Merry Christmas!

We wish you a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!!

This Christmas was SUPPOSED to be low key. We weren't going to spend a lot or buy crazy amounts of toys for the kids.... WELL.... never mind that. I think Santa must be confusing my kids with some kids that sit nicely, do what they are told 100% of the time, go to bed on time, clean up after themselves, and share with each other. Rosie and Joseph got millions of presents!!

Here's the list of gifts

Rosie

1. Pajamas - from Mommy and Daddy (they get these every year)
2. Color Wonder set - Rapunzel - from Mommy and Daddy
3. Color Wonder set- Disney Princesses - from Mommy and Daddy
4. 3 bath time body paints - from Mommy and Daddy
5. 2 lip balms - from Mommy and Daddy
6. Belle Barbie - from Mommy and Daddy
7. Sleeping Beauty Barbie - from Mommy and Daddy
8. Ariel puzzle - from Mommy and Daddy
9. Princess puzzle - from Mommy and Daddy
10. Cinderella puzzle - from Mommy and Daddy
11. Barbie House - from Josh and Meghan
12. 2 ballerina Barbies - from Gabrielle
13. Alice in Wonderland coloring book - from Nana and Nannu
14. My Little Pony set- from Nana and Nannu
15. Snow White figurine set - from Nana Eleanor
16. Cinderella dress - from Grandma and Grandpa
17. Princess Jasmine outfit - from John and Michael
18. Tinkerbell play mat - from April
19. cute cookie baking accessories - from April
20. Dora toothpaste - from Nana and Nannu
21. 3 dresses for church - from Mommy and Daddy
22. 2 long sleeve shirts - from Mommy and Daddy
23. 1 sweater - from Mommy and Daddy
24. 1 t-shirt - from Mommy and Daddy
25. Money

Joseph

1. Pajamas - - from Mommy and Daddy
2. Bowl of play fruit - from Mommy and Daddy
3. Winnie the Pooh tooth brush - from Mommy and Daddy
4. Old Navy sweater - from Mommy and Daddy
5. Dress shirt - from Mommy and Daddy
6. Canada Olympic outfit - from Nana and Nannu
7. Play lawn mower - from Nana and Nannu
8. Pinocchio movie- from Grandma and Grandpa
9. Little People Garage - from Nana Eleanor
10. Robin Hood movie - from April
11. Leap Frog Text and Learn - from April
12. Outfit - from Nana Eleanor
13. Wooden truck - from Josh and Meghan
14. Teddy Bear - from Josh and Meghan
15. puppet - from Grandma and Grandpa
16. Cars book with figurines - from Nana and Nannu
17. Construction set - from Nana Eleanor
18. Children's Place sweater - from Mommy and Daddy
19. Dinosaur book - from Nana and Nannu
20. Money

I'm sure there's a lot more things, I just can't remember right now. To add to the gifts, we're also going on a family trip to Utah to see Mike and Katie and baby David, and I'm having some new Keen sandals (for the kids) shipped to Utah.

On Christmas Eve, we stayed home with the kids and had "Christmas Fettuccine" (from the movie The Holiday), we watched "Joy to the World" and open 1 present each. They opened pajamas. Then we put out milk and cookies for Santa. The next morning, Rosie was too scared to look under the Christmas tree. She's terrified of Santa and I think she thought she'd see him if she went into the room with the Christmas tree. Any way, after much convincing she made her way into the room of presents! She was happy as can be from that time onward. She would open one present and get so excited that she's shake and ask to open the packaging right then and there. Joseph didn't really understand, but he did walk around with his new tooth brush for about half an hour.

After Christmas morning at out house, we drove to the Mifsud's to open more presents and have a pancake breakfast.

We then headed to my parent's house for the remainder of Christmas Day. When Rosie opened her Barbie house, she wasn't interested in ANYTHING else. Gabrielle tried to get her to open the presents she got her (barbies) but Rosie said "No thank-you. I don't need any more presents". She also walked around asking "when we were going to have the cake for Jesus birthday" haa haa. Joseph, was teething on Christmas (poor little guy) but he still had fun playing with everyone's toys. He learned how to climb out of his playpen a few days before Christmas (talk about timing) however... he's been sleeping in his bog boy bed without any problems (more or less).

On boxing day we went to the Mifsud's for Christmas dinner take 2. April, Colin, Nana Eleanor, Nannu Charlie, Nana Olga, and Grandpa Denis, were all there for dinner and gift opening. The kids are so lucky!

Well, that's it for this year. We still have a quick New Years Day celebration at my parent's house with my Mom's side of the family. Now it's time to clean the house, and make room for all the new goodies! After that, we're packing for Utah!!

Christmas pictures coming soon!

Me Ka Aloha
- Elisabeth

Joseph's words at 18 months

Joseph is just over 18 months now, which means he has to go to the Dr. for yet another check up and immunization (poor little guy). I've got to say, I absolutely HATE sitting there, with him on my lap, anticipating two needles going into my cute baby's chubby legs. I'm know he hates it more, and that Dave hates it more than all of us combined. Dave is the BIGGEST wimp when it comes to needles. He'd rather get punched in the face than give a blood sample. Any way, I digress... this blog post is about Joseph. He was supposed to see the Dr. today, but since he's a little sick and on antibiotics, we had to reschedule. At the 18 month check up, besides the dreaded needle, the Dr. will ask a number of developmental questions. One of those questions is "can your baby say at least 50 words". That sounds like a lot for an 18 month old and most parents panic and think their baby is delayed. The funny thing is that MOST babies can say more than 50 words at 18 months, parents just never take the time to count them. So today, I'm writing down everything he can say and how he pronounces them with his little baby voice.

1. Mama (obviously)
2. Dada (this was his first word)
3. More. He uses this in a sentence saying "I want more" or in Joseph talk "my wan more"
4. Ok but it sounds more like "ah-kay"
5. No but it sounds more like "nah"
6. Cup, but Joseph says "cup-ah nun" He adds "ah-nun" to a lot of words.
7. Tummy or "tum-may"
8. Cuddle or "ka-dle"
9. Christmas. He'll only say this if you first say "we wish you a Merry..." and he says "kam-mis"
10. Cookie or in Joseph's words "kah-kee"
11. Nana
12. Banana or "mana" That's how Rosie used to say it.
13. All done or "a dunnn"
14. Up or "up-ah-nun" or "up-ah"
15. Dora
16. Camel
17. Monkey "ma-key"
18. Elmo or "amo"
19. Diaper or "dapee-nun"
20. Baby or "be-bee"
21. Open it or in Joseph's words "ah-pen it"
22. Bath or "baa"
23. Cow
24. Two
25. Purple or "pa-ple"
26. Rosie but he says it like "Ra-dee"
27. Airplane or "a-pane"
28. Amen
29. Ball
30. Boots (usually referring to the monkey on Dora) "boo"
31. Car
32. I'm going to get you (yes that is several words) "Ida get do"
33. Yogurt but he says it like "ya-gut"
34. Book or "book-ah"
35. Help me "hap mea"
36. Your welcome but he says it like "a weh-kum" If you tell him to say thank-you, he just respond with "a weh-kun"
37. Nose or "nah"
38. Yes or "yah"
39. Grandma or "ga-ma"
40. Yay
41. nap or "nap-uh-nun"
42. Dear Zoo (it's a book) "deew doo"
43. Puppy "pup pae"
44. There "dare"
45. Sock or "hawk"
46. I drop my shoe "a dop a do"
47. backpack or "baa paak"
48. Map or "maa"
49. oh no sounds more like "oh nah"
50. water "wadurn"
51. Cat in the Hat or "cat in in hat"
52. Thomas or "tom-ah"
53. I love you or "Ah wove do"

See there you have it, over 50 words. He says more than that I'm sure, but I can't remember them all.

Me Ka Aloha
- Elisabeth

Happy 3rd Birthday Rosie! Rosie's Birth Story

Happy Birthday Rosie!! Today is Rosie's 3rd birthday and to celebrate, we're going to see Tangled!! It's the new Disney movie about Rapunzel and it came out today, in 3D. Luckily, Rosie likes wearing "sunglasses" so it'll be easy getting her to wear them during the movie. I know she'll like it because she's been watching all the "Rosie's Tea Party" Youtube videos and Rapunzel is her favorite.

Any way... here's Rosie's birth story....

About a week after Rosie was born, I asked Dave to help me type out her birth story. I never really had time to type it out myself because Rosie was always nursing so I dictated, and Dave typed. Now looking back at the Word document, it's obvious that Dave changed my wording quite a bit. Oh well, it's still an accurate description. The only problem is that we never finished writing it. Dave had his sister over when we were documenting, and he wanted to hang out with her, so he promised me that he'd help me write it out later. That never happened. I really hope I can finish it with all the details I wanted to write 3 years ago. Here it is...

On November 23^rd around 2 am in the morning I started to feel some mild contractions and I knew that I was going to go into labour soon. I took a Tylenol and some Gravol and slept through most of it until 5 am, when the contractions got so strong that I couldn’t sleep anymore. Around 6 am I woke up David to tell him that I was in labour. He immediately got up and started timing them. The contractions were still pretty sporadic at first, so we knew we had some time before the baby would come. We ate breakfast, cleaned up, and got everything ready to go to the hospital. Most importantly I put some makeup on so that I would look half decent when the baby came out! Around 9am we decided to call our midwife, Rhea, to tell her what was happening. She said it sounded like things could be happening, but there was a chance that the contractions could stop during the day (as hormone levels are lower in daytime) and that it might be a false alarm. She told me to go for a walk, have lunch and not worry about it too much, but to call her if the contractions became stronger and more regular. Only ten minutes later the contractions went from annoying and slightly uncomfortable to moaning and groaning and intense pain. All I wanted to do was lie in bed, because every time I sat up or walked around the contractions felt much worse. David described the sounds I was making as the “cry of a banshee”! I called the midwife back at noon because I knew that this was the real deal and that baby was coming whether we liked it or not. She talked to me while I was having a contraction, deemed that this was in fact true labour, and said that she would be there in half an hour. She came over at 12:30 pm, checked me, and declared that I was in labour, vowing not to go anywhere until I had the baby. She and Dave helped me labour in different positions, including sitting on the exercise ball, standing with my legs apart leaning on Dave or the bathroom counters, sitting on the toilet, and walking around the apartment. While I was sitting on the exercise ball, I felt a huge gush of liquid leave me, which the midwife claimed to be my water breaking (this was around 2 pm). Suddenly the contractions became even stronger than before, and substantially more painful. Enough became enough and I decided that I was in enough pain to merit going to the hospital, as I knew that I could get an epidural there. David tried to talk me out of it as he promised my past self he would, by saying things like “millions of women have birthed without drugs”, to which I replied, “poor them!” He also said that my mom had done it five times without drugs, to which I snapped back, “well she’s an idiot!” Despite his noble effort, I wanted drugs and no one was going to stop me from getting them, even though he and Rhea both tried extremely diligently. We arrived at the hospital at about 4 pm and David dropped me off at the front entrance and I went up to the labour ward while he parked the car free of charge at the Gallentoft’s across the street. The people in the elevator were well aware of where I needed to go! At the hospital I was hooked up to an I.V and was told that I had to wait for the bag of fluid to enter into me almost completely before I could have to doctor give me an epidural. I had the feeling that the midwife was moving as slow as possible, hoping that I would give birth naturally before the epidural took place. However my temperature started to rise and so did the babies heart rate, so in light of these events, even Rhea thought the epidural would be effective at relaxing me, and thus cooling me down and slowing baby’s heart rate. - That's where it ended.... here's the rest...

So as stated earlier, we arrived at the hospital around 4 pm and hooked me up to an IV. One of the nurses came into the room and told us that they couldn't give me the epidural until they had a blood sample, and the blood sample they took hours earlier wouldn't do. The vile they took my blood in was expired. They would have to re-take it, and I would have to wait even longer for the epidural. Finally at 7 pm the anesthesiologist came in. They asked Dave to leave the room and come back in 15-20 minutes (I guess at Joseph Brant Hospital, only nurses and Dr can be in the room while they give an epidural). They had me lean forward over a pillow and the midwives held me still while the anesthesiologist disinfected my spine and gave me the needle. I must say, this is one of the creepiest things ever. Seriously, they sit you there while you're having unbearable contractions and stick a large needle into your spine to numb the pain. They also have to keep the IV going the entire time and keep the blood pressure cuff on, so they can test your blood pressure every few minutes. I also had to take some antibiotics and Tylenol because of my fever. Oh man, I'm getting the creeps just thinking about it. The good news is that the pain did in fact stop minutes after. I felt MUCH better and I could actually have a conversation with Dave. I decided to call my Mom because earlier that day she had left a message on our machine that sounded something like "You're not picking up the phone, you must be at the hospital woo-hoo!" So I called her around 8 pm and told her I was at the hospital and that I was going to have my baby. I started to tear up when I told her because I was starting to realize the reality of the situation and I was so happy and excited. I could tell in her voice that she too was starting to cry a little. I told her to stay by the phone because she'd be getting some good news soon. The midwives came into the room and told me that I should get some sleep while I could because pushing was going to be a lot of work. They put a couple of rolled up towels under me to keep me propped up on one side and dimmed the lights. Soon I was fast asleep and waiting for the baby's head to crown so I could push. During the time I was sleeping, Dave went home to get a few more things that we needed and to call his parents and let them know what was going on.

Around 10:30 pm the midwives asked me how I was feeling and asked if I was feeling any pressure. I told them that I couldn't feel anything. Lucia (my secondary midwife) check to see how dilated I was. She told me I was fully dilated and that I'd be meeting my baby soon. When she told me, I started to cry. I couldn't believe that in a little while I would finally be holding a precious baby in my arms. Rhea, Lucia, and Dianne (the student midwife) got everything ready to go and the next thing I knew, I was pushing. Dave and one of the midwives had to hold onto my legs to help me push. I laughed and said "Sorry, I only had time to shave one leg this morning!" Since I had the epidural and couldn't feel when contractions were coming, I had to look on the monitor and when the numbers went up, it meant I was having a contraction and that I needed to push. I'm sure Dave and I both thought that the baby would be out in a few minutes, but it took MUCH longer than that. The midwives told me to push my chin down and push my feet against their hands. I was also told hold my breath and to push as hard as I could. As the babies head began to crown Dave started to get excited. He and the midwives were all saying things like "You're doing great! You're so strong, keep going!". As I was pushing, I noticed Dave making a grossed out/concerned face. I said "Dave! Stop making those faces!!" He apologized, but kept on doing it (I don't think he realized he was making those faces, but I sure noticed). We were all watching the clock as I was pushing. Around 11:45 pm I realized that I wasn't going to have the baby until the 24th, oh well, no big deal, we like even numbers.

Well at midnight I started pushing harder and harder. I pushed and pushed and I could feel the babies head coming out slowly. I said to Dave "This hurts so much". The midwives call it the ring of fire (the area that's being stretched, and most women rip) and it really feels like it's on fire! Luckily for me, the midwives have a warn wash cloth ready to apply to the skin to sooth and prevent it from ripping, and it worked. Rhea asked Dave if he would like to catch the baby. Of course he wanted to, so he washed up and got ready. He tried to wear gloves but they didn't fit right. I kept on pushing and felt the head come out. The midwives said "time of birth 12:11 am" and then checked to see if the cord was wrapped around the baby's neck. We were all clear so I pushed one last time and...

The next thing I knew Dave was placing the most beautiful baby on my chest!!! I immediately started sobbing tears of joy. I couldn't believe she was finally here and that Dave and I were parents. (I'm getting emotional just thinking about it). I asked Dave what "it" was and he said "ah, I think it's a girl, but I didn't get a very good look." So I did a quick check, and yes, we had a little girl! She was the most beautiful baby girl I had EVER seen in my life. I was in love the very second I saw her. I couldn't stop staring at her and feeling like the luckiest, happiest person in the world. Dave was by my side with tears in his eyes too. She was crying and she sounded like a little kitten. I can honestly say that this was the most amazing moment in my whole entire life. I was even happier knowing that I had been right all along, that I was indeed having a girl (we never found out before hand). She weighed 7 pounds 11 ounces, which is the perfect text-book weight according to my midwife.

I spent the next 24 hours trying to sleep, but mostly just staring in amazement and gratitude for having such a beautiful miracle in my arms. The next morning Dave came to the hospital and said "I think I like the name Rose, we should call her that." I was very happy he agreed with me because a few days ago, when I mentioned the name Rose, he wasn't too enthusiastic. We named her Rose, with the middle name Mary.

Rosie has been a blessing in our lives ever since. We love you very much! Happy birthday sweetie!!

Bye Ottawa...

Last week we packed the kiddies in the car a drove the 5+ hours to Ottawa. The last time we were there was before Joseph was born, so we thought we would stop by for a quick fall visit. April lives in Ottawa as do some of our cousins so we had a lot to do. The drive there went pretty well. The kids napped most of the time, and when they were awake, we played Disney music to keep them entertained. Thank goodness Disney music is well written, otherwise I'd go CRAZY!

In Ottawa we stayed with April and Colin in their new apartment, which was pretty cool because it had 2 levels with the bedrooms upstairs. The kids slept great which was quite the surprise because last time we attempted an overnight stay (the cottage) they woke up crying several times and woke up half the family.

The first night there we just stayed in a had dinner with April and Colin. The second day we went to the mall and then joined Colin and his family for dinner at an Italian restaurant. It was a really nice evening.

On Friday night we went to a place called Cosmic Adventures. It reminded me of Chucky Cheese but much bigger and with less arcade games. It was fun, but WAY overpriced if you ask me. Luckily we had coupons and saved 50% because usually it was cost $14 for Rosie, $13 for Joseph, and $6 each for Dave and I!!! Holy expensive! I think its lame the adults had to pay to get it. Oh and you can not bring in any food because they want to keep the place nut free (more like they want to sell you their CRAZY overpriced food). I got a personal sized plate of nachos for $7 (well not really because we had coupons - I only paid $2) the nachos were old and stale tasting, with pizza sauce instead of salsa, and burnt cheese. At least the kids had fun.

One of Rosie's newest things is making sure that people have what belongs to them. She's always giving Joseph HIS sippy cup, and giving Dave and I our shoes. In Ottawa she insisted in giving April her cell phone and her work ID card. She also found Colin's cell phone, went up to him and said "here Ottawa, your phone." Haa haa she thought Colin's name was Ottawa! Too cute!

On the way home we stopped at Nana Eleanor's house and spent the day. We went to the park and visited a huge yard sale of a woman who had passed away. The woman was really into sewing and had tables and tables of fabric and other supplies. I took home 3 large bags of fabric, and 5 spools of quality thread for only $5!!! Nana took the kiddies to the Toy store and bought Rosie a Snow White and Cinderella figure (which she carries with her everywhere, even bed) and a red fire truck for Joseph. Rosie insists that Joseph take his fire truck with him everywhere. She thinks if he has his "red pire tuck" that he'll leave her princess toys alone. As we were leaving Nana's house Rosie said "bye Nana Alligator". Again, another name mix up, but a cute one! We taught her to say Eleanor, but she still slips up now and then and calls her Nana Alligator.

Some other things that the kids have been up to...
- Joseph finally learned to walk a week ago. He's too cute waddling around.
- Even since Joseph has weaned (at 13 months) he likes to suck his thumb and touch my belly button. It's pretty cute except for the time he pinched my belly button and made it bleed :(
- Rosie is in love with anything princess. She loves watching Max and Ruby because Ruby is always dressing up and doing girlie things. Her favorite movies are Snow White, Cinderella, and Mulan. Right now she won't watch Beauty and the Beast because "the Beast is scary!"
- Joseph likes to watch Elmo's World, Dora, and Max and Ruby.
- Rosie, my once excellent eater has become very picky. I'm going to have to find ways to sneak veggies in her diet. Joseph, on the other hand, is a bottomless pit and will eat almost anything.
- Rosie likes it when I sing "round and round the garden". She'll stick out her hand and say "do my garden"

New Baby in the Family!

Don't start spreading rumors now, it's not MY baby, it's my brother in law's baby. Mike and his wife had a little boy last Friday and named him David. He's very cute and looks a lot like Mike. They're one of those lucky people to have the baby early, instead of going past the due date like I usually do. The little guy had a hard time breathing at first and the nurses were pretty worried. After a few hours in intensive care, he was healthy as can be and breathing like a champion. My kids don't quite understand that they have a new cousin but they really enjoyed looking at his newborn pictures. Unfortunately for us, baby David and his parents live in Utah, so we won't be able to meet the little guy until they come for a visit this summer :( For now, we'll just have to enjoy pictures and home videos.

Welcome to the world baby David!! Can't wait to meet you :)

Me Ka Aloha
- Elisabeth

Baby David Henry 7 pounds 10 ounces

No Longer a Single Mom

A few weeks ago Dave left on a 2 week trip to Ukraine. He used to live there for 2 years as a missionary and hadn't been back in about7-8 years. They were finally dedicating the new temple in Ukraine and Dave and Al decided it was a good time to head on back to the old mission. Their trip was a total of 2 weeks.... 2 weeks without phones and very limited internet access.

I stayed home with the kids because A) we couldn't afford to go as a family B) it's not really a family vacation spot. So there I was crying as he walked out the door, not because I didn't want him to go, crying because I was going to miss him so much.

It was three days before I heard from him (due to lack of internet) and I was so happy/relieved to finally get his email and hear that he arrived safely and that all was well. I was so emotional about him leaving on the trip that I was crying when I finally read his email. Even though it was in writing, it was so nice hearing that he loved me and missed me. We emailed each other back and forth while he was away and a few times I caught him on gmail chat, which was the highlight of my day. I thought about Dave every single day, wondering how he was doing and wishing I could be with him.

While Dave was gone, life at home was simple. I tried to keep things to a minimum to avoid stressing myself out too much. Dinners were simple, like pesto, spinach pizza, mac and cheese... and limited driving. I didn't want to drive very much because I was afraid of getting in an accident. I couldn't imagine dealing with scared children, injuries, insurance, and car troubles all by myself, with Dave helplessly in another continent. I did however make a quilt while Dave was gone, and I painted Rosie's bedroom and bought a few decorations for the living room. Dave also happened to be gone for his cousin's wedding, which I attended by myself, and he was also gone for our anniversary. I think that day was the hardest for me. We've never been apart for this long before, and to be away on our anniversary was very difficult. I went to visit my inlaws that day and they treated me and the kids to dinner at Ikea, which was lovely, but I still missed Dave terribly. The 2 weeks went by rather quickly and I managed to get a lot done while he was away. The house stayed clean, the kids stayed happy, and I even managed to make it out to church both weeks. I did better than I thought as a single mom, but I missed having Dave by my side through it all.

Dave had a wonderful time in Ukraine. He was able to catch up with families that he hadn't heard from in years. They were all doing better than he expected. He also (by some amazing luck) was able to meet up with his relatives and spend a few days with them. He said that the temple was absolutely gorgeous with one of the nicest celestial rooms he'd ever seen. The entire trip Dave felt so strongly that families can be together forever... obviously he has a testimony of this, but he felt the magnitude of it all while he was away. He loved running into families he taught on his mission and to hear that they had been sealed in the temple to their spouses and children and he loved knowing that with the new temple, more families would have this privilege. He thought about us at home and how grateful he was to be sealed to us and how much he loved us. Dave also enjoyed meeting new people like the very first member of the church in Ukraine, the first mission president, and some of the very first missionaries ever to serve there. He was able to enjoy a few celebrations while there and he attended a wonderful concert put on by the members in he temple district (President Monson, Uchtdorf, and Nelson were also in attendance).

It was so nice to finally have him home after his adventures. His flight home, including layovers was more that 30 hours, and he didn't get much sleep. I think he's never been happier to be home. Rosie was so excited when he walked in the door that she was shaking with joy. I couldn't contain my excitement either. In the moments before he returned home I was nervously pacing around the kitchen. I was excited to see what he thought of Rosie's bedroom. Kissing him when he came back was so great! The last couple weeks of having him home has been great. Despite the fact that the both of us came down with a tiny cold, it was great being able to hear all his stories, cuddle with him, and spend so much time with him. We have yet to celebrate our anniversary, and we're going to go to the restaurant that catered our wedding (I can't wait).

So happy to have him back!

Me Ka Aloha
-Elisabeth

Dave in front of the Ukraine Temple

President Monson, Uchtdorf, and Nelson enjoying the concert

Dave and Al with one of Dave's relatives Yulia

Rosie in her souvenir dress, holding her beautiful Ukrainian doll.

Celebrating 4 Wonderful Years!

It was on this day, back in 2006 that I married my wonderful husband Dave. It's been a great 4 years that's for sure. We had 2 beautiful children, bought 2 cars, bought a house, Dave graduated, we moved to a new city, went to Hawaii, started 2 businesses and more and more. I'm so grateful to be married to the greatest person I know. I love you Dave!! xoxox

I had to Speak in Church Last Sunday...

A friend who couldn't be at church on Sunday asked if I could send a copy of my talk. Here it is...

Good morning brothers and sisters. I’m sure you noticed that a few minutes ago I was sustained to serve in the primary organization. I’m so excited for this calling. I really love working with the primary children and watching their little testimonies grow. I’ve served in primary before as a primary teacher and often times I would ask questions like “how can we strengthen our testimonies?” Or “how can we feel the holy ghost more often?” Or, “how do we resist temptations?” They always give the same answer, “Read scriptures, go to church, say prayers.” Although it sounds boring, and kind of like the classic answer, our lives will change for the better, and our testimonies will grow if we: read scriptures, go to church, and say our prayers. Today I want to focus on prayer.

The scriptures teach us to to “pray always.” (D&C 93:49.) and “Watch and pray, that ye enter not into temptation.” (Matt. 26:41.) In General Conference in 2007, Richard G. Scott said: It matters not our circumstance, be we humble or arrogant, poor or rich, free or enslaved, learned or ignorant, loved or forsaken, we can address Him. We need no appointment. Our supplication can be brief or can occupy all the time needed. It can be an extended expression of love and gratitude or an urgent plea for help. He has created numberless cosmos and populated them with worlds, yet you and I can talk with Him personally, and He will ever answer.

Spencer W. Kimball said about prayer: “I am sure that if we pray fervently and righteously, individually and as a family, when we retire at night and when we arise in the morning, and around our tables at mealtime, we will not only knit together as loved ones but we will grow spiritually through communion with our Heavenly Father.

Like I mentioned earlier, I was called to serve in the primary organization as the musical director. I love so many of the Primary Songs especially the Primary Song “A Child’s Prayer”. The first verse is a child asking Heavenly Father if he is really there, and if he hears and answers every child’s prayer. Then my favourite part is the second verse which says “pray he is there, speak he is listening. You are his child, his love now surrounds you. He hears your prayers. He loves the children. Of such is the kingdom, the kingdom of Heaven.” I think that is such a true and powerful statement, that he loves each and every one of us and that he hears AND answers our prayers. I whole heartily believe that God answers prayers no matter how small our problems may seem.

I have a personal example in my life when Heavenly Father answered my prayers. It not a huge life altering experience, but it just proves that He is always listening.

A few years ago, I was chosen to be an EFY counsellor. For those of you that don’t know what EFY stands for it’s Especially for Youth and it’s a 5 day conference with amazing speakers, and events and dances and it’s really fun and spiritual. So I was going as a counsellor and my younger brother was going as a youth participant. The conference was in Alberta and my brother and I had the bright idea that we would save money, if we took the greyhound bus all the way there. It’s about 56 hours straight with only a few stops for meals here and there. Now since my brother and I had never really traveled much in Canada we had this agreement with each other that if one of us fell asleep and we were passing something cool, that we’d wake up the other person so that they wouldn’t miss it. Ok so, because of the timing of the conference and the lengthy bus ride, it turned out that I would be missing church that Sunday. I was feeling really sad that I would be missing the spiritual boost that I usually got on Sundays. I felt like I really needed that right before EFY and so that morning I prayed that I would have a spiritual calm day while on the bus. I knew that it would be hard to feel the spirit on the bus because I was uncomfortable and sometimes they would show inappropriate movies or the people sitting near me would be swearing. I just prayed that my day would be free from all that stuff and that nothing would chase the spirit away. I put my headphones on and listed to Mormon Tabernacle Choir and then I fell asleep. A few minutes later I awoke from a nudge from my brother. He pointed out the window. We were somewhere along the part where Ontario and Manitoba meet and I looked out the window. The sun was just rising and the light was hitting this gorgeous lake that had these little waterfalls going into it and there was a light mist on the lake. It was picture perfect, honestly like something you would see in a movie like Rivendale in Lord of the Rings, seriously one of the most beautiful things I’d ever seen in my life. What made it even more amazing is that, playing on my headphones was Mormon Tabernacle Choir, “For the Beauty of the Earth” That happens to be one of my favourite hymns, and the perfect song for this occasion. I was so grateful that Heavenly Father heard my prayer and knew exactly what I needed that Sunday. Instead of just making my day tolerable and a little more peaceful, like I had asked in my prayer, he gave me more. He gave me a huge spiritual boost that I needed before going to be an EFY counsellor and a wonderful experience that I will never forget.

Richard G. Scott said “I wonder if we can ever really fathom the immense power of prayer until we encounter an overpowering, urgent problem and realize that we are powerless to resolve it. Then we will turn to our Father in humble recognition of our total dependence on Him.”

I’ve had an experience where I felt powerless and needed to rely on the Lord. I had an experience that happened about 2 and a half years ago. My daughter Rosie was a tiny newborn baby, only 5 weeks old and had caught a terrible virus. We had been at a family event and all the kids, on that side of the family were all wiped out by this virus that went around. I was a new mother and very sleep deprived and emotional already and Rosie had a fever and was making funny sounds while breathing, so I took her to the Emergency room. When we saw the doctor said that she was going to have to do a test on Rosie to find out what was wrong. I had had this test done on myself as an adult and I knew that it can be slightly painful and uncomfortable. I worried that it would be very painful on my newborn baby. They told me to step out of the room for 5 minutes while they performed the test. I left my baby, who just happened to be looking at me so cute and I went and stood just outside the door. A few seconds later I heard her let out a whimper, then another whimper, followed by very loud crying. This wasn’t her usual cry, it was more intense than I’d ever heard her or any baby cry before. The nurse walked out the door and I asked “are you done?” She said “no” and walked back in the room with more supplies. Suddenly I realized that they didn’t do the test right and had to try again, putting Rosie through more pain and making me wait longer. I stood outside the door crying my eyes out, wishing so much that I could comfort Rosie, or trade places with her. After more than 5 minutes of hearing Rosie cry, they told me they were done and I was allowed back in the room. I picked her up and she put her head on my shoulder and held on to me. I could tell she was traumatized from the experience and exhausted from crying so hard. The Dr. told me there was nothing wrong with her and sent me home. I couldn’t believe it. I knew that something was wrong and after another long night at home with Rosie throwing up and coughing and a high fever, I decided to take her to the Children’s hospital that very next day. At the Children’s, the Dr. told me that they had to do the same test as the day before, AND take a blood sample, AND give her an IV, AND a number of other procedures. My heart sank. How could I put my 5 week old baby through so much anguish AGAIN?! I was also afraid because my friend told me that when her baby was in the hospital, they had to put his IV in his head because it was the only vain large enough. I was absolutely terrified and worried for Rosie, but I knew that the Dr. needed to do the tests. The nurse told me that either Dave or I could stay in the room, but there was only room for one of us so the other would have to wait outside. I was so emotional so I stayed outside. As I was standing outside, with tears streaming down my face, and feeling completely powerless over the situation, I remembered to “pray unto the Father with all the energy of heart.” (Moro. 7:48.) I said a silent prayer. I asked Heavenly Father to be with Rosie and to give her comfort since I couldn’t. The nurse walked into Rosie’s room and I waited anxiously. A few quick minutes later she walked out. I thought, “she must have forgotten something” but then she said, “ok you can go in now.” I was floored! How come I didn’t hear Rosie cry? I heard nothing! And how can she be done so fast? I walked into the room expecting to see Rosie with an IV in her head and to see her crying, but there she was, sitting with Dave as happy as can be, with an IV in her arm. Dave told me that the tests took only a few seconds, that the nurses were great, and Rosie just sat there staring at him the entire time. The nurses couldn’t believe how calm and still she was and that she didn’t even cry at all. This reminded me of 3 Nephi when “[Jesus] took their little children, one by one, and blessed them, and prayed unto the Father for them.” Heavenly Father lovingly answered my prayer in the most perfect way possible. I am so grateful to Heavenly Father for being with Rosie that night.

As I was preparing this talk I thought of so many examples in my life where my prayers had been answered. It was difficult for me to decide which examples to include. I have a strong testimony that God not only hears, but also answers our prayers. Through prayer, Heavenly Father has directed my life and helped me in so many ways. I know that he lives and that he loves us. I know that this church is true and that Thomas S. Monson is a true prophet. I know that Heavenly Father answered Joseph Smith’s prayer that spring morning in the sacred grove and that he will answer our prayers if we have faith in him. I say these things in the name of Jesus Christ Amen.

Quick Post

Did I mention that Joseph is fully weaned now? He's doing great, but insists on sucking his thumb while falling asleep. I guess it's comforting for him. It actually looks really cute, despite the fact that it might mess up his teeth.

Today I found Rosie sitting on the rocking chair by herself singing "I am a Child of God". Isn't that just the sweetest thing... ok.... wait..... no..... this is the sweetest thing. Today before bed Rosie told my husband that she wanted to go to the temple and get married!!!

Awwww they are growing up so fast!

Me Ka Aloha
- Elisabeth

I must say "come on" a lot...

When Rosie was a little over 1 year old, she'd wake up in the morning and I'd bring her into my bed to cuddle for a while. She'd always do the sign language for "eat" and say "com'on" (with a New York accent haa haa). She would also say it when she wanted to go to the park "come oooon!"

Now that Joseph is talking a bit, he also says "come on" but without the New York accent. I actually don't know what he wants when he says it, but I have heard him say it a lot when he's playing.

In other news, Rosie and Joseph are sharing a room now (hurray I have my own room back!) They're doing great! I thought they would wake each other up a million times a night but they've been sleeping like little angels! I single handedly moved all the furniture in my bedroom around once the playpen was gone and made my room look beautiful! Now all I need is something to hang on the walls and maybe a homemade quilt... yes... a quilt for sure!

Today Joseph woke up around 8am and I grabbed him before he woke his sister. I brought him into bed with me and he actually cuddled for 1 whole hour!! When Rosie woke, she came into bed a cuddled too! It's so lovely to have my babies all cuddly and affectionate. I know they won't be this way forever.

Me Ka Aloha
- Elisabeth

Dance, Dance, Dance!

Have you ever seen the movie Charlie Brown's Christmas? I LOVE that movie so much especially the scene when they're all dancing. Lately, I've loved that scene even more because it reminds me of my own kids. Yes that's right, Rosie and Joseph dance like the Charlie Brown kids... well sorta. Before I explain, let's watch the video.



Haa haa they way they dance is so darn funny! Ok, so when my kids dance, they pretty much do the same thing. Rosie turns in circles over and over again, even if she gets dizzy and falls. She just gets up and turns more and more. I've tried to teach her some more "moves" but she likes her style best. Then we have Joseph. His style of dancing is to tilt his chin down and shake his head from side to side as if he's shaking his head "no". He'll also look up while he does his head shake thing, but only with his eyes. Haa haa, I always thought I'd have talented dancer kids since I was so into dance, and if that's going to happen my kids are going to have to learn a few more steps.

When I get a sec, I'll video tape them dancing and post it.

Me Ka Aloha
- Elisabeth

A Day of Firsts!

Today Rosie got her very first Barbie! She has been playing with Gabrielle's and Anna's Barbies and she absolutely loves them. She's such a girl! She also loves princesses, so much that she insist on wearing her princess dress every moment of every day. Well, today she was asking if she could have the queen and the mermaid (she's referring to a Cinderella doll and an Ariel doll that she found at my in-laws). Obviously I wasn't prepared to drive to the next town just so she could play with the queen and mermaid. I then remembered that in my collection of Barbies... yes I collect Barbies, still in the boxes (I wonder where Rosie gets her girliness from)... I had a Cinderella Barbie that wasn't one of the rare collectibles and I didn't really care too much for it. I decided it was time to give Rosie a little present. She was shaking with excitement as I opened up the box and gave her the Cinderella Barbie. She also really wanted to play with Prince Charming, but I didn't have a Ken doll for her. Luckily Dave is so resourceful and gave her a Mr. Wonderful doll to be the Prince. Heck Mr. Wonderful says all the right things "let's just cuddle tonight" that he might as well be a prince. Rosie was happy with that and played with Mr. Wonderful and Cinderella all day and I'm shocked that she left them on the counter instead of bringing them into bed tonight.

Today was also a day of firsts for Joseph. Today he took his first steps!! He's almost 14 months and still isn't walking, even though I know he's capable. He's been walking around furniture for a really long time, he climbs on everything, and he can go from standing to a squat position with great control. He just chooses not to walk. Well today I had him hold my finger and walk around the room. He did this perfectly. Then Dave stood him up and I sat in front of him, holding out my arms and said "come on Joseph. Walk, walk, walk." He took one brave step before falling on his cushy butt. We all cheered and clapped. I'm keeping my fingers crossed that he'll walk sooner than Rosie did (she was 17 months). Go Joseph, GO!

Oh, also today I put on my wedding dress for Rosie to see. She LOVED it and kept on calling me a princess. Thankfully I was able to squeeze into it thanks to the corset back, but it was a firm reminder of the weight I've gained since my wedding. Time to shape up!

Me Ka Aloha
- Elisabeth

To Do List

Lately I've been feeling overwhelmed. So overwhelmed in fact, that it's paralyzed me. All I've wanted to do is... nothing. Sit on the couch, watch mind numbing TV, check facebook for the hundredth time that day, take yet another nap, etc. We've all felt like this before and it SUCKS! Really, there's no reason for me to be feeling this way. I have a lovely home, cute kids, a great husband, and it's summer time. I've just gotten into a bit of a rut, and I need to move out fast. I decided to make myself a little to do list of things that, once accomplished, I will feel MUCH better. Here they are...

1. Fix the zipper on my diaper bag
2. Make the wreath that I have the supplies for
3. Cut fabric for Rosie's quilt
4. Go for a run
5. Iron all the shirts hanging in the laundry room
6. Give myself a pedicure
7. Read a chapter of a relaxing book
8. Take time to pray, to really talk with God
9. Touch up the paint in the kitchen
10. Hang the picture of the temple

There's a lot more to do, of course, but these things won't take more than an hour, and I'll feel very accomplished when I'm done. It's going to take baby steps for me to get out of this rut I'm in. I want to feel better so that I can be a better Mother to my children. They can totally sense it when I'm feeling off.

Me Ka Aloha
- Elisabeth

20 Years of Cottage Memories

I'm fighting back tears as I write this post. My Uncle John sold his cottage after 20 years of ownership. My entire family went to the cottage this weekend for one final farewell and it was a lot of fun.

The first time we went to the cottage I was 6 years old. I remember driving the 3 hours to Muskoka, and getting lost on the way there. We encountered a moose crossing a road on the way there, and I was totally fascinated with it (although my mother was totally freaked out). When we finally arrived and entered the cottage we saw a duck in the lake. My brother and I decided we were going to walk out in our shorts and t-shirts and "get" the duck. I remember it so clearly! I was wearing these turquoise shorts and a matching top with turquoise and purple flowers on it (give me a break, it was the 80's). I was trying my best not to get my shorts soaking wet (got soaked any way). Josh and I walked through the mushy lake bottom and I remember thinking it was so gross. Any way, Josh walked on ahead of me and grabbed hold of the duck, only to discover that it was fake and tied down to the water pump to let people know to be careful. We thought it was pretty hilarious. Inside we found 2 blow up, zebra print chairs, which we took out onto the lake with canoe paddles (Uncle John just found out that we did this). It was there at the cottage that my brother and I discovered my Uncle's board game collection. We found the game Risk (which I won - with the PINK army) and we also discovered "Gay" Monopoly, which later revealed that our Uncle John was gay (yes it's true, we found out from a board game haa haa).Each year my family and I would venture to the cottage for a few weeks in the summer. We LOVED it there. I loved the endless swimming, canoeing, and fishing, and listening to my Uncle's CD collections which included Van Morrison, Gloria Estevan, Cat Steven's, Bette Middler, and more. One summer my parents told us that Uncle John took his CD player back to the city and to not bother bringing any of our own cds. When we got there, the CD player was there, and the ONLY cd was Cat Stevens. I can't listen to Cat Steven's without thinking about the cottage. You can imagine my older brother and I canoeing in the middle of the lake, having to go pee, and signing "Oh I can't keep it in, I can't keep it and I gotta let it out..." Oh man, we'd laugh so hard that I'm pretty sure I peed in the canoe at least once (shhh don't tell).Some summers a few of my cousins would come up to the cottage with us and that brought on a whole new set of memories. We'd venture out on the raft in the middle of the night to star gaze. At the cottage was the first time I ever saw stars like that before. I never knew how BEAUTIFUL the night sky could be and how amazing shooting stars looked. I was in total amazement, like "take my breath away" kind of amazement. My older brother, my cousins and I would stare at the sky and talk about all kinds of mysterious stuff like UFOs and black holes and whatever. I wish I could see the night sky like that every night.

My cousins and I would canoe across the lake to the big rock and spend the day there. We'd pack a lunch and swim, fish, collect fire wood, and sun bathe there. Sometimes we'd stand at the very top of the rock and sing Pocahontas songs and yell things to my parents on the deck across the way. I also learned how to make these really realistic loon calls and I'd try to get as many loons on the lake as possible. I'm pretty sure my record is 5! Once while loon calling, while swimming, and loon came and landed RIGHT BESIDE ME! I totally freaked me out and I swam back to the cottage as fast as I could.I remember staying up way past midnight on a regular basis and chowing down on chips, cookies, pizza pops, smores, and drinking way too much hot chocolate (no wonder the mosquitoes loved me). We'd always play board games, especially Risk, Scrabble, and Hotels. John used to be my Mom or Dad's helper when we played Risk and he'd chant "I never roll and one, I never roll a two. All I roll is sixes and that's what I do!"

One night when my Mom was 37 weeks pregnant she played Scrabble with my Dad and Josh. She picked out of the bag a bunch of Ws and Rs and said, "what can I spell with this? Wascly Wabbit?" She thought it was hilarious and she laughed so hard that she actually went into labor (sorta). After that game she went to bed, on an air mattress on top of a regular bed. Suddenly she thought she had peed herself but quickly realized that it was her water breaking. She ran to the futon where my Dad was sleeping and told him. He gave her the classic "bug eyed" look and we all quickly packed our stuff so we could get home. I had a friend staying with us and we would have to speed to the next town to drop her off before heading home. As my Dad was backing out of the driveway he said "man it is so dark outside". We soon figured out that the trunk was still open and blocking his view. We made it home in record time and the next day Michael joined our family!

Another fun story was the time Rachel and I caught a fish. We decided to pack a lunch and canoe out to the rock early in the morning. We had been fishing for over 2 hours and nothing was happening. Then we snagged our fishing line on a rock and couldn't get it loose. We decided that we'd dive down and get it when we went swimming later on that day. Rachel suggested that we tie the fishing line to a tree so that we remembered where it was and so we did. A few minutes later we saw a huge fish jump out of the water. We said "Woah, I wanna catch that one!" We casted our line out in that direction hoping to get THAT fish. Suddenly we noticed the line that was tied to the tree MOVING! Rachel screamed, "We caught a fish!! Get the net!" I grabbed the net and Rachel pulled the line in (it was still attached to the tree) I reached down and scooped up the fish, and it was that huge fish we saw jumping earlier!!!! We were so exited we woke up my family on the other side of the lake. They heard us screaming and ran to the deck to see what was going on. That was the one and only fish I ever caught and we did it without a pole!

There's so many stories to tell like the temple of doom (my mother's method of catching mice), sitting by the fire, roasting Cheerios and marshmallows, canoeing as fast as we could, jumping off the raft in the middle of the lake, swimming in the middle of the night, seeing blue herons and beavers, lighting candles in the candle chandelier, making up dances with Rachel on the deck, catching frogs, making up the constipation song with my cousins, making up the never ending song (where one song leads into the next some how like - I will always love you... are so beautiful to me...) holding onto the rope being towed behind the canoe, and listening to The Moose radio station. We always enjoyed driving into town to do some grocery shopping and looking at the local shops. There are too many memories to name. I wish I could just download my brain to the computer.

This weekend was a blast. Rosie loved going on the boat and was eager to put on her life jacket because Dora the Explorer told her it keeps her safe. She tried to reach over the side and touch the water. Joseph didn't like wearing a life jacket, and therefore didn't like the boat ride. I went swimming on the first day and we played board games at night. Uncle John gave me the RISK game that we used to always play, my grandmother's rocking chair, a lamp, tea pot, and a few plates that are older than me.

I'm getting depressed writing this because I'm going to miss the cottage SO MUCH. There's just this amazing feeling I get from going to the cottage that I wish I could feel every day. It's so sad that it's been sold and that I'll never be able to relive those fun times ever again. It's been a wonderful 20 years and I thank my Uncle John from the bottom of my heart for letting us visit the cottage so often. It really has been a life time of fond memories. I hope that there will be something that compares so my children can have similar memories in their lives.

Good-bye Spring Lake!

Me Ka Aloha
- Elisabeth

Pictures from Joseph's Party

Here's some pictures from Joseph's 1st birthday party. I don't have any pictures of the puppet show because we were all too busy enjoying the show to take pictures. Just take my word for it, the show was really fun!

It was really hot that day and the icing started to melt :(

The cute birthday boy!

Loot Bags - filled with gummy fish, gummy sharks, bubbles, chocolate money (underwater treasure), under the sea stickers, glow sticks, lollipops, and more!

Clam Cookies

One of Joseph's presents

More Decorations!

The party was a lot of work and it turned out GREAT! Everyone had a great time, there was more than enough food, and the kids had a blast!

Me Ka Aloha
- Elisabeth

It's Potty Time!

The other night I was reading Rosie a story about a little girl who learned how to use the potty and after the book was done Rosie said "I want to sit on the potty." I thought, wow this is great! She's asking me if she can sit on the potty, maybe potty training will be easy for us! We went into the bathroom and she sat on her Dora potty, and sat and sat and sat. We read books and sang songs and nothing happened at all for about 45 minutes. I asked her if she wanted a drink of "red juice" (Gatorade) and in the 10 seconds I was away getting it, she peed on the floor!!! I know right! What terrible timing! Well, I let her have some Gatorade any how and I figured that if she drank it, she'd be ready to pee in about 20 minutes. Dave came home and I asked him to help her go to the potty. They sat there for about 30 seconds and then Dave let her off the potty (men seriously don't understand) and about 10 seconds later, she was peeing on the floor AGAIN! About an hour and a half had passed since the first time Rosie told me she wanted to sit on the potty and she peed on the floor twice!! I was pretty frustrated but I guess it wasn't meant to happen that night.

The next day Rosie wanted to wear her red princess dress, which is seriously cute by the way. I helped her put it on and she said "princesses don't wear diapers". Haa haa wow how cute! She understands the concept, now the goal is to get her to actually do it. For the last few days we've been trying to potty train her, all while making sure Joseph doesn't find the potty and dump it over, which he's done a couple times already (luckily there's wasn't anything in it).

Yesterday she agreed to wear her "big girl panties" and she looks so cute in them. It's kind of cute/sad to see how fast she's growing. Any way, we got her a bunch of cute undies with mermaids on them. Unfortunately she wet her undies twice :( It was almost bedtime and I was starting to think that she wasn't getting it at all. Then I put her on the potty one last time before bed. After a couple minutes of sitting on the potty she said "poo poo bum Mommy!" and guess what?! She did it! She pooped on the potty!!! She got up and I showed her all of her poo poo in the potty. I think she was kind of freaked out that all that came out of her. After all, she's never really seen her own poop before because I always change her diaper quickly and she's never seen inside a dirty diaper. Any way, I flushed it down the toilet, then made a HUGE deal about Rosie using the potty and gave her some Smarties to reward her for going on the potty like a big girl. Seconds later, you'll never guess what happened (well maybe you CAN guess). She peed on the floor! I just shook my head and cleaned up the mess. Thank goodness for hardwood floors! I keep on telling myself "at least she pooped in the potty. One step at a time." Today she finally went pee in the potty and as I sit here writing this, I have to keep my eye on her and make sure she doesn't have any accidents.

I'm hoping, and praying, that she'll catch on pretty quickly so that I only have 1 baby's diapers to worry about. Come on Rosie!! (she's sitting on her potty right now!)

I'll keep everyone posted!

Me Ka Aloha
- Elisabeth

Happy 1st Birthday Joseph! Joseph's Birth Story

I woke up early on June 4th with noticeable contractions every 10 minutes or so, actually it had been happening on and off since around dinner time the day before. I knew around 8 am that today was THE day, I just had that feeling that the contractions were for real. I woke up Dave and said "I think these contractions are the real thing, I need to call my Mom." We called my Mom around 9 am and I told her to hurry over because I knew the baby would be here soon. Of course Dave and I didn't know if we were having a boy or a girl yet, we like to keep things a surprise, all I knew was that this baby had a lot of energy. When I was in labor with Rosie, she was very still, hardly moved at all, but this baby... it was kicking like crazy, even during contractions.

I called the midwife, Rhea, to give her a heads up and tell her that "something" was happening and that I was pretty sure she'd need to come over at some point that day. Her day was open and she said "great, I won't have to cancel any plans (or miss any sleep) you can have a baby with me anytime!" She told me to call her the second things started getting intense, and to relax and get things ready for the baby.

Dave and I had decided on a home birth for this baby. I don't really know what sparked the idea, but it sounded like a great experience, so we planned on it. I also didn't want an epidural this time. I enjoyed the pain relief and calmness that the epidural gave when I had Rosie, but I knew it wasn't natural and had a few negative side effects, plus I knew that millions of women had gone without, so if they could do it, I could do it. I figured, with a home birth there is no epidural, so I would just have to endure. Weeks before we bought all the items on the list, plastic shower curtains to cover the bed, extra pillows, extra sheets, hot water bottle, hydrogen peroxide, etc. We were totally prepared for a home birth!

My mother arrived around 10 am and she helped get the bed ready for the birth. She knew what she was doing because she had 3 of my siblings at home. I was feeding Rosie her breakfast and hanging out with her because I knew this would be my last day with just her. It made me pretty sad that things were going to change in a few hours and I almost started crying while I was reading Rosie a book. I was excited to meet my new baby, but I was just a little bit sad, or maybe sad isn't the right word... I was emotional about the change in our lives and worried about how Rosie would be affected. I was nervous about not being able to spend as much time with her and worried that I wouldn't have enough love for both children (don't worry, I soon found out that I DO have enough love!) Later my contractions kind of stopped a bit. I started to second guess if the baby was going to come that day, or if I was going to have to be induced in a few days. I was after all 12 days late according to one of my ultrasounds. The baby's due date was May 24th so I was REALLY anxious to give birth.

Mom went to McDonals and bought me a Greek chicken salad (we had coupons) and I ate it, totally contraction free. I said to Dave "maybe I'm still in labor but it's easier this time around. Maybe I'm better able to handle it." Haa haa I can't believe I thought that! My contractions seemed to be disappearing, with the occasional BIG one that lasted a few seconds. I basically was going about my day as usual. I played with Rosie, read her some books, took a little nap, showered, did my hair and makeup. Mom said that I needed to do the chicken dance to get things going. So there I was, grudgingly doing the chicken dance with my Mom. I have to admit that the contraction I had while doing the chicken dance was a little bit stronger than usual (maybe it does work). Mom also took Rosie across the street in the stroller and walked her around the track for 45 minutes until she fell asleep, so I could nap at home before real labor started.

I called the midwife around 4 pm and told her that I wasn't sure what was going on and that my contractions hadn't really picked up. She was in the area so she came over to asses the situation. She checked me and I was only 2-3 cm dilated and that it didn't seem like I was in active labor. She told me that I might be physiologically putting off labor until Rosie goes to bed so that I wouldn't have to worry about her. She said that I'd probably have the baby after 8 pm. I pretty much agreed with her. It was so true that I was worrying about Rosie and what she would do or think of a new baby, but at the same time, I wanted her to be around to greet her new sibling minutes after it happened.

At 6 pm my contractions started to really pick up. I was starting to tense up my feet and kind of kick/tap my toes on the floor because a lot of them were intense. Dave decided that he better go to the store and pick up some dinner before it was too late. He bought Shwarmas for my mother and himself, and veg sushi for me. I asked him to get me veg sushi because pregnant women can't have real sushi (I should have asked for the real stuff since in a few hours, I'd no longer be pregnant). At 6:30 pm (Dave was still at the store) my Mom said "those contractions are really close together, you better call your midwife!" I called the midwife and told her things have really picked up and that I needed her to come over. After I hung up the phone Dave came home and asked me if I wanted to eat. I said no because I was in too much pain (so much for being able to handle it better this time) and I decided to get into the bath tub.

Rhea was at my place in no time, before I could even get the tub ready. I was in so much pain that I didn't want to be checked, I just wanted to get into the tub. I got into the tub and it helped a little bit. I liked it when water was poured on my belly so Dave sat there and did it for me. Of course Dave is always trying to solve problems so he thought it would be a good idea to get into the hot tub (outside!). He thought it would be nice to fully immerse myself in the warm water, but I refused. There was NO WAY I was sitting in the backyard where people could hear/see me about to give birth. Besides, I didn't want to be covered in chlorine and I didn't want to move from where I was at the time. The hot tub just wasn't going to happen. Dave still insisted and he even went searching for my bathing suit. I was getting pretty annoyed with him because I didn't want to go in the hot tub, I just wanted him to be near me, instead of searching for my swim suit. He was all like "Rosemary isn't home (our neighbor) and Rhea said it would really help ease the pain. You should do it."

While in the tub I actually thought to myself "an epidural would be great right about now." I also thought "I'm not going to be able to do this much longer." I also started shaking and I thought to myself "what happens when women dies in child birth? What if I die?!" I decided that I was getting uncomfortable and wanted to get out of the bath tub. I went into my room where I laid down on the bed, on my left side. The midwives still hadn't checked me yet because I had been in the tub so I had no idea how dilated I was. I just knew that when I was in labor with Rosie, that it took a really long time, so I figured this baby would be born after midnight. I told the midwives that they could check me when I was done with a contraction, but they seemed to never end. I remember at one point standing and leaning on Dave and saying "They won't stop, why won't they stop?!" Finally my contractions seemed to ease off a little so I let my midwife check me. It was about 8:25 or so when she checked me and she said "You're 9 1/2 cm dilated. What time did you call me... 6:30, right? See how FAST second births are? Two - two and a half hours is pretty good!" When I heard 9 1/2 cm I was thrilled!! I thought "really?! Can it be true, I'm almost done?! Wow, I'm doing it, I'm really having this baby without drugs!" At this point Rosie and my Mom had been at the park for about 5 minutes. My Mom took her there because she said things were getting intense (really? labor? intense?). I didn't really care if they were in the next room or not. To be honest, it was cute hearing her laugh and play with my Mom.

My water hadn't broken yet and the midwife said "let see if it breaks if you push. If it doesn't, we'll break it for you. Feel my fingers? Push right there." I gave a big push and then "POP!" my water broke like a big water balloon breaking! Water exploded everywhere. I could feel a huge puddle under me and the midwife got it right in the face! I felt really bad and kept on saying "sorry everyone!" Rhea told me not to worry about it, and that she should have known not to sit there haa haa!! There was mecconium in the water too which means that the baby had a bowel movement inside. That happens a lot when a baby is overdue. I became a little bit worried because complications arise when that happens and normally a respiratory therapist is called to examine the baby. I also knew that during a home birth, if there's mecconium in the water, that they would need to rush me to the hospital. Rhea told me that we didn't have time to call an ambulance and that we'd deal with any issues later. The midwife told me that if I felt the urge to push, that I should go ahead. I was still lying on my left side because that was the most comfortable for me. I was covering my eyes because it made me feel better, plus the blinds were letting in light, right into my eyes. *side note - the blinds were broken from Rosie pulling on them.* The guy next door (we live in a semi detached house) was doing construction and I could hear him drilling and hammering. I wonder what he was thinking when he heard all the groaning. Any way, I started to feel shaky again and the midwives told me to push. I started pushing but that really hurt, so I eased off. It was like I didn't know what to do. The pushing hurt, yet I knew it was necessary to get me a baby, and it also kind of relieved some of the contraction pain. I pushed hard and also screamed hard, still laying on my side. I guess the neighbor was freaked out and stopped his renovations haa haa.

Three contractions later, and a lot of pushing a screaming and I heard Rhea and Dave say, "there's the head!" Dave was there, ready to catch the baby. At 8:38 pm I gave one more BIG push and suddenly there it was! It was a baby boy!!! I was the first to know it because I had a great view of his "stuff" Dave and the midwives only saw his back side so they didn't even know. Dave placed the baby on my chest and I gave a huge sigh of relief and I cried and cried. Tears were just flowing like crazy because I was SO HAPPY to finally hold my little guy in my arms. He was so beautiful and cute and I couldn't believe I was experiencing the miracle of birth for the second time. I instantly loved this little boy so much and I was overcome with emotion! He was crying a lot which meant that his lungs were clear and the he didn't inhale any of the mecconium (thank goodness!) I was so happy and relieved that I was able to give birth so quickly and without an epidural. I cut the cord this time while Dave ran across the street to the park to get Rosie and my Mom. He was so excited for Rosie to meet her baby brother! When Dave brought her into the room she looked so confused. She saw me and I think she was wondering why I looked so sweaty and exhausted. She didn't even really notice the baby, she was more concerned for me and wanted to give me a hug. My Mom was thrilled and she couldn't stop smiling! Who knew that Rosie would go to the park and about 20 minutes later, come home to meet her new brother. Dave kept on saying "I knew it was going to be a boy!" He and Rosie got onto the bed next to me and together we all cuddled as a new family of 4! What an amazing experience!

The baby was weighed in at 9 pounds and 9 ounces which totally shocked me! I was like "What?! Are you sure?! That's huge!" I knew that the baby was bigger than Rosie just by the way he felt in my tummy, but I didn't think he'd be THAT huge. The day before, I had an ultrasound and the tech said that he'd be around 8 pounds, give or take... ya she was wrong!

I fed him and he latched on really well. The midwife said it was so perfect she wanted to take a picture of his latch (ummm, no thanks) We got him dresses, in the sleeper I bought him, and then I went to take a shower while everyone fixed up a new bed for me. The baby still didn't have a name yet. While I was in the shower I decided that we should go with the name Dave and I had discussed earlier. Joseph would be his name. I came out if the shower and said "I think we'll go with Joseph." The midwife said "That's a nice name, a VERY nice name." Dave said "ya that's what I've always wanted."

I curled up in bed with my little baby, blissfully knowing that I had one special gift from God!

Happy Birthday Joseph. I love you more and more as each day goes by!

Me Ka Aloha (with love)
- Elisabeth