Bliss is...

--being able to see my ankles. They look so pretty and dainty to me now!
--being able to breathe. So nice. Really.
--being able to sleep w/out Ambien (though I did love that Ambien).



Oh, and oh yeah---

Bliss is enjoying this new adorable baby!




Carter Scott Wilson joined our family at 3:33 am on Friday, January 8th, less than an hour after my water broke and we dashed off to the hospital. Amazingly enough, he chose to come ON his actual due date!


At 8 lbs 9 oz, 20 inches long, he is absolutely precious. We have all been feeling such joy to welcome our little Carter to our family of strapping boys.

He eats well and sleeps well, the dream baby. How much luckier could I get?

Comatose & still witty

Day before yesterday, I wake up early enough to help get Jeffrey up and started on his morning routine.

I start tugging on his arm. "Wake up, wake up; come on, Jeffrey. It's time to get up."

Then I hafta go potty. So I do, but there's no TP. I call out to Jeffrey, thinking I'm so smart-- "Jeffrey, I need toilet paper! Please!"

Nothing. No dice.

I figure things out, and then go back to Jeffrey, and start tugging on his arm again, but decide to try the same tactic. "Jeffrey, Jeffrey! You've got to get up! I NEED you to get me some toilet paper!"



The child, who hasn't moved once this entire time, or showed a single sign of coherency, says with his eyes closed:

"If you can make it over to me, you can get to the toilet paper."

Chistmas Gushy-ness

I know that right now many blogs are filled with sincere posts about the magic and joy of Christmas, but when you've probably already read several of them, you may just want to skip all the sentiment and go right to the pictures (even if you think your kids' pics are cuter).

--My kids' pics are cuter, though. It's just the truth.-- ; )

So, I'll just mention I feel Christmas mush and gush.

Ok, and an extra comment about how much I love looking at the tree.

And then you can move on to the pictures:

Our Christmas Eve candlelight dinner with china. Delish.

Our re-enactment of the navity; we traded parts a lot. Rob started as Joseph because Bryce wanted to be the donkey (see him hiding under that hobby horse?). Nathan stayed the part of Mary for the entire little program. Look at his cute pregnant tummy while he sits on Bryce.

Bryce has now switched to the part of Joseph so Daddy could be a shephard. See how sweetly he looks at the baby Jesus (a stuffed teddy bear this year).

I play the angel.

Pretty fat angel.

Jeffrey stayed the part of the narrator for the entire performance, and did a nice job.

Ok, now I'm trying to act 'kingly' for the part of one of the three kings/wise men that came to worship baby Jesus.

Very portly wise 'man.'

Dad took a picture of us next to the makeshift stable that Bryce made out of chairs.

And then Jeffrey took a picture of us so dad could also be included.

Isn't Jeffrey handsome with his new glasses, by the way? He seems to be able to see so much better, too.

Christmas carols; Bryce played some songs on the piano, then Jeffrey. We sang maybe 6 songs and were all wiped out and ready for bed, even the kids.

Do you notice the matching jammies Nana made for everyone? We opened them on Christmas Eve, after the nativity and before the caroling, and put them on right away.

Aaaah, the christmas tree. The picture doesn't do it any justice.

Santa's plate of cookies.

He must have liked them. They were gone by morning, and the food the boys left out for Santa's reindeer was also pretty much gone (oatmeal sprinkled in the backyard).

Christmas morning, waiting at the top of the stairs to come check out their loot.

Bryce and Nathan looked so cute opening their stockings together, almost back to back.

Which inspired me to take pics of all three of them in front of the christmas tree. Such handsome boys.

We also tried taking a family picture, but the sun was in our eyes, not to mention the boys were MUCH more interested in playing with their new Christmas toys.

A little thing and a big thing

A Litte Thing:

Last Sunday Rob got the hiccups just before church. For Rob, hiccups are terrible, because they can last up to 3 days.

Having hiccups on top of
1) conducting church hymns to the entire congregation and
2) singing in an acapella quartet during the church meeting

is a VERY bad combination.

As we drove to church, I started quietly praying for him that his hiccups could abate so he could fulfill his calling and contribute to his quartet. I kept praying the entire 10 min. drive to church, while listening to him hiccup the whole time.

When we arrived at church, my thoughts were distracted w/ my three rambunctious kids, and I have to admit I completely forgot about his hiccups during the entire wonderful Christmas meeting on being of Good Cheer.

When his quartet sang a beautiful medley of different Christmas songs like "O Holy Night" and "Silent Night," it was so touching that it brought tears to my eyes and the warmth of the Spirit to the room.

After church as we were returning home, it dawned on me that I hadn't seen him hiccup once during the meeting, though he was hiccuping again on the car ride home. I explained that I had been praying for him, and he told me he had also been praying all the way to church.

Then he told me that after the opening prayer of the main meeting was said, his hiccups stopped, and after the closing prayer of the same meeting was finished, they started again.

THAT is answer to prayer.

Such a little thing, and yet it really touched me that Heavenly Father is listening to us and our little temporal trials, and is prepared to strengthen us if we but ask.

(And if you want to know, Rob's hiccups continued on and off the rest of that evening and into the next day)

A Big Thing:

I have been feeling labor pains off and on for a good week now, and was pretty sure they were productive. Sure enough, my Thursday dr. appt confirmed I was a 3 and 50% effaced. They continued even more after the dr. appt, through Saturday morning, so close together and strong that I was sure I needed to head to the hospital 3 weeks early. A call to the on-call dr. let me know to drink water first to see if the intense contractions were being caused by dehydration, which they were.

A priesthood blessing from Rob also gave me great comfort and peace of mind, and among many touching and personal things, I was told that this baby will come at the "proper time." Whether that means early or on time, I knew that whenever I go into the hospital, it will be the "right" time for the baby.

Since that blessing, my contractions have slowed down, back to where I feel they're probably not even being productive. This is a very big thing to me, and I am grateful my Heavenly Father is aware of me and my personal worries and concerns.

--------------

Both of these experiences bring to mind a craft block I just made at a recent Super Saturday. It reads:

"Today's test is tomorrow's testimony."

Even though the above experiences are both not huge trials, seeing God respond to even little temporal things strengthens my testimony of a loving Father in Heaven.

'Tis the Season... to LIE

Called my mommy.

She said, "Oh hi, Kimberly! I just finished making your christmas present this very moment!"

Me: "Oh really. What is it?"

Her: "Um. I forgot."

Love you, mom. : )

Later she said, "Oh, it's on the tip of my tongue!," as though she had almost "remembered" what she made me.

That very second.

See, there is good lying and bad lying. My family is good at the former.* : )




*Rob, however, he's not good at lying, period. He just can't do it, even if it's for a surprise party or a game of Balderdash. But then again, neither can my best friend Tami. *Chuckle*

"No dying until you've finished your chores."

That is what I told Jeffrey last night as we really cleaned up after a DELICIOUS Thankgsiving dinner that Rob nearly made single-handedly.

As Jeffrey was sweeping he woefully declared that his arms were about to give out, that he had a headache, that his hiccups had only just abated, and a couple of other bodily grievances.

At first I applied the "you may not play the victim role" tactic:
"I have a headache, too, Jeffrey, but the work still needs to get done."
"Yup, this is hard work, isn't it? But it's part of being a family."

But when he said his arms were about to give out on about his fourth round of complaining, I laughed out loud and exclaimed, "I think Jeffrey is dying. Hey, you can't die until you finish sweeping."

Ha ha ha, I'm so funny.

But hey, he stopped complaining. Once he sort of collapsed on the floor, and I was quick to remind him, "No dying until you finish your jobs," and he quickly explained, "I'm just sitting for a moment!"

And then I heard it. The sound & action that every mother wishes for. Jeffrey grunted and spoke out loud to himself something to the effect of "Ok. Gotta get my head in the game and just do it."

HE DECIDED HE WOULD PLUG IN AND PLOW THROUGH the chore. And he got up and did it! In a matter of minutes!!*

Aaaaaaaaah. : )







*If only the kids would realize that in the time they complain, drag their feet, whine, etc (see my all-time FAVORITE parenting comic), they could have completed any requested tasks 3 times over and been off to play.

An Interesting Child

How I love my little children. I really do.

However, I must admit it's quite interesting to have a son who resists so much. You think as a parent that your kids will just love you when you have that spontaneous spark (ok, ok, that ADD spark), and sometimes skip off to the beach, or take them out of school for a little adventure.

But Jeffrey (10 yrs old) fights these things, and is quite put-out about them. A couple of examples:

--Didn't want to go to the beach last week when we had a day off school. Very strongly expressed that. Quite sullen on the drive down (which I politely ignored).

--Didn't want me to take him out of class on Thursday to visit Bryce's 2nd grade Thanksgiving presentation of some reader's theater skits. The entire time I took him out he kept turning to me with a look of "I don't understand why I have to be here." Most kids would JUMP at the chance to get out of class for a half hour.

--When we were at a fall carnival, Jeffrey rode on a 4-wheeled motorized little jeep with a group of kids. They went around a track several times, and because several of the little kids weren't too good with managing their little jeeps, he often was out "ahead" of the pack, separated from them. He called out to us, "Am I winning?"

We assured him he was winning, just for the fun of it. So, when the ride ended and the attendants told the chidren to stop, Jeffrey had arrived at the finish spot first, before the other kids. The attendant told him to go around again, so he ended up coming in behind the other children. He was very upset that they made him "lose."

Only when we went with the little "winning" illusion and told him that he got a victory lap, and explained they gave him a special treat by letting him go around again, did he change his tune and become excited.

Sigh. I do love him. Sometimes I wish that I could teach him that life doesn't have to be so rigid, that it can be fun and enjoyable.


--ps. Once we got to the beach, Jeffrey had a BALL. He loved it.

But, at all our trips to the pool this summer, where he was terrified of getting stung by a bee, he complained the entire 1-2 hours we spent there each visit.

But I did see him smiling at some of the fun poems and skits in Bryce's class this week, even though his body was tense and I could tell he didn't feel like he was in the right place until I let him go back to his normal routine of class.

--------

Then, there's my middle child, Bryce, another interesting child. He is a 100% kind of boy, and very strong-willed. He can be super excited and bouncy and full of energy while he's in the middle of something that interests him, or tearfully sad, or explosively angry.
When he was younger (about age 2-5 1/2), when he was angry he was defiant, and expressed it by hitting, and then his anger would escalate. Sometimes he would start by hitting the air, then the floor or a wall, and then human beings. Many times I didn't catch him and get him to time out before the escalation of anger blew up in my face, and I would have to carry him to his bed when he was in full hitting, flailing mode. I always carried him so he was facing away from me, so I wouldn't get the brunt of his out-of-control anger.

My friend Robin has started a new blog called Parents helping Parents, and I'd really like to hear from all of you. Click on the link and, in the comments, tell us, what has worked? What hasn't worked? What has helped, and with which child? (i.e. what personality types succeed with which parenting tools as far as you've seen?)

Thank you. For as much parenting help as I've received over the last 10 years, I still find myself worrying, doubting, from time to time. Especially this weekend, when Bryce has been crying all day long, bursting into tears over several little things (wait, he was doing this the last two days, too). Is this a case where I should be looking to see what's really causing the crying (I have no idea), or where I need to show tough love and consequate with losing money (2 cents each time, he earns and loses by 2 cents, Jeffrey by 5, Nathan by 1, but I'm the bank, and 1 penny can buy a popsicle, so it all works out nicely) each time he responds with tears instead of being more mature?

Sigh. Again.