24 weeks and counting

I really don't like to show pictures of myself, but it's tradition to take pictures of the belly at 6 months and 9 months with my pregnancies. I am feeling great and the baby seems to be too, if the kicking all night and keeping me awake is any indication. I feel so blessed lately. I love my family and am very excited for it to to be added to.

Happy 5th Birthday Party, Victoria!

Tori's real birthday is December 22. It is a really hard time to try to have a party. I am exhausted, it's overshadowed by Christmas coming, and the few times we've tried to have a party, snow storms have kept most of the family from coming. So this year, I decided to do it a little earlier. I must say that I liked that a lot better. I think she did too because it was way more focused on her than it has been other years.
I can't believe my baby girl is 5! It feels like she was just barely a baby. I feel like I missed her first year of life because I was suffering from post-partum depression so badly. I just stumbled through the motions and it will be something I feel sorrowful about the rest of my life. I wish I could have that time back so much, but I hope I have made up for it since then. I do love her so much. She is everything, EVERYTHING, I hoped a daughter would be. I enjoy getting to hang out with her everyday and I am in no hurry for her to go to school this year. She's my best girlfriend.
The party turned out awesome. All the neighbor girls that came were such nice, sweet, well-mannered ladies. I love that I live somewhere that my kids can have such good friends and influences for friends. I also love all their mothers for teaching them to be that way and for being dear friends. It makes me so hopeful for the next generation to see these sweet girls.
The party was a Tinkerbell theme. I thought it turned out pretty cute. Note the placecards that Tori asked me to make at the last minute. She's funny. I made them thinking that they were cute, but the girls weren't going to notice or care or sit where their names were. But those little princesses ate the placecards up and were so excited to sit in their own spot.

Thanks, Victoria, for coming to be part of our family. We love you so much!

Halloween Happenings!

To start off this holiday, my cute friend, Lily, made us these darling cupcakes. I thought they were so cute, it was hard to eat them. Well, not that hard. LOL!I missed the actual Halloween holiday because I was in the hospital with pnuemonia, but thankfully my mother-in-law came out to be with the kids so Adam could stay with me a lot at the hospital. He did take a few hours break and him and his mom took the kids to a school carnival and trick or treating around the neighborhood. It looks to me like they had a good time. Tori is supposed to be Tinkerbell, but she wouldn't wear her tutu and Mick was supposed to be a skeleton but wouldn't wear his mask, but they were happy and that's all that matters. Tori got her hair painted green at the carnival.

It's a boy!!!

I have been meaning to post that we found out we are expecting a baby boy, but I was waiting to scan in some ultrasound pictures. I might never get around to that so maybe you will get to see them and maybe not. He appears very healthy and likes to suck his thumb. So cute. We are very excited to meet him.
In other news, Adam started a new part of his business a month ago and we have hardly seen him since. He is working so hard, but we are so thankful for the blessing of work in this horrible economic time. I know our Heavenly Father heard our prayers and is blessing us with this opportunity and I also know that he has blessed Adam physically or there is no way Adam could have kept up the crazy schedule he has been doing without getting sent to his sick bed.
Mick is doing so much better these days. His attitude about school has really gotten better and he is acing all his tests at school now. He seems so much happier. Thanks to all who prayed for him and thought of him and was so nice to us.
Victoria cried for a half hour (I mean sobbed hard) that the baby was a boy and not a sister, but now she is very happy and in her prayer one night she said, "Thank you that I get a baby brother to kiss and hug." I am glad I will have her to help me when he gets here.
I am plugging along, a little busier than usual since Adam is not here to help me with things. It sure made me realize how much he did for me and I appreciate him more now. I remember napping a lot with my other pregnancies and taking it easier than normal. NOT with this one. I am up usually by 4:30am so I can hit the gym and be back before Adam leaves at 6:00 or 6:30 and I go all day without naps. I do get pretty tired by night, but I am thankful that I have been able to do it so far.
But....some kind of flu has made it's ugly way to our house. Tori and I are both fevered with the chills and coughs and body aches. I can't wait for this to pass and I am glad tomorrow is Sunday so Adam will be home to help out.
Well, that is all for now and I am headed for the space heater and some blankets!

A New Look

Mick has had airplane themed decor in his room since he was a baby and it was time for a change. He really wanted bright colored stripes and I don't love bright colors much so I was doubtful we could compromise, but this is what we came up with. I think it's cute without being too loud and much and he was happy with the colors.
The dresser is an awesome find thanks to ksl .com. It is in perfect shape and is real hard wood. I paid $25 for it. I was quite happy with it.

Thank you!

I don't know who put this on our door step, but I am assuming one of our neighbor friends. It was a candy letter addressed to Mick and inside it read, " You are one HOT TAMALE. YOR an extra SPECIAL guy. We think you're worth more than a 100 GRAND. Love, The LEMONHEAD. I found it while he was at school, so I quickly took a picture before he came home and he ate it so that I could always remember how wonderful and caring our friends here are. I love you whoever you are. It brought tears to my eyes and Mick also got all choked up when he first saw it and begged me to find out who it was because, in his words, "they are so so nice to me."

Mick

Our once always happy son has been going through some really hard struggles lately. It breaks our hearts to see him losing his self-esteem and becoming depressed more and more each day. I never would have dreamed that he would feel so bad about himself at such a young age. I wish that I could protect him from this, but I feel like the most I can do is just make sure he knows how important and special he is to us. I am so thankful to my Heavenly Father for sending him to us and letting us have the privilege of being with him everyday. I am glad he is the way he is and I wouldn't change his personality in any way. I wish I could make him understand that he is awesome in his own way and that when he is an adult, none of what he is struggling with right now will matter anyway. He is so kind to me and his sister. He always makes us laugh. He made me laugh so hard yesterday that I almost peed my pants! I hope he knows that we need him for our family to be happy and complete.