It's All In The Details

This is an event I absolutely have to blog about. Even though it happened back in September when we were in Utah, it must be shared with all.

So, my incredibly talented and creative sister-in-law, Ashley, put together this amazing tea party at Papa's Cabin for all our little "princesses". It all began with a darling invitation we received in the mail from Ellie, inviting the girls to a Tea Party. Brooklyn was thrilled to get this fun piece of mail that was for her, and fell to the floor with excitement shouting, "Mom, I am going and I cannot wait!" (accompanied with shrills of laughter, is shrills a word?)

When the time for the party arrived, Ashley starts pulling out all her decorations and food to prepare for the party and I could not hold in my excitement. I couldn't believe all the adorable little details. The personalized placemats, the ribbons tied to the chairs, the mini pastries and desserts, the costumes, and to top it all off, she had made flower garland "crowns" for each of the girls. I could not stop smiling as we all helped her get things ready. And, I couldn't help feeling a little jealous. I would have loved to have been one of them, all dressed up having a little tea party with mini treats and flower crowns. Okay, so maybe I was a little too excited about the whole event, but it was wonderful.

The girls paraded into the cabin and found their places at the table. We all watched in amazement as they were all somehow transformed into little ladies, using their best manners as they passed their "tea" and desserts, giggling with excitement at this special party just for them. Needless to say, it was a major hit and the girls had a wonderful time. We hope that it becomes a family tradition! Thank you so much Ashley for all you did to make it so special and for creating a memory we will cherish forever! (and Grandma Connie and everyone else that helped!)

Our Darling Princesses (one from each family!)

Zulema, Taylor

Brooklyn

Ellie, Katelyn

Oh! and we couldn't let the boys go without any fun. So after the tea party, the boys were sent on a treasure hunt, complete with rhyming clues (ashley again!) and a real treasure at the end. Oreo Cookies and Milk! It was a lot of fun watching them run all over, taking turns reading the clues, and rushing off to find the next clue. We'll never forget the fun times at Papa's Cabin.

" Aaarrgghhhh, the treasure is ours!"

Encircled By Love

Lillie Kate's Blessing Day

OUR ETERNAL FAMILY!

The first week in September, we took a much needed vacation and headed to Utah. It was the perfect opportunity to bless Lillie since most of our family is there. Brian's mom sings with a choir called Aspen Heart, and every year on Labor Day weekend they perform during church at the Fish Lake Branch in the historic Fish Lake Lodge. We decided it would be a great place to bless Lillie Kate because it's located kind of halfway between Brian's family and mine, and what a beautiful place it would be!

It was an amazing experience and blessing to have ALL of our family there (with the exception of my youngest brother, Michael, who is serving a mission in New Hampshire). That's pretty rare in today's world, that with 5 kids in Brian's family, and 7 kids in my family, and both our parents, that every single one of them were there. What could be better than that? (It was a small glimpse of what Heaven would be like!) Thank You so much sweet family, for making the effort to be there to support us! We were so blessed and felt very loved!

The beautiful musical program filled the Lodge with such a strong, sweet spirit. When it came time to bless Lillie, they announced for all those who would be participating in the blessing to come to the front. My heart was filled with overwhelming joy and I had goosebumps, as I watched 12 worthy priesthood holders, all of whom I love, respect, and admire, walk to the front and encircle our baby girl. It was a powerful, beautiful, and spiritual moment that I will treasure forever!

Historic Fish Lake Lodge

This Lodge is amazing. Set on the shores of the azure mountain lake, it was built back in 1928 with native spruce logs. It's only a 15 minute drive from where I grew up and I have many childhood memories of this place and the beautiful mountains that surround it! In the fall, the colors on the mountains are amazing. (I should be receiving some sort of commission for this!
Anyone interested in visiting beautiful Fish Lake, UT? Check out this website: http://www.fishlake.com/ I copied this picture and map from their website.)

I was so happy to find this map! Whenever I say where I'm from, I get the funniest looks with the question, "Where is that?" Well, here it is! The arrow is pointing to Fish Lake, but to the bottom right of the red star you will see Loa!! That's my hometown. No more wondering! And Brian grew up in Richfield, which is just NE of Loa. Oh, I suddenly feel so close to all of you!

The Peterson Clan minus Elder Peterson

The Belnap Bunch

Our Amazing Parents

"Dad, loosen your grip!"

She really did have a great day and looked so beautiful and angelic in her white dress! After the blessing we cruised on up the mountain to have dinner at the Belnap Cabin. (better known as Papa's Cabin). It was a beautiful drive in the mountains and we were thankful for the rain that wetted the roads just enough to keep them from covering everyone's vehicle with dust. The food was delicious, (the pies and peach desert rocked!) the company was wonderful, and the scenery was beautiful. Thanks Connie and Rex for sharing your wonderful "home away from home" with all of us. And thanks again to all of our loved one's for making the effort to be there. We love you all so much!!!

More pictures from that day.....

One of the many views on our drive up to the cabin.

Our beautiful angel in white.

Adorable niece Alyssa. Don't you just want to squeeze her!

Jess, Audrey and Ryan before heading off to VA Beach! I'm so jealous!

The sweetest little toes.

Kiss Kiss Kiss

My Wonderful Mother, whose mom's name is Lillie

The ladies that make it all happen!

David & Lori, the newliest wed

Isaac (Aaahhh), Brooklyn, Brinlee

Ryker, Hali, Katelyn and Zulema

Some precious (and serious) Father-Daughter time

Ashley and her girls, Ellie and Sophie

Tyler, Wyatt, Landon & Porter

Two of my brothers, Cliff and David "What's Uuugghhhp?!"

Introducing........Lillie Kate Belnap

Born on July 20th, 2007

at 6:26 am

weighing in at 7 lbs. 12oz.
and 20 inches long!

Named after my Grandma Lillie Maxfield Sorenson who passed away shortly after my Mom and Dad were married and whom I never had the chance to meet. I envision her being the final one, before our Heavenly Father, to say good-bye and send her on her way as she began her earthly mission!

Precious, Little, Perfect!

So the long anticipated story of the arrival of Lillie Kate is now entering the blogging world. To give you an idea of how life has been, I started blogging this when Lillie was 11 days old and she is now 4 weeks old today and I'm finally finishing it! At this point in my life I think I'm going to accept the fact that I'll never scrapbook my children's lives, get caught up with putting pictures in an album, or even write down the little sentiments that life with children can bring. Here's to all the "someday's" that are going to have to happen in another stage of life. (Maybe the empty nest stage?) Anyway, here is our story:


Lillie Kate was scheduled to arrive via C-section on a beautiful July 19th morning. We were so on top of things and our morning was going so smoothly. (I had really prepared myself mentally for this big day). We said our goodbye's to Grandma and took off for the hospital to welcome our little one into the world. Well, to our surprise there was no room at the "inn". There must have been something in the water because all the rooms were full! (I now have a deeper understanding and appreciation for what Mary must have felt!) Aaaaaahhhhhh! What! Go home and wait? So we left the hospital and headed for home. I mean really, what could we do? There was no room. Right! I really surprised myself at how well I handled the news.


The day seemed to drag on as we waited for the phone to ring. This was stressful for several reasons: First, my doctor was on his call shift that would end at 7 am the following morning, after which he was headed for a vacation. And, second, my husband is a medical resident and only had a couple of choice days off to be with me in the hospital. Third, I now had to fast the entire rest of the day until I knew when they could fit me in. (Okay, so I was allowed to eat breakfast, and then start fasting.)


By 4 o' clock we knew we wouldn't be able to get in that night, and I knew my window of opportunity with my doctor was closing. Luckily, at 10 pm we called the hospital and they asked if we could be there at 3:30 am. Yeah! We tried to get some sleep, and our second trip to the hospital was now in the dark of the early morning, but I was just excited to finally be on our way. (So much for the scheduled C-section.)



When we arrived at the hospital we still had to wait around. There were a lot of laboring mom's, two of which were expecting twins, and only one Anesthesiologist on the floor. Finally at 5:30, my doctor came in and told us he was going to make this happen and that we wouldn't be waiting much longer. We had a little window of opportunity and before we knew it we were wisked away by the Anesthesiologist, prepped for surgery (Spinal Blocks are definitely the way to go!) and before we knew it, our sweet little girl was here! And she was perfect and healthy! Our faith was strengthened as we saw our prayers and fasting had been answered! And, with the exception of having to be put under the warmer for a few hours to keep her temperature up, Lillie was with us the whole time during recovery and our stay in the hospital!


Recovery has been faster than my first two. I think by the third time my body just knows what it's going to go through and has accepted it. I mostly contribute it to having my amazing mother in town to help out, along with my niece Brinlee, who the kids absolutely adored, and after that Brian's mother, also an amazing woman. Thank you so much Mom's. We couldn't have done it without you. We love you sooooo much!


So life with three little one's has been pretty exciting. I haven't ventured out much on my own with all of them. I'll have to slowly work into that. Brooklyn and Isaac adore their little sister and can't get enough of her. Brooklyn loves to pick out her clothes and help me dress her, and calls Lillie's little elastic hair bands, her crowns. (She's now her little princess sister) When Lillie is fussing, my favorite thing that Brooklyn says is, "Chill, Lil". And Isaac is the cutest big brother. He is so gentle and tender with her. The first thing that Isaac asks for when he wakes up in the morning and after naps is "Where's Baby?" He loves to hold her and put her binky in and is always saying, "So Cute!"


Well we are so happy to have our adorable and absolutely healthy baby girl in our family. She has brought into our home an added sweet and loving spirit that only new babies fresh from our Heavenly Father's loving arms can bring. Our family feels so blessed and very grateful for the opportunity to nurture and love her. Thank you to all of our amazing family and friends for your love and support during such a wonderful time in our family's life. We love you all!!

...........Stay tuned for more in the life of the Belnap Family.








Last pregnant pose (or so we thought)
Real one was in the dark!

When we were sent home to wait, we stopped at McD's( I must have been really hungry) for a yummy mcgriddle. After this the all day torture fast began!

Proud Mommy and Daddy!

Dr. Jordan on his 23rd hour of call! Great surgeon and great guy!

She has Isaac's hidden pinky toe! Holding Daddy's hand. Precious!

Cuddling little sister for 1st time. Isaac's "kisses" (Yum, she tastes delicious!)

So Much to Blog, So Little Time!!

What happened to June!! Where does the time go? Boy, do I have a lot of catching up to do! Things are getting a little crazy around here. Only 32 hours and counting until our baby girl arrives! Aaaahhhhhh!!! I can't believe it! I have been so busy with baby preparation and keeping up with normal everyday things that I have not taken the time to blog. (And I finally got my husband to download our recent pictures. I know, I know, I need to learn. How hard can it be, Right?) Well, here are the Belnap Family Highlights for the month of June. Hang in there. You may be feeling a little Belnap overload by the time you get to the end. Enjoy!!

Striking a pose in our coordinating outfits. Did not dress everyone this way on purpose! I must have really been loving red that day. After all, it is my most favorite color!

It's a pure joy to hear my children laughing together. One night in the tub they were blowing bubbles with their cups, singing songs, and laughing hysterically at each other. You have to cherish these kind of moments!


Brooklyn's Preschool Graduation!!!
The first of many graduations to come!! This year we participated in a co-op preschool with a group of our friends from church. Brooklyn really enjoyed it and always looked forward to preschool days! Graduation was a hit and the kids were adorable in their tassled caps. We had such a great group of kids. (we'll miss many of you next year!)

Happy Father's Day!!

What could be better than cute homemade cards from your little ones, a yummy ColdStone Icecream Cake, and two incredible kids that think your the greatest dad in the whole world!!

It's A Baby Shower!

A great friend of mine hosted a baby shower for me and another friend in the ward who was due a few weeks before me. We had such a fun time and loved getting spoiled. Thanks Jill! (That's Jill with me on the left, and with me on the right, doing a fabulous job of hiding our large tummy's, is Stacy who had an adorable little boy 2 weeks ago. She's also now a mother of three and a turbo mom!)

Well, I must have reached my limit in blog space because it is not allowing me to add any more photos. Maybe it's my computer telling me to go to bed, because it's 1 am and I have to get up at 6 to.................(imagine a drumroll)............pick my mom up at the airport. YEAH!!!! I can't wait. She flies in around 8 and is bringing my 11 yr old niece, Brinlee with her. They get to stay with us for 10 whole days!!! Brooklyn is so excited to have someone to play Barbie's with!! And, there is nothing like having your mom come to take care of you.

So....Blog ya later!