Autumn Leaves

Since we have a house now, we have a yard. And since we have a yard, we have trees. And since we have trees, we have leaves that fall in the autumn season! Clark took a day to rake the entire yard and had quite the sizable pile for the girls to play in come afternoon. Adelaide loved being thrown but hated actually touching the leaves. Azucena thought it was hilarious to throw the leaves everywhere. But their favorite part was helping Clark put the leaves in the collection bags and crush them inside. It's the simple things, right? :)

 

Thunderstorm

Because I spent almost six years in the midwest, I love a good thunderstorm. The smell of wet earth, the  rumble of the sky, the pitter patter of raindrops splashing down. I'm so happy that we got a good storm earlier so that Azucena could enjoy the storm from the safety of our deck. Love it.

Mother's Day

Clark was such a sweetheart this year for Mother's Day. Saturday morning, I caught him trying to be sneaky with a dozen red roses that he picked up from the store for me. (Awwwwwww.) I immediately put them in a vase up on our little bar area so I could see them all the time. :D We visited and talked to most grandmothers on Saturday while running around. It was nice to hand-deliver most of our cards!

Sunday morning, Clark made breakfast. Yes, Husband COOKED. I was so proud of him! He cooked with our heart-shaped waffle maker (thanks, Mom!) and made sausage and orange juice to go with them. Lovely! He also gifted me the Ghirardelli Squares he'd gotten at the same time as the roses (mmmm!) and a beautiful letter.

The rest of Sunday was kind of crazy: we went to Sacrament meeting in our old ward so I could direct the music for our Primary children (they sang "Grandmother," "Dearest Mother, I Love You," and "Mother Dear"). Then off to our new ward where Clark had volunteered the both of us to be nursery workers for the day, since the regular teacher was out of town. Even though there are fewer children in that nursery, they have no sense of structure because they're usually left to run around the entire two hours. Talk about frustrating and exhausting! We tried to have a lesson, we helped them have a snack, we had singing time, and we played with bubbles while we waited for parents to pick them up. ::whew!::

While in the nursery, one of the Relief Society sisters came by with a gift: a half apron! I've wanted one for ages and the one I received is GORGEOUS and I love the colors on it. The sisters also received mock-roses (two Hershey kisses wrapped in red cellophane and attached to a fabric-taped bamboo stick) from the ward.

Of course, we went down to Riverton for dinner made by Brady (that kid can do everything!) and had a great time chatting and playing games.

I loved Mother's Day this year.

Adelaide's Birth Story

Our second daughter was born today. We love her so very much!

The medium-ish lengthed story:

I started having contractions Saturday night just before 11 p.m. (Why? Because my body hates sleep.)
They were about 8 minutes apart and lasted until about 8 in the morning

Then they quit. Sort of. I'd have two, up to four, contractions every hour throughout the rest of Sunday. This meant we went to church so I could have choir practice and so we could attend and participate in Sacrament meeting.

Afterward, we headed to Riverton so we could be closer to the hospital and so Azucena could be with her grandparents already should Clark and I need to hustle to get checked in.

But the contractions remained irregular.

We said good night a little after 8, packed up, and headed home for the night so Clark could rest up for work. We hit a really awesome rainstorm (that made us use back roads since the highway was freakin' scary) and started to settle in about nine in the evening.

Since Clark and I had spent most of Saturday night awake/packing the hospital bags that we'd been neglecting, we were pretty tired and were both very grateful that Azucena fell asleep in the car and stayed asleep when we got home. We discussed our options of when it would be good to go to the hospital. I reminded Clark that we had an appointment with my OB/GYN scheduled for the next morning, in about twelve hours. We agreed to do nothing until then. We went to bed and began to sleep.

Then the contractions got pretty icky.

Around one in the morning, I started to wake up every five minutes or so to painful contractions. Really, really painful. They weren't strong enough to take my breath away, but I couldn't move for a good 30 seconds each time they happened.

At 4:30, I gave up and woke Clark up, asking if it would be all right to drive down to the hospital to get their opinion on my condition instead of trying to hold out another five hours for my doctor appointment. Clark was a sweetheart and immediately sat up, got dressed, and packed stuff in the car.

We arrived at the hospital a little after 5:30 and were admitted to a triage room within 15 minutes. Just before 6, the nurse checked my progression, declared me dilated to a 6, with a bag about ready to burst, and told me we'd be having a baby very soon.

Immediately, the cell phone satellite over Utah got really busy. :D

Azucena left the hospital with her grandparents while we got put into a labor and delivery room. 

The nurses were sweet and helpful and one in particular made sure that she put us on the anesthesiologist's list so that we wouldn't have to wait too long for the epidural (there were several c-sections this morning). I'm just going to take a second here to plug for modern medicine: I am SO grateful that I could have that extra medicine to help me handle the last few hours of my pregnancy and the delivery of my baby girl. I have a decent tolerance for pain, but having had contractions for the past 30 hours and about 5 - 6 hours of sleep total the past two nights, I don't think I'd've had the strength to go natural. I'm not saying everyone should do it, but I am saying that I am happy it was an option for me.

8:00 - still a 6+ so my doctor asked that the on-call doctor break my bag. Done.
9:10 - 8 cm
10:15 - 10 cm, called the doctor to come in for the delivery
just past 10:25 - started pushing. During the first contraction, Adelaide lowered. During the second, she crowned. During the third, she came.

10:42 is her official time of birth.

We love her.

You can tell she's Azucena's sister.

She has lovely black hair.

She has the most gorgeous dimples in both cheeks. (The first thing the attending baby nurse said was, "does your other daughter have dimples? Because this one has dimples.")

She's wonderful and beautiful and precious.

We love her.

I can't wait to share a few pictures with you!

Reflecting on September 11th

Like all patriotic days, I am reminded of the third verse of the beautiful hymn, "America the Beautiful."

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

Week of Thanksgiving, pt. 7

It's a little late, but I've had so much fun the last couple of days that I just didn't take the time to blog.

I am thankful for kind, generous friends and sweet memories. I have been unable to go home for Thanksgiving for the last five years or so, but that hasn't stopped me from enjoying myself immensely. I have had such wonderful roommates and friends and I'm grateful for the memories that we've created together. I'm especially grateful to their parents/extended family for inviting some girl they don't know over to their house on a family holiday and making me feel at home. It gives me an example that I want to live up to a few years down the road when my children tell me their friend/roommate/significant other will be spending a holiday alone.

Week of Thanksgiving, pt. 6

I am thankful for pictures. And not just of my brand new header on this blog (thank you SO MUCH Marcie! Visit here website here) but just for pictures in general. I remember loving getting my hands on cameras as early as the age of 4 and, even though I have no skill nor do I have a fancy-pants camera, I just really like recording events and my friends and family's joy. Hooray for memories!

Week of Thanksgiving, pt. 5

Well, not sure what happened to my post about loving birthdays, but I'll go ahead and move on to my being thankful for living in America.

I love this country and love collecting books about its history and founding and celebrating its birthday and learning about all the great stuff that has come about in the last 230+ years of its existence. :) And I'm pretty sure my love of America was heavily influence by my grandma and grandpa (she was always a little sad that she was missed being born on Independence day by 2 days and he was born on Flag Day and insisted we celebrate that rather than his birthday). Happy day!

Week of Thanksgiving, pt. 4

Birthdays.

I love birthdays.

Oh, man, I can't even begin to go on about how much I love birthdays! But, considering today is my little brother's 14th birthday, I just have to mention how much I love celebrating and family-ness and giving gifts, and taking pictures and everything else that makes a birthday wonderful and special and happy!

Week of Thanksgiving, pt. 3

I am grateful for technology. I know, it sounds silly, but I wouldn't be able to keep in touch with half as many people as I do if it weren't for e-mail (huzzah, more than ten years of the same address), Facebook, and my cell phone. I am grateful that I can speak to my mother and sister almost instantaneously, even though we live in different states. I love that my brother and I can write to each other every week even though he's who-knows-where in Argentina. It's a wonderful world we live in. :)

Week of Thanksgiving, pt. 2

I am so grateful for being a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and for being able to read the words of the prophets that have been sent to teach us by our loving Heavenly Father. I'm grateful for the joy that it brings to my life and for the friends I have from the many wards I've lived in over the years. I know that the gospel is true. I wish I were more eloquent, that I could share it with everyone and help them feel just as happy as I do.


P.S. Mini joy: When you go to the Church's website and select Music and hover your mouse over the menu choices, the website plays a note. If you hover over each hyperlink, it plays the notes in a song--so far I've heard "The Spirit of God" and "I Am A Child of God." Happy day!

Week of Thanksgiving, pt. 1

I am SO THANKFUL for my family! They are wonderful people and, even though I didn't show it all the time while I was a teenager at home, I love them very, very much. I just wanted to give them one HUGE shout out, rather than cheating and making each person a separate day. :)



Thank you Dad, for always knowing the answer to everything, whether it's "do I put the corn on the cob in the pot before or after the water's boiling" or "what's the word for "to twinkle" in Spanish in the past tense?" And you give the best advice. :D And Mom, thanks for all the care packages and cards over the years. I love that even though you told me to eat healthy and exercise, there was always a cake or brownie mix hidden the box of necessities that you had mailed to me. I am also grateful that your surprise gift-giving and example of service has rubbed off on me, because I can't think of anything more fun than making other people happy.



Nicoel: Thank you for becoming one of my best friends. Ever since we both moved out (and got cell phones) I can't think of a week where I didn't call you just to chat. And thanks for giving me a niece and nephew to spoil, eh? ;)

Dear Elder Judd: I'm sorry that I haven't sent a letter out to you every week that you've been away. But I'm so happy that you've chosen to share the gospel of Jesus Christ with His children in Argentina. I know you're doing a lot of good down there, and you're setting a wonderful example for not only your two younger brothers, but your older sister who misses you and can't wait to give you a HUGE hug when you get back in March!


Daniel: You're amazing. Not only are you crazy tall (which means you can reach things on shelves that I can't--which I appreciate!) you're very kind. Thanks for always taking a minute to chat with me or text me back when I'm feeling sad or icky. I'm glad Mom and Dad still have you around for a few more months (at least).

Edgar: Thank you for being you! I love when we get to visit, and that you're so willing to road trip with Mom and Dad so often so I can actually see you grow up into a young man (and I'm sorry I picked a picture from 3 1/2 years ago, but you'll always be my baby brother so I had to). You make me happy!

Posession is 9/10ths of the law

It's another list. Don't judge. :p

Things (actual things) I'm grateful to have:

1. The scriptures I was given when I turned eight. Complete with a lack of the Abrahamic Covenant. (If you want a longer story, I'll post it in the comments.)
2. Entries from my father's journal from (nearly) every birthday I had. Including my actual BIRTH day. :D
3. My scrapbooks. Because I happen to like people, taking pictures of people, remembering fun things, having names and dates put in an orderly fashion, and doing things with my hands.
4. My "Grandpa pillow." Because my aunt Janette made it from one of my grandfather's shirts and it means the world to me to have it close, since I can't be with him for (at least) a few more years.
5. My "Book of Remembrance" which was compiled by my grandmother when I was baptized and is still (safe) at home. It happens to include genealogy all the way back to the 1500s, I believe (it's, like, 16 generations).