Yup you are seeing correctly!

So for those of you who don't know... we are expecting #3. I was more then surprised when I found out (on Carson's 1st birthday no less!) and couldn't even figure out how to tell Jared! I waited about a week to tell him... hoping he would just ask and then I wouldn't have to say the words. But actually he was way more excited then I expected and 99% more excited then I was... do you think that is because he doesn't wake up with the kids at night!? We weren't trying at all, in fact we were simply trying to find a better birth control because my IUD was a P.O.S and making me P.O.-ed. So along came #3! I can't wait to tell him or her that story when they grow up! Anyway, we decided, we weren't going to tell people right away, so we waited a little. But over the holidays with all of the family together, we decided it would just be easier... so the cat (or the baby I guess) is out of the bag. Actually I told my boss today and so that is why I can blog about it now... it is officially out.

I am only 12 weeks along, so it is still early, but I recently watched a movie that was talking about being pregnant - when the girl asked how pregnant she was, her doctor replied that there was only one degree of pregnant - you either you are or you aren't... so there you go - I am.

I am due July 24th - so instead of a nesting phase, I think I will just build a covered wagon and instead of a hospital I will just deliver in there. (I am more then kidding - if you don't know, July 24th is Pioneer Day in Utah).

I have had a pretty easy time so far. I haven't been sick with any of the kids and this one is no exception. I do however get hungry (in fact my ordering lunch at 10:30 am is what gave it away to the girls at work) and so I am trying to keep on the healthy side... because I really don't care what they say I WILL NOT prick my finger 3 times a day for another baby - Carson still owes me for that!

I will keep you up to date with what I find out, but for now - #3 is on the way!

BYU Basketball

It has been too long since I have posted and I know I have a lot of catching up to do, but instead of trying tonight - I will post about recent things and not try to catch up (tonight anyway).

BYU played Wake Forrest tonight - it was a great game, we stayed close the entire game and actually spent most of the time ahead, until the end when we just couldn't pull through and we lost. I am never a good loser, but I will say I still enjoyed the game.

We went with Jared's brother Steve, who is visiting with his wife from Alaska (she didn't come because their baby wasn't feeling well tonight). Also with us was Eric (Jared's other brother), Liz (his wife), David (their son - who is so darn cute it is unbelievable) and Abi (their baby girl). It was fun to visit with all of them and play with David - he is such a boy and loves to root on the team. Here are some pictures from tonights game.

The picture of David is him doing the Cougar Fight Song cheer - he has it down pat! We were all so proud, he is such a little stud!

The picture of Liz and Abi is showing how Liz was trying to cover her ears from the crazy noise. It was so funny because right before this picture she was sleeping and when the cheers rang out, her eyes pooped open as big as quarters. But she was a trooper and both of the kids were super cute tonight!

You can call me "Consultant" Summer

After years of throwing Pampered Chef parties at my own home and enjoying the spoils of my labors with great stuff in my kitchen, I have decided to take the next step and become a Pampered Chef Consultant. I am a little nervous and I am not sure how great I will do, but I really do love this stuff (you should see my kitchen as proof) so I am confident I will enjoy it, so I am going to give it a try.

If any of you want to have a Pampered Chef Party in your own home just let me know and we can schedule whenever is convenient for you. If you just want to order something for yourself or others, let me know - I am now able to get the goodies for you! I will also be using my blog to announce any parties I will be having, so all of you can always attend.

Thanks to all of you who encouraged me to take this step and to Christine for being so supportive and making me successful already!

Wish me luck!

Pampered Chef Party

Saturday I had a Pampered Chef Party, we had a great time and enjoyed some yummy food. If any of you couldn't make it, but still wanted to order something, we are "closing" the party out tonight (Monday evening), so you can still order until then. If we close out tonight we should get the shipment in on the 22nd - so before Christmas if you are still looking for Christmas gifts! If you are interested you can look on www.pamperedchef.com and in the catalog, then write down the item # of what you want and the description, call me and we can get you your great Pampered Chef items before the party closes!

Also if you spend $60 or more you get the Beaded Spreader for free!

If you don't have my number comment on this blog and I will call you.

Thanks!

Mrs. Perfect

Not only is she super cute with a perfect little not-too-skinny-to-make-you-think-she-isn't-eating-but-skinny-enough-
to-make-YOU-want-to-stop-eating, she also has great taste with her cute little clothes and glasses and overall look... she also has all the perfect talents that I am jealous of, like playing the piano beautifully, interior decorating, crafting (while recycling) with simple things like a tube of Crystal Light. She also has a super cute son who always looks like he is ready for a photo shoot (even when just in a onesie), that goes to sleep at like 6:30 or 7 every night and sleeps until morning. Don't forget her super awesome husband, who is such a "man's man" it is unbelievable, while still being super funny, down to earth and not too macho to still make it so obvious that he is head over heals for his wife. I could go on forever about her amazing house and her cute personality, but I will stop at the reason I was inspired to write this... neighbor gifts!



She and her husband, with their sleeping baby in the car (because perfect children still let you do things, but sleep anywhere) knocked on our door (no they didn't just leave it on the doorstep like I have done the last 3 years - of course!), the other night with this perfectly wrapped neighbor gift (which is nicer then some of the gifts I am giving my own family). It is a HAND MADE recipe board with the yummiest No-way-she-didn't-buy-these...
OH-WAIT-she's-perfect-of-course-they-are-home-made cookies. Don't worry it is also personalized with Pratt at the bottom and the added recipe in the dessert section for the yummy cookies she made for us.

I am thankful this great gift with underlying reminder that I am within steps of a true Mrs. Perfect. But I have one question for Michelle - opps - I mean Mrs. Perfect... What the heck - is there anything you don't excel at!? Also one suggestion - if you have to be perfect, which all perfect people come by naturally, so of course you have to be - it is you. Then think of the overall picture... if you aren't going to do your neighbor gifts half-assed, like the rest of us suckers that just bought something, then could you at least not be so prompt with your giving? Make yours the Grand Finale, not the very first gift you get, that makes you think, "crap - how am I going to compare with this?" Just helping you to see it how us normals are. :)

PS: I hope you know (which of course you do - perfect people also have a great sense of humor and thick skin), that this was all in good fun. I really do think you are perfect, but not in annoying way, just in a way that makes me want to be better. I absolutely love you and am so glad to be your friend! Thanks for the awesome gift and your overall thoughtfulness!

E - M - M - A

In the last few months Emma has really been into spelling. First she would spell Emma, of course. Then as she became more comfortable with her letter she started spelling more and more. Stop (because of the stop sign - which she calls "the octagon"), go, mom, dad, Carson, cow, pig... everyday she asks how to spell a new word - it has become her favorite game in the car, while we are driving places... "Mom, how do you spell..." and she doesn't stop - lucky for me she doesn't know any big words that I might misspell! She did ask about Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious - but I just laughed and stated singing it and she was satisfied.

The last few days she has wanted to write her name... she hasn't perfected her "A" - but for her first time, I think it is great!

Joseph B. Wirthlin

Joseph B. Wirthlin passed away last night at the age of 91. He was a wonderful man and one of my favorite apostles. I most enjoyed a motto he used in his life that his mother had taught him - "come what may and love it." We were all greatly blesses to have had him to teach us for as long as we did.

Jared found this article about his life, it really shows so many of his characteristics that we all loved, his humor, his hard work and his devotion. We love you and will miss you Elder Wirthlin - "Auf Wiedersehen, till we meet again." (read the article for the last part).

Elder Joseph B. Wirthlin: A Life Full of Adventure and Joy that Surpasses Understanding

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2 December 2008 If ever there was a symbol of one man’s dedication to make the most of every day, it is Elder Joseph B. Wirthlin’s old Olympia typewriter. In a time when computers dominate most offices, it sat on his wide oak desk and was put to good use each morning as he personally typed out his daily schedule on a small 3-by-5 card. “Every day is an adventure,” Elder Wirthlin said. “Every day carries with it a responsibility. I thought, well, here I am — sort of the 11th hour maybe in my life — I’d better make the most of it.”

Elder Wirthlin made the most of it all of his life. Jane Parker, his oldest child, recalled one of her favorite memories was waking “at five in the morning and hearing him at the typewriter” organizing his schedule. The clacking of typewriter keys during those predawn hours became part of the rhythm of life for this apostle of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, who felt each day was a journey to be savored and enjoyed.

“Some of the happiest people I know have none of the things the world insists are necessary for satisfaction and joy,” said Elder Wirthlin. “My life has been filled with adventure, spiritual experiences and joy that surpasses understanding.”

Keystroke by keystroke, line by line, schedule by schedule, Elder Wirthlin stripped down the complexities of life to the simple things that matter most; family, devotion to God, hard work and service.

Elder Wirthlin, the eldest of five children, was born in Salt Lake City on 11 June 1917 to Joseph and Madeline Wirthlin. A young Joseph learned true compassion from his father during the Great Depression, when many families were suffering. His father, who owned a wholesale business, would load Joseph’s red coaster wagon with food for the needy. Joseph would make the deliveries, and when the wagon was empty he’d come back for more. Looking back on that experience he said: “I learned from him to care for the poor and to not do it just by words but in deed. That was a great lesson for me. He was always kind to the poor.”

Elder Wirthlin’s desire to succor the poor in body and spirit resulted in his leaving his studies at the University of Utah, and a starting position on the football team, to serve a two and a half year mission for the Church in the late 1930s. At a precarious time in world history, he stepped aboard the S.S. Manhattan as a young missionary and began a long voyage that would take him into Germany and Switzerland. For the first six weeks he was alone in Salzburg, a missionary in a strange, new country not knowing if or when Hitler’s tanks would blitz across the border.

Elder Wirthlin said: “As I look back on it now, I wonder if those times of trial and loneliness weren’t instrumental in strengthening my character and heightening my desire to succeed. Those times of seeming failure may have been some of the most instrumental of my life, because they prepared me for greater things to come.”

His mission was a period of intense gospel study during which he learned to teach, preach and “love people more than ever before and to accept them for what they were.”

A defining moment for Elder Wirthlin came on a cold, clear, snowy night on Christmas Eve in the tiny village of Oberndorf nestled in the Bavarian Alps. After listening to organ music in a humble church, Elder Wirthlin and his companion started for home and became engaged in a serious discussion about what they wanted to do with their lives. “The Spirit was so strong as I walked with my companion that it’s hard to express,” Elder Wirthlin said. “I really had a burning testimony that the Church is true as never before in my life.”

On that soul-searching night, Elder Wirthlin also contemplated the type of woman he would someday marry. After returning from his mission he said he knew the first time he laid eyes on Elisa Rogers that she would be his wife — and she was just a year later, on 26 May 1941.

Theirs was a tender relationship that deepened through the years, said daughter Katherine Cannon. “You could tell that she loved him. She listened intently to him.” And he listened to her, many times relying on her “good, sound judgment.” Though often gone with a hectic schedule, Elder Wirthlin said he looked forward to coming home. “Every morning I kiss her goodbye and always say, ‘Auf Wiedersehen, till we meet again.’”

The Wirthlins settled into married life and eventually became the parents of eight children, seven girls and one boy. “Our boy came second, and when we had our eighth arrival and announced to him that it was a girl, “Elder Wirthlin laughed, “Joe said, ‘Not another one!’”

Life was busy, but Elder Wirthlin always devoted time to family, whether it was lunchtime with his children, letting his son play stowaway in his car to the office, or taking family vacations on which they always seemed to get lost. Sunday also became an important family time when they rested from work, attended church and held family home evening.

Elder Wirthlin was also devoted to living the gospel. After serving in countless Church positions spanning decades, Elder Wirthlin became an apostle on 9 October1986, joining 11 other modern-day apostles with responsibilities to govern The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. The Church organization reflects Christ’s ancient church, and like those biblical apostles nearly two millennia ago, today’s apostles come from all professions and walks of life and serve in lifelong positions.

Fellow apostle Russell M. Nelson said Elder Wirthlin will be remembered for his “tremendous faith and willingness to work.” President Thomas S. Monson, president of the Church, described Elder Wirthlin as a man of great innate goodness who did not care for personal acclaim, only to please his Heavenly Father.

And pleasing his Heavenly Father included sharing his testimony of the gospel with others. “I wish I could engrave on every heart what I so keenly know and feel,” Elder Wirthlin said. “I bear unwavering testimony that our Heavenly Father and His divine Son, Jesus Christ, rule and reign, and that we must all understand that the gospel is everlasting. It is forever and applicable to all, and each of us is to be held accountable.”

Accountability, knowing what’s really important in life, strengthening family relationships, serving God, strengthening others, making the most of each day, having a written schedule and sticking to it — one can almost hear the keys of the old Olympia typewriter.

Twilight!!!

Last night was the midnight release of Twilight the movie! If you don't know what Twilight is, call me immediately and I will send you the books! Also, you probably won't be interested in this next post.Reva, Sherrie, Emilie, Michelle and I left right before 11 pm to head to The Gateway Cinema up in Salt Lake for the showing. We decided to go there because they had assigned seating enough tickets for a good group. The place was packed, we had to hook on to each other to stay together when moving through the crowd, they even had police out front for the crowd, it was great!
I loved the movie and I was disappointed. I think when deciding to see this movie or not, you have to think, if you loved the book, nobody is going to be able to recreate that for you - unfortunately.

When looking at the characters cast on the internet and other places, I thought they did a really bad job, but I really think they fit fairly well in the movie. The best character cast was Charlie and Renee - I think the actors fit the part so well. The worst cast I think was Rosalie - I know it is hard to cast "the most beautiful women in the world", but she was not it, by a long shot in my eyes and it didn't help that bad hair color and make up vexed her through out the movie. Others I wasn't disappointed in were Emmett, Jasper and Alice - they seemed to fit the role fairly well and I ended up liking them. I actually Jasper WAS a little odd, but I think you have to read into his character to see that he is a new vegetarian vampire and is odd... it seemed to fit to me.

I was disappointed in some of the character development or lack of it and also some of the scenes they chose to leave out. Some of my favorites like - when he first spends the night and she wakes up and jumps on the rocking chair with him and they finally say I LOVE YOU! No chair and no I love you. He does spend the night and they do kiss - but it is short lived and it doesn't really show him working up to the kiss or getting better to be closer to her. I felt like they rushed through a lot of key stuff and it was a little disappointing.I did enjoy seeing this version of my favorite book. I have said it before and I will say it again - it can't do it justice. I can't show you what I see in my head, but it is amazing!

I will say I am going to see it again and probably again after that, then when it comes out on DVD I will own it and watch it at my leisure.
The best part of the night was hanging out with my good friends and laughing like teenagers a majority of the night! I had a blast girls, thanks so much for coming!I even had some temporary tattoos that the girls put on (from the New Moon book) , so along with my "It only takes one bite" shirt and my "Twilight Girl" beenie - we were set!

Happy Birthday Babies!!!

Both Emma and Carson's birthdays were this week. Carson turned 1 on Sunday and Emma is 3 today! I really can't believe how quick they have grow and how fast they are learning. I absolutely love their crazy energy and funny personalities.Unfortunately we have all been sick this week and so we have been celebrating around feeling yucky! Saturday was their birthday party, we had a Safari themed party and I think it turned out great. Carson only got to enjoy about 15 minutes of it and then he slept the rest of the time... oh well, I wasn't going to keep him up for 15 - 2 to 3 year olds that would have made him crazy. I will post pictures as soon as I can, I actually only took a few, because I was busy hosting, but I know that Grandma T, Big Grandpa and Reva took some, I will get them soon to post.

Today we went with Grandma T to Madagascar 2, it was a really cute movie. Emma is not as much of a "movie buff" as I would hope and spent about 1/4 of the movie asking to be held or to go home and the rest of the time eating popcorn. Carson on the other hand was perfectly content on Grandma T's lap watching the movie and kicking along to the music.

To celebrate their birthdays on the blog, I had some photos emailed to me of them from our photographer and good friend,Emilie.

***Photographer Plug - don't skip this part: We had our family photos done last week and they turned out amazing! If you would like your pictures done and are looking for THE MOST TALENTED photographer in Utah, then you need to click the link to her website, which is on the right column of my blog under "Favorite Websites." She is, in my opinion, totally under priced (not in a bad way, but she doesn't let money control her art and doesn't want it to control others opportunities either), she is very flexible with schedules - even nap times, does amazing work with children and has done my kids in different stages as they have grown. I am so grateful for her and the photos of my kids, it is so fun to look back on them growing up through the work of a true artist.***So I thought I would show you a few of them she did recently and tell you the fun things the kids are doing in their stages.

Emma is totally amazing, in my eyes. She is to a really fun stage of "Big Girl." She loves to sing, dance, read and play. She has made some big steps in the last year... we got rid of her binky, got her in a big girl bed and have made big strides in the potty training process (we still have an occasional accident - so we have some work to do still). She absolutely loves her little brother and has made it her goal to make him laugh as much as possible. She is very helpful with him and is really learning all the responsibilities of being a big sister - even sharing! She is pretty smart in my eyes (of course I am a little bias), she can navigate around the computer, getting to Playhouse Disney and to her itunes playlist on her own - which is so funny to see. She loves to say the prayer and is very detailed in what she prays for... which is anything from The Imagination Movers to the remote control, but Mommy, Daddy, Carson and Uncle Tyson are always mentions. The newest thing she likes to do is snap - even though she has got it down pretty well for the last week or so, her face still lights up when she hear the snap - it is great!Carson is so nice - He is the best second child anyone could ask for! He is very soft and sweet, but can get talkative when he wants to - which we love to hear! He started crawling a few weeks ago and has found his way around everywhere. He has now started to climb a little, getting up on his knees only and stretching up, it is very cute. He loves to watch his sister, it doesn't matter what she is doing, he has his eye on her and if it is even the slightest bit funny, he will giggle. He is a super good eater, he loves to munch on anything especially anything we are eating... no matter what he has and what what we have - he always wants ours! He is getting a wider variety of food as well now, he has 2 teeth on the bottom and 4 on top are starting to push on his gums (but nothing up top has pushed through yet). He is a great sleeper and has been so easy compared to his sister. He is really a nice little sweet heart and I love to cuddle and kiss him! He is my little "mama's boy" and I really love it!
Happy Birthday Kids - hope you both had fun special days!

Thankful Thursday

Today I am especially grateful to a few people...

Emma has not been feeling well the last few days and last night seemed to be the worst. So to help her feel better and so I didn't have to spread any sickness, I stayed home to be with her. Others had a part in her feeling better as well...

Thanks to Jyll for working for me today! Even though she has a little baby of her own that she didn't want to leave, she knew I was desperate and pulled some strings to sub for me. Thank you, thank you, thank you! Along with Jyll, thanks to all the girls for helping out in my absence and to Dr. Payne for being understanding about me not wanting to work and leave Emma.

Thanks to Target for making the only Tylenol that Emma will take without a fit - in fact she calls it "yummy". Also to Walmart for your very effective Medicated Chest Rub.Last but not least thanks to Jackson, Broder and Sherrie for being so thoughtful and bringing Emma a "Get Well Soon" gift and picture. (Sherrie watches Emma and Carson on the days I work and Jackson and Broder are her sons - Emma's great friends!) When they delivered it the kids stayed in the car but Emma was so excited to see them, wave and blow kisses.

This is a water painting that Jackson did - it is a dinosaur... they both love dinosaurs! Incase you can't see the writing at the bottom says "To Emma - Feel Better! Love (heart) Jackson."
This is some yummy hot chocolate with a picture of "Imagination Mover Rich" on it. The Imagination Movers are Emma's favorite show right now and Rich is one of the characters. I love it, Jackson, you are the cutest guy ever - thank you so much for being such a good friend to Emma!