This week

Cayden loves to take pictures. We even got him a cute kid digital camera for Christmas. Will he use it, no, he wants to take pictures with Mommy's camera. Here is the one he took of me this week. I was looking at it and decided that although he did great as an amature photographer, I really am starting to show my age and weight. So consider this my before picture. i have started exercising and eating better and there is no way i am going to post anything other then my face so anyone can see the real before picture, so this will have to do. I had the flu over the weekend so I did not join in the daily exercise video with everyone. Jared is off track. This means that he does not have school, until February 23. he has decided that he needs to gain weight since he will be 12 this year and still does not weigh 80 pounds (I wish I had that problem!). So Blaine and I now have "buddies" to work out with because Cayden has to do everything Jared does. It is great to get them in the habit early of working out. Each morning when Jared wakes up he says, "What workout are we going to do today Mom?" He is great at motivating me to get my bum in gear!

Since we are packing to move, we have come across somethings that we need to throw away, need to get rid of, thought we had lost, and just things. Cayden found these Spiderman stickers and decided he did not want them to get lost again, so he used them. He put them all over his face! He is so silly. I was giving Kayla a bath at the time and he said, "Mom look at me!" when I looked all I could do was laugh. He is such a funny boy!

Kayla is just a cute as can be and getting cuter everyday! She is now eating Cheerios. She was cute by trying to get them in her mouth. She would get part of it in her mouth, spit it out and then try again. The second try usually ended up with it stuck to her face. When I said, "Kayla, what are you doing silly." , she would just smile.

While I was getting her bath ready the other night, Cayden was taking photos of her. He would get so close that part of her head was cut off. Her is one of the better ones. He sould not quite catch her smiling, but then again, I rarely am able to get get that on film either.

I was so excited that Kayla finally has a few tiny long hairs on the top of her head! Just enough for a clip to make it look like a ponytail. There is no way I could get an elastic around those tiny things but a clip stayed in just long enough for a cute picture! She is sitting up so much better now that she really does not like to just lay on the floor. She is starting to get on her hands and kness and rock back and forth! :( I am so sad that my baby is getting so big. not in size, just in milestones. I took her to the doctor the other day and at eight months she weighs 13 pounds 10 ounces.

Hope you all have a great week. Do not get too upset with the lack of posts in the next coming month. We are trying to move and time is limited. Be patient and I will fill in the details as I can.

BIG NEWS

We have had some very big news and I have been waiting until things were more definate to blog about it. We are moving! Not just to a different house but a different state. We are moving to the Phoenix area. About 2 months ago, Blaine got a call on his resume that he had handed out to a guy in the Phoenix area 2 years ago. Blaine went down for an interview and got the job. he is still in the negotiation process so a start date is up in the air, but we are moving.
I have mixed feeling about our move. I am so excited to be where it is warm and it does not snow. I am excited to be closer to so many of my family members. I am also sad, I love my job. It is the first job that I have had in a very long time where I am excited to go. I lopve caring for the babies and their new mommies. I love the friends that I have made up here.
I know that God has his hand in this. We were meant to move up here. I am not sure why. It has been a very humbling experience. Blaine and I have never been so close or had such a good marriage as we have right now. We hardly ever fight or argue. It is so amazing to have such a close relationship with my husband! I never imagined that is was possible to be this in love and love each other this much!
We have decided that what ever happens is meant to be. We will move when we are suppose to and we will live in the area we were meant to live in. We have our faith renewed because of this answered prayer. It just was not answered how we wanted it to be. "Sometimes Gods greatest gifts are unanswered prayers."

Bath Time

Kayla is finally sitting up well enough to be in the "Big Girl" bathtub. Cayden loves to take a bath with her. he loves to do anything with her where he can ba the BIG brother. He loves to help her get washed and hand her toys to chew on. I love that I can get them both washed in half the time of doing 2 baths. They are just so cute. I hope they stay this fun and do not start fighting anytime soon.

Here is the best picture of her cute little smile. She normally smiles and then stops right as I snap the picture. I was so excited to get this one while Cayden was talking to her.

He's Famous!

So, one of josh's friends told us he was on the internet. We had to look it up to be sure it was him and to see what trouble he was causing to be photographed. Well I should of had more faith in him. He was at a performance called "A Brand New Year" done by the LDS church and they took is picture while he was sitting in the stands. If you want to see my famous child online go to
www.abrandnewyear.com , click on see pictures, second performance, 22 picture. his group of friends is in the next picture. I thought it was pretty cool!

Sabbeth thoughts

So, as I was reading all of my friends' blogs tonight, I came across this one that really spoke out to me. I know this will get "mushy" for me, but it is my blog, so you can read it only if you want to. (That is a quote from another friend.) Blaine and I have had a really rough year this past year, but it has made us such a strong couple. I am so very grateful that God knows more than I do and that he does not always answer prayers the way I think they should be answered. I was driving to work the other day and was listening to the song "Unanswered Prayers", it is a country song and I am not sure who sings it but with all of the little hints I have gotten the past week, this post went right along with it. I have added the comments in ( ).
MY 24 Steps to a BETTER LIFE in 2009...
1. Take a 10-30 minute walk every day.
And while you walk, smile.
It is the ultimate anti-depressant.

2. Sit in silence for at least 10 minutes each day.
Buy a lock if you have to. (With 4 kids that think when you go into the bathroom that means they need to talk to you right now, a lock in necessary.)

3. When you wake up in the morning complete the following statement,
"My purpose is to____________ today."

4. Eat more foods that grow on trees and plants and eat less food that is manufactured in plants. (I have a few friends at work that are changing the way they eat to be more like the word of wisdom, I think I will read that tonight before I go to bed.)

5. Drink plenty of water.
Eat blueberries, wild Alaskan salmon, broccoli, and almonds. (where have I heard this before...?)

6. Try to make at least three people smile each day.

7. Don't waste my precious energy on gossip, issues of the past, negative thoughts or things I cannot control. Instead I want to invest my energy in the positive present moment. (This is actually one of my new years resolutions. There is a girl at work that never gossips and is constantly standing up for anyone that is gosspied about. What a role model she is to me!)

8. Eat breakfast like a King, lunch like a princess, and dinner like a college kid with a maxed out credit card.

9. Life isn't fair, but its still good. (This year has been evidence of this)

10. Life is too short to waste time hating anyone. (I guess this means my ex)

11. Don't take myself so seriously. No one else does.

12. I don't have to win every argument. Agree to disagree. ( think I should work on this, Blaine is always telling me that it is ok if I am not right, I do not believe him often enough.)

13. Make peace with my past so it won't spoil the present. (Live and learn, not live and fester)

14. Don't compare myself to others. You have no idea what their journey is all about. (this is so true on many levels)

15. No one determines my happiness BUT ME.

16. Frame every so call disaster with thses words:
"In five years, will this matter?"

17. Forgive

18. What other people think of me is NONE of my business.

19. GOD heals all. (I am so thankful for this promise)

20. However good or bad the situation is, it will change. (if I will just remember this when it is bad)

21. My job won't take care of me when I am sick, your friends will. Stay in touch. (I really am not very good at this one. I am thankful for blogs and email and facebook to help me out when I fail to call)

22. Envy is a waste of time.
I have all that I need.

23. Each night before you go to bed complete the following statements: I am thankful for__________. Today I accomplished____________.

24. I am too blessed to be stressed. (this too needs to be remembered when stressed out)

We have had a very rough year as a Murdock family. I am praying that we have the strength to power through the bad times and relax during the good times. I sincerely hope that we can look back and smile at all of the good times we have had!

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!

So, I finally got around to getting my Christmas and New Years pictures uploaded to the computer from the camera. I guess taking two weeks is not that bad. I did not take the time to edit any of the pictures yet. Sorry for the blurry upper corner too. I just noticed that I had a tiny fingerprint on the lens. Oops!
Well, Blaine got home pretty early on Christmas morning. In fact he got home before the kids woke up! I was really shocked. I think the boys were really tired. They went to bed at 9:30 without fighting about it and then they slept in until 8:30am. I never remember that happening in my entire life. It was really nice to be able to sleep in on Christmas instead of taking a nap after the presents were opened.

Here is Blaine holding up one of his gifts. He has always talked about getting a John Elway jersey, so when I found one I bought it without thinking twice (not to mention it was on sale).
He also got a snow blower and a lift ticket to Brianhead.

This is Kayla and I. We kinda took it slow, she was slow eating and I was patiently waiting for her to finish. She had so much fun eating the wrapping paper. She did occasionally try to eat one of the boxes that her presents came in. She got a doll, a stroller/walker to push when she is able to walk, and a few teething toys. I got a few small things like new gloves, a bracelet, and a couple of rings from the boys, and the cutest shoes from Kayla. Blaine got me a spa day. I am so lucky!

Josh got a few X box 360 games, a helmet, and an LT jersey. He was so excited to get the jersey that he put it on right away. He has continued to wear it as soon as it get clean. He does his own laundry, so if this is what it takes to get him to get his laundry done more than once every 3 weeks, I am willing to do it.

Jared was thrilled to get a guitar, a learning DVD, an Xbox 360 game, and a remote control helicopter. He could not wait to try out everything. He kept forgetting that he needed to open the rest of his gifts.

My sweet little Cayden, I think he was overwhelmed with everything. He really wanted a monster truck. When he opened it as one of the first gifts, he really was finished. He thought we should be done with Christmas and just play with the toys. He is just so cute, I really wish he would just stay this way!

While we were inside warm and excited, there was a blizzard going on outside. Right after we were done opening gifts our electricity went out. We were supposed to have the Christmas breakfast at our house. I was really worried that we would not be able to cook or keep warm. I called Tammy and arranged for breakfast to be at her house instead. She was more than happy to have it there. By the time we got to her house, it was the perfect time for Brunch! She did not have any snow out there, the wind was blowing hard though. We had such a great time just playing the Wii, and spending time together. Blaine had to work again that night so he took a little nap while the rest of us played. Who know you could get sore from playing a video game! I could not believe how my arms hurt the next day!

We got home around 5:30 and Blaine got ready for work. Unfortunately, there was 24 inches of snow in our yard. this is Jared going out to the shed to get the dog some food. The snow is to his thigh, about and inch past his knees. I was getting worried about Blaine driving in this weather. We said a family prayer before we went to bed just for extra protection. I talked to him several times through out the night just to make sure all was ok. the storm was terrible the entire way up to Bosie and back. He did not get home until 11:30 and then had to go back out at 3. I was so mad that his boss did not do something to make him safe! He ended up calling them and telling them he would not be driving at 3 as scheduled. He would pick up the things that need to be picked up but then he would not drive them to Idaho until the next day after he had some sleep. His boss was more than agreeable with that. I was so thankful. I do not know what I would do if something happened because of lack of sleep! He got plenty of sleep before he had to drive again.

We were able to get down to St. George for the New Year. We surprised Blaine's mom. I was so glad that we were able to get down and surprise her. Everyone was able to keep the secret. for Blaine's family that was really hard to do. they talk to each other so frequently that I was sure someone would let something slip but accident. We spent time at my parents' cabin in Parowan too. We stayed in Parowan with my sister and her kids for 4 days. I was so excited to see my sister. We used to spend hours every week together, this move has been hard on both of us.

Here are Natalie and Kayla. Natalie is 10 1/2 moths and Kayla is 7 months. They were so cute taking each other's toys and squealing at each other. Well, it was mainly Natalie taking the toys and Kayla squealing, it was still fun to watch them. I think they will be good buds when they get older.

On New Years Eve we went down to St. George and spent the day with Blaine's family. Blaine and the boys went hiking with Kevin, Aubrey and Trey for the day. I shopped at Costco and picked up some stuff for the cabin. Later we went to Blaine's mom's house for the party. It was great. All of the kids were able to make it for the party. Steve and Ann did not get there until 10pm but all were there before midnight! Here are the kids lined up for their presents from grandma Maggie.

Kayla just laying around.

Josh and Jared starting to open the gift. They look so excited don't they!

After the gifts, we started the party. We ate lots of food and played games until it was time to ring in the New Year. Here are the kids playing Are You Smarter Then a Fifth Grader?

I was playing UNO flash with the adults. That was such a fun game. You have to constantly pay attention to the flasher cuz you never know when it is going to be your turn. Super fun!

Grandma Maggie holding Kayla. She has not seen her since the blessing in September. Grandma was really excited to be able to spend time with her.

More UNO flash. Really the game is pretty addicting.

Grandma with Kayla and Corbin, her two youngest grandchildren.

Corbin showing Jenna and Cayden how to play the game. They were having so much fun, they stayed playing the game for at least 30 minutes.

The rest of the time we spent in Parowan with my family. Here are the kids eating ice cream with whipping cream. We had sundaes for dessert so the kids wanted whipping cream on their cones. After they were done, Grandpa Whittle put the whipping cream right in their mouths. they thought that was so cool. they kept getting back in line to have him do it again and again.

Here is Kayla and Natalie again. I think this shows the size difference between the two. Natalie is so cute and chubby. Kayla is petite and looks like a little doll.

After all of the fun we had to head home. We left late at night thinking that the kids would sleep the whole way home. WRONG!!! they stayed awake the entire time. Even Kayla only took a 45 minute nap. We got home at 2 am. It was really good that everyone slept in until 9 so we (I) could sleep. Blaine had to work again so we let him sleep until 2pm.

It was such a great week, I would not have traded it for the world. I had such a great time with both of our extended families.

Kayla is finally ready. She can for the exersauser. She loves it. She can spin the seat around and play with all of the different toys, my little baby is getting so big. I took her in today and she weighs 13 pounds and 8 ounces. She has also cut her two bottom teeth this past week. What a big girl.

FINALLY

Well it is official! Kayla had outgrown ALL of her 0-3month clothes. She is now wearing 3-6 month size. They are a bit big, but they do not drown her.
I am so excited that she can wear different things now. Having been the same size for 3 months, it got boring to put the same things one her all of the time. Now we get to have variety again!