Tonight at dinner Scott and I were thinking back on the past year and decided to make a top ten list of the great things that happened in our lives in 2007. I decided to post the list, so here it is.
10. The year of the Trilogy.
Three of our favorite trilogies were completed this year with the release of Pirates 3: At World's End, Bourne Ultimatum, and Ocean's 13. This may seem like a silly thing to make the list, but that's how much we like these movies.
9. Mason got a bathtub!Once again, this may not seem like a big event, but it was. Our old basement apartment did not have a bathtub, it only had a shower. This wasn't a big deal to Scott and me until Mason was born. Mason bathed in his infant bathtub in the sink until he was 6 months old. Needless to say it was a tight fit by the end and everytime Mason had a bath the whole kitchen got one as well. Since we moved into our house baths are Mason's absolute favorite. Anytime I leave the door open to the bathroom he crawls in, pulls himself up on the side of the bathtub and cries when I won't put him in.
8. Scott got ESPN, ESPN 2, FSN, and Discovery Channel.
Wow, we are really starting to sound like couch potatoes. Our television viewing in our old apartment included 5 public channels. For those of you who know Scott and his passion for sports you understand how hard it is for him to miss games. We spent many a night at my parents house watching the Eagles, Villanova basketball, the Phillies, or any other big game that was on. Now that we are in our house we have cable TV. If our TV is on there is a very high probability it is on a sports channel or Discovery Channel (Scott is kind of a nerd when it comes to Discovery Channel). Now all I want in 2008 is a DVR so we can record games and fast forward through commercials and time outs to decrease our viewing time.
7. Additions to our families.
Scott's parents adopted 2 more babies girls, Karissa Dawn Murray (Jan. 12) and Keyana Joy Murray(Jan. 23), last January. Mason likes playing with his aunts who are 3 months older than him.
Chris and Kacie had a little girl, Kennedy Hale (Aug 8). We are hoping, for Kennedy's sake, that Whitney and Brandon have a little girl to balance the cousin boy:girl ratio.
6. Becky and Jeff Wedding.
Scott's youngest biological sister, Becky, got married April 14 to Jeff Spaulding. Becky and Jeff met at BYU Idaho. 
The wedding was 10 days before I had Mason (thank you to Becky for not making me where a bridemaid's dress) and I had previously had a dream my water broke in the temple and caused the temple to be closed for cleaning. I debated wearing a Depends to the sealing, but in the end I made it through the day just fine! It was a beautiful day and we were so excited for them to begin their life together. Plus, we are so happy to have Jeff be a part of our family now.
The wedding was 10 days before I had Mason (thank you to Becky for not making me where a bridemaid's dress) and I had previously had a dream my water broke in the temple and caused the temple to be closed for cleaning. I debated wearing a Depends to the sealing, but in the end I made it through the day just fine! It was a beautiful day and we were so excited for them to begin their life together. Plus, we are so happy to have Jeff be a part of our family now.5. Murray Family Reunion in Zions.
In July we went down to Ponderosa Ranch in Zion for a family reunion sponsered by Scott's Grandma Murray. We stayed in a big cabin with Scott's entire family and enjoyed a week of activities including swimming, 
hiking, ping pong tournaments, mountain biking, horseshoes, and it wouldn't be the Murray family if there weren't games(Settlers of Catan, Ticket to Ride, and Blink were the favorites of the trip). We had such a wonderful time!
hiking, ping pong tournaments, mountain biking, horseshoes, and it wouldn't be the Murray family if there weren't games(Settlers of Catan, Ticket to Ride, and Blink were the favorites of the trip). We had such a wonderful time!4. Hale trip to Chicago.
Rather than Brandon and Whitney coming home from Chicago for Thanksgiving, my parents took the family out to see them. We stayed in an executive suite apartment in their building 
(it is an apt. rented out by night like a hotel) so we really go a good look into what their every day life is like. I am so jealous of the great experience they are having our there. We went to museums, went shopping, and of course saw Wicked. Thanks Brandon and Whitney for all your hard work and planning to make our trip great and thanks mom and dad for making it all happen.
(it is an apt. rented out by night like a hotel) so we really go a good look into what their every day life is like. I am so jealous of the great experience they are having our there. We went to museums, went shopping, and of course saw Wicked. Thanks Brandon and Whitney for all your hard work and planning to make our trip great and thanks mom and dad for making it all happen. 3. Scott and Rachel graduate from BYU.
Scott earned is B.S. in Exercise Science in June and I earned my B.S. in Nursing in December. We both walked in our convocation ceremonies in August (I walked early since there is no convocation in December). 
This was a HUGE event this year since we have both been working toward these degrees for 4+ years. You might ask what our plan is from here. Scott will go back and get his MBA sometime in the next 5 years, for now he is continuing to work at NuSkin and building his management experience. I will practice as an RN on the side of being a mom. After we are done having kids and they are all in school I plan on going back and getting my Nurse Practioner.
This was a HUGE event this year since we have both been working toward these degrees for 4+ years. You might ask what our plan is from here. Scott will go back and get his MBA sometime in the next 5 years, for now he is continuing to work at NuSkin and building his management experience. I will practice as an RN on the side of being a mom. After we are done having kids and they are all in school I plan on going back and getting my Nurse Practioner. 2. We bought a house!!!!
In September we came across our house with the help of Chris and Kacie (it is just down the street from their house) and decided to put an offer down. Before we knew it we were the owners of a house that had a whole lot of potential, but was not a lot to look at (or smell for that matter) at the time. With the help of family we first gutted the house and then built it back up. We had the main floor ready to move in the first of November. 
After we moved in and got semi-settled, we tackled the basement. There is still a long list of little things that need to be done, but we now live in a nice, modest home that we LOVE!! I think we appreciate everything about our house because of all the blood and sweat we put into it. This project has consumed the last 4 months of our life and therefore is a big part of 2007.
After we moved in and got semi-settled, we tackled the basement. There is still a long list of little things that need to be done, but we now live in a nice, modest home that we LOVE!! I think we appreciate everything about our house because of all the blood and sweat we put into it. This project has consumed the last 4 months of our life and therefore is a big part of 2007.
There really was very little competition for our highlight of 2007. Scott and I became the proud parents of Mason Scott Murray on April 25 at 5:49 pm. He weighed in at 8 lb. 3 oz. and was 20 inches long. Since the day he was born he has been the Perfect baby. Words can not describe how amazing he is. As I look forward to 2008 the thing I am most excited about is continuing the journey of parenthood. 
At about 4 1/2 months Mason started doing a little inchworm crawl where he would bury his face in the ground, pull his knees up and then push forward along the ground. It didn't take long for him to perfect this method of movement and soon he was army crawling all over. Even at 6 months when he could get up on his hands and knees and pull himself up on furniture, if he wanted to go somewhere he would drop to his belly and army crawl away. It was funny to watch because it looked like he was swimming across the floor. He was so fast getting around with his army crawl that normal crawl just took too long. He is just now starting to crawl on his hands and knees and actually I'm really going to miss laughing at his speedy arm crawl. It has definitely been one of my favorite things about Mason.
Mason has the most incredible big eyes! Never in a million years did I think we would have a blue eyed baby, but it sure looks like that's what we got. Top them off with his beautiful, long, dark eyelashes and he's got eyes some amazing eyes. Let just hope our daughters get the same genes. Here are some of the many pictures we have that highlight his eyes with the deer in headlights look that seems to be his favorite look for the camera these days. 
Today was Mason's blessing day. I never would have guessed what a stressful day this can be for a mother. Worrying about all the family who has traveled from far away to be there. Worrying about keeping the white outfit you meticulously picked out white (aka no diaper blowouts). Worrying about having baby fed and happy for the blessing. Worrying about the lunch you are providing for 30+ people. And all of the other things you have absolutely no control over, but worry about it anyway. Apparently all of the worrying paid off, though, because the whole day went smoothly. Mason looked perfectly sweet in his blessing outfit. Most importantly, Scott gave Mason the correct name and didn't accidentally say Mason Jar Murray like he was afraid he would. Not to mention the wonderful blessing that accompanied it.
Mason has a lot of people who love him and who made a lot effort to be there for his big day.
Grandpa Mike and Grandma Linda came with their 8 kids. Steve came up from Arizona and Vance made the trek all the way from Provo. 
Chris, Kacie, and Cannon came back from a family reunion early to be there. 
Mason even had his Great-Grandma and Grandpa Thompson and Great-Grandma and Grandpa Allred there. His extended cousins, the Jenkins, all were there as well.
And of course Grandma Nancy was the gracious host of our little lunch and honestly did pretty much all of the work for it. Thanks Mom. Thanks Whit for taking pictures since I never thought to pull out a camera.
This post is not exactly showing off my best parenting, but it's a part of Mason's life I feel the need to document. Mason has always been a good sleeper at night, but just cat naps during the day taking 20-30 minute naps. Until we discovered a new place for Mason to take his naps. A place where he magically sleeps better and longer. We just lay him down and he doesn't stir or make a peep for hours. The only problem is, it's not exactly approved by the American Pediatric Association or whoever makes all the safe sleeping rules. This new place is our Love Sac. It all started when Scott and I realized that the Love Sac provided a comfortable resting place for us to snuggle up with Mason. 
At some point, one of us got up and left Mason sleeping comfortably on the Love Sac and watched him while he took the longest and best nap he had ever had. Now, even though we know it is frowned upon, we are all hooked. In our defense we are always within a few feet of him (one benefit of a small apartment) as we sit at the table or on the couch doing homework and such. He doesn't take all of his naps there, just when we need him to nap for a guaranteed chunk of time so we can get something done. We absolutely never let him sleep there at night or when we are not there to monitor him. We know we will have to end this practice as soon as he starts rolling or becoming more mobile, but for the time being, it works for us, and so we are enjoying his wonderful love sac naps. Please don't judge us. Just look enjoy looking at the peacefully sleeping baby like we do.
Mason has never been timid about eating. The kid will take whatever I have to give him and believe me when I say, it's a lot. Proof of his eating habits lies in the rolls from his cheeks to his toes. My favorite thing is his popeye arms that get smaller at the elbow and the wrist and bulge in between. He has some serious cankles and I have to watch his circulation carefully when he has socks on. What can I say, the kid is a tank! At his two month check up Mason weighed in at 13 lbs 15 oz (94%) and 24.6 inches (95%), making him the size of all the 6 month old babies around us. No one believes his age when I tell them because not only is he to size of a 6 month old, but he acts like one too. He is so alert and very strong. He prefers to be carried on my hip, facing out so he can look around, which I've been told most 2 month old babies don't do yet. All I have to say is a chubby baby is a happy baby which makes for one very happy mama. 
