Best Life

I have the best life! I love my family and enjoy the way they make me smile and laugh (and cry) and appreciate being alive. May my two boys and my wonderful husband know how truly loved they are!

Today

Today I ate five servings of fruits and veggies, had plenty of water to drink, and have a clean sink. This is just a reminder to myself that even when I yell too much, eat too much, watch TV too much, and leave the laundry, scripture study and bill paying too long there are things that I am doing right. Tomorrow I may not have that clean sink again. Tomorrow I may not drink enough water. Tomorrow I will probably eat more than I should and neglect the laundry once again. But tonight I go to bed knowing that at least a few things are right in my world and that tomorrow I can try a little harder to do a little better.

A FewThings about Me

Since I've all but disappeared from the blogosphere since having had my baby, I'm just now catching up on other people's blogs from the last five or six weeks. As it turns out, two different people have tagged me to blog about six or seven weird or unusual things about myself (thanks Sandra and Erin).

So, here goes my list of side show attributes:

1. I have incredibly flexible toes, over which I have lots of control. I can spread them out really far and move them all independently from one another. I never knew this was unusual until I met my husband and he told me it was, well, different. It appears that our children can do the same.

2. I love to watch the news and read the paper. Maybe this isn't weird, but I think it is becoming less and less common these days. Besides the front page and local news, I especially like to read the OBITUARIES. That is probably weird. I had a professor in college who got me into it. He read the section religiously because he said you could learn a lot about someone from their obit and you can keep track of those who you know or loved ones of people you know.

3. I hate being scared. I don't like scary movies; I don't like roller coasters; I don't like being alone in the dark.

4. I am afraid of heights. I think this is a derivative of an inner ear problem that also makes me extremely car sick and causes some balance problems. (Maybe that is why I dislike roller coasters so much.)

5. I love to read cook books. I know some may think that is beyond boring. I've read lots of them--a couple just about cover to cover. I really enjoy seeing how things are made, the combinations of ingredients to achieve a desired outcome, and how I can experiment to modify the recipe according to what I have on hand or for a healthier version. (Note: I have read Deceptively Delicious, Martha Stewart's Baking Handbook, William and Sonoma Grilling, and a couple of Weight Watchers cookbooks as well as three or four Relief Society cookbooks almost in their entirety.)

6. My mom used to say that you could tell what mood I was in according to what I was playing on the piano that day. I'd say that is still a pretty accurate gauge of my emotions, that is when I have a spare moment to play and my children will let me do it (A likes to dominate the keyboard just about every time I sit down to play).

7. I can watch the same movie an almost infinite number of times, depending on the movie of course. My husband says he can watch a movie once or twice and he's content to never see it again. I have probably seen the movie Annie at least 100 times. I've also see several Jane Austin movies at least thirty times. That said, I have only seen three movies more than once in the theater: The Saint with Val Kilmer (still one of my favorite movies), The Net with Sandra Bullock, and Napoleon Dynamite (all viewings at the dollar theater).

I'd be curious to see what the following people have to say about what they think is weird about them: Musemeg, Amy Lynn, and Lindsay (no rush since I know you just had a baby, too)

A Brief Baby Update

Minus the almost three-year-old who is having a rough time adjusting to a new sibling, we are all doing pretty well. I'm pretty tired and the baby has had a hard time gaining weight. He's been monitored for a little bit of jaundice, but is doing fine now. He seems to be on the up swing in gaining weight, though he is almost a month old and still isn't up to his birth weight yet. We decided to start a little formula supplementation and that seems to help.

My c-section recovery has had it's ups and downs. When things are calm I'm doing great. When things are stressful with A.B. or with the family around, or the garage project, I'm a lot more tired and achy. I'm having trouble with my incision being really painful on one side right now. I've got a doctor's appointment tomorrow to see what is going on. Hopefully it is just a sign of over doing it a little bit and not something more serious. It is painful enough at times, though, that I'm very glad I still have a few super heavy duty pain pills left, even though I can hardly function from sleepiness when I take them.

J's dad and my dad have been helping work on our new garage and that has been stressful to say the least. I dread every time someone says "I'm just going to run to the store to pick up something" because they come back with $50 of stuff. Multiply that by the 20 times they've been to the store and we've far exceeded our original budget. Anyway, I think I've made my peace with the project and will have a fantastic collage of pictures and videos to blog about in the next couple of weeks when the thing is finished! I think I'll have J write a blog entry about all the life lessons he has learned over the last several months of moving this project along. By the way, the people at the project desk where we bought the garage package asked me if I wanted to come work for them. I've been there so many times in the last few months to ask questions and clarify or get help on something that they just about know me by name. I've become pretty proficient at construction work even though the only physical thing I've done on the project is nail in a few nails. I've been too sick, too tired, too pregnant or too sore to do much of the manual labor part. I should have gone into construction management!

When I feel like sitting at the computer for more than five minutes I'll write up our birth story and post some more pictures of L on his baby blessing day.

The New Baby!

The baby came on Thursday. After a few hours of prep work, C. had a c-section. The baby arrived at 11:17. He weighed 7lbs 9.8oz and was 21 1/2". C. and the baby are both doing well and will come home tomorrow. Here are a few pics and a movie:

A. was really excited to see the baby:

The O.R. Playlist

In just a few days I'll be checking myself into the hospital to have baby #2. Since part of this delivery will be spent laying flat on an operating room table, I thought I'd go a little bit more prepared than last baby delivery. I'll go armed with good music. I'm loading my iPod (1) to keep me from having the panic attack I had when I was having a c-section with baby #1 and (2) to give me something to do while I'm being stitched up and I have some alone time when they whisk my baby and husband away for clean up, measurements, etc (baby, not husband).

So, what would you be listening to if you were in my shoes or, well, unsightly hospital gown? I'm working on a playlist and I'd love the hear your suggestions. I'll also be in the hospital for the better part of four days, but am only allowed to have the baby in my room (at least for the first two days) if someone else is in there with me (c-sections make you fairly immobile). So any great downloadable books, short stories or other fun ideas would be great.

One of My Heros

Yesterday I had the chance to meet one of my heroes.

Jane Clayson Johnson used to be the host of one of the nationally broadcast morning shows. She had a very distinguished career in broadcast journalism. However, when she met her husband, she decided to leave the work she had been doing to start a family. She received a lot of criticism from the industry. I met her two biological children yesterday and, I'll tell you what, I'd trade them any day for all the interviews with presidents of nations, celebrities, and anyone else news worthy.

Sister Johnson and her husband were in town from Boston for Brother Johnson's son's baptism. Brother Johnson is a convert to the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and his own teenage son from a previous marriage lives in our ward and decided to be baptized. The son has been coming to church for many months and I've associated with him through my calling in the Young Women's program. But I don't think anyone in our ward knew who Sister Johnson was before yesterday. Oddly enough I had the thought yesterday morning that maybe this young man's dad was married to Jane Clayson and I secretly hoped I'd get to meet her at the baptism.

I first heard Sister Johnson speak at BYU shortly after her daughter was born. She gave a speech that I think startled a few young aspiring females in the audience. She basically said you can't have it all, meaning children, career, happy marriage, all at the same time. There are times and seasons of life. Make the most of what you have in the moment, but don't put off the most important.

She's written a fantastic book called I Am A Mother. It is inspiring. I read it at a time in my life when I needed some reassurance that my life could be complete within my stay-at-home-mom life. She is as kind and amiable in person as I would imagine after reading her book. Her son is about a week younger than mine and is just as cute!

Some may argue that the best kind of heroes are the people that you can observe day in and day out, someone close to you that you know. We live in a society that idolizes people for their sports prowess or their musical ability or their political power. While I'd never met this woman before, I feel a special connection to this woman who is a shining example of how to live your best life without compromising your best self. All said and done, it was just very, very cool!

And in her own words: "Never be afraid to aspire to be a mother."

A Few Silly Things from My Almost-Three-year-old

This week A said and did some things that just made me laugh. I thought I'd share in the joy:

1. While drinking regular Sprite soda (which I'm not sure he's ever had before) said, "It's too sweet. It has too many apples in it."

2. While looking through a book, A started singing "where is Jesus, where is Jesus," then knowingly and in a very serious tone said, "Oh, I found Him."

3. We were at the library and A needed a drink. This drinking fountain just had a small button to push instead of a long bar across the front. He got very creative with his knee.

4. During bedtime scripture reading we had this conversation (we were reading the children's Book of Mormon reader about the Nephi and Lehi, the sons of Helaman when they were in prison)

Me: "...and Nephi and Lehi looked toward heaven."
A: "Mom, where is heaven?
Me: "Humm. Well, it's in the sky over the earth. Heavenly Father lives there."
A: "Oh, by Jackson's house." (about 10 minutes away)
Me: "No, in the sky."
A: laughing "No, Heavenly Father's house is by Jackson's house!"

5. Another night, instead of the Book of Mormon reader, A wanted to look at a Book of Mormon picture calendar from Grandma for scripture study. Daddy turned to the first page, a picture of Lehi and his family leaving Jerusalem.

Daddy: "I spy with my little eye a camel." (A loves I Spy books)
A: Very confused, turning to mom, "That's not I Spy."

6. I was on the phone in the other room when A came and asked if he could have a lollipop. I said yes and kept talking. Some time later I came out to the kitchen to find six bare lollipop sticks and then nine wrappers! I'm not sure where the other three sticks ended up...

Where Were You?

This morning A and I went outside to hang our American flag. We put it up to commemorate the anniversary of the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001, on New York City and Washington D.C. I once asked my parents where they were when they heard about the attack on Pearl Harbor during WWII. Even though they were small children, they remembered very specific details about the day.

As for my own memories of September 11, my then-boyfriend, now husband had come to pick me up from my apartment, to walk me to work on his way to class, as always. It was about 7:45 and J asked if I had heard what happened that morning. His roommates or neighbors had been watching the news and heard the initial reports. Things were still very unclear as to what was happening. As we walked up the long flight of stairs past the BYU botany pond to campus, everyone in the busy 8:00 rush was talking about it. I remember one kid on his cell phone calling some far away friend to incredulously share the news.

At work it was all we could do to keep ourselves focused. We were glued to the internet and any updates available. CNN.com, thenytimes.com, and thewashingtonpost.com stick out in my mind. There was no live streamed video, just pictures and mostly second hand accounts of the events. We knew that planes were down, but some missing. We knew that people were trapped. We knew that nothing was certain as far as how safe we were every where else.

It was a Tuesday and BYU's traditional weekly devotional was canceled and the university president, President Merrill J. Bateman, spoke instead. There is something incredibly reassuring having a general authority speak at such a complicated and confusing time. J and I usually attended the devotionals together every week and it had been a while since we had seen such a packed house in the Marriott Center. President Bateman reassured us that we would be fine, that we would figure this out, and that we had to proceed the best we could under the circumstances.

I went to other classes that afternoon, knowing that the twin towers had fallen, the Pentagon had been hit and a plane had crashed somewhere else, ultimate destination still unknown. One or two classes were canceled. One went on as planned, but with much less enthusiasm.

By the end of the day, we all just sat mesmerized by the reports on TV and the images of people jumping out of windows, huge clouds of black billowy smoke and ash swirling through Manhattan, and the beginnings of the loss of life reports.

Eventually the "bring the story home" journalism started to touch our BYU campus. Reports of the BYU interns in the affected areas having gone out to dinner together the night before and all getting such bad food poisoning that none of them could go to work the next day and people's cars not starting or decisions to take the day off from work unexpectedly were now common. I had one friend who worked high in one of the twin towers and just a week and a half earlier left his high-paced job to find something a little more family friendly. While I know that as followers of Jesus Christ and members of His Church we are not immune from danger and heartache, it is remarkable to think how many people were protected and able to avoid harms way.

I've always been a very patriotic person and often get choked up when I sing the Star Spangled Banner or say the pledge. I am grateful for a nation of such resilience and such desire to overcome. This campaign year has brought a lot of questions about our national security and the well being of our nation with regards to our economy and health care and quality of life.They all talk a lot about change. In the last seven years since those attacks, so many things in my life have changed: my marital status, my economic situation, my parental status, my residence to name a few. But one thing never changes: we are a people who will rise above. We have a spirit born within us that will not let us give in or give up.

What a legacy we have. Will we pay the necessary price to perpetuate that? Will we teach our children to love our country and take pride in the values, opportunities and challenges that come with citizenship in this great community? Perhaps that was one of the great lessons that the 9/11 attacks taught us. We are a group with much in common, regardless of out differences. To borrow words from Paul in the New Testament, we are no longer strangers, but fellow citizens in the kingdom of God.

So wherever you were that day, where are you now? And where do you want to be in the future of this great nation? President Gordon B. Hinckley often said, it isn't enough to be good. We must be good for something.

Let's go be good for something this year. Let's not let 9/11 anniversary #8 come without having made our communities a better, safer, more optimistic place to be. Let us find within us that same strength and pride and open our arms a little wider to expand our personal communities. Let's do it!

Three Weeks and Three Days

So here's the belly shot that, if posted in a timely enough manner, is supposed to bring we a well behaved child who learns to sleep to the night at a good young age. I'm scheduled for a c-section on October 2. My nesting instincts are really kicking in this go around. For anyone who might be interested and would like to come for a visit (if you don't already live here), we are planning on blessing our baby on October 19. Church starts at 10:00.

Vacation Part 2

Our vacation adventure continued with so many ordinary events that made for extraordinary memories, especially for little A.

THE 4th OF JULY: Family Reunion Day 1

The Tank

Since the 4th of July is just about my favorite holiday I thought I'd add a couple of more tank photos since the Hellcat tank was such a huge hit in the Provo parade. Tree Climbing

Aunt A and Uncle C took A to a Freedom Festival Celebration activity and, of course, A's favorite thing was the tree we sat under to eat lunch. This was really A's first attempt at seriously climbing a tree. I think he saw his cousins and the others kids giving it a go. It was almost like this tree was made for climbing; get a load of the huge knots on the lower trunk.

Great Grandma's House

I think the thing that makes the 4th of July so special to me is that we always spent it as a family and had some great traditions. Any of the family that is in town for the holiday always ends up at my Grandma's house (my dad's mom). She's 93 and, with the help of her children and grandchildren, always hosts a fantastic afternoon of lazy summer activity. She lives in a farm house on the west side of Provo that used to belong to the foreman of the sugar beet factory and farms that in days on gone by dominated the area. My dad was raised in that house. I get my red hair from Grandma. Someday I hope I can grow up to be like her, full of wit and wisdom and a jar full of apricot jam for every person who walks through her door.

This old tire swing has been at Grandma's house for as long as I can remember and I'm sure much longer. From it you have a spectacular view of the Wasatch Mountain, Mount Timpanoogos, and Y mountain, all defining places for my grandparents. As a girl I spent countless hours with my cousins in this swing and even had my engagement photos taken here.


The Great American Meal: KFC and A&W

We have always had the 4th of July tradition of eating fried chicken and getting a gallon of ice cold A&W rootbeer right from the tap at the restaurant (it even comes in gallon jugs). This year was no different. I love this tradition and fully intend to keep it up in my own family. Only once as a little girl do I remember not being able to hold it down. Though I think it was more the effects of a long day in the sun rather than the food choice. I remember that year because I was so sick I slept through the fireworks and wore my too-small Strawberry Shortcake PJs because I was so hot and sunburned. Here is mom and son enjoying the tradition and below is A with his cousin ED sharing a little extra.

FAMILY REUNION DAY 2

Oakcrest Girls Camp Adventure

My sister's responsibilities at church include a regional assignment to help with a local girls' camp facility. She made arrangements for us to spend the day there as part of our family reunion. We went on the zip line, did archery, did a ropes course and just enjoyed being together. J got this great idea that he could take A on the zip line, which scared my whole family to death. It turned out well, A liked it so much, we figured out a way to tighten the harness so he could actually do it himself. He loved it. See the video below.

Following the leader. A wanted to be where the big boy cousins were and did the whole ropes course, with help!

TEMPLE VISITS

One of the things we told A about was how many temples we would see while we were visiting Utah. Grandma and Grandpa C have a spectacular view of the Timpanoogos Temple right out their front window. We also saw the Salt Lake, Provo, Jordan River, and the unfinished Draper and Ocher Mountain temples. Six temples within a half hour drive! It was great.

ONE LAST DAY WITH COUSINS

On our last day in Utah we went to the Bean Museum on the BYU campus. It is full of hundreds of stuffed animals. It is a really fun place to go. Grandpa and a few cousins met us there and we had fun seeing everything from Polar bears to zebras, to alligators to enormous fish. Grandpa asked A which animal he liked and wanted his picture taken in front of. He chose this grizzly bear. Afterwards we got ice cream cones at the BYU creamery. You can't go all the way from NY to Utah and not get a cone at the Creamery.

This is one last shot of A playing in his cousins' castle. He had so much fun being with everyone and enjoying their company. We look forward to another get together soon.

Vacation Part 1

We spent a wonderful week visiting family in Utah at the beginning of July. Our focus was to try to absorb as much "cousin" as we could on this trip since it was a bit shorter than the trips we usually take out West. A had a blast playing with every single one of his cousins, literally. All 23 grandkids were there for at least a few days. Since A is the youngest and his oldest cousin is already starting her third year of college, it made for some interesting dynamics to keep everyone busy and relatively happy. But it was worth every minute.

THE FLIGHT

This is the first time A remembers going on an airplane. He's old enough now to have his own seat, which he just loved. He sat next to the window and laughed at every take off and landing. I'm glad he handled it so well since we had a bit of a bumpy ride through some of the flight. I guess it proves that if you give a kid enough Starbursts, he can get through anything. The flight attendant at the first gate said to make sure A touched the side of the plane before we boarded. When A reached out to give a slap to the blue strip of the Southwest logo, he just giggled and giggled. That set a nice tone for the rest of the trip.

A loves trains and as a special incentive to be good we gave him a new train to play with on the plane. It was George the steamroller (from Thomas and Friends). He played well enough by himself that J and I were able to read and have some quite time. I didn't think anything of it until another passenger commented on how well behaved he was (too bad she didn't see him melt down in the driveway and the airport and about five other places earlier that morning). Another passenger commented on how contagious A's laugh is. She said she wished she could just bottle it and take it home because it made her smile.

WE'VE ARRIVED!

For several weeks preceeding our visit, A insisted on calling Grandma and Grandpa in Utah almost every day (we usually only called once or twice a week). We looked at pictures of our aunts and uncles and cousins and tried to learn names, too. So when we finally arrived A did a pretty good job recognizing at least some people. It was so good to see A's smile and hugs for his extended family.

From the minute we arrive we were on the go. We spent lots of wonderful hours swimming in my sister's pool. Well A and I played in the pool. My brother-in-law collects WW II artifacts and acquired a tank several months ago. J spent a few hours helping get the tank ready for the 4th of July parade. He even got to mount the .50 caliber machine gun! Very cool. (Recently one of J's co-workers was out in Utah rock climbing and broke his foot. The supervisors made mention of his absence at their daily planning meeting and sort of joked around about how it all happened. After jumping down off the tank one afternoon, J jokingly wondered how he would explain a broken foot from jumping off a WWII tank in his brother-in-law's yard).


All in all we handled the 95+ degree weather pretty well and we did get J to come swim after the tank was ready to go. He is a magnet when it comes to nieces and nephews. They had some fun pool races and water fights among other things. A really took to the water and wanted to try it by himself with a life jacket.


AN EVENING TO OURSELVES

Aunt A and Uncle C very generously watched A overnight so J and I could have a little getaway of our own. We ended up staying on the 14th floor of the downtown Marriott is Salt Lake. It was kind of funny walking in to the hotel at first. We both looked a little bedraggled and we were definitely in our summer traveling clothes. I don't think J had shaved since before we left NY. It seemed everyone was very prim and put together and the desk clerks were dressed to the nines. Oh well. As long as we pay the bill who cares what we look like!

The view from our floor was pretty amazing. We arrived after dark and looking out the window in the elevator lobby was breathtaking. It overlooked Temple square. It was majestic being right on the level with the Temple it seemed. The next morning we saw the construction site where the old Crossroads Mall used to be. Oh the hours that I spent there on Spring Breaks, after Conference, and visiting grandparents. There was a sort of nostalgia that lingered when I thought of the silly "license to kiss" that I had made at some novelty shop and first pair of Gap jeans that I bought in that mall and the number of soft serve ice cream cones that I bought at the Golden Spoon. It was fun to tell J some of those stories and make some new memories, too.

It was nice to have a little bit of time to ourselves. J humored me and we went out around 10 pm to find a place that would make me a milk shake. Not sure why, but boy, I couldn't get that shake out of my head until we'd made it to JB's Diner and in about two minutes demolished the entire thing. Oh, and J had a piece of pie (I think I ate most of that, too. So much for romantic sentiments when you are six months pregnant.)

Back from Vacation

Between getting ready for vacation, going on vacation, and recouperating from vaction, I haven't updated for nearly a month. Watch for new postings over the next several days documenting our super fun, super busy trip to Utah. When we got home A asked if we could do it again tomorrow. Sigh. It's hard living so far away from family sometimes. I guess he really enjoyed it.

A patter

We were sitting at the kitchen table after FHE tonight when we hear A in the living room swatting something against the couch. We were working on a little craft project and had a bunch of sticks in the kitchen and I was sure he had grabbed one and was using that. Without looking at him I just raised my voice and said, "A, what are you doing?" His response was "patting, mommy." That caught my attention as it was a somewhat unexpected word to use. I turned around to see what was making such a noise against the couch. A had found a fly swatter and was "patting" the the couch. Perhaps only a two-year-old would use such a gentle word for such an activity.

The Big 3-0

Happy birthday to me! This is slightly belated, but last week I turned 30. I've never really been huge on mulling over ages, etc., but surprisingly enough, this one really caught me off guard. I'm a thirty something. By the time my mother was thirty she had her teaching degree, taught school, put her husband through a BS and a PhD, lived all across the US from California to Connecticut, and had six children. Many of my high school friends married much younger than I and have children who are nearly baptism age. So I got a little bit later start.

I'm grateful for all the fantastic things my thirty years have brought. My life has been full and I am in awe of the miracles that I have seen in my own life and the lives of so many of the people I love. The Lord is truly gracious and merciful. I've got a great husband and a beautiful son with a healthy little baby boy on the way this Fall. I've got the gospel of Jesus Christ and the choice to live the best life I can every single day.

So a little birthday recap: My great home teachers brought me some lovely Salvia flowers to plant in my garden and my visiting teacher brought me a package of Dove chocolates (sooo decadent!). I threw my own birthday part and had a lot of fun breaking a pinata and making homemade ice cream. I also bought myself a very love bouquet of flowers. From my husband I got a sparkling kitchen floor. He scrubbed it clean on his hands and knees. I asked for it and was so pleased to get such a great gift! I'm also getting new guitar strings from him. Thanks to all who were so kind in sending cards, packages, gifts, etc. It is nice to be reminded that you are loved. I also got to share the spot light with my friend who had her birthday a few weeks earlier. That was so much fun as well. It will be a sad day when she moves away in a few weeks.

I've already eaten most of the chocolates from my visiting teacher; I've already read the entire Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants book another friend gave me; I've already found a place in my garden for another pot of flowers from another friend; I'm waiting to eat the chocolate and Cinnamon bears another friend gave me until I'm past a little bit more of my pregnancy sickness (I really want to enjoy them); and I won't let anyone else touch the foaming hand soap and lavender lotion and bath wash other friends gave me (A wants to try everything I have, and then try it again and again...). Oh and I downloaded a nice CD of music from another friend onto my ipod. A likes to tell me to turn on the music in the car so he can listen, too.

So thanks again for all who just love me and bring such happiness and joy into my life. You are the great people that make me who I am. I can't imagine what it must have been like for my parents to finally get me after many years of trying and hoping and praying. I always love my mother's story of how I was no accident (I was born eight years after my older sister), but rather much hoped for and much anticipated. I guess the Lord just knows where we need to be when we need to be there. Thanks to my parents for not giving up and listening to that still small voice that brought me in to the family. It was a very happy Memorial Day for my family back in May of 1978. Life really is full of greatness!

Baby pictures

Here are a few cute pictures from our ultrasound last week. They are "4-D" images. The first one is of the baby with his hand on his head; the second is of his little feet; and the third is his head and torso. As we were saving the pictures on the computer, A said, "That's my baby brother! That's great!" It was so fun. He still thinks we should name the baby "milk."

Ultrasound Results

So the two-year-old called it! We're having another boy! We are so excited for A to have a new little brother. If we let A choose names his suggestions have included lollipop, brother, and ice cream cone. We took A to the doctor's office for the ultrasounds and he was just enthralled! All day he had been saying that we were going to doctor's office to see pictures of mommy's baby. It was very sweet. How fun this new adventure will be for all of us. Can't wait to reuse all the super cute boy clothes that my sisters, sister-in-laws, and friends have supplied us with over the last few years. And the new baby will be wearing clothes A outgrew during just the right seasons. I do keep telling all my sisters that they must hang on to their cute girl clothes, just in case down the road.... Until then, I'm going to enjoy being the mother of boys! This makes the sixteen boy of my parents 24 grandchildren. We love it!

It's Been A While

The other day a new friend asked if I scrapbook. That was a resounding "no" on my part. Instead I blog, I told her. Well since I have have used blogging as a good excuse not to scrapbook, I have decided to renew my effort to update my blog more regularly. So here are a couple of updates and a few pictures:

Happy Mother's Day to me! I got a much longed for ipod. It's a little ipod shuffle that I can clip to me and run, walk, what ever to work out. It was such a suprise when I opened it. My husband said he's never seen me so excited over a gift before.

J took A to the Father and Son Campout with our Stake a few weeks ago. It was all A could talk about all week. He couldn't wait to roast hotdogs, marshmallows and sleep in a tent. He loved it!

We've been doing a ton of work in our yard this Spring. It feels like every spare second it spend doing some yard work, hauling dirt or mulch, tilling soil, planting trees and shrubs, cleaning up debris from last Fall and the Winter. Our son is such a trooper. He has a few of his own tools and pulls things around in his red wagon.