Baby Drake is Here! YAY!

Drake Linton
December 12th, 2009
5:40 pm
7 pounds 4 ounces
19 1/2 inches long

We finally were greeted by baby Drake. We have been so excited to have him with us and he's the cutest little dude ever. He has long black hair with a tint of brown in it. He has long ski-like feet (reminds me of Landon when he was born) and LOVES bathtimes already. He is so stinkin cute too! Leah was really stressed out by the labor experience after the horrible time of having Linzey. But after Drake was out and things were settling down she said, "Man, if I knew it was that easy I could have a baby everyday!" That was until she started nursing! lol But Leah was a rockstar and definitely is a good momma to both Linzey and Drake now. Thomas couldn't be more proud. And Linzey is such a great big sister. She loves to hold baby Drake and help her mom with things around the house while he's nursing. She loves to hold his hands and talk to him too. Soon I'm sure she's gonna be reading him stories and drawing him pictures.


This nurse was MY FAVORITE! If I ever have children I am going to request her. She was so funny and made me laugh till I was tearing up. As she was giving Drake his first washcloth bath, Linzey was asking if she was rubbing him too hard. Thomas told Linzey that she does this all the time and that she knows what she's doing. She later replied, "Yeah I only beat my own kids." I think you might have had to be there to get the humor in that, but it was priceless. She was always there when we needed her and she had an amazingly humorous way about her that I fell in love with from the first time she came in.


Thomas was talking about how big his feet were and I had to agree. This photo does do it justice, but Drake's feet were long! I loved this picture. Daddy's hand next to his little boys newborn foot. I don't think he's going to be able to keep his hand bigger than his son's foot for long. Before you know it you're buying shoes that are bigger than your own. Man they grow up to fast huh!



This was the following morning. Landon and I were the last of the family to come and visit that morning. We made a late start and April was already working. Mom was there with Linzey and I was able to hold my new nephew! He is a doll and was so good. Landon kept trying to get too close to him... like an inch away from his face... as you can tell he's not used to having such little people around. :) He'll learn quick though how close is appropriate.


The proud NaNa!
This is grandbaby number 9!


Mom and I took the kids to the duck pond and it would seem that the ducks, geese, seagulls, and any other fowl in the 10 mile radius knew we were coming. We helped the kids on the hood of the car after they were being ganged up on by the feathered animals. Landon didn't like it at all... it was too cold out. My hands were frozen by the time I got back into the car.

Landon finally got his turn to hold baby Drake. He as so happy, but baby Drake didn't like it too much... maybe next time my dear! I think Landon's going to be a great big-brother some day... who knows how far into the future that might be! o_O Landon is so gentle though and curious that it makes me laugh to see the delight of even being able to watch Drake.

It was hysterical. We didn't see this picture of Drake's eyes popping out till after we took it. We all missed it in person, but found it on camera. It was so funny. And Thomas is a great dad and holds Drake just right. Like I said, he couldn't have been a prouder papa!


Here Thomas is with Baby Drake sleeping. Drake is supposed to be burping any time now, but he seems to have fallen asleep on the job. :) Thomas is SOOOO cute with Drake too. Talking to him, changing his diapers, and taking him around the house with him wherever he goes. It's so cute to see how the two of them bond already.


Drake, we are so glad you came to us safely and that we are able to be there to see you grow up. Try to stop falling asleep while eating and I hope that daddy learns to protect himself when changing your diaper... he's had too many surprise leaks lately. Oh... and know that we all love you to peices and will always be there for you. Listen to mom and dad and stay close to that place you just came from called heaven.

Love you Baby Drake!

A Sawyer-Style Thanksgiving

When the Sawyer family gets together, it's nothing like other families. We don't have our typical quiet conversations where people keep from awkward or inappropriate subjects... our holiday gatherings involve food fights (which didn't happen this Thanksgiving thankfully), talking about body anatomies and sicknesses which would have some people covering their ears, a free-for-all buffet of food which is a crazefest, and slapping of arms when someone inevitably slips a bad word. But I have to tell you that I love our family gatherings. This was the first time in a LONG time that we have all been together. That is that five girls have gotten together with their families for Thanksgiving dinner. This year it was at NaNa's house in Quincy and Christmas will be at Leah's house in Pasco.

So of course because of this occasion we all had to be in the pictures which I insisted on. Who knows when we'll be getting together again? lol

From left to right it's Jennifer, Leah, Mom, and April in back with Me and Misty on the floor.

Now the reason for the boob squeezing shot. My mom went to Utah this year for a McCullen reunion with her sisters from Missouri. When they were together they had this picture where my mom reach across her sister and squeezed her other sister's boob... since that picture made it's debute I got together with Angie (my cousin) and we did the same shot. So it goes without saying that we would have to do it again with a familiy gathering... so this is what we got. :)


Leah was due on December 16th, even though she was going to be induced on the 12th if she hadn't had Baby Drake by then. Well flash forward, she has had him and that's my next blog, but here is Sam, Jenny's husband, letting us see his beer belly in comparison to Leah's prego belly. It was hysterical.

I was in Jiffy Car Wash visiting with my good friend Cheryl (who is amazing and an angel) and found this cup that had a big set of honkers on the front of it. I immediately thought of my sister, Misty. Misty had a size D chest since 5th grade and it's just grown since then, so this was HER gift. :)


Landon LOVES NaNa's ambulance. Anytime we hear sirens it's always followed by Landon saying, "That's my Nana mama!" lol He loves to explore the ambulance too... He's been around these since he was a few days old. He has loved them and I think it all began with knowing his Grandma works on it. He knows the difference between a fire truck and an ambulance. This smile was a forced one because he didn't know who to look at. :)

This Thanksgiving was a great one. Jonathan came down from Job Corps in Curlew and April, Leah, and I and our families were able to make it safely from Tri-Cities. So it was a great family gathering and hopefully we'll have another addition to our numbers this coming Christmas celebration.

I have to say that this Thanksgiving I am thankful for my son who is the core of my life and the reason I wake up smiling, for my family who has continued to support me and love me, for my friends who buoy me up on my bad slumps and make me laugh when I want to cry, for my faith which keeps me going and looking forward to the future, for chocolate which gives me enough of a boost to keep me going any given day, and I am so grateful for the armed forces and those individuals who put their lives on the line so that I can enjoy mine and relax without worry of bombings on our streets and dictators over our land. I am thankful for our freedoms and for those that forged this way of life for us back when the war with England was waged. Thank goodness they stood up then, and thank goodness we have men and women brave enough to stand up now. God bless them.

Utah Trip Babe!

I went on a road trip down to Utah for Mary Kay Summit. I traveled with amazing ladies and love them more and more the more I am around them. They inspire me, pump me up, make me feel like a million bucks, have me laughing till my side is killing me and tears are welling up, and surprise me by their giving and totally outgoing personalities. I needed this trip. And I am so glad I was able to go on it. I had made arrangements to stay with my cousin, Angie while down there whom I haven't seen FOREVER! So this was a doubly meaningful trip.

Below would be the most amazing woman, Laura Francis, who blows my mind with how uninhibited she is by pressures in her life. She is also a single mom and has been doing Mary Kay a little longer than I have. She is the BOMB! Laura is a lot like me as we both burst out into song at random moments, love to laugh, and LOVE to have fun no matter where we are. On this trip Laura and I were NOT allowed to be in the same car together because the other car would most definitely fall asleep. So we were split the entire way there. :( But we got to get out and mingle at pit-stops and gas stations which was always enjoyable. Oh! And the one doing the peace out sign in the background is Cherrie! She is phenomenal! She is 20 years old and down at Summit she was THE #1 Queen of Sales which means she sold the most in our national area. She rocks too and definitely has it going on. Fun loving and quirky, she is a natural fit into our craziness. :)
These are all the ladies that carpooled down with us in our two vehicles. Mind you there were other car pools going on down, but this was ours. :) From Left to Right: Jessica, Laura, Cherri, and AnnMarie with me being a dork. :) I totally have to tell you that it wasn't until my 2nd 16 oz. Slurpee that I was told that those were NOT smoothies with fruit in them like I thought they were, they are pretty much sugar, ice shavings, and artificial flavoring. Yeah... I was flying on a sugar high the entire way down there. And then was completely turned off to Slurpee because I didn't know that it was pretty much sugar. And could see it sticking to my stomach and thighs. :)

When we got down to Utah and I stayed the first night at Jessica's Aunt's house. We didn't get in till like 3am or so. It was so late! But we crashed and slept in. I met up with Angie, my cousin, the following day and was SOOOO happy to see her. She has always been one that I have looked up to and enjoyed being around. My mom had just been down earlier that summer to stay with her and her sister's flew in from Missouri so it was a girls weekend there.

I loved hearing the stories from their stay. It's so easy to talk to Angie and she and her husband, Chris, give the best sound advice I've needed. :) They have 2 children: Ethan and Tinley. Their kids are absolutely amazing. Ethan is doing awesome in school and is taller than Angie or I! He has such a tender, caring heart and that was brought out at the end of our visit... which I'll tell you about below. Tinley is the sweetest girl with all the energy in the world. She is a dancer and loves to show you moves all the time that she learned in gymnastics.


I didn't know that Utah had another temple till Angie suggested we go see it. It's what my mom and her sisters did too! So we went and took TONS of pictures while enjoying and soaking in the beauty of the temple area. The day was brisk, a little breezy, but perfect otherwise. The Draper Temple is amazing and I loved the feeling that you get when you're on the temple grounds.


Then we went to view the spot where you can see all 5 temples in the same spot. Of course it was on the side of one of the mountains above the Draper Temple, but it was so much fun. This is me taking in the awesome view. We had so much fun this day. It was beautiful and sunny! But on the way home Angie told me that she wasn't feeling so hot. You see 2 of the neighbors in her neighborhood had gotten swine flu that week.... the one she is closest to because their kids are inseparable had just gotten her 1 year old son confirmed with swine flu the first night I stayed there. So when Angie told me this I realized that we had both been hiding the fact and ignoring not feeling well and had pushed ourselves because the other was there and acting too. So we went back to the house to drop kids off and head to the doctor's office to get tested for swine flu.

Both of us were running low grade fevers. And the doctor saw us and told us that they are not testing for swine flu and unless we were a high risk case, they would not treat us for it with the shot. So he sent us home and told us to lock ourselves away from others because we sounded like we had it with our symptoms, but would just have to wait it out. So home we went and we put our masks on which were EXTREMELY fashionable to clean and bleach the entire house up and down. She has a family there and didn't want the rest of her family to get Swine Flu if that was in fact what we had. So after that we clad ourselves in pjs and busted out the movies in her room on her bed. So my trip for Mary Kay became 3 days of sick bed enclosed cousin time. I couldn't have been happier being sick with anyone else. :)

Angie got me hooked on the new Pride and Prejudice which I have always had a slight dislike for because of growing up with the original 5+ hour one. All in all it was a wonderful weekend where I was able to bond with my cousin which I loved. I missed my son, but brought him back some surprises that he loved from my trip. :)

Transformers, Fairies, and Clowns

Yes I know it's in December and almost Christmas, but I decided to post Halloween, even though I'm a few months behind.

I have to say that I was NOT in the mind or condition to go trick-or-treating with the kids. I had moved the entire night before Halloween and spent the entire morning and afternoon moving and getting things unpacked and organized. I don't know WHY we had to choose to move that weekend, but it was the only weekend we could and the last weekend in October, so we did. Thank goodness. I am NEVER moving twice in one month. My mind and body won't allow it anymore. lol

Landon and I went trick-or-treating with my family: Leah and Thomas with little Linzey; April and Leon with Dakota and Claire; and Ruth with Harry (the dog). It was so much fun. COLD, but fun! Landon was Bumblebee off of Transformers, Linzey was a fairy, Claire was a clown and Dakota was a multi-hair-colored rock star.


Landon was scared to go up to people's doors after being freaked out by a house that you had to go into this pitch black curtain covered area to get your treat. Uncle Leon showed Landon it wasn't that scary, but the rest of the night he was racing along with the other kids saying, "Trick or Treat!" followed by a "thank you!" :)

It was so much fun to watch him really enjoy Halloween and participate in it. Last Halloween I remember he didn't quite grasp the concept. But this Halloween he knew it was ALL about the candy and mom didn't let him keep his candy unless he said Thank You to each homeowner.

We were out about 3 hours going from door to door it seemed and were FREEZING by the end of it. We went back to Leah's and met up with Dad there after his meetings. It was fun and I'm looking forward to the next Halloween when I don't find myself mentally and physically exhausted and can enjoy the festivities of the nighttime.

Prayers and Ketchup

Lately as I am trying to get Landon down for bed we go through the normal routine of saying prayers after brushing teeth and getting pajamas on but before we read books and lay together. So last night I realized we are going into a routine of sorts.

Landon is so hyper right before bed. I'm not sure if this happens to ALL boys or if it's just a Landon thing, but he seems to go onto a sugar high right when "bedtime" is mentioned. Jumping off things, walking funny up the stairs, on all fours being a dog, and tons of running, squealing, and laughing ensues right before bedtime. I have always had to strap on my "patient" belt and endure it as best I can, as I am WAY overdue for sleep most nights.

But I realized that there's another thing that happens as well....

Landon will be so busy-body when I kneel down to his bed and ask him to kneel too. He jumps, lays or sits on his bed and tells me he's too tired to, while at the same time squirming around everywhere. So instead of arguing (which I found doesn't work well) I started saying the prayer without him kneeling. Most of the time he would fall into place at my side and echo my every 1/2 sentence through the prayer. But there are times when he's still pretty head-strong and doesn't.

I realized that as soon as I ask for his father to be protected and brought home safe, I always feel him fall into place right next to me with arms folded, head bowed, eyes closed and kneeling reverently and thoughtfully. You see, he misses his dad to pieces and if he's not repeating me before this point of the bedtime prayer, he does immediately following that plea.

It's amazing what you can tell about children with their actions.

This last weekend my sister, Leah, had Baby Drake finally! And my mom has been down for the event. Drake was born on Saturday and we were all there in the waiting room. The kids did very well sitting in the little room with TV and toys and treats, but MAN did they need to get out and run around. So April and Leon treated us to Burger King after Drake's arrival and we had documented every moment in pictures or video when we were let into the room after the delivery. The kids ran off to play on the toys right when we stepped into the room and I enjoyed sitting back and supervising while we waited for the food. When the food came we all dug in SUPER hungry after hours of waiting and refereeing kids to not be mean to one another.

While we were digging in my mom ended up spilling ketchup on the front of her white sweater. This made Linzey (my niece) laugh hysterically as she pointed at NaNa's sweater! So before I know it my mom is laughing too... I look over wondering what was going on. She told me that when Landon saw that Linzey was laughing at NaNa for having ketchup on her shirt he took ketchup and was about to put it on his shirt so she didn't feel alone. My heart grew in that instance for the loving act of ketchup smearing.

I had to stop myself later that night and think of what happened that day. I am proud of Landon for caring about others and doing something to help them. I'm also glad I didn't have to get ketchup stains out of his shirt although it would have been worth it!

I am truly blessed with a wonderful, big-hearted little boy who continues to make me realize that giving of yourself gives you more joy than receiving. I hope as he continues to grow up that he will remember these little acts and know that Christmas time is about appreciating what we have been blessed with, that his heart will continue to grow with his body, and that he might know much very much I love and cherish him. I am amazed at some points and wonder if his heart isn't bigger than my own at these points. Landon definitely makes me view the world more closely through his childlike eyes.

I am the one who is blessed. I truly am.