This is Sam

Dec. 5, 2009

6 lbs, 11 oz

19"

PERFECT!

I'm so glad....

When Daddy comes home!

Confessions...

1) I'm 36 weeks prego with baby #4. I'm done, done, done sharing my body. If my hubby were home, I would be power-walking the neighborhood to speed things up. As it is, I'm sitting on my fat behind waiting for him to come home.

2) I hate asking for help, but somehow managed to do it a lot this week.

3) I'm glad my MIL can tolerate visiting me for a week and a half.

4) I'm glad Shawn has a job--and truthfully, I love the Navy.

5) My kids WEAR ME OUT!

6) I love homeschooling and don't think I can ever send my kids to public school so they can take notes on whatever irrelevant information the teacher thinks is important and then take a test on said notes only to forget the material within a few minutes--all in the name of 'socialization'.

7) I hate when my power goes out. This weekend, this interesting looking candle provided light at our dinner table.

8) It really bugs me when people complain about their blessings.

9) YW pres. is the hardest calling I've ever had.

10) I have never enjoyed swimming. If I fell out of a boat in the middle of a lake, I probably couldn't save myself.

11) Pets are NOT my thing. I like stuffed teddy bears best.

12) I love psychology and am glad I don't have to work right now. I can't narrow my interests down--autism, drug rehab, diagnostics, .....the list goes on.

13) The 4th of July is my FAVORITE holiday. Thanksgiving is my 2nd favorite holiday. Christmas is my 3rd.

14) I'm a very happy person.

15) Thanks for listening. Sometimes I need to remind myself about myself :)

Hey!

HAPPY HALLOWEEN!

Dressing up!

Shawn and I had a little costume party to attend last weekend. I had more fun than I expected. Shawn put me in charge of costumes and I seriously considered just showing up as a pregnant lady. He wasn't too interested in being the milkman or the mailman, so I had to come up with something a little different....

So, after only 10 minutes, Shawn managed to cover himself in black makeup. I was just glad I wasn't in charge of painting his face. Pretty scary, huh? Grant and Nora thought it was pretty great, but Alex was terrified! He took off running for the babysitter crying. We managed to convince him that it was really daddy, so then he kept saying 'Daddy scared me'. Poor kid.

I opted NOT to purchase a costume. (Well, I didn't buy either of them). I figured finding something that would fit around my middle would be pretty costly, and not worth it for a 4 or 5 hour party so I whipped together a maternity shirt and made it a little longer. Not my best work ever, but hey, it saved some moo-lah!

Standards Night

(Jaesi, this one's for you....)

This week we held our annual Standards Night. After 2 fabulous talks on modesty and temple preparation, our girls crafted some amazing wedding dresses out of toilet paper!

I gave each group of girls 4 or 5 rolls of toilet paper (which was more than enough) and 20 minutes. Here was one group's progress after about 14 minutes.....

Now these girls were serious. And they had a little extra help from a pretty excited leader. (This was after only 6 or 7 minutes!)

This was the organized group. Notice the pre-torn strips on the floor just waiting to be perfectly placed on our newest Beehive.

And their finished product. Very modest.

I liked the longer sleeves on this dress and the t.p. flower in her hair. Nice touch, eh?

In case you couldn't tell, she was throwing her bouquet.

Ah, the 3 young brides. Good thing this was just for fun.

The girls LOVED this activity. I always like when things go so well.

By the way, thanks for all your youth activity ideas! Can't wait to try some of the out!

Okay, okay, okay...

Here it is. But do me a favor, and don't pay attention to the baggie-bottom 20-year old BYU sweatpants or the completely wild hair or the mysterious glare at the bottom of the picture. Focus on baby. Supposedly, at 30 weeks gestation, babies weigh 3 lbs....um, right. I don't believe any of my babies weighed 3 lbs yet. Yes, this kid is under my rib cage. No cute basketball belly for this mom!

Nearly There!

I just can't believe how quickly this little pregnancy has flown by. I am at the tail-end of 29 weeks. I realize most people get to 29 or 30 weeks and are thinking "10 more weeks? I can't wait that long, I'm far too miserable." I, on the other hand, haven't thought that since I was pregnant with Grant. Even then, I was surprised when I was holding him only 4 weeks later. Each has come 'late preterm'. Grant at 34, Nora between 37-38 (nice!), and Alex at 36. All I can think right now is how I hope this little dude decides to wait until November 18th to show his face. That's 36 weeks. I can certainly wait longer. The question is, can he?

These three kiddos can't wait another day! They are sooooo excited! I, myself remember how exciting it was to come home from school in the afternoon and see the 'it's a girl' sign my dad had painted on our garage door when the little sibling was born. How fun!!

I need a favor

What were some of your favorite youth activities? It's planning time and I'd like to hear some creative ideas. Please, please, please leave a little note :)

What we've been up to...

We've had a bit of a break from the 'norm' around here. Breaks from the norm are always welcome!

Yeah, it's only September, but since life will be normal around Halloween, we decided to carve a pumpkin early. Alex could not be convinced that the Jack'o'lantern was not a monster.

One Sunday afternoon, we went to a cemetery for a little family stroll (yeah, i know. Kind of strange since we have no relatives buried there. Hey, it's one of the only quiet places around here). The next day, this is what I found in the backyard...

Much to my delight...

I found my children reading quietly together when I walked into the living room this morning. More accurately, Grant was reading, Nora was listening. I couldn't help but grin with excitement!

2 is Terrrrrrrific!

Happy Birthday Alex! I'm so glad you're in my family!!

Who said this?

I was wandering around my house last night, kinda bored, although the list of things I could/should've been doing was endless. Dishes, read, laundry, prepare some school stuff, yw stuff, and on and on. I felt frustrated as I couldn't just pick something and get it done. It caused me to reflect on my intellectual pursuits a bit. I find myself doing the very same thing when choosing a book, or a topic to study. It made me think of a line from my favorite movie (ok, one of my top 10 favorites....one I've watched probably a million times). The character says, "I used to think that if I cared about anything, I'd have to care about everything and I'd go stark, raving mad!" I find myself battling with that feeling that comes with having the entire world at my fingertips, but never quite knowing where to start.

So, can you name the movie? The character? The scene?

Here's a hint

Where do you start when you aren't sure what to do?

A GREAT Month!

Here are some highlights from the last month or so. Shawn has actually been home-he had temporary orders to go to school (I like school in the Navy) and we've seen him every morning, and every night. Here's what we've been up to:

We've outgrown the toddler bed/crib phase for a little while and finally found some

And we made it to the temple. This is not a regular occurrence for us with Shawn's schedule...and the 4-6 hour drive doesn't help either. Not complaining mind you. Temple trips are a big deal around here, and so they should be!

My girl

My one, and only, little princess...

The first of many

It's been a busy week. Birthdays, ultrasounds, doctor's visits for more than just mom....

Alex is a 3rd child. There is no mistaking it. He's not quite 2, but he thinks he's 4. So he does 4 year-old things. Like talking in nearly complete sentences, going potty, apologizing for hitting, climbing on things, jumping off things. Jumping--the latest favorite--was sure to cause problems. I've been thinking about getting bunkbeds for the kids, and was planning on doing last weekend. It didn't happen. Probably a good thing for now. Alex decided to LEAP off Grant's twin bed. Not the first time (more like the 100th time), but it was the first time it resulted in this:

Nothing serious, as you can see. A slight fracture? A chipped bone? Still don't know. He was running 24 hours later. See? No harm in monkeys jumping on the bed. Can't wait for those bunkbeds.....

Another one??

I'm just not old enough....

To have a five year old. Ok, I guess I don't FEEL old enough. No matter. My baby is 5. And he's cute. He's funny, bright, helpful, but still my baby in many ways.

Check this out

My sister has a little business. Check it out. It'll make you smile for sure!

The BEST surprise of all!!

And it showed up yesterday, 12 hours before schedule. It was just what I needed.

By way of explanation: Yes, Shawn IS in the military, and NO they usually aren't allowed to grow beards. But, when the ship is underway for long stretches (in this case, 10 days crossing the great Atlantic), the sailors are allowed to purchase a 'no-shave chit' for $5. This picture shows the result of Shawn's efforts at growing a beard. Unfortunately, that is all I ever saw of it--he had to shave before they pulled into port.

He was only gone 2 months...but it seemed long to me this time. Ok, the last week seemed long. It doesn't necessarily take a period of separation to appreciate your spouse, but oh how much I appreciate him as well as the time we are blessed to spend with each other.

And of course, next week is girl's camp. This time I am doing the leaving and he gets to stay home-at least in the evening. Not exactly a role-swap, but an adventure nonetheless.

6 years...

Happy Anniversary Shawn! I love you!

What a slow poke!

I mean, what a rotten blogger I've turned out to be. I just don't have much to say. Ok, if you know me, you know that is never ever true. I always have something to say.


I'm just a little on the tired side lately.


So, Prego update:


17 weeks and 5 days. Baby is fine, mommy is getting these shots, placenta is lying a little too low. Hopefully that changes, otherwise I might actually have to call you easterners for a little extra help. The ultrasound is in 3 weeks. Care to guess the gender???

My belly looked like this when I was closer to 25 weeks with my last pregnancy.

Perhaps I will find more to say later. Rigth now, I'm going to take a NAP!

I just LOVE surprises

Last week, my kiddos and I kissed my sweetie good-bye, sent him on his way, packed up our bags and boarded an airplane. Our destination: SLC! The fun part wasn't the plane ride (which wasn't SO bad). The fun part was that only my parents knew I was coming--no one else. I just love keeping secrets!

Alex and Uncle Paul

Nora, Jerusha, and Alex

Grant the dinosaur

Yeah, I know.

Me and my completely oblivious sisters. (Sorry Rachel, I don't know how you didn't make it in this picture. You were probably chasing my kids around the house.)

The second (or should I say fourth?) surprise was the hardest, and most fun to keep.....

11 weeks down, 25 to go....