Merry Christmas to all!

This year has been another wonderful one in the Weight household with lots of exciting happenings:

Amy turned 1, took her first steps, then started running everywhere; spoke her first words, and then started jabbering non-stop. She keeps us very busy and makes us laugh every day – even her tantrums are funny, for which I'm grateful. She loves going every week to the library to pick out new books, and I love the library for being our 'storage' space.

We welcomed Esther Constance Weight into our home, the day after my birthday. She's been so adorable. She's a snuggler and looks so much like Amy at that age, but has blonde (almost invisible) hair – I'm constantly pointing out that she does have hair, AND eye-brows and eye-lashes. She has the most darling kissable cheeks, squishable thighs and big smiles. Amy loves her baby sister, and calls her “Etters”. She is so willing to run grab diapers for her, and I have to watch her like a hawk so she doesn't just try to hug her to bits. I am very grateful to have had two great pregnancies, do-able deliveries and healthy kids.

Ryan was promoted at work to a leadership position, which brought extra cash and extra stress. For several months he worked three separate jobs for the company while they sorted things out, but there is a light at the end of the tunnel and we're hoping that the New Year will bring a resolution and less stress. He completed his first two semesters at Western Governors University and is doing very very well there. He keeps chipping away at his education and I am so proud of him! Proud of him as a husband, father, provider, priesthood holder and student!

Thanks to our good friends the Fiedlers and Grandma Jan we enjoyed a delectable December with all of my favorite German treats and knoedel and rotkohl. Thanks to my sister Jenny, I am enjoying vegetable yumminess from using the new cook book she gave me. I tend to get really excited when healthier things taste good – I made brownies the other day with spinach and yams... sounds gross, right? It was DELICIOUS!!

I love December... not for all the shopping (I don't like spending money actually... I think I have a miser gene somewhere) but for the snow, which makes things so white and clean, for the contrast of cold which makes coming inside so homey and warm, for being allowed to sing Christmas hymns and for all the decorations that remind us of the Savior. My favorite Christmas hymn is “Hark the Herald Angels Sing”. One phrase in the German version is “Uns zur freud ist er geboren, denn sonnst waeren wir verloren. Er vertreibet alles Weh – born to make us joyful, because otherwise we'd be lost. He casts out all pain.” I have thought about this a lot this year – I am so grateful for the 'good news' of Christ. Without Him we would be lost – no chance of repentance, no chance of resurrection, no eternal families... in short, no hope. There are still trials in life, even with the gospel, but without it we walk a much more lonely road. I am grateful to know Christ lives, loves us and understands EVERYthing we go through. Some things may not make sense or get alleviated in this life, but because of Him, we have hope that all will eventually be made right, and God will wipe away all our tears (Revelations 21:4). He truly is the Prince of Peace, and an anchor for our souls. He is God's greatest gift to us! May your celebration of His life be happy, hopeful & MERRY! LOVE Ryan, Christina, Amy and Esther Weight

The Cost of Birth

So, you all know that we had some billing complications -- well, it turns out (though the lady was nice) we are now informed that this would be the price we'd be charged for every time (2,500+ for 4 hours in labor and delivery hospital charge (the OB already gets their own 2,700). Despite all my efforts for a cheaper birth this time... she informed me that the only way I could've had a cheaper birth would've been to arrive at the hospital at a 9 and deliver 5 minutes later... or not get checked into the hospital upstairs for recovery. Every woman who delivers is apparently a 'labor level 3' and it was a fluke in my favor that I was a 'labor level 1' with Amy.

Do you ever feel like you have no options? Logan only has one hospital. There are no birthing centers I can find, except in Roy which I'm not sure I'd make it down there fast enough. There is a good certified and licensed midwife, but she's not allowed any hospital privileges, so it'd have to be a home birth. You either look at paying upwards of 4,000 (with the help of insurance -- we have a 2,000 deductible per person) any time you have a baby... or you find something else. Everyone seems to believe that the hospital is the only place to have a baby. I have a dad who's an E.R. doctor and that's what I've been raised to believe, but from someone who has had non-complicated deliveries both times, and has not had much care from the nurses except to force me to stay on the External Fetal Monitor for longer, there comes a point where you are desperate for something different.

Unless the hospital agrees to let me labor how I want, or I can find a family doctor to deliver me there and then discharge me right away, I must say (and I hope my Dad at some point can understand) I am looking into another option and praying that I continue to have no complications.

Delectable Lentil Stew

We've made this 3 times in the last week... it's that good:

4 carrots, chopped
3 celery stalks, chopped
1 onion, diced (I used 2 T. dehydrated onion)
1/2 c. bell peppers, chopped (I used 1 T. dehydrated bell pepper)
5 1/2 c. water
4 tsp chicken boulion
1 c. lentils
dash garlic pepper
sprinkle red pepper flakes
1 tsp sugar
1 c. cubed ham, cut up ham lunch meat or maple link sausage
1 c. yellow squash, cubed
1 tomato, cubed

Put everything but the squash and tomato in a pot, and bring to a boil. Let simmer in a covered pot for 20 minutes. Add the squash and tomato and cook for 5-10 more minutes. It's so delicious!!

Don't you think our girls look remarkably similar?

Esther's blessing

We had Esther's baby blessing yesterday, and had a wonderful time with all our family visiting.
(Incidentally, that beautiful painting in the background was painted by my wonderful Mom - it's an ocean scape, if you can't tell).
Amy loved having her Oma to visit, as did I. I always love seeing my Mom and am grateful she's not only my mother, but my friend.





Esther Constance got to meet one of the women she was named for, Constance Erickson, who is a dear dear friend. I lived with Constance for 6 months when I was saving up money for college and she helped and blessed me greatly by her example, friendship and unconditional love. I will forever be indebted to her for boosting my self-esteem and believing in me, even when I did not.


We blessed Esther in the same dress that I was blessed in 26 years ago. I love being a mother.








Amy enjoyed having Opa read to her and was happy to have him sitting by us at church. They are such cute pals.










Most of Ryan's family was able to be there for the blessing, which was really great. We missed his Mom, Ben, Alissa, and Joe and Jack. His sister Stephanie even came, though she just gave birth two weeks ago. All of Ryan's sisters are beautiful, and it's nice that it looks like Amy and Esther are taking after them in appearance -- though, I think I may want to buy a bat to keep boys away.
Ryan's aunt and uncle, Brenda and Jurgen came with their kids... we love them, and are glad they got married, because in a way, it led to our being

married, since Jurgen was the one who told the Weights about the canyon where we lived, and they built up there. :)

Need I say how much I love this little wiggle-worm?

I am enjoying being her, and Amy's, Mom so much. Ryan and I are just nuts about these two precious kids.

I'd just finished feeding Esther and snuggled her up next to the couch so that hopefully she'd stay sleeping and feel like she was still being held...

needless to say, she woke up and was searching for more grub. Is it any wonder she's growing so well?








My Mom especially liked having us down to visit. She was eager to hold Esther any chance she got. I'm glad she loves our kids, and us, so much.












We got to visit Grandma and Grandpa Weight who have many MANY grandchildren -- in the 70s I think -- and had 13 children themselves. I'm amazed how they remember us all individually. We love seeing them.







My Dad has a lot of fun with his grandkids. Here he was giving Amy and Rylee a tutorial on how to play the piano. I love Rylee's facial expression. She had just gotten up from a nap. And note the little clip in Amy's hair -- I made that! Shera taught me how to make little bows and clips and I loved it!! I never knew a glue gun, felt, buttons and yarn could be so fun.








It was great to spend time with family. I feel very grateful to have such a wonderful family who also make me laugh a lot. Ben, my brother, never fails to make me laugh quite hard when I get to see him. All in all, though traveling is not my favorite thing, it was a great visit and well worth going.

Update

So, I don't take very many photos, but I do take a few. But getting those photos uploaded and posted about sometimes (often) just does not happen. For those who take an interest in what goes on at the Weight household of late, I will enlighten you:

Hospital bills are turning me into a hippie -- we'll see how much damage is done. If they don't stop coming soon with crazy charges for things I didn't have Ryan and I might move to the midwest, buy a farm, bathe in Kefir, do a home-birth and home-school our kids whilst wearing leaves for clothes. (I was charged for, and what's harder to fight is the nurse wrote that I had a IV though I had a heplock, and that IV charge turned my labor level from a 1 to a 3 which is 3 times more expensive). I guess we'll just have to see which of those hippie-ish things stick around.

Amy continues to make us laugh, every day. Her best joke is: "Bye bye, ketchup" which she says with great delight and laughs about. She's potty training and is so excited when she goes I'm always in fear she'll actually get stuff on the ground because as soon as something starts she stands up, whirls around to check and announces so proud "Good job, Amy!!"

Esther and I are battling thrush this week, which is not fun for me... Esther so far doesn't seem more fussy than usual (she has a lot of gas, poor babe, which tends to make her fussy whenever she's trying to get it out or poop). Hopefully we'll be on the mend soon. She likes to eat often during the night especially... and she's very much a snuggler... so opposite from Amy at this age. She can sense when we leave the room. For the last few nights just to get her to pipe down, we've had her in bed with us which immediately shuts her up. When when I transfer her back to her pac-n-play, she announces within minutes how frustrated she is. I thought she could smell us on the sheets, or liked how cush our bed was... but no, it's US she can smell. This morning, I left her sleeping soundly on our bed and got up to do stuff... within 2 minutes she was fussing and then crying. I picked her up and brought her in here... and I'm not holding her, she's just laying beside me on the couch, and she's perfectly content.

Ryan continues to work super hard, and we look forward to the weekends where we can try to refuel him with Amy's jokes and lots of 'hide-n-seek'. Things are looking up though... his job should be a bit less stressful in January for him. We'll see. He continues studying every night and widdling away on his degree. I am more proud of him than I can express... in addition to doing all that he does there, he is a superb husband and father and makes me feel like royalty.

So, that's that here at the Weight household. If you can be patient for pictures, my Mom's visiting today and when she does she usually takes pictures and posts them to her blog, and then I steal them. :) So look forward to that.

More photos

Esther is now 9 lb 3 oz, so at least we know she's eating well.
She does spit up a lot, but we're hoping that won't last long if
I can regulate my milk a little better. She's had some nights of
sleeping for 4 hour stretches, but not recently. Hopefully she learns to sleep through the night soon.





My folks came up with Ben, Shera and Rylee.
It was great to see them and Amy loved playing
with her cousin.










It's cute to see Rylee toddling around everywhere












Here's a darling photo of Amy in the leaf pile.

Gratitude, Patience and Perspective

I've had a lot of thoughts this past week, many of which revolve around the need I have for gratitude. This labor/recovery was much more difficult than I'd anticipated -- initially I just wanted amnesia to take over and forget about it, but when I look back on it, I see so many things I have to be grateful for that I would like to share:

Dr. Craig had delivered Amy and I liked having Ryan being the only man in the room. When we checked into the hospital at 7pm I'd already been in labor most of the day. The contractions were very intense and was sure I was dialated at least to a 7 or more and they'd just wait an hour and catch the baby. They told me I was only a 5. They also told me Dr. Craig wasn't in and the Dr. on call was the only Dr. I'd heard negative things about and he was a guy. I requested Deb Flansburg, who Dr. Craig recommended if she herself wasn't in. They told me Deb might be checking in later that night, but as of yet, she wasn't in. I prayed that Deb might check in and deliver me instead of the other guy.

Another thing I had wanted was to not be charged two room day charges at the hospital. Labor and delivery is charged by the hour, but once you check in upstairs they charge you almost 300 smackers a day -- the charge renews at midnight, so if I'd checked in upstairs at 8, I'd still be paying almost 600, even though I didn't have many hours left in the day.

Sometimes when we pray, or wish for things, we are disappointed when they don't turn out the way we'd hoped or expected. Labor was so painful this time, that initially I was disappointed, but now when I look back on it, I see how ultimately God answered my prayers and I am grateful for that. Because it took me a while to progress (comparatively to Amy's labor) I was still in labor at 10:30 when Deb Flansburg checked in. I was hyperventilating apparently . Odd thing, by the way... when you hyperventilate, your surface skin starts to go all tingly and numb. This time I had a big bag of water (Esther must've been swimming around in there). I was only a 7 at 10:30, but they said my water might break at any time, so I couldn't use the jaccuzzi. Because I was that far dialated and now 100% effaced, Deb suggested breaking my water. I was already having an urge to push, so we said yes.

Within 10 minutes she was born. There was a bit of trauma/drama in the pushing but I'll spare you that. The important points are these: her head eased out without too much tearing (though I had to have a large skin tag from Amy's delivery removed which required quite a few stitches). That was something else I'd wanted... not to tear much. All the stitches I had were superficial and not into the deeper muscle tissues.

Things that went better this time: because the cord was longer, Esther was able to be put up on my chest and I was able to hold her skin to skin for an hour. They let the cord finish pulsing before Ryan cut it. Ryan again was the only man in the room. Since she was born at 11:15 and they give you an hour down in labor+delivery before checking you in upstairs, we didn't check in until after midnight. I was able to walk upstairs with Ryan and Esther instead of being pushed in the wheelchair (though I could walk after Amy's delivery, my legs were all shaky for a while; this time they didn't shake much at all). So many of my prayers were answered.

From the pain, I did learn some things. First off, I learned that my body can endure much more pain than I'd previously thought possible. If Amy's labor had been a 5 on my richter scale for pain, Esther's was an 8 or 9. I had many more thoughts about the atonement while I was in labor this time -- I don't fully understand how Christ suffered every type of pain, but I know that He knows what labor feels like... somehow. I had "How Firm a Foundation" running through my head this time in labor -- each verse ends up being about as long as a contraction if you sing it in your head. I want to share some of the verses: "When through fiery trials thy pathway shall lie, my grace all sufficient shall be thy supply. The flame shall not hurt thee, I only design thy dross to consume and thy gold to refine. That soul that on Jesus hath leaned for repose, I will not I cannot desert to his foes. That soul though all hell might endeavor to shake, I'll never no never... I'll never, no never... I'll never, no never, no never forsake."

I am so grateful to know that Christ understands all of our pains, trials, heartaches, hopes and dreams. Though it didn't ease the pain, it was a great comfort to know that He understood the type of pain my body was experiencing. We, none of us, suffer anything alone. We always have the Savior who can relate to us and comfort us. I am also so grateful for the gift of the body that we have been given. It's amazing that our bodies can go through so much... especially the female body. It's a great gift to be a woman able to bear children -- to feel them kick and wiggle inside and see them come out with their miniature bodies all functioning. It is nice to know that the body can heal itself after such an ordeal. Though the afterpains were much stronger this time, and I did get hemmroids again, now... a week later, I feel SO much better than I did just after she was born.

Now... on perspective: I happened to rip my stitches Wednesday night getting off the couch from nursing Esther... (a 10 or more on my richter scale for pain). There are two ways to look at it... one, to be sad . Or, two... now that Dr. Craig checked it and removed the remaining stitch... I have no more stitches to worry about -- and they can't rip or tweak again. I realize I need to be better about looking on the positive aspect of things, and that a positive can be found if we search for it. Hemmroids stink, but the positive thing is they don't last forever AND I live in a country with so many luxuries -- like I can afford to take a bath, or multiple baths, every day. AND I like bran muffins.

I am grateful that Esther got here safe and sound. I am grateful that my body is healing. I am grateful for hot baths. I am grateful that Amy loves her baby sister and is so helpful and willing to give her kisses. I am grateful to have a loving husband who held my hand during labor and cried from watching me in pain. I am grateful he honors the priesthood and can give blessings. I am grateful for a SUPER MOM who stayed with us for a week and helped clean/cook/play with Amy/stay up at night with Esther/change diapers etc. There is MUCH... oh so very much to be grateful for and positive about. I hope I can remember this lesson.

The pictures are small, but there you have it. More posts later. For now, we need some time to recover.

Photos: Finally

Here is what you have all been waiting for. Drum Roll please..................................................................................................................................................................

Here is our very own little Esther Constance Weight. Isn't she cute. I will save the explanations and things for Christina once she has a little time away from feeding our little one.

Amy has also really been learning how to take care of her new little sister. She has been practicing with dolls. She thinks it is really cute that this one actually makes noises.

And last but not least, Mom and Baby. They are so beautiful.

Enjoying the fall leaves with my two favorites!

overdue photos

We love to take Amy to the park

She especially loves Daddy there because he'll take her up on the big swirly slides that Mom not only doesn't really fit well holding her on my lap in, but is not too keen to go down

She loves the tot lot and spends so much time walking up and down over bridges and inside the play houses.

This little one is a blast, and we're so grateful to get another one here sometime soon.

This is a photo from earlier in the summer when we dropped by the Ballif's place to let Amy enjoy their sprinklers.

People need beauty, as well as bread...

This is where Ryan and I grew up... four very pronounced seasons, a wonderful back yard to tromp about in and explore. I feel like having a yard is so important to growing up -- but so many of the houses I see for sale have the house built almost to the edges of the lot... we want the opposite: small house, big lot... space for our kids to run around.

I feel like part of the reason that my childhood was so magical and fun was because I spent a lot of unstructured time outside playing -- catching lizards and horny toads, gardener snakes (much to my Mom's horror... she hates snakes); building forts, climbing trees, hiking, and swimming in the river at the base of our canyon.

I love the smells the canyon had -- clean smells... smells you don't get living crowded next to other people or where there are lots of cars. I love the smell of dirt, and pine needles, and dried leaves; I love the sound of crickets chirping, and the chorus of birds in the morning during the summer. I loved seeing unique animals, like rubber boas, horny toads, bats, moose, mountain lions, bear, etc.

I love how white the snow is all winter long -- unlike here, where the snow soon turns black with the filth of car exhaust, the snow seemed to stay white and crystally throughout the winter. I absolutely loved growing up in this canyon and am so glad Ryan did too -- we often talk about different trails we hiked or things we did in the canyon. Now it's our dream to find ourselves a spot of land where we can try to recreate something of this type of space... even if it doesn't have mountains or end up being as big as our back yard.

I stole these pictures off my sister's blog... she has some nice thoughts about the canyon we grew up in that you can link to on the side bar. She also has a John Muir quote, but I have another one which is this:

"People need beauty as well as bread...."

places to play in, and pray in

where nature can heal, nurture,

and give strength."

Simplicity, Service, and Suspense

So, one of my favorite talks from General Conference was Elder Uchtdorf's on the need for us to simplify our lives. He talked about flying planes in turbulence and how new pilots tend to want to keep the same pace, or speed through the turbulence... but experienced pilots know to slow down a bit. I feel at least right now that Ryan and I have a wonderful and simple lifestyle, but I guess I liked it so much because I feel like it's something I'll have to continually remind myself so that it can keep on being simple. I'm sure as Amy grows up, there will be tons of things clammoring for attention and we'll have to be careful not to get sucked into every type of little activity.
There was another speaker who also spoke on this topic somewhat, and talked about the importance of simple things like family dinner and said how it took courage not to over-schedule our families and make sure we had time to spend with each other talking and doing simple things.

The other things that has been on my mind a lot is service... particularly Temple service and geneological service. We believe families can be together forever, but we also believe that certain ordinances outlined in the gospel are essential for eternal progression (like baptism, receiving the gift of the Holy Ghost, and making personal covenants with God). I always love going to the Temple, because it reminds me of the covenants I've made with God and it teaches me about Jesus Christ. I always feel peace when I'm in the Temple. I recently read Boyd K. Packer's "The Holy Temple" and it made me think about how important Temple service is, not only for us to remind us of our covenants, but for our anscestors. I know I should do geneology, but sometimes I feel overwhelmed like I don't know where to start, or 'it's all been done' (which I know isn't true, but I tell myself that sometimes). I was thinking this morning about how I need to allocate some time to do geneology and serve those who've made it possible for me to live where I do now. Even if it's just learning more about them and appreciating the sacrifices they made, it's worth it. It will serve me, and may lead to opportunities for me to serve them in the Temple.

Now to our third 'S': Suspense. Those who know me, know I don't do well with suspense. I don't like watching movies in theaters because I can't fast forward to the end if it gets to be too much for me. I am always asking questions on new movies (even if I know Ryan's never seen it before) "Why do you think he's doing that? What's going to happen? etc" Thankfully Ryan loves me, madly, and can handle this trait of mine. Well, there's nothing quite as suspenseful as having a baby. Yes, you have a due date... but for me right now where I'm now 37 weeks, and having strong contractions in spurts from time to time, it could be any time between now and Halloween and that's a LONG time to be in suspense. We'll just have to see. I hope you're now in suspense too, so I'm not the only one. ;)

Panda and Eucalyptus

My Mom came up to visit the other day, with my good friend/teacher from high school, Stefanie.
It was great to see them. So, my thoughts on Halloween this year are these: if Baby E comes before Halloween, Amy will go in this Panda outfit that my parents got her from China, and Baby E we'll wrap in a green blanket and call a Eucalyptus leaf. Pretty good ay?

We've had a real time with names this time around -- we'll have to wait till we see her, but I'm back again to Elaine or Esther. Mainly because of how adorable it is when Amy says them: Elaine=Enaine and Esther (this one's the best) = Etters. :) We still tell her every day that there's a baby in Mommy's tummy that will be her sister, but I don't know what she thinks about it really. Sometimes I think it's just going to be a major shock for her... other times, I think she'll love Baby E like a moving toy.

Our bags for the hospital are packed... I still have very intense contractions when they do come, but thankfully they haven't been regular since that one night a week ago (which that did cause some dialation and effacing, but I'm not as concerned the closer we get to 37 weeks). Next wednesday we'll be 37 weeks and then I can resume walking again. Though they wouldn't stop labor if I showed up today, I'd really rather she stay in a wee bit longer. I'm okay if she decides to stay till her due date. I need to talk to a few more friends first who didn't tear and learn their wisdom. :)

Ryan will start his next term at WGU tomorrow. We are so proud of how hard he works at his job, how dedicated he is to us and how he plays with Amy, and how hard he works at school. He passed his first term in flying colors and was even able to take one more class and get it finished during the break time. We hope this semester goes well for him too.

A sideways pic, an update, and some thoughts

So, I wish I could figure out how to rotate this picture... oh well. This is us at 33 weeks. Baby E is measuring slightly big, but not quite as big as Amy was. Apparently most women get up to a 36 cm measurement and stay there till their baby comes -- I was 39 several weeks before Amy was born. (That's not the girth measurement... I'm 40" at least, if not more... it's been a while since I checked).

An update on the Weight homestead: Amy is now sick with whatever I had, which is sad to see because she hates not being able to breathe through her nose. I hope she gets to feeling better soon. I seem to be on the tail end of whatever this sickness was -- my head is still a bit congested, but not nearly as bad as it was. I'm just grateful now, and ever, that God gives you the strength to do the things you need to when you need to. I've been amazed at how much He has helped me as a mother.

Before I was pregnant with Amy, I helped my sister when she had her second and had such a strong gag reflex while changing my nephew's diapers that I almost upchucked on him every time I changed it. Well, Saturday morning, we awoke to find Amy had figured out how to take off her sleeper, AND had had a poopy diaper, and had fallen back asleep in it after having taken it off, and poop was EVERYWHERE. Three years ago, I would've either barfed right there on the spot, or just told Ryan to do everything. But, now... who could've imagined I would be strong enough to strip the sheets, clean the blankets, and crib mattress, and crib sides, and binki, and teddy bears? I was very glad that if it had to happen, that Ryan was home. He took the poop covered munchkin directly to the shower and cleaned her off so I could do the rest without "assistance" from little hands. God has also helped me adjust to the fact that sleep is not a huge factor in a mother's life -- there are times when I'm so tired in the morning that I honestly don't think I can get up... but He helps me not only get up, but get Amy up, run around with her, cook, and clean and make it through the day. I am SO glad He cares about us enough to help us in these things.

I've been reading the Old Testament again, and have been really struck by two things about the Mosaic law. First, while reading in Leviticus, I kept on thinking how strange it was -- I get the concept that a lot of blood was spilt in observing the Mosaic law, and that Christ's sacrifice and His blood was worth more than ALL that blood combined. But another aspect that struck me this time is how many things made one 'unclean' or 'sinful'. I think one reason for all that was to show them, and us, how fallen we are and how much we need a Savior. Even sins of omission required an animal sacrifice to be cleared from, and how often do we forget to do something good? We all need Christ -- there's not one of us who's doing fine on his/her own without Him.

And though it would probably overwhelm me to know all of my faults at once, or every sin of omission I've been committing, I am very glad to know that I can't do it on my own -- because when I recognize that and turn to God for help, He strengthens me and makes me so much happier than I could be on my own. I'm not always good at this, but when I do, it makes a big difference in my life.

The "Little King" and the Earplug

So, you all know the Princess and the Pea story --

Well, some of you may not know that Ryan means "little King" (it's an Irish name). Apparently, Ryan is a lot more regal and refined than I am. He slept, until recently when I stole them, on two pillows stuffed in the same pillow-case. Ideal, I thought, for stashing extra earplugs for me when I'd inevitably lose one at night.

He was sensitive to them, and finally we figured out another place to stash them, because he could feel the lumps of the earplugs... even just one or two.

This week, I traded him pillows, and this week I've been sick, so I had all sorts of extras in there: a small mentholedum container, earplugs, chapstick, and a roll of toilet paper. I slept fine. I guess it just goes to show what I catch I made -- though I am apparently a bit of a peasant, I married a "little King."

Labor Day Fun

We visited my folks for Labor Day weekend. It was quite fun -- Ryan showed me the Weight Family Ranch and this is what Amy was doing as we drove back from it. She can actually cover her eyes with her feet. Crazy, huh?