Oklahoma City Temple

Last Saturday (November 19th) we had the opportunity to help clean the temple after it had closed up for the weekend.  The closest temple that we live by is the Oklahoma City temple.  It is about a 3 hour drive from Independence.  Corky and I were looking forward to doing some of the cleaning inside, and since going down and back home in one day makes for a really long day for the kiddos, we planned ahead to make a little weekend of it.  We used some hotel points that Corky has accumulated and drove down Friday night.  The girls always think it is super cool to stay at a hotel, especially if we get to eat the continental breakfast in the lobby the next morning.  After breakfast, we found some outlet malls and got a little jumpstart on our Christmas shopping before we had to head over to the temple.

While Corky and I were inside the temple, we set the girls up in the waiting room with our iPods where they could watch some movies we downloaded for them.  They behaved so well and I really enjoyed being able to be inside the temple with Corky, rather than having to take turns to watch kiddos.  We both realize that with a new baby coming, we are going to be having to go back to switching off in order to enjoy more temple trips.  We are for sure enjoying the perks of having older, independent children for sure.

Even though the girls were very well behaved, and complimented by so many on their good manners while waiting, they were getting pretty excited to get outside and run around....as you can see by their goofiness!

Sunday Walks

Before it got so chilly outside we really enjoyed Sunday walks together as a family.  It gets us out of the house and is a good little outlet for everyone our our day of rest!  Too much resting can be a little boring!  I had my camera with me this day and snapped a few pictures of our funny kids, dog included.

Buster is such a great dog.  He loves walks most of all and once we get going we often take him off of his leash.  When we give him the okay to run, he takes off in a sprint.  When we holler for him to come back to us, he does.  When he is off of his leash and a car is passing, we have him sit still so he doesn't run out in the road.  We also like to test his obedience by having him sit and stay while we move on ahead.  He has to stay until we give him the okay to catch up.

This day, he was getting happily worn out by all the coming and going.  This is a little collage of him coming back to me and Corky.

Emily got a little ahead of us on her bicycle and decided she would take a nap on the sidewalk while waiting for us to catch up. She thought she was so funny, and Gracey thought she'd help her by lifting her back up.  Miraculously this time, they didn't end up fighting about it and seemed to both get a kick out themselves.  

Gracey's Class Fall Party

Last Wednesday I was able to go into Gracey's classroom and help with her little Thanksgiving party.  Emily didn't have school that afternoon so she was a helper as well.  Before the kids started the party, Emily helped me pass out all the supplies to make apple turkeys.  She was pretty excited to be there and to be helping.  She was really excited when she got to scoot a chair next to Gracey and make one herself.

Gracey's class is funny.  I have become pretty familiar with most of the kids.  I try and make it to Gracey's school every other week or so to have lunch with her.  It is fun for Gracey and fun for myself to see Gracey during the day. I will admit that I have to brace myself every time.  With so many little kids eating in a cafeteria, the noise sometimes escalates and can definitely assault the senses, especially when so many little kids just isn't my thing. I think it is helping Emily get ready for kindergarten too.  Anyway, at this party the kids know who I am and are certainly not shy.  For example, they aren't too shy to ask how the baby is going to come out of my body. We have been pretty open with Gracey as to how babies normally are born, but I wasn't going to open that can of worms with other people's kids!  My response was, "Ummmm, I am going to the hospital and the baby will be born there!"  Total deflection fail but I hurry and changed the subject!  They can ask their own parents!

Can this be considered the official announcement?

I am pregnant.

It has been a long road to being able to have another baby.  3.5 years to be exact.  I spent a few days writing a very detailed account of what we have been done in our attempts to add to our troupe, but it is really long.  I don't mind sharing it, I just want to be able to take more time to edit, breakdown, and explain for our family's record how the last few years have been.

To sum it up though, here's a brief rundown.

-Emily was a year old, we started going for baby #3.  I had my IUD (intro uterine devise) removed.  It was not placed correctly and had to be surgically removed from my abdomen.  All seemed fine.

-10 months later I had my regular women's exam and brought up how we hadn't conceived yet.

-I took clomiphene (fertility drug that promotes ovulation) for 6 months with no success, even on the highest dose.

-I got a 2nd opinion from another doctor but again was unable to pinpoint what could have been causing infertility.

-We took a much needed 6 months break of worrying about it.

-We consulted with a fertility specialist, did lots of testing and analysis and finally figured out that I had significant amount of scar tissue from my misplaced IUD.  The scar tissue was preventing my fallopian tubes from being capable of pick up embryos.  Surgery could not correct the problem.

- 2 years after our first attempts to conceive, we attempted in vitro fertilization.  We did two attempts, both  ending unsuccessfully.

- We got news we would be moving to Kansas.  We decided it was the perfect time to end the chapter of trying to conceive and move on, grateful and so thrilled with our two healthy daughters.  We honestly couldn't have been more happy and had complete assurance that it was all apart of Heavenly Father's plan.

- June 2011, I was late.  I had been late before but didn't put too much weight into it.  Since attempting IVF, my cycle is unusually long.  About a week longer than the average woman.

-June 28, 2011.  I showered and noticed tenderness in my chest.  That only ever happened during puberty and when I was pregnant with my girls.  I still wasn't convinced completely but decided to spend a dollar at the dollar store to get a cheap pregnancy test.  I take the test, sure that it will be another negative (I have NEVER gotten a positive result while taking a pee test).  I was in complete shock when it was positive!

Complete shock, you have no idea!!!

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Here we are now, I am 28 weeks pregnant with another precious girl.  We told nobody (other than doctors of course) that I was pregnant until I was out of my 1st trimester.  I can probably name all the people on one hand who I told after that.  We didn't start telling people until we knew she was a girl (at 18 weeks) and that things were going super smoothly.

We are so so so incredibly blessed.  Before becoming pregnant this time and after all the difficulties we faced, Corky and I were blessed with the peace of knowing that Heavenly Father's plan is ultimately the plan we want.  Our plan for so long was to add more children to our family, but we realized that if that was not part of Heavenly Father's plan, we were okay with it.  We felt guided throughout the whole process and believe that we were guided to make the decisions we made simply so that we could learn the lessons we did.  Now though, we are incredibly grateful and absolutely thrilled that Heavenly Father's plan does include another child for us.

Here is a picture of me 2 weeks ago.  I was 26 weeks along.  I can assure you that this little girl has had a growth spurt since then.  I wore that belt 2 days ago and had to wear it looser than when this picture was taken.

Guilty!

I had a doctor appointment today in the afternoon, during the few hours that both of my girls were at school at the same time.  I dropped Emily off at school at 12:30 then came home and had a light lunch, knowing that I was going to be weighed soon.....and it probably wasn't going to be pretty!  I must say, I rarely drink soda pop.  If I do, it is usually a drink of Corky's.  If we have it in the house, it is not because I bought it.  It is usually purchased if Corky goes to put gas in his car at night or something.  We happened to have a 2 liter bottle of Pepsi in the fridge and for some reason I decided to have a  little.  When I say a little, I am talking about 5 ounces.  I used one of the girls drinking glasses, that is how little I had.

I go to my doctor appointment about 2 hours later, get weighed (151 lbs....8 pounds up from 4 weeks ago.  Oopsie!) and I also give a urine sample.  As I am waiting for the doctor in my exam room, I am thinking things are going pretty good.  The doctor and nurse walk in at the same time and the nurse asks, "What in the world did you have for lunch today?"  I was shocked and confused by her question.  She said, "You have SO MUCH sugar in your pee!"  My sugar level was so high that the nurse wondered if I was in the middle of doing the glucose test.  I did that about 2 weeks ago by the way and things were completely normal, thank goodness.

Pepsi!!!  Dang it!  I got caught red-handed.

Immediately I tell the doctor what happened, how I don't even really like Pepsi, and that I rarely have soda!  I was preparing myself for a lecture from my usually over-cautious doctor, instead I got a sarcastic, "We are going to put you on a diet, young lady!"  She was clearly joking, and I was clearly embarrassed.

I learned two lessons that day.  First lesson was reminder to me of why I don't drink soda pop regularly.  If 5 oz can spike my sugars that significantly, imagine what even more does.   Second lesson, if I am going to indulge and subsequently be caught for it, I might as well not waste it on Pepsi.....I will take the Mountain Dew!!!

7 great years of Gracey

Gracey is 7 years old today.  I am still trying to wrap my head around that.  When I think of seven year olds generally, I just imagine little kids.  When I think of Gracey though, I see a little person that is kind, caring, fun-loving, and mostly obedient.

She has been looking forward to her birthday for months.  When she got her ears pierced last year for her birthday, we told her that she couldn't even consider changing her earrings for at least a year.  She remembered our little deal and has been hoping for some new earring for a long time.  Grandma Joyce pulled through for her and got her some sweet little flower earrings that she can change out with my help.  (Call me controlling, but I don't want earrings to get lost or dropped down the drain.  With her sensitive ears, those quality earrings don't come cheap!)

Some fun things to remember about Gracey right now is how much she is learning to love books.  She has become a great reader and absolutely loves the accomplishment of finishing a book on her own, no matter how big or small it is.

She loves her family very much.  She loves the family hug that she initiates each night before bed.  When I talk about an upcoming weekend and ask if there is anything she wants to do, she often says, "Oh, just do something as a family!"

She is a great student.  At her last Parent/Teacher conference, her teacher told us that she is well liked in the classroom.  She says that when Gracey finishes her assignment, she is eager to help other students when she is allowed.  If you ask her what she wants to be when she grows up, as of 1st grade, she now wants to be a teacher.

She is becoming pretty good at popping wheelies on her bicycle.

She is a sensitive soul.  Just last night, shortly after getting Gracey and Emily to bed, Gracey came out to me with tears in her eyes.  When I asked her what the matter was, she said, "I like birthdays, but they make me kind of sad because it means I am getting older and almost going off to college."  It made me want to cry too, because I know how fast time can actually go and I know I will be a mess when my children moves on to bigger things!  I assured her (as much as I was assuring myself) that we don't have to worry about that for 10 more years, so we can enjoy birthdays as much as we can.  It was so sweet.  Gosh!


Corky and I are so blown away with this little person.  Her enthusiasm is not only contagious, it is entertaining.  We say to her multiple times a day, beginning in the early mornings, "Gracey, stop making all the noises!"  Whether she is tapping her feet, drumming on the table, or making all sorts of noises with her mouth, she is ALWAYS making noise and being excited about something.  It drives us nuts often, but makes us laugh mostly!

Happy Birthday to our Gracey-girl!