Come take a ride on the Chattanooga Choo-Choo!

I stole this picture from my friend Kristi because it was such a beautiful picture of Chattanooga, Tennessee. Thought I would show everyone where I am going to live! Here we come Big Orange!! Yeah!

Happy Holidays!

Well, as you can tell, I have been very busy. After Thanksgiving we all came down with some throw-up bug. Moms are not allowed to get sick. The house fell apart and it was about 1:30 in the afternoon when TC came in to remind me that he and AJ had not had breakfast yet. How sad? Sarah came to the rescue and luckily it only lasted for a day. Dakota had it for a week though. I think her immune system was low because she has been teething. Not just one tooth but 4, all at the same time. Poor Girl!! It takes about a week to catch up on all the laundry again. I don't think I have actually gotten caught up. Anyway, we are also trying to pack. Yes, I said try! How do people move across the country with kids? Anyway, we are too poor to send Christmas cards this year and I know it is still early but we are leaving next week and well, you know the schedule. We want everyone to have a Merry Christmas and we hope to be able to get things settled again and then i can be better at updating my blog.

Great Story!

Please read before viewing picture - it's worth it!

A picture began circulating in November. It should be 'The Picture of the Year,' or perhaps, 'Picture of the Decade.' It won't be. In fact, unless you obtained a copy of the US paper which published it, you probably would never have seen it.

The picture is that of a 21-week-old unborn baby named Samuel Alexander Armas, who is being operated on by surgeon named Joseph Bruner.

The baby was diagnosed with spinal bifida and would not survive if removed from his mother's womb. Little Samuel's mother, Julie Armas, is an obstetrics nurse in Atlanta. She knew of Dr. Bruner's remarkable
surgical procedure. Practicing at Vanderbilt University Medical Center in Nashville, he performs these special operations while the baby is still in the womb.

During the procedure, the doctor removes the uterus via C-section and makes a small incision to operate on the baby. As Dr.Bruner completed the surgery on Samuel, the little guy reached his tiny, but fully developed ha nd through the incision and firmly grasped the surgeon's finger. Dr.Bruner was reported as saying that when his finger was grasped, it was the most emotional moment of his life, and that for an instant during the procedure he was just frozen, totally immobile.

The photograph captures this amazing event with perfect clarity. The editors titled the picture, 'Hand of Hope.' The text explaining the picture begins, 'The tiny hand of 21-week old fetus Samuel Alexander Armas emerges from the mother's uterus to grasp the finger of Dr. Joseph Bruner as if thanking the doctor for the gift of life.'

Little Samuel's mother said they 'wept for days' when they saw the picture. She said, 'The photo reminds us pregnancy isn't about disability or an illness, it's about a little person.' Samuel was born in perfect health, the operation 100 percent successful.

Now see the actual picture, and it is awesome...incredible....

Thank you!

Just want to say thank you to all of you who are so supportive and who have so much faith in me. That is what this one will take is a lot of Faith. Thanks again.

Here we go round the Mulberry Bush!

Okay, I am only going to say this once so listen up. Most everyone knows that while I was pregnant with TC, I got a blood clot in my leg, DVT (Deep Vein Thrombosis) and parts of the clot broke off and traveled into my lungs, making it very hard to breathe and of course was life threatening. I spent the next couple of weeks in the hospital and the next 6 months giving myself 3 shots of blood thinner everyday. My doctor told me that I would have to take these shots with each pregnancy if I wanted to have more children. I did want to have more but the doctor has also told me that even taking a blood thinner, I am still susceptible to getting another blood clot. My doctor also advised me to be on birth control so that I could plan (haha) each pregnancy or if I chose not to have anymore children. Since I am somehow (cause still unknown) still susceptible to blood clots I cannot be on a birth control with hormones, so the IUD was the best choice since it is 99% effective. With all of that being said, we were surprised in December of 2003 and again in May 2006 that each of my IUD's had failed and we now enjoy, AJ and Dakota as a consequence. One would think that it was time to move on to a different type of birth control but the doctor still reassured me that even with a different or second birth control that my chances would still probably be the same getting pregnant. So, I chose another IUD also knowing that they have worked for at least 18 months on both occasions. Well, we have been surprised yet again. We are very excited to invite another member into our family and love the blessings that come along with being a parent. I don't feel like I have to give everyone an excuse for my pregnancy so soon after having Dakota, I just feel like I need to explain why I keep choosing an IUD as my form of birth control. It can be dangerous for the IUD to still be inside my body with the baby and we still need to be careful. Many of you will say that it isn't anyone's business anyway, and maybe it isn't but I do want everyone to know that we love our babies even if I have a bit more to suffer through. I continue to pray for good health and we look forward to June of 2008 and are very excited to be close to family again for the birth.

funny!

I need to record this because it was so funny. When we were coming out of Boo at the Zoo, I asked TC and AJ what their favorite thing was that night. AJ tells me "the movie." I said, "we didn't see a movie." His answer was, "Dang, it!" We will keep getting AJ checked out for possible head injuries. What a cutie!

Happy Halloween!

Ok, I think AJ had enough chocolate last night to send him to the moon. He was running circles around our van last night while Steve tried to hand out as much candy as possible. We had fun and we got to spend halloween with Steve's sister, Darcey. The kids loved having her over. They love their aunt. TC was suppose to be spider-man but decided at the last minute that he wanted to be Dracula. WHY ME? I tried to throw together an outfit that would look like dracula and colored the sides of his mouth red with a marker. I guess it worked. AJ had to have blood running down the sides of his mouth too, of course. Not that you could see it since he was wearing a spider-man mask. Oh, well. Anyone for chocolate?

Boo at the Zoo!

Paul and Wendy introduced us to Boo at the Zoo last year and we had to go back this year. The line wasn't nearly as long and the kids love getting candy and being able to see all of the animals. AJ was going to be superman but decided at the last minute to be just like his big brother. This is TC third time being Spider-man. I would have to say that is his favorite superhero. Dakota is our little teddy bear. She looks warm at least. Can't really be dainty in this cold weather.

I found these cute stick-ons for the kids pumpkins so that they would have fun with the faces too. It isn't much fun when they can't use the carver. AJ was so proud.

Too Funny! A must see for all moms!

This video is too funny. Had to share. Go to http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ati3k32-NXI
Sorry, that I could not post it on my blog.

Tag - I am it!

Stacia, this one is for you! Only because you said please.

What is his name? Steve

How long have you been together? Married June 97

How long did you date? Oct 96 - June 97

Who eats more? Dessert - me

Who said I love you first? I don't remember how sad!

Who's taller? I think I have got Steve by about a foot.
Steve, obviously.

who sings better? Steve and if you have ever heard me sing, this would be obvious also.

who is smarter? steve, how does he know so much? I still haven't figured him out.

who's temper is worse? I think we both have our moments with the kids.

who does the laundry? I am still trying to get him to do it.

who does the dishes? steve does help me out every once in awhile.

who sleeps on the right side of the bed? looking at it? steve

who pays the bills? me

who cuts the grass? when we had grass of our own we both did. I love yard work, I get that from my dad.

who cooks dinner? If we want it to taste really good - Steve. I am a quick fix.

Who drives when you are together? steve and I don't mind. I get road rage.

Who is more stubborn? steve would say me but we all know it is steve.

who is first to admit when they are wrong? We are both good at that.

Whose parents do you see the most? for 10 years, it has been steve's but since we are moving to Tennessee, it will be mine.

Who kissed who dirst? steve came the first 90% , supposedly for a hug, but I went in the last 10% for a kiss.

who asked who out? steve asked me to a concert.

who proposed? steve

who's more sensitive? me

who has more friends? we probably have the same but steve sees more people throughout the week than I do, i think.

who wears the pants? steve but I pick them out for him.

Everyone who reads this has to do it too. I will be checking your blogs. You are now tagged.

World Series tickets, anyone!

What is better than sitting here and anticipating the chance to possibly buy World Series tickets? Yeah, ok. Steve has me glued to my chair so he can get tickets. I think I might have to give up soon. I don't see it happening for me. This is crazy. I do hope that he will have the chance to go but I do have work that needs to get done. GO ROCKIES!

Care Package!

Okay, so TC is the biggest faker ever. He always pretends that he is still asleep when I go in to wake him up every morning. He is so not a morning person.

On the other hand, AJ is terrible going to bed but is up bright and early every morning with a smile on his face. He is dressed and ready for the day before I get out of bed. I thought that I was a morning person. By the way, sorry that I didn't flip my picture before I uploaded it.

And Dakota is still not awake. Good girl!

My mother-n-law gives the best care packages. They sent our Halloween package and there were lots of fun goodies in it. Like the eyeballs that TC and AJ are trying to stick in their eyes and gross but yummy chocolate toes and fingers. We also love having Steve's old school art project of the most psycho pumpkin ever. Thank you Pat and Garry. We always love getting packages in the mail. There is nothing better.

Probably the darkest period of Steve's childhood!

Yes, we still live here!

Oooo, googley eyeballs. Yet, very tasty. The boys got a sugar rush right before bedtime!

Dakota's way cute socks, on her way cute feet.

More pix

Dakota

Didn't do so well together.

House

Well, they started the siding on our house this week and finished the drywall. We are dying that we cannot be there to see the progress. We do get excited every time we get new pictures, though. We also tried to take family pictures. I guess we did alright. Atleast the kids were happy.

Our back porch

TC

AJ

COLORADO ROCKIES!

Go Colorado! We are excited that the Rockies are going to the World Series! Too bad they waited until we left.

Summer of 05 - good times!

AJ - we were in Rigby at the Fun Center with Paul & Wendy, Cliff and Joy and I could swear that there was someone else with us.

Milk - it does a body good!

Fall - my favorite time of the year!

How sweet!

Laundry Day!

Lauren, Katie, Sarah, Jess, Whitney, Laura, and Bekah!
I love all of my nieces!

Yes, that is TC!

TC and Piper on a good day! We love you Piper!
Dawn, You know what I'm talkin' about!

Too funny!

Christmas 2004

WOW! I have been slackin' on laundry. I had about 7 loads to do today. Actually, we had company last week and General Conference all weekend so it was a lot to catch up on. Aside from all of the laundry, I found some old cute pictures that I thought I would post. Fun memories.

Snow Day!

Well, this is the second big snow we have had in the last 2 weeks. Isn't it sick? The boys were out playing in it at 8:30 this morning until AJ came in crying because he had been hit one too many times with a snowball. Dakota and I stayed in and kept warm. Steve tried to meet his buddies for Saturday morning football, but came back saying they were all pansies because they weren't at the field. Too bad. Steve got used to playing football and baseball in the snow, growing up in Colorado. I'm sure it makes it rough but Steve said it is fun to play football in the snow. We also had a family get together while Danny and Jonathon were in town. We sang Happy Birthday to Rikel and had cake and ice cream.

Steve's bike is covered, along with our cars!

AJ and TC warming up with hot cocoa after playing in the snow!

Rikel, Sarah, and Aspen

Our new home!

The view from the front of our house!

Clearing the land!

This is our Country Style Living! I can't wait to sit on my front porch and enjoy the warm weather.

This is the last picture we received of the back!

Well, I guess I could put a picture of our house on here since it is progressing so fast and we are so excited to be moving into a house again. When we sold our home in Buena Vista and decided to come back to school we thought we wouldn't have a home again for at least 10 more years. Thanks to my mom and dad, who are in the process of building us a home, we will once again have the joy of more space. We will rent the house until we can buy it from them. How exciting!! We love the lot and the greenery of Tennessee. We feel extremely blessed to have this opportunity. The pictures will show the progress of our house.

Blogthings - What City Do You Belong In?

Blogthings - What City Do You Belong In?

Yellowstone

Well, we thought since we have been in Rexburg for 3 years and still had not been to Yellowstone National Park that we ought to go before we move. It was really fun. We got to see Old Faithful, Yellowstone Lake, an Imax Movie on Yellowstone and we went to the Grizzly and Wolf Discovery Museum. We saw a lot of animals and it was fun to spend sometime away with the kids. I think they really liked it. At least the looks on their faces told us that they liked it. It was nice to get out of Rexburg for awhile also.

SPUD HARVEST - OH YEAH!

Well, today was TC and Steve's last day of school for 2 weeks. Only in Idaho would you get SPUD HARVEST break!! HA, ha! Well, it is nice for them. Last weekend we went to Sarah's house and also went to Aspen's blessing. She is so adorable. It was so good to see Chris and Cindy. I miss my family but we love having so much of our family here. I would have died if I had not had them.

My baby girl!

Had to have the shoes!

My favorite tights. How fun!

Lovin' the hat!

Ok, I honestly thought that I would never have a girl. I have 8 brothers and my first two were boys, so I thought I would just always be surrounded by boys and men. So, now that I have my little girl, it has been so fun. She is so smiley and happy. I love little girl clothes and after TC and AJ wearing through all the boy clothes, it was time for something different. I have to admit that I love getting her dressed for church even though I wish I had more time for the details. Oh, well! Here are some of the pictures that I took that I thought were too cute!

Rexburg Temple!

The temple here in Rexburg is almost complete. Too bad they won't have the open house until after we leave. It will be hard to go back to having a 2 hour trip to the temple. We will be happy for those who get to enjoy having the temple just up the hill from home. We can see the temple from our living room window.