Our best Christmas present of 2013

This pregnancy was probably the hardest one yet. I had full-blown nausea from the week we learned I was pregnant up until 33 weeks (one pleasant variation from previous pregnancies: I could tolerate chicken). Other than that, everything ran smoothly and according to plan until I went in for my 39 week check-up appointment on Monday the 2nd. The minute Ambyr (my favorite nurse EVER, may I add...We just love you!) looked up at me as she checked my blood pressure, I knew I was in trouble and in for the news I was hoping not to hear this time around. My blood pressure was pretty high and given my medical history, I was in the gestational hypertension zone. Dr. McCarter (who is also amazing and I HIGHLY reccomend) checked on me and we decided I was ok to go home and wait until Wednesday (my scheduled c-section date) unless I had specific symptoms come up before then. Well, long story short, I showed up the next morning at the doctor's office because I had had terrible headaches the night before and that morning my body and mind were telling me what I already knew. This baby had to come out asap.

Without further ado, Dr. McCarter sent me to Labor and Delivery and about an hour later I fell in love at first sight for the 4th time {yes, I knew I would marry Chip the moment I saw him, believe it or not}.
Our third little princess joined our family on December 3, 2013 at 11:04 am on a beautiful, white snowy morning. Kiersten Mia was 6 pounds, 8 ounces, 21 inches long, and simply perfect. The first thing Chip said when he met her was "Look at that hair!". He wasn't joking. She had more hair than Khloe did when she was born.
Nana and Alexa were there during the procedure in the waiting area with Kami and Khloe. Honestly, I remember being taken back to my room but what happened after that is very blurry.

Feel free to skip the next paragraph if you don't care/need/want to know any details about my recovery... my memory can be terrible and I always kick myself for not recording things about my deliveries and post partum stuff.
The stay at the hospital was very enjoyable; Orem Community has the most caring, genuine, and efficient staff. My recovery has been very good even though it has been the hardest one yet {at least it felt that way for about the first 3 weeks}. Breastfeeding was painful up until 13-14 days, but this time around I asked for Newman's Ointment from the get go to avoid any bleeding which I had with Khloe day 2 at the hospital. This time around I didn't have any bleeding whatsoever. I started exercising at week 6 and am in better shape at this point in my post-partum recovery than I ever have been with my other 2.

Kiersten is on a "flexible schedule" and is doing great with her sleeping. She just turned 10  weeks and is easting every 3 hours and only wakes up twice a night to eat (goes down for the night at 10, wakes up around 2:30 and then between 6:30-7:30 {thank you BabyWise}.

Life with 3 kids has been the hardest challenge I have ever faced hands down. No kidding. I wake up every morning and tell myself "You can do this. You can do this. Heavenly Father believes in you" and that seems to help me for the most part but unfortunately, sporadic tears/sob fests are not uncommon. I love my 3 girls so much, so so much...but boy, motherhood just reached another degree of challenging, to say the least. Kuddos to the women out there who have more than 3 kids and still figure out a way to get themselves showered, dressed, and cleaned up nicely all while hauling 4 or more kids to things of life. I look up to and admire many of you, my family and friends who do this. You are truly amazing. The world is so much better because of your efforts...and I am glad that I can turn to you for encouragement, support, and inspiration.

Heaven knows how much I need those things. I am so grateful that I have been blessed with wonderful family and friends that have helped along the way, in one way or another. I am fortunate and blessed to be a mother, even though there are days like today where I woke up in pjs and even though I did shower, spent the day in pjs because picking out something civil to wear was not a priority on my already cluttered agenda for the day.

I am very blessed. I am very fortunate to have what I do. I don't know what I would do without Chip.

I can't imagine my life without him.

Or Kamila.

 Or Khloe.

And now Kiersten.

Count Your Blessings

I really have to do better at this blogging thing. It is so saddening to think 9 months have gone by without a new post when so much has happened in our family!

Where to begin?

 I suppose I will start by what is going on at this point in our lives and hopefully play catch up on last year's events in my next post. There have been some exciting series of events that honestly, I remember wondering 5 years ago if they would ever come to pass.
I vividly remember being a new mom to a beautiful bald, blue eyed little girl and waltzing away with her to Rob Thomas' "Little Wonders" in our little 2 bedroom rental home while feeling sad that I only had a few weeks to enjoy holding her, observing her, cuddling her, kissing her as much as I wanted when I wanted before the fall rolled around and it was time to head back to school once more.

 I remember wondering if the blessings I yearned for the most where the same ones that Heavenly Father had in store for me...for my little family. With that wonder, sporadically came feelings of despair and hopelessness, feeling like "Why even get my hopes up?" "Why do 'so-and-so' get 'A,B, and C blessings' when I am trying very hard to merit all blessings and would even be content with just blessing A and not receiving any of them.

I sit here looking back at our life these past 6 years and am in awe, once more, as I can clearly see and feel the hand of the Savior in my life. Every single trial we had, every disappointment, every challenge, every change, every blessing was part of Heavenly Father's blueprint of the Price family timeline.
When Kami was coming into our lives, we were both in school and had no immediate plans to become parents.
When we wanted to welcome a sibling for Kami, months went by with disappointment of not being able to conceive.
When we learned of Kiersten's surprise arrival, not much later we found out we would have to move from our current home and had no idea how or where we would find a home that would accommodate our needs and our budget.

And yet here we are, having started the process of building our own home that will comply with those requirements.

It truly is amazing to witness how the Lord's timing works.

It is perfect.

There is no doubt in my heart that He knows me, just as much as He knows "Suzy", and that He is the great architect behind the map in my life. I am humbled and excited to begin this new facet of our lives just as much as I am sad to turn the page on our current chapter of life. We have made so many life-long friends in our ward and we just love Provo so much!

 I hope that those of you who may be reading this know that my intention is not to be boastful, but to encourage and remind you that He know the desires of our hearts...perhaps better than we do. He knows and He has an individually-tailored plan for each and every one of His children. You matter to him just as much as I matter to him. What is important to me is also important to my Father.

Many times we forget that.

I know I have.

 However, the beautiful truth is that if we hang on to faith and believe that our righteous wishes are important to Him, we will one day find ourselves amidst the granting of those blessings that seem unattainable and find ourselves simply amazed.

 And that I am.

 "Do not spoil what you have by desiring what you have not; but remember that what you now have was once among the things you only hoped for"

Khloe turned 1

I know I sound like a broken record but I honestly cannot believe how fast time just passes me by. I feel that with Khloe, life cheated me out of more time. I remember feeling like Kami was growing up but still able to savor the process. Perhaps it is because she had my undivided attention, as opposed to having 2 children and having to do my best to give each the attention they needed, but this little girl went from being a snuggly newborn to a feisty toddler who will only cuddle with me if she is sick.
Khloe, we love you so, so much. You have been such a wonderful addition to our family. You make us laugh, smile, and too often shake our heads from the stubbornness,  over-zealous desire to explore all things (trashcans not excluded), insatiable appetite, and amplified shrieks of both delight and impatience...which, by the way, I do not understand. You can't stand to wait for me or Dad to slice up a strawberry without screaming yet you seem to be ok taking your sweet time learning to walk, even though it means that it takes more effort to keep up with your sister :)

You know, Kami at your age was at least talking already...but I won't complain anymore since your first and only word so far is "Mama".

We love you sweetheart. Thank you for coming into our lives.










Do ya think she enjoyed it?!

Kami-isms of the week

Chip comes home from work, takes shoes off at the door because they are covered in snow. He goes into Kami's room where she and I are sitting together. 
Kami: "Daddy, do you know where my baby doll is?
Chip: "Yes, I do. Its in the car."
Kami: "Will you go get it?"
Chip: "But I already took off my shoes!"
Kami: "Well, put your shoes back on and go get my doll." pause. "I'm JUST kidding!" :)

Kami and I are watching tv together and snuggling.
Kami: "Mommy, I love you so much and I don't want you to die...but...in case that you do, my father will just marry another girl." 
    

3 going on 13

Kami, I can't believe you are turning 4 so soon... I wish I could bottle you up to keep you from growing up. You are such a little delight to be around. Daddy and I love you so, so much...and we love getting to know the Kami that is constantly evolving.


 

 All About Kamila- age 3

1. What is your name? Kamila with a K in my name.

2. What is your favorite thing to do: playing with my friends

3. What makes you happy? Playing nicely.

4. What is your favorite food? Maccaroni and cheese

5. What is your favorite treat? Spinach

6. What is your favorite song? Rumor Has It (Adelle) and Last Christmas (Wham)

7. What is your favorite color? Purple

8. What do you want to be when you grow up? A big Sunbeam.

9.  What are you afraid of? Monsters

10. What is your favorite movie? Jack and Sally

11. If you could go anywhere right now, where would you go? Olive’s house…I already went there.

12. Who is your best friend? Olive and Skylar and Alyssa

13. What is your favorite toy? Horsies and the barbies.

14. What is your favorite dessert? Apple pie.

15. What is your favorite thing about Khloe? Playing with her.

16. What is your favorite thing about Daddy? Hugging him

17. What is your favorite thing about Mommy? Hugging you.

18. What is your favorite book?

19. Where do you want to get married? With Porter in the Salt Lake Temple.

Stand Alone

Lately I find myself in a deep inner turmoil regarding who I really am, who I am supposed to be, who I am expected to be, who I should be, and who I want to be. At this point in time, it has become so spiritually exhausting to be a member of The Church of Jesus Christ AND a Republican at the same time. It is almost as if Satan himself had taught the world that anyone who fits into these two categories should be stoned to death on accounts of being racist, greedy, selfish, and just plain heartless. Yesterday I found myself rhetorically asking God why he allows very powerful men to fool and mislead so many people. Why do such men have to be in such a powerful position in a country that desperately needs a man who actually has values, who loves this country, and above all, loves God himself? I began to feel the desperation that I felt November 6th. It really is an ugly feeling to feel that your future and that of your children is being so destructively tampered with by a man who a world that resembles Sodom and Gomorrah has placed on the highest pedestal. I digress...there are many things changing around us. In our world, in our country, amidst the members of His church, and in our home. And all I want if for you girls, Kamila and Khloe, to know that it is extremely hard to stand up for truth and righteousness. I get it. I was once young. Can you believe that now as your mother approaching her thirties, it has become even harder to do just that? It is hard when you know you will offend people by speaking out against things that are wrong or for simply voicing an opinion that is not congruent and accepted by a demoralized yet very popular and powerful society? You will lose friends and perhaps the acceptance of people you love, but in the end, it is all about being true to who you are. Be true to the divine in you. Be loyal to the royal within you. It doesn't matter if something is popular. "Wrong is wrong even if everyone is doing it, and right is right even is no one is doing it". So, my beautiful daughters, remember to always “Stand up for what is right even if you are standing alone”...although, you are never alone. Your Father in Heaven is always with you. I want to share this with you. It was written by the woman behind the blog "Women For Truth"..it brought comfort to me that awful day last month and I feel that her words echo my exact feelings. 

 "As she fell asleep lying next to me tonight, Betty, my five-year-old, got tears in her eyes (mostly just exhaustion) and said she was sad Obama won. I laughed as she was mimicking her mother, who, at the start of the day, hugged her good morning and began crying telling her Romney lost and her mother was sad. In this moment, I realized I needed to write down my thoughts for my children on this post-Election Day, why I am so sad today and why I will keep fighting tomorrow.

I voted for Mitt, but it wasn't because he was Republican, I hate being labeled into a box. I wasn't even voting for Mitt per se- no doubt he would have been a great economic leader, which is what this country so desperately needed. I was voting for more than a man. I voted for the idea that reward comes with hard work, not handouts. That people are the solution, not the government. I voted with the notion that our President should be held accountable for his actions, and that on 9/11/12, a US Ambassador and three other Americans were killed in a terrorist attack, and that our current President blamed it on a video.  I voted because Obama apologized to terrorists and to the world for our First Amendment and the right to free speech. I voted because I belong to a religion that has seen much hatred, and cruel videos and musicals, and yet I believe it is a right for others to speak, so I peacefully ignore those cruel words and videos and musicals. I voted because God leads this nation and the Democratic Party removed his name from their political platform. I voted because I believe contraceptives are a choice and not a right; and even more that women should pay for their own and not expect others to do so. I voted for the unborn who are killed by partial birth abortion. I voted not to pay for abortions with my tax dollars. I voted for economic recovery and for that silly belief that if you can’t afford it- you shouldn’t get it. I voted for Capitalism and the American Entrepreneur. I voted against redistribution of wealth and the thought that the government can decide who has too much and who deserves more. I voted against a President that seeks to divide (class warfare, war on women, race divisions), and voted to Stand United with my fellow Americans, no matter their race, gender, or financial worth. I voted for the belief that this nation was founded on principles that need to be embraced, not “fundamentally” changed.

I voted for you, {Kamila and Khloe}. I voted so that you would be able to grow up in the America I have been privileged to know. I write this so that you know that my vote was not in vain. I realized today that I stood with 48% of American voters, united for a better tomorrow. I will continue to work and serve, and pray so that each year that 48% grows. I learned today that being humble to the Lord and working hard is difficult and tiring, but it’s the only way. I learned that I must make sure, as your mother, that you learn about America, the good and the bad. I learned that America is only as strong as her people. I learned that I am strong. I learned that women are much stronger than men (well that-I already knew)! I learned that even though the outcome is not what I had hoped, fought and prayed for, that a victory was won because of the liberties that allowed me to say I VOTED.