The final countdown

As long as everything goes according to plan, I've got about three weeks left until I have this next baby is born and I am feeling the time ticking away. I literally feel like I've got a clock above my head and I can hear it's tick-tock reminding me I'm running out of time. Don't you like the image I made? It looks like some cheesy image from The New Era or something. I used a photo Marisa took of me recently at a shoot.

Anyhow, so in order to feel some sort of control over the situation I've decided to compile a list of things I want to do before the baby comes.

1. Go camping in the camper -done! I'll post with some pictures about this trip in a couple days...
2. Go on a date every weekend until then. This is something I wished I had done before Peter was born because it's a few months at the very least before you can do it again.
3.Go to the temple. I won't lie saying it's been easy to get to the temple for the last little while. I've been pregnant and with a baby for a while now so I'm feeling the need to be there a lot more than I have been. And it's just gonna get worse again for a little while...
4. Finish the quilt I started last August! All I have left is a few rows to quilt and the binding. Sewing is hard enough with a ten month old at your feet let alone a newborn AND a one year old!
5. Take Mike to Paradise Bakery to try their Southwest Caesar Salad. It's really really good.
6. Clean and organize! It's time to pull out the boxes of baby clothes we JUST boxed up and to somehow find space to fit a fourth child into our little place.
7. Give my older boys some one on one time. When I had Peter my older boys, especially Elijah, got a real attitude with me. I didn't know why until I realized I was a pretty big bummer. I was constantly having to say no to his requests because I was down and out from the surgery and then there were baby naps. They're already getting frustrated with me because I can't or won't do as much - so I need to give them one last hoorah before the madness begins again.
8. Teach Elijah how to change a diaper. We've let him do it a few times as a novelty but I think I need to really get him able in this capacity now as a means of survival.
9. Write out a schedule of our day. I'm nervous for when my mom comes and when the boys go to my in-laws because three boys including a baby is a lot more complicated than two older kids. Especially since Elijah homeschools. So this schedule will include Elijah's homeschooling stuff, Peter's milk and nap schedule and just general guidelines on what they like to eat and when.
10. Get my game face on. I know that having a baby can really throw me for a hormone whirl. I can get crazy pretty easily so I'm hoping if I prepare myself for that by knowing what I'm getting into and having some tactics for dealing with the madness. And perhaps I might be able to glide over it a little more easily. Cross my fingers, eh?

So in the end, I am terrified and excited and overwhelmed all at the same time. I already love the little boy in my belly and can't wait to give his little cheeks kisses but there are times when I've got kids crawling all over me that I'm like, "How the HECK!?" A few weeks ago at church I was thinking and the clouds parted and I actually had clarity for a moment. The Lord reminded me that this experience is one of joy that I should be grateful for. And that if there are people around the world dealing with the atrocities they are dealing with - I can handle two kids that are close together. Quit whining - I'm strong, right? So, we'll see! I better buckle up, it's gonna be a crazy ride!

They call me mellow yellow...

Marisa & I got this chair to use in our photography. It's not perfect but we wanted at least something until we do find exactly what we're looking for. And I just am so into the color yellow lately...

My how they grow!

I was just looking at the photos of this little guy from not even two weeks ago and I can't believe how much he's grown! Here he is on the first day of spring!

Now that's cool!

A few days back I saw the link to the video "Why Mormon Build Temples" on a friend's facebook page and added it to mine. I had no idea how many people were doing the same thing and how powerful something like this can be! If you haven't linked it already - do it!

Check out this article about how popular that video became! It's worth the click!

My new welcome sign...

With all of the back to back sickness in our family lately I am tempted to post a sign on my door that looks something like this...

Stray Cat Strut

Mike told me not to feed him but I did anyhow...and I regret it now! This is after just one feeding the night before. Our little stray saying, "good morning!"
p.s. I know my window is dirty - it's right above the sink and gets splashed a lot so give me a break! Geez!

Why I got a dog and why did I get a dog?

So, we've got this dog and some moments it's really fun and he's really cute. Especially with Peter:


And then other days it's not really fun and actually quite horrifying. Especially with Peter:

And no, this isn't fudge that Peter is squishing in his cute little fist - and for the record I don't think he ate any so we're good. Just when I thought we were making some headway - I guess I was getting cocky and let my guard down. He's actually been pretty great - this is a rare accident.

Good things to come...

Every one of us has times when we need to know things will get better. Moroni spoke of it in the Book of Mormon as “hope for a better world.” For emotional health and spiritual stamina, everyone needs to be able to look forward to some respite, to something pleasant and renewing and hopeful, whether that blessing be near at hand or still some distance ahead. It is enough just to know we can get there, that however measured or far away, there is the promise of “good things to come.”

-Jeffrey R. Holland

I often like to imagine my future self coming to me and giving me encouragement. It started with my running - I'd imagine my faster fitter self coming to me and saying, "Hang in there, someday you'll be running so fast and these times will just be a strange memory to you." And then when I did get better at running my hope became a reality.

And since then I've done it not only for running but for everything in life. And it's become an even more powerful tool since there are times I look back at and say, "Wow, those were some bad times, I'm glad they are over." That I am now the future self able to give encouragement - that things have gotten better/easier. Knowing and experiencing that makes me more quick to let that future me come and cheer me up.

"Yet in my mind’s eye, for just an instant, I thought perhaps I saw on that side road an old car with a devoted young wife and two little children making the best of a bad situation there. Just ahead of them I imagined that I saw a young fellow walking toward Kanarraville, with plenty of distance still ahead of him. His shoulders seemed to be slumping a little, the weight of a young father’s fear evident in his pace. In the scriptural phrase his hands did seem to “hang down.” In that imaginary instant, I couldn’t help calling out to him: “Don’t give up, boy. Don’t you quit. You keep walking. You keep trying. There is help and happiness ahead—a lot of it—30 years of it now, and still counting. You keep your chin up. It will be all right in the end. Trust God and believe in good things to come.”

-Jeffrey R. Holland

Gosh, I love love love that quote. I want to do it to the me that was overwhelmed with a first child or with the fear of the future. I'd go back and tell her how great things are going to be. How fun that baby was going to become and how I'd get used to less sleep. And yet, there are still many days when I need future me to make an appearance. Today if that she came she would say:

"Yes, it was crazy for a while there with two babies but it wasn't as hard as you thought it was going to be - and you should see your boys now! They are so cute and fun."

"Wow, were you really THAT chubby? I guess so, but don't worry, it doesn't last forever and just last weekend I completed a triathlon with a really great time!"

"Yes, your house is going to keep getting messier for a while and you won't be able to stay on top of it but don't worry - eventually it will be a beautiful place that everyone loves to visit."

And the list goes on - but really - it's such a powerful visual for me. You should try it. So, if you did it - what would your future girl say?

The quotes above are from one of the best talks EVER given and that image is one of Elijah and his cousin Bella from last summer - giving me hope that someday things will be green again!

Our new little Scout

We got him yesterday and we are all falling in love. Though I had no idea how much a puppy is like a baby - Mike had to get up and take him out twice in the night. But it's ok because it means he's catching on to the whole house training thing. And he's opening up and playing with us today. What a little cutie.