Dear Offspring...

Dear Esther,

I know your due date is still 2 weeks from now, but do you think there is any way you could hurry it up a little? It isn't so much the fact that I don't sleep well and feel stretched to the brim as it is the fact that I am really excited for you to come play with me and your dad. If it is too much of a hassle, don't worry about it; I'll work on my patience. But, if you are ready for a little room to stretch out in and if you feel like you are fully developed and would be healthy, by all means, come and play.

Love,

Mom

"You gotta baby in your tummy? Is she going to be my cousin?"

Since the beginning of August I have had the fabulous opportunity of watching my nephew Royal every Tuesday. A two year old child's understanding of the world is not only sweet but also quite amusing.

This last semester Royal has had quite a few questions about my ever growing baby bump. When I told him that I was going to have a baby, he looked at me with understanding in his eyes and said, "Did Jennie give it to you?" You see, as Meredith says, to Royal every baby is Baby Chase. Chase was born last March and since Jennie is Chase's mom it would of course be natural for her to have given me my baby. When I responded with, "No...Jack gave me my baby," he peered at me with a glazed over look of confusion and said, "oh, that was nice of him. Did Jack give Jennie her baby too?" I chuckled to myself and responded, "I hope not; Morgan gave Jennie her baby."

This baby focused topic has persisted throughout the last half of my pregnancy. One Tuesday morning before Meredith and Royal had left their house upon being told that he was headed to my house he told her, "Mom, I have a baby in my belly. Uncle Jack gave it to me. That was nice of him, huh?"

When we found out that we were having a baby girl we knew immediately what her name would be. Royal was excited that his new baby cousin had a name and began asking to see, "baby Mester," and/or "baby Mustard". I guess Esther was kind of hard for him to say...but he has mastered it now.

The most recent story happened on Christmas Eve. Meredith, Zach and Royal spent the night at Meredith's sister's house. Meredith's nephew came out and reported to Meredith that Royal was one weird kid. I guess they were laying down and Royal reported to his cousin (who is probably around ten) that he had a baby in his tummy that was growing and asked if he wanted to touch it.

Point being, I love watching Royal.

Holiday Hulabaloo

This Transformer's name is Rubix Cube because of the complexity of putting him back together.

Although I'm a grown man (some people still argue this point) toys are still a big hit.

Well, it's been a while since we did any form of blogging; but, we would like to point out our groovy new border. You'll notice that we were unable to delete original green entirely from the blog. A fact that drives my dear wife crazy.

So, we've had a busy few months. Sausha has been pregnant full time and going to school and I've been working full time and attending school. Our semesters were both very busy hence the lack of bloggage.

Our holiday season was fantastic. Both of our families are incredibly generous and we find it hard just to keep up. We spent Christmas Eve and morning with the Christensen clan and I feel our favourite gifts were probably Sausha's mitten/snow scraper (it appears to be a tool or claw from an alien planet) and matching sweaters from Japan that say "The Kindly" courtesy of Cole and Vanessa. However, I feel Esther was by far the biggest recipient of presents. Lets just say both sides of the family are extremely excited for a little girl. We then spent Christmas afternoon with the Fife Clan. There we exchanged presents and gorged ourselves with some delicious clam chowder. Christmas with the Fifes is especially fun because all of the little boys, Dustin included, are anxious to rip open packages regardless of the gift inside. Altogether it was a fabulous Christmas.

I think my sweatshirt compliments the cedar walls lining our house very well.

Between Christmas and New Years I studied for the GRE. Turns out that being an English major and not taking math classes for over 5 years really erases all that trash I learned in high school about integers and whole numbers and things. So, with the assitance of my little brother Will, I reviewed all of the math. I took the computer based test which gets harder as you do well on the test. I knew I was doing well on the verbal section when I ceased recognizing all the words it was asking me to define. However, the math continued to get easier and easier which both terrified me and made me feel good about myself. Lets just say I did much better on the verbal side of things. I didn't ace the test by any means but I hopefully did well enough to get into Grad school.

We spent New Years day at my parent's house in preparation for the Oregon Ducks game. The Ducks made it to the rose bowl for the first time in 15 years. Unfortunately, the last time I watched the Ducks in a Rose Bowl I was left forever scarred. This game was much the same. It was agonizing to watch the Ducks lose, but I felt I owed them every second of that agony. I've been reading articles about the loss, and how it could have been prevented as a theraputic way to overcome the depression, but it hasn't worked too well.

My wife is getting increasingly uncomfortable as time goes on which leads me to the conclusion that our second hand furniture is in desperate need of repair or replacement, or our baby is just around the corner. Esther's kicks are now visable to anyone and the frequency with which she knocks the breath out of Sausha leads me to believe she could be an excellent soccer player. A thought that fills me with terror as we all know that soccer is one of the lesser sports. I also know the baby is getting closer because Esther's mom has moved all of my clothes out of what is now "the baby's closet." Although her little clothes do indeed look adorable hanging up, I can't imagine them filling the whole closet. The room does look pretty cute however without my bulky shoes and childhood toys cluttering it up.

This is Esther's closet. As you can see, she has limited space for her wardrobe.

In other news, my sister (Cassie) is marrying her long time boyfriend Daniel. He bought her a very nice ring to celebrate their engagement. Daniel and I celebrated the engagement by playing electric football (an old 1960's game and precursor to Nintendo). This ritual is customary in the home when welcoming a new brother in law. Although I should have gone easy on him, the white team beat the red team 20 to 0. We are happy to have the Dan Man in the family though.

We had an incredibly happy Christmas and New Years despite the Ducks' loss. For Christmas next year I want only two things, one for the Ducks to win a national championship (that is going to be from Santa) and to see baby Esther with an Oregon sweatshirt rooting for the team (provided probably by Esther's Dad).

Here is Sausha at 35 weeks. She thought I was taking a picture here, but with my handy camera I filmed this classic portrayal of the awkwardness associated with pregnancy. (Sorry about the horizontal angle).

Jack, Sausha and soon, Baby Esther

24 weeks and we finally found out that we will be having a baby girl! We are very excited, and she looked healthy and seems to be developing correctly. Yeah for babies!

An Ode to the People I Love

The following was written over a year ago. I could blame how nostalgic and sentimental it is on the fact that I was pregnant when I wrote it, but the fact of the matter is I am quite nostalgic and sentimental all of the time.

Do you ever look at pictures from your life and feel extremely grateful for the people who surround you? I do. Life tends to lead lives together and apart, but the gratitude and love that I feel for people who I may not see as often as years past never changes. Here are a few of my favorites…

Friends! There are so many people who fall into this category who aren’t pictured here, but here are a few of the women I love and admire. Growing up sometimes implies growing unintentionally apart from people with whom you’ve shared your life. Even though I don’t see my friends (old or new) as much as I once may have, I think about them daily, and pray for them often. If you are my friend, thank you for being a part of my life.

Mom. This is a mother that few remember, maybe just 5 adults who had the opportunity to call her mom. This mom was not ill, but energetic and capable. This is a mom who made cookies, built forts and made her children feel loved. This is a mom who was independent and strong. I wish more people had known or could remember this mom in her glory years when we depended on her and not the other way around. I often wish she were here to tell me I am ready to be a mom myself and not to worry about how much I don’t know or how inadequate I feel. Yup, she is definitely a favorite, and a person I’ve missed for some time now.

Sisters. These are the women who I depend on now. They make me laugh, encourage me, tell me when I am being stupid, and listen to me vent about whatever it is I need to. They are unassuming SUPERWOMEN and I would be lost without them. (You may wonder what on earth is going on in this picture. Let me tell you. Please notice the mischievous look on Meredith's face. At this exact moment she grabbed my butt and that m dears is a candid expression captured by a great photographer. )

Brothers. There is never a dull or prideful moment (well, for me) when I am with my brothers. I’ve always sought and often fought for their approval. They are always up to mischief and are surprisingly smart…well, considering some of the shenanigans they try to pull.

Dadman. This man has unconditional love for the people around him. He keeps me young and helped me to keep on track while I was growing up. And he always welcomes us home when we need, even if it is just for an afternoon free from homework. One of his best qualities in recent years… that he married Vicki.

My husband. (by the way, isn't this picture great! I really hope we eventually have sons) I am still trying to figure out how I managed to trick Jack into falling in love with me. I have never once felt unappreciated or unloved with this man. He works without complaint and strives to better the community and world that he lives in. He is my best friend and my favorite part of every day. He keeps me laughing and encourages me to be my best self.

I would be lost without all of you and just wanted to throw a thank you out into the universe and hope you get it.

Labor Day Weekend

A few weeks ago the Fife crew decided to take a trip to visit Blanding’s head librarian and his beautiful wife the social workerThe Head Librarian and Royal *picture courtesy of Zachattack

Jack and I drove down with Morgan and Jennie. Other than Myles’ slight spat of car sickness, the boys were fabulous. Touching on that car sickness though, Myles threw up all over himself. Since the boys were on the backseat of the van and Morgan and Jennie were in the front, we knew it was going to have to be either Jack or me who had the honors of cleaning up the little guy. At first, Jack handed me a wipe and I returned it with a look that said, “You are crazy. You want the pregnant woman to clean up the vomit?” He was a trooper though and managed to clean Myles up while only dry heaving a few times.

We left the next morning from Blanding and headed to Mesa Verde National Park. It was amazing. Jack and I did take a camera but I haven’t downloaded the pictures yet, so these are courtesy of some of my siblings.

We had a good start at Mesa Verde. While looking at some of the recovered artifacts at the Visitors Center Dashiel "junk punched" a complete stranger. Dustin quickly tried to apologize to the man, after witnessing the event. When Dustin told Morgan what had happened he tried to restrain his laughter while sternly telling his 3 year old that he shouldn't "junk punch" strangers.

*picture courtesy of Dusty

We had to climb up some pretty tall ladders in order to get to the cliff dwellings. It is crazy to think that people have been inhabiting the American Southwest as long as they have. If you haven't made it down to this area, I would suggest it.
*picture courtesy of Dustin

Jennie, Baby Chase, Sloane, and Meredith *picture courtesy of Dusty

Jack and me at the Balcony House
*Dustin

Here is one of those lovely ladders. Keep in mind there were 3 little boys who had to be carried up that.
*Dusty

Balcony House
*Dusty

Another view of the Balcony House
*Courtesy of Zach

Here is a great picture by Zach that kind of helps you understand where on these cliff sides these dwellings are.

By the end of the day the little boys were all tuckered out.
*Zach

After church on Sunday (by the way, when the Fife siblings attend church together reverence is sometimes hard to find. Dustin and I played the classic game of switching a letter in the closing hymn another letter. I know that it is probably not the best way to sing a hymn, but, well, it is really funny to hear your 27 year old brother switch every “e” in a song to “o”) the majority of the clan headed to Monument Valley. Dustin, Sloane, Jack and I stayed behind.

Monument Valley. If this looks familiar it is because it appears in practically every Western movie made before 1970.
*Zach

Have I mentioned that Myles has incredible strength? Here he is lifting up a boulder.
*Zach


As a side note:

Although the scenery and company was fabulous, sleeping arangements were not so wonderful. Jack and I shared a hotel room with my Dad and Vicki. That man, Dad that is, has the oddest variety of snores that I have ever heard. There was gurgling, puffing, snorting, and just your classic snoring. Jack commented that one of the nights he woke up and was sure Darth Vader was in the bed next to us. I really should have taken ear plugs…Vicki, I don’t know how you do it.
*Zach

The time that passes...

Often I wonder how time seems to go by so quickly. But then I remember the schedule that Jack and I continuously run on and remember quite well. The summer has come and gone and Fall will be upon us in a matter of days. I won’t bother to go into detail on the happenings of the summer, but I will shortly highlight a few (really, more than a few) things.

• Hoping to finish his undergraduate degree as soon as possible, my sweet husband took a full schedule of classes over the summer. His class free summer didn’t start until August 6th and ended August 24th.
• Dustin and Sloane moved to Blanding, UT.
• Mid-July Jack became the official bread winner of our household. We found out at the beginning of June that I am pregnant. We then found out that “morning sickness” should actually be called inconsolable nausea and discomfort. Weeks 6 through 14 were what my own personal hell will be (definitely going to avoid sin…) and with approximately one semester left of school we decided that I should just focus on that. Sorry Stone Hill National and thanks for that promotion a few months ago… :S
• We spent a few days with my family in Central Utah at the Sevier River in July. I don’t know that I have ever, or ever want to see, that much hair on men who haven’t even made it to 30 years old yet. (Zach, your back “wings”, as you called them, were especially disgusting). And I also found it funny that my 3 year old nephew could put sunscreen on more efficiently than my 61 year old father. (In response to us noticing his burn he replied, “Sunscreen never works for me”. Well, it had worked in the places he had applied it. He had handprints on his chest were the sunscreen had made it and was red everywhere else). A big thank you to Hot Rod and Vicki for planning and executing such a fun weekend.
• Kevin Taylor proposed to my sister Megan. He treats her very well and doesn't weigh 540 lbs. This is promising.
• Jack bought me a Kirsten American Girl doll for our one year anniversary. I cried. It was something that I had always wanted growing up but my parents were never able to afford… isn't he sweet!
• I bought Jack a power drill for our one year anniversary. He almost cried.
• Cole and Vanessa moved to Japan.
• We moved into Cole and Vanessa’s apartment. Considering the fact that I was still feeling rather sick we were especially grateful to good friends and family who helped with the mvoe!
• My dad sold his house in Spanish Fork (sniff sniff). We were moving at approximately the same time and weren’t able to offer a lot of help (Dad is a bit of a packrat though so I was somewhat grateful for that). I loved growing up in that house. My family, friends and neighborhood made it my home and I will always have tender feelings when I think back on it.
• I started feeling alive again…I lost 10 lbs between week 6 and week 10 of pregnancy. Not throwing up 5 times a day is something I will appreciate much more than I ever could have imagined.
• School started. Jack is not only taking 20 credit hours but is also working at least 34 hours a week and volunteering as an ESL teacher on Tuesday and Wednesday evenings. I’ll still have 4 credit hours after this semester, but am so happy to finally see the end…well, of this degree.