Friday, December 31, 2010

Christmas 2010

I realized I never blogged about Christmas... so here goes.

I kept things simple this year, I didn't take alot of photos, I just enjoyed being with my children.
We always start our festivites on Dec 23rd. We head over to Arizona Mills Mall, where we exchange names and then split up and have fun dodging each other through the mall, while we fight the crowds and shop for each other. Then we have dinner at Rain Forest Cafe, and then we head over to the Christmas light display at the Mesa Arizona Temple. It was very beautiful, unfortunately, everyone else had the same idea though. There were so many people there that we didn't stay long. The next day we went and saw Tangled for our Christmas Eve movie. It was so good, and I'm so happy to have a girl now so I can justify the purchase of movies like that one!
After that we headed out to Hubbie's parents house for our usual feast and hung out all day. We decorated cookies for Santa and just hung around:
(look she's already a pesty little sister!)

The kids got new jammies from Grandma:


Christmas morning was fun, although it started a little too early, at 5:30. I decided to wake up Ladybug, I mean come on, I didn't want her to miss out on her first Christmas. Really though she could have cared less. After everything was said and done I put her back in bed and she slept until almost 10. Ladybug got a Ladybug pillowpet from Santa and several dolls and stuffed animals from Grandma's. Frankly, she has not cared less about any of it yet. But she's still a little young.


Squirt got 2 lego sets, a parking garage, and a remote control dinosaur that has officially driven our poor dog crazy! He was very happy.


Little Man got a DS (well to share with Squirt), 4 lego sets, a black jaguar and a new football. He was also very happy.
Oh, and they both got a very large train set from their Great Grandma, it's pictured behind Ladybug. Did I mention it's large?

Hubbie's highlights were a 3 month membership to Massage Envy. My highlights were some cake decorting stuff (cause I want to learn. Don't ask how bad my first cake turned out!)

We had a very happy Christmas, and now I'm waiting for Hubbie to go back to work and Little Man to go back to school so I can take down all the decor. (They won't let me yet!)

Wednesday, December 29, 2010

Why I Love My Stretch Marks...

So I don't exactly LOVE my strech-marks, but I highjacked this from Mormon Mommy Blogs. It's kindof my mantra for 2011. To be happy with myself and more importantly my body. Enjoy:)



Do you remember that part in Gone With the Wind when Scarlet has just had her baby and is upset because Mammy can only get her corset laced up to 21 inches instead of her pre-pregnancy 19 inches ?

Mammy tells her, "Honey child, you done had a baby. You ain't never gun a be 19 inches again."



I think those are some of the wisest words of the entire show and lately they have been circulating through my mind a lot.

My little nursling will be 7 months old soon and my body is still not back to how it was before I was pregnant with her. Even though I've been back to my original weight for a few months (breastfeeding works wonders on my metabolism) my body is still different. I'm sure you wouldn't notice anything by looking at me, but I've lived in my body for a quarter of century and I can tell you that things aren't the same as before-- my hips are wider, my chest is a bit more saggy, my core muscles aren't quite as tight, and I have six purple marks on my side that remind me my belly really can stretch to an unfathomable size.

I just have to keep telling myself, "Heather child, you done had two babies. Your body ain't never gun a be the same again."

It has taken me awhile to come to terms with it, but it is true. No matter how hard I try my body is never gone to be the same as it was before I had my children. My children are literally parts of myself and they exist because my body sacrificed blood, cells, calcium, iron and millions of other particles to make them. I am literally missing pieces of my body that I will never be able to get back because they are now walking, talking, breathing, laughing, crying, and living in the form of two beautiful children. Becoming a mother, even if you don't physically give birth to a child, requires a huge sacrifice from your body and spirit. It is a sacrifice, that according to Elder Bruce C. Hafen of the First Quorum of the Seventy and his wife Marie K. Hafen, greatly parallels the sacrifice made by our Savior, they said:

"Just as a mother's body may be permanently marked with the signs of pregnancy and childbirth, [the Savior] said, 'I have graven thee upon the palms of my hands' (1 Ne. 21:15–16). For both a mother and the Savior, those marks memorialize a wrenching sacrifice--the sacrifice of begetting life--for her, physical birth; for him, spiritual rebirth"
It gives me strength to remember that just as Christ bears marks in his hands, feet and side as symbols of his blood sacrifice; I too have stretch marks on my side that bear testimony to my sacrifice of blood and my willingness to bring life into the world. I find strength to go forward with my mothering by remembering that just as Christ's body was resurrected, making him complete physically and spiritually, that my body is constantly renewing itself and that one day I too will be complete, physically and spiritually. I also know that my joy is more full because of my children and that because of the sacrifice my body has made life will go forward and my family will go on eternally.

So for all the mothers our there I want to remind you to rejoice in your stretch marks, to be grateful for your extra weight and wider hips, to accept your c-section scar, and to find joy in the tired bags under your eyes because they are symbols of your sacrifice.

For all you who have yet to become mothers I want to remind you to rejoice in the blood you shed each month because it is a beautiful symbol of hope and it bears testimony to the promise of continuing life.

And for all you women who are struggling with loving and accepting your body I want to remind you that anything or anyone that belittles, exploits, demeans, or mistrusts your body is not from God. Your body is beautiful, mind boggling amazing, and so deeply symbolic of Christ. Also, remember that in the eternal scheme of things--"frankly my dear, no one will give a damn" if you had a 19 inch waist or not. If you are shocked by my swearing, you need to watch the end of Gone with the Wind

---
Heather is the wife of one wonderful man, the mother to two beautiful children and 12 chickens. When she isn't baking muffins, snuggling a baby or chasing chickens she works on her book "The Gift of Giving Life: Rediscovering the Divine Nature of Pregnancy and Birth" and writes on her blog Women in the Scriptures.

Wednesday, December 22, 2010

Face Painting...

... Chick fil a had an awesome face painter tonight. And because facebook is being a serious pain and won't let me upload anything, I'll put them here:)

Spiderman

Shark... with blood!

And ladybug didn't get one, but the minute we got home she attacked Squirt and wiped it on herself.

Too bad they were painted at 6pm at night:(

Polar Express

Last weekend we took the kids up to Flagstaff for the Polar Express. The best part is we had them convinced that we were going to the mall, and then when we passed the mall they started freaking out. When we finally told them where we were going they were SO excited. We had a few hours before we could check into our hotel so we pulled off the side of the road and played in the snow. This was the first snow man all 3 of these boys had ever built!
Proof that the girls were here too!
Then we put on our new Christmas jammies:


And then went to the train station:


We finally boarded the train:

Where we anxiously searched for Santa, eating cookies and singing songs along the way:

Finally Santa boarded the Train:

And gave each child their very own bell:

The verdict:
Totally Awesome!

Tuesday, December 21, 2010

10 years ago...

...I married my best friend. Wow how the time has flown. The best thing is we are still so happy! Happier even, than we thought we ever would be. We have 3 beautiful children to share this day with, and I couldn't ask for more! I love you Babe & Thanks for the roses:)

It was SO cold, and after the whole day my mom said to me "Maybe we should have done this in Arizona!" Live and learn I guess.

Saturday, December 11, 2010

Little Man's Letter to Santa:

Dear Santa,

Thank you for the bike and the guns last year. I hope you are not sick this year. I wold like the LEGO City Airport and I wold also like a little stuft animal frosty the snow man in my stoking. I also want a Santa soot and make sure it's a size 7 and kid size. My family wold leave you six cookies and a carrot for your reindeer and a little carrot for Rudolph just in case. I hope I'm on the good list.

Sincerly,
Little Man

p.s. please please tell me I'm not on the noty list.


Happy Holidays!