Happy Birthday to my handsome little 2 year old.

I don't think I know a happier little kid. He is so much fun. He loves to laugh, and dance and sing. He also loves to snuggle and give lots of hugs and smooches. Every night when we tuck him in he makes us come back for at least 2 or 3 additional hugs and kisses. Without fail, every night after making the rounds of tucking all the kids in, as I'm walking towards the door I will hear Jimmy say with puckered lips, "tiss, tiiiiiss!" And I just HAVE to go back and give him one more smooch. I just can't help it. He's so darn cute. Happy Birthday Jimmy! We love you!

And here, for your enjoyment, is Jimmy's rendition of The Itsy, Bitsy Spider. Complete with actions. Seriously, can a kid get any cuter?!

Happy Birthday Jakers!

Jacob is 6 today! How did this happen?! (That was a rhetorical question, all you smart alecs.) Look how big he is. And losing teeth!

This kid, LOVES his baby brother. He loves all his siblings, but he particularly loves Andrew. Most of the pictures I have of him lately are of holding little drew. He will hold him any chance he gets.

His first lost tooth. (He's lost 2 now and 2 more are getting there as well.)

Despite how big he's getting, he still loves to snuggle and that's what we started out the day doing. Snuggling in the recliner and watching Smurfs. :-D He's such a fun kid.

Happy Birthday Buddy! We love you!

Just Another Controversial Topic

I know this is a controversial topic, but most of these topics can't really be avoided at present. All sorts of things are popping up about my religion and hitting the media. Today I came across this blog post that I thought was really great. Some people might not think it's great though. I'll admit it's hard not to cringe. I think we as members of the church are scared to admit that maybe we aren't perfect. I mean, we know we aren't perfect, but we almost feel we have to be, or people around us will take our mistakes as proof that we are sad, misguided, people that have been sucked into this wacky religion. (Lets face it, many do.) I recently had this conversation with Mike about the imperfections of our church leaders. They never claim to be perfect. As much as we love and respect them, we don't worship them. We worship our father in heaven and his son Jesus Christ who ARE perfect. No prophet has EVER claimed to be perfect. They all make mistakes. They are not all knowing. They come to conclusions that are sometimes incorrect. They oft times realize the incorrectness of some of those conclusions and many times will tell you they were wrong. (I might add too, that they never claim that those speculations are doctrine. They are very clear about what is direct revelation from God. The proclamation on the family for example, direct revelation from God.) There is a difference between ideas they get and actual revelation in regards to church doctrine. In this blog post, it talks about the Blacks and the priesthood. For a long time, church members would try and explain away, or justify why black members of the church were denied the priesthood. I think we felt we could not admit a mistake. We had to pass it off as God not allowing it at the time for some unknown reason (which may be true, who knows). We couldn't just admit that it was a time in life, when prejudice was strong. WE were the ones not allowing it to happen. Now, this is all speculation on my part. I don't know all the details behind it all. But I would like to think that we are not above admitting we are not perfect. It goes back to the ol' saying, "the gospel is perfect, people are not". Just because I am not perfect, does not mean the gospel is not true or that this church that I belong to is not true. I believe with my whole heart and soul that The Church of Jesus Christ of Later-day Saints is the true church on earth today. That we do in fact have the fullness of the gospel. I've studied, I've pondered, I've prayed and I've received that personal confirmation that comes only through the spirit. So for me, it doesn't matter what mistakes people make within the church. My testimony will never be shaken. (As long as I continue to study, ponder and pray.) Still, my heart does go out to those who have had bad experienced with member of this faith. I pray that they too will remember that we are not perfect, and that no one is, and instead of looking at those mistakes, look at what we have to offer, and that is the gospel.

(Here's another good blog on the subject that I found. [Thanks Holly. :)])

Happy Birthday Lizzie!

Well, I'm kind of late getting this post up, but I've been busy all day making an awesome cake. :-D

I'll start off by listing 4 things about Lizzie.

1-Currently, her favorite color is purple. She has a collection of purple clothes and on Sundays, the only dress I can ever get her to wear is the one she picked out herself...which happens to be purple and covered in sparkles.

2-She's such a lightweight, but all day long, she is constantly asking for food and saying, "but mom, I'm stiiiiiiil huuuungry! She's like the hungry little caterpillar...except she doesn't put on any weight. :-D

3-When ever you give her a snack that she really likes, she will say, "Mmm, that's the *good* stuff". Speaking of snacks, her favorite snack is graham crackers and chocolate milk. That's all she'd ever eat if let her.

4-She is and always has been, a master hider. She randomly goes missing and we have to go look for her. Usually you have to be really quiet and listen for her breathing. She likes to turn toy boxes upside down and hid under them.

I can't believe she is 4. Where does the time go.

Despite being kind of a goofy looking baby...

She's turning into a pretty little girly. We just love her.

For her birthday she got a little Cinderella figurine play set, and the book Purplicious. I also gave her a purple crown to wear during dinner. She loved it. lol.

And, here's a picture of just her cake. I originally planned for it to be much smaller. It would have been a lot easier to do had it been. *shrug* Oh well. I still think it turned out pretty good. :)

Happy Birthday Miss Lulu. We love you and are so glad you are a part of our family.

Dear Lactation Consultant,

I really appreciate your wanting to help. However, it would be great if you didn't send a messenger to discuss my use of a binky, while in a waiting room packed full of people, and assume I'm an idiot. Also, when I say I don't want to talk to a lactation consultant during my hospital stay, don't make your way into my room anyway. The first time I overlooked as a fluke. But when it happened a second and third time, (with later babies) that was just annoying. In the future, if I need your assistance I will be sure to contact you. In the mean time, leave me alone. Thanks.

Sincerely,

Successful breastfeeding mother who uses both a binky AND bottle. (For baby, not myself...just to clarify. :-D)

Back story, you say? Well...

Today, while waiting in the waiting area for my 48 hour, baby, follow up visit, a nurse comes in, sits down next to me and this is the conversation we have.

Nurse: Excuse me ma'am, what is your last name?

(I tell her my last name, thinking she's just verifying who I am so she can tell me they can't get me in, since I was 2 hours late for my appt. (doh))

Nurse: Ms. Arnold, (points to the binki in my hand) I was just wondering, did you get that binki here.

Me: uh...no. I got it at walmart, actually.

Nurse: Oh, okay. Are you breastfeeding?

Me: Yes.

Nurse: Okay, Well, I was sent on a mission by the lactation consultant to talk to you a little bit about how the use of a binky can effect breastfeeding...(or something to that effect)

Me: (instantly annoyed and cutting her off) Yes, well, this is my 4th baby and...

Nurse: (jumps our of her chair) Oh, enough said. I will let her know. I'm very sorry. She saw you holding that binky with her binky radar from waaaaaay over there.

(I look around, can't even see her office. Wow, that's some radar!!!)

She continues to apologize one more time before making a quick exit. Meanwhile, we've got everyone's attention in the waiting room.

Really. REALLY??? UGH!!!

I won't bore you with the details of my previous encounters with pushy LC's. Lets just say, this experience did not improve my opinion of them.

The End.

Not to brag or anything...

Who am I kidding. I think I've earned bragging rights. :-D Baby Andrew arrived yesterday, weighing in at a whopping 10lbs 9oz and I survived it all with no pain meds and very minimal damage. Was I wanting the pain meds?? Yes, yes I was, but by that time it was a little late. Luckily I have short labors. This one lasted 5 1/2 hours start to finish with only an hour or so of intense labor. The very end was the worst. They got to a point where they had me stop pushing so he could work his way out slowly, and that hurt. That part lasted about 5 minutes, but seemes like 5 hours. When they told me how much he weighed, I about fell off the hospital bed. At first I thought they were joking. I kept asking, "What?? How much? Are you SURE???". I'm still a little bit in shock. It sure explains a lot. lol. Still, despite his weight, he is such a cute little peanut. We just love him. He is so fun and snuggly and the kids love him. Well, the older 2 anyways. I think Jimmy is undecided. Or just bitter because he's been dethroned. Who's to say. :-D Either way, sure glad he's finally here.

Thank you everyone who helped us out!! I was so grateful for my friend and visiting teacher, Rachel, who was able to come watch the kids on short notice! She was such a blessing. And thank you Mary for the hat, which inspired the cute take home outfit. :-D LOVE IT!

20 and Counting

Yes, In case you missed it, the Duggars are expecting baby #20!!! The responses I've seen are pretty mixed. Ranging form shock and horror to excitement for them. I lean towards the latter. And anyone who knows me well, knows why. Here is a wonderful family with, happy, healthy children and a loving mother and father, who love God and see children as a blessing from God. I can see where they are coming from. I see my children the same way. They are a blessing from God and I want lots of them. That's not to say that having lots of children is all peaches. Anyone with even one child, knows what a challenge they can be and the frustrations that often arise. But the happiness they bring into a home far outweighs any of the negatives. Is everyone meant to have 20 children??? No. And no one is saying you should. That is a personal decision that should be made between a couple and the lord. But what I don't understand are the negative responses. Who the heck cares?!? Why do we feel the need to judge? Of course, coming from a big family myself, and loving it, I admit that I am biased. I loved growing up with so many siblings. And I especially appreciate them even more as an adult. My siblings are my best friends. All of them at one point or another has had a positive impact on my life. I've learned a lot from all of them.

As a mother, I am especially grateful for the experience I gained from being part of a big family. I am the middle of 15, so as you can imagine, I had to do some helping out. One of the negative things I've heard regarding the Duggars, is how awful it must be that the older children have to spend so much time helping out with the younger children, and what a burden it must be on them. Watching one of the interviews with some of the older children, they were very clear that they did not see it as a burden and with smiles on their faces expressed how much they loved it. Now, I wasn't considered one of the older ones and didn't have to do a lot of helping out until the youngest was born (that I can remember anyways) But I did do my fair share of babysitting and diaper changing. There were times when I would much rather have been hanging out with my friends than watching my younger siblings. I grew to appreciate the experience as I got older. BUT, now, looking back, WHAT A BLESSING. When I started having my own kids I already had a lot of child care experience under my belt. Not just from watching my siblings, but also from helping out with neices and nephews. (As you can imagine, there are a lot of them as well.) I already knew how to dress and bathe a baby and change diapers. (Cloth diapers at that.) I learned a lot from my parents. Even the things I didn't personally experience, just being able to watch my mother taught me a lot about child rearing. I remember being totally excited when my mom would bring home another baby. So, I'm not surprised to see how excited the Duggar kids are to have yet another little one come into their home. And when you watch the parents as they talk about bringing another baby into the world, you can't help but feel happy for them because they look so happy!! Why is it so surprising that having yet another baby could make them happy? Babies and children bring such a sweet spirit into the home. They are so innocent and fresh from God!

Talking to my mother, and hearing the way she talks about her children, I see first hand how much happiness her children have brought into her life. I once heard her express how sad it would be if she would have stopped at 5 or so. (Since I'm #8, I happen to agree. :-D) And I can't imagine what life would be like without all my siblings. They are all amazing people!

I think it's sad that people who have big families are looked at as being crazy. Why is that? I don't understand. Someone explain that to me. Please.