Update 12/29/2013

What a boring post subject.  We were due to have a baby yesterday, Saturday.  He is still cozy and warm inside his mother's belly :)  My new "due" date (I chose) is January 5th.  If he does not come before then, I will re-evaluate and perhaps choose another "due" date.  I figure if doctors can choose a due date, be 99% of the time wrong and still get paid, I can choose my own as well!

Christmas was super nice for us.  We bought a family gift earlier in the year that we told the children was an early Christmas gift and so we only bought a couple stocking stuffers and voila', Christmas!  We were able to work on the Christmas countdown in the Friend magazine and learn about Jesus and how He is the light of the world.  The cool thing was that we would turn off all the lights and just light the Christmas trees (we have 4, it's a long story) and talk by those lights instead of the lamps.  Anyway, the kids loved it.  We spent Christmas alone and I enjoyed it.  I don't know if a no extended family Christmas is my choice for every year, but for this year it worked out well.  The highlight of the whole day was playing with their new nerf guns.  Wow, did we hit the bullseye on those!  Thaddeus and Grace are STILL playing with them, everyday.  I'm sure they will tire of them soon though......

I am a terrible picture taker and these are the only ones we have:

It snowed the weekend before, but melted before Christmas :(  We enjoyed it while it lasted!

 Grace lost her top tooth on Christmas Eve!

  We got new pajamas for Christmas from Grandma, sadly, TD's and Madelyn's didn't fit, but Grace, Grant and I love ours!

 

We also received a surprise from our niece who is only 10.  She made beanies for all the kids!  Aren't they cute?  Even the baby boy got one!

 

Forward on to a new year.  Have you seen this video yet?  It made me re-think my new year's resolutions.  Maybe instead, I should think of gifts I can give to the Savior like these children thought of.  (I don't know how to imbed it into my post, so just click on the link)  Watch it, it is a good one!

http://www.mormonchannel.org/video/mormon-messages?v=2874125972001

The basement bedroom reveal!

We (Grant) finally finished the basement bedroom!  With the exception of closet doors and a shelf.  No closet doors for now though, I think they would just get in the way.  So, here is the before:

 

 

Just a dark storage room the kids never wanted to go into.

And then the after!

 

 

Grant picked the color for the walls.  The kids love it.  They have been happily sleeping down there for a week now.  The first night was a rough one because mom mentioned something about if there was an emergency they should crawl out their window......  Talk about bad mom moment!  We cried, we worried about dying and not being able to play with our toys and now almost every night they pray there won't be a fire. :)

 

 

Now Madelyn has her own room until this brother comes and is big enough to sleep in another room.  2 more weeks!  (hopefully no more :))

Cookies

I made my favorite no-bake cookies a couple days ago, but I used old fashioned oats instead of quick oats.  Now, I am a fan of using healthy things, we eat old fashioned oats in our oatmeal, but when it comes to no-bake cookies, I have learned, why make them if you have to use old fashioned oats?  So, they turned out pretty gross and I ate about 4-5 over the course of a couple days, which is unusually low for me. 

Today I decided to redeem myself and use the quick oats instead.  They turned out considerably better and I may or may not have already eaten 4-5 in the last 1 1/5 hours.  Grace saw me eating my last one and asked if she could have another one and I said "no".  She immediately started the "not fair" routine, followed by the "why do you get another if I don't" routine and I told her, "Because I have borne almost 4 children, when you are a mother you can eat 100 cookies if you want"  Then I got to thinking, how many meals have I cooked, how many loads of laundry have I washed, dried and put away-- sometimes twice thanks to small helping hands, how many toilets have I cleaned, how many floors have I swept and vacuumed, how many beds have I made, how many diapers have I changed, how many baths have I run, how many books have I read--over and over?  After thinking all that, I thought, "I deserve another cookie!" 

:)

Hair

Hair grows long at our house.  I try to cut hair once every 2 months, which isn't enough.  Oh well, it won't be changing any time soon :)

  Madelyn had her FIRST haircut and now she looks like a bigger girl.  I wasn't ready for that yet.  I wish I had left it.  I know she will grow leaps and bounds next to her baby brother, but it doesn't mean I was ready for her to grow.......

 

   I also cut Grace's hair and for the first time did not have to take her to a professional afterwards to fix it!  Her hair is very straight, very thick and has 2 cowlicks in the back that make for some pretty interesting cutting.

 

  And Thaddeus thinks he gets a new car or truck every time I cut his hair because way back when, a year ago, he would scream bloody murder every time you put the clippers anywhere near his head.  I finally bribed him with a Mater hot wheels if he would let me cut it without screaming.  It worked, but he forgot that I told him I would take Mater away if he screamed when I cut his hair, not give him a new one if he didn't........

 

I also cut Grant's hair but, you have no clue what he looks like when it is long so there is no comparison :)

 

We spent Thanksgiving trying to finish the basement bedroom.  We painted everything and Grant finished framing in the closet and now we just have one more coat of paint to do on the ceiling and closet and put the carpet back and trim around the doors and hang closet doors and we are done!  (some of that can wait, which means we are closer to them actually moving in down there!!)

The Temple

Yesterday we were able to go to the temple.  The last time for us for a while.  Between having a baby next month, and the weather, it really stacks the odds against driving the 2 1/2 hours on windy back roads to attend the temple. 

Yesterday was a special day though.  My nephew, who passed away in August, went through the temple!  His dad took his name.  All of my siblings who could, attended the temple that day, whichever temple was closest to them.  I thought that was great for my sister.

There is no doubt in my mind that he wholeheartedly accepted it and is now further along on the other side.  I have been thinking about him at odd times lately.  And for some reason, I keep thinking about whether or not he gets to fall in love on the other side.  Maybe some nice girl who died of the black plague has been working up there and then Kyle comes along and they hit it off :)  Maybe it is me trying to make the best of him being gone.  But can't you picture some fountain up there and two spirits sitting by it, in their spare time between teaching the gospel of course.  Anyway, there is no doctrine to support it, just me romancing I guess :)

Have a good Thanksgiving!  I am Thankful for family, sounds cliché' but, it is true!

Halloween!

Someone didn't think ahead of time for a fun dinner, so we made our own Jack-o-lanterns out of tortillas and beans and cheese and olives :)

 

 Grace's Face

 

Thaddeus' Cat

 

 

Thaddeus was superman (notice the curl in front :)) Grace was a princess and Madelyn wore the same costume she wore last year, a candy corn.  That is how much she hasn't grown in a year :) (Granted, she was swimming in it last year.....)

Grace

We had the following conversation walking home from school the other day.  Grace: "It is cold in the morning, but warm in the afternoon." Me: "yep". Her, "Kinda like Spring, except in the Spring it rains a lot, and in the Fall, it is just cold.".  Me: "muffled giggling".

Thaddeus

Thaddeus is a great child!  A few weeks ago Grant and I were sitting on the couch after the kids were asleep and he walks into the living room and says, "Can I color?"  "Color?", "yeah", "Like a picture?", "yeah, like this", (as he puts his hand on my chest) "Oh, you want to cuddle?" "yeah"  So he sits down beside me.  Then he says something else, which was complete jibberish and Grant asks if he wants a drink of water, "yeah".  So he gets the water and falls right to sleep.  The next morning he remembered nothing :)
Well, last night Madelyn was fussing about getting teeth and her runny nose and I tried to help her and snuggle her but she didn't want it so I was ignoring her, letting her fuss.  Then, out of nowhere Thaddeus yells, "Mom, Madelyn spit up!(threw up, that is how they say it)"  I lept from my bed, ran the 10 steps to their bedroom and he was laying down, out like a light!  But, Madelyn had thrown up!  I have no clue how he knew, my theory is an angel either woke him up or just inhabited his body for a moment so he could yell for me :)  What a kid, huh?  He didn't remember any of that this morning either :)

Baby's Memory

Yesterday Madelyn had to get 2 immunizations.  The nurse was really nice and gave her 2 stickers afterward.  Today when we got into the car after an errand she was kinda mad at me and I saw one of the stickers on the floor so I grabbed it and handed it to her.  She automatically started making this sad sound and pointed to her legs.  :(  I know she won't remember forever, but it made me a little sad for her!

Pictures of our past life....

In no particular order :)

 

Grace's First Day! 

 



 

Madelyn figured our how to yell at the kids through the back window.

 

Grant finishing his marathon.  He did so well!

One of 3 nice crash marks on Thaddeus.  We went on a family home evening bike ride.....

 



 

Madelyn picking her own raspberries.

 

Grace's fairy house.

 

Madelyn's mad toe skills.  That is a chip she put in between her toes.

And another thing.....

I wrote in my last post about how we lost a wonderful nephew a couple weeks ago.  I think it is interesting that not 2 days before we lost him, we found out that another boy would be joining our family. 

 

I don't think I have ever divulged this information publicly, but between Thaddeus and Madelyn we miss-carried.  It made me very cautious to tell anyone I was pregnant.  I never actually told that many people I was pregnant with Madelyn, afraid I would have to turn around and tell them I wasn't anymore.  I kinda just grew and grew until some of the girls in my ward started asking me questions :)  I started telling people a little sooner with this guy.  Anyway, he is due December 28 and my oldest two are so excited for a brother.  Grace, from the beginning has said we needed a boy, since she already has a sister, Thaddeus needed a brother.  How selfless of her :)  Everything is just fine and I am just tired, as is every mother of 3, pregnant or not.......

Happy things, Sad things

There are two exciting things to talk about.  Grace had her first day of first grade today!  Grant completed his first full marathon on Saturday and finished with a time of 3:49, not too bad for a rookie! 

 

 

 

And, one very sad thing.  See that cute family?  That is my oldest sister and her family.  Despite what the picture says, those two got along a lot better than that :)  Friday before last, August 23, early in the morning before 8am, the boy on the far right, the seemingly annoying one bothering his sister, was taken from this world in an instant.  He was on his way to work, all alone on the highway, and somehow rolled his car, was ejected and died at the scene.  He was only 18.  We've had a sad week.  But, despite it all, the gospel is still true, and that is the beautiful thing!  He was a great kid and I know exactly where he is right now and, the best part, I know he is still my little nephew!  He will be forever and ever and ever! 

He was a very sweet boy, he loved to read and to his mother's dismay, probably read more than slept!  He was kind and included everyone.  He knew when to laugh.  He got good grades and could figure just about anything out.  He could argue a point, and well.  When he was little he loved Blue's Clues, the Spot dog series and, like any boy, airplanes and trucks and trains.  He was the oldest grandchild on both sides and this year, turned one year older than my dad!! (his birthday is leap year day)  He played lacrosse, sang in 3 different choirs, ran cross country and earned his Eagle Scout award.  He knew how to work hard and he didn't shirk his duties, just sometimes his chores :)  He was ordained an Elder a little while back and was working to earn money to serve an LDS mission.  He will be missed greatly, and I can't wait for him to greet me when my time is up here on earth. 

July and August

A short picture post about July and August, so far:

 We filed a suit against Hogle Zoo because their lion tried to eat the kids..... :)

 Grace and Thaddeus passed off all 13 articles of faith, here is the proof finally.

 The day Grant changed his profession, he wants to be a bouquet....

 Dolls have been added to her obsession list.

Enjoying the sweetest corn on the cob, and sadly, the only we've had so far! :(

The trouble with backyards....

The only trouble with backyards is my children come in a whole lot dirtier than if we had gone to the park.  Today we got the pool out, so hot, even in the shade, and Grace and Thaddeus made mud, Madelyn got into it and was licking it off her fingers like it was Spanish chocolate not even making a yucky face.  When we came in I had to strip Thaddeus down because he was covered in sand (note: pour baby powder on sand and it comes right off, it's amazing)  Grace was the cleanest one and she had raspberries on her face. 

It is okay though, I wouldn't trade our backyard for a million dollars!!

Articles of Faith

    Today was the day.  We've been working for this day for quite a few months!  A couple things have gotten in our way, illness, vacation, lack of trying/practice, but today they did it!  Grace and Thaddeus both passed off their final Article of Faith!  Those two are amazing.  Grace remembered a lot of them from passing them off last year and would sing them to Thaddeus.  We sang while we brushed teeth, we listened to them in the car, over and over and over again.  Thaddeus had some days where he was done learning them and didn't want to pass them off.  He is a shy little boy and I think we'll need to pass them all off about 5 times each before he is FULLY understood each time :)  (I made sure he really knew it before I would let him try to pass if off) 
   Thaddeus is only 4 years old!  And he only turned 4 in March, so it's not like he is practically 5 or anything.  He is probably the first sunbeam I have ever heard of to pass them all off.  And the really neat thing is this, he came home and told me he wanted to learn them with Grace, and off they went.  We'll see if we can't get Madelyn to do it while she is still in nursery :)  If she ever learns to talk, she still only has about 5 words, at least that we understand :)  Anyway, we are excited and I thought I would share!

Good Parenting

Have these words ever come out of your mouth?  "Be reverent"  I bet they have.  Have they ever come out of your mouth during prayer?  And here is the kicker, have you ever yelled those words?  Yep, I have.  I'm not sure if that is and all time high, or low......

Milestones

Grace and Thaddeus have been riding bikes for some time now.  Except for one small problem, the training wheels, a.k.a. the crutch wheels, they were doing okay.  Well, one day I got so frustrated with Grace using her training wheels, we couldn't go anywhere without her getting stuck or falling over (I thought they were supposed to be helpful?).  I looked online to find out how to take off her pedals and crank shaft so she would have to learn to balance on her own, and we found a way.  After taking off her pedals and crank shaft and training wheels she had to just scoot along and she learned to balance fairly quickly.  We finally got around to finding her a used bike and yesterday we went to the track to practice.  In the meantime my sister-in-law had asked for their training wheels back that were on TD's bike so I took them off and he was scooting around too (except I never got around to taking off the pedals and crank shaft so he has a few scratches on his leg, poor kid!) 
  
    Anyway, back to the track.  We get there and TD starts scooting along and then out of no where starts pedaling and just takes off!  I was amazed.  I counted myself lucky and turned to Grace, not really looking forward to the whole "teach you how to balance and ride" lesson.  Well, I started pushing her and it was obvious she didn't need me to balance her so I let go and off she went!  I have to say, in that very moment my heart swelled to 10 times it's normal size, I was so pleased!  It was amazing!  So, now we are riding bikes everywhere and they want to go back to the track this very minute to practice more. 

   So, to all of you I say throw away the training wheels, google how to take off the crank shaft and pedals and let your kids learn to balance and they will be riding in NO time!!  You are welcome.  I would put up a picture but the camera needs batteries and I don't have any.  :(

More than I bargained for

We have been getting pizza on a semi-regular basis the last couple months.  Is anyone else in love with Papa Murphy's, or am I the only one?  It started when Grant took me to this great pizza place for our anniversary and I have been wanting it again since, too bad the medium pizza we shared cost $18, but it was worth every penny!  Since I can't get that pizza, I've tried to fill the craving with Papa Murphy's, good, but not as good.  Anyway, of the 4 times we have gone, they have made a mistake 3 of those times.  I am not here to complain, 2 times they gave me a family size instead of a large and one of the times I ordered a family size but the cashier only charged me for a large and when I corrected him, he gave it to me anyway!!  I don't like taking advantage of people, but, they let me take them and said it was their mistake.  I just hope next time I call, the same kid who screwed up the last 3 times is there!!!  (I hope I don't get in trouble for telling you this, or for using their picture logo :))

Source

To young mothers....

A friend of mine, whose blog is private or I would just link you up to her post, posted her Sunday talk on her blog.  GREAT!  One of the talks she used was one by Elder Holland called, "Because She is a Mother".  You should all read the whole talk, I have linked it to the title, but since I know you won't, here are two quotes I really liked, and my friend used in her talk as well. 

"In speaking of mothers generally, I especially wish to praise and encourage young mothers. The work of a mother is hard, too often unheralded work. The young years are often those when either husband or wife—or both—may still be in school or in those earliest and leanest stages of developing the husband’s breadwinning capacities. Finances fluctuate daily between low and nonexistent. The apartment is usually decorated in one of two smart designs—Deseret Industries provincial or early Mother Hubbard. The car, if there is one, runs on smooth tires and an empty tank. But with night feedings and night teethings, often the greatest challenge of all for a young mother is simply fatigue. Through these years, mothers go longer on less sleep and give more to others with less personal renewal for themselves than any other group I know at any other time in life. It is not surprising when the shadows under their eyes sometimes vaguely resemble the state of Rhode Island."

"But one thing, she said, keeps her going: “Through the thick and the thin of this, and through the occasional tears of it all, I know deep down inside I am doing God’s work. I know that in my motherhood I am in an eternal partnership with Him. I am deeply moved that God finds His ultimate purpose and meaning in being a parent, even if some of His children make Him weep.

“It is this realization,” she says, “that I try to recall on those inevitably difficult days when all of this can be a bit overwhelming. Maybe it is precisely our inability and anxiousness that urge us to reach out to Him and enhance His ability to reach back to us. Maybe He secretly hopes we will be anxious,” she said, “and will plead for His help. Then, I believe, He can teach these children directly, through us, but with no resistance offered. I like that idea,” she concludes. “It gives me hope. If I can be right before my Father in Heaven, perhaps His guidance to our children can be unimpeded. Maybe then it can be His work and His glory in a very literal sense."  

 

 I just love that insight!  The closer we are to our Heavenly Father, then the more He can teach our children!  Just go right through us in a sense.  When we can get rid of all the walls and detours of pride and sin and whatever else that is keeping a road block between our Father and our children, then He will teach them, guide them, love them and they will return back into His presence!!  I had never thought of motherhood in quite that way until I read my friends talk, and now it opens up a whole new world of trying.  Maybe trying to be patient and kind and loving when I'm tired isn't the right way to go about things.  Maybe reading my scriptures, and praying, WITH REAL INTENT, and then trying to be patient and kind and loving is the right way to go!!

 

So, thanks my friend, Marilou, for a wonderful talk, for posting it and then sharing with me the references!!

 

 

 

Warning......

I know everyone things that their husband is the greatest.  That is really how the world should be.  If we all thought ours were the best, there would probably be less divorce in the world and more happy families.  And so I hate to post this because really, my husband IS the greatest of them all.  He is almost completely finished with a brick paver walkway in front of our house and it looks so awesome!  He even had to cut a few bricks down to fit and he did a great job, they look custom cut!

I will post a picture when he is all done.  I just needed to get it out there to the universe that if you are looking for the best man in the world, he is already taken!  :(  Sorry!

Choices

I was having one of those days the other day.  Madelyn had woken up more times in the night than I remembered, the other two were running crazy-like around the house.  No one seemed to want to listen or sit quietly, I wasn't going to get a nap, not even a 15 minute sit-down.  I was tired and I started thinking, "Why aren't my kids perfect?  Why don't they sleep through the night?  Why don't they behave and do exactly as I ask, the first time?  Why don't I have a housekeeper, laundress, chef, etc?"  Then a thought came to mind.  My poor children didn't choose to come here as much as I chose to bring them here.  It was our choice to conceive.  No one dropped them on my doorstep, rang the bell and then ran.  No judge forced them on me as punishment :)  And, for a moment, my attitude changed.  I chose this life, I chose lack of sleep, I chose screaming children, crying babies, poopy diapers, hand prints on the walls, toys strewn to every corner of my house.  I chose it, and I do love it!

What's up?

Madelyn is up.  She climbs everything.  She will take old 32oz yogurt containers over to a chair to climb onto so she can get on the chair. 

Madelyn's first birthday was up :)  We had red velvet cupcakes.  She devoured hers and the next day had red velvet poop :)

Homemade moon sand is up.  We made some, google it, it is awesome and it cleans up easily (it also makes a HUGE mess :))

The time for taking cute pictures of her every month is up.  Not only is she too old, she no longer allows me to!!

Spring is up.  The kiddos got sidewalk chalk for Easter and created this awesome roadway.  Built very similarly to the town we live in.  (the roads here are funny, old alley ways turned into "Avenues" and roads being named one thing at the north end and ending up another name at the south end, we love it though)

 Thaddeus turned 4 this week!  He and Grace made a special birthday chair.  He asked for a lot of things but it mostly came down to wanting a truck with a trailer.  Thank you Matchbox for making one!!  He is so pleased with cars and trucks.  I won't know what to get him when he outgrows matchbox cars!!  Here are a few things I love about him:

1: He will come and give you the biggest hug out of nowhere and tell you he loves you.

2: He loves singing in Primary.  We were singing a song they are learning in Primary for FHE and Grant and I messed up the words and he corrected us all and kept the song on track.

3: He is so gentle with Madelyn.  He loves to play with her.  They wrestle and walk and she destroys and steals all his cars and he usually doesn't get mad.

4: He can tease you now and he won't even crack a smile.

5: He can write his name, TD, except the D is always backwards and even though he writes the T first he always writes the D in front of it instead of after.

6: He thinks he is really good at rhyming, "Mom, I don't know and no rhyme!  No, I don't know, see?"

 Thaddeus doesn't like cake, he asked for cookies instead.  Grant's birthday is 2 days before his and we had cake and he cried when I gave him a piece! :(

 Madelyn's favorite thing to do these days, grab onto the back of your legs and walk.  She is pretty skilled and finally stopped dragging her left leg along.  She kinda looked funny, stepping with her right and then dragging the left to catch up as if it were dead.

 She loves when the kids help her walk.  They take her to the hardwood floor and kinda drag her along so she is skating.  She laughs and laughs!

 Here she is trying to feed her friend.  How nice huh?

Her birthday is the end of this month.  Time flies as you look back.  I can't believe she has been a part of our family that long and at the same time, I can't remember life without her!