A Quick Note

So we still don't have our computer fixed (it crashed in the storms). It really stinks, but other matters have been more important. All the construction is done on our home, and now we're just doing the painting, trim work, and putting rooms back together. It's coming together, slowly but surely. I love everything that has been done so far, but my favorite is our bathroom. I'll post pics whenever our computer is fixed.

Our vacation to DisneyWorld was fabulous!! The kids enjoy everything about it, and I love seeing them so excited. It was very hot, and probably being 34 weeks pregnant was not the best time to go, but my babies had a ball and that's all that matters.

As of tomorrow, we have a one week countdown until our Payton arrives!! I cannot believe it--it has flown by. I'm so nervous and anxious!!

Long Time, No Post. Beware: No Pics

So it has been a terribly long time since I've postned. SO MUCH HAS HAPPENED!! Joseph and Landon were with us for 5 weeks and they just left this past Friday. It was so nice having them here, and extremely hectic, too!! Maddie Rae turned 2--I can't believe it!! Now that school is out we've got to get working on the potty training. She can't stand when she poos in her diaper, so I think it's time. She's so independent and stubborn--I love and hate that all at the same time. A couple of days after her birthday we were at my parents house and Maddie got into my dad's blood pressure medicine. I can't begin to tell you how scary that was. We got her to the hospital in time that they didn't have to pump her stomach. She only had to drink the charcoal--and she loved it. We don't know how many she took, but the Lord was looking out for her that night.

Landon's t-ball team has only lost 1 game this season. We only have 3 games left, and then we start all-stars. They pick the team for that, so we don't know if he'll be playing yet or not. He's improved so much and I can't believe that next year he'll be playing pitching machine.

Baby Payton is doing great as well. He's growing just perfectly and we're so excited for him to get here. I'm 28 weeks now, so not much longer!!

At the beginning of May we had 2 more oak trees fall on our house. Again, we were in the house when it happened, but we are all ok. Luckily I hadn't let Landon sleep in his room since the first tree fell. This time if he had been in his room it would have killed him. Part of the tree went through the window by his bed and landed right where his head would have been laying. Very scary, but again, we're all ok. We've had to move out of the house for the repairs that are having to be done. I'm just praying (and stressing) that we get back in and get things back together before Payton gets here. I'm so thankful Joseph was home this time and that I didn't have to deal with this alone again.

Our family is lucky and blessed. I'll post pics of everything later.

Spring Fever

I have never been so excited for Easter/Spring break to arrive!! I cannot put into words how ready I was for this week to get here. My students had gone WILD, especially after testing. It's such a relief to have that over, and we only have 4 weeks of school left--YAY!!

Joseph will finally be coming home tomorrow--he's been gone for 6 weeks. He had been working in the office and had been able to be gone a week and then home a week. It has been so good for our family for him to be able to work that schedule. This past time he came home they cut back on office jobs for the company, and luckily for us he had worked his way up enough on the boats he was offered a job back on one. He's been gone so long trying to get back in rotation and he will be home for 5 weeks. This 6 weeks has been LONG and HECTIC!! Tee ball has begun, right before he left I was called as Relief Society President, I've had extra tutoring for kids after school to prepare for testing, and, to top it all off, we had a HUGE tree fall on our house.

We had a couple of really bad nights of storms at the end of March, and one of those nights, the 25th to be exact, a huge oak tree uprooted in our front yard and landed on our house. The kiddos and I were home while it happened.

It may not look terrible, but we have tons of structural damage. We were very fortunate to only have 2 holes in the house, but the attic is a complete mess. It was pretty scary and I was in complete shock the next day, and I just kept repeating, "There's a tree on my house."

Tee ball is in full swing, and it has completely consumed our lives. Landon's team has at least 2 games a week, and on the nights we don't have games we're practicing for an hour and a half to two hours. I love watching him play, and he's improved so much from last year. Maddie loves watching him play, and yells and claps for him the whole game. She loves her big brother so much!!

Last Wednesday I went on a field trip with Landon's kindergarten class to the zoo. It was so much fun and I'm so glad I was able to spend the day with him. Here are a couple of pictures from the trip, and might I say I thought Landon was tall for his age. I guess not!!

We had a great Easter weekend. Saturday I took Maddie to a church where a lot of the teachers at my school attend for an egg hunt. Luckily I did because it rained all Sunday afternoon, ruining any chance for her to hunt eggs.

After that, we went to Weezer's to dye Easter Eggs. Maddie had a ton of fun and found it difficult to not slam the eggs down!! It was cute how excited she was about the eggs.

Then on to Easter morning. It was just Maddie and I, but the Easter Bunny left Maddie and Landon some goodies. Landon will get his when he returns Wednesday.

That's all for now. We're in week 22 of pregnancy with Payton, and everything seems to be going great. We're truly blessed, and hope all is well with you and your families!!

23 months today

Here is a picture of my beautiful 23 month old girlie!! I can't believe one more month and she will be 2!! It doesn't seem real. So here's a post to my Maddie Rae--we love you!!

What is Baby#3??

We found out yesterday our new bundle of joy is a baby boy!! We are so excited!! My due date is still August 17th, so I'm a little over 17 weeks as of now. The doctor and I discussed having a c-section again, and so far it's planned for August 10th. I can't believe we're half way there!! His name is going to be Payton Elyjah. Both are family names and we fell in love with it. Payton is Joseph's great-grandfather and Elijah is my great, great-grandfather. We decided to spell Elyjah with a "y" though. I kept writing the name and didn't like the "i" and "j" together. I'm weird, I know, but I like the "y" better. Landon is super excited because he's finally getting a brother, and well, Maddie doesn't really care!! So it's a boy!! Yay!!

Ahhh-today is President's Day, which luckily for me means no school!! This was a much needed day!! I'm trying desperately not to go completely crazy before the LEAP test. We have around 7 weeks before testing starts, so hopefully I can hang in there!! My students are a group of great kids, even though they drive me bonkers!! For Valentine's Day, they all pitched in and bought me a vase of silk red roses. I was highly impressed because they are just 4th graders and I thought it was extremely thoughtful.

My Maddie Rae is also 22 months today. 22 months? Really? She is growing up way too fast and it makes me so sad. She is my angel though. She is such a fun little girl to be around. She is so friendly and happy. She waves and says hi to everyone, whether she knows them or not. Joseph calls her our own personal Wal-mart greeter. She has the sweetest laugh in the world and it doesn't take much to get her giggling. She still adores Landon, and sometimes does not want to share him with his friends. She also tends to be extremely bossy!! We're working on counting to ten and saying the alphabet. We're also working on getting her into her own bed. We moved her into her own room after Christmas and she has a day bed in there. The problem is that she won't stay in there because she knows she can get out. We've ordered some rails so hopefully when they come in we can try getting her out of the crib again.

Landon broke his arm last week in a 4 wheeler wreck and will be in a cast for 6 weeks. He was only in his 2nd week of Biddy Ball (basketball) and I'll be sad not to watch him play anymore. He was getting pretty good and he was such fun to watch. We told him to try and be a little more aggressive and not be afraid to block people and get the ball. You know, still be nice but get in there and really play. He took it to the extreme just a little. At one point during his last game he jumped on another kids back trying to get the ball because he turned away from him. I couldn't help but laugh and be proud because he was doing what we asked. After the game we talked about how being that aggressive was called a FOUL and we worked on stealing the ball. He also has tee ball coming up in about 2 weeks and I cannot wait!! I love baseball!!

Today marks week 14 of this pregnancy. It's also the last week of my hormone treatment. I'm so thankful they caught the hormone problem early, but I am greatful to be able to stop the treatment. It has made me so groggy, on top of the normal early pregnancy tiredness. I can't wait to find out what we're having (5 more weeks) even though I feel very strongly it's a boy. I've been blessed to not have had morning sickness with either one of my pregnancies. I have been nauseated and I have the worst gag reflex EVER!! I've managed to keep it under control--thank goodness!!

Joseph and I had a great Valentine's date. He left Friday before Valentine's so we went out on a date Wednesday night. We went to eat at Trailboss--always a fav and lately a huge CRAVE!! I love it!! Then we went to the movies and we saw "He's Just Not That Into You". It was a good movie. I love having dates with my hubby and appreciate the thoughtfulness he put into the evening. He planned everything, even the babysitter. He also sent me a huge bouquet of flowers to school on Friday. It was beautiful and had some of the biggest gerber daisies I have ever seen. No roses, thank goodness, because they are just not for me. So thanks again Joseph, and I love you tons!!

What's Going On

So to play catch up--Thanksgiving and Christmas were awesome around here. And yes, it has been that long!! Joseph and Landon were home for neither Thanksgiving or Christmas, but they came home the day after for both. Landon is not very animated about his presents. I know he enjoyed what Santa brought him, but he doesn't show it very well. That's just his nature. Maddie on the other hand, is very animated. Santa came on Christmas day, even though Landon was not here. So until Landon came back home, it was like Christmas morning every morning for Maddie. The first time she saw her gifts, she just kept yelling, "Wow!!" She's fun, and that's her nature to be animated.

Before Christmas our family found out some very exciting news--we're going to have a new addition come August!! We're so excited!! The due date is actually August 17th. So far, this pregnancy has been basically the same as Maddie's, with the exception of being extremely tired--like ALL the time. It's all so worth it of course, but it does make for an extra long day at work. Landon is excited, and he's hoping so hard for a little brother. Joseph and I have agreed that we have a boy and a girl, so this one being whatever it is is going to be awesome.

We had a great New Year's. We went to I guess you could say our annual New Year's Eve party at the Deal's in Alexandria. There was of course the yummiest food ever and some great fireworks to ring in the New Year.

From our family to yours, we hope that this year brings nothing but greatness to all of you!!