Cookie Monster

My babies are getting big! Cort has become quite the talker lately. He is starting to use more short sentences and he has the sweetest little voice and the funniest inflections. He likes to shorten words.

Monst = Monster
Cook = Cookie

The other day he told his first complete story that I understood. He found a cookie on the counter and then proceeded to tell me ...

"Where cookie go?"
"All gone!"
(both of those said in a very concerned voice)
"I eat"
(And then he laughed and ran away)

I love my little man!

Craft Hope Project

I discovered this A-MAY-ZING craft blog a few months ago - Craft Hope - through my cute friend Angela. Angela was also one of my roommates in college and you can see from her blog that she can make darling things!

Anyway, I am not the crafty type, but I am always trying to find ways to incorporate more charity and giving into my and my kiddo's lives. Do I succeed a lot - oh no - but occassionally I happen upon a project that is perfect for us.



Craft Hope shares handmade crafts with those who need them most. They've sent newborn kits to Africa, scarves to Haiti, and now they are collecting handmade bracelets to send to orphans in Russia.



The statistics they shared were staggering:

Every day 5,760 more children become orphans.
Approximately 250,000 children are adopted annually, but…
Every year 14,050,000 children still grow up as orphans and AGE OUT of the system.
More than 1 million orphans are waiting for a home in Russia.
In Russia, 60% of girl orphans become prostitutes and 70% of male orphans become hardened criminals.

Broke my heart. After college I had planned to serve in orphanages in Russia or China, but life had other plans and I met my honey instead. These little ones still hold a place in my heart. Of course, they need donations for money, food, clothing, etc. But what I love about this project is that it is something that is just for each little girl to call their very own. That is special!

This project was so incredibly fast and easy! Just a quick trip to the store for the beads my little girl picked out and then half an hour out of our family get together on Mother's Day. Many hands make light work, right? I love that this is a project that everyone from the preschoolers to the grandparents can do and enjoy. Even the men got involved! In fact, they were the best at tying the knots onto the beads so the bracelets didn't fall apart. It was a good feeling to be serving together as a family - definitely something we want to do more of.




I 100 perecent recommend doing this with your family! It's a great project for little ones! I plan on making some friendship bracelets on our car trips over the next month (that totally take me back to junior high - love it!). Whether you can do a few or a lot, you will definitely have fun with your family! My daughter was so excited to do it for the little girls who had no mommies or daddies. In fact, she was quite sad when we had to drop them off at the post office instead of taking a trip to Russia to see the little girls.

So head on over to Craft Hope and check out the details! The project goes until June 15th. They are also now collecting hand made blankets for tornado victims in the South.

Third Times the Charm!

Yes, I disappeared from the blogging world for a few months, but I have a FANTASTIC reason! We are expecting Baby #3 in September! Very, very, very excited! Lily is 100 percent convinced that the baby is a girl and she has already named her Isabella (still in negotiations on that one ....). Cort is indifferent and was just happy the Dr.'s office had books.



This is how Lily feels about a new baby :)

I am now 13 weeks and looking forward to the second trimester energy. We've been in survival mode since January. Since I have been pregnant, the kids and I have had the 24 hour flu, RSV, colds, sore throats, coughs, etc. We come out of quarantine just often enough to pick up the next bug going around. You can bet that we are ready for sunshine and the sickie season to be over!

Now I need advice from all you mommies! This is my third time around, but I feel like there are so many things that I want to improve about my pregnancy and labor and delivery. So I would love any helpful tips! I do have to give birth at the hospital because of the preeclampsia problems I have had with both pregnancies. But I know that a lot of the natural ideas work because I was able to stay off the preeclampsia meds with Cortland. The Hypnobirthing tracks and getting massages during the third trimester helped immensely!

So here are my questions:
1. How do you prepare for having three kiddos ages 4,2, and newborn? lots of freezer meals in advance? fun activities for the kids?

2. Nursing advice? I would love for the first six weeks of nursing not to be absolutely stressful and a pain. What resources helped you?

3. Is a doula worth if even if you plan to get an epidural?

4. How do you find more energy?

5. Any other advice you have!

Kids Christmas Camp

This year I decided to start a Kid's Christmas Camp for all the Trost grandchildren. We got together at noon on Christmas Eve day and read Christmas stories, played Santa/Santa/Elf aka Duck/Duck/Goose, made star ornaments, and made our own reindeer food. Cami has all the pictures from the camp itself, but here are a few from Christmas Eve when they put out the food for the reindeer.


Lily decided to dump all of her's in one place. From the picture below, it looks like Daddy or someone tried to move it!

California Vacation Day 1

Time to play catch up! In October we took a 10 day vacation through my brother Conner's mission in California. I've been planning this vacay since Conner got his call and I am happy to say that we had a blast! I've never planned a vacation for a large group of people, but everything came together pretty well.

The first day we left bright and early at 4 am. We stopped in Elko for a McDonald's breakfast and time to get the wiggles out in the playland for Aaron and the kiddos. The drive went by much faster than I had anticipated and we made it to Reno in good time. Johnny filled us in with native highlights such as how the Elko-ites use speed limit signs as target practice on the freeway.

In Reno we spent the afternoon at Scheel's, a Cabela-like store that was perfect for us after our long drive. The kiddos enjoyed the giant acquarium, rode the ferris wheel, and played in the miniature play ground. The adults liked the free fudge!

Scheel's even had a hall of presidents.

Lily choose Ada to go on the Ferris Wheel with her.

We had dinner at Beach Hut Deli, another recommendation by Lacey. It was so yummy! Took me 10 minutes to decide which sandwich to get and it definitely didn't disappoint!

Not bad for a travel day on vacation!

Kick the stuffing out of cancer!

I hate cancer.

I really do.

I hate how it strikes when you least expect it.

I hate that my cousin's four year little boy has to have shots three times a week to keep it at bay.

I hate that my good friend's Dad left us much to soon.

I hate that it took my Grandma Kimball from us this year.


I hate that I randomly cry every few days because I miss her so much.

Cancer is an ugly disease and I hate it.

So I am going to do something about it.

I am joining with runner's all across Utah to Kick the Stuffing Out of Cancer on Thanksgiving Day.

The Huntsman Cancer Institute is sponsoring 5Ks across Utah to raise money for cancer research. My dear friend Melissa told me about it and is also running with her own family.

I signed up the same day and can't wait to run in honor of my Grandma Kimball. My entire immediate family is joining me and we are making it a new Thanksgiving tradition.

This is big for me. I am NOT a runner. Neither are most of my family. But my Grandma Kimball was passionate about being active and serving others. It is the least we can do in her honor.

I feel like it is a privilege to give back to the Huntsman Cancer Institute. My Grandma Kimball was diagnosed with cancer two years ago and, at most doctor's appointments, her time left was measured in months. To have her with us for two more years was a blessing.



Because of modern medicine, and the grace of God, she was able to hold my little boy and see him take his first steps.

She was able to spend a precious few weeks with my brother when he returned home from his mission.

She was able to see several grandchildren married.

She was able to whisper words of advice and encouragement into my ear as we sat side by side so many nights.


And so I am going to fight. I am going to fight for myself and those who have lost loved ones to cancer. I am going to run for those still fighting and those who love them and care for them.

If you would like to donate money to this amazing cause and support me as I run to Kick the Stuffing out of Cancer - you can do so at this link.

God saw you getting tired,
When a cure was not to be.
So He wrapped his arms around you,
and whispered, “come to me.”

You didn’t deserve what you went through,
So He gave you rest.
God’s garden must be beautiful,
He only takes the best

And when I saw you sleeping,
So peaceful and free from pain
I could not wish you back
To suffer that again.

(Anonymous)

Changes

Change. Change. Change. We've had lots of that these 7 weeks. I can pinpoint it all back to the Sunday I decided not to be stressed about getting everyone ready on time. Well, this past month and a half has definitely lead to a shift in perspective for me and Sundays morning are perhaps a bit less stressful.

I actually laughed when I saw that one of my Sunday School lessons was on Job in August - because I sure needed it! We had a week, though definitely not as bad as Jobs, that felt like one thing was going wrong after another.

Remember the meal, where Job is eating with his family and one messenger after another comes telling him about a different hardship that has befallen his family (Job 1)?

... and then there was a water leak that caused hidden mold and lead to the retiling and carpeting of our basement apartment ...

... and then Johnny broke a toe in his bone that requires him to be in a boot with limited activity until Halloween ...

... and then my sister got in a car accident (no injuries) ...

... and then my missionary brother got kidney stones ...

... and then one of the fridges went out ...

... followed by a toilet ...

See where this is going? Literally that kind of a month. But it really made me look at all that I am grateful for. We've had a place to stay while the basement is being renovated, I still have a husband, my sister didn't get injured, my brother received an honorable release to come home and be with us before our grandmother passed away. As my grandmother would say, so many silver linings!

My favorite silver lining was being able to go up to Park City with my grandmother, sister, and mom. My Grandma Kimball fought off cancer for a year and a half, but then was diagnosed with a childhood form of leukemia. I am working on a post about her, but for now I wanted to blog about the fantastic time we had in Park City.

We've been talking of a girl's weekend since January. The timing was dependent on all of our different schedules and, most importantly, how Grandma was feeling. Life happens and suddenly it was the end of July with no girl's weekend in sight. I revisited my notes on places to stay in Park City and we set a flexible date in August. As luck would have it, Grandma was cleared for traveling on the Wednesday before the date we were thinking of. We were excited and booked the hotel room just in time. Because of the last minute nature of the trip, we missed Cami, but Aileen was able to come up for one of the nights.




And what a grand weekend it was! We stayed at the Westgate Resort in a spacious luxury sweet with a granite counter topped kitchen, fire place, jetted tub, and programmable steam shower. We loved it! In fact, I think it will be a new tradition! The best part was just sitting and talking with Grandma Kimball. She is the easiest person to talk to and the best listener. I always feel calmer and happier after talking with her.

We let Grandma Kimball set the pace and pick out our activities. She picked the Olympic Park and we enjoyed a Ski Show that was pretty awesome! We also ate at some yummy restaurants, too.
I feel so blessed for getting this weekend with my grandmother. After we returned from our girl's weekend, she went into the doctor and her leukemia numbers were back up. I feel so blessed that we were given that brief weekend to make one last happy memory with her.


And this is the yummy breakfast that my mom made our last morning there!

So that is a brief reacap of the last 7 weeks. Lots of craziness, but lots of blessings, too. I miss my Grandma Kimball terribly, but I am so grateful for the gospel plan. Hopefully I will have lots more fun posts up soon! Look forward to pictures of our new basement, birthday concerts, family gatherings, and other good stuff!