Merry Christmas!

Hope you have a wonderful day!!!

It's a....

BOY!!!

When it came down to it, I just didn't have what it takes to say no to the ultrasound tech when she asked me if I wanted to know the sex of our child. I thought that I would be able to stand firm and wait it out, but knowing that everyone else wanted to find out swayed me a lot and I couldn't resist.

Michael and James were absolutely thrilled to hear the news (with a lot of running around and "woot, woots" going on), but Anne just cried and cried. Not the throwing-a-fit kind of a cry either, the genuine my-heart-just-broke kind of a cry. I reassured her that now she would always be very special in our family because she would be our only girl, to which she responded, "I don't want to be special, I want a sister." :(

My heart aches for her.

On the bright side, the baby now seems much more real to me and I can't wait to decide on a name and decorate his nursery. More to come on that later...

Me at 20 weeks.

How do YOU take a bath?

American History......Check!

Once again, I am on my never ending course for my college degree. Since my decision to delay my schooling has removed my opportunity for a RN with an Associates Degree, I now have to get my RN with the Bachelor's program. The consequences of that decision make it so that I must now take a new litany of 'core' classes. This last semester I chose the first half of American History. It was a part Internet, part in-class and part DVD watching experience and it fit perfectly into my schedule.

I ended up really enjoying learning about the birth of our nation, the truly great leaders that were put in place by God at the right time, and how our government is set up and supposed to work.

While writing one of the many essays that were required for the class, I was discussing some of the Historical facts with Matt. At which point Michael said, "Mom, I learned all of this in 5th grade. Didn't you learn it when you were in school?"

...um....yes?

After doing some extensive quizzing, he was right...he did know all of the facts. I must say, this defleted my ego just a bit to realize that my "college" course was on par with a 5th grader. ;)

Oh well...it is finished, I enjoyed it, and I am three credits closer to my diploma!!!

You know you want some...

of the cookies that were decorated by my kids.

They have frosting and sprinkles to spare and the spreading utensils may have even been licked once or twice. :)

Merry Christmas!

Big Bed for my Baby

I wanted to give Philip a chance to be away from the crib before it was commandeered by our new little one. So, I spent one morning setting up a big bed in his room. He was a very big helper and was so excited to see what all of the commotion was about. Once it was all put together, he jumped around on it and "practiced" sleeping.

Then it was time to take apart his crib.

He sat on his new big bed while I started to dissemble the crib. As he watched he became more and more unsettled and finally started to say "HEY!...HEY!" as each new piece started to come apart. I heard the panic in his voice and reassured him that now he had a big bed. I'm not sure it worked though because the "Heys!" persisted until the entire thing was taken down and put away in the closet under the stairs.

He actually did really well in his new bed. Although he looks soooo little with all of that extra space.



This quilt is courtesy of my mother-in-law who made it approximately 30 years ago when they found out they were leaving hot Arizona for our cold climate. Either it wasn't used very much or it is the best made quilt on earth because it is in pristine condition. Just a good reminder that if you hold onto your stuff for 3 decades then it will be right back in style. :) :) :)



Next up...getting rid of the binkie...

Wedding Ring Woes

I lost my wedding ring. I use the word 'I' very loosely in this sentence. Every night I take off my ring and put it by my bathroom sink (it bothers me to sleep with it). Last August, when I got ready in the morning and went to put my ring on, it was gone. I think a little someone...namely Philip...may have put it in a VERY special hiding place. Like maybe the toilet or the garbage.
I have looked everywhere. I even bribed the kids with $50 if they could find it...all to no avail.

Finally, I decided that I was not going to endure this entire pregnancy with no wedding ring and so I started looking at replacement rings at a local jewelers. I found one that I liked and purchased it, only to discover that it didn't feel "right" to me. I returned it and continued on my hunt. I went to the jewelers who sold us my original band and started scouring through books to find my ring. The jeweler actually remembered the ring and was a big help. After looking for an hour or so, neither of us could find the original band, but I had found a few others that I thought might work. She marked the pages of the ones I liked and filled out a form to order them in so that I could look at them. When she was finished, she inadvertently flipped to another section of the book and stated "Carol, there's your ring." Hooray! She was right. We had found the original band and I was so excited.

She ordered it in for me along with the other ones that I liked. I had only one problem with my original band and that was that it was a little too thick for my short fingers. I am 5 ft. 11 in. tall, but I have really tiny hands...my sisters' Joanne and Brenda each have a good inch of extra finger length. Anyway, I debated back and forth between getting the original and getting a new one that was thinner. She could make my original band thinner, but she was going to charge me a hefty fee to alter it in any way.

Meanwhile, I continued looking at another jewelers in town and they were willing to thin down my original band for no additional charge. I was so excited!!! I could have the essence of my old ring back, only new and improved. I asked them to do it for me and then was a nervous wreck about them somehow getting the carving wrong. (I had purchased the ring by this point, so if they screwed it up I was out of luck.)

Needless to say, all of my fears were for not. I picked up my ring last Saturday and I absolutely LOVE it. Like I said, it reminds me so much of my original and yet it fits on my stubby little finger so much better. Did I mention?...Hooray!!!


I did try to take a picture of the ring on my short finger, but I couldn't get far enough away from it to allow the flash to do it's job correctly...it kept blowing it out. This may have something to do with my abnormally short arms. ;)

Signs and Sounds

Philip has a speech delay. Considering all that his little body has had to endure in his short existence, it is a miracle that this is his only delay.

Philip came to us when he was seven days old, but he had the muscle tone of a 6 month old. He could "walk" while holding onto your thumbs when he was only 6 weeks old...no that is not a typo...he was 6 weeks. We could hold him on our hip almost from the moment we got him and he would keep his back as stiff as can be and his head never slumped over like a normal infant. Suffice it to say that he was extremely stiff. When he was around two months old, his pediatrician told me that he would probably never walk and he would certainly never run. They (his doctors and therapists) thought that he must have Cerebral Palsy.

When he was 6 months old, we had a MRI done to examine the extent of the damage to his brain. Soon after, we scheduled an appointment with a Neurologist to go over the results. Since he was in Foster Care, a State Representative wanted to be present at the appointment with the Neurologist. Well, scheduling conflicts occurred and the appointment was pushed out by two months.

Also during this time, Philip had some biologically related families that were interested in adopting him. Since they were kinship to Philip, they would take precedence over us and they would be first in line to adopt him. When they heard about Philip's possible diagnosis however, they all bowed out...it was just too much to handle I suppose. Anyway, by the time we finally brought our 8 month old baby into the Neurologist, he was completely healed!!! That's right. No brain damage and his muscle tone was completely normal. This was truly the miracle that we had been praying for. The Pediatrician and Physical Therapist were dumbfounded by his complete turn around. You see, babies don't heal from muscle tone...they learn to compensate for it, but it doesn't ever go away. ;) Unless Heavenly Father has other plans, of course. ;)

So, back to my origianl statement...Philip has a speech delay. He is now 2 and 1/2 and he has a speech therapist that works with him every week or two. So far he can say:

Mom
Dad...this is his latest...hooray!
Mine
More
Ball...this was his first
Ice
Wow
Uh oh
Dog

He can do sign language as well. So far he can sign:

Up
Down
Outside
Hot
Shoes
More
Sorry
Please
Thank you
Drink
Banana
Apple
Candy
Cookie
All Done
Cold
Bird
Dog
Socks
Blankie
Night night
Bye bye
On
Off

He picks up on sign language very quickly and he is only limited by our lack of knowledge...I really need to learn some more.

So, while his list of words may seem small, he really is a miracle and we can't wait to see how he will amaze us next.

Gender Issues

We have our 20 week ultrasound tomorrow and I am still undecided as to whether or not we should find out the gender of the baby. Matt wants to know, the kids all want to know, but I think that I want to wait.

We knew with Michael and James, but decided to be surprised with Anne and it was SO FUN not knowing. There is no way to explain how exciting it was to meet Anne for the first time and not know what gender she was. (It also didn't hurt that we already had two boys and I was POSITIVE that she was a boy as well).

On the flip side, it sure is handy knowing what you are having when it comes to preparing for the new little one.

So...what do you think? You have one day to convince me either way. :)

At Long Last...

We are happy to announce that we are expecting baby number 5!!! For those of you who may remember...this has been a LONG process for our family and we are thrilled to welcome this new little one into our home.

Hooray!!!

13 weeks pregnant

Boy Fairies and Forts

It was General Conference for our church this weekend. My hope as a mother is that my children will learn to love the words of the Prophet and the other General Authorities.




In the meantime, this is what my kids did during General Conference.

Anne built a really cool fort.

Not to be outdone, the boys added their own fort to the backside of the couch.

Shared some apples...I love that Michael was playing with Philip.




Anne's rendition of President Eyring.

Philip's rendition of a stinkin' cute kid!!!

As a side note, when I was a kid we used to go down to Snowbird to spend conference weekend. My mom thought we were dutifully watching the conference in the other room, but we were really playing tag with our cousins up and down the halls, the elevators, and the stairwells of the hotel. ;)

Cash anyone?

Two months ago, Matt and I decided that we needed to do more saving and less spending. Well, truth be told, we have been saying that ever since we got married, but two months ago we took the steps needed to make it a reality.

We went to the cash system.

At the beginning of every month I go to the bank and withdraw the money that we will be needing for that month. I seperate the cash into different envelopes. Our envelopes are as follows:

Food
Household
Clothing
Date Night
Carol's lunch
Carol's slush
Matt's lunch
Matt's slush

We had to take a long hard look at our past spending and where we truly believed we were being wasteful in order to determine how much money went into each envelope. Also, after our first month I had a better idea of what was truly feasible. (We needed less in food...thanks to my newly acquired mad couponing skills :) and more in household.)

This new way of spending has completely changed the way I think about money. It is one thing to buy 5 pounds of chocolate covered cinnamon bears at Women's Conference and charge the total to your card without ever really thinking about it, it is something totally different to only have a certain amount of money in your envelope and to decide whether or not you really want 5 pounds of chocolate covered cinnamon bears. By the way, I really did want those chocolate covered cinnamon bears, but it was painful to pay for them...previously I would have never thought about it. Truly.

So far, this cash experience has been a very positive one. It has it's moments...like when I am fumbling through specific envelopes at the checkout line and I feel like everyone is wondering why in the world I am taking so long. Also, I forgot to budget for a haircut for me this month and so I am officially into the ultra shaggy phase. BUT, it has allowed us to drastically increase the amount of money that we are saving every month and in so doing I feel more peaceful about the safety of our family in tough economic times.

So, are you willing to join me? July 1st is the perfect time to commit to a new way of spending...I mean saving!!!

Five years ago today...

we were building a new house and I was discussing all of the associated decisions with our builder over the telephone. The call took longer then I thought it would and so I was delayed in getting out of the house to see my dad.

He was dying. We all knew it, but we didn't know how long it would take. (He was a fighter and he had defied the odds over and over again.) I had spent the entire day before with him and I called my mom first thing that morning to see how he was doing. She told me that his breathing sounded better...perhaps we had more time then we thought.

I finished the phone call with my builder and loaded my three little ones into the car. It was nearly lunch time and so I grabbed them some McDonald's on the way to my in-laws. (Matt's parents had been kind enough to watch them for me so I could be with my parents during this time.) As I was pulling into the driveway of my in-laws house I received a call from my sister Linda.

"Dad's gone" she said.

I remember being angry. I remember the smell of hot french fries from McDonald's. I remember feeling overwhelming sadness. I remember driving as fast as I could to my parent's rental home. I felt like maybe I could somehow make up the time for not being there.

I couldn't.

He was gone and I had missed it.

I remember how everyone around me just kept going about their daily business. Didn't they know that everything had changed? That my world, as I knew it, had just ceased to exist? Didn't they know that I had dilly dallied that morning and had missed my father's passing?

Then I arrived at my parent's home. From the moment I walked into the house, the Holy Spirit calmed me. I felt absolute peace. Dad was gone. I had missed it. It was ok.

Five years ago today, I said goodbye to my dad.

I know that I will see him again.

Just when I thought he wasn't listening

I went down into Michael's room this morning to open his window and this is what I found on his whiteboard.
In case you can't see his words, he wrote, "We honor the soldiers life to death battles. We also honor my grandpa who died from a cancer that has no cure."

Michael, sometimes you take my breath away.

Nursery Carnage

We sent him into nursery on Sunday as happy as can be and when we picked him up we got this...
We are hoping that none of the scratches end up scarring his sweet little face. :(

Snapshot

...of a 36 year old on his birthday.

Happy Birthday, my strong, faithful, courageous and handsome husband!

I love you forever!!!

4.5%...and other smokin' deals

We just refinanced our home and we were able to get a 30 year mortgage at 4.5%!

Woohoo!!!

This saves us a lot of money every month and in these uncertain times, we are extremely grateful. I read in the news that rates haven't been this low since right after World War II. They got down to 4.7% at that time.

Did I mention? Woohoo!!!

Also, I am now officially a 'couponer'. What is a couponer you ask? My son Michael says it means you are a coupon maniac. I have been able to get the most amazing deals this past month. My deals include...

Secret Deoderant...FREE
Frosted Flakes...50 cents a box
Colgate Toothpaste...FREE
Fruit Roll-ups and Fruit Gushers...25 cents a box
Dove Bar Soap...FREE...actually, I made $1.40 on the 8 bars I bought
2 packages of Huggies diapers and one package of Huggies wipes...$1.00 (not including tax)
I ended up with 24 packs of diapers and 8 packs of wipes...can you say another woohoo!!!?
Liquid Tide laundry detergent...FREE
$25 gift card to one of our favorite restaurants...$2.50
Redbox movies on Mondays and Wednesdays...FREE

Now you can more fully appreciate why Michael refers to me as a 'coupon maniac'. What are your smokin' deals this month? or What other cool ways have you devised to save money?

Next month Matt and I are going to cash. I've never used cash before...I will let you know how it goes.

Curious?

I am a mormon.

My relationship with God, Jesus Christ, and The Holy Ghost are more important to me than I can express. I have a testimony that Jesus Christ died for me and that He was resurrected. I KNOW that He lives. I believe that families can be together forever...even after we have left this life. I believe that the temple is a place where we can be sealed together forever. I know these things because I have prayed about their truthfulness and I have received a personal witness that they are true.

I recently discovered that a dying television program will be discussing (and showing) our temples in an episode. I am saddened to hear this and realize that it is only a ploy for ratings, but I am concerned about all those people that may see it and not understand the other side of the story.

I found this video and it helps describe why we (as mormons) build temples and some of the work that we do there. I know that there are a lot of you that read my blog, but do not share my faith. I respect you and I hope that you respect me too. Please take 3 minutes out of your day to watch this. If nothing else, it will give you a better understanding of some of your neighbors and friends.

If you have any questions, please leave me a comment and I will do my best to answer them. You can even question me anonymously if that makes you more comfortable.

All my love,
Carol

Please click here to see the video.

Southern Caribbean Cruise 2009

Day 1: Traveling

After a long day of connecting flights, we decided we were hungry. Dinner at midnight? Sure, why not???

Day 2: San Juan

Old San Juan

Joanne, Anna, and me. I can't tell you how much I love these two women.

Fort at Old San Juan

Cheese! Joanne decided to say Queso instead of cheese since we were in San Juan and her "smile" is the result. Turns out there is a reason why you are supposed to say cheese. We laughed and laughed when we saw this photo.

Our ship wasn't ready to board and so we grabbed some lunch at a restaurant in San Juan.


Day 3: At Sea

The Sanctuary...ahhh relaxation at it's best.

This day at sea was perfect.

Playing Princess

All ready for dinner.

Day 4: Aruba

After our running joke about Queso we actually found a sign that said it and we had to take a picture. Joanne cracks me up.



Phase 10 anyone? Especially enjoyable on a balcony in the Caribbean.




I can't help but feel that Brian got a little SUN!



Day 5: Bonaire

Matt didn't get the memo that we were being sexy. :)

On our way to snorkeling in Bonaire. Truly the best snorkeling we have ever experienced. There was a reef wall that completely dropped off into deep ocean. Very surreal feeling.

Killing time in Bonaire.






Day 6: Grenada

On our way to Seven Sisters Waterfalls.

Hiking to Seven Sisters in Grenada...poor Anna had a horrible wound on her foot and the mud didn't help. Everyone was a good sport even though Mike and I were the only ones who hiked to the actual waterfalls.

Seven Sisters is a series of seven waterfalls. You have to climb up a narrow path in the jungle (by literally grabbing at roots and hauling yourself up) to access the first waterfall. Matt and I did this same hike by ourselves in 2008 and while I couldn't wait to do the big jump at the end, Matt was NOT doing that again...EVER. Mike however thought it sounded fun and so he and I made the hike to the top and jumped the previous smaller waterfalls in order to make our way to the BIG 40 foot waterfall at the end. Mike went first...

Here I go...

I screamed really loudly when I went. :)

Yahoo!!!

Hooray! We did it!!!

Matt won a free men's shave at the Spa and his skin was silky smooth.



Day 7: Dominica

Check out the muscles on my man!

Hiking in Dominica...I absolutely loved this island and I can't wait to go back.

After swimming up Titou Gorge.

Day 8: St. Thomas

Matt and I with the Caribbean Princess in the background.

What a memorable and fun vacation we had!

I love my teeth!

In December of 2007, Matt and I had extra money sitting in our "Flex Spending" account at his work, and it was either use it or lose it. So, I bought all of the over-the-counter medicine I could think of and then still had additional funds sitting there. I am not one to see good money go to waste, so I called my brother-in-law (who happens to be a fabulous orthodontist) and asked him to slap some braces on my teeth.
I had braces when I was a teenager and while my teeth are nowhere near as bad as they were when I was a kid, they had shifted and it bugged me. So, for the last 13 months I have endured braces on my teeth and while it was not fun, it definitely was not as bad as I remember them as a kid. (This may have something to do with my liberal use of Ibuprofen and my much improved dental hygiene.) :)
Matt and I had a cruise planned at the end of January and we were going with friends and my sister and brother-in-law. You guessed it...my orthodontist. So, for the last 4 or 5 months I have been giving him a hard time and telling him that he had until our trip to get my teeth straight or he was gonna have to hear me whining the entire vacation. Have you ever tried snorkeling with braces on your teeth? You can't bite down correctly on the mouthpiece and it is NOT enjoyable.
So, two days before we left on our sunny vacation, my braces were removed and I LOVE my teeth. I smiled and smiled and smiled for days on end. Thank you Mike (my handy and very kind ortho)...I am one happy customer.

This picture was taken in San Juan while we were on the aforementioned vacation. I have a lot more pics to share from this trip and also (if I can figure it out) a video of me and Mike (orthodontist extraordinaire) jumping off a 40 foot waterfall. Soooo fun!!!