An Update

I'm going to try and make this brief because I've got lots of photos.

Brennan is doing well. We're grateful for that especially given the fact that in an attempt to kill some ants on our back patio he used some gasoline, a match, and briefly lit the side of our house on fire. He tells me he did this last year too. Hmmm. We love Brennan.

Anna and I had a talk about the existence of the tooth fairy a while ago. I told her that I didn't want to lie to her, but that I think it's great to be able to have an imaginary life especially when you're young. I told her if she really wanted to know I'd tell her, but if not that she could sort of decide on her own. She decided to make up her own mind rather than having me tell her one way or the other. Well, fast forward a few months and Nate lost his first tooth!!! The girls of course helped him write a note for the tooth fairy. A day or two later Anna came to me and asked me to please write the word "what" on a strip of paper. I had no idea what she was up to, but I complied. She took the paper right over to the note the tooth fairy had written on and said, "Yep, it's a match!" Evidently one of the words the tooth fairy had written was "what". I encouraged her to keep her finding to herself. She was quite delighted with herself for outsmarting me. We love Anna.

Abigail had a program at school. I love watching her in these situations because she pours every ounce of herself into singing and performing. She gets a shy little look whenever she catches my eye and I can tell she's really into a song when she's flaring her nostrils. This is Abby and her teacher and a couple of friends. We love Abigail!

As mentioned earlier, Nate lost his first tooth!!! This was a big deal and he was very nervous about the whole process, but he survived and is very proud of this milestone in his life. The new tooth is almost all the way grown in. One more thing, I've included a video of Nate singing "You're a Grand Old Flag" that he learned for a school program. My favorite part is the "high-fiving flag". He knows it's "high flying flag", but every time he sings it he gets mixed up and I LOVE it. We love Nathan.

"You're a Grand Old Flag" from Andrea W. on Vimeo.

Ben's favorite thing to do is walk around like he owns the place, which he basically does. He is very sweet though, the other day the kids were all cuddled up on the heater vent and Ben announced to them, "I'm happy." When Abby asked why he was so happy, he said, "Because I'm with you." Awww. We love Benjamin.

I love this shot of him, it just captures the fact that he's always on the go, always got people to see and places to go.

Anna's bff, Chloe, got a scooter for her birthday and patiently gives all my kids rides.
They took this picture of themselves, I love it.

Love the princess helmet.

Abe was here that day and was so excited to get a ride.

Me and My Girls

Yesterday was one of those days I don't want to forget. The girls and I get to go see Wicked this week and so to compensate the boys Brennan took them to some kind of motorcycle racing event yesterday afternoon until late that night. So that left me and the girls to entertain ourselves. After Anna's soccer game we left our boys and headed to a shower for my cousin's wife who is expecting their first baby. It was really nice to visit with my Grandma and aunts and cousins. We then met up with Eliza to help them move into their new house. We met her at their apartment where she was doing the final cleaning and helped load up a few last loads. I was so grateful the girls were there and was kind of amazed at how helpful they were. Their favorite part was carrying Eliza's clothes out to the car. We kept hearing things like: "Oh, Liza, you have the cutest clothes!" "Abby, come look at this dress!!" "Mom, Eliza's clothes are so amazing!"

After loading everything we could fit we drove to the new house. It was so fun to see their cute house finally done and being filled up with all their stuff. We unloaded our car and went in to try and be useful. Lize brought pizza and donuts so my girls and I sat down with Josh and Lize and their adorable kids for a nice dinner break. Abe kept wanting rootbeer and saying, "Abey, juice beer!" When we finished dinner we got back to work while Abe threw things down the stairs and Belle kept finding access to bathrooms and dunking various toys in toilets every chance she got. As Ben says, "She walks like a penguin!" but she is one stealthy little penguin! Anna and Abby had a blast playing with Abe and Belle and starting to organize their clothes in their new rooms. Anna kept pulling Belle's cute clothes out and suggesting outfit combos to Liza for Belle to wear next. Abby kept us updated on everything going on upstairs or when Abey escaped outside with a running commentary. She also pointed to a dried bouquet of flowers and said, "Eliza, did you know these flowers are dead?" "Yeah, that was my wedding bouquet so I saved it." "Oh, I thought they were just a bunch of dead flowers," Abby shrugged.

Anyway, I realized how rare it is that I am with just the girls. I had so much fun with them and seeing them without the little boys made me realize how old the girls are. They were such fun company and very helpful. They continued to be good sports as I dragged them to the store late that night on our way home and let them fall asleep on the couch while I made cookies for a family gathering the next morning. Just as we got settled in the boys came home so happy and excited to tell me all about the motorcycles and the races. They loved every minute. Brennan could tell Ben was getting so tired but whenever he asked him if he wanted to go home, he insisted on staying to see more.

It was a perfect day for all of us. I'm so grateful for those chances we have to just enjoy our kids. They're growing up so quickly and it's so easy to get caught up in trying to keep them all on track I fear too often I miss opportunities to have fun with them. Yesterday Brennan and I both got the opportunity to just enjoy them and we did.

Pregnancy

Pregnancy is one of those things that is such a bizarre combination of amazingly wonderful and exhaustingly challenging. Whenever the baby moves and I realize I'm actually growing a human inside of me, I feel so awed and humbled by the fact that I get to play such a significant role in giving life to somebody, our somebody. Then the next minute I leave Nate's t-ball game after having spent a great deal of time discussing who would pick Anna and her friend up from soccer practice and grab Abby from her friend's house. We decide I will so I leave the boys with Brennan and drive directly home. I remember the girls after I have been home for 5 minutes. Then I feel in awe of my ability to forget all about two of my beloved children.

I go from sentimental and grateful for each of my sweet children to coming very close to tearing my hair out (some who are not familiar with the fact that my fun layer was intentional on the part of my hair cutter may think I have already resorted to this) because of these same sweet little things all in a matter of seconds. I'm a riot to live with, I know. However, even amidst the chaos and the exhaustion and the brain fog and humongousness, there's still something indescribably sublime about knowing there's a new member of the circus, I mean family, growing inside me waiting for just the right moment to join us and change us forever.

Update

We've had some spectacularly beautiful days lately and after a very rainy/snowy Spring we're not taking it for granted. We spent our Saturday at Abby and Nate's soccer games and then Nate's first T-ball game. Anna's soccer game got pushed back to later in the week. It was a busy morning, but also a great chance to enjoy being outside.

My dear brother gave Brennan his old Playstation II video game system. I had some extended family over Wednesday night and after the majority left, the diehards -- me, my aunt Allyson and Eliza were burning the midnight oil. Suddenly, we see a desperate Brennan making a break for it through the kitchen to the bathroom. Evidently, a football game had made it impossible for him to use the bathroom and he had been holding it for hours. I think he finally went to bed at 1:30 am. He managed to win the Superbowl and claims he will no longer have a need to play. We love Brennan.

Anna had the big "Maturation" class this week. I went with her and am still in shock that we have a child old enough to be attending those types of things with. She took it all in stride and the school nurse did a great job. Anna discovered little video clips of dogs available to adopt from the Humane Society through our cable service and spends her free time "window shopping" a pet dog. Yes, I feel guilty depriving her and have basically agreed that when the baby is 1 or 2 we'll get a dog. We love Anna.

Abigail did great in her soccer game yesterday although her team lost and she can't stand that. On Ben's birthday we had some of my nieces and nephews here. There were two nephews who are within a few months of Ben's age here when he opened his gifts. As to be expected, Abe and Oliver found it a little trying to sit back and watch while Ben opened treasure after treasure. It was finally too much for poor Abraham and Liza decided it was time to go home, so she packed up and loaded her kids in the car all the while Abe was crying heartbrokenly. Abby kept telling me how badly she felt for Abe and later on that night, hours later, was to the point of tears worrying about her poor little cousin. I finally called Eliza to confirm my assertion that Abe was fine and had long since forgotten the incident. Eliza assured us he was fine and happy and Abby was finally able to quit worrying about him. I love how caring she is. We love Abigail.

The other day Nate got a very serious voice and said, "Mom, guess what Rex said one of the things he wants to be when he grows up is?" "What?" Dramatic pause, "A football player." "Well, why do you sound like that's such a bad thing?" "It's VERY dangerous." It was so sweet to see how much he worries about his precious cousin Rex. He was so cute in his T ball game, it's a really low key environment. Each team gets to bat their whole batting order, and whether they use the Tee or not is optional so most of them hit from the coach's pitch. It's pretty much total chaos. One little boy on Nate's team grabbed the ball and threw it right at the little girl running to base. Fortunately, she wasn't hurt. Nate was actually understanding and playing defensively when he was out in the field. He also hit really well and loved every minute. We love Nathan.

For the last few weeks Ben suddenly decided he was perfectly capable of getting himself dressed. He actually does a great job, and while it's so cute to see how excited he gets each time he accomplishes this feat, it makes me a little sad to see another way in which he's gotten completely independent. If only he would decide to potty train himself :) The other night when I hosted an evening with some of my extended family I had a friend come share her couponing tips. Ben had come in to sit on my lap before he went to bed. A few minutes later he looked up at me and started bobbing his head up and down. Apparently in my enthusiasm I had been nodding my head in satisfaction of what my friend was saying and my 3 year old was making fun of me. We love Benny.

Video Clips

You've probably had this clip of Susan Boyle forwarded to you, and I can't seem to embed it, but here's the link in case you haven't seen it. It reminds me a lot of the Paul Potts?? (was that his name) episode, and perhaps it's totally all staged, but on the chance that it's not - watch it. I cried like a baby.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9lp0IWv8QZY

This second video clip is one from my very favorite general conference talk by Elder Jeffrey R. Holland. Truly one of the greatest sermons on the atonement of Jesus Christ I've heard.

Update

Another week and weekend have flown by. We had a great spring break, although I'm a little worried about the girls remembering how to wake up early tomorrow for school.


Friday we had such a fun outing at the old historic farm.

My nieces, Molly and Belle, darling toddler babies

some cute animal babies

Feeding the geese


Christian is having more fun that it looks like...until Anna dumped her bird seed all over him.

The kiddies getting ready to milk a cow

Abby's up

Ben is fine to let Brennan do the touching
Anna's turn


and Natey

Lots of cute little cousins.

It was perfect weather and the setting was beautiful. We all had such a great time. Afterwards we met at a burger shop and ate together. With that many kids, it was an adventure, but actually went surprisingly well. These days make me so happy.

Saturday we got the house whipped into shape, well as good as it gets, and had all my family over for a bbq. Davis and Melissa got home from their honeymoon that afternoon and so we were able to gather one last time before they and Chris and Rebecca had to go home. It was fun times. We're kind of shocked at how quickly we've amassed an army of little ones. There were kids everywhere. Our baby due in July will be grandchild #17. The most exciting part of the evening though is that we finally initiated our beautiful grill my parents gave us 1 1/2 years ago for Christmas. Yeah!!! I'm so excited to have propane and my Dad be willing to show Brennan how to use it.

I mentioned that we've had our unused grill for 1 1/2 years. Well, yesterday Brennan was having second thoughts about having the barbecue at our house. I think he knows he'll be doing a lot more cooking once we have it up and running. Anyway, I told him I would take care of everything, I'd go get the propane etc and that I really wanted to take advantage of having my Dad here so he could show us how to use it. He said in all seriousness, "I know, I know, I just don't want to rush it." We love Brennan.

When we got to church today, we looked at the ward bulletin to find that both Anna and Nate were scheduled to give talks in primary (the kid's classes). She pulled her little homemade binder (fabric covering cut up cereal box cardboard) out and immediately began writing her talk all by herself.

Here's the text of her talk:

"I am going to tell a story. A few months ago, I went with my family to the Twin Falls temple open house in Idaho. Afterwards, we went outside to take a picture in front of the temple. There were two men there and one of them, (the one closest to us,) was shouting things that I knew weren't true. It upset me and later I realized that it helped me know how strong a testimony I have. It's important to have a a testimony of Jesus Christ and Heavenly Father and the things you know are true. So don't think that Easter is all about Easter egg hunts, and candy and that stuff. Think about Jesus and how much he loves us even so much to die for us. I say this in the name of Jesus Christ, amen. Happy Easter !!"

She did such a great job. We love Anna.

As we drove to Davis and Melissa's wedding dinner Abby suddenly asked if Davis invited people from New York (where they live). I told her that yes, there were lots of friends from New York invited. She immediately and worriedly asked, "Do you think there will be gangsters there?" Evidently, I had told the kids a long time ago that there were usually gangs in big cities. She remembers everything. I have got to remember that Abigail makes a mental record of everything any of us says. We love Abby.

For Nate's talk today I was so proud of how he was totally willing to stand up in front of that big group as long as I helped him. I whispered some help and he confidently stood and delivered the message. He's really growing up and old. He has had so much fun playing with his visiting cousin, Oliver. Oliver just loves Nate. When we walked into my parents' house Oliver yelled, "My Natey!" So cute. We love Nathan.

Ben is learning all too quickly that by saying a few words, he can unlock all sorts of privileges and power. For instance, he found Brennan's stash of gum and helped himself and benevolently even passed some out to the other kids. When one of the kids asked if Dad had said, he quickly assured them that "Dad said." Or if Brennan calls him out on something he'll confidently tell him that I told him he could. One night he had crawled into our bed and the next morning Brennan said, "Benny, remember you have to sleep in your own bed." Ben smiled condescendingly and said, "Mom said I could get in your bed in furty (30) minutes." We love Benjamin.

Happy Easter!

I love Easter, it's just such a meaningful holiday and I love that it corresponds with Spring and all the symbolism of everything coming back to life. The message of the Resurrection and the ultimate triumph over death and sin is just thrilling. What a beautiful plan!

We had such a great church service today. Our choir sang 2 songs and did so well. I was so scared that all the choir members would be out of town for spring break, but we had a great turn out. An older woman from a neighboring ward was there. She was the choir director for years when I was growing up. She was the quintessential ward choir director. Anyway, she hugged me and told me how great the choir was. It was one of those full-circle moments. The amazing thing is, while I still get really nervous, I really have so much fun up there leading these talented singers. I know most of you won't believe me, but it's kind of a rush. I was so upset when I got this calling, when will I learn that the Lord knows what he's doing?

Spring Break

My kids are out of school all week this week and it's been really nice to have them around. We opted out of traveling so we could all just enjoy some nice quality down time especially after the hustle and bustle of the wedding. I feel like my girls, especially Anna, has so little time to just play with friends. This is so frustrating and sad to me given that we have intentionally tried really hard not to over-book her and she doesn't have a huge homework load, there's just so little time after school that even one small commitment gobbles up all her free time. I guess that's just life when they get older, but I have been grateful she's had a few friends around this week and hopefully caught up on just being a kid a little bit.

I was looking forward to a nice mellow week without school schedules, lessons, homework, etc.; however, I'll be honest, I'm exhausted! It's not like we've really done a whole lot either, there's just been what feels like 14 million kids in and out of here all day long. I'm sure my pregnant state and a grumpy 3 year old (he's had a cold) have been the main causes, because I have enjoyed having the girls around more.

Anna had a friend over yesterday and the day before, she's a darling friend from school. They literally sat here on the couch and cackled for an hour about I'm not sure what. I'm so glad she has a friend to giggle with, every girl needs that, but next time I think I'd like to listen from a bit more of a distance :)

Abby had a late night with Paige last night and got to go to Paige's Karate lesson, got her very own individual pizza, watched a movie and painted a picture frame. She was in heaven.

Ben and Nate have been totally occupied with cousin time with Abe and Oliver and Ben's new little Diego jeep and action figure, a new cheap little toy motorcycle and action figure, and some new play dough. I'm so grateful they are such good little imaginary play guys.

Anna's been in charge of Chloe's dog, Tiny, this week. She's supposed to go down and let him out three times a day, walk him and feed him. It's so cute to watch my four little kiddies head off down the sidewalk in their jammies and jackets to go get Tiny and take him for a walk. I love watching older kids be responsible for the younger ones, there's nothing sweeter.

Today we're looking forward to joining up with my family and heading out to a historic farm to see some new baby animals. I'll be sure to take a nap first and then it should be good times!!!

Weekend Update

We've had fun, fun, fun! The wedding, of course, was the big highlight. It truly couldn't have been more perfect. It was so Davis and Melissa, and they thought of everything. In fact, as we were leaving our astute Abby commented, "Mom, that wasn't just like all the other weddings, that really showed their personalities." We're so happy for them. It's a great thing to see someone you love so much so happy. Another great thing was that we got to have my oldest brother, Braden, around. He and Meredith live in Nashville, TN and have 5 kids. We rarely get to see them, so we loved every minute of having Braden around. We also got to have my other brother, Christian, and Rebecca and their kids here. They had a beautiful baby girl two weeks ago who we're loving getting acquainted with.


This weekend was made even more perfect by the fact that it was General Conference weekend. (twice a year our church leaders speak via television broadcast for two 2 hour sessions on Sat. and Sunday, plus one Sat. night for all the men.) It's one of my very favorite things in the world to be able to stay home (or go to my parents') and be cozy on the couch while listening to inspired men and women inspire me. That afternoon we went to my parents' house and listened there while the kids played with their cousins. After that we went to see my sister's fabulous new house that's almost completely done. The men got ready for their meeting while my Mom wrote a course for dinner on a piece of paper and let each of the older kids pick one. There were two side dishes, drink, main dish and dessert. We then took them to the store and let them pick out what they wanted for their course. It was a wild time at the store, but actually went a little more smoothly than I had anticipated. We rushed back to my Mom's to throw together our special dinner. It consisted of steamed broccoli (Nate's pick), strawberries and fruit dip, (Lucy's), Cream Soda (Abigail), and canned chili and chips (Anna). For dessert they had Little Debbie Easter cakes (Rex). They loved planning, shopping and preparing their portion of the dinner and loved the final product. My Mom's the best at facilitating these type of kid-oriented activities. It was a fun evening.


After all that fun, the guys came home and the kids played a little bit longer. Brennan kindly took our kids home and put them to bed so I could stay and chat with my siblings and parents. We did so til about 2:00 am. I love those nights.


Sunday afternoon after conference Chris blessed his new baby, Amelia Grace. Isn't she sweet, and don't you love her name?

We then, of course, celebrated with a big feast and then tried to relax while each and every one of our kids took turns melting down, from all the fun and late nights. We got finally got home and everyone to bed. All is well. What a great weekend.

Benjamin George is 3!

3 years ago I woke up to some pretty intense contractions. Every time I walk around though, they got less consistent, so I decided to go on with my day as planned. I did straighten up the house and made sure I had my bag packed. Later that afternoon I went to help in Abby's preschool class. The teachers became aware that I was in the early stages of labor and kept trying to get me to leave. I begged them to let me stay because I'd much rather keep busy than go home and just wait. By the time school got out and we picked up Anna, I knew it was time. We went home and waited for Brennan and gathered up my bag and drove through the snow storm to my aunt's house where we left our kids (I was in tears leaving my little Nate knowing that was the last time I would see him as my baby) and then Brennan and I proceeded to the hospital.


A few hours later out came Benny. He weighed 5'15" a fact which terrified me. I kept asking the doctor and nurses why he was so small and they kept reassuring me that he was healthy and that's all that mattered.

Here is as a tiny newborn

About 9 months later, much to my relief, he fattened right up.


To this big guy

We are so grateful Ben was born. I cannot imagine life without him, his smile, his eyes, his laugh, his voice, his bossiness, or affection. This morning he crawled into my bed and cuddled up to me and said, "Mom, I wuv you." We love Benjamin George.

We were able to have a little party with some of his cousins, he loved it and this year April 6th was a beautiful spring day.

Wedding!!!

Yesterday was a momentous one. My bachelor brother got married. It was such a happy day, we're so excited for Davis and Melissa. I forgot my camera for outside the Temple, but the rain stopped just in time for the bride and groom to exit and take some beautiful pictures. They looked amazing. Melissa's dress was beautiful and she was stunning.

We celebrated that evening with a fabulous dinner at a nearby museum of fine art. We got there early for pictures and to help get set up. Melissa's mom made all the little girls' dresses, little boys' ties and sisters and sisters-in-law's skirts. Unbelievable! They all looked so adorable.

Nate and Rex, you never saw these two apart

Benny with his mouth full. (There was a table with jars of candy)

Abigail

Anna and Lucy

As we finished eating we watched their wedding video (it's not really a "video" but I don't what else to call it) which was so cute. It was so well done. My favorite photos were the ones of them when they were little kids. Melissa had these gigantic eye glasses and was the cutest thing you've ever seen. After the video, the parents and the happy couple spoke. Then a little speech by one of each of their brothers and best friends. It was all so sweet and funny. There were lots of funny moments. Davis sang with my brother Ryan.

After that, Melissa and her Dad kicked off the dancing and then Davis and Melissa really got things going:

It was such a great day. We're so excited to have another sister-in-law/aunt and wish them both all the best. We love Davis and Melissa!

Here a few other photos (I can't figure out why or how to remove the big white space, sorry!):

April Fools - Follow up

Most of you asked how Anna's prank went. Well, she was disappointed because after about 30 seconds everyone but one special needs boy in her class recognized her. She wasn't devastated though and I think was still glad she did it. She actually does a great British accent, in fact, I think that's how the whole idea came about.

We had several other little jokes throughout the day. Poor Nate and Abby jumped in their beds to get some sleep last night and found themselves most uncomfortable. Anna and Chloe had stuffed hundreds of little wooden tiles under their fitted sheets.

Nate took the cereal bags out of their original boxes and mixed them all up so when you thought you were pouring yourself a nice bowl of Rice Krispies, you ended up with Honey Bunches of Oats.

Brennan sat me down and told me we needed to tighten our budget, especially mine by like 50%. When I asked why the sudden desperation when he had just the other day told me he was having great sales, he said, "Well, I've just got a couple of expensive golf tournaments coming up that I really want to play in..." Fortunately, he couldn't keep a straight face for more than 2 seconds, but it still got my blood pressure right up there

April Foolery

Anna has been planning a particular prank for literally months now. She and her two accomplice friends got special permission from their teacher to have Anna show up to school on April 1st disguised as her friend's cousin from England. They have been laying the groundwork for this by carefully spreading the news that Anna would be going to CA with her grandparents and that while she was gone Sadie's cousin would be visiting. One of her friends asked if "Lucy" (the cousin) could sit at Anna's desk since Anna wouldn't be there. Brennan and I have tried to warn her that it might not work as they've hoped, but they are determined to pull it off. I was given strict instructions to pack a different than normal lunch in a sack rather than her usual lunch bag. She's also going to be careful not to smile because she's missing some teeth and that will be a dead give-away. Here's a picture of Lucy leaving this morning:

That's not all she's doing to celebrate this day of pranks. I found this on my bed last night:


Abby walked into this Saran wrap this morning which was taped all over her doorway.

I keep hoping this is an April Fools' joke: