Journaling

Whoa, it's been a while!  I forget how little time I have to spend on things like my blog. It's even worse when the computer is being finicky.  To sum things up (I'm sure this will still be long winded :) ), a few months ago as I was closing up my computer, out popped a bunch of smutty pictures!  I was SHOCKED to say the least.  It really bothered me and I couldn't even go to bed that night without trying to fix the problem.  A little while before that, I had had some strange garbage popping up on my facebook page, and I was able to resolve that problem, so I thought maybe I could fix the problem that had cause the recent trash.  So anyway, long story short, I removed flash player somehow, and made my computer unable to download it.  It's ridiculous how many useful websites use flash player and need it in order to work.  Even signing some forms for school (which, don't get me started on how annoying it was to get a small note in the backpacks- along with all the other crap I had to sign- directing me to the school website so that I could "sign" something electronically.  Why on earth could they not just have me sign a piece of paper for it as they have in years past?  it was annoying.)... took too much effort really.  SO anyway.  Luckily I've had my Kindle that worked for some things, and the laptop that Don gave us is FINALLY working normally, but my blog, and a few other areas (like looking at Jack's photoshoot) have been neglected and it's somewhat depressing to me to think of all that I've missed documenting.  But at this point in the hormones, pretty much everything is depressing.  That's just how it is :).  I'm working on it.
SO anyway!!!

Lots of stuff going on here.  I think I will just update on all that I can think of and not try to get it in order.

- I've been loving it when Luke says the prayer lately, because he makes sure to always bless Jack that he will grow up healthy and strong, and that we will be able to have fun with him.  And that he will be happy.  It's THE sweetest thing on the planet.  I LOVE it.  I know I keep saying this, but it's just SO neat to watch the love between my children and for their new little brother.  It's mind-boggling to me how much love you can feel for something so helpless and small.  He can do very little besides his cute little movements, facial expressions, and the occasional toot, and yet everyone has this amazing, unconditional love for him.  Goes to show you that you love who you serve.  That's what we are doing a good 50% of the time, is serving this little guy, and the love just magnifies every time we do.  It's cool that Heavenly Father made us that way.  What better way to create a loving family than through giving them new little members who need constant care.  You have no choice but to love.  I love it.

- We went to Rocket Park Monday night for FHE and the Oaks' showed up shortly after we got there, and "crashed" our family night.  It was SO FUN!  Nate was playing kickball with the kids, and I was sitting on the bleachers feeding Jack, so I got to sit and talk with Suzie.  So fun.  They are the funnest family.  (if funnest was a word... and strangely enough, it's not underlined for spell check??  Strange.)  That was Noah's family night idea, and for some reason, aside from the Oaks' being there, nobody was really getting along and having fun.  I'm not sure why.  Coulda been the mosquitoes, could have been the temperature (it was a little cold), but for whatever reason, things were not real cheerful when we got in the car especially.  I had to have a little talk with the kids while Nate was in the store getting apples for our apples and apple dip treat.  It's tough when FHE doesn't go smoothly.  Makes me feel bad that we missed out on that moment.  But it was a good teaching opportunity and I think some things may have sunk in.  Hopefully things will change a little.

- We stopped doing the whole candy-store-everyday thing and switched to a chart where she has to sleep in her bed for 7 nights and THEN she can go to the candy store.  I think the repetition was necessary in the beginning to get her to sleep in her bed really well, but it was definitely getting a little excessive in the end there :).  She loves her chart and picked out her own stickers, and Nate and I are loving that we don't have to share our bed with her anymore :).  I've ben doing really good with Jack too, with not laying him down next to me like I have with past children.  He's such a good sleeper that he just goes right back to sleep after eating.  It's been really nice to be able to count on good sleep.  Not the all-you-can-eat buffet nursing style.  I'm proud of myself :)

- Jack Jack has been growing so much!  He's getting so big.  It's so crazy to realize how fast they grow!  It's sometimes hard for me when I think about how many kids I have and how these experiences with Jack and his baby-ness could be my last, or at least one of the last.  Makes me sad.  I do love his little sweet cuddly little self. He's so adorable.  And SUCH a good baby.  He's had a little bit of gas, and a little bit of congestion over the last couple weeks here, that have been difficult to remedy, but other than that, I really couldn't complain.  Even those things are fairly normal.  He's a sweetie.  He smiled at me the other night when I was attempting to make him smile, and I am counting it as his first smile, but I haven't been able to duplicate it.  He doesn't really look at YOU when he's looking at you.  I mean, his face is pointed in  your face's direction, but his cute little BLUE eyes are everywhere else.  It's so funny.  We say he's busy.  Busy looking around at everything (probably the angels too :) ).  He does seem kinda "all business" a lot of the time.  And I've been known to say he has an old spirit :).  He seems old.  Older than he should :).  I feel like he knows what's going on for some reason.  Anyway.  He's a sweet little guy and we ALL love him SO MUCH!  I'm really surprised at how much the kids still fight over holding him and want to be around for everything.  Just this morning, Erika was all enthralled in his bath.  She wanted to squirt out the soap, and even helped wash his hair.  It was really adorable if you ask me.  It's been a lot of fun to have a baby in the house again.  Feels like it was meant to be.

- We went up to Sarah's yesterday for a photo shoot for the kids' "school pictures".  Sarah is so awesome to do this for me.  She really saves me a ton.  I think it would be around $80 if I wanted to buy pictures for ALL of my school kids.  It's really nice.  I can't wait to see how they turned out.  She even sacrificed some of her sanity to get a few pictures of all of my kids together.  Those were so fun, the few that we got, I forget how much I love pictures of all my kids together.  I wish they'd been more cooperative and we could have gotten more.  And I also wish I had had better wardrobe selection, but now I'm just getting picky. They will be awesome I'm sure :)

- We had my Dad over for dinner last night.  It was finally our turn to feed him.  We had chopped pizzas, and showed him all our fun tricks, and new wii game.  I think my favorite part though, was watching the kids play the Dance game together.  That was a lot of fun.  They're really cute when they play that.  Especially Lukey :).  Kelly and Charity are really good at it and it's fun to watch their little sister mimic their every move.  She would rather watch them than the game :).  Nate and my Dad talked politics for a while... that's always interesting :).  I just don't fit in those conversations very well.  But it's interesting to hear my Dad's perspective.  I've listened to so many opinions lately, I think the two I respect most would be Lynn's and my Dad's.  It's interesting to think about it all.  I'll be glad when the election is over.  It was fun to have him over though.  I like that we get to spend that time with him.  Whenever we wait a while, Erika has to start over again with getting acquainted.  She's a tough one.

- I know I've taken some pictures lately, but I just don't have the camera here to post them.  I will do that later.

- We went to Heidi's last Saturday.  I needed to give her the cash for the bean bag, and we wanted to show her Jack before he gets any bigger (the last time she saw him was in the hospital!).  She gave him some cute little jammies, and we went to the park for a picnic.  Heidi and John played with the kids, spinning them on the tire swing, and pushing them on the swings.  It was a lot of fun.  I spent most of the time sitting with Jack.  Plus, I think there was something wrong with me that day, when I look back on it, I was kind of out of it.  Maybe it was the long drive and I was just tired.... who knows.  I have had a few really off days, where the pain is unbearable, but I'm so sick of taking Ibuprofen, that I just suffer through it.... kinda stupid, but I'm starting to wonder if I should keep taking the Ibuprofen or if I've had enough.... My body doesn't know my mind is done with it.  But anyway.  We had a lot of fun with Heidi.  Even Erika!  She totally warmed up to Heidi, let her push her on the swing, and held her hand, ran around with her... it was cute.  I was happy to see her being so open.  She isn't usually like that :).  Hopefully we can do it again soon.

- Friday, the 21st we went up to West Jordan for Nate's cousin, Melanie's wedding reception.  This was a really exciting wedding.  She's waited a long time to find her man, so it was especially fun to see her with him and see her so happy.  She deserves it!  It was a lot of fun to sit and chat with Nate's cousins.  He has such awesome family.  I feel just as good with them as I do with my own cousins.  That's saying a lot.  It was fun to show off our cute litte Jack Jack too.  Good times.  After the reception we met up with Nate's family at Leatherby's for Jen's birthday.  that was a lot of fun too.  I was so relieved that Nate was able to get work off and be there.  I don't think I would have made it otherwise.  Me and 6 kids with a newborn and ice cream... don't mix.  It ended up being a really fun evening.

- I've started back up on making dinner.  I know this sounds horrible, but I have to document it.  Nate has made dinner MOST nights for the past... gosh, it's really been so long, I'm not sure I want to admit it... probably at least 6 months.  Something happened to me during the pregnancy and all things responsible, just flew out the window.  I struggled a lot for some reason.  Looking back, I'm not sure what it was, and I wonder how bad it was... already forgotten I guess.  But anyway.  I made a two ween menu, we bought only what we needed for the menu, and it's all homemade meals that we've been depriving ourselves of for the last little while.  It's a very good thing.  And Nate really likes it too :) go figure.  I have the best husband on the planet.  I don't think anyone could even imagine all that Nate does for us.  He really is my hero.  Tangy Meatballs here we come! :)

- We've been on a few walks around the neighborhood, Nate and the littles and I.  It's been good for me, I think, but it still seems to take a lot out of me.  I need to get out though, and if walking is the only kind of exercise I'm allowed, then that's what I need to do!  Glad Nate gets me out there.

- Yesterday, Nate and I were kind of fed up with the kids' rooms and I was just feeling like there isn't enough time in the afternoons/evenings to make them deep clean them.  And Saturdays are kind of out for the time being, with Nate gone and me nursing a newborn.... excuses I'm sure :) but anyway!  We wanted to do something nice for the kids and thought we'd surprise them with clean rooms when they got home from school.  Took us a good 4 hours to deep clean both bedrooms, and the pile of dirty clothes that now fills the laundry room will not be done for weeks, but it was all worth it when they came home!  Big smiles, laughing, cheerfulness with the little siblings, Thank you hugs! Felt like Christmas :).  Who knew they would appreciate it so much.  They really were grateful.  Kelly kept saying, "I was about to go in my room and I was all bummed because I was thinking it was messy, and then I got in there, and I was like, OH YEAH! because I remembered you cleaned it!  Thank you so so so so much!"  Sweet girl.  They all were really sweet.  It was a lot of fun.  We might have to do things like that more often.  I get caught up in rewarding them (or just serving them, in this case) with things that are activities, outings, treats.... I forget that something as simple as a clean room can mean a lot to even little kids.  Felt good.

So that's all I can think of right now, and it's time to go make lunch, so maybe I'll add to it later... we'll see :)

Random Pictures (get used to these, I have a new baby :) )

Still haven't gotten sick of holding him yet :)  Love it.

This was his second bath.  I made Kelly run and grab the camera because he didn't cry that time :)  Wanted to document it :)

All the Love

I know this is going to sound cheesy, but I'm okay with that because it really has meant a lot to me.  Last night, as I was sitting up with Jack, one of our late night hang outs, I was kissing him and telling him that I love him.  I looked at his sweet little eyes and it occurred to me that I DO love him!  A lot!  In fact, I feel as much love for this tiny little person who has only been here for 3 weeks (not counting the pregnancy, which I guess I should count), as I do for any of my other family members whom I've known longer.  It was so strange to realize that I would do ANYTHING for him, the same that I would for Nate or any of my other kids.  How incredible is that!  I just can't help but thank my Heavenly Father for that kind of love.  That love that is just there.  Takes nothing on Jack's part.  He's just mine and I would do anything for him.  It's such a cool thing to experience.  I was glad that Nate was working the mid so I could share that with him right as I was experiencing it, through a text.  That was cool. I just love this life.  These opportunities we have.  Things really are great for me right now, I'm so blessed.  I really have it all.  There's not much more I could ask for.  I feel very lucky, and very loved by my Heavenly Father right now.
Another little moment I wanted to share was last night, while Luke and Noah were up for their ten minutes (Luke missed his the night before).  They were sitting here, next to Jack- who apparently really loves laying on the floor on his blanky- and they were totally oohing and aahing all over their little brother.  Everything he did deserved a chuckle or a comment.  They could hardly keep their hands off him.  Luke mentioned wishing he could blow on his tummy :).  They both just could not get enough of him.  It was priceless.  It fascinates me to watch these kids love this little person.  They don't act jealous of him, they don't act like he's stifled their lives (which is debatable really), they've never complained about how much I have to do for Jack.  It's just so amazing!  Who would have thought that was possible with seven kids.  I'm so proud of how much love everyone has for each other.  Sweet Bradley has had a few opportunities where he's bounced him to sleep, or during Sacrament meeting he held Jack, and he just loved him the whole time.  Commented on every new facial expression.  Joked about what he was thinking.  For a whole hour (and would have done longer if he'd needed to, I'm sure).  His arm was worn out after the first 15 minutes, but he toughed it out!  It's just so cool!  And when Luke came down in the middle of the night, he was shaken up by a bad dream, but quickly changed his mood after just listening to Jack's burp :).  And then it was all about Jack and Luke just wanted to hold him and play with him.  At 3:00 in the morning!  That's love.  That's the love I think Heavenly Father wanted us to feel for our family members.  I'm not naive enough to think that things will always be roses for these kids.  And they fight enough to last us a lifetime :).  But it's cool to know that they feel the love that they do.  Especially this pure, untouchable love that they have for Jack right now.  What baby wouldn't want to come to these six brothers and sisters who will give them the world. I hope that some of it sticks.  I hope that they always feel the love, even when they're not getting along.  But for now, I am just going to savor these moments.

Journaling

- Sunday was the Family Meeting.  I almost didn't want to go... I was in a lot of pain still, but the thought of Ruth being able to hold Jack during the meeting, I just couldn't think of depriving her of that~  So I went.  It was a really nice meeting too!  During Kids Time we went around the room updating everyone on our individual families.  Felt nice to hear what everyone is up to.  And Grandma Ruthie got to hold Jack :)  9-9-12

- Monday was mine and Jack's two week appointments day :).  Jack was first, we found out that he had gained almost a whole pound since the last time he was weighed!  He was 7 lbs 8 oz.  All of his other stuff looked good too!  I was so relieved.  I know I shouldn't, but ever since Bradley, I have managed to let myself worry a little about the well-child visits for my newborns.  Jack did really good though!  My visit went well also!  Very uneventful ;)  That I like.  Dr. Thackeray was surprised with how well my incision looked (as usual).  He said it had healed more than they usually do by this time.  So that was cool.  It's nice to be reminded how much Heavenly Father has been involved in this whole process.  He completely carried me through the pregnancy and now he has miraculously helped me to heal afterward.  I'm blessed.  That's all I can say.  9-10-12

- Tuesday was September 11th the anniversary of Nana's death.  We decided to go out to her grave and leave her some M&Ms :).  I'm always surprised at how emotional I get when I visit her grave.  Doesn't help that I'm full of crazy fluctuating hormones.  I miss her so much.  I think the hardest thing to think about is how much I miss having her for a friend.  She really was my go to person.  Whenever we were bored, had some time to kill, or just wanted a laugh, we would go to Nana's.  And she was so easy to visit!  She was always home, always listened, didn't mind my kids, she was just such a good friend.  I miss that.  I don't think I've found a replacement for her and that's what makes it so hard to think about.  I do feel really lonely when I let my mind go there.  I hope so much that she is happy where she is.  That she is progressing Spiritually.  I hope she can feel my love and knows how much I think about her and wish the best for her.  That means a lot to me.
Also, on Tuesday, I finally bought a skirt.  It's been a while.  I'm not sure it's my favorite or anything, but it fits and I have something to wear for the Temple Open House and then Church on Sunday.  Funny that this seems noteworthy.  Probably should go clothing shopping more often ;).  9-11-12

- Thursday was Nate's first day back to work.  I'll admit I was very nervous!  I was trying to psych myself up all day.  It definitely takes a different mind set to be the one in charge, than I've had to have for the past 3 weeks as the Mom of the newborn who just sits there and nurses and enjoys watching everyone go about their duties.  (run-on sentence)  I guess you could say things went alright.  There were a few blow ups, and we did have to sit and talk about the new changes at dinner.  But overall, I think we did okay.  And there's always Friday to redeem ourselves of all the mess-ups.  I do have to say that bedtime was perfect!  And THAT is good enough for me!9-13-12

- I went back to church on Sunday!!  Felt really good to be back.  It's been feeling really good to get back into some of my routines.  Nate still has been doing a lot of the cooking, and I plan to take that back over this week, but I'm doing pretty good!  I'm proud of myself.  I took 7 kids to church all by myself :).  A feat, but now I know it's doable!  And the kids did SO well!  Erika was the only one who caused any kind of frustration for me, and she actually did okay.  I had some great help from all the older kids, which I will be forever grateful for.  We just did a good job and worked as a team.  I was so proud of everyone!

Brigham City Temple Open House

Wednesday, bright and early, we drove up to Brigham City to enjoy the open house for the new temple there.  It was BEAUTIFUL!!  I LOVE having my whole family in the temple.  Even if it isn't dedicated yet, it still feels so special to be altogether.  I really hope and prayer that there is a day when we can all be there together doing the Lord's work.  For now, I enjoy these opportunities.  

I was a little nervous for how Erika and Jack, even Noah would do.  I wasn't sure they would make it through without trouble, but they all did!  I was so impressed!  Erika even seemed to be enjoying herself!  Noah was a little nervous to put on the booties, but after that, he seemed fine.  Didn't ask any questions or get overly involved, but he was a good boy, and that was good.  Luke and Bradley had a lot of questions.  Charity too.  That was a lot of fun.  I love that they get that opportunity.  It's amazing how many temples there on so close by now.  Very cool. I actually ran into my cousin Lana while we were there too.  Fun to see her there.  

We asked a lady outside to take our picture and I like how they both turned out, minus the fact that Luke's face is covered in this one, and Erika is frowning....

And Noah's face is covered up in this one.... so I'm keeping both.  Can't win them all I guess :)

We invited Don and Sherice to come with us.  That was a neat experience in and of itself.  It's fun to share the Gospel with those who haven't had it all their lives.  Strengthens my testimony so much.  I think they enjoyed themselves.

The Utah State Fair 2012

This year, Kelly entered a drawing into the Fine Arts section of the fair.  And it's normally a tradition of ours to go to the fair, but I am not sure we would have made it there, if it weren't for Kelly's artwork being displayed.  

But we did!  And we had a great time!  

Things got off to a rocky start since Erika had forgotten her shoes.  We walked around the vendor area to look for some kid shoes for the first little while.  Found some crocs that were definitely too big, but they worked.  It was better than socks. And then we were able to be on our way.  

We stopped at the little FFA farm station thing.  The kids love this.  It's a lot of fun.  They get to milk cows, feed animals, plant seeds, harvest them, ride tractors and fill them with gasoline, groom animals, get paid for working on the farm and then buy a treat with the play money!  It's a lot of fun

This was in the kids discovery building.  That was a lot of fun.  I loved that LUke and Kelly were both using TWO hoola-hoops on this part!  Pros!

They had a speed radar thing to see how fast you can throw a ball... that was a big hit!  Bradley got his up to 32 as you can see here.  I think Luke got his up to 22 and Nate's got up to 57 if I remember right.  But I think he could have done it faster if the conditions had been differently.... but it was a lot of fun ;)

This reminded us of Alaska's Imaginarium.

This is the picture Kelly took of her artwork.  

And here she is with it!  It was really nice!  I was so proud of her.  She put so much time and effort into it and it really turned out nicely.  She's already planning what she will put in the fair next year.  I love that she has the opportunity!

We were pleased to see this beautiful sunset as we were walking through the fair... really pretty!

And of course the livestock!  Erika LOVED this part!  I forget how little of these animals she sees live.  We should really make an effort to take her to the farm more often.  But she had a lot of fun petting anything that was sitting close enough to the fences.  She would pat them and giggle and stuff.  It was adorable.  

I felt for this Mom.  I'm so glad I didn't have to feed all seven of my kids at the same time!  Holy Moly!

We got to watch some high-divers while we were there.  That was pretty awesome!  Luke said he could do that!  And he was especially cute when he was clapping for them so enthusiastically.  He got really into it... it was cute.

We had decided before we left that we were not going to do rides this time at the fair.  We just did a carnival not too long ago, and we are trying to save up for our Disneyland trip, so we made the kids use some self control and did not fork out any money for rides.  It was tough.  And I'll admit I was tempted to just give in.  But it really was important to me that my kids learn that we don't have to spend a ton of money every time we go somewhere.  Until a few years ago, we never did rides!  So I know it's possible!  And with so many, it get SO expensive.  But more than that, we really wanted them to learn moderation.  And they did, and it was so good.  They kept thanking us for taking them and they all said they had a good time when we were coming home.  I was proud of them.  

We did spoil them with snow cones and cotton candy, which was a lot of fun.  I loved watching Erika eat hers :).  

Here's Jack at the State Fair.  He did such a good job!  Slept through most of the first half in the papoose, and then ate and slept through the rest of it in my arms.  Good boy!

Kelly had gotten a snow cone because she is not eating candy and when Noah realized he would have to share the cotton candy, he was sad, and Kelly willingly gave up her snow cone to Noah.  It was so sweet.  I had to get a picture of him enjoying it.

My Sweet Baby Boy- Hospital Photo Shoot (courtesy of Hatch Photography)

My awesome sister-in-law Sarah, came to the hospital and took these pictures for us.  She does such an amazing job!  These haven't even been edited... I hope to play with a few of them once I get a few seconds at the computer.  This baby does not do multitask-nursing :).  He wants me all to himself ;).  But even unedited, they're still so fun!!

this was our attempt at a heart around his piggy toes :)... not quite, but look how cute his feet are!!