Our Playroom!!!

As we were preparing for Kolby to join our family we realized that we were running out of room. Our house was feeling crammed and toys seemed to be everywhere and so we decided to get a project done that I'd been wanting to do for years. After we moved into our house and got to know friends in our neighborhood I saw that many of them had finished half of their crawl space to make a playroom, the other half was for storage. It doesn't really sound cute, but it was when you saw it. So I told LeGrand all about it and it took me about 3 years to get him excited about it too. We went around and looked at some of the neighborhood playrooms and started talking to people. Lots of people that had done theirs offered to help us. To make a long story shorter we started our playroom at the end of October. Since LeGrand is in the bishopric and teaches Institute on Wednesday nights, he didn't have tons of spare time, but what time he had he was down working really hard. We were soooo blessed to have friends like Kevin and Lona Marie Cook, Kathryn Stitt, Candace Carter, Cody Larsen and Dad Ras to help us. LeGrand and Kevin did most of the work, but as you can tell they turned what use to be a dungeon into the coolest playroom ever!! This was a fun project for our family. The kids LOVED helping in any way that they could. They loved hammering nails(even though Brayden smashed his thumb really hard and still has a black/purple thumb nail) sweeping, holding lights, retrieving tools, painting... I was down there as much as I could be, but with being big pregnant I couldn't be down there with all the dust and fumes and it wasn't really comfortable down there anyways=) I was amazed at LeGrand and his handy man skills. He enjoyed working with and learning from Kevin. It was kind of funny to see both of them down there, LeGrand is 6'1" and Kevin is probably about 6'4", their knees and backs were really sore. They did such a great job!! LeGrand, Thank You for all your work and the hours that you spent building something fun for our kids and me!!! Our home feels so much bigger now and it's so much easier to keep clean. I can't thank you enough, it's way better than I ever dreamed it would be. We actually just got it all the way done this week, the reason for this is because at first we just decided to carpet it this pieces of our old carpet, but we didn't really like it so we just went and got a big piece of carpet and put it down there. It is sooo much nicer now!!! We hope you enjoy our pictures...I didn't take very many "before" pictures, which I should have done, but this these two you get the picture. It was dark(not lights on that side), cement walls... yup it was our little dungeon.

The kids loved being involved!

Our helpers!!!

Painting away... We are getting closer to being done!!!

The kids decided that the theme they wanted was to paint the playroom like it was outside, with sky, the sun, clouds, grass ect... It made it fun and easy to decorate. We did a chalk board, using the chalk board spray paint. They use it all the time!!!! We painted the walls, the sun, the clouds and the grass, and our good friend Candace Carter came over and actually did the birds, the butterflies, the spider in the corner. We decided we wanted to hide all the kids names in the artwork in the room so Candace drew and painted these too....

Don't ask me why we didn't just get new carpet for it before we got all the toys down there. But here is our huge mess on the storage side as we layed the new carpet. It was well worth it, but it was messy and a huge job that we put on ourselves. If your going to do a project, do it right the first time!!! We learned this the hard way!=)

Obviously this is before we got all the toys back in there, but you get the picture. We have already had sooooo much fun down here, we have had slumber parties, played for hours and hours, read for hours in the library corner. I absolutely love it, the kids can go down and play and the mess is contained and I can have a few minutes of quiet while I make dinner. The whole house has more room cause all the toys are in the play room and it's not as messy!!! Yeahhhhhh!!! Welcome to our New Playroom!!!! Thanks LeGrand!!!!!

President Gordon B. Hinckley

President Gordon B. Hinckley

1910-2008

I've never typed anything on our blog before; Becca has always done it; but I couldn't resist writing some thoughts about President Hinckley. We love this great man. We will miss him so much. It's weird to think that this General Conference coming up in April will be the first conference in our lives where he will not be speaking.

The example of President Gordon B. Hinckley has had a wonderfully powerful influence on me. Reading his biography, "Go Forward With Faith," a little over a year ago was a life-changing and motivating experience for me. I am eternally thankful for President Hinckley. Because of him, I have a greater determination to move forward with faith every day that I live, no matter what challenges life may bring. Because of him, I feel a greater sense of optimism and gratitude for life. Words cannot adequately express the feelings of respect and admiration I feel for this great and humble servant of the Lord. He is truly a Prophet of God. -LeGrand

When we first told the kids that President Hinckley died, Sophie just kept saying, "He died? But me luv President Hinckley." It was so sweet, and I was grateful that I could easily reply that I loved President Hinckley too. For Family Home Evening tonight we had our lesson about the Life of President Hinckley. I'm grateful for the spirit that was in our home and the conversations that we had with the kids. I'm grateful that we have the knowledge to answer their questions and that we can tell them that we know where President Hinckley is right now.

I remember President Hinckley speaking at a Relief Society General Broadcast before Sister Hinckley died, he said something to the effect that which ever of them(him or Sister Hinckley) died first, he hoped that the other one followed shortly after. I've thought about that often especially since Sister Hinckley passed away and that he has kept getting older. When we heard the sad news, my first thought was that I was happy for him, that we will be with his Sweetheart and his Savior again. I'm going to miss him, his sense of humor, his optimism, his calming influence, the spirit of Christ that he carries with him. I am grateful that I know that the Church is going to keep growing and that we will all go on. When I remember President and Sister Hinckley I will remember that I want to be a better daughter of God, a better mother, a better wife. I know that God lives and that he speaks to Prophets on the earth today.

Numa Numa Kiddos

I have to start by saying thank you to Stew and Emily. Since the Numa Numa song has been on your blog our kids have had lots of entertainment. They have loved watching it over and over, and when we say that's enough of watching it they have been singing it over and over again. Last night LeGrand watched the kids so I could run to the store which was amazing for a few reasons- no kids, I was able to get out of the house, and it was good to get a menu planned out and be stocked. When I came home from my liberating grocery shopping trip, they were excited to show me what they did while I was gone. I hope you enjoy...I know I did!!!

If your not familar with the Numa Numa Guy, check out the You Tube Video bar on the Right side of our Blog. Thanks!

Our Numa Numa Kiddos -Take One!!!!!

Numa Numa

Our Numa Numa Kiddos -Take Two!!!

Kolby is 1 month old!!!

Kolby is already a month old. I can't believe that he's already been in our family for a month. Then at the same time it feels like he has always been one of us. This past month as been filled with so many feelings and experiences. Just to be able to bring a new child into this world straight from heaven is such a miracle! I'm grateful that my Father in Heaven has given me the opportunity to be able to bear children.

I'm also amazed that so many babies are born perfectly healthy, when there are so many things that can go wrong, and even if there is something wrong I'm grateful that a lot of things can be fixed. I'm grateful to have 4 healthy children. I'm also grateful that I have been healthy, even at the time some of the things we go through to get these babies here are really hard, I'm healthy and all is well with me too. What a blessing!!!


I am also amazed at how fast you become attached to a new member of your family. I know we all felt attached to Kolby to a degree while I was pregnant (I know I felt most attached, since he was attached to me;)) but for all of us it was instant as soon as we saw him. Then the feeling grows as you hold him, love him, kiss him, look into his eyes, take care of him, feed him, bathe him, protect him (which has to happen quite a bit when you have 4) play with him, talk to him, sing to him, rock him... the list could go on forever.


I'm amazed at how fast Kolby grows and changes. Kolby is now 10 pounds. It is hard to believe that he's not always going to be my little baby, even though I'm excited for him to grow up, a part of me wants him to stay this way forever. Babies don't stay little very long and I feel like I'm trying to drink it in all I can. I don't want him to grow up to fast. It has already happened fast but we are enjoying every day. Kolby is a great nurser and he is getting to be a better sleeper, Thank goodness!! Two nights ago he slept for 5 hours in a row, then Last night he went 5 1/2 hours in a row!!!! It was amazing. I think anyone who has had kids will understand how exciting that is!!!

Kolby is getting so strong, he can hold up his head, well kind of, when he's on his tummy he can lift his head up and move it to the other side. He's definitely getting stronger and less flimsy. He has always loved to have his hands by his face, it's been so cute, but now he is learning how to grab things. His favorite thing to grab is my hair and the collar of my shirt. The other kids think it's pretty funny to see him pulling moms hair.

As you can tell by some of these pictures, Kolby likes to play with his tongue and make faces at us. Every time Adelyn sees him licking his lips or sticking out his tongue she says, "Mom Kolby's hungry, he's doing this again" While she come up to me and imitates him. It's sooo cute!! I love his little tongue!!

Kolby has seriously been a joy to have in our family. We have been trying to be careful and keep him healthy and so far he's done great. He had a little stuffy nose for a few days and had a little eye infection but those are under control and we feel really blessed. We still haven't gone to church and we have stayed home for the most part. We still have to drop off Adelyn and pick up Brayden and Adelyn every day from school, but we have tried to be really careful. Our kids are really good at washing their hands and we have been going through hand sanitizer like it was nothing but we are for the most part staying healthy!!! I'm trying the best I can, but we are exposed to a lot, with kids in school and LeGrand teaching... so we will just keep doing our best.

Having 4 kids has been fun, busy, hard, tiring, wonderful, stressful, enjoyable.... but isn't that how it is with any amount of kids?!?!? I feel blessed to have the kids we have, they are really good. I've felt my love grow as Kolby has joined our family, but the hardest thing I think has been that my time does multiply and I still only have two arms. I need/want to make sure that everyone is physically, spiritually, emotionally taken care of. That also includes myself and LeGrand. Sometimes I feel like I'm getting stretched in all directions, and when everyone decides its time to cry, I usually just have to sit down and cry with them =) Thankfully those moments are few and far between!!! Life is busy and wonderful. I do love being a mom and I'm grateful for LeGrand and all he does for me and the kiddos. He's busy and had lots of meetings but he always makes time for us, to do fun things with us and let us know that we are on the top of his list. Life is amazing!!

Dreamed a Dream

Brayden had decided that he wants to read the Book of Mormon before he is baptized. This week we started reading some every day. He is such a good reader but this is going to take a long time and alot of dedication for Brayden, LeGrand and I to get it accomplished. Last night Brayden was reading 1 Nephi 3:2 which says "...Behold I have dreamed a dream, in the which the Lord hath commanded me that thou and thy brethren shall return to Jerusalem." After the verse Brayden looked up at me and said, "Mom, is this Martin Luther King Jr. talking?" I thought it was soooo cute. I'm glad that he pay attention in school, but I was also grateful for the learning oppertunity that I had as a mother to sit and talk to him about the gospel and the Book of Mormon and about Prophets. I'm grateful for the spirit that comes into our home when we read the scriptures. As we were reading one day this week, he also said, "Hey, Mom. Did you realize that the Book of Mormon is a CHAPTER Book?" I guess the cool thing in 1st grade is to be able to read Chapter books. Brayden is quite excited about it. I love to see him excited about reading the Scriptures!!!

Blown Away

We either have to much time on our hands or we just love to make the most out of everyday. Who knew that cleaning up the leaves at Grandma and Grandpa Ras's house would be soooo fun.

Ok, I almost didn't put this one one here because I look hideous, but what would be the fun of hiding this? You would be surprised at how weird it fills to have nasty air blown in your face. I thought I was going to throw up, but that might have something to do with being pregnant....

This one I wish we did it longer and closer up, but you get the picture.

Yes, this is LeGrand, in case you can't tell=) Isn't he HOT!?!?!?!

Don't you think that this should be on her missionary plaque?

Way to go Dad!!! Your awesome!!!!

Ok, we did take some regular pictures along with our crazy ones. I think we have the funnest family ever!!! Liz, Paul, Dad, Cam and LeGrand you guys are soooooo much fun and Great Sports!!

Mom and Liz came for a visit!!!

Mom and Liz came last week and stayed with us. We had a blast. Liz has got her mission call to Italy and she leaves in March. We are really excited for her. Mom and Liz came up to spend time with us, to go to as many temples as they could go to, to see Grandparents, and so Liz could see Chris. Liz and Chris were friends in High School, Chris got home from his mission this past summer and they have really hit it off. They have started talking about plans for after Liz's mission, so we'll see what happens. We really like Chris and they make a really cute couple. (Megs there you have it, I also put pictures of them too. I hope you enjoy!!)

Our kids have the best Grandma's ever!! We feel so blessed. Here they are with 2 of their 5 Grandma's both are Grandma Ramussen. It gets confusing sometimes, they usually clarify between the two Grandma Rasmussen's with "The Grandma with white hair, that used to be pink" or "The Sammy Grandma"(Sammy is my Parents Dog=))

Liz and Chris--Oh how cute!!

I love this picture, me and my girls. I don't have any pictures of Kolby at the restaurant because he was asleep in his car seat and covered the whole time.

I feel like the luckiest girl in the world that LeGrand will be all mine for eternity!!!

Sophie is such a sweetie!!! You make me melt!

Adelyn wanted to dres up in a dress to go out to eat, but she didn't tell me until we were all piled in the car and almost late. So to make it all better she got to wear my "Aunt Sue" necklace, and she felt like a queen.

Brayden loves to have fun. He always helps everyone else have fun too!!

Here we are either trying to be suductive or goofy, you can take your pick.

Three of my favorite and cutest people ever!!!!

My mom is amazing!! She is so thoughtful and patient and kind. I love her so much. She comes and serves and serves. While she was here this time she offered to watch Kolby and have him sleep down stairs with her, she fed him a bottle and I was able to get 6 hours of sleep that was uninterupted. It was amazing. Mom also watched the kids so LeGrand & I and Liz & Chris could go to the temple. It was so thoughtful of her, I wasn't expecting to go to the temple for quite a while, or even on a date with LeGrand for that matter. She is always thinking of others before herself. I was even able to run to the store without any kids a few times, it was amazing! I love my kids and all but it is so much faster and easier without everyone! We stayed up talking, she did our laundry and dishes. I felt spoiled when she was with us. Mom Thank you for everything. We love you tons!!!

Kolby with Grandma Rasmussen

Grandma Larsen is such a sweet person. She had to come and get a squeeze on our handsome son too.

We love having Paul at BYU. He gets to come over for Sunday dinners often and it was fun having him over even more while Mom and Liz were here. Your awesome Paul.

Here is our little man. Kolby, you bring so much joy into our lives.