Time Flies When You're Having Fun

Wow, get back home and real life gets in the way of blog updates somehow. So, while I'm 'on vacation' again in Texas I'll try to do a little blog catching up! When I arrived home about 4 p.m. from Texas after having an unexpected 'sleep over' at the Denver airport on Monday October 17th no one was home, so I started the long overdue process of coloring my hair. Alex and company got home a few minutes before I was supposed to rinse my hair, so I jumped in the shower before he got in the house because I figured my hair would be fried by the time I made it to the shower otherwise! Almost the whole time I was in the bathroom I heard pounding on the door and giggling and hollering 'NANA, NANA' giggle, giggle, giggle, giggle! It was hilarious! I kept hollering back at him and then he'd holler at me again. He left for a few minutes and then came back with Briana. Just as I'd put my underwear and robe on, the door flew open (I hadn't locked it and smart little Alex can now open the doors). Would have been a bit of an embarrassing moment for all of us if it had been a moment sooner! Anyway, it felt good to have such an enthusiastic welcome home committee!

I've got to say I'm super grateful for a wonderful friend who's always willing to substitute for me in my Seminary class. Thank you Jon Snider!! He subs for me short-term, long-term, spur-of-the-moment, etc. My biggest concern 3 1/2 years ago when I accepted the call to teach early morning Seminary was that I wouldn't be able to find subs when I needed them. I have had a number of wonderful friends that have willing volunteered to fill in for me over the years, but Jon has been the most regular and diligent of the them all. He has been a great blessing to me throughout my Seminary teaching career so that I can take time off to attend my daughters' weddings, grandchild births, baby blessings, birthday parties, etc.

We had a super fun Halloween season. It's so nice to have little people around again for the holidays. Alex dressed up as a fireman (he loves having a fire station right across the street from his house) and Emmett was his cute little fire dog.

For family night we all went to one of the local orchards that has a pumpkin patch and hay rides. Unfortunately we went during the week and they only had the hay rides on the weekends.

Alex thoroughly enjoyed picking out pumpkins from the pumpkin patch, but the highlight of the trip was his opportunity to be 'farmer Alex' and 'drive' the tractor that they had setting out for photo ops. He was a super happy camper as long as we let him sit on that tractor. And boy was he mad when it was time to get off of it. Isn't sweet little Emmett adorable with those big blue eyes and that sweet little expression of his?! And I just have to mention that every time I see him in a picture it reminds me of my Dad. Emmett has his great-grandpa Larkin's ears!

Later Darvin, Briana, Alex and I had some pumpkin carving fun. Pops was in charge of the first 'attack'. After some initial intrepidation at the prospect of sticking his hands in the pumpkin innards, Alex soon decided it was great fun to pull out the slimy, seedy pumpkin brains! I had downloaded Lighting McQueen & Tow Mater templates, so Briana and I got to work. Alex was thoroughly pleased

with the results.

Parting Is Such Sweet Sorrow

Can I just mention that my heart was broken this morning? Jackson and his daddy drove me to the airport. As I got out of the car I opened the back door to give Jackson a hug and kiss. He had the most worried expression on his face and as I leaned over to give him a kiss and tell him goodbye he grabbed my arm and started crying. I explained to him that I'd be coming back very soon and would bring Pops with me, but he would NOT let go of me! It broke my heart to have to pull away from him and leave! It still makes me cry just to think about it!

And now I'm officially 'stuck' at the Denver airport. I LOVE that we can fly standby via Ashley's employee benefits, but it's always a bit dicey to know if you'll be able to get on flights. I don't know what I was thinking trying to fly standby on a Sunday. So note to self, "Don't ever try to fly standby on the weekend!" Would have been better if I'd been 'stuck' in Dallas so I could go back and play with the grandbabies some more!! Lesson learned! There's an outside chance that I'll be able to get home (to Seattle not Yakima) by about 11 p.m. tomorrow! Good Times!

So Sad, Heading For Home In The Morning

I'm so sad I have to leave for home in the morning. I'm just getting to know this new little grandbaby of ours! I sure will miss little Bryn, her big brother Jackson and her big sister Karlee. It's been fun to teach Jackson some new 'tricks'! He's quite proficient at winking, blowing kisses and giving kisses now and he mastered the art of climbing the ropes on his 'jungle gym' by himself to get to the top of his slide and then slide down it by himself. I couldn't get a good picture of his wink, so will have to wait until we come back for Bryn's baby blessing and if nothing else, I'll video tape it!

Yep, She Waited For Her Photo Op!

Jackson's idyllic 19 month life as the center of attention and only little person in the household was brought to a screeching halt around 4:30 this morning when his peaceful silent slumber was pierced by a horrendous howling sound that he was sure MUST be a nightmare! It was actually his new baby sister, Bryn Nora Chatwin. After sleepily watching and listening to the noise box for a time he was persuaded to rock-a-bye with his Nana before laying back in his crib.

Erin had some sporadic contractions yesterday evening which turned into regular ones around 10:30 p.m. The midwife and Russ's Mom Joni were called around 11:30 p.m. Joni came to stay with sleeping Jackson while Erin, Russ and I met the midwife at the birthing center at 12:20 a.m. Erin was 3-4 cm dilated at that point and 100% effaced. Although Erin was experiencing extreme back labor (which was relieved to a point by some major hip holding during contractions by Russ-thanks to the midwife for the instructions) she made the labor seem like a piece of cake. She wanted to have a water birth, but the tub almost didn't get filled in time! When it was finally filled the baby was ready to be born, so Erin got into the tub had another contraction or two and pushed that little girl out! Bryn was born at 1:22 a.m. and was 8 pounds 3 ounces, 20 inches long, head 14 cm. No trip to the hospital needed for that little girl, she definitely has a healthy pair of lungs, she likes to eat and look at all that hair! Yep, she must have been waiting for the camera to make her debut!

Nothing, Nada, ZIP!!

So, for enquiring minds NO Erin has not had the baby yet (yes she's at 40 weeks plus 4 days or 41 weeks plus 2 days depending on who you're listening to)!!! We PROMISE to let you know when baby arrives! And since everyone keeps asking, I'll give you the gory details to date. She went to her midwife appointment on Tuesday and wasn't dilated but was 25% effaced. They told her to get some walking in, along with some other suggestions...We walked Wednesday and this morning at her appointment she was dilated 1 1/2 cm and was a little more effaced. They stripped her membranes but not as 'forcefully' as they did with Jackson (who was born in less than 12 hours if I'm remembering correctly). They told her today if she continues to have cramping to come into the office in the morning and they'll strip her membranes again. Erin has suggested that I may want to get to bed relatively early as she's had some contractions this evening.

The camera Darvin bought online for my birthday was delivered today, so if this baby girl is just a little prima donna waiting for her first photo shoot I'm happy to tell her that it's OK to be born now...ANY...TIME now!!! Nana's been here 2 weeks awaiting her arrival and I'm leaving on Sunday, so, REALLY, any time now!!!

On our 'walk' in the mall today we stopped at the Merry Go Round to watch it while Mommy went to the bathroom. Erin indicated that Jackson had ridden the M-G-R before but that he was petrified holding on to her TIGHT the whole time. WELL...he was giving me all indications that it was his greatest desire to ride, so we bought a token (which he was VERY proud to hold until it was his turn to ride). No scared little Jackson THIS time, he's a big boy now Mommy!

Yesterday Erin and I met Ashley, Vicki, Rob, Chloe and Bobby at Justin Rush's house where Ashley and Justin had prepared a wonderful meal for all of us. Was fun to see the Tovar kids and have another chance to chat with family!

Teething Stinks! and I LOVE the Old Testament

Poor little Jackson is in the midst of major teething. It makes me feel so sad when everything that can be done for him is done, but he's still in pain! Erin and Russ use teething tablets, a special necklace, cold foods, teething biscuits, the whole nine yards! Poor little guy was still miserable today and not having a very pleasant time as we were trying to finish shopping and get out of Walmart. As we were in the checkout line Jackson spied a kids toy cell phone. Normally I curse those marketers for putting all those impulse buy items in the checkout lanes, but this was precisely what we needed to divert this little guy from a mouthful of pain. He was a happy camper the whole way home-making phone calls and talking to Daddy, listening to his phone ring, etc! That was the best 3 bucks I've spent in a long time!

I never thought I'd say that I LOVE the Old Testament, maybe it has something to do with loving my Seminary class this year too! Anyway, I just finished reading all of Moses, Abraham and Genesis. WOW! I must give credit to David J Ridges who wrote some wonderful books called "Your Study of the Old Testament Made Easier". He gives clarification of the text with brief notes and also quotes from prophets, general authorities, institute study guides, etc. I've always thought of myself as the "Seminary for Dummies" teacher as I am NOT a scriptorian, so these books have been very helpful in improving my understanding of the Old Testament. Now, it's time to start getting some lessons planned. I have some fun ideas and I can't wait to get back to Yakima to start sharing with my class!

Can I also mention that I'm addicted to the Mormon Messages site on youtube? Now that I've figured out how to download clips to my laptop I can't wait to use them as supplements to my Seminary lessons!

Sunday, Sunday

Church was great! The Dallas temple president and his wife, President and Sister Packard, spoke in Sacrament meeting about the importance of the temple and our responsibility to do our family history and temple work. They are the aunt and uncle of the Packard family in our ward. They asked me how the Packard's cherries turned out this year. I told them I didn't know, but I had tried the pears they grew and they were delicious! After church Karlee came home with us. I gave her the travel Simon game and Reese's peanut butter pumpkin I'd bought for her. We played Simon together. She was SO appreciative and said it was the best game ever! I had (AKA made) her read me "The Grouchy Ladybug" by Eric Carle. Jackson was taking a nap, so I told her to pretend that she was reading it to Jackson. So she did and she played up the story very well! We both had fun! She indicated she's ready to come back to Nana and Pops' for a visit next summer!

For dinner I made "To Die For Crock Pot Roast" I added potatoes, carrots and half an onion to the roast. I also made Betty Crocker Traditional Brownie Goody Bars for dessert. Erin and Russ had invited some friends that are moving over for dinner and everyone seemed to enjoy the food.

Still no signs of baby girl...I wish she'd hurry up and come. I have a lasagna crockpot recipe I want to try and Erin gets awful heartburn when she's pregnant, so for now, no tomato based sauces for her!