My Mom...

January 20th 19....let's not worry about the year;) was the day the world was blessed to have a beautiful princess was born this beautiful princess was named Kay and that princess grew up and found her prince Larry.. She had the strength  and courage to give birth to 5 beautiful babies 1 son 4 gdaughters. I was blessed to be 1 of those daughters born to her! Some call her Kay, sister johnston, nana Kay, grandma Kay, honey,...but I get to call her Mom. I have no idea who I would be today if I didn't have her in my life. My Mom is the greatest, most loving, do anything for her family, courageous, strong woman I have ever met. She has had so much heartbreak in her life that would cause anyone to be bitter and cynical and negative but she is far from those things. Lucy Smith once said this about her daughter in law Emma 

"  I have never seen a woman in my life, who would endure every species of fatigue and hardship, from month to month, and from year to year, with that unflinching courage, zeal, and patience, which she has ever done; ..."

My Mom has had her fair share of hardships and heart break and has carried herself with such grace! I honestly have no idea how she does it and when I ask her she is of course extremely humble and doesn't even realize just how Amazing and beautiful and important she is!! How many Mothers would leave their home for 6+ weeks not once but twice to take care of her daughter and new baby? My Mom has this amazing ability to Love so unconditionally and so fully that she inspires me! She has so much love to give and she is so willing to give it!!

Growing up I can maybe count on one hand how many times my Mom yelled at us in anger and if she did it was serious!!! Like we probably said something super sassy and rude! She was always willing to tuck me in at night read me a story usually "the magic grinder" :) and I asked her to read me a story even when I was in high school! And she thought I was kidding but I wasn't and she got a book "princess and the pea" and laid next to me in bed and read it to many. There was many talks we had about friends, boys, life and anything and everything. She was my best friend! She knew she was my Mother and when I needed a best friend she was there and when I needed a mom she was there. 

I am so lucky to have been raised by such a wonderful woman. Cheri Call says it best  in her song she...

"She is not the picture on the magazine
She's the woman just behind you at the checkout stand
She may appear to be common but she mystifies
In all the ways the wisest men and children understand
'Cause she has eyes that sparkle with her love
And she has a smile that's as gentle as a dove
And no woman from a movie or an ad could ever hope to be
As beautiful as she

She is not a highly honored diplomat
Held responsible to lead the world to peace
But what she does is every bit as serious
Amidst the turmoil everywhere that will never cease
'Cause she has hands that wipe the tears away
And she has a voice that makes everything O.K.
And no woman from the papers or T.V. could ever hope to be
As indispensable as she

And it breaks my heart every time I see her wonder
If she means anything in this world that pulls her under
And she doesn't always see the way that Heaven smiles above her
That's the reason I try to always tell her that I love her

'Cause she may not be known for giving millions
To the charities and auctions on the news
But I believe she's given more than anyone
In all the times she's ever had to choose
To give up sleep to rock her children every night
And give her heart to always hold their dreams so tight
And the best that you or I could ever hope to be
Is as wonderful as she
And the best that you or I could ever hope to be
Is as wonderful as she"

Mom thank you for being you. Wonderful, patient, kind, loving, sweet, happy, funny, strong, courageous, beautiful You! I would be lost without you! Thank you for being such a great example to me. Thank you for my life! I love you with all of my heart! I'll love you forever I'll like you for always as long as I'm living my mother you'll be! :) 

Happy Mother's Day!

Mommy Daughter Date

So Thursday's Lance usually doesn't have to be at the clinic till 3 so today I took K with me to SAMs club just her and me! 

It was the first time we had a mommy daughter time outside of the house! I forget how easier it is to me now to just take 1 kid to the store! We had a blast! After wards we shared a frozen yogurt and she loved it! A bunch of old ladies walked by saying how cute she was. She was sitting on top of the table and I was sitting in front of her and she kept giving me hugs and kisses and then started feeding me the frozen yogurt! It was adorable! I love spending one on one time with her! She's been throwing tantrums and screaming and hitting sister a lot so we are trying to figure out what to do and Lances mom suggested taking just her somewhere to spend mommy and K time together! I have been extra careful and mindful about giving her attention and helping her use words or signs to communicate! And the last 3 days she's been super great with Baby Em and less screaming!!:) I'm hoping it continues to improve as we figure out how to communicate to each other where we both understand what she wants! But I feel like we are in the right direction! I just wish I got a picture of our date today! Oh well these will have to do 

Sisterly love

K was taking selfies:)

So much to do!!

The past few weeks I have had so much to do!! Adjusting to having 2 kids is harder than I thought and I thought it would be tough!!  I feel like a failure as a mom though I am just starting to feel like I got it all together and then bam I'm back at square one! I have done a poor job prioritizing my time and I feel awful about that! I have noticed that if I'm nursing I have my phone with me checking emails fb Pinterest IG ect... And it's just to much! I'm not paying enough attention to Emily or Kensley when I do that! So I am going to only check that stuff at naptime and either early morning before they wake or after bedtime. 

I want to blog more and fb less I feel like I need to spend less time on my phone/iPad and more time in my scriptures and playing with my girls!! These baby blues have got to go!!! I need to make a change! 

So now that I got that off my chest hlheres a few pictures of my sweethearts

Sisters love in pictures

Picture overload

Emily 

Emily's Birth Story

Well it's that time again I want to get this in writing before I forget. However Emily's birth is quite memorable!! There's a lot of TMI because well it's a birth story so deal with it I'm not making you read this lol.

It started with me taking castor oil at 4pm on Wednesday the 5th.  Lance had clinic camp Thursday Friday and I was nervous she would come when he was away. That's why I took the oil. Well 8pm the castor oil hit! I was living in the bathroom and was having cramps by 10:30-11 we went to bed and I had Lance give me a blessing I felt like an idiot for taking the oil cause I was miserable and the cramps/ contractions were painful. We went to bed and I woke up at about 1:30am with the runs again and the. Cramps/contractions I wasn't sure if they were poop pains or contractions. But then I wasn't having the runs but still having cramps/contractions and thy kept getting worse so by 3:30am I woke up lance told him what was going on every 3-5minutes the contraction pain was coming. So we called our friend who was going to come watch K but she didn't answer and I knew we couldn't wait so we called our back up and all was good she got there 15 minutes later and then we were off to the hospital I was having contractions along the way and they were very very painful!!! We got to L/D but the door was locked we had to go through the emergency room in the freezing weather may I add!! It's freezing here!! After getting a wheel chair Lance wheeled me into L/D  we get checked in and they can't find me in their system (pre reg) I get to my room they want me to leave a urine sample yeah that didn't happen ...then they checked me 6-7 dilated!!!! I was going to die the contractions were so painful I told my mom and lance I would need an epi because The contractions were so close and so painful and then another contraction came and I had to get off the bed laying down wasn't working so I kneeled at the floor of the bed and breathed and a nurse came In so I have all these consent forms they need me to fill out I was feeling like pushing and everyone started telling me no Brittany breath I was shining my name and forms at 4:34 and still needing to push a nurse told me if I kept pushing I would make my cervix swell and then I would need a c-section!!! I was scared because my body was telling me to push so I said a prayer and I pushed hard on my next contraction and felt her descend and I thought she was crowning the nurse finally checked and oh there's the head and told me I heeded to get off the floor and on the bed so I wouldn't have baby on the floor! Lol I was on my hands and knees on the bed and she said I could push if I felt like it so I did and 2 pushes her head was out and then she said I needed to turn over and push baby out so I did and one push later baby was out at 4:48am we got to L/D at 4:20 mind you. My midwife missed it !lol by 4 minutes! Lol the nurse delivered emily!! It happened so fast I couldn't believe she was already here!!! Lance and I both were in sock about it!! Thank you regular chiropractic care!!!:) short delivery and labor!!! It was amazing I have a small tear but not that bad and it's on the inside so my recovery this time has already been night and day difference I feel great and am so excited to go home tomorrow!!! Emily is doing sooo good!! It snowed today!! Mother Nature wanted it to be beautiful for her arrival I guess :) we are so in live with her and so grateful my mom came early and changed her flight cause originally she was suppose to get here today at 11:30am!! Me and lance both feel everything went as good as it could have! We are blessed! Another successful natural non medicated birth ! Our bodies are amazing!!! I am so happy!!!

Ready, set, GO!

Well yesterday Lance didn't have school we had a lazy yet productive day! I now feel like I am ready for Emily to make her appearence!  Got all the last minute stuff like diapers, socks, pack and play sheets, nursing pads, nursing cream, BM storage bags, good old pads I am all set!! And with kensley having a fever Saturday and Sunday I am so ready for her to come! K likes her mama a lot when she is sick and this very pregnant mama has a hard time holding her so I would very much like for Emily to come sooner rather than later lol. I have another sono today at my appointment with my awesome midwife. I also have an appointment with the chiropractic clinic!! Yay!! 

2013

2013 in review

Lance- started tri 5 passed it and passed 1st rounds of boards, Grandpa McGee returned to heaven and we got to go to his funeral which was beautiful. He has rocked Tri 6 and Tri 7!!  Lance is so excited to be done with book work and going to clinic for the next year! 

Kensley- hit a lot of milestones in 2013 she learned how to sit, stand, crawl, walk and say a few words like mama, daddy, hi, daisy, no, kitty, pain-plane, baby.  She sleeps through the night and seriously is such an easy baby/kid! We are so blessed! She is such a good eater and loved to give hugs and kisses and blow kisses! It's super cute!

Me- 2013 started out tough with tri5 and boards I hardly saw lance and got a good feel off single parenting. Respect to you all single parents! Summer found me pregnant!!! Such a huge surprise and miracle!!  And then we found out baby is a girl!!  We are so excited to welcome a 2nd little girl into our family!!

2013 was good! Great! 2014 is gonna be awesome! Emily arrives k turns 2 lance graduates we move back to az!! 

Magic of Christmas

Elf on a shelf= I'm not a fan.

I know a lot of families who love this idea/ tradition but I'm not a fan. Why you ask? Well first it's creeps me out! 2. Got no time to move him/she around and or make messes or whatnot. 3. I'd rather do a more Christ centered tradition.

Now full discloser I was raised in a home that didn't have Santa. Often I hear people say to me oh that's so sad Santa was so fun and made Christmas so magical. Or tell me how since I didn't believe in Santa I lost some if the magic of Christmas. Been a great debate in our home of rather our kids will be Santa believers or not. I loved Christmas! As a kid Christmas was sooo magical!!! I could hardly sleep Christmas Eve knowing mom and dad were hard at work getting things prepared for Christmas morning!! I remember wondering what we would walk out to Christmas morning. I also remember waking up Christmas morning with an excitement only Christmas Day can bring!! I didn't think Santa came I thought mom and dad are done and ready for us to open gifts!!!! My parents never threated us that if we weren't good Santa would bring us coal or nothing they simply said if your naughty we won't get you the things on your Christmas list so we had to be on our best behavior because mom and dad are Santa!! We never had Santa decorations around the house we had a nativity. We had a count down to Christmas and wise men seek him still display we had the magic of Christmas in our home and knew that the true magic was the birth of our savior and being with family love and joy and service  not jolly old st nick. I don't feel deprieved and I am so glad my parents chose to raise us knowing they themselves were Santa. We knew how awesome our parents were because on Christmas all the gifts were from them! They knew us and loved us and it was from some old man at the North Pole. I wouldn't have had it any other way. I am glad Lance had Santa and I love that people have their traditions I am in no way saying Santa is evil or takes away the true meaning of Christmas I honestly think people can choose what they want to do in their home. But I would hope that they know even if your not a believer of Santa no magic is lost at Christmas! I love this time of year! I can't wait to see kensleys expressions when she opens her gifts!! Kids bring such a magic to Christmas!!

So much to do so little time

Including today I have 4 days to clean our apartment top to bottom, clear out fridge, get laundry done and put away, finish Christmas shopping for 4 people, figure out what to get lance!!! Pick from his wish list!!, go to my midwife appointment, finish my baby wipe study and have an interview to complete for it, get k and I adjusted, get daisy to the groomers and get traveling sandwiches made and ice chest, get myself and k packed!!!! And I'm sure I'm missing something lol feeling a little overwhelmed right now! But so excited to leave Friday!!!

Mark your calendars!!!!

That's right mark your calendar One year from today Lance graduates Chiropractic school!!!!!! He is indeed amazing! He has been rockin it in his classes and I am so grateful to have married such an amazing man who has juggled his busy schedule and made/makes time for me and Kensley! It's been a long tough 2+years but it's true we can see the light at the end of the tunnel!!  Next week is finals and then it's Arizona time!!! Woot woot!!! The last 2 years have been busy and packed with adventure between moving to a new state getting pregnant, losing my dear aunt judy, having a high risk pregnancy, giving birth to our beautiful kensley, surviving tri 5, losing lances sweet grandpa McGee, getting pregnant unexpectedly, morning sickness with a 9 month old!, kensley turning 1 and now daddy finishing his last tri of book work!! We have indeed had our ups and our downs but it's been a great adventure!! It's nice to know this is the last Christmas we will be living in Texas! :) 2014 I think will fly by quickly! Lots going on for the McGees in 2014!! With Emily arriving in February celebrating 7 years together kensley turning 2 and lance graduating!!!! We got a full year of adventure before we make our way back home to the Grand Canyon state and say good by to this beloved Lonestar state:)

What's in a name?

Well I didn't blog every day in November:(  after we left for arizona I was busy and then got sick and then Had a teething sick baby :( it was a rough couple of weeks with little sleep!  But I am feeling a lot better and little miss is sleeping better and feeling better too! Still teething but most of the teeth have broken through all 5 of them!!! Crazy!

However in this time we have finally agreed on a name for new baby girl!! But first I must start out with the names we have picked out since Kensley was in my tummy. 

First we love family names!

Kensley's full name is Kensley Noel 

Noel is lances fathers middle name and grandmas maiden name we pronounce it like the Christmas carol to make it feminine. :)  

Our boy names are named after Lance. That's all I'm saying for now.

Now our second girls name that we loved after the ultrasound Lance wasn't sure about. Well after many weeks of trying to figure out what names he likes we finally have decided on a name. the same name we picked but a different middle name .....drumroll please...............................................

Emily Tawnya 

Emily being my great grandmothers middle name ( moms side) who passed away in February of 1999 at the age of 101 and Tawnya being my sweet oldest sisters name who was born February 5th 1980 she is our family's February baby. This little miracle is due in the same month as her aunt Tawnya and her papa johnston was born February 12th. My favorite aunt Judy returned to heaven February 3rd 2012 so February is very dear to me! I strongly feel that Aunt Judy had a hand in getting this sweet baby girl to us so soon:) and what a more beautiful month for her to come then February!  So come February we will have the honor of meeting and holding our precious Emily Tawnya McGee.

I am so excited for February!!!!

Allergies!!

Man my allergies have hit with full force off and on the last 2 weeks!! I have even woken up super nauseous and my eyes won't stop watery and my nose is a faucet and my eyes! I want to scratch them out of my head soo badly!!!! I finally got some more local honey I ran out!! And this evening finally I am getting relief!! I just hope I wake up better than today! I never had allergies growing up and just recently well maybe it's been about 4 years that seasonal allergies get to me! It's no fun! I think it's worse right now because I'm pregnant too. I would like to feel better very soon since I get to board a plane on Wednesday for Arizona!! Yay!!!

Saturday is a special day....

I love Saturdays!! I love it cause after Kensley's morning nap when she wakes up lance gets up with and I get to sleep usually for another hour. It's a nice trade off he sleeps in and I get up with her and then I take a nap when she does but then he gets up with her:) it's beautiful!! We ran errands and played at the park kensley loved that!!  watching the planes fly by and exploring are a few of her favorite things again I wish I got a picture! Lance picked some flowers for her and put them behind her ears it was just too cute! I love spending time with just the 3 of us! It's seriously a little piece of heaven on earth!

Heart attacking

Being in young women's has been super fun I feel like I have been there for forever but I love the girls I have been gotten to know!! Tonight me and my good friend Jessica (personal progress leader) heart attacked our newest Mia Maid!!! Newest and only Mia Maid!!:) it was fun I hope she likes waking up to it!!

Afterwards me and Jess got to talk I could talk to her for hours!!! She is seriously a kindred spirit! I just wish I took a picture!! Grr I'm such a slacker!!

Egg Nog

Tis the season of Egg Nog!! Yes I have already had my first egg nog of the season in October with pumpkin egg nog and then regular egg nog and then today I found this gem!!!

Oh so yummy!! And healthier than reg dairy egg nog!!!:) so yay for that!! Lol this is one of my favorite holiday treats!!!

One week

7 days till Kensley and I fly to Arizona for a week!!! Hooray!! Haven't seen my family since the end of April!!! We get to watch my sister run in her first Ironman!!! Super excited for her!!! So excited to meet my new nephew Captain and see the rest of my arizona babies!! Plus kensley and Lucy are gonna be so fun to watch together!! Only 7.5 months apart!!! Let the good times roll!! I'm beyond excited and beyond stressed to fly with her by myself and see how she does cause let's face it she only flew twice and it was when she was a baby who nursed and slept the whole way!!!:/ I'm a little anxious about that. So anyone reading this please say a prayer for me!! For us!!:) thanks!!!

What really matters

I love bedtime! It's a glorious time of day. Kensley is extra cuddling and it slap happy and just all together so sweet! Tonight bath time was fun like always she loves baths and now watches while the bath fills up with excitement and squeals!! It's just down right to cute! Then it's lotion massage, Jammie's, Storytime and then off to music land of sleepy dreams. Well lance and I will either share the bedtime routine or one of us will do it completely. Tonight Daddy had Storytime and music land aka cuddle time before she gets put in her crib. I have many moments where my heart melts when I see daddy and kensley together either playing or cuddling or reading a book tonight I had to capture the moment! I hope she knows how much her daddy loves her and when she gets older I hope she realizes he has loved her for forever! I am so blessed to be married to such a wonderful man who treats me like a queen but also be married to such a wonderful daddy to my children! I am forever in debt to his parents for raising such an amazing person!!

Rough day

Well today was a rough day my allergies have been out of control and then little bumper her face on the metal part of our bed frame she wasn't on the bed but fell into it and poor thing cut the inside of her mouth and there was blood!!!

Needless to say I don't do well with blood and Lance wasn't home which made it more stressful!! Poor little girl! She is a tough cookie! But I was so happy for bedtime to come. it was an emotional day! That ended with a best friend dropping off clothes for baby girl 2! So that was amazing.

Day light savings

I grew up in the Grand Canyon State aka Arizona and we didn't have to mess with changing our clocks! 

Well now that we live in Texas DST exsist and before we had Kensley it wasn't a big deal however having a child who has a great schedule and adding DST is not easy! Last time it took her a few weeks to  adjust and now I just hope it doesn't take as long cause waking up at 6 is just to early! I'm spoiled and 7-7:30 is her wake up time. I just wish the USA would not do DST! Lol plus my family gets confused with how many hours ahead we are from them because we change. So kudos to Arizona for getting DST right and not participating!! 

Girls night!

Last night we had girls night superhero themed party it was such a blast! I feel so blessed to be surrounded by such amazing wonderful ladies who are awesome friends! Being away from family is hard and living in a new state and area was scary but our ward here is amazing and I feel like they truly are a ward family to us!! Which makes being away so much easier!!  

There is something so refreshing about girls night! I love My Hubby don't get me wrong but there is something about being silly with my girlfriends that lifts my spirits! I feel very blessed to be here in Texas and get the opportunity to brush shoulders with such amazing people!!

NaBloPoMo

National blog posting month!

Never have done this but my Aunt Mel is awesome and has and so this year I thoughts I would join in on the fun!

I can't believe it's November!!! Where has the year gone!!? Halloween was yesterday and no we didn't go trick or treating we did have lunch with daddy! I made sure to dress kensley up when we went to the school! 

Needless to say she was a hit!!!! She is such a sweetheart! We just love her so much! She is getting so big! She has 4 teeth on top and 3 in the bottom now! 

She says mama, mommy, dad, daddy, daisy, bur(bird, pane (plane), ball, moo, meow, who( owl sound), no, and baby. 

She talks a lot I just don't know what she is saying yet lol it's super cute. She loves out doggie daisy and daisy is finally being good around her and will now runaway from her to avoid her. I'm excited to see her play with her cousin Lucy this month when I go to visit Arizona! Lucy was born January 30th 2012 and kensley was sept. 12 2012 so they are super close in age!! And haven't seen each other since end of April! It's gone be fun!!!Happy November!!!!!

Pregnancy and Infant loss Remembrance Day

October 15th another reason I love October so much! 

A day that shines light on so many who silently mourn for their sweet angels. This is my second October 15th in which I have had the amazing oppurtunity to finally hold my sweet miracle in my arms. Last year I was extremely emotional (4 weeks postpartum) and my heart was just over joyed to have Kensley in my arms! This year I reflected a lot more on the past years between the TTC and only seeing that negative line month after month after month to the year I finally saw my positive line only to have my baby die in my womb, and then 7 months later get another positive to only again have tradgedy strike again and right before we moved hundreds of miles away from my family and friends. And then on a cold day in January 2012 another miracle a BFP and this time for some amazing reason this baby stayed with me after a high risk pregnancy bleeding early on and GD she was born healthy. She was our Rainbow and has brought so much peace into our hearts and joy in our lives. Not that we didn't have joy before because we did but this was a different kind of joy and I felt so blessed and so lucky to be her Mom. And every time she says Mama our how my heart smiles. Never in my wildest dreams did I think we would get a second miracle. I didn't allow myself to hope so deep. If I only had her then okay at least I have her. But i figured it would be another 5 years before such miracle would happen. But in the middle of our crazy life and my body getting back to "normal" We got another miracle! I am so excited and thrilled that Kensley is going to have a little sister. My heart still aches for the babies I didn't get to hold and the heart break we went through but I know with out a shadow of doubt that because of my experience and the things we have had to endure and overcome that we are better parents and more compassionate towards others who are fighting the fight to make their dreams come true that comes so easily for others yet so dang difficult for some! 

So tonight I lit 3 candles 1 for each of  my angel babies and 1 for a sweet friend who's son returned to heaven way to young this year and I kissed my Rainbow baby a little bit more today and held her just a little bit longer tonight. Because I know I'm one of the lucky ones who still has her little one here on Earth. To all who have suffered a pregnancy or infant loss my heart goes out to you and I am so very sorry for the pain you have had to endure. God Bless you all.

Moments that take my breath away

It's those little moments that take my breath away ya know the sound of a little heartbeat through an ultrasound or Doppler, the random smile, giggle, hug or kiss from your child, the look your honey gives you and you know exactly what he is thinking;), the list goes on and on and today I captured one on camera while I was in the kitchen making almond milk fir my princess daddy was watching her and I looked over to see this 

Can she be any cuter!? Can he be any better of a Daddy!! Doing homework and chilling together. This household is beyond blessed to have this man living here!! 

These two melt my heart in ways I can explain and in ways I never thought possible. My whole world in one picture. The loves of my life!

1 year, 365 days, 8765.812 hours, 525,600 minutes

I have had the honor of nursing, hugging, holding, kissing, playing, snuggling with this little princess

I can't believe it's already been a year since we welcomed our sweet rainbow baby into this world. She is such a happy baby and so full of laughter and smiles!!

I can't believe how fast she has grown and how much I love her with every passing day!

So here is some favorite things about Kensley Noel

Color: Pink Pink Pink!!!

Food: avocados, sweet potatoes, bananas (she's a great eater!!)

Toy: dolls, stuff animals, balls. And the dog water although that is not a toy she seems to think so.

Friend: Daisy our doggie, she thinks Daisy is the funniest thing!

Loves: walking, bubbles, meowing like a cat, and getting into wipes and cupboards, silky blanket

Sleeps: 6:30-7:00 to 7:00-7:30

She likes playing with her clothes and blankets anything soft she carries around and hugs

Snuggle bug!!

Sucks her thumb when she's tired 

Bath time=fun time!

Music: loves it! She bounces to it and dances its so cute!

Game: peek a boo with a sheet

Snack: Cheerios

Sport: football but only if daddy is watching Italy COD

My little rainbow baby has brought so much joy into our home and peace into our hearts I am so lucky to call her my daughter and that I get to be her Mommy! My heart is so full I can't put into words how I feel about her turning one and the fact that she is mine well ours;) but I love her more each day and I hope time slows down a little because its flying by way to fast!!!! Happy birthday my beautiful baby girl!!