The Crazy Craguns

A Childs Prayer

2009-10-28T11:11:00.001-07:00

Prayers can be so simple if only we could all remember that. This is Montana's prayer the other night.

" Are dear Heavenly Father, we thank thee for this day.

Please bless are family that we can be safe.

Thanks that Mark and Hillari can now have kids and are happy.

Thanks that we could come and live with them.

Please bless that we can have a good new life and that we can be happy.

Please bless that are family in Saipan will miss us.

Thank you for the roof over our head.

Please bless the missionaries in the name of Jesus Christ oh and sorry for everything I have done wrong in Utah. In the name of Jesus Christ, Amen."

By the way he has came a long ways and gives the best prayers he always makes us smile.

Being a Mom

2009-09-29T21:22:00.000-07:00

See wasn't he just meant to be a Dad! I love you Mark!

Okay so I thought I would share some of my thoughts. For those of you that read what I write know that I am not a very good writer. I just wanted to get some of my feelings out there and I am not a very good journal writer so I thought I would do it here. This new adventure in our life has been very interesting. It was funny how it all started. I was talking to some of the girls that were in Colorado with me this summer and we were telling each other a little bit about one another. They had asked if I had kids and of course I had to go through the spill of how we didn't have any and all of that stuff. I told them how it would really be bad if I was to get a call while I was in Colorado saying that someone had a child for me. Well the next day I got the call that there was a family in Saipan that had 3 kids for me. It is really weird how life works. While I was in Colorado it was all just a blurr. I didn't know really what to think and wondered if it was really happening. I was not home to prepare anything so it didn't quit seem real. Was I really going to get three kids? and how was I going to be able to do it? I still ask myself these same questions. Do I really have 3 kids and can I really do this? Everyday is a new day and I just have to remember that. Some days are really hard, okay I can't lie everyday is really hard. I am just now after almost 2 months feeling okay about this. I knew that being a mom was not going to be easy and so many people say to me, " See you always wanted to be a mom and it is not like it is on TV" It kind of makes me a little mad. I never thought it would be like it is on TV and I did always want to be a mom and still do. I don't regret any of the decisions that we have made. I am now getting to the point that I could imagine our life with out these three kids. Okay some days I can imagine it with out one of them. :) Just kidding. They are very fun kids and for the most part are pretty good. I share experiences with friends and family and come to find out they are just like any other kid. Yeah they do have extra emotional issues that we are dealing with but just like any other kid, they don't want to do their homework or their chores. They fight amongst each other and argue with what I say. I do love being a mom and I think it was worth the wait for these three kids. I can honestly say they were meant to be in our family. They have brought Mark and I closer together as a couple. They have filled an empty place in our Home. We do love them and everyday gets a little bit better. For the first month I was feeling like I may have had a little bit of a depression I don't know what you would call it but it was similar to post pardom, but I am now starting to figure it out. Thanks to all those out there that have let me cry or vent to them and thanks for not saying anything but just listening. I love being a Mom and am glad I have these three beautiful kids.

Baptisms for Miyuki and Montana

2009-09-28T19:25:00.001-07:00

This is Niyah taking a picture of herself I guess she may have felt a little left out.
Miyuki and Montana were baptized on the 19th. Mark baptized both of them. It ended up being a great day. The Missionaries forgot to get Montana's white cloths so we were scrambling the last minute to get him something to wear to be baptized in.

Montana thought that being baptized was a lot of fun. He thought it was a great day when he was baptized.

Miyuki wanted Elder Merrill to baptize her but I had to do some talking to her so that she would have Mark baptize her. Montana said that he wanted Uncle Brady to and that it would be better if Uncle Brady baptized him so that Mark didn't have to try and say their names. Montana Kini Funkagub Muna and Miyuki Denise Funkagub Muna. You can only imagine what Mark was afraid of saying.

Niyah's Birthday Cake

2009-09-27T09:41:00.000-07:00

These are just some pictures of Niyahs Birthday.

Niyah had her Birthday on August 23rd. She turned 7.

Update!!

2009-08-30T20:53:00.000-07:00

Well, We had a lot of fun in Guam with the kids. We really tried to keep them busy most of the time to take their minds off of the family which seemed to work for the most part. I really started to feel a lot better once we were in Guam. I didn't feel so guilty for taking them. They loved sleeping in the hotel they thought that was pretty neat. We tried to go to the beach but could only get them to swim one of the days in the ocean. They were scared because it was high tide. They said that it was to dangerous. That made us laugh because there were tons of people swimming but if you looked around you could tell that none of them were locals. They would have much rathered swim in the pool at the hotel. It has been fun to listen to them talk they have such a cute way of speaking I don't want it to change but I know that it will. They speak English very well but it is almost like a translated English. They also will through in words from chomoro every once in awhile and I don't know what they are talking about. The first time they did this we were in Guam and Niyah told me to umboe her. I had know idea what that meant and then we figured it out she wanted a piggy back ride. Another funny time was when we were swimming in the ocean and they kept telling us to watch out for the babaloty. We Mark was swimming around and touched one and it scared him because it started to move when we picked it up. We all laughed and so they started to tease Mark and I with this babaloty which was a sea cucumber. They also talk about their zorries which is their flip flops and slippers so they will call them slippers instead of flip flops. Well these are just a few of the funny things that they say. Guam was really pretty but rained the hole time we were there so that was no fun. But we just did things anyway. However, there when it rains it doesn't just rain, you are literally soaked from just running into a building, and you don't dry off because it is so humid there. Well we were glad to be headed home when it was time but I was dreading the plane ride home. We were lucky enough though to be put on business class for the two longer flights. Yeah for us. We have some really cute pictures of the kids on the plane that I will post.

Niyah sleeping on the plane. This is my favorite.

2009-08-25T14:56:00.001-07:00

Little bit of an update

2009-08-21T16:49:00.001-07:00

Well here is the story just a little at a time because I seem to not have much time. When I got home from Colorado I only had one day to prepare for a new family. This is when I thank my Heavenly Father for family. Mark and my families and friends did so much for us to help us get ready or at least the house ready. We flew out on a Thursday morning and arrived in Guam on Friday night. The total trip was about 23 hours. We did luck out though and on the long flight from LA to Japan we were put in business class. That was sweet!!! Mark and I spent a day in Guam before we went to Saipan to pick up the kids. We just hung out. We went to the beach and it started to poor and I mean poor. We later found out that we were there during their winter so naturally it rained a lot. It was still very warm though. We took a hike on a trail that said enter at your own risk and of course we had to enter. It was beautiful in Guam. We took a trolley around the area that we were in so that we could scope out things we wanted to do with the kids when we got them. We found out quick that it was very expensive to have a family. Sunday morning we flew to Saipan. On that flight we learned that we would be very lucky to make it off of the island with these three kids. I was talking to a lady who asked why we were coming to Saipan so being as excited that I was I told her that we were adopting three children. She then asked if they were Chommoro of course I told her yes. Wow was that a mistake. She was just about in tears and couldn't believe that I was taking 3 Chommoro's off of the island. When we landed Del Benson picked us up and took us to church he instructed us not to tell people why we were there. We noticed that he would tell some people why we were there, however the villagers or Chommoro people he did not tell. After church we drove around the island a little and then met Del at his house and he took us over to the children's home. It was amazing to see what they lived in. I can't even describe it. It was a very small home with just a few windows and some rooms just had dirt floors. This was probably the hardest experience that I ever had. When we got to the home there were seven children there and we were only taking 3. So not only did these children have to say goodbye to their parents they had to leave 4 of their brothers and sisters. There mother was an amazing lady you could just see how much she loved her children and how badly she wanted a better life for them. I can only hope and pray that I can make her proud of her children. After leaving the house we went back to Del's home for awhile and then back to the hotel. This was a hard night. These three beautiful children would just look out the balcony and tell me where their friends lived and what house was their aunties and that they weren't even able to say goodbye to them. Well to say the least I didn't sleep that night. I tossed and turned all night hoping that taking these children from their family was the right thing to do. I instantly loved them but I wasn't totally sure it was right. At about 3 in the morning I could hold my emotions in anymore, I had lost it. I called my mom just sobbing, I couldn't do it! I could take these kids from their family and if I did I wanted all 7 kids. I couldn't just take 3. What kind of a person was I to think this was even okay? All these thoughts were going through my head. Well morning came and it was time to go to the airport. The kids were hoping that their mom would be there to see them one last time but of course she wasn't and they were heart broken. They new so many people who worked in the airport and were asking them where they were going? Kyle the lawyer couldn't waite to get them off this island, he was very worried that we were going to run in to problems. Not anything legal but just with other Chommorow people. Well we made it to Guam and I started to feel better. To be continued.....

2009-08-21T16:45:00.001-07:00

2009-08-20T21:05:00.001-07:00

2009-08-20T20:42:00.000-07:00

Okay are you ready for an update? As you can see we have added 3 children to our family. They have been a great joy. I am not saying that we don't have our days but for the most part it is great. Miyuki is 9, Montana is 8, and Niyah is 6, but will be turning 7 on the Sunday. We love them very much. They miss their family in Guam but they are adjusting pretty will. Oh Montana says no he is not adjusting very well. Montana is excited for his first football game tomorrow with Mark. Are you ready for a picture overload?

It was a good day!!!

2009-07-18T15:01:00.000-07:00

This was a much needed visit! :)

Friday with Mark

2009-07-06T21:05:00.000-07:00

Well Friday we went to the Rockies game. It was a sold out game so we had to by tickets from a scalper. I did the most embarrassing thing too. We finally found someone that would sell us tickets for less then $50 dollars a piece and I just heard $30 dollars so when Mark handed him $60 I tried to take the money out of the guys hand because I thought Mark had given him to much money. But stupid me it was $30 a ticket. So to say the least I felt pretty dumb, but we laughed about it latter. It was a fun game, funner then I thought it would be.
This is at the Rockies game!!

Mark eating his hot dog!! We had to get a hot dog at the baseball game.

This makes us look like we had good seats.

This was the storm we hit as we drove into Denver. Mark was frustrated with me because I stopped the car and made him drive. I don't understand, I didn't want to drive in a foot of water and a gallon of water coming down every second. It was a crazy storm that lasted about 15min is all.

This was one of the street performers at the Pearl Street Mall in Boulder. It was a lot of fun.

Mark and I had a lot of fun this weekend. I didn't realize how homesick I was until Mark got here and then had to go home. I wanted to go home too. Only 3 more weeks though I can do it!!! But then Life REally Begins :) That is a whole different story in its self soon to come!!

Update from Colorado!!

2009-06-28T18:58:00.000-07:00

Well I have been here for 2 weeks, only 41/2 left. It is going by faster then I thought. I am so excited for Mark to come out here on Thursday for a few days. So my day consistes of 8hrs of training and then about 4 to 5 hours of reading and paper writing almost every night. I have learned so much though I am not complaining. I sit in the classroom everyday looking at how nice it is outside and then I come home to this. It seems like every night it storms.

Here is my first paper for the training. Let me know what you think

2009-06-20T11:04:00.000-07:00

Absorbent Mind and Sensitive Periods

When a child is in the womb of its mother they are an embryo. The embryo is developing into a physical being. For this time the child’s needs are all taken care of by the mother. He is safe, warm, fed and always protected in the womb. Maria Montessori describes that from birth to nine months the child is like a “spiritual embryo”. While he needs to be fed, bathed, clothed, kept warm, and protected, spiritually the infant is developing who he is just like he developed his physical body in the womb. As an adult caring for the infants, understanding the needs of the child and how he is developing is important so that we do not become obstacles in the child’s life. To understand this process of development we learn about the “absorbent mind” and the “sensitive periods”.
“The ‘absorbent mind’ welcomes everything, puts its hopes in everything, accepts poverty equally with wealth, adopts any religion and the prejudices and habits of its countrymen, incarnating all in itself. This is a child!” (Maria Montessori) Maria Montessori uses the term “absorbent mind” to describe the child from birth to six years of age. At this time in a child’s life they are taking in, or absorbing, every element around them.
From birth to three years of age the child is in an unconscious absorbent mind. From three to six years of age the mind is in a conscious absorbent state. In the unconscious absorbent mind the child is truly like a sponge. Like a sponge a child at this age can not control what they are taking in. They are taking in their whole environment, it becomes who he is. “Before three the functions are being created: after three they develop.” (Montessori, the Absorbent Mind 166). In the conscious absorbent mind these children are refining the skills that he has previously been acquiring. I think of this as a child of two years of age, using their index finger and thumb to bead a string, a five year old is then refining this skill by holding a pencil and writing. The child is perfecting the skills that he has taken in, becoming more familiar and comfortable with his self.
During the stages of development Maria Montessori describes “sensitive periods” that the children have. If these sensitive periods are missed it is harder for the child to develop those skills. “A Sensitive Period is a special time in a young child’s life when he easily incorporates a particular ability into his schema if allowed to practice it exhaustively. The period is of short duration and intense in its focus. The apex of a sensitive period is usually for one acquisition at a time. Sensitive Periods are referred to by some as Critical Periods or Windows of Opportunity”.(P. Donohue Shortridge) From birth to six years of age there are three sensitive periods, movement, language and order.
From birth to three years the child is developing basic skills of movement. First he moves randomly and then as he discovers more he moves purposefully. He discovers the hand, that it can reach and touch things. He also discovers walking, an adult walks to reach a particular goal, and an infant walks to explore his surroundings. From the ages of three to six they are refining these skills of gross motor, fine motor, and elaborate movements. As a newborn a child is not able to reach for an object and obtain that object. However, a five year old can reach for an object under the chair, in the dark or even if that object is moving. The five year old has developed and perfected the skill of movement.
The sensitive period of order includes external order and internal order. External order is what happens outside of the child. External order includes: Spatial, which is the order of things in space (how the furniture is arranged around the child), Temporal, which is the order of events ( such as we have snack and then we go outside), Sensory, which is the order of qualities of the objects (the color and texture of objects around them), Social and moral which is the order of relationships and peoples role in their lives (what mom does, what dad does, and what the teacher does), Natural or cosmic: which is light verses dark, cold verses warm, night verses day, weather, and seasons. The internal order is what is inside the child. This is the connection of the body to outer order and the connection of the body parts to each other. From three to six the sense of order is refined. You will begin to see more complex activities that have more intense truth and reality. They refine the senses of perceptual discrimination and social grace.
In the sensitive period of language the child from birth to three goes from silence to speaking. From his environment he observes many elements of language; auditory: listening to speech, visual: watching speakers, motor: movements that go with words, music: musical aspect of language. The child from the ages of three to six move from speaking to thinking. He has the complete use of language, and now is able to use language as a tool for socialization. The child is now more susceptible to adult influences and enriched vocabulary. He begins the process of writing, drawing and reading. He is trying to increase his vocabulary and loves music. I have seen this take place as I watch newborns watch every little move of those around them. They study the way we move our mouths while we speak and the sounds coming out. Then they grow to be that three and four year old that you can not keep quite. (Melody Patton, “The Sensitive Periods” lecture 6/19/09)
The child has gone from the womb of the mother, being totally dependent on the mother for every need, to jumping, running, reading, writing, and singing. They are in total control of their own body. They are happy and free to move about in their own way.

Colorado

2009-06-18T20:11:00.001-07:00

Ride with Mark on the Harley

2009-06-18T20:06:00.001-07:00

Western Nationals at Lagoon 2009

2009-06-18T20:03:00.001-07:00

Double Date with Karlie and Chris

2009-06-18T19:41:00.001-07:00

a month has passed

2009-06-07T21:00:00.000-07:00

Okay so it's been almost a month. Where does life go? School is out and my crazy summer is about to begin. I am done teaching for the school year, however I think I have the craziest summer ever. I leave on Sunday for 6 weeks to Boulder Colorado for a training to be the lead teacher at the school I work for. I will be teaching the toddler class I am really excited and scared all at the same time. I will be missing a lot this summer,(my best friends wedding :(, swimming with my nieces and nephews, 4-h shows and motorcycle rides) but I think I will really grow as a person. I don't know anyone there and I am staying with complete strangers. So wish me luck. I will try to keep everyone updated on my blog but I don't know how much time I will have. They say that this training is pretty intense.

Saterday Night Dinner

2009-05-11T19:43:00.001-07:00

We went to eat at Tagerts with Marks friends on Saterday night. We waited for over an hour for a seat but with the company that we were with it wasn't too bad. Thanks everyone for the great night.

Mom, Genie, Grandma Rock and Grandma Zimmerman I love you!!!!

2009-05-11T19:33:00.000-07:00

Mom You've given me so much,

Love from your heartand the warmth of your touch.

The gift of life and you're a friend to me.

We have a very Special Bondwhich only comes from God... I'm sure you agree.

As a child I would say Mommy I Love You,

Now you're my Mother so dearI

love you even morewith each and every new year.

If I could had chosen, I would have picked no other.

Than for you...to be my lifelong friend

and Precious Mother.

Update!!! Were did last month go?

2009-05-04T19:46:00.000-07:00

Well, it has been awhile sense I have posted. I have had an interesting month. I am now filling like things are back to normal. Mark and I had a fun weekend. On Friday, we finished our bathrooms that we have been remodeling. We both took one to finish and for some reason all of my accessories ended up down in Marks bathroom, so we had to buy new ones for mine. Saturday, we went to a sale at the Harley store. Mark was in heaven and took up some really good deals. Later that night we went and watched Wolverine, I loved it.

On Sunday after church, we went up to Dustin's Graduation Party. Of course we road the Motorcycle. Knowing that it looked like rain we were only going to stay for a little while. Well Mark thinking he was taking an allergy pill took a benedrill that totally knocked him out. So we stayed for several hours. Well, as we were driving home Mark decided to take the back road instead of the freeway, which ended up being a good thing. As we hit about the Mt Green church it started to hail ( and boy did that hurt). So we pulled over and waited out the storm for about 40 min. Lets just say by the time we got home we were soaked but laughing pretty hard. We had a fun day. What an adventure!!!

One Bad Day

2009-04-16T18:47:00.000-07:00

okay so have you ever had one of those days? Well today was mine. I woke up with a great attitude I even posted the quote on face book "The day is new we should all be happy. lets see what we can do for someone today. Even if it is just share a smile." Well I have to say i shared a lot of smiles that was for sure. I was at hinds quick stop filling up on gas. I put the gas nozzle in my gas tank and went inside to by me a sandwich. Well I got back in my car and drove off. Yes, I forgot that the gas nozzle was still in my car. Everyone just laughed at me and Sandy just told me to make sure I put my gas cap back on. Needless to say I was quite embarrassed. Well that was not the end of it. Latter I was some hair appointments at my house so I had been cutting hair. Well my little niece Kaylee wanted her hair cut too. I told her she needed to call her mom. Well, when I was on the phone with Jessica I was playing with Kaylee's hair and this is what I found. I am a terrible aunt. So just a warning "Don't send your kids to my house, bad things happen. (Just ask Trey Cragun, that is a story in its self) So here is my bad day!

I am the coolest wife ever. Look at Marks new toy!

2009-04-06T20:51:00.000-07:00

okay so I think I am the coolest wife ever. Look at Marks new toy. I just talked my husband into buying this Harley. We scored big, practically stole it from the guy. I am so excited. Open road here we come. See I really am the coolest wife. He almost let this one go.

Yes I am a little behind the times :)

2009-03-22T13:45:00.000-07:00

So, yesterday we met some friends in Salt Lake to go to dinner. Mark and I had to go to Park City to pick up his car ( that is another story in it's self) so on our way back we were going to go to dinner with some friends of ours. They had gone to see the Joseph Smith movie, so Mark and I had some time to kill. We went to the Gate way in Salt Lake. Yes, this was my first time and I loved it. We just walked around looking at different stores but we really had a lot of fun. There were some live bands so we stopped and listened to them. As our friends arrived we ate dinner at a Thai restaurant there and it was really good. I was pleasantly surprised, I am not big on trying new food but I really liked it. Later that evening we stayed at the Alaskan Inn. We gave our friends a night stay there for Christmas. They have done so much for us and they needed a night out so we went and stayed there. It was a fun night. Thanks Janean and Devin for being such good friends. You are the best.