I am just at a loss for words to describe how the Lord decides to speak to me. He usually sneaks up on me when I least expect it and wallops me over the head. I have always had a relationship with Him, and His new boldness is almost refreshing.

I woke up a few minutes ago with the inability to swallow without sharp pain in my throat. John is still up, and he walked through to get a late night (or early morning) snack. I asked him to get the Aleve from my console in my Tahoe, because I'm not sure I can go back to sleep. I went to the Minute Clinic in CVS for a strep test, which came back negative, but I'm not convinced. The practicioner thought that I had a viral infection that seems to be harboring in Saginaw. I believe she said I was about the tenth person with the same symptoms; pain in the neck, swollen glands, almost impossible to swallow, body aches like the flu, headache, ear ache... Oh, and I do have fluid behind my left ear which would explain the latter of the symptoms. I have been nauseous and then these symptoms started yesterday some time, and I was thinking that I was sick and tired of being sick and tired!

Then.. He did it to me again.

I was surfing around any message board to try and Google for some sort of intelligent answer to my symptoms, and I found this blog post. I have read her blog before, and she is a gifted writer.

He speaks through her.

He just did it to me.

My measly sore throat doesn't seem to matter that much anymore.

Kayden had RSV. She turned purple a couple of times, and it took the doctors what seemed like an eternity to help her. She was on breathing treatments and steroids from the time she was six weeks old to about eight months old.

She was one of the lucky ones.

Kylee has bronchiolitis right now. We took her to the clinic in College Station this weekend, and the doctor said it could possibly be RSV and to watch her to see if her symptoms worsen. I just heard her cough. Writing that, I am reminded that He is laying there with her, and will let me know when I need to go in there and get her in some way. I have to trust that...

As I was about a month or so ago... I am grateful for His timing.

Oh what a blessed, eventful week!

Our Christmas was nothing less than wonderful. The girls were so excited. Kayden got her first doll house from Santa, and Kylee got her first potty. I say first, because if this one hadn't been a hit, I would have tried another model... maybe with more bells and whistles. This is the run-of-the-mill cushy seat. She seems to get a kick out of sitting on it, though. She has yet to make any contributions to the potty god, but we're working on it. I'm borrowing a friend's suggestion to just put it in the same room as she is in at the time, and not really make a big deal of it being there. I do have a little bit of a vested interest in her completion of her potty training milestone, I must confess, and I can't help but ask her a million times if she wants to sit on it. She obliges every time I ask, so hopefully this won't take too terribly long.

I have been wanting an inside dog since John and I started living together oh some six years ago. He has always said no, and while I am very capable of overriding that decision, I have decided to respect that. I asked him last year what it would take to have a dog in the house, and he said if they were both potty trained that we would be able to get one. Well... Kylee is working on it, so I am holding him to it!

The week before Christmas was pretty busy, as well. I moonlight as a floor tiler. ... Ok, not really, but I can tile floor. I went and tiled my Mom's kitchen for her the weekend before Christmas, and that was a whirlwind. Tiling is actually pretty fun. I moved her fridge and stove out. It was the craziest thing... the stove was about 32 years old, and I guess they used to nail stoves to the adjacent cabinets, because I had to pry it out. Thank goodness my parents had taken the girls to the park, or I think my Mom would have had a heart attack watching me wrestle with it. Another thank goodness was that she didn't want me to put it back in. I don't think I would have... The only snafu was that we had to go and get another wet saw about halfway through. The saw that I had started sparking, even with full water, and it was driving me nuts. At the end of the weekend, my Mom was much happier with a cleaner-looking floor, and I was happy that they were able to spend time with the girls. The drive wasn't the best, but it was a small price to pay.

I was sick at the beginning of the week, and all I could do was get the girls to school and back. I'm sure my boss was none too happy, but I'm working all day today (save for writing this blog) to make up for any time I lost.

I am also in the midst of rotating out toys, without being obvious about it. I think that is the hardest part. Even if the girls don't play with whatever I decide to put up, it still bothers me to take their toys away.... Yes, they have shiny, new, age-appropriate ones to replace the old, but I still feel bad. Kylee is getting to the baby doll and stroller age, thus creating a little conflict with her older and similarly stubborn sister. I had to negotiate my first truce over a tiny little baby this morning. I offered four "big" babies to Kylee, and she wasn't biting. It took a Hungry Hippo game and careful diversion to get Kayden's doll back. Why they both decided to argue over THAT doll is beyond me. I am contemplating reading The Art of War, just to brush-up on my negotiation skills...

SOOOO - As I was writing this blog, I took a potty break with Kylee, and she finally tee-teed in her new potty!!! YAAAAY! Ok, so there is hope for an early '09 puppy.... I'm feeling it .

Here are a few pictures from the past week...

Kayden "driving" with Pa Pa through Santa's Wonderland:

The above picture was Christmas morning.

I haven't posted in a while, because I haven't felt like I had the time. This has been such a hard month really for us...

Without going through the details, I just believe that God will make sure that we are all protected through his GRACE. It's such a beautiful thing. I know that there are so many others that are so much worse off than we are. I emailed the Tarrant County Food Bank this morning, asking what we could do as a family. I want to volunteer. I want my girls to know that presents aren't everything. I am worried that they are going to take the excess for granted. They are always spoiled by their grandparents. While I am beyond grateful for that, I am afraid that the true meaning of Christmas is lost in the wrapping paper and bows... giving... Even when we have nothing, we have something to give. I am determined beyond words to teach my girls to feel that...

Kayden's teacher, Mrs. Bev, gave me a little insight into Kayden's heart this morning. Every two days or so, we have an issue with Kayden being either disrespectful by not listening or challenging to Bev's assistant, Kim. Bev never has a problem with her, and I don't say that lightly. She will put her in her place, and Kayden knows it. Kim is not so lucky. Kayden is very possessive of her classroom at school. She has the routine and rules down pat. Any time that anyone else is in charge of the room, she becomes the resident critic. She becomes upset if things aren't done the way that BEV does them. She then becomes very challenging to deal with. She is very loyal, to say the least. Bev has had this figured out, but was sure of the motivation, after yesterday. The Kindergarten teacher had to take over the class in the late afternoon for Kim, because she was out sick. Kayden was instantly bothered. While I never want her to be disrespectful, I adore her loyalty. Her alpha-teacher was gone, so she assumed the position. In her little mind, nothing would go unnoticed or be permitted that wasn't exactly what she thought Bev would do. How fascinating, really, that a four-year-old has such conviction. She was fine by the time John picked her up, but she made sure that the room had been "run" the way she thought was the right way. The next day, she went and apologized to the Kindergarten teacher without anyone asking her to. Noone asked her to. I think that is the part that blows me away. Maybe it is normal for a child that age to feel like she needed to apologize, but I wouldn't think that would happen in their development yet. I don't know... I guess I am proud that her heart is in the right place, and she knows what is right and wrong. She feels regret and remorse. My own heart swells when I hear that she has been motivated to do something from her heart.

We were at the Harms' Christmas this past weekend, and she got two presents that were the same. She immediately said, "That's o.k, Kylee can have this one." about one of them. While the fact that she got two of the same was a mistake, she still thought of her sister. I'm just so proud.

I want to, for lack of a better word, harness that giving spirit in her. I don't know if Kylee has that as strongly, and I don't know if I will know that about her for a while. I know that both of them will be sweet, because they will always be the best little angels in the world, to me. BUT... I want them to have

...a SERVANT'S HEART....

In the next couple of weeks, we are going to volunteer somewhere. I'm not sure what we will do, but I will find something. We can't give money or gifts, but we can give time and effort.

We can give our hearts.

Maybe it will teach my girls that presents aren't everything. Or, maybe they already know that, and they will give me the best Christmas present ever.

So, I finished Twilight in two nights, and it was a really good read. I am thinking I will read the rest of the series by Sunday. John is out of town on a business trip, so it will be a little quieter around the house... of course, that is always relative. I don't associate vampires with Satan, by the way, so I don't feel like I'm evil for reading the series. I just think it's a good story, so I'll leave it at that.

We decided to decorate the house last night, and it was truly the perfect series of little moments that I hope my girls logged in their memory banks. Kayden wanted some spaghetti, so I hurriedly cooked some, folded two loads of laundry and washed the dishes. All the while, John was up in the attic, no doubt rearranging some of our junk and castaway toys that hopefully have memories banked with them, as well. He and Kayden finally emerged from the garage, tree in tow, and we set to it. Kylee immediately repurposed the tree box as a play pen, and it was such a joy to watch her little face getting so excited at every little decoration that we pulled out.

I tuned into streaming Christmas music on my laptop, and the girls had a ball decorating the tree. Once that was up, we moved to the dining table to explore the boxes with the light-up train and stockings. Both of the girls thought that the best way to get everything out was to stand on the table and pull it all out all around them. I didn't care at all; it was the cutest scene to watch. This is really Kylee's first year to actually pay attention to all of the excitement, and her reaction to it all didn't disappoint. She would gasp and say "Ligh ligh!" for lights, "twee!", "baw!", "sock!".. it was fun.

I think we created a special night that I will certainly try to replicate next year, and hopefully it will be our new little Harms family tradition... Kylee sits in the box, they climb up on the table and strew the decorations everywhere, eat the old candy canes out of the bottom of the decoration box, and jump around to carols. The tree is already sporting the first few ornaments that they have made, and a few others that are sentimental.

They both got a turn trying to put the angel in her place. She's built a little weird at the bottom (not that there's anything wrong with that), but Kylee really did try her best, and Kayden was being such a ham.

I taught myself how to read...

... when I was little with Hooked on Phonics. Ever since then, I have loved to read; I just haven't had the time. I picked up Twilight this past weekend, and I made the time last night. It is compelling, to say the least. I started it last night, and I only lack about 100 pages. I was so tired, but I wanted to finish it so badly! I will update on what I think of the first of the series.

My favorite book series has to be the Left Behind series, by Tim LaHaye and Jerry Jenkins. I have read all of them, and they are fantastic. Basically, they fictionalize (based upon scripture though, of course) the Rapture, Armageddon, the Antichrist and the Second Coming of Christ. If you haven't read them, you should. They are NOT "preachy" and are an easy read. I think my second favorite author is John Grisham, by far.

Anyway, I am planning to read the whole Twilight series, before seeing the movie.

I just realized how random this post was.

I got tagged! All things John...

Tagged!!
Erica tagged me, yay! I haven't posted in the past couple of days, because it's actually been pretty busy. Between shopping, running, making a gingerbread house and eating, it was hard to find the time to sit down and write. Anywho, this is so fun, and I hope I can remember the answers to some of these questions... This quiz is about John :-D

1. Where did you meet? We met at a tanning salon that I worked at in college. Our stories differ a tad about what actually "caught his eye", but the outcome was the same. He brought me beer on Halloween, because I had to work, and he gave me his number on a Post-it, that I still have to this day.

2. How long did you date? Our "dating" anniversary was 11/10/02, and we got married on 08/02/08, so nearly six years.

3. How long have you been married? Approximately four months, and we JUST got our DVD of pictures back this weekend. I'm a little miffed at the photog, needless to say..

4. What does he say that surprises you? His open-mindedness is always a pleasent surprise. Surprisingly, he used to be pretty judgmental, and I've really tried to get him to think of what "the other guy" might be having to deal with... He is getting much better in his old age ;-)

5. What is your favorite feature of his? Oddly-enough, I think I like his shoulders the most. His shoulders are massive really, and it makes me feel like he could crush anything. It must be some sort of primal cavewoman has a caveman that can protect her thing... who knows. I love his eyes, because they are beautiful, and his arms. His heart is pretty durn cool, too.

6. What is your favorite quality of his? Someone told me once that God only gives little girls to special men. That sentiment certainly applies to him. He is such a wonderful Daddy.

7. Does he have a nickname for you? Babe, Steph, Mommy

8. What is his favorite color? Probably Real Tree Camo or blue.. not really positive..

9. What is his favorite food? Chips and hot sauce. I think if he were able to live on chips and hot sauce, he would do it.

10. What is his favorite sport? Baseball to watch, football to play fantasy leagues with and hunting

11. When and where did you first kiss? At his house in Stephenville the first night that we had gone out

12. What is your favorite thing to do as a couple? We like to work in the yard together, work out, play with the girls

13. Do you have any children? Yes, two. Kayden is 4 and Kylee is 19 months.

14. Does he have a hidden talent? He can cook really well, and he loves to do it. In fact, when I come home from work and want to cook, he never lets me!

15. How old is he? 29

16. Who said "I love you" first? I hinted at it but he actually said it first, suprisingly, again.

17. What is his favorite type of music? Anything that has a good "beat", and that is how he describes it, whether it be rap (which is usually the case), country or rock.

18. What do you most admire about him? I, of course, admire how much he loves his girls. He is very organized, though, and it borders OCD. Everyone in this world could learn a thing or two from him in that respect.

19. Do you think he will read this? I don't even know if he has the link to "our" blog. Lord knows I've sent it tons of times.

20. Where did you go on your first date? He made back strap at his house, and I punched the wall, because I bit into a habanero.

Ok, Allison and Lynda, you're IT!

Words, words words...

I was stopped dead in my tracks this morning. It takes a lot to do that to me. I am the Mother of two little girls under 5, so I am pretty bomb-proof.

Kayden ended up on the floor next to the couch last night, so she was bundled up and trying to wake up, as I went to go get Kylee out of her crib. I microwave little frozen blueberry pancakes every morning for them, just because of time. Kylee must've heard the timer, because as soon as I picked her up, she said, "Pan-keeks!" We were walking back through the living room (where Kayden was rolling around trying to wake up), and Kylee then said, "Hi, Kaynan!"

I stopped.

I looked at both of them and burst into giggles.

Kayden had the "wow" face, but I decided to keep Kylee moving. I dressed her, and starting thinking that I probably should note all of the things that she is learning and starting to do.

So here is my list:



1. She started walking backwards about a week ago. She's terribly proud of her new skill. It usually comes with a sideways glace, as if to say "do you seeee what I am do-eeeeeng"..

2. She is a parrot, of course, but using words on her own and in the correct context she has just started to develop as a new "skill".

3. She says "Hi, Kaynan"

4. Pan-keeks = Pancakes

5. Jack-eet = Jacket

6. Staw cryeee = Stop crying

7. All done = All done (sounds perfect to me)

8. Down

9. She can answer either "NO!" or "Yeah!" to just about any question posed to her.. and she answers with gusto

10. She runs to the bathroom, when you tell her it's time for a bath.

11. She says "buck-ooh", when she is getting in her seat in the Tahoe, or she is getting in her chair at the dinner table.

Thinking...

I know she is much more miraculous than this, but my brain is on temporary respite today. I can't seem to think past the fact that the holidays are coming up, and it is time to go into holiday vacation-mode... even though I don't get one....

Part II will come later, if I can remember to think of remembering to do it...

I need phantoms, people...

So most people know that I figure skated. It's old news. I had doubles and triples, and I loved it. I have been wanting to take Kayden skating since she was born, but there is the small issue of sharpened steel with the intentional toepick at the end. Quite a scary looking knife, if you ask me.

I took to Craigslist, eBay, Google, just about every resource I could think of to try and find a pair of wider-than-heck boots. And, it wasn't o.k. if they were just any boots. I wanted my "old" make of boots. They are about $650 retail. Yeah, I didn't think it was wise to spend that much, nor did I want to. I prayed about it. I pray about everything these days.

A couple of days later I was looking at Craigslist, and I found a pair of 7 1/2 Ds, and they were the make that I wanted. Like I said, I needed wider-than-heck. I emailed the poster as fast as my fingers would go, and I waited. She wanted $75 for the skates, and I almost couldn't believe it. The blades on them weren't the best, but they would do for the moment. After waiting an eternity, she finally sent them...

I put them on last night, and miraculously, they fit. Honestly... if I could have slept in them without thinking I would either stab my babies or poke a hole in something, I would have. I don't have guards, yet, but I will... OH, I will. John will never realize how much it meant to me, when I walked around in them for about 20 minutes, and he didn't ask me why... I just had to. I wrapped bubble wrap around the blades, and secured it with tape. She didn't send guards, obviously... I think I said that already. Anyway, the blades are basically a coach's blade, and "my" blades aren't. I want MK Phantom blades. It's the only thing that I am used to, and years and years of skating on them just can't be changed. It's like riding a bike.

As soon as I get a good sharpening, I'm going to take Kayden. If she hates it, I really don't mind. I just have to let her see what Mommy did when she was little. She already knows what Daddy did. This is Texas, after all, so it's a little harder to show her...

Anyway, here they are. I'm excited.

I cannot stop weeping...

I have been praying that God help me to be a better Mommy...

I didn't know how it would happen or what would happen, but I knew it would come.

Every night I check the blogs of friends and celebrity gossip sites and then I go to CNN, MSN, MSNBC, etc. Tonight was different. I was reading a friend of mine's blog, and I started going through her blog links to see if I could find any funny stories of encouragement from other Moms.

I did.

It wasn't funny. It was life-changing.

I have been sitting here in the middle of my bed weeping for the past hour and a half. Let me be clear... I do not think that I am even close to a bad Mom, but I do pray that God will give me the words to teach my girls about Him. I will spend the rest of my life praying for the strength to surrender to Him and the stillness to hear His whispers... I hugged Kayden (she was still up watching Spongebob) with arms that were weak from disappointment in myself that I had ever taken this little curly haired gift for granted. With tears streaming down my face, I told her that I loved her and I was sorry that I had ever yelled at her or made her sad. With a calmness beyond even my years, she brushed my hair out of my face and said it was ok. She squeezed me, and she went back to watching cartoons.

In His infinite grace... He showed me.

http://audreycaroline.blogspot.com/

Let's all be festive, shall we?

I plugged in my Christmas tree at work. It's time, folks. I am feeling the season.

I ran in the pouring rain on Monday, and it seemed to awaken my psyche. I think everyone should do it. On the last mile or so it started to pelt me in the face. Honest to God, I started smiling. Passing motorists must have thought I was losing my mind and anything else along with that, because I just enjoyed the moment. I thought of those in this world that would give anything to run like that. So, I just smiled for them. I was soaked to the skin, and it was about 65 outside. I have run in 110 degree weather, so what was a little water? Actually, it is sort of a wash when you run in the rain (ignore the literal), because the rain cools your body temperature. I felt refreshed, cold and fortunate.

The first lightning strike in our vicinity happened as soon as I got in my Tahoe and shut the door. It ended up being a great thunderstorm.

Really. If you haven't played in the rain, do it.

2044.

"Mommy..."

Yes, Kayden.

"Next time will you say I can be president?"

Absolutely.

Do you want to be the president?

"Yes."

I think you would make a fantastic president.

You could tell everyone what to do!

"Even Mrs. Bev?"

Even Mrs. Bev.

"... and Daddy?"

And Daddy.

"... and you?"

And Me.

"... and Kylee?"

And Kylee.

".... ....."

"I want to be the president."

Waiting for Daddy to get home from his trip to Dana and Greg's wedding.... ATT Uverse was out AGAIN, so they had to entertain themselves. This is what they came up with :-)

"Where Stuff Lives" by Kayden Harms

"Mommy, you know what lives in a tree?.... Alvin, Simon and Theodore..."

me - " and what else..."

"Skunks."

Pictures... um, pictures...

Grass... roly polies and lady bugs

Pillows... easter bunnies

Couches... nothing

Eggs... candy

Lamps... light

"Hang on Kayden, so I can write this down.."

"...why?"

"So I don't forget.."

Coffee... (loooong sigh...) I don't know. Skunks live in coffee.

Kayden's party.

I rented the girls' daycare center for Kayden's party. I figured that it was the perfect place to make a mess and clean up, because it wasn't my house!

Here are a few pictures:

Prayers... Magic... I've seen a little of both

I've been too busy to blog. Work is insane. A girl that worked for me left, and I have taken over her job, as well as mine. My corporate word for it was "absorb"... I hate absorbing. Say it enough and it's one of those words that sounds silly... absorb... absorb... absorb... see? Anyway. That's where my brain is. My boss is one of those special fellas that doesn't want to know details or how you got into the trainwreck you're in, but the fact that you are in it MUST be your fault. You were riding on the train, right? Your fault. If the analogy is not understood, the job itself is a trainwreck. No training when you get there. No training while you are there. Projects thrown at you. What do you mean you don't have time to do three jobs, stay until seven and work on the weekend? Seriously. I am trying to juggle it and avoid any questions. I'm trying to keep my head down for the moment. The economy is too weak to think outside the box that I work in....

More importantly, Robin's Daughter (Robin stood in at the wedding as my Matron-of-Honor for Melinda, who at the time was incredibly pregnant), Reann, flipped her 4-wheeler last week, and she is now hospitalized. Robin was eating dinner and her friend riding with her sped up to the house, and told them she had crashed. Charles sped out there to her, and she was tor

n up. She couldn't stand up, and she was in beyond excrutiating pain. She says she doesn't remember it, which is awesome. She hadn't seen a very steep ditch or culvert, depending on what part of Texas you are from, and hit it at probably fifty or sixty miles an hour. They rushed her to the hospital and the hospital cleaned her up, stitched her up and sent her home. We went to see her the next day, and I can't come close to describing how horrid her leg looked. She suffered a gash to the top of her elbow, which required stitches to close. Her leg was the worst road rash I have ever and might ever see for the rest of my life. Her leg had been reduced to raw meat, and in the middle of all of the mess was about a five inch gash that was jagged and stitched. She was developing bruising from the inside that was making to the skin in black splotches. She also had another bruise like that in her kidney area. We ran to the store, because they ran out of gauze pads. It took around four to cover the worst parts of her leg. Her discharge papers had Robin pouring peroxide directly on her leg wound and flushing it with water. Tap water. They had told her to do that. I had Reann lean back on me while she was doing it, because she was wincing and the first time her body tensed, mine went haywire. I started sweating, getting hot and dizzy, and was sure I would puke. I made it outside and back in without any major issues, but I was close. I could look at it and watch her wince, but put both together and I couldn't take it apparently.

Robin and Robert came to Kayden's party, and in the middle of everything they got the call that Reann had developed a fever. They rushed her to Cook's Children's Medical Center Downtown, and she was admitted. I found out today that if they had waited even a few hours later that she might not have had the option of keeping her leg. The first hospital that had sewed her up had left rocks and gravel and dirt in her leg and arm. Her entire arm was now swollen and the tissue around her calf and bone in her leg was dead. She now needs a skin graft to cover the wound that spans her leg from her knee to ankle. She had a surgery to optn the wounds and insert drains on Monday. Yesterday she got to rest. Somewhat. Today she had another surgery to clean out her wounds, yet again, and give the plastic surgeon an opportunity to see inside her arm and leg and gauge what the damage was. It was not good. He is going to do the graft on Friday. The drains will stay in place for another five days after Friday. She will then have another surgery to either close what is still open or fix the graft. They are taking it one step at a time. In the midst of all of this, Robin's Husband's Uncle Jody had to be admitted to Harris Methodist across the street from Reann's hospital for seizures. Robin and their family just recently moved out to Jody's house in the country to take care of him, because of said seizures.

I am at a loss for what to do but go up there and just sit by them every chance I get and to pray. It makes me sick to think that people are really worried about anything other than thanking God for every chance they get to see their kids and be at home with their families. Some unfortunate people are not capable of compassion, perspective and humility. I pity those people. Seeing one of my best friends watch her Daughter in pain and go through all of this is enough perspective for me. It wouldn't have taken that.

By the way... Kayden and Kylee became really quiet last night, while John and I were watching t.v. Kayden had changed Kylee's diaper. Wipes and all. On the right way. Even sprinkled powder (the only thing that works on Kylee). I was pretty much blown-away. It was magic to watch....

I pray that God allows me to have many more magical moments like that.

My crazy kids!

Click on the picture below for more pictures...

RandDshouseandKayden's Bday

Here is the other nut-head yesterday afternoon....

My baby girl is 4 today!!!!!!

This is the newest addition to my extended family. This is Colin Ryan Smith. He was 7 lb. 14 oz., and he was born to my oldest and dearest friend. We have known eachother since we were 9 years old and in the 4th grade. She was going to be my Matron of Honor, but complications with her pregnancy prevented her from flying. Praise the Lord and his infinite grace, because they are both healthy and happy and he has given the gift of Motherhood to one of the most beautiful people I know...

The world of I.T......

....sitting in a conference room waiting.... everyone is a minute late... I'm a little bit of a stickler for being on time to meetings... social functions.. not so much.

No water, no worries...

So, my Mom's house wasn't flooded, but John's side of the family wasn't so lucky. John's Uncles and Aunts live all around the Pasadena, Seabrook, Clear Lake area, and his Aunt Annette's house was destroyed by flooding. They have had to rip out sheet rock, appliances, furniture and all of the brand new hand-scraped wood flooring that they just installed. One of his Uncles had a tree branch fall on one of their cars.

In the grand scheme of things, it could obviously have been much worse. My Mom's power wasn't restored until 9/20, but it could still be off. The huge tree in our front yard could have collapsed, but it didn't. Entire structures could have been lost, and they weren't, but it still does not lessen the impact that Ike had on our family. Both sides of the family have been through numerous hurricanes, and I think this one was the most surprising and devastating of them all. My own personal theory is that the meteorologists were way off, and the storm was much more unpredictable and stronger than they expected. Just theory.

Anyway, we came through it uninjured and more tired than normal, but alive. That's all we could have really asked for.

I would have so much to ask...

"Mommy, do you know God's cell phone number?" - Kayden Tanner Harms

another picture...

Here is a little better picture. If you look closely, you can see the white diagonal line through the coast. That is the track of the eye. Then if you look in the center and to the left, you will see '77546', and there is a box that is over my house I grew up in. A little scary, but it's neat to be able to see what is going on with Google Earth. We'll see what happens...

Hurricane Ike

Well, I don't know if anyone reads my blog, but I wish I knew. I need to ask for all the prayers that my family, friends and hometown can get. As we all have heard by now, Ike is coming. The irony is that one of my best guy-friends in high school is named Ike... Anyway, here is the house that I was born in and the path of Ike....

The run-down...

I haven't posted in forever....

We have had an interesting month. I was going to post a long and drawn-out 1st hand account of our wedding and honeymoon, but I figured I would spare the masses.

A quick run-down of our first month as a married couple....

We had an AMAZING honeymoon.

We went to Gran Caribe Real in Cancun, and we found a new favorite drink and did a ton of shopping. We visited Chichen Itza and went on a Lobster Cruise. It was truly a much-needed and well-deserved break from the "real" world. I did well without my little ones up until Wednesday. I was heart-sick after that, and I was missing them terribly. We have decided that our next trip without them (if that ever happens) will be four days at the most. I can't handle any longer!

We came home, and we had to send my ring off immediately to the jeweler. It was a custom set from a small jeweler in Stephenville. Two of my baguettes were missing, and we determined that it happened some time between the reception and the limo ride. We discovered it on the plane to Mexico.

We had a pretty bad weekend a couple weekends ago... some of our neighbors (that were not at the wedding) came over like usual on Friday night. The husband really started saying some horrible things to me, and it was truly out of the blue. John said that he could tell all night that something wasn't right with the guy. I got in his face and told him to leave (yes, it was that bad), and I haven't been that mad in literally a few years. If there is one thing that I don't apologize for it is sticking up for myself. What he said was to the effect that John should beat me every day of my life and I was a dumbass if I didn't think so, too.... I had been looking at my bachelorette party pictures that the neighbors had thrown for me, and John made some comment and I flat-handed popped him in the cheek. I was 200% playing around, and John knew that. I got his eye by total accident, and he knew that, too, and wasn't even thinking about it, when this guy just started in on what should "happen" to me, because of that. I can't explain how bad things got after that.... anyone want details later, I can explain face to face. To add, these are the people that have the little girl that caused Kayden to have to go to the hospital. Nothing has been said to us to this day about that, by the way.... It's a sad situation. I had confided in the wife some very personal stuff about John and me... she proceeded to air it all... You know, toxic people just suck, and sometimes you don't even know that they have the capability to be that way. It's just a bad deal. I don't think they were ever really our friends. Maybe they were, and then something changed for them, who knows. What WE know is that now we are moving. Everything happens for a reason, and maybe this was God's way of getting us away from negativity...

SO... we have packed about half of our house up and we have put boxes in the garage of stuff that we don't use on an every day basis. Yes, the situation is bad enough, where I personally do not want to even be in the vicinity of someone capable of some of the things that happened.... that might sound silly, but I have never not wanted to "fix" a situation or understand someone's point of view.... I don't care about this one. I don't care to "fix" any relationship or anything that happened. I never feel that way. OH ANYWAY - we are looking for a larger house, since we will probably have a third little one, once we only have one in daycare. There is no way that we could afford three in daycare. It is actually really exciting, but sad. I will miss our house. What I have learned, though, is that it has nothing to do with the four walls you are in. It will still be hard to leave.

We are looking in the same area, so that we don't change too much of our commute or routine. It is a buyer's market, but definitely not a sellers', so we will need all the prayer and luck we can get! I have been painting base boards and walls for the past two weeks, so our house looks pretty spiffy... The girls have just been going with the flow.

We went to Ry and Kelli's last weekend to watch the Aggies win, whoop! The girls had a great time, and Kylee was walking around saying "TANK", which is their maltese's name. He's a cutie. Jevon and Randi were there, and we drank a few Coronas and played some Wii after the game. I think I want one :-) I played Ry a couple of games of tennis, and even though he kicked my butt it was pretty fun.

Sunday was my 30th birthday, which was a little melancholy. John said that he was going to plan a party, but in light of the events a few weekends before, nothing happened. I cleaned all day and drank four Corona's a went to bed. So much for going out of my twenties with a bang...

Other than that.. a little somber, I know, we have been enjoying married life :-) I can't say that I "feel" any differently, other than more of a united front type of feeling. I think I have truly felt that since Kayden was born, but now I can at least relax and know it's permanent. I still have to go through all of the pictures and pick the ones that will go into our photo book that we will get from the photographer, and then we have to pick the proofs that we want printed. There are some great ones of the reception.

I also learned something about myself that I wish I had learned earlier in life... I am VERY ANNOYING when I am drunk... I watched a video of the rehearsal dinner that my friend Kristin took, and I was just cringing the entire time... man, I just needed to shut up. For the rest of my life I will be conscious of that... I'm glad I saw it, though. It seemed like everyone had a great time, so I guess it wasn't too bad.

I'm really looking forward to the next couple of months. My friends Erica and Melinda are having babies! I am also going to a shower for the second baby of my best friend's daughter. I'm making a diaper cake for the second time, so we'll see how it turns out. I think I might make floozie koozies for it, too, but we'll see how much time I have between making sure the house is picture-perfect, and chasing the kiddos :-P

We went to see a surgeon today...

T-minus three days, and we were spending the day today (yesterday at this point, but it's so late or early rather in the morning) at the orthopedic surgeon's office at Cook Children's Medical Center in downtown Fort Worth. Why, you ask? Well...

Kayden and her friend (whom I will leave nameless) were playing outside on Tuesday, when she let out a horrible shriek. I knew what it was right away, because she was protecting her arm. Long story short, her friend had twisted or pulled her arm and hurt her. This was particulary worrisome, because it was the same arm that had been pulled out of socket about two years ago...

In brief: A teacher at her school went psycho and yanked her up by her arm and pulled her elbow out of socket. We filed a police report, it went to the D.A., then the grand jury, and they decided not to pursue the case any further, because they could not prove malice. We had the bitch on camera. Whatever. Anyway, that was what flashed through my minds-eye.

To continue... she came home and didn't want me to do anything but lay on the couch with her and later in her bed and watch Monsters, Inc. I would try to comfort her and she said she was hurting and didn't want me to touch her. Every once in a while, she would assure me that I didn't need to take her to the doctor, because her arm was fine. In the next breath, she would cry and tell me that it hurt. Come to find out, she just didn't want me to take her to have a shot. I so remember that fear. My pediatrician was a she/he.. I still don't know what it was to this day, and it wore white nurse shoes. Oh, the scars from that... anyway... So we watched the movie, and I moved to the couch out of her bed, when she fell asleep. 15 minutes later she was on the couch with me telling me to get OFF of the couch, because I was in her way and hurting her arm.. I WAS THERE FIRST! Oh... I'm the adult here... So, she informed me that it would be o.k. if I slept on the floor. Perfect, the floor. I thought at least then she might go to sleep. Oh, if I had only been so lucky. Bless her heart, she literally whimpered every two or three minutes. She just couldn't get comfy. I can't imagine how badly it hurt.

So, this morning John and I discussed the situation, and we decided that we were torn. She stubs her toe, and it turns into an ordeal so that she can milk it for all the attention away from Kylee that she thinks it's worth. So we were thinking some of the whining might be that, but then she told us that it didn't hurt anymore. She wasn't even moving. Her eyes weren't open, but here is this little voice, "my arm doesn't hurt. I don't need to go to the doctor..." John and I just laughed. She always has to get her two-cents in. So, I took her to school and told her teacher what was going on. It wasn't 30 minutes later, and I had an email. Kayden wasn't using her arm, and she was upset. She was most upset about the fact that I was taking her to the doctor. That was much worse than the pain she was in, apparently.

The pediatrician tried to put it back into place, and he was unsuccessful. We got bad parent points, because we waited to get her in until the next morning. She hurt it around 9 PM. Not sure we should relinquish our parent card for that, but whatever. He told me that with "Nurse Maid's Elbow" (google it), you have to reset it within 4 hours or it becomes more difficult as time goes on. Having said that, he did tell me that she seemed to have been severely injured, though, so he wasn't sure that theory would have really applied to her. At any rate, he wasn't comfortable trying to reset it any further, so off we went to the orthopedic surgeon. Beautiful. I was pissed, stressed, heart-broken for Kayden, and selfishly hoping that we wouldn't have to make a million different doctor visits to fix her poor arm. My hoping wasn't all in vain. The orthopedic surgeon visit was actually a piece of cake.

The ortho took pictures of her bones, as I explained it to her, and he assured me that she was all in one piece and her friend hadn't broken anything, but had twisted or pulled it pretty hard. He gave me two options. Option one was to attempt to reset it, but he said he really didn't want to do that. She was still traumatized from the pediatricians failed attempt, and he said he didn't want to put her through that. Option two was the winner: we would cast her arm from her hand to the middle of her upper-arm, and then come back in two weeks to remove it. We walked out of there... well, I did with a monkey sporting a purple cast, and feeling much better. As soon as the cast was on, she said it didn't hurt her any more.

At least it is in my color scheme. :-)

I have GAS!

In my Tahoe, and I am ready to run the last-minute errands for the wedding. We have NINE DAYS! That still seems like an eternity. We have been engaged since April 2004. 4 years and four months. Wait... I was just doing the math in my head.. I think that's right. I think we decided that we had been together since 11/10/02. That's right.. I got pregnant in January of '04, got engaged when I was about 4 months pregnant, and then I had kayden on 10/01/04. I was thinking that we had been engaged for five years for some reason... not that after four years it matters that much, but still.

Anyway, what is another 9 days? Maybe Kylee's diaper rash will clear up, since her upper front tooth will have time to break through... that's what I worry about these days ;-) She has been teething so badly, and she is SOOOO late... bless her heart.

I have to make the flip flops for my girls this weekend and buy their gifts. Actually, I have about half of the stuff that I am putting in their bags; I just need to finish. John is going to C.S. for his bachelor party this weekend, so I will probably have time to get everything done. Funny how when he is home I feel like I get nothing done, and when he is home I feel so productive! I guess I just feel like I have to wait on him all the time when he's home or do whatever he thinks he wants me to do... he's just another kiddo for me to babysit haha... not really, he's just distracting.

I am getting stressed-out, though. I need to contact the DJ, pastor and make sure that all the vendors don't forget. I just have this fear that someone won't show up. I guess what happens happens, and everything will be fine. I just need for next weekend to get here!

I LOVE this place

baby%20girls">http://www.childrensplace.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/CategoryDisplay?exp=n&storeId=10001&langId=-1&catalogId=10001&categoryId=25851&catTree=25851,26140&clearance=C&cmLink=shopOutlet>baby%20girls

Update...

To update -

Ryan is still pregnant, which is marvelous. She had her sonogram, and her baby is doing well. We are having a hard time getting her to follow the order to STAY OFF OF HER FEET! I told her I was going to kick her butt after she has her Daughter. I was on bed rest with Kayden, so I know the frustration, but it goes without saying that it is so worth listening!

The Jegerator is doing really well, also. They literally gave him a brand new face. I'm going to have to get used to it, because I so adored the "old" one! The only surgeries that he will need to have now will be to repair his palate. His is one handsome little guy. I'm really not sure that anyone will be able to tell really what his lip used to look like, after the swelling has subsided. It is just amazing what doctors can "fix" now. I'll have to post an updated picture today or tomorrow.

To anyone and everyone that prayed for these two people that are so special to me.. thank you. It worked. The power of prayer, as I have always known and at times forgotten, is far greater than we can ever comprehend.

On the subject of prayer... my oldest and dearest friend, Melinda, is pregnant with her first son. She will be around 33 weeks on the date of our wedding. She has told me that she isn't sure if she will be able to make it, so a good friend of mine, Kristin, is stepping-in for her as a bridesmaid. Melinda would have been my Matron-of-Honor. Her baby is having problems with his kidney function, so they, too, need all the prayer that they can get.

I'll post pictures of Kayden and her Dad at the Airhogs game on Friday.. I wish we could have gone... Kylee and I have been pretty sick for the past few days. We have some sort of dumb stomach bug that requires that you are within 10 feet of a toilet at all times... sucks....

19 days to go! wahooo!

Pray.

One of my bridesmaid's, Robin, is going to become a Grandmother again, soon. Hopefully, not too soon. Please pray for her Daughter, Ryan, and her unborn Daughter. Ryan had been having contractions that were progressing her cervix. She was put on bed rest, and the contractions stopped. She had a Fetal Fibronectin test yesterday, and it came back positive. From everything that I read last night, this is terrible. 77% of women with that result will more than likely deliver in 7-10 days. Hopefully, the information that I was reading was wrong. She is only 25 weeks. She is supposed to be having a sonogram today to assess the baby. All indications are favorable that the baby, a little girl, is healthy and developing normally. But, she would have a fight if she were born now, obviously. Ryan's first son had open-heart surgery, and prayer saved his life. He is happy and healthy and beautiful.

My other bridesmaid has a son that is having surgery today. He is such a little angel. He is my Jegerator! His name is Jeg. He has double cleft palate and lip. They are repairing the right side of his lip today. The left side was repaired in a previous surgery, and it looks incredible. They need prayer also.

Every time you think about it today, pray.

This is Ryan and her son, Joshua, at our house on the 4th:

This is my Jegerator with his Mom and Dad at our house on the 4th:

VOTE FOR KYLEEEE!

I entered Kylee into the "DFW's CUTEST BABY" contest on Mix 102.9. It's a great station, and they stream online, if you're interested in listening to a family-friendly "mix". Anyway, click the radio button next to "Kaylee Hall"... I emailed them and asked them to correct it, so we'll see how long that takes, but it's her! The site will send you an email to the email address that you enter at the bottom. You can vote once per email address that you have, so if you have more than one - USE THEM!!!!!!! We win a trip to Mexico, if she wins..





This is the picture:
Here is the link: http://www.mix1029.com/pages/contests/cutebaby/index-voting-2.html

One Month to Go...

We have one month, until we are "official"! I am not sure whether to be nervous, excited, stressed... I'm hoping we have a decent turn-out. After having to cancel my bachelorette, because noone was coming, I'm expecting the worst. I'm usually not that pessimistic, but at this point I guess stress has taken over.

We hired Cinderella Stories to do our cakes, because my Great Aunt decided that she would rather not try to do them. She is having knee surgery a couple of weeks before the wedding, so she really isn't going to be strong enough to do it.

I'm in the process of putting the bridesmaid's gift bags together. I also have to tie ribbon on the bubbles.... oh how stressful tying a freaking bow can be! I'm actually going to have my bridesmaid Robin's daughter, Ryan, do it. She's prego with her second baby, and she is on bed rest for now. I know how frustrating bed rest can be, so I'm trying to come up with crafty things for her to do. I'm making the flip flops for the bridesmaids and myself, so I might have her help with that, as well.

So far 26 people are coming... crickets.... I hear them now...

I finally got Kylee fitted for the wedding. She looks like a little doll. She really wasn't into the whole standing still thing, but we got it done. She actually was very well behaved for it being her bed time. Kristin went with me and got fitted, as well. We had a heck of a time with David's Bridal. I had asked Kristin months ago to step in for my best friend and Matron of Honor, Melinda, in the event that she became pregnant and couldn't make the wedding. Well, she is not sure if she will be able to make it. She and her husband live in Florida. She is going to be 33 weeks pregnant with her first little angel on my wedding date. His name is Colin Ryan Smith, and bless his heart, the doctors found that he is having problems with his left kidney function. She is going to the doctor on the 22nd, I believe, and she will ask then about flying. She is a nurse, so she is well-equipped to know whether to take the risk or not. I told her if there was any risk in flying at all that I would be very upset if she made the trip. It is just so not worth it. I would love for her to be there, and it won't be the same without her. I never pictured anyone else as my Matron or Maid of Honor. I won't have one now, really, but if she makes it here, I will be ecstatic. I can't wait to see her pregnant belly. I can't wait to meet my nephew, either! Anyway, my point in rattling on was to explain the situation. When we ordered the dresses a year ago, they assured me (they, being the David's Bridal staff) that we would be able to return and/or exchange the dress if we needed to, no matter when we needed to. So, we get to the store for Kristin to get fitted, and they informed us that we would not be able to return or exchange Melinda's dress for Kristin's. Well... it was so late at that point, that I wasn't in the mood to argue, and I just wanted to get a dress ordered for Kristin and go home. It was after 10 at this point, and we had to order a different dress, because apparently my style had been discontinued. Oh, the drama. I was so tired of "issues" that I agreed to a dress that was basically the same, with just a different neckline.

At work the next day, I told Shelley (John's sister) about our ordeal. She reminded me that they had assured us that they would exchange the dress, yada yada. I'm not good at confrontation, so Shelley said she would call and get it straightened-out. Sure enough, within 10 minutes she had gotten them to agree to refund Melinda's money and order the correct dress for Kristin. Crisis averted.

So here are a couple of pictures of Kylee getting fitted.

Starting to freak out....

I feel like noone is coming. We have gotten several R.S.V.P.s back from people that we felt sure wouldn't want to miss our wedding, and they are not coming. I have to blog about this, because I can't bug John about it anymore, and my Mother thinks I'm worrying too much. Um.. HELL-FREAKING-O I am the bride, and noone is coming to my wedding. We invited over 300 people and we will be hearing crickets with only 20 people showing up! It's my nightmare. We didn't invite people for gifts or any other reason. We want to have a party. It's been 6 years, two kids, a hellacious road at times, and we finally are happy and content. I just thought people would want to see that to fruition.

I'm stressed...and sad...

What a great weekend...

We BBQed on Friday, and had the neighbors and Randi and Jevon over. I'm not sure what time we stayed up until, but I thought it was a good idea to drink lots of beer. I didn't think it was such a good idea on Saturday...

We registered at Home Depot on Saturday, and John was about to kill everyone. He's not the most patient of individuals, so when he found out that we had to find, write down with our actual hand and wait for the the sku to be input into the system to create the registry, I thought he was going to just scrap the whole idea. Looking for man-toys to register for helped, though. His demeanor changed pretty quickly, when we got into the power tool aisle. The girls drove us nuts, however, and Kylee just didn't understand what in the heck she needed to stay in the basket around sharp things and she just wasn't feeling the Depot vibe. We got through the ordeal, and what an ordeal it was, of taking the two of them with no naps to Home Depot. We were brave. I'm not sure that will happen again.

We had a great Father's Day, too. I'm getting John and myself tickets to Seinfeld. He's a freak about it. I think he's excited. I had texted him asking what we had planned for that weekend, and he replied, "That's the weekend Seinfeld is here.." Jackass. I can't surprise him with anything. Sunday morning Kayden was making him a card by doing handprints, and he walked in and ruined that, too. Oh, well. We spent the rest of the day at the water park down the street. Yes, down the street. It's awesome. For the four of us it was 8 dollars. We didn't have our water bill, or it would have been cheaper. Kylee was worn out after about an hour and a half. The water came up to her mid thigh in most places, so I'm sure that was difficult to walk in. I was holding her at one point, and a basket full of water a the top of the toy in the middle dumped directly on us. I'm not sure she was feeling that, either. Other than that, she walked around with her chi-chis out. She had a great time.

Babies, Wedding planning and ladybugs...

I had an exhausting weekend, and the girls had a blast! We drove to College Station on Friday night and got there around 10, and the girls played until midnight with their MeMe and PaPa. I went to bed pretty soon after, because Saturday was incredibly NUTS for me!

This was my schedule:

9:00 A.M. - Meet with Ashley from the Hilton to go over the menu and take some shots of the room. I also made a mental note of the approximate location of the outlets for some of the decor. My Mom and I met "Chef", and he was very friendly. Apparently, that's what we're supposed to call him?

This was set up for Bryan High's prom...

10:45 A.M. - Autumn's shower at Traditions (Allison's Mom's house). I got there late, because I had to go and get her bouncey seat. I had intended to get her gift earlier in the week, but I was dealing with laying tile and bugs! Anyway, that is for a later time... So, I wrapped her gift in the back of my Tahoe in blazing heat, only to discovery that not only was there not a bag big enough to buy to fit the box, the wrapping paper roll was also too small! I used the entire roll, and I'm sure it looked a little strange. Oh, well. I guess it was the fact that I got it there that mattered! I am so excited to meet baby Mcewen!


12:00 P.M. - I had to have my hair done for my bridal pictures that were to be taken at the Admin building on campus. I had never heard of the place, but it was recommended by John's sister. She did exactly what I wanted her to, so I was pretty happy. I'm a little hard to please with my hair. I may hire her for the wedding, if John's cousin Amy cannot make it. I would rather Amy do everyone's hair. I thought it would be special to have her do it, but she just had back surgery, so I'm not sure what the plan is.

1:00 P.M. - I picked up my bouquet from Post Oak Florist. It was beautiful! I ordered an all-white bouquet of different varieties of white/ivory roses to add interest. There is one single red rose to signify rememberance of my Father. I will also have his class ring wired into my bouquet on my wedding day. I didn't have it done for my Bridal pictures. My bouquet is actually still alive, and it is still beautiful! My girls are going to carry mini versions of my bouquet. I can't wait to see it.

4:00 P.M. - We moved the picture time from 3 to 4, because the photographer had some things to do, and we did, also. We ran to the mall to get earrings. I had no idea, but my Mom wanted to get me whatever I wanted, so I picked out a pair that was in an "antique vintage" setting. They have one diamond in the middle with a ton of smaller diamonds around the center diamond, and another layer of diamonds facing out under that. They are hard to explain, but I saw them when I bought John's ring, and I fell in love with them. I am wearing them in my pictures. If I didn't send the link to you, email me and I will send it. I don't want to put a picture up here, in case John decides for once to read my blog. It would figure that he would want to look now!

Some interesting things happened during the picture session... A white feather to Lynda signifies that her Mother-in-Law, who is deceased, is looking down on the situation or whatever is happening at the moment. A ladybug to me is my lucky charm. When I found out that I was going to have Kylee, I picked out a ladybug theme right away, and I have adopted that as my good luck charm. I have never seen more ladybugs in my life since. During the session, I saw three feathers flying around, as did Lynda. When I was sitting by the tree, a beautiful little ladybug crawled up onto the bottom of my dress and she just sat there. It was also raining every so slightly on and off. I don't know how many more signs that were significant to us we could have seen, but it seemed like everyone was trying to tell us something... I think the raindrops were my Dad in a way :-) There was also a crazy squirrel that sat next to me for a little while and he seemed to want to hang out...
The pictures were done around 5:45, and I came back to Joel and Lynda's and was exhausted! I think I first tried to go to bed around 7:00, and that didn't work. I tried again at like 8:30. No luck. I don't remember when I finally went to bed, but I slept soundly all night. Kylee had already been up for a while at 7:45 when I woke up on Sunday, and I hadn't even heard her playing with Lynda. My mind is starting to work overtime in anticipation for our wedding. I had no idea really how much time we DIDN'T have, until we started planning the remaining weekends out and what we still needed to do with them. We don't have a whole lot of time.

We went to the park on Sunday morning, and I would have put Kayden in a cuter outfit, had I known that I was going to take so many pictures...

I took a nap on Sunday, because I had a bunch of dental work last month, and I got a peanut stuck in the open socket of one of my wisdom teeth that had to be cut out. I had to have it packed four times, and it still gives me trouble. Apparently, it takes six months to heal. Eating mashed potatoes and soup is getting really old, but it's better than digging a peanut out of an open socket. Oh, well, if that's the worst that I have to deal with, then I'm doing pretty well...

Next week is Nicole's 13th birthday, so we will be in town again for that, and we will probably try to find time to meet with the music director at the church. So much to do, and so little time. I have to work on Memorial Day, which is disappointing. Our friend Matt is getting married on Monday, so I will only be able to make the rehearsal. The cool thing is our rehearsal will be at the same location, so we can get an early preview. The bad thing is that I have to leave right after. I took two days off when I had to keep Kayden home last week. I took one vacation day and I have to make up the other by working on Monday. I need all the time that I can scrounge to take off for the honeymoon. Cancun here we come!

A year ago Friday...

Next year, we are going to decore much more...

This was her favorite toy.

We welcomed our second little angel into this world. I can't believe it has already been a year. I remember thinking I was pregnant, taking the test, confirming the suspicion, running across the street and telling my friend Robin, and telling John when he got home during a light drizzle that we were going to have another baby.

The short of it... really...

Kylee's pregnancy was uneventful and easy, comparatively speaking. Unfortunately, Kayden's pregnancy was not the most enjoyable. With Kylee we were able to relax. Unlike during Kayden's pregnancy, we now had a house, jobs and we had settled-in to the most wonderful life, and it has since only gotten better each day.

I went into labor two nights before I was to be induced. I was folding clothes on the floor, and we started counting contractions. They were erratic, so we went to bed. I woke up at about six on the morning of the 25th to active labor contractions, and informed John that we were going to need to "do something" with Kayden, because Kylee was on the way. I decided to sit in the tub for a minute to see if they would subside, since I was to be induced the next day, but they only got more intense the more I relaxed. She was on her way! I wish we had taken a picture of what we had dressed Kayden in that morning for school. I'm sure it would have been a sight to see. Jodie, the assistant director of the center, could see me through the glass front door in my Tahoe during my contractions, while John was taking his sweet time taking Kayden inside. I think she was just as excited as we were. The cool thing is to think that she saw me in labor with Kylee, and yesterday morning was the first other than me to tell her happy first birthday... pretty neat. Anyway, my doctor is about an hour away with moderate traffic. She delivered Kayden, and I love her. She was my doctor when we were in school, thus the reason for the distance... BUT a good OB is like a good girlfriend... hard to find and worth every effort to keep. John ran every red light and went around every line of traffic we encountered. I was on the phone with my dear friend Robin that was in between laughing at me and calming me down, because I would hand the phone off during contractions to John, and then I would get back on the phone and chat with her between them. I was a five by the time we got to the hospital, and they took a decade to find all the dumb paperwork thatI needed to sign to get my epidural. My water broke before they administered it, which I didn't experience with Kayden. I was induced because of high blood pressure with her. By the time I was given my epidural, I was about a six, and I had sweat through my clothes and John hadn't been allowed to go and get a cigarette, so he was pacing.

She finally graced us with her presence about 8 hours later, and she flew out with one push. The nurse had me try to push once and then stopped me. My OB came running in, and Kylee had been blocking part of the bag of waters, so she gave everyone a shower. They all actually laughed. The epidural hadn't worked on my right side, until they had given me a third bolus, so it was almost a full twelve hours afterwards, before I was able to use my left leg. I had feeling back in the right almost immediately, but the left was spaghetti haha.

She has been the most gentle and happy little soul you can imagine. She is always smiling and laughing, even though she STILL does not have a single tooth in her little head; bless her heart. And no, the doctor is still not worried in the least about that, she tells me. She's an Aggie, so I just have to believe her :-).

Wish of Wellness and raunchy chimps

My company had a booth around the track at Relay for Life in Saginaw this past Friday. The entire event raised over $100,000 dollars. Sarah, who works for me on my team, is pictured below in the purple "Survivor" shirt.

My Mom also has squamous cell carcinoma on her head. My good friend Kristen came and sat with me until midnight, when I weenied-out. It was COLD! We went back home and tried out our "floozie koozies" that we bought at one of the booths around the track. Sitting in the garage drinking beer was how the night ended...


Saturday was pretty uneventful. I was lazy after the long night on Friday, so I took a nap. John ended up staying up late, and the girls and I went to bed early. We had to go to the zoo on Sunday for Kayden's friend R.J.'s 4th birthday party.

Kayden, Kylee and I took off to Target on Sunday morning to get R.J. a present. We ended up with Cars stuff. I have no idea what in the world to buy a boy. We tried our best! We came home and washed the truck and I cut John's hair. We finally made it out to the zoo at about 2:30, and the party was at 3. We took about 400 pictures, naturally, and the kids wore themselves out running all over the place. That was the first time that I had been to the zoo with the girls, so it was really really fun. I think it was probably only the third or fourth time in my life I had been to the zoo period. I think the chimps were my favorite.

R.J. and Kayden in front of the glass part of the primate exibit. This silverback was beautiful.

There was a guy that was teasing one of the chimps, and in return the chimp kept giving him the finger and sticking his butt up in the air. He also kept throwing his arms in the air at the guy and kicking in the air towards him. It was pretty funny to watch. Who knew you had to censor the actions of the animals at the zoo?!?

The chimps acting crazy.

Kylee and Mommy in front of the elephants.