Thanks.

Perhaps it is the Christmas atmosphere that puts us in the Thankful spirit but we would be ungrateful if we did not express Thanks for our friends, family and beautiful baby Ellie. As we waited for Ellie to come Mitch and I found ourselves saying, "Are we really ready for a baby?" and, "I don't even know what to do with a baby". But since the day she was born both of us have found ourselves saying, "it's as if she just belongs here". She has a sweet disposition and a distinct Heavenly spirit that has brought a feeling of peace into our home. We are fortunate to have her and we love our little girl.

New Pictures

While taking this picture Ellie had a little accident on Mitchells arm (#2!) good girl...

She has Mitch's Feet!

She is all about style...

My Cousin Shauna took these pictures for us as a baby gift. They really turned out well I think!

Merry Christmas Everyone!

Welcome Ellie!

Ellie Marjorie Dorius Born @ 6:59 on Dec. 1st. 7 pds 13 oz. 19 inches. This is the first time I got to hold her. Mitch did a great job cleaning her up!

After 11 hours of labor Ellie stopped progressing at a '6'. Because her head was stuck and was continuing to swell, they decided to do a C-section. They made us put on our fancy hats and rushed us off to the OR all within 10 min. The C-section went perfectly. While Mitch held my hand, the Doctor let me look at a mirror above so I could watch everything, (that was really cool). After the C-section they swept her and Mitch away while they put me back together.

Mitch and I before the epidural...the natural thing became a little overrated when I was dialated to a 2.5 for 4 hours. I knew it was going to be a long day at that rate.

Our new little family!

2 days and counting!

Yes, we are still waiting. We went into the doctor last week expecting to get this party started but he simply said..."why don't we wait one more week...". If any doctor is looking for a way to make a 9 month pregnant woman cry he simply needs to say "why don't we just wait one more week". Lucky for Mitch and I, we previously talked/rehearsed this type of response, so instead of crying I kept my composure and went home and slept for 2 hours. :)
The good news is that he will be 'starting' me on Tuesday morning (December 1st). At our appointment he told us that I have a pelvic girdle that is very narrow and is not letting the baby drop. He also told us that because of the narrow passage way the baby might not be able to make it through during labor. He proceeded to tell me that he will let me 'labor' for 12 hours but if the baby is not out by then he will have to take it by C-section.
People have been asking me if I am nervous about all this. My answer... depends on the time of day. If it's before 8 p.m. no not really. After 9 p.m. yep, a little anxious. (I seem to lose emotional control after about 9 pm. Which, I don't think I should be held accountable for at the judgement bar, but I suppose I'm not the one who is writing those rules). Honestly, what makes me the most nervous is not being able to eat. I am supposed to stop eating after midnight the night before. Which means that if I do actually labor for the full 12 hours, it will be 18 hours before I eat anything (which again, no woman should be held accountable for actions/words during that time period either, again, not up to me (simply a suggestion for the judgement bar rule writer).
Overall, we are beyond excited for our little girl to join our family. We are thankful for a new addition to our little family during this holiday season...ask me if I feel the same way during 2 a.m. feedings... wink wink! Check the blog on wed for pics and updates!

The Annual Lifferth Halloween Party (part 2)

Uncle Bubba was in charge of the pirate treasure hunt, everyone had a great time.

Our fearless leader Indiana Zach always knew exactly what to do, as long as there was no snakes!

Leopard Taylor read "Cross the river of cement, and wind your way to the roaring rain gutter"

Pirate Spencer, trying to explain what a river of cement was.

2nd Annual Lifferth Halloween Party!

From left to right: Buzz (Will), Mr. Incredible (Tex), Indiana Jones (Zach), A Leopard (Taylor), Skeleton (Jacob), Witch (Keira), Minnie (Kate), Puppy (David), Butterfly (Olivia), Skeleton (Ethan)

It was our job to shoot "Pirate" Spencer and "Outlaw" Randy with marshmallows!

Get em Guys!

Good Shot!

Research: A punishment for grad school students

I'm taking this research class right now as part of my graduate program at Utah State. It is probably one of the most torturous classes I have ever taken part of. Don't get me wrong, I'm all about education, but this class has just pushed me over the edge. It's a 3 hour class, once a week, on how to conduct, write, and critique research. If I could grant every reader one wish, I would wish that they would never have to take this class as long as they live! agh. However, in all situations there is always something to be learned. Here are 5 things I've learned at least so far...

1) I never want to get my Doctorate
2) I will never let a professor take my research and use it as an example, no matter how good I think it is!
3) No matter how many parental opinions I hear, I will not believe that Autism is caused by immunizations until they have reliable studies to back it up.
4) You can't believe what you hear on the news.
5)Even a baby in the womb can become board in a research class!

Utah State Fair Fun

Cute little Jackson loved the fair!

This was a huge steer at the fair! It's shoulders were 6 feet tall! The black cow is your everyday cow. It was seriously like a horse! We did not even have to pay a dollar!
Wouldn't be a fair without a crazy clown!

You should have seen how scared we were to get this close!

The Prize winning cow at the fair just because he had the most meat on him! I felt his pain.

Spencer wasting his money, he was sure he would win!

A watermelon through my nostril! I can do this! (gulp)

Mitch and I went to our monthly doctor's appointment on friday (I absolutely love it when he comes). Anyhow, once the doctor finally came I open fired. That is I asked him a million questions (this happens every time I go so he's used to it). This week it was questions about the Flu. After a long conversation he explained that he had a flu shot available and he would like to give it to me. Seeing how i've been coughed on by a bunch of kids all week at school I agreed. As the nurse shoved a peanut butter consistency through my arm through what must have been a dull needle I couldn't help but think "lets quadruple this pain and shove it into my spinal cord for an epidural". What the Heck am I doing. Epidural? or a watermelon through my nostril (think creative with that one)? What would I rather do? I know what a needle feels like, and for some reason the watermelon is sounding better! I mean, I heard that being pregnant makes you think crazy thoughts, but you know perhaps i'm finally thinking clearly! I just have to think of it as a 800 meter conference championship in 100 degrees. I did it, it hurt, I threw up, I couldn't walk or see straight, but I was glad I did it in the end. What's one watermelon through a nostril? gulp. Good grief I only have 3 more months to prepare for this race. Does anyone have any good mental imagery books, cause I sure am going to need it! Suddenly one kid is sounding better than 6! :)

A Real Mans Trophy!

I've always seen myself as the type of mom who when their child does a great job on a paper, or won a participation medal in a 5k there would be no doubt it would be placed somewhere in the house where everyone could see it! But when Mitch picked up his Trophy Elk from the taxidermy I was completely torn. You should have seen him, he was Beaming! As each car drove by us on the freeway I saw him slighly look to see each ones reaction. Some, like me, were grossed out, while others (mostly men) would give him that manly head nod that said, "nice". It was as if this dead animal proclaimed "I Was Shot By A Real Man"!
To my own defense though, I do support his silly hunting ways, I cooked and ate that tough meat for a year and a half after he shot it. But do I really want it mounted in my front room so it can stare at my every move and frighten young children as they walk into the house?? No, I really don't. It's not like I can put it on the fridge or even on the mantle as we only have 10 foot ceilings and the elk is about 7 feet from chest to antlers! I would be afraid it would lick people as it looked into their eyes. Thankfully, Mitchell is a smart man and could see that it simply would not be happy in our home. So, if you would like to come and see it, it is happily mounted in his Dad's garage on Mutton Hollow just waiting for the day that we build a big cabin for it to live in!

From Runner to Shuffler... a hard realization.

I had a friend ask if she could stay the night at my house the other night. Naturally, i said of coarse. But before the conversation ended i thought "I should have her bring her running shoes so we can go for a run" then I thought, "nah, she'd probably go too slow". Upon hanging up and looking down at my stomach, a rude awakening came to my mind..."Stacie, your a pregnant woman with a gut! You don't even run anymore! You shuffle down the road! People probably laugh at your sad attempt at exercise as you scoot on by! You are not a runner, YOUR A SHUFFLER!"

A SHUFFLER! THAT IS WHAT I HAVE BECOME! A ROUNDED SHUFFLER WHO NOW HAS A NEED FOR THOSE SILLY SPORTS BRA'S SHE HAS ALWAYS WORN! Lets face it, i barely pick up my feet. I mean, do I even have to move my legs above the knees as i shuffle along (i'll have to check on that). A shuffler, a shuffler, my great aunt June probably shuffles faster as she shuffles to the bathroom!

Upon having this shocking and rather disturbing realization I knew I had to do something! Something to let me know that I am more than a shuffler! So I told Mitchell that my self confidence needed a budget increase and I NEEDED a new pair of Nikes, so that when that fateful day comes that i can no longer see my feet, I can at least know that I have the shoes, and I once had those ripped legs and abs, and that although I have added 15 pds to my physique, that I STACIE WAS ONCE A RUNNER!

So if you see me, and i happen to be running...(cough) shuffling, and you think 'my that's a nice shuffle'. At least I can look you in the eye and say, I may shuffle, but man have I got great running SHOES!

GIRLS CAMP!

We had a wild time at girls camp! The girls were a hoot!

Grow old with you...

I have been working as a speech pathologist intern at a rehab facility for the past couple of months. Beside doing the usual swallowing exams/therapy etc. I have come to learn an important lesson. . . When you grow old it doesn't matter how much money you made, or how many people you know, it's whose sitting beside you when you 80 and terminally ill that really matters.. Let me paint a picture of what i mean. These are some of the observations i have made while visiting these centers...

First a man, probably in his 80's. He watches TV all day in his one man room paid for by his sweet retirement. The only person to visit him are the nurses that give him his meds and the occasional activities commitee coordinator whom he yells out the door.

Then a woman, in her late 50's but looks at least 80. Her lips are weighed down in wrinkles that sink them into a permanant frown. When you talk to her you feel the life drained out of you. You seek to help her but she is rather inconsoleable. You often wonder what her life story and why she is the way she is. You've never seen anyone visit her and you herself are reluctant to walk into her room and let her gloom overwhelm you.

Then another woman, a widow. She doesn't care for T.V. So she sits in her room and looks at the wall for 12 plus hours. When you walk in her face lights up. She is cognitively able and makes good conversation. She's pleasant and kind, and in some strange way she is completly content with life. As you walk out of her room, you carry a small prayer in your heart that someone will come visit her. Her smile is needed in this world.

A woman of 55. She cries as she sits in rehab. Sad and lonely. She's been married for 20 plus years. She has been in the hospital over 3 weeks. Her husband has visited her once. I don't know their story. But right now it's a sad one.

Finally an optimistice woman. She is fragile and kind. She has had a life empty of earthly glory but full of love as she had many children and in turn grandchildren. Her husband sits by her side everyday, all day. He brings in her favorite foods which he knows she can't eat. So he grinds it up for her to aid in her recovery. He speaks of her recovery often and tells her she can do it. The whole experiance weighs on the sweet man, and he seems overwhelmed at times. But he stays. He waits, She waits. It is neither of their ideal situations but over the years the love has been established and they understand their roles. That is, to love each other despite the convienance.

It all makes me wonder what kind of life i will lead. Will i be sad and lonely, or will I be satisfied and loved. I hope it's the latter.

So it's all made me think, What patient will I be?

Mitch loses the bet, we're having a GIRL!!!.

As we walked into the Tanner clinic last week to have our big ultra sound my sweet husband had a confident aire to him. 'A boy for sure he thought'... So, being the wise women that I am, decided to take advantage of the situation and place a light hearted bet. Afterall, it was a 50/50 chance. "Alright Mitchell" I said. "Lets put this out on the table, If it's a boy, I will mow the lawn this week, but if it's a girl you will have to". Let me just clarify, mowing the lawn is not a 'man only' job at our house. In fact, i would say it's a girl dominating chore. Looking back now i can't help but wish i had made the bet for the whole summer! So we sat down in the little room and the nice lady squirted the warm goo onto my stomach, or as my brother Ryan would say....'my new gut'. Seeing that we were both anxious to find out what gender it would be the doctor quickly moved to the babies lower half. "Looks like your having a girl" she announced. I wish i could capture that moment. I don't think my manly husband had really considered the possibilities. He just sat there in a comatose state. It was rather priceless.

Now that reality has set in we are BOTH very excited! But we both admit that we have no idea how to raise a little girl. Needless to say Mitch enjoyed mowing the lawn yesterday and Indy and I enjoyed watching him as we ate our otter pops!

Baby Days

Life has come and gone in a whirl wind this summer! I have one more week of school, my garden is huge and this week Mitch and I both felt the baby kick! It was so fun! I think this was the point Mitch and I looked at each other and said "THIS IS REAL!" I am currently 19 weeks along but we were not able to get an appointment to find out what it is until the end of July! Mitch does not think it will matter as he is sure it's a boy. As for me i'm not sure... I had a dream it was a girl then i had a dream it's a boy... but if i were to look at the last ultrasound i would have guessed it was a lizard. Until then we are keeping our eye out for furniture, and building up the nursery! Here we go!

I'm Pregnant!!!!!!

Our little Miracle: A Trial of our Faith

That's right we are pregnant!!! We saw the 5 cm baby yesterday! How amazing is technology?! Not to mention it's little Heart Beat! Mitch and I were both grinning ear to ear! But getting to this point was not a walk in the park for us...
We have been trying to get pregnant since about last May. In September I went into the gyno to see if he could help the process along. He, in turn, put me on a fertility pill called Clomid. Clomid is a medicine that helps you ovulate. This pill has been known to make you a little crazy, but for me it did not do much. So, after being on it for 3 months my doctor doubled my dose. And of coarse every time i was barely late on my period i took a pregnancy test, and of coarse they were all negative. (Hint: buy them online, we got 30 for 60 cents a piece). Each month i would become a little more frustrated. Anyhow, after 2 months of the "doubled dose" my doctor tripled it..... Note: If you want to become a true, irrational, hormonal woman, get a triple dose of that stuff. All i have to say is, Poor Mitchell. :) I admittedly had a really rough month. This was the month that i told Mitch that i was done trying for a little while. I felt like i had been pushed to my limit, and i was exhausted from the emotional and physical roller coaster of it all. Mitch agreed to taking a break from fertility stuff, but still i felt awful that i wanted to stop trying.
That same month we had some additional testing done, and about a week after we decided to take a break our doctor called with the results. He told us, that based on the testing most people in our situation try artificial insemination but usually end up Adopting. At this point, you would think that news like this would leave me in tears. But upon hearing it i was filled with a comforting spirit that told me that everything will work out and i was completely at peace with what the doctor had said. Then 4 days later, i started to not feel so great. So as a last hope i took another test, and i was pregnant! 5 weeks pregnant!
Because of family history with miscarriages the next two months were filled with quite a bit of anxiety (and Nausea). But yesterday after seeing it's little heart beat, the doctor told us that we are good to go! Every night we thank our Heavenly Father for the blessings he pours upon us. I have truly learned that sometimes we have to hit bottom before He will raise us to the top. We can't wait for Dec 7th!

The Toothfairy

Obviously we don't yet have kids to blog about, so we live vicariously through our families children, thus... As we were serving at the annual Lifferth family "German Dinner" Zachy walked up and yanked out his loose tooth. (By the way, i just about passed out at the sight of it.) He was absolutely elated about his new money making buisness. Of coarse last night he stuck it safely under his pillow. Unbeknownst to the rest of us Taylor (his older sister) was having an inner struggle. As Aimee leaned down to kiss her goodnight she heard a rustling noise under her pillow. She pulled out the hand written note attached.... And as far as we know, the toothfairy answered the question...

Beauty School Dropout

Every once in a while i get in these moods. You know the mood of, i need a new look. But being on the previously reviewed budget (see previous blog) i new i couldn't drop the 65 bucks to get it done. So i started thinking, how hard could it be? I just want one color. Easy breezy. So eight bucks later i came home with a box of hair dye from "Dan's" grocery store ( I know Caroline and Hez, you'd kill me for doing that). So, for those of you who are still wet behind the ears when it come to hair dying let me spell it out for you. You have to put on Gloves. Don't think you're beyond them. Use them, or your hands will be dyed purple and start to burn. Then you have to mix one Mixture with the other one. Simple: dump bottle #1 into bottle #2 and shake. So I shook. Here is probably one of the most important mistakes i made that you aspiring beauticians can learn from. There is a little cap on top of the lid of mixed dye that you are supposed to break off. BTW It's hard to break off! So being resourceful i try to bite it off. Now at this point, I'm biting and twisting and in my frustrations i start to squeeze the bottle the slightest bit...BAD IDEA! As soon as that cap came off brown hair dye when shooting into the side of my cheek! Now is the time you start spitting and rinsing, ASAP! Because if you don't, it burns, i mean it really burns(and of coarse the side of your lip is dyed blue, (just like your hands)! Now perhaps you are getting a little frustrated, but these feelings should only make you more determined! So i squirt that dye profusely in my hair, thoroughly (as the box suggests). Be careful not to over shoot that powerful little bottle and get it on the bathroom door behind you. It leaves brown drips down the white paint that you might not notice until the next day when your husband points it out. Then you wait. 25 minutes. But I decided to do 33 minutes b/c it always seems to wash out of mine in a couple of weeks and perhaps this will make it more permanent. In this waiting time, It's a good idea to prop the box of that lovely lady with perfectly brown hair against the mirror, just so you can remember how good your going to look after you scrub those purple spots off your forehead. 33 minutes later, i rinse, and repeat. Then i used the conditioner. It's important to use the conditioner, it helps calm your panick as you feel your coarse, fried hair. But don't worry it won't take long until you find your Sexy self saying...Shoot, i should be on the front of that box!

A hint of Asia...

Imagine Mitchell's suprise when he came home from work only to find his American wife had become Chinese! That's right, Chinese. Let me just preface this. Seeing how we are living in "tight" times, Mitch and i have created a strict budget, thus friday nights 'out to eat' have become rare. So I decided to create a night out on the Orient! Generals Tao's, Pot Stickers, and of coarse Ham Fried Rice. I decided to invite Mitch's parents over to join the party (under the conditions that they wear their traditional Komono's of coarse! With make up painted on to create the perfect slanted eye and a bun on top of my head i greeted my husband as he came in. He gave me that all too familiar look of, "Who is this crazy woman I married?" You know i'll give him that much, but how boring would life be if we didn't have to be thrifty?! Bring it on stock market, but we will still have our chinese food dang it! (Adrienne if you read this how can i view your blog?)

My Little Boyscout

First off, may i just say isn't my little boyscout adorable!?! Yep...He's mine. But as perfect as he is, his new calling comes with it's downfalls. First off, have you ever smelt a boyscout when he comes home from a camp out? If the smoke smell does not make you nauseous, give him time, the lingering camp food will tear him apart (he could possibly sleep in the guest bed because of it). Buy an air freshener, ASAP. Then you go to church and you hear the stories. You'll find yourself saying "My husband did what?". Now it's not long after he's put into this calling that you really learn how smart your little "Smokey Bear" is. I admit he really can tie alot of cool knots. I start to see some of the advantages. In fact, since being in scouts i have found him being a little more dutiful. For example, he vacuumed the other day, Fabulous. Organized the garage, Fabulous. Put clothes in the wash, which is awesome even if he disregards the need for folding them. If only he could still earn badges, I would be at the Court of Honor in a matching shirt and a fog horn!