Misty Mother

I gave a talk in Sacrament today on Mothers.

"I'd like to share a story about a girl, that is near and dear to my heart.

When she was two or three, in nursery, she was the 'little mother.' She was always cheering other kids up and helping take care of them. She was learning how to nurture. She was becoming a nurturer.

As a young child, she would go Trick or Treating during Halloween, come home, and divide her pile up to share with her parents and siblings. She was learning how to share. She was becoming selfless.

As a youth, she received her Patriarchal Blessing and was told she would be a source of knowledge and a teacher to those around her. She was learning how to teach. She was becoming a teacher.

As a young woman, she was valiant in her participation of the Young Woman's program. She was learning how to obey. She was becoming obedient.

As a young woman, she was successful in her studies throughout high school and accepted to a prestigious university. She was learning how to learn. She was becoming intelligent.

As a young woman, she dated several young men from diverse backgrounds. She was becoming experienced.

She interrupted her studies and her dating life to serve an honorable full time mission for the Lord. She was learning how to heed. She was becoming valiant.

She returned from her mission a woman. She continued her studies and her dating life. She was learning how to be diligent.

She worked and paid her own way through college. She was learning the meaning of hard work. She was becoming a hard worker.

She found a handsome, dashing, charming, intelligent, athletic, caring, and sensitive man to marry in the temple of the Lord. She was learning how to apply her knowledge. She was becoming wise.

After a couple years of blissful marriage, she was unsuccessful in becoming pregnant. She was learning about patience. She was learning how to become patient.

After several unsuccessful attempts at infertility surgeries, she was told she would never have children. She was tested.

A few months later she would learn that she was pregnant, with no infertility surgery. She was learning about gratitude. She was learning how to become grateful.

Several weeks into her pregnancy she would learn that she was having twins. She was learning to believe in miracles.

Shortly before her twins were born, her husband quit his job, moved her out of state and away from her family, and began law school. She was tested again.

During her husband's first year of law school, he was gone from 6am until 9pm, leaving her to take care of the infant twins on little to no sleep. She was learning how to sacrifice.

During her husband's second year of law school she would learn that she was pregnant again, no infertility surgeries needed. She was learning about joy. She was becoming joyful.

Over the next year she would spend her days taking care of three children under the age of 2. She was learning how to be selfless.

Shortly after her husband graduated she would learn she was expecting her fourth child, no infertility surgeries needed. She was learning to be careful what you pray for.

Shortly thereafter her husband lost his job, and she would be a rock and a strong example for her little family. She was learning to persevere in faith.

She currently spends her days taking care of 4 kids under the age of 3, running a home-based business, and supporting her husband in all that he does and doesn't do. She is learning how to love. She is becoming charitable.

She is Nurturing; she is Selfless; she is a Teacher; she is Obedient; she is a Hard Worker; she is Intelligent; she is Experienced; she is Faithful; she is Diligent; she is Valiant; she is Wise; she is Patient; she has been Tested; she is Grateful; she Believes in Miracles; she continues to be Tested; she has Sacrificed; she is Overwhelmed at times; she Perseveres in Faith; she is Loving.

She is my wife and the mother of my children and I am grateful for her and the Christ-like attributes she exhibits every day. Mothers are wonderful examples of these attributes that we all strive to attain. They are examples of Christ."

Good Friends:

Making Cookies

Days of Gratitude

I'm Grateful....

for 3 beautiful children.  Four years ago, I couldn't have imagined that they would actually be here...mine.  With all the craziness they have brought, I am truly and deeply grateful for the amazing opportunity it is to be at their sides all day every day and watch them grow and learn and change and become...

Last night we spent an hour or so looking at old pictures with the boys.  They loved seeing themselves when they were smaller.  I marveled at how much they have changed. Being with them every day, I sometime forget that they are growing up.

It is such a privilege to have been there for all of it...almost every minute of it.  I watch all three of them learn and explore every day.  I see every tiny little growth and change.  It is an absolutely amazing process to watch another person - a child of God - grow to reach their potential.

It is humbling and motivating that I've been trusted with these amazing children, trusted with their growth and development in every way.  When I actually think about what that means, I am deeply grateful, truly, deeply grateful for the trust my Heavenly Father has in me.  Sometimes, I feel so far from where I need to be, especially as a mother.  But then I remember that Heavenly Father has trusted me with these beautiful children.  He knows better than me what my abilities are.  He knows I can do this.  I am so very grateful for that knowledge...that confidence.

And then I look at Micah and Noah and Samantha and I see how good they are, how easily they love, and how much they want to learn and grow.  I can't help but think, I have really been given something good, and I love my life.  There is absolutely no better calling than mother, no day better spent than one teaching and loving and cuddling and playing with my children.  I see so much of God in them, it makes it impossible not to believe in Him.  It is impossible not to want to strive harder to be diligent and good.  I struggle so much of the time to do what I know is right.  I think God sent me these children so quickly b/c He knew I would need regular and beautiful reminders of just why I want to be better.

I am grateful for my children.

Days of Gratitude

I'm Grateful.....

for beautiful and thoughtful young women that inspire me to be better.  I am so very blessed to be a part of the Young Women's organization in our church.  I work with the 16-17 year old girls.  Each Sunday we have an hour long discussion about the gospel and how it has affected, or how it should affect our lives.  Recently, they have decided that these discussion go better when we all sit in a circle.  So each Sunday, we set up a circle of 5-10 chairs and discuss one topic or another.  They have the most thoughtful comments and questions.  It is so wonderful to watch them bear testimony to each other and work to strengthen each other.  They recognize and admit weakness in themselves, compliment the virtues they see in each other, and ask thoughtful questions about the gospel and the Savior.  I come away inspired each week.  I am so grateful that my place was reserved for me while I was in Utah and that I was able to jump right back into working with these inspiring ladies.

I am grateful for my calling

Freezer Foods

I have been wanting to make a bunch of freezer meals for sometime, but just haven't made the time. But this week I finally did! I'm sure many of you great moms out there do this regularly, but this was my first time and I am super proud of what I accomplished!. It was an exhausting day, but I believe it will be so worth it and make for some less stressful days in the future. I actually think I would like to do this monthly, and I think it would be fun to invite a few other women. I think it would be easier/go faster that way, not to mention, you'd have someone to talk to. We'll see....

Anyway, here is what I accomplished:

4 pans lasagna
4 pan chicken enchiladas
4 batches Curry
4 batches Honey Lime Ckn (well, five actually b/c that is what we ate for dinner that night)
4 batches spaghetti sauce
2 batches enchilada sauce
4 frozen pizza crust dough balls
2 large loaves banana bread
16 small loaves banana bread (like for visiting teaching)
36 apple muffins
24 blueberry muffins
36 banana nut muffins
8 breakfast burritos
36 egg muffin sandwiches
18 bell peppers sliced and frozen
12 zucchini sliced and frozen
2 gallon sized bags of grapes washed and frozen

1 large loaves wheat bread (I hand ground my own wheat flour for the FIRST TIME EVER!)
4 small loaves wheat bread




























I wanted to make more bread, but didn't realize how long it takes to grind wheat! It took 25 min for just enough for two large loaves....so I guess I need an electric wheat grinder....ou$h!

And, yes, there are 12 frozen pizzas in our freezer. We don't eat them often, but they were on sale for $0.29 each so I got a few (you had to buy 12 for the rebate) figuring they too would make for a quick meal on a stressful day....

Happy Birthday to Me...

I had a great birthday. One of the best in a while...

Here is what we did:

We started the day by heading to Disneyland.



It is free on your birthday and all kids under 3 are free, so it didn't cost us a thing! Unfortunately, Cory wasn't able to join us b/c he had to work, but I met my friend Nicki there (who also has twins...they are 3 mo younger than the boys). Her Mom also came with us, so we had three adults and 5 kids....pretty good odds! Much better than 3 to 1! Plus, Nicki has an annual pass and goes often so we were able to hit just the right rides and just the right time.

There was a rain in the forecast so I was a little nervous about that, but it ended up just being a really nice cool day. In fact, the whole day went better than I could have hoped for. No major meltdowns...just a few minor ones! Micah would freak out every time we were about to get on a ride, but once on it he was fine. They never got crazy excited about anything, they pretty much just had this face the entire time:



Complete and utter amazement and awe.

This was by far the favorite ride:



Noah screamed in terror the entire time and as you can tell from the picture he jumped up and out as soon as it was over. But since then, anytime I mention the Mickey park, he talks about how he was spinning "big high" with a big old grin on his face.

It was really fun to just spend the whole day with them and watch their reactions to the magical kingdom. (-: I think they are still a bit young for me to invest in a yearly pass, especially since there are so many great things right here in San Diego, but it was worth the free trip and I'm sure we'll get a pass in a couple years.

The rest of the day's pictures:
Sitting at Nicki's house before we left:


What cute kids:!

On our way in:


More reactions to the rides:


On our way to Mickey's House:


In the House: (I was trying to feed Samantha, and poor Nicki was going crazy tending to all four 2 yr olds)


The boys were so excited to see Mickey until we actually got there. They freaked out as soon as I picked them up and headed toward Mickey. Noah calmed down a bit, but poor Micah has the breastfeeding cover in his face, so he was going crazy...


Micah loved this little tube. He would crawl through it, and jump up and go "ta-da" with his arms. I took this picture just a bit too early.


Noah decided to take a little break:


All done...they were sure wiped out!



When I got home I had a wonderful Happy Birthday email waiting from my husband that made me cry. He wasn't able to be home all day b/c of work/school, but he still made sure to make it a nice day for me.

I also got lots of phone calls and cards. Thanks everyone!

I got this great new dinnerware set from my mom


and this fun dinosaur muffin tin from Cory's mom.



And it didn't end there. I was out shopping with the boys Wednesday afternoon when Cory calls...."When are you going to be home?" he asks. Soon, I say. "By 5:45?" he says....

He had gotten a babysitter and arranged for us to be able to go to Red Lobster for dinner. It was SO SO wonderful to be able to spend 1 1/2 hours with my husband without any interruptions. Thanks so much Cory!

Oh, and he also got me a cheesecake instead of a regular birthday cake (I don't like cake). I sure am lucky!

Thanks everyone for such a great day!

Cory & Misty Update

Cory and I are doing well. I am recovering relatively well from the birth. I starting hemorrhaging yesterday though. The after hours nurse recommended the ER, but we were about to bless Samantha, so we called a L&D nurse in our ward and she said I should be fine to wait until Monday to see my doctor as long as I stay completely off my feet until then. She said although it could be serious, it is more likely that I have just been over doing it. We feel very lucky that this happened while my parents were here as they have been able to help out a lot.

Although I am very overwhelmed at the idea of taking care of all three kids by myself (Cory will be gone from 6:00 am - 9:00 pm M-F starting in Sept), I am still loving being a mom. It has been fun to have just one newborn...a completely different experience than twins. She is a wonderful, sweet little girl, and I can just enjoy her while I feed her and am enjoying this stage much more than I was able to the first time. I also look forward every day to seeing Micah and Noah as they are learning so much these days. I just love this age. Although it can be exhausting, I don't want it to end. They make me laugh and smile every day, and I am so grateful to be their mom.

Cory is still doing well in school and is taking a full load this summer. He is also working around 25 hrs a week, so he has a full plate as well. As always though, he puts me and the kids first and is always ready and willing to help with anything I need. He is a wonderful husband and father. The boys absolutely adore him. There is just something different about playtime with your Dad, and they love it. They love rough housing with him, tickling him, making noise and just being boys. Cory has been cute with Samantha too....he says it is actually fun to see all this pink in the house. I'm excited to see their relationship develop.

Samantha

She's finally here!

Misty started having contractions late Saturday night. By around 3am they were consistent and painful enough for us to head to the hospital, which is about 50 minutes away. We got to the hospital and a midwife checked her around 4:30 or 5am Sunday morning. She was only a 1, her contractions had slowed down, and Samantha had moved up and away from the pelvis area. Apparently, Misty was in anti-labor. We decided to walk around the parking lot for a couple hours to see if that would help speed things up. The first hour or so of the walk Misty's contractions had picked up, but the second hour they were less than when we first came to the hospital. We went back to the midwife a little after 8am expecting to be sent home. She ended up being a 3 and Samantha had moved back down, so they admitted us and put Misty on an IV with antibiotics.

Misty just relaxed on her bed all morning, the contractions weren't too painful or close together. By noon they started the epidural because we were expecting to induce her within the next hour if she didn't speed up. Some time between 12:30 and 1 the midwife broke her water. She was still a 3 at this point and her contractions were 5 or 6 minutes apart. Finally her contractions picked up in frequency and strength, but her epidural was working by then. We were just sitting around like nothing was happening. At about 2pm the nurse checked her and she was at a 7. Then all of sudden the nurse said, "Whoa, she really wants to come now." And in minutes there was three nurses and a doctor in the room setting everything up. A few pushes later and Samantha Dawn Marsh was born at 2:22pm. Because she was born so fast, she still had a lot of fluid in her lungs when she came out, so she wasn't crying. We were worried at first but the doctor said it's normal and they cleaned her lungs out. She was 7 lbs 8 oz and 20 1/2 in long.

Both Misty and Samantha only had to stay in the hospital for 24 hours after delivery. They are happy and home now. We are a very blessed family.

Belly Shot

This is my most recent belly shot, taken 4/21/09 (about 27 weeks), so it is still a few weeks old, I will need to get another done soon! This pregnancy just seems to be going by SO FAST this time!

Thanks Kristy!

So, a few weeks ago, I went on a bread making kick, which is really amazing for me seeing as how I've never done it before. I've always just been a frozen roll dough kind of gal, but I've really gotten the food storage bug lately, so I decided to give it a try.

I wasn't sure how long bread takes to rise, and my recipe said "let rise till double." Well, I need to have dinner ready at a certain time, so I needed to know (at least approx) how long it takes for dough to double, so I called my sister in law, Kristy, (who I think is the bread making queen...we showed up unexpected at her house for lunch once and she made homemade breadsticks, I asked how she got the frozen dough to thaw that quickly...yeah, she was polite enough not to laugh at me) for some advice.

So, here was the result:



I was SO proud of it! And, Kristy, just so you know, it turned out great. Cory loved it!

Later that week, I made homemade breadsticks, pizza crust, and foccacia bread (thanks Diana...we made it with your tomato soup recipe and it was hit!) I have to say, I am pretty proud of myself.

Happy Mother's Day Mommy and Misty

Mommy,

Thank you for always loving me, even when I get sad. Thank you for giving me sweet things to eat because I can't have ice cream. Thank you for letting me watch the Elmo movie. I love you momma.

Love,

Micah

Mommy,

Thank you for playing catch with me, even though I can throw farther than you. Thank you for letting me watch Dodgers games with Daddy. Thank you for cuddling with me and giving me hugs and kisses. I love to do that with you. I love you mommy.

Love,

Noah

Misty,

Thank you for putting up with me and all my weaknesses. Thank you for loving me despite those weaknesses. Thank you for being a wonderful mother.

Love,

Cory

Belly Pic, Sleepy Boys

This picture was taken mid-march, so I was just under 5 months pregnant. I am a TON bigger now. I will post a new picture soon.



Occasionally, both boys will happily cuddle with mommy (usually, they won't cuddle with me at the same time, they just get jealous and push/shove each other) and I take full advantage. Cory getting out the camera distracted them a bit, they really were both just totally relaxed with me. It is awesome. I love cuddling with each of them, but both at once is a real treat.



We are going through the 2 nap to 1 nap transition right now and there are some days that the boys just don't quite make it. Noah loves to have his back tickled. He climbed up on Cory one morning and Cory started tickling his back. Within minutes he fell asleep. Too cute.

Pickle Fun

Mom and Dad...these are for you!



We have a similar picture of me at this age...the only difference is that I climbed up on our neighbor's lap and took a bite of his pickle. Funny.

The boys actually really like pickles...Cory hates them, I love them. I guess they take after me.

Happy Birthday Misty and Mommy!!

Make an on-line slideshow at www.OneTrueMedia.com

Talents

So, I have a few talents...however, being artistic/crafty/creative is NOT one of them. Not only do I not do well at it, I just don't really enjoy it. Maybe that is why I don't do so well....but whatever the reason, I usually leave such things up to people like my mother who is great at it.

However, we had a Relief Society Super Saturday last week and there were actually a couple of crafts that I really wanted (for GREAT prices), so I signed up and decided to give it a try. Although it was a rather frustrating process, I was actually very pleased with the results:



Not too bad for someone with little to no artistic talent, eh?

Naked Babies and Dangerous Curling Irons

We put the boys down on the blanket just before their baths the other night and took a few pictures because they looked so cute.

Unfortunately, we caught Micah at a bad time. We promise we didn't even know he was pooping until after we took the picture!

The boys also love to eat their biter biscuits and it gets them messy, but they love their baths too.

Recently, they love to sit in front of the mirror in our bathroom, on the ground, and play with mint boxes. One of them will play and shout while the other watches, and then they switch and the other one will play and shout while the other watches.

Both of the boys have started pushing themselves up pretty well while on their stomachs, and Noah has been getting up on his knees and rocking. He scoots around everywhere any way he can; rolling, sliding, stretching, etc. We had to go out and buy a gate to put on our stairs because they're about to start crawling any day here.

Misty had a bad accident this morning as she was getting ready for church. I don't know how, but she burned the side of her face with a curling iron. Not just a singe, but a full on grill. I think she was trying to curl her chin or something. If you look closely enough you can see "Con-Air" branded on her chin. I have been lovingly calling her "Scarface" all day.