I just wanted to put a quick note in here to let everyone know that we are home now. Feel free to call us at our cell phone numbers and not at the hospital room number as we are not there anymore. We are all doing well and it is very nice to be home together as a family again.

Love, Anne

Anne and Beck are doing well at the hospital, Andrew is asleep in his crib and I'm feeling great with a superstar wife, 18 month old boy, and a healthy newborn. Barb has already provided the stats earlier. I see the competitive nature between brothers already coming out as Beck had to out do his older brother by one ounce.

Here is a a quick recap of the day, Anne will probably have to correct me as she may have had better mental notes of the timetable. we woke up at 5:30 called at 6 and got the ok to come in at 7. Because of my world record short shower and super icy roads we arrived a half hour late to the hospital. They got her on the oxytocin by about 8:30 to 9. By about 11 she was 5cm and the doctor visited and broke her water. She progressed slowly, but steadily and was fully ready by about 3 to 3:15. The doctor finally got there at about 3:30 as Anne's epideral was fading and my hand aching. She pushed like a champ and got Beck out by 3:47. Barb, just like when Andrew was delivered I was standing there speechless while the nurses and Dr. Hodges coached her on. I made an effort to offer some encouragement but failed as I could barely put the words together without reving up the teary hickup thing. Rather than become a sobbing mess I decided to stick with the squiking out of the occasional "good job". Me and Anne really love this doctor as he makes the delivery a very personal and involved process instead of making it the doctor is on the other side of the curtain type of thing.

Anne did amazingly well. She is feeling much better then the first time as she did not pull any muscles in a major way or tear anything. After sharing a meal together they moved us up to the 8th floor in post partum(spell?) Anne did very well moving around so we decided that we had time to go pick up Andrew and have him visit his new brother. Andrew had a great time hanging out with the Smith's and was happy to see me and later his mom. We will be working on the whole, this is your brother thing. He loved the hospital room and especially the light button on Anne's bed controls.

I left Anne with Beck soundly sleeping. Beck ate very well soon after delivery and has taken to his binky well. For all those digit speculators, he does have 10 fingers and 10 toes. As you can see in the pictures, Beck is healthy and looking great and Anne looks amazing.

It feels a little wierd not being with Anne sleeping in those ever so comfortable hospital chair/beds like I did last time, but we decided that it would be best for Andrew to be at home with me. All-in-all we couldn't have asked for a better day at the hospital for labor and delivery. I am so greatfull that Heavenly Father has blessed us with a beautiful new addition to our family and blessed him and Anne with great health. I love Anne, Andrew, and Beck so much and am so endebted to Anne for the sacrifice she has made to bring these two boys into our lives. Anne would love to hear from you all if you have a few minutes tomorrow. I would wait until after 9 or so in the morning but here is her room phone number for any that are interested, 208-381-3816.

Beck was born at 3:47 pm. He was 20 1/2 inches long and weighed 7 lb 15 oz. Peter says he looks like Andrew----except he only has 10 fingers and 10 toes!!!! All are doing well!

Peter will send some pictures as soon as he gets home which will be later tonight!

Love,

Mom

I just thought I would let you all know that I have a scheduled elective induction tomorrow morning at 7am. I have to call at 6am to make sure I am still okay to come or if it will be delayed but we are hoping that all will go as planned and we will be in the hospital at 7am to be induced.

We love you all and will let you know when we have this baby.

-Anne

If anyone mentions me being a saint or amazing or anything along that line again I will be forced to discontinue blogging. I am not a saint, I am just blessed with work (that's a movie quote by the way-one of my favorites-quotes and movies). It makes the time go by very quickly and I am grateful for that. I am not telling you what I do so that you can marvel at how wonderful I am. I am a slacker by nature I just have four kids and no husband and I'm recording our life. Kenn, you are the exception, due to the whole sticky thing. However, I was not a saint then either because I swore.

Oh, also the whole paragraph about how great I looked was really just for husband and mom and sisters but I left it in on accident. Yes, I am vain, so I was happy. But...it mostly made me happy because I want others to know that I enjoy having my four kids, that they make me happy. Besides, who wants to look like a bedraggled mom? Okay, that's all for now!

Brooke

I'm happy...Adina's sad...not exactly sad but concerned about the snow days that are occuring. I got a call last night about 10:15 pm that seminary would be cancelled today because of icy roads..they were already getting slick last night. So I had to get up and call all my students. It was worth it because I could then sleep in. It felt VERY good. When we woke up this morning, we looked out to see a blanket of snow. Kenn took the Expedition to work and I'm planning on spending most of my day at my desk doing my work for Columbia Basin. They are having a visit from the Federal Monitor for their grant starting on Wednesday so they are putting together materials etc. I have several projects involved with that so it will definitely keep me busy.

They are predicting more snow for today and tonight...but I see the snow dripping from the trees so I think it may be getting a bit warmer. I can see out my window the two girls next door throwing snowballs at eachother in their backyard. School was cancelled also...as it was in Washougal. So Adina is entertaining the whole crew today....again! If it does snow again and seminary is cancelled...I'll be done with seminary until the 4th since we are going to Elko on Wednesday morning. Yippee!!

We had a new bishopric announced yesterday. The new bishop worked with Dad in YM and really is an outstanding man. Peter, he is the one that you met in Beijing. This ward has so many that would make great bishops. Then, of course, the news about President Hinckley was sad, but not surprising. I think it is so amazing that he was so vital and with it until the end. This is especially significant to me since Grandma is only a few months younger than him. After being a counselor to several presidents who aged and became pretty non-functional prior to their death, I am sure he did not want that to happen to him. So in many ways this is a great blessing for him...not to speak of the joy of meeting his wife, his father and mother and all his other loved ones. And, who is better prepared to meet the Lord than President Hinckley? I'm sad to have him gone...but I feel much like I did with Kay-Kay's death. President Monson will be a wonderful prophet too. I can't add to much to Brooke's comments...I agree with them all.

I want all of you kids to know that I am NEVER bored with your postings. It is great to hear about your day to day lives!!! You are a saint, Brooke!!!

Love,
Mom

Bavaria

Today has been an emotional day. My thoughts have have been turned toward Pres. Hinckley and his life, his teachings, and his death. It doesn't seem very real yet. I am so happy for him to be able to be reunited with his wife. How sweet that must be. I can't help but wonder what the reception must be like in heaven for our prophet. How beautiful and joyful for so many. Can you imagine being so righteous, serving the Lord with every part of yourself so diligently for so much of your life and then returning to be with Him? It is beyond anything I can even begin to imagine.

President Hinckley has been the prophet for almost my entire marriage. So many of my decisions were made (not enough) with the question in my mind-"What would Pres. Hinckley do?" He has been an amazing example, his teachings have inspired me and encouraged me and, at times, humbled me and prompted me to repent for actions or thoughts that I've had. He has been realistic, loving, and righteous. He has successfully navigated through this world showing love and integrity and hope and happiness and never compromising anything that he stood for. He has been an incredible example of how to live happily and righteously in a world full of so much corruption, so much gray. I know you all know all this. I just want to write it down. Let you all know (since this is my only journal I'm keeping)how much I love our prophet. I know he was a living prophet of God. Following his teachings will only bring happiness and blessings. I will miss him more than I can possibly express.

I have only been able to talk to Mike every five or six days the past few weeks so I've spent more time e-mailing, less time blogging. I thought I would bore you to death by transferring over parts of some of my e-mails.

Jan.22 Tonight is going to be short. Just before I took Ellyn up to bed she wandered into the kitchen and I remembered right as I heard it- a can of peaches I had left on the counter when I was putting away dinner. My floor is now coated in fruit syrup. I have to nurse Sawyer to sleep and go clean up.

I have my work out clothes on so I could run at 3:30, at 5:00, at 8:30. It never happened. I wanted to do it tonight but last night after I got off the computer I realized I would never get ahead today if I didn't get the house cleaned up. I'm trying to do it while Ellyn is asleep or gone. So I stayed up and cleaned but then I couldn't get to sleep. Funny thing is, the house probably needs it more tonight than last night and it is just not going to happen.

Jane had basketball practice tonight and loved it. Her first game is Friday. Sadie loved running around with Devon. Kayla has decided to stay by the way. That is good. Ellyn did really well today. Mrs. Nell said she had a great day at pre-school. Today I helped her peel her own clementine and showed her how her zipper worked a few times. We played together all morning while Sawyer slept. She is a funny kid, such a little puzzle.

The girls and I had a fun afternoon. The night kind of unraveled a bit. It was fine, just trying to finish up homework, clear up dinner, answer the phone several times (my home teacher is coming tomorrow night with his wife and my visiting teacher is coming Thursday), and Sawyer was screaming every time he got set down. I think he was just tired and ready to sleep but there was too much going on. Sadie has the most amazing ability to ignore whatever she doesn't want to do. Good thing she is so cute.


Jan 23-Today was a pretty uneventful day, woke up, got Jane and Sadie off to school, Sawyer back to sleep. I worked out, woke up Ellyn and we showered and got things cleaned up and ate and then mailed mom back her phone and went to the steering committee meeting. From there I came home and cleaned house. It was a sunny day and so when Sadie got home I sent her right out the door to play with Devon in the back yard. Ellyn was going to go out but she was eating a peanut butter and honey sandwich for forever. The Gages from our ward came over to Home Teach and then we ate dinner. Tonight was American Idol. We sort of watched that but Jane was working on homework and Ellyn and Sadie and Sawyer and I were playing. Jane had to put together and demonstrate how to make brownies from scratch for her language arts class tomorrow. Tonight was the practice. It is killing me to have the scent of brownies wafting through the house and not be able to eat any because they are all for her class. Evil.

Jan 26-
Today was very busy, fun, a little stressful. I will write you more about it later, hopefully tonight but Sawyer is really having a hard time for some reason. It's the most upset he's been in a long time.

Okay, Jane has him quiet for now. So I will write until I can' t anymore. We had a huge turnout at our Fasching party, about three times the number of kids that we had this summer. We went through almost all the food. This party was right up Sadie's alley. Ellyn's too actually. There were lots of games like tag and musical chairs and freeze dancing. Sadie and I were dancing at one point and Ellyn was sitting on a chair next to Jane watching and I kept looking over and telling her to come dance with us. All of the sudden she got really excited and got off her chair and ran out and started dancing with us. She came out with me every time after that (it was game, dance, game, dance). She has also really been playing with some of her toys and some of Sawyer's toy too lately- as a side note.

The sun was shining through the windows today and I had to start washing windows and wiping down cupboards while everything that was dirty was brought to light. A very beautiful day, cold though.

I did a color wash in my hair. The kind that I did last time, the one that makes my hair burgundy colored for a long time. It makes me feel younger. Actually, I was kind of happy tonight. I went to Jane's basketball game and then to the coffee and at both places I had someone tell me that I looked great, that I did not look like the mother of four. That made me really feel good. I also had someone ask how I could look so calm and happy with four kids. That probably made me feel even better. Now this time next year, when Sawyer is running around everywhere things could be different. But then his daddy will be here to chase him and I will just watch the game sitting peacefully on the bench.

Jane's team lost by three points in the last two minutes of the game. I guess a few parents were upset because the ref from the other team kept calling fouls on our kids. I didn't keep close enough tabs to know. I was watching but also nursing Sawyer, keeping Sadie a tiny bit sane, playing with Ellyn, and talking to Jasmine. Jane had a couple of good blocks and dodged around another player and caught the ball and passed it off to a team mate. I didn't ever actually catch her dribbling. We'll have to practice that in the cul-d-sac.

The coffee tonight was at Zur Post. I called April as I left the house (Ashley Olsen met me here after the basketball game) and she ordered my food for me so I was able to eat with everyone. April had to leave early to pick Kathi up from the SAS skating party and drop her off at home and then we met up at the movie theater and went to see The Bucket List. It is Jack Nicholson and Morgan Freeman, two men dying of cancer that are doing everything on their list before they kick the bucket. Good movie, I thought. Kind of sad thinking of Rob. April had told me that she and Jeff decided that they should try to quit smoking in a few months. Freeman's character looks down at his cigarette as he gets the news. I told April that should up the date a bit. Then in the middle of the movie she leans over and says, "while I'm thinking about it, Jeff wants to know if you have a Mormon Bible he can borrow for awhile." Of course I told her yes.

Sorry, I know that is pretty piece-meal and I think some of the dates are mixed up but it gives you a little glimpse. I hope you are all well. We love you and miss you. It was so fun to be home. Anne- soon!!!!

I'm guessing most have heard, but I just read a really nice article on yahoo about President Hinkley passing and his life. Here is the link:
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20080128/ap_on_re_us/obit_hinckley

We had a nice time at K&B's tonight celebrating Parker's birthday. Wow, another one turning the big 8 and ready for the waters of baptism! We will be there and can't wait.

Buffy

I am excited for LOST too, but only because there is NOTHING else to watch on television. This strike thing is really putting a damper on my favorite show, The Office. Wish it would end. LOST will keep me going in the meantime.

It is a wet one here today. It is flirting with freezing, so we'll see how tonight goes. May not have church tomorrow. 1/2 of our ward is up in the hills and it gets icy up there way before it does down here in town.

Isaac, Taylor, me and Dad went to the Portland Autoshow this afternoon. It was fun to go around and look at all the cars. Brings back memories of going with dad when we were kids. They are so darn expensive though, hard to justify, but I will somehow justify it eventually.

My CEREC is going well. I have treated a few patients with it and they love it. It is fun and financially rewarding for me too. Right now it is basically paying for itself, but as it is used more quickly and more often, it'll pay back big divedends. The first couple were tough and had some problems, but I have worked out those bugs I think.

Well, just wanted to add an update. Always have too much to do and not enough time to do it. Unfortunately I then just try to ignore things I don't want to do, hoping they will eventually go away. Rarely do they, they usually just get worst. I have that same procrastinators curse.

Hope all is well with everybody else.

Dave

We just think you are the best and hope you had a fantastic birthday!!!!! Thanks for always being so much fun and for being such a cool cousin to Hayden!!! Happy Birthday! Wow, 8 years old!

Love,
Tom, Tracey, Hayden, Danica and Alyssa!

We have an unidentified sweatshirt in the downstairs closet. It may have been left here at some young men's activity but we thought we would first find out if it belonged to someone in the family...

It is a grey sweatshirt hoodie which zips up the front. Size L/G and the brand is USA Olympic.

Let me know if it belongs...or doesn't belong to you...

Congratulations, Tracey, I'm proud of you. Hopefully in the spring, I could join in the competition....

Love,
Mom

In response to Adina's comment about Tom's competitive nature, I have to admit I didn't think he would allow me to win either. He had a race with a friend in Cleveland and it came down to the last day so Tom got up at 4am to do his run to make sure he would win, the other guy got up at 5 trying to do the same thing but was too late!! In fact, I was so worried he was going to win that I went to extreme measures to prevent it. For instance, yesterday he was getting up early to go golfing and I was afraid he was tricking me and would actually get up and run 5 miles, so I hid his nike+ sensor!! Well, he actually went golfing. So, I ran on the treadmill long enough yesterday so that I could finish the race this morning in case he got up and went out running. I didn't tell him I went yesterday (although I think he knew) so I had this plan that I would pretend I was asleep until he left and then I would jump on the treadmill. He needed to go twice as far as I did so I figured I could run, and log my miles before he got back! Well, he just got up and went to work. So the end of the race was sort of anticlimactic but the point is I won!!! Tom assures me is going to get home from work and run the 5 miles thus trying to make it a tie but I know I already won! I suppose I am just as competitive as he is! (Good thing or else I would never be able to run this much because it is just crazy trying to do it on the treadmill with the kids going crazy, Danica needing to go potty at least twice while I run even though I take her before I start (yes, I know she just wants my attention but I don't want an accident.) Anyway, the kids wake up at 6 and Alyssa does not sleep through the night (not even close) so there is no way I am getting up before the kids in order to run and I can't run once they are in bed because I am way too tired at night... so there you have it, nothing like a healthy dose of a competitive spirit to keep you motivated! Oh, what do I win you ask? An hour long massage.... I can't wait!

The next challenge will be so see who can run the most miles in 30 days, should be fun! Anyone else want to join the race?

Sorry it's been so long since I have blogged...it has been a crazy drama-filled week and also my internet hasn't been working at my apartment for the whole week so I only have my iPhone to check the blog and stuff.

Here's the drama. I think I already mentioned on here that one of the people at my office is leaving the company but it has become way more involved than her just leaving. The backstory... my bosses had decided back in December that they were going to fire this person because, well, it just wasn't working (mostly attendance issues) but because of her flakiness and never coming into work - they couldn't get her in a meeting to fire her. By the time we came back from the Christmas break they finally met with her and she told them before they had a chance to fire her that she had decided that she was going to quit because she needed to move back to Germany to take care of her ailing parents. So they made the decision that she would stay for a while and organize things a bit before she actually left. Then this last Monday it all started. I came into work and there was a message that she wasn't going to be coming into work that day (not very unusual) but she said that something bad had happened, didn't say what. So that day when I checked her email for orders from over the weekend I found that there were HUNDREDS of emails in her email that were unanswered and unfiled with no evidence of anything being done with them or any contact being made. Pretty much we found that she hadn't been doing her job for at least the last 5 months and possibly 2 years (!!). Everyone that was at work that day got together and we talked about it and decided she was going to be asked to leave at the end of the week. Then on Monday night she called my cell phone and said that she wasn't coming into work on Tuesday because whatever had happened was still going on. So on Tuesday my boss called her and we found out that the reason she wasn't at work on Monday and Tuesday was because she had gotten arrested...for a DUI...in Arizona!!...I know. So we were pretty disappointed about that, partly because it is totally irresponsible but mostly because she had told payroll the week before that she was going to work 30 hours over the weekend...but she wasn't!! She was going to Arizona!! So she had lied about it so she would already get paid for that time because of how payroll works. So on Weds she finally came in and was asked to pack up her things and leave - which she did. So now we are left with having to clean up and organize the work she has been getting paid for for the last two years on top of the work we already have to do for our jobs. Needless to say, it is a really frustrating situation and upsetting that someone would take so much advantage of the freedom we get in our company and the trust that everyone has that people are doing their jobs. We are all very glad that she is gone so that we can figure everything out and move forward. 

hi- I'm cheating and transferring a few things over from the Beech Tree.

After Ellynn and I had a very hilarious conversation last night (we thought it was funny, how can it not be with Ellynn?) I decided that I should probably clarify on a misquote from Mike in the article I blogged. First, I had to confirm it with him through e-mail but when he said in the article that "this war could not be won militarily"(that is not a direct quote by the way, just one from my memory) they left out the very important ending word "alone." I'm sure you can see how that might make a big difference and how bad it might be if a guy in charge of leading lots of men had no faith in what they were doing. Anyway, he was pretty annoyed by it, but the Washington Post is a very liberal newspaper and they are going to try to put their spin on everything I guess. I knew it didn't sound like something Mike would say. Also, for my piece of mind I learned that the cheez-its and cheeze whiz were part of an MRE. The cheese spread was actually for the burritos or something that they were eating. This probably makes no speck of difference to anyone else but if you understood my huge aversion to all things artificially cheesey you might understand how disturbing this combination of cheez-its and cheese whiz was to me.

Besides that, everything is pretty good here. We spent the whole afternoon at the Dr. yesterday. Our entire family has strep throat. Ellyn was the only one to have a fever so I thought it was just part of a cold or something coming on. None of us really felt sick but it did feel like I was swallowing razor blades. The good side of that is that I've lost three pounds in a couple of days. So...we are all out of school today- yeah they are going to come take my kids from me. It was going to be a three day weekend anyway and now it's a four day. Fabulous. Nothing like trying to keep the kids entertained in the house while it is cold and rainy.

I have to go pay my phone bill and get back in time for Mike's call. He has today off so we have talked a few times. We hadn't been able to talk on the phone since before I left Washington, so it has been nice.

Tracey, that reminds me of Georgia. When we moved down from New York Jane and I were out at the playground in capris and t-shirts and there were women wearing coats. But...when we had lived there before I had broken out our sweaters when it dipped into the 70's. It really is all relative. I loved reading about your little family, especially Hayden having Danica step on him.

I love you all.

I hope I never get over how amazing I think San Diego is, it truly is unbelievable. In fact, it’s really almost not fair that some people get to live in a place like this while other people live somewhere like...like...ummm...Cleveland. Sorry Cleveland, we loved it there but the weather is just horrible! Plus, I can say this because I truly am not bragging since I am moving from here in a few months! But in the meantime, I went running yesterday when Tom got home from work, on Jan. 15th wearing capris and a t-shirt!!! We are going to the park this afternoon because it’s warm and sunny, it’s just too amazing. I hope I never take it for granted! The other day at the park one of the girls was frustrated that her kids were acting up so she said “oh, it’s just these long winters!” I didn’t catch my tongue fastest enough and blurted out “Are you kidding me?” Luckily she wasn’t offended and didn’t realize how aghast I was because she responded with “I know, it’s only January.” My oh my... I guess it is true you get acclimated to wherever you are! Anyway, we feel so blessed to be here!

Yesterday I dropped the Odyssey off to get a nail taken out of a tire and we walked over to Burger King to play on the playground. Danica doesn’t usually enjoy that kind of playground but she wanted to to try it this time. So she decided to give it a try but she couldn’t climb up the platform things. I asked Hayden to go and help her so he went over to her, assessed the situation and preceded to lay flat on the ground. He said “okay Danica, this might hurt really bad but just step on me so you can reach the next level.” It was so sweet and cute, I was laughing so hard!

It seems like Danica has aged several years instead of just several months since Alyssa was born. She is starting to talk a ton and is so involved in everything. The potty training has gone really well and she is great at it. There is still the inconvenience of needing to use the bathroom in public but I know that will get better. Currently her favorite thing to do is ask me if Tom is home. She walks around all day saying “Daddy home? Daddy home?” And she likes to say “Hi baby” to Alyssa, over and over again! If Alyssa wakes up from her nap and is crying Danica goes in her room and climbs in the crib with her, this usually cheers Alyssa up. Except for those times when Danica steels away her binky. Yesterday I saw Danica walking around with Alyssa’s binky in her mouth, a minute later Alyssa was crying about something so Danica went over, took the binky out and put it in Alyssa’s mouth. Hopefully they are both healthy!

Alyssa is doing really well. The physical therapist said she looked great and he showed me a few more stretches to help her neck if I notice any more problems. She is so alert now and grabbing at everything. She had a little payback with Danica one morning by stealing Danica’s binky right out of her mouth! Danica had just woken up so she still had her binky and she was getting in Alyssa’s face saying good morning to her when Alyssa just reached up and grabbed it! We were both shocked and laughing!

Now, I realize these stories aren’t amazing but remember this is my journal and these are things that are happening every day in my life. My race with Tom is going really well. We are trying to see who can be the first one to reach 30 miles. Right now I am at 19 and he is at 17. The problem is he can go out and run 5 miles in a day so I have to keep up every day or he will just suddenly win! It’s a great motivator. The next challenge I am dealing with is how to get Alyssa to sleep at night. I am getting geared up to simply have her cry it out because she is getting ridiculous with waking up so often but so far my attempts haven’t gotten great results. I remember that with the other two kids I tried having them cry it out at 5 months and it was miserable and ineffective both times. Then I tried again at about 7 months and it worked beautifully. So I may just suffer through a few more months rather than torture myself with trying it now. But we’ll see how bad she gets at night. It’s been over a year since I slept through the night so what’s a few more months, right?

Okay, speaking of sleep, I am going to take advantage of my children being in bed and Tom being at work and I am going to go to bed, even thought it’s only 8:30! I would love to sit and scrapbook, read or watch TV, (and I should clean the house) but tonight sleep is going to win out. Besides, I have to run another three miles on the treadmill tomorrow because I know he is going to come home from work and run a ton! Good night!

I have been trying to get on here and blog and everytime I do, something comes up that I have to do!
School has made us busy... especially with being so close to graduation and making sure I am getting all my classes in. We are loving our classes and everything seems to be working out for us. They just posted all the times and classes for Summer so I was able to make sure that my classes were able to work out with the times. Everything is good to go! I have to take the Praxis test for certification of teaching so I am going to take my Health Education one in April and the Physical Education one in July. I don't have to have it done before my student teaching, but they recommend it so that if you get hired, you will be ready to go! I also applied for graduation on Monday which is so weird to say but I will be walking for graduation on July 18th and then Student teaching in the fall. So technically I won't be done until December, but I want to walk in July.
I am having to switch back to a Sales Representative at work. With my schedule that I have I needed to have a different schedule for work or quit and they didn't have any schedules that I needed in Customer service. I really love Customer Service so it really stinks that I have to go to Sales. But oh well! It is MWF 5-10 now and no Saturdays so that is really nice because Tuesday and Thursday are busy for both Treven and I. We will see if it works, if it doesn't work out then we will see what else we can do.
The baby is doing great. I am 13 weeks now and the due date is July 24th. I am going to have my second appointment soon, but I just have no time!!! Sickness has gone away which is great because it was killing me at the end of last semester.
Melia is teething right now so she has been a little bit cranky lately. She is also growing so that doesn't help either! She makes us laugh everyday with her personaility. She is still saying the same words except she added "Uck" for Duck and Uh-oh. She will purposely drop something and say uh-oh over and over.
It is freezing here in Rexburg and I really can't wait for the spring and summer. I know I will be huge and pregnant, but I am just sick of driving on ICE!
We are going to the Temple Open House this weekend. We had tickets for January 2nd but we got them before we knew we were moving so we couldn't go. My old roommate Megan is coming up this weekend from Provo and she got all of us tickets for this Saturday at 9pm. I heard it is just beautiful and we really can't wait to go. I am just attaching a picture of it for you!
Well I guess that will be it for now. I don't know what else to write and I need to head to class.
Love you all and really wish that we could come in June, but school and pregnancy prevent that!

Kimberly

Well, since I have an extra hour or so today, I thought that I would contribute to our almost comotose blog. Thanks to Tom, Buffy and Anne for trying to wake it up! I got a call about half-way through getting dressed that school was going to be 2 hours late due to icy roads today. That means that seminary was cancelled. The best news on that is that I have my lesson ready for tomorrow so I don't have to spend time preparing today!!!! A gift of time!

Dad and I have been busy planning all our recreation for next year...which unfortunately means paying deposits...and sometimes the entire fee!!! But it looks like fun. This weekend--Thurs-Sunday--we are going up to Lake Collins by Timberline to a condo for the weekend. At the end of the month, we are going to Elko again for the Cowboy Poetry weekend. In May, we are doing D'land with the next two in line. June, we are doing the houseboat with T & T, D & A and , I think, P & A. I think no one else can come...but we have room if you can. Next Christmas, we'll be going to Germany to spend Christmas with Mike and Brooke and then will go to a condo up in the German Alps for the week until the new year. In April of 2009, we had to use our time share exchange before it expires so we traded it for a condo in Devon, Great Britain. Very exciting! We need to do some serious research before we go...so we can make sure not to miss anything!

Obviously, I'm not planning on teaching seminary this next year. I haven't told them but in my mind that is the way it will be. This week in church they announced that we will have a change of bishopric on the 27th of the month. I think we have an idea of who it is...it will be interesting to see if we are right. Grandma has had a semi revival and is doing better...at least much brighter in her eyes and many more smiles. She still has her sense of humor and is using it a bit more. She is still pretty bed bound due to some bad sores on her bottom. Her leg sores, however, are finally healing up after two years!!!

Well, I better use my time and get my desk more organized. Then at about 8, I'm going to venture out to go exercise and go to Weight Watchers, mail Brooke's package, see Grandma and then spend the afternoon working for Columbia Basin at home.

Love you all....

Mom

Well, I think it is way past time that Brent or I post on the blog. I definitely look at it more than I post.
Brent and I are very excited about being prego. I think I am still in denial but I'm sure I'll get over that someday... not sure how old this baby will be when that happens. Either way, we are definitely trying to soak up what we can with reading those books and researching the best baby gear. We recently purchased a stroller kind of by accident. I was at the Home Goods store that sell household things when I can accross this european 3-wheel stroller (Silver Cross) that is very narrow, totally easy to maneuver and is awsome for the NW climate with how it completely seals up and has lambswool baby bag things to keep them warm. Well, it was about 1/2 the price it normally is and was just missing the rain cover which I am hoping Brooke will get for me next time she goes to a toy store in Germany. Not sure how it was in a US store since they are only on the UK website. I also felt confidant about buying it because my very experienced sister told me it rocks.
Then there is the crib which we just ordered this week from a baby boutique since they had a sale and it is the same price range as babysrus... then there is the glider from costco... ahhh!
Ok, ok I know I'm only in week 8 of my pregnancy but Brent and I are pretty set on being parents and being prepared never hurt anyone right?
Brent just flew into Colorado today for some work meetings leaving me to my lonesome or vices this week. I think I will spend my day off tomorrow by driving up to see Amy and getting our craft on. She definitely beats me in the crafty department since she even has an online baby boutique selling cute hand sewn baby items on etsy.com (sellername is evelynkate).
I think that is roughly it for now. I know it's not truly catching up on the blog but it will do. Brent and I are happy as can be with life right now and have been for quite some time being so thankful for all we have been blessed with.
Happy Tuesday!

So Peter and I are having many difficulties figuring out a name for this child, and I have a feeling this baby will not come until it has a name makes me want a name sooner so he will finally come. So we are asking for your help. We are down to 10 names that are possiblilities as the first name for this baby boy. We ask you to pick your top five favorites and let us know. Hopefully this will help in the decision making process. (try and put the names in order from #1(the most favorite) to #5).

Trent
Mack
Jack
Samuel
Beck
Blake
Blaine
Kaleb
Luke
Kent

Thanks!

HERE

Please keep Mike and his men in your prayers. I know you do, but this week especially. This is an article from the Washington Post
January 11, 2008
Pg. 10

A Sense Of Satisfaction, Then Anguish

U.S. Troops on Offensive Pause to Help a Woman in Labor, but Diversion Is Fleeting

By Amit R. Paley, Washington Post Foreign Service

TAIYEH, Iraq -- The distress call rang out over the radio. In the midst of one of the largest current military operations in Iraq, Capt. Mike Stinchfield recognized this was, so far, his most urgent mission of the day.

A captured insurgent? A fallen comrade? Not quite. A local woman had gone into labor, and within minutes about 18 U.S. soldiers endeavored to help.

"That's a lot of men to secure a baby," said Stinchfield, 37, of Vancouver, Wash., the commander of Company H, 3rd Squadron of the Army's 2nd Stryker Cavalry Regiment. "But that's what this war is like. It's slow and boring most days, and not much happens."

Thousands of U.S. soldiers are moving against one of the largest known concentrations of fighters from the group al-Qaeda in Iraq here in a 50-square-mile pocket of Diyala province known as the Bread Basket. Company H expected resistance from 40 to 50 fighters from the Sunni insurgent group, but most of them appeared to have fled by the time the unit rolled in.

In the end, Company H didn't fight a single person. What had been envisioned as a combat mission instead became a day of emergency-service work, hours of boredom and finally tragedy as word of fallen comrades reached them over the radio inside their Strykers, eight-wheel armored vehicles.

"I'm sitting here eating Cheez Whiz and Cheez-Its, which I realize might seem weird," Stinchfield said. "But I'd rather be doing things like delivering a baby than shooting people."

It was just past noon Wednesday, Day 2 of this offensive in the fertile Diyala River valley. The soldiers had been given the location of a suspected local leader of al-Qaeda in Iraq in the village of Al Ali.

But when they arrived at the home of the man, known as Abu Ayeesha, he was nowhere to be seen. His wife refused to answer questions.

The village was quiet. A teenager rode past on a bicycle carrying a lumpy sack on the back. Stinchfield stopped him.

"It's flour! Just flour!" the boy pleaded in Arabic to the military interpreter.

Stinchfield didn't respond. He looked at the boy's black coat, with the name Oscar embroidered in gold.

"Is your name Oscar?" he asked.

"No, Fouad!" the boy said.

"Well, that says your name is Oscar," Stinchfield said with a laugh. "It's an American name."

The boy looked confused, then pedaled furiously down the street.

Stinchfield returned to his Stryker, passing through a door bearing the soldiers' graffiti: "SHOW NO MERCY TO A MAN WHO SHOWS YOU NONE." They moved out and drove along a small canal that cut through several tiny villages.

Staff Sgt. David Rozmarin delivered a Catskills-in-combat shtick, with Stinchfield the straight man to the 26-year-old from Omaha.

"When are you people gonna learn it's called crick, not creek?" Rozmarin said, referring to the canal. "That's C-R-I-C-K. Crick."

"I've got a crick in my neck from all this," said Spec. Aaron Bacon, 21, of Noblesville, Ind.

Inside the Stryker, the soldiers scoured a map for areas where insurgents could hide. Then they called in mortar strikes.

A few minutes later: Thud. Thud. The mortar shells landed nearby . And then the radio came alive with news of the pregnant woman.

"This lady's about to pop!" someone yelled.

Sgt. Levar Scott, 28, of New Orleans, the company medic, rushed to the site along with more than a dozen men. Scott had assisted in only one previous delivery -- that of his son, now 5.

"A baby in combat," Scott said, shaking his head. "This is just crazy."

The woman lay on a mattress on the floor. She screamed occasionally through a piece of black cloth stuffed in her mouth.

The soldiers quickly discovered that her last delivery had been by Caesarean section, meaning she probably needed surgery and hospital care for this delivery, too. After some frantic scrambling, the soldiers arranged safe passage for the woman and her family, despite a ban on car traffic during the offensive.

"So has the war started yet?" Rozmarin asked when he returned to the Stryker.

Lunchtime. The soldiers tore open their MREs, standard military-issue food packets called Meals Ready to Eat.

"It can be very deceptive," Stinchfield said. "The enemy is out there. They just don't want to tangle with us in a direct manner."

The radio crackled with a new alarm -- a booby-trapped house, U.S. soldiers hurt. Six casualties.

Rozmarin put down his Dan Brown novel, which he said he found in a dumpster. The casualties were from another company. H Company had a platoon assigned to it.

Suddenly, another distress signal. The pregnant woman was trying to cross the river on her way to the hospital, but U.S. soldiers would not let her through. Stinchfield looked concerned.

He got on the radio to ask for help. "I know you're dealing with these casualties, but I've still got this situation with the pregnant woman."

The radio gave the next update on the soldiers' status: "Three are urgent."

Then came word that the pregnant woman had crossed U.S. lines.

As a voice on the radio announced that four casualties had been airlifted from the site of the house bomb, Stinchfield left the Stryker to talk to villagers. He walked past Pfc. Cameron Houston, 22, of Silver City, N.M., who muttered a few obscenities.

"We've been walking around doing nothing today," Houston said.

Stinchfield asked locals about al-Qaeda in Iraq. But he worried that few of them were answering honestly because they felt intimidated.

He asked Yasin Hamed Awad al-Jabour, a 68-year-old farmer in Taiyeh, about masked men seen running through the neighboring town of Himbuz as U.S. soldiers entered. Jabour said they were not part of the insurgency.

His 6-year-old grandson, Yasin Khalid, joined in. "No, no, no. We haven't seen any al-Qaeda."

"Who told you to say that?" Stinchfield asked.

The boy looked confused, and his father ushered him away.

Stinchfield sighed. "There is not black and white," he said. "That's what I learned. There's a lot of gray here in Iraq.

"In no way is this war going to be solved militarily," he added.

In a call to his platoon commanders just before 4 p.m., Stinchfield said he didn't know yet what platoon had been hit by the bombing.

"Watch your guys," he said, enunciating each syllable slowly. "Make sure they are not complacent just because it's quiet."

At 4:30 p.m., the company received an update. The pregnant woman had reached a hospital in the city of Muqdadiyah. Stinchfield said he would check on her status that night.

But soon the radio sounded with three grim initials: KIA. One of their squadron members had been killed in action. Six were seriously wounded, two others lightly.

Standing on the dusty street as the sun set, Stinchfield had trouble finding his voice. "I knew all the guys in that group," he said after a long pause.

He stopped talking and shook his head, over and over.

Back in the Stryker about 6 p.m., Rozmarin wasn't joking anymore. He provided the updated numbers that had come over the radio. "Six KIA?" Stinchfield asked in disbelief. "Damn. Are you sure?"

"They still haven't said if they were yours," Rozmarin said.

Silence.

"Okay," Stinchfield finally replied.

This is my entry from last week on the 3rd that I forgot to paste on here. I write my entries in Pages so I can keep them like a journal. Here it is:

Well, it’s a new year and life is back to normal. We had a fun New Year’s and managed to stay up until midnight but then promptly went to bed fully aware that we are finally old and boring. Alyssa had a cold and woke us up at least once an hour the rest of the night so we were exhausted at 6 the next morning when the other two kids came to wake us up! Tom has duty twice this week, I’m busy cleaning the house and doing the laundry. Today we finally cleaned up the back yard so the kids and fully enjoy it again. It’s out right hot here today (high of 77) and we are going to the park after Danica’s nap.

Okay, I didn’t get on here to post the boring stuff of my life, I wanted to write down some funny things Hayden has said lately. Having the kids all so close is challenging but I am starting to see how fun it is supossed to be for them. Hayden is always trying to make Alyssa smile and is telling her he loves her, then a few days ago I heard him say to her “Oh Alyssa, you’ll always be a little cutie!” Today he has been playing with Danica in her playhouse tunnel system for the last hour or so. I went to get her to put her down for a nap and Hayden responded with “Mom, I’ll just die without Danica!!” It was so cute I had to let her play a little longer and I came to write this blog.

Tomorrow is the big day, it’s P-day at our house. Despite my fears and feeling like I am crazy because Danica is on the young side I have decided jump on her interest in potty training and just take the plunge. She has a strong desire to do it and seems ready in every way so we’re just going to do it! I believe in an intense cold turkey method (based on the book from the 70’s “Potty Train in Less than a Day”) so tomorrow is the big day and after that it’s just practice. Truly my only fear is dealing with the accidents and such in public while managing Alyssa, but that will be an issue even if I wait a year to do the potty training (and by then my sweet little Danica might develop a defiant streak and decide she doesn’t want to do it and Alyssa will be able to crawl all over the disgusting bathrooms). So anyway, I better go get her in bed so we can make it to the park.

Jan 8th
Update: The potty training is going well, we've had a few accidents but overall I couldn't have hoped for it to go better. She comes and tells me (even when she's playing outside and she told her nursery teacher). She gets so excited as she runs down the hall to the bathroom. She says "yay!" for herself and then waves bye-bye when she flushes. Now it will just be a matter of a little more practice which would be the case no matter what age she was when she started!

Hayden is back at preschool this week and we are all happy and enjoying the few hours of peace it brings in the afternoon. I got my Nike+ working and have issued a challenge to Tom. We are trying to see who can be the first to run 30 miles. Should be a fun and motivating! Alyssa rolled over last Friday for the first time! I actually caught it on video so I was able t show it to Tom. I am taking her to see a physical therapist tomorrow because she had torticollis (her head was usually tilted to one side) however, I started doing some neck stretches on my own and in the last few weeks she has gotten so much stronger that it doesn't really seem to be an issue anymore so I am wondering whether I should still bother to take her in. I don't want to have to get a babysitter for the kids and waste the time of the PT.

I am now starting to get busy trying to figure out all the stuff for the move. Of course we don't have our orders yet so that limits what I can do but it's still good to find out what I actually can start working on.

Well that is all that is going on here. Maybe something exciting will happen soon!

Tracey

Had a Boy Scout fundraiser this morning to collect Christmas trees. It worked out great. We were more organized than last year, so we got done faster, right before it started raining....perfect timing. It is the only fundraiser we are allowed for the year, so we have to make some money on it. Speaking of which, there was one ward in our stake that last year took their young men (I think Priests and Teachers) to hike to the top of Mt. Hood, scuba diving in the Galapagos Islands, and another exotic thing that I can't remember right now. I don't know how they were able to do all that. It would be fun though.

It is a rainy overcast Saturday, we have pretty much gotten used to that. We don't know what to do anymore when it is sunny. We just kind of run around in a panic, "shouldn't we be doing something to take advantage of this? (scurry, scurry)". We don't mind, the summer's are beautiful here.

Speaking of summer, it sounds like Lake Shasta is the place to be June 13-20. I am looking at my work schedule now trying to make it work. The kids aren't quite out of school yet, but we'll get there somehow. Dad, you're bringing the boat, right?

Haven't been able to play as much Call of Duty 4 as I would like. The graphics are amazing. Ever since we sent in our 360 to be fixed, our xbox live hasn't worked. I am trying to get it working because my favorite mode in that game is the multiplayer, and I haven't been able to do it in a while. I don't really ever do campaign stuff.

Work is busy. Already a full year under the belt...amazing. It is going well, not without hiccups, but they are smoothing out somewhat. I got a CEREC machine in December. For those of you that don't know what that is, look here. Pretty cool stuff, and wets my techy palate. Basically crowns and other restorations in one appointment, and much stronger too. I had one placed in my mouth before I bought the thing, very nice and easy.

We are going to pick up my new BBQ that I got for Christmas from Adina. It's been at Lowe's for the last several days, I just haven't had time to go get it. I have been waiting for a good BBQ for a long time. I look forward to using it often.

Man I wish Office would come back, I'm having withdrawals.

I hope all of you are in good health and enjoying the New Year. Stay safe Mike, we miss you.

Dave

I don't have much exciting to report but I just wanted to put something up. I got back from Mom & Dad's last Saturday morning and reported straight to work at Sport Chalet. It wasn't a fabulous night - mostly me just being tired and getting annoyed at retail - and I decided that I didn't want to (or need to) work there anymore. So I quit. I am still technically working there for another week or so but I don't have any more shifts so I am done. I may have to go back when I get into school again but I am hoping I won't have to. But now I am frantically trying to get all the things that I have wanted so I can get them with my discount. :) I bought some Ugg boots (just like Mom's) last weekend and I just got two pairs of pretty schnazzy Smith sunglasses. I am also considering a snowboarding jacket that I really like - not that I snowboard but I like the jacket enough.

I also came home to a sick roommate and so, I am sick. It was slow coming on but then really hit the morning of New Years' Eve which made for not-the-most-fun New Years' Eve. I took Weds off work but came back yesterday cause there was a lot of stuff that I needed to get done. I am still pretty under the weather though. Mostly just a cold but I am not a fan. Did you know how hard it is to say "Marnie" when you have a stuffed nose?? People will never get my name right now!

There is supposed to be a big storm here this weekend. It would be nice to get some rain - San Diego needs it - but I am just hoping it acts as a natural humidifier and clears everything up.

I am back to work and things are getting back into swing. One of the six people who work in my office is leaving the company - which is actually going to be a really good thing for all involved I think. It has been a while coming. But it will also mean a lot of changes and when you have a company/office this small it affects everyone so we'll see what comes of this.

Oh and, per the title of this post, I am really excited for LOST to start up again on January 31st. If you haven't seen the new promo for this season you should really go watch it here. It is called "LOST: The Return". Goosebumps, I tell you!

And now I am being told to go home because I am sick so I guess I should wrap this up. Love you all!

Peter and I headed up to Sun Valley a week before Christmas for his work's Christmas party. It is so nice and we had a lot of fun relaxing without Andrew. We left him home with a family from our ward so we could have two days to ourselves.

I decided to go and look back to see how long it had been since we had written a real blog on how our lives were going and realized that we hadn't written since the beginning of November. I know lame-o's. We have very much enjoyed all the blogs and such in the last couple months but really have been so incredibly busy with other things that we just haven't found the time to sit down and blog.

School is over forever for both Peter and I. Peter turned in his thesis in November and it is officially finished. What a stress it had been and we are so glad for it to be over with. I graduated on the 21st of December as most of you know and I am so glad it is over even though it hasn't quite hit me yet. I am sure it will soon. I ended with a 3.3 gpa overall and I am pretty happy with that.

Volleyball started up and we are in full swing with practices and our first tournament being this weekend in SLC. The team looks good and I am getting lots of comments from other kids in the club that the team is looking like they will be really good. I am excited to have it going again even though from now on I can't do much at practices until after the baby is born. We will be heading to both Reno and Spokane for tournaments this season as well as the tournaments in Salt Lake City and would love to have anyone come and join us for the fun.

Pregnancy is going well. I am in my 35th week now and I am so ready for this baby to be here. More because my ribs are to the point that I feel like ripping them out. He likes to live in my ribs like Andrew did but even more than Andrew did. It feels like he may have kicked me so hard once that he borke one of my ribs and it gets really agitated especially after a long day of sitting in a car. No official name yet but we will have one before we hit the hospital. We are in the process of narrowing down our choices. Believe me I wish we would come to a decision right now, I am kind of sick of calling him Nancy. Yes Nancy, Peter decided a while back to start calling him Nancy because that was one name that no one would believe that we would actually use as a name. When we would pray at night, I would use whatever name we were liking at the time and it got Peter upset everytime so he came up with Nancy and it has kind of stuck for now until we have a real name for him.

Christmas was nice. We headed to Spokane to spend Christmas with Peter's brother David and his family. It was really low key and Andrew definitely enjoyed playing with his cousin Christian who turns four this month. Andrew didn't sleep well so Sunday we decided that we had had enough and we headed home. We have just been relaxing at home by ourselves for the New Year's celebration. Yesterday morning, Peter and I headed out to breakfast at The Original Pancake house to celebrate our 4th anniversary which was on Sunday. It was very nice to spend a meal by ourselves.

Andrew is getting bigger by the day and is getting to be more like a little boy. He is imitating Peter constantly which is now making Peter self-concisous of what he is doing. He hasn't quite gotten that there will be a new baby soon but he is now learning to say "baby" and we are working on that. He loves to wrestle with Peter and is now in a phase that he loves to roar and growl like a lion. It is pretty funny to watch.

We got rid of our dog Sully write before Christmas break. He had broken our blinds and was continuing to pee and poo in the house and I realized that I really just could not do it anymore especially with a new baby coming. It was fun while we had him but we learned our lesson and it will probably be a while before we get another dog.

Thank you all for the gifts, they will go to good use. Buffy I got the scarf and Thank you, I had totally forgotten you said you would make one for me and I was very excited when I opened it. We love you all and wish we could have seen you all these holidays but we know it isn't always possible. I am so grateful to be a part of this wonderful loving family and hope to see many if not all of you in 2008.

Love,
Anne

As I woke up this morning....late due to the late hour that we came home last night from Dave and Adina's...I was reflecting on all the events in store for 2008. Three new little Stinchfield's (yes, I do know that two of them will be Olsen and Perry but they are still half Stinchfield!), Tom and Tracey moving to Okinawa, Kim graduating from BYU-Idaho (making our children 100% college graduates), Brent opening a new store in Hillsboro, Marnie starting her MBA, a fun summer with our boat, the Hood to Coast which will involve Dave, Adina, Brent and Kenn(driving), Disneyland with Taylor and Parker, Mike coming home, Christmas in Germany with Mike and Brooke (yes, we did make the reservation for the condo from 27th to the 3rd in the German mountains...we'll let you know where later) and many other events that we don't even know to expect.

Dad and I are going to work on being at least 20-30 lbs lighter and more fit (what a trite resolution...but we WILL do it!) We will be putting a sun canopy on the back of the house in the next month or so, get new living room furniture (as our current ones are suddenly falling apart)....and hopefully recarpet the house!! We'll see on December 31, 2008 if we get all that done!

I am so thankful for my family today and the abundance that we have both in material and spiritual blessings. Dave and Adina gave us one of those Crossley 4 in 1 players and we got out some OLD records that we had. In the same box were some papers from the low part of our life in Poulsbo. I've been busy shredding them and it has really made me appreciate how far we have come. All the kids here were also a bit shocked at our record choices of our earlier years!!!

Thank you, Tracey, for the great postings. That video of Tom and the kids is priceless. He is such a fun dad!!! Kim and Treven are moving into their new apartment today. You'll have to send pictures when you get settled. I hate to think of moving in that much snow!

Mike, we think of and pray for you every day...many times. It has been such a blessing to have Brooke and the kids here for the holidays. Your sunglasses came in late last afternoon so we will get them in the mail first thing tomorrow. I hope they work out for you.

Well, we need to go exercise this morning now and get over to try to catch Grandma Esther awake. She is sleeping more and more and is impossible to wake up when she is sleeping. She is pretty miserable and probably in her last few days or weeks according to Hospice and her caregivers...but with Grandma, you never know.

I love each one of you, children, children-in-law and grandchildren....and especially your father and grandfather whom I am so blessed to be able to share my life with.

Love,

Mom