Christmas 2010

My sister sent thess adorable iron-ons. I felt so crafty putting them on and Lucy LOVED that Rudolph was on her shirt.

Christmas Eve morning we headed to Heidi's to partake of her family's traditional Christmas breakfast. I have been hearing about this breakfast for years and WOW! Hashbrowns, fried egg, sausage patty, bacon and cheese-Heart attack on a plate!

We had the traditional stocking night with Marc's family where we make pizzas, do a skit, have a white elephant exchange and get stockings and pj's from Grandma. So fun. Lucy provided the entertainment from our family by singing Rudolph and telling the story of when Jesus was born with her Little People Nativity set.

Christmas morning we woke up before the kids to open the envelope that would tell us if we would be having a boy or a girl. The tech made SEVERAL pictures for us of evidence that we were indeed having a baby GIRL.  Marc and I hugged one another (I cried a bit) and then we went to back to bed ;)

Christmas morning was magical. David loved all the toy balls he got. Heidi spent the morning with us too. It was so fun to have her there and Lucy loved showing her all her new toys.

I think these were both a hit!

My parents' and Grandma's reaction to opening a pink ornament to announce we would be having a girl (My Grandma has been right on the sex of all three of our children).

  

Christmas night all tuckered out with the special blanket from Grandma Sampson

David loved his blankie too (and the ball)

One last shot of our cute boy with his fabulous pajamas from Grandma Kay (and some balls).

Welcome back my dear friend . . .

Here I am, four months along with my third pregnancy. I am going to try to put into words some thoughts I have had regarding this pregnancy. As I laid in bed last night unable to get comfortable with all the symptoms beginning to come on (nausea, numbness in my hands, congestion, electric shocks in my abdomen . . . ) I thought, the first two times this was all happening to me I found myself running to every book and website I could find to discover what in the world was going on. But this time, it is different.

This time, it feels as though I am welcoming back an old friend. You know the type of friend that you always love to see even though their presence generally brings with it some pain and sorrow. The friend that makes life complicated. The friend that stretches your ability to practice charity. And yet, it's this friend that your life would not be complete without. It would not be complete, because despite all the burdens, the pain and the emotions this friend makes you go through, you know you wouldn't trade the ultimate purpose behind this friendship for anything.

So I find myself saying things like, welcome back numb hands and over sensitive smeller. You are not an easy thing to have back in my life, but you are a very, very welcome site. You are welcome because I have come to learn that all of your dear sweet symptoms lead me to a joy I never knew possible. I know that through the trials you bring me, I am in a better position to be the mother I want to be. And I know that with every pain comes a sweet companionship of beautiful symptoms like feeling my baby move within me. So welcome back old friend. I missed you and I will always treasure the memory of your companionship.

It's a . . .

GIRL!!!

We had our ultrasound . . .

and within this envelope holds our answer. To be opened Christmas morning .  . .

How we spend our days . . .

David can usually be found playing with anything that has to do with balls.

And Lucy enjoys talking about the story of baby Jesus with our nativity puppets or Fisher Price Little People nativity set that we have. It is a beautiful life.

Twas the Sunday before Christmas . . .

It was so fun to put Christmas outfits on the kids for church today. They looked so adorable!

Boy or girl???

I was just reading this post of when my friends guessed if we would be having a boy or a girl when I was pregnant with David. Well guess what? 11 out of 12 of you were right! So please let me know your thoughts for our next bundle of joy. We'll be having an ultrasound on the 23rd, but we are going to wait until Christmas Day to find out what we're having. So please vote, you have until Christmas Morning at about 6am! ;)

Seeing Santa

Lucy was completely in awe as she talked with Santa. She asked him for, "A pink sparkly ball with Arielle in it and to put candy corn in her stocking."

David was not quite so into Santa . . . maybe next year?

The Judds

Marc took me on a great date to see The Judds. He really shocked me with our incredible seats. Third row back and seats 1 & 2 closest to the stage!!! It was amazing!

Naomi came right up and shook my hand. They were both so incredible. I danced and sang my heart out the whole time. "No one could love me like . . . YOU!" Oh such great memories. I'm fairly certain Marc and I were the youngest ones there, but that didn't keep us from blending right in with all the rest of the fans. Such a great night.

It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas . . .

Lucy was so excited to put up our Christmas tree. I kept telling her we had to wait until after Thanksgiving. Is was all we could do to have her wait until the day after Thanksgiving to decorate. She ran around the whole house just gitty with excitement.

We have had some lovely snowfalls combined with some wonderfully unexpected warm days . . .

The stockings are hung (notice the teeny tiny red one on the far right? It's for the teeny tiny baby in my tummy). David stands at the tree with his hands raised above his head and says, "Santa!"

We enjoyed The First Presidency Christmas Devotional with freshly popped popcorn . . .

And the entire bottom half of our tree is decorated with cheap IKEA ornaments that will not break any ones' heart if this little guy gets a hold of them. He LOVES the tree. Today he was taking his toy balls (his favorite of all his toys) and placing them on the tree as a decoration. Oh how magical this time of year is with little ones to celebrate it with. 

***Something I am VERY happy about, I just learned that the "pink sparkly ball with Arielle inside of it" that Lucy has been asking Santa for is at The Disney Store and they're holding it for me. I didn't even know this thing existed until I saw it at my neighbor's house this morning. And the cost, $4.00! What a lovely Christmas miracle.

Lucy's first dance recital . . . Angel Dance

This dance was my most favorite of all. It is the angel dance with Baby Jesus. I love how fitting the music is for this triumphant yet peaceful event. I also love how tender the little girls are with their Baby Jesus dolls.

Lucy's first dance recital

It was so fun to watch Lucy perform. Here is one of her 3 numbers. I'll post the other two later.

Birthday #34

Marc asked me what I wanted for my birthday and I told him I wanted him to take the day off so we could spend the time together. He obliged and we had a wonderful day.

We started the day off with a trip to the temple (thanks to my mother-in-law for babysitting). Then we went to lunch as a family. Then Heidi babysat so we could see the Carl Bloch exhibit (amazing!) Then Marc babysat so Heidi and I could go shopping (I got the most adorable boots). And the day ended with pizza and family time. It was absolutely perfect!

So what do you do all day?

As a Mother I am frequently asked, "So what do you do all day?" As if to mean I must have oh so much free time on my hands. Well if for nothing more than posterity's sake (and my own peace of mind) I would like to answer that question with a brief run down of what I have done all day (today, November 29, 2010):

-Kissed my husband and said prayers with him as he ran off to work, reminding him to check on the open enrollment dates for insurance plans
-Met the needs of my two waking babies with a little song and milk. Changed and dressed the babies and got each of them breakfast while turning on uplifting music in the background.
-Started load 1 of 6 loads of laundry I would do today (that would mean: wash, dry, fold and put away each load)
-Cleaned up the kitchen
-Got myself dressed and ready
-Responded to urgent emails
-Put on coats, shoes, etc and headed out the door to Mom, Me, and Monet art class

-Enjoyed art class with my two children
-Checked on a friend
-Ordered a broken piece to Lucy's car seat
-Arrived home and played with the children
-Replied to more work emails
-Made lunch for the children
-Ate lunch with the children
-Wrote in my journal
-Read some scriptures
-Checked in on another friend
-Cleaned the bathrooms with my children as my assistants
-Laundry going on all the while here
-Read to my children
-Laid my children down for a nap
-Picked up the house a bit
-Exercised
-Conducted a phone meeting with work
-More work emails
-Consulted with 3 experts on assessment to determine the next 2 tests we should teach to our students
-More work emails
-Revised the final for my CPSE 420 course
-Created a study guide for the final
-Finalized my presentation for class on Thursday
-Ordered 3 Christmas gifts online
-Transferred money from savings to checking
-More laundry
-Prepared a dinner for a family member in need
-And it is only 3:30pm my dear friends! I hear my children waking up for naps, so I am off to play some more with them . . . oh, and I'm also making a baby!

HAPPY THANKSGVING!

And in honor of this day, may I link you to a great story from the first time my little family decided to do Thanksgiving on its own: click here

Hope you enjoy the laugh!

Something Lucy never figured out . . .

Do little boys learn how to do this in heaven?

Woosh . . . woosh . . . woosh . . .

Went the sound of our baby's heartbeat today and it was the most wonderful sound ever. The best part of all was seeing Lucy's little grin as she heard it too. She has informed us that the baby will be a girl named Julie. She even told our doctor this today. We shall see . . .

Art Class

We've been going to "Mom, Me and Monet" art class for a while now with Lucy, and David has just played off to the side.  But the past few weeks David has really been into the projects as well. Please don't mind the paint on his lips!

And a child shall lead them . . .

A conversation with Lucy today:

Lucy: "Mom, remember when Heavenly Father made my tummy feel better?"
Me: "Yes, that was very nice."
Lucy: "Mom, where is Heavenly Father?"
Me: "He is in heaven, but the special thing about Him is that He can be wherever we need Him to be."
Lucy: (not seeming to get the latter part of what I said) "He's in Heaven?"
Me: "Yes, He's in heaven."
Lucy: "Mom, we should go to heaven."
Me: "That is a great idea."
Lucy: "Mom, I think heaven is on top of the temple."
Me: "I think you are exactly right."

Just a lazy morning . . .

Relaxing with the sister. (I LOVE this picture)

A Pinkalicious 3rd Birthday!

It was so fun to wake up as a family and sing Happy Birthday to Lucy and watch her open her presents. We got her this animatronics kitty that she loves (and so does David). She named her kitty, "Miss Petty Bone."

When I asked Lucy what she wanted to do for her birthday she said, "I want to have a pink cake with pink candles and have people sing Happy Birthday to me." So thus began the pinkalicious plannings . . .

The pinkalicious birthday girl. When she opened that tutu she said, "Oh my heck, it's my tutu for dance!"

We had a story teller come and boy was that a hit! He sang, read Pinkalicious, danced and ended with a puppet show! So much fun. All the kids were just giggling the whole time he was there.

The pink cake with pink candles as we sang Happy Birthday to Lucy. The moment she had been dreaming of. I got a little teary eyed as I saw her look of pure joy here.

Happy 3rd Birthday Lucy-Goosey Girl! Oh what an incredible 3 years it has been! We love you!

The details . . .

• I am 10 weeks pregnant
• Baby is due June 2nd 
• David and baby will be exactly 2 years apart (Lucy will be 3 1/2)
• I feel nauseous ALL the time, but I never throw-up
• I feel better when I eat something
• My pregnancies are fairly mild so I am able to keep up on the demands of life, but my best days are when I get a nap
• Cravings: falafel, marinara sauce, salads and peaches
• I am already showing
• Who was the first to know? Lucy. She was giddy with excitement when I told her and when Marc got home from work she said, "Mommy has a tiny baby in her tummy." He looked up at me in a bit of shock and said, "Really?" I smiled, teared-up and hugged him
• Lucy tells me it is a "baby sister" every time we talk about it (we'll find out for sure on Christmas)
• I officially: hiked, Timp, The Subway and ran The Redrock Relay all while being pregnant-pretty impressive eh? The best part? I didn't even know I was pregnant yet ;)
• We are absolutely thrilled
• We saw the little peanut and heartbeat a week ago with an ultrasound and everything looks great. It was such a beautiful sight. The second he scanned where the baby was, I saw it, and my heart was absolutely overflowing with joy and gratitude

Lucy has a little announcement . . .

This will brighten your day

Family Photo Fall 2010

HAPPY HALLOWEEN!!!

My Lucy bush

Lucy was born on November 7th, just in time for cold gray winter to come and show itself to the world. I found it VERY challenging to be home with a new baby that I was told not to take ANYWHERE for fear she would get RSV and unable to really get outside because it was so cold, snowy and we were having a terrible inversion. Needless to say, this left me feeling somewhat depressed. I looked out at our yard to see everything dying and losing its color. Then to my very pleasant surprise, I looked over to see this gorgeous purple bush in full bloom right before my eyes. It was without a doubt, a direct gift to me from God. A small sign to show me He was there, that He cared and that I needed to take the time to treasure the beauty of this current season of my life. The bush has remained my "Lucy bush" (and Lucy will be the first to inform you of this). Every time I see it, I am reminded of the incredible color of life that is mine to enjoy through the eyes of my dear sweet Lucy. And the best part is, the year Lucy was born, is the latest the bush has ever bloomed. It usually blooms about a month before her birthday. Coincidence? I know better.

 

 

 

Pumpkinland

Our third annual trip to Pumpkinland! To see trip one click here and to see trip two click here

Is this the cutest bat you've ever seen?

David loved sitting in the pumpkins. I think he thought he was surrounded by balls. He cried every time we had to leave them.

Our big girl! Lucy is getting so grown up. She was so fun to watch this year. She's really starting to "get" so much of what is going on all around her.

Our cousin, Eliza, got to come play with us. These three had a lot of fun together.

Sweet Eliza Jane. She kept saying, "Pumpkin. Happy Halloween!"

Our family at the corn maze. As I was putting Halloween shirts on the kids, Marc went to his closet and returned with an orange shirt on! He is so adorable.

The three little pumpkins

David could have crawled through this tunnel all day.

Lucy and David ready to get their pumpkins

Another successful year of fun, exploration and pumpkin finding at Pumpkinland.