The Holidays Are Over!

Well, we woke up to a wonderful surprise this morning. It's been storming (rain) ever since yesterday morning but throughout the night it turned into snow and everything in Bagdad is covered! I love it. Except for the fact that I'm supposed to drive to my last doctor appointment today and Prescott's weather is much worse. Hopefully I can still go.

Our Christmas was very laid back and quiet. It was really nice and we had a good time with our boys, but it did feel slightly empty without the Meyers and the Coltharps. The Meyers were originally going to come and then couldn't, so we sure missed them. But It was still great starting the traditions we love with our little guys and seeing their excitement.

Christmas Eve we went to Prescott and had dinner at Golden Corral, and decided to make it a yearly tradition. I guess you can call it our "Christmas dinner," except we weren't going to have a Christmas dinner anyway. Instead, we just got a lot of fun snack foods (shrimp, jalapeno poppers, lit'l smokies, etc.) and had them out all day on Christmas day. The older couple at the table next to us was very friendly and was chatting it up with our boys the whole time and when we got to talking to him we found out he was a retired Pastor who was trying to spread the word that night about Christ and the real reason for the season. He even gave us something similar to what we, as Mormons, call a pass-along card. It definitely added to the Christmas spirit.

Then we headed over to the Courthouse, where all the trees were decorated in lights, and walked around the grounds. There's a HUGE, ancient pine tree in the front that was all decked out in flashing lights and had speakers in the branches playing Christmas music, so Sam and Josh (along with a bunch of other tiny kids) had a blast running around and dancing beneath it. I'm still kicking myself that I didn't bring the camera.

When we got home that night we let them open one present (their new pajamas, of course), we put out milk and a frosted sugar cookie for Santa, sent the kids to bed, and then Santa came and left his spoils.

The boys on Christmas Eve in their new PJ's.

Their many gifts...


When the boys woke up that next morning, Sam was SO excited to run out and find so many presents. We got his reaction on video, so click HERE if you want to see it. And don't mind my voice...I woke up that morning with a nasty cold, which at the time I thought was just allergies...until by the middle of the day I felt like someone threw a brick at my face. Anyway, They loved opening their presents, but Josh, being the age he is, started losing interest very quickly and needed a little help getting going. He kept getting distracted by the goodies and the orange in his stocking and I think was more interested in wanting to eat those most of the time. But Sam's excitement was contagious and Josh caught most of it.

Starting the journey...

Their Toy Story toys. Sam swears they come to life when we aren't around and gets excited when going to bed at night because he knows they're alive in his toy drawer.

T-ball set from Grandma and Grandpa Coltharp. Hopefully we can get Sam ready for when he starts in the Spring!

Opening their Hotwheels.

Wearing the hats from the Stewarts! They also gave us a little tool set with a drill and a saw, and as soon as Sam opened the first thing from them, he screamed, "Uncle Brand's hats!"

Sam opening his Hotwheels track from Grandma and Grandpa Coltharp, and Josh after opening a CD from Grandma and Grandpa Meyers.


Opening the Home Depot workbench...and Josh getting distracted once again by his treats...


They loved their gifts from Santa and both sets of Grandparents. And thanks to some hand-me-down toys that Sam and Josh loved every time they went to the Stewart's house (yes, I wrapped them because I'm cheap, okay), they had quite the load of gifts. HERE is another video of them opening their Hotwheels cars (one of their favorite gifts and the things they play with more religiously than anything else). The fighting over those had started almost immediately that morning, and continues just as bad today. They each got their own ten pack, but that doesn't stop Sam from thinking he deserves to play with ALL of them. I'm still working on how to get him to share with his brother, since it seems to be his biggest challenge.

Playing with their Hotwheels as soon as opening presents was over. I think Josh was just excited to have his very own, finally.



But the thing that Sam got the most excited about, the thing that he's been asking Santa for for the last three months, was his remote control car (truck). So, of course, we saved that one for last. HERE is the priceless video of him opening it.

The aftermath, and Dave putting the batteries in Sam's RC truck.

Josh on the slide from Grandma and Grandpa Meyers. He LOVES this thing and spent most of that day on it. And of course, just as I predicted, they love rolling their cars down it...and fighting over it.


Then, after all the presents were opened, we went over to the Sipes's house for breakfast pizza (DELICIOUS) and the boys had fun playing with Clint and Douglas's new toys. Thanks, Tara, for the food! Then the rest of the day was pretty lazy for us, and pretty exciting for the boys as they spent it playing with all their toys. I also cleaned their room really good earlier that week and packed away some old toys, threw some away, and put all the rest in their room. So our family room is toy-free! Woo-hoo! It's very nice. That way we could put their new toys in their room. Yes, they do bring them out in the family room a lot, especially the Hotwheels--and the slide from Grandma and Grandpa Meyers is currently out there--but other than that, the mess stays in their room.

Sam's cool Hotwheels track that attaches to tables.

Josh playing with the Toy Story toys and eating his Christmas orange (and half of Sam's).


Also, ONE WEEK from today is my induction! Crazy! I have mostly everything ready, except for the last few things that need to go in Dave and I's overnight bag, the boys's overnight bag, and in the emergency roadside kit for the car (in case I go into labor before the induction and don't make it to the hospital). I also have to say thanks to some amazing friends who were so willing to volunteer to take the kiddos for us when we have the baby--Tara and Lydia, you guys are lifesavers and we'd be SOL without you!

And I just have to mention that I'm looking out the window right now and there's a blizzard...IN BAGDAD!! :)

I'm dreaming of a white Christmas!

...I really am. Not the soggy, wet, rainy one we've been having all week. But that comes with the territory I guess. A lot to update on! First of all, I want to apologize to everyone for not doing a Christmas card this year. I usually love doing them, but these last couple of months have been sort of crazy and I just didn't have enough time or motivation. So, to everyone out there...MERRY CHRISTMAS! And thanks to everyone who has sent us cards/pictures/newsletters. I absolutely love getting them.

We are getting really excited for Christmas in our house! Anytime we talk about it, Sam gets so giddy he nearly loses his breath! I love it! Christmas just isn't the same when you're an adult, but having little kids who look forward to it brings back some of the same feelings I felt when I was little. I absolutely LOVE that they (mostly Sam) are getting into it. The anticipation of Santa and presents... I just love it. I have had more fun with getting their gifts and wrapping them this year than ever before. It's the first year Sam has actually asked for things and has had an understanding of the holiday and Santa, so it's the first year we will be doing the whole Santa thing.

We are extremely bummed/sad/disappointed that the Meyers will not be with us this year like we thought, but we are going to do our best to replicate the holiday we usually spend with all our family and enjoy it as the tiny family we will be this year, all on our own. We are going to have a little Christmas Eve thing and let the boys open one present (their PJ's of course) and then when they're in bed, "Santa" will come and leave all their presents under the tree.

And I've been talking about the excitement of Santa and presents, but of course we have not forgotten what the season is all about. On Christmas Eve we will be doing a "lesson" about the birth of the Savior and I'm sure, along with all Sam has been learning at church, he will love it.

Speaking of Sam and church, Sam will be starting Sunbeams in two weeks! I cannot believe my BABY will be in Primary! Crazy! He has been going for half the time the past couple of weeks so he can ease into it and the Sunbeams teacher has told us he is one of the most reverent in the class. It doesn't surprise me. Our little Sam has always been so grown-up and seems way too old for nursery now. Josh will miss his brother in there, but he's so independent now I'm sure he will be just fine.

And since this is considered our "Christmas card," I'll give updates on everyone. Josh is still our little runt of a fighter and loves to rough-house. Sam doesn't always appreciate it, but Daddy sure loves it. Hopefully he doesn't try to rough up Luke too much. Between him and the cat, I'm a little worried. But Josh is also very lovable and loves giving hugs and kisses, and loves his fuzzy stuffed elephant he sleeps with every night. One of my favorite things to see is him cuddling and hugging it, just like Sam does with all his "buddies" (his little stuffed animals he carries with him everywhere and sleeps with).

Josh is still extremely slow on his speech. Actually, he has hit a wall and isn't really progressing at all. He says things like "uh-oh" and "ouch," and makes sounds, but he will not say a single word voluntarily, never calls anything by name, and when he does "talk," it's just pointing and a low grunting that all sounds the same. He will only repeat a word you want him to say about 20% of the time, and when he does, most of the time it doesn't even sound like the word. Mostly when you urge him to say even the simplest word, he just does his Joshie grunt.

Last time I talked about this I mentioned one of our concerns was the possibility of fluid in his ears, which is a common thing for little kids who aren't talking. They put tubes in their ears and--wa-la--they start talking. But Josh had his last evaluation two days ago with the Arizona Early Intervention Program to determine the level of his need and they did the hearing test and it came back that Josh hears beautifully, with no interference. So once they get scoring back from their tests, we will determine what he needs done, if any at all. They told me that even without the results, they're pretty sure from their observances that he will need some sort of speech therapy, because it's very clear that he wants to communicate and talk, but can't properly. And by this age, he should be showing some sort of progress. As I mentioned before, he is scoring very high in every other area, which we are happy about, but just needs some help in communication. So we will be finding out the results to that in the next couple days and let everyone know!

The pregnancy is...still going. Physically, I am VERY ready for it to be over. I'm huge and stretched beyond my bounds, can barely move, and have constant feet/hands in my ribs. But in every other way I feel so unprepared. I have absolutely nothing ready that needs to be ready and have SO much to get done in the next two weeks before I deliver. It's actually quite overwhelming, especially because our family has been hit with the wretched flu and it's been making its rounds to each of us, therefore halting my progress on accomplishing anything around the house. There is so much to do, I don't even know where to start. So until I have everything accomplished that needs to be done, I will in no way feel ready to have this baby. So during the next two weeks I will be doing all I can so that when it's time for Luke to come, it's as stress-free as possible!

And yes, I did say two weeks (two weeks from tomorrow, actually). After much contemplation and prayer, we have decided to follow the doctor's urging and get induced. At my appointment yesterday we scheduled it for Thursday, January 6. That's only five days before my due date, and I had both Sam and Josh five days before my due date, so I wanted to do it a couple days before that, just to be safe, but that was the soonest that week that either of my OBs will be available to deliver.

We had a lengthy conversation with my doctor yesterday about the procedure and how it works, and that helped ease my fears a little, since all I had to go on before was other people's opinions, but I am still nervous. Just because every woman is different and every labor is different, and I have no idea how it will go for me or what to expect. I'm hoping that since I'll be at the point I was at when I had my other children, when they break my water my body will be so ready that labor will start immediately...and happen normally and move at a quick pace.

But that's just my prayers. I have no idea what will happen and I do know that anything is possible and I need to be prepared for anything...even a higher amount of pain that could lead me to getting an epidural, which every fiber of my being is turned off to (just going from past experience).

Also, I need to be prepared for the fact that because it's scheduled five days before, I could very likely go into labor on my own before that...which would be GREAT and ideal...IF I could get to the birthing center in time.

For any of you who don't know why I was thinking about induction in the first place, it's because of how far we live from the birthing center/hospital. The hospital used to be about an hour and fifteen minutes away, but since I've had Josh the birthing center moved and now it's almost a two hour drive. When I went into labor with Josh it went very quickly and I made it to the hospital just in time. And those things coupled with the fact that with each baby your labors usually move more quickly, my doctor strongly urged it.

We went back and forth, and for a while I was so set on letting it all happen naturally and when it "wanted" to that I kept telling myself that "as long as I leave at the very first sign of labor, I'll be just fine." But I know women in my situation have said that before and weren't so lucky. So even though I didn't want to "force" labor to start when my body wasn't ready and didn't want to up the chance that I'd need medication, etc., more than anything I don't want to have my baby on the side of the road. So after weighing it out, we realized that the "risks" of induction are far more acceptable than the safety risks of not being able to make it to the birthing center in time.

So that's that. And yesterday we took a tour of the new birthing center and I am extremely impressed. I loved it. SO much better than the old hospital. I love that it's very family oriented and they promote baby staying with mom and dad all the time. They do EVERYTHING in the room with you and only take the baby out for the circumcision (if you want one). It's just one nice room you stay in the whole time (LDR all in one room) and there is even a bed for Dave to sleep on instead of the uncomfortable pull-out chair. I also love their attitude of breastfeeding and their belief that as soon as the baby is born, he needs to be placed skin-to-skin, etc. It's also very quiet and low-stress--quite a different feel from the hospital I gave birth to Josh at. So, all-in-all I'm trying to stay positive and think it will be a good experience!

That's all that's going on with us for now. I will post again after Christmas, most likely with pictures. :)

Thanksgiving in Colorado

We spent this last week or so in Colorado and as usual, it went by way to quick. One minute we were anxiously driving there and the next we were grudgingly driving home. But it was so much fun and so good to spend time with family. It was very needed. The week was really busy and packed full of fun things, like going to the museum, but even the downtime and spending quality time with family at Grandma Culling's cemetery were memorable. We even took the kids to see Santa at the Streets of Southglenn (the picture above).

For Thanksgiving, Dad and Mom Coltharp, Mike and Heather Lee, and Jonah came to the Meyers and we had one giant dinner together. I have to say, personally, that I was a fan of that because I don't usually like going back and forth to two different dinners. But it was lots of fun and the food was fabulous!

We went Black Friday shopping, of course, that night and early the next morning, and though I felt it the day afterward, it was well worth it because we got EVERYTHING on our list. Now the kids' Christmas shopping is done, and even Dave and I got a little something we wanted. I've been wanting a Dyson for years and finally found a good enough deal on one (Yay! Death to our old Bissel!), and Dave, being inspired by his beautiful, talented younger sisters, decided he wanted to take up guitar. So he bought one, and he is determined to learn! He actually has to learn a Christmas song by the time the Meyers come for Christmas in a few weeks. He says he was guilted into it, but he likes having goals. :)

The next few weeks will be crazy busy for me. I have no idea, actually, how I will do all I have to do. I am due in less than 6 weeks (if it goes like the other two), so I have the next 3 weeks to get all the baby stuff ready (I have NOTHING done), then the Meyers will be here (CAN'T WAIT!!), then before I know it, I will be about to pop. Literally. I can't imagine how I will get any bigger than I already am.

Anyway, I was HORRIBLE at taking pictures when in Colorado (I think I took a total of two, and they were of my kids), but thanks to the efforts of other family members, we got some good ones. Here are a few. For more, you can visit my facebook page, where I have many more posted.

At the museum...

Sam LOVED the silly mirror.

Sam telling Santa that he wanted a remote control car for Christmas.

The best family picture we could get, thanks to the cold wind and Josh's crankiness. I know it looks a little awkward. I'm huge.

Mary, Jenni, and Dave playing their guitars (Dave learning).

Mom and Josh in the cemetery.

Zombies and Reptiles

This is my favorite picture from this weekend. Love my little reptiles. This was last night, heading out for trick-or-treating.

Saturday night we had the Halloween carnival for Bagdad and other than the fact that our kids were a tidbit cranky from being sick, it was lots of fun for them. Well, for Sam I should say. I'm not too sure how Josh felt about it. He was pretty enamored with all the costumes and people and just aimlessly wandered most of the time, in his own world. But I love that Sam is at the age where he can really start enjoying the games and things. He wanted to play every one of them and by the end was so tuckered out that he was begging to go home. And I was okay with that because I was already exhausted and hurting from the long day we had in Prescott. But anyway, it was awesome and I really appreciate Becky and all she did to throw it together, and everyone else who pitched in!

My kids slept in the next morning (Sunday/Halloween)...both of them. Which is seriously a miracle. Every once in a while, Josh sleeps in if Sam doesn't wake him up at 6am, but NEVER do they both sleep in...and until 8:45, mind you. MIRACLE. We never set our alarms for church on Sunday morning because we never have to...because our kids are usually up at the crack of dawn (or recently, before dawn). So when we heard Sam's first peep that morning and I turned to the alarm clock and saw the numbers "8:41," I sat straight up, in shock.

So even though we wouldn't have nearly enough time to get us and the kids ready for church (9am), I have to admit it was nice to sleep in. REALLY nice. They were still coughing and had runny noses from being sick so I was leery about taking them to nursery anyway, and I felt like absolute garbage, so at that point we just decided to keep us home. Anyway, that day we watched the NBC comedy shows from last Thursday night on our DVR (Community, the Office, and Outsourced), which were the Halloween episodes, and Sam was SO into Community. It was about all the students at a Halloween party getting some virus and turning into "zombies." Needless to say, it was one of the best Community episodes ever.

But Sam was on the edge of his seat the whole time, yelling things like "Run!" and "Oh no!" and "Mom, did the zombies get them?? Are they zombies now??" When it was over he wearily said, "Mom, I don't like zombies at all." And ever since then he's leery of zombies everywhere.

...And of course one of the first houses we trick-or-treated at last night had some guy dressed like a zombie, popping out at kids on the porch. He had to pull off his mask at one point and assure Sam that he was just a normal guy, because Sam almost started crying. It was actually pretty hilarious. But after that, every single house we came to, I heard, "Are there zombies at this house?"

Other than the fear of zombies, trick-or-treating was a huge success and my kids (and myself) had so much fun. It was the first year Sam was REALLY into it, so I fed off of his enthusiasm. I love being a parent and living through my kids. :)

Anyway, it took Josh a while to catch on to the idea of it, but he eventually did and just loved filling his pumpkin pale with candy. At one house, there was a bowl on the porch with a sign that said, "Take two," and of course Josh freaked out when I pulled him away after two pieces because he wanted to empty the whole bowl into his bucket. But as soon as he realized we were getting candy at the next house, he was fine.

The trick-or-treaters started knocking on our door a little before 6 and after that, it was a constant stream until about 7:30. I was actually surprised. Out of everywhere we've lived, we've never had so many trick-or-treaters. And I think that that's because in most places, people just don't take their kids anymore, whether it's because of other parties or that things just aren't as safe anymore. So I absolutely love that Bagdad is still into it, because it reminded me of when I was a kid!

Anyway, the door wouldn't stop knocking and we decided we wanted to be here to hand out candy, so Dave and I split up. He stayed home and I took the kids by myself. I wanted him there so bad and with the way I was feeling, going alone with them was the last thing I wanted. But I also really wanted to see them trick-or-treat, more than Dave did. So my plan was just to go up one street and back, but when I got out there and got wrapped up in the "spirit" of it, I couldn't stop. There were some cool houses and I just had to take them up the hill, down this street, over this way and that...so we ended up hitting the whole block by our house.

Josh was soooo incredibly slow, and so wrapped up in the crowds of kids in their costumes, that I was literally pulling him along the whole time. Either that or carrying him. Let's just say that wasn't fun for me to do going up the hills. Talk about constant contractions. It was worth it though. Anyway, it was a lot of fun. And by the time we got back to the house (about 7pm), Dave had a show on pause and said he had to have it on constant pause for the last hour because the door wouldn't stop knocking. Our huge bag of candy from Sam's Club didn't last very long, even with us being stingy and only giving one piece.

My kiddos were so cute, too. Josh's dragon costume (formerly Sam's) got so much attention, as usual. It's so adorable. Old Navy sure hit the mark with it.

Well, that's it for now! Here are some pics of the weekend.

My dinosaur fishing with his daddy at the carnival...

Enjoying his prize.

My cute little dragon. And I don't know why this picture turns sideways when I upload it! It did the same thing on Facebook...even though I have it saved on my computer right-side-up.

I tried all night to get a good picture of them together, but Josh was being far from cooperative.

Sam's cool flame that Mandy Schultz painted.

Waiting for their popcorn...

And this was after trick-or-treating last night, winding down with some candy in front of the TV. My two little blond heads.

Pumpkin Carving

We've had a pumpkin sitting here for over a week but haven't had time to sit down as a family and actually carve it. So, seeing how Halloween is two days away, we decided we HAD to make it a priority and do it last night or Sam would be utterly disappointed.

As expected, he was really grossed out by the "insides" and it took us a while to get him to stick his hand inside and clean out the seeds. He kept making faces and saying how gross it was. But we finally got him to do it (and we got it on video...click here), and he was better with it than I thought he would be, seeing how he's my little scaredy-cat who hates being outside of his comfort zone and taking risks.

Josh loved it though. Of course he loved it. He's my child who loves making messes and getting dirty. We also got him on the same video sticking his hand in and smiling and gasping.

*Along with that video is another short one from Vegas last month of the boys at Circus Circus watching the juggler.

Tomorrow night is the community Halloween carnival and we are really excited to take the kids. Sam is SO excited to be a dinosaur. We will take lots of pictures.

Here are a couple pictures from last night. A lot more are posted on my facebook account if you want to see more.

He Is Risen!

Happy Easter everyone! So far, it's been a pretty great weekend. I am grateful for my DVR, because if it wasn't for that, I wouldn't have been able to watch conference much at all, but I've been able to watch every talk. Listening is another story. It's hard to pay complete attention when you have little ones begging for it constantly. But I have loved hearing conference this weekend. I love when Easter falls on conference weekend. The last time I remember this happening was when I was a kid and I have very fond memories of us all lounging in our pajamas and eating Easter candy while we watched conference. Actually, I think it was the same year mom decided to try all sugar-free candy. Needless to say, there was a lot of trips to the bathroom that weekend.

Anyway, this morning Sam was VERY excited to get his Easter toys and Easter candy from the Easter Bunny. We just got the boys a few little cheap toys and then had a mini Easter egg hunt in our backyard. Sam LOVED it and was getting so excited, but Josh wasn't too thrilled. He still doesn't like being on the grass, so he just stood there and sucked on an egg while Sam found them all. I have been trying to remind Sam all day what the real reason for Easter is, and that Jesus was resurrected on this day, but I think all that's going through his mind is money and candy.

Oh, we also had eggs filled with money. He loved that almost more than the candy I think. He loves putting money in his piggy bank.

Then between sessions, Dave and I went shooting with Wes and Mandy Schultz (great way to celebrate Easter, right??) while their daughter, Naomi, watched our kiddos. It was fun, but it just made me realize how much work I still need. Practice, practice, practice.

In about an hour we are going to have Easter dinner with the Schultz's, and if it wasn't for them, we'd be warming up leftovers for dinner tonight.

This last week we had the New Beginnings program in Young Womens and it went well, considering how little time we had to plan it. It was rusty in parts, but the girls really benefited from it, I feel, and that is the most important thing. I really love our girls and love my calling and as they were singing their musical number, I was just overcome with the spirit at how special they are and I realized how much love I have for them. It was so spiritually edifying for me and I'm grateful for serving in the YW program...even though 98% of the time I feel completely inadequate.

I am so grateful for my Savior and that he was resurrected for me and atoned for my sins! I love Him and I am grateful for this holiday that we have to think of Him and remember what He has done.

On Friday, to take advantage of Dave's day off, we spent a lot of the day in Jerome (about 30 mins. North of Prescott). It's an old mining town, so it's "haunted" (ooooooh), and it's such an old, cute, fun little town in the mountains. We ate at a little old place called the Haunted Hamburger and though it was crowded and we waited forever for our food, the food was great. It was a fun day, just for the fact that it was something different from the norm.

Josh is starting to talk now (kind of). He will say mama if I ask him, and dada, and perhaps the cutest is when he says "Hi." It's ADORABLE.

The boys with their Easter baskets, before the eggs.


Dave leading the kids in the direction of the eggs (he had just changed the oil in the car, hence the jumpsuit).



Josh in his permanent place on the lawn.

Staring to cry because he wanted to move...

Chewing on his Easter elephant.

Sam on our new ottoman/coffee table/chest.

Josh at the Haunted Hamburger.