M is 8 and Idaho, Day 1

Last Saturday we went out to lunch for M's birthday. We always let the kids pick where they want to go for their birthday. Since her birthday was Sunday, we decided to celebrate on Saturday instead. She chose to go to a Chinese restaurant. Chinese food is one of the family favorites.


Right after lunch we headed for Idaho for our vacation. We stayed at the family's summer house. My FIL and his wife were also staying there. It is the same house that my FIL grew up in. It's out in the country where it is nice and quiet. The house is teeny with only one small bedroom, bathroom, kitchen, and living room. There is no cable, satellite, computer, washer, dryer, heating, air conditioning, or many of the other conveniences that we enjoy every day. However, it was very nice. The kids came up with lots of fun things to play and to keep themselves occupied with. It was so nice to be able to spend quality family time without worldy interruptions.


Sunday we hung out around the house and celebrated M's birthday. I can hardly believe she is 8 years old. She is so excited to be baptized. We got her some scriptures with her name engraved on them and a journal. She also got a High School Musical shirt! She loves that show, and all the kids are eagerly awaiting the arrival of High School Musical 2!


M was born in Rexburg, Idaho on July 8, 1999 at 2:30 p.m. She weighed 8lbs. even, and was 19 inches long. She seemed so tiny compared to her brother who weighed over 91bs when he was born. We were so excited to have M become part of our family. After T was born, DH was ready to have another baby right away. I needed a little more time. We didn't wait long though. I got pregnant with M when T was only 7 months old. I had a pretty easy pregnancy which I was sooo grateful for since I was chasing around a very active little baby at the time. I did have some contractions about 11 weeks from my due date and had to go to the ER to be monitored. Luckily it wasn't anything major. I was a little dehydrated and that had started my contractions. But, we got them stopped and the rest of my pregnancy went well!



I actually was induced with M because my doctor was going out of town, and I didn't want anyone else to deliver my baby. My labor wasn't too bad though. I was only in labor for 5 hours. The doctor said that I probably would have had her on my own anyways. She was such a wonderful addition to our family. T fell in love with her right away. He looked so big compared to her, even though he was only 16 months old himself.


M brings such a sweet spirit to our family. She is very giving and loving. She is always writing notes to us and leaving them on the bed, or on the counter, or slipping them into our hands. She is also very sensitive, she can cry at the drop of a hat. If you look at her the wrong way, she'll cry. But, she's also sensitive to the needs of others and does her best to help other people as often as she can. She has grown to be such a wonderful girl and I am grateful every day that she is part of our family!