One Week Old

I can't believe it has been a week since Annalise was born. It's been a great week in so many ways. The boys just LOVE their baby sister. William has even decided that he wants to change diapers, so I showed him how. He decided that he would practice on Bryce first, but he has now changed 5 or 6 diapers on both kids. He is going to make a great little dad some day. All of the boys just love being around Annalise, talking to her, and holding her. Even Bryce is handling it very well so far. He loves to sit next to me on the couch while I feed her. He just looks at her with a huge grin on his face and then starts touching her blanket and her hand and if he can get to it, her face. He does like to point out her nose, mouth, ears, and eyes, so we have to be careful that he doesn't do it a little to hard. We are so lucky and blessed to have this little girl as part of our family!

One day old...She is a thumb sucker! I love
how she covers her face with the rest of her
fingers when she sucks her thumb.


Are they really all mine? I don't know how I
got to be so lucky!


One week old. Very comfortable in big brother's
arms!

Annalise's Webpage

Check out our little girl's hospital web page at http://www.mercygilbert.org/
When you get there, hit patients and visitors on the left hand side and then hit online nursery. It will then direct you from there. Isn't she a cutie?!!

She's Here, She's Here, She's Here!!!

After a long night of labor, Annalise Michele Clayton finally arrived at 7:47 AM Sunday May 24! Two days before her Mom's birthday and only 3 days before her own due date! She weighed in at 8 lbs 2 oz. and is 21" long. She has a small amount of light brown hair and as far as I see it, she is basically perfect in every way!


Hallelujah! I have arrived!



She came out looking for food. She is a Champion
nurser.


The weigh in and check-up.






The birth story and many more pictures will be coming soon!

The Story

After having random contractions throughout the day they finally began settling into a pattern of about every 4 minutes by Saturday afternoon. John talked me out of making a quick run to Basha's grocery store and instead we headed to the hospital to see if any progress was being made. Our first stop was Triage room #3 where they asked us a bunch of questions, hooked up the monitors, and my contractions slowed way down...Grrr! Dr. Leonard happened to be at the hospital delivering a baby and stopped by to see us. They were finding the baby's heartbeat way up high and worried that she might have turned. They checked her out with ultrasound and luckily she was still head down, but unfortunately still way up high. He had us walk for about an hour. Luckily that got the contractions moving again and when we returned they decided to go ahead and admit me. Hurrah!


Once we got into the room , John left to get some dinner and I did a little more walking to see if we could get the contractions to do anything. I was still at a 4. About an hour later the nurse checked me and I was at about 4 and a half. They decided to give me some pitocin to help things along. The Dr wasn't able to break my water, because the baby was still up so high. Since I knew I wanted an epidural at some point, we decided to get it before starting the pitocin. That turned out to be a nightmare and I almost had to go without. The first anaesthesiologist that came in kept hitting bone and finally gave up after 4 trys saying that he did not want to hurt me. Well, I was more concerned about the "hurt" that would still be on it's way if I didn't get the epidural. Anyway, the nurse also decided that we should get someone else and try again. Luckily there was someone else who was willing to come in and within 2 trys he got it in and my legs began to tingle. I don't think tingly legs have ever felt so good! But then I started feeling really nauseous and lightheaded and we realized that my blood pressure had dropped really low. They pumped me full of a bunch of fluids and luckily I soon felt better. They then turned on the pitocin and I made it to a 5, which is where I stayed most of the night. They continued to up the pitocin, but I just wasn't making much progress. Also the baby was not descending. The Dr couldn't break my water because she was just too high still. About 3:00 in the morning the baby's heart rate began to drop with each contraction. We began fearing that a c-section may be on the way if she didn't drop soon or we were not able to get her heart rate stabilized. However, they stopped upping the pitocin, began giving me oxygen and having me turn from side to side every 20 minutes. Luckily it seemed to help. Then about 5 am, I started really feeling the contractions and asked if we could up the epidural meds. They gave me a boost of the stuff and then the nurse checked me again. Finally I was between an 8 and 9 so they cut off the pitocin completely and called the Dr. He showed up about a 1/2 hour later, checked and said I was fully dilated and he broke my water. Then they realized there was still a little lip of cervix left that had been pushed back by the bag of waters and so we had to wait a bit longer for that to disappear. Luckily it wasn't long and soon I was able to push. It took all of maybe 10 minutes of pushing and she was here! She had the cord wrapped around her neck once and was rather white when she first came out, but with a quick move on the Dr's part, he got it off from around her neck, delivered the rest of her, and gave her a good rub down which got her crying and turning a beautiful pink rather quickly. It was the best sound I had heard all night!

John was able to get a few good hours of sleep during the night. I woke him up as they began getting everything ready to deliver the baby. He said that he was going to take a quick shower and I told him he better hurry so he didn't miss it. Luckily he heard someone say "grab that leg" and made it out for the final minutes of pushing before she was born! She is so beautiful and we are so thankful that she is here!

Kindergarten Graduation

Yesterday was Jacob's Kindergarten graduation. It was short, sweet, and really cute. They put on a little performance for us, got their certificates, and then everyone took a bunch of pictures. I am so glad that I was able to make it. Jacob was so excited. He is now officially a first grader.

Future class of 2021! They did a great job of
showing us some of the things they have
learned this year.


Jacob with his teacher, Mrs. Memmott


This is Michael, the first friend that Jacob met in
his class.


Aunt Sheri was in town so she came down to
celebrate with us. We went to Sonic for ice cream
after the graduation.

New Record

Well, our baby girl has set a new record. She has made it closest to her due date of all of our children so far. We are at 39 weeks today. I just got back from my appointment and have made it to a 4. One centimeter per week. Hmmm...at this rate she should be here in about 6 weeks! Just kidding. I'm sure she wouldn't do that to me right?! Actually at this point, since she's made it this far, I'm hoping that she will stay put at least until tomorrow afternoon. Jacob graduates from Kindergarten tomorrow morning and I would really like to be there. Not that I necessarily enjoy kindergarten graduations or think they are necessary at all, but I would like to be there for Jacob. Also I realized that if I am having a baby tomorrow morning, John will be with me, Alea will be home with the other kids and no one will be there to take Jacob to graduation. The other kids we carpool with are all in the other kindergarten class and they have their graduation at a different time. So anyway, hopefully she will stay put just a little bit longer and then I think it would be nice if she would quit socializing in Heaven and come on down. I'm sure she'll be here soon. I'll keep everyone posted!

Happy Anniversary to us!

It was 9 years ago today that John and I were married. 4 almost 5 children, 3 homes, 1 new job, and lots of fun and laughter later we are happy, healthy, and continuing to enjoy life together!

Pregnancy Dreams

In honor of our little girl not being here yet, I thought I would post a few of the crazy pregnancy dreams I've had lately. My dreams in the final month or so of pregnancy always seem so vivid, but this time they are also very colorful! I don't really remember dreaming in such bright colors before. One night it was all about turquoise. I was dressed in a completely turquoise dress that in my dream I thought was just beautiful. I was with an Indian lady looking into a store window at another dress that she really loved and wanted but it was too expensive for her. I told her not to worry and that I could make her one just like it (in real life, this could never happen). Anyway, the dress was covered in a bright red, orange, and purple design, all outlined in a turquoise trim. In the dream...beautiful, in real life...hideous!

Another dream I had the other night was that we were at church with our new little girl. For most of the dream she was in her little carrier covered so I couldn't see her. At the end I folded down the top part of the carrier and lifted her out to show everyone. She was pink from head to toe, not just clothes, everything. She was very short and pudgy and I picked her up by the middle, held her over my head and said, "Isn't she the cutest little puppy ever!" Then in my dream I thought, but didn't say, "but wait, I don't even like puppies!" But she really did look like a fluffy, pink puppy.

I've also had a dream about our bright red van being towed because I parked it in an intersection in New Jersey because there was nowhere else to park it. It was going to cost $425 to get it out. I had no idea how I was going to tell John.

Last night I had a dream that Jacob came up to me while I was teaching a primary class and said that he had wet his pants. He was only wearing underwear at the time and I just told him to go into the bathroom and change his wet pants. Then as he was heading down the hall to the bathroom, I mentioned that he might want to put the rest of his clothes on as well. Then I went back to teaching as if that was all perfectly normal to me.

And the last one I will share for now is one of the first ones from this pregnancy that I remember. It was a about a month ago I guess that I had this one and it is by far my favorite. John and I were hiking up the side of a mountain. We saw a bear and John said not to worry and that as long as it didn't go into a cave where people were then we would be fine. So we crouched down behind a log and watched to see what the bear would do. He immediately went into a cave at the top of the hill and somehow we knew that people were in there. So John said, "ok, we better run for it." So we did. Well, as soon as we started running the bear came after us. Pretty soon John stopped and said, "well, we're not going to be able to outrun the bear, we'll just have to wrestle him." So the bear gets to us and John starts wrestling him face to face. I was just watching and realized that it wasn't going well, so I walk over, grab the bear from behind and throw him to the ground and pin him there! (yeah, right!) So then, we knew that we had beaten the bear so we got up and started heading down the hill again and the bear ran off in the other direction. Pretty soon we noticed that there was a kid in the path ahead and for some reason I started to get scared. John said, "don't worry, you can wrestle a bear, I'm sure you can handle this kid!" Then I was like all confident again and when we got to the boy, I grabbed him and threw him onto the ground just like I had the bear. Then we looked up and noticed that a second bear was heading in our direction. I looked at John and he was all excited and cheering me on yelling things like no problem, just take him too! So while I was still holding this boy down to the ground, I waited for the bear to get close enough and then with my one free arm I reached out and grabbed him pulling him down to the ground right next to the boy. John cheering me on the whole time. I then got up, gave the bear and the boy a look and John and I continued our walk down the hill as they ran up the hill in the other direction. I loved that dream because first I think it is hilarious and second, when I woke up from it, I felt so empowered, like I could literally take on anything! When morning came I of course shared my dream with John and the boys and they all loved it too. Many times since then when I have said that I can't do something or something seems too hard Jacob has said, "yes you can Mom, you can even wrestle a bear!"

One Weekend, Two Dates

This was a monumental weekend! John and I actually went out both Friday and Saturday nights. We've been trying to do better about having a weekly date, so I guess it's working out. Friday, we went to dinner and a movie. John gets free passes to the movies for car pooling to work, so we have a few saved up and decided to use some of those. They are for AMC theater so we decided to see what restaurants were around there and have dinner there. Well, I was excited to discover that Gecko Grill was just a street over, so that is were we ended up. Yummy!!! I decided to try something new and had the chicken mango quesadilla and an horchata. It was delicious! John went with the carne asada taco and mango juice and then helped me with mine. We then went to the movies and chose to see X-Men Origins: Wolverine. Let's just say we both highly recommend you DO NOT go see this movie. We were very disappointed. Side note: I love the first x-men movie. This type of movie isn't usually my type of thing, but I got into the x-men books when I was a tutor/nanny for a family in Utah and the only way I could get one of their boys to read was through the x-men series. I ended up really liking them and now that particular boy is all grown up with a son of his own and he is becoming a wonderful novelist. So for the past 15 years or so the X-men have had a special place in my heart. Ok, all that being said, I was really looking forward to this movie, but it was terrible. Yes, it had a few good scenes, but overall it was so dark and ALL about revenge. Way too many innocent people were killed for no reason and the movie just left you feeling yucky. We walked out of it at the end and I told John I felt like we needed to go watch Pollyanna or something to get the yucky feelings to go away! Luckily we hadn't paid anything to see it, but it was still very disappointing.

Then on Saturday was the dinner that is sponsored by the Ben Franklin FPAC for all of those who had served on FPAC this year and anyone who will be serving next year. We went to Texas Roadhouse...another favorite of mine! Although I was hoping that I would not be able to go because I was home with my new baby, it ended up being a really nice evening. We sat out on the patio and I had been a little worried about that with the heat and all, but it wasn't too bad. Good food, good company, and a good evening out. We made it an early evening and got home in time to put the boys down to bed. I had planned on blogging last night, but Bryce was having some breathing issues that really had me worried and by the time that all got under control it was time to sleep.

Van Update

Well, the stay puff marshmallow van, as John has named it, survived! We're not sure whether to celebrate or be sad, but either way, it made it through! John and a buddy went up, fixed the hose, added some water, and were able to drive it home. We also got my van out of the shop so I was able to drive that today.

Pedicure, Baby Update, and Car Trouble

Today has been a full and adventurous day. Alea was here with the kids so I took advantage of it by spending some time by myself today. First I went and got a pedicure and manicure. For some reason I always like to do that before I give birth. It has been a long time since I have seen my feet, much less done anything with them so they were pretty bad. The lady doing my feet kept saying, "you really need to come in more often. You need to take care of your feet. You're on them all the time." So true, but it was kind of funny at the same time. But now I have beautiful, soft feet and nails.

After that I stopped at Costco to pick up a few things that John and the boys had requested that we have on hand while I am in the hospital. You know, things like corn dogs, hot pockets, and chicken nuggets. Ok, I can humor them as long as I don't have to eat the stuff! That will make some easy meals for them while I am away also. I did treat myself to a berry smoothie while I was there which tasted so good and refreshing today.

I then returned home, put away the groceries, took a quick shower and headed to my 38 week OB appt. I had a goal to get through last Sunday before having her and once I made it I haven't had any more contractions...until today. I had a few while I was out running around. Nothing major, but I was curious if they were doing anything. Well, I found out that I am dilated to a 3 as of now. The Dr. said that it could be another week before she comes. That's were I was the morning Bryce was born and the Dr said the same thing that day. My mom asked me if I told him that I would see him tonight as I walked out the door. No, but that would have been funny. So who knows when she will arrive, but now I have a new goal. I need her to wait at least until after Biggest Loser tonight. It's the one show I watch on T.V. and it's the grand finale for heaven's sake, so maybe tomorrow would be good!

After the appointment I decided to run a quick errand before going to pick up kids from school. I didn't get too far before some guy got my attention at a red light and told me that a bunch of smoke was coming out of the back of the van. Now let me fill you in here. I was actually driving our huge 1980 diesel van instead of our minivan, because the minivan went into the shop last night due to leaking power steering fluid. So anyway, as I sat there at the red light smoke started billowing up from under the hood as well. I just keep thinking that I had to get into the parking lot up ahead and stop the car and that I couldn't wait for the light. So I did something that I probably shouldn't have done, but it was a spur of the moment decision. I made sure no one was coming and went on through the light. Bad, I know, but hey what could I do? So I got to the parking lot turned in and as I am turning this huge van into the lot, it stalls and will not move anymore. So what am I suppose to do now? I have people trying to turn in behind me and honking at me. The hazards wouldn't go on, so I just tried to motion for them to go around. Then I called John at work and he said he would be right over. So in the meantime I go to the back of the van and try to flag people around it. The picture in my mind of this just makes me laugh. This big 'ol pregnant lady standing behind this huge white work truck in 100+ degree weather trying to direct traffic around a stalled vehicle. Luckily there are good people in this world who stopped to help. One couple tried to push it, but that van is just too heavy and we were going uphill into the parking lot. Soon a lady in a truck came by and said that she would push me in with her truck. That worked, so luckily I was able to get out of the way of traffic. When I got into the lot, I sighed a sigh of relief and then remembered that I was suppose to be picking up William from school and that he would be out in about 15 minutes. So I did some quick calling around and luckily a good friend came through for me and went to pick him up or arranged something so that he arrived home safely from school. Soon after that John came, took me home and headed back to see what he could do for the poor van. It appears that the radiator hose clamp, which had to be loosened when he was changing some belts not long ago, wasn't tightened which caused a piece to pop off causing the car to overheat. Oops! We'll soon find out if the car will survive.

So that brings us to now. Hopefully tonight will be less eventful. I'm so thankful for people, friends and people I don't know who are willing to help. I am also very glad that I did not have the boys with me this afternoon although they probably would have thought it was a great adventure!

Mother's Day 2009

Happy Mother's day to all you mothers. It has been a nice day. John and the boys made "super" pancakes for breakfast today and served them to me in bed. They were a little different, but very filling and it was wonderful to enjoy them in the comfort of my bed. They also gave me some wonderful cards which they had made, along with a book, a bracelet, and a beautiful necklace. The necklace has 5 heart shaped stones on it, one to represent each of our children. I got many compliments on it at church today.

Church was nice. The talks were great and it was fun to hear the primary kids sing. At the end of the meeting, each of the moms was given a rose and some chocolates. Also today I was released from my calling in nursery. John has been released from nursery, but not from Primary. As of now, we don't know what they have planned for him, but for today it was nice to go to Sunday School together and then attend priesthood and relief society, although it was a little difficult to sit still that long. It will take some getting use to I guess. The Lemieux's were also released. So today was Bryce's first day in nursery without Mom and Dad since he was 9 months old. I guess he did great. We take his little chair so that he can sit in there and have snack and color and be a part of the group. He seems to like that.

After church we came home, made some sandwiches for lunch, and Bryce and I took a nice long nap while John and the older boys enjoyed some time together. It was very nice. When we got up I called my Mom and talked to her for a bit and John tried calling his Mom in Tonga but was not able to get through. We tried a few more times and finally got through at about 8:30 tonight which was actually 4:30 Monday afternoon over there. So I guess they are about 20 hours ahead of us. We both had great talks with our Moms and they seem to be happy.

Made it Through the Night

Last night was the father and sons outing. John has been debating all week whether or not he and the boys should go. They love going, but he also did not want to go and miss being here if I were to go into labor. I'm now 37 and 1/2 weeks and our other boys have all come early and the last one came really fast. Well, luckily we made it through the night and I have no signs of her coming today, so I think we will be fine! I'm glad they went. I hope they are having a fun time.

They didn't end up leaving here until 6pm. Since I still had Bryce with me, I didn't really have any plans for going out, but a pollo grande was calling my name. I decided to do take out, but when I called the restaurant here, I found out they have closed! Bummer. There is still one in Gilbert, but I didn't feel like going that far and nothing else really sounded all that good or worth the effort, so I just stayed home and had leftovers. I then put Bryce to bed and soon followed him. He has a bad cough...AGAIN...so I was up a few times throughout the night helping him with breathing treatments. But luckily I had no contractions throughout the night! So that was good. Now I just need to get through this afternoon and tomorrow morning. After that, she can come anytime.

This afternoon I am going to the sealing of some good friends of ours, the Millspaughs. I am really looking forward to it. I am so happy for them. I'm not sure when John and the boys will be home, so I decided to get a babysitter lined up just in case. If they do get home, John will probably want to go anyway, so that should work out fine. Luckily I was able to find one today. I don't know why I always wait until the last minute to do that.

Baby's Room

Last night after the boys went to bed John and I put the new crib together! I love it! It's one that I have had my eye on for quite some time. The thing I love most about it is that it is short...just like me! Now I will be able to put the baby into the bed without standing on tip toes or slightly "dropping" her in. We also set up the new rocker. It's one that I got on clearance at Babies R Us. We got the ottoman for free because of some deal they were having the day we bought it. I love it because it is nice and big and will be a great nursing chair as well as a rocking chair.

John pulling the chair out of the box and pretending
he is driving a bus. He was most excited about
this because there was no Assembly required!


The crib was a different story. Lots of things to
hammer and screw in, but it was fun to work on
it together. Once we got it all put together, I said
it looks like a cotton candy crib...so much pink!


Here you can kind of see the size of the crib.
John will be able to get the baby out even while
he is on his knees! =) As you can see in the
background, the dresser still needs a bit of work.


Spencer checking out the new chair
this morning. He thought it was really
cool that it can rock and spin around
at the same time.


Here is a picture of her new car seat.
It too seems really pink to me, but
I'm sure I will get use to this new
color around our house.

It's May!

So our baby girl is due this month! I seriously can't believe it! We had an ultrasound yesterday and she is measuring in at about 7lbs, 6 oz. as of now. She isn't due until the 27th, but I highly doubt she is going to make it that far. Who knows though, she may surprise me. The ultrasound tech said that she is head down and very low. I could have told him that part! We go see the regular OB tomorrow, so we'll see what he says. We were able to pick up the crib and rocker last Friday, so hopefully today or tomorrow I will be able to get her room arranged so that there is room in there for those. It's quite exciting!

Yesterday I also attended our last FPAC meeting for the year. It's been nice to be a little bit involved with what is going on at the boys school, but I have decided not to be a member next year. My friend Valerie has been elected as President. Although she really did not want that, I'm sure she will do a great job. I told her I would still help where I can, but I just can't commit to as much right now since I have no idea what this coming year will hold. I want to help her out as much as possible though because I have seen first hand how hard it is to get parents to help out with activities and how many parents then complain when things don't run smoothly or have to be cancelled due to lack of parent involvement. Hello!!! Some of those members of FPAC spend a lot of time trying to make things as great as possible for all of the kids.

Today we have our potluck/swim playdate here at 11:00. I'm not sure where people will sit, but John did manage to get the pool up, so at least the kids will be busy. As soon as William and Jacob leave for school, I have to make a quick trip to Walmart for a few things including diapers since I think we are down to one, and the milk and bread are gone. Then at 9 I am suppose to go help in Jacob's class for an hour and then I will hopefully get home in time to get a few things put together for the playdate. I hope it all goes well today!

One Month Ends and Another One Begins!

First of all, let me just say that I am so glad that last week is over. Oh my gosh, it was one of the busiest weeks I have had in my entire life! I was going non-stop every single day, Monday through Saturday! Not a day here or there, but every day! It was insane! I know, I'm thinking the same thing...I have this mother's helper now, so my life is suppose to be all calm and less chaotic! Well, let me just clear something up, there are definitely no bon bons and soap operas yet! I'm finding that it is not really all it's cracked up to be. Yet at least. Now don't get me wrong, and I don't want to sound like I am complaining, but this is actually a lot harder than I thought it was going to be. I'm not going to go into a lot of details here, but let's just say it is not quite how I had envisioned it or what I had hoped for. I will say that the boys absolutely adore both Kenyon and Alea and it has been very nice this past week when I have had appointments to know who the kids will be staying with, opposed to having to constantly bug my friends to watch my kids. It's just so strange, because I feel like I am more busy and stressed now than I was a month ago. I didn't think it could happen, but it has. Oh well, I think it is just going to take some time to work into a grove and get things moving. Also, it appears that this baby girl is going to come sooner rather than later, and I am really not ready for her to come yet. So that is adding a little bit of stress to the plate. Anyway, on to last weeks activities.

Other than the three doctor's appointments, four therapy sessions, and lots of phone calls trying to get somewhere with Bryce's situation, we had some memorable moments throughout the week. Tuesday the boys and I attended a great play date at the Matheson's home. I always look forward to Tuesday mornings where the boys can play with friends and I get to chat with my friends. I live for those times these days. Thisweek the play date is at our house. I hope we have a good turnout and a lot of fun. It will help if we can get the pool set up. Thanks to John I think it will happen! Tuesday evening we were suppose to be two places at the same time. Spring Sing at the school and William's first pack meeting. Since William was getting his bobcat, and it was his first one I knew we should attend pack meeting. However, the boys knew that there would be pizza and snow cones at Spring sing and really wanted to go. So we decided to hit both. We first went to Spring sing and had dinner and snow cones and then headed over to the pack meeting. William was disappointed that he would not be able to actually perform at spring sing, but he had a great time at pack meeting, so I think it all worked out just fine.

Our Cub Scout!


Welcoming the two newest members.

William and Devin receiving their bobcat face painting.


Here is Jacob participating in the game. It went

fine until a few of his teammates tried to help him

by carrying him and then he lost it. I must admit,

I saw it coming. He said it made him feel like a

baby when they did that. Oh, Jacob!

Here is William dressed up during the game and

being cheered on by one of his teammates.

Wednesday was a great day for Spencer. He had his preschool graduation. His teacher Mrs. Dieu is in our ward and she does such a super job with these kids. My pictures all turned out a little blue, but you'll get the idea.

The class singing their spider song

The preschool graduate with Mrs. Dieu.

Twinkle Twinkle Little Star

Spencer with his buddy Trevor.

He loved preschool and it was nice to carpool there with Valerie and Julia, but I must admit I am glad it is over for the year. One thing down! Spencer is very excited about being in kindergarten next year. He keeps asking when he gets to go to "real" school.

Thursday afternoon, William and Jacob had their last music class for the year. Then Friday they had rehearsal for the recital and Saturday afternoon was the recital. It began at 3, and luckily I was able to get out of the Pampered Chef show that I had gotten myself into just in time to get home, take the babysitter home, get the boys dressed and head up to Mesa in time for the performance. John met us there after his play rehearsal and a quick trip to Home Depot. The boys both did a terrific job on their pieces. Mrs. Marci is a fabulous teacher and Let's Play Music is an incredible program. I can't believe how much the boys have learned in just a few short years.

The second year students playing/singing I'm

an Indian.

Jacob playing his piece Practice Every Day while

the other children sang.

Jacob with his awards!

This was William's third and final year of Let's

Play Music. Everyone in his class composed a

song and then got to perform their piece for the

recital. They were all amazing!

All third year students and their awards.


A very happy William holding his

awards and a fresh copy of his first

song titled Walking Down the Street

One Day.


Again, music has been wonderful for the boys this year. As for me, I'm really glad it's over for the summer!

OK, OK, OK!

Ok, so I know that I have not been on here in quite some time. Trust me, it's not because I have not wanted to be. I have blogged many times in my head throughout the week. What I mean is that as I am running around like a crazy person, I am thinking about things that are happening and how I want to blog them and how I can't wait until evening to have a spare minute to do so. But by the time I finally get dinner done and boys into bed, I have been falling into bed exhausted and often in tears because I am so frustrated that I am so tired and that I have not been able to get onto my beloved computer to see what is happening in the world of my friends and share what is happening here. I then fall asleep only to be woken up shortly after that either by Bryce or contractions or heartburn (or some other type of pain) which continues sporadically throughout the night until morning comes and I get up and start all over again. But tonight I am not going to bed until I have a few moments here. I have only had to be chastised (lovingly I'm sure) by three people today about disappearing off the face of the earth to get me committed again. So, as soon as I get Bryce down to bed...the other three are all asleep, thank goodness... I will be back and then you will all be getting an ear full! You asked for it! =)