Bring it on! A tribute to moms.

When I got a "real" job I used to comment that I missed being in school because you got so much time off and you had the choice if you went to class or not. That was the life..

Now, I miss the life of having a "real" job. I had my evenings free and my weekends off. I even had free time at work! Being a mom is literally a full-time job, working all day long with a few breaks due to a wonderful husband, wonderful parents, the blessed time called nap time and the occasional signing time movie. I never knew I'd have to work so hard for my free-time! On a typical day (while Jake is at work) I get one real break during nap time if I work really hard to coordinate my girls' sleeping schedules. Then, when successful, I'm left with the difficult decision of how to spend those sacred minutes. There is much to do with a toddler wreaking havoc around the house, a newborn constantly soiling her linens and clothing, regular living, etc. I feel that I've earned a break so am thus drawn to my favorite indulgences of blogging, spending time on the computer, watching part of a movie, reading, eating in peace, playing around with pictures or slideshows, etc. More importantly though is my constant need for sleep, having been woken multiple times in the night. I've gotten some good advice from 2 people this time around and one of them was some advice passed along from my mother-in-law by my sister-in-law. She just stressed the sleep while the babies sleep. There will always be dishes and laundry, but you have got to leave them and sleep. I've noticed this to be true for me. If I don't get my sleep I'm emotional, grumpy, quick to lose patience, and too tired for the tasks before me. So after a few minutes of indulgence in a simple pleasure, I'm off to lay down and cherish those few moments before I hear a cry.

I recognize that some who read this are not yet moms and I want to be sure to stress that it's all completely worth it and I couldn't enjoy any other work more than that of being a mom. Sometimes when I'm cuddling my new baby I think how worth it it is to lose a few moments of sleep for something this good. When I see Emma smile or hear her laugh, I couldn't be more pleased! I just want to give credit where it is due to my two moms, one who raised 8 children with the majority closer in age than my girls, and the other who had twins with 3 other energetic and needy kids. Both did a beautiful job with their children! I also want to give a shout out to single moms because I can't imagine what it would be like to do this without my husband who is so great to always step in and help or even take over with the kids or any other thing around the house.

I'll end this post with the other piece of advice (which wasn't even given as advice) from a good friend. She had two close together as well and said the older was fine about the baby because she made sure to always include him in the interactions and care of the baby. Emma has done great until recently, I think in part due to the extra attention dying down. She has been so mean to the baby and always tries to push her away when I'm trying to handle both. But the more I'm able to include her or give her something to do to help, the better she does. I haven't yet mastered the art of giving Emma a time-out for being mean to the baby while trying to console Lauren who has just been pinched or scratched or whatever. But I'm trying to just smile and think "bring it on" when I see one of these moments arrive.

Well, I guess I better go lay down for a few minutes.

Lauren's photo shoot

These were just taken with a regular camera, but I think they turned out great. Enjoy!

Lauren

We'd like to introduce you to Lauren Christine. (Pronounced LAH-ren!!) She was born Sunday, September 4th at 12:16 am, weighing 7 lbs 4 oz and 20.5 inches tall.

Mom only had about 3 hours of labor and arrived at the hospital completely dilated and ready to deliver a baby. We had to wait a few minutes for the doctor to arrive or she'd have been born on the 3rd! Labor began while at the storytelling festival down in Orem and we had to travel home and finish packing before we were on our way to the hospital. Quite a different story from the 12 hours of labor with Emma.



We're all adjusting well to the changes Lauren has brought. She's a doll. She sleeps great, eats great, and only cries when quite distressed. We've all fallen in love and Emma is doing great as a big sister.

Emma Singing

Emma has started singing the past couple of weeks and we think it's the cutest. Check out what I caught on video today!

Education Week

I was able to go to Education Week at BYU today!! I've never needed it more and the opportunity window couldn't have been better. If there was one thing I did for myself each year, this would be it. The perspective it gives me and the reminders I receive are incredibly beneficial for me and I'm sure make things go smoother in my life. Jake had the day off today and he had Emma all day long! BLESS HIM!

I've been going through a difficult time in my life lately and have had a hard time keeping perspective and doing the things I know will make me happy. I could probably say that my situation had led me to be bitter much more often than better. I've been able to remember that the Lord is there and wants to help, but too resentful to feel like going to Him.

True doctrine changes attitudes and behavior. -Elder Packer

The best thing I experienced today was the overwhelming feeling of the Spirit telling me that the Lord is mindful of me. He knows what I'm going through. He's in charge. He'll send the help I need. He'll strengthen me.

I remembered what it's like to live a life guided and directed by the Spirit. I heard amazing stories about the things people go through and how it has made them better. I was reminded for the second week in a row how quickly things can change and how I need to take advantage of each day. Make the most of each day with my little girl. Make the most of my marriage. Be who I want to be right now.

And I learned more about my Savior and Redeemer. Oh how I need Him in my life. What a blessing it is to know Him and to know of Him. What a pleasure to feel of His love and to look at how He has and does bless me.

Oh that I can remember and apply these things!

Our Summer Chronicles

Okay! I haven't posted all summer and we've been busy. We've gone on several little trips and we moved. Time is flying! We only have 3 weeks before our new baby comes. So here's some of our adventures!

So starting with the most recent adventure first, I am writing from the Montage, which is a ritzy hotel up in the mountains at Deer Valley in Park City. Jake has work up here this week and so Emma and I tagged along, staying longer than planned because we've enjoyed it so much. I have really enjoyed the one-on-one time with Emma as I am mindful that the baby is coming soon and my relationship with Emma is going to have to change a little. Oh how I love that little girl! She has been so much fun up here. She has been full of smiles and hugs, has played great, slept great, eaten great, and been great with other people. Her favorite thing, as usual, has been the swimming pool and it was just adorable to see her put her arms over the fun noodle and float around the pool with me. Sometimes I forget she's only a one-year-old. This will be our third night up here, but only our second night at the Montage. We stayed at the Chateau at Silver Lake our first night, and we enjoyed that hotel a little more because it had a cooler feel to it. The Montage is super nice and you get treated REALLY well, but the feeling here will never match the feeling at a cool little place like the Chataeu.



Last week, we had a great big reunion for my dad's side of the family. We were up
this way that week as well at a cabin in Heber. The cabin was beautiful, but it was a difficult trip with lots of people tucked into a cabin, even though it was a large cabin. Emma did not sleep well and was clingy and full of little tantrums, making the trip quite difficult for me (don't let the pictures deceive you!) Jake was only able to join us the last night, but luckily I did have help from my awesome family. We spent Thursday and Friday at Jordanelle Reservoir and Emma did enjoy that. She loved playing in the rocks and water. She also got to go out on the boat and the wave runner with mom. It was fun to catch up with some extended family and always great to spend time with my brother who currently lives out of state and his family. Danny and Steven were missed up there.




The week before that, the first weekend in August, we went up to Logan and went swimming with Jake's family and then headed up the canyon and camped with some friends who went to high school with Jake and their families. They both brought their dogs, which was the highlight of the trip for Emma, and Emma also had a little playmate her age named Logan. This was a really fun trip. The dogs were both great with kids and Emma was just in heaven! She got to pet and watch dogs to her little heart's content. Cora, which was the younger of the two, let Emma lay with her and hug her and pull her tail and was just fine with it all. We undoubtedly have got to get a dog for this girl someday. It was fun to spend time with Nate and John and their wives. They're a lot of fun. We spent Saturday at Bear Lake, which always reminds me of my dear Great Grandmother who lived her long and happy life just off the lake. Oh how I wish she was still there and could meet my family.

The weekend of the 24th of July was spent up in Logan, where we were privileged to attend the baptism of Jake's dad. It was a long anticipated event for him so we were excited to see it happen. We also love trips to Logan in the summer, where we get to enjoy garden fresh produce from Jake's mom's AMAZING garden and get to see all the family. We also took the opportunity to camp with our friends, Jeff and Kim, Friday night. We were worried about finding a spot on a holiday weekend, but tried Green Canyon just north of Logan Canyon and found an awesome place there! Emma literally rolled around in the dirt and had a blast getting filthy beyond belief. Jake and Jeff were able to get in a little mountain biking as well, which is great. We're excited they're expecting a baby this winter!

And the weekend before that, we moved. Yep! Crazy. This move happened in a matter of a few weeks. We tested the waters to see if we could get renters for what we wanted the last weekend in June and had a lot of response and so decided to move forward with it. We are trying to recoup some of the loss in our home value by renting it out for a year and living in my parents' basement apartment which recently opened up with my younger brother, Kenny, getting married and buying a house. (Yea for him!) It all seems to have worked out well, but it's nerve-racking to know someone else has control over what is happening to your home.

I have also taken the opportunity to work a few hours at Jake's work in July and August, which has been good timing with the upcoming arrival of the baby, but has made things even busier around here.

The weekend of the 4th of July we had family in town. Jake's sister Kari and their family stayed with us Saturday through Sunday and we played up the canyon, watched fireworks, had a campfire, and played games. It was a lot of fun! It's always nice to see his family down here where they have less distractions.

My family was also in town that week with Kenny's wedding. His wife, Nicole, seems like the perfect match for him. Everything went great with the wedding and we're excited for them. They were sealed in the Draper temple on June 30th. I had fun making their wedding slide show video.



And the last event I remember right now was a trip to Moab with 3 of Jake's sisters,
Kazia, Rachel, and Jill who has 4 kids, and Jake's dad. Emma did pretty good. She really is a little trooper. She enjoys hiking, but does get sick of not being able to walk herself. She had a BLAST in Arches at this arch called Sand Hill Arch or something like that playing in the sand. At first she was weirded out by the new texture of the sand, but then she was laying down in it and pushing it around and running it through her hands. It was SO FUN to watch her discover sand. It made me want to get a sandbox. She was so happy! She also tried it and quickly discovered it wasn't fun to eat. Ha haa. She loves to walk by herself on hikes but stops every 5 seconds to look at a new rock or something on the ground. Our nephew broke his arm playing on the playground at the city park, so that was a bummer. We made it to delicate arch, which is always awesome, and took Jake's younger sisters to Little Wild Horse and hiked the slot canyon again with them.

So, that concludes our summer chronicles. Thanks to everyone who has played a part in making this a memorable and adventure-filled summer!

Memorial Day Weekend

We had a busy Memorial Day weekend! We managed to go on two mini-vacations and thoroughly enjoyed them both. Jake had Friday and Monday off and also took Thursday off. We headed down to Goblin Valley area Thursday to Friday. It was beautiful weather! We hiked Little Wild Horse and Crack Canyon slot canyons. We ended up with the wrong baby carrier, but we managed both hikes quite well. We LOVED Little Wild Horse even though we had to trek through red sand water for part of the hike. It was quite an adventure. We didn't get as far in Crack Canyon as we hoped due to water again, but weren't quite as impressed anyway. My favorite part of the Crack Canyon hike was getting to the trailhead. We had to travel on a few dirt roads, the last of which is definately better suited to four-wheel-drive vehicles. Our car did just fine and I was impressed with Jake's off-roading skills. What an adventure! I loved it!

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We had a day to recuperate in-between outings, which was so nice! I was pretty tired after all our adventures.

Then it was off to Logan for Sunday and Monday. It was a lot of fun to see family, play games, and visit with everyone. Emma is often quite brave these days with other people, so it's fun to see her interacting with everyone up there, especially her cousins.

Our community swimming pool also opened up on Memorial Day so we've taken advantage of that. It's surprisingly warm! If anyone wants to get together for a swim sometime, just let me know!