Abundant Recompense Copy

35 weeks! Eye on the prize, baby. Here are the stats until May 3rd. 36  nights left to sleep with a pillow between my knees 26 stairs from the bottom to the top of our house. Why didn't we go with a ranch-style? 10  more laundry days 10  more piano lessons to teach 9  names to whittle off our "possible girl names" list. 8  days until the baby comes if it's on the same schedule as Bryn (but we're not allowing ourselves to think that way) 8  more items on the "to do pre-baby" list (so what if each item is a bulleted list?) 6  options on the "possible boy middle names" list 6  more bathrooms to clean 5  more Sundays at church 5  more doctor appointments 2  more menus to plan and major grocery shopping trips to make I find myself amused by the helpful and insightful comments people feel compelled to give. Here's the winner so far: "Were you this big with ALL your pregnancies!?!?!?" Nice. Really nice. In other news, nesting frenzy goi...

We are having so much fun with our chicks! They've been in a box under a heat lamp in the shed for several weeks while their feathers have been growing. The weather has been so nice lately, though, that we have taken them out into the sun several days this week, which they've loved.  The kids are loving them. Bryn is my extra big helper with the food and water. She loves to go out and turn on the light with me every morning and greet the "chicky poos." She's gotten very good at filling up their water and actually does it all by herself in one of these videos, which is no mean feat. Addison enjoys playtime with the chickens (who he does not allow me to call "chicky poos" in his presence because it sounds like I'm saying "poo poos") more than the morning wake-up call and feeding. I love watching him chase them around and cup his little hands around them to pick them up. Almost without fail he says that his favorite part of the day was playing...

Spring was always my very favorite season growing up. There's something magical about things turning green and coming to life. It's not quite the same around these parts, because one day it'll be 60 degrees and then it'll snow for a week, but I'll still take it. Especially on days like today, which was one of the 60 degree ones. You may or may not recall that when we moved into our house our front planter was like a jungle. We have worked our fannies off on it since then, and although it's still got a way to go, I am beginning to adore it. Our crocuses give me happy feelings in my heart every time I walk up to check the mail. And sometimes I peek out the front door just to make sure they're still there, looking cheerful and reminding me that it really will be warm all the time before too long. And to make it even better, the pansies in our pots by the door survived the winter! I'm excited for lots more things to start blooming over the next few months, b...

Last month the kids and I headed to Salt Lake City to meet up with a childhood friend of mine and her cute little boy. Annah and I met in about 2nd grade and were pretty much best friends growing up until she left me to go to school in Hawaii. We had many a sleepover where we stayed up really late playing Payday and eating popcorn with cheese powder on it. Seeing anyone from home is a big deal when you're not from around these parts, but a best friend is an extra bonus. It was so nice to catch up and reminisce about back in the day. And it's great to hear someone say things like "supper" every once in awhile. The kiddos playing at the park. Henry looks exactly like his mom, no matter what people on the other side of the family say! And just for fun (or humiliation) a blast from the past picture! This is me, my sis Amber, and Annah serving punch at a wedding reception. I am the one that is conveniently half blacked out, but you get the gist anyway.

Addison just rocked his first ever swimming lessons. He absolutely LOVED it and looked forward to every Tuesday and Thursday evening. He was in a class with four other boys his age and took to the water like a fish. He learned to blow bubbles, put his head under and jump in off the side by himself. He was a little too fearless, if you ask me. Sometimes I had to just force myself not to watch as he jumped around and scooted closer and closer to the deep end. Addison is the shortest one. Floating on his back, 3rd from the left.