Sunday, April 29, 2012

 Teagan reaching for his bug toy.

 Xadia holding Teagan.

 McCabe holding Teagan.

 Jacinda holding Teagan.

 Nana Hefner holding Teagan.

Daddy holding Teagan.

Time is passing quickly.  Being a parent is like being in a warp zone….blink and a couple of years have passed.  It has been 7 weeks since Teagan’s birth.  He is getting much bigger.  His little legs are starting to get some rolls.  He is not looking so fragile anymore.  It makes me happy to see him thrive.  Children are miracles.  Having good health is a miracle.  I am so grateful that I could have Xadia and Teagan since surviving cancer.  It has been 4 years since finishing chemo therapy.  I never want to go through that experience again.  I am so thankful for the life I have lived.  Teagan is starting to smile back at me.  He is reaching for toys.  He is just being amazing and I get to witness it.  I love it, love it, love it.

My children are learning to love and serve each other. I have to admit that some days are better than others but remember, they are learning.  They are especially very willing to help with Teagan.  They want to bathe him, feed him, or hold him.  I took a few pictures of my family holding Teagan.  These pictures are so special. You can see in each family member’s expression the love and happiness that Teagan brings.  I hope that in the future as my children read this posting, they will also realize that each one of them has also touched our family with love and happiness.

Sunday, April 15, 2012

I really have not fallen off the earth. I have been very busy with 4 kids. I now have things somewhat at bay so I can update my blog. I love being a mom. There are things like fights over cereal, clothes to wear, seating in the car and anything else of minute matter that becomes part of everyday life. But there are also the tender moments where the kids say, “mom, I love you,” or give me a kiss on the forehead, or hold baby Teagan. Being a parent definitely has its rewards.

I love my family. Jacinda and McCabe are starting soccer. They are so excited. This will be Jacinda’s first time taking soccer lessons. We got her some cleats and shin guards which made her over the top energized. She also cut her own bangs. She is very embarrassed about the obvious cut and asked me not to tell anyone. She does do a good job of covering the gap but with wear the gap is revealed throughout the day. I love how all kids go through this stage.

McCabe is in love with Teagan. He tells me that he loves Teagan more than anyone. McCabe is also very big into his Mario Brother’s game. Tim bought the original version and the kids had a chance to play it. They love it. I laugh at the graphics but 25 years ago that was high tech. Now it looks like some sort of Atari game (aka very out dated).

Xadia is lively. Today she got up and went to the kitchen and helped herself to the chocolate cake on the counter. Good thing Tim heard the step stool and went downstairs to catch her just in time before she ruined it. I loved how she had chocolate all over her face and hands. She is very independent. In fact, she recently learned how to climb out of her crib. For the most part she stays in it when put to bed but there have been times during the wee hours of the morning where she gets out and comes into our room. That is where Tim gets up and puts her back into bed. She does better at listening to him than me. I think I am too soft.

Teagan is perfect. He is a little cuddle bug. He is getting bigger and is just so wonderful to have. I love holding him and kissing his sweet little head. Babies are the best!

Wednesday, March 14, 2012

What a wonderful week. Teagan Timothy Fisher was born Wednesday 3/7/2012 at 12:16 pm. Weighing 6 pounds and 14 ounces and measuring 20.5 inches. He is absolutely beautiful. The delivery was the best I have ever experienced. There were no complications or tearing. The doctor called it “a text book delivery.” I got to go home the next day. I love having Teagan. He is such a joy. The kids are so good with him and want to hold him every chance they get. Yes it is a little challenging getting used to 4 kids but I am trying my best.
I stepped on the scale the day I got home from the hospital and realized I have about 30 pounds to lose before obtaining pre-pregnancy weight. This will probably be a 12 month journey. Anyways, I was lying in bed and McCabe comes in to say good night. He put his head on my stomach and said, “mom, are you going to have another baby?” I answered, “no.” “Then why is your tummy still big?” I just laughed. One day he will understand but until then, I will enjoy his innocence.

Sunday, February 26, 2012

Another week gets to start and I am so excited. I have a lot going on. I will attempt to make a spinach strawberry salad for a luncheon with my visiting teaching ladies. Tae Kwondo two times this week for the kids. I also have a doctor’s appointment for my 37 week check up. We will see if I am dilated and how close I am to having a baby. Physically and mentally I am ready to have this boy. I am tired of the back pain and muscle soreness. But I guess it will happen all in due time. We also have cub scouts because Tim is the cub master. He does a great job. He blends in with those boys….and I mean that in a good way. I hope to go on a date with Tim sometime this week and then Saturday, Tim has a massage. As a birthday present, we (as a family) gave him a massage every Saturday during the entire month of March.

This past week went fast. Every waking minute McCabe is talking about playing Mario Brothers and if I want freezing or fire power and who do I want as a character. He prefers to be Mario and me the blue mushroom. I can only handle about 30 minutes before I am done playing because we play the same 3 levels over and over. When Jacinda, Tim, and McCabe play, they enter new worlds and I laugh because McCabe just bubbles his way through the level while Tim and Jacinda try to clear it. Playing the wii with the kids can be hard because they like to boss us around. They also tend to jump and move with their character so often times I have to ask them to move so I can see the t.v.

Jacinda is a real sweetheart. She is trying so hard to help me with the kids. The other day McCabe was really upset because I would not let him play the wii. Jacinda decided to do a treasure hunt so that he would be happy. She made the clues and hid them. She even used her valentine’s candy as the treasure. She wanted to do this so that McCabe would not feel “crummy.” I like how observant she is and how she takes action. That is a very good quality.

Xadia is a roller coaster. Some days she is sweet other days she cries the whole time because she does not get her way. I try to accommodate as much as possible without making her rotten. Every morning when she wakes up she asks for dad and t.v. She likes to watch the leap frog movies. At least she is learning. It is fun to listen to her count or say the alphabet with the cartoon characters. The other day she wanted to help me do the laundry. I was trying to teach her to put the fabric softener in the correct place in the washing machine. She was a little too anxious and poured it too quickly. Quite a bit splashed up into my right eye. It burned like crazy. I ran to the sink and started flushing my eye. It took a few moments, but the pain started to go away. My eye was bright red and extremely irritated. I so badly wanted to cry to cleanse the eyeball but at the same time I did not want Xadia to see that she had hurt me. It was an awkward moment. So I ran to an empty room and started crying. I was praying that no damage was done to my vision. My eye is great and so is Xadia. I hope that never happens again.

Sunday, February 12, 2012

As I think about this past week not much comes to mind. Maybe as I start typing thoughts will occur. I was able to go out with my sisters, Natalie, Roxanne, and Mimi to celebrate Roxanne’s birthday. We ate at the Olive Garden in American Fork and like a scatter brain I forgot to take a picture. But I did enjoy the food and company. My sisters are really fun and crazy. It is amazing how different we are and that we all get along. The funniest part about this get together was that Mimi and Natalie (who were driving together) spent an hour trying to find the restaurant and they were the closest ones to it. It should have only taken them 30 minutes. Roxanne and I waited in the foyer and laughed as we got calls from Natalie asking what exit to take. Then when they get to the restaurant, Natalie finds out that there is a “get directions” button on her ipad. She had been looking at the map the whole time thinking it would be an easy exit off the freeway. It was hilarious and one of those, “gee I look stupid,” moments.

I am now 35 weeks pregnant. I have gained 30 pounds and was going to post a picture but my camera is downstairs and I am too tired and in pain to get it. I have a bundle of nerves in my lower back that constantly feels pressed. I am really looking forward to the epidural and having this baby. So the pain will be alleviated. I also am suffering from sore feet. On the way home from church Tim was saying how it doesn’t matter if we have another one or 10 kids because we already have 3. He says bring them on. I looked at him like he was ridiculous and informed him that there is more to raising kids than just providing food and a home. I also asked if he was planning to stay home and raise the kids while I went and worked. He is just voicing his sadness because this is our last child. Our focus will be on raising children and not having them.

We made valentine cookies today. Without fail McCabe and Xadia will lick the knives. It does not matter how many times I tell them that they cannot lick the frosting off the knives until they are finished with decorating the cookies. So each time I catch them, I make them get a new knife. Sure enough Mac had to get another knife and Xadia, well I lost count with her.

Today the secret got out. Jacinda told Tim that she will wear the same pair of socks many days in a row. Now I know why her feet stink. I could not understand why a 7-year-old had such rank smelling feet….well now I know. So we had a little talk about the importance of changing our socks daily and how that shows Heavenly Father that we take care of our bodies. Her response was, “I did not know.” No problem child. That is why you are here on this earth…to learn and we (Tim and I) are trying our best to teach you.

Sunday, February 5, 2012

It is time to kick off another week. Over the weekend we got to celebrate McCabe’s 5th birthday. We had a fun little party but I tell you what…..that kid has Mario Brothers on the brain. He asks at least 4 or 5 times a day to play the wii. Tonight as I was putting him in bed he was crying because yesterday, when playing Mario Brothers, Jacinda got fire power and he wanted it. It was a kick to watch them play. Jacinda and McCabe do not stand still. They are constantly lifting their legs, jumping, or moving their arms en route with their characters. It kind of reminds me of myself when I played the Nintendo. Tim got the fine opportunity to play with them. One particular level the kids let Tim do all the work while they bubbled themselves to his character. Poor Tim, he kept dying and then to make it worse, McCabe would use his character to pick up Tim’s character and throw him off the ledges so he would die and then laugh about it. I just gladly sat back and played with Xadia.
Last week was New Beginnings for Young Women’s. A young gal, Annie Schmidt said something profound as she talked about the value of good works. I wanted to write it down before I forgot. She said, “if you don’t get up and do a good work, you could be avoiding an answer to someone’s prayer.” I just love that thought. We are told in the scriptures that we are God’s helpers and it is through us that he answers the prayers of others. It makes me think about how important I am especially when I have those days where I am feeling down in the dumps.
In church we had a lesson on the joys of life. One of my joys in life is being a mom. Kids can be the biggest trials but also give me the greatest joy. Today at the breakfast table McCabe made me speechless and left a big smile on my face. Tim was teasing him saying we are not going to feed him anymore so he won’t grow. McCabe said to Tim, “Dad, I have to grow and get big.” “Why,” asks Tim. “So that I can go on a mission,” was McCabe’s reply. I sat there with a huge smile. My son who just turned 5 is realizing the importance of teaching Christ to others. Now that brings me great joy.

Sunday, January 22, 2012

Saturday brought a huge snow storm. This totally voiced our thoughts of being a nice sunny winter’s day. Friday was gorgeous, but Saturday late afternoon was cold and snowy. There was a time during the day where I had to go get Tim because he was stranded on the side of the road. It snowed for hours in fact, later that day, we got a call from the police that we had to get our stranded car because it was in the way. After putting chains on the suburban, we went to get our car. Upon arrival, there was a truck perpendicular to our car. I was so worried that it has been hit, but thankfully the truck barely missed it. Now we had to move the car so the truck could get out. Fortunately we had a tow rope and we were able to pull the car home. Many cars had accidents that day.

Poor Xadia was sick on Saturday. I kept giving her medicine and Sunday morning she seemed much better. Unfortunately, Tim and I are sick. We have some sort of sinus infection. Tim gets to take medicine. I have to wait it out due to the pregnancy. Fortunately I got a nap to help with the recovery. Tim made a cute comment. He said, “it sucks being sick, I can’t imagine being pregnant on top of that.” That comment made me feel a little better. I am so glad he supports me especially with this pregnancy. Only eight more weeks and we still don’t have a name. I would love to have a name so we don’t have to keep calling him “baby.”