Dan's New Hobby

One thing I love about my man is his ability to learn new things. If he's curious about it, he will learn all he can about it! In fact, I love this wonderful ability of his so much that when I'm interested in something, I ask him to do the research for me...lol. I know this irritates him sometimes but he's just so good at it!

While I've been pregnant he has been interested in skateboarding. My kids also have wanted to learn, so Dan bought them all skateboards. These were the cheap kind from Walmart and according to the kids they didn't go very fast....so Dan started researching different kinds of boards. Carving boards, cruising boards, etc. He found a couple he liked, bought one off KSL (his fav website). He wasn't too happy with that one so he got a new one. He didn't like that one so he changed a few things and gave it to Hailey, who is really good at boarding! I love to watch her! What girl do you know of that loves to skateboard? Well, in his research he found sites where people would make their own presses and he began to find out how to make the board he wanted. So over many Saturdays, he created these two skateboards, one for himself and another for Hailey. He also upgraded the other kids skateboards and will wants to make one for each of them and of course....for me! lol! I can't wait! After some trial and error, these boards turned out awesome! I loved watching them cruise up and down the street! I'm so proud of him!

Our New Arrival

JANUARY 11, 2010 (1/11/10)

@

3:41 p.m.

RUTH LEAH

6 lb. 15 oz. 19 inches

was welcomed into our family!

Monday morning at 2:30 a.m. I woke to my water breaking, but only slightly. I couldn't sleep and waited to make sure. I only had occasional contractions, so I decided to take it easy at home and see if they would increase. They didn't so as the kids left for school at 8:00 a.m. Dan and I decided to go into the hospital. My Mom met us there shortly after. For some reason, my body just doesn't contract on it's own, either that or it doesn't need much to have a baby. They put me on Pitocin around 1:30 p.m. (my doc was unavailable until then, so I decided to wait). There are 20 levels of pitocin that they can give you and they started me at a level 1 and immediately the contractions increased. Within an hour I was dilated to a 6, they upped the pit to a level 2 and by 3:00 the doctor was there and ready. I was at an 8 by 3:15 and by 3:41 she was here! It was so quick! I was very nervous to have her natural. I had my last two kids (Rachel and Joe) without any pain medication. I knew I could do it again, but was very nervous I would remember how. I could not believe how easy it was! Ruth was a breeze! The contractions were very manageable until the very last 2 contractions before she came. My first reaction was where is my baby with all the dark hair?! She looked so much like Hailey when she was born. Blonde! She doesn't have as much hair as the others but what she does have is mostly in the back. She is adorable! I was so excited! I was also surprised by her birth weight. She was 3 weeks early and I knew she would be at least 6 pounds but almost 7 was great!

The hospital stay was very short as we both were healthy and ready to come home. I love the feeling after giving birth. I can walk around and sleep normal and feel so good to have the weight of the baby gone! The kids were so excited to see her! They all took turns holding her, it was like a swarm of flies, they just couldn't get enough. They have been such good kids! They hold her and are careful about washing hands. They are so happy to have her here. I love it that they all understand what is happening. When having my first 4 kids, they were all so young that Hailey was pretty much the only one who knew what was happening. This has been so wonderful! I also can't express enough appreciation to my Mom. She has saved me this week! She took the week off work to be with me and the kids. She's made breakfast, lunch and dinner, had sleepovers downstairs with the kids, taken Joe for a haircut, done the grocery shopping, etc.... I am so blessed to have her! Shawn took Joe a couple of times this week and hung out with him while I was in the hospital and again Dan and I were so appreciative. Having my parents in an apartment downstairs has been one of the BEST things we have ever done!

I'm also grateful to my wonderful husband. Dan has been an amazing help as well. It was nice for him to have a few days off to be with me in the hospital and help get all my laundry done. He is a good man!

I have to give a HUGE thank you to my sister-in-laws. Traci gave us some baby things to use, as well as Stephanie gave us clothes to use. I had nothing, if you can believe it! I got rid of it all! I thought Joe was our last ;) I am so grateful to them for let us borrow these things Ruthie will need. You guys are the BEST!

I am truly blessed to have such a wonderful family and amazing friends!

Enjoy the pics!

Roo at 5 days old, a little jaundice.

Abby changing her diaper...cute!

Flowers....I LOVE FLOWERS! They are my fav thing after having a baby, so beautiful, especially this time of year when it's so yucky outside. Dan's parents gave these to me! Thank you, I love them!

These are from Dan's work (Flat Iron)
These are from my wonderful ABBA girls...AKA Angie ;) Love ya woman!

Goals for a Better Me.

I've never been a huge fan of New Years Resolutions. I feel that goals should be set and maintained all year. Also, it's hard to keep some of these goals up all year. For instance, when Hailey was a baby I decided to read the Book of Mormon. My goal was to read it in 3 months. I tried with all my might, but it took about 6 months. However, this last year I've felt pretty blah. Maybe it's being pregnant, I don't know, but setting goals and meeting them just hasn't happened for me and it's discouraging. So, in thinking about this upcoming year, I've decided on a few goals that shouldn't be hard to maintain and will help significantly.

Goal #1 Get baby Ruth Here :) I can't be effective at anything until this little one is here! I need my body back!

Goal #2 Help kids learn how to teach a FHE lesson. We made a commitment when Abby was a baby to have FHE every Monday and to be honest, we've not missed one week since then...9 years! But many of our family nights are mediocre at best. The kids are great at reading stories from the friend (nothing is wrong with this), but Hailey and Abby are old enough to teach a lesson, asking questions, preparing a subject. Joe and Ray need to learn the scriptures and would benefit from using pictures from the Gospel Art Kit to memorize scripture stories and re-tell them to all of us. I'm really excited to see how this one goes.

Goal #3 Finish studying Preach My Gospel. I started studying this manual a few years ago. In all of our packing and moving, I had packed this manual. I found it the other day and was reading through all of my notes. Wow, was I really this in tune with the spirit at one point?! The notes written in there were amazing! I studied about half of it. I'm going to review my notes and then finish it. What an amazing manual, not just for missionaries but for all members of the church.

Goal #4 Attend the temple monthly. This one will be tough for me. I love the temple, don't get me wrong. I don't know why it's a struggle, but it is.

Goal #5 Take Care of My Body. This isn't just about losing weight. I love to exercise, I love to eat. The two can work together if I do it right. This year I have to do it, not just sort of do it.


This is all I came up with, most are spiritual but frankly, I need a BIG spiritual uplift. Here's to hoping 2010 is a better year!