Baby

So, here is the most recent picture of our little one.
You can see she has her hand on her forehead.
And during the ultrasound when the doctor came in to have a look, she said "Wow, this baby has a lot of hair!" Then she pointed it out on the screen..............it was amazing!

Aaaarrrrgggghhhh! It's Pirate Day

Ahoy, me Hearties!
 Well, it was pirate day...............yesterday.

 

 After Batting down the hatches ( the kids got their school work done early), the wee lad and lassies got themselves attired in pirate paraphernalia.

We headed on over to Krispy Kreme donuts where they each got a special Krispy Kreme pirate eye patch, and a box of a dozen glazed donuts. 
Shiver me timbers!

Here they are showing off their booty............

Bibs Done :)

I started on the bibs last night and found that I had enough left over to try and make burp cloths. I also found one bib that I had cut out about two years ago. So, I took that and used some of the soft pink material I had from the baby blanket I made and got two more bibs from that.
I finshed up the bibs and cloths this morning in between my drop off and pick up time for Rhaevyn.
So happy to have them done, and I think they turned out nice. Love all the material the kids picked out.
It makes the bibs and cloths extra special.

Hello, hello

 We've been busy as usual............
I just had my 5th funeral as RS president. I should be a pro at doing funeral luncheons by the time I am released. The day after the funeral I gave a talk in church. I told the bishopric I should have some sort of "get of giving a talk" card.....................being RS President, doing a funeral luncheon, and being pregnant.
I'm busy trying to get all my ducks in a row with activities and more with my calling before the baby comes.
 Two weeks ago we had to replace some piping inside and out. Our water pressure had been slowly going down over the past couple of months. It got to where we could only run one thing at a time. No one could take a shower if the dishwasher was running or laundry was being done. We fixed half the problem, which was the pipe and shut off valve in the house. Then Chris had to fix the pipe out by the sidewalk. I'm happy to be able to now run the dishes, laundry, and the shower at the same time, but spending the money to fix it was no fun. Oh the joys of being a homeowner.
Three weeks ago we decided to start getting the house ready for fall...........
cleaning and putting away the table and chairs outside, washing windows, cleaning up the front porch area, and then sweeping that back patio. As I was cleaning out the vent areas in the back, this critter came scurrying out. I thought it was two spiders at first because the front coloring was darker than the back.
He was positively huge! And after that the littles decided cleaning wasn't so fun and wanted to go in.
We've had lots of spiders lately. I'm not sure if that is because the weather has still been so warm.
I for one am ready for that crisp and cool fall weather.

 Here is little Miss Elsa. She's modeling her new headband she picked out.
She is never without a headband. Her other one had gotten broke, so I let her pick out
a new one. I love watching her make a decision. She gathers four items and then says.......
"Oh, I just can't decide!" We had that problem yesterday while trying to pick out new underwear at the store.
And while we are on the subject of Miss Elsa.............
I cannot wait to see how she will be with her new baby sister. As of right now she is practically glued to my belly. She talks constantly to her baby sister, and I love it! When I come home from being gone anywhere she asks if "baby" was good for me while I was out. She gives lots of hugs and kisses to "baby" and then will lean her ear to my belly and say "uh huh, uh huh, mmm hmmm", and then tell me what it is baby is saying.
All the kids love feeling the baby move and kick. I love the smiles and giggles that ensue after they have their hand or cheek (which was pressed against my tummy) kicked.

 I found Miss Rhaevyn a pair of clip on earings.
I can't seem to talk anyone into getting their ears pierced around here.
She loves wearing clip on earnings, and she was thrilled that I found these..........now she has two pairs to choose from, and she's got Aeva wanting to borrow them.
Rhaevyn has started seminary, and she is loving it. I will say that 5:30 am comes around awfully fast and early. She has also joined the Youth Choir for Youth Conference. They will be traveling around to 5 different stakes to sing and get the youth excited about Youth Conference this next year. They will also be having an orchestra, and she's thinking about joining that. I love watching the person/YW she is becoming. She's had quite the metamorphasis lately in breaking out and doing new things like the choir.
Her violin teacher is moving. She has one week of lessons left. So, we are trying to find her a new teacher.
I'm bummed because we had such a good deal worked out with her teacher to pay for her lessons.

Oh well, Chris keeps telling me the Lord will provide, and I need to have faith that that will happen because...  

With God All Things Are Possible   (Matthew 19:26)

 Yesterday the children and I went on an errand to find a car seat and materail for bibs.
We didn't find a carseat, but we were successful in getting burp clothes and finding materail for bibs.
I let them pick out the material.................my only criteria was that the colors could not clash.
It was so fum watching them. They were so thrilled and excited! Myles was ecstatic when he finally found one that did not clash with the one he really liked. See if you can guess who picked out what.

 
Well, that is about all for now. The kids are looking forward to next week.
They've accomplished 12 weeks of school so far and are eagerly awaiting their week off.

Outing with Ben and Stacey

Ben and Stacey came for a visit yesterday. We had a relaxing morning just visiting, and then in the late afternoon we decided to take them up to see Lucia Falls. We've been talking about it every time they are here, but never manage to go.
Now we can say we've done it!
The weather was great, and it was nice that we could fit everyone in one car :)
The water level was really low since we haven't had rain in quite some time.
We enjoyed the scenery and the company.

 

 

 

 

 Myles thought he'd take a short cut over to where we were, but got stuck on a rock.
Ben threw some big rocks in to make him a little stepping stone path, and then got him to dry land.

 

 

Rhaevyn found this rock with some leaf imprints.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Skipping rocks.

After our stroll through the woods Ben, Stacey, Chris and I went out to Chinese food. It was the first time we had ever been on a double date together, and we decided we should do it more often. It was really a lot of fun.

Today we got a surprise rain shower. It was so nice and refreshing.
This week Rhaevyn made three loaves of her French bread. Our family ate one, one she made so Ben and Stacey could try it, and then she gave one away on facebook.

Summer is coming to a close. I'm ready for some cooler and crisp weather.
Rhaevyn starts seminary soon, and I can't believe it!!

What's New McGoo?

I did my first shopping trip with all the kids in the "burb", and can I just say "I love it!!!!"All the bags fit nicely in the back. It's amazing how much you see when you sit up high. I've gotten a bit adventurous with my big rig.............drive through at the bank and parallel parking. And Myles has totally made the transition to the suburban fantastically and has come to the conclusion that he likes it much better than the van.

Last Monday we all went out to help Chris clean the garage, except Rhaevyn. She, instead, stayed in the kitchen and made two loaves of french bread all on her own. No help at all from me, and I will never have to buy french bread again.
She did an amazing job! The two loaves did not last long.

 

 Another baby blanket is finished.

We got care packages in the mail from my mom........................

for the baby :)

Elsa has been picking out names to call her little baby Sister.................Templeton, Fern, Charlotte.
And she loves to tell everyone she meets that she is a big sister and has a little baby sister.
Can't wait to see the two of them together.

Time to Say Goodbye..........and Hello, Hello, Hello..........

 

 I was reading over my post from September 8, 2008, and thinking how very similar this week's experience is to that in relation to our car situation.
 
We've been entertaining the idea of getting a larger vehicle, especially with a new little one on the way, for some time now.
I've been daydreaming of how nice it would be to have space for a stroller and groceries.
Space for groceries alone would be nice..........where the children aren't all barricaded in and surrounded by grocery bags that they must remove from  their laps or climb over in order to get out at the next stop.
While there would be enough seats in the Sienna, the leg room seemed to be shrinking. I kept going over seating arrangements in my brain at night while trying to get to sleep.
Let's see.........one of the olders has to sit in the middle row with the new baby.
That leaves one older and Myles and Elsa in the back seat next to each other.......My two that can be the best of friends and not so much best of friends. Myles was having issues with the idea of being squeezed next to Elsa. What to do, what to do?
On the one hand I thought.............."Well, I need to be content because this is a great car and what a blessing it has been." On the other hand I thought....."Oh how I would love to have more space for my growing kids and family. I seem to be doing just fine with making room in the house for five kids, but oh space in a car would be nice."
I kept thinking I was not being grateful and I was being selfish to want that, but I finally just let go. We had a family prayer about it, and then I prayed that if this was a good thing to ask for then to please help us find the right car and a buyer for ours.
And what do you know, the very next day we had a buyer for the van and bought a suburban.
Heavenly Father never ceases to amaze me on answering prayers. It just amazes me how it all transpired.
Chris and I happened to be looking at Craigslist at the same moment and at the same suburban.
He called to take a look at it, while I hesitated. I said no at first, but then felt inspired to tell him to go ahead and look, but I wasn't necessarily saying yes to buying it.
He arrived home from work saying that the person selling it said someone else was coming to see it. I think the guy was confused because it was really supposed to be Chris showing up at 3. Anyway, he called back and mysteriously the other person never showed up........chuckle, chuckle. Chris went and looked at it. Meanwhile I had to go pick up Elsa and Aeva from a play-date. Upon returning home there was a family waiting on my sidewalk. Miscommunication between Chris and I on someone coming to look at the car at a specific time. Oh well, they were good sports to wait. They looked at the minivan for 15 minutes and made an offer. They couldn't believe how clean it was...............thanks to my fabulous man! We had set the price high to begin with. They offered 500 less then what we were asking. We asked for 300 more than they offered......... and got it. Amazing!! They were back within the hour to pick it up, and Chris went over to pick up the Suburban with a friend/mechanic from church. He says we got a steal.

 

I kind of feel like this quote from Anne of Green Gables.........
"I feel....as though somebody.....has handed me.....the moon.....and I don't know....exactly what to do with it."
Okay, well I really do know what to do with it..........................I just feel so blessed.
Parting was bittersweet......................especially for Myles.
I had forgotten how little he was when we got the minivan.

 

His little heart was breaking that this car he's made memories in was not going to be ours anymore.
I found him sobbing in our bedroom while I was looking for the car title.
Chris came in and put his arms around him and told him that he understood completely how he was feeling. He said that Myles had made a lot of memories in that car, and that when he got rid of his Red Rocket Volvo he cried too (even though mommy hadn't seen that) and how hard it was for him to sell it. He told Myles that he would be making new memories in this car....................the places we would go, the treasure box he'll have in the new car for his legos, and that he'll have his very own space with no one next to him.
Reminds me of Dr. Seuss................." “Oh the places you'll go! There is fun to be done!"

So, now we are just cleaning it up and getting it ready to drive. 

And on another note......................
I'm halfway there (to my due date) already! I can hardly believe it.
The kids are loving feeling their little sister move and kick. They think that is the neatest thing.
It's time to start thinking of things like hospital registration, a car seat, and making blankets. I did make one double sided flannel blanket this past week. Now I just have a quilt type baby blanket to make next before I can't bend over on the floor anymore to cut and pin it.

Myles and Chris made a bird feeder. Myles is learning about birds right now for science. Flying Creatures is a pretty big hit with him. I always love it when I discover that I've made a good curriculum purchase. We've had fun watching the various birds eat from it and then try to identify each bird.

Next Saturday we get to go to the zoo in Portland for Chris's work picnic. The kids are thrilled.

The kids are looking forward to September when they get a week off from school. We are planning something fun for them for part of that week so it feels like a real break from schoolwork.

 So long, farewell, auf wiedersehen, adieu....................until the next post :)

 

And.....................

it's a girl!!!!

I took the kids shopping after the ultrasound today.

They each got to pick out an outfit for the baby. 

It was quite enjoyable to watch them all on the hunt for the outfit they liked best.