tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-72624637265544273702024-03-12T16:17:53.611-07:00It's Miller Time!Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07652480973806203948noreply@blogger.comBlogger190125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7262463726554427370.post-41342128006063324432014-07-28T20:42:00.004-07:002014-07-28T20:44:31.802-07:00The End of 9 Stupid Mirrors.<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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It's okay, we thought it was weird, too. When we first looked at the house we stood in the kitchen, looked out the window at the beautiful yard and neighborhood... then hesitated, like <i>really</i> hesitated, because of the 300 sq/ft of awkwardness we were standing in. Don't you just love those mirrors? All nine of them? They're especially great when you're doing the dishes and you look up only to see yourself 2 feet wider covered in food splatters. <i>Holy crap.</i></div>
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And thanks to my husband... here she is!<br />
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Dustin took out the cabinet to the left of the fridge and moved the wall over 2 feet, thus creating a spacious 5 foot opening to the kitchen instead of just a 3 foot opening (again, weird.). He demo-ed the mirrors, completely refinished and antiqued the cabinets, built a new wall, made an island, built and refinished the butcher block, patched the floors, installed the backsplash tile (that took me 7 trips to Home Depot and Marshal's Tile and Stone before finally deciding), and had one of our electrician friends pull new wire through our hot attic for the new lighting fixture. He also demo-ed the bi-fold door closet in the hallway where the washer/dryer used to be and added cabinets and a small built-in desk. The biggest difficulty of all was endured many trips to Real Deals, TJ Maxx, and Downeast Home with me... and who knows how many hours of looking at pictures of all sorts of kitchens on google after the kids went to bed. </div>
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<i>No wonder it took us 4 months.</i></div>
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Question: Wall paint suggestions? </div>
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So there you have it. All of your wildest dreams really can come true. Especially when you marry a guy who apparently can do <i>anything</i>. Like, help me paint the kitchen... who knew, right?</div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07652480973806203948noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7262463726554427370.post-43198071984580057062014-07-17T14:14:00.001-07:002014-07-17T14:14:36.593-07:00Growing up slow.16 months. That's how old Lillie was when she finally decided to stand up and walk. It was instantaneous, as if she had been secretly practicing behind my back and waited until the precise time to show off in front of pretty much everybody in that church <strike>gym </strike>cultural hall. Well, technically she took her first steps at 12 months but then resorted to walking on her knees for the next 4, forcing us to readjust the budget for little white tights quite dramatically.<br />
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Oh how I wanted her to be one of those genius babies that crawls when before they even eat solid food and could speak in sentences by the time they reached their first Birthday. I bought toys that encouraged walking, I placed her toys just barely out of reach in hopes she would develop some intrinsic motivation to get that darned toy. I started reading her books when she was still in the womb. I spent her entire infant life wanting her to be the smartest, the fastest, the tallest, the first to catch on to the next biggest thing, and then <i>worrying</i> about it it if she wasn't.<br />
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Today, I am delighting in watching our 9 month old baby girl sit on the floor and chew on all her toys only taking minor breaks to babble at them or me. With subsequent babies, I don't want them to crawl or walk so quickly because that's evidence that they're not little babies anymore. She'll do it eventually. I know I will soon crave the days when all I have to do is open a window to hear Lillie and Jack squealing in the trees, inventing new games, or even squabbling about if it's even <i>possible</i> for Jack to be Spiderman when he grows up. Lillie's relentless practicing her violin downstairs, Jack stomping around the house in his cape, Chloe's <i>ma-ma-ma-ma-ma</i>'s--it's the noise that makes me want to turn off this computer, look around, and take this slow, hot summer all in. Growing up slow, the 1950's kind of growing up slow, is my new ideal. They'll be forced to grow up fast soon enough when the world makes them.<br />
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<i>She grew up good, she grew up slow, like American honey. </i>-Lady Antebellum "American Honey"Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07652480973806203948noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7262463726554427370.post-85613587177109608752014-03-20T13:22:00.001-07:002014-03-20T14:39:01.791-07:00The Deal with #3.I've never been someone that needed convincing of the importance of motherhood. I think we all get it. <i><span style="font-size: x-small;">Raising children is the most important thing we'll ever do in this life.... we only have 1/5th of our lives to raise children.... nobody ever says on their death bed's that they wished they had worked more... blah blah blah blah blah</span></i>.<br />
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I remember watching a stand up thing by Bill Cosby when we were in Utah and had just our one little Lillie at the time. Just the three of us, living it up and taking a bazillion pictures on our Kodak Easyshare camera. I was offended beyond belief when Bill spouted out this:<br />
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<span style="color: #555555; font-family: Courier; font-size: 15px; text-align: justify;"><i>Do you have children? How old are they? They're grown now, but how many did you have? Two? Okay, that qualifies. That qualifies, because a person with one child, I don't really call them a parent, because there are too many things left out. If you have just one child, there are too many things left out. For instance, if something's broken in the house, you have one child, you know who did it! See, you don't have to go through "I... I... I...". You know the child did it! Also, people with one child do not have to go through "Will you stop touching me?" I mean, if you got one child and the child is doing that, then you gotta take it away....</i></span><br />
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I was sitting next to Dustin secretly loathing this man who was telling me that having one child is easy and that it "doesn't count." Who was this guy anyway? My perfect baby who practically never cried and who was content with everything and everyone and who slept a solid 11 hours every night was still <i>hard</i>. Well, I guess I see the humor in it now, 7 years later. I think that happens with every sequential baby, I guess. You look back and think about how easy it was to just have one baby. Then about how easy it was to just have two children and to drive everywhere in a 4-door sedan and take up a small portion of a church bench. But listen. Three children is different from 1 and 2 and has changed my outlook on motherhood, families, and self purpose altogether.</div>
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I never knew what lack of time was until sweet, little Chloe came. I haven't used my blow dryer in 2 1/2 weeks because I simply do not have time to take a shower AND blow dry my hair. It air dries, then about 7 hours later I frantically use my straightener to tame down the frizzy waves of bland brown nastiness to make it seem like I have all the time in the world. My makeup bag has been in the passenger seat of the car for months. Sometimes I almost leave the house without my bra. But really, like you can tell whether I wear one or not these days! And my house? HA!!!!! Between getting Lillie out the door for school, breakfast, feed the baby, get the whole family dressed, brush everyone's tiny little teeth, clean up from breakfast, feed the baby, start to unload the dishwasher, make lunch, get Lillie from the bus, clean up from lunch, help Lillie with homework, read a book to Jack, feed the baby, finish unloading the dishwasher, help the kids clean up their toys, start defrosting chicken for dinner, start putting dirty dishes in the dishwasher, sweep, check the mail, change a million more diapers, clean up more toys, continue putting more dishes in the dishwasher, then feed the baby.... the house looks the exact same as when Dustin left 9 hours earlier.</div>
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My life has turned from accomplishing large tasks that I can check off at the end of the day to more humbling, tiny moments that are much more impacting. I am their mother. They know I'm here for them and that I love them with all my heart. I'm here when Lillie get's off the bus and breaks into tears because she didn't have anyone to play with at recess that day. I'm here when Jack falls and needs a Band-aid or to help him get his foot unstuck from his laundry basket (that happened today). I'm here to respond to Chloe's little coos and sounds and to reassure her that when she needs me, she can trust that I'll always respond promptly with love and concern. I'm here to receive silly cards and pictures and laugh with them when they draw me a picture of Daddy wearing a tutu. My kids know I'm on their side. They hear me pray for them by name and see my smile when they wake up each morning. I'm no different than any other mother, we all do this. My life isn't glamorous and my bangs are long overgrown and I can't shop in odd number sizes anymore, but giving of your whole self to your family is more rewarding than what the rest of the world has to offer.</div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">Three children changes everything. When I could still feel our third baby gently kicking me inside, I thought about what my life was going to be like with three. </span>A midst<span style="font-family: inherit;"> the excitement, I had interrupting thoughts about how in the world I was suppose to get everything done that needed to be done and still find time to give each child enough attention. How was I ever going to go grocery shopping again, or go to the post office, read a book, or get to church on time? If I could go back, I would tell myself to not worry. Somehow there is time to do everything. You give up what is meaningless and what profits nothing of real, eternal value and you just do it. Sometimes that involves a can of Dr. Pepper and a box of thin mints you apparently ate all by yourself in two days, but you do it. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">I always want to love all of our children with my whole being and whole heart. I always want to overflow them with confidence and security. I want all three of our children to always know how much they were wanted and how many prayers and tears were offered to get them down here with us. I want our children to know how lucky we feel that we get to be their parents. I want to teach them, learn from them, celebrate with them, cry with them, and experience every tiny piece of life together. </span><span style="font-family: inherit;">I clean our house to give our children a home that is clean, peaceful, and inviting of the spirit. I make dinners with broccoli and green beans so we can be healthy and live full, long lives. I try to teach our children about where they came from, who loves them, and how they can choose to make choices that lead to fulfilling happiness or misery. I braid their hair, teach them to read, take them to church, sing to them, and love, love, love them. There is an eternal purpose tucked back behind everything I do. I want to be with them forever.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">Whether you have 1 baby, or 3, or 7, you do it all for them. So, thank you #3 for opening my eyes and teaching me what it's <i>really</i> all about.</span></div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07652480973806203948noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7262463726554427370.post-87732131152918896702013-12-06T11:45:00.003-08:002013-12-06T11:45:31.660-08:00Curse this Blessed Dress<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEititus-z522f8RVLkrxWa1tmBJTQDpV8mCEQGa4XuI41iVhDoS5bL72nnCHS8GaE4UZh8MEOBHqNvfWMvS2bcEiGlWrvTNMKb73tkbqN3EgB6dk7YlDAFq_DCbwCaHextP_ysI_0MU1KU4/s1600/20131206_115046.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><br /><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEititus-z522f8RVLkrxWa1tmBJTQDpV8mCEQGa4XuI41iVhDoS5bL72nnCHS8GaE4UZh8MEOBHqNvfWMvS2bcEiGlWrvTNMKb73tkbqN3EgB6dk7YlDAFq_DCbwCaHextP_ysI_0MU1KU4/s400/20131206_115046.jpg" width="300" /></a></div>
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First of all, this "Simplicity" brand of clothing patterns has a marketing strategy of pure deception. This project was nothing even close to anything deserving such a brand name. You bunch of liars. And I guess that in all fairness, I <i>technically </i>have never sewn anything real. But still. The stress of understanding that pattern jargon and sewing itty-bitty-tiny arm holes and hearing my mediocre sewing machine make scary loud dissonant sounds while it jammed up a bazillion times when I was attaching the gathered skirt to the bodice <i>had </i>to have taken years off of my life. At least months! I never knew I could feel such strong negative emotions towards a sewing machine. Or a dress. Or a company named "Simplicity."<br />
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But alas, thanks to the last minute rescuing help of my sister and mother, around midnight on Saturday night before the baby blessing, it was complete. And it even turned out beautiful, beautiful enough for Chloe's 8-pound beautiful self to wear.<br />
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So I changed a few things from the pattern--namely, the neck hole, the sleeves, the ruffled skirt, and the way it closes in the back. I also added a ribbon and coordinating broach to the front. I loved the way the tied up, almost corset-inspired bodice back turned out. I also learned that my machine can make button holes. I just love technology.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgen8TUapH1KgEuuXf913zTB2aC3m9kUnZtwLj3wQKO8S1tiWAc0nLCdO6a0hTC3MgW-0NUuMXR_R1UtAivH8m_Y79kRuKr9VfjHeZSbtj84kf_-vMI1WXuziuLiNOSiOdA6X_BFQZmmNKX/s1600/20131206_120100.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgen8TUapH1KgEuuXf913zTB2aC3m9kUnZtwLj3wQKO8S1tiWAc0nLCdO6a0hTC3MgW-0NUuMXR_R1UtAivH8m_Y79kRuKr9VfjHeZSbtj84kf_-vMI1WXuziuLiNOSiOdA6X_BFQZmmNKX/s320/20131206_120100.jpg" width="240" /></a></div>
We polished off her look with a beautiful tiny baby bracelet made by her Aunt Dana and a headband that was similar to the applique on the front of the dress. <br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEibuMAAl14-eoR5nJcZGtFmatrNU7L2yOPyGUQhld4AJdf0pEbLe2iY63tp46g1_rXs2UPL1NtIyNVX6RzuJQG3_6f_fTjMU8uUIzLRGMOKfTTL9Fu-4FJfwtR4jiueO-R2N9wJS4nTQzOe/s1600/20131206_120518.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEibuMAAl14-eoR5nJcZGtFmatrNU7L2yOPyGUQhld4AJdf0pEbLe2iY63tp46g1_rXs2UPL1NtIyNVX6RzuJQG3_6f_fTjMU8uUIzLRGMOKfTTL9Fu-4FJfwtR4jiueO-R2N9wJS4nTQzOe/s400/20131206_120518.jpg" width="300" /></a></div>
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So as you can imagine, she looked dainty and perfect for her special day. </div>
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Was it worth making the dress? I guess.</div>
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I'll post pics of her in it sometime when I have a chance!</div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07652480973806203948noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7262463726554427370.post-76267710591109907192013-11-14T12:59:00.000-08:002013-11-14T12:59:01.577-08:00Chloe's Nursery<br />
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I thought long and hard about how I wanted our baby's nursery to feel. I decided on simple, elegant, and heavenly--oh, and gender neutral. Dustin and I (let's be honest. It was mostly Dustin.) spent a weekend this Summer building and installing the custom wainscot, I painted the room a shade of gray named "anonymous" and we went from there. After Chloe was born, we were able to add a few light pink touches. It's probably my favorite room in our home--which is good--means I spend hours upon hours each day and night rocking our baby in there.</div>
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Here is Chloe's crib quilt I finished at last! This "easy" quilting pattern turned out to be a real doozie.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiPsZb0C4eiIDgdfFAgYfTwVpq1pS8kZVOGRrIKey4_8tSD75boNoewt3awTcumbdF21BwNhl6W40tT_hjoVMioBottErNWVmI-A-ywg7LdI8zT59XHY-MDcT-ZM0DwtjVppHUTxZ-02evW/s1600/blanket.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiPsZb0C4eiIDgdfFAgYfTwVpq1pS8kZVOGRrIKey4_8tSD75boNoewt3awTcumbdF21BwNhl6W40tT_hjoVMioBottErNWVmI-A-ywg7LdI8zT59XHY-MDcT-ZM0DwtjVppHUTxZ-02evW/s320/blanket.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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Now she just needs to age a tad so she can sleep in there.Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07652480973806203948noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7262463726554427370.post-30948015126767612013-11-12T12:51:00.000-08:002013-11-12T13:08:07.156-08:00Eleven, Twelve, Thirteen.<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiliGEjKKneTUSjtEwvrYKYmQSvdC6c-eNPvbrTjXFjtmK00LSfz-6YK7diKbXpRwHen8sA3SseJ2x5ccDprMGtI7x4dTC4sav4j-aHYrekAqaR-iJGrJHfTgANoUNg-DJBXkP1siutPkmK/s1600/Family+Pic+2013.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="256" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiliGEjKKneTUSjtEwvrYKYmQSvdC6c-eNPvbrTjXFjtmK00LSfz-6YK7diKbXpRwHen8sA3SseJ2x5ccDprMGtI7x4dTC4sav4j-aHYrekAqaR-iJGrJHfTgANoUNg-DJBXkP1siutPkmK/s320/Family+Pic+2013.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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Today is Chloe's official due date, holy cow. Time is going by fast. It's hard to believe our baby is almost 6 weeks old.<br />
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Here are some pictures I snapped of her this afternoon on my phone:<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjXs411goMX44EFMxaGPmq5XbkTOoa1bFK8eDYUcSiYTItdN0i9kT8kU_CtxKlRQ-KfKlrKf2NVtZN6Gr_X7Rru8rQh_QmltoSpVW_VEh-tYI531Kwa-h2YNTtH8OypSOf4YnmJ2TeBra9b/s1600/20131112_130152.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjXs411goMX44EFMxaGPmq5XbkTOoa1bFK8eDYUcSiYTItdN0i9kT8kU_CtxKlRQ-KfKlrKf2NVtZN6Gr_X7Rru8rQh_QmltoSpVW_VEh-tYI531Kwa-h2YNTtH8OypSOf4YnmJ2TeBra9b/s320/20131112_130152.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhLcdV6dTBigd_4HI8hz4qM8_O9nTJQg_YDHMJGsYcUGVF7uSJ_hh-kfxCDZA_ftqBdIS5DCow0Oc_IJd5lXGJutcEigMYm5Pg0XJDYvPvUNAXV2ERxOyUNkkR_IGsDGEsRloZoVKb22beA/s1600/20131112_124138+(1).jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhLcdV6dTBigd_4HI8hz4qM8_O9nTJQg_YDHMJGsYcUGVF7uSJ_hh-kfxCDZA_ftqBdIS5DCow0Oc_IJd5lXGJutcEigMYm5Pg0XJDYvPvUNAXV2ERxOyUNkkR_IGsDGEsRloZoVKb22beA/s320/20131112_124138+(1).jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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Chloe is about 6 1/2 pounds now and is 20 inches long and definitely has blue eyes. She sleeps all day long but usually stays awake in the mornings for a couple of hours. She goes through about 8-9 newborn diapers each day and eats well. She's doing well with tummy-time and is tracking objects and people. She also seems to have a fairly mild temperament, so far! She lets out a cute little cry about once every three days or so.</div>
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Chloe loves taking warm baths, sleeping against our chests, and being swaddled up tight. She's been my easiest newborn. I love how tiny she still is and am really soaking in the time I have with her while she's still so snuggly and small. It's nice that we got a few extra weeks to get to know each other.</div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07652480973806203948noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7262463726554427370.post-85640749126613846162013-11-10T12:50:00.001-08:002013-11-10T12:55:30.143-08:00The End of Month 10<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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So, we did everything that everyone else did for Halloween-carved pumpkins, ate soup, asked strangers for candy. </div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjVKA1jT8y-YoSvoTtpqVECuEuD6lxVS1cI69xd2_b6y_fPIKQa-McpEmltEcuGf1o49zOWsBWbfMGqylQq1J5loAbECuV6fejMipjL3z0LvYGUQyItreuScXcZRef24Hva5xgglDG_wMkJ/s1600/20131031_172255.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjVKA1jT8y-YoSvoTtpqVECuEuD6lxVS1cI69xd2_b6y_fPIKQa-McpEmltEcuGf1o49zOWsBWbfMGqylQq1J5loAbECuV6fejMipjL3z0LvYGUQyItreuScXcZRef24Hva5xgglDG_wMkJ/s320/20131031_172255.jpg" width="240" /></a></div>
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Jack was Captain Hook, Lillie was a jellyfish, and Chloe was a baby skeleton. </div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiPv2dIKzTWucGY_kUYNCY0q4PxQCrUt3Bz0gLS4KoY6TTO98WB_vCHA1VdGEzJ2pysC-TREiRKqE9_1WVTUcB-cjrBTz4wDSeNNu7me3qcLmTaWM0VF3gmDfbDvt_3iOtUoUzaQn84waGy/s1600/20131031_194507.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiPv2dIKzTWucGY_kUYNCY0q4PxQCrUt3Bz0gLS4KoY6TTO98WB_vCHA1VdGEzJ2pysC-TREiRKqE9_1WVTUcB-cjrBTz4wDSeNNu7me3qcLmTaWM0VF3gmDfbDvt_3iOtUoUzaQn84waGy/s320/20131031_194507.jpg" width="240" /></a></div>
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Chloe and I stayed home and passed out candy to the cute kids in the neighborhood. All 15 of them. We also gave the teenagers super intense glares while dropping in a single piece of off-brand candy into their bags.</div>
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And to be brief in closing, Lillie has taken up another hobby. It's called "sewing." This is the dress she fashioned up to wear to church made entirely out of Afghanistan's. I mean afghans. </div>
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07652480973806203948noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7262463726554427370.post-48025222097838956392013-10-25T14:42:00.001-07:002013-10-25T22:03:31.062-07:00Chloe's StoryChloe was born exactly 3 weeks ago from today on October 4th, 2013. Her gestational age right now is 37 1/2 weeks making her 40-week "due date" November 12th, 2013. Even when you count back the 8 months to when we found out we were having a baby, Chloe's story <em>really</em> starts much further back than that. <br />
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Just a few months after Jack was born I was at Target with Lillie in the basket of the cart and Jack fast asleep in his car seat holstered to the front by me. We had just checked out and were walking to put the cart away by the food court when all of a sudden I thought that one of our kids, a little boy, was missing. I was staring at both of them, Lillie and Jack, then let out a slight sigh of relief that all of my children were right there with me. I just <em>knew</em> then that there was a little boy missing from our family. These same occurrences happened dozens of times to both Dustin and I.<br />
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<em>Now I know, I know. Our missing little boy ended up being a little girl--but I'll get to that later.</em><br />
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Just over a year later in May of 2011 we finally decided to have another baby. We had no idea that 23 emotionally exhausting, tear-filled months would follow. With each month that went by I began to feel more depressed and what started out of just being a bad day would turn into an entire bad week, until they just all became bad months. When other people would announce they were pregnant I had a very difficult time coping with the news. In November that same year, we experienced the pains of having a miscarriage. However, the worst moment was in January of 2013 when we were at Disneyland one night. It was devastating. It was difficult for both Dustin and I to not let Lillie or Jack see us both crying outside of the bathroom as we waited for the Color of Wonder show to start.<br />
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This next part is going to sound super-lame, let me forewarn you. But I decided to tell a few friends in my choir about what had been going on. (yes. I love choir.) To make a long story short, the choir began praying for me and our family. Many even participated in a special fast. I'll never forget my teacher, Brother Kempton, whole-heartedly praying for me and the desires of my family one day at the start of our rehearsal. The very next month we found out we were expecting. It could have been a movie, or something, It was magic.<br />
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Dustin and I decided years prior that when we were blessed with another baby that we wanted to be surprised and not find out the gender. There would be nothing to lose since we have a girl and a boy already, and it might be fun. Well let me tell you, the <em>entire</em> pregnancy we thought it was a boy. Well, sometimes I thought it could be a girl and would think about all the cute clothes of Lillie's that had been put away for over five years and all the cute hair bows and tiny and shiny Mary Jane shoes. But I just knew it was a boy deep down in my heart. <br />
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On Sunday night, September 30th, I began to freak out. It was like all of a sudden I panicked that we could have a baby soon and nothing was ready. Nothing. The next day I went shopping and bought everything I needed for the new baby--everything from a girl and boy newborn outfits to travel sized toiletries to a new bathrobe for the hospital to even breast milk storage bags. Dustin and I went on a huge grocery shopping trip and that night made 17 freezer crock pot meals. We put up the crib, the bassinette, and I packed my navy blue SHS XC duffle bag with everything I would need to bring to the hospital and put it in the baby's closet next to our new un-expired car seat. Even though we had 6 weeks to go, we were ready, baby.<br />
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On Thursday, October 3rd, my sister left to run her annual marathon in St. George (which she rocked at and finished in 3 hours and 31 minutes and qualified for the Boston Marathon... btw) and dropped off four of her daughters for me to watch for the weekend. We joked about me going into early labor with 6 kids running around here, but with over 5 weeks until my due date, I knew it wasn't going to happen. Plus, at my appointment on Tuesday a couple days before, I was not dilated, not even effaced. <br />
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So naturally I began to freak out again when at noon that Thursday I began spotting. Scary. I called the doctor immediately and was given the instructions to just go on bed rest for the rest of the day. They assumed the spotting was from being checked a couple days earlier, but because I had also been experiencing some strong Braxton Hicks contractions (of which were not regular between intervals), they told me to lay down on the couch for the entire day. <br />
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That night the Braxton Hicks contractions were so strong they were bringing me to tears. However, they were still not very regular. Dustin went to sleep and I tried to go to sleep but kept waking up from pain. At 2AM they were 15 minutes apart. I have absolutely no idea why I didn't wake up Dustin to tell him. At 7AM they were 6-8 minutes apart and STRONG. Dustin woke up, saw me laying next to him with tears in my eyes and in severe pain and said, "Okay. We're going to the hospital, Erika." I got up to pee to find that the entire toilet was full of blood. He frantically called his mom to come over and our 11-year old niece, Rachael, took care of the younger kids while I stayed in our room doing my hair in-between contractions. We thought for sure the doctors would just stop the contractions because I just wasn't suppose to have that baby yet.<br />
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We got to the hospital at 8AM and contractions were 3-5 minutes apart. I was dilated to a 5 and because my water partially broke, there was no stopping anything. It was horrible. I even remember saying to Dustin that I didn't remember labor hurting this bad before! Because I never had the Group-B strep test, they administered antibiotics through an IV just in case. The nurse kept telling me that there must be some reason why my body was going into labor. I felt so scared and unprepared. I kept thinking that I wasn't suppose to have a baby that day. I obviously wasn't planning on it, but the thoughts of everything that could go wrong kept swirling about in my head and I felt anxious. The NICU nurses came in to talk to me and to tell me about what to expect. It was obvious that our baby would end up there, we just couldn't predict how long. I called my SIL, Alli, who unluckily only has had NICU baby's, and talked to her. I don't even remember what I asked about and what she said, but I know it brought me comfort.<br />
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Everybody who has ever seen me in labor tells stories of weird things I say after I get that blessed epidural. It's vague to me now, but Dustin swears that I had a conversation with the kind anesthesiologist about Carol Hones and Jay Hildebrandt and supposedly began singing "Wednesday's Child!" in full voice. There must have been a logical reason for this.<br />
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After the antibiotics were finally done being administered, the doctor broke the rest of my amniotic sac (water) and all of a sudden it was time. Dustin got all suited-up, and Doctor Leavitt stood next to Dustin and gave him step-by-step instructions about how to deliver the baby. I had two amazing nurses on either side of me and Dustin right in front of me smiling. One contraction later, Dustin gently laid our new baby on my stomach. She was crying, and so were we! We were so surprised to find out that the baby that had been violently kicking my ribs for several months was actually a sweet baby girl. She was tiny and warm and looked just like Jack. It was 3:09 PM.<br />
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Apparently after she was born, an unusual amount of blood followed. The NICU staff pumped over 20 cc's of blood from her stomach and after giving her some oxygen and weighing her, etc, they wheeled her away with her Dad right there with her. Doctor Leavitt then discovered that I had an abrasion in my placenta-thus causing the spotting and bleeding and contracting and early labor. Apparently it's rare and unpreventable, but thankfully my body went into labor because even just one more day of her in there swallowing all of that blood could have potentially been fatal for her.<br />
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About an hour and a half later, I was able to go to the NICU to hold our baby girl for the first time. Dustin had already given her her first bath and she had on a purple and white hair bow. I couldn't get over how beautiful she was and how sweet she was. I had forgotten how sweet and pure a newborn feels. I was so proud of her. I felt so much love and so much gratitude for being given such a sweet baby. We named her Chloe Elizabeth.<br />
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The next 7 days were a blur but are vivid at the same time. Chloe ended up needing oxygen, antibiotics, IV fluids, high-intensity billi lights, some high-calorie supplementation, and a warm incubator to keep her body temperature stable and warm. She had so many cords and monitors on her constantly monitoring her heart rate, oxygen levels, how many breaths per minute she was taking, and her temperature. Everything had to be pristinely documented including how many minutes she ate for at every feeding and how many grams her diapers weighed and even what her glucose levels were every six hours. Chloe lost 14% of her body weight and was just 4 pounds 8 ounces when we brought her home on Friday, October 11th.<br />
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Those 7 days at the NICU were full of disappointment and gratitude. We were told we could bring her home on Monday, but then that changed to Wednesday, then that changed to Thursday, then finally Friday. Every day spent in the NICU felt like a week. But Chloe needed to be there. We have an increased amount of gratitude for the knowledge and experience and technology that she received from the best nurses, doctors, and specialists. But it was still hard and at times felt unmanageable and dark. Having Dustin go back to work on Monday and finding people to watch the kids and pick up Lillie from the bus or from school every single day, and still finding energy to celebrate Jack's 4th Birthday and going from excitement and joy of finding out you get to bring your baby home to utter devastation when they say it will be another 24-48 hours was just hard. Just <em>so</em> hard. So yes. those days were full of disappointment and complete gratitude at the same time. <br />
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I ended up writing out 14 thank you card's to 14 different families that helped out during that week. So many people stepped up and offered help at a time when we most needed it. On top of that, we received many text messages, phone calls, voice messages, cards, gifts, and prayers. The support and love helped sustain us.<br />
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And now she's been home for 2 weeks and it's all over. She weighed in on Tuesday at 5 pounds and 7 ounces and is gaining about 1 ounce per day. She also grew from 18 to 19 1/2 inches! She's still only <strong>.</strong>16% (not 16%, just .16%) but the doctor's are pleased with her growth. She's just beginning to outgrow her Preemie outfits and onesies and finally graduated from a folded over Preemie diaper to a newborn sized one, but she is still our sweet and tiny baby girl. The kids love her, but we love her more than they do and it's incredible to think that her Heavenly Father loves her more than we do. It's unfathomable. <br />
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Those painful 23 months seem so distant right now as I'm holding her all swaddled up on our bed typing out her story. She's perfect. She looks peaceful when she sleeps and still acts like a brand-new newborn. Our prayers have consisted of nothing but total gratitude for this perfect family and perfect daughter we've been given. There is no greater happiness. None.<br />
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And FYI, we <em>still </em>feel like there's a little boy missing. :)Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07652480973806203948noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7262463726554427370.post-27382703311018930062013-10-16T20:23:00.002-07:002013-10-16T20:23:51.450-07:00Meet Chloe Elizabeth Miller<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Chloe was born on Friday, October 4th at 3:09 PM. She came into this world weighing just 5 pounds, 4 ounces and was 18 1/2 inches in length. After immediately finding out it was a girl (surprise!), and from the first time we heard her soft cry, we were instantly consumed with love and complete adoration.<br />
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07652480973806203948noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7262463726554427370.post-3741873963435647432013-10-02T13:08:00.001-07:002013-10-02T13:34:06.922-07:00Nesting at Biblical Proportions<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Alrighty. I'm officially down to my weekly doctor appointments now. I feel huge and beautiful at the same time with this 35 week tummy. Huge mainly due to every flipping pregnancy app telling me that my weight gain is in the "excessive" range. Beautiful because it's a blessing and privilege to have a baby you helped make grow inside of your body and to feel their gentle kicks and twists. <br />
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We still have <em>no</em> idea if it's a boy or a girl. Dustin (for the most part) thinks its a boy, but lately I've been thinking it's a girl. We have a whole slew of names picked for either. Lillie and Jack enjoyed picking out the "leaving the hospital" outfits and blankets. <br />
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After and extensive 2-full carts grocery shopping trip, Dustin helped me put together 17 freezer crock-pot meals. I've also been doubling up on my enchiladas and lasagna and things like that to freeze. </div>
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Bam! Dinner's done.</div>
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We've also been busy doing yard work, gardening, canning over 100 quarts, hand-shucking/freezing 175 ears of corn from said garden, building and installing wainscoting, making two headboards, finishing the playroom downstairs, building shelves and organizing the storage room, sewing, and cutting down even MORE trees. Dustin is having a love-affair with his chain saw. But it's a win/win because I love that I can see out of my bedroom window now. We have chopped down a total of 23 trees since moving in, and we still have like, 60 or something.</div>
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I am obsessed with our Jack Sprat. We get to spend 4 hours each morning together, just us two, while Lillie's having a blast at Kindergarten. We do crafts, play Legos, take walks, read books, go to the library and zoo, and snuggle and watch cartoons together. He is hilarious and sure can talk your head off. After reading one of his "No David" books, he decided to see what a bar of soap tastes like. For some reason I didn't oppose the idea. However, instead of a lick, he took a full-on bite with his teeth straight into a bar of Dial.</div>
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It was hilarious. </div>
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Dustin loves working with the scouts and has been able to go camping like, 8 times this year. The scouts in our Ward picked the cycling merit badge and last month finished the 50 miler. It was a lot of work, considering they had to do 2 10-milers, 2 15-milers, 2 25-milers, and 1 50-miler. </div>
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I'm still loving my calling as an Activity Day leader for the 10 and 11 year-old girls. </div>
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My hospital bag is packed, our dinners are already done, we have an extensive food storage, we have five Sam's Club-size boxes of diapers and wipes, the bassinette is assembled, and every single closet and drawer is clean and organized--including Dustin's gun cabinet. I'm waiting for my rocking chair and curtains to come in the mail, and that's about all I can do! I'm thinking about going outside today and painting our shutters black. I've also been needing to shampoo the upholstery in our car. </div>
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Don't you worry, I'll find something to do.</div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07652480973806203948noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7262463726554427370.post-76177612553197191862013-09-03T14:26:00.001-07:002013-09-03T14:29:31.693-07:00Kindergarten<br />
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I unexpectedly started crying after I drove away from the elementary school. Thankfully I thought before-hand to laminate a picture of our family to put in the front pouch of her backpack. Apparently that gracious idea was a tad more for my weird, conceded self than for her... because she <em>loved</em> her first day and had a blast. </div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07652480973806203948noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7262463726554427370.post-16775596336084503712013-08-27T11:25:00.001-07:002013-08-27T11:41:59.822-07:00Toothless and SixSee? There's proof. Once upon a time about 5 1/2 years ago I had a <em>chubby</em> daughter. And she was the sweetest. And you would never recognize her now because she is basically only 1 foot shorter than me and weighs a whopping 42 pounds. But she still has that beautiful dirty blonde hair and those striking blue eyes, and she is<em> still</em> the sweetest. <br />
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So now I need to get over that she's not that perfect baby anymore who never cries or has a messy face and who is always content with whatever the situation brought upon. Now she is 6. She is going into AM Kindergarten in exactly one week from today and will be the tallest, most confident, and smartest kid in class. I just know it. I mean, forget learning letters and sounds--she can read. And she can do real addition and subtraction problems. In her head. </div>
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And she's friendly and compassionate and will be nice to everyone. So naturally I'm proud- but also sad at the same time. That sweet baby girl of mine will be riding that huge bus without seat belts without me. I mean, really. What if someone tells her that those dust particles you see in the window when the sun is shining is not real fairy pixie dust and that a tiny fairy did not just flutter by without anyone noticing? </div>
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I will find that kid and punch him. (just kidding. And sorry for assuming it will be a boy. A dumb boy.)</div>
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I've let her live in this magical fairytale full of music and dancing and rainbows and toys that come to life when you're not looking for six years. I mean, just yesterday she colored a picture with her markers of a "rainbow fairy store that sells Birthday supplies." <br />
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Happy 6th Birthday, sweet Lillie Josephine. Our family loves and needs you.Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07652480973806203948noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7262463726554427370.post-6933109152724547252013-08-20T14:40:00.002-07:002013-08-20T14:47:18.295-07:0010-Day HiatusI found out that Fall Semester at BYU-I doesn't even start until September 18th. But still. The thought of starting another semester, even if it's still a month away makes me want to throw up. Really. Actual vomit.<br />
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There have been moments here and there when I start to get extreme anxiety about not doing my homework. Then I remember that I don't have any homework. And then my heart relaxes and happiness returns to my core.<br />
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That being said, we just returned home from a long, tiresome, blissful "vacation." Because I have had about 5 days off between semesters the last 2 years and because Dustin started up a small business and seriously could NOT take off work for more than four hours at a time, we haven't seen the Pacific Northwest for 2 1/2 years. It still felt like home crossing over the 205 bridge and even though everything has changed... nothing has changed at the same time.<br />
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We left our house on Friday, August 2nd and headed straight to Bear Lake (Baby Bear Lake, as Jack calls it) where we spent Friday-Sunday at the Miller immediate Family Reunion. We ate delicious food, swam, played on the boats and jet ski's, and talked and talked about nothing and everything. <br />
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We got to my parent's house on Sunday at 11pm and spent the next four days picking blackberries and making 12 pints of blackberry jam, celebrating 3 Birthdays, school-clothes shopping in Portland, eating at Burgerville (multiple times), playing at some parks, going to the beach (eating at Mo's), spending 6 hours at OMSI, spending time on NW 23rd with my long-lost bestie's, and Dustin even got in a couple of long bike rides at sea level elevation. <br />
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My sister, Rachel, got married on Friday up at the Alderbrook Resort, South Puget Sound area. The wedding was beautiful and the weather was perfect. It was a good learning opportunity to teach our children (*ahem, ourselves) about what to do when you see 4 forks and 3 knives and 2 spoons in front of you. There were so many courses I can't even remember some of them. But we loved the clams, muscles, tri-tip steak, roasted vegetables, gnocchi, and all the drink we could handle. Lillie's favorite part was the dance floor where she earned herself two blisters! That is how fun it was.<br />
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We stayed at a large fancy lake house for Friday and Saturday nights. Saturday we drove to Seattle only to find that the 405 was closed which made I5 INSANE. We spent the afternoon at the American Girl Place (not <em>as</em> cool as LA, but still incredible for any doll-lover) and after my mom took the kids back via ferry, Dustin and I enjoyed our long-awaited 7th Anniversary date at the Mariner's Hall of Fame game where Ken Griffey Jr. was inaugurated as the seventh member. All of the Hall-of-Famers were there including Randy Johnson, Jay Beuner, etc, and we were in heaven during the ceremony before the game began. Besides the lady in front of me slithering straight sauerkraut into her mouth for about 10 minutes, it was awesome.<br />
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After our never-ending drive home via I-90 (15 1/2 hours), we were surprised to find we had both gained weight, but not really surprised at the same time. Thankfully we found out that the majority of that was water weight (if you had only seen how swollen my feet and ankles were. They had rolls. Actual rolls.) but it's still motivation enough to start buying Yoplait Light and fat free milk for a while. The next time I hop on the scale at the Doctor's office is going to be a doozie, my friends.<br />
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The funniest smile I think she's ever made.</div>
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The end.</div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07652480973806203948noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7262463726554427370.post-81493971014975447202013-07-24T11:02:00.000-07:002013-07-24T11:25:28.866-07:00120 BlessingsLast Spring semester of 2012 Women's Choir sang at graduation. I wasn't super thrilled to find out how I was going to spend that Friday night after finals and jury's. Being in the I-Center was much different than I had anticipated, though. I was so inspired by seeing all of the students accomplish this humongous goal that I wanted more than anything to be in their place, even though I was completely burnt out from the last 3 semesters and was contemplating taking a long break. I decided then that I would be there in those seats in one year. The last year was <em>so </em>hard. It wasn't even just school, it was everything. Even after a successful day, I would still feel upset that there wasn't enough time for me to do everything I wanted or needed to. We were looking for houses, were juggling several callings each, Dustin started up his company, and after so much heartache, we were contemplating on putting in our papers to adopt a baby with LDS social services. Then throw in full-time school. <br />
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But it wasn't until today that I realized I received more than I expected from all of those long, tearful prayers. I finished school with honors, our children are healthy and smart, we have a beautiful home with a beautiful yard, Dustin's company is doing exceptionally well (and he even got a fancy company truck last month!), and I'm 6 months pregnant with our new baby. Sometimes it takes a leap of faith. Sometimes you take minute and just look around and realize that you must have done something right to have received so much. <br />
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I got a tad emotional when my name was read and the Dean of Arts, Brother Brower (one of my favorite teachers) shook my hand and said, "I'm really proud of you, Erika. You've worked so hard."</div>
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I'm really going to miss this building! Especially the Snow Café.</div>
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I was so thankful for my family who came to support me and for those who encouraged me all along the way. I appreciated and loved reading through the nice messages that were written in the cards. While being a student was very difficult, it would have been impossible without help from my close family and friends who I love.</div>
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Now on to the next chapter...</div>
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07652480973806203948noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7262463726554427370.post-12947792759463825562013-07-20T12:22:00.001-07:002013-07-20T12:22:18.053-07:00Recital Recap<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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The recital went so well! I was happy with how I sounded and was extremely glad to even get through my French Ouvre ton Coeur song without any major mishaps! Allison played excellent and Lillie sang so sweet in the song I arranged. It was so nice to have so much support there from family and friends and the reception was beautiful and elegant. Thanks to my Mom and sister and Mother-in-law, we had homemade creampuffs, chocolate dipped strawberries, and sparkling cider. Julie even brought a beautiful bouquet of flowers for the centerpiece. What a perfect way to close this chapter!Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07652480973806203948noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7262463726554427370.post-57442985537433193892013-07-10T21:49:00.001-07:002013-07-10T21:50:32.793-07:00We're being cliche again. I wanted to get Lillie some sparkle Toms for Kindergarten, I just didn't realize that I was going to be buying them today! Thanks to my awesome Sister-in-law, Alli who keeps up on all this stuff, I found out about a basically inspired sale on Zulily. For the price of 1 pair of Men's Tom's, I got all three kids a pair. Red is pretty gender-neutral, right? <br />
I can't wait for the inevitable picture of them all wearing them together.<br />
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And I think that's the first time I've been able to say, "All <em>three </em>kids." It sounds good.Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07652480973806203948noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7262463726554427370.post-46729422155285696202013-07-07T21:10:00.000-07:002013-07-07T21:10:47.635-07:002 weeks!!Okay, well it's actually 2 weeks and 2 days. <br />
<br />
Fine.<br />
<br />
It's 2 weeks and six days. But two weeks sounds better.<br />
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<br />
This insane, crazy, stressful chapter of my life will be over! I can NOT wait until graduation. I will have completed 101 credits since Fall 2011 and because I applied to the FastGrad program, the longest break I ever had was 2 1/2 weeks off between Fall and Winter semesters 2012. Usually I'm lucky if I can get a full week off between semesters. So umm... I'm not feeling pretty creative right now, but if someone could brainstorm a more effective, appropriate phrase other than <em>burnt out ... that </em>would pretty much sum up how I've been feeling lately. Actually, <em>apathetic </em>is also a good adjective. It's not like I need to keep up my scholarships anymore. And I sort of just don't care.<br />
<br />
Here's my most frequent conversation lately:<br />
<br />
<em>So, Erika, what are you planning to do after you graduate?</em><br />
What do I plan to do? I plan to stay home and be a full-time mother.<br />
<em>Oh... well good for you for still finishing school. <strong>(or something like that)</strong></em><br />
<br />
The average income for a female who graduated in Music, or who plans to teach music, is pretty much what you'd expect it to be. <br />
Almost nothing.<br />
But I didn't go to school with any career objectives. I studied things that I wanted to and that I was interested in and I learned many skills and a whole new knowledge base of information. I didn't just study "singing" as some people might assume (including my husband when I first started!), and actually, my voice lessons took up a total of 8 credits out of my 120. The rest were theory, composition, pedagogy, education, history, and social science classes.... and of course, 60 credits of generals. <br />
<br />
I loved going back to school. There was never one day of school that I didn't feel was worthwhile.<br />
But now it's over, and I am more than ready to finally be able to devote all my time to my family. <br />
I love the short talk <a href="http://stream.byui.edu/VideoPlayer/BYUIplayer.html?StartCue=6318&EndCue=6446&VideoName=6190v&VideoType=byuiproduced&ticket=ST-1004757-WbwRsyWpindhQbJJ11wH-cas" target="_blank">here</a> from President Hinckley in 1996 when he said that it's nearly impossible to be a full-time mother and a full-time employee (or student, probably). I've also been really thinking about <a href="http://stream.byui.edu/VideoPlayer/BYUIplayer.html?StartCue=298&EndCue=455&VideoName=2007_10_genconf_Beck_Mothers&VideoType=lectures&ticket=ST-1004823-yqV6sAe91AA3DSfltFHq-cas" target="_blank">this</a> short 2 minute clip lately, also.<br />
<br />
So those are my plans. And I can't wait.<br />
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07652480973806203948noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7262463726554427370.post-40276970385949876722013-06-21T12:33:00.002-07:002013-06-21T12:34:11.072-07:00My Senior Recital!<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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It's in exactly 4 weeks and thankfully I only have 3 songs left to memorize! Putting together a recital is like the stress of juries x's 100, but it's commemorative for me and will be a great way to end this chapter. My theme is "Songs My Mother Taught Me" (one of the songs I'm singing) and is sung through my children's perspective over the last two years. My sweet children <em>also</em> have memorized about 80% of my songs over the last six semesters and sound really cute when they sing in German or French. I am even singing an art song titled "Old Mother Hubbard" in the style of Handel and Lillie and I are singing a little duet I arranged near the end of the program.<br />
So yes, everyone over age 6 is invited! Plus I'm having some pretty awesome refreshments afterward. It's formal and it's free, and we'll see if I can really pull off singing some high B's with my sixth-month belly and extreme issue of keeping my freaking diaphragm expanded. <br />
Epigastrial-Diaphragmatic-Abdominal-Costal Breathing these days.<br />
(Thank you, Brother Lindford.)Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07652480973806203948noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7262463726554427370.post-64634039993854799432013-06-17T12:35:00.001-07:002013-06-17T12:35:30.204-07:00BalanceI'm not one for figuring out how to balance my life when I have a million things to do. You would think that after 22 months of full-time school that I would be able to figure it out by now. <em>You would think.</em><br />
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<br />
So, I'm a list maker. It's the only way I can give proper attention to what's most important without filling my time with things with little meaning. I at one point in the last year had to make myself an adult chore-chart of sorts, except it included the most basic of things, like brushing my teeth, saying my prayers, reading 3 books a day to my kids, and making dinner for my family. Super embarrassing, but that's basically sums up my frazzled brain.<br />
<br />
The plus thing about being overwhelmingly busy: I can go grocery shopping for an entire month at a time. Because really, who has time to bustle around Winco every single week? I make up a list of about 25 meals and buy all the ingredients for them. Vegetables will last at least a month in my fridge, but of course, a couple times a month Dustin comes home with more bananas and milk. Anyway, it saves a butt-load of money and has helped me become super creative. I would rather eat hot dogs on our BBQ with a suddenly salad mix.... again.... instead of drive the 2 miles to Winco and buy stuff more often. And by the way, recently I decided to start buying the good hot dogs (about 3$ a package) instead of the 79 cent package of BAR-S who-the-crap-knows-what's-in-there hot dogs, and it has changed my life.<br />
<br />
I also have enlisted my children into folding laundry, even Jack can fold towels and rags good enough that I don't care to refold them. And to save another small ounce of time daily, Dustin has installed a real drinking fountain in our garage so I don't have to get the kids cups of water all day long. <br />
<br />
But don't get me wrong, I still waste time sometimes. Last week on Wednesday I got so much homework done and it was so flipping hot upstairs and Dustin wasn't going to be home for another 2 1/2 hours and the only thing to do was to go down to the cool basement to watch Mrs. Doubtfire. What a waste. In a lot of ways.<br />
<br />
So, tomorrow when you wake up, grab some paper and a pen and make a list of everything you want to do that day. Write down everything. It feels wonderful to cross off several things just from peeing, brushing my teeth, and getting dressed and making our bed. I bet you'll be more productive! Or at least you will<em> feel</em> more productive. And that is what is most important.Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07652480973806203948noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7262463726554427370.post-81469799991677320552013-06-07T15:16:00.002-07:002013-06-07T15:16:21.831-07:00Photo Dump Family Update<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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I had to post the last picture because our refrigerator plays a major role in my life these days.<br />
<br />
I am SO DONE with school. Dustin brought me home an orange creamsicle snow cone to break up my eight hour online school session today. <br />
<br />
I also love driving home and seeing the front of our house. We have green grass, mature trees (about ten less than when we bought it!) hanging baskets, an American flag, and even a statue we named "Rosy" to greet us. Our garden has been a therapeutic adventure for us and a huge dream come true for me. I've always wanted to do this. Our corn is coming up nicely and we've already been able to pick strawberries, a rare advantage in this devil climate. It's like a science experiment every day for these tikes learning how to plant, water, and weed. They've taken a huge ownership in the garden. For Mother's Day Dustin made me a big planter box for all my herbs and the kids got me some rose bushes and a lilac tree. I feel like I've aged 25 years since buying this house because now I enjoy conversations relating to our yard. I've even become one of those people who gives tours of their plants to every visitor.<br />
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We've been busy and happy and love that it's June.<br />
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07652480973806203948noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7262463726554427370.post-36473140418108776382013-05-13T13:01:00.001-07:002013-05-13T13:02:19.304-07:00Save the Date: 11/12/13<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<br />
Baby #3 will make his/her debut.<br />
<br />
After 22 months of tears and prayers and miscarriages and a whole bunch of faith, the Lord has granted us a miracle and is sending us another family member. I am 15 weeks along today and am feeling great! The kids are already deciding on names and Jack is convinced that the baby will sleep in his bed with him. It was a hard secret to keep and it still seems surreal. We couldn't be more grateful and are greatly anticipating the joys that come with having a newborn in our arms again.Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07652480973806203948noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7262463726554427370.post-51353593925374726292013-05-09T17:11:00.002-07:002013-05-09T17:13:45.590-07:00The Marshall Elementary Assembly IncidentSo, I'm about sort of mostly, kind of over it now, but let's just say it was my worst moment of my mortal existence. I have learned that 11 year-olds are really smart, especially the fifth graders at Marshall Elementary. They have an incredible memory for detail, such a memory, in fact, that they continued to bring up this incident in full detail all the way through my senior year of high school. I even switched schools, but I was "lucky" enough to run into several past Marshall graduates at XC events or choir festivals or the mall. Really, really lucky.<br />
<br />
Here's the deal about my middle childhood. I was not a bad kid. And I know bad kids usually preface everything with that, but really, I was a nice, friendly, outgoing, snarly-haired girl. I never hit anyone or cheated on tests or stole things. I did, however, never have a report card from k-12 that did not at least one time mention the automated, "Needs to socialize less." I was the student the teachers moved around to the different tables every few weeks. Joke was on them, because I could even get the boring nerdy kids who wore straight leg jeans to talk about <em>something</em>. (This was the 90's when kids either wore Jnco jeans or stretch pants) But in the end, joke was <em>technically</em> on me because I received several lunch detentions ...and just a handful of visits to the Principal's office (so many blog posts, so little time).<br />
<br />
After bribing several student council members to vote for me, I was elected to be student body president (take that Jordan Smith.). This glorified title meant I attended 2, maybe even 3 after school meetings where we picked out what assemblies to have. But the real reason I coveted this title: I got to MC these said assemblies--cordless microphone and all. <br />
<br />
That morning I put on my best stirrup stretch pants and wore my white T-shirt with a large dog on it that loudly proclaimed: "Old Navy." It didn't even matter that it didn't match super-all-the-way, just the proclamation of my clothes being purchased from this newly opened store at Vancouver Mall would instantly reinforce my self-conceived coolness. I was obvs. so excited that day, because I never stopped talking in class and earned myself another wretched lunch detention. It was like prison. No talking, no recess (chasing around my beloved Kevin Zimmerman), and no bathroom pass. <br />
<br />
All I remember was downing my chocolate milk then heading straight for the gym to fulfill my Student Body President duties. It's all sort of a blur, but I remember sitting on the side of the stage having to pee real bad. The speaker was suddenly all done with his presentation, and all the teachers, including our principal, Mr. Loop, all stared at me to stand up and get the microphone from this guy and dismiss everyone back to class. It was awkward, so I had no choice. All I remember was standing up and feeling a wet stream of warmth and embarrassment running down those stretch pants. Then a Kindergartner right in front of me shouted to my dismay, "She's wetting her pants!!" <br />
Then I replied, "I know!"<br />
<br />
This left me no option but to run out of the gym, cross MacArthur Blvd and all the way home. We only lived a block away, but still. It was dramatic.<br />
<br />
Turns out this memory not only was glued inside my amygdala, but also into the memory of hundreds of students in attendance. <br />
<br />
Ummmm..... so.... yeah. Joke's on me.Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07652480973806203948noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7262463726554427370.post-69825978745534668402013-05-08T13:19:00.000-07:002013-05-08T13:37:23.016-07:00Denim shorts.You know when it can take people a few weeks to get used to writing "2013" instead of "2012" after New Year's Day? That's sort of how I've been feeling every single blasted month this year. I had to rewrite a check last week because I dated it in March. Apparently it is May. And now it's May 8th. So basically in a few days it'll already be June because the months are flying by and I can't keep up. And then it will basically be Christmas!!<br />
<br />
Yesterday I realized that our annual Zoo pass I bought Spring 2012 was good until June 2013, so after eating my toaster strudel, I took the kids to the zoo. Then we went to Winco and bought a few ingredients, then I spent upwards of two hours chopping up stuff to unintentionally make a feast-sized amount of homemade potato salad, then after the Missionaries ate and left, we all went outside and did a little bit of yard work. The kids have been in charge of finding all the rocks on our freshly plotted garden and have been having a blast finding and picking up worms along the way for their twisted enjoyment. You know how they say that most people have the same fears as their parents, and that your fears will be passed to your children? I promise I try my hardest to not look disgusted when they bring me a hand full of worms. I want them to like nasty stuff like that and fit in with their Idaho heritage, I do.<br />
<br />
Oh, and on Monday, Dustin went with me up to Rexburg while I was in my voice lesson and masterclass and decided to just ride his bike home from the Snow building. So yeah, I think I'm allowed to brag a tiny bit about that guy. 'Parrently he went through Archer and Ririe and arrived home just after 2 hours (just over 40 miles). I've decided I will think twice the next time I complain about that drive taking me 38-40 minutes. In a car. With Taylor Swift.<br />
<br />
So that's why our year is flying by and that's why it's May and feels like it should still be March. On top of all that, I'm currently basking in the joy of a 19 credit-load semester. I read textbooks and articles on ilearn and sing French colouratura ditty's in my "free" time. Sometimes I get around to cleaning our kitchen, and sometimes, like really, <em>sometimes</em>, I fold our laundry.<br />
<br />
Lillie keeps growing out of her shoes and Jack has holes in most of his jeans. I have no idea how it happened, or when it happened. Everybody told me that these kids will grow up fast. It's really, really annoying that they were right. But now it's basically Summer, and I better get over it and get busy turning all of those jeans into shorts.Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07652480973806203948noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7262463726554427370.post-10551376999744053962013-03-13T17:50:00.003-07:002013-03-13T18:22:19.816-07:003 Weeks and 6 DaysJust 27 days until I am done with this semester, people. My grades really suffered near the begining of the semester when we were cleaning, packing, and preparing to move from that "darling" house on 6th Street. <br />
Yo. Buying a house is stressful. <br />
Something had to give... and I chose to slack on my 20 credits. My teacher pulled me aside on the Friday after we moved noticing that I was a frazzled mess of emotion and exhaustion (and greesy hair) and said, "Erika, really. What would happen if you get all C's this semester?" And that's when I realized that nothing would happen and everything would be fine and that perfecting my writing skills of getting in and out of diatonic secondary dominant fully-diminished seventh chords wasn't crucial to the happiness in my life. <br />
<br />
After settling down somewhat (or not), I was able to turn my attention back to school and I've raised my grades back to all A's and 2 B's. It always evens out, my friends! It just always evens out for 'ol Erika.<br />
<br />
And between a crazy-stupid amount of homework, memorization, and practicing, oh--and driving 34,000 miles, I am burnt out. Seriously. I have completed 82 credits (34 classes) since starting school last Fall and have not had any breaks and am in STILL in awe that my brain has been able to handle it all. I have learned an extensive amount of <strike>mostly</strike> useful knowledge, but still feel unprepared to leave for some reason. The more I go on in school, the more I realize how little I really know, and I can't quit thinking about that.<br />
<br />
When I went back to BYU-Idaho in August 2011, I had planned to graduate Spring of 2013, but figured that some time along the way I would get distracted, run out of money, or miss Lillie and Jack so much that I would stop after one or two semesters. Now I'm here with just 17 online credits left for Spring semester and I'm still in utter disbelief that it's going to happen. Going to school wasn't an <em>if</em> for me, but mostly a <em>when</em>. I'm amazed that the Lord has graciously made it possible for me to accomplish this goal right now, all while still enjoying my cute life with my cute husband and two tenderhearted children. I have been given everything I've ever desired all before age 26.<br />
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Here are pictures from our life the past few months (in case you needed proof or something). Did I mention that Lillie learned how to ride her bike without training wheels a couple weeks ago? I also just registered her for Kindergarten. I guess I'm a real mom now with real grown-up kids that will go to a real school. <br />
What the heck, life?<br />
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Disneyland:</div>
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<br />Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07652480973806203948noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7262463726554427370.post-81624226138731682182013-02-03T21:11:00.001-08:002013-02-03T21:11:19.613-08:00Excitment=painOkay, okay. I know I'm really behind in doing a post with pictures to validate that our family really does have a life. But higher priorities are getting in the way of doing <em>that.</em><br />
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We are moving this week. We have spent 12.5 months looking for houses and put offers on eight of them. Yes, eight. Our realtor Billie Stoddard has a joke and she says, "Well, if I ever have a house that's not getting any action, I'll have you guys go look at it, then I'll know I'll have at least 3 or 4 other offers that week!" Because really, every time we have looked at a house, all of a sudden three other families like it too. <br />
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But friends... the curse has been BROKEN!!!!!!!!!!<br />
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I'll post pics of it later. It's a nice 2900 sq/ft home on an acre of land. It has a garage. It has closets. It has more than 1 bathroom. And best of all, it doens't have downstairs tenants that every time they take a break from their video games seem to fight and throw out the F-dash-dash-dash word just as often as Brad's girlfriend from Home Improvement says "like." <br />
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Unfortunately, the stress of week 5 in school, hiring a nanny, and moving has gotten the better of me, and after a brief visit to the urgent care tonight to explain some painful symptoms, I ummm... apparently have ulcers. It's been THAT bad. So no more orange Mt. Dews for this girl for a while. <br />
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And if anyone has some helpful facts or tips regarding stress reduction, send them my way. :)<br />
Also, if anyone has any suggestions for instant energy that does not include caffeinated beverages or excersize, please inform me asap.Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07652480973806203948noreply@blogger.com3