Big Plans

Lily will be 3 weeks old tomorrow which means it's about time that I start working out again. Wes and I decided that this time around part of our workout schedule will be a training program for a half-marathon. There is a half-marathon on January 30 in Queen Creek that we plan on doing, it's called the London Run, check out the website- www.londonsrun.org.
I'm questioning whether or not I can get back into running shape in 5 months, but it's been so long since I've trained for anything that I really want to try. Plus, Wes said he would do it with me and I can't pass up having a running partner.
So with that said training starts tonight. This first few weeks Wes and I will only be walking, but after that we have a somewhat rigorous training schedule that will look something like this...

Week	Mon	Tue	Wed	Thu	Fri	Sat	Sun	Total
1	3	Rest	3	3	Rest	4	Rest	13
2	3	Rest	4	3	Rest	5	Rest	15
3	3	Rest	4	3	Rest	6	Rest	16
4	3	Rest	5	3	Rest	8	Rest	19
5	3	Rest	5	3	Rest	10	Rest	21
6	4	Rest	5	4	Rest	11	Rest	24
7	4	Rest	6	4	Rest	12	Rest	26
8	4	Rest	5	4	Rest	9	Rest	22
9	3	Rest	4	3	Rest	8	Rest	18
10	3	Rest	3	Walk 2	Rest	13.1	Rest	21.1

It should be fun. I simply need to keep thinking of the Nike slogan- JUST DO IT! So here we go- wish us luck!

Candy Thief and Other "Stuff"

I walked out of the bathroom yesterday to see Gideon sitting in the corner of my room very intent on getting into something. Well it didn't take me long to realize what he had found...Dots...

Trying so hard...
Just a little more... Yum...

These next pictures are not for the faint of heart....let's just say I've been inducted into the "Mommy Club" again. I wish I could have gotten Wes' face on camera, it was priceless!

Children

I love nap-times. Today while Gideon was asleep I laid down with Steele. It was a bit of a battle at first, but he gave in and eventually crawled up next to me so he could cuddle with Lily. After he fell asleep I had the opportunity to lay there and ponder. The house was quiet and I knew I had better take a chance to enjoy it, so I didn't move.
As I pondered I looked over at Steele and started to cry. (I'm sure the after-pregnancy hormones didn't help.) I understood at that very moment why my sister has 6 children, why my mom has 9 children and why some people have 18. They are wonderful! They are sweet, forgiving, teachable, honest, loving, pure, innocent and God-like. There is nothing better than to see them learn and grow and yet I am humbled every time I lose my temper and they are so quick to forgive me for it. I know I am blessed and although chaos awaits me at every turn and I at times I feel like I'm going to lose my mind, I still know that I love my children and that they love me.
On my Facebook page I have a quote from Elder Russel M. Nelson that was taken from a talk he gave at a conference in the Netherlands on Families. He says, "Our children are our wealth; our children are our strength; our children are indeed our future!"
I feel like this says it all. I am not a rich woman when it comes to money especially now that we have three children that have monetary needs. However, each child is a wealth untold and I have three, making me very rich indeed!
As for strength, thanks to my children I have become better at praying and reading my scriptures because I know that they are watching. It says it all when you turn around and your 3-year-old is bowing his head over a bowl of cereal in the morning and silently praying.
Finally and possibly my favorite, "children are indeed our future". I know that our posterity depends on us having children. How sad would it be to grow old without having someone to love you. Plus, our children bring grandchildren and from what I understand, grandchildren are the best!
I guess to summarize this entry, I love children- every shape, size and personality and "happy is the man that hath his quiver full of them."

Welcome Lily Mae

So the story goes a little like this...
Tuesday I had a non-stress test scheduled for Lily. She failed (I think I am going to have to have a talk with her about getting better grades). So they sent me over to the hospital to get induced.
At about 1 am they started the pitocin. We tried to keep things slow because Dr. T would be on at 6 am, but she decided she was ready. I started pushing around 5:20 and she got here at 5:34 am. Things went really well. Wes was the BEST coach. Always rubbing my back when the contractions got too bad and talking to me to keep my mind off the pain. I did get an epidural at about 4:30, I probably could have done it without, but I decided I would rather enjoy the delivery than be in pain. However, I did find out that Banner Desert will let you labor in a bath, so next time I might try that...sounds relaxing to me.
It's crazy to think we are now a family of 5, but I'm loving every minute of it. The boys love her, Wes loves her and I love her. I seriously am so blessed!
So here she is... my little sweet pea...Lily Mae Filhart 7lbs 5 oz and 21 inches long born Aug 19...

A Few Projects

It has been a few months since I have posted anything on our blog, but this entry will explain and show why.
This is Neal Palmer and Steele. I love Neal, he is one of the nicest guys you will ever meet. He came over a few weeks after we moved in and helped us clear out an old tree in our backyard. Steele had a blast watching him and then getting out in the midst of the damage. These are two of my favorite pictures of Steele and Neal working on the tree. (It was a monster.)















These next pictures are of our biggest project- our kitchen. Other than a little electrical and plumbing help (and an occasional extra man to lift the sink and countertop) Wes and I did this all on our own. I would put the cabinets together (we had to start from scratch) and then Wes would hang them.
We also hung the door. The old opening had to be torn out and we put the new door and frame in a few days ago. It took a good hour and a half to do because neither one of us had ever done it, but after installing cabinets, lights, a toilet, wood flooring, baseboards, trim, etc. we realized we could at least learn how to hang a door.:)

This first picture is a before- we had old avacado green sink and appliances with cream cabinets and blue trim. Let's just say this kitchen hadn't seen a facelift since 1960.
I designed the kitchen with some input from others (it took me months) but after much planning we moved the fridge down the wall, added a pantry on the other side of the fridge (thank you Karen) and extended the countertop to have a bar. It was well worth the work and wait of not having a kitchen for a few months because I love it now. My favorite part of all, my country sink, it is HUGE!
This has been a tremendous blessing for us as well. We have truly seen the hand of our Father in Heaven as we have been blessed with things we wouldn't have been able to afford and also with good friends who were willing to help us out.

These last pictures are of our living room. I still have to get curtains and hang a few more things, but other than that we are done in there as well.
So here's the before...And the after....
There will be more to come. We have actually finished the boys room and the dining room, but I need to take pictures. We still have to re-tile our guest bathroom and put a new toilet in, but other than that it's almost done as well. So hopefully I will have some more projects to share soon.
Thanks to all who have helped and supported us as we have worked so hard to make our house a home. I can't wait to have everyone over for games and a BBQ! And a special thanks to my hubby who spent his entire summer working on the house...I love you!!!

A Long Awaited Day

So last night at the dinner table with Wes' family, his parents asked Dave and Becky if they would be going to the temple before they leave for med school on Wednesday. Then Wes' Dad said, "Maybe we can all go together and be sealed on Tuesday."
It was one of the sweetest moments I can recall, to look around and see Dave and Wes crying and then to see their Dad get up with tears in his eyes and pat Dave on the back. This is something Wes and I have prayed for every day since we have been married and I know Wes and Dave have been praying for this much longer than that.
But of course Satan has to have his hand in everything beautiful, because right after that wonderful announcement they told us the sealing would be around 7 that night. That's when I realized that I have a test in my Micro class. So after dinner I emailed my teacher to find out if I could take the test early. (For those of you who haven't heard my horror stories, my teacher is not very nice and does not believe in working with other people's schedules.) Wes and I prayed that my teacher's heart would be softened, but to no avail. She emailed me back saying that I can't take the test early or late and that my family should understand my commitment to school.
So here I am with a very hard decision. I can't imagine missing this blessed occasion where my husband will be sealed to his parents and brother, tying our little family with theirs for all eternity. Yet, on the other hand, if I don't take the test there is a good chance I won't pass. Wes says I can't miss the test and that I have put way too much time and effort into this class just to drop, but I know how important it is to him that we are all together as a family.
However, with all that said, I know that as I have faith something will work out. Heavenly Father has a plan and with the bitter comes the sweet and what a sweet occasion it is to be dressed in white with all of your family in the Lord's house.

Lilly

Wes and I found out on March 19th that we are going to be blessed with a baby girl! Wes was so excited when they said girl that he started hooting and hollering so loudly a nurse came in and asked if we were having a party. As for me, I was stunned! I really thought we were having another boy, in fact part of me is still skeptical, but I am SO happy for a girl. We plan on naming her Lilly Mae. Steele comes up to me everyday with a little pink outfit my mom bought us and says, "Mama is this Lilly's?" It makes me smile just thinking about it.
Speaking of Steele, he is such a good brother. Today, Gideon was crying and I was on the phone so I asked Steele to go talk to him. When I got off the phone I peeked into the bedroom and they were both sitting in Gideon's play-pen laughing.
I cannot express how much my kids mean to me. All the little things they do to make me smile far out weigh the things they do wrong. Wes always reminds me that the greatest treasure in life is family...well, I know that we are very rich, maybe not materially, but definitely eternally! Thank goodness for family!