August's Surgery

It never fails. There is always something to keep you busy.

August had surgery yesterday...Wednesday. He had his ACL reconstructed and his meniscus repaired. Once the sugeon got in they were surprised at the amount of damage to the ACL, meniscus and also the cartilage. Guess that means he will never be a NBA star! Sorry honey!

I hope he has a quick recovery...for all of our sakes. I hate to see anyone...especially family in such pain.

He has been a tough cookie. Love you ! Hope you get better soon.

Great Women

We had a FHE this week and discussed the things that we are thankful for. It started thinking about all of the things I am thankful for. One of the things I feel very blessed to have is great women as examples all around me. Here are a few:

My Mom: Debbie Christensen

If ever there is a woman that I look up to it is my mother. She has worked tirelessly over the years raising her children and has faced many hardships and challenges along the way. Yet, when I look at her now, I see a vibrant person that seeks out adventure and loves finding fun. She is the ultimate example that hard work pays off. It is funny that as you become a mother yourself, how much you realize all that it takes. It gives a whole new respect for your own mother and the pain you put her through. But, it also makes me realize that mother's never stop caring or worrying. I watch my mother still worry about all of her kids, their spouses and now all of the grandkids. I don't think you ever stop being a mom, I just think the job gets bigger. Love you MOM!

My Mother-in-law: Karen Spangler

Not everyone is blessed with a mother-in-law they get along with. I not only get along with mine, but enjoy spending time with her and love her dearly. She is another woman that inspires me. She has raised her children to be strong people with stronger convictions. She lives the gospel to it's fullest and sees every challenge as a hiccup along the road to the Celestial Kingdom. I love seeing her most with my kids. She teaches me how to deal with life's problems by just being an example. She never directly teaches. She is subtle and quiet. But the message is always received. Thanks for being a great woman and giving me a great man!

My Sister: Nicole Small

Everyone should have a sister! Mine is definitely my best friend. She is always available to listen and is the most thoughtful person I know. (Reminds me of another great women that has passed on, Grandma Ann). She never misses an opportunity to highlight a special moment and is extremely selfless and caring. She is an excellent mother and everything she does is for her family.

I am so grateful to have these and other great women around me!

Ultrasound #3

Well, third time was a charm....IT'S A GIRL!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

HOORAY! We are very excited...we yelled, we screamed and we cried.

Let's hope it was right....

August says he is going to hide my credit card. I will try and control myself.

Caleb is very excited for "baby Bella"

Ultrasound Results #2

We went to Gender Ultrasound today (Thursday) to again try and determine if we are having a boy or a girl.

What we got was strike #2. The baby was happily sucking it's thumb and tucking its legs as tightly against itself as it could.

They give us two more attempts to come in and take a look. We will try again tomorrow!

We will let you know!

Ultrasound Results

Well, the baby is healthy...that is the good news. HOORAY!

Bad news is that it was breach, posterior and hiding behind my tail bone, thus making it impossible to see "the goods".

Very anti-climactic.

Fetal Photos here we come!

Happiness

Our RS Website (http://tm3reliefsociety.blogspot.com/) had a great talk that discussed the guilt women feel over everything in life. It was very uplifting and a motivator towards change. Here is a poem that was included that is a good reminder:

Happiness ­is:

Courageously doing what you want to do, even if you are ­scared.
Experiencing your life as an exciting ­journey.
Stimulating your mind and caring for your ­body.
Realizing that you already have everything you need to make yourself happy.
Knowing that you are the only one who can decide what is right or wrong for ­you.
Accepting that you are okay even when you blunder and learn from your ­mistakes.
Knowing that what people say or do is a reflection of them not ­you.
Listening to your inner ­wisdom.
Giving and receiving love ­unconditionally.

--­Anonymous

Ultrasound Soon

We have under a week to go until our ultrasound! We are very excited to make sure the baby is healthy, but also to know if it is a girl or boy. I am not a person who likes surprises, so I like to find out all of the details.

The most commonly asked question I get this pregnancy is, "Do you care what the sex is?" You see, with two boys already and this pregnancy possibly being our last, the pressure is on. BIG TIME! I am very girly and love little girls. I can't imagine not having a daughter. But I also think that a third boy would be fabulous. I know this sounds like the PC answer...but it is the best one.

If I am going to have a girl, it better be this pregnancy or I will have to live happily with three boys, and a million trucks, balls, guns and airplanes. Pregnancies are rough on my entire family. I think it is going to take 10 years just for August to recover from the 12 weeks he waited on me hand and foot. But, I guess until I get that "I am done" feeling...whatever that is...I will have to just wait and see.

So, just for fun, here are some interesting facts about this pregnancy to help see if it is leaning closer to a boy or a girl.

Probably a Boy:
Very bad morning sickness: Just like last two boy pregnancies.
August's brother's all have 2-3 boys and only 1 girl each. Limited odds.
Craving ketchup: Just like last two pregnancies.
Sweet aversion: Just like with the boys.
Planned baby: Some say that planned babies are boys.
Lunar Calendar says it is a boy.
Easy to use Chinese Calendar says it is a boy.

Probably a Girl:
No 1st trimester weight gain: Unlike last two pregnancies where I gained 10 pounds in the first 12 weeks. Have no fear...I ate pizza twice in a row last week and I gained 5 lbs overnight...no kidding.
Haven't thrown up AS much...but it could be the medication.
Conception timing...friends I went to nursing school had a theory.
Calculation Chinese Calendar says it is a girl.
Plenty of zits: Never got a single one with the boys.

(15-16 weeks)

We will have to see! We will post next week when we get the results!

Fingerpainting Fun

Josh is growing up so fast! He had his first attempt at finger painting the other day and loved it. He loved it on his hands, face and even in his mouth. Surprisingly, he was cleaner then I imagined. Although, I did leave the paint tray out and a few hours later I found him trying to paint the countertop.

Halloween Fun

We had a great Halloween day and evening. It started off with Caleb's school party.

They all dressed up and had "spooky" fun he said.

After we picked up Caleb, we headed to August's work for a party. I have never seen a company do so much for halloween. They did a huge spook alley that you trick-or-treated through. The boys were VERY scared. I even screamed a couple of times. Thus, no pictures because they were hiding the whole time.

That evening we had a pizza party with our family and Tyson and Weslie (Caleb and Josh's cousins). They played football and baseball. I was the official photographer. They all had tons of fun.

We waited as long as we could to start trick-or-treating. We lasted until 6 o'clock! They boys were excited and so were we.



Caleb was a fighter pilot.



Joshua was a Knight.






August and I were male and female models...ha, ha!


It was a great time. It wasn't cold at all and only sprinkled on us a bit. Nothing to ruin the fun.

Diaper Cake

I am helping to throw my sister a baby shower for her new little boy. I decided to get crafty and make a diaper cake. I was surprised how cute it turned out. Here are some pics...

Update on the Boys

Thanks to everyone for their help over the last three weeks!

For those of you who didn't know, the boys were sick with vomiting/diarrhea for 16 days. It was so sad to see them so sick. I called the MD last Thursday and told him that I wanted them put on Flagyl (antibiotic for abdominal bacteria/parasites) to see if it would help. Thankfully he appeased me and they have been great ever since. I am not sure what they had, but it was really bad and different then the regular stomach bug. It came in three day cycles, and each time we hoped it was done and and then WHAM! It would start all over again.

It made it that much more difficult because I haven't got over my morning/evening sickness yet. I am 14 weeks tomorrow and hope that it will end soon. One morning Caleb asked me to cuddle in his bed with him because he wasn't feeling well. All I remember is looking down at him with his face towards me and having a bad feeling. A few minutes later he sat up and puked all over my face and hair. It was more then I could handle and I gave it right back to him. Luckily he had a "bucket" close and most of it avoided him. It was a moment I will not shortly forget.

Caleb was able to go back to pre-school today, after missing two weeks, and I hope things go well!

Thanks again for everyone's phone calls and love!

Cornbelly's at Thanksgiving Point

We had a great time Friday night at the Corn Maze. We took advantage of a healthy day to get out of the house (Thursday was flu episode #5, bringing the grand total of sick days to 16. The boys were finally put on antibiotics to help clear whatever it is they have. I am hoping it is over).

The corn maze was Caleb's favorite. We were just cold and lost. Fun nontheless.

Cowboy Joshua!


City slicker!

Riding the cow train.

Cute boy!

Fun on the bikes.

Caleb also loved these bikes.

Pumpkin Fun

We finally got around to carving our pumpkins last night for FHE. Caleb thought it was absolutely disgusting. He called it all slimy! I was very surprised because I have seen what yucky things he plays with in the backyard. But, we all had a lot of fun.

The boys have had the somach flu...or something equally as horrible...for the last 2 weeks. Caleb has missed preschool and I...or should I say August...has done more laundry then we usually do in a year. It has been rough. I thought that there wasn't anything worse then morning sickness. I was wrong. Try taking care of someone with diarrhea and vomitting while throwing up yourself! Not a pleasant sight at our house the last few weeks. Stay clear!

Caleb drew his own...on the left.

But, it was fun to have a break from it all and have a little fun. I was glad we did because we started flu round #4 this AM. AHHHHH!!!

We need your help!

We had our first snow storm this last weekend, and woke up to almost 4 inches in our yard. It all melted by the afternoon, but Caleb was able to take advantage of it. Joshua was not quite as excited about it.

This was early Sunday AM before church.

This is Caleb sledding down our hill in the backyard about 10 minutes after church was over...he wasn't excited or anything.

I don't remember growing up in Utah and having this much snow so early in October. Well, in an effort not to sink into a dark depression from "snowitis", we, as a family, are trying to be optimistic about the looming winter. See, we are not snow people. We LOVE the beach, warm weather and outdoor stuff that involves heat, heat and more heat.

So, we need everyone's help. What in the world is there to do ALL winter long in Utah. This last weekend had to be the worst. We felt trapped inside with nothing to do but watch TV. If anyone knows August, he despises TV. What does everyone else do? Maybe we need some hobbies. I am trying to think of ways to burn my children's energy. Crafts, books, toys and movies just don't do it.

Please post your ideas. Anything would help...places to go, activities, hobbies.

Thanks for your ideas!

Alpine Loop

August took a few days vacation and we took the opportunity to drive the Alpine Loop from American Fork over to Provo. We had a great time checking out the leaves...even if they didn't compare to East TN's. They boys loved Cascade Springs. Caleb gets so excited about waterfalls and nature stuff. Joshua loved running on the wooden pathways.

Here are a few fun pics.

Where is Joshua?

This seems to be the question I ask myself most! So, where do I find him?

In a cupboard hiding.

In the kitchen sink, letting water run on the hardwood floors.

Eating something...who knows what!

Playing with the phone.

On a bar stool...getting into or eating something.

In the dryer.

In a mud puddle, or somewhere equally as dirty.

But, usually I look no farther then Caleb. They play great.

Boys will be Boys!

For the last six+ weeks the boys...August, Caleb and Joshua...have found a new freedom. They have taken advantage of the fact that I have been sick in bed to have plenty of daddy time. They have went fishing, hiking, to liberty land, ate donunts for breakfast and many other fun things. I am so glad that my boys are not letting me stop them.

They called one day to have me go outside and look up on the mountain behind our house. I saw three tiny little people. They had climbed to the top of the mountain and were waving hello.

Dinner has turned into a boy's event. If I want Joshua to eat, then he has to sit right by August and Caleb. I think that he is so excited for his Dad to get home that he can't even leave his side for a moment.

I love my cute boys!

Welcome!

Hello Everyone! We are very excited to start blogging! We love reading everyone's news and looking at their pictures. I hope you enjoy ours!