A Little Play House

So, last week, we bought a new glider rocker/recliner! (LOVE IT!) We needed to get smoething to have in the babys room and big lots had an awesome sale and we saved like $60. Anyway, The girls were so excited about the box. They climbed in and out of it, read books in it, played house in it. I suggested to Justin that maybe we could make a little house for them to play in. Justin immediately did just that! Jaicie was a little perplexed by the flat roof---Because houses are supposed to have triangles on top---but once they started playing it was okay. It is tall enough for Felicity to stand up in, but Jaicie can't. They play in it all the time and absolutely love it! Justin even cut a hole in the roof and added a chimney with smoke coming out. What a good daddy! Now all we have to do is get some sort of light to put inside it...maybe a battery powered night light? I guess we will have to see!

ON other notes...Thigns are going pretty well right now. The girls and I have finally recovered from the flu and colds that hit us--Thank Goodness! Justin however, seems to be getting hit with it now. Hopefully we won't keep passing it back and forth. It was horrible and I was horrified at how much it knocked me out. I wanted to pull all my teeth out one morning because my sinuses weer putting so much pressure on my teeth and they hurt so badly!

Felicity has started grasping the idea of letters. She can identify an O with no problem. Any time she sees one she announces at the top of her lungs-- O is for Octopus! She also knows A, B and C really well and F and J she is working on. Most of the letters now she can say what they are for, A is for Apple, D is for Dog. But she can't always identify all of the letters. She and I work a little bit each week on letters and she loves it. She is really starting to push potty training herself. I am still scared about taking that step before the wedding next month. A week long trip is bound to mess things up!

Jaicie is being a 4 year old. She has moments where it seems she is out two year old, but she is trying so hard to grow up faster than she is. She still loves school. Last week she learned about the presidents of the US. She got so excited when someone mentioned Abraham Lincoln on TV the other day. She came hom last week and told me that George Washington was the first president. Over the weekend, she pulled some coins out of a cup and told me who was on each coin...(I couldn't even tell you that!) She is a handful sometimes, but she is sure fun to have around! She keeps me busy! She is now reading quite a bit. She sounds out everything that she sees and most of the time gets pretty close. It is amazing to see how much she has grown up!

Tonight is a dinner for Justin's class at school. It is a meeting that we get to go and learn all about the third year of Medical School. It starts July 7 and it is going to be crazy! From what I understand, at the dinner tonight they will be explaining everything that goes on. The big change is that third year med school is when clinic work starts and class work basically ends. They have a total of 6 clerkships--OB/Gyn, surgery, Prediatrics, Psychiatry, internal medicine, and Family Medicine. They rotate through those for about 8 weeks each and take tests at the end of each one. (Or so i understand as of right now) Justin is going to love it. He loves being able to go to clinic and I am sure that he will love doing it everyday. I am not so much looking forward to the schedule. From the third year spouses that I have talked to already, they work long hours, and weekends and it isn't very fun. But it will be good for him! It will be an adventure taking 3 children to church by myself...I think that is my biggest fear, but I am sure someone will help me at church! :)

As for me, thigns are good. This pregnancy has been so much different then the others. I have noticed more pains and more discomfort with this one than before. Probably just because it is a third baby, but it is so different. He is starting to get mroe active everyday. Justin has finally been able to feel him kick and it makes him smile everytime. The baby is not nearly as active as the girls were...but he is picking up. I am now 23 1/2 weeks along. It is hard to believe how quickly everything is going. I am looking forward to a possible trip to San Antonio in May for the Texas Medical Association Alliance. We are still working on ironing out what to with the kids, but it would be great to go! Well, now that it is 10 o'clock, i suppose I should get around to eating breakfast. I get to go shopping today... I have to find something to wear to my dad's wedding. I have discovered that along with all the other differences...I am a little bigger this time around then before and my clothes don't quite fit as well. So I am going to go and buy a new dress...if I can find one that will fit that long!

Wow, this blog turned out a lot longer than I expected! :) Have a great week!

Ice Skating

A couple of weeks ago, we were able to take the girls ice skating at a school activity that the medical school held. I was amazed at the size of the ice skates. They were so cute! Jaicie seemed to enjoy it much more the Felicity. But both had to be held up the whole time. Felicity only lasted about 10 minutes on the ice. She wasn't a huge fan of the difficulty it was walking. Jaicie kept going around with us and with friends. She loves ice skating and if we had some more income, we might actually consider enrolling her in some ice skating lessons. But maybe after medical school. It was a lot of fun though. There are several pictures of Justin's class as well. The activity didn't start until 8pm. so we kept the girls up late. The girls and I left at 9 and Justin hung out until 10 with his classmates. Luckily he didn't break the camera when he fell! :)

Candle Sale!

This is an email from my sister! She is closing her candle business to spend more time with her family. I thought I would pass the word on to everyone I know as well. These candles are amazing and I can't say enough good about them. So, if you love candles...then order some! :)

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Hello to all,

I just want to thank all of you who have been repeat customers to my web store. I have decided that time with my children is too precious and I need to cut something out of my life that takes away from time with them. The candle business has been good to me, but requires a lot of my time to keep it running smoothly. In the last several months I have not been able to give it the time I would like to so that it can continue to grow. It is with some sadness that I am announcing that I will soon be closing my candle business. In order to move out the large inventory of candles that I currently have in stock, I am offering them at huge discounts. Everything will be 30% off while supplies last. I will not be taking any special orders or handling any backorders, I will only be able to sell what I have in stock. If you would like to call me to place an order so you can know exactly what I have, please feel free to do so. My number is (970)667-1355. I will keep the quantities available according to the website as up to date as possible. The discount prices will be shown on your order total page however I will not at this time be offering FREE shipping due to the fact that I am letting this stuff go at such low prices. Orders will be processed in the order that they are received. I will send you an email if you order something I am not able to fill so I can suggest alternates of scent or size.

Again I thank you for your past business and would love to refer you to someone else for your future candle needs. (But first please help me clear out my inventory, ). Email me if you would like the name of someone else you can contact.

Click here to shop the Going Out of Business SALE!

Thanks,

Michelle Sims

CachetBySweetheartScents.com

Josh Groban and Andrea Bocelli

I thought that they did an amazing job on this performance last night. I think it is one of my new favorite versions of this song!

Wednesday Letters and Sundays

I just read this book. It was passed to me by my friend Tiffany. It is called The Wednesday Letters by Jason F. Wright. The book opens with a husband and wife talking in their bed as they are getting ready to go to sleep. It is a Wednesday night. He has a brain tumor the size of a ping pong ball and she suffers from heart burn from her quesadillas that she had made for dinner. As they sit talking she suddenly puts a hand to her chest and complains of sever pain in her chest. Her husband tries to call for help (they own a B&B and have one tenant), but the tenant is out for the moment. He climbs out of bed to get the phone, and falls, too weak to walk on his feet, knocking over a lamp in the process. As he climbs back into bed, he takes his now lifeless wife into his arms. She has died of a heart attack and he was not able to do anything to help her. He lays her gently down next to him and pulls out a piece of paper and a pen to write the last of his Wednesday letters, which he had written to her every week their entire marriage. He finishes the letter, lays his head back and closes his eyes. In the morning, their one tenant, worried when no one is up, goes to check on them. She knocks, and when no one answers she opens the door. She finds this couple wrapped in each other’s arms, both dead.

The story is the story of their children, who never knew of the Wednesday letters and come together to prepare for a funeral and the struggles that each faces as they discover and read through the letters. It is a wonderful story of love, sacrifice and most of all forgiveness.

There is one letter in particular that touched me in a way I never thought possible. It was written following a particularly difficult week. One of their regular tenants had requested the he (about11 years old) and his family be allowed to stay at this B&B while he waits out the last few weeks of his life. The couple graciously allows it and this man shares his experience. It is the one last line of this letter that hit me. This was the only letter that he wrote to his wife on a Sunday. The young boy had died earlier in the day (much less than a few weeks later). He writes of the boy’s death and the peace and joy he must now feel. But he closes his letter with this thought: “Now I know why the Lord took his day off on Sunday. That must be the day he personally greets his favorites.”

And with that, the tears fell and I thought back to the day mom died, the Sunday morning nearly two years ago. “Now I know why the Lord took his day off on Sunday. That must be the day he personally greets his favorites.” In my mind, Mom had to be one of his favorites. Why else would he take her? I do not deny that we are all his favorites, but it is a sweet thought that maybe the Lord was standing there to personally greet her, one of his favorites, as she left her family on earth, for her family in Heaven.

This book brought back a string of memories of the hours and days following mom's death. We all knew that Mom wouldn't want to be left to live on machines. We knew when the time arrived what it was that we must do. But it was still the hardest moment for all of us. To sit there and watch as the heart monitor beeped the last few sounds. To know that she was no longer there. Mom suffered greatly for over 3 years from her cancer and kidney failure. The days following her death brought us as a family closer together than I could ever have imagined. I think we all became much better friends than we were before that day.

And in the next few weeks as I watch my dad join his life with a very sweet woman, I know that my mom wouldn't want it any differently, unless it was her staying here. Kay has brought so much joy to my dad and to her I am eternally grateful. She helped my dad through a time that no one else could have. No one could understand his pain like she could. It is always a weird feeling to know that I will get to go to my dad's wedding...but I am so grateful that it can be to such a wonderful woman!

On that note---I would strongly recommend the book. Just make sure you have a box of Kleenex when you read it. There are tear-jerker moments throughout the story! And don’t worry, I didn’t give anything away. The couple died in the first chapter, the first 10 pages. And the review on Amazon gives more away then I put here.

Breaking Dawn Release Info

Because I am utterly obsessed, I stayed up late to get the following info! I thought I would post it for everyones enjoyment! Just in case you haven't heard, the release date for Breaking Dawn was released tonight at 12:01 eastern time. I got it straight from the publishers site.

There is also a link on Stephenie Meyers home page to pre-order the book on Amazon!

Enjoy the news and the extra tidbits at the bottom too!

From http://www.thetwilightsaga.com/

BREAKING DAWN – Breaking News!

We are excited to share the official on-sale date for Breaking Dawn:

12:01 a.m. Saturday, August 2, 2008

We'll have more information posted here tomorrow but wanted you – Stephenie's loyal fans – to be the first to hear the news!

________________________________


Plus some extra news!
______________________________________

Can't Wait?

The ECLIPSE Special Edition is on the way – featuring an excerpt of BREAKING DAWN and the first look at the cover! It will be available at 12:01 am Saturday, May 31, along with the paperback of NEW MOON!

___________________________________________________

So how many of us will be going out and buying new copies of Eclipse on May 31? Me, me, me...Okay, probably not, but someone has to buy it and pass it around!

Have a wonderful day!

Picasa and Blogging!

I have thoroughly enjoyed discovering the world of blogging. Today, I discovered something even greater about it!

When I blog, I usually am blogging about pictures of some sort...I have discovered that when doing my blogs on the website, I have a hard time lining everything up the way that I want it. I hate it!

Well, today I discovered Picasa and Blogging! If you download this Picasa program onto your computer, it searches and imports all of your pictures, keeping them all sorted the same way that you have them on your computer. Well, you can upload these albums onto Picasa Web Albums. This allows you to send the album to friends and family without sending a billion attachments. Well, as part of the website, you can take the pictures and post a slideshow to your blog, copy and paste whereever you want too!

But that wasn't what I loved the most! From Picasa on your computer, you can click on the Blog This button and it opens up a window and allows you to select how you want that pictures posted, (center, right, left, and small, med or large) Then it takes you to a blog page (all connected to your blogger account) and you can put in whatever text you want with a bigger window that allows you to really get an idea of where everything is actually sitting!

Thought I would share in case anyone is looking for easier ways to blog!

Happy Blogging!

I have a baby in my belly!

I have been meaning to post this since it happened! It was really cute! Felicity is quite fascinated with the baby 'in my belly.' She is constantly hugging my stomach, kissing it and tickling it! It is really cute how excited she is about a baby.

Last week, she walked up to me and said "Mommy, I have a baby in my bewwy!" And this picture is what I saw when I looked at her. It was adorable, so I grabbed the camera and snapped...quickly! It isn't too often that you catch a 2 1/2 year old doing something so darn cute!

Just wanted to share!

Haircuts

Today, we took the girls to get their haircuts. While this is Jaicie's third haircut, this is only Felicity's First one. It was quite an adventure and she did so well! She sat still whenever she was asked too and did great! Below is a slide-show of both haircuts. Felicity's is int he first slide-show and Jaicie's is in the second slide-show.

Felicity's haircut came mostly out of necessity. Her hair has grown in different layers since birth and it was pretty wild! It was constantly tangly and nappy! We wanted to even it out and get it looking a little bit cleaner! So here it is!


Jaicie has been begging us since Christmas to cut her hair. We had told her at that point, that if she was going to scream every time we brushed her hair, then we were going to cut if off. Well, she turned to us and said "Can i get my haircut so the tangles will be gone?" So since Christmas, we have been trying to figure out what to do with it! I have been hating the idea of cutting it off...I love her hair long. But I am so glad that we did it! It looks so cute!

Baby Names

We have been racking our brains for a couple of days now, trying to figure out what this little boy of ours should be named. We are curious what our family and friends think! So, if you care to give us some suggestions, please do! You can just put it in a comment, please include at least your first name in the note, so that we know who you are. Otherwise, feel free to email it to us! Thanks for the input.

New First Presidency for the LDS Church

For those who may not have seen this when it was broadcast, or heard it since, this is the press announcement about the new first presidency of the LDS Church. I am sure that President Monson and his counselors Pres. Eyring and Pres. Uctdorf will be a wonderful presidency and I look forward to the years of service they offer ahead of us.

Our Little Baby!

Well we had our anatomy ultrasound today. They checked all over the baby. The baby has a good heart, good bones and looks great. We were also able to find out what we are having...Here are some pictures...Obviously I am going to leave you in suspense for a little while. What fun would it be if I just told you right out!

The first Picture is the legs. You can see the legs quite clearly.











The second shot one of the feet.












The third shot is a shot of the face (profile).

















The fourth and fifth shots are actually 4D Shots. They didn't do them in the orange color this time, the black and white make it a little harder to see.

















The sixth picture is a picture of the face.













And the last picture...well you can probably tell...in case you can't...IT'S A BOY! Before you ask, we have no clue what we are naming it. Names are up in the air.