Tenth Anniversary!!

It's been ten years! I can hardly believe it. Our anniversary was actually on the 28th of August, but I am a slacker so I am blogging about it now. We had a crazy week so we didn't get to really celebrate it until Sep. 12 and 13th. But we did get to go to the temple on our anniversary. I thought that was appropriate and pretty cool, because that was the temple we were married in. I took some pictures, but I have to remind everyone that I am 6 months pregnant in this.

On Sept. 12th Ster and I went away to Park City to really celebrate. That was so much fun. It was a much needed break and time to reconnect. That is where we spent our honeymoon. It was fun to remember the past and to point out places we had gone and ate at those first few days of married life. We went shopping and out to dinner at Ruths Chris. That was awesome. I felt spoiled, but loved every minute of it. The food was soooo good and it was just so nice to be able to talk and not have to worry about the kids and just take our time. In the morning we window shopped down main street. It was funny because we went into an art store and I was telling myself "some of these sculpture's look like something my friend Raymond Gibby would do" Well I looked closely and guess what. They were his. Pretty cool. He was a guy I grew up with in Riverside. But haven't talked to for 10 years. They were a little out of our price range, but maybe I can get a discount :) Anyway after main street we headed off to the BYU UCLA football game. That game was awesome!! (byu 59 ucla 0) So we just had a blast. I couldn't have asked for a better anniversary. Not to mention a better husband!!! I love you Sterling!!! Thanks for sticking around for 10 years.

Please Help!!

So we are having a hard time deciding what to name are little girl coming in a couple months. We just thought it would be fun to get a poll out there and see what everyone thinks. I feel like the end is near and we need to get more serious about this. Thanks for your help!
Oh here are some pictures of us up at Sundance last week. We were there taking pictures for another family and weren't really planning on doing major pictures of us. I just feel too pregnant, but I thought these were cute anyway.

The Parable of the Lost Snake

I wrote most of this post months ago when it actually happened, but didn't get around to posting it utill now.
So I had an interesting day today. Before I explain I must tell you that I am not a huge fan of snakes. In fact it took Sterling almost nine years to convince me we needed one. Well he tricked me by convincing the girls first. Then I was trapped. So we went to the pet store about a year ago and got our snake. Anyway the girls just love her.
Sterling caught another snake just up the street from our house about 3 weeks ago. I wasn't so crazy about this wild snake, but she really wasn't too bad. That doesn't mean I will hold her or anything. Abby and Sydnee loved these snakes so much that they started a Snake Club in the neighborhood. Basically, all the neighborhood kids signed up and pretty much everyday they come over and pull both the snakes out and play games with them. I try to keep them outside as much as possible. So today as we were getting ready to leave to go to the pool I asked Sydnee to put the snake away. (this was the wild one, whom I think is named Minnie today) She did and we started getting ready to go. Just on a hunch I thought I had better make sure she closed the lid tight. You can guess what happened next. That is right, no snake! It had been about 5 minutes from the time she put the snake away until the time I checked. The snakes are located in our laundry room and I figure she was probably hiding in the nearest dark cave-like spot there. So we searched behind the washer and dryer, in the washer and dryer, down the drains, up the walls, everywhere. I started to freak out. Yes, I was a mess. The thought of a lost snake in my house was really freaking me out. I was imagining finding the snake in the middle of the night crawling around my toes. I called Sterling, pretty much just to yell at him for catching the snake in the first place.
So Abby suggested that we say a prayer. I was pretty steamed up and wasn't in the mood to pray but of course we did. Abby's prayer was really good. She asked that we would be able to find the snake and that he would be safe (honestly I am surprised she didn't pray for my sanity) After the prayer she just expected to find the snake right away (that has happened to us before with losing our first snake) Well we didn't. We searched some more and starting looking all over the house. By this time the pool excursion was out. I was not leaving the house with a lost snake and no one looking for him. I was getting desperate. I was angry. I starting thinking of what hotel I was going to stay at that night. I starting thinking of my sister who was coming to stay that weekend. No way would she come with a lost snake. Hours went by and no snake. Sterling finally came home and we looked together. We pretty much figured it had either gone down the sink drain and was probably gone forever or stuck in the washer. I tried to take apart the washer, but that was going to be a huge task. Finally, I began to calm down. I didn't stop looking, but I was beginning to realize we might never find the snake. I was slowly accepting the fact that I would have a lost snake in my house forever. I started making plans on how I would deal with this. I tried to imagine finding the snake days later in the washing machine, or in my laundry and not freaking out. I felt like I was coming to terms with this and I was realizing that the world was not going to end and that I could deal with this. And that is when it appeared. Miraculously, it was crawling near our garage door. I don't know how it got there. It somehow past Sterling on his way out and he didn't see him until he turned around. There was our snake. I could have kissed it!! No longer lost! I was so happy! I felt such relief. Yeah!
Later on that night as I pondered this experience I questioned something. Yes, Heavenly Father answered our prayer, but why didn't he answer it right away? Then it hit me. It was like the spirit telling me "you needed to learn this lesson" I realize that the snake was found only once I was willing to accept the problem of having a lost snake forever and once I was willing to deal with it. It was at that point that I was no longer thinking that we would ever find the snake. I was totally focused on dealing with this long term, probably forever problem. How would I handle this? What would i tell people that came over? Would I be ok if I found the snake somewhere by myself? I think that Heavenly Father was telling me that not all problems will go away automatically with a prayer. Sometimes we have to come to terms that this problem will probably be around for a long time, if not for the rest of our mortal existence. I needed to learn this lesson. Especially now. I feel like I have been praying for a problem to just go away instead of praying to have the strenght to accept it and to be able to live my life with it. I hope that I can learn from this experience and know that sometimes in life we are just going to have to live with a lost snake. But through the Lord's help, we can have the strength, and patience to deal with it. Hey it could always be worse right. I am just grateful it wasn't poisonus.

Father's Day Suprise and other Surprises

For Father's Day I thought I would surprise Sterling. What better way to surprise a Dad then to tell him he is going to have another little princess. Yes, that is correct. We are having another princess. Why break the mold? I secretly went and got an ultrasound. My sister was with me and I told her and the tech I didn't want to know either, that I was going to surprise my husband on Father's Day. She wrote it down and gave it to me. Unfortunately, she kind of let it slip and said "she" during the ultrasound. So I couldn't keep my secret for very long. I felt like I already knew and was hiding it from him. The next day (Friday) I had sterling open the envelope with me. And sure enough it is a girl!! It took a few days of getting over the shock, but I am very excited to have another sweet girl. I admit I would be scared to have a little boy. But it would be fun to have a little Sterling. (As I type this my girls are playing dress up with their snakes. One we have had for over a year and one Sterling caught yesterday up the street, so I guess we already have little Sterling's)

I am so excited! Tommorrow is Sterling's last day of school. I can't believe these two years have gone by this fast. Maybe because they have been so busy. I am so proud of Sterling working so hard to get his MBA, but I think I am more excited than he is. I can't wait to have him home a little more. School started for him about two weeks after Tessa was born, so she has had to put up with me more than the other girls. She has always been my little girl and definitely loved me more :) but somehow Sterling has won her over and now she wants her Dad all the time. Can't I at least have one!! Oh well.

Anyway last Thursday as I was contemplating the end of Sterling's school days and already making a list of projects in my head, the phone rang. It was a little after ten and Sterling just walked in the door with my favorite take out. (yes since I am pregnant I am allowed to eat Thai food at 10:30 at night) The call was for Sterling. It was from a counselor in the stake presidency. He wanted to meet with both of us tomorrow. I immediately lost my appetite. (I don't know if I will ever be able to eat from that place again) We figured it would be for a new calling and Sterling was immediately sadden. He was so looking forward to finishing school and being able to spend more time on his YM president calling. He really loves his boys. For the last two years they have had mutual night on the same night he has had school. Well sure enough we met with the counselor of the stake president and he called Sterling to be the 2nd counselor in the bishopric. I am excited for him because I know he will work hard and really learn a lot from this. Me on the other hand, I don't know. I think this is the Lords way I telling me I need to cultivate patience. Yesterday, was our first Sunday with Sterling up on the stand. I felt like I was in survival mode during sacrament meeting. It went pretty smooth with the help of the bishop's wife and many many many reminders throughout the week of how they need to act. Also I brought distractions. Syd had a little meltdown, but we avoided a scene. I am sure it will get better each week. (my fingers are crossed) But all goes out the door in November when the new baby comes!!

A furneral, baby news, and other stuff

We have been so busy. With what? I don't really know. Time just seems to fly by in a blur. Here's what we have been up to...
Since I last posted my grandmother past away. It was sad to see her go, but at 89 and out of it from alezhemiers, she really hadn't been herself for a few years. I am happy to say I feel a strong sense that she is herself again and happy.
My parents have been up taking care of both my grandmother and grandfather. Now my Dad is alone with my grandpa taking care of him, while my Mom is getting their house ready to sell in California. Weither or not they actually move to Utah, well just have to wait and see. It was neat to see a lot of my Bradford cousins at the funeral that I haven't seen in probably ten years.

Here is a picture of her hold Tess last year. It was a neat experience because Tess kept cooing and cooing to her, like she was telling her all the news of Heaven. At this point my grandma was somewhat out of it and didn't know who we were.
A couple of weekends ago we went to St.George for a Judd family reunion. The girls just had a blast and swam probably 10 hours a day. They just loved being with their cousins. Abby acted so grown up and kept telling me (whenever I wanted her to stay in the hotel room for a while) "But mom I never get to so see my cousins, and we are here to have fun!" What could I say to that. So they wandered the halls and ran back and forth between rooms. We rented 6 rooms in this hotel and averaged about 6 kids a room. Unfortunaly, I made the mistake of finding the hot chocolate machine in the unlocked dining room. The kids would sneak down there about 3 times a day. I think the hotel was glad when we left. But I know my girls had an amazing time with their cousins and talked about it the whole way home. Tess cryed and cryed when we got home because she wanted to go swimming again so bad.
This is a picture of the last night. The cousins Abby and Sydnee's age had a sleepover in our room.
Other news I sure everyone knows is that we are expecting another baby come Novemeber. We don't know what the sex is yet, but we are telling everyone it is a girl. (our odds are pretty good, so we feel safe in that assumation) The girls are so excited and have already started talking to my big fat belly. (I tried to convice the doctor I was having twins, cause I feel huge, but he said "ahh no" . Oh well)
Sterling has been really busy finishing up is MBA and is currently enjoying a trip with his class to south america. He has been gone for over two weeks and will be home soon, but we miss him tons. He has had a couple really good missionary experiences and loves speaking spanish again.
Abby is done with kindergarten and can't wait to go to school all day and have lunch there. She is a great student and has really enjoyed going to school and then coming home and teaching Tess and Sydnee.
Sydnee is gratefull to be done with preschool at least for a couple months. She goes to preschool again in the fall. She has enjoyed it for the most part, but some days she would put her foot down and refuse to go.
Tess is growing up too too fast. She is talking in complete sentences and really thinks she is 5 or 6. She has no idea she is too little to do certain things. Just recently she has gotten into the habit of adding "yesterday" at the end of her sentences. I am not she why or what she means by it, but she will say "Hold you Mom, yesterday" I think it might mean right now. So cute how they come up with these things.
Danny and Shar and their kids are staying with us during the summer. The girls just love the baby and love to play with Katelyn. Tess and Katelyn are really twins. They have to do everything together and copy what each does. It is mostly cute. (I can get Tess to eat if she know Katelyn ate it, I can get her to nap if she thinks Katelyn is napping) But sometimes its harder. If Tess wants me to hold her than Katelyn wants me to hold her too, at the same time. And she won't go to Shar. It's pretty funny. It keeps things busy around here.
This is one of my favorite photos. We just got the girls out of the bath and were getting them dressed in my living room and they both just jump on the piano bench and started playing. Pretty cute bums huh?
Well I hope this long post makes up for all the time I haven't posted. Things have slowed down quite a bit and I am looking forward to a lazy summer.

Birthday Surprise!!

Well my birthday isn't for a couple of days, but last Wednesday Sterling got me good. We were down in So-Cal going to Disneyland with the kids and my sister's family. One night we decided to leave the kids at the hotel with my older nieces and go out to dinner. I thought it was just the four of us. In fact I kind of thought I had planed it. Little did I know everyone was in on this. So we are running late from dropping on the kids at the hotel. I didn't even have time to brush my hair, put on makeup or anything. We had reservations at the Rainforest Cafe and I thought we weren't going to make it. Sterling said he made other reservations someplace else just in case. When we finally make it there. Sterling kind of took off and went right into the waiting area. I hurried after him and saw his brother Spencer and his partner David. I said "Wow, imagine running into you guys here!" I totally thought it just a coincidence that we were there at the same time. Sterling gives me this look like "you are so clueless" I turn and look and there are about 14 of my friends and family staring at me. Then Sterling finally has to clue me in and say "It's a surprise birthday dinner for you!" Ok so it took me a while. I finally got it. Needless to say the night was sooo fun. It was so nice to catch up and visit with everyone. It really was the best birthday present ever!! Thanks Sterling, Spencer, David, Sherri, Matt, Shelly, Jason, Tammy, Casey, Marla, Josh, Summer, and Mike. And double thanks to Marla for the pictures!

It's been a long time...

I know I have totally slacked. Oh well. Just wanted to give a shout out to my new nephew Parker and niece Madison. Way to get born. Can't wait to see you guys! Not to much has been going on with the Barnes family right now. Just enoying life. So I saw this SNL clip the other day and laughed so hard. I have figured out how all of you babies with thick hair do it. (Todd and Oni)