It's about that time...

I'm so pathetic at this blog thing... SORRY. I guess a lot happens in three months and with a memory like mine I forget everything! It's hard to believe I have four children. I have a dream that one day my memory will kick in to gear and I'll remember all those precious moments that I failed to record in baby books and journals. For the time being I'm drawing a BLANK. I've kept putting this off and now I don't know what to say. Well...Olivia is just one of the most fabulous things ever! I never believed that babies actually slept through the night but low and behold they do! She is one of the happiest, darling babies a mommy could ever ask for. We worried at first because she had the LOUDEST cry ever and would often squeal like a baby pig. I think my heart jumped out of my chest a couple of times during the first couple weeks. Thankfully, she is now one of the quieter babies I've ever heard. Sonny and I can't believe how patient she is with us (we don't deserve it).


The rest of us are doing well. Emma and Audrey have quite the life with all of their school activities and such. If Emma looses one more tooth, people might start thinking I'm beating her. I think she just likes the mad cash flow the tooth fairy is bringing in. Speaking of which, I don't remember the tooth fairy being such a flake when I was a kid. The tooth fairy was so behind, it took her two nights to get Emma's money to her (not once, but twice)! I wonder if she was completely brain dead due to the birth of a new child? Anyways, that girl's so forgiving she hasn't given it a second thought.


Audrey's my little spit fire. She cracks us up and drives us to the point of insanity all at the same time. She's so sensitive, but fights these little demonic tendencies. We were having a family home evening on Moses the other night and asked the kids if they knew what a slave was. Audrey about burst at the seams because she knew for certain. "A slave is one of those little guys that works for Santa Clause."

Then there's our Joe. He is our comic relief. He's a crazy little "crack head" (like Sonny calls him). I'm so glad I got to experience a little boy, because he's a blast. He's going through this phase where he's obsessed with certain body parts (if you know what I mean). What guy isn't? This photo says a lot about Joe.


Sonny and I just celebrated our eighth anniversary. We didn't start out as one of those blissful couples that loved being married. I have to admit our first year was symbolized by holes in the wall and me spending the night at my parent's house. I'm sure Mom and Dad got tired of seeing me. I guess I'm not proud of the holes or fights, but I'm thrilled with how we've grown. That's why every anniversary is a momentous occasion for us. Just eight years later, I can't stand being away from him. I still get butterflies in my tummy when he smiles at me. I can't wait to hear his obnoxiously loud truck come home. Don't get me wrong...we can still get into it, but we always make up. He's a kick butt daddy and hubby!!! The following photo is thanks to our little photographer Emma.

***For the record...I'm not normally this mushy on my blog, but he's started to read it!!!
Here's a few more photos of the past couple months...until next time, goodbye!!!
Halloween 2008

The Devil's Punchbowl, after the stomach flu.

Daddy and Olivia on her blessing day.

Joe playing in the rain.

Tree Farm 2008

Our Baby Girl

On Saturday night we welcomed little Olivia. It was such a wonderful experience. My doctor decided to induce after an ultrasound confirmed she was on the larger size and the fluid was low. I have never been induced before and didn't know what to expect. I didn't even need pitocin. I received cervidil at 10:40 and that's all it took. We had the best nurses and even my doctor, Dr. Ruiz, delivered the baby. She wasn't the petite baby the doctors and nurses thought she might be. She was 10 days early and weighed 8 lbs 12 oz and was 20" long. I grow my babies BIG. She looks just like her sisters did and we couldn't be more happy. We have been so incredibly blessed and Heavenly Father's hand was definately a part of everything that happened on Saturday. It was wonderful to have my parents there that day and to have all the kids come visit us the following day. Here's some other photos of her and some other highlights of our summer.

Congratulations Manning Family!

I'm going to do a very quick post for Kara to let all of her family and friends know that Olivia Jasmine Manning arrived today at 8:28 p.m., and weighed 8lbs. 12 oz. She is absolutely gorgeous (no shock to anyone), and looks a lot like little Audrey. The delivery went well, and mommy and baby are doing superb! I'll post pictures on my blog soon, and I'm sure Kara will do the same here!

Kristi is about to become a mommy again!

Okay, just kidding. Kara won't give her to me (selfish), but I thought you all might like to know that Olivia is well on her way to making her grand entrance into this lovely world. Kara was admitted this morning, and I hear has now received her epidural, which means that the baby should be here anytime! I'm sure Kara will not update her blog for awhile, but I will try to post pictures when I get them. Stay tuned and say lots of prayers for them!!

Okay Kara....You asked for it!

Hello all of you faithful readers of Kara's blog! I, Kristi, have hacked into Kara's blog and am now commandeering it. I have waited patiently, as have many of you for some updates. Now, you will all have to excuse Kara because she has really been quite busy, you see. Below are some pictures of the culprit. This is the room addition that Kara and Sonny have so lovingly built on to their house for my grandma. My grandma is very thankful and gracious for all of the hard work that they have put into it. My dad, Sonny, and my very pregnant sister did most of this work on their own. So, that took up a huge chunk of their time. Then, my poor sister was rear ended in the school parking lot a couple of weeks ago. Not pleasant...I hate stupid drivers! Anywho, I'm only going to give you guys a little bit and Kara will have to fill you in on the rest. By the way, I got all of these pictures off of Kara's camera by way of my husband's handy-dandy thumb drive! You gotta love it.

On August 16, Kara's beautiful mother and sisters threw a baby shower for her. It was great fun and thanks to all of those who shared that with Kara and her baby girl (sorry, I don't know if Kara wants her name out there yet)! Here's a few pictures from that...

So, there you have it folks! This ought to keep you occupied for another two months!! But, in Kara's defense, it has been a little crazy in her life as of late!

Sundays

About a month ago I decided to start recording the highlight of my family's church experiences each Sunday. Most of you know how interesting Church can be with small children. Even if you don't have them, you've probably seen one throw up, yell out loud that they have to poop, or even reveal that they weren't wearing any underware (Yes...my children have done all of these). It helps me enjoy and make light of the embarrassing, sometimes unbearable moments that creep into my life every Sunday. Plus...I'm horrible at keeping a journal so this helps appease my guilty conscience.

Well this particular Sunday I'm having a hard time deciding between two different things that happened. The first happened during Sacrament meeting and actually invoved my husband rather than one of my children. This being fast and testimony meeting he decided to get up and bear his testimony. He testified of the truthfullness of fasting and food storage and proceded to talk about how grateful he was for his wife. How sweet right? He talked about how I help him and how we walk together side by side as equal partners. Then it happened...He said, "And I know we are going to the Celestial Kingdom." Sonny, like myself, gets rather nervous whenever he gets in front of the congregation on Sundays. So rather than expressing that if we make it to the Celestial Kingdom it's because I helped him along the way, it came out that we were a sure thing and eternal life was ours! We also had two baby blessings in our ward this Sunday and there were 280 people present (I know this information because Sonny is the clerk and counts every week).

The second instance happened when we went into the nursery to pick Joseph up at the end of church. Upon walking in, we were bombarded by this horrific smell. There was no mistaking that it was diarrhea. The nursery leaders looked frazzled as they were jumping from parent to parent explaining the disaster that had happened only fifteen minutes prior. In the most serious of tones, one sister got really close to me and said, "Your child has been exposed to diarrhea." As I looked to the ground of the nursery I saw about fifteen rather large wet spots where diarrhea had been. A little girl had a mishap and had a large amount of leakage (I'm talking LARGE). What can you do but laugh at that. I should just be grateful that Joseph didn't lay down and roll around in it or pick any of it up. Sonny was ready to strip him of his clothes right then and there, but I managed to laugh at it. I've come a long way since Emma was a baby!

There is another one of my Sundays. This is pretty typical. This is what we have waiting for us every Sunday morning at 9:00. I hope my little discourse gives my children the inspiration to do the Sunday routine with their families, as I have with them.

Spring Time Happenings