A little bit patriotic

I have a special place in my heart for people who are willing to fight for freedom. Even though I am definitely not a "fighter" I do believe freedom comes with a price, and some things are just worth fighting for! Watch this entire video. It is only 2 minutes long, but make sure to watch till the end. I almost missed something important at the end because I was wiping my tears.

Happy Halloween

This is our baby girl. We were so excited to find out! Jeff thinks her profile looks like Gabriel's. When Gabriel saw this picture, I told him we weren't 100% sure it was a girl but that it probably was, he said, "It has to be a girl, look how cute she is!"
I think this picture is cool and scary at the same time. It is in 3D which they didn't have the last time I got an ultrasound. It looks like she is already trying to hide her face when the camera comes out. Either that or she is sick of us trying to get a glimps of her parts. Ha Ha Ha

It's about time!

Wow, I make an announcement that I am pregnant and then just stop. Funny thing about me being pregnant is,not only does food, or lack of it, make me sick, but so does anything remotely creative. I used to love to make cards and do all sorts of crafty type stuff, but lately---Ugh! So the thought of doing something creative on this blog, even something as "easy" as downloading pictures, has been pretty nauseating.
The good news is that I am starting to feel better and the even better news is that we are having a girl!!! Yippee! Yahoo! Hooray! I can't even begin to express how excited we are. Even Gabriel wanted a girl. I will try to get a couple of ultrasound pictures downloaded in the next little while.

Gabrielisms

This morning as we were getting ready for church, Gabriel came in to my room to inform me his church socks were too small. I told him to find another pair but they had to be tan, blue or black. He then informed me that they were all too small and that he wanted to wear his white socks. I told him no and that we don't wear white socks to church. His response: Why not, mom, white is a spiritual color. Oh....to be inside that kid's brain.

Nausea....Good!

It is really funny how different we view being sick, when it is for a good reason. Everyone is so excited that I am sick. When I threw up for the first time, Jeff gave me a high five. Strange, but I am grateful too. Hopefully all will go well with my pregnancy. We are keeping our fingers crossed.
Anyway, Gabriel got braces last week and it has been quite the ordeal for everyone as he gets used to them. Normally, we probably wouldn't have had it done so early, but his mouth is too small for his big teeth. Doing this will widen the bridge of his mouth so he won't have to get permanent teeth pulled in the future. Oh the things parents do to torture their children---all for the greater good, right?!

Best Birthday Present Ever!

I'm not very good at surprising Jeff, I never have been, but yesterday, I pulled it off. I wrapped up his birthday present, a baby onsie that said, "Daddy Rocks". It was wrapped in an Old Navy box, so before he opened it, he said, "let me guess, a pair of Old Navy flip flops". For a second, he kind of had a confused look on his face, and it was then that I handed him a positive pregnancy test. Yes! We're Finally Pregnant!
"Are you kidding me?" Jeff asked with tears in his eyes (I have only seen him cry on 2 other occasions--he claims he cried when Gabriel was born, but my eyes were closed tightly the whole time, I don't count that one).
This picture was taken right after Gabriel found out what the gift meant for his future.
"That was a good one! I can't believe it! Thanks Honey!"
What a happy day for our whole family. I was able to keep the secret from almost everyone (for a whole week), but then I couldn't stand it, so when I was asked, I had to share a little bit--thank goodness it didn't get back to Jeff before the big moment of surprise.
This is the onesie and the pregnancy test. Note how I bought a girl one. I am hoping to get a girl so I am no longer out-numbered, but I don't want to be greedy, I will take what I can get. Since we have been doing artificial insemination, there is a greater possibility of multiples so Jeff is hoping for triplets. I opt for twins, but once again, I will take what I can get. Now we just have to pray, and be extremely careful so I actually make it through the whole pregnancy.
So far I have been pretty tired and a little sick, but not bad. Of course I am only at the beginning, so we will see. Wow! I can't believe, I'm finally pregnant! There have been so many people praying for us over the years---Thank you! Thank you! Thank you!

Yellowstone, Baby!

I am here at one of my favorite places in the world--our cabin at Island Park, by Yellowstone! These three pictures show the view of the Snake River and beautiful nature from the porch of our cabin.
Whenever I need to "go to my happy place" to relax, this is where I go in my mind. This year's family vacations is so fun, because everyone is here except my brother's wife Robin and my sister's husband Kyle. It has been several years that we have all been together. With my 3 sisters, 1 brother and all the spouses and kids, there are 17 of us here. At times it's a little loud, but so worth it!
One thing that has been interesting about the trip this year, that we haven't had to deal with in the past, is grizzly bears. Yes, I said grizzly bears. The forest rangers came to our door the other day, warning us that there have been bears in the area and to keep all of our garbage, food, and everything else that would attract bears, inside the cabin. We, being concerned for the safety of our children, did what we were told. We even moved our refridgerator from our screened in porch area, to the garage. (Apparently, bears can smell berries from 8 miles away, so smelling food in unopened cans, and refridgerators is literally a piece of cake). Well, our neighbors were not so obedient and left their trash outside. Hello ding dongs! Sure enough, the bears, a mother grizzly and her baby cub, came for their midnight snack. My brother Mike, hearing them crunch on the trash, watched out the window until they were scared away by the ranger's spotlights. He couldn't believe how fast they could run through the trees. There were paw prints all over the place, including the window of my sister Corinne's suburban (they were peeking in her car because she had food in there--they could smell it. How crazy is that?!).
Anyway, other than that, we are having a fabulous/relaxing time and it is awsome. I also have an extremely fun post to do, so I will probably do that today as well. This blogging thing is getting pretty fun!

Gabrielisms

Last night Gabriel was upset because he had to pee and it wouldn't come out. After a little drama session he looked and me and whined, "I think there is something wrong with my uterus!"
I think he is probably right.

Which Jane Austen heroine are you?

I found this on my friend Kathryn's blog and since I am a Jane Austen fan, I thought it would be fun. Check it out. By the way, I hope this works, I didn't get any help so we will see if it will link you to the site, if not, use the website it gives you. Who knew computer stuff could be fun!?!

Love the what?

The other day, Gabriel had to get 4 teeth pulled. Ouch! Well, he was a trooper during the whole experience (thanks to pediatric dentists and laughing gas). The part that freeked him out the most was how numb his face was afterwards. "This is the worst day ever! I wish I could skip this day!" Such comments were made (while he was biting on gauze--to stop the bleeding), for the next hour. The milkshake, which the nurse said would help the numbness go away faster, and a movie helped save the day.

That night he wrote a note to the Tooth Fairy, because he wanted to keep the cool looking teeth, and still get some money--he's no dummy. Anyway, the Tooth Fairy, male-- I must point out, decided to use the opportunity to give some good tooth counsel and leave a note in return. Here is what it said:

Gabriel,

I usually don't let kids keep their teeth, but since you had to get 4 teeth taken out at one time, and since you were so brave, I will let you keep these. Make sure to gargle with salt water so your gums will heal quickly. Be sure to take good care of your teeth. I don't pay as much for teeth that are rotten or that have fillings.

Love,

The Easter Bunny

Love the what? At first I thought it was a joke, but when it was brought to the tooth fairy's attention, he was pretty surprised. We all had a good laugh and Gabriel came to the conclusion that 4 huge teeth were too heavy for the fairy to carry on her own, so the Easter Bunny helped. Sounds good to me!

Trying new things!

There is no other way to do this other than just to jump in and do it. I have been putting this blog thing off--waiting for some good pictures, or for some fabulous thing to say, but I can't anymore. One of the main reasons I have decided to jump in, is because Jeff and I want to adopt some children and apparently mothers that are looking for families to adopt their baby, like to look at blogs. I actually think it is a great idea, I just have to get over my computer fears--you know, like if I push the wrong button, I will destroy a small nation. My sister Kimberly is kind of walking me through all of this until I get the hang of it. She is 12 years younger than me, and yet knows way more about computer stuff than I do--go figure. I am actually excited about this and think it will be lots of fun. I will put some pictures on it as soon as I learn how and we will go from there. By the way, if you know anyone who wants to put their baby up for adoption, let them know that you know a family who is somewhat normal (ha, ha), and would love and cherish their baby forever. Thanks!