Rudolf the Red Nosed Reindeer

Michael's class at school had a Christmas performance the other day. The kids were really cute and did a good job singing several fun songs. I think my little reindeer was the cutest of course and since it was her birthday Santa gave her extra treats and talked to her for a long time. It was really funny to watch her behave so shyly as she is so not shy!
I cannot believe that she is already four years old. She is growing up so quickly. I will upload some pictures of her birthday party a little later.

The Gingerbread House

Grandma and Grandpa Church gave Michael Anne a gingerbread house kit and we finally helped her assemble and decorate it tonight! It was quite fun but another lesson to me that I'm too controlling and particular in that the "lights" must be in ROYGBIV order because that is the order of the rainbow and that is the perfect order for colors...
Derek did all the frosting work and had to help me let go a little. All in all, Michael was able to have a really good time and so did we. Isn't it cute?!?!

Look Mom, I'm Having a Baby!

Oh let's hope this is the last time she says this for the next 20 years!!!



Sunday morning Michael Anne came downstairs with a little balloon tucked under her shirt. She had a HUGE smile on her face and proclaimed that she too was having a baby! She is so cute and sweet. I'm afraid she is going to claim our little baby as her very own! She often tells me that she wants to be a mommy and a doctor. She also wants to come to the hospital when our little goo-goo, as she calls her little sister, is born. She wants to see the "bloody baby!" I guess I should stop taking her to my OB appointments...she knows way too much for a little girl who isn't quite 4 years old yet. Last time we were there we uncharacteristically had to wait a little while after going back to the exam room. To keep herself entertained she studied the female reproductive charts with a little help from mom & dad and now she is quite good at reciting the path of an egg from the "egg sack" through the fallopian tubes and into the uterus where the baby grows until it is time to be born. She's so smart and such a sponge, how can I not teach her when she is so inquisitive? The answer is I can't. Some adults would shy away at the very mention of fallopian tubes but we think we are better expalainers than the internet or other less matter-of-fact sources she may someday encounter!
For those of you that don't like the idea of talking in real terms, I'll spare you the details of her breastfeeding momment from last Sunday when she decided that her baby doll was hungry and needed some "mother's milk" in the middle of sacrament meeting!

Dodge Ball 2007

A few years ago Derek and a few guys from the hospital started playing dodge ball in the annual dodge ball tournament in Spanish Fork. Originally they just subbed for a couple of players on their friend's family team but since have played on "Team X" made up of the X-ray crew he works with.
Spanish Fork takes their dodge ball pretty seriously, except when it comes to the refereeing, so sometimes it's a little scary to watch but it is fun. It's amazing that grown men (mostly) have such a hard time being honest and obeying rules. I was pleased that Derek managed himself so well!
Here is a picture of the team after they were through. Maybe some of you can actually catch their games on Spanish Fork cable. Derek's sister, Pam, saw a little of last year's game as she was flipping channels!

Very Cool Web Site

Yesterday during Relief Society the teacher told us about a really cool web site that helps you schedule your scripture reading if you have trouble getting to it. It also sends you your daily reading assignment according to the time line you have chosen with the complete text as well as an audio option. This site also has a place where you can journal. I think it is cool (although somewhat pathetic that it takes an email reminder to do something so simple, but it does help those of us who need a little help). I'm going to try it. I actually just set up my own account and it was really easy.

I can't get the link thing to work but here is the site address: www.readthescriptures.com

Michael Anne's 1st Talk

Today Michael Anne gave her first talk in Jr. Primary. When the lady called to ask her to speak I asked Michael to answer the question "Why are you grateful for your membership in The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints?" Her talk was composed entirely of her answers to this question and went like this...
"I am thankful for my membership in The Church of Jesus Christ because I like sharing time, it is so much fun singing. I like to learn about Book of Mormon stories. I am thankful for Jesus because he tells us to go the right way. He's a good boy, He's so helpful and so cute. Sunbeams is fun, you get to talk about Jesus and they are so nice to you. I am thankful that I will be baptized when I am 8 and that our family will be together forever. Church knows what's good for you. Church teaches me how to be a good girl. In the name of Jesus Christ Amen."
She did a fabulous job! We are very proud of our little girl. She loves church and is a good example to us all.
Next week she will participate in the ward primary program by singing and saying "I am trying to be like Jesus by being a really good girl at school." (Which, as many of you know, she has been working really, really hard at. Some may expect a more "churchie" answer like praying or family home evening or reading the scriptures, but like her talk I figured it ought to be heartfelt and real, not made up by mom or dad)
After church I told her that I would write her talk out off of the post-it-notes I wrote it on as she answered the question and put it in her journal for her so that she could show it to her children when they give their first talks. She quickly said to me, "Okay mom, but I will let them say their own words for their talk." I'm glad that she is learning to make the Gospel personal and meaningful to herself even at her young age, otherwise what good is it.
Today was a very good day. I feel very blessed.

"Ahh...bedtime...but I'm not tired!"

Like many children, almost every night Michael Anne fights going to bed at least a little bit. So rather than fight with her we let her read or draw a little after prayers have been said. Last night she told me "but Mom, my body just isn't tired yet!" Here are a few funny pictures of her attempts to stay awake just a little longer.


(By the way, if you are wondering why she's sleeping on a make-shift bed on the floor it is because she likes it there much better than her perfectly good bed upstairs in her very own perfectly good room!)

A Few More Halloween Pictures

Michael Anne's school is amazing! They had a parade on the afternoon of Halloween and then I took Michael up to Daddy's work to trick-or-treat at the hospital. It was pretty fun and she was so cute. She even did her witch cackle for everyone and tried out her favorite line, "Trick or Treat, smell my feet, give me something good to eat...but don't really smell my feet!" She got really good at this as we went from house to house later that night.

Happy Halloween!

Here is our pretty little witch! You can't see most of her costume in this picture but I'll post another tomorrow. She is so excited!!! Tonight we are going to a Halloween carnival at her school. I'll post more pics of that too. BOO!

What a big girl!

We got our first overnight snow last night so Michael and I were out in the garage looking for her snow clothes and stumbled across this little outfit.
It was my cheerleading uniform from the one time I was a cheerleader back in 1984 (4th grade, approximately 9 years old)! It is a little big on her but it sure is cute!!!
Here's a cheer for you all: "Good, Better, Best. We'll put you to the test! The better you are the better we'll be. We're the BEST!!!" GO CLAYTON COWBOYS!!!! Can you believe I've remembered that all these years?!? I remember our routine for half time too, it was set to the song from Footloose "Let's here it for the Boy." Ahhh, the memories!

Witch's Night Out @ Gardner Village

Tonight I decided to take Michael Anne by Gardner Village on a whim, thinking it would be fun to walk around the shops for 30minutes or so looking at the Halloween displays. Boy was it fun!! It turned out to be a huge event, it was the annual "Witch's Night Out" and there were witches everywhere!!! Old witches, young witches, even a few baby witches and some warlocks too. There was even a scary grim reaper but I shielded Michael so she couldn't see him.
Some of the shops had cool free stuff like a fake witch finger with a long red fingernail and spider rings. Michael's favorite shop had an older witch sitting in a rocking chair telling stories and jokes. Michael loved her and her pet toad. The witch lady who told us her name but all I can remember is that her initials spelled H.A.G., said she had had a husband but preferred her toad instead. Here's one of her jokes that Michael Anne memorized almost instantly..."What do you call a witch at the beach? A sand-witch!" Hah! Here's another and my personal favorite..."Why did the demon and the ghoul hangout together? Because a demon is a ghoul's best friend!"
After a while we got some dinner there, a delicious bread bowl of potato soup, which we shared while sitting on the grass during the witch parade.
It was such a fun and relaxing Mommy & Michael evening! I loved every moment of it and she did too. I think we will make this a yearly outing, just the two of us, oops..I mean the three of us! Unless grandmas, aunts and girl cousins would like to come along...that would be great too. (actually there were plenty of little boys too)
We stayed from about 6:00 to 9:30 it was so fun!
Here is a picture of Michael Anne in her witch hat and her favorite witch, HAG, the storyteller.

I just couldn't wait any longer...

Friday night Derek took me into work with him and we went over to the ultrasound dept. and they slipped me in for a quick look at our baby!!
I was so excited because waiting until Nov. 1st just seems like forever away! It was pretty cool to finally see the little tike. It was so fun to watch it move all around and to see its little heart beating away.
Here are a few pics. of the baby. Isn't it the cutest thing!!



And


It's a GIRL!!!

In case you can't tell, the arrow is pointing to a lack of boy parts. Some have mistaken the arrow for a boy package.

When I told Michael Anne that she was right, that the baby is a girl she started jumping up and down saying "The baby is another one of me! It's a girl! I knew it was a girl!" She surely did know, but there was no sign of twins. She seemed okay with that since she'll get her baby sister!!

We are thrilled and excited to start thinking about names more. It is so fun to have another baby on the way.

Was it the cold medicine?

Well, our little Michael Anne has been a wonderful angel at school! Her teacher has given her outstanding reviews and today commented that she can't believe the difference in her behavior.
I'm wondering if she got a week's dose of some of that recalled cold medicine! Whatever it was, or wasn't, I am so thankful that she is doing well. She is a real sweetheart and she makes our lives so full and fun and meaningful. She is a good daughter.

Yeah! She did it again!!!

Here is a picture of my Good Girl!!!
After a great report from her teacher, Michael Anne earned a chance to go to the dollar store with mommy & pick out any one thing she wanted most of all. She picked clay and is at the present moment enjoying herself immensely! I'm so proud of her. She is making great improvements and is so thrilled to make her parents happy...let's hope & pray that this lasts through the next 17+ years!

These are the Days of Our Lives...

So lately we've been trying to keep Michael Anne in school. She goes to a Montessori preschool and they almost kicked her out! She is a good girl, as three year olds go, but she's too clever & knows how to play games that aren't so fun for her teachers. Thankfully she behaved VERY well yesterday. We had to bribe her with going to Red Lobster for dinner. She loves to eat macaroni & cheese with a crab claw! It is hilarious. :) Now we're working on long term good-girl behavior. She does really good school work but has a hard time with napping and rascaling the other kids while they are sleeping! So, Mom & Dad joined us and we had a really fun night with her as the center of attention, which I need to give her more of.

Today we are going on a little outing between Gen. Conference sessions to Gardner Village to see the Halloween decorations and have a tasty sampling of fudge from their candy shop. It will be fun.

My belly is getting bigger these days. My belly button is beginning to poke out too! It's pretty fun to be pregnant, aside from being sick a lot. Monday I stayed home from work because I was so sick. Derek took me to the insta-care to make sure I wasn't getting too dehydrated. They hooked me up to a few bags of i.v. juice and added some anti nausea meds. Unfortunately I had an allergic reaction to the nausea medicine and began jerking all over. It was weird to feel out of control. So then they pumped me full of Benadryl to stop the reaction. It was a fun time...I'm okay now though.

I can't stand waiting to find out if this is a girl or boy! Michael thinks it is either a girl or both, one of each. Who knows, but I WANT to know so badly that I've tried to enlist Derek into getting one of his ultrasound buddies to slip me in for a quick look at the baby's gender. So far it hasn't happened but I keep the topic alive as much as possible! Otherwise, I'm scheduled for the regular 20 week ultrasound on Nov. 1st...so far away!!!!

Some of my friends like to wait for the "Congratulations, you have a ______!" at the birth, but as for me I need to know asap. I think it helps me feel closer and more connected to the little life inside of me. That and I do have a bit of a problem with getting stressed out over the unknown or unplanned, yeah, I know that's kind of a problem when you're a mom since so much is inherently unplanned!!! Anyhow, I'm anxiously awaiting the big news. Half way in or at the end it is still a wonderful and amazing surprise!!!

My Celebrity Look-a-Likes

Surprisingly to me none of these matches are the one I usually get pegged for. I even used an older (less chubby) picture too!

Yesterday afternoon Michael Anne and I headed down to Provo to the Bean Life Science Museum. She always has a great time there. I love it because it is nice and cool, it's a great place to teacher scientific names and things about the animals and where they live, and it's free! After finding all the animals on the sheet they give the little kids we spent some time exploring other things and then headed outside to look for ducks.

We found some ducks and even some ducklings down below the Bell Tower. Some kids were wading in the cool water so we decided to take our shoes off and have some fun too. The water was so refreshing and freezing cold which was a nice treat on a 100+ degree day!!!

I love this picture, isn't she beautiful!

Happy Independence Day!

Happy 4th of July

I hope you all had a nice holiday. This holiday, along with Thanksgiving, is one of my favorites. Sitting out on our porch overlooking the valley reminded me a lot of sitting on the front lawn of Fort Clayton and watching the fireworks display beyond the canal.
Nothing beats the 4th of July on a military base, especially overseas!
I am so grateful for our service men and women, past and present. Especially my brothers and their families, THANK YOU ! ! ! ! ! ! !

Love, Julie

Funny Things I thought My Family Owned...

This morning I was looking at Ann's blog. Along with a hilarious photo of naked protesting butts was a picture of her husband, Brian, and their little boy, Colin, arriving home after a day out. The caption to this photo went like this..."Home again, home again jiggedy jig." This sent me into a flurry of nostalgia as every time we arrived home my mother would make us all laugh by singing "Home again, home again rigga jig jig!" I now do this with my own family and I was totally surprised to hear a variation of this familiar song from someone else!! I had always thought that this was my mom's own song.

"In the mist of my mind" by Al Sprague to see more of his work visit http://www.panamaart.com/servlet/StoreFront
The house in this painting is just like the one I grew up in at 516 Walter Reed, Fort Clayton, Panama. Ah, the memories!

Since I left the security of my parent's home bound for college so many years ago I have been surprised to learn that so many things I once thought were unique to my family aren't! It is always a funny, yet shocking moment when one of these things hits me. So I thought I'd share a few more with you.

"Hey, what are we doing in that book?"

The first time this happened was when I was in college. Hillary will remember this moment as it occured in her dorm room. She was taking this art appriciation class in which she had to memorize what seemed like hundreds of famous paintings and their artists. I was flipping throught her 6 inch thick book when I came across a picture of my mother and me!!! I couldn't believe what I was seeing. How in the world could that picture of my mother and I in the garden, the picture that hung in my room for so many years, since before I could remember, be here in this textbook? Most of you may know this painting and I thought I did, it was me and my mom, right? Wrong. It was The Two Sisters by Auguste Renoir. I don't care who they really are, they are still my mom and me!

"Hey, they're singing our song!"

Another funny moment came when I was attending a BYU football game. The Cougars had just scored a touchdown and in keeping with Cougar tradition we all jumped to our feet and began singing the fight song chorus...which until that point I was unfamiliar with...or so I thought. To my total shock and surprise the entire stadium began singing my mom's wake up song! "Rise and shout the Cougars are out..." WHAT? Every morning from the dawn of my birth my mother had woken me up to this fun little ditty. How in the world did all of these people know her song? I was baffled! Incidentally, I now sing this to Michael Anne every morning too! Now Michael shouts "Go Cougars, Woot Woot!!!" on command, she is quite the BYU fan! I always tell her that SHE is my Alma Mater's daughter.

Chorus: Rise and shout, the Cougars are out along the trail to fame and glory. Rise and shout, our cheers will ring out As you unfold your victr'y story. On you go to vanquish the foe for Alma Mater's sons and daughters. As we join in song, in praise of you, our faith is strong. We'll raise our colors high in the blue And cheer our Cougars of BYU.

"The "Holy War"

5 Years in Review...Happy Anniversary to Us!!!

I love you Derek!!! Thanks for all the happy memories. I have enjoyed our lives together and I am looking forward to the rest of forever together! Thank you to all of our friends and families for helping us through. We love an appreciate you so much.

Another Attempt to Dress Herself

This morning Michael came running into our room asking for her Sunday shoes to go with this lovely outfit she had put together! I am always amazed at her sense of style, especially since sometimes she has a total freak out if she isn't matching from head to toe!!

Our little Princess

Isn't she beautiful! Grandma Church couldn't imagine a little girl without dress up clothes, and now we can't either! She has so much fun and dresses up in her "wedding dress" and then she asks us to marry her. The wedding consists of dancing and singing (usually - "I know you" from Sleeping Beauty) and then we kiss and she runs off to get our baby. Then we feed the baby and play house. It is quite fun!!

Summer Hiking

The week after school got out Michael, Mommy, & Daddy went hiking. Michael met moss for the first time and we also saw a chipmunk! This was a fun escape from the valley heat!

What a style she has...

Michael Anne dressed herself today and she will NOT let me change her clothes!

Poached Picture

I think this is the greatest picture, stolen from my friend's blog. Her husband is a professional opera singer and they have just moved to Mexico for a while. Anne took this photograph somewhere in Mexico, to see the original picture click on her blog... www.stuckihouse.blogspot.com She is an incredible photographer!
Someday you will understand...

Fun Picture from Moving In

Swimming Fun

Michael loves the summer and swimming is a real treat!

Happy Father's Day

This Father's Day was pretty fun. Michael Anne was especially excited to give her Daddy a special gift. One day while we were driving along a truck hauling a boat pulled up next to us. Michael said to me, "Mom, look a boat!" "Let's get Dad a boat!" While I would love to get Dad a boat it is one toy we'll have to put off for now. But Michael really wanted to get her dad a boat so she settled for a project and a card which she made all by herself (except for the cutting out of some pieces).

Summer Time Fun

Michael & I went to the park the other day. After playing and making new friends it was time for a snack. Michael brought along an apple and really enjoyed eating it. My phone takes pretty bad pictures but here one is, it was really cute.

The next picture is of Michael playing in the rain. The first few days of our summer vacation were cold, gloomy and very rainy. We got sick of it and decided to go out to play anyway!

The Girl's a Genius

I thought I'd get in a little catch up time on the email and Miss Michael Anne decided that would be the best time to climb up behind me on the chair and cover my head with a blanket. Needless to say it was pretty annoying but she kept at it. Finally I asked her to stop it because it was bothering me. To this she replied, "It won't hurt so much if you cooperate!" Well, what do you say to that? I suppose she's learned an important lesson, no doubt from getting her hair brushed! She's such a sweet little goof ball. I love being a mom!!

"Yea, all things which come of the earth, in the season thereof, are made for the benfit and the use of man...

both to please the eye and to gladden the heart; Yea, for food and for raiment, for taste and for smell, to strengthen the body an to enliven the soul. And it pleaseth God that he hath given all these things unto man; for unto this end were they made to be used, with judgment, not to excess, neither by extortion." Docterine & Covenants 59:18-20

I did a really enlightening thing a few weeks back. In my classes at school we had been studying ecology and current issues related to it. First may I say that it is our personal responsibility to take care of this beautiful planet that we were given stewardship over...and if you don't like a particular political party or person you should STILL support programs that contribute to the health of our home.
Anyhow, I invited the Salt Lake County Landfill to my classroom and it was a very eyeopening experience. Do you know that a landfill is very different from a dump. Landfills are scientifically constructed to protect ground water and the air. The methods they employ to take care of our trash are innovative and very necessary. They even capture the methane gas from decaying garbage and use it to power 2000 homes in Murray. What was really fascinating and inspiring is the fact that they actually do not let the garbage decompose because of the environmental contamination that can result through the process. So what that means is that every scrap of trash that we pitch into our garbage cans goes straight to the landfill to be smashed and buried forever! They actually pulled a newspaper from the landfill with the publishing date of 1969 and it was completely readable!
Another couple inspiring tid bits of info...milk jugs can be recycled to make fake wood which does not weather over time. And soda bottles can be recycled to make fleece sweaters. The Patagonia company uses 25 2L bottles to produce one sweater. Tin cans come from borax which is mined overseas and imported, so don't just through away soup cans!
Now, this all brings me to my original post which stated that I haven't been a fan of cloth diapers in the past, but with this on my conscious I have been considering the more friendly poop catchers...that is if/when (let's hope "when")I have another child.
In addition, we have been recycling everything we can at home and it is amazing how little "trash" we generate. We set out our garbage can maybe every other week. It makes me feel good to know I'm doing my part.
One of my students stated it best on their unit test..."It is awesome that I can make such a big difference with such little effort." It really doesn't take much extra effort but we can do so much good! Try it, it's fun!!

The Easter Egg Hunt

Michael Anne had a great time hunting for and collecting Easter Eggs. You can see her basket full of beautifully colored eggs.
This morning the Easter Bunny brought her a toy chicken that winds up and then walks along pooping gum balls. She loved it so much that she used up all of the gum balls pretty quickly. Next she decided to fill it with m&ms. They are much smaller so each time it defecated it dropped several m&ms. Michael said the chicken had diarrhea and it tasted like yummy chocolate! ooh gross!!!