A long but very worthwhile trip

This last Sunday our family was lucky enough to be able to attend my new neice's blessing. We left Friday afternoon to travel a good eight hours, half of it in the pounding rain, to be with our family for the occasion. We managed to only stop one time on the way down and it really wasn't that bad of a trip. The kiddies were excellent in the car and didn't make a fuss. We stayed in North Bend,OR which is about half an hour from Coquille where my brother and his family live. Saturday we were able to head to Coquille and see baby Moira and catch up on some visiting. She is such a doll and just a little cuddle bug. It was hard for me to give her up for someone else to hold, especially as I was watching my little man crawling around like a speedracer and wondering where in the heck MY little baby went.

That night we headed to Rich and Deb's ward building for a family dinner and to let the kids run around with their cousins in the gym. Kendle is one lucky little girl to have such fun cousins her age and they really are good little friends. The highlight of their night was finding a wheelchair and racing up and down the hall in it. Those crazy rascals.

*Side note*: Did I mention that it did not stop raining the entire time we were in southern Oregon? Not just sprinkling, pouring down buckets! The bottom of Kendle's pants were constantly soaked. And no one wears rain gear there. My sister-in-law told me that's how they pick out the tourists.

Sunday morning we arrived at the church and sat with our family, and as I looked around at everyone seated together I realized how important my family is to me. As I listened to my brother give a beautiful blessing for his daughter, and witnessed my husband and the other men in our family gather around that precious new being I wanted to lock that memory away in my memory safe. Not to be cheesy, but the line "I always want to be, with my own family" from "Families Can Be Together Forever", kept running through my mind and I couldn't be more thankful for the good people who surround me in my life. My grandfather got up and bore his testimony about just doing the simple things in life to be happy and just doing your best. It was a good sacrament meeting. Check out this picture of little Moira in her white dress from Debbie's blog:









Afterwards we headed back to Rich and Deb's to change clothes and grab a quick bite to eat before we hit the road again. It's hard to say goodbye to those guys because they live so far away and we never know when we are going to get to see them again. I'm crossing my fingers that a location closer to us is in need of a new district attorney soon. My little sis rode home with us, so that was a nice change to have someone else to help keep the little ones entertained and side with me on what music to listen too. We were all very tired and the ride home seemed like it took forever. When we came over the hill into Kennewick I told Riley that I think we really do live in one of the best places in the world. Our little slice of heaven might not look like much to many other people, but to us there's no where else we'd rather be. It's good to be home.

Oh yeah, and it rained today. Afterwards though there was the most beautiful rainbow...............

Introducing............

Moira Ann Tovey

This little bundle of joy weighed in at 6 lbs 13 oz and measured 18 inches long. My brother Richard reported that momma and baby are both doing good and that everything went just fine. It's driving me crazy to be so far away and not get to see this precious little being in person. It doesn't get much sweeter than that.

Awaiting the arrival of the newest Tovey

This is an exciting week for our family. My brother Richard and his wife Debbie are expecting their third child, due to join the family this Friday the 18th. Deb has had a pretty hard pregnancy and it will be such a relief for her to be free of the sickness and get back to normal. This will be the seventh grandchild for my parents and the fourteenth great-grandchild for my grandparents.

Rich and Deb have such a fun little family and we miss them a ton. Can I just say, that my brother made the best decision of his life when he proposed to Debbie (which was only after dating for like two weeks or something) and I love her to death! After law school my brother accepted his first job as the assistant district attorney for Coos County (southern Oregon) which is very, very far away from us, but does provide many interesting cases and stories (anyone who knows that part of the state knows what I'm talking about). I am so excited that we will be able to travel down for the baby blessing and see them. I can't wait!

It's amazing to see our family continue to grow and to watch the nieces and nephews grow up and form friendships with one another. It's hard to imagine as a child that one day you will be the adult with a family of your own and that your brothers who you fought with and who made you cry will one day be your friends and people that you genuinely love spending time with.


So baby girl Tovey, here's wishing you a safe and happy arrival! Good luck Deb and Rich, we'll be thinking about you.















* I love this song by Katie Herzig and it totally reminds me of Rich and Deb. They struggled through years of being poor college students, having babies in student housing, and were still some of the happiest people I knew.

Missing brain cells

It's amazing what sleep deprivation can do to your mind. Sleep experts have said that lack of sleep is almost the same as being intoxicated. I find myself rambling in my conversations, putting things away in the wrong cupboards, finally starting my day at noon, and many other things that would normally seem crazy to me, but are starting to feel very normal. My husband can go hunting at 4:00 in the morning in the dead of winter, and have an early morning tee-time after two hours of sleep. I on the other hand thrive on a good nights sleep. I need it and crave it. I have to have it in order to be a pleasant, happy person. Ever since I was a small child, I loved to go to sleep and be tucked into my bed for some zzzzz's. I never cried or protested, it was a quick change into my pj's and lights out. So why, oh why, would I be sent children who do not value the night time hours? I understand that my little baby is only a little over two weeks old, but I can already tell he's got the super-charged energy battery pack like Kendle. When they sleep, they sleep hard, but it's few and far between. Oh, he almost had us fooled. Morgan's joke he likes to play on me is waking up at 2:00 am and staying awake for a good hour or more. I'm talking WIDE AWAKE. My dear husband has been taking the early morning shift as he's getting up for work, he takes pity on me and tries to let me get at least one hour of good sleep in, but by that time Kendle is awake and running around the house and I can hear everything! Quick fact: It only took 3 YEARS for Kendle to finally sleep through the night. Wish me luck on this one. So if I seem to be acting kind of quirky lately, no I have not suddenly turned to alcohol I'm just missing a few thousand brain cells.

Getting back to normal?

Our little Morgan boy is now about a week old and we are starting to get back to "normal", whatever that is, around our home. Or I guess I should say that now I'm ready for things to be back to normal. Riley is back at work (and golfing), Kendle is busy playing with friends and getting dirty, and I'm bouncing back into my role as the coordinator of our busy little household. Being a mom is sure an extraordinary thing.

Morgan has been a dream baby so far, ( me knocking on wood) and we have enjoyed every minute of his presence. We have already come up with a couple of nicknames for the little guy - Starvin Marvin the little old man, and Jr., which is Kendle's contribution. The little old man nickname stemmed from how hungry he is when he wakes up and he wrinkles his forehead like a little old man. I put him on his tummy yesterday to get some exercise and he rolled over - twice! What is with my kids? It's like I took steroids or something while I was pregnant. It's got me a little scared now that he's saving up all of that sleep for something else?!

The fun of the baby has already started wearing off for Kendle and I am glad we have had so many friends and family members to make her feel special and take her to do fun things. I already feel the change in our relationship and it makes me sad and guilty. I know all of you mom's can understand what I mean. I don't want to miss out on anything with her either. Luckily Morgan has been sleeping so much that I have quite a bit of time in between feedings, and snuggles. If anyone has some good advice on how you handled the new baby thing with your older children, let me know.

Anyways, life is good for the Dodson fam. I hope to get back in the full swing of things soon. Back to juggling life as we know it.

Little Wonders

I thought I'd do just a quick little post while I had a quiet moment and let everyone get a looksie at our new little sweetheart - Morgan James Dodson.

He weighed in at 9 pounds 2 oz. and is 21 inches long. So far, he has been eating and sleeping like a champ and couldn't be sweeter. We can tell he is already a strong little guy and fights to get his head up for a look around.

My first thought when they laid him in my arms was, what a miracle we just witnessed. I know that's totally cliche, but it really truly hits you that this little person was sent from heaven and how lucky we are to be blessed with a healthy baby. Right away I could also see a family resemblance, he has tons of dark hair and Kendle's little mouth. The delivery went very smoothly and this was a much better experience than before. ( Yes, I got to have an epidural this time!!!)

Kendle could not wait to come to the hospital and hold her new little brother. She gave him lots of kisses and "soft" little pats and is already trying to teach him to say "ma, ma". He'll be a quick study with her around. She has already helped feed him and change him and he recognizes her voice when she comes around. I know they will have a special bond.

It's hard to believe that all of this started nine months ago, and in a matter of hours we were meeting him for the first time. We feel so thankful to have him in our family and can't wait to see what all of the little moments will bring. Morgan looks forward to meeting you soon.