What's in a Name?

"What's in a name? That which we call a rose by any other name would smell as sweet." Juliet passionately declares to Romeo. While it sure sounds pretty....yah right! What's in a name? Everything! As most of you know, I really struggle when it comes to the name thing. Believe me, I wish I didn't. I'm so jealous of those who find a name, love it, and stick to it with no looking back no matter what anyone says. My sister was like this. She picked my nieces names (Karlee Ann and Sydney Jean, cute, right?) pretty much right after she found out she was having a girl and that was it. No drama. Unfortunately at my house there's lots of drama. Lots.

So here I am. Not that my huge, bulging belly, never-ending heartburn, having to pee every five minutes, snoring husband, and absolute panic over having four kids isn't enough to keep me up at night, I'm tossing and turning over what to name this kid. Help!

I'm determined with this baby to go to the hospital prepared with a name--maybe two if I have to--but at least a strong idea of what I want to name him. We all know that if I don't, postpartum is pretty serious and my master-at-passive-aggressiveness-to-get-his-way husband will do just that...get his way. It's my turn to pick the name! The problem is...I'm at a total loss as to what to name him. It's not that I don't have ideas, we've got a good list going (10--3 for me, 3 for Rob, and 4 together), it's just that nothing is really standing out. I keep testing names, calling him something for a few days, practicing phrases I'd say often using a certain name, but nothing is sticking. And my frustration is rising.

The countdown is on, and I'm in trouble.

P.S. If you hear that he's been named Roan or Taj....I'm expecting an intervention. PLEASE!!

My latest ultrasound pictures just for fun. I think I'm seeing some Myles :-)

Halloween 2010

Halloween is one of our favorite holidays. And every year it seems to get better and better as we have established several fun traditions that the kids really look forward to. Mekinley's favorite thing is the bobbing for apples. She just goes full force and digs her whole head into the bucket of water and always gets her apple. Myles loves the donut on the string game. He was so funny this year. No matter how hard it was, he never broke the rules. He never used his hands, and that's pretty hard for a 3-year-old. Sierra's favorite of course is eating the candy. I have to really be careful with her because she has no limits. She would eat her entire bag of candy in 10 minutes if I let her. Maybe I should let her. Then maybe she'd learn her lesson. Well, knowing Sierra probably not. Happy Halloween!

The Bell Clan at our yearly Halloween party. And you thought ghosts were scary!

My Grandpa won the prize for the best costume this year. Way to go, Grandpa!

Myles is in heaven!

This has become one of our favorite traditions, a party with our close friends. Aren't all these kids so cute? Of course we already have arranged marriages in place, even if they don't know it!

We had the biggest umbrella in the neighborhood. And with the rain came the most amazing rainbow.

Swagger Wagon

So we finally did it. We bought...(drumroll please)....a minivan!! I know, I know. A minivan. I've been trying to talk Rob into one for years so I was expecting his reluctancy, but when it actually came down to it, I was the one who had a hard time finally committing. For some reason, a minivan is the final symbol of my lost youth and freedom. And it's depressing. You would think that three, almost four, kids, conquering the big 3-0, and a mortgage would be enough baggage of responsibility to bring me to reality, but it took a minivan to send me over the edge. We've had it for three days, and I'm still hiding my face from passerbys embarrassed to be driving it. Bye-bye young, carefree Jeannie. Welcome dark circles, stained shirt Mommy.

On a happier note, I must admit the minivan is pretty sweet. I can sit in the driver's seat and push a button to open the doors! The kids can get in unassisted! No more climbing out and hoisting children in. No more getting out and opening the back hatch in the middle of a rain storm for kids to climb over seats. My kids are not crammed together! This means no more poking, pinching, or even touching each other! There's a DVD player overhead and I can even talk on my phone hands free through my steering wheel!

So I guess the moral of the story is, if you're contemplating a minivan...just do it. Rip the bandaid off with one quick pull. If Rob and I can do it, anyone can.

Mekinley is 8!!

Yes, it's true!! Mekinley turned 8 this past December. I don't know which is harder to handle--the fact that Mekinley is now old enough to be accountable or that I am the mother of an 8-year-old! And boy, what a birthday! It started the day before her birthday with a friend party in which she went bowling. I think it was a big success. Six hyper, giggly, silly, cute 7-8 year-olds having a good time. A dream come true! I was especially proud of my cake. My best one yet. Kinley kept changing her mind as to what color she wanted, so I decided to make a rainbow cake. Also, each layer of the cake was a different color. I don't think she appreciated it nearly as much as I was hoping.

This year was an extremely special birthday. It meant getting baptized. Mekinley was lucky enough to actually get baptized on her real birthday--Dec. 4th. It was really a special day. She looked so beautiful. Grandma Foy made her dress, and it was amazing and just what Mekinley wanted. I don't think she's ever felt so special. She was beaming all day.

The baptism itself was an incredible experience. To see her and her dad dressed in their whites, worthy to enter the waters of baptism was absolutely overwhelming. The best part of the whole program was when she and her two friends who also got baptized sang the primary song, "Whenever There are Rainbows." I don't think there was a dry eye in the entire congregation. I certainly know I was a mess. I was so proud of her. And to be honest, I was proud of Rob and myself. I kept thinking about all we've been through since the time we first met to the time Mekinley was born to today. We must have done something right. Here we are, baptizing our first child. We've come a long ways.

The day ended with a huge, and I mean huge, family celebration. While the size can often be overwhelming, it's also a great blessing. We have such great support from both families who love us and love our children. Thanks!

I think it's days like this that put life into perspective--eternal perspective. What it's really all about is love. I know this sounds cheesy, but the love I felt from and for my extended family, my children, my husband, my neighbors and friends, and most especially my Heavenly Father is what really counts. The rest is just a distraction.

The first thing Mekinley said after the baptism, "It wasn't as deep as I thought!"

I'm Back!!

Okay....so I've completely fallen off the blog wagon...hard. Let's see, my last post was almost a year ago?! I've dismissed it as being too busy, which is partially true, but having spent the morning looking over others' blogs and loving it, I've come to realize that I need to get back to it. Not only do I need to stay up to date on my loved ones lives, but I need to stay up to date on my life. Even if not a single other person reads what I have to say, I still need to say it for me and my kids. Their life is important and someday I hope they will thank me for chronicling their lives, even a little bit.

So enough of my soapbox...I'm back. And determined to play catch up. So if any of you out there actually do read this, I apologize. For a while it's not going to be chronological. I'm going to disperse today's happenings with last year's happenings and hopefully salvage some of last year. Wish me luck! I'm on a mission.