dr's apt and updates!

Okay, so my dr appt was this past monday, and prior to that it had been almost 2 weeks. at that apt she checked me and NOTHING had happened... completely closed up! frustrating because she can't schedule and induction unless stuff is happening, and with brad's schedule, this being #3, and no family (but i do have some REALLY great friends) around, my mom said she would fly out, BUT tickets can get expensive if you don't get them in the right time frame. SOOOOOO, she gave me some advice on how to start the progress here, and on monday i was a whopping 1 cm! woo hoo! i know, i know... only a 1, but it's a start, AND enough to schedule the date! which is set for Wednesday, February 13 2008. Wierd to think about having 3 in just 14 more days... Yikes! but just thought i would let everyone know... and such, so my mom DID get her plane ticket (hoorah) and will be here for 12 WHOLE days!!!! how awesome is that???!!!??? so i shall keep things posted! tune in later for "tales from the whale!!!"

Kids say the Darndest Things!

I just love how sarahbeth and tj are growing up. they each have such a personality. sarahbeth is showing how much more sensitive she is becoming (just like her daddy!) each and every day and tj is showing how macho he can be by being all tough and pretending not to listen (ironically just like his mom...) a couple of quotes from sarahbeth this week that really made me laugh:

1. Last week a friend came to visit us during nap time. sarahbeth was supposed to be sleeping on the couch but instead insisted on talking the whole time. one of my favorite things she said was " our friends, the woden's (Lodens) are having a baby in four minutes!" HA! she just makes me laugh.
2. And then the "woden's" had baby shower on saturday and sarahbeth wanted to come... why not, so we got in the car and she talked the whole way there about how excited she was. then when we got there we had some yummy food, played a couple of games and then when it was time for presents she said "when are all these peoples going to take their babies showers???" and she was so serious! and she loves to take showers herself, so naturally it didn't seem like an odd thing to her.
3. and again, on sunday, we were washing our hands in the bathroom when another sister from our ward came in and mentioned how big sarahbeth has gotten since we moved here 19 months ago. then she turned to sb, who was wearing her pink sparkly princess shoes and said to her "sarahbeth, i love your shoes, they are so sharp!" to which sb quickly replied "They're not sharp! they're round!"
4. and finally, yesterday we had just dropped of brad at class/work, when my mom called and told us president Hinckley had passed away. i then broke the news to sarahbeth, who prays for "pwesdint hinkwey" every night. she then began to cry and said "i just don't want pwesdint hinckwy to be died" this is the very very sensitive part of her. it made me just want to pull over and hold her.

My children continue to amaze me everyday (and frustrate me too at times) but they love each other so much and are such an example to me of how our Savior loves us unconditionally. I hope that I can show my children how much I love them and that they can understand how much I love my Savior.

Happy Sixth Anniversary! For the past six years now I have been privileged to be married to my best friend! I know to some 6 years is not long, but to us times really does seem to have flown by, I just can't imagine what life would be like without brad (or our kids, but this is about brad). There have definitely been some ups and downs throughout the time that we have known each other, but brad has always been my strength and example in reminding me to turn to my savior for, well everything basically. I can't wait to see what new and exciting adventures this seventh year of marriage will present us with! Thank you brad and happy anniversary!

Our wedding day, Saturday January 26, 2002 This is my favorite wedding picture!

Disneyland, February 2003

Our sealing March 15, 2003 at the Snowflake Arizona Temple Our good friends, big TJ and Brian

Utah, after our sealing

April 2005 with sarahbeth

November 2005, just 1 week before tj was born

January 1, 2006 tj's blessing day. It is times like this that i am sooooo thankful for a husband who not only is a member of our Lord's church, but also honors and respects the priesthood power and is able to give our children blessings and help invite the spirit into our home.

December 2006 in our first house in Alabama

These pictures were taken with our phones so the quality isn't that great but they were taken exactly a year ago on January 26, 2007, our Fifth Anniversary!

Our most recent "us" picture without kids taken last Thanksgiving, November 2007.

SNOW DAY!

Snow in Alabama! Can you believe it!?!?!?!? So for the past few days the weather guys/gals and news have been all over this "big storm system" heading our way. it's gonna be HUGE they said! 2-4 inches! they covered the story ALL freakin' night! need bread milk or batteries??? don't even think about it. already cleared out! they said the snow should start around midnight. brad and i were cracking up because all the news stories were things like... emergency shelters going up, talking to town sherrifs and mayors about what they were doing to prepare for the snow. salt trucks were standing by, and they were explaining what chains were (snow chains for tires to create more friction and make driving safer in snowy conditions). We were just amazed by how many people were freaking out about this. anyways.... i woke up 3 times to go to the bathroom throughout the night... (not anything unusual anymore...) and every time peeked out the window to see.... NO SNOW! i was so dissapointed when we finally got up around 7:30. BUUUUUTTTTTTT then, it started to flury, and then it started to come down heavier, and then it was really snowing and started to stick! OH YEAH! we had snow! I got ready for my day out with a girlfriend and brad got the kids ready to play in the snow! they had so much fun making a couple of snowmen. just to let you know how paranoid people were... most of the stores we headed to were closed due to the "storm". i don't know how much snow we really got, but it was all gone by noon, 1 at the latest. and we never had a problem with visibility. Simply hillarious!

Gettin' ready for baby!

Well, we're anxiously getting ready for baby kempton, and after ALL the annoying recalls on the cribs, we finally tracked one down that worked for us... a little more pricey than we had planned, but i guess that's going to be the new trend with all the recalls. all three kids will share this room. i find it a little easier this way, beds and clothes in one room, and toys and books in another. Front view... it's pretty nice i think! and it even had all the parts AND directions... super different from the last crib we had... long story :-)

More Growing Up.... Unbelievable!

SOOOOOO, Brad and I walked into a store and had this bedding displayed... i thought to myself... "oooh, i like that!" but didn't say anything because we were there for bathroom stuff, not bedding. although we have had the same bedding for 6 years... (thanks Parkers!) which isn't bad either, just really really worn. And Brad and I have had a really hard time agreeing on a bedding set theme thing too (go fig), so imagine my suprise when as we are checking out he says "hey, i really like that bedding" and points to the one i liked too!!! so we just had to get it... and at a great price too. and look! There is even a dust ruffle/bed skirt. And decorative pillows!!! (which come in VERY handy being 35 weeks pregnant!) we are so grown up! maybe we'll even paint the room too???!!! who knows! then we moved the living room bookshelf in and found baskets 50% off at hobby lobby that match colors and everything! WOW! I think we might need to redecorate those lamps... anyone know how to do that???? or have any suggestions?

the Big Siblings Class

Last night, the Hospital where we will be having baby kempton at held a "big sister/big brother" class. it was a fun little class where families came with little kids to get them used to the idea of being a big brother or sister. sarahbeth was once again super excited about going to "her class!" tj, on the other hand just cared about the cherios that we had brought for a snack. in the class, the nurse helped the kids learn how to wrap up a baby in a blanket, and how to diaper the baby. sarahbeth was so proud of herself (she did them both all by herself) that she ran up to the front to show "my teacher" some pics of sb actually smiling... sort of. did you see tj munching???? he finally came around though (after the baggie was empty of course :-) and he was very proud of himself too! The class also showed a movie about a little girl becoming a big sister... pretty cute for little kids. then the nurse asked the kids how they could help with the baby. sarahbeth was the first to raise her hand and she said, in her small little quiet voice " i can hold and sing to it" i was so proud of her that she came up with this all by herself! she is growing up so fast. she is also such a huge help at home... for the most part. anyways, then they passed out a coloring/story book about being an older sibling, and then they took us on a tour. well, we were supposed to see a room where the moms stay, but they were full, so we just got to look through the nursery window to see the babies that were in there. it was really hard to drag sb away, tj i think probably didn't think too much about it. oh, and yes, the most important part! they gave each kid some ice cream and a hostess cupcake! that was tj's favorite part i think. i am actually really excited to deliver here, although i will definately miss the norman hospital where tj was born, but this hospital does a sibling birthday party for the kids once the baby is born with cake and candles and all for the first time the older brothers and sisters come to visit! how thoughtful is that!?!

My Little Sunbeam!

So this last Sunday, my little girl became a sunbeam (in our church that means that she "graduates" from nursery to the primary, a sunday school program for kids 3-12). She really was so excited all week! and she kept saying "what happens on sunday?" and i'd tell her we go to church, then she would say "what happens next?" and i would do a run down with her until finally she just ran around the house saying "On Sunday, after sacrament, i will drop off tj at nursery, and then go to primary for sunbeams!" She really was excited, I promise... my kids often make me look like a liar.

Some Christmas Cruisin'

here are a few video clips mingled with pictures of our bike riding at grandma's!

Christmas At Grandma's!

On Christmas Eve, we left our home in Moundville, and travelled down to Mobile for a good old fashioned family christmas. EXCITING! With Grandpa Danny, Grandma Lori, Uncle Rob, Aunt Joni, Aunt Beth, Cousins Jerek, Bille, Max, and Jordan, plus our troop of 4, there was a housefull of 13 people, two birds and a dog/rat thing (our saucisse!) As tradition goes, everyone opened up pj's for Chrismtas eve... getting all the kids together for a picture proved challenging. The next morning we awoke and opened presents... Everyone got spoiled. Billie and aunt beth AND me all received sewing machines!!! hooray! billie got started right away making everyone pillows. Good Job Billie! and all the kids got bikes! SOOOOO, once the rain cleared out, and we all ate the traditional breakfast of biscuits and gravy made by uncle rob, and grandpa danny got jordan's bike put together we ventured outside to the street to supervise some good old fashioned bike riding!

Our little Christmas at Home

For Christmas this year, we went down to Mobile to spend time with the Holley side of our family. However, Santa told us he was going to stop by a night early for sarahbeth and tj. so on the 23rd, we did our Chrismtas eve rituals, including a yummy ham dinner, opening 1 present (this year was slippers!) and driving around looking at Christmas lights. BTW, people here are scrooges when it comes to Lights and decorations... we would turn onto a street to see maybe 3 or 4 houses with lights... brad got the hang of driving slow and letting the kids (and me) enjoy the lights. then when he would start to go, tj would say "Wait daddy, not yet!" in the morning we wanted to capture the suprise on video and camera so we set everything up to do so, and then set our alarms for 6 am. sarahbeth had another idea though. She was awake at 4:30, and was so excited! so we settled a deal for 5:30 to let tj sleep a little longer. when we were finally ready for the big suprises the reaction was a little less than what we expected. "oh, a bike" and smiles! Santa Clause left new bikes and helmets for them (thanks mom!) and oma (noel's mom) got them a kitchen set. When it came time to open the presents that were wrapped TJ kept getting upset that we wouldn't let him play with the one that he just unwrapped and didn't want to open the next one. after a yummy breakfast of candy and hot chocolate, we went outside to try out the new bikes! They didn't quite get it until we went down to mobile and tried again the next day with all the cousins...