2010

1. Jaime's Coconut Shrimp Soup. I was craving a Thai inspired soup last night- so I got online and looked at a few recipes, then looked at what I had on hand, and came up with my own invention that turned out pretty tasty. Jake was raving over it.

Sautee:
1 Tbsp veg or olive oil
1 onion finely chopped
1 larg sweet potatoe peeled and cubed
1/2 tsp ginger

Add and let simmer till flavorful:
1 can coconut milk
3 cups chicken broth
3 Tbsp lime juice (I used combination of fresh lime juice and lemon consentrate)
1+ tsp sea salt

Last few minutes add:
Shrimp (I just threw in frozen shrimp)
1/2 cup chopped fresh cilantro

When shrimp is cooked/warmed pour over some cooked RICE and ENJOY!

2. Humanitarian Services. I made a donation today outside our regular montly amount and specified that it be given toward Haiti relief (due to the devastating earth quake) and was reminded that 100% of the donation would go toward assistance. Pretty cool that our church is so on top of it. Also- there is a couple in our ward who has parents that live in Haiti and they were contacted by Wednesday by the area Stake President that his parents were okay. HOW COOL IS IT THAT THE CHURCH ORGANIZATION WORKS LIKE IS SUPPOSED TO IN SITUATIONS LIKE THAT. They hadn't been able to get in touch with his parents directly yet- but the church leadership was doing its reporting to find out how people were and where the needs were.

3. A THREE year old. Dekker turned three on the 12th. We had a fun little party here and he was so excited! He loved all his gifts and was very appreciative for each one. I'm so thankful for my little Dex. He is such an essential part of our little Runyan gang.

Yes, I'm still thankfull!

So I've been a slacker- but its not because I don't have things to be thankful for. I'm just busy getting used to this whole 3 kids thing, enjoying the holidays, being sick and trying to get back into a new routine for the new year. Among all the craziness though, there has still been PLENTY to be thankful for- so I apologize for not documenting them all.

Here are 3 for today:

1. So cute it hurts. Jake is a busy guy these days. This last week was particularly rough and we hardly saw him. When he was home Naomi was usually sleeping, or not very happy. Well, today they had some good daddy-daughter time. First in the morning, while I was getting ready. He snuggled with her and she fell asleep in his arms. Then, when I met up with him at church (he'd gone a early for a meeting beforehand) he immediatly grabbed her and let me wrestle the boys. I had her dressed up in a cute dress, tights, shoes and hairband. She was being really good for him, and eventually once again fell asleep in his arms. Twice, when I glanced over at him he actually looked up from admiring her, and mouthed to me "SO CUTE!" with an almost painful look on his face. I guess she's so cute it hurts.

2. Nap time. Even though we have church later now, Jake and I both wanted a nap after church (last night was Jake's rough coughing night- I had mine earlier this week). Josh and Dekker are both feeling the cold too- so I was trying to convince them it'd be good for them to take a nap too. I somehow actually convinced Josh, who went down to his room to lie down. I was trying to figure out what to do with Dekker so I coulld join Jake and Naomi her were already lying down and accidentally said, "Dekker, Josh is downstairs- why don't you go play with him?!" then realized my mistake, "Oops, never mind, Josh is sleeping- but you can go downstairs and play." He turned and headed downstairs. I know Dekker and figured he'd be back up in a couple mintutes, but took advantage of those minutes to lie down even if for just a little bit. A while later I realized the house was quiet and he hadn't returned. Curious I slipped out of bed and went to find him. I checked his room and the toy room before I found him where? Asleep on the floor in Josh's room. Josh alseep in his bed. The light was on. I laughed; I could totally imagine what'd happened. I'm sure Dekker went in there with the intention of waking Josh up. Josh is such a deep sleeper that he had no luck. He then started exploring and playing with some of Josh's things, and ended up falling alseep as he listened to the soothing sounds of Josh's deep breathing! Maybe you had to be there- but it was pretty funny and cute to me!

3. A bowl of cereal. As a mom of three it can be hard to even get a bowl of cereal sometimes. Thank goodness there quick, easy, and pretty fulfilling for those moments when I do find time to grab a bowl.

And a few from the last month or so....

1. a Wonderful Christmas. The boys are at such a fun Christmas age. It was really fun to see everything through their eyes this year.

2. My dad came to town. My dad came and spent Christmas with us. He's been through some real interesting things the last year or two. I think the challenges have made, and are making him a better person. It was great to have him around.

3. Naomi's blessing. Simple and beautiful.

4. Snow days and sledding. Josh loves the snow- Dekker tollerates it. Jake loves taking them sledding, making snowmen, and having snowball fights.

5. Service. So many great friends and family have helped me out during this transitional time- and I am so thankful.

6. Temple Square lights. Christmas eve we picked up my Grandpa Bybee and took him and my dad to dinner at Cheescake Factory and then to see the lights at Temple Square. We learned later that my grandpa, 95 years old, had never been to the lights at Temple Square before. Josh and Dekker liked the lights too. It was a really special night!

Naomi Christine

1. Not only that she is here- but that she is healthy and whole. We'd had concerns early on due to soft markers for Down Syndrome and a large-measuring abdomen. Though blood work came back "normal" for DS risks, and further ultra sounds showed no signs for problems that would cause a larger abdomen- there still sat that little worry in the back of our minds. We were more aware that one can NEVER know for CERTAIN that their little one will be okay until delivery day. Naomi's birth and health are extra special because of the trials we went through.

2. My rocking chair/recliner. We're still going through adjustments. I always seem to have breastfeeding issues at first. Naomi sleeps wonderfually in the days- but struggles from about 10pm to 2am. Luckily- I love my rocker and boppy and can be comfy as we work through these minor issues.

3. A father's love. I love seeing Jake's adoration for his little girl. He says that the biggest difference is that he just wants to hold and protect her, while with the boys he just couldn't wait to throw a ball at them! He can't wait till he gets home each day to see her and "oohs" ad "ahhs" over her all the time. It's so dang cute!

Too much.

It's midway into November- a month that should easily lend itself to giving thanks- and I haven't posted here in quite some time! If anything, its really just that I feel so overwhelmed with gratitude lately I don't even know where to start. But whenever I go back and read from this blog the little random things are the ones that are the most fun- so today I'll start with a few of those.

1. A little brother sticking up for big brother. Today the boys were doing pretty dang good through all of sacrament meeting, but right at the end they got a little antsy. Josh leaned over and wiped his nose on Jake's suitcoat, which made Jake pretty upset, and then Josh was upset because he knew he'd made his dad mad- but for some reason he responded by throwing a fit- Well, Dekker saw that Josh was "sad" and so smacked Jake! It kinda came out of no where though, and so at first we weren't sure why he'd done it. Jake asked, "Dekker- why did you just HIT me?" to which he responded, "You made Josh sad!" I had to hide my laughs- because in our home hitting is NEVER okay- but I still thought it was cute that Dekker was coming to Josh's defence.

2. Dekker is learning his colors. We've been working on Dekker with all of his colors a lot more lately. He does really well. He's always pointing out different colors to me- today he was using the black crayon and was very careful to make sure and pronounce the "L". And then, after the sacrament I gave each of the boys a halloween size bag of skittles for being reverent. I couldn't help but smile when I saw Dekker line his all up by colors and then start naming each color as he ate them.

3. My primary kids. Today is very likely to be my last time with my primary class. They've been so fun to teach! I've really grown to love each one of them. I have some funny moments from teaching them that I wish I'd have taken the time to document. Today our class was in charge of doing the scripture, talk, and prayer in the combined hour of primary. I usually call and remind the parents of the talk assignment during the week- but forgot until late last night. Taeya was assigned, and her family is usually really good about remembering- but just in case I looked at the topic for the week and then grabed this months' issue of the friend and found an article she could use as a back up. When we got to church I found Taeya all upset because she had indeed forgotten to tell her mom about the assignment, and could now not find her mom to help her pull one together. I told her that I'd thought that might be the case, and apologized for not giving her a reminder call during the week, but explained that I'd been thinking about her the night before and had found a Friend article she could use. I thought it was so sweet when, instead of acknowledging my fault in forgetting the reminder she looked up at me with the biggest grin and said, "YOU were thinking of ME?!" Kids really do just want to be loved.

Weekends

1. Friday November 2nd. Jake took me to the BYU football game. We were really only there for the 2nd half- which was perfect for this pregnant belly in the stands. I love going to the games- just the smell of the stadium and it was a crisp night- but not too cold- and we got yummy hot cocoa. It was a fun date.

2. This last Friday (the 9th). Kari came and watched the boys. Jake was supposed to have a study group- but it only a few from his group were planning to meet- so he went to help Jesus install some flooring in his house and I went to go get a MUCH needed pedicure!!! It felt awesome! Then Jesus, Trish, Jake and I all went to catch a late night showing of 9. It was good- but not fantastic- but fun regardless.

3. This next weekend! This Saturday Natalie is throwing me a baby shower and I'm so excited to gather a bunch of girls around me and celebrate a girl coming to join our family!

Freaking Awesome

1. Killers concert. I was excited for a date night- but not uber excited for the concert- I didn't think I knew the Killers well enough. However, I was surprised at how many hits they've had and how fun and great their performance. The group that opened for them was pretty lame- Mariache band??!?! But besides that it was a lot of fun and I've been loving the Killers tons these days- kinda cool that the lead singer grew up in Nephi and has a kid named Ammon too...

2. Cheesecake factory. This is the first time we've been. We did the classic "share, share, share" where we order one appetizer, one entree, and one dessert and share all three. The "appetizer" was huge though- come to think of it- so was the entree and dessert- so though it was all SUPER YUMMY, we ended up bringing some of th eappetizer and dessert home with us. We got the red velvet, white chocolate cheesecake- Can you say TO DIE FOR?!?!

3. Home improvement and painting is coming along. So Jake has been a saint about getting the basement done in the little free time he has, and I've been doing TONS of painting and helping where I can. Josh's room was way more work than I had expected- but turned out pretty cool. This last week I finally got the boys into their new rooms- and they both really like them (I was a little worried about Dekker, but the new CARS sheets really helped). I still need to put one more shelf, hanger rod, and red curtains in Josh's room- but it came together well. The toy room and laundry/sewing room are looking great too. I still need to go back and calk and touch up the baseboards, but we got the desks and "file baskets" in. Friday I went and got the rest of the wall cabinets and shelves that we need to set up and then I can post picture of it all. The space is already getting tons of use though- the kids play TONS more with their blocks and train tracks because now they have a hard-surface floor that works well with them.

4. New hairdo. Thursday I went and got my haircut and colored so that'd it'd be looking nice for maternity pics (which Brea shot Thursday afternoon) and though it ended up taking almost 3 hours- it finally turned out pretty much perfect. You'll have to wait for the maternity pics which Brea says she should have done and edited by the end of this next week.

5. Brea's photography. Because my hair took so long, and Brea had plans to leave her work/studio a little early and head out of town- we only had about a 1/2 hour to shoot. From what I could tell though she got some good shots though- and even managed to take a few portraits of the boys. She's so sweet to do it for me- and I've never done "maternity" pics before - because I'm never excited about how I look while I'm big and prego- but I always regret it later- because it really is an amazing thing that should be documented.

6. Aunt Trish. I love Becca to peices! She watched the boys last weekend so Jake and I could go to the concert- and last night so we could go to the BYU game. And my boys adore their Aunt Trish. Who wouldn't though when she takes them up to "Cornbelly's" up at Thanksgiving Point and pops popcorn and watches movies, and all that other fun stuff?!?! She is such a good friend and really does deserve the title "Aunt".

7. Spiritual leaders. Last night we ended up parking at President Christensen's house for the game- and so of course said Hi to him and the family. They're such great people- and I love them lots. And the first half of General Conference was today- and its been just what I needed so far. I need a spiritual recharge- I love primary- but its good to get fed at an adult level again too!

Few! And that's just covering the highlights... a clear sign that I have not been keeping up with this blog like I should be!

Dekkerman

1. Potty trained. I'm dedicating this post to Dekker in large part because I'm so proud of him being potty trained! After just one week of prep talk and one week of training the kid is staying "clean and dry" day and nights- that's right- he even wears "big boy pants" to bed at nights and nap time. He even tells me when we're in public places if he needs to go. He hates public toilets and usually has to be taken 2-3 times before he can actually feel comfortable enough to actually go. I still have to help him pull down and up his pants most of the time, and he's not the best at getting his stuff from the little potty to the big potty without spilling, but really- those are all little things. The kid hasn't had an accident for three whole days! Even the few days before that they were just little ones right in front of the potty. So yeah, I'm very proud of him- even if it does also kinda make me sad to realize how grown up he is! I think the big motivator was just that he thinks his CARS underware are SO COOL. He loves picking out which ones he wants to wear and then turns around in front of the mirror in his room so he can see the character on his little bum- its so cute.

2. My clean, messy one. Dekker is funny in that he is always such a mess. He is always spilling stuff and coloring on himself, or has a runny nose or anything else you can think of that would cause a mess on, near, or around him- but he hates being messy, and always exclaims, "Oh no! A mess, a mess!" until I help him clean it up. And you know how most kids HATE having their noses/faces wiped- not Dekker. If I go to wipe his face he jutts out his chin and holds real still- and when I'm done he'll ask, "Messy face?", and when I say, "Yes." he responds, "Oh, thanks Mom!"

3. Josh's fan. He and Josh are the best and worst of friends. They can play so well together one moment, and be screaming at each other the next. But when it comes down to it I think most of the screaming is just to get my attention anyway. The sweetest is though, that now that Josh is back in preschool, Dekker misses him SO MUCH while he's gone. He always begs to go to preschool too- and as soon as we drop Josh off he's asking, "Go get Josh, Mom?". It's pretty sweet.

4. Knows his cars. I remember I was shocked when at six months old Dekker would find one of Josh's toy cars and start making the "vroom, vroom" noise. The car obsession has only gotten worse. CARS is his favorite Disney movie by far- but he always loves to point out "cool cars" (usually ones with an interesting paint job, or with loud mufflers) to me- and trucks too. But he also associates cars with their drivers- for instance he is constantly pointing out black Audis to me and telling me they're "Dad's car", he also points out big red SUVs and says they're "Paig's car" (our neighbors have a red Tahoe), he points out VW Passats and and Jettas for "Trish" (she has a green Passat), etc etc etc. We'll have to find a good occupation that encorporates this passion (No- I'm not to fond of him becoming a mechanic, and a race car driver is far too dangerous for this mom.... maybe he'll engineer more efficient, yet "cool" cars for the future).

5. SUPER strong. He also loves super-heros, and his capes and is always showing me how "super strong" he is by lifting things up, or running really fast with his elbows pulled up and out. And while Josh likes playing "Piece of this" because its with Dad and its kinda SCARY-fun- for Dekker its ALL FUN. Even Josh will sometimes send Dekker to "get Dad" or call out "Dekker, come save me".

6. Sweet guy. Yet despite his "super strength" he also knows how to be sweet and kind. He HATES being in trouble and always needs sincere hugs and kisses to make things better. He'll say sorry without being asked and will gives hugs and kisses "just because" all the time. I always ask for "BIG HUGS/Kisses", but he even made up his own "little hugs/kisses" which he comes and gives me as softly and quickly as he can. Man I love my Dekkerman.