Ultrasound

Wednesday morning we were able to have the BIG ultrasound. We were so excited to find out if we were adding a little boy or a little girl to our family. The boys were all in agreement that they wanted a boy. Emily and I finally agreed on something, and that was that we wanted a little girl. There are several babies due in the ward around the same time, of those I knew that the Hardys had Luke, Ellis' are having a boy, and Ramseys are having a little girl.
Over 3 years ago I figured that we were finished having babies, so I gathered all my boy clothes that Jaron had grown out of, and everything Emily had outgrown, bedding, blankets, toys, and carseats, and filled my garage and invited over everyone I could think of who may have use for anything, and said "take what you can use!"
A couple weeks ago I was with Anne looking at her cute little girl clothes, so I came home and dug thru my keepsake bin and found that I had in fact a few girl clothes left. That got me thinking, "Oh, I remember when Emily wore this: It would be so fun to have another little girl."
A week or two prior to this I had a dream that we were having a boy, but I figured "I am only right about half the time, so maybe it will be a girl." I know that sounds funny, of course I would only be right 50% of the time: It is either a boy or a girl, but I really have been right. Nate and Emily I knew what they were, I was wrong about Jaron, I had convinced myself that he would be a girl.
We were going thru the ultrasound, and at first she couldn't see the gender because the baby's legs were up over the head with the feet crossed. Then later when she checked, the legs were closed tightly and tucked under the bum. We really thought that we would go thruout the pregnancy without knowing, but then the tech said "Okay, try to go to the bathroom, and the baby may move positions."
Then as soon as she put the little monitor back on my belly she said "This baby is a BOY!" "Yep, nobody could talk me out of that, he is definatly a boy!" Sean and I both smiled, and Emily said, "No, I don't want another brother, I want a sister!" We laughed, because she was tired and grumpy, and we reassured her that she will love him when he comes. "The only way I want a brother is if we name him Lucas!", she said. Needless to say it was a long ride home for her.
As the afternoon wore on she got more and more used to it. When the boys got home the first thing they said is "Is it a boy or a girl?" Sean and I had blown up blue balloons with a blue "It's a boy" sign that we put in thier room. We let them go in to get the news. We asked the kids what we should name the baby. Jaron said "Max." Nathan said Ethan. Emily said Travis-----What??? I thought you wanted Lucas! No, now she wants Travis! Girls--So emotional!!!
So we are thrilled that we are being blessed with a boy! Now, to find a name......

Life in general

It has been a kind of crazy life! I have been quite sick with this pregnancy, and I was thinking, man, it has been almost a year since I have felt well! Last year I was dealing with hitting my head and migraines, and now I am dealing with pregnancy and migraines.
I fear that I am not handling my trials very well. Unfortunatly I have had to depend on Sean and Nate a lot for household responsibilities. To top it off, I have not been able to make it to all church meetings for a few months, and any for a few weeks!
It is crazy, the kids are back in school again. Summer just flew by. I did not go camping with the family, and the family only got to go once.
The economy has slowed down fairly dramatically. We have taken mandatory time off of work, and are currently laid off and on an on call basis. This pay period will not be too bad, as Sean was gone 12 days, home 2, and gone 4 more, that brings its own challenges, but we are greatful for the work. Other times, you may only get 1 day in 2 weeks, so you just make the most of what there is to offer.
Luckily, Sean was able to train for the bus garage, so when he is not on call for the AVCenter, he can be available for the bus garage. He is such a wonderful hardworking man. I really love and appreciate all he does for me and the kids. I must have done something good in heaven to deserve him!
Nate is loving his new teacher and classmates. I think he likes being the big man on campus. That is good, because next year is Jr. High! YIKES!! He of course is cruising thru the lessons, but luckily he is doing well socially which is every mothers desire.
Jaron is in a great class. His biggest complaint is that he is "girl-locked" meaning his desk is surrounded by girls! I figure if any body can deal with that it is him. (He is kind of a ladies man!--he is so cute!)
Emily has been my little buddy. She loves playing game cube, jumping off the deck onto the tramp, and when I am sick, she brings me water and crackers! When I get my migraines, I cannot watch the kids, so I bring them inside, and if it is just her with me, I have her come in my room and watch TV while I wait for it to pass. She is such a sweetheart! I cannot imagine life without her or her brothers or Sean. I do feel truly blessed.
She got to start a new preschool this year. It is taught by the mothers, and it is just kids in the neighborhood. It is a lot of fun. I will end up teaching 5 weeks (10 times) this year. It is a lot of work to keep 7 4 and 5 year olds happy, but it is good. I totally could not do it everyday, unless I got a boatload of extra energy!
We get to find out the sex of the baby tomorrow! We are thrilled. Emily and I are hoping for a girl, and the boys are hoping for a boy! I know that when we find out it will be like we always wanted a (whatever it is!) .

Our names we are thinking are:

Girl
Brynlee
Rhylan
McKenna
Laurel
Lauren

Boy
Jonah
Jonas
Elijah
Ethan

We thought Nate would be an Andrew or Hunter. On the way to the hospital we were talking about names and thought, those don't seem quite right. Then we came up with Nathan.
We were pretty sure Jaron would be Jaron, but we also liked Jacob and Joshua.
Emily was going to be Rebekkah or Elizabeth. When I think of a Rebekkah, I think of a beautiful girl with black hair. We knew she would be beautiful, but with Sean and I, we also knew she would not have black hair. For Elizabeth, my aunt Lani chimed in and said, "Oh no, she will be teased and called Lizzie Gordon! I had not heard the saying Lizzie Borden about a girl who killed her parents, but I figure life is too tough, why add one more thing to be teased about! PLUS what parent wants to risk it! haha Just kidding! When she came to us so sweet and delicate, we knew she needed a name to match. While we had an Emily in the family, we went ahead with the name anyway--little would we know that 4 years later we would be neighbors! My grandma Phelps was so excited: "You named her after my mother! I always loved that name!" I was surprized, luckily my response was "YES!"
I guess to make a long story short, 2 of the 3 names of our kids were not even on the list until we were at the hospital, so while we do have a list, the baby still could be named anything!
Well this has been fun, but I am starting to feel the beginnings of my next headache! Shoot!

Being the mom

One thing I love most about being the mom is hearing the funny things that kids say. I know that Jaron has probably been working on this recent one for a few months, but just now got the idea perfected......
Yesterday we were talking and he said "Mom, I am going to be a bounty hunter when I grow up." (Yes, I admit I occasionally watch "Dog, the bounty Hunter".) "When I am a Bounty Hunter, I am going to wear my hair like Taylors (Bret"s son, our nephew, Taylor has the typical teenage boy shag cut) so that it kind of flips up all around. And I am going to have a little bit of hair here (he points to his chin). And I am going to wear tennis shoes, and gold chains, and leather and stuff!
I had to smile because I know that he has been observing details to see what is cool. Not exactly every mothers dream, but it did bring a pretty good laugh!

Just 1 example of why I am crazy and tired...

I have been quoted as saying that Jaron is the fun lover in our family, and I do stand by that statement. I also have commented that he tends to have a hard time focusing his attention. Today has been NO deviation of either of those comments, I only will mention an example of one. After a LONG HARD day I was getting ready to go upstairs to relax and watch TV.
While I slipped my Pjs on Jaron had managed to wrangle in 2 friends into his bedroom. I could hear the giggling, so I opened the door to find: Nate, Jaron, Emily, 2 friends, the dog, the 2 frogs (1 on Jarons head, the other on the floor being batted at with the dogs paw!)**Pick him him---NOW there are 2 frogs on Jarons head***and the lid with 36 crickets is off! Nate was getting ready to go downstairs to use the computer, so I thought to myself "Can Jaron really handle this chaos by himself?" I quickly answered "Heck NO! I couldn't handle it all at once!", so I made Nate take the dog with him, one of the kids cover the 36 crickets, Jaron take the frog off his head and put it in the cage, "Where is the other frog?" I guess in the chaos we lost a frog!!!! GREAT!!!
It wouldn't be nearly such a big deal if they would have kept their room clean today, but no, here I am moving beds, pulling out laundry and books. I find it odd that mom can work for an hour and a half sweating moving beds, finding loads of laundry, etc, while the kids, play games and watch movies, yet in thier minds when they walk in an hour later and magically "see" it, it is them who FOUND it. In this case it is great, I have yet to touch those frogs, I wear a winter glove when I have to touch them :)
I know I sound grumpy, but I actually think it is more funny and just wanted to show how ironic many things are while you are raising kids is. While it is really great, it is not all butterflies and roses!

Nate earns his Bear

We are so proud of Nate! Aside from being a great kid, Nate is a great student, a good friend, a nice brother, and a great boy scout! His Cub Scout uniform is filled with awards, and he has a C filled with academic and sport pins and a belt full of belt loops. He was supposed to get his bear award at the last pack meeting, but Bannock baseball has started, and it was his first game, so it was postponed until April. Nate has been blessed with wonderful scout leaders from the very beginning. Sean and I have not had the opportunity to be his leaders yet, but we have had the opportunity to work with the scouts so that we have been familiar with how the program works, so we know how wonderful it is, how to help him, and who to go to for the help, so we do feel truly blessed.
Ever since Nate was a baby he has shown a real love and interest for nature and the outdoors. While he attended the charter school he was given several opportunities to fulfill many of the requirements in the scout booklet. Living in the west is also a real blessing. Nathan will go far in life. He has a real thirst for knowledge, and the ability to push himself to accomplish his goals. He is truly amazing. What a great example he is to our family. I am so proud of you Nate! Webelos--You have a really good scout coming your way!!!!!

Jarons Babtism

Saturday May 2nd Jaron was babtized a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints! We are so excited for him. He is so cute. He says "This is the biggest decision of my life." We are very proud of him and know that he will continue to be a great example! We were so blessed to have so many family members come. Bret Kristy Taylor and Grandma Royce were there from the Gordon family. Uncle Eric and Kandi were in Boise, Kandi had to work, and Eric was visiting the kids. Melissa and Jake traveled halfway from Orem, but due to bad weather had to return home. We were thrilled to have grandpa Tbone (he was a witness of the babtism). It snowed in Kemmerer and they had broken pipes, so grandma Gail had to stay and take care of water issues. Uncle TJ and Thomas were finishing up finals at Utah State and were unable to come. Grandma May and Grandpa Tom were celebrating grandmas birthday that day!!! Lane and Carson Clayson came to support Jaron. Carson was originally gettting babtized Saturday as well, but broke his arm on the tramp a couple weeks ago, so he will get babtized in a couple weeks:) We are so lucky to have so many family members in Pocatello. All the Pocatello Gibsons were able to attend: Grandma and Grandpa (Grandpa was the other witness for the babtism. Thank you both so much for the help with the luncheon and everything). Gary and Sandra, Kevin, Kelli, Alex and KariAnn, Karen and Steve, Kendra and Kyler, Paige and Nathan, Kurt, Anita, Sarah, and KayLynn, and of course my mom and Dianne. I love you guys and really appreciate you and your love and support---it was a wonderful day.
There were 7 kids babtized that day! 5 from our ward. It was really special because the kids are really good friends, and they choose not to seperate them to keep groups small, but instead to keep them all together. And it was amazing, because I actually got the best seat I had ever gotten in a babtism! It didn't seem crowded at all! They even kept us together for the confirmations and it was amazing because it was the same thing, no pressure, no rush, just really peaceful!
This next part my grandma will hate, sorry, following the babtism we came to the house and had a luncheon. We thought that potatoe bar would be nice and easy because it is pretty forgiving timewise. Things can just stay warm. We had about 30 guests, and no clue when we would be eating, so this would work perfect. My sweet grandparents offered great help. They had potatoes, so they cleaned and wrapped them, cut onions, browned burger, made a salad, brought pop, sour cream, a relish tray, dessert, there was VERY little I had to do right?!? My only responsibility was to grate cheese and turn on the oven for the potatoes to cook. I asked my grandma when I should turn it on and how high. She said "You don't want it to be undercooked, because then they are not good". "I totally agree---YUCK!!!" I said. I think I stressed her out a bit, because the next morning she called me and said. "I was up all night worrying about those potatoes, and I think you should put them in now at 450!" Now in my mind I knew that was pretty high, especially when I could smell them about 5 minutes later, so I was going to turn them down to 300 when I left for the babtism (knowing that there were 5 kids being babtized from our ward alone!) but of course I FORGOT! When we got home I still forgot. I started getting things put out and arranged, greeting people. I got things all ready, and dududud....Royce cracks out 5 bags of stuff because---she wants to make a couple salads!!!!!! ARE YOU KIDDING ME!!!! ARRRRR!!! So distract myself and refocus, I check the potatoes. Grandma asks how are they. I get a confused look on my face and say "CRUNCHY".
"Hard?" she questions.
"No. Crunchy." We open the foil to find a wilted burned potatoe that when you crunch it open there is almost nothing in it! hahahaha I start laughing. My grandma is not happy! "This is Awful!"she says. "It's actually kind of funny" I say. "It is NOT funny she says sternly to me. I can't help but smile. I pat her on the back because I know that she is so disappointed. Poor grandma, so sweet, and so much work, and to have it not be perfect. Little did she know that everyone just loved them the way they were. I had so many compliments, but she won't believe me.
That was grandmas frustration, now back to mine: Again, I think she had good intentions....
OK MICHELLE KEEP YOUR COOL!!!! 20 minutes later--me:"Royce can I help you with anything."
45 minutes later: As her bags are in the table, counter, and island....I finally start cleaning her stuff up...Royce:"What are you doing? I need that? me: "I am cleaning up. I have had things ready an hour and I have 30 people here to feed!" Royce: "Well I just wanted to be included in the babtism and bring something too! Noboby tells me anything...." Sean starting to get irritated. I go in the other room.
20 minutes later. My kitchen is a total disaster. Not at all like I planned it. Everyone still eats, it still works out okay (of course not as good as if it was my way lol.) Okay so I have been totally harsh. I really do love Royce. I honestly do get frustrated and upset with you, but I love you and I appreciate the fact that I know that I can always count on your help and support when I need it. You are a wonderful grandma to my children, and I love the encouragement that you give to them, so please forvive me when I loose my patience with you, and know that I will always love you, and I appreciate that I can experience real emotions with you.
Mother in Law Lesson learned there really is more than one way to do things.... The right way (my way) and the wrong way (your way). hehehe. I am so funny. Well this is my blog, If you don't like it, don't read it!
Okay back to a serious note, Thank you so much to everyone who came to Jarons dinner. We appreciate your love and support! We missed those of you who could not make it, but we knew that if circumstance were diffrent you would have been here. Please know that we love you.

Gibson Family

As you can see me new little hobby has been to make collages. Part of this is because it is great to just have 1 photo with several images, second, it is way easier to upload, third, I want the practice to keep my mind sharp. This collage was a more traditional attempt with just family photos. I tried to give it a little more space between the photos.

The next one I tried to tie in some more sentiment. Nate told me it looked to boxy and I didn't get it proportioned well. It is all just a work in progress....

I just made this collage for my family on my moms side. It shows my grandpa and grandma Gibson on thier wedding day. The temple they were married in (Idaho Falls)--my grandpa always points to the sealing room and says "there is where it all began". The photo on the top with the kids looking out the window is from when I was a kid my grandparents would hire a Santa to come for the annual Christmas party. Santas getaway plan was for the kids to look out the big picture window and look for Rudolphs nose...wouldn't you know that each and every year we would all see it! This is also a special photo, because it is one of my grandpas favorites! The one below the wedding one is of my grandpa and Sarah (granddaughter) and Emily (greatgranddaughter) because they share the same birthday, as did his mother in law Grandma James who has passed. The other photos are of each of thier 5 children, grandchildren, and greatgrandchildren!

This has been a lot of fun! Now I will have to talk to Sean and decide which one to print and hang in our home!

Jarons Birthday Party

This year for Jarons birthday he got to have a friend party. Lucky for me, Anne called, and was not able to get a date schedule early for Jake's party (about 2 weeks before Jarons), and wanted to know if I wanted to do a combined party with her. It worked out great because they have pretty much the same friends, so they were able to invited twice as many kids! We let them to to Randys Tumbling gym and they were able to jump off the tower, run on the trampoline, slide into the pit, build with the blocks, play with the parachute, climb the wall, and just be wild animals! Sean even took part in the festivities and did some running and jumping, usually he will do the pit too, but there were too many kids.
I don't know what it is, but I am the mom that the kids attack! And yes, this party was no exception.....At one point in time I had about 10 kids who cornered me into a wall throwing foam blocks at me! If there is a water party, then I am drenched...you get the idea. Jaron had a blast and that made it all worth it. It was a fun and exhausting day! We love Jaron. I is a fun addition to our family. He brings a special sweetness that is just Jaron!

Family Easter

Spring Break 2009--Lehi Utah????

Who would have guessed that the small town of Lehi Utah would have been the destination of choice for the Gordon Family Spring Break 2009.

We took the kids out of school on Friday afternoon and headed straight to Sandy to the Mayan. We had so much fun. I don't quite understand why a resteraunt that is 1/4 full will make you wait 1 hour and then make you eat on the 3rd level of the resteraunt, but oh well. It was fun. I also was in an argument with a 10 year old (Logan) for the entire first show debating over if it was Indiana Jones or a treasure hunter--I lost--they totally need to add theme music!!!!! I am still bitter! We made it to the hotel to find a cold pool and a sign that said it was broken until Tuesday! The day after we were to get home! Aagh!

The next day was the day for museums. We went to the dinosaur museum. The kids LOVED it! Nate and Logan ran off. Jaron and Jake ran off (got lost for a little while) the dads got all techno are were photographing and using there phones, and Anne and I were following Emily and Caleb. We got an expensive brainwashing of global warming in 3D imax, followed by a picnic in the park on the grounds. MaryAnn, Rich, Kaitlin, and Tyler met up with us for Farm country. We got to see the animals and ride a wagon pulled by 2 horses. Emily was able to go on a pony ride. I was totally afraid of the turkeys! Sean milked a jersey cow---btw that was not part of the admission, that was 100% on the dare of his lovely wife! I think the boys mostly loved running outdoors with thier friends and playing in the little houses. Then back to the museum to make fossils and finish playing with the exhibits.

Sunday was a pretty restful day. We had breakfast in the hotel and headed to Provo to see MaryAnn and Rich. They got a new home last year and we had not yet seen it. It was beautiful, and the kids loved playing together. Afterwards, we met up with the Ramseys at the hotel for lunch, we watched some shows, then took a ride to the MTC, Provo temple, Provo canyon, and Mt. Timpanogas temples. Then to Olive Garden for dinner.

Monday was our final day of vacation. We went to the Lehi aquatic center. It was a very nice facility. We played there for about 3-4 hours. They had slides, lazy river, play areas, and a big dump bucket that poured tons of water down on you. It was a blast. When we got home, we met up with Eric, Kandi, and the kids and went to Race to Witch Mountain! I Loved that show--I totally have to buy it!!! It was a very fun spring break!

Emily's First Soccer Game!!!

We did put Emily in soccer last spring, but we froze our bums off sitting on the sidelines bribing her with "magic quarters" simaliar to dumbos magic feather. When I did finally get her out on the field last year some lady yelled at her because she hadn't seen her on the field all year and when I finally did get her in the game it was already in play and put the team off number for about 40 seconds--like it mattered that there was an extra 3 year old smothering the soccer ball! Well there went that season.
Well this year is off to a rip roaring start. She was smiling the whole time, and running with the ball and the team the whole time, and unlike Nate and Jaron, when the coach asked who wanted to a break, Emily was not the first one on the team to raise her hand:). It seems like we just finished Jaron and Nates Basketball--Oh ya, we did, oh well, time for Jarons soccer and Nates baseball, and Emily's soccer!