The Countdown

 Unbelievable...less than 10 WEEKS to go until baby's debut!  The little steps in his development are so fun, like his eyebrows and eyelashes.  We are soooo excited!  This pregnancy (probably because I'm not the pregnant one) has gone be very quickly.  So we ordered a crib last week.  The store was having a trade-in sale, you can bring in any old crib/stroller/carseat etc for 25% off of a new one.  So, not having anything stored in the closet we asked my Mom and she said she still had MY old crib.  Despite it being some sort of death-trap, I somehow made it through infancy alive sleeping in it.  All sentimentality aside, she said TAKE IT!  So they dug it out of the shed and I hauled it away, cobwebs and all.  That truly is the goal of this sale, to take old, out-of-date and unsafe baby equipment/furniture out of people's homes.  Good idea, $80 saved!

Other things going on lately - see the picture at right.  No, it isn't an earthquake or some other disaster, actually just a self-imposed mess.  We are working on our basement and this shows the concrete after our friend jackhammered it.  It's now been re-done. The reason we decided to replace it was a prominent bump and low spot which you could trip over.  Other stuff done - framing and plumbing.  Electrical next, then inspection.  If we're lucky it will be done by April.  Maybe.  We figured while I am still at work we can pay for it now.  It will be great to have room for more kids, or, at the rate we've been going, at least room for guests.

Our niece had her birthday this month and we were able to take her and her friends to Soldier Hollow.  They have two giant pulley systems which pull you up the hill so you just have to sit on your rear virtually the whole time!  Truly the lazy man's way to enjoy the winter wonderland.   The day started clear but before long it was snowing which was kind of nice but made the runs faster.  I think everyone had a great time, we ate at a restaurant in Heber that has a train running along a track near the ceiling.  Our toddler was very content to watch it come and go.  And, with her fabulous good taste, our niece chose Sweet Tooth Fairy cupcakes for her birthday cake.  Yum.

Life is Good!

We had a great time over Christmas.  Relatively quiet but enjoyable.  You can see the hoop that Santa brought - Jared and I have had a lot of fun with it!  Of course, it was for our toddler who likes to play with it, mostly if he can stand on a chair to shoot the ball.  But best of all, Jaylene stayed with us, making it it even more fun.  She was so sweet in bringing gifts for everyone, including the babe we are all waiting for.  She made some great burp cloths out of super soft minky and kitchen towels so the baby will have a soft place to rest his head when we burp him.  Very cute and colorful.  We were also able to look at cribs and think we have found one we'll purchase soon.  It converts to a toddler bed and eventually a regular bed too.  And since we'll be adding to our family, we decided to finish at least part of our basement.  We are having all the electrical, plumbing, hvac done soon and will then decide how many rooms to finish.  Probably the large family room, pottery room (Jared's newest hobby is for REAL) and one bedroom will be finished for now but we'll see when we get a better idea of cost if we want to just complete the other rooms and bathroom while we're at it and while I'm finishing up working.


Our little 3 year old LOVES the snow.  But not the ice, a couple of harmless falls have left him crying.  But as for the snow itself, it seems he would stay out there all day if we let him.  He loves to play in it, eat it, sled on it, or just walk around on it.  I don't share quite the same love of it but during the last significant storm Jared built a snow fort and snowman with our little guy.  We have also put the sled Grandma & Grandpa Davis gave for Christmas to good use.  Even on our little hill it works very well.  We just need more snow to build it up a bit.  I say, if it has to be cold, let it snow too!

With the excitement of a new baby coming, I find I get less and less interested in my outside-the-home job!  It just feels so much less important and I look forward to being at home full time.  The only teaching I would do in the future would be maybe a class as an adjunct, but that would come later.  It has been good for me to get a taste of full-time this year, to know that I don't enjoy the balancing act and that the people most important to me do indeed get less attention.  Maybe some women can do it but I am VERY fortunate that I won't have to.  Thanks to my great husband!  We are so very blessed by a loving Heavenly Father.