2007-12-24 Christmas Eve

It snowed fast and furious so we had to shorten our Christmas Eve program. Santa came right after we sang 'Happy Birthday' to Thomas. We shoveled the snow and Christensens, Conleys and Fords left in the blizzard.
Our chime choir didn't get a chance to perform but we enjoyed the rehearsal.

2007-12-24 Christmas Eve Breakfast

The Thomas family gathered for our traditional Christmas Eve breakfast in honor of Granny (Zella Sorensen Thomas) who started the tradition probably in about 1965. There were 90 people at the breakfast including the five children of Grant Woodruff and Marie Thomas Heath shown in the photo.

2007-12-23 Christmas Eve Eve Dinner

After church together we share a meal of french dip sandwiches and salad. Since we were all together it was 'Picture Time' and most of us were cooperative. Without a professional photographer we relied on Brian's camera and mine.

2007-12-21 Grandchildren sleepover

We had 13 grandchildren for the evening; Nine slept overnight and stayed to play in the snow. We made a snowman and a fort.

2007-12-20 This is the Place Heritage Park

Despite the snow we had a great time at the Heritage Park Christmas village after our pizza and pumpkin pie dinner at Melissa's ward. We walked around in the snow throwing snowballs. We visited Father Christmas, The Gardiner home where their 10 children were out and about, danced around a Christmas tree, made crafts, saw a puppet show, bought penny candy.
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2007-12-19 Will's Christmas program

Will sang with gusto at Miss Molly's Christmas program in University Mall in Orem. The mall was packed with parents, grandparents, siblings. Santa came for a visit. One of the songs was 'Santa is too fat for the chimney' and this might be true.Sarah wouldn't have much to do with Santa. We attended Abby's Christmas dance recital last night, but I forgot to put my camera battery back, so no photos.

2007-12-19 Grandma quilting

Paula organized her quilting room and got to work making quilts for Melissa, Mindy, Melanie, Michelle and Natalie. She also made quilts for Thomas, Joshua, Jack and Andrew. She made baby quilts for Sarah, Mia and Elizabeth. A lot of work!

2007-12-16 Our 36th Wedding Anniversary

We celebrated our anniversary by attending church, home teaching, and going to an annual Swedish Christmas party in our ward. After 36 years I suppose we don't have to make too much fuss. Grandma was always beautiful and she remains even more so today.

2007-10-28 Steve Sutton died in a plane crash

It is with great sadness we report that on October 28, 2007, Allen D. Williams, Founder and Chief Executive Officer, and Steven T. Sutton, Chief Financial Officer, were involved in a fatal plane crash. Kate Williams, Allen ’ s granddaughter who was also on the plane has survived and is in good condition. Allen has been a visionary and a leader in the consulting engineering industry throughout Alberta and across the country. Steven, a trusted advisor to our firm and in our community; was an honest man who lived what he believed. Both men are treasured husbands, fathers, grandfathers, and mentors who will be greatly missed.

2007-12-13 Tabernacle Choir Christmas Concert

We won the lottery and received tickets to the concert. Mindy, Coray, Jonathan, Abby, Melissa, Michael, Thomas, Joshua, Benjamin, Grandma, Grandpa and Corinne were able to attend and sit together if you can believe it. The program was wonderful with the highlight being a Mack Wilberg arrangement of the Twelve Days of Christmas with the stage full of lords a-leaping, maids a-milking, geese a-laying, etc.

2007-12-13 Will's Christmas program

Will was a wise man in the nativity program and sang all the Christmas songs with his classmates. We enjoyed the program!

2007-12-14 Jack's Christmas program

Jack danced around his candy cane and sang with gusto. We all enjoyed the show especially Anna and Elizabeth. Grandpa sang 'Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer with a red button taped to his nose. Jack seemed embarrassed.

2007-12-13 Tending Andrew Elizabeth and Anna

While Melanie and Jeff drove to Colorado Springs to franchise shop and home hunt we tended the Conley children. They seemed to have plenty of fun playing at our house. We went to Will's Christmas program to also to Jack's program.

Anna was brave to sit on Santa's lap.

Andrew lost a tooth and some sleep worrying about the Tooth Fairy.

2007-12-10 Paula and her friends celebrate Christmas

Paula enjoyed dinner and a gift exchange with her friends, Suzanne Housley, Daryl Broadbent and Mary Lou Unice.

2007-11-24 President McKittrick passed away

Trent David McKittrick returned to his heavenly home surrounded by loving family on Saturday, Nov. 24, 2007.
Trent was born of goodly parents Gwen D. and Mildred Kirch McKittrick on April 25, 1950, in Columbus. One of Trent's most endearing qualities was his love for family, especially spending time with his grandchildren.
Trent had passion and zeal for life, with enthusiasm for skiing, hiking, outdoor activities, his horses, the sciences, learning, knowledge and a deep appreciation and understanding of Jesus Christ. His amazing spirit, gentle manner and deep concern for others touched the lives of everyone he came in contact with.
His love, faith and dedication to the Savior brought him to serve two full-time missions for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. The first mission was served in Geneva, Switzerland, and the other in 1993 with his wife and children as Mission President in the Canada Montreal mission.
Trent was an accomplished man with a vast background. He graduated with honors from Palmer College of Chiropractic, served in the United States Marine Corps, skydived, ran two marathons, was captain of the high school football team, sang in a dance band, snow skied the Big Sky Le Couloir at the age of 50, was an amazing Scoutmaster known for his famous Dutch oven cooking, and was a veracious reader. He will be remembered for his kindness, gratitude, integrity and great work ethic.
Trent is survived by his eternal companion, Donna; his three loving daughters, Tana (Matt), Breanne (David) and Wynn (Tim); grandchildren Grace, McCade, Bella, Gage and Chayce Lynn; his mother Mildred; brothers, Dan and Chad. Trent is preceded in passing by his father, Gwen and son, Chase.
His funeral service will be held at 10 a.m. on Thursday, Nov. 29, at the LDS Chapel located at 2929 Belvedere, Billings (across from Will James Junior High). Following the funeral, the burial will be in Nye Cemetery. Visitation will be Wednesday, Nov. 28, from 6 to 8 p.m., at the Dahl Funeral Chapel, 10 Yellowstone Ave., Billings.
Memorials may be made to The Trent McKittrick Memorial Fund at First Interstate Bank; LDS Humanitarian or Perpetual Education Fund, 15 E. South Temple, Salt Lake City, UT 84150.

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2007-11-24 BYU beats Utah

Coray and Mindy invited me to attend the Utah-BYU game using one of Coray's dad's tickets. Coray and I enjoyed the back row of the east side of the stadium where Coray could stand up to ease the tension in his back. I thought that Utah would pull off the upset when BYU had a miracle play to keep them in the game and set up the winning touchdown. This picture shows the celestial intervention that BYU enjoyed.

2007-12-01 Winter in Willow Creek

We had quite a snow storm!

2007-11-30 Will falls on the ice

Mindy brought Will and Sarah up to visit so that I could watch Sarah while she went ice skating with Will. He was learning the ropes of ice skating when he did a face plant. We bandaged his eye, but Mindy visited the pediatrician who glued his wound together.

Christmas jigsaw

 We put this on our kitchen table after Thanksgiving dinner and we're not making much progress.

We finished!

Margaret Neilsen and Bob Short get married

The Neilsen children were all great support for their mother. Mindy's father-in-law, Elder Dellenbach, performed the sealing in the Bountiful Temple.
November 23, 2007

We were happy to be matchmakers in this romance. Since Bob and his first wife introduced Paula and me, we returned the favor by introducing Bob to Margaret. It didn't take them long to fall in love and get married. On May 2 I talked Bob into calling Margaret. We were supposed to go with them to a baseball game on June 23 when Bob introduced Margaret to his children. On July 13 we went to dinner with them. They announced their engagement to us on August 16. They are a great fit, and we wish them much happiness.

2007-11-18 Michelle's Update

November 18, 2007

Hi Everyone,

I've had yet another one of those weeks. But I feel hope for this week, thanks to Hans giving me a nice blessing. I seriously don't think I would survive without his help, his holding the priesthood, and the gospel. How do people without these things survive? Every ailment had an upside. I got to have two two hour appointments at the endodontist having a root canal. It did put me out of my miserable tooth pain and the Dr. did it for free. Which was SO nice. I also had several people babysit my kids. And Mia did just great drinking a bottle and my friend's children are all grown so she was more than happy to babysit. Very nice as well. Then the crazy pain from my stupid husband spraining my rib is going away thanks to the nice chiropractor in my ward popping it back into place. And then today I woke up and fit into my clothes again thanks to the stomach flu I got on Friday on the way home from the chiropractor. Justin had it on Wednesday and Katelyn on Monday. Ashley and Hans have escaped it. Mia threw up once. She seems fine now though. So that was my week. Crazy. My OB also refunded me the money Hans spent on the wrong prescription. I was so happy about that since I was so mad at her for it. She was very professional. Hans made the call since I wouldn't have been too nice about it. I think that's all.

Attached are pictures of the kids. One is of Justin with mascara all over his face. While I am nursing Mia, he likes to destroy my house. He knows I am not capable of stopping his mischief. Which may be better then him standing at my knees and screaming every time I feed her. He came down today, handed me the tube of mascara, and said, "pretty." He sure is. Luckily for me it wasn't waterproof since he dragged the tube down the stairs. There's a lot of mascara everywhere. Then when I finished cleaning that up and came back downstairs he had dumped out a box of cereal for me to clean up. He's a pest. But a very cute, loveable one.

Mia is growing. She is very cute. We all love her. The girls are great. I love them incredibly. Ashley was a star at her thanksgiving party singing songs and Katelyn had a fun party as well. We are looking forward to having this week with no where we have to be at.

Hans is busy. He had one day last week where he broke even so we're happy about that. The future looks bright:)

We hope everyone has a great Thanksgiving. I'm grateful for all of you!

Love, Michelle

2007-11-11 Michelle's Update

Hi Everyone,

It was kind of a nightmare week, but turned out well. So that's good. I am recovering from my 3rd round of cellulitis. Not sure why I am so prone to skin infections at my c-section site, but I am. And each c-section was done by a different doctor. Otherwise I'd blame the doctor. Hans tried to crack my back for me and ended up displacing a rib. So that's been another added pain. Not to mention the 11 cavities he diagnosed me with at his office this week. I'm not proud of it. He actually asked me to get dental insurance, which I found kind of funny at the beginning, but now I think it may actually be a good idea. His office is going well. He's booked 2 weeks out, which is better then expected. He's anxious for when all the annoying kinks are worked out. In the middle of doing a filling on me his drill stopped working. I was grateful I was the patient and not someone else who would never come back. At least with me I have no choice.

The kids are well. They continue to amuse me.

Love, Michelle

2007-11-05 Michelle's Update

November 4, 2007

Hi Everyone,

We had a busy Halloween week. It was lots of fun. Katelyn had a fun party at school and our ward had a party on halloween night. The girls scored way too much candy. It has been tormenting poor Justin. He finished all of his candy, but can't rest until their candy is gone as well. Unfortunately for him Ashley isn't much of a candy eater so she has almost her entire stash left, except for what Hans and I have stolen. Ashley was a witch, Katelyn a cowgirl/pony, and Justin a fireman. Mia was herself. Halloween is a fun holiday. Now we are preparing for Thanksgiving costumes, parties, and dinner. We are staying busy with the usual - playgroups, playdates, school, pre-school, gymnastics, and ballet. Yesterday we were able to go four-wheeling and ride our little dirt bike down in fountain. It was beautiful. The weather has been so great so far this winter. We hope it holds up. It's only November:) Mia is almost one month old. I can't believe how time goes so quickly. She is starting to wake up and has set wake/sleep times. It makes it easier on all of us. I am still housebound for the most part. I still hurt. I'm hoping that another two weeks will mean I am totally better. I'm craving a good run and bike ride on my new bike. Hans is busy with work. He has his open house on Tuesday night. His consultant seems pleased with the way the schedule is filling up, but it still stresses Hans out. He says that in a year he will feel better about things. He has figured out his x-ray machines and already done some fillings, root canal, and pulled some teeth. Not bad for one and a half weeks open. It should only improve.

Enjoy the pictures.

Love, Michelle

2007-10-31 Natalie's Update

Hello Everyone,

Happy Halloween! It has been a while since I've sent pictures. The fall has been busy for us. Elsa finished soccer season two weeks ago. Elsa was so excited to start the season, but quickly gave up because it was either too hot for her to run and she didn't get the ball enough. (There were some really good boys on her team.) As a result, every Thursday evening was a challenge to get Elsa dressed in her uniform and out the door. I was able to encourage her to go to her last game so that she could get her trophy. It was a perfect fall evening with temperatures in the 70's. This change in weather and the fact that Elsa scored a goal made it a successful season. Now she surely wants to play again in the spring. How fickle can a five year-old be? We were excited for her to end in a positive way.

Brian has been around for the last month, which has been so nice to have his help. I've especially needed it lately. We are getting packed and ready to head out to Utah tomorrow. The girls are so excited. Both Elsa and Ava were more excited for Halloween to come and GO since we've been telling them that we'll leave right after Halloween. The girls both woke up this morning and asked if today was the day. Tomorrow! They can't wait to have a sleep-over at Grandma and Grandpa's house. They are also excited to see and play with their cousins. The sat down at the table last night and started naming them off. I am glad that they remember them.

Both girls thoroughly loved Halloween. Both girls knew early on what they wanted to be, Elsa and pirate and Ava a witch. It helped that Elsa was a witch last year, so we recycled that costume. They had costume parties at school on Tuesday and then Tuesday evening was their special persons night at school. Brian and I went with the girls to see all their fall crafts and carve pumpkins. Elsa (being consistent) wanted a pirate jack-o-lantern. Ava wanted a pumkin with tears and hands. Whatever. For the actual Halloween/trick-or-treating festivities, Ava insisted on having a green face, so I complied. It was so fun to see their excitement. Our neighborhood gathers at the end of the cul-de-sac for a pre-trick-or-treat party and parade. The girls loved meeting up with their friends and eating pizza. They danced and ran around while giggling. I love that they have so many friends in our neighborhood. Then a police officer led the parade in his partrol car with the sirens on. It was so fun to watch all the kids line up and march through the neighborhood to show off their costumes. Halloween is such a fun holiday. Elsa came home early and helped me pass out candy. She was very generous and gave big handfuls to each child. I think she had more fun doing that than actual trick-or-treating. Ava was the powerhouse and hit all the houses in the neighborhood with Brian beside her. All the sugar made bedtime a little more frazzled, but Brian handled all of it (even getting all the green paint off of Ava's face). He is a
trooper.

I hope you all enjoyed your Halloween! We are excited to see those of you in Utah in a couple of days.

Love,
Natalie

2007-10-28 Mindy's Update

Life has been crazy but there is some hope of things settling down.

Jonathan finished his football and fall soccer season last week. He loved football and looks forward to next year. He is very fast, he learned a lot, made some good tackles and good blocks. Soccer moves right on into indoor and his first game is tomorrow night. Coray is Jonathan's basketball coach and trying to get the boys ready. Most of them are beginners and still learning the basics which has Coray worried about our first game against the best team in the league. We will call it a growing year.

Abby finished her soccer season pouring her water bottle over the coaches head in freezing cold weather. The coach told the girls if they could score they could get her wet so Abby scored a goal and did just that. She is busy with gymnastics and Hip Hop. She is struggling getting her front and back walkovers perfect so she can learn a back handspring.

Both Abby and Jonathan are plugging away at piano. I am trying my hardest to not just give up on the whole thing.

Will is doing an itty bitty sports program at the rec center. He is finishing up flag football and will start an all sports one. He can't wait for basketball so he can go do some shoots. He is busy will preschool and is excited to learn to read. He can read the basic phonetic words and is very proud of himself. He loves playing with our next door neighbor Christian.

Sarah is starting to talk a little more. Her words are mom, dad, abby, Nala, dog, horsie, bye, drink, no, me, Nana, Grandpa, uh-oh, treat, candy, Tobin (her neighbor friend), soft, hot, owie, don't, stop, go, and more I can't think of. She is cute and still gets all sorts of comments. She can run really fast and jump off beds and couches.

We just got back from our RV vacation to Yellowstone National Park. We went with our neighbors the Smiths. They rented RVs and we drove to Yellowstone. We spent the night at a campground and in the morning we went to a Bear and Wolf Center. We ran into Jonathan's soccer coach and his family. Then we drove around the north loop of Yellowstone and had to stop and wait for bison to cross the road, we saw lots of elk and coyote. We stopped and walked around the steam pots and waterfalls and looked at the beautiful scenery. The next day we drove the south loop for more scenery and Old Faithful and then we went to Jackson. We came home the next morning. It was fast, fun and relaxing.

Coray is keeping too busy with work, scouts, and basketball coaching. He just hung our Christmas lights last night which was a big project.

I am busy keeping up with everybody else. We can't wait to see everyone. We love you all.

Mindy

2007-10-29 Michelle's Update

October 29, 2007

HI Everyone,

It's hard to believe that it's the end of October. We have Halloween parties and carving pumpkins, etc. this week. Keeps us busy, which is good. Justin is not happy with baby Mia. He likes to rub his head against her head and make her cry. It's constant babysitting of Mia to make sure Justin doesn't harm her. This morning he tried to step on her while I was getting ready to give her a bath. He's officially 19 months old. He seems really big to me. He weighs in at 23 pounds, which is the 25th percentile and I can't remember how tall he is, but it put him at the 45th percentile. He followed me around crying for a solid hour this morning. Lucky me.

The girls are excited for Halloween. Katelyn is more excited for her birthday party, which she has all planned out. I even had to write a paper with directions for the party, which she carries around. She talks about it non-stop. It's still 3 1/2 months away. We are buying the pinata when I decide to brave grocery shopping again. We've had so much help with food. I won't have to cook anything until Mia is close to 5 weeks. It's hard to believe she is 3 weeks old. She is a good baby.

Ashley is at school today. SHe's liking Kindergarten. She has been such a major help.

Hans is well. Too many details to try and write. He's busy.

Love, Michelle

2007-10-21 Michelle's Update

October 21, 2007

Hi Everyone,

We woke up to a lot of snow this morning. The wind blew all our patio furniture over and the snow is still coming down. It's very wintry. Especially considering yesterday I was sitting outside in my short sleeved shirt enjoying the 76 degree weather. Crazy.

Attached are a bunch of pictures of Mia. She is growing, I think. I haven't had her weighed yet. I had her PKU done on Thursday, but they had no infant scale at the lab. I am waiting until she is older to take her to the Dr. I am sure the Doctor won't be happy with me. For some reason they like to see them at 1 week, 2 weeks, 1 month, and 2 months. Seems dumb to me. I'll bring her in at 2 months. She is well. She is sleeping, eating, pooping lots, and fussing some. All the things she should be doing. She needs to eat every 2 hours or so, meaning I get about an hour and 20 minutes straight of sleep at a time. I'm adjusting.

The girls are great. They have been such big helps. It was really nice to have mom and dad here to drive carpools and play with the kids. They are excited that Melissa is coming tonight. Justin is not doing so well. He likes the baby, but is very needy with Hans and I. So is Katelyn, I guess. We have too much going on.

Hans' office looks terrific. Very professional. He spent the majority of last night over there setting up chairs, hanging pictures, setting up desks, computers, etc. He will spend business hours over there tomorrow sorting through supplies. Ashley and I will let him and his assistant practice with the x-ray equipment and such on us. Ashley needs some sealants and I have lots of teeth needing fixing post fourth baby. He moved all his Monday patients to Wednesday. He will have quite a few patients on Wednesday and a few on Friday. He is still working at Small Smiles on Tuesdays and thursdays. Busy. His front office manager says she has been making 2-3 appointments every day. Our flyers finally went out. We are excited to have it all come together. I am anxious for when he can quit small smiles and support our family with the new practice. Looking forward to that day.

Lots of changes. We are grateful for the Gospel to keep us sane.

We miss you all,

Michelle

2007-10-13 Melanie's Update

I haven't sent an update forever. As usual. This week, though, is well worth documenting. It all started with getting our new puppy Cavachon, named Charlie on Friday night. And then with Anna breaking her arm Saturday morning. She was holding onto the railing while walking down the stairs when Andrew climbed over the banister and slid down, knocking her over. She broke both bones in her forearm and they were at an angle. The doctor at the instacare told us to go to the ER to have her sedated to set the bone, but the doctor on call at the ER decided that it didn't really need to be set. So we waited until Wednesday to see an Orthopedist and the first thing he told me after looking at the x-rays was that she needed to go to the ER to have her arm set. I explained to him what had happened, which he thought was very strange and then he set the bones straight in his office with an x-ray machine on so we could see her bones. It would have been cool except for that Anna and I were both crying. And the nurse told me that Elizabeth and Andrew couldn't be in the room with us--they would have to wait in the waiting room. When I explained to her that they are 5 and 4, she told me I would have to choose who I wanted to be with. I chose Anna and went into the radiology room and saw a small corner behind a wall and convinced the nurse that Andrew and Elizabeth had small enough butts to sit there. Luckily, she obliged. Now Anna has a hot pink cast. The doctor had to take his saw and slit open one side to allow for more swelling from setting the bones. She gets a new cast Monday. She hasn't been sleeping well and talks about her "big owey." My favorite question is to ask her what color her cast is, because she always says green. She loves the color green.

On Tuesday my piano teacher forgot piano lessons and I got a speeding ticket on the way home. When I finally got home, I ran over Andrew's bike in the garage. Elizabeth called me from preschool crying because she wanted to go home and the dog peed on my carpet for the first time. Thursday my babysitter forgot to come and I couldn't ever get a hold of her. Friday my garage door fell off the tracks and bent. And my garbage diposal stopped working. And I broke the needle off of my sewing machine and I needed to finish my quilt block by Saturday. And Jeff has been out of town all week. Today I have been waiting for something to happen and I have been driving very carefully and watching my kids carefully when we are outside. Nothing terrible has happened today. We did have 3 people come to look at our house.

The kids, though, are doing okay, Anna excepted. Andrew did well in his soccer game today. He was running around strongly for the first half but the second half he was walking around not really paying attention. He got to play goalie, which he enjoys, and his team won 2 to nothing. Andrew is very much into Monoploy and we play almost every day. His math skills are getting very good. Tonight he bought Water Works for 150, so he gave me a 500 and said, "mom, now you have to give me 350 back." I think that is pretty good math for a 5-year old! He still plays the piano all day and makes up songs and asks me which one I like best. Today he was playing all the left hand parts to Elizabeth's songs. She has mastered her twinkles, Honeybee, Cukoo, and Lightly Row. I am proud of her. Anna sings all the Suzuki songs as well and loves to sit up to the piano and push buttons on the metronome.

Elizabeth still does tricks all day. Her new favorite is to do headstands on the stairs and kick her legs up to the stairs above her. And then she yells to me to help her get down. She plays all day with Anna, with her crafts, with Andrew and with her friend Elise. She amazes me everyday with how sweet and kind she is and how willing she is to help me out. I tell her every night that she has a very special part in our family.

Anna is Anna. She giggles and laughs and asks me to tickle her. She still loves Dora and we are planning her half birthday party for next week. She picked out the cake mix and frosting today. She will do anything Elizabeth wants her to, so Elizabeth guided all the decisions. Anna loves Charlie and talks to him like he is a baby. She loves talking about our dog. And holding his leash and filling up his water bowl and holding him on her lap. Luckily, Charlie doesn't mind.

That was a long update. Luckily, I have managed to keep my wits about me. I do find myself turning in circles sometimes, but I have had people help me. My neighbor has been a life saver, and I have felt so blessed to have her as a good friend. And my parents and Melissa and Michelle have helped a ton too just by talking to me on the phone.

If you want to see pictures of our kids, go to our blog at www.familyconley.blogspot.com.

Take care,
Melanie

2007-10-11 Michelle's Update

October 11, 2007

Hi Everyone,

It's hard to believe that exactly 72 hours ago I was in the hospital having a panic attack as they delivered the baby. Medicine is amazing. I was able to be the one to declare "It's a girl!" and then realize that I wasn't really at all surprised. Hans was. She is a beautiful, happy, tiny baby. She is strong and alert and very sweet. Her name is prounounced with an e sound. I've had several people ask. We already love her. I tried talking about other girls names, but Katelyn looked at me and said, "Mom, her name is Mia." Meaning, case is closed. I'm calling her Mia no matter what. Ashley had similar feelings.

The surgery went well. The doctor was very gentle with all my insides and told me it looked like my body could handle more babies. My recovery has been SO much better this time and I'm sure it's because my surgeon was more gentle. Thank goodness.

I'm high on percocet right now so I'm not sure how much sense I am making.

I better stop. Attached are some more pictures.

Thanks for all of your support.

Love, Michelle

2007-10-08 Mia Marie Egbert

Hello all,


Michelle is in the hospital recovering from the delivery of Mia Marie Egbert. They started the c-section at about 12:45 and at 1:19pm Michelle gave birth to little Mia. I say little because she truly is little. 19 1/4 inches and 4 lbs. 12 oz. She is our littlest bably by far. She seems to be doing great despite her wieght and the doctors and nurses don't seem at all concerned. She is a good little nurser, pretty strong and quite alert. She has pooped and peed once and she is a perfect little baby. She is very sweet. There is still nothing quite like hearing that first cry and seeing my baby for the first time. I always get choked up and watery eyed.

The girls are doing great and are very excited to have "more girls than boys in the family". They were thrilled at the news and kept screaming "more girls! more GIRLS!". Justin thinks it is really neat to have a baby and he wants to see michelle's "button" (belly button) because he knows that is where the baby came from. He is a very caring big brother so far and has been surprisingly gentle. He just pets the blanket over her tummy and says "baby" with amore reverence than I have seen in him before. It is wonderful to be the father of 4 beautiful children.

2007-10-06 Michelle's Update

October 6, 2007

Hi Everyone,

Attached are a bunch of pictures. Of Justin in the sink. He's so messy all the time. I give him his lollipops in there. We had lollipops so we could make ghosts with the girls, but they were WAY too all consuming for Justin. It's all he could and can still think about. Candy. Candy. Candy. He asks me for it when he wakes up. Also of Katelyn at her first gymnastics class and of Ashley playing soccer. We keep busy with activities.

Time has flown by and our two big events are about here. The practice looks great. The painting is all done and they have started on the flooring and cabinets. Training starts the 15th. Hans' last full-time day at small smiles was yesterday. We're so grateful he's able to stay on part-time and have some steady income. Our postcards should go out this week. I ordered 500 toothbrushes with our name and phone number on them to hand out to trick or treaters. I am hoping to not have 500 trick or treaters, but they are fine to have on hand and way cheaper to buy in bulk like that. We have 8 or 9 appointments set up. Hans has hired his two employees and is busy figuring out payroll and stuff like that. This whole starting a business thing takes up quite a bit of time.

I am 9 months pregnant. I am achy. I waddle, according to my neighbors anyway. Last night we went out to dinner without the kids and had a perfect stranger pay for our dinner. I've never had that happan. It was such a nice surprise. Hans says it's because we look young, I am obscenely pregnant, and we split a burger. I think there are just nice people out there who want to do nice things. It made me want to pick up someone else's check. We have had so many wonderful people around us serving us. I am anxious for when I can be back to normal and reach out to others. It's quite humbling to be reached out to. We're grateful. Every night I am oh so hopeful I will go into labor. Last night I watched TV from 1-3 in the morning. Kind of sad. I have to hang in there until Monday. But I do pray every night that maybe I could go into labor before then. Wouldn't that be great?

The kids are great. Katelyn is a great gymnast. She can do a backbend and loves to show of her stretches. Ashley loves soccer and tells me that it makes her heart pump hard. We had her parent-teacher conferences on Friday and her teacher loves her. She is a great student, respectful, etc. Surprised? She is coming out of her shell and will raise her hand and is starting to make friends in there. I LOVE the TCA. Couldn't be happier. I want to live here forever so all my kids can have Mrs. Meyers and go to TCA. Justin is 18 months old. And kind of pesty. He's SO much fun. We love watching him. He never stops talking. Ever. There's always something to say. He loves to eat burgers, pickles, apples, and candy. He asks for this all the time.

Next update will have new baby pictures attached. The countdown is really on now.

Hope you're all enjoying conference.

Love, Michelle

2007-09-28 Michelle's Update

September 28, 2007

Hi Everyone,

Attached are quite a few pictures. Enjoy. The first three are of what the kids do on a typical day. Ashley is drawing a picture, Katelyn is glue gunning beads together, and Justin is trying to destroy my house. The next few are of Ashley on the motorcycle. She's gotten brave since she's seen some boys in the ward do it. Then of the kids last sunday. Hans did Justin's hair. I'm not responsible for that. It was quite distracting to people in Sacrament meeting.

This week has been busy, as usual. The office is looking really good. The walls are all done and the cabinets and painting start early next week. We have 6 appointments scheduled, but I'm going to call friends who have said they would come and start scheduling more for the end of October. We're hoping for at least 3 patients every day for the first month. Hopefully we can do better. We did send out a huge postcard mailer to all the surrounding zip codes and we have an open house scheduled for November 6th. Lots to do. Hans is interviewing today. He had 7 interviews and they all looked good on their resumes, anyway. He was reviewing the 109 pages of what is illegal to ask in an interview. Written on that form was, " Do not ask if they have a tattoo." That's how in depth the "do not ask" portion of the paperwork was.

I have been busy getting Justin on medicine for his sinus infection and caught up with immunizations. I take him in on Tuesday to get caught up. It has been since he was 9 months old since he's had any and the Dr. was not very kind to me about it. I figure I will do them while we have insurance. I feel like the countdown is on. Only one more weekend until baby. We have been painting crown moulding and touching up paint in Justin's room. I've been trying to figure out where baby will go and where baby's stuff will go. I'm trying to arrange for the girls for the rest of October after the baby with school work, rides, etc. Lots of logistical planning. I'm getting there.

The kids are well and behaved. Thank goodness for that.

Hope all is well with you.

Michelle

2007-09-21 Elizabeth learns to ride a bike

Elizabeth learned to ride a bike this past week. She can even get on and off by herself. She demonstrated her skill in our cul-de-sac on Friday

2007-09-23 Michelle's Update

September 23, 2007

Hi Everyone,

Attached are some pictures of us making sugar cookies last night. It was a very exciting event for all. It's been awhile since we've done that. Justin particularly enjoyed helping. It just didn't seem quite so sanitary with the plumbers bum. Also some pictures of the zoo trip we took yesterday and of the office with its new sign on it. The office is looking good as it now has some walls. Hans has been reviewing resumes this week and is interviewing on Friday. He's found someone he wants for the dental assisting position, but is still reviewing for the front office manager. There are some strange resumes, he says. He advertised on Craig's list. I'm surprised at the response, especially considering it's part time and strange hours those 3 days a week. It's all coming together. It's hard to believe that he only has 10 days left at small smiles. He can't wait. We're hoping to survive it all mentally, emotionally, physically, and financially.

I am 37 weeks pregnant. That can pretty much describe how I'm feeling and doing. I feel like we keep busy with activities. Kindergarten, pre-school, ballet, playgroups, and playdates. Katelyn is dying to take gymnastics. She tells me she's going to take nastics instead of going to kindergarten. We suggested that a gymnastics career not take the place of an education, but she is pretty strong willed on this one. Everything is on hold until January as far as classes go for the girls. I plan on hibernating until then.

The girls are well. Ashley told me last week that she wants to own a small business when she grows up. I asked her what she wanted to sell and she said probably gardening stuff, and some fish, "well, maybe just a little bit of everything, like Walmart. I want to have a walmart." Very cute. She is enjoying kindergarten and learning new things. She's doing great with the new schedules. She is still a homebody and just wants to be here when she's not at school. She's not interested in playing with neighbors, etc. which has been slightly frustrating to me, but we're adjusting. Katelyn also wants my undivided attention and refuses to have playdates while Ashley's at school and Justin is napping because she knows she gets me to herself. I had to force her to go to playgroup one afternoon last week. This is also frustrating since I could potentially have two hours to myself. I'm trying to give them all the attention I can now, but it's exhausting. I feel like this pregnancy I am just in self-preservation. Any energy outside of just doing the day- to day I give to the kids. I don't have much left to socialize with friends and neighbors like I want to. I'm grateful for understanding friends and neighbors.

We are counting down til baby. We'll keep everyone posted. 14 days!

Love, Michelle

2007-09-17 Natalie's Update

Hello All,

It is time again for another update. Is it really the middle of September? I can't believe how quickly these last few weeks have gone by. We celebrated Labor Day weekend with spending Saturday waterskiing in the morning and swimming all afternoon. Elsa practiced getting up on waterskis with Brian pulling her in the swimming pool. She is so light that it didn't take a lot of speed to keep her out of the water. She did extremely well with keeping her knees bent and controlling her skis. She was able to stand up and stay steady holding onto the rope. It was so fun to watch her. She was so nonchalant about the experience, but very excited and proud of herself too.

It was a good thing we were outside all day Saturday because Ava got sick that evening, and we spent the next two days at home while she recovered. Labor Day ended up being a little mellower than we anticiapted. This wasn't so bad since the girls started school the next day. Both girls were so excited to start preschool. Elsa has her same teacher as last year. At first I thought she might be disappointed, but she was thrilled. It helps that her three friends that all live in our neighborhood are in her class too. It turns out that two kids from chruch are in Ava's class. It helped to start school with familiar faces. Ava was really cute about being "so big" now. Ava's classroom is right next to Elsa's. They sometimes are out on the playground at the same time. This is really fun for Ava to be able to play with her sister at school. They are so cute with each other. In fact, yesterday on the way home from church I was asking Ava who her friends were. After listing a few friends, Elsa interrupted saying, "Remember? You have one more friend who is in your family. She is your best friend. Me!" I thought it was sweet.

The first week of school passed quickly in anticipation of Elsa's 5th birthday. She was so excited for the big day. She could barely sleep the night before. Once she was asleep, Brian and I continued our tradition of decorating the kitchen with balloons, streamers, and birthday signs. Brian was able to go into work later that day so he could spend the morning at home for a big birthday breakfast of chocolate chip waffles (a favorite) and to watch Elsa open her presents. Elsa loved her presents. Because she opened her presents in the morning, she and Ava were able to play with them all day long. Both girls were quite occupied for most of the day. In fact, the original plan was to spend the day at the zoo. Since we got such a late
start, we only were able to be there for 45 minutes. I didn't realize that the hours changed after Labor Day so it closed an hour earlier than we expected. Elsa didn't seem to mind. She was very agreeable all day long. We ate at McDOnald's for her birthday dinner. Her choice. What a treat! We then celebrated with her friends this last Saturday. We had a craft party. Each child was given an apron when they arrived. We then split into two groups. My group, which I thought would be the more difficult and require hands-on help, ended up being less demanding. We painted wood cutouts of frogs, butterflies, flowers, etc. with acrylic paints. The second table we had paper bag puppets, where each child was able to choose one of the following: dogs, pigs, birds, crabs, lions, and frogs. (These are darling Martha Stewart craft kits from Michaels. Very fun and resonably priced if you use the 40% coupon from the newspaper.) These required someone showing the children where the correct pieces needed to be attached. As a result, Brian ended up assembling a dozen paper bag puppets. :) While I cleaned up and set out the aprons to decorate, Brian took the kids outside to play games. I thought we'd finish crafts quickly and have too much time on our hands, but we were pinched for time to eat cake and open presents before the parents arrived. It all turned out well. At the end of the evening, Elsa told me "Mom, this was such a great party. Thank you. I have so many presents that I don't need anymore for a really long time." I am pleased to have a grateful child!

Besides birthday gatherings, we filled our week with one activity/responsibility after another. Tuesday night we had dinner with the Kreges. Mary Dawn Krege, who is a kindermusic teacher, helped Elsa prepare for her solo to be sung at the Primary Program in October. She has been asked to sing the second verse of "I'm Trying to Be Like Jesus." (We should feel honored that the primary presidency thinks that Elsa is worthy of a solo. I just hope it turns out as a positive experience. Elsa gets better and better each week with LOTS of practice. I am amazed at her courage to stand in front of ALL the primary children and sing to them each week. I wonder if Sacrament Mtg. will intimidate her too much. Keep your fingers crossed for her.)

Wednesday, during the day I franctically ran errands and spent the afternoon cutting fruit and preparing food for the Quarterly Enrichment activity. We had a service auction. I've spent hours collecting service items, and preparing auction lists, tally score cards, etc. My one other member on the committee had to have surgery that day, so I was solo in all the work and preparation. It turned out to be a fabulous meeting. We had a great turnout, the best we've had at any activity. Everyone had a really fun time. It helped that our auctioneer is a most energetic person with a great sense of humor. I enjoyed the evening as well, but am happy to have it over. (I have all the templates for invitations, planning, etc. if any of you need a fun Enrichment idea.)

Thursday night, Elsa had her first soccer game of the fall season. After being distracted by playing with a blade of grass during practice, Elsa did well in the first part of the game. She was very brave and got right in the middle of the game, running and kicking the ball with the mass of children. I cheered "GOOD JOB ELSA," which distracted her. As she turned her head towards me, another player collided into her giving her a good nose bonk. She was distressed for the rest of the game. She told me that she didn't like that the other players were trying to take the ball from her and that she wanted to kick the ball in the goal. I had to explain that this is what all the kids wanted and it is called "Friendly Competition." She still didn't like the idea. I'll have her stick with it for the rest of the season (another five weeks). Afterwards, if she wants, she can stick to non-contact sports like swimming, tennis, running, etc.

If this isn't enough (I am worn out just writing about it), Brian raced out after Elsa's birthday party on Saturday to conduct a BYU Alumni speaker engagement. We have been selected to be the Indiana Chapter Co-chairs of the BYU Alumni Association. Somehow (I don't recall giving consent), we accepted and now have another responsibility added to our somewhat vacant lives. Can you sense the sarcasm? After my grumbling, Brian has told me that they will remove the co-chair title and just give him the title, which isn't quite the outcome that I wanted. Regardless, Brian found the time to fulfill this responsibility as well as his Elder's Quorum duties, traveling to and interviewing in NJ for a consulting job, and preparing for conferences and travel for his day job at Eli Lilly. He is now in Hawaii for the ASBMR conference, which ends on Wednesday. He is staying until Saturday evening for some R&R with Jared Theler, who lives there. I am not sure if the term R&R will ever apply to Brian or to Jared, but they will at least get in some sea kayaking, hiking, and possibly surfing. Brian deserves the break and the high adventure, but I am slightly jealous that heis staying in Waikiki on the ocean while I get caught up on laundry and ironing, carpool children to preschool and other activities, attend playdates, and plan Enrichment activities for 2008. Don't I lead a glamorous life?

My consolation is that we have beautiful fall weather. It is 80's during the day and 50's at night. It is nice to have a repreive from air-conditioning. I love to have the windows open but get a lot of dust from the construction next door and behind us. I hope the spec house they are building next to us doesn't sell for a LONG time. Our sunroom windows look right into the family room. I will be able to watch TV with the new neighbors. Isn't that great? It is quite unfortunate. It just means that I'll get really close with the neighbors. They will know all of our family secrets! Maybe I'll just add them to my bi-monthly emails and they'll have
all of our insider information. :)

Time goes by so quickly. It doesn't seem like summer should be over, or that I should have a five year-old. But reality sets in quickly around here. I am grateful for our blessings, especially our two precious daughters. Thanks to all of you for your birthday wishes and greetings to Elsa. She felt so special. I hope you're all doing well. Thank for listening to (or reading) the ramblings of our lives. Enjoy the pictures. They are of the girls' first day of preschool and Elsa's birthday.

Love,
Natalie

2007-09-17 Michelle's Update

September 17, 2007

Hi Everyone,

We were able to go apple picking last week with Ashley's school so there are pictures attached from that. Ashley had a great time riding the bus. It was 45 minutes away. It was extremely hot, so she didn't have much fun beyond that. They did pick a bunch of apples and play some games. We made a delicious apple crisp, which I am single-handedly eating, as I am the only one that likes that kind of dessert.

Ashley got 8 inches cut off her hair and I cried about it. It looks so cute on her, I was just so upset at the girl that cut her hair because she didn't listen to what I wanted. She didn't actually know how to cut hair, although she is building a salon into her basement. Oh well. I won't go back. It's not at all even in the back and so I figure I will just wait a couple months and then get it cut again with a style. I was SO SO sad. She is doing well in school and has learned so much already. She loves learning spanish. I went on Friday to a 3 hour class about the curriculum they use. It's pretty intsense. I can't believe how much she will learn this year. I am trying to teach it to Hans since I am confident it will make him a better speller. He's on board.

Katelyn is doing well in school too. She loves that she gets to go more than actually being there. It makes her feel grown up. She is getting so tall and lean. I can't find any pants to fit her. 4t falls off her and 3t are way too short. What a problem, right? She loves her time with me while Ashley is at school. She asks everyday when Ashley is leaving. It's been so nice to reconnect with her. I love being with her as well. We read books, do education time, play a game - usually (katelyn says lusually) zingo, do her puzzles, and play outside. Justin sleeps almost the entire time. I am trying to find some one on one time for Ashley, but I haven't been able to do it yet. Ashley tells me she likes being at school more then she likes being at home. I'm happy she's found a place.

Justin is growing. He's 18 months this week. He is so grown-up, but still so much a baby. He loves to point out pictures of babies on the wall that are actually him. He'll identify Katelyn and Ashley, but he doesn't recognize himself. He has so many words, I can't even name them all anymore. Yesterday he rode by me on his bike, looked right at me, grinned, and said, "It's fun." Hans' favorite is green bean. He stands at the fridge and asks for green beans and pickles. Clear as anything. He can't wait for Halloween so he can eat as much candy as he can handle. He has my sweet tooth. He is my on the go kid. He always wants to be going. While we're at Ashley's soccer game, he goes up to everyone around and says go. He'd go with anyone. He screams when Hans leaves every morning because he wants to go to. He wakes up thinking about the bikes and wants to go. Unfortunately for him, he's usually home. The morning we spend around here and then he naps and then the girls have been busy all day and want to stay home. I'm trying to figure out when I can get him going somewhere. He's happy dragging on the floor behind the cart at Walmart.

Speaking of soccer, Ashley is quite the soccer star. I've been impressed at how aggressive she is in the field. She's so quiet and sweet everywhere else. I think sports may be a good outlet for her. She can outrun everyone on the team.

I'm well. I spent an hour in the hospital on Saturday thinking my water has broken after having contractions for 4-5 hours. Nothing painful, just wanting to be careful. I'm 36 weeks. I'm pretty much done. I can wait 3 weeks, I hope. I pray for endurance. The baby is really active and seems healthy. Being in a hospital gown hooked up to monitors was daunting for both Hans and I. We're nervous.

The practice is right on schedule. Hans has 15 days of work left at Small smiles. Hard to believe.

Miss you all,

Michelle