A Glorious Break

Hello everyone! I'm sorry that Pam and I haven't posted anything for two weeks! And yes, this is Austin. I decided to post this time since it has been so long since I posted, and it is break-time for me. As you probably know, I finished my 1st year of podiatry school last week (congrats to all my fellow classmates) and now have 2 weeks off before we start up again. There are a few things that I plan on doing during this break. #1: Spend more time with family. Although I have been home a decent amount this quarter since I study at home, we haven't spent a lot of quality time together these last few weeks. #2: We will try and get Maxton's bedroom ready as much as we can. We also need to prepare ourselves mentally (I still can't believe that in less than a month, we will have two kids!!) #3: I have some reading to catch up on. I checked out Crime and Punishment and Julius Ceasar from the library and need to read those. I also need to work on the book I am writing. I have been stuck at chapter 6 for way too long.

As you can see, we really are pretty boring people. Lots of my classmates are heading for vacation in cool places like Las Vegas, Colorado, etc., but we are homebodies.

Yesterday we fed Makenna a Lunchable and it came with a little Airhead candy. She liked it quite a bit, but when she was finished, we realized that her entire mouth and tongue were blue! Pam tried to wipe it off, but it didn't work so well. Here are a few of the pictures we took after trying to wipe her face off:

We really like the first picture because it shows off Makennas eyes. We still aren't sure exactly how to classify their color. Dark Blue? It might be kind of hard to tell by the pictures, but Pam dressed Makenna up very patriotic for Memorial Day. You can see the red t-shirt, and maybe the white hairbow, but what you can't see are the skirt with red and white stars on a blue fabric, and the American Flag in her hairbow. Thanks Mom for the cute 4th of July outfit that we used early.

Wow, there is so much more that we haven't commented on since we posted last time. I don't want to rehash the entire last 2 weeks for everyone. Let me just say a few things on a few topics. I apologize in advance for the randomness of these things, and I hope you bear with me.

First, as yesterday was Memorial Day, I spent some time thinking about those that have gone on before us and paved the way for us today. There are many examples in nearly every facet of life that deserve our respect, and there continue to be many that follow in those footsteps of greatness and live for something greater than themselves. It reminds me of what I felt a few months ago at my Grandpa's funeral: "As I watched the local VFW officer offer it's full military burial rights upon the casket of this WWII Navy vet, I was overcome by an emotion foreign, yet well-known. Tears freely flowed down cheeks which had previously only been dampened by the falling snow. The words 'On behalf of a grateful nation...', uttered softly and sincerely, caused my mind to reflect on the sacrifices of The Greatest Generation. More acutely than ever before, I feel weak and humbled." I just hope that I can live up to the standards that have been set by some of my "unknown idols."

Second, and on a less serious note, congratulations to Kris Allen for beating Adam Lambert on American Idol. I actually care less that Kris won than I care that Adam lost.

Third, we rearranged our furniture last week. I actually moved our computer desk into the dining room so that we could have room in the living room to put a swing up for Max. After spending the time to move the computer desk and bookshelf over, I tried to hook up the internet and it wouldn't work. So I called tech support and they said that only 1 cable outlet in the apartment is set up for internet. So, instead of paying for them to come out and set up the outlet in the dining room for internet, I moved everything back into the living room. Oh well, it was a good thought and it took my mind off of studying Physiology for a few hours.

I figure I will finish off this blog entry with a picture of some feet. My feet actually. If one of the feet looks redder to you, it is. This is right after Morgan Kizzar performed a complete ankle block on me in lab (you can still see one of the needle pokes on my leg).

If anyone is home during these two weeks and wants to get together and go swimming or something like that, let us know!

Mother's Day

I wish we could have Mother's Day every day! I'm not sure why exactly; we didn't really do anything exciting. But maybe that's exactly it-- I didn't have to really DO anything all day!

Makenna actually slept in until 7:30 and then she and her dad woke me up singing, "Happy Mother's Day! Happy Mother's Day!" (they made up this song themselves!). Makenna had her breakfast (which Dad fed her and I didn't have to do!) and went down for her nap. She played in bed for a long time before sleeping which meant she didn't get up until like 11:30. Nice! This meant I had like a two hour nap and Austin listened for her to wake up for me! Extra nice! Then she got up and ate and off we went to church.

Makenna actually made it all the way through Sacrament with having to be taken out! This is the second time in her LIFE! That's right, LIFE! Even as a baby... never made it through a Sacrament meeting! So I was really excited about that-- I figured that was her Mother's Day gift to me! We did sit in the hall for Sunday School and she did have to be taken out of Relief Society, but I actually heard the talks in Sacrament meeting! Pretty exciting!

Afterwards, we came home and put her down for a "rest" and Austin made dinner. It was just chicken nuggets and fries but here lately I have only been wanting fries! So I ate so much I was almost sick! Then I took a nice hot bath to rest my aching back while Austin watched Makenna. Then we put Makenna to bed and I took another nice long bath (yes, back still aching!). While I was in the bath Austin cleaned the kitchen AND the living room. I got out and Austin made me a big bowl of ice cream with chocolate sauce. The perfect end to a great day!

Thanks Austin for letting me be a lazy bum all day! And I didn't even feel guilty because you took care of the chores for me! I love husbands, I love it when kids are so good, and I love Moms! Now if only Mother's Day were more often... : )

A Little Surprise at Bunco...

Once a month, several of the wives get together to play a game called Bunco. It's a really fun time to gather at different people's houses and eat yummy food and play a fun game and chat with each other. There usually aren't kids running around, so it's just a nice adult, girls night out. I (and I'm sure most of the other girls) really look forward to Bunco each month!

Well last night we were scheduled to have Bunco at Jenn's house. Annie and Shanda picked me up as usual and we went over to Jenn's house. Well we were one of the first people there so we just sat around talking for a while. I was sitting over in the corner in a rocking chair talking to Jenn and her husband Nate. Then everyone started showing up so I moved over to the living room. I saw some presents on the table and I said, "Oh fun!" Jenn is having a baby so I assumed she had gotten some fun baby gifts. Well a little while later Frankie said, "Were you surprised?" And I said, "About what?" "That all of this is for you!" "What?!?" Ha ha, it was a surprise baby shower! And I had been there for about fifteen minutes and it hadn't even clicked that it was a surprise baby shower for me! As Jenn pointed out, all of the presents were blue and she is having a girl, but that never clicked either! And there was a blue table cloth on the table and I thought, "Jenn is really dressing things up for Bunco tonight!" And everyone brought food and I thought, "Shoot! Why do I always do this? I didn't even think to bring anything! I'm crappy!" And there was a baby banner hanging right over my head at the rocking chair and I didn't even notice it! Hopefully it's just baby hormones because I would like to think I'm usually more observant!

Anyway, it was a really fun time. This was sort of my first baby shower ever. In Idaho, they had a baby shower for me at school, but it was mostly a faculty meeting that everyone brought a present to (don't get me wrong, that was very appreciated as well!)! So this was the first "real" baby shower. Everyone brought really yummy food and baby Max really racked up on a lot of awesome presents! I wanted to take pictures of each individual thing and tell what it was and who it was from, but Austin wouldn't let me. He said that was a bit much. So instead I put everything on the couch and tried to get pictures of it (if you are really interested, you can click on it to make it bigger to see things better):

So yea! Now we could actually bring baby Max home from the hospital and clothe him and put a diaper on him and everything! : ) Thanks to everyone for everything! We are so lucky to have found such awesome friends here! Love you all! (By the way, I was so excited about everything I kept Austin up until almost 11 talking away! And I have already written everything down in Max's baby book! Ha ha, love it!)

Happy Birthday Austin!

Today is my cute little husband's birthday! I wanted to make it a special day for him, but it's kind of hard when you are poor and when he has class until 5:30 that day! But we did go out to eat as a family and then had a little ice cream birthday cake for him.

The big 2-6!
Cheese! Smiling with the cake (he is such a handsome guy!)!

Actually Austin had to hold his blowing out a little bit because I didn't take the picture fast enough! So this may be a little posed... : )

It was a fun day! Dinner and the cake were yummy and it was nice to spend the evening as a family. We got home a little late and put Makenna to bed before we had cake, so it was a little awkward singing Happy Birthday alone (thankfully Austin joined in, "Happy Birthday to Me!"). Oh well.

Happy Birthday Austin! You are a fantastic father and husband! We love you so, so much!

Just a little funny note, about an hour after we put Makenna in bed, we went to peek and check on her. There she was, sitting in the dark in the middle of her bed, playing with her baby doll! She looked up at us and said, "Hi!" and just smiled at us! She started bouncing on her bed laughing. What a goofy kid! Who does that?

Silly Girls, Big Boys, and Happy Birthdays!

Makenna is such a girly girl! She loves to wear dresses and always picks out really bright, fun colors to wear. She also loves to put on shoes and bracelets and carry around her babies and purse. A few nights ago we just had to take this picture. This is how Makenna accessorizes:

Do you love the flower headband around her neck, the bracelets, and the purse? Such a silly, cute girl!

On other news, I went to the doctor yesterday. The doctor said that he expects us to have a little baby boy in 6 to 7 weeks! Which is something because I am only 31 weeks along! But he said if the baby isn't born by June 22 he is inducing that day. Dr. Erickson said get ready because he thinks we will probably have a big boy! Also, Austin has finally agreed to a name for our little boy. We are naming him Maxton Paul Matthews and calling him Max!

One last note, today is Austin's birthday! He is the big 2-6! Happy Birthday Austin! We love you!

Our Favorite Night of the Week

Each week, Austin and I really look forward to Monday nights. Why? It's Family Home Evening Night! We have been having so much fun with our family night that we wanted to share:

Each night we start out with an opening prayer. Last week Makenna "said" the prayer (which basically meant she folded her arms and I said a simple prayer). Of course she can't really talk very much yet, but it was just so fun to see her with her arms folded! She is finally starting to leave them folded for prayer! I think this is one of the most adorable things little kids can do! Then we usually sing a song. I download the music from the lds.org website and we sing along. Makenna loves to lead the music! She thinks that every time you sing a song with actual music you have to lead! She just waves both arms around but it's very cute!

Next we have a short lesson using the nursery manual. Usually it has to be pretty short because Makenna's attention span is still pretty nonexistent! For those of you trying to find good lessons for little kids, the nursery manual is turning out to be fantastic! Each week we have a little short story with a picture, some type of song or rhyming activity, and then a fun little activity. This week we talked about Heavenly Father and Jesus loving each of us. We said a little rhyme with motions, showed a picture of Jesus with the children and told Makenna that Jesus loves children and blessed them, and then we looked in the mirror and said "Heavenly Father and Jesus loves... [fill in the name]." Very simple but gets the point across! And even though Makenna doesn't always pay attention, one day it will all seep in! My mom says that we maybe just don't realize all that Makenna is getting from it, but that she is definitely getting something!

For our activity we sing Makenna's favorite songs (so far this has been our activity every single week because Makenna loves it!). Her favorites are "If Your Happy and You Know It" (mostly she loves seeing us stomp our feet--she laughs like crazy each time!) and "Head, Shoulders, Knees, and Toes" (she likes it when we go fast!). She also loves the classics like, "Three Little Monkeys" and "Patty Cake." Then it's bath time, scripture time, and prayer time. Then bed time!

We only spend about half an hour to an hour on our official "Family Night." But it is such a special time to be together to sing songs and teach Makenna gospel principles. She is still so little, but I know she loves this time too!

Makenna and Daddy cheesing for the camera. They still have red cheeks from Saturday's football games!
Makenna and Daddy wearing their "Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ Love Me" necklaces.

Crazy Hair

Since Makenna's hair is getting longer (well, longer on top at least), we have been putting her hair in little pony tails and pig tails. They look pretty cute! Well, the second (and I mean the SECOND!) Makenna becomes tired, she pulls her hair bands out. It doesn't matter where we are or what she is doing, if she is tired- bands come out. I'm not sure why this is, but it happens. Tonight we just had to laugh before bedtime. She pulled the hair band out and her hair looked so funny! Pictures do not do it justice- but we tried!

Crazy hair from the side-- in person it really looked like a mohawk (Austin had to try to hold her down because she wanted the camera!)

I just had to include this picture. Ha ha, when she is old she will be mad we put it on here, but she looks like she is slightly intoxicated! Ha ha, so so funny! We don't have many "bad" pictures of Makenna, so it's actually good to see that she can take one!

Yeah! Finally a smiling Makenna!