I Gave In

So, have you gotten on Pinterest yet?  I have been sort of putting it off because I didn't need another addiction/destraction.  It's sort of like Twitter.  All these people keep trying to talk me into getting on there, but I am holding firm on not getting sucked in there.  However, I did cave and got myself a little Pinterest account.  It's so fun!!!

I love it because I can keep all my party, photography, home decorating, crafty ideas in ONE place instead of filling up my bookmarks page on the computer.

Check it out if you haven't already!

Here are a few ideas I've pinned for the home...

Colorado Fun!

We had fun yesterday at the Greeley Stampede which is in a nearby town.  It was a hot day for Colorado, but we still enjoyed our day with lots of activities!!!

Kids Rodeo...

little cowboys and cowgirls rode sheep instead of bulls.  it was so cute!!! some of them did really well!

Swampmaster Show... 
 

Petting Zoo...

Abigail stayed safely in daddy's arms and would not get down to pet the animals! 

Samuel got to sit on this huge bull which he thought was awesome!!! 

Carnival Rides (with friends)...

Gun Show...

Still Here

I am alive...but sometimes barely.  Have I mentioned that the first, oh, at least 3 (and usually up to 4) months of pregnancy do not agree with me???

Well, they don't! 

While I am ever so grateful for this sweet surprise miracle of life growing inside of me, I do not like the way it makes me feel.  I am very thankful that we are in Colorado and the kids can be occupied with their little kids camp so I can lay on the couch and be miserable.  Big kudos for my husband too as he is taking up a lot of slack for me as he studies and reads for his two seminary classes he is taking. 

Even though I feel so bad, I still manage to eat and am feeling horribly bloated already too.  I worked SO hard to lose weight and now I am packing it right back on:(.   I go to bed at 9:00 or 9:30 pm every night in hopes to prevent myself from throwing up dinner. So far, that has worked thanks to zofran!  Really, though, I don't mean to complain.  It's a catch 22 for me.  This is something I once longed for and didn't know if I would ever experience so I am really amazed that I get to experience it again and hope that this little one makes a healthy appearance on or around February 2nd (my official due date). 

I promise I will take pictures of Colorado.  For now, though, I haven't even unzipped my fancy camera bag.  GASP!!! That's how bad I feel.  Tomorrow, we are going to the Greeley Stampede though and I will bring my good camera because we are going to see lots of fun wild west stuff!!! 

Our Road Trip in Cell Phone Pics

We made it safely and soundly to Ft. Collins on Saturday.  The trip went really well all things considered and the kids exceeded our expectations! We watched lots of movies and took lots of bathroom stops so it really went by without too many fits or crying or impatience.  I didn't do a great job of taking pics along the way, but here are a few...

Traffic in Arkansas...

my least favorite part of the drive (no offense to anyone living in Arkansas), it just wasn't a very pretty drive.  We stayed in Russellville, AR and the hotel was fine but our dining experience at CiCi's pizza was interesting to say the least:)

snuggling in our hotel room

A really beautiful part of Kansas with the wind turbine things all over the place.  This was my favorite part of the drive.  I loved seeing all the old farms too!  On the way home, I told Jeff I may make him stop to let me take some pics of some really old homesteads! 

This was a good bit of entertainment....reading the USA today! 

Boring Kansas...for hours and hours on our last day...

The end was in sight!!!!! 

And a few hours later, we saw the beautiful rockies...and my soul sang!  There is just nothing as beautiful as snow capped mountains and cool summertime weather for this southern bred girl! 

Having fun in our apartment! 

Their new rides from Goodwill and Recycled Cycles! 

Happy Father's Day!

I am so thankful for this amazing man I'm married to.  He is a great father and our kids love him so much (as do I)!  I appreciate the way he serves us day in and day out and loves us so well!!!!  Happy Father's Day Jeff! 

I'm also deeply grateful for the amazing man hiding behind my children under this umbrella.  My daddy is and always has been one of my heroes.  He is such an awesome grandfather...as you can tell from this picture...totally hands on and involved in every way.  My kids adore Woody and it warms my heart to see them adore him the way I always have. 

 

Also, I know Jeff would not be the kind of father he is today if he hadn't had such a great example in his own father, Lanny or Big Papa as our kids call him.  We are so thankful for him and love Big Papa! 

Happy Father's Day!!!! 

 

The Chaos that Is Our Life...

Tomorrow, we will begin our journey across 7 states that will take 3 days and nearly 22 hours. Should be fun (can you catch my sarcasm). We are headed to Ft. Collins, Colorado once again to take seminary classes with our missions organization (that employs us) Campus Crusade for Christ.   Fort Collins is one of our favorite places and we are really excited to escape the heat that has overtaken Alabama. We are also excited about seeing the mountains, eating amazing pizza, and seeing wonderful friends! We are NOT excited about this long journey, but it was just too expensive for us all to fly and we wouldn't have been able to bring as much stuff. Pray for us that our kids would be the best behaved they have ever been and that our swagger wagon would hold up for the long trek.  

Oh and for all the crazies out there....we have a house sitter/renter so it is not sitting empty waiting to be robbed!!  We also have neighbors that spy and know who should and shouldn't be around.  We also have an alarm system.  Just sayin'.  


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To add the chaos that is our lives, we found out about a little surprise blessing that will make things even more interesting for me...

 Yes, that is exactly what you think it is...

a baby on the way 

(not 2 babies, just one with 2 arrows outlining it's tiny little 7 week body).   

This is a HUGE unexpected surprise and one that sort of shook us up at first.  I was not really sure I wanted to do this thing again.  I get very sick with my pregnancies and I am just not real fond of those first 8 weeks with a newborn (I get all crazy and hormonal).  Jeff and I were really content with our 3 children getting out of the baby stage!  However, the Lord in His sovereign timing and plan that I don't always understand, has decided that we needed another baby.  It's is really weird for me to have gone from years of infertility to now getting pregnant when we were actually preventing (clearly not very well though) it.  It is beyond a mystery to me how severe male factor infertility can improve and become seemingly quite the opposite!  Ha! I really can't imagine life being any crazier, but that's what it will be with 4 kiddos if everything continues to go well with this baby. 

My due date is February 2.   I was able to get in today with my doctor before we left and we saw the little bean with his/her heart beating away and measuring right on time.  We are overwhelmed, but thankful for this new life.  I am already feeling pretty bad and oh so tired....but grateful that these are good signs since this is how I felt with the girls (which probably means it's another girl:)).  I'd appreciate any and all prayers for a healthy pregnancy! 

Fun at the Grandparents

We just recently visited my parents which the kids love.  They always find so much to do when we are there.  We went swimming at a friends pool, played in the rain, ate yummy meals (not cooked by me:)), got pedicures (Ellie Kate got her first one), caught turtles and frogs, went fishing, and more.  I also got to sleep in every morning since my mom and dad got up with the kids!  We got some good time with Erin and Ryan too who are always so fun with the kids!  Here are just a few pics of some of the above mentioned fun....

 

Had to get a few family shots of course before we left!