February 15th Week in Review

Dear Family and Friends,

We've had another busy week. Monday was a great day. The morning was calm, but then in the late morning I took B-man to a friend's house and then I met M at the doctor's office so that we could have an ultrasound on our little one. They did a very thorough exam and we found out that the baby is growing and developing well, and that it is a little boy! The baby was wiggling around so much that even before the tech announced it, I was pretty sure that "jumping bean" had to be another boy. We are so excited, and B-man is thrilled. He tells everyone, "My mom has a baby in hers tummy, it's a boy…" I asked right before leaving what he thought it was, and he said boy. I then asked what he was going to do if it was a girl, and he said "If it is a girl, I will be mad." We think a boy is the perfect thing, and are so excited for B-man to have a little brother. Yeah for boys! After our long appointment we then had lunch together and then did our weekly shopping. It was fun to have M home for half the day. That night we had FHE and talked about being honest.

Tuesday I taught preschool. We discussed the letter "s" and had some fun things going on. I never know how some things will go… I just have to try it out and see which is a hit, and which is a miss. As soon as everybody left B-man and I got in the car and drove to Arlington. My brother was in town for less than a day and so we met him after his appointments for lunch and fun. I did get a little lost trying to get to our meeting point, so unfortunately we wasted some of the time driving around, but eventually I found him and we could visit. B-man was so excited to see Uncle L. He wanted to hold L's hand crossing the street and sit on his lap as much as possible. It was a great afternoon. After lunch we drove back to the Iwo Jima monument where we met to check on the car, and then we drove to the World War II Memorial. L had never seen it. We eventually found a great spot on the street and were able to quickly walk through the memorial. Sadly the fountains weren't turned on because it was winter. We then made it back to the car and dropped off L at his rental car so that he could catch his flight back to Utah. It was so fun to have him visit; the time just went too quickly. On the way home we made a stop at the mall for a few things and M got home late because of his Spanish class.

Wednesday morning I watched a friend's child while she had a quick doctor's appointment. Later in the morning David came and I watched him all day. We had a pretty quiet day, but we had some beautiful weather and enjoyed being outside in it. B-man always begs to ride his bike whenever the weather is half way decent. One good thing about having kids is that they force you to get out of the house in the winter. That evening B-man and I had dinner alone because M had Spanish again. We then went to the church for basketball practice and mutual. The kids were insane! I think it was the deadly combination of warmer weather and an approaching Valentine's Day. The girls were off the walls!

Thursday was another busy day. I had the preschool at our house again. We mostly focused on Valentine's Day and love. It was a fun day. I made individual heart cakes for the kids to decorate, we made valentine's, ate candy, etc… B-man loved it all. The rest of the day was fairly slow. M was home at his regular time, and then after dinner we split up. M took B-man to play basketball at the church, and I went to mini-Enrichment at a home for the elderly in our city. We did a sing a-long with love songs and other fun songs from Broadway musicals. It was a short but great evening. After the sing a-long I then ran a few errands, and then headed off to heart attack some young women. The Presidency had decided very last minute to heart attack all the girls, and we all took a few. I only had two homes to do. The first went fairly uneventfully, and then I was ready for the second. I parked, got out and walked to the front door. They totally knew I was there. I heard feet coming down the stairs and giggling, and a light went on inside, but mercifully they didn't open the door. I finished as quickly as possible and then scurried back to the car. I went to turn on the car and go, only problem was that the car wouldn't start. Mysteriously the battery had died. I have no idea why. And to make it worse I had no cell phone. It's past nine, and I am stranded. I didn't know the parents very well (part member, inactive) but eventually I decided that I had no other choice but to go knock. I knew they went to bed early so I got out and knocked on the door. They didn't answer! I wasn't brave enough to ring the doorbell and risk waking them up, so I bundled up and walked to a nearby grocery store. The wind was blowing horrendously and it was uphill… Seriously! There were no pay phones at the store but one of the workers took pity on me and let me use the company phone. It must have had something to do with the state of my very windswept hair. I called M, and he woke up B-man and drove to the store. We then drove together to the car to jump start it and get home. The whole time we were working on the car I could see someone peeking out the blinds in one of the bedrooms. It was pretty embarrassing. Oh well! Thanks to M rescuing me we got the car going and got home. B-man went back to sleep quickly and then I collapsed into bed. It was a tiring night! That's what I get for trying to do something nice!

Friday was another busy day. I had my friend's child again for the morning, and then David came over later. We had David all day. The one great surprise that we got was when M surprised us by coming home early from work! It was great to see him walk through the door so early. We felt like we hadn't seen each other in a long time! He used part of the time to run five miles! He is training for a half marathon and is doing great! B-man always wants to run with him though; it is a little tricky to convince him not to go "running" with M. After David left we had just enough time to start dinner, get it cooked and start eating it before we had the kids being dropped off for our babysitting co-op. We were worried that we would have a repeat of the last time we watched the kids, but for the most part things went much more smoothly. Once the kids were all picked up I ran to make an appearance at a party that all the young women were at. I ended up staying late so that I could help clean up, and then made it to bed very late! It was a fun party and I think the girls that went had a lot of fun. We just wished they had all been there to enjoy it.

Saturday was Valentine's Day! We don't really do much for Valentine's Day. It's close to my birthday and it seems like mostly a forced holiday. We just usually keep it simple and at home. M started off the day by playing a ward basketball game at 7:00 am! I was going to go and help cheer on the women's team, but decided instead that I would stay home and make a fun breakfast for everyone. We had pink heart pancakes for breakfast. (B-man's choice.) Later that morning we went to the baptism of two boys in our ward. The baptismal service was wonderful with lots of nonmembers there to support the boys. After the baptism we went to a luncheon at the home of one of the boys. It was a simple but nice lunch. We then went home and I dropped them off and I then went to the choir concert of one of the beehives in my class. The concert was amazing! I stayed for the high school concert and was happy I did. The women's chorus (which had another young woman in it) sang the most beautiful song about Ruth using her words from the bible. It was a great way to spend an hour and a half. I was then able to go home and relax for a while. Later that evening we put B-man to bed, and then after getting the babysitter we went to a Valentine's party put on by some of our friends. There were about seven couples there and we ate and played a fun version of "The Newlywed Show." They also had a forced dance session. It was a fun party, and much better than trying to get dinner at an overpriced restaurant!

Today has been another busy day. I spent the morning with B-man. I worked on finishing my lesson and getting ready for church. M was getting introduced to his new church schedule. He was at the church from 8:30 am until 4:15 pm. I sure missed his extra set of hands while trying to get B-man ready! He is excited to have his counselors called and to really start getting into what needs to bed done. After church we then rushed home and started working on dinner. We had some friends over for dinner. We had a great time, and it made the evening fly by.

It's been a full week. I'm tired just writing about it! We love you all, and hope that you have had a great week.

Here are some pictures of our new little boy. He was wiggling so much that they are a little blurry. I can't wait to kiss those cheeks and feet! M thinks he has my family's chin...