Questions about bumps

And the bumps I'm talking about are pregnancy bumps. As in my soccer ball sized stomach. And it actually is bigger than a soccer ball, I've compared. I'm a little afraid to compare it to a beach ball. Anyway, there are questions every pregnant woman gets, from both friends and relatives and from random strangers on the street:

When are you due? (and any day between June and August gets a sympathetic look and then is followed by "I'm so sorry, it must be hot." Yes-sir-ee-bob. I usually also get a look that says, "Your due date is that far way? Are you sure it's not twins, 'cause that stomach is huge." Yes, I have had the word Huge applied to my stomach. Y.W. can be blunt)

Is a boy or a girl? (With Felicity, we decided not to find out and be surprised. A lady in our ward asked that one, I said "Oh, it's a surprise." She looked at me like I was an idiot, and then said, "That happens sometimes, but do you know if it's a boy or a girl?")

Do you have a name picked out?
This question has been the hardest to field lately. I know I'm due August 30th (sympathetic look coming from the computer screen) and that it's a girl, but the name...not so sure. I've had LOTS of suggestions, which I do like to get, but then what do I do when I detest the name? It's hard to shoot down some one's suggestion and then get the hurt look because it belonged to a beloved grandmother (yeah, Bertha is not an option. I'm sure she was a wonderful lady). Usually I nod, and say, "that's nice" or something. But I do like to bounce off different ideas from people, so here's a list of what we like (or me anyway. Farris hasn't really offered an opinion, except for a couple that his eyebrows shoot up and he gives me look like "Are you kidding me?" He likes to name them in the hospital. I just like to have a handy list of suggestions to bring to the hospital) and what people have suggested (and sorry Nicki, De-De is not one of them. Way, way not one of them).
Lily or Lilianna
Britton
Grace (cute little Gracie)
Annette (Kind of going back and forth on this one)
Olivia (but I have a couple little neighbors named Olivia)
Mazie (My grandpa's sister name, she was the coolest lady, but we have also had a cat named Mazie, I don't want my daughter to have an Indiana Jones complex--remember he was named after the dog and look at all he's had to go through)
Ellie or Ella
Maggie (I've been telling everyone that it means a Father's Treasure, but it doesn't, sorry, it means a pearl. Which is still good. Maggie of Great Price. Ha.)
Abigail (this one means a Father's joy. Really.)
Bryn
Alleena (One of the branches of our family tree comes from the Allens, so getting creative with genealogy)
McKay (everyone says that's a boys name. But I think it would be fine for a girls name, too)
Alison, or Alice
Hailee (liked it better before I knew it meant "a field of hay." Hay fever runs in our family, so it might not be the best choice)
Brooke
Annie (too much red headed orphan vibe though?)
Emily
Megan or Meghan
Adele (But she'll have a cousin named Adalie, called Addie, so there might be some confusion)

My family, ever being helpful, has also suggested Far-Dee, which... yeah, say it three times and you'll see why that is really, really wrong. No can-do, Chad. Felicity likes Marigold, but I have to admit I don't like marigolds. She also thinks it's hilarious when she tells Joseph we're going to name the baby Josephina. He doesn't think so.
So anyway, any more suggestions? Any votes for or way against? We're working against a (sort of unknown, but still) deadline.

It's already August 1st?

Wow, July went by fast. So catching up:
We just got back last night from a trip to Idaho to visit the family. Farris loves to go cut firewood with my dad, and since Dad's shoulder has been having lots of problems this summer he can't go by himself. So Farris volunteered and spent all Friday up in the mountains. I spent the day sewing on my mom's machine--Bernina that she bought forever ago, inspiration for me getting my Bernina, which I LOVE-- and then we took the kids to the Lincoln County Fair. Hmm, never heard of it? It's probably the least populated county in Idaho, but a wonderful place to grow up. The fair is much smaller than when I showed my heifers (no, I don't mean my legs, silly, for those not versed in Dairy, that basically means a cow a little bigger than a calf, but not big enough to be a full fledged cow) and showed off my early sewing projects (thanks to my mom, she made sure my projects weren't going to fall apart). It was still fun to go back, and the kids loved the horses and other animals. They had lots of fun with cousins, too.
Saturday we headed over to Burley to spend time with Farris' family. More cousin time! and Judy's raspberries were needing to be picked, which my kids happily obliged. I'm going to be spending some time with spray-n-wash today, they get a little crazy in raspberry patches.
My nephew Tanner gave his farewell talk on Sunday. He's such a great kid. It'll be exciting to see how he grows on his mission, I'm sure the people in Ohio will be blessed to have him, as much as we're going to miss him! After church we headed home. We were going to stay until Monday, but Felicity starts her swimming lessons today and I was about finished with not being home, even visiting with people I love as much as Farris' family. The drive to Idaho wasn't bad, but oh the drive home...I think the longest drive I'm going to go on before this baby is born is to the hospital. I'm done. Luckily, I'm due in four weeks, and my babies come early, so hopefully in two weeks we'll be holding this little girl. Oh, I can't wait!!

The sign is comin' down

We FINALLY heard from BYU-I, and...we're not moving! If we were moving, we'd be glad, too, but I am relieved that now the biggest decision we have to make now is finding a name for Baby #5. It's nice to be able to sign the kids up for swim lessons and soccer and make other plans for the summer and fall. I feel kind of silly about all the drama I've been cooking up for myself, but, hey at least I was preparing for all possibilities. And once again, I'm reminded to rely on the Lord and stop worrying so much about the future. Think I can remember that now?

Just a couple Joseph quotes

Joseph is always saying funny things. Most he says very innocently, so we have to laugh behind our hands at him. Oh, what a kid.

This morning he told me his nose was walking. Which confused me, I couldn't figure out what he meant. Then he looked all embarrassed and said "Oh, I mean my nose is running." It made me laugh because he was so embarrassed about it.

The next quote I wondered if I should share, but Farris and I laughed hard about it. If you have sensitive ears, you can skip it. First you should know that Joseph doesn't say his R's right, and sometimes just skips them, and he also has a hard time saying his "sh" sound, and usually says it plain old "ss." Seth had a diaper rash and was crying as I changed his diaper, Joseph felt bad for him, and shaking his head he said "Poor Seth, he has a bad [ahem]" Just take away a few letters in rash--r and the h, if you get my meaning. At least he didn't say Seth was a bad [ahem].

And, yeah, by the way, we still haven't heard from BYU-I. Mormon standard time is getting a little absurd.

Trying to let my Soul be Still

Last week my attitude was pretty bleak, I was worrying and stressing about things I couldn't change and couldn't do anything about yet. I know so many other people that are facing much more challenging situations, but I let myself sink in to my own problems. I felt far away from the Spirit and I was grumpy with my family and anyone else that showed their face to me (especially at nap time;)). Our house got messier--which never improves my mood--and I felt stalled in everything. I kept trying to keep up with my scripture reading and prayers, but I wanted to sulk and cry and wallow. My last post I could have made a lot worse, but I was trying to hide a lot of my feelings. But, thankfully, Heavenly Father still sent me some things that helped. I've been rereading John Groberg's book about his mission on Tonga (the movie The Other Side of Heaven is based on it, but the book is soooooo much better, read it!), and there were several small things he mentioned that sank into my hard head. Farris and I are reading the conference addresses for our scripture study together and no matter what the topic of the talk was, there was another assurance to let God handle things. The YW in our ward are getting ready for camp, and all of us leaders were supposed to write down our testimonies to give the girls throughout the week. In my present mood I have to admit it was a little tough, but bearing my testimony always helps strengthen my soul, so I wrote down some basic things that I know I do believe, even though I was struggling currently. I've also had some good friends reassuring me that everything will work out, they've seen it happen in their own lives. All these small things were adding together but I was still grumpy and stressed. On Sunday (after the usual haggling trying to get kids and self ready for 9:00 church, stress!!) I decided, well, really I think I was prompted to read the hymn "Be Still My Soul" during the sacrament. Farris noticed what I was doing, and he read it, too. Some of the lines that hit me were:

"Leave it to God to order and provide; In every change He faithful will remain. Be still, my soul; Thy best, thy heavenly Friend thru thorny ways leads to a joyful end." "Thy God doth undertake to guide the future as He has the past. Thy hope, thy confidence let nothing shake; All now mysterious shall be bright at last." "Be still, my soul: When change and tears are past, All safe and blessed we shall meet at last."

Then in Sunday School and YW's there were more assurances. I guess while I slept all these things jelled in my heart and actually meant something to me because I woke up this morning feeling peace, finally. Before Farris left for work this morning, I told him I felt better, and he told me about a stake priesthood meeting he went to last night. Someone quoted a favorite scripture of his, one that he hasn't thought about for awhile:

D&C 123:17 "Therefore, dearly beloved brethren, let us cheerfully do all things that lie in our power; and then may we stand still, and with the utmost assurance, to see the salvation of God, and for His arm to be revealed."

I've always had a hard time with letting Heavenly Father take over my life, I guess I'm too independent and hard headed--maybe hard hearted or stiff necked would be a better description, I want to do everything myself. If I can't see my path clearly I throw down the brakes and stress and bad feelings come pouring out. Maybe that's why Heavenly Father keeps putting me in these situations! When I thought we were going to live on the Rez the rest of our lives, I panicked and stormed, and then Heavenly Father reminded me that I promised Him I'd do whatever He asked. After a month of trying to align myself with that thought and finally feeling better about doing whatever He wanted us to do, He prompted us that it was time to move. He gave me that time to learn and now He's sending more lessons. Maybe I'll learn this time? I have a feeling this will be one of those things Heavenly Father has to teach me over and over again! I don't know, but I felt so peaceful this morning, I hope, pray, that I will be able to keep my soul still and CHEERFULLY let Heavenly Father take over. I'm not sure I can do it. But I'll be trying to let my soul be still.

Catching up

I was going to wait to write this post until we knew whether Farris got the job or not...but we were supposed to know this week, and by Friday we were a little nervous, so Farris sent an e-mail. I guess it's a good thing it was him and not me, in the state I'm in I would have said something like "Hello! Do you remember me? We're waiting here not very patiently while our WHOLE LIFE IS ON HOLD, so can you get a move on?" Pregnancy hormones can be rude, sorry. So Farris sent a calm e-mail and then he got a voice mail back, saying that the decision making had been delayed {insert my thoughts: "ummm, what in the world does that mean???} and that they hope to get an answer for everyone next week. Sure, no problem, we just need to turn in Farris' notice at BYU, find a house, sell a house, find a doctor and a hospital, and box up our house all before August 1st, which is when they would like the people who get the jobs to start. OK, sorry about the sarcasm, just letting out some frustrations. Back to our Newey Family motto: We're OK!
Now on to the good times. We left early, early, early on Monday the 27th for Rexburg. When we got there I dropped Farris off at the interview, and went to the Splash Park in town. So much fun! The kids had a blast. It's like a regular playground with slides but with water pouring and shooting all over. I also got to spend some time with my friend Leah (we were roomies at BYU-I when it was Ricks) and her kids. I haven't seen her for so long and it was great to see her sweetness again. She's also having a baby (a boy) in August, so we got to compare. I'd love to live near her! Then we picked Farris up, he dropped us at a hotel so I could take a nap (thank you!) and he went back for round 2. I have to say a little about this interview: Farris had to prepare a 7 minute presentation, study up on a case study so he could discuss it, write a paper, and then he had a regular interview, too. Whew! No wonder they are having a hard time making a decision, they have tooooo much information! Anyway, we had a picnic dinner at a park with Sam and Kolleen and then drove around the area looking for houses and areas we liked. The next day we met with a real estate agent and drove around some more. The kids were getting way bored of all the driving (but we found some beautiful communities, all that green grass and open space!), so we promised them Bear World the next day. Next to Rigby is kind of like a reserve with elk, deer, wolves, buffalo, and of course bears. After a drive through (we counted over thirty bears, they were beautiful! We even had a bear brush up against the van, the kids were squealing) they have a petting zoo (we got to pet deer, goats, a pig, and there were lots of geese, ducks and peacocks, too) and watch six bear cubs playing. The cubs were my favorite, they were completely adorable in their play. There is also about six little kiddie rides that the kids loved. I went on the little roller coaster, but we couldn't put the safety bar down all the way because my basketball shaped stomach got in the way, hee-hee. Then we headed to Grandma Child's house, only two hours away, nice. We spent the next day helping her in her beautiful yard. Well, Farris did, I was starting to feel the effects of too much traveling and not enough water and sleep. We had so much fun at Judy's, the kids love being there with her, and it was good to chat and get caught up on everything going on in the family. We even got to see Charitie perform with the rest of the youth in her stake in a dance, she did such a good job(they danced to Dream Big by Ryan Shupe and the Rubber Band, I added it to my music on the blog). Friday was the highlight of the week, we went to the Twin Falls temple to see our nephew get his endowment. It's such an amazing thing to see the next generation growing up, and growing into such a good man. I love him and I'm so proud of what a great person he is. He's a wonderful example for all his younger cousins.
On Saturday we visited with Farris' grandma Larsen (one of my favorite people!) and then headed back to Utah for a family reunion. The next day was Sunday and Cindi and Scott were blessing their beautiful little girl Shailey. What an amazing family week we were having, from grandparents to temple endowments to baby blessings! I love having a family that we can enjoy in all seasons of life. The next day was the Forth of July. In our family the tradition is to meet in Huntsville, where my Dad grew up, and enjoy the small town celebration. I love Huntsville, it's in a valley with a reservoir and is one of the most gorgeous places on earth in my opinion. Farris and Scott ran the 10K, we had the town's pancake breakfast, watched the parade, and then lunched at my aunt's house. All the kids were running wild with their cousins and enjoying it. I love watching my kids enjoying time with their cousins, it brings back memories of playing with mine (me'n'Amy!). After awhile we decided to head back home, we were missing our own beds and needed to get back to our own routines.
On Tuesday we started our waiting game to hear from BYU-I and I went to a doctors appointment. The baby's kidneys were swollen in the first ultrasound, so they wanted to check them during the third trimester to make sure they went back to normal. Thankfully, they were fine and the baby is growing well (and she's still a girl, whew). But because of dehydration and a busy, crazy week my amniotic fluid is low, so I received some strict instructions to drink LOTS of water and take it a little easier (breaks with my feet up every couple of hours). All I need in this crazy time is to be on bed rest, so I'm following her instructions to the letter.
Now we're just back to the waiting game, I'm praying for patience, we're all praying for guidance, and we're enjoying the wonderful rainy weather mixed with heat so the kids can play on the slip-n-slide. I do love summertime!

For Sale...probably

Yes, we put a For Sale sign in our front yard this week. We've been thinking about it for awhile, waiting to see if a good job at BYU-Idaho came available. When Farris talked to them this spring, while we were in Rexburg for Sam's wedding, they were revamping the Advising department. Now they've got it figured out and Farris has applied. They've called him to discuss his application (apparently they were impressed that Farris has an 85% retention rate for students that are having academic problems, and wanted to know how he does it) and we'll be heading up for an interview the last week of June. We're excited about being in Idaho again and in a rural place with a little more stretching-out space. One of my girls in YW's visited Idaho and was so amazed: "There's so much air up there!" It made me laugh, but I do really miss having all that air.

That being said, I'm sad to leave here. I've said before that we have the coolest neighborhood, and we do. Besides my college apartments, I've never had neighbors so close, but they are all wonderful so I don't mind. We've had so many people tell us that they will miss our family, we were even told that they're putting us on the Prayer Roll not to get the job. We are going to miss this neighborhood, and the city, too. I like being close to a bigger city with shopping and entertainment and things, but being further out so it still feels smaller townish here. I like our school. We've made some great friends here that we will all miss. The boys are getting excited (we did tell them that if we got a bigger yard we could get a dog. Just a little bribe), but Felicity is still upset about leaving friends behind. And now my brother's family has bought a house just a half an hour from here, grrrr, I would love being that close to them.

The other thing is selling our house. The market here, like everywhere else, has dropped considerably since we bought this house. We're underwater, but how much we're not sure until someone buys the house and we hope that will be sooner rather than later. Our financial advisor thinks we're nuts: "You're selling a house for less than you owe, to move to a new job for less pay, and you're having a baby in 2 and a half months?" Well, when you put it that way... we're still not sure if what we're doing is right, but we do feel we need to try. And maybe he won't get the job, and then we'll take down our sign (unless some of our neighbors do it first--we've had threatenings) and throw a party. Right now we're just trying to figure things out. In March I thought we'd have this all figured out by the end of May, now I think it will be the beginning of July before we can answer people's questions. So for right now it's "yes, we're moving... probably."