Good News and Bad News

Good News: Had 4th ultrasound today and the baby's head finally turned down and we now know for sure that we are having a girl. So, now hopefully we can be prepared and find some girl clothes, if not in our storage then from the DI or somewhere cheap.

Also, Emery went pee pee in the potty twice today, and poop yesterday! Maybe too much information for you, but I'm excited to get one less kid out of diapers hopefully before the baby comes.

Bad News: I have to get Non-Stress-Tests done twice a week now, plus another ultrasound next month, plus my normal OB apts. So, it looks like 3 doctor apts. per week now, should be lots of fun, especially since I have to drive to American Fork for the apts. The baby is measuring 5 pounds already and I have borderline abnormal amniotic fluid, plus my sugar levels are all whacked. The maternal fetal doctor put me on insulin today to be safe. I have to inject myself 5 times a day now and still test my blood sugar 7 times a day. Lots of fun! I was hoping to not have to go on insulin, but was not to be.

Anyway, those are the updates.

Snow Much Fun Sledding!

A few weeks before Christmas we surprised the kids for Family Night and went sledding. We drove over to Payson and went sledding at Peteetneet where the girls also have their Irish dance. During the holidays they had Christmas lights set up and also had Christmas music being played over the speakers which was fun. We left right when the girls got home from school, so we were pretty lucky that we beat the crowd. We thought it would be really crowded, but when we got there, there was one other mom and her two kids and that was it for a good hour before it started to get crowded. The kids had a blast, and Emery loved it, of course she didn't have to do anything but sit there because Chase would pull her back up the hill because it was too slick and steep for her to walk it herself. At one point Chase tried to take the kids down the all ice part with several jumps and I was very against it, so he didn't. I just pictured the kids flying off and cracking their heads open. If you look in the pictures maybe you can see behind on the far side how it's just ice and lots of bumps, too scary, at least for mom. We had a great time and it wasn't too cold either, which was nice. There's even a token picture of me with the kids, since being pregnant I wasn't actively able to participate in the sledding.
Chase and the kids doing a train of sleds down the hill together.

The kids and me after sledding.

Chase pulling Emery back for more sledding.

Addie and Bailey getting ready to go down the hill.

Cam and Emery going down the hill with Chase.

Bailey and Addie trudging back up the icy hill.

Chase trying to pull Cam and Emery back up the hill, it was really slick.

Cam making his way back for more sledding.

Bailey getting ready to go down again.

Our daredevil Addie going down the hill head first.

Emery having a blast sledding.

Mattress Box Ninjas

A couple of weeks ago my parents got some mattresses delivered in some huge boxes and of course the kids were quick to play inside them. That day we had just bought some scarves for the kids from the dollar store as well, so they dressed up like ninjas and played inside the mattress boxes for a long time. We joked around that we would just wrap up the boxes and give them to the kids for Christmas. It's so funny how much fun an empty box is for kids, hours of entertainment.

A "Sick" Christmas

Grandma Beebe with cousin Noah and Emery.

Grandpa Beebe sitting on Emery.

Emery loving her new dancing Brobee.

Cam all excited opening his presents.

Addie and her Littlest Pet Shop.

Bailey happy with her puppy puppets from Grandma and Grandpa Fox.

Emery on the phone and playing her crocodile xylophone.

Cam with his cool new football.

Addie with her Swim to Me Puppy that she has "waited for all of her life" for.

Bailey with her new cookware.

Emery feeding her new baby with Aunt Monica.

Cam opening his Christmas Eve Jammies and Taz slippers.
Bailey with her new penguin jammies and dog slippers eating her feet.
Emery and her Moose jammies.
Addie and new jammies with fish slippers.
Kids in CA with Pine Cone decorations they made with Grandma Fox.
Kids in their Sunday outfits in CA at Grandma and Grandpa Fox's house.

We were able to make a quick trip to CA before Christmas. I got people to cover my shift for 3 days and we spent about 4 days in CA and drove back on Christmas Eve. About our 2nd day there I woke up not feeling well and then Chase got sick, followed by Cam and then Addie with coughs. Chase was really bad and soon discovered he deffinately did not have the same thing as the rest of us. We got to UT about 6:15 pm and I dropped him off at the Urgent Care and then dropped the kids off at the house with my parents and went back to pick up Chase. Sure enough, just what Chase had suspected, he had Strep Throat...again! This is the second time within like 2 months. He has never had Strep our entire 10 years of marriage and rarely got sick as a kid, I don't think he had strep as a kid either. Anyway, we've decided that we're cursed, or at least Chase is. So, I dropped Chase back at the house and drove over to the nearest pharmacy open in Provo to get him his medicine. So, we spent $60. at the urgent care, because they didn't take our insurance, and then one of the medications prescribed also wasn't covered so there was another $3o. He's doing better today, but still pretty sick. We're just hoping he's well enough for work on Mon., he couldn't go in on Sat. Cam and Addie seem to be doing better today as well, or at least haven't coughed as much. Addie had to have her nebulizer this morning, but has done well today. I haven't been as congested since getting back, so hopefully we won't spend the rest of our Christmas break all sick. Chase rates this Christmas as his worst, hopefully, next year he'll at least be able to eat something and have it be a little more memorable for happier reasons.

So, update from what I started writing last night. Emery woke up this morning (meaning Sunday morning, I wrote the rest of this last night at work, but haven't finished) with a snot covered face and is now sick, so we didn't go to church. I stayed home to watch the sick kids while Bailey went to church with Grandma.

The kids loved their Christmas though, which was such a relief being as this Christmas was on a very tight budget. I was hoping the kids would love their presents despite there not being any drums or Ipods. Addie and Emery had the best reactions for their gifts. We didn't have any new video tapes for our camcorder, but I got a little video on the camera. Unfortunately, I missed some priceless reactions from Addie over her gifts. She squeeled loudly and screamed with excitement and was even shaking, it was very funny. The kids had a great day, which made up for Chase having a crappy day, well kind of, at least it didn't make Christmas a complete miserable experience. I am thankful that we were able to celebrate the day together as a family, that some of us were healthy, and that our Saviour was born and sacrificed his life for us. I'm just hoping next year we can all celebrate under different circumstances.

Merry Christmas!

This year has been a crazy one for us. I'm sure most if not all of you are aware Chase got laid off back in January. We sold our house in Lehi and my parents graciously allowed us to move into their basement until we get back on our feet again. Chase has been in numerous hiring processes, which we hopefully will see results from soon. He actually has been accepted to the Border Patrol, but it will probably be a year before he can enter their academy. Right now we are hoping for one of the fire fighting jobs to come through as well. It's hard to imagine being out of work for that long. In November Chase got a job with the postal service as a part time carrier. He works on Saturday and has occasionally subbed. I started working as night watch for a residential treatment center for troubled teenage girls the end of Aug. It has been difficult at times, but we feel blessed to have the jobs we have.

Bailey is 9 and loving 4th grade. She has made some good friends and enjoys school, activity days, playing the piano, Irish dancing, knitting & crocheting, and making crafts. Bailey is constantly coming up with fun ideas whether it's games to play, or crafts to decorate her room, or ways to earn money. Bailey decided to set up a “sale” out in front of the house and sold things she didn't want any more, crafts, treats, and lemonade. Bailey is a big helper and a great daughter and sister.

Addison is 7 and in the 2nd grade. She loves school, and also plays the piano and loves Irish dancing. Addie is a crazy girl with lots of big plans like her sister. Her most recent money making scheme is to rub Grandma's feet for a little cash. Addie loves to collect things, rocks, leaves, even the occasional potato bug. Addie is a sweet girl who loves to do things and make things for other people. She loves playing with her brother and sisters and giving Emery piggy back rides. She is always eager to bring home artwork or draw pictures for everyone.

Cameron is 5 and loving Kindergarten. He is learning all his letters and is very good with numbers. He is our little ball of energy running around all the time. He just finished up the season of wrestling which he became very good at. Now he wants to try the Irish step dance with the girls. Cam is a sweet and crazy boy who loves to tease and joke around. He loves playing with friends, playing the computer, and the wii. Cam is a great brother and son and loves to help his little sister Emery.

Emery is 2 and is quite the little character. She speaks very well for her age, better than any of my other kids at that same age and will say the funniest things. She is quick to give hugs and kisses to anyone who is leaving or coming home. She gets so excited anytime someone returns home and for example will exclaim loudly, “Mommy, you came home!”, and then run up and give you loves. Emery is very sweet, but can be very stubborn and independent. She loves playing with toys, reading, singing, “practicing” the piano, and watching “Yo Gabba Gabba”.

Chase has been busy looking for work obviously, and working his postal job. He has also been trying to get into shape for whatever job should come our way, whether it's the border patrol or firefighting. Chase has been awesome helping with the kids and getting up with them, especially on the days that I have to work. Earlier this year we also team taught a primary class together at church. Chase has occasionally enjoyed playing basketball at the church as well.

I have been busy working and taking care of kids. I have had the opportunity to be Cameron's Kindergarten class home room mom, which has been interesting. I am currently an activity day leader at church working with the girls ages 8-12 which has been fun especially since Bailey is in activity days.

Other news, if you've actually read this far, is that we are expecting baby number 5 in March! It has not been the best timing, but we are looking forward to having an added blessing come to our family. The kids are all very excited to have a new sibling come join our family. We aren't 100% sure, but the doctors are leaning towards the baby being a girl. We had 2 ultrasounds and the baby was breech with legs crossed, so not much cooperation in that area. I guess we will find out for sure in a couple of months.

We hope this season finds you all well and wish you a very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!

Love,
Jennifer, Chase, Bailey, Addison, Cameron, Emery, & Baby : )

Fun Christmas Activities...

This week has been full of fun activities to start the Christmas season. On Monday we went to Costco and they were having a holiday shopping day with dinner and Santa. They said they would have food and I just assumed it would be the normal samples, but it ended up being a full on nacho bar with a muffin and bottled water, plus the additional samples. It was good, but messy, when you have kids trying to eat standing up, sitting on the floor, and sitting in the shopping cart. There was a huge crowd where the food was, so we thought we'd be in for a long wait to see Santa. We walked around and did all our shopping and then went to find Santa. I guess the word hadn't gotten out yet, because there were only 2 people ahead of us in line. The kids all sat with Santa and Mrs. Claus and told them what they wanted for Christmas. I knew Emery was going to have problems, so I had Bailey sit on Santa and then put Emery on Bailey's lap. She wriggled off the first attempt and tried to get away, but we were able to get her to sit there for a split second to take the picture. The whole time she was looking behind her and didn't want anything to do with Santa. The picture is really funny, because of her ornery face. Other than the fact that 2 of the kids' gift requests were a surprise and unreasonable, we had a fun time. Cam decided he wanted drums and Bailey changed her request at the last minute and out of the blue asked for a Nintendo DS...What?! Trying to convince Cam that Santa knows we have no room for drums and that Nintendo DS is still too expensive even for Santa, is difficult to do.

On Tuesday night Chase put on the new snow cables on the van's tires and we decided to drive around and test them out and look at the Christmas lights. We ended up going back to the house afterward, picking up my mom, and driving up to the mouth of Spanish Fork Canyon to see the Festival of Lights. It was really pretty with all of the fresh snow that had just fallen. The Christmas music was fun to listen to as well, especially Chase's singing along to Feliz Navidad, he has a great Spanish accent : ) . My mom tried to convince Chase to join the ward choir, but he pleaded his case that they wouldn't want him singing along with that accent with other songs. We got towards the end of the lights when we saw a little house that I guess was supposed to be Santa's shop at the North Pole with a huge Santa manaquin waving on the front porch. At first look the Santa seems really lifelike and we were all trying to decide if it was a real person or not. So, I dared Chase to go touch Santa. I didn't think he would do it, but the next thing I knew he was out of the car running up to touch Santa, gave him a pat on the hand, and ran back. It was hillarious! I haven't laughed so hard in a long time. We thought Chase might receive a life time ban from Festival of Lights for his shenanigans, but nobody said anything to us or tried to stop us.

On Wednesday we went to Chuck-a-rama which is a buffet style restaurant. Our kids all had free coupons, so it was a really good deal. The food was really good, too. I loved the fried chicken, scones, and rolls. Chase said it was all worth it just to eat their wings. The kids I think have fond memories of the icecream bar. I couldn't believe how much my kids were able to pack away, and nobody got sick! Afterwards, we drove back to Costco and picked up our free picture of the kids and Santa.

Fox Visit

Last week the Fox cousins came for a short visit. Grandma Fox and Uncle Grant drove Kennedy and Kyler back to UT from their Thanksgiving visit to CA. We hadn't been able to see Kennedy and Kyler since last Christmas and we hadn't seen Grant in about 4 yrs., so it was great to see them again. The kids had a blast playing with their cousins. Luckily, the weather hadn't turned bad yet so the kids were able to play outside on the slide and airplane seesaw probably for the last time for a long time with the stinky weather here. We had a really great time seeing everyone and were sad that it was just too short. Hopefully, it won't be so long until the next visit.

Addie, Kennedy, & Bailey playing Rat-a-tat Cat.
Playing cards and being silly.
Silly girls!
Emery and Cam dancing with Grandma Fox. I love Addie's expression looking up at Grandma!
Still dancing!
Silly cousins!
Bailey, Addie, Emery, Cam, Kyler, & Kennedy
Uncle Grant with Kyler and Kennedy.
Cute Cousins!