The Lord answered my prayers today as I listened to General Confrence. I always enjoy confrence and how it puts oil in my lamp. Boy, was my lamp on empty! I have been struggling with trying to be a mother for 3 children under 3, one being a newborn. I often feel inadequate, tired, worried, frustrated, and depressed. I prayed this week and asked Heavenly Father to help me in this time of my life. This morning my girls were just...well being toddlers...and I just wanted to listen to confrence and feel peace again. After the session a program came on called "You Can Do This." It talked about successful parenting and gave a great website to help parents. This afternoon I heard Elder Ballard's talk about young mothers and I know the Lord inspired him to give this talk for all of us young mothers learning to be parents. It was also comforting to know that I'm not the only one who feels this way! I know the Lord loves us and I am grateful to be a mother. I do have wonderful moments when I feel so blessed and happy that I have 3 beautiful children...and having those moments is worth it!

My brother Neil and his wife Michelle visited last week and we met their twins, Jackson and Haley. They were born in January, a month early, and Luke is pretty much the same size! We think Luke (in the blue) and Jackson look alike...what do you think? We will be renting a basement apartment from them when we move to Utah...there will be 5 kids under the age of 3! Craziness! More pictures of baby cousins to come soon....Speaking of baby cousins Jorden's brother Adam and his wife Kayla are expecting in October to add to the list! Yeah!

I was sleeping peacefully...

Last week I was sleeping so well and the house was very quiet. I usually don't get up until one of my children wakes up, being sleep deprived with a newborn and all, and I had no idea Maren was already awake. She pushed a chair up to the kitchen counter and I know would have had to reach to get the markers and do this! When I first saw her I gasped, took a deep breath and then proceeded to gather up all the markers. I was proud of myself for not getting upset...for after all I am the one who left the markers out for my creative toddler...
Isn't she beautiful?

Luke at One Week Old

Isn't he handsome??

Luke Jorden Marble

Born March 2, 2008

9 pounds 1 oz/ 20 inches long

Yes, Luke is here! He came 2.5 weeks early (thank goodness) I tried putting more pictures on but the internet is taking forever...I will try again later, but for now I just wanted to announce his birth. He is very cute and the girls absolutley adore him! And guess what? I had him natural because he came too fast to get an epidural...but my recovery has been so much better without one. We are all so glad he is here, 2 more babies to go on my side and 1 more on Jorden's side, Jorden's sister Katy and her husband Lorin just told us today she's expecting Oct 29th...That's 4 babies on his side and 5 on mine....wow!

   Jorden got accepted to BYU this week!! He is pumped and we have decided to go there this Fall. Yes, Jorden has decided to go back to school to get a bachelors in Biochemistry and go to med school to be a doctor.  So, we're moving to Provo, Utah at the end of the summer. I have two brothers that live in Utah now, so we'll still get to see family.  JT Lines will keep MB Homes going so the business will live on.  We are excited for this new adventure in our lives! This also means we are selling our beautiful home...and someone is coming to look at it this weekend! Yeah!  

Well..I still don't have the internet and since I am a forgetful prego(i always forget to bring my camera to my parents or inlaws on sundays) my blog has been much lacking, I know. So today I borrowed some pictures from my sister-in-law Kayla's blog..thanks Kayla!

These are pictures of Christmas Eve at the Jorden's parent's home in Safford.  The grandkids did a nativity. Maren was Mary and Celiese was the Angel ...the wandering Angel that is! It was so cute, as you can see in the pictures.  Also, a picture of the girls in their new pajamas from Santa's Elves. Maren LOVES her night gown and calls it "princess" and she wants to wear her princess clothes all day every day.  Her and Celiese get really excited when I put them in their matching pj's and dance around.  We had a very fun Christmas with lots of family and hope everyone else did too!

WE'RE HAVING A BOY! We are so excited (and relieved) that we're having a boy...we need him to help bring some balance to our home. The due date is March 20th and he is measuring 1 week big....so maybe he will come more around March 10th? Celiese was 9 pounds 4 ounces 8 days early so I'm scared.

I have FIVE sister-in-laws who are also expecting! Annie and Brett: Girl, Dec 24th, Christina and Sam: Girl, February 26, Neil and Michelle: Twins,Boy and Girl, Feb 6, Bruce and Brandi: Boy, April 14, and Jeff and Jenn: ?, June. Craziness.
My parents will go from 3 grandchildren to 8 in 6 months!!! Next Christmas we will all be together...8 children 3 and under! Wowsers!

MAREN'S FIRST HAIRCUT






I finally gave Maren her first haircut! It was fun, but her hair curls up so much that it looks like I cut more than I did. She looks a lot like Shirley Temple...but cuter of course :)

CELIESE LOVES TO READ



Often when I'm cleaning up the kitchen or doing other chores I can't hear Celiese talking or running around..I find her in Maren's room with a pile of books just reading quietly and I try very hard not to disturb her!

Halloween Pictures...Maren was Raggedy Ann, my mom made the costume and did her make-up and hair, i was raggedy ann when i was little too! Celiese was a chinese lady the outfit was given to Maren by Uncle David from his mission in Taiwan. We had lots of fun trunk or treating and Maren really enjoyed getting all that candy...of course I ate most of it! We decided to carve a silly pumpkin...what do you think, does he look silly?

This is really cute and amazing! All you musicians and non-musicians will enjoy this! A 6 year old who can play 200 memorized songs on the piano.

I'm sorry I have not put more pictures of the house on...I need to take some better pictures now that the house is done...Yeahhhh!!!!! More pictures coming soon....I promise! When I get the internet it will be more convenient...I know I have lots of excuses. Scroll down and watch the video of Celiese...

My mom painted the cutest tree in the playroom of our new home...don't you agree? She's amazing, very talented. The first time Maren saw my mom painting the tree she said "Pooh bear!" The girls love to sit and read books, dance infront of the big mirror, and play. Oh...we moved in a week and a half ago and love it. I feel like I'm living in a dream. Heavenly Father has given us many blessings. Thank you everyone who helped on our home, you're awesome!

Maren absolutley ADORES her daddy...can you tell? Jorden was taking a nap a couple of Sundays ago and she wanted to be with him. We all love daddy! He works so hard and definetly deserves a Sunday nap.

I FIXED THE VIDEO THANKS TO CANDICE! TAKE A LOOK! Celiese is 14 months and counts to "2" If you haven't already heard...try to read her shirt and you will find out why I have not blogged for awhile, I've been really sick and now I'm feeling better. (sorry about Maren's background noise!

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Our Front Door

click for more pictures

Happy Birthday Celiese!!

Celiese turned 1 year old on July 20th...I can't believe it! She has started to walk, says "hi" and "what's that" and pulls her sister's hair. Celiese is such a happy baby and we love her very much.

Four Generations

Great Grandpa Nielsen, Grandma Bryce, Mom Bethany, Maren& Celiese

Happy 4th of July!We hope everybody had a great 4th; we did! We went to our ward breakfast with a flag raising, swimming lessons, the parade in Safford, fourwheeling and swimming in the river, cookout at Don and Sharon's, and musical program and fireworks at the fairgrounds! I love the 4th..it's one of my favorite holidays!