Fun with Nana & Gpa!

Nana and Gpa came to visit Friday, and boy were the kids excited. They went up to my mom's parent's house in Bountiful last night, and we came up there for Sunday dinner. We were crossing our fingers the whole time b/c CJ and EmmaJane were the only kids there, and my grandma's house is not so kid-friendly. CJ, who is going through a really fun "I don't like to eat food" stage, was the last to get his dessert after his dad made sure he ate all is dinner. Thankfully, no one pulled the tablecloth off or spilled too much food on the floor.

Nana cooked her famous Sunday roast and Gpa had even had coaxed her into throwing in some sweet peppers along with it! It was so yummy, and it still reminded me of home!

CJ and EmmaJane feeling the Christmas spirit!

CJ was excited to see the foot of snow at Nana Dalton's( what the kids now call Gma Dalton). He even got stuck. It is supposed to snow tonight and tomorrow. We hope to go sledding with the kids!

(on driving home from Bountiful, this was a funny conversation)

CJ: Mom, honk!

EmmaJane: CJ, we only do that in tunnels or people think we're mean.

She went on to tell CJ how we don't want to be mean and such, but it was pretty funny how quick she responded to CJ and how "matter-of-fact" she was. I had casually mentioned this the other day, but she had now become quite the expert!

Potty Central

Well, we are in potty training mode here at the Haynie home. I have tried this several times, but now we mean business. CJ is a tough cookie b/c he has a mind of his own(one of the downfalls of your kids starting to make decisions on their own, eeek!). So, sometimes he just wants nothing to do with the potty. I have tried Elmo's potty time, new big boy underwear, treats, toys, silly songs, more treats, silly voices, more big boy underwear, throwing cheerios in the toilet, etc. You name it. I've tried it.

We've even tried good old peer pressure! Thank you Emma Jane for being on my team!

But, we are getting somewhere. CJ is wearing big boy pants more and more, and I am having less and less accidents to clean up! Yippee! Slow progress is still progress, and maybe I will be diaper free...probably a month or week before the baby is due, but oh well!

Do You Have Room?

One of the wonderful blessings of going to BYU is the fact that it is very easy to get spiritually fed. On Thursday and Friday, we were invited to 2 NAC events. NAC is an association of past BYU MBA grads who have done well for themselves. We got to meet with them and their wives, and it was truly a pleasure. On Friday, I got to go to a special class for the wives. We got to pick our class. I chose "Surviving and Thriving through Transitions." I felt that I could use some helpful pointers since I was definitely in a transition and will probably have another fun "transition" in May when the baby is due and Carl has an out of state internship right after...and then in a year and half when we are out of MBA school trying to survive the consulting world.

Well, I didn't know my class was going to be taught by Sister Mary Cook, 1st Counselor in the General Young Women's Presidency. She referenced this talk. There were several others on the panel who talked about their life challenges they had not expected: from not getting married until 37, having a daughter with Lukemia, moving a lot, living in Mongolia with 40 below weather and no hot water, getting hit by a car in China, not being able to have kids, the loss of a grandchild, etc. These were amazing, strong woman who were so positive and happy and so encouraging. It was truly wonderful to hear how they had thrived through life's challenges!

Then, one of the best events was on Friday where I attended a NAC luncheon where we sat with NAC wives and fellow MBA student spouses. Our speaker was Shawna Edwards. She wrote a song called "Do you have Room?" It is a Christmas song about having room for the Savior in our lives. Please visit this website, or see video at the top, so you can hear the song and see the video presentation.

The song talked about making room for the Savior. It asks "was there really no room for him in the inn"? She talked later about is there really room for Him in our lives or our we overcrowding our lives with too many "things" that their isn't sufficient room for the Savior. The song talks about the humble people that saw Him-- the shepards and the wise men. Would we have come that night or are we to busy? Is our life too crazy to hear the call? She kept asking, Is there room?

Then she talked about unplugging the Christmas Machine. She asked to think about the simple way He was brought into the world--in a stable, with swaddling clothes, in a manger. Then, she asked us to contrast that with Christmas today with all the trappings. She asked us if Christ was really in our Christmas, or have we replaced Him with presents, decorations, parties, and stress.

It was a great message and made me want to make more of an effort to make more room for the Savior not just at Christmas, but all the time!

Happy Halloween Birthday Carl!

Halloween is always fun... and challenging b/c Carl's birthday is on actual Halloween. This year was awesome though because everybody Trick-or-Treated the night before--which was cold and rainy but o well, we wanted some candy. The kids had a blast trick-or-treating...CJ became a little beggar-child towards the end, which is always fun. :) All in all, the kids got quite a loot of candy which I have hid and now rationed to one piece of candy a day. Surprisingly, they haven't fought me about that, which is always nice.

My little kitty and dragon.

Us at Carl's School Halloween party.

CJ and EmmaJane checking out there loot as soon as we walk in the door from trick-or-treating.

CJ all dressed in his Sunday duds with his glow in the light gun. (Brooke, do you recognize Luke's old suit? It fits CJ like a glove! So cute.)

After church, CJ, as James Bond, and Emma Jane as "Flower girl".

This sadly was the best picture I got from Carl's birthday celebration. Happy 28th Birthday Carl! You keep getting better and better with every year! :)