Monday, September 12, 2011

Family Update

Ivan: Teaches Algebra and Special Ed at Poston Butte High School. We love his new job. Its a lot closer and the kids and I try and take him lunch at least three times a week since its only about 10 mins form our house. The girls LOVE to see him at lunch time!! He continues to work on our irrigation port and fencing so we can have grass soon. He cares for our goats and milks them daily. Serves in the Elders Quorum Pres. He recently finished his Masters. He ran in a track meet recently and did AWESOME!! I love watching him with the kids and they love any minute they can have with their daddy!

Me: Having child number three has been a bit of a challenge. Less sleep, outnumbered, etc. But I am absolutely loving motherhood. I love having Ivan close and not doing homework all hours of the night. I started teaching preschool again this year and have a fun, small sized class. I am serving as YW President and love it. I went to girls camp this summer and thoroughly enjoyed the girls and felling the Spirit. I went to Utah and had a great weekend with my sisters at my Grandma's bed and Breakfast. It was a much needed bonding/relaxing time!

Marlee: She LOVES to swim. She wants to get better each time. Jumping off the diving board/rocks- She won't come up for air until she runs out which scares us... She is the BEST big sister to Brandtson and helps me out so much through out the day. She is super friendly and enjoys playing with pretty much anyone. She is the oldest kid in my preschool and is such a good helper. She is starting to write some letters and we are beginning to understand what she is drawing. She loves calling and talking to people on the phone and is pretty much a good kid. We got a second opinion (other than my own) about her being allergic to milk and it is confirmed. She also has enlarged tonsils which we are trying to heal naturally for a couple of months before having to remove them or not. Part of the natural way is to avoid sugar, dairy, etc. So in church on Sunday, her primary teacher told me how she was offered Skittles. She said, 'Does that have sugar in it?" And of course the teacher said yes so Marlee responded, "My mommy said I can't have sugar." I feel bad but know that it would be worth it in the long run if we can save her tonsils. She is really into playing babies, barbies and pretend.

Josie: Josie is a little sneaky thing. She gets into my make-up, Daddy's tools, my necklaces and cooking utensils-pretty much anything that is off limits. But we still love her. She is a a water lover. She will go and put herself in the bathtub any time of day to play in the water. She enjoys swimming too, but is a little apprehensive. She is a great nap taker! She loves when Brandtson wakes up and loves waking him up if she wants to play with him while he is napping. She is a cuddler. She likes to tease and get a reaction out of Marlee and loves to wrestle with Anyone and won't stop when her opponent taps out! She is a follower to whatever everyone else is doing as long as its fun and but yet she is totally okay with playing by herself while other are playing. She loves the Toy story characters as well as the Rapunzel characters.
 
Brandston: He is on a roll this month....He is six months old. He started crawling last week. Started pulling himself up on furniture and walking along the furniture as well as his first tooth broke threw skin last night. He is growing up WAY too fast. He is a great little baby. He loves all of the attention his sisters will give him. He chases them around the house at a slow crawling speed, but still loves it! He is starting to become a mama's boy and says, "mama" when he is stuck, super sad, etc.(Thanks to his sisters and dad who think its funny and taught him how to say "mama.") I'm a little nervous he is going to start walking soon!


 Overall, we feel completely blessed to have such wonderful kids and for Ivan to have a family orients job. LIFE IS GOOD!!!

Sunday, August 7, 2011

"No pictures" is holding me back...

So I have had a hard time blogging because Ivan doesn't want me to download any pictures to the computer til he is done with his Masters because it slows our computer down. I will have to sneak one in:)

Last week was super fun. I spent the weekend in Utah with my sisters. We stayed with my grandma at her bed and breakfast. massages, pedicures, make up, hair, my grandma fixed us breakfast/lunch/dinners, picnic at the lake, etc. One of my favorite things was that I was able to go to the Manti Temple. It seriously is so gorgeous. It sits on the hill over looking the valley and is stunning! Plus I had a great session and felt the spirit! I got to visit with two of my Junior high friends and see my cousin Jace, who just returned from his mission!
While I was gone, my kids had fun with the Winter's, Mack's and Lesueur's! Thanks to everyone who helped out! I took Brandtson and he was super good, of course- he's such a good baby!



Monday, August 1, 2011

Hay

Hay as in-- Hay for animals....Here is a little story about Hay.
We got goats about a year ago and hay cost $7.00 for one bale.
In the winter, Hay was hard to find and it was $12.00 a bale.
We thought it would go back down during farming season, but it has not. But here is the sad part...
Rumor has it that come this winter its going to cost between $20-$30 a bale! SERIOUSLY!!! I guess its the whole supply and demand concept. So if your in need of hay, better stock up before winter hits!!!

Sunday, July 31, 2011

Week in a nutshell

Monday, watched my friends kids. Ivan started his first day of teaching!!
Tuesday, Nat and her kids came over and helped me move things around in my house to get things ready for my preschool. It was fun hanging out with them :)
Wednesday, went to the FLOW rider in Mesa with the priest and laurels for mutual. It was so much fun!!!!
Thursday, Nat came over again to help with the house more..Gavin and Mary came over and I helped tutor him in math. Had a good visit with him!
Friday, I just went to town on cleaning the house so we could have an enjoyable weekend.
Saturday we had family time and had our neighbors over for a visit. Then we made home made ice cream and watched a movie together as a family!
Sunday we went to church, took a nap and then visited with mine and Ivan's families! Good day!

Sunday, July 24, 2011

Missionary Work

Today was a great day. It stared off at 6:30 in the morning with gong to ward council~! Then church. The Elders that are serving in our ward spoke in Sacrament meeting along with a ward missionary and the ward mission leader. It was a great meeting. I love hearing peoples conversion stories. I love hearing about missionary work. Ironically, our YW lesson was on missionary work too. It was a good lesson and I really love my Laurels! I challenged them to push their comfort zone because we never really know who is interested in the gospel or the seeds we can plant! one of the best ways to share the gospel is to live it!
We came home, ate lunch and then we all took a three hour nap! Then headed to a friends family get together . Overall GREAT day!

Saturday, July 23, 2011

Setting up Ivan's class

Today we had a good family day. We had spent the night with Gavin and Mary and went swimming again. We also went an ran errands to get things for Ivan's classroom. We then went to his classroom and set it up. He starts school on Monday. He is going to be teaching math to reg and sped students. I am excited for him:)

Friday, July 22, 2011

Fun Friday

Ivan had work. I hung out with a new friend and her kids! Its the tender mercies of the Lord that make life great. I have had a few close friends move away and another one to move next month and I was thinking that I was going to miss them since our kids always hung out. Well, at church I met a new friend and our kids are the same ages:) She and her boys come over and we hit it off so well, I know that the Lord allowed me to meet her and act upon it.
After work, we played Volleyball with Kyle, Bobbi and crew. Then we went night swimming with Gavin and Mary and our kiddos. Ivan and Gavin worked with Marlee on how to swim. She's getting so good!
We spent the night with them too!

Thursday, July 21, 2011

Swimming

We went swimming with the Winters today. Marlee loves to swim on the first step that is shallow but won't venture out, which is good, but I would love for her to want to learn to swim. Josie is scared to jump in. She likes using floaters, but still wants to hang on to an adult. Hopefully once of these years I can afford swimming lessons for all of my kids! Brandtson loved the pool too. All of the swimming wore us out so we all got to take a nap! Then we hung out with the Stalder family, while Ivan finished up a big assignment he had for his class. That's pretty much our day! Good night:)

Back in Business

Well, I have five months of daily entries in a word document and pictures in Picassa that I just need to get it together and upload! I still have been journaling but for some reason the blog scared me and I felt overwhelmed, but I am over it :)

So I am starting up again! YEAH!!!!

So today was a super fun day. Watched my friends kids, then she watched mine. Made chocolate and strawberry custard with goats milk. We had a fun activity tonight for mutual. The girls milked a goat and then tried butter, cheese and ice cream all made from goats milk. It was pretty awesome!

Just an FYI:
  • Goats milk is really good for you, its way better than the ultra pasteurized cow' milk that is full of hormones...Glad for this knowledge and can actually now say after a long time, that I AM GLAD WE HAVE GOATS!!!

Here is a quick family shot from Disney Land til I get it all back logged with pictures...

Tuesday, February 22, 2011

Going Home... well kind of AND ramdom thoughts

Today we got to home! Well, I am actually going to stay at my moms house for a while until Marlee can get over being sick. We are blessed that Ivan has some time off and can take care of the girls while I recover.
Well, Brandtson gets cuter by the minute. (Of course ever mom thinks that about their own baby.) I just love watching him while he sleeps. Its amazing these little spirits get to come to us and be part of our lives. Heavenly Father puts a lot of trust in us to raise His children. Wow!Yes nursing still hurts with baby number three. And I am now starting to feel the full delayed aches of child birth:) Miss not being with Ivan and the girls. Grateful for all my family and Ivan's family for all their help. Oh and we sold another goat tonight! Our neighbor called us ans said someone was stealing our goat but I had to explain that we had already arranged for our other neighbor to buy our goat. Gotta love our watchful neighbors.

Monday, February 21, 2011

Good Night

We had a good night last night. Brandtson and I slept for four hours straight. Not much to report other than we are doing well. Ivan went to take care of the girls while my mom came to the hospital to take care of me. Not much to report.

Sunday, February 20, 2011

Brandtson Guy Mack

He arrived today! Brandtson finally decided to join our family. Here is how it came about...
We were sleeping downstairs at the Macks. At around two twenty  I had a hard contraction. I fell back to sleep and twenty mins later I had another. Fell back to sleep and had another one ten mins later and then another ten mins later. So I figured I should wake Ivan up and let him know they were progressing fairly quick. I did not want to have a baby at home or in the car so we decided to get ready to go. We woke up Moneta to let her know we were going to go to the hospital. Marlee woke up and asked me if it was daytime and I told her no, but that mom was going to go have the baby! She got excited, went to the bathroom and came out and said she had clean hands and can hold the baby when he comes out. She rubbed my belly and said I love you. Another contraction hit at seven mins  so I did some of my yoga moves to work through the contraction and Marlee asked if I was doing yoga. (Nothing gets by this girl)then six mins and another contraction so we headed out the door.
We arrived at the hospital and they checked us in. Checked me and I was at a 3. The nurse told me she was going to monitor me and the baby for twenty mins then see what happened. Of course once you lay down and stop moving, the contractions slow down. So twenty mins later, Ivan and I started walking around and the contractions picked up and by five thirty I was heading to labor and delivery. The contractions picked up as well as the pain. They called the doctor and prayed he'd get there in time:)
Well, I did not have time for an epidural but got some numbing in my spine which did not really kick in fully but did mask some of the pain. It was about four or five series of pushing and then he came out! I loved how they put him right on my chest and I could see the little cutie.
Brandston was born at 6:45am and weighed 7lbs 7 ounces. He was 20.5 inches long and was six days past due!


 The girls came and visited and Marlee was sooooo excited to hold him! We love our new addition to the family and glad we are all doing well!


Rain and wedding stuff

It rained a ton today. It was nice and refreshing. Since we slept over last night at the Mack house we had a fun time playing with Amanda and the kids today. We finalized bridesmaids outfits for Sasha's wedding. And just hung out.

Friday, February 18, 2011

Fun Friday

We were all over the place today. Nat and I (and of course the kids) went to San Tan mall to let the kids play there. We then headed over to some other stores to walk around and try to get labor going. No luck. Then we put the kids down for a nap and headed out to Last Chance. Nat got some shoes. Had some spicy wings for dinner. Headed to the Mack's and helped Sasha with some of the runners for her wedding.
Still nothing labor wise:)

Thursday, February 17, 2011

O is for Octopus--
Lindsay came over with her kids and Josie and Bostyn had a cute little tea party...


Went to a viewing for Breanna Pena. She past away last week from cancer. It was a sweet viewing service. She had such a strong spirit and was a good fighter. She will be missed by so many.

Wednesday, February 16, 2011

Quality time with the girls

Today we had an enjoyable day and I am glad I got to spend a day with the girls before this baby comes. We went to the park for about and hour. Then we went to the library for the first time. They lasted about five mins reading books, but they have a fun kids corner with puzzles, toys and other small books for kids to read. Afterward we ate lunch together, took naps and then went for a walk.

 We went to mutual and then when we came home we played princess dress up and danced. Now I get to sit and listen to them talking to each other in their beds when they are suppose to be sleeping, but they are enjoying each others company.
If our little guy decided to come tomorrow I am glad that I got to spend the day with the girls.

Tuesday, February 15, 2011

Due Date

Today was my ultra sound due date and still no baby. I went and taught preschool. It was fun. We made little Valentines for their parents and practiced counting with conversation hearts. Afterward, Natalie and I spent a good five hours at my house, cleaning, organizing, etc. No labor signs though, but at least I have a house ready to come home to :)

Monday, February 14, 2011

Valentines Day

Mostly hung around since everyone was sick. Marlee made little Valentines for her preschool classmates and for Ivan, Nana and Papa.

Sunday, February 13, 2011

Strep Throat

Marlee, Ivan and Josie all have strep throat. Praying I don't get it and want to wait to have this baby boy til its out of our little family or at least til they've been on antibiotics for 48 hours.

Saturday, February 12, 2011

Sold another goat

Yes it seems that all we do is sell and have baby goats this time of year. We sold one of Sheeba's boys today. Nice couple bought it. Marlee was sad, as she is every time we sell a goat, but I think Sheeba was sadder.
Had a fun day with Ivan, the girls, Nat and boys and my parents. Just hangin out till the baby comes.

Friday, February 11, 2011

2 and 70

Yep, went to my doctor appointment this morning and I am dilated to a 2 and 70 percent effaced. So my doctor said that next time she sees me will be at the hospital. Exciting! Hung out with Nat and the kids today.

Thursday, February 10, 2011

Toothpaste gone bad

The last part of our nutrition unit was talking about our teeth. We did a fun happy tooth, sad tooth activity with the kids and what kind of things make our teeth happy and sad. Then we let them make some homemade toothpaste and we gave them each their own toothbrush. The toothpaste was made out of salt, baking soda and some peppermint oil. The kids HATED it. The look on the face was priceless though as they were trying to maintain composure on how to get the nasty stuff out of their mouth. Marlee had a melt down and one of the students asked for her mom. We did not know that would turn out so bad!
After preschool, Sasha, Amanda and I went and did some more weeding things. Three weeks away, hooray!

Wednesday, February 9, 2011

Dancing

Had a great presidency meeting today. Played with the goats. Took a nap. Went Visiting Teaching. Then on to the fun dancing... We had mutual tonight with the YW/YM and they learned some line dancing and then how to partner dance. IT was really enjoyable to watch the youth get into it. I had to take the girls with me since Ivan was at work and they love it too! Very enjoyable evening. (Yes I did dance too-big belly and all!)

Tuesday, February 8, 2011

Updated posts with photos.

Uploaded lots of photos. The new baby goats here as well as Josie's Birthday Celebration post here while the girls napped. Had a fun day at Preschool today. We are doing a nutrition unit. We traced their bodies and talked about the importance of good food for our bodies as well as exercising. We went outside and had fun jumping on a small trampoline, racing, doing summersaults on mats, jumping jacks, etc. They loved it!

Monday, February 7, 2011

Building day and Family Home Evening (FHE)

Marlee was in building mood today. She built this little "Rapunzel" castle. (She has never seen tangled, but her friend, Bostyn, has the Rapunzel barbie that she absolutely loves to play with.) 
 Then she wanted to build a fort for her babies (I did help with this one.) 
Oh how I love when she entertains herself while Josie is napping.
  
We went outside probably five times today to go see and hold each of the baby goats. They are cute and the girls can't get enough of them. 

 

    • Put all my laundry away, dishes, etc. Maintenance is my goal before this baby comes so I don't have to do any "big" cleaning projects.
    For FHE we returned a red box DVD, and on the way home we asked Marlee what she wanted to learn about for FHE. She said, "Jesus and Heaven." So Ivan taught her about how we all lived in heaven before we were born and Marlee seemed to enjoy that we all lived in heaven. And then she proceeded to say that when we die we go back to heaven. Short and sweet lesson! Then we had cookies and called it a night.

    Sunday, February 6, 2011

    New kids on the block and blessings

    Not the singing group. Our two pregnant goats had their babies tonight!

    Princess had two babies.



    Brownie had one baby.
      Ivan is feeling pretty confident of helping me out in case I have a home birth! (just kidding)

    We had an enjoyable Sunday dinner with the Winters and Tanners. Lyndsay this post if for you. Any run on sentences so far? Great food.Great company. Kids played well together.

    Marlee woke up with some massively swollen glands. I stayed home from church with here and she was obviously not feeling well. I put some oils on her and then when Ivan got home from church we asked her if she wanted a blessing, she said, "Yes." So Ivan gave her a blessing and then she took a good nap When she woke up she was feeling better and said, " I am feeling better because Daddy gave me a blessing and Jesus wants me to feel better." She was also good about letting us rub essential oils on her neck to help with the pain. It truly was a little miracle. The faith children have is incredible. What a blessing!

    Saturday, February 5, 2011

    Piano, grandpas, park, cleaning and cookies

    Ivan's Grandparents got their piano back that they had bought back in 1969. They had a newer one and asked if we would like it. Grandma Marje knew that I have wanted a piano for a very long time. So she arranged for to be brought out to our house today. Grandpa guy and Grandpa Mack (Ivan's dad) brought out the piano and with the help of a couple of our neighbors,  they unloaded it and its sitting here right now! So exciting!
    Marlee and Josie were so excited that both Grandpas were coming out. We picked up take out food and had a fun enjoyable lunch with the girls and their Grandpas on the Mack side. (Ivan was still at work.)
    After they headed home, we played on the piano a while, took naps and when we woke up, Ivan was home!!!
    Marlee was excited because it was still light outside when he came home. So we went to the park and then came home from the park and tag teamed cleaning the house and the girls. We made cookies and watched a movie together! Quite the eventful, enjoyable day.

    Friday, February 4, 2011

    "Mom, please dance with me..."

    This afternoon, Marlee got all dresses up in her princess dress and helped Josie get dressed in her dress too. Then she came to me and said, "Mom, will you please dance with me? I am a princess and I need a prince to dance with. You can be the prince." How could I turn that down? So I twirled the girls around while we sung all of the different princess songs. It was actually quite fun!
    I went to the doctors today and told her about my nausea and she said that its common to have that before labor and delivery due to the hormones releasing preparatory for child birth. I am not due for another ten days and have thought all along that I am going to go over due, so I am okay with having this baby whenever. I am lucky to not be in any pain and still be able to be on the move and not bed ridden and still able to dance with my princesses:)

    Thursday, February 3, 2011

    No baby...

    Still having nausea, a couple of contractions here and there. Girls are not feeling well. Kind of a chill day:)

    Wednesday, February 2, 2011

    Just in case

    today could possible be the last post before I have this baby.... I think I have been feeling contractions. Its because i feel nausea hit me about every ten mins or so. Last time with Josie I woke up from a great nights sleep had a few hard contractions and had her within two hours of my first contraction. I have not felt anything painful yet, just nausea followed by lightheadedness? Who knows whats gunna happen. I think I am finally okay with the fact that our baby could come. There were a few things I really wanted to make sure got done before we had the baby. It was to make sure we were stocked up on hay for the goats, get my glasses fixed and finish the thirty day freezer dinners with Natalie. Finished the meals Monday, had our great neighbors drop off 8 bails of hay this morning and stopped by walmart and got my glasses fixed. Yea my house is not "ready" but will it ever really be clean and ready? Guess only time will tell:)

    Tuesday, February 1, 2011

    Nutrition, nap, and lots of play time

    We started our first day of a four day lesson about nutrition at preschool today. It was fun to try and teach the students the difference between fruits and vegetables. (Most of the students are three years old:)) 
    After preschool we got to take naps. I was thinking that I post a lot about how excited I am about naps, but I feel really tired lately since I can;t sleep at night(that's when this baby boy comes alive.) So every day I get a nap in is super exciting!
    Josie woke up before Marlee and came out of the play room with a big smile on her face and said, "Daddy's hat!" She loves Ivan and gets super excited when he gets home from work! 

    The girls have basically been playing really well together non stop since they woke up from naps. They've played pretend to go to the park, eating dinner with their kitchen food,  puzzles, hide and go seek, polly pockets, etc. I love it. I have been able to get the boys room a little more organized.Good day!

    Monday, January 31, 2011

    Car wash and Lucy

    Yes it was cloudy today, but I just HAD to get the inside of my car washed before this baby comes. And I had a free car wash coupon. The girls really enjoyed watching the car go through the wash and play in the "money water." (The type of water fountains that people throw coins into.) They actually did really well, I was a little nervous taking them, but it was a fun treat! They loved the outside chairs that you wait on while they finish cleaning your car. 

     Marlee wanted to show me that she was three! Not sure why, maybe its because we keep asking Josie how old she is now and trying to get her to hold up two fingers.?

    Later, we went to Kyle and Bobbi's to see baby Lucy! She is such a cute little baby. I forget how small newborns are! We had an enjoyable visit. Bobbi looks great. Her birthing story was amazing, she's awesome! The girls were so excited to play with Brody and Mack. Marlee decided to put on Mack's costume! These kids have so much fun together. It was a fun family night!


    Sunday, January 30, 2011

    Another wonderful Sunday

    I truly love Sundays! I look forward to each Sunday knowing that I get to be with Ivan and the girls all day and go to church to be spiritually uplifted!
    Each of the speakers were great in Sacrament meeting. Topics covered Faith, keeping commandments with Exactness and not being lazy. I could go on and on about the many things I learned today, but already wrote it down, so maybe I will have to add it here one of these days.
    We all got to take naps and then have lots of family time. We visited our neighbors, the Stalder's. They are so generous. They are the ones who gave me three bags of baby boy clothes and some nice Sunday dresses for Marlee and Josie, lots of eggs, and tonight they gave us a basically brand new baby car seat. Super generous and righteous family, glad to live across the street from such good examples. I need to figure out how I can be of service to them...
    We read from the Book of Mormon for the first time as a family. Marlee and Josie had their own book and just looked through the pictures, but it was short and sweet and something we need to continually do as a family.
    Lucy Lesueur was born tonight around 9:00pm. Bobbi and baby are doing well and it sounded like it was a good birth. She was one week early. Can't wait to see the little cutie!
    Makes me a little nervous to think I could have our baby boy any day now. I am two weeks away from due date tomorrow. I have the girls bags packed, need to get mine and Ivan's packed and the baby's packed tomorrow. I plan on getting the Van cleaned and putting the new car seat in. This way since I am thirty mins away from the hospital I am ready to go!
    Well, its midnight and everyone is asleep, so I better join them:)

    Saturday, January 29, 2011

    Josie's Birthday Celebration

    Since we really did nothing yesterday for Josie's birthday, we had a little get together at the park. We had the Mack's and the Maughan side join us. It was very fun. Marlee was more excited about Josie's gifts then she was. It was quite entertaining. I feel very blessed to have such wonderful family on both sides. It was the perfect weather, great food and great company.

     They loved the bubbles!

    After the party, I headed to Nat's to start our marathon frozen food cooking. I was there until midnight. but now I have a bunch of frozen meals ready so I am feeling even a little more prepared to have this baby!
    Ivan watched the girls all day/night. He took Marlee and Mack to the track with him and said they had an enjoyable time.

    Friday, January 28, 2011

    Josie turns two!

    Its Josie's birthday today. I can't believe she is already two! We let her sleep in. Then Ivan took her and Marlee to Natalie's house while I worked for my mom. Afterward I went grocery shopping for Nat and I to do the 30 frozen meals tomorrow. Then I picked up the girls and took them to my in laws so they could babysit while I went to a regional YW training. It was a good training, we had Sister Dibb from the general Young Women presidency talk and give us instruction. She is the daughter of Pres. Monson and reminds me a lot of him. Her message was basically that we are here on the Lord's errand. We should pray to know what He would have us do. Instead of being so caught up in what the world would want us to do. We need to remember who we are and that we are children of God. If we remember that, we can do many things through Him and our burdens will be lightened.

    Thursday, January 27, 2011

    The five Senses

    We taught the five senses in Preschool this week and had a fun lesson today. For smell, the students made these cute smelly cotton ball flowers with different smells on each one. Then we did a closed eye taste test. They tasted lemon, salt and chocolate chips with their eyes closed. It was cute how trusting they are. Then we made kaleidoscopes.
    The girls and I got a nap in afterward! Then we went and picked up hay for the goats and pizza for us!

    Wednesday, January 26, 2011

    Laundry Wednesday

    Got caught up on Laundry. Will see how long that lasts:) Of course I wish I had taken a picture of the many baskets and mounds of laundry I did:)

    Tuesday, January 25, 2011

    No preschool for me

    Woke up sick and was not able to teach preschool. Thank goodness for Lyndsay and my sister Natalie to proceed without me:)
    Natalie stayed after preschool and painted a dresser for the baby, hung shelving in my laundry room, hung curtains, etc. Feeling a lot more prepared for the baby. Thanks Nat!

    Monday, January 24, 2011

    Preschool Planning

    Lyndsay (who I teach preschool with) came over today with her two kids. It was a fun play day for the kids while we planned out the next several weeks for preschool. That way, when I have my baby, lesson plans are set! We had a great visit while the kids napped. Then I headed to the store to get stuff for preschool, but now we are good to go for a while. I guess the baby can come anytime now... 

    Sunday, January 23, 2011

    Book of Mormon

     Marlee got her first Book of Mormon last night from Ivan and I so she could take them to Primary. She was so reverent during church and was excited to have her own scriptures! She said, "Maybe when Josie gets big and tall like me, she can have scriptures too!"  
    Later tonight, she called to Josie and said, "Come here Josie, I am going to read the Book of Mormon to you." (She read her the pictures)
    I am grateful for the Book of Mormon. I know it is true. I love learning and feeling Spirit while I am reading it.

    Saturday, January 22, 2011

    Bobbi's Baby Shower and moments of gratitude

    Went to my sister in law's baby shower today. It was super fun! She is having her first girl (she has two boys close to the same ages as my two girls) and of course we are having our first boy. Girl clothing, etc never gets old. Its still so fun to see all of the cute things you can buy for little girls! Bobbi and I took some pregnancy pictures together since our due dates are only one week apart. I will have to get those from Sasha one of these days to post. I actually won one of the games because of my unfair advantage of only being a week apart from Bobbi in pregnancy. The games was where you had to guess with a piece of yarn how big you thought Bobbi's belly was. I was pretty right one. Which was fun to see how we are pretty much the same size!

    Afterward I went to get an oil change and car cleaning. I don't know why they always try to up sell you when you drive in saying, "I have this free oil change and car wash coupon and that's all I would like today, thanks." They still persist to upgrade and when you politely decline, they get mad. I am overgeneralizing, but it seems almost every time I go there, its the same thing. Then while I was sitting there waiting for my oil change/wash I realized, "Man, they must be under a lot of pressure from management to up sale." So then I felt kind of bad for them and realized I am grateful I don't have to do that for a living!They car looked nice and clean and runs great. Its our '95 Camry that has 266,000 miles on it. Another moment of gratitude hit me as I was driving home in an old car that works great.

    (Ivan watched the girls all morning while I was gone and then let me take a nap while continuing to watch the girls!--grateful for Ivan)

    After naps, we all headed to the track so Ivan and the girls could get a quick workout in before it got dark. Then we headed to the store and watched a movie when we got home. 

    Friday, January 21, 2011

    Hung ot with Nat and my parents at her house. My girls love playing with their Papa and Nana!
    Took a nap (again) played with the girls. Organized lots of girls glothes into bins, now gong to move onto the boy clothes that people have so generously donated:) Nothing too excited.

    Thursday, January 20, 2011

    M is for...

    Monster, monkey, milk, marshmallow...Taught the letter M in preschool today. The kids made cute little monsters and music makers. Will post picture soon. Spent the day with S & P for wedding pictures, etc. Very productive. Nat watched my girls, thanks! Ivan watched Ed Bass Master movies and laughed all night long.

    Wednesday, January 19, 2011

    One more goatie gone.

    We sold one more goat today. Now all we have left is Sheeba and her three new little goats, brownie and princess(who are both pregnant.) Its a nice feeling having less animals to take care of since we will be adding one more addition to our own family. One more thing is that our chickens are now laying eggs! Its kind of fun having your own home grown eggs for breakfast-They just taste better:)
    Not much else to report today. I will be teaching Yoga to all of the YW tonight for mutual followed up with some protein shakes. Should be a nice relaxing evening!

    Tuesday, January 18, 2011

    Yes! It is worth it!

    Had a great moment today.... I was listening to Marlee and her cousin Bromley playing and Marlee grabbed her kite that we made in preschool last week and starting singing the kite song we taught them that ONE day! I was so excited! I always think, "Do any of the kids even remember anything we teach them?" or "Is the prep and time making an impact on anyone?"  Well, today answered my question!

    Speaking of today and preschool... we talked about the number 12 and how there are twelve months in a year and they made calendars. They decorated egg cartons last class that had twelve cut out eggs in them. We watched the old school, Sesame Street counting song. You know the know that goes along with the pinball... one two three four five six seven eight nine ten...eleven twelve. And Marlee slept for more than 12 hours last night. Poor girl was so tired, she fell asleep at 6:30pm and I had to wake her up at 8:00am for preschool.

    Bromley stayed at our house last night and will again tonight and its fun having a boy around. Its prepping me for our little boy:) He enjoys playing with the girls, but definitely went straight for the cars, balls and trains when he played in the toy room!We love having him over. They all play so well together.

    After we ALL took a nap today (yes, including me.) Josie went straight into my bedroom and starting looking for Ivan. I could hear her saying, "Daddy, where are you?" She was looking under the blankets, in the bathroom, in our closet, and couldn't find him. She was sad when I told her that he was still at work. I am sure that when he comes home tonight, she will be beaming and smiling!

    Monday, January 17, 2011

    Three day weekend

    I Really enjoyed the three day weekend that we had since Ivan had today off. We slept in, went to the park, helped Gavin with math, Sasha with wedding planning, hung out with the Mack family, and just had a pretty relaxing day! Back to reality tomorrow!

    Sunday, January 16, 2011

    Two Sundays in a row...

    Two Sundays in a row we have had breakfast for dinner and I LOVE IT! There is just something so good about homemade, whole wheat waffles with berries and homemade whipping cream served with a side of over easy eggs! (Must be a pregnancy thing?)
    Sunday School lesson on missionary work and being good examples to people through the way we live our life. Makes me want to be more righteous and know that we should be living each day so that "Those who don't know Him will want to know Him because they know you."

    Saturday, January 15, 2011

    Great Date Night


    Went out to eat with Ivan, went to the temple and then got some ice cream. Doesn't get much better than that. (Actually, I really don't mind what we do as long as I get to be with Ivan without the kids--Its refreshing!)

    Friday, January 14, 2011

    Bye Bye goaties...

    We sold three of our goats today. Not sad at all. Especially since we have three cute little two week old baby goats.

    Thursday, January 13, 2011

    Carousel

    Today was a great day~ We had preschool that afterward we went to the superstition mall to ride the carousel. It was Marlee's reward for sleeping in her room. She had a sticker chart and it was reward time! Its a step up from Marlee looking forward to riding on the "escalator" when we got rid of her pacifier. I wonder what will be the next big thing... Of course i will add pictures once I can. She chose to ride on the pink horse.
    Natalie and her boys went with us and it was a fun play date! We also saw my cousin in law Rachel and her girl, McKell there!


    I got a whole bunch of baby boy clothes from Hina and Nat. It made me excited to have a little boy and a little nervous for reality to set in that I WILL be having a boy. How am I going to handle it? Its going to be totally different than having a girl. I feel like I have the girl thing down!

    I met with Sasha to plan wedding stuff and had an enjoyable dinner with the Macks. Afterward we went to my moms and of course its always fun to go to both Nana and Grandma's house in the same night. They've died and gone to heaven after a day like today!

    And as for me, I am worn out from all the fun. I am getting bigger as we speak, it feels like my skin can't stretch any further (Still have four weeks left of skin stretching to do.)
    Once again, grateful for the little joys in life-- like riding a two minute carousel ride!

    Wednesday, January 12, 2011

    Day of Service

    I love the quote by Pres. Hinckley's Father while Pres. Hinckley was serving on his mission, "Forget yourself and get to work."
    I feel like I was able to accomplish so much today because of this quote. I taught someone how to make hair clips, made six dozen cookies to drop off to friends for belated birthdays and for other acts of service they've done for our family, was able to do five loads of laundry, dishes, cleaned bathroom, swept entire tile floor, made gross brownies for Young Woman's, fed the animals, etc. (Then at mutual we talked about the importance of motherhood. What an uplifting activity that was!)
    Going to go and play a matching game with the girls while Ivan does homework. He only has three classes left til he has his Masters! Oh happy day!

    Tuesday, January 11, 2011

    Preschool

    Preschool started up again today. Had an enjoyable class: learned about the letter "K", made kites and went for a walk to fly the kites. Kids are so darn cute! Got to take nap with the girls today after preschool. That's it for highlights of the day.

    Monday, January 10, 2011

    Surprise

    Just got back from a Surprise Birthday Party for my sister in laws' fiance... Pedro! It was fun. The kids enjoyed hiding behind the couch with the lights turned off waiting for Pedro to come in. Great dinner and company, as usual. Marlee thoroughly enjoyed dressing up in Grandma's princess dress ups stuff. She was quite the little show off tonight! (once again, wish I had my camera cord:))

    Sold one of our goats today-Oreo. She was a friendly little one (we only had her for about a month.)

    Battery wouldn't start in the car, nice neighbors jumped it for me and spent some much needed time with the Winters family. My kids love playing with them and we haven't gotten together for a couple weeks.

    This baby boy just loves to kick right now, maybe if we ever decide on a name for him, he'll stop kicking me?

    Preschool starts back up tomorrow. Better go to bed.

    Oh, remembered one more thing... On the way to my in laws, Marlee saw a van that looked like the Lesueur's and said, "Its Brody and Mack's car, just kidding." Then we got closer to it, it really was and the she said in a disappointed voice, "And they are watching Toy Story?" Kind of with this, "I wish I was watching Toy Story'" tone. Its amazing how kids can recognize other peoples cars, different routes we take to familiar homes, etc at such a young age!

    Sunday, January 9, 2011

    Wish I could find my camera cord...

    Then I could post pictures of  Life!!!!!

    Refreshing Sunday

    I just love Sundays. I feel so refreshed mentally, spiritually and physically. At church today, a few things during our YW lesson stood out to me. First of all, the new youth theme for the year is the 13th Article of Faith. Here is a link to all of them...  http://lds.org/scriptures/pgp/a-of-f/1?lang=eng. 
    Our lesson was how all of the Articles of faith are what we believe but the13th AoF is where we take ACTION on our beliefs. It is very easy for us to sit around and believe things in life, but it takes ACTION to fully get the most out of life:)
    Then we talked about how all of us should live the guidelines outlined in For the Strength of the Youth (No matter how old or young you are.) Link... http://lds.org/manual/for-the-strength-of-youth-fulfilling-our-duty-to-god?lang=eng
    This lesson made me want to be a better person! I am going to try and be more focused on these two guidelines in life:)
    After church, we all took our much needed Sunday nap! I seriously look forward to them each week. Afterward, Gavin and Mary came over and we had dinner together and had an enjoyable visit with them. They are so much fun . The girls love playing pretend with Gavin:)
    Its ten thirty at night but I don't fell totally exhausted, in fact I feel rested and ready for the up and coming week. Goodnight.

    Saturday, January 8, 2011

    Much accomplished-Saturday

    Woke up (at my in laws house) and made waffles for everyone for breakfast. Took Marlee and Josie with me and Sasha to the fabric store to look for fabric for table runners for her wedding. It was NOT fun having Josie with us. She ran around the store (they have no carts) and was just into everything. Ivan met up with us at the freeway after he got off work and was so kind to take the girls home with him so Sasha and I could get some wedding stuff done! BIG THANKS TO IVAN!!!
    Sasha and I got to spend some time getting wedding stuff done. It was very enjoyable to spend one on one time with her.
    Then I headed to Costco. ALL by MYSELF:) It was amazing. I actually got to fill my cart since I had room for stuff. (Normally I only get to buy a few things here and there since the girls take up half the room in the cart. All you moms out there know exactly what I am talking about!
    Came home and was greeted by the cute girls and hubby outside in the yard. The girls love spending time with Ivan and he is so good to let them play outside with him while he works on yard/animals stuff. Hung outside a little til it got to dark. Ate dinner,  hung out and watched a movie and enjoyed another great day!
    (The girls LOVE their daddy! Here are a couple of shots of him drawing pictures for them on their princess doodle pad.)


    Friday, January 7, 2011

    Date Night


    Tonight was a fun night. We finally got to redeem our "Birthday" date night from Ivan's parents. (my birthday was in September, but it was very hard coordinating dates, until last night!!!!)
    My birthday present included Ivan's parents watching the kids, gift card to Roy's Hawaiian Rest. and then we had movie tickets that I got for Christmas. Bobbi had the same gift so we doubled!
    We met up at Roy's, had a fun dining experience. Its a really nice, expensive restaurant where er got a four course meal, but left hungry enough to stop and get a large serving of Cold Stone Ice cream. It was great healthy food, just on the small side portions:)
    So after Roy's and Cold stone(which we had free coupons for that too) we headed to Harkins. We watched True Grit. I actually really liked it. I had no idea what it was about going into it, so no expectations. It was funny and I enjoyed the old western plot.
    After the movies, we headed home at midnight and all spent the night at my in-laws. Truly enjoyed our "Free" date night!

    Thursday, January 6, 2011

    Play day

    Some days you just have to sit and play with your kids! Today was one of those days! ( I did have Laundry piled high, dished overflowing out of the sink, grocery shopping needed to be done, etc. but all put on hold to have a fun PLAY DAY!) Puzzles, barbies, cars, trains, reading, food, etc. LOVED IT!! I even took a nap at nap time!
    Wish my camera cord would be found....

    Wednesday, January 5, 2011

    Definietly Having a BOY!

    Last night, we slept at my parents house and Mar, Jos and Evie had fun playing one last time together this morning. My mom cooked us a great breakfast and then we had to say goodbye to Michala and the girls.
    We headed out to an ultra sound apt. The girls got to be babysat by Uncle Gavin and Aunt Mary. THEY HAD SOOOO MUCH FUN WITH THEM!!! and I was very grateful they agreed to babysit. I went with my sister in law, Bobbi. We are only a week apart. We both had great ultra sounds and our babies are measuring right on course for due dates.

    The reason for the title of this post is because if you haven't heard the story of our finding out of the gender of the baby, here it is:
    Ivan and I decided we wanted to wait to see what we were going to have. Since we have two girls we figured we were set on baby clothes if it was a girl. If it was a boy, my sister said she had TONS of boy clothes. So we thought it would be fun to be excited and find out at delivery. Plus, I thought it was going to be a great motivator for delivery.
    I went and got an ultra sound around 20 weeks along. When I went the the apt, I asked them that I not find out since we wanted it to be a surprise. So I was poked and prodded and walked out of the office not knowing the gender. So the next day, on Ivan's way to work, he called me and said, "You have to call the place back and tell me, I want to know." He basically couldn't handle the suspense. So I called the place back and they said it was not on my records because it was a patient request not a medical need for the doctor. So I asked them if the lady who did my ultra sound was working that day and she was. They went and got her and said, "Are you sure you want to find out over the phone." I said, "No but my husband does." So they told me it was a BOY.
    So this whole time I have been basing my knowledge on an over the phone, verbal telling that it was a boy. (Plus my first trimester symptoms were different this go around.)
    So during today's ultrasound, he gave us a nice view that CLEARLY showed us his BOY parts.
    We are excited and he is positioned head down and everything looked good. Can't wait to meet this little guy and hopefully we can find the right name for him!

    Tuesday, January 4, 2011

    Our Goat had Triplets

    Not the clearest pictures, but our goat Sheeba had three babies today. I went outside to get packed in the car to leave and realized, "There are three little goats walking around." Then I went and looked and saw that it had JUST happened and then the placenta came out, so I knew that was it. (sorry if TMI)
    I got the girls and they ran right in to see the cute little things. We talked about it almost daily since we knew Sheeba was close to giving birth. There are two boys and one girl. Mommy doing well:)
    After that fun and exciting surprise, we headed over to cousin Weston's 2nd birthday party. He is the first of the three cousins to be born within six weeks of each other.

    Monday, January 3, 2011

    Amazing

    My girls LOVE the song "Just the Way You Are," by Bruno Mars. Lucky us, we were able to hear it on the radio FIVE times on our way home from my sister's house. Marlee said, its amazing! We keep finding the song on the radio! Sooooo glad we kept finding it, because it made the half hour drive go by way fast! Marlee knows most of the words and Josie knows the chorus. Its so fun to see them sing along to a song on the radio!
    Here is the YouTube link to the song.... http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LjhCEhWiKXk

    Had an enjoyable day hanging out with my sisters while the kids napped! And had fun watching the cousins play together. That pretty much sums up our day today. 1.03.10

    Sunday, January 2, 2011

    1.2.11 Found a picture!

    I  found a pictures of our family-on my parents computer-from our Christmas Eve get together. We made sugar cookies and the kids decorated them.

    Today: Marlee went to Primary for the first time and really did not want to be a "Sunbeam." When we got to church, come to find out many other of her nursery friends did not want to be Sunbeams either, so it was cute to see how apprehensive they all were. Marlee and one of her friends held hands while the other mom and I left them. When it was time for pick up, she was super happy and told me she liked her new Sunbeam teachers! :) Josie is still in nursery and loves it. We had a great gospel lesson/discussion in Sunday School. And truly felt the spirit there. YW's lesson was about "What makes someone truly beautiful?" and of course it's the Holy Ghost dwelling in us that radiates the Love of our Savior!Good Sunday!

    After church, we headed to my parents house for a family dinner. Michala was still in town with her girls and Nat came over and we had a very nice dinner together. We're headed to the Mack family for another dinner here soon. Its nice to be able to see both sides of the family when we "come into town."

    Saturday, January 1, 2011

    1.1.11

    Well, I decided I should start the year off by journaling. Whether its in my journal, blog or facebook, I am going to "journal" for not only the sake of my memory, but for genelogy for future generations:)
    Although I can't figure out the new layout, etc of the blog, and I can't find my camera cord,  I am still going to post!

    Today we had an enjoyable, day. Ivan had the day off so we had some good quality family time. We went for a drive, stopped and got some good Mexican food from a little carniceria, ate lunch at the park (the girls loved the park,) took naps, read books and played a memory/matching game with Marlee, folded and put away laundry, cleaned out part of the garage, listened to Josie sing along to "The Little Mermaid" songs, and then we to the store to buy  ice-cream as a family at nine o clock at night (even thought it's one of the coldest nights AZ has had in a while.)

    Life is Good!