Winter In Anchorage

This winter has been a pretty rough one. On the coldest day so far our thermometer read -18 degrees F. That was at about 10am. I think it might have warmed up to about -17 degrees later in the day. We have probably had at least five other days or so where it has been around -15 and many many more days between the -5 and -10 marks. Rebecca and I were talking to each other the other day about how cold it feels outside. We have been in cold weather before--after all, we lived in Syracuse, NY for a year before moving here. In the past we have experienced cold to an uncomfortable point. The other day I had to drop our car off at the shop for a transmission fluid leak. After dropping it off I had to walk about half a mile to the bus stop. It was -14 out and all I could think was if I was stranded out in this weather for even just an hour I would probably freeze to death. All this cold weather means we have been spending a lot of time indoors. Rebecca and the kids pretty much only get outside running to and from the car in order to avoid the exposure. On most days I still ride my bike to work, but I have studded bike tires and I dress in plenty of layers.

We have been getting a lot of snow too. It has probably piled up to about three feet in our yard, but that is packed down. I am sure more than that has actually fallen. It is too bad that it has been too cold to play in it very much. Earlier on in the winter we did do a few sledding trips at neighborhood parks and the kids have loved that. I think Christian has been the biggest daredevil and has had the most fun on those trips. With all of the snow we have also gotten to enjoy some of the other fun winter activities, like shoveling the driveway, falling down many times, and driving on ice.

Our postman left this in our mailbox the other day.

I didn't think it was that bad!

It is fun to see everything so white though.

Christmas 2011

Another late post: Christmas! We were here in Alaska for Christmas, and had a nice weekend. Joshua got sick Christmas Eve, so he was pretty much in bed for all of Christmas day and a couple days afterward, so it ended up being pretty low key.

As per our Christmas tradition, on Christmas Eve we acted out the Nativity story, this year with Julia as Mary, Ethan as the Angel, and Christian as Joseph. Joshua was the donkey and narrator, and I was a narrator and the wisemen and shepherds. We start out the scene in one room and work our way around the house, to a different room where we eat a Bethlehem style dinner (fish, pitas, grape juice, olives), and then to another for the stable scene. The kids really love it, and it's a special time for all of us, remembering that special night and the special gift the Savior is to us.

Then Christmas morning the kids opened up their stockings and then the kids and I went to Church while Joshua suffered with strep throat at home. It was a really nice service with a lot of lovely music, and Julia and Ethan participated in the primary song (Julia snuck Ethan up with her, even though he wasn't officially in Primary yet but knew the song by heart). Then we came home, opened presents, talked with family, played with new toys, and ate. It was a nice day, although I wish Joshua would have been well enough to enjoy it too.

We loved celebrating the birth of our Savior, and the joy and hope He brings to our life. We were also grateful for the contact we had with loved ones during the season through cards, gifts, and Skype/phone chats. We hope you had a wonderful Christmas too!

Julia turns 5!

If any of you know Julia's birth date, you know this post is about two months overdue. But as Joshua has taken the three oldest kids to the library, I thought late would be better than never. Julia turned five in November, and it was a fun day. We decorated the house with pink balloons and streamers, and Julia picked to go swimming at a local fitness club for a family activity. There was even a big slide, and the kids loved it--Julia and Ethan went down the slide alone and swam a few feet on their own too! Christian also went down the slide with Joshua, and was excited to have as many turns as possible. It was a fun, snowy day, followed by cake and staying up until Mom and Dad's bedtime that evening. We love you Julia, you are so precious to us!

Elliott James Swift

This is the handsome man himself! He came early Sunday morning, after a quick labor starting around 2:30am. I was a little hesitant calling our planned babysitters in the middle of the night, but we finally did around 3:30 when I was sure it was not a false alarm. We made it to the hospital a little after 4, and after signing in, getting checked out and hooked on IVs, they said I was dilated to an 8! It was so quick I was worried I wouldn't be able to get any pain medication, but there was an amazing anesthesiologist that gave me an epidural that starting working in about 5 minutes. So about 15 minutes after that, I was able to deliver the baby pain-free! He came at 5:28am. We are so grateful that he is healthy and strong and that there were no complications. There were some knots in the umbilical cord, so I am so glad he wasn't in any distress or anything. I am feeling fine, just tired and a bit sore, but I think my body is getting used to this having babies business and the recovery has been easier each time.

After the rush of the morning, Joshua relieved our babysitters and took the kids to church, and then over to visit us in the afternoon at the hospital. Then this afternoon we got to be discharged. Luckily Joshua doesn't have classes until next week, so he'll be able to be around. So far I have no idea how I'll be able to handle 4 kids during the day on my own! I'm going to have to step up my parenting/multi-tasking skills quickly.

New Baby Boy Swift

Latest news from Anchorage... At 5:28 this morning we had our baby! Everyone is doing great! We got to the hospital and 4am and things were kind of a rush from there. He was 8 pounds 2 ounces and 22 inches long. Pictures and a name to follow.