Jack Palmer Tenney

You may have noticed I took a break from blogging...a 9 month break, and no, it was not coincidental.  The last 9 months have been rough (to put it mildly).  Due to complications in addition to being sick (to put it mildly) our family went into survival mode.  We had family come stay with us/ we stayed with other family members for 19 out of the 39 weeks I was pregnant.  We were also blessed to have wonderful friends and a wonderful ward in Arizona who came to the rescue.  Every time I start to think about all the sacrifices others have made for us I tear up with gratitude.  I literally could not have done it without you.  Thank you for coming over at a phone call's notice to get Ivy in and out of her crib for me when I couldn't lift her.  Thank you for taking my children out for playdates and adventures.  Thank you for the meals, for the prayers, for the empathy.  Thank you for sending your older children over after school to play with and entertain my girls while I lay on the couch.  I will never forget your service to me.  I will always be grateful.  It's really humbling to not be able to care for your family the way you'd like to.  To pray for energy and strength and not feel any better.  I know that the Lord was strengthening me though.  During this process He taught me about love, compassion, sacrifice, humility, relying on the Savior and feeling his love through others.  You were answers to my prayers, thank you.  I will always remember the difficulties of being pregnant, but I can say that without a doubt it was worth it.  I have a son.  His name is Jack.

PS- I feel awesome now!  It's good to be me again.  

October

Happy Halloween! The girls were skeletons (obviously) and Nate and I joined in their fun. Ivy totally got into trick or treating at Nate's school's party. She lunged out of her stroller at every stop to try to grab more candy. She'd pant and get super excited. Then she'd try to shove it all in her mouth, wrapper and all.



We went to our ward campout in October. Everything went well until bedtime. Ivy initially fell asleep in the tent, but woke up around 9pm and cried for 3+ hours! She was cold, confused and who knows what else. Nate walked her around for an hour, got her asleep, but as soon as he got back to the tent she was up crying. He did this twice and I did it once. Finally Nate wanted to put her in the truck and drive home. He put her in her carseat but the truck got stuck in the mud. We tried for awhile (12:30am) to get it out, but no luck. By this time Ivy had fallen fast asleep in her carseat, a nice familiar place. I spent the night in the truck with her and Nate and Lucy were in the tent. Longest night EVER. It was a lot of work for one night, but Lucy had a blast outdoors with the other kids.

Mt. Whitney

Back in August Nate and I took a 3 day backpacking trip with Mark and Cindy. We hiked Mt. Whitney, the highest peak in the contiguous United States. It was amazing. Thanks to Nate's parent's who took great care of our girls and for Mark and Cindy making the trip to California. We braved the bears, wag bags (if you don't know what this is, don't ask), 126 switchbacks in one section, crazy climbs in elevation, not showering for 3 days. spectacular views, great talks and a lot of fun.

Ivy's 1st Birthday

Well Ivy is 1. Some say she's a toddler now, but she still feels pretty little to me. Maybe she'll officially transition to toddlerhood when she can walk. Ivy is a joy. She is wild and crazy and I'm not really sure what to do with her. (Sound of Music - How do you solve a problem like Maria - comes to mind). I've never seen a messier eater - she's like a tornado at every meal. Herself, her seat, the floor, the curtains, the ceiling, us.... And she's always on the move, trying to climb up things, down things, out of things, eat things - dirt, sand, rocks etc. But everywhere she goes she flashes this infectious smile that is so vivacious and fun it lights up the room. The sparkle in her eye melts me. And her 3 second cuddles are the best. She crawls over, rests her head on my chest and gives me just enough time to happily sigh. I start to savor the moment but then she's leaping out of my arms off on a new adventure. Ivy we LOVE YOU!

Locked Out!

Last week I finished bathing the girls and put Ivy down for her morning nap. Lucy went in her room to dry off and I went out front to water the plants. Next thing I know Lucy decided to join me outside and she was buck naked. When I saw her in the buff we headed to the front door only to discover on Lucy's way out she locked the door. So here we were, locked out of the house, Ivy locked in the house. No hide-a-key, no cell phone. I found myself on our street corner, holding my naked 3 year old trying to flag down a car to borrow their cell phone. Fortunately Nate got the text and ran out of class and saved us!

McCall, ID

While Nate was slaving away working hard, I took the girls up to McCall, ID and stayed at my good friend Elizabeth's cabin. We had such a great time! They are fixing it up and Lucy's favorite thing was to help hammer the nails into the deck. We also enjoyed boating, swimming in the lake, Ice Cream Alley, playing on the shore, sea kayaking, beautiful trees, stars, fire pit, wholesome food and great company! Thanks Elizabeth!!!!!

Double Date Twins

We wanted to dress up like princesses, but made due with what we had - Hawaiian Pirate Princesses.
When we drove up from AZ we stopped in Utah to see cousins. James, Lucy and Haley had fun in the sand. It felt SOOO good to feel grass between our toes and see the mountains!
The girls love spending time with my dad, Papa.

A couple weekends ago Nate and I went on a double date with T & Phil. It was super awesome pulling up at Fancy Freeze and realizing Tara and I were wearing the SAME shirt!!!!! In junior high we meant to match, in high school we did everything we could to be set apart and now it is just too funny to be embarrassing!