A Little Rant

I have so many better things I should be doing this morning but I have to take a few minutes to express my feelings on something...even if no one reads or cares.
I like to watch Conan occasionally - I think he's funny.  Last night he performed a same-sex marriage on his show, so I decided not to watch that.  This morning I see posts on Facebook from people saying how wonderful it was to see that and how "bad" it is that same-sex marriage isn't more widely accepted.  This got me a tad bit upset.
Now I honestly believe that everyone has the right to do whatever they want (I certainly do whatever I want).  I have NO problem with this.  One of my beliefs as a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints is that I "claim the privilege of worshiping Almighty God according to the dictates of [my] own concience, and allow all men the same privilege, let them worship how, where, or what they may."  This means I believe in God - and I worship Him and follow His commandments.  I also feel that everyone else should be able to believe and do whatever they want.  What really iritates me is the fact that people expect ME to accept all these things that I feel are immoral and "wrong".  Yet they do not want to accept that I can believe whatever I want and feel however I want.  Why MUST I accept something you are doing?  Why can't I have morals and values?  You tell me it is "wrong" that I don't accept your lifestyle yet you won't allow me to feel that your lifestyle is "wrong".  Do you see the problem with that?  I can be wrong but YOU can't?  I have every right to not accept the idea of same-sex marriage or people killing human life inside of them or having sex with anyone you want whether or not you are married being ok.  And there is NOTHING "WRONG" with that.  I am so sick and tired of people telling me I need to be more "accepting" of people's lifestyles and actions.  I have absolutely NO obligation to feel that what they are doing is ok.  I am not one of those people picketing in front of hospitals that perform abortions or churches that perform same-sex marriages.  I feel that people can make their own choices.  I can teach my children to have morals and values and responsibility.  I can teach them that our Heavenly Father's plan for us is to marry someone of the opposite sex and have a family and that anything other than that goes against His plan for us.  I can teach them that Heavenly Father is disappointed when he sees His children abusing their bodies and doing things that are contrary to His plan.  I can teach them that although He loves EVERYONE because they are His children, He has rules and commandments that He wants us follow (and that it is in our best interest to do so).  I can teach them that there are consequences for our actions, especially when we do things that are contrary to His plan and His commandments.  And I WILL teach them all these things.  I will teach them that Heavenly Father DOES NOT approve of same-sex marriage as it goes completely against His plan for us.  He DOES NOT approve of abortions - a woman killing a human life inside of her simply because she wants to be irresponsible and not have to care for and raise that child.  He DOES NOT approve of us watching pornography, piercing and tattooing our bodies, and all other acts that defile the temples he gave to us.  What is very sad is that society tells ME that I must NOT teach these things to my children!!  Society tells me that having morals, values, and standing up for what I believe in is WRONG!!  Punishing my children for being disobedient is WRONG!!
I read an article online the other day about politics.  In a nutshell it talked about "Mormonism" and the fact that so many voters are prejudiced agains Mormons.  It talked about how far we have come with racial equality.  Yet we as a society are WAY MORE prejudiced against religion that we have ever been.  Polls show that as much as almost 40% of voters say they would not vote for a Mormon for president.  Simply because he was MORMON!!  Can you believe that?  In the comments were arguments about the fact that people "choose" to be Mormon but don't "choose" to be black.  I can understand that.  But it is still ignorant and prejudice to not vote for someone simply because of their religious preference.  People don't agree with the Mormon belief system.  Well I don't agree with people engaging in homosexual activites.  BOTH ARE CHOICES.  People choose what religion they will belong to.  And people ALSO choose what kind of people they will have sex with and marry.  Just because people INSIST that others are born with certain tendencies and feelings DOES NOT mean that those tendencies dictate their actions.
I understand that this is probably quite a pointless rant but whatever.  I am very passionate about what I believe in.  I feel very strongly about who I am and what I believe.  I have extreme self-confidence and am not the slightest bit swayed in my beliefs by what society says.  But most people aren't.  They care too much about what other people think.  They care too much about what "the masses" think and feel.  "Well if that is what everyone else thinks, then so do I."  I swear this is the mentality of most people.  We're all just a bunch of sheep.  Following the loudest voices.  And today, the loudest voices are pretty stupid.

Another Baby and Other Changes

One of these days I might start getting better at this blog stuff.  It seems that I allow more and more time to pass between my posts.  I guess I figure there aren't many people "following" me so there isn't much concern about my posting habits.  Maybe if I were better at posting I'd get a better following...

So here is what has transpired since my last post LAST  YEAR.  Sheesh.

We had another baby - Evan Andrew.  He was born on April 7th, 2011.  He is just about 6 months old.  Andrew and I enjoyed the few days we were in the hospital - just the two of us with a brand-new little baby.  We got fed 3 times a day, didn't have to do laundry or dishes...it was great.  My mom and sisters were wonderful enough to watch our other 3 kids for us.  It was so fun to see the kids' response to meeting their new baby brother...especially Sara.  She just loves Evan to death.  She is so good with him.  She walks up to him all the time and says, "Hiiii!!!!".  I love how well all my children get a long with each other.  I have been lucky to have children that love each other so much.  none of them have been jealous or clingy.  They are all very independent and therefore get along with each other very well - and don't fight for my attention.

A few months back we had to get rid of our dog, Buddy.  Sara had been having breathing issues for a while and after a few trips to the doctors and a few allergy tests, we found out that she is very allergic to dogs.  So...off he went.  My cousin took him and apparently he is doing well.  Tyler had a really hard time at first with Buddy being gone.  He was so attached to him - they were best buddies.  But it didn't take long for him to get over that and he only occasionally speaks of Buddy.

Andy was laid off a few months back, as well.  A new company came and took over the hotel and casino at Lake Las Vegas.  They actually offered Andy a position but it didn't make sense for him to take it.  He is now going to school full-time, which will allow him to finish school sooner than if he was working and going to school.  We decided that he should just focus on school and get that completed and I would work as needed.  Luckily, I don't need to work 40 hours a week.  I am just doing the same work I was doing before - just a little more.  I have a few wonderful people in our ward that babysit the two little ones a few days a week while I see clients.  Now that Natalie and Tyler are both at school all day, it makes it a little easier finding someone to watch just Sara and Evan.  I love working, I just hate toting the kids off to a babysitters house every day.  Luckily they are both very good kids so I have many offers to watch them.  Sara loves going to people's house and playing with their children.

Natalie, Tyler, and Andy are all back in school.  Andy is taking a full load and that is keeping him busy (though right now he is watching a baseball game on TV - I guess it isn't keeping him busy enough!).  Natalie is in 2nd grade - how on earth do I have a 2nd grader already??  Tyler is in 1st grade and doing...ok.  He is so smart and his grades are excellent...he just struggles with paying attention and keeping quiet during instruction.  He is so ADD that it is difficult for him to sit still.  I work with him every day - hopefully he will learn to behave in school so I don't have to put him on medication.  The last few days  have been very good - looks like he is starting to improve. I'm keeping my fingers crossed.  Natalie is doing great, as usual.  She is a wonderful student and also very smart.  She struggles a little with writing, so we are working on that.

Sara is 20 months old and is such a cute little bug.  I love her so much!  She is such a show-off and loves making us laugh.  We have moved her to a toddler bed and so far she is doing very well in it.  She occasionally wanders around in the middle of the night so we have to be sure to keep the door closed to her room.  Evan is in the crib and sleeps through the night just about every night.  His second tooth JUST poked through today - he got his first one a few weeks ago.  He is eating baby food now and loving it.  He is such a beautiful, sweet baby - ALWAYS smiling!!  He loves laying on the floor and rolls all over the place.  He isn't quite crawling yet but that doesn't stop him from getting where he wants to go.  He rolls and turns and rolls and turns - and before we know it, he's all the way across the room.  Sara loves to roll him over and shove his binky in his mouth - whether or not he wants it.  And he smiles EVERY time he sees one of the kids walk by him.  I just can't get enough of him.

Andy is still the assistant Ward Clerk in our ward and they just recently called me to be the Music Leader in the Nursery.  We currently have 3 nurseries in our ward and I get to visit each one every Sunday and sing music with the little ones.  I love being in the Nursery - this is the second time I have been here.  There are so many little ones in our nurseries and they are all so cute.  I am also still helping out with the Ward Choir.  I never realized just how much I liked that calling until I was released.

I'm gonna stop for now and I'll add more later.

Wow Its Been A While...

So it looks like the last time I made a post was when Sara was 4 months old.  I guess I'm not really good at this blogging thing.

The kids started school a few months ago.  They both love it and are doing very well.  Tyler is in half-day kindergarted (mornings) and Natalie is gone all day.  They take the bus to and from school (which I love).  The school they go to is kind of a pain because when you go to pick up the kids, you have to park the car and get out to go get the kids.  You can't just wait in the car and let the kids come to you.  So its nice to just have to go to the bus stop instead of going all the way to the school three times a day.

I was a little nervous about Tyler starting school because he is very high-energy.  I'm sure he has ADD or ADHD (though I've never even had a doctor test him for it) but he seems to be doing well in class.  I haven't had any complaints from his teacher yet so I'm taking that as a good sign.  We haven't even had any notes come home or anything!  I think he likes learning and seems to be doing very very well.

Natalie is a social butterfly as usual.  She has made all kinds of friends and loves going to school.  She is very smart and is ready very well.

Sara is doing great as well.  She is crawling and pulling herself into the standing position (yay! NOT).  She is still a little hesitant about sitting back down so it gets pretty interesting when she pulls herself up then after about 10 minutes she starts to get frustrated because she doesn't know what to do - and I'm sure her legs get tired!  She'll learn...one way or another.  Speaking of learning, she had her first tumble down the stairs about a week ago.  We were upstairs doing laundry and I went into my bedroom to put some clothes away and heard a little thump thump thump.  Poor baby.  She was perfectly fine and only cried for a mintue or so.  She's a tough girl like her brother.  I love her to death.  She still has long, dark hair and it makes her look so much older than she is.  She gets comments constantly about her long hair and big blue eyes.  She also has a very good personality and is always smiling and laughing.  She loves when Tyler plays with her and tries to make her laugh.  She is a lot of fun.

Andy is still workin out at Lake Las Vegas.  The Ritz-Carlton no longer manages the hotel there - it is just an empty building.  He was hired on by the company that is doing security for the building so he is still there, still doing security.  Good news is that another group looks like they will be managing the hotel shortly and hopefully they will keep Andy on board.  Andy is also going to school (what a trooper!).  The thought of being stuck doing security forever was enough to motivate him to get back in school and pursue a field he is actually interested in.  He is looking into electronics, possibly computers.  He is so smart and I am so proud of him for working so hard.  The good thing right now is that he gets bored stiff at work and has lots of time to do his homework.  That leaves more time for him to spend with us when he's at home.  He has been called to be the assistant Ward Clerk in our ward - which means he handles a lot of behind-the-scenes stuff and paperwork that allows things to run smoothly.  I think he really enjoys his calling and I know he is very good at it.

I have been keeping busy, as usual.  I still work a little, though I have been trying to see less clients on-site, doing most work at home.  Most of my clients are very understanding and its been going pretty well.  The good thing is that in the mornings its just me and Sara...so if I do have a client I need to see, its much easier to find someone to babysit one little baby rather than a few crazy kids.  Daisy (my sister) has a baby just two months younger than Sara and she has been so gracious in babysitting for me when I need her.  I don't know what I would do without her!
So I am expecting again - baby #4 is due in April!  Yay!  We are very excited and can't wait to (hopefully) be done having babies.  I love them but don't know if I can do more than 4.  Our original goal when we got married was to have 4-5 kids (I think 4 will do it for us) by the time we're 30.  Andy will be 29 in December and I'll still be 28 when I have baby #4, so we're right on track!  Sara and the new baby will be 16 months apart - the same age separation as Natalie and Tyler.  I'm very excited but a little nervous about having two small children - again!  At least this time I have Natalie and Tyler to help out - and they have been!  I have such a great family.
I think that's about all the new stuff for now - I know that if these posts get too long, they get hard to read.  So I leave this as is and if anything new pops up, I'll try to keep up...

4 Months

Sara had her 4 month check-up today. She is 13 lbs. 6 oz. and 24 inches long - 25-50 percentile for both. She also has BOTH her bottom front teeth - FUN! She got 2 shots today and did much better than last time - she only cried for about a mintue. I think its funny that there is nothing you can do to distract a kid while they are getting shots. Poor thing is all smiley one second then BAM!! Aahhh the things we do to keep our kids safe.

I have also tried her on solid foods and she isn't too keen on that. So we'll see how that goes over the next few weeks. We also made our first attempt at pigtails today!

Baby Sara

Has It Really Been THAT Long??

Ok so I see its been 9 months since I last posted...and I don't really have a good excuse.  A LOT has happened in 9 months and I would love to post everything that happened, but my fear is that creating a dozen new posts all at once will scare everyone away.  So I will simply post a few highlights over the last 9 months in an effort to get up-to-date without too much fuss.

1. A NEW HOUSE!  We bought our FIRST house in September!  WOO HOO!  We started looking at buying a house early last year...it took us months of looking and dozens of offers before we finally found the perfect house.  We love it!  We live only a few doors down from my brother Will and his family - they have 4 kids and the two oldest are the same age as Natalie and Tyler.  Needless to say, the kids love having their cousins so close!  Leigh Ann is a lifesaver and babysits for me all the time when I see clients.  She's the best!  We love having them over for dinner or just to hang out.  It is so wonderful having family so close!  And my sister Daisy also lives just right around the corner.  So now we have a great house, great neighbors, and a great ward.  We love it!

2. HOLIDAYS!  So the holidays came and went.  Usually we drive to Wisconsin for Christmas to visit all of Andy's family but not this year.  We had just bought a house and couldn't really afford the trip - also I was due with Sara ANY DAY!  How horrible that would have been to go in labor somewhere along the plains of Iowa??  So we stayed in Vegas and spent a wonderful Christmas at the Downer's.  Thanksgiving was wonderful as well and it was the last time I got to see Grandpa before he passed away.  New Years was...uh...interesting.  We went downtown with the kids to watch fireworks - got there BARELY in time to see them and just about froze our butts off too!  Andy had to work so he wasn't even there with us.  But we still had fun hanging out with the family, as usual.

3. BABIES!  Then there were like 100 new babies born!  No really, Diana had her baby in November, Stephanie had her baby in early December, I had Sara at the end of December, Daisy had her baby in February, and Ally had her baby in March (whew!).  So much fun!  First off, Mom threw me a SURPRISE baby shower!  It was awesome!  I was actually surprised - it doesn't happen very often!  Tina called me one day and asked if I wanted to go to breakfast with her on Saturday.  I said sure, and was kind of shocked - she and I haven't been out to breakfast together in a long time!  Then Daisy called me and asked if I wanted to go baby-clothes shopping on Saturday.  Weird!  So I said I'd love to, but Tina and I were going to breakfast that morning so we'd have to go after.  Maybe it was the other way around - Daisy may have called me first...I don't remember.  Anyway, little did I know it was all a plot to get me to Daisy's house for the baby shower!  Tina and I went to breakfast and after went to Daisy's to "pick her up" to go shopping.  NOPE!  When we first got there, Mom's car was there.  So I was a little confused as to why Mom was at Daisy's...but whatever.  Then Mike opens the door and Tina turns around to go back to her car...and Mom, Steph and Daisy are all in the kitchen making food.  ???  I was really confused and my first thought was, "Why didn't anyone tell me we were having Daisy's baby shower today?"  THEN I realized IT WAS FOR ME!  So of course, being 9 months pregnant, I started bawling.  I just couldn't believe it.  I got so many wonderful things, it was so cool.  I have such a great family!  Then baby Sara was nice enough to wait until AFTER Christmas to come - December 28th to be exact!  (Actually I was induced - a week before she was due.  Man was I DONE being pregnant!)  

Such a beautiful baby, I love her to death.  I had a pretty rough pregnancy so by the time I was in full labor I wanted an epidural...my first one.  Man was that great!  The only down side - I STILL TO THIS DAY have a pain in my lower back where they put the needle in.  Yikes.  She was born at 10:44 am and weighed 7 lbs. 2 oz. and was 20 inches long.  She also had (has) LOTS OF HAIR and long fingers and toes.  I love her.

4. THE AVERY'S!  My mom invited Nicki Avery to my baby shower - Nicki and her husband Matt adopted Nick, the baby I had about 7 1/2 years ago before I was married.  I had corresponded with them a little every now and then since Nick was born.  But we had never gotten together since the day I gave Nick to them.  I had always hoped that I wouldn't have to wait 18 years before I saw them again.  So when my mom decided to throw me the shower she invited Nicki.  I had NO IDEA she was going to be there until she came through the door at Daisy's house.  I was already emotional because I had just found out that my family was throwing me a baby shower and when I saw Nicki, I just burst out crying.  It was WONDERFUL!!! 

I was SO GLAD she was there.  She even had little Matti there - although she wasn't so little anymore!  She was only 4 or so the last time I had seen her.  What a beautiful girl.  Since then, Nicki and Matt invited us to their house for dinner to meet the rest of the family.  Natalie and Tyler were so glad to make a new friend in Nick.  They still ask about him all the time and want to go to his house to play.  It was great to meet the rest of Matt and Nicki's family and I can't wait to spend more time with them.

5. A VISIT FROM THE IN LAWS!!  Since we couldn't make it out to Wisconsin for Christmas, Andy's family came to visit us in Vegas for a week.  It was his dad Steve, step mom Cindy, sister Lori and brother Austin.  We had a great week while they were here.  Luckily it was the same week Natalie was off for Spring Break.  We went to the Hoover Dam, hung out on the Strip, visited Andy's work, and us girls had a WONDERFUL spa day at the Ritz!  Thanks Cindy!!!!

6. NO JOB????  The Ritz Carlton, Lake Las Vegas closed it's doors on May 2, 2010.  So, as of TOMORROW, Andy is out of a job.  He has applied to a couple different places and is hoping SOMETHING will pan out.  We are optimistic...for now.  I always have the work I do, so its comforting to know that we will at least have SOMETHING in the event Andy doesn't get a job right away.  But he is a great worker so I know something will come up.  It just stinks because we JUST bought a new house and have a brand new baby...just about the WORST time to lose your job!  But we'll make it!!

A few other things to note:  I have a calling in our new ward as the Ward Choir Director!  I absolutely love it and am so glad to have this calling!  I love music and LOVE the choir - I am so grateful for everyone that shows up to sing with me.  Andy was called to teach in Priesthood - and he is doing a great job.  I am so proud of him!  Sara started teething and ALREADY HAS 2 TEETH!  I noticed last Sunday, April 25th, when I was rubbing her gums...her two bottom teeth were poking through!!  She wasn't even 4 months old yet!!!!  So needless to say, nursing has been quite an experience since those teeth have come in.  And poor Sara has been so miserable the last week.  I love her and hate to see her in so much pain!!  Tyler is so excited to start school next year - we found out that their school is changing to 9 month instead of year-round!  We LOVE IT!  Ahhh I can't wait.  Year-round school sucks.  Natalie also lost her first tooth!  She was so good about it!  She wiggled it and wiggled it until it fell right out - we didn't even have to pull it for her!  On her 6th birthday she got her ears pierced - Andy and I thought for sure she was going to lose it when they poked her.  But she didn't say a peep!  Just "ouch" - I couldn't believe it!  My little girl is growing up!!!!  I am so proud of her.

So that's just about it - a few highlights from the past 9 months.  Now if I can just stay on top of things...

SNOWING!!

Helping with laundry...

Working on the yard

At the county Fair

My BEAUTIFUL baby!!

Daddy and Sara time

Growing up

It's A Girl!

We found out last week that we are having a little girl! Well if it does turn out to be a boy then I feel sorry for him - you know what I mean.

Natalie is very excited about me having a girl - I think she would have been disappointed if it would have been a boy! Both Natalie and Tyler love to "kiss the baby" (kissing my tummy). They are both so sweet and I know they will do well once the baby is here.

So far all is well - except for the fact that I am getting fat, have to go to the bathroom in the middle of the night then can't get back to sleep, and that I have a "lazy hip". Every time I get pregnant I get this pinched nerve in one of my hips and it drives me crazy. I have trouble bending over and occasionally my hip just kind of gives out on me. Yikes! But the baby is doing well - we haven't quite chosen a name yet. We just can't seem to find one we both like. Luckily we have a few months still to decide.

Here are some pictures of the little one!