Jingle Bells

Whew. What a month it has been so far. We've been BUSY. We've had Christmas parties, shopping, I was the "room mom" in Trev's KG class (an experience I don't care to repeat any time soon), art classes, and speech therapy--along with all the other stuff that needs to be done on a regular basis (and apparently laundry is not one of those things--I have had volcano-like piles of clothes around my house. They would start out like big mountains of clean laundry just waiting to be folded. They would explode any time someone needed to find clothes to wear, and then they would build back up with more clean loads of laundry.)

But, as Christmas is getting near, I thought I would share what we have been up to picture-form.
So without further adieu this is what I call
It wouldn't be Christmas without...

Stockings:
Here is Lydia's new stocking. So beautiful. My Grandma is amazingly sweet for indulging me in this. I know she doesn't like to make them. And yet she still does. Thanks Grandma!!

Christmas at Grandma's house:
Usually a week or so before Christmas, my dad's side of the family gets together for a pre-Christmas. It is so much fun. This year, my dad wasn't able to come, so we are planning on getting together with him after Christmas (eh, dad, I hope that is still okay). But my Aunt Dona and her family was there. My kids love their girls, but who wouldn't? They are really good kids. My cousin Jeff and his girlfriend were there as well.

A visit from Santa to our house:
A family in our church does this every year, and we are lucky enough to be on their good list! He dresses up as Santa, and his son comes along as the elf to hand out candy canes and take pictures. Lydia, was unfortunately sleeping. Ben was decidedly too old. Trevor, I think, was needing his older brother to lead the way, so he was a bit hesitant. And Karmin was unusually shy. She is never shy...anyone who knows her knows that she is the exact opposite of shy. I should have known that something was up. Which brings me to our final sign of Christmas...

It wouldn't be Christmas without one of our kids getting SICK:
I think it started about 4 years ago. Ben got chicken pox right before Christmas, and then Trevor came down with it on Christmas day. A couple of years ago, we were going to have a big Christmas (the last one with Elys before they left on their mission) and Trev got croup so bad that the doctor was close to sending him to the hospital on Christmas Eve. And last night I had the pleasure of staying up with Karmin half the night because she has croup. At one point, I wanted to take her to the hospital, but luckily Grant knew what to do since he had worked in the hospital.

And so now we are ready for Christmas! We hope you have a very Merry Christmas! (This is a picture of Trevor and Karmin at Trev's pj Christmas party at school)

Bon Appetit

To my good friend Sheri: You may want to skip this post--given Derek's current employment at a certain company that makes frozen foods.

So we have two picky eaters in our household--as you may have previously gathered from prior posts. (See Ben's story here.) Mr. Trevor has asked for Kid Cuisine (you know the frozen kids meal) for many months now. I told him there was no way that he would eat all of the Kid Cuisine if he doesn't even eat all of my food. I'm not saying that I am the best cook; however, I do think that my cooking is a bit superior to frozen dinners. As a compromise, I told him if he ate everything I cooked for a whole week, I would buy him one. And he did it. I even put him to the test by cooking split pea soup (which, by the way, is my new favorite food to make--it reminds me of my Grandma's house, mmm smells so good...). So yesterday when we went to Wal-Mart Trevor got to pick one out.

When he cooked it, he got it out of the microwave, looked at it, and quickly decided that it looked pretty gross. He gave his main dish to Ben, and then proceeded to eat the pudding. After a few bites he said, "They lied!" After questioning him, he said that on tv it looked so delicious and yummy, but it was disgusting. I told him that you can't always trust everything you see on tv. Bummer buddy. It is a hard lesson to learn, but it has to happen sometime.

And for good measure, here are some pictures from Thanksgiving. We went up to the cabin on Wednesday and Thursday. Grant had to work Friday, so our weekend was cut short. We got together with Grant's sister during the weekend. It was an enjoyable relaxing weekend. We have a lot to be thankful for.

Giggles

I was telling Grant's mom yesterday that Lydia is the happiest baby. And so I thought I would share her happiness! If anybody looks at her, she smiles. And if someone talks to her, she laughs. It is just adorable.

Eight is Great!

Ben turned 8 years old on Monday. Crazy, I know. I'm pretty much still in denial.
We decided to have a Halloween Birthday party this year. Ben invited his cousins and a couple of friends from school. It was fun. Naturally a person has to decorate for a Birthday party, so I enjoyed feeling justified in buying some Halloween decorations that we will get to use again and again. Now I have to find other holidays to celebrate Birthdays on so I can build my decoration supplies! Do you think Trev will go for a Valentine's Birthday? I digress...
We played games such as pumpkin bowling, and wrap the mummy, and Grant enjoyed telling a scary story in the dark while the kids got to feel things such as peeled grapes and real worms. Really, I'm not sure who had more fun at this party...the kids or Grant. He did a great job planning it. It turns out the party was an H1N1 fest, since at least 2 party-goers had the dreaded illness, and 2 more got it shortly after.
Going through my pictures, I realized I didn't get very good pics of the kids in their costumes--so I guess we'll have to dress up again sometime for scrapbooking purposes. FYI, Ben was a skeleton, Trev was a pirate, and Karmin was of course a princess. Although she was very adamant that she wasn't a princess, she was Karmin.

Trevor, I blame this on your father

So this is one of our cute and adorable boys.
And apparently we aren't the only ones who think so.

Trevor's after-school update: "Maddie kissed me on the lips--I mean, I mean the cheek."

My planned lesson for tonight's Family Home Evening: Girls have cooties, and don't forget it!

My sweet KIDS (Warning: Bragging below) $

BEN
Ben got a 100% on his spelling test last week. He worked really hard because the words weren't easy. This week he even got all his words right on his pre-test. I am so amazed at the difference there is between last year and this year. It is a complete opposite. He is enjoying school, loves learning, is excited about reading, and likes his teacher. I am so proud at how hard he is working.

TREVOR
Mr. Trevor was picked as the(as he called it) "Reverent-ess" person at the library today. He's been trying so hard, so he was so excited when he was picked. He got to pick a reward out of a basket. He's trying to catch up to Ben with reading. He is supposed to read for 10 minutes every day, and is doing really well with it. He enjoys school and his new friends.

KARMIN
Minnie and I are having so much fun with our girl time in the afternoons. She helps me make dinner and our after school snacks. Grant doesn't get home until about 6:15 at night, so the kids need a good snack after school that will last them until dinner time. Sometimes I feel like I cook 4 meals a day, but oh well. I love our time together. She is so sweet.

LYDIA
Little Lydia is by far the easiest baby I have had. At 7 weeks, she started sleeping 10-11 hours at night. She just kind of hangs out. She enjoys the attention she gets from her brothers and sister. She just goes with the flow of things and makes everything so easy. Sometimes I don't even feel like I have a new baby because she spoils me so much!

So there are our updates. We've been busy. I am trading babysitting with my sister-in-law Gina, so we can volunteer in the classrooms. That is always fun. Karmin is going to be starting speech therapy soon, and I am finally getting Trevor and Karmin in swimming lessons--I know, I know, it's winter, but what can I say. And if Grant and I can ever find a babysitter who is available again--life will be great!

PUMPKINS

Trevor's Kindergarten class got to go to a local farm the other day for a field trip. I volunteered to help because I thought it would be fun for Karmin, and I was curious to see Trevor around all of his friends that he talks about from school. The teacher split us into groups. Trevor's "best friend" was in another group, but we had fun in the group that we had. It was so cute every time I told Karmin to stand by Trevor for a picture, the other 2 kids in our group would come over and join in the picture. They got to go through a corn maze, pick "popping" corn, go on a hay ride, pick gourds, and pumpkins. The weather held out just perfectly. About 2 minutes after getting in the car it began to POUR for about 45 minutes. I always love taking the kids to pick pumpkins. I think it is a tradition that I'll keep forever. The kids will be 30, and I'll pay them to come visit me so I can take them to the pumpkin patch!

+3 Months AlreadY???

In some ways it seems like 3 months have flown by. On the other hand it feels like Lydia has been part of our family forever. Our sweet girl is so happy (as long as I'm around). She has found her voice and loves to talk if people are willing to listen to her. She talks a lot like Chewbacca. This week she has started to laugh which gets us all going. She is fascinated with her hands and has a high tolerance for her sibling's affections. She makes me smile!

Taken it for GRANTed

This topic has been on my mind a lot this past month, so I've decided it's time to blog about it and put a big "Horray for good men" out there and tell my sweet hubby how much I appreciate him.

I don't tend to drive too much. I honestly try to stay home as much as possible (my poor kids). I figure when I go out, it costs money so why not stay home. Also, I really don't care for driving. I never have. My parents practically bribed me to drive myself places when I turned 16. So as I have spent more time on the freeway lately (going to doctor appointments), I have realized how stressful it is to drive. I am one that if the speed limit is 60--I go 60. However, I've found that the peer pressure on the freeway is awful! At busy times of the day, people like to go 65 or 70. And I had the moral dilemma of holding my ground at 60 or do I follow the crowd and increase my speed--more so I'm not causing accidents by driving so darn slow. And Grant has to deal with this every day.

Then at one of the appointments the doctor was insanely late, so I had the opportunity to eavesdrop on the receptionists while I waited. They were talking about taking their kids to day care. One lady said that every day for one whole year she spent her lunch break going to pick her child up from daycare to take her to Kindergarten and then get back to work. I'm glad she got to see her daughter during the day, but really, how annoying! I get to see my kids all day everyday. And Grant doesn't.

I have to deal with my kids complaining, homework, and their desire to exert their independence. I have tons of roles to fulfill each day: doctor, receptionist, mailman, laundry person, maid, chef, you know etc. etc. However, how lucky am I that I get to do these things?? I get to know what the kids are learning at school and I get to teach them HOW TO exert their independence appropriately. And Grant has to go to work and figure out other people's personalities and how to withstand people complaining and their problems. Somehow it seems like dealing with my own kids (since I think they are my coworkers) is a lot easier than dealing with adult-nonrealated coworkers.

I'm so thankful for my husband going out into the world every day to work, so I can stay home with my babies. I've never realized how great I've got it--how lucky I am that I get to stay home with my kids. And I've taken it for granted. So thank you Grant! And I'm sorry it has taken me this long to realize how lucky I am. I'm not saying what I do is easy, but I do believe I have the better end of the deal. My husband has to go and bring home the bacon EVERY DAY--I just have to cook it!

A Princess's Birthday

Little Miss Minnie turned 3 years old on Monday. I'm pretty sure she didn't understand what a Birthday is, but we had fun none the less. We had a princess "party" for her, but since her only friends that were invited were boys (aka her brothers) it had to be boy-friendly as well. We dug for jewels, made editable necklaces, and played kiss the frog (pin the lips on the frog). I made her a castle cake that looked a bit sad. I've decided that since there are so many cakes that I need to make in a year now I need to find cake decorating supplies. A butter knife just doesn't cut it when it comes to frosting a cake.

I've never seen a child--or any person for that matter--take such an interest in the cards that came with the gifts. Karmin "read" every single word on each card. It was adorable, especially since the card was upside down.

Things aren't always as they appear

I don't know if I have ever explained Family Home Evening before, but I think understanding what it is will help to understand this experience. Each Monday evening is a special night in our family. (It is something that our church has asked the members to do to learn more about the Gospel and to strengthen families.) We start out by having a song and a prayer, we have a short lesson, we have an activity (which can consist of a game, or going somewhere--basically just doing something together as a family), and then the last part is having a treat. Each week we rotate the assignments. (For instance, Ben taught the lesson this week, then next week it will be my turn to teach the lesson.) Lesson, treat, and activity are the coveted spots!
Trevor (our resident chef) was in charge of treat this week. And this is what he wanted:

So why does Ben look unhappy in this picture?


That would be because this isn't ice cream with sprinkles and a cherry on top. Nope. Trevor wanted cottage cheese, with a cherry tomato, and sprinkles!! HA HA HA!!
So I didn't include that in our family if you choose not to participate in something then it is not fair to get to participate in the spot the following week. That way they can't refuse to do the "dull" things, and just participate when it is a fun week. Everybody is expected to participate. So we've had a problem with people not wanting to participate in song, prayer, and activity...but I never thought we would have people not want to have the treat!
By the way--I'm expected to eat what I can and since cottage cheese is out of the picture, I had tomatoes with sprinkles (for some reason I couldn't finish mine). Anyway, Grant said that it didn't taste too bad.

Not a creature was stirring...

At least that's what it feels like now that school has started.
Ben was a bit nervous about going back to school. But when he got home he talked my ear off for more than 45 minutes about everything that happened. He said that when the bell rang to come home his whole class said, "Ohhhh" because they were bummed that it was over. I had forgotten how much I treasured the time after school when Ben would come home and tell me everything. I love it.
Trevor was indifferent about starting school. He loves his teacher, but when he got home his first day it was like pulling teeth to get him to tell me about anything that happened. That is very Trevor. However, he would slip little details into conversations that we had that night, so I got a little bit of information.
Karmin was beside herself. She missed "B" and "Tar." When the bus came up, she got so excited and ran to meet the boys and give them hugs. She even gave Trevor a hug! We are slowly getting into the school routine again, and I'm sure it will even out. Our favorite part of the day: Homecoming!

Heel to Toe, Dosey Doe

I'm a practical person--at least I think I am. And when it comes to getting new things (clothing etc.)--I generally don't, unless my (one) pair of jeans has a hole in the knee. Don't get me wrong, I do like to get new things, I just think that I can live with the stuff I have and we can spend the money on other things (you know bills and such). So maybe this doesn't make me practical, maybe it makes me stingy--or maybe even frugal?? Whatever it is here's my story...

It was one of those days that I felt like I should take my camera with me when we left the house, but I shrugged it off. Now I regret it because it would have been very humorous to relive this event. The kids and I decided that it would be great to go and see where Grant works. So I got everyone in the car, everyone had shoes on, but then I reminded Trev that he might want to go get a toy to play with in the car because it was a bit of a drive. We got to Grant's work after about 40 minutes. I parked the car. Then I heard Trevor say, "Mom what did you do with my shoes?" I kind of laughed, "Umm, I have my shoes, Trevor. What did YOU do with your shoes??" After searching for any shoes, I loaded everyone back into the car to go down to the mall and buy shoes. (I couldn't make him be barefoot while Grant was introducing us at his new job--for Grant's sake, not Trevor's.) So we went down to the nearest store and searched for the cheapest pair of shoes. Trevor was mortified that he had to walk into the mall without shoes. In my head I was thinking, "Yes, and after you pay me back for the shoes you are going to buy for yourself, I don't think you will ever forget again." I was thinking about buying flip flops or something of the like, but summer is ending and so they only had $55 tennis shoes. I finally found a pair of sandals that were probably 3 sizes too small, but they only cost $7. Karmin needed new church shoes, so I picked her up a pair of shoes too.
Now I have recently gone shopping for some new dresses for church. (The last time I got a new dress was when Ben was 6 months old--not that I hadn't tried to get something, I just could never find anything modest enough for my likes.) I got this adorable new brown skirt recently, but had no shoes, so I found a pair of (play fanfare music)...HEELS! Okay, again, I said I was practical and flats and sandals are very practical for walking to church in Provo, and then when a person has to chase kids through the church. On my wedding day, I opted for a cute pair of white Keds that my sister embellished with some fancy ribbon--that was very practical for the reception line. I might have worn some 1 inch heels to prom or something, but as the boys would say that was "Easy-Peasy." So when I first put them on and started walking around I was pretty sure that wearing heels was harder than wearing pointe shoes ever was. So everyday this week, I practiced walking around the house in them so I didn't look awkward walking at church. So this morning, I got ready and went to church. I got some kids out of the car, and it hit me: I never practiced carrying anything WHILE I was walking in heels. That I am sure takes another set of skills. But I am proud to report, my ankles never wobbled today, I don't think I was hunched over, and I think I walked just as fast. However, if I didn't and if I looked ridiculous, at least it was Labor Day Weekend, so a lot of people were on vacation!

Welcome to the Cabin

We finally made it to the cabin this weekend. Oh, how I have missed being there! We had such a nice time. Of course the kids woke up very early because they have been waiting all summer to go fishing. Grant took the kids out trolling in the paddle boat, Trevor caught 7 fish and Ben caught a couple of fish. My dad and Janis took Ben out fishing in the "small fast boat." This is the fish that Ben caught on that trip--the one we ate. Dad took Trevor and Karmin out for a ride later. The kids love playing with my cousins, AKA "the girls," and they talked my Aunt Dona into taking everyone tubing. It looked like a lot of fun, and if it would have been significantly warmer I would have gone as well. They had 2 tubes going. The girls were so patient since they had to go slower because of my kids. We had to do a little convincing to get Trevor to go, but he loved it in the end. Karmin made me a wreck. She wanted to go as well. So we put her in with Trevor and she stood up the whole time--except for when she was trying to jump out of the tube. She really has no fear. Ben said something to the effect that Karmin needs to learn that she needs to be scared about some things. First the tarantula, then sting rays, then possibly falling off of a big tube going behind a big boat in a huge lake when she doesn't know how to swim. (Okay wait, what was I thinking??) Anyway, it was a lot of fun. Every night we have the kids say their personal prayers, and then we say family prayer. And in each of the prayers, Ben and Trevor keep praying that we will be able to have 2 days open so we can spend more time at the cabin.

GI updates

Lydia had her much-anticipated doctor's appointment today with the Peds Gastroenterology Doctor. I came in with a long list of symptoms and he was able to answer all my questions and give me reasons for all of her problems. So this is what we found out. She is allergic to milk proteins, and probably soy as well. (I was hoping he would be able to tell me for sure on the soy because getting rid of milk and soy is a pretty restrictive diet.) So to be safe we are including soy in there as well. Since I would like to continue to try to nurse her, I have 8 weeks to see if it gets out of her system. I have to get her stools checked every two weeks to see if there is blood in them, and once a month I have to have her blood drawn to make sure she is not anemic or having clotting problems. If those come back okay I can continue to nurse her. However, if they continue to come back with problems then we will have to put her on a special formula. We are also going to have to be very careful with introducing foods, because apparently kids who are MSPI tend to get other allergies too. On the other end, the doctor is sending her to a Speech Pathologist to see if she is swallowing correctly (because she continues to gag and choke at different times). That will be in a couple of weeks. He put my mind at ease on a few things as well. Lydia weighed 12 lbs 4 oz (95th percentile) and was 23 1/2 inches long (55th percentile). She sure is cute. She loves smiling at us, and we enjoy her sweet smiles.

Back to the Mile High City

Grant's dad was the last of our parents to see Lydia (the Great-Grandparents are on the list next), so we HAD to take a trip to Denver to see them. Since Grant was moved down to part time he only had to take one day off and we got to go down for 9 days. I'm glad we had planned the trip before he got his new job, or otherwise we wouldn't have been able to stay as long.
While we were there, we got to enjoy a lot of different activities--and we got to see the difference between our boys and our oldest girl. Let me explain:
We got to go to a Butterfly Museum where Karmin held a tarantula and the boys absolutely refused to even go near it.
We went to the aquarium and Karmin and Ben fed the sting rays, but then Ben got bit by one, and so he had Karmin feed the sting ray with his last fish. I was proud of Trevor who was all over petting them, but had the good sense to not put his hands near their mouths!
We went to the Museum of Natural History. That was actually very entertaining. The kids really enjoyed it. And we got to go to the zoo--always fun for everyone. The kids found some foam beads that Grant's mom had at their house. Ben and Trevor had fun making necklaces, and Karmin enjoyed making roads and building with them.
Grant's parents were busy for 2 days while we were there with transfers (missionaries who were done with their missions were going home, and new missionaries were coming out). The 2 sets of missionaries each stayed at their home during these transition times. Both times we have been there, it has been great to be around the missionaries so much. They are so amazing and the Spirit that is with them is undeniable. We got to have Family Home Evening with the new missionaries. I was in and out during the lesson (tending to fussy babies and diaper changes), but I did hear 1 missionary's testimony on how they came in contact with a lady who was searching for the church. She was at a Goodwill-type store and bought a Book of Mormon and a Bible for 75 cents the week before they came across her, and she had read everything by the time they knocked on her door. She was baptized a short time later. I was totally impressed by the faith that they had, and I wanted to come home being a better person and relying on the Spirit more.
We had tons of fun. I think we were all exhausted by the end of the trip--Grant's parents kept us going! I was very surprised by all the things they have to do down there. We took the kids to a Rec center to swim for the 2 days during transfers so we could be out of the way--and I was so impressed by the facility. I wish we had 1 place like that here, but they have them all over there. Our next stop...the cabin to see Great Grandma Ellamae!

The future is looking Brighter

Tomorrow is Grant's first official day at his new job (even though he has already worked there a few times). He got a job at a doctor's clinic as a nurse manager--so a step up in the world! He will work Monday through Fridays (yea predictability!!) mostly 8-5. The pay is just a bit more than what he was making, but I think he is mostly in it for the benefits. They pay all of our monthly premiums for our health insurance, he gets to be creative in what his responsibilities are because they don't have a clear-cut job description for him (he loves to find problems and then figure out how to solve them, so he is going to thrive with this). And then get this--part of his job is that they order food from local restaurants every day for lunch for him AND once a month he gets a massage. What a life huh?
We feel very blessed that everything just seemed to work out perfectly. We both knew that Grant shouldn't work on Sundays so we decided we needed a change. It was amazing to see all the miracles that took place for Grant to get this job. We are both very excited about it.
We all went to the eye doctor recently, and just like Grant thought he needed glasses. Here's a picture of his new look--however he only has to wear them to see far away, so he doesn't have to wear them all the time. But I think he looks good in them.

What We've Been Up To

1. Time at the river
2. A Baseball game (thanks Gina & DeWayne!!)(this was the only picture that wouldn't give away our location--yes I am paranoid like that--and I always feel guilty that Ben doesn't get more pictures on here, but he always seems to be wearing a shirt that says where we live. He is wearing one in this picture too, so I guess his back side is as good as we'll get for awhile)

3. Doctor appointments
4. Job interviews
5. Doctor appointmentsLydia has been having GI problems. I feel so bad for her. I've had to take her to the doctor about 3x a week. We have her scheduled for a peds GI dr at the end of the month. It has been a bit frustrating...about the time that I think she is doing better, I find blood in her diapers again. She's been diagnosed with Milk Soy Protein Intolerance, so I've gone off of all milk and soy products which leaves me not much to eat. I don't mind though, I would do anything to nurse her and keep her healthy, but sometimes I wonder if it is my milk that is still giving her problems. When her tummy isn't bothering her, she is so sweet and has started to honor us with her smiles and coos. It makes my heart melt every time.

6. Job offers!!
7. Doctor appointments

What we have planned:
1. Doctor appointments
2. A new job!--Details to come...

What's a girl to do??

when she loves cereal so much and she is told not to eat it anymore? I was talking to my good friend Sheri last week and she told me about something her son had when he was an infant, and it made me realize that Lydia had the same thing. So I watched it for a week and it seems that it wasn't getting any better. Today I took her to the doctor and the doctor told me to stay away from dairy for awhile to see if it gets any better. I know that many of you are familiar with my love of milk and cereal EVERY morning, and so as I bid a fond adieu to dairy for a couple of weeks I wonder what am I supposed to eat every morning? I didn't know that there was anything else other than cereal (: So any ideas? What do you eat for breakfast? I know--I'll miss you too!

A Proud (and bragging) Mama

Things are starting to calm down a bit around here. We still have some family from out of town which has been fun. Here is a general update on some of the things we've been up to. However, I reserve the right to BRAG--you don't have to read if you don't want to. But you've been warned:

Ben:
Ben finished his first chapter book all by himself. He read a Magic Treehouse Book a couple of days ago. Since then he read a Choose Your Own Adventure Book--do any of you remember those?? He is on Chapter 17 in the Book of Mormon (that he has chosen to read all on his own). Then last night we went to the store and the kids brought their own money to buy something and Ben bought (drum roll) 2 books!!! I never thought this day would ever come. Just to give you a background for those that don't know: Ben has always proclaimed to dislike reading (but has used stronger words) and has struggled with it, but I have seen a HUGE improvement this year.

Trevor:
We have a rule in our house that we can only eat in the kitchen. There are 2 exceptions to this rule. 1) When someone is sick we lay enough blankets out so they can eat out there and 2) after the kids go to bed mom and dad can eat out there. So Thursday after Ben said family prayer, Trevor said that he wished he could get sick so that he could eat out in the living room. Ben quickly said, "I just prayed for you so you can't get sick." Trevor said, "That's not fair!" I love the faith of children--they know prayer works.

Karmin:
Karmin is such a big helper. And always has a smile on her face. What a joy!

Lydia:
She is doing so much better. We got her on Zantac this week and that has been a miracle drug! She is happy when she is awake and she is sleeping! I actually feel pretty rested in the mornings now. It is crazy how kids gradually get sick sometimes and you don't realize how bad it really is until they are feeling better and you can see a huge difference. I love happy babies.

Vacation is Over

Sink or swim...here we go...
Grant's mom has been here for the past week and a half helping us survive. The time went by so quickly. She left today and I don’t know what Lydia and I are going to do without her. Lydia has been pretty fussy the last few days and wants to be held 95% of the day. Grant’s mom has been doing all the cooking for the last week and a half and on top of that she has held Lydia when she has been fussy and I needed to get something done. I really don’t know how we are going to manage without her. I’m sure the house won’t be picked up as much as it has been—it’s already been going downhill the last few days because of me wanting to spend time with Nana and Lydia wanting to be held. And who knows how I am going to cook dinner with Lydia in one arm and Karmin and Trevor fighting on either side of me to “help” me cook. I’m sure we will manage, and things will get done somehow, and it will come down to the fact that I just miss Nana and her presence and her confidence and support. Okay well, I will miss her cooking too.
Lydia has acid reflux--which we are quite familiar with. However, something that has never happened with the other kids is she chokes and stops breathing and that is pretty much nerve-racking, stressful, or whatever else you want to call it. She is pretty darn cute though and is still a pretty saught-after person in our house. Usually we have one child holding her head and another holding her feet so they all get turns.
So here's hoping that we will be okay and that my left arm/hip will get lots of muscle to hold Lydia without Nana's help. Nana--WE MISS YOU!!!

We're in LOVE!

On Wednesday afternoon I had a doctor's appointment and when they checked me found that I was dilated to a 6--with no contractions. So that's not normal and they didn't think that it was wise for me to be up walking around, so they sent me to the hospital. My labor started at 7:30 and Lydia Grace was born at 9:57--a full pound more than my other kids. She was 8 lbs. 8 oz. and 20 inches long. She has blue eyes and dirty blond hair (which is making Trevor very happy--he doesn't feel so alone). She looks identical to Trevor. We think she is absolutely beautiful and perfect in every way. The kids are all fighting over who gets to hold her and everything is going well so far. Just holding her, smelling her, and kissing her has made everything over the last year worth every moment. She really has been a gift to our family that two years ago didn't think we would ever have.

And the verdict is....

(Drum roll please)...
Today was the day that Grant met with the hospital and the Union to decide his fate! Another nurse bumped Grant from his position (this didn't surprise us) so they offered Grant a part-time position on the same floor. Grant has really enjoyed where he works and with the people he works with so this was good. He gets to keep the same benefits except for his PTO and EIT. Which, when a person is only working 20 hours a week I think they already get enough vacation time, so that is okay.
We hadn't told the kids anything was happening until today. Ben hoped that they would "fire" Grant so that he could be home all the time! He comes by it honestly because I felt the same way too! I was secretly hoping that he would get laid off, so he could be home (okay so maybe it wasn't too much of a secret). I had to explain to Ben that they couldn't fire Grant because he didn't do anything wrong. So Grant is on the job hunt--still.
And totally unrelated--it's been awhile since I posted any pictures (and I kind of find blogs without pictures a bit boring), so here are some of the kids: