Down wit' da Brown's

Tommy

2012-01-26T14:19:00.000-08:00

Tommy in his jammies

wearing Charlee's "pirate coat"

and wearing a hat of Charlee's

playing with my old suitcase

I used as a kid to go to my grandmas house.Classic!

My Dancer

2012-01-26T14:09:00.000-08:00

Charlee is in dance for the first time this year. Her performance was a couple of weeks before Christmas. She had so much fun and it was so cute to see her dance. She looks so grown up!
Charlee with her cousin Ireland.

Her Aunt Charisse did her hair. It was so cute.

My grown up girl!!!

Christmas 2011

2012-01-26T13:55:00.000-08:00

Here are the kids with Santa pictures that Emilie also took!! I have so many photos but I absolutly have to show off hte ones that Emilie takes.
David was happiest on the floor.

Tommy was just a ball of energy that would not stay still!!!

Of course Charlee is Miss Model!!

These little mini photo shoots are so much fun!!

Halloween 2011

2012-01-26T13:38:00.000-08:00

I am so behind.

Here are the Halloween photos taken by Emilie of www.photobyemilie.blogspot.com

She is awesome and the kids (and me) love her!
Charlee was a Mermaid.

Tommy was a Hamburger.

And my baby Davie Dot was a Monkey.

He wasn't too happy in this costume, he was so hot and uncomfortable.

Thats the price you pay for cuteness.

Trials And Gratitude

2011-11-22T13:13:00.000-08:00

Three months have passed since I last wrote. It has been such a roller coaster ride, with its ups and downs, sharp curves and the sensations of puking up your entire lunch. I am physically, mentally, emotionally and spiritually drained. I have cried till my eyes were puff balls, I have yelled till I was hoarse and I have prayed till my knees were sore. I will never forget where I was and how I felt Sunday afternoon on August 21, 2011 when some of the most horrible things were disclosed to me. Kind of like my own personal 9-11. No one died, but a part of me did along with the past 12 years. Besides the birth of my 3 children, which are 3 days I will always hold dear, I am not sure what was real. Through a lot of prayer, attending the Temple, attending groups, seeing a counselor and having a lot of Faith, I believe I am starting to heal. This is a long road and one that will be a part of the rest of my life. This is my trial. I have accepted that. Despite what I am going through my heart is full of gratitude and since it is Thanksgiving in 2 days I thought I would share my gratitude:

1. I am so gratefull for a loving Heavenly Father. He is why I am here on earth. He knows me by name and knows my heart. I do believe that He will not give me more than I can handle. Although, I came so close to breaking completely this time, I know that He will not leave me.

2. I am so gratefull for my Savior Jesus Christ. I know that through Him I can be healed. I know that He will never leave me. He has given me great comfort and Peace and continues to give me the strength I need to continue on.

3. I am so gratefull for the Atonement. I am so grateful to know that the Atonement is real. It is so real and it is not just for my sins. I know that through the Atonement I can give my burden, my pain and my heartache to Him and He will bear it.

4. I am so grateful for Charlee, Tommy and Davie. My Ball Babes are my life. Some days are hard to get through with crying, whinning and demands but I believe that they are some of the reason I am able to get through this trial. I love them forever and ever!!

5. I am so grateful for my Mom and my brothers and sisters. I am so thankful that I was able to tell them everything that was going on and that they all support me. I am so glad that they were chosen to be my family. I love them so much.

6. I am gratefull for my dad. As crazy as this sounds, I am glad that he is on the other side of the veil, because it has been at some of my darkest days when I have felt him comforting me. I love and miss him terribly but grateful to know I will get to see him again someday.

7. I am so gratefull for my BFF Katie. I am so glad I have a friend that I can talk to about anything and everything. I am glad for the different perspective she gives on things and that she can tell me the truth. She has been a great support to me and I love her.

8. I am so grateful for my ward calling. Being the 1st Counselor in the Relief Society has been a challenge. I have had do step out of my comfort zone but it has been great. I am getting to know some awesome women that I might not have unless I was in this calling. I do miss being in Young Womens but I so believe this is where I am suppose to be. I LOVE our ward. I am grateful for our Bishop and for the Stake President. I have truly been blessed in this calling and ward.

9. I am grateful for trials. I know that it is through this trial I have come to know my Heavenly Father and my Savior Jesus Christ. I have great faith that I chose this trial in the pre-exsistance. I believe that I knew I would take on this trial and that as much as it hurts it will be worth it in the end.

10. I am grateful for Lynn. I am thankful that he works hard to provide for our family. I am thankful that he wants to be better and that he wants to change. I am hopeful that through this trial, we will become closer than ever and have a love for each other that we could never have ever imagined! I already believe that we are better people because of this trial. I do love him and hope that by next Thanksgiving I can move him farther up my list.

I could really go on and on, but that is the top 10.

So I leave you with a picture of Charlee on the first day of Kindergarten. Yes, my baby started school. She loves it.

I am so behind but I have had a lot of other things on my mind. I hope to make it more of a habit to updat my blog more often. The kids were so cute for Halloween!! That will be my next post.

God Grant Me Strength

2011-08-30T12:28:00.000-07:00

This past week was a week from Hell. It was a week that I would not wish on anyone. It felt as if my world was crashing down on me. I have a long road ahead of me, but I believe that by imersing myself in the Gospel and my new calling as 1st Counselor in the Relief Society I will be able to get through this. More catch up posts to come, the kids are growing up so fast!

My Lil Mechanic

2011-08-01T14:45:00.000-07:00

Lynn was working on our car one day and Tommy thought he would help. He is the silliest little Boy!!

Davie's Blessing Day

2011-08-01T14:25:00.000-07:00

My sweet baby boy!!Davie was blessed on May 1st. It was a great day. All the people that came were my mom, Erline; Charisse, Dan, Ireland and Eydra; Kirk, Kelsey, Wesley, Austin and Avery; Steven (Tina and the kids couldn't come.); Kevin and Jackie; Jeff, Barbara, Karter, Karson and Emmit; Lynns parents and our friends Alex, Lisa, Danielle and Austin. We had a FULL house!!! We had a lot of food and had a good time. I was glad that most of my family could be here for our last baby blessing.

Next up: Baptisms!!

Photo By Emilie Easter Event 2011

2011-08-01T14:00:00.000-07:00

I can't believe I didn't post these sooner. I am soooo behind. Emilie had her Easter event again this year, so of course, I had to get the kids pictures taken.

Davie was not in a good mood and wouldn't turn his head, but he is still a cutie.Tommy would not sit still, but was very interested in the bunnies.
Charlee is always smiling for the camera.

Here are my Ball Babes.

As usual, Emilie did a great job and the kids love her.

Easter 2011

2011-08-01T13:32:00.000-07:00

Easter morning. I missed it. I was up all night with Davie, that Lynn let me sleep and he took pictures of the kids.

Tommy was really excited about this bunny!! I believe he truly enjoyed savering this chocolate bunny, foil and all. I found it litterally half eaten. There were teeth marks on the foil and no extra to be found!! Thats my boy!!He is just too funny.
Charlee and all her loot!! Note the eye mask with eyelashes on it. She loves eye masks. Don't ask me why.

Tommy digging into his stuff.Here is Davies basket. I wish I would have gotten a picture of him by his basket.

I love Easter! I love ALL holidays, but it is so fun to fill Easter baskets. When Lynn was a kid, he said that for Easter they just got a paper cup with candy in it. That's no fun! I want my boys to have all that Easter has to offer. That means they get a Easter basket even if it is girly!!

Easter Bunny Cake

2011-08-01T13:21:00.000-07:00

Every Easter we make a bunny cake. This is something that my mom did every year and we have continued the tradition. This year Erline came over for Easter and let Tommy adn Charlee help make it. Tommy lasted for a while and then he was ready to go play.Frosting the cake.
Adding all the yummy coconut.

Adding all the details.

Voila!! Bunny cake.

My Birthday

2011-08-01T13:00:00.000-07:00

Ok, now to play a little catch up!!

In April I celebrated my Birthday. It was on a friday, so Lynn suprised me with taking the day off. He even made breakfast for everyone that morning. However, he did not let me sleep in.

For lunch we went to Santa Monica Pizza for their lunch buffet. They have yummy bread sticks! Tommy enjoyed spilling, no, dumping his water and then slurping it off the table. Mmmm!!Charlee loves pizza!
Lynn being a nerd, as usual.

Lynn got me a Nothing Bunt Cake. They are soooo moist!!

Here we are at home about to eat cake.

Over all it was a fun day.

A Year Ago Today...

2011-07-03T20:15:00.000-07:00

..was when I had my miscarriage. It's weird to think about it. I was so sad at the time and yet I got pregnant two weeks later and voila, we have our little Davie. I am still sad remembering how I felt and still wonder. Was it our little Davie that just wasn't ready yet? Was it a test to see if I really was ready for baby number three so soon? Was it just nothing or will that baby be waiting for me to raise them in the eternities? I don't know but I am so thankful to have my David Wavid!!

(In this picture Davie is about 6 weeks old.)

Tommy The Tot

2011-06-28T16:49:00.000-07:00

These are a few of Tommy's adventures as a tot. These were taken in March before Davie was born. Charlee never really got into trouble, but Tommy, he's all boy.Tommys first experience with sidewalk chalk. He actually prefers to throw it. Tommy liked to open my big drawer in the kitchen and crawl in. It was cute until the drawer started to break. I had to put a stop to that. He was not happy!
Again, drawers in the kitchen are fun. He got into the baggie drawer and emptied the baggies out of their box. I was not too happy but he was!

Then eating is always a messy event. Here he is enjoying a Kit Kat. See it on the top of his head!! He always makes me laugh, my crazy, silly, sweet tot!!!

Busy, Busy, Busy

2011-06-21T16:16:00.001-07:00

It has been CRAZY around here. We have been so busy and a we have had a lot of visitors and have done a lot. I swear to post some of the many many pictures I have. For now here is one of Davie. It posted sideways and I do not know why and do not know how to fix it. He is almost 2 months here and right now he is almost 3 months. I will get stuff up asap.

My Sweet Davie

2011-05-17T17:44:00.000-07:00

Of course I had to have my friend Emilie take pictures of our new little man. She does an amazing job, and the kids LOVE her. In these pictures, Davie is 5 days old.

I highly recomend Emilie.
Her blog is http://www.photobyemilie.blogspot.com/.

David Hoggan

2011-04-13T12:57:00.000-07:00

David Hoggan was born on March 29, 2011 at 3:19 pm. Weighing 8lbs 1oz and 20 1/2 inches long. Everything went great and I am glad he is here.Our first family photo. I will write more later and I have lots of pictures to put up. Just thought I would get this much up since I like to procrastinate!!

Last Day

2011-03-28T10:31:00.001-07:00

Today is my last full day being pregnant. I go in tomorrow morning to be induced. I am nervous to go through this again but so excited to meet my new little man. I am so glad that my mom was able to come again to help out. I wouldn't have her here if I didn't want her here. Lynn took these pictures yesterday before church. Tommy just wanted out of my arms to run. He loves it outside. Charlee just complained because she wanted pictures with Lynn. So it is not a very good picture but you can see how big I got. I definatly got bigger with this one that the other two. I will post pics of the babe as soon as I can!!!

37 Weeks and 2 Days

2011-03-22T12:19:00.000-07:00

I had my doctors appointment yesterday and I am moving along nicely. 80% effaced, 3 cm dialated, ripe and ready. He decided to go ahead adn induce delivery because of the hypertention. Hooray!!! That made me very happy. So we go in at 7am on Tuesday, March 29th. That is just next week. I can't believe it. This prenancy went by really, really fast. I am just glad to have a date. Now I need to finish all the crap that needs done before I go to the hospital. Cleaning, pay bills, put away baby clothes, do grocery shopping, I'd like a haircut, Lots to do. Anyway, I am scared and excited an looking forward to seeing our third little one.

36 Weeks

2011-03-11T11:26:00.000-08:00

I had a doctors appointment and Non stress test on Monday. The baby is head down in position, I am 70% effaced and 2cm dialated. I have been having small little contractions every now and then. Of course I may not go for another few weeks, but sooner would be nice. I am getting the nesting instinct already and really feel like getting this place ready for the babe.

Baby Update

2011-02-26T00:36:00.000-08:00

As of today I am 34 weeks along. This pregnancy has gone by very fast. Very, very fast. I still can't believe that I only have six weeks left. I know I have done it twice but I am starting to get scared to deliver again. It hurts like hell and you never know what is going to happen. So far things have been good. It is pretty much the sme as when I was pregnant with Tommy. I am on medication for high blood pressure and for Gestational diabetes and I have to check my blood four times a day. I still have regular doctor visits every 2 weeks. Then I started going to Maternal Fetal Medicine to have weekly non stress tests done. This coming monday will be the third one. So far everything has been looking good. I have asked if he will induce me again because that was really nice to know when I was going in, instead of having it be a suprise. I would much rather him break my water again (which did not hurt at all) than to have it happen in the middle of a store or something. My next Doctor visit is on Monday, Feb. 7th. I am just hoping that things still continue to go as smoothly as they have been.

Tommy Turns One

2011-02-26T00:11:00.000-08:00

On December 28th, my little B-boy turned one. I still can't believe he is one already. We did not do much, just a small party with family. Grandma Strader, Erline, Charisse and Dan and their girls, Ireland and Eydra were there. We ate tacos and had some very yummy cupcakes from a place called So Cupcake in Salt Lake. They are really good!!!!! Then Tommy opend his presents. He had a lot of fun playing with the tissue paper. He has grown so much. He even mastered walking the week before his birthday and then mastered how

to go down the stairs a week later. That was nice. We were able to put the gates away!! They really can be a pain. He loves to jabber on and has the cutest wrinkeled up nose, squinty eyed, showing his big choppers, smile!! He is such a joy. He absolutly adores Charlee and they have a lot of fun together. She has been a really big help with him. He can wave bye or hi and he even tries to say hi when waving. He will wave and say "Haaa" He is going to be just as smart as his sister. So now to explain the tree.

I have a cousin who's daughter was born right after Christmas and for her birhtday they take down the ornaments off the tree and put up balloons. I always thought that was a great idea. (Thanks Stephanie.) So when I was preggo with Tommy, that is what I thought I would do. So the day after Christmas I took down all the crap off the tree and put up balloons and streamers and put bows on top of the tree and then I put his presents under neath. (Those are brown balloons, they look black.)
It definatly made it feel more like a

birthday and not Christmas, plus Charlee had fun helping me put it all up and Tommy loved to pull it all down. It was a great day!! I love him so much and so grateful he came to join our family!! To think that we thought that maybe Charlee would be our only one since it was not easy to get preggo the second time! Here he is after eating a red velvet cupcake. What a sweet boy!!!!

Photo By Emilie Santa Event 2010

2011-02-07T14:22:00.000-08:00

Once again, the ever talented Emilie, took pictures of my babies. This year went much better than last year. Tommy was not yet born, but Charlee was scared to death. I don't know why, because he is the BEST santa ever!! (He is actually Emilies hubby!) Here are just 3 out of the pictures of the bunch. I loved them all, perfect or not!!!Tommy enjoying the sucker!!
That is my hand dressed up like Santa. All Tommy wanted to do was bite my finger.

This is my favorite one of Charlee with Santa.

I look forward to all of Emilie's holiday events. I can't wait for the Easter Event in April.

www.photobyemilie.com

O Christmas Tree

2011-02-02T12:59:00.000-08:00

Since I neglected to post any Christmas pictures in December or January, I need to play catch up. This was our tree this year. It was just right. Charlee had fun helping me put up the lights and ornaments and Tommy had fun trying to take them off. I can't wait for Christmas this year. It is my favorite holiday!!!

A New Calling

2011-01-31T13:40:00.000-08:00

We have been in our new ward now for 4 months and its pretty small, so I was suprised we didn't get callings sooner. Anyway, Lynn has not recieved one, but I did. I was called to be a Young Womens Advisor. They are only going to have 2, because there are so few young women that they usually combine for lessons. I will get to teach more lessons! I am always so nervous but I enjoy it at the same time.

This picture has nothing to do with this post but I thought it was too cute. Tommy sometimes will fall asleep on the floor in the morning.

Tommy Loves Oreos

2011-01-20T15:25:00.000-08:00

I took these in October of Tommy eating a Halloween Oreo. He enjoyed every little morsel of that bad boy!!

Nothing like a juicy shot of his dirty little ball hand.
And of his mouth. Mmmmm, looks good!!!!

Tommy just loves his daddy!!! When I hear the garage open, I say to Tommy, "There's Daddy" and he gets excited and says, "Dada dada." with the biggest smile on his face. When he sees Lynn, he practically jumps out of my arms!

Random November

2011-01-16T18:26:00.000-08:00

These are some pictures at Wheeler Farm at the pumpkin patch. I took family pics of Charisse, Dan, Ireland and Eydra. These are some of Tommy and Char.

No More Sweets :(

2010-12-22T09:21:00.000-08:00

Four weeks ago I went in for my 20 week appointment. It was a normal visit. Blood pressure was good and the baby sounded great.

I went in yesterday for my 24 week appiontment. The baby sounds great and my blood pressure was good but he decided not to even do the glucose test because, more than likely, it will be positive and I probably have gestational diabetes. So I am to start the diet that I was on before with Tommy. No more sweets, or soda, or juice and little fruit and watching my carbs. Also checking my blood 4 times aday. I am not looking forward to this again. Especially because it is Christmas and we have been given so many goodies and candy, and I can't have any of it!!! I guess the positive is that I will loose weight again like I did with Tommy. So heres to starving!!!

We Are Having A Little........

2010-11-17T18:23:00.000-08:00

BOY!!!!!!

Lynn and I couldn't be happier!!!

Charlee, on the other hand, cried.

She really wanted a baby sister this time!

Halloween 2010

2010-11-11T14:14:00.000-08:00

The kids had a Halloween photoshoot with Photo by Emilie. Emilie is awesome and can get the kids to do anything she wants them to. She is magic!!! Anyway, here are the kids!Charlee was a Strawberry Princess. Not a fairy, a princess.
Tommy was a little construction worker. He had some allergies that started to bug him, so he had a runny nose, red and runny eyes and was sneezy. But Emilie still was able to get some great shots!!

They are so cute together!!

16 Weeks

2010-11-04T10:23:00.000-07:00

I had a doctors appointment last Tuesday, and the baby still sounds great. I go in on Monday, November 15th for my official ultrasound. I can't wait to find out what we are having!!!!

Little Fibers! Mmmm!

2010-11-04T10:17:00.000-07:00

The kids went to a birthday party a few weeks ago. They had a lot of fun. The best part was Tommy using the shovel method on a delicious chocolate cupcake!!

He also ate the paper tablecloth. Mmmm. A little fiber can't hurt a growing boy!!

My Lil' Pianist

2010-10-22T15:31:00.000-07:00

Tommy loves to "play" the piano!!

He is so stinkin' cute!!

Speaking of stinkin', the neighbors are smoking and we have the sliding glass door open. YUK!!!!!

There always has to be one in every neighborhood!!

We Also Sing 2010 Concert

2010-10-22T15:26:00.000-07:00

We had our 2010 concert for We Also Sing on October 14th. It was in Provo this year, and it was so much fun. I LOVE this chior and I can't wait for next year. Since Ree lives in the area now, she was also in it.
Yes, we are nerds, and we admit it!

Char's Hounted House

2010-10-22T15:12:00.000-07:00

Yes, we are still here!!! We got all moved in and, for the most part, everything is put together. I still need to get the front room in order, hang pictures, finish going through stuff for storage in the basement and my biggest project is to tackle my scrapbook room!! I haven't even started that yet. Oh yah, the garage needs to be organized. But, really, I got a lot done.

So, we were in Harmons a couple weeks ago and they had these Hounted Gingerbread Houses. I had seen them before but they are kinda expensive, so I never got one. Well it was on sale and I knew Charlee, and let's face it, Me, would have fun putting it together. It was fun, but it was also a piece of crap. We barley got it put together, walked away so it could dry and then I heard something. The roof broke and the entire thing collapsed. So the Haunted Shack sat on our table for a couple days before it ended in the trash. Oh well, we had fun putting it together!!
And Charlee LOVED the black frosting!!

Tommy just chilled on the floor. This is his signature camera pose. He looks like he is thinking "What?"

Week 12

2010-09-29T08:49:00.000-07:00

I had my doctors appointment yesterday. The baby's heartbeat sounded great. He has already put me on High blood pressure meds (the same ones I had with Tommy) and I am to check my blood pressure and blood sugar everyday. So pretty much everything I had to do with Tommy. He will see how I do with my blood sugar levels before he puts me on meds but he said it is more than likely that I will be on them again. My next appointment is October 25th or 26th, I can't remember.

We were suppose to close on our house this morning at 9 but because of a few snags, we are suppose to close this afternoon at 4. I hope this is it!!!! It sure is not easy to buy a house!!

One More Week!!!!

2010-09-21T14:55:00.000-07:00

The appraisal and FHA inspection went great!!!!! The house appraised higher than what we are paying for it and we do not have to fix anything!!! HOORAY!!! I am so relieved. Now we get to play the waiting game some more. Now is when they do the underwriting. It takes about 24 to 48 hours, so we should know if we have the loan by Thursday afternoon or Friday morning. I just pray that it goes well!! So we are still set to close on Wednesday, Sept. 29th!!!!! One more week. I can hardly stand this!!!

This picture has nothing to do with this post, but I think it is funny. Tommy likes to crawl under his crib to play with the monitors. Charlee joined him.

Holy Crap!!! A House???

2010-09-17T10:38:00.000-07:00

I still don't quit believe this myself. We are only 13 days away from getting the keys to OUR very first home!!!!! (If all goes well.) Aaaaaaaaaaa!!!!! This is something I have wanted since High School. I always thought of ways to change my parents house and besides Marine Biology, I thought about going to school for interior design.

So how did we finally decide it was time??? Well it all started back in like January and Lynn thought that maybe we should try, so that we could get the tax credit since it was the last year for it. (Which we did find out that no matter what, we would have had to wait until September anyway in order to get our loan.) Lynn signed up on some realtors web site to get updates. So he would show me houses and I was like "No, we aren't ready."

Well in June we got some really crappy neighbors in the duplex next to us. When we would be in the back yard, all we heard was f this and f that. They would be saying this to little kids, too. They have thrown dirty diapers over the fence into our back yard, they put yard waste in our recycling can when it was out by the street, the cops have been there three times (that we know of), the girl was beaten by her boyfriend one day(thank goodness we weren't home when that happened) and there is a lot of suspicious activities going on there (drugs???). Anyway, this is not the only reason we are moving, because we could have neighbors like this anywhere, but I think it was the push that we needed. We also hate living on a busy road and not having a fenced in back yard for the kids and it sucks to pay rent!!!

So in July we called up Myan. He is in our ward and a realtor. We felt like we could trust him. So then we went in to try to get pre-approved. Since we have no down payment, we needed to get, basically, a second morgage on the house. We needed our credit scores to be at a certain number in order to do this. Mine was there, but Lynns was not. So for the month of August we had to get our scores up. There were 3 things that were in our bankruptcy that were being reported inaccuaratly, so I had to write letters to the credit reporting agencies, we needed to lower the balance on Lynns credit card and because he was late on a tool box payment in Sept. 2009, we had to wait until September 2010 to try for the loan and to just be careful that month.

In the meantime, during the month of August, I went out during the day with Myan to look at homes. Lynn, me and the kids would go out on the weekends to look at the outside of homes that fit our criteria and budget. We could tell that just by looking at the house on the outside, what kind of neighborhood it was in, or where the house was situated , we could eliminate some and not waste our time and our realtors time to see the inside. For example, a couple houses you had the freeway in your back yard, one house had a buisness right behind it, some were in really crappy nieghborhoods that we did not feel comfortable driving in, let alone living in and some were really run down on the outside. Call me picky if you want, but this is the biggest, most expensive purchase we will ever make and we wanted to feel comfortable in the area. We looked at over 40 houses on the outside and saw about 25 on the inside. It was actually about the 20th house we saw, when we knew we found THE one.

So we hoped and prayed that that house would still be on the market in September, when we could try for the loan and possibly make an offer. So we made the appointment to get our pre-approval. I was a nervous wreck, but we had done it, our credit scores were right on. So we made an offer on the house that night. We got a counter offer the next day, and it was right where we wanted it, so we accepted!! Next the house had to be inspected. That was on Tuesday. It went great. Nothing major was wrong. There were a few minor fixes that were reccomended that we can totally fix and two things that FHA might flag for safty reasons that might need to be fixed before we can buy the house but they are simple and the seller will pay for one of the problems and we can take care of the other one. Right now we are waiting for the appraisal/FHA inpection to be done. Hopefully by Monday. After that, and if we need to make those 2 repairs, we just need to close. The date set to close by is September 29th and we should get the keys on the 30th. We hope to move on Saturday, October 2nd. I am so nervous and excited.

Here is our house. It has 5 bedrooms, 2 bathrooms, a living room, a family room, new carpet in every room, new kitchen cabinets, floor and granite countertops, 2 car garage, storage area in basement, storage shed out back, fenced in back yard, and it even has gas hook up outside for the grill!!
The house still has a lot of work that we would like to do, so over the years we will make upgrades, which is actually what I look forward to. For example, we will eventually redo both bathrooms. They are ugly and dated. And I would like to repaint rooms and change some of the landscaping and so on and so on.

This is the view from the back yard.

It was so exciting to pull up to the house and see "SOLD" on the sign, knowing that it is US buying the house. Only 13 days!!!!!

There's A Baby

2010-09-02T13:00:00.000-07:00

I had my first doctors appointment on Tuesday. I was so nervous that there would be no baby, but there was. I saw the little peanut and it's little heart beating. It has a strong heart beat, so that was really good. I cried. I can't believe we planned this one, and even though I lost the first planned one, I can't believe I got pregnant so fast again. I am 8 weeks and my due date is April 9th. I can't wait.

Our 11th Anniversary

2010-08-27T12:15:00.000-07:00

On August 7th, we celebrated our 11th Anniversary.

I can't believe it has been that long.

Time really does go by fast.
We really did not do much this year. My mom came to watch the kids. Lynn was not suppose to be on call for that weekend, and we were going to go stay the night in a hotel some where near, and maybe go hiking and a fancy dinner (well not too fancy) but none of that happened.

Lynn ended up being on call because the guy who said he would do it backed out.

Since we couldn't go hiking or leave town and due to no money and trying to get a house, we thought we would spend the day looking at houses. Well at 11 am Lynn got a call at the shop adn had to take care of it. So I got to sit in the car for 3 hours at the shop. Thank goodness I had a book with me. I almost finished it, too. (Thanks for the read,Jackie) So we ate a really late lunch and headed back out to see more homes. We saw 20!!! We had dinner at the Cheesecake Factory but niether of us were really hungry and by then we were too tired to care. It was actually kind of a bummer day.

Regardless of what happen on our Anniversary, I Love Lynn more today than the day I married him. He is such an excellent father and husband. I am so grateful that he has a job that he loves and that he works hard to provide for us so that I can stay home with the kids. Getting a house is another step in our marriage that we are so thrilled about!! I am excited for what the future brings for us!!

My August Lesson

2010-08-25T12:16:00.000-07:00

My time to give another lesson in Young Women had arrived. Again I was very nervous. It was on Exaltation. I am quit proud of my Plan of Salvation that I made using my scrapbooking supplies. I had also just recieved our family pictures and displayed them, since to me, Exaltation is getting to spend eternity with them. I think I did better on the lesson I did in March, but I am glad to have the experience.

Tommy Loves Cheetoes

2010-08-25T12:12:00.000-07:00

Enough said!

4th of July 2010

2010-08-25T12:00:00.000-07:00

It was a fun 4th of July here. Most of my family was together. Dan and Ree had just moved to Utah, my mom was visiting, Mindy, Russ and the kids were here, Erline lives here and Kirk and his family were here but decided not to join us for fireworks. So, just Steven and his family were not here. 4th of July was actually celebrated on Saturday the 3rd and it was so fun to be around everyone!!

Tommy wearing Charlees headband.

Tommy's Teeth

2010-08-23T16:29:00.000-07:00

Tommy got his two bottom teeth in June.

They actually came in around Char's Birthday.

6 months old.

Cousins Near

2010-08-23T16:22:00.000-07:00

Charlee has loved having her cousin, Ireland, near.

We went over one day for the girls to swim.

This was also Tommy's first time in a little pool.

It was a fun day!

Tommy @ 6 Months

2010-08-23T16:16:00.000-07:00

Tommy likes to "eat" the sink faucet when he takes his bath.

I know, gross.It is cute, though.

Had to make him a little more modest for picture.

He is so much fun!!!!!

Heber Valley Railroad

2010-08-23T15:58:00.000-07:00

In June, Lynns parents took us to the Heber Valley Railroad, where we got to ride a train there. It was an hour and a half round trip ride. Not to bad. It was fun. Charlee was not too fond of the trains whistle but she thought it was pretty neat.Charlee and Grandpa Brown
It was really windy.

Tommy in his Engineer hat. Ok, it was a little too big, but I am confident that his noggin will grow into it.

Tommy was pooped!

This was a cloud we saw. Charlee said it looked like a dog bone.

By darn, it does look like a dog bone.

Charlee Turns 4!

2010-08-23T15:38:00.000-07:00

The most important event that happened in June was my baby's Birthday!
Charlee turned 4. What a crazy, smart girl she is at that!!
Charlee has the best memory. She will bring up things that happened when she was 2, or remember what we did at certain places. It is just amazing. She is also very smart. She has known her colors and shapes since she was 2 and at 2 and a half knew the alphabet song and knew the uppercase letters (in order and randomly) So now she knows the lowercase letters and we have been working on the sounds. She knows a lot of them already. She is also starting to write. She can copy all of the letters and knows how to write some from memory. She can write her name too. She also knows her numbers 1-20 (we are still kind of working on the teens). We are also working on math. She gets the concept of adding and subtraction and can do really simple addition and subtraction. She loves to draw and do crafts. She also has an awesome imagination. She loves Tommy and is such a big help to me and Lynn. I will be teaching her this year to get her even more ready for Kindergarten. The goal is to have her writing more and reading before she starts school. I totally think she will pick it up very fast. She has with everything else.

She is such a special little spirit and I love her so much. I look forward to her growing up even more!! (But I miss my baby!!)

Pregnant!!

2010-08-19T12:00:00.000-07:00

I pray that this one sticks. I am in my 7th week.

That is already farther than the last one.

I go to the doctor on August 31st.

I am just so scared that this will end up in misscarriage.

I already love this baby so much!!!

Trip To Cemetery

2010-08-13T13:41:00.000-07:00

While in Poky, I wanted to go see my Dad. So we made a trip to the Cemetery.

I really miss my dad.
Ireland got mad and went off to sulk.

My babies. Tommy was a little out of sorts this day.

He did not enjoy the ride.

Little man, almost 5 months old.

Trip To Poky

2010-08-13T13:35:00.000-07:00

Lynn went on a fishing trip with a friend in May. I didn't want to stay home alone with the kids, so we took a road trip to Pocatello to see Dan and Ree. Charlee and Ireland were playing and when I went to check on them this is what they were doing: Ireland was pretending to change a diaper on Charlee. It was quit cute.

They have so much fun together.

Temple Field Trip

2010-08-13T13:25:00.000-07:00

In May, my friend Paige invited us to go walk around the Jordan River Temple.

It was a nice break for us to get out. Charlee had a lot of fun and still talks about that trip.Charlee and Miriam

Miriam running on the vast lawn.

I love living near the mountains.

Charlee goofing around.

Random May

2010-08-10T17:37:00.000-07:00

Here are some random pictures from May.Charlee chose this picture of her giving Tommy a kiss.
Another pic of my babies.

Lynn sent flowers for Mothers Day.

I know, flowers within weeks of each other.

My Tommy Boy at 5 months old!!

Random April

2010-08-10T17:25:00.000-07:00

Her are some random pictures of events that happened in April.Charlee drinking ranch dressing at Smash Burger.
A little fashion show that Charlee was in.
I will never have her do that again!!

Went home for a visit and Ree, Dan and I-ball were there.

They have so much fun together!

Jeff and Barbara had their third baby, a boy named Emmit.

Charlee picked out a toy and she decorated a bag to put it in.

I love her drawings.

It was also my birthday this month.

Lynn sent me flowers.

I was very suprised.

Do you know the last time he sent me flowers?

No? Well I don't either!

Charlee's Room

2010-08-05T14:48:00.000-07:00

When we moved into this duplex, I loved everything except for Charlees room. It had this UGLY wall paper and gross blue trim. Now, some might like it and think it is fine, but that is not me, I HATE it. When we moved in the landlords asked us if we wanted them to redo the room. I told them no. Mostly because I didn't want to bother them with that and it was just going to be Charlees room. Well one day last fall, while pregnant with Tommy, I was chatting on the phone with my friend. I was pacing around in Charlees room when I noticed that some of the wall paper was coming away from the wall. So I pulled it and away came a long strip of the border. To late to turn back now, so I kept going. We figured we would just paint it. Lynn wasn't too happy, but oh well, what's done was done. Here are the before pictures:The landlord called this "neutral" wallpaper.

I think it is pretty girlie!! And UGLY.
The paint on the trim was really weird.
It was kind of rubbery.

We also painted this dresser (it was my moms when she was a kid) and
the red book shelf. The book shelf was also
put downstairs to make room for the crib.

Charlee's little bed. She slept in the room like this for a long time.
We didn't paint it until May.

Wallpaper is a pain in the Patooty!!! I don't know what would posses

anyone to put it up. It took a while to get it off but I got everylast dot of wall paper

off that wall. We wanted to do a really good job since our landlords didn't know

we were doing this in the first place.

They actually still don't know. I know that they won't be mad.

We saved tham a lot of work.

I haven't taken pictures yet of the redone room but I will soon.

I love their room now and can't wait to own a house of my own

so that I can do more stuff like this!

Hopefully I won't have to take any wall paper down!!!

Only Real Men Sit In Pink Bumbos!

2010-08-05T14:36:00.000-07:00

When we had Charlee, we bought a pink Bumbo. I, of course, chose the color. Bumbos are not cheap, and Charlee hated to sit in it. So when we found out we were having a boy, I was not going to spend another $40 on a chair just to have a different color and the baby might hate sitting in it. He sits in it once in a while, but he is not crazy about it.

He is still very manly in his pink Bumbo.

Tommy @ 4 1/2 Months

2010-08-05T14:22:00.000-07:00

These are only a few months late but late is better than never, right? These were taken on April 14th, so Tommy was about 4 and a half months old. I was trying to get him to smile.

Success!!

Tommy has been a smiley baby since he was about 7 weeks old.

So this wasn't that hard to do.

Charlee is the best at getting him to smile and laugh!

My Miscarriage

2010-07-21T22:34:00.000-07:00

I have been in bed for over an hour trying to sleep but I can't. I need to get out some of what I have been thinking and feeling about since my miscarriage. It seems to me that a lot of people don't want to talk about it, but I don't think it should be hush, hush. When my friend, Paige, talked to me about hers, it was nice to talk to someone who had had one. My mom miscarried 4 times (one at 5 months) and I have heard her stories before about them, but now I can understand some of what she went through. It is like what my friend said, that now I belong to an exclusive club of women who have had a miscarriage. Is it a club that I wished that I belonged too? No, but I can now relate and maybe help someone else who goes through the same thing. This morning when I opened the drawer in the bathroom to get my toothpaste,

I came across this:It is part of the wrapper from the pregnancy test that I took on June 24th, that confirmed I was pregnant. I could feel that huge pit in my stomach open up again. It was a reminder of what I lost. I did, in fact, miscarry on July 3rd at 9am. I went to the doctor on July 6th, and he confirmed that there was nothing there and that nature had taken care of everything. I guess you could call that good news, but it still hurts. These last few weeks have been really confusing for me. I guess I have been trying to make sense of what happened and how I feel about it. I am still working on that. I am working on putting together a scrapbook page about my miscarriage. Some might find that weird, but this is something that happened to me and I want to record it, and it is also a way for me to get closure. That is really what I need right now, closure. I am so grateful that I do have two beautiful children but that doesn't mean that I can't mourn for a baby that I wanted so much!

Easter Egg Hunt

2010-07-19T19:23:00.000-07:00

We dyed a bunch of eggs and hid them on Easter for Charlee to find. She had a lot of fun.

We should send Easter cards next year with this photo on them!!!!

Easter Morn

2010-07-19T19:02:00.000-07:00

I am really behind on posting anything new, so I am going to try to get caught up.

I love the holidays and I was so excited this year to do 2 Easter baskets. Yes, even my little man got an Easter basket. Just because he is a boy doesn't mean he should miss out on all the fun. It was also fun this year because Charlee is really into the holidays now.She was so excited for the Easter Bunny to come!
Tommy didn't know what was going on, but isn't he cute!

The kiddos!!

Baby, No More :(

2010-07-03T15:32:00.000-07:00

Today is sad.

I believe I am having a miscarrage.

Since it is a holiday weekend,

I can't call the doctor until

Tuesday.

I am very, very sad.

I guess now is not the time

for baby number 3.

WHAT?!?!?!

2010-07-01T08:58:00.000-07:00

I have taken a pregnancy test,

not once, not twice but thrice.

One last Wednesday, one on Sunday and

one last night. Each one was positive.

I am still in shock.

This WAS planned, very planned, we just didn't think that the first time we tried

it would work!

It took 2 years to concieve Charlee and 1 year to concieve

Tommy.

When Tommy was born, Lynn was done. He was happy with a family of four.

We have a boy and girl, he was done.

I, on the other hand, was on the fence. I have had this nagging feeling

that there was one more waiting to be apart of our family.

Then I just knew that I wanted to try for one more.

One might ask, "Why now, why not wait?"

Well, as our track record shows, I do not get pregnant very easily and we assumed

that it might take a while.

I also knew, though, that there was a possibility that

I could get pregnant right away, but that would be ok.

When I found out I was preggo with Tommy, I had to haul out all the baby stuff, buy diapers, get prepared for having a baby all over again.

This way, I am already ready. (Or so I think. I don't think I will ever be fully ready.)

This way I don't even have to put away the bottles.

I will just be in baby world a bit longer.

According to a pregnancy calculator online, my due date is March 2nd.

I am only about 5 or 6 weeks along.

I go on July 9th for my first doctors appointment.

I am nervous.

I am thrilled.

I am afraid of miscarriage.

I am excited.

I am afraid that something will be wrong with the baby.

I am still in disbelief.

I am scared.

We will need a bigger car.

Boy or Girl?

(I can't wait to find out.)

We will have double the doctor bills.

(Tommys birth won't even be paid off yet.)

I am happy.

I will be really tired.

(I already am.)

I am worried about money.

Can we afford another one?

(Not really.)

Can I handlle 3 kids?

Will I have hypertension and diabetes again?

(Most likley.)

I am emotional.

I just can't wait to get this little on here!!!

I have a lot on my mind and I know that Lynn is very worried

because he has to work his buns off to provide for us, and work has been slow.

I just know that the promptings that I had were real.

This is all apart of Heavenly Fathers plan for us.

I have faith that everyting will be ok and that, somehow,

we will be able to handle whatever comes our way.

Eydra Anne Berry

2010-06-16T11:33:00.000-07:00

Here is my new neice, Eydra.Ree and her ball baby.

Grandma Strader with Eydra.

Charlee was very eager to hold her new cousin.

Congratulations Ree and Dan.

Tommy: 3 Months Old

2010-06-02T10:11:00.000-07:00

My baby at 3 months old.

He is such a good sleeper!

Tommy's 1st St. Patty's Day

2010-06-02T10:06:00.000-07:00

Ok, so this is really late, but here is my little Bee in his Green!

My Little Princess

2010-06-02T09:53:00.000-07:00

I really hate the term "princess" for little girls, but Charlee absolutly loves princess stuff. She really likes all of the Disney princesses. We were at Walgreens a couple of months ago and I had a register reward that I needed to use, so I let Char pick something from the toy area. She chose a Sleeping Beauty purse that came with a necklace and earrings. When we got home she wanted to dress up in her pink dress and "plastic healings". So we did her all up. I even curled her hair and put a ribbon in it. She loves to play dress up!

For Charlee, no outfit is complete with out a pair of socks. In this case, Hello Kitty socks!

Tommys Glasses

2010-04-27T21:47:00.000-07:00

Charlee thought that Tommy needed to try on Mr. Potato Heads glasses. At first I got mad, because I thought she might also take out one of Tommy's eyes, but when I looked over and saw this:

all I could do was laugh and go grab the camera!!

He is just so sweet.

I love my little man!

Charlees Jesus

2010-04-27T21:36:00.000-07:00

Charlee loves to draw. She is very good at drawing "people". One day while I was on the computer, she was drawing on the chalkboard. She said, "Mom, look, it's Jesus!" So above is Jesus and below is big Jesus.

She cracks me up. I love this girl!!!!

My First Lesson

2010-04-18T09:56:00.000-07:00

On March 28th, I taught my very first lesson in Young Womens, wich also happend to be the first lesson ever for me to teach. (Well, at least to people that were older than 4 years old.) I was sooo nervous that week. I read the lesson at the end of February so that I could think about it the entire month. It was on Patriarchal Blessings. A subject that I am very familliar with. I have some hurt feelings about the subject from the past that I have but had to not dwell on that. It went really well. I actually wasn't nervous when I got up to teach. It might have helped that there were only 2 leaders and 3 girls that showed up that Sunday. However, I was a little disappointed there weren't more people there. So the first thing I wanted to do was put a display on the table.When I first went into YW my mom was the president. She always had a table cloth on the table and a picture or a statue. Then when they changed boundries we were in a different ward, my mom was the Mia Maid adviser, so she was my teacher. My mom taught awesome lessons and she always had the table decorated and always gave out cute handouts. In fact, most of the leaders did. I always remembered that. I thought that was really neat and that I couldn't wait to do that when I got older if I ever had a calling to do be able to do that. So even though I was really nervous, I was excited to "decorate" the table and make handouts. I noticed in YW that no one puts anything on the table, so I felt a little stupid, but I did it anyway. The "table cloth" is actually a funky blanket from IKEA. I put up my absolutly favorite picture of christ, my old scriptures that I got when I was 8 and did a little flower arrangment.
I made handouts for all of the girls on ways to prepare to recieve their Patriarchal Blessings. I did not like how they turned out, but because I was up until 2 am finishing everything, they just had to do.In the beggining of my lesson, I compared a Patriarchal Blessing to baking bread. So I thought it would be fun to make little bread loaves and pass them out to everyone. (Yes, even though it was fast sunday!) Well to make a long story short, Erline came over to help me make bread. It was late and we did not have a lot of time so I had to cute the little bread loaves that were made in half in order to have enough. I then wrapped the little breads in plastic wrap and put a bow on them. I borrowed a big basket from Erline to put them in and covered them with some of my many tea towels. (I love tea towel!!!)

I think the lesson went great and I am actually looking forward to teaching my next lesson at the end of August.

Bathtime

2010-04-14T14:05:00.000-07:00

Here is some pics of Tommy in the tub. These were taken on Feb. 11th, 2010. He really likes to knaw on fingers, anyones fingers!

He wasn't too happy!

Tommy's Blessing Day

2010-04-14T13:58:00.000-07:00

Tommy was blessed on February, 7th 2010. Lynn did a great job. I feel very blessed that Lynn has been able to bless both of our children!

Charlee loves to hold her baby brother!!

Our wee family.

Tommy

2010-04-07T11:07:00.000-07:00

Here are some cute pics of my Tommy Boy!1 Month
1 Month

This is how Charlee always slept.

2 weeks old

Big Sister

2010-04-07T10:58:00.000-07:00

Charlee loves being a big sister and she loves to help. Tommy is 10 days old.

Happy New Year 2010

2010-04-07T10:19:00.000-07:00

OK, I realize that New Years was 3 months ago, but I need to play catch up.

Here is little Tommy, only 4 days old.

Charlee went outside with her daddy to build a snowman. She actually cried that Lynn had made it too big. She wanted to build a small snowman.

So cute.

She was so excited to go out in the snow!!

Easter 2010

2010-03-29T14:22:00.000-07:00

I took the kiddos to Photo By Emilies' Easter Event. It is just a 10 to 20 minute mini photo shoot with real bunnies. It was so fun and these are three of the pictures she added to my facebook photos. I will be getting a disc with these pictures and more. I can't wait to see the rest. Emilie is so nice adn she does an awesome job!!Charlee was so excited to see the bunnies. She was relieved that it wasn't going to be the Easter Bunny that was in the mall.
I can't believe that these cutie pies are MY kids!!

My sweet boy! He is VERY smiley.

My Sweet Tommy Boy

2010-02-25T11:27:00.001-08:00

These pictures bring tears to my eyes! I love my sweet little boy!!!

Charlee and Her Baby Brother

2010-02-25T11:11:00.000-08:00

Tommy got to be a "model" for an awesome photographer, Emilie. We had so much fun at the photo shoot. Emilie is so nice and she definatly knows what she is doing. I have only seen five of the pictures that she took, but I can't wait to see the rest. Her website is http://www.photobyemilie.com and her blog is http://www.photobyemilie.blogspot.com . We are going to have Emilie do family pictures this spring or summer. I can't wait.

Hungry??

2010-02-22T10:31:00.000-08:00

There is one technique that Lynn always liked to use with Charlee to see if she was hungry. Offer his nose. As you can see in this case, Tommy was hungry. Tommy is 2 and a half weeks in these pictures. He is such a good baby!

Pictures To Come Soon!!! I Promise.

2010-02-18T10:16:00.000-08:00

Having a baby that doesn't like to sleep through the night and a 3 year old that demands all of my attention, makes it a little hard to take time on the computer to do blog posts. On top of it we had a HORRIBLE weekend. I am going to ppost pics this weekend. I swear!!!

New Calling!!!!

2010-01-17T15:12:00.000-08:00

I just had an interview with my bishop today and recieved a new calling!

Young Womens Secretary!!!!

I am actually really excited for this calling.

It has got to be better than scouts, right?

We'll see!

Thomas Hunter

2010-01-04T12:40:00.000-08:00

My sweet baby boy is here!

Thomas Hunter was born on December 28th, 2009

at 12:35 pm, 8lbs 2 ozs,

21 inches long.
Everything went great. I was scheduled to go in at 6:45 am on the 28th to be induced. We arrived at 6:30. The nurse came in at about 7:30 to get stuff ready. She started Pitocin at 8:30. The doctor came in and broke my water at 8:45. When he left the room he said I could have an epidural whenever I wanted it and that he would be back around lunchtime to

check on me. I had been having small contractions all night long, but about 45 minutes after he broke my water, the contractions were ALOT stronger. After having about 3 good contractions I called the nurse to let her know I was ready for drugs! I recieved an epidural at about 10. Ahhh, the epidural, what a wonderful invention! I sure wish I had had one with Charlee! I actually dialated pretty fast. Around 11:30, I felt alot of pressure, like I was ready to push. After a few of those I called the nurse to let her know. Sure enough I was at a 10 and ready to go. The doctor got there a little after noon and then it was time to push. After 8 minutes of pushing he decided to just do the episiotomy. (He was going to do one anyway to repair the episiotomy that didn't heal properly when I had Charlee.) One more push and he was out. Our son was finally here! He has been a very good baby and Charlee loves her baby "brudder".

Photo By Emilie

2009-12-23T12:25:00.000-08:00

Through all of my surfing the web and discovering new web sites and blogs, I came across a photograhper, Emilie. http://photobyemilie.blogspot.com I have admired her photos for almost a year now and check her blog frequently to view all of her beautiful photos. I have always wanted to have family pictures taken by a professional photographer, and Emilie is who I want to take family pictures after Thomas comes. She has had a few givaways and I won this one for a 10 minute photo shoot of your child with Santa. We went on Saturday, December 19th. I knew it would not be easy, since Charlee is afraid of people dressed as Santa, but thought we'd give it a whirl. Charlee just would NOT smile. She was scared of Santa and would not even warm up to Emilie. It was really cold inside, so I think that had a little to do with her giving no emotion. She did smile a few times, so I hoped Emilie was able to get at least one good picture. Anyway, we ordered the disk and I got it in the mail on Tuesday. (Really fast!!) There were 11 images and I was very please that she was able to get some really cute shots of Charlee. These are 4 of the 11 that Emilie took.I was glad she got a good one of Charlee with Santa. Charlee got excited because Santa had asked her what color of plastic high heels (or as Charlee calls them, "plastic healings") she wanted for Christmas, so she turned to him to say "Pink".
I think the picture above is my favorite picture of Charlee! She is so cute and I just love her so much!!!

She smiled good for this shot too!! So cute!!

She is just so sweet in this picture and I love it that you can see her tights!!

I am doing Christmas/Birth Announcements so it will be January when those go out!

We wish everyone a

MERRY CHRISTMAS!!!!!

Week 38

2009-12-22T14:51:00.000-08:00

I had my last non stress test and doctors appointment today!! Everything looks good. I am dialated to a 3 and the doctor said that I could go any day now. If not, we go into the hospital Monday morning. I am just hoping he stays in until after Christmas morning. Then bring on the pain. I AM READY!!!!!!!!!

Last Ultra Sound!

2009-12-16T15:19:00.000-08:00

Ultra sound went good. Baby weighs about 6 lbs 12 ozs.

Unless I hear back from my doctor the

28th will still be the day!!!

12 more days!!

I go in next Tuesday, Dec. 22nd for another

NST and my doctors visit. The last ones!!

37 Weeks

2009-12-15T14:57:00.000-08:00

Todays non stress test went very well and my doctors appointment went well too. Baby is doing great and very squirmy. Still dialated about 2 1/2 centimeters and 75% effaced and having mild, irregular contractions. (I also lost 6 pounds this last week!) He says we still look good for inducing on December 28th unless the ultra sound shows something bad. We go in tomorrow at 2 for the ultra sound. I am excited to see the baby and a bit worried.

Here is Charlee after playing with markers while Lynn was asleep on the couch.

Thank goodness for washable markers!!

DECEMBER 28TH!!!!!!!!!!!

2009-12-09T12:28:00.000-08:00

Unless Thomas decides to come before December 28th, or something happens before then, we will be going to the hospital that day to be induced!! It is so weird knowing that in under 3 weeks he will be here.

I had a non stress test yesterday and the baby is doing great!! Then I had my 36 week check up afterwards at my doctors. Everything was great and he did a cervical exam and I am 2 and a half centemeters dialated and 85% efaced. So I am on my way. Due to the high blood pressure they like to get the baby out 1 to 2 weeks before the due date, so he chose a week before my due date,Monday, December 28th to induce. The baby could always decide to come earlier or if I have any complications come up. I go back for another non stress test and doctors appointment next Tuesday the 15th and for an ultra sound on Wednesday the 16th to see about how big the baby is. If he is too big I may be induced sooner. I am also nervous/excited that he is also going to fix the problem that I still have from when Charlee was born. It has been really hard to deal with but I really need it fixed. It is more surgery and depending on what this baby does to me they will have to cut another 4th degree tear to sew everything back up properly. So I will have a longer healing time like I did with Charlee. It took over 8 weeks to completely heal from her, so I am really not looking forward to that.

Until next week!!!

I dressed up Char and we went to Wheeler Farm to take some fall pictures. We had a lot fun. These are just a few of the pictures. She is so good to pose for me.

Thanksgiving 2009

2009-12-09T12:07:00.000-08:00

We had a good Thanksgiving this year. It was nice to not travel and to have family come here. My mom came on Monday, then Dan, Charisse and Ireland came on Wednesday and then, of course Erline came over on Turkey Day. It was fun to have it at my place. We did not do much but it was nice to just chill and eat yummy Turkey!!! Charisse did announce that they are expecting in June. So that was a nice suprise.

Then on Saturday evening was my "We Also Sing" concert. Lynns parents, Kevin and Jackie, Jeff, Barbara, Karter and Karson were all here for my concert in addition to my mom, Erline, Ree, Dan and I-ball. It was fun, just a lot of standing. It was a good thing we did not have anymore songs, because at the end of the second performance I was about to die!! If I stand for a long time or walk around for a long time I start to get mild contractions and they are really uncomfortable!!!!

It was a crazy but fun weekend. It was fun having people here but was stressfull and tiring so lets just say that Hotel Brown is officially closed until at least February or March.
These are pictures I took of Charlee in October, but since I am not so good at posting, I am just now putting some up. They weren't that great because the sun was in a bad spot! But she is still cute!

Week 35

2009-12-01T13:20:00.000-08:00

Today I went in for a non-stress test. They measure the amniotic fluid to make sure there is enough and then they put these things on your stomach to see if you are having contractions and to see how the baby is moving and his heart rate. Everything looked and sounded great. I go in on Dec 8th for another non-stress test and then my 36 week appointment at my doctors afterwards. Only Five more weeks!!

Week 34

2009-12-01T13:16:00.000-08:00

Another check-up and everything is great. He did not do a cervical exam yet but he will in two weeks. I do, however, because of having gestational diabetes, have to go in every week for non-stress tests to make sure everything with the baby is fine. I go in on Tuesday, Dec 1st for my first non-stress test.

32 Weeks

2009-11-11T11:46:00.000-08:00

I am officially in my eighth month, only 8 more weeks to go!!!!!! My doctors appointment went great yesterday. Baby sounds terrific and the meds are doing their job. My blood pressure and blood sugar levels looked good. I go back in two weeks, on November 24th. This time he will do a cervical exam. Yuck, but this is the part when he will let me know if I am dialated at all and if baby is getting in position and all that. I just can't believe how fast this pregnagncy has gone!

Now for some pictures. On Friday before Halloween, Charlee and I decided to carve some pumpkins. We ran over to Harmons to get some (they were dirt cheap!). Charlee picked out three. A Daddy, Mom and Baby pumpkin. Of course I had to do all the work but she chose which faces to put on them. The first one in this picture is the mom pumpkin and she said it had to be a scared face. The second one is the daddy pumpkin and she said to make it a nerdy face. Then her pumpkin had to have the scary face. She had fun and was so excited to put "fire" in them.
Here is her pose with her scary pumpkin!!

My Little Tinkerbell

2009-11-03T10:11:00.000-08:00

Since September, Charlee knew that she wanted to be Tinkerbell. Before Tinkerbell she talked about being a goat. I don't know why but was glad she changed her mind. I found this really cute costume at Toys R Us that didn't feel cheap and nasty like most Halloween costumes and was cheaper. The only thing she insisted on was that she had a bun in her hair like Tinkerbell.

When we went outside to take pictures all Charlee wanted to do was "fly". So around and around the yard she went!

We even got her a new pair of sparkly shoes. She LOVES them.

Here is her bun.

We went to our wards Trunk R Treat. Last year Char was afraid of everything, but this year she wasn't that afraid unless it was a child dressed as Spiderman. And there were a lot. This is Char clinging to Lynn as a Spiderman passes by. Even while typing this Charlee is scared of the Spiderman.

Charlee had so much fun and was very good at saying Trick or Treat and then saying thank you when she recieved her treat. Now she is excited for Thanksgiving.

30 Weeks

2009-10-27T18:15:00.000-07:00

I went in today to the doctor so that he could see how I was doing on the blood pressure meds and how I was doing with my blood sugar levels. He said that my numbers looked great. I was so relieved! No insulin so far! Now I start going every 2 weeks. My next appointment is on November 10th. I am just so excited that little Thomas will be here soon! I can't wait!!!!!

29 Weeks

2009-10-21T12:04:00.000-07:00

Once again, another doctors appointment has come and gone yesterday. The baby sounds great. I am so grateful for that!!!! My blood pressure looked good and I have have done pretty good with the gestational diabetes. I also lost 8 pounds!!! (Just goes to show that just changing your eating habits, you can loose weight!) I have been able to keep my blood sugar levels under the numbers they told me to but the doctor said that they were still on the higher end and will only get higher in the upcoming weeks. So I was put on a medication that will help lower my blood sugar levels and I will be able to eat a bit more at meals because I need to be gaining weight not losing it! I still have to eat six times a day, watch what I eat and check my blood. I go back next Tuesday, so that he can see how my blood sugar levels are with the medication. The lady that draws my blood at Maternal Fetal Medicine for a study that I volunteered for, said that I will probably be coming to MFM more often for non stress tests and most likey another ultra sound to make sure the baby isn't getting too big. I can't even take Charlee with me anymore because of the whole Swine Flu crap, which I need to vaccinated for. I am thankful that my friend Paige is willing to watch Charlee. It will be nice when my mom is here because then she can watch Char at home. Only 10 and a half weeks, or less, to go. I am getting nervous and excited!!! (I am also dying for a fresh beverage right now. Preferably Dr. Pepper. I havn't had soda in a month!!)

Now for a couple of pictures of Char.

Charlee likes to wear different colors of socks and different shoes. Her Aunt Mindy would be proud!
My Pea Baby!
She is soooo excited about the arrival of Tommy!! But don't call him that, in front of Charlee. She'll say "That's not his name. His name is Thomas Hunter!"

My Dad

2009-10-13T13:22:00.000-07:00

I got this picture off of my sister-in-law, Tina's, blog. It is a picture of my Dad with my brother Steven. Isn't Steven cute. This picture makes me cry. I miss my Dad!

(Check out the sweet TV in the background with rabbit ears.)

Please No Insulin!!

2009-10-06T14:58:00.000-07:00

I had to keep track of my blood sugar levels for a week and then call the dietician back to let her know what my numbers were. So I called this afternoon to let her know. I knew I had some high numbers after some meals, since I had to kind of figure out what certain foods did to my blood. But the last couple of days I did really well. I did notice that in the morning when I take my blood first thing, that it was always high. And that is what the dieticians concern was. So she is going to send my doctor my results and referal to put me on medication. She said that some doctors skip the medication and will go right to insulin shots. I really do NOT want to do shots. I am already upset that I have to do medication. So now I wait to hear from my doctors office to find out if it is medicaton or insulin that I have to do.

On the lighter side of things, this is my favorite picture of Charlee jumping on Kirks trampoline. I took a lot of pictures and this is the only one that turned out. I love it!!!! Thank goodness for digital cameras.

My Baby Shower

2009-10-06T14:29:00.000-07:00

On September 26th my sisters, Erline and Charisse, gave me a baby shower. It was a lot of fun. A friend in my ward in Virginia gave me my baby shower when I was prego with Charlee and about 8 women came who I had never met. I was very thankful that these women came to a shower for someone they didn't know. But it was nice to have a shower with my friends and family, too. Me in my moms VERY, TOO BLUE kitcken. Yuck!! (To the color of the kitchen!)
Erline made me a diaper cake and I am very proud of her. I taught her well!

Charlee sampling the cake frosting.

It was a lot of fun and I appreciate all the work Erline and Ree did. They did not disappoint.
We played some games, had yummy food and I got some cool stuff. I recieved a lot of clothes that I really needed and my sister-in-law Jackie made this really cute car seat cover out of fleece with monkeys on it. (I'll have to post a picture of it.) That is definatly going to be useful!! I also recieved 5 blankets. That is what I got the most of with Charlee. It's like weddings, there is always something you get a lot of. (Ours was towels!)

Gestational Diabetes!!!!!!!

2009-09-29T16:14:00.000-07:00

Yep. I have Gestational Diabetes. Not only do I get to take blood pressure meds and check my blood pressure 3 times a day, I now get to test my blood sugar 4 times a day and really watch what I eat. Thank goodness I do not have to take meds or insulin shots, yet. That could still happen and the lady said I will probably have to go to the doctors more frequently and have non-stress tests and ultra sounds done to make sure the baby is fine. More money that we don't have! And I am still not suppose to STRESS!! Good luck with that. I have already been crying all day. I am glad that I only have 3 months left. I just hope everything goes well.

Diabetes?!?!?

2009-09-29T11:11:00.000-07:00

Well, I got a call from the nurse at my doctors office this morning and she said that one of the blood tests from the 3 hour glucose test was high. So I am headed out at 1pm to the Diabetes Center at St. Marks Hospital for counseling and they are going to give me a blood sugar tester machine thingy, which must mean I get to test my blood everyday. JOY! I guess I'll find out in a couple hours exactly what I am going to have to do.

Crappy Health

2009-09-23T14:24:00.000-07:00

At my doctors appointment yesterday I had to do the glucose test thingy that tests for gestational diabetes. You just drink this nasty drink before you go to the doctors and then the take some blood. I got a call this morning with my results and the results were high. Not good. So I get to go in tomorrow a little before 9am and drink the nasty drink again and they will take my blood 3 times. One at 10am, one at 11am and one at noon. I have to stay there that whole time. My friend Paige is going to watch Charlee for me because a lab is no place for a 3 year old for 3 hours!

I am just so upset that my health is not good during this pregnancy. It just makes it so I might have more complications and that we will be paying for this for a long time. I am really glad that my mom is retired so that if I end up with bed rest or other complications my mom can be here to help out with Charlee. She will be gone to Germany until November 7th, so I hope I won't need her before then.

Week 25

2009-09-22T11:43:00.000-07:00

I had another doctors appointment today. The baby sounds great, which is a big relief. I always worry too much about him. My blood pressure on the other hand was not good. It again was slightly higher than it should be so he decided to put me on high blood pressure medication. He said that about this time blood pressure can dip and be normal or slightly higher than it should. But in the 3rd trimester (only 2 more weeks till I will be in my 3rd trimester) is when blood pressure can skyrocket. The problem is that there is no way to predict what will happen. So he is hoping that by starting me now on medication it will help to control it if it is going to get worse. I am also suppose to check my blood pressure a few times a week and if it gets really high I am suppose to call. I was also told to continue to take it easy and not to get too stressed over anything.

This weekend will be our last trip to Twin Falls. I am happy to go home but glad that this will be our last trip this year. I always worry about the ride there and with all this unpredictability about my health, I just want to be here if something were to happen. I am very excited that Dan, Ree and Ireland and my Mom will all be here for Thanksgiving (and of course Erline) and that my Mom is going to be here for Christmas and stay until the baby is born and will be here for a while afterwards to help out.

I am worried but I have faith that everyting will be ok! (But I still worry!)