Things to Remember 4-19-15

CHARITY TEACHING
Charity taught her first Beehive class lesson.  She and Emily Porter did it together.  They did such a good job.  I was so proud of her.  They had to teach with Bro. Jacox there even!  Talk about pressure!  They talked about why the Book of Mormon is important in our lives.  I thought they did great!  4-19-15

NOTEWORTHY
Jack stayed in Sacrament meeting the ENTIRE TIME!!  Seemed like something I should document :)  4-19-15

SPORTSMANSHIP
Brad gave the FHE lesson this week and taught about having good sportsmanship.  It's something that we struggle with a lot, so I was glad he felt the need to address it.  He did a great job, great discussion, and then we went out to practice what we had learned while playing baseball.  It was a lot of fun.  It was girls against boys and the boys killed us.  We're at that point in our family that we need another girl!  Erika made Rice Krispie treats for her treat, she was so proud of herself!  4-20-15

JULIE
I felt very privileged to be able to go to breakfast with Julie on Wednesday.  She has been in town since her Dad died and came up this way to visit the grave with her Mom and Lacie.  So we all went to breakfast at Grannie Annie's.  It was so much fun!  I LOVE their love for life and their perspective.  It was so uplifting to talk to them and to hear about their thoughts on their dad leaving.  It seems so unfair that he had to go so quickly, without any warning and that they didn't really get to say goodbye.  They focused on the fact that he didn't have to suffer.  Which is true.  That is good.  I loved hearing about all the little miracles they've encountered during the week to make the transition more smoothly.  They truly are amazing people.  I loved it.  I hope I can say, with confidence that "I had ___ wonderful years with the man", about Nate when he dies, and be happy with that.  Course, I told Nate I get to go first.  But anyway.  I got to share my news with them at breakfast and they were of course so happy for us and wanted to help think of names :).  I have always loved telling Julie and Lacie for that matter- they make it so fun.  Never a weird comment about how many we have.  I wish I'd told Julie sooner though, that makes me sad that she wasn't one of the first I told.  She's always been one of the first.  Even before Nate in one case, I believe.  It's tradition!  Oh well.  She was sweet.  I feel very blessed to know their family and have them in my life even if it's only every once in a while that we actually get together.  4-22-15

MY NEWS
I told someone this week about my baby girl, someone who I had been very nervous to tell, and it went really well!  I was pleasantly surprised.  I need to stop being so nervous.  4-22-15

FIRST GAMES OF THE SEASON
The boys all had their first games on Wednesday.  We've had so little practices, thanks to the weather, I wasn't sure how they would go, but I was pleasantly surprised.  Nate took Brad and Luke (and Charity) to their game.  They said it was a lot of fun because their pitcher was so good.  Brad got hit by the ball so he walked.  But they won 4-1.  That was fun for them.  I took Noah and the rest of our littles to Noah's game.  His game was a little rough, a few undesirable things happened, but I think he still ended up having fun.  And you always get a treat after so that's all that matters right?  He did get a hit his second time up to bat, that was really exciting!  He ran all the way to second on his hit, but had to go back to first because the player on second hadn't moved :).  So cute.  It is so fun that he is on Josh's team because then I get to sit and hang out with one of my favorite people and talk the whole time.  Oh, and order my cute little slave, Kelly, around.  She was SUCH a lifesaver this game!!!  What would I do without that girl?!!  Good times.  4-22-15

MEETING
I just have to document that Bro. Jacox complimented me on how well we trained our Presidency.  He kind of went on and on and it totally made my day.  Before the meeting was over, he'd complimented (profusely!) how well our little beehives, Charity and Emily, had done on their lesson on Sunday.  He was really impressed with them!  That was cool too.  It's nice to get some positive feedback every once in a while.  4-22-15

KELLY NEWSLETTER
Kelly had her last Newsletter meeting.  She's had a lot of fun with that all year, I'm so glad she had that opportunity.  She did great. They have the old ones come back to interview new ones next year, so she gets to do that once she's a big 7th grader!  All these signs that the year is coming to an end.  4-23-15

LAST DAY OF SWIMMING
Erika had her last swim lesson.  She passed off all the requirements for level Pre-2 and can move up to 3!  That made her very happy.  She has been doing so well!  We've decided to take a little break to give her skin some time off- she's had a lot of interesting rashes and such, I'm assuming from chlorine, so hopefully this helps and she doesn't just forget everything she's learned.  We went and saw the llamas by Grandma's house afterwards.  4-23-15

FRIDAY
I had nothing on my calendar until the baseball games that evening, so that's basically what I did!  It was nice.  Nate took Jack and Erika on a walk, which they loved, I always wish I'd gone with them when I don't, but I got some much needed alone time.  A nice recharge.  So it was all good.  4-24-15

RAINING
Bradley and Luke's game in the rain went really well.  They got as far as 4 points behind, before the end of the game, but then pulled ahead and were able to tie at 6 points!!  Pretty intense I'v heard!  I only got to watch a little of their game.  If only things had run more smoothly while I was there, I really only saw a few plays.  But I took everyone else over to Noah's after 20 minutes or so, and unfortunately, Noah's team didn't get to play a game!  The other team never showed up even, so our coach just had the boys practice a little.  I think Noah was disappointed, but after how his last game went, I was just glad he wanted to be there to begin with.  Hopefully we can get some better weather going in the next few weeks!  I have to admit, I loved the rain!  And we need it!  4-24-15

21 WEEKS
So, I've spent most of the evening last night, and this morning stressing about my baby girl.  I really haven't felt her move this whole time.  Dr. Thackeray specifically said, we don't need to worry about the movement and how consistent it is til about 24 weeks, so I keep reminding myself of this, but I'm still stressed and praying constantly!  I know it's probably because of all the happenings around us right now, but it's really easy for me to worry about whether she is going to make it all the way here or not.  I am trying to stay strong.  I can only do what I can do anyway.  Things just go the way they go.  So hard for this control freak.  It has been a lot of fun to really feel her move lately.  She feels so little and so low!  Whenever I feel a contraction, my uterus feels so small.  It's funny.  I don't remember having as many contractions this early on with Jack, but seriously, my memory just isn't that good.  Especially right now.  I'm forgetting all kinds of things lately.  I'm still pretty nauseated all the time.  I am not sure how to combat it this time.  I have the hardest time eating.  Food just doesn't taste good.  And I usually get gas (this is like gas of death, not just normal gas... hurts SO BAD!!), heartburn, or nausea after I eat.  Slightly unmotivating.  So I'm working on that.  I hope it goes away soon. I can't help but think that my insides are like spaghetti by now, all jumbled up and in the wrong places.  That's my theory.  I still only have the one name in my head.  Nothing else can top it!  I don't know if that means it's her name, or I'm just being too picky.  I hope she gets the name she's supposed to get is all :).  I love her so much already!  It's been so fun to think about having another baby lately.  I don't feel nervous about the transition at all for the kids, I know they're going to do great.  I feel myself wanting to get things ready already, with her room and stuff.  I don't think Nate's going to go for that though.  We'll see :).  I am anxious for my next ultrasound.  I'd like a little more confirmation on the gender :).  We'll see.  We're on the way down though, that's the great thing!!  Only 18 more weeks!!  4-25-15

Things to Remember 4-12-15

PORNOGRAPHY
We had the Bishop and Bro. Jacox give our lesson in YW on Sunday.  They talked a lot about self-image, self-esteem, pornography, repentance, morality.  It was SO AMAZING!  I really loved it!  I think it is so great for those girls to hear that stuff from men.  It means so much more to hear men, good, righteous, Priesthood bearing men talk about those things openly.  I loved it.  I hope the girls got something out of it, I know I did.  It was interesting to think about my self-image right now.  I feel like a big blob with this pregnancy coming full-force.  But to think about what this big blob of a body is accomplishing right now... well, makes it a little less blobby.  I LOVE that I get to participate in the creation of human beings.  I feel so blessed to have this opportunity and to have been able to do it so many times.  It is such a miracle.  And whether I feel beautiful during it or not, it is still miraculous and beautiful.  I hope that the Young Women know their worth and know what they have the potential to become.  4-12-15

MATERNITY PANTS
So a lot of years ago, not sure exactly, but I remember writing a post about shopping for pants.  For some reason I was shopping for pants with a few little toddlers in tow.  I don't remember all the details, but while I was shopping today, it triggered the memory of the event and chaos was the overlying theme.  It was bad enough that I wrote a whole blog post about it.  So anyway, I just thought I should report that I went shopping for some maternity pants (aka: torture), brought Erika and Jack with me, and all was well the entire time!!  I think we had more trouble just getting Jack dressed than we did with the whole two-store trip!  They stayed by me, they were adorable in the dressing room, they laughed and had fun together... it was really better than I ever could have asked for.  I'll give Heavenly Father the credit because I did ask him if he would help us to accomplish this task without too many problems.  So, prayer- answered!  I think my favorite parts were when Jack licked the mirror and then when I asked if he loved himself, he said, "yeah" and then kissed it as well.  Gross, but hilarious!  Also, when Erika told Jack to turn around and not watch me get dressed and he just looked up at me with his cute little closed lip smile like, "nah.  I'll just stand here and be adorable :)"  Made me laugh.  Another happy sidenote- these maternity pants have pockets!  Wahoo!  I think I will still have to invest in some comfy shorts like with Jack's pregnancy.  Who cares how hideous they are right?  So anyway.  On the way home from this trip I was trying to figure out if it's the kids that are different, or my parenting.  Then I came to the part where I wondered if I'm being TOO lax now with this little ones.  And THAT'S why they're so good in the store.  I didn't fight Jack at all on his desire to stay out of the cart after the dressing room.  Which with some kids, this may have been something I would have pushed.  But I guess the more that I think about it, it probably is both.  I am much better at controlling my temper.  I'm a lot more easy going (probably to a fault at times) about letting my kids run down the big aisles way ahead of me.  I think I just have a better attitude overall... if I can toot my own horn for a minute.  But I will say that Mr. Jack is one of the most well-behaved 2 year olds this family has seen.  He almost enjoys following the rules (wonder where he gets that... 6 good little law-enforcers I"m guessing).  Anytime I called his name he would come to an abrupt stop, turn around and then catch up with where we were going.  It was amazing.  I'll admit he's not always like this.  In fact the fight that ensued whilst getting his pants on this morning was NOT my favorite.  So maybe he's a little like Luke- just better when we're not at home.  Luke was always a dream when we were out.  Just not at home :).  Erika was a lot like that too.  Anyway.  Just thought I should mention this for posterity's sake.  It's not all bad :).  And it does get easier, whether it's actually getting easier or if you just adjust to it eventually :).  I'm gearing myself up for this next baby and trying to prep myself for things to be difficult again, but in the meantime....  4-13-15

JAZZ GAME
For FHE this week Nate surprised the kids with Jazz tickets!  This Jazz season has been so much fun with the kids getting so into it all.  We couldn't resist taking them to see a game live. It was the last home game of the season.  Everyone was SO EXCITED all the way there and into the Arena.  Nate wanted the kids to see the players warming up, up close, so we walked down through the lower bowl portals and walked all the way down, as low as we could go, as close to the court as we could get and watched them warm up.  The kids loved it!  It was a lot of fun.  They were all very star struck.  Especially Kelly!  One of the ushers was standing near us and urged Kelly to hold up her "We need a salute GOBERT!" sign so she did and then he got Rudy's attention.  Rudy looked over, saw Kelly's sign, gave her a serious little head nod and sent Kelly's blood pressure through the roof :).  It was adorable.  The girls had both made little posters to hold up during the game.  We were all wanting to get on the jumbotron somehow :).  So anyway, we made our way up to our nosebleed section and watched the game like true fans, screaming and yelling!  It was so much fun!  It's really fun to see Nate's little obsession rubbing off on his kids :).  Makes me happy :).  Jack even got into it a little, I taught him when to clap and cheer :).  He was a little nervous about how high up we were.  It was a really great game.  They were neck and neck until halftime when the Jazz just took control of the whole game.  I think we won by 30ish points (I'm horrible for not knowing the exact score, I know, Luke knows it).  I was so glad we won.  I didn't want to watch Luke, watch them lose :).  It was a fun night!  We're all very anxious for next season!

4-13-15

HAIRCUT
So maybe it was the nice shopping trip I had with the two littles the day before, or maybe I was just desperate for a haircut, but I decided to take them with me.  Just them and me.  I was so happy with how it went!! They really did surprise me!  They just sat there talking about me getting my haircut.  There were a couple other kids there, coincidentally, their dad has seven kids as well!  It was so cool.  I was so proud of them.  Sidenote: I'm not happy with my haircut.  I wanted it shorter.  4-14-15

POWER OUTAGE
When we got home from helping Dan and his kids move into Adele's our power was out!  I was grateful for the heads up I'd gotten from Jami via text, but overall, it didn't really bother me.  We had picked up some Arby's on the way home because our evening was just getting started, so it was nice that I didn't have to try to figure anything else out.  After we ate Nate took off with Kelly, Bradley, Luke and Erika to pick up the things we were needing from the store.  Kelly needed a bunch of stuff for her play and Charity needed poster and things for her SBO running.  So it was just Charity, Noah, Jack and I at home, in the dark.  Didn't really feel all that dark.  Maybe I was just too tired to care, but we could see just fine for most of the evening.  Charity had some trouble studying for her Foods Test once the light got really dim, but we managed.  I couldn't find any flashlights and it was definitely time to be in bed, but Noah and Jack refused, so I just made them lay on the couch.  We were boring.  I love how my kids go into emergency panic mode when those things happen, all the "what ifs" flying around.  I get a kick out of it.  It was only off for about 2 1/2 hours, came back on right before Nate got home, so life was good.  We were able to get everyone in bed and all was well.  Fun stuff.  4-14-15

APRIL SNOW!!!
We finally got some of our much needed moisture, in the form of a huge snow storm!  I am not sure how I feel about it, I have always been a big fan of random weather, and we never did get much snow this winter, but at the same time- it's SPRING!  I think we'll be glad we had it when Summer comes.  Fun stuff.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, EMILY!
I got to go with Emily and Lisa to Cafe Rio to celebrate Emily's birthday.  It was such a nice relaxing time!  I love that I have friends.  Emily and I realized that the two snow storms (2 of the 3ish that we had this winter) were on both our birthdays!  We are so totally cosmically connected :) )4-15-15

JULIE'S DAD
Almost a week ago I saw on facebook that Julie's dad had died.  Julie is one of those people who's love for their dad was always obvious.  He was the reason (in a round about way) that I had tried funnel sticks at Burger King :).  I knew this was going to be a tough one, but even worse knowing that it was very sudden.  No warning whatsoever.  Poor Julie.  I love Julie!  She's one of my favorite people.  I feel SO blessed to have met her 13 years ago and that she has always made me a priority in her life regardless of the miles!  And there have been many over the years.  It's hard to believe we haven't lived within an hour of each other for about 9 years.  So anyway.  I asked what I could do to help and she asked me to go to the funeral.  This Thursday was the funeral.  I was so glad I went!  I don't love funerals, they make me sad and cry, but this was eye opening for me.  I almost liked it.  I LOVED hearing about her dad.  He sounded amazing. I know he was too, just by looking at Julie and her brother Tony.  They carry a lot of his amazing characteristics and will pass on the goodness.  It's so cool to think that your legacy could live on through your children if you teach them through example the way their dad did.  I was so impressed.  I loved hearing that the funny things.  HOw he rarely got mad and when he did it was an "oh brother" or a "sheesh".  Just like Julie!  Funerals make me want to be a better person.  This one was no exception.  They made me want to LIVE more.  It's really hard to believe that there could be something better for him to be doing besides spending time with his family and watching his grandkids grow, but there really is!  How exciting is that!  I loved hearing that Julie and her kids got to have him visit over Easter and were able to spend one last time together.  It's too bad that they didn't know it was the last time, but it sounds like he made it as memorable as any last time could have been.  I love that Heavenly Father does that for people.  It gives me hope.  SO anyway.  I was glad I got to give Julie a hug.  Even at a time like that, she was still caring too much about me and not herself.  I don't know how she does that!  She's amazing.  I wish I could be more like her.  Hopefully she can spare a minute to hang out with me this next week, but most of all, I hope she knows how much I love her and wish her all the comfort and peace she deserves.  On a much lighter note- we got to see the COLES AND COCKAYNES!!!  That was really a nice little bonus.  They are such an amazing family.  I was so happy to see them.  They're like family.  It's hard to believe we only lived by them for three years.  I hope we really do a BBQ this summer with them all.  4-16-15

THE CRUISE SLIDESHOW
We all went over to Heidi's for the long awaited Cruise Slideshow.  They also fed us some delicious Lasagna.  It was a lot of fun.  I was so glad that my kids were good while we there.  Their place isn't huge, so to cram our big family in there seemed risky :).  But everyone did so well!  Made me happy.  It was fun to see all of Heidi and John's pictures.  They made me want to go on a cruise :).  We watched some Clifford afterwards.  Good times.  4-17-15

BIKE RIDE WITH GRANDPA HATCH
Grandpa came down with his bike and we all went on a bike ride.  It was pretty sparce on the actual riding part, but the kids had a great time.  We went over to the new snow cone place and it wasn't open and there was no sign about when it would be.  So we went over to 7-11 to get slurpees instead.  After that, Heritage Park was calling my name.  Played there for a while, then Luke was "STARVING" so we went to Big Daddy's Pizza, grabbed a few pizzas and headed over to Gailey park to eat it.  It was fun, just not as much bike riding as I had pictured.  Still fun.  4-18-15

20 WEEKS
I have been OH SO BLOATED lately!  It's killing me.  Pants feel uncomfortable and I feel like I can't move around.  It's been somewhat miserable.  I spent most of Saturday night in the bathroom which made Sunday difficult.  I'm not sure what is up with this baby's positioning.  Feels really abnormal.  She's SO LOW, and yet my belly is so huge up high.  I'm curious what will happen as she grows.  I can't help but wonder if my insides are just so jumbled up that maybe things are kind of out of place.  Weird.  It's been fun to talk to Jack about the baby in my tummy :).  I think he's catching on a little.  He says sorry when he hurts my tummy which is a new one for him.  The other kids are fun to hear talk about her too.  Erika is totally gearing up for her new roommate :).  Although, she thinks they're going to move downstairs... not gonna happen.  Hopefully things keep going well.  I'm anxious for my other ultrasound.  4-18-15

EASTER SATURDAY

Saturday morning we were surprised to find that the Easter Bunny had come a day early!  He loves us.  The kids all found their baskets.  I couldn't believe Charity found hers first.  She's ALWAYS one of the last.  I think she was relieved.DdShe helped Jack find his and he said the cutest little "Dee doo, Deedee!" (Thank you, Charity)  We all got a kick out of that.  I think he actually thinks it was from her :).  And how adorable that he actually knows how to say thank you and says it at the right time.  He NEVER says it on command.  Then we hunted for eggs all over the house and yard.  It was fun to see Jack experience this for the "first time" again.  Candy reigns supreme.  We had our traditional Creamed Eggs on Toast for breakfast- using some of our colored eggs :).  It was perfect to have all the Easter candy for watching conference.  Everyone just sat here and watched and ate their candy, the entire time!  With no bribes or games or anything.  I guess Nate and Bradley did their new sit-ups/push-ups thing where I tell them a word for each talk and they have to do 10 every time it's said.  It was fun to watch Jack get all excited every time he saw Nate get down on the floor.  He'd come running over and climb on his back for push-ups or his chest for sit-ups.  So cute!  And he would giggle the whole time.  Yes, I loved it.  I am sitll shocked, and I know I already wrote it even, but I'm still amazed that they all just sat here.  I love being able to enjoy conference now days.  There were a lot of years of juggling kids and games and snacks and bribes and fighting and nagging.... the list goes on... to where we could hardly even hear a word.  So I think it's a much deserved change :).  I love watching Charity and Kelly take notes as well.  Very cool.  They're very committed and don't miss a thing.  During halftime we got ready to go up to Grandma and Grandpa's house, did jobs and played four square.  The second session was as well attended by our kids as the first.  I was so pleased.  We never even got out the Bingo cards that day.  We had a few that konked out halfway through, but wow.  Just wow.  I'm so proud of them.  Nate left for work before it was over :(. 

Then the kids and I piled in the car as soon as we could to get down to DayBreak for the Easter Party.  We all had a really good time at the party.  We did an egg hunt, painted little bunnies, then prepared baskets to give to other people, then the kids just ran around and played.  I had a great time talking with Maryn for most of the time.  It's incredible to hear her talk about what she is going through right now.  It's such a sensitive topic, but I was so glad to hear how she was feeling and what she is doing to cope.  She is just amazing.  She found out about a month or two ago that she is carrying a baby that doesn't have a bladder or kidneys.  Also known as Potter's Syndrome.  This baby will not live.  She is not sure how long she will carry it either.  And for now, she's got placenta previa as well.  For someone who has done natural, home births, the prospects of a c-section  has been quite the disappointment.  I can't believe that one person could get dealt such a hand.  Course she isn't alone, and I know she is being watched over.  I just wish there was something I could do for her.  I don't know how to express my feelings about the fact that we will most likely bring home a completely healthy baby just months after she buries hers.  That just breaks my heart for her.  Not to sound like I'm not grateful for my own blessing.  It's just going to be hard for her and I'm aware of that.  I don't even want to tell her that we're pregnant.  I loved hearing about the angels who have touched her life though, and the blessings she recognizes.  She really is incredible and is such an inspiration to me.  I loved talking with her.  We hurried home, hoping and praying the whole way that we didn't have any problems that would require the use of a cell phone because i had completely forgotten mine!  Which never happens.  I was nervous :).  We stopped to doorbell ditch (well, not doorbell ditch, because, as we discussed, that is "against the law") so we just left it on the porch and knocked on the door and ran.  Well, it was Charity, Kelly and Bradley that did it.  I drove the getaway vehicle.  It was a lot of fun for the kids I think.  I hope our friends liked it :).  The kids went right to bed.  Such a great night.  4-4-15

SPRING BREAK DAY 5

I can't believe our spring break is almost over!!  We did have a lot of fun though.  I'm really grateful for how relaxing it's been as well.  I think we had a good mix of activity and just free playtime.  I like that.  Today, Friday, was our egg coloring day!!  We had Kambree again today and Cassidy also joined us.  I took tons of pictures so I'm sure you'll get to see those soon enough.  It went really well!  Not too many mishaps and I think our kitchen table is still just black.  I appreciate that this activity can happen without a complete disaster and clean up to follow.  The kids love it too!  We dyed 8 dozen eggs between all 9 kids!!  Amazing!!  Hope we can eat them all now.  That's the hard part.  I loved watching Jack get into it this year.  He kept saying, "Egg more!"  Unfortunately I didn't give him as many as everyone else because I thought he wouldn't like it again.  He loved it though.  And enjoyed the colors.  He was funny.  Stressy too :).  Luke always gets into this.  He's fun to watch.  Takes it very seriously and likes things to be perfect.  He's funny.  And always has black fingers by the end.  Erika did it all on her own this year, no help.  She's getting so big.  I loved her "Erika" one.  And how cute that she wrote her hero's name on one as well :).  Charity even had fun with it this year... I keep wondering when she'll feel like she's outgrown this.  I'm glad it's not yet.  She did some pretty cool ones.  I loved watching Noah get into it this year too.  He is so quiet and calm through it all.  He got done first and was ready to go play before anyone was even close to done.  That was funny.  But I"m glad he had a fun time.  He loved his eggs.  Kelly did some cute artistic ones.  She really got into the white crayon style this year.  Very cute.  Bradley my little helper, helped to get things all ready and then somehow managed to help Jack out a ton while dying his own eggs.  He even donated a bunch of eggs to Jack.  I think Jack ended up with more than Brad.  What a good big brother.  He had a lot of fun with the oil ("marbley") ones.  He likes to make them look like the universe.  They really do too- so cool.  It's fun that they get so into this.  I just love it.
After cleaning up after everything I took the kids to Fiiz, then we all went down to Heritage Park for yet another hour of basketball in the park.  I took about 300 pictures there, so I'll post those someday.  Jack and I were freezing so we sat in the car once I got back with Erika from having to go potty at home :).  And then we watched Night at the Museum when we got home.  4-3-15