So This Is Christmas

Steve and I were so lucky to have a great Christmas...or at least I was so lucky! Sadly, this being Steve's first year at his job he was lucky enough to work the whole week of Christmas, including Christmas Eve and Christmas Day. It was hard for me to be without him and it was hard for him to be away from his family.

Last Sunday night we drove to Huntsville in Ogden Valley to Steve's sister's house on the lake. By Monday the majority of the family had come. Yes, that meant 10 adults and 8 kids all under one roof! Luckily the house is big enough for every family to have their own room. It is awesome! Sadly Steve's parents couldn't make it into town until the day after Christmas due to work as well as some health delays.

We (I) spent the week relaxing: reading, catching up on blogs, sleeping, watching movies, etc. I was also able to hang out with my sister in laws from Canada and Washington that I don't get to see very often.

On Christmas Eve night, despite a snow storm, we all packed up and headed to Snowbasin Resort for their Christmas celebration. Although there were too many people for us to eat there (the place was packed) we were able to see Santa come down the ski hill pulled by a snowmobile, meet the big guy, watch the ski light parade (so cool!), and watch a fireworks show in the snow. It was a pretty fun time!

These are some pictures of a few of the kids waiting patiently in the freezing cold to meet Santa.

Here's the big guy!
The calm before the storm on Christmas morning.

Steve was able to get off early on Christmas day and come home to spend some time with the family. I think we both had an awakening that this is our last Christmas as a "single couple" with no kids. We are enjoying our time sleeping through the night and leaving the others to watch the kids this year!

From the Mouths of Babes

I was thinking of some of my favorite comments from my students this year and I figured I should write them down or else I'd forget them. Hope you find some enjoyment from them too!

Often I have my students write their spelling words in sentences. Usually I have a parent at the center to help them out, but one day I figured they could do it on their own. One of the spelling words for my class was the word brief. Try explaining that one to 6 year olds...I said it was a short amount of time. Most of the kids assumed it just meant "short," thus putting sentences like: "I am brief." My favorite of all of them, though, was: "I brief on myself." I laughed for about 15 minutes after reading that one!

My students are required to line up at the end of the day and give me a hug, handshake, or high five. One day we lined up a little bit before the bell rang so I was talking with the kids. One kid looked up at me and said, "Do you know what 'G Money' means?" Stifling a laugh I said, "No, I don't think I do." He smiled and said, "It means you're very cool."

As I started to show in my pregnancy I was very excited because it took so long! One day I knew that people could tell because one of my students said, "Mrs. Burden, your baby must be getting big because you're getting fat!" I loved it!

There is a little girl in my class this year who has a very difficult time pronouncing her r's and her l's. One day at the beginning of the year she called me over to show me that she could erase things easily from her colorful sticker chart and it didn't even rip. "Mrs. Bouden, this ewasew is pewfect fow gween, wight?!" I nodded and then quickly turned my head and burst out in laughter.

Finally (this actually happened last year when I taught 2nd grade)...I had a student who was constantly in trouble. He was sneaky and kind of mean, not to mention the fact that he punched kids without even thinking twice about it. One day, after one such violent incident, I was interrogating him about what had happened. He (I forgot to mention he had a selective memory) said, "Well, we were standing in line when 'Jake' pushed me." I was surprised because "Jake" is a very passive, sweet kid so I questioned the accused about whether "Jake" had meant to push him. The boy, averting my eyes, stuttered and then said, "Well, I'm not sure if 'Jake' pushed me on purfose or on not on purfose..." It was so hard for me to continue my interrogation without giggling!

I hope these brought you a smile!

7 Down 2 to Go

This lovely picture is of me today with exactly two months to go until D-Day. (Mom I did have a better picture of me not slouching but it was not in focus at all!) I am really looking forward to getting this baby girl here as she is currently training to be a cheerleader inside the womb. Things are going great so far, she's progressing great and I'm getting bigger by the day. I can't wait to lose the wicked heartburn along with all of the aches and pains, but I know that this little baby will be all worth it!

Gettin' Crafty

Here is Steve setting up my new Christmas gift (we figured since it was here already we might as well put it to good use!). I think he looks more excited than I even was to get it!!! I can't wait to start making my first project...runners for my bedroom furniture.

Boise Trip

This past weekend Steve and I were able to go to Boise to hang out with my family. It was so nice and relaxing to just be with them. On Saturday all of the boys went golfing while us girls did some Christmas shopping and got fabric. Saturday night my mom and I made some baby blankets and burp cloths. Steve got to have tons of fun with Kelsi putting together a shelf for my mom. Thank you so much Dad and Mom for all you do for us!!! We couldn't ask for better parents than those we have been blessed with!

Here is my beautiful mom working on one of our blankets.

Believe it or not, I can sew too.


One of our CUTE finished products. (The other one was had farm animals and pink tractors!)


Steve working ever so hard!


Aren't we lovely on our trip back home?

Thanksgiving Weekend

Sadly this year Steve had to work on Thanksgiving Day and all that weekend. I decided to not let that stop my fun though! On Thanksgiving Day I was able to go to my Aunt Cindy and Uncle Russ' house and had a great lunch! That evening when Steve got off he came and ate and then we went and saw Twilight which was so fun.

Saturday morning I made the annual trek to Bancroft, ID with my cousin Lessley and her family. We always go meet up with my mom's side of the family to have a big post-Thanksgiving dinner. That night we typically go sit in the hot pots at Lava Hot Springs, but since I was trying to not boil my unborn child, I decided to stay at our classy motel with Hallie and Eli. Fortunately the traditions don't end there. We then head up the road to a pizza place (as if we hadn't eaten enough already) to fill up the tiny restaurant. For the past 5 years we have been asking for milkshakes and for the past 5 years they have always had an excuse to not make them (they were out of ice cream, their machine wasn't working, etc). This year we fought back! When they told us they were out of ice cream, we volunteered to go buy our own if they would mix them for us. They willingly obliged and we continued to stuff ourselves silly. Here are some of the pictures from our Bancroft adventure...
Our post-Thanksgiving Feast

The fam at the podunk pizza shop. (PS: This year their reasoning for being out of ice cream was that they wanted to expand their beer line...which means they didn't have room for ice cream.)

Scholastic Reminder

For those who were interested in buying Scholastic books from me, this is a reminder that my book order closes tonight at midnight UT time. Go to scholastic.com>Parents>Book Clubs and put in the login name: mrsburdensclass, and the password: pathfinder. These books will come to me at the school so don't forget to put in your first and last name. Thanks!!!

Whatever It Takes...Right?

...and I thought multi-colored Goldfish crackers were strange...

Chivalry Does Exist

Just as I was beginning to lose hope in the world something happened to remind me that there are still people who are good "just because." Yesterday I went to Costco and ended up buying a Costco sized box of oranges. After I paid for my one item I was then shuffled into a very long line to leave the store. An older gentleman standing in front of me turned around and saw me struggling with my box. He grabbed the box and told me that no young lady like me should be lugging that around. He proceeded to carry my box through the whole line and to the door. He then asked where my car was and I assured him I wasn't going to be carrying the box very far. Being pregnant and emotional (crazy) it brought tears to my eyes to know that a stranger was willing to step out of his comfort zone to help me. I hope that I can now pay it forward and help somebody else who is in need!

Handsome Hubby

I think Steve would be pretty embarrassed if he knew I was posting this...but it was too good not to share. I (of course) have always thought Steven is one of the most handsome men on earth. Last week my suspicions were confirmed that other ladies might think so, too. We both work with the youth in our church and last Wednesday the youth program put on a dinner for all of the widows and widowers. As we were walking into the church one of the older ladies glanced at Steve, then stopped and looked him up and down and said, "Who is the one with the dimples?" Then she let us know that it was okay that she say things like that because she is 70! I got a kick out of it and I think it made Steve feel pretty good about himself!

Woah Look Out!

(Don't mind the nasty face and hair...1st graders pretty much drain me of any self consciousness.)

In the last few weeks my belly has really seemed to pop. I am just waiting for my turkey timer to pop out...right now it's flat against the rest of my tummy. I always used to make fun of ladies who had belly buttons that exploded out of their bellies: I think I am going to be receiving my just desserts any day now...mmm...did somebody say dessert? I have been craving carbs and treats like never before! I feel like a horrible mom to be because I am going to make my baby obese from the womb.

Anyway...27 and a half weeks down, and about 12 and a half to go...YIKES!

Just For Laughs

I watch this any time I need a giggle!

100 Days to Go!!!

I looked at my baby count down today and saw that I only have 100 days to go!!! I realize that this is still a large number but I needed a milestone of some kind so this is the one I picked...hip hip hooray! Soon I'll be in my third trimester. I can't believe how fast things have been going so far. Once I got past the yucky sickness time has flown.
I was so lucky to be able to go to the baby showers for two of my good friends. It was so fun to see the girls and catch up just a little bit. Debbie and Courtney both looked beautiful! I miss them both so much and wish I could see them more, but today was wonderful!
On my way home I rolled down all of the windows because it was hot in the car and nice outside. Of course, as my luck would have it, the back passenger window decided to crap out. It was stuck open about three inches. Steve spent a good hour and a half trying to fix it, but we found out the motor was burnt out. Luckily he was able to get the window up for the time being.
While Steve was working on the car, I decided to get rid of our nasty dead sunflowers. After ripping them all out of the ground and attempting to pull out our monster weeds I was able to finally plant some of my bulbs. I got all of my tulips planted in our rocky ground and decided that we don't really need crocuses right now! Gardening is exhausting!!!

Here are some pictures from my fun gardening experience this evening...

The "before" picture of our lovely sunflowers.

About half of my bulbs. The other half is snugly under ground.

A lovely shot of me working the ground. My belly may not be huge but it still is hard to work around! Notice my nasty dirty knees. Thanks to my sensitive pregnant skin, they broke out in a rash...nice!

Ultrasound

I (apparently) am not technologically savvy enough at this point to get those pictures to you. I am trying to get still shots from a DVD if anyone has any ideas!

Friends

Photo found http://i209.photobucket.com/albums/bb315/mharrisonegc/friends/friends_by_ssilence.jpg

Yet another thought about friends. I was reading this book by Kate Jacobs called The Friday Night Knitting Club (highly recommended) and came across this quote:

"The thing is...that when you're young, you always think you'll meet all sorts of wonderful people, that drifting apart and losing friends is natural. You don't worry, at first, about the friends you leave behind. But as you get older, it gets harder to build friendships. Too many defenses, too little opportunity. You get busy. And by the time you realize that you've lost the dearest best friend you've ever had years have gone by and you're mature enough to be embarrassed by your attitude and, frankly, by your arrogance." (pg. 137)

Wow, this really hit home for me! I have felt in the past that if a friend really wanted to talk to me they would...after all a friendship is two ways right? As I have gotten older I am starting to realize that sometimes, oftentimes, it is up to ME! I have gotten lazy and arrogant in my friendships and before I know it, they will all be gone. I love all of the wonderful people who have surrounded me in at various times in my life, and I miss the support system of my great friends. Thank heavens Steven and I are bound by eternal ties, or who knows when I'd talk to him next because I'm busy!

Take some time to think of those friends that you haven't heard from in a long time. Those friends that you love and miss. Email or call or contact them in some way because chances are they are missing your friendship too! Looks like I have some catching up to do this week!

It's A....

GIRL! On Wednesday Steve and I were able to go have an ultrasound and find out that another little lady will be joining our family in February. I am so excited, and although Steve is acting somewhat stoic about the whole situation, I know he is very excited too. I think he's just worried this little girl will have him wrapped around her finger!
Besides seeing our precious baby, we were able to see that things are looking good at this point. She's developing nicely and has beautiful long skinny legs and feet just like her mom and dad....ahem, I mean just mom. The ultrasound was the coolest thing I have ever seen and I could have stayed in there all day just watching her move around. I thought I would be emotional at seeing my baby but I was just in awe of the technology!!! Hopefully I will be able to post one or two pictures from the ultrasound. We'll see if I'm that technologically savvy!

Friends

Tonight I was just thinking of how Steve and I have been totally antisocial ever since we moved to Midway. We need to hang out with friends sometime soon! Sometimes you just need to be with the people who understand you best.



(If anybody's bored please let us know...we'd love to have you over or meet you for dinner or anything! We miss our friends!)

Creative Thinkers

I've nothing to worry about this year; my class is full of creative thinkers. Case in point:
Yesterday I was holding my belly while I was teaching because I was having a little cramp. A cute little blond girl tentatively raised her hand. When I called on her she said, "Mrs. Burden, I bet your baby is in there teaching a class to all of the germs in your belly." She was so proud of her thought...but I couldn't help but bust up laughing!!!

Final Post of the Day

Sorry this one of the kitchen is so dark!

The living room is actually much cleaner now, but you get the picture.

Here are some long awaited pictures of our cute new home. We finally did some cleaning yesterday so the bedroom was ready. Our second bedroom is still a scary mess so just picture our bedroom with only one window and one yellow wall. I also forgot a picture of the front of the condo, but I'm being told I have to finish!

This week I'll be starting week 18/month 5. How exciting! Yesterday I was very worried about not showing but I'm pretty sure I felt something moving in there at church today today. Steve shushed me in Sunday school because I was talking too much. I told him, "I have a living being inside me...I'm a little distracted." That shut him up for a few minutes, granted I think he was laughing...

This One's for You, Mom

Take a look at those nails! I did break one at church today but the others are very long. For those of you who don't know, I am a compulsive nail biter/picker. This is a huge accomplishment. I thought I'd document it with a picture because it probably won't last long!

Yesterday at school one little girl (not in my class) called me Mrs. Bourbon...now I know what the kids really think of me...

Fun Day!

Steve learned how to wake surf. He did a great job (and looked good doing it!).

On Saturday following a grueling first week of school (yes, first graders can be described as grueling) Steve and I headed up to his sister's lake house in Huntsville, UT. We had a great time watching the Olympics, eating, resting, and boating. It was such a blast to spend one of our last weeks of summer with our fun family. We feel so lucky to have such a great relationship with our family and to have some of them so close by. (To those who live farther away...WE MISS YOU ALL THE TIME!!!)
Our sweet niece, Sopia, was sick and grumpy the whole trip. Luckily I got a shot of her not screaming. It was so sad!

Mason, Olivia, and Bella just being cute. Olivia had a chance to wake surf with her dad...so cool!

Blogger is having a rough time today, but our other cute niece and nephew were there. We love you Chloe and Parker!

Preggo Update

Things are still going well. The nausea, for the most part, has passed. In its place has come an undying hunger. Seriously I feel like I am starving most of the day. I guess it's got to be better than kneeling in front of the porcelain gods.
Here's a picture of me at 14 weeks. I feel like I'm growing huge, but others have told me that I don't even look pregnant yet. What do you think? I find myself standing with my belly pushed out so I can start to look like I've got something in there. (P.S. I recognize that this is a horrible picture, please forgive me!)Steve, by the way, is trying to keep up with all of my eating. By the end of this I think he wants to look like he's growing a little one, too.

A Mess, Some Flowers, and a Little Beauty

I realize that I still haven't posted pictures of our new house. Steve and I have not been very good about the "finishing touches" that would make me proud to show it off. I did decide, however, to show a picture of what our house looks like the week before I have to go back to work:
I have to apologize to Steve every couple of hours and promise him that this particular mess will be gone soon (only to be replaced by other messes to be sure!).




One more thing for those gardeners out there. I have these flowers in my backyard that we decided to keep because we were pretty certain that they are not weeds. We thought they were hollyhocks, but really have no idea! Anyway, if you have any idea what they are let me know! If they are weeds I'll be sad because now they have about a one inch diameter at the bottom and are taller than Steve.




I will end this post with some of our beautiful views of Mount Timpanogos from our back door. We feel truly blessed to live in such a gorgeous place!

Another Update

Well, I realized that I haven't written anything of substance in a while so I figured I should probably get on that.

We are now living in Midway, UT and still trying to get settled in. We are a little slow at getting unpacked, but we do love our condo and the town. My mom and sister were able to come this last weekend to help us decorate a little bit, which was so nice! I'll wait to post pictures until I'm happy with the way it looks! Tonight, however, we were able to go to the cute Heber farmer's market. It was fun and quaint and here were our spoils:
Yummy fresh peaches that are sweeter than dessert. We bought ice cream to put them on but I don't think they are going to make it that long!!!


I went to the doctor today and was able to hear the heartbeat of our little "cinnamon bear" as my doctor called the baby. It was the coolest thing to be able to feel my own heartbeat at the same time the nurse was getting the sound of my baby's heartbeat. Wow, what a miracle!

The pregnancy seems to be going pretty well. I am starting to feel better (meaning being sick for fewer hours in the day) which makes me very happy. I didn't think I was having any weird cravings (or so I thought) until I realized how Steve was looking at me when I told him what I wanted for dinner tonight: breakfast sandwiches and corn. I guess it was a little strange.

Although I do have more interesting things to post about, I have kind of a one track mind right now. I'm trying to buy books for my classroom library and am having a hard time. I've been looking on EBay but I am always outbid (I guess I'm not aggressive enough!). I was wondering where any of you moms and dads or teachers buy affordable books for your kids/classrooms. I still need to go to Deseret Industries, but I'm open to suggestions!

Congratulations!

Great job on the guesses...I am pregnant! Yes, I get to enjoy all of those fun and lovely symptoms, but I take great consolation knowing there is a little person (more of an alien right now) growing inside of me. I am fairly early along, just in my 10th week, so it's still pretty early. We're still in kind of the "scary stage," but we wanted to let everyone else in on the joy we've been feeling for the past few weeks. What a blessing! Keep us in your thoughts for the next few weeks as I finish up my first trimester.

So for now my
is
!!!

(This is one doodle that can't be undid, kids!)
You can be looking for our little Burden to enter the world sometime around February 9, 2009.