She likes to Move it, Move it!

Little girl is so SUPER active lately!! Usually she moves and kicks around when I'm sitting down or laying down to rest. Yesterday she started her kicking around 4 pm and didn't stop squirming until after Bryan's basketball game was over at 8 pm. Four hours of constant movement!! What is up with that?

I am beginning to think that she is dancing to her own little beat or that's she's having her own disco party in my belly. And she loves to sit HIGH up just under my ribs. Luckily, my ribs haven't been too sore lately though!

She does love to kick and punch when I go to sleep. She also loves to wake me up in the morning to a few side jabs. I think she's ready for breakfast at that point. I usually wake up a little more sore than when I went to sleep. I try to tell her we're on the same team, but I don't think she understands the whole "team" aspect just yet.

We've got a very active little girl on our hands. I can only imagine what a little squirmer she'll be when she gets here!

Playing Mom for a Day

I got the chance to play "mom" for a day while Rhiannon flew out to GA for a funeral. I watched Madison (6), Alexis (5), and Brinley (18 months) from Thursday to Friday. It was a blast!! I learned a ton from just that one day of having three little kids to take care of. I learned that:

1. There is a reason why they come one (or two, in Liz's case) at a time. It takes some time to learn how to care for that little individual and to make adjustments.

2. Rhiannon is AMAZING for being pregnant AND taking care of three kids. That is a full-time (and even overtime) job! She is even more amazing for having a new born baby and STILL
keeping up with the energy of her girls.

3. Kids truly are what can make our joy become full. I had so much fun playing with those three girls and they kept me laughing the whole time with their cute personalities. I was completely tired by the end of the day, but it was one of the best/most fulfilling days I've had in awhile!

4. Little girl hair is SOOOO hard to do. I pulled it together and it started to fall out of my grip. I hair sprayed it and it became impossible to comb through! I will definitely need some practice time before our little girl's hair will be cute. (Maddy even said kindly, "You don't know how to do hair, do you?") We missed the bus because I took too long working on their hair! (which ended up being less than perfect, but the girls were nice about it :)

5. Schedules/Routines are great for kids! Rhiannon left me a schedule for what happens when and we followed it pretty precisely. I anticipated a struggle when trying to get everyone bathed or putting toys away or going to bed, but to my surprise there was no struggle! They were super obedient and helpful girls. Everyone was asleep before 8 pm and I couldn't believe there weren't tears in the process! Brinley even went down for a nap right on schedule the next morning without even a whimper. Such good girls!

6. Kids are SO forgiving of your faults. I felt very flawed and human as I struggled to do all the tasks that Rhiannon does well on a daily basis. I was upset at myself for causing the girls to miss the bus because we were behind schedule, but they were okay. Maddy said,"It's okay. We miss the bus sometimes" and she even gave me directions of how to get to the school. Their love and forgiveness motivated me to keep on trying.

So, I learned a thing or two about being a mom just within that one day. I really enjoyed taking care of the girls. I learned that Madison is such a BIG helper and a little angel. She has such a great attitude and is a little sunshine. Lexie is so playful and loving! We were always pretending to be something or to be doing something with any task we did during the day. Brinley is a sweet heart and is a bit shy around anyone besides her parents. She was happy and fun to play with the whole time and didn't complain at all that mom or dad wasn't around.

All-in-all, I feel like this experience taught me a lot about families. It also got me even more excited for our little girl! I am grateful for the Patrick family and how great they are! I am glad, however, that Rhi is back to take her place as the mom: a position she does the best!

Holidays with the Fam Part 2--Christmas

We spent Christmas this year in lovely Waterflow, NM with my family. All of the Jones kids were able to make it out from Florida and Idaho and Utah, but the Brett Jones family stayed deep in the heart of Texas this year. They were definitely missed!

Bryan and I were there from the 23rd until the 28th. It was a great break and even greater to see Matt and Cindel who I haven't seen since we got married, meet our new little niece Paisley Marie Patrick, and to see all the rest of the family. It always seems to fly by too fast!! We played lots of games, opened presents, had lots of family get-togethers with Aunts and Uncles, and played soccer (again, preggies not allowed. I spent some quality time with Lex and Brinley on the sidelines). I took a TON of pictures, but am only going to post a few highlights. It was a great Christmas and I couldn't ask for more than being with family for the holidays. We are very blessed!

Christmas Eve Party at Aunt Jovanna's House.

Chase and I posing beautifully for the pic

Bryan holding brand-new baby Paisley! She is so super cute and such a good baby! We can only hope for a baby as great as this one! Good practice for Bry :)

Grandma French and all the girls: Olivia, Sophia, Madison, and Alexis
Christmas Morning! Santa came to New Mexico! Maddy and Lexie were good this year :)
Bryan multi-tasking: holding baby while opening presents. Again, good practice :)
Me and the girls painting pictures. I love my nieces!
Christmas Program (casting and directed by Lindsay. Narrated by Bryan.) Baby Paisley made her first (and last) debut as baby Jesus this year! Matt and Cindel Liebenhaut as Mary and Joseph
The Whole Cast: Brandon, Chase, and Corbin as the 3 Wisemen, Alyssa as a sheep, Madison as the Angel, Sophia, Olivia and Lexie as pink shepherds. (not in photo: Ty as Caesar Augustus AND King Herod. He was probably our best addition to the play this year!)

Cute little Brinley Patrick!! We bonded this trip!

The Boys (all in-law brothers are at least 6-2' tall!)
This pretty much sums our trip up! Good times together with the fam! In our Core Services hoodies doing gang signs (which includes UNM's "Everybody Lobo! Woof! Woof! Woof!")

I can't wait to see all of both sides of the family again!! We had a great Holiday season!

Holidays with the Fam Part 1--Thanksgiving

We spent Thanksgiving with the Bryner Family this year and had a great time! All of the Bryner boys were able to be there too. We ate lots of Turkey, had the Bryner Turkey Bowl game, and played a bunch of games. Bryan and his brothers and dad also went out and shot clay pigeons for an afternoon. It was alot of fun! I've posted some highlights below:

Our Christmas Tree

Bryan and Garth decorating the tree
The Bryner Turkey Bowl (preggies not allowed. I cheered from the sidelines!)

Bryner boys shooting things

This looks like trouble!

The shooting range

Matt had to go to jail for bad aiming :)

Bryner Brothers all together playing games

Garth and the kids

Savior of the World

Bryan and I went to the "Savior of the World" play that the LDS church does each year at the Conference Center Theater just last week. We had a hectic time getting there. Bryan and I were both a little "air-heady" that night. Bryan reminded me all day that I need to bring the tickets so I left them in my car just to be safe. I met him at his office since the play was just an hour or so after he gets off and we went to dinner at Macaroni Grill. We rounded the street three or four times before we could find parking, but made it in and finished eating with just enough time to find parking at the conference center and go to the play. Before dinner I decided to put the tickets in an outside pouch of my purse for safe-keeping, but it turns out it wasn't very safe. We parked close to the conference center and started toward the theatre only to find out that our tickets had fallen out some where along the way that night. After searching the car thoroughly we decided to try going in and seeing if they could just look up our tickets online. And they did. The conference center saved the night!


After all the hassle of the evening, I was a little bit flustered when we finally settled into our seats but my mood didn't last for long as the play started. It is such an amazing story about the birth and resurrection of Jesus Christ. The first act focuses on all the signs and events leading up to the Savior's birth. The second act then focuses on the apostles and all the people who saw Jesus as a resurrected being. It was very touching and put things back into a proper perspective.


It is easy to get caught up in the fun of Christmas time: buying presents, making treats, decorating our homes, and listening to Christmas music. I noticed yesterday while listening to a Christmas radio station that only one out of ten songs discussed the birth of Jesus Christ. While I do love "having a holly jolly Christmas" and realizing that it's "the most wonderful time of the year," it just seems like each year the focus is less and less on Jesus Christ's birth. This play was such an amazing reminder of the miracle of Christ's birth, His mission, and His resurrection. I am so glad we went to it despite all the struggles along our way.


I realized then that I want to work on my personal testimony of the Savior and I want to help spread the message of His mission on earth. Just as all the people looked forward to his birth back then, I look forward to His coming again to the earth. I am grateful for Jesus Christ and know that He truly is the Savior of the World.

Merry Christmas and know that you are loved!

Thoughts

--I was sitting in church with the Bryners yesterday and noticed our little girl kicking my stomach enough to actually move it. I've felt her the last few weeks doing acrobatics but it's always been subtle. We were in Sunday School and she kept kicking me in the same spot. I had Bryan put his hand on the spot and she kicked him. It's been fun to feel her move around because it makes it more real for me. I am excited Bryan felt her finally so he can be more included in the growth of our little girl. Fun times.

--I am starting to understand why pregnancy is 9 months long. I know both Bryan and I need the time to prepare our lives to share with another little life. If she were to come today she would only have a crib to sleep in, about four or five blankets to rotate through, and one onesie to wear that is for 3-6 months. Needless to say, we have some physical preparations to do.

--I think it also is a very spiritually refining process, for me especially. It is humbling for me to sacrifice my body and comforts in order to make a life. It is humbling to even be capable of doing such a miraculous task. I already worry about our little girl and try to do everything in my capacity to keep her healthy and growing. I know when she comes to us this anxiety for her well-being will just increase ten fold. I also feel a strong desire to be the best I can so that I can be a good mother to my baby. It has only been about 23 weeks now, but I can feel the refining power of motherhood working to soften me. I am so grateful for the blessing of this child.

--I also think that I'm in the "golden era" of pregnancy. I feel great, rarely take naps, am not gaining too much weight, exercising regularly, and keeping up with my school and home work. It has been such a fun time for me the last few months as I am big enough to look pregnant, but not big enough to feel uncomfortable. I am enjoying it.

--It's also been fun being with Bryan and sharing in the joy of this baby girl. We throw names at each other all the time, have trial runs with strollers, put together the crib, and make all the little decisions together. Bryan is the best and I think more and more that we really work great together. He's my top favorite person.