PIctures of Macie

Macie is growing so big...

One of my friends said she wanted to see more pictures of my baby girl, so I am posting a couple so you can see how she is growing. She is 4 months now and is 16 lbs. She is a sweetheart and such a wonderful baby! I love her so much!

I got this awesome levi skirt and had to share a picture or two, but she didn't want to smile for me. She was in a very somber mood.

Hard Work

So, as most of you probably know, we have had our house for sale for a couple months. We have had quite a few showings considering the slow market and a couple second showings- which we just so happened to have had again today. Yah! We will get comments back tomorrow, which if they buy it I am sure I will blog, but if we don't get an offer than you probably won't hear from me. Anyways,... I just love when every particle in your house is in it's correct spot and everything is pritine clean. Every pillow on the couch is in place, there are no dishes in the sink. No crumbs on the floor. Everything just sparkles. But, having to keep my house in ooh aahh shape has made me realize that this is totally impractical- at least for me- every day of my life!!!! I will not be able to keep up this facode forever. When we get into our new house, I will be so excited to not be stressin' about leaving something out and not being a lunatic any time the phone rings and they tell me they will be there in a couple hours to judge how good a house keeper I really am- okay, actually they just ask if they can show the house at a specific time, but it really feels like my home keeping skills are being judged and darnit I am going to win that blue ribbon. So, because my house is clean and I have 3 kids under 3 I wanted to post those pictures of all my hard work and sweat, or as my mother would say, I don't sweat, I just glisten. So, for all of my glistening, please enjoy my clean home, because it isn't lasting for long.

Celine Dion

Last Saturday, Greg and I went to the Celine Dion Concert. I had been anticipating it for a while because she had to reschedule the concert from the beginning of December to the beginning of January because of some throat issues. I hadn't really thought about it though because I had been sick with chicken pox and strep throat- I know- I must have the worst immune system! So, the opening act was hilarious, it was a guy (who I don't remember his name) from Vegas who has his own show there and makes fun of other singers. He could sing exactly like so many people. Then Celine came out... She sang, "I drove all night" first and I could not stop bawling! I realized that I had listened to her for most of my life. She was the first CD I ever owned and it was given to my by my dad when I was young. He loved her too, and because I hold my dad in such high regard, I always did Celine also. Anyways, I was a mess. You know when you cry and you have a couple tears drip down your face- that was not me. I could not speak, was grimacing to keep from wailing and my eyes were pouring. I just couldn't hold it back. I was in such awe of her and that I was actually seeing Celine Dion. She was so beautiful, kind when she spoke, funny and her voice was amazing. She made it look and seem so easy to just belt out her ballads. I love her and now Greg I'm sure thinks I'm nuts- I don't care- I am. I LOVE YOU CELINE!

No Spare Key

Yesterday, I was being a wonderful sister and mailing a big manila envelope filled with wonderful pictures and a long letter to my missionary brother. The kids had just changed into their jammies- it was around 4 pm and who doesn't love to wear their jammies at around 4 pm everyday. So, I opened the doors to the car- in the garage and had the kids climb on in while I did my loading of the car. I loaded Macie and my purse and then put the boys in their car seats. When I shut the doors, I went to open my door and it was locked. They were all locked! Brady had been sitting in the driver's side seat and must have locked the doors. My keys were in my purse in the car, so I tried to get Caleb to get out of his car seat. He couldn't and so I went to call Greg. We hadn't been able to find our spare key for a couple weeks, but I thought we should talk about it one last time. I got off the phone and in my desperation I called the fire department. While on the phone with them, Greg called to say the police department was on their way. The fire department insisted on coming anyways. They both arrived shortly and took quite a time to get the doors opened. I think they thought I was the babysitter at first because I got a lot of questions like, "How old are the kids?" , "Are ALL the kids yours?", "Is this your car?", "Is this your house?" followed by big eyes and an occasional nodding of the head. I think they thought I was about 19. The neighbors were all nice enough to slow down as they drove by and their necks seemed to elongate as they drove past. The kids finally were released from the confines of the car, were given a tour of the fire engine and said good bye to the fire men and police officers. Thank you Lee's Summit Police Department and Lee's Summit Fire Department.

Happy Holidays!

Chicken Pox- Christmas 2008- gross!!!- luckily it is not on my face or neck!

Me opening my awesome slipper socks from Greggy Poo.

Christmas Eve

Getting into the festivities

Christmas morning

Christmas Eve Luminaries- to "Light the way for Christ"

Christmas Eve jammies that Greg's mom made everyone

Yah! The Holidays were wonderful and we had a great time! We got to go to some events this December. We first went to the Trans Siberian Orchestra- which was great. I really enjoyed all the male hair flipping. There was also a narrator, that from our view, never had a head. Then we went to the Nutcracker. This was Greg and my first ballet, and I will have to say that we both loved it!! The costumes and dancing were amazing and it was cool to finally know the story. I will have to also mention the amazing New Kids on the Block concert that I got to go to earlier in November with my awesome friend Merideth, Jamie, and Amy. They could still rock it!!

We stayed in Missouri for Thanksgiving, which was at my mother-in-laws house. It was wonderful. My favorite thing about Thanksgiving though, is the day-after-Thanksgiving-sales!! I went out by myself that morning, and enjoyed getting some "hot sale items", but didn't have as much fun as I anticipated, because I didn't have to wrestle anyone to the ground for anything- actually someone did that to me in Idaho last year, but I won!!, and I didn't have my mom and sisters with me that can totally outshop me (which is quite a feat because I can usually outshop anyone). I've come to realize that I come from a family of experienced, professional shoppers. Especially, my older sister. She can walk into a store, fill her arms with merchandise, and only pay pennies. That is the whole game. It isn't any fun unless it is on a supersale. Never pay full price! Those are just a few of the rules. Anyways, back to the Holidays.

On Christmas Eve, we were back at my in-laws, where we ate ham and opened jammies. But, this year my mother-in-law made all the jammies. They all have doggies on them. Ruff! Then Greg and I took our 3 sleeping children home, put them in bed and went to work. We put out luminaries that night to light the way for Christ- which we filled with Kitty Litter (no, we do not have a cat-I bought it just for luminaries). It is tradition in my family to put the luminaries out on Christmas Eve and I wanted to start doing it with my family also. Then traipsed all over the wood floors with our muddy Santa boots to make footprints and took a bite of cookie and emptied a glass of milk- set presents out, and went to bed.

The kids loved their presents- this was the year of the Ninja Turtle. If you haven't seen the TMNT movie that came out in 2007- it is awesome! It is animated, but even I love it!!

They opened their first gift and thought they were done. They just wanted to play with their first gift. (I love when they are so sweet and wonderful). But we made them trudge on.

Greg's family all came over that day for brunch and lunch and we had a wonderful time.

I also got to speak to my brother, who is on a mission- which made the day even more special. I love the Holidays!!

I will have to say that I did get something I wasn't expecting for Christmas... I got the Chicken Pox. I started noticing them on Tuesday and by Christmas Eve evening, I was breaking out all over my stomach and back. I have been pretty itchy, mostly my back. I had them really bad the first time when I was around 5. I was reading that only 5%of adults get them for a second time. Also, that it is usually very mild the second time with just a few pox popping up. Right! I enclosed a picture of my side/back from yesterday. Beautiful!

6 MONTHS

So, for those of you who didn't know... Greg mentioned to me a little over 6 months ago that he had skin cancer behind his ear. I almost rolled my eyes and told him how dramatic he was being... but being the great wife I am, I looked at it and told him, "Maybe you should have it checked out". It hardly looked like anything, maybe a little scar from a scratch. So, on Monday he made his own dr.'s appointment- (I am so proud of men when they make their own hair, dr., dentist, etc appointments) and went in. The dr. told him he needed to go to have it biopsied immediately, which, of course, made us concerned. Well, on a freezing cold day when we just happened to have spent the whole day in the emergency room for Caleb (short of the long story- I threw a sheet with a Buzz Lightyear rolled in it over the bannister and it went through Caleb's forehead- no, I didn't know there was a Superhero in the sheets, and my laundry is downstairs and the kids like to lay on the ground and have me throw the clothes on them.) Well, after getting out of the ER, Greg gets a message that it WAS CANCER! They had been trying to reach him all day and couldn't, so they left him that message! I was a mess, but it turns out that they can just go in and remove it quite easily. He had surgery a week or so later. They removed a big portion behind his ear on his scalp. We were there all day, because they do the surgery and then they send it off to the lab to see if they got it all. They ended up not getting it all the first time in, so they had him go back in again, and they got it all that time. They did kind of a backwards face lift and it looked terrible at first. He had stretch marks on his scalp- yah, he has no hair so you could see them, and it also looked like they cut off his ear and reattached it. They told him he had a 60 % chance of having it again and will have to go in every 6 months for the rest of his life because he is so young.

So, the reason for this post is that he went in for his first 6 month check up yesterday and he had no cancer! I am so thankful for all our blessings and am thankful that something (HG) prompted Greg to take a closer look behind his ear. I think this is a very appropriate time for me to really think about all the wonderful things I am thankful for.

CLOTHES

So, my dear sweet Macie is getting so old... she is 8 weeks old yesterday. Happy 8 Weeks! Where has all the time gone? It seems that when you are pregnant for 2 months it seems like an eternity and that the child will never arrive, but when they finally do arrive, 2 months is like a glimmer in time. I love being a new mother again, but with is comes the new mother bread dough of a midsection that reminds you everyday of the shirt you want so badly to put on, but will not because of the image staring back at you in the mirror. So, I have decided my game plan.... and here it is. I will be working out daily and watching what I put in my mouth. There it is plain and simple. No Acai berries- thank you Oprah, no Atkins, no South Beach Diet (though I do love their peanut butter breakfast bars for a snack). I have been working out spiradically since I had Macie, but have just really started going for it this past week and can already tell a difference- High Five! My goal: to feel good in my clothes. My clothes have this wonderful and terrible quality about them. They are the same size they were before I had Macie, and I want to wear all of them again!