McKenzie is 8!

McKenzie's first day of second grade

McKenzie posing for the camera



Yes it is true! My first baby has turned eight. Here is a little background info on the day she was born. We were to be induced on February 28th at the Cottonwood Hospital. We showed up at 7:00 am and they sent me to my room to be prepped and to get ready and all that fun stuff. (Oh, so the reason they decided to induce me was because I wasn't progressing on my own and McKenzie hadn't gotten any bigger for a few weeks) So, there we were just sitting and waiting for the drugs to do there magic. Around 3:00 they came and broke my water hoping that would move it along- still at a 3cm, not good! At around 4:00 they started noticing the baby's heartbeat would suddenly drop really low for a while then spike- which meant that the baby was in distress with each contraction, but they said it wasn't too bad yet and they would just monitor it for a while and hope that I would start to progress- no such luck. Things just got worse. At 5:00 they started talking to me about the possibility of a c-section. That is not something a first time mother (or any really) wants to hear, but I had faith in the doctors and nurses there. At 6:00 it was determined that I would have to have a c-section, so I was being prepped for surgery. Pug gave me a blessing before we went to the OR, I think it calmed him down more than me. Anyways, at 7:03 that night our first baby was born- McKenzie Ellyse Stoddart. Weighing in at a whopping 6 lbs 6 oz and 20" long. She was a joy from the first time I held and has been so for her whole life. She is one of the most loving, caring people I know. I love knowing that I can always count on her for anything that I need help with- whether it be watching her siblings, cleaning this or that, or reading to someone, she is always willing to help. She may have a small body, but she has a BIG spirit. I love watching her grow in the gospel and gain a testimony of her own. She is a great student at school. She love to read and is near the top of her class, she also does well in math and her other studies. I have had everyone of her teacher tell me- from preschool to 2nd- that they can always count on McKenzie to be a friend to someone who may be having a hard day or is new in school. McKenzie love fashion and is always wanting to look her best- although i do worry about this for when she is a teenager :). I am so grateful that Heavenly Father blessed us with such a sweet and loving daughter. I can't even imagine a world without her. I love you McKenzie! HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!

be grateful for what we have

I was sitting here feeling a little sorry for my self. I wish we had more money, then I could do..... (you know, this and that). Then I was watching a commercial where a little girl is playing with her doll and her mother said that there wasn't any food in the house so they would not get dinner that night. I almost started to cry. I felt so selfish right then. We have plenty of food in our house. Sure we may not have the luxuries that I may want. I can't travel the world, I don't live in a big mansion, I don't have designer clothes, but what I do have is worth more than all of that put together. I have a loving husband who works hard to provide for us so I can stay home and raise the kids, who honors his priesthood and has a strong testimony of the gospel. I have 3 beautiful and healthy kids who love me and try to be good and obedient. I have support from my family- all of my family. I know what the purpose of this life is. I have never been "in need" of the necessities of life. I have so much to be grateful for, in this time of uncertainty I am grateful for what I do have.

Earings

McKenzie has been asking from the time she was just 4 years old if she could get her ears pierced. We have told her that as soon as she was 8 we would let her do it. Well she will be 8 on the 28th of this month. She knew that she would be getting them done soon. But, Daddy being the softy that he is wanted her to get them done sooner- so it could be a surprise. So, last night as soon as Pug got home I told Kenz that we needed to go to the party store and pick out her party invitations. So we left and picked them out. Then we decided that we needed to go out for dinner. She of course chose McDonald's. Well, I didn't want to go to the McDonald's on Lehi Main St., because that is always crazy at 5:00. So I said that I knew where another one was. We drove up to Draper and went to the one on 123000 S. After she was done eating I said I had one more errand to do before we went home. I told her it was at the mall- well she loves the mall so she was all for it. We walked in and went straight to Claire's. It wasn't until I told the lady there that McKenzie was here to get her ears pierced that she found out what we were doing. McKenzie was very brave. She didn't cry. I told them to do both ears at the same time- I know how she is when she gets shots at the docs! Well, the one ear was pierced, but they didn't get the second one in, so she had to so it again. She was so brave! I think she was just so excited to get them pierced to notice how much it hurt. Anyways, she choose her birthstone, which is an amethyst., and she looks so grown up now. I love you Kenzie!

The sweet innocence of a child

This morning before I had to take Cameron to school I was sitting in my room watching the news and playing on facebook. I noticed the video that my dad put together awhile back that he title "Bob's Excellent Adventures," it is a bunch of pictures from some of his trips to Iraq. One of the pictures showed Saddam Hussein's throne. Cameron asked whose throne it was. So i told him. He asked who he was and I told him that he was a bad man, but we didn't have to worry about him anymore. He asked what he did that made him bad. I told him that he allowed a lot of people to die. It is hard not to be graphic when you talk about someone who did some horrific crimes against people. Then he asked what happened to him. I told him that the people where he lived decided that it would be best if he weren't there anymore to hurt people, so he died. Cameron sat there for a few moments thinking about it, then he quietly said, "But Jesus still loves him." It was a simple statement with such innocence. Yes Cameron, no matter what we may do in this life our Savior will always love us. Think how much more that love will mean to us when we strive to live our lives to mirror His. I haven't done anything horrific in my life, but the things that I do wrong it is nice to know that I can repent and be forgiven. And that as much as I love my children, even when they do wrong, my Heavenly Father loves me even more.

Guys Night Out

Every year Cameron gets to go out with the guys to the Auto Expo. Jeff, his brother Scott, his dad Glen, and Cameron all went together for some male bonding time and maybe a little drooling and wishful thinking. Cameron said that it was the best day of his life. He loves being included in the "guy" stuff. His favorite part was being able to sit in the cars. He was a little heart broken when jeff told him he could sit in every single car.

A month of photos

Okay, So I haven't been the best at posting lately. I did finally get my pictures downloaded off my camera, so now you can see a few of the activities we did during the past month.

Here are the kids- well the girls- in the Sunday outfits they got for Christmas. I go to ward choir practice before church each Sunday, so I get the girls ready before I leave. It is Pug's job to get Cameron ready. On this day I gave him one more job to do- take a picture of Cameron in his Sunday clothes before they left for church. As you can see that did not happen. If I can remember I will take one of him next Sunday.




Here are a few pictures from one of the get togethers with our friends the Nacarroato's.






Here are a few pictures of the kids playing in the snow. For a while there we didn't think there would be any snow to play in, but mother nature pulled through and has been dumping snow for a while now. Abby quickly found out that she moves much better in the snow if she just lays down and rolls to get where she want to go.

Slacker

I didn't realize just how long it has been since my last post. It isn't that we haven't done anything- in fact I would say that it is just the opposite. With the crazy Holidays and all the fun and excitement that comes with it we were quite busy. Unfortunately I still haven't downloaded the pictures yet to post about them. "Why not download them now?" you ask. Well, I am quite comfy sitting in the recliner and the camera is downstairs- slacker I know. Jeff is at the Jazz game tonight, so I can't even get him to get it. And all the kids are in bed, lucky me. I will say this... Christmas was wonderful. We decided that this year we were going to do a smaller Christmas- this was all decided before the whole economy thing. And it was the best Christmas ever. It wasn't a crazy day with so many gifts that the kids don't care about them. We were able to focus more on giving to those less fortunate and on the true meaning of Christmas. The kids were able to ask Santa for 3 things (with little parental prodding) and Mom and Dad for 2 things. They got everything they asked for and a few extra things as well. It was wonderful. The parties were all a success and I am very glad that it is all over and the kids are back in school. Now I get to look forward to all the fun, sad, scary, happy, and everything else that will happen in 2009.

Wow! I just reread the post- it really doesn't make much sense, but I will blame that on the time of night.