The Christmas Rush...

Can you believe that it is Dec 7th already? It seems like it comes way too fast, and even though I know that it is going be like this, I feel like I am in a whirlwind. For some reason, I just can't get on the ball. It might have to do with the fact that I am getting migraines EVERY day, and Carl is less than 2 weeks away from finals, which means we are seeing him less and less...but who knows?!?!

In fact, last week, CJ saw an old picture of Emma Jane and Carl on our coffee table. He was looking at it, and very softly said, "I miss you." It was so tender. He loves his daddy. In fact, that same day, we were at the store, and he swore he saw daddy. He got so excited. It was pretty sad.

So, if my Christmas cards don't come this year, and you get an email instead, know that we are trying here at the Haynie household, but our attempts at a picture failed and me finding a deal for Christmas cards is also failing.

But, here is what we have been up to:

A Priceless Photo w/ G-Gma & G-Gpa on Thanksgiving

My Soccer team went to the 3rd round of the playoffs! Woo Hoo! I was 17 weeks at our last game, and there was another player who was 18 weeks. She was our goalie. Pretty awesome!

Emma Jane & CJ were the entertainment at the game.

When we went to the mall this past week, this guy let Emma Jane go on this for free...doesn't she is standing on that ledge?

And of course, this little guy had to go, so we ended up paying for him to go. I am sure that was a tactic he uses often b/c he did the same thing to my sister-in-law. Tricky. Tricky.

And, this little man, ran and jumped into the big ole guy's lap as soon as he saw him! He was so excited. Emma Jane was equally as excited, but was too shy to sit in his lap. She has seen 2 Santa's, and just gets scared when she gets close to him. But, each time, she says, "Next time, I won't be shy b/c I need to tell him I want a train."

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! :)

Let it Snow! Let it Snow! Let it Snow!

We woke up this morning with a blanket of snow covering everything. It was a good 2 inches. The kids were ecstatic! You would have thought that it was Christmas morning or something. They kept pointing it out--"Look, it's on the trees...Look, it's on the grass...Look, it's on our bikes!" They were even more thrilled to play in it!

They thought their snow tracks were the coolest!

My little snow angel who wouldn't keep her gloves on.

This guy either!

Carl had the camera on a funky setting, and this is how the first few pictures turned out. Emma Jane's hair looks pretty awesome!

12 weeks, still breathing, & pics galore!

You would think with baby #3 I would have this pregnancy thing somewhat down, but unfortunately that is not the case. With a whole new level of nausea and migraines, these past few weeks have been challenging, but we are trucking along. Here is what we have been up to the last 3 weeks.

Carl took the kids to a BYU game!

We went back to Trafalga and invited Carl this time!

Emma Jane, our thrill-seeker, always has her hands in the air on a ride.

A cute, rare sight. They do not EVER sleep in the same bed. CJ must have crawled in with EmmaJane after a bad dream. Cute as can be!

Canning: Oh yeah! You bet! I did it! Apple Sauce and Peaches(not pictured)! Aww Baby! Nobody can eat them though b/c they are too precious. :)

While Carl had Fall Break this week, we went to Salt Lake's Science Center. Emma Jane had me take about 20 pictures of her on this horse.

The cutest toddler sized tree house!

CJ lovin' his boats. He always knows how to find those quick!

Heaven.

CJ's pure joy! Now if only it turned into a motorcycle too...
Carl's big kid project--Go Carl!

Then, we went to the zoo!

Oh we love Giraffes, especially when we can almost touch them!
And, tonight's latest projects: Carl's is the fancy one on top and the bottom two are mine and the kids! Happy Halloween!

Random Happenings Around the House

CJ & Emma Jane being creative with their table while watching the Bama-FL game! Roll Tide!

Proof of a fun dad. They are so lucky! Who thinks of this kind of stuff?

This is how I found them the other night. This is the first time CJ snuck out of the top bunk to sleep with Emma Jane. I am surprised they fell asleep. Cutie Patooties!

The first snow of the season was only in the mountains, but it sure is fun to see. This is Mt. Timpanogas right outside our window. It has been raining all week, and each time it rains, Timp has some new snow. I want it to stay in the mountains a while longer. I don't know how we are going to do with this snow all the time. :)

Fun In LA with the McCoys

We just got back late last night from LA. Carl had a job Conference there, so we went along too to visit my sister and her four kids! I drove there by myself and met Carl down there. Thankfully he drove back with me! We miss you guys already! We had a blast.

Oh, the fun of cousins! Baylie and my kids were the best of friends! It was so cute!

At the Zoo with all the cousins, waiting for the Bird show wishing we could bring food in there!
Emma Jane, the baby lover, was OBSESSED with Paisley! Paisley got a little too much lovin' from Emma Jane. She might have been a little glad to see her go. :)

Baylie, Emma Jane, and CJ had so much fun together. They loved running around the backyard together. They were best buds.

Good ole Nintendo Wii. We had all had a blast playing a dance competition game and the Disney Karaoke game. So fun. Not to mention watching CJ sword fight was pretty funny too! It was pretty cute to watch everyone!

Adventuring out to the mall with the kids. Always glad for the mall playground area!Having our first taste of PINKBERRY yogurt at the mall. So so yummy! It is a good thing we don't have one in Utah!

My fun sister Brooke. Thanks for the fun and the laughs.

Fun With Nana

Nana came to visit us Friday afternoon to Sunday morning, and we had a blast! We told the kids they had a surprise visitor coming, and Emma Jane was so excited. She kept asking every 5 minutes who it was and was begging for us to tell her b/c she was so excited. When the car pulled up, she ran outside, saw that it was Nana, came running back inside saying, "It's Nana! It's Nana!" She was so, so happy to see her dear Nana.

The kids are just so super happy whenever they are with Nana. They just love her so much, and they LOVE how much she plays with them. This is the kids having a grand time playing at IKEA!

WE MISS YOU ALREADY NANA!