California Adventure!

We had the opportunity to meet up with the William's family (friends from Deming) and have a blast at California Adventure on Saturday June 18th! Despite the fact I broke my little toe the day before and being almost 6 months pregnant...I was not going to let that stop me from hobbling around all day to bask in all the fun! The last time we came to the park was December of 2003, when Braxton had just turned 1 yr. old. It was so much fun watching both families rave about their favorite ride's. I couldn't believe how brave my boys were, and Berlyn was really content to be in her stroller. I was even able to ride "Soarin' Over California" and "Grizzly Rapids". It is always fun to go as a family, but even more worth it to share with close friends and relatives. I have to hand it to Marlena, who really had a great system in getting the fast passes! The favorites of the day were: Soarin', Screamin', Grizzly Rapids, Tower of Terror, A Bugs Life, The Aladin Show, and the World of Color show. We were so grateful to see familiar faces and a little sad to part ways. A great day to remember!

Idaho---Part I

Originally we had planned our Idaho trip at the end of May, but as soon as we found out that we were headed to California, Dan and I decided that a "short visit" was better than nothing at all. We were able to be in Grandview from May 5th-10th. We were so excited to see the Dean's and especially Mom and Dad's amazing new dream home! Wow! It really is something to behold and they deserve every inch of hard work. Larry has worked so hard and even though there are odds and ends that need to be finished, it is nice they are finally in. We were able to see everybody, but Bri, Ed, Jeff and families. It turns out that Annikan is expecting a BABY BOY 1 week before me! I am so excited that we will be sharing our pregnancies together, but even more excited they are finally getting a son after 3 beautiful daughters. We had a great time hanging out with everyone and didn't have to worry about the kids (since they played outside most of the time). I feel so lucky to have married into a great family! They are truly one of a kind and I am so thankful for the love and laughter we share!

Idaho---Part II

After visiting with the Dean's, we were able to visit my family in Firth. We were there from May 10th-14th. We also surprised my family with our BABY NEWS! My family was surprised, but very excited and supportive. It so happens that my sister Tara is expecting a baby girl the same day as me, so it makes it extra fun to share our pregnancy's together! We were able to see Sean for the first time in 2 years after serving a mission in California. He is such a handsome, mature young man, who was an amazing missionary. He even took my kids for a ride in his jeep and a short walk. The most special part of our visit was to be there only 30min. after my nephew Kasen was born! My sister Natalie had her other two children 3 weeks early of their due date's, but was able to hold out until her scheduled C-Section on May 12th for another precious son. It was such an amazing experience to see her in the hospital. She looked so radiant and is such a trooper to have delivered all three kids C-Section. I was very emotional when we had to part ways; knowing it will be a long time before I see her again. I was grateful we were able to visit even though it was only 5 days. I love my family so much and thankful for eternity!

23 weeks!

No this is not a glamour shot, but this post is for my family and friends who want to see "the belly"! This picture was taken on June 6th @ 23 weeks. I always enjoy watching other women go through the changes of pregnancy, but I don't particularly like the changes in my own body. Perhaps it is because this is my 4th pregnancy and the novelty has worn off. However, I feel good physically, but don't feel cute this time around. At any rate, this baby will be here before I know it!!

Lost and Found

Today is Sunday and we have been in San Bernardino for 1 week now. The beginning of the week looked pretty grim. Yes, there is so much to do, but when you don't know an area and the people, you can feel like a lost sheep. Dan has been searching for housing, but most of the housing he has looked at requires 3-6 month leases. We are not sure how long we will be here, so his Supervisor has told all the instructors not to sign any leases. Due to these unfortunate circumstances...we are confined to a two-bedroom hotel (most likely the duration of our time here). So mixed with a hotel room, restless kids, feeling fat, and not knowing anyone... you could say that tears were inevitable! Yes, I had a "I'm feeling sorry for myself day". I had a good cry, but felt so LOST.

However, today I feel that the Heavens opened and we were FOUND! It is amazing how Heavenly Father places certain people in your path who you are immediately connected to. This has happened to me in Deming, and I know these friends are forever! Today we attended a baby blessing of a new friend (who I believe was placed in my path).

About 1 month ago, my mom called me and told me about her visiting teacher. She said Carol and her husband have been in Firth about 1 year now. Carol and my mom had been visiting 1 day and discovered quickly that Carol was going to be visiting her daughter in San Bernardino! My mom's jaw dropped because she had just learned that we were headed that direction. My mom gave me the daughter's name (Shalen Hatfield) and a little about where they lived etc...I tried to make contact with her, but was unsuccessful. We finally spoke and I was immediately calmed by her voice. After arriving, I did not contact her for a few days, but felt the prompting to call her. When I did, she was so responsive and we decided to meet at the hotel and go to a park. When I saw her, she hugged me immediately and again I felt her kindness and warmth. I also got to meet her mom! She has two boys (9yr & 6yr) and two girls (3yr & 4months). How crazy that our kids are so close in age. Of course they hit it off and knew how to get along!

So today, we attended church and we were invited to the luncheon. I again felt an immediate outpouring of love from all of her family and friends. To top off the day, we met a family who knew my brother Sean! They live in Ventura and they got to know him quite well during his mission. They went on and on about what an amazing man he is! I agreed with every word and was wishing he was here!

On our way out of the luncheon, Dan spotted a blanket identical to Berlyn's favorite (can't live without) blanket. A few days ago on our initial meeting with the Hatfield's, we LOST Berlyn's blanket somewhere between the park & pizza place. I was sad after searching both places and knowing it was gone forever. However, today we were in luck. So as Dan pointed to the baby with the identical blanket, we just looked at each other with a longing for the blanket. We gathered up the boys and tried to distract Berlyn from seeing it...but her eyes were immediately drawn to the "new" identical blanket. She didn't say anything but pointed to the blanket and kept looking at Dan and I with wide but sad eye's. The mother of the baby noticed Berlyn looking at the blanket, so we told her the story of how she lost her favorite blanket only a few days ago. Before I could finish asking her where she got her blanket (since Berlyn's was a baby gift), she handed her daughter's blanket to Berlyn and said "here you go, sweetheart." Berlyn was in heaven and I couldn't believe another small blessing was being given to us! Come to find out, the mother of the baby had just recently LOST her daughter's favorite purple blanket and tried to replace it with the one she had just given us. She just couldn't bare watching Berlyn in agony, knowing she was going through the same thing.

I really believe we were LOST this week, but were FOUND today!