Lazy Dayz!

EVIL ELF???????????????????

Nattie is always asking to hold Burke! On Saturday they got all snuggled up together! So sweet!
The next pics are from our ward Christmas party! It was the Polar Express! There was not one detail forgotten! It really was a blast!

Burke

Hi G'ma and G'pa~ This is for you to see how big I have gotten! See you in a few weeks for my Blessing and my 1st Christmas! Love ya, Burkey Boy!

My baby~

There is only one happiness in life, to love and be loved.

There really is no way to measure love. If there is, I know I am still in debt. I kiss Burke a thousand times a day. I smell is head just as many. I stare at him for moments on end. I thank my Heavenly Father for trusting me with this choice Spirit daily. I tear up to think he is a month old. I am proud of myself for savoring each second. I count my blessings multiple times a day, and hour. I smile when the big kids love on him, even if it's a little too rough. I wonder what the world has in store for him, and what he has in store for it.

Happy 1st month of being mine Burke. xxoo mama

Our House

These are some of my new decorations that I bought last year after Christmas at Target! I am so HAPPY with the way they look! The picture of the tree stinks. When you have twinkle lights it's almost impossible to get a good picture :(

Turkey Day Fun!

So as you can see we had a blast! I know that for sure because there are several pictures I could not post due to fear for my life!
The only really sucky part was that the night before I got Mastitis. BUMMER! But I am feeling much better today! I hope you all had a fun and thankful holiday!

Too many.......

I have too many blessings! I am thankful for so much. Although I am a little peeved because at this time I cannot find my camera. I think the pregnancy brain has not faded yet! :(

Burke is doing great! He weighed 7.2 oz at the doctor today. Yeah! He is finally picking up some weight! He is still tiny, but he is soooo strong. If you put him up at your shoulder he can rear his head way back. I am afraid of his neck breaking!

The kids are smitten with him! He is the first thing they think of when they wake up and the last thing thought of when they drift to sleep. I did not know how quickly they would accept him. There is no doubt in my mind that he picked us to live with here on earth. I feel so lucky to have him! Thank you Burke! Mama loves you!

The kids are all great as well! Smart, healthy, funny, a little too sassy, and very helpful! I could not do this without you guys helping! xoxoxox!

Jason is also done such a great job helping me! He adores his new little munchkin! I love to see him snuggle Burke. He usually is being bombed by the older kids, but makes time for all of them! He is SUPER busy! He is not only subbing full time, but coaching wrestling at a middle school as well. (Centennial starts up soon)!!! I love watching him coach the middle schoolers. They are tiny little guys, not the heavy weights, them is some big boys!!! Jason always grabs the boys and pulls them close after they win or loose. He talks to them and them gives them a hug and a smack! (It's a guy thing)!!!

We are counting all of our blessings! I hope you are too!

Whooosh!

That is how I feel the time how the time has gone by since Burke was born! Whooosh! Gone in a flash! All together he has been a DREAM baby. He eats well, sleeps well, is well tempered. I have ZERO complaints! My friend Natalie does a cute thing for her son Maddix once a month, a spotlight if you will. Well, a month is so much time to change for a new born, so thought I would do every few weeks for a couple months!

Burke likes:

To be swaddled
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His Soothie bink
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Snuggling
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Looking around
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Trying to eat my cheek
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His hands on his chest
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His big Brother and Sisters



Burke Dislikes:

To be naked
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Night time diaper changes
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Loud noises
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When I take too long to feed him
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Happy 2 weeks of life Burkster! In that short time you have forever changed mine!

xoxo mama

PS....If you want to see the BEST pictures ever check out this site:

www.laurafarrisphotography.blogspot.com

Thanks Laura!

The Woman's Remote!

Burke Andrew Blue

The story~

As you know I was not scheduled to have my c-section until tomorrow, the 13th! Well, Burke wanted to make his appearance a little early! I am not too sad about that either! On the night of the 5th I started having really bad contractions, but they were very inconsistent. I was not even timing them. Although, at 5 am the next morning I thought it would be a great idea to start. I had my last OB appointment at 9:30 am, and thought they may want to know. And once I started keeping track, they stopped! I went back to bed and woke up to HORRIBLE back pain. Uh, I knew I was in trouble! I got my bag all ready with the last minute things and the kids and I went to the appointment and met Jason there. I did not really tell him how I thought things were going to go cause I kinda knew! Low and behold I was dilated to a 2! They do not want you to go into active labor once you have had a c-section. Your uterus could burst. So they called the hospital and sent me over! I KNEW IT! My sister Julie came and got the kids and we headed to Labor and Delivery!

When we got there the front desk nurse informed us that due to the Swine Flu, NO children under the age of 14 would be allowed to visit. And even then it was only spouse, and grandparents! I could feel myself starting to get upset. I just took a deep breath and considered this a vacation. One that involved major surgery!

The c-section went awesome! Nothing like last time at all! I was however VERY itchy due to the morphine! Not cool!

When I saw Burke for the first time I literally became breathless. I was instantly over come with love. I heard a quote once that said "A mother's love never divides, it only multiplies." I cannot tell you how true that is.

My heart is wrapped around this little 6 pound 15 ounce boy. I cherish every hair on his head. ALL OF THEM! I am blessed beyond measure to have him in our lives!!!!

The hardest part of the delivery and recovery at the hospital was not seeing our other kids. It nearly killed me. I talked to them daily, but it was not the same! I was really bumming about not seeing them!

Since we have been home, Burke has been picture perfect. He is mild tempered and seems easy going. Even with all the juggling of the other kids holding him!

The hardest part now has been the c-section recovery. It is kicking my butt. The pain has been unreal. I finally called and had the doctor up my dosage on the pain meds. They seem to help, but my loopyness was upped too! It's pretty funny!

Jason's mom is here taking care of us! What a blessing! My mom stops by after work to check on us! We are doing great!

10 Days and ..........

Sad... Happy... Excited... Prepared... Blessed... Overwhelmed... Stressed... Wonderful... Procrastinating... Planning... Busy... But most of all..........................Patient.

I am horrible when it comes to patients. But I find myself very calm and patient this time. I cannot wait to meet Burke, but I am not pacing the floor or making up labor symptoms in my head! I feel great, occasionally rocked by wicked painful contractions. But I am good. I am just trying to enjoy the last few days as a family of 5.

Our Halloween 2oo9

Ok, so when I bought these costumes I had no intention of the girls being "Devils". I was going to morph them into witches that turn their oh so sweet Prince Charming brother into a Frog. Or "Fraup" as Graden called himself. Needless to say, I never got around to changing the costumes. The girls enjoyed the BIG HAIR and Scary make up! Although not when it came time wash it off in the shower!

This may be wierd but I think the girls look so beautiful in this picture. I don't know if it is because they were so happy to be Trick or Treating, or what!

My dear sweet "Fraup" did not last very long. Even though the weather was great, he lolly gagged at every house while the girls almost ran. He was perfect for my waddling pace, but once we rounded back the corner and he saw our house, he was more than happy to hand out candy with Jason.

This is one of the houses we had to drive by everyday after school to look at the decorations! When the owner came to the door my mom asked about the yard decorations. I guess her husband cuts them out of wood and she paints them. The detail was awesome! Her kids are long grown, but they put these out for the neighborhood and the grandkids! They were great!

This house was the best. See the HUGE HAIRY SPIDER WITH RED BEADY EYES hanging above the doorbell? Well, you'll also notice only ONE Devil at the door. This one really freaked out Natalie! Taylor claimed her bravery and headed to the door. Only to lean super far to the right and KNOCK! It was so funny to watch! She did not take her eyes off the spider the entire time!

The girls and Grammy and the creepy skeleton kid on the tricycle.

The proud owners of TOO MUCH FREAKING CANDY!

We did have a great time. I was so proud of how kind and polite the girls were at each house. Taylor started throughing in a "Happy Halloween" and thought she was amazing!

BEST COSTUME EVER........

FREAKED YOUR FREAK RIGHT???????
This is my nephew Luke! Is this not the coolest freaking costume ever!

The rest of the pics are of my kids. The girls Harvest Party and then the ward Trunk or Treat! I had big plans of the girls being cute witches that turned their little brother into a frog. But Jason has come down with what I am praying is NOT H1N1. So needless to say, the costumes were pulled out of the bag they were purchased in. :( And I wore my pj's! Nice!

Insightful

I was rather impressed with the visiting teaching message this month. It has really made me think.......Here is a portion of the message......


President Gordon B. Hinckley (1910–2008): “Never forget that these little ones are the sons and daughters of God and that yours is a custodial relationship to them, that He was a parent before you were parents and that He has not relinquished His parental rights or interest in these His little ones. … Rear your children in love, in the nurture and admonition of the Lord. Take care of your little ones. Welcome them into your homes, and nurture and love them with all of your hearts. They may do, in the years that come, some things you would not want them to do, but be patient, be patient. You have not failed as long as you have tried” (“Words of the Living Prophet,” Liahona, May 1998, 26–27; “Excerpts from Recent Addresses of President Gordon B. Hinckley,” Ensign, July 1997, 73).

As I thought about the message after my VT left, and preparing the lesson to VT my ladies a thought came to mind. We have all heard the expression "Kids don't come with an instruction manual". Well, if "our" children were once under the direct care of Heavenly Father, he would know them better than we do. They were and are His children for all time. So, it made me really think that when I am struggling with my kids, I need to ask HIM for advice. He knows their special quirks, and can help me while addressing them in a loving way.

I know this will not happen all the time, hence our crazy outing today to Payless, but I will try to input this into my daily life. There is a lot of pressure on us knowing that "our" children are on "loan".......Especially when we know who the Lender is!

50% off at Payless Shoes

I just saw this deal and had to try it out. You can get %50 off your entire purchase at Payless today and until tomorrow when they close. Just go to this link http://www.oprah.com/article/oprahshow/20091016-tows-payless and print the coupon. Happy shopping!

Carving Craziness!

We also carved pumpkins on Sunday night! I had the kids sketch what they wanted on the paper so I could re create it on the pumpkin!

Taylor is really into posing for pictures! Once we started cutting she kept using the word "INVESTIGATING". Like..."Nat, let's investigate the insides of our pumpkins". Jason and I were laughing pretty good!

Hence: Investigating the "guts" of the pumpkin!

BTW: I never got plastic gloves as a child. We had to squish through the muck with our fingers.

Mmmmmmmm Yummo! NOT!

THE GRAND FINALE!!!!
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Nattie's has glasses
Taylor's has the flower power
and
Graden's choo chooin' along!

Night shot! Scary!

Hallowed Fun!

Sunday Funday!

We took advantage of the beautiful Sunday we had! Went to Settlers! Tossed the football! Played on the swings! Fun day for all!

It went for 90' to 50'. Horrible! Then it warmed back up! The last few days have been wonderful!

FREEEEEEE!!! Almost!

My friend Cathy is super savy! Here is a great boobie deal for you people with boobies! lol! It's legit, I just ordered one!

I got the skinny on a killer deal!
Get a free Utter Cover (like a Hooter Hider or Baby Au Lait), just pay $8.95 shipping! It is for a LIMITED TIME (they haven't said when the deal ends, so act as quickly as possible).
Instructions:
Go to their website: www.uttercovers.com
Click on Shop Now. (I had to go into shop wholesale and then click shop now if that helps!)
Choose your pattern and select 1. (Many are on back order, but it seems like they are continuing to offer them for the free deal)
Go to your shopping cart.
Enter Promo Code: 1FREE
Click: Apply Promo
That's it! It will remove the $32 price off of your order and the total is $8.95 for shipping. Pretty great deal! It would be cheaper to buy 1 than make 1 at this price! You can pay with PayPal, so you are protected with PayPal Protection for your purchase.

Happy

I am just so happy. Are things perfect? No! Will they ever be? No! But that is not going to stand in the way of my enjoying my beautiful HEALTHY family. My kids are happy, Jason is happy and will be happier Nov 12th when he is no longer working nights, I am happy. Happy to be pregnant, and to be healthy, and to have a nice home. I guess today is a high part of the roller coaster day, but that is ok. Cause I am along for the ride! WhhheeeeeeeeeeeeeeeHhhoooooooooo!

fall fun~

We went to a Centennial Football game! Too fun! And COLD!

We had fun picking pumpkins between Conference sessions!

And this is what I look like at almost 34 weeks! Burke's C-section is scheduled for the 13th of November! Can't wait!

Tid Bits.....

Graden was totally driving me crazy the other day so I had to think of something quick! ROBOT! I whipped this grocery bag up into a ghetto robot. Notice how the switch is on? ALWAYS!!!

Fairview Ward Harvest Party......
The girls helped me make these Chocolate Krinkle Cookies!!! Yummo!

THE BUMP.....

I have never LOVED being pregnant. We are SO blessed to be able to get pregnant almost immediately after trying. I hate the sick part, the tired part, the itchy part, the not sexy part, the sleepless nights part, the stress part, the money part. I have never had "the glow". I see my friends that enjoy all of it.
Well, this is a first for me, but I am really going to miss being pregnant. I don't know if it is because this is my last baby, or that by far this has been the "easiest" pregnancy. Or is it has kinda gotten better with age? I'm not sure.
As I rub my belly and Burke goes crazy, I actually enjoy it. Or when I take a bath and pour a cup of water on my tummy he goes bananas. The kids all love to feel him move! (Not so much Jason, but I'm over that now!)
In a few weeks Burke will be here and a whole new adventure will start. I cannot wait to meet him, love on him, kiss him, and be his mama. But I will miss his bump!
(remind me of this post when my stomach is all saggy and gross when I am no longer pregnant!)

Next Survivor Season.....

Six married men will be dropped on an island with one car and 3 kids each for six weeks.
Each kid will play two sports and take either music or dance classes.
There is no fast food.

Each man must take care of his 3 kids;
keep his assigned house clean ,
correct all homework,
complete science projects,
cook,
do laundry,
and pay a list of 'pretend' bills with not enough money.
In addition, each man will have to budget in money for groceries each week.
Each man must remember the birthdays of all their friends and relatives, and send cards out on time--no emailing .
Each man must also take each child to a doctor's appointment,
a dentist appointment and a haircut appointment.
He must make one unscheduled and inconvenient visit per child to the Urgent Care.
He must also make cookies or cupcakes for a social function.
Each man will be responsible for decorating his own assigned house, planting flowers outside, and keeping it presentable at all times.
The men will only have access to television when the kids are asleep and all chores are done .
The men must shave their legs,
wear makeup daily,
adorn themselves with jewelry,
wear uncomfortable yet stylish shoes,
keep fingernails polished,
and eyebrows groomed.
During one of the six weeks, the men will have to endure severe abdominal cramps, back aches, have extreme, unexplained mood swings but never once complain or slow down from other duties.

They must attend weekly school meetings and church, and find time at least once to spend the afternoon at the park or a similar setting.
They will need to read a book to the kids each night and in the morning,
feed them, dress them,
brush their teeth
and comb their hair by 7:00 am.
A test will be given at the end of the six weeks, and each father will be required to know all of the following information:
each child's birthday,
height,
weight,
shoe size,
clothes size,
doctor's name,
the child's weight at birth,
length, time of birth,
and length of labor,
each child's favorite color,
middle name,
favorite snack,
favorite song,
favorite drink,
favorite toy,
biggest fear,
and what they want to be when they grow up.
The kids vote them off the island based on performance.
The last man wins only if..he still has enough energy to be intimate with his spouse at a moment's notice.
If the last man does win, he can play the game over and over and over again for the next 18-25 years, eventually earning the right to be called Mother!

(Thanks for letting me steal this from your blog Tonya!!!)

1st day of school?????

Well, for Jason anyways! We have been paitently waiting for Jason to find a day job (he will still work nights cleaning a few days a week). After a few interviews and a few no's with the Meridian School discrict, a HUGE blessing was poured on us when he was able to get on the SUBSTITUTE teachers list! He did not get any calls the first couple of days and then this morning at 6 am the phone started ringing!!!!!!
I am soooooooo PROUD of Jason, trying something new, and "out of the box" to support our family! The icing on the cake for today is that he is headed to Centennial! He will be the aide for a some special needs boys.

There is a really cool story about how this all came about, but I need to get my peeps ready for school! I'll post it later!!!!

:)

Mr. BLUE........ I HEART YOU!

From this......

FROM THIS........

My great friend Tiffany and I have been talking about doing applesauce forever~

She is such a trooper! She called today and had the "lab" (I referred to it as our meth lab the entire time) all set up. Here is the great part!!! I had NO JARS! But that is not the great part! I had coupons for KERR or BALL jars. Tiff said they were the cheapest at Winco so that is where we headed. I got four cases. 12 quart 12 half pint (for jam next year) and 24 wide mouth pints.
My kids slam applesauce so I knew this was a good one to do! Another great part????? The apples were F$R$E$E!!!! If you pick apples at the church orchards you can pick the ones up off the ground for free while you are there! So she got 6 boxes for nuthin'! We are going to back later in the week and pick more, then get our free ones off the ground!

I came home with 12 quarts of Jonathon Applesauce! Sweet! She is such a doll that she canned some other things for our family as well. 1 jam, 2 pears, and 5 salsa's or so! HECK YEAH!

I never thought that "canning" would interest me. I thought the old ladies in RS did it. Well, count me in the old lady club!

TO THIS.......

Thanks Tiffany! You know I love ya~

Fight Fight.....BSU

Am I a football fan? No, not really. Do I enjoy going places where there are thousands of people I can sit and watch????? H#E#C#K# Y#E#A#H#!!!!!
Jason is such a good sport for taking me to the BSU v. Miami Ohio game last night. For one, he would rather go with somebody that likes football. He could talk to about the game....you know. Instead he has me. Who, by the end of the game as a scenario about each of the people around me. Yeah, I know. Get a life! It's fun to just watch people.

I do pay attention to the band and dancers. Neither of which I was ever a member or part of....
Unless I was mocking the Golden Girls in HS.

Yeah, I like watching the cheerleaders as well.

This was the best part of the game for both Jason and I. It is when the sun FINALLY went behind the Sky Center. It was soooooo freaking HOT!!!! I was literally melting. I had a soaked shirt between my bra and tummy. I noticed when I got up to pay $3.50 for a cup of ice to eat.
Classy.

Sad, hot sweaty people. But the game was good!

(Laura T. this is for you)
I wasn't paying attention during half time til I heard "When you wish upon a star" and looked up and the band was like this! This picture is for you babe!

Beautiful Boise.
I really do think Boise is so beautiful. What a great place to live and raise a family. The scenery is breath taking in almost any direction.

So there you go.