1 month

Ben is now 1 month old, and unfortunately we only stayed in the picture craze the first week of his life. I figured I better take some more so that in 25 years he can compare his baby pictures to those of his future kids. He is smiling in response to us now, which I absolutely love, but I never have the camera present when he does, so I have yet to get a good picture of him smiling. And hope is in sight! He has had three nights of 5-6 hour stretches. Hopefully I wont be the sleep-deprived grouch for much longer! He had his 1 month check yesterday and now weighs in at 7.5 lbs!
Kylie is down to her last month of Kindergarten. We are having a little dilemma about next year though. She has spent the past year at a private Christian school and our original plan was to keep her there for this year, and then transfer her to the public school for 1st grade. But now i am actually wanting to keep her where she is at for these reasons: a- academically they are further ahead of the public school. b- she knows the routine and campus. c-the class sizes are a lot smaller, and with her being so shy it helps her open up more quickly and she gets personalized attention. c- she has some great friends there. d-the 1st grade teachers are excellent. e- because it is a Christian school, the kids dont use the Lords name in vain which is apparently something you dont get in the public school. and f- she really wants to stay. Cons to staying are: a-because its a private school its flippin expensive. b- its usually a 40 minute round trip drive as its out in the foothills. c- the principal doesnt believe Mormons are Christians. I just dont know what to do.
And for you Utahans who had snow on Saturday- we hit the 100 mark yesterday. You missed the two week period of spring down here. But if you wanna come visit in November when we are back to the 80's you have an open invitation!

3 boys

Whoever said that 3 kids is the hardest is NUTS! Or maybe they just said that cuz they didnt have my boys! Ben is still not sleeping through the night. He has had a few 4 hour stretches but is up for a good hour before i can get him settled. So i have extreme circles under my eyes, little patience with the other 2 boys, and a completely wasted brain. James decided to start the terrible twos 6 months early and has been outta control with the temper tantrums. And Tyler has been breaking the rules left and right, not to mention a little bad habit of making up little lies trying to convince me that he isnt the rule breaker. Example- He was in time out for coloring the couch, and when I went to get him out there was a yellow puddle near by. I gave him the look, and he immediately replies "It wasnt me! James did it!" Perhaps parenting these 3 seems so bleak due to the extreme sleep deprivation, and my boys are actually really good and I just am missing the positive. Oh I miss having a good nights sleep!
FYI to Kristy Jean--Daniel and Michael are gonna do the 1/2 marathon in Vegas in December. (Along with Cathy Connie and Fred) Its suppose to be the most entertaining marathon as they have tons of Elvis's running and just tons of stuff going on. So I think you should train for it and meet us there and run it with them! It would be awesome! Only issue is that it is a Sunday as Utah is the only state to do them on Saturdays, so you would be putting your eternal welfare on the line, but its gonna be wild times! Let us know what you think!

Marathon

Today was the day Daniel and Michael were suppose to reach a new level of accomplishment- runnning the SLC marathon. 26 miles of insanity in my opinion, but definately worth some bragging rights. They have been training for months now- getting up at 4 am to drink their energy drinks, then hitting the canal road before 5- including Saturdays no less, pushing through wind, rain, and heat, all with the determination to run the big race. But due to a few injuries-(both would be participants have had their struggles with some tendonitis)-the 2 week long flu bug that completely wiped Daniel out, and the fact that Daniel decided helping out his sleep deprived wife after having a baby was more important, the marathon has been called off. Too bad really cuz it would have been quite a sight to see the 2 running together in matching blue zoot suits-(i still cant get over the hideousness of it!)! Oh well. There is always next year!

THE VAN

Heaven help us- we bought a freaking mini van. The camry just doesnt fit 4 kids, and the escalade is a company car, so Daniel has been eagerly searching for something new. Luckily he has a friend in the car buisness, and after weeding through the field, we had to make an extremely difficult decision. They found a sequoia for us-which is the car I have wanted for several years now. It had lots of cool upgrades and they were gonna give us a smokin deal on it. They also had a sienna- the toyota minivan. I have a strong dislike for minivans- and have told Daniel for years that I will never own a freaking minivan. Sure they make lots of sense. They are convienent, get good gas mileage, are easy to get the kids in and out of, and generally have more storage space than the average SUV, but they are UGLY. Obviously this is a pride issue for me. After much thought and weighing the pros and cons, we decided that the smartest decision would be the minivan at this point. With gas prices through the roof right now, it will definately save us some money there. And the monthly payment will be more comfortable, and the insurance on a van as opposed to a SUV is cheaper as well, so I bit the bullet and we made the smarter choice, although I must say I WANT THE SEQUOIA! I am in mourning at what I could have had.

As I was test driving the Sequoia, I had Kylie and Tyler with me, and Kylie asked me if we were going to buy it, to which I replied that Daddy and I needed to pray about it, and thinking this would be a good teaching moment went on about Heavenly Father hearing and answering our prayers. Toast pipes up, "well I prayed that it would be Christmas everyday, and Heavenly Father disobeyed me!" Such is the mind of my 4 year old.

And in other news, today was Jamesys first time in nursery, and I am happy to say that he did really well. Hooray!

President Monson

My main purpose in my blog is for my own journaling purposes, and today as we watched conference I felt I needed to write down my feelings as President Monson spoke to us for the first time as the prophet. Listening as he told about his ancestors and their heartaches and trials, I think its pretty awesome that here, many years later, the great great grandson of these pioneers is now called to be the prophet of this great church. During the time of their suffering and even the rest of their lives, they didnt know what their abiding faith would do for future generations, but because of their faith and love in Jesus Christ they passed down a great testimony and example to future generations and now their great great grandson is the prophet on the earth- it amazes me how one families faith can have such an enormous impact on the future and the world.

Throughout the conference, others have mentioned the way Thomas S Monson reaches out to the one. This reminded me of a family that was in my home ward whom had just suffered with the death of their young daughter. President Monson didnt know the family, but had a strong impression to travel down to the funeral, and was there to offer tremendous comfort to this family. It was a pretty powerful witness to me that this man is deeply in tune with the spirit, and is immediately responsive to the promptings he recieves, and he is there to mourn with those who mourn, just as the Savior does. Truely he is a disciple of Christ, and devotes his life to serving others. What an amazing example this man is.

As he bore his testimony, I felt a powerful peaceful feeling that just confirms to me that He is called of God, and he is the living prophet. How grateful I am that we have the blessing of a living prophet. We have him to direct and guide us. Even though I dont know him personally, I love this man and do sustain and honor him as the prophet.

Poor baby

Well Ben survived. And so did Daniel. What am I talking about you ask? Ben had his circumcision done this morning. I knew I wouldnt be able to stand having my baby strapped down and crying in agony, so I sent Daniel to do it. Shockingly he didnt pass out. If we decide to have one more kid in a few years, it better be a girl cuz I am feeling really guilty for having some dr take a knife to my little tiny boy!

Grandma

I hate goodbyes. Especially when I am postpartum. And even more so when its my sweet mother whom I have to say goodbye to. This past week has been so wonderful, mostly thanks to her. She has eased my burdens, lifted my spirits and has mothered and grandmothered in her perfect way. I honestly dont know how we will make it without her. Thanks for all your help mom. You are my hero. I miss you immensly! And we all just love you so much! You are the best!