Things I am Thankful for

On Sunday the topic of the lesson I taught was on the importance of keeping a journal. I challenged the youth to go home that day and write about how they saw the hand of God in their life the past week. Since this is my journal and I should follow my own advice and so my posterity knows I see God in my life, I thought I better do the challenge myself. I don't do a lot of sharing of spiritual stuff on blog, but probably should add a little more.

For me there is something about adding a member to your family that brings about more spiritual awareness. Last week there was a night in which I made a poor choice and did not go to bed early enough once Tanner was finally asleep for the night. I did not get enough sleep and the next day I felt it. I was determined to do better the next night. Well Tanner didn't want to cooperate. His second time awake he didn't seem to want to go back to bed. I was so tired. I began to cry because I just wanted to go back to sleep. That was when I prayed/begged Heavenly Father to help him sleep. Soon after the prayer I was calmer and Tanner went to sleep. I was so grateful to crawl back into bed. The next night Heavenly Father continued to answer my prayer. I did as I should and went to sleep at a better time. Tanner then slept 5 hours the first leg of the night and 3 more after that. Also he didn't give me any trouble about going to bed right after eating. I felt amazing the following morning. I was so grateful he answered my prayer so that I could be a happier, more patient mom.

Another answer to a prayer came yesterday. Over the weekend Braden played with my wedding ring while I was getting dressed. I asked him to stop when I found out. Instead of putting the ring back where he found it, he placed it elsewhere. I didn't notice this until Monday. Of course when I asked him he couldn't remember where it was. Brian suggested praying for help to find it. Monday night in Braden's personal prayer he asked that we would find my ring. I am sure you can guess what happened. Tuesday after school Macy found it in her jewelry box. Not sure why it was there but I would never have looked in her jewelry. The neat part of this story was on Monday night for FHE Macy gave a lesson on prayer. I was able to share my story with Tanner and then on Tuesday I was able to follow up her lesson with another example of prayers being answered. I hope this helped Macy and Kelsey have a little more faith in answers. They both are a little negative about that topic thinking that they never receive answers. Part of it may be they don't really pray for a lot and if they do they don't put much effort into finding things or answers. Hopefully they will have experiences that change that.

Recently I have seen God's love for me while sitting back and watching my kids play. I have been able to be in the moment and have felt overwhelming joy and love for the gift of my children. Several times this past week I have watched as they interacted with each other. These were times when they were really getting along with each other or so excited to show me their magic tricks. When they were getting along with each other they were outside by our little play pool. I was watching from the window. Kelsey was being the big tease and pretending/possibly going to throw water on Macy. Luckily she controlled herself and just kept teasing otherwise I might not have had the magical moment I did because there would have been a fight. Macy then shared her water bottle with Braden and Kelsey, however, they were not allowed to put their mouths on the bottle so they looked like little birds. Macy then teased and dumped some water on Braden. He took it in stride and there was much laughter and happiness with a little more teasing. My heart just swelled. I am sure Heavenly Father looks on us much the same way and has much joy when we find the moments of pure happiness. The joy I felt during the magic tricks was because I gave Braden and Kelsey my full attention. I did what they asked and cheered when was appropriate. They were so happy and proud of themselves. There was such an innocence that surrounded them. It was such a peaceful, joyous moment. I normally let too many of these times fly by me. Again something about a new baby causes me to slow down. Maybe because I do so much sitting to feed the hungry little guy.

3 Weeks

I can't believe 3 weeks has gone by since Tanner was born. He has grown so much. At his 2 week check-up, which was 3 days past the actual 2 week mark, his measurements came in at 8 lbs. 12 oz. and 22 in. long. That means he gained almost a pound and grew 2 inches since his birth. The nurse was in awe at how big he was. His height measurement may have been off in the hospital but I am sure it was not off by 2 inches. I can even see how he has filled out and any newborn clothing is definitely too small now.

Brian keeps calling Tanner Braden. I keep using Braden's nicknames for Tanner. I will use Little Man, Buddy, and buddy. But Braden wants to keep those (and I don't blame him because he has had those since he was born) so we need some new ones. Brian has suggested T-Money and T-Rex. There was one other silly one I can't remember. I think we will have to keep thinking.

I thought no baby could be as smothered as Braden. I was wrong. Tanner gets it worse because there are 3 siblings to bug him. I am constantly telling Braden to stop kissing him and to quit touching him. The girls fight over who gets to hold him and feed him. They just can't stay away. Macy has changed his diaper twice now and is begging to babysit him. They get home from school or wake up in the morning and the first thing they have to do is find Tanner. He seems to do okay with it.

Tanner is a good baby. He sleeps at night as well as anyone can expect a brand new baby to. He is up about every 3 hours at night maybe 4 during the first leg. He eats and goes right back to sleep. He has definite awake times during the day so no night and day confusion. He has this uncanny ability to pee through diapers and to pee without us knowing while changing his diaper. It is quite annoying.

2 weeks

2 weeks

3 weeks - Kelsey giving him bunny ears

*Don't go any further if you want to avoid poop stories.

Peeing isn't the most bothersome talent. He may be our first child that isn't more on the constipation side. He likes to go through 3 or 4 diapers when he goes number 2. He will poop and then while changing him he will decide that he has to go some more. Braden was so thrilled when he got to watch all this happen one day. Braden used phrases like "Let me know when he starts to poop again" (Tanner did his best when the diaper wasn't on him so Braden could see the whole thing) and "that was a big one". Not sure why my kids have such a fascination with anything potty related. Now Tanner is into blowing out his diaper. I am not used to this so I did not change him within 2 minutes the other day. I ended up with it all over my pants. But that is not the worst experience.

Last night I had Tanner all ready for bed. All the other kids were in bed and Brian was at the temple. Tanner had finished his bottle and I was starting to rock him when he let loose an explosive fart. I checked him and sure enough he needed a change. As I was cleaning him up another explosion happened. This time it was like a cork popping and there was carnage every where. It flew like 3 feet and splattered all over my couch, floor and rug. It ruined my pants (which I only have 2 that fit right now so I may be down to 1 pair), got on my arm and shirt. His clean diaper was not clean anymore and I had to move it to start to clean him up. That is when he found a little more and messed up the clothes underneath him. I was in a bad position. I couldn't put his legs down to get a new diaper because then he would be rolling in it. I couldn't call Brian was unavailable and the phone was not nearby. Luckily I could count on Macy. She came to my rescue and handed me items I needed to start the long, disgusting clean up. Good thing Tanner is cute and good otherwise he would be on my bad list. The next morning Macy filled her siblings in and of course Kelsey and Braden wanted to know if I took pictures of it.

Introducing

 

Weighing in at 7 lbs. 14 oz and reaching a height of 20 inches is Tanner Robert Kartchner.  He joined our family Friday night at 6:04 PM.  Everything went well except that he took longer to come than any of our other kids.  Brian and I thought it was labor and delivery was kind of like a drive through.  We thought we would be done by 1 or 2 at the latest.  All of our other kids were about that time.  We would go in about 8 or 9 get the medicine flowing and then a baby would come.  We made it in around 9 and everything hooked up by 10 but he made us wait until 6.  That interfered with the kids plans of the neighborhood fireworks but they got over it when they met their brother. Luckily when he decided to make his entry it was a quick 2 contractions, very minimal damage and he was there.  This has made for an awesome recovery.  Just a few annoyances but nothing to complain about at all.

My kids like to point out that I look pregnant still.  Every day they look at my belly and say "You still look pregnant." Macy said it when she got home after school yesterday.  Got to love their honesty.  Good thing I know that some things take time.  My belly is still rounder than it was before I was pregnant. They were confused by this in the hospital.  One of them asked if I had the baby why did I still look pregnant.  I had to say that I didn't get that round over night and a stretched out stomach takes time to recover.  This led to how did the baby come out.  They also got an education on circumcision.

2nd Grade and 4th Grade Beginnings

They were excited to go this morning. I was not. I think it was dumb they had to go back for 1 1/2 days of school before the weekend and on a day after a late night holiday. Not to mention I am still bugged that we are the only ones in our neighborhood on a different school schedule.

They were not overly excited for pictures and just wanted to get to school. Mix that with an awesome photographer and you get these. Brian did try to nicely convince Macy that her pants didn't really match the shirt, but Macy knows best. In the picture the combo doesn't look too bad.

 There was no wasting time for Kelsey. She left us in the dust because we were dawdling. She at least gave me a hug and kiss before I left the school grounds. I don't think she would have been upset if I had skipped that part.

Macy was not going to have a kiss or even a hug. I asked. She was off to her doors and didn't care if I came. I think she preferred it if I didn't. So I snapped the picture of her leaving and left the school myself.

Bidding My Time

Baby number 4 is set to arrive any day. If he isn't here by Friday, he will forced to make an entry. So what have I done the past week and a half to pass the time since he doesn't want to come early (my actual due date is the 25th)?

First of all I sent my family to Island Park for a family vacation. It was Grandma Carol and Grandpa Alan's Christmas present to the family. For some crazy reason the doctor wouldn't let me go. Brian packed up the kids Monday, July 15 (after he attended the first day of cub scout camp) and went to have fun. I am pretty sure he was worried the entire time that I would go into labor. It sounded like everyone had a great time. They went fishing, caught frogs, played in the hot tub (a lot), made s'mores, went on 4 wheeler rides, went horseback riding, and paddle boarded down Henry's Fork. I am not sure what was their favorite. I have heard horseback riding and paddle boarding the most so I would assume those were the favs. Because Island Park is near Yellowstone they took a day to visit the park. Old Faithful was a let down because they had to wait 40 minutes instead of the usual 20 and then it wasn't one of it's best presentations. They saw some big elk and bison but that was about it. I think the animals were few because it was a hot summer day and they didn't get there until noon and didn't stay too far into dusk. They called it a trip Friday night and arrived back home at 1 am. I have posted pictures that were on the camera. There were a lot more of all the fun but they are on Brian's phone still.

I didn't sit around and let them have all the fun but I didn't play the whole time either.  I cleaned out the garage including hosing it out. I was tired of black feet and it has been killing me since winter. I spent some time in my garden. I planted more seeds for the fall. And speaking of gardens I don't think I mentioned my garden at all this year. This has been the most successful garden I have ever planted and it has been fun to pick things and then eat them for dinner. We had a great crop of peas, lettuce, carrots and onions. Right now the beans are producing, the tomatoes are showing up and my spaghetti squash looks amazing. The cucumbers are not doing so well along with the watermelon, bell peppers and yellow squash. My excuse for some of those plants is the soil where they are planted isn't great. I am hoping the seeds I just planted will do well so we can have a bounteous fall. Hopefully the summer heat won't kill them before they get started.

This is not all the plants. Some of my other veggies are else where in the yard. It looked better when the pea plants were growing on the right and the lettuce and carrots filled in the other holes. I had to pull them out to plant new for the fall.

Back to what I did. After all that hard work it was time to play. There was girls night out with my friend Camie. We went to dinner, a movie and dessert. I went with my mom and sisters for a pedicure. I went in for a hair cut. Book club happened to be that week. And of course there was lots of shopping. With this shopping came a realization for me. I will have to get a job when my kids are grown so I don't spend all of our money. The only thing that slowed me down was I couldn't clothes shop yet. If that had been the case I might have been in some serious trouble. I spent an afternoon at the pool. I read. I finished my book from all the blog posts in 2008 to half of 2009 and got that sent away to be published. So far I have 2007 and 2008 done, only 4 more years to go. It is amazing what can be done when you have no time constraints, no meals to prepare or no one to find sitters for so you can make it to your appointments.

I am glad to have my family back in town. It was a little quiet around here and could easily get lonesome. I don't know how my Grandma Lue did it for so long or how my Grandma Bonnie still does it. Yes you see people but there are many hours by yourself.

Once they got back it was time to squeeze in the last bit of summer with the kiddos and get the house cleaned so I don't have to worry for awhile after baby comes. Tuesday the kids and I went swimming at their cousin's pool. Each took a friend. After it was a trip to Arctic Circle for some ice cream. Wednesday Brian had the day off. The kids had earned a movie from all their hard work this summer so we went to Despicable Me 2. We were the mean parents who wouldn't buy the over-priced, unhealthy popcorn and other treats. I am sure the kids will always remember that about us. That was about it for our Pioneer Day Celebration. Later that night we bribed our kids with ice cream. Macy and Kelsey have refused a father's blessing every school year. They have never had one. The thought was maybe if we could get them to agree just once then they would realize the blessings from it. Cross your fingers for next year or any time they have struggles. Thursday is here and I sent the girls to their first day of school. The baby still hasn't come despite all my attempts at jogging, walking, mopping, vacuuming, bathroom scrubbing and pineapple eating (I heard that one recently). Tomorrow he will come and he still has no name. I hope I am ready and I hope he has a name.

They Must be My Children

The first story is not like me but it is funny.

So I am big enough that I hate to bend over.  I am always asking my kids to pick things up for me. Many times I am given the stink eye. I tell them to try it with a huge belly. Well Sunday no kids were around and there was a raisin on the floor. I didn't want it stepped on but I didn't want to bend over. So I used my toes to pick it up and drop it on the stool (the garbage can wasn't nearby). I thought to myself "I should throw that away soon or one of the kids might see it and eat it." Of course soon in my mind was within 10 minutes because I was busy. A short time later the kids come running upstairs. Braden spots the raisin (which is at his eye level) and pops it into his mouth before I have a chance to say anything. All I could do was laugh. I never told him it had been on the ground and between my toes. It would have only made him mad and he had already chewed and swallowed it.

Yesterday the kids were supposed to be picking up the basement. It was the requirement to go to Island Park later that day. There was definitely an option of staying home since I am stuck home. Anyways, like normal there was constant fighting, shouting, and screaming about who was doing more and who's mess it was. Then there was a different type of screaming and all 3 kids come running upstairs. They tell me there is a spider downstairs. Kelsey is crying and tells me Macy pushed her into the spider. Now Macy had done the same thing to Braden the day before. Her punishment for being mean was to kill the spider herself and clean it up. I thought it was brilliant because then I didn't have to trek down and back up the stairs and I didn't have to pretend to be brave and kill the spider. I go back to getting ready for the day. Soon I hear blood curdling screams and thudding of feet coming for my room. In panicked voices they start to tell me what happened hat is when I noticed that each of them had a ziploc bag on each hand and Macy had a wad of toilet paper. I had to stifle my laugh at how silly the whole situation was and how silly their "gloves" were. The bags were so they didn't touch the spider. The second set of screaming came because Kelsey had somehow knocked the spider on the ground and they couldn't find it. Why Kelsey and not Macy we will never know. The bad part is I still wound up going downstairs and picking up the spider. I found the spider on the ground dead. They were just too scared to move the toy it fell under.

Summertime

The basement is finished and everyone is all situated. Moving everyone's room was almost as painful as moving. The girls accumulated so much stuff. They have also roomed together ever since they were little so dividing everything was a task. But it is done and I am tired.

Maybe it wasn't the moving that wore me out. Maybe I am tired from all our summer fun. In the past 2 weeks we have been to the Salt Lake Seven Peaks, the Provo Seven Peaks, Lagoon (including Lagoon-a-beach), and swimming at Grandma Bonnie's. It has been quite warm so we had to cool off somehow. Then there was the fourth of July festivities. We went to Park City for their parade. It was too crowded for my taste and the kids were disappointed because the parade did not allow candy to be thrown. After it was time for more pool time at a friend's condo up at the Canyons. We made it down to the valley to watch the Sandy City fireworks. We had awesome seats for the show and had a lot of fun with my sister and her family, my parents, and Brian's sister and daughter. Then last night Brian had friends from his LDS fraternity over for dinner.  There were about 12 adults and 18 kids. Right as everyone was getting ready to leave a munchkin pulled over a glass drink dispenser which sent glass shards flying everywhere. Needless to say I was mopping my floor last night at about 10:30 PM. Maybe that is why I am tired. Then again it could be because I am pregnant and am in the final countdown, 2 weeks 4 days.

I wonder what other fun we can pack in before the baby comes and school gets started again, which is also 2 weeks and 4 days away. My squeaky wheel hasn't been squeaky enough to get moved to a different school track. Maybe I should focus on seeing what baby stuff I have and need instead of how much fun I can have. Nah! That stuff will magically get done and a name will miraculously pop into my head.

Happy Summer Everyone!