Hallelujah!

There will be so much more that I write on this in the upcoming weeks - but for now, I just had to share the quick blurb that I posted on Facebook, because I'm over the moon ecstatic and know that all things do work out for our good.

2 weeks of back & forth with the School District, the old elementary school, finding a new school, applying for a program, getting accepted to the program - being thrown out of the program because they didn't realize Jacob's age - 3 different days of tests and a lot of prayer and faith....we just received word that JACOB STARTS 1st GRADE ON MONDAY! All the kids are starting at the new school, and

 Jacob is back in the Dual-Immersion French Program! In the end the school got their test results which showed he was testing well into a 1st grade level & that we as parents were on par asking for him to stay on grade level for what he has done and not go by the cut-off date for Utah. It was well worth all the work....but I could use a vacation or at least some ice cream to celebrate!

Make it do - or do without

I've learned a new skill this summer which I'm rather pleased with....it's the beginning stages of canning or food preserving. I say beginning because I'm learning a lot each time I can - it's a process & although it's not hard, it does require some learning and a time investment :)

It all started with an apricot tree that is in our yard here that was producing more apricots than we could keep up with! The kiddos & I figured out a way to "pick" the fruit as so much was falling to the ground & then some was wasted. We tool out the kids parachute & held it open while someone would take the rake & shake down the fruit which we'd catch in the parachute. Such a brilliant idea that saved the fruit & allowed us to pick dozens at the same time - I think Madeleine thought of that one!

The only dilemma is that with all the fruit we needed to do something with it! I talked Lauren into making some freezer jam with me & then we somehow realized that a favorite spread/jan they use of apricot & jalepeno jam should also be made. These were perfect to start out with as they can be considered low-key canning :). We did a few batches each of the freezer & jalepeno mix that day while the cousins played - it was fun to work with someone & we ended up with delicious results!  This is just the freezer jam, I forgot to take a picture of the apricot & jalepeno jam...

The apricots kept coming & I couldn't swing another day right then to make jam, so I froze the remaining apricots to use at another time. I filled 4 huge zip-loc bags with apricots - perfect solution for later use.

When Celeste came in town a few weeks later, we spent her last afternoon here making the apricot & jalepeno jam again....this time I figured out to blend the jalepenos & some seeds into the jam for more of a kick - wow! Celeste showed me some tricks to sterilizing the jars & lids - I realized I was still such a novice!

Since I was on a canning kick I decided to attempt peaches. There was an incredible sale & suddenly 50 lbs. of peaches were sitting in my kitchen begging for attention. Jacob & I are huge fans of sweet peaches - we probably each ate around a dozen in the next few days! The peaches were starting to turn quickly so I froze a lot & then borrowed Leslie's steaming pot for the bottles & bought a lot of jars to get this project rolling. It ended up that I didn't start the process until late one evening - Bryson stayed up to talk with me & then donned an apron to cut peaches. We finished most of the peaches around 11:30pm - I just wanted to stare at the jars full of beautiful color....but we were tired! I finished the last small batch in the morning & realized we had canned 13 jars. It seemed like so much more - but when I really looked at those jars I wondered where all the peaches were --- still look at these beauties!  I chose to do a really light syrup as I wanted to lessen the amount of sugar used - which I read when doing a light syrup the peaches float more to the top.  It cracks me up to see them all bunched up at the top of the jar!

I'd like to do another round of peaches before they are out of season....and if I stay this ambitious I'd like to do applesauce in the fall - that is one of few fruits Bryson Jr will eat so I'd like to make my own so I know he's getting what I hope is the best.

I have a lot to learn about ways to be a better homemaker & as some call it a domestic diva --- but I find it fun & enjoyable to learn....and the best is that I love knowing I did something that we can enjoy.  I also have two tomato plants that are growing at a wild pace (pictures to come as I seriously have never seen tomato plants grow this big (Bryson and I joke that the one is the plant from Little Shop of Horrors)...I think that either a salsa or some kind of tomatoes will need to be canned in a few weeks as well!  

Golden Days Celebration

A few months ago I put my name in the lottery for tickets to attend President Monson's 85th Birthday Celebration at the Conference Center. Amazingly enough, my name was randomly selected & we received the 4 tickets that were sent to us. Since we are a family of 5 the 4 tickets might have been a problem, but I assumed that children under 8 years of age were not to attend, so I told Jacob we could ask someone to watch him that night. Right away he asked if he could go to Drew's house - his very best friend lives around the corner & 3 houses up from us & Jacob is sure they are not only best friends, but twins living in separate families :)

Thankfully Drew's mom was happy to have him over & off he went for a fun "late over" while Bryson & I took Madeleine & Bryson Jr. to the celebration.

The co-hosts were Steve Young and Jane Clayson Johnson - she stated at the beginning that the theme was chosen in reference to a quote that President Monson loves by Scottish writer and poet James Barrie, "God gave us memories, that we might have June roses in the December of our lives."  The Conference Center stage was adorned with huge bouquets of beautiful yellow roses - symbolic of the "golden" days of President Monson's life and also that yellow is his favorite color.

It was a beautiful performance with 3 guests that are well-known singers/performers. We realized it's not often to see a line-up like that on one stage....and that the performance is free is just amazing! The Tabernacle Choir & the orchestra are so talented - my favorite song they performed was 76 Trombones from Music Man, it was absolutely phenomenal! Bryson & I were blown away by Dallan Vail Bate's performance of 'Bring Him Home' from Les Miserables....he tours with their performing group for the show & he sings that song with such passion & beauty - such a clear & strong voice that carrier throughout the center but also so soft as well. I wish we could see him in the actual play!

The kiddos had a great time as well - the performance was an hour and a half and started at 8pm...they were tired after but talked about all their favorite parts.

We are very lucky to live in an area where these events take place & that we were able to go this year! I want to put my name in for every performance they have...which I will, but having your name drawn is never a sure thing so we'll enjoy to the fullest what we are able to attend!

they ask for pictures not to be taken during the performance - so this is after we were standing for the 2nd ovation and as people were leaving...I figured since all the lights were on & they had stopped recording that I could snap a photo - the quality is less than stellar since it's with the phone and not my nice camera....oh well, it still shows how incredible the Conference Center is!  

Drum Roll Please....

The family reunions and family in town have now come to a close & it's time to report on the happenings of the baby and this summer....all in due time (ha! - that play on words is quite by chance!) 

We had a wonderful ultrasound last Monday (July 30th), where the most important thing that we found out is that as far as the technician can tell the baby is perfectly healthy and all is well.  That was the biggest concern for me - more than finding out the gender.  I asked him to first make sure everything was alright with the baby.  We saw limbs (which helped ease the strange dream I had had the night before that the baby was born without any arms), and he looked specifically at the brain and calmed my nerves that everything was developing at the standard rate.  Once we knew that the baby was doing really well - it was time to figure out what gender this little one was. 

Bryson (Sr.) was standing by the screen and looking up as the technician moved further down the baby checking out the organs and legs.  Bryson suddenly said, "Oh, it's a boy....see right there?"  I looked up, but to me I can never really understand where the baby is on the screen - except for the head, I have now finally figured out how to easily see the head :)  Since I couldn't tell any difference, I thought to myself that a boy it was....I told myself it was a good thing I had decided that this was a boy from the get-go, as it didn't phase me very much hearing it was a boy.  Whilst this was going on in my head, the technician moved the mouse/cursor over to the area Bryson had pointed out, and started to type something.  In my head I was thinking - don't type out that it's a boy, just tell us - it's much easier!  However, as he started to type 'G' and then 'I' - my mind was trying to put together what was going on....finally when he got to the 'R' and 'L', I shouted out, "Really, it's a GIRL?!"  I was in complete shock - this is not what I had planned on, nor even thought moments ago....a girl was a very amazing surprise to get!  There is this song called Think PINK!  from Funny Girl (musical with Audrey Hepburn), that I keep thinking about....if you don't know the movie you should watch it and sing Think Pink with me!    

I was just showing these pictures to Madeleine, Bryson & Jacob and they thought it was so cool to see her head, profile, her little arms and hands.  It really is a miracle that we can see these wee ones before they are born!

As for names - we don't know.  There are a few favorites we have from when Madeleine was born that we didn't use & over the years there are other names that we've heard and liked.  I want to keep the name a secret, so that there will be something NEW for when she is born.  I'm just thankful to know that it's a girl, otherwise I would have been buying boy clothing & deciding on a gender neutral room for this little gal...now we can definitely THINK PINK....and buy dresses, head bands & all girly things! 

As for telling our other little cuties - we had a family dinner that evening with my side of the family, and I wanted to try an idea I had seen somewhere on the internet.  I stopped in a party store and had them fill up 4 pink balloons - one for each child, and pink for the GIRL!  I put them into a box - the only problem is that they were filled up with too much helium and two balloons ended up popping.  If I had found out I was having twins (my dream never come true) - then the two balloons would have been perfect!  The idea was that once the kiddos opened up the lid to the box the balloons would fly out & reveal the gender.  There were two hiccups with our version - the balloons were still too big (even with only two in the box), and so they didn't exactly fly out - the kiddos had to help them out of the box.  And, I tied the balloons to a weight so that we could use the balloons for announcing to Bryson's parents/family.  

I had the camera shutter speed flying away - so there are a lot of pictures for something that took a matter of  a few moments.  Oh well - I love the faces of the kids....especially at the end, when they connected (with the help of family calling out) that the PINK = A GIRL!  They were so excited - Madeleine especially who had hoped for a sister and yet I have to be careful because whenever I saw that Madeleine is getting her sister, Jacob pipes up and declares that he is getting a sister too!  He really wanted a baby girl to make things even he said - now we'll have 3 girls and 3 boys in our family.  For now....I do still hold out the hope of adoption....maybe we'll finally get twins that way!  

Here we go - the reveal of a baby GIRL to the siblings :) 

Pregnancy Diaries - Week 20

I've reached the half-way mark & it feels great but a little strange.  I can't believe I'm already at 20 weeks - but then I counted out how long it is until December --- and there are still 20 weeks left of being pregnant!  That sounds like such a long time!

Today we actually go in for the ultrasound and we have decided to find out the gender.  I am excited to find out - but as I've stated in the previous posts I'm a little nervous.  I think part of that is for the gender, but also partly is because I haven't felt totally connected to this pregnancy in many ways.  I've had a few friends that have miscarried or had severe complications in their pregnancies & I kept thinking because I was older perhaps there was more chance something could go wrong.  I've noticed that I've distanced myself a little bit from this pregnancy and I can only think it's because I've wanted to spare myself some feelings on the off-chance we also had something go wrong.  I hope & pray that everything comes back completely normal & fine from the ultrasound, but for whatever reason I've had it in my mind that something may not be just right.  I think that with my first 3 children I was rather young & naive to everything that could go wrong - again, now I see how many complications there can be with a pregnancy and also the different situations that children might be born with.  I'm not trying to be a walking sound of doom - I just can't shake the feeling that something is different this time.  Perhaps (and hopefully) I will be proved wrong within a few hours at the ultrasound and all will be well.

On to the report from the past few weeks!  It's been a rather eventful 2 weeks as far as our family life goes - there is so much to catch up on besides these Pregnancy Diaries - and I will be working to catch up over the next few weeks on our summer adventures :)

* Bryson Jr. was baptized this past Saturday & it was one of the most incredible days our family has experienced!  There was a lot to prepare as we held the baptism at a different time than the Stake Baptisms and so we were in charge of our own program & then we opted to hold a little Luau lunch after the ordinance for family & friends to stay and visit and kiddos to play together.  I get really excited for events - this was no different, but my body obviously handles things very differently with being pregnant.  I was up late the days before the event - I didn't get to bed until 2am on Saturday morning & woke up at 6am to start on cooking again.  I didn't feel great - but made sure to eat something for breakfast and before I knew it the baptism was under way.  Afterwards when I was in the kitchen getting the food ready with family who was amazing & helping out - I started to feel an intense headache and then suddenly I had that feeling that things were not going well!  I ran down the hall - could not find a bathroom & then opened a door outside and threw up.  We were ready to start the lunch fairly soon after that, and I tried to eat something but nothing sounded or tasted good.  It ended up near the end of the lunch that I threw up again - I tried to make it as far away from the crowd as possible...I sort of succeeded :)  The rest of the day I was so tired and rather listless - Bryson Sr. was amazing & stepped in and carried on with cleaning up from the activity --- he is not one that loves when I plan an event, but thankfully I didn't hear one 'So, I told you that....'  He was a real gem to help out so that I could go home & try to sleep off a bit of how sick I felt.  Anyway - lesson learned....I can still do events and plan things - I just need to take into account that I need a lot more sleep beforehand and to eat consistently through.

*We were up at Bear Lake at the first of last week for a Lord Family Reunion.  The last day, we decided to drive up to a little hike Bryson remembers from when he was younger.  I'm happy to say that I did the hike with everyone!  It was not long - about a mile up and a mile back down, and for the most part it was an easier walk over dirt trails into this beautiful valley area....but the first hike UP that mountain was hard and I realized how out of shape I am (and that we should have worn tennis shoes & not flip-flops!).  I hope to do more physical activities in the weeks ahead, but especially pick up a consistent exercise routine when the kiddos are back in school for the last months of this pregnancy.

* I realized towards the end of when I was really nauseous and sick that one of the few drinks that I felt better with was Caffeine-Free Diet Coke.  Strange I know!  Bryson & I have mostly sworn of carbonated drinks in our life & home - for a rare treat the kiddos get to have root beer when we go out to eat or maybe as Root Beer Floats for FHE - but we just know that we feel better when we don't have carbonated drinks. So, imagine my surprise when this coke product became my new friend when my stomach was feeling queasy.  I don't have it as often as I did weeks ago - but I still enjoy a glass now & again, and I need to remember that it's medicinal and not for enjoyment...so I won't get hooked!  {I was hooked on Diet Coke when I taught for those few years - it was so hard to break the habit, but once broken I haven't been back....now to just stay that way even though I'm using it every so often with the pregnancy!}

* I can feel the baby move a bit more frequently now.  In fact, last night I did a quick movement where I was reaching for something while we were having family scripture time & I received a swift kick or elbow from that little one!  It surprised me so much that I gave a little yell & I dropped what I had been reaching for.  The kiddos were all concerned & wanted to know why I had yelled out - and are excited for the time when the baby is moving a bit more consistently so they can feel a love jab as well :)

I'll be back to report on the status from the ultrasound later today or this week - and to give updates on family life before I forget.  Oh - that was the one sad and yet now comical part of preparing for the baptism. I was having a terrible time forgetting things on Friday - I really think it was due to the pregnancy that I was forgetting so much!  I have to write these things down before my pregnancy brain or just my regular forgetfulness - forgets them!

Pregnancy Diaries - Week 18

Edging ever closer to the half-way mark of Week 20 - and when we find out what gender this little one is.

Here are some of the highlights of the last two weeks:

* The baby is about the size of a turnip right now, and despite what I still see as a small size - I am starting to feel some movement!  It's not all the time, but when I stretch my torso to reach something, or the last few days at night when I'm resting and then move quickly I feel a little jab from either an elbow or foot.  I've had to stop a few times and remind myself that it's a baby moving in there - which is fun but still a little crazy to think about.  I don't think I've wrapped my head completely around that we have a baby coming!  

* Cravings
- banana peppers!  I was driving one day running errands with the kiddos and I could not get a veggie Subway sandwich loaded with banana peppers out of my head.  Every so often I try to talk myself out of a craving - but not this time!  And, then I bought another bottle of the peppers to take up with us to Bear Lake for the 4th of July.  I have loved cramming as many as possible onto my sandwiches :)

- cheddar cheese!  Wow - I feel like I should be on a dairy commercial promoting the beauty of cheese!  They were giving out samples of Tilamook cheeses last week at the store, and I suddenly realized that cheese was my new best friend!  I bought one of the smaller loafs of cheese and I've already worked half-way through it!  My favorite snacks are cheese & apples or cheese & grapes - the only complaint so far is that the kids say my breath stinks after eating cheese :)

- California Rolls.  I've only wanted these every so often - about once every 2 weeks.  I love the punch of the wasabi and the ginger with it!

- Crab Legs.  I've actually been wanting these for about 6 years, since we had them for Bryson's brother's birthday at their house.  Oh they were so good!  I've gone to buy them a few times, but I never plan the right time & try to buy them at peak time...which looking at the price tag deters that craving.  I am determined that at least once during this pregnancy I will get my crab legs!  Bryson and I went out to lunch for my birthday last week, and we went over to Market Street Grill - I was thinking I might just get crab legs - only to discover that their price at that time was $75 for 2 King Crab Legs.  No way!  I opted for fish tacos instead - which were actually fabulous and now that I'm thinking about it...I should have those again soon :)

Other random or weird things -

* My hair really does feel different - the texture is off, and I can't figure out if I need to change shampoos or what to do.  I don't notice a huge difference when my hair is done & the texture of my curls - but when I wash my hair it's noticeable.  I wish I could figure out what it needs....

* I have gotten a little too excited some mornings and get up and start out with some fresh apricots or have started to get ready before I eat.  Bad idea.  Those are the mornings that I am quickly reminded that my body isn't going to handle things until it has some protein & a better start to the morning.  It's not often - but I have gotten sick about once or twice a week in the past two weeks...oh, and there was a random night when I was up later & most have overdid it during the day, because I was sick that night too.  It really is random to me at this point, but thankfully again it's not daily!

* I'm starting to get much more energy during the day - finally!  The last week I had 2 great days making jam with the bazillions of apricots from the huge tree in our yard & I've also done weeding & yard work - I love that I feel good enough to be outside & doing something active!

Pregnancy Diaries - Week 16

I finally decided that I needed to start posting updates on not only life - but this pregnancy.  I always love going back and reading little thoughts or stories I wrote down with the other 3 pregnancies, and I know that unless I jot things down, these thoughts that seem like they will stay forever become passing memories all to soon.

Today I was reminded to write again when I was munching on my cold & crunchy afternoon snack of a PICKLE!  Actually, I had a few.  It is SO hot right now, and the afternoons can be so long as we try to keep cool tucked inside the house with the blinds closed and drinking as much ice water as possible.  I really wanted something besides ice - something else that would be cool & crunchy...but what?  It didn't take long to paw through the fridge (we went way over our grocery bill this month. so the last week we used just about every item from fridge, freezer & pantry!).  I saw the pickle jar, and thought 'Why not?  I'm pregnant, so perhaps they really will taste good!'  I'm not opposed to a pickle, but I don't usually just eat them plain - however, I enjoyed a few slices of those pickles and I started to really crave a canned homemade pickle - extra crunchy and cold.  Maybe later this week I'll find the perfect pickle! :)  


According to Baby Center at 16 weeks the baby is about the size of an avocado.  That is not so big, and hardly seems big enough for all that the body has gone through - however, as Jacob says when I haven't felt good in this pregnancy - "Your body is just allergic to the baby, right Mom?"

Overall, health wise things are going so much better at this point!  The turn started to happen around 12 weeks - the first part in June.  I still was getting completely exhausted by the end of the night, and usually needed to be laying down flat ready for bed by 8:30/9pm at the latest.  Every so often there was a night that I could stay up past that - but I never knew if it would push things to the edge of getting sick or I'd be able to scrape by.  For each pregnancy I've had to lay low at night - staying up too late was an almost easy answer that I would get sick....either that night, or the following morning.  Sometimes both, which was the worst.

I haven't been sick - really sick each day and multiple times during the day for the month of June.  I've had a hard day here and there, but by and large it's amazing to not be loosing my cookies multiple times a day or week, feeling nauseous all the time, and although my sense of smell is still very keen and I have the worst gag reflex of my entire life - things are looking up.  I feel like I keep saying that after I have complained for an entire paragraph....really things are getting better!

I had planned to surprise Bryson with a gender revealing for Father's Day - I was going to get an ultrasound and have the technician not tell me the gender, but seal it in an envelope and then hand that to my sister-in-law who would make a cake with pink or blue frosting....then on Father's Day Bryson would have cut into the cake to find out what we were having.  I left going to Fetal Fotos to the day before Father's Day & I woke up sick that morning, and then finally went in for a (much, much needed!) haircut early afternoon.  We then had Bryson's Grandpa Lord's 80th Birthday that evening and it went a little later, so that when I called to try and make it for the last ultrasound they had finished their appointments for the day.  I was so sad my idea hadn't worked out - I was so excited to finally come up with something that would have been memorable and fun....only to have it thwarted by time.  Oh well - we have an ultrasound scheduled at the birth center which we are using at the end of the month, and if I really can't last until then - I'll go into Fetal Photos and perhaps we can still do a cake gender reveal before then.  I'm excited to find out the gender - but if I have to be completely honest, I'm a little hesitant to find out.  We all are looking forward to a baby in general - and by saying this next part I don't want whomever comes into our family to feel bad....however, we really would love to add a girl to our family so that Madeleine can have a sister.  The boys have each other as brothers, and even though they would be 11 years apart - a sister is a sister.  So, yes we would love a girl...there I said it!  And because I say it every so often and think it - sometimes I'm convinced that it will be a boy!  I love my boys - they are exciting and VERY full of life...another boy would definitely provide another lifetime of many exciting adventures!  And yet, I'd definitely be alright to have an adventure with another little girl.  If a girl doesn't come in this round, then I told Bryson it gives more reason for me to push adopting!  :)

Here is a quick list of some of the funny, quirky & just plain strange things about how I'm feeling with this pregnancy:

* I really don't like light right now - one could say I abhor it actually!  I love natural light - but turning on a man-made light right now, unless it's a really low lamp at night when I absolutely have to have some extra light, makes me cringe.  Everyone is aware to turn off lights when mom is in the room & are actually good sports about eating dinner in the very low-light of what the sun provides through our windows.  We joke that I've turned into a vampire!

* I still usually need to start the day with a protein.  The days I don't, turn into loosing my cookies or I get intense headaches.  I wish we could keep chickens right now, because we are buying a lot of eggs lately!

* I live in maxi dresses...they are cool & comfortable and I'm almost convinced that I want to make a few that could give me more options than the 3 dresses I rotate between.  I think I'm going to have Madeleine help me sew a few - she's been taking a beginning sewing class and is doing rather well --- it sounds like a fun project to sew a few dresses together, let's just hope I actually start and see a project through!

* I stopped craving peanut butter probably around the end of May, but there were a few weeks from the end of April through May that I had to have some peanut butter every day.

* My nose went from being bothered by the fridge to the pantry.  It probably helped that I just plowed through and cleaned the fridge from top to bottom twice and it finally got out some of the smells that I couldn't stand.  I need to clean out the pantry, but have yet to really want to do it....I just hurry and open the door grab what I need or send one of the kiddos for it.  It will be getting a thorough cleaning in the upcoming weeks - I just need to find a day when the smells are down a bit!

* The last week or two I've noticed that there is a little bump growing.  It's especially noticeable to me - I'm probably showing more to everyone else than I realize! - when I'm wearing one of my maxi dresses as the waists have a little bit of the empire waist and at the end of the day my stomach muscles are kaput and that bump has a nice little round to it - in the spot where I'm supposed to be growing.  I need to work on not growing in the other areas...now that I'm feeling better, I have got to find something that I actually want to do & could last through.  I'm thinking about taking up water aerobics, but I need to find something for the kids to do while I'm in class - hmmmmmm.

* I did find it funny the last few weeks on the random days that I'm sick, I've noticed that the family is over & done with that part of the pregnancy....it's so yesterday to have mom sick!  I've been doubled over throwing up and people will come in and ask me a question!  It's rather comical & if I were still very, very sick than I'd be upset....but I think they are all ready for the mom they need to be around.  

That seems to be the highlights I can think of to catch up to this point.   The kiddos are still very excited for a baby to come - we have talked quite a bit that the baby is starting to develop it's hearing and can hear their voices....so they really need to stop yelling at one another!  That is for another post - but truly it's our summer goal (okay it's my goal - I need to be sure it's their goal as well) - to have them not yell at one another any more....they get bent out of shape at the smallest mishap and can fly off the handle so quickly.  Thankfully, the reminder that the baby needs to hear happy & pleasant voices has helped somewhat - hopefully it will get better each day!

Onward to Week 18 - one of the midwives that I see mentioned that I might be able to feel the baby move or kick in the near future, especially with this being the fourth and that I know what to anticipate.  We told the kiddos that once the baby really starts moving and my tummy grows we'll have 'Baby Night Shows' - Bryson & remember laying down at night and laughing at the babies as they would roll around and we could see their little bodies playing inside my tummy.

Let the good times roll :)