"Happy Birthday dear Daddy!"

Yesterday, we asked the girls to guess how old daddy would be on his birthday. Grace guessed 2, and Millie guessed 61. I guess if we take the average of their two answers, they would be about right!

It's a big birthday year for Paul! He turned 30 years old on the 30th!

So, here are some things that we love about him:

Paul is happy and optimistic. He often says that he couldn't be happier with his life. He always walks in the door from work with a smile and a kiss for his girls. He is easy to please, and very content with what he has.

He also sees the good in others and he gives out compliments often. He really loves meeting new people and is sincerely interested in others. You can tell this because he is good at asking others questions to find out about them and then he listens well.

Paul is the best daddy in the world! He is the prince who dances with his 3 princesses everyday, the dentist who helps brush their teeth, the cow that gives them a ride into their rooms at night, the father who remembers to have family prayer, the master storyteller when they are in bed, and the husband who offers to do the dishes and help clean the house each night!

What a guy! We love you!

Family Update

It's been fun to receive Christmas cards and yearly updates from so many friends and family. So I thought I'd give it a try for our family, just for the record. Even though the blog captures much of our lives, I'm afraid I'm far too inconsistent! So, here's a current summary of our family:

Baby Claire has brought so much happiness into our home. She had to spend her first week in the hospital being tested because her oxygen levels were dipping too low. We were so grateful to return home with a healthy baby who probably just has reflux. We refer to her as our "Angel Baby" because she is so calm and content, especially if she is being held. She still sleeps most of the time, which has made the adjustment to having 3 kids quite easy. The girls love to hold her, and none of us can get enough of her!

Grace is a typical 2-year-old: determined and independent (aka. stubborn and irrational at times), but as cute as can be! She has captured our hearts and brought us so much joy. She is quite the talker--she can say just about anything, excluding certain sounds, like "c," "g" and "l". So it's "Minnie Mae," "Race" and "baby Tlaire." She can eat more fruit than the entire family, but she almost always refuses to eat her dinner. Luckily, we can bribe her to do just about anything for a piece of "dum." She insists on dressing herself, and always asks mommy to do her hair in a big braid like Millie's (an impossibility!). Even though Grace can be shy, she is sure to wave to most strangers in the store or on the street, and she loves to sing and dance for others. She constantly has a song in her heart, and she often breaks into singing whatever she is thinking. She loves caring for her dollies, and surprised us the other day that she changed a dolly's diaper all by herself.

Millie is our ballerina princess! Not a day goes by that she doesn't change into a dress and dance around the living room. It is quite the challenge to keep her dressed warm! Most days, Millie insists that we call her by her chosen princess name of the day (i.e. Cinderella, Aurora, Barbie), and will usually call us "Prince" and "Snow White." She is 3 1/2, but sometimes acts like she is 13! She wears more lip gloss than mommy (and puckers her lips to keep it on), tries to paint her nails by herself, and loves her new sticker earrings. She likes to color, paint, cut and glue, or write notes, and then head out the door to deliver her work of art to a neighbor. She also loves playing the violin and learning to read. We love our Millie Mae so much and can't imagine life without her!

We've had a fun year, watching Millie and Grace grow up to become good friends. They are so different, but that makes things interesting and fun. It's nice that they have a playmate, especially during the winter when we are "cooped up" inside most days. We're grateful that they are close in age, and that they love each other.

I (Jen) love being a "stay-at-home" mom. It's amazing how busy I am, just trying to keep up with the basics. I'm a little obsessed about planning out my day and then seeing what I can accomplish on my "to do" list. When Gracie accidentally asks me "Mommy, how was your work?" I like to answer, "My work was SO good today, because I got to be with my girls..." The other day when I went to the Dr. with all 3 girls, a few people commented, "You've got your hands full!" I guess I better get used to comments like that because it's true! When the kids are asleep, I like getting the house clean again, doing craft projects, catching up with friends, reading, and spending time with Paul.

Paul is busy, busy, busy...but very happy! He is still working at the Church office building, in the curriculum department. He enjoys working in that environment and playing a small part in such a great work. I (Jen) love seeing him dressed up in a suit and tie so often, and feel so grateful that he can take the bus to work, and he still make it home just after 5:00. We love our precious time with Daddy before he rushes out the door to be the Bishop. He loves serving in this calling, and feels blessed to be learning so much. Paul doesn't get much spare time, but when he gets a chance, he likes keeping up sports, working in the yard, playing with our bunny (Templeton), and reading.

Merry Christmas!

We've never sent out Christmas cards or a baby announcement in the mail. So with a December baby, I thought it would be the perfect year to do both! Well, I overestimated our abilities or underestimated our limitations (especially with a newborn in the home). We still feel like we are in "survival mode" most of the time, so we're going to settle with a Christmas greeting/thought here on our blog.

As parents, we have enjoyed teaching our girls about Christmas, and seeing their excitement for the season grow. We are always looking for ways to reward them for good behavior. So earlier in the month, we thought it would be fun to help them earn money to buy Christmas gifts for each other. Every time they were obedient, said nice words or helped clean up messes, we gave them a coin to put in their piggy banks. This was very effective at first, but before long, we worried that there was too much focus on money.

Luckily, we had a flash of inspiration during a FHE lesson about Jesus' birth. We talked about gifts that we could give Jesus for his birthday, such as obeying our parents, treating others kindly, and keeping our house clean (the same things they were earning money for). We decided to make a manger for our baby Jesus to lay in, and each time we did something that would make Jesus happy, we could put a piece of straw in for his bed. It felt so much better to shift the focus back to Christ, even in just this one aspect of our lives.

We are grateful for Christmas, and the chance to celebrate Christ's birth for an entire month. As we think of gifts we could give Christ, we can't help but recognize that HE is the ultimate gift-giver. All the blessings in our life have come from our Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ. We have been given the gift of life, and the chance to return to our Father after this life. We have agency to decide and act for ourselves each day. We have been given commandments, as instructions on how to be happy and how to return to God. Our merciful Father has given His Son, so that we can repent for our sins, and still find ourselves worthy to return to Him. We have been given the restored gospel of Jesus Christ, along with the scriptures, the priesthood, and a living prophet. We are given the opportunity as families to be sealed in the Holy Temple, and the hope that we can be together forever.

It is quite humbling to think of all the gifts that Christ has given us. And then even more sobering to try to think of the gifts we can give Him. Elder Maxwell taught that "The submission of one's will is really the only uniquely personal thing we have to place on God's altar. . . . It is the only possession which is truly ours to give." ("Swallowed Up in the Will of the Father" Nov 1995 Ensign). How convenient, that just one week after Christmas, we begin a new year. Each year, we try to be a little better than the year before. We try to give up our sins and overcome our weaknesses. We try to follow Christ more fully.

We've enjoyed having contact with so many friends and family this Christmas season. We have been reminded how much the Lord has blessed us, just has he has blessed each of you. We hope your holidays have been memorable, and that the light of Christ has been felt in your homes.

Family Photo Shoot

With a new member in our family, we decided it was time for some photos. A friend in our neighborhood, Rob Ingles, does photography. He took a lot of good ones! Check out his website at www.jealouspictures.com















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"Millie, what should we name our new baby?"

Millie has quite a gift in creating new words. So we decided to make a list of all the names she suggested for the baby. Here are her suggestions:

Girl:

• Cheemzimes
• Jamcom
• Avencom
• Feedzantz
• Feenzank
• Peenkins
• Peechip
  

Boy:

• Ponten
• Brenzel
• Latkand
• Awven
• Hymsick
• Seegatteen
• Keebab
  

Even though we would have loved to use a name that Millie chose, you can see why we just couldn't do it! We decided to name her "Claire" after Jen's paternal grandmother, Clara Beatrice.

Claire Jane Thatcher

Our little one arrived on December 4th at 6:39. We were convinced it was a boy, so we really did get a surprise when she came out. She weighed 7 lbs. 8 oz. and was 21 inches long.

Here's the story:

We got a good dose of false labor this week. On Saturday night, Jen had regular contractions for 7 hours. So we called Grandma, who quickly came down from Cache Valley to get the girls. Paul canceled all his Sunday meetings, and we got ready to go to the hospital to deliver. That's when the contractions stopped! We had a quiet Sunday together, just sure we'd be going into the hospital any minute, but the contractions never started up again. So we got the girls back on Monday morning and went back to our routine life, preparing for the baby to come.

Then on Wednesday night, Jen had stronger contractions for a few hours, so we headed in to the hospital, excited and sure we wouldn't return without the baby. They admitted us, but then sent us home after an hour, saying that the contractions weren't putting me into labor. It was discouraging to drive back home at 5:00 am, after another sleepless night, especially since Jen's contractions were even more painful than before. We wondered if we'd really know when it was the right time to head to the hospital. Even though the contractions continued all day Thursday, we were able to sleep well that night, and then head into LDS hospital Friday morning to be induced.

During labor, it was uncanny how everything that could go wrong did. Jen had to get 4 IVs and 4 epidurals (none of which worked!), and then delivered completely natural. The baby came so fast that the Doctor almost didn't make it back for the delivery. She had to leave another delivery and made it just a minute before the baby came. We were so grateful that the baby came safely and that Jen survived the unexpectedly difficult labor.

We enjoyed a few hours just holding our darling little girl, feeling so grateful she was healthy and safe. That night though, a nurse popped her head into our room, and told us that they had sent Claire into the "Special Care Nursery" to monitor her more carefully because she had not been breathing correctly on her own. Then a few hours later, a Dr. came in to our room to talk to us about his concerns with Claire's behavior. They began antibiotics and tests, trying to find out why she would be struggling to breathe at times.

We've had to stay at the hospital a couple days longer to do these tests, but we haven't felt worried or concerned. Claire seems to be healthy, and we are hopeful that everything will be fine. But seeing her covered with monitors and IVs, and hearing all the possible problems she could have, has helped us empathize with others who have had children in the hospital. We thought we'd be able to go home this morning, but we had a talk with the Dr. and it looks like 2 more days here at least. This was disappointing, but we're trying to look at the positive side of things.

Millie and Gracie have been happy at Grandma and Grandpa's but they can't wait to meet their little sister. They have been patient as the plan to go home and see the baby tomorrow keeps being pushed back a day. Every time we talk to Millie, she asks us if we are holding the baby. She has asked a couple times for us to send a picture of the baby coming out of mommy's tummy. She wants to know how that works, and since we haven't really answered her question, she would like a picture of it. Well, needless to say, none of those! But here are some pics of our darling girl!