Smile Westin!

My brother and sister in law were up for the week and we able to join us for Fathers Day. They had some exciting news and this is how they shared it. Wes found a shirt for Westin online that said this on the front "I have a secret" and this on the back "I'm going to be a big brother". I thought it was a very cleaver idea and I'm very excited for Kierstin and Wes, baby #2. Congrats you guys!


Westin was also quite the poser for pictures (above). I said his name and asked him to smile for several shots....he was very attentitive and give his adorable little smile each time. Although I couldn't get the bottle away for the picture below...it's a good shot of mom though :)

Our little meat-eater!

Our 11 Year Anniversary!

We met at church, in late September 1997. Three weeks later Jeremy's brother Aaron married Katie. It was at their reception, we realized we were falling in love. Many others could see the sparks and predicted that we would be the next couple in line for marriage.


In March of 1997, the day before our friend Heather's wedding (she introduced us), Jeremy proposed. He took me to the temple (after driving around to a few other locations trying to find the perfect spot) and got down on one knee. He chose the perfect spot!


We're married! Jeremy and I will never forget how bad our cheeks hurt after our wedding and reception. The day was full of smiles and laughter. We very much enjoyed being around all of our family and friends. There's no better day than to declare your eternal love and be around every person who has helped you become who you are.


A HUGE milestone. Jeremy finished school! Jeremy worked hard to finish his schooling. I can't believe how little we were able to live on back then. I worked full time and Jeremy part-time to get him through. I'm so glad he was able to finish. Now...on to the next stage in life :)


Two years later, Ally was born. What a blessing to 'finally' become parents!


Kailtyn came 2 1/2 years later. So glad to have another girl, healthy as can be!


The hunting adventures of Andrea & Jeremy...continue on! Jeremy took me to Wyoming. Our easy hunt....turned into quite the adventure with very cold tempurtures and extremely high winds. I was so happy to shoot that antelope on the second day. My hands were so frozen I couldn't even hold the head for the picture. Jeremy shot his buck 1 hour later. The joke is...mine was bigger. That has been the case several times :) I couldn't do it without him!


We love our sweet family. The greatest feeling is when we are together, knowing that everyone is safe. We love taking our trips to the beach.


Having a get-a-way 1 or 2 times a year is SO nice. We are very fortunate to have our parents so close and willing to take our little princesses. This was at a hot springs resort. Such a peaceful place to get-a-way for our 9 year anniversary.


We're getting older. We've entered our 30's and thus far feel that we're doing a pretty good job raising our little girls. It's a joy to see them growing up, learning new things and setting such a good example to those around them.


Through all the ups and downs we both agree that we would never change any minute. Our 11 years have been great and they keep getting better with each year that comes our way. Happy Anniversary Sweetheart!

Great Grandpa & Kaitlyn

Great Grandpa & Ally

Grandmas family came to visit

Kaitlyn and Great Grandma with her friend since the first grade, brother and sister in law.

Cashews grow on trees

So today the girls and I received a little science lesson at Great Grandma and Grandpas. Great Grandmas Brother, Rene, brought these from California. I never knew that cashews grow on trees and detatch from a fruit. Tip make sure you don't bite into the shell...it has some sort of oil that releases and can make your lip go numb. Apparently, when Grandma lived in El Salvador she had a cashew tree (if thats what you call them...guess I have a little more research to do). Thought it was neat to see the actual fruit.

Last Day of School

I can't believe a year of school is down already. Is it sad that she doesn't want to leave and be home for the summer? Guess I have my work cut out for me to keep her busy and challenged.


This was last night at the kindergarden graduation. They each got to play a part in a nursery ryem. Ally's part was in Humpty Dumty, a horse. She is with her friends Quincy (in the middle) and Jenelle (on the right). Both very sweet girls.

Digging!

Jeremy was quite the worker today. He was up at the crack of dawn trying to get a stump out in front of the girls bedroom. He worked on it for an hour and a half before he realized it was too big and there's no way he was going to get it out. The good news is he was able to pull one out by the garden. This stump had rotted a bit more than the other. It was so awesome when I heard it came up! The weird thing about it is Jeremy ended up digging a deeper hole to bury it further. Seemed a little strange to me...but boys will be be boys! The great part about this burial is he was able to recover a bunch of fill dirt and make a mound over the stump he couldn't get out. He seeded both areas tonight as well. Thanks hun!


The girls were a big help too. They helped rake and remove roots for about 2-3 hours. Jeremy's dad even stopped by to help a few times between moving Jeremy's sister out of their house (Jeremy was busy doing that for a few hours too.) Thanks for your hard work today babe!

End of a great season!

We are amazed at the progress Ally has made this t-ball season. This was her first season playing any sport. The season started with her playing second base. When the other team was up to bat and made a hit, Ally was the one running to third base. It was SO cute, but oh the drama that followed after that!! She was never going to play again! We're glad she stuck with it.

With each game, she had more and more fun. Ally's team was the only all girl team in the league. She was able to learn all the positions since the coachs had each member of the team playing a new position every inning. The other teams got to be quite good considering they did not follow the same technique.

Tonight we played against one of the best teams in the league and definately kicked some hiny! The rules in t-ball are a little different since there's only three innings, no one keeps score and all kids get to go through the batting line up each inning. Tonight, the girls got 3 outs in the second inning forcing two other players on first and third out. Then two more outs after that! It was awesome! This happened in both the second and third innings. Ally was included in striking one of those boys out on third. Way to end the season Ally!!!

Eskimo kisses

Silly Ally

It's not very often Ally will be silly in front of the camera. Just the other day she got mad at Kaitlyn and I for trying to take her picture. I had to catch a few of these while she would let me. This is her personality a lot of the time here at home. She's so much fun and has quite the imagination in her play time.

Orange Sherbet

Kaitlyn doesn't care for desserts much. Very few things will tickle her fancy, but offer orange sherbet and she is one happy girl! Kinda funny how we're always having to grab an extra tub of sherbet, just for Kaitlyn, if we ever go to pick up ice cream. Is she happy to be at B&R or what?

Charlie has finally arrived!

My high school friend, Natalie delivered her baby on the 5th of June. Doctors had always wondered if she would ever be able to conceive. She had miscarried only 5 weeks before finding out she was pregnant with Charlie. He is a miracle baby! We are so glad he and mom are doing well. Congratulations Natalie & Eric. Charlie is so lucky to have such great parents!

Pampering Mama

On my third day home, I was doing the girls hair and nails. Upon completion, I asked for a turn "who would like to do mommy's hair and nails?" They looked at me with astonishment! Having them do my hair is common, but nails, that was a shocker, even for me! Kaitlyn painted the right foot and Ally the left. Nothing that a little remover can't fix. Ally also did my hair. She's taught herself how to braid and is picking it up pretty good....to bad mom has too many layers to make a braid look nice. Thanks for the pampering girls! I love you!

Betty and Denis came to visit! They parked their RV in the driveway and stayed for a week. It was a pleasant visit and we were grateful for the help they provided while I was down. They watched the place while I was in the hospital, watched the kids and took them for walks with their dogs, made dinner, and provided much support. Thanks for your visit!

A little background on how we know them:

Betty & Denis are great people. We bought our house from them 4 years ago. It's kinda funny how things can fall into place, by who you know. I visit taught Betty back in our old ward. Betty married Denis and moved out of the ward and into my parents ward. A couple years later, my mother mentioned Betty's condition (she had cancer). My mother and I stopped in for a visit to see how she was doing. Her treatments were going well, but Betty and Denis' time together was limited since Denis was busy fixing the house to sell the following fall. I heard this and my mouth dropped. Jeremy and I had been searching for a house on property for quite some time. We made an offer the house the very next day and our first home sold in a couple days. It was a quick move and we are eternally grateful to this couple.

Last Day of Preschool for the Year

Kaitlyn has enjoyed her first year of school. We are so proud of her and her accomplishments this year.


The busdriver, teachers, and tutors have all been a wonderful influence. You can tell they all REALLY care for our kids. Thanks to the teachers for making this such a great year. Missing in the collage: Busdriver Lynn...an amazing person! Tutor Jana...connected with Kaitlyn like no one else at school...thanks Jana!

More thoughts on this experience…

I’m thankful for a book my sister-in-law sent me. I almost didn’t want to read it, for I feel as if I’ve dealt with my emotions fairly well in this whole ordeal. I keep looking at the future and the things I’m grateful for, but have tried to ignore the feeling of the small babe I’ve lost. I’ve definitely been protecting my feelings on the matter, due to the fact that I wasn’t very far along in the pregnancy and almost feel as if I don’t have the right to complain or feel any sort of loss (others have dealt with so much worse).

Honestly, after reading the book “Gone Too Soon” I don’t feel as if I’ve lost anything at all, but instead gained so much. The book explains the development of the embro in a form I’ve never heard. It mentions the different types of loses a family faces; miscarriage, ectopic pregnancy, still birth, infant death and includes medical facts associated with each. The book also mentions the need to grieve and many examples of how couples have coped. It also gives a short and sweet approach on the spiritual side of things. I encourage anyone (including family members) who have dealt with any of the situations above to read it (it’s 97 pages and easy reading). The feelings I express below came after reading this book.

They say that I miscarried around the 5-7 week marker. My comfort is to know that my baby wasn’t a bit of nothing. At 18 days following conception, my baby’s heart began to beat, by 21 days it was pumping blood and by 40 days (this would have been at the 7 week marker) the electrical waves from the baby’s brain could have been recorded on an EEG, during this time too, the baby begins to move for the first time. I was doing all I could to eat right, never forgetting a pre-natal vitamin and resting as much as I could. I cared for this baby from the beginning did all I could to nurture this child, as I do with my other two dear children.

Little has been said in our church about what happens to these undeveloped babies, whose lives pass so quickly through our own. We do, however, need to exercise faith in our Saviors plan of salvation to assist us. It was comforting to read a statement from a former president of our church, indicating that as soon as a mother feels the life of the unborn, it is the spirit of the child entering the body. Another president of the church gave his opinion regarding this “these little ones will receive a resurrection and belong to us” We all know from medical research, that an unborn baby moves long before a mother feels it, therefore, if a spirit has been manifest, why wouldn’t the unborn be eligible for resurrection?

Heavenly Father wants what’s best for each of us and he wants us to be happy. In D&C 19:23 it states “learn of me, and listen to my words; walk in the meekness of my spirit, and you shall have peace in me”. These babies must be precious in the sight of our Heavenly Father, for he created them. Mosiah 4:9 “he created all things, both in heaven and in earth; believe that he has all wisdom, and all power, both in heaven and in earth; believe that man doth not comprehend all the things which the Lord can comprehend.” We need to learn the truth behind His plan and act upon our faith. We are promised joy depending on our actions.

I’m excited for the surprises that await us when we return to live with our Heavenly Father. I do not know whether this little spirit is waiting for us to join him/her or if this little spirit will return to my body to finish its development, but I do believe it’s its own little spirit. In my patriarchal blessing I’ve been “promised that many spirits will be brought to this union, spirits that have been foreordained” to me. It will be a joyous day and I will never forget the joys which came about in this pregnancy and the things I have learned from this experience. In Alma 40:23 it states that “all things shall be restored to their proper and perfect frame.” And in D&C 88 it states “all things are by him, and of him, forever and forever…I say unto you, he hath given a law unto all things, by which they may move in their time and their seasons”. This was not my child’s time here on earth, but it was my time to refocus my thoughts and continue to do what’s pleasing to my Heavenly Father: Find joy in his plan!

Cuties

This was sent while I was at my leadership meeting on Thursday, just before all the chaos. Love you guys....your SO darn cute!

This Experience

I'm still on meds, so don't be surprised if I have to make a few edits down the road. So I announced the news of our 3rd baby on the way a few days ago. Things were feeling pretty safe and we were feeling really excited to get to hear the baby's heartbeat in a couple days (would have been yesterday...an appointment I was planning to take the girls to). Two night prior, I returned home from a Relief Society Leadership Meeting and noticed some spotting. I was immediately alarmed and called the on-call doctor. She was able to provide some comforting words, but also placed in my thoughts the possibility of an Ectopic Pregnancy. I got in for an ultra sound the next afternoon (blessing #1 the girls weren't there). The radiologist quietly explained how she was not seeing a fetus in my uterus, but the testing showed that my uterus was 10-11 weeks in size and there was a yolk sack and lots of blood. She checked other areas to find my right side being normal and my left side pretty messed up. My fallopian tube was pretty wide and had a lot of fluid and my ovary was extremely abnormal. It was a comfort when the radiologist asked which ward I attended at church. She was also LDS and wanted to make sure I had the priesthood and good visiting teachers/ward members available to me (blessing #2).

The doctor came in and explained all she could. She thought it was possible I had a tubal pregnancy and some things which were spotted which were very abnormal. She mentioned I needed to have some blood work drawn and I needed to be immediately transfered to hospital for surgery. Jeremy and I headed to the hospital and my dad appeared shortly after to provide a blessing of comfort and healing (blessing #3). I was in surgery for about 2 1/2 hours.

So apparently, I'm a pretty interesting case! I had told the doctor about my previous surgery when I was 19 (a ruptured appendix found 7 days after the rupture) and some scar tissue I was told I have. She said the adhesion's were everywhere! My abdomen, my organs, she even said my fallopian tube was kinked and twisted. They were able to clean all that up including straightening out my tube (that's blessing #4).

They had to do a DNC, for I had a miscarriage. It happened when I was about 5-7 weeks, but my body has been acting pregnancy and will probably continue to do so for about 6 weeks. I'm down for two weeks, unable to drive and minimal walking...no chores...blessing #5 :)

The doctor explained that with all the scar tissue they found and how messed up my insides were....what a miracle my two children are (blessing #6...we already knew, but it's always good to be reminded). She also explained that after all the clean-up they were able to provide...my chances of pregnancy are extremely high (blessing #7).

My feelings about all this: I know all things have a purpose. This was supposed to happen. Jeremy and I were not planning to have another child. Our little surprise was a complete blessing in the fact that it takes Jeremy and I a long time to have a child. This was 1 slip up. This "slip-up" made us recognize our purpose and that we WANT and need to try for another child. If things don't work out we need to always recognize and show gratitude to our Heavenly Father for the little miracles we already have. They are wonderful little girls and add so much joy to our lives! Even though I'm sitting here in pain from the 4" incision...my spirits are high and I am thankful for this experience. Thanks to all of you who have shown your love to me and my family. You all are wonderful and we are grateful you have a part in our lives.