Happy Halloween from the Gulls!

Our young Anakin has now turned to the dark side...Cynthia, my sister-in-law warned us that that the cupcakes she brought were messy, boy was she right. I took this picture just after Aaron finished eating his yummy cupcake. I don't really want to go into all the details, but I just have to say that the dye in these cupcakes didn't just leave a mark on his lips....




Thanks to Grandpa and Grandma Gull, the boys had some pretty big pumpkins this year. They got to pick them out themselves at the farm. This was also the first year we got Ethan to actually put his hand inside the pumpkin. He even helped scrap out the seeds. He's always been a little too leary about doing that, but not this year. Aaron was upset when we finished carving his pumpkin because it didn't look mean enough. Mark did a great job and convinced him that his pumpkin was indeed a mean looking pumpkin.


We got crafty and made some Halloween shirts thanks to the Family Fun magazine for the idea. I hadn't tie-dyed anything in many years. The boys thought it was pretty cook when they started taking out the elastics. I thought they turned out pretty cute.


It's a long story, one that I really don't want to relive or take the time to type right now. Ethan decided this week that he wanted to be a mummy for Halloween - I know he'll never want to be this ever again - so we tried our hand at making him a mummy. I really do think deep down that he liked his costume - it's made from some of my curtains....Alex was a hornet (not a bee, bees are for girls and hornets are for boys) and Aaron went from being Anakin last week at his school program to being Darth Vader this week. He truly has turned to the dark side.


I just had to include this photo - it cracked me up. I came down the stairs and found the boys checking out the goods. Not sure if you can tell what Aaron has done, but he dumped out his bucket and went through and sorted all his candy into piles. He is one funny guy.

Life sure is different these days...

We are so grateful to have this little guy join our family. He's already been a great blessing to us and I know will bring so much to our lives. I'm grateful he was able to make it here safe and sound - he had me worried, but we made it through. Our doctor is a funny guy and said, well Mindy, you got three down, only seven more to go. I'm not sure about anymore little ones, I feel so blessed to have my three little boys, plus my one big boy. I feel complete!!


My three boys: Ethan (7), Aaron (4), and Alex

The two boys have been so cute with their new brother, it's amazing to watch. One funny story, there's so many to choose from, but at family prayers last night, it was Ethan's turn, he said, "And bless mommy that she can lose her fat and get skinny again and be a normal mom." I looked up at Mark and we just smiled and tried not to laugh out loud. When he was finished I asked him about what a normal mom is and he said, I just want you to be able to go roller blading with me again. Aaron, as loud as he is, tried to keep us quiet so the baby can sleep and is amazed when he moves.

Mark was amazing! I am blessed with one great husband and a very loving daddy! I love watching him interact with Alex, it melts my heart.

Alex and his daddy

A big thank you to Grandma. We couldn't have made it without your help.

Grandma Woolf talking to Alex

Alex's middle name, Rawlin, comes from his Grandpa and Great-Grandpa Gull.

Alex with Grandpa and Grandma Gull

Alex Rawlin

He is here!! He made things interesting of course, but he finally showed up late Monday night. Alex Rawlin Gull was born at 5:05 PM on Monday October 13th. He weighed in at 7lbs - 13oz and was 19 inches long. Mother and baby are doing wonderful and even grandma is surviving her time with Ethan and Aaron. Check back as pictures will be coming soon... Mark

Miscalculation....and a big surprise!!!

On Friday I went to see my OB for what I thought was my 39 week check up - the nurse took me through the usual: weight, urine sample, blood pressure, then says, "Well, your due date is tomorrow, have you talked to the doctor about possible induction?"
I respond, "My due date is tomorrow, Oct. 11 - not Oct. 17? Really?"
Okay, how long have I been pregnant? How can this be? I was totally shocked. At the beginning of my pregnancy, the doctor questioned the date I was giving him and said I was a week further along than I thought. Now, I know some of you may be thinking, its ONE week, that's just SEVEN days, but to a woman that is 40 weeks pregnant, it makes a huge difference!!
When the doctor came in, he simply asked if I was ready to be induced or if I wanted to wait this thing out. It really surprised me. So I jumped at the chance to get this thing over, and he went and called Labor and Delivery to see when I could come on in. So...our big day is going to be tomorrow - October 13, Columbus Day. I had to laugh when I realized this. Aaron was born on Groundhog Day. We like to hit those really exciting holidays at our house.
Ethan was so cute when I told him the news - he simply giggled and giggled, and said, I can't believe the baby is coming on Monday!! I was a little shocked when I looked at him, his eyes were a little watery, like he was going to start crying, it made my heart smile. He's been so excited about his new little brother coming and tells everyone that his mom's tummy is big because there's a baby in there. At least for now I have an excuse for my belly.
This little guys still doesn't have a name, not even close - Mark actually added something new to the mix last night and I told him, this is crazy, we're still adding new names to our list. So...we'll call the hospital in the morning and see when they want us to come in. I can't believe it's actually happening. We are going to be the parents of three little guys. How blessed we are! These past few months I've been trying to figure out why the Lord thinks we can really do this. Mark has assured me that the Lord has faith in us and knows we can do this. I'm still a little hesitant, and I'm relying on Mark's faith for now.

On a totally different topic, but something I just wanted to get off my chest. Today was a really sad day at church. I started walking in and was trying not to cry; all I had in my hands were my scriptures - that's it. I was released as Primary President the week before conference, so today was my first week to not attend Primary. I saw the children walking in and got all sad. I felt a little funny being in Relief Society, haven't been there for about 5 or 6 years. Then, the opening song was "I Am a Child of God." I couldn't even sing the first verse, I was crying - this is the Primary theme for the year. How I have loved being with the children of our ward. They are amazing, and I love hearing their heartfelt questions and answers while we discuss the gospel. They have taught me so much.

It's DR. WOOLF's birthday!!!

And did I mention he's the big 3 - 0!! Happy Birthday old man!
Cameron lives in Wisconsin, where he just finished medical school at the Medical College of Wisconsin this past May. Mark sent me out to Cameron's graduation for Mother's Day - I was so excited to be there and share that with Cam and Miranda! Cameron is currently working on his Anesthesiology residency there in Milwaukee and will be for the next few years - I am so proud of my little "big" brother and what he's been able to accomplish in his life. It's a little ironic that this is where he ended up, as Wisconsin is where I served my mission - the cheese head stuff get in your blood I guess.

Random funny memories of Cameron: the summer we spent trying to see how many times we could pass the frisbee back and forth without dropping it (we thought we were soooo good, too) -- the famous mud episode that Cameron started when he never returned and mom asked me to go look for him -- cheering him on at whatever sport event he was competing in, football, basketball or track -- making him eat an ant when he was little (what a mean big sister) -- running hurdles in the hall with mom's couch cushions or jumping the high jump with a jump rope strung from the stairs to the dining room.

Happy Birthday to my Big Brother!!

Today is my big brother, Brandon's, birthday. He's 2 1/2 years older than me, and although he was your typical older brother and often made my life a little miserable, I have so many great memories of him. I don't know if I ever told him this, but I secretly wanted to be his twin when I was little. I'm not sure why, but I distinctly remember lying once and telling someone that we were twins...go figure?

Random funny memories of Brandon: going to a movie in Preston one night with him and some friend, and he wouldn't let me sit by them, I had to sit by myself -- he'd make cookie dough and then tell me it was my job to roll out the dough and bake them -- toilet papering Mr. G's house and nearly getting caught -- staying out later than mom thought we should and having her come looking for us (not a good thing!) -- hooking up the Porter's trampoline Christmas wreath to the van and dumping it off at someone's home....the trend I'm seeing, I got in more trouble with Brandon and his friends than I did with my own...at least he kept my life interesting!!!
LOVE YOU, BRANDON!
Wishing you a very Happy Birthday!

All of my old photos are packed away in storage - so here's a current one of Brandon, he recently ran in his first marathon - what a great accomplishment!
His daughter, Bailey ran with him at the end of the race - he's such a great dad!

Non-stress Test - Ya, Right?!!

I know, shocking that I'm posting again so soon, but I have a story for the day. As my dad always said, 25 words or less, but this I'm afraid is a "Mindy story" and could be lengthy - there's your warning.
This morning I was trying to get somethings done around the house and had gone through some papers that I needed to file in the computer room in the basement. I try to consolidate my trips up and down the stairs as much as possible (we live in a townhouse with three stories). Anyway, I grabbed my papers and some of the boys' toys they had left in the kitchen and started down to the basement. It was a rather quick trip too - I had only gone down a few steps, when I really don't know what happened, but then next thing I knew, I hit the stairs and just kept on going until I reached the bottom landing. Poor Aaron, he was home with me at the time, and I know he had to be wondering what did this lady just do? I was crying and screaming, it really didn't feel so great. He came over to the couch to console me and held my hand. Luckily I did just land on my back and not my stomach.
Well, today was a scheduled appointment with my doctor. I hadn't progressed any since last week, which was okay. Mark was out of town and I didn't want to have the baby by myself, so I had been playing it safe, that was until this morning. I told the doctor about my fall and that my back was hurting, but other than that I was doing well and told him I would see him in a week. Then Dr. Lamb said, "You know, I think we'd better go ahead and have you take a non-stress test and just check on this little guy and make sure he's doing okay. I'll have the nurse set it up for you right now." So I say okay and he leaves the room. Then I start crying thinking, what if something is wrong with the baby? What if I did something to hurt him? Of course my mind was going a mile a minute, and then I had to tell myself to calm down and get it together.
I guess the good part of this story is 1) I got to see my little guy today in an ultrasound - he's little hand was cute, and I got double assurance that he's all boy, and 2)Even though they call it a non-stress test and it was a bit stressful for me, the technician told me she thought he was doing well and looked okay. He was just so sleepy, he didn't want to wake up and show any of his cool moves off for the machine I was hooked to for what seemed like an hour.
Lessons learned - hold on to the hand rail, it's there for a reason.