New baby girl

Yesterday we welcomed the newest member of our family. I have to say the experience was a new one- I was induced, then skipped the epidural.   It was a waiting game till the contractions really began. The fact that I had dialated from a 2-6 in about 3 hours was helpful to know when making the decision to not have the shot. It seemed my body was preparing quickly and wouldn't be much longer.  Once my water broke on its own-that was also new to me, it didn't seem as painful- or maybe it was that Wes was a big help by rubbing my feet through it all.   I thought the contractions would be the worst part, and since I only had to push once for Malia, it wouldn't be so bad.  The outcome was that the pushing helped the contractions,but it feels like your pelvis might break and the pushing part took longer than I thought. I had to dig deep to get through. Just knowing it the pain would be gone when she was out was a big motivation.  It was more intense but then so was the joy of having her here! Recovery is so much better, as well. I am so glad I didn't have the epidural and the following pain in the back that lingers on.  I'll take short and intense over long mild and drawn out any day.  

I later found out when Morgan called from school that he had been praying for me to have a natural birth. I guess he had heard me talking about how much I dislike getting the epidural. I felt his prayers!   He is such a big example of faith and love.  Wes also said he prepared the day as if he were going to be going to the temple. What a neat way to approach such a reverent and special day. 

And she is beautiful.

I love reading about the idea of the first veil being passing through the womb to come to earth. The sacrice of a mother as a similitude of the savior, shedding both blood and water.  It is such a moving experience, I felt close to heaven and cried more after she was born.  What a marvelous responsibility we have on earth.  I love the ability to call on Heavenly Father in times of need. I love the joy that follows pain.   I love knowing that we are here as children of god who is mindful of us and is ready to help us. I am grateful for Wes, who is thoughtful and patient, and has taught our boys to be the same.  When the kids showed up Morgan cried a little as he held the baby. Not sure entirely why, but I am confident that he felt the spirit, that his prayers were answered, and that his worries of the day could be rested. Malia was quiet and tentative, staring into her new sisters face. Carson jumped up and down expressing his desire to name her McKinley Ruth, which seems fitting as the namesake to my mother, and grandest mt top in America:) 

I am firm in my belief that there is no higher calling, no greater producer of happiness then having a family and sacrificing to remain close to the savior.   I feel that my burden was made light during pregnancy and delivery as a blessing of this choice-  (having done crossfit sure helped a great deal as well)!!!!!

Even though I felt like things weren't going the way I had planned or thought they should be going, I realized that my plans were being overridden by a better one, teaching me trust, patience, and a knowledge that we can let things fall into the hands of our savior, knowing that without a doubt, our happiness will be greater when we step aside and let him guide us.

It was a beautiful day.

Moab, late post from April 11, 2014

Everyone in our family loves moab. We decided to go realizing we wouldn't be able to do family mt bike rides with a baby.... It was so much fun! We camped at horse thief, it was clean and quiet. I was impressed at the kids abilities to complete a 2 hour ride, Malia will go down anything!  They spent hours chasing lizards and exploring the red rock. We captured two for pets. Wes made some delish meals on the grill and we roasted marshmallows on the fire. I love how young and fun the kids are at this stage, and I'm soaking up every minute.

First day of school

First day and I'm relieved they have good teachers, Morgan with mrs. Cox and Carson with mrs Timothy.  Malia seems to like kindergarten and all is well... Now we just need to get back into our house. 

Summer with gramma ruth

We left the day after school ended to head down to my moms while our kitchen gets a much needed renovation! Upon finding out about the little #4 that would be joining us we concluded that more space was necessary. So we packed up our stuff and away we went.

I was very conscious to not wear out our welcome and have the kids help out as much as possible. It was such a great experience for all of us. Gramma used a point system where the kids could earn points to go do fun things. As a result, they learned to be better behaved and just more respectful to each other. I gained a much greater appreciation of my mother and the help she was to us. She even encouraged me to pick up the paintbrush again and enter a few contests.

We ended up doing so many fun things like the stadium of fire, museum of curiosity, dinosaur museum, the pool, hiking timpanogus cave, bike rides, donut shop, Maui chill, movie nights (mooch a wabie) and a rodeo. I think this will be a summer the kids never forget. I just love that my mom put aside her busy life to include us and help us feel comfortable. She even let the boys come to the art classes she was teaching and they have learned all about perspective and such. Her neighbors, Nicole and Marshall miller have been watching ruby all summer and that has also been a blessing. Can't wait for things to get back to normal, though we have adapted to a crazy lifestyle pretty good:) 

Morgan turns 10.

Morgan turns a whole decade old today. The guilt that has been resting on my shoulders for not having blogged in quite a while has finally gotten to me! Not to mention all three of my kids officially start school tomorrow. I thought of all the time I would have.... Then came the fourth pregnancy! Ha! Let's say I felt a bit derailed, but to a greater destination I am sure. I thought if I ever got pregnant again I would eat so well and do everything right... Harder than it looks:)  I am now 6.5 months along and Morgan will be 10 years older than the baby. We like to tell Morgan he will be old enough to baptize her when she turns 8!   Morgan has been such a fun little guy to be around. He is sensitive to others' needs and feelings, enjoys building Legos, mine craft, and doing magic tricks. He is also a good swimmer and likes to play tennis with his gramma Ruth.

He currently wears glasses and asked for a mullet at his last haircut- and well it looks pretty good on him. He is so excited to meet his baby sister and I know he will be a lot of help. His teachers praise him for being so helpful and kind to others.   I am proud if him for being such a good example as an older brother.  He also likes to play guitar. I wish he'd play piano but he hates it and I believe he got burned out by being pushed too hard by his teacher at such an early age.  I've had a couple of teachers tell me that is what will do it. 

Well at least I hope he sticks with guitar.

Morgan starts fourth grade tomorrow! We are remodeling our kitchen and can't live in our house yet,but I hope to be back in soon.

We had a great day yesterday, we celebrated Morgan by having lunch and playing laser tag with all the friends he met while staying with gramma Ruth. Parker miller, drake eudis, and max jarvie. His cousins came as well as his childhood friend tanner Baldwin. Today we came to the Ridds an Julie made Morgan a double decker couch cake. Pretty awesome. 

We also got him a metal detector and he can't wait to find buried treasure.

all about malia age 4-5

Since Malia is sick and sleeping, I thought I would do a little catch up on her.  She is such a fun little girl and so daring, eats almost everything and can also be very kind and loving. she loves to play with Ruby and her new best friend Ava.  She loves daddy daughter dates, dancing, singing, and will ask you to turn the radio to the spanish station, her favorite.   She started preschool and can read small words, and count to 100.