Benjamin Lewis

We are so excited to announce the birth of our son

Benjamin Lewis

He was born at 3:45 PM on Tuesday, December 6.  He weighed a whopping 8 pounds 11 ounces, measured 19 1/2 inches, and is perfect.  We love him so much.  

As with each of our other children, Benjamin's name came perfectly to us.  As soon as we had a private moment after the birth, Mark and I looked at one another and we both knew exactly what his name should be.  Lewis is my Grandpa Moldenhauer's name, who passed away earlier this year, and I love that our little man carries his name with him.  I hope that he can grow to be as faithful, hardworking and dedicated to family as my Grandfather was.

We love you, baby brother.

Reindeer Trek

This afternoon we headed down to Logan to do some family fun.  It feels like it has been awhile and it was a great little activity to do.  We headed to Willow Park Zoo for their Reindeer Trek event.  It was so fun.  It's just a teeny-tiny zoo but they had it decorated in Christmas lights, had hot chocolate and cookies, reindeer that we could pet, crafts and SANTA!  

The kiddos had lots of fun and Mark and I had loads of fun watching them.  They are getting so big.  I can't believe it.  As we were leaving it dawned on us that this is probably *hopefully* the last family fun activity with just the four of us.  I can't wrap my mind around it.  I am so excited.  It's pretty amazing to watch your family grow.  

We are ready for you baby brother.  

Feel free to come anytime...

Thanksgiving

What a year!  Thanksgiving always makes me really reflective about our past year.  And this has been quite the year.  We moved into our new house just days after Thanksgiving last year and I definitely would never have believed that we would have already sold our home and moved and taken a new job in Bear Lake.  

This has definitely been a year of tender mercies.  As hard as 2015 was, this year we have seen the hand of our Heavenly Father in so many aspects of our family's life.  So many things we didn't understand  why had to happen began to make sense and it has been a testimony builder in faith and patience.  

This year, while reflecting on my blessings, Mark immediately came to my mind.  I am thankful every day for this man, but this year has really shown me just how well we work together.  Having him gone so much for the majority of the year made me really aware of how much I depend on him - but in a really good way.  We work so well together and he builds me up in ways no one else can.  I don't know what I would do without him.  And being able to see him every day since we have moved to Garden City with this new job has only confirmed how much I need and love this man.  

I am also so grateful for Jacob and Sarah.  Being a mom is a dream come true and they are so patient and always forgiving with me and my shortcomings.  They fill our family with joy and I love seeing them grow in so many different ways.  It has been so much fun to see their excitement as we prepare for baby brother to come and I am confident they will make great siblings for this new little one.  

I am grateful for the course we had to take with Mark's career this last year.  Even though it was really hard to be separated, amongst other things, it has been made very clear that he had to go on that path in order to get where he is.  We are so grateful to be back working for the company Mark always dreamed of and be able to live in a place where we feel we can raise our family in the ways we want to.

Our Thanksgiving was relaxing and low-key.  Mark and I did make a pretty insane turkey (we brined, we injected, we bagged!) and had lots of other goodies.  We are, again, thankful for all our Father in Heaven has blessed us with and continues to bless us.  

BYU Game

Mark wanted to start a new tradition with Jacob and I think it is GREAT.  Mark decided that he wanted to take Jacob to a BYU football game this year and it was so fun.  I am pretty sure Jacob didn't understand what he was getting into but I know this will become a tradition that will be really special as he gets older.  

Mark picked an afternoon game and they had great weather.  They spent a lot of time walking around and getting lots of snacks but I told Mark it could only get better every year! ;)

When I asked Jacob about it after, I could tell that he really enjoyed the one-on-one time he got with his Dad.  Love these boys of mine!

Halloween

We had a GREAT Halloween!  I could not get over how adorable the kiddos' costumes were this year.  This was also the first year I didn't make their costumes.  I felt a little guilty about it - but in the end, loved how they turned out!  

Jacob, of course, wanted to be Darth Vader.  I could NOT find a pattern for anything so it worked out great when I found this costume.  He LOVED it!

Sarah picked out a fairy costume.  And, seriously, she is the cutest thing I have ever seen.  She looked absolutely adorable.  The HATED taking off the costume and I am convinced would wear it every day if I let her - and if it didn't leave a trail of glitter behind!

Here in Garden City (since everyone lives so far apart), everyone comes to the campground where they have big blow up bounce houses, treats and then everyone just stands by the cabins while the kids trick or treat.  The kids had a great time playing in the bounce house while we waited for the trick or treating to start.  And luckily, Mark got there just as we were about to start the trick or treating. 

We came home, had some soup and bread, and the kiddos were in Halloween heaven.  

It was a very Happy Halloween!

Carving Pumpkins

We had a *mostly* great time carving our pumpkins this year.  Jacob enjoyed getting to design his pumpkin and Sarah took ten years to clean out her seeds!  

I, sadly, made the mistake of proclaiming my pumpkin to be the best one I've ever carved.  Bold - I know.  But I was pretty proud and stand by my statement.  However, Jacob knocked it off of the table and it broke shortly after making my proud statement.  I was super sad.  Mark attempted to piece it back together with a plastic fork but it was a no go.  

It's all about the experience though, right?!

Pumpkin Walk

Ahhh!  I am SO very behind in blogging.  So this is me playing LOADS of catch up.  

In October, we took the kiddos to the pumpkin walk in Logan.  It was so fun to be able to go.  I loved going to it in college and seeing all of the young families and so it was special to be able to become one of those young families.  

It was a truly PERFECT fall day and the kids seemed to really like it.  The Winnie the Pooh set was definitely the favorite!  And the kids loved looking for the hidden ghost in each scene.  

We had a great time and I hope this is just the beginning of many more "pumpkin walks" to come.