Catch a glimpse of our lives!

New Year 4 Teeth

2012-01-14T19:06:00.006-05:00

So little man broke his first two teeth over Thanksgiving 2011 .

Christmas 2011 he started his two front teeth.

Now it is the new year 2012, he has quite a mouth full as you can see. It is so hard to get a shot of him with all four of his teeth.

Standing Up Tall

2012-01-14T18:54:00.006-05:00

Two weeks ago I put little man in his crib with just his diaper on while I went to go start his bath. When I came into his room I found him standing up in his crib for the first time. Well at least the first time I saw him do it on his own. I about jumped out of my skin for fear that he would fall out of the crib. Since then I have watched him tackle the task of standing on his own. He gets on his knees and then steady's himself and then next thing you know it he is on his feet.

I really wanted to get him an activity table but seeing them for full price is not exactly what I wanted to pay. I had been watching the consignment shops and craigslist for one. Then before Christmas I found the one I wanted and the price could not be beat. $5 I emailed and then heard nothing back. This week the person emailed me and asked me if I was interested. Are you kidding me? Of course so I picked it up. I was so excited i could hardly wait to get my little man playing with it. I so wished I had video taped him the first time playing. He was so much fun to watch. He laughed and smiled, and giggled and chattered the whole 40mins. Then he fell on his butt and cried because his legs were tired. The toy came at the perfect time. Here he is enjoying his toy today. I love seeing how happy he is when he plays with it.

Happy New Year!

2012-01-01T19:23:00.004-05:00

It seems right to post something today. Being that it is the first day of a new year. Bring on 2012!

What will the year bring us? What great adventures will come this year? What heart ache or sorrow will come our way? There is something special about a new year and the unknown that follows each year.

I feel peace in my heart knowing that whatever comes my way. The love I feel from our Savior Jesus Christ will guide me through it.

I am very thankful for what 2011 brought us. Our son, our joy, our miracle.

I am looking forward for what 2012 has in store for my family of "3".

8 Months Old

2011-12-28T11:02:00.008-05:00

Little man is 8 months old. I captured him moving around this morning in is full glory. He is still arming crawling around, but every so often he gets up on his knees and try's to crawl. He is getting stronger and stronger everyday. He is such a joy!

Christmas

2011-12-28T10:23:00.012-05:00

Merry Christmas!

The pictures say it all. The magic of Christmas through the eyes of a child.

With all the fun the dinner was burned. Not true, Troy smoked a turkey and roast for our Christmas Day dinner. It was awesome!

Christmas Eve

2011-12-28T08:32:00.012-05:00

We had a wonderful week which lead us up to Christmas Eve. A few days before Christmas Eve we packed up the car and headed south 9 hours to my sister's family to spend the holiday. The drive was great, our little man did just fine. He is such a good traveler even on a long haul trip like this one.

Once we arrived we got settled in for a long winter's nap. Nope not quite, it was more like we settled in and ate and played for days on end. Lots of cooking and keeping up with my sister's 4 boys belly's. Little Oli kept saying. "Can I have a cookie?" it didn't matter what time of day it was. And the answer is always yes when you see those big bright eyes looking up at you. A few trips to the grocery store was always eventful picking up last minuet items.

Christmas eve was so much fun. Of course a few of us needed out naps during the day so we could keep up with all the excitement. About 4pm the party started. Plates of food was brought out to the table. Cookies, and relish tray with appetizers. It was quite the spread. The kids played games and the little man tried to keep up with everyone.
Here is Mary, Joseph and baby Jesus
That evening we all ran around the house grabbing what we could find to dress up for the nativity.

Here we all are as a family. I love that Troy is the angel. But he was the one taking the picture,

Oli was the Christmas spider.

After we opened the traditional one present on Christmas eve which ends up being the jamies. Here are a few of us in our Christmas PJ's.

vA tradition on my brother in law family is eating ruebens on Christmas eve. We love it and have started it as well. YUM!

We had to skype our family around the world. We were lucky to talk with Gran and Pappa in China and our family in Colorado. We tried others but they were not online.

Once the kids where all nestled in their beds we had a visit from Santa. He carefully placed the presents around the tree and filled the stockings with care.

I love how the kids spell their mom's name.

First Santa Visit

2011-12-19T08:49:00.010-05:00

Where does the month go. I didn't realize it was a week before Christmas and my little man had not met the big man yet, you know who I am talking about. That's right, Santa Clause. I could not wait for him to meet Santa and see how he would react. We got to the Magical Snow Palace and found out that we would need to wait about an hour and half to see the big man in red. We thought about it and decided that we would do it. So we waited, and waited. We took pictures while standing in line. We chatted to the other parents and kids waiting along with us. The time was not so bad. Our little man did a great job waiting.
Then it was our turn, but just before we got to see the man himself, we got to go inside the snow globe and had snow coming down on us. We saw the video's of animals that live in the arctic.
Then it was our little mans turn. I walked up to Santa and put him on his knee. He cuddled right up to Santa and just stared at him. He smiled and giggled and could not turn away from him. It was hard to get a picture as he just wanted to look at Santa. I think even though he can't speak he felt the magic of Santa.

Merry Christmas!

Christmas Lights

2011-12-19T08:25:00.009-05:00

Christmas is a beautiful time of year. I just love all the Christmas lights, music, baking, smells and ringing of bells. I love the feeling Christmas brings to my heart. Christmas is a time of giving and sharing. Christmas has become so commercialized that I think the true meaning of Christmas gets lost.

Friday night we went with our neighbors to go see the Christmas lights at the DC Temple. It was our first time going to see the lights at the temple. Our neighbors we found out, had gone to seem them about 6 years ago. We all met up and then carpooled to the temple. Traffic was the usual DC traffic on a Friday evening, it took us much longer then we expected. Once we got there all the stress of traffic flew out the window because the beauty of the lights. The were memorizing. Truly spectacular. We walked around and enjoyed the lights with the music playing in the background.

We then went into the visitor center where they had a creche exhibit that was amazing to see so many nativities from around the world. Little man was happy to get out of the cold.

Our little man loved the lights and was a happy boy on this Christmas adventure. He stayed up way too late that night. Lucky for us he decided to sleep in the next morning.

Candy Season

2011-12-07T12:40:00.007-05:00

This is my candy making time of year. Every year since I can remember we make candy. If it is not me making it, it is my parents or siblings taking on the task. Our family is all over the world right now. Some don't have access to chocolate. Can you imagine living in a country that you can't get chocolate or if your can you just cant afford it. Crazy thought right? I am a chocoholic, and could never live in a world without chocolate. HMMMMMM chocolate.....my mouth waters at the thought.

We have a family joke about the Chocolate and water diet this time of year. Because that is all we eat. We don't really bake allot of things, but that is because of the endless trays of chocolates that are made.

This year I am simplifying our live. Adam and I talked about it back in October. I thought about it and ultimately he let me make the choice. I decided that our little man is only little once. He is so much fun to spend time with.

The hours and hours and time and energy that I would normally fix aside for candy making is coming to a halt for this year. I would rather spend it as a family of "3" or just me and little man kicking it together.

To simplify my candy season this year. I am making a few items and found in the family recipe book from my Grandmother Zina is a Maple Nut Candy. So instead of the 60+ boxes of candies that we fill and hand out, this years we are keeping is simple and just enjoying the treats with a few we visit on a monthly basis. If feels odd to not be making chocolates.

I still think I may make one batch just for fun, just so I can eat chocolate and water for a few days. It almost doesn't feel like Christmas without the chocolate and water diet.

First Tooth

2011-12-04T17:20:00.005-05:00

Little Man had his first tooth come in on Thanksgiving day. Then a few days later another tooth started to break through. I wish I could get a picture of his tooth grin. They are on the bottom and it is hard to catch him with a grin and camera at the same time. This is our little man at 7 months old.

Getting ready to crawl

2011-11-29T19:49:00.005-05:00

Bets are on, I think little man will be crawling by Christmas. He is now army crawling around on the floor. Just in the past few days I have noticed that he has started the rocking motion on his knees. I am pretty sure things around here will change and there is no point of return. The baby as we knew him will become this moving machine.

Thanksgiving

2011-11-29T19:32:00.004-05:00

So the idea of getting away for Thanksgiving was being tossed around. I was open to the idea, but realistically I thought we just could not afford to go away for both Thanksgiving and Christmas. I have been planing Christmas since last March. Yes that is right 9 months I have been thinking about Christmas.

OK let's get back to the little man's first Thanksgiving. We finally bit the bullet and decided to go. Even though the car was in the shop and we knew we had a huge bill to be paying when we got back. The bonus of it all was we had a awesome rental car that the dealer gave us and we took that as our road trip car. Very sweet ride!

Little man did great. It was a six hour trip in the car and he sat in his seat and just laughed and giggled all the way and back. He drank his bottle and slept. He was a fun little traveler. We stopped to diaper change and stretch our legs.

I was a bit nervous about the hotel sleeping arrangements, that was wasted energy. Little Man did just fine. He went right to sleep in the port-a-crib. No problem. The whole trip he was a happy joyful baby like he is at home. The travel didn't effect him in anyway. He got to meet a few cousins and family that he has never met before and had the time to reunite with his Grandma and Grandpa. It was a fun trip.

We only stayed two nights as that was our budget for the trip, we ate a great Thanksgiving meal and had some NC BBQ just before heading out of town. I am glad we made the trip.

My only regret is that I don't have any pictures of the adventure. Our camera is broken and I just forgot to use the cell phone camera while we were there. Oh Well. Sorry little man, you will not have any first Thanksgiving pictures. Maybe next year.

Growing up so Fast!

2011-11-27T10:26:00.003-05:00

I found these that I had taken of my little man when he was still only a few months old. We were sitting in the nursery and I was holding him while he slept.

There is something very sweet about the size of little feet. He was only a few month old and I would love to hold him and just look at him. These little feet never moved much at that time. He really didn't know what they could do. Now these little feet fit into a size 12 month sock and they kick me while I am changing his diaper.

This little leg didn't move much either, he would just let you hold him and cuddle him and now this knee can bend and he uses his waist to lift up those legs and bang them down on the floor. I can hear him downstairs when he starts to get those legs banging down on his bed.

He he is happily cuddling in my arms . He just sleeps in peace and no movement. Now that my little man is almost 7 months old. These moments are rare. It only happens at the end of the day. When he rubs his eyes and tells me he is ready for sleep. Then he will curl up with me and all the wiggles stop and I get a little cuddle time with my little man.

Thumbs Up and Thumbs Down

2011-11-27T10:05:00.004-05:00

Our little man has his own opinions already. He has really started showing his personality this past month.

Overall he is just a happy baby boy! What you see is what you get. A calm happy boy who wants to explore, anything he touches goes right in the mouth. It has almost been a full month since we started solids.

The little man knows what he likes and dislikes

Thumbs Up!
Sweet Potatoes, Squash, Peas, Apple Sauce, Pears and Rice Cereal

Thumbs Down!
Avocado, Bananas

He gives it a few good bites before he says "hey stop putting that stuff in my mouth." Ok so he is not speaking yet, but if he could that is what he would be telling me. Instead he will spit it out, or cry when the spoon comes to his mouth.

I was so hoping to have a Avocado eating baby. I love avocado's and ate one everyday I was pregnant. I craved them. I was hoping he would enjoy eating the good fats and they are so good for you. I will give him a few more weeks and try and introduce them again to him.

The bananas were funny. I really tried to feed them to him. The first bananas was from a jar. He ate the first 2 bites but had a bitter reaction to them. I then tasted them and thought YUCK! these are gross and bitter. I then tried a fresh bananas and mashed it up the next day. Still the YUCK factor came back from the little man himself. I had a half a bananas in my daily smoothie when I was pregnant with him.

So my little man is developing his own opinions about what he likes and doesn't like. It is exciting to see his face when we introduce new things to him. He is such a happy little man who is a ray of sunshine.

A walk around the Washington Monument

2011-11-13T21:42:00.005-05:00

After Church today we came home ate lunch and everyone went down for a nap. Or at least we all tried. The little man only slept about 40 mins and then he was ready to go. I was kind of hoping for a little longer nap but that is Sunday's around here. The whole days is off schedule.

We had a friend come and stay with us for a few nights and so we decided to go downtown and do a drive by. Since we were lucky enough to find free parking we took a little walk around the Washington Monument. It was our Little Man's first time walking around it. Well he wasn't doing the walking but he was being carried.

It was a cold and windy day. Our little man was such a trouper on our adventure. Then I came home and made us Alice Spring Chicken for dinner. WOW it was wonderful.

My Little Man

2011-11-07T11:04:00.001-05:00

My little man amazes me everyday with what he can do. He is so much fun to be around. He always has a smile for me. Adam tells me he is my little dress up doll. I guess he is. Everything I put him in he looks so cute. I can't seem to get enough of his cuteness! Cheesy I know. But that is me these days just a silly mommy with my little man.

Happy Halloween

2011-11-07T10:51:00.004-05:00

Our little man's first Halloween.

It was more for me than him. He didn't mind dressing up. Our little one was a bat. I dressed up as a vampire. He was a nice addition to my costume.

Halloween was a fun night. When Adam got home from work we ate dinner and then cleared the table. We pulled out the pumpkin and carved it up. Palmer sat in his high chair and watched.

Then we dressed up and handed out candy. It was fun to see the faces of the kids and families who came by that night. Once the candy was gone and the baby down for the night. Adam and I snuggled up on the couch and ate the roasted pumpkins seeds that I made from the pumpkin we carved and watched It's the Great Pumpkin Charlie Brown. I loved watching that show as a kid. Here is a favorite quote from the show

Charlie Brown: Hey! I got an invitation to a Halloween party!
[dances happily]
Lucy Van Pelt: Is the invitation to Violet's party, Charlie Brown?
Charlie Brown: Yes. It's the first time I've been invited to a party.
Lucy Van Pelt: Charlie Brown, if you got an invitation, it was a mistake. There were two lists, Charlie Brown: one to invite, and one not to invite. You must have been put on the wrong list.

First Solid Food

2011-10-30T19:38:00.011-04:00

With our baby turning 6 months I started having people ask me if I had given him solids yet. NOPE! I could not wrap my mind around it. I had a long discussion with one of my sisters about it. I just was not ready to start him on solids. I didn't think he was ready. After talking with my hubby about it we decided that Sunday morning would be a good time to start him on solids. We decided to do rice cereal.Adam pulled out the high chair and i just thought, my little baby will not be able to sit in it. To my surprise he sat in it just fine. He fits in it like a glove. He started to bang his hands on the tray like he is telling me Let's Eat!

I read the box and figure out how to make the stuff and stir and get it ready for him. I find a baby spoon that we had in the back of the drawer and got ready to feed my little boy.

The first bite. I was not expecting much. I put a little on the spoon and head to his mouth. Before I realized it his mouth is open and he has the spoon in there. He sucks it up. Did he really do that. I take another little bit on the spoon and try it again. He opens his mouth and takes it in. My little man ate the whole thing. I could not believe he was leaving in towards us to get more food. We could not spoon it fast enough into his mouth. He loved it.

My little man taught me today that I should not hold him back because of my own fears. He is ready when he is ready. I have notice him watch me eat and I thought he had mimicked me a few times. I had no idea that his first feeding was going to be such a success. I am so proud of my little man.

Follow up: it is now a week later, our little man loves cereal and sweet potato. He is not a fan of avocado.

6 Months already!

2011-10-24T09:10:00.006-04:00

We are so blessed to have our son! He is such a joy in our lives. He was a long awaited arrival. I just can not believe that he is in our family and that I am a mother. I still feel like someone needs to pinch me a wake me up from this dream.

Our bundle of joy is turning 6 months. Seriously where has the time gone. I remember people telling me to enjoy the time that it goes by so fast. All I heard was Bla, Bla, Bla. I didn't get it until now. He has so much energy and the rocking and cuddling are still there but not like when he was a little guy. He now wiggles like a worm to get out of your arms and his eyes are looking at everything all the time. Even when he is feeding he is looking around.

Saturday morning a good friend of ours let us know she had a cancellation and had time to take our family pictures. I actually was only going to get 6 month pictures of Palmer and have our family pictures done in Dec/Jan. But when she offered to do them this Saturday I jumped at the offer. Our friend Sarah is so sweet and talented to take our pictures for us. There are so many to choose so of course I could not just choose one.

A proud Daddy with his son

A proud Mommy with her son

Here we are a family of "3"

Babies Don’t Keep

2011-10-24T08:59:00.002-04:00

I saw this and had to post it. I just loved it!

Babies Don’t Keep
by Ruth Hulburt Hamilton

Mother, O Mother, come shake out your cloth,
Empty the dustpan, poison the moth,
Hang out the washing, make up the bed,
Sew on a button and butter the bread.

Where is the mother whose house is so shocking?
She’s up in the nursery, blissfully rocking.

Oh, I’ve grown as shiftless as Little Boy Blue,
Lullabye, rockabye, lullabye loo.
Dishes are waiting and bills are past due
Pat-a-cake, darling, and peek, peekaboo

The shopping’s not done and there’s nothing for stew
And out in the yard there’s a hullabaloo
But I’m playing Kanga and this is my Roo
Look! Aren’t his eyes the most wonderful hue?
Lullabye, rockaby lullabye loo.

The cleaning and scrubbing can wait till tomorrow
But children grow up as I’ve learned to my sorrow.
So quiet down cobwebs; Dust go to sleep!
I’m rocking my baby and babies don’t keep.

Hartland Orchard

2011-10-15T18:32:00.017-04:00

We decided to start a new family tradition and head out to the country and pick apples and pumpkins in the fall. We were a little late this year for picking the apples, but not the pumpkins. So next year we will get out earlier in the season to pick apples.

Being new to the area I had done research on where to go. I sent an email out to my friends in Oakton and got a great response. This farm came up several times and so we decided to make this our spot this year for our little adventure. It was a perfect day. I bit on the windy side and so Palmer is not looking at the camera much today
.

This is my very first freshest caramel apple ever. I watched the guy put the apple on the stick and cover it in melted caramel and then add the nuts. WOW it was the best apple I have ever eaten. Definitely a yearly treat while at the orchard.

He even made their own apple cider. Wow this stuff is the bomb! We had to buy some to take home with us. We watched the guy make us a jug of that as well. Does it get any fresher than that?

Here is a precious little boy in the Pumpkin patch. He was too busy look at the dirt and messing with the twigs on the ground to look up.

v

It was a bit windy as well and the sun was shining. I guess the little guy needs some sunglasses.

It was a great day as a family to go and pick up a peck of apples, apple cider and our pumpkin to carve for Halloween. We even came home with some fresh honey. Can't wait to break open that jar with the honeycomb in it.

I love this time of year!

Fall Has Arrived at my Door

2011-10-14T12:33:00.005-04:00

Fall, I think is my favorite season. There is something about the crisp morning air that just feels good to me. I enjoy feeling the cool breeze in the afternoons and watching for the first leaf to change color. Then as the weeks progress the one leaf turns to many leaves and the trees fill with vibrant colors. It is fun to say goodbye to flip flops and hello to knee high boots. Goodbye to the single t-shirt and hello to layers. It is time to pull out the scarfs that seem to add to a outfit the final touch as you head out the door. It is time to say goodbye to the blistering heat and welcome the crisp cold air.

Fall has arrived at my door. Time to pull out the wreaths and pumpkins, change out the pots on my porch and welcome the fall additions in my home.

Our Day Adventure on the Potomac

2011-10-09T08:25:00.034-04:00

I just love Groupon, they have some fantastic deals on there. So one of these great deals I purchase earlier this year and was hoping to use it with our visitors over the summer. It didn't work out and so Adam and I had 2 tickets to take a cruise on the "Spirit of Mount Vernon"
We had to be at Pier 4 and board the boat by 815am.

It was a beautiful fall day. We could not have asked for better weather to do this trip. The boat ride was a hour and half each way.

Here we are a family of "3"! Palmer is 5 months old and taking his first boat ride. I am so proud of him. He was so much fun and a real treat to take on the day adventure.

The sky was blue and the sun was shining. It was a crisp morning to be out and on the water. We saw so may boats out and fisherman catching fish. I love how people love to wave back and forth as the boats go by. We even saw a guy catch a huge fish and he did a happy dance for us.

We arrive at the Warf. and the second half of our adventure begins.

We walked up the a steep cobblestone hill and when we reached the top we found the grave of our first President of the United States. There was a tour going on and so we stayed to listen and then got to put our hand over our heart and say the pledge of allegiance.

On our way to the house we stopped and saw all the barns, where he cared for his horses, carriages. We really liked the riding chair and the sleigh behind

The view from the house was gorgeous with the Potomac River behind us.

It is so nice when someone stops and offers to take a picture of our family.
So here we are once again a family of "3"

Here is Adam and Palmer standing in line for the tour of the house.

The whole day was just fun in the sun. I thought 3 hours there was going to be long, but we were rushing to see everything. We still have not seen everything. The indoor museum was amazing and the history that I learned about our dear President George Washington and his wife Martha.

Where has the time gone?

2011-10-02T11:03:00.009-04:00

Where has the time gone? Really......I still feel like I am pulling my head out of the sand. I love being a mother. I just can't seem to get my grove back. I am working on it. I have missed blogging and hope to be able to pick it back up. I worked on so many projects before the baby came and never quite posted all of them. There are still some other projects that I am working on. Slowly but surely I will get them finished. I was right thinking. I better get this junk finished before his arrival as I have not had any time to do anything.
I still feel as though I am recovering. I am healed from delivery but I am still working on the stamina thing. I still just don't feel like my old self. I feel old that is for sure. I don't feel as strong as I had before getting pregnant. So now I am determined to get strong again. Have my legs, arms and stomach feel strong once again. Right now I just feel like a old lady with aches and pains.

Ok enough with the complaining.

One of the greatest blessing ever. Our son! He is such a treat. He is so much fun. He amazes me every day.

The past month he has grown up so much. Last week when I went to get him out of his crib he reached both of his arms up to me. I about cried seeing his eyes lock in on me and reach for me. It melted my heart. He has learned to roll on his tummy. The only thing is he will not roll back. He figures it out sometimes but mostly on accident. So then he gets frustrated and puts his face to the ground a cries until someone comes to rescue him. Which is all the time.

About two weeks ago I picked up a jumper play saucer thingy. Do you like how we have no idea what these toys are called but pick them up thinking it is something our son needs. Well the first time we put him in it, he loved it he just was not quite ready for it. Yesterday I found that he has grown again and fits in it pretty good. He loves it.

He still does not like the swing. He only last in it long enough for me to empty the dishwasher or get about 3 bites of food in my mouth. He has not liked that thing from day one.

The boppy bouncer thingy worked great for us. But now he is sliding out of it. Yep, we could latch him in it, but now he is not interested in being in it anymore.
He wiggles to get out of your arms when you are holding him or walking around. He is way more alert and wants to be part of the activities.
I have noticed him watching me eat as he looks interested in what I am eating. I think next month he may be interested in introducing new foods to him. We still have him on the bottle, never introduced rice. It was something we also tried but then decided against it. He is growing fast and I can't believe I am a mother. I still have to pinch myself to make sure I am not dreaming.

I am living my dream. A mom who gets to stay at home with her little guy. I love it!

Growing so Fast

2011-10-01T17:31:00.011-04:00

Our baby is now 5 months old.

Palmer's Baby Book

2011-10-01T14:46:00.003-04:00

Click here to view this photo book larger

Photo books are the perfect gift for any occasion.

I bought a awesome deal on Groupon and picked up this book for our son. It is for the first five months of his life. It was super easy to put together. I will definitely being making more of these books for our family and our little one who is growing up so fast.

Bath time with Gran

2011-09-14T21:45:00.005-04:00

Palmer loves bath time. He has loved his baths since the very first one he has taken. It was wonderful to have Gran here to help and show me how to bath my little one. I had to take a picture of Gran's last bath with Palmer before she left.

Here is Gran and Pappa with the grandson one last time before they go away on their grand adventures across the world for a while.

Summer Full of Visitors

2011-09-14T21:05:00.022-04:00

I can't believe summer has come to an end. Six weeks after our sweet baby boy was born we had family come in town for a few days. My parents were already here. Thank goodness for them being here and helping us with our new addition. The weekend was wonderful with my sister's family in town.

All the boys went downtown Saturday morning to take in the sites.

I think this is one of my favorite pictures of my nephews. Eating a Popsicle in front of the White house.

I love this shot of me and my mom. We were laughing so hard. She was making potato salad for the luncheon the next day.

Here is Pappa holding his 11th grandson

My family going to church to have our baby blessed.

I just don't get enough pictures of me holding my precious little man

10 Days Old

2011-09-05T19:22:00.009-04:00

Family of Three

My favorite one to end on. Action shot at it's best!

Coming Home from the Hospital

2011-09-05T19:11:00.006-04:00

I was so worried about the hospital and not being from here. I took referrals as to where to go and deliver my boy. I was so pleased with the whole experience. We had the best nurses and doctors available and the whole experience was wonderful. It was nice to finally get back home as there was no rest in the hospital with all the noise, people coming in and out of the room all hours of the day and night.

From the Begining

2011-09-05T18:44:00.004-04:00

I can't believe that four months have gone by and I am just feeling like my head is coming out of the sand. It has been a whirlwind since the time my sweet baby boy was born. Here are the pictures I have been promising for the past four months.

One last look at the belly before getting ready to deliver the little man

I just cried the moment they put him in my arms. I could not stop. I was so happy and so thankful that he was a healthy little man.

The First Few Weeks

2011-06-18T07:40:00.005-04:00

Where do I begin? I spent the last nine months reading about the little guy's development that I didn't think too much about what it would be like when he arrived. I guess a piece of me held off on that idea as a barrier of blocking the pain if something terrible were to happen. I took the pregnancy one day at a time. Once appointment at a time and held off on thinking about life with this boy.

The first few weeks were rough. First off I could not believe what my body went through to carry and delivery this child. I am still amazed at what a woman's body is capable of doing. No one really talks about the after. Just the baby and how wonderful it is. Well I will do the same. I will spare the details of the after. But so thankful for my friend Kaile and her advice on what to have on hand at home. It made the healing process handy. The only thing I wished I could have had was a donut pillow. I sent Adam and my mom out to find one. No such luck. So if I ever do this again. I will have one in the house for that "just in case".

The next thing I didn't think would be such a trial was breastfeeding. I thought I might have problems, but never thought it would be like it was. I worked with a few lactation specialist and tried their suggestions. I feel like I put blood, sweat and tears into providing breast milk for Palmer.

My first experience was having about 4 hands on my chest and with a shield and syringe trying to feed my baby. The whole experience was overwhelming. We decided to rent a hospital grade breast pump as recommended to help bring in my milk. My husband went to Whole Foods looking for vitamins and tea that would help me as well. He came home with 4 different brands of the same tea and a extra box that was a special gift from Whole Foods. A woman who helped Adam find what he was looking for tagged the box of tea to be free.

The first few weeks were a whirlwind. I was not getting any sleep. I had to have my mom and Adam help me at every feeding. I was having to supplement in the very beginning. Palmer had a lazy suck and we had to syringe feed him and finger feed. He was not eating and losing weight quickly. We had to supplement his feedings.

For the few minuets I would have I spent time at the computer looking for answers that could help. I had no idea there was a whole world of woman who only pump. I figure if I could not feed my son at the breast I could try and give him the milk. I went to only pumping. I spent my time at the machine. Pumping every 2 hours and trying to keep up with having a meal waiting for Palmer every time he was ready to eat. For a while I felt as though I got aheadand felt good about what I was doing. My live was to eat, sleep and pump. I had to get in my tea and vitamins to keep the milk flowing. I even ate asparagus and oatmeal as suggested food items to increase milk production.

What I was missing was time with my son. I didn't change a diaper. I wasn't able to hold him for long periods of time. My mom and Adam took care of his every need. I just felt that my life was stuck to a machine. I did this for a month. Gradually watching the milk supply dwindle. I still tried to get Palmer to latch on and feed on me. But he just would not, even with the shield. He just munched on the tip of the shield. The day came when I realized I was drying up. I had pumped for an hour and half and barely got 90ml from both breast put together. When I had pumped and only produced 3oml from both breast I broke into tears. I knew I had done all I could. I was tired, worn out and just plain unhappy. Adam had been so determined that I keep it up that when I went to him in the end and told him that I was done. He listened and then told me he felt I was done as well.

I felt like a failure at this moment. I felt like something was wrong with me.

What I have learned from this experience. Every woman's body is different. Every child is different. I have learned from others about their experiences. The positive and negative about breast feeding. I still feel breast is best. If you are able to do it. Not everyone is able to do it. I gave Palmer a good 4 weeks of the best I could give him. Now I am giving him the best I can now. I am relieaved to come to terms with breast feeding.

I am so thankful for my mom for being here and with me during this experience. I turned to her for her counscel and advice. I feel like the many hours she sat with me while I tried to feed or pumped we were able to talk about everything I was feeling. I was able to glean information from her and her experiences. I learned so much from her.

The best part about this whole experience is I have witnessed my Patriarticle blessing come to pass. It is a beautiful thing to see your blessing come to life right before your eyes.

I would not change a thing, the first few weeks were the most amazing time and the weeks to follow just get better.

I thought I knew....but I didn't

2011-06-18T05:20:00.008-04:00

It has been 7 weeks since I thought I knew but didn't have a clue. I am talking about the day Palmer arrived to our family.

The week before his arrival I made list of things I wanted to get done. In the end I was tired all the time and so it took me awhile to accomplish any task that I set. I knew I was really only good for a few hours and then I would need to take a nap. The day before I felt very confident that I was ready. My mom was to fly in that afternoon and I couldn't wait for her arrival.

As I drove to the airport to pick up my mom I was anxious to see her, I was emotional, the pregnancy hormones. When I finally spotted her after doing several drive by, I just had peace in my heart. I parked and got out of the car and greeted her. The first thing she did was take both of her hands and rubbed my belly. She looked at me with excitement and expressed how happy she was to be able to see my belly in person. I gave her a huge hug and we got her luggage in the car. On our way home we stopped at the grocery store to pick up a few items to tie us over for the next week. This was on my list of things to do, but didn't get it done before she arrived so we ended up doing it together.

I think I got about 6 hours of sleep that night. I was too excited for the next morning to arrive. I was also nervous about being late to the hospital so the three of us made up a plan to get there on time. I was scheduled to be induced on April 29th and needed to be at the hospital at 630am. As I am driving my heart is pounding out of my chest. Yes , I drove myself. We decided to take two cars to the hospital so that my mom could come home and Adam would still have a car if he needed to go somewhere.

Adam and I did a few test runs driving to the hospital ...just in case.....scenarios weeks before delivery, so it is funny how that didn't matter at 6am in the morning. The traffic was really not that bad. I parked and rushed to get check into the hospital as we were running late. They immediately took us to a room. Before I changed I got a last picture of me being pregnant in the room that our baby was delivered in. The nurses greeted us and seemed very calm and said they were here to help and not to worry. I must have look worried. I changed into a hospital gown. Not the most flattering thing, but who cares. Seriously I have stayed in hospitals way to many times to worry about the gown. It is like a second skin to me in the past.

As we waited we were trying to figure out how to work the TV. The royal wedding had already started and we wanted to see Kate's dress. We missed the wedding and saw the couple riding in the carriage. Oh well! We got to see her dress in the end. Days later we got to watch the whole thing as it was all on Hulu. The guy came in to draw blood and I have to say I don't mind needles that much, but I do mind when they can not find the vein and they dig around in there looking. I was a hack job when it was all done. Not only with him but later on with my stay and more blood was drawn later on. The IV was set and I was given Pitocin and ready to start this baby birth by 8am. They checked me and I was already 75% and so we would see how the pitocin would work. The most painful part was having the Dr. break my water. THAT WAS PAINFUL! The baby's head was so low that she had to push him up and get around him to break the water. I literally had tears in my eyes and was crying by the time that was done. I was not prepared for that, nor heard it was to be painful. I had a "I thought I knew but didn't" moment.

My body reacted wonderful to the pitocin. The contraction started to kick in not too long after. I honestly don't know how long I went before they were on top of each other. The breathing I tried to learn was not working. I then turned to my mom and said. I can't do this. I don't have it in me to do this. I guess I didn't know I could have a epidural at this time. I just felt it was too early. I tried to bear the pain. But when the thought came to me "cut him out of me or let me die" came to my mind and out of my mouth I knew I needed to ask for something.

It didn't take long for the lady with the drugs to arrive. I got out of bed and realized for that brief moment the contractions were not as bad standing as they were in bed. But the hospital rule is once you are connect to the IV and junk you are in bed. Whatever....give me something for the pain. I sat at the edge of the bed trying to curl my back, like I had seen on TV. Like I said I thought I had prepared for this. It was a crazy feeling to have them put the epidural in my back. She did a great job, it didn't take long for it to kick in and then I just sat back and relaxed. I didn't get much sleep and check on facebook and emails and made a few phone calls. It was about 3pm when I just got off the phone and finished of a message on facebook that the doctor came in and said. HMMM it is time to push. Wow, really? I couldn't feel anything and he was ready to arrive.

Adam and my mom were helping me hold my legs and encouraging me all along the way. We had the a fantastic nurse. She was a wonderful coach who encouraged me all the way. The monitors would tell us there was a contraction I would get into position and push, three pushes during each contraction. In the beginning because I could not feel if I was really pushing or not, my head felt like it was going to explode. Then I had a panic about blowing the blood vessels around my eyes. I had heard about this and the last thing I wanted was to look like I had been punched in the face. I tried not to, but it felt like they were going to. I watched the clock, it had been an hour since we started. Was this baby going to make it out? We kept at it. After about 2 hours I was feeling exhausted. I was feeling the contractions start at this point. I felt pressure, not pain. Adam, my mom and the nurse kept encouraging that I could do it. One more push I heard that for the solid time of pushing. Then they told me we could see hair on his head. I asked for the mirror to be wheeled over so I could see and that was the motivation I needed to keep going. Another 20mins and he was delivered. I pushed 2 hours and 20 mins to get that little boy out. There was just pressure and no pain. There was that moment that I waited for his cry and nothing. A pure moment of panic kicked in until I heard his first cry. They immediately put him on my chest and there was my little boy. Just perfect! I held him close to my chest and just cried. He was not clean and it didn't matter I just wanted to hold him and keep him close. I rubbed the vernix on his skin and held him until they had to take him away. I don't even remember delivering the placenta or being fixed up. I asked if I could see it and they had already discarded it. I was too focused on my son to know what else was going on in the room.

My adrenaline was soaring and for a moment I thought to myself. "This wasn't bad, I could do this again". It was not until the after effect, once the drugs wear off and the real pain kicks in. I had another "I thought I knew but didn't have a clue" moment. There are things about the experience that you just don't know about until you experience it yourself. Every woman is different, every one has their own experience and in the end as I look back. It has been seven weeks and the pain is gone and my body has healed. The whole experience is amazing. God created a woman's body and it can do what it needs to do to give life to a human being. Life is a precious gift and the woman's body is just as precious as to what it can do. Once again a "I thought I new but didn't" moment. I am so thankful for the experience of carrying Palmer and giving birth to him. From start to finish the whole experience took9 hours. 2 hours and 20 minuets of that was pushing.

I feel like a super hero for going through the whole experience!

I will be posting pictures once I can get them downloaded off my camera.

Family pictures

2011-05-11T11:12:00.013-04:00

We have a wonderful friend who took some family photos of our new little addition to our family. Palmer is 10 days old in these pictures. Enjoy!

Latest Hiatt Family Picture

Palmer laying down

Adam's thumb next to Palmer's little hand! ;)

The prince and the pea

father & son

mother & son

The week before delivery

The week before delivery - Virginia is soooo beautiful in the springtime!
I suggested this shot because of the vibrant red/pink flowers!

Precious mother / son moment

2011-05-07T22:59:00.002-04:00

Here is a precious mother and son moment we captured on camera this week.

Nikki just laid him down to look at him and he stared back with his beautiful blue eyes!

Our little miracle baby has arrived!

2011-05-01T09:20:00.005-04:00

Our little miracle baby has arrived! Palmer was born Friday, 4/29. He weighed 7 lbs., 15 oz. and was 20.25" long.

Mother and baby are doing well!

After writing my first email to friends and family I quickly realized that I had incorrectly announced the length at 24" long! I guess that's what happens when you try to compose a message in between nurse and doctor visits to your room ;)

During this special time our hearts and minds are especially sensitive and emotional. Yesterday as I was looking into Palmer's little hospital bassinet I saw that the hospital staff had taken little footprints of him and placed it into the bassinet for us.

Inside was this card with a little poem on it that touched my heart as I read it.

Everyday I'm growing,
and soon I'll be so tall,

So here's a special footprint
just so you can recall

Exactly how my foot looked
when I was very small

They say children grow up so very past which just goes to show how relative time really is a function of the viewpoint of the observer (as Einstein would say).

My hope is that we can be the best parents we know how to be, treasure every precious moment with our child, learn from those around us and always look for the best in others.

They say, "It takes a village to raise a child" and I believe that.

Thank you to all who have given us help, encouragement and hope along the way. We want to thank everyone who has prayed for us along the way and for those who have brightened our day and helped us when we needed it.

I know that we are just beginning this new adventure called parenthood.

-- Adam

Here's what he looks like when he's awake

Trailing clouds of glory, from God, who is our home ...

2011-04-18T09:06:00.007-04:00

"The wait is almost over" ... the waiting for our little light, Palmer, to enter our lives is almost here ;)

I thought of Nikki looking longingly outside waiting for a child to come to us. This photo captures the moment so beautifully ;)

In Spanish the phrase for giving birth is: "Dando a luz" (a un hijo).
This literally means: "giving light to..." (a son).

I also thought of this from the famous William Wordsworth. 1770–1850.

"... Our birth is but a sleep and a forgetting:
The Soul that rises with us, our life's Star,
Hath had elsewhere its setting,
And cometh from afar:
Not in entire forgetfulness,
And not in utter nakedness,
But trailing clouds of glory do we come
From God, who is our home:
Heaven lies about us in our infancy! ..."

-- Adam

I can imagine that little light getting ready to enter our lives.

This will be his first name.

Nikki enjoying the peacefulness and serenity of the new nursery!

Tuesday April 12, 2011 - Big Day all around!

2011-04-13T09:40:00.009-04:00

This was a big day all around. One that has been marked on my calendar for weeks and a day that I have been looking forward to. It is also a big day for two members of my family. My sister Chris and her son Ethan as they celebrated their birthdays on this day as well.

Part 1 of the day!
OK Back to the items marked on my calendar. First I had a sonogram scheduled that morning. I always look forward to catching a glimpse of Baby Boy. He was very active during the appointment, but the cutest thing we saw him do was he had one of his hands holding a fist by his face. I thought to myself about all the punching I have been feeling and thought we may have a boxer in there instead of a soccer player. We ended up having 3 technicians come in to check measurements and about a hour and 20 minuets later the appointment was over. We were able to see every inch of that boy. We saw his four heart chambers, his kidneys, his stomach, the femur, measured his head -still big BTW. With all their calculations they came up with a number of 7lbs 3 oz for this boy. He is still growing 2 weeks ahead of schedule. The next excitement is that I have dilated to a 2. The guy who was in charge kind of got nervous and said I am calling your OB to put them on alert, this baby is coming in the next 2 weeks. It was so exciting to see and hear that everything is going well. They did check the fibroid and there was some more found that started to grow. Not too concerned about it at this point. I meet with my OB tomorrow to discuss a possible C-section and about our visit with radiology.

Part 2 of the Day!
After that I took it easy so that I would be able to have energy to go party. Let me tell you, that is what a 40 year old lady who is pregnant does. I need to take a nap so I can party at night.
Baby Shower!

At 630pm I arrived at Ann's house, I wanted to arrive before the guest and help her set anything up that needed to be done. WOW Ann is amazing! The house was beautiful and the decorations were amazing. She made these awesome blue pom poms and hung them from the chandelier as you walked in the door. Then more were hanging in the Family Room. Then she made a beautiful banner that read "it;s a boy" There was so much food and everything was delicious.

I was so happy for those who was able to come. It was such a blessing to share this night and excitement with all those who came. Each person there has touch our life since we have arrived in VA. Each one hold a special place in our family. I just can't begin to say what a special night it was and how blessed this baby is for all the love and support he has received this far and he has not even arrived into the world yet. I can't even express how my heart feels from the night. A few simple words express the evening.
Love, Generosity, Laughter and Family.

My big regret was some how losing my camera from my house to the shower. But Sarah a wonderful friend and photographer took these pictures of the night.

Sneak Peak- Nursery

2011-03-23T08:58:00.007-04:00

This is long overdue for a sneak peak to the nursery. We are now in the single digits in weeks to the countdown of our little miracle and now is the time to kick it in gear. Make sure everything is ready for his arrival. I keep picturing my world at a stand still for a few months and so I am determined to get moved into this house and all the little/big projects on my list completed in the next month.

So here are some peaks into the nursery. Once it has all come together I will give the final reveal.

My color scheme I choose was Tangerine, Lime Green and Baby Blue.

Do you know how hard it is to find these colors for a baby nursery? I found that I had to think outside of the box for this nursery. I wanted to create a space that I just loved. Adam just wanted bright colors. So he was pleased that our boys room had blue in it.
I made the curtains and bed skirt, I know, I know brace yourself. I really did it and all on my own. This is how handy I am. NOT! I am sewing challenged! Determined to do this I thought it through and accomplished it. I am kind of proud of myself. So I will give a big pat on my back. I found a Nathan Adler duvet cover on clearance at Burlington Coach Factory and made the curtains. My only regret was not picking up the twin that was there as well. When I went back it was gone. But then I found twin sheets that were perfect in color and picked that up on clearance. I used that for the crib skirt and combined the sheet with the duvet and made another curtain for the closet. I think my best work yet.

Her are some items that I have prepared and will be going up in the room.

I love finding a good deal. It is a thrill to know that you have found a great item at a great price. We have been looking for a rocker/recliner for the nursery for a while now. I have been watching sales, stores and craigslist. My dream was to find a leather rocker/recliner in a neutral color that we could still use once we were done with it in the nursery. But my fear was the price. My fear was we would end up with a burgandy/blue scratchy recliner that had smells. You know what I talking about. At dinner last Friday night the topic came up again with Adam and I about looking for a recliner. I told him it had been a few days since I had checked craigslist and I had a few stores picked out to check on Saturday. So at 9pm at night I check online and I see a few options. I email the seller and they both get back to me right away. One is available the other is not. I make an appointment to see the recliner. The picture looks good and it looks like it is in good condition. Lucky for me the seller really didn't have any information other than a picture of the item. We get there and it is perfect. The family proceeds to tell us it is a few years old and has sat in the guest room barely used. The leather is in perfect condition and the chair feel brand new. So for $150.00 we take the leather, neutral, rocker/recliner. I am giddy inside as we drive away from the smoke free home. So here is our best deal find of the month! I am still giddy when I see it.

Oh the many nights we will be enjoying each other.

Baby's First Package

2011-03-22T09:58:00.006-04:00

I don't know about you, but I love to open the front door and find a package out there. It doesn't matter if it is something I ordered and knew was coming from HSN or Amazon. I just get a burst of excitement whenever I see a box sitting on my porch. The only thing that will burst my bubble if Adam says "what did you order now?" I enjoy it when I can say honestly. "I didn't or it is not addressed to me."

To my surprise the other day I found this box addressed to the baby. Oh baby got his first package in the mail. I think he even did a summer salt in my tummy when it arrived. He is taking after his mommy with packages.

I was so touched by Kathy,Dave and Kevin for thinking about us and the baby. I didn't wait for Adam to get home. I just opened it with such excitement. As I unwrapped the white tissue paper I found that each item they sent had a note on it. Each item expressed why they wished they had this or found it later and how it has helped them. There was so much detail that it really touched my heart to all the thought that went behind the package. It could not have arrived at a better time as we had been dealing with some drama that really made me sad. Thank you Kathy, Dave and Kevin for reaching out to us and being so kind.

Baby's First Gift

2011-03-17T12:12:00.004-04:00

This post should have happened back in December, but like I said my dogs ate all my postings and I am now just getting around to them.
This is our little boy's very first baby present that was given to him from a real cutie Rachel B. I am so glad I got to know her before she went off to College. It was so fun to go eat cupcakes and hang out with her before she left. Rachel is so darling and has such a generous heart, I can't wait to watch and see what she accomplishes with her future.

Once baby boy is able to wear the sweater I will definitely be taking a picture of him in it and sending it to you Rachel. He will be so styling in his Ralph Lauren sweater.

Our Bun in the Oven is 5lbs and counting

2011-03-16T09:13:00.005-04:00

I may have not acted too concerned last week about the appointment, but in all reality it was eating me up inside. I was worried and yes bit off all my nails this week when I thought about it. I tried to remain calm and act like it was no big deal. Inside I was dying to know if there was a problem with the baby or me. Over the years I have had medical problems and things like to grow inside of me that shouldn't. I have been told in the past that if I had been pregnant when a growth had started I could have died from it. Those things are hard to let go. So those worries stick with me. I am not all doom and gloom. Just cautious about what could happen. So whenever I hear that something is growing inside of me I think of what it could do to me or this child and that is why I was so nervous inside.

As I sat in the waiting room for my appointment. I couldn't be apart of the conversation that Adam was having with my cousin Shelby. I was just nervous. So I found a People's magazine and tried to get lost in all the drama of the stars. Then my name was called and we went back. I changed into the gown. The tech immediately came in and dimmed the lights and we began the ultrasound.
.
There is that moment when I hold my breath just before I see his heart beat. Each time I do that. It has become a natural instinct for me. The air is released once I see or hear this little guys heart. He looked just beautiful to me. She immediately sees the Fibroid and confirms that is has not grown. That is not a problem, it has stayed the same size as it was at 19 weeks. What a relief. It has moved and now is just above his head yet there is still cushing from him and the Fibroid. So all is well. Then she starts to look at the baby and checking him out. He is moving around all over the place. He will not keep his arms still and his one of his feet is up by his head. We can't get a good picture of him. He is turned away from us. The tech tries to manipulate him and get him to move, but this kid will not change his position.

Once the measurements are all in and the computer does it's magic we find out that Baby boy is weighing in at 5lbs so far. He is 2 weeks ahead of schedule with his growth. Which is why I measured so large last week. It was baby boy not the fibroid. He is going to be a big boy. As she tells me he has a big head and lots of brains in there and at this rate he could turn into a 9lbs baby. I have a rush of panic go through me about the pain of passing this baby. This is what I have been praying for is to have a strong healthy baby. So baby Boy, keep growing I will deal with the pain, just come to us.

Now the panic is setting in as the time draws closer and the reality is this baby is really coming and he could survive now if he did come early. I am really having a baby boy and he is real. I guess it is time to register at Babies R Us, complete the nursery and plan for his arrival.

I can't wait to be a mommy, I can't wait to meet this precious little guy and give him all that I have inside of me. I wondered when I would start feeling his spirit. I now feel his presence as our spirits have spoken to each other and I can't wait to be able to hold him in my arms and just love him with everything inside of me.

NOTE: We did get a CD yesterday of the appointment. I will go through and see if there is anything good to share and post that later today or this week. As you know I really do like to post pictures with my posts.

Not what I expected today

2011-03-10T17:41:00.005-05:00

So this past week I have really been taking it easy. The whole no energy and dizziness has taken it's toll on me. So I have really limited my activities. Which makes me so sad because I wanted to go out and play with some friends. I have been getting the rest that I guess my body needs and I have been working on getting more nutrients into my body. I have decided that I need more protein as I just feel malnourished.

This week I have been adding protein supplements to my diet via protein shakes in all forms. Including a drink called Isopure. You can find that at GNC. It comes in a 20 oz bottles and it looks like cool aid. Mind you it doesn't taste like cool aid. The best part is that one bottle contains 40 grams of protein. Now your body only can use 20 grams at a time so you have 2 servings to a bottle. Yesterday i tried the grape. Not too bad. Today I am trying the Peach/Mango - not bad either. I have a few more flavors to try before I determine the best flavor. At that point then I think I will order a case online and see if I can get it any cheaper then $5 a pop at GNC. Since I have up the protein to around 70+ grams a day I am feeling better. I am also still up the iron as well. Overall I think it is all helping. Time will tell in the next week or two. So that is the update on my energy.

Today was my OB appointment. My last one was three weeks ago at 28. This is what I didn't expect to find. My last appointment my belly measured right on track and this week going into my 31 week my belly measured at 33 weeks. I thought I had got bigger all the sudden but they confirmed that. I didn't think it was a big deal. I had only gained 2lbs in 3 weeks as well. So it is official I am 20lbs gained so far. The next thing they tell me is that we need to book a sonogram next week to see the baby and make sure everything is ok in there. They want to check the actual size of the baby, the fluid and to see if the fibroid has grown. That is where the concern is for the growth, is the fibroid growing and causing my belly to measuring larger then it should right now.

I am not too concerned actually a little excited to see Baby Boy next week and see how the little guy is doing. I am so grateful for technology and that we are able to go have a look and know what to expect if there is a problem. The benefits of living in this day and age.

The past Sunday someone asked me if I knew what sex of baby we were having. I told her yes and what it was. She shook her head at me and with a little disappointment asked me why I would find out the sex. I just smiled as I was actually surprised by the judgment of knowing that we were expecting a boy. But I smiled back and said, "Why not? Living in this day and age and the technology that we have. If I can find out anything about this child that is growing inside of me I want to know all there is about him."

Then I also answered the true me!

Which is I hate waiting and I would rather open my presents on Christmas eve then wait for Christmas morning. I could not wait to find out what sex this baby was, I didn't want to wait for Christmas morning to find out. So I didn't. It was a mutual decision. Adam and I both wanted to know. He feels the same way about technology and using it. But Adam on the other hand is a guy who likes surprises and makes us wait for Christmas morning. Except in this case.

So today was not what I expected, but thank goodness I will be able to get more information next week.

10 Week Countdown begins!

2011-02-28T14:22:00.009-05:00

I am 30 weeks pregnant this week and to celebrate this milestone I am posting my belly shots!

I think I have really grown since my last belly shot at 23 weeks.

30 weeks 23 weeks

Thinking about this little boy making his arrival in approximately 10 weeks, plus or minus really blows my mind. I am loving everything about this little boy. I love watching my stomach looking like an alien is inside. The way one side moves and then the other and every so often it looks like he is doing the wave in there. I am noticing that my left leg goes numb at times depending how I am sitting or laying. I still crave red meat.

I have gained 18lbs so far. Honestly I think most of that is in my chest or at least a good portion of that.

I still can't imagine what this little boy is going to look like or be like. I try to picture him, but I just can't imagine. I am so looking forward to meeting this special boy who choose to come to our family. He will be so loved and cherished by us. We have preparing for his arrival since we were married in May 2000. Now this precious boy will arrive in May 2011. We have waited 11 years for this little guy to make his arrival.

Memories of Mimi's

2011-02-27T17:57:00.007-05:00

Yesterday a friend of mine Sarah and I went to go visit another of our friends Valerie. Valerie just moved to Sterling, VA earlier in the month and we wanted to go see her and take a look at her new place. We met Valerie at her sister's salon and there I found my favorite hair product which is Morrocan Oil.

This is the most amazing product for your hair. I have thick dry hair and you would know because of this product. I had just ran out and have only been able to order it on the Internet.

I use it when my hair is wet or dry and I can use it daily on my dry hair. It just eats it up. So that was such a great surprise to see it in her sister's salon.

Then we all get in Valerie's car and head to her new house. On our way we drive right by Dulles Town Center where I spot a Mimi's Cafe. I get so excited. Let me explain why. I had no idea they even had one in VA. It was like a little piece of Colorado for me. I have so many fond memories of going to Mimi's. This is what brings me to the title of Memories of Mimi's.

The first time I ever went to Mimi's Cafe was with my younger sister Chris. She was working in Broomfield, CO and wanted to meet me for lunch. So I went out there and we had brunch. To me it looked like a old person place to eat, kind of old fashion and I was not sure. But after my first breakfast there I was hooked. It was so good.

The other location I would often go to is the Mimi's on Alameda and I225. It was close to my job. I would go there with co-workers for breakfast or lunch and my last day at work my going away breakfast we went there. It was such a fun breakfast with my UPI friends.

Another memories of Mimi's. We were given a gift card from our Home Teacher Brother Christiansen. He knew about our desire to be parents and going through treatments. He told us to use the gift and relax and have a nice evening together.

The final memory I want to share was the end of March 2009 when I had found out that I was pregnant for the first time. It had only been a few days and I just confirmed it with the doctor that afternoon. When I was done with work I headed over to Target to do a little shopping. That is when I got a call from my parents asking me if Adam and I could meet them for dinner. They were in the area. I told them I was right by Mimi's and I would call Adam and we would meet them. I was so excited about the pregnancy and I couldn't resist on telling them. So I put back everything from my cart and headed to the baby section and picked something up with a gift bag. Adam and I met my parents at the Cafe. After we ordered and were sitting there waiting for our food. I pull out a gift bag and gave it to my parents. I told them I had a little present for them. They were shocked and excited but gave me a questionable look. My mom opened the bag and pulled out a baby shirt that said. "I love my Grandma" They both got tears in their eyes, we were able to celebrate our exciting news with them that night at Mimi's Cafe.

So you see, when I saw Mimi's Cafe yesterday it brought back all sorts of memories that I experienced in Colorado. I think I will always be a little homesick to Colorado. Mimi's Cafe to me is a piece of Colorado that I miss.

Ribbon Heaven in Hagerstown

2011-02-24T16:48:00.004-05:00

It's time for a Road Trip to Hagerstown. I was told about this tiny little town when I first moved here that was only only 1.5 hours drive from my house. A little group of us jumped into the car this week and took the road trip to what I like to call Ribbon Heaven.

The nation's biggest ribbon factory. The operation came to Hagerstown in 1922, begun by a family with experience in ribbonmaking dating to 19th-century France. Eight years ago, the Berwick Offray Ribbon Outlet Store opened next to the factory, where bins and boxes overflow with discontinued styles, overstocks and seconds: ice blue with brown polka dots, moss green sheers printed with Christmas lights, violet double-faced satins, grosgrains, taffetas and woven plaids, some for as little as 25 cents a yard or 10 cents a roll.

This is ribbon Heaven - I was shocked at the prices. I saw one, then another and then hundreds of choices all ranging from .25 for a bag of ribbons to fill a bag for $1.25. I filled up my basket and walked out of the store with 2 larges bags filled and only spent a total of $22.00. See my stash below. I feel like I have a life supply of ribbon. Now that I have a ribbon connection I will be finding more ways to use ribbons.

Iron Baby Iron

2011-02-24T16:28:00.004-05:00

I am 29 weeks along and found out that I am anemic. That is why I have been so drained and feeling dizzy. I have been really sick this winter with catching one cold after the next but it is all clear now that I need more iron. This little boy is sucking the life force out of me. I have 3 weeks to improve or infusions are in my future. So yesterday I went to whole foods and met this great woman who worked there and helped me choose a iron supplement to take.

If this stuff really delivers I will be one happy lady very soon. As it sounds too good to be true I have highlighted some of the promises and could really use them right now.

Blood Builder provides 100% whole food iron with synergistic nutrients and organic beet root to maintain healthy levels of iron. Restoring iron levels helps to combat fatigue and improve energy levels. In addition proper iron levels supports healthy immune response, healthy skin and optimal athletic performance. Organic beet root, a deep-red restorative food revered for its ability to nourish, purify and strengthen the blood, enriches our Blood Builder formula. The inclusion of 100% whole food vitamin C enhances iron bioavailability and utilization for maximum nutritional benefit. Iron in a natural 100% whole food form is non-binding and gentle on the stomach.

In addition I read up on the foods that have iron and have tried to incorporate more of them into my diet. I love my green smoothies and so easy to get my spinach in them. Red meat is my pregnancy crave so not a problem there.

I will be posting 30 week belly shots next week. As my belly is growing and starting to look like there is a baby in there. He's kicking and moving around in there and reminds me that I have other organs near by.

Distracted by a horrible word

2011-02-18T11:06:00.004-05:00

I don't want to turn this into a political debate but I was a little distracted by comments made on Facebook. We all have opinions and beliefs. That is what makes us individuals. It makes each one of us unique in our own way. But when you attack someone for their personal belief that is just wrong. We all have our our lifestyles that we choose to live, and follow the laws of the land. We should have a tolerance for each others differences.

The term used was "BIGOT" which is a harsh word in the English vocabulary no matter how it is used. Just hearing or seeing the word makes my stomach go into knots. The definition is given as 'bigot: a prejudiced person who is intolerant of any opinions differing from his own." If a person uses that term doesn't it apply to he who cast the first stone?

Like I said I don't want to turn this into a debate or something horrible like I saw on Facebook this morning. I have no tolerance for that word to be used no matter what the debate is. We all have our beliefs and can't we communicate in a logical manner without calling each other names?

19 Week Ultrasound - It's A Boy!

2011-02-17T18:03:00.003-05:00

Ok I couldn't resist, I did find these pictures of "Little Thing" who now has grown in to "Baby Boy"! Below you can see his foot. Is that a cute little foot or what?

Here is a side view of "baby boy" Adam says he has my side of the family in is face.

Excuses Excuses!

2011-02-17T17:15:00.004-05:00

So I have always felt that if I couldn't put pictures up when I blogged then it wasn't worth a post. I received and email today from a friend who wondered what happen to me.

Why my blog was so out of date?

Well I would like to blame it on my computer that is having a hard time, definitely needs upgrade. Next we moved into a new house in October. Yes it has been a while yet we are still moving in slowly. I got pregnant (Yippee) and spend the remaining part of last year sick. All these excuses sound really good don't they? They are valid at least to me.

So much has happened since my last post which I am going to have to go back and read because I have no idea where I left of at? Excuses, excuses that's all I have for not being good at updating what is going on in our lives.

Where do I begin? I will start off slowly and lead up to where we are now. When I have been feeling up to life I have been moving into our new home Trying to make it a home. In the beginning I was not motivated. I just looked around and felt overwhelmed by everything. This is not a natural reaction for me. I always take things head on and I think I am very organized. I can blame it on the pregnancy hormones so I will. They have taken me into a whole new realm on life. I find that I tire easy, I eat things that I normally would not eat and I look at projects and get completely overwhelmed. I have walked around with a cloud in my head and my creative inside came to a halt.

That has changed. As I am adapting to this new world of being pregnant and accepting all the wonders it has to offer. In the month of January the cloud cleared and my mind started to get motivated and so did my body. I spent the month with all my energy working on projects around the house. I have some big reveals that will be posting soon with all my hard work.

I am 28 weeks along and feel pretty good most of the time. I had an appointment today and my OB told me that I needed to bring it down a notch on my activity. OK I really thought I was. I have stopped climbing ladders and since I was sick the past 2 weeks have spent it in bed. Yet today he is telling. Take it down a notch. HMMMM> I will listen as I don't want to be put on bed rest. That would really kill my creativity inside of me. And my house will not be perfect for this baby that will arrive in 3 short months.

Sorry no pictures just yet. Excuses, excuses. The dog ate them. I will be posting pictures very soon. I need to get the Mr to help me figure out what has happened to my computer.

October 28th 2010

2010-11-01T10:35:00.005-04:00

Little thing update!

I had my 12 week appointment and so far so good. We got to see little thing and it is looking good. We were able to see the heart beat again and confirm that the little thing is still growing. What a relief!

I have been anxious and while I am laying there and they are rubbing my belly looking for it I have a moment of panic hit. Wondering if it is still there and if it is still alive. Then within a moment those thoughts are put to ease and there is that precious little thing floating in there and the little heart beat, beating away.

I have been so tired and every time I make a trip to the great white throne to loose my lunch I am happy to do it knowing that little thing is still growing. It is just confirmation that little thing is thriving. My next appointment is just before Turkey day and then before Christmas we should know what sex little thing will be. This is my favorite time of the year and having little thing growing inside of me only make it that more special.

I am so thankful to have hit another milestone with "Little Thing"

Home Sweet Home

2010-10-19T09:55:00.003-04:00

We have been living in our second home now for a little over a week.

This past spring we felt like we should buy a home here. But what were we thinking, we still had a home back in Colorado. We prayed about it and moved forward with this choice. Back in May we found this place the first time we walked through it we thought. HMMMM nothing special it is the same floor plan as the one we are renting. It is just way overpriced! We then found one that was quite a fixer upper and put a bid in that night. The next day they came back to tell us a offer had been put in a day before and they accepted that one. So we were back looking for a home.

We looked at places in the area and didn't seem to see anything that was what we were looking for. Then this house, the way over priced dropped about 20K in price and instantly it became interesting to us. It was the same as what we were renting and in the end it met all our needs. Plus the basement is more usable then what we were living in. So we put a bid on it. It was a short sale now that term is loosely used. It should be called a long sale as it took six months for the whole thing to go through. With allot of complications in the end, we were not sure it was even going to go through. With Adam and some great people working for us it all went through in time. Now we are enjoying the benefits of being a home owner once again. Life is good, it will be expensive for a while as there is allot of things to do on our new little treasure.

September 30, 2010 - Little Thing

2010-10-03T10:17:00.005-04:00

This is the day of my first OB appointment. I was so nervous and excited. I kept a calm head about the whole thing not sure what the day would bring and hoping that this little thing growing inside had a good handle on life so far. My appointment was at 8 weeks. We met with our Doctor which I love btw. He is super. It was a wonderful experience to be there with Adam and have him hold my hand. I knew everything would be ok either way.

We are celebrating every little thing about this pregnancy. Every little thing will be a milestone. It is has been so far. We were able to see the heart beat and check on the little thing growing inside of me. So far so good!

This is the furthest I have carried so far. My next appointment will be in a month. We just continue to pray for this little thing to keep going. So I will be checking in with updates.

Here is what Little Thing looks like so far.

September 8, 2010

2010-10-03T10:08:00.003-04:00

It was two weeks later that I realized my TOM had not visited. I thought maybe it was from all the stress. We are in the process of another big event that I am not able to confirm nor deny at this time. So I figure it was from stress that I had not started. As I went out to run errand I decided to stop at CVS and pick up a test. When I got home I decided to do the test. It was mid day not the best time to do it, but if I truly was pregnant then it would show RIGHT?

So I took the test. I watch and then I didn't see anything happening. I figure it was a lost cause. I went into the kitchen and put the timer on for the 3 minuets. When the alarm went off I went back into the bathroom thinking I would find a negative. I looked down and to my surprise it was positive. I was indeed pregnant. WOO HOO! I immediately went up into my bedroom and got on my knees and prayed. I thanked Heavenly Father for this miracle. I cried and just felt so wonderful inside. I could not wait for Adam to get home. All these years I had thought of clever ways to tell Adam I was pregnant. In the end I didn't I told him to go to the bathroom and something was on the counter for him to see. He was curious and went in there and comes out with the biggest smile you could ever imagine. His eyes lite up and he was just beaming. He came over to me and hugged me and held me and we just enjoyed that moment of pure joy.

Not understanding God's Plan

2010-10-03T09:41:00.003-04:00

This past month has been a whirlwind of emotions.

Let me explain. Adam and I had to heal from the pain of last year. It took us some time before we found ourselves wanting to be back up on the adoption list. So in May we contacted LDS Family Services and began the process once again to become adoptive couple. Since we had already been approved last year we were only a transfer couple who just needed to be updated in our new state. You would think that would be a simple process right? Well, let me explain. We met with our case worker in June. We introduced ourselves and shared our experiences and told him we had an urgency to be active by the end of August. So that was the plan, to be back up and active by the end of August. We expressed understanding the process and asked him if he needed the similar things that they did in Colorado. Through out the process of our visits, phone calls, emails. One thing we kept asking our case worker was "is there anything else you need? are you sure we don't need finger print cards for this state?" It almost seemed too easy. As August approached and we finally had out home visit and all that was left was for him to write up our summery and send it to the board for review. I called weekly to follow up with him and push it to get done. I knew when the board was meeting and go confirmation from our case worker he would have it done and we would be active. I waited and watched to see if our profile was up on the site. By the 2nd day I was too impatient and called the office only to find out that our case worker needed to make a appointment to discuss our file. We set a 1230pm phone appointment that day. I worried and watched the clock until that phone call came in.

I could not believe what I was hearing. I could not believe we were not active. I could not believe that he had sat on our file and it had not been worked and the past three months was waisted. He begins to tell me that we do need finger print cards, we do need physicals, we do need more forms filled out. I was calm on the phone with him and listen and took notes. I expressed my disappointment in him and the process. I expressed our urgency to be approved and how I didn't understand he he didnt know his job and the process. I got off the phone sat there for a moment and then I just broke into tears. I felt broken once again. This pain was so deep. I have only ever felt it two other times. This feeling of empty and that I had nothing left inside of me. It is such a dark place to be. I immediately called Adam and told him all that I had learned. We decided to push it to the supervisor and file a complaint.

Two years ago when we started this process we were so afraid to file any complaints as we didn't want to be the complainer couple or have it keep us from finding a child. So we kept quiet. What I have learned over the years and I would tell anyone who is adopting. If you are not satisfied with the service you are paying for, complain. Express to them what you expect and your disappointments. It will not hurt you, but only help you get the people working for you trained. We did just that. Only the more we spoke with the supervisor the more we found out that he didn't do anything for us. Papers we signed were lost. We had emails that from the office stating they recieved documents back in June that were not any where to be found. It broke my heart even more to know that the last 3 months had been a waist of time.

At this time Adam had a scripture come to his mind. It had very special meaning to us. As we pondered all we have done to have a family. All that the past 10 years have brought us to this moment. This scripture that came to him was our Heavenly Father telling us that we have been released at this time. So Adam and I decided to not proceed with the approval. It would take another 3 month to get approved and the urgency seemed to leave us.

After feeling broken heart and through this experience I felt a sense of peace in my life. I felt that Heavenly Father loved us and it was ok. Everything would be ok.

Little did we know what was around the corner.

Almost Time

2010-09-29T10:36:00.002-04:00

I am just dying inside to let the cat out of the bag. It is almost time for the big reveal. We have two major events going on in our life right now and it is pretty good stuff. I can't wait for the big reveal. I am thinking that I will be announcing at least one of them in the next week. But until then, I just wanted to plant a seed of excitement out there.

What looking at old pictures can do......

2010-09-08T12:41:00.010-04:00

Where does the time go?

I sat at my computer looking through old files and found these darling pictures of our Lizzy girl. Lizzy turned eight this year. She has been such a treasure in our lives. You see Adam and I had just gone through are first try with fertility treatments at the time we brought Lizzy into our lives. We were living in a condo in the south part of Denver at the time. We were both very disappointed that the treatments had not worked and it was time to give my body a rest. I told Adam that I had love in my heart to give and that I needed something that I could love. So we talked about bringing a pet into our lives. We decided we would need to to a small pet as we were in a condo and not much room. So we decided on a breed that we thought would fit into our life. We did all the research thinking this would be the breed for us. When it came time to look for a puppy there were none to be found.

Then the day we walked into the kennels we saw her. Lizzy, she was with her brothers and they were jumping and had so much energy. But Lizzy was in the corner alone and when we looked at her. She leaned on her back and put her paws over her nose and gave us that look. "Love Me" At that moment our hearts melted and we were in love with Lizzy. A Chihuahua, we had no idea how to care for a Chihuahua. She was the size of my palm when we brought her home at 8 weeks old. Lizzy has filed that void in our lives because of her love.

A year later we decided Lizzy needed a sister. Since we were not able to give her one we were once again on the hunt for a sister for Lizzy. I went back to the Kennel we had found Lizzy and there was Roxie. She was a little bit bigger and was not as shy. You could tell she was a little stubborn. I was not sure and I called Adam and he encouraged me to get her. I just was not too sure if Roxie would work out. What I learned from Roxie is that all she needed was to be LOVED. It didn't take too long, but after time Roxie changed into the sweetest little sister you could imagine. She would just needed a little extra love and understanding.

Lizzy and Roxie are the best of friend, sisters and they each have their own personalities yet are very distinctive in who they are. They look alike and we get asked all the time if they are sister's Even though they are not from the same mother we say "Yes they are" Because over time that is what they have become to each other.

We like to refer to them as "the girls" these two little girls just don't know they are dogs. They have become a part of our family. They have filled a void in my heart. They have allowed me to give the love I was missing.

So it is fun to go through old photo's and remember: Why we are, Where we are and How we got there.

The desire to be parents is still there. We have learned so much over the years from our girls. Our family is still hoping that one day we will be able to grow, since we still have Love in our Hearts to give.This was our last family photo taken with the girls back in 2008. I think we are due for an update, what do you think?

Green Diet Challenge

2010-07-27T21:15:00.007-04:00

I was thinking about what I was going to say about this Green Diet challenge that I took this past week. I have some Pros and Cons about the whole concept. My biggest Con is the protein. I just felt like I over indulged in carbs. They were good carbs, as I ate allot of fruits, veggies, but all the whole grains. The rice, barley, wheat, pasta. It just felt like the diet was too full of that stuff. So then I modified from the diet a bit in the end and found tofu and vegetable protein to help me out. In the end I will say that I had more energy, my cravings for junk food went away or at bay for a while. I found that I became very regular.

OK TMI I am sure.

In the end I found that my body is now craving for more and more raw foods. So I am going to continue on this eating of raw food and more whole foods. But I am not completely giving up my meat. Have I mentioned how much I love meat?

I have always liked my morning smoothie and kind of wavered from that old tradition. Well I am back to making them with fresh veggies in there. This morning I added some cucumbers and spinach to my blueberries, plum and mango. I used my almond milk and some protein powder. My old time favorite is by Syntrax called Fuzzy Navel. YUM! When I am not lazy I will grind some flax seeds and put that in there. It taste good and keeps me going for the mornings.

I am researching the whole food dehydrators and some other things. I like the idea of not cooking my food at a high temp, but then the whole idea of something that needs to cook for 6-8 hours. Well that sounds like planing. I plan my meals but that sounds like too much planing to me. Come to think of it I do cook with my Crockpot for 6-10 hours for our meals. But this dehydrator thing sounds complicating.

That may not be the best raw idea for me.

I like incorporating more raw foods in my diet so with that I will find where it takes us. As I said before Adam is not committed to go 100% meatless and I do love my meat.

Day trip to Williamsburg

2010-07-26T08:38:00.010-04:00

I was so sad that my girls trip to New York was canceled but I am so glad that the three of us were able to go down to Williamsburg for the day. I love how everything is so close to us. We are only 2.5 hours from this fantastic place. We made it out of the city by 10am. We set the time to meet at 9am, but you know how that goes so 10am was our actual time to get on the road. We packed some yummy sandwiches and had the cooler filled with diet coke and off were went. Oh Lani introduced me to Mint Oreo Cookie. I wish she hadn't as I could not stop munching on them through out the day. We arrived at the Visitor Center where we found free parking. We decided that we didn't want to spend the money for a day pass and thought we would just walk about without going into the live museums. The walk from the VC is only about 8 minuets to the village so for us who want to save a few bucks it was worth it to not have to pay parking. As we are crossing over the bridge we saw this and loved it so much that I had to take a picture.

It reads "you are now leaving the 21st century. Walk back in time".

Here is Lani and her sister Moana in one of the free churches you can go in and sit and enjoy yourself out of the 100 degree heat. We sat in there for quite a while, in the process was able to hear 2 different groups of tours. They told about the history of the Church and stories about the area back in the day.

Here is a picture of the church from outside. This was a beautiful vegetable garden that we were able to walk through. We also saw some children who were taking buckets to the well to fill and walk these heavy wooden buckets back to water the garden.

I had to take a picture because I just feel in love with these and want to find them for my own garden.

It was a really hot day. But we found this spot to stop and sit under the benches of this tree. We had a nice breeze hit us while we were shading by this giant tree.

We found this darling sandwich shop and since I was going meatless this week I ordered the portabella mushroom wrap which turned out to be divine. So going meatless for the week was a good thing because I don't think I would have ordered this under my normal eating plan.

I have never seen S'mores on a menu before so mostly I ordered it out of curiosity and boy am I glad I did as this was a wonderful treat for the night as well as a idea for future desserts in our home. Who doesn't like a campfire marshmallow?
I guess you can just call it Heaven on a stick. It was fantastic!

We walked, walked and walked, we hit every shop we could go into and we bought some really fun things. You know there are just some people you hang out with that have this shopping energy and in the end you come home with bags of fun stuff. Well these are the girls to go with. I came home with some fun rings a belt that is like no other. Lani found a belt and put it on in front of the mirror. Then the next 1hour we were trying to decide which one she should get. Next thing I know I am trying on the belt. WOW this belt completely transforms whatever you are wearing. So before you know it I am trying on this belt and trying to figure out which one I want and which one Lani wants and if I get this one she can borrow it and if she gets that one I can borrow it. It was so fun and in the end we both walked away with our fantastic over-priced belt. But oh it is so cute!

I saw this in the clearance section in one of the Williamsburg stores. I thought it was darling and I loved how the bowls fit in and how low it is to the ground for my girls. I am always looking to spoil them and get them fun things. So after much debate we went back and I picked up these cute dog food bowls for my little girls. I cleaned them and filled them up and put it on the ground. Lizzy walked right over and started to munch while I was taking a picture. They are both very happy with the bowls.

I was telling a friend of mine how cute these bowls were and what they read.

"The Best Is Not Too Good For You"

She smiled and said yes it is like your dogs can read while they eat. I thought for a moment and then realized I got these dog bowels our of my own vanity.

You know the more I thought about it, the more I am OK with it. I really like these bowels and the saying, it looks great in my kitchen and even though I bought them out of my own vanity I know my girls feel special eating from their new bowls.

At the end of the day we found out that we never really hit the main village we spent the day on the opposite side. So this is a place that I will be making many trips back to. I might even have to buy a season pass so I can get into the living museums.

12 Surprises From a Cucumber

2010-07-26T08:26:00.002-04:00

I had to share these 12 Surprises from a cucumber. I get a weekly email that is set up from my church group and was completely blown away with some of this stuff.

1. Cucumbers contain most of the vitamins you need every day—including Vitamin B1, Vita-
min B2, Vitamin B3, Vitamin B5, Vitamin B6, Folic Acid, Vitamin C, Calcium, Iron, Magne-
sium, Phosphorus, Potassium and Zinc.

2. Cucumbers provide a quick pick-me-up that can last for hours (thanks to the B vitamins
and carbohydrates).

3. Rub a cucumber on a foggy bathroom mirror and the fog will disappear—and make your
bathroom smell yummy!

4. Placing a few slices in a pie tin in your garden will keep grubs and slugs from ruining your
plants.

5. Cucumbers reduce the appearance of cellulite and wrinkles! Just rub on the problem area
and the phytochemicals in the cucumber cause the collagen in your skin to tighten.

6. Cucumbers can help eliminate headaches.

7. Rub a freshly cut cucumber over your shoes, and its chemicals will provide a quick and
durable shine that looks great and repels water!

8. Rub a cucumber slice along a squeaky hinge and the squeak will disappear!

9. Cut up an entire cucumber and place in a pot of boiling water. The chemicals and nutrients react with the water and are released
in the steam, creating a soothing and relaxing aroma that has been shown to reduce stress.

10. Press a slice of cucumber to the roof of your mouth with your tongue for 30 seconds to reduce bad breath.

11. Rub a slice of cucumber on your faucets, sinks or stainless steel, and it will remove years of tarnish and bring back the shine—and
it won’t harm your fingers or fingernails!

12. The outside of a cucumber can be used to erase pen writing and remove crayon and marker from the wall.
This information was taken from the New York Times’ “Spotlight on the Home” series.

Fantastic Recipes To Try Out

2010-07-20T14:22:00.006-04:00

I am thrilled with the smoothie recipe that I tried this morning. It was so tasty that I have to share.

Did you know that Papaya is known for its soothing effects on upset digestive systems?

Stomach Soothing Papaya Smoothie
1 cup cubed ripe papaya
6 frozen strawberries
1/2 cup plain soy milk
1 TBS lime juice
1 tsp agave nectar or honey
1/4 tsp grated fresh ginger

Puree all ingredients in blender until smooth

(If you don't like ginger leave it out.)

For my smoothie I substituted the soy-milk for the fage yogurt (Greek) I wanted a little more protein in my breakfast. I used agave nectar and the juice of a whole lime didn't measure it.

WOW it was one of the best smoothies ever.

Definitely a keeper recipe and regular one around my house. I then had a few handfuls of the Healthy Granola that I made last night. What I liked about this breakfast is the sugar was just right and I didn't get a high from it. I am very sensitive to sugar and so smoothies are a tough thing for me with all that fruit. I found that I had my breakfast at 8am and it lasted me all the way through to 1230pm. Which was pretty cool that I didn't feel like I needed a snack mid morning and it lasted me that long.

As for my lunch - YUM!
Bagel with Hummus and Veggies - I added sliced avocado to it. There is something that I love is sprout and avocado on a bagel. I had this awesome spinach and artichoke humus dip I picked up from Costco and it made the sandwich very tasty. Hubby came home for lunch today and I made him the same sandwich except he wanted wheat bread. I put cheese and turkey on his sandwich. He is not going completely meatless with me. But he did eat the same with a few simple modifications.

I was searching the Internet this morning as I usually do looking for recipes and articles to read. I found this very healthy cookie recipe that is the BOMB!

Nikki's Healthy Cookie Recipe - OK it is not me, just so you are aware. This is the name of the recipe, it is just ironic that the recipe has my name in it. What intrigued me about the recipe is that it is made with no eggs, sugar or flour. Oh I love that. Healthy to the core and so I had to make it for snacks in the car for tomorrow. I am heading on a girls day trip and wanted something yummy to eat to keep me on track. Here is the recipe, try it you may just get addicted to them.

Nikki's Healthy Cookie Recipe

You can use unsweetened carob, or grain sweetened chocolate chips, or do what I did and chop up 2/3 of a bar of Scharffen berger 70%. I sort-of shaved half the bar with a knife and then cut the rest into bigger chip-sized chunks. You can make your own almond meal by pulsing almonds in a food processor until it is the texture of sand - don't go too far or you'll end up with almond butter. And lastly, the coconut oil works beautifully here, just be sure to warm it a bit - enough that it is no longer solid, which makes it easier to incorporate into the bananas. If you have gluten allergies, seek out GF oats.

3 large, ripe bananas, well mashed (about 1 1/2 cups)
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/4 cup coconut oil, barely warm - so it isn't solid (or alternately, olive oil)
2 cups rolled oats
2/3 cup almond meal
1/3 cup coconut, finely shredded & unsweetened
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon fine grain sea salt
1 teaspoon baking powder
6 - 7 ounces chocolate chips or dark chocolate bar chopped

Preheat oven to 350 degrees, racks in the top third.

In a large bowl combine the bananas, vanilla extract, and coconut oil. Set aside. In another bowl whisk together the oats, almond meal, shredded coconut, cinnamon, salt, and baking powder. Add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients and stir until combined. Fold in the chocolate chunks/chips.The dough is a bit looser than a standard cookie dough, don't worry about it. Drop dollops of the dough, each about 2 teaspoons in size, an inch apart, onto a parchment (or Silpat) lined baking sheet. Bake for 12 - 14 minutes. I baked these as long as possible without burning the bottoms and they were perfect - just shy of 15 minutes seems to be about right in my oven.

Makes about 3 dozen bite-sized cookies.

The Green Diet

2010-07-19T22:05:00.008-04:00

This weekend we went away for a mini vacation. I will talk about that later. While on our travels we hit a book store. I always wander over to the cook books and see if there is anything interesting. I usually don't buy them especially at full price. There was something different about this book. Maybe it was the thick pages and the colorful pictures that made the food look appealing to me. The book is called "The Green Diet" by Mary Jolley.

For some reason it has inspired me to look towards other food for a source of protein. I have been trying to go more natural with my food. I try to buy the hormone free dairy and meat. I buy organic when I can and I have tried to stay away from Corn Syrup and read my labels. This weekend at the Hotel we stayed at the jam they had for the toast was apple. I looked at the first few ingredient and it read Corn Syrup and High Fructose Syrup. Are you kidding me that was the first few ingredients in some apple jam? It kind of made me mad, and then it kind of scared me as to what is going into our foods.

I did more research about this author and found out that she has a website. On the site she has a one week challenge. So I have decided to take the challenge and see if I can go without meat for a week. As I know my husband is not so much on board with the meatless life. He will eat what I make and I will have a piece of chicken breast on the side for him with my meatless meals. The diet I found is basically doing what I am already doing. There is not much of a lifestyle change other than eating more whole grains, beans and legumes. I like the idea of no sugar and keeping the dairy low to none.

As earlier this year I did an very extreme diet to help me loose some weight. I lost 20lbs and then have gained back 5lbs. The diet was very restrictive with calories and I had to completely cut out all grains, bread and starches from my diet. Sugar was something else that was not permitted. It was lean meat, veggies and fruit. No fats. With it being so restrictive my craving were insane. It got easier as time went on, but when the 6 weeks was over I could not keep up with the maintenance as I went back to eating whatever, whenever. I think diets are just what it spells. "Die with a T" I am looking for something more as a way of living. Something that gives me the health benefits and energy to live life.

I love my meat don't get me wrong, I am not sure I can give it up but I can add more variety to my diet. I noticed that when I went off the eggs, milk, cheese I felt better. So I think that will not be too hard. It is the meat that I love.

It is for one week, I am taking the challenge and I will come back in a week and let you know how I did.

I officially start tomorrow, but for dinner we had the Rice and Bean Bowl. Of course Adam had chicken with his bowl. It was very tasty and filling. I went ahead and made the Basic Healthy Granola tonight so it will be ready for my breakfast tomorrow. YUM.

The challenge is here. http://mygreendiet.com/category/green-diet-plan/

Let me know if you try it.

Where's Roxie?

2010-07-15T09:58:00.012-04:00

Roxie is usually following me around the house through out the day. She walks with me to the basement to do the laundry, she hangs out in the kitchen when I am cooking, she watches all my tv shows with me or is sitting at my feet while I am on the computer. She is a constant companion to me while I am at home. But the other day I noticed she was no where to be found. I called for her and she never came. Then I went on the hunt to find Roxie and this is where I found her.
BTW - that pillow she is sleeping on was upright when I made the bed that morning. Knowing my Roxie she pushed it down for her own comfort.

Roxie is a girl after my own heart.

4th Of July 2010

2010-07-06T14:13:00.000-04:00

We had a great 4th of July. We started the day out by going to church in the morning. After church we headed back to the house to have a BBQ. With everyone pitching in we got the lunch on the table fast. With burgers, fruit, veggie and chips. For dessert we had homemade ice cream. YUM!

After lunch a few of us went to take a nap. What a perfect afternoon. Sunday nap!

About 6pm we loaded our cars and heading towards the Pentagon. I love how we only live 12 miles from there. We found our parking just next to the Air Force Memorial and there we made camp for our fireworks watching. We were right across the river with a great view of DC fireworks. I decided I could not handle the crowds and go to the Mall to see the fireworks. After talking with locals I found this was a good place to be and not too crowded.

We had our picnic dinner with family and friends and enjoyed the fireworks.

The display was only 17 mins and it was a good show, but I have to say that I thought Fairfax had a better show. It took us 1 hour to get out of the parking lot and then only 20 mins to go 12 miles. So next year we know to park in the lower lot and found this a great place to start our family tradition.

Morning in Arlington National Cemetery - 3rd of July, 2010

2010-07-06T14:03:00.000-04:00

Saturday morning we went to Arlington National Cemetery for the first time. I am so glad we did, what a great way to start off the 4th of July weekend. To be able to go to solemn ground and remember all the men and woman who have sacrificed for our great country. What an amazing experience.

Afterward we got back on the Metro and went to the Eastern Market. We found a great place to eat. Then we went downtown and walked around until we could no longer bear the heat.

After getting home and taking a power nap, Adam and I went to get a sandwich at Subway for dinner then stopped at Safeway to pick up things for the BBQ the next day. When we got back to the house we unpacked the groceries, grabbed out lawn chairs and headed to the park about a block from our house to watch the Fairfax fireworks. It was one of the longest show I have seen and the fireworks were outstanding. I loved the heart that they shot in the air. It was a magical night to sit with my husband and watch the fireworks.

Sunset at National Harbor

2010-07-06T13:45:00.000-04:00

Friday night we went to the National Harbor. This is one of my favorite things to do at night. It is so relaxing and enjoyable to be able to sit near the harbor and watch the sun set. Adam and I have found the shops to be charming and the boardwalk to be romantic.

In the middle there is a giant sand area where kids can play in. There is a Greek status that is buried in the sand, which makes a great climbing toy for kids of all ages.

Across from the sand pit is a Peeps Store. We had to go in and buy some fresh peeps.

As we walked down the boardwalk we decided to stop in the Convention Center where we found these amazing sand sculptures.

National Harbor is one of my top 10 to do in DC for a date night out. Best sunset in town.

Drum Cake into a Cupcake

2010-07-06T13:31:00.000-04:00

My sister in law makes the best cakes. I have always been a box cake maker until I met Ildiko. She take such pride in all her cake creations. Whenever we are together my request is to be able to make a cake with her. One of my favorite cakes she makes is a "Drum Cake". It is a moist vanilla sponge like cake that is baked in very thin layers. We usually make 6 layers, then it is filled with a chocolate fluffy center and the top is a caramel crunch. It is an amazing cake.

We had come friends over for dessert one night and I decided that I wanted to try and turn this drum cake into cupcakes. So I baked the cake batter up as cupcakes. Then filled the cupcakes with the chocolate cream frosting. Then drizzled the caramel crunch over the top.

They tasted pretty good. But I think the cake is the better way to eat it. There is something about all the thine layers that really makes the flavors flow.

Fly to me to fix her Heart

2010-07-06T12:45:00.000-04:00

The title to this post is misleading. I didn't fix my sister's heart. Some great surgeons at Walter Reed did. Thank goodness for fantastic doctors and technology that we have today. Through procedures that can cure the broken heart. I had my heart fixed by a great doctor at Rose Medical Center back in 2007. I was born with WPW (Wolf Parkinson White Syndrome) which is a defect in my heart that I was born with. Lucky for me and the great doctors at Rose I was able to get them to fix it with a procedure called an ablation. Hours of working on me and I was cured. My little sister Chris was born as well with a heart defect. Her heart defect is much different than mine and took her doctors who specialize many hours and two procedures to correct her heart.

Last November 2009 my sister and her hubby had to leave their four boys and fly to DC to get my sister's heart fixed. She was able to have a few days to recover from jet lag as they flew here from Germany. In the meantime we had a day to get some site seeing in and she chose to go see Mt. Vernon.

Here we are at the slave cooking quarters.

This is a view on the grounds. Isn't it lovely?

A view from the slave house.

Oh wait, she really didn't want a picture just out of surgery. But I got a good shot of her hand.

BTW you really should not make a heart patient laugh after they wake up and are loaded on pain killers. But you have got to love her sense of humor. She is the funniest person I know. Especially when she see's live animals while on Prozac. Oh that is another story.

Mom and Chris. It was so nice to have my mom fly out to be with us during this time.

Pumpkin Pie from Scratch

2010-07-06T12:40:00.000-04:00

Last year I was so impressed with my friend Emily. She made pumpkin pie filling from scratch and then brought me over a jar. I was determined to follow in her footstep of becoming the same domestic goddess that she has become. Here I am making the same pumpkin puree for my pumpkin pies for 2009.

First I went to my local Trader Joe's were I found these darling little cooking pumpkins. I cut them and cleaned them out and put them on a cookie sheet and roasted them for an hour at 400 degrees.

Then I scooped out the guts and puree then in a bowl

Then follow whatever your favorite pumpkin pie recipe. And voila there are the most amazing pies ever. Seriously it was worth the work. They are the best pies ever.

Just ask the man who eats them.

Our New Place

2010-07-06T12:35:00.000-04:00

So many have asked us what our new place looks like. I have to say it was hard to leave our home and downsize into a town home. So far so good. We found this great place to rent on Craigslist as we were driving across country. We were able to rent it the very next day of our arrival. Lucky for us it is in the perfect location. We love the community and the area.

Here is my tiny kitchen. It has some getting used to as I have no counter space and so I have found that I have to clean up as I am cooking.

Lucky for us we have a eat in kitchen which is rare for the town homes in the area. We also were lucky to get a walkout sliding glass door for our dogs.

This is the hallway leading from the front door to the kitchen. I fell in love with the hardwood floors.

As you can see Roxie has settled in just nicely with her food and bed.

We decided to split up the living room and entertainment room. So here was our old loft it fits nicely into the half of the room.

Our living room we downsized to fit nicely in the other half of the room.

Our upstairs has 3 bedrooms and 2 baths. Our basement has turned into our rec room and garage/storage.

Thanks for visiting our home.

Our First Day Here

2010-07-06T12:32:00.000-04:00

So today I was looking at pictures and decided that it was time to really update our lives. We have been settled now for almost 9 months. So far so good. We love it here and feel like we have found home. I found these pictures that we took our very first day here. We checked into our hotel and then the next afternoon decided to head downtown DC and drive by the sites. So here you are. Our first views of our new town.

We are crossing one of the many bridges.

I love this shot of the white house.

Kent Island

2010-06-21T20:41:00.000-04:00

Adam and I decided that we wanted to take a day trip and find a sandy beach and eat crabs. So with a little research on the internet at midnight the night before we planned our day. We got in the car and drove about 1.5 hours away where we found this charming little place in Maryland called Kent Island. We stopped at this great little crab shack and ate crab. With a full belly we went around out back and found a few hammocks and took a nap in the hot sun with a nice cool breeze blowing on us. What a nice day to find this little gem of a place. Here are some pictures from a little adventure. I have truly fallen in love with the East Coast and all this it offers us.

As we drove to the crab shack we saw a landing strip that was right behind these houses. Then we noticed that each house had their own plane and they housed them in their garages. I think we just found a perfect place for Adam to be able to live. He can house his plane right on the property. This will be a thought for a future home on the island.

It was a perfect Summer day.

Flowers Always Makes Me Smile

2010-06-10T08:28:00.000-04:00

I have just discovered a new favorite flower. Peony! Last week I saw these at Safeway for $3.99, they were still in the bulb stage with no blooms. Not sure what they would do so I took a chance and bought the bouquet. This week to my surprised they opened up. Look how beautiful they are. The fragrant is fabulous! Flowers are one of those things no matter what they are they make me smile when I see them. I have decided this is an item that has made my list to plant in our next house.

Kitchen Towels

2010-06-10T08:21:00.000-04:00

Here is another quick project that I did this week. With some of my leftover fabric I decided it was enough to fancy up some kitchen towels. A fast and easy way to brighten my kitchen up immediately. I have some IKEA white pot holders I think will be my next project. I like to find hand towels in the clearance section then purchase whatever colors I can, next find material to match. These are some cheaply Walmart kitchen microfiber towels that come in a two pack. But look how much cuter they look with a little face-lift.

Favorite Memories of 2010 Trip to Germany

2010-06-07T18:47:00.000-04:00

It has only taken me 5 months to post this trip, but you would not believe how many pictures I took on this trip. I cut down to the bare minimum of this trip. My Iphone was even more pictures on it. It was an amazing experience to go and spend the time with my sister and her cute family. My four nephews were a blast to be with. It was cold, it was dark some days and the sun came out only for moments, but with it being one of the worst winters in 20 years it was still worth making the trip. I am so glad I went and so thankful for the time.

Water tower of Mannheim -is water tower, the town's landmark, is completed in 1889.

I just plain love these decorations people had outside and had to take pictures so I could make similar ones this Christmas.

I was able to spend some time with a mission companion who was living in Heidelberg.

Holocaust Memorial -it's a see-through cube with the names of Jewish citizens of Mannheim in the 1930s.

I love a good farmers market and of course we went all the time. This one was in downtown Mannheim.

This is the Witches prison. Still standing in between the houses.

I just fell in love with this yellow house and it's doorway.

The Cathedrals have the most amazing stain glass windows.

We were able to go to France and do some shopping, I love the pastry shops and I picked up some french pottery as well.

T is loving his homework.

Don't you just love the Disco Lion. He is awesome.

So Chris and I were able to take a half day just the two of us and we went to the Bath house in Baden Baden. What an experience it will be a memory that I would only do with Chris.

It was a wonderful trip 7 weeks in Germany with my family. Thank you Adam for the opportunity. Thank you American Airlines for the miles.

Rice Bag Foot Warmer

2010-06-07T18:17:00.000-04:00

I just had to blog my project today. The crafty bug has hit me once again and my creative insides are flowing. If feels good to be back and feeling it again. So I have been finding some awesome blogs out there to help me get my ideas of projects to work on. This one has been in the back of my mind since my trip to Utah in March. I stayed with my friend Julie for a week and one night to my surprise I found the foot of my bed warm and cozy. I reached down by my feet and pulled out a pillow that was heated. I slept really well those nights and thought to myself I need to get one of these. So after doing some research I decided to try and make one myself. So I went to the fabric store, picked up some muslin and made a bag of rice. Then I found this cute material in the scrape section to make the slip cover. I really like the idea that my slip cover is washable. Well here you have it, if I can make one of these, anyone can do it. I had more trouble trying to remember how to thread the bobbin then making this.

Lunch Cruise on the Potomac River

2010-06-07T18:16:00.000-04:00

What a great adventure on Saturday June 5, 2010 Adam and I went for a lunch cruise on the Potomac River. His company had a employee appreciation lunch and rented out the whole boat. It was a blast.

We are at the dock getting ready to board the Spirit of Washington.

You can see the Washington Monument from our boat.

What a perfect day!

Trip to Germany

2010-05-08T17:23:00.000-04:00

Better late then never. It took awhile as there was a problem downloading all my pictures from my fantastic trip to Mannheim, Germany. I flew out on December 30, 2009 and was planed to return six weeks later but luck had it that my trip was extended due to a storm that hit the east coast and so my trip was for seven weeks. Lucky for me I was able to use miles that we had on American Airlines to make the trip.

I arrivedin Frankfurt, Germany where I found my sister in her mini van outside of baggage claim waiting for me. There inside the mini van I was able to meet my nephew Oliver for the first time. He looked at me with his big blue eyes not too sure if I was OK or not? He looked at his brother Foster and then at his Mommy wondering why they were so happy to see me and who I was. Soon after when Oli was feed with chicken nuggets his heart melted and he became my buddy from then on. I found the way to Oli's heart is through his stomach. He has the true "Palmer" in him.
So our adventures begins. Being able to be with my sister and her family was a wonderful experience. I had not seen them in almost two years. It was a treat to be able to go visit them in Germany and live with them while being a local and a tourist. After a few days of jet lag I was finally able to get out and feel human again. Our first adventure was with my nephew Talbert and his school class. Chris and I went with the class to go see an exhibit of Alexander the Great at a museum in Mannheim. It was a fanstactic exhibit.
This is a picture of the kids in our group. After the museum we went to a all you can eat Chinese restaurant. Which was a great idea with all these kids. They had some of the best gelato that I have ever eaten here. We almost didn't see it. But the kids made sure we found it.

My sister and I, we are so happy to be together.

Recap of the end of 2009

2010-01-01T09:28:00.001-05:00

I think Adam and I are adjusting quite nicely in our new place and in our new state. The nice part about living back east is being closer to Adam's side of the family. We have been taking advantage of that the past few holidays. For Thanksgiving, Adam and I packed up the car with the dogs and headed to Diana's place in the state of New York. Diana just bought her first home this past spring and it was so nice to go and visit her and our nephew. We had a wonderful Thanksgiving weekend with them and took a quick day trip of to Niagara Falls. Unfortunately we didn't bring our passports so we were only able to stay on the US side of the falls. We did however catch a bite to eat at Hard Rock cafe. We are defiantly going back to the falls and visiting our family there.

Christmas has come and gone and with that was our family traditions. I ordered my supplies and had them delivered to our new place. I did attempt to make the Palmer traditional chocolates. One batch went to sugar and the rest turned into a creamy wonder. It was my first time making these at sea level and I have to say I did learn allot about doing it. The weather did affect the process of making them. But we did what we do, box them up and give them to friends. Being new to the area I was surprised how long our list was. As we had to give to all those people who welcomed us into the area. I could not afford to ship them this year as with all our friend back in CO, UT, CA so the only thing I can say about that. You need to come visit us during the holidays to get a box.

Before I knew it my house was full of people. It was great to have Diana, Alex and Adam's parents come for the week of Christmas. But before they arrived we had a huge snow storm that shut down the city a few days. We got 20 inches of snow. That may not sound like allot, but for where we are living, it is. There is just no where to put it and the city just can't keep up with that kind of snow. The week with family allowed us to go see some fun things in Downtown DC, and allowed us to learn the Metro system more.

As for New Years, I said goodbye to my sweetheart and got on a plane a few days before and flew to Germany. I rang in the new year with my sister's family. I am loving being here with her and her family. I miss my nephews and now have the joy of them for a little while. I have already enjoyed lots of yummy things here that I have been missing over the years. My german is very rusty and it will take some time to get used to hearing it when we are out on the economy.

Happy New Year

2010-01-01T09:16:00.000-05:00

It's official 2010 has arrived. I would like to welcome the new year and all that it will bring.

I love thinking about the possibilities of a new year. It feels like a fresh start, full of hope and opportunity to make changes. But then a smart friend of mine posted this on Facebook and it got me thinking about her wise words.

"Every day is the start of a new year. There is no sense in waiting til midnight tonight to make positive changes when every day is an opportunity."

So why do I feel like January 1st is a fresh start. I guess it is because I look forward to the unknown. A full year of things that will happen unexpectedly in my life, the twist and turns that build who I am and make me stronger. I think 2010 will be a year of hope and miracles. I think no matter what comes our way, we will be where we need to be and doing what we are suppose to be doing.

2010 Bring it on!

Cake Decorating in August 2009

2009-12-02T09:27:00.000-05:00

Better late then never to get these pictures up. I am still obsessed with cupcakes and with cake decorating. I took a class with some friend this past August. With the move across country and all the craziness that has been going on I am just getting these pictures up of the class I took. It was allot of fun and a very entertaining class with my buddies Julie and Britney in the class with me. This is from our very first class together. Our project was to make a round cake and bring to class frosted blue. Then we were to learn how to put the rainbow on the cake. It was pure craziness trying to get the cakes completed in the allotted time. We did it and our results are below. Next year when things settle down, I plan to continue through the rest of the courses.

A Wonderful Surprise!

2009-11-21T00:28:00.000-05:00

I have a super husband and wanted to share how great he is. A few weeks ago I sat down with him and expressed my feelings about not working. I love not working, that is not the issue, but the first time in my married life I am not working, which means I am not bringing in any money for me to play with. Let me explain. I work, I pay bills and then I pull some money away and put it into a nest egg is what I like to call it.
Years ago my mother told me that every woman should have money set aside for an emergency a "nest egg". For who knows what life will bring. After that I decided I would have money put away and it would be there for those moments like, tires, a trip or just because I wanted a massage or my hair done. Since the move my little nest egg was exhausted for moving. I am not working so where will the money come to put back into my nest egg?
I expressed my feelings to Adam and he listened and we talked about options. Later that week he shows up one night with a dozen red roses and a card. Oh what a surprise to see him with roses. I read the card and it is very special and probably one of the best cards he has picked out. I open the card and money falls out. Yes he did hear me and there was a little money to put back into my nest egg. I had tears in my eyes as I thanked him and kissed him for listening to my feelings and understanding me. I am so glad that I married my best friend, and so thankful for his kind heart.

Tonight he surprised me with a box of See's chocolates. I was shocked, I asked him what the occasion was? He just smiled and said "I love you." I saw the store and thought of you and knew you would love these. So I just stopped and picked them up.

Thank you sweetheart!

Weekend away - 6 hour drive

2009-10-26T18:23:00.000-04:00

So where can you go in six hours from our new house. Well one of the places is to Salisbury, NC where Adam's parents live. We packed up a few weekend bags, loaded the girls and away we went. Only it didn't take us 6 hours to get there. It took us about 1.5 hours just to go 40 miles on the freeway. Yes, we hit the lovely DC traffic that everyone talks about. So leaving at 430pm are arrival time to our destination was midnight. We settled in and got a night's rest. The next morning we were on a mission to grab a quick breakfast and head up to go visit with Adam's grandma. So we got in the car and mashed the peddle and found a Bojangles and picked up some breakfast biscuits. There is nothing like a flaky southern biscuit for breakfast.

After that we went back and picked up Adam's Dad and headed for Mount Airy. Yes to all the Andy Griffith fans out there, this is his home town and also where Grandma lives. She went to school with Andy and she happens to live right across the street from Andy's house that he grew up in. So we did see a few tour buses drive by during the visit. We had about 1.5 hour drive to this tiny town up north in NC.

We arrived and decided that we better get lunch. I had Snappy Lunch on my list of things to do while in town. I had a Snappy Lunch burger about 7 years ago and to this day have never had one like it and I have not stop thinking about their burgers. We walked up through the alley to hit main street. There was allot going on in the little town. We stood in line for about 30 mins waiting to get a table. I could not wait to order. I order a breaded hamburger with all the fixings. Their fixings is slaw, chili, mustard and a slice tomato. Believe me it sounds odd but it is SO GOOD! Adam order a ground steak burger and we order a pork chop sandwich to go. As Adam is half way eating his burger he signal the waitress and orders another one. He forgot how good it was.

This is Andy's house that he grew up in and it is across the street from Grandma's house.

After lunch we drive through the city. Adam shows me his old house, we see places that his dad visited while growing up there. Adam's dad told us a story that when he was in high school he would get up early in the morning and run down main street, he would smell Snappy Lunch as he would run by.

We arrived at Grandma's and found Uncle Money there. This was my first time meeting him. He looks allot like Adam's dad. He greeted us with a warm welcome and gave hugs all around. He was very friendly and happy to see us. We then went into see grandma who was in bed. This was my first time meeting her as well. All around her house we saw pictures of her, her husband and people who where in her life. I saw pictures of her in her younger years and what a beautiful woman she is. Grandma turns 90 next month and has really gone down hill with her health this past year. She is only 75lbs right now. So frail and weak. She still has her wits though and was able to tell us stories and sing songs her mother had sung to her as a child. She was sad that she could not do more as her body just will not let her. Her mind is there and she enjoys reading.

After our visit we took a detour and went to Mount Pilot to take a look at the scenery. It was beautiful.

On our way back we decided to hit Lexington to go to the World's famous Bar-B-qQue festival. We didn't arrive until 6pm and found out that it was over at 6pm. We did walk in and try to see and eat stuff but nothing was open and the whole thing was shutting down. On our way back we saw this awesome sand castle.

We headed back to Salisbury and was able to see Adam's brother Josh for about 10 mins. We had not seen him in seven years. He has gone from this little kid that I remember to a man.

We picked up Adam's mom and the we went to dinner. What did we go to eat. Southern Bar-B-Que of course with slaw and hush puppies on the side.

The next morning we went to church. Adam loved it, he was able to see allot of people that he knew when growing up. After church we packed out things and headed back home. We did however make it back to home in 6 hours. As traffic coming back on a Sunday night was smooth.

I wonder where our next 6 hour trip will take us. HMMMM I am thinking that one will be for Thanksgiving.

Farewell Colorado

2009-10-13T22:49:00.000-04:00

I hate to say goodbye to Colorado and to so many good friends that we have made while living there. If the prompting to go to Virginia was not so strong we would never be leaving. We are going to truly miss our family and friends here in the west. Our home in VA will always welcome anyone who wants to venture out our way. Farwell my favorite flower from my garden, the Columbine of course.

There are so many fond memories with people that I love. I seem to meet people in odd situations and we become friends. I had one friend I met years ago who was pounding on my front door enraged because water was leaking in her house. I offered her a chocolate and calmed her down and we because the best of friends following that situation.

Another one is late at night around 11pm we see a Uhaul truck, Adam and I were coming home from getting ice cream. He insisted we stop to see if they needed help. There we found this couple who had unloaded all but the heavy stuff. Adam help with the heavy stuff and we soon found later they to be great friends of ours.

Another person invited Adam to go fishing. I remember Adam calling me up to tell me to come and meet him. So I drove over to his house with Adam giving me directions over the phone as I drove. I find them both in the back yard gutting fish they caught that morning. This was the first of many fun adventures with these friends.

There are so many other stories and memories. Of going out to dinner with friends and baking and cooking dinners together. We found our Christmas list this year to almost be too much as we had so many people make the list. I cooked and cooked to give each of our friends a little piece of us and our love for them.

Life is nothing if you have not got your family and friends around you to share your joys and pain. Thank you and we will not forget you. You will always be in our hearts.

Could this Really Happen Twice?

2009-10-13T21:47:00.000-04:00

August 5th was a big day for us. I was so excited for Adam to get home from work. I had news to share with him. To my suprise he got- home from work early that day. He had a big suprise for me as well.

He announced to me that he was laid off from his job and I announced to him that I was pregnant again. What a day. We were going to have a baby and he was jobless. We were excited and nervous.

A few weeks later we got a call that we had been chosen again to adopt a boy who was 2 weeks old at the time. It was on a Friday that I found out. Without thought we accepted and very excited about the possibility of being parents, but not only having one but 2 kids who would be only 8 months apart. That Saturday we went to the temple. While I was in the temple a thought came to me of what this boy should be named. I leaned over to Adam to tell him.

That evening we got an email from the birth father asking us to name the baby and that they wanted the birth certificate issued on Monday. So we emailed him back right away as we had already been prompted as to what his name should be. Everything seems to be going like it should and then on that Wednesday we get a call that it is all on hold and the child is no longer up for adoption. Weeks passed and we prayed and pondered about what had happened. In the process I was receiving treatment for my pregnancy. I was able to see it before she had a heart beat and then I went in again 2 weeks later where we heard her heartbeat. Then following week I went in and that is when I found out I had miscarried again. Not only did we loose the adoption but we miscarried once again. I thought to myself who goes through this kind of stuff? What are the chances of having 2 miscarriages and 2 failed adoptions with in 5 months? I cried and cried for our lost. For the dream that was lost of being a parent. The pain was real and the trial has been never ending. This time I saw hope. Hope that it will happen again, it will just not happen today. I felt alone for quite a while. I felt that the Spirit was gone from me. I could not feel his prompting and I felt dead inside. This time I tried so hard not to let the pain consume me like before.

Adam and I visited the temple often and prayed that the Lord would direct our life. Adam had been looking for work since May as he had know something was going to happen to his employment, we just never thought it would happen this soon. Then an opportunity came from back East. We talked about it and I told him that if it worked out why not? With much prayer we decided to open the job search Nation Wide. Within 3 weeks of this choice. Adam received 4 job offers with in days of each other. One of the job offers that came in was the first job that got us even thinking about moving. We knew this was what we needed to do and went for it.

In this process I started to feel alive again. I could feel the small promptings of the spirit back in my life. I was starting to feel again. Adam and I discussed on what to do about moving our life to Virginia. So within 3 weeks we packed up our lives and moved to Virginaia.

Always More of 2009 Summer Highlights

2009-10-13T21:36:00.000-04:00

We had a great garden that produced many vegetables, and the bushes produces berries that we enjoyed this year I took a cake decorating class and here is me with my cool apron and first cake of the class.

We celebrated Birthdays.

We went to a Luau.

And spent the Summer with many friends.

More 2009 Summer Hightlights

2009-10-13T21:31:00.001-04:00

2009 Will be my summer of Cupcakes, and more cupcakes. I could not get enough of the cupcakes. I tried to turn our trip to Utah in a a cupcake tour, but with lack of time I was only able to hit 1 of the 3 shops.

One of our last Summer Saturday's in Denver we went to the Farmers Market at Cherry Creek with our good friends. After the market of course we all decided to hit "My Big Fat Cupcake" for a little treat. I already miss our Farmer's Market Saturdays and our Cupcake eating buddies. We like to start them young and got Rachel interested in Cupcakes.

Summer 2009 Highlights Continued

2009-10-13T21:23:00.000-04:00

Watching fireworks on the 4th of July with good friends. We met them at Green Valley Ranch park. We found a great spot to sit and we played Crazy 8's until the sun went down. While doing so listening to a live band in the background. It was one of those nights we will remember for a long time. The firework display was amazing.

Adam and I going out on a date night to dinner and a movie on a warm summer eve.

I saw this shirt and almost bought it for my Dad for father's day. But we had already got him a flight lesson gift instead. Maybe next year.

Summer 2009 Hightlights

2009-10-13T21:17:00.000-04:00

Friends graduation party. They know how to throw a fun party with really good food. One of the best cooks I know. I had to get a picture of Carolina with her big pot of goodness. They had 5 grills going with meat now that is what I am talking about.

2009 Summer Highlights

2009-10-13T20:52:00.000-04:00

It is hard to believe that summer is over and fall is here. I want to take a few moments to highlight some of the things we did this summer and I didn't blog about. Our camping trip with some good friends.