US- WEEK 6

It has been a week of staying in the house away from the bitter cold and wind. We also have been trying hard to avoid illnesses, that is the last thing I want with a new baby. When I was pregnant with Caleb, I got the influenza 2 weeks before my C-section-it was miserable! As for us here are our "adventures beyond belief" for the week....hahaha

BEN: He is currently Elder's Quorum President in our ward and I admire his diligence! He is always thinking about how to help his quorum whether it be visiting someone, calling someone or preparing a lesson or activity for them. They are planning a Wii night in a couple of weeks and he hopes to get a good turn out, not just because "the more the merrier" but so they can feel more like a quorum and learn to care for each other. I feel like Ben is really good about balancing his time and making sure he spends time with me and our kids. He truly is a wonderful husband and father!


JESSICA: This week seems to have drug on a bit (just like any other 9 months pregnant girl's week I am sure)! I think it took me all week to do our laundry. YET despite all of my set backs my house remained fairly cleaned and I had dinner ready 3 out of 4 days this week...wahoo! Ben and I made the final rearrangements for this baby to come. My bassinet is set up and my basement is completely cleaned up and arranged the way I want it. As the days go on more and more people glance my way in pity and most of them even comment on my "can't walk so I waddle" or the "I'd rather be at home sleeping" look on my face. Today a man at church offered to "roll" me out the door instead of having me walk...how generous! I sure do want this baby to come NOW...but I know it is better if he cooks longer-dang!

EMILY: This girl has become more and more help to me this week! One of her favorite things is to clean the toilet and I decided to take FULL advantage of this while she "likes it". The things she has helped me with this week are: putting away the laundry, dressing Caleb, vacuuming the floor, putting away the dishes and dusting anything and everything. One cute thing she did this week was on Friday morning she woke up early and made me breakfast. It consisted of a carton of yogurt with a big blob of cool whip on top. When she brought it to me I said thank you and then noticed the bowl it was in was not looking so clean. When I asked her where she got the bowl she said "Oh, it was in the sink, but I washed it out in the bathroom." It is the thought that counts, right! Oh how I love that girl!

CALEB: One thing I love about Caleb is he always wants to be my "big chef" as I call him. Whenever I am cooking something he is on a chair next to me "helping". I hope he keeps his love for cooking as he gets older. Today we made cookies and I smiled because he knew how many were in a dozen. I love the "Mommy and Caleb" time I get to spend with him while Emily goes to preschool. I love to see him be himself and not always follow what his sister does. He is always doing something funny! This morning while get ready for church I couldn't find him and so in my searching I saw these big blue eyes poke out from inside the bassinet. He knew it was naughty and got out of being in trouble but flashing me the big pearly whites. Needless to say I got him out while laughing.

BABY BOY: He of course can't speak for himself, BUT if he could he would be saying "Need more room, need out soon!"


This week as a family we really didn't do anything spectacular. We have played the Wii a lot because sledding, bowling, swimming, skating....yeah pretty much everything is out for me. My family are all good sports and we can make fun out of pretty much anything. I love them and appreciate thier patience so much!!!!

I am trying to work on my scrapbook pages more. Here are some I have done recently:

US-Week 5

Last week was busy and COLD! We once again tried working on getting ready for our baby to arrive, yes that is pretty much all we do these days.

BEN: On Monday he took the day off work to spend some time with our family. He took the kids swimming, played games with them and read books to them. Surprisingly this took up much of the day but he really enjoyed it. He really didn't have a ton the rest of the week. He is patient and never gets bothered by my whining...well at least he doesn't say he does, hahaha!

JESSICA: On Tuesday I went to my 34 week appointment. Everything looked good and I was measuring 37 weeks. I want to carry this baby as long as I can, but having him right now sounds pretty fabulous! I laugh at all of the things I am told like "Oh, well that won't go away until AFTER you h ave the baby" or "That is caused from hormone levels, you SHOULD return to normal after delivery"- I am starting to wonder if I will ever be normal again. My wonderful Mom came down and helped me all day on Thursday. We washed baby stuff and started a quilt top that I have wanted to get done. It turned out really cute, I need to put a back on it but I love how it looks so far.

EMILY: This girl has been recovering from a sinus infection and has had a long couple of weeks. I can tell she isn't quite up to par, I hope she recovers soon! I learned this week that she knows the Pledge of Allegiance and the First Article of Faith and can recite them really well. She also informed me this morning that Pres. Obama is the "President of the Earth", it cracked me up. She is so smart and teaches us so many thing every day. She loves to play "Simon Says" and is very good at telling us what to do-I think this is her ideal game for life. I have no idea where she learned to be so bossy.....

CALEB: He is just busy being a little boy. I am trying to break some bad habits Caleb has. Every night around 3:30 am he thinks it is time to come climb in my bed. It was much easier to bring him back to his room when it was right down the hall, but now that he is downstairs it takes a lot more effort to get up at night. Persistence is the key, right??? We were playing a game with Caleb and Emily on Monday night and Caleb always has to be a jokester. He decided to try and laugh like we laugh and it only made us laugh harder. They faces he was pulling and the noises he was making made us laugh harder. Never a dull moment in this our as long as this boy is around.

BABY BOY: Still not sure on a name for this kid. I keep praying for some needed inspiration!!

FAMILY: One fun thing we did as a family this past week was to go ice fishing in Mackay. A "first" for us and so much fun! We went with our good friend Dustin and his 2 kids. The kids all had fun playing with the fish that were caught and sledding down the ice. It was a little chilly at first but turned out to be a beautiful day. We were all so tired when we got home.

Here are some random pictures:

US-Week 4

I really need to do this earlier because my weeks are starting to all blur together.....

BEN: Ben has been really stressed out at work and a lot of dorky things are going on at the INL, yet he handles them so well. Last week he helped me get our baby crib together, move our baby changer into our house, put the kids bunk beds downstairs and re-install our gate outside. I don't think any of those things were easy and I really appreciated him doing them. I promised him a relaxing weekend this week-I think sledding might be in the plans?!?!?!?

JESSICA: Another week in pregnancy for me-week 33. This past week our baby dropped-A LOT! I can breath more easily, but have to keep my legs crossed for fear a baby will fall out! I have finished putting the baby's room together and took the leap of change and put my 2 other babies downstairs. IT WAS HARD. I am so used to have them right down the hall and moving them to a different level of our house made me panic. It turns out that I am fine, they are fine and I need to relax a little. I think I need to be more adaptable to change and not shelter my kids so much....

EMILY: This girl never ceases to amaze me! She wanted so badly to have her OWN room downstairs and was such a big help when it came to moving all of her stuff. She is definitely an OLDEST child, she knows how to take charge! The first night they slept in their new room, she was SO excited but a little scared. As we were telling them goodnight she asked if she could sing some "pretty" songs. I thought it was cute that she was trying to be so brave!

CALEB: Mischief maker and always on the go! Caleb has learned how to swing on things-it doesn't matter what, our gate, the fridge door, any door, his bunk beds, cupboard doors-you name it. He has so much fun but knows that Mommy doesn't allow it. I even catch him saying "Sorry" before he swings. He is so sweet and loves kisses. Every night he wants me to give him lots of kisses. Sometime this week I gave him a kiss before bed and he later was sad because he was afraid he had eaten all of his kisses (because I had given him a kiss on the lips), it made me laugh!

BABY BOY: Nothing new with this kid, he is still working on his gymnastic and boxing skills. I got out all of our baby boy clothes and I can't wait to snuggle this little guy!! We did set an official C-Section date to February 28th-less than 5 weeks!!

JUST A NOTE: Something I have thought a ton about lately....My kids will ask me to do silly things with them and sometimes most of the time I am right in the middle of doing something. I have had to make it a priority and stop what I am doing and play with them. For example: The other day I was doing my hair in a huge hurry and Caleb walked up and wanted me to dance with him. My first thought was "Not right now!" and then I stopped and the better thought came to mind "Caleb won't always want to be seen dancing with his Mommy, so do it now while he enjoys it."
So once again I am reminded to enjoy my kids now while they still want me around.  
Find Joy in the Journey as President Monson counsels us!

US-Week 3

This past week has been busy! We are well on our way to getting baby prepared. I forgot how many baby things I have. So this past week here is what happened.

BEN: This week he was so much help to me! Ben helped me get all of our baby stuff out of our attic. There was seriously boxes and boxes full of stuff. He also helped me paint the room downstairs that Emily and Caleb are moving into. It is a lovely pale yellow color-which took 3 COATS. Ben is always so helpful to me and always so willing to take the kids so I can have a little break. He also is so sensitive and willing to listen to me whine about pregnancy aches and pains. Thanks for the support Honey!

JESSICA: What can I say I have the "whine flu"! I am 33 weeks pregnant today and it feels like I am more like 43 weeks. This baby is growing like a weed. So this past week I went and took one of my Best Friends out to lunch. It was nice to visit with her and let our kids play.  I have hit the nesting stage, I want to clean and clean and clean. It doesn't help that I have stated watching "Hoarders"-bad, very bad! I am getting so anxious but also very nervous. We still don't have a solid name to count on, any ideas would really help!

EMILY: She has been such a big helper this week. When we decided to paint her room, she decided she was going to help. Ben thought it was a good idea, Mom on the other hand didn't but Dad won. Emily painted a picture of herself and her name in BIG letters on the wall. Cute-but hard to cover up, you can still see it if you look close enough. Emily also wasn't feeling well this week and I wasn't sure why. Poor girl!

CALEB: What can I say that I don't always say--Caleb keeps me on my toes. He is always doing something. Caleb is such a good little guy and I know he will make a good Big brother. He doesn't quite understand the whole baby concept thing and I am excited to see his reaction. He loves to play with Emily's Baby Alive and feed her and comfort her. He may be more "help" than what I think.

BABY BOY: Still growing-obviously! This baby has started kicking and rolling every night around 11 pm. I enjoy feeling him move but sometimes it is right in my hip and can be very uncomfortable. I hope he isn't a total night owl when he comes out!

Just for FUN: The story of my life....

US-Week 1 and 2

I got this idea from a good friend of mine-who is absolutely amazing! I thought it was fun and I am going to try and keep up with it...

So to begin out a little family weekly project this year, I figured I should introduce each of us....in a little more detail. Oh, I should also mention that these weekly posts about us will be written from my {the mom} point of view. So here we are:

BEN: a.k.a daddy, sweetie, stinks up the whole house, dunderhead--amazing! Ben is such an amazing guy, husband, father, son, friend and worker. He currently works at the INL as a Health Physics Technician and really enjoys what he does and who he works with. He is currently our ward Elder's Quorum President and stays super busy, but really enjoys serving others. He enjoys working and accomplishing things. He has a new "love" for guns-It is a fun new hobby for him. This weekend he went duck hunting for the first time. He couldn't find anyone to go with him so he packed up his stuff and took Caleb (his little buddy) with him, they had fun.

JESSICA: a.k.a.mommy, chef, accountant, maid, comforter, sweetheart. I have to admit I LOVE those titles. I love being a mom! I get to stay home with my kids every single day and watch them grow taller, smarter, sassier, and cuter by the minute! I currently am the 2nd counselor in the Young Women's and I love it. It keeps me busy but I enjoy spending time with the girls. I love music, all kinds of music! I usually ALWAYS have the radio or iPod going in my house. I also love to scrapbook. I never find enough time to do it (a goal for this year). I am expecting a baby boy on March 8th (C-section cuts off 2 weeks though--yippee). I am thrilled and a little nervous. I love life and am trying everyday to be a better mom, wife, friend and daughter of God.

EMILY:  4 years old (going on 16) and in preschool. She is the mother hen of our house! She is energetic, smart and oh so sassy! Emily loves musicals-you name it, if the show has singing she will love it! She loves to dance and sing-we love to watch her! She is such a joy to us and is always willing to tell us her opinion of things. Emily has the most beautiful eyes and is told almost everywhere we go how pretty they are! She is a good big sister and teaches Caleb LOTS of things! She is inquisitive and loves to help me clean the house. Some of Emily's favorite things are dolls, coloring, writing, and playing dress-up. We are so lucky to have this girl in our family!

CALEB: 2 years old and can't wait until it is his turn to go to preschool. Caleb is our family clown! He is always making us laugh and smile! Although Caleb is silly, he is also sensitive and will do anything to make you happy. He is very apologetic and cares about other's feelings! Caleb is also known as my little helper. He loves to cook, clean and help us with EVERYTHING! He really loves cars, tractors, animals, guns and daddy's iPod Touch (He works it better than me). Today while Caleb was playing with his tractor I heard him singing "Take me for a ride on your Big Green tractor" and then he started shaking his tooshy, it made me laugh! He too is such a joy and will make a wonderful BIG brother.

BABY BOY: 32 weeks and growing. This baby came as an answer to many prayers and much fasting. Elder Neal A. Maxwell rightly said: “The submission of one’s will is really the only uniquely personal thing we have to place on God’s altar. The many other things we ‘give’ … are actually the things He has already given or loaned to us.” Submitting to my Heavenly Father's will was one of the hardest things I have had to learn. I have to say my faith (and patience not by choice) grew immensely from this pregnancy! This little man pokes, moves, hiccups and kicks alot of the day and most of the night. He reacts strongly to touch and noise. I cherish these moments and feelings because I know the days ahead are bound to be hard-but I can't wait. He arrival date is approx. around the 25th of February. We love this little guy so much!

So that is us in a nutshell. We just try to make it day to day enjoying each day and each other. I love my little family and I am so glad to know I can be with them FOREVER!!!

So much to do before arrival date. . .

Over Christmas break Ben and I got lots done for our new arrival. We cleaned the room my kids are moving into, ordered a new crib, moved stuff to the garage, picked a potential date, and YET we still have just touched the tip of the iceberg! If it were up to Ben I think he would say we were close to being done, BUT AS FOR ME. . . the nesting stage has hit and I can think of at least 2 Million things more to get done. Ben went to my 31 week appointment with me. Reality is sinking in for him (I think). I have reality kick me in the bladder a couple times and hour so I am anxious and so excited to see my little man.

Dumbo is not my favorite Disney show of all time, actually I think it has some kinda strange parts in it that creep me out, BUT I do love the Baby Mine song in it. There is NOTHING in the world that compares to the love a mother has for her child.

So in preparation for the next 7 1/2 weeks, and in hopes of getting some motivation I listened to this song and know that time will fly and I will have a new little baby here before I know it. We waited a long time for this little baby to come to us, so I am a little more appreciative and excited than I have been  in the past. I know the Lord had a plan for him to come when he is and although it took sometime for me to grasp that, I am grateful for his divine plan and the things I learned from having faith in him!

For good measure here are some pictures from our 2010 Holidays:

We had a wonderful Christmas and New Years! I hope you all did too!!!

What a great idea!!

I just have to share this, because I think it is a fabulous idea for little boy babies!!!! I am starting to get super excited for our little guy to get here. I want one of these bad (also if I blog about it I could win one....)

The site is

http://milanmaternity.blogspot.com/2010/12/charmed-life-clothing-giveaway-dress.html

Remember When....

This video was taken in Dec. 2008. Emily was Caleb's age at the time. I look back and see how much she has grown-up. It makes me sad!! Last night after I watched this I sat here and thought about all the times that I forget to let my kids be little. I have to remember that when my kids are grown and moved away I am not going to sit around and think "Gee, I wish I would have cleaned my house more!" I know I will wish I would have spent more time building forts, playing barbies, reading books to them, singing songs and being silly with my kids. I am so fortunate that I get to stay at home with my kids and it is sometimes hard to remember that they will only be once.

Awhile ago I posted this poem and I love it and it is a good reminder to me of the joys of motherhood.


Song for a Fifth Child

Mother, oh Mother, come shake out your cloth
empty the dustpan, poison the moth,
hang out the washing and butter the bread,
sew on a button and make up a bed.
Where is the mother whose house is so shocking?
She's up in the nursery, blissfully rocking.

Oh, I've grown shiftless as Little Boy Blue
(lullaby, rockaby, lullaby loo).
Dishes are waiting and bills are past due
(pat-a-cake, darling, and peek, peekaboo).
The shopping's not done and there's nothing for stew
and out in the yard there's a hullabaloo
but I'm playing Kanga and this is my Roo.
Look! Aren't her eyes the most wonderful hue?
(lullaby, rockaby, lullaby loo).

The cleaning and scrubbing will wait till tomorrow,
for children grow up, as I've learned to my sorrow.
So quiet down, cobwebs. Dust go to sleep.
I'm rocking my baby and babies don't keep.


by Ruth Hulburt Hamilton

President Monson gave us some great coucil:
"I plead with you not to let those most important things pass you by as you plan for that illusive and nonexistent future when you will have time to do all that you want to do. Instead, find joy in the journey—now."

"You pile up enough tomorrows, and you’ll find you’ve collected a lot of empty yesterdays.”

Now I better go use my imagination, I have a whole lot of playing to do today!

The faith of a child

This past week Caleb has been pretty sick. He was running a fever and had a bad cough mostly. I tried to keep him medicated as much as possible but it never fails, the fever sometimes wins. On Thursday night I heard him crying, it was about 3:30 and I went into his room. Caleb was dead asleep and burning up. As I walked up to his bed I saw he was folding his arms and I heard him mutter...

"Dear Heavenly Father, please help me to get feelin' better. Thank You Jesus Christ, Amen."

He is my little Hero!!!

Remeber them....

O beautiful for heroes proved
In liberating strife.
Who more than self their country loved
And mercy more than life!

This is my Brother-In-Law, Max who is currently serving our country in Afghanistan.  

On this day as I think of my Grandpa Empey, Grandpa Taylor, and Ben's Grandpa Ray, and Dad and brother who all fought at some point in time for my freedom, I am so grateful for their sacrifice and service they have given to all of us. I am so very grateful for them and for all of the other brave men and women who are fighting for my freedoms.