Big Brother

Treyson,

You are almost a big brother. I am 2 weeks away from my due date and we doubt your little brother will actually wait that long to meet you. I want you to know how much Daddy and I love you.

I came upstairs to check on you before going to bed and found your Dad laying next to you, watching you sleep. I also realized as I laid beside you earlier tonight that you won't be my baby boy much longer and a part of me is sad to see that happen. 

Your dad and I have spent countless hours watching you, sleep, grow and learn these last two years. We stay awake stressing over all the things we may be doing wrong in your life and pray for you every single day, and would do just about anything to make you happy. I hope that as our lives change and our family continues to grow that you never ever forget that you are loved by your parents.

I am so blessed to have you and your sweet, happy spirit in my life and can't wait to keep watching you grow. You will always be my first baby boy no matter how many times you become a big brother again. I love you with all my heart.

-Mommy

Happy Sunday

There's nothing better than listening to Daddy laughing and playing football, and race, and hide and seek while Treyson screams and laughs the whole time on a Sunday morning... It may even be worth the torn couch Daddy just created by jumping on it to get away from Trey. :) 

Treyta wake up!

Love after nap cuddles with this boy :) 

He came out of his room and said "Treyta wake up!!" I said you did?? "Ya... I did."

:) He is talking so much and it's so fun! 

She said yes!!

I just got asked... On bended knee... From Lloyd to go on a lunch date with him :) Needless to say I said yes! 

My first "proposal" was quickly followed suit by another one from Treyson, also down on one knee. Then he got up and yelled "she said yes!!" And went to give daddy a high five. Haha 

Trey and I have been a little strained lately as we try this "big boy bed" stuff. We have had good days and bad, but I'm so thankful for a husband who knows when Mommy could use a little pick me up! This is going to be the best McDonalds lunch date a girl could ask for :) 

Mini victory!

Its day 5 into our transition from the crib to the Toddler bed... And it's been quite the long 5 days! 

But we are now 45 minutes into our first successful nap! Trey didn't even try to get out of bed this time, yay!! I know this post is a little silly, but it's a big deal at our house this week :) hopefully this is the first step in the right direction!

Today

Trey fell asleep on the couch with me today... This NEVER happens. I just laid there and watched him sleep for the longest time, so amazed at how perfect he is. I even got to feel the baby give his big brother a few kicks while he slept, which is another miracle in itself. 

Lloyd bore his testimony at church today, and I am reminded at how blessed I am to have such a great guy as my forever companion. 

I got a new calling as the Young Women's secretary a few weeks ago and our lesson was about families today. I felt the spirit so strongly and was reminded how blessed I am to be able to call myself a wife and a mother. This is what God gave me time to do. 

I have seen the Lord's hand in my life today and I am so grateful for that. 

A little more Joy in our Journey!

I have been missing from the blog the last couple of months, but that is for good reason! Mostly because I knew if I got on here and started talking about anything going on in our lives that I would spill the beans... to early! But we are so excited to say that we are finally having another baby!! Baby #2 will be joining our family sometime late this December, and we find out in just 3 days if we are getting a boy or a girl!!

It has been quite the journey to get here, with lots of ups and downs. I know that we are SO very blessed that it only took us a year of issues to find a simple solution to our hopes of having more children. There are so many out there suffering with heartache who try year after year with no solution in sight and my heart breaks for them all. I can't express my gratitude enough for the blessings I see in my life, and the chance that we have to be new parents once again!

After or 3rd miscarriage in the past year happened in January, we decided it was time to see the doctor and find out if there were any steps or recommendations of what to do next. Do we keep trying? Do we need to do testing? Does my body just need a break for a while? Well, I scheduled an appointment with my Dr. and after talking with him, he said in someone else's circumstance he would suggest waiting a year to start trying again for a baby, but he also understood that after a year of issues we were HIGHLY unlikely to be on board with that advice unless it was absolutely necessary. He also suggested a large panel of blood tests that coule check for any disorders or specific issues that my body might be having, and then the worst part came... he said it runs about $1,500, but don't worry it is covered by most insurance companies. :( My heart sunk. We don't have health insurance, and there is no way our pockets are stretching that deep right now.

So I left the doctor's office a little discouraged and not sure what to do next. I didn't want to put off doing tests if it could give us some answers and help us have another baby, but it would be months before we could put enough money aside to pay for this. This is about the time that I decided to contact my former boss at the Hospital and take a long shot that they may be looking to hire someone again. I've already told this story, but this was such an answer to prayers that I was hired back just a couple of months later and it has been a tender mercy in our lives to be back again.

In the mean time of all these changes... I found out I was pregnant, and it just so happens that with a hospital job also comes... Health Insurance :) the timing could not have been better and to make a long story short, we were able to have the tests done that we needed to. I was about 8 weeks along when I got the results of my tests back. We discovered that I have a blood disorder called an Anti platelet Antibody which basically means that my blood is to thick and when my body is reproducing cells during a pregnancy due to the baby growing so rapidly, that the blood supply can't keep up. This causes blood clots to form between me and the baby, which eventually stops any nutrients being able to get through and then causes a miscarriage.

My Dr. immediately prescribed me a blood thinner called Heparin, which I now take twice a day as a nice little shot in my stomach. I was worried that we may have not figured this out in time because I usually miscarried around 8-9 weeks, but at my 10 week appointment everything was looking great! I am in awe of modern medicine and how much we can learn about our bodies. If I were born 100 years ago... I may have never had another baby. (Not to mention the fact that I feel all the more blessed that we have Treyson) Apparently I have always had this disorder and just never had any adverse effects, until now. So although it sounded a little scary to me at first, I am not worried about dealing with it in the future. If all it takes is a couple of pokes every day, and some ugly bruises on my stomach for 9 months to help us have more children then I can do that!

Lloyd and I are getting so excited for what the future holds, and can't believe how fast December seems to be coming already! We are grateful for a little more Joy being added to our Journey!

Kisses!

Treyson was so anxious to share his Raspberry jam kisses with us this morning! And even with all that mess, when your 2 year old comes to you going  Mmm, mmm, mmmmm and puckering his lips you just can't resist... Like 4 times each! :) 

My Easter Hashtag

Today as I was looking on Facebook I was noticing a lot of posts about Easter and the Savior. There have been a lot of "Because of Him" "Hashtags" going around. I love reading the posts, but at the same time I was feeling a little guilty that I didn't have anything wonderful or profound or important enough that I felt like sharing on my own wall, for the world to see about my testimony of the Savior on today of all days.

As I was getting ready I had the Sounds of Sunday playing on the phone and this song came on. I was almost in tears as I listened to it. Not only because I love thinking of the Savior's life through His mother's eyes as I can relate with a little boy of my own, but because I can 100% relate my testimony to that of this song. "I Just Knew" I always have known that Jesus Christ is my Savior, and I will forever be grateful that I was sent to this earth to a wonderful family who kept that testimony burning bright throughout my childhood, and encouraged me to strengthen it on my own into adulthood. I may not have had any earth shattering experiences to shake my testimony and cause me to fight my way back to find it's peace in my life, but each and every day I am challenged by the little things that could potentially pull me away from the Gospel if I am not anchored in its teachings. I am so grateful for this reminder that even if it seems simple and small, my testimony is just as important to share and show through my life that I am who I am because of Jesus and His amazing sacrifice for me. 

Pick me up

Slept in today until 7:15

Was supposed to be up at 4:30 to clean and be to work by 7:00

Trey woke up at 7:30 with a bad cough and a runny nose

Took him to the doctor at 10:20... Just a virus so no medicine to help him feel better :(

Planned to go into work for a few hours but Lori said it wasn't worth it if I needed to just stay home today 

Called IT and got set up to login at home

Wrestled with the computer, laptop and printer to get it working

Finally logged in around 2:15 and started work but it moves a little slow

Started falling asleep at the computer

Text Lloyd to tell him how after 8 hours of sleep in the first time in a week I don't know how I'm so tired! Haha

He had to come home to grab some paperwork and that sweet husband of mine brought me a Diet Dr. Pepper to give me a boost :)

All in all that made it a pretty good day! He is a keeper and it's little things like this that remind me how happy I am that I chose him to be mine forever! Can't believe that was 5 years ago :) 

Farewell to Lunch Lady land

A week ago marked my last day in the life of a lunch lady. Although I will truly be sad to leave all the great people I have gotten to know there, we are very excited for what the future holds. In hopes of finding a job that suited our financial needs a little better I took a shot in the dark and contacted my previous boss at Mountian View Hospital. It just so happens that they were looking for someone who would be able to work full time but were open to the possibility to them working from home a few days a week. So I'm very excited to say that I have been hired back as the newest billing clerk at Mountain View! This new job will relieve a lot of our worries and help us make ends meet just a little easier, and since I will get to work from home 3 days a week I will actually have more time with my boys working full time than I have had working part time. I can't even begin to express my thanks and gratitude to my Heavenly Father for guiding our footsteps to this. 

As my lunch lady chapter in life comes to a close I can't help but reminisce about all the things I will remember and miss about my time with some amazing ladies at Highland Highschool.

First there is Kathy, aka Boss. I can't even count the number of times we have all been threatened by Juan 1 and Pablo 2. Or how many "strike one-s" I have gotten... Way more than 3 for sure, but you were always so good to look out for us ladies. And you are so nice to bring us presents. Anywhere from fish sticks to peanut butter cups! I'll miss you Kathy.

Jeanette is next. I got to work right next to you every morning and I'll miss teasing Anissa and Jessica with you. :) And even though you may have threatened to retire every day or so, I'll never forget that laugh I had never heard out of you, and how you were almost in tears from laughing so hard when our favorite "sub" came to visit! I'm glad I got to be there for that before you got a chance to retire. I'll miss you Jeanette. 

Ulricke... Sneaky Ricke :) The fastest sandwich wrapper in all the land! Haha that's the first thing I remember about you. From your amazing halloween costumes, to the way we used to find ways to sneak away to make sure the other got stuck doing Caesar salad, I'm glad I got to know you. I'll miss you Ulricke... And those yummy chocolates you always brought to ;)

Anissa Beaker Bacon! Oh how I'll miss all the lovely nicknames you gave me. I promise to always be your "Ray of Sunshine", your "Fruit Girl", your "Pizza Cutter", your "Boat Lady", your "Dish Pan Hands", and most of all your "Cupcake Lady"! You are probably the happiest person that I have ever met, and I will just miss getting to be around you every day. I'll miss you Anissa.

Jessica. You were my very first friend at work. You showed me all the tips and tricks of the kitchen and between the two of us we used our wages worth in band aids! Usually in corresponding injuries to. I will forever think of you when I see a deformed fruit or vegetable, and probably text you a picture when I do! You are seriously one of the nicest and most sincere people I know... But don't worry your secret is safe with me ;) I'll miss you Jessica.

R-o-nda.... H is for Honda's :) You are always good for a funny story and a laugh! You tell it like it is and the kids all love you. I'm sure you will be happy to get someone with a brain in my position instead so maybe now you won't have to pick up my slack every day :) You always had my back and I appreciate you for that! I'll miss you Ronda

Amy. A lady after my own heart with all those shoes! :) You are a prankster and even though I was a little skeptical of the hair fight... I still plan to pay you back for that some day! You always made work fun, from Caution taping our area, to leaving all our carts for Treena to clean. I love your laugh and all the good talks we had. I'll miss you Amy.

Juanita. Oh Juanita... Where to start ;) I learned to expect the unexpected when it came to you haha! You certainly made work a lot of fun and always kept us on our toes with our lunch break conversations. I never knew you could get a speeding ticket while doing dishes! I will miss all your cooking tips and recipes, but most of all just miss you all together! You are my adopted Grandma and someday we are going to get together to make some tamales and sugar cookies ;) I'll miss you Juanita.

Krystal. I can hear you coming from a mile away with all those keys jingling! Haha Between you and Amy, we're always on the lookout for flying grapes or wet towels. You were always so quick to help out and you were one of us for sure! I'll miss you Krystal.

And last but not least, my dear Treena! I think we may have the most loving "love-hate" relationship ever. I don't know what I would have done without you counting down the hours, or making fun of my pizza cutting skills, or my counting abilities... But hey at least I never pushed an entire tray of cookies onto the floor... Or got banned from making salad... Or got a "slow" ticket on dishes haha. You have amazing cake skills and someday we're going to be awesome business partners ;) Thanks for making me happy to come to work every day. I'll miss you Treena.

Love you all forever, 

Cupcake Lady! 

A Child's Prayer

I put Lloyd in charge of the FHE lesson tonight. He said "I know! We can teach Treyson how to pray." Well we already pray with him every morning and night so I asked what he meant. Treyson is at the stage where he wants to repeat everything you say, so we decided to give it a shot and let him say the prayer himself for the first time. 

We sang "A child's prayer" for our opening song, both versus and even the duet... And we only forgot a few of the words! ;) it was so cute because Trey just sat with Lloyd and listened intently the whole time... And that's a pretty big deal for an almost 2 year old. Then we let him pick a couple of songs to sing. He of course chose Snowman, and Popcorn.

So after about 5 minutes total we decided we had better get on with it if we wanted any chance of his attention span lasting long enough to say a prayer himself. So we knelt down and Treyson even folded his arms the whole time. I had him repeat after me a very simple prayer. We told Heavenly Father thank you we could have Family Home Evening, I love mommy, I love daddy, and I love Jesus. 

Needless to say I could hardly finish the prayer, Trey said every word and Mommy and Daddy were both in tears. Even in the simplest of prayers when he hardly knew what he was saying I was overwhelmed by the sweet spirit of this little boy. We are truly so grateful to be his parents and couldn't ask for a better blessing than to witness all the amazing things he teaches us every day. 

To Fast

My baby is growing up... And I don't like it much.

Tonight Trey is sleeping in his "big boy" bed for the first time. It's funny that something as simple as taking off the front railing on his crib could get him so excited! He was having so much fun climbing up and down and playing on the bed. He couldn't wait to show daddy when he got home from work and was even excited for bed and tried to go "night night" twice before bed time. 

At the same time I'm also finding it a little funny that exact same thing has this mommy feeling a little emotional. I was all fine and dandy when we stopped nursing, dropped the bottle, the first birthday, graduating from the high chair to the booster and all the other little milestones... But change my baby's crib into a bed?! That makes him a full blown TODDLER, and I realize it's all going way to fast.

I was just as excited as Trey was when I set the bed up and I loved watching him climb in looking so proud to be a big boy when bed time came. Then I found myself just wanting to sit by the door to make sure he was ok. We lasted about an hour before he was up and crying for mommy and daddy... And Grandad haha! He hadn't made a peep before then so I'm guessing he probably went to sleep and then rolled off the bed (onto the mountain of pillows). So mommy came to the rescue and I'll just say I loved every second of rocking him back to sleep in my arms again.  

I got him laid back down and then another hour later Lloyd and I were heading to bed and of course had to check on him again. He was out cold and it was so sweet to watch Lloyd lay next to him on the floor and just want to hold his little hand, he is so stinking cute we can't even take it sometimes! So I snapped a picture and we finally pulled ourselves away. I just find myself wanting to hold on to these moments as I realize how hard it is to let your children grow up. 

I don't know why this "apron string" is so hard to let go, but I wish I could keep him small and innocent forever. There will come a time when Mom and Dad aren't the funnest friends he has anymore and I know each day we are one step closer to that. But I am also so excited to see what the future holds for us and this little guy. He is so full of life and personality and I'm so happy he is mine forever... Even if he does grow to fast. So I will probably toss and turn a little extra tonight as I worry about my "big boy" in the next room over, but I wouldn't trade it for anything!

-Sweet dreams Trey, Mommy loves you

Fancy Feet

This is Trey's new favorite footwear combo... One rain boot and one of Mom's moon boots haha! He seems to think that if he ever has any two shoes on that he needs his coat and to go outside! And what's even better is that he can get both those boots on all by himself and randomly comes hobbling into the room yelling coat? Coat? COAT?? 

He sure keeps life fun and entertaining!

Dunkin Oreos

First time dunking Oreos in milk with mom and dad! 

Love this little face more than anything