Baby Boy Name

So . . . this time around I am being kind, and I am "letting" Charles choose the name of baby number 4. This is a dangerous thing to allow, apparently.

And the name will be . . .

Henry Jones van Ormer

And he will be called: Indiana (or Indy, or Junior)

That is right . . . Indiana Jones van Ormer

I know, awesome.

I am certain no one will tease him about it.

ABC's for the New Year

Sometimes it is hard to fight off the post-Christmas blues. I have had a few moments of sadness knowing that the year 2011 has come to an end. However, I am also very excited to get started with the new year and all that it has to offer. I have decided after reading President Monson's message for January that this is going to be the year of "Living the Abundant Life".

President Monson's ABC's for Abundant Living

A for Attitude: William James, a pioneering American psychologist and philosopher, wrote, “The greatest revolution of our generation is the discovery that human beings, by changing the inner attitudes of their minds, can change the outer aspects of their lives.”

Charles Swindoll—author, educator, and Christian pastor—said: “Attitude, to me, is more important than… the past, … than money, than circumstances, than failures, than successes, than what other people think or say or do. It is more important than appearance, giftedness, or skill. It will make or break a company, a church, a home. The remarkable thing is we have a choice every day regarding the attitude we will embrace for that day.”

B for Believe in Yourself: Don’t limit yourself and don’t let others convince you that you are limited in what you can do. Believe in yourself and then live so as to reach your possibilities. You can achieve what you believe you can. Trust and believe and have faith.

C for Courage: There will be times when you will be frightened and discouraged. You may feel that you are defeated. The odds of obtaining victory may appear overwhelming. At times you may feel like David trying to fight Goliath. But remember—David did win!

Courage is required to make an initial thrust toward one’s coveted goal, but even greater courage is called for when one stumbles and must make a second effort to achieve.

Have the determination to make the effort, the single-mindedness to work toward a worthy goal, and the courage not only to face the challenges that inevitably come but also to make a second effort, should such be required. Sometimes courage is the little voice at the end of the day that says, “I’ll try again tomorrow.”

"Courage is not the absence of fear, but rather the judgement that something else is more important than fear." ~Ambrose Redmoon

2012 is going to be a fantastic year, a year of abundant living.

NOW is the time to ARISE AND SHINE FORTH!!

Let your light shine!

Christmas 2011

We had a wonderful Christmas this year. The kids were up and ready to go at 5:00am. I spent most of Christmas day trying to stay awake, but I failed. Church was beautiful and we had a lovely day together as a family -- nothing better than spending time with my favorite people.

Christmas Eve we keep it simple for dinner . . . a little bit of everything. YUM! Christmas Day was Prime Rib, a first -- it was amazing. Charles made it with a rock-salt crust and everything. I forgot to take pictures of it, I was too tired! But it was lovely meat and he had to use a hammer to remove the salt-crust.
Daniel was the most excited (verbally) of all the kids. He kept yelling, "This is the BEST CHRISTMAS EVER!!!" It was hilarious.




Requested this year were LEGO sets. Harry Potter and Pirates.




They freaked when their wishes came true. :-) Love my children.



Christmas day was spent building LEGO worlds, the kids did it all by themselves. Awesome.


Sammi is building Hogwarts -- it turned out so neat. I forget to take a picture of the finished product . . . I will!

Another magical Christmas has come and gone. It seemed to go by so fast! I really am concerned with how fast life is flashing by. Days and weeks and months just pass without any warning. My children are growing so tall and mature it is starting to scare me. Sammi is up to my nose and I am sure she will pass me up in a matter of a year or so. Daniel is right on her heels. Sammi has already started taking clothes from my closet. It is just so strange to think that soon, very soon, they will be young adults and not children.

Time keeps on slipping into the future . . .

So, now on to 2012 -- the year of great change. Let's make it a good one! Keep moving forward!

Disneyland

We had a great time in Disneyland. It was a fast and furious trip, but it was fun!



We waited at a table for a few hours to watch the fireworks and Fantasmic!


Waiting in line is one of the "joys" of Disneyland. It was the week before Christmas so it was PACKED. We managed to make our way through the crowds and get on everything we wanted to.





We found a "secret" bathroom. It is a single bathroom for families. Sometimes there is a little line, but sometimes there is no line at all and you have a private place to go potty! :-) It is right around the corner from the Mexican food resturant bathroom, which usually has a line out the door.


Waiting for fireworks . . . Sammi showing her new hat. Thanks Grandma and Grandpa! :-)

We waited for the parade. The crowds were nuts and you end up standing on top of each other.

Disneyland at night is one of my favorite times. I love the lights and decorations.
William was having a blast, can't you tell? He was a little nervous about going in the big whale.






Matterhorn was pretty fun. I forgot how fast it was and so I went on it. William sat between my legs and held on for dear life. It was a little jarring, but no more than my normal running.


The boys really wanted to go on the teacups . . . not my favorite -- spinning round and round. Daniel and William said it was awesome.




Our first night we stayed at the Candy Cane Inn located just around the corner from D-land. (You can see CaliforniaLand from the hotel).






On Sunday we walked around the outside of the park and looked in. We also went to church in Anaheim. The church building had a locked gate around it -- SAD!! (forgot to take a picture)

On Sunday we just peeked in through the gates . . .













The weather was pretty cool . . . I wore a light jacket the entire time and 3 jackets at night.

William and Daniel sticking their feet in the hot tub at the Candy Cane Inn



Driving, driving . . . lots of driving. Over 2000 miles! (We rented a reliable vehicle for the long drive).
It was super fun! We are happy to be home for Christmas!



I think next time I go to Disneyland I will not be packing an extra 20 pregnant pounds on my gut. By the end of the second day my poor legs had turned purple. (We went from 8am-10:30pm.) I wore my compression sports socks to help with circulation and they really did help, a lot. But when I got to the hotel and took them off, my legs looked crazy! I can walk all day long -- it was the line-standing that got me. Lots and lots of standing. But it was fun and worth it! We had a really great time.

*I was planning on taking more pictures, but the crowds were so nuts, we just had to press through most of the time. If you plan a trip to D-land go in an off-season.

Trip Highlights:

• Stopping at Nan's house (I will post more on that later)




• Driving through from Orem, Utah to Anaheim, California in one day (we left Orem at 11:30am made it to Anaheim at 11:30pm)




• Staying at the Candy Cane Inn. Our first trip to D-land in 2004 (flying down from Alaska for law school) we wanted to stay there, but it was too expensive for our school-days budget (D-land was a gift from my parents). We had such little funds so we stayed at a place called the Penny-Saver with mold growing on the bathtub. (Nasty!) Being able to stay at the Candy Cane Inn 7 years later was a real treat!




• Going to church in the Anaheim first ward. I loved seeing all the diversity, it reminded me of Alaska.




• Spending Sunday walking around the outside gates of D-land. We went and enjoyed the view without any stress. We even rode on the free tram and enjoyed the beauty of the trees and warmth. We also tried to get to the beach on Sunday, but there was no free parking!




• Staying in the Residence Inn Marriot, thanks to my brother and extra travel-points! We got to spend time with my brother and family. The cousins got to play together and jump on beds together. :-) They were really nice rooms, with lots of space and a super nice breakfast.




• Getting to D-land early and walking directly onto Small World. We got there at 7:45 and it made a HUGE difference! Go early and enjoy some time without the major crowds!




• Going on Pirates of the Caribbean. That ride is so great. Charles had been chatting with the people behind us, who were from Austrailia and it was their first time. They ended up riding in front of us on the boat and it was really fun to watch their faces.




• We finally got on Peter Pan's flight -- it was pretty neat! Loved it!




• Watching the fireworks the second night from Fantasyland, right in front of the Tea Cup ride. It was the PERFECT spot! We ended up there because we had just finished the Peter Pan ride.




• At the end of our last day, while getting on the tram, there were some drunk young adults behind us and one girl looked horrible and was moaning and her friends were holding her up. Charles talked to them and asked if she was OK, etc. and asked them to make sure she did not barf on us. They said, "No, no, she is fine." Just a few moments later, she started yacking and it almost flew onto Charles. It was so gross, and rude, and nasty. They ended up 2 rows behind us on the tram and Charles talked to them and asked if any of them had been drinking and who was driving. They all claimed they were fine, laughing it off. Charles explained that he sees the results of drunk-driving everyday and they had better be careful. Who knows what happened to them, but it was a rough ending to a magical day. At least we got to have the discussion with our children about what drugs and alcohol do to people. They got to see the horror first-hand. Though they were rude and gross, the young adults directly in front of them (who were all trying to dodge her barf-path) talked to us for awhile about how repulsive their behavior was. There is still some good in this world.

It all happened so fast. The trip flew by like crazy. Time feels like it is being played with the fast-forward button turned on.

Now on to Christmas . . . !!! Hooray!

Baby Boy has Dilated Kidneys

Yesterday when I went in for my ultrasound, the doctor discovered that the baby has dilated kidneys. Basically, his plumbing is blocked-up and this can cause some issues for the baby. I don't have much time to write now, but wanted to ask if you might add baby boy van Ormer to your prayers.

Best-Case Scenario: the baby will correct his kidney's while still in the womb, or directly after birth -- all will be well and "normal".

Worst-Case Scenarios: the kidneys continue to enlarge and baby would need to be taken out early for surgery, etc. Or the baby would go full-term and need to have surgery after delivery, or another unknown outcome . . .

The doctor really did not have much to offer me yesterday, but we will know more as time goes on. I am scheduled for my first-ever amniocentesis right after Christmas. (Fun stuff!) Nothing better than a big needle in the gut! Oh boy! He just wants to check and make sure everything else is OK with the baby, though all his other measurements and stats looked really good.

Ahhhhh . . . life. You can't go around it, you have to go THROUGH it! :-)

*If you have ever heard of this problem (dilated kidneys), would you share any info you have -- good or bad. Also, if you have had an amniocentesis before, let me know how it was! Thanks!

Fun stuff ahead . . .