Sweet Sabeth

Today was a really good day. Dinner was so peaceful, both kids just sat and ate and chatted. They didn't complain or whine or fight. And it wasn't even a particularly "kid friendly" meal - teriyaki grilled salmon, rice, steamed broccoli and cauliflower, and fabulous red velvet cake with cream cheese frosting. They told us all about their lessons from Primary, and about their new teachers. They listened while we talked about our day.

After dinner, they cleared the table and then went and put their pajamas on and brushed their teeth. And then Megan sat and read stories to Jared. At bedtime, they read scriptures and said prayers and hugged and kissed us. And went to bed. And didn't get up again. And didn't ask for drinks of water.

WHO ARE THESE PEOPLE? Where are my children? Are these small alien clones that swapped places with my kids for the evening? Are these the same two kids that I wrote THIS about?

I'm just kidding. I know they are my children. My wonderful, sweet children. They are getting older, more independent. And it is wonderful. There were days (and months and years) that I wondered if we would ever get here, but we did. And for one day at least, it's a wonderful place to be.

Someone remind me of all this next time I want to run away and join the circus.

Surprise! It's A...

Baby! 

Yup! You heard it here first. We are officially having a baby. Not a mermaid, not a unicorn, not a puppy. A human baby.

The kids have been kind of funny about the whole thing. We've had some interesting conversations.

Megan: If the doctor doesn't tell you if the baby is a boy or a girl, will we have to wait until it's hair grows to know? If it's hair grows long, we'll know it's a girl, if it stays short, we'll know it's a boy. But that might take a really long time. How will we know what to name it? 

Umm...I think we better sit down and have a little talk, she and I..

Jared (praying the other night): Please let momma be pregnant with a girl baby or a boy baby. Please don't let her be pregnant with a mermaid. It can be a girl or a boy but please don't make it a mermaid.

Megan told him that she hoped it was a mermaid, and that if it was, it would have to sleep in the bathtub forever and he wouldn't get to take a bath, he'd only get to take showers.

Here are the feet - no mermaid tail to be seen anywhere.

So, now everyone can rest easy. We are having a baby. Due date is still June 2, but hopefully it will come a little earlier than that. The doctor said everything looks perfectly normal, and that the baby is measuring about 13 ounces right now, which is right where it should be.

Mansfield Family Pictures

We had family photos taken while we were in Utah. We couldn't pass up the opportunity, since the whole family was together.Thanks to Mark and Suzanne for making all of the arrangements!

 

Thanksgiving 2010

Wow! I am just a little behind! I should be planning Valentine's Day posts, and I'm stuck in November! Ack! Be patient with me!

We had a wonderful Thanksgiving, even though Megan was sick. My sister and her family came from San Antonio and some good friends from our church came over for dinner. There is NOTHING better at Thanksgiving than to be surrounded by family and friends (although good food ranks pretty high as well!).

Travis brined the turkey, and stuffed it with fruit and herbs. Everyone said it was fabulous. It looked really pretty. We had mashed potatoes (made with way too much butter and cream....so, so, so yummy!), stuffing, salad, jello, rolls, sweet potato casserole (so yummy, Amy!) and green bean casserole, cranberries....followed by pies and cookies and cranberry-vanilla sorbet. I'm amazed I can still walk after eating all of that!

What a wonderful day, to remember just how very blessed we are.

We Wish You a Merry Christmas!

Better late than never, right? December passed me by in a flash and I never got this posted.


We really want to wish all of our wonderful family and friends a very, very merry Christmas. We love you all and are so blessed to have you in our lives!



(My favorite part of this is when Jared sings, "Good tithings we bring to you and your kids" :D)

New Year, New Resolutions

I struggle with making resolutions. It seems that I always end up with a long list of things I know I should be doing, things I want to be doing. I start out strong in January, but by February, it's become a list of things I feel guilty about not doing, and by May, it's just another piece of clutter on my desk/pin board that I don't even notice any more.

Last year, I decided to set goals I would actually keep - to eat more chocolate and to gain 5 pounds. I did great and I am tempted to take that route again, but I know that that's a cope-out. I am better than that. So, this year I am going to try a few new things. First, no long list. I'm keeping it short. Second, I'm not going to try for a whole year. I'll take it one month at a time. Or maybe one week at a time. We'll see. Third, when life gets crazy (and you KNOW it will), I'm not going to give up. I'm just going to start where I'm at and take it from there.

This month, starting now, my January goal is to keep my kitchen sink shiny, just like Fly Lady teaches. I was doing sooooo good with this in the summer and fall, right up until I started having morning sickness and then Megan got sick. It all fell apart after that. So, from now until the end of January, I resolve to keep my sink shiny. That's it. That's all I plan to do. Wish me luck!

10 Things I Learned From Vacation

1. There is nothing better than family.
2. 8 degrees is too cold. 10 degrees is too cold. So is 20 degrees. When you start thinking 30 degrees feels nice, you know something is wrong. Some important part of your brain has frozen solid.
3. Laundry never stops, even on vacation.
4. Flying First Class, while eating a hot breakfast and reading a book, all without kids, is worth getting flocked by a snow blower.
5. Five Guys is better than In and Out.
6. I like to sleep on rock hard, flat pillows not soft, fluffy, squishy pillows. 
7. Even though it's made for 7 year-olds, Blink is just as much fun for grownups to play as it is for kids. Maybe more so.
8. Christmas decorations wait until you put them away. They never magically disappear. The Christmas Clean-Up fairy is a myth.
9. The kids actually will sleep in...if you let them stay up late enough, for enough nights in a row.
10. There's no place like home.