Once there was a snowman...tall...tall...TALL

We took the girls outside once we had some snow that stuck to the ground and helped them build their first snowman.

Snowball #1

(No, Kinsie did not roll that all by herself)

Snowball #2

(I can't even tell you how difficult it was to get that second snowball on top of the other one.)

The girls helping us pack the second snowball with some extra snow

Taking a quick break from building duties to snack on our snowman.

Putting on the snowman's head.  Chad' always goes above and beyond when doing something.  Our snowman was no exception to the rule.  The girls (including myself) loved it!

Adding the final touches to Frosty.

Unfortunately, we didn't realize how crooked we had built him until it was too late, so by the afternoon our snowman tumbled to the ground.  However, we had so much fun with the girls and Chad and I had a pretty good time together too.  And can I just say how much I love these two little snow bunnies!

LDS Infertility

I wish I had known about this site a few years back. Unfortunately, I've only recently discovered this priceless jewel and therefore had to share it with all of you.  I would hate for anyone who has ever dealt with any form of infertility to miss out on the peace and comfort that can be found here:

Infertility is something that will never go away.  I know that may not make sense, especially coming from someone who has not only been lucky enough to adopt the most beautiful little girl but who has found herself fortunate enough to become pregnant with two more little girls.  Nevertheless it's true.  I will always struggle with infertility. 

I will always wonder if we will ever be able to have anymore kids.  I will always be haunted by the 6 years of infertility that went through.  I will always carry the burden of having endometreosis and the issues that can occur with that.  I will always know the heartache and emptiness that comes from not being able to have the children you so desire to have.  I will always be able to empathize with another individual who is dealing with their own journey of infertility and will recognize what anguish they are dealing with, no matter how well they are able to portray happiness to the outside world.  I will never take the miracle of being able to bring a child into the world for granted...NEVER!!!

Regardless of how many children Chad and I will be able to bring into the world (with the help of our Heavenly Father) the scars of infertility will never go away.  They may fade a little, but I will never be able to forget the pain those wounds made. 

So, for those of you who may be facing the uncertainty and anguish of infertility I hope will take a look at 

LDS INFERTILITY 

and find a way to add a little hope and healing to your pain.  Remember, there is always something to be thankful for.  Even though, at times, it doesn't feel that way!

Looking Back--Pumpkin Painting

Since the girls were a little too young to carve their pumpkins this year Chad suggested that we have the girls paint them.  The girls loved it and I must admit I was extremely impressed with their painting skills.  We had so much fun together and we'll probably have this become a yearly tradition. 

(Excuse my diaper sporting babies.  This really was the best way to keep them somewhat clean.)

Halloween 2011

I have so much catching up to do with this blog of mine, but we've been having some major computer issues.  Luckily we have our trusty laptop, but it isn't as conducive when it come to uploading pictures, editing pictures, and the likes.  However, I couldn't let Halloween just fade into the background.  Especially since I remembered to take some pictures this year.  In fact these are the girls first Halloween pictures ever.  Sad, but true.

This year the girls went as Dorothy Gale and a Cheerleader.  I made Kinsie's costume and her ruby slippers too.  Her little black Toto dog was actually from Dannie, her birthmom, and worked out perfect. I got  Britnee's costume at Once Upon a Child for under $4.oo and found her pom poms at Hobby Lobby for $1.00.  I made the little cheerleading megaphone which also doubled as her candy bucket.

I love her deer in headlight look in the picture.  She looks so much like a Harper in this shot too.  In fact, she really reminds me of my sis-in-law Jodi in this picture.  I think it's the nice luscious lips and eyes. 

Kinsie loves taking pictures and is really good at saying cheese and giving me a nice cheesy grin.  She was so funny when we were out trick-or-treating.  After we left every house she would say, "More candy Mom."  letting us know that she wasn't ready to go back home.  She also fell in love with one of our neighborhood friends who had dressed up as Rapunzel and wanted to go with her to every house.

Working on a smile.

"Cheering" into her megaphone.

 Both of them "cheering" in to their candy buckets. 

They are such little goofs.

 My sister, Keri, inspired me to do something a little creative with my prego belly this year.  So, I decided to go as a pumpkin.  It was a big hit with our neighbors and was fun to got into the action without spending a dime.  Just ignore my chubby cheeks...my face is where I gain all of my weight.  Lucky me it has to be the face and not my thighs.

We had such a great time with the girls this year and can't wait to add another little goblin to the mix. We hope you all had a fun time dressing up and getting you own personal fill of candy.

P.S.  I'll try to get another post out in a few days or sometime next week.  (This is more of a personal encouragement for myself than anything)

Ultrasound Results

Well, this morning I went in for my 20 week visit which included the anxiously awaited ultrasound.  It's the first one I've had with this pregnancy, so we were a little anxious to see our little bundle of joy on live TV. 
After measuring every inch of the baby and determining that all ten toes and ten fingers were properly placed, we were able to get a nice long look right between our little babies legs.  (A little intrusive if you ask me)
So, it's safe to announce (if everything continues to go well) that Baby #3 will  be making HER debut right around the first part of February as planned.

Yep, we're having another little girl.  That's what we do best around here and it's nice to not have to worry about going out to buy a bunch of boy stuff.  The only downside to another girl is trying to come up with another girl name.  We had a hard enough time agreeing on Britnee.

Anyway-there you have it...three little girls all under the age of three.  I hope they end up like each other somewhat :)

 

It's quiet. Too quiet!

When am I going to learn that too much silence in my home equals an utter disaster.  One that I am left to clean up all by my lonesome.  Now, I'm not just talking about a mess that needs to be picked up and organized.  Nope, I'm talking about the scrubbing, gluing, sweating and often times crying messes that require way too much elbow grease.  Messes like...
-the 32 oz. bottle of bubbles that were spilled on my carpet
-the Kool-aid drops that dotted Kinsie's bedroom floor
-the JUICY peaches that were stolen from the kitchen counter and eaten on my couches
-the yogurt and applesauce that has not only ended up all over my little girl faces, but has somehow managed to find it's way into their ears
-the pencil, pen, and crayon  markings that I've found on my walls, chairs and table
-the liquid soap that has been dumped on my counter too many times to count
...and the list goes on and on.
You would that that after having had my fare share of disasters to clean up that I would have learned to keep better vigilance over my girls.  However, I find myself enjoying the quiet time that these disasters bring.  Sometimes it's the only quiet time I get and I think that why it takes me awhile to finally realize that messes are being made.  And it's funny, even though I know that my house is being destroyed in some far corner, I seem to find myself dragging my feet to go and hunt down my two little hooligans just so I can enjoy two more seconds of quiet.  Pathetic, yes.  Desperate, you betcha.  Worth it, the jury is still out on that one! 

Summer Happenings Part 5

We've finally come to the last post of our Summer Happenings.  Luckily, we are nowhere near to being done with our summer fun.  Kinsie's birthmom is coming for a visit sometime this month and at the end of the month we're going to be going camping one last time.  Then, in September (once summer is officially over) Chad will be heading off to Baltimore for a conference.  I was going to go with him, but figured it wasn't worth the cost of the flight.  Instead the girls and I will spend lots of time with family, eat out and play at McDonald's, and either do to the Zoo or Living Aquarium.
Anyway, like I said we still have a lot of fun summer plans ahead of us  But this is by far the most exciting thing that has taken place for us this summer.  It was actually the first on the list of our Summer Happenings, but I wanted to save this one for last.  Yeah...it's that good.
First of all I have to tell you that we weren't actually planning on having this be a part of our summer plans.   We were thinking about giving this a try more towards the Fall and even then we weren't sure if would end up working out for us.  That one reason it was kind of moved to the back burner.  Yet somehow, taking us by complete surprise, it just kind of fell into our laps.  Quite literally!!!

Yep, we're expecting another baby.  I'm 14 weeks along and the baby is due around February 8th.  This will make it three kids under the age of 3...and they'll probably all still be in diapers.  The goal is to have Kinsie potty trained by then, but she's being very stubborn about it.
Like I mentioned above this was a little bit of a surprise.  I had been seeing my doctor since November trying to see if we could get pregnant before another surgery would be required.  After months without success we thought for sure that I would have to go back in for another surgery, so we decided that we would enjoy our summer and then cross that bridge sometime this Fall.  However, our Heavenly Father obviously had other plans for our family. 
It was a pleasant surprise and exciting to know that my body is able to get pregnant on it own, so long as we keep the endometriosis under control.  I've been sicker than a dog this time around and have had no energy.  My poor girls have been without a decent mother for quite awhile now.  Luckily, over the past few weeks I've been doing great in the mornings and am starting to feel a little on the normal side again.
Anyway-That's our exciting news and a huge part of our Summer Happenings.  We'll find out what we're having towards the end of September and we'll be sure to keep you posted.

Summer Happenings Part 4

Flaming Gorge

This is the annual trip that we look forward to every year and I can easily say that this year had to be one of the best.  Only because we ended up going out for an entire week and we had everyone from Chad's family there with us (except for Amy and her little girl who were both home with the new baby).  It was also special to see Mike and Jodi for a few days before they headed off to Yale for the next few years.

Our time at the Gorge was not wasted at all.  It felt like we were constantly on the go.  We spent most of Thursday running the river with Mike and Jodi, Jason and Austin, and Kristi and Kalun's family.  Because water levels were higher this year the river was running a little faster which made for more exciting "rapids".  It was prefect for the kids and fun enough for the adults.

We had some great little paddlers on our raft.

In one raft we had our family with Jason and Austin.  The other raft had Mike, Jodi, Kalun, Kristi, and all of their kids.  We were hoping to all get into one large raft, but I think this ended up working out better in the end.

I had a great time and I think the girls did too.  Actually, Britnee slept for a good portion of the ride.  But, I think I'm safe in saying that Kinsie had a great time.  Look at that face of hers!

In the evenings, after long days at the beach, we spent our time relaxing and enjoying each others company.  One night Mike pulled out his guitar and got all of us singing and dancing.  It was so funny watching Kinsie get her groove on.  When they girls weren't dancing they were busy snacking...or sharing their snacks.

The day before we headed home was spent on the lake with everyone.  The water was really high this year which made it difficult to find any decent beaches.  However, we got out early enough that day and were able to find a really great sandy beach for the kids to play on while everyone else had fun tubing, swimming, and skiing.

The girls spent most all of their time playing in the sand (that's all Kinsie did), cooling off in the water (that's where Britnee spent most of her time) or playing around on the tube.

The rest of us tried to make fools of ourselves by trying some fun new things.  Kyle and Chad both decided to give beach starting a try.  Chad has done it before, but this was Kyle's first time.  He almost had it on his first try, but couldn't get his back foot into the boot on the ski and went down.  After several more attempts for finally made it.  Then Chad gave it a go and got up his first try.  He always makes me so proud.

Kyle

Chad

After the guys had their fun some of us decided to try to get 4 skiers up at once.  So, Chad, myself, Craig, and Melissa got in the water and gave it a whirl.  Unfortunately, I hadn't been skiing in three years and was using a heavier ski than I was used to.  We weren't able to get all four of us up, so we decided that just Chad and I would try.  Luckily, I was able to redeem myself and was able to get up with Chad, but by that time I was so tired I didn't have the strength  to ski for more than 2 minutes.  Oh well, at least I can say I went skiing this year.

We had such a great time, as usual.  The only downer about the trip was the fact that Chad and I had to speak in Church the day after we got back.  Besides that, the weather was great, the food was tasty, and the company couldn't have been better.  Oh, and lets not forget the exciting wildlife that we were able to get up close and personal with.

These big horned sheep got within 10-15 yards of us.  The babies were so adorable.

Summer Happenings Part 3

A few days following Craig and Breanna's wedding we headed off to Chad's grandparent's cabin for a family reunion.  Normally for the 4th of July we head to my grandparent's cabin for a family get together.  However, once we realized we would be the only ones there with little kids we decided it would be better to pass on going out this year.

Besides having to deal with some pretty aggressive allergies we had no regrets about our decision either.  We don't get to spend much time with this side of the family and it was nice to catch up with everyone.  The girls had fun playing with cousins, riding the four wheeler, swinging, and going for horseback rides.

We bought a new helmet for the girls to have when we go riding. Unfortunately, it's a little big on Britnee and probably will be for awhile. But, she was a good sport to let us try it on her for a quick little ride.

 I spent most of my time indoors working on puzzles trying to keep my allergies at bay.  Although I did make it outside long enough to have some fun shooting clay pigeons.  I had never done that before, so I missed a few.  Although I'm proud to say that I did hit my fare share.  But, the guys had me beat and were amazing to watch.  The had a pretty good time throwing up multiple pigeons, and testing their skills with quick draw.  It's been awhile since I've been so it was fun to get back into a little, inspite of the bruised shoulder I had for the next few days.
It was a great little trip and one I hope to repeat in the future.  The girls had fun and are quickly becoming great little campers.  Just like mommy and daddy want them to be.