Christmas Wishes

So, I never have my kids ask "Santa" for things, because I think that tends to make them think too much about what they want, instead of focusing on giving.

This year, however, I was having a hard time thinking of what to get for several family members, so for family home evening, I made a little questionnaire for each person to fill out.  It was actually really fun to read their responses.  Here are some of my favorites:

(Mallory) What household items would you like to receive as gifts?  A pig

(Jace) What are some weaknesses you would like to overcome? Sppellings

(Jace) If you had $100 to spend on yourself, what would you buy? "Knives..." What household items would you like to receive as gifts?  "Knives"

(Zach) What school/intellectual subjects interest you?  "About atoms, about germs."

All Courtney's answers just fit her perfectly.  They were organized, thoughtful lists.  I'm sure she'd already thought through all these things before.   (She has lots of "wants")  I thought it was cute that one of her answers to "one of her favorite snacks" was "kumquats" (along with Yummy Earth suckers, Doritos, & Sour Cream Bunny crackers)

(Andrew) If you had an afternoon with nothing else to do, what would you spend time doing? "Playing at a friend's house, eating at their house, and eating cookies" 

(Aliysa) What things make you feel pampered? "My own room, pajamas, gold, jetted tubs, servants, ice cream, money, and fuzzy socks."

Abby answered most of the questions I asked her.  I thought it was funny just to ask the questions just like they were written, and listen to her responses:  "What are your favorite snacks?" "Um, I like Odwalla bars, and I like raisins, and I like popcorn, and um, I like nuts, and I like peanut butter, and I like jam!  And I like honey, and I like crackers, and I like apples, and I like berries, and I like hot sauce!  And carrots, and I like bread."   What type of books do you like to read in your spare time? "Um, um, (pointing to the bookshelf) doze ones are my favowites." What are a few of your very favorite books?  "I like flowers."

 (Spencer)What are some weaknesses you want to overcome?  "Teasing, not putting stuff away." What would help you over come these? "Having to wash walls."

(Zach) What are your favorite snacks? "Raisins and Odwalla bars."

(Andrew) What hobbies would you like to pick up in the near future?  "I want to tackle the nacho man and get free nachos"  (It's been over 2 years since Spencer and Jace tackled the "nacho man" at one of Bob's football games!)

I was helping Zach fill his out, and I asked him: "What clothing items do you need or want?"  He looked kind of sheepish, then whispered really quietly:  "Unders" (then he giggled)

 (Andrew) What things make you feel pampered?  "Cuddling with you, you cuddling with me."

(Andrew) What talents would you like to develop? "Headstands"

(Jace) What things make you feel pampered? Breakfast in bed, soft beds, and uninterrupted time on the toilet.

(Bob) If someone were to make or sew some things for you, what items would you want them to make?  "A football uniform I could wear around on Saturdays with a special sewn little helmet I could wear with it."

Thanks for the response, Bob.  (I'm sooo tempted to actually make him one, and to insist that he actually wear it.)

Well, my shopping lists should be much easier now.

Update - football, scary library

This is from an e-mail update I sent out to our families recently:

Here goes my occasional (weekly) update e-mail.

I've updated a little on Bob, but to recap - he just finished football season, his team made it to the championship game and he had fun even though they lost.  He was in on tons of tackles as usual.  He absolutely loves it. 

Although the game was at 8pm, I decided at the last minute that we were ALL going.  So, I told everyone they had to be bundled a.s.a.p. (the game before this one had been bitterly cold!)  I made them put on thermals under their clothes, snow pants, coats, snow boots, beanies, gloves, and put handwarmers in their gloves or pockets. I was directing everyone & ordering them to hurry while feeding Taycie. 

Amidst the chaos, Andrew decided to go fix himself a snack.  He tried cutting an apple with a bread knife and sliced open his hand where the thumb meets the hand.  He, being the tough kid that he is, just went in and did first-aid on himself.  Then he came to me and proudly showed me the 7 bandaids wrapped all around his thumb, which were saturated with blood.  (If this would have been Zach, he would have passed out, I am sure)

I told Andrew I would have to remove the fabulous bandage job to check it out.  It could have used a stitch or two, but I decided there was no way we were going to miss this game, so we used super-glue instead, at which point he started feeling the pain.  He cried and fell asleep.  I was starting to wonder how on earth we were going to make it to the game, and I almost put the little ones to bed & assigned Courtney to babysit, but then I thought, "no way, this is Bob's last game". 

I had to wake poor Andrew up, bundle him up, and give him some pain killer for his hand. The thought crossed my mind at some point during the evening that when I go to school, I should find a competitive sport to play, and see how my tough football player husband would survive the experience of getting all the kids ready. 

We got to the game, only to find that there was NO parking available.  I had the kids all get out of the car (with about 20 blankets), and wait for me while I parked the car, and jogged back.  We had to pay to get into this game, and when the lady at the ticket office told me that she had to stamp all the kids hands, I think I might have given her a dirty look before telling all my children to pull their gloves off.  Anyone who has put gloves on little children will understand, I'm sure. 

Spencer had done a fabulous job of bundling himself up.  After getting all bundled up, he realized he wasn't wearing red (Bob's team color), so he put on a large red jacket over the top of his snow clothes.  He looked like a morbidly obese marshmallow man. 

All the bundling up proved to be over-doing it.  When we got to the game, it wasn't as cold as last time, and my kids were roasting.  They spent the rest of the game peeling off layers, which made them look like a rag-tag bunch.  I hadn't thought to make sure they were wearing matching, presentable clothes underneath!  And who would have thought to make sure their hair was done, when it would be covered by a snow hat? Experiences like this are good to make sure I don't fall into the sin of pride, I suppose.

Jace decided he was hungry during the game, so he and Spencer walked over to Little Caesar's Pizza and came back with 4 pizzas, crazy bread, and sauce.  Jace is very unselfish with his money.  If he has money, he will spend it on anyone.  He opened the first box, and Aliysa noticed many college students in the stands looking shocked when an entire pizza disppeared within seconds.  Everyone was warm, fed, and happy at this point.  Even Andrew, whose pain killer had kicked in.  Yeay!  We all cheered our favorite guy in the world on, and although we wished he could have won, I felt in the end that the lesson my kids learn by watching my husband deal with disappointment is one of the most important lessons they can learn.  Bob handles the ups and downs of life with the best attitude I've ever seen.  He's amazing. 

Now Bob is staying busy with homework, planning his speech for convocation (right, Bob, you're planning it?  Not waiting until the last moment?) anyway....he is also already in the planning stages for being on staff for a Boy Scout Cedar Badge course this summer.  Aliysa and Jace will both be attending Cedar Badge with him. 

Aliysa is super excited for all the snow (we have about 10 inches after a huge snowstorm today), although she's a bit nervous to be driving in the snow.  It will be good experience for her.  She has just finished up all her requirements for her Young Women medallion.  I also have been working through the new Personal Progress program, and I just need to finish up two projects.  We will be getting our medallions around the same time.  We've had fun working on this together. 

We just changed Aliysa from 5th hour seminary (2:30) to "Zero" hour seminary (7:30 am).  We'll see how she survives.  We're excited about the prospect of not having that in the middle of our day, and it should get us up and going early.  Aliysa's two friends Vanessa and Hannah decided to do this as well, so we still will carpool.  That makes it nice.

Jace is also taking seminary, at a private school for homeschooled students.  They meet just once a week, so seminary is also just on Monday mornings.  He enjoys that class. 

Today Jace was released as the first counselor in the Deacon's quorum presidency, and was called as first counselor in the Deacon's quorum presidency. :)  (New president)

Courtney is now in Young Women's, and she loves it.  She had a list of all the things that she could do when she turned 12.  One of them was "wear high heels".  I'm pretty sure that she has worn high-heels every day since she turned 12.  At one of Bob's football games, she wore high heels, but brought flat shoes in a shoe box "so she could run up and down the stadium steps."  Each time she came back down to where we were sitting, she would take off the flat shoes, put them in the shoe box, and replace them with her heels.  She is so happy to be growing up.  We are happy to see what a confident, talented, and wonderful girl she is growing up to be.

Spencer just won the headstand contest at gymnastics again.  This year, one of his friends with a competitive streak decided he would try to beat Spencer.  They stayed up until they were both shaking, and finally his friend fell down at 16 1/2 minutes.  Spencer stayed up for 22 minutes.  (Last year he stayed up for 30 minutes to everyone's amazement).  I don't know how he does it.  His face was puffy when he stood up, but he was smiling!  I wonder if the Jamba Juice gift card is worth the agony.  He seems to think it is. 

Jace was determined to beat Spencer's record, so his whole class gave up early.  They weren't even going to try to beat him.  Then, his arm popped out of joint (where it was dislocated last year), and he fell down at 2 1/2 minutes.  He was so disappointed.  But, he has done his physical therapy exercises for his elbow much more diligently ever since then.  Zach stayed up for 1 minute, 15 seconds, and Mallory stayed up for 1 minute, 25 seconds. 

Mallory loves being 8, and going to her twice-monthly Faith in God activity days.  She has a great leader who does such fun things with the girls.

Okay, this is funny.  I'm typing this after my kids are asleep. Andrew just walked past my room, went in the bathroom, stayed in there a while, then turned on the light before leaving the bathroom, and walked half-way up to the attic (his room has not been in the attic for over a year).  He laid down and fell asleep on the wooden stairs.  So, I went and got him, and took him to bed.  When I went in the bathroom to turn off the light, I saw a puddle right next to the toilet.  Right next to it.  Geesh.  If he's going to sleep walk, can't he at least move over a foot or so, and make it in the toilet? 

This seems to be a family trait lately.  The other night Bob and I were sitting on the bed, and Zach walks into our room, into our bathroom (at least they find the bathroom).  We heard him going to the bathroom, but it sounded a little strange...we looked over to see him standing next to the tub!  When he exited the bathroom, we were laughing, but managed to stop long enough to ask him, "aren't you going to flush?"  He looked at us...paused...walked back in the bathroom, and tried flushing the doorhandle.  Then he looked confused, and looked behind the door, gave up, and walked out of our room.  Still confused, he stumbled...up the attic stairs!  Bob went and got him turned around and back to his room.  Yes, we're mean to tease him about the flushing, but hey, when you realize you are going to have to clean the tub, you deserve a little fun. 

Abby...where to start.  She still talks almost unceasingly.   She is so, so, so darn cute.  I made the mistake of taking her to the library the other day.  We explained carefully how you have to be quiet in the library, but to no avail.  Sometimes she could be reduced to whispering (a small miracle), but she was so excited about the new experience and all the books, that being quiet didn't seem appropriate to her.  I'll have to tell about my experience of trying to get a library card and the "librarian from the dark abyss" (That's a nice name for her) some other time...or maybe I'll try to forgive and forget...

No, I'll just quickly give a synopsis. 
"The 100 billion steps to attempt to get a library card:

Drive to Idaho Falls Library.
Be told that since you live in Rigby, it would be cheaper to get a Ririe Library card ($30 vs. $60), which would allow you to also check out books from I.F. Library.
Wait a few months...to the despair of your children.
Finally go to the Ririe library - a room of books smaller than your family room.
Spend $30 on a Ririe library card with the belief that although you never want to return to Ririe library, you can now to go I.F. library.
Wait a month
Go back to the Idaho Falls Library...after a long day of gymnastics...with 9 children, and yes, you forgot the stroller.
Check out lots and lots of books.
Stand in line with excited children
Be told that the policy has just changed (Nov. 1st), and if you have a Ririe Library card, you can only check out 2 books.  TWO!
(No, it does not matter that you were told that you could use a Ririe Library card)
Decide (with persuasion from your children) to purchase a $60 I.F. library card.
Go upstairs to the other desk. 
Meet the librarian from the dark abyss...(she crawled out for a moment to wait on you, lucky!)
Be told that you need not only your driver's license, you also need mail addressed to you.
Go out to the car and look for mail.  Find registration and vehicle insurance with your address on it.
Take it to...her.
Be told that the "board" will only allow utility bills. Or unopened mail with postmarks.
Ask her if she can hold the books for you. 
Be told that policy has just changed, and the "board" will only allow you to put your books on hold for...1 hour....
(Luckily she is so strict...so I wasn't able to pull of my crime of going state-to-state to use a false identity to check out books...with my 9 children along.  She saw through the ruse.)
Ask what time they close.  Be told that they close at 6:00. 
Tell librarians that you will try to get back before they close.
Wheel the books back down to the children's library, and ask them to hold them...but only for an hour!
Drive home quickly, with a good discussion with your children about why government-run entities do not have to have customer service.  Discuss the benefit of competition in the private sector. 
Feed the baby. Tell the kids to make & eat dinner. 
Meet husband coming home. Drive quickly back to IF with him.
Get to the library with 2 minutes to spare.
Wait at ....her... desk for over 7 minutes.
Greet her cheerfully as she climbs out of the abyss again.
Be told that "the library closed at 6pm." 
Assure her you were there, waiting for her, before 6pm.
Watch as she narrows her eyes and tells you that...she doesn't give out library cards after 5:45.
Politely remind her that she didn't tell you that an hour ago.
Be told that "she can't remember to tell you everything, ma'am!"
(She will not be swayed...she knows a library card thief when she sees one, and she trusts no one!!!!!)
Feel like punching her.  Control yourself. 
Leave without a library card.
Drive home, thinking of all the things you wish you would have said. 

Well, I'm glad I could get that all off my chest. 
Cheerfully yours,
Tasha

Zach

I didn't start out planning to talk about each child, but it seems that they are taking turns, in order, being cute and funny.

Zach has never been a good sleeper.  He didn't sleep well as a baby, and now whenever he wakes up in the night, he flips all sorts of lights on, feels the need to come in my room and loudly announce the fact that he needs to use the bathroom, or has some dire problem that needs to be solved immediately.

You might all remember the episode where he swallowed a suction cup and thanks to Bob's ingenuity, was convinced that he coughed it up.  Then he dreamed that he swallowed a string a few nights later.

Well, this last week he was a bit restless again.  We had just gone to the library, and in the middle of the night he came into our room.  I asked him what was wrong and he flopped on the bed.  "Maybe this was a dream..." he began.   Then he continued in a worried voice, "But did you tell us we have to bury one of our library books?" 

A few nights later, he came in my room in a panic again.  "MOM!  I don't know how this happened....but one of my feet is heavier than the other one!"  I started into what I thought was a good logical, comforting explanation about how our feet can fall asleep, etc., when he stopped me abruptly by announcing: "I need to sleep in your bed."  Bob was still doing homework, so I told him he could sleep there "until Dad is done with homework". 

Maybe when Zach goes on his mission we will get to sleep through the night.  I hope his companions are tolerant.

Spotlight on Andrew

Yesterday Courtney and Mallory were sitting in my room talking with me, when we heard Andrew "singing" in the bathroom.  I put "singing" in quotation marks because only by using the furthest reaches of imagination could you call it singing.

He sits in there and screams songs at the top of his lungs, with little attention to tune or rhythm.  I don't know how he has avoided deafness, because it is deafening to us who are outside the bathroom.  The echos inside his sound room must be ear-splitting.

He does this every day.  Then he'll go to primary and sing songs in a sweet little normal voice.

Here's an excerpt from the song we heard yesterday:
"Oh, may I always listen...
...TO THE STILL SMALL VOICE!!!!..."

It was cute to see Mallory understand the humor of the situation and hear her ensuing giggles.

Little Andrew has a funny way of looking at life.  He's made me re-think all of my parenting philosophies.  We've always thought he was sort of quiet and shy (which he is), but we've realized a lot lately how deeply he thinks about things.  In a sort of bizarre way.  To illustrate, I'll share a conversation from Friday.  We had been at gymnastics all day and Andrew was telling me about his friend Preston. 

A:  "I was tackling Preston, and tackling him."
Me:  "Did he want to be tackled?"
A: "No."
Me:  ....(pause)..."Did you stop when you knew he didn't want to be tackled?"
A: "No."
Me:  "How did you know he didn't want you to tackle him?"
A: "Because he kept saying 'stop'".
Me:  ...?
A: "But he should have said a prayer to Heavenly Father.  He would have helped him.  Instead, he just kept saying 'stop', 'stop'"
Me: !!!

Needless to say, we had a little talk about manners and friendship skills.  After which, Andrew said "I should draw him a picture to tell him sorry."

My apologies to the Browning Family for the treatment of poor Preston.  Hopefully, Andrew's social skills will improve a bit from this experience.   It may be a process, however.  Today in Sacrament, after being fairly reverent, he unexpectedly slid off the bench, and reached out and flicked a teen-age boy in our ward right in the back.  Twice.  For no apparent reason.

(Bob leaned forward and told the kid "you just flick him right back!")

Isn't amazing how Heavenly Father reminds us to pray and learn by sending us children who we really need to pray about?  No user manuals with each child, or training sessions before having children.  I think we kind of naively enter parenting with an expectation that our children will behave well, act in a certain way, and be predictable.  We all have a lot to learn.  (Including Andrew)  Good thing we love these little kiddos so much.

"Abbyisms"

I know, I have neglected this blog forever.  Pictures and posts are coming soon! I've been only using my new Mac laptop, instead of my old laptop which still has all my pictures on it.  That's my excuse for not posting.  That and being super busy raising my kiddos.

Here's four favorites from Abby lately:
----
Abby: Mom, what is that?
Mom: It is called spinach.
Abby: What does it spin about?
Mom: It's just a vegetable called spinach.
Abby: Does it spin around in the soup and go up? (With accompanying hand motions)
----
Courtney (while tucking Abby in bed, we have a ritual of us putting lots of blankets on her): Do you have enough blankets, Abby, or do you want 3 more on?

Abby:  Just one. I'm not a moron.
----
Bob was laying on the bed, and Abby came up and started squeezing his bicep.
Abby: You're a Dad.
(Squeezing some more)
...You're a squishy Dad.
(Since then Bob has been lifting weights and recently put on 20 lbs for football season.  He's definitely not "squishy" now.)
----
Abby has a doll named Grace.  Grace is a huge part of our family.  We've all taken turns holding her, helping her "stop crying", changed her diapers, etc.  We've all had to look for her late at night before bed when she has been missing, etc.  I think it is cute how many times I've come in the room to see Jace sitting all by himself, holding Grace, because Abby gave him the job of watching her.  Jace is really cute with Abby, he'll even ask to hold Grace just because he thinks it is cute how happy this makes Abby.

When I nurse my Taycie Grace, Abby sits near me, and "nurses" Grace.  Often I will be talking and interacting with Taycie Grace, and I'll notice Abby mimicking me exactly with her Grace.  It's so cute! (And humbling) She'll always say things like: "Mom, are you holding your Taycie Grace?  I'm holding my Grace." Her poor little Grace is starting to look dingy, but I'm afraid to throw her in the washing machine, because I'm worried that she'll get ruined and that would be just like a death in the family.

Anyway, today Jace and Aliysa were being goofy, and making up rhyming phrases.
Jace said something about "mace", and Aliysa replied "which I handle with grace".  Abby glared in a startled way at her, and in an angry warning tone said "don't you put a hand on my Grace!"

Ah, we love this spunky little two-year old (although she often insists that she is three.  Just now I asked her how old she is, and she replied without a pause: "twenty-one")

Another of my kind

Hurrah!!!! We need more people like this in the world.
I can't believe my Mom and I didn't think of doing this first.  We've been on a "Great Typo Hunt" every day of our lives.  Proofreaders of the world, unite!

Read more here:
A Man, A Plan And A Sharpie: 'The Great Typo Hunt'
http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=129086941&sc=fb&cc=fp

Excerpt: 'The Great Typo Hunt'
Jeff Deck and Benjamin D. Herson
How to Change the World

June 8 — 10, 2007 (Hanover, NH)
The breezy summer afternoon beckoned to me, so I ambled outside. Maybe I'd seek out a hot dog in Davis Square. But fate intervened between me and that dog. Halfway to my destination, a large white and red object — appalling to any sensitive eye — froze me in my tracks!
no tresspassing.
The sign had been taunting passersby with that loathsome extra s for who knew how long. It hung on a wooden fence around a vacant lot next to a dentist's office. Sure, I'd noticed this sign before; dozens of walks to Davis Square had occasioned dozens of silent fist-shakings at this very spot. This time, though, the sign's offense struck deeper. How many spelling mistakes had I noticed over the years in shop windows, street signs, menus, billboards, and other public venues? Countless, I thought.
Not an enterance.
NYC Pizza and Pasta at it's best!
Cappuchino!
Pistashio!
Get palm reading's here!
To/too, their/there/they're, and your/ you're confusion, comma and apostrophe abuse, transpositions and omissions, and other sins against intelligibility too heinous to dwell on. Each one on its own amounted to naught but a needle of irritation thrusting into my tender hide. But together they constituted a larger problem, a social ill that cried out for justice.
For a champion, even.
I stared at that no tresspassing sign, and I wondered: Could I be the one? What if I were to step forward and do something? The glare from the extra s seemed to mock me. Sure, others before me had recognized that there was a problem afoot in modern English. Plenty of people had made much hay of ridiculing spelling and grammatical errors on late-night shows and in humor books and on websites weighted with snark. But: Who among them had ever bothered with actual corrective action? So far as I knew, not a soul. A lambent vision descended upon me, like the living wheels revealed unto Ezekiel. In it, I saw myself armed with Wite-Out and black marker, waging a campaign of holy destruction on spelling and grammatical mistakes. The picture widened to describe not just my neighborhood, not just the Boston area or even the august span of the Bay State, but the entire nation.
There was my answer — typo hunting was the good that I, Jeff Deck, was uniquely suited to visit upon society.
I would change the world, one typo correction at a time.
I turned back toward home, abandoning thoughts of hot dogs, and locked myself in my room, as typo-free a warren as one would expect. Typos might leap out from anywhere — were, in fact, everywhere. How should I go about this quest? And would I be alone in my fight, against the whole world? Then it all clicked into place, and the vision stuck. I already had one ally, the Sleipnir to my Odin: Callie, my car. That road trip I'd wanted to take! This would be the motivational engine that I'd been missing. I think I collapsed onto the bed, the force of revelation knocking me unconscious, the proverbial lightbulb blinding me with its incandescent flare. Of course, I had also missed lunch.
When I came to, I decided I should attempt another outing, but this one with much more purpose. I immediately bought a sizable wall map of the United States and tacked it over my bed. With the sunset casting an eerie glow through my apartment, I stood enraptured by the sheer span of the nation. So many tiny names, so many roads. Quite a profusion of territory over which to spread the gospel of good grammar — at least several thousand miles. I'd make a loop of the country's perimeter, since that seemed the best method for (a) seeing the most of this mammoth republic and (b) avoiding covering the same ground twice.
(Read the rest of the excerpt at the above link)

A Letter From Courtney

So, Courtney and Mallory are wearing the same size clothes.  Today this letter was given to me by Courtney:

Dear Mom,
The Reasons I Don't Want Mallory Wearing My Clothes Are:
*When I let her wear 1 thing she thinks its hers and wears it whenever she wants.
*She stains everything
*She never asks
*After she wears it, then you & others think its hers & put it in her pile, and when I ask her for it she says "No, 'cause mom put it in my pile, so its MINE!"
*You let her wear mine, but I can't wear hers
*She leaves it out & makes me put it away

I hope you understand,
     Courtney

P.S. What do you think? (Optional)
*
*
*
*
*
*

Hee hee.  So cute.  The funny thing is, Courtney and Mallory are best friends and I rarely ever see them having trouble getting along.  I didn't know this was such a problem.  Even funnier, they "delivered" the letter together to me.  :)

Good Quote

"Rewards result from the righteous use of the spiritual power belonging to the priesthood! And they are so great that they are almost beyond human comprehension. To those couples who bear and share that priesthood worthily and remain faithful to the law of the everlasting covenant of eternal marriage, enduring the congested years and trials of diapers and dishes, crowded kitchen and thin pocketbook, service in the Church, education and the burning of the midnight oil, the Lord makes this promise: “Ye shall come forth in the first resurrection; … and shall inherit thrones, kingdoms, principalities, and powers, dominions, … [and there] shall be a fulness and a continuation of the seeds forever and ever.” (D&C 132:19; italics added.)

-Russell M. Nelson, “Protect the Spiritual Power Line,” Ensign, Nov 1984

Falling In Love

We are all falling in love with this tiny little person

Taycie Grace Lamoreaux

I love:

 the smell of her breath, having her cuddle up next to me, the little sounds she makes, looking at her tiny feet, feeding her, spending time just looking at her.  I love how newborns stretch, with their little legs curled up, and their back arched.  I love the quiet time that I have had to rest and ponder how to be a good mother to all these sweet children.  I love the feeling that a new baby brings into our home - everyone wants to be kinder, more gentle, & loving.

The joys of family life just in this week have been worth the backaches and uncomfortableness of pregnancy, the strain on my body, the pain of labor, the noise and daily stresses of raising a large family. 

Wow, I don't have a picture of Bob holding Taycie. I'll have to get one soon! Bob is the most amazing husband and father in the world. He's just so understanding, kind, and loving. He handles the stress of school and running his IBC business along with having a new baby, helping out at home, doing his church calling, etc. He just takes it all in stride, and (unlike myself) doesn't seem stressed or have any nervous breakdowns. He handles my emotions, and gives me words of wisdom. He loves me. I mean really, truly loves me and accepts me no matter how undeserving I might be at the moment. He is everything a real man should be.

 

Abby is now a big sister!  I love hearing her say to Taycie:  "You are so beautiful, you are so beautiful!"

Andrew is fascinated by this little baby.  He's had the hardest time adjusting because he's so attached to me, but luckily it is summer, and he's also in love with the outdoors.

Zach loves to hold Taycie, and rub her soft little fuzzy head.  He did not like her dried umbillical cord, and he was SO relieved when it fell off.  Yesterday, he asked me while holding Taycie: "Mom, can big brothers kiss their baby sisters on the lips sometimes?"  So cute. 

Of course, Mallory is in heaven with yet another sibling to help out with.  She is now the middle child in our family.

Spencer has a calming influence on Taycie and can usually get her to fall asleep for me.  He'll sit quietly for as long as I will let him hold her.  What a lucky girl Taycie is to have four older brothers to watch over her, who love her so much!

 

Courtney is a very loving big sister.  She helped wash all the girl clothes when Bob called from the hospital (I had only washed the little boy clothes!) Courtney has been an amazing help by keeping the little ones in the family entertained, cared for, loved, and happy this week.  She is such a gentle, loving, and sweet influence in our family.

Jace has always loved babies so much.  He'll hold Taycie for a long time, and he always comments about how precious she is.  He adores her.  I know he'll be a wonderful father someday.

Here is the star that has kept our home and family together this week.  Really, there aren't words to express how proud and happy I am with how willing she is to help, and how talented and able she is.  Every day she leads the children in a "clean-up crew", she makes meals, and just happily helps out.  Bob has made me stay in bed, take lots of naps, and focus on recovering.  But then he has to go to school, and Aliysa gets to take up the slack.  She's amazing. 

It's crazy to me to look at her holding Taycie.  It really hasn't been that long since she was Taycie's size.  I always used to think it was funny how often adults would say that "time flies by so fast", but it really is true.

"They are idols of hearts and of household!

They are angels of God in disguise;

The sunlight still sleeps in their tresses,

His glory still gleams in their eyes;

These truants from home and from Heaven,

They have made me more gentle and mild;

And I know now how Jesus could liken

The kingdom of God to a child."

-Charles M. Dickinson

She's here!

We have a beautiful baby girl!  No name yet, because we all guessed this would be a boy. She was 8 lbs 13 oz, 21 3/4 inches long, chubby and adorable. Soft fuzzy hair, looks light brown but will probably be blonde hair.

It's been 2 hrs since her birth and she still hasn't closed her eyes, she just keeps looking around.  She is very alert.  She latched on immediately and nursed really well.  

Everything went so well with this birth.  I am just in awe of the whole process.  Once the pitocin got going, everything went pretty quickly & smoothly.  I was feeling quite a bit of pain at the end, I was surprised that it felt so uncomfortable.  The nurse checked me and said "oh, the baby is crowning!"  The doctor got here just in time to catch her.  I didn't even push!  Wow, what an amazing experience.

Well, we're going to look for baby names online.

At the hospital!

Well, we are here at Mtn. View Hospital.  We'll have a baby here soon!  After two nights of being awakened all night with contractions, and having painful contractions off and on all day, I finally went into labor last night (Saturday).  I knew in the evening that this was real labor, so we got the house straightened up, and laundry done, and got everyone to bed.  As soon as I settled down into bed, I started having long and hard contractions, although they never got close together.  I know I should be used to this routine by now, but I always keep thinking that someday I'll have a labor that progresses.

In the morning, things started slowing down, and we decided it was time to head to the hospital to get things going before I get too exhausted.

I have the most wonderful hubby who always seems to know what I need in labor, and we both decided that some pitocin and an epidural were in order this time.  I was only dilated to a 4 when we got here.

If this seems oddly written, well, hello, it's because I'm in labor.  :)

I'm going to take a nap.
We'll update soon with pictures of the new little one!

Overdue

The kitchen cupboards have been taken off, washed, painted, hinges and new handles replaced.

We're done with the taping, scraping, painting!

Barstools are painted.

Kitchen walls and trim are painted.

Everything taken out of kitchen cupboards and drawers, cupboards and drawers washed out.

Everything put back in the cupboards and drawers.

New valance, rug, & some decorations purchased (after searching millions of stores) and put up.

Disastrous attic cleaned & re-organized.

Downstairs laundry room (that had become a storage dumping ground) cleaned.

Each room in the house (that had fallen apart while working on the kitchen) cleaned up.

All bathrooms deep cleaned.

Everything vacuumed.

Van cleaned out & vacuumed.

Garage cleaned out.

Laundry all caught up.

Jacuzzi tub bleached, cleaned, and jets cleaned out.

Baby bassinet put up.

All baby clothes & carseat washed, dried, & ready to go.

The first round of Ultimate Idol was held last night...it was a success, although Bob thinks there was much room for improvement.

So, we're ready to have a baby!  C'mon contractions!

I have to say that I am in awe of all we have been blessed to accomplish this week.  It really is just a blessing, no other way to describe it.  Earlier this week I was in tears, just feeling like I had been crazy to attempt painting the kitchen.  I looked at all we had to do, and knew I just couldn't do it.  But I have been really trying to put my scripture study, prayer, & journal first thing in the morning, and I know that I've been blessed because of it.  Sometimes when life seems like it is just too much, prayer can really help us increase our capabilities.
 
We have been able to accomplish all of the above while Bob has been gone or busy every waking moment, plus well into the night on most nights.  Just this week we've had a Young Women's activity (which Aliysa had to bring cookies to), a Young Men's activity, Jace making tickets and flyers with two of his other quorum members at our home, Jace selling tickets for a scout camp fundraiser, cub scouts for Spencer, activity days for Courtney, piano lessons, voice lessons, my doctor appointment, two chiropractic appointments, a doctor appointment for Jace for a physical he needed for scout camp, Jace starting a summer job doing yard work for our neighbor, etc. etc. 

I want to apologize to all family and friends who I have neglected lately.  I'm really not trying to ignore anyone, but I have ignored the phone, e-mail, blogs, etc.  Our phone really rings almost every 15 minutes throughout the day, and I often don't even look at who is calling or listen to the message unless it is convenient.  I have decided I need to be better at answering it, and start being a part of everyone else's lives. 

I've wanted lately to just become a hermit, and live in the middle of some remote place with just my hubby and children.  As I've pondered why I feel this way, I realize that it is because I am just craving more family time.  I've been so busy and had so many places to run around, that I haven't had much time at all with my little ones.  I don't want to neglect them.  I want to spend more time reading and playing with them, doing fun preschool activities and enjoying life.  I want to spend time cooking yummy meals instead of having everyone grab something quick as they run out the door. I'm looking forward to holding this new little baby and having a few weeks where we have a great excuse to just not go anywhere. 

Now, in writing this, I certainly don't want this to sound like we don't absolutely love all of our friends and family.  We are so grateful for all of you, and we love spending time with you.  I don't know what we would do without the support of friends and family.  For instance, this week my sister-in-law Kristi watched all of my kids except Aliysa so that Aliysa and I could clean the house.  That's when we finally got the attic put back in order.  We wish we had more time to spend with you all, and we are excited for all of you to meet our new baby.  I am just tired of the telemarketers, doctor appointments, and running around.  I need to make it a matter of prayer about how to find balance even with a busy life.  I have not been so great at it yet.

Well, enough rambling.  I need to go.  Hopefully our next post will be with pictures of a new baby!

Life

We are so very busy.  We just got back from a week at Green Canyon Hot Springs.  Camping when you are two weeks away from your due date is not the best idea, especially in the rain and wind, and when you are going to get sick.  My kids had a lot of fun, and my friends saved the day by making us dinner each night while we were there.  I don't know what I would have done without them.  I am so glad to be home!

Spent the next few days with everyone getting sick to some degree, and me wanting to go into labor and have this baby. 

This week, I have been praying not to go into labor.  I think I am insane.  I impulsively decided that I could not stand my old peach kitchen cupboards that were peeling, chipped, and falling apart.  So, I went and bought paint and the kids and I dove into a project of repainting the cupboards.  At first it was so much fun.  Now it is anything but fun.    Kitchen is a wreck, everything out of cupboards.  I have become a hermit.  I have not answered the phone or listened to messages or answered many e-mails in days.  Sorry everyone who may have been expecting calls.  I will return calls tomorrow if I finish then.  I have been painting, and painting, and painting.  Body is sore and tired, but I must finish before the baby comes!  What was I thinking?   More on this later...must keep painting.

Bob is busy every waking moment, and most of the night working on his homework, and his business.  The "Ultimate Idol" is going well.  They have finished auditions, and will have the first round/show on my due date next week.

Family Update

Life is busy and happy for us.

Bob is enjoying school.  This semester is a busy one for him, he is involved with the "IBC" program (Integrated Business Core) It is a unique program at BYU-Idaho where the students start a business and run it during the semester.  All four of their classes during the semester tie in to the business they are running:  finance, marketing, operations management, and organizational behavior. Bob's group's business is "Ultimate Idol", a Rexburg version of American Idol.  They will be having auditions soon.  It should be a fun event for the BYU-I community.  He will be right in the middle of the whole production just about when I have the baby. 

Last semester Bob did well, he earned a 3.94 GPA, but was put on academic probation because he withdrew from his Anatomy & Physiology class.  He dropped it when he changed his minor to business, and he withdrew just how he should.  Next thing he knew, he received an e-mail informing him that he was now on academic probation.  Of course he felt like that was ridiculous, so he went in to the counseling office, expecting that they wouldn't want him to really be on probation, since he had a 3.94.  No, he was told that if he has a "W" on his record, he will be on probation for the next semester.

Not only that, but he soon received the first in a series of weekly e-mails reminding him that he was on academic probation.  He fired off a quick "venting" e-mail expecting that the e-mail was probably sent from an account that wouldn't accept return e-mails.  Nope, he received a lengthy reply from one of the deans of students.  They corresponded back and forth a bit, and Bob was able to be removed from the e-mail list so that he doesn't have to be reminded every week of his status at BYU-I.  Pretty funny. 

Bob's favorite class last semester was a business class where they had to do business simulations, where they make decisions just as if they were running a business.  Then they see the results of their decisions in stock value, income, etc.  Bob's group did amazingly well.  Bob loved the experience, he was always so excited to see how they did each round.  Their group had top scores, even among groups from all over the nation.  The "final" in that class was another simulation, done individually.  Bob did really, really well on it. 

He finished teaching seminary this week.  Recently he has commented a lot on how much he has learned from this experience.  He has become a really great teacher, especially this semester. He was told that if he ever feels that he should become a seminary teacher, to come back and they would love to hire him.  But, after lots of prayer, we've felt that being a seminary teacher is not the direction God wants Bob to go. 

I am feeling very, well, pregnant.  I have been in a lot of pain in my back, hips, etc.  I looked it up and found that I had a condition called "pelvic girdle pain".  No fun.  I went to a chiropractor, and he found that my right hip was higher than my left hip.  He gave me two adjustments, and it has helped immensely.  I am still not exactly comfortable, but at least now I can go back to walking, and my back and neck pain are gone.  Yeay.  This past week I was quite sick with a bad cold, etc.  It made me so thankful for my usual good health. 

This coming week we'll be going up to Green Canyon for a week of swim lessons and camping.  My kids have been so helpful in getting ready.  I hope I survive the trip, and don't go into labor while we're up there. Well, actually going in to labor might not be so bad...

I've been working hard on my YW personal progress program.  All women in the church are invited now to earn their Young Womanhood Recognition award.  I received mine when I was a young woman, but I am enjoying the experience of going through the new book.  It has enriched my scripture study, journal writing, and goal-setting in such a wonderful way!  I recommend it to any woman or young woman.  It is a fabulous program. 

The children finished up their gymnastics classes this week.  They had such a fun year this year at gym.  Our kids seem to spend as much time upside down as they do right side up now.  Aliysa, Jace, and Courtney are taking piano lessons through the summer, and the 5 oldest children are taking voice lessons from an extremely talented world-class voice teacher.  She is the wife of another seminary student teacher, and we attended her senior voice concert she gave when she graduated from BYU-I this last semester.  Both Bob and I were simply amazed.  I never knew someone could such incredible things with their voice!  We feel very blessed to have her teaching our very "untrained musically" family. 

Aliysa was recently called to be the first counselor in the Mia Maid presidency.  She still misses our old ward terribly, but she is having a good attitude and enjoying our new ward, too.  She is so, so excited to go to Green Canyon.  Some of her best friends will be there, and it should be a fun week for her and all our kids.

Jace is enjoying life.  In our ward there are 13 deacons, and he enjoys all his time with them.  It is a fun group of boys.  He is serving as the first counselor in the quorum presidency.  Jace has recently decided that he wants to own a machete.  For the past couple of weeks, he has been extremely helpful, obedient, and always saying things like "yes, mother dear, what else would you like me to do?"  All this in an effort to show he is responsible enough for a machete.  He still has not convinced me as to why a 13-year old should own a machete, but we'll see if he succeeds. 

Courtney was able to attend a young woman activity last Tuesday.  The Beehive class was welcoming in all the girls who will be coming into YW this year.  They had a "crazy hair" activity where they did the new girls hair, then the new girls were blindfolded and fed ice cream to the Beehives.  They had so much fun, and Courtney is now even more excited for October when she'll be joining them. 

Spencer is loving life, doing things with his friends, roller-blading (Jace, Courtney, and Spencer wear roller blades almost all day long lately), biking, and cub scouts. 

Mallory is so excited for the new baby to come.  She is such a little helper as usual.  She keeps us laughing with her funny little sense of humor.

Zach and Andrew are loving the weather when it is warm.  They love being outside, riding bikes, and having all sorts of adventures.  Abby loves to boss them around and tackle them.  They are so cute with her, they love being big brothers to her.  She keeps us laughing constantly.  We have no idea where most of the things she says come from.  Here's some favorites lately:

She sings the ABC song, putting letters in whatever order she desires.  She ends the song lately with "Now I know my ABQ's...next time won't you sing with me?"

The other day Andrew was pouting about something, and Abby went right up to his face, pushed him in the chest, and ordered: "Don't talk like a baby!" He furrowed his brow, stuck his lip out and looked at me.  She shoved him again and repeated the command.  Nothing like being encouraged to be macho by your little sister.

She just has to know the names of everyone she meets.  It amazes us how she remembers the names of all of our children's friends.  When she sees pictures of people in magazines, she always asks "what is her name, Mom?"  She isn't satisfied if I say that I don't know, so I've started asking her what she thinks her name is.  She comes up with some great names.

Well, that's our update...Life is good.

Local News 8

Our friend Kami Harris arranged for a field trip to the local news station, specifically to learn about the weather from the head meterologist.

Part of the tour

This is the high-tech way that rainfall is measured.  There are little stations like this in different locations.  Twice each day they are measured, then the data is sent in to the national weather service, and they average it for each area. 

The news van

This is where the weatherman stands.

And he appears on camera like this, with a map behind him.

This was a fun and informative day!

Hale Center Theater

My four oldest children and I got to attend "The Three Musketeers" play at Hale Center Theater in Utah, and tour the theater afterwards.  This fun field trip was arranged by my friend Tracy.

The play definitely had praiseworthy acting, amazing sets, and costumes, but I must say the script did not fall under the "virtuous" category. Darn.

But we enjoyed most of the experience.  The kids thought the sword fighting was amazing.  Jace has been making all sorts of homemade swords and daggers ever since we got home.

Spencer and his friends Logan and Dallin, relaxing while waiting for our tour to begin.

Aliysa and some of her friends

Jace and some of his friends looking around the theater.  

It is such a beautiful theater.

The girls acting out different things that the tour guide directed them to do.

The boys doing the same.

On stage, making up their own advertisement slogans

The whole group.  What a fun day!

Aunt Lisa's Barn

Well, I can say that my little sister got married and her first apartment is over 50,000 square feet.  OR, I can say that she got married and now lives in a barn.  For those of you who know Lisa and Preston, I'm sure you wouldn't be too surprised about them living in a barn... But actually, they live in a cute studio apartment above the gigantic barn at Heritage Ranch where Preston works.  Lisa is also training some foxtrotter horses that are boarded there. 

So, we went to Utah last month and stopped at the Kent's on our way down.  Lisa gave us the grand tour, and we got to see Preston working with one of his horses.

Aliysa was in heaven.  She would love to live in a barn.

Jace and Abby in the tack room. 

Can I say how nice it is to have older children to pack the two-year old around when I am pregnant?

There were lots of new foals to see...so fun.

There were puppies, too.

We all enjoyed getting to see Lisa again.  The barn is a fun place to be.  And Lisa even filled our van up with oil for us before we left.   Thanks for the fun day, Lisa!

When I grow up, I want to be just like Dad...

I love these kind of moments.  Seeing my kids working with their Dad.  He is everything a husband and father should be, including an amazingly hard worker. 

(Don't you love Andrew's snow boots? Of course, it's not too funny to think that he's wearing them in May, considering we had snow, sleet, and hail just three days ago)