Today

Today is the day, 10 years ago, that he asked me the big question and I answered...what a wonderful 10 years we've shared! My grandma told me before I was married, everyday you'll learn to love him more...I didn't really understand then, but I do now.

Happy 'getting engaged' anniversary Brian, thanks for asking me then and being here for me now. I still love you with all my heart.

The buffet

Before
After
My Grandma Mary passed away in August. A little while after her passing, her possessions were dispersed among her 10 children. I always remembered that buffet, in her TV room, where I would sit on the couch near Grandma and where she taught me how to cross-stitch. She kept her sewing supplies in the middle drawers and the gambling chips (a favorite toy of all the grandchildren) in the right-side cupboard. She hung her decorative dishes above it on the wall and over the years, the buffet was a little battered, but mostly just forgotten. When I asked my Dad about the buffet, he didn't know which one I meant, no one really did and so when his turn came around he asked for it, for me. The buffet was my great Grandmother Allen's before it was my Grandmother's. It sat in her home in Draper for years and when she moved in with my grandparents, it moved with her and now, it moves on to me. When I received it, I opened the drawers, and although my Aunts had cleaned out Grandma's possessions, there were still sewing pins left in the cracks of the drawers, a reminder to me of my memories with Grandma.

I had the piece refinished a few weeks later. The woodworker came to look at the piece and was in awe. Not only was this a Duncan Fife (Phyfe) piece, made of rare Peruvian Mahogany in the early 1900's, but he also found an old newspaper placed in the base of the furniture, underneath the bottom drawer, that traced the piece back to Oregon where it was made. Pork Loins were cents on the dollar, Maxi pads, the same. He took the piece to his shop and returned it three days later, looking just beautiful and perfectly restored. Now the piece sits on the long wall in my entryway, home again in Draper.

Baby and Those Chores

Baby number 4, bouncing around in my belly, has the horrible hiccups right now. She is probably enjoying breakfast, Multigrain Cheerios, orange juice and a fruit salad I made yesterday...yum. Baby girl (yet to be named) had quite the growth spurt over the last two weeks and caught up and then some to her gestational age. She is head down and getting ready to come, sometime in the next 5 weeks, hopefully sooner, but I am not getting my hopes up and then maybe, just maybe I'll be surprised.

Her nursery is coming along, just a few finishing touches and then I'll post some photos. Her clothes are mostly washed even though they are still sitting in the dryer waiting to be folded and put away since, well, Friday I think. Lately, I am lucky to get the laundry washed and folded...then it sits for a day or two before I get the energy to put it away.

We've been trying to allow the kids to do more, chores and things, getting them ready for baby and new responsibilities...that's a chore in and of itself, but we keep trying. Brian has instituted the Saturday morning chores list that he remembers as a kid...so we will try that as well. We've been working on the 'clearing your plate' from the table over the past months and it is finally taking effect, thankfully and occasionally I will find an emptied dishwasher and a stacked-up-full-of-clean-dishes-counter from Maggie and on garbage day she seems to enjoy emptying all the cans, but her favorite job of all is the lint filter in the dryer,...So, there is progress and it is so nice to see.

The time...

The time is winding down. I realized last night that I only have about 6 weeks left with this little bun cooking in my oven. I know she is getting bigger, my ribs hurt and I have sore spots on my belly. Maggie and Sam shower my belly with kisses and hugs and tell me with big eyes as they look at my belly, "the baby is definitely getting bigger." I had to explain to Sam what those beautiful lines around my belly button were the other day, "Sam, those are called stretch marks and I got them when I carried you around for 9 months, my 9 lb. 5 oz. baby boy." He thought that was really interesting of course.

In some ways, mainly the uncomfortableness of the end, I feel like I am going to be pregnant forever and in other ways, it's just around the corner and there isn't enough time or energy in the day to get everything done before this little girl will arrive. We look forward to her coming with excitement and a little trepidation. It has been almost 5 years since we've had a newborn at home. Maggie and Sam are so independent. What will it be like to start all over again with the baby stage, the sleepless nights, the constant nursing...we know what we're in for. And yet, I pray that I will be able to enjoy every minute of those sleepless nights, knowing that this little one is a gift to us, entrusted to our care. Caleb is close to her now and is mindful of us. In many ways I feel like he sent her at this particular time in the year, on the anniversary of his passing, as a reminder that there is joy in the journey even after the bitterness of trial.

A recap of...

Our Christmas vacation.

The Holidays...

So here were our hoidays...in a nutshell.

A little downhill...

We took the kids sledding on New Year's Eve at a little community park down the road. The wind was whipping, but the hills and snow were great! I enjoyed seeing the big smiles and the excitement in their eyes. Happy New Year! Welcome 2010!

I can still...

I can still see those new red shoes, but I don't know for how much longer. I had my latest appointment yesterday. Baby girl is growing like she should and moving almost constantly. For the past week, I've been feeling a little foot here or a fist there. We find so much joy and comfort in feeling her move and we're so excited for February to roll around so that we can hold her close.

Mom...

I picked Sam up yesterday from preschool and he was in a rather chipper mood. The first thing he said to me just made my day. He said with a cute little smile, "Mom, I missed your face..." What a boy, what a comment. He must have known I needed a little encouragement yesterday.

The Great Tree Hunt

Brian's brother David and his wife Amy invited us to go cut down our tree this year with permits. We drove south for 1 1/2 hours to find the spot and then the hunt began just as a snowstorm hit. When we finally found that perfect, not so perfect tree, we were all just about spent, at least me and the kids and their fingers were oh so cold.

We cut down a Pinyon Pine and it has made the entire house smell like Christmas. Brian commented that the smell was making him sick it was so strong...I think the Pinyon Pine is known for it's ever sapping branches and it's fragrant Christmas tree smell, at least that's what I will remember it for.

Thanksgiving.

Thanksgiving dinner was delicious, for a few different reasons...maybe it's because I am pregnant, maybe it's because we ate earlier then in years past and had less time to snack before hand, maybe it's because Brian went against the roasting directions on the turkey package and only cooked it for 4 1/2 hours instead of the suggested 8...maybe it's because everyone in the family brought their best recipes, but whatever it was, it was one good Thanksgiving dinner and we are still eating the leftovers. I had a lot of fun decorating the table and making the centerpieces. The cornucopia was a pain but it turned out pretty good and I take comfort in knowing I won't have to do that ever, ever again.

The Big Seven.

Maggie celebrated her birthday this weekend with her friends. I decided to do a snow theme and mother nature didn't disappoint. The white flurries started just before the party and didn't stop until it was over, the timing was perfect. When the girls first came over they decorated snowflakes and their party bags with glitterglue and stickers...then we headed out into the blizzard to see Disney's "The Christmas Carol". The 3D was amazing, but it was a little over-the-top scary at times. Luckily, we didn't have any 'fraidy cats'. After the movie, we came back for cupcakes and presents. Maggie exclaimed more than once, "This is the best birthday ever" even though she probably says this every year and it wasn't quite her birthday!

Maggie's due date was suppose to be on Thanksgiving Day, we were going to have our own little Turkey that day, but she had a mind of her own and came almost two weeks early, the day after I quit work. I thought I'd have a two week break before she came, to finish all the odds and ends projects, but the timing didn't quite work the way I had thought it would...it rarely does.

I can still remember her jet black head of hair and the joy I felt at seeing and holding her for the first time. She is growing up so fast, becoming so independent but still holding onto her sweetness. We love you little Magpie. You will always be our little turkey. Happy Birthday!

Remembering...

Keeping with tradition, I made blankets for the little babies in the heart unit in San Francisco. Maggie and Sam chose the fabric and then we shipped them off. Getting new blankets for Caleb always meant so much to us.



Halloween is a special day in our family. It's the day that our sweet little Caleb came into this world. We remember him, we love him and we celebrate the time we had with him, our very own, little spook. Caleb would have been turning two this year, but Heavenly Father had other plans for him and so we wait for the day when we will all be together again.

Trick-or-Treating

The ghouls and goblins and witches were out in full force...we had over 150 trick or treaters. At one point Maggie yelled, "There's an angry mob coming to our door," and she was right, they came in packs leaving not one Reese's Peanut Butter Cup or Kit Kat left in the bowl.
and then there was the sorting,
the counting
and the eating.

Leading up to Halloween...

We celebrated the October birthdays with pumpkin pie and cake and...
a spooky Halloween dinner on the Eve of Halloween.
Like mother, like daughter...I helped with Maggie's class party...dressed as a witch and read them spooky stories.