Our Anniversary

Toby and I celebrated 11 years on Saturday, December 17th!  Some good friends of ours took the girls for about 8 hours for us.  We, of course, had so much fun being together.  We ate, shopped, and Toby took me to see Pride and Prejudice.  He knew that is one of my favorite movies and wanted to be the one to see it with me.  He fell asleep a couple of times, poor guy.  But he is so sweet to me! 

 

It seems as time has gone on, we have gotten closer and closer.  We know how to communicate so much better and we just really enjoy each other.  I must say that Toby is my encourager.  It seems whatever ideas I have that I might want to do, he is right there telling me he knows that I could do it.  And he is so generous to me and everyone else, for that matter.  If there is something I really want, he just tells me to go and get it or says maybe in a couple of weeks.  Of course, I don't take advantage of this.  That is just the kind of man that I married.  I love you, Riverboy!

 

Also, I am so blessed to be married to a man who has such a great family vision.  He loves that I stay home and am with our girls.  He desires for us to be such a close family who follows God and loves being with each other.  That means so much to me.  We look forward to being a family of five soon!  And Toby is so sweet.  He grabbed my tummy in the middle of the night just to see how much it is pooching.  He told me the next morning.  I didn't even know he had done that.  He is so excited for me to really start showing.

 

Toby, I am so glad that I married you.  I couldn't imagine going through life with anybody else.  You are the one for me!  Thank you for loving your three girls so well!

 

P.S.  We will never forget Doug and Carol's anniversary.  Wish we could have made the wedding.

 

 

Our Baby Now (well, what ours probably looks like)

Your Baby
The fetus’s urinary tract is on line, and the fingernails are growing. A big portion of the amniotic fluid from this point on will be baby urine.  Your fetus is looking like a baby and has advanced to the stage that its brain can transmit messages. Vocal chords are complete, and the child can and does sometimes cry (silently). The brain is fully formed, and the child can feel pain. The fetus may even suck his thumb. The eyelids now cover the eyes, and will remain shut until the seventh month to protect the delicate optical nerve fibers.

 

 

 

 

I am starting my 2nd trimester!  I am so excited for this part!

Christmas Letters

Hey blogging friends!

 

If you don't think I have your address, could you email it to me.  I would love to include you when we send out our Christmas letters!

 

Ta-Ta!

 

--April

It's Beginning to Look Alot Like Christmas

Let it snow, let it snow, let it snow!  Anyone up for sledding? 

 

I took the girls down to a great hill at the golf course yesterday.  I made the mistake of letting Ellie go down with Sienna for the first run.  Ellie is our little daredevil, so I thought I would let her try it.  This was quite a hill.  They made it down without crashing, but Ellie did NOT like it.  It was either the speed or the fact that snow blew in her face all the way down.  So, I had to trot down to the bottom and rescue her. 

 

Sienna did fine, but I think it was a bit too fast for her first run of the year.  She hated walking back up and got scared half-way up.  She thought if she stood up that she would slide back down.  Knowing my daughter is dramatic, I left her there to tough it out.  She lay there complaining and crying for about 10 minutes.  Her friends were encouraging her, but I guess she wanted me to come down.  I would not give in.  There comes a point where she needs to trust me when I tell her something.  "Just stand up and walk.  You can do it."  She finally crawled the rest of the way up.  Other parents must have thought me so cruel.  But she got up the hill and then proceeded to have fun sledding down a smaller hill.  I love her dramaticness, but there is a time and a place and some self-control to be learned. 

 

Anyone want to come out and play with us, let us know.  We have a guest room, not as pretty as Sabrina's, but it works.

 

May snow come your way if it hasn't already!!

 

 

Ellie's Birthday!

Ellie turned two yesterday!  We went and got her two year pictures and after a lot of coaxing did finally get a smile out of her.  She is quite shy when it comes to being the center of attention.  So the opposite of our other daughter!  I will post some pictures when we get them back.

 

We actually celebrated her birthday last Friday as my parents came to visit for one night.  Sienna and I made Ellie and Elmo cake. (Nothing like the creations Karen makes, but Ellie did recognize Elmo none the less.)

 

A little bit about Ellie.  She loves gum.  She knows how to chew it, but has not mastered putting it in the garbage when she is done.  It goes into the tummy.  So, she never gets a whole piece unless she sneaks one!  And that brings me to another point.  She is very curious aka sneaky.  When we get busy doing something, so does Miss Ellie and not in the same room as us usually.  One of the horrible habits she has is when she goes number two.  If she gets the chance, she likes to put her hand into her diaper and them come and show me.  I do not know how to get her to stop doing that.  I am hoping she will lose interest or outgrow it soon. 

 

I remember Holly saying that she wished her baby, Malacai, would eat.  My Sienna loved food, so I could not relate.  Well, now that Ellie has come along, I totally understand.  Any suggestions out there to get my little girl to eat more?  She would live off milk if she could.  I have tried cutting back on her milk in order to get her to take a bite of food and that has helped a bit, but she hardly eats anything.  She ate a half of an English muffin this morning and I was shocked.  But mostly she won't try stuff or if she liked it once, she may not the next time or will only eat a couple of bites.  So, her bones must be nice and strong, but I am starting to get concerned about her nutrition.  However, Toby and I prayed the other night on this issue and we have seen her eat a tad more since then. 

 

Anyhow, our Ellie is such a blessing to our family.  She is very loving, except for the fact that she loves the word "No!" or "Hey!" especially towards her sister, but she really does have a tender heart.  She loves to "budt" which is jump and she loves to run.  Almost every day she just runs back and forth in the living room or through the kitchen.  And she especially loves it if she is naked.  Hopefully the Bare Bun Run is not in her future!

 

She says, "hold you", when she wants us to hold her.  It is because we would say, "Do you want us to hold you?"

 

She loves Elmo and Cayman (my parent's dog).  And, of course, her Oso, whom she calls "Oyos".  Her Oso is a bear blanket so similar to the one that Sienna loved when she was little.  It has become a tradition that the newest baby gets there very own Oso.  And to train them to love it, we place it next to them from the beginning everytime they lay down.  I just did not want to have them attached to a baby blanket that would have to go with us everywhere, so we began the tradition with Sienna and it has worked out great. 

 

While Sienna loves the arts, drama and singing, I think, Ellie will love physical activities, such as gymnastics or soccer.  Time will tell, but she loves to climb, hang, jump, swing.  I finally have my roller coaster buddy!!

 

Oh, and Ellie loves baby dolls and animals.  It is going to be so fun to buy her dolls through the years.  I tried with Sienna, but she is more into role playing toys like tea sets and dress up and would prefer to have make-believe people in her games.  It is so neat to see Sienna's creativity, but back to Ellie.  It will be fun watching her open up a present with a special doll inside.  I love dolls, so this is why it is so fun to me.  In fact, our first Christmas after we had been married a week, my mom bought me a baby doll that I just love.  I wonder, still, what my husband and his family thought when I brought this doll to my in-laws for Christmas dinner!

 

Well, all this to say that I love you Ellie and everything about you, except the digging in your diaper thing, and I am so blessed to have you call me mama.  You bring such joy to my heart and to your dad and sister's hearts as well.

8 Week Ultrasound and It Looks Like a Baby!

My last ultrasound at The Center.  And it is so exciting because he looks like a baby now!  You can clearly see his head and body.  And he is a little over 1.5 inches.  Amazing that this little person is growing inside of me and I can't feel it!  He/She just travels everywhere I go enjoying the ride!  I am looking forward to those first movements.  When is that?

 

Sidenote:  I had to delete all my previous entries that had ultrasound pictures because I realized today that my full name and Social Security number were on the pictures.  I wish I didn't have to delete the whole blog because I wanted to look back years from now and see what I and you all had to say.  If only I could just delete the photos and not the rest, but I couldn't figure out how to do that.  Oh well!

Our First Ultrasound

We had our first ultrasound yesterday.  We are pregnant with one precious baby.  No twins this time, maybe next time!  We were a little disappointed, but so thankful that we are pregnant and trusting God with His plans for us. 

 

We got a picture.  I will try and scan it in soon.  You will see a little sac and within that sac is a little white curve.  That is our baby!  The nurses were wondering if this is our blue one...meaning a boy...or else Toby is in trouble...they said!  Quite funny!  We'll just have to wait and see 9 months from now!

 

 

Supernatural Childbirth

I have been enjoying Supernatural Childbirth by Jackie Mize.  It is a faith-inspiring book from believing for conception to believing for a pain-free delivery.  Yup, you heard me...pain-free. 

 

I have been doing a lot of praying over my pregnancy and my baby(s).  We'll see how far my faith will go for the rest.  I don't feel pressure to live up to the pain-free delivery, but I am sure going to pray for it and see what God does with my faith.  So, positive comments only, please.  Those negative ones sure aren't helpful in the faith department. 

 

And why do people say, "Just gotta make it through the first trimester!"  Maybe they are just trying to get you to prepare for if the worst happens, but how 'bout "God is so faithful.  Congratulations!"  God wants us to speak the positive and the promises of His Word right?  I know people mean well, and I am sure that I have made inappropriate comments to my friends before, so no unforgiveness here, just wanting to focus on what God says and trust Him through everything.

 

So...this book may not be for everyone, but I have found it very inspiring.  If anyone of you have read it, maybe you have some great testimonies to share.  I would love to hear them.

 

Pregnancy update:  My numbers had shot up tremendously from Sunday's pregnancy test to Tuesday's labs.  Meaning my numbers were already good and now they are really up there...very, very good.  Does that mean there are twins in there?  We will soon find out. (Oh, and when I say numbers I mean my Progesterone levels and my HCG levels-the pregnancy hormone.)

 

 

Pregnancy Test

We are pregnant!

 

We found out about 8:30 this morning!

 

Thank you for all of your prayers. 

 

We'll let you know how many are in there in the next few weeks!

 

 

God is so amazing!!!

 

4

Just four more days to go until we get to have our pregnancy test!  We go in Sunday morning and will find out that day!!  We feel we already know the answer, but it will be nice to hear them say it!

Sienna is so Funny

Just wanted to add a note from yesterday about my oldest daughter.  When Toby and I were leaving to the clinic, Sienna said, "I hope you can fit through the door when you get home!"  She cracks me up all the time!

Transfer Day

I am at home now resting in bed.  Toby has made me lunch and brought me the cell phone and laptop and now he is out washing the van while Ellie watches Elmo inside the van.  Sienna got invited to a friend's house for the afternoon, but when I got home she felt my tummy and was smiling!

 

All went well.  They only dethawed two embryos this time and they both survived!!  So, I have two little ones in me right now.  I go in for labs on Sunday and then on the 16th (in 9 days) I go in for the pregnancy test!  The doctor told us that for couples with embryos like ours, we have a 50% chance of pregnancy.  Of course, we look to God and not statistics, but we feel that is a pretty good percentage to have.  He did not discuss if that is a high percentage compared to most or not.  He just whisked in and told us how many and our chances and then was gone again.  I didn't want to ask him questions during the procedure about it.  Besides, it is what it is and God is in control, right?

 

We received a picture of our embryos which I may scan in so you can see them, but not today!  I got to see them on a monitor and watch them be sucked into a straw and then watch as fluid went inside me!  It was very fast and pretty much pain-free!  The only uncomfortable part was when they had to put the thing inside of me like when you are about to have a papsmear.  So, I feel good!

 

I'll update you again when I have more news!

 

And I am enjoying reading Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte while I am in bed.  If anyone else has read it, let me know!

 

What I Have Been Doing to Get Ready

I thought I would let you all know what has transpired to accomplish this embryo adoption.  On the non-medical side, we had to get in touch with an adoption lawyer and the one recommended was the same one that did Ellie's adoption.  That worked out great.  We were able to use that Homestudy for this adoption as well.  So nice not to have to jump through those hoops again.  Paperwork, social worker visits, etc.  So he drew up the papers and we signed them and the donor family (wonderful people) spoke with a separate lawyer and signed them.  Once that was done, we were able to obtain more paperwork from the fertility center here and the one in CA where the embryos were.  Once those were notarized and whatnot, then we had to figure out who to call to arrange to have the embryos shipped.  You can't just call FedEx, you need a special tank to ship them in that is filled with...I am trying to remember...I think it was liquid nitrogen, but for some reason I am not sure about that.  Anyways, Fed Ex did deliver them safe and sound and then delivered the storage tank back to where it came from.  You just rent that.  It seemed to take forever to get through all the paperwork and procedures to allow the release to get them shipped.  But they made it safe and sound.

 

The next big thing was deciding if I wanted to go natural or synthetic to have the transfer done.  What that means is I could go without the medications they use for the synthetic route to time out your ovulation to an exact schedule and just wait for when my body was ready.  Sounds like a no-brainer that you would just let your body do its thing, BUT the fertility center will only do transfers during a two-week period every other month.  If your body doesn't line up with that, you are having to wait another two months and hope you line up.  With my cycle being a tad irregular and for peace of mind, we decided to go the synthetic route.  We feel fine about our decision and didn't feel either one was right or wrong, just a preference.  Plus we could decide when we wanted to be pregnant.  Since we are hoping for twins, I wanted my due date to be beginning of next summer because I want my moms to be here to help.  They work in the school district, so that is why we are doing it now.  We couldn't wait any longer, because at first I wanted to do it as soon as possible.  Anyhow..

 

Next came blood tests on Toby and I.  It took me by surprise that the donor parents and Toby had to have bloodwork done as well as myself.  The donor parents because maybe there was something in their blood that didn't show up when the embryos were created, but now it does.  And Toby, because he is my husband and would have contact with me in a marital way.  So, made sense, I guess.

 

After that came the Prep Cycle.  This is where I go on some of the medications that they would be using to see how my body responded to them.  This included several vaginal ultrasounds.  It is quite cool to see your uterus and ovaries and what they are doing.  The medications also included a few weeks of giving myself a daily shot in the stomach.  I have always liked shots growing up, don't know why it fascinates me, but as I have gotten older it has gotten harder.  Probably since I passed out and started having convulsions one time after I gave blood.  Anyhow, I actually had fun giving myself the shots.  It didn't hurt much and I guess that it was just fascinating playing nurse.  So after that it has just been waiting for my cycle to start in August and once that happened then I was sent a calendar on what medications to take each day and as of Sunday, Toby has had to play nurse.  He has to give me a Progesterone shot every evening around 9pm for the next 47 days or so.  This one, I have to admit, I was a bit afraid of because when the needles were delivered to my door and I opened them, I got a little panicked.  The needle was thick and about 2 inches long and it has to go in my upper left and right quadrant of my rear and hip area.  I found out from the nurse, however, that the thick needle was just for drawing up and the other needle which was much thinner but still as long would be the injection needle.  But I have to say that Toby has done a great job!  He tricked me the first night and did it while I was in the middle of talking to him as I lay on the bed.  It hardly hurt.  The second night was harder for him, it is that hesitation right before he puts it in when we both get nervous.  I suspect by the end of the 47 days, it will be old hat.  I'm hoping.  So, along with the medications, I have been going in for labwork and ultrasounds about twice a week since the beginning of September.  I go in again tomorrow morning and it should let the doctor know if I am ready for the next day's transfer!!

 

So, I hope that fills you all in on the process!  Quite a lot, but on the medical side, less than those who have to go through the whole invitro process of having their eggs and sperm harvested and all that.

 

And as far as how many embryos will go in, that will be up the embryologist and his recommendations to us.  They look at the quality of the embryos and that really plays a factor in how many they implant.  Someone could have five implanted because of their poor state, while another will only have two max because they are so good.  The donor parents, I feel weird calling them that but I am not sure how to refer to them without using their names, had two implanted and had twins, so these are more than likely high quality embryos.

 

So, transfer day should happen Friday and then about 11 days after that we go in for the pregnancy tests.  Then still I have 6 or so ultrasounds, I think in the first 8 weeks, then after that we should know for sure how many took and I am off to a normal doctor for the remaining of the pregnancy! 

 

Did I leave out anything?  Anyhow, maybe more info than you wanted to know, but I find it fascinating.  Oh, by the way, I just left to have Toby give me my shot and now I am back to finish this up!  It went well.

 

I will let you all know how everything goes.  I have to have bedrest for 48 hours after the transfer which, by the way, should only take 10-15 hours, just kidding, only 10-15 minutes for my part.  I am not sure how long it takes the embryologist to dethaw our little ones, but it is a slow and careful process.  So, I will update this when I get a chance.  Sitting in the bed with a laptop is bedrest, right?  Thanks for your prayers and thoughts and I'll chat with you all soon!

Date Change

Just wanted you all to know that our transfer will take place this Friday instead of Thursday.  Thank you for your prayers and nice comments.  I will keep you all updated as we go!

I Get to Be Pregnant!

Okay, so here is the scoop for those of you who haven't alreadyheard the news.  Last January we were contacted by a Christiancouple who wanted to know if we would consider adoptingagain.   This couple had done invitro to get pregnantthemselves and had some embryos left over.  They are done havingchildren and had been praying about what to do with these other"children".  Then they heard about embryo adoption through myfriend, Jessica Wolfram.  She put us in contact with eachother andan adoption was done last spring.  

 

Okay, but let me tell you some more of the amazing details....

 

First of alll, I have never been pregnant as most of you know, butever since I was a young girl I dreamed about the day that I wouldbe.  I met Toby.  We knew this would not be a possibilityunless God were to do a miracle.  But deep down I wondered why Istill had such a desire to know what pregnancy felt like.  Is thisfrom God or just my own curiosity?   I had thought that Godwould heal Toby and we would be pregnant someday, but just last year Ibegan to get settled with the fact that that may not be God's plan forus.  And to be quite honest, I had begun to not want it to happenbecause I decided that I would prefer all of our children to beadopted.  I didn't want anyone to ever feel differentthan anyone else in our family.  So...God came up with anamazing plan, that I am sure He planned long ago.  I get to bepregnant and all my children will be adopted as well!   Inever would have dreamed up such a plan!!

 

The next amazing thing is the nationalities of the couple whoseembryos we have adopted.  As you know my husband is tall andwhite!  So is the husband.  I am not so tall andbrown...Hispanic, Black and White.  The wife's nationality is ElSalvadorian and she is about my height.  Is this God's design orwhat? 

 

It is so amazing to us that with each of our children, God makes it so apparent that He destined them to be in our family!

 

Now our next big decision is how many do we want placed insideme.  There are five embryos and they probably won't dethaw allfive unless they need to.   We are really hoping fortwins.  We have always wanted twins and what a perfect opportunityto try for them.  Of course, God knows what is best, so we praythat we hear clearly from Him with all these decisions.  So pleasepray for us, especially over the next few weeks and October 6th as thatis the day it all should take place.  We find out less than twoweeks after transfer day if it worked!  Which we are believingthat it will and we will have a very healthy pregnancy and a blessingor two or three next summer!  We are not praying for triplets bythe way, in case you felt led to pray for us!!

 

So, that is our major news that has been happening in2005!  Most of you probably already knew, but there are a few ofyou that I don't have your email addresses to keep you informed, sothis is probably your first time hearing about it!

 

Isaiah 54 was given to me a long time ago...the whole chapterwhich I memorized and just love, but here is a part that comes to mindtoday.."Enlarge the place of your tent, and let them stretch out thecurtains of your dwellings;  do not spare; lengthen your cords andstrengthen your stakes.  For you shall expand to the right and tothe left, and your descendants will inherit the nations, and make thedesolate cities inhabited."

October 6th

Can anybody guess what happens October 6th?

Red by Ted Dekker

I just finished the second book in Ted Dekker's trilogy.  At first I had a hard time getting into it as it starts out with a lot of battle scene stuff.  But I must say that after a few chapters, I was definately enjoying the book.   This book has similarities in style with the Matrix or Lord of the Rings.  I didn't think I would enjoy books in this type of genre, but I am really looking forward to the next and last book called White.  It leaves you so curious with what could possibly be happening next.  If you are going to read the first book called Black, you will have to (and want to) read the next two.  Ted Dekker is definately an on-the-edge writer.  He really sticks out in the world of Christian fiction as a unique author.

 

Anybody else have any thoughts on this book?

 

Karen, I just saw your thoughts on my comments from last time and left you a note there, but I just wanted to say that I agree with you that once you get a little further into his books, you are hooked.

 

What would you like to read next (after White) on the classical side.  I have always wanted to read Uncle Tom's Cabin.  It is not in Honey for a Woman's Heart, so I don't know much about it, but have heard it referenced several times and now am curious about it.

Sienna Goes A Courting

Just wanted to tell you a funny story. 

 

Sienna came home from a neighbor's house the other day and began to tell me how the other girls were talking about having boyfriends and dating.  They asked Sienna about it and she said that she was not going to date, but court when she was older.  Of course, they didn't know what that was, so she began to explain it to them.   I don't remember the details of how she explained it except that she added on that "then the boy and girl go before a judge".  A judge?  Oh, honey, they don't have to go before a judge.  Where did you get that from?  She just assumed that courting would involve a judge, I guess.  Isn't that cute?  Of course, they do go before the Judge, the Lord, but that is not what Sienna was talking about.  I was proud of her for explaining her beliefs even though it was a little awkward for her.

 

I then told her of a time when I assumed something and felt a little humbled for it.

 

I told her my fifth grade experience on writing a report on Washington.  I wrote this report full of information from an encyclopedia, but just to give it that extra punch, I wrote that Washington D.C. was also in Washington.  Now how could the encyclopedia have missed that?  Well, Washington D.C. is not in Washington state as I soon learned when my teacher gave back my report after grading it.  I learned to verify my facts after that experience.

 

 

For Grandpa and a Couple for Grandma

Here are the promised pictures of the wooden boat show, Grandpa.  And we threw in a couple of pictures for Grandma.  Toby wishes you could have been there, though it was quite hot....which is why we let the girls swim for a bit afterwareds.  Love ya!

This Fiction Chick Wants to Read Some Books

Hey all!  I love to read and am going to be posting what I am currently reading to see if anyone else has read the same book or would like to read along with me. 

 

I just read Black by Ted Dekker.  It is a trilogy, so I am going to read the other two books next.  Has anyone read this book?  It is very different and leaves you having to read the next two books to get some things figured out.

 

After this trilogy, I plan to read a classic.  My mother-in-law gave me a wonderful book titled Honey for a Woman's Heart by Gladys Hunt.  Gladys gives her opinions on many great books of all different genres.  The subtitle on this book is "Growing your world through reading great books".  Of all the books out there it is nice to have a synopsis and an opinion from someone who has read a lot and is a Christian.  I will let you know what I decide to read first.  I would love for any of my friends to join in on the reading!  Let me know....

A Litte Vacation

We got to visit our family and some dear friends last week.  It was a great time. 

 

It was so neat to see my childhood friend (feels like a cousin), Cyrena and her husband, Dave.  They will soon be parents to a little girl named Gabrielle.  Our families met when her mom and my mom were pregnant with her big sister, Devona,  and my sister.  Cyrena would come a few years later.  I was 3.  I remember holding Cyrena in my arms and rescuing her from the playpen when we would visit.  We also got to see her parents, Dot and Johnny, and their grandson, Derek.  Really missed getting to see Devona.  If you read this, Devona, just want you to know that we missed you and think you have a very sweet son.  Sienna really enjoyed playing with him, so did Ellie.

 

Also got to see Jen, Mackenzie and Amy a lot this weekend.  They let us go seadooing with them.  Always fun to spend time with them.  See you soon on the roller coasters!!

 

And, of course, we always love spending time with our families minus Sylvia who couldn't come out, but we saw a couple of weeks ago. 

 

Sorry to all the friends we couldn't see this weekend.  The problem is we are blessed with so many good friends, and can't see everyone each time, tho' Sienna begs to go to the Engstroms!  Wish we could have said congratulations in person on the new baby to be!  How  very exciting!  Tho' whatever the Lord gives, I know you will rejoice, but we are hoping we can send a little pink dress your way in a few months!!!

 

Love to all and hope to talk with you soon!

Ok, so maybe 1 project at a time.

We made a realistic decision!  There is no way we can do the deck and tile in 3 days!  So, my dad and my husband are out working on the deck as I sit in the house where it is much cooler than the 95 degrees outside!  We'll figure out the tiling at a later date.  Ahh...the pressure has lifted!  Thanks for coming over dad and mom!

Home Projects!!

Well, after Toby gets off work today, he will have a week off!  Yeah!  He is soooo ready!  Unfortunately we have two major projects that we are going to attempt while he is home. 

 

Our first project is a deck for the backyard.  We are hoping my dad can make it over to get us going.    We've never built a deck before.  Next, is tiling our kitchen floors which requires the girls to go stay with my parents after they come and help with the deck.  Normally we wouldn't attempt two major things at the same time, but to have Ellie taken care of means our only chance to get it done without trying to keep her out of the kitchen! 

 

Pray for us and Toby as this will not be much of a vacation!  Then it is off to visit our parents' for the weekend and go and get the girls.  Don't worry.  Toby and I will go have some fun in the evenings when the girls are gone.  It's been a long time since we have gone out to dinner or shopping or movie or anything just the two of us.  Or how 'bout just sleeping in?  That will be nice, though we should get up and work on our projects....Ahhh....or we could actually take a nap during the day whenever we need a break...sleep...you value it so much more when you have kids!   Tho' I have been enjoying napping with Ellie lately.  Maybe I will get some pictures up of our progress on our projects soon!

4th of July

Toby's family came out for a visit over the fourth. We picked strawberries, went to a fun bookstore, the girls swam with Grandma, and attempted to go see some fireworks. I say attempted because many of us wimped out and wanted to go home to the cherry pie that Aunt Judy had made long before the fireworks had even started. We did go home and just drove to the bluff and watched the fireworks later. Toby was probably the most disappointed that we didn't stay for the fireworks. (It is a good thing that Erik Engstrom wasn't in town!)

>Oh, we also learned one vital lesson during their visit. Make sure to have the coffee pot ready for the morning or there will be some caffein-deprived bears on the loose! (Namely named Aunt Judy and Grandma Jane!)

It was a good time, always is! Hope everyone also had a safe 4th!

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