Week of 3-10-19

SLUFFERS AGAIN
This week it was Luke and Erika.  We all slept through the whole two hours of church!  It was actually pretty awesome.  I think we all needed it!  Poor Luke with his possible ear infection and Erika with her back hurting and basically just being kind of a wreck.  It was daylight savings too which never feels real great.  So anyway.  Hopefully this is our last Sunday of sickness!  I'm crossing my fingers!  We also had to miss the family meeting which didn't make anyone very happy. 3-10-19

20 WEEKS AND 4 DAYS- ULTRASOUND DVD
So the doctor's office finally decided to admit that THEY SCREWED UP!!  Although they made me drag it out of them.  Just kidding.  Sort of.  So we left without our DVD and apparently the tech recorded the next patient's video onto OUR DVD.  Then sent it home with them.  Probably against some privacy practices if you ask me.  It has all my pertinent information on it.  Which I don't really care about, but was TOTALLY BUMMED to hear that they can no longer give me MY video!  They will have to redo it if I want a video.  I'm too sentimental to just be okay with that, but I'll work on it.  I can't have an ultrasound video for EVERYONE BUT NUMBER NINE!!!!  (which actually, I don't know if I even still have everyone else's.  Some of them were on VHS too, which... who knows when we'll see those again?  So maybe I shouldn't really care...)  Anyway.  They called and told me the news on Monday.  I was bummed.  3-11-19

MUSIC MAKERS RAINBOWS
I made little rainbow things for movement time!  I'm just super proud of myself for making an effort and doing something special for it.  Not really a big deal, but right now... kinda is.  And I'm so happy to report- Molly is asking for Music Makers everyday again!  She's loving it again!  Very happy.  3-11-19

WOODS CROSS @ DAVIS LAX
Kelly's team KILLED Woods Cross on Monday- 13-1!!!  So lots of fun there :).  And this was even with the coaches telling them to stop scoring!!  Fun game!  3-11-19

20 WEEKS AND 4 DAYS- PARTIAL PLACENTA PREVIA
So Dr. Thackeray called me Monday evening.  At first I thought he was going to apologize for them losing my DVD but when he didn't mention anything about that, I remembered that he said if they found anything questionable on my ultrasound he would call this week.  I got a little worried, but he's so good at downplaying things, I didn't actually feel worried until after the phone call.  So anyway.  I guess my placenta looked really low on the ultrasound and the radiologist declared it a partial placenta previa.  Thackeray didn't feel like it was that bad, and is hopeful that it will move back up- it was looking so good in my previous ultrasound- so he just explained what that meant for me.  I guess because I've had several c-sections that increases the chances of the placenta moving up in the front and basically getting mixed in with the previous incisions.  It has a tendency to attach deeper than it is supposed.  So anyway.  He said that if that happens, which is called Placenta Accreta, there is a possibility I would need a hysterectomy when I deliver the baby.  This is actually best case scenario.  The other dilemmas would be premature delivery if I am having any issues with heavy bleeding.  Kind of scary.  I mean back in the old days people used to bleed to death from this, so I guess it's good that that doesn't usually happen anymore. It was weird because whenever I heard about Placenta Previa in the past it meant c-section, which for me is not a big deal- that's what we do!  But then when I considered the premature delivery or the possibility of other complications... it got a little scarier. I was surprised with how good I felt about the hysterectomy.  I mean, I don't WANT a hysterectomy, mainly because I don't want to go crazy, I would be more okay with tying my tubes if we're just talking about birth control, but I was surprisingly okay with this solution.  Maybe because it's the only solution in that scenario.  And maybe I live in a that-can't-happen-to-me world and it really hasn't hit, but anyway. He didn't mention bed rest or anything and really, just downplayed it a lot, so I don't stress, but he does want to check things again when I come for my next appointment.  Nothing I can do about it.  Just what this control freak needs :).
So now that I shared the bad news- here's the good news- I asked Nate for a blessing before going to bed (I was a little bit of a wreck by the end of the evening despite how cool and calm I was on the phone with Thackeray).  It was the most calming, most reassuring blessing I have had in a really long time!  Like I don't remember ever feeling so relieved!  And this is great considering this whole pregnancy started with an "It's going to be hard" prompting from the Spirit.  He told me that the timing of this baby, her coming to our family and me raising her, is in the Lord's hands!  That he is in control of the situation and has calculated it just so.  It is all in his timing.  That was nice because I had been worried that she or I wasn't going to make it and this reassurance that I will have her and raise her was priceless.  Then he talked about all the people around me who are helping me, people I can see and people I cannot see.  It was really cool.  I am so grateful for the Priesthood and for the blessing of family and that I do have people looking out for me all the time.  There were other things, the whole blessing was very nice and very reassuring!  We had just been talking about faith last week and how when we put our trust in the Lord, we can rest (speaking of the Disciples on the ship in the storm- if they had had more faith and trusted in Heavenly Father- they could have been sleeping as well).  I am going to give this one to the Lord and let Him deal with it.  I have no control, so I can just trust in Him and His ability to pull me out of this one.  I am not worried about the outcome.  Maybe a little anxious to see how it all plays out and what kind of "hard" it ends up being, but I want Him to know that I have faith that what is best for our family, for me, for our baby, will happen!  3-11-19

FHE
Noah taught the lesson about doing our part in our callings and in our family with a cute little puzzle he cut out and pointed out that it only works if we all put our part in.  Very clever, thought of it himself!  We played Four Corners for Erika's game and had Drumsticks for Jack's treat!  It was a good one!  3-11-19

EAR INFECTION
Well, it was confirmed- Luke has an ear infection.  And apparently I'm the worst mom ever for making him stick it out for four days!  We got him some antibiotics and he is basically back to normal!  It was so awesome to hear him quoting some kids at school when he got home Wednesday- it was a "Lukey's back!" moment for me!  I missed him!  3-12-19

WRESTLING- BRAD
Brad finally got another match!  He won!  Took six minutes to pin the guy, but he did it!!  I was so proud of him!  He's getting so good!  3-12-19

CHRIST'S YOKE IS EASY
For family study time tonight we talked about how Christ's yoke is easy and light.  I had Nate get out his heavy weights and we connected them to a pole and had the kids try pushing them on their own and then had Nate get in the yoke with them and push it together- Kelly made me happy when she kept saying how cool it was to see it like that.  I think it helped!  I'm happy we're getting the hang of the Come Follow Me studying.  We've been doing so good!  3-12-19

MOLLY
Molly likes to slide down the stairs on her belly, then she gets up, licks her finger and wipes it on her belly.  It's hilarious.  Then she says, "Dat what I ahways do." 3-15-19

BRAD AND LUKE CHOIR CONCERT
We got to go and watch Luke and Brad sing o
 n Friday night!  They did great and had some really hard, but very cool songs!  Such a fun time!  3-15-19

WOMEN'S CONFERENCE
Charity, Kelly and I got to go to the Stake Women's Conference thing on Saturday.  It was so awesome!  They just had two speakers and then food after.  I really loved Brook Romney's talk.  I could really relate to a lot of the things she was talking about.  About Self Worth.  I liked reminiscing about those early years, pre-blogging, pre-comparing years when I thought I was all that and a bag of chips :).  Fun stuff.  It was a neat meeting though.  Glad we went!  I liked spending time with Charity and Kelly as well.  Good stuff.  3-16-19

BASEBALL PARK- FIRST TIME THIS SEASON!
I took the kids to the Baseball park to finish off the weekend.  Lots of fun!!  3-16-19

LAST DAY OF SEAGULL BOOK
Charity put in her last day at her first job.  It's a little bitter sweet for me.  I really wanted her to like that job.  It wasn't what she needed though.  Although, I do wish she had found a new job before quitting too... I think she's going to enjoy being unemployed too much.  Anyway- it is nice to not have to drive up to Layton everyday and hear about Joan.  Crappy bosses are not fun.  3-16-19

Week of 3-2-19

FIRST SUNDAY WITH THE NEWS OUT

It's still funny how fast our news is traveling!  With eight kids getting it out there, I guess that makes sense!  I think my favorite one has been Terrie Tenney hearing the Bowman's checker talking about "Charity's mom being pregnant with her 9th child" while checking out with her groceries!  So funny!  I LOVE how anxious Jack is to tell anyone and everyone!  And Ross Clemens' little, "I'm excited for your baby!" as I walked down the hall next to him :).  Cute kids.  There are a lot of people who are finding out from  random people who haven't said a word to us, but whatever. I don't love all the attention, but maybe it's fun for this new spirit to witness the excitement about themself :). 3-2-19

This is the line from the choir song we sang that has been hanging in my mind ever since studying the story about Jesus calming the storm for his disciples.  I want to have the kind of faith it would take to sleep through the storm!  Those who trust in the Lord shall rest!

This was the creepy scene I woke up to!

I keep finding gems like these on my phone lately.  Apparently he learned how to do black and white filters.

MUSIC MAKERS MOVEMENT- WEATHER

Molly had gotten up really early (minus the few times in the night) and had her breakfast, and then after hearing that she can't watch movies all day, went back to bed.  I had been so busy with getting kids off to school- I didn't even realize she was asleep.  I was running around getting things ready for my movement time, so I didn't wake her up until it was time to go and when I did, she was burning up!  I couldn't call it off, so I just took my feverish baby to music makers.  She was a zombie the entire time.  Didn't love any of it, but sat on my lap, limp and emotion-less almost the whole time.  So sad.  But I think my movement time went okay!  3-3-19

FHE- JAZZ GAME

We had been planning on going to this game for a while and finally told the kids about it last night.  Unfortunately, Nate was not able to get 10 seats together, so we split up five and five for the night.  They played the pelicans and were ahead by a TON for the whole game until the last like five minutes and slowly lost their lead and couldn't stay on top of it and lost by two points at the end.  Such a sad lost.  I hate when they don't win when we're there.  But I think the kids had fun.  Cute, sick, Molly laid in my lap the entire time, even slept for most of it!  I loved Jack counting down til we could go home at th eend.  It's not his favorite thing to do.  But his screaming, "MOM!  1.0.6!!... CAN YOU HEAR ME?" when there was one minute left, had me rolling in the aisles!  Also, Brad's consoling, "I'll tell you what's happening" when everyone was standing up... funny boy.  I had a good time.  I think it was worth all the trouble.  3-3-19

NO BASKETBALL
As much as I love basketball season, it sure was nice to have our Tuesday night back with Nate, Brad and Luke!  The whole week was full of little reliefs like this when people didn't have practices and games :).  Just looking on the bright side.  3-4-19

LUKE SICK
Luke has had a really rough time this week with his throat, fever, and ear ache.  He missed school on Tuesday and then church on Sunday.  That is so not like Luke- it's weird so I was feeling pretty bad for him.  Hopefully he gets feeling better soon.  3-4-19

DRAMA
We've had some annoying drama with Young Women lately, mostly me probably.  Just irritated with the way things are going. I'm trying to follow the girls' example of forgiveness and blowing things off.  3-5-19

20 WEEK ULTRASOUND
Our big day was finally here!!  I was able to secure a babysitter for Molly (since my mom left for her cruise that day)- Brooke Desmond so willingly took on the task of babysitting her today even though she had about a million errands to run and was getting things ready for her son's birthday party in the afternoon- she was SO NICE about it!  She gets the award as best minister :).  I was just really grateful that I could just relax about it.  Nate and I dropped off the kids and Molly- she did so good!  As soon as she found out she could watch Spirit, she was shewing Nate out the door :)- then drove on down to the doctor.  This ultrasound was really fast- the lady seemed like she was in a little bit of a hurry, but I LOVED IT!!  It's always so good to see our little one rolling around in there, hear the heartbeat, see all four chambers of the heart, kidneys, brain, spine, stomach and all the other vital parts and know that everything is going well!  I can't imagine being alive before ultrasounds- just living in the dark the whole nine months!  We got a good clear shot of in between HER legs!!  The tech said she could not be more sure :).  She's a girl!!  For reals!  Should have just taken Molly's word for it :).  We got our little strip of pictures and the tech told us she would give us our DVD in a minute and then we went to wait for our appointment.  It took a while for Dr. Thackeray to get in there, he didn't do much, just looked at our pictures and told us things looked great!  And we left.  Forgot our DVD and didn't notice til we were driving home.  Unfortunately, even days later, they still haven't found it!  They better let me have another chance!  I'm going to be so sad if I don't get to have that!!  But it was a great way to start our day!


BUSY AFTERNOON
So Thursday really picked up when school started getting out!  I had some crazy running around to do and had planned it all out to a T!  Thanks to Jami Caldwell for making it happen really!  Here's how it needed to go:
2:30- Girls get home, stay there til Luke gets home to babysit Molly
2:45- I left for Brad's wrestling match- not knowing if he was in fact going to even wrestle- at Bountiful Junior
3:10- Charity take Kelly and friend to Emmy's house- they ended up having to do this WITH Molly because I forgot that Luke would not be home til later- should have had them pick up Luke... duh.
3:15- I learned that Brad was not going to wrestle, so I ran a few necessary errands that I don't know when I would have done if he'd had a match!  I went to Dollar Store for some silly string, and Smith's for some dinner and a camp chair to sit on at Kelly's game (first game! at Skyline High)
3:30- Charity leave for work.
4:30- I got to Skiyline- ate my sushi and realized I didn't need a camp chair- they have bleechers.  Oh well.
5:00- Kelly's game started!
6:00- Jami picked up Brad, Noah, Erika, and Jack to go over to the school for Literacy Night!  Brad had agreed to watch everyone there- such a good boy!  And Luke stayed home to tend Molly!  Another good boy!
6:45- Kelly and I got to Columbia for Literacy night- found Noah- visited with Meredith (told her our special news!), and Becky for a few minutes.  Then found the other kids.

8:00- we were going through the drive thru at Little Caesars to get the kids some dinner!  Long day!  When Jack was getting out of the car, it was really hard to explain to him why I couldn't just tell him if our baby was a girl or a boy- he didn't want to wait and couldn't understand why I needed to do something cool to tell them- poor kid.
8:40- I informed the kids that if we could get the house cleaned up a little, we could do the gender reveal that night.  I had tried to talk them into waiting til Friday.  They wouldn't have it!  So we began the wait for Charity and Nate.
9:00- Charity got home and I got the text from Nate that he was waiting for me!!  I headed out, picked him up, and hurried home!
9:30- everyone was gathered around the table, ready to hear the good news!
3-7-19

KELLY'S FIRST GAME- DAVIS @ SKYLINE
Kelly's first game was awesome!  She did great!  They lost by two points, but probably 5 of the 8 points they got- Kelly assisted!  She did awesome! And it's so fun that she's a starter!!  She played for MOST of the game!  Until she got knocked down and her goggles came off- that was annoying, but she loved the scrape on her leg.  They had her right back in as soon as they could.  It's so much fun to watch her play!  3-7-19


LITERACY NIGHT
Thankfully, Jami was willing to take my kids to the school for Literacy Night and Brad was willing to be their supervision.  They had a lot of fun.  And there was so much to do- they really needed the whole two hours!  Jack had been talking about it for days and I think he might have died if I told him he had to go later or not do everything there, so it was fun that he got to go.  When I got there, we went around to everyone's classrooms and saw their art work and stories- this is always fun!  Mrs. Burns asked about the "story Jack has been telling" :).  She was so sweet about us having a baby.  She offered us the leftover diapers from her daughter.  That was fun.  I'm glad she's so much fun for Jack!  He has been talking about her reaction to us having a baby and how she was "this" excited, with his arms out!  His excitement size was way behind his back!  So cute!  Then we stood in line and did the spinner, got our prizes.  It was a lot of fun!  3-7-19


"GENDER REVEAL"
So the kids knew we knew, and they were all planning on finding out Thursday night, so we all waited up for Charity to come home and then for me to finally remember to pick up Nate (I had taken him so that Charity could have his car to get to and from work during our busy evening and I completely forgot!).  It was a LATE evening!!  I had everyone sit around the table (seemed like the safest place for it), I explained the rules- I give you a can of silly string, you shake it, we count down from five, then everyone squirts their silly string and if the string is pink, our baby is a girl, if it's blue, it's a boy!  Simple enough :). This went really quick and was SO MUCH FUN!!  We got a video of it all.  The string all came out really well except for Jack and Molly's- I felt kind of bad that they didn't get to enjoy it as much as the older kids, but then it occurred to me that this is why we didn't do these kinds of things in the earlier pregnancies.  Everyone had fun squeezing out the last bit of string out all over everyone.  They knew she is a girl!  Everyone seemed excited!  Who wouldn't be!  It was a lot of fun. Then we cleaned it all up and went to bed :).  3-7-19

FRIDAY
Nate went up to his mom's right after getting Luke to school, to help tear up carpet.  Erika stayed home from school- still not feeling well with her fever and sore throat.  Molly and I got started on Charity's cake.  Which was good because it took us ALL DAY to make it!  It was a crayon box cake and it was much harder than the cute video made it seem!  All the coloring of frosting and fondant and running out of stuff... it was cute, but not as cute as it should have been after seven hours of work!  Nate got home in the afternoon, brought us home some Mo' Bettahs!  mmmmmmmm.  The snow had been falling all day!  Pretty heavily!  Felt like winter again.  Kind of a bummer.  Everyone had just barely gotten used to using the basketball court outside, so it was definitely not a fun change.  But we tried to make the evening fun for the kids.  Everyone was looking forward to the Jazz game so Nate took them to get treats :).  Then Brad and Luke went over to Trenton's house for some fun about halfway through the game.  Charity had been working, Kelly was out with friends, so when the game was over- sad game- the littles turned on a movie.  Unfortunately for Noah, the Spiderwick movie was too scary for Jack, they turned that one off, and put on Water Horse.  I need to remember how long that movie is!  Longest. movie. ever!  I was so tired when it was over and time for bed!  We all crashed in bed.  3-8-19

FUN SHOT COMPETITION- REGIONS- BRIGHAM CITY
Erika's Motrin kicked in and she was all set to compete.  We made the 36 minute drive up to Brigham City and found our seats on the bleachers to watch our star compete! Then we moved a few more times before we were in the right place to watch her :).  It was a little chaotic, slightly disorganized, but so much fun to watch Erika!  She did really good!  She got all five spots twice, on both rounds.  We're not sure if she made it or not- I didn't keep track of anyone's points, but it was a lot of fun for her to have that opportunity!  FH'zookies and pizza after to celebrate!  3-9-19

FIVE DAYS LATE

5 WEEKS
Well, I'm sitting here wishing I'd bought a pregnancy test at the store tonight.  I feel like I'm pregnant, but I know that I can do things with my mind.  I am five days late now, but I've been later before without a pregnancy.  And it was a pretty huge let down if I remember correctly.  I have to say, it would be a huge let down this time too.  I have SO MANY emotions going on right now.  Mostly excited and feeling super pumped for this challenge.  I also feel pretty happy that I received an answer to my prayers.  This makes me feel like there was a reason I kept feeling like I wanted another one.  I am a little nervous to tell Nate.  I'm pretty sure he was thinking this was going to be like an Abrahamic sacrifice or something.  I know he'll be happy about it eventually and will love another baby, but I know pregnancy is not his favorite.  I have tried to pump myself up for being extra tough this time if not for me, then for him.  I don't want this to be a horrible trial that we have to endure.  I keep having that moment during conference, where I asked Heavenly Father if this is what he wanted and I told him I would do this if he wanted me to, and the words, "It will be hard" rang through my head.  I'm a little nervous for that.  If it's just the normal hard, then okay, but hopefully it's not something new and scary.  I mean, I guess I'm up for anything at this point, but still... I hope we can be blessed for our efforts :).  So I guess I'll just keep this locked up as a draft and not tell anyone for now.  I really don't know how I'm going to tell people.  I don't really care what people think, I just don't want to hear what they have to say.  It's like Keto- the hard part is telling people about it and hearing their excuses why they don't do it, or hearing them tell you that you're crazy.  It's not my favorite.  But I am more than excited about this and can't wait to find out for sure :).  11-23-18

5 WEEKS, 5 DAYS
Well, tomorrow will be 10 days late :).  Have I mentioned that I finally took a test yesterday?  I got up at 5:00 am, drove to Walmart without telling anyone, bought a pregnancy test (and some pads for the girls and some eggs), went to the bathroom and took the test!  Felt a little weird, but I REALLY needed to know after looking up the signs of menopause the night before... they're very similar to pregnancy- so confusing!  SO when I took the test it had two lines that needed to show up for it to be positive.  The pregnant one showed up right away.  Then the control line never really did show up.  It was super faint.  So that kind of left me hanging!  Luckily my cheap test came with two, so I decided I would just take the other one later that day.  Which I did, and the results were exactly the same!!  Then I was just frustrated with how inconclusive my cheap tests were and wished I'd splurged a little more.  Lucky for me I have the internet, I was able to look it up and LOTS of other people had had the same problem (surprise surprise) and they explained that if there is a LOT of HcG it can pull some of the pigment out of the control spot.  So there ya have it :).  It's still a positive result.  I was relieved about that.
So there have been a lot of cute moments lately, and some interesting things that ring in my ears now that I am pregnant.  Here they are:
A few days ago (probably about day one or two of me thinking I was pregnant) Charity was sitting next to Molly at the table and Molly was being her adorable self and so Charity was like, "I just love this cute little girl!  We need to have another baby so that we can still have this cuteness around after Molly grows up!"  It was really cute and nice to hear her say that.
Kris Pederson was talking about how her grandma who "lost her husband when she was like 33, when she had eight kids and was pregnant with her last...", gave me chills.
In Primary Sunday, when Barbara said, "Did you know she has eight kids?!"  Will goes, "Soon to be 10!"  HAHA!!
Molly was loving the baby on Inside Out and agreed with me that we should get a baby.  And then corrected herself and said, "A REAL baby!"  AWWWW!!
I was worried about possibly having an infection and thought to pray about it.  The symptoms went away.
I keep worrying about all the little cramping and the spotting and I thought to pray about those too and the thought came to me- I do not need to worry about these things.  Heavenly Father is in charge- if he wants this pregnancy to work it will!  I do think that a lot of times the reason they don't is because the spirit/s coming change their minds or get scared, so I do like to pray for them to feel comfortable coming and that they will know we are excited about them coming.  So hopefully that helps a little.    11-27-18

6 WEEKS, 5 DAYS
I was having a lot more bleeding, so I called the doctor and of course they had me come in.  This is always bitter sweet because it's super stressful thinking something is wrong, but then really awesome to get to see the little one on the ultrasound screen, all alive and with a heartbeat!  I love that part.  It was a scare, but luckily, I just have a subchorionic hematoma.  I think that's what it's called.  It's not anywhere near the baby, so there's not a huge concern, it will just keep bleeding til it's done I guess.  So that was crazy, then on the way home, I talked myself into telling Nate!  Well, first I grabbed a cute little "I heart my Daddy" onesie in the hospital gift shop and then a cute card and box at the dollar store.  When I got home, I gave it all to Nate and told him that way.  His face was adorable when he opened up the onesie!  I had to pull the ultrasound pic out of the box to prove it, but I LOVED his reaction!  He even got a little teary-eyed!  Totally unexpected!  Then I sent him on the roller coaster ride I had been on the for the last few days and told him about the bleeding.  That was fun for him I'm sure.  But anyway.  It's out.  Feels good to not have to think about it on my own now.  12-5-18

7 WEEKS, 4 DAYS
Today, while I was taking pictures of my mom and Simon, I slipped on the steps down in the creek and fell on my back.  It was so painful!  Right after that, I came inside and had some blood gushing out.  I went to the bathroom and the blood was just dripping out.  Got everywhere.  It was shocking how bright and how much there was.  Not the brown stuff I'd had before.  Kinda scary.  When I wiped there was a small, cheerio sized clot.  I couldn't help but wonder if that was my baby.  I wanted to cry, but I was trying to be strong too.  So I just put on a pad and carried on.  Later in the day, when Nate asked how I was, I just fell apart.  I know nothing, but my mind went to the worst thing.  It was really sad.  I called the doctor and they said to schedule an ultrasound.  The soonest they could get me in is Thursday.  So yeah, needless to say, I lost it.  I'm really struggling with this kind of trial.  If I lose this baby it's going to hurt.  I'm trying to be strong though- I told Heavenly Father I am willing to help out- if this is what He wants me to do, then so be it.  I had Nate give me a blessing and that was nice.  He told me to pay attention to the peace and comfort He is trying to offer me.  I'm working on that.  12-10-18

8 WEEKS
I got to see our little baby again!  These circumstances aren't the best- been bleeding non-stop- but the benefit is I get to see our little baby pretty regularly :).  Still got a strong heartbeat, it was 150 this time.  Looking pretty good despite the huge bleed.  I hope this continues.  That's all I can really do is hope!  I think the suspense might kill me.  I haven't felt super confident!  Luckily I do have faith that things will go according to Heavenly Father's Plan and His Timing.  12-13-18

8 WEEKS, 4 DAYS
This was our first official prenatal visit.  Dr. Thackeray had been off on a delivery so we ended up waiting for quite a while before our turn.  He was kind of funny about us being in there again :).  Didn't really expect to see us ever again, I think.  But he was super supportive.  He didn't do an ultrasound, but he seemed to think everything will be fine.  Told us our chances were less than 20% of losing this baby, so that was encouraging.  I don't know why I worry, but I do.  Kinda lame, I realize.  He talked about the Manti Pageant and how this is going to be the last year of it.  Then the Jazz- felt like the good ol' days :).  Everything came out perfectly normal with all my tests, bloodwork, etc., so I guess we're good to go!  Such a blessing.  12-17-18

11 WEEKS, 3 DAYS
I'm actually a little shocked that we're already 11 weeks along :).  Things have been going okay.  I had a few days this week where I didn't bleed, might be because I didn't do anything :).  The couch has been my friend lately.  As well as the bath tub.  I have been SO COLD!  I'm a little bit concerned about the chills, but I think I had those with Molly too.  Not really sure why.  I've completely given up on the Keto.  I feel okay about it, but feel pretty sick, most of the time.  Not sure if it's the new weird food I'm eating or what, but it's been hard to say the least.  I am wishing I could do the Keto, but wishing I didn't have to have self-discipline.  It's too hard to eat-- nothing sounds good ever.  I'm eating junk, but hopefully it's not effecting our baby too much.  I can't wait for this part to be over.  I'm getting really excited for this baby.  Nate and I sat in the car after our date and talked about this summer and how things are (hopefully) going to go.  It'll be interesting, for sure, but I think it's actually going to work out okay.  I'm trying to decide if I should schedule the girls for EFY during the boys' scout camp that falls two weeks after the baby is born or not.  Still not settled on that one.  But hopefully everything will just work out and be okay.  I can only hope for a smooth delivery and recovery!  We've had so much luck/blessings in the past, how could we not hope for another one :).  1-6-19

11 WEEKS, 4 DAYS
Had another appointment today.  Dr. Thackeray was talkative, we talked about Christmas, Nate's book, the fact that I don't have to do any science fair projects this month! (wahoo!!)   We got to hear the heartbeat which was really good.  I was really needing to hear it this time.  I wish we could have done another ultrasound, but that's okay that we didn't.  It was harder for him to get to the heartbeat and I was nervous, but then when we got it, it was super strong and he informed us that at this point and with such a strong heartbeat, there is less than 1% chance of losing the baby.  Which is nice to hear, but unfortunately I still always know that I could be that 1%.  I try to keep in mind what a miracle and blessing these babies are and that I am lucky to have any time with them at all.  I hope that I get to have this baby for a lot longer, but if I don't, I know that it is the Lord's will.  It's hard to say that out loud.  Hopefully, it's like I was thinking and Heavenly Father just wants me to remember what a blessing they are and not take them for granted.  1-7-19

12 WEEKS, 4 DAYS
So I had the most incredible amount of energy today!  It was nuts!  I was going ALL DAY!  I didn't lay down once which hasn't happened since like October!  So I got tons done- finally cleaned up the laundry room, put up the pictures on our bedroom wall (which I'm irritated are now crooked!  I worked so hard to make them straight!), put in a new smoke detector, changed some lightbulbs (these are like really high ones- an actual accomplishment, not how it sounds.  It was amazing!  And I was able to keep going all day until I laid down in front of the Jazz game!  Good bye first trimester tiredness!!  I hope!  If only the nausea could have gone with it.  It's getting harder and harder to keep this a secret from everyone.  I wonder how much longer we'll last.  And last week, Nate told me that he slipped up and told his mom :).  How cute is that!  I love that he's so excited.  But I was a little bummed that I didn't get to witness her first response.  But kinda fun that she knows.  Also, the bleeding has all but stopped!  I've had several days where there was no bleeding which is awesome.  1-14-19

13 WEEKS
Smells are killing me right now!  I need to figure out what has died in the fridge because every time I open the fridge to eat something, I get nauseous and don't want to eat anymore.  It's ridiculous.  The nausea is no fun.  I hate this part.  I've been thinking a lot about this baby and wondering if they are excited to come to our family.  Or if they even care what family :).  I hope they know how much love is hear for them and that they can be confident there will always be someone there for them.  I can't wait to meet this baby!  Talking with Natalie about her baby coming next week got me really anxious and excited for our day.  Too bad it's six months away!  That's okay though- we'll take all the time we get with this little one!  1-17-19

15 WEEKS, 6 DAYS- ULTRASOUND
We went in and had an ultrasound for our visit this month!  Dr. Thackeray said we could check gender if we want so I had been preparing myself, knowing that this is a little early to see gender- that if he said it's a girl, I will be skeptical and need to wait til next month's ultrasound. So I had prepared myself mentally for that.  I had given myself plenty of time to get there because of weather, sat there for quite a while in the waiting room, and then in the patient room before realizing that maybe Nate had forgotten about the appointment altogether.  So I texted him and sure enough- he was thinking it was the next day.  SO sad!!  I was almost crying.  I ended up waiting so long in the ultrasound room, he probably could have made it in time, but we had decided not to push it with the weather.  So I took a little video of the ultrasound so that Nate could feel like he was there.  It was a pretty uneventful ultrasound.  We didn't get to see much.  The baby is still so small.  But it was still fun to see.  He looked long and hard to see between the legs and we did catch a few convincing glimpses of what he proposed is "a girl".  But I'm just not convinced.  I've been tricked by the 15 week ultrasound before :).  Just kidding.  So anyway.  Maybe a girl :).  Maybe not.  But ever since then I've gotten really attached to the idea of a girl.  We had been sure it was a boy, so this was new but also really exciting!  I think Molly would love a little sister :).  It was fun to see our baby and get closer to our due date.  At our next visit we will be half way!  2-5-19

16 WEEKS, 7 DAYS- MOVEMENT
I felt the baby move!!  It was about 4:00 in the morning, I had woken up worried about Erika (she was sick and sleeping in my bed with me while Nate was working the mid), and while I was trying to go back to sleep there it was!  A cute little flutter from our cute little peanut!  Made me smile!  And then it was hard to go back to sleep because I wanted to feel more.  So cool!  Probably the only thing I like about being pregnant is the movement... until it gets to be too much near the end there, of course :).  But this was a fun little break in the monotony of nausea and body aches.  2-13-19

18 WEEKS, 1 DAY
While I was laying in our hotel bed with Erika tonight, I could feel the baby moving a bunch.  Felt almost like hiccups.  Super cute!  I sent Nate a text so that he could enjoy it too :).  We're getting closer!  Feels like the nausea and morning sickness have backed off a bit.  I have felt amazing on this trip to Nevada for Kelly's Tournament.  Probably needed a good break from life.  We are getting anxious to tell the kids!  Just waiting for the perfect moment!  2-22-19

18 WEEKS, 7 DAYS
Well I over did it at Blue and Gold yesterday- SO MUCH PAIN!!  This is very familiar pain, but seems early to be feeling it.  Stresses me out a lot.  I've been thinking a lot about whether we are going to be allowed to keep this baby or not.  Whether that is Heavenly Father's plan for us or not.  It's so painful to think that He may not want us to keep this one.  I'm trying to get myself into a place mentally where I could handle that possible outcome.  I want this baby more than life itself.  I would die for this baby if it meant this baby could live and have these brothers and sisters and grow up with the love of this family.  That would be a tough decision too though considering I want to raise this baby.  And that is my hope.  I am clinging to that hope right now.  I know I have felt this way before, but always feels so up in the air.  I am testing the scriptures I've been reading about "Ask and ye shall receive" and I am asking!  I am pleading really.  With my Heavenly Father.  That we will be able to keep this baby and have a nice long life with them.  Of course, I always add- "thy will be done" and that is the scary part.  But I am trying to have faith in both the fact that he does give us what we ask for sometimes, but also the fact that sometimes he has a different plan for us.  So I am trying to be strong really :).  I am enjoying every minute I get and hoping HOPING for the best possible outcome!  Can't wait to meet this baby!  2-27-19

Week of 2-24-19

MEGAN AND CAMRIE HOMECOMING

We had the opportunity of going to the Shadowbrook ward to hear Megan Callister and Camrie Gray give their homecoming addresses.  I loved it!  They are both such amazing girls!  It was fun to hug them and say hit to all the other girls their age afterwards.  Miss those girls!2-24-19

STATE CAPITOL FIELD TRIP

Luke and Noah both got to go to the State Capitol on Field trips on the same day!  How cool is that!  I thought it was blog worthy :).  2-25-19

BLUE AND GOLD

This day finally came!  Between meetings, getting things ready myself, and Paul Gines's constant texts and emails, it was a much anticipated day!  I was very anxious to get it over with.  I was in charge of invitations which I had made the week before, I used brown paper, printed the invitation with Playbill font and then burned the edges with a lighter.  Then I rolled them up and tied twine around them... they were super cute!  I was very proud of myself :).  I was also in charge of cooking the hotdogs and pork and beans.  Luckily I remembered to do the beans before it started!  That was insane!  I don't know how I forgot about the beans!  I am so grateful for Nate's help with those!  He really saved the day!!  This activity was a reminder to myself that I need to stop putting things off!  I need to do things as soon as I can.  Which ended up being a good lesson to learn right before my next assignment of teaching the activity day girls cake decorating.  So anyway.  Blue and Gold came and went.  I helped set up once I was able to see Brad wrestle and get over there.  I was sad that Nate couldn't be there with us (he and Kelly were at her mandatory stats training meeting) and that Noah had to sit alone while I heped serve carrots, but it was an okay night.  I'm so glad it is the LAST blue and gold and that we can move on to something else next year!  2-26-29

CAKE DECORATING WITH THE ACTIVITY DAY GIRLS

This ended up being a lot of fun!  I am still second guessing what I chose to teach them, but they had fun, I had fun, it was simple, and all was well, so I don't know why I worry about it.  We did a rosette, some star tip stars, cute little moster cupcakes with eyeballs, a flower with the fat round tip, and a big twirly with the open star tip.  They pretty much just squeezed a bunch of frosting out on their cupcakes mixing all the colors and whatever, but they seemed to have fun :).  I'd love to have another shot at this... not sure that will ever happen though :).  2-27-19

CHARITY SOLO AND ENSEMBLE

Nate got to go to Charity's solo and ensemble performance while I was at activity days.  He got a video and she did awesome!  Very proud of her!  She found out shortly after that she made it to Region!  Which is super awesome!  What a cool girl- she didn't even think she could go!  So proud of her!  2-27-19

THE ZOO WITH MOLLY
Nate and I took Molly to the zoo this week!  Such a fun time with our little girl!  She loved all the animals, had fun running from exhibit to exhibit.  We had the most fun in the gorilla house.  They were being pretty funny!  The baby orangutan was pestering his dad and mom!  Throwing straw at them, swinging from the rope to tip the swimming pool of straw over on his dad!  Such a funny little guy!  We didn't love watching them eat their vomit though.  So gross.  Good stuff though!  Who knew we could have so much fun on a day off :).  2-28-19

Went to Applebee's after where Molly didn't chew up her mozzarella sticks enough and threw up on her plate.  Didn't get on the corn dog though, so she ate that later... maybe too soon after the monkeys!  

TEACHERS AND PRIESTS AT REGION

Brad's church ball team made it to regions!  A bunch of us went over to the red church with him to cheer him on!  They did so great!  It was a tough loss at the very last minute, but lots of fun to watch and we were proud of Brad and how well he played!  Fun stuff.  2-28-19

TEETH CLEANING

I got to go get my teeth cleaned this Friday!  That was exciting!  Although I was slightly disappointed with how long it took!  I thought my teeth were better than that!  I was feeling so good about how I've been flossing and stuff, and it didn't seem to pay off.  But it was good to get them all clean again.  3-1-19

TELLING THE KIDS

Well, we did it!  We finally announced to the kids that they are getting a new brother or sister.  We wrote "You. are. getting. a. new. brother. or. sister." on the bottom of their ice cream bowls for them to find and unscramble once everyone finished.  It was pretty fun!  I only wish I could go back and give Charity a less obvious word.  But other than that- it went really well!  They figured it out for the most part and then Molly got to say the official, "Mom has a baby in her tummy" for them to all jump up and scream with excitement!  Well most of them.  They were all happy, just some show their excitement in quieter ways.  It was pretty fun to tell them, and to have them on board with us.  Nice to not have to keep it a secret from them anymore too :).  I am thrilled with how thrilled they are!  They've all talked about it non-stop and we've had fun speculating on whether we'll get a boy or a girl.  Molly is set on a girl and she wants to name her "Hick-a-Linda" like her favorite horse ChickaLinda on Spirit.  But if it's a boy, she's okay naming him Boomerang (like the other horse on Spirit) not sure why we want to name our baby after horses :).  Once we told the kids the word was out!  Like wildfire!!  Seriously, I don't think the word has ever spread that fast!  And this is kid nine so we have lots to compare it with!  I didn't even get a chance to tell several close friends because people have such big mouths!  I could do without the people who spread it without even saying ANYTHING to me! But whatever.  It is exciting news so I guess we understand :).  Feels weird to have the news out, but really good that we made it to March!  March seemed so far away not too long ago.  We're surviving :).  That's a good thing.  3-1-19

BRENT AND CHARLIE

Brent came over right after we told the kids so we told him too :). We got to sit and talk with Brent and then have Charlie sleep over, which was really fun for us.  Even if they were only here for a funeral for Sarah's grandma, I'm glad we got to benefit.  We had Alvin and Charlie the next night, which we started pretty late, so that was a bummer, but still fun to have their company!  We really need to plan something for the summer for these guys.  We'll see.  3-1-19

LAST DAY OF BASKETBALL

We had our last games this Saturday.  Erika's game time had been changed without our knowledge, so we were late and it ended way sooner than we had expected, so we actually got to go see part of Brad and Luke's game afterall!  I was happy for that.  They even won by almost double the other team's score.  By the time we got there they were purposely passing the ball around so that everyone could have a chance to get a basket.  Fun kids.  Then a bit later we went to Noah's.  He did great as usual.  It was sad to have basketball over with, but also nice to have our Saturdays back! I can't wait.  Here's to next year!  3-2-19

GRANDPA HATCH'S TO CELEBRATE

Grandpa invited us up for dinner to celebrate our new baby news!  We had pizza and everything else in their kitchen that they could find and put on the table!  It was nice to have them excited and their support.  And it was fun to spend the evening with them.  Good times.  3-2-19

Week of 2-17-19

SLUFFERS

Molly, Jack and I stayed home from church.  I didn't feel bad about it at all.  Kinda nice really.  2-17-29

PRESIDENT'S DAY

We tried to make this a special day, but mostly we just sat around.  It was kind of nice.  We still had some sickies, so there weren't a whole lot of options as far as fun goes.  Kelly had planned with some friends to go to Dartside, and when the boys overheard her plans, they wanted to go too.  So I took Brad, Luke, Noah and Erika up to Dartside, a few minutes behind Kelly and her friends.  Luckily Kelly was okay with it :).  They got to play for over an hour and half before I dragged them out of there.  It was fun to watch them play and fun to eat Pretzel bites all by myself :).  When we got home, we got ready for dinner with the McGrath's!  That was a really fun evening.  I LOVE that LeAnn invited Kim Budd and her husband Brent to join us!  Such a fun time! They are so welcoming and so good to my kids, makes me happy when they sit and talk with them and ask them about their lives.  And the fact that my kids are comfortable enough to talk with them... priceless.  It's funny to hang out with Bishop McGrath when he's not a Bishop.  Seems more relaxed :).  It was so nice of them to have us over!  I loved it!  2-17-19

NOAH'S PRAYER

Noah told me about an experience he had with prayer last night.  His watch started beeping randomly, when he had no alarms set.  It was a little scary after a while- just the volume alone- so he said a little prayer that Heavenly Father would help him.  He said it stopped immediately after the prayer!  So cool!  I love it when he tells me about his cool experiences.  Someday I hope to have the faith he does.  2-18-19

BRAD WRESTLING

Well, we've been to a few of Brad's wrestling matches now, getting more acquainted with the sport and Tuesday we got to watch his second match.  He was SO GOOD!!  He put up a good fight for a good five minutes!  Finally pinned the guy too!  It was so much fun to watch him win!  We were so proud of him!  Lots of fun!  Kelly just happened to be there with us too, so she was cheering him on.  I decided to make a collection of his matches on YouTube to keep track of his progress.  It's been a lot of fun to watch him!  2-19-19


JACK SLEEPING IN THE LAUNDRY BASKET :).

 CHARITY ACT/KELLY HOME FROM SCHOOL

It was free ACT day at the High School for Juniors on Wednesday, so Charity was taking it.  Kelly got to stay home!  She slept in for quite a while, but when she finally woke up, she was game for whatever we had planned :).  We played some games and then went to lunch at Panda Express.  It was so fun that she was willing to hang out with her dorky parents all day!  I loved it :).  2-20-19

7TH GRADE ORIENTATION

Didn't think I'd be making this post this year :).  I have actually been really excited for next year to be a No-New-Schools year!  Nobody is starting at a new school in the fall!  Makes me happy and when I try to explain why, I can't.  So I am not sure why.  But I've been looking forward to NOT going to 7th grade orientation, so when Brad told me he was singing, I had to bite my tongue and just suck it up and go!  I had Erika with me which was nice.  I kept thinking how close in size she is to the 7th graders!  She could almost pass as one.  But I was more than happy that I had been there when I got to hear Brad sing!  They did such a great job!  They sang the new Africa song.  I of course love the original and haven't really appreciated the remake, but hearing the Choraliers sing it made me happy :).  And we didn't have to stay for the rest of the evening... that was a blessing :).  I loved hearing Brad perform though.  I'm glad he is involved in those kinds of things.  2-20-19

CHARITY SCHOLARSHIP APPOINTMENT

This was a new one.  Very informative and a little overwhelming- I'll admit!  But I feel very pumped up to nag Charity to death to get her applications in!  There are so many options out there!  I really like the lady who was over this- she seemed awesome.  And not just because she has eight kids :).  2-21-19