Pregnancy perk

There is a relatively small grocery store in the town we live in. I do my major grocery shopping at a bigger store with more options (and less expensive items), but when we need to grab just a few things, it is definitely convenient to run to this nearby place.

And not only it is quite close to our house when an item or two is needed, I'm a fan for another reason.

If you haven't heard, I am one of those. At least for another short while. And being able to park close to the entrance is quite wonderful, I'll admit. Almost makes pregnancy worth it.

(Sweet chicken, it so completely does not make pregnancy worth it. At least to this lady who doesn't do pregnancy well. That was the permanent delirium I get during the last few weeks of pregnancy talking. But it is a nice perk when you are expecting a baby.)

And I don't think the two parking stalls marked "Senior Citizen" next to it are anything more a coincidence. Even if I walk incredibly similar to most senior citizens I know these days. Well, any senior citizen over the age of 97. The rest of them could beat me in a foot race in a heartbeat.

But at least I'm not bitter. After all, look at the fancy parking space I get each time we almost run out of milk. I'm like a celebrity.

Or not at all.

But at least I have to hobble a few less feet each visit to the grocery store.

Another first day of school

This morning I feel a lot like I did five years ago, but just times four. And yet, I truly don't doubt
for a second that these chicklets of mine will be just fine. Even if it takes a few days to adjust, they
are amazing and good and positive and happy and will far surpass my expectations in adjusting to
their new schools and quite frankly, anything that comes at them in life. I'm not sure how I am so
incredibly blessed to have the kids I have, but I am. And while I am regularly aware of it, this time
in our life makes it more obvious and more incredible to me. But even with all of that assurance
 that I know deep in my heart, I'm still excited and anxious to have them home and to hear about
their day. And give them a hug. And tell them how proud I am of them. Because I am.

Our newest Kindergartener. How I adore this sweet boy.

And the seventeen years starts...now

I'm back on my pregnancy diet again.

Oh the joy.

All I will say is that I am so grateful those three hours of my life are over.

Oh, and that there is something so terribly, terribly wrong with seeing/smelling smoke coming from your mouth.

2564 days

I wasn't sure about sharing this on the blog, because it is something sweet and personal to our family, but it was really important to me to have a record of this, in the same place we keep so many of the things that matter to our little family. I've talked about this once on the blog, but it has been many years since then.

Seven years and seven days ago, our family decided that we needed to be more consistent with family scripture reading. We were pretty good at reading most nights, but were not as faithful in our family scripture study as we thought would be best for all of us. So we put the kids in charge of making sure we read every night. And they have beyond amazing.

Seven months into it (212 days to be exact), we were coming home from a vacation and decided to drive all the way home, rather than stay over someplace like we had originally planned. We made it home in the middle of the night and no one thought to read our scriptures before dropping into bed. It was only the next morning that we realized we missed a day.

So a little sad, but with new determination, we started again. That was on March 13, 2007. And 2351 days later, we still had not missed a day.

Until last night.

Tonight, as we sat down to read the Book of Mormon, I suddenly couldn't remember reading our scriptures together as a family last night. I remembered having family home evening. I remembered saying our family prayers together. But I didn't remember reading our scriptures. And I thought I must be losing my mind because it has become such a habit, I just knew we wouldn't forget.

But after 10 or 15 minutes of discussing it and trying to remember the details of last night, we've decided that we did just that. We forgot.

It was a pretty sad moment for us. It has been a little over six years and five months since we started reading after that first missed day. And in a total of seven years and seven days, we have missed two nights. I think the reality of how long that is hit me when I realized we could never achieve that long of a run again, as our entire family, because our Campbell will be leaving on his mission long before either six or seven more years pass.

Oh my mother's heart.

And yet...

I feel a happy sort of sad tonight. Because while the kids went to bed shocked and a little frustrated that we would all forget, I can't help but focus not on last night, but on the last seven years.

Now I would never claim that the majority of our scripture reading has been full of happiness and calm and life-changing moments. Of course, we have often had to ask the kids 47 times to calm down and listen. Of course, I was sometimes (and sometimes often) tired and grumpy and I just wanted the kids to go to bed and skip on the reading. And of course, there were so very many times when Jacob was gone for days on end and I knew I wasn't taking the time to explain what we were reading to everyone like he always does.

But every one of those hard and exasperating moments felt worth it, during other less frequent but powerful moments, when the Spirit was so strong it would put a lump in my throat and I could look around the room and know that each of us could feel that what we were reading was true. Or on so incredibly many occasions, Jacob would take the time to explain perfectly what we were reading or to draw a map to show the kids visually what we were studying or to ask a question that would start a discussion that filled our home with such a beautiful feeling . Or I would read a verse that I have read dozens of times on my own, but reading it out loud, with my family, it meant something totally different to me.

Daily reading of the Book of Mormon for the last 2564 days (minus two) has changed who we are as a family and who we are as individuals. And it is not because we are great and wonderful. It is because our modern day prophets and leaders have promised us incredible blessings from reading the Book of Mormon and if there is one thing that I know, it is that the promises of the Lord, through His servants, will always come to pass.

From President Ezra Taft Benson:

"There is a power in the book which will begin to flow into your lives the moment you begin a serious study of the book. You will find greater power to resist temptation. You will find the power to avoid deception. You will find the power to stay on the strait and narrow path. The scriptures are called 'the words of life,' and nowhere is that more true than it is of the Book of Mormon. When you begin to hunger and thirst after those words, you will find life in greater and greater abundance"

From Elder Jeffrey R. Holland:

"Brothers and sisters, God always provides safety for the soul, and with the Book of Mormon, He has again done that in our time. Remember this declaration by Jesus Himself: 'Whoso treasureth up my word, shall not be deceived'—and in the last days neither your heart nor your faith will fail you. Of this I earnestly testify."

And from President Gordon B. Hinckley:

“If each of you will observe this simple program [to read or reread the Book of Mormon by the end of the year], regardless of how many times you previously may have read the Book of Mormon, there will come into your lives and into your homes an added measure of the Spirit of the Lord, a strengthened resolution to walk in obedience to His commandments, and a stronger testimony of the living reality of the Son of God.”

I love the Book of Mormon with all of my heart. I know that it literally changes us as a people and helps us to become the people we promised God we would become. And there is a part of me that is grateful for last night. Because it helped me to stop and remember how profoundly the last seven years have changed us as a family. And how kind our Heavenly Father is to ask us to do something that brings us true happiness and then blesses us for doing it.

Tonight we read our scriptures together as a family. And whether you count that as 2565 days (with two missed nights) or day one, it doesn't matter to me. What matters is the Book of Mormon is true. I have no doubt and no question that it comes from God and that it is another testament of His Son.

And because of something we forgot last night, I have had a chance to remember.

God is so very good.

I am so very blessed.

Mmm, yogurt and smoothies

I haven't eaten any solid food for the past two days. It's a new pregnancy diet I am trying.

Yeah right.

Actually, it is because I spent two hours in the dentist's chair on Tuesday and I still can't chew. I'm sure things will turn around soon. Right? I said right?

Remember when my seventeen-year streak came to an end four years ago? Yeah. Well, technically I've been told that wasn't a real cavity, just an old one wearing out and letting in bacteria. But even though a similar thing happened to another one of my teeth last week, the two hours in the dentist chair this time seemed pretty real to me.

Several days ago, my tongue noticed that one of my teeth didn't feel right. It felt like it was chipped. Now several years ago I sneezed hard enough to chip a small piece off of one of my front teeth. (Super power anyone? It was impressive.) But that was a small chip and easily fixed with a little sanding down of the rough edge (not by me and my Ace Hardware sandpaper, by an actual dentist, for the record). But this was no small chip. It felt like a large chunk of my tooth was gone.

And anyone who doesn't know, should know, that I take pride in my teeth. Not necessarily their appearance (they aren't horrible or anything, just not winning any teeth awards anytime soon), but boy howdy they are tough as nails. I had five or six cavities when I was a child and have literally had nothing done to my teeth in the twenty years since (minus regular cleanings of course). Until I had to have the cavity that had worn out replaced. But after another four years, I was starting to get cocky about my teeth again.

Until Wednesday.

The dentist informed me that once again, one of my old cavities had worn down and that a large piece of it was even missing. He asked how long I had been in pain and when I told him it felt funny, but I had not been in pain, I don't think he believed me (as evidenced by the six times he asked if I for sure hadn't felt horrible pain because I definitely should have). Anyway, he also let me know that he couldn't believe someone didn't see it was wearing down at my last cleaning appointment and that it had again let in bacteria. But this time, it had gone deep and he was afraid I would need a root canal.

A root canal? You must be confused, Dr. Dentist Man. My mouth doesn't allow root canals.

But apparently it does, because after two hours of digging and drilling out pieces of a really old cavity and scraping my tooth down to what could questionably still be called a tooth, he performed a partial root canal. And then filled things up temporarily and told me to come back next week for more fun. Fun interpreted as the rest of a root canal and a crown.

In the meantime, I'm enjoying lots of very soft foods. And quite frankly, if I wasn't pregnant, I probably would skip on eating almost all together because it is just too much of a pain to figure out what to eat that has enough nutrients for the baby, but only comes in liquid form.

Well okay then. Long enough story about my teeth? Yeah, I didn't think so either. But for all of you who have teeth that are more beautiful, but less tough than mine, I'm sorry. I'm starting to get it. And yet, although I'm more sympathetic than I was before, I'm hoping that my sympathy only goes as far as next Wednesday. Because after that I'm planning to start another seventeen-year streak.

Wish me luck.

And a miracle.

Oh, and just for the record, this dentist really was very good. He was extremely thorough and careful and took things one step at a time and really did a great job. Not only that, he didn't kick me out of his office when he asked if I wanted him to go ahead with the removal of the old cavity and the partial root canal and I told him, "Only if you can assure me you are really good at what you do. Otherwise, I'm going to need the name of someone who is better at this than you."

To his credit, he laughed.

Unfortunately, it was a nervous laugh.

But I don't believe his worry involved his skills, but rather my being muy annoying.

Either way, I'd like to think it made him do his best.

And when someone takes a drill like you see below to my mouth, for long periods of time, I'm looking for their best.

And a delicious smoothie recipe.

Some San Diego friends

It was five years ago this month that we moved from San Diego to Boston. And honestly, I still have feelings of homesickness for our time in California. Oh man, I loved it. We all did. We not only miss the place, but we definitely miss our friends that we became incredibly close to while we were there. We still stay in touch with a lot of them, but because we were not especially near any of them while we were living on the East Coast, we haven't seen most of them in that five-year period of time.

But apparently moving out west puts you in a place that is much more accessible to some of our friends from San Diego. Including our darling friends Christy and Marc and their cute kids--who came to visit us on Sunday for a few hours. The kids had such a fun time together and it was so nice to visit with Christy and Marc before they took the long drive home the next day.

Thanks for coming cute friends! We think you are pretty fabulous.

Girly

When our sweet little girl is born in very few weeks, there will be almost exactly twelve years between her and her darling older sister. It has been a bit of a wait, as you can see, but the three boys in between have made the wait totally tolerable.

When we moved into our current rental we felt very grateful for it. Because of the shorter time we needed to be here, we thought for sure we would have to end up in an apartment. So even though this home is quite small for the number of people we have, it is our own four walls and it is quite comfortable and fabulous. We are really happy here and grateful to the people renting it out for a few months.

These good people have taken great care of their home and we get to reap the benefits. They also like vinyl lettering in several places in the house and we get to reap the benefits of that. (Nothing wrong with vinyl lettering friends, don't get me wrong, just amusing to live with the vinyl lettering of someone else on the walls.) And while there are several fun places with vinyl lettering on the walls, I think my favorite must be the large one in what will be the baby's room:

 

Ironic and hilarious yes? I thought so.

But nothing a darling quilt I purchased to hang on the wall won't fix.

There now. Much better.

And the good news is I don't have to think too much about the colors for the nursery.

Green, pink and brown it is. I'm not one of those moms who make the nursery look

amazing and darling. I figure I provide the baby and really, isn't that enough? But the least

I can do for our little one is to make her room look more girly than not. And Annie isn't

crying to be of help with it all. Besides, it is turning out pretty cute, if I do say so myself.

Our Campbell

When I uploaded this photo of Cam to the computer, I just kind of sat in awe and stared at it.

Yes, yes, I know. Everyone says it, but it is true. How did we get here so fast? How are we

 just barely over a year away from a driver's permit, just two years from high school and less

than five years away from a mission? I have no idea, but it blows me away sometimes.

What also blows me away is the goodness of this boy. (Less boy, more man now, but he

will always be my boy no matter his age or height.) He really is tremendous and has one 

of the best hearts of any person I know on this earth. He is happy and kind and helpful and 

hilarious and brilliant and athletic and so very sweet to his siblings and patient and loving

to his mom. It is an absolute privilege to be his mom and I'm just so thankful he is ours. 

Love you Cam the man. Thanks for being you.

Cousin summer camp

A few weeks back, Annie decided she wanted to do a summer camp for her cousins. 

So with planning help from Matt and Ben (Cam was at scout camp), they came up with 

some great indoor activities, outdoor games and craft projects. They planned every part

of it, including the schedule, the supplies they would need and the invitation. We sent it

out to our Utah cousins (and some California cousins who were visiting) on each side and

were thrilled when all but two (we sure  missed those two!) replied that they could make it.

We held the camp two days in a row at our new place, for three hours each day.

Annie ran the entire thing (the boys were incredibly helpful whenever they were

asked) and did such a fabulous job! I was just there to make sure everyone 

stayed happy and alive and to especially take care of the baby cousins.

Most all of the activities were the same each day (with the exception of one or two)

and the cousins seemed to have such a fun time. We were definitely exhausted after

the second day of camp, but it was worth it. And we sure hope it was worth it for

all of our cute cousins who live/were visiting here. (Boy did we miss those that

don't live here or that are too old to play with beach balls and pool noodles.)

And now, of course, some pictures from our two days of fun!

The cute cousins on the Allen side.

Sticker tag time.

Pipe cleaner creations.

Taking a little break for "recess" time.

The creation station. And boy were the creations fabulous.

And the darling cousins on the Davis side (minus the youngest who declined photo time).

Excavating small items out of ice blocks.

Sticker tag...again.

And more "recess" time.

Relay races involving beach balls and pieces of pool noodles.

Lunch time.

And both days ended with decorating shirts to be used for pajama tops.

Thanks for coming everyone! We are sure grateful to be close to family again.

Twenty-one months

Two favorites

 I love this picture so much.

And I love this guy so much.

All of the boxes are unpacked

So Saturday was another big move day and there are several things that I learned, was reminded of and/or was grateful for:

• I don't love moving. Does anyone? And being the second move in 2 1/2 months, I'm more than done with it for a little bit. Or a long bit. Or until our new home is built.
• It now officially takes me two days to unpack all of our things and put them away just like I would like them. In my younger, less pregnant, less children days, it only took me one day. And while I am thrilled to be completely finished and ready to go tonight (I took Sunday off, so Monday was my second day), good gravy I'm older than I was. Which was no shock exactly, just another fun reminder.
• Even though our new place is quite tiny, we really like it. The backyard is completely fenced in, the baby is going to be able to have her own room (no one should have to sleep in a room with a newborn, at least in my opinion) and we don't have to share walls with anyone. We are very grateful.
• My younger brother and Jacob's dad were so very kind to come help us move the big stuff. And while several others offered to help (thank you so much kind people!), we didn't have enough furniture to justify more help. But boy were we ever grateful for the extra help. We moved all of the boxes ourselves, just our little family, but the beds and couch needed some tough guys and their muscles. And we found them. Thanks Rex and Ben! 
• When it was time to go to church on Sunday, the drive literally took three minutes. I still can't get over it. It has been many, many years since we didn't have to drive a long distance to our church building. All I could think was, "You're not in Kansas anymore Toto." (I don't even know what that means. Not to mention I haven't even seen the movie The Wizard of Oz, so you can see why that quote immediately came to mind. Oh, please don't look it up. I don't even think it is an actual quote in the movie. Okay then.)
• While we are absolutely enjoying it here, we are missing where we were the last two months. It was hard to leave a place that was so happy and peaceful and so wonderful to live in. And are so grateful for wonderful family that are generous beyond words and beyond what we deserve. We are so thankful.
• And yet, this new place is right for us right now. We are near our church. We are near the kids' schools. We are near all of our new activities. Our home is set up just perfectly for our little family during this time. In the last almost fourteen years, we have brought home five new babies to five different homes. This will be six. And it feels cozy and organized and calm and happy. Just the place for us to continue to be together as a family and to add to that family.

Life is good. I am full of gratitude. And crazy tired. But definitely excited for what is ahead.

Protective

When I first downloaded this photo from the camera, I had to laugh. It was so cute to see 

both of my boys looking quite nervous. But right after a quick laugh, my heart melted. 

You see, Campbell doesn't really get nervous about many things. And being on the tube

on the lake is definitely not one of them. All of the pictures before this one show he and 

Ben smiling and laughing. But as you can see from Ben's face, the boat had started to go a

little fast for him and he did not love it. And so, Cam was instantly wanting to protect him

and keep him from getting too nervous. So the look on Campbell's face, as well as the 

boating sign for "slow it down already," makes me so grateful for such a good son. 

My kids are normal and tease each other often, they push things too far and they definitely get

frustrated with each other. But when it comes down to it, they are incredibly loyal and protective of
their siblings and are are truly and honestly each others' best friends. They just love being together.

And without a doubt, there are very few things that matter more to me in this life.

So this picture, that reminds me of that very fact, makes me so very happy and so very grateful.

Five...for now

Jacob needed an updated photo for his new office. And even though there are very few weeks until
six will be a more appropriate number, I still love these photos so very much. And these kids even more. 

These chicklets of mine are pretty darling.

This picture makes me smile so much. The four oldest look so cute and happy.

Nate looks like, "Um, could all of you remove your hands from my belly? Thanks in advance."

And Jacob's favorite. Can I blame him?