Meet baby Tyler James

 Last Wednesday the 20th of November was a very special day indeed! I opted to be induced with baby #5. I was concerned about getting family here to watch my other kids and I was feeling like I needed to try to plan what I could. I had to call at 6:30am to see if there was room for me in the hospital. They told me to call back in an hour. Pure. Torture. Is there anything worse then a pregnant woman who had not slept a wink with nerves and anxiety flowing throughout her body? I thought for sure they would turn me away. I called back at 7:30 on the dot and they told me to come on in! Phew! I was so relieved. I was SO tired of being pregnant and miserable. Plus I was over the moon excited to meet our new little man.

The pitocin started flowing at about 10:00. I was already measuring at 3 cm before the medicine kicked in. I went from a 3 to an 8 in ONE HOUR! Oh, it was painful. This was the first delivery where I was in tears due to the pain. Dr. Leavitt came in and broke my water and told me to get ready to meet our little man within an hour.

 At 1:30 Dr. told Nate to suit up. I love that my doctor gives Dad's the option to deliver their own babies. It is such a special thing indeed. Of course the Dr. is right there in case he is needed. It is a pretty special thing to know that Nate was the first person in the world to hold our babies. (Baby Ty and Anna)

After 3 contractions baby Tyler finally came out. He was facing the wrong way and he was HUGE! Anna pretty much fell out...I had to work to get this guy out. 8 pounds 11 ounces is my biggest baby of all. He looked great though. Nice and big and beautiful!!!

We are all in love with our little guy. He has a short little temper but he is a great sleeper and quite the eater. He's only been here for 10 days now and we can't imagine life without him. He is a true blessing and a joy.

More pictures of the first week to come. Time to go feed that hungry little guy again!!!!

A letter to our little boy

Dear little boy,

In less than 24 hours I will get to see you, smell you and hold you in my arms. (If all goes according to plan.) I'm nervous about tomorrow but I am so excited at the same time. Not finding out that you were coming to our family until I was almost 9 weeks pregnant and dealing with the shenanigans of this past summer has make this pregnancy FLY by. November always seemed SO far off and now all of a sudden we're here and tomorrow is just around the corner. It's crazy to me.
We're ready though. I'm definitely ready. I'm done being pregnant. Your room is ready, your brothers are ready, your sister has no idea what is about to rock her world, your daddy is excited, and your grandparents are on their way as I type this.
You don't have a name which is a long story in and of itself but hopefully we'll be able to figure it out once we see your sweet face. It's the first time I haven't had a baby named months before arrival. Hopefully you'll give us a clue.
You must be a very special little boy. After being told over and over again that we wouldn't be able to have any more babies you really threw us for a loop. I am thrilled though. And I am sure that Anna will be thrilled too one day. She will now have a little brother to grow up with and get into mischief with. I'm so glad for that. I'm grateful that Heavenly Father saw fit that we needed you. It's overwhelming to think about sometimes but I know that we'll get through this together. You are a sweet blessing and I recognize that wholeheartedly. You are the prize, the reward, the cherry on top of the sundae after this crazy year we've been through. I'm so humbled by the blessings in my life. I'm blessed to be a mom.....I'm so excited to be your mom.

I love you little one.

We'll meet you tomorrow! I can hardly wait!


Momma

Simplify.

Baby countdown is on. Went to the Dr. on Tuesday and I'm still at a 3 and 80% effaced. Doctor said I probably won't make it to my due date. I'm fine with that though. I swear I got up every hour on the hour last night to go to the bathroom. I can't wait to have my body back. Pregnancy is seriously the equivalent of ALIENS taking over the body! It's exhausting. At least when you get up all night with a baby, you get the reward of looking at a sweet tiny little face.

I've had my moments these past few weeks where I've wondered how on earth I am going to survive 5 children.....2 babies at the same time. I can hardly keep my head above water with all of the things we have going on in our lives currently! I'm not sure how or where a newborn is going to fit into all of this chaos!

I have decided to make a goal though for the next few months. I think this one word will help me get through and try to enjoy these sweet baby filled moments as this will be our last time experiencing them.

The word is: SIMPLIFY.

I finally decided that it was time for the boys to attend the school that they are supposed to attend. Now that we have moved and are SO CLOSE to the new school...I won't have to drive them to and from every day. They can walk or ride their bikes! I'm tired and worn out from having to do the back and forth each day and packing up 2 babies in the early morning sub temps wasn't sounding too appealing. We'll finally have some cohesion in life. Boys will go to the same school that they go to church, scouts, and play sports with. It was a good first week for them. Some things were a little tough but I think they will do well here. Dallin isn't pictured because he was already in his new classroom meeting his new teacher!

I cut my hair off! My hair was too long, and took too long to dry every day. As I left for the salon my husband said, "Well, I'm sure you'll look exactly the same when you get back! You always do!"
That was it. I decided it was time for something drastic! 9 inches were cut off and I had it dyed a dark brown with some light brown and red highlights. I'm loving how quickly it takes to get ready in the morning! It is SO short in the back. I'll be saving some money on shampoo and conditioner that is for sure! And yes, Nate was shocked. He says it's almost like he has a "dark haired mistress!" haha.

I went to Sam's club tonight and spent a small fortune on food for my family and easy quick freezer meals. Trying to take care of everyone even if I'm out for the count for awhile. Simple. Love it.

I'm also doing a ton of de-crapifying which is such a good feeling. I took a huge load of stuff to the DI yesterday. Less is more. I thought I got rid of stuff when we moved over here. Looks like the process is continuing! I honestly feel so much more calm and at peace when I am not drowning in "stuff."

The other thing that I've been trying really hard to do is say NO. No, I can't help out in the classroom right now. No, I can't help out in the nursery right now. No extra sports for the boys this winter. I just don't want to be trying to lug a tiny baby around and chase after Anna at all of these germ infested sports places. The answer won't always be no.....but for awhile it will be. And I'm sure we will all survive just fine. Parker is playing basketball but with Nate as the coach, I don't have to worry about being there. It is SO hard for me to say no.....it's not in my nature. It feels good though and I know it what I need to do for the time being.

Usually by this time of year I am in full fledged Christmas mode. Not this year. It's causing me to stress out too much and I don't need the stress. I'm sure Christmas will come together. It may not be the Christmas with the most beautiful Christmas card. We may not have the cutest family photo. The gifts might not be quite as labor intensive as usual. We'll spend that energy loving on a tiny new baby and remembering the real meaning of Christmas this year. I'm looking forward to the spirit that comes with having my focus on the things that matter most.

Happy November!

Happy November! Yay! Those words mean one major thing to me......no more being pregnant after this month. EVER! I'm ready to meet our little man and ready to not get up to pee 10 times at night and deal with leg cramps. Ouchie!

Halloween was so great this year. Nate took the kids around our new neighborhood while Anna and I handed out candy. We had quite a few trick or treaters! Then the kids came back and we switched places and I took the boys over to the Cottages neighborhood where we went and visited Aunt Dayvne and enjoyed some chili and cornbread at her house. On the way back home we stopped because one of our neighbors here was cooking scones and serving hot chocolate in their garage. SUPER fun. I love this neighborhood so much already.

We were invited to dinner with a couple in our ward this past weekend too which was so much fun. I continue to be so impressed with the kindness of all of these new people that we are meeting.

I finally finished the baby's room this weekend as well. I love how it turned out. My friend Nikki made the cute vinyl on the wall for me. I always sing "Twinkle Twinkle" to my babies but I always change the word "star" to "Starnes." Since this is our last "little Starnes" I wanted it up on the wall.

Nate and I got some of the last few things checked off our to do list before baby comes today. We pre-registered at the hospital today and bought a few last minute things that we need. We're all ready to go whenever he is!

Loving the FALL!

I can hardly believe it is almost November! It's been quite an insane October. Soccer and football all wrapped up a couple of weeks ago. Parker started basketball again. It just never ends! We've had some pretty amazing weather over here which has been SO nice. I wanted to post some pictures of what we've been up to.

I took Parker, Landon and Anna over to the U pick pumpkin patch. It sure is a cute little place. I love that they still have an honor system to pay for your pumpkins.

 Anna was LOVING the chickens!

This past weekend we went with some friends up to the "Family Friendly Haunted Walk" up at the boy scout camp. It was hardly "friendly" for little kids. Poor Cami (our friend's 3 year old) and Anna and even Landon were scared to death.  It was still really fun though. Hopefully the nightmares will end sometime soon. Yikes. Now we know!

We had a fabulous dinner and trick or treat over at our new ward. SUCH a difference from our last ward. We had SO many people come and participate and so many kids and parents dress up. It was SO great to see. People continue to be so incredibly kind and welcoming to us. I keep getting cookies and gifts and welcomes everywhere I turn. THIS is what I was hoping for. We were having so much fun I didn't take many pictures. This was the first year that everyone trumped me on the family costume idea. Which (by the way) is SO SAD because I had a great idea for us this year. Maybe I will be able to talk them into it next year? I doubt it. Oh well! Dallin is some sort of creepy grim reaper, Parker is a vampire and Landon is a ninja. I'll get some pictures on Halloween night of them. Sissy was a candy corn witch for trunk or treat.....she has another costume for Halloween night! (Of course she does!)

Sissy was D.O.N.E. with her costume by the end of the night. Poor girl.

Oh yeah...and I am having a baby still. I went to the Dr. today and am at 3cm and 80% dilated. This boy could come at any time! And I still have 4 weeks to go! Probably better stop doing things like mowing the lawn and moving furniture. Oops. I'm getting really excited to meet our tiny brother. AND I'm getting really excited to NOT be pregnant. EVER AGAIN.

The unfolding of a miracle.

I've become yet another one of those slacker bloggers out there. Still trying to set up a house, get organized and stay on top of the every day. Still growing a BIG baby who is due to show his face in 5 weeks or less. Still trying to wrap my mind about having a newborn again and all of the work and sleep deprivation that I'm in for VERY soon! Trying to enjoy the journey yet finding lots of stress along the way! Just trying to manage it all yet feeling like I'm falling short at it all. All I can do is try.....and trying is what I'm doing even though some days it doesn't really look like it.

Last weekend was so incredibly special. It was one of the most sacred and special experiences of my life. A couple of weeks ago my dad discovered that he had 4 half siblings....2 sisters and 2 brothers.My dad did not grow up knowing who is father was. He was raised by his mother and his grandparents. My Grandma is extremely quiet on the matter and so there have been a lot of questions looming around through the years. My mom was anxious and scared about this news. She was terrified my dad would be rejected by these people if they knew they had a brother out there. My dad felt inclined to move forward though....he found out that his oldest sister lived in Aurora Colorado....in the exact same area where my brother Jason is serving his mission right now. Obviously to us this was not just a coincidence. My dad sent a manila letter to her. (Patty) He told her who he was, included some pictures of our family and left his phone number. A few days later she called my dad. She was emotional, so very happy and she exclaimed, "My brother! My long lost brother! I've been looking for you all these years!:

Plans were made and all of the siblings AND their mother who is STILL alive decided to meet in Orem over the weekend to meet my dad. Patty and her husband came from Colorado, Larry came from Sacramento, Debbie lives in Orem and Kirk lives up in Salt Lake City. Their mother lives down in Redmond UT. I wasn't going to miss this event for the world. This was like a movie or a talk show or something out of this world! My mom stressed about it for days....my dad was so excited and at peace.

The Nelson family was incredible. They were open, loving and so welcoming to us. There were many tears shed throughout the day. There was so much overwhelming love in that room. It was like a glimpse into the afterlife...what it will be like when we all reconnect with our families. There was peace. There was pure joy.

Nat couldn't be there because of the new baby but one of the absolute COOLEST things is.....Elder Rock was able to experience some of this miracle as well. Last week he went over to Patty's house and he had the chance to meet his aunt for the first time as well. It was emotional and special for him. I am so happy that he had the chance to be included in this miraculous series of events.

I'm so happy and excited for my dad. All of his siblings kept saying over and over again how much he resembled their father. They said of all of the siblings he looked the MOST like him. After hours and hours of visiting...no one wanted to leave. It really was a tiny slice of heaven. I'm so grateful I was there to experience this moment in time.