Philip and Jaime Connor

Well, Phil is home again from another underway. It is so nice to have him here, especially since I am due next month and after not having him home for Caleb's birth, it is especially important to me that he be here for this one. The kids are ecstatic that he is with us again, and I am no less enthusiastic than they. All day yesterday Caleb chanted "Daddy, Daddy, Daddy", which made Phil happy, because he is never sure whether or not Caleb will really remember him after being gone for almost a month. We are just glad to be back together for the time being and will certainly strive to make the most of it, because unfortunately, it will happen again and again. Welcome home, sweetheart, we love you!

Today Caleb decided to take a bath. He didn't tell anyone or ask permission, he just decided that it would be a good thing to do. He climbed into the tub and turned on the water, the only thing he forgot to do was to get undressed. The funniest thing about the whole thing is that for me and Phil it was a case of deja vu. When Nathan was little he did a similar thing. I was going to give him a bath, but I was taking too long in his opinion to get him in the water, so he took matters into his own hands and climbed in all by himself clothes and all. I guess history really does repeat itself.

Well, it is now 2009 and it is time to reflect back and to look forward. This year will be a year of changes for our family, as we will be adding our newest member sometime in February as well as dealing with a deployment. The first has me so excited, but I could frankly do without the second. I have several goals this year. One is to be a nicer mother to my kids, especially when Phil is gone. When I am a "single" parent, I find that I am more inclined to snap at my kids and do not have as much patience so I am going to do better with that. I am also going to run to Kauai half marathon in September as a birthday present to myself. It should be interesting to see if I am able to get into shape after baby number four so that I can accomplish this goal, but I have a plan and I think I can really do it. I have also heard that the Kauai marathon is one of the most scenic in the world, so that should be fun. I am also resolved to do better with my personal scripture study.

We had a great Christmas. Caleb was the first one awake and when Phil took him downstairs for a drink of water, he was very impressed with all the presents, although he was most excited about the candy cane in his stocking. I actually had to wake up the other two because I couldn't stand waiting anymore! Everyone was happy with what they got and the kids said that it was "the best Christmas ever" which is exactly what you want to hear as a parent. Caleb and his candy cane Nathan and his new bike Ballerina Joslyn Caleb and his Beeps Of course everyone got new pajamas for Christmas and we had a pajama day all day long. We watched movies and played with toys and ate Christmas candy. The pajama gang