Taylor's first Date- Davis High Christmas Girls Dance

Just after Halloween, TJ received a package full of startbursts ( no red-- TJ hates red starbursts) and a T shirt in it. The T shirt said, Wash the T shirt and see who would like to take you to the Christmas Dance. It had the names of several girls written on it. All of the names washed away except Michelle Davis. She was one of his sisters from Trek. The next day another sister from trek asked him too. He must have been a nice big brother!

Their "day activity" . . .sledding at Cheese Park in Bountiful (where TJ played T-ball when he was 5 years old.) The hill was fast and icy but they must have had a good time, when TJ got home he was so hungry and tired. So tired, in fact that he couldn't even pour milk on a bowl of cereal ( we have a new definition of lazy at our house now. :) He ate and promptly fell asleep on the couch for 3 hours.

Michelle arrived in a beautiful red formal. she looked like an elegant Christmas package and Taylor was very dashing in his new haircut and new suit. They made a handsome couple.

Last the best of all the game!

For 9 long and wonderful years, Stevie held the "Caboose" position, not only on our little family train but on the whole extended Hartvigsen Family Train. But now Stevie has moved up a car and Eli occupies the caboose. Grandpa Jay and Grandma Liz finally made it down to see their last Grandbaby. There are even 2 great grandchildren who are older than Eli.

Little EJ meet Grandpa EJ.

There once was a boy named "Harry"

Well actually, his name is Taylor and he had lots and lots and lots of hair. He thought he was super cool and his mom thought he was super scary. Taylor procrastinated for many, many months (8 months to be exact) the day he dreaded most... Haircut Day.

But finally mom could wait no longer and out of desperation she made a deal (maybe it was a bribe) with the long haired, hippy boy. " Get a trim before the Christmas Dance OR for 50 large ones get a full haircut." his mom decreed. Taylor being the smart boy that we all knew he was, took the cash and willingly sat on the hair cut stool.

The hair was long and thick and several inches had to be cut before the clippers could even forge their way through the dense covering. It took much time and effort but in the end emerged a dashing young man.

The people all throughout the land did double takes and their jaws dropped in astonishment. "Who is that handsome boy? " "It's TJ" someone yelled. And there was much rejoicing in the land! The handsome boy was a little sad and even a little more annoyed to have his thick locks shorned but $50 buys a lot of BURGERS fit for a KING. So in the end it was a good deal for all. Mom got her handsome boy back and Taylor got a lot of BK Rodeos! And they all lived happily ever after (until it was time for another haircut.)

And they called it "Puppy Love"

Well... maybe for Eli, it should be called "Puppy Terror!" Look at his EYES, he must be thinking , "what is this black, furry thing next to me?" This is Ashley Webb's christmas present from Karl. "Catalina" named after the island where they went on their honeymoon. "Lina" and Eli are just a few days apart, they are almost the exact same size, they both have big brown eyes (although Eli's eyes might be slightly bigger) and they both wake up at 4 in the morning to be fed and played with. Wow... Puppies are good practice for babies. Congrats Karl and Ashley on the new addition to their family.

Brooke and Katie with the "Babies"

Counting Blessings

Of course November is normally the month that we tend to reflect and contemplate our BLESSINGS, but this November, I am even more GRATEFUL than ever for the BLESSINGS that make my life so meaningful and rewarding. It is hard to understand why our little family has been so richly BLESSED. But I am humbled and GRATEFUL for the tender mercies of the Lord, who knows what I need and want more than I do, and has BLESSED me beyond my wildest dreams.

Topping the list of BLESSINGS is the knowledge that our Heavenly Father LOVES us so much that he prepared a way for us to return back to him. I can't even comprehend the LOVE that was required to allow His perfect son Jesus Christ to come to earth or the LOVE that Jesus had for us to suffer indescribable pain and sorrow for us. Because Heavenly Father and Jesus LOVE us so much, we can be with those we LOVE forever

Twenty years ago, when as a young Bride, I married Shawn, I had no idea how BLESSED I was to have found such a wonderful partner, friend and father to my children. I am so grateful to have him in my life. We could have never imagined the JOY that each of our children have brought us. The birth of little Eli has reminded us just how special and precious each of our children are. To watch them LOVE and ADORE their new little brother has been a true DELIGHT.

Brooke's HEART is completely taken by this new baby. She picks him up and LOVES him the second she walks through the door. Her new favorite past time is to snuggle up with him and take a nap. Any hard part of Brooke's day is melted away the minute she picks up Eli. Eli will never lack attention when Brooke is around.

TJ thinks the "yittle guy" is pretty sweet. He too seeks him out the minute he gets home. He takes the time to pick up and LOVE him. He is fascinated by the tiny baby and is amazed to see all the things that he has learned in his medical anatomy and human biology class in an actual growing body. Eli brings out TJ's soft and tender side.

Madi--mommy #2-- is over the moon with HAPPINESS that Eli is here. She was my constant cheerleader and # 1 encourager during the challenges of pregnancy. She kept telling me it would all be worth it and she was right! She can't wait to see him every morning and even changing diapers is privilege to Madi. She is THRILLED to have a real live baby doll to dress and bathe and feed and LOVE.

Stevie is so HAPPY to be a big brother. He generously shares his room and his heart with Eli. He LOVES to stop what he is doing to give Eli a hug and a kiss. He will be a great friend, big brother and example for Eli- There can be no doubt that Eli is the most LOVED baby brother ever to come to a family.

There is no Mistletoe needed~ when Eli is around the KISSES are free and plentiful!
Shawn and I, of course, couldn't be more in LOVE with sweet Eli and with eachother. With the birth of each of our children, we have a renewed commitment to eachother and to the Lord. Our greatest desire is to raise up children who LOVE the Lord. We are so BLESSED and humbled that our LOVING Heavenly Father has given us this opportunity.

Saturdays Big Game-- Who are you cheering for?

I am sure there is no doubt what color Eli will be wearing on Saturday for the big game. But.... We couldn't resist dressing him in red too (he is adorable in either color) Thanks Ivan and Nancy for the Utah gear.
So leave a comment and let us know what color you like. Maybe it will be a good indicator of who will be victorious on Saturday.
(Go Cougs!)

Friday the 13th --- Our Lucky Day!

This is definately a great day for our family. No bad luck in our family today. Little Mr. Eli has quite easily wrapped all of us around his tiny little finger. He is sleeping well, eating well, and even cooing at us. We couldn't be happier. Today is Brooke's 19th birthday and she is thrilled with both her birthday presents. Of course you couldnt ask for a better gift than a perfect baby brother. She couldn't wait to come and see Eli after work and before she and the girls went to "Bravo for Broadway" with the Utah Symphony. Sounds like a great birthday. We love you Brooke, thanks for being such a wonderful leader and example in our family!

To top off the perfect birthday... Brooke, our budding new photographer got a new Camera.

Look at those bright eyes. It didn't take too long for Eli to spit up on Dad's Uof U red shirt. I am sure he wouldn't dare spit up on a BYU blue shirt.

I took this picture so you can get the perspective of how small this little guy is. He looks like a peanut all swadeled up. So he is not much taller than a bulb syringe, a pacificer and his little beanie cap. He has dropped 7 ounces since birth, but he has definately figured out eating so I expect he will be on the the uphill gain soon.

Mom got the royal treatment from the DATC beauty school spa here at the hospital. They give all new moms a complimentary service. It was fun to be pampered.

Taylor was happy to skip school yesterday and come see his new little bro. He was most impressed with Eli's side burns and peach fuzz. (Eli has more than TJ.)

The Funks were eager to come by and see the new "Funkuson" baby. Everyone is amazed at how perfect and how small he is.

Thanks for the great flowers Grandma and Grandpa Ferguson. They are a bright spot in our room.

So anyways, after 11 hours of trying to induce Carol, she ended up having a C section at 6:08 pm. She was a bit disappointed at first but after seeing Eli it was all worth it. He is very handsome!

Eli's first bath!

Here we are at Davis Hospital labor and delivery room #9!

Jordie - we took this picture just for you.

Carol is on the pitocin and starting to have contractions!!!!!!!!!! Yeah!!!!!!

More to come.....

October 2009

October was a long anticipated, and even a little dreaded month around our house. I knew that if we could make it through the month October, we would would be so close to the baby coming. There were some fun things to look forward to! Starting with the FABULOUS baby shower that my sweet Brooke threw for me. I have to say it was strange to be the center of attention after all these years...but Brooke did such a great job. She made darling invitations, delivered them to all of the neighbors, planned the food,and made arrangements for Jenny to host it, asked her aunts and grandma to help with the food. She even made the favors (which we forgot to give out) she is a regular event planer. She and Madi made the darling diaper cake. Madi was just darling about helping too. These girls were so excited to be a part of Baby Eli's celebration. It was so fun to visit with friends and anticipate and celebrate baby Eli's arrival.
Here is a picture of all of the fun things that people brought to spoil ELI. Hie is already one lucky baby boy. Notice the darling carseat canopy that Madi chose the fabric for and helped to make. This baby is definately going to have 3 mothers!

The very next day, the day that I have been dreading since I finished my JetBlue training in July, arrived. I started my full time 2 week training for our new Customer Service System. I was so nervous about how I would manage physically working so many hours, plus the commute time, not to mention the total brain energy required to learn a new system in 2 weeks. I was scared! But I couldn't have asked for a better experience under difficult circumstances. It was no small miracle that I was put into the very same class as my two other JetBlue friends Kathy and Wendy. What are the chances of us being put in to the very same class out of 80 plus classes. But having friends to commute with, learn with and laugh with made all of the difference and I survived what would have otherwise been a very, tough situation. We "graduated" on Halloween. I am so happy to have that task completed... Check it off the list... the next thing to check off the list ... HAVE A BABY!

HAPPY HALLOWEEN

Brooke and some of her friends had a costume party. Brooke was Galinda from wicked but her "cursed" hair was too thick to fit under her curly blonde wig. So she decided to be "Belinda, Galinda's older... nicer.. brunette sister.

Belinda lives a good wish on all of her friends!

Spiderman--Isaac Browning. Baby Boy--Stevie Ferguson the cutest baby in the Ferguson house (at least for 2 more weeks.) Skeleton Zombie-Hannah Funk. Vampire Princess-- Madi Ferguson. Fifties Beauty-- Natalie Terry. Skeleton Rocker--Abbey Hartvigsen.

Notice how nice the weather is... no snow, no rain and short sleeve weather! How lucky!!

We will say Goodbye to October 2009 and Welcome November 2009 and Welcome Baby Eli... 12 days and counting.

NOW, we are ready!

There were a few more projects that needed to be finished before we were really ready for our new baby boy. We knew all along that Stevie would share his room with his new brother, but what we didn't think through well enough was how we were going to fit a crib and another dresser into Stevie's room along with the queen size bed that was already in there. Madi was very quick to come up with the solution. She graciously volunteered to take the queen size bed, on the condition of redoing her room too. So first we tackled the boys room. We brought in the crib that our good friends the Edelmans gave us (it matches the dressers perfectly) and made up the bed with the new "Little Patriot" bedding. It goes great with the Americana theme. Stevie seems pretty happy with the new set up and with think baby will love it.

After the boys room was finished, Mom realized with great sadness that both of her girls have outgrown the whimsical garden room with the picket fence and trees and flowers. It was my favorite room in the house and the last room to undergo redecorating since we moved in 11 years ago. So down came the pickets and the wall paper (even the tree that has served as our growth chart over the years) and up went the pink paint and the bright stripes. Madi found some great, bright colored funky storage boxes that she decided to base the room around. She and Brooke chose the fun bright paint and Dad was a great sport to let 3 women boss him around. He is a very patient painter.

The room turned out great and it will grow up with Madi through the next several years. She is happy as a clam.

So now with every one's room completed we are ready to welcome our newest family member.

Dad wonders if I can sleep better now that these projects are complete... he must have a short memory because sleepless nights are only going to get worse... not better for a long, long time.