Catch up time!

Hi to all our Friends and Family! I know it has been a long long time since I updated this so I am going to try and catch up the best I can. Since February a lot has happened to our family. In April Ed and Tom both celebrated birthdays. Tom turned 7 and Ed 37. Ed's parents left to serve a mission for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in Morristown, NJ. We had Easter and the day before Easter Ed was fired from the helicopter school that he started. It was kind of a shock, but a blessing in disguise. We were unemployed for about 3 weeks and then he was able to get on at Fort Rucker in Enterprise, AL. Yes folks, we have moved to Southern Alabama. Ed left to go to Alabama the first part of May while me and the three boys stayed in Hyrum to let Tom finish school and baseball. A very big thank you to everyone who helped and watched out for us while Ed was gone. Ed finished his training in mid June and was hired on as a helicopter instructor. He is only one of a handful of civilian instructors for the military. So far he is enjoying his job. We really love having him home at reasonable hours.


(This is Ed opening up his birthday presents) (This is Tom's birthday cake)


On July 16th our baby turned 1. I can't believe how fast time goes by. It seems like yesterday Daniel was born. He has grown up fast. He started walking sooner than his brothers did. He was taking his first steps before he turned 1. His brothers didn't until they were 13 or 14 months. He now walks more than he crawls. He definetly has a different personality than his brothers. He is still not a very good sleeper, but it helps that he has his own bedroom now.

(This is Mom and Daniel with his birthday cake) (This is Daniel's birthday present from his family)

We began the long drive to Alabama on July 20th. It was a real challenge to keep three kids entertained on the long drive, especially since the scenery was not that exciting. We had a few hiccups along the way and one really big hiccup when a logging truck rear-ended the van I was driving. We were just crossing the border from Illinois to Kentucky when we got hit. Luckily we were not injured, but he did quite a bit of damage to our van. We were able to finish driving to Alabama. Later the insurance company totaled our van so we had to find a new one. Our new one is my favorite color, blue, and it has lots of options. We officially moved into our house in Enterprise, AL. on Pioneer Day (July 24th). The ward here was great in helping us move everything in. We have been here almost a month now and it is not too bad. There are some bugs here that we don't have in Utah, and it rains a lot. We really miss our friends and family back in Utah, but we are making new ones here. Life should settle down a little bit so I hope to keep up on this better. Our love to you all!

(This is what the van looked like after we got hit. Notice the "Welcome to Kentucky" sign in the background.) (This is at a Military Vehicles Museum in Nebraska) (This is Tom's first day of 2nd grade at Rucker Blvd. Elementary on Aug. 12, 2009)

Winter Time

Hi to all my friends and Family. Sorry I have been so bad at keeping this updated. So I am going to try and cram in the last couple of months. We had a wonderful Christmas with both sides of the family. It is so much to get together with all the family. Tom and Sam love all the cousins they get to play with on the Mitchell side. And on the Leatham side they are the center of attention. We enjoyed family parties with all. Now that we are into February we are just trying to stay warm and keep the snow shoveled. The boys love to help shovel (though I usually have to go over what they do and do it again.) But, they are having fun so that is all that matters. Since Christmas and New Year's Eve we haven't done much. My birthday was the end of January, and we have Valentine's this month. But, it is nice to have life slow down a little. I am just going to put up some pictures to help catch everyone up. I hope everyone had a wonderful holiday, and I hope we all survive the winter! I can't wait until Spring.

Captions for pictures: This is the family ice skating in Logan (Nov. 2008). Tom loved it, but Sam was too scared to try. This is the boys sledding down the hill in front of our church (Dec. 2008). This is Daniel with Grandma and Grandpa Mithchell at the family Christmas party. This is Daniel on Christmas morning. Sam and Tom after decorating the Christmas tree. This is Grandma Munns and the Mitchell boys at the Garland Firehall on Christmas Eve.

Fall Fun

Hi Family and Friends. Fall is a wonderful time. I love the changing leaves and the anticipaton of the coming holidays. With Ed's busy schedule it is hard to get some fun in, but we did manage to have a little bit of fun. We walked through a corn maze. The boys had fun, but it was a little bit long to walk for Sam as you can see by the picture.

The boys had fun dressing up for Halloween . They got lots of candy from trick-or-treating, and looked so cute in their costumes. The kids wanted to show Grandpa Leatham their costumes, so on Sunday we went to grandpa's house and did a little trick-or-treating.

I am an Aunt again!

I would like to welcome the newest member to our extended family. My sister Jenny had her second child (yep another boy!) on Wednesday, Oct. 1. He is very very cute (of course), and I can't believe all the hair. His name is Joseph Eldon Nelson. He weighed 7 lbs. 10 oz. and was 19 inches long. Jenny had him by c-section. Everyone is doing well. I love it that Daniel is going to have a playmate in my family just like Sam (Jenny and I have planned this pretty well so far, and Shelley is keeping right up). Well, we are doing pretty good here at home. Just slowly adjusting to life with three kids. Love to you all!

Baby Blessing

Hi Family and Friends. My sister has been getting after me to update the blog, and I finally have a moment of peace to do it (with three boys it is not easy to find the time!) On September 7th we blessed Daniel. It was a beautiful day, and we had a lot of friends and family that were able to attend even though it was early in the morning. We would like to thank everyone who came and brought food. These pictures are for those who couldn't make it.

Daniel looked so cute in his little tux that our great neighbor across the street made for him. He did pretty good most of the day. It was a very special day and we are glad that everything went smoothly. The spirit that was there in the meeting was incredible. According to his blessing there are many great and important things in store for this little boy as he grows up. I am very greatful for the gospel and the wonderful direction it keeps my life heading in. Take care everyone. Love to you all!

One Week Later...

Well, we have been home one week and I am not sure if we are adjusting or not. I am still trying to figure out Daniel's eating and sleeping schedules. Tom and Sam are adjusting slowly. Sam seems to be throwing a few more tantrums, but I kind of expected that. Tom still thinks the baby is a fun toy, and loves to hold and sing to him. Mom and Dad are just trying to function on little sleep. I just thought I would post a few cute pictures (of course we have taken a lot) of Daniel and the family. This was the sign that the boys made for our homecoming. There were footprints, and handprints, and of course, helicopters painted all over it. This is the outfit we brought him home in.

I don't know what is up with my kids, but we seen to always have problems with them being jaundice. Daniel had to spend two days sitting on the billi lights. Luckily it was not as long as Sam (he had to do it for a week). Now he is doing good.

We gave Daniel his first bath yesterday. He did pretty well until it was Mom's turn to get him dressed. He really didn't like being cold.

Well, that is all for now. I can't believe how fast time goes, and how quickly the kids grow up. I hope you all enjoy the pictures, and I will try and keep updating. Love to everyone!

New Arrival

Just a quick posting to announce the arrival of Daniel Porter Mitchell. He came into this world at 10:53 am on July 16, 2008 more reluctantly than his two brothers did. Becky endured about ten and a half hours of Labor, with the help of an epidural! His two brothers both came with a minimal pushing effort of only 15 to 20 minutes. Daniel made his mother struggle for almost a full hour before releasing his grip. He was born weighing 8 pounds 3 ounces and 20 inches long. Everything is going great and Mom and Daniel are recovering nicely. Daniel also has had his first visitors, his brothers. Thomas has been really excited and loved to see his new brother. Samuel on the other hand seems indifferent and doesn’t know what to think. I’m sure he will catch on soon enough.