Christmas Eve Evening

We did a live nativity!

Christmas Eve Tradition

Sledding

Cutest picture ever.

Ollie wouldn't smile for me.

Check out all of this snow!!!!

The first run.  This hill was a beast.  Our neighbor told us that we could go sledding on his back yard 'sledding hill'.  I was terrified.

And there they go.  This picture does not do justice for the steepness of that hill.

Me with the boys.  We couldn't get all three of us to smile at the camera at the same time...common problem.

I love Cooper's 'smile' in this one.

And the sled totally broke on run #2.

This was the best part.  While we were trying out another part of the hill, the UPS truck came to deliver a package and got stuck.  We had quite a crew with us, so they had to push him out.  It wasn't until we got a chain with another pickup that the truck actually got unstuck.

Maycee's snowman that her and Mrs. Joiner made together.  Mrs. Joiner, Stephanie, is our old next door neighbor.  We miss them.  A lot.

Doesn't our house look so cool with the snow and the fog!

Christmas Tree

New Job

The kids have been given a new assignment.  The first day they were elated to do their job.  The second day was even filled with enthusiasm, but the following days were not such an emotional high. The kids' job is to bring the wood in from the garage and put it in the wood chest next to the fireplace. The coolness of having a wood burning fireplace is now overrated for them.

I love that Cooper is totally whining in front of Maycee's cute face in this one.

We're so cute.

Dress up

Gender Reveal

I know.  I haven't said anything about being pregnant.

I am pregnant.

Due to bring forth a bundle of baby on April 30, 2016.

We went to our ultrasound appointment this past week.

It almost didn't happen.

Maycee woke up feeling sick.  So sick that she wouldn't get off the couch.  In Maycee terms, that is very sick.  I let her friends know that we weren't going to be at her book club that day and then cancelled my babysitter for my ultrasound appointment.  She had kids my kids' ages that I didn't want to give whatever Maycee had.  I ended up asking my amazing neighbor down the street, whose son was at school, if she could sit with my kiddos at my house while I went to the ultrasound.  I felt a little guilty for leaving a sick Maycee without her mother, BUT I REALLY COULDN'T WAIT ANY LONGER TO KNOW WHAT KIND OF BABY WAS INSIDE OF ME!!!!

I drove to Eagle to pick up Stephen and off we went to downtown Boise to learn our future.

I was ready, right then and there, to put money down on this babies gender.  "It's a girl," I said to everyone.

This has the only time I thought one of my pregnancies was a girl.

I knew Maycee was a boy.  Wrong.

I was pretty positive that Cooper was a boy, but was a little hesitant to tell people of my thoughts because of my blunder with the last guess.  BUT I was RIGHT.

I also thought that Oliver was a boy.  RIGHT!...Again.

Number 4.  I have been on a roll.  This is totally a girl.

As I laid on the table and the ultrasound tech put the instrument on my belly, she said, "Wow, this kid is a mover!"  I had wondered that, but figured that since it was my fourth pregnancy I would just normally feel more of things than the last three.  Her statement changed that.  This kid is a m-o-v-e-r.  Not like I don't have enough of those at home right now! ;)

The little person inside of me did not want to reveal it's little secret.  The tech moved on to check measurements.

Little person was still uncooperative.

More measurements.

Then.

Bam!

The ultrasound tech said, "Look!  Right here is the leg, then here is the other leg.  In the middle of the legs we have another leg!"

Seriously.  I was shocked.  I kinda didn't believe her.  For the rest of the appointment, that little person showed his secret with pride.  No longer hidden, he was showing the world.

Here we go, world.  Another boy is getting added to the mix.  We are raising a zoo.

Now on to the next hurdle...how are we going to tell Maycee.  She was set on having a girl.  I was nervous to tell her the news.  I purposely didn't tell her that we were going to find out what the baby was at our appointment.

I prayed the whole way home. "How do I tell her?"

I prayed while making dinner.  "How do I tell her?"

I know that Heavenly Father gave me the answer.  He knows her better than I.

I called Stephen, still at work, to get his opinion, and he agreed.

That night we held a family meeting.  We gathered all of the kids into the living room to tell them about my doctors appointment.

We told them that Heavenly Father had chosen Maycee to come to our home first.  Then Heavenly Father chose Cooper to come.  And then he chose Oliver to come.  All of these people were brought to our family because Heavenly Father knew we were supposed to be together.  We then said that Heavenly Father had chosen another boy to come to our family.

Maycee then interrupted to say, "But I wanted it to be a girl!"

We then said that Heavenly Father chooses the people who are supposed to be in our family.  And sometimes we don't understand why, but He does.

Maycee thought on that and then she was OK.  She no longer talked about a girl.  She loves this little boy and is excited for him to come to our house.

I am SO grateful to know that I have a Heavenly Father that loves and knows my kids and that helps me to raise them.

Fireplace

Isn't it lovely? Don't you feel warmer just looking at it?