I have been overwhelmed lately by the goodness of the people that are around us.  My kids have been sick for weeks and I have been stressed and worried and worn out.  Not to mention that my poor babies are miserable.  One particular day in the middle of this mess, I had no less than 5 people call me and offer to help me with my kids, my errands, and various other things.  I have had people offer to watch my kids so I could nap or go get groceries.  I have had people offer to go get groceries for me and to take the child who was well so I could take the other one to the doctor.  I have had people offer to bring in meals and teach my Sunday School class for me.  I have flaked out on people because my kids were sick and the reaction was only kindness and love and concern.  I have had doctors in my neighborhood come to my house to check one of my kids because both of them were sick and I just couldn't face dragging them both out the door to the doctor...again.  At the end of all of this, I am left feeling only love and gratitude for the people around me, and I am humbled by the outpouring of compassion for us.  I only hope that I can do the same when someone needs me.

My Babies

Caleb is the sweetest little man.  He smiles constantly and is completely content.  After his traumatic entrance to the world and his illness so early in his life, he has pleased us with his progress.  He is a little eater and is growing like a weed.  He weighs almost 20 lbs.  He started at just over 6 lbs when he was born a month early.  He is 8 months old now and I don't know what we would do without him.  He loves to play on the floor and will just roll and roll and roll.  He is up on his knees ocassionally, and I think he will crawl any day.  He has absolutely no interest in sitting, because that would mean he wasn't moving!  He is a little mama's boy and I don't mind one bit.  He is nice and chubby, so he is squishy and cuddly.  He weighs 3/4 of what Katie weighs, so he is definitely a handful!  I love his big grin and his big green eyes.  We just love our sweet boy and are so thankful he is part of our family. 

Katie will be 3 in April and she is more like 3 going on 16.  She is way too big for her britches.  She is always telling me how funny she is and how silly she is, and she is right.  She is constantly cracking us up.  She is so smart and she can recognize all of her numbers and most of her letters.  She loves to tell us what color everything is.  She is a super-sweet big sister and she adores her baby brother.  She talks baby talk to him that is just hilarious and smothers him with love and kisses.  She loves to read and do puzzles and she is a little bit of a tomboy.  She loves Cars and Toy Story more than princesses and loves to play with balls.  She does, however, have to make sure her socks match and that she has a bow in her hair.  She is a nice mix of tomboy and girlie-girl, which I love.  She is a major daddy's girl and the adoration is mutual.  We are so thankful for our sweet Katie and don't know what we would do without her.

REJOICE!

"He whose birth we commemorate this season is more than the symbol of a holiday. He is the Son of God, the Creator of the earth, the Jehovah of the Old Testament, the fulfillment of the Law of Moses, the Redeemer of mankind, the King of Kings, the Prince of Peace. . . .

"And now, after the many testimonies which have been given of him, this is the testimony, last of all, which we give of him: That he lives!

"For we saw him, even on the right hand of God; and we heard the voice bearing record that he is the Only Begotten of the Father--

"That by him, and through him, and of him, the worlds are and were created, and the inhabitants thereof are begotten sons and daughters unto God."(D&C 76:22-24).

"And we talk of Christ, we rejoice in Christ, we preach of Christ, we prophesy of Christ, and we write according to our prophecies, that our children may know to what source they may look for a remission of their sins."  (2 Nephi 25:26)

We are thankful for our Savior and for what he has done for us.  He has provided a way for us to return to him, if we will take advantage of his Atonement and improve ourselves and repent.  We are thankful for the opportunity to be an eternal family.  We are thankful for the gospel in our life and for the happiness it brings to our home.  We hope you all feel the love of the Savior this Christmas season, and that you can also know that he is the source that we look to for everything we have that is good. 

Family Pictures

Some random pics from our photo shoot today.

My handsome little man

Kate and Maddie at the spray park


Brady let Kate run through our sprinklers one night. It was hilarious!

This is a typical scene at our house these days. Kate has decided that she has to have all of these blankets all the time. I love dragging them around everywhere. Caleb is a little piglet and can't wait more that about one minute for food once he is ready for it. At least I am sitting down!

Tender Mercies

We were very blessed in the days leading up to Caleb being born. The Saturday before we had him my mom and sisters held a baby shower for us. We were given lots of fun gifts, and all of them were things we needed. The next day, on Sunday, I woke up and had a strong feeling that I needed to get all of my laundry done that day. I never do housework on Sunday, but I knew that I was being prompted, so I did it. On Monday I got some things from Amanda that I needed and bought the last few things I needed for him at Wal-Mart. That night I cut Brady's hair and got my hair cut the next night. All of these things were done because I felt an urgent prompting to do them. We had Caleb on Tuesday night at 11:29pm. It was so nice to come home after being in the hospital with a new baby being fully prepared. I didn't even have to worry about getting anyone's hair cut. I recognize that I was prompted to do all of these things. Had they gone undone it wouldn't have been the end of the world. It really wouldn't have mattered much at all. They were all things that could have been done after the baby was born. However, I am so thankful that Heavenly Father knew that I would feel more peace of mind with those things taken care of. It was truly a tender mercy that he extended to us so that we wouldn't have anything to worry about besides taking care of our new baby. It was his way of showing us he loves us and wants us to be happy. I am very thankful for a loving Father in Heaven who takes care of us.

Priceless

3 Months Fertility Drugs: $300
6 IUI's: $600
4 Ultrasounds: $550
Emergency C-Section: $11,000
12-Hour NICU Stay: $3000
OB/GYN Fee: $3000

Our little man: PRICELESS