Changes

We've been taking pictures in the front of the Gilbert temple as it's built.  Our family has grown as fast as the temple - when we first started taking these pictures there were only four of us in total!

Marty moved to a new seminary this year.  He is opening up the new seminary for American Leadership Academy charter school.  I think he'll make an amazing principal. :)  There has been a ton involved in starting a new program and his hours have been quite different!  But it's ok, it's not like we just had two babies or anything...oh wait!  Just kidding, I'm really happy to hand him over where he is needed.  I didn't know what a great juggler he was when I married him. :)

Good-bye Queen Creek High Seminary.  What a great four years he had there!  I absolutely loved the teachers he worked with.  I feel like it was the perfect place for him to really thrive as a teacher.  Now he gets a whole new experience of not only teaching more students then he's ever had, but being the principal and often the secretary as well - good luck Marty, see ya next year. ;)

Millie May at 3 weeks

Yes.  I dressed her up on Sunday even though she didn't go to church.  Just let me play with my baby doll.

Camille's first week part 2

Brynn is a funny sister.  She likes to hold Camille many times a day for about 30 seconds and then she's ready to run off and play.  But if I look her in the eye and tell her I need help from a "super-sister" then she is ready to go.  She will stay with the baby for any amount of time I need and sing funny made-up lullabies in a Mary Poppins voice...and it usually WORKS!!

So, there is a slight chance I may have neglected my other children at times while I was loving on a newborn.  Marty and I were flirting with Camille when we suddenly realized all the laughing we were hearing from the kids outside was that laugh - the one you know means trouble!  B&B had caked this little guy head to foot in mud.  I did NOT think it was as funny as they did.  That night they not only got the pleasure of scrubbing their brother clean, but they also got to scrub the bathroom (which was now muddy) and do that load of laundry.  But I suppose just this picture is kind of funny now that it's all over with....

One day I begged Marty to take the kids somewhere fun so I could have some peace and quiet.  I had predicted it would be hard to have a baby just as it heats up and the kids are cooped up inside.  I was right. I thought it would be nice to have the baby as Brynn was getting out of school so I would't have to worry about driving her to class and dance and everything else that comes up during the school year.  But the challenge with that was keeping the kids from killing each other when they were ALL home together ALL the time.  But we made it through the first two months and then took off to Utah, which was really nice.   Anyway, Marty would up at the dollar theater and play place at the mall.  He even splurged on one of those dinosaurs you can ride around the mall.  He was sending me videos and pictures while they were doing it and it was so cute.

Brynn is such a ham.  Where could she have gotten that? :)

Buddy's b-day

I'm going to lay aside my feeling of PTSD over this day (the worst of my pregnancy!) and talk about all of the fun stuff. :)  This was Thursday, the day before Bryce's fourth birthday, and two days before I had Camille.  We picked up my mom from the airport and took her strait to Chuck-E-Cheese - lucky lady!  We brought Bryce's little best friend and possible future spouse, Taylor.  We also met up with their cute little Mather cousins there.

Bryce and Taylor were SO cute together at the air-hockey game all night!

Colton gave him a Jake toy - the highlight of his life. :)  And I sat at the tables most of the night counting contractions. :)

The next day, Friday, was his actual birthday.  While I think he had a lot of fun and didn't notice anything wrong, I felt kind of bad because so much of the day was spent getting ready to have a baby.  My mom literally spent like four hours at Walmart because I had become Mrs. Hubbard (couldn't stand long enough to walk through Walmart's parking lot, let alone push a cart up and down the aisles).  Then there was the matter of cleaning out the fridge and pantry and all the kitchen stuff I just hadn't been able to do.  So we worked on that a good chunk of the day, also.  While we did that, Bryce played with his new intricate pirate ship from Grandma and seemed happy as could be. When Marty came home, I asked him to take Bryce out on a date while we finished up.  So he got to be the birthday boy at Burger King.

When he got home, we had cake and ice cream and opened presents.

After that little party, I went upstairs to bed and didn't leave it until my water broke a day and a half later. :)  And Marty took his little princess to the cowboy Daddy-daughter dance.

Introducing Camille May part 2

I finally managed to get some more pictures downloaded.  I won't say much about them because I've already pretty much given the story, but at least I will have these.

Love my doctor.  And now we are four for four with my deliveries!

Glowing.

We were so glad Grandma Johnson was able to meet Camille on the way to the airport!  Doesn't she look beautiful in this picture?

I wish I could find a way to express how much I love these four.  I guess the best testament to it would be the fact that I HAVE four! :)  Having said that, I just have to take a minute to express how grateful I am that life has worked out for us this way.  I'm not sure I ever saw myself as having more than three kids (just cause I came from a 3 kid family) until I married Marty and started to feel sure that this was Heavenly Father's plan for my life.  It's such a good and secure feeling to want something and know that Heavenly Father wants that for you, too.  We have been so lucky to have so many things facilitate these four; finances, health, stability, support.  Each of those things, while they've taken a LOT of sacrifice on our part, have always been there for us.  We are so blessed.  I need to remember that when I find myself running around like a chicken with my head cut off.

Still warming up to the mommy who abandoned him for two days and is threatening his security with a tinier baby.

Our babies look so tiny in Daddy's arms!

One night Marty and I took a walk around that beautiful courtyard outside.

 Marty sat on a bench and I laid down and put my head on his lap.  We stared at our new perfect baby and everything was perfect.  It didn't feel like real life.  I knew real life was a-comin, though!!!

I really have the greatest friends. :)

Here's the traditional ride home from the hospital with just our new family.  No car trouble this time!  I wish Bryce could be back there with Brynn, but he gets carsick ridiculously easily.  Plus I loved seeing him take care of newborn Gabe last year.  And there's no telling what a 17 month old might do back there to a new baby.