We had a nice Christmas

I love the feeling in the air at Christmas time-there's just a bit of magic I don't feel any other time. I don't enjoy the stores or the cold, but I do love the nativities, the tree, the look of snow from the window, a cup of hot chocolate, and wrapping presents. I get more excited for Christmas morning now than I ever remember getting as a kid. Christmas is great, but so much better to watch little one's excitement.

With a baby in the house, its been neat to talk with the kids about what Jesus must have been like when he was born and how special it was. What a great time to celebrate such a wonderful occasion.

Here are a few pictures I've caught with the boys' cameras since Christmas..

Christmas pajamas made by Grandma Johnson--or as Joe calls them "dammas"


Keifer looking so cute in his Sunday clothes-he looks like a little old man.



Another cute Keifer picture.


One of my oldest friends was in town visiting family and I invited her and her girls to come and visit yesterday. Josh was a bit nervous and told me he put on a nice shirt for Anekah, who became his girlfriend in Kindergarten last year. Young love is cute to watch. And who would've ever guessed that me and my old friend would have kids fall in love with each other?

When they have their own camera....

The boys like to take pictures and be like their dad. For Christmas Josh and Matt got a camera and Joe inherited Josh's old one. Santa decided to invest in cameras that would take nice pictures-also, one that Mom could use quicker than pulling out the big one (Thanks Santa). I spared you the pictures of the walls and lights, but here's a funny look from their lens...

Sometimes, this is how it feels.

Thanksgiving...belated

I've been meaning to post about Thanksgiving for a while now. I couldn't let Christmas happen without blogging about Thanksgiving.
This year we were with the Caldwell's. We had our feast at Keith's parent's house with all of his siblings and their families. We had a wonderful dinner and an enjoyable time. One of the things that our family enjoys doing most is getting together with extended family. Keith and I have good relationships with all of our siblings and we treasure the times we get to spend together. Not to mention, our kids LOVE playing with their cousins. I have to say I'm jealous of the times they get with their cousins because all of my cousins were much older or too far away to play with as often as our children get to play with theirs.
I will have to post a picture later (since I don't have any of my own, I have to have someone send one to me) of the Candy Cannon. Uncle Cable (on the Johnson side) has a cannon built for shooting candy and his son wanted to share it with his cousins. So, we made a quick visit to Grandma and Grandpa Johnson's house on Thanksgiving for the "Awesome!" event. "Awesome!" is what Joe kept saying about it. So, in the spirit of Thanksgiving, we are thankful for Uncle Cable and the Candy Cannon. To end the evening back at the Caldwell's, the moms and kids played Bunco and the guys had a LAN (Local Area Network) party (yes, I'm married to a geek and he's spread the geekiness). We sure enjoyed the day with family and good food.

In reflecting on all that I have to be thankful for, I'd like to mention a few.
1. Our precious little boys and the memories we make together as a family.
2. The gospel and the knowledge that we can be together forever.
3. The atonement and our Savior, Jesus Christ.
4. My dear husband who stands by my side and has unconditional love.
5. We have and can provide for our needs.
6. Our loving and supportive parents and siblings.
7. Our country and freedoms.

There are many more things to be thankful for, however, I think these few things encompass the lot of them. I'm also grateful for this time of year where we can make sure we think of all we are thankful for and the chance to share it with loved ones.

I love my brother!

Matt is my special "babysitter" for his new little brother. He is always so helpful. He tells me how he will hold the baby when I'm making dinner and works very hard to take special care of Keifer. Matt is hitting an age where he is being flooded with new emotions. I can tell he is overwhelmed by the love he has for his new brother and doesn't always know how to express the love, so we are trying to learn.
My heart breaks for Matt when his heart breaks, and at the same time, I have joy for him as he is learning and feeling new things. We watched "Pete's Dragon" for movie night last week and Matt cried at the end when Elliot the dragon had to leave because Pete didn't need him anymore. Matt also cried when his Aunt Chellena, who was kind enough to spend the night on Thanksgiving at the request of her little nephews, had to go home after such a short visit. He had decided she would stay 4 days and fully expected that she would. He is missing her terribly and can't wait until we see her again.
I'm so grateful we have such special little boys who love their family and play so well with each other. I hope they are always best friends.

Husband Tag

Rachel Hacking tagged me a week or so ago, and I'm finally getting around to it. This one was fun for me.

1. His name? Keith
2. Who eats more? Hard to say since he doesn't eat breakfast, or dinner sometimes (he doesn't like a lot of foods).
3. Who said "I love you" first? He did--in a letter from his mission in Spanish--his mom told me what it said. I was embarrassed and very excited at the same time.
4. Who is taller? Keith, by about 6".
5. Who is smarter? I did better in school, but he's just not the school type. But I'd say he's better at completely researching and understanding a subject than I am.
6. Who is more sensitive? Me--but he's helped me toughen up a bit through the years.
7. Who does the laundry? Me and the boys--they are good helpers.
8. Who sleeps on the right side of the bed (when looking at it)? I do and always have.
9. Who pays the bills? I do. Keith hasn't written a check since our first year of marriage. But we do pay attention to the $$ together and always discuss any major purchases together. Never any surprises--which is good for us.
10. Who cooks more? That is my job. There are a few dishes he's better at and I put him in charge of if he's around when dinner is being made.
11. Who is more stubborn? Definitely me. However, if we are going head to head, I always give in to him.
12. Who is the first to admit they are wrong? I'm really not sure because we almost always see eye to eye. Then again, he probably just lets me believe I'm always right and that our thinking is the same. He's not one for conflict.
13. Who has more siblings? Its the same--we both have 2 sisters and 3 brothers.
14. Who wears the pants in the relationship? I do, I think. If he has an opinion on a matter, then it is heavily considered, but he usually just goes with the flow and lets me run the household.
15. What do you like to do together? 7-11 runs have always been a favorite thing for us to do. We have been enjoying finding places to see and photograph around Vernal the last few years. Mostly, we just enjoy being around each other.
16. Who eats more sweets? ME! Keith doesn't usually eat candy--its good for me because I don't have to share:)
17. Guilty Pleasures? New technology. He just got an iPod touch and has been having a lot of fun with it. He also is always finding new open source software to play with and improve our computing experience.
18. How did you meet? Social Dance class in high school--he was dating a friend of mine.
19. Who asked whom out first? Our friend Sherry. She called to see if I wanted to do something one night. I didn't know it was a date until Keith came to the door to pick me up. He's lucky I let that one slide :)
20. Who kissed who first? Depends on who you ask. I swear it was him, but he says I did. I guess it was both.
21. Who proposed? He did. It was a "Dam" good proposal, too. He asked me on the Flaming Gorge Dam with a magic trick. I wasn't expecting it, either, so it was great.
22. His best features and qualities? Rachel said her husband is a pillar of quiet strength to her, and I think that best describes Keith as well. He is patient and constant. When he speaks up, its profound and important. My favorite place to be is in his arms. I also love that he's better looking today than the day we got married. He is supportive in almost all I do and he's the best dad ever! I always knew he'd be a good dad, but wow, he's the center of all his little boys' world.

I tag Rachel Hatch, Heidi, Marcie, Angela, and whoever would like to.

He's Here!

It was a little bit of a surprise, due to the fact that I hadn't had any progress at my appointment 2 days earlier--and I always have progress by that point. I didn't worry since my doctor left town until the 1st and I just worked on my mental state to hang in there for the next couple weeks.



Keith told me not to have the baby on Friday--which I didn't--but he said this weekend was off-limits. I told him not to tell me that. At work, Western Petroleum has a new building and everyone was moving in on Friday, which meant Keith had to work hard and crazy to get all the servers and networks up and running for Monday. He was almost done for the day when my water broke--oops! I really tried not to let the contraction do that.



Thanks to Heather for having my boys over for movie night while I went to the temple and labored in peace, and thanks to Spence and Gabby for staying with the boys while we were at the hospital (and all the cleaning and folding you did, too!)



I was in labor all day--I didn't think it was the real thing--and with 3 kids, who has time to time contractions? I did realize at the temple that night that things were at least consistent. After the temple, I was able to go for a 7-11 run with Keith and visit for a bit at his office while he worked late. Then I picked up the boys at Heather's, at which point I started thinking I could have the baby soon. So, I got the kids home and Keith helped me get them into bed before running back to work (he was thinking I could have the baby too, so he came home and checked on me). I just dozed off to sleep for the night about 11:30 pm when I was awakened by the contraction that broke the water--aahgh!

It took a few minutes to get Keith home, call Spence and Gabby, and get myself situated to go to the hospital. We arrived at the hospital about 12:15 am and our little boy was born at 12:48 am. The doctor actually made it in time, but wasn't fully dressed for delivery and allowed the nurse to do what she was doing to get the baby here.



That was the adventure we weren't expecting this weekend, but it worked out well. Keith was able to finish up what he needed to at work. Lucky for him we weren't at the hospital in labor for a long time--I'm such a nice wife :)

I'm at home now and just taking a minute to update the blog for everyone--here are some pictures. The boys are cute, just don't look at the mom, I really don't like my post-baby pictures.



Name: Keith Birch Caldwell, IV
Why: He's the 4th boy, so why not? He's our first baby that looks like Keith did as a baby--how could we not? No other name fit, and WOW, Keith really fits this one.
Weight: 6 pounds 11 oz. Smaller than I expected--thank goodness!
Length: 20 inches Our longest boy yet!
Hair: Blonde, he's our first blonde at birth, the others have had dark hair

Forgotten Pictures

I uploaded some pictures not long ago and found some that I totally forgot I had taken, but was sure glad I did. The first few pictures are of Joe after a nap. The funniest part about them is that I had just seen some pictures like it on a friend's blog the week before and died laughing at the predicament her child got into--then it was mine and he wasn't happy about me thinking it was so funny.

The other pictures are a real treasure, as we don't ever see this side of Josh. He is always calm and collected and doesn't let loose and play crazy, especially for pictures that may be embarrassing later on. It is normal crazy for the other two, but the whole activity seemed to be Josh's idea and he seemed to be in charge of getting everyone ready for the sumo fight. Lots of fun for me, and I still laugh every time I see the pictures.

Quick Update on Baby

I went to the doctor yesterday and everything is fine. I am down to my weekly appointments, so really, any day. My doctor informed me that he will be gone for about a week and a half--right during the time I will probably deliver--GREAT! I barely caught him in town with my last baby. Doesn't he know he should schedule his life around the coming of this baby as I have? Somehow I have always had a feeling he wouldn't be around for this one, oh well, what can you do? Everyone needs a life outside of work.
The good news is that I lost a pound (which I don't really think I lost, I was wearing lighter shoes and slacks instead of jeans, so that is probably where the extra weight went). But after the 6 pounds I had gained the week before, I was glad there wasn't anymore. I was a little surprised since I was sure I was bigger, which I was, I grew 2 centimeters. The doctor also told me that I had the about most normal urine of any ob patient he's had--I've never had good news like that before, but good news all the same.
Now it is just the waiting and enduring that I need to do. Everyday is a struggle to walk around as the weight and position of the baby greatly hinder my mobility in the hip area, which also hinders my patience with little ones who get in trouble and cause me to chase after them. I'm trying to keep my head on straight and take a Vitamin B here and there to keep my cool and get through this. I know a new baby isn't easy, but I'm really looking forward to that end of things! I guess my point is, the baby isn't here yet but we are both healthy and things are looking good. We are hoping to see the little guy by his due date, November 2.

New job, and truck

Keith recently changed jobs, and I forgot to mention it. He has been at the school district in the tech department for a couple years and has been happy. He has done work on the side for Western Petroleum for several years and they made him a full-time offer as their IT guy. He has been really busy with the new job because they are in the process of moving into a new building and he's hoping to get a lot of things done before the baby comes so he can take a little time for the family. He's been enjoying the new job and, from what I've heard, everyone seems happy to have him around to take care of the problems when they happen instead of when he can get to them. We love it when he's able to work doing what he loves--everyone is happy.


The new truck! This isn't an actual picture of our truck-it was easier for me to just grab this one off the internet. Ours is white and it has a shell. We just barely started looking for a truck when this one came along in the price range we were looking at. Keith was looking for something smaller, but I talked him into the quad cab for family purposes. Our little car has been "old reliable" but is nearing its last days. It is the first vehicle I've seen Keith in that I think really fits him--that is including the cadillac that he just loved. I love the truck, too. Shockingly, it has a smoother ride than the van and I told him I'd drive it right now if I could get into it. My legs aren't as easy to lift up right now and its a challenge to hop in the truck. Joe has loved the truck from the moment he first sat in the back seat. He has always said "It fits me!" And the boys love it when their dad takes them for rides. Joe has a hard time if we go as a family somewhere and its not in the truck. He sure loves his daddy and his truck, or as Joe says, "ruck, I wove it."