As time goes by...

Here is our year in a nutshell. (Well, not a nutshell so much as a 2 min. moviemaker production, to continue with my recent obsession with that program.)

HAPPY NEW YEAR EVERYONE!

Precious Nativity

We are making Christmas videos for G'mas & G'pas. We put this part of it together tonight. I especially love the angel & the sheperds... too cute!

To hear the video's music better, pause the playlist at the right.

Thankful

I'd like to share an email from my brother that made my Thanksgiving more meaningful. He's a Dr. in the AF and currently serves in Iraq. I've typically focused my thoughts and prayers on his family (he has 3 children & missed the birth of his 4th during deployment), but I honestly haven't focused much on the work he is doing and what a hero he is to me. I'm thankful this year for a brother who sacrifices to serve others and save lives. I love him & am SO PROUD of him. I hope he doesn't mind me posting this- I was just very touched by it & thought it may help others be more grateful as well...

First he said he was thankful this year for the Iraqi Parliament passing the US-Iraq security agreement, for MRAPs (Mine Resistant Ambush Protected vehicles that greatly reduce casualties for our forces). Then he said, "It is very sobering in the EMEDs when we are unsuccessful in our efforts to resuscitate a soldier and we have to 'call it.' That is the most humbling Doctor's signature. On the other side, it is also very rewarding to hear from the soldier who is doing well in Landstuhl Germany and he expresses his appreciation to us."

"I believe I have finally identified why it is easier to be spiritual over here. It is true that we are closer to the Holy Land, Abraham built Alters not too far from here, and Daniel is buried less than two miles from where I currently am, but I don't think this is the main reason. The aforementioned humbling experience is part of it, but we endure a general fasting of worldly endeavors and of essential needs per Maslow's hierarchy. You don't recognize how great or important some items are in your life until you go without them, very much like a fast. Simply hugging your spouse or kids, or picking up your daughter or son have greater meaning now... The showers are very rusty and sand flies line the walls. Many of the simple freedoms we enjoy like driving down the street and not worrying about being shot or driving over a bomb are lacking... This general fasting foments you to confide in the Lord with more focus and resolve. Listening to the radio has been replaced by playing the piano in the chapel during sacrament, and it is great to go there on my day off and flip through the hymn book playing a variety of songs. Adam Nielson, my fellow BYU-USUHS grad and ER doc, father of 5, and 1-6 Cavalary doc stated that he grew more here spiritually during his 15 month tour than during his mission. It was great to hear him speak of all of the lessons he learned this past Sunday and play/sing 'God Be with You til We Meet Again'. This thanksgiving, I am grateful to experience a general fast and for spiritual growth. I am grateful for my family and recognize more clearly how important they are in my life. I am grateful for our freedoms and can't wait to return to enjoy them. I am grateful for all those American heroes that have preserved these freedoms and have done it by laying down their lives for us in that defense. May we all remember the great goodness of the Lord, and His sacrifice, the One that Made the Greatest Sacrifice and draw closer to Him this Thanksgiving."

Joy

These are not the 1st baby smiles, but the 1st ones we've been able to capture on camera. I love that smiling is one of the 1st things we learn to do in life. I think it's so telling. It's such an essential thing for us to learn. Before we learn to walk, talk, or even feed ourselves, we learn to smile. I think that fact illustrates the scriptural principle "Men are that they might have JOY."

D and Miss H's definition of joy? Candy...

...cousins...

...and more CANDY! Sheer Joy!

Nephi Trailer

The young men & young women group I work with at church have been making "movie previews" as if the scipture stories were soon-to-be-released films. The story of Nephi from the Book of Mormon was accidentally deleted, so when I went to make it all I had were a few seconds. Not wanting to refilm, I just inserted music & it turned out to be the best one. Enjoy!

Happy Halloween

Here are our lil' monsters... This week our church had a fun fall carnival with a cupcake walk, fishing pond, trunk-or-treat, etc. The kids had such a great time! D was Thomas the Tank Engine. He loved helping me paint the box. Miss H was Blue from Blue's Clues. She also has a cute Dorothy costume for tomorrow, compliments of her Grandma.

My husband won the brownie bake-off for the evening. (The award winning recipe if you're interested: Mix brownie batter according to box instructions and pour into baking dish. Then cream 4 oz. cream cheese, 1 egg, 1 tsp. vanilla, & 1/4 c. sugar. Pour the cream cheese mixture over the brownie batter & run a knife through it for a marbled look. Bake as directed.)

Baby Blessing

This weekend our baby was blessed in church by his Daddy. It was very sweet. My husband's family all came to be a part of it. We all had a great time together- it was fun to catch up & the cousins loved playing together & swimming at the hotel. We appreciated them traveling to see the baby. He sure is fun to show off!

More Baby Pictures

Sleepy Baby. . .
. . . welcome to our world!

We couldn't be happier to have you!

Baby's Here!

Everything went so well with the baby's arrival. We had a planned home birth w/ a Certified Professional midwife who was wonderful. He was born in a birthing tub, which helped so much through those intense contractions. The kids are thrilled as you can see & I am thrilled to no longer be pregnant!

He is healthy & precious & loved!

Living at the Park

I've never met a kid who is happy about leaving the park. Mine are no exception. D recently protested the end of our visit to the park & wanted to know why we couldn't live at the park. The question prompted his parents and G'ma to count the ways children could be jealous of the homeless. Here's what we came up with:

1- You can live at the park
2- You rarely have to bathe
3- No one insists you eat a healthy, balanced diet
4- You don't have to memorize your phone number
5- Did I mention you can live at the PARK?
6- No worries about making your bed
7- Actually, every job on the chore chart no longer applies
8- You can adopt stray pets all you like
9- You can wear your favorite shirt 10 days in a row without your mom stealing it to wash
10-You can LIVE at the PARK!!!

I for one am grateful for my home and washing machine, but kids have their own perspective.

While we wait...

My mom flew in on Tues. to help us with the new baby. Ever since she bought her tickets. I've been saying Wed. would be the perfect day to deliver. That's a week before my due date, which is when I had the other two. But, Wed. came & went with no baby. Even though a due date is technically an "Estimated date of delivery", the closer it gets, the harder it is not to think of it like a library due date... the exact date an item must be received before penalties apply!

So, while we've been waiting, we've had some fun adventures with the kids (pics. below), taken lots of long walks to encourage contractions, and made a soft fleece cover for the infant car seat. (I've never been fond of the original cover design, but was pleased how our car seat makeover turned out. I'm also including a picture of the cute diaper cake that inspired the design.)

Here's to hoping my next blog post includes a happy delivery story!

Machiavelli Mom

What I worry about most with baby #3 is that as parents, we will be outnumbered. Having studied political science, we understand that demographics can affect the balance of power. The more the peasants outnumber the ruling elite, the greater risk of revolution & chaos.

What, then is our strategy for maintaining authority and order? Well, Machiavelli would recommend a careful balance between being merciful, but firm and being generous, but not overly generous thus breeding greed among the subjects. So, we appease them enough to avoid a complete revolt, but don't appease them to the point of undermining our authority.

So, in philosophical terms, we have a sound strategy.

However, I still worry about how to appease 3 crying children when I only have 2 arms to hold them with. Good thing lollipops are effective at appeasing the oldest... I may have to offer that when my arms are full. More cavities to fill, perhaps, but hopefully most revolts may be circumvented. We'll report on our efforts to maintain the balance of power after baby is here. In the meantime, wish us luck!

"No, MY cake!"

Miss H is 2- and I mean VERY 2. Since she is the world's biggest bunny fanatic (notice her bunny goes with her to NY, the potty, and everywhere else) we decided to make a bunny cake. D helped me decorate it, but when he was feeling it to see if it was cool enough to frost, she declared, "No, MY cake!" She's definitely into the possessive toddler phase.

Today was one of the warmest we've had in a while, so we took the kids swimming this evening. We had a fun time celebrating.

1st Day of School

D started kindergarten today. He was so excited to get on the school bus! We were all so big and brave- Mommy & Daddy didn't even cry (though the bus driver did give us some knowing looks).

We know he'll absolutely LOVE school, so that makes us excited for him. Miss H keeps saying "I 'ant bus too!" She'll be joining him before we know it. These little people grow too fast!

Potty Parties!

Miss H loves the potty! She has no idea what to do on it (other than sing songs, read books, let us applaud her, get stickers, and then have fun making soap bubbles on her hands afterwards). In other words, the POTTY is a PARTY any 2 yr-old would love! We are hoping if she likes it, she'll use it.

Unfortunately, it's primary function has not yet been discovered. But when it is, mommy & daddy will be the ones who feel like throwing a party.

It's a...

Today we had an ultrasound (we are at 30 weeks- baby due to arrive late Sept. or early Oct.) & the midwife is fairly certain we are having a boy! We are still a little disbelieving, since we felt so strongly like it was a girl & our "gut instinct" record was 2-for-2 so far.
D is really excited- he was hoping for a brother! We got clearer pictures of the baby's cute face than between the legs, so while we're not certain of the gender, we are certain it's cute...

NY Trip

These pictures are from our trip last month to Palmyra, NY, a significant place in the history of our faith (click here to learn more about the basic beliefs of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints).
We had so much fun. We visited Niagra Falls, stayed in a cabin on one of the finger lakes, & were able to go to the temple in Palmyra. The kids loved playing with cousins. We were thrilled that they didn't try to pet the skunks we saw and that the weather was so beautiful. Also, D turned 5 that week.

Why Lempskies?

Our friend, Dave, from Indiana used to call us that, so we can publish under that title, but still be annon. Also, my brother served an LDS mission to Poland, fostering our love for things Polish (or Polish sounding)- Schlotsky's Deli, polkas, and the nickname Lempskies!