Serenity Now

On Saturday, we took all the kids, including Rachel, up past Strawberry Reservoir to go fishing with Greg's family. When we got to the lake, there was an inlet that had to be crossed to get to the good fishing ground, and the "bridge" consisted of two fallen logs. Greg helped Becca, Ellie and Sarah across the bridge, but I didn't feel comfortable taking little Rachel across the water, so I set up a camp chair and opened a book while Greg and the family went on without me.
I had a marvelous time reading on the banks of the stream. I don't remember the last time I felt so relaxed.
Apparently Ellie felt the same way in her neck of the woods, too. She sat quietly on a rock next to Greg's dad and after a few seconds said, "Grandpa, isn't it nice to finally have some peace and quiet?"
When I heard the story I couldn't help but laugh, seeing how she is single-handedly responsible for more chaos than the rest of the family combined. But who knows, maybe now that she has realized the joys of quiet time she will be willing to try it out more often (yeah, right).

Rachel's First Smile

Rachel has been a very mellow, sweet girl, and has started smiling! It is a little difficult to get the camera there in time, but I managed to capture a half smile from our little sweet heart. We went to the doctor for her 2 week appointment, and she has put on almost a pound already. She was up to 7 lbs. 9 oz. when we went in. She is also doing fairly well sleeping (although the last two nights wouldn't agree with that statement) :)

Yummy.....PICKLES!

Ellie answered a series of questions for preschool about me and some of the answers were too good to pass up posting, so Happy Mother's Day to me!

My mom is as pretty as... A GIRL

My mom is good at...CLEANING AND DRIVING (WHEN DADDY ISN'T HOME)

My mom smells like...PICKLES! (Apparently she answered that one quite matter-of-factly)

I like it when my mom...CARRIES ME A LOT OF PLACES

My mom is happy ... WHEN SHE GETS TO TALK TO DADDY. ACTUALLY SHE'S JUST HAPPY WITH ANYTHING.

My mom likes it when ...I DON'T SUCK MY THUMB. I THINK NOW I WILL NEVER STOP SUCKING MY THUMB.

My mom is always...DOING ALL HER WORK. CLEANING THE KITCHEN AND CLEANING THE UPSTAIRS ARE HER WORK.

My mom is...THE BEST MOM FOR ME. I LOVE HER.

Bob the Builder

The other night Greg was reading a "Bob the Builder" book with Sarah, and asked her the names of all of the characters, only to discover that we are related to one of the machines. According to Sarah, the full name of the machine pictured above, is not just Muck, it is actually "Muck-Murray."
Everything else is going well. Rachel is growing fast, and filling out in the cheeks, and the girls are loving her to pieces. And so far I am surviving life with four little girls. (Whew!)

For Your Comparison

And a fun trip down memory lane! Greg and I pulled up the now ancient web site he did for Becca when she was born and looked at a few pictures to compare how Rachel looks.
Just to clarify, that is Becca sleeping on Grandpa when she was about 1 week old. Rachel certainly has a lot of growing to do.

In more recent news, everyone is doing great. Greg was able to take the whole week off work and has been a great help getting the kids where they needed to be and performing basic bouncer duties in breaking up fights and redistributing toys. Rachel has been very mellow so far and a reasonably good sleeper / eater (what else do babies do)? When she was first born her cries all came along with a curled pouty lip that I am sad to say has not been seen since the hospital.

Rachel Charlotte McMurray

Everyone came home today and life keeps marching on. As you can see she has quite a bit of blond hair like two of her sisters.

More Bubbles

Three more photos for your enjoyment.

Bubbles!

Well, someone decided to arrive last night - shortly after eating some chocolate cake. Mother and child are doing wonderfully - this kid came out hungry and has also quickly found her thumb to suck on. She still has no name, but the vital stats are 6 pounds 12 ounces, 19.5 inches long/tall and lots of blond hair. Heather's water broke at just after 7PM Sunday night, and she was delivered at 9:48 PM. Oh, and she was gurgling a bit after birth so the nurses started calling her bubbles - and well, it has kind of stuck for the time being.

Happy Easter

We just finished Spring Break and had a wonderful time. Rather than traveling anywhere, we spent our days close to home, but tried to do something fun. We have been to the zoo, the aviary, parks, and just spent time in the sun drawing with sidewalk chalk and riding bikes. We decorated Easter Eggs, went to a family Easter party, and found more Easter Eggs than we know what to do with--and the Easter Bunny left more than enough candy for the next few months. Over all, we had a great time, the girls were very well behaved, and I have nothing naughty to report.
However, over the last few days, the weather has cooled off a little more than I would like. We have had rain, hail, and cold blustery wind keeping us inside and causing more than a little mischief. Sarah has ventured into the world of cosmetology getting into my makeup every chance she gets, and Ellie is experimenting with fine art-- specifically soap sculptures and toilet paper treasures.

Spring has Sprung

Or at least that is what the weeds that are already poking their little green heads out would have you believe. On Saturday we took the kids to the local dollar shop in hopes of finding a cheap kite. Boy did they luck out - a two pack for $1.00!!! Off to the park where there was just enough wind to get them up in the air and then the kids ran all around to keep them flying high. Unfortunately we didn't have the camera with us, so I dug up a rather old picture of Becca in Central Park - it somehow feels just like Saturday did.

Happy Birthday Ellie

Well, it is only a month late - but I finally wrestled the three girls into the car and met Greg for lunch in Layton and took the kids in for their free birthday photos. Ellie has certainly started to grow out of her daily destruction phase in time for Sarah to grab the reins firmly, so with a sigh of relief and reservation I look forward to what the next year holds. Happy Birthday girls!

Hug a Teacher

I was reading a little blurb about the influence teachers can have on their students, and the importance of acknowledging their efforts, so in an effort to follow that advice, I have to say that I couldn't imagine a better teacher than Lou Bean. She introduced me to To Kill a Mockingbird, Romeo and Juliet, and opened my eyes to creative writing. I will never forget the day that one of her students was sleeping during class. She had been discussing the definition of the word "tangible" and when she asked him what it meant, he obviously couldn't tell her. Rather than getting mad, she picked up a tangerine from her desk, threw it at him, and said, "It's like a tangerine! It means 'touchable.' Get it? 'tangible, tangerine, touchable." She reached out to individual students like no other teacher I have ever known, and I just have to say, "THANK YOU!"

Here is a little blurb from the Deseret News from 2004:

English teacher Mary Louise "Lou" Bean shapes students into readers, writers and creators.
Bean once encouraged a student who loved sketching cars to write Ford Motor Co. about becoming a designer. That student since had his $550,000 concept motorcycle appear in the Nieman-Marcus Christmas book, Viewmont High colleague Debbie Jones wrote in a nomination letter.
Bean, who regularly attends writing workshops, has writing circles in class to help students discover their talents. One student even won a national PTA Reflection contest for her essay about her deceased father.
Bean picks out novels for individual students, hooking struggling readers on books. One now reads 700-page books for pleasure; another went on to become a physician.
"The sparkling enthusiasm of Lou Bean boosted the self-esteem of my children," wrote parent Debra E. Randall. "She let them know she believed in them and that they could succeed."

Snips and Snails and Puppy-Dog Tails

I just emptied Becca's coat pockets and discovered a small cache of treasure. Aside from a used Kleenex (which has already been thrown in the trash) this is the list of items discovered:
-a cherry Jolly Rancher wrapper
-a spider ring
-a top
-a rock
-a penny
-a quarter

I don't think I could have come up with a more classic list of child's prized possessions and thought it was worth noting.
As for today's adventures, my house currently smells like "Tangerine Tickle" since I discovered Ellie and Sarah making a bottle of conditioner "gas" all over Sarah's carpet. So far, however, I think that conditioner is much easier to clean up than shampoo!

Let them Eat Cake

There are several things I get to report on today, so I suppose I should begin chronologically. On Saturday we had a Valentine's party with all of the little cousins on Greg's side of the family. I made individual sized heart-shaped pizzas with a create your own topping bar. We had a few very creative pizzas including one without cheese, one with two layers of sauce, and one shaped like a pizza-face! Then, after lunch, we decorated over 100 sugar cookies. It was really fun to watch the creativity come out full force during the event and most of the mess even stayed in the kitchen!

On Sunday, I decided to focus Singing Time around Valentine's Day. We have been working on some really difficult songs lately, and so I thought the kids deserved a little break. We played name that tune with songs that included the word "love" somewhere in the lyrics. In order to emphasize the point in Junior Primary, I told the kids to raise their hands as soon as they heard the word "Love." About two words into the song, Ellie raised her hand and shouted "I feel the love!" Apparently she enjoyed the response, because within moments she added. "Don't you feel it? Can't you just feel the love?!" The newly called Stake Primary Presidency was there for the first time and I think they got their money's worth this week!

Today, I made dinner for one of the sisters I go Visiting Teaching to, and for dessert, decided to make an ice cream cake. When I was finished, I had an extra layer of chocolate cake, and set it on the counter to eat with our dinner. At about 5:00, the phone rang, and somehow, in the time it took to take the phone call, Ellie and Sarah stole the cake from the counter and dumped about half of it on the stairs and the other half on Ellie's bed. I don't know if they actually ate any of it, judging by the amount of chocolate I had to clean. Sadly, I think it might have been the undoing of our vacuum. I thought that I had picked up enough before vacuuming, but when I was finished, our vacuum was making some pretty sad sounds and it smelled a bit like burnt popcorn.

On a happier note, Ellie wanted to take Valentines to all of her cousins, so I told her she could if she could learn how to write her name. It only took her about two seconds to learn, and she happily signed all 15 Valentines. Way to go Ellie!

Happy Birthday, Ellie!

Yes, I am still alive, though not necessarily kicking. I have been a little bit overwhelmed lately as Sarah has taken over her sister's role as most mischievous, but I suppose that since she is only a couple weeks away from turning "terrible two" it should be expected. Sarah has moved to a big girl bed in preparation for the little one who is on the way, and has a new favorite game of emptying the dresser and closet of all clothing. I haven't figured out how to prevent it yet, and so I am constantly picking up armfuls of clothes to resort and refold. However, on a more fun note, Ellie has been pretty good overall, and just celebrated her fourth birthday yesterday. Grandpa Welling brought a check and birthday card in the morning, and when we stopped in at Dollar Tree, she went on a mini shopping spree with the money he gave her. She got a "magic" mirror like the one on Beauty and the Beast that shows a picture and makes noise when you press a button, dress up shoes, makeup, and all sorts of goodies. She was in heaven! Ellie's one request for this birthday was to have a "Belle" party, so she got a princess makeover, watched "Beauty and the Beast" and had her grandparents over for Belle cake and ice cream. We had a great day. (She also got to go to McDonalds with all of her cousins which was spontaneous, but So much fun)

Christmas Morning 2006 - Redux

Christmas Morning 2006

Here is our first foray into the exciting world of video blogging! I think the video says it all, so enjoy!

I wonder what she is thinking . . .

Just a quick note and a great picture. Christmas was wonderful and this whole week has been great. Greg has the whole week off from work so we have mostly just relaxed and enjoyed family life. Greg ran over to the neighbor's house last night for a few minutes and Ellie asked "Mom, why are you watching us?" - I think the kids have enjoyed seeing quite a lot of their Dad lately.

Little girls are so cute!

Greg here, filling in for Heather who has her hands plenty full. Today we had an ultrasound and found out two things we already knew: We are roughly 21 weeks along in the pregnancy and we are probably going to have another girl. As much as I may like to have a boy someday, I certainly love the three little princesses I have been blessed with this far, and look forward to one more joining the ranks. Attached is a picture of why I love my little girls, and quite frankly I don't think a little boy could stand a chance of ever being so cute and sweet.

Picture Day

This morning I dressed the girls in their new Christmas outfits with the hope of getting a couple cute pictures taken. Of course, little did I realize that the reason Sarah was so uncooperative was because she was getting sick. We got a couple of pictures taken before we went to church, then I thought we could take a some more when we got home, but Sarah's dress may never be the same--she had a monster case of the runs which "ran" all over my lap during the closing prayer. I quickly ran out of the church and changed her clothes and mine, but it would appear that we will have to wait for another day to try the matching outfits again.