Welcome Home, Baby Claire! (catch-up)

And welcome to a home where....


Your sisters are very sick, and very contagious, but they can't get their hands off you!


Most of the time, this sister loves you a little TOO MUCH...


And this sister thinks that she can borrow your clothes since she can manage to get them on.
The highlight of the day is when your sisters get to hold you

And when visitors come to see you (Grandpa Yorgason's first time to hold Claire)


You get your first bath from Grandma--it's a tradition!

Your sisters want to learn how to take care of you, so they practice on their dollies (Millie is "feeding" her baby under the blanket)

And this sister has quite the skill for making silly faces!

Christmas 2009

Thatcher Family Christmas Party
The Thatcher family is growing fast, and we've finally gotten big enough that we had our party at the Paradise Church. Claire met the family for the first time. The older girls loved doing Christmas crafts, and then were indecisive while dressing up for the Nativity, which was performed on the stage. Paul and I got to be Mary and Joseph, because Claire was the best candidate for baby Jesus. Millie and Gracie stayed by us, and adored "baby Jesus" during the entire nativity. Grace was giggling so cute at Claire.


Grace loved seeing Kent and Sara--two of her favorite people in the whole world! Can you tell from her face that she LOVES them?


When Santa came out, Grace stood in the opposite corner of the cultural hall, crying that she didn't want to sit on his lap (wish we got a picture of that!). Millie is at the perfect age for believing in Santa. She told him how she wanted pink ballet shoes for Christmas. Whenever we asked Grace what she would ask for from Santa, she would say "a sucker." Not hard to please!

Yorgason Family Christmas Party
It was a fun party with the Yorgasons, as usual. Dave and Holly traveled up, but we missed Don, Jordan, and Jason's families. Paul and I got to be Mary and Joseph again, all because of newborn Claire. And no, we didn't plan to wear ALL red!

We learned from experience, that this Angel needed her favorite Sunday dress and her own fairy wings to willingly play the part.

Angel Millie sitting on "Grandpa's, oops, I mean Santa's lap!" Afterward, Millie kept asking us, "Is he our Santa?" A pretty smart question, we thought!
This is about as close to Santa as Grace was willing to come. She got her candy cane, and as soon as Santa reached out his hands to hold her, she was GONE!

Claire slept through it all--what a sleeping beauty she is!

Grandma was happy to sit down and hold Claire. At events like this, she rarely sits down to rest!


We caught Grandma kissing Santa Claus again! He's been dressing up as Santa in this very costume for 40 years! And she's been caught kissing him every time. Glad to see these two still in love!

"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!

These Are a Few of My Favorite Things

Babysitting Co-op
This was something I learned about when visiting my brother's family in NM. They told me all about their babysitting co-op and I got so excited about it that I took the initiative and started it up with a few friends in the neighborhood. It's grown to involve about 14 families, and more can still join. We're doing it a little differently than they did it in NM, but the basic idea is the same.

This is how it works:
Every family who joins the co-op, receives 10 blue coupons that are each good for 1 child for 1 hour of babysitting. So if they need 2 kids to be babysat for 2 hours, they will "pay" 4 coupons. Then, we also have 1 yellow "weekend date night" coupon that is good for the entire family for 3-4 hours on a weekend night. This makes it fair so that every time you babysit on a weekend night, you get a chance to get out the next time.

If someone needs a babysitter, they just email the entire group asking who can do it, and usually within a few hours, they have a willing sitter. There are no obligations, other than when you volunteer to watch someone's kids.

My favorite things about it:

• we save money from not paying babysitters
• we have always been able to find a babysitter when we've needed one
• it eliminates the awkward phone call to a friend or neighbor when I need their help
• it's even better than trading babysitting with one family because you don't have to keep track of who owes who, and you don't have to work around both family's schedules
  

So, if anyone in my neighborhood reads this and wants to join, feel free! Just contact me. And if you want to create your own co-op in your neighborhood, I can give you some helpful information.


Dinner Group
I've been hearing about this from another sister-in-law for awhile, so I don't know why it took me so long to get one going. We have 3 families in the group, and so we each take a night each week to make dinner for the other 2 families (the dinner includes the main dish and two sides). We make up a calendar ahead of time to make sure that we get variety each week. It makes for 2 blissful evenings when dinner arrives at our door, hot and ready to eat. Not to mention that our dishes after dinner are quick and easy. Then we have one day a week when I spend a lot of the day in the kitchen, and at about 5:00 I'm a little stressed, trying to get dinner ready on time for three families. On that night, we have a lot more kitchen clean-up, and I'm exhausted. But the pros far outweigh the cons. And I've found that it's become easier the more I've done it.

What I love about our dinner group:

• I personally enjoy the food more when I didn't spend the time preparing it
• The nights we get dinner brought to us, I don't have to think about dinner, and I can spend my late afternoon doing other things
• There is less time that I feel like I'm neglecting my kids while I prepare dinner
• We eat better (more variety, well-balanced meals, and more desserts!)
• I'm finding new meals ideas and recipes from my friends' meals
  
• Our monthly grocery spending has gone down
• I am more motivated and get more enjoyment out of cooking the one meal, knowing that my friends' families will be getting it too
  

Price Matching at Wal-mart
I may have already written about this on our blog, but since it's still one of my favorite things, I'll write about it again. We save SO much money each month on groceries by only buying what's really on sale, and buying enough to stock up for awhile. I get the sale details from a website www.dealstomeals.com, where they have it organized so well that I can quickly make my list of all the sale items from every store around. Then I head to Wal-mart. It took me a lot longer at first, but it's getting easier and faster each time. Sometimes I can't find the right item to match the sales, but most of the time I can. I leave the store each week with a huge grin, knowing I just saved a LOT of money!

To give an example of the deals I've been getting, I only buy grapes for $0.99/lb, sour cream and cottage cheese for $1.00, yogurt for $0.33 or less, cheese when it's $3.99 for 2 lbs., sausage when it's $1.00, pre-made salads for $1.00, ice cream for $1.00 and cereal for $1.50 or less. Then often, I'll get crazy deals, like a cucumber for 0.20, a pineapple for $2, Fuji apples for $0.33/lb, bakery fresh french bread for $0.50, kiwis for $0.20 each, etc.

I love that it's easy and doesn't have to involve any coupons. I love that I go to ONE store, instead of running around town from store to store, only to find that the sale items are gone. And I'm surprised how easy it is--you don't have to show the adds and most of the time, they don't even ask what store is having the sale. They trust your word, and this takes away a lot of the stress. In the end, it benefits Wal-mart too, because they are still getting my business, and I end up buying some other non-sale items from them each time as well.

Keeping the Love Alive

When we got married, Elder Featherstone counseled us to continue "courting" each other, with love notes, small acts of service, etc. Even the small things can mean so much. Thanks, Paul!

A Lazy Sunday Evening

We have to enjoy the good weather while we have it! There's nothing like an evening outside with our dad!


The dolly comes outside too, of course!

Why do kids love being naked?
We finally convinced her to get dressed

What a sweet girl!
Who has discovered the game of "hit." Not only can she hit really well, but she can do it while holding her Becca.

What would life be like without Abby? The day is not complete if we haven't had a chance to play!