Better late than Never!!

I'm way past due on a blog post- and trying to catch up will be almost impossible with all that has happened in the last few months! But I'll do my best! The holidays were very busy but of course wonderful! We decided to finish renovating our kitchen and family room area, and that turned into a HUGE project. Lots of siblings and friends helped us along the way. Nathan had to tear up around 400 sq ft. of tile! That was the craziest mess- dust covered my entire first floor! I'm still trying to get rid of the dust 3 months later! LOL. We had our walls painted, put up new trim and casing, installed new laminate floors, installed new counter tops in the kitchen, touched up the recently painted cabinets, and installed a new sink/garbage disposal! After everything was completed- I was seriously SOOO happy. It turned out way better than I had even imagined! We chose the paint color Ancient Marble by sherwin williams- and I just loooove it! So happy I found that color! Amidst all the renovating we enjoyed a lot of time with family. My sister Nat and her hubby Russ came out to visit and we had fun hanging out with them. :-) My kiddos enjoyed Christmas this year and said "This was the BEST Christmas ever!" Let's just say-Santa went a little overboard on Christmas presents... OOPS! Their favorite presents were their roller blades and Nerf Bow and Arrows! Unfortunately- Malachi ended up with Black and PINK roller blades because the stores were literally sold out of EVERY boy pair of roller blades in his size. I guess shopping 1 week before Christmas is not a good idea. So- he was okay with it- but I felt horrible about it. haha. The poor kid always ends up with something girly at Christmas time.

January flew by and my sweet Solomon Ray was born January 27 2015!!! It was quite a smooth delivery! Thank goodness for the epidural. I went into the hospital after laboring for hours- and I was only dilated to a 3. I told them I wanted the epidural as soon as I could, because I knew I would dilate fast once my pain was gone. So I got it within the hour, and about an hour after getting my epidural, I dilated from a 3 to being ready to push the little guy out! The only slight complication was the cord was wrapped around his neck very tightly TWICE!  So Nate wasn't able to cut the cord b/c the doctor had to do it very quickly. I pushed him out in a couple minutes, and although this may be TMI, I did not tear! YAY! That always makes me happy. :-) Solomon has quite the head-full of dark hair! His face reminded me of Scarlett/Lilia, but his eyes reminded me of Malachi. So he is a nice mix of all of my kiddos! I only had to stay in the hospital one day- woohoo! I was so grateful because the hospital had the policy that no children under age 14 were allowed to visit- so I wasn't able to see any of my other children while I was in the hospital, and they couldn't meet their brother until I got home. When I got home it was sooo fun to see how excited Lilia and Malachi were to meet their new brother! They loved on him like crazy. Scarlett on the other hand, was less than ecstatic, and when I asked her if she would like to kiss her brother she quickly replied with furrowed eyebrows, "MO!" which means no in toddler language. haha. The next day Scarlett also began to snuggle up to her new brother and pet his soft head. We are all very happy to have him in our family. He is such a sweety and we feel very blessed!

A week and a half after Solomon was born, we celebrated Malachi's 5th birthday!! Oh my goodness! He is growing up- and I really don't want him to grow up. He has sure added excitement to my life, with his silly personality, his love for talking a LOT, and his fiery temper! :-)  I love him to pieces. He is such a sensitive little guy with a HUGE heart. He truly never wants anyone to feel sad and will do all that he can to cheer up everyone around him. He got a helicopter for his birthday- and he was in HEAVEN! He played with it nonstop for about a week. Then the batteries died. We need to buy new batteries asap! He had a fun birthday with a yummy icecream cake and loved having a lot friends there to celebrate with him.

Lastly, was my neice Eva's baptism. IT was so special to see her get baptized. She asked me to speak about the Holy Ghost and I felt so happy to speak on her big day! She is such a nice and caring girl and seriously like a sister to my daughter Lilia. We are so proud of her great example she is to all those around her.

Life continues! I am currently fighting some wicked cold, Malachi had the worst puking virus this past week, and Solomon is sick with a cold as well. Poor guy! He is coughing and does not seem to feel well. It is so sad when little newborns get sick. He will be 1 month old this friday!!!

We are also trying to plan a trip to salt lake city to visit with family! And friends! :-) We are hoping to go this Spring for a week. I am sooo hoping we can find tickets for a good price. I want my kiddos to see the SLC temple and temple square, see the mountains, and visit with all the sweet people out there! It will be awesome!!!

Anywho- let's pray I get my voice back soon- stinky cold...