Did you know that I have the cutest kids? I know you probably thought you did but you're wrong ;)
2 Good Years
9 years ago
Saturday, May 16, 2015
Sunday, April 5, 2015
What an Easter!
Easter is such a special time for so many reasons of course.
This year the LDS church put out a beautiful video reminder of the most important reason.
There is also another thing that I think about every Easter season and that is family. I love my family and am so blessed to have the opportunity to be with them eternally. In particular I think about my Grandpa Cole. When I was probably 8 or 9 years old (?) my Cole Grandparents came to visit in NM for Easter (or something else around that time, details are fuzzy to me). They gave the family what seemed at the time to me a HUGE Easter Bunny. Which I thought was soooooo awesome. My Grandpa Cole gave me special instructions to take good care of it, so I did.
See?! I still have it! I love that I still have it and get to have my children play with it every spring season and have that sweet reminder of my wonderful family.
Another thing that I think about every Easter Season happened 7 years ago. You see I had met this sweet guy that I was kinda totally in love with. I had met his parents on our first date and it was about time that he met my family. My parents however were living in Singapore at the time. I had decided to head down to Utah for the Cole family Easter Celebrations and invited him to come along and meet my family. We had a great drive down talking and just being together, time was precious between school and him being in a show. When we got to the Salt Lake area I called my sister to double check what I was supposed to bring, the conversation went something like this.
L: So how many rolls should I get?
R: Well the 36 bag probably isn't big enough.
L: Yeah, but should I really get the 72?
R: Well, let's see if we figure 3 a piece...
L: I guess I should just get 72 rolls then
J: ....Why would you need 72 Rolls?! 36 should be plenty!
L: No it won't.
J: Why not?
L: For my whole family?
J: .....
L & R finish their conversation and hang up.
J: .... What exactly do you mean your whole family?...
L: Well, Robyn & Mike, Donald, G&G Cole, Aunt Amy, Uncle Scott & kids, And the Barrett Family (I can't exactly remember who else was there sorry siblings if you were left out- I was a bit... distracted ;) )...
J: So when you said to meet your whole family....
Apparently he had not gathered that he was not just meeting a couple family members but rather was being thrown into a full fledged Cole family gathering. Ha ha ha ha :)
I guess that he somehow survived, Maybe even enjoyed the crazy because he stuck around... Well there was that one time we almost broke up but I that was before this (and for the record it was because we were too much in love- makes total sense right? Ha ha, I didn't want to be a teenage bride but Heavenly Father had different timing in mind and I'm glad)
A few weeks later we were engaged
and then married & sealed 8-8-08 in the Bountiful temple.
After we had been married a while Joe told me that before we had left Grandma & Grandpa Cole's house that day Grandpa had talked to Joe and said that he hoped to see him again. Now to those of you that didn't have the honor of knowing my Grandpa in this life that might not seem like much of anything. Those of you who did, know that this was a major stamp of approval! Joe only realized how much those few words they had shared meant after he had been in the family for a while.
Although he was often a man of few words (unless they involved dead ducks and their underwear, or big toes...) I like to think of him as my magic Grandpa. He had an ability to show love like few do, his service was almost imperceptible but always what was needed and great. He would always remember what we all liked or didn't like to eat when we would come for dinner. He had a magic ability to make M&M cookies appear after dinner- I have never been tall enough to see them on top of the fridge ;)
I think the most magic thing about him though is that even though I don't get to see him anymore I know that I will get to see him again. He made the amazing choice to marry my beautiful Grandma in the temple and raise amazing children in the gospel who have in turn done the same for their children. I do not simply believe that I can see him again, I know it. I know that my sweet children had the amazing opportunity to meet him before they came to this earth and I am sure he told them to tease me to no end, and then remind me that they love me :)
So you see, Easter is pretty awesome to me. I know that because He lives I can be eternally united with my family, even my magic Grandpa- and yes, Joe will see him again too :)
I hadn't really planned to write all of that but sometimes things swirling in your head are better written down :)
But guess what else made today an amazing Easter?! They announced that a temple will be built in Bangkok Thailand! My home! I definitely screamed when they announced it and made my 3 yr old quite concerned. My neighbor claims they heard me and I do not doubt it! I keep alternating between tearing up from joy and just smiling about all the great work and eternal joy that will occur because of a temple of God being built in the land of smiles. I love the Thai people sooooo much! BKK all the way ;)
This year the LDS church put out a beautiful video reminder of the most important reason.
There is also another thing that I think about every Easter season and that is family. I love my family and am so blessed to have the opportunity to be with them eternally. In particular I think about my Grandpa Cole. When I was probably 8 or 9 years old (?) my Cole Grandparents came to visit in NM for Easter (or something else around that time, details are fuzzy to me). They gave the family what seemed at the time to me a HUGE Easter Bunny. Which I thought was soooooo awesome. My Grandpa Cole gave me special instructions to take good care of it, so I did.
See?! I still have it! I love that I still have it and get to have my children play with it every spring season and have that sweet reminder of my wonderful family.
Another thing that I think about every Easter Season happened 7 years ago. You see I had met this sweet guy that I was kinda totally in love with. I had met his parents on our first date and it was about time that he met my family. My parents however were living in Singapore at the time. I had decided to head down to Utah for the Cole family Easter Celebrations and invited him to come along and meet my family. We had a great drive down talking and just being together, time was precious between school and him being in a show. When we got to the Salt Lake area I called my sister to double check what I was supposed to bring, the conversation went something like this.
R: Well the 36 bag probably isn't big enough.
L: Yeah, but should I really get the 72?
R: Well, let's see if we figure 3 a piece...
L: I guess I should just get 72 rolls then
J: ....Why would you need 72 Rolls?! 36 should be plenty!
L: No it won't.
J: Why not?
L: For my whole family?
J: .....
L & R finish their conversation and hang up.
J: .... What exactly do you mean your whole family?...
L: Well, Robyn & Mike, Donald, G&G Cole, Aunt Amy, Uncle Scott & kids, And the Barrett Family (I can't exactly remember who else was there sorry siblings if you were left out- I was a bit... distracted ;) )...
J: So when you said to meet your whole family....
Apparently he had not gathered that he was not just meeting a couple family members but rather was being thrown into a full fledged Cole family gathering. Ha ha ha ha :)
A few weeks later we were engaged
and then married & sealed 8-8-08 in the Bountiful temple.
After we had been married a while Joe told me that before we had left Grandma & Grandpa Cole's house that day Grandpa had talked to Joe and said that he hoped to see him again. Now to those of you that didn't have the honor of knowing my Grandpa in this life that might not seem like much of anything. Those of you who did, know that this was a major stamp of approval! Joe only realized how much those few words they had shared meant after he had been in the family for a while.
Although he was often a man of few words (unless they involved dead ducks and their underwear, or big toes...) I like to think of him as my magic Grandpa. He had an ability to show love like few do, his service was almost imperceptible but always what was needed and great. He would always remember what we all liked or didn't like to eat when we would come for dinner. He had a magic ability to make M&M cookies appear after dinner- I have never been tall enough to see them on top of the fridge ;)
I think the most magic thing about him though is that even though I don't get to see him anymore I know that I will get to see him again. He made the amazing choice to marry my beautiful Grandma in the temple and raise amazing children in the gospel who have in turn done the same for their children. I do not simply believe that I can see him again, I know it. I know that my sweet children had the amazing opportunity to meet him before they came to this earth and I am sure he told them to tease me to no end, and then remind me that they love me :)
So you see, Easter is pretty awesome to me. I know that because He lives I can be eternally united with my family, even my magic Grandpa- and yes, Joe will see him again too :)
I hadn't really planned to write all of that but sometimes things swirling in your head are better written down :)
But guess what else made today an amazing Easter?! They announced that a temple will be built in Bangkok Thailand! My home! I definitely screamed when they announced it and made my 3 yr old quite concerned. My neighbor claims they heard me and I do not doubt it! I keep alternating between tearing up from joy and just smiling about all the great work and eternal joy that will occur because of a temple of God being built in the land of smiles. I love the Thai people sooooo much! BKK all the way ;)
Friday, March 20, 2015
the fam bam
Levi is adorable:
3 months old!
He loves this play mat we got him, we call it his happy place
clearly a while ago (about a month ago), he is bigger now. the boy is moving into 9 month clothes and is only 3 months old...
This is my favorite current-ish picture of Levi. Don't those eyes just make you melt?!
I promise I take pictures of Michelle too, They are just on my phone still and I am lazy ;)
Friday, February 6, 2015
Levi's Blessing Weekend
We had the opportunity to have Levi's blessing at church at the beginning of the month. It was a beautiful blessing. Joe's parents came into town and brought his brother Benny and his daughter Samantha with them. My parents were here too and we had a nice time (although I always just want to lock my family in my house and never let them leave).
Papa took Michelle to the park, clearly she was in heaven.
And Levi Got a whole bunch of attention
I made him these special little booties which he wore with his blessing outfit (which Joe's mom Trudy made). Doesn't that yarn match the blanket perfectly? ;) The blanket was given to my Mom from her Grandma when she had my oldest brother (she loans it out for blessings). I made the booties just for Levi with a whole bunch of sentimentality attached ;)
Oh and did I mention we had boysenberry pie, I mean we have to include all pertinent information here ;) Sampsons should know what this is.
Papa took Michelle to the park, clearly she was in heaven.
Last but not least:
Oh and did I mention we had boysenberry pie, I mean we have to include all pertinent information here ;) Sampsons should know what this is.
She had a birthday, yes it's true
Our little Michelle turned 3 a few weeks ago! So hard to believe that it has been 3 years!
She has really done great with adjusting to being a big sister and she loves her little "Lephi" (although it is actually coming out Levi now sometimes).
In the past 3-4 months she has become increasingly articulate and loves to talk about things that have happened or what we are going to do, explaining it step by step. She has an impeccable memory (which is good and bad...) and loves to talk. She is obsessed with the ideas of cousins. She has chosen a little boy in our ward to marry but still insists that boys are silly. She has decided that Joe's job is to "talk to boys", she asks him every day if he did that today. She is potty trained!(that one was quite the trial this year... and she still won't really use public restrooms, but hey, neither will I). She loves to be a mini mommy and knows just what to do. She will eat most fruits (not melons), and rarely proteins (dinner time is almost always a battle right now). She plays well with others but is learning how to deal with those that don't play nicely with her. She has a very sensitive spirit and gets very worried and concerned when she sees anything "intense" or "scary". She loves elephants and blankets. She has been having fun getting herself dressed lately since we haven't been leaving the house much so I don't care. She enjoys a good negotiation. She loves to be outside. She is still primarily a Daddy's girl but did really miss me when I was at the hospital. She enjoys coloring. Her favorite thing to do with crayons right now is to make "M"s, lots and lots of "M"s .
She has really done great with adjusting to being a big sister and she loves her little "Lephi" (although it is actually coming out Levi now sometimes).
In the past 3-4 months she has become increasingly articulate and loves to talk about things that have happened or what we are going to do, explaining it step by step. She has an impeccable memory (which is good and bad...) and loves to talk. She is obsessed with the ideas of cousins. She has chosen a little boy in our ward to marry but still insists that boys are silly. She has decided that Joe's job is to "talk to boys", she asks him every day if he did that today. She is potty trained!(that one was quite the trial this year... and she still won't really use public restrooms, but hey, neither will I). She loves to be a mini mommy and knows just what to do. She will eat most fruits (not melons), and rarely proteins (dinner time is almost always a battle right now). She plays well with others but is learning how to deal with those that don't play nicely with her. She has a very sensitive spirit and gets very worried and concerned when she sees anything "intense" or "scary". She loves elephants and blankets. She has been having fun getting herself dressed lately since we haven't been leaving the house much so I don't care. She enjoys a good negotiation. She loves to be outside. She is still primarily a Daddy's girl but did really miss me when I was at the hospital. She enjoys coloring. Her favorite thing to do with crayons right now is to make "M"s, lots and lots of "M"s .
She was not the least bit interested in posing for a picture so the above is a "true to life" moment :)
Also once we told her she could open an present she got so excited and just hugged the wrapped present saying "Oh! Thank you Mommy! Thank you Daddy!"
Monday, January 12, 2015
Michelle-isms
not -isms exactly but cute.
Michelle can't really say Levi she says it like "Nephi" with an -L, "Lephi" it's adorable.
Levi gets hiccups, A LOT. Michelle calls them "piccups"
Michelle can't really say Levi she says it like "Nephi" with an -L, "Lephi" it's adorable.
Levi gets hiccups, A LOT. Michelle calls them "piccups"
She loves her brother and for the most part is pretty good around him. (by the way these pictures are from his first week, he has grown a ton already)
Thursday, January 8, 2015
Our Little Man
On Dec. 10, 2014 I had a Dr. appointment in the morning. My Dr asked if I wanted her to strip my membranes and I said sure (this little man was running out of space!). Once she got in there she realized that she couldn't do it without risking breaking my water bag because it was very thin and we were in a carpeted room (she didn't want to get in trouble with the office manager ha ha ha). So that didn't happen but she did tell me I was progressing! 4+ cm dilated and 70% effaced- but with Michelle I was at a 3 for 3 weeks so I wasn't expecting anything from it. The other thing my Dr suggested was to go buy some Sudafed D because Sunday I had woken up with a cold and it wasn't getting any better. Breathing is an important part of labor believe it or not.
After my Dr appointment I had to go pick up Michelle who was at my friend Sally's house. Her daughter also happens to be Michelle's best friend which works out nicely ;) Not being able to breath from being sick and being 9 months pregnant was kinda kicking my fanny and she could tell I was ready to have this baby (although I really wish I hadn't been sick when he was born). Sally joked that he still might be born today, I laughed at her and then went home to get Michelle some lunch and lay down for a while. When I got home I started having contractions but they weren't anything intense or worth timing (in my book anyways). The night before I had had braxton hicks for about 2 hrs that were fairly consistent so I wasn't taking much stock in them. Once I laid down while Michelle took a nap they stopped.
Somewhere around 2 or 2:30 they started back up again only they drinking water and laying down did nothing. I for some reason continued in denial and made a double batch of homemade mac n' cheese (so that we could have one to freeze and one for dinner)... even though I had to occasionally stop what I was doing in order to breath... I'm really good at this denial thing. By this time I was getting antsy for Joe to be home even though I wasn't sure it was the real deal. Finally 3 pm rolled around (school gets out) and I texted Joe asking when he was planning on coming home. He said he would leave around 4 meaning he would get home around 4:30. I reluctantly said OK... then about 5 min later I texted him again and said that I lied and that was not going to be ok. But he still had to make a couple stops on the way home- one of which being to buy me the aforementioned Sudafed D.
By the time Joe got home I had been timing my contractions for about an hour and they were being fairly consistent lasting about 30 sec. every 4-5 min. And yet I still wasn't 100% convinced (sound familiar to Michelle's birth story?). I still told Joe that we should start grabbing our last minute things for our bags just in case.
Then the contractions quickly became every 2-3 minutes and I was able to think coherently enough this time to realize that we should probably go to the hospital... and Joe was telling me the same thing. At that point I just kinda stopped timing the contractions because there wasn't much point, I was clearly in labor. We dropped Michelle off at Joe's cousin's house with his wonderful wife Laura and went to the hospital. On the drive to the hospital I was joking with Joe what a different experience it was being able to see this time since when we went to the hospital with Michelle I was in transition and couldn't open my eyes because I was so focused on dealing with contractions.
We got to the hospital about 5 pm and got checked in. Triage wasn't so torturous this time because well, I wasn't in transition yet. Amazing the difference that makes. When they checked me I was at a 5.5 cm so I was obviously progressing since that morning. They decided to admit me but still had to get their 20 ish minutes of monitoring the baby in before I could move to a labor and delivery room. The contractions started getting more and more intense (duh) and laying there for monitoring was not my favorite. During that time another nurse popped her head in and said that the doctor on call from my Dr. office wanted me to try walking for an hour or so. At this point I turned to Joe and made it very clear that that would NOT be happening. The triage nurse said she would go update the doctor on my progress. When she came back in the only walking I had to do was to the delivery room- which felt like plenty.
Pretty soon they had me hooked up to the IV (in my hand because I like to be difficult) and I got the mandatory fluids before an epidural. At about 6:30 I got my epidural from a lovely man named Bob. When in labor I tend to think that anesthesiologists are lovely people... The process of getting it was pretty much the same as the spinal I got with Michelle but of course the effects were different. Although I of course didn't get the total numbing I got with the spinal it was still lovely. The funny part was that when I was about to get my epidural done my friend Sally texted and asked if he was staying in today- nope! she had predicted correctly after all!
A little after 7 (we think... the time wasn't really on my mind at the moment) the doctor broke my water (which I had thought might actually break on it's own this time but didn't) and after 10- 15 ish minutes of pushing he was here. His face was a little bruised but still adorable :)
This little man weighed 8lbs 3.4 oz (for reference Michelle was 8 lbs 2.5 oz, I grow big babies and then I feed them cream) and was 20 in long
I love how his hair looks red here- when it is freshly washed you can really see the red to it but mostly it just looks brown
After my Dr appointment I had to go pick up Michelle who was at my friend Sally's house. Her daughter also happens to be Michelle's best friend which works out nicely ;) Not being able to breath from being sick and being 9 months pregnant was kinda kicking my fanny and she could tell I was ready to have this baby (although I really wish I hadn't been sick when he was born). Sally joked that he still might be born today, I laughed at her and then went home to get Michelle some lunch and lay down for a while. When I got home I started having contractions but they weren't anything intense or worth timing (in my book anyways). The night before I had had braxton hicks for about 2 hrs that were fairly consistent so I wasn't taking much stock in them. Once I laid down while Michelle took a nap they stopped.
Somewhere around 2 or 2:30 they started back up again only they drinking water and laying down did nothing. I for some reason continued in denial and made a double batch of homemade mac n' cheese (so that we could have one to freeze and one for dinner)... even though I had to occasionally stop what I was doing in order to breath... I'm really good at this denial thing. By this time I was getting antsy for Joe to be home even though I wasn't sure it was the real deal. Finally 3 pm rolled around (school gets out) and I texted Joe asking when he was planning on coming home. He said he would leave around 4 meaning he would get home around 4:30. I reluctantly said OK... then about 5 min later I texted him again and said that I lied and that was not going to be ok. But he still had to make a couple stops on the way home- one of which being to buy me the aforementioned Sudafed D.
By the time Joe got home I had been timing my contractions for about an hour and they were being fairly consistent lasting about 30 sec. every 4-5 min. And yet I still wasn't 100% convinced (sound familiar to Michelle's birth story?). I still told Joe that we should start grabbing our last minute things for our bags just in case.
Then the contractions quickly became every 2-3 minutes and I was able to think coherently enough this time to realize that we should probably go to the hospital... and Joe was telling me the same thing. At that point I just kinda stopped timing the contractions because there wasn't much point, I was clearly in labor. We dropped Michelle off at Joe's cousin's house with his wonderful wife Laura and went to the hospital. On the drive to the hospital I was joking with Joe what a different experience it was being able to see this time since when we went to the hospital with Michelle I was in transition and couldn't open my eyes because I was so focused on dealing with contractions.
We got to the hospital about 5 pm and got checked in. Triage wasn't so torturous this time because well, I wasn't in transition yet. Amazing the difference that makes. When they checked me I was at a 5.5 cm so I was obviously progressing since that morning. They decided to admit me but still had to get their 20 ish minutes of monitoring the baby in before I could move to a labor and delivery room. The contractions started getting more and more intense (duh) and laying there for monitoring was not my favorite. During that time another nurse popped her head in and said that the doctor on call from my Dr. office wanted me to try walking for an hour or so. At this point I turned to Joe and made it very clear that that would NOT be happening. The triage nurse said she would go update the doctor on my progress. When she came back in the only walking I had to do was to the delivery room- which felt like plenty.
Pretty soon they had me hooked up to the IV (in my hand because I like to be difficult) and I got the mandatory fluids before an epidural. At about 6:30 I got my epidural from a lovely man named Bob. When in labor I tend to think that anesthesiologists are lovely people... The process of getting it was pretty much the same as the spinal I got with Michelle but of course the effects were different. Although I of course didn't get the total numbing I got with the spinal it was still lovely. The funny part was that when I was about to get my epidural done my friend Sally texted and asked if he was staying in today- nope! she had predicted correctly after all!
For some reason his ear was all squished. We found it quite funny. It stayed that way for several days and is still kind of pointy. Since he is our December baby we decided it is his little elf ear (although I'm sure it won't stay)
Behold the cuteness
Michelle was so excited to get to meet baby brother (she was ready to just play a few minutes later but that was to be expected ;)
Some of you may remember that Michelle had pretty bad jaundice that kept us in the hospital for 6 days and then we still went home with a billi blanket. It was no fun and stressful- not being able to hold your baby is NO fun! We were concerned that this little man was going to get it too and really he was a perfect candidate, different blood type than Mama AND he got bruised during delivery but we were blessed and his levels stayed low enough that his body was able to handle it without intervention. You better believe I was ready to break out of there! (and very relieved when his levels were still ok range at his checkup a few days later)
Oh right his name ;)
We decided to name him
Levi Alexander Bidwell
Maybe I will write about it one day, or maybe I will sleep......
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