A few wedding pictures

Grace and Phebe

Rachel and Phebe at reception

Cadence and Mark

Phebe and Zeal

Jan's New Things

Sadly, I don't have any of the pictures from Mark's wedding yet. But I do have photos of the new things in my life.

We sold our 1997 Chevy Lumina back in April. The nice lady (who really wanted a Lumina) gave us our very fair asking price. And we bought a 2009 Kia Sedona that has 3 years left on it's warranty! We told Edward it was a Kia Sedona and he said, "We drive in the Quesadilla!" That's the name that stuck.

We also hung some new . . . artwork? Fauna? Friends? That seems weird; we don't normally hang our friends on the wall. My mother-in-law refers to them as Dirty Dead Things. I'm not sure ours are that dirty.

This is a mountain goat Evan shot before we were married.

This is the bear that Evan shot last year. Edward is there for scale and is wearing a blue ribbon that says "I am Unique!" Let me point out that the bear is in my bedroom facing the door to the hallway. This means that as I come into the room, I get a face full of bear teeth. He's protecting the light switch.

And I got a haircut! I love it and I let Edward take pictures of me.

Evan and I also went down to Oklahoma City last week to find a place to live for the next three years.


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That's it! It's a cute little 3 bedroom house with holly bushes out front. Our landlord is super nice and it comes with a fridge. What more could you want? So many blessings!

Linus' Story

Here's the story doot doot doo doo, Bout Linus.

Linus is now 11 days old. I've had some rest, and now I have a little time. I'll tell you the story.

First, let's remember that my babies usually come late. The due date was May 16, so I wasn't expecting to go into labor until the 20th or so. My last day teaching at the school was Friday May 6. After that baton was passed, my body seemed to slip into exhaustion and prep for labor. I rested for the next three days.

On Tuesday morning Ephraim went to my appointment with me. We saw Dr. Aguilera from Mexico. I told him I'd been having some contractions and so he checked and I was already 2-3 cm, 90% effaced. He stripped los membranos, and told me el trabajo could start en cualquier momento. In other words, anytime.

Well we got busy after that. Ephraim went to the store to stock up. Ella and I packed my hospital bag. The kids tidied the house, and I paused every fifteen minutes or so for a contraction. We thought things would be pretty speedy from there, but I wasn't really ready, I felt I needed more rest. Once I laid down, things slowed down, and by that time we had to put the kids to bed. I figured I could wait until the morning. We alerted Damien next door to be "on call" just in case.

I got comfortable, watched some Spiderman 3, and went to bed around 11. All night I had contractions every 8 minutes. Not sharp ones usually. Just steady. I got out the iPod stopwatch and hit "Lap" for every one. It wasn't a very good night. Doze... feel it mounting... click "Lap"... breathe... relax... doze...tightening... "Lap"... breathe, etc. They weren't getting any closer, and I wasn't terribly uncomfortable, so I let Ephraim sleep. I figured once I had the baby I could sleep all day in the hospital, but he would have to single parent the other three kids all day and night. He needed the rest.

I was kind of lonely during that long night. Fortunately I heard that familiar coughing and moist expectorant sound coming from the next room. Sure enough Isaac had gotten sick all over himself and his blankets. I showered him, changed the blankets, and settled him in bed. This happened two more times, so the time passed rather quickly with this distraction from my discomfort. And Isaac and I had a really nice talk about our family and his role as a big brother. But I don't know if he remembers any of it.

Around 5:15 am, I heard some roosters and thought it was about time to get the day started. Ephraim called the Webbs, a senior missionary couple who volunteered to help with the kids. Once I started moving around contractions came 4-5 minutes apart and more intense. When the Webbs came, we scooted off to the hospital.

We got settled there around 6:20. I was 6-7 cm and everything looked good. When Dr. Timoteo came I was at 8 cm and she broke my water. The next contractions were beastly. Beyond my control. Ephraim and the nurse were very supportive. Maybe if I'd known it would all be over so quickly I could've stayed in control for longer. One never knows. After a few more contractions, I was ready to push. And the nurse agreed.

Now the funny part. Since I was in the Labor room in labor, I had to move to the Delivery room to deliver. I had a choice: wheelchair or walk. We waited for a contraction to pass then scurried to the Delivery room, climbed the step stool onto the bed, and assumed the position.

You know what happens next. The pushing didn't last too long. I'm usually a zealous pusher, but this time I tried to stay aware and give it more time. When the head came out the cord was wrapped around his neck, too tight to slip over the head, so I had to pant while she snipped the cord right then. And then the rest came, and it was a boy, and he was perfect!

He was born at 7:25. All white and creamy and puffy and warm. I was just amazed that I was done! That it was over. That I was myself again. And that I had a new baby to get to know.

He had fine features and a straight nose. Not the ski-jump nose the other kids had. Dark, fuzzy hair like newborn Ella and Isaac. And light hazel eyes. For now.

The recovery ward was full, so I stayed in the labor bed all day. The nurse had taken the baby to get weighed, and after awhile Ephraim went to get him from the nursery. Just in time, too, they were about to feed him a bottle as he was under the warming lamp. Ephraim insisted on taking him to nurse. The nurse asked, "Is she lactating yet?" Ephraim just said, yes. I don't think anyone in the nursery has heard of colostrum. It's a pity. A shame. Idiotic really. They just give all the kids a bottle. Anyway, I won't rant here.

This time the maternity ward was air conditioned. I still had to bring my own towel, pillow, blanket, and pads. When the kids came Ella said, "Good job, mama." And Owen said, "I hold him!!!" scary.

Now the name. Linus has been on our list since Ella. So were Owen and Isaac. We just liked it and couldn't think of any bad associations. Linus Pauling was a Nobel Prize winner and OSU graduate. Linus from Oceans 11 is a little insecure and a target for jokes, but he can swipe a Faberge egg, no prob, so that's pretty amazing. And Linus from Peanuts is by far the wisest and most sincere character despite his affinity for a blanket and thumb.

Ta'iala is Samoan for guide or leader. Literally, ta'i is to lead, and ala is the way. It's also the name of our school that I've been dedicated to for the whole pregnancy.

There are more pictures on our blog. I can't wait for you all to meet little Linus Ta'iala Temple.

Happy Birthday Shellie

I know this is late, but I wanted to say Happy Birthday to our oldest sister. Or firstborn sister. Does that sound less "old"?

These aren't fabulous pictures of Shellie, but they tell a lot.

First the pool picture, I love that Shellie is the one person in the pool wearing a stylish straw hat with large bow. What does this say?

Style. I think it's safe to say Shellie has instructed each of us in this area. I remember at someone's wedding she showed up looking extra glamorous. I commented how plain I felt compared to her, and I recall her response was like, "Well, you knew it was a wedding, right?" That cracks me up every time I think of it. So I'm trying to plan ahead for Rachel's wedding so I can look as glamorous as Shellie.

Practical. Shellie is wearing a hat. She has Bruce's sense of practicality knowing that she will burn and peel and contract cancer without proper sun protection.

Fun. Most people wearing a straw hat with a large bow wouldn't be seen IN the pool. But Shellie wanted to have fun at the pool, why else would you come? She was shooting baskets with Jason and Annmarie and splashing around. Shellie always is the center, creator, source of good f-u-n.

And yoga pose was just plain impressive. Wish I had skills like that! Maybe all that time inverted does a person some good.

Well, HAPPY BIRTHDAY Shellie. I miss you and love you very much.

p.s. Someone PLEASE post some photos from Mark's wedding!! I'm begging you.