Sanders Voyage

Summer time!

2011-07-05T17:47:00.000-07:00

This is such a wonderful time for me. Finally I get my beloved Summer and all the heat that comes with it. This summer has been quite busy: I have a new baby and the girls have a very busy schedule. The first 3 weeks after Aria was born were absolutely misserable. I can hardly look back at those weeks and not shudder, but at the same time I loved having my sweet little baby with me. Now she is 1 1/2 months old and we are doing great! She's a chubby baby that does nothing but eat all day and she is also sleeping better. Chubby baby + better sleep = happy mom. The girls are back to swimming lessosn now that I can drive again, and they are doing great. they are not going to Dimple Dell anymore (not for lessosn anyway), they are taking private lessons with Bella's ex gymnastics coach Baylee. They are doing great and have already jumped off the diving board. Giada is so happy that she can finally take swimming lessosns with her sisters and she has a blast every time she goes there. They are taking the lessons at the Pepperwood swimming pool wich is very nice. One day I will be rich enough to live there. Don't laugh, is not a joke. Seriously, is not. Anyway.... they are doing great in gymnastics too. They just had their Summer recital wich was a lot of fun (thanks Justin for coming to see them) and they are getting ready for school, but I won't talk about that because I just wanna pretend that Fall will never happen.
Dane is doing well at work, but honestly, I can hardly wait for the day when he can finally end that chapter of his life. I mean, I am grateful that he has a job, don't get me wrong, but Dane is such a smart and wonderful guy and that place is just not for him. He works so hard, but that is hardly the point in that place, his job the way i see it, is like a luck game more than skills or strategy. So, it doesn't matter how hard he works (he has even worked off the clock to try to improve his situation) but if the people just don't want to pay (for all of you who don't know, he works in the collection department of franklin Capital corporation wich is a branch of Franklin tempelton that does car loans) then there's just that and a lot of people are just asking to have their car picked u(repossessed), wich is not Dane's fault but he is the one to suffer for it. So, excuse my complaining but his job is very frustrating and I hate to see him try so hard for nothing. So I can't wait for him to get over the long waiting list to get back to school and continue where his being so awesome and smart really count for something.
I'm doing well too. I have an appointment with the Dr. tomorrow because after a c-section there is a 2% chance to get an internal infection and my luck ran out after 3 c-sections without getting said infection. So I got it and it is mighty painful, but I took my medicine like a good girl and so I have to go make sure I'm all better. Also, I started exercising again today (yay!!!). I missed exercising SOOO much, and after being in bed rest for several months and then having surgery, exercising was such a treat :) I'm not doing insanity because when Jennie was nursing Leila and she started doing insanity, she said that her milk started to dry up, so I just started with Hip Hop Abs. Lucky for me I didn't try to start with Insanity because even Hip Hop Abs kicked my tushy. But I'm just so excited and can't wait to exercise again tomorrow. And the day after. And the day after that and.... :)
The girls have a parade on the 16th (Days of 47 youth parade) and Dane is going to be marching with the G.V. Ward Primary all with the lime green shirt and everything (yes, I will have pictures). I talked to Aunt Susan, and she wants to have a BBQ for pioneer's day and then We have plans to go to St George to celebrate Kash's birthday. We are all so excited! Also, we are going to bless Aria the first Sunday of August, and then of course, there is my awesome 32nd birthday. Summer is just so much fun, and even though I didn't post all the things we have to do, this are the ones I can remember right now :)
Anyway, I hear Bella crying so I have to go investigate, so I don't have time to post any pictures right now, but I'll do that soon. 'Till then!

Welcome Aria!

2011-05-29T12:45:00.000-07:00

This was the hardest pregnancy I've had: The first 3 months I could hardly stop throwing up, and when the awful nausea seemed to start getting better I started having more serious problems. They started just a couple days before Scott and Tobi went back to Malaysia, at the beggining of November, but the Doctor, Dane and I didn't become really concerned until the day they were going to leave. So that day, my wonderful husband and wonderful Father-in-law gave me a blessing in wich said the baby was going to make it to full term and be born to this world without any physical or mental problems. And despite all the scares, all the trips to the ER, to the hospital, all the tests and ultrasounds and the concern of my doctor who said he could only keep his fingers crossed, and my Bishop who told me to be prepared for the worst (he is a Doctor too) the 17th of May at 1:19 in the afternoon the words of that blessing came true, and the most beautiful baby girl made her arrival to this world without any problems.
Little Aria Lucia Sanders, as her name indicates, is a melody of light, a testimony of faith and of the priesthood and a wonderful blessing in our lives.
Even though she was born 1 week and 1 day before her actual due date, she has been our biggest baby weighing 8 pounds and 2 ounces and 21 inches long. She's had the lightest hair of all four of them as well and a little tiny nose that doesn't look either like Dane's or like mine. She has dimpled cheeks and what looks so far like blue eyes. I call her my "nubecita" (little cloud) because she reminds me of those little clouds that you see in the otherwise clear summer sky, all tiny, white and cuddly. Just looking at her I feel so peaceful inside and I can't stop thanking my Heavenly Father for her and her 3 bigger sisters that, like mommy and daddy are completely crazy about her.

Getting ready for the C-section

Finally here!

Big baby!

Daddy holdind her while "all the kings horses and all the kings men try to sow me together again"

First "well check up"

First bath

Ahhhh, All clean :)

Time to meet the sisters!

Nonna with all of her granddaughters

Sweet little Aria, my "nubecita"

Arriving home. The girls had made this beautiful sign to welcome me and Aria home. They decorated each one of the letters. It was sooo beautiful!!

Welcome to the world sweet little Aria!!!

Dinosaurs and Tulips.

2011-05-01T19:09:00.000-07:00

This past Saturday, thanks to my brother Gabriel and his soon to be wife Janel, we went to Thanksgiving Point to the Museum of ancient life and the Tulip festival. It was awsome! The girls had a ton of fun, here are the pictures. Since one image is worth a thousand words, I better do that, or we'll end up with a very long post ;)

I think this one is funny because the girls and the dinosaurs have the same attitude.

And on this one is like the dinosaur thinks Leah's ear looks tasty.

And these are at the Tulip festival:

And that's where my cammera ran out of batteries.
The End.

Easter!

2011-04-25T14:57:00.000-07:00

Ok, this year we had a really fun Easter. I think that Holidays with kids make all the difference. We started early on Saturday going to Dimple Dell for an Easter Egg Dive at the pool where the girls take swimming lessons. That was very fun. Each age group would have 15 minutes to get as many eggs as they could, then you would trade the eggs for a big bag of candy and other stuff (silly bands, stickers, tattoos, etc). Dane had to work that day so my brother Daniel came with me since they were separated by ages, but I had to be in the water with them. We went home after and got ready for Grandfather's birthday but we couldn't be at the luncheon since Dane had to work until 1:00pm and he got back home at 2:00pm. We went to the Tree House and Dane was able to spend some time with cousins and siblings playing wallyball and basketball while Leah, Bella and Giada ran all over the place. After that we took the girls to the park because they were so sad to miss going back to Pam's house (we went on Friday night and they loved it there and when we left we told them it was Ok because we were going to go back the next day), then we went to chuck-a-Rama and then we went back home to paint the eggs for the Easter Bunny. On Sunday morning the girls woke up and went egg hunting and they were having so much fun. With the eggs they found presents from the Easter Bunny and a very unexpected letter: I think you all have heard about Leah's school project about Larry the Leprechaun. Well, Leah has been so excited about this project, so much so, that she made a "trap" for Larry with a jewerly box full of green things that he was going to be unable to resist, and once he got in the jewerly box to look at the things he would be trapped inside of it. The letter was from the Easter Bunny telling her that sometimes he likes to bring some friends along to hide the eggs and this year he had Larry the Leprechaun with him. He said that Larry wasn't very good at hiding eggs and that when he was done hiding them Larry was nowhere to be found. He said he had to go looking for him all over the house and finally found him in Leah's room inside of a box and that he had to help him get out of there. He said that Larry told him that he found that box full of wonderful things that he wanted to take with him (among others were a green sock and a tinkerbell Valentine's card) and the Easter Bunny told him he could take the sock but that he had to leave the card since it was from one of Leah's friends from school. I wish you could have seen Leah's face while Dane was reading the letter to her. Also, she had left a little chocolate bunny for the Easter Bunny and she was very happy to see that he had nibbled on it, and she took the letter, with the postcards we received last week and the nibbled on chocolate bunny to show in her school today. The girls spent the rest of the afternoon watching the movies the Easter Bunny got for them and eating their chocolate bunnies and candy. All in all a wonderful weekend, and for the girls a very magical one :) Happy Easter everyone!

This pictures are from the Egg Dive:

And these are from Sunday:

Just checking in.

2011-04-21T13:49:00.000-07:00

I wish I was a good Blogger like Jennie who every time she posts you have to read 2 pages worth of posts or like Paula who always has something to say. I haven't been taking as many pictures as I used to and I do the same thing every week, so I feel like I'm just going to bore everybody to death if I post too often... But here I am with a little "I'm still alive" kind of post :)

Dane: He started a diet and exercise routine and he lost over 14 Lbs and then he just started a competition with Justin and he has lost other 5 Lbs since Monday. Yes, I am jealous. I could never loose 5 pounds in 4 days. He is doing all this preparing to the trip to Hawaii on May 2012. I am very proud of him and I can see a big difference not just on his body but in his attitude as well. He brought here yesterday a bag full of "sticky buns" that he got from work, and he didn't even have one. And I must say they were spectacular and I can't belive he was strong enough to resist. He is doing well at work as well, and he's still waiting to start nursing school.

Annie: I am 35 weeks and one day into my pregnancy. I had some tests done yesterday and another ultrasound. Aria is doing well. As I get closer to the D-day, I cannot help thinking "what on earth did I get myself into?" I am excited, don't get me wrong, but I am scared to death of being the mom of 4 little girls.
Other than being a mom, I don't do much. my days are getting up at 7am, get Leah ready for school, and then doing all the things the other 2 girls need, then getting them ready for their gymnastics or swimming lessons, and then get back, give them dinner, get them in bed, go get Dane from the train, get home, watch "Bones" with Dane and go to bed. So that's why I don't blog very often, I do that over and over again. I love it, but since it's always the same, I don't talk about it much :)

Leah: She keeps going to Kindergarten and she is doing great. She is also doing great in her gymnastics where she will start in competition level 3 after her preformance next Friday. The difference between regular level 3 and competition level 3 is, well, that they go to state and national competitions. but you can only get to those levels by invitation only, so we are very proud of her. Regular gymnasts don't start competing until level 5. She also loves her swimming lessons and has learned so much. The other day when we were leaving the pool after class she said to me "mom, you know how you are not very good at swimming? well, I think it is because you have to do this and that..." and she started giving me instructions on how to swim... I guess I do need the instructions since when I swimm I do it so wrong that somehow I start going backwards. I'll have to take lessons after the baby is born.

Bella: She loves gymnastics and swimming as well. When we go to the pool she looks like a little fish, she's just natural in the water! And then she tells me (very loudly BTW) how much she LOOOOOOVES swimming underwater and stuff. In gymnastics she looks like a little monkey. They can only go to level 1 when they turn 5, so Bella has been in Totts and then advanced Totts for over a year now, and not only she knows her stuff well, she's starting to get a little bored and invent her own stuff, to the dismay of her new coach, since the other kids in her class think it's way more fun to do things the way Bella does them than the normal way. Her former coach wants to get her into "mini cubs" wich is a competition level for Toddlers, but now she has a new coach, so we'll se what happens.

Giada: She's such a happy little girl. She talks a LOT and I just LOVE to be able to communicate with her. She understands to a point the fact that I have a baby in my tummy and she gives her baby sister kisses all the time. She wants to see when my tummy moves and she puts her little hand to feel her as well. She sings all day and never goes anywhere walking, she has to run. She wakes up happy and goes to bed happy. Hardly ever cries. She's very outgoing and waves "hello" to everybody outside who happens to look her way. (sometimes even if they don't, she'll wave and say hi just the same) She adores her daddy and she gets upset every time I take him to the train, and starts saying that she wants her daddy to come back "RIGHT NOW!".

I could actually talk about my girls all day, they are my life and my joy. I think I will instead show some pictures i took this past month. Not many, I'll try to do better...

This is the day we took my mom to the airport to go to Italy. In this picture are (other than Dane and the girls) My brother Daniel with his wife Anna, and my brother Gabriel with his fiance Janel and her 3 daughters.

Then, this pictures are of Dane making cookies with the girls. That's a new little tradition we have on Sundays, that I make lunch and then Dane makes some kind of treat with the girls.

These are of gymnastics:

And these are some pictures Jennie took with her phone the day Julia sang the national Anthem for the bees game:

Proud parent moment :)

2011-03-21T17:46:00.000-07:00

Last week they gave Leah's class homework. It was a weather chart and a page with pictures of snow, rain, wind and sun. The kids were supposed to observe the weather during the whole week, and cut and glue the respective picture on the chart twice a day, then bring it back to School today (Monday) and show the class their observations.

Well, Leah was the ONLY ONE in her ENTIRE class who did the homework and brought it back to School today. She even colored the pictures that she glued on her chart, and the Teacher asked her to let her keep it in her office :)

Swimming!

2011-03-10T20:46:00.000-08:00

Today Leah and Bella started swimming lessons. From the time we mentioned the idea, they have been a little bit nervous about it, but also very excited. It scares them the thought of being in a swimming pool without a floating device, but the truth is that we don't want them to grow up to be like their mom. At least not in that aspect :) I arrived there a little early to make sure I had time to change them (since we had 14" of snow I had to dress them like Eskimos on top of their suimming suits) and to give them time to look at other lessons so they could see what it was like. When the time came, they did great and I couldn't be prouder. Had it been me, I would've been holding on to the teacher for dear life and screaming at the top of my lungs. Not them. They have always been terrified of getting their face under the water and 30 seconds into the lesson, they were both practicing that skill all by themselves. When the time came to leave they were non too happy. We bought a membership at Dimple Dell for a whole year to be able to go practice their swimming every Saturday and they don't stop talking about that. We went once already and they loved it, but this swimming without floaties was a whole new thing for them. They are busy little girls now, they have gymnastics on Mondays and Wednesdays and Swimming lessons on Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays. We have decided to get Bella into Challenger School for the year before she starts Kindergarten, so she will start going this Fall. (I am not looking forward to next Fall, but I sure am looking forward to Bella going to preeschool, she's so excited about it!) And Giada's wildest dreams will come true next year when she's finally going to join her sisters for gymnastics. It is so exciting to watch them grow and progress. Leah is a grown up in a little girl's body, but with a very sweet and tender heart. Bella has an unstopable imagination and is the best mom to all of her baby dolls. Giada is so sweet and happy and now that she's two, she's having a hard time with an internal dilemma: To make everybody happy or to do what she wants. Those are her two favorite things now, but she's found that they usually don't go together. I love my sweet little girls with all my heart and my life is a wonderful adventure thanks to them.
Here are some pictures of their first swimming lesson:

That's Leah, very concerned for her sister.

Yeah, tell me I'm not in trouble! but who can blame that boy for flirting with her?

Now, it was time for Leah's lesson:

They were just so happy! Ok, I started this post on Tuesday, and now it's Thursday when they had their second lesson, and I'm happy to report that they did even better than the last time and can't wait for Saturday :)

Of human stupidity?......

2011-02-18T09:27:00.000-08:00

I was on top of a cabinet, very tall indeed, and I was smashed against the ceiling trying to feed this grizzly bear that was getting angrier by the minute, until it started attacking me. I couldn't run away because I couldn't simply jump off the cabinet, so off course my dream changed: I was outside of an apartment facing the beach, and my mom was running downstairs to give me something, but she was running towards the bear. I knew that if I called her the bear would hear me, but I HAD to call her, you know, so the bear wouldn't get HER. So I did, I started yelling for her and finally she heard me, at the same time that the bear did. The bear turned around and looked at me straight in the eye and started running FAST (I remember thinking at that moment it looked more like a lion than a bear) and when my mom got to the top of the stairs the bear was right behind her, but I could see that the bear was after me, not after her, so I yelled "get in the other apartment!!" and I got inside the one I was before and when I slammed the door closed, I could feel the weight of the bear against the door and I knew that if I didn't get the locks on fast, the bear would be able to get the door off. I started trying to get the locks but my hands were shaking and that's when I woke up, still feeling scared, but able to see how dumb my dream had been after all. I will get back to this point in a moment.
Ever since I was a little girl, I have nightmares almost every night. Sometimes those nightmares are blood-chilling nightmares that keep me scared the rest of the night and I'm scared to go back to sleep (it happens often that once I go back to sleep the nightmare either repeats itself or continues where I left), or sometimes when I wake up I realize I'm awake and I can calm down. But they are there, the nightmares almost every night since I have memory. To this problem I have a few questions, the first is, why? I don't mean "oh, why me? Sob, sob, why do I have to have these nightmares? Sob, sob" No, what I mean is, Why do people actually HAVE nightmares at all? I mean it’s our own FREAKING brain putting those nightmares there!! And the worst part of all is that "We don't know we are dreaming until we wake up". When I think of MYSELF as a person, as a whole, you know, I like to include my brain as part of that, but it looks like our brains are their own team.
When I woke up from the bear nightmare I was so scared I was breathing fast and was almost crying. My brain thought that a bear was really chasing me, but it was my brain in the first place who put that stupid bear there. !!! It's like standing in front of a mirror and yelling "BOO!" and actually getting scared because of that. But is more than just that. It's like standing in front of a mirror, yelling "BOO!" getting scared and then asking "what the heck was that?!" and only when you come out of the room do you realize it was just you scaring yourself. It doesn't make sense that we have the capacity to create a story in our minds, sometimes in ridiculous circumstances that should, by all means let you know that what's going on is not real, and getting so scared because we actually DON'T KNOW that it was not real despite the fact that we are the ones creating the story. The way it should work is, our brain creates the story, and either we watch it or we are part of it, but KNOWING that it's a dream, and even having control over what happens. Our brains should play for our team and give us a Caribbean vacation after a long day or an exciting adventure after a dull one, but NOT an incredibly scary story where we are always at the losing end. Whether we are being chased by a zombie or we are just trying to run to or from something and we can't move fast enough, whether we are seeing a loved one die or we are just in school where we forgot either our clothes or our homework, our brain should NOT do that to us because our brain is a part of us. It should work FOR us and not AGAINST us. There shouldn't be a part of us that was capable of working against us at all. Period.

The Princess and the Unicorn.

2011-02-15T20:19:00.000-08:00

Leah has this white Unicorn that goes with her on her dream adventures. The other day, She went to bed and I told her I would be right there because I was feeding Giada, and when I went to her room I was too late, she was already asleep. Instead, I got to take this cute pictures of the Princess with her Unicorn.

An awesome weekend.

2011-01-18T08:24:00.000-08:00

My friend Becky Clayton sent me an e-mail inviting me to go to St George for a "ladies only getaway". I forwarded to Dane but without any real hope that I would be able to go. I just didn't think he would agree to stay home with the girls and be the one in complete charge of them. But he answered the e-mail saying that he totaly thought I should go and I started getting SO excited! So we made all the preparations and on Friday at around 2:30pm, Becky picked me up and off we went. We had 2 cars going there. In Becky's car were Becky (duh!), Jami Nielsen, Laura Jones,Holly Hendrikson and me, and in the other car were Kammi Burnet, Amy Harmer, Deeana Smith, Emily Spens, Lisa Palmer and Terra Gerritsen with no kids and no husbands. On our way there we talked and the time went by so fast that next thing we knew we were already there. That night we went to the Pizza Factory and then we went to the house where Amy read questions from a book called something like "Ask yourself" and whoever wanted answered the questions and we had so much fun getting to know eachother better. There were funny stories as well as sad and we just opened our hearts and we shared things that I'm sure we thought we would never share. We went to bed sooo late and the next day we went shopping and had so much fun. We stopped for lunch (when a group of 11 ladies go out shopping, the only thing that could stop them is hunger) and after lunch we had a mission: we went to find the shoes that kammi wanted so badly. Unfortunately, we didn't. After that we went home to unload, buy Kammi's shoes online and sing happy birthday to her where to told her or super secret plan: we were taking her out to dinner for her birthday. So we went to Olive Garden, one of Kammi's favorites and we had a great dinner and again, a great time. After that, half of the group had to head back to SLC and the other half stayed another night playing games, eating some more snacks, lauging and lauging until it hurt. The next day we woke up early and we were all packed up and ready to go at 6:45am so we could be on time for church. Becky drove like a maniac (JK) and we were able to drop Jami at the blessing where she needed to be at 10:30am, and I got home before 11 in time to help poor desperate Dane find the church clothes for the girls. We had such and amazing time. We already started planning our next year's trip and we can hardly wait. When we got home all the kids were still alive and happy and the husbands were as well. Even though we missed them so much this getaway was much needed and greatelly appreciated. So I want to thank Becky for planning this amazing trip, for providing the house, and I want to thank all the ladies who came for making this such an amazing and unforgettable weekend. The memories that we made this weekend will last a lifetime.
At the pizza Factory.

Just talking and reading questions from the book.

Kammi reading her birthday card.

Kammi after she discovered her birthday present from all of us.

Kammi's "Chocolate smile"

Getting ready to go to dinner.

At Olive Garden.

Playing games. We played "Settlers of Catan" where Jami was crowned with victory, and then we played what Becky called "the food storage game" and then a question game.

Becky loves her thumb. Here she wanted to find out what it would look like with ears.

Getting ready for bed, I just started taking random pictures.
This is where Becky and Jami slept.

Here is Becky showing Jami how funny one of her random pictures was.

Here is where Lisa slept. Cute Jammies! :)

Teeth brushing time. Judging by Becky's face, there was a very stubborn something stuck in there. Get it hard Becky!

In the car on our way back. I only took this picture because it was still dark outside and I blinded everyone with the flash...

Little baby girl.

2010-12-23T22:55:00.000-08:00

One thing is for sure: this baby girl is in TROUBLE!!!!! Not even born yet and she has caused so much trouble already, she's going to be grounded until she's 50.
Many of you might know what's going on, (many of you might not but not be interested anyway) but since this blog is also a way to keep record for our family, here it is anyway.
Ok, on my first ultrasound, I had the 25th of May as my due date, making me today 18 weeks and 3 days, and my ultrasound yesterday showed that I was 19 weeks. The Doctor said we'll still go with the 25th, so Jennie, the calendar still has it right :)
On Tuesday the 30th of November I started spotting a little bit, but after talking to the nurse, she told me not to worry that it was normal. On Friday of that same week, however, I woke up to have a heavier bleeding, so we called the doctor and they ordered me an ultrasound, in which showed that I have a tear between the wall of the uterus and the sac. The good news is that the tear was away from the placenta, the bad news is that the tear could get bigger, so they told me to take it very easy, lay down as much as possible, which means that I have to lay down most of the day, if I have to get up and do something light, then do it, but then go back to bed. I did, I came back and I spent the rest of the day on the couch, but still that night when I woke up at 3am to use the bathroom, I was soaked in blood and the bed and just imagine a lot of blood so I don't have to keep describing. Dane took me to the E.R. right away and after several exams, and since they were unable to compare the results from both ultrasounds, it was determined that baby and I were Ok, so I was sent home with a double order to take it easy, which I've been trying, but this 3 little girls make it very hard. Then on Sunday night I woke up again in the middle of the night bleeding again, and this time also with a horrible pain, which ended up being contractions, and then the doctor was not concerned just for the tear getting bigger, but also for me going on labor, because that early in pregnancy, there is nothing it could be done. Sooooo, days have passed, and I have had some bleeding on and off, and pain on and off as well, and severe pain and bleeding if I try to even do any moderate effort. Yesterday I had another ultrasound in which we received some good news and some bad news. Good news, baby is alive and ok. Bad news, I'm not just not healing, the tear is still there, I have hematoma all over the place and the placenta is also bleeding and starting to detach. So, as little as I feel like I've been doing, apparently I'm still doing too much. It's tough to balance, especially with the girls. And to be honest, the emotional part is just as hard as the physical, e.g. Today Dane was working, and my mom had to go out, so I left the girls downstairs watching a movie while I lay down, because I started having one of those episodes of severe pain, but when the worst part of the pain was over I got up again, and I heard Giada yelling "Mom, arriba!!" (That’s what she says when she wants to be picked up) and my heart was shattered in tiny little pieces knowing that I couldn't go get her and that I was alone to ask for help. So she had to sit on the swing for 4 long hours until my mom came back, that whole time feeling desperate to just be able to have her in my arms. I miss my little Giada so much and I know it's been tough on her as well, because at least I know why I'm doing it, but as much as I explain it to her, I know she doesn't understand why I don't hold her anymore as I used to. So on top of everything, I'm also an emotional wreck, so please forgive me.
Anyway, so this is what's happening with this little baby and all the mess she's causing without even knowing. But she's more than worth it, my sweet little angel.

Tic tic tic tic..... Tic tic tic tic

2010-10-19T13:57:00.000-07:00

That is the sound that has kept me up the past two nights. Tic tic tic tic..... Tic tic tic tic..... ARGH! There were TWO mice in the kitchen. Weather starts getting colder, field animals start looking for refuge. I understand how it works, and I've always worked really well with those animals: they come, I kill them. We HAD a system. When Dane and I saw these 2 mice, the first was under the stove and the second was under the fridge. They were NOT scared or shy as mice are supposed to be. We were talking in the kitchen, laughing even as these shameless creatures CAME OUT from their hiding place! We looked at them, and they went on their business like nobody was there. After taking Dane to the train station, I went to buy some mouse traps, and came back home with 6 of them. The first poor mouse was trapped within the hour. The second one HOWEVER has kept well away, and it doesn't matter where I put the traps, it keeps avoiding them. Dane said that when there were two, they were braver, but now that it's down to one, the mouse is as scared as a mouse should be. Well, I don't know what to do. I have the kitchen covered in mouse traps (child safe traps, or Giada would already be a goner. She gets into everything.) but the mouse is still here enjoying the benefits of our home. And the Tic tic tic tic..... Tic tic tic tic continues EVERY night, and every night I go to the kitchen, open cabinet doors, the oven, EVERYTHING, but the stupid thing is nowhere to be seen! If any of you knows The Pied Piper, PLEASE give me the phone number, you know how much pregnant women treasures her sleep, and this tic tic tic is depriving me of a privilege that was sparse to begin with.

Shower Prayers

2010-10-04T08:55:00.000-07:00

Most of my significant prayers happen in the shower. If you ask a mom with little kids, you'll know that this is not so uncommon. This particular day however, I was not praying for anything specific, mostly just being grateful for the wonderful family I had been blessed with. That's when it happened. I was hit with a feeling so overwhelming, it had me holding on to the shower walls and crying (bawling actually) and I couldn't control myself for a while. The feeling that I had was that we were supposed to have another baby, and it was so strong, loud and clear but also sweet and tender at the same time.
When Giada was born it never occurred to me that we were done having babies, but one day talking about it with Dane he said he thought we shouldn't have anymore. I complained for a while so we got to the compromise that if our financial situation changed dramatically before I turned 35 (because I don't wanna have kids after 35 and the gap between kids would be just too big) then we would have more kids. So that day when I had that feeling, and I was able to get a hold of myself, I looked up and said "OK, but if you want me to have another baby, you are gonna have to talk to Dane because he is the one who doesn't want to." That same week, just one or two days after that day, Dane came to me saying that he thought we should have another baby. I am embarrassed to say that I panicked. I thought he would be much more difficult to convince than that, and I didn't even expect to feel the way I was feeling. But all those months of struggling financially made me more content with the decision of not having any more kids than I was aware of. So when Dane came to me saying that he felt we should have another baby, I was too scared. I argued about how or situation hadn't changed and reminded him of our agreement. For a while we continued that way, with him bringing up the subject almost every day and me refusing. Inside of me I knew he was right and I knew what I had to do but I was so scared I didn't even bring myself to tel him about the experience I had. Finally he convince me to fast and pray about it with him (I was afraid he would suggest this for I knew what the answer would be) but I agreed to do it. One Sunday, I think it was the last Sunday of July, we finally got to it and when we were going to bed I went to the bathroom and when I came out Dane had a very peculiar expression on his face. I asked him what was up and he said "You knew didn't you? you know we were supposed to have another baby and you didn't tell me" I started laughing and I told him about that day in the shower. He said "Oh great, so what are we doing here? we are just being hungry for nothing!" So I called my OBGYN the next day to make an appointment to get my IUD removed, and I had it done on the 20th of August. The 21st of September I had a positive pregnancy test.
We are really excited about this baby, and even though I am so embarrassed that I doubted and refused to follow what I knew we were supposed to do, now that I did I couldn't be happier. We couldn't be happier. This is such a great blessing and we are so full of joy.
We wanted to wait until I was 12 weeks along to tell people, but let's be honest, with my 4th baby, there is no way I can hide this for so long. I already feel like I can't hide it anymore because my clothes already don't fit me the same.
So there you have the story behind the news. This is a very special story for us and we hold it very close to our hearts, so we thought it would be nice to share it with you all.

Leah's first day of School.

2010-08-30T12:04:00.000-07:00

A new adventure started today. My little baby Leah, who apparently is not a baby anymore started school today. I can hardly believe she is going to school because I can remember how little she felt in my arms when she arrived in this world and I could swear it hasn't been that long, but there she was, happy and excited as always when there is a new adventure ahead.
I was a little misinformed about the bus schedule. I was told that the bus would get to the stop at 8:45AM so when Leah yelled at 8:28 "Mom, I just saw the bus pass by!!!" I was NOT happy about that. Luckily she was all ready to go and it was I who had to go out with my hair looking like a mop. But that is not the sad part. I wanted to take pictures and video of her walking to the bus, the bus arriving, her getting in the bus, and instead, I had to run out the door, yell at Amy harmer to please tell the bus driver to wait, ran dragging Leah up the street and rush her in the bus, and then ran back to the house to get Dane so we could follow the bus. So we did, we got in the car as fast as we could and started following the bus all the way to School. Along the way, I realized we had 2 more cars driving behind us so we were not the only sentimental parents out there.
Leah was so cute, she was sitting on the very back of the bus with Mary Jane (Amy Harmer's daughter) and we saw her every time one of her friends got in the bus, getting up waving and greeting them.
We got to the school and I ran to be able to take pictures of Leah getting off the bus and going with her friends. (I had to have at least that). She wasn't one bit nervous, just very happy and excited. She was all ready to go and take the world in her hands while I was left there trying my hardest to be brave and let go. I've always said Leah is way braver than me.
When it was time, i went outside to wait for the bus and she got here so happy telling me all about her day, and she just loved it, every second of it. She was telling me so many things and i wanted to remember every word, so I started writing down our conversation, this is what I got:
Me: Who did you ride the bus with?
Leah: Janie, we rode the bus together on our way there and on our way back too.
Me: What did you do during recess?
L: We stayed inside because it was raining so hard, so we had story time and animal crackers. The white kind.
Me: What was your favorite thing you did in school today?
L: I had two favorite things: coloring a train, and making the “hero” hat.
Me: Tell me about the hero hat.
L: I put stars on it, and the reason why it's called a hero hat it’s because it has the word hero on it. We also read a story about trains.
Me: And what was it about?
L: A little red train was gonna take some toys to the children on the other side of the mountain. , but the engine broke down, so the toys and some other engines trid to help bring the toys to the other side of the mountain. And some of the trains were different kinds of trains, and one of the black trains was just too tired to move. And then a little blue train came and the little blue train could take the toys to the other side of the mountains. But it was a very little train, so he didn’t think he could bring the toys to the other side of the mountain, but he did! And when the little train went up the mountain he said “I think I can, I think I can I think I can” and then when the train was at the very top of the mountain he said “I knew I could”
Me: Wow, that's a beautiful story. You have that book here. Granny and Grampa gave it to you when you were smaller than Giada. Now tell me about your teacher.
L: She was very nice to me. Her name is Mrs. Oaekson.
Me: Did you get to play?
L: Well, not really.
Me: Did you make any new friends?
L: Aha, yeah, they were very nice.
Me: Do you remember any of their names?
L: No… not really.
Me: What else do you wanna talk about?
L: About my soup, it's ready!
So that was it for my interview because little empty stomachs make remembering hard. We did laugh a lot at her comment though :)
Here are some pictures. Forgive that they are not in the right order. this blogger thing is crazy and I'm out of time to fix it...

Wishing upon a star...

2010-05-19T10:22:00.000-07:00

The other day we went to have dinner with Dane and when we came out of the restaurant there was one star and the "smiling" moon on the sky. Leah was quick to start the "star light, star bright" thing. Then we got in the car and she repeated it, and she made a wish I was not able to hear because she's well aware that if you wish out loud the wish won't come true. Then she helped Bella with the rhyme and Bella asked Leah to cover her ears so she could make her wish. Leah covered her ears but I must be honest, I wanted to listen to what she had to say. She wished "with all her heart" she said, that she could have long her like her sister. Then she told Leah that she was done wishing and Leah uncovered her ears, then Bella said "I can't wait to get home to see if my wish came true". Dane and I were almost in tears at this moment but had to pretend we didn't hear what she said. I wanted so bad that she would wish for something we could give her, but this is something I can't do anything about. I "explained" to her that sometimes wishes don't come true right away, but that even if they take a while it doesn't mean that the wish won't come true. Her hair is longer than it used to be a year ago, but it grows very slow.
I hope you won't mind, if you see Bella, to tell her how pretty and long her hair is. It would help a little 3 and a half year old heart to be happy and to keep wishing upon a star.

Spring is here!

2010-05-04T11:23:00.000-07:00

I didn't feel like greeting spring quite yet. Too much snow for that, but when I look out the window I see green and blue (and lots of bugs) so it seemed appropiate.
Spring brought with it lots of good things, for once there is my beautiful little niece Leila, and some days there's even good weather.
We also had Tobi here in Utah for one short week, and we got to spend some wonderful time with her. It was so cute to see how Leah was desperate to "help" Granny see what her life is like now and all the things she does and the things she is into. I'm so glad Granny was able to go to a gymnastics class, it meant so much for them and for me too. I know it wasn't easy for her.
Spring brought me Giada's 18 months! That means she goes to nursery now. I've all but forgotten what it feels like to be able to sit down during sunday school and RS and pay attention, instead of walking around the hallway for 2 hours.
Spring has also brought me back the front and backyard. The girls just LOVE to go out there and play. They go for hours at a time, and they make up a new game every time. I love to go out and ask what they are doing and they tell me things like "This is an enchanted land and there are fairies everywhere", or "we are under the sea and we are swimming with mermaids" and things like that.
It has brought me back going out on walks or to the park with the girls wich we absolutely love.
There are so many good things that come with spring but one of my favorites is the way I feel. The weather has always had an impact or an influence on my mood, so after 6 months of gray skies and naked trees, when Spring comes I just feel lighter (and not just because I've lost over 30 pounds since last Spring) but because I feel happier and feel full of hope and full of plans. For me Spring is when the new year begins and I'm just so exited to greet the sun and say "hello life, here I come!"

Easter.

2010-04-11T10:57:00.000-07:00

Another story.

2010-04-11T10:55:00.000-07:00

Ok, the other day the girls were very patient with me with all the things I had to do before making their lunch, so, I told them I was going to make them something special. They decided they wanted pancakes. I started taking the ingredients out and I said "I don't know how I let you girls trick me into this, I just finished cleaning the kitchen, and now I'm making it dirty again" Leah responded, "Well, I have an idea, how about when you are done using the ingredients, you put them away" I looked at her trying not to laugh and I said "how about I just swat you" and Bella said "No! That would be rude!" and Leah said "And anyway, that wouldn't be listening to the Holy Ghost".

My sweet girls.

2010-03-22T18:24:00.000-07:00

This are just a couple of things the girls have said recently that if i don't get them here, I will forget, and i don't want that to happen.
Leah:
The other day she was sad, so I played with her, and she was a little better but after a few minutes I saw that she was sad again, so i sat her on my lap and asked her what was wrong, and she said she didn't know. i asked her if she wanted me to sing a song for her, and she said yes, so I sang "I am a child of God" for her and when it was over, I started telling her how wonderful it was going to be when we lived with our heavenly Father again, I said "we are never going to get sick again, or get sad or tired", and she said "and daddy is never going to have to go to work again?"
We were talking the other day with Leah what the meaning of Christmas is, and after I explained to her that it was Jesus' birthday she said "really? so, why do we get the presents instead of Him?" and I said, well, we could give Him a Christmas present, and He will be sooo happy, because almost nobody remembers to give Him a present on His birthday. So she asked me what we could give Him since we can't see him, and I said "well, we can't see Him, but He can see us, and he knows everything we do, and what He likes the most, is when we do nice things for others" So she started planning what she was going to do for others (I will not say what the things are, because a lot of you who are reading are included in her plans) and we decided to write all the nice things she does on a notebook, and give that notebook to Jesus on Christmas day. A few days later, she was telling Dane about that, and he asked her what she was going to give Him, and she said "I'll whisper it in your ear" so she got close to his ear and told him about the present she had planned, and I asked her "why are you whispering?" and she said "because I don't want Jesus to hear, because I want it to be a surprise"
Bella:
The other day I was so hungry that I said "I'm so hungry I, could eat a cow!" I think she heard me because she just said "I am sooo hungry, I could eat a big, big, BIIIIIG butterfly!"
We just came back from gymnastics, and when we left, it was warm and sunny out there, so I didn't put the usual warjm clothes on them, but flip-flops, and a light jacket. When we left gymnastics it was raining and freezing cold, so I told the girls that we would be home soon and we would have some hot chocolate. When we got here, Leah said, "mami, remember you said we were going to have hot chocolate" and I said "Oh yeah, let's go have some" and I saw that Bella was kind of thinking about it and I asked her "Bella do you wanna have some hot chocolate?" and she said "No, I don't want any hot chocolate, I want just right chocolate".

I think I should update my Blog...

2010-03-02T09:26:00.000-08:00

OK, it's been a LONG time, I know, but since I update my Facebook every day, I feel like I'm repeating myself with the Blog, and most of you might say "Oh, I already know that" and skip it anyway, but I feel guilty for not updating it, so here it is Ladies and Gentlemen, what you've all already read, (just kidding) The "what are we up to" update! (here's where you are supposed to clap. Seriously, I have a clap sensor and you are NOT clapping).
Well, since you are not gonna clap, and I don't wanna wait all day, I guess we better get started. Who do you want to read about first? Dane? you got it!

Dane:
He continues to work hard at Franklin Capital things there seem to be turning around so hopefully that means that promotions, raises, and bonuses will start being possibilities again. We’ll keep our fingers crossed and keep you posted. He still suffers from kidney stones from time to time, but is working on getting some medical treatment so hopefully we can do more than just drink more water to try to prevent them.
Annie:
She's working hard at loosing weight, but finds it hard sometimes to avoid temptation. However, she's managed to loose almost 30 pounds since she started her diet. She's trying to find a job that she can do at home, or that will allow her to bring the girls, but no success on that so far. She decided that she wants to study photography and wedding and event planning, and looks forward to the day she can finally do that.
Leah:
She started Gymnastics a couple of weeks ago, and she's doing fantastic! She has natural talent for that and she likes to practice a lot at home too. She's getting ready to attend Challenger School for the summer and then she'll start kindergarten on the fall. She's growing up fast, and she sure is smart! She had a talk on Primary last Sunday and she did great too. She loves to do homework, practice her letters, her numbers, her reading, and she loves to draw and color pictures. She also loves her little sisters and feels so proud of them every time they do something good.
Bella:
She's also going to Gymnastics class and she's also doing great! She can do things that even kids that have been there longer cannot do. She started going to Primary on January and she loves it! She likes doing "big girl" stuff and going to "big girl" Primary has made a huge difference in our lives. She used to hate going to church, and now she loves it too. I couldn't blame her since there was a kid in Nursery who used to hit her and be mean to her every Sunday. She's also getting ready to go to Challenger for the summer and I'm very excited about that. She's bright and smart and that school has the right method to teach them.
Giada:
She started walking when she turned 13 months and now she's all over the place! She's a great dancer, and has moves that leave me with my mouth hanging. She's also starting to talk a little bit and she surprised us by saying her first word in Spanish: "Arriba!" (up) it's the cutest thing. She also says "look!" all the time and she loves that she can communicate better now. She has a wonderful personality and she hates to see anyone sad. Actually, when she does something bad, I discovered that the best way to teach her she did something wrong is not by getting mad at her, but by showing her that she made me sad. It works like magic, and she does everything she can to make things better. She also gives the BEST kisses! She is like a bright sun making everyone around her happy. Her sisters love her to death and love to play with her. That's Giada's favorite thing, to play with them and follow them around. Before she learned how to walk, I could just see in her eyes how much she wanted to play with her sisters, but she could never keep up. Now that she can follow them around, she's the happiest baby in the world. I'm not exaggerating this, she hardly ever cries.
So that's what's happening with this side of the Sanders clan. I will be posting pictures soon, and I hope I'll get some clapping for that at least :)

Leah.

2009-10-04T17:53:00.000-07:00

Leah as always is saying lots of funny things and making me laugh all the time. Just this afternoon she said some pretty funny things. Here are 2 of them, because that's as much as I can remember...
She's been asking every day, several times a day how many days until granny and grampa come and today we told her that it was only 4 days. After that she asked me how many days until her birthday and I said 30. She said 30??? that's a LOT! and I said "is not that much just one month" and she said "but how can it be a month still if that's what you said yesterday!" and I said "well, is one month minus one day" and she said "yours is only in one day??"
And this one just happened and is the one that had me posting this:
I was hugging her and I said "Leah, have I told you how wonderful it is to be your mommy?" and she said "well, sort of... I mean, you've told me that it IS wonderful to be my mommy, but not HOW wonderful"

A little afternoon play.

2009-09-13T12:08:00.000-07:00

The girls love to draw with chalk on the driveway, that's one of their favorite things to do. So here are a few pics of their late afternoon with chalk

Bella likes to analize every color before using it

Leah at work, do not disturb

Could YOU draw in THAT position??

I outlined Leah while she was laying on the ground. She turned it into a fairie

Bella was outlined like an angel

The beautiful sunset

More sunset and some tummy

VERY clean pants

Leah's final result

Bella's final result

What's been happening lately.

2009-08-21T11:45:00.000-07:00

I have been blessed with the most wonderful family anyone can dram of, and I sure have been enjoying it a lot this summer.
We've had lots of family gatherings, I enjoyed all of them greately but my favorite was grampa's birthday. Something funny happened one week before the event: We came back from church with Dane and were having dinner and I remembered the party and I told Dane "oh my gosh, we missed grampa's birthday party, wasn't it yesterday?!!" and before we could stop and think about the date, or anything, we heard a scream, and Leah started crying as loud as she's ever cried, and she said "oh no, oh no, oh no, we missed grampa's birthday!" So we had to explain to her that it was not her grampa's birthday, but daddy's grampa, her great-grampa. So, she calmed down enough for us to realize that the party was going to be the next week.
Lots of exciting things have been happening with the girls as well:
Leah has been practicing her reading every day and she can read a whole begginers book by herself without any help and she's ready to move on to more difficult books. She also went to a gymnastics class and I've never seen her so happy in my life, her face was so bright and all the teachers were just in love with her and were amazed by her talent and her ability to do all the things even better than some kids that had been there longer. When she went on the balance bar, the teacher helped her the first time, and when she was gonna go again she said "I think I can do it all by myself" and she did! I was so proud of her! she didn't fall down not even once, and she wasn't scared either even dough the bar was quite high and long. We wanted to get Leah in preschool again this fall, but the only preschool that concentrates on reading is challenger, but we really can't pay for it, and the rest of the preschools teach basicaly letters and their sounds and stuff that she already knows and the rest is just playtime, so we are thinking in getting her in gymnastics instead and teach her here in the house. She is a very good student even here, she comes to me and she says "mom, can we practice my reading?" and she loves to learn and practice everything that she learns.
Bella is potty-trained! I'm so happy! it was actually very easy with her, she responded really well to the "rewards program" and was potty-trained in no time. Leah loves to teach her everything that she learns too, so Bella's been learning a lot of letters, numbers, songs, dance moves, etc. I will see if for the spring we can get Bella in preschool, she could really benefit from it like Leah did at her age. I can't belive that my little tiny Bella is turning 3. It almost seems unfair that they grow up so quickly. I read a quote a little while ago, and I totally agree with it: "it kills you to see your kids grow, but it would kill you sooner if they didn't"
Giada is the happiest baby on earth. She learned how to crawl a while ago, and now she's all over the place! and she has two sisters that are just so happy to play with her. It's so funny to see Leah and Bella interact with her. Leah treats her like her baby sister; Bella treates her like her toy. It's very funny to watch, but sometimes I have to remind Bella to be more gentile... Giada has 4 little teeth, babbles all the time and laughs at everything, especially with her sisters. Nobody can make her laugh like they do.
Dane's been doing great at work, and he keeps a very positive attitude wich I admire very much. The are having their corporate games and Dane won at Poker last night while I was having a "Twilight night" with some friends form church. We had such a great time, he was the first emptying his table and I laughed until it hurt. When I got home I woke him up, and he told me about his night and I told him about mine and we laughed until 4 am.
I am so grateful for my wonderful husband and my wonderful little girls. Heavenly Father couldn't have blessed me with a better family, both inmediate and extended.

Camping!

2009-07-07T16:26:00.001-07:00

What we are up to.

2009-06-29T14:35:00.000-07:00

Dane:
He's doing good at work, trying to work more than anybody else, and making more phonecalls than anybody else, so he gets home very tired. So he loves his weekends, and we really enjoy the time we get to spend together and have some fun.
Annie:
I'm usually home, taking care of the girls, and now I have a new project to work on with leah and bella. I will talk about that more later. Very excited about my mom comming home tomorrow, and I just recived a calling! It is with The RS and it will be very hard and I will need a lot of support and encouragement: I am the RS greeter. ;) It is funny all the callings that they have to come up with in big wards like this.
Leah:
She's just a joy to be with, what can I say? She's smart and sweet, she loves to play with her sisters, and now she has some imaginary friends as well. I think this happened because she saw in one of her shows that the main character had imaginary friends, and she probably thought that was cool, and now she has them too. She "decided" she wants to be a ballerina when she grows up, so she dances around the house all day, and loves her "tutu" and her dancing video, etc.
We are trying to get her back in school for the fall, so we are getting ready for that practicing her reading and stuff. She's very excited to have her "nonna" here but misses granny and grampa with all her heart and keeps having this dreams that they come back...
Bella:
She's getting over her "crying-all-stinking-day-for-no-reason-at-all" stage. She inherited something from me (and my italian side of the family): she's very loud. All my childhood memories are tinted with the "shhhhhhhh!!!!!!!" from everybody all the time, and Bella is just like that. She's learning to count(she can count to 20 very well, and sometimes gets a lot farther than that) she's learning letters, and she loves doing everything Leah does. That includes playing with all the toys that Leah plays with, and if Leah puts a toy that she's playing with on the floor even for a second, bella is there so snatch it and she runs away laughing... Leah's not very fond of this game...
Giada:
She's teething, she has 2 teeth on the bottom, and she bites everything. Also, she likes to open and close her little hands, because she knows that sooner or later, she will grab something, and that something will go to her mouth. Now she likes to "sing" with Leah and Bella and it is about the cutest thing in the world, especially when they are singing the 3 of them at the same time. Giada just ADORES her sisters and loves to play with them. She has a very stable schedule, and it is very comfortable for me. She's the sweetest baby ever, she likes to caress my face, and sometimes she gives kisses too.
Anyway, I could just talk and talk all day about my girls, and all the little things they do, but I have to go keep getting the house ready for tomorrow. I will post soon something that I'm getting ready, it will be called "my girls wisdom" and it will have things like what Bella said the other day while eating dinner: "mami, mashed potatos are like normal potatos, but mashed".
Love you all.

Very Flattering (short story)

2009-06-06T18:08:00.000-07:00

I am painting Leah's and Bella's toe nails and talking, and in the middle of the conversation Leah says:
"So, mom, how old are you?"
"Twenty nine"
"TWENTY NINE??? WOW! are you gonna turn one hundred soon?"

Leah's predictions

2009-05-18T14:59:00.000-07:00

This one is short.
I was checking my facebook and Leah came to me and said: "Mom, tomorrow is gonna be a great day for you!" and I said "yeah? and whay is that?" and she said "because tomorrow, I'm gonna be good all day!!!"
All I can say is that I hope her predictions will come true.

Like mother, like daughter.

2009-05-13T12:45:00.000-07:00

Dane made me the most delicious chocolate trifle for mother's day (or I should say month...) and I wanted to share some with the girls so, while I was making them lunch I told them "I have a surprise for you if you eat your lunch all gone" and Leah got very excited and she said "a surprise? yaaaay!!!! I know that surprises are not for telling, so I'm not gonna ask you what the surprise is"
As you can see, she is just like her mother, and I'm very happy to be an example for her. ;)

Things I'm remembering about you right now.

2009-05-11T19:08:00.000-07:00

I was cleaning and listening to himns so Giada could sleep while I did it, and while paying attention to the lyrics of the songs two things about scott and Tobi came to mind, and I thought I would write them here. They are things that happened, small moments in my life that left a big mark on it. Marks of gratitude, of admiration, of love... anyway, this is just what I was thinking about you a moment ago.
Scott:
I was listening to the himn a poor wayfaring man” -I’m not sure if that is the title though, or just a lyric from the hymn- and I remembered a few years ago they asked you to sing that song for the RS and you were at the piano practicing before we left for church, and I was going up the stairs and while you were singing your voice broke. You thought that I was Tobi and you said "Tobi, I can't sing this song" and I could hear the tears in your voice. You have been a member of the Church your whole life and it really touched my heart that the spirit of that song still made you cry.
Tobi:
Right after my mom left, when Giada was only a month old I got very sick. I went to bed feeling horrible and woke up even worse, and I didn't know how I was going to get thru the day like that. I called Scott but he was working and then I called jay, but didn't get an answer, and then you called me because Scott had called you telling you that I was sick. You told me that you were going to come during your lunch break to bring me some medicine and drinks, and i was very glad for that. Latter on the afternoon you came and brought food for me and the girls and drinks and you explained to me that you thought it was better to finish your work early and then come to take care of me. I think I slept all afternoon, and that helped me get better very fast. Scott came and got leah (also early) and then you stayed with Bella and Giada and you would only bring me the baby when she was hungry. I was so grateful. But then Jennie called me to ask me how I was feeling and she told me that she had called you to invite you to something and that she realized that you were in a great hurry, and she asked you what was going on and you told her you were working very fast so you could come take care of me. So, i'm not even your daughter and you did everything fast to be able to help me, came and did so much, (you made me dinner, cleaned the kitchen, etc) but not just that, you sacrificed an afternoon of fun with Jennie (who is your daughter) to be able to do so.

Leah and Bella getting ready for bed.

2009-05-08T19:10:00.000-07:00

Eco-Leah

2009-05-06T10:08:00.000-07:00

In the process of unpacking and organizing I have to go thru the hallway a lot, but unfortunately the lightbulb is not working and I couldn't change it, so, I left the bathroom light on so I could go thru without having an accident. (I have a few things there, just in case you were wondering why I would have an accident just by wolking there) I had the girls watching shows downstairs so I could clean, but every now and then Leah would come up to see what I was doing, and every time she would turn the bathroom light off. I kept turning it back on, and that happened a few times. The last time, I was carrying Giada because I was going to change her diaper and, yes, you guessed right, she had turn the light back off, so I could hardly see anything, and I told Leah that I needed that bathroom light on so I could see, and explained to her that I was cleaning, and blah blah blah. She didn't say anything but came into the nursery with me and when I started changing Giada she asked me if she could sing a song and I said yes, so she said "I'm gonna sing a song about power" (???) So, she started singing this made up song about turning the light off and saving energy, and I turned around and said "Leah, I am not leaving the light on to waste energy, I'm doing it because I'm cleaning and I need to go thru the hallway a lot and there's no light there...." (etc), ant told her again the whole thing... Very patiently she "explained" to me again that we are supposed to turn the light off, so I had to explain to her yet again why I was leaving it on, and she just turned around to leave the room saying "you just want to hurt the planet!!!"

More of Leah.

2009-05-01T13:24:00.000-07:00

So, I was feeding Giada, and Leah was with me talking to Giada and she said "Giada, you have blue eyes just like me and like Daddy and like Bella" and jokingly I said "yeah, and like me" and she said "no, you have hazel eyes" and she started thinking and then she said "so, that means that we have 4 people who have blue eyes, and a mistery person who may or may not have blue eyes..." and I looked at her and said "a mistery person? who's that mistery person?" and she replied "the baby that I will have in my tummy when I grow up"
Yeah, she's really concerned about growing up and stuff. I have a lot of freckles and Leah keeps saying that when she's a mommy she will have lots os freckles like me and the other day we were riding in the van and she discovered a freckle on her hand and she announced it, and then she discovered another one on her shoulder, and she said "WOW, I have another freckle on my shoulder, I must really be growing!!!"

Leah.

2009-04-30T12:36:00.000-07:00

Ok, this time is Leah's turn to have a story. I'm writing it in part to be able to see the funny side of it and to distract myself....
Ok, so I gave the girls lunch, and I made them juice, and I bougth a chocolate cake to have for dessert. Everything was well, until Leah decided she didn't want to drink the juice and she threw it on the floor. I told her to go to her room and take her clothes off while I cleaned up the mess, and then I asked her if it had been an accident or if she did it on purpose, and she confesed that she did it because she didn't want to drink the juice. (ok, I'm about to strangle someone...) ok... so I told her that because she told me the truth I was not gonna spank her, but that I was not gonna give her dessert and she was not gonna be able to play with chalk outside today. She started crying and crying, and then she came to the kitchen and told me she was gonna change her name, and I said "ok, so what are you gonna be called now?" and she said, I don't know, something sad, because the only things that could make me happy now are a slice of chocolate cake and play with chalk, so if you let me have that I will change my name back to Leah".....

Bella.

2009-04-28T16:36:00.001-07:00

I am going to be posting stories about the girls, mostly for our parents (mine and Dane's) but I hope you all can anjoy them too. Right now I have one about Bella that just happened and I have to write it before I forget.
I was in Giada's room changing her diaper and Leah came screaming at the top of her lungs to change the channel. I know what happened: the Brady Bunch started, and obviously she doesn't like that show, so, I'm teasing her asking why she wants me to change it if that's her favorite show, when I hear Bella running down the hallway also screaming "mami change the channel, change the channel!!" so I ask her tissing her too, to change what and she says "the channel" and I say, but why, what's playing?" and she says: "the show about the bunch of stories of the little lady" hahahahaha!!!!
If you didn't get the joke, here is the part of the introductory song that she was reffering to: "here's the story of the lovely lady, who was bringing up 3 very lovely girls........ the bardy bunch, the brady bunch".....

Conversation between Dane and Scott.

2009-04-20T23:02:00.000-07:00

I want to share stories about the girls as often as I can, but I thought that this story was best told in a conversation that Dane had with his dad. This conversation took place through instant message on 04/20/09 almost 11 pm Utah time, 04/21/09, almost 1 pm KL Malaysia time.

10:54:28 PM] Dane Ana Sanders: Tell me if you get this message
[10:55:14 PM] Dane Ana Sanders: I dont' know i fthis is working
[10:55:19 PM] Scott Sanders: Yes, got it.
[10:55:24 PM] Dane Ana Sanders: perfect
[10:55:50 PM] Dane Ana Sanders: Okay so I'll tell you what happened to us yesterday with Leah.
[10:55:50 PM] Scott Sanders: Yeah, I couldn't hear you at all. Surprised you could hear me.
[10:56:10 PM] Dane Ana Sanders: Yeah, your image and voice were coming through just as good as ever.
[10:57:18 PM] Dane Ana Sanders: Annie and I pushed the girls in their strollers up to Granite Park. They loved the walk and were very excited to start playing once we got there.
[10:58:20 PM] Dane Ana Sanders: Leah climbed up to the top of a platform that had a few slides to choose from and I was standing about 3 feet behind her so I could see and hear her, but she didn't know I was there.
[11:00:34 PM] Dane Ana Sanders: She stood about a foot and a half away from the slide and was just staring at it and started saying, "ok, now I know that I'm scared, but I have to try" After saying those words she took two 'very confident' steps toward the slide and started the process of sitting herself down in place. Finally she pushed herself down until gravity took over.
[11:01:31 PM] Scott Sanders: What a sweetheart! Good for her! Tell her I'm very proud of her.
[11:02:23 PM] Dane Ana Sanders: She got to the bottom of the slide and she turned around and it was obvious she was looking around to see where Annie and I were. I went over to her and told her what a great job she did and that I was so proud of her. She smiled back at me and said, "Dad, I was so scared, but I just knew I could do it!"
[11:03:38 PM] Scott Sanders: I love that little girl so much! good to talk to you. Hopefully we'll get this figured out.
[11:04:06 PM] Dane Ana Sanders: Yeah, I'm kind of glad it's not working right this minute. I've totally lost my composure.
[11:04:19 PM] Dane Ana Sanders: I miss you dad.
[11:04:38 PM] Scott Sanders: I miss you too. Bye for now.
[11:04:45 PM] Dane Ana Sanders: Bye.
[11:05:27 PM] Dane Ana Sanders: Tell mom I love and miss her too.

Things that I'm grateful for, things that I miss, and things that I hope for.

2009-04-16T10:40:00.000-07:00

When I look at my life as a whole, I can't use just one word to describe it, because I am just so full of different feelings and emotions, that just one word wouldn't suffice. I can't say that I am where I want to be in life, but I can't say that I'm not happy, because I am very happy. I can't say that I have everything that I want or everybody that I love, but I have a lot of people that I love, and a lot of the things that I want. There are things that I look forward to, and things that I miss dearly, so I thought I would try to come up with a list of some of the things, just for the fun of it, and you can have fun with me if you want.
I am so grateful for Dane. He is not perfect, and I am not perfect, but we grow together. I am better because of him, and he sais he's better because of me. In so many ways, I feel that he was created just for me, just by looking at his eyes I feel that my life is perfect and I understand the meaning of life. If I try to tell all the reasons why I love him so much, you would be reading this blog for a whole week. I am grateful for my girls. My biggest fear before I had Leah, was not being able to have kids, because I wanted it so much, but this goes far beyond being a mom or have kids. it is about being Leah's and Bella's and Giada's mom. They just make me SO happy, they are so wonderful and loving and have such big personalities. They brighten up my life, and I cannot imagine what my life would be without them. I am grateful for the gospel, for the principals that make my life so happy. Knowing that I can be with my family forever, that we won't be separated by time, or death or anything... I can't think of anything better than that. I love them so much that one lifetime is not enough. I'm grateful for eternity with my loved ones.
I miss my best friend. She's in Colombia and I just miss her so much. I feel that everybody that I know here already has a very exclusive circle of friends with no need for new ones, So I feel very lonely "girlfiend" wise. I miss Colombian food mmmmm..... I miss visiting with my mom and going "eye shopping" on saturdays. I miss dancing. I miss green all year long. I DON"T miss being freakishly white. Here, i'm just normal.
I hope Dane can go back to school. And Leah, she sure was learning so much. I hope that Giada doesn't have to be the last baby we have. I hope we can buy a nice house when we move out of here. I hope that when is time to move I can just close my eyes and magicaly appear in the new home, and don't have to go thru packing and unpacking again ;) I hope that one day I can have everybody that I love close to me or at least the possibility to go visit them so I don't have to miss so many people so much. I hope I can give my girls a bright future, and that I can teach them all I'm supposed to teach them. I hope I can be a good example for them and that I can be everything my Heavenly father wants me to be.

I hate moving...

2009-03-31T10:31:00.000-07:00

We are so excited to be living at Stott and Tobi's house; we love having so much space, and the girls love playing and running all over the place. I put their Dora play tent down stairs in one of the rooms, with their Dora Kitchen and the Dora bed inside, and it is so cozy... I would've killed for something like that when I was little! Giada has a nursery, and it looks so cute, and the girls room looks very nice and age appropiate as well. I love being able to change Giada's diaper in the middle of the night without worrying about waking the girls up, and Giada finaly made it out of our bedroom, wich is very nice too. I love the kitchen! I missed it so much! I have been having a lot of fun cooking, I love having the cd player in my room, etc... but the one thing staining all the happiness.... the actual "move" I HATE MOVING!!!!! I feel like I'm never going to finish!!! all the boxes and bags all over the place, and the more I put things away, the more it seams like new boxes and bags just came out of thin air.... I hope the next time we move is to our own house and that we can stay there for at least 20 years.

Once upon a time....

2009-03-23T12:10:00.000-07:00

I was in Colombia, and when the hardest, most horrible part of my life was over my mom helped me to come to the US. Since my brothers had been living in Florida for a few years, I went there too. I found a job, and a nice couple rented me a room in their home. I was relatively happy, I went out a lot, dated some guys, and had a lot of fun, but this feeling that I shouldn't be there started growing inside of me. I didn't pay a lot of attention to it, but it started getting stronger and stronger, every time that I went out with a guy, I felt that I was going to be alone forever if I stayed there. Not the nicest feeling to have when you are trying to find your other half...
I started thinking about moving to Idaho, since I knew people there, but every time I prayed about it, I felt that I had to come to Utah. "Utah???" I thought, "there is NO way I'm going to Utah!" I didn't have family here, or friends or anything. So, inside of me I kept making plans to go to Idaho, but I kept feeling that it was not Idaho, but Utah where I was supposed to be.
I decided to ask my oldest brother to pray and fast about it, and I would do the same thing. After we finished I went to visit him, and he told me "you have to go to Utah" I asked him "can you come with me?" and he said "I prayed about that too, I feel that I will go some day, but not now. You have to go alone." Needless to say that I was not only devastated but TERRIFIED! Arround those days a good friend of Danny's (my oldest brother) that he had baptized during his mission called him to tell him that he had moved to Utah and that if he wanted he could go too. My brother told him that he wasn't going to go to Utah soon, but that his "little sister" (he still talks to and about me like I'm 5. I don't mind though, I think it's sweet) was planning on going to Utah, so his friend told him that it was ok, that he was going to buy a condo and that I could go arround February if I wanted to, and that I could stay with them. This was arround August 2003. So I thought "Ok, I have like 6 months to think about it and save some money for the trip and to have once I get there..." I think that the Lord thought: "Ok, now that she's convinced to go to Utah, let's get her there." I lost my job, I broke up with the guy I was dating and the family that I was living with asked me to move out... I can't help but to look back at those days and NOT FEEL MELANCHOLIC AT ALL!
Arround those days I recived my Patriarchal blessing, and the thing that stood out the most at that moment was that I was supposed to live by faith, and that my faith was going to be tested (here I got a little scared) like Abraham's faith had been tested.
One Sunday I went to choir practice and I started talking with a guy, and he told me that he was planning on coming to Utah, and I told him that I was planning on coming to Utah eventually as well, and he said "I can give you a ride if you want, I won't charge you anything" but I told him that I didn't have a place to stay for 6 more months. He said he would ask his sister if I could stay with her, but she asked her husband and he said "NO WAY." Apparently this guy have had some problems with them, and they thought that if I was his friend, that I was going to give them trouble as well. She told him that they should pray about it, and they did, and they felt not only that it was Ok for me to go with them, but that for some reason I was supposed to. So he called me to Florida without even knowing me and told me the whole thing, and that I was more than welcomed in his house. So this is how it all looked to me: I was supposed to drive with this guy for 3 days, to a place I didn't know, with no job possibilities, no family, no friends, without a dime in my pocket (because remember, I lost my job) and to live with this people that I've never met. But after praying about it, I felt that that was what I was supposed to do, and also I had the words of my Patriarchal blessing, so I decided to come.
The Sunday before I left, I asked Danny and my bishop (my other brother was nowhere to be found) to give me a blessing and in that blessing the Bishop told me that it was very important for me to come to Utah, because the man that was going to be my husband was here, that I was going to meet him soon after getting here. So, the friday after that I left Florida, and we got here on monday. That Saturday I asked the couple about the YSA organization in their ward, and they just looked at eachother, and then said "there are not YSA in our ward, just maried couples and old people..." I thought "WHAT??? no YSA in their ward? how I'm I supposed to meet people here then? (and the man who's going to be my husband???)" they saw how sad I was about thet, so they called a friend who attended a singles ward, and they asked her if I could go to church with her, ans she agreed. She lived in Sandy and we were in Sugar House. In Florida's LDS distance that is not that much, if it is not your same ward, is very probable that it is at least your same stake, but here in Utah, that kind of distance means at least 40 stakes in between. So, on that Sunday, the 28th of September of 2003, I went to the Singles ward in Sandy with this friend of the family that I was now living with.
We arrived a little early and she and her roomate started introducing me to the people of this ward. Not too long before that, one of them needed an interview with the first councilor and she introduced me to the guy who scheduled that interview for her. This guy happened to be Dane Sanders, the Assistant Executive Secretary. He was very good with his calling, and part of his calling was to get new people to fill out get to know you forms. He wanted me to fill up one, but I told him that since I didn't belonged to that stake I probably shouldn't, he replayed that I should do it anyway if I was going to attend that ward, and I said that I was just visiting, that I didn't even know if I was going to go to that ward again, and he said "Ok, just put your name and phone number then."
The girl that I went to church with and some of her friends were planning a trip to Temple Square that night, and since I enjoyed talking to Dane so much I decided to invite him. He said his schedule was free, that he would come with us, but after a while I learned that, that night was Jennie's farewell dinner because she and Brock were moving to Georgia... but he came with us anyway. We talked for a long time that night, we sat at the Tabernacle and kept talking while everybody else was taking the tour, and then he gave me a ride home, and we stayed talking for a long time in the car, because the people that I was living with wans't there and I didn't have keyes...
There was going to be an activity on Wednesday, and he asked me if I was going to go, and I said that I wanted to, but that I didn't have how to get there, so he offered me a ride. However, on tuesday he calledme and he said that he was on his way to go see his sister who was moving, and he asked me if he could come and see me before that, and I said yes, so he came, and we went to visit Justin at his office. I know, ???. After that we went to visit Jennie and we helped her pack. The next day he picked me up at about 4 pm and we went to the park and Tracy Aviary, then to the activity, and then we went to the movies, and after that day we spent at least some part of the day together.
Two months after we met he asked me to marry him, and 2 months after that we got married, the 10th of January of 2004. That day before we went to the Temple, Dane asked his dad to give him a blessing, and I asked him for one too, and on that blessing he told me that Dane and I had been brought together by the Lord's hand and that we had made promises to one another in the pre-exsistence, and that those promises where going to become covenants in the Temple of the Lord. When we were in the ceremony, the sealer told us that it was very special for him to be part of this sealing because we had been together in the pre-exsistence, and brought together by the Lord, and he repeated almost word by word the blessing that I had recived earlier that day...
So, that's how our Fairy Tale began. As in every fairy tale, there are rough times, monsters to be conquered, evil people trying to get us apart, but with the Lord's help, and keeping the covenants we made, we know we can also have our "happily ever after."
So, buckle your seat belts and join us in this wonderful travel thru exsistence, the "Sanders Voyage"