The cat that ripped the bag to shreds...and spilled the beans in the process

Thanks to my wonderful, loving, supportive, not to mention EXCITED husband, this cat is so far out of the bag, the bag might as well never exist. :) Apparently he found no reason to keep his excitement contained after 23 weeks so he spilled the beans. Last week he posted on his facebook "Its a girl." While most people picked up on that subtle yet entirely obvious message, there were a few who assumed he was excited about our new niece who was recently introduced into the world. While her birth is an exciting addition to our extended family it was, in fact, not what Jason was announcing.
We know that this baby truly is a miracle baby. After a long time of fertility treatments, lots of tests (many with less that favorable results), and being told that there was no way this was happening at this point in our lives, we had both accepted that for now, we were going to remain a family of three. The next thing we know, our doctor (who happens to be a high risk and infertility specialist) is looking at me saying "I have been over these results a thousand times and I have no medical explanation for why this happened. Keep saying your prayers and paying your tithing."
I have been blessed that this pregnancy hasn't been as bad as it was with T. I give most of the credit to the "cancer drugs" (meds used for nausea) that worked this time. At one point I think I was taking 7 pills a night. (I'm still nauseated, but apparently not enough to keep me from gaining like 80 pounds.) It seems that all the issues we have dealt with so far have been relatively minor. T has been a doll as well. He covers my with blankets, brings me pillows, strokes my head and my arms, brings me water, all while saying "Mommy, I so sorry you so sickies." He has taken excellent care of himself and me! He is very excited for his baby sister and tells me that he wants to hold her and give her loves and when we are in the car and she gets scared he will hold her hand and give her a pass (a binky).

So for now, we are taking it a day, week, and month at a time hoping that in June we are blessed with another happy, healthy, and perfect little child.

And so it begins...

Well, it has begun. The mad search for a job before J officially graduates with his Doctorate of Physical Therapy! We are very excited and I am quite proud of him. He has worked so hard during the past years to get to this point. He is currently finishing up two interships which will conclude the end of April, studying for the national exam, which he plans to take...AND PASS...in late march or April, and he is also applying and interviewing for jobs! He is planning on focusing on wound care which is a more specialized area of PT but he loves it. He has already done 3 internships/clinicals in it as well as his doctoral project. Because of this it has made him very marketable in the wound care area since they really only have 1 class on it. This last week we spend a few days up in Boise with a company that has expressed a lot of interest in him. He enjoyed it very much and was very interested in the facilities, the people, and the opportunity. We are hoping something might come of it! This week he is in San Deigo at a national PT conference where he will network and pass out lots of resumes. He also has been working with a recruiter who is looking for him! We have narrowed it down to 6 states that we would be willing to go to so hopefully that gives us more options too! Ideally we know by the end of March where we could end up but we know we dont have too much control over that part!

We are excited to start this new phase in life but nervous at the same time! In the past few years we have actually ENJOYED being students! Our life is "easy", predictable, simple, and we have made some wonderful friends and had some incredible experiences during our time in school. Mostly I think we are fearing the "real world" of bills, no time-off and early days, and LOAN RE-PAYMENT!

Trains and more trains

We flew out to NY on Christmas Day this year so we could spend some time with J's family and attend his brothers wedding. While we are there T spends much of his time with grandpa's trains (T actually calls him grandpa train because of them). Below are a few pix of the special christmas tree trains and of the train room. Yes, I said room. Keep in mind that the picture only shows half of the room and it doesnt show the trains to are near the ceiling on a platform. Its true. Its Ts train heaven (but we all have fun with them...)





(Notice there are TWO trains with this tree. One in the middle, one underneath.)

To all those...

This is for all of you who have had "one of those days."
I saw this for the first time when I was a junior in high school.
Im sure some of you have seen it before, but its a classic.
I think I have watched this at least once a week since then.

Enjoy the most used karaoke song in America.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ybXrrTX3LuI

Im memory

Today marks the 3 year anniversary of the death of J's mother. She died after a very quick and unexpected battle with cancer on Thanksgiving 2006. We remember her as a wonderful woman, mother, and friend. We miss her greatly but know that she has passed her mortal test and waits for us in the eternities.
We are very grateful for the time we were able to spend with her and that in her last moments all of her children, who were around the world, were able to be together one last time as a family. We are now lucky enough that every Thanksgiving we not only have the opportunity to reflect on our blessings but also the wonderful plan our Savior as put in place for us to all be together again.

We love you Jayne!

I need to post...

I need to post and yet we have nothing to post about...

Our lives never really change. Not than I am complaining!

Lets see, T is awesome. The kid freakin cracks me up everyday. Love him to death. Minus the whole sleep issue. He is crazy. The kid needs less sleep than me. I don't get it. Then the time change...thank you lame-o daylight savings. Rid us of this stupid thing! I think we have finally worked out a new system...and it includes an earlier bedtime, him waking up happy, and me not pulling my hair out. Its a win-win. I have no sympathy for people who tell me that their 4 year old no longer takes naps...hahaha...Try 22 months people and only a 9 hour night. At least my kid has learned how to play by himself. He is content in his room alone and doesn't come out until I tell him too. Good boy...very good boy.

J is fine. His birthday was last week. I saved and saved and saved and got him something he has really really wanted. A new driver. I must admit that I don't understand nor do I support the extreme costs of his preferred sports but I support nonetheless. I got him a TaylorMade Tour Burner. Its a nice driver...like VERY nice. He hasn't gotten it yet because it got stuck in the mail. Hopefully Monday or Tuesday...
He is getting extremely anxious to finish school. Lets be honest, I am getting extremely anxious for him to finish school. The end is in sight! Not too much longer before he will officially have his Doctorate of Physical Therapy. He has already started to receive "unofficial" offers. Its nice to know we have possibilities!

I am normal, the same, fine, whatever. Not much going on. I just hang out with my boys.

Shared Loves

All parents like to share their favorite things with their children. J has absolutely enjoyed sharing his love and skill of hockey with T. T has absolutely loved it. Nothing makes him happier than when daddy asks if he wants to go to the ice rink! He is doing SO well too! When his feet got big enough a few months ago we took him off of his double runner skates and put him in "real" skates. He will skate on his own for a little bit, he loves holding a hockey stick and shooting the puck but his FAVORITE thing is when daddy holds his arms and goes "speedy fast" all the way around the rink. He loves getting "snowed" by daddy almost as much. He is definitely well on his way to feeling like the ice rink is his home.

Well, I too have a deep love for something that I wanted to share with T. I was so excited last week because I had an appointment set up to take him to the dentist. I love the dentist. LOVE it. Its what I look forward too every day of my life. To me there is nothing better than having someone else clean my teeth. Ahhhh... I love it. I don't even mind the dentists lame jokes. Well, my child has less of a love for the dentist. Sad but true. He was very cooperative through his tears though. As upset as he was, when he was asked to open, he opened. When he was asked to rinse, he rinsed. He did so good...he just did it very upset.
And there may be some of you who don't know that T has a VERY sensitive gag reflex. He gags at everything. He doesn't throw up anymore (thank goodness), but he gags incessantly.
Here are a few of our favorites...
the smell of hard boiled eggs
the drip of milk that came out of a baby's mouth
the puddle of syrup from a bottle HE dropped
the aforementioned baby eating applesauce
and of course...at the dentist when his teeth were painted with fluoride.

And many, many more...