Christmas at the Deckers

After a month of celebrating what I call "Christmas/Hanukkah" we finally had Christmas Eve and Christmas Day. First, I should explain "Christmas/Hanukkah"- as long as Mea was good every day, Santa left something in her stocking every night. I had never heard of such a thing, and I thought it was a lot like Hanukkah. One morning Mea was being especially naughty not wanting to get ready to go to day care and I told her by the count of three if she didn't start getting dressed Santa wasn't coming... "ONE... Mea, I'm not playing around... TWO... Mea don't make me do this! THREE... Fine Mea, Santa isn't coming." I few minutes later I went in to talk to her to tell her she could fix her problem (i.e. repent) and Santa could still come. She sobbed, "I'm neeever on the naughty list... " She is so funny sometimes. She always tries to be a good girl even if she struggles sometimes! Another day after seeing what Santa had brought her she exclaimed, "Santa REALLY knows me!" Christmas Eve Mea was at her dad's house and Santa visited her there. Sounds like she was a good girl because Santa brought her lots of presents. Mary and I spent the evening at Mary's parents house. We had a nice conversation as always. Christmas day was the best! Mea was so happy to see her three princess Barbies with sparkly dresses, a sparkly grey skirt and pink shirt with bow. She also got loose panties in her stocking. She got lots of toys and clothes from Mary and I. Mary is a great bargain shopper! I got Mea Play-dough. Mary got her a Magna-Doodle, a Fancy Nancy purse and pajamas. We played with toys in the morning and in the afternoon went to Mary's parents house. We made a beautiful gingerbread house.

We don't have any pictures, because I had to run to the store on Christmas Eve to get a disposable camera.

Mary is feeling better now with the pregnancy. The morning sickness has pretty much subsided, but now she is constantly uncomfortable no matter what position she is in. No fun! School is going well- she is a great teacher. It has been interesting to me to see the behind-the-scenes workings of an elementery school. Makes me grateful for good teachers and makes me wonder how to get rid of or fix the bad ones! (Sorry for getting opinionated!) The majority of Mary's blood flow has been to the baby in her belly. This means her brain has not been getting as much blood as necessary. This leds to some very entertaining ditzy moments! You have to watch that she doesn't wander off... Mea is doing well. She is really growing. She is a lot more slender than she used to be. She has a great sense of humor and loves to tease. Call her a tomato sometime and see what happens! I am very busy with work. I am speaking at a science meeting in San Diego on January 13th. It is really exciting to be speaking at a major scientific meeting less than two years into my PhD, but it is a little stressful at the same time. I have lots of work to do and I want to make sure I don't embarass myself. I am excited to go to New Mexico in January and see my family. I am looking forward to meeting my new sister-in-law and further explaining to her how to manage living with my brother! I can't wait to see the cows, I miss not being around them. Hope you all had a Merry Christmas and wish you all the best in the New Year! Jared Decker and family

Boy oh Boy!

We went for our ultrasound yesterday. It was very neat to see the healthy baby. The whole appointment he was curled into a ball. Knees to nose, feet above his head. With a little work they told us the news...It's a BOY! While I was excited and Jared was excited. Mea is going to take some time to completely warm up to the idea. She was a little sad, but after I told her she would be the only princess in the house, she perked up a little. I think she is happy to be a sister, and was excited to see the baby. A part of me was sad for her too, but then I got to thinking about the having one beautiful girl and one handsome boy at home. Finally the rational part of me kicked in and I have decided she's 3, she'll get over it. On the way to school, Mea asked me if next time I could have a girl....uggg...everyone is thinking that there may be a next time but me!!! Just kidding....kind-of!

Where has the time Gone???

After a month of not posting, I fell really bad and need to let everyone in on what is going on. Sorry for the long post and the many pictures. Most of the people who read this blog know at least some of what is going on, but I still fell the need to re-live the last month. For Mea: The month has been a lot of fun. She has enjoyed playing dress up on a regular basis (nightly). She love Halloween and was both Snow White and Ariel. Mea is very helpful and it has been amazing how much her personality has blossomed over the last month. My mouse is quite the trickster and loves to tease everyone. She is also repeating the phrases that I have been using since her birth and they are coming back to bite me. For instance, we were all in the living room. Mea was dressed up and I began laughing at her outfit. Her reply to me was "Mom, it is not a big deal...I'm fixing it." It was very funny. She has enjoyed going to the pumpkin patch 5 times. Mrs. McCoy decided she was her best customer. She also went to a cow show in KC, to see Grandma and Grandpa Decker. Mea is going to be a cow girl, I am nearly positive. She wanted to be right in the middle of the action.There was also a petting zoo there which was a fun. Other than that, the only other thing she talks about is her soon to be brother or sister. Well, for Mea the only option is sister. She has talked about throwing a boy away, giving to her Aunt Erin or dressing and treating it like a girl. We find out the sex Thursday, hopefully she will be okay with either, otherwise the dr. might hear about it. For Jared: The cow show was his highlight. Jared even got to show one of the cows, and did a lot of work getting them all ready. I think that he enjoyed working with the animals again. Jared also got to go camping with the boyscouts. He was stinky when he came home, but seemed to enjoy himself. A lot of his time is spent on the computer working on school/work stuff. Jared is excited about the baby and laughs at Mea's insistence that it is a girl. We will see! Masterpiece pumpkin. For Me: October was fun. I enjoyed the cow show...shocking I know. I even touched the cows without making a face, wore boots the whole weekend, and learned a lot about what makes a good cow good. Physically, I am feeling a lot better. Most of the morning sickness is gone, and I am just constantly dealing with heartburn. I'm not sure which is worse. I had a seizure scare earlier in October, but have made some decisions about what to do and am feeling pretty good about the situation. I have to laugh at the random ailments I deal with while pregnant! It makes me want to adopt any more babies, but I have not convinced Jared on this. **Look for an update after Thursday- hopefully we will have a baby update!

A movie

Princess Mea thinks she is a movie star, so we made another movie last night. This is the edited version. She jabbered to the computer for a good 5 mins. The first part is to Grandma Margie and papa...then wait for the last part. It is what Papa England sees from the stand at church every other Sunday. Our conversation after the movie ended "Mea, what does that sign mean?" Me to Mea "He'll know what it means" "What does it mean?" Me to Mea "It's a secret!"

Give Me A Break!!

,I know, I know it has been forever since I last posted. I tried the excuse that I am so busy, but in all actuality I just didn't think I had much going on to post about. My family informed me last night that I am wrong. So here is the skinny... School is going great. My students are fun, I have a couple of difficult students, I have handed out 3 suspensions, but have taught a lot and have seen a ton of progress. Mea is doing well. She is happy, growing a lot and continues to be dramatic. The new big decision is what to be for Halloween (right now she is going to be a mermaid). Jared and Mea went on a "date" this weekend to the MU Ag. Open House and had a ton of fun. They ate bugs (Jared a real on and Mea candy) which Mea made sure to tell her whole daycare about. Jared is super busy. He is getting home late, eating dinner and dashing back to work. His research is going well and he seems very excited about his progress. He had a birthday last week. Mea and Jared had a long discussion about being 26 and how old he is. It was a funny conversation to listen to. Tyler, Erin's baby, finally arrived and Mea loves taking about him. She was thrilled to see him at the hospital and has enjoyed holding and "playing" with him. We are glad everyone is happy and healthy. So in a nut shell that is life. I am posting a video mostly for the Deckers. Mea and I talked about families for FHE and she decided to make a video for them. Life is good. We are busy and happy!

Butterflies and Spaghetti

This one is from the fourth of July- so cute!!

Okay, so Spaghetti and butterflies have nothing in common, except I have pictures to post about both, and both events were a lot of fun. The pictures were taken on my cell phone so they are not the best quality, but you'll get the idea! A couple of weeks ago we went to the Butterfly House in St. Louis. It was a ton of fun, and Mea seemed to enjoy the afternoon (regardless of what is seems in the pictures). We had a picnic lunch, went to see the butterflies, and then rode on the Carousel. There were lots of butterflies to look at, even Azure ones like in Fancy Nancy (Mea's favorite books). I think, the feature Mea liked the most was the huge funnel tube that you drop coins in and they spin around and around, to donate money. She dropped in several coins. The park was great, so it was a great day!

Now for the spaghetti, early last week I made spaghetti for dinner. Nothing too special, but I had forgotten that it is one of Mea's favorites. She filled her plate and ate a so much. It was hilarious. She had sauce every where ear to ear and head to toe. Then she decided she needed bread and butter. As you can see there is a lot more butter than bread. I guess the "butter snatcher" nickname will stick for a couple of more years. I am not sure that I have laughed so hard in quite a long time.

My Little Fish

This is her camera smile- She is in the car ready for Stephens Lake.
We have been swimming a lot this summer and it has payed off the last couple of weeks. Mea learned how to "swim". Basically, it is a float with her legs flailing and arms moving, but she is starting to move forward. It is super cute! This was one of the proudest I have been of her this summer. She worked and worked and is really proud of herself as well. I was impressed by her persistence. It started with just going under. Then she would go under longer(which is scary in a lake- I worried that she was drownding), and with a little coaching she has gotten to this point. Every time I asked her to do something or made a suggestion, she did it with a smile. I call her my little fish, but she prefers mermaid.

I'll post a video this weekend. Our stolen internet just isn't very fast tonight.

Random pictures that make me SMILE!

So far this summer has been great so I thought I would post some of my favorite moments captured with a camera so far. At times I just have to laugh at how happy I am right now. Life is really great! Mea seems really happy and I love spending days with her. She is so smart, funny and strong willed. Jared is supportive, kind and good lookin to boot ;-)! Can it get any better?

Nora and Mea at the zoo- Everyone had a good day!


My little water bug!! She loves to swim and her brown skin and blonde hair are so cute!!

The next to are sideways- sorry I didn't take the time to fix them. They are still great!Mea loves ice cream and her step daddy!


Mea and Nora eating treats by the pool they were tasty!

Watching the horse races in NM. That was a lot of fun- Mea is hoping the pink horse wins- she picked pink every time!- No gambling took place.

Mea's beautiful new cousin Shaylee. They had a ton of fun together!

Wedding Reception Pictures

I like this picture because it captured how I felt- so excited!!

Grandma Margie and Jared dancing- she's pretty good!!
I love to dance with Jared- and am getting much better. So much fun!!


I stole this one from Mar
gie- My sisters are the best...my biggest cheering section and my best friends!


This was at the end of the night; we were all pretty tired.




This picture also captures my feeling pretty well. Jared's face says "so happy to be near the cows", Mea's face "still not sure about this cow stuff", Mary "I am really not sure about this but will pretend for Jared's sake".

New Mexico "Land of Enchantment"

After the wedding we flew to New Mexico to meet family and celebrate. We left early Tuesday morning. Flying and traveling always makes me nervous, but we got to the airport with out any problems. Just as I was getting comforatble, problems began. We sat on the runway during Mea's lunch time for about a hour and an half. Missed our connecting flight, were stranded in Dallas for five hours, and after sitting hoping to get on standby and going from gate to gate hoping to get on a plane we finally made a flight and got to New Mexico around 11pm. It was an exausting, patience trying trip, but Mea did great and we made it. When Mea got off the plane and in the truck the first things she said was "Why did they turn all of their grass into dirt?" and that "they really needed to water out here" I laughed and was surpized at how observant she is. The mountains were beautiful and while there was a lot of dirt, the senery was spactacular. The next week we met family, including Mea's new best friend/cousin Shaylee. The girls had a lot of fun playing. They both have big blue eyes and look like they could be blood, not to mention that their presonalities fit well together too. Mea can't wait to go back and visit. The reception was so much fun. The food was great, the dancing was tons of fun, (the lessons in the basement payed off), and meeting all of the people I had heard so much about was great. Everyone worked really hard to make the night special, and I am so thankful for all the hard work that was put in. I have to say that the cake was my favorite part. It was so cool, and yummy to boot. The last thing I had to write about was branding...you are reading this right, branding...as in burning defensless calves skin with a hot iron. I am proud of my self for getting through that. Cows make me uneasy and I had never been in any situation like that before. It was an experience. I got the low down and when we began and my job was to mostly stay out of the way. Each calf had to be roped, branded, given shots, and had their ear tagged and tattooed. On the first cow, I thought I might cry. The poor things looked really scared and I knew the branding must hurt. My feeling were a mixture of city girl "animal rights" to family loyalty/pride"I am going to show them. Determined to gut through, I decided to jump in and help, and in the end was an okay assistant for this being my first experience with large animals. Everything went smootly, and there is no way anyone will be stealing Fancy Nancy (the cow Mea named). I am pushed out of my comfort zone everyday!! We had a good trip but are happy to be home, settling into our new life.

We are married!!

On June 12th, Jared and I were sealed in the Nauvoo IL temple. It was beautiful and everything worked out perfectly! The sealing took place at 9:00 am. After the ceremony we took some pictures, ate some lunch and headed out for Chicago. We were so thankful that all the people we love and care about were with us in person or at least in thought. I was nice to share the day. We are so happy and cannot wait to start real life together. Perfect shoes, perfect dress, perfect husband, perfect family, perfectly perfect!

Real life will be delayed a week. On Tues we head out to NM for a reception. It will be really nice. I am excited to meet all of Jared friends and family, and show off my new dance moves ;-)! After that we will be home for good and the tasks of real life will start up again. I am sooo excited!

LIFE IS WONDERFUL!!

I'll post more pictures soon.

School's out for SUMMER!!

I have to say that this has been the longest quarter!! No breaks, rainy weather, and sickness in the classroom has not made it easy to teach a room full of prepubescent fourth graders. I am so excited to be a mom, and to have a little more time to be a great mom. You know... the cookie bakin', project makin', playin' at the park kind of mom. Mea asked when we could say home this morning, and I was happy that I could promise soon and mean it. I still have a few school things to finish, but for the most part I can walk out today and not go back until August! This summer is is packed with fun plans. I am looking forward to the pool, sleeping as late as Mea will let me and relaxing. Not to mention getting married and meeting our new family members. Faith Hills sunshine and summer time is my mantra right now ;-)!!!

Pictures at Last

A couple of weeks ago, we took engagement pictures at Shelter Gardens. I finally am posting pictures. They turned out really good and Mea had a great time. Sue, Jared's mom captured some great ones!

We are really starting to gel as a family, and it is so nice. Family home evening, prayer, and play has really pulled us together over the last month. I can't wait until we all live under one roof.

Yes, she really is a princess!

Aurora
Snow White
Belle

I had to publish these pics. A lot of our time at home is spent dressing up, talking about clothes, or fighting about what to wear. After Mea opened her dress up clothes from Grammy and Papa, we all had to watch a fashion show!

My Princess is 3...Holy Cow!

I know that this is completely cliche to say, but Man, kids grow up fast!!! Just three years ago Mea was being born into this world and now she is telling me, "I am a big girl!'' I have to agree with her she is so big, and beautiful, and really the most fantastic part of my life. Never would I have imagined how my world would change. I am amazed at how such a little girl would be such a big part of my world. I look at her and think that she got the very best parts of all the people in her life. She is silly and funny like her Papa... she is blond and loving like her Grammy... she is the perfect combination of girly and athletic like her aunts...she knows how to work like her dad...and I think she got my pigeon toes (I know not the best thing to pass on, but true). She giggles and it makes me laugh to the very core, and when she runs to give me a hug or say I love you I melt. While she is three and has all of the difficult traits of a three year old, I have to say Mea is the best little girl in the world. I got pretty lucky with her! I love her more than I can put into words and I hope that someday she will understand.

Mea got a new bike and learned how to ride pretty quickly!

LOTS of presents= 1 spoiled little girl! ;-)!