family update

December 19th. The best day of my life, and the worst day.

I got to be a mom. Even if it was for just a few minutes before I had to send them back to their Father in Heaven, I got to be a mom.

Lucas and I have come to recognize our important role in the lives of our sweet babies. They were lucky enough to come to earth only for a short time to fulfill their missions. We were lucky enough to supply them with the bodies and the love they needed.

I am so grateful for the wonderful doctors and nurses at Memorial Hospital. They were there to support us through difficult times, and difficult news. They cried with us. They shared their own stories with us, and made me feel at home for the worst weekend of my life. In Indiana. When Josie and Wyatt were born, they let us hold them and take care of them for the few minutes they needed us. And then they let us hold them some more. They made phone calls for us, and took care of everything we needed. They let us be a family.

I don't know what I would have done without my Kane family. I wanted my mom to be there with me, but my in-laws were perfect. Their love and support was unmeasurable. We received so many wonderful and encouraging messages from our family and friends, we are so blessed.

Lucas is my rock. He didn't leave my side. He prayed with me and gave me Priesthood blessings. He was encouraging and faithful, and the best dad I could ever imagine for my babies. Oh how I love him.

My cousin Wendy shared this quote with me ... I've read it a hundred times in the last week:

Joseph Smith rightly taught:

"The mother who laid down her little child, being deprived of the privilege, the joy, and the satisfaction of bringing it up to manhood or womanhood in this world, would, after the resurrection, have all the joy, satisfaction, and pleasure, and even more than it would have been possible to have had in mortality, in seeing her child grow to the full measure of stature of it's spirit...When she does it there, it will be with the certain knowledge that the results will be without failure; whereas here, the results are unknown until after we have passed the test."

announcement

I know most everyone has seen it on facebook already, but here's the announcement. We get:

1 girl baby

&

1 boy baby

Lucas and I are dying of excitement and I'm starting to get the shopping/crafting/decorating bug. Since I'm not crafty, and these kids are making us poor already, I'm going to need someone to make/buy me the following items:

(all images courtesy of pinterest of course)
Any volunteers? I'll let you come play with them when they're born ....

And for those that have requested maternity shots, here you are. Please keep in mind, I'm only halfway through this pregnancy.

Maybe it's time to give up on those stretchy non-maternity shirts.

Links

Some things on the internet:

Best-selling books of 2011, according to Barnes & Noble -- I need to start making a list.

The 2011 First Presidency Christmas Devotional -- Super awesome, watch if you have a chance. This is one of my favorite things each holiday season...

Kelle Hampton's Awesome Christmas Party -- I can't wait to do fun things like this for my kids...

*PS my SIL Ellen LOVES Kelle and promised to have a party like this for me next week in Michigan - can't wait Ellen!

I'm obsessed with these boots. They're practically a million dollars, and I have several pairs of boots already, but I just LOVE them.

Pinterest is still the best thing on the internet. I love love love pinning things for the kiddos.

2 babies (tumblr)

I want this. (etsy)

baby outfits (etsy)

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And a baby update: Still feeling super awesome, getting pretty big pretty quickly. Maybe I'll put some pictures up one of these days ... Wednesday is the big gender reveal, so get excited :)

thankful

I love Thanksgiving. Not the food so much, except the potatoes and rolls, but the whole idea. So in the spirit of gratitude, I thought I would share some things that I'm grateful for:

I am grateful for my darling Lucas, who loves me every day no matter what. I'm grateful that he goes out of his way to make me happy and comfortable, even on my crazy days.

I'm grateful for the Gospel. I'm grateful for the knowledge that I am a daughter of God and that He loves me. I'm grateful for the Atonement of Jesus Christ, and especially for the knowledge of eternal families.

I'm grateful for these 2 tiny souls growing in me. We are so blessed, I can't help but feel completely overwhelmed with gratitude and joy each time I think of them. I'm also grateful that Luke is super excited to be a dad. He's been reading tons of books and studying everything he can get his hands on to learn about everything .... I love it.

I'm grateful for family and friends who are wonderful and supportive and I just love them so much. Lucas and I are extra lucky to have such great families and great friends.

source: google.com via pinterest

airplane ride

One of my favorite things in the whole world is flying. It doesn't matter if it's a 21 hour flight to Beijing or a 45 minute flight to Boise. I love being in airports and airplanes and having a carry on with special snacks and magazines and my ipod.

I especially love when my flight ends up somewhere exciting and fun, and tomorrow is no exception. We're going to Portland to visit Andy, Emily, and their kiddos :)

I can't wait to meet baby Pepper, run around with Jude, and paint Sadie's toenails. Not to mention, they just bought a new (old) house and Lucas (and me I guess) is helping with some of the renovations. His dad will be there too, so it will be a mini family reunion, I'm so excited.

It's a short trip, but I'm in desperate need of a break from work and boys and everything and this will be just perfect.

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PS My dear friend Julie had a baby this week! Isn't he the most darling little thing?? I want to squeeze him. San Fransisco is next on the travel agenda....

Happy Halloween!

HAPPY HALLOWEEN FROM THE {4} OF US!

trek week

Finally it's Saturday.
Lucas has been gone on Trek all week and I've been a single mom. It was fun for a minute, but then it became Fall Break and they were home all the time ... plus one or two extra boys depending on the day. I need a break from boys.
I did get to go visit Lucas on Trek on Tuesday, did some hiking and lunch with the therapists and punk ranch boys. They started at the top of Hobblecreek Canyon (Springville) and went up and over the mountains to Strawberry Reservoir. Beautiful.

tuesday

I would like to start out with how much I loved General Conference this weekend. I just love President Monson and his wonderful sense of humor. There were so many great messages from our church leaders ... And Saturday was so great. Lucas got us all excited to do some deep cleaning (I don't know why I'm never motivated to wash blinds ...) and we turned conference up loud and cleaned. I loved it. Then Sunday I got to work the day shift, which is the best shift ever. I get to work by myself and nothing ever happens (except that Sunday mornings are probably the most common time for people to die). This Sunday morning was wonderfully quiet at work and I got to watch practically uninterrupted. Glorious.

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And how exciting is this?? 2 temples in PROVO? I can't wait ... the Provo temple just gets SO busy sometimes.

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Speaking of church things, I watched this Mormon Messages video on youtube and actually cried at work. And then I made a list of things to do to help people. Anyone want to give blood with me?


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Next item of business. This blog is one of my new favorites. Mostly because of things like this. Oh, how I love Ryan Gosling.

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I have always loved Pat Green, but lately I've been listening to him a lot. If you haven't heard of him, you should listen to this song. I just love him.



And that's all I have to say.

For Sarah

First of all, I had the best lunch date today. All of my favorites from Provo were there ... and my dear friend Sarah says I don't blog enough. And it's true.

So, Adam came home. It's been a few weeks now, but he was normal from day 1. Here are a few pictures I stole from my sister's blog:

Thanks Steph, for letting me use those.
Speaking of Steph, I'm sure most everyone knows she's expecting ... due in February. She was extra sick and 100% sure it was a girl. Well, she had her ultrasound last week and SURPRISE! IT'S A BOY! I'm so excited. I've been going crazy on the pinterest looking for cute little boy things:

In other excitement, General Conference is this weekend. I just love it. The chance to hear from our church leaders about real issues we're dealing with as members of The Church.
And wasn't the Relief Society Meeting the best?

8 good things right now

grilled cheese. oh how I love a good grilled cheese, with miracle whip on top ....

vanilla tootsie rolls. limited edition.

this guy. i just love him to death.

willie nelson! we saw him in concert in real life last night. Luke bought a bandanna.

this book. it's so so so great. about the history and work of the Relief Society.

new tires on the Pilot. it looks super awesome ....

we will be picking up Adam at the airport in 12 hours.

Julie A B Gillrie. solved my picture problem ... what a dream. thanks jules! (ps REALLY cute pictures in Tahoe)

nothing

I have nothing. I feel like nothing exciting is going on in my life right now. I just work and take Brok on hikes and work some more. I think Lucas is starting to hate my job.
Since I have nothing going on, I will give you some things that I like lately (thanks to pinterest of course) ....

Ron Swanson's Pyramid of Greatness - we're loving Parks & Rec!

I need a good adventure before summer is over .... 

Soooo excited for fall fashion ...

.... and fall crafts.  

This I really love. I'm so glad to be married to my best friend. 

Wait, does anyone know how to re-size pictures on the new blogger format? Not that I did it before, but my pictures seem so small ... I hate it. I feel like I've tried everything, and I suck at blogging. 

some things

1. My sister Steph made a really exciting announcement on her blog today :) She's making me an auntie again ... this will be #16 for me and Luke, pretty exciting. She'll be making her (or his?) appearance at the beginning of February. Any suggestions for names?

2. It was my birthday last week. I'm 28, if you were wondering. Lucas is a dream, he got me tons of great camera stuff, including a new lens and a fancy bag ... now if only I was a really great photographer. Then we had dinner at Texas Roadhouse with some of our favorite friends, it was the perfect day. (thanks babe!)

3. I feel like I've mentioned how much I love Brandi Carlile here before ... she's just the most awesome. We got to see her last week at the Red Butte Garden Amphitheater, which was super cool. One of the best shows I've ever been to, and she made me cry when she played The Story. It's our song. Here's a lovely live version of it from her new album, Live at Benaroya Hall (which you can get for only $5 on Amazon.com this month!). Watch out! This song might make you cry.



PS Brandi likes girls (not that there's anything wrong with that), so there was some really great people watching. AND, Ivan & Alyosha opened for her. Maybe Luke's new favorite, and they're coming to Kilby Court next month if anyone would care to join us.

4. Has everyone seen this? It's incredible.



5. School started this week. I don't know how to express the joy felt by this. I can do anything I want in the mornings (except sleep in ... I have to drive one of the boys to school in Provo every morning at 7:20). It just feels so nice to get my office hours done in the morning again ...

6. 2 weeks from today we will be picking my baby brother at the airport. He's been serving a mission in the Philippines for the last 2 years and I am dying to see him! He's such a great missionary, and he would probably stay longer if they would let him, but I'm really excited to hang out with him. September 8th can't come soon enough!

why do I love this?

I don't think I'm terribly vain, but for some reason I love answering questionnaires, especially about myself. Feel free to skip this post if you're just not that interested in my life....

1. What time did you get up this morning? 7:15

2. How do you like your steak? on the more rare side of medium rare, but not RARE

3. What was the last film you saw at the cinema: Crazy, Stupid, Love - loved it.

4. What is your favourite TV show? right now? Friday Night Lights. obsessed.

5. If you could live anywhere in the world where would it be? Texas, duh.

6. What did you have for breakfast? a greek yogurt

7. What is your favorite food? avocado on toast

8. Foods you dislike? mustard, onions, fatty meat

9. Favorite place to eat? Texas Roadhouse :)

10. Favorite dressing? ranch

11. What kind of vehicle do you drive? Honda Pilot (I know I'm not a mom...)

12. What are your favorite clothes? jeans and a t-shirt and chacos. every day.

13. Where would you visit if you had the chance? Thailand. Or Egypt. Or Ireland. Or South Africa. Or Alaska. Or Spain. Or Russia. Or Fiji.....

14. Cup 1/2 empty or 1/2 full? 1/2 full!

15. Where would you want to retire? on a ranch full of long horned steers in the north of Texas with a huge porch and horses.

16. Favorite time of day? 10:30. kid's bedtime.

17. Where were you born? Logan, UT

18. What is your favorite sport to watch? tennis :)

19. What is your favorite fragrance? Thierry Mugler - Angel, for men

20. What is your favorite face cream? mint chocolate chip, breyers

21. Favorite baby/kids products? ummm.....

22. People watcher? yes.

23. Are you a morning or night person? morning. I would go to bed at 8:30 every night if I could.

24. Do you have any pets? Brok and Artemis

25. Any new and exciting news you'd like to share? not new ... but Adam comes home in less than a month!

26. What did you want to be when you were little? a veterinarian, an architect, a lot of different things ....

27. What is your favorite memory? road tripping with Luke on our honeymoon

28. Are you a cat or dog person? dog person

29. Are you married? yes

30. Always wear your seat belt? of course!

31. Been in a car accident? yes.

32. Any pet peeves? yes- mean or stupid people. animals dressed as humans.

33. Favorite pizza toppings? olives and mushrooms

34. Favorite flower? eh.

35. Favorite ice cream? mint chocolate chip

36. Favorite fast food restaurant? arbys I think.

37. How many times did you fail your driver's test? zero

38. From whom did you get your last email? Steph

39. Which store would you choose to max out your credit card? anthropologie or target

40. Do anything spontaneous lately? not really, I feel like I'm pretty boring...

41. Like your job? which one?

42. Broccoli? absolutely.

43. What was your favorite vacation? I loved my honeymoon- it was perfect. honorable mention to the Coast Rica week in paradise with the girls!!

44. Last person you went out to dinner with? Megan (happy birthday!)

45. What are you listening to right now? Charlie Winston pandora

46. What is your favorite color? green ... any shade

47. How many tattoos do you have? just one.

48. coffe drinker? nope!

Sorry I'm a total nerd.

baby

Luke's brother and his wife Emily (maybe our favorites, unless Ellen is reading this, then our second favorites) had their third baby yesterday! (a home birth with not so much as an aspirin according to Dad...)
Welcome Pepper Kane to the family:


Isn't she a doll?

another new favorite song

Maybe I'm that annoying person who always has a new song that I'm obsessed with. And the only place I have to tell people about it is on my blog. Well, here's my latest:



A - I have a huge crush on the boy, mostly because of his hat.
B - I love this kind of music.
C - Please pay special around minute 2:25, it gets crazy.

Also, I finished season 1 of Friday Night Lights. For some reason I thought there was only one season, so how excited was I to see 3 MORE on my Netflix! Score!

I might have cried several times during this show, it's so great.

family vacation time

A month ago we went on a sweet road trip to Mount Rushmore. I know, I month? I'm ridiculous at blogging ... in my defense, summer is crazy busy! Anyway, the trip was so much fun, and tons of driving. We headed up through Wyoming, stopped at the Wyoming Frontier Prison, which was super cool. I know that touring an old prison doesn't sound super cool, bit it totally was.....








1. an actual gas chamber!
2. water tower from inside
3. cell block B - Lucas scared the H out of some kids on the tour with us ... one of them fell on the ground
4. Lucas
5. cell block A - I love the lines ...
6. the prison

Then we headed up to Keyhole State Park and camped by Keyhole Reservoir. It was SO pretty, we even got up to swim in the reservoir early in the morning before heading to Devils Tower....



Devils Tower was pretty awesome, with lots of history. We hiked around for a while, saw plenty of wildlife (and some awesome rock climbers!) then headed to



Mount Rushmore! Smaller than I expected, but I guess that's what I get for living in the Rockies. It was super cool to see how the faces were carved and everything. We'll take the kids in 15 years probably.



We spent the next couple of days in that area, saw some other sights (some caves and other mountain carvings and WALL DRUG) then headed back through Wyoming. We stopped in Thermopolis and stayed at a pretty trashy quaint motel owned by the nicest Mormon lady in the world. Lucas commented on her huge stack of B of M's and she fell in love with us.
The next morning we checked out the Thermopolis Hot Springs (sorry, no pictures), and they were super awesome! We'll go back there for sure...

We headed West and spent most of the day in Yellowstone. We love that place.




Had dinner and did some shopping in Jackson, then drove to Idaho for the night.
The next morning we drove through Bear Lake then stopped in Logan to see the kiddos for a while, then headed home.



All in all, great trip.