First day of Kindergarten

Talk about mixed emotions! Part of me thinks it's some form of cruel and unusual punishment to send your oldest to Kindergarten when you're 9 (going on 29) months pregnant, 1.4 weeks away from giving birth. At the same time, I do like the idea of one less voice in the house requesting this and that. I know she'll love going to school and learning, playing, making friends, and I know she'll be wonderful at all of it. It's not that I can't believe I'm old enough to have a kid in school, I'm fine with my age. I'm fine with her being 5.

So why do my eyes keep watering? {sniffle}.

Here's why. Change, good or bad, is never easy, and that's part of it- a lot of change happening in a short period of time, but I think the hardest part is knowing that she's going to get 'owies', or hurt feelings, or just go in those quiet moods, and I'm not going to be there to hold her until it's all better. That's the part of having my Kindergartener grow up that I struggle with. That's life, right?

Well, here she is, loving life as a Kindergartener.

Teah wanted to wear her dress with flowers and brown leggings, and her sandals from Aunt Jill. She wanted her hair in pig tails with a 'headband braid'.

She found her spot at her table, and got busy writing her name.

Her teacher, Mrs. Law, had them fill in these posters, and I loved Teah's answers and artwork. When she grows up she initially put 'a doctor', but after a couple WSU volleyball games, she had to cross out doctor and put (no, not a volleyball player, heaven forbid.) 'a cheerleader'.

I guess it's NOT okay to have your little sister in your pictures on your big day. Teah wouldn't smile if Havi was near.

Finishing touches

My Aunt cut this vinyl for me, a quote from "Away in a Manger" I've always loved and wanted to do something with for a baby, so here it is. I'm so excited, it really is so fun to have a nursery!

Lime green, deep red, baby pink and dark brown... NURSERY?!

It is still a work in progress, but it's almost done. I said I needed a project, right? Well, this nursery was the perfect thing to spark a little creativity. It was a lot of fun to design and do all these little projects, and it's turned into a room I'm so excited for baby to live in!

Oh, and here's the 37 week belly shot... it looks a LOT bigger from my view.

m*ink

Announcing a new blog!

http://minkdesigns.blogspot.com/

I thought it might be fun to try designing Christmas (and invitations, announcements, etc.) cards this year. So, what better way to start than with a blog, right? Anyway, here it is, check it out if you get a chance!

Feeling Patriotic?

July is probably my favorite month. I love summer. I love the 4th. I love the U.S.A. I love summer nights. I love that Utah gives you a 'bonus' holiday on the 24th. I love all the birthday people this month (havi, kelsy, grandpa). I love peach/nectarine season. I love celebrating being married to Mr. Wonderful on the 21st (happy 9th anniversary, leroy!) I love vacations. I love road trips.

Teah learned a new song on our most recent road trip through Yellowstone and Island Park.

She's 3!

Our little Havi is now 3 years old! This morning she came and laid by me in bed, and I waited a little while before I broke the news to her that it's her birthday (she was being so cute, just wanting to lay there and hold hands). Well, I told her and, if you know Havi, you can imagine the excitement that instantly appeared. "I get to wear my 3 shirt?!" "Are there balloons?!" Yes, Havi, yes. We came out to the kitchen and she put on her 3 shirt and ooh-ed and aww-ed over the balloons.
This little girl brings so much joy to our family. She's a fun sister for Teah, I love listening to them play {babies, puppies, tents, princesses, Hannah Montana, dancing, you name it} together.
With Havi, there is no small deal. Everything is AMAZING or TERRIBLE or LIFE THREATENING or OUTSTANDING in some way. Every bug she sees brings a squeal... I can't tell you how many rolly-pollies she's loved to death. Poor bugs. Havi has a funny sense of being able to recognize circumstances. When I need a little extra cuddle, I can count on her. She's thankful for the cutest things- we'd be leaving church and she'd say, "Thanks for nursery, mommy! Thanks for church!" or the other day when Jayme took her to the aquarium she said as they were leaving, "Thanks, Jayme, for the fishes!". I love listening to her watch her favorite TV show- Mickey Mouse Clubhouse because she always participates- "Oh toooodles!". Few things make her more excited than knowing she gets to play with her extended family- she loves going to Grandma San's, especially when there are cousins there to play with, and whenever we pull up at Grandma Karyn's, Havi lets me know (with growing excitement in her voice) who's there by the cars that are parked out front {Jayme! Grandma! Grandpa! Kelsy! Bailey! Ellie!...by now she's running inside yelling "hello!?"}.
We are so happy that Havi's a part of our family. She continues to be our 'little sparkler'. LOVE THAT GIRL!

Dear Havi,
We love you past the stars in the sky!
Love, Mommy, Daddy and Teah

Book Club Slacker

It was probably about two or three years ago that my book club decided to read The Count of Monte Cristo by Alexandre Dumas, and let me tell you, this is one FAT book. 1462 pages to be exact. My King James version of the Holy Bible has 1590 pages, for comparison. Anyway. It is a great read, great story, very different from the movie, I recommend the condensed version to anyone (I'm pretty sure there's a condensed version). Back when I was supposed to read this, I got about a quarter of the way through before the book found its way to the bottom of my reading pile and was forgotten. I started it again last January off and on, and am about 900 pages into it. He's a crafty man, that Edmond Dantes.

My point in mentioning this book is that I've found one of my all time favorite quotes on pages 183-184. A little background- If you've seen the movie, you may recall the Priest who Dantes meets in prison. The priest is an incredibly intelligent man who educates Dantes as they work together to escape prison. In the book, his name is Abbe Faria. Here's the passage- a conversation between the two of them:

"'What are you thinking of?' asked the abbe smilingly...
...'I was reflecting, in the first place,' replied Dantes, 'upon the enormous degree of intelligence and ability you must have employed to reach the high perfection to which you have attained;-- if you thus surpass all mankind while but a prisoner, what would you not have accomplished free?'
'Possibly nothing at all;-- the overflow of my brain would probably, in a state of freedom, have evaporated in a thousand follies; it needs trouble and difficulty and danger to hollow out various mysterious and hidden mines of human intelligence. Pressure is required, you know, to ignite powder: captivity has collected into one single focus all the floating faculties of my mind; they have come into close contact in the narrow space in which they have been wedged, and you are well aware that from the collision of clouds electricity is produced-- from electricity comes the lightning, from whose flash we have light amid our greatest darkness.'"

I often used to wonder why it is that when life's going smoothly, no real stresses, only a couple things on the to-do list for the day, I have a hard time getting anything done. But when there are a million things to do, zero time to do them, and the weight of the world is on my shoulders, I turn into Superwoman and do all I need and then some. This quote offers the perfect explanation. Last year when we were building this house, following a tight budget, working like crazy to get out of debt, shuffling kids between babysitters, living in tight quarters, reffing 4 nights a week, making sure everything was okay with the banks, training for a marathon, making sure subcontractors were being treated fairly, juggling multiple church callings, basically when life was stressful, I accomplished so much every day. At the time I remember thinking, "Dang, when all this is over, I'm going to be able to do so much with all my free time!" Now that I'm there, I've "arrived", goals met, stresses alleviated, I've never felt lazier. Weird how that works, huh? I think I'll take on projects and creative type stuff to create a little stress, but I'll always remember this lesson: 'Pressure is required'. When trials come from now on, it'll be easier to be thankful for them if I can remember that there are some 'hidden mines of human intelligence' Heavenly Father's trying to bring to surface.
The end. (phew, I don't know how Dumas kept going for 1460 more pages, this ramble about did me in!)