A Birthday, Easter and Cute Pics!!

KYLEE TURNED 9!!!

No way. i just can't believe that my baby is 9. It isn't possible!

We had a wonderful day with Kylee. She has always wanted to go to a hotel for her birthday so we packed up the family after school on Wednesday and headed to a hotel in Layton. We swam, ate way too much junk food, stayed up way too late, jumped a few too many times on the hotel beds and had a great time.

The swimming pool was heavily, heavily chlorinated and when we got done swimming that night all of the kids, except Malia, were screaming in pain from burning eyes! It was so sad =( Because the rest of us where fine we just assumed that it was the hot tub that was causing their eyes to burn (because the three older kids where the only ones to get in the hot tub) and so we went swimming again in the morning and no one was allowed in the hot tub, but again, when we got out and went back to our room, every one's eyes were stinging. It was horrible. I called and complained to the hotel because Kylee even had some burns on her legs from the chlorine. Horrible! They had to sit with cold wash clothes on the eyes. =(

Baily had it the worst.

But- We had a blast and Kylee said it was her best birthday ever!

Here are some things we love about Kylee:

-She makes everyone around her SMILE!!

-More than one of her school teachers have told us what a good leader Kylee is. She stands up for others and is a good example and her class mates are naturally drawn to her.

-She hates most meat.

-She does her own hair every morning and is getting really good at it.

-She gets Malia out of her crib almost every day. Sometimes Malia would rather be with Kylee than me =(

-She has a wonderful, quick-witted sense of humor.

-She can sometimes be very swift to over react and pull quite the drama-queen scene.

-She loves playing soccer, dancing and listening to music.

I adore this little girl and am so blessed to be her mother! Happy Birthday Kylee, we LOVE you!

EASTER

We had a great Easter! We loved watching conference, and actually got to HEAR some of conference this year! Our kids were abnormally good and sat through MOST of both Saturday and Sunday's sessions.

Here are some pics of the kids in their Easter clothes. I finished sewing Malia's dress about an hour before our Easter dinner with family =)

My sis Tami took some cute pics of the kids at the annual Easter Egg hunt at my Grandparents house in Ogden. She did an awesome job!

By the way...I see a light at the end of the tunnel with my morning sickness. I have more good days than bad, and even though the bad days are still yucky, I do feel some of my energy coming back. I may Survive. Cross your fingers! So, sorry to all of my friends and family who I have neglected these past 3 months

.

Slugs and Snails and Puppy Dog Tails...

...That's what little boys are made of...

It's official...We are having BOY!!!

We are so excited! I went to the dr. today and she said that she was 100% sure! We have agreed on a name also,

Dalyn David Hansen

Time to start sewing some blankets!

I Must Brag

I need to Brag about James for a minute...

I can not tell you what a winner I have. You would think after going through 5 pregnancies with sick, grumpy me he would have thrown in the towel long ago. But no. He is not only still here, but he is amazing. He has made dinner every night since I have been sick. He folds laundry and puts it away. He does the dishes, cleans the house and puts the kids to bed. He even changed the cat liter box once. He nearly vomited doing that! =)

What a trooper! I will never complain again when I see his socks a foot from the hamper. Those socks belong to the best husband in the world.

Baby #5

For those of you who don't know yet, we are expecting Baby #5!!! We are very excited! I get this question a lot, "Was it on purpose?"

So here is the very much on purpose story behind the reason we are adding another monkey to the zoo.

After Malia's very hard, and somewhat traumatizing birth I knew that I didn't want to have any more babies...or I guess I should say,I really really didn't want to have any more babies. We actually came close to tying up the ol' tubes. But when Malia was about 1 I started hearing a little voice in my head (no, not that kind of voice...some would call it the spirit). I did EVERYTHING in my power to quiet the voice. I didn't want to have another baby! I was perfectly happy with my 4 beautiful angels.

Then, one day, comes Tyler, "Mommy? (with tears in his eyes) I really need a brother!" He would come up to me at random times for months and ask when his brother was coming, he would show me where his brother could put his toys when he got here, and where his brother could sleep. It was a combination of this and that little voice in my head that allowed me to finally start considering if we truly had our whole family here.

I waited a while before telling James that I thought we needed to have one more. I couldn't believe it myself still and I knew he would be shocked. But because I have such a wonderful husband, who is close to the spirit and loves me so much, he agreed that we weren't quite done yet.

I still can't believe that I am almost done with the 1st trimester of my 5th pregnancy and that there is an actual life inside of me again. I feel so blessed that Heavenly Father trusts us enough to share another little angel with us.

I have had 2 DR. visits already and we have seen the baby and his/her strong little heart beat. It is amazing! We have talked about the fact quite frequently with Tyler that it may not be a brother but he so eloquently put my worries to rest when he said, "It's okay if I get another sister, Mom, I really like my sisters."

Besides the fact that I am sick 24/7... things are going really good. The kids love school (Tyler actually said that he loved school yesterday!) Amazing! Baily and Malia keep me hopping and James' job is doing great. Some really good news is that the 3 older kids were accepted into a new charter school that is coming this fall to North Ogden. (Yes- my Baily is going to be a kindergartner!) It is a Montessori Academy. The Montessori teaching method is a more hands on method where the kids are learning by using tangible things, instead of text books and worksheets. I am very excited about this, especially since I have been trying to get them into a charter school for 3 years now!

I said at the end of 2009 in a past post that I could feel that 2010 was going to be a great year, and it has been. I feel so blessed, happy and fortunate. Keep me in your prayers, and I will let you all know as soon as we know if Tyler will get his brother, or if I will be doing 4 girls hair everyday =)

See what I have to put up with...

It's hard being me sometimes. While my oldest two are at school filling there brains with smarts I get to stay home and watch princess movies, button up princess dresses, dance to princess music all day long. It's tough being me.

Jr. Jazz Basketball

Is this not the cutest picture ever (thanks Rae for letting me steal it!) My sweet Tyler and his best bud/cousin Troy Jr.! They were on the same city basket ball team together. These two boys were made from the same mold and will be best buds forever.

My little Tyler is quite the basketball star (I'd like to believe he gets his athletic abilities from me...a girl can wish, can't she??) He was so fun to watch and I can't wait until next year!

2010!!!!!!!!!!!

A New Year (insert HUGE sigh of relief here)...I woke up this morning with a very peaceful feeling. I have often thought that our society puts too much emphasis on New Years and resolutions. We should be trying to do our best and be better every day, right, not just at the beginning of a new year? But I must say that this year is a little different for me. With all the trials we have faced this year, we have also been blessed more than I could say. We have learned a lot about patience, obedience and faith. I feel like James and I are being given a second chance to LOVE more, be better parents, and spouses. We are going to try to use our time and money wiser. We will try to take every moment to remember how important our children are and how fast they grow. I feel like I have been given a second chance to show my Savior that I can live up to the potential he sees in me.

I am excited for 2010! It is going to be a good year!

Here are some fun pictures of our New Years Eve party. My sister, Tara and her family-My bro Troy and his family-My Mom and Dad were all there (we missed you Tami and Nate and baby Spencer! Get feeling better!)

Playing Games (Me, Troy, Brother-in-law Chris, and my Dad)

Rockin' out to Lego Rock Band! Notice who is at the Drums....My Mom! Rock on! (Nephew Dillon, Niece Ariel, My mom, Kylee and James)

My sister-in-law RaeLynne! She was jammin'!

Malia fell asleep with her face in the couch before the party even started =)

When James got home from work we realized we were matching on not-purpose ( I know that non-purpose isn't a word, but it is now.) How can you not take a picture of that!

We had a wonderful Christmas. We were able to spend some great time with the Hansen's in Vernal, UT on Christmas Eve and then with my family on Christmas. We were beyond blessed from so many people! We received more than we deserved. I will let the pictures do the talking.

Kylee's favorite gift

Tyler with a new shirt

The kids playing on a huge pile of snow at Grandma and Grandpa Hansen's house

Christmas Eve in Vernal

Malia with her new pillow

At the Hansen's

My Dad and Tyler building a Lego Bionical

The kids with my parents

Happy Children!

Good Food, Good Times and Best Buds!!!

I had the best weekend! It all started with my best friend Tracy coming into town from my home town Sacramento, CA on Thursday. She was able to hang out during the day on Friday and see a crazy day-in-the-life of me...surprisingly enough she still wants to have kids of her own after being here!!!

Then we met up with my other 2 best buds Kari and Melanie (we have all been friends since we were 9 and 10!) at a fabulous hotel in SLC. We ate yummy food, listen to music from back in the day, looked through old album's and said stuff like "How did our mothers let us out of the house in that! What is my hair doing in that picture! Why didn't someone tell me that guy I dated was a looser!"

We stayed up way too late, ate too much junk and had the time of our lives. I love these girls and love how well they know me. It was hard to leave them and I just want you girls to know how much I love you and how grateful I am for you!!!

Tyler Turns 7!!

Tyler is 7 now! His birthday was on the 3rd. We celebrated on his birthday by getting our new car, and then going to the fun zone (Tyler's heaven on earth). He had his first friend party on Saturday. It was pretty crazy fun. I learned my lesson on not inviting so many boys.

Tyler is so special to our family. He is the survivor of three sisters, that in itself is a big accomplishment. There would be a huge hole in all of our lives without our Ty. Here are a few of the things that make Tyler unique:

-He gets 100 % on almost all his spelling tests-

-He loves to play sports and is really good at soccer and basketball-

-He is very obedient and almost never questions "why" when he is told to do something-

-He talks baby talk to Malia, and always makes sure she has what she needs (even when she may not deserve it)-

-He can play by himself for hours, just in his imagination-

-He is a very grateful boy. Ever since he was old enough to talk he remembers his pleases and thank yous-

We love you Tyler! Happy Birthday! (ps. there may have been another birthday around here, a certain old lady turned 30...but we are not mentioning who....shhhh.....)

Here are James and Kylee as the pirates in charge of the treasure hunt at the party. Pretty cute, huh!

Christmas Miracles and Restored Hope

To begin, I am not telling this story because I want you feel sorry for me. I tell this story because I want to testify that God is real! He hears our prayers! He knows us personally! If you are reading these words, and you have ever doubted that there is a Heavenly Father, or if he has given up or not cared about you, I am here to tell you that he knows you and loves you...And miracles DO still happen!

It all started back in August when our mini van decided it didn't want to work anymore. So, I drove the truck around and James was able to use his scooter. While we were waiting for the diagnosis on the van the trusty and reliable scooter (that is a complete exaggeration) decided it didn't like working either. So...we were down to one vehicle, the truck. My brother and sister-in-law very generously offered to let us drive there Pontiac.

We got the news not long after that our van had a cracked piston and needed a whole new engine. It would cost almost twice as much as the van was worth to fix. We just didn't have the money.

At least we had the Pontiac, and at least we had the truck, right? Well, about 2 weeks ago the truck decided that it felt left out and wanted to stop working. Really? Could this be happening? How does something like this even make sense? We have no vehicles left!

I don't remember very many times in my life when I have actually gone to my knees and asked my Father in Heaven for a miracle. A miracle is what it would take. And we needed one.

It was about 8:00pm on Wednesday night when we received our miracle. A large sum of money was given to us, with the instructions to go buy a new car! Now I use the term "new" loosely, BUT the vehicle that were able to purchase with our Christmas miracle money is as wonderful and beautiful as anything I have ever seen. Here are the key features: It starts! It runs! It fits our whole family! And it's OURS!

I know that God lives. He hears our prayers. He may let a struggle sometimes. He may humble us, and allow us an opportunity to rely on faith, and long suffering...But then he blesses us. This I know! Please think about and give thanks for the miracles in your life.

Turkey Day Fun

We had a great thanksgiving. We spent the day at my dad's parents house. It was a small gathering (compared to how many people there are in the family). It was my parents, all my siblings and their families and my Uncle and his family. We had a wonderful day. I didn't get as many pics as I wanted, but here are a few...

My sister Tami with her baby, Spencer. Isn't he wonderful?!! He is almost as chubby as Malia was. Almost. My mom and Kylee

We headed over to the park after eating. The kids had a great time. Malia spent the whole time going up and down the slide. She would sit down at the top of the slide and fold her hands like this and slide down, it was cute. Kylee wore flip flops to the park...yes...flip flops and was playing basketball and skinned a huge chunk of her toe off. It was not a pretty sight. Then, my brother, Troy (who is a bigger sucker than I am) told the kids that they could have $5 for every time they stole the ball away from him in their basket ball game. Tyler walked away with $20 in his pocket and Kylee with $5. Good times!

my thanks

There is a beautiful excitement and peace that comes with this time of year. We all feel it. Something changes in the air. Something changes in people. I feel it more today than anytime before. I feel a peace and a hope that hasn't been there for very much of this year.

If I was looking at this last year as a glass half empty, I would whine and tell you about all of the hardships. The trial after trial that have come, one right after the other with no breathing room. But if I was to look at it as a glass half full, this is what I would tell you. These are my thanks...

James. How grateful I am for my husband. I did not know that men like him existed. He is so good, and patient, kind, helpful, forgiving, understanding, intelligent, funny, humble and strong. He honors his priesthood and honors his role as husband. To that, I am grateful.

My kids. When I was a girl I filled my days playing with dolls and imagined being a mother. My own mother instilled in me a reverence and an appreciation for the importance of being a mother. But even that would not have prepared me for how much I would love being a mother. Is it painfully hard at times, YES. But the joy that I feel when I look into their little faces far out way the bad times. I am thankful to be a mom.

I am grateful for my health. I am grateful for sleep =) I am grateful for my family and for James' family. I am grateful for friends. Good food. My home. The mountain. Summer nights. The Gospel. Volleyball. Spring. Christmas music. Hot showers. Exercise. The beach.

I could go on, but I would just bore you.

I have come to realize in my life that our glass is more than likely always going to be half empty if we let it. It doesn't have to be. There are always half full things around us, if we let there be.

Happy Thanksgiving. Eat Lots and Prosper!

Boosum Buddies

My good friend Tiffany just gave me a bunch of pictures of Malia and her little girl, Allie. Malia and Allie were born three days apart and they love each other soooo much. Malia will talk about Allie all the time and visa-versa. When ever they see each other they get so excited and always leave each other with a hug. Here they are. So Sweet.

A couple weeks old.

2 months (cute matching dresses and blankets.)

About 7 or 8 months old. Look how cute they are!

18 months old! Best Buds!

My Baby is Two!!

Who could forget those Chubs!

Malia Ann is 2!!! I can't believe that she is 2!!! I remember as if it were yesterday bringing her home. The day Malia was born was a crazy one. It was the longest day of my life. We arrived at the hospital at 5:30 am. Malia was posterior and for the past 3 weeks I had had excruciation back pain. I was going to have my water broken, but the hospital and my mid-wife had huge communications errors and I didn't actually start into labor until after 12pm. Malia finally arrived at 4:20pm. Her delivery was insanely painfully and I was pretty traumatized by the whole thing. I had Baily without pain med and, though it hurt a whole lot, I loved it and was so happy with how it turned out. Malia's birth was not so fun. Because she was posterior it was a lot harder.

I can still remember how swollen her little face was and she even had some broken blood vessels on her face and her eyes. It was so sad.

Malia captured all of our hearts from day 1. I don't know of another baby who receives more kisses and loves than her. Her older brother and sisters are so good to her. She has always been a daddies girl and on more occasions that I would like to admit would rather be with him than me!

Here are a few things that we love about Malia, and maybe a few things that are tell-tale signs of a 2 year old that we could do without:

-She loves to sing. She will sing songs all day long. Mostly when she is playing with something or in the bath tub.

-Before she goes to sleep she will go around telling everyone goodnight and giving kisses.

-We like to play the "Maggie Simpson" game with her...we will all sit on the couch and she will stand several feet away by the TV, and we will all say at the same time, "Come to the one you love best!" and she will run to the lucky person. The kids have stooped to bribing her with candy and what-not to be the winners. We have played this game for hours on some occasions.

-She will shout of the top of her lungs for "Baily" to "Stop IT!".

-She knows how to spell her name thanks to the Leap Frog "My Pal Scout" that she got for her birthday. It is the coolest toy ever. You can program the child's name into the dog and it will sings songs about them, say and spell their name...it is so cool!

-She is often found running around without a diaper. She loves the fresh air, I guess.

-She always has a bump or scrape on her face (show me a 2 year old who doesn't)

-Her daddy has nicknamed her "Fluffy" for obvious reasons. It is one of those nicknames that will not be able to continue for too long. She might have serious self-esteem issues if James is calling her that as she is walking out the door for her first date.

-When we hear the cat screeching in pain, we know where to find Malia.

What would we do without her??? Happy Birthday Fluffy!

Please Pretend that Halloween Was Yesterday

Humor me...pretend that I am on the ball and that I woke up early the day after Halloween to post pictures of my babies...

Here they are. I wasn't able to get all the photos that I wanted 'cause my sister has some on her camera and our new phone is being a jerk and wont let me download them. rude. I will add them when I can.

Kylee was a beat up soccer player, Ty was a skeleton pirate, Baily was Tinker belle here, and a kitty on Halloween night, and Malia was a soccer ball. Malia's costume was a hit and we got a lot of comments on it. She kept tripping in it as she would go up stairs (bad things happen when you can't see your feet...trust me, I've been pregnant 4 times =) Cousin Troy was with us and he is the storm trooper. Good times.