Hurry up and wait.

Ever since I found out I was pregnant, we planned to go to Cedar City a few days before my due date, just to be closer to the hospital.

At my appt. yesterday, The doctor asked if we could do that, and we told him we were planning on it, and asked when we should come.

He said, "Now."

So...after lots of phone calls, three plans formed and two scrapped, and a fair amount of stress, Grandma is on her way (tomorrow) to be here with the kids while Todd and I leave town to "hurry up and wait" in a house next to the hospital.

I am on the induction list for Aug. 9th if I don't go into labor before then. I sure hope (for my Mom's sake now, as well as my own) that it doesn't take that long. I know of two people who shared my due date. Both of them had their babies today.

I can't deny how much more relaxed I feel with this plan in place. Hopefully, Todd and I will get a couple days alone to celebrate our anniversary (a few weeks early), and then we'll go into labor, have this baby, and get home in time to spend a few days with Grandma's help before she has to leave to get her house ready for my cousin's wedding reception.

We're so thankful for all our family and friends who have been willing to jump in and help us out. Thank you Melece, for watching Sam and Livi so Mom can leave earlier than expected (plan C). I'm sorry, Char, that your plans got interrupted because of ours. Thank you Michael and Becky for being willing to drive to Provo to meet Todd (plan A). Thank you Linda for being willing to help us with a rental car (plan A), Thank you Erin and Nate for watching our kids overnight (plan C). Thank you Andrea for being willing to make a special trip to Provo with our kids so Todd wouldn't have to (plan B), and for watching our kids (plan C). Thank you to all of Todd's co-workers who are taking on his students for the next couple of weeks. Thank you Vanessa for the 10:30 AM Dr. Pepper...it was perfect timing. Thanks to all those in the ward who offered to come over in the middle of the night if needed.

And most of all, thanks to my Mom, who has already re-arranged half of her summer for us, and has to drive on the freeway by herself (which is way out of her comfort zone) to be here. I feel so much better knowing that my kids can keep up their regular routine during all this chaos. It is especially helpful for Brayden who thrives on consistency, and Dillon who is already nervous about missing me while I'm gone. I know they'll love having you here.

I told the boys this morning that the house rules were up to Grandma and they needed to do what she says. Dillon replied, "Mom, dwamma mostly says 'yes'."

Lucky boys.

It's always fun when Grandma comes...

You know Grandma's here when these things pop up around the house:

(not pictured: kleenex in every room, orange juice in the fridge at ALL times, Wheaties cereal, and new batteries in the digital thermometer so we can know the exact temperature)

She was able to catch a ride with Erin's Aunt Lila, and then she left today with Uncle David and Aunt Joyce, so she was only able to bring the bare necessities...
...like her apron, which she used to make Todd's favorite dessert.

We took a trip to Manti to see the Mormon Miracle Pageant:
Grandma came prepared and handed out crackers and cheese sticks just before it began (much to the delight of the boys...and Todd). She also saved me with her two purse packs of Kleenex when I had allergies.
She humored us when we woke the boys up at 4:45 AM to see this lunar eclipse:
And she let me sit and rest while she took over the chores. Now, because of her hard work, my quilting room is once again organized, the storage room floor is clean and sparkly, the crib has a skirt (with a pleat!), the baby clothes are washed, the laundry is caught up...
...and the boys closet is finally organized, and their beds have been made for three days in a row.
Todd came home the other day, noticed how nice their bedroom looked, and asked if they'd made their own beds.

Brayden answered, "No! We just came downstairs after eating breakfast and our beds were MADE! It's like a secret act of service! We don't know how it's happening."

We miss you already, Mom!

Happy Mother's Day!

My friend, Mindy, posted this quote on our Apron Girl's blog and I just loved it:

"I don't want to drive up to the pearly gates in a shiny sports car, wearing beautifully, tailored clothes, my hair expertly coiffed, and with long, perfectly manicured fingernails.

I want to drive up in a station wagon that has mud on the wheels from taking kids to scout camp. I want to be there with a smudge of peanut butter on my shirt from making sandwiches for a sick neighbors children. I want to be there with a little dirt under my fingernails from helping to weed someone's garden. I want to be there with children's sticky kisses on my cheeks and the tears of a friend on my shoulder. I want the Lord to know I was really here and that I really lived."


— Marjorie Pay Hinckley

I am lucky enough to have TWO wonderful mother's, who not only give the kind of service that Sister Hinckley talked about, but they ALSO have expertly coiffed hair AND perfectly manicured fingernails :o)

I have a lot to live up to.

Today I want my Mom to know how thankful I am for her testimony of the gospel. I have spent a lot of time pondering what it is that my Mom "did right" in raising our family, and I truly believe that the most important thing she did for me, is to set the example of reading her scriptures and saying her personal prayers...every single day. Every morning, she would sit in her favorite chair and read her scriptures, and every night, she would lock herself in the bathroom (because it was the only place she could be alone), and pray.

Like the sons of Helaman, I can say "we do not doubt that our mother's knew it". When times were hard as a teenager, I always knew that my mom had an unwavering testimony, and she taught by example that turning to the Lord could help me through any trial.

Thank you, Mom, for your example. I hope that I can pass this legacy on, and that my children will someday be able to say, "we doubt not that our mother knew it".

I call my Mom nearly every day. I rarely have anything important to say, and our conversations are never long, but she is my friend, and I don't know what I'd do without her. Sometimes just hearing her voice makes the day go better.

One of the best parts of growing up and getting married, is to get ANOTHER mother. Today I want Linda to know how thankful I am for her example and friendship. One of the things that I admire most about her, is how interested she is (and has always been) in the lives of her kids' friends. They love her like they do their own mother! When we talk, she often asks about my friends, by name, and wants to know how they're doing. Her service is given daily, in just talking to people with a smile, and letting them know that they are loved.

I want to be like that. I want my kids to be able to bring their friends home and know that I care...and that I want them in our home.

Thank you, Linda, for your example. It will not come easily to me, but I hope that I can be a friend to my children's friends. Thank you for listening to me when you probably have better things to do. And thank you for raising such a wonderful son, who makes me happy, honors his priesthood, and respects me. I am thrilled to soon have four little boys, who can look up to their father's wonderful example. I will make sure they know the part that you played.

Duet

The boys had a great time with Uncle Ben last night. He teaches out of the same piano books that they're using, so they had something in common.

Uncle Ben would turn around and close his eyes, while the boys played a random note. Then he'd turn back and play the song of their choice (from their piano lesson books) in whatever key they had picked.

I was amazed that Uncle Ben could remember so many two line, two note songs :o)

After the games, Caleb and Uncle Ben played a duet:

Now I'm crying...

I managed to control my emotions while all the men were here (not easy for a pregnant woman), but now I'm crying. I cannot thank my family enough for all the sacrifces they've made this weekend to help us.

We never would've made our deadline, and now I think we can (the carpet is coming on Thurs).

Tyler is an engineer, and a woodworker/cabinetmaker extraordinare. He brought his favorite saw, and homemade little baseboard setting gadgets, and trimmed out the rooms. He also re-installed the door that Todd fussed with for over four hours, using a little technique that he learned in his own house last week.

Did I mention that he's trying to finish a room in his basement right now, too? And yet, he took a day to drive five hours and help me. His wife was home priming walls by herself.

Dad is one of the best painters I know. He didn't even use any tape while painting navy blue against a white ceiling. He just does it freehand. It's amazing to me. He also made MANY trips to the hardware store, puttied holes, sealed baseboards, and installed light fixtures. He was cussing at the fact that I chose three different colors of paint for the boys' room (four counting the ceiling and baseboards) but he did what I wanted anyway.

I don't even want to know how many hours of sleep he missed by coming, and I'm pretty sure he took a day off...not easy on a Saturday, especially with Easter coming. He is a bakery manager and often starts working in the wee hours of the morning and then keeps going to make sure the shelves are always stocked. There's no such thing as a 40 hour work week with Dad. He probably also missed out on a nice day to work on his yard.

My bro-in-law, Jon, is the tile man. I don't really know where he learned it, but I know he's worked construction, and has done plenty of tiling in his days. I hear rumor that this was his idea. He saw the list on my blog and called Tyler saying, "There's no way they're going to get done in time...we have to go."

Yeah, he's my sister's husband, the one who lost a car this week, and probably has all kinds of Physical Therapy notes to catch up on, but he was here instead.

Then there's my brother Ben. Yeah, I didn't mention in my last post that he was coming, because I didn't know. Nobody knew. I talked to him on Friday night on his cell phone while he was stuck in CA traffic. Turns out he was actually on his way here. He slept in his car, and knocked on my door at 8:00 AM. This is when I nearly cried. He drove 9 hours to be here.

I didn't even dare ask what he was missing. He's a PHD student, a professor, a piano teacher, and certainly had plenty he could've been doing. Thankfully he stayed over last night and got a decent nights sleep before heading home. His wife is filling in on the organ for him today, and planted strawberries by herself yesterday.

Ben cut the tile, and Jon laid it. Todd and I will have to figure out how to do the grout, but I can't tell you how relieved I am to have this part finished. I know there would've been blood, sweat, tears, and swearing if we'd had to tackle this ourselves.


Here's a sneak peak at the boys room. We still need to build shelves, a desk, and add the trim to the wall.
Ben and Jon each took a turn "coming out of the closet" and as you can imagine we had a great day working, talking, and laughing.


Tyler, Jon, and Dad left at 8:30 last night, to get home in the middle of the night, so Dad could get a few hours of sleep before his bishopric meeting this morning. Jon had to get up and make a 2 1/2 hour drive back to Idaho this morning so my sister could teach her Young Women's lesson. Ben left this morning, after staying up late playing the piano with the kids. They love to play with Uncle Ben.

Thank you to everyone who had a part in this, and for all your sacrifices in our behalf. It means so much to us. I hope we can do something to help all of you sometime.


PS- Ben, the boys found a dime on the piano bench this morning, and they're certain it's yours. I told them they could keep it, but they insist that it's yours. Would you like me to send it in the mail?

A bouquet of "flours" and a visit from Grandma Great!

My dad's birthday is next week, and since he's a Baker, I made him a bouquet of flours. A baker's dozen flours, actually.
I found the logo's online, printed them on a T-shirt transfer, and ironed them onto these little sacks of flour that I made. The "vase" is a flour sifter, and the measuring spoons say "pinch, dash, and smidgen".

I wanted to send it to the florist at the grocery store where he works, and have her deliver it to him in the bakery, but realized he would be out of town. I ended up sending it with my Grandma and Aunt who stopped by on their way through last night.

I wish I had a better picture, but here is the proof that Grandma and Aunt Joyce were here. Their "check engine" light came on, so this morning Todd lifted the hood and the three of them checked that engine.

Todd said it looked like an engine.

We have no idea what was wrong, but they made it home safely today, so I'm grateful for that. I have nothing but good to say about Grandma and Aunt Joyce. I want to be like them in so many ways. They got here last night in time for dinner and homework (Aunt Joyce is a teacher and she sat with my kids through MANY pages of Math and books with really big words).

I'm so glad they stopped by, and I'm so glad we were so conveniently located! They dropped my cousin, Clarissa, off at Jacob Lake (near the Grand Canyon) where she will be working for the summer. We'll be headed off to visit Clarissa (and the Grand Canyon) soon, since we're only four hours away.

Mom and Char's visit

All the girls. We almost outnumbered the boys...but not quite.

We took Grandma to the park.

Well, we really went for Sam, but Grandma enjoyed the swings...

...until it was time to get out!

"We" made these quilted bags.

(We all started them, and mom finished them up)

and the boys played lots of Star Wars.

Thanks for coming, Mom and Char! I'm sorry I was so busy with

the Pinewood Derby and my business blog. We'll have to do this

again sometime. Maybe in a place with stores...

Thank You!

I am allergic to the post office.

I never go...unless I'm expecting something. So, a few days ago, when Todd emptied our box so that the poor post office lady could fit stuff in it again, I was completely surprised to get TWO packages!

My good friend Cami sent me this calendar (with room for making lists), and this absolutely adorable bottle of Heinz. We share our love of list-making, and the "right" brand of ketchup. She also sent two Idaho spud candy bars...but those are LONG gone, so I didn't get a picture. She will soon be moving from Idaho, to UTAH where she will only be three hours away, instead of nine. Hooray! Thanks Cami, for thinking of me. I miss you.

And then, my sister (who also happens to live in Idaho), sent me this cute little berry wreath to sit on the "shelf" of my lamp. It's perfect! She must've known that there wasn't a store within 200 miles where I could get such a thing.
My sister and I have never really fought. I think it's just because the six years between us didn't allow for us to have enough in common to fight about anything...but that's beside the point. Now she's expecting her second baby, and her husband is almost finished with grad school, so we're in the same boat.
I love you Char, and wish you lived closer so we could "play" together. Thanks for thinking of me.

Great costumes, and great friends!

Our friends, Becky and Don, just stopped by to show me their costumes before heading to a Halloween party. Becky is a corpse bride, and Don....well, just check out his name tag below :o)

Becky and Don have been the best of friends/neighbors to us. They are the same age as my parents, but I get along with Becky as well as I do with any of my "young mother" friends. We talk on the phone quite regularly, and it's so nice sometimes to get her perspective since she's raised 7 kids. She always tells me that she'd love to go back to my "stage of life" with little kids at home, for just one year...and I tell her to keep reminding me of that :o). She does machine quilting like I do, so we share thread, stencils, and ideas.

Don is the local fire chief/EMT/contractor extraordinare. Whenever we have a question about anything related to home maintenance like "how can we wire a light in my quilting room?" or "why is there a river running through our backyard", or "why is our carbon monoxide detector beeping", or "Help! Our neice just fell down our stairs", or "do you have this tool" he comes running (at all hours) and is happy to help.

We are blessed to have them as friends.

If the shoe fits...

My sis-in-law, Becky, was here this weekend and we made these cute pillows from stuff in my stash:

I feel bad that I didn't take any pictures while they were here, but we had a good time. The kids played great together, Becky and I went shopping at the little gift/flower shop (there's nowhere else to go :o) and made our pillows, and Todd and Michael spent 8 hours playing Nintendo. They also went to the shooting range after dark and blew up a few gourds while Becky and I bathed and tucked in six kids.

(thanks, dad, for sending the gourds...I still have plenty to decorate with)

Fun at the park

Todd's brother, Aaron, and his family came to visit us last weekend and we had a ball! We were completely irresponsible...staying up 'til 2:00 AM every night, eating breakfast at 11:00, lunch at 3:00, and dinner at 9:00. We played games, talked, and laughed. It was wonderful. We took them on the scenic drive on highway 12, and ended up at a park in Escalante.

Does anyone know what this thing is? It's a tall pole, with several chains hanging down from it, and the chains have handles attached. We tried holding onto the handles and running around in circles...but we just ended in a big heap, with our arms tangled in chains.

Here's Caleb on the monkey bars, wearing his signature socks.

Dillon kept putting his arms and legs in the air while

swinging on his belly, pretending to be a super hero.

Brayden, Caleb, and Makensie on dinosaur

Uncle Aaron had the most fun. I think he tried out every

piece of playground equipment there.

Here he is on the monkey bars:

...and on the big purple dinosaur



Todd dared him to jump out of the swing
and then he did it again :o)

You can see Cayleen and Sydney Jo on the swings.
Posing for the camera. What a ham.
He made it down the slide...although it took awhile :o)
Todd and I got a minute to ourselves for a "foot popping" kiss :o)

We had visitors!

Todd's much older brother :o) Larry, and his wife Wendi, and boys (Devon, Brandon, Joshua, Zachary, and Coby) came to visit this weekend. Even though they were only here for a day, we had a great time. I was a little disappointed that we had nearly 6 inches of snow in Capitol Reef, so the red rock wasn't as spectacular peeking out of the snow, but it was still pretty. After going to Capitol Reef, we ate lunch at the Sunglow where they tried our famous Pickle Pie, and then we went to Big Rocks (a mile from our house). We found a geocache there, and then let the boys "be boys" and climb on the rocks.

Climbing rocks at "Big Rocks"

The hills are alive...with the sound of music....Okay not really,

but doesn't this picture remind you of that movie?

Holding Todd in the palm of my hand...

Here's Dillon, lifting a huge boulder in search of an M&M.

Hey, when you need some chocolate, you'll do whatever it takes. :o)

Travis and Cami--this one's for you...

Our friends, Scott and Andrea, have borrowed our Seasons 1-3 of "The Office" over the past few weeks. Tonight, Scott (who works with Todd) returned Season 3, along with Todd's Sigmund Freud action figure--in Jell-O. You'd have to be a fan of "The Office" to get it, but we think it's hilarious. Any idea's on how we can get them back?

Todd D. Graves MS, LMFT

This morning Todd sent in his paperwork to become a licensed Marriage and Family Therapist since he finished his supervised hours, passed his test, and his 2 years as an intern were up on Saturday. Hooray!

To celebrate, Todd's mom bought him some *lovely* gifts including a Sigmund Freud bobble head doll, a Freud therapy ball which asks questions such as, "How does that make you feel?" and "Tell me about your mother." And oh yes, we can't forget about the plush "Tickle me Freud".

Our friends, Cami and Travis, started this little collection when they came across a Sigmund Freud action figure at DI and snatched it up for Todd. Thanks for thinking of him, guys! All of these gifts arrived today (perfect timing) and Dillon and I went to the ranch while Todd was at lunch and set them up in his office.

Congratulations Todd! It's been a long hard road, and I am proud.

Our new piano!

Todd just e-mailed me a picture of our piano from his cell phone. The color is terrible, but at least you can see it :o)

Oh, and thanks to Ben and Carrie for the Home Depot gift card you gave us for Christmas. We used it to buy the lamp that is sitting on the piano (the one that you can't see because it's so bright--but it "looks" over the music like a good piano lamp should, and we like it a lot) :o)

Good and Bad News

The good news is that we got a piano!

The bad news is that Dillon broke our camera, so I cannot post any pictures 'til our new one arrives from Costco.com

The piano story is great, though. Last Saturday we started looking for a piano on KSL.com (that's where we found our truck). Anyway, we found one that we liked and scrolled up to see where it was located, and it was in Loa! 2 1/2 blocks away from our house, to be exact. Then, it got better. I called my brother, Ben (the piano major) to ask him piano related questions, and he was in Gunnison (an hour away) on his way back to L.A. Even though it was snowy, he and Carrie made the trek out to Loa to play the piano and give me some peace of mind in buying it.
THANK YOU BEN AND CARRIE!

This week we rearranged our furniture to make room, and painted two walls in the livingroom before moving the piano in today.
Brayden and Caleb will be starting piano lessons this week, and I think I'll steal their books after they go to bed and try to re-teach myself. I took lessons for six LONG years, so hopefully some of it will come back.

For the Grandma's--Here's what we got:

Merry Christmas everyone! I hope you all had a wonderful day. Our's has been great. We had a fire going, ate lots of candy and leftovers (no cooking for me :o) and stayed in our pajamas all day. (except Dilly, he had to put his John Deere shirt on as soon as he opened it). Here he is with his new tools. He's been wanting a tape measure for awhile (it's on his pocket).

Here's all the stuff. Sorry it's a bad picture--I should have turned off the blinking Christmas lights.
Left to right (sort of): Book of Mormon Who, Science kit, Magic School Bus DVD, lots of books, Art tray (for traveling), Planet Heroes- Saturn Rings, Jupiter Gustus, and Venus Dazzle; Cars figure, tangrams puzzle, Transformers- Excellion, Megatron, and Bumblebee; Chutes and Ladders, Clothes.
Cookies game, another Cars figure, Planet Heroes - Professer Darkness, Photon, and Neutron, Cars sticker book, Kid K'nex, Curious George bandaids, P. Heroes - Asteroid, Monster truck - Graves digger, Transformer - Thundercracker, lots of books, and lots of Matchbox cars.
Dilly's toolbox, Thomas the Tank Engine Sticker book, Chocolate milk mix, Curious George, stickers, Optimash Prime potato head, lots of books, Hullabaloo, Planet Heroes Turbo Shuttle.

Things not pictured: a helicopter that doesn't lift off the ground (Todd is so disappointed) , Scripture Stickers for Brayden and Caleb, all 3 boys got new pajamas last night, and new pillowcases (Transformers and Curious George).

Todd and I got "Electronic Banking" Monopoly--every time you pass go you swipe your card to get 2 million dollars; a temple book, two cookbooks, slippers, an MP3 player, an eyeglass cleaning kit with moist towelettes for Todd to keep in his car, office, my purse, etc. Several Home Depot gift cards, a cordless palm size screwdriver (for me!), a lime green quilted contact case, dinosaur sandwich cutter, a new spatula, and Seasons 1, 2, and 3 of "The Office".