Mom and baby. Lena is about 30 min old. She has had a bottle at this point. She is just a doll. I always forget how little babys are at first.

My Mom was staying with the kids while I am at the hospital. She brought the kids later that evening. Regan couldn't even contain herself she was soooo happy to have a little sister. She had dreamed about it for years. Bryson kept saying " Thanks Mom for having a sister" and Jaden just stared at her and soaked her in. He had just a huge smile on his face. After about 1 hour though I was ready for some peace and quite with the kids so they headed home for the night. This picture is amazing to see all our kids. Perfect.

Bringing Lena home.

All three kids played Soccer this spring. Defiantly Not Jaden's forte. He suffered through it, So did Regan. She actually showed some promise at being a goalie, but she loves Cheer to much. and running around after a ball was not her idea of a good time. Bryson had a good time with it. Bryson seems to have a just a knack at sports.

Annul Easter Egg Hunt at the Hansens. It was a cool Easter this year. Usually we spend the morning with the kids hunting eggs, but this year we were rushing to get the eggs with the kids. It was so freezing. But we had a great time with the kids.

Regan's 10th Birthday Party. Regs had a great time. She invited her fav 5 friends. One couldn't make it, and we had a girls night out. We went and saw "when in Rome" and then had dinner at Applebee's. Regan is growing up to be so awesome. She is gorgeous, super social, talented, and a blast to have around.

Ok this takes a serious level of self confidence on my part to even post this pic. This is me the night before Lena is born. I look at this picture and think a few things. 1. Holy crap I am huge, 2. my face is super shiny and 3. I can't even believe I went around wearing outfits like this. Disgusting but what makes it worth it...... ....strait from the womb, This Lena's first few seconds of life. She was born at 1:45pm May 17th 2010. She was 7lbs 8 oz and was 19.5 inches long. She was perfect. I don't know why but with every pregnancy I have such anxiety that something is wrong until that anticipated moment when the baby comes out and they look perfect have all fingers, toes and the Dr gives the A-OK. Labor with her was actually the best one yet. I was induced that morning at 8:30 am. We set up the lap top ( holy crap I couldn't believe the rooms did not have even a VCR) totally out dated. And watched Avatar. By 10:30 contractions were starting to bug me we called the Anasethiologist down and he gave me an epidural, I fell asleep for about 45 min. At 12:30 Dr Smith came in and broke my water, I could totally tell Lena was ready to join the world around 1:20. We called the nurse in and she checked things out and said OK you are not quite there yet so lets check again in 30 min. I am thinking what 30 min. I swear she is right there. I knew it was time so Steve called her in again at 1:30 she got the Dr. there and with two contractions She was out and screaming. My Pregnancy was by far the worst. I had been on Bed rest from Feb-early May. I had NEVER been more uncomfortable with being pregnant in my life. It was defiantly some long 9 months. But the delivery was a breeze, so that was a bright spot. I was ready to run a marathon after that. It felt amazing to not be pregnant.

a year in review

finally I am back at the blog. After talking with my friend Tami and realizing this is a great way to keep up with the family going ons. The kids will have it for years. Here we go from my last post of School starting in 2009 to today Oct 26 2010.
SEPTEMBER:
School started Regan started 4th grade and Jaden started 1st grade. Jaden is doing a Chinese immersion program at his school. Half of his day is in English, and the other half is in Chinese. Even though Jaden is not a fan of he whole process and program. We find it awesome when he can say things in Chinese.
Regan Started her third year of Cheer with Peak Academy. She L-O-V-E-S cheer. Her hope and dream is to be a professional cheer leader and cheer coach. She is awesome. I think as a parent its exciting to find that thing that your child really gets into, it makes me feel like I'm doing something right. Now we just need to find out a way to pay for it.

OCTOBER:
Steve and I celebrated 11 years of marriage this month. And Steve started a new job with our friend Ted Browmans company; IntegraCore. Its completely outside anything Steve has done. The interview process was intense. Some 7 interviews to finally get the job. Its good to know people who own companies and who are willing to give us a chance. Steve has always done Mortgage, real estate, investments, etc and this is a sales job finding companies who make a product and they IntegraCore will help you make your product, package, store, and ship your product. It will be alot to learn, but Its money and at this point that is all that matters.
Halloween was great, we trick-or-treated the neighborhood, and had our annual hot dogs ala A-mart in the circle. It is a great tradition our Neighbor Adam started the first year we all lived here. We all pitch in on Hot Dogs stuff, hot coco, etc we hang in the middle of the circle with a roaring Fire. Its a blast.
At the end of October I found out we were having another baby. "Shocker" Steve had always hoped to have one more child but I was not too sure. Is it not ironic that the moment that pregnancy test says positive you are puking your guts out for the next 4 months. Well thats me at least. I think it started out as shock and then morning sickness set in. It will prove to be the hardest pregnancy I have had so far. Being 35 and preg is hard. The kids were bouncing off the walls when we told them. They had all been begging me for another baby for years.


NOVEMBER:
We spent Thanksgiving in St. George with my parents and Ian and Kellies family. This is a pic of a hike we took to these great Indian petroglyphs. We went swimming, to this great park they have down there, the boys went golfing one day, Steve did is black Friday shopping. We really enjoyed the time.
DECEMBER:
Ahh the Christmas season. I was soo sick I had a hard time this year getting into it. Plus we were in financial crisis. I was worried how we were going to do it. December came and Steve said forget the bills this month lets give the kids a good Christmas and pay what we can. So the kids had a great one. We figured out that Regan is getting to the age where she wants a more grown up Christmas, so we saw some disappointment on her face with some of the things she got. It was funny. Hey I remember one Christmas I got bath mats, a garbage can and shower curtain for my bathroom. That was a banner year for me. LOL

JANUARY:
Started with the annual Rabbit hunt on New Years day. I will guard us all from the grotesque picture steve took of Jaden holing a dead blown up rabbit by his hind legs and instead show this pic of Jaden and his cousin Mathew sledding behind the suburban. Steve was freaking out but this was pretty normal stuff for my brother and I when we were kids. Ian was driving his car and Steve was in the back getting pics and hoping the boys would make it alive.
We found out the first week of Jan. that we were going to have a girl. Steve was so happy. Years ago when Jaden was only 3 months old Steve woke up in the middle of the night and thought he saw Regan coming into our room to climb in bed with us. He thought though that her head was too tall over the foot board of our bed, but he leaned up on his elbow to have her crawl in. When he looked at her is was not Regan, but a girl about 8-9 years old with longish brown hair, in a white nightgown. He just looked at her for maybe 10 seconds and then she was gone. After when he was trying to decide if he was really awake or if it has a dream he had an overwhelming impression that she was a daughter that we would have one day. Well the next one to come along was Bryson. I had thyroid cancer right after Bryson, and had surgury to remove it and one dose of radiation. 18 months later I miscarried, I figured maybe since the cancer and all and that my hormones are wacky, that maybe that was why I miscarried. We we continued to try again for the next year and my body was just not working right with the womanly stuff. I was beyond trying anymore and said forget it. Steve just hoped that one day I would change my mind. Well I guess Heavenly Father changed if for me. Steve just new that this baby is the one that visited him years ago. I was on my pathway to freedom. Bryson would be going into Kindergarten the next fall and I would be free to pursue something. Life throws you a new ball once in a while and we are ecstatic that this is what we are getting.
Bryson celebrated his 5th birthday will his neighborhood friends. We had a PJ party and had his favorite breakfast for dinner,played games, and had a great time.

one great day

Had the best sunday.
We slept into 9 which is great. I sat in bed with Lena doing computer stuff until 11. We took the kids to lunch and had a great time. Came home got Lena down and took a great nap. Have been curled up in my bed with the rain and wind outside most the day. Could have cared less about the house and getting it clean, the laundry piled up at the foot of my bed...its been a great day.

a year in review

This may take awhile: I need to update since Aug of '09. But after talking to my friend Tammi I was revived in using my blog to keep up on my family's to do's So this post may change over the next few days
LAST YEAR:
Regan and Jaden started school. Jaden started 1st grade and his first year of Chinese immersion with his school. I was so excited to have my boy defy the American standard of only knowing English. Regan started 4th grade and gilted me into being her room mom for her class. Ugh... Then in Late September I found out I was PREGNANT. I was not too sure this was for me. Bryson was in his last year of Preschool and I was on the path to freedom. Plus I swear I was fine until the moment that test says positive and then with in seconds nausea creeps in and I was puking my guts out for the next 4 months. Being 34 and preg is way too hard. Steve and I were experiencing serious financial hardship, for the second year in a row. Oh if I could just start again from 05 I would do it so much different. Depression set in as I came to realization that I was having another kid and couldn't afford diddly duke. Halloween came and I was so relieved when the kiddos chose to be $9.00 costumes from Target, that was nice of them. We had our traditional fire and hot dogs ala A-mart and our circle becomes a hub of excitement.
Thanks giving was in St George with Ian and his kids, my Mom and Dad and us. It was tight quarters but way fun, except the before mentioned constant puking, and tiredness. In December Steve said screw our bills and we provided the kids with a great Christmas. We did not get anything for ourselves and I really liked it that way. I love getting all the gifts out Christmas eve and then seeing their excitement in the morning. Love it. New Years came and went with us going to bed at 9:30...I think Regan was sleeping over at Marens so thanks to the Holmburgs for being the party place.
JANUARY:
We found out that we were having a girl. side note: When Jaden was around 3 months old Steve woke up in the middle of the night and thought he saw Regan coming into our room to crawl in bed with us. In his mind he thought she was a little to tall as her head came above the footboard of out bed. So he leaned up on his elbow to have her crawl in and there at the foot of our bed he said was a girl in a white nightgown, with long brown hair around 8 years old. Steve just looked at her for what was like 30 seconds and then she was gone. He thought maybe he was dreaming but as he layed there he was so impressed that she was a daughter that we have one day. At the time he thought her name would be Leah...but I had worked with a Leah and just didn't really like her so I was unsure if that would be her name... So when we got preg with number 3 Steve thought for sure It would be a girl because of this story, but we ended up with Bryson. Then I miscarried about 18 months later, and that really sent me for a rollercoster in the womanly areas, and since I had had cancer after Bryson I thought maybe my body was too messed up to get preg again. So when I got pregnant in Sept of last year I was shocked. And when we found out she was a girl Steve just knew it was the little girl that had visited so many years ago.
FEBRUARY:
I was put on bed rest this month and stayed that was for the next 2 months. It wasn't very good bed rest but I did use it to my maximum advantage. I didn't mop the floor again until sometime in June, I didn't clean our bathroom. not sure how many dinners i failed to make. Steve was such a stud and took care of me, the kids, the house, and his jobs. I 'm sure it was crazy for him.
My Thyroid levels went way crazy and I totally freaked out since the moms thyroid levels help in the brain development of the baby. Since I had thyroid cancer 5 years ago, the situation was a bit more serious. I got an appointment and saw an endocrinologist and IMC. She did an ultrasound of my neck and chest to make sure I did not have any new cancer growths. Luckily after a stressful 20 min ultrasound where the Dr didn't even say a word but was marking things on the ultrasound, measuring things....she said I was just fine. We bumped up my medication and all was right in the world. Other than I was going to worry about our baby until I saw her and knew she was fine
MARCH/APRIL:
Being Regan's room mom had caught up to me at this point. I don't think I did her teacher my best job. I was at school (it seemed) all the time. We were getting ready for our new baby girl. at the end of April I hit 36 weeks in my pregnancy and so I was no longer on bed rest. Dangit. My parents came and helped get the babies room ready. My Dad painted her room, and my mom and I painted her crib. We needed to shuffle the kids rooms around and we put the boys together, we got them a cool bunk bed from Ikea, I painted Regans new room and started cleaning the house like a mad woman.
MAY:
This month dragged on and on until May 17th when we had our new baby girl. She was 7lbs 6oz, 20 inches long, perfect. We held her for the first several hours debating on her name. We had made a list and had Lena, London, Dylan, and Leigha. Leigha was ruled out first I really liked Dylan and Lena, the kids wanted London, Steve wanted Lena. Since I had vetoed Leigha he vetoed Dylan. We both really liked Lena and thought she just fit that name. So we had Lena Susann Stookey. Susann came from my moms first name ,Susan, Steve's mom's middle name, Ann. We thought it was such a good tribute to them. I knew my mom hated the name susann but I thought the gesture would be great. Well both moms were underwhelmed. I think My Mom said " your not going to EVER call her that right?" Steves mom gave a polite "thats nice". We had to laugh. But we felt that one day Lena will understand she was named after her grandma's and that was what we were going for anyway.
We brought Lena home and began to readjust our lives to having 4 kids. Regan, Jaden, and Bryson just love her to pieces. They have been so great with her.
We celebrated Regan's 10th birthday on the 26th and Jaden's on the 28th. Regan had her friend party in April and I took them to see When In Rome, and to Applebees for dinner. It was a girls night out. Jaden had his party at then end of May, Steve took 7 little boys Regan and Shelby to Boondocks.
JUNE/JULY/AUGUST
Sleep deprivation is the worst thing of all time. I felt like I was loosing it. 34 and having a baby is too hard. Summer began, and the kids were overjoyed to be done with school. Steve was working like crazy and with the help of my Mom and Dad we invested in a candy company. Steve was now crazily going to be running from Integracore to Mrs. Calls candy daily.
We made one trip to the cabin during these months. That was pathetic. However, Lena was a wreak at the cabin. She knew she was not at home and she did not like it at all. Summer flew by in hindsight. We didn't do much as far as trips. Steve's parents came down to see Kirk graduate from High School. We blessed Lena the first week of June. I was panicked. I am a freak of germs until my babies are around 3 months old. So I was not quite ready to bless her this soon. But since Steve's parents were here it just made sense. We blessed her at home and just did a quick blessing treats and everyone was on their way. It was way nice to have everyone indulge my spastics, and not linger longer. During Lena's blessing the men where in the circle holding Lena, Steve was giving the blessing, Jaden and Bryson decide that the prayer circle looks like a cool fort. So the next thing I know they are in the middle of the circle squeezing their heads out cracks saying "Eric, Eric, look at us" (Eric being one our nephews) all the other kids thought this was too funny so as Steve is finishing up you have little snickers going on. I saw the funny in this but I also was so embarrassed. They for sure had a good talking to and time out after that one.
SEPTEMBER:
School started at the end of Aug. Bryson was sooooo excited to ride the bus and go to school with his big sister and brother. Regan started 5th grade, Jaden 2nd and Bryson Kindergarten. It was a blessed day. Bryson has struggled to follow the rules at school. Being Steve's clone inside and out. Bryson for sure has ADHD but we won't be able to do much with it until he is closer to 8yrs old. Kindergarted teachers are saints for sure. Bryson loves school despite his powermats and think times to get himself together. Jaden is not a fan of school, but he is doing great in Chinese and I love hearing him read his books, and I don't know but this kid is a whiz at math. I suck at math but he just seems to get it. I love the hope of my kids being better at everything than I was. Regan is an amazing writer. She loves writing stories, and drawing pictures. I think she just might make something of that one day.
OCTOBER:
I Made It!! We have now caught up to the present time. I stared volunteering in the kids classes this month. I love doing that. I am not a room mom this year and its heaven. I taught a unit of Art for Jaden, and spent time in Regan and Jadens classes. I love the month of October. The leaves begin their change. The mornings are crisp and frosty, and with any luck we will have snow by Halloween. Steve is running around crazy. I sometimes watch him to make sure he doesn't have an aneurysm or stroke. He is beyond stressed with his jobs, and taking care of us. We are still a mess financially but its getting a bit better. Our kids are hilarious

Back to School

Let the Good Times Roll.
The Kids are back in school!! They have had a very good summer. If I could pat my own back I really took it easy on them. We had a really mellow summer. We had a couple trips to the cabin, an amazing vacation with our neighbors to their lake house in Montana, fun neighbourhood parties and celebrations. It was perfect.
But now its time for school to begin.
Jaden is in first grade, and that means he is gone all day for the first time. I have to admit it was very quiet today with just Bryson. Regan started on Wednesday, and Jaden started today (Thursday).
Regan got up on Wed at 7:00am on her own. I was in a deep sleep and the next thing I know she is tapping me on my arm I look up at her through my tiredness, she was fully dressed and ready to go. It was so funny especially since we didn't have to catch the bus until 8:20am. She and I had breakfast together and chatted about the coming year. When she got home from school I asked her how her day was and she said "Awesome" then went on for about 10 min on all the things she did that day, who is in her class, who she saw, what she did for lunch, recess, and every other detail.
Jaden had a less enthusiastic start to his first day. He did not want to go. The walk down the driveway to the bus this morning was non stop "I don't ever want to go to school, I think its boring, I hate it". However, when he got home he said it was "really fun". When asked what he did, he couldn't remember anything. Well that's progress I guess. Regan sat with Jaden at lunch and helped him get to his class and bus O.K. She is such a great big sister.
My day was fairly quiet other than Bryson crying to have someone to play with. When I suggested the other neighbor kids at home his age he said "No" to each one he just wanted Jaden. By the end of the day I was ready to put ear plugs in my ears so I could not hear his in non stop whining for someone, i.e. Jaden, to play with. I gave him a good solid hour of playing Lego Star Wars with him what more can a kid ask for? (I am amazing at that game)
Good thing he starts Preschool next week.

my two cuties walking home today from the bus

Jaden's first day outfit

Regan and her friend Maren

The whole crew waiting for the bus

Regan's first day outfit

Mom and Dad's 40th Aniversary

On August 21 my parents marked a mile stone in their marriage when they celebrated their 40th aniversary. They were generous enough to take us all out to dinner (that being the adults). We went up the Stein Erickson's in Deer Vally to the Giltreand Restaurant. It was so good. I sat there remembering the good days when Steve and I ate out in nice restaurants.

Now Burger King is nice.

It pained me a little to wonder when we would ever get back to the days when money was flowing and life was a bit less worry free. Not that I need that to be happy but lets face it, Money is not happiness, but it sure makes life easier.

Back to my parents.

It was really nice to spend this day with them. We talked about things they had done as a couple and they told us about times when we were younger. It was way nice. They are great examples to look up to and show us that its possible.

Love you Mom and Dad.