IT'S A BOY!!!!!!! We had the ultrasound today and things were pretty clear that we are having a healthy, happy boy! Boy #4 is on his way! When we told our boys, Matthew and Andrew were disappointed! I didn't know they had wanted a girl so badly, but Tim was relieved and I was okay with it all because now the numbers are even, bedrooms will work out, and deep down I think I like being the only girl in the family... until all those daughter-in-laws come along!
The tradition in our family now is that each kid gets 3 presents because that's how many Jesus got. But of course they got more from grandparents and friends. Thank you everyone who made our Christmas so special! Below are my most favorite 5 pictures out of the million I took!
Isaac loved his Radio Flyer Inchworm!
Lining up his new Hotwheels cars...
Matthew wanted a potion kit, so I bought him a little chemistry set. We had so much fun, but then I love stuff like that too! Add baking soda and citric acid and food coloring to water and you have a volcano! They boys thought that was so cool!!
Matthew and Andrew both got rollerblades from Santa and LOVED rolling around the house in them! Now they can be like daddy! 
Isaac felt left out, though, and putting Andrew's blades on, begged us to let him try too! He turned out to be a pro! I love his face in this pic!!
I had to include this video I took of Isaac rollerblading. It was unbelievable to me that he could even do it (my 5 year old was hesitant to try) so my voice is overly loud and excited, but he is just so dang cute! He trips a bit but gets it at the end and later that day does awesome.
Festive Christmas Dinner setting.
Christmas Robes I made. Isaac fell asleep Christmas Eve before I could give him his robe so he got his the next morning.
Acting out the Nativity scene was awesome! We almost skipped it because it was getting late, but my boys LOVED playing the different parts! 
After Santa came - the stockings were stuffed and all the presents stacked under the tree.
We had a Snow Day where school was even canceled so Matthew stayed home and we played all day in the snow! Tim built the boys a snowman, a snow fort and even a special message for me!
Isaac hated the snow until he realized it was edible...He seriously licked the snow for 15 minutes, thinking it was the coolest thing ever!
Tim's "snow message" is a tradition that started back at BYU when we were engaged. One day he "wrote" I LOVE REBECCA in the snow and it was there all winter! When the snow finally melted the grass was greener where it had been uncovered so even the grass read I LOVE REBECCA for a while! Now, every time it snows, I can expect a fun message like this in the snow. This time the kids helped with the fun surprise!
The kids decorated this gingerbread house from Betsy and Richard all by them selves! I built it, but they frosted and put the candies on and then enjoyed eating it after! Didn't they do an awesome job??
Cutting down our Christmas tree! My sis-in-law called and asked if we wanted to cut down a tree for Christmas - it was only $10 for a tree tag! So we sawed it down, brought it home and decorated it! The boys loved the adventure!
Christmas Robes: Matthew, Andrew and Isaac (Isaac's has a hood)
Aprons for our friends Betsy and Richard. 
Thanksgiving table cloth and place mat ( the place mat was a total experiment and turned out a little funny, but it put some color into the room).
This was really quick and fun to make for Andrew's friend who was having a birthday party. I found some scrap material to make the pillow and then covered it with a "No-sew" fleece project. Now my boys all want one!
I really enjoyed this video with the music and wonderful paintings of Mary and the baby Jesus. Every Christmas that I am expecting a baby, I feel extra close to Mary. This Christmas has not been different, as I am beginning to feel anxious for our baby to arrive. I can feel him/her kicking inside and my belly is getting bigger and this pregnancy is starting to feel "real" now. I am almost more excited for my ultrasound in 9 days than I am for Christmas! I'll be sure to let everyone know boy or girl on the 30th!
I decided to check email, blog, etc. this morning when I woke up at 2am and couldn't sleep (again). I love the little widget on my blog that tells me how far along I am and how many days are left in this pregnancy - It is so fun for me, since I never had that before. I was always doing the math, counting weeks, etc. I have my ultrasound appointment on December 30th and will post Boy or Girl then!
So, I know I haven't updated in a while. I will post photos, etc, soon, but Christmas has just kept me so busy! I decided to make Christmas Eve robes for my boys, and having never done any real sewing before (like with a pattern) it has taken me a while to decipher sewing jargon. I'm just so grateful to my sis-in-law who got me started - took me with her to the fabric store and said, "See, here's how you pick out fabric, then you take it to the nice lady who cuts it for you, and then you go check out and pay for the fabric. Yes, you'll need thread, here it is over here..." Thank you Chelsea for being so patient with me and my never-ending questions! Oh yeah, and did I mention she has a 1 month old BABY? She truly is amazing!
I'll put pics of my finished projects later.
I hope all is well and everyone is having a great Christmas season! If I don't post before Christmas, then Merry Christmas! We love you all!
I have been feeling a lot better the last 2-3 days! Yay! It is so great to be able to get up and get dressed with out being so exhausted I have to lay back down! Or to be able to drive myself somewhere or to be able to go to the store without throwing up in the parking lot!
I had my second Doctor appointment today and everything is going well. I actually have lost 1 pound because I have been sick, which has never happened before! Usually I gain and gain and gain, so we will see how that goes. In 8 weeks they will do the ultrasound, even though in one week they could tell if I am having a boy or girl. I miss my Kanab doctor who did ultrasounds for free just to find out the sex of the baby and then the real one later! Oh well, that's life in a bigger, less personal city I guess, even though I do thing my Doctor is great. My appointment was at 8am and he had already delivered 2 babies that morning! Talk about busy!
My Relief Society at church is doing a "read the book of mormon in 60 days" challenge (because that's how long it took Joseph Smith to translate it, when he wasn't hiding and running from mobs) and it's been awesome. There definitely is a power in that book and there is no way that he just made it up. I know it every time I read it that it truly is ancient scripture, just like the Bible.
One of the things we are to do is circle how many times it says Christ, or any of his other names and also underline his attributes. Every page talks of Christ - it is amazing! I never realized how much the book testifies of Him! And, at this time of politics and trying to figure out where I stand on some issues, a lot of my questions have been answered by this powerful book. Some days when I was so sick, this is the only thing that got me through the day without feeling totally depressed and worthless. It's been wonderful!
So, that's some of what I've been thinking and doing lately! Oh, yeah, and cleaning up 10-20 of Isaac's random messes every day! Today it's been all my sewing pins and all the loose papers in Tim's journal (and it's only 10am). Yesterday the big one was my moisturizer painted on my mirror with my blush brush (totally ruined). Oh yeah, and the crayon all over the walls and hard wood floor and fireplace (I don't know how he found a tiny piece of broken green crayon, but he did). And I could go on and on, but you get the picture! And this all happens in the matter of 3 minutes when I go to get something for Andrew or answer the phone or something!
The next 2 posts are more interesting with pictures and stuff.
This year, Halloween was really fun, but kept pretty simple due to me being so sick. We didn't really decorate and I forgot to take a picture of the one pumpkin we carved, but we did do some fun things thanks to good friends and family. Thanks so much Betsy and Richard for the cute haunted Halloween gingerbread castle! We had so much fun decorating it and the boys had a blast eating it a few days later! You guys are so awesome! 
Matthew's Kindergarten had a parade. Here is is class!
Matthew in the parade as Dash from the Incredibles!
Isaac being his same old grouchy self! He was done watching the parade!
We had a really fun neighborhood Halloween party at 5:00 on Halloween evening! It was awesome! It was potluck and my kids got a healthy dinner before trick-or-treating! And they loved it because they got to dress up and see all their friends in their costumes. I hope this becomes a tradition! Isaac wouldn't wear his Batman mask, to Tim was the top half of his costume!
Matthew had been wiggling his lower tooth for weeks and one afternoon, I asked him if he wanted to pull out his own tooth! I didn't act excited about it, just kind of take it or leave it, even though I was super excited inside!
Any way, he said, "Sure." So, I got a piece of floss and tied it carefully around his tooth. I wrapped the other end around his finger and said, "Now just pull your hand quickly down past your knees." And he did it! He was awesome! 
I asked him if it hurt and he said, "No, but this blood is freaking me out a little." I laughed and got him a rolled up tissue he could bite on for a second. Seriously, I love having brave, logical, undramatic boys. 
So, there it is! The tooth fairy came that night and gave him a dollar and a peso! :)
Okay, I don't want to be all doom and gloom and I know that I haven't posted anything in FOREVER, but I have been super busy chasing my crazy 18 mo. old around and still fighting this sickness. I do have good days, but then I need to do things that I have been neglecting, not blogging! Well, I finally got around to checking my email, and I got this from my mom. I found it really interesting, however, I didn't check sources, etc., but I found it interesting just the same. So, I wanted to post it. Here goes....
How same-sex marriage points to end of the world
© 2008 Faith2Action
What do May 17, 2004, and May 15, 2008, have in common? One judge and a redefinition of marriage against the will of the people.
Both the Massachusetts Superior Court and the California Supreme Court by a one-judge margin redefined what marriage has always been in every culture and every religion for more than 5,000 years of recorded history.
Why does this matter?
As I wrote about in my book, "The Criminalization of Christianity, " Jeffrey Satinover, who holds an M.D. from Princeton and doctorates from Yale, MIT and Harvard, was on my radio program one day and I asked him about where we are in history. He explained that according to the "Babylonian Talmud" – the book of rabbis' interpretation of the scriptures 1,000 years before Christ, there was only one time in history that reflects where we are right now. There was only one time in history, according to these writings, where men were given in marriage to men, and women given in marriage to women.
Want to venture a guess as to when? No, it wasn't in Sodom and Gomorrah, although that was my guess. Homosexuality was rampant there, of course, but according to the Talmud, not homosexual "marriage." What about ancient Greece? Rome? No. Babylon? No again. The one time in history when homosexual "marriage" was practiced was … during the days of Noah. And according to Satinover, that's what the "Babylonian Talmud" attributes as the final straw that led to the Flood.
On my Faith2Action radio program on Thursday, Rabbi Aryeh Spero verified this to be true.
Rabbi Spero spoke of God's compassion before the Flood, in hopes people would repent and turn back to His ways. He showed patience for hundreds of years. But, he said, the Talmud's writings reveal that "before the Flood people started to write marriage contracts between men, in other words, homosexual 'marriage,' which is more than homosexual activity – it's giving an official state stamp of approval, a sanctification … of homosexual partnership. "
In fact, he said, "the writings indicated that it wasn't even so much the 'straw that broke the camel's back,' but that the sin in and of itself is so contrary to why God created the world, so contrary to the order of God's nature, that God said then and there 'I have to start all over … to annihilate the world and start from the beginning. …'"
Rabbi Spero went on to say, "Even in ancient Greece they did not write marriage contracts between men. There was homosexuality, and it was wrong, but there was not an official 'blessed' policy. … Marriage is 'sanctification' (not simply a partnership) ." He said to confer the title of sanctification and holiness upon this behavior is "probably one of the greatest sins of all that one does against God's plan for this world."
The one time it happened was: "During the days of Noah." When I first heard this, my mind immediately went to a verse I've heard many times but never with such relevance. The verse is found in Matthew 24:37. It reads:
"As it was in the days of Noah, so it will be at the coming of the Son of Man." – Matthew 24:37
I used to read this verse and think: It was bad at lots of points in history; it doesn't necessarily mean now, but if these Jewish writings are true, we are uniquely like the "days of Noah" right now – and only right now.
But it can't be yet, you say. You have a lot going on in your life? You're getting married? Here's how the New Living Translation describes that very sentiment in Luke:
"When the Son of Man returns, the world will be like the people were in Noah's day. In those days before the Flood, the people enjoyed banquets and parties and weddings right up to the time Noah entered his boat, and the flood came to destroy them all." – Luke 17:26-27
Happily going about as if everything was fine was what they did, too.
You don't like this possibility? Don't even believe in the Flood? Doesn't matter. Some things are true whether you believe them or not. How can you be sure? There's a way. Did you know that about one-fourth of the Bible is prophecy? A quarter of the Bible is a lot – it's a big book. And did you know God's standard? Perfection. That means that if even one of those prophecies is wrong, you can discount the whole thing. Kind of like a prophet who makes a false prediction – that made him a false prophet and a candidate for stoning. Did you know that 4,000 prophecies in that Bible have already come true down to the last detail? That leaves about 1,000 left to be fulfilled – those are the ones regarding the last days before the return of Christ, which are being checked off the list right now.
If 4,000 out of 5,000 prophecies have already occurred exactly as the Bible predicted they would, you might want to pay attention to the rest.
The good news is that 1.1 million people across California have signed a petition to bring marriage to a vote of the people through a state constitutional amendment (just like 27 other states have done). And guess what? An amendment to a state constitution trumps even the most out-of-control state judiciary. We'll likely know if these signatures are validated before this tyrannical ruling goes into effect, and I predict they will be since they gathered 400,000 more signatures more than they needed to qualify. Besides, they already voted – eight years ago where more than 61 percent of Californians declared marriage as the union of a man and a woman. Now they just need to turn that same language into a constitutional amendment.
I don't live in California, so why am I sounding the alarm? Here's why:
"But if the watchman sees the sword coming and does not blow the trumpet, and the people are not warned, and the sword comes and takes any person from among them, he is taken away in his iniquity; but his blood I will require at the watchman's hand." – Ezekiel 33:6
I'm praying and working to protect marriage in California (and the rest of the country) not only because I care about marriage, but because I care about civilization. And, if we obey God, he just may spare us from the judgment we deserve.
Vote yes on Prop 8! Go to my friend Kristen Pace's blog for amazing info. under Our Blogger Friends.
Was President Uchtdorf's talk last night awesome or what? For any body who missed, it is definitely worth reading - before the Ensign comes out! My most favorite thing he said was (I didn't take exact notes, so there may be some of my interpretation included) "We don't just live life, we create it." I love how he spoke about "creation" - making something exist that didn't exist before, whether it's a beautiful garden, a harmonious home, and then, of course, children. He is such a wonderful speaker and I feel like his message was just for me.
I don't have a "cookie cutter" life - I have an exceptional one. But even if I did, is it so bad? I mean, think of all the different shapes of cookie cutters that exist in the world - maybe there might be one like mine, but then maybe I have molded my own shape? And, does the shape of the cookie matter, as long as it tastes sweet??
This was the biggest bruise I've ever seen in my life - it stuck out like 2 cm! And it grew before my eyes, like he was growing a horn. He fell into the rock on the fireplace. Sad! I'm just glad he hit it on the side, and not on the corner! That would have been awful!
We then added Isaac to the picture with his day-old bruise from slipping on water left on the floor. Matthew didn't have a bruise, so he couldn't be in the picture. However, a few days later I got called into the school because Matthew decided to kiss the pavement and cut up both knees, an elbow and put his teeth through his upper lip! It was so traumatic, I forgot to take a picture. No teeth knocked out, but one might turn gray. Good thing it was before school pictures!
I had so much fun asking Matthew these questions that I decided to ask Andrew the questions as well. I had to phrase the questions in a way that a 3 year old could understand them, and it was harder to get answers from him, but it was still fun! I love hearing their answers!
1. What is something mom always says to me? I'm asleep! (Can you tell I have morning sickness? And that he wakes up at 6 am?)
2. What makes mom happy? Not being disobedient.
3. What makes mom sad? Doing something bad.
4. How does mom make me laugh? Says a joke.
5. What was mom like as a child? I don't know. Really, I don't!
6. How old is mommy? 6.
7. How tall is mommy? Ummm......Tall.
8. What is mommy's favorite thing to do? Go to sleep. (He's right on!)
9. What does mom do when I'm not around? Watch a movie with Isaac.
10. If mom becomes famous, what will it be for? Watching a movie.
11. What is mom really good at? Cutting letters for my preschool.
12. What is mom not really good at? I don't know. I'm really tired. (He says he's tired when he wants to get out of something! It's really funny, but I'm going to have to put a stop to it one of these days!)
13. What does mom do for her job? Putting Isaac to sleep.
14. What is mom's favorite food? Pancakes. (This is Andrew's favorite food!)
15. What makes me proud of my mom? Doing chores. (Interesting! He's probably not very proud of me lately!)
16. If mommy were a cartoon character, who would she be? A girl that's in a cartoon. There's a girl elephant. (Thanks! I like Matthew's answer better!)
17. What do mommy and I do together? Love each other.
18. How are mommy and I the same? We have the same face without your mole and we love each other.
19. How are mommy and I different? You have brown hair and I have yellow hair.
20. How do I know mommy loves me? Cuz she's nice.
I saw this cute tag on someone else's blog and thought it would be a fun blog for me to do. Nothing stressful or overly creative. I asked Matthew these questions and I put his answers with my thoughts in parentheses. I tag anyone who wants to do this.
1. What is something mom always says to me? I love you.
2. What makes mom happy? When you do her chores for her.
3. What makes mom sad? When you fight your brother.
4. How does mom make me laugh? Blow on your belly.
5. What was mom like as a child? Nice.
6. How old is mommy? I don't know. Oh, I really do know. 26.
7. How tall is mommy? Let me see... (Counting from 1-26 from my toes to my head) You are 26.
8. What is mommy's favorite thing to do? Sweep the floors (Really? You couldn't tell today! Or any day! In fact, this morning there were ants in our kitchen because of my lack of sweeping!
9. What does mom do when I'm not around? I don't know...Takes care of the kids?
10. If mom becomes famous, what will it be for? A rock star. (What?!!)
11. What is mom really good at? Doing chores. (Ha!)
12. What is mom not really good at? Doing the dishes. (Right on! It's my least fav chore.)
13. What does mom do for her job? You don't have a job!
14. What is mom's favorite food? Muffins and cake. (Pretty close...)
15. What makes me proud of my mom? When she does my chores for me.
16. If mommy were a cartoon character, who would she be? Daphne on Scoobydoo. (I wish!)
17. What do mommy and I do together? I know! Pull the weeds. (Wow, he's stuck on the chore theme!)
18. How are mommy and I the same? We both have brown hair.
19. How are mommy and I different? We have brown eyes (Matthew) and green eyes (Me).
20. How do I know mommy loves me? Cuz she always says it.
Tradition in our family is to make Tim a pineapple upside down cake for each birthday. When we had only been dating one week, it was his birthday and this was the cake I made him, not knowing if he liked it or not! Well, come to find out, it's his favorite! And he wants it every year! This year, I tried to make the pineapples read "30", but it didn't work so well.
The boys decorated the balloons by writing "I Love You Dad" on them.
Tim's local family came over. Below he is with his brother, John.
Tim's brother Barry and his two boys, Mitchell and Adam.
All the cute little kids, waiting for their cake!
Tim's got a lot of wind left in him! Watch him blow out those candles!
Tim and his boys on his birthday!
Traditional birthday breakfast in bed. I know, I know...the breakfast I made didn't compare to the breakfast he made for me on my birthday, but I was sick! I was just grateful I had groceries in the house to make him breakfast! Matthew had the idea to make the heart-shaped eggs with the cookie cutters.
Look how cute Andrew is! He was so excited to see what his Daddy got for his birthday! New rollerblades! Tim's were 20 years old (he bought them used 15 years ago) and since he loves rollerblading so much, new ones were much needed! He loves them and takes the kids on rides daily! It's the one exercise Tim and I both enjoy to do together so, when I'm not sick of course, we take the boys on rollerblade rides.
Tim sporting his new blades.
Kanab has a fun tradition of celebrating it's Old West heritage by having a "Western Legends" weekend. They have a parade, booths, entertainment, etc. Here is a pic we took at the parade. People enter with oxen, horses, covered wagons, and things like that. The kids love it!
The boys playing with "old fashioned" water pumps.
That weekend we celebrated the return of Grandma and Grandad Clarkson (Tim's parents) from their mission in Argentina. We heard their wonderful homecoming talks and had a party at their newly remodeled home in Kanab.
A couple of weeks later, they visited our family for dinner and Family Home Evening. They shared stories, pictures and souvenirs from their mission.
It's so fun to have them home!
A month ago we went up north for the weekend and my mom was visiting from CA as well. While Tim and I attended our nephew's sealing, my mom watched our boys. They had so much fun and she spoiled them with presents!
Isaac loved this marble game.
This is the magic cupboard. There are 2 exits, so while the front door is closed, you can magically escape out the side door. Now you see them.....
Now you don't!
Then my mom drove the 3.5 hours south to our house to visit for a day! 
She even treated us to Baskin Robbins - YUM! Thanks mom! We all had so much fun!
I am officially sick and have been wondering why, if God wants me to have children, He makes me feel so awful? I have the sweetest neighbor ever, who came over the other day and did my dishes for me! I was so embarrassed, yet so grateful! She has a 3 year old boy who is Andrew's "Bestest Friend Ever" and they play all day, every day, if we let them! So, my house is a wreck, and I go around in my pajamas all day trying not to gag and throw up at any scent or thought of certain foods. We are all living on snacks and fruit right now...."safe" foods. Matthew has been especially wonderful, asking me often if he can do anything to help me feel better. He is so thoughtful and I am so lucky. Tim, of course, is a great example for Matthew to follow as he is always helping me out.
Okay, so since I'm only 6 weeks, we don't know if our baby is going to be a boy or a girl, but given our track record, and that the only name we agree on is a boy name, we think we are having a boy! And it is so early that I haven't even gotten sick yet, or been to the doctor, and it could all end up in a miscarriage, or something, but for some reason this time I have had such a hard time keeping this baby a secret!! We didn't tell people we were expecting Isaac until we knew he was a boy, but this time I just want to tell the world....so here I am! Who-Hoo! Levi is on his way! And, I don't care if you don't like the name we picked out, we really like it and agree on it and that's all that counts!
Our fireplace after staining and decorating. I still want to get candles for the candlesticks, but I still haven't found what I'm looking for..... :)
Our door from the inside. The oval mirror is from the bathroom - it used to be white. I thought it would be cute if we had girls, but I want something more practical in the bathroom (normal square, flat bathroom mirrors) so I took one of the mirrors and used it in a way I liked more.
