All is well!

We had a sonogram yesterday, and everything looked great! We have a tiny person with a tiny beating heart! I was so excited and amazed. I am amazed at the technology advances in just the last seven years. The sonogram was so detailed! We could see arm buds, leg buds, everything. When I had an early sonogram with Kiley, it was a blurry bean with a heart beat! Even more amazing, Heavenly Father created all of this spectacular creation process. I stand in awe every time I see a new baby! The fact that a person is suddenly where there once was no one is amazing! We are 8 weeks along, and it all looks great so far! I feel so blessed!

Those of you who know me well, you know I am an anxious worrier, and lately I keep thinking of this song that Amber Richards (Stalder) and her mom sang at my baptism. I found it in the playlists, and I just love it. I am so grateful for a Heavenly Father who listens and loves me.

Lots of different things

First, we'll start with the first day of school. Kiley loved it; she has a wonderful teacher and great friends in her class. She was up at the crack of dawn and ready to go. I can't believe how old she's getting. It really breaks my heart.

Ryan started preschool, and he also loved it. He has the same teacher Kiley had, and she's wonderful. His best buddy, Josh, is in his class so Ryan's world is terrific after the first week of school.

Bryson was sad to see both of them go. He went and laid in Ryan's bed; it was so sad.

Also, we would like to say goodbye to our dog. I don't have a picture of him to post, but he died Saturday night. He was apparently hit by a car. If anyone has advice about how to console a very sad four year old who misses his dog, please let me know.

Last, I am so sick. My mother-in-law is here for a few days to help me, and I am so grateful for her and my mom. I literally feel like I can't get ready, I can't cook dinner, I can't even think without feeling like throwing up. I am grateful to feel like this, but I am also miserable. I'll let everyone know how far we are and if everything is okay after our sonogram later in the week. If anyone has any tips on feeling better, let me know. I've tried ginger, tea, Saltines, Zofran, and I'm now on Phenergan (? spelling). This medicine wards off the throwing up but not the nausea, and I can only take 1/4 and 1/2 doses at a time because it knocks me out! Yuck! Like I said, I know it's a good sign, so I'm just trying to think of it that way.

News

Here's a question:

What do the following things have in common?

• Laying on the couch a lot
• Can't eat
• Throwing up
• Crying for no apparent reason
• Can't stand the smell of Anything!
• Never getting ready
• Having ZERO patience
• Feeling so thankful to be feeling this way
  

I’m tired, hungry, SICK, and sad.
Today, I could start crying or get really mad.
I’m getting fatter and fatter as if by the day.
And, if you know what is best, you’ll stay out of my way.
I sent my son to a friend's not sure what he wore.
Yet, still when I think about it, I think one more.
One more blessing would be so great,
And I feel like the news can no longer wait.
Yep, you guessed it, it’s baby number four!
Another sweet person to love and adore.
It looks like, I’m already 6 or 7 weeks along.
Hopefully, everything is growing healthy and strong.
I’m excited, worried, blessed, and in love
Today, I am grateful for my gift from above.

We didn't know when or how to tell everyone; howver, everyone is quickly catching on, so here it is. We are, of course, scared because of the last miscarriage, but we are getting a sonogram done in a week and a half, and hopefully everything will be well. I am very sick which is a great sign, and Chris says I am DEFINITELY having pregnancy mood swings (I hope he's blessed for putting up with me through all these babies). This new little blessing should be here at the end of March or first of April. I couldn't feel more blessed! Leave a post or call when you see this so we know who knows.

What do you think?

I've been watching HGTV's Design Star. It's a competition where people compete to design the best rooms. One of the finalists, Jen, painted this really cool leaf design in one of her rooms. I loved it, so here it is. The first picture is Jen's design, the rest are my recreations on my own wall. Let me know what you think. I was really excited to try something different. I feel like I live in beige land, so this was a quick easy was to change it up.

24th of July in 2 Places!

Chris and I were able to be here for the 24th festivities at the football field, but we also made a surprise trip to Snowflake. For some reason, the unplanned trips always turn out to be the funnest. At 8:00pm on Friday night, we decided to head up there. We only told my sister-in-law, TJ, we were coming. We left at 9:00 and were there a little after midnight. My mother-in-law was so surprised. We stayed up talking, got up early, went to their parade, ate lunch, Chris and the kids rode 4-wheelers, and we came home. It was fast but fun. The kids loved seeing all of their cousins, and Bryson was hilarious. I think he knows how cute he is. Thanks TJ for taking all the pictures. (My camera could not withstand Bryson EATING the lens.)

How Old Am I?

Okay, sorry I post so much about my kids, but they're funnier than me. So, we're walking in Wal-Mart yesterday, and I'm looking for Children's Tylenol, and this is the discussion I had with my kids.

Kiley: "Awesome, they have this drink in chocolate, strawberry, and vanilla. It looks yummy, and I think it's healthy. Is it healthy mom?"

I look over at the stacked Ensure boxes.

Me: "Yes, it's healthy, but we don't need any. It's for old people."

Kiley: "Then you should get some."

Me: "I'm not old!"

Ryan: "Yes sir Mommy. You're old and we're new, so you that drink is for you."

It was so funny to hear him say new instead of young and not so funny that they were completely serious about me being old. I guess, in their eyes, I am. After all, they're a lot "newer" than me.

Tonight we had an interesting talk with Kiley. Yep, you guessed it we had "the talk." She wanted to know where babies come from, and up till now, we have told her that when a man and woman get married, they pray for a baby, and Heavenly Father sends one if they're ready. This answer was apparently insufficient for a six year old. She wanted to know how He, "just sent them?" I did my best to explain it as rationally as I could. I explained that Heavenly Father does play a huge role, but it is also part of the mom and dad's role. I told her that it involved "special parts," and I reminded her of how sacred this experience was and told her this is why people should be married. I said "um" about 50 thousand times, but all in all I think it came out okay. She was very mature about the whole thing. She listened, giggled a little, asked too many questions, but I think she really understood. Ryan, on the other hand, was listening the whole time with a strange grossed out look. I think this is a touchy subject. I didn't want to wait until they already knew all the wrong things, but I also didn't want to be to graphic. Chris and I reminisced about how we were told and had some laughs. I said that I could borrow a book from a friend of mine, but my mom said her parents used a book, and it horrified her. If any of you have any suggestions for future questions, please post them, and good luck to any one getting ready for this interesting experience.