Our friends the Lowry's

I was browsing through some pics on our computer and came across these. We miss our good friends the Lowry's. I haven't had a chance to call yet, but basically I'm obsessed with your news. CONGRATULATIONS!!!

LaDonna's grocery shopping trip from 1-10

I was feeling a little ambitious so I decided to go grocery shopping with all the kids. Here is my experience in a nutshell.

1. The number of boxes of cereal my Simeon Creature opened while hiding in the grocery cart.


2. The number of Safeway workers it took to bag my groceries and load them into my car.


3. The number of times Iris gave me a big smile.


4. The number of offspring I brought along with me.


5. The number of boxes of cereal I had to buy and the number of days they will probably last.


6. The number of items Simeon pulled off the shelves and put into the cart without me knowing.


7. The number of times I broke into a sweat of anxiety.


8. The number of times I heard this comment, "Wow, you have your hands full!".


9. The number of times Elias and Haven said, "Can we buy this?".


10. The number of times I asked myself why in the world I thought this was a good idea.



and for your visual enjoyment...

Merry Christmas from the Counihan's

In the desire to simplify the holidays I decided to not send Christmas cards this year. However, keep sending yours. The highlight of my day is when I check the mail and see all of you via Christmas greetings.

We do want to say that we have enjoyed another wonderful year with it's ups and downs. Iris Meridian joined our traveling circus making it a grand total of 6 in our family. We are all healthy and happy. I am so grateful for my Savior Jesus Christ. He knows me and my family personally as he does of all you. When I struggle I know he is aware and sends his spirit to guide and comfort me. I hope all of you enjoy the special spirit of this Christmas season and carry a little of it with you through 2010.

With Love,
LaDonna

A Few of my Favorite Things

Guess who is 1 month old!

Iris is now 9lbs. 10 oz and 20 1/2 inches long. We just love her.

Presenting... Iris

We welcomed Iris Meridian Counihan into the world just before midnight on the 6th of October. She was 11 days ahead of schedule, but that was to be expected and I don't know how I could have been pregnant another day. Iris weighed in at 7lbs. 8 oz. and was 20 inches long, with beautiful dark hair, long fingers, and skinny feet. The delivery was a roller coaster of course as I dilated from a 5 to a 10 in a matter of minutes, craziness. Anyway, we all just love her to pieces.

She is not lacking in attention at all. Why are babies so heavenly? We are all doing well. My mom leaves in a couple of days so I'll keep you posted on how I'm doing as a mother of 4.

The Man Did Well

This past August Ben and I celebrated our 10 yr anniversary. Ben was in charge of this years festivities. I kindly reminded Ben that I would be very pregnant at the time so certain activities, ie. hiking, camping etc., were prohibited. Ben simply assured me that he had everything taken care of, but refused to devulge any information in regards to what he was cooking up. So I waited patiently. The actual night of our anniversary was Thursday the 6th which was of course night clinic. However, I was pleasantly surprised when Ben arrived home that night with a dozen roses just for me.

Ben planned our celebrations for the next night which was a Friday. He still would say nothing about what his plans were. He only told me to dress like I was going to church.

Well, we got in the car and Ben started driving to who knows where. I was excited to spend some time solely with my man. Suddenly he pulled into the Crissy Field Beach parking lot as is shown in the above photo. I immediately started to panic. This is how the conversation went...
Ben: We're taking kite surfing lessons!!!
Me: What?!?
Ben: There's our group right there. I brought your swim suit.
Me: (trying to remain calm) Ben, I am going to kill you. Why did you tell me to dress up if we're going Kite surfing. I even did my hair.
Ben: You don't want to go kite surfing?
Me: Ben, I'm almost 8 months pregnant. I can't Kite surf right now!!!!
Ben: Well, do you want to watch me do it?
Me: (furious, but trying to be nice because I sensed that he felt bad that I didn't approve of what he planned for us.) Well where's your swim-suit?
Ben: Under my church pants
Me: When I said no hiking or camping I guess I should have also mentioned that kite surfing was also not an option.
Ben: I'm just kidding, but you totally believed me.
Never before did "I'm just kidding" sound so lovely. I finally guessed what we were doing when I saw this poster.

I have wanted to see the musical 'Wicked' for a really long time, but for some reason had thought it had already left the city. Not only was I going to see 'Wicked', but I was going with just Ben and I didn't need to worry about passing out snacks and toys and keeping kids busy. My only job was to sit their and be entertained with my darling husband. It was amazing. Everything I expected and more.

My man did well.