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!!!

--------------------------------

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!

Happy Halloween 2011

Neewollah 2011

This town puts on quite the party.  If you remember from last year, we had some friends visit to share in our first Neewollah experience.  This year we were lucky enough to have visitors again.  Grandma Joyce, Bailey, and Skyler all got some good deals on flights that happened to coincide with all the festivities.

The highlight of Neewollah is the food, unfortunately.  Vendors from all over line the main street downtown to serve up their greasy, fried, too-expensive, but oh-so-tasty food!  The smell of the town for 4 days straight is enough to bring your cholesterol levels up.  I save my calories all year long for these few days!  At the Neewollah headquarters here in town, they sell a shirt will a checklist of all the classic foods that are sold.  Here are a couple of pictures of some of the food that we devoured.  I think between all of us, we pretty much had it all.

Bailey was the first to try the deep fried Snickers.  If I hadn't already be overly stuffed, it would have tasted so much better.  It was surprisingly delicious.  It had a "s'mores" flavor to it, but it definitely cannot be considered a light snack.  Here is a picture of Bailey and Grandma Joyce watching her fried snickers be prepared.  They were captivated!

Look at that menu of just ONE of the vendors!

(not pictured: Jaffle, Corn Dog, Indian fry-bread, Peach Cobbler, and Homemade Rootbeer)

The girls had a lot of fun choosing a couple of rides and games to play at the carnival.  Only a couple though.  I wasn't in the mood to go bankrupt because I wanted to purchase outrageously priced tickets for the kiddos.

Neewollah Kiddie Parade 2011

The kid's parade is for any kid in town to participate in.  They are separated into age groups, from infants to toddlers, all the way to 5th grade (I think). Most of the kids just walk, luckily for mine though, Emily's preschool always has a float that allows the students and any of their siblings to ride on.  They have a lot of fun doing this each year, especially when it means they get more chances to wear their Halloween costume.

Here is Gracey as Dorothy from "The Wizard of Oz"

Emily is Little Red RidingHood, particularly Little Red from the movie "Hoodwinked!" (the boy digging for gold is Emily's best buddy Josh.)

The kids riding the float and having a great time!

Hula

Gracey and Emily joined a Hula group at the beginning of October and already have a performance under their grass belts!  Talk about adorable.  I die a little every time they dance the hula, it is the cutest thing ever!

They performed at the Neewollah bandstand!  Gracey, Emily, and their friend, Elizabeth performed the Hookey Lau all by themselves and really stole the show.  They were quite the performers.  I can't wait to get the video imported onto the computer so that everyone can see!

Prayers for a squirrel

This evening as we were driving home, Gracey and Emily were telling me about a dead squirrel that was in the middle of the road just a couple of houses down from us.  Roadkill in this area is absolutely common.  Not a day goes by that I don't pass, or nearly kill with my own car, a squirrel, armadillo, or racoon.  Upon noticing this squirrel, they hopped off of their bikes to examine it a little further.  Gracey said that it had a couple of acorns surrounding it so she assumed that it was taking the acorns home to eat.  She then said the squirrel was cute even though one of it's eyes was bulging out.

Emily also described the scene as well, retelling me about the eyeball and the acorns.  Then to my suprise, she said, "Then we kneeled down a said a prayer for the squirrel."

I was taken by complete surprise.  I asked, "You knelt down in the middle of the road and said a prayer the squirrel?" 

Emily and Gracey both said "Yep!"

Of course I think that is so super sweet of my girls.  It shows their gentle hearts, kind spirits, and strong love they have for animals.  However, if I would have actually seen my two kids, or any kid for that matter, kneeling in the middle of the road praying over some roadkill, I would be the one they would be praying for next...simply because I would DIE laughing! 

This simple story really made my night.  I wish I could have seen them out there, or better yet, heard what was said in this particular prayer for the squirrel.

I love my girls!!

POST EDIT:  Just to be clear, I did not laugh or make fun of the girls for praying for the squirrel, my laughter was all in my head.  I am actually quite happy that they chose to do so.  We have been praying as a family lot this week for another family that we know that tragically lost a loved one.  I am grateful that they are learning the importance of praying, even if it over a dead squirrel. 

A little camp trip

Friday night, on a whim, we decided to go camping.  We packed up our stuff and drove the whole five minutes to the Elk City State Park.  Our next door neighbors were going to be there too, and since we could only spend one night, we just shared a spot with them.  We beat them up there, plus it was already dark, so we had just enough time to set up our tent, build and fire, and make some s'mores.  I was surprised at the pictures that I took.  Like I said, it was really dark so they turned out okay for my sweet little camera. 

 

We took Buster along, once again, and he was in heaven.  There are so many things to smell and explore for a dog! 

The next morning we hung out with our friends some more, at breakfast, and packed up.  It was the quickest, easiest, camp trip we have been on.  We love living so close to such a great place to stay.  I know there are a lot of great places to camp in this part of the country, but you can't beat living only 5 minutes away.  It is a cinch to pack your bags and go, knowing that if you do forget something (like, I don't know, camp chairs) you it is easy to hop back in the car and run home and grab it.  While it is close enough to be convenient, it is far enough out of the regular routine that you still feel like you enjoyed a little get-away!

On our way home, the weather was gorgeous and so we had the windows down and Buster couldn't have been more happy on Gracey's lap.  For the life of me, I could not get a picture of him with his eyes open until I took the camera out of his face. 

I loved it, Corky loved it, Buster loved it, and the girls really loved it!  Happy Camping!

Birthday #32

For Corky's birthday, we had a real simple little party that Gracey and Emily were looking forward to all week long.  I came home early from Young Womens and we had a fantastic ice cream cake from DQ, sang the birthday song (with the "cha-cha-cha's included), then opened a couple of presents. 

A party isn't a party at our house unless there is wrestling and rough housing. I didn't get pictures of that, but I got what started it all, the girls bombarding Corky's with his birthday bows.  Corky called it the "Bow-Hawk!"

Happy Birthday, Corky.  You're the best there ever was.  Truly.

Emily's first day of afternoon preschool! (It's a big deal!)

Emily started preschool again today....finally! This girl has been itching to go back pretty much since the day it ended in the spring! The past few days have been hard on her while Gracey has gone back to school and she hadn't yet. We filled our time with games, tea parties, movies, and coloring. Even though her preschool is just a few hours, 3 times a week in the afternoons, she is really excited to feel like a big kid again!



Things to remember about Emily this day:

Favorites
Food:  String Cheese, healthy bacon (turkey bacon), mashed potatoes, grapes, carrots w/ ranch, and snack wraps (chicken, lettuc, cheese)
Game:  dress up
Toy:  tea-cups and fake make-up
Thing to do:  go to school and play with friends
Book:  scriptures a lot.  :) (these are not prompted answers haha)
Color:  all the colors
Movie:  Tangled and Christmas Carol
Song:  The Iron Rod
Primary Song:  The Iron Rod song (followed by a "duh, I just answered that!")
My best friend is:  Briana, Fiona, Sully, and Josh
Other friends I like to play with:  Ashtyn, Mason, Addison, and Kelon
Things I like to do with my friends:  Play games and ride Addison's fake jeep
What is your pets name?  Buster
What do you love most about him?  "When he gives me kisses and when he plays with me.....in fact, I just farted!"  (you guys, I wouldn't make this stuff up!)
What people like about me:  I think when I play with them
Things I can do really well:  Ride my bike with no training wheels



Oh my goodness, next year I am going to video tape these interviews.  Emily is a crack-up!!!

Gracey's 1st Day of 1st Grade

Like all parents feel, I too find it hard to believe that my oldest is truly as old as she is. She started the first grade this week and was so excited. She picked out her outfit the night before, knew just what she wanted in her lunch, know exactly what she wanted for breakfast (fried egg on toast), and woke up well before alarms began going off for the day. She loves school and is so excited to get to know her new teacher, Mrs Henderson. She got a kick out of her new teacher's name because this summer, my girls were introduced, and became obsessed with the classic movie "Harry and the Hendersons!"





Favorites:
Food: Hamburgers and Chips
Game: Buzz Lightyear "Operation"
Toy: Barbies
Thing to do:  Play at the park
Book:  Sleeping Beauty
Color: Purple
Movie: Princess and the Frog
Song: The ABC song
Primary Song: I Love to See the Temple


My best friend is: Riley and Kalea
Other friends I like to play with: Gunar, Savannah, Meredith, Ashtyn, Jake, Easton
Things I like to do with my friends: Play with them and walk around the neighborhood with them
What is your pet's name?  Buster
What do you love most about him?  I like when he curls up in a ball to sleep
What people like about me: "They like how I do my hair and how I am nice"
Things I can do really well: "Writing letters and words and concentrate well." and "I can stand on my bike when it is moving." 

Swim Team and the SEK Swim Meet

This summer the girls did a lot of swimming! I mean A LOT!!!! They both were able to compete on the Independence Swim Team and actually participate in races once a week. Holy cow, I have never seen such progress in a summer. Gracey had to sit out the first 2 weeks because of her broken finger, but was able to jump right in, learn the strokes, and even win some of her heats! Emily went from barely wanting to let go of the side, so swimming a full length of the pool doing the proper stroke. You will never find a more proud mom than right here!

I was afraid that they would not like the repetition of practice every single day, but it turned out to be more of a highlight. Not just a highlight, but a saving grace from this summer's out-of-this-world heat wave. I have never been so hot in my life.

These pictures are from the very last swim meet of the year, the SEK Meet (SouthEast Kansas) that was held in Chanute, KS. It was a long and hot day, but my girls were troopers and really had a great time. Emily completed all of her races, scoring points for the whole team. Gracey did too, even taking 1st place in her heat of the breast stroke, scoring some major teams points there.

The girls goofing off before races began!

Emily wanted to take a picture so I had her take one of myself with one of my very best friends, and next door neighbor, Dayna.

Pictures of Emily



Pictures of Gracey


These pictures crack me up. Emily and this little girl (I don't remember her name) were on a relay team together. I took their picture and then told them how well they did in their race. They kept giving each other a high five, but missing!


The greatest news of the day was that Independence WON the entire meet! For the last 11 years in a row, some other little town (when I remember the name, I will update it here) has won. This year though was Independence's year. I am quite proud of my girls!

High Dive Front Flip

This here is what front flip off of the high dive looks like, frame by frame! Sadly, Gracey landed on her butt on this dive, but this is one of her favorite things to do.



She is also good at a back flip, but had only done it off of the regular diving board. She tried it off of the high dive one time this summer.....it wasn't pretty. Let's just say that all the teenage boys that were standing in line waiting their turn were making a lot of "ooooooohhhh" and "ooooooooowwwwwwww" sounds!

Celebrity

In a small town, you would think it would be easy to make the newspaper. Perhaps it is, we just haven't lived here long enough. Let me say this, when you do make the front page, you become quite the celebrity! Lots of phone calls, emails, neighbors, and text messages came our way when Gracey was famous for a day!