Good Night Avengers!

I LOVE taking pictures of my boy sleeping!  When I go through my past photos I have a overwhelming number of pictures of my son sleeping.

There is a short story behind this picture.

Grant has really grown up this last year in many different ways, but one of the most obvious is his pretend play.  He has started getting into the action figures, especially the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles and the Avengers.  As I mentioned, Granny got Grant a whole bunch of Avenger guys for Christmas.  He loves them!  He has even expanded his collection with a little Christmas money people gave him.   I am very proud of him for not just buying stuff at the store.  In the past his money literally burns a hole in his pocket, but this time he has been looking for some very specific figures.  He saved his money until he found them.  

A few nights ago I went to turn off his light to find him asleep with blanket neatly laid out on a pillow next to him. 

I looked under the blanket to find all the Avenger guys neatly lined up in a good guy line and a bad guy line.  Obviously, even super heroes have to get some sleep.

Silly Boy

I took this picture during the holidays, but forgot to post it.  It is such a great picture I have to post it!

Bed time is one our favorite times of the day.  We always read stories, including a Book of Mormon story, and say our prayers.  It is the one time during the day Grant and I have a few minutes of quiet time together.  

Once in a while Grant has a hard time settling down to go to sleep.  He gets a little wound up and needs prompting to settled down.  On this particular night he was quite wound up.  I had been in his room to remind him to get to sleep a few times.  I went in a little later to find him almost asleep with his swim goggles on.  He is pretending to be asleep in the picture, but he is obviously not asleep.  If I had waited 10 more minutes he would have fallen asleep with his swim goggles on.  Silly boy!

Fall of Giants

Fall of Giants by Ken Follett
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I think this is probably one of my favorite Ken Follett books.  I still think Pillars of the Earth is my favorite, but this one is a close second.
The story was very intriguing to me!  I loved Ethel and Billy's story the most interesting.  Ethel was such a strong character with so much personality! I also loved Ethel and Billy's dad!  I wish he had more of a roll in the story, but when he did he was a fire house of strong will!
The only part I didn't like was the political story between the different countries.  I don't find the politics very interesting and it wasn't the best part of the book.
There are a few sex scenes, but not explicit or graphic detail.  There is very little swearing throughout the book until the war scenes.  During the war scenes the soldiers swear a lot and it is not necessary, in my opinion.
I really enjoyed this book and can't wait to read the next book in the series.


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Learning New Things

I am so excited to have a little girl in the house!  I am nervous about one thing.

Doing hair.

I have to confess I rarely do Grant's hair!  Kyle actually combs and gels Grant's hair more often than I do.  

I know that with a girl I will have to at least run a comb through her hair on a daily basis.  It is going to take some getting used to that is for sure!  

As I get ready to do these little locks I have started practicing doing hair on myself.  I was pretty proud of myself when I got this braid to look as good as it does.  Go me!

The Mission Field

As members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints we have often heard people talk about "the mission field" and see picture similar to the ones posted above.  

First, some back ground information...

Today at church we had a missionary farewell for Sister Sadie Peterson, who is going to be serving in the Oslo, Norway mission.  Kyle served in Oslo and since the mission isn't very common, like Brazil, she was really excited to talk to Kyle.  She mostly wanted advice on climate and what to expect for weather.  

Sister Peterson is full of the love of the gospel and will make a wonderful missionary.  Hearing her talk about going out into the mission field reminded me of a childhood memory.

As a child I remember having "fancy" pictures on our sacrament meeting programs.  There were a couple of different missionary ones, but one I remember specifically had a picture of two missionaries standing in a wheat field.  People would often talk about heading into the missionary field, serving in the mission field, finding investigators in the mission field, and so on.  

I remember thinking it was great to have all these wonderful experiences in the mission field, but I couldn't help wondering how they found all these people in a wheat field.  I also found it somewhat of a tragedy to have all these handsome young men and women in nice dresses and suits basically farming!  I also could never imagine going on a mission myself and having to wear a dress just to work in a stinking wheat field.

Sister Peterson made a comment today about she has always known she wanted to serve a mission.  She told a story of how even when she was a little girl she would one day serve a mission.  I on the other hand had no intention what so ever of trying to find people in a wheat field, or any other type of field for that matter.

January 9, 2013

On January 9, 2013 we got to look at our beautiful little girl for nearly 30 minutes!  We got loads of pictures and a couple of video clips.  We are so excited to do the whole pink thing!  

Grant came with us to the ultrasound.  I don't think the tech appreciated his presence, but he was so thrilled to see his little sister.  

We actually knew this baby was a she before January 9th.  In December, I had a bad case of pregnant brain and showed up on the wrong day for my check up.  I showed up at the right time, but a day late.  I felt terrible.  I am not one to space my appointments and I know OB offices are busy.  I was lucky because normally my doctor isn't in the office on Fridays.  This Friday he was in the office as the doctor on call and agreed to see me. My doctor was very sympathetic and he could tell I felt awful about messing up my appointment time.  He tried to cheer me up, but I still felt so stupid.  Finally, he said, "hey I have a few minutes before I go to surgery. If we go look at your baby will that cheer you up?"  Of course I agreed!

The first thing we saw were the baby's legs and almost instantly he said, "this baby is a girl."  I felt bad that Kyle couldn't be there, but so excited to know a month early!

I have to say my pregnant brain has cost us two entire crock pot meals ruined.  I put the stuff in the pot and then forget to turn it on.  I have locked my keys in the car twice.  I have messed up my work schedule more times than I can count.  I have forgot to set my alarm clock and slept through the whole first hour of church.  But, for the first time my pregnant brain benefited me!  

I am so grateful to have such an understanding doctor.  He has really been wonderful!  I am grateful to Lise for referring Dr. Lowder to me.  Thank you!

Happy New Year!

We decided not to stay in Utah for New Year's Eve.  Let's be honest, New Year's Eve is not really the funnest holiday as a parent.   Last year, we put Grant to bed early and then we stayed up to party.  The problem was the next morning when we were exhausted and wanted to sleep in.  Grant woke up at the usual time bright eyed and bushy tailed.  

This year since Grant doesn't get the concept of time yet we rang in 2013 at about 10 PM.  We just told ourselves we were celebrating with the East coast.  

Our celebration included playing a whole pile of board games!  Grant loves board games and we played all the favorites.  Hungry Hungry Herd, Monopoly Crazy Cash, Guess Who,  and a few others.   We had BBQ ribs from Costco, one of our favorites, and green beans. It was so yummy!  We also had some sparkling grape juice for toasting.  

Kyle's toasts included losing weight, making more money, and better health.

My toasts included having a healthy baby, being a better mom, and better temple attendance.

Grant toasted to turning 5, getting a new red coat, and blue shoes.  (Don't ask, I have no idea where his toast ideas came from.)

Grant has had sparkling juice before, but he must have forgotten because he thought it was the best thing he had ever tasted!  We were cracking up at his reaction to the bubbles on his tongue. 

I publish this last picture because as a child...and maybe as an adult...I have way too many pictures with my mouth WIDE open!  I guess this is proof Grant is my child!  

We are so excited for 2013!  Great things are coming! 

Faith Precedes The Miracle

Faith Precedes The Miracle by Spencer W. Kimball
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I really enjoyed this book! After reading this book I wish I could remember Spencer W. Kimball as a prophet.  He died when I was young and I don't remember him at all.  This book helped me to get to know him a little better.   It served as a great reminder that faith is such an important principle of the Gospel of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints.
It is through faith that all great things come to past.  Spencer W. Kimball was an amazing prophet and a very good writer.  I loved how he went through so many aspects of the Gospel explaining how faith was so important to each and every part.
I would have given it 5 stars, but at the very end he went on a little soap box about Native American's.  He had a point and he definitely illustrated that point well.  I thought it went on a little too much and started feeling a little like a soap box.
I highly recommend this book to any member of the Church.  It is a great reminder of the gospel's core principles.  I would also encourage any new convert to the church to read this book.  President Kimball does a really good job explaining so many basic principles.


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Sometimes Small Places Are Just Small

When we moved into this little apartment in April 2011 we had no idea we would still. be. here.  In some ways the time has moved fast and I can hardly believe we have lived here for 2 years.  Part of me thinks it is because my mind refuses to acknowledge the fact we have been here for so long!  
We have really tried to appreciate and enjoy our time in this small space.  It has been good for our family in many ways.  We have realized the 2 huge storage units full of stuff is...well, just that stuff.  We have lived with out many of our simple "luxuries" now for 2 years and in all honesty could live without them.  Our family has grown more patient with one another.  We have no room to escape when we want our own space.  If you want space you have to go outside or become tolerant of each other and our needs.
As our time here comes to an end and we move through the closing processes of our new home our patience has grown thin of this tiny apartment!  Here are some things we are looking forward to:

10.  A play room.  We are tired of trying to watch a show, playing the Wii, or just walking through our front room with out tripping on 100 toys.

9.  A large kitchen!  Our kitchen is small to start with and we don't even have room for our real dinning table.  We sit at a folding table with folding chairs and food storage under our feet.  We have food stashed in our coat closet and over all the cupboards.

8.  Large closet.  Kyle and I have a lot of clothes!  About 6 months ago we were sitting in our living room when we hear a large bang.  We run to the source of the sound to find our solid oak closet rod had completely snapped in half.

7.  A second bathroom.  With only one bathroom it is really hard to practice strict modesty.  Grant has seen both Kyle and I naked a few too many times.  He is growing a little too curious about body parts for his age.  I have already had to have way too many conversations about body parts!

6.  Some of the simple luxuries that are in storage I really miss!  I haven't made cupcakes for 2 years because I left our muffin tins at the storage unit 300 miles away.  I miss my big mixer and cookie sheets and haven't made home made cookies in 2 years.  We have bought store cookies, but they are not the same.  Kyle misses our big rice cooker and a normal size microwave.

5.  We both really miss our big freezer.  Thank goodness I married an engineer who can some how manage to get all of the this...

into this tiny little freezer...

with room to spare!

I don't know how he does it!  I am amazed!

4.  A garage!  I really miss our garage for a number of reasons. The first being I can go out to my car in my underwear to grab my purse or anything else with no one even knowing!  I love being able to get into a cool car in the summer and a warm car in the winter.  I really hate scraping my windows!  I also hate it if I get home past 5:30 at night because it means I have to drive around looking for a parking spot.  It also means I have to walk forever on an unplowed parking lot to get to my front door.  Our kitchen is small...I think I mentioned this, and to make the kitchen even smaller we have to store our bikes in the kitchen because there is no where else to put them.

3.  My own washing machine and dryer.  Now doing laundry at a laundry mat has its advantage and that is you can do 9 loads all at once!  Yes, I have done 9 loads all at once!  The disadvantage is it takes all day.  We have to scour the house for quarters and hate knowing how much money it costs to do a single load of wash.  We can't leave our laundry in the dryer until the next day to fold it because if we do it will be stolen.  The laundry doesn't get as clean and we frequently come home with random socks and underwear.  It really bugs me!

2.  We really want our own space.  The family next to us smoke and we can't live our front window open or our whole house smells like smoke.  The guy who parks next to us can't park in his stall and we often can't get in and out of our car.  The guy who lives above us has bowl problems and we can hear EVERYTHING!

1. Kyle and I bought a king size bed when we first got married.  We got a lot of grief about it, but we didn't care.  We love our space option.  We can be close if we want or we can roll over and sleep on our own sides.  Our king size bed didn't fit in this apartment and so we had to buy a queen.  We have kicked, pushed, shoved, and hit each other for 2 years.  Neither one of us have got a great night's rest on the queen.  We want our big bed back!

Great Things Come In Small Places

We have lived in our little 800 square foot apartment for almost 2 years.  It has been 2 years too long!  We are so excited to get into our new house in a few weeks.  We can hardly wait to have more space among other things, however living in this small space has given us a new sense of gratitude.  Here are some things we have come to appreciate.
1.  As in ONE bathroom.  I only have to clean one toilet, one sink, and one tub!
2.  Two bedrooms and a living room only take about 20 minutes to vacuum.
3.  It only take 3 seconds to run across the entire house in an emergency.
4.  No yard work for two whole summers.
5.  A community pool we have enjoyed for FREE for two summers.
6.  Utilities are included.  We haven't had to pay a water or gas bill in two years!
7.  Rent is a LOT cheaper than a house payment!
8.  We don't have to shovel a driveway!
9.  If things break we just call the land lord to come and fix it.
10.  We are super close to everything!  For example, we are 1.7 miles from our parking lot to the parking lot at Kyle's work.  We are .5 miles away from the river and an AMAZING walk/nature path.  We are 1.0 miles away from the post office and the library.  We are 2.0 miles away from Wal-Mart and 3.2 miles away from Target.

The Preacher's Bride

The Preacher's Bride by Jody Hedlund
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I think historical fiction is my new favorite genre!
I really enjoyed this book.  It was an easy read and kept me intrigued the whole time.  The author did a great job with the depth of the characters and their personalities.  I have to admire the strength of John and his sweet bride.  I also loved the depth of character his daughter Mary had.  I loved all the characters!  They each had such different strengths and added so much to the story.
This book was very clean.  Some reference to sex after the two weddings in the story, but nothing explicit.  No swearing or bad language.


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2013: Our Goals

2013: Where has the time gone!  I can't believe it is already 2013.  This year already holds promises of new and exciting adventures.  Here are the top 5:

1. Grant will turn 5 in February and start kindergarten in August.  I know intellectually he will do just fine.  I do worry about him getting adjusted to going to school every day.  I also worry about him socially.  I think it will be an adjustment for us, but overall I think he will do great.

2.  Kyle is working on getting his temple recommend again.  He hasn't been to the temple since at least 2007.  I miss having someone to go with.  I am so proud of him.  It is not easy, but it will be worth it!

3.  In May we will be a family of 4!  I am so excited to meet this sweet little baby.  I am nervous to have an infant around again and I am sure I have forgotten many things.  Hopefully, it will all come back fast.  We have waited so long for this little one and I am so excited!

4.  We are moving out of our little apartment on Garrett Street.  I will miss some things about this little apartment, but I am so ready to have my own space!

5.  I am going to try and be a stay at home mom.  It just doesn't make sense to pay for 2 kids in day care and so I am going to try being a full time mom!  I am still going to fill in on occasion at two different hospitals just so I don't have a huge break in my employment, but other than that I am staying home.  I am really nervous about this change!

2012: A Summary

I have seen many people on blogs and face book express their gratitude for 2012 to be over and excited for 2013!  I have to say the Maybury's 2012 wasn't terrible, but it didn't all go as we had planned.  Then again when does life ever go as planned.  We have definitely  had some major trials and some wonderful blessings this past year.  We have definitely seen the Lord's hand in our lives.

1.  In February Grant turned 4!  He had been looking forward to this birthday with great anticipation.  Granny and Evy were able to come up and celebrate with us.  It was so much fun!  Grant is such a wonderful boy!

2. We sold our house in May!  We had no idea it would take 14 months to sell the thing.  It was a huge financial obstacle we gladly washed our hands of.  We felt very blessed because the house sold for $400 more than what we owed.  We obviously didn't make a profit off the thing, but we also didn't have to foreclose on the house.  

3.  We sold our Dodge Ram truck.  In order to pay for close to $10,000 in closing costs on the house we had to sell Kyle's baby.  It was a tough decision for him and he really hated to see this sweet ride go.  It was a major blessing to be able to almost instantly make $10,000.  In the end we came out smelling like a rose on this deal.  We sold it for exactly what we paid in 2008.  We basically drove this truck for free for 4 years!  If only we could have made that much off the house!

4. In July, Kyle turned the big 30!  He was not looking forward to this birthday at all.  Now that it is past he is ok with it.  The birthday has inspired him to start being a little more healthy!  

5.  We were able to see two new temples open this year.  The Brigham City temple opened in September.  We feel close to this temple because it was announced while we were still living in Northern Utah.  If we hadn't moved we would still be a part of the Brigham City temple district.  It is a beautiful building and we are so happy for our old friends and neighbors.  

In November, we were able to attend the Boise, ID temple open house.  The temple had been closed since July 2010 for remodeling.  It is so exciting to have the temple open again!

6.  We are pregnant!  We have struggled with infertility for almost 2 years now.  It has been a major trial of our faith.  I literally have to pinch myself every morning to remind myself I am pregnant.  

This picture of our baby was taken in October at our first ultrasound.  I was so nervous to go to this first ultrasound for fear the doctor would tell me we were having another miscarriage.  I burst into tears when the doctor told me everything looked wonderful!  We are so blessed!

Birthdays, better health, temples, financial freedom, and a new baby...in our books 2012 was a huge success!

More Christmas Celebration

Erin's boss gave her a gingerbread train to build with the kids for Christmas.  We got it out for Grant and Evy to build together.  Grant decided he wanted to decorate the train and Evy did the house.  They both did a great job.  Honestly, Evelyn's artistic ability is amazing.  She is very interested in detail!  She also has a lot of patience when it comes to doing artistic things.  It was so much fun to spend time with these kids.  They are such good friends and I feel bad they don't get to see each other often enough.

Grant was proud of his train with the peppermint lights on top

Evy is putting lights all over her house for Christmas

The house is getting all lit up

Preston got in the tub to keep his little hands out of the way of creativity

The Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles are very popular at our house!  Before Christmas we went to Toys 'r Us to do a little shopping.  Grant and Kyle found these really cool life size TMNT bandanas and weapon sets for their favorite turtles.  Grant wanted to get his dad the Michelangelo set for Christmas.  Kyle hid in the back of the store so it would be a surprise while Grant and I made his purchase.  Kyle then went back to the store and got Grant his Raphael set. 

When we got Grant's presents out to wrap I was a dork and grabbed the Raphael set our instead of the Michelangelo set. Grant saw his Christmas present!  He was mad when I put the Raphael set away.

The worst part was the following days before Christmas because Grant would ask me at least every day if he could open his Raphael turtle set.  

Grant was so happy to finally open his turtle set.  It has now been a week or so since Christmas and I put this bandana on 300 times a day.  He loves it.  I had to work a few days after Christmas and I when I came home Kyle and Grant were watching the TMNT movie with their bandanas on. 

Kyle is such a good dad to be willing to wear a kid size bandana.  It is fun to see them have so much fun together.

Evy and Grant being the Turtles

Preston makes a pretty cute Ninja Turtle

Grant is not a big fan of clothes, as I previously mentioned, however when the clothes have cool characters on them...like the Turtles or the Avengers he doesn't complain too much.  Grant found this Santa hat at my mom's house.  He was really concerned that Santa had lost his hat.  He wanted to know how we were going to get it back to Santa.  I reassured him it wasn't Santa's actual hat, but a replica.  

Christmas Afternoon

Christmas afternoon we spent with my family.  My mom cooked a delicious dinner with zesty orange chicken, veggies, and rolls.  My dad picked up my Grandma Toombs so she didn't have to be alone on Christmas.  I can't imagine being a widow during the holidays.  I think it would be hard and I am glad our Grandmas could be with us.  

It took a couple of hours to open presents because our family is getting so big!  The kids could hardly contain themselves, but then again Grant ate a candy cane for breakfast so it shouldn't be a surprise.  

This year Trace and Sierra had our names and we had their names.  They both needed some nice work clothes and so we got them each a couple of shirts.  

Kyle got some elk hunting stuff that makes noise. I think it is elk calls, but I am not really sure.  Kyle really wants to get into elk hunting, but doesn't have all the necessary gear.  I got a beautiful temple picture.  Sierra has a temple picture in her home and I have always loved it.  I can't wait until I can hang it up in a new house.  

My dad is probably the most difficult person to shop for except for this year.  We all pitched in and got him a tablet.  My brother even spent some time getting some apps downloaded for him and syncing his email.  My dad was able to open the tablet and start playing immediately.  

My mom is also sometimes difficult to buy for, but this year she wanted a Garmin watch for running and biking. 

My mom also made all the girls matching aprons.  I didn't get a picture of all of us together, but they turned out so cute.  My mom also made every family a Christmas table runner.  My mom is seriously talented at sewing.  I am grateful she takes the time to make homemade gifts.  I sometimes think homemade gifts mean more.  It isn't always about how much someone spends, but the thought that truly counts.  I know if someone makes something for me they really put thought into the gift. 

I made my mom a calendar for her desk at school.  I know she misses seeing Grant on a regular basis and I hope the calendar helps not miss him so much.

I feel so blessed this year!  I have so much to be thankful for.  This year hasn't been easy, but it has been worth it.  I feel so lucky to get see every single immediate family member this year for Christmas.  It truly was a great holiday!

TMNT shirt in a blur because we are so excited!

Evelyn, Uncle Kyle, and Grant

one of Grant's favorite gifts-the Avenger action figures

he know exactly what to do with them

the best picture I could get with three excited kids (notice the baby is the only one sitting still)

Christmas Morning

Grant woke up at 8 AM ready to open presents!  He was so excited he could hardly contain his excitement.  We rushed down to the tree to see if Santa had come!  Of course he had and Grant couldn't wait to see what he got.  Because Grant couldn't contain himself we let him go ahead and open his presents from Santa.  He got the Mater Monster Trucks he asked for.  He also got some crocodile slippers he had seen on t.v.  Grant also had asked for some candy canes.  This year I think he got a little more greedy than in the past.  When he was two he only wanted a box of tissues.  Santa also brought him a Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle shirt. 

After Grant opened his Santa presents we were able to convince him to let us get some breakfast.  We also went and got Grandma Irene so she didn't have to sit home alone on Christmas day.  Kyle's brother, Lee, had just recently moved to Arizona and we were planning to Skype with him.  We were just sitting down to open our presents to each other when Lee walked through the door.  None of us could believe it!  He called himself the Christmas Miracle!  I know Cindy thought it was a true miracle to have him home.  

Being together as a family is one of the most important parts of the holidays.  It was so much fun to be all together for Christmas morning.  

a candy cane for breakfast

crocodile slippers and opening a present

the turtle shirt

the tree with all the presents

We lost Irene about half way through.

The fish game from Grandma

Christmas Eve

Living 300 miles away from our family makes the holidays a little complicated.  Every year we celebrate Christmas a different way.  This year we went down for Christmas Eve to be with Kyle's extended family and Grandma Irene.  We haven't seen some of Kyle's extended family for more than a year.  I was especially excited to see his Uncle Ross and Aunt Lorna.  They are such neat people and I love visiting with them.  

We had a delicious dinner with the family.  Irene opened her presents from everyone.  She was in love with the roosters.  She has quite the collection of them.  She was thrilled to get this country rooster pitcher to add to her collection.  Grant got a few presents, mostly clothes that he was less than thrilled about. Grant is not big into getting clothes as gifts. 

In November, Kyle started teaching himself how to play the piano.  He can play a few popular songs now.  I am very impressed with his dedication.  I know it isn't easy to learn how to play the piano and I can't imagine trying to teach myself.  He had fun playing Grandma's organ.

After the party we went to Kyle's mom's house and got ready for bed.  Grant was a little excited and had a hard time settling down.  

Grant and Great Grandma Irene

Kyle, Cindy, Irene