Just Can't Get Enough

I'm eating him up. I snuggle my face in his neck & drink in that great baby smell. We snuggle a lot & I allow myself to feed on demand & hold him whenever he wants to be held! Babywise be damned. (That's scriptural language, not swearing.)

At the root of my desires is my fear that Luke is going to grow up too fast & I won't ever have this fundamental need met again in my life. I hate that he is changing so much everyday. Everyday, one step closer to independence & away from needing me.

"Mommies love babies," Curtis said the other day. We do. We all love them. I can't believe this is the end of this phase of my life. How quickly it comes and goes.

These photos are a precious gift to me from a good friend, Crystal who came to our house & took these pictures when Luke was just about 3 or 4 weeks old. I love them dearly because they capture Luke as a newborn, freezing him in time, which thing I cannot do in real life. Thanks a million Crystal!

Song for a Fifth Child

Mother, oh mother, come shake out your cloth
Empty the dustpan, poison the moth,
Hang out the washing and butter the bread,
Sew on a button and make up a bed.
Where is the mother whose house is so shocking?
She's up in the nursery, blissfully rocking.

Oh, I've grown shiftless as Little Boy Blue
(lullaby, rockaby, lullaby loo).
Dishes are waiting and bills are past due
(pat-a-cake, darling, and peek peekaboo).
The shopping's not done and there's nothing for stew
And out in the yard there's a hullabaloo
but I'm playing Kanga and this is my Roo.
Look! Aren't his eyes the most wonderful hue?
(lullaby, rockaby, lullaby loo).

The cleaning and scrubbing will wait till tomorrow,
For children grow up, as I've learned to my sorrow.
So quiet down, cobwebs. Dust go to sleep.
I'm rocking my baby and babies don't keep.

By Ruth Hulburt Hamilton

Presenting... Luke Keller (middle name pending...)

Here are a few pictures of our sweet new little baby boy. He was born on Tuesday October 20th at 7:32pm & weighed 8 lbs 14 oz & was 21 inches long. The birth was perfect & I must say I enjoyed the epidural.

If you look closely you can see that he had 2 true knots in his cord, which means that he has already outdone Isaac who had one. (I hope this isn't a sign that he will be double the trouble?)

He is not lacking for attention & the kids all vie for their turn to hold him. Isaac thinks he is "his baby brother" as in "I own him completely" & he really tries to run the show around here.

Luke does look a lot like Isaac and has beautiful blond hair, but he has really dark eyes that look like Josh's did when he was born. We are all just totally crazy about him!

20 Year Reunion

To My Hero

Curtis & I just celebrated our 15th Anniversary a few weeks ago. I wanted to do this then, but I was just out of the hospital & barely functioning. I hope this is better late than never...

When we were in Scotland, I remember Curtis & Elder Cranney discussing how Sister Kerr had told them that her husband was her hero. You thought that was the ultimate compliment and I remember thinking that you were already my hero then.

But it did seem a bit premature to tell you at the time.

Besides, you were everybody's hero there. You were Clark Kent, Baptize Man & the Army General, the fearless Coastal Zone Leader & even the distinguished AP. You had the respect & admiration of all our mission & so it didn't seem to matter so much that I thought that you walked on water. It was more like just general knowledge.

But today I want you to know that you have been my hero every single day for the past 15 years!

I never stop being in awe of you. Everywhere we go, you are always the best looking man in the room. But that is only the tip of the iceburg. You are inside & out the most incredible person I know. I am still amazed that you love me.

Sept 22, 2009

I got out of the hospital (for my kidney stone) on the 21st. We went to dinner the next night.

I am always impressed that you work harder than anyone I have ever met. Most people know about your crazy schedule of getting up hours before the sun does. Try as I might, I cannot talk you out of that. Even on the weekends, you try to let me sleep in and often I get up to find you have already run 10 miles & are making breakfast for the family.

Although I will always wish you would get more sleep, I also really admire your dedication to get things done in the morning. You have never neglected studying the gospel or exercising. Just look at this perfect physique! And yet you have never ever criticized me for my lack of discipline.

In fact, you have always, always been patient with me. When I behave badly, you either just turn the other cheek or say something to make me laugh. You have a way of making me smile & feel happy every single day. When you walk in the door, we all light up & we know that life is brighter & our home is more fun & warm with you in it. I have always felt safe with you around & especially secure & at peace in your arms.

I think our kids are so lucky to have you for their dad. You are such a hands on parent. You are always ready to step in & change diapers, bathe the kids, put them to bed & sing to them. You coach them & help with their homework & wrestle with them. You have seamlessly taken over for me when I am sick. You have taught our kids the gospel & shared your testimony with them on a daily basis. You have taught them how to work & how to play, how to camp & love the Huskies. They all love and adore you & I love you for it.

I look at your strength and goodness everyday & it makes me want to be a better person. I feel like I won the lottery to be married to you! You put my needs & the needs of our kids above your own every single time. You are the most unselfish person I know. You have never complained about a dime I have spent. You have always provided for our needs. You compliment me on my cooking & build me up in every way.

Through dates and vacations or even just "tea time" you regularly whisk me away to our own little world where we can reconnect, and renew our love. You are my best friend & I cherish every year & day & minute that we get to spend together. Thanks for being my wonderful husband & ever my hero! I love you with all my heart Curtis!

Broken Hill the Movie

http://www.brokenhillthemovie.com/

I have great news that I hope you will publish far & wide. My brother in law, Dagen Merrill, has directed an awesome, family friendly movie that just came out in theaters today called "Broken Hill". It is now showing Utah, Dallas, Fresno & Greenville, SC. On the 18th it opens in Orlando. Watch for more cities coming this fall.

This is a really good movie & even won best picture at a film festival in Italy. It's getting great reviews & you can watch the trailer at the website above. If you live in any of these areas or know people who do, please pass along the word to support this terrific film.

It was filmed in Australia & features Alexa Vega (best known as the girl in Spy Kids-- now grown up), academy award winning Timothy Hutton (Ordinary People), and debuts Luke Arnold who has been compared to a young Mel Gibson. Check out the link to the website above for more info. Thanks!

Where did that summer go?

Even though the temperature is still 104, I guess the start of school always means the end of summer to me. 2009 was a great summer! Pretty hot being pregnant, but loaded with lots of great memories. Here are the the most significant events of summer 2009...

My brother Josh is a doctor (anesthesiolgist) in the army and he left in June for Iraq for 6 months! Before he left he fulfilled Curt's special request for a new army outfit, which is now what he wears ALL the time (see photo). The following pictures are of our annual camping trip, this time at Bear Canyon Lake. Josh & Ian tried their hand at fishing. On the way home we did a hike at Horton Creek (from Upper Tonto Creek) BEAUTIFUL! And then we visited Tonto Natural Bridge-- AMAZING! (Only open certain weekends now.) Both have great hikes that we want to go back to.







This was our visit to the circus at the G & K suite. Not the best photo, but a fun memory... if you like the circus...

We got to see a lot of old ladies drooling over Brent with his shirt off as he played the lead in Joseph & the Technicolor Dream Coat. It was fabulous!

Shelly Zimmerman is magical! She has taught almost all my kids to swim in a mere 8 days! Here is Isaac getting his turn at the torture treatment this year. Yes, he cried every single day. But he also swam like a fish all summer & loves it now.

Curt has his own version of summer torture. It's called-- "I will only take the kids to the lake at 4am because I am OCD & I hate crowds." (Consequently--- I've never been with them.) But the boys seem to love it & they are even getting pretty good at wake boarding. Here is Ian at Saguaro lake.

It was THRILLING to welcome home my parents & Lindy from Africa in June. They got back a few weeks early because Mom, our own little superhero, needed surgery on her elbow in the US. It has been SOOOOO nice having them back. Here are a couple of shots from our crazy welcome home at the airport.

We had a family reunion of sorts in July after Heidi, Ali, & Annie arrived with their families. We went up to the LeSueur's cabin in Pinetop for a couple days & played games, did puzzles & ate lots of good food etc. Curt & Dagen pulled through & drove up late at night to surprise us. Ahhhh.....

We all went to see WICKED together.

The "Girls Retreat" at the Desert Ridge Marriot where we enjoyed an afternoon at the spa, dinner out & the kids joined us for swimming the next day. Lots of fun!

At the end of July we fled the AZ heat, for some unusual Seattle heat! Great weather for boating on McCreadie's new boat! This was a perfect day! We cruised Lake Washington & Lake Union getting the tour of Mercer Island shores including Bill Gates home & views of UW stadium/campus.

Ian went to scout camp with Tyler for a week at Camp Parsons. Meanwhile, Josh & Curt hiked Mi Si a 4 mile hike starting at 700 feet & climbing to over 4000 feet. This is the view from the top, where they also saw a mountain goat.

We stayed with Sue this time & the cousins had lots of fun. Here's Isaac & Mark playing superheroes defend the universe.

The latest Keller family photo, minus Scott who picked up a little super bug working in the ER & Keith who is still on his mission. Note: Tyler, who is 14, is now taller than Curt at 6'4-- watch out NBA. There are currently 20 grandkids & our baby next month will probably top things off at 21.

Curt's siblings: Steve, Sarah, Sue & Curt. Curt's sister Sarah is now in SLC (with Carol) undergoing treatment at the Huntsman Cancer Center for Multiple Myeloma-- which is a cancer of the plasma which settles in the bones. Her treatment right now includes intense chemo & 2 tandem stem cell transplants. Our hearts & souls have been completely wrapped up in this experience since her diagnosis in June. Her doctors at Huntsman seem to be some of the best in the world in this specialty & we are praying for complete regression now & hopefully even a cure. We love you Sarah!

This was another perfect day at the river (Note to self: at exit 38 turn right park by Olallie State Park ranger station). Wow! Every summer we seem to find a new favorite spot to visit in WA! This place is magical on a hot day in the 90's-- the mountain water is ice cold, but felt sooo good. It has a nice shady shore, wading for the little ones, a huge rock island in the middle & a deep pool for swimming/jumping on the other side. We heard that up the river a bit they even discovered some falls & really great deep diving spots. We'll have to check that out next year.

Mark, Isaac & Dallin inching across the log-- a kodak moment for the 3 cousins.

Josh in the middle of the blueberry patch. This was a hot, humid morning which made Eliza say, "This is just as hot as AZ!" Well not quite, but it was extra sweaty getting the berries this year!

Now we are back home & the kids are in school. Josh & Eliza started at ALA, a new charter school just about a mile away. They can ride their bikes to school now. Here are Eliza & Lindy in one of their matching uniforms. They are having a lot of fun together & like to spend the night on the weekends. Ian started 8th grade & stayed at Ben Franklin for one more year. Josh is in 5th & Eliza in 2nd grade.

I'm doing a home co-op preschool for Isaac with a few friends from the ward. We are counting down just about 6 more weeks til my due date-- October 22. This will be my first hospital birth! I'm nervous, which seems funny, I know. But, I hope I can "do my thing" there. I was kind of hoping this was my big chance for an epidural, but Dr. Holmes says they discourage that for people on heparin. So they have a water tub room & I'm planning on using it. I'm pulling for "Luke" & Curt likes "Levi." Any thoughts on a name for this little guy?