What a Beautiful Day

Yesterday my friend Shantel called me and asked if I wanted to take the girls to the park with her and her son, Blaise. I said, "Of course!" and we decided on a time. The sun was shining and it was only about 75 degrees outside, it was perfect! Caitlin and Blaise had so much fun! He's 20 days older than Caitlin, but man does that make a difference! Caity is still falling down a lot when she walks, so she got pretty dirty! It was so nice to get out of the house with the girls and spend time with a friend!

Charles got home from work and started doing yard work. He got done around 7, so we decided to take the girls out to the lake because the play scape there is a lot bigger than the one in town. We took out some Strawberry Sundae ice cream bars and they were so delicious! Caity even thought so!

It was so nice to get her outside! I feel like she never goes outside now that we have Rosalie. But we're going to get her out more now! I just love how she gets when she's outside playing! Even if it's only at home! The park is a 5 minute walk from here, but it's hard with one stroller and two children! Rosalie rides in the snugglie, but it just gets too hot for me with her in that thing.

We ended up staying at the park letting her run around until 8:30. I had to try and keep her awake for the ride home! I immediately gave her a bath at home and she went down for bed so quickly!

All in all, it was a gorgeous day! Today is suppose to be a super nice day, too! We are having a BBQ for Jenny's arrival home from Texas! We are super happy to have her home again! So much has happened since she left shortly after Easter! She's going to FINALLY meet Rosalie! Caitlin is walking... Jared is HUGE and rolling over now... it might be overwhelming for Jenny her first few days home because we have so much to catch up on!

I'm off to clean the house and get ready for the BBQ!

Just Because...

This little girl seems to be growing up too fast for me! I know that now we have another little one, time sure does seem to fly, but look at her.


She's growing up right before my eyes.

I guess the saying, "Don't Blink," is a very true one indeed!

Good Advice

Life is a gift...Accept it.

Life is an adventure...Dare it.
Life is a mystery...Unfold it.
Life is a struggle...Face it.
Life is a puzzle...Solve it.
Life is an opportunity...Take it.
Life is a mission...Fulfill it.
Life is a goal...Achieve it.


Thanks, Jamie :)

It's Time for a Change

It's hard to believe that my 6 week post-baby check up will be this Friday. I will be able to start exercising again and have the green light to go back to normal! I am pumped! I guess there are a lot of wonderful things about having my two girls so close, but one thing that isn't so wonderful is the extra skin I've developed on my belly. Charles hates when I grab at it and jiggle it. I have to laugh though, because it makes me think of the movie Click when Adam Sandler's character has lost weight and has a "flap" of skin hanging on his mid-section, and he starts flapping it all around! His ex-wife in the movie screams, "Would you stop flapping that thing?!" Haha, Charles keeps telling me that! It's not terrible, but it is there.

We talked about it last night and decided that we are cutting out the junk food all together. No more buying it at all. He is going to cut back on his pop consumption and start drinking water more. I don't drink pop, so that's totally his thing! We are going to start buying wholesome snacks by sticking to fresh fruit and veggies, almonds, etc. We are going to start portion control during meals and incorporating salads with lots of veggies and using dressing sparingly.

I guess it hit us the other night that we've let ourselves go. We are married, in love, and comfortable. But that is no excuse for not taking care of ourselves. Sure, we've gained weight. But there comes a time when enough is enough. Now that we have two daughters, the time has come to start thinking about being healthy to be able to live longer and be here for our girls.

As of July 1st, we are going to start walking every night (if the weather permits) and working out. I am going to start up doing TurboJam again! I did it after Caity was born and I lost 15 lbs in one month. So I am pretty excited to start that up again! I'm not for sure if Charles will be joining me for Turbo, but I know that he wants to start lifting weights and working out again. Wish us luck! We are praying that we will stay motivated and be happy with ourselves again.

That's what it's about, really.
Being happy with ourselves, again.
It can happen!
But we're going to need your support!
Pray for us!

This isn't a Tragedy... but it does SUCK

It's official... our doctor is leaving the clinic and leaving town. This makes us super sad. I cried for a good hour yesterday when we got the letter about him leaving. This leaves us to choose from 6 doctors, whom we have never seen or met.

It's been a long, hard road for me to find good doctors who genuinely care about me and about my kids. Charles has never had to go to Dr. Gerdes ( thank goodness for a healthy husband ). I had a horrible experience with Dr. She-Who-Will-Not-Be-Named that landed me in the wonderful hands of Dr. Potter and Dr. Gerdes. Dr. Potter delivered Caitlin. Since Dr. Potter is only available in the Council Bluffs/Omaha area, it was too much money to drive there every two weeks when we got pregnant with Rosalie. We were both working when pregnant with Caity, so we had the means to travel to see him. Dr. Gerdes cares ( which is hard to find ) and if he doesn't know something, he won't sit there and say "maybe this" or "maybe that". He is a humble man. And I am going to miss him deeply. I wish him the best of luck in all his endeavors.

I am now left with a sheet of paper with a list of names to choose from.
I've been looking them up online and I have narrowed it down to two choices.
Wish us luck with that...

On a lighter note:
My brother Mike and our friend Michelle came to visit me on Tuesday! They surprised me by just showing up to hang out and see baby Rosie! I was so thrilled! It made my whole week when they stopped by! We just talked and played with Caity from about 1:30 to 5:00! Charles and I had to go to our nephew's little league game later on so they had to leave. I just love watching little league! Fun times!

We have a free weekend to clean and get some yard work done! I am excited and hoping for some nice weather. I'm so tired of all this rain and crappy weather.
We need some SUNSHINE!

Birthday and Father's Day Weekend

We were way excited for the weekend because Mikey and Megan were coming back down and Jeff's 8th birthday celebration was going to be at a mini golf/go kart place near RO! We weren't for sure if we were going to go until late Saturday morning. But we ended up being able to go!

First off, we forgot our camera, AGAIN, so I have no pictures of the fun that went on. Megan brought a camera, so until she posts them on her FB, I can't post any pics until then.

We got to the Sports Plex and all of the boys were way excited to go on the go karts! It was like Christmas morning watching all of the guys riding in them! Mikey is always determined to race and pass people! Josh couldn't help but spin out around ever curve! Charles couldn't stop smiling and laughing the entire length of the ride! Raymond had to ride with Jeff the first round and wanted to ride solo on the second round, and he had a BLAST! Megan and Alice were the only girls out on the track, due to my Mom being scared of go karts and me having to breastfeed Rosalie. Caitlin walked around and watched her Daddy going around and around on the track!

Afterward, we headed over to the mini golf area. I opted to sit out and watch the girls while everyone else played a round! Charles ended up winning by one point! Mikey came in second! They were all out in the blazing hot sun while I was in the air conditioning with my girls! Everyone took turns coming in and out of the main house to see me and the girls.

Everyone was super hot so they came into the main house and we all played in the arcade area for a good hour and a half! Everyone acted like giddy children the whole day! It was a blast to see! They guys ended up going out on the go karts one last time before we went. From what I was told, Mikey and Charles kept ganging up on Raymond and bumping into him! I wish I could have seen the guys having a blast on the track! They rode for 20 minutes straight!

We all headed back to Mom's house for some pizza and rest! Megan and Mikey followed us home and spent the night.

This morning, our clock was reset because of a power out last night, so we missed church. Oops! Mikey and Megan were gone before we got up. I made Charles some homemade Blueberry Pancakes! They were DELICIOUS! And since then, we've been lounging around in our PJs and relaxing! Right now, Charles and the girls are napping and I'm doing some laundry while blogging! What a wonderful weekend so far! :) We're heading off to T's for dinner tonight!

Happy Father's Day to all the Fathers and Fathers-to-be out there! Hope you have a GREAT day! The picture below has nothing to do with this post, but I thought I'd share it anyway! This is just what comes from me when I'm bored and messing with Picnik!

Our Past Few Days

I haven't been on here since last Thursday because it was that day I found out that a friend of mine from High School had gotten into a car accident, and passed away. Her name was Lauren Elisabeth Anderson, and she was only 20 years old. The news hit home pretty hard. I went to school where we all were really close to one another. Everyone knows everyone. So when something like this happens, it is truly amazing to see how many people come together for support and love. Even when the circumstances are this crummy. She was truly an amazing woman... I will miss her contagious smile and laughter. Her and I had some pretty amazing times in Cheerleading and Colorguard.

Mikey and Megan came to see Rosalie for the first time! :) It was awesome seeing my big brother holding my brand new baby! Though, it was hilarious that every time she cried, he'd hand her over without hesitating! Haha! Megan just loved Rosie! Caitlin was a little shy at first, but soon warmed up to both of them and you couldn't separate Megan and Caity! :) Saturday, the boys went fishing and then came back so we could catch some of the city wide garage sales, but we had no luck with that. It wasn't a very fun Saturday, but we all enjoyed each others company!

Sunday we went to Red Oak so that Rosalie could meet Aunt Norma and her family! She couldn't get over how much Rosalie looks like me! :) We ended up going out to a lake and fishing with Bob for the afternoon. It was a gorgeous day to do so! I forgot my camera :( Otherwise I'd have some awesome pics of the guys and Megan fishing, Caitlin playing with AJ, and Rosalie and I chilling in the shade! We all went out to eat at Casa de Oro and headed home. It was a wonderful weekend!

I even got to put pig tails in Caity's hair! The first time EVER! I thought she looked downright CUTE! :) I've managed to get them into her hair every day since! :) I love 'em! See for yourself!


I can't get over how cute she is! And we got Rosalie her signature Panda outfit! She'll soon be able to fit the one we got for Caity! I just love my baby panda!

Attack of the Teddy Grahams

We've had one heck of a day :( I only got about 2 hours of sleep last night, so I've been in a not-so-good-mood all day. Caity woke earlier than usual and Rosalie is nursing every hour again. My day has been hectic.

By the time I got both girls down for nap time, I was ready to head to my bedroom for a nap right when the missionaries called me. They got stuck on a dirt (real dirt, not gravel) road. We've had some pretty heavy rainfall today... so it was more of a mud road! Anywho, they wanted help finding someone to come get them out. I called Charles at work and he ended up going out there with Brent and Ashley, and after about an hour of trying, the car just wouldn't come out of the mud. They are calling in a tow right now. So all of this meant no nap for me.

Not to mention the fact that when Caity got up from her nap, she was screaming. Which NEVER happens. And since then, she's been screaming and crying non-stop, for no reason. *sigh* She's got tylenol in her because she's teething, but I'm starting to think she's got something else going on.

I left the room for a brief moment to use the bathroom earlier and came back in the room to find that Caity had gotten her box of Teddy Grahams and made a HUGE mess of my couch, floor, and other daughter! She kept saying, "Share!" when she's drop a teddy on Rosalie! It was cute so I snapped a picture of the mess! I was upset, but I found it more hilarious!

"It wasn't me, Mommy!"
Sharing with Sissy!

Roses are Pink!

We decided yesterday to go ahead and use up the last of the gift cards we got for Rosalie's baby shower. We only have a Wal-Mart here so our choices are limited, but they have some super cute dresses for toddlers. So we got Caity a dress that Rosalie will wear someday, a super cute fish outfit for Rosalie, some hair ties for both girls, a bib that says, "I love Daddy", and we got matching headbands with roses in dark pink and light pink. One for each of our girls! Caity chose the dark pink rose headband, which was hilarious because it matched her outfit perfectly! I snapped some photos of our gorgeous girls wearing their roses!You can't see the whole rose, but it's the best photo I could get!
She was in a terrible mood yesterday!

Our sweet angel slept through Caity's fits... she looks so peaceful!

Precious :)

We still cannot believe just how big our first baby is getting! She's so stinking cute, it hurts! We thought we'd post these pictures of Caity in her new Little Mermaid swimming suit!*~* Caitlin Nadine *~*

Mid-step! :) Hilarious!

Rosalie's Baby Blessing

Baby blessings are a true gift from our Heavenly Father. Being the only member in my family, I often get asked why we don't baptize newborns. My answer is simple... they are clean and pure before the Lord. And they are until the age of accountability, which is 8. Then our children are given the choice to be baptized. What a wonderful blessing. To give our children the choice.

Rosalie's baby blessing was yesterday. My Mom and Dad came from RO to see the blessing and stay for sacrament meeting. I'm always nervous when my family comes to church. I think it's more excitement than being nervous. I just love having them there with me. To feel the Spirit, hear testimonies, and share in the pure love of Christ. It never fails... every time I see Charles cry, I cry. He held in his tears until after the blessing was done, but like he did with Caitlin, I had to give him a good 5 to 10 minutes to compose himself afterward. He says that he felt the Spirit so much during her blessing that he ended up pausing for at least a minute during her blessing. It was beautiful. He said that he looked down at Rosalie and saw her infinite potential to do anything she sets her mind to. Anything at all. He realized that that feeling must be what Heavenly Father feels when a child is born into this world. Infinite possibilities to do good things.

I love that I have a worthy husband to bless our children!

The day turned out to be b-e-a-utiful! The sun was out all day, the wind was gentle, and the Lord was smiling down on us the entire day! We went over to T's for chinese and to hang out after supper. It was delicious, as always! :)
Here are some photos from our day :)
Enjoy!

Our Forever Family!

Rosalie Cadence

Heavenly Feet

Welcome June... Welcome Tornado Season

Yesterday was full of tornado warnings all over Iowa, Nebraska, and surrounding states. I honestly thought that we were quite lucky at mid-day when the first of the warnings hit in Northwest Iowa. It was sunny here. A little while later, the warnings got lower down towards our part of the state. But the sun was still shining here. Odd, I thought.

Charles got home and we wanted to head to the store right away because the storm clouds were moving in and I was getting nervous about having the girls out in the rain. We made it to Fareway and out again without getting rained on too terribly. I ran Rosalie out to the Jeep and Charles looked like a mad man running with Caity in the cart! The poor Fareway kid had to stand in the rain and load our groceries in the back of the Jeep. Bless his heart! And his job! Not to mention that I was standing right next to him helping! My job: Being a Mom!

We went to Hy-Vee next to try to find Ziti for the Chicken, Broccoli, Ziti One Skillet Supper I was going to be making for supper. That's when the first Warning in our area went off. There was a tornado about 20 miles east of our town. The sun was coming back out while behind us, it was almost black. That tornado hit a farm and caused over 3 million in damages. The family lost their home, machine shed, 2 combines, livestock, etc. After the tornado warning was lifted for that area, over 250 emergency response people and volunteers helped the family out and gathered livestock back into fenced areas. Photos and Story HERE.

We got home, I packed a "tornado diaper bag" for the girls and I started dinner making the comment, "I don't want this to be my last supper!" Dinner was amazing, by the way! I love America's Test Kitchen recipes! I kept an eye outside and watched the clouds.

It was about 7ish when I had the sudden urge to go look outside. Freaking-A... HUGE black wall cloud. By the time it took me to turn around to tell Charles about the wall cloud, the sirens started going off. The city JUST put a HUGE siren right outside our house, so it was hella loud. Charles and I looked at each other, I grabbed Rosalie and the diaper bag, he grabbed Caity and we ran downstairs.

Charles ran back up to get a sheet, the car seat, and some toys for Caity. The "rotation" was north of town so he felt safe enough to run up really quick. We stayed down in the basement for a good 30 minutes until the "all clear" was announced.

We eventually calmed down for the night, had family prayer, and put the girls down. We had an uneventful night... I thanked God! Now that we had a crash course in "running with the girls down to the basement", we are now fully prepared with our bags downstairs and a path cleared to run if needed.

Please pray for the family who lost their home and for safety over our area. No tornadoes, please! I didn't have babies to come into this world and be harmed by mother nature. Please keep us safe!