When it rains, look for rainbows.

When it is dark, look for stars.

I took a pregnancy test on November 20. I know, tubal ligation = no more babies. But, the test was positive. And, so was the second one. I was mortified! Then, elated. Looking at baby name websites one minute and hyperventilating over age differences the next.

I didn't feel fantastic the following Monday and thought since I was about six and a half weeks along that I better get checked. I called the doctor's office and explained the situation: Tubes tied six years ago, pregnant now. The assistant yelled into the phone, "OH MY G.., That gives me high blood pressure." You and me both!

I was able to schedule an ultrasound and visit for the next day. Tuesday morning the kids and I were up and ready and Dave had just left for work, when a sharp pain started radiating through my abdomen. Debilitating pain. Incapacitating pain. Rilie called Dave and told him he needed to turn around, come home, and take me to the ER.

We had already considered the fact that this might be an ectopic pregnancy, but until the doctor confirmed that the pregnancy was tubal and had ruptured, I had hope.
Now instead of worrying about c-section recovery and Rilie graduating high school when the baby started kindergarten, the fear was for my life. I was bleeding internally. Enough that the urgency and panic in the ob/gyn's voice was clear. Surgery now. I am kind of fuzzy on the details, but it went well (I lived.)

A week later. I am recovering physically. Not as sure emotionally. It is strange how much you can want and love someone you have never met.

*She's Twelve*

I can't believe it either!
We thought Rilie was going to be a boy. Her name was going to be Brayden. Then came the ultrasound:

I am not sure how it was determined by looking at this grey blob that she was a girl, but it proved correct. Ri and her cousin Brody were both due on Halloween. Stubborn from the beginning, she was unmovabley breech. So we got to meet her a week earlier than planned. At 6lbs 15ozs her nickname quickly became "Tiny."

She walked at ten months,

Talked in complete sentences at two,

Decided to become a star soccer player at three,

And has been giving us a run for our money since the day she was born.

She couldn't pronounce her middle name (Nicole) and she would introduce herself as "Rilie Inthecoal."

One time after asking Nana how old she was (80) Rilie proclaimed that Nana was just about as old as a tree.

Rilie's favorite color is teal. Favorite animal is a zebra. Favorite athlete is Hope Solo. Favorite dessert is ice cream. Favorite meal is steak and garlic mashed potatoes.

Favorite action hero is Thor (maybe it is just because he is played by Chris Hemsworth.) Favorite fictional character is Annabeth from the Percy Jackson series.

Favorite actor is Channing Tatum (although that has nothing to do with his acting abilities.) Favorite place to vacation is New York.

Favorite things to do are; read, play soccer, video games, and draw.

Rilie is such a goofball. So much fun to have in our family. A great friend. Good example to her sister and brother. My favorite twelve-year-old.
Happy Happy Birthday Tiny!

Reflection...

In June, Dave and I celebrated our 14th anniversary. Rilie will turn 12 in October. Jenna will reach double digits in April. Ty will be in first grade (learning french) at the beginning of the school year.

I told Ty on the last day of kindergarten that he was a baby the day before and he would be getting married tomorrow. He didn't appreciate my exaggeration of time passing, and told me I was crazy.

Some days I look at my blessings (and no, I don't ALWAYS think of them that way) and wonder what I have been doing the last twelve years of my life. I have ulcers worrying about the heartaches, heartbreaks, and mistakes that they will have to endure.

But, for today, I want to think about some great times that we have had.

- Starting with a couple of shots from our last year (2004)on the house boat with Ericksons.

Even though I am pretty sure in the way too near future I will be posting about homecomings and engagements, I am going to try and enjoy every minute.

Easter, Birthdays and Soccer, Oh My!

I know, I know, all of my blog posts start out this way. Here is a little catch up. Nana's Annual Easter Egg Hunt was held, sans Nana. Sad. That is all I am going to say. The kids had a bunch of fun.

Easter morning I made a pathetic attempt to copy a breakfast I saw on pinterest. If you can identify it, more power to you!

Jenna turned nine the day after Easter. She gave her cake request to Tiff. The girl is amazing!

Instead of a birthday party Jenna wanted to go bowling. The kids had Jenna's birthday off from school so we loaded up, grabbed Gavin and off we went.

Next up was Ty's birthday. He wanted a Batman and Robin cake with superhero cupcakes. Leave it to Tiff.

What a ham this kid is! Just looking at this picture makes me laugh.

Tyler wants to go miniature golfing for his birthday, but we haven't had a good day yet... When we do, I am sure we will pick up Ethan, then let the competition begin. We are so lucky that Becky's family lives just across the park and that the kids are all the same ages. These two are in the same kindergarten class, the same primary class, and on the same soccer team.

Happy Valentines Day!

These are the girls valentine boxes. How Fun. Rilie's is the robot and Jenna's is the suitcase. Tyler made a penguin bag in class, we didn't just leave him out.

One o'clock church on Sunday has forced us to get creative in keeping the kids busy all morning. These are the projects the girls made this last week. I know what you are thinking, but, I made Ty a tic-tac-toe board so he wasn't excluded.

P. S. to the Rilie-ism

The science fair was yesterday. Jane and I were asked to judge one of the classes. No, not James' and Rilie's, all was on the up and up. The teachers each chose eight finalists from their class and then we had to score those projects. Fifth Graders (or their parents) are pretty creative. We had a great time and then we were done. No more science fair this year. Or so I thought. A few hours later, in the door walks my own creative fifth grader. She took first place for her class and James took third. If we don't think of some way to sabotage her project she will be heading to BYU. Oh, the horror! Great Job Rilie and James!

Two Tales From Tyler and a Rilie-ism

I was approached by a neighbor (who I don't know very well) and he said he had a story to tell me. I cringed. He said the story was about Tyler. I let out a deep sigh. He said the story was so good that he had already told it to a bunch of family and friends. Oh Boy!
Nate has a son Kade who is in Ty's primary class. Nate was a substitute teacher for the class and overheard Tyler and Kade teasing each other. That week seven girls and only three boys were there. So the five-year-old insults were along the lines of - How many girls are there in class today (then pointing at each other,) one, two, etc.
Okay, I thought, this isn't too bad.
Then Nate said Ty turned to him and said, "Hey Kade's Dad, why are you wearing a pink tie?"
Nate replied, "Because I like pink."
Ty repeated the question, "Hey Kade's Dad, why are you wearing a pink tie?"
Again, "Because I like pink."
Tyler made sure everyone was listening and said, "Hey Kade's Dad, where's your prom dress?"
He he he. That's my boy. It could have been so much worse.

Tyler Tale number two.
(This is not a recent picture. Just the first documented case of Tyler's slovenly ways.)

I, being the good mom that I am, made Ty his favorite lunch of grilled cheese sandwiches and orange juice. We had the individual bottles of Tropicana. What a treat! Tyler ate his lunch quickly and finished by guzzling down his orange juice. When he finished there was a huge dark purple mark (like a milk mustache, but almost black) above his upper lip. Ty is no stranger to walking around most of the day with food all over his face. So I asked him if he had a cupcake or other treat at school. He hadn't. I took a closer look. In his hurry to finish his orange juice he had sucked the bottle so hard he gave himself a hickie. A bruise above his lip. Oh well, I thought, it's Tyler, probably no one will notice. Wrong! Rilie walked in the door from school a little later, took one look at Ty and said, "He looks like he has a 'Hitler Mustache' what happened to him?"
Nice. My five year old walked around for a week looking like one of the most hated men in history.

And a Rilie-ism.

Rilie and I came up with an easy idea for her science fair project, did the bare minimum and whammo - free time on Super Bowl weekend. Yesterday, Jane, who's son James is in Rilie's class was telling Ri that they would have to go home after the game and get to work. Rilie asked Jane what James' project was on. Jane replied that it was nothing complicated enough to win anything. Rilie's comment to that was, "Oh, that's okay. If you win you have to go down to BYU for the next round." Way to go Ri! Although maybe it would have been better received by a Utah fan instead of a die-hard BYU allum.

Our family was lucky to be able to spend so much time doing so many fun things together in December.

We got to see Jenna in an "in studio" dance performance. She outshines me in so many ways. Her talent as a dancer is just one.



Rilie did a book talk - a super involved book report - where she dressed up as Ms. Wellington from School of Fear (one of her favorite books.) She was mortified at the thought of being seen in her costume by anyone other than classmates, so I obligingly drove her to school. I talked her into letting me put on the finishing touches in the hallway before we reached her class. All was well until a class of sixth graders happened by. For Rilie it was like living a nightmare. I, being the adult, having ALL of my embarrassing moments behind me (ha ha) thought it was hysterical.

(You can tell by her face in the picture that she is thrilled I am documenting the occasion.)

We also went to Temple Square to see the lights with my parents and Becky's family. We went on Gavin's birthday, so after his party ie... stuffing myself with cake and ice cream, we went to the Lion House for dinner. How do I always end up forgetting the camera when we do something that would have resulted in pictures as fantastic as the memories we made?!?

Last but certainly not least was Christmas Day. I must confess that Christmas Eve with family, games, food, endless soda, and all of the anticipation is actually my favorite.

2012?!?

Some things that happened to our family in 2011 are:

*We went on a super fun trip to Yosemite-San Jose-San Francisco.
*Jenna got baptized.
*Dave is in a new position with Cintas - and it has been a huge blessing to our family.
*I hit my year mark at work and still love it!
*Our family lost two fabulous matriarchs (and we miss them every day.)
*My sidekick traded in his time card for a back pack and started kindergarten.
*The kids started at a new school and are on a traditional schedule - the jury is still out whether we like it or not - three months off this summer will tell.
*Rilie had a soccer tournament in St. George and did great.
*We got to go to Disneyland for Christmas. It was fantastic.
*We got to see Karl & Kim more this year than ever (lucky them!)

2011 had it's ups and downs. We hope that 2012 will be filled with good times, family, friends, and happiness.