Niels' Blessing Day

Paul's parents flew into town the first weekend in March to meet grandchild #10 and to attend his baby blessing.

Anna's blessing day

We were finally able to bless Anna in church last Sunday. Being nearly 4 months old, she was quite a big baby on her blessing day, despite the fact that she was 6 weeks premature. There's nothing preemie about this girl now! My mom and Dad were amazed at how big she was. We were lucky enough to have both my parents in town from Oregon, as well as Paul's dad, sister Christina, and brother Daniel.

It was nice to have both my side and Paul's side of the family together. Hattie certainly got spoiled by grandparent attention!

Anna was blessed in the same dress as Hattie...I still think they look so much alike!

We regularly call our babe "Anna Banana" so we joked on the way to Church that Paul would mess up and name her Anna Banana instead of Anna Isabelle. Or we feared that when Hattie heard Paul say "Anna Isabelle" she would shout out "No! Anna Banana!" Gratefully, all went smoothly.

I love her sideways grin!

I love how Paul and I are also puckering up! Hattie is a great big sister.

Temples to dot the earth

Another weekend of General Conference has passed. My in-laws flew in from Dallas to spend the weekend lounging in pajamas with us. It's always wonderful to have them around. Hattie has been asking for "Stina" ever since.

I simply want to express how excited I am for another temple to be built in Chile. WhileI was there as a missionary, all of the members dreamed of when Chile would be ready for a second temple. It was one of their goals, and the dream seemed to unite all of the members from Arica in the north to Punta Arenas in the south. When President Monson stood up on Saturday morning, I said aloud to Paul, "I wonder what he's going to announce today...maybe some new temples?" As soon as he said he would announce 5 new temples, I knew that Chile would finally have its dream. Even though Concepcion wasn't in my mission, I know how much this temple will bless the people that I served in Vina. So much of what I, other missionaries, and the members worked toward is represented in this new temple. Hearing of this temple has reminded me of how much I love Chile and its people. I hope to be able to visit there again with my family someday.

Santiago Chile Temple

You gotta have friends

Friendships have always been important to me. Once I make a friend, I try sincerely to keep in touch and continue to develop our friendship even if we move away. I love calling old friends when I am in town and having lunch with them to catch up. Paul has never really understood this...he thinks it's kind of strange that I still keep in touch with friends from High School, or that I recently had a roommate reunion with my friends from BYU. I guess he's never been blessed with the kind of friendships that I have.

Since being married, though, I have made very few new friends. The first four months of our marriage we were in a student ward with about a zillion other newlywed couples. We knew we'd be leaving soon, so we didn't really befriend anyone. Then we lived at my parents for the summer, so I didn't make any new friendships. We lived in American Fork for a year while I was working and pregnant with Hattie. But that ward was unique in that there weren't many young couples, and no other married students in the ward. And since I was working full-time, I didn't have as much time to spend at ward functions. I did make one wonderful friend at my less-than-stellar job. We still keep in touch.

Then we moved to Spanish Fork. I had a new baby and lived at storage units. I made another great friend who also worked the storage units with me and lived upstairs. But again, there were no other students in our very old and established ward...we were the odd ones because we were transient.

But then I moved to Lubbock. After 3 years of marriage and only two new major friendships, I was really feeling the need for female friendship. And I have certainly found it! I have been overwhelmed by how wonderful our ward is...how willing people are to be your friend. When I moved here, all I had to do was attend playgroup or book club a few times and I felt like I was home. When I was home in Oregon for the summer, some of my sisters said, "Wow, you have a lot of friends in Lubbock...I can tell from all the comments from them on your blog!" There is always someone willing to have lunch, watch Hattie, have a playgroup, or go to the park. Being a stay-at-home mom has been wonderful since I have so many friends in the same situation. It has made moving to a new place so much easier. I find that I really miss Lubbock when I am away.

Thank you Chelsea, Kristina, Debbie, Kristy, Kristi, Cynthia, Jenni, Brittney, Lindsay, Kimber, Julie, Kat, and SO many others who have helped make Lubbock a wonderful home for us.

July and August in Ontario

I know the summer is long gone, but I still have two posts I want to do so that I have them documented.

If you remember back the beginning of our summer vacation, we drove from Lubbock to the Grand Canyon, from the Grand Canyon to Utah, and from Utah to McCall. Then I was so busy having fun at my parents' house that I didn't post anything until my water broke and I was in the hospital. So here is a summary, mostly of photos (and there are lots of them), of the time I spent at my parents, both before and after Anna came.

Let's start with the Fourth of July celebration...

All the grandkids on the porch for dinner

My brother Spencer got us all addicted to Rock Band. By the end of the summer, all of the grandkids could sing ALL the words to "Eye of the Tiger" and "Living on a Prayer."

This video is great...check out Paul and Spencer getting into it, Myra and Natali focused at the mike, Val practicing guitar in the background, and Isaac clapping the beat by the drums.

All the grandkids (except Hattie was asleep) enjoying their treat from the treasure hunt

Fireworks of course

There weren't many scheduled activities while in Ontario, just a lot of down time. Four of my siblings live within 40 minutes of my parents, and my sister who lives in Iowa was also there for the whole month. It was wonderful to be constantly surrounded by family. After being in Lubbock for the last year, I had gotten used to being on my own without family support just a few minutes or hours away. At the beginning of my trip, I was afraid that we had scheduled too much time in Oregon and that by the end of the trip, I would have felt like we had overdosed on family time. But at the end of the 8 weeks there, I was extremely sad to leave. I have been blessed with such wonderful parents and great siblings. I find I miss being with them now more than ever. I miss the simple things: watching Laura's kids walk over to Grandma's house every morning for breakfast, Hattie having cousins to play with, my sisters to chat with as our kids play, having pick-up-parties with the kids while singing "Eye of the Tiger," all the kids asking for trips to Grandma's freezer, wandering around my parents' yard with a pool, trees, swing set, and chicken coop. It really was wonderful for Hattie, and for Paul and me.

Hattie enjoyed riding bikes every day

Spencer made root beer and explained the process of sublimation to the kids

Eating lunch with her other two-year old cousins Kate, Ansen, and Jonas

Spencer had never eaten fondue, so we had a party...yum.

Here Hattie is walking out to the tree house. That is where I remember spending my summers when I was a kid...we would play with our neighbor that we had ESP, explore the old abandoned houses, and jump across the ditch. I'm glad that old tree is still there.

My dad with his grandkids: Grace, Andrew, Hattie, Natali, and Myra


Hattie tries her hand at the drums with Dad before he leaves to go to Lubbock


My mom reading stories to Myra, Ansen, James, Grace, and Isaac


Laura's baby Owen. Hattie loves him. Even now this is her favorite picture to look at.


Hattie got her first hair cut...thanks Sharee!


And now it goes much curlier


Hattie and Sophie, who she calles "Ophie." They became best buds.


We had a sister in our ward take some family pictures for us.


I love this shot of Laura with her twins, Ansen and Jonas! It somehow captures a bit of what a feel about the summer...family, kids, and time together. I really loved watching Laura with her kids.


My crazy Patters


All 21 grandchildren with Grandma and Grandpa...check out Abby mid-air


The girls: Lisa, Me, Val, Sharee, Kerri, and Laura


All the siblings: Me, Lisa, Laura, Spencer, Val, Mark, and Sharee


Everyone in the family...except for Paul!


She learned to love the trampoline


But she mostly just runs or rolls around...Abby did most of the jumping


On the swing set, smiling at the chickens


A swing addict


We miss our cousins: Sophie, Paul, Andrew, Mack and Isaac


Ice cream with Kate and Claire


Hattie loved to feed the chickens. Every morning we would walk outside and she would want me to open the shed. She knew right where the feed was and would fill up the cup on her own.


Sand box with Jonas, Andrew, Grace and Sam


Spencer's 22nd birthday party. I can't believe my little brother is that old!


A visit from my friend Karli


We tried and tried to get a good picture of Anna before we left. This is the best one out of 20!

I am so grateful for a wonderful family...for siblings who care and parents who sacrifice. I am already looking forward to next summer. We love you and miss you!

Lifesavers

During the past two weeks at the hospital, I have discovered a few things that made the entire ordeal bearable.

- My water bottle - I love this thing. We bought it at REI a few weeks ago. I thought it would be a good bottle to take to the gym since my old one spilled like crazy. But it has proven its worth long before I return to the gym. It doesn't spill and I can drink from it lying down in bed, so at a hospital, it's perfect. I recommend one to all pregnant mothers!

- My sleeping mask - I'm sure I would have never had any sleep while in the hospital without it!

- My own pillow - Hospital pillows are not squishable or moldable. So even though Paul wondered why I brought my pillow with me from Texas, I am more than glad I did.

- Lots of pillows - By the end of my hospital stay, I mastered the use of hospital pillows. I learned how to manipulate them to make the bed more comfortable. In the end I was using 8 pillows to cushion my body and help me be relatively comfortable (true comfort is not possible in a hospital).

- My husband - For 9 nights he slept on a not comfortable bed, in his clothes. He only left my side to get some food for himself, since he quickly depleated his supply of Skittles and Starbursts. He spent hours in boredom. We watched a lot of soccer. But he was always there to talk to me, to hold my hand, and to give me the strength to get through the hardest moments. After Anna came, he spent his days in Ontario with Hattie so that she would have the companionship of her parents for a while. And now he is alone in Texas and having to start school again while his mind and family is here in Oregon. I am so grateful for his patience, his faith, his sacrifice, and his confidence through this all. I am more than anxious to be together as a family again.

- Prayer - There were moments when I thought the physical pain was unbearable, moments when I was scared for the life of our baby, and moments of worry for the stress on our family. But through it all, I felt remarkably calm. Through prayer and the Holy Ghost, I was able to find and maintain peace.

Growing up

There are lots of things to post about, since I've been behind lately. Most of my time has been gobbled up by getting settled in our new place. We are essentially moved in. We just lack a little furniture and a few pictures still need to be hung on the walls. You might wonder why it took so long to finish moving in, but I did go to Dallas for a week. Here are some highlights of Dallas and our new house:

Her new favorite spot at Grandma's - she's obsessed with stuffed animals

Both Paul and Hattie celebrated their birthdays in September, so my in-laws threw a belated party for them

Hattie has been a ton of fun lately. She has started to play by herself really well. And she has taken her first steps! Nothing consistent, and we can never catch it on video since we need a cameraman. She also loves books now, particularly her animal book. She'll take it to bed with her and in the morning we'll find her perusing through it.

Hattie's face is the best at the very beginning of this clip, just as it starts - a classic grin

The reason I went to Dallas was to take care of my brother-in-law Daniel. Daniel is 17 and needs constant care. With mental retardation, autism, frequent seizures, and diabetes, he can be a handful. He has the mind of a 14-month old baby, who can walk, but depends on his family for everything else. My mother-in-law was in Utah for the week helping out with a new grandchild, so I was there to watch Daniel in the afternoons when he came home from school. It was only for a few days, but I loved being able to care for him - taking his blood sugar, feeding him, giving him his insulin, and even changing his diaper. I understand more fully what it means to be an Iverson. In a way I never had before, I was able to love and care for someone without compensation or even acknowledgment from the one is was serving. And the more I take care of him, the more I love him and feel a part of the family. I am grateful for the chance to serve him and love him more.

Hattie likes to give Daniel snuggles