When mama nests, the whole family nests!

I slept last night... I mean I REALLY slept! That just does not happen. I was up a couple of times, but I was able to fall right back to sleep and didn't get out of bed until 6am. The rest of the family slept until 8 o'clock. It was amazing! I felt great! And I wanted my house cleaned. I have wanted to get cupboards washed, organized and cleaned. We needed the rug in the living room shampooed terribly. The bedrooms needed to be shampooed also. All of those things that get neglected on a day to day basis if you aren't constantly on top of it... and the very things that make me the most nervous and crazy! For some reason the rest of the house can be a mess, but if my cupboards are a mess I seriously want to break down and cry!

Imagine my excitement when Thayne got up and decided that we would be cleaning today! We sent the girls off to the store to get some cleaning supplies. I put on a great 80's mix on the iPod and turned it up loud, and we all got to work! I managed to get a mountain of dishes washed and the counters washed down really well and then Kailee and Kassi took on the huge task of organizing the cupboards. They did an amazing job.... found many lids for bowls that had been missing, threw away lids to pans that no longer match and mentioned that Jace will be thrilled next time he comes for dinner that he will have bowls to take food home in! :) Thayne got the carpets shampooed and I got all of the laundry done too! My only complaint??? Well... why, after living in the same house for 14 or so years, do the kids still insist on making a mess of the hall closet? How is it possible that for 14 years I have put the towels in the same place and yet, I find that they can't keep it even remotely clean???

We even started packing for the 4th... If I keep this up, I may actually be prepared AND organized for our road trip. Wouldn't that be exciting???!!!

If loud 80's music is this effective, I may have to get up and turn it on every morning!!!

Yet another Noah update...

Thayne and I headed over to Utah on Thursday for my first steroid shot. I was a little nervous about it after hearing that it was quite painful. The needle was in and out before I even noticed and I asked, "Is that it?" when it was over. Then the burn took over! It felt like a bruise more than anything but wasn't horrible.

We then took Willie and Hayden down to my mom and dad's house where they will stay for a week, hopefully helping grandpa quite a bit around his yard. It sounds like they have been working hard, and having a lot of fun also. They have gone over to their other grandma's house and helped out and visited her also.

We went back up to Salt Lake so we would be there bright and early for my appointment on Friday. Things are looking good and the c-section is scheduled for July 9th, mid-morning. I will know the time for sure on Friday. My doctor said that she can't even feel the vertical incisions through my belly (not sure how that even works, but I believe she knows what she is talking about!!!) and that he is head down, which is nothing short of miraculous and very wonderful! I am supposed to take it easy for the next 2 weeks and looking forward to an uneventful 11th c-section! That's not much to ask!!!

The second shot was nothing compared to the first. I had a different nurse and whatever she did, it was magic because there was no pain. We are very hopeful that these shots will do their job well and that his lungs will be perfect and ready on his birthday! It is a scary thing to wonder if we are giving him enough time to develop but getting him out early enough that rupture won't be an issue. I started to panic on Thursday. I know what the risks are. I detest c-sections. But I am grateful that I have been able to have this amazing family despite having to have c-sections. I am so thankful for my doctor and for her surgical abilities that have allowed us to have our last 3 kids safely. After my visit with her on Friday the fears went away again and I hope to continue to feel the peace that I feel right now.

We now have his swing put together (thank you Wyatt!!!) and the diaper bag and my hospital bag packed. It's all about the waiting now!!! We are all so excited to see this little man. I feel like we already know his little personality and I am so anxious to meet him face to face!!!

Sometimes Girls Just NEED to have fun...

I love the opportunity to hang out with awesome women...
to be able to spend an evening without any expectations of anything other than
hanging out together and having fun.
A chance to recharge, to laugh and to talk.
Girls night out!
This happened to include a trip to Wendover to see Rick Springfield in concert.
We got to act like teenagers again...
with the responsibilities of life nowhere to be found...
I happen to know some really amazing women...
Thank you Buffy, Sue and Shelly for going with me and dancing a little in the aisles,
and laughing, and always being there to help carry the load that life throws at us
sometimes!
My girls were SO jealous that we got to go.
Forget that the man is almost old enough to be our dads....
In fact we laughed a little at the idea of our dads up on stage dancing
the way he was dancing!
Rick Springfield was my first and pretty much only superstar crush so it is fun to
go back in time and hear him sing.
It was a great night...
with great friends,
and enough laughing that I feel like I can deal with the next crazy 3 weeks!
Thanks again ladies...
We need to do this again really soon!!!

He walked on the seats, and was about 3 chairs from where we were sitting!
It is fun to see the audiance, to see how diverse and different everyone is,
coming together to have so much fun!

Say Cheese...

Pat, the little lady in the pink was rocking and rolling and singing along...
Now SHE is one cool grandma!

Shelly and Sue...

Heartbeat...

While Kimi was here over the weekend
she asked if she could use my doppler to hear her baby's heartbeat.
I told her absolutely!!!
She asked if I would find the heartbeat for her
and it only took a minute to hear the beating of that new precious life.
I got to hear my grandbaby's heartbeat!!!

What an amazing feeling that was!!!

We have so much to look forward to this year!

Nate-isms

The other day Kassi

said something that

made me laugh (well... that's not unusual... Kassi almost always says something that makes me laugh!)... But she said that Nate isn't special just because he is the youngest, and he isn't the favorite in a way that we play favorites above the other kids. She said that he is special to every kid in this family because they had watched him die, several times, and by the miracles and the power of the Priesthood we watched him live again... and because of the things that they all learned from him, he just has a very special place in their hearts, and that because of him they all grew in ways they never could have without him. I was amazed at her thinking...

the way it all just made sense to her. They just take care of him... all of them. From Kami on up, they just seem to get that they learned some very valuable lessons. And isn't that what life is all about? That we take the hard things and learn what it means to really live and appreciate life?! We kind of think that each one is really amazing and we don't play favorites, we work hard to spoil them all equally!

He is constantly doing things that make us all laugh. He tells Jace that he is the most favorite and he loves him the best and that he only tells others he loves them the best to make them feel good. Then Willie takes him to the marina to play and asks who he loves the best and he tells him he is the favorite! He plays it up with all of them, and then will tell his dad that he loves him the best while pointing at me. He knows how to get the most Hot Wheels cars is all I can say!

Sunday he was mad about something we told him and disappeared outside.
In just a few minutes we couldn't hear him anymore so we looked out to make sure he was still there and okay, and sure enough he was just fine... sound asleep on his swing set!

He was not happy when Hayden and Hyrum woke him up and informed me that they weren't supposed to wake him up, that they should have let him SLEEP! I gave them all the warning that if he ever falls asleep there again, that they should just let him sleep because he said so! They thought that was too funny but promised him that next time they would just let him sleep!

He walked in my closet a couple of days ago and saw the Dallas Cowboy fleece I have in there. I heard him telling his dad that he really needs me to make him that blanket. His dad told him that he should tell me that he needs it. He told him okay, he would! He walked out of the closet and told me that I MUST make him that blanket, because he needs it DESPERATELY!!! Really... who could argue with that? If you need it desperately, you need it desperately!

He is going to be the best big brother. He has already informed me that he will be helping me a lot with Noah, and that he will even help change his diapers... He did inform me that if he is poopy though he will just hold his legs for me.

He often insists on putting his shoes on the wrong feet. We tell him they are on the wrong feet but he tells us that it is okay, they really don't hurt that way so he likes them! And there is nothing we can do to convince him that he should change feet!

He knows what he wants, and he knows how to get what he wants. I guess that is a good thing... Just like the milk jug. He convinced someone to put chocolate syrup in the milk and then chugged it down like he has seen his sisters do a time or two. And for Tallin next week when he checks in... he wants you to know he loves you and misses you!

Noah update...

I had a very good check up with my doctor last week.
My blood pressure was good and she told me to just take it easy so the contractions
do not stress me, or her out.
Contractions are a no-no, and I really do my best to get down anytime they start.
She asked if I was ready to have him on the 5th.
I told her NO! Too soon!!!
She asked if not then, when.
I told her it was too bad that the 9th is on a Saturday because it is Thayne's birthday
and there would be nothing greater than to have him born that day.
She smiled,
and said that in all honesty, the hospital she wants me to deliver at is a zoo
on the weekdays and a Saturday would be perfect,
and she actually wrote the day down in my file!
We will know for sure next week at my next appointment but we are hoping that it
all works out for that day.
Thayne doesn't think birthdays are a big deal when you are a grown up,
but having a baby on his birthday sounds good to him!
My doctor also wrote the prescription for the steroid shots.
I picked it up at our local pharmacy and it's now sitting on my nightstand
waiting for the 23rd and 24th.
I am dreading the actual shot. I HATE needles!
But I feel so strongly that this will help his lungs be ready when we need to deliver.
It makes me a little stressed knowing that I have no choice but to deliver him early
and I am grateful that my doctor understands my fears and desires to do all we can
to tip the odds in our favor so he is more prepared for being born.
This isn't exactly normal circumstances...

once you get to 11 c-sections you just don't have the option to let the baby decide
when to be born.
I am thankful to live in a time when we are able to do more for the sake of both
the mom and the baby.
I have felt very peaceful about this whole pregnancy,
but I have had some pretty special reassurances that my Heavenly Father
is watching over us and that He will continue to be there as we get through the
family 3 1/2 weeks.

I am so excited to hold this little man I can barely stand it.
I feel a little (okay, a LOT) restless knowing that I need to take it easy
but feeling that oh so familiar need to just dig in and nest....
Learning to let things go is sometimes the hardest,
But I am trying.

3 1/2 weeks...
and we will get to see the face of another miracle.

Not enough children...

I will admit it...
I am not a mom made for small numbers!
It's bad enough that we are down to only 10 children at home right now...
But with 3 more missing....
I am just not okay with it!
Kimi asked if she could take Kami, Kalli and Wyatt to her house for a week.
I had a hard time saying yes.
For one, when I am pregnant I often have panic attacks
and stress about things that normally wouldn't stress me out.
For another thing...
I just like them and knew that I would miss them.
But I let them go despite my craziness...
And I find myself, many times a day looking around in a panic wondering
why I can't fing Kami,
or where is everyone, or I haven't seen Kalli for a while...
Or... Why isn't Wyatt here... he always spoils me and rubs lotion into my swollen feet!
One night Willie, Hayden and Hyrum spent the night at Garrett and Tiffany's...

and Kailee, Kassi and Kinzee had gone out with friends.
So we only had Nate at home and he fell asleep early.
And Thayne and I looked at each other and shook our heads,
and decided that we were not meant to just have one child!
Don't get me wrong...
we love to hang out and have a blast together so it's not like we will have an
empty nest one day and look at each other and not know what to do.
We manage to have a blast no matter what...
but we just really love having a house full of kids!
Last night Wyatt sent me a text asking if they could stay until Wednesday
because they have lots of things planned for the weekend.
And I sat on my hands...
I did not freak out and demand that they get home RIGHT THIS INSTANT!
I know they are having fun...
I am okay with that...
Oh, who am I kidding??? I am so not okay with them being gone so long.
But I will likely bite my tongue and let them have their fun.
Or maybe not.
We'll just have to wait and see!!!

The mining expo...

The mining expo... the big event that happens early in June every year! The kids look forward to it like it is some kind of carnival or something. It doesn't help things that that the vendors load up bags of 'stuff' that I then get to go through and make disappear over the next several days. I now have 2 hugs cups, full of pens and pencils... which is nice. That usually gets me through the next year just in time for the expo to come again. And let's be honest... there is nothing more exciting to boys (and girls, but oh the boys) than great big trucks... some of the haul trucks they use at the mines make grown men look like ants! So to get to climb on, pretend to drive and walk around them is a little bit of heaven for boys, young and old!

This year was kind of neat because one of the speakers was very involved in the rescue of the Chilean miners... and they had one of the cages used to rescue the men... they had it painted up nice and pretty but it made me want to throw up just looking at the small space. It was interesting watching full grown men climb into it. Talk about a tight squeeze. But I suppose at that point the men had been stuck underground so long that anything would have been okay with them. I on the otherhand hate small spaces like that and maybe would have considered just staying where I was until they could get a bigger rescue cage! :)

I only have pictures of Bummy and Nater's because, well, they were the only kids that wanted to hang with us. The rest were off with their cousins and had better things to do with themselves!

Bummy, Thayne and Nate checking out the toys...

Happy 20th birthday!

20 years ago today it seemed that everyone in the hospital was standing in the doorway of my room as I gave birth to the sweetest boy... it was a teaching hospital but as crazy as it was, I looked into his eyes as he took his first breath in mortality and I felt like I was seeing an angel. It was like a light was shining around him and for a moment I saw heaven, right there in the middle of chaos. He was perfect. 9lbs 9oz and 22 inches of perfection and my heart felt like it was going to burst with joy that I got to be his mom. It had been a crazy, sometimes scary 9 months and I learned more about leaning on the Lord than I ever had before, yet in that moment I knew that the Lord always keeps His promises, and my sweet, perfect Tallin was proof of that!

Today he is literally half way around the world. Serving the Lord and loving the people of Fiji... and as bad as I miss him, I really wouldn't want him to be anywhere else. Learning to be obedient in all things, even the little things will make him the man that I knew he was going to be the first time I looked at him. 2o years. Where in the world did the time go??? I blinked, and he grew up. A year ago today he received that large white envelope in the mail... his mission call, on his 19th birthday, telling him he was going to the Suva, Fiji mission. It was so exciting, yet it took my breath away thinking that he was going to leave, and be so far away from home. That pain is so real, along with the joy. Funny as a mom that you can feel 2 such opposite emotions at the same time. My little boy was growing up. His example to his brothers and sisters is so real and so important and I am very grateful for his willingness to go and do what the Lord has asked him to do.

Happy Birthday sweet Tallin. There are days when I walk into the house and see the shoes that you always wore... your brother wears them now, and sometimes when I see them I hurry in the door thinking I will see you here, and then I remember that you aren't... and I miss you. I love you. I am so very grateful to be your mom and to watch you grow into a most amazing human being. Hope that this day is wonderful and that this year brings you so much happiness and success in all you do!

Happy Birthday Tallin Scott!!!

Laurel Temple Trip = Fun road trip with some great girls!

Every year before girls camp the 16 through 18 year old girls from church go on a temple trip to the Salt Lake Temple. Kailee and Kassi asked if I would drive them and since we had to make an ortho appointment and my dr appointment we decided to try to combine them all and only have to make one trip this week. Their friend Marisha found out we were driving and asked if she could come with us. We were more than happy to let her come! It was such a fun trip. The car trip is amazing... we listened to a wide range of music, all of it very loud, with lots of laughing, though they probably frightened random cars going down the road next to us. It was just fun! I am blessed to know some really amazing young women!!! The temple was amazing also. Something that I really needed and I wish that I could feel what I felt inside every single moment of my life. After the temple, we managed to get to the appointments and eat lunch and laughed even more on the way home! All in all, it was a very, very good day! And next year Kinzee will be old enough to go... yay!

These are the kind of trees we grow on the Salt Flats....

Crazy hair girls...Stopped to check out the cement tree in the middle of nowhere...

Awesome girls...

Now... I think this is totally inappropriate that some girls told me I was a super tanker!!! :)

To be fair... the cups may be called Super Tanker... but one was full of water, and the other was full of ice with a little soda flavoring!

The girls made me do it....

I told them that they remind me of puppies, loving to have their head out the window!

Ummmmm... crazy girls!

You should not let these girls have a camera!

Such a beautiful place to be....

2 of my favorite girls...

My favorite place on Temple Square...

We heart Noah....

Resting the belly!

I love to see the temple... definitely one of my favorite places on earth!

Love these faces...

Silly girls... you can't help but smile when they are around!

Aw, my sweet Kailee Anne....

Strike a pose....

SISTERS!!!!!