New Years Party

Mark and I were boring this year for New Years.

We rented a couple red box movies and got chips and dip and sat around.

Pretty sad especially since my parents through a party for the grandkids and had them all sleep over.

Scott on the other hand had a great time.

He hung out with his cousins and grandparents.

Mom said he was a wonderful boy and had a great time.

He especially loved the blow horn that he brought home and some how lost after a day.

I don't know what could have happened to it.

So nice to know that our boy is partying it up on New Years while mom and dad stay home and fall asleep early.

My dad got this great shot of the kids in their party hats and blowing their horns.

Jump Place

With it being Christmas break Scott has become quite bored.

So I was so relieved when Shae invited us to the "Jump Place" as Scott calls it.

I was thinking he would have gotten over whelmed at the loud noise or all the people.

But no.

He had such a great time jumping.

Especially jumping into the pit of foam blocks.

Hears Mckinley and her cousin sho just so happens to be the niece of Scott's school teacher, Mrs. Jan.

She was so sweet and kind to Scott.

It was well worth the ten bucks for two hours of energy release.

The Most Perfect Gift

Normally, I have a nice long list of things I want for Christmas.

But when I'm pregnant I don't want for much of anything for myself.

But Mark refused to let that stop him.

He totally rose to the challenge this year and came up with the perfect gift for this miserable pregnant lady.

He took me to the Melting Pot.

I've always wanted to go there but it is so expensive.

It was so fun to be there with my love and the food was so good.

Thanks hun, you won bonus points this year.

For the record, Mark also always has a nice long list every year.

This year he got a spin bike.

So we were both spoiled this year.

Christmas: Ellis Style

This year we stayed home for Christmas.

We were so excited to just concentrate on Scott.

Life will soon be very different for this boy and we wanted this day to be very special for him.

He fell asleep in our room that night.

I get so excited Christmas morning, I always have.

Waiting is one of the greatest tortures in life.

Scott is his fathers son and wanted to get enough sleep before starting the big day.

But when he finally awoke he was very excited.

We went out and checked the cookies and carrots.

It turns out that Santa had come and eaten some of his cookies and the reindeer had even eaten the carrots. 

Then we once again went over the true meaning of Christmas.

He was able to tell us the whole story almost.

Then it was time to open gifts.

We were pretty excited for Scott to see all that Santa had brought.

He was greeted by a big huge shark.

Then he saw his dino slippers, Santa had pulled through with one request.

Then he opened up his stocking and found the hermit crab he wanted.

This boy was happy to say the least.

As for Mark and I, we decided to give him a bunch of sports things.

He enjoys throwing a ball around and kicking balls but he doesn't really know the rules to any games.

I decided it was time to learn.

So he got an adjustable basket ball hoop for his door, and a real soccer ball since we hope to sign him up for a city soccer team this summer.

He even got a t ball set from his friends Jaeley and Brayden.

He and Mark got matching USU baseball hats in hopes of going to some kinda game this year.

And of course he got a whole lot of candy.

This kid is spoiled.

Later on that day we had Mark's parents and two brothers over for Christmas dinner.

I got to make my first traditional Christmas meal.

I had so much fun planning and preparing the meal.

I was rather pleased at myself for having it all ready at the right time.

And I think it all tasted so very good too.

It was a wonderful day!

McEvoy Christmas Party

It is the in-laws turn for Christmas this year so the McEvoy's got to celebrate early.

We had a delicious dinner followed by our families traditions.

The grandkids got to act out the nativity story.

There are a lot of grandkids but not quite enough for the full cast that live close by.

Scott Got to play the roll of all three wise men.

I honestly didn't think he would really listen to what he was supposed to do, he comes to Grandma's house and all he wants to do is play.

But he did listen and he did play his part.

I was very proud of my wise boy.

After the nativity story we opened up gifts.

It was so much fun.

More fun then when I was a kid.

Scott just got into everything this year and opening presents was no exception.

He was even excited to watch Mark and me open presents.

Even early Christmas can be a Merry Christmas. 

Friends Christmas Party

We had such a great time getting together for Halloween that we all decided to get together again for Christmas and even got a few out of towners able to come.

Shae rented out her church building for us, we all brought food, and we had the best time.

Gosh I miss these girls and the kids played like no time had passed at all.

Oh what a night!

Down Town

Last year was Scott's first time meeting Santa and it wasn't a great first impression.

This year Scott really understood who Santa was and, more importantly, what Santa does.

He's been talking about Santa a lot even before Thanksgiving.

We told him how we go to visit Santa and how you can ask him for a gift of whatever you want.

He came up with his list pretty early on and has stuck to it: a hermit crab figurine and dinosaur slippers.

We decided to make this year a bit more special then last year which was going to Harmens Grocery Store and visiting with Santa in front of the canned goods.

This year Scott and I met Mark in downtown SLC and went to City Creek.

The set up they have for Santa is incredible.

Scott was very shy and I almost thought he was going to turn to me and cry but the Santa was very kind and patient and welcoming.

Mark and I stood back and saw him become such a big boy, going over to him and let him place him on his lap.

He answered all Santa's questions and looked at him in the eyes.

It was wonderful to see.

Scott posed for the camera and we got this perfect picture.

I wish I would have thought about taking his coat and stuff off but oh well, he's got a cute coat. 

After Santa we went over to the food court for dinner.

The best thing about the food court is that we get to bribe Scott to eat with the dinosaur park.

This is the happiest place on earth to this boy.

It is nearly impossible to get a picture of him that isn't blurry, he can't contain his excitement and can't get to each dinosaur fast enough.

Mark and I loved seeing him so happy.

After dinner and play time we headed over to Temple Square.

I don't know what I would do if I couldn't plan on seeing the lights at Temple Square each year.

Scott loves it too.

This is my favorite place.

I love all the white lights by the Joseph Smith Memorial Building.

One of my favorite places to do family pictures, the corner of the Tabernacle and old church house.

And what's a trip to Temple Square without the Temple picture.

This is the day right before Mark's and my anniversary and it made it extra special.

So glad it wasn't this cold six years ago.

I love this Temple, I love my boys and I love that I get to be with them forever.

Scott's Excitement

Scott is really getting so excited for the baby to come.

We have been getting his room ready and I've brought out the old toys that Scott stopped playing with a long time ago.

Well it's true what they say, distance has made his love for the toys grow stronger.

He cant get enough of them.

I tell him that he used to play with them when he was little and the baby will want to play with them too.

He tells me how he can't wait to play with them with baby.

I'm looking forward to that too.

And here's Scott showing his support.

He loves to put his softness in his shirt and tell me he's having a baby softness.

Then he pulls it out and I try to show him how we treat babies.

Kinda scary when he starts banging softness against his head or throws him on the ground.

But he is getting so excited to have a baby brother.

Mission Completion

As I've mentioned earlier, I've had a lot of projects going on.

I've been really wanting to start on babies room but haven't been able to because I feel like I need to finish decorating Scott's room before I start something new.

I've also wanted to tie up some of the undone things around the house.

Here's just some of the things I've done.

While working on the corner hutch this past summer my up stairs neighbors were getting ready to move.

We took charge of the whole house at that point and needed to find new renters for the upstairs.

So we showed the house to a few people while their furishings were still there so we could have it rented imediately after they moved.

While showing it I saw their dresser.

I commented to them later what a beautiful piece it was.

They started complaining about it and said they don't want to take it with them to their new house.

I told them I wanted it.

So they sold it to me for $30.

What a steal right?!

Mark didn't think so.

He agreed with them that it was total crap.

I reminded Mark that I stood by him buying used bikes and fixing them and turning around to make a profit.

He still didn't like the thing but relented.

It took me a while to get started on it.

I really just wanted to find out if we were having a boy or a girl.

If it was a girl I wanted to pain the dresser and the mirror portion cream and antique it similar to the corner hutch.

Yes, I had my hopes up.

But we found out it was a boy and I started exploring other options.

After exploring all the options on pinterest I came up with the perfect solution.

I would paint it charcoal grey.

Scott was still using the changing table with drawers for his clothes and that had to go in with the baby.

Scott would use the dresser and eventually, when we moved and got a bigger tv we would use it for an entertainment system.

We are storing the mirror portion at my mom's till, heaven willing we have a girl, at which time we would abandon the tv idea and go back to plan A.

I also redid the picture board which is hanging above the dresser.

My mom found this head board at a consignment shop for $10.

I've been wanting a headboard for Scott's room ever since he went to a big bed.

It's hard to pass up $10 no matter how ugly it is.

Besides I knew I could work some magic on it.

So once again I went back to pinterest for ideas, how did I ever craft before pinterest?

I got a few tips on how to make it more modern and got the idea of doing the inside a different color.

In case you can't tell the color scheme in his room is grey, lime green and teal.

I added some decorative board on the sides to make it look more substantial and then a thicker board on the top also.

Since this picture was taken I have also redone the lamp shade to be teal also.

I also painted the book shelf.

Like the dresser and the head board it is painted charcoal grey but I decided to do the inside lime green to be similar to the head board.

I also made the curtains, I love them. 

And here is the topper.

I have been working on this quilt for a year.

I love argyle!

I could have machine sewn the quilting and been done within a day or so.

but I really wanted the hand sewn look.

I thought its just a few lines, nothing complicated, it shouldn't take too long right?!

No, as usual I underestimated the time and the annoyance of it all.

I put it off a lot.

Having it finished brings so much joy to my heart.

I've also been working on a few things around the house.

I repainted this table before at the same time as the corner hutch.

But it has taken me forever to hang things on the wall.

All over my house we have had bare walls.

I've had the frames out in front of the wall where I've thought of putting them but just couldn't make up my mind.

The walls in the front room are still bare but in the main part of the house the decor has finally moved up ward.

 After working so hard everywhere else I finally thought it was time to move into the babies room.

I am doing it navy blue, light greyish blue, and red with a nautical theme.

Yes, I got this idea from pinterest.

And finally, I've started on the wall quilt for the baby.

If you remember from Scott's nursery I made an animal alphabet quilt for the wall.

Someday I hope to have a playroom to up all the quilts on the walls that I will have for my grandchildren.

They can have the quilts that belong to them after I die maybe.

I'm excited to see how this one looks.

I'll post the finished pics later.

It wont be finished till after the baby comes probably but that's fine.

Completing one project just means I get to start another. 

Third Trimester

I'm on the final stretch now and wow, I'm really starting to feel it.

Feel the baby more, feel the strain more, and feel the pressure of the next step.

I can't believe how fast this pregnancy has gone.

The holidays have really helped with that.

Try not to stay busy over the holidays and you will find yourself busy avoiding it.

I have been so busy that I've actually been able to sleep OK; I mean not completely as good as before I was pregnant but so much better then I did while prego with Scott.

Since I have been through this before and have something to compare it to I have realized that my pregnancies aren't that bad.

I still don't love it but I am spared many of the annoyances that other women go through, so I am grateful.

I haven't been able to concentrate on decorating the babies room like I was with Scott.

Scott got pretty much all of me since before he was born.

Having number two means that this little baby has had to share me even now.

It's sad in a way but at the same time he will have more people around him to love him.

And with Scott going to school this little guy will get more one on one time with mom then most second children get.

I look forward to that.

Few things better then snuggling with a baby.

Well there is definitely no hiding my belly now, I am poking out for all the world to see.

I get big everywhere, not just in my belly, and although I know it happens I still get sad about it.

But, again, I've been through this with Scott and I lost it (slowly) after Scott so when I get hard on myself I try to remember "This too shall pass."

Here I am at 32 weeks.

I don't get ready much anymore and have turned into a real home body.

Winter, pregnancy and a very busy craft schedule will do that to ya.

I'll have to post soon all the projects I've been working on.

These next 8 weeks are just going to sail by with how busy we've been keeping.

8 WEEKS!

Crap!

I've got to get moving.

Christmas Time is Here!

Being in Young Womens is by far my most favorite calling.

I love hanging out with the girls and teaching them.

I love feeling the spirit with them and being blessed by there amazing spirits.

I love spending Sundays with them and going to activities on Wednesdays with them.

This past activity we got to go to a live nativity.

I didn't even know these things existed.

It was so much fun... and very cold.

But the spirit was so strong there that it didn't even matter.

Being pregnant over Christmas has unexpectedly been somewhat spiritual.

I guess ever since I became a mother Christmas has changed for me.

Seeing the scene below breaks my heart.

Giving birth in such a circumstance as this makes me feel spoiled.

But I start to wonder about Mary, wanting the very best for her son, knowing who he was.

I think of Joseph, wanting to provide the very best for the son of God.

I think of the spirit that must have surrounded them, knowing the spirit that overwhelms me holding my baby for the first time.

I just love this season and I love activities that make me remember the true meaning of it all.

Merry Christmas!

Remembering Christmas Past

I love putting out my Christmas decor.

Decorating the tree is something I look forward to every year.

But while doing it I can't help but think of Christmases gone by.

The top left is Eddies ornament, I painted that for his first Christmas with us and now that he's not with us it's kinda hard coming across it.

This is my way of keeping him with us.

The top right is a very old ornament but brand new to me.

It has been on my Grandma's tree for decades and now it is mine.

Every time a bell rings and angel gets it's wings.

This year I rang it for her.

The bottom left is the ornament that Mark and I bought together right after we were married.

This remains one of my favorite memories and love seeing it every year.

The bottom right is the ornament that my mother gave us after we were married.

I thought it so ugly at the time (sorry mom).

But now it is so precious to me.

I wrap it up so carefully every year after Christmas because it is so fragile.

Taking it out each year and finding it still safe and sound makes me happy.

Realizing that Mark and I made it through another year also, safe and sound.

I have no clue how decorating the tree got started but I love that we keep it going still.

Memories are my favorite gift.

Zombie Cousins

 One of Scott's favorite places to go to is Grandma and Grandpa McEvoy's house.

When the cousins are there life doesn't get much better.

Here are Scott, Avery, Jaren, Maia, and Sophie watching Monsters University, which just recently came out on DVD.

Disney can often bring about some of the best adult time.

While these kids were becoming zombies, us grown ups were able to play and complete a game.

Good times for all!

Catching Fire

Mark has been working so hard lately.

He has been trying harder to eat healthier and work out more.

So rude, whatever happened to sympathy weight?

He as been in charge of many projects at work been working extra hard to keep up with the extra demand.

He has also been studying for the next CPA exam.

I'm not good at putting in the long hours studying so I can't help but being amazed at his dedication.

Well, after a whole weekend of sitting at the home office studying and taking practice tests he took the test yesterday morning.

We wait two weeks to find out how he did.

After the test he needed some unwind time and then we went off on a much needed date.

I love my one on one time with Mark.

It's amazing how easy it is for him to make me laugh and feel young and giddy again.

We first went to Zuppa's so he could keep up with his healthy eating with a delicious pina colada salad and I got my usual TBA sandwich and lobster bisque soup.

Then we went over and saw Hunger Games, Catching Fire.

So good!

Thanks babe for all your hard work and for taking such good care of your family.

You're the best husband and father and my very best friend.

Love you.

Hard Things

Scott is prone to anxiety.

He takes my perfectionist nature to the Nth degree.

So we have taught he a few things that we hope will help him in the future.

We go through his daily affirmations sometimes more then once a day.

"I am SMART!

I am STRONG!

Jesus LOVES me, 

Mom LOVES me 

and Dad LOVES me!"

I am hoping that whatever problems arise in his life he will remember these things and find hope and comfort in this knowledge.

Another thing we are also trying to teach him is that he can do hard things.

When we can see his anxiety rising over a task we quickly come to him and try to teach him how to do what he's trying to do while telling him that he can do hard things.

When completing we give him a hug or a high five or something telling him, "See, you can do hard things."

We will often tell him part of the script that applies to his issue.

In the picture below you see a sweet four year old attempting to do push ups with his dad.

As he was trying to do it he, in heavy breathing voice tells us, 

"I can do hard things."

Yes we were pretty proud of our boy.

We happily confirmed he can do hard things because he is strong.

A couple other times where he has drawn on this knowledge is while he's practicing a new letter and he tells me he can do hard things.

I remind him that he is smart.

While he tries to put on his shoes the first time he freaked out.

The next time he tried, after a lot of teaching mini step by mini step, he had a few struggles but I hear him say as I'm pulling my things together because of course we are rushing to get out of the door, "Don't freak out, I can do hard things."

Can I just say at that moment something changed in me.

WOW!

It might seem like something small to others but to me that was my four year old who is known to fly off the handle easily, think calmly through his problems.

I have a hard time doing that still to this day, maybe that's why I'm so proud.

By the time I got to him to praise him he had his shoes on and his face was in the biggest, proudest grin.

I say, "Scott you did it!"

He says so excitedly, "I put my shoes on and I didn't freak out!"

You would have thought he won the race or got the game winning touch down by both our reactions.

That my friends is called SUCCESS!

Since this happened Scott has had an influx of anxiety attacks.

They can happen anywhere, at any time, and we had no clue why.

They got progressively worse to the point that he seems out of control.

Mark and I have been clueless as to the cause of them.

For a while we punished them.

He was reacting to things badly and he needed to learn that bad choices got bad consequences.

This is a concept he knows and it usually has worked in teaching him acceptable behavior.

But the only effect it had on him was making it worse.

This past Sunday it happened in sacrament meeting and Mark brought him home.

I waited for the speaker to finish his talk before I too slipped out, knowing that if Mark took him home it must be really bad.

I got there and Scott was still going hysterical.

We're talking about 15 to 20 minutes long so far and it was elevated to a point neither of us had ever seen.

I grabbed him and tried holding him to console him.

He wanted me and hated me all at the same time.

It took me another 15 minutes to start breathing normally.

It was this incident that made me realize, this is not him going through a stage or acting out because of not enough sleep.

I remembered the doctors saying that if he freaks out it's because he's experiencing anxiety over his environment.

Here we were punishing him.

Knowing and having experienced anxiety attacks before, punishment is NOT the way to fix them.

So we had to figure out what was causing the anxiety.

It had been happening gradually for the past month so it was hard to find the consistent trigger.

But just last night I caught a freak out at the beginning stage and figured it out.

Scott, being in two schools, is learning two different things.

In one he is working on his letters and colors and hand writing.

In another he is working on behavior and speech and scripts of how to play with others.

Both schools are trying to get him ready for kindergarten and helping him be more independent.

He has finally developed the drive to want to do things on his own.

Before he was content with letting me do things for him.

The freak outs are stemming from a desire to do things on his own and a lack of developmental ability to do them without help.

This is an anxiety that pretty much every kid goes through around his age or some even sooner.

But his anxiety becomes so great that he shuts down and becomes unteachable.

Knowledge is power.

We now know what he is freaking out over and hope to help him learn to deal with it.

I know he will, as we all do still to this day, have a hard time with our desire to do something and our ability to do it often aren't always at the same level.

It is that desire that makes us as a person and us as a society better.

Scott, like everyone, needs to learn to do the hard thing and figure out how to adjust his ability or his desire to be at the same level.

I know he can!

He is SMART!

He is STRONG!

Jesus LOVES him!

Mommy LOVES him!

Daddy LOVES him!

And HE CAN DO HARD THINGS!  

Yet Another Rant

Sometimes I use this blog to get things off my chest realizing that no one reads it.

Well here I go again.

I have been so nervous to have another child.

Scott's issues as they are I wondered and worried if my next child would also have similar issues.

At first I was curious as to what caused Autism and Aspergers.

How can I prevent this from happening again?

It took a while to figure out that I didn't cause Scott's issues.

Mark didn't and Scott didn't and our family hasn't given us some gene that gave it to him.

God did.

Now I'm not trying to blame him negatively.

I'm saying that Scott is the way he is because God knows what is best for my son and what is best for me and for Mark.

Seriously, can people honestly say that because I chose to get induced or give my son a vaccine or whatever, that Scott became the way he is?

NO!

There are so many others who get induced and give their children vaccines and lay on their backs while pregnant that don't have children with issues I really can't believe that I am the one that those things or whatever have the wrong effect on me.

I can believe that God in all his perfect wisdom decided to send this amazing child into my home because he knew that I would love him no matter what.

I'm sure there are other reasons also.

God wouldn't leave something like that to chance.

Not for my Scotty Boy and not for me; he loves us too much.

It took Mark and I a while to decide to have another baby.

Yes we wondered if our next child would have issues.

But we came to realize that it wasn't having another child with issues that was holding us back, it was us and all our imperfectness that was stopping us.

Scott is a wonderful child, who wouldn't want another one of him around?

But we are not wonderful parents, we often do the wrong things, we're just as clueless as other parents.

We had to decide if we could do it again.

Are we ever really ready?

Anyway, I just needed to get that off my chest.

A lady on facebook posted an article about the MMR vaccine causing autism and how the pharmaceutical companies are paying people to keep it quiet.

This lady on facebook has a daughter who is an autism specialist.

While being grateful for all people who try to help autistic children I wish that they would stop trying to find the cause and just try to concentrate on more ways to help them and help educate the world on how to act around children with autism.

Ok, I'll stop.

Sometimes I just get sensitive and need to get things ff my chest.

Early

I am completely against celebrating Christmas before Thanksgivng.

Each holiday deserves it's time to shine.

But the stores have it all wrong.

They put out fall decor out and then Halloween and then got strait to Christmas.

So frustrating.

I usually hold firm on my belief that Christmas starts on the Friday after Thanksgiving.

Usually but this year I broke.

Scott is so confused because the stores tell him one thing and I tell him another.

The stores made the more convising arguement this year.

Scott is really grasping onto the excitement of the season and especially the holidays this time of year brings.

I tried to tell him that after halloween it's Thanksgiving and after Thanksgiving its Christmas.

He didn't know what this Thanksgiving was even though his teachers and Mark and I tried to explain it to him.

All he sees is Christmas.

He's been seeing Christmas since before Halloween and has been asking if it's Christmas time.

Well Scott has also been having a lot of anxiety lately.

How do children handle anxiety?

They don't!

He's been having huge fits and Mark and I have been baffled as to how to help him through it.

So, in an effort to try to make him happy I let him put up his tree.

I set up our little four foot tree on a little table (It's the tree Mark and I bought together while still dating, I can't help but smile inwardly at the memories that flood back with that tree).

Scott got to hang all the decor on it.

He was loving it.

When Scott concentrates he sticks his tongue out and bites it just like his daddy, so adorable.

Anyway, here's the boy who has us wrapped around his finger breaking tradition.

28 Weeks

Well here I am, two days shy of 28 weeks.

I can only take pictures when I get ready and those days are becoming fewer and fewer.

The third trimester is a big turning point for many women and I'm no exception.

It's the last leg.

A lot of times with projects or challenges or whatever the last leg means that you're getting near to the finish line, there is light at the end of the tunnel, your second wind kicks in.

For pregnancy I haven't spoken to many women who get that positive "the end is coming" experience.

Don't get me wrong, the end is coming is a happy thought but with all the discomfort that one is going through the word "soon" is never soon enough.

I'm just can't help but think, as ill prepared I am for the baby right now, I would be ecstatic if I could have this baby tomorrow and know that the baby and I would be healthy.

But, alas, I get no such luck and get to endure that all round annoyance of the third trimester.

Oh well, at least it's just the babies kicks that wake me instead of the cry.

I can be grateful for that.

Halloween 2013

We had such a great Halloween this year.

Scott really got into it.

He was loving the dressing up and the scary stories and the creepy decorations and freaky and funny monsters.

Everyday about 20 times a day he asked if it was Halloween.

We would look at the calender and change the count down everyday but he still hated the wait.

We got to go to a Halloween party for his school at Gardener Village and then have a trunk or treat after.

Oh how he loved that and I considered it a great rehearsal for the real thing.

Last year it was a complete head ache to get Scott to wear his costume and to walk up to houses and see people he didn't know.

After a while he learned it could be rewarding but it was quite stressful for Mark and I.

This year it was the opposite.

Such a relief.

We went to the Smith's up in Ogden on Halloween with many of our other friends and had a soup party for dinner.

After we all went trick or treating together.

Eventually the older kids got ahead and most of the husbands went back to the Smith's for some game that was on.

Oh but not before Scott got scared by the warewoves.

So I'll tell you how bad of parents Mark and I are.

Scott looks at life as facts.

He knows that there are dinosaurs that eat other dinosaurs and some that eat plants.

He doesn't look at the T Rex as being bad just that he needs to eat.

He knows that animals eat other animals and even that some attack people.

He is fine with this.

Well with Halloween he started asking questions about monsters.

What do they eat and where do they live are the most asked questions.

He just likes to learn and know that kinda stuff.

So we told him, having confidence that he would except it the same way he takes dinosaurs and animal.

In our defense we also let him know that the monsters weren't real, they were fake.

So he knows that Duracula is a vampire who drinks blood and lives in a castle.

He knows that zombies eat brains and live in the graveyard.

He knows that ghosts don't eat anything but they just go around saying boo (we got less creative coming up with answers after a while).

He also knows that warewolves eat people and live in the forest.

He has had no problem excepting these things and not batting an eye or having bad nightmares or anything.

So on Halloween night when he saw the back of two teenage boys big hairy masks he was very excited to tell us they we warewolves.

But when he turned back at them at the exact moment they turned around to reveal the front of their full face masks that looked all too real he screamed bloody murder and ran right into my arms crying.

Mark and Melissa and I were stunned for a milasecond and then started laughing.

We had never seen Scott scared and we had never seen such a poster child of scared outside of the movies.

It really was funny.

But sadly not to Scott.

Looking back I feel bad as his mother that I didn't take it more seriously.

He was genunionly horrified.

It took probably a full minute, maybe more, to get him to stop sobbing.

Then another little while for us to explain it was just fake.

He eventually started back up again but he was much more cautious and had a harder time with houses that were decorated a lot.

He got scared one other time by a girl with some very realistic skeleton make up on but she was nice and took the long ruit away from the house so he wouldn't see her again and her friends came over and said sorry and even gave him a piece of their candy.

It was a sad and still kinda funny Halloween memory that had to go down in the books.

Anyway, as usual, we were so busy having fun and taking care of the kids that I didn't take any pictures.
But here's one from the trunk or treat.

School Pics

Scott having one of his preschools in an elementry school means we get to take school pictures.

This and the bus are some of my favorite things about him already in the public school system.

Here's this years.

Last year it fell on a day that wasn't his normal school day so I took him in and helped him through the anxiety that new experiences bring.

This year it fell on a school day and I just sent him off.

I can tell you exactly what they said that brought this smile out.

"Smile!"

Now if they had said "cheese" they would have gotten his normal smile but over the last month or two he has picked this to be his smile on command.

I thought about doing retakes and trying to get the natural smile out of him but seriously this is cute.

I love this snap shot of a memory that I might have forgotten down the road.

Let's face it, every child practices fake smiles.

I just can't help loving this kid and all his quarks.

Autumn

Look at this cute kid.

I just love this boy so much and I love the little person he's turning into.

One of the favorite things is getting to experience life with him.

Welcome Autumn!

More Cousins for Scott

Luke and April had their third baby.

Look how perfect this little guy is.

His name is Owen Griffin McEvoy.

He was born October 15 weighing in at 7 lbs 3 oz.

I got to go visit him a week later.

Can I just say holding a brand new baby when I'm pregnant was a weird experience.

I just can't wait to be done and have my little guy out of me.

Owen's older brother is really close in age to Scott and Owen and Scott's little brother will be even closer in age.

I can't wait for these two cousins to start playing together.

Halloween Fun

Last year we went to the pumpkin patch and sure, it was fun but all we did was pay way too much to walk around a muddy field and pick out a pumpkin.

This year I wanted more.

So we went to Cornbellies and Thanksgiving Point.

It did NOT disappoint, as if Thanksgiving point could.

We went with the Krommenhookes.

We all have the best time with them.

There was so much for the kids to do and it wasn't cheesy or boring for the adults either.

I was a bit worried that Scott might get over whelmed but he was a champ.

This kid is walked in like he owned it and had no problem going from one activity to the next.

The only fit we got that night was when it was time to leave and say goodbye to Jeff, Amber, Jade and Tatum who he always hates leaving.

I think I loved most of all that Mark got to see Scott have the time of his life and play with him.

I take Scott to the fun places usually and get to see the happy Scott and by the time Make comes home Scott is all tuckered out and cranky.

The other nice thing was that Mark and Jeff took charge of the kids and left Amber and I to just fall back and chat.

For those who haven't been, you really need to put it on your holiday to do list next year.

I think it just became our Halloween tradition.

Quick Trip

October is full of trips for Mark.

Two business trips and hunting with a lot of hunting prep days to take Mark away from us.

Not used to sharing him so much and Scott and I weren't happy about it.

So in between all the trips was a long weekend that we wanted to make the most out of.

We originally thought we would go visit a National Park but then the government shut down and so the parks closed.

Don't get me started on the injustice there.

But my parents rented a cabin for us at Yuba Lake.

I'd never even heard of it.

It was too cold to swim but we got to take a beautiful and kinda cold walk around the lake.

Scott loved being with Grandma and Grandpa and Natalie.

It felt good get away, even if just for a night.

We had such a great time Mom and Dad are thinking of making this the place of our next family camp trip this summer.

I sure hope so.

Fun with Carter

This sweet little guy next to Scott is Carter.

He is one of Scott's favorite friends and one of his few friends that are boys.

Carter is very special to our family.

Not only does he make Scott so happy but his mom helps me to be happy.

While Scott was growing up and we started having questions it was hard to get answers from those around me.

All my friends that had children Scott's age were girls.

I heard lots of, "He's a boy, boys develop slower then girls."

But something that always helped was when Sedra would post something about Carter, she was one of the few friends that had a boy.

Our friendship began when my family moved to Utah and she was in my Young Womens group at good ol' Alpine 4th Ward.

She was a year older then me and we weren't incredibly close then.

But thanks to facebook we reconnected.

Our boys we found out were very similar.

Eventually we got together and started to text and call back and forth.

We have helped one another through some pretty rough spots that few understand.

The great thing about these boys is that they are so easy for us to love because we have come to understand them and when we don't understand them we still love them.

It is such a blessing to have a wonderful friend like Carter and Sedra.

They totally get this Crazy Ellis Family.

Daughter of God

Today is Saturday and conference is going on this weekend.

I love conference time.

This year some things are happening that are kinda bugging me.

At the last conference six months ago we experienced women giving prayers in conference for the first time I guess.

I've never noticed that they have not prayer in conference.

This year will be the first year that the Priesthood session will be broadcast live on the internet (this makes Mark very happy since he hates to get dressed up on a Saturday evening and is usually late0.

What do these two things have in common one might ask?

Well apparently there is a growing movement in amoungst some of the women of the church that there is a great inequality between men and women of the church.

Some women have had demonstrations of this by going to church in pants to prove some kinda point (though I don't know what that point is, I love wearing skirts and dresses and find them to be more comfortable then pants most the time).

Some women have gone as far as saying they want the priesthood and hate that the church is run by men.

To be honest I haven't done much research into this growing movement.

In some ways that makes me ill qualified to speak on it.

But the reason I haven't looked into it doesn't mean that I know nothing, it means that this movement bothers me so much that I don't even want to add to the number of people that are entertaining the articles written.

I have heard things from friends and family and our short conversations on the topic have made me so angry that I find myself here now, writing in this blog/ family history to let my posterity know where I stand.

I am a Daughter of God!

I am loved by a Father in Heaven and a Mother in Heaven.

I know that I am important in this Church.

I know that I have a great work to do.

I don't feel belittled or less of a person next to Mark or any other man in the Church.

But at that, I also don't feel equal to Mark or other men.

I feel quite different actually.

But feeling different, again, does NOT make me less.

If anything (confessing my pride)I feel more.

No I don't have the priesthood but in my heart I feel like I have so much more.

For I am a mother.

Mark and my father and my bishop will never gain this privileged.

Being a mother is a divine calling given to me as a women that no other man has yet claimed.

Yes, men can be fathers but a father, no matter how amazing, can never be a mother.

While pregnant with Scott I experienced motherhood the moment I knew of his existence in my belly.

 It was the hardest thing I'd ever gone through up till that point.

I have had many hard times since pregnancy, many of them proving to be harder then pregnancy.

Every single one of my challenges I have had in the past 4 years 9 months have been because of motherhood.

I'm not trying to complain, I'm just stating a fact.

Hard times that I have had were just that, hard, but they were nothing compared to the demands of motherhood.

This being said, motherhood has also been the source of my most happy moments in my life.

Being Scott's mother is the best thing I have ever done.

Watching him learn and succeed in life has proven to make me happier then my own successes in life.

Watching him struggle and make mistakes and get hurt have been more painful to me then any of my own old hurts.

I know that Mark feels similar to this.

But as hard as it is to be pregnant I would not trade this blessing for anything.

I feel sorry for Mark for not being able to experience this.

I am a big fan of feeling as little as possible during labor but there is one feeling that I would suffer any pain for and that is the amazing feeling of holding my baby for the first time.

When Scott was given to me I felt like it was my Heavenly Father himself was handing him to me because I knew at that moment that this was a miracle, this was a gift, that this was my son and I would do ANYTHING for him.

Every time I experience an annoance with this pregnancy I remember that I soon will have the veil lifted again and will once again get a sweet and perfect child of God handed to me, entrusted to me.

There is so much responsibility given to mothers to raise these children of God and help them on there path.

To guide and teach them on their paths back to Heaven.

Not only am I supposed to get myself to Heaven but I am now responsible for helping my children get back.

I am so grateful that I don't have to worry about the responsibilities of the priesthood in addition to the responsibilities I already have.

I simply get to support my husband in his priesthood responsibilities and partake of the blessings it offers.

While Mark shares these responsibilities of teaching our children with me, I feel a grater responsibility and a grater understanding of how to help our children.

I have felt and received revelations on ways to help our son thanks to many prayers that Mark and I have both offered.

While Mark does receive answers to prayers and revelation, I know that I have received more in regards to Scott and I know that this is because of my divine nature of being a mother.

I am by no means the best mom and I often believe that Scott deserves more of me.

But this I do know, Heavenly Father gave Scott to Mark and I and my Heavenly Father trusts Mark and I do what is best for him with the help of my divine nature as a mother and Mark's divine nature as a Priesthood holder in our home.

I dream of having a daughter someday, not that I would trade my boys for anything.

I want to do all those girly things like dresses and hair does and playing dolls and dress ups and princesses.

I don't know if I will get that blessing.

But while feeling sorry for myself for not yet getting that blessing I am reminded of the joys of having boys.

I now have a new goal and dream and that is to raise boys that grow to love and respect women and to know of their divine nature.

I may not get a daughter of my own but I pray for my future daughters in law to know of their divine nature and desire the miracle of motherhood.

For there is no better work a woman can do then to raise a righteous family.

To conclude I have to state how grateful I am to my parents who were wonderful examples to me of motherhood and priesthood working together.

I never understood the love they had for me until I had Scott.

Thank you mom and dad, I love you so much.

  

Sweet Story

Weird picture, yes I know.

But this has such a sweet story behind it.

Cold season is coming on us and I like to be prepared.

That and Costco had these on sale.

Well I came home and set thes by the storage room so I could find a place for them in there later.

Later on that evening Scott brought me the whole pack of twelve boxes and and said, "Look mom, I got you flowers."

See what I mean, sweet story.

And created by such a sweet boy.

Thanks for the flowers Scotty.