Ok so I figured this is the only way I'm going to remember things about my life... so I'll post a few things.

We're having a little boy, for those who didn't already know. He' officially due on July 12th, but will most likely come early. Why? Because my Dr. is awesome and doesn't want me to have another 9 1/2 pound baby. Since Ansleigh's shoulder got stuck coming out, it's safe to assume that another big baby will have problems coming out, and we don't want that! I really love my Dr. She's also the family doc and listens to EVERYTHING you have to say. Love her. Her name is Dr. Sarah Durney. She grew up in Basin, and she's only a couple years older than me. Yes, that fact does make me feel like I've wasted my life away... I have yet to get my associates degree... but it also makes her super easy to talk to, and she understands pregnancy, as she's had a child of her own!

Let's see... today Brensyn had to have some work done on his top front teeth, and his lip is fat and numb. He hates it so badly that he cried for half an hour straight (yes, a joy) and on and off since. I can't get too upset with him, because I remember doing the same thing. I'd almost rather suffer through the pain than have to deal with my mouth being numb. Poor kid!

Jaran's finally getting busy again... and I do mean busy. He works six days a week, and usually for about 12 hours a day. By choice. He's got one job going right now, and another one the middle of May. He might even have a third starting sometime in July. I told him I was going to force him to take some time off when the baby comes. Minimum three days, if not more. It's going to be a long summer trying to keep the kids occupied while not being able to move, bend, handle being outside for more than two minutes at a time. If there ever was a time for a nanny... now is the time! Ha ha ha!

McKie is going to be eight in a month, and he's getting baptized the last Sunday of May. Is it shocking to anyone else that he's already this old? It's scary!!! There will be eight years between he and the baby. Crazy times! He's really getting into reading scriptures at night, and I'm thankful that he is... cause this isn't the first time we've tried to read. We have done it several times before, and it ended up being more horrible than good. It's been about two months since we started, and we're still going strong!

Ansleigh is enjoying her mommy and me time, since I haven't been doing school this semester. I think she gets bored sometimes, though, when I can't move around much. I feel like a beached whale already, and I still have almost three months left! AHH! She passed her Kindergarten screening with flying colors, and I think she'll be ready and excited when the time comes.

I'm super excited that my bro-in-law Zak gets off his mission in three weeks! It's going to be great to see him and give him a great big hug! He's been serving in Louisiana, and he's been doing amazing work out there.  He's been district leader for quite a while now, and he's a great example to the boys.

Well, I don't know what else to talk about. Just felt like I needed to write something for some reason. Take Care!

Deep thoughts...

So Brensyn woke up at 4:30 Friday morning, and started watching infomercials. He came in and told me we should buy a pilates chair, and that it makes you skinny. He went back to watching for a while, and went to show Jaran the picture that he drew. It started out with a lady before pilates and one after. Then he started writing down the number, but it went too fast. Hilarious. But I would like to figure out how to keep him asleep... he woke up at five this morning. Ugh!

A new post!

Wow... I am a horrible blogger. I was really good at it once upon a time. Maybe now that I will have something to be writing about constantly, I will start it up again! As most of your know, well those of you who have facebook, so not Shayla;), Jaran and I are expecting baby number four! I'll be 15 weeks along on Saturday, and I'm so excited to be out of the first trimester! I don't know how women have more than one baby if they get morning sickness. I was lucky to be pretty healthy with the first three. I had a smidge of sickness with Ansleigh, but boy, this baby has taken a toll on mommy dearest. And why do they call it morning sickness? Because that's the ONLY time I WASN'T sick!

It was super exciting for the kids to find out. I remember when we told them they were all excited... about five minutes later McKie says, "So that means that you're pregnant, right?" Ha ha ha. I guess I just assumed they knew, but great of him to figure it out on his own. All three of them want a girl, so I hope they get their wish, or I'm afraid that they'll be devastated! I don't really care what we have, as long as it's healthy. Jaran says that if we have a boy, we'll have to have another one so we can have a sister for Ansleigh. UGH! I don't know if I can do this again!

Trying to do full-time school, mommy to three kids, wife to one, and all the other stuff that life throws you has been super hard. Harder than I remember... probably cause I usually felt fine before. I'm not sure why this one has been harder. Perhaps because I am much older than I was the first three times. I had McKie at 21, Brensyn at 22 and Ansleigh at 24... I will have this baby at 29... that's the only difference I can figure... or perhaps the stress;)

But I am super excited. I'm finally starting to feel half-way decent, and I'm starting to get a tiny bit of energy back. Jaran has been great, but I think taking care of the kids at night is starting to wear on him. I have been actually able to fix dinner lately, and I think that makes us both feel better.

Well, that's all for now. If anyone even reads my blog anymore, thanks for stopping by! Take Care!

Reunion- per Shayla's request!

Okay- we will have a get-together Friday night at the Byron park at 7:00. If you don't have a babysitter, bring the kids, otherwise... this will be the time to let the grandparents have some quality time!:) Saturday we need to meet at the parade staging area in Cowley at 9:30. The parade starts at 10. T-shirts will be handed out Friday if you come to the park. If not you may pick them up right before the parade... but only after dues are paid- which are $20. Saturday after the parade, we will have the family BBQ at the Byron park. It's still somewhat up in the air, but we're hoping to have waterslides for the kids... so bring suits and sunscreen. We'll have some basketballs and hopefully the volleyball net set up. Probably going to try our hand at some water balloon volleyball, so everyone can wear their suits if you want... good way to cool off!

Anyone with a maiden name ending in A-M bring a salad on Saturday to the park. Those ending N-Z bring a dessert of some kind. Dues will pay for beverages and chips, as well as the class member's sandwich at the BBQ. Additional adults will be $4 and kids will be $2.

We will be getting together sometime Friday before the park to work on the float... not sure where or when, but I will let y'all know more when I get everything finalized! Any suggestions on decorations, anything like that, let me know!!!
307-250-5034 Take Care!

My Grandma Pearl and our trip to CO!

WARNING! This is a LOOONG post!

As most of you know from my previous post, we took a little trip to Colorado. We went to stay with my Aunt Deana, which is where I lived after I graduated from high school. It's been a long time since we were able to go and actually visit, so I was super excited! We got there Saturday evening, and Aunt D had made us homemade chicken noodle soup- AWESOME!

Sunday, Jaran started tearing apart the basement bathroom and took all the tile out of the shower and the floor. Then he had to scrape all the stuff that the tile was laid with. He is such a hard worker that he was done by the afternoon! That night we went to my cousin Shasta and her husband Pound's house for a BBQ for memorial day. It was really nice to finally see their house (GO BRONCOS!) and to visit. My cousin Lance and his kids were also there. His son, Hunter, is one of Ansleigh's favorite people... not sure how she remembered, but last summer during Ames camp she was his little tag-a-long. Hunter is 12... and he's awesome with the kids!

Monday Jaran took Aunt D to pick out tile and new fixtures... which took quite some time, but they got some awesome tile! I'm an idiot and didn't take pictures. They got back and Jaran started right away, and finished the floor before the day was through. That night Lance and his family came over for an impromptu BBQ for the real Memorial day. I wish I'd taken more pictures... but like I said, I'm an idiot!
Tuesday Jaran worked on the shower, and finished it quite quickly... then we decided we'd take a break for the rest of the day... which meant we tried to keep the kids from driving us crazy.

Wednesday we needed to let the paint dry... so we split up... Jaran took the boys to go pick up some stuff for Bob while Ans and I went with Aunt D and Grandma Pearl to a Dr. appt. I'll tell more about that later.

Thursday was time for grouting the shower and floor, and I helped Jaran wipe down the tile. After that, we met up with an old friend of mine, Stacy, and her fiance` and ate some food at Red Robin- Jaran was in heaven! Then we took the kids to the park a bit. When we got home, we watched a movie with Aunt D and then went to bed.

Friday was painting, and we got two of the spair rooms done, and then I tried to help Aunt D locate some stuff in her storage... no luck!

Saturday we did a second coat on the two bedrooms and then got washed up to go to my cousin Shanda's grad party. It was fun to spend time with family again, and I got to see Uncle Rick and Aunt Janna, who I hadn't seen for quite a while. The kids had a blast, and my cousin Brooke was kind enough to watch the kids for the next two days so we could finish painting and not worry about them getting into things, as we were moving on to the main room where there are no doors to keep them out!

The next two days we finished the main room and got the fixtures for the shower. It was a good time, and I felt like we actually accomplished quite a bit. I know you're all thinking- well it doesn't really sound like a lot... and here's where the time consuming part comes in:

Grandma Pearl
My Gma has Alzheimer's disease. It's something that she's been living with for over 10 years, which is a pretty big feat. We started noticing some memory loss in 2000, and maybe even before that. She has lived with Aunt Deana, my Dad, Aunt Brenda, and then a nursing-type home that specializes in the memory loss patients. When Aunt Deana realized she wasn't getting taken care of quite right, she removed her and started taking care of her full time. Two years ago she had a fall and broke her hip. The Dr. told Aunt D that she was basically taking her home to pass away, but stubborn old Pearl decided that she wasn't ready yet!

Daily schedule with GMA:
Wake her up and give her some yogurt with her pills mixed in.
Get her breakfast ready, and make sure that the laundry is done from the day before.
Breakfast: 1 scrambled egg with cheese, 2/3 cup blueberries, 1 packet hot oatmeal, 1 banana. Mix it up in the AWESOME blender until it's "porridge" and you're ready. This sometimes takes a long time, as grandma sometimes doesn't sleep at night! After breakfast, it's time to take her to the potty and get her cleaned and changed. This part of the day usually take a minimum of an hour, sometimes 2, and I don't know how Aunt Deana does it alone. I was there to help, and I felt like I was so exhausted by the end of the day. She has no control over anything... so sometimes you have to wait with her forever until she does her duty. She's still very modest, although she can't put a full sentence together that makes any sense... so she's constantly trying to pull on her clothes and things to keep herself covered. Finally, it's time to take her into the living room to "her chair" where we put her feet up and cover her up with her blanket. By then, it's about lunch time... and that's usually homemade soup Aunt D makes her. after lunch is about the only time Aunt D has to do anything. Then it's dinner around six or so, which is chicken breast, potatos and gravy and peas... all super smooth and mixed up in the mixer... or she will chew forEVER! Then after that you have about an hour to finish laundry and get her bed ready, get her pudding and pills, and then it's another trip to the bathroom to change her pants, get her pj's on and then get her to bed and tuck her in. My Aunt Deana is such a great lady and takes such good care of my Grandma Pearl... who still has her sense of humor, and is constantly giggling! Every now and then you catch a glimmer of the old Pearl in there, and it's awesome. The first few days was hard for me, and I was constantly tearing up. My grandma used to take care of me, now I was taking care of her. I suppose that's the way it's supposed to go, but as I was singing to her one night trying to get her to go to sleep... I was reminded of how she used to do that to me, and it was hard to continue with my song. She no longer knows who any of us are, but she still smiles at us and if you say- "I love you" she'll say it right back. And here I am crying again. I was thinking about how blessed I've been to be so close to my Grandma's, and how precious my memories are with them, and how glad I am that we were able to go visit and help Aunt Deana. I didn't do that much, I fed most of her meals to her, and sat with her so Aunt Deana could go with Jaran or go pick Jason up and go to a quick dinner, but it was the smallest thing. I hope that I can go back later and give Aunt Deana a couple days off to go and do something for herself! She deserves it! Well, enough ranting... I know this was long, and I apologize, but I felt I needed to say it! Take Care!

Colo-rado!

It's been a LONG time since we were able to visit Colorado. The last time we went it was just for a quick trip to grab our camper (that we just sold today!) and we didn't get to spend any time there to really visit. The time before that it was when I was coming back from Texas, and we just stayed the night over before continuing on. The last time we really got to visit was for my cousin Jenna's wedding quite a while back. Man, it's been too long!

So we are leaving either tomorrow or Saturday morning to make the journey! I can't wait to see everyone and to actually be able to relax and be in my home away from home. I'm going to be helping my Aunt Deana with my Grandma Pearl, who has Alzheimer's and Jaran's going to re-do her downstairs bathroom with tile, and paint the rooms down there as well.

My Aunt Deana is an amazing lady, and I love her so much! She takes care of my Gma day in and day out, and she hardly ever gets a break. I know that it's really hard, and I'm sure takes quite a toll on Aunt Deana. So being able to let her get out of the house alone to do some things that she really wants to do is something I can't wait to help her do!

My cousin Shanda just graduated high school yesterday, and she's having a party this weekend. I made her a pretty sweet blanket for the occasion, and it's going to be fun to see her and her again! Not to mention her sisters Brooke and Jamie! And don't forget her mom, my cousin Traci! Also, my cousin's Lance, his wife Laura, their kids Hunter and Keeley, Shasta and Pound, Des and Chad... it's going to be great! :)

As most of you know, I used to live there with my Aunt D. and I loved it there. I made a lot of great friends, and I'm hoping to meet up with some of them while I'm there too! Can't wait, can't wait, can't wait!!!!

Well, that's all my ramblings! Take Care!

McKie

Although his birthday isn't until Sunday, I've been thinking a lot about McKie lately. I can't believe that he's almost 7 years old! It's amazing the way time passes as you get older, and it's hard to believe that my baby is no longer a baby. I remember how frustrated I was when I was pregnant with McKie. He was stubborn, even in my belly. He was due on May 14th... but didn't come until May 22nd, and even then we had to force him. We almost didn't get him until May 23rd, but thankfully he gave in, arriving at 11:17 PM. He weighed 8lbs. 2oz. Boy he was a chunky little monkey.


As hard as it is sometimes to deal with some of his issues, I love him so much. I know that having a child with ADHD doesn't seem like a big deal, and I know there are a lod of people who have to deal with issues that are a lot worse than that, but sometimes it's hard to remember that he's just a little boy and that a lot of what he does isn't intentional.


He really is a good kid, and hilarious at times. Even though he usually does things to be funny at inopportune times, you can't help but laugh at him, and he's always trying to make you laugh. He's always making faces or saying crazy things.



I don't know what I'd do without my little man. When he wants to be, he can really be a great helper. He's a good big brother, and even when he's crazy, he's trying to look out for his little brother and sister. He LOVES lizards and frogs and things like that. He's gotten really good at t-ball and has a pretty darn accurate throw. He can throw further and further each time he tries, and I think he will be pretty good by the end of the season.


Well, just wanted to say a little... I know it was rambling, but I felt the urge! Take Care!