Little Miss Audrey

Some of you may have heard me talk about or have observed for yourself how perfectly behaved my little Audrey is. She is 21 months old now and up until recently has been the apple of my eye. She is so different from my first three kids. She is sweet and soft. She listens when I say "no". She gives love to anyone who asks. She picks up her messes. She hardly ever cries. She is an angel in nursery at church and her leaders love her. When we have visitors people fight over who will get to play with her or cuddle her. She loves Emily and is so good with her. I have never been worried about her being too rough with the baby. Lately, however I have noticed changes in her. I think she is moving to the dark side (terrible two's). Anna, Elizabeth and Dallin all hit the terrible two's at 14-15 months and never looked back. So I had reason to hope that Audrey was going to stay her sweet adorable self forever. I think I was wrong!

In the last month or two things have been changing. There have been lots of temper tantrums. I have heard "NO MOMMY," more times than I can count. She has drawn on the wall at least a dozen times and her messes are getting bigger. She has sat in a sink and turned the water on herself while eating a tube of toothpaste. She has discovered how fun it is to jump off of anything and everything. She likes to escape outside (thank goodness our backyard is fenced in) and refuses to let anyone catch her, and then when we do catch her she gets so mad she kicks you over and over again. She LOVES my makeup and my jewelry and thinks my earrings look "pretty" glistening and sparkling at the bottom of my toilet. Books are not safe because she thinks the art work is not good enough and she needs to add her own touch with permanent marker. I'm pretty sure that she has been deceiving us all. She is not my sweetest child ever, she is my rottenest child ever. She was just holding back until the baby was born, when she knew I would have to nurse, or change a diaper and then she could be as sneaky as she wanted...and get a way with it.

This morning was by far the worst. While I was doing laundry Audrey decided that Emily would make a good Mr. Potato Head. She took all of Dallin's Star Wars Mr. Potato Head pieces and stuck them wherever she could find a hole on my poor, poor baby. Tiny little Emily had a nose sticking out of one ear, eyes coming from the other ear, an arm holding a light saber coming out of her nose, and a storm trooper helmet on top of her head. I'm not sure why but Emily never woke up, thank goodness, although Audrey may have knocked her unconscious first.

One Month Down

So little Miss Emily is over one month old...can you believe it??? She is getting bigger by the second. Things seem to be finally settling down. I feel like I can finally breathe at least. It was harder than I expected...getting used to a newborn again. The lack of sleep, the constant crying, the poopy all over you, the spitting up. It hasn't been that long since Audrey was a newborn but it has been an adjustment none the less. Everyone told me when I got pregnant with Audrey that having four kids was a piece of cake. That three kids was hard and after that it was all down hill. HAH!!! Four was not as hard as I thought. But... Five... Five is HARD. Is it because I am older? Is it because I have four kids under the age of six and one almost-10 year old-Hannah Montana-loving tween? Is it because I have three kids in school that I have to run all over creation? I don't seem to have an answer but if someone can tell me how to keep my head on straight and not forget where I left the baby, I would appreciate it.

Yes, I lost my baby yesterday. I have to admit my house is a lot bigger than my old one, but loosing a baby shouldn't happen in a house of any size. I couldn't remember where I had put her down. I looked everywhere it seemed, in her cradle, in her swing, in the bouncy seat, in the moses basket. (Yes, there are that many places to leave a baby). Finally, after running all over the house, Audrey found her. Little Emily was in the formal living room, snoozing happily where I had left her. I have heard that around six months after giving birth your brain begins to get back to normal and your memory actually works better than ever before...I hope this is true. Otherwise my poor baby may end up in the lost and found at church.

Parting is Such Sweet Sorrow

Lately I have had to say goodbye to quite a few of my very good friends. Apparently people just do not like it here in Salisbury, Maryland. Our good friends Kelly and Mark Johnson moved this past November to Eagle Moutain (I think that is right) Utah. Our good friends Amber and Marty are leaving today for Nevada. My good friend Ethel who is my jewlery making, scrapbooking, sewing, and anything to do with crafts mentor is moving to Florida this summer. And there are 3 other Awesome families that are moving out of our ward at the end of the school year.

If I didn't know any better I would think it has something to do with me and Jeff. But they just seem to all be fed up with Salisbury. To tell you the truth I don't blame them. Salisbury is not the prettiest town on the planet, especially in the winter. It is gray, dirty and ridicuously flat. Not a hill in sight. The only redeeming quality about Salisbury is that it is only 25 mintutes from the Atlantic Ocean, and we LOVE the beach. It is also nice that half of my family lives here. I don't think we'll live in Salisbury for the rest of our lives, but we're stuck here for now and with all of our friends leaving us behind it seems like Salisbury is going to be a lot more dreary place to live.

A Few More Pictures

Pics of Baby

Emily Lynn

Emily is finally here! I went into labor on Valentines Day and delivered at 12:09 am on the 15th. We thought it would be a ton of fun to have a baby on V-Day, but Emily had other plans, she refused to share her birthday with the world! She weighed 7lbs 10oz and was 19 and 1/2 inches long. She has a ton of blond hair and is as sweet as can be. Her eyes are giant and beautiful and looking blue so far. Most importantly she is healthy and strong and we feel so blessed to have her sweet spirit here with us.

We came home on Saturday and have just loved watching the other kids interact with her. Audrey is in love! She calls her "my baby" and is so soft and sweet to her. Elizabeth is in official big sister mode and wants to do anything she can to help. Poor Dallin has been sick, but he is loving her from afar, and Anna is always amazing and helpful and loves Emily with all her heart.

I am so grateful to be a part of this family and feel truly blessed to have such amazing children and a wonderful husband. Jeff is just amazing. He stays awake with me at night when I am nursing, and he has changed almost every dirty diaper. He has made sure all the kids are fed and dressed, and bathed. He tucks them in and plays with them. And on top of everything he takes care of me too. You couldn't ask for a more dedicated, loving father and husband. I love him very much and am so proud of him. It will be awesome to have him home with me this week.

I promise to post pictures of the baby very soon, and of the new house!

Quick Update

#1 Getting settled in new house...there are still a gazillion boxes everywhere.
#2 Getting closer to due date...there is still a baby in there.

I've been to the hospital twice with wicked contractions, but this baby seems to take after her big sis Audrey and will probably be very late! I feel like I've been in labor for a week...UGH!!!!!!!!!

#3 Happy Valentines Day!

We're In!

Finally! We have moved into our new house! Hallelujah! It has been four weeks since we went to closing and it seemed like we would never get to live in our house. The contractor still has a few odds and ends to finish up, but it is livable.

Things have been super hectic, as you can imagine. Christmas was a whirlwind and I have to say I was not sad to see the holiday season finally behind us, as well as 2007! It was nice to see family but other than that Christmas this year, for me, was just too dang hard. There was a never ending list of things to get done and I felt like I did not have a chance to enjoy myself for one second. Next year should be such an improvement. It will be so much fun to have Christmas in our new house. It is a perfect Christmas house!

I have to admit, we are truly loving the house. The extra space is AWESOME!!!! My girls are in heaven in the attic and I love how big my kitchen is. I know we will love it even more once we are settled and unpacked. And hopefully that will not take too much longer. I really should probably start focusing on the fact that I'm about to give birth. Emily will be here in four weeks!
Oh my, I think I am in denial. I cannot believe I am having another sweet little baby in a few weeks. I am feeling terribly guilty that I have not done a single thing to get ready. All of my energy and attention has been given to this move and now that I'm moved I still have a million things to get done. I want to start nesting and getting out baby clothes and setting up her cradle and buying diapers. But there just has not been the time.
Today I started driving the kids to school. Yuck...it is going to stink. Because the schools are so far away it took me about 45 minutes to get everybody dropped off and back to my old house (where I am using the internet). The gas guzzling alone is going to kill me! Oh well, it is worth it, the schools they are in now are the best in the county, and if I let them go to the new schools they would be going to the worst in the county.
For now, all of my blogging and phone use will be coming from my old house. Our new house has no phone lines or cable lines hooked up. Nice, huh? One of the "odds and ends" our contractor needs to finish. Oh well, I need to be here to clean anyways. And Dallin can just ride his regular bus home at lunch time. So for this week it works out nicely.

Over and Done

It's official we own two homes. Everything went very smoothly with our closing today! Yippee! We are so excited. I cannot wait to move into our beautiful new home!

Pick, pick pick

This week we have been able to pick out a lot of fun stuff for the new house. We picked out light fixtures and toilets. I also picked a vanity that I just love for the master bathroom. Today we went and picked out the stone for our driveway and the walkways. They are laying sod tomorrow and I get to go to the nursery and pick out landscaping. It is all so much fun. It is almost like we won on a game show or something, because I get to pick everything out but I don't have to pay for a single thing. The home inspection and appraisal was last Friday and they went perfect! We are closing this Friday and hopefully within two weeks the contractor will have the attic finished.
The framing is all finished and the drywall is coming tomorrow. We decided to keep the attic one big room, which Anna and Elizabeth will share. It is going to be so cool. If I didn't love my master bathroom so much I would take the attic. It is huge! And they will have there very own bathroom. The girls are just beside themselves with excitement! I'm planning on taking some pictures of the house soon, so hopefully everyone will have a better idea of what I am so excited about.

Way Too Much To Do!

Everything seems to be falling into place for our new house. If everything continues to go this smoothly we will be closing next Wednesday! It is very exciting but I'm pretty sure I'm loosing my mind. I have so much to do! I only have half of my Christmas shopping done, and I'm not even sure if I'll ever have the time or money to finish. We are using every last penny to buy this house. I need to start packing ASAP. It looks like we will be moving before the new year! AHHH!! I haven't even thought about Christmas decorations. My poor kids. I think we'll probably just get a "Charlie Brown" Christmas tree at the last minute and let the kids make some paper decorations to put on it. That way I won't have to unpack anything. It is all so overwhelming. Not to mention the fact that I'm 30 weeks pregnant and have no energy at all! I am trying very hard to remember how blessed we are to have found this house and I know everything will work out...I just can't wait until everything is finalized and I can focus on having this baby!

Long Winded

I am deeply sorry for the length of that last blog. I just looked at it and thought, oh my goodness, I am rediculous! I tried to cram in every last detail. I promise to keep them shorter in the future.

Light At the End of the Tunnel?

Some interesting developments have occurred in our search for a bigger house recently. It has been a long road, but it looks like we might have found the right solution for us. Everything is happening very quickly, but we have been praying and feel like we are making a very good decision.

First of all, we have not sold our house yet. In the seven months that it has been on the market only a handful of people have been to see it and there has not been any interest at all. This has been very disconcerting, especially the more and more pregnant I get! So we have decided to take it off the market officially.

Second, we are still in need of a bigger house. As my due date gets closer and closer (February 17th). I have been starting to panic about where we are going to fit all of these children we have. As it, we barely fit, and when we have another little girl I have no idea how we will manage. Our house is lovely, but we are in dire need of more space.

Third, my parents are moving here to Salisbury at the end of January and have not found a house to rent yet....so we have been trying to figure out a way they could rent our house. Which, is a perfect size house for them! We thought it might work if we just rented a bigger house while my parents were renting our house. Then later down the road we could sell our house and try buying again. However, we have not been able to find anything worth renting in our price range.

Solution--On Friday Jeff and I looked at a house that is for sale in down town Salisbury. My friend Susan lives near there and heard about the house through the grapevine. It is dirt cheep, so cheep in fact, we will not need to sell our current house. It is also very big--Five Bedrooms. The contractor needs to sell it quickly and is willing to work out the most amazing deal with us. He is willing to pay all closing costs and two months mortgage. The best part is the house is gorgeous! I LOVE IT! It is an older house, which I love! It has so much character and the craftsmanship is unbelievable...hardwood floors, crown molding, window seats, huge fireplace, double staircase, a soon to be finished attic (where the extra two bedrooms are) and a basement. The best part is we won't have all the problems that older houses usually come with because it has been completely remodeled! Brand new bathrooms, brand new kitchen (with stainless steel appliances), new washer and dryer, the floors have been re-finished and even the outside looks brand new with new siding and a new deck! The house will also be worth a lot more than what he is selling it to us for...so it will be a good investment as well.

There are a few things that I don't like...Location. It is downtown, and that means, a pretty busy street, small yard, crappy schools. But I think I'm at the point that I'm willing to compromise. The yard is fenced, and there is a small driveway and a small detached garage. The contractor is landscaping it with brand new sod and I get to pick out all the bushes and flowers. I have also decided that I will leave the kids in the schools they are in now. Since my parents will be in our house it will be easy to let them stay put! I will miss my huge yard and all my trees, but it will be nice to be so close to town. Jeff can walk to work!!!

We find out today if we can get everything finalized, and if it all goes smoothly we'll be moving mid-January! It all seems to be moving very quickly, but it is also an answer to our prayers, and my parents prayers. So wish us luck!!!

Halloween Pics

I thought I would post a couple of Halloween Pics. Anna was Hermione (she looked exactly like her!). Dallin was Willy Wonka (his favorite movie!). Elizabeth was a cheetah, and little Audrey was a poodle.

Niagra Falls

Top of the American falls, you could actually feel the power and energy coming off the falls!
All of us at the falls, being blown away by the scenery and the wind!
That be Canada across the way!
At the bottom...it was so windy and there was so much water, you could barely see!
Anna, under a rainbow.

Frame House

I really loved seeing this house. Alvin Smith helped build this home for the Smith Family.


This is one of the places Joseph had to hide the Golden Plates.



During this time houses were taxed by how many windows it had. So to make the most of one window they would put the window in between two rooms/divided by a wall, so they could have a light on both sides. We thought this was really cool!

Sacred Grove

Replica of Home the Smith's lived in when Joseph Recieved the First Vision
Room where Angel Moroni appeared to Joseph Smith
Sacred Grove
Path to Sacred Grove...Look at the colors on that tree...it was breathtaking!
Audrey in Dallin's sweat shirt in Sacred Grove

Hill Cummorah

Anna reading about Joseph Smith recieving the Golden Plates
Kids running up Hill Cummorah...It was really big!
Angel Moroni Memorial

View from tip of hill.

Palmyra Temple

Busy, Busy, Busy

Over the last week or two we have been going non-stop. Today, things seem a little slower so I thought I would update my blog. Jeff has been bugging me to post about our trip to New York and get some pics up...so here you go Jeff.
Two weekends ago we decided...very last minute, to take a trip to Palmyra, NY. The kids had a four day weekend and we thought it would be fun to get away. We had a blast! We left around 3pm and did not get to Palmyra until 2 in the morning. It was only supposed to be an eight hour drive, but with all the stopping for my teeny, tiny pregnant bladder, hungry kids, and traffic it took an extra 3 hours...Oh well. Jeff and I had never been to see the church sites, and we really wanted the kids to see them. It was so beautiful. Fall colors were everywhere! I was so excited to go to Hill Cummorah and to the Sacred Grove. Anna said it was the best vacation she had ever been on. She really soaked up the history. We got to see some friends that moved to Palmyra last year which was really nice. And we also went to Niagra Falls! Wow! So beautiful. The movies and pictures you see do not really do them justice. Being there in person was so much fun. The weather was beautiful and we got a really great deal on the hotel we stayed in. It was just around the block from the Sacred Grove. We did not get home until late Monday night. It was just a perfect weekend. I really couldn't have picked a better place to be with my family, then where the history of our church began. I have a ton of pictures to share!