There is Sunshine in my Soul Today

There is definitely sunshine in my soul today because I'm married to this guy. Wonderful husband and superhero father. Its his first day back at school so he likes to make an impression on all those incoming freshman in his English class. Nothing says, "WAKE UP KIDS its back to school," like his banana yellow coat pictured here.


This past weekend we celebrated his 26th birthday (August 20th) with some family dinner and gifts. On the menu was a Cafe Rio pork salad -yummmmmmm.... A recreation of a Utah restaurant favorite, as anyone who has visited BYU can attest to. I can't wait till that chain comes to NC but for now, the homemade version is an excellent substitute. Zach says its, "the best thing I make," even though I can't claim much of the glory except for following the recipe cards.



Dinner was followed up by the traditional German chocolate cake which he's requested 5 years running. He now has two little helpers to blow out his candles so we had to light them twice. Next year he says he might want to put in a different order for passion fruit chocolate cake he had in Brazil. It has a fancier name than that, but its not coming to mind since I don't speak Portuguese. (Just when I was getting really comfortable at making this cake)


This was his "big" gift, being comfortable while he finishes his dissertation. Up until now we've just been sitting in a folding chair. I'm sure it will be well used in the years to come.



Happy Birthday Hun! I think your tops!

Sleep tight

Here in the Hutchins' household we have had some cute moments lately with our little sleeping angels. They are always angels when they are asleep. (When they are awake it is sometimes an entirely different matter.)





The first picture is Gabe in his "mouse nest." That is what he likes to call it when he gathers (and steals) as many pillows as he can get his hands on and stuffs them all into one pile- preferably all on top of him. I'm guessing he got this idea from a children's book but I can't remember which one. You can see a tiny tuft of hair sticking ouf of the latest nest he built in David Hyrum's crib. He is asleep and sweating profusly under all those pillows in this 90 degree weather but it didn't seem to bother him.


A few days later I found David Hyrum sleeping serenely in his crib with an entire roll of toilet paper around him. I guess I put the porta-crib too close to the TP dispenser and it seemed the perfect amusement before retireing to la la land. Most of the paper is under the blanket I threw over him. It is now being used from a big pile on the bathroom sink one piece at a time.


I may have saved the best for last. This is the close up. The next picture is what you saw when you came in the room.




In the afternoon David goes to sleep around 1:00 and then Gabe had his reading time and a short video before going to his own quiet time. Since they share a room at night David Hyrum takes his nap in the porta-crib in the bathroom so Gabe can play quietly in their room with toys. Its usually quite messy when quiet time is over but he is very good to only leave if he has to use the rest room. The other day I guess he couldn't quite get his shorts back up after using the loo and decided that he was too tired to try. Zach walked in to find a mess and a full moon peeking out around the closet door. Gabe had setteled in there, half naked, and decided to take a snooze for the remainder of quiet time. (I'm sure if he were old enough he would be quite mortified that I was sharing this with the world so lets just keep this between us, ok?) Sweet dreams!

Rodent slayer

(This picture was actually taken over a month ago, its grown)

My garden has been only mildly successful this year. Lots of foliage, limited produce. One of the primary reasons- rodents. Namely Rabbits and squirrels. It is the beginning of August now, well past time for the first ripe tomatoes to be ready and yet until this past week I haven't gotten a single one. You ask why, I shall tell you. Those little gray varmints stole every single one. I know I should be getting ripe tomatoes, I've had green ones for quite some time, and I've also had rows of empty stems where I know tomatoes once resided.


(Just look at those red beady little eyes, I don't think its the camera)


Well my loving husband took up the clarion call to destroy some of the peskiest pests and borrowed a squirrel trap from my father. He has trapped and drown four squirrels up to date in the true pioneer spirit, and I have in fact enjoyed my first handful of sweet cherry tomatoes. The kind you can't get at the store for any price. The tiny tangy garden candy that only comes once a year and was being viciously absconded from my little plot. Do I feel bad about the squirrels? Not at all. It feels much like squishing an ant that is in the kitchen eating my food. Am I glad Zach volunteered for the job so I wouldn't have to drown the small rabble rousers? Absolutely. Thanks knight in shining armor. It at least feels like righteous vengance if nothing else.

GR8FL 4-8

Imagine reading the Title as a license plate "Grateful for eight". In about 10 years, that is what I hope my license plate will say. Many people, even LDS (Mormon) people, look at me like I have two heads when I tell them I want eight kids. The next question is usually "really!?" Yes really. Sometimes I skirt around the question and just say, "We want to have a big family" when they ask me if this one will be my last one, or if I'll keep trying for a girl. We'll yes, we'll keep trying, but if it were a girl we wouldn't be done either. We won't be done if number four is a girl.
Barring serious health complications for me or one of my children, or other misfortune, I'm just getting warmed up with this third pregnancy. And no, I'm not one of those ladies that likes to be pregnant.

Besides getting to feel the baby move, I don't much care for it at all. I won't go into all the side effects of living 9 months with a parasite inside you, but usually only illnesses come with side effects. They are inumerated in plenty of other places and many of you may have had personal experience in this area. And no, I haven't always pictured myself with lots of kids. I don't really like babysitting and I'm not a "baby person." Other people's babies don't like me. Mine are great, cute and wonderful, and yours are great--right on your lap. (This may change at some point in the future, but for right now my lap is full.)

Zach is a little bit of a different story. He grew up in a big family and loved/loves it. Heck, I love marrying into a big family. From what I can gather, lots of his brothers and sisters are "baby people." It also doesn't hurt that he doesn't have to do any of the parasite carrying. This in mind, here is why we both want to have a big family, as expressed by Elder Dallin H. Oaks in General Conference, October 1993:

"President Kimball said, 'It is an act of extreme selfishness for a married couple to refuse to have children when they are able to do so' (Ensign, May 1979, p. 6). When married couples postpone childbearing until after they have satisfied their material goals, the mere passage of time assures that they seriously reduce their potential to participate in furthering our Heavenly Father’s plan for all of his spirit children. Faithful Latter-day Saints cannot afford to look upon children as an interference with what the world calls “self-fulfillment.” Our covenants with God and the ultimate purpose of life are tied up in those little ones who reach for our time, our love, and our sacrifices.

How many children should a couple have? All they can care for! Of course, to care for children means more than simply giving them life. Children must be loved, nurtured, taught, fed, clothed, housed, and well started in their capacities to be good parents themselves. Exercising faith in God’s promises to bless them when they are keeping his commandments, many LDS parents have large families. Others seek but are not blessed with children or with the number of children they desire. In a matter as intimate as this, we should not judge one another" (Ensign, November 1993, p. 72).

(Another good source for why we believe in families)

I feel too often when I talk to other couples, LDS or otherwise, it is in terms of how many children do they want to have and not really in terms of what the Lord wants. I say eight, but I hope by that time it rolls around, I'll be open to the idea of having another one if that is what the Lord wanted for our family. I know that great families come in all sizes from 1- 100 for all different reasons so I'm not trying to judge small families. Mine is a great example. My mom is a convert and we were from a second marriage. Two was all she could have by that time in her life. I understand there are health, financial, and emotioal reasons not to have kids. I get that.

At the same time I feel very strongly that Zach and I have been handed the "five talents" so to speak that it mentions in the Bible. If the "talents" are viewed as life advantages some big ones we've enjoyed would be:

Living in America and the freedoms that come with that
Being born with and raised in the Gospel
Good health and energy
Quality educations, for Zach and I
Getting married young
No present debt
Future financial comfort (hopefully)
No problems so far with having children

With great blessings comes great responsibilities. Those little spirits couldn't ask for more in my oppinion so who am I to say " nope we're happy with just our two boys " ? I'll step off my soap box now, but please, don't act so surprised if you hear someone say they want to have 8 kids. Just congratulate them and say good luck. I fully expect that Zach and the Lord will help me quite a bit in raising this next generation. My "hats off" to Rich and Kelly Hutchins who are the biggest family we're very close with- 10 kids.



Make some noise boys, maybe the plate will read GR8FL 4-9!

The Family Figure

David Hyrum's little tum tum
Gabe-arino's little belly
My not-so-little protrusion (it looks cuter on the boys, I know)

During my 2 week vacation to Massachusetts I "popped" as they say. (Started to look pregnant instead of like I was JUST gaining weight) It seems to happen earlier and earlier with each pregnancy. I believe it was due in no small part to my indulgence in other people's cookingl, but for the next 4 months at least, I can blame it on the baby. As of right now, Zach is the only one in our family with a relatively flat midsection.

*This will probably be the last picture I post of my stomach since in a few more months I'll look more like a lollipop than an actual person. No one wants that that sort of thing documented and shared all over the internet.

Boys in Bow ties

These are my boys. If you will notice they are looking quite dashing in the bow ties I made for father's day. My father in law, Dad Hutchins aka Pop Pop, is being a good sport and wearing his too, howbeit he is usually a necktie sort of chap. As some of you may know, I'm having another boy come this November so the next set of bow ties I make will have to include one more little elastic one . Aren't they all handsome?

The Pearl of Great Price

I read a book last week that was apparently a big seller called The Shack. It is considered religious fiction and the premise is one man's experience with God. I would never recommend anyone actually read this book because of all the false doctrine presented in it, but I did glean one gem out of it, so to speak- a pearl.

In the New Testament Jesus tells a parable of the Pearl of Great price. (Matthew 13:45-46)

"Again, the kingdom of heaven is like unto a merchant man, seeking goodly
pearls: Who, When he had found one pearl of great price, went and sold all
that he had, and bought it."

I had always thought the pearl was of such great price because of what the merchant was willing to give for it, i.e. he sold all that he had to buy this precious stone. Indicating that we should be able give all that we have in order to have the gospel in our lives. I never considered it before from the perspective of the oyster.




"Pearls, The only precious stone made by pain, suffering, and- finally- death."

Yes, we should be willing to give all that we posses in order to more fully follow Christ, but let us not remember that our sacrifice can never compare to the sacrifice He made to give us that pearl.