catch-Up Post #2: The Sequel

Here are some photos from Christmas. We spent the holidays with my parents in Oklahoma. It was great to have the entire Morgan family there.



Santa brought Zoe some drums that light up and play music. I wish they made toys that cool when I was a kid! Ryan is helping Z get the hang of things. He is also wearing Natalie's high school sweatshirt. He wore it for most of the break, which I thought was hilarious.

Nat checking out her stocking loot.

Ben, though doubtlessly the first one up Christmas morning, is looking a little groggy still...

"Hey Dad, what's this for?"

The Morgans and my cousin Elder Miller. He was coincidentally serving in Tulsa during Christmas, so we stopped by his apartment with some Christmas goodies and familiar faces.

Catch-Up Posts

I kidnapped the SAN disk out of my parents' camera, so I think I'll take the opportunity to plug the holes I've left by my lack of blog posts.

Remember how I couldn't find my family in all the blessing pictures of Noah and Zoe? I found them!

Nonna and Poppa with the munchkins. The babies were so tiny back then!

Holly and Zoe.

Two little happy families :-)

Baker cousins Reese, Hayzen, and Adrie. Actually they're my first cousins once removed, but who's counting?

The Kesler clan. Except Nicole, who was in NY at the time. She is excused from this photo.

Grandpa Baker and his wife Jane meeting my father-in-law.

My mother-in-law (foreground) and grandmother-in-law (background). Is that even a real relation? Grandmother-in-law?

Baby Z. Busy, as usual.