At-home campout

Foil dinners on our deck. I used the BBQ because it's so much faster.

Macy insisted that she was eating her corn like a "goggy"(doggy)

We love S'Mores! Check out the grass in the background. Yes that is our yard, we had to keep it that way to get the camping feel. :)

Can I just tell you...?

How AWESOME it is to have a REAL house. I'm talking about my own 4 walls, and all the floors belong to me! We have been married for almost 8 years and up until May 22, we've lived in an apartment or townhouse. All of our places have been sufficient and we were mostly content with each home we've lived in. Having a wonderful family to be with is really the most important thing but to be in a house. Some of you can relate to this and some have only lived in an apartment as a single adult. It doesn't matter. I have a real house! A huge garage that fits our bikes, camping stuff, skis, a van and a car, a freezer, Stan's fix it supplies, and room for more. We also have a yard where the kids can run, throw a Frisbee, hit a ball with a bat. We get to mow the yard, water it, green it up, etc. Over the next several months, we will have ripped out our carpet and replaced it, painted all the walls, hopefully get some curtains up, maybe even obtain some real beds. Our bunk bed frames got lost in the move somehow so the kids are just on mattresses on the floor. It's fine but we have something else to look forward to. It has been a lot of work but it's so rewarding to make it ours, slowly but surely. To go to bed and not have cigarette smoke and vulgar language drift in my window . To feel safe to have my kids out in front of the house, mostly. As long as they stay on the driveway. To not hear people yelling and screaming through the walls, except for my kids. I LOVE having a real house!

I tried!

Last weekend we had our first of many 'at-home vacations'. I read in an LDS living magazine article the fun and economical way to have a vacation. We are always into cheap ideas and the kids are so easy to please right now! We had a back yard campout and I will post pics as soon as the computer allows me to do. We need a new computer. Anyway, the fun started with foil dinners that were absolutely delicious. I was impressed with myself. I cooked those and corn on the cob on the BBQ. After eating out on the deck, we set up our tent and built a fire in our pit. We roasted marshmallows for smores. We watched a movie in the tent to get the kids into their beds. Brynn and Joel slept great and wanted to sleep out there the next night. Stan and I didn't sleep at all. It rained so hard for half of the night, Macy got dripped on and I was cold. I made it until 4:45 am and then Macy and I came in and had a great sleep until 7:30. It was a fun experience. The rain was so typical of camping for me. I remember rain on many camping trips as a kid. I was so glad to be in my backyard and not in the boonies!
I forgot to mention earlier that Stan and I have new callings in our new ward. He is a helper in the nursery! I get to play the organ in Sacrament meeting and the piano in RS. But I get to share the job with another lady. It's awesome! We feel so blessed!!

What a difference a week makes

I've wondered over the past couple of days why I'm not suffering and mourning more than I am. I have almost felt guilty that I'm being insensitive or something. Then it hit me today and Stan and I have also talked about this... Numerous people have been praying and fasting on our behalf. We went to the Temple on Friday and I realized why I was there that our names were on the prayer roll. The reality of the that wonderful process set in as I felt the peace and love and faith of those faithful people attending the Temple. They were praying for US! Then today during testimony meeting, I realized more powerfully than ever, that the Savior's Atonement was exactly for that reason! He suffered so we don't have to and so he can feel what we feel. That burden has definitely been lifted from my shoulders. In fact I only carried it for a very short time. I feel like such a slow learner. I guess I haven't ever had anything that seemed like a big trial before. Now that I have, I've received so much strength, peace, and comfort. It is all too amazing to me how the Lord works.

O Canada AND 4th of July

This week we get to celebrate two holidays. For Canada Day, some friends in the ward invited us over for an afternoon BBQ. It was fun. We spent the evening at the park with the kids and came home to watch a movie. We were able to see Fireworks in Beaumont and Edmonton out of the windows of our home. That was really fun since we didn't feel like going anywhere. The kids were so excited to be able to stay up until 11:30. It was fun just being with them and enjoying all the fun things they like to do. Today we are celebrating with some American friends. I should try to take some pictures. But here is one of the kids...

We were able to go to the Temple last night. I felt so much peace, it was amazing. I feel sometimes like this experience never even happened. It feels like it has happened a long time ago, even though it was only a week. I know all the prayers are helping. THANK YOU EVERYONE!

Still in process

I just want to say THANK YOU to everyone. I feel your love and support more than I could have imagined. It is amazing how blessed and comforted and I feel. We are working on a name and will figure that out shortly, hopefully in the next day or two. We aren't sure about burial yet. We want to donate his body to science but if they don't need it or want it, the hospital will do the burial and we can attend if we want. From what the social worker said, it's a very reverent, spiritual experience. We'll keep posting and I really appreciate everyone's thoughts and prayers! Love to all!

It's a boy...

...Although it turned out different than expected. On Friday afternoon, I went in for my routine ultrasound only to find out the baby did not have a heartbeat. We were shocked, as anyone would be. Shortly after, the shock was replaced with peace, knowing God's love for us and the reality of the Plan of Salvation. We are comforted by our Temple covenants and the promise and blessing of an eternal family, as long as we are faithful. The 24 hours that followed the ultrasound were filled with fear of the unknown, shock, sadness, joy, and gratitude. I was 21 weeks along, though they suspected the baby had been gone for quite some time. My body needed medicine to jump start labor so I could deliver the baby. After two trips to the hospital, the perfectly formed baby boy was delivered Saturday afternoon. We were amazed with the creation of life. We are unsure of the cause of death but he looked perfect. He weighed only 4 ounces and was 6 3/4 inches long. They guessed him to be about 16 or 17 weeks in size but they can't be sure. All went well with everything and I was able to come home last night. The hospital was excellent. The older nurse in the picture, Paula, reminded me of my mom and she was such a comfort to me. She saw me Friday night when I first went in and she was able to trade patients so she could be with me on Saturday. Corinna, the other nurse in the picture was also fantastic. I was well taken care of and the experience was better due to the wonderful people helping us. Heavenly Father was surely answering our prayers and giving us the comfort we needed. The nursing staff made little molds of his feet, footprints and gave us some other mementos and the hospital will take some pictures. I'm sure they will turn out better than ours. We are so grateful that death isn't the end and that we have been blessed with 3 healthy and beautiful children. There was a reason for this and we know our testimonies will be strengthened. Our faith in God and His eternal plan has already helped us and will continue to help us and we go through this trial together as a family. Please feel free to talk to me about it or ask questions. I really don't want this to be kept quiet. We believe this special little boy is a part of our family and we will have a chance to raise him someday. I think being open about everything will help me deal with the sadness that will definitely be a part of this healing process.

Trip to Calgary

Stan had some work to do in Calgary at the end of last week, so we joined him. These were the highlights of our trip:
-lots of fun swimming in the hotel pool, it's so fun that Brynn and Joel are getting old enough to swim and have more fun.
-Me and the kids went to the Calgary Zoo. We had a lot of fun and saw some friends from our last ward. My favorite was the baby gorilla.
-Whitney, Stan's sister, ran a 1/2 marathon nearby so we watched her finish. Way to go Whitney! I was going to run this one before I became pregnant. It's on the calendar for next year!
We had a great time being together. It was fun to get away for a quick weekend and not have too far to drive. Enjoy the pictures.

Riding on two wheels, and 3

(I've added several posts today so please check them for pictures about the most recent happenings)
Joel has wanted to take his training wheels off all spring. We finally did it and he's doing great.

I had to post this too. This is Macy's first time on this tricycle and she HAD to go down the hill like the big kids.

One year older-Joel is 5!

Joel's wish for his birthday was to have it at Grandma and Grandpa Torrie's farm. However they are on a mission in Nauvoo and we decided it wouldn't be as fun without them. Then he wanted to have a party with Brayden and Tyson, his cousins that live in Taber.
I finally was able to talk him into something a little closer to home. Since we had recently moved, 30 minutes away from all of our friends, I convinced him that two or three friends would be good and they had to bring their families. 30 minutes is too far to drive to drop off your kid for 2 hours. So we had a BBQ and just played. We had only been in the house a week, so everything was still in boxes. We had a great time!

Joel wanted me to make a dinosaur cake but was happy when we found the Hot Wheels cake at WalMart.

Some of the guests, the Pitcher family-Jared, Ayden, Spencer, Dallin, David and Kristi(not in the pic)

The other family that came, the Leons-Ale and Parly, Alexa, Jacob and Axel (his knee is in the pic)

Joel's gifts from the family.
Looking over the past year, we are just amazed at how much our little man has grown up and matured. He is one of the tamest boys we know. He can get wild but by nature is gentle and quiet. He must be like his dad. He has been ready for kindergarten for some time now and is often wanting to do all the things his big sister can do. We think it won't be too long before he is bigger and stronger than she is and they won't remember it any other way. We love Joel and are so happy to have him in our family.

The first tooth FINALLY comes out

Brynn had this loose tooth for months, probably since around Christmas time or shortly after. We were all wondering how and when it would fall out. One April morning she was munching on some Mini-wheats and out it came. She had the dexterity to sort the tooth and cereal in her mouth. She finished her bite and spit out the tooth. She was afraid that without the tooth, she wouldn't get any money from the tooth fairy.

All for the princess shoes

Macy LOVES to wear these princess shoes. Because they are dangerous with their heel in the back, we made a rule that she wasn't supposed to wear them on the stairs. She disregarded many warnings...

and this is what happened

She cried for a little bit but would NOT take off the shoes. In fact, when I picked her up from the bottom of the stairs (she landed on the cement in the basement), the shoes were still on!

Start from the end?

Where to begin...
In the past month, Brynn lost her first tooth, we moved out of our townhouse, we had a week away, since we didn't have a home, we moved into our new place, we've cleaned more than we've cleaned in the past year and we still aren't done, Joel turned 5, and I'm 17 weeks pregnant. That, in a nutshell, has been our life recently. I have pictures of Brynn after she lost her tooth, Joel's birthday party and I'll post for each of those two events sometime when I get around to putting the pictures on the computer.
About the house, we knew that when we bought the house that it would be a lot of work since it hadn't been well cared for, that's why we got it for a good deal. After being here a week and a half,we are beginning to realize all that comes with owning a larger home, since we lived in a townhouse for the past 4 years. We've been weeding quite a bit and are slowly making progress. Brynn really enjoys gardening when she is supposed to be doing something else. Joel enjoys it most of the time.
I've been driving Brynn 30 min each way, twice a day back to her old school to finish out the year. We don't get out until the 26th of June. I have a really hard time with the LONG school year here. The extra two weeks really does me in. My first child is just finishing grade 1(first grade). I'm assuming I'll get used to it.
On the best note, we are loving our new community. We have great neighbors, there are lots of kids in the area, it's a quiet, smaller town, just outside of the big city. I can get to the convenience if I want but I don't live right in the middle of it. We LOVE having a garage to park the cars in. This one is huge and fits our van and car with ease. Stan is anxious to finish cleaning it up and getting a work bench so he can work on some projects.
We haven't been to our new ward yet. Stan was released from his calling just after we moved and they asked us to go back so he could bear his testimony. Last week we made the attempt, but ended up at the wrong ward because we went at the wrong time. Oops! This week for sure.
I'm feeling amazing compared to what I was a month ago. The nauseousness is gone and I'm so thankful for that. I do have more energy than I did and the kids are trying really hard to keep me busy playing while I'm not unpacking or cleaning. I haven't gained as much weight this pregnancy and I'm really hoping the trend continues. With any luck, I'll have a baby smaller than Macy and not bigger. That's all for now.

Amazing

I just wanted to pass along this link of a great video. Stan's brother sent it to us and I wanted to share. Check it out!

Ode to Mothers

I'm doing this post early for Mother's Day as I have been thinking about mothers and how wonderful they are.
I love my mother! She is selfless, kind, caring, compassionate, loving, patient, and a million other things. She is the perfect mother for me. I'm so grateful this week for her willingness to serve us. She drove 11 hours, each way from Spokane to Edmonton and then back, just to help us pack for our move. Can you believe it? Some people are blown away by the idea but my mom does things like this often. Our house is packed up except for the last minute stuff and I know I wouldn't have half of it done, had she not come. My brain is so scatterbrained right now and I'm so tired. She helped me have focus and keep working so we could get it done. Because she was so efficient, we were able to get some other projects done too and have fun with the kids. How will I live without my mother?
As for other mothers in my life. There are too many who have had an influence to mention. But I will mention my husband's mother. In the 8 years I've known her, I'm amazed with her abilities and the talents she was blessed with to raise her family. She persevered through many hard times and raised an amazing son who has a strong testimony of the gospel and is a great provider, excellent husband to me, and wonderful father to our children.
So, I'm grateful, and will always be, for the motherly influences I have had in my life.

House

Here are a few pictures of our new house. We get the keys on May 22. We are excited to have a home in a nice neighborhood and community, and look forward to making it our new home.

The front, obviously. The bonus room is above the garage and the front door is on the right side.

The back. We are very excited about a walkout basement!
The yard. Our fireplace inside is gas so this fire pit will keep our marshmallow and hot-dog roasting alive.

This is the living room on the main floor that you see as you walk in the front door.

Too much to catch up

The month of April started with a great family vacation to Utah where we visited with lots of family and friends. The biggest reason for going was my friend Bridget's wedding on April 11. It was an awesome time with her and Jake. They were married in the Draper, UT Temple. After their sealing we did a session and then we were asked to do some sealings. It was wonderful to be in the Temple for half the day! We enjoyed a break from the kiddos, thanks to Kyrk and Emma. It's amazing what a 24 hour break will do for a marriage relationship. It's so fun to have uninterrupted conversations!
The kids did some fun Easter things with their cousins while we were at the wedding. We spent most of the Easter Day driving home. We made it to Great Falls that night. We had our Easter dinner at IHOP, a favorite of mine. I missed my ham and potatoes but yummy breakfast was a nice alternative.
While we were gone, we sold our townhouse. The timing was perfect. It could not have worked out better. We just bought a home in Beaumont, AB, just 10 minutes south of Edmonton. I had no idea the buying of a home was so much work. We made three different offers on three different homes. The first two were beat out by higher offers and the third one worked out with some negotiation. So, you ask, is the market slow? Not really. It's picked up this spring. The lower priced properties are going quick.
I'll attach some pictures, if and when I remember. I didn't take too many while we were gone.
And...we're expecting child #4 in November. Talk about a crazy life. I think I'll survive it.

The party

Macy's new sunglasses, she broke them today, already.


My attempt at creativity. Good thing I
don't have to be graded. I get an 'A' for effort
and the kids thought it was great.

Here's a video of Macy on the phone with her grandma. I love the beginning, sorry about the rest.

Too many sick days AND Macy!

We've had too many sick days now and I'm come down with round 2 of the colds. It's miserable. To welcome in spring, we got 2 inches of snow and it's supposed to snow more. I am really looking forward to our family vacation in 2 weeks to Utah. That's as southern as we'll get this time, but I think it will do for a weather change.

Today is Macy's 2nd birthday. It's unbelievable! It's hard to remember our family without her. She is very entertaining. It might be the age or just that she is the 3rd child, we aren't sure. But, she makes us laugh, a lot. She has the cutest little voice and talks a lot. Another priceless thing about her is her singing. Anyone who checked our blog two posts ago, got to see her in action. She knows several primary songs and LOVES to sing them. I hardly listen to the radio anymore in the van. She asks for THE music and it's a CD we have listened to at least 50 times in the last few weeks. It's the CD for the kids' primary program songs for the year. They all love it and don't want to listen to anything else. Who could resist such requests for sweet music?
Macy has brought much joy to our lives and we are so excited to celebrate her birthday. The family party will be tomorrow. Stan is in Utah this weekend for a roommates reunion. I'll post pictures and maybe a video after we have the little party. We are so excited!

Who said sick days can't be fun?

Thursday morning arrived and Brynn informed me that her throat was sore and she didn't feel well enough to go to school. Joel gave the same response. (Very unusual for both since they both really like school.) I started the trend last week with the horrible cold. Macy picked it up soon after and I guess it was time for Brynn and Joel to get it too. They played so well all morning. We had previously planned to spend the afternoon at Galaxyland since Brynn gets out of school at 2:30 on Thursdays. We have been so house bound lately and everyone seemed fine so we went anyway and we all had fun, one more time. Our pass expires on Monday. We are hoping to get in one more trip to the waterpark on Monday for Family Home Evening. Were Brynn and Joel really sick? I don't know but we had a really fun day anyway.

The Family is of God

We LOVE this new primary song. The kids are so cute singing it. I had to share!

Cousins

Tyson, Colby, Brooklyn, Joel, Brayden, Brynn, and Macy(she didn't have her hair fixed yet)
On Valentine's Day weekend, some of the cousins came for a visit. These were the only pictures we got! They were so cute lined up in a row. They weren't staged for the picture but did it themselves to watch a movie. (We only have one couch). While they were here, we had plenty of fun! We spent Saturday afternoon at the waterpark. The oldest kiddos were so brave and went on a lot of the big slides. The younger ones were content doing all they wanted to do. On Monday we went to Galaxyland. I can't believe those kids. The oldest two of Ryan and Tonya's kids talked me and Tonya into going on the new twisty roller coaster ride. They liked it way more than we did. We were so glad to have them come visit and we got to see them again two weeks later. Brayden, the oldest, was baptized and we said goodbye to Grandma and Grandpa Torrie who are headed to Nauvoo for an 18 month mission. Lots of fun family times!

Parenting book

I'm reading another parenting book. I love the methods of "Love and Logic." This book echoes the same principles but it is from a different angle so it adds to my knowledge and skills or lack of skills.
The book is "Kids are Worth It," by Barbara Coloroso. It was a national best seller in Canada.
The basis is giving your kids the gift of inner discipline, learning how to own and solve your own problems, empowering your kids to be responsible adults that can stand on their own. I've been trying some problem solving techniques with Brynn. Last Sunday she came upstairs telling me that Joel was playing mean. She wanted to know what to do. I asked her how she felt and told her I knew she could find a nice way to work it out. She thought for a minute and then asked for some suggestions. I told her that if it were me I'd say to Joel "I like playing with boys who are nice." Then I'd find something else to do away from him for a few minutes and let him decide. She loved the idea and went and told him. He immediately started crying.
Yesterday they were playing in the snow together and she came in to tell me that he threw snow in her face. I told her it sounded like she had a problem and I knew she could resolve it and to let me know if she needed ideas. She turned to me and said "I know exactly what to do." She went out and told him she wanted to play with boys who were being nice, came inside and started doing something else. He cried again and was really sad that she wouldn't play. She felt so confident in her skills and it was so fun to watch. After a few minutes of cooling off time, they started coloring together and making pictures together and they played happily together the rest of the night. Kids are so smart and it's so fun to encourage them to use their brains!

Just for Fun

I got tagged several times with different lists from Facebook and decided to do this couples one, in honor of Valentine's Day.
♥ What are your middle names? Wright(now that I'm married). His is Jones.

♥ How long have you been together? January or so, 2001

♥ How long did you know each other before you started dating? 5 months

♥ Who asked who out? He asked me out. I'm not exactly sure which date it was though. I'd like to say it was the fun one where we made foil dinners and played Super Mario Kart.

♥ How old are each of you? I'm 29, he's 31.

♥ Whose siblings do/did you see the most? When we were first married, it was more mixed, now it's more his. They live closer.

♥ Do you have any children together? 3

♥ What about pets? Names? No pets!

♥ Which situation is the hardest on you as a couple? Time together for sure.

♥ Did you go to the same school? We both went to BYU.

♥ Are you from the same home town? Nope, he grew up on a ranch in a very small town in Southern Alberta and I grew up in Spokane, Washington.

♥ Who is the smartest? Depends which aspect of life you are talking about. We're specialized.=)

♥ Who is the most sensitive? Probably me, but he's sensitive for a guy but in a good way.

♥ Where do you eat out most as a couple? Eating out? What's that?

♥ Where is the furthest you two have traveled together as a couple? As of Novemer 2008, Barbados! We really want and like to travel!

♥ Who has the worst temper? Me.

♥ Who does the cooking? Me, but he is often willing to take on the role when he's home. It just depends on if I feel like eating what he will cook.

♥ Who is more social? Depends. I'm more shy than he.

♥ Who is the neat-freak? Depends on what it is. We both hate clutter but can't seem to get a handle on it. I keep thinking that it will be better when we have a bigger house. That is partly true but I really think I need more help organizing. Any volunteers?

♥ Who is the more stubborn? Probably me, but it depends on the issue.

♥ Who hogs the bed? Stan

♥ Who wakes up earlier? Depends on the day. It used to be me until we had kids. In the summer, it's me. I like to run first thing in the morning.

♥ Where was your first date? His apt. He was too sick to do it where he'd originally planned(Provo Canyon).

♥ Who has the bigger family? He does. 8 siblings, 25 or so grandkids. I have 7 siblings and twenty something grandkids.

♥ Do you get flowers often? Rarely, can't remember the last time. I got them more when we were dating!

♥ How do you spend the holidays? We used to switch off for Christmas but have spent the last 3 at home and really have enjoyed it. Mostly we enjoy relaxing and not having a schedule.

♥ What is "your song"? When we were engaged, it was "It's Your Love" by Tim McGraw but he has written me a few songs and those are better.

♥ How long did it take to get serious? He made it clear when we started dating what his intentions were. We dated for 4-5 months, engaged for 2 1/2 months.

♥ Who eats more? ME. Anyone who knows him, can out eat him. The kids too on some meals.

♥ Who does/did the laundry? Definitely me. Sometimes he carries the laundry basket up the stairs.

♥ Who’s better with the computer? Him.

♥ Who drives when you are together? He usually does.

"Stand close together and lift where you stand"

We had an excellent lesson in Relief Society from Pres Uchtdorf's message from the Priesthood session of last General Conference. We talked a lot about our callings and the need to magnify them and that every calling is important and helps the ward in moving forward the work of the Kingdom of God. I can think of only one time specifically where I didn't magnify my calling and it was a horrible time. I had a horrible attitude about it and I was relieved when I was released. I feel like I'm really helping the ward and myself in the callings I have right now. Something from the lesson that our teacher pointed out.... All around the world there are terrible things happening. We often feel guilty in not helping with every country's starving children, etc. She pointed out from the talk that the Lord put us in an appointed place, where we live, and we need to do everything we can, in that appointed place. All of us need to work together!

New thoughts on piano

Thanks for the tips I received about piano lessons. I was ready to throw in the towel and wait until she is older. I think I received some inspiration today. The one thing Brynn always says about piano lessons is that she LOVES to do it with mom. I finally caught on! I'm going to have "piano lessons/practice time" with Brynn until she is more mature and can do it on her own. I vaguely remember my sister-in-law saying something about doing that with her son for the first while.

Do I know what I'm doing?

You would think that by the third child, you'd have a few things figured out. And I do...but every child is different, I keep re-learning. This is the continuing saga of Macy and her sleeping troubles.
She slept great for 4 or 5 nights, in her big bed. Mind you, we have been staying with her until she is asleep. But we didn't think it too big of a deal since she was sleeping all night. Well, she oscillated back to the waking several times trick, Stan slept in her bed once, hoping that would help. We finally say "NO MORE!" For anyone who knows me, I've always been the sleep nazi. After a rough start with Brynn, at four months, I taught her to put herself to sleep, which meant screaming until she fell asleep. This continued until she was almost two, for naps and bedtime. I don't know how I survived it. So with Joel, I really didn't want the screaming and starting putting him down in his bed to sleep from a very early age, maybe one month or so. He rarely even cried. Angel! Macy came along, I was determined to give her a soother(binki), which was awesome, and I rocked her to sleep until she weaned herself of that just before she was 6 months old. She weaned herself of the binki too around her first birthday, has always been easy to put down, including being put to bed by babysitters and relatives. The trouble stems from the time we were away on our cruise. The Final answer is that we have her in her crib AGAIN and she is staying there for awhile!

Randomness

Week 2 of piano lessons went terrible. Brynn wasn't getting it and I didn't know what else to do so we had a break for a few days and we are starting again. I did something different, very basic, today. She seems disinterested. Is this normal? How do you make the beginning stuff exciting when they can't really play anything?

Macy is sleeping through the night again and I think naps are going to have to stop. She sleeps better when she doesn't nap. I am so sad to say good-bye to naps though. I love that break and she is so clingy.

I'm the food storage specialist for Enrichment for our ward. I'm getting really excited about the year. We are focusing most of the enrichment activities around food storage. We're going to get prepared, finally! I got emailed a great website. It is full of TONS of great info. http://foodstoragemadeeasy.net/getting-started/

Since I married Stan, we read the Book of Mormon all the way through in January. So, I'm currently in the middle of it. It's so hard to not speed read it. When I slow down and pay more attention, it is amazing! I love figuring out who goes where and how the stories relate. I highly recommend doing it at least once in your life. It gives me a feel for converts who pick it up and just can't put it down. It's an amazing book and I know it's true!

Piano lessons and back to school

Today, I gave Brynn her first piano lesson. It was really fun to make it formal and she LOVED it! She asked me if she gets to have one every day. I told her she gets to practice every day until our next lesson, next Tuesday. I hope it will be a fun experience for her and me. I still can't believe I have a child old enough to be learning all these fun things and going to school all day long. We have missed her since school started again yesterday.
Macy is sleeping better and back in a crib. I'm not sure what will happen now. My back is breaking having to put her in and get her out. She's a solid kid. I'm so grateful that she loves to snuggle though. She loves to sit with me and be held. She gives great hugs. She talks about grandma and grandpa daily, since they were here for a week and a half at Christmas time. I think she is wondering where they went.
Joel started a class today, where he will learn a variety of different sports. He loved his first day and is excited for next week because his teacher said they would play basketball. He also started learning about space and the planets. He had fun making planets out of play-doh this afternoon.
One last thing,
I learned yesterday that my great friend, Bridget, who is currently living in Utah, just got engaged and will be married in April! We are so excited for her.

MACY, my baby

So, since we got back from our cruise in November, Macy has been quite the challenge to put to bed. Before that, I've NEVER had a problem at bedtime. She has been an easy going girl. You put her in her bed, say goodnight and she would go to sleep, waking in the night, rarely. After we got back, I gave her more love and attention because I'm sure it was an adjustment for her. She started needing to be rocked or something until she was asleep. This was ok for a little bit but now it is stressing me out. I'm really dreading nap time and bed time. She moved herself to a big bed and said she didn't want the crib anymore, so we took it down. I decided today that we needed to let her cry herself to sleep. She keeps waking up at night and won't go back to sleep without effort on our part. We are all exhausted. So I let her scream today and she fell asleep by the door but only slept for 30 minutes. Same routine at bedtime tonight only we decided to put up the play pen so at least when she crashed she would be in bed and hopefully sleep through the night. Brynn was a screamer at bed time for a LONG, LONG time. I hated it and was so glad when Joel was always so easy, and then Macy. Now I'm back to screaming child and I really don't like it. Any other suggestions? Is it really worth it to lay down with your child every night and every nap time and every time they wake up in the night? What happened?

Christmas Fun

We had a fantastic Christmas. It was really fun having my parents come and spend Christmas with us. They arrived early, avoiding the worst of the winters storms. As a result, they were able to attend church with us where I played the piano for the choir, Joel gave a talk and Brynn a scripture in the primary, and I taught the lesson in Relief Society. They couldn't have planned a better week to come. We enjoyed watching movies, playing games with the kids, eating lots of food, visiting and being lazy. I don't think I've ever seen my dad so content to do nothing. I thought he would be bored and ready to go home by the second day.
Christmas Eve was so fun with friends from our ward and the missionaries. I started a new tradition having our big dinner on Christmas Eve. It was too cold to sled on Christmas so we hung out, watched movies, played games. It was so nice to be together. The kids were in heaven, having so much attention all day long. Thanks for coming Mom and Dad! We love you.

Grandma and Grandpa Wright came for Christmas this year and stayed for 9 days!

New jammies

This is the cast of our Nativity on Christmas Eve, with our friends, the Aweres

For Christmas we bought our family a super fun attractions pass to the West Edmonton Mall. For three months we get to swim at the waterpark, ride the rides at the amusement park, ice skate, visit their aquarium, and mini golf, as many times as we want. We've almost paid for it already. It's been so much fun.

Weather

Many people have been sharing their weather experiences so I thought I'd give you a view into mine.
For the past week, the average temp has been around -15F, with the wind chill -30F(has anyone heard of the wind chill factor? I hadn't until I moved to Alberta).
Growing up I thought it was cold when it got to the single digits in Fahrenheit. This cold weather hurts when you go outside. It's so normal here that nothing shuts down. As long as your car starts, which is sometimes difficult, everything is still up and running. I'd like to say that you get used to it. But I'm not sure that is true. If you are dressed appropriately though, it is bearable! A lot of gas is used for the car to warm up enough to get in without getting frostbite. We have quite a bit of snow too but it will be here until March or April. We're hoping it warms up a tad so we can go sledding!

Brynn turns 6!

We wrote this message to Brynn for her birthday. The small writing says "You are: smart, happy, loving, kind, helpful, beautiful, excellent singer, great speller, wonderful reader, nice sister. She is all of these things and we are so glad she is part of our family!
I just can't believe she is 6!

Brynn's Birthday cupcakes. She's so flexible. She originally wanted them in the shape of a princess. This mom couldn't do that without a lot more time and someone else to help. She was happy with the bright pink frosting and the sort of heart shape we attempted.

We went to the waterpark for her birthday. She loves it there. Now that she knows how to swim, it is so much more fun for her.

Ward Christmas Party-A night in Bethlehem

This is Stan with our Bishop and the other counselor in the Bishopric. They were the Wise Men and they sang "We Three Kings"

Whitney, Stan's sister was a huge help keeping the kids close by.

The kids and I eating pita bread with hummus, stew and salads.

Joel, Cooper (Joel's friend), Madison (Brynn's friend), and Brynn-I had to add to this. Cooper told his mom that Joel was dressed up as the Holy Ghost! Don't you love the things kids say?
We tried to dress in traditional attire of the time Jesus was born. The props were great. The Activities Committee did an awesome job making the gym look like Bethlehem. The program was the Nativity, with songs performed by various groups in the ward. We all had a great time.

Breakfast at Denny's

My sister-in-law gave us the idea to take our kids to breakfast or something similar, once a month on the day of their birth. It was Joel's turn so we went to Denny's. He looks happy in these pictures but it wasn't a super fun experience. We had to wait 15 minutes to be seated and to pay after we were done. He's 4 and waiting with nothing to do is not his forte. After we sat down, he said "I miss daddy, Brynn and Macy. Can we go home?" He asked this question several times while we were eating. The food was good but I think he would have been much happier if we gave him $5 to use somewhere at the mall. Cheaper for me, more fun for him. I guess I don't know this 4 year old of mine very well.