Just some pics

I know I am their mom, but dang my kiddos are cute! I am head over heals in love with all four of my cuties.

Lucy

Lucy made her entrance into this world very quickly and very painfully, but I think out of all my birth experiences hers is my favorite. As Mandy says "I can picture Lucy inside knowing it was time to come out and being nervous. Finally she just closed her eyes and went for it."

The past seven years with Lucy have been the best. She has always been a good girl and very easy going. She has always had a great imagination and can play by herself for hours. Even to this day I can pull out the Little People and Lucy will be in her own make believe world for hours. Sometimes I peek around the corner while she is playing just so I can catch a glimpse of her lost in her own imagination.

Lucy has always loved to sing. I remember mornings laying in bed listening to her sing to herself in her crib. Her sweet little voice melting my heart and putting a smile on my face for the entire day. She is still a singer and I try to hold on to every note and lock it away in my permanent mom vault.

Lucy loves books. Since she was little she has always loved a good story. She began to "read" as soon as she could speak. She would find a comfy spot and a stack of books and begin to makeup stories to go along with the pictures. She can read now and I am so proud of her for that, but I will miss her "stories".

Lucy is an artist. Turn her loose with some paper and art supplies and you will have a gallery. I have stacks of papers with drawings of our family, flowers, hearts, ghosts, witches, ect. I guess someday they will have to be gone through and only the masterpieces saved but I just can do it quite yet.

I love my Lucy girl so much. I am grateful Heavenly Father blessed me with such a sweet girl.

My Friend

A friend who has been away for awhile came back for a visit today. She has been gone for a little over a year and I was shocked when she showed up. She has stayed away before and each time she comes back I find myself surprised at how quickly her absence seems to go by.

We have been friends for twenty years and I have grown accustom to her. Although accustom to her she always seems to find the most inconvenient times to drop by. It seems like whenever I have a vacation, holiday or party I am looking forward to she feels like she needs to drop by and say hello, keeping me from really enjoying myself.

I remember as a teenager being so embarrassed by her. I HATED her visits. I was always watching my back to make sure she wasn't following me too closely, because I didn't want anyone to know she was with me.

As time has pasted I have become less embarrassed by her. I don't hate her anymore I am mostly annoyed by her. She is one of those awkward friends that you don't quite know what to do with. You try to make the most of her visits but she makes you uncomfortable and grouchy.

Don't get me wrong, there have been times when I thought she had been gone for too long. I was glad when she finally decided to stop by, and I am afraid that if she decides to stay away again I might just go crazy.

Time is going to pass and one day she will not want to visit me anymore. I think I will miss her but I cant say for sure. As for now, I will wait for her return every twenty eight days.

Lunch Time Mayhem!

Lucy, Frankie, Lydia, and I met Mandy today at Fashion Place Mall to return some items and of course go shopping. We ended our day of mall fun in the food court for some lunch. As we stroll down the food court I ask the kids if they want Chick-fil-a which is what I wanted. They both tell me NO! I ask Lucy do you want a Hot Dog on a Stick, NO! She tells me she want Orange chicken from Panda. We make our way to Panda. There are four guys working behind the counter but apparently George is the only one who can take orders and cashier. So I wait as three people order and pay.

Next Frankie wants Hot Dog on a Stick. I make my way down to that end of the food court. There are three people ahead of me there as well. I wait as one girl takes the orders, batters the hot dogs, and places them in the deep fryer. Yeah I finally get my dog.

I make my way to Chick-fil-a (hey that rhymes). I order my number one combo and have it in a matter of two minutes. Another reason I love the Fil-A, delish and speedy!

I return to the table with my hot dog and combo meal just as Mandy is finishing her number one combo and has to leave. Bummer! Just as I get ready to eat my wonderful chicken sandwich Lucy informs me her orange chicken is too spicy. I give her my fries. Frankie then wants a taste of my chicken. He like that better than his hot dog. I break the chicken breast into strips so he can eat it with his hands. Lucy the sees that Frankie doesn't want his hot dog and asks if she can have that. I am now stuck eating orange chicken.

Moral of the story, just choose where you want to eat and make your kids eat there too, or just avoid the mall food court and go home to PB&Js.

Lava Hot Springs

Shannnon had made up a cute bag for each family. Each grand kid had a two new swim suites and all of us had new water shoes and a cute t-shirt. Thanks grandma for the fun bag.

Claire having fun with the water balloons. The kids have a great time filling the balloons and throwing them at the people going down the river.

The boys playing croquet.

River fun

Jeff braving the cold water to make a river run. He was a great dad taking his kids on countless river trips while their party pooper mom stayed on shore.

I love this picture of Ky and Jen.

Cute Lucy waiting her turn on the river




Handsome Henry!

Gotta love that cute face.

Lydia and I spent a lot of time in the hotel room. I decided this was a good time to try out my new camera and get a few pictures of Lydia.

Jeff had his birthday Friday the 19th and Lynae had made a cake. Happy birthday Jeffy I love you tons and tons.

Grandma and Grandpa with the grandkids minus Brigdon who was born on the 16th.

The whole family.

This years trip to Lava was a little wet and a little cold, but we still had a great time and it was fun being with everyone.

My Baby Girl

I know I know, I haven't posted anything about the new addition to our family. Well here are some pics of our cute Lydia and the story of her birth........

I was due April 6th. I went to my normal doctors appointment on March 31st to discover I had elevated blood pressure. It was high enough and I was close enough to my due date that the doctor decided it was time to have this baby. We decided that since the next day was April fools day we would hold off until the second. I left the office with instructions to go home and take it easy for the next day and a half, and I did.

Thursday morning rolls around and I am a nervous wreck. I have never been induced with any of my other kids so this is all new to me. I call the hospital at 7 am as instructed by the doctor only to be told by the nurse to call back in 30 minutes. I anxiously find things to do to pass the time. At exactly 7:30 I call the hospital and am told to come on in.

Jeff was going to take the kids to school and then come to the hospital so my mom comes and picks me up. We get to the hospital, I am shown my room and begin the process of labor induction. I am having contractions on my own so they give me only a small dose of pitosin. My nurse informs me that if I want an epidural I might as well have it before the pain gets too bad and we have to want for the doctor. I agree and I get the epidural from the nicest anaesthesiologist. So wonderful.

Things begin to move rather quickly. I started to feel some pain so the doc comes back in to give me a little "boost" of pain medication. This only works on one side but it was a little relief. Shortly after his visit I begin to feel pressure, this baby is coming! They call in Doctor Later, they set up the bed, I turn over, and the baby is born. No pushing required. SWEET!

Jeff tells me we have a girl, and Doctor Later shows her to me. She is handed off to the nursery nurse, worked on in the room for a few minutes and then rushed out to the nursery. I am told she isn't breathing well and that she needs help. I am then told she is being transported to Primary Childrens. I don't remember much more than that because I was so emotional.
The next thing I know the transport team is at the hospital and ready to take my brand new baby away. I am crying, my mom is crying, Jeff's mom is crying, and we are all praying everything will be OK. Then the nurse walks in and tells us she is doing better and that she is going to stay. She stays in the nursery the rest of that day and night. By the next afternoon she is just fine and able to be with me.

Finally

I was talking to Frankie yesterday telling him it was his last day of preschool today. His response to me was "YES, I finally get a break!" I cracked up. Those four hours a week of playing, crafts, snacks, and listening to stories can be grueling.

What am I in for when he is in high school? I am praying now that he graduates.