Laboring

The last three nights, I have been having contractions in the evening. Timeable, regular, downright painful contractions. They go away while I sleep (thanks to my half dose of ambien) and don't return with regularity until the next evening. But last night they lasted a lot longer, were more frequent, and more painful than before. And I started to worry. Thank goodness all seems to be well today.

But...

It got me thinking. About labor. In general, I think labor is fun. A hundred and fifty times better than being pregnant. So, before I have another labor to add to my resume, I thought I'd write down the details of MaKaty's labor/birth lest I get it confused with the others. This is mostly for my benefit. It's not written anywhere else yet. I promise I won't go gory or gross. And no icky pictures, I promise!

I was exactly 38 weeks. I went in for my regular appointment and he stripped my membranes. I was already dilated to a "good 3". I had been through the stripping membranes thing before...several times each with Hannah and Seth. It hadn't done a thing. But this time it HURT! Like mad. I left the doctors office to discover that my grandmother who was in a rest home an hour away was not doing well, and after talking to Rick, we decided that we ought to go and visit her. Just in case.

The contractions started within an hour of my doctor's appointment. Several other members of our family made the trip to see Grandma as well. Hannah and Seth didn't quite know what to think about the rest home, the nurses, and the fragile lady in the bed that they didn't really recognize anymore. My contractions were about 6-7 minutes apart, but I was trying to hide them from my family because I didn't want to shift the focus. They could tell anyway.

We said our goodbyes. I knew I was in labor, but tried not to think about it because I had Hannah and Seth's birthday party the next morning. I actually slept relatively well. I woke up with a few of the contractions, but mostly I was OK. The contractions were pretty much the same in the morning. But if you ever want to kick into full blown labor...just throw a birthday party for your 3 and 5 year olds, and a dozen of their closest friends. By the time the party was over, my contractions were no more than 5 minutes apart. They continued throughout the afternoon.

That evening, there was a Jazz playoff game on, and Rick wanted to watch it, so he went over to Frank and Shelly's. They only lived 3 minutes away, so I didn't worry too bad, but I did tell Rick that I knew I was in labor. He just smiled so sweetly and patted me on the back and said, "Ok, honey...whatever you say." In his defense, I had been induced with both Hannah and Seth, overdue...so to him, being a couple of weeks early it was not likely that this was the real thing. A couple of hours later, after sitting on the exercise ball...laying down...etc., the contractions were still coming and increased to 3 minutes apart. So I called Rick. I could tell that he didn't believe me still, but he must have heard something in my voice that told him not to question me. He reluctantly left their house and came home...a little over a half hour later. But he did call and get his sister to head to our house to be with the kids.

We left for the hospital at about 10:15 pm. I remember being a little uncomfortable in the car going over Foremaster Ridge. But otherwise I was just HAPPY! We got to the hospital, and suddenly I was terrified that I might be sent home. I was sent home twice with Seth...at a three, and having contractions every five minutes...so I knew it was a possibility. In the exam room, the nurse was checking me and Rick was watching the Jazz game. He didn't hear her at first when she told me that I was not going to be sent home. I was a 7. Yay!

My mom and my doula showed up soon, and we walked the halls. I didn't want to be hooked up to a machine, so I just had to come back and be monitored for a couple of minutes every half hour. At this point, I was doing really well. My pain was tolerable, and I was progressing. By 1:30am, I was complete, but the baby was posterior, so they didn't want me to push quite yet. They tried to turn her. I tried to change positions to get her to turn. No dice. I remember looking at the clock at 2:03, and being disappointed that I hadn't had her yet. I wanted to have her at 2:03 and .04 seconds on 05/06/07, or 2:34 on 05/06/07. I was still in control. But soon thereafter, it got really bad. Honestly, I don't remember much about the next 15 minutes. I know I said some bizarre things. So bizarre that my sister and niece (who had arrived to check on me an hour or so earlier) were writing them down.

A few highlights:
"Rock climbing naked would really chaffe!"
"Why isn't the ice cold?"
"Mom fed me spinach once. I threw it up. She was mad because I threw it up."
And I asked for medication, I know. But it was too late. And I didn't really want it anyway, I just wanted to be done!

Charming, I know.

I do remember them telling me to go ahead and push...and only five minutes later, she was born. 8 pounds and 2 ounces. At 2:25 am on Sunday. I missed 2:34 by only 9 minutes. I never would have made it that other 9 minutes.Don't be jealous of the super rad hair!

The pain was gone as soon as I started pushing. I mean, it was still uncomfortable. They tell you to curl up in a ball to push, and quite frankly, I hadn't been able to tie my own shoes in two months. But the real pain was gone. My whole reasoning in going natural was to have a better/easier recovery. It was 100% successful. Aside from a little hemorrhaging in the first few hours, I felt great!
Photos by Amy Hummel
Only a few hours later, in the same day that Miss MaKaty was born, my grandmother passed away. I like to think that she stuck around on earth just long enough to see that MaKaty was safely here...and then she passed on. MaKaty carries grandmas name as her middle name.

For the most part, I would be thrilled if Cru's delivery went just like this. There are only a couple of changes I would make.

1. No posterior delivery. My doc thought that my labor would have been 1-2 hours less had she not been posterior. Seth wasn't posterior either. I'm hoping it's a boy thing.
2. Boy parts.

Not just the Seth Show...

It seems that I have been posting a lot of pictures/events in Seth's life.

Just so you know...it's not just the Seth Show. We do notice our other children, too!

See...

Hannah has been thriving in school. It is so amazing what a difference having a good teacher makes. Her class is small, so Hannah has been able to get individualized everything! Math, Spelling, Reading! They have been studying various artists, and Hannah made a most beautiful drawing of Starry Night. It's on display at her school, or I would post it. She continues in her obsession with owls. A little birdie told me that she is the only child ever to check out this non-fiction book on owls that is in their school library. That's my girl. Ever quirky!

She spent well over an hour with me the other day googling "Valentine Craft Ideas." She came up with so so many fun ideas. Instead of taking treats to her friends/classmates, she made these heart crayons out of melted pieces of crayon. She was so excited to do this project, and they turned out great! We still have a couple more batches to do so that Seth can also take them to his preschool and art classes, but here are the first...Hannah is going to be such a big help when Little Cru gets here. She has been very into doing chores lately, and by far her favorite chore has been the dishes. It's not always easier to have her do them, because she ends up with water EVERYWHERE! But I appreciate her willingness to help! She is also learning to help entertain her sister. Again, ofttimes this ends up with a mess for me...like when she and MaKaty brought every blanket, pillow and stuffed animal out of their rooms and downstairs and camped out on the couch...but it was too sweet to resist!MaKaty is doing a lot of growing up. Very quickly. She is showing signs of wanting to potty train. OK, so she is basically begging me to potty train her, and I just can't seem to do it. I know I should jump on it while I have the chance...but I am having a hard time moving around period right now, and moving quickly to help her to the potty is just not possible. Plus I'm not even supposed to lift her. However, she has spent quite a bit of time lately on the toilet, and has gone on the potty twice. She tells me whenever she is already stinky, and most of the time before.

She keeps pulling out these adorably big kid phrases, like "Whoah, cool!" and "hey guys!". She thinks she's as big as her brother and sister. She busts out in song on a regular basis. A lot of times she makes up the words as she goes along, but she often spontaneously begins a chorus of "E-I-E-I-O!" at the top of her lungs! She's definitely just as weird as her brother and sister!
The latest news on Katy is that this morning I cut the tips off her binkies. It's the way we have weaned the older two off of their binkies as well. She is the oldest to finally have it taken away, but I knew it was time. She has started finding and hoarding her binkies because she knows I will take them away unless she is in her bed. So I knew she needed them gone. After I cut the tips off, she was allowed to have full access to the binkies. About a half hour later, she brought me one of the binkies and said, "My binkie boken." And I said, "yep!" She walked away, still trying to suck on it. Then at nap time she finally handed it to me and said, "My binkie boken, I all done." I know we are not out of the woods yet. I hope she doesn't wake up in the night wanting it...but we are on a good track.

And I am making progress on my baby preparations. I have washed the blankets and car seat cover. I have moved the crib mattress up and put his new crib set in. I have picked the fabrics out for his quilt. I have the measurements for his wrap (thanks Rickell!) and I just realized that we haven't even THOUGHT about diapers for him. Oops! I had better at least buy a package of newborns! Good thing we have another good month!

Pregnancy Update and a Friday Funny

I have been informed that I don't update my belly shots near enough. So, I will post my 32 week belly...just for Heather ;)I went to the doctor last week, and my doctor told me that little Cru is insanely low. In fact, 95% of my round belly is below my belly button. And my belly button has popped, which has never happened to me before. It's sort of weird. I've never had one this low. His head is already down and "engaged". That was at 31 weeks. My doctor said he thought that this would be a February baby.

Personally, I think that "you will have this baby early" should be on a list of things for OB doctors NEVER to say to or around a woman. (you know, along with "Oops!", "That organ isn't supposed to be there.", and "Don't step in that!") Telling a pregnant woman that she's going to go early is just setting her up for disappointment. I was fully expecting to go over and be induced with MaKaty...so when she came two weeks early, it was like a double gift. But it's hard not to hope.

I have been feeling pretty awesome, except for the fact that I don't sleep more than about an hour at a time at night, I have constant heartburn, I have 15-20 Braxton Hicks contractions per hour, my heart episodes have returned, my tailbone constantly hurts, I have a pinched nerve in my back, and I feel like I'm sitting on his head.

And it's official. I waddle. I've decided that I'm OK with that. I mean, it's not my favorite way to move, but I'm coming to terms with my new gait. I might as well...I'm going to have a few more weeks of it.

I must look huge. With 8 weeks left to my official due date, I already have people saying, "Wow, you are ready to pop!" or "Your whole pregnancy has flown by!," or by far the worst, "Any second now, right?"

Nesting has begun. I have been going through stuff and sending TONS of stuff to charity. I have finally started projects that I have been putting off. I have had to stop myself several times because of contractions, but it feels good to be getting closer.

The kids are getting really excited. I washed all the newborn boy clothes and put them in the dresser the other day, and the next day Seth brought his buddy into our house telling him that he had something to show him. Next thing I know, I hear Seth saying, "This is where we are keeping my baby brother's clothes. Look how little these socks are!" It was so sweet. Whenever MaKaty sees something for the baby she says, "For baby? Cuuuuute!" Or she'll pull up my shirt and say "I wanna be soft."

and then rub my belly and kiss it. Hannah just keeps asking me things like, "When you aren't pregnant anymore, will you be able to..." Or, maybe I can be the one to get up with the baby so that you can get some more rest, right mom?"

Some things that are still on my list of things to do before Cru arrives:

• make him a blanket (I have made a blanket for all of my kids. Even though they never really become attached to the blanket that I made, I feel that I should keep up the tradition for just one more kid)
• wash the car seat cover/blankets/etc.
• make him a sling (Rickell, I need to see yours for measurements one of these days)
• raise the crib mattress
• pack a hospital bag
• check on whether or not my doula with MaKaty can be there for Cru, too
• get the swing and bouncy chair from Rick's parents garage
• move MaKaty out of the baby's room, though I'm not sure where to...
• buy him his Rad Racing onesie or t-shirt (I haven't decided which, yet)
  
• decorate onesies for Cru for a family home evening project with the kids
• freeze some easy meals for those first weeks
• try to enjoy the last few weeks of my last pregnancy

And for the Friday funny. The other day I had told Seth to get dressed and I put his clothes in front of him. He and Katy were watching a movie. He asked Katy to hand him his pants. She was entranced in the movie and wouldn't turn around. So he asked her again, "Katy, give me my pants!" And she ignored him again. Finally he screamed, "Head! Pants! Now!" For those of you who have never seen So I Married an Ax Murderer that may mean nothing to you. But for those who have...

It is still a mystery to me how he knew that phrase. I assure you he has NOT seen that movie. We do not own it, nor have we watched it since we have been married. But apparently one of us has pulled that phrase out at some point!

A Future in Football

On Sunday we had a little BBQ with my family for lunch, and Seth learned how to throw the pigskin around with his Dad, cousin McLain, and Bob. Even though the football was almost as big as he was, he was game for trying. These pictures I "stole" from my sisters blog...they totally crack me up!
He's waiting to catch the football here, but I love how it looks like he's about to catch that frisbee in the background!
When we got in the car, Seth told me how cousin McLain (who actually played football in high school and is now in college) was not very good at football, and how he had to teach him everything about throwing a foot ball. He also noted that he "was very good at this game, and he wasn't even wearing his fast shoes." I think he's halfway to high school football stardom...he's already got the trash talk down!

Seth and Katelyn's First Date

Put the shot gun away, Jared. I meant PLAY DATE.About a week ago, Seth began asking to have Katelyn come over for lunch. The time was never quite convenient until today. After preschool, Amy dropped both Katelyn and Seth off at our house for their play date. Katelyn jumped out of the truck screaming, "This is the best day ever!" It just got better from there. As they ate their macaroni and cheese, they discussed the events of the day. Mostly the fact that it had been Katelyn's "special" day at school, and all the members of the class had drawn pictures of their favorite things to do with Katelyn. Seth's picture had been of a bunch of planets. And he had written his name on the planets. It's caption read, "I like to ride planets with Katelyn." Really, now? They've come a long way from this: But I guess Katelyn could now say that Seth's name is written in her stars.

I said something to the effect of, "Wow, Katelyn, it sounds like a lot of people sure like you." At which point Seth promptly piped in, "But I still like her the best!" Most of the time they played Play-Doh Restaurant. Based on the events that took place, Katelyn does not have a future in fast food. She kept pretend eating the merchandise and having to be fired. At that point, Seth would disappear into the other room and could be heard appealing to the "boss" to give Katelyn her job back. Seth would return pronouncing, "Katelyn, I have good news. You have your job back...you just can't eat any more of the customers food!" Their finest cuisine included various types of pizza, and worm soup (which I've heard is to die for!). They were hilarious to listen to...and got along so well.

They spent a full 20 minutes talking in robot voices.
They argued over the exact lyrics to "Everybody was Kung Fu Fighting!".
They played "house" and referred to each other as "Honey."

It was a good day.

Adventures in Cleaning...and A Big Bike

So, I've been itching to go through stuff and clean the house...I've only lacked the energy. I finally forced myself to start a few little projects today. First, I went through the couch. I found a few minor gems...like a pair of Mr. Potato Head eyes, a kids flosser, a My Little Pony comb, and a handful of crumbs ranging from goldfish to Cap'n Crunch. But the real couch find today was a shoe that has been missing for 3 months. Our couch is a hide-a-bed...and somehow this shoe was in between the folds of the mattress. The mattress that hasn't been used in months and months and months. Quite the find! It was working out OK, because Seth actually had two pairs of shoes the same size...one was camoflage, and the other was Navy blue. When he felt the need to wear his camo shoes...he made due with one of the camo's, and one of the blue. And yes, I did let him go into public like that. It's all good.

Then I made my way up to the kids' room. This is what I found in Hannah's bed. A grand total of 16 books. 14 of them are encyclopedia/non-fiction. Some favorites? Carnivorous plants. And the Rocks and Minerals Encyclopedia that she informed her first grade teacher was her favorite book. Her fiction/story books were "Don't Let the Pigeon Stay Up Late!" and "A Princess Primer" which is basically an instruction manual on how to be a proper princess. Seriously...where did that girl come from?
In other news...Seth's pink bike riding days are over. He learned the unfortunate lesson that leaving your bike against the curb is NOT as good as putting it away in the garage. I wish I would have taken a picture of the damage...but let's just say that it was NEVER going to recover. We don't know who hit it, but there is NO WAY that they didn't realize they had hit something. It was SMASHED! Oops. So Seth was stuck with the dilemma of learning how to ride his bigger bike without the training wheels, or not riding at all. He chose to learn. On the bike whose handlebars come past his chin when he is standing next to it. He can barely touch with one foot when he has his other foot on the pedal. He gets the bike going, and hurries and puts his other foot up, and prays that the momentum will hold while he gets his balance. There were many many failures...and a few great successes. The kid definitely has that stick-to-it-iveness. My favorite part is when he is ready to get off. He slows down as much as he possibly can...then he gets ready to bail. Sometimes he lands on his feet. Sometimes he ends up in a pile with the bike. Either way, he jumps up and cheers for himself. What a stud.

It Snowed in Vegas...

and since that's pretty much like you-know-what freezing over... I thought that I would post some new layouts.





Life is good.

It's true...it's Cru...and a "pitty" girl

For those of you who are still confused. For those of you who aren't familiar with the movie Rad. For those of you who still think that I would actually consider using Duke as a name for a human being, and not a dogs name or a bodily function...the name is Cru. Johnny and Shelby guessed it. I'm not sure if it was just because they actually spent time doing 80's movie research, or if Johnny remembered that I loved that movie. But they guessed it. And quite frankly, I'm not a very good liar, so once it was out...there was no point in playing dumb. The middle name is most likely already decided, too, but we will wait on that one. Not for game playing sake...but just so we're sure before he's born.

And to clarify...we are not naming him after a movie. We are naming him a name we like. The movie was just a way to get people to guess the name. None of our kids' first names have been "after" anything. We just choose names that seem to fit. The middle names are family names. Cru's will be no different.

On to the "pitty girl." I searched high and low for the perfect tutu for MaKaty for Christmas. I wanted just the right amount of "poof" and I didn't want the leotard to be part of it. Just the tutu. So she could pull it on and off without help. The other day, I heard her in the other room saying "pitty, pitty" over and over. (that's how she says "pretty") So I grabbed my camera. If i was thinking, I would have grabbed the video as well, but it didn't happen. I found her in the bathroom, wearing nothing but a diaper and her tutu. She was standing on the stool, taking hair things out of the box and holding them up to her head and saying "pitty". Then she would comb her hair for a minute, and do it all over again. I sat in the hallway and took pictures. Eventually she realized that I was there, and came and sat by me. She looked at the screen on my camera and said, "I wanna see Katy." So I showed her the pictures...and as each new picture came up, she would say, "cuuuuuute!" in the funniest little-big-girl voice. She's officially losing that baby-ness, and starting to act like a little girl. I am both sad and relieved.

In the interest of recent events...

In other words...somebody guessed it.

So, check out my playlist...the first song should give you a clue as to which guess was correct.

And if that doesn't do it...it will be an absolute necessity for our little guy to have this shirt!

So... I guess that cat is out of the bag, so to speak...

Another Hint, As Promised

So...thank you all for your long lists of names for our fourth child. They have been a source of entertainment for sure. I debated on whether or not to tell you if you had gotten it right, but in the end, I decided to just give you the next hints, and you can decide if your names fit into the equation still. Fair enough?

So here is the next clue:

The name is the name of the main character in a Cult Classic movie from my youth. Think 1980's. It was one of my absolute favorite movies, though I don't think it got much hype. It is not on everyone's classic list, but it does have quite a following. I will add more hints onto this hint later. I don't want to make it too easy for those of you who might remember my favorite 80's movie!

And just to clear this up now...NO! The name is not Ferris. (as much as I did love that movie!)

Happy New Year, 2008 Year in Review

We were invited to a party at Merril and Jamie's house to bring in the New Year. We braved the party with full knowledge that bringing three kids who are used to 7-8 o clock bed times might be a total nightmare, but it ended up being fine. (at least for us...it wasn't our house being ravaged by overtired children!) Thanks to them for being kind enough to let us invade! Jared and Amy brought drinks, so of course there were some awesome mixed drinks (all non-alcoholic of course). And at midnight, we toasted the new year with some sparkling cider. Other highlights included a rousing game of Pictionary...men vs. women. The men won, but only because Jamie couldn't hear Shauna and I screaming "Bethlehem" during the tie-breaker round. Oh well, it was fun anyway!
You'll have to excuse the slightly blurry pics. I was determined to try out some more manual settings and get more used to my camera, and I had Amy there to help me get some things straight. So a lot of the pictures were slightly off while I messed around. But I like them anyway!

MaKaty was surprisingly perky, considering the late hour. It may have had something to do with the fact that she kept convincing people to give her more candy/chocolate. Here she is sneaking pieces of caramel chex mix into a cup. And here she is considering making another attempt after the bowl had been moved. Little stinker.
Not everyone made it all the way to midnight. Poor Tess crashed about a half hour before the new year.
And here is Seth rocking in the new year. I know it's got some wicked blur going on, but that only adds to the rock star look, right?
And the year in review. I did this last year, and found it to be informative and interesting. To me. I totally understand if you stop reading now.

1. What did you do in 2008 that you'd never done before?

attempted to pry asphalt out of my son's head

2. Did you keep your New Years Resolutions, and will you make more for next year?

don't do the New Year's resolution thing. I try to make goals more than once a year...though to be part of "the game", I resolve to NOT be pregnant this time next year.

3. Did anyone close to you give birth?

Angie, Amy, Shauna, Rickell, Chrissi, and Heather. Did I forget anyone?

4. Did anyone close to you die?

Not this year.

5. What countries did you visit?

Does Disneyland count?

6. What would you like to have in 2009 that you lacked in 2008?

A bigger house, or at least a yard to lock kids out in, er, um, I mean, allow the kids to exercise in.

7. What dates from 2008 will remain etched on your memory and why?

Our trip to California in October. It was a whole lot of fun, and a little bit of stress. We saw things we had never seen before, and spent the longest time on a family vacation yet. I think the stressful parts just made it all more worth it.

8. What was your biggest achievement of the year?

I will defer this one to Rick...his biggest achievement was passing his big Engineering Exam...making him all official.

9. What was your biggest failure?

Well, last year I wanted to gain patience in 2008. If anything, I've lost it. So I suppose that counts. And my house is far less clean this year than last. I blame Katy.

10. Did you suffer illness or injury?

We were sick a lot this year, but nothing serious. Rick got sick during vacation, which was a bummer. Seth had two ER visits...both head wounds. One stitches, one staples. I had the shingles in the first weeks of my pregnancy. That wasn't fun, but for me, being pregnant isn't fun in general. Katy had RSV just after Christmas. Hannah is constantly convinced that she has the measles...but she's remained relatively healthy.

11. What was the best thing that you bought?

Rick bought me my new camera...that's pretty stinking sweet!

12. Whose behavior merited celebration?

It's nice to see that it's becoming "cool" to be "green" and more socially conscious. It's about time.

13. Whose behavior made you appalled and depressed?

I'm stumped on this one. I mean, there are plenty of crazy celebrities, but who cares?

14. Where did most of your money go?

gas and food really sucked the life out of our budget this year...

15. What did you get really really really excited about?

When we found out that our last child would be a boy. It seemed the perfect way to end things.

16. What song will always remind you of 2008?

Weird Al's White and Nerdy. I hope I never forget Rick, Seth, Hannah and MaKaty all rocking out to the silliness of it all. And Yes! We are the epitomy of white AND nerdy!

17. Compared to this time last year are you?

1. happier or sadder happier, but more stressed
   
2. thinner or fatter definitely fatter, but I'm 6 1/2 months pregnant
   
3. richer or poorer richer, thanks to Rick
   

18. What do you wish you'd done more of?

scripture reading. working out. reading.

19. What do you wish you'd done less of?

yelling. complaining.

20. How did you spend Christmas?

with family. the usual routine. Rick's parents for Christmas Eve and morning...the cabin for the rest of the day...though this year it was unusually snowy!

21. Did you fall in love in 2008?

over and over again

22. What was your favorite TV program?

I think the Big Bang Theory is so hilarious!

23. Do you hate anyone now that you didn't hate this time last year?

We don't use the "hate" word in our house.

24. What was the best book you read?

I can only think of a couple of books that I read, period. And neither or them deserve the "best book" notoriety...I'll have to rectify this situation this year...our new book club should help in that respect!

25. What was your greatest musical discovery?

I rediscovered Ben Folds...

26. What did you want and get?

My Canon Rebel Xsi

27. What did you want and not get?

Our house to sell...

28. What was your favorite film of this year?

This is tough...I don't attend a lot of movies. Definitely not in the theatres anyway. Did Juno come out this year? I also liked Seven Pounds. It was so sad, but thought provoking and unique.

29. What did you do on your birthday, and how old were you?

We mostly just hung out. I think Rick took the day off, or at least part of the day. I got a haircut. Not much excitement when you are turning 29, I guess. My mom made me a really yummy chocolate cake.

30. What one thing would have made your year immeasurably more satisfying?

More "me" time. More "Rick and Me" time.

31. How would you describe your personal fashion concept in 2008?

I spent slightly more than half the year pregnant...let's just say that it hasn't been my most fashion conscious year.

32. What kept you sane?

blogging/scrapping/venting to Rick

33. Which celebrity/public figure did you fancy most?

still not much for celebrities...

34. What political issue stirred you the most?

the election. It was interesting and frustrating all at once. It's a big time for our country...I just didn't think anyone really stepped in and will be able to bring us out of this...but I'm willing to give our new president a shot...heaven knows it was time for something new.

35. Who did you miss?

I still miss my grandma's...and think of them often.

36. Who was the best new person you met?

it's a tie between Christian , Mattix and Ella

37. Tell us a valuable life lesson you learned this year?

A friend commented on my blog not long ago that "life might be hard, but we can do hard things." It's stuck with me.

38. What is one thing you said this year that you never thought you'd say?

"Quit eating your cereal with chopsticks!"

39. What is one thing you heard this year that you never thought you'd hear?

"Mom, of all the bestest mommies in the world...I'm glad I got you." (said by sweet Seth)

40. What do you anticipate will be the biggest change in your life in 2009?

First, here's my response from last year, about the year 2008:No major changes anticipated...no new babies, no new houses, no new jobs...a change in one of those areas would be a big surprise! Maybe Hannah starting full day school?

hehehe.

In 2008, we got pregnant and put our house up for sale. So funny. I think the biggest change in 2009 will be a tie between moving (hopefully) and having four children. Four children. Four has never been a bigger number!

I hope you all have a great new year!