We're Expecting!

So if you haven't noticed our little "widget" yet... there will be one more Mata in the beginning of August. Sorry for the unconventional blog announcement. I know it probably violated some sort of social protocol. David wanted to tell his family first since we told my family first with Malia. I have known since the beginning of December and all those many weeks is a long time for this girl to keep her mouth shut! Especially since I talk to my family every day, some of them several times a day! Thank goodness for my fav 5! So when we got into Phoenix on Saturday we told his family. Immediatley after I went to my blog and added the widget to it. I called my mom and made her look at my blog. I was trying to be clever. It took her FOREVER to load it up but her and Chris finally got to see it. They are excited but can't believe our timing AGAIN. Chris gets two weeks off from John Deere at the end of July every year. They keep trying to have a family vacation during that time, but either Britt or I keep having kids- Britt in '05, me in '06, Britt in '07, and now me again in '08! I had meant to remove the widget and wait a bit longer to tell others or at least do it in a more conventional manner. However, things got crazy with the holidays, and I spaced it! I know they tell you that you are supposed to wait until you are at least 3 months along to announce- I am only 8 weeks. I just get too excited and can't keep quiet! Who are "they" anyway? So there it is. My due date is August 12th, 3 days after Malia's second birthday. If I go 4 days early, I could have my baby on 08-08-08!! Fun, huh? You know what's not fun? The beginning parts of pregnancy! With Malia I threw up for 5 months straight. I was teaching full time and it was not enjoyable. This time I thought I was in the clear because it didn't start right away. However, a couple days before we took off for Phoenix, the extreme nausea kicked in. The same time two years previous David and I were traveling to Phoenix to spend Christmas with his family. I was pregnant then, too. Traveling and nausea don't mix! I have a really rough time with the beginning part and it's complicated this time with having a toddler by my side. Never good to have your little one witness you spewing. Sorry for the visual. Nonetheless, I know I am very blessed to bring another little one into the world and am grateful for Malia. She may have a lot of attitude right now, but one look at her and I know it is all worth it! We won't be finding out what we are going to be having. We love the element of surprise. If it's another girl we are good to go. All of Malia's clothes will even match up seasonally! If it's a boy... we are not so good to go. However, Britt may help me out since Nathan was born in August and his clothes will work out seasonally. Speaking of Nathan.. Here is a picture of Britt's kids- Nathan (2) and Nora (5 months). Britt has a blog but her internet connection is not always the best so she doesn't get to post often. Sharon (my dad's girlfriend) emailed me this photo that they took of them during Christmas. Aren't they cute? I miss them tons and can't believe how big Nora is getting!

Our Little Christmas

The little Mata family held our Christmas on Thursday night. We had just gotten back from Arizona that afternoon. It was good to spend time with our little family. Malia had a blast opening presents from us, Mom Mom and Poppa (my mom and stepdad), and her other grandparents (my dad and Sharon). Thanks to both sets of grandparents for sending out the presents. She loved all of her gifts. The toughest part was deciding what to play with first! I was very spoiled by David and hoped he liked the things I got him. We have one more "Christmas" left on New Year's Eve at Dianne's house in Idaho Falls. My grandparents will still be in town and we will go to the Rexburg Temple Open House on the second. Good times!

CHRISTMAS in AZ

David, Malia and I took off Friday the 21st to drive down to Arizona to spend Christmas with David's family in Phoenix. It should be about a 12 hour drive. We left at night so that Malia would be asleep for most of the trip. As you can see, she didn't always cooperate!



We finally got there Saturday around noon. David's dad, Gabriel, goes all out on the Christmas yard decorating. The decorations on the roof played Christmas music and lit up alternately. He made a stream running through the yard so that the moving deer bent down to drink from it! Very creative! Although, I must admit my favorite part of the yard is the flowers. They have lots of flowers planted and even shapes his bushes into animals! The roses are especially pretty.

It was great to spend time with his family. It took Malia awhile to warm up to everyone. Once she did, she had a blast. Her cousin, Gabriel (or Gabrielito as they all call him), was born two weeks after Malia. The two of them found all kinds of trouble to get into. They were particularly fond of screeching at each other.

Malia is very into playing with babies right now. Jocy (David's sister, Gabrielito's mom) just had twin boys on the 16th and 17th of August. Malia was fascinated with them. Even more enticing was their bottles, emptying their diaper bag, and disassembling their car seats.

The twins are named Alex and Tony. You can tell them apart because Alex has a mole on his forehead. So I think that is Tony laying on Jocy's lap. David's mom, Cirenia, is in the white sweater holding Alex, I think!

Here's David pushing Malia in the car. The family hangs out in the backyard a lot. They have a large covered patio and just got the swing. Pancho and Elizabeth are sitting on the swing with Gabrielito, Malia, and one of the twins. Elizabeth is David's sister and Pancho is her husband. Pancho is the one holding Mali up the top right corner to look at the birds. David's mom has lots of birds, including chickens and parakeets. In the bottom right corner in the background is Gabrielito standing next to his grandpa, Gabriel.

This is Malia dressed for church the Sunday before Christmas. She obviously had a very important phone call to make before we could leave! We went to my great-aunt Naomi's (my Grandpa LeVon's sister) ward. We were hoping to see her there but I think she must have went to one of her children's wards. I guess it was her we should have called! We drove by her house but no one was home. Her family was having a Christmas celebration on the day after Christmas. However, we had to leave early that morning to get back to Utah. Sorry we missed it!

Present time! I guess the tradition is to take a picture holding up the money they get from their parents. There are five kids in David's family. Terry is the oldest and in the bottom right corner. Her daughter is Natali, in the bottom left corner. Next is Elizabeth in the top left corner. Her husband, Pancho, and his mom, visiting from Mexico, are in the photo below her. David, the middle child, is in the top right corner. Next is Jocy, her son Gabrielito, in the middle, held up her money. In the bottom middle photo is Hernan, the baby of the family.

We all got very spoiled. Here I am with the chess game that Jocy got me. Malia got lots of clothes. In the bottom right she is opening the puppy she got from her grandparents. She had just woken up from her nap so was still a bit grumpy. Amazing how presents can get her in a good mood so fast! She did lots of "ooh"ing as she opened up her presents. She especially loved the baby doll she got from her tio Hernan. Thank you everyone for everything. It was really good to see everyone and we hope we can make it back soon. We loved the food- pazole, abondigas, tamales! I especially enjoyed spending time with Cirenia getting recipes and some family history. The trip home took a little longer than we would have liked, but we made it safely and that's what counts. Hope everyone had a merry Christmas!

Picture Collages

A couple of you asked how I did the picture collages. I downloaded Picasa from Google. It's free. Thanks to Traci for telling me how to do it! You can create your collages in Picasa and post directly to your blog. Here is the link- http://www.picasa.google.com/.

The Terry Family Christmas

On Wednesday we gathered at Velma and Virginia's house in Salt Lake. They are my Grandpa LeVon Terry's sisters. Grandpa and Grandma had just flown in from Iowa on Monday. We were also joined by Grandpa's sisters Jennette and Geneiveve, as well as his brother Roy and his wife, Carol. The Caley and Nichols families were also there. We had a great time with lots of food, singing, and presents. Virigina had a caroling book for everyone. We intended on singing only a few, but ended up singing the whole book! We also sang "The Nativity Song" as Maggie placed the figures in the nativity. We are very blessed to live close to family and to have family visiting. Merry Christmas!

THE SPREAD! I made Hot Broccoli Dip (Deanne's recipe), deviled eggs, a meat and cheese tray, and caramel cheesecake bites. Lots of other good food. I especially liked Dianne's Pumpkin Roll. YUMMY!

Singing Time! The singing was beautiful. Virginia played the keyboard for us.

Presents! Malia loved her baby, duckies, and book she got from the aunts. Thanks!

Grandpa taking a snooze! He perked up once the party got going!

Bart the Socialite! Chatting with David about Alpine and then with Grandma.

Although Dianne and I had our plates full, ready to share with our kids, all the little ones wanted to eat off of Lori's plate! Lori is Bart's wife. The little one on Lori's left is Dianne's Emma, Caleb in the middle, and my Malia on the right.

A collage of Caleb (Bart and Lori's boy). Caleb found that he fit right under the counter and got a kick out of standing under it. I love his cheeks! He chatted with Grandma as she explained one of the nativity pieces to him.

The Nichols girls- Israel was unable to make it. He was flying most of the time we were there. Dianne's girls are lots of fun! Maggie is 4 and a character! She loves to get her picture taken and was crying because she hit her nose on the nativity set. Emma turns one soon and has been walking for awhile. They both warmed up to Grandma right away. It took Malia a bit longer.

Granpa's brother Roy and his wife Carol.

Malia having a grand time. If there was something to climb on, chew, or pull apart- she found it! The aunts have lots of dollies and even have a baby bed. She had a great time playing mommy. She wraps the babies up and says, "shh, shh". She also got a kick out of the gray spinning thing. Although, as you can see, she often ended up flat on her back! She also loved the little table and chairs they have. She even sat and ate at it-- for a whole minute, it think!

YO GIRL!

Malia is a yogurt fanatic! Whenever I have the fridge open she will grab a yogurt out. She eats one for breakfast most days. As you can see, not quite all of it makes it in her mouth. Regardless, it gives me about 15 minutes of sanity as she works on eating the whole container!

It's Alpine Time!

Last night we had the Alpine Cleaning and Restoration Christmas Party. We had it at the Coppermill Restaurant in Logan. The food was good and the company great (we sat by Bart and Lori!). The highlight though... David was named Employee of the Year! This is the first time Alpine has named an employee of the year. My husband ROCKS! His boss, Chris Harris, talked about how hard David works and gives 100% all of the time. I was a bit suprised. Not because I don't believe David is a hard worker. Believe you me, I know how hard he works. I was surprised because he has only been working there for 6 months! I think it just attests to how great of a worker he is. He is one of those that just goes constantly. Can't stand to sit or waste time. He takes a lot of pride in his work. I also realized last night what a great company Alpine is. Chris is very appreciative of his workers and makes a point of recognizing hard work. That is a very admirable trait. David has definitely had his share of employers that do not appreciate his efforts. We are very grateful for Alpine. I met a lot of David's fellow employees last night. They all seem like great people and you can tell they love their jobs. Boedy Hunsaker is one of David's favorites. I have had the opportunity to meet Boedy a few times also. I don't think I have ever met a happier man! He has been a great influence on our family. He also won a few awards- he has been with the company from the beginning! I know David loves working with him and I love that he has such a profound effect on so many! I am also grateful to my brother, Bart, who brought us to the company. Bart has also done a great job at Alpine and I am very proud of the all of the Alpine men in my family! "YOUR ATTITUDE ALMOST ALWAYS DETERMINES YOUR ALTITUDE IN LIFE." This is the quote printed on David's Employee of the Year plaque. So true!