Congrats Matt!!

Lisa's youngest brother, Matt, graduated from high school today! He's officially a legal adult AND a high school grad now. Good job on graduating Matt! Now you have a whole summer to celebrate. Whoo hoo!

Ready to pop.

Doc says I could go at any time. This baby takes up much more room than the last one. Here are some words to describe how I'm feeling right about now:
Huge. Gigantic. Jumbo. Massive. Oversize. Stupendus. Enormous. Full-fledged. Eruptive. Blow up. The list goes on and on. Due to the fact that my stomach is bigger than it's ever been, I'm in a lot of pain. This little guy needs to come out soon. Someday I'll be glad I posted this, but right now I look at it and cringe. I think I'll go run up and down the stairs a few times and see what happens. lol.

This guys amazing!

Anyone out there ever watch "So you think you can Dance?" If so did you see this guy last week?? Incredible. He's the best popper I've ever seen! (Paula, Leigh, Cathy...I KNOW you'll appreciate this from our early days at UVSC hanging out with "the breakdancing boys" and going to clubs with them to watch them dance...lol.) Good times people. Anyone who knows anything about break/pop dancing can tell you how amazing this is. Just watch:


Brings back a lot of memories, doesn't it Paula? lol.

"E. A. G. L. E. S. Eagels!!!"

Scott is getting Crystal all ready for football season this year. Get a load of this:



Not bad for a two year old, eh?

I love being a Mom!

These are just a FEW of some quotes that our modern day prophets and apostles have to say about being a mother. There were so many more, these aren't even doing it justice:

"Motherhood is the greatest potential influence either for good or ill in human life. The mother’s image is the first that stamps itself on the unwritten page of the young child’s mind. It is her caress that first awakens a sense of security; her kiss, the first realization of affection; her sympathy and tenderness, the first assurance that there is love in the world." -David O. McKay

"God bless you, dear friends. Do not trade your birthright as a mother for some bauble of passing value. Let your first interest be in your home. The baby you hold in your arms will grow quickly as the sunrise and the sunset of the rushing days. I hope that when that occurs you will not be led to exclaim as did King Lear, “How sharper than a serpent’s tooth it is to have a thankless child!” (King Lear, I, iv, 312). Rather, I hope that you will have every reason to be proud concerning your children, to have love for them, to have faith in them, to see them grow in righteousness and virtue before the Lord, to see them become useful and productive members of society. If with all you have done there is an occasional failure, you can still say, “At least I did the very best of which I was capable. I tried as hard as I knew how. I let nothing stand in the way of my role as a mother.” Failures will be few under such circumstances." -Gordon B. Hinkley

When I reflect upon the duties and responsibilities devolving upon our mothers and sisters, and the influence they wield, I look upon them as the mainspring and soul of our being here.” -Brigham Young

“I have learned to place a high estimate upon the love of mother. I have often said, and will repeat it, that the love of a true mother comes nearer being like the love of God than any other kind of love.” (Joseph F. Smith, Gospel Doctrine, p. 315.)

“Talk about sacrifice! Why the sacrifice of the women of this Church and their devotion are beyond the power of pen and tongue to pay tribute.” -Heber J. Grant

“… I think you will agree with me that seldom may be found in this world a great man who did not have a great mother.” -George Albert Smith

"I have marveled at Mother’s forecast that a child would break out with measles or chicken pox well before my trained medical eye would have so predicted. I have watched the incredible calm of Mother when her child experienced a convulsive seizure. So much is expected of a woman.Often she is a detective; she must search for lost articles and solve on a daily basis baffling “who done it” mysteries.
Frequently, her eager audience requests her talent as a musician by calling upon her to sing—any time, any place. She is an artist, using crayons and coloring books, needles and thread, or other means to create works of art by her own hands. During the early life of most children, a woman is the principal disciplinarian. She treads the tightrope of judgment between being too strict or too permissive.Mother is “secretary of labor” for her home. She teaches the work ethic with its responsibilities and rewards" -Elder Russel M. Nelson

"A mother’s nurturing love arouses in children, from their earliest days on earth, an awakening of the memories of love and goodness they experienced in their premortal existence. Because our mothers love us, we learn, or more accurately remember, that God also loves us." -Elder M. Russell Ballard

"...may I say to mothers collectively, in the name of the Lord, you are magnificent. You are doing terrifically well. The very fact that you have been given such a responsibility is everlasting evidence of the trust your Father in Heaven has in you. He knows that your giving birth to a child does not immediately propel you into the circle of the omniscient. If you and your husband will strive to love God and live the gospel yourselves; if you will plead for that guidance and comfort of the Holy Spirit promised to the faithful; if you will go to the temple to both make and claim the promises of the most sacred covenants a woman or man can make in this world; if you will show others, including your children, the same caring, compassionate, forgiving heart you want heaven to show you; if you try your best to be the best parent you can be, you will have done all that a human being can do and all that God expects you to do." -Elder Jeffrey R. Holland

"I wish to say without equivocation that a woman will find no greater satisfaction and joy and peace and make no greater contribution to mankind than in being a wise and worthy woman and raising good children." -Spencer W. Kimball

I'm so thankful that I'm a mom! It has it's good days and not so good days, but I love my little girl, and I already love my little boy who will finally make his appearance.
I'm thankful for the sacrifices of my own mom...who was one of the first members of the church in her country and came here not knowing English, and being willing to stay at home to take care of me and my siblings.
I'm thankful for Scott, who is supportive of my role as a mother...(and I'm thankful for the Huge Lazy boy recliner/rocker that he bought me to help me with that role for mother's day!) lol.
What a wonderful world it is with Motherhood in it! Hope you all had a great Mothers day and that those who are mother's don't let themselves feel too overwhelmed, and get some rest once and a while!

Tagged: Small glimpse in my life

20 years ago I...
1.Was 8 and a half years old
2.Was living in a town called Fetcham, In Great Britain, England.
3.Went to a private school where I had to wear a uniform very similar to the catholic school girl outfit, only in dark green.


10 Years ago I...
1.Was not wearing Braces anymore
2.Was a senior in High school
3.Was offered to go on a trip to Santa Cruz, Bolivia for two months as a graduation present, which I happily accepted.

5 Years ago I...
1.Was a returned Missionary for almost 6 months (and still missing mission life).
2.Was cleaning teeth, taking x-rays of mouths and filling out paperwork everyday.
3.Loved going dancing on the weekends, (and eventually met my husband while doing so).

3 Years ago I...
1. Was married for only 5 months
2.Had finally learned that "The Hulk" at Universal Studios Islands of adventures in Florida, is my favorite roller coaster ride ever.
3.Would find out soon that I was already pregnant.

1 year ago I...
1.Was watching my year and a half year old learn to speak...(not knowing that once she did she would never ever stop again).
2. Went on a vacation to a Beach home on the East Coast, and saw Spamalot on Broadway in New York.
3.Went to see Spiderman 3 at the movies because we were so excited when it came out.

So far this year I have...
1.Survived most of another pregnancy, with a boy this time, and hope to go on a nice vacation in the fall when he's out and a few months old.
2.Begun the long process of potty training a my 2 year old, which I'm still working on.
3.Celebrated with Scott when after graduating he found a "real" job with "real" income, and continues to get "real" opportunities.

Yesterday I...
1. Was really happy because I wasn't in as much pain as the day before
2. Watched the season finale of "30 Rock" with Scott.
3. Decided to take a day off from housework and just rest, and loved the fact that Scott made dinner. (What a man!)

Today I...
1. Forgot to eat breakfast.
2. Finished reading another book. ("The Host" by Stephenie Meyer)
3. Went on a date with Scott since it's the weekend.

Tomorrow I will...
1. Sleep in
2. Not forget to pay the rent
3. Take a long bath before bed

In the next year, I plan on...
1. Living on the East Coast
2. Being mother to 2 kids instead of one
3. Being back in shape

Thanks Cathy...I really liked this one since I've never done it before, and I loved reading yours! You're grrreat!

Which will be more cool?

So the movie Iron Man came out this past week, which is getting pretty good reviews and since it's pretty much the first of the summer blockbusters released, if you go watch it you can catch the previews for two of the most anticipated blockbusters this summer.
Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull, and The Dark Night.
The two of us have been discussing which movie will be better. So far its a tough decision.
On one hand, everybody loves Indy. He's a character much like Jason Bourne, James bond, etc. who has his own fan base and who is legendary in the eyes of many.
On the other, Batman Begins was a big deal for Batman fans and Christian Bale does a great job...also the buzz about Heath Ledger's performance is said to be equally impressive.
So below I've pasted the movie trailer for both and would like anyone with an opinion to watch and share what they think, and which movie they look most forward to seeing this summer.

Indiana Jones...(sorry about the subtitles)



The Dark Night


So what do you think? Which one seems like the cooler movie?

Quadruple baby shower!

My friends, Lisa Foster and Robyn held a quadruple baby shower for us all during the same weeks Scott's family were in town for his commencement ceremony. It was a really busy week, but lots of fun! Marilee (who was in town this week) had a handsome little boy named Collin, and Danielle just had a beautiful little girl named Reagan. Kathleen is due a couple weeks before I am with a little girl who's going to be named Eva. Not only that, but after we opened presents Robyn announced that she's almost 12 weeks pregnant as well! So congrats to Robyn! It was fun to see everyone and share in our "pregnancy woes" together.

Thank you Lisa F. and Robyn for making this little get together happen.

Commencement

We had so much fun with our family this last week. Everyone came in town from Philadelphia to celebrate everyone's graduation commencement. Even though Scott graduated last December, he also celebrated his commencement along with his brother Rob, and his cousin J.D.

We were able to celebrate with lots of hanging out with a dinner at our house, then a brunch the next day after Rob and Scott walked (JD walked at two). Then a bunch of the boys got together to watch the NFL draft the following day, and we had another dinner at aunt Cathy's that night. It was so great to see everyone!

A week less to hang in there.

So instead of 7 weeks 3 days, it's now 6 weeks 4 days left because I'm getting induced a week early...hurray! So after looking at dates with my doctor, we decided that June 9th would be a great birthday for the little guy. I'm actually pretty relieved to know that he'll come sooner rather than later. My short little body doesn't like being pregnant very much.
However, we tried the same thing with Crystal (trying to induce a week early) and it didn't work cause she came 2 weeks early instead of one. Once again, my body couldn't handle waiting, so we'll see.
In the meantime I'm just hangin.

"The joy of motherhood comes in moments" -Elder M. Russell Ballard

Probably just like every other young LDS mother, Elder Ballard's conference talk mentioning motherhood as a daughter of God was in my top three favorites.
Crystal threw a horrible tantrum yesterday, probably the worst I've seen in months and months, and yet today all is forgotten.
Here she is sleeping on the couch yesterday just minutes after her gigantic tantrum...how can anyone stay frustrated with that little sleeping beauty?


Today she decided to go all the way upstairs and find a cardboard box that she knew I kept in the office, and haul it down with her clumsy, two year old body, then go upstairs to her room to take today's favorite toys from her toy box, and crawl in the box with her toys and blanket so she could watch Disney's Toy Story exactly the way she wanted to: All cuddled up in a box like a house cat. She must have had this idea all planned out in her head as she seemed never to hesitate in any moment as to exactly what she was doing.
I can't believe that this little person who's only been on the earth for two years, with so much creativity came out of me. I can't believe I took part in bringing someone so precious and wonderful to this world. Every day she makes me laugh. Everyday I look at her and see so many of the Christlike qualities that I want to have.
All the cute and sweet moments really do create true joy in my life. When I took this picture I was laughing and said "I love you!" and she looked up with the smile in the picture saying "You love me?" How could I not?

Kids everywhere

I went to my friend Lisa Foster's house on Monday morning to see some of my high school pals. We all brought our kids. I brought Crystal, Lisa had her three kids, Kathleen had her two boys and Liz had her two boys as well. It was great to see Liz, who was visiting from Cali. All our little munchkins looked so cute running around together and sitting together on the couch. If you want better details of the experience, go see Lisa Foster's blog on my link list. I borrowed this picture from her blog because I forgot my camera. Aren't all our kids so cute?

Music soothes the savage beast...or in this case rock music eases the pregnant lady

So even though I'm nearly 8 months pregnant, my wonderful husband and I decided that we still couldn't pass up an opportunity to see Jimmy Eat World perform with Paramore last night at the McKay event center in Orem.
Obviously, we were in seats since my stomach is so far out I can't see my toes. I half expected the security guards to frisk my tummy and make sure I wasn't smuggling stuff in, but it was just the same basic frisk they always do on the way into a concert.
Anyway like I was saying, we were in seats, but Scott got the hookups to the best seats in the house and we ended up being closer to the stage than the people in the mosh pits which was great.
The opening bands did a good job. The first was "Dear and the Headlights" who were much better than I expected them to be. The second was "Paramore" who Scott and I were both familiar with, so we liked watching them, and then we fulfilled our tradition as a married couple and watched Jimmy Eat world for the forth time together.


We couldn't pass up the opportunity because we've been going to their concerts ever since we were engaged, and even though sometimes we listen to lots of different music, this awesome little band from Arizona is our official band as a couple. We may not have a "special song" that most couples have, just a special band.

What a great night! Thank you Scott for taking me to this. I really needed it. I don't know what it is with watching live shows, but I've been addicted to watching bands perform since I was 14 and saw Weezer, and it was really nice to be able to do something I could still do while I was a teenager even though my body, age, and being more grown up and "mature" has set other limitations on what was fun (or what I've called fun) in the past.

Opinionated

I took this fun survey that I found on my friend Liz's blog. According to the results I'm just like Lizzie Bennet. That probably explains why she's always been my all time favorite character out of all of Jane Austen's characters. Makes sense since my one of the things that attracted my husband to me when we started dating was that I had my own opinion about everything. Also our story about how we fell in love has a lot of similarities, to the book, which is also why I love the story so much.

Take the Quiz here!

Thanks for the fun idea Liz! If anyone else wants a go you can go ahead and click and see who you're most like. (:

Passed out

Here's Crystal taking a nap on the couch with her ugly blanket that she's incredibly attached to no matter what we do.
Crystal likes to have a water bottle at her side at all times like her mom, so that's why she's sleeping with a water bottle next to her mouth looking like a little drunk.




It's so funny how toddlers can fall asleep in weird places and positions. She's the best. Everything she does entertains us, and even though they call it the "terrible two's," her laugh, logic, conversation, playfulness, and beautiful spirit are ten times more wonderful than the meltdowns can be terrible. In the case of our little girl, the glass is more than half full regarding her age.