So I'm thinking of taking a new path

I guess as of late I've been a bit frustrated (more at myself than anyone) that I have been able to see the Lord's hand in everyone elses' life but my own. I may be lacking faith- or just the patience to sit back and look at my life objectively. So as much as I wish I could find time to contribute all the funny stories and cute things that happen on a daily basis on this blog, I think I may just call it quits and start my own life journal online. I am torn by this decision because of I have mixed emotions about the whole thing.
PROs:
1. It's online and therefore free; since books and books of journals without ugly spiral spines are super pricey.
2. No ugly printing! I wish I had applied myself a bit more in grades four and five, because now I am just stuck with this awful writing that looks like a seventh grader wrote it 5 minutes before it was due.
3. I hate writing at the bottom of the page with no hand support! makes the crappy writing that much worse!!
4. I might loose a book, but the Internet is forever, right?!
5. Spell Check.

CONs:
1. As much as I rag on writing by hand, I still love it in some sick way and see it's immense value in culture and development in general.
2. Distractions x 1 billion!! Kids are hard enough as they run around, but with email and facebook a simple click away.... just a sec... I'll be right back.....
3. I will feel like I need to finish an entry once it is started. Wait, isn't that a good thing? Well, kinda, but with pen I can just pick it back up when dinner is made. Getting out the computer out, logging in, blah blah blah, just to finish a couple of sentences. I'm exhausted already!
4. Loss of personalization. Will my grand kids even know what my writing looked like? Will they be scrapbooking random grocery lists of mine just to have a piece of my hand?
5. Should I even bother locking it down as private? I have no idea how to do this blogging thing or how to fiddle with security settings... but then again, what is the worst that could happen? Someone might read that I cried my eyeballs out one afternoon. What mom hasn't?

So that is what is on my mind. Perhaps I will be off to explore this "blogger" thing and see what I can come up with.

I'm lucky I can type this

What a wonderful adventure potty training is!
We've been everywhere from superhero undies to "snakes in the potty," from stickers that change colour when you pee on them to new car soap... but today... Ethan decided that the computer was the place to be while relieving himself this morning. And it was clearly one of those morning pees we all enjoy so much. SO hopefully the urine that dripped off the laptop this morning hasn't caused any major problems. So far so good :)

Erika is reading this!

O my goodness, I should just close this altogether so I can stop pretending that I can blog about life and somehow make it interesting. I will tell you about the poop-fest that occurred this morning. Following a series of time-outs for an unresponsive two-year-old, I was about to cuddle up to me son when I felt a smear of something warm on my arm. Oh, yes, all mothers out there are familiar with this smearing and are laughing to themselves right now and remembering the last time they were pooped on by their offspring. Somehow, his fecal matter had managed to come all the way up his back, out his diaper, onto both of our arms, my shorts, and his ultimate comfort when life is collapsing all about: his blanket.
After running the bath for him (still covered in poop myself), Sariah woke up from her nap, and the missionaries were downstairs in the bathroom/laundry room so I had to wait to do the necessary laundry.
Then my girl was hungry and we were all out of milk. Thank goodness for frozen Eggo waffles. Now I am sure I am the only mother out there feeding her nine-month-old Eggos, but it satisfied her long enough for my husband to valiantly run in with a gallon of milk and run back out.

So I guess I should get my children up from their nap now that I hear Ethan crying "Yucky" followed by some blowing noises. I am afraid, and may not return.
Wish me luck.

A New Year

We are officially the worst bloggers in the world. With that said, I am posting pictures of our beautiful baby girl, Sariah Elizabeth Anne Hull! She was born November 12, 2008 in a quick and dramatic delivery. What fun! We have settled in very nicely together, and she and Ethan have really taken to each other. After 2 1/2 weeks of sleeping in our room, Sariah joined her brother across the hallway into his bedroom. I was a bit nervous at first, but apparently Ethan can sleep right through her cries. Now that she's two months, she doesn't cry anymore and sleeps through the night. Luckily for me, she even naps the same time Ethan does in the morning-- which is the only reason I can find time today to write this :)

Sariah's blessing was two weeks ago, and she managed to stay in her dress all day long.

Her dress was purchased in Italy when Matt and I were backpacking just before grad. It was there that we decided it was the right time to start our family, but of course we didn't get to use it on our first born (Ethan would not have appreciated that 20 years down the road), so it was nice to finally see it on one of our babies.

We are all happy and healthy and are excited for the newest family member born today- Madelyn Peck. Hopefully the Palmers won't be too far behind.

Another update

Well, I never said that I would be consistent! A lot has happened since our last entry:

Summer:
Matthew worked at Rona and we diligently updated our home with the following reno projects: re-finishing and staining our wood floors in both upstairs bedrooms; painting our bedroom and putting in baseboards; painting and putting up moulding in our hallway; installing a fan, light switch, and vanity light in our bath room, as well as a paint job in there; painting the living room; and installing carpet downstairs in both bedrooms and the den-like area.
Since I had no kids to babysit except Ethan, we had a great time going on walks and swimming during the day. To every one's surprise, Ethan really loved the water this summer, so Matt and I are a bit more dedicated to our family date nights at the pool now. Asides from the Branch camp out, we really didn't leave home much at all--it's crazy just how fast two months can go by.

September:

• Employment: After much prayer, Matt went down for an interview in Parksville for a full-time Spanish job teaching grades 9-12. We were all set for the long-distance thing, but after the interview we knew it simply was not the right move. With faith Matt put his name on the substitute teachers list and hoped that somehow we would be able to pay our mortgage. After two weeks, a tech job was posted for the school district, and, although not exactly qualified, Matt applied anyway. They were excited to have a teacher interested in the position because it requires teaching the teachers how to use the tech systems, and Matt was more than happy to accept it! He LOVES the job and I'm sure feels super cool with his company Blackberry and all of the perks he's getting, although I've already claimed the ipod. I'm now babysitting full time for Lisa, and Ethan is really enjoying his friend Rachel's company. Over the summer I could tell he was getting pretty bored of me, so this has been a great change and they are both as cute as ever!



• Family: Pregnancy this time around has been great. I'm almost at week 35 (of 37-41 full term) and I still find enough energy for walks with the kids thanks to a great double stroller my parents got for me. Overall, we are loving the peace of mind this job provides and are looking forward to the new arrival.



• Church: Matt is still branch president! We've made it almost one full year now, and the time really has gone by quickly. We are lamenting the loss of the Simmonds family to Calgary since we both lost councillors. Seminary has started again for the year and with our adapted schedule (Monday, Wednesday, Friday class with Tuesday & Thursday homestudy) I've managed to have enough energy to fulfill my Young Women's calling too- I hope at least. This weekend is General Conference and I am especially looking forward to it this time around.



• Life: Well, dinner awaits and I have three babies and Stephen here, so hopefully soon I can write another update.

Babysitting

Today Ethan played with his friend Rachel and wanted to mimmic nearly everything she did. As she was standing at my side she would point to all of the different creatures on her sippy cup: flower, bug, bee, and butterfly. Ethan then came up to me with his clear sippy, pointed at it, and said, "Baba." I giggled at his very valient and true effort on this one! He is really beginning to understand a lot of social skills; the other night I threw his shirt on top of his head while he was changing, and instead of ripping it off as he usually does, he pranced around the room smiling and laughing out of his side peek hole! We have pictures but I don't have the time right now to upload them. As for me, babysitting is done this week and I get to see my baby this Thursday. What a relief, since I thought it was last week and nearly cried at the office when the nurse told me to come back! So round two it is. We still don't know what the future holds for Matt's job, but we feel confident that something will work out. That's it until Rita visits this weekend and week and I get back from Girls Camp.... There will be a long entry to follow :)

Trying to keep it alive!

I knew that this would be more difficult than I expected! I just got back from a great conference for the United Way in Kamploos and am excited to get working on the new "community impact" strategies for our town. I volunteered as Treasurer a couple of months ago and it feels so good to be involved again after my great BYU-I experiences. As for family, we're still waiting to hear about positions for teaching next year with fewer and fewer classes remaining in this school year. Ethan is officially a "walker" now. About 2 weeks ago he had been using his legs 80% of the time, but now he is up and not going back! We
were so torn between his scooting; it was so cute but wearing on us because there appeared like no end to it. Well we have met that end. What next? I think his speech is getting a lot better with semblances of: please, love you, noodle, teddy, and the frequent and clear "YES." At least he can't tell me no yet! Another fun family fact occurred last week when I got to hear little baby's heartbeat!

These pictures are from Ethan and Mom's date last week!