We welcome with love...

Oliver James

born Monday May 4
11:46 PM

7 pounds 8 ounces

19 inches long


at my doctor's appointment on Monday afternoon I was dilated to 4 cm and 90% effaced! Dr. K stripped my membranes and said he'd go ahead and schedule an induction for Thursday, but that he'd be surprised if I made it through the night... I was really hoping he was right! and then I got really nervous that he would be right... He said to come in to the hospital if I started having contractions that were 5 minutes apart for about 45 minutes. He said "be sure not to wait too long...you are already well on your way to having this baby."
After the appointment I met Glen for a little shopping...slippers, mints, chap stick... you know the child birthing necessities. :) Glen was all excited and kept asking me how I was feeling and telling me to let him know when I was having contractions... I tried not to let him know that they were every five minutes and had been since I'd left the doctors office. Did I mention that I was nervous?...I kept telling him that they were just braxston hicks and I'm sure they'd stop any minute ...I was trying to talk my body out of it...strange I know, because just hours earlier I was so ready!!?
I took Glen back to work and got home just in time to get the boys an after school snack before heading out to Mendon to take Evan to his ballroom dance class. Glen called just before we left and asked if I was still having regular contractions... "um...yes I answered" reluctantly. It had been a couple hours since my appointment so he said "you better start watching the clock, I do not want you to have him on the side of the road. I told Glen that I'd start timing them for an hour and if by 5 0'clock they were still coming then we'd head to the hosptial... "but I'm sure they'll stop by then" I added. Well 5 0' clock came very shortly and my contractions were getting stronger. Glen said he'd go and pick up Evan and I decided that I had better pack my bags for the hospital and one for the boys, just in case they didn't send me home. I was sure I would get to the hospital, my contractions would stop and I'd be coming home. Glen met me at my mom's house. We left the boys there and I told my mom to save me some dinner because we'd be back. Did I mention that I was nervous?... because I was pretty nervous...

We arrived at the hospital and got checked in. It was 7 pm. The nurse checked me. no more progress since my appointment. She asked if the doctor had stripped my membranes at the appointment that day. I told her yes. she said "well... that can sometimes just really irritate your cervix and cause you to contract for awhile, and then usually the contractions stop.... so lets just watch you and I'll call your doctor in awhile." I was a little irritated (not just my cervix) because hello? I was dilated to a four!!! This is my FOURTH baby... no longer was I hesitant and nervous... oh, no... I decided... we are having this baby!!
Sure enough, my contractions continued. Doctor K. said to go ahead with the epicural and he'd be in to break my water! we placed bets on when little Oliver would arrive... May 4th? cinco de Mayo? we'd just have to wait and see...

Around 8 0'clock Dr. K. broke my water and I was still dilated to 4 cm. Hmmmm... maybe this delivery was going to be a slow one? I thought. After awhile I noticed my contractions were really painful and strong... my epidural wasn't cutting it! I kept pushing the button on the IV trying to get more medication... but it didn't seem to be working?... I didn't want to be a wimp but finally I called the nurse in and told her I was having lots of pain! She told me to push the dosage button... "duh? what do you think I've been doing in here?" I felt like saying... but of course I didn't say that :) She looked at my epidural pump and said "oh, it's not ON... no wonder your hurting" She turned it on and said it would take awhile to catch up and to let her know if I needed anything. that hour and a half was pretty BAD...
I found myslef wondering why??? why would anyone in their right mind want to feel this pain? I just don't get it? What a relief it was once the epidural started working.

Meanwhile my mom got my kids to bed at her house and left my dad to listen for them so that she could join us at the hospital. The nurse checked me at 10 0' clock and I was dilated to 6. at 11 I was to an 8 and at 11:30 I felt ready to have him! Luckily my doctor had decided to just hang out in the lounge. the room was set up for delivery in a matter of minutes. Dr. K. barely had time to fasten his gear :) ... I pushed one time and there was his little head. a second time and Oliver arrived, fresh from heaven!!! They placed his warm little self up on my chest... I already loved the idea and dreams of him but in that instant everything changed and I loved HIM... who he is now, and what he will become. He is part of me... I helped him to grow, I felt his first movements inside of me... There is nothing better than taking part in such a miracle! He is perfect, his little spirit is so precious. I love his puppy dog sounds, his mouth when it forms into a perfect o as he yawns. His tiny fingers, long toes, full lips. He is absolutely beautiful. We are so blessed and thankful that he is here and that he is ours!

p.s. This fourth baby has been quite an adjustment for all of us. Gabe is not too sure... Evan and Eli cannot get enough and Glen is doing his best to hang in there and pick up all of my slack. He is thee best daddy and the most wonderful husband! I am so blessed that I have him to share this crazy journey with! We have a million pictures and precious moments to share... stay tuned I will post pictures tomorrow of the boys meeting Oliver for the first time.

ready or not...

"I love being pregnant"... that is what I used to say whenever the subject came up, and as you who are ladies know... the subject comes up at just about every girls night out, play date at the park, in the break room at work, church functions etc... Women love to share and compare their pregnancy, adoption, child rearing, and especially their LABOR stories... rightly so, I guess... heaven knows these stories are like a badge of honor right?... Well this pregnancy has changed my mind a tad about the love of being pregnant. Oh, I definitely love how my heart swells with each movement that this baby makes, even the big rolling, take your breath away moves that are happening now that he's getting bigger. I loved the beginning feelings of newness and excitement mixed with a little apprehension and fear when the test was unexpectedly positive! I love feeling power within, knowing that I am a partner with God in creating a new little life... a person... it's incredibly overwhelming, humbling and...wonderful!

The reason I say that my mind has changed a tad about loving pregnancy is because, as you may know, this pregnancy has been quite different from my others...probably more of a normal pregnancy to most... but really.... I had no idea! So I've been a little more vocal in sharing my complaints...but really It has to be said that amid all these aches and pains my body is feeling, it is also filled to the top with gratefulness and love. Gratefulness because I know the heartache of wishing and hoping for a baby month after month, the emptiness that comes with losing a pregnancy... and I also know that there are so many women who cannot experience pregnancy at all. I have many friends and family members who have to deal with that realization and my heart goes out to them... it especially has these past several months as I have been anticipating this new little life growing inside of me! I hope my complaints have not offended anyone...I truly am so very blessed... and GRATEFUL! and I'm filled with love... of course... how could anyone not love a tiny soft baby, fresh from heaven, with so many dreams ahead for them!

yes this pregnancy has been difficult, but I know that there are so many things that are worse, harder things, heart breaking things that people are going through .... and my sore hips and legs, heart burn, cramps, rampant emotions, sleepless nights, sciatic pain, pelvic pressure etc.... don't seem so bad anymore! In fact I would do better to look at them as little blessings and evidences of the miracle that is to come! Not so in love with pregnancy right now?.... yes and no .... but one thing is certain...I am a very lucky girl!

The fact that there is a "light at the end of the tunnel" and some sunshine outside is definitely helping my attitude too! :) I had a doctor's appointment yesterday. I go weekly now. As you can see by checking that "baby ticker" on the right side of the screen I only have like 24 days left... I swear that thing is slow?... but seriously TWENTY FOUR days... whoa! and really I have less than that because my doctor will start me on May 8th, if I have not already had this baby by then... May 8th is in SEVENTEEN days!! So I have 17 days left or maybe less?.... I get a little nervous thinking about it... ok a LOT nervous. I am so ready... but how can you ever really be ready?? you never know what to expect... that part is so hard for me! I like to have a plan.

At the appointment we learned that I am dilated to a 2 and 70% effaced! If you don't know what that means, google it, because I am not about to explain it all. (between Evan and Eli's questions, we've been doing enough explaining around here!) To some that may seem like a lot of progress but for me that is pretty normal. I measure about a week small (my belly, that is... the rest of me measures WAY too BIG!!) and at all of the ultrasounds the baby has measured 7-10 days smaller than what the due date is... so that could mean he may not come as early as I'd like him too :)

Here are the stats: My water broke 10 days early with Evan and I was dilated to a 4 at the appointment just before that. My water broke 3 1/2 weeks early with Elijah and I was dilated to a 3 at the previous appointment. With Gabe I sort of expected the same pattern, my water would break and he'd come even earlier... but he had other plans... I was dilated to a 3 for like 3 weeks. Finally the doctor started me a week early because we were moving and just needed to get him here soon for my sake! Who knows when he would have shown himself, otherwise?? Evan weighed 7-10 Eli weighed 7-2 and Gabe weighed 7-4 So... there you have it... a few details about my badges of honor. I have never had to count and time contractions so the thought of that totally freaks me out, especially because I tend to have my babies FAST. Once I'm dilated to 7 which doesn't take long ...we are talking minutes, to a 10. With Evan the nurse said "now that your at a 7 honey, you need to just shut the lights out and rest and maybe in 3 or 4 hours we'll check you again and you might be ready for pushing." My family all relaxed and went out for a frosty at Wendy's or something and I'm not kidding- 7 minutes later I told Glen to get the nurse because I was pretty sure this baby was coming. Reluctantly she shuffled in, mumbling something about how first time moms are so anxious and she was sure that the fact that she had just checked me was causing me to contract more yada, yada, yada .... but if I insisted??... she'd check again??? I DID insist and she was shocked.... "Oh... you are ready" she said. One or two pushes was about all it took, luckily my doctor was just outside the door. The others were just as fast... so hopefully we will not be having a home birth.... pray for me... oh and tell me...

What do you predict?

Happy Easter!

Little Man

When I saw this little suit... I HAD to have it for Gabe!
The pictures don't even give the combo of perfect him in handsome suit justice! the sun was too bright for his little eyes, he wanted to run away thee entire time, this photo shoot was so last minute, and just before nap time made for an uncooperative boy...he didn't even get shoes on etc... but if you could see him in real life in this suit... he'd take your breath away and your heart would melt... I promise!

We've been talking about Easter a lot around here. I told Gabe that I bought him a new Easter Suit. He was happy to try it on and now he calls it his "Easter bunny suit" I told him that he looks so handsome in it... so on Easter morning when I got him dressed. He kept saying to everyone "I so handsome"

He looks like such a little man. It breaks my heart and makes it swell at the same time...

Done with the photo shoot... I will try again for the perfect shot... or maybe I'll just hire someone

Easter Morning

Last year we celebrated the entire week leading up to Easter. We started the week on Palm Sunday by talking about Christ's triumphal entry into Jerusalem... we did our own little hosanna shout and set up an area where we could write down acts of service that we noticed all week etc... and that was just the first day. Every night we learned about the life of Christ and especially focused on His last week leading up to his resurrection. (if your interested, check out my Easter post from last year in my blog archive) We LOVED it and had every intention of doing it again this year... well we started off pretty good but then it sort of flopped with everything we had going on this week and just life in general! We definitely plan on keeping up the tradition though because Easter is such a sacred day but often easily overlooked. We make such a big deal about Christmas and Christ's birth which is wonderful but after finding the idea to teach more and focus more on Jesus during Easter I knew we had to start doing better. We had a great Family Home Evening on Monday where we talked about Christ, his life, his example, and his unconditional love. Throughout the week... when we weren't at soccer practice, going to Wicked, re- finishing a dresser, going through baby clothes, aching from contractions etc... Glen and I both tried to take moments to talk to the boys about Christ's life and the importance of Easter... that's it not all about the bunny... etc. It felt good to be more aware of the importance of the holiday, and although not as organized as last year, our Easter week was pretty special!

Easter Morning was nice because instead of having to be at church at 8:30 AM. (seriously!)... we had Stake conference in the tabernacle at 10:00 which gave us a few extra minutes to look for hidden Easter baskets from the bunny! Every year the Easter Bunny leaves trails of jelly beans and writes the boys names in candy... pointing them in the right direction, leading to their baskets! This year the bunny also left a trail of yarn to follow. Each of the boys yarn trails, intertwined and went up and over, down and under... it was wound through the entire house!
Lots of fun!!

By each of the kids names... is where their yarn trail started

Gabe gave an excited giggle when he saw candy everywhere and within his reach! His eyes were wide and in his high little voice he said "Easter bunny bring candy!" and then he proceeded to gather jelly beans in his little hands... shoveling them into his mouth as fast as he could!

Evan's trail lead him to the oven...

Eli's ended in the basement, in the "game closet"

and Gabriel found his basket in the laundry room!

He quickly snatched the chocolate bunny, unwrapped it with shaking hands... (sugar high? excitement? not sure...) and ate it! Healthy breakfast huh?

For our Stake conference they had a primary choir. the boys had been going to practices for weeks. They quickly dressed in their new Easter attire and we headed off to the tabernacle with the sun already warming the air... it was a beautiful Easter morning!

Evan and Eli did such a great job singing! I cry every time I hear a primary choir... so sweet yet bold and testifying! Other than an occasional slouch and the noticeable eye- roll and shoulder heave with each new speaker from Eli... They were very reverent for TWO HOURS on the stand! Glen and I played tag team with Gabe, tried to keep him entertained and had to keep reminding him to whisper. He is such a chatterbox! It was a perfect Easter Service. When we got home we read from a book about the first Easter. Ate egg-salad sandwiches (my favorite!) and relaxed a bit before my brother and his family arrived for our Easter dinner.

Easter hunting

A few months ago we made arrangements to stay down in Salt Lake for some of the boys time off for Spring Break. We planned on doing some last minute "baby shopping" and a little sight seeing too. After driving down for Wicked during the week my pregnant body was tired of traveling. Glen had a big work load and was busy so we decided at the last minute, Friday evening that it just wasn't worth the trouble of going for just one night. Plus with the Easter weekend... it just felt crazy... so we stayed home!! My cute friend Sunny happened to be in town! She stopped by to leave us a little something, (anything Sunny does is never little... she is so thoughful!) She was thinking we were out of town... BUT, we were home! lots of rambling, I know... so anyway to make a long story short... She made my whole week, oh how I miss her! It was so great to see her with her prego tummy and her two lilttle girls! She was on her way back to Lehi but we talked her into joining us for the Lee's marketplace Easter-egg hunt! My boys LOVE her little girls and for awhile it felt like the good old times... hanging out with the Schrievers!! I wish it could have lasted all day... We were all sad to see them leave!

Lee's marketplace is very generous and we've been going there for this event for a few years. It's quick, and easy. the kids go from the deli, to the bakery, to the meat dept... etc and at each place they hand out Easter treats. The Easter bunny is there and at the end, with full baskets...they get a special egg and inside there is a prize... a twinkie, a bottle of soda, a cake, a pizza... etc

The kids had lots of fun and Gabe was starting to love this Easter basket thing...

We could not believe that the Easter bunny got a hug from shy little Gabriel... not many people are lucky enough for one of those!!
But... the Easter bunny is pretty irresistable.... we've been telling Gabe all about the bunny which had to help a little... anyone who gives lots of treats away is a friend forever!

After saying farewell to Sunny and her girls we headed to my grandma and gradpa's house for our traditional Easter hunt. We had to postpone the picnic/hot-dog roast this year due to incliment weather... but had just enough time for a hunt before the rain came down...

Here are grandkids mixed with great-grandkids, gathered around Grandpa...
who's fire baked potatoes I really missed this year!

Gabe had the whole... candy, eggs and treats go into the basket as quickly as possible thing down! He loved it and only hesitated a few times... wanting to eat the treat... but also seeing more to collect!

Evan and Eli with my cousins Jonah and Nathan... they have so much fun together!

We love getting together with family. Traditions are a big part of who I am and I'm so grateful for grandparents, aunts and uncles who keep planning and providing fun times together. I'm so glad that my kids get to be part of the traditons that I grew up loving!!

Colors of Spring

Easter just isn't Easter without hard boiled eggs dipped, colored and creatively decorated! We look forward to it each year! Usually we each pick three of our fastest looking eggs?? We find a good hill and roll them down to see which egg can last the longest and still be in one piece! My boys love it... but this year the weather was too unpredictable and my hill climbing days are over for now :) but we sure had a fun night!
I love seeing all the creativity and effort that goes into each egg!

We planned on having my brother and his family over for dinner and egg dying but things didn't work out for them to come... so we had LOTS of food and LOTS of eggs to color... SIX dozen!!
yes, I am totally serious...

Gabe wasn't sure what to expect... when he spooned his first egg out of the dye his mouth formed into a perfect little circle and he sucked in a big breath in excitement "wow" he kept saying "my egg green" (or whatever color it happened to be) he kept dipping eggs in multiple colors which resulted in a few brown eggs! He loved putting stickers on the eggs and coloring them with crayons too! Most importantly we did not have any major calamities... all dye stayed in the cups, none was consumed, no harsh words were spoken, only a few broken eggs...

We always tease the boys and say that however many eggs that they color... is how many that they have to eat! They despise hard boiled eggs (inconceivable... I know) and so does Glen?? I happen to love them... cold,with a little salt- Yum! deviled and seasoned- So good! On an egg- salad sandwich- My favorite! But SIX dozen?

... anyone wanna come over for a sandwich?

conversations with Gabe

I would love to capture every minute of everyday with this little boy! I am so grateful that he is who I spend most of my day with... call me selfish, but I would never give up these moments with him... time is gone too fast!

these are not the best videos... They are some I've taken this past month. Kids are always a little different in front of the camera but I thought I'd share anyway!
(remember to pause my music player!)

Boys will be Boys?

Evan and Eli have been home from school for their Spring Break. Instead of an entire week, or five days off of school they split it over the weekend in this school district. At first I felt sort of bad and was a little bugged, wondering why they don't get a whole week off like most other kids? Well I think I've figured it out... the "big wigs" who do the deciding for the school holiday schedule must do a survey and ask stay at home mom's what to do? I'm even thinking that those mom's who are surveyed must be 10 months pregnant, like me! I've come to this conclusion because now that I've had my boys home for two days with no real structure I am thanking my lucky stars that I don't have them home for a week right now!!

I know I should be a good mom and have some fun plans for them... the dinosaur museum, the park, the zoo etc... but any fun plans mean- me arranging, packing for a day then chasing, and bending and lifting Gabe- non stop! The chasing is not even the bad part... no, just walking these days turns into contractions, back aches, the inability to wear shoes etc....

So I opted for no fun plans which means that their mischief is partly my fault...

Boys will be boys, I know!

If there were a "boy behavior chart" my boys would be closest to "fairly mellow and well behaved" which I thank the good Lord for daily! Of course they have their moments.... but I would chart them in that category for the majority of the time! Lately though, it seems that my boys have been having lots of "moments" and may be falling down a few notches on the "boy behavior chart"....

yesterday... was one BIG moment.

They had been teasing all morning... relentlessly bugging each other. I try to head it off early on and if they choose not to stop then I let it go and figure it's their own fault if they get punched in the gut or something (real sympathetic, I know and believe me, I have never been in the running for mother of the year!) When they come to me... crying, I say in my most sympathetic tone "Oh, I'm sorry you chose to act that way, which resulted in a fat lip for you..." I shrug my shoulders and give them a little pat on the back and because they are boys they usually get over it that fast. I have found this works better than trying to figure out who said something mean first or who's tickling turned into pinching while they are both blaming the other etc... Then it's just more complicated!

They were out on the trampoline yesterday although they hadn't cleaned their rooms first. I could hear it getting a little rowdy... I peeked my head out the door and even though their room was not clean I figured I would give an inch, after all it is spring break, right?... so I told them to settle down and they could continue jumping for awhile before cleaning. Not less than 10 minutes passed and in came Eli bawling! Not far behind him was Evan... not crying, but MAD! I didn't even have a chance for my "oh, I'm so sorry" speech. Eli frantically pointed out the red hand prints on his neck while Evan was claiming self defense as he nursed his bloody nose... Eli had kicked him in the tenders, the nose, and who know where else! So my fairly mellow, well behaved boys had been outside (luckily, we have no neighbors) doing some ultimate fighting... strangling? kicking? I could not believe it escalated that fast and to that extent!

I felt my blood pressure sky rocket, along with my anger. Accompanied with both of those emotions was disbelief? The saying came to my head "boys will be boys..." I pushed it away "oh no they won't!" I thought "NOT My boys!!"

They knew they were in BIG trouble. After a long lecture about having the ability to seriously injuring other person, a guilt trip, and some more tears. they both sat in separate rooms, facing the wall for one hour while they "thought about it. "

I decided long ago that If I'm going to be the mother of boys... oh how I love boys... but I will not have boys who are rude, have no manners or who are too rough. I firmly believe that boys do not come that way... they are allowed to act that way, if that is their behavior! Now I add to my list... I will not have boys who strangle each other, kick others in inappropriate places, or who are violent...

I guess I need to work on refining those inherent boy tendencies now too??

after all of that... we had all calmed down and things were going better for a minute and THEN I asked Eli about helping his cousin Tristin gather eggs from the barn... "How many did you collect after the long winter?" I asked. Eli looked at me blankly, not sure how to answer. Evan quickly piped in "There were no eggs mom" I wondered aloud "how could that be?" Evan again answered "well...Eli and Drake broke them all last week." After a conversation like pulling teeth...I finally got to the bottom of it... (I think?)

Last week Eli went out to the barn, he gathered up the eggs (I'm guessing... 30 of them?) and while his younger, innocent cousin watched his bad example... he then proceeded to smash and throw them all over inside the hen house. the room is like 8x8! they had to have been dripping on them....WHAT? again disbelief... what was he thinking? and anger... seriously this is not even our property, or our chickens. my 7 year old son egged something? embarrassed... because my aunt and uncle probably knew already and were just too nice to say anything...thinking now I have to call and lamely explain that I don't have any idea what my children do half the time...but we are taking really good care of your house... (arghhhhh)

After another lecture on vandalism, being a good example and lying ( too many details to share here...) we decided that Eli would pick up EVERY scattered egg shell and scrape off the drips too- I was at my wits end!

Who are these boys and what have they done with my "fairly mellow, well behaved boys?"

I know, that boys will be boys... but NOT my boys...
I have a feeling that this is only the beginning though?! I pray for patience and strength, in raising these boys of mine... and the sense of humor my grandma Murray had while raising her boys would be nice too ...or maybe she only laughs about it now?

I know there is wisdom in her laughter... maybe that's all that matters.

Another Year...

A couple days ago it was my birthday! I love having my birthday on April 8th

and here are a few reasons why;

*it's during my favorite season, Spring!
*It falls on Easter sometimes, LDS conference weekend sometimes, and spring break sometimes.
*I have tons of Easter/spring decorations for my home thanks to gifts throughout the years.
* bunny cakes, strawberry shortcake, gummy bunnies... yummy Easter treats are out!

Springtime and a birthday combined just feels like a new start... time to pull out the flip flops and get a pedi, the sun peeks out, flowers are starting to bloom, grass is green... life is new again and I am one year older and starting a new chapter it seems, at just the right time!

I had a wonderful day and lots of people helped to make me feel very special. It was a little surprising to me... I don't have much of a social life right now (remember... long winter, pregnant, new girl in town... etc) and I'm old, don't people forget you as you get older?? :) but I was so overwhelmed with what wonderful friends and family I have! I realized that I don't always remember my friends or family members birthdays very well and need to do better because it sure means a lot when people drop a line to wish you a happy day. My grandma and grandpa Murray call every year to sing a birthday tune, with grandma usually adding a few cute made up verses near the end. I love them so much and my birthday would not be the same without their call... I love it! This year they called at 6:55 AM :) and I was still in bed! After I woke up, I smiled as I listened to their song and message of love on my answering machine... The perfect way to start out the day!
I also had this banner colored by my three boys to look at all day :)
I received cards in the mail, got text messages throughout the day with well wishes, phone calls, a new purse, scarf and my favorite treats from my mom and sisters, and even a bouquet of beautiful pink tulips left on my doorstep. (thanks Monica!)

While Gabe napped in the afternoon I had plenty of time to get ready for my big birthday date... I had been excited for months about this day... Glen was taking me to Salt Lake City to see....

As soon as the boys got home from school we left and headed for aunt Sarah's house in North Salt Lake. She was so thoughtful and offered to watch the boys for us! They had so much fun, of course! Even bashful Gabriel couldn't resist her, he is still talking about her park and kitties. Thanks Sarah! We LOVED Wicked, it is one of those must see productions... so funny, great message, amazing talent... it was FUN and a perfect, romantic night out... just the two of us!

We got home REALLY late that night and the next morning as I slowly slid out of bed (it's the only way with this big tummy of mine) I was shocked that my clock said 9:50!!! WHAT? I heard some rustling downstairs and couldn't believe that I'd slept through the morning... Evan had gotten up early and when he heard Gabe stirring, he got him out of bed and fed him breakfast. (he is a mini Glen) Eli was up too and they had all just been playing and waiting for me... and this is what I saw when I rounded the cornerEvan's birthday present to me... a pedicure! :)

He has heard me talking about my swollen sausage toes with flaking polish that I can't reach to paint myself... So observant...isn't he sweet! Before Glen left for work Evan asked him all about giving pedicures and which foot potions is for what etc... So Evan had it all set out and was SO excited about it! He seriously did such a great job my feet are very refreshed! Eli' s part of the present was to babysit Gabe and bring me a diet coke... hee hee...I love my boys!

Oh and Evan also gave me this....

He officially GAVE me his six color pen. I wrote about my love of this pen back in February. We've been sharing it since then but my tender hearted Evan says now it's ALL MINE!
I am such a lucky girl!!

I've always wanted to stop the hands of time when it comes to my children, they just grow and change too fast. but especially with this year.... this particular number... which is getting closer and closer to FORTY... :)
8 more years...
shhhhh!
I am wishing to stop the clock altogether. Somehow, I don't think this particular birthday wish is going to come true though! Oh well, I know that I am blessed and I am trying to enjoy the NOW! there are good things about getting old, aren't there?? :)
I had a wonderful birthday... Thank you to everyone for making me feel so special!
here's to another year!!

R. T. S. Y. O. P.

Glen likes to make up "code words" with the boys. When they were younger He used them all the time to remind them about our rules or expectations. For instance when the boys were fighting or mad he would say "snakies" and this was their reminder to chill out. The weird thing is, it worked! I grabbed their arm or raised my voice to try to get their attention which of course didn't work most of the time. But "snakies???" For some reason they loved it and IT WORKED! Evan would say "oh yea, snakies Eli, remember?...." and they'd agree to stop fighting with each other... It was crazy! Now they are bigger and nothing really works to keep them from bugging each other :) But one of those "code words" has stuck. It is R.T.S.Y.O.P. (rit-zip, is how we say it) it stands for Remember To Say Your Own Prayers. Each night when we tuck the boys into bed we remind them to get on their knees and rit-zip... and they do!

We do the whole "bedtime routine"together ....jammies on, brush teeth, family prayer, family cheer, sweets and sours, family hug, read books.... but when it's time for lights out we split up and one night I'd tuck the big boys while Glen rocked Gabe etc... the next night we'd switch. Well lately, Glen has been tucking in ALL the boys EVERY night. He insists that I put my feet up, relax, take a bath or read a magazine. He gets the big boys all set up with books, takes Gabe to bed and then returns to Evan and Eli to tuck them in. I am not lying, I know he sounds too good to be true, but it is true! He is so thoughtful!

Well since Glen has been putting Gabe to bed a lot he has added something to his lights out routine that I never did with him. And it's rit-zip... of course, that's just how Glen is, he is always teaching his boys! So the other night Glen was telling me how cute Gabe is when he says his own prayers. I was surprised, not about the cute, of course, but that Gabe could say his own prayers. I decided that I had to see this for myself and it was so sweet! I captured it on video...Here is my amazing husband with our precious baby saying his prayers...
(don't forget to pause my music player so you can hear him)