A Christmas Miracle

This Christmas, I struggled with my kids bad behavior, the excesses of Christmas, and the general lack of “Christ” in Christmas. So, when I was able to be a part of a true Christmas miracle, my heart was overjoyed, and lets just say- it made my Christmas!
It started about 10 years ago. My sister, after trying for years, was able to have a child. They were a happy little family for awhile, but soon they began wishing for more children. When the doctors determined she couldn’t get pregnant on her own (their first child was deemed “an impossibility of science”), they turned to medicine, shots, hormones, whatever it took. Truly, their family was put through the ringer, enduring thousands of injections (literally), 10 unsuccessful rounds of artificial insemination, 1 unsuccessful & very expensive round of invitro fertilization, and one horrible pregnancy that kept Janna in bed deathly ill for several months and ended tragically with stillborn twins after only 14 weeks. After all that, it had been 7 years since they had Lauren, and their hearts & home was feeling empty. Finally, they turned to adoption, and received the most amazing little girl, Lillianne. She fits amazingly into their family, and I know it was meant to be that she was there. Still, after all that, Janna hoped in the back of her heart she could somehow have more. People told her about babies that needed adoption that maybe were for her, she underwent two surgeries to try to repair her defunct uterus, only to be told that the abnormality had grown back, and finally, gave up. At 35, she had finally realized her family of 4 was a blessing in and of itself, and it would be ok.
Christmas day Janna & Andy announced to our family that she is, by the grace of God, pregnant. After 10 years with a barren womb (she jokes that cobwebs are growing in there), there will be life again in the once hostile environment which is her uterus. I could not have been more happy for her & her family. It is the best gift I received this Christmas.




By the way- I am also pregnant, but really, who is that surprising to? No one. I am the exact opposite of Janna. The very picture of fertility. So, there’s not really anything shocking about that announcement. Still, I am so happy we’ll be able to do this together.
FIVE kids. What was I thinking? It’s going to be a wild ride.

I hope you all enjoyed your Christmas, and if but for one brief moment, were able to feel the joy that is the true spirit of Christmas.
Love,
Mandy

Merry Christmas!

The makings of a photo shoot

I had to post these pictures of Smurfy because I think they're hysterical. The kids had some new $5 sweaters from the Childrens place, so I thought I'd try to get a few photos of them in their new getups. Things went really smoothly, considering, but for some reason, when you tell a 2-year old to smile, that's usually not what you get. At least, not at first. So, here we have the "stages" of the process of getting Smurf to smile. Enjoy.

STEP 1- Scuzz.

STEP 2- Close Eyes.

STEP 3- Close eyes & open mouth?

STEP 4- Close eyes & smile
(getting closer!)

STEP 5- Smith with mouth open
(ALMOST!!!!)

THERE IT IS!!!
Good boy!
Here's your sucker.

Merry Christmas from our Elves

I Love my Balls......

This is one of those moments when you realize how precious your kids are.....
Sparky brought home the following paper last week. It was his journal writing assignment for the day. He wanted to write about Balls. You know, soccer ball, basketball, etc.
But when I read the page, I couldn't help but laugh hysterically. I mean, like when you laugh so hard real tears come out of your eyes. Like that. He said "Whats so funny mom?" Well, you tell me what you think. Funny?
How does one explain that to a 6-year old?
I didn't. I told him it was a great journal entry. And then I vowed to save it until he was old enough to understand the humor.

Lake Powell- October Style!

Yep, I'm finally posting about Lake Powell. I know, I'm the last one of our friends to do it, but that's just me.... a slacker. Lucky for me, though, I got to read all of your blog posts about our trip & I have to say, the winner was Jen. (P.S.- Jen I didn't know you had a blog till I read this. Its quite good!) Anyway- it was so clever, I thought I'd go ahead & plagerize. So, in the words of the Westenskows.....


"You know you've had a great trip to Lake Powell when...."

* Your family agrees to watch your children while you are away.

* Your boat(s) work.

* You find a great place to park your houseboat.

* Your houseboat has anchors and you know how to use them.

* Your daytime high temperature is in the 80's.

* Your nighttime low temperature is in the 50's.

* You get to sleep under a gazillion stars every night.

* You see a shooting star before you fall asleep.

* Your air mattress stays inflated.

* You can find a dry towel

* You find the water may be shocking ice cold when you get in it, but then, somehow, becomes quite pleasant.

* You have a toilet.

* You listen to LOTS of music.

* You DONT fall off a cliff......

* You can usually find your camera.

* Your expensive sunglasses don't sink to the bottom of the lake

* Your hat floats long enough to retrieve it....visors, not so lucky.

* As far as you know, the rats stay on the outside of the houseboat.

* You get to spend quality time with your spouse around the campfire.

* You have time to lounge around and read magazines about celebrities and fashion.

* You eat..... A LOT of amazing meals, with reckless abandon.

* Someone in your group makes homemade onion rings!!!!

* You only have to cook ONE meal and no one complained about it.

* You have a giant pile of soda on board.

* You you see your friends helping each other into their life jackets.

* Your swimsuit stays in place when you take your life jacket off.

* Your new white swimsuit isn't see-through.

* You experience very little wind. (double entendre intended).

* Your best wake boarder of the group is a woman.

* You get to see some awesome rock formations and Indian ruins.

* You play a game of "Twilight" so competitive, Mrs. Meyer herself wouldn't have won!

* You wake up every morning and hear someone say, "I don't want to go home!".

* You have a professional hairstylist on board who braids your hair and paints your toenails.

* You do NOT hit a rock and sink.

* Your houseboat DOESN'T catch fire.

* You don't have to seek shelter in a cave.

* Your tent isn't broken and full of sand.

* You aren't pregnant. (Sorry Rach....)

* Your boat window doesn't shatter over your head.

* You wake up willingly at 6am to ski on water that looks like glass.

* You become so sore and wasted from skiing, but continue to ski some more.

* You see "rooster tails" and you are able to make them

* You are sad to leave.

* You get home safely and all of your kids are happy and safe and, BONUS, all of the kids are asleep.

* Your crying is from laughing so hard.

* You did NOT, at any time, fear for your life!

* You got to spend 5 days with 16 of the greatest people ever!!!!!


Pictures will soon follow.

Pumpkin Patch

Its that time again.....
Yes, its time for the annual Harward family trek to Day Farms for a hayride & pumpkin picking at its best! Since this is the 4th year running we have done this activity as a family, I'm noticing the photos are starting to look a lot alike. And my kids are really sick of me following them around the patch, camera in hand, poised to strike the moment they find the perfect one. So,I've made myself a vow. Next year, no camera. Just enjoy the moment. But, since this is the last time, hopefully you can enjoy the moment, too.









On second thought, maybe next year I'll try the video camera? That's different, right?

Kenni's Big Day

I can't believe my baby girl is already 8! I suddenly feel old....
But enough about me. Kenni's baptism day went very well. I was really stressed about the gargantuan amount of people I needed to feed, the musical number I was in charge of providing, and the countless other things there are to take care of on a day like that, but things went great. Lesli volunteered her house for the dinner (Thank you Lesli!), I twisted my dear neighbor's arm until he agreed to sing with the girls, (Which by the way was one of the most beautiful musical numbers I've heard in a long time. Seriously- they did so good!), and all in all, nothing went dreadfully wrong.
Kenni- We love you & are so happy you made the decision to be baptized! You are a joy in our lives & a fabulous big sister. I hope you had a great day!





A huge thank you to my dear friend Rachel who took these gorgeous pictures! For more of her work click on "Rachels Photography Blog" on my sidebar

1st Day of School (1 month late!)

Ok, Ok, maybe its two months late! Yes, I'm a little behind. Here are my sweetie's on their first day of school. Kenni is in 2nd grade, Sparky is in 1st grade, and little Noodle started his first day of Pre-school. This is the first time since I've had school-aged kids that one of them isn't in kindergarten. Yeah!!!! I hate kindergarten. It's such a pain. Everyone is doing well & loving their new teachers/classes. It's so wierd on the days Noodle is gone to just have me & Smurfy at home. This has NEVER happened to me. Having a 2-year old home without anyone to entertain them is craziness. By the time Kenni was 2, Sparky had come along.....and so on, and so forth. There has always been someone there! Poor little smurfy. (Or lucky.... I guess it all depends how you look at it!)

It's time for Puttin' Up!

Don't you just love how the old timers say their going to "put up" their peaches, or tomatoes, or whatever they feel like canning. Ever since I got married over 10 years ago, I've had a secret longing to be truly domestic. The problem is, although my mom was a true Martha Stewart herself, she never showed us how to do anything, or heaven-forbid- let us near her kitchen! My sister first showed me how to can stuff about 7 years ago, and ever since, I've had the bug. Until I moved up here to Heaven, though, I never had enough space for a garden. Now that I'm here (in paradise), I've learned that gardening is trickier than I thought, and the cold mountain climate makes it difficult to grow stuff. That's why, when I am able to make something grow, I'm absolutely tickled with my resourcefulness.
I heard on the news the other night that we were expecting our first frost of the fall :(, so I went & picked a bunch of stuff all at once. I was so impressed with the lovely variety, the "fruits of my labor" if you will, that I decided to take a picture. I know, its not really much, but if you knew what a black thumb I have, you'd be impressed, too.
So, I guess now its time to get "puttin up"!
Ahhhh, I love fall!

P.S.- as you can see, my poor tomatoes didn't really have a chance to turn red. I did get some nice, juicy red ones, but the majority looked like this! Never fear, though- I found a fantastic recipe for Green tomato salsa. And its really good! And it looks like I'm going to be making lots and lots and lots of it....so if I really like you, you might get a jar or two!

"Back in the Summer of 0-9"

Boo. Summer is over. The kids are in school. I have to wake up at 7:15 every morning. I have to help kids with homework every night. Soccer practice & dance classes & achievement days & piano & all the rest of the mayhem that makes my life beyond my control have taken over.......
But alas- take a moment with me and reflect on the last few fun things we did this summer. Maybe it will tide you over until next year. Until then- let the carpooling begin!

BEAR LAKE

The whole fam-damily! Our annual Harward family Bear Lake trip. A hoot as usual!

Awwww....what is it about Dad's & kids holdin hands on the beach? Priceless.

Babes on the Sea-Doo

Buying Uncle Andy

The big tramp

The ladies

The men




River Rafting on the Green

A Big Thanks to Cade & Stacey for inviting us on a once-in-a-lifetime 5 day trip (NO KIDS) down the Green River! They have several experienced river guides in their family & we could never have done it without their connections, gear, and expertise.
We had the best time!!!!! Seth was in heaven, as this is something he has wanted to do practically since birth.

My sexy river guides. Single, slummin & lovin every minute of it!

Me trying my skills in an inflatable Kyack. How do you spell Kyack? That doesn't look right!!!! P.S.- Yes, I am aware that I look ridiculous, but I had a great time- that's what matters, right?

Jay & Seth Kyacking

Somewhere on the drive down, Clint "aquired" this Vote for Clint sign & attached it to our raft. It stayed there through our whole trip. It was a crack-up.

Me & my girl Tressa. I love meeting new people. We rode on the same raft almost the entire trip & became good friends. She's awesome.

The gates of Lodore. So pretty!

Lucifer. (that's the name of the big rapid they're about to go over)

Scouting Hell's Half mile (the home of Lucifer)

Seth in his Duckie

Where's Seth?

Oh, there he is!

Bighorn Sheep. My camera blows.....

Azme, Donna, Jay, Randy, & Dewey. More new friends.

The Goode Family. You guys are awesome! Especially Miss Shirley, who was so brave to come on this trip all by herself. I love you mama.

The Ladies!

Cute couple. See- we did spend a few minutes together on this trip.