Jesus wants me for a Sunbeam

(I just got this picture from Ella's teacher. It was actually taken on the first day of Sunbeams.)

Miss Ella is a Sunbeam... by about 2 weeks. This makes her the youngest in her class, although Im pretty sure she's the tallest. She loves her teacher, my friend Ashley. I just hope she doesn't love her too much (thinking Sister Anderson is her very own.) Ella even named her Bitty Baby she got for her Birthday, Ashley. Now thats commitment. 

I love being in Primary and being able to look over and see her being a big girl. Im so proud of her.

And I realize this shot isn't the greatest. By the end of Primary she's ready for her nap. Plus that yellow church lighting kills me.

Luke was really excited to be a CTR5 now. Especially because he adores his new Teacher... o' and it's me. I think I have more fun watching him that he does me being his teacher. He is so, so good in class and it makes me so proud.

And Olivia didn't want to be left out so we got one of her too, she was a hit in her new dress compliments of Jenny Johnson. Thanks Jenny, it looked so pretty on her.

I just had to add this memory that I was reminded of, what with all of the new class changes.

The first Sunday was a very big deal. A huge day. Certainly one of the most exciting you had all year. I remember so clearly the routine we'd all go through on those special day's. 

There would be a rush of Primary children scurrying out of Sacrament Meeting, which felt longer than normal on those first Sunday's of the new year. Everyone would hurry excitedly in to the Cultural Hall.

And there it was. The big show. All over the walls, starting with Sunbeams and ending with the Merry Miss and Valiant B's, the poster boards. Each moderately decorated. Nothing too fancy but enough to make a child notice and to demonstrate that there was indeed some effort put into it. 

And standing below each poster was your new teacher. Waiting for you. It was so fun and exciting to rush over to your sign and wonder what this new teacher would bring to the year. There was something about going up a class. And the official recognition, in print on that day, that went along with it. 

I can remember loving those rights of passage. It was almost like the first day of School. As a Child it is so easy to feel small, young. But on days like this you were given the sensation of growing. Of being older and maybe even wiser. And everyone knew it. The proof was there on that basketball court. In a sign with permanent marker. You were doing it. You were taking the next step to being, what we all wanted back then, bigger.

A little all about me!!

My Sister had the most fun blog today; all about her and the things one may not know. I thought, being un-original as I am, I'd do the same.

1. When I was little I was the meanest Sister ever! How I got away with half of the things I did I'll never know. Sorry Megan, im extra nice now though to make up for it.

2. I use to be able to run a 5 min. 45 sec. mile in Jr. High. 

3. I got Athlete of the Year in 7 th grade. The coolest part? I got to take a picture with David Van Hoorbeck ( my 4th grade-8th grade crush) in the School Yearbook. I was so nervous and yet so excited. Lame-o!

4. We had the worst hair cuts and clothes growing up. Its amazing we had so many friends. I think that's why all of us girls are so into buying nice clothes and getting great haircuts as adults. And probably why I spend pretty much all of my clothes allowance on my kids.

5. I was nominated for Homecoming Queen Freshman year. It was actually Queen of Courts for under-classmen. I never made it to the next level but I thought it was cool all the same.

6. I never had a boy ask me to a dance in all of High School. Sad huhh? I asked one of my Best Friends to Sadie Hawkins and also to Senior Prom. I was always the best friend, never the date! NEVER.

7. I never eat veggies but I do like spinach salads.

8. I could be addicted to Pain killers maybe. I love them!!! Dont worry, I only use them when I have a prescription... but they are awesome.

9. I love Anthropologie but only own like 10 things from there. Its too expensive for me these days.

10. I always thought I'd have 6 kids.

11. I will only have 4 kids.

12. I have OCD when it comes to clutter.

13. I am terrible with money. I rely on Dave to keep me in check. 

14. I have always hated School, even by 1st grade. I laugh every time I think of who I married.

15. I have 2 of the smartest Parents anyone has.

16. I idolize my Father. 

17. I still snuggle on the couch with my Brother, Ryan. He is one of my all-time hero's.

18. I still worry too much about what other people think

19. I could spend 4 hours in Babies R Us

20. I love to go horseback riding and have always dreamed about having a friend with a horse (come on Vanessa)

OK, that's it for now. My Sisters were way funnier and exciting. I tried.

21. Im not good at coming up with interesting things about myself.

Olivia's GI appointment

Olivia's long-awaited GI appointment finally came and went yesterday. (it took us 4 weeks to get in) And he said all is well. He wants us to check every few months (via a catheter) to see whether or not her UTI has come back. Im pretty sure they're being cautious as they still cant figure out how she already had a UTI at 6 weeks. And they are going to up her medication. The best news is that they are not going to scope her stomach at this time (and hopefully never will) This is particularly good news because they would need to do it in the Hospital and she would need to be sedated, I hate the thought of that.

On a side note, she weighs 10 lbs. 6 oz. and is 23 3/4" long. This puts her in the 5% for her weight and the 25% for her length. They want us to do weight check's on her every month to be sure she is staying on her growth curve, she's falling off of it a little right now. 

I love her!!!

This Angel makes me smile in ways I never knew. I just love everything about her. She has such a mild and sweet disposition. Always calm. Always happy. Always content, Except in the car... nobody's perfect. (but in my biased opinion she just may be as close as you get :)

She will be 4 months old at the end of this month and is still a little peanut. She probably weighs  a little over 10 lbs.( Luke was that at his 2 week check up) and is the shortest of all my babies. I love it. When I get her ready for her baths it really hits me, how small she is. I still get nervous with her at times and need to remind myself that she's a lot older than she feels.

Olivia is really coming alive. She is so observant and especially enjoys tracking her Brother and Sister everywhere they go. I think she must already be itching to join in with them. And good news, she has started to nap better!!!! She'll do a few hours in the middle of the day (though the rest are quite a bit shorter)

I just love this girl. Dave say's we should stop at a good thing and not press our luck. I say we still  need 1 more to complete our Family.... in a few years. Though my lucky number has always been 3.

My life

I got married young, not as young as many of you reading this, but young. I was barely 23 . Every single patient at Dr. Kroes' office, where I was 9 hours a day, thought I was crazy. I still had"so much to learn and do." There was still "too much life out there to already settle in." 

And you can imagine their reactions when I announced, just 5 short months later, that I was expecting. Not even married 6 months and already I was ushering my new Husband into morning sickness and mood swings. It was the ultimate test of his affections.(he passed with flying colors)

The March that Luke turned 1 I was pregnant once again. My little Luke was not even walking yet, I had a Husband in his first year of a Masters program and we didn't have any family near our new Chicago home. Yet, here I was, 25 and expecting my first little girl.

I felt I needed a little break after that. The 2 kids were a hard adjustment for me. Luke, with his AS, and a screaming baby with constant reflux was just too much for me at times. It was the first time in my marriage where I uttered the words, "I want my Mommy"

And now here we are with 3 kids. Im a year away from being 30 and I feel at times like I have already lived 40 years of this life. It seems an eternity ago that I had only 1 child. I truly do not remember my first year of marriage. Mine was spent throwing up and sleeping.

But I was just thinking the other day how I have never wished for any different life. I think some in these situations wonder what life would have been like if they had waited. Maybe traveled a little more. Maybe spent a little more time finding themselves, being a little selfish. And sure sometimes I think of how nice it would have been to sleep in on Saturdays for a few good years or what it would feel like to leave the house without a diaper in tow. As I walk through Nordstrom I envision all of the cute bags I could have owned, if only I didn't need the extra space for bottles, wooden trains and polly pockets.

I never imagined my life any other way. All I wanted was to be a Wife and a Mother. It's when I felt like my life actually began, not when it got put on hold. There will still be time for traveling and cute purses. There will be a day when I will go to the Grocery store and I will pass by the diaper isle without visiting it. I can imagine days where I can be engrossed in more learning of my own. A day when I can be selfish. A day when I can sleep in and take long afternoon naps. I will be able to keep a house, no a room , clean for more than an hour. These days will come before I know it. But for now I am loving my life and the choices I made to get me here. 

So to those who feel sorry for me, who give me strange looks in the supermarket as I have 3 in tow, I say this.... Dont feel sorry for me. Dont think that I have never got the chance to live my own life. I say be even a little envious. For how many can say, " I have made my childhood dreams a reality."

Silent by 6?

There are many good things that I have done as a Parent and Wife. There are also many mistakes that I have made along the way. One of the BEST things that Dave and I have done is having an early bedtime for the kids.

Some people have thought we were a little too up-tight, some selfish and some even a little ridiculous. But our kids are in bed at 6pm every night. Let me add an element, if Ella has a late nap she will go to bed about 7ish .Otherwise our kids are in their rooms, story read, prayers said, teeth brushed, kisses given, lights out and door closed at 6 sharp. At 6:05 pm you will find me every night walking down my stairs.

We have had to make many sacrifices to keep this routine, as many friends and family know. We have missed many get-together, Disneyland firework shows, ice cream runs, movie nights and all the such. Two words, "worth it!"

It is so fun to have such routine. The kids love the consistency and we rarely have a fight about bed-time. I get so much quality time with Dave. We know that from 6-10 pm is our time. Totally un-interrupted. Totally alone. Quiet and easy.

And now the best news, we have gotten Olivia on the same schedule. She goes to bed about 6pm each evening... it's wonderful.

So this is just a post about one of the things I have done right as a Parent. Something that makes me smile each and every day. In fact Im smiling right now, in my peaceful home.

What do you think?

I came across a few baby pictures at my Parents house of my little Sister, Megan. I thought she looked a little like someone who I knew.... what do you think? If only Megan had blue eyes!

Megan

Olivia

Olivia

Megan