Blessings From on High

Jonas is home. We brought him home on November 17, 2011. He is such a sweet little boy! We love having him home and being together as a family. Although we do miss our sleep! He is very adamant about eating every three to four hours. He also gets mega fussy at night (~11 pm-5 am) for unknown reasons...but we wouldn't change anything. We are so grateful to have been given this sweet baby and to be his parents. It is hard to express the feelings we have about Jonas. It is very humbling to think that the Lord has entrusted this sweet, sweet spirit to us, that we have been given this stewardship. What an amazing feeling! We love Jonas so much and are so thankful that he is safe and healthy and finally home. 

  Jonas Isaiah Moran

Born October 21, 2011

I want to take a minute to express my gratitude to the Lord and share my testimony of prayer and the power of the priesthood. While Jonas was in the NICU, there were so many people praying for him. He was in both my morning and night prayers. I know that the Lord hears and answers our prayers because Jonas is strong and healthy and at home now. Jonas was also given a priesthood blessing while in the hospital. Mike gave the sweetest, most touching blessing. The spirit was so strong and I knew that Jonas was in the Lord's hands. We went back the next morning after Jonas received this priesthood blessing and all chest tubes, wires, and the ventilator were gone. He was no longer hooked up to all those machines. I know that this great leap was because of the blessing he received the previous night and the power of the priesthood that his father and grandfather hold. Jonas was also blessed in church this last Sunday. Mike gave a very sweet and beautiful blessing again. I know that the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints is true and that the Priesthood is real and is God's hand here on the earth. I am so grateful for all those righteous, worthy priesthood holders in my life and their influence on me and my family. I am also grateful for prayer. That we are able to speak to and with our Heavenly Father. I am also grateful that He listens to our concerns and answers our prayers. 

I have felt so blessed and loved in the last month. to be given this amazing opportunity of being a mother. To have family here with me and to feel of their love and support daily. To have had the prayers in my heart answered and to have this beautiful, healthy baby boy in my life and finally to have him home with us. I know that the Lord is looking after me and the Holy Ghost is always there to comfort me and guide me to do all I need to. There really are no words to describe the love I have felt from both my heavenly and earthly families.

Jonas Isaiah Moran

To update everyone that doesn't already know, our little boy Jonas Isaiah was born on October 21, 2011. He weighs 5 pounds 12 ounces and is 18 3/4" long. He was born 6 weeks early via emergency C-Section. He is in the NICU and is so little, but doing better than the doctors anticipated.

So here is the story of how we got where we are now. We had a routine Doctor's visit on Wednesday. They did an ultrasound and discovered fluid outside of his lungs. The doctor was concerned so he sent us to the hospital so the neonatologists could take a look. They were also concerned and gave me steroid shots to help baby's lungs develop faster so that if need be to deliver early, he wouldn't have any other lung problems. I came back on Thursday for the second shot of steroids and they made another appointment for Friday to take a second look at the little boy's lungs. We came back to the hospital on Friday not anticipating to be having a baby that day. They measured the amount of fluid around his lungs and discovered that there was more than on Wednesday. The doctors all spoke together and decided that it was best to deliver him. It was decided that his lungs wouldn't get the chance to develop fully if he went to full term. So they walked us across the hall and started prepping me for an emergency C-Section to deliver him and get the fluid off his lungs.

He has what they call Congenital Chylothorax. Which basically means that he has this limphatic fluid in his chest. They have drained off a good amount and are still getting a little, but it is less and less each day. He had an X-Ray this morning and they said there was still a little fluid in there, but that it was getting better. We go down and see him everyday. He is still on a ventilator and has chest tubes in his sides, so we can't hold him yet, but we get to see him and hold his little hands and rub his little head and tickle his little feet. It is really  hard to see him hooked up to all those machines and not be able to hold him, but I know that he is in good hands and getting better everyday, but it is still hard for us.

The hardest part is that I am going home from the hospital tomorrow and my baby Jonas isn't coming with me...that is the hardest part of all of this. We hadn't planned on having him so soon first off, and now that he is here I can't even hold my baby and take care of him and take him home with me. Faith. Faith is what I need right now. Faith and comfort. I have faith that he will just as fine when I'm not in the hospital as he is when I've been here. It's just that I won't be able to just walk down the hall and see him whenever I want to.

This is really all that we know now and we will update as soon as we know more and we will hopefully get some pictures of him up soon to announce him to the world. :)  

Third trimester, big baby, and sewing

So I was just reading the baby ticker thing and it says the baby is 4.75 pounds....HA!! He is much bigger than that! He is probably weighing in at more than 5 pounds at this point...he is a big baby to say the least.

Anyways, the update on our little family. Mike is doing good. He loves working in produce! He is so cute! He comes home from work and tells me all about all the fruits and vegetables that he stocked that day and about all the nasty things that he throws away. He really enjoys his job. He hasn't enjoyed any of the jobs he has had since we have been married. So his enjoyment makes me really happy. :)

Baby is doing great. He is growing extremely well and is way above average in size and weight. He moves a lot, keeping me up at night when I'm trying to sleep and sometimes even waking me up in the middle of the night. We have another doctor's appointment on Wednesday morning. We will get to see him again and see how big he has gotten since the last visit two weeks ago.

I am hanging in there. If you have never been pregnant then you have no idea of the pain and discomfort you feel in the third trimester. My back is ALWAYS aching and nothing brings relief. Even the back rubs from my wonderful loving husband bring only a few minutes of relief. I wake up in the middle of the night because my back hurts and I have a hard time getting back to sleep. I wake up in the morning with more pain than when I went to sleep. And that is just the beginning. I have been feeling a few contractions, nothing major and nothing serious, just little cramp-like contractions that are perfectly normal at this stage of pregnancy. And of course not to mention the digestive problems. For all those who have been here, know what I am talking about. For those of you who have no idea what I am talking about...you will learn in time. But to be honest all these things that my body has to go through are completely worth the prize at the end. I cannot wait for our little baby boy to be here and in my arms! It is totally worth it!! :)

Well, Reece will be here the last weekend in October! We are so excited for him to be here. There is a pretty good chance that Mike can get him a job at the same Walmart that he works at. This would be helpful for Reece to be able to work and they could even car pool and stuff too. So this is good news. :) Aunt Elaine is cleaning out the room Reece will be staying in as I type.

Mike got his first paycheck today!! Do you know what that means? I can finally buy fabric and sew some sweet stuff for the baby!! :) A cute car seat cover and cute little blanket! I am so excited to sew!! I haven't sewn anything since school...and I love sewing! I just love sewing and creating cute things, and especially for my little baby! :) 

Tara Walmart Baby Items and Reece! :)

Well Walmart FINALLY called back and Mike now has a job. It is working part-time in the produce dept. It is in Centerville which is about a 30 minute drive, but at this point we will take anything that comes our way. Over the past couple of days he has been going to orientation. Apparently working at Walmart isn't as easy as it looks! :p But it has been paid orientation which is good. Mike is making so much more money than he was at his previous job. We are so grateful to our Heavenly Father for this amazing blessing in our lives! Mike also has another job that he is looking at that pays $10/hr installing Christmas lights...so that would be awesome if he could work that into his Walmart schedule!! There have been so many things that have happened since we have been here that have been amazingly beneficial to us. Mike has gotten this job for one thing, medicaid and wic sort of just fell into place once I made the phone calls, we found an awesome doctor, we really enjoy our ward and love the members and the neighbors, and countless other blessings.

This weekend is General Conference! I always love hearing the words of our Prophet and Apostles! But this weekend is also exciting because I get to see Becky and Tara and their significant others :p I haven't seen Tara since Fall Semester 2008. That was a long time ago!! I am just so excited for us to all be together again and enjoy being together! And Mike and Tara will finally get to meet after almost two years of learning of each other. We're all going to hang out Saturday evening I believe, after Priesthood session. Every time I think about this get together I get all excited and giddy like a child!

Well Mike just called me and said that he will be home shortly so I better go get dinner started so that we can go buy more baby stuff tonight! Buying baby stuff has become my biggest obsession in the last month or so. I think this is my urge during the nesting stage...I don't really desire to clean, just to have all the baby things in order and ready for when he gets here. So not having any of the stuff like the bed, car seat and stroller, ya know that kind of stuff is driving me up the wall!!! But Mike promised if I did all my chores today and dinner was mostly ready when he got home, he would take me tonight to go get some of the stuff :D Anyways, now that i have procrastinated even further it is now time to say goodbye for now.

P.S. Reece is going to be moving out here to live with Aunt Elaine as well in the beginning of Nov. So we are also excited to have him here and be a part of our odd but cute little family! :)

Kicks From Heaven

We have been in Utah now for about three weeks now if I'm not mistaken. We have moved into Aunt Elaine's basement and finally put all our stuff in storage. We now have a doctor here and have transferred our WIC from Idaho to Utah. Mike has a job (part-time, but a job). And we have even done all our homework and research and are poised and ready to make all the major purchases for the baby. We are just waiting until we can save up the money necessary.

Our new ward is pretty good. We do miss our married student ward in Idaho and our bishop. We really enjoyed our time there and made some pretty good friends and had some very great opportunities and experiences there. Our new ward is definitely a family ward. Young men actually bless and pass the sacrament and there are tons of primary kids and lots of youth. Not to mention the older couples. It is a very diverse ward and we are excited about the opportunities and experiences we will have here. We haven't met with the bishop yet, but we have a feeling that there are callings on the horizon for us. Mike is already attending a scouting activity tomorrow night. who knows where this might lead...

The 2 1/2 of us are all healthy and happy. Baby boy is kicking and kicking harder, stronger, and more frequently. I love to feel him move around, it's like little kicks from heaven :) although they are starting to be a little more painful, I love them and am grateful for these little reminders that I am going to be a mommy and am being given this little gift to love and take care of. We are getting so excited for his arrival and want him be here already! Life in Utah is pretty good so far, we will update you all when more events unfold. 

Packing and Moving and Preparing

We have finally made it home to Idaho! We had such a fun visit with all our friends and family! We spent a lot of fun family time with Mike's family in Virginia, we were able to visit with our friends Kyle and Alice and their cute little baby Emmaliyah. I was able to go and be a part or Kelsey's wedding and we got to visit where Mike grew up in Illinois. Anyways we had an awesome time away, but it feels so good to be in our own home. But we will be moving out in a few days, so we have to pack and pack like crazy in the next couple of days!!

We will miss Rexburg a lot more than we thought we would. Rexburg is where we met, where we dated, where we started our lives together and spent the first year of our marriage. It really is a great place to live and to start a family, but there isn't much left for us here. We will miss it, but we are very excited about what is still ahead of us elsewhere. The birth of our baby boy, Mike finishing up school at wherever we decide to go, and the many other things that the Lord has in store for us in the near future.

So, off we go to face the world, have a baby and hopefully get a really good job so we can move wherever the academic winds take us.

Crazy Kicker!

We have been in Virginia for a week now. We are having fun with Mike's family going to the movies and clothes shopping for Mike, myself, and even the baby has some new threads!! ;) And since we've been here little jr. has been kick kick kicking away like there's no tomorrow!! It doesn't bother me or hurt me any (yet) but he sure is letting the world know that he is in there. Reece would take this as a sign that he will follow in his uncle's footsteps and become a pro soccer player hehe ;)

Anyways, just a quick update that we are here enjoying our little vacation and that baby is doing good. I hope you all enjoy the rest of your week and summer as it comes to a close for a lot of you.

The Crossroads...

So I am basically done with school. I only got my associates and would really like a bachelors, but I think that I am going to take so time off of school to stay home with my baby boy and be a mommy. So I'm pretty much done. I will probably go back and/or take some online classes to finish up and get a bachelors at some point in the future, but as of now I just want to be a mommy.

But anyway the graduation hoopla was this last Friday and my mom and dad and Reece came. They were really good services, but when did they expect us to eat? We had to line up in our colleges by 4:00 pm, the commencement ceremony began at 5:00 pm and went to about 6:00 pm. And then the convocation with your individual colleges was at 7:00 pm and went to about 8:00 pm. So we didn't eat dinner that night until almost 10:00 pm because my family was staying in Idaho Falls, so that is where we ate. So besides it being at the worst time possible, the graduation was really good.

Mike also got his associates, but is going to go right back to school, so he didn't walk or anything because he's not done, it's not really a finishing point for him as it is for me. We just need to decide if we will be going to school in January or if we will be taking some time off and go to school next fall (2012). There are pros and cons to both sides so it is just a matter of weighing our options and deciding what is best for our family.

Decisions and plans have been made for our summer though! We will be traveling to VA to visit Mike's family. We are leaving Idaho on Monday August 1st. We will spend about a month there with his family and travel back to Idaho at the end of August. We will then pack up our apartment and all our junk and head down to Utah where we will be staying with my Aunt Elaine and work until we can afford our own place there in Utah. We decided Utah because we don't have to move all our stuff very far, the job market there is much better than it is here in Idaho and we can live with Aunt Elaine for a while and not pay rent and save up to get our own place hopefully before the baby comes. Then comes the tricky part. We have the baby there in Utah in late Nov. early Dec. and then we either go to school in January, or wait till next fall...I know that Mike doesn't really want to take off a whole lot of time between semesters, but we will have a newborn, and if we waited until next September, Mike could work more and we could save up more money so that our financial burdens while Mike is in school would be lighter. But it might be better for him to jump right into school, so we need to figure all that stuff out and decide what we want to do.

Mike has decided on three schools that he wants to apply to. UC Davis, BYU, and University of Illinois-Urbana Champagne. His top choice is U of I. So moving a newborn to Illinois would be a little difficult, rather than moving in Sept. So that has a lot to do with it too. And he might not get into U of I, and we might be staying in Utah, or going to CA. So a lot is dependent on where Mike gets in.

We are so blessed to be surrounded by friends and family that love us and what to help and support us. I am grateful for my visiting teachers especially!! They have been awesome and they always make sure that I am taken care of and that they are there to help whenever I need them. They are amazing and I have been so grateful for their love and service. Not to mention our families and all that they do for us and their love and service! I am just in a grateful mood and I feel so blessed to have all these wonderful people in my life that want our little family to be happy. So to all those who have provided help to us spiritually, financially, emotionally, by giving us advice that we needed, those that have been praying for us for any reason, and for any other help, we are so grateful for you and what you have done to help us get where we are today. So again, thank you!!

Baby Boy :)

Well, here we introduce our little baby boy! He was hiding his face practically the entire ultrasound, but we did get a few good ones of his cute little face! :)

Little baby boy Moran!

This is my favorite 3D one of him. He liked to have his hands up by his face...such a cutie!!

Well there you have it. Our little boy, pride and joy! And boy let me tell you, he just loves moving around dancing and whatever it is that babies like to do in the womb. The ultrasound tech called him a wiggler. Anyways we are so excited for him to come and join us and make us happy! We want December 1st to come faster!

Harry Potter and a Baby Boy!

Yesterday we found out the sex of our baby. IT'S A BOY!!! We are so excited!! We would take whatever the Lord gave us, but deep inside we secretly wanted a boy first to be a big brother and protector to all the younger ones. So we are very excited to bring this little boy into our home in December!! He is in the 62 percentile! A little bigger than the average baby. He was so cute! The ultrasound tech said he is wiggler, and he was moving around so much. He hid his face behind his hands for most of the ultrasound, but he did cooperate towards the end so we got a couple cute pics of his face. Oh man this is such an exciting moment for the Moran family!!

We went and saw Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2 last night at midnight. It was pretty awesome! It is so sad that HP is finally over. That is a huge part of my childhood...and now it is pretty much over. We will tell our boy someday that the day we found out he was a boy was the day "It all ended", we saw HP7 pt 2 at midnight...kind of a cool story.

Anyways, we have pictures form the ultrasound that we want to put up for you all to see, but I haven't gotten them on the computer yet. So they will be posted at a later date. So keep checking back and they should be up sometime this weekend for all to see.

What to do?

So the doctor's office called the other day and they wanted to move our ultrasound to Thursday afternoon instead of Friday morning seeing as the Doc would be out of the office on Friday. So we will now be finding out the gender of our little one TOMORROW!!!!! How exciting is that! We are so excited to see it again and find out if it is a boy or a girl. It still all feels a little surreal to me. I look down at my tummy and see that it is bulging now, but I don't really feel any different than before I was pregnant. It has come to my realizations lately that growing up is hard! Especially when you are no longer dependent on your parents for survival. This pregnancy has helped me realize this as well as other circumstances.
Mike and I will both be receiving our associates degrees at the end of next week. I will be walking in the ceremony while Mike is not. The way we see it is that I am pretty much done with my schooling for now and probably won't go back until our kids are grown, while he will be continuing on elsewhere. My mom has said that she and my dad want to be here for my graduation. I hope that they can come up and be here for it considering that I am pretty much done with school.
So we will be done here in Rexburg on July 22, 2011. Mike will be applying to three schools; UC Davis in CA, University of Illinois Urbana-Champagne, and BYU in Provo UT. His top choice is U of I. But he won't be going to school until next spring semester, so we have some planning to do!
We will be visiting Mike's family in VA for basically the entire month of August (I will be flying home for a weekend to be a bridesmaid in Kelsey's Wedding). Mike will be quitting his poor paying job at the end of this month. We will have enough money to pay for August's rent, but not Sept when we return from VA. So therein lies our dilemma. Do we pack everything up and put it in storage and just stay in VA and have the baby there? Do we come back to Idaho and hope to find a job ASAP? Do we try to move to Idaho Falls to hopefully find a good job there? Do we try to move to Utah and find a better job there? Do we go to CA and live with my parents and have the baby there? There are so many variables and options that we don't really know exactly what we should do. We have a few options that are standing out to us, we just need to speak to those who would be involved and try to get this thing all figured out before it's too late. So to all those out there reading this, we would ask for your prayers that we may be able to make the best decision for our little family. :)
Until next time!

P.S. There might be a post in the next couple days with pics from the ultrasound and some exciting news !!

Blessings In Disguise

Well the date is set to find out the gender of our baby! July 15th! The day that Harry Potter comes out. We are so excited to finally know what are little munchkin is! :)
At the last Dr visit they did all the blood work and offered to do the down syndrome test. We obviously said that it wasn't necessary, that it wouldn't change anything about the pregnancy and how much we want and love this baby. They told us that they would look over my blood work and said that no news was good news. It's been almost a week and we haven't heard anything so that is always relieving.
Mike had to work on a big boiler project this weekend for his boss. I don't know if I have said this before, but the guy Mike works for owns a boiler company and Mike is sometimes asked to go on call to some boiler maintenance every now and then. When he goes on call he make $10/hr rather than the $6.75/hr mowing his lawn. But since it was the weekend he mad overtime on Saturday and on Sunday he made $20/hr. We figure that is how the employees get Sundays off, they charge a higher rate to the factory or whatever if they have to work/fix their boiler on a Sunday. Mike left at 7:30 am on Sunday morning and didn't get home until 2:30 am the following morning. The poor boy logged about 18 hours of work...on a Sunday. This last weekend was really hard for him. He felt like he didn't have anytime to unwind from the work week and relax, which he really didn't. But the good thing about it is that he basically worked enough on Sunday to cover our rent for July! Sometimes the Lord sees that we need help to get through. And when we are living righteously and doing all that we can do, He will bless us with what we need most. I have such a great testimony of this. Every since we have been married, not a bill has even gone unpaid, rent is always paid on time, and we have just enough to buy groceries every week. The Lord truly loves us and knows what we are going through and will bless us if we live like He asks us.

Baby Ticker, Mikeypoo and Graduation

So I added this little ticker thing that I found online so that you all can be updated on the baby whenever. Anyways, we got an appointment next week for all the blood work and tests that still need to be done.
We picked up our table and chairs last Saturday, pictures soon to follow. We got it all set up and took the old one to DI (sorry mom, it was nice...but we wanted a new one :))
Mike is getting really tired of work, it is so hard on him to have to go to work all day doing hard manual labor and come home and go to class and do homework. But he is doing good and being a good responsible husband/daddy. I am so grateful for all his hard work and all he does for us! He truly will be an awesome dad! I love him so much!
I applied for graduation today (for both of us for AS). Everything should be all set for July 22nd. man I am so excited to finish up school and to just be a mommy and not worry about school a while (if I ever decide to go back). So yeah...life is good and getting better.

Table and Chairs

So we had our second doctor visit last week. We got to hear the little one's heartbeat! it was such a tender moment in the exam room! It was hard to keep back the tears. We are so excited to be parents and take care of this little gift from our Heavenly Father. We didn't do any blood work this time seeing as the lab guy leaves the office at four and we had our appointment at 4:20 so Mike wouldn't have to get off work. So blood work nest visit! I am barely showing...though I do have to leave my pants unbuttoned some days. I am nearly 14 weeks and you can barely tell that there is a baby in there. I guess that I have such fast metabolism that I'm not gaining baby wait. But I have a feeling that will change in a few short weeks.
Well Mike's work is going good. It isn't much different from when he started except that he trained a neighborhood boy to mow the lawns, so he doesn't really do that much anymore.
School is going good as well. It is midterms already! I can't believe how fast time is flying by! My sewing class is starting to stress me out though. But other than that we are pretty good.

We did make a pretty awesome purchase this last Memorial Day weekend! We bought a dining room table and chairs! They were on sale and we really wanted a new one that was ours, not a hand-me-down. We had to order it but it was well within our budget and will be here in a couple weeks. This isn't exactly what it looks like, but this is pretty similar. It's a tall counter height table, four chairs, and a beautiful deep rich wood color! :)
Have a great day friends!

Rain Rain Go Away!

So, I am at school at this moment in the library because it is raining and I don't have my umbrella and it's raining outside. I have a gap in my day on Mondays and Wednesdays where I go home and eat lunch. Well this is my gap and I didn't bring lunch or my books for my next class. So I have my water bottle and some crackers that I always carry around. What a nutritious meal! Anyways I'm stuck at school with no lunch  and ill prepared for my next class...great.

On a more positive note, we have another doctor appointment today after Mike gets home from work. They will be doing a general check-up and all the blood work that they should have done last time, but were waiting until we got Medicaid. So we got Medicaid to help us pay for all the doctor visits and everything. We also just recently got WIC which is a program that gives you checks to buy your groceries, but you have to purchase stuff off a special list. So that helps a lot on our grocery bill. Right now we only have the prenatal WIC, but once the baby is six months old, baby food will be covered by WIC as well. So we are pretty stoked about all the government aid that we are getting. (But it only works as long as we are in Idaho...but I hear that you can transfer paperwork and stuff to other states so I'm too worried about that.)

Well I don't want to bore you all with my aggravation, but it is still raining and I am very hungry and can't walk home to eat and get my books!!! And I don't even have a book to read or any homework to do either...

Well...I will update you all on our doctor's appointment later tonight or tomorrow. Have a great rainy day!

Upidy Update

Well I am almost 12 weeks along! :) Have another appointment next Monday. We got medicaid all squared away and so they will be doing all the blood work on Monday. So I have experienced morning sickness, but I haven't been sick for a few days now...(when I say sick I mean my tummy feeling funny, not necessarily throwing up). But I have been mega hungry all the time, which I have been told is very normal and good. Our baby is a fetus now!! I know that I am a few weeks late on this news, but I didn't know until I looked it up the other day. And he or she is the size of a plum! It's getting so big compared to the size it once was, and it still has a ways to go! :) Anyways...I feel like I'm getting bigger in the tummy area and my pants are all a little tight and I can see the bump, but I don't think that anyone else can. I always ask Mike if I am showing and he says, "Yes, you're pregnant!" But sometimes I think he just says that to get me to stop asking him. There is no definite bump yet I don't think, but we are going to take pictures after the dr appt on Monday to start the "prego tummy" pics album. :)
Well, we love you all and will continue to keep you all informed about Baby Moran as the weeks progress onward toward December! :)

Aubrey

Why are plans always ruined?

Well today the non-sick streak of this pregnancy came to an end. I threw up for the first time since I became pregnant this morning. I was getting ready to head out the door on my way to school when I felt the sudden need to lay down or risk the unthinkable. So I laid down on the couch for a bit, but the unthinkable feeling didn't cease. I won't go into the details, but I ended up on the bathroom floor...(use your imagination). I feel fine now, but I fear that if I eat anything it will soon join its friends...Mike is at work and this saddens me because I want someone to comfort me and make me feel better, but I have to do it myself and get myself up and walking to school in like twenty minutes. This morning has just not been that great for me. I had a project that I needed to work on and finish earlier this morning on campus, but with this little unscheduled event taking place, I don't know if I will have enough time later to do it, and if it will even get done at all! I am so grateful for Mike and his job that he has, but sometimes I just want him to not have to go in the morning and stay home and take care of me. So I will be carrying around a bottle of water and a sleeve of crackers to try to combat the nausea and vomiting, but no promises can be made...
Anyways...I have complained to you all enough for now. I will try my hardest to get to school today and turn in all my papers, why does my first class have to be two and half hours long? It is really hard for me to sit there and not get sick for that long. So wish me luck and hopefully no other unscheduled events will occur today.
Aubrey finally sick Moran

How we are doing :)

So here is an update of how I am doing and how Mike and his new job are doing.
I am doing pretty good. I have been extremely tired lately and though I haven't thrown up at all, have been feeling very nauseated especially in the morning, which makes it really hard on me to get up and ready and to school on time. but other than that the pregnancy has been pretty easy. I don't want to jinx myself so I'm knocking on wood as we speak... Anyways my clothes are starting to get a little bit tighter so that is exciting!
Mike's job. Where do I start? He works for this older gentleman who lives about 20 minutes away. He mows his lawn, fixes random machinery, digs holes and ditches, fixes boilers as of Friday, and so many other random handy man type things. He has blisters on his hands and is getting kinda tan from being outside all day. Mike likes the job because he's outside actually working and moving around (unlike at his previous job at the Western Wats call center). He got paid on Friday and discovered though that he is only making 6 dollars an hour!! He was told when he took the job that it would start at 7 and then he would get raises every so often. The thing with this is that he works his tail off everyday and only get 6 an hour. (Minimum wage in ID is $7.25 I believe) This was very disheartening for him. We also found out that he is being paid on a 1099 rather than W-2. We don't really know which is better and for what reasons... Anyways Mike plans on talking to him about his wage and try to figure all this craziness out. He is torn whether or not he should quit because he is being treated unfairly, or if it was just a mistake. Because this is our only source of income at the moment, I have been asking him what we would do if he quit, and he agrees that it is not the right thing to do. So I guess that our plan of attack is to keep our eyes and ears peeled about new jobs in town and talk to his employer about all the wage business...hopefully we get it all straightened out so that he won't have to look for another job.
School...well school for me is going pretty good. I'm taking 12 credits but I only needed one 3 credit class to be able to get my associates in July. So as far as work load, it's just a lot of fun sewing, graphic design, flower arranging type stuff along with my lecture art history class that I needed. But like I said before, I do have some troubles getting going in the morning because of the nausea so I sometimes miss a couple classes a week. Mike is also taking 12 credits and they are all night and online classes because he works all day. We have discovered how much we hate online classes this semester. They are really hard to keep up with when you are also going to other classes and working all the time. So I don't think that we will ever take anymore online classes ever! So school is a little challenging this semester with the pregnancy and Mike working all the time, but in July we will both have our Associates degrees and come January (hopefully) we will be moving to Provo and Mike will finish up his schooling there. So we know that everything that we are going through now will make the next couple of years a little easier (as far as school and baby).
We are doing well and will continue to update you on our baby and our lives as we keep plugging along.
Till next time!

First Ultrasound!!

We had our first doctor's appointment today and had our first ultrasound of our little one! Here are some pictures we got from the ultrasound.

 

Here he or she is! Such a cute little guy!

And here is a top view of our baby! Can't you see it's cute little arms waving?

Well there you have it! The new addition to the Moran Family! We are so excited about this little one and want December 1st to get here faster!!! We will continue to update you with more info and keep you all up to date on the growth of this amazing blessing in our lives!

NEWS!!!

I'm pretty sure that those of you who "follow" our blog already know, but I want to make sure that EVERYONE knows :)
Mike and I are expecting a baby on December 1st! We are so excited to be parents!! I'm about 3-4 weeks along and plan on going to see the "real" doctor (as opposed to the "unreal" doctor... :p haha I've just been to the campus one to get the pregnancy test) within the next week. We are going to CA to visit family at the end of semester which is next week...so we're hoping we can get the appointment soon before we leave for CA.
Anyways...we are super excited and can't wait for this child to be apart of our family! :)

P.S. We will keep you updated throughout the pregnancy. No need to worry! :)

Franklin's New Friend Book Summary

Franklin's New Friend
By: Paulette Bourgeois/Brenda Clark
Publisher: Scholastic
Reading Level: 6-8 years
Number of Pages: 30
Genre: Animal Fantasy
Summary: Franklin notices a new family moving in down the road and notices how ginormous their furniture is. He soon finds out that it is a moose family. Franklin hurries home to tell his mother what he saw. The next day at school, the moose kid is there and the teacher asks Franklin to be his buddy. Franklin was intimidated of Moose's size. When it was time to go play outside, Franklin asked if Moose wanted to play and he shook his his no. While Franklin and his other friends played soccer, Moose stood alone. But then Fox kicked the ball into a tree and the others complain about having to go get Mr. Owl, their teacher, but Moose comes over and says, "I've got it!" and he knocked it out of the tree. After recess Mr. Owl tells Franklin that Moose is going to help him make the bake sale sign. With some coaxing from Mr. Owl, Franklin agrees to let Moose help him. They spend the rest of the day drawing and making the sign for the bake sale. they soon become friends and Franklin shows Moose around the school some more and helps him with all sorts of things. At lunch Franklin invites Moose to sit with him and the others. When he gets home from school, Franklin tells his mother about his day. She pulls some cookies out of the oven and suggests that he take some to Moose. Franklin takes him the cookies. They talk and get to know more about each other and become new friends! :) 
Reaction: I loved this show growing up and loved the books as well. I enjoyed reading this book again. The illustrations are beautiful and the message being taught is so worth while. I love this book!
Recommendation: Definitely for younger audiences, but I think it could be read to children as they got older to help emphasis the importance of friendship and being kind to everyone.
Problems: The only problems I saw in this book was the judgmental attitudes in the beginning that fade in the end.

The Three Little Wolves and the Big Bad Pig Book Summary

The Three Little Wolves and the Big Bad Pig
By: Eugene Trivizas
Publisher: Scholastic
Reading Level: 7-11
Number of Pages: 30
Genre: Animal Fantasy/Fairy Tale Remake
Summary: There are three little wolves that live with their mother, and one day she tells them that it is time for them to go and live on their own. So when they leave home they decide that they need to build a house to live in. they see a kangaroo with some bricks. They ask the kangaroo is they can have some bricks to build their home. The kangaroo agrees to give them some bricks and they build themselves a nice house out of bricks. But the next day the Big Bad Pig comes and tries to blow their house down. But luckily it didn't cause any damage. "But the pig wasn't called big and bad for nothing." And he got a sledgehammer and knocked the house down. The wolves escaped and decided to build an even stronger house. They see a beaver with some concrete and they borrow some concrete from him to build their new and improved house. But then the pig came along again and this time he used a pneumatic drill to smash the house. Once again the wolves escape and see a rhinoceros with chains, sheet metal, padlocks, and all manner of heavy metal. They borrow some supplies from the rhinoceros and build an even stronger house. But the pig returned and blew up the house with dynamite. The wolves escape once again and decide that they need to try something different. Just then they see a flamingo with a wheelbarrow full of flowers. So the wolves decide to build their new home out of flowers. But this time when the pig came he took a deep breath to blow down the house and smelled the wonderful smell of all the flowers and started dancing. The pig had lost his big and bad disposition and became friends with the three little wolves.
Reaction: I found this book really fun. It is a fun twist on the original story. It was just a really fun read.
Recommendation: I would recommend this book to younger audiences to teach about friendship.
Problems: The pig is quite mean and there is one place where there is a bomb.

Dear Mr. Henshaw Book Summary

Dear Mr. Henshaw
By: Beverly Cleary
Publisher: HaperCollins
Reading Level: 7-11 years
Number of pages: 144
Genre: Realistic Fiction
Summary: Leigh Botts is a young boy (second grade) whose parents are divorced. As an assignment in school he is to write to his favorite author so he write to Boyd Henshaw. In response to his letter, Mr. Henshaw writes Leigh back with a list of questions. As Leigh continues to write to Mr. Henshaw, you learn a lot about his home life and what kind of person Leigh is. (The book is written in letter/journal form). After Leigh has written several letters to Mr. Henshaw, Mr. Henshaw suggests that Leigh keep and write all these things in a journal. Leigh does so, but occasionally will write Mr. Henshaw. through his journal entries we continue to learn about Leigh's life and about his nemesis "the lunch box thief" who steals his delicious snacks from his lunch almost everyday. After a few months of this, Leigh and a friend build an alarm for his lunch box that is never actually triggered by the thief.
Reaction: I thought this book was a little sad, but I suppose it is the life of a child living with a single parent. But overall I thought it was a good book and very well written. It was also a pretty quick read for me which I didn't expect.
Recommendation: I would recommend this book probably to fifth graders, maybe fourth graders. I do think that there are some more mature themes like divorce and unfulfilled promises, but depending on the audience and their maturity you might find it appropriate.
Problems: Like I said, the problems with this book would be the divorce, the mother is always out of the home working, the father never coming through on his promises to call, and Leigh being an outcast basically.

Fantastic Mr. Fox Book Summary

Fantastic Mr. Fox
By: Roald Dahl
Publisher: Penguin Books
Reading Level: 7-10 years
Number of Pages: 96
Genre: Animal Fantasy
Summary: There are three farmers Bunce and Botts and Bean. And they are all rather mean. Mr. Fox and his family live in a hole near a tree. Mr. Fox steals food for his family from the farmers. Once the farmers realize what is going on they  plan to kill Mr. Fox and his family. So to save their lives they do what foxes do best, they dig and dig and dig as long and as far as they can to escape the farmers and their many contraptions for finding them. Mrs. Fox gets too tired to move on, and the rest of the family is basically dieing from starvation. So Mr. Fox devises a plan to get food for his family and call all the children to come with him. while the farmers are camped outside the hole waiting for the foxes to come out a get food, the foxes dig their way to the farms and their storehouses to steal food from the unknowing farmers. In the process of doing this, they run into all the other animals that are now forced to run and hide from the farmers because of Mr. Fox. Once they steal all the food they need for everyone, they all return to the place where Mrs. Fox was resting and they have a feast with all the other animal families. And as far as we know, the farmers are still sitting outside the hole waiting.
Reaction: I thoroughly enjoyed this book. I found the illustrations hilarious and the characters lovable. Not to mention that I love the movie!
Recommendation: I would recommend this book to third or fourth graders. And also for parents to read to their younger children. I think this is a great tool to use to help teach accountability and providing for one's family.
Problems: Obviously there is a lot of stealing in this book. But whether or not you find it justified or not is up to you.

The Story of Ruby Bridges Book Summary

The Story of Ruby Bridges
By: Robert Coles
Publisher: Scholastic
Reading Level: 4-6 years
Number of Pages: 26
Genre: Informational
Summary: The Story of Ruby Bridges is the true story of a six-year old girl named Ruby Bridges. She is chosen to be the first African-American integrated into a New Orleans elementary school. She walks to school everyday with the U.S. Marshals because there is always a big crowd of angry white protesters outside her school that chant and yell mean things to her everyday. She is the only child that attends school at this time and the only child in her class. Her teacher tries to get information from her about how she feels about all the mean people outside, but Ruby never really had anything bad or mean to say about them. The book ends with Ruby walking to school when she suddenly stops in the middle of the crowd. The Marshals are worried and so is her teacher who watches from the window. When Ruby enters the classroom, her teacher asked what the problem was. And Ruby told her that she had forgotten to say her prayer that morning and stopped to say her routine prayer. Her prayer reads: "Please, God, try to forgive those people. Because even if they say those bad things, they don't know what they're doing. So you could forgive them, just like You did those folks a long time ago when they said terrible things about You."
Reaction: I cannot believe the faith and courage this little girl had to go through and survive all this. I really enjoyed reading it and looking at the illustrations, the emotional, heart-wrenching illustrations.
Recommendation: I would recommend this book to younger audiences to help teach the importance of faith and courage. And to help keep the memories of the civil rights movement alive as well.
Problems: The only problems in this book would be the yelling and meanness of the mob outside the school.

BYU

So I'm not very good at this whole blog thing...
Anyways now that it's been about a month, I guess it's time to update the world. Mike and I will be graduating with our Associates Degrees in General Studies (Mike=Communications emphasis Aubrey=Art emphasis) in July and will most likely be moving to Provo, UT so Mike can go to school at BYU. He wants to go into food science, and they don't offer that here at BYUI, so off we go (hopefully) to BYU. I am contemplating going to Beauty School once we get to Utah. I'm not sure if this something we can afford after the move, if it is even worth my time (which I'm starting to think yes), or if i should just stay home and have babies...haha yeah so anyways...even though a lot of decisions have been made, there are still a million and a half more to make.
We are also considering going to live in Virginia with Mike's parents for a few months to work and save up money, but this basically depends on when school for Mike would start and housing and a ton of other things that we just don't know anything about yet...
We are pretty excited about going to BYU (if we get in). Especially to get to go to sporting events.
P.S. We are so stoked about BYU and march madness. Oh yeah baby!!!

Concert and Sister Beck

So I'm pretty excited! Sister Julie B. Beck is doing a special conference meeting type thing on campus tomorrow. All the stakes on campus are invited, all the Rexburg stakes, the Rigby stakes as well and I think a few others are all invited to attend. It is in the new BYU Idaho Center. It truly feels like you're sitting in the conference Center in there. It is pretty cool. This is such a neat experience and I am super excited to go! :) One little fact, it wasn't put together by the school, but the Relief Society of a stake in Rigby if I remember correctly. So that makes it even cooler.

I also had a concert tonight for University Choir. Well actually Women's Choir, Men's Choir, and Women's Glee were also involved and there were two shows as well. That was tough to do two in one night, but it was still fun. I enjoy singing in choir so much, but I think that this will be the last semester that I take choir. It is so much fun, but it really fills up your schedule with tons of rehearsals and performances, and not to mention all the practice that goes into it. Though it is a very enjoyable and spiritually uplifting experience. It will be hard to not participate, but I'm going to need more time for my major and a family eventually.

Anyways...choir is tons of fun and our concert was pretty good tonight. And Sister Beck is speaking tomorrow to all the Relief Society sisters in the area so I should get to bed if I'm gonna get a good seat to see her in the morning.

All our love :)

When the Root Children Wake Up Book Summary

When the Root Children Wake Up
By: Audrey Wood and Ned Bittinger
Publisher: Scholastic Press; 2002
Reading Level: ~ 8yrs
Number of Pages: 30
Genre: Fantasy
Summary: This is a story of the seasons and the earth. It starts with Grandfather Winter returning to his ice palace as all the snow melts at the end of winter. Then Mother Earth wakes the Root Children from their long slumber and they begin making beautiful spring clothes, paint all the bugs to "make them sparkle like jewels, and run to go wake up Aunt Spring. The Root Children run around the land making plant bloom and the air smell sweet. But once the days get warmer, Aunt Spring gets very tired and returns to her slumber. Then their Cousin Summer comes out to play. Each day is filled with dancing and music and fun. But then Uncle Fall comes and it gets a little colder and quieter and the Children hear the call of Mother Earth to return home. Once all home, she sings them a lullaby and Grandfather Winter returns. 
Problems: I saw no problems with this book.
Reaction: I really enjoyed reading this book and scouring the illustrations. The illustrations were done in oil paints on linen. Oils are by characteristic rich and energizing. I was just so deeply drawn to the illustrations. They are just beautiful. Not to mention the story is neat.
Recommendation: I wold recommend this book to a second or first grade class to teach the seasons and the different things you can do in the different seasons and what the Root Children really are.

Children From Australia to Zimbabwe Book Summary

Children From Australia to Zimbabwe
By: Maya Ajmera and Anna Rhesa Versola
Publisher: Charlesbridge Publishing; 1997
Reading Level: ~ 5-8 yrs
Number of Pages: 64
Genre: Informational/Nonfiction
Summary: As the title suggests this is an alphabetical guide of countries and all the different types of children and people there are around the world. The main countries they use are Australia, Brazil, China, The Dominican Republic, Ecuador, France, Guatemala, Hungary, India, Japan, Kenya, Lithuania, Mexico, Nigeria, Oman, The Philippines, Qatar, Russia, Senegal, Turkey, The United States of America, Vietnam, West Samoa, Xanadu (a country that children have made up), Yemen, and Zimbabwe. Each country has a description and talks about the pictures of the children on that page.
Problems: I don't think there are any problems with this book. I thought they handled it very nicely.
Reaction: I thought it was a very good book to see all the different kinds of children all over the world and their different cultures. I also like that it was in alphabetical order and it also gives other countries by that letter.
Recommendation: I think this would be good in a classroom when teaching about different countries around the world and help kids know that there are children all over the world just like them. I think you could also read like one country a day or something in the classroom.

The Spiderwick Chronicles Book Two The Seeing Stone

The Spiderwick Chronicles: The Seeing Stone (Book Two)
By: Holly Black and Tony DiTerlizzi
Publisher: Simon & Schuster Books For  Young Readers; 2003
Reading Level: ~ 9-12 yrs
Number of Pages: 108
Genre: Fantasy
Summary: In this book the story continues with Simon's cat going missing and Thimbletack basically giving Jared a seeing stone to see the all the creatures. P.S. goblins like to eat cats. Thimbletack is also trying to get Jared to destroy the book by sabotaging basically everything that Jared owns (like his bed). Simon is taken captive by the goblins and Jared and Mallory go after him to save him. While searching for Simon they meet a troll. They continue on their search for Simon and the goblin camp. They finally come to their camp and see Simon up in a cage high in a tree. Jared leaves Mallory in a safe ditch and climbs up the tree to save Simon. While up in the tree there is another cage with a hobgoblin in it named Hogsqueal. Jared saves Simon and Hogsqueal and Hogsqueal gives them "the sight" by spitting in their eyes. They no longer need the seeing stone to see the creatures now. But they aren't home free yet. The goblins notice them as they try to escape and they chase them and follow them, but luckily they know where that Troll is who eats all the goblins up. Once the children are safe, they return to the camp to save a griffin the goblins had injured. They bring him home and he lives in the carriage house in the backyard and they name him Byron. It turns out the goblins wanted the book, but why they don't know yet. 
Problems: Vicious creatures. Might be scary depending on the child.
Reaction: I LOVE SPIDERWICK!! Again these books will be in my library from now on.
Recommendation: Again I would recommend this series to children who don't necessarily like reading. they are quick reads and very easy to get into, and the illustrations provide great detail and break up the text a bit so it isn't too tough o fa read.

The Spiderwick Chronicles Book One The Field Guide Book Summary

The Spiderwick Chronicles: The Field Guide (Book One)
By: Holly Black and Tony DiTerlizzi
Publisher: Simon &Schuster Books For Young Readers; 2003
Reading Level: ~ 9-12 yrs
Number of Pages: 107
Genre: Fantasy
Summary: The Grace children and their mother move into their great aunt Lucinda's old house after the divorce. It is a scary old house and the kids think they hear a squirrel in the walls. they find this animal's nest in the wall and a dumbwaiter that goes to a secret room. In this room Jared Grace finds a "field guide" about the "fantastical world around you". It has information on tons of different faeries and their world. The kids meet the house brownie named Thimbletack who turns to a boggart when he gets angry (this was the "squirrel"). He tells them that they need to destroy the book and get rid of it, that it's not safe for them to have it. To find out what happens next you must read book two.
Problems: Mythical creatures and stick situations. Could be a little scary depending on the child.
Reaction: I LOVE SPIDERWICK! I found the story very appealing and very interesting. These books will definitely be in my collection when I have children!
Recommendation: I would recommend to young readers to get them reading more. These books aren't really stand alone books. the problem is never solved in one book. They could easily have been put into one book and read as parts, but I think it was done the way it was done to get kids reading more and have that sense of accomplishment finishing a book and reading and finishing the next and so on. I even think that older kids in like middle school would enjoy these books as well.

The Princess Test Book Summary

The Princess Test
By: Gail Carlson Levine
Publisher: Harper Collins Publishers; 1999
Reading Level: ~ 8 yrs
Number of Pages: 91
Genre: Fairy Tale
Summary: Lorelei is a girl who if she does too much work she gets really sick. Her mother and father take good care of her, but her mother dies when she is very young. Her father has to work so he gets a maid to help take care of Lorelei while he is away. The maid thinks it is ridiculous that the girl can't take care of herself so she plans an evil way to get rid of her. She takes her into the forest and leaves her there. Lorelei gets lost and it starts raining. she starts to get a little sick with sneezes. she stumbles upon a castle where they are having a princess test to marry off the prince. They think she is another princess so she is admitted and given her own place in the test. The prince is a boy she had seen a few times in the village and they are in love. Since Lorelei is so picky and can notice every detail she is the only one to pass the test and she marries Prince Nicholas. And they all lived happily ever after.
Problems: The girl may seem spoiled, like she doesn't do any work.
Reaction: I thought I would enjoy this book more than I did. I honestly thought it lacked so plot and story. I guess a child would like it, but even for a children's book it seemed really dry to me.
Recommendation: I would recommend this to younger girls who like the fairy tales and want a different story to spice it up.

The Berenstain Bears and the Ghost of the Auto Graeyard Book Summary

The Berenstain Bears and the Ghost of the Auto Graveyard
By: Stan and Jan Berenstain
Publisher: Random House; 1997
Reading Level: ~ 8-12 yrs
Number of Pages: 102
Genre: Animal Fantasy/Mystery
Summary: Beartown is having a Classic Car Show. Papa wants to put the red roadster in the show, but it is missing some vital pieces if they want it to be a winner. So, Brother and Bonnie go to the "auto graveyard" to see if they can find the missing pieces. And you guessed it, they found them! They get the car all nice and fixed up and entered into the show, but on the day of the show, eight cars are MISSING! Including Papa's Red Roadster. The police put the "Bear Detectives" to work to solve this mystery. The team of children get together and start finding and following clues. The clues lead them straight to the "auto graveyard" which is the business "Parts R Us" owned by the father of a boy from school named Too Tall. They go into the graveyard to try to see if they can do anything else. But Too Tall found them and begged them not to tell the police yet because he knows it wasn't his father that did it. So they make a deal to stay the night and keep watch of the place. Late into the night they see ghost looking creatures drive the cars away. They follow them and discover they had been using a boat house to get the cars out of town. They inform the police and the car thieves are caught. It turns out that the thieves were escaped prisoners of Bear Country Jail. The cars are all returned to their owners and the show goes on and Papa wins third place in the show.
Problems: There is quite a bit of name calling and threatening by children.
Reaction: I thought this was a good book for children to read. I feel like reading it would give them a sense of accomplishment. It was really enjoyable and had me at the edge of my seat the whole time.
Recommendation: Children who may be struggling to get into reading. The story is fun, there are illustrations on almost every page, so it breaks it up a little. Not to mention the good morals.

Bridge to Terabithia Book Summary

Bridge to Terabithia
By: Katherine Paterson
Publisher: Harper Collins Publishers; 1977
Reading Level: ~ 9-12 yrs
Number of Pages: 128
Genre: Realistic Fiction
Summary: Jess is a fifth grader who lives with his mother, father, two older sisters and two younger sisters. Jess likes to run and he practiced running all summer so that he could be the fasted kid in the fifth grade when school started. Jess also does a lot of the chores around the house becasue he is the only boy. A little family moves into "The old Perkin's Place" down the road from where Jess and his family live. The girl/boy (Jess is unsure) tries to talk to Jess one morning while he is running, but Jess doesn't really care about him/her. So at school this girl (Jess later discovers) Leslie is in his class. She wants to run with all the boys but they don't want her to. Jess lets her run and she beats EVERYONE in the race. So through many experiences with bullies, helping Leslie and her parents fix up the old house, and many others, Jess and Leslie become best friends. They create this world called Terabithia. The only way you can get there is to swing on the rope on the crab-apple tree across the dry creek-bed. Jess and Leslie are the rulers of Terabithia. Jess was never really happy until he and Leslie became friends and the king and queen of Terabithia. One day when there was no school, Jess' music teacher Miss Edmunds (whom he had a crush on) invited him to go to the museums with him in Washington DC. He didn't tell his parents about this because his dad had already left and his mother was sleeping. Jess and Miss Edmunds have a wonderful day in DC. But when Jess returns he is told some very bad news. Leslie went missing that day and they found her body in the flooded creek-bed (near Terabithia). His family had thought that he had been with Leslie also and was missing too. Jess has a hard time, as any child would, to come to grips with and understand what had just happened to this poor little girl. After the viewing and funeral and all that, Jess decides to build a bridge to Terabithia because the rope and broke, which is what sent Leslie into the overflowing river. His little sister May Belle always wanted to play with him and Leslie, so she followed Jess this day and got stuck on the bridge that Jess had built. Jess came running when he heard her calling for help and helped her across the bridge. Jess decided that Terabithia could not exist with out a queen. He realizes that his sister needs friends and an escape from the real world too and he makes May Belle the Queen of Terabithia.
Problems: Children curse a few times. Jess' sisters are mean and ungrateful to their mother and father. There is death in story as well.
Reaction: To be honest, I didn't really like it that much. I thought the ending was a little morbid for a children's book. I think the moral is great and that the book is very well written, I just didn't enjoy it like I thought I would. Like Jim Trelease said, just because it won an award doesn't mean you will like it.
Recommendation: I think this would be good book for a teacher to read to a class probably like thrid or forth graders.

Little Cottontail Book Summary

Little Cottontail
By: Carl Memling
Publisher: A Golden Book/Western Publishing Co; 1961
Reading Level: ~ 7 yrs
Number of Pages: 22
Genre: Animal Fantasy
Summary: Little Cottontail wants to be a Big Cottontail. He lives in a safe little nest made of grasses and fur. One day he asks his mother if he is grown up, and she says that he needs to leave the nest first. So, he leaves the nest. Then he asks if he is grown up now. and his mother says that he needs to learn to wash himself. Then he needs to learn what big rabbits eat. Then a woodchuck tells him that he needs to learn about foxes before he can be grown up. His mother then teaches him about foxes and what and how to do things if you come into contact with a fox. While Little Cottontail is practicing what he learned about foxes, he sees one and his knowledge is put to the test. He does what he was taught and the fox ends up in a brier patch. And now Little Cottontail is a BIG COTTONTAIL.
Problems: The rabbits steal food from the farmers and some of the story could be viewed as animal violence.
Reaction: It was alright. Not one of my favorites, but it does teach that you have to work hard and learn new things in order to obtain a higher standing in society.
Recommendation: I would recommend this to younger audiences, but it wouldn't be my first choice.

Benjamin McFadden and the Robot Babysitter Book Summary

Benjamin McFadden and the Robot Babysitter
By: Timothy Bush
Publisher: Crown Publishers, a Random House Co; 1998
Reading Level: ~7-8 yrs
Number of Pages: 30
Genre: Science Fiction
Summary: One night Benjamin McFadden's parents go to a "Rings of Saturn Preservation Dance" and Benjamin is left home with a robot babysitter. The Robot states the time and says that it is time for Benjamin to go to bed, but Benjamin wants to stay up and play. The Robot will not have it and takes him into his room to get ready for bed. Benjamin then does something you should never ever do. He opens the the Robot's back and tries reprogramming it to be more fun. The Robot doesn't understand what "fun" is so Benjamin explains it by playing games, reading books, playing music, eating cookies, cake, waffles, burgers, milkshakes, and fries. After all this "fun" Benjamin is tired and tells the Robot Babysitter that he wants to go to bed, but now the Robot only cares about fun and turns the everything into robots that only do "fun" things. Benjamin doesn't know what to do so he calls the Babysitter Help Line, but the Robot took the phone away before the lady could tell him the "ultimate password". He tries every password he can think of and nothing works. It is quite comical. But when the Robot Babysitter picked up his robot cat he threatened to tell the Robot on his parents. "Parents" was the ultimate password and the Robot returned to normal and sent Benjamin straight to bed while it cleaned up the giant mess it made. Benjamin's parents finally get home and he pretends to be asleep when they come in to give him a kiss. When they leave he says to his cat, "What a weird night!" To which the Cat replies, "FUN!"
Problems: Benjamin doesn't seem to obey his parents or babysitter.
Reaction: I remember having this book in our home as a kid, but i never read it or even looked at it. I was very surprised how much I actually enjoyed it! The illustrations are very warm and rich in color which give the book a feeling of high energy. It's a really fun read with a good moral too.
Recommendations: I would recommend this to children between the ages of kindergartners to about 8 or 9 year olds. 

Flat Stanley Book Summary

Flat Stanley
By: Jeff Brown
Publisher: Harper Collins; 1964
Reading Level: ~ 10-12 yrs
Number of Pages: 40
Genre: Fantasy/Humor
Summary: Stanley is a sweet, kindhearted little boy, who while sleeping has a bulletin board fall on him, causing him to be flat (he measures at 1/2 an inch thick). Being so thin allows him to slide through grates to find his mother's missing ring, fly like a kite for his brother, travel in a mailing envelope to visit a friend that moved away, and even help solve the mystery of the sneaky thieves by pretending to be a painting in the art museum. Even though Stanley has had a very adventurous time he wishes he could be normal again. one night his brother Arthur has an idea  to get him back to normal. Arthur pumps Stanley up with a bike pump and he is blown back up to normal size.
Problems: Stanley's parents don't seem to be that concerned about Stanley being flat.
Reaction: I think this is a good book to teach children to be grateful for what they have and not to wish they were different.
Recommendations: I know this is a fun book to read to a class and have them send "Flat Stanley" all over the place.

The Secret Shortcut Book Summary

The Secret Shortcut
By: Mark Teague
Published: Scholastic Press; 1996
Reading Level: ~10 yrs
Number of Pages: 30
Genre: Adventure/Fantasy
Summary: Wendell and Floyd are always late for school and their teacher never believe their stories of aliens, pirates and frogs. The boys plan on leaving for school earlier than ever before. Wendell tells Floyd he knows a "secret shortcut" so that they won't be late for school. Floyd goes along with it and they start their journey. After a while they come to this jungle. they see all the different animals and at one point try to swing from vine to vine like the monkeys are doing. It seems to be working until they run out of vines and fall into a giant mud puddle. While sitting in the mud, they hear a faint ring of a bell. they are almost to school! they start running and running and make it there just as the tardy bell rings. their teacher is impressed and wants to ask why they are so muddy, but decides against it. But even then they never found a good shortcut.
Problems: The main characters are truant, they could be lying to their teacher, and there is no parent involvement.
Reaction: It was a very enjoyable, fun read. I'm not quite sure if they were pretending or if it is true. I loved it!
Recommendations: I would recommend this book to boys. Boys would definitely enjoy it more than girls. Or maybe even to illustrate the importance of being on time to school.

The Butter Battle Book Book Review

The Butter Battle Book
By: Dr. Seuss
Published: Random House; 1984 
Reading Level: ~ 9 yrs
Number of Pages: 42
Genre: Comedy/Humor
Summary: The Butter Battle Book is the story of to groups of people. The Yooks who eat their bread with the butter side up and the Zooks who eat their bread with the butter side down. These two people have been feuding for years. A grandfather tells the story to his grandson. Each time they meet they come up with new technology to fight the other off when finally both sides have a means of destroying the other, but who will do it first?  
Problems: It might be a little violent for your children.
Reaction: My dad used to read us this book all the time when we were young. Such a fun read! I think this can be related to countries and cultures in our world today and how they rival with one another and discover ways to destroy them while they do the exact same.
Recommendation: Again I think that this book is good for all ages of children. The colorful pictures are fun to look at for younger kids, and the story is complex enough for older children to enjoy.

If I Ran the Zoo Book Summary

If I Ran the Zoo
By: Dr. Seuss
Published: Random House; 1950
Reading Level: ~ 9 yrs
Number of Pages: 54
Genre: Fantasy
Summary: The story of If I Ran the Zoo is the Story of young Gerald McGrew and his dream of running the most outrageous zoo. he would let all the animals go and get animals of the more unusual kind. He'll get Elephant-Cats and Zoomba-ma-Tants. He'll have an Iota and a tizzle-topped Tufted Mazurka. He'll have keen-shooter, mean-shooter, bean-shooter bugs. Young Gerald McGrew would have the most outrageous zoo.  With Dr. Seuss' fun clever rhymes and creative animals, Gerald McGrew dreams of scouring the globe for unusual animals so he can have the best zoo.
Problems: No parents seem to be present. Nonsensical words could create poor vocabulary.
Reaction: Fun, creative, imaginative read that promotes creativity.
Recommendation: I would recommend this book to all ages of children. The story is complex enough for older kids to enjoy yet simple enough (with rhymes and rhythms) for younger children to enjoy.

Corduroy Book Summary

Corduroy
By: Don Freeman
Published: The Viking Press; 1968
Reading Level: ~5-9 yrs
Number of Pages: 28
Genre: Fiction/Picture Book
Summary: Corduroy is a teddy bear in a department store. One day a little girl asks her mother if she can buy the bear. her mother says no and points out that his overalls are missing a button. When the store closes Corduroy goes in search of his newly discovered missing button. He wanders into the furniture department and sees buttons on all the mattresses. He tries to pull several off, but realizes they are all sewn down. He tugs on a button a little too hard and pulls it off and goes crashing to the floor with the button, taking a floor lamp with him. The security guard hears the crash and goes to see what the problem is. He finds Corduroy and returns him to the toy department. The girl came back the nest morning with a piggy bank and buys Corduroy. She brings him home, makes him a bed and sews on a new button for his overalls and they become best friends.
Problems: Corduroy sort of wanders off and doesn't seek the help of others.
Reaction: This was my favorite book as a child. I think it is a good book and teaches a good moral that you shouldn't judge people based on their outward appearance.
Recommendation: I think that younger children would enjoy this more than older children.

Wedding Days: Celebrations of Marriage Book Summary

Wedding Days: Celebrations of Marriage
By: Anita Ganer
Publisher: Peter Bedrick Books; 1998
Reading Level: ~9-12 yrs
Number of Pages: 30
Genre: Informational/Nonfiction
Summary:
This book is an informational book about different types of weddings and wedding rituals in six different religions around the world. The six religions/wedding ceremonies are Hindu, Buddhist, Sikh, Jewish, Christian, and Muslim. In the Hindu culture, they don't wear rings, they wear necklaces. The woman also wears a red dot on her forehead to signify that she is married. There really is no set ceremony or rituals in the Buddhist religion. In the Sikh wedding, the man wears white and the woman wears pink, red or orange. In the Jewish wedding they stand under a canopy that symbolizes the new home they are creating, they sign a special marriage document in Hebrew, they drink a glass of wine then stomp on the glass, and there is lots of dancing at Jewish weddings. In Christian weddings they make vows, throw confetti, and eat cake. And at Muslim weddings there is a dowry, the couple never sits next to each other the whole day of the wedding, they can marry multiple women and are encouraged to stay away from divorce.
Problems: Children may make judgments about other religions/cultures/people because of current political events/wars.
Reaction: I love weddings, so it was a fun interesting read to learn of other traditions in different cultures.
Recommendations: I would recommend this book to those who are interested in learning about different cultures around the world. It is an angle of learning about different cultures I knew nothing about.

Miss Nelson is Missing! Book Summary

Miss Nelson is Missing!

By: Harry Allard 

Illustrated by: James Marshall 

Publisher: Houghton Mifflin Co., 1977 

Reading Level: ~6-8 yrs

Number of pages: 32 

Genre: Humorous Fiction Picture Book 

Summary: Miss Nelson's class is very misbehaved. She can't get them to settle down and listen during story-time. One day Miss Nelson doesn't show up to school. The class's new teacher is Miss Viola Swamp. She is very ugly, strict, and mean. After a few days with Miss Swamp, the kids get worried that they will never see Miss Nelson again. They come up with all kinds of crazy ideas about how Miss Nelson went missing. But none of them could really have happened.Just when the class thinks they will be stuck with Miss Viola Swamp forever, Miss Nelson is at school the next day. The children missed her and from that day on the kids behaved themselves. It turns out Miss Nelson had the same ugly dress in her closet and a wig that looked oddly like the hair of Miss Swamp...

Problems: Misbehaved children and deception by an adult. 

Reaction: This was one of my favorites as a child. I think it teaches a good moral and lesson to be grateful for what you have cause you never know when it will disappear. I love it and will read this to my children.

Recommendation: I would recommend this book to younger audiences. Also for teachers to read probably towards the beginning of the school year.

The Eleventh Hour Book Summary

The Eleventh Hour
By: Graeme Base
Publisher: Penguin Books (Australia) , 1988; Abrams Books (America), 1993
Reading Level: ~9-12 yrs
Number of pages: 32
Genre: Mystery/Fiction Picture Book
Summary: Horace is having a birthday party for his eleventh birthday. He made a marvelous feast for all his eleven friends that he invited, but they aren't allowed to eat this feast until the 'eleventh hour'. So all morning they played lots of fun and different games. But when it came time to eat (11 am) all the food was GONE! Everyone denies that they were the one who ate all the food. But someone had to have eaten it.  Who was it? it's your job to follow all the hidden clues on each page to find out who the culprit it.Problems: Someone eats all the food that was meant for the entire group that could be considered stealing. Gluttony is a potential problem. And obviously lying and deceit. 

Reaction: I know I shouldn't say that I love every book, but I really loved this book. It was so fun to read. The illustrations were very intricate and filled with rich colors. Mike and I were up almost all night trying to figure out the mystery of who ate the feast.
Recommendation: I would recommend this book to older children and even adults who like solving mysteries. 

Clara and Asha Book Summary

Clara and Asha
By: Eric Rohmann

Publisher: Roaring Book Press, 2005

Reading Level: ~5-10 yrs

Number of Pages: 32

Genre: Fantasy Picture Book

Summary: Clara is a very imaginative girl. it's time for Clara to go to bed, but her friend Asha comes to visit and play. Clara recounts the story of how they "met". (Asha is an imaginary fish). Clara tells about all the fun they've had together at the park, in the woods and even at Clara's house. The story then continues to tell of their adventure that night. But Clara's mom insists it's bedtime. They say goodnight, but another friend comes to play...

Problems:Clara doesn't obey her mother.

Reaction: This is a very neat book! Being an art major I was 'drawn' :) to the beautiful illustrations. The story is very imaginative and fun and encourages children to be more creative and imaginative.

Recommendation: I would recommend this book to those who love art firstly. And also all those wishing to encourage and inspire children to be creative and imaginative.