The Good Life

I haven't blogged in forever!! Lots to blog but haven't made the time! When Kensley is awake I like to entertain her more like she entertains me! and when she is napping I'm cleaning/laundry/cooking/sleeping... Kensley Is growing so fast! Grandma Kay was here for 6 weeks! We Loved her visit! so did Kensley! Grandpa/ Papa Johnston came out the weekend before Nana Kay left. K loved it! We went to the State Fair and it was such a blast! K was amazing during the whole day! She ate slept and was awake for alittle bit!  Enjoy the Pictures!!

Nana Kay Left and I was on my own! Thankfully K sleeps great! has from birth! It wasn't as scary as I thought it would be by myself! :) We have been blessed with such a sweet spirit!! She is sleeping threw the night now and that is wonderful! just before her 2 month mark she slept 8 hours straight! and has kept it up! and even has gone as long as 10 hours! She is amazing! seriously the PERFECT baby! She cries when she's over tired sometimes and when she's hungry! she has tons of smiles to share and loves to "talk" She got to meet all her family! well most of all her family :) We are so excited for christmas to be with family again!!

Kensley Noel- Her Birth Story

I know I need to write this down asap before the details fade or I forget something! So  Let us begin this beautiful story of how Kensley Noel came into this world.

Monday September 10th- Ultrasound appt in the AM where they measured/ estimated Kensley to be 9lbs 4oz! yikes! super happy that she would for sure be coming on Thursday if she didn't come on her own!

Mom flies in at 12:15! woot woot! We go grocery shopping make sure we got what we need and snacks for  delivery for Mama and Lance..(and me shhhhh..) lol That night slept good except for a toothache that came on again :(

Tuesday September 11th- the day Lance and I both always in the back of our head thought watch she'll come on the 11th. Went shopping at Sams to finish up last grocery list items and then Mom and I went to this yummy Vegan Cuisine Restaurant which was yummy!! it was a buffet and we both ate way to much! lol for dinner we made grilled veggies and both of us were to full to eat still since we ate lunch late. I ate a yogurt and then we all went of a walk and I noticed this time I was getting some good contractions during the walk came home and off to bed we went! I crashed no nap and very tired!

Wednesday September 12th- 12:58am woke up to my first contraction that was strong so I decided to keep track of my contractions so I got my Ipod out and used the app! 7-5 min apart then they were 5 min and It was about 2:30 am and I thought lets see if I still have them in an hour sure enough another hour goes by with contractions 5 min apart and uncomfortable ones too! so I take a shower and do my hair and make up just in case they keep up and we end up going to the hospital!... another hour goes by and then during the 4 o'clock hour they were 4-5 minutes apart and getting more uncomfortable so I waited til 5 and felt I should wake up Lance and see what he thinks we should do he wasn't sure and we felt we should ask Mom so I opened her door and she says " is it time!" I laughed and told her what was going on and asked her what we should do she said we should head to the hospital aim on the side of caution we called the doctors office before we left to make sure what Doc wanted us to do she called us back and I told her what was going on she said head straight to L and D now. So we did! got to the hospital at about 6 am and Nurse Susan got us in our room and hooked up to the monitor to check baby heart beat and contractions she checked me and if I remember right said I was 4.5-5 cm and 70% effaced Shift change at 7 and we got a new Nurse! Nurse Deborah aka Debbie! aka best L& D nurse EVER! She came in and got me a birthing ball! contractions were consistent and about 3 min apart nothing to painful though They admitted me into the hospital officially after talking with Dr. B. and got me on an IV boo! she tried twice and my veins would turn so she got another nurse and she had to do it twice..4th time the charm! hated that! I'm not a fan of needles!!! 9 am Dr Butler came in and broke my water! that was soo weird! I felt like Niagara Falls! Thats when the contractions stepped it up a knock! I had to start focusing on relaxing and Lance was such a great coach and would remind me to relax and he would say Honey I can see it in your face your not relax breathe and relax your whole body! his reminders were wonderful! He would also remind me to relax my shoulders and breathe. He rubbed my shoulder once and after that I needed him to continue to do that during contractions for some reason it was helping me to relax and breathe through the contraction better. around 12:30pm the contractions were getting much stronger and I really really had to focus on relaxing my body and letting my body relax and open. No talking during these contractions at all! I was getting soo tired I couldn't keep my eyes open they were so heavy I had been up for over 12 hours and was feeling it! Lance and Mom were great about reminding me to relax and breathe and around but the pain was getting over bearing and around 1ish I started asking Mom and Lance that I wanted an epidural. ( side note at the beginning after they broke my water I had told Lance and Mom that at some point I was going ot tell them I wanted an epidural but to not let me that it was the pain talking and not what I really wanted! so try to remind me not to get it) this was the point I started doubting myself I didn't think I could do it naturally The pain was to much to bare I was to tired to keep this up and be able to still push her out when the time came but Mom was so good about asking me why I wanted the epidural and I said cause i'm tired and need to sleep and it hurts so bad...Mom encouraged me and said Brittany you are doing so well! your almost there! so I continued to endure a few more contractions and again I said I want an epidural!! and they both said no you don't remember and I said no I really do I really do want it!!! and I could see in Lance's face he was lookin like he was coming on myside lol but Mom kept saying you can do this Brittany You are almost there! You don't really want it! The nurse came in shortly after that and I asked her if there was any other pain medication besides ones with needles? She smiled and said is the only reason you don't want the epidural is the needle? I said yes. she said its not that bad but also they have demoral sp? and told me it makes me sleeping and the baby sleeping with that one. She also said there was alot of labors so if I wanted an epidural I would need to order it soon..she then suggested let me check your progress and you can decide from there..so she did! 8cm and 90% effaced!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I was sooo happy!! When she said that she then told me if you want that epidural you have to let me know now so I can order it in and you get it in time! That point I knew I could do it I can finish I was almost there like Mom was saying! I could do it! so I told her no I don't want the epidural ( plus the thought of a needle still made me nervous!! not relaxed)

So Debbie suggested getting a bar over the bed to help with contractions and so forth so she put this bar thing up and dropped half the bed down where this bed turned into like this big chair thing ...this bed was amazing it had all kinds of contraptions! so I sat up with that and so glad she did that! they put a birthing ball in between so I could lean over better and what not these contractions were soooo BAD! lower back pain with them so it made it easy for Lance to apply pressure on my lower back during the contraction and easy for me to focus on relaxing and breathing through the contractions Mom started massaging my feet and calves which felt amazing with lance massaging my Lower back! they would remind me to breath and relax my shoulders and body they would state many times I was doing great! which was very encouraging for me and made me feel better 3:00pm came around and I was feeling like pushing with my contractions so Debbie checked me and baby's head was down but still a little high so she said go for it when I felt like it so I did! After some of the pushes Kensley's heartbeat would drop so She hooked me up to some oxygen and We would have breaks of not pushing during the contractions which was soooo hard not to do! I mentally was trying not to push but my body was saying heck no PUSH! but her heart rate would go back to normal and we would start pushing again after about an hour she checked and baby's head was still high she then asked to give her a good push and realized Kensley kept going down with a push and back up! and she told me she thinks the baby needs to turn I need to get on my side so we begin to turn me to the right and I get comfortable which is rare and Kensleys heart rate drops again on goes the oxygen and she said nope not that side baby doesn't like it so we turn on my left side and she gets these crazy leg things out from the bed and try again to get comfortable before another contraction and then pushes came again oxygen again goes on and I need to take a break from pushing I breath through the contraction super hard not to push Mom and Lance kept saying no Brittany you can't push this time you need to take a break Kensley's heart rate wasn't ready for me to push again so so hard!! Debbie came back to the room and Mom and Lance told her how I kept saying I really needed to push! she said I could so I pushed and something felt different this time we got me back up sitting/ squatting with the bar in front of me and pushing I go that was about 4:30pm and finally just before 5 baby's head was coming out and then I didn't want to stop pushing but Doctor wasn't there yet Debbie called in another nurse she came in and started telling me not to push breath liek this and she would puff out her checks I still wanted to push it was soooooooooooo hard not pushing!! I still gave in and pushed some and the nurse said lets get her legs down and kept saying breath puff out your checks! Mom  said wheres the doctor she better be huffing and puffing when she comes in I heard Debbie tell the other nurse she called the doc 30 min ago and then again when she saw the head so she should be there! Finally the door swings open and Dr. B runs in the room scrubs on and ready I said oh Dr. B i am so happy to see you can i push now! she said just a sec let me get my gloves on so on goes this gown and gloves on her and she said okay! best words I'd heard! finally I can now push when my body is saying push!! I was so tired and felt weak and that my pushes weren't as strong as they could have been but Baby came out 5:06pm! Lance kept giving me updates on her head he would say I can see her head its right there babe! and with every push him and Debbie would say push push push push!!! Debbie would count to 10 and then lance would say her head is half way out babe keep pushing your doing great!! and then finally her head was out! Lance said Her head is out honey I can see her!! out came a shoulder and then the rest of her and I felt so relieved! out she came and Lance said She's out honey! and Dr B lifted her clamped the cord so fast we didn't have time to say wait ! lol then lance cut the cord! and away they took her spot in the room where they rubbed her off and check her vitals and took her blood sugar and what felt like forever Doc was stitching me up while I looked at her and Lance and Lance was talking to her in her little cube and she cried a little but not much but it was such a cute cry! I kept asking can I hold her now! Lance asked how much I I thought she weighed I said 8.5 pounds he said she weighs 7lbs 11oz! 21 in long! She is perfect! Finally my nurse cleaned me up and doc was done.  Lance then finally was able to get her and bring her to me! cutest face in the world was when I saw Lance with teary eyes Hand me our little angel! Our very own Baby!! I couldn't believe she was ours! I put her skin on skin! and she was beautiful! so sweet! I was so overwhelmed with this peaceful feeling and just felt like she had always been mine for forever! She was worth the wait! She got to stay with me for a while and then I let Daddy and Grandma hold her and my nurse brought in cheese and crackers and juice for me and brought me the menu to order dinner! I was SOOO HUNGRY!  dinner came and it was the best salad ever! plus the cran-grape juice tasted sooo good! I hadn't had Juice in so long! lol then 7:15 came and Lance went with Kensley to the nursery I ate food and got moved to postpartum Kensley and Lance finally got back to the room around 9:30pm and it was so amazing to finally have her with me and hold her for as long as I wanted!

 The awesome L & D Room!

 contraction time- Coach Lance is awesome!

 Just seconds after she was born

 Finally Mommy gets to hold Kensley!

 Daddy and Daughter

 Nurse Debbie- I love! me and Lance and Kensley with Dr. B yes I was so swollen from the IV and the sugar water!

  Kensley Noel 

I am so in love with this little girl and words can't describe how I feel or how to explain the feelings I have that I finally have my rainbow baby in my arms and here on earth. She is such a Miracle! Daddy and I are completely smitten by her.

Waiting for the Arrival

Well  last Thursday at my Doctors appointment started out like any other...go into the lab room for weight and blood pressure all good and then into the room with the big black chair to get on the fetal monitor :) then after what seems like 30 ish minutes into the exam room I go to wait for Dr. B  to see me :) She wanted to check to see my progression the week before I was 2.5 cm and 0% effaced.....well as of Thursday I was 3.5 ish and she said She could push a 4 so she said she would help me along so she did! holy pressure like no other! not very comfortable that is for sure but I was happy she didn't say how much effaced I was only that I was and that was a good sign and then she asked me when my induction date was scheduled? I told her I had no idea what she was talking about and she was all oh my goodness we don't have it scheduled yet! you'll be 39 weeks next week and I don't let my GD patients go past 39 weeks! So she said unless she comes before Thursday September 13th I am scheduled to get induced! needless to say Since Thursday We have been going on tons and tons of walks!! I gotta get this little one out! lol I would really like for her to come on her own but either way its nice to know that by the 13th we will have our baby!!! yay!!  So this is our last weekend with out a baby and I am sooo excited!!!  My Mama flies in on Monday unless Kensley comes today or tomorrow lol So we shall see when Kensley comes! :) I am one very anxious Mama here!

The Difference

  For me I don't  think I have unrealistic expectations on what Motherhood is going to be. I don't think its going to be a breeze or that my baby will be perfect and never cry and sleep through the night from day one or behave perfect 24/7. I know My life will change in so many ways! I know there will be sleepless nights and times when I will wonder if I'm doing it right or being a Good Mom.  I have spent a fair share of watching kiddos and lots of talks with Mothers and their stories and their experiences. but I also know there are those sweet moments of Motherhood too.

 So it makes me laugh when people ask when baby will here and I tell them and say how I wish she was already here...and no joke almost every lady says " Enjoy your sleep now cause when that baby comes you won't get much of it"..I've had  24 years to enjoy my sleep...and   News flash I'm 9 months preggers "enjoying" sleep is pretty much out of the question and I'm okay with that! It means finally i'm not sleeping cause their is a human being growing inside of me waiting to enter this beautiful world! I would take these kinds of sleepless nights instead of the ones in Tears over a lost baby or frustration for not having a baby or being pregnant and having to see that negative pregnancy test for the 1000th time and wondering why I can't get pregnant or why we don't have a baby yet....Those are nights that suck! I've waited 4+ years to have sleepless nights with a baby! BRING IT ON!!!

You see for me in those nights when I've been in tears wondering when my sweet miracle will come I've poured my heart out to Heavenly Father asking him to give me these sleepless nights! I've prayed for morning sickness, for sleepless nights with a baby, a messy house full of toys and little hand prints on mirrors and sliding doors and appliances, for kids to get into the toilet paper, make up, lotion, vaseline, bedtime stories with my own kids, sweet moments of rocking my baby to sleep.

I'm sure I sound crazy to a lot of you for praying for that but that's the difference for me. When those women who have prayed for those days to go quickly so a new day can start. I've prayed for those days to come. Everyone has their own life experiences and mine have brought me here. I have prayed for these days for years now and I'm ready to experience all the joys that come with being a Mom and taking care of my own baby.  So yes I'm ready to have a baby and be a Mom and learn the whole new meaning of being exhausted and tired! It won't last forever and like the poem says " babies don't keep" so I plan on embracing and enjoying every moment with my baby even those hard nights or days or weeks or months. Bring it on!

Rainbow Tutu for my Rainbow Baby!

I've been looking online at Pinterest for some cute ideas for Rainbow Tutu I knew I wanted something for Kensley with Rainbow and I thought Tutu would be perfect! so I Made her a Rainbow Tutu tonight! can't wait for her to wear it and take pictures of her in it! for those who don't know what a Rainbow Baby is this quote sums it all up

 "Rainbow Babies" is the understanding that the beauty of a rainbow does not negate the ravages of the storm. When a rainbow appears, it doesn't mean the storm never happened or that the family is not still dealing with its aftermath. What it means is that something beautiful and full of light has appeared in the midst of the darkness and clouds. Storm clouds may still hover but the rainbow provides a counterbalance of color, energy and hope I'm gonna make a bigger size tutu for when she is older too! I just really wanted newborn pictures of her in it! :)

Bread and Freezer Meals

So It took me a while before I even looked at Pinterest and even then I didn't get it and barely knew what to do. Well not no more! I made homemade bread from a Pin I saw on there! holy moly amazing! I stink at making bread too I can't seem to get the bread to really rise well and this recipe was amazing! I got it from Curvy Carrot click on her name and it will take you straight to her bread post. Its amazing! and it was super easy!

Also I've had A lot of people ask me about my Freezer meals That I did. so I figured I would post about that too! I used the recipes from this blog ring around the rosies  I am going to use this blog Mama and Baby Love     next time for recipes to try them out. I got my list ready to go for grocery shopping and left my apt at 2 pm to go grocery shopping I was finished with all 16 bags ( meals) and clean up in the kitchen at about 7:15 ish so just over 5 hours from shopping cooking and cleaning up after 16 meals and all the meals average to be about 6 bucks each. We have had Teriyaki chicken and rice which fed me and my hubby dinner and lunch the next day! Last night we had sweet and Tangy Meat balls with mash potatoes, salad and a slice of homemade bread :) this one we could have added more meatballs I used turkey meat balls and the sauce was great but the meat balls were weird I think I will get them next time at Costco. So far the recipes have been good and tonight I'm thinking savory chicken for dinner the herbs and spices of it smelt amazing! I'm thinking once I have 2 bags left I will journey out again and conquer the meals again from Mama and Baby Love blog.

My Parents

I have posted a few things about my parents and how wonderful they are because they are incredible people.   These two wonderful people have made such a HUGE impact on my life! I seriously have the best parents any one could ever wish or pray for!  They are such a great example to me in many different aspects of my life. They were the first people to teach me how to love. They have also taught me how to have Fun and Enjoy Life even during the tough and rough times. My Mom and Dad met when they were in high school cause my mom's older brother and him were best friends! lol shortly before my Dad left on his mission they dated and fell in love and My Mom waited for 2 years while he served in Japan on a Mission for the LDS Church and he got home in April of 1975 and they were married July 11th 1975. They haven't had the perfect marriage but they have had the perfect love and dedication towards each other in my eyes. Always loving Always wanting to be around each other and Always enjoying life.  My Mom is super Mom in my eyes! She is such a wonderful woman and I am so grateful that growing up I could tell her anything and we were best friends! I marvel at all the things she has had to endure and go through in this life and I am amazed at her ability to see the world and life with such beauty still and with such joy. She gave birth to her first child 2 month early on vacation in CA and My dad and bro were air vac to a different hospital that could care for a premie while my mother waited in a hospital room all my herself wondering if her baby boy was okay. I don't know how she didn't go CRAZY! She had to say goodbye to her Beautiful Daughter after only having her on this earth for 9 months and then went on to have 3 more beautiful daughters that she loved and cared for with all her heart and always was willing to share memories of their older sister that they never will meet in this life. My Dad is as unique as you can get them! he had 1 boy and 4 girls! He has been out numbered for many years and even now he has more grand-daughters then Grand son's! :) But somehow he knew how to raise us girls and let us be girly when we wanted to be and tom boys for the majority part of the time! :) He would let us do his hair and makeup and nails and play dress up with us and make Barbie clothes for our Barbies! lol He always would say when Mom and us sisters were walking with him rather it be walking into church or from a softball game or anything " this is so good for my reputation being seen with such beautiful girls"  over the years it would change and he would say such beautiful young ladies or women. He always showed affection to my Mom and I always knew My Dad loved my Mom so much! and My Mom Loved my Dad So Much! 37 years of marriage and they still can't keep their hands off each other and as gross as it is cause its your parents its also very sweet to know that Mom and Dad after all these years still love one another! I love them so much and I am so glad my Dad asked my Mom to marry her and She said yes! I am also so grateful that they have made their marriage work all these years and what a great example they are to me! Happy Anniversary Mom and Dad! Love you both soo much!

Organize!!

I am in a total Organize freak mode!  I found this blog/ website MPMK check it out!! She has such an awesome blog! With Great Ideas for organizing your life and house and what not I love it! plus she has great ideas for kiddos! I'm pretty sure I'm in full nesting mode right now because I actually did a cleaning schedule for me so that I can create healthy habits before Kensley comes and I don't feel over whelmed! she had a great post about it here. I did my own schedule thing that I got from her  and from another blog called crafts by ready set love here. Here is how mine turned out.

I still have some more tags to make but I am so excited for it! I am also going to try freezer meals and see how that works with budget and time too. I found a great website here.  I found it on Pinterest and i am very curious to see how it goes. okay now i really need to get ready for the day! lol

Happy 4th of July!!!

I can't believe its the 4th of July already! where did this year go!? Last night was our Firework 4th of July Celebration! Addison has a Kaboom Town they do every year and its amazing!! 30 min fireworks display, yummy food and great music! We went with our awesome friends Brook and Ryan and then Josh and Nicole came and then MJ and Kat found us too! It was a blast! Lance has some awesome people in his class and we have made some great friends! We got to watch an air show before the fireworks show too that was pretty awesome! I would post pictures but we totally forgot the camera!! I was so mad we always forget that! We had a ton of fun though! I am so glad we went with friends! Love the 4th of July!

Its crazy to think that a year ago Lance and I found out we were pregnant for the 2nd time and that this Year I'm 28 weeks pregnant for the 3rd time with Baby #1 on her way soon and that Next year we will have Kensley with us to see the fireworks! This Year has been awesome and We are loving our time in Texas! So grateful to all our service men and women and their families who have served our country in the past, present, and in the future. I am Proud to Be an American!

Here's 29 weeks pregnant me! :) 

Pinterest Nailed it!!!

Okay so I was on Pinterest looking at cleaning stuff and what not cause i'm in the "nesting" mode like crazy and I thought I heard someone say something about yellow pit stains removal so I looked it up and sure enough found a Pin and today I decided I would test it out! so I started with 1 tbs of Dawn dishsoap and 2 tbs of Hydrogen peroxide mixed it together and then put a little baking soda on the stain since the lady said she did that lol then I poured the mixture on the stains and scrubbed waited an hour and then washed like normal here are the pictures!!

 Before yuck

 Before gross i know

 scrubbing

 After! wow!

After!!!

seriously amazing right!! I love Pinterest! Love this!!! so happy to have white shirts back now!!! woot woot!!

Sunday Will Come...Sunday has Come

Elder Wirthlin's Talk in Conference 2006 has been far one of my favorite talks of all Time I've shared it many times on here and Its been on my mind lately.  To read it again Click here

I am so use to writing or talking about my infertility trials and heartbreaks and my " Fridays" But lately I see my reflection in the mirror or on cars or my shadow and I see my baby bump and I find it hard sometimes not to just break down and cry no worries its tears of Joy!  It amazes me that I am actually pregnant still. and a part of me is sad . My heart aches for my friends who are waiting for their Sunday to come and to become pregnant and have a baby of their own. I will never understand why Heavenly Father has some of his children go through infertility heartache and why some don't. I don't know why I am pregnant and others aren't  But I know that every moment I have during this pregnancy I am soaking it up and I am so grateful to have had the chance to experience "morning sickness", snissing ( its when you sneeze and pee at that same time yeah just started experiencing that lol) leg cramps, baby kicks, bunches and rolls, round ligament pains, and every other pregnancy symptom I have had! I can't believe how fast it is going by and feel so lucky to have this chance to raise this precious Daughter that the Lord has given us. I am grateful for the pain I've had to go through cause it makes this so much more happy and joyful and I feel so much more grateful to experience this. I wouldn't trade it for anything. I am so grateful that My Sunday has come and can't wait to hold this little girl in my arms and  kiss and hug her like crazy! As much as  I want time to go by slow so I can soak up all this pregnancy joy I can't wait for September to come and meet my sweet Kensley finally!!

so for anyone reading this who is TTC don't lose hope! don't give up! Keep trying for your miracle! I pray for all those who are fighting the infertility battle that Your miracle will come soon. That your Sunday will Come as well.

Texas Summer

Well now I know why Arizonans say Arizona is a "Dry Heat" the other day I asked Lance to look at the humidity in AZ and TX...yeah AZ 6 percent and TX 36 Percent that was in the evening since then we have had 57% humidity! My Arizona blood is not use to this moisture and either are my ankles that like to turn into cankles especially while I was at Girls Camp!

I got the chance to attend Girls Camp this year and it was awesome! Testimony meeting night was amazing and made me again realize why we take the girls to camp in the first place! I love being back in Young  Womens!

Texas is great but holy moly summer weather here is gross! however Texas Watermelon ROCKS! every watermelon we have gotten this season has been..AMAZING!!!!!

 pregnancy update: I'm in my last week of my 2nd trimester and that is amazing to me! I am so excited to see  Kensley and hold her! I can't believe how fast this pregnancy has gone by and that is crazy to me! I love that I can feel her kick and move its the best part of being pregnant! Now I just need to preregister at the hospital  and take a tour soon :)

She has something in common with me!

Okay so during this whole pregnancy I've been craving and loving foods I don't usually like but Lance does...for example...Meat anything!! I always want a steak! I love Hot Dogs! I ate more wings in my 1st trimester than I did my whole life combined! lol hot and spicy foods always yummy! ( heartburn not so much but sometimes totally worth it!)  I like Milk...as in cows milk like drinking a cup of it...so weird! So basically Kensley is just like her Daddy!! Thankfully I can still eat food I love like Salad and Veggies and Fruits but this Girl craves Daddy's food! lol well Tonight something happened that was totally awesome!!

We were listening to some new country songs that I really like!! I was showing them to Lance on You Tube we starting listening to the top itunes list too and what not and Kensley started freaking out in my belly!!! tons of kicks and moving around like crazy!! Finally Lance said okay I want to feel and he put his hand on my belly where she had been kicking and sure enough Little girl started freaking out again and Daddy got to feel sweet Kensley kicking and moving like crazy! seriously the most active she has been so far! as I'm typing this us she is kicking and moving still!! I LOVE IT!!!! I can't help but get teary eyes as I think about how I've waited for what seems like forever to know how this feels! to feel life in you! to Feel my baby My sweet Daughter move inside of me! It really is the best feeling ever and I can't wait for all my friends to have this moment!!  Its moments like these that make me want time to go by slower so I can soak it all up and enjoy it! I can't believe I am 6 months preggers already I am so excited to meet this little Girl but I also want to enjoy every moment since who knows if I will have another pregnancy or how long it will be before I get to experience this a second time! So I'm soaking it up and Loving that Kensley loves Country Music Just like her Mama!! <- thats me:)

New Chapter

I heard this song and feel in love with it. I think of my sweetheart when I heard it.  I found a video with this song with pictures of infertility on you tube as well and it was beautiful. I haven't been posting much on my blog lately and a lot of it has to do with me not knowing what to say. I don't want to make this blog all about baby stuff but I also know that I've always made this blog about my life and that means talking about my pregnancy and baby things. However I have been scared to talk to much about it because I know how it feels to read those blogs and wonder when it will be my own turn. I realize that when my friends have gotten pregnant after infertility I've been over joyed for them and it wasn't difficult for me to be excited for them because I knew it was a long road for them. Its harder for me when its a stranger or coming from someone who has no problem or thinks the fact they tried for 3 months before they got pregnant  is difficult. So I'm hoping all you wonderful readers know I am so excited to have this baby Girl but my heart still breaks for those who are waiting for their miracle. Honestly I would love nothing more than to see my friends dreams comes true! Words can't express the heartache's that come from Infertility and I feel so blessed and so happy to be where I am right now.

I am now 24 weeks aka 6 months pregnant with our sweet daughter who we have named

Kensley Noel

We have both really loved the name Lance especially has loved the name Kensley and Noel is Lance's Grandmothers maiden name. We are fans of family names :) I told Lance how funny it is that we love the middle name Noel and have for a while and knew we wanted to use it before we got preggers but I laugh now because this little one was conceived during Christmas break...maybe its just me but I find that really funny!

Here is my 23 weeks baby bump. I haven't taken my 24 weeks picture yet that will be most likely tonight when hubby gets home from school. I am feeling great most of the time as long as I don't get to hot...when that happens I get super nauseous and yucky feeling and almost like i'm going to pass out. I have noticed I get hot very easy since I've been pregnant so I've had to really be aware of how i'm feeling since I have passed out a couple of times before ( not fun very scary!) Kensley is growing strong and measuring just like she should be :)  My next appointment is my Glucose test not looking forward to that since everyone I've talked to about it has said how nasty it tastes. I'm  not a fan of super sweet stuff especially since I've been pregnant so it will be interesting. I still can't believe I am 6 months pregnant! 3 more months to go! where did the time go!?
 Life is going great! Lance is in his 3rd trimester of Chiropractic school and has 7 to go :) I am so proud of him and how well he is doing! It amazes me how much he already knows! He has his first adjusting classed this Tri so I'm loving being his guinea pig!

I'm In love

I couldn't figure out which photo was the best so here is all 3!
We set up our crib the Saturday before Mother's Day and I am so glad! I love just going in there and looking in the crib just picture what it will be like when Baby Girl is sleeping in it! I am so grateful for Stephanie who gave me this crib bedding! I LOVE IT! Its seriously perfect! I still have a lot to do in her room since its our catch all craft room / nursery right now lol but I got plenty of time before she makes her arrival. I'm still in a daze when I think about how far along I am..  23 weeks already! its crazy! I love it! I am so excited to see her and to hold her and see who she looks like! I'm just so HAPPY!

 

5 Years

May 18Th 2007 was the best day of my life! It was the day I married My sweetheart and Best Friend! 5 Years! Its been 5 Years! Its amazing how life changes in just a few years! If you had told me 5 Years ago that We would be living in Texas Lance going to Chiropractic school and Me pregnant with our Rainbow Baby I would have laughed and thought oh okay crazy! I would have laughed because the 19 year old me had it all figured out Lance and I were going to Tucson so Lance could go to medical school at UofA and become a Doctor and then I was gonna have babies! in 5 years I'd say I would have had 2 babies at least and hopefully one on the way since we wanted to do the whole 4 in 4..4 kids in 4 years thing. BAHAHAHAHAHAHA

Yeah those plans didn't turned out at all! Instead in the 5 years we have been married we have lived in Holbrook, Tucson, Mesa, Maricopa, and Addison TX. We bought a house, we sold a house. We have been enrolled between the two of us at Pima Community College, U of A, Westwood College, Grand Canyon University, and finally Parker University. We have been to Canada, Mexico, Italy, England, and Spain thanks to Carnival Cruises and not having babies. Should I have my degree by now since I've had 5 years to get it done before baby comes...yeah but ya know what I wouldn't change anything about these 5 years! I am so grateful for a loving Heavenly Father who knows exactly what I need and who has blessed us beyond anything we deserve! I am grateful that this year I wasn't thinking ( okay maybe by next anniversary I'll be pregnant or have a baby)  I am grateful to have Lance he is seriously the most amazing husband I could have ever asked for! Everyday he amazes me with how awesome he is. He is so caring and loving towards me and seriously treats me like a Queen even when I don't deserve it! I love him so much its ridiculous!

I am grateful for the compassion I've learned with having to deal with infertility and losing a pregnancy. It has forever Changed me I am not the same person I was 5 years ago and I am so excited to be a Mommy and not just any Mommy But the Mommy of this little miracle that is growing inside of me. I feel so honored and blessed that I will get to have her as my Daughter I love her so much already. She is so blessed to have the Lance as her Dad! He is seriously the greatest Man I know! I am so blessed to have him as my husband and that I get to spend Eternity with him :) I'm crazy about this Man. Always have Always Will!.

Yummy Dish!!

Tuna Salad-

1 can tuna
sliced red grapes
half a stalk of celery
diced apples
diced pecans
mayo
spinach
whole wheat bread

I love this! you can make it with a can of Chicken too! SO Yummy!!

Easter Sunday

I love Easter Sunday! I'm pretty sure my favorite part of church today was when the 1st Counselor announced the Bishop's wife being hte first speaker and Having the Bishop come up and say he forgot to tell his wife that she was speaking today so She beared her testimony and he spoke! lol it was Classic! Loved it! seriously we all were laughing so hard! I am so grateful for Christ's atonement and am so blessed with the knowledge that He Lives and We too will live again after this life.

This week has been a super awesome week and its only gonna get better with my parents coming into town on Thursday!!  on the 4th we Found out Baby McGee is  Baby Girl McGee!! :) We are Team Pink! :) lol and we are tickled pink to welcome a daughter into our home! once I can figure out how to get the video onto the computer  I will post Lance's reaction to him finding out its a Girl! its Super cute!

Mom and Dad J come into town on Thursday!! Running the Big D Marathon! Lance and My Mom are doing the half marathon and My Dad ( I was signed up but not doing it being preggers) is doing the Marathon! sooo excited to see them and to cheer them on! Can't wait to sign up for a marathon after Baby Girl is born! Its getting closer too us coming to Arizona too!! I am so excited to see family and friends!! I have missed you all sooo much!!! I can't believe its April already I feel like this year is flying by!!

He lives! My aunts beautiful song she wrote! Happy Easter

Motherhood comes in many ways...

This month's Ensign has an amazing article that touched my heart!  here is the link for the full version

amazing talk

This article brought tears to my eyes as I could relate very much to it! It also made me think of my Dear amazing Aunt Judy and how she didn't bear any children of her own but she was a Mother to many and a great example to me of what it means to be a Woman.

 In the article the last paragraph sums it all up

"While some women live in homes where opportunities for motherhood abound and even overwhelm, I live a life where opportunities for motherhood must be sought. My motherhood is found in serving others. Of course I still am disappointed that I haven’t had the opportunity to raise children of my own, but Heavenly Father has not left me childless. My children are all around me, providing me with precious, though less typical, opportunities for motherhood."

We don't get to pick when we will have the chance to raise kids in our home but that doesn't make any of us less of a woman! My Aunt was the perfect example of this! When you wonder if you'll ever get the chance to  Give birth to your own child or have a birthmother choose you and your hubby to place her child with or your looking for the one to spend your life with and start a family. That day will come It might be longer than we all expected but it will come. My Aunt Judy taught me a huge lesson in life and I finally didn't mind Mothers day at church because My Aunt Judy was another Mom to me and I would wish her a happy mothers day as well and thats when I realized that I didn't need to bear a child to let people know I was a mother or a woman. I had opportunities in my life of Motherhoood and yes they were sought after for sure but thats okay. I like being my Nephew's favorite Aunt :) I love all of my Nieces and Nephew's so much and I think more because of my journey.

WIN LOSE OR BLOG TEAM MEMBER..?

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Moments that take your breath away...

There are moments in my life where I stop and take a mental picture if I really want to remember something and I kid you not it works! to this day I still remember being 8ish driving on the dirt road from Young with my family and Micheal McLean song " she see's a diamond" song was playing and I was looking out the window and thought I wish this moment could last forever! *snap* that was the sound of the mental picture :) As I have gotten older its worked the same our drive back from Rocky Point Triathlon just Me and My Mama and Daddio and a storm was coming in the distance and the skies were beautiful! We just had one of the best weekends ever!*snap*  Lots of Mental pictures have been taken and I cherish all of them! My favorite Mental Picture would be my wedding day I felt like I was in a dream like this really wasn't happening cause it was just to perfect and everything was beautiful and I had the most amazing man by my side. It was one of those days that you dreamed about and saw other people enjoy and was excited but never really thought you'd be old enough to have that moment.  I'm not sure if it's because of the waiting for your day to happen makes that day sweeter but I think its a combo...A combination of the waiting for something great and having the right person / people there to celebrate with you.

The Last 11 weeks have been mental picture after mental picture after am I in a faiy tale? You have you life planned out when your young..college, marriage, babies..ect...but sometimes there is a lot of space between those events that you never thought you'd have. like It is 1512 days
( 4 years, 1 month, 22 days ) of space between us TTC to today. To some that may not be a lot and for some their space might be longer or shorter but this is Our space and those 1512 days have seen some pretty dramatic, emotional, heart breaking, wonderful, magical, sweet, bitter, beautiful days. I think its because of those flippin hard days and heartbreaking events that happened that make this day that much more sweet and wonderful. I wouldn't trade any of those days for the world because  I know that I wouldn't be the person I am today if it wasn't for all of those 1512 days.

I got to see my sweet baby wave to me on the screen yesterday and it was so precious to see such little fingers already and I just wanted to have that moment last forever so mental picture was taken and I can't help but think that little one was saying " Hi Mom...I'm finally coming! sorry it took so long"  Its an amazing feeling when you have the perfect day not because everything went right on that day but because of where I am and who I am with that is what makes the perfect day. I actually felt like wow this is really happening I'm having a baby....I still can't wrap my mind around that but its becoming easier the more times I see the Baby.  So thank you 1512 days for everything you blessed me with. You have made this day that much sweeter.

Homemade Dinner

So last night I made my first Lasagna from scratch! It was yummy and a lot easier than  I was thinking! So of course I took Pictures! :)

and then of course we had some salad with it :) 

We have a lot of left overs! Lance took some for lunch today as well and I made it with whole wheat lasagna noodles :)

One By One

I know another video but what can I say Music is very dear to me! I love looking up music and video's on youtube and I found this one by Hilary Weeks One by One and it made me think of all the times I've felt forgotten or insignificant and wondered If Heavenly Father really knew who I was and I realize more and more how much he knows me and everyone of us and how much he loves me. I have had a couple of sweet friends lose their little babies within the last 2 weeks and my heart breaks for them. These ladies are wonderful women and will be wonderful Mothers and it stinks they have to wait longer before they can hold their little one. It's hard not to think about my baby angels when I hear news like this and I know things happen for a reason I am grateful for the Gospel of Jesus Christ and for the Faith that I have that Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ  truely knows and loves us one by one. In whatever we are facing in life He knows our hearts and he Heals us One by One because we matter to him! We are special to him. I love reminder songs like these. Because lets face it its easy to forget when your facing your battles and trials but then a song like this plays and reminds me of our Savior's Love.

Beautiful Heartbreak

If you have yet to see this video by Hilary Weeks Beautiful Heartbreak here is your chance.




seriously so beautiful! I love this song and the video captures it perfectly!  Read the lyrics . I love Hilary Weeks her music has always spoken to my soul and this song is no different!  One of my favorite parts is

"I used to pray he'd take it all away,
 But instead it became a beautiful heartbreak.

I never dreamed my heart would make it,
I thought about turning around;
But heaven has shown me miracles,
I never would have seen from the ground. "


I am so grateful to be where I am today and for all the miracles Heaven has shown me especially this little huge miracle thats living inside of me. 13 weeks and couldn't be more happier.

(don't mind the dirty bathroom and mirror)

12 Weeks and counting

I am very excited to say I'm 12 weeks! I have a dr. appointment Thursday afternoon and I am very excited to see baby again! I'm crossing my fingers that I am able to be taken off my exercise restrictions! I have missed working out soo bad! My Sister Allison sent me these cute stickers for taking pictures that say how many weeks I am I missed the 8 week one because I was a little side tracked by my emotions and My sweet Aunt Judy's passing but I wanted to make sure I got the next one which was 12 weeks! the next one is 16weeks in which I am soo hoping that we know the sex of baby McGee by then!! but anyways  so far the pregnancy has been wonderful! I have had tons of pregnancy sickness which is such a good sign and has been wonderful to know I'm feeling this gross because I have a freakin human being growing inside of me!! Thats just amazing to me! The last couple of day's I've had some serious lower back issues so i'm gonna make an appointment with the Clinic at Parker to hopefully get some relief! I am so excited to hear of all the Baby announcements on FB and am praying everyday for those who are still waiting for their miracle! I tell baby all the time to tell his or her friends to come down too! Their Amazing parents are anxiously waiting!!!

Its not the greatest picture and the lighting is awful but oh well! plus I know I look bigger than 12 weeks thats what happens when you can't exercise and no its not twins! but I still wanted to take the picture.  Thanks Alli for the stickers!!

Tag Game

I love these kind of games Its fun to see people's answers and get to know them in a different way :)

Tag is back.

I'm it.

And you're next.


[if you're not into it,

i'm not offended.]

Here are the rules of the challenge:

1 - You must post the rules.

2 - Post eleven fun facts about yourself on the blog post.

3 - Answer the eleven questions the tagger set for you in their post.

4 - Create eleven new questions to ask the people you've tagged.

5 - Tag eleven people and link them on your post.

6 - Let them know you've tagged them!





11 Fun Facts About Me:

1. I dream a lot. Almost everynight I have a dream :)


2. I am terrified serisouly bawl my eyes out because of fear and terror of snakes! can't even watch them on tv or see pictures of them terrified.



3. I was Homecoming Queen in High School




4. My first kiss was on a cruise when I was 15 and 1/2 and I don't even know his last name! Its now a Family joke.




5. I got to go to Venice with my sweet hubby last May and go on our dream cruise! We fell in love with Italy!



6.  I use to play house with like a bajillion baby dolls because I wanted to have tons and tons of babies!




7. I'm pregnant after 2 losses and 4 yrs of TTC. I no longer want tons and tons of babies I just want one! and after that if I have more great but i'm focused on this One.





8. I  love to watch The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills. been watching it from the start! lol its my guilty pleasure




9. I love music!! whenever i'm down or happy or need a pick me up or need to wallow I turn to music.





10. I have lived in Tx now for 6 months and I still don't know my neighbors names...we have nick named them..which is not very nice...and probably why we haven't actually introduced our selves..except with the elderly guy that we know his name we have just forgot it since the first day we met him....opps...





11. I love salad!! with a passion!




Ashlee's Questions for Me:





1. What song could you listen to on repeat and not get sick of?
   Sister Hazel - Change Your Mind

2. If you had to pick one food to eat for the rest of your life, what would it be?

This is hard I love FOOD! I would say .....Salad...does that count? I love Salad!!

3. What is one celebrity that you cannot stand?
     ooohhh....um hte kardashins and anyone from jersey shore...annoy me


4. Were you affected by Whitney Houston's death?
     so people might get mad but I really wasn't. was it sad yeah of course but My heart hurts more when I watch the news and hear of fallen soilders or firemen and police officers who died then any celebrity's death.


5. What was your most memorable birthday?
   I have 2 my 16th and my 19th 16th cause my Best Friend (Rachelle)  was staying with us for a few days and she was the only friend at the family dinner :) and 2 my mom and sisters suprised me with a visit my Mom was taking care of my sister in College for that week and they drove home early to make it for my birthday! that was an awesome suprise!

19th- was the first one away from home and my first one with Lance who took me on a picnic at the duck pond gave me the most beautiful picture of the temple and told me he was going to take me there someday it was the cutest thing ever!

6. Where would you like to vacation?

Italy- venice or taromina (sp) beautiful places and yummy gelato!

7. What is your least favorite household chore?
 vacumming...cause it's the last thing I do after everything is clean so i know the chores are done when i'm vaccum! lol

8. Have you ever had a Myspace?
  hahah yeah and i have no idea how to find it! lol

9. What is one quality that you look for in a friend?
    trust.

10.How many pets is too many?

depends on the pet.. a cat 1 is to many a dog 3 to many, ones that go in a cage 0 is to many. lol

11.Would you rather sky dive or bungee jump, and why?

Sky dive hands down! I am more scared of the bungee cord snapping and me dying but Skydiving you got a back up parachuette so I'm good :) lol I don't know why people think i'm crazy becuase of that logic but it is what it is!

My questions:

1. If you had to change your name what would it be?
2. Favorite child hood cartoons?
3. First cd or tape you ever bought?
4. Favorite Disney movie?
5. if you could live anywhere and price was no issue where would you live?
6. Dream Car?
7. When you Die what do you want your tombstone to say?
8. What is your guilty pleasure tv show?
9. What is your most imbarrassing moment?
10. What do you like to do on a beautiful spring day?
11. What do you love doing on a raining day?



And I tag- Briana
Briana
Blair
monica
Heather
Allison
Alli B.
Heather H.
Rachel
Mel
Darcy

Healthy Shake!

I love smoothies and shakes! My favorite kind of breakfast! I love making shakes for snacks as well :) This one is one of my favorites!! Juice Plus Complete! They just made new changes to it too!! Thankfully the changes have made it even yummier! < thats not a word I know.

6-8oz of Rice Milk- I use Rice Dream original ( 120 calories, 1g protein, 100mg of sodium 2.5g Fat)

1 cup ICE

I scoop (1\3 cup)  Juice+ Complete ( 120 Calories, .5 grams fat, 220mg sodium, 20g carbohydrate, dietary fiber 8 g, 10g sugar, 13g of Protein)

Blend in Vita Mix or blender

and voila! Yummy Healthy snack or meal! :)

I Love this!!  Juice Plus is not found in store Its something you have to order from a distrubitor...My Dad is one so thats where I get my Juice Plus and Juice Plus Complete :)

vomit, urine and A LOT OF TEARS!

first a warning this post is gonna have a lot of TMI in it! but Its my blog and I can write what I want to so feel free to read on or not lol. Hope you have a strong stomach!

So last night I was feeling very very gross the night before I had thrown up all my chipotle burrito that was amazing but gross coming up to the point that it will be a while before I eat there again! So pretty much all day yesterday I was feeling very gross and throwning up which I really don't mind because Its for a good reason Hello Baby growing inside of me! Its not my favorite part of being pregnant thats for sure but the fact that i'm pregnant and throwning up wouldn't have it anyother way :)  so yesterday all I wanted to eat was Hot Dogs for any of you who know me...I don't like Hot Dogs I don't say hey lets make hot dogs for dinner or what not...but Target has amazing all beef Hot Dogs that are amazing. which i'm sure they are pregnancy amazing because if i wasn't preggers I'm sure they would taste like any other hot dog. so then we made a trip to sams club for some nathans hot dog which was delicious as well for dinner. but it still didn't make my nauseaness go away so Were heading to bed and I'm just laying in bed after already going pee multiple times in a 15 min time frame of course :) lol and then it hit me I better go pee again cause i'm gonna barf really soon so I did. and then like 2 minutes later I start to barf and this one is a bad one its a splashy barf *gross* yes I know so i'm barfing and getting splashed by it and then....My bladder decides to have a mind of its own and while i'm barfing I start to wet my pants! and there is nothing I can do about it with every force of barf I pee I was sooo imbarassed!! so i'm done barfing and thats when the tears come! Here I am sitting on the floor of the bathroom infront of the toilet i smell like throw up cause its all on my face and chest and I have made a puddle on our bathroom rug and I can't stop the tears I'm crying majorly! Lance comes in and is like honey whats wrong and I tell him between sobs that I peed my pants and have vomit on me and I did not what him to see me like that and he in his sweet voice says honey thats okay. and continues to tell me that everything is okay and i'm a sobing mess! so I clean up the bathroom and get in the shower and feel terrible and so emotional and realize i'm pretty sure I just had my pregnancy emotional breakdown ! Pregnancy does such weird things with your emotions and my sweet hubby was such a trooper and after I layed back down in bed he put his hand on my tummy and asked if I was okay and then just held his hand there. :) I wonder often how in the world I got sooo lucky to have Lance in my life and as my Husband. He is Amazing!

New Addition!

Well I can't keep this news in anymore!  I'm 10 weeks pregnant!! Baby McGee is Due September 18th 2012! We couldn't be more happy!! My doctor is amazing!! She is use to high risk pregnancy and has been on top of everything between lab work and u/s and putting me on restrictions! I am sooo happy to have her on my team! Each week we have gone in for ultrasounds and have seen progress and a good strong heart beat! Today we had a sonogram and got to hear the heartbeat 160bpm nice and strong and baby wiggled for us!! sooo cute!! I think it was showing off for Daddy since today was the first time Daddy got to go with me! :) 2 more weeks and I should be off restrictions! hello GYM how I have missed you!! so excited to actually see a baby growing inside of me and to see and hear that beautiful sound of a baby heart beating!!! LOVE IT!

(oh and no fertility drugs for me! I did the Raw Food for a month and lost weight! see previous posts!) I have PCOS and I'm FINALLY going to have a baby!!! Miracles happen!!