January 1st 2015

This morning we sat down together as a family for breakfast. Not typical in our house! We love to come together for dinner but typically breakfast is fast and simple and we are rushing to get out the door. The last few weeks though, on weekend days, we've been sitting together for breakfast. As I sat with my family enjoying eggs, bacon and toast and listening to the jokes of a four year old (seriously, they are so lame they are funny) I couldn't help but think about what my hopes and dreams are for each of my boys.

2015 has the potential to be amazing. Nothing extraordinary but I know that we can make it amazing. This year we'll potty train Dade and take away his pacifiers. Cameron will finish second grade and start third grade which will make him the big man on campus as he's in a primary elementary school. Joshua will more than likely start kindergarten this year. Cole and I will continue serving in our ward.

As we finished breakfast this morning we talked about some family goals. We went around the table and each picked one thing we thought we should work on in 2015 as a family. Here they are:

AM and PM family prayers: We already have PM family prayer everyday. So our goal is to have family prayer every morning as well.

Exercise together: If it's nice outside we should be playing outside as a family...walking, riding bikes, playing at the park. If it's not nice outside we can do a video or find another way to be active together. Not an everyday goal but an often goal!

Have family night once a week: We spend tons of time together as a family but we don't necessarily have a family night. We'll use family night to discuss gospel topics, play games and enjoy each others company.

Family Scripture Study: We will have family scripture study daily. We were doing really good with this one last fall....it took us 8 weeks to read 16 chapters in 1 Nephi but we were reading nightly as a family and then we got sidetracked. We are back at it and will finish the book of Mormon with our ward in July as a family. Slow and steady wins the race, right?

And Joshua added his own personal goal into the discussion: To go to sleep with the bedroom light off and only the hallway light on.

I'm excited to watch our family dynamic change as we heed the words of the prophets and make family prayers, scripture study and FHE a priority in our home. We always see such a difference when we really focus and try hard and I know that 2015 will be "life changing" as we heed their words.

Hello, 2015!

When I reflect back on 2014, I do so humbly and with a grateful heart. As a family, we were blessed tremendously. I honestly can't think of a low point for our little family of five. For so many years we struggled, financially, spiritually, temporally. But this year was our year. We aren't walking away financially rich, we are, however, spiritually rich.

Here's the thing, I spent most of 2014 with an aching heart. I have so many friends and family members who have been in the trenches this year, divorce, heartache, loss, health (and mental health) problems and challenges, financial losses, spiritual challenges. Seriously! It's been a tough year. But my heart has ached for each and everyone of them. 

And because the challenges I've faced this year seem so minimal compared to the challenges of others I feel blessed, humbly blessed. 

Here's our 2014 wrap-up!

January:

We celebrated Cole's 29th Birthday! 

February: 

I had the opportunity to help with the Valentines Day Party in Cameron's 1st grade classroom. I was called as the Ward Girls Camp Director in our ward and Cole was called in the Sunday School Presidency as the secretary (I know, we didn't know there was such a thing either ;)). The kids and I spent a few days in Oreana with Cole's mom at his sister Mandi's house

March: 

Towards the end of March my Mom, both of my sisters and their sons came to visit for five days! We had so much fun crowded into our little house. I loved having my family here. Spring also arrived and we spent lots of time outside and at the park.

April: 

General Conference weekend we went to Cole's sisters house in Oreana and spent the weekend with her family and Cole's parents and some of our nieces and nephews. There were fourteen of the seventeen grandchildren there. Cameron played his first season of soccer.

May:

I was asked to teach a RS lesson a church, my first one, for somebody out of town. We had friends come visit for Memorial Day weekend. This was also the weekend I was called into our wards Relief Society Presidency as the 2nd counselor. 

June: 

We celebrated Dade's 1st Birthday! And my 28th birthday. We celebrated the end of another school year and watched Cameron receive a trophy for his AR points. Cameron went on his first overnight trip with Cole's sister Mandi's family. He went to Utah to witness his cousin receive the aaronic preisthood. He also stayed the night with his Papa Bruce in a hotel and they stayed up way too late eating kettle corn and telling jokes. He still talks about eating waffles with him that morning and learning to walk on a curb while waiting for Steve to arrive. 

July: 

Cole's sister and I made the trek to Oregon with 8 kids! We stayed for 10 days and had a blast. While traveling, there and back, we faced car problems. It was quite the adventure. 

August:

We enjoyed our last month of summer. I spent the mornings working out with some friends from church. This month marked one year of us living in Jerome Idaho and one year with Cole's job at Century Link. We celebrated Joshua's 4th birthday. We took the family to the county fair and spent the day riding rides and enjoying fair food.

September:

With fall, came a new school year. Our second grader loves school! We also went to Oreana this month to watch our nephew Loyd be baptized. 

October:

We enjoyed Halloween. Each of the boys dressed up and had fun trunk-or-treating.

November: 

Cameron turned 8! We spent the month counting down to our trip to Oregon. We enjoyed a laid back Thanksgiving. The Friday after Thanksgiving we left in the evening for Oregon. After a long 10 hour drive we arrived. On November 30th Cameron was baptized! We also made an ER trip that night because Cameron was covered in hives thanks to an unknown allergy. 

December: 

We said goodbye to family after a week long trip and came home. We spent the month counting down to Christmas. We've enjoyed Christmas break and feel blessed to live close enough to Mandi's family that we get to spend Christmas with them. Right before Christmas, Cole was called as an Assistant Ward Clerk-Membership, He's excited for his new calling and the opportunity it will give him to be useful. Dade turned 18 months and went to nursery for the very first time! 

This year was one full of firsts and fun. I'm so grateful for the opportunity I have to guide and nurture my children. Watching Cameron partake of the baptism covenant made me all the more grateful for our eternal family. I love that I get to not only serve my family but that I get to work with and serve the sisters in my ward. Our family has been blessed with some great friends and I truly think we are so lucky for that. 

As I look forward to 2015, I have nothing but excitement in my heart, I can't wait to see where 2015 takes us. There aren't any babies planned, no job moves planned (although, if a position opened up we'd take it), and as of now no house moves planned. We are happily content with all that we have and so very grateful for all the has been given. 

We, as a family, pray that each of you can find happiness, peace and comfort and that 2015 can be a year of of success and blessings. 

With love, 

Cole, Amber, Cameron, Joshua, and Dade

More Babies?

You'd be surprised by how many people think that the size of your family is their business. The best part: they each think that they have a right to have an opinion about the size of your family. And they don't!

Here's the thing. I love my boys. Each and every one of them...love abounds in our home. I love them each how they need it each second. Sometimes I have to reevaluate how I'm loving them and change it to meet their needs. My heart is so full of the love I have for them. 

I remember being worried that I wouldn't be able to love Joshua as much as I love Cameron....the moment I held that sweet baby boy in my arms love poured out of me. When Dade became a thought in our minds, I knew that I had what it would take to care for and love the next child. I know that if and when we decided to grow our family that I will have what it takes to care for that new child. 

I have days or even moments during the days when I feel content. This is our family. Three boys. The five of us. But then there are the other days and the other moments when I know that our family isn't complete. If you had asked me 8 years ago how many kids we'd have I'd have said 3. But today, I say I don't know. If we are blessed with another little one or two I'd be elated. If this is it, I'm content. I've spent the last year enjoying my baby more than I have any of the others...it might have something to do with the fact that he hasn't rushed through the different milestones :) 

So to everybody who wants to know, I don't know. We'll see. 

Birthdays, Adventures and Life

One of these days I'll be better about blogging. I love being able to look back and read about life. It's been way too long....I say that every time! Life is so crazy and busy right now that sometimes I feel like I'm standing in the middle of chaos watching everything fly by just like in the movies. I wouldn't trade the activities and busy days for anything though, I am blessed, that's for sure!

I'll just jump right in, starting with Cameron! Cameron finished his first grade year and boy, did he have a great year. Each report card and conference was filled with nothing but praise for our sweet boy. He ended the school year with amazing test scores...way above grade level! He is a smart boy for sure. He is the best big brother and is such a great help with both Joshua and Dade. He's finding some independence which is both shocking and nice. I wasn't ready for him to grow and change so much but he is a joy to be around most of the time and as he's getting older and understanding more and more I feel as though I'm talking to a friend sometimes and not a child. Cole and I were climbing into bed the other night when Cameron came in to tell us he was having a hard time falling asleep. We invited him to come snuggle for a few minutes....he hopped right into bed and began chatting with us. He is so special. My baby is growing up though!

Joshua has embraced the role of a middle child. You'll never forget he's in a room with you but you might forget he's only 3! This kid is wise beyond his years, I think that comes from having an older brother that's so intellectual. He's very social but still a little shy at times. He still hasn't quite settled into primary....he loves his sunbeam class but doesn't care for sharing time and singing time, that's changing though! He's made friends with some of the kids at church and at Zumba (mommy's exercise class) and even says he has a girlfriend. We were hoping to branch out into preschool this next year but working with him at home fits better into the budget. He is a good big brother and loves on Dade more than he should sometimes. He got his very first bike a week ago and loves riding it....he may be ready for the training wheels to come off before summer is over. This kid has a special place in my heart and will always crave our attention.

We have a one year old in the house! Dade turned one last month which just seems crazy. I still can't believe I have three kids sometimes! He is a total joy to be around. His little personality shines through and he makes his presence known. He doesn't have any teeth yet....doesn't walk yet either. He crawls or cruises along furniture faster than any baby I've ever met. He tries his hardest to be sneaky and sly and loves to watch his brothers wrestle...they seem to be the only funny ones in the house these days. He sleeps through the night (has for months) and takes two 1.5-3 hour long naps each day! He wakes between 7 and 7:30 am and goes to bed at about 7:30 pm each night. We are weaning from formula, but he does take one bottle in the morning with about 2 oz of formula and 4-6 oz whole milk. He'll eat almost anything you put in front of him except for tortillas! If he was walking, I wouldn't be able to keep up!

Cole has been with Century Link for 11 months now. He still loves it as much as he did his first week. He's making friends! This Man is such a great Man! I am so blessed to have a husband who works hard all week long, comes home each night and helps care for the kids and doesn't blink an eye when he has to take care of the kids on Sundays too! Seriously, Cole is an amazing father and husband. 

As for me, I'm busy being a mom, a housewife and serving at church. I am serving as the second counselor in our Relief Society Presidency and just finished up as our ward Camp director. The two callings overlapped for about a month there and I was most definitely overwhelmed at times. I loved serving the young women though and helping them get ready for camp. I've meet some amazing people here in Jerome and It's been fun serving in new and different capacities. Relief Society will definitely push me out of my comfort zone but I'm serving with so many amazing women who help guide me. Jerome has been a great fit for our family and I could see us staying here for quite awhile. 

The last 11 months have flown by...I think it's been about 7 months since the last update. We are blessed and have nobody to thank but our Father in Heaven, without his guidance, strength and spirit we wouldn't be where we are!

Babywise, our experience!

I have a friend that blogged about Baby Wise. I've been meaning to blog about our experience and thought now was the perfect time! Ari blogs at The Patient Mama Diaries and has a basic understanding of how the "program" works. Here's how we implemented it, our how's, why's and when's, as well as how it's worked for us.

For the record, Cameron was 18 months before he slept through the night and Joshua was a couple weeks shy of his first birthday when he slept through the night. Cameron would wake every 3-4 hrs and Joshua woke every 2 hrs. A baby is considered to be sleeping through the night when they are sleeping at least one six hour stretch. Neither, Joshua or Cameron liked napping, in fact, I felt like I was pulling teeth to get Cameron to nap and Joshua only napped in my arms.

I first heard about Babywise when I was pregnant with Joshua. I read the book and then re-read the book and then kept the book at arms length and would refer back to it for several weeks. I came to the conclusion that it was too structured for me and that I wanted my baby to be able to sleep anywhere, not just at home in his crib.

Fast forward to June when Dade was born. I was still bound and determined to do it my way and we were NOT doing Babywise. I brought the kid home from the hospital sleeping 5 hour stretches at night. At one week old, he slept one 8 hr stretch and then one 4 hr stretch. He did that every night from then on. He's just been a better sleeper since the beginning, period! He's always slept in his own bed unlike his older brothers who would only sleep with me. By the time Dade was three months old, I was exhausted mentally....we had been through so much with all of the moves and I was fighting depression. I felt like I didn't have control over anything and my hands were tied up with breastfeeding on demand. I was always trying to figure out how I was going to feed if we were picking Cameron up from school or needed to pick Cole up from work. I weaned Dade to formula over a two week time frame. I just couldn't breastfeed and have control over my life. This was a game changer for us. By the end of the two weeks he was sleeping 12 hrs a night....literally going to bed at 7 pm and waking at 7am. He was still sleeping in his own bed but was in our room. At our four month well-baby check his doctor recommended moving him to his own room because he was no longer waking at night and would sleep more soundly. He said it would be easier now than it would be at 6 months. That next weekend we set up Dade's crib.

The transition from our room to his room was a breeze. So easy! I had never had any of my babies in their own room, ever, so this felt like a dream! A week or so in, Mr. D started waking up in the night. And by started I mean he went from sleeping 12 hrs straight to waking 8 times! This went on two nights, I was dead tired. I phoned my sister-in-law, my resident Babywise expert, and asked for help! I was ready. This had to change!

Side note: His naps were great but I HAD to rock him to sleep and that last week or so by rock I mean violently throw my body around while holding my swaddled baby until he was asleep.

She walked me through Babywise. Step-by-step. At 4 months old I let my baby cry-it-out, something I had always fought and had only ever tried and failed at. We started that first day at 7 am. He ate upon waking that morning. He played or had his wake time and then went down for his nap. And he Cried. And I went in after 5 minutes and gave him his pacifier and shsh'ed him and left. And he cried. And I went back in after 10 minutes and repeated the whole processes. He was asleep 35 minutes after we started his nap. He slept whatever his normal nap was and I was hooked. His next nap he cried for 15 minutes (I went in and pacifired and shsh'ed after 5 minutes but didn't need to go in again). His third nap of the day he went right to sleep. Same with his quick fourth nap. And he went to sleep on his own at bedtime and woke a handful of times. Thing got better quickly!

I just knew for sure I would hate being scheduled. I knew he wouldn't nap in his car seat. I knew this was going to be torture. I was WRONG! We were SUPER scheduled for about 6 weeks. I wanted to make sure we both had our schedule down pat before trying to deviate from it. Dade would still nap in his car seat if we were out doing errands and it was time to nap. This was the best thing I could have done for me and for him.

Present Day: Our day looks like this:
Wake between 6:30 and 7 am and eat.
Play while brother and Dad get ready.
We take them to school/work.
Home for more play or church to play while mommy worksout
9 or 9:15: Nap
10:45/11: Wake and eat
Play
1pm: Nap
2:30: Wake and pick brother up from school
3:30: eat (I break and babywise cardinal rule here by not feeding when he wakes and waiting but it works for us!)
Play
4:30 : pick daddy up
5: solids, play, bath, bedtime bottle
6:30: Bedtime

He's sleeping through the night 90% of the time. Now that he's mobile he can find his own pacifier and 5 or 6 nights a week I don't hear from him till morning. Once or twice a week he'll wake between 2 and 4 and I quickly and quietly give him his pacifier, re-swaddle and shut the door and he doesn't make another peep till morning.

I'm a Babywise believer but I don't think it's for everyone or every baby! I would never have stuck with it if I had started from birth....we were too busy during summer to try to be that scheduled!

I have traveled since starting Babywise and because we are scheduled it always throws us off just a bit but it's been very easy to re-train and fall right back into our schedule.

Each new milestone or stage throws a baby off as well. Babywise gives helpful advice and solutions when those things happen...sometimes you need to extend your schedule and such.

Here's the thing, with Dade, I needed to be scheduled. I have a preschooler and a first grader that demand my time and attention as well as a home to care for. I didn't have the luxury of holding and snuggling this little guy all day because my attention was need elsewhere always! Babywise hasn't taken the snuggles away but it's helped restructure my day so that I know when I can get my daily chores done or schedule appointments. Each day looks the same for us schedule wise and it makes this mom of three happy to know how my day will go. I get early morning snuggles from my sweet boy, sleepy hugs and kisses when he goes down for each nap and bed, sleepy-just-awake snuggles while he eats and then I have a happy baby that will play, talk, and explore during wake time. He is my happy, easy-going, baby. Is that because of babywise? Probably not, I think he would have had this demeanor no matter what. I believe babywise was more for me....it helps me work through the sleep problems and gives me structure.

Would I use it again, say on our next baby? Maybe. If I did, I think it would just come naturally. Now having done the eat, wake sleep routine I think we'd probably just fall into it. As for being super strict and implementing all of the other guidelines, I'd probably do like I did with Dade and as long as that baby is sleeping okay I'd wait until we had a problem. Letting my babies cry just doesn't come natural to me, especially when they are so little. Four months was the perfect starting point for us and I'd probably shoot for that again.

Babywise is controversial, and isn't for everybody. I feel as if I've been able to adapt it enough that it fits for us. I'm not going to cancel an appointment because my baby is sleeping or rush home because wake time is over. We've made it work, I'm truly grateful for the insight and guidance and am overall happy with how it's worked for us. I think I just got lucky in the baby department though!

  

New Years Eve happenings

We spent our New Years Eve with some new family...or new to us family!

When we moved to Idaho we met Cole's 2nd cousin. He and his family live about 15 miles north of Jerome. They were nice enough to open their home to Cole for a couple of nights during our transition at the start of his job. They showed up, without being asked, to help unload the trailer when we moved into our house. When they found out we were in need a a refrigerator (our rental didn't come with one), they GAVE us their extra fridge and would only accept a thank you in return. They had us over for dinner our second weekend in town and have been more than gracious to us.

We had plans with them for Christmas Eve, but decided to spend Christmas with Cole's sister so we cancelled with them. We felt terrible but we couldn't be in two places at once and because there was travel time involved in getting to Mandi's we couldn't do Christmas Eve with the Henderson's (I know, it's kinda weird to spend time with another family with the same last name!). Any how when we cancelled with them we were invited out for New Years Eve, but we had tentative plans with our friends the Doshier's in Utah....that fell through Monday night and within minutes we had a text from the Henderson's asking if our friends were coming or if we'd like to come out there....So we went!

We had a blast! They have 8 kids....their two youngest are about Joshua's age. Cameron and Joshua were in heaven having kids to play with. Cole and I spent the evening visiting and laughing. So much fun. Games were played, food eaten and tears from laughter shed. When we left just after 10 pm Cole and I both looked at each other and said at the same time "we needed that!"

We came home and put the two youngest to bed. Cameron claimed he wasn't tired and snuggles up on the couch with me and watched part of A Walk To Remember. At about 11:47 Cole and I found a video of the ball dropping, showed Cameron and than tucked him into bed...He got my last kiss of 2013. 3 minutes later, at midnight, Cole got my first kiss of 2014. I haven't stayed up till midnight on New Years Eve in years!

We had a great night ringing in the new year. So excited to see what this year has in store for us.

Good Bye, 2013!

As 2013 comes to a close, we've spent some time reflecting on this last year. It was a year full of ups and downs and tons of changes. When we welcomed 2013, we had no idea we'd be where we are and we are genuinely thankful and humbled by the changes, blessing and love we've felt this year.

Here's a short recap:

In March, Cole accepted a transfer with the company he was employed by for a little over two years. Once back in the lower 48, he realized he was ready for a career instead of a job and took matters into his own hands. While waiting for answers to prayers, he spent a quarter of the year living in a separate state waiting anxiously for changes. Being so far from his family was hard and lead to him missing the birth of Dade. We were able to see him often throughout the summer though, which was in and of it's self a huge blessing! Our prayers were answered when Cole received a job offer from Century Link (we owe tons of thanks to Cole's Dad, Bruce, for continuously putting in a good word for him!). Rather than relocating to Yakima, Washington, we ended up in Jerome, Idaho! He loves his new job and all that it entails. Once again he was given the task of finding a home for us in our new town and did a great job! He definitely settled in the fastest, but has been a great support to Amber during all of the changes.

Amber started the year 3 months pregnant hoping for some pink to add to the family. We soon found out that our new bundle of joy wouldn’t be dressed in pink, nope, we were adding a third boy to our family. We were surprised but definitely thankful to be trusted with another Child of God. Moving 3,000 miles at 29 weeks pregnant was no easy feat....she packed, sold and got rid of all of our belongings. Thanks to some great friends, we managed to clean and avoid preterm labor before leaving Alaska. Once in Oregon, Amber sought out care with her previous obstetrician and was glad she had a familiar face taking care of her and the baby. There were a couple of minor complications in-utero, but once born, Baby Dade was thriving even though he arrived three weeks early! Amber enjoyed spending the summer with family even though she missed Cole while he continued working in Washington. She was a nervous wreck when they loaded the horse trailer with all of their belonging and moved to Idaho. Now, four months later, she's made a home for her family and couldn't imagine being anywhere else.

Cameron is thriving! He's such a smart, good-natured boy. He is reading, loves spelling and is a math whiz. His claim of fame at 7 years old is being a “video game genius”. He's made several great friends a school and is the BEST big brother his little brothers could ask for. He's such a goofball and has his dad's sense of humor.

Joshua is a typical 3 year old. Some days we have to remind ourselves that “he's only 3!”. He's constantly thinking and always has some of the funniest things to say. He has grown into the middle child spot in our family...he doesn't let you forget about him though! He is just as smart as Cameron but definitely has his own personality. His brother is his hero and he is our very favorite, strong-minded, loving three year old!

Dade is 6 months old. He is our best baby by far, sleeping through the night like a champ. He's in love with his big brothers, seems to think his mom is the best and loves morning and evening snuggles with his daddy. He is always smiling, rarely cries and loves the attention from his brothers. We are anxiously waiting for him to become mobile so that he can chase his brothers and join in on the crazy fun.

We are definitely looking forward to 2014 and all that it has in store for us.

We are so grateful for the love and support of our family and for our Father in Heaven. We pray that this next year will bring joy and happiness to all those we love and cherish. May the Lord fill your hearts with peace and comfort in this coming year.

With Love,

Cole, Amber, Cameron, Joshua and Dade