Week of 12-1-19

MOLLY’S TALK
Molly gave her first talk on Sunday! She did so good I was so proud of her! It was pretty tricky getting her to open up and discuss any of the topics, but joy through trials was where I was hoping to go with it. Finally I started asking her what she thinks of Jesus. She loves that He made her and everything else ツ. So we started with that. Then the only way to get her talking about what makes her happy was to ask her what each person in the family does that makes her happy. She said when Brad throws her on the bean bag, when Luke and Noah play with her, when Erika tells her stories, when Charity let’s her sleep I. Her bed, when Kelly teaches her letters, when Jack jumps on the trampoline with her, when Sadie smiles and laughs, when dad pops her head off and when mom lets her help. It ended up being a really cute talk with her telling all of these things. She also wanted to add at the end that Jesus died for her. Pretty special. I loved it! She’s getting so big. 12-1-19

16TH DAY OF MY BIRTHDAY
I got a letter from Natalie Clemens tonight along with some peach jelly bellies! 12-1-19

SCHEELS
We needed a few gifts at Scheels and Nate need to take the van to the sl Costco so he took the day off and we went down there. We ended up getting a few gifts, browsing and discovering gifts we want to get cheaper, and Molly and I got to ride the Ferris wheel!! That was a lot of fun!!  12-1-19

SADIE ROLLED OVER
12-2-19

17TH DAY OF MY BIRTHDAY
Tonight’s letter was from my dear sister in law Becky. She said a lot of nice things. Made me happy ツ.  And I got a cool microwave popcorn maker! So cool! 12-2-19

CRAZY MORNING
Not only was it late start for the high school which I finally remember a lot of the time, but the boys had an early morning choir rehearsal. Well Brad has a fun Granny Annie’s run with his choir at 6:00 and the they were both supposed to be there at 7:00. So that was fun. Three things off big time and then Molly, Sadie and I had to hurry and get ready to go get hot chocolate with my ministers at Starbucks. I am not sure why we had to go to Starbucks. It smells like coffee and made me want to vomit. But it was nice spending time with Christie and Brooke. Molly lives the excuse to get hot chocolate ツ. 12-3-19

“I ACTHIDENTLY.... CUT MY HAIR!”
Cute Molly decided she would like to have short hair. Took matters into her own hands and trimmed a small section. It wasn’t horrible but since she wanted it short anyway, I called Brooke.

18TH DAY OF MY BIRTHDAY
Tonight I got a letter from LeAnn McGrath. Along with a cheese grater and some Lindor truffles!! 12-3-19

SLEEPING IN, BOB and POTATO SALAD
Fun, crazy day today! I slept in. Been feeling really crappy lately and just keep giving in to the voice that tells me to skip my shower. Not good. But I’m trying not to hate myself for it. Study time happened which was good. Everyone got to school. After that I ran Molly over to Brooke Desmond’s for a hair cut. She looks adorable! We took it easy for most of the morning so Nate could sleep. After a couple movies, Molly and I had wanted to do some service for the girls so we made their beds! That was fun. Molly loved it so much, she wanted to do it for everyone, but I got slammed with nausea right then. It was so weird!! I was really sick for the rest of the afternoon. Kind of worried me, since I needed to make potato salad for Nate’s catering job, but thankfully I was given a break and was able to pull it off!! Potato salad for 125! I followed my “recipe” from a few years ago for the Sons of Utah Pioneers. It took about 30 lbs of potatoes, three bottles of mayo, 4 jars of pickles, 8 cans of olives, and thirty eggs!! Turned out great with a little leftover for us! Only took about four hours, with a few breaks to feed Sadie and order costa vida for Kelly to pick up ツ.  I actually really love doing it because I get to think about my grandma Mottishaw.  Nate took care of shuttling the boys to choir benefit concert and Noah’s basketball practice, then young mens. It was a full evening but such a miracle that I was able to do it all! 12-4-19

19TH DAY OF MY BIRTHDAY
Tonight was a short little note from Barbara Noriega. Very sweet. And a box of Oh’s cereal!! My favorite!! 12-4-19

SNOWFLAKES
For study time this morning I had everyone make a snowflake and we talked about how all snowflakes are different and that people are all different too. So then we passed them around and wrote something we think is unique about each person. I thought it went really well! 12-5-19

15 YEARS LATER- ANSWER TO PRAYER
So this morning, on the way to school (forgot to say it before we left), Brad was saying our prayer for Him, Noah and me, and said the words, “were grateful for the opportunity to go to school and that we can socialize...” (maybe not those exact words, but he did talk about school and socializing while he’s there). At first I was thinking, “oh great, he thinks school is just for socializing”, but immediately I was reminded of all the prayers I prayed for Brad when he was starting kindergarten for him to be able to make friends and be a good friend. He struggled with that so much up until then that it was a serious concern for me.  So the Spirit suggested that those prayers were more than answered. That is now brad’s favorite part of school. I think Heavenly Father was also kind of like, “this was your idea, no complaining 😉.” Pretty cool idea you think about it. I mean I’ve recognized that Brad beat some odds, but I’m not sure I ever acknowledged that it was an answer to my prayers. 12-5-19

20TH DAY OF MY BIRTHDAY
Tonight I got a really sweet letter from Kenni Cole. She’s so sweet. Miss that girl. I got some new scents for my sentsy too! 12-5-19

YEAR ORNAMENTS
We made our year ornaments today! This has become one of my favorite traditions. We ran to hobby lobby (after pretending to couch shop) and got our supplies. This always costs more than I want it too. But it’s for a good cause. I haven’t documented all of our ornaments and why we made them the other two years so I’m going to do those and this year because we’re already starting to forget what they represent!  I might need to get help on some of them later:
2017:
Nate- strips in a clear ornament ball- for working Airforce One!
Me- block with PTA, Mercedes Benz, - for my cool miracle with the the t-shirt sponsors and my year as PTA president.
Charity- clear Valletta with island things- for her play Once on this Island
Kelly- lacrosse stock made out of beads- for all her lacrosse
Brad- jar with seashells- for San Diego
Luke-
Noah- jar with boat in it- for his cool miracle with Brad saving him from drowning.
Erika- cute little girl in white- for her baptism
Jack- chalkboard- for starting school.
Molly- animal mobile- she loved animals that year

2018:
Nate- clear ball with mini apron and market stuff- for his first year of the market
Me- block with general conference- for my cool answer to prayer about having Sadie, train- for our cool answer to prayer waiting for the train, bacon- for doing keto that year
Charity- keys- got her license
Kelly- dart- started at Davis
Brad- music note in clear ball for Choraliers
Luke- metal- decathlon
Noah-
Erika- wooden soccer ball- starting soccer
Jack- treasure chest in a bottle- pirates of the Caribbean ride at Disneyland
Molly- not created yet but it was going to be a bathroom sign- potty trained that year

2019:
Nate- wooden 1,000 in 30- for his 1,000 pushups in 30 min.
Me- block with picture of cub scout logo, picture of me pregnant, Sadie, and “I can do hard things”- pregnancy year. And cub scouts.
Charity- music notes on wood for madrigals
Kelly- license plate and key for getting her license
Brad- sleeping bag and tent for their first boys backpacking trip
Luke- not created yet
Noah- Peter Pan hat, thimble and button- starring in his school play
Erika- green P with feather and treasure chest- being a lost boy in the school play.
Jack- painted a black truck and a green bass on ceramic ornament ball- getting hit by the truck after catching his first bass
Molly- small clear ball with butterflies inside- our girls trip to butterfly biosphere.
Sadie- pink glittery star- being born!

We had a lot of fun making them. I tried to help everyone who needed it. Hopefully this is as fun for them as it is for me! 12-6-19

21ST DAY OF MY BIRTHDAY
Carissa Flitton’s letter was tonight. It was really sweet. Took me back to those days in Alaska. Feels like yesterday but forever ago at the same time. A fun fidget toy too! 12-6-19

WARD PARTY
They did a Mexican theme with breakfast burritos and Mexican hot chocolate. It was lots of fun! Oh piñata too! We almost missed that when we had to leave for jack’s basketball game. Which Jack did really good at! Scored another shot!! The party was nice. 12-7-19

LUNCH WITH CHARITY
Molly was wanting Charitys attention so Charity offered to take her to lunch. They ended up taking Noah and Erika as well, going to costa vida for good food and then Arctic Circle for the playground :$. What a fun sister! This is right up there with Charity and Kelly taking Fiiz drinks to the kids at school the other day! So cool!! Such fun big sisters these kids have. 12-7-19

22ND DAY OF MY BIRTHDAY
I got the funnest letter from Julie Clemens tonight! She did an acrostic poem- it was hilarious! She’s such a good ol’ friend. Some delicious Cadbury mini eggs in the form of Christmas balls ツ. 12-7-19

Week of 11-24-19

RELIEF SOCIETY- SPIRITUAL CAPACITY
I really loved Jami’s lesson this week. She did good and it was a topic I was needing to think about. I made a comment about how I’ve gained back all the weight I lost and felt stupid about it ever since, but I really liked the lesson. 11-24-19

9TH DAY OF MY BIRTHDAY
I got such a surprise when Erika brought in my gift with a card from Emily!!! Yep, Emily Maughan is now in on this ツ. Her card was so sweet! She’s always so articulate. It came with a bath bomb. 11-24-19

JOY
So after a really nice sacrament meeting and then coming upon several talks about joy and then Becky’s talk recommendation, I was thinking it would be good to have a study time lesson on joy. Well wouldn’t ya know- that was the first section in the come follow me book! So we had a nice discussion about it as a family 11-25-19

SNOW!
We got our first real snow of the season! Molly was super excited. She looked outside and said, “It’s going to taste so good outside!” She loves eating snow. So funny. She got Brad to go out and play with her after Kelly got her all bundled up. They made a couple cute little snowmans and then when Luke and Erika got out there they made a snow castle! So much fun!! 11-25-19

MOLLY
We heard Kelly come in from school for lunch, and run upstairs. We were in the kitchen so I said, “ope! There’s Kelly!” And Molly says, “better be Kelly!” Made me laugh. 11-25-19

10TH DAY OF MY BIRTHDAY
Tonight it was these amazing socks/slippers. And a letter from Kim Ball!! How cool is that!! It’s really sweet too of course! So fun!! 11-25-19

DOWN
Tuesday was kind of a down day and I’m not really sure why. We’d had a lesson on joy on Monday (Sunday too) and I’d been feeling like a million bucks all day Monday, but something happened. It was a total bummer that I let myself get like that. It’s Thursday and I’m still trying to recover. I’m sure I’ll make it out alive, just kind of annoying. 11-26-19

11TH DAY OF MY BIRTHDAY
Tonight I got these cute bowls I’d been admiring at Costco the other day ツ. And a very sweet letter from Sarah. I am so lucky Brent found someone who I love so much. I really feel very blessed to have the relationship I do with her!  11-26-19

FIRST DAY OF FALL BREAK
We had a great first day! Played some games, played out in the snow! Watched more Disney+, and even napped a little ツ. Fun day! We topped it off with a late night trip to the store with the whole family. Minus Charity, Brad, and Luke who went to friends’ houses. It was a rough evening for Nate and I- he had missed out on sleep after the mid and I am just grumpy sometimes. But we pulled through! Picked out our gingerbread house stuff, ran into Iferg’s parents. It was an okay night. Nate needed food and so he stopped at Wendy’s and got everyone Frostys! Then we tried watching pirates of the Caribbean and ended up turning it off and watching Newsies instead. I’m glad our kids have such sensitive spirits. We never watch things we shouldn’t with them around. 11-27-19

12TH DAY OF MY BIRTHDAY
Tonight I got some playing cards! Two decks! AND an awesome letter from my cousin Becky. Made my day!! She’s always so good to me!! 11-27-19

THANKSGIVING DAY!!!
We had a nice Thanksgiving day! With the snowstorm all night and freshly fallen five or so inches of snow, we opted out of Jen’s turkey trot. Kind of a bummer, but Nate and I had both met our match this week and were really running on empty. Actual running, on empty, not so good. And running with an infected toe isn’t so good either, so we stayed home for the morning and focused on the turkey and not dying 😁. Everyone played and bummed around. When it finally came time to go we weren’t really prepared so it was kind of a mad dash making frosting real quick, which I did wrong and had to add double the powdered sugar. I can use the recipe from 2013 but I need to fluff up the egg whites first I think. So anyway. We headed out. Made sure we had everyone first ツ. Becky had reserved her church building which was so nice!! I was really happy about that actually. We got there and I think Nate and the kids helped unload cars, set up tables, and prep food. I was in the mother’s lounge with Sadie taking a nap. I was not feeling real great. Chills and aches. Not fun. But we tried to touch it out. It was fun talking with Dan and Adele and Maryn. Then Becky and Nancy and Meg later. The kids all played basketball the ENTIRE time! Well, except when they were helping, eating, playing in Grandma’s snowball fight (to win first in line at the dessert table), doing crafts, or doing the mind puzzles. They also took a little break to make their gingerbread houses. I brought the glue gun again and hot glued the Grahams on the stage for them ツ. Except Noah made his own this year! Pretty cool! We had enough bags of frosting for everyone to have their own and TONS and aTONS of candy to decorate! The frosted mini wheat roofs were a popular thing. I loved how Kelly fanned out the green roll wrappers on the stacked rolos to look like a tree. Super cool! Everyone did a great job! Even Molly’s was hard to tell apart from the rest. I had made an extra house because Catherine, Malisa’s daughter had wanted one but then she left so Nate decorated the extra one ツ. Turned out pretty cute! With a skinny doorway for him to go inside ツ. Kind of a bachelor pad ツ. Nancy passed out stockings for everyone to take to fill for each other! I’m loving that idea. She said that’s what they did when they were kids. Super cool! I think that would be fun to do when everyone gets older. So we will get our assigned people soon. The food was great too! Almost forgot about that! Nate’s turkey turned out SO UNBELIEVABLY MOIST!!!  He did so good! It was way better than Lynn’s dry turkey, no offense. I was proud of him! He’s really getting good. I couldn’t help but notice that even on thanksgiving my picky eaters only had cheese and crackers on their plates. The stinkers. Molly did branch out and eat some olives. It was a lot of fun! I had a great time even though Sadie and I made a few trips to the mother’s lounge for mommy juice and diaper changes. She’s such a sweetie usually, but wasn’t loving being passed around that day. Silly girl. When we got home we decided it was time to watch a Christmas movie!! So Home Alone it was!! Not as funny as the second one as was evidenced by Jack’s laughter. Good times!! Time for Christmas!! 11-28-19

13TH DAY OF MY BIRTHDAY
Tonight’s letter was from Annie! Love that girl!! And some Ferrero Rochet chocolates!! 11-28-19

WHITE FRIDAY, RICE TOWN WITH GRANDPA AND STEVE, and OOPS FORGOT OUR TREE
The day after Turkey Day was a lot of fun too! We spontaneously made plans with my dad to hang out with him while Nate, Kelly, Brad, and Luke went to the temple. Then, since it was snowing pretty heavily again and not wanting to stay up on the hill much longer, we all met up at Panda Express for some lunch. That was fun! Then we said goodbye to grandpa and Steve and white knuckled it all the way home!! Nate took a bunch of the kids in his car to go get some basketball shoes with the Black Friday deals, and Erika some pants. I was happy to get home and didn’t leave the house again thankfully! I don’t love driving in the snow. We had a relaxing afternoon/evening. Watched movies, played games, some of the kids had fun out in the snow. We’re still not all geared up for winter, some kids still need boots. Then my mom and Porter came and she laid down some pretty heavy news. It’s too bad there’s nothing we can do to help. Hopefully someday soon. We helped Porter make his own little gingerbread house. We watched Alice in Wonderland that night. Then lots of leepovers after. Molly still obsessed over sleeping over with Charity and Kelly. So funny. We realized that we’d missed our planned time to go buy our tree. With the kids’ basketball practices on Monday nights we figured we’d do our putting up Christmas a different day and had to split it up to make enough time for it with everyone having plans with friends and stuff. So anyway- guess we’ll revamp that plan!!  11-29-19

14TH DAY OF MY BIRTHDAY
I got a letter from Claire tonight! So sweet. I’m getting the days all mixed up because I’ve failed at documenting things, but I think this was the gloves night! 11-29-19

PICKING OUT OUR TREE
We went to this cute little lot in the Winco parking lot that we saw a couple nights before. They had the kind we like. We all walked around looking for the perfect, short enough, not too wide, tree. And we did eventually find it! It looked kind of small on our giant van after the guy helped us tie it on. But fit perfectly and looked great in our family room! When we got home Charity had to leave for work and so after some deliberation we decided to postpone ornaments til Charity could be there. We’re planning to do it during family council. But we got the lights on it, set up my nativities, and I even set up my pencil tree! Which looks so cute with my adorable pearl lights and the ornaments that make up our advent calendar! Yay! I finally did one!!  11-30-19

15TH DAY OF MY BIRTHDAY
Tonight I got a cute plaque with a quote that says, “Grow through what you go through” way cute!! I’m  with a letter from Andrea! 11-30-19

Week of 11-17-19

SADIE’S MILK
Molly and I have arguments about whether it’s mommy milk or mommy juice. Every time I call it mommy juice she subtly chimes in with a correction. HA!!
Today, while I was eating my cereal, Erika had woken up and tended to Molly obviously, comes down the stairs and very business-like says, “MOM! Sadie needs her milk!” And repeats herself til I acknowledge her through my giggles HA! She’s so funny! 11-17-19

3RD DAY OF MY BIRTHDAY
After getting in bed, Kelly brought in this adorable little stuffed penguin with a sweet letter telling me what she loves about me! I about died- I’m thinking that the kids are each going to do a day! How fun!! This was a real treat! 11-17-19

WHISPERING
Molly, Sadie and I (after much prepping, bribing and threatening made our way to the high school for Kelly’s CCR. I was not thrilled about having to bring the littles with me, but it was the only appointment we could get. It was kind of an off day for Molly and I too, so I really laid it on thick before we left telling her that it would be short and that she would need to be TOTALLY QUIET the whole time! No talking, no whining, no crying! She was taking me seriously which was nice, and asked, “what if I need to go to the bathroom?” I reassured her that we would go before we left, but of course forgot. So it was extra cute when two seconds after sitting down in the counseling office, she hops off the chair she had made herself at home in, Chex Mix in hand, and walked over to me and VERY quietly whispered, “mom, I need to go to the bathroom.” She seemed a little nervous to say it- my fault- but we were glad she did when she did and the bathrooms were super close, so no biggie. For the rest of our time there she hardly spoke and when she did, she used only her quiet whisper. ツ She was very cool and calm the entire time too which was super cute. She did ask to play games on my phone, panicked a little when the sound was a little loud, but overall did SO GOOD THE ENTIRE TIME!!! I was so proud of her!! She was pretty proud of herself too. When we walked out the front doors she whispered, “Can I talk now??” 🥰. So cute!! She got a sticker on her chart for that!! 11-18-19

KELLY’S CCR
Kelly’s CCR seemed to go pretty well. Other than I wish her counselor was a teensy but more useful. But we did fine. Kelly is not sure what she wants to do in the future. She’s got plenty of time, but it’s nice to get thinking about it. I’m so proud of what she’s done these last couple years with her schooling- she’s really brought things up and excelled!! It’s really impressive! I can’t wait to see what this girl does with herself. Whatever it is- she’s got this!! 11-18-19

Watching the jazz game

These sisters

This was cute watching these two set out clock back (not a moment too soon, I know, teamwork!

I just love all the sibling love!

FHE
Tonight Kelly was the lesson. She taught us about a super marathon like 500 miles in five days, in Australia where a guy ran for five days straight in this strange shuffle, not stopping at night to sleep like he was supposed to, and won! By like 13 hours!! Pretty crazy! It was a great analogy for life! Kind of a real life tortoise and the hare! We noticed that our family night assignment chart was mixed up so we were surprised to see that Luke was the treat again. He apparently needs more time to decide on a treat so he just picked popcorn when I suggested it. Funny boy. After the prayer and song, while everyone was out playing basketball, we pulled them all in one at a time to do a job interview ツ. Yep, you read that right! After probably close to two years, we changed it up!!! Some kids were happy about the idea, others cried. Then there was more crying when we had to tell three of the boys that the could not have the taking out the trash job. It was pretty rough! But we survived! We’re goi g to do a week trial period and see how everyone likes their new jobs. Charity got unload dishwasher, Kelly got living room, Brad got family room, Luke got bathroom, Noah got floater!, Erika got “organizer”, Jack got taking out the trash, and Molly! Yep, you read that right, Molly got washing windows ツ. Sadie’s job stayed the same- eat drink poop and look cute ツ. So we’ll see how it all goes! Cross your fingers! 11-18-19

4TH DAY OF MY BIRTHDAY
Tonight Brad left a bag of cookies and cream muddy buddies with his note. So thoughtful. It’s nice to hear from him- he’s always been good at showing his love but with few words, so this meant a lot! I’m getting excited for this fun birthday idea! Nate is always so clever! 11-18-19

LUNCH WITH DAD
My dad and I have been meaning to go out for a while. We finally made time. My mom watched Molly and Sadie came with me. Which can I just say- she really is one of the best babies! She totally slept the entire time! Woke up for a second on the way home, but went right back to sleep! It was nice. I’m sure she would have been fine if she woke up, but I didn’t want to have to juggle her and eat, and we really got to talk which was so nice. It was a nice visit!! Cool little miracle- the parking spot just across the street (not quite as good as my usual spot) opened up on my second lap around for spots- pretty nice! Heavenly Father totally loves me!! 11-19-19

PIZZA WITH GRANDPA HATCH
When I venmoed my dad for the lunch (since I totally forgot my card), he said I should keep the money and take the kids out for pizza- so I said, “we should all go out together!” He agreed and we were actually available that night so we met up at pizza pie cafe for dinner! Steve was too tired from a long day of work so he didn’t join us. But it was a lot of fun!! I love hanging out with my dad. Good times. 11-19-19

5TH DAY OF MY BIRTHDAY
Tonight Luke gave me a can of chocolate covered salted caramels! Mmmmmmm. His letter was carefully written on a thank you card and put in a nice envelope! Cool that he put for the effort! I’m loving these sweet letters! 11-19-19

SIX WARTS
I finally made appointments for Luke, Erika, Molly, and I to get our warts frozen off!! It was needed, but very nervous-racking for all of us!! Funny part: while we were in the waiting room, Sadie got cranky and was definitely hungry. Cute big sis Molly starts in on her baby talk that she does to calm Sadie and very loudly saying, “you want your milk? You want your milk? Do you want your milk, Sadie? Do you want your milk?” Like seriously pretty loudly, and while I’m trying to get situated to awkwardly feed Sadie in the waiting room with a blanket over her of course. It was so crazy! Sort of embarrassing but also still kinda funny. Made me laugh and roll my eyes. Thankfully she wasn’t too offended when I told her to stop.  When we finally got in the doctors office the first thing they wanted to talk about was Luke’s size! Apparently he’s small. I’m saying that sarcastically. He’s always been small. Always fallowed the growth curve, I’m not too worried. They seemed to be though and insisted on an x-ray to check his hand bones. I guess time will tell how that turned out. I hope they don’t think I consented to paying for it! So onto the reason we were there. The doc made me go first. I had wanted to go first so I could console everyone while not in pain myself. Plus I didn’t want Molly to see how bad it was first watching the other two. But that’s how it went. I was first. Hurt so bad!! I was able to keep my cool for the most part. Luke was next. He sinched up his hoodie around his face so he couldn’t see and so we couldn’t see him cry. He did really well!! Totally touched it out! Then Erika. She had one on her foot and one on her hand. He worked on both at the same time!! Poor girl!! She struggled. So painful!! Then Molly. Her two on her foot were too much for her to bear. She cried pretty hard. Screamed really. We all felt really bad for her. We cuddled while Luke got his hand x-rayed. I was definitely sweating by the time we were outta there!! Quite the event! Would have been nice if this hadn’t been the only Wednesday Nate had to work the day shift 🙄. But we did it!! And then we got smoothies and ice cream cone for Molly on our way home. Tough stuff!! We let them come home for a breather and I ran off to the dentist to get my permanent crown.  Thankfully Nate was home by then.  Phew! What a day!! Luke decided to stay home and watch Disney+ with Molly and Sadie and I ツ.  11-20-19

THE ART OF SKIING AND OTHER GIGGLES
Jack is one of my favorite people to watch funny movies with. He laughs so hard ツ. So I had to show him Goofy’s Art of Skiing Clip. He loved it and laughed his head off of course- totally made my day ツ. Then we showed him the Gus Gus clip from Cinderella when his picking up the corn ツ and the bubbles scene on Dumbo too. He loved them both!!  It was so much fun ツ. Love that kid. Side note: the reason he doesn’t like the live action Dumbo is because he gets so sad when Dumbo’s mom is taken away. He asked me if I would be sad if I was taken away from my kids :(. I don’t even have the words to express how horrible that would be. 11-20-19

6TH DAY OF MY BIRTHDAY
For the sixth day, Noah have me a bag of yummy aUtah mint truffles! So delicious! His letter is so sweet! I love how he closed it with “the one who loves you most” ツ. Sweetheart! 11-20-19

INGROWN TOENAIL
So after probably five years I finally made an appointment to have my toes looked at. I’ve had the ingrown toenail on my big toe for at least that long but probably three or four years ago it got a fungal infection. I’ve tried testing and taking care of these things on my own but nothing was making it all better. So I went to the Tanner clinic to see Dr. Flitton. He was very nice, very efficient. Told me I need an oral antifungal for my second toe. Almost wrote the prescription but then I asked him if I can take it while I’m nursing. Nope. So I’ll be anxiously awaiting the day I can take that. But my big toe he offered to cut the side of it off. Which was what I was hoping to do. Didn’t realize he would then and there just take care of it, but he did! He wasn’t super gentle with it. The numbing needle seemed way too long. I really thought he might break my toe. I took a picture of it with the kabob skewer hammed down the side of my nail bed, sticking out. Along with the tubing clamped around the bottom to cutoff circulation it looked pretty gnarly. This is my right toe by the way. I had my left toe done about eight years ago with the one man show doctor, so just for documentation purposes. My appointment was at 8:00 so I dropped Luke and Brad off on my way there, then I was done at 8:25! Came home and I was still able to take the Elementary kids! Super fast right! It was numb so we went to the salt lake Costco when I got home. Walked around. Bought some stuff. Got gift ideas. Then some of my toe started to get feeling back, plus my hips were starting to hurt from compensating for the numb toe. So we went and got Kelly for lunch and came home. I mostly took it easy the rest of the day. Lots of Disney+ with my Molly. 11-21-19

DATE NIGHT
We got to go out again! We went to the HuHot (or HuHut if Nate is right) for dinner. Yummy food. Fun conversation about what we want to do with our future. I’m going to start “something fun Wednesdays” where we just get together and do something fun together ツ. Parks, farms, lunch... should be great ツ. Then we came home and talked with Luke for about an hour! Love that kid!! Then we started Willow ツ. 11-21-19

7TH DAY OF MY BIRTHDAY
Erika wrote the sweetest note- I loved the part about me being able to comfort her. I always wonder. She’s such a sweet girl. She gave me some really cool salt and pepper shakers!! So awesome!! 11-21-19

LUNCH WITH RUTH AND AUNT JEN
Since we couldn’t do a whole lot else with my hurt toe, Nate wanted to head up to his moms and go to lunch. It was a fun little visit with Molly and Sadie in tow. We brought my laptop so we could talk bear book, course Ruth just kind of put it all back on me. But then we went to Olive Garden for some yummy lunch. So yummy. It was a nice time. Would have been less chaotic without Molly crawling back and forth under the table and Sadie’s crying, but we had fun ツ. Hurried home to catch the Elementary kids coming home! 11-22-19

BRADLEY’S MUSCLES
Brad has been working out in the mornings for the past couple weeks. Nate’s got him on the Athlean website doing the body weight stuff. I’ve been really proud of him getting up early and pushing himself. He’s so awesome! Well with the working out he’s spent a lot of time looking at his muscles and noticed his chest. The middle of his chest sticks out a little. After some googling it felt like something he should see the doctor about so I made him an appointment Friday and Nate took him. Thankfully the doc didn’t seem too worried about it (Nate Marco Polo-ed me through the whole visit ツ), said he should be fine, so huge relief! Hopefully it stays that way. We’ll see. 11-22-19

8TH DAY OF MY BIRTHDAY
My true love Jack gave me a cool bug zapper! And the sweetest little note ever!!! It’s not everyday you get a handwritten note with jack’s thoughts carefully written down. I feel pretty special! So sweet!! 11-22-19

9TH DAY OF MY BIRTHDAY
Molly gave me some peanut butter muddy buddies and a sweet little handwritten note. Her note said I love mom I love Sadie too I love making cookies with you. So stinking cute!! 11-23-19

Week of 11-10-19

ERIKA'S BIRTHDAY!
We had a great day! She woke up to a Kelly original sign!  So fun!!  I wish I'd planned ahead on the food, but I didn't.  Oh well.  We did a lot of her favorites the day before, so all is well.  Lots of Sunday birthdays this year!  She got sung to and got her little card to go get popcorn from the Bishop.  Then when we had Family Council, we let Erika open up her remaining presents from us- the leggings, blanket and the Skip-It.  She seemed very happy with her gifts!  I was glad :).  Dad left and then everyone kind of bummed around until Family Meeting.  We went up to Grandma Ruthie's where everyone spoiled her there.  We sang to her and all the November and December birthdays.  She seemed to have a happy time.  I was glad.  It's tricky on Sundays :).  11-10-19

MOLLY LIVES HER SADIE
Sunday, Molly had been pushing her doll around in her stroller. But she did the cutest thing, she parked her little stroller right next to Sadie in her swing on the floor and was just chatting it up with her! It was so precious!! “Sadie do you like my purse?... do you like it like this (switches how she’s holding it) or like this??” Then she got her baby out of the stroller while she’s fanning away, lifts up her shirt and proceeds to nurse her baby and talk at the same time 😂😂😂. She’s so funny!! So cute! I about died. It was the sweetest 10 minutes! 11-10-19

FAMILY MEETING
We were late because we stopped at my moms to drop off laundry and found out that Simon might have a tumor. We said a prayer in the car for him then raced up to the family meeting- going the speed limit of course. But everyone waited for us. The lesson was on self reliance. Other than it being longer that my attention span it was really great! Fun talking with everyone. Hearing Meg’s work drama. 11-10-19

LAUNDRY

With no washer for a full week, we were running low on clean clothes.  Thankfully, my mom let me run a few loads at her house Monday afternoon.  Molly, Sadie and I overstayed our welcome watching movies and eating food.  It was a fun time and productive as well.  Thankfully, my mom was willing to bring the last two loads with her to Erika's party that night.  Baby steps to Friday!  11-11-19

ERIKA'S FAMILY PARTY

Erika's party was a lot of fun!  Grandpa Hatch, Grandma Hatch, Uncle Dan and Aunt Adele and their kids all came!  It was so fun to have Dan and his family!  We don't get to see them enough.  Erika had a good time.  We had cupcakes and ice cream and then opened presents.  She got legos and one of the heating pad stuffed animals she's been wanting!  It was pretty relaxed evening, but I think Erika enjoyed it!  Happy Birthday big girl!!  No more growing!  11-11-19

SADIE FOUR MONTHS

We went in for her well-child check and it went REALLY WELL!!  I was super happy with all the things we talked about!  First and foremost- her eyes!  They are fine!  That was a huge relief.  I was starting to get worried about her.  She seems to be focusing a little more when you're holding her but enough other socializing as well that we are no longer worried about that either.  He complimented on how soft her skin is!  Go Norwex baby cloth!  A first for us!  (Sadie is all about firsts!)  He wants us to work on letting her lay on the floor on a blanket and reaching for toys and rolling over.  She has been such a joy to have in our home!  Such a sweet little thing.  Everyone still loves her to pieces and really can't get enough of her.  She coos and makes sweet little noises now.  She has an abundance of drool which always makes me think of Uncle Brent :).  She loves looking around.  She is very busy mentally it seems, just looking around and taking everything in.  She has started giggling which is so stinkin' cute!  She loves her big sister Molly and looks for her and smiles at her every chance she gets.  The feeling is mutual for Molly.  I wonder if they will ever tire of each other... I hope not :).  She is a great sleeper.  Even sleeps through the night a lot of the time.  She naps a ton.  Eats a ton.  Cries when she's tired and then takes another nap ;).  She likes her pink flamingo toy and now her little chain links.  She loves to be facing out when you hold her.  Don't even think about relieving your arms and turning her around... she will not have that.  Her cute hair is very thin these days.  Not as dark and very very thin :).  Dad calls it her mad scientist hair :).  She loves her baths!  She doesn't love her carseat.  Nor does she enjoy her hiccups that have been the norm for her ENTIRE life!  Including in the womb.  Poor girl.  She gets them all. the. time.  She loves her Daddy and his singing.  She likes most people's singing, just not mine.  That is annoying.  But I have found that she enjoys the nature sounds on my phone and will fall asleep to that occasionally.  She is growing.  She has outgrown a lot of her 0-3 month clothes already.  Mostly the pants.  She is growing too fast for me.  I'm not ready to be done having my last infant.  We sure love her though.  She is a beautiful little addition to the family.  Not sure what it was like without her now.  11-12-19

STRETCH OUT SAM

Tuesday my beloved Stretch out Sam game came!  Molly and I couldn't resist, we had to get it out and play with it!  It was even better than old times!  Now I just need to get Steve over here to play it with me :).  "She plays Stretch Out Sam with me"  11-12-19

PLAYGROUP

Had to listen to a really annoying "big families are horrible" conversation at Playgroup this week.  Not my favorite and it's really stuck with me for some reason.  I wish I could just forget about it. I love my big family.  And really- it's all about perspective!  The other day, Molly said, "I wish we had a big family.  With lots of kids!"  So cute!  11-12-19

BRAD'S CCR

We had Brad's CCR appointment this Wednesday.  I ditched Nate with the little girls and went to talk about Brad's future.  It was interesting.  I think it was mostly good.  I appreciate the effort in trying to get him to think about and plan for his future.  Helps him recommit to getting good grades again too.  It gets me curious about what he might end up doing in his future!  We mentioned Pediatrician and he's running with that for now.  His other choices were something technological/engineering and something cooking!  Pretty cool.  We'll see how it goes!  11-13-19

FREE ZOO DAY

Well, free zoo day was PACKED!!  We were not the only ones with the idea.  We had one heck of a time getting a parking spot which I hope I never have to relive again.  Then met up with Emily and Jonah for a day of crowds and crying.  Poor Molly did not seem to be in the right mood for the zoo.  It was really annoying actually.  Could have been all the people... not sure... but it wasn't my favorite trip to the zoo.  We will have to try again another time for something better.  Maybe next time we can just pay and go when it's not packed.  Nate went fishing with Alan while we were gone :).  11-13-19

LAST YOUNG WOMAN IN EXCELLENCE

I think this was probably the last one of these!  There was some drama with Charity and a miscommunication on the start time, and since she had to work, she wasn't able to be there for most of it.  I was glad she came though and that she got to bear her testimony.  Kelly was there too- this was our first one with just Kelly :).  We ate soups and then had a little program with the girls talking and then Natalie Clemens gave a talk about witnesses- expert witnesses- pretty cool.  I was happy we went, even though I had tried to talk Kelly into playing hookie.  Pretty historical to have this be the last one too!  I wonder what the new program will be like!  11-13-19

CATERING

Nate had a catering job this Thursday- for a lunch in Foxboro.  It was quite the mad dash to get all the food ready in time.  I was happy to help with the potatoes and beans.  I am still amazed at how he transported it all without any spills!  Amazing really.  This job was kind of a blessing and amazingly the check he received was for almost the exact amount of our washer!  Pretty cool!  11-14-19

SO CUTE

Sadie: crying on my bed while I get dressed. 

Molly (comes in the room): oh Sadie Sadie Sadie! Are you sad?? Do you want me by you?

(Climbs on bed next to her)

Sadie: crying 😭 

Molly: Don’t be sad!

Sadie: crying 😭 

Molly (interspersed w cries from sadie) Sadie, don’t be sad... Jesus doesn’t want us to be sad does he?... Jesus doesn’t want us to be sad... does he?... does he, Sadie?... does he? 

Sadie: still crying 😭 

Molly: (singing) 🎶 Christmas, Christmas, is, we’re gonna get some presents, presents, we’re gonna be happy... 🎶 

Sadie: (smiling and staring at her big sister) gah. 

One of the cutest moments ever!!!

TITHING SETTLEMENT

Tithing settlement left me wanting after.  Not sure what for.  We all had paid a full tithe and all was well that way, but it was annoying that nobody has really earned money this year.  I want to get back into that so that they can pay tithing!  Earning money is good!  We'll have to work on this somehow.  11-14-19

WASHER

OUR WASHER CAME!!!  Friday morning!  It was so heavenly taking that first load of towels out of the washer!  They smelled good!!!!  Sounds silly, but this was actually very remarkable!  I was in heaven!  We had a little drama with the dryer now being funky and then some crazy fun with the washer, but overall- it's been a great little investment!  So happy to have something to wash our clothes in that doesn't make them crunchy or stinky.  11-15-19

My mom came for piano lessons and brought Porter along.  Molly was adorable with him- teaching him how to wash the windows with the sweetest little teaching voice :).

WARD PIE NIGHT

Ward Pie Night was great!  We all went, ate pie, visited, and had a good time! Then we came home to take advantage of our new Disney Plus and watched Journey of Natty Gann!  Good times!  11-15-19

1ST DAY OF MY BIRTHDAY

When I went to ned tonight there was a box of LOTS of pear jelly bellies on my bed with a cute note that said it is 40 days til my birthday, this is the first one and my true love gave to me... what a cool idea!! There was some sweet words as well, making me feel special!! How fun is that!! I am really excited ツ. 11-15-19

JACK'S GAME

Crazy mom chewed us out for accidentally pulling her son out instead of a different one.  Kind of blew up at her and then we moved on.  Hopefully there are no hard feelings for the rest of the season.  Jack played GREAT!!  Made a really amazing block!!  I loved it!  11-16-19

I just love how these kids love her!  And look at her cute face!

"Ewika gave me dith and it'th acthelly kinda good!" (Fun Dip)

Look how she looks up at her big sis!

Cutest smile!!

2ND DAY OF MY BIRTHDAY

Tonight there was a small plaque with a cute quote about how my kids are the reason I wake up each morning, the reason I am losing my hair and the reason I’m crazy ツ It’s way cute! Along with it was a note from Charity! Surprise to see a note from her because I thought this was Nate’s thing ツ. But so fun!! She’s so sweet to me- I loved reading what she had to say. 11-16-19