Haunted House

Tonight the girls and I made a BOO-tiful Haunted House. I got this idea from a magazine and thought it would be fun to do. We had planned to make it last night after carving the pumpkins, but we ran out of time. It was so much fun. I'm not sure if it was more fun for me or the girls, but we all agreed that it turned out great, and that it will become one of our Halloween traditions.

My Season Of Life

I suppose this is my season of life to show 'all my glory.' When I bought maternity clothes when I was pregnant with Katie, the pants, skirts, and jeans all had that oh so lovely 'panel' with the elastic that would cover your entire expanding belly. It was unattractive, I admit, but it accomplished its purpose. These days, most maternity clothes don't have the panel, but just a 5 or 6 inch band of elastic that just sits under the belly, which is more comfortable, but it does nothing--at least for me--in helping to keep my pants up. Whenever I bend, twist, squat, stretch, or anything like unto it, my pants start sliding, and yep, you guessed it.............there I am in all of my glory. Well, not all of my glory, but I am quite certain it is more than people care to see. This is a picture Sarah took the other day while I was on the attic stairs looking for something. Luckily, she didn't get the 'all my glory' part, but you can tell my pants are sliding down because it looks like I have no butt, and you can see my belly hanging out in front. Sarah is constantly telling me that my pants are falling down. Aaron doesn't bother to tell me anymore. He just comes up behind me and pulls them up for me. Thanks honey. I know I am showing the world all my goods, but it's just my season of life. Someone please bring back the panel!

Weekend Recap

Much to our delight, Aaron stayed home to spend the weekend with us, since he had been hunting the past two weekends.

Friday night, his parents invited us over to hang out. We had a great time roasting hot dogs and marshmallows over their little fire pit.

Saturday morning we went to the Arts Fest in Lake Charles. It was so neat, and the best part was that it was all FREE!





Here we are after checking in and waiting for the Andrews.



They had this cool tepee that the girls thought would be kinda fun to live in. They had all kinds of arts and crafts to do, but the coolest and the girls' favorite was making their own vase on the pottery wheel.



Sarah wasn't so sure about getting dirty.



But Katie just jumped right in. It was a fun time, but after a couple of hours, I was tired and hungry. So we headed home for some lunch and naps. Later on, the Andrews came over and we grilled hot dogs and hamburgers. We ate lots, and laughed even more.

My sweet Sarah has been sick for the last few days, so she's been begging to take her "Booger Medicine." We were out, so we had to go to Walmart to pick some up, and when we got back she wanted her picture taken with it. When she was sick a while back, she hated to take the Children's Mucinex that the doctor had told us to give her, until Aaron started to call it "Booger Medicine." Now she LOVES to take it, just so she say "Booger Medicine", I think. At least she doesn't complain about taking it anymore.



Notice the little "Booger Man" on the bottle. Sarah shared her sick germs with Katie, so she has been taking the "Booger Medicine" too. However, she is not nearly as thrilled about it as Sarah. Can't say I blame her--it smells horrible.



Since the kids were out of school today, I took my girls and all of the Zachary girls to see High School Musical 3. We were all a little star struck when we saw who was waiting for us at the theatre--except Emma. We all really enjoyed it. I even cried at the end. I know, I'm a nerd. But I'm going to blame it on my pregnancy hormones.

Tonight for FHE, we did our activity first, which was carving pumpkins. The girls were completely grossed out when Aaron pretended to eat the pumpkin guts.











Look at how cute they are! And the pumpkins turned out pretty good too! Afterwards, we went inside and sipped on hot chocolate to warm up while Aaron gave a short lesson. Then we sent the girls off to bed, but Sarah kept getting up. I guess because of that 4:30 nap. Uggg.

We were at the computer when we heard a knock at the door around 9PM. I looked outside, but didn't see anyone. I looked down on the door step and saw a cute little pumpkin and some treats. I said, "I think we just got ding, dong, ditched!" So we opened up the door and saw that the cute pumpkin said 'Zachary' all over it. And then we noticed that they were pulled over just a few feet from our driveway. They aren't very sneaky, but what a sweet family. Since they knew they were caught, they came back and visited for a few minutes. It was a fun way to end the day!

Finally Fall.....I Think!

Today we got our first taste of some wonderful and very welcome fall weather. The weather has been really cool for a couple of weeks in the mornings, but by the afternoons it was still warming up to the mid to upper 80s. But not today. Sarah and I went outside to play this afternoon at about 1:30 and it was still chilly. So we went back inside and I went up into the attic to find the 4T winter clothes. After I found them and brought them down, she put on some jeans and a sweater, and then went and got her hat, scarf, and gloves from her drawer, since they didn't get put up for some reason. Then we headed back outside, and I decided to take some pictures of her all dressed up like it was really cold outside.



Isn't she cute?! Then I noticed her feet.



Oops! I told her to lets go back inside to find some different shoes and she said, "My toes like to be cold." Right. She thinks I don't know these are her favorite shoes and that she likes to wear them no matter what kind of clothes she's wearing!

The Best Thing About Being Pregnant

I have heard several women say that they absolutely love being pregnant. They feel great the entire time and just love every minute of the experience. I am NOT one of those women. However, I do consider myself lucky not to be on the opposite end of that spectrum. I know a girl back home who is seriously sick the entire time she is pregnant. She loses weight--that she didn't even need to lose to begin with--and is in and out of the hospital several times each time that she is pregnant. Again, I am grateful not to have pregnancies like that, but there is only one thing--other than the end result of the pregnancy, of course--that I look forward to, which is feeling the baby move. It makes the pregnancy seem more real, and not like I am just gaining weight. It also helps me to realize the true miracle that we as women are blessed with in being able to create a perfect little human being. I have been feeling the 'flutters' for a while now, and they are getting stronger and feeling more like little kicks these days. Aaron felt him kick the other night and now tries often to feel him again. Sarah, on the other hand, says she feels the baby move all the time, but actually really felt the baby move for the first time last week. She got so tickled. It was so cute to watch. She looks at my belly each day and says, "Mom, your belly is getting big." I say, "I know. Do you know what that means? It means the baby is growing." Now she and Katie both like to give my belly hugs, and say, "I love you John David." That is the name that Sarah has decided on, I think. Sometimes she says Jonathan David, so I guess we'll see what she says on the day he is born. In the meantime, we are all just enjoying watching him grow and feeling him get stronger.

Funny Girls

The girls have been cracking me up lately with the things that they say. Like last week when Sarah was talking to Aaron on the phone, I overheard her say to him, "Dad, do you know that everybody loves you because you are the bishop?" And then last night Sarah told Aaron that she saved the last cookie for him "because you are the bishop."

Today after we got home from church, Katie came to the kitchen to inform me that she and Sarah were watching 'The Sound of Music' in their room. Since I like for them to just watch church videos on Sunday, I asked her who gave her permission to watch 'The Sound of Music.' She quickly replied, "Well, the Bishop said it was appropriate to watch on Sunday." Sarah is busy 'buttering up' the bishop, while Katie is using him as clout to get what she wants. Should I be worried?

Our Little Gymnasts

Sarah and Katie are both taking gymnastics and they LOVE it! They are both constantly practicing their splits, back bends, cartwheels, and head stands all over the house. And they both got the 'Super Student of the Month' award in each of their classes. Katie also won the contest for doing the 'Frog Stand' the longest of anyone in her class.



Here is Sarah with her teacher Miss Kandace, who she absolutely adores! I don't have a picture of Katie with her teacher because she is apparently too old for all of the picture taking nonsense.

Big Sisters

Here are the big sisters taking a look at the pictures of the baby after they got home. They were very excited to see them--especially Sarah. Although after Sarah got her hands on them, she just stared for a few seconds, and finally said, "They're kinda dark Mom." I guess she was expecting a regular picture of the baby. So I sat down beside her and tried to show her what each one was. After a few minutes of looking and trying to figure it out, she said, "He kinda looks like a duck!" Maybe we should call him 'Ducky'.

Snakes, Snails, and Puppy Dog Tails!

WOW! We are excited and in shock at the same time! Our friend Tammy (Vicki Neely's dauthter) did our ultrasound, so we got some great pictures (if only I could figure out our scanner!) and she took her time and explained what she was looking for. She said everything looks great and there is no doubt that it's a boy. I called my parents to tell them and Aaron called his parents to tell them. Since Sarah was with Johnice, she put her on the phone and Aaron told her she was going to have a brother. She said, "For real? Is he here now?" Aaron told her that he was still in my belly, but that he would be here in a few months. She then asked, "Can he sleep with me in the bunk bed?" My mom has always said that your children are the same as you were as a child, only x 10. I must admit that after hearing stories of how Aaron was as a little boy, I am more than a little nervous. Now all we have to do is find a name for this little boy that Sarah, Aaron, and I can all agree on. And we only have four months to do it! Wish us luck!

Random Happenings In Youngsville

1. Today was the Primary Program for our ward. It was so wonderful, as they always are. It was Sarah's first one. She got a little nervous, I think, and came to sit with me just after it Sacrament started. When the program started, she did go back up and sit with her class, who was on the front row, but each time they got up to sing, she wouldn't look up and she wouldn't sing, but at least she stood up there. Bless her heart. But she did finally warm up after her part and then finally joined in singing the last three or four songs. She was still too cute though. Katie sang the second verse of 'When Jesus Christ was Baptized' all by herself and did a fantastic job. I could tell that she got a little nervous and rushed a bit, but it didn't matter because she has such a beautiful voice and it was just precious. Unfortunately, she did not inherit her singing from her mother. I love to sing, but it is not pretty and always wished that I could. Katie, however, has a beautiful voice and loves to sing. I can't wait to see how her talent develops as she gets older.

2. I have absolutely crazy dreams when I am pregnant. Friday night while Aaron was gone hunting, I dreamed that he left me. In my dream he wouldn't tell me why he was leaving because he thought if he didn't, we could still be friends. I told him when he got home that if he ever left me, would could not still be friends--especially if he wouldn't tell me why.

3. Since RaeAnn and I have both recovered from being sick, we were finally able to get together and work on the baby blanket this past Thursday. It went really well, until RaeAnn realized that one of the pieces of fabric I got was not cotton like we originally thought, which changes how we need to do everything. So now I have to take apart what I had done and start over. Good practice for me, as I am positive that this will be my first of many mistakes. Anyway, I am really excited because I think it is going to be really cute when it is done.

4. Tuesday we have an ultrasound scheduled for 10am. I have to make myself not think about it, because I get too excited and consumed with thoughts of whether it will be a boy or girl. With Katie and Sarah, I knew they were both going to be girls. But with this one, I don't have a feeling one way or the other really. I think that because this pregnancy has been so different from the other two, that it might be a boy, but I don't know if that is just because we want a boy. There was an absolutely beautiful baby blessed at church today. Aaron said that when he saw her, he thought, "Awww! I hope we have another girl!" When he was telling me that tonight, we started talking about girl names. Sarah kept saying that we are having a boy baby and didn't like any of the girl names we talked about. She has picked out Jonathan David for our boy baby, and asked us, "Don't you like my name I picked out for the baby?" Ever since I told her that Katie picked out her name, she has firmly claimed her right to name this baby. I told her I did like the name she had picked out, but that it might be a girl, so we need to think of a girl name too. She was pretty adamant about us having a boy, so I think she might be disappointed if it is a girl.

5. For the last couple of weeks, we have been working on combining the two girls' rooms in order to make room for the baby. I will do a post about it when the rooms are all done. We do finally have the bunk beds up though and the girls are loving it! If we had only known how much they would love it and how easy it would be to get Sarah to sleep in her room, we would have done it a long time ago. Aaron showed them how to turn their bed into a tent, so they love to sleep and play in their new--well, kinda new--beds.

6. I was released from my calling in Primary today, which was a sad thing and a relief at the same time. I LOVE primary. I love the cute kids, I love the songs, and I even love doing sharing time. But it was very stressful for me being in there with Sarah because she didn't ever want to sit with her class. She wanted to sit with me, or wanted me to hold her while I was doing sharing time, or if I had to leave to go do or get something for primary, she wanted to leave with me. When I told Aaron that I didn't know if I could handle being in primary with Sarah and a baby, he told me he had already planned to release me. When I asked what my new calling would be, he said that I wasn't going to have one for now. I told him I need one so I can do my part and contribute to the ward. He told me my calling for now is to help our family get adjusted to his new calling. I didn't think it would be that big of an adjustment for us, but it has been quite different from his previous calling as a counselor. He is gone a little more, he is on the phone quite a bit more, and he has even had some meetings here at the house. I think we need to set up his shop or our computer room as an office for him, maybe. So we are taking it one day at a time, and things are going pretty good. I think the main thing that I need to do is to get more organized so that things will run more smoothly and learn to be more flexible when he has to leave for something unexpected.

That's about all of the excitement in Youngsville at the present moment, but we'll keep ya posted about the exciting days to come!

Another Evacuation

Today Johnice and I were outside in the garage working on a project when Sarah came to me and asked me if I could help her find her baby's play clothes. Her friend Ethan was over and they were playing 'family' with the baby in the 'clubhouse'. I told her I would in a few minutes. She had come to ask me probably three or four more times before I finally got to a good stopping point and went inside to find the diaper bag and trunk with the baby's clothes. I picked out a onesie and brought it out to her. She said, "No Mom. Not that one." I had apparently picked out the wrong play clothes, so I told her to take it back inside and pick out what she wanted. I went back to the garage to get back to work and a few minutes later I noticed Ethan carrying one of my plants to the clubhouse. I went out to see what they were up to and noticed that they had my herbs, the baby's trunk and diaper bag, and the baby 'asleep' in her baby bed all up inside the clubhouse. I asked, "Why did you guys bring all of this stuff out here?" Sarah looked at me and said, "Mom, we are evacuating."

We Finally Made It Back!

Aaron and I haven't done so well on our 'once a month' trip to the temple for the last 3 months. In July, the Houston Temple was closed for the first part of the month and the girls and I were in North Carolina for the last two weeks of the month. In August, we actually had plans to go to the Baton Rouge Temple the last weekend of August when Hurricane Gustav decided to go pay a visit to Baton Rouge too and ruined those plans. In September, Hurricanes Gustav and Ike had hit Baton Rouge and Houston, respectively, and left them both without power, so we again were unable to attend for the month. But yesterday, we finally made it to the Houston Temple, along with the Baxters and Bobby and Erin Aucoin. It was a beautiful day spent with great company. It's amazing how much just a couple of hours inside the temple can uplift and inspire you.

About 30 minutes before we got to the temple, we got a call from Katie at school. She had been hit in the head with a door (I think) and was complaining about a headache and wanted to go home. So we called Johnice, who was already watching Sarah for us, and she went and picked her up. We were a little worried until we received a phone call from Johnice after she had picked Katie up. She said she was fine, but that she went ahead and checked her out anyway. I am so grateful for Johnice and that we can leave town and know without a doubt that the girls will be well taken care of while we are gone. It is such a huge blessing. When we got back earlier than we had originally thought, the girls were a little less than thrilled to see us. Katie said, "What are you doing back so early? We still want Maw Maw to stay!" And Sarah added, "Yeah, she was going to take us a bath." I told them I could give them a bath and that Maw Maw was probably tired and ready for a break. But they insisted that Maw Maw give them a bath, and she was more than willing to do it, so I let her so we wouldn't completely ruin the girls fun. After baths, they played a game of 'Battle' with Maw Maw, and then we sent them off to bed. So thanks to Johnice, we were able to enjoy a day at the temple while the girls enjoyed a day hanging out with her. It was a great day for all of us!

FHE Fun

Last night we had Kent, Johnice, and the elders over for dinner and FHE. After Aaron had forgotten that I had asked him to give the lesson (poor guy--I guess he has a little on his mind these days!), Paw Paw quickly gave us a short, but sweet lesson about giving. Katie was in charge of the activity, and boy was it entertaining. Luckily, I got to be the judge instead of participating. Thank goodness. It would not have been pretty. What was the activity? A Hula Hoop Contest! Here are some highlights.

Team 1--Paw Paw and Katie



He chose to do the 'skip it' instead of the hula hoop. He didn't actually 'skip it', but drug it around (quickly) behind him. He got high marks just for the entertainment value.



Fortunately for Paw Paw, Katie is the hula champion at our house. She could have gone for 30 minutes, but we asked her to stop because she had proven her skills, and quite honestly, just made everyone else look sad.

Team 2--Sarah and Maw Maw



Sarah is getting pretty good at hula hooping, and got high marks for doing so well and being the youngest competitor.



Maw Maw gave it a good try, and honestly, she kept it up longer than any of the adults. Way to go Maw Maw! You are such a good sport.

Team 3--Aaron and the Elders



Aaron chose to do the 'skip it', but played it safe and did it on his wrist instead of his ankle. And I was so looking forward to a good laugh from his performance.



Elder Dawe was actually a very impressive neck hula hooper. He also got high marks.



Elder Skeen, on the other hand, was no good at hula hooping. Bless his heart, he couldn't keep it up at all, but at least he tried.

And the winners were.......................Paw Paw and Katie!!!



Thanks Katie for such a fun and entertaining activity. And thanks to all of the contestants for the laughs and memories!

Just Daddy

I forgot to include another funny thing that Katie said on Sunday at church. At the end of sacrament meeting, President Newton asked me, Kent, and Johnice to stand up. He then said, "They are the only ones allowed to call the bishop Aaron. To everyone else, he is Bishop Young." When we sat down Katie looked at me and asked, "What am I supposed to call him?" I laughed and told her she could still just call him Daddy. However, she is trying to decide between 'Bishop Daddy' or 'Daddy Bishop'.

Confession--I'm In Love With My Bishop

It's still kinda hard for me to believe, but Aaron was sustained as Bishop of the Lake Charles Ward today. After President Crossley asked the new bishopric to come sit on the stand, Katie leaned over to me and asked, "So who is the new bishop?" I whispered back, "It's daddy." She then said, "How did he get to be bishop?" That is exactly what Aaron and I have been wondering. I guess we have both been in denial that this was going to happen. I was very excited at the thought of him being able to sit with us at church after five years, and he was pretty excited--to say the least--at the thought of being released just in time for hunting season. As soon as Aaron told me that President Newton had called and wanted us both to meet with him two weeks ago, my heart sank a little. I thought that maybe if I didn't go with him he wouldn't extend the calling to him. But I went and I am glad I did. I will never forget the feeling of peace I had as we talked with President Newton and the wonderful counsel he gave us. I will also never forget seeing the look on Aaron's face and his eyes well up with tears as President Newton read part of the letter from the First Presidency saying that Aaron's name had been approved to succeed Bret Jorgensen as Bishop of the Lake Charles Ward. It's very humbling to know that President Monson and his counselors have prayed over his name to know if he is who the Lord wanted to be bishop. Neither one of us hardly slept at all that night. We have laughed and cried a lot as we have discussed his new calling over the last two weeks. I know it will be hard at times, but I also know there will be blessings to make up for the hard times. Our family has been tremendously blessed as he has served as a counselor for the last five years. I knew when I married him over 8 years ago that I had made a good choice, but I have to say that I have been especially impressed with my choice as I have watched him grow during the time that he has served with three amazing bishops. He has such a great love for the gospel and for the people of the ward. He is such a great example to me and our girls. He truly inspires me and makes me want to be a better person. I love him so much and know that someday my dream of sitting with my husband at church will come true--just not today.

Daddy Daughter Date

Aaron took the girls on an unscheduled Daddy/Daughter date today. Since I hardly slept at all last night because of my yucky cold, my sweet husband offered this morning to stay home from his trip he had been planning all week to the lease to get his hunting areas ready for opening day of deer season in a few weeks. I told him he should go and I would be fine. He then graciously offered to take the girls with him, and I again assured him I would be fine. After all, I wondered how much he would be able to accomplish having them with him. But he had made up his mind and asked the girls if they wanted to go. They were so excited, especially Sarah, and quickly got dressed. They all loaded up and headed out at about 6:30am, made a pit stop at the donut shop, and then went to the lease. When they got home, they were all smiles and told me all about the fun time they had at the lease and how they couldn't wait to go back.



This girl is just like her dad, and loves all things outdoors.



Katie is more like me though, and likes the outdoors, but not quite as much as daddy and Sarah.
Aaron had the girls help him put food out for the deer, and get one of his deer stands ready. Here Katie is carrying the burlap that goes around the blind to keep you hidden.



Aaron put up this stand today and the girls climbed up to test it out.



Little cuties!



Has anyone seen Sarah?

As if it wasn't enough that he had taken the girls for me for half of the day, this evening he was more than happy for me to leave to go to the women's broadcast. I sure needed that spiritual boost. When I got home, I was amazed to find out that not only had he fed and bathed the girls, but they all had picked up the girls rooms, cleaned and vacuumed the family room, and then he cleaned the carpet. I'm not sure what I did to deserve such a wonderful husband and father, but I sure am grateful to have him in our lives!

Sicko

Yep, that's me.......I'm a sicko. This has been the busiest week I have had in a while, with doctor and dentist appointments, helping out with a baby shower, gymnastics, making cards, hunting for just the right fabric for my next sewing project, and tons of other miscellaneous errands. And it finally caught up with me yesterday when I woke up as Mrs. Coughing, Sneezing, Itchy/Watery Eyes, Stuffy Head, Porcupine Throat, Stuffy/Runny Nose Lady. I forged on yesterday knowing I had to do the things on my to do list, but today I cancelled the Box Tops meeting I had at school (I am the Box Tops Coordinator for Katie's school--don't hate me because of my title! hee hee) and, sadly, I also had to cancel my sewing lesson for today, since I didn't want to contaminate my instructor with my yucky cold germs. So, I'm trying to get some rest, but I have a hard time resting when I can't breathe through my nose, which irritates my throat even more. I hate colds!

Look What I Made!

I know, it's nothing spectacular, but I made 15 bean bags all by myself! It was so fun and easy, and the girls had so much fun helping me put the beans in them. I wonder if that counts as food storage. HA! Anyway, I'm moving on to my next project.........a baby blanket. For now, I've got to go make up a fun game to play with my bean bags for FHE tonight!

Sewing 101

My personal goal for this year was to learn to sew. My sweet husband bought me a sewing machine for Christmas last year, and sadly, it has been in its box since Christmas Day 2007. I have really wanted to learn to sew for a while, but I was seriously intimidated by the brand new, fancy (at least to me) machine, considering the extent of my knowledge of sewing is..........sewing on a button! Sad, but true. But today I got my first lesson from my friend and master seamstress, RaeAnn Sorenson. She was so nice and didn't even make me feel like a complete idiot for asking dumb questions. She began by explaining all the parts of my machine, how they work and what they do, and then showed me how to thread the machine, and then we just played around with it. She even gave me some 'homework' to have done before my next lesson next Friday. I am so excited! I think I am going to really enjoy my new hobby.

Sarah's 'Gold'

At the beginning of each year, we sit down as a family and set personal and family goals. This year as we sat down to talk about goals, Sarah kept calling it 'golds' instead of goals. So we just went with it. Sarah's personal goal was to start sleeping in her own bed. Not long after she had set her 'gold' we were in Walmart one day and she found a 'My Little Pony' that she really wanted. It was on sale, so I told her I would get it for her and she could have it whenever she reached her goal of sleeping in her bed. We had a few runs where she slept in her bed for a few days at a time, but for the most part, it's been a very hard goal for Sarah--and us--to reach. She has periodically asked if she could have her 'gold'--meaning her 'My Little Pony', and I stood firm that she could only have it when she slept in her bed for at least two weeks. Several times I have tried to give it away as a birthday present, but she would not let me and insisted that she would one day sleep in her bed and get her 'gold'. When I found out we would be having another baby, I quickly decided it was time to get serious. So when we got back from our trip to NC, I told her she had to sleep on her bed, or on a palate by our bed, or with Katie. For almost the entire month of August, she would cry and throw a fit, but we were mean parents and made her sleep on a palate by our bed. One night she got so upset that we would not give into her demands that she stormed out of our room and said, "Fine! I'm going to sleep somewhere else!" So off she went to Katie's bed and there she slept all night long. After that night, she would go back and forth between the palate and Katie's bed. But for the last week, she has slept in Katie's bed every night. So when she was starting to have a relapse last night and wanted to get in bed with us, I reminded her of how good she had been doing and told her how proud we are of her. My heart was softened and I told her she could have her 'gold' tomorrow if she would go sleep with Katie for one more night. So she did, and this morning, I gave her 'gold' to her and she has had the best time playing with her all day. She even took her with her to gymnastics. So tonight as we were brushing teeth and getting ready for bed, she said, "I don't have to sleep with Katie anymore since I already got my gold." What? Great, now what do I do? Luckily, I quickly said, "Oh yes you do! I'll take that pony right back to Walmart tomorrow!" So, guess where she is right now? In bed with her sister! OH HAPPY DAY!

Hurricane Party

We decided to ride out the hurricane at Kent and Johnice's house and have a good ole hurricane party. I'm so glad they invited us over because I think it helped the girls to not focus so much on the storm. We all had a great time together. And the best part was that we never lost power at their house, which means we slept comfortably.......well, as comfortably as you can with the ferocious winds and pounding rain that only started once we finally settled down to get some rest. (We did loose power at our house sometime in the middle of the night. I called our house around 10PM and the machine picked up. But when Aaron called at 5AM, it did not pick up. However, it did come back on around 11 today--thank goodness!) The girls slept well though, and had a blast having a 'camp out' in Maw Maw and Paw Paw's living room........



........until a bear came and attacked them inside their tent.



Luckily, he was a nice bear. And what fun is a hurricane party without a good game of 'Cootie'.....



......and checkers!



The girls also had a blast playing 'Go Fish', 'Old Maid', and one of my favorites as a kid, 'I Declare War!' We also watched movies and ate like there was no tomorrow. I think I gained 5 pounds.



This is our house before Ike.



This is our house after Ike. Just some small twigs and leaves on the ground. Quite different than after Rita. After Rita, our yard had tons of branches, two huge trees down, and also took out our privacy fence that went along the back of our property line. We have only seen a couple of houses with trees on them. So, not alot of wind damage here, but unfortunately worse flooding than with Rita, which did not affect us, thank goodness. There are 3 members in our ward, that we know of so far, whose homes were flooded though. My heart goes out to them. Here is the street to Katie's school.



Tons of water overflowed from the canal just before you get to Maplewood. We heard that it got close, but aren't sure if it actually got inside the school. I suspect she'll be out of school for at least a few more days next week. We were again spared from any damage and feel tremendously blessed and grateful.

Hurricane Stress

I guess we've been watching too much coverage of Hurricane Ike. Tonight during dinner Sarah said, "I think I need some chocolate and Jesus." A few minutes later she said, "Can we please stop talking about the hurricane? It's making me kinda scared." Poor baby. But at least she knows what the most important things are during a crisis--CHOCOLATE and JESUS!

Here We Go Again!

Another week, another hurricane, and an indecisive one at that. Last week it was going to hit the east coast, then southern Florida, then us here in Louisiana. We were so relieved when the 'cone of uncertainty' moved to just the Texas coastline, with the southern part of the coast as the new 'target'. Not to wish the hurricane on anyone else, but southern Texas is in a drought, so they really needed the rain. And then last night the 'cone of uncertainty' was again moved just enough to cover the southwest corner of Louisiana, which happens to be just where we are. Our evacuation plan to Houston will not work this time, since they will get pounded if Ike stays on his current path. We are hoping that Ike will stay on his projected path, and not follow Rita's. Ike so far has had a frighteningly similar path as Rita did three years ago. Rita was also supposed to hit around the Galveston area. So we went to bed thinking we would be okay, and woke up the next morning to a mandatory evacuation order because Rita decided during the night to head north and pay a visit to cajun country. We evacuated to New Roads, LA, which is a little northeast of Baton Rouge. It turned out to be not quite far enough, since we had pretty good winds and lost power there too. After hearing that our area was hit pretty hard, the girls and I got on a plane and headed to NC to stay with my family and Aaron headed back to help with the clean up. We had just barely got power two days before we returned home three weeks later. After three weeks of clean up, I was so not expecting to see all of the debris that lined each and every street in our neighborhood--trees and limbs piled everywhere that was as tall as or taller than houses. It was a while before things started to look normal again, and before businesses were open normal hours again. So hopefully Ike will be his own man, and blaze his own trail so we don't have a repeat of Rita. For now, we have decided to stay. We have food, water, gas, and the generator ready to go. So now, we wait for the morning report to see if Ike stays on his current course. If not, we are also ready to leave if we need to. In the meantime, I am anxiously awaiting my birthday on November 30th, which also happens to be the end of hurricane season!

All Is Well

Hurricane Gustav turned out not to be a major event here in southwest Louisiana. In fact, we just got some rain and a little wind and never even lost power. We feel very blessed, considering other parts of Louisiana were not so fortunate. We returned home late last night after the mandatory evacuation order was lifted yesterday morning. We left Houston last night in hopes of missing out on all of the traffic. Turns out lots of other people had the same idea. We still did pretty good though and made it home in only 3 1/2 hours (I know it could have been much worse--thank goodness for the DVD player and the snacks and water we had with us), as compared to the 2 1/2 hours it took us to get there Sunday night. We were able to squeeze in a few fun things in the two days while we were there, such as shopping for maternity clothes for me, practicing our aim at the 'Shooting Arcade' at the Bass Pro Shop, playing 'Lunar Golf' (which the kids loved!), riding the carousel, and raiding the candy store at Katy Mills Mall. Other than that, we just hung out at the house and let the kids play. The girls had a great time playing with their cousins and all of their dinosaurs, light sabers, and various other boy toys. A big thanks to Mike, Tiffany, Austin, Gavin, and sweet little Owen for their hospitality and the fun memories!

To evacuate, or not to evacuate

Living in this part of the country means being ready to leave at a moments notice during hurricane season. It was also part of my life growing up. I have been through several tropical storms and category 1 and 2 hurricanes. Not that they are anything to laugh at, but they are not too bad to 'ride' out. In fact, we usually made the most of the extra family time it gave us. The worst part is the few days (or sometimes weeks) you have to live in the heat and humidity without air conditioning, which is something I am much less happy about doing in my pregnant state. And the fact that my girls get freaked out at just a regular thunderstorm makes me feel like we need to leave. If Hurricane Gustav stays on the path that they are predicting right now, I really don't think it will be too bad to stay here and ride out the storm. But with hurricanes being so unpredictable, you just never know if Gustav might change his mind at the last minute and decide to change his course. So, tomorrow we are heading to Houston to hang out and visit with Aaron's cousin, Tiffany and her sweet little family, who have graciously offered us a place of refuge from the wrath of Gustav. So pray for us, and that Gustav doesn't change his mind and follow us to Houston!

A Bad Review

Tonight as I was cooking supper, Katie walked through the kitchen and stopped and asked,

Katie: "What's that smell?"
Me: "What smell?"
Katie: "That horrible smell."
Me: "What does it smell like?"
Katie: "The smell of disaster!"

She obviously was SO NOT impressed with even just the smell of my quesadillas. I knew she wasn't a huge fan of my cooking, but really.......the smell of disaster?! However, she was so serious, it was too funny not to laugh.

Miracles Do Happen!

To say the least, I have been less than impressed with the prenatal clinic I have been going to. Monday I called to talk to a nurse about a problem I am having with my throat, and was told to go to the emergency room if it did not improve. I was caught off guard with her response, since I was expecting her to set up an appointment for me to come in to be seen. I called back a few minutes later and there was no answer. Since I did not feel like it was an emergency, I called back a few days later and asked if I could see the doctor. The lady on the phone said, "No. The doctor is only here on Fridays for a couple of hours and only sees the high risk patients." WHAT? ARE YOU SERIOUS? Come to find out, I didn't ask the right questions when looking for a doctor. I didn't realize I should have asked how often I would see the doctor. I just assumed that I would see a doctor more than ON THE DAY THAT I DELIVER! I have only been to this clinic twice and on my second visit I did wonder why I didn't see (at least in the hall) the doctor. There were several women in the office ahead of me who were great with child and I do remember thinking, 'Why aren't they seeing the doctor?' and 'If they aren't seeing the doctor, who is?' But in my attempt to be positive, I thought maybe he was busy delivering a baby and surely I would see him next time. NOPE. YOU ONLY GET TO SEE THE DOCTOR ON THE DAY THAT YOU DELIVER. However, she did graciously offer to set up a meeting before my delivery so I could ask any questions I needed to. No. Thank. You. So I hung up the phone very frustrated and suddenly feeling a huge rush of emotion--aka--a serious breakdown. My sweet husband quickly gave me a blessing and assured me that we would find another doctor who would take good care of me. And that did bring me comfort and I knew things would somehow work out. I called the doctor's office that delivered Sarah, who I really liked, and they said they were not taking new patients. I explained that I had not been since they delivered my last child (I know that is really bad), but that I had been a patient there before. She said she didn't think they could take me, but that she would ask and call me back. A few minutes later she called back with the news I was expecting, but didn't want to hear--they couldn't take me. Aaron told me that he would be at the hospital tomorrow and that if he saw the doctor, he would talk to her. I told him to bribe her with whatever kind of yard work he could do for her--mowing, landscaping, trimming, irrigation--whatever--just to beg, plead, and grovel if he had to. He agreed that he would. I called him the next morning and asked if he had see the doctor. He said he hadn't. I hung up very sad and decided I should probably start calling around to see if I could find another doctor. A few minutes later, Kent called and said that he had walked over to this doctor's office and talked to her and her nurse. She told him she would probably get in trouble for taking me, but they got my number and said they would call me. So several minutes and a few phone calls later, I have an appointment with my wonderful doctor that delivered Sarah, and my mind is now at ease. All thanks to my wonderful father-in-law! I officially nominate him for Father-in-Law of the Year!

It's Not Fair

When I used to say that when I was a kid, my mom would always say, "Well life's not fair, so get used to it." I thought at the time it was my mom who wasn't fair, but have since learned that life is indeed not fair. But that doesn't mean I have to like it! Here are a few things that I think are not fair.

1. Being sick while you are pregnant. Isn't the constant need to 'go', the weight gain, and for Pete's sake.....CHILDBIRTH enough?! And not to mention all of the blood, sweat and tears you endure after the sweet bundle arrives! I think every pregnant woman should just naturally feel and look fabulous everyday just as a reward for having to go through childbirth......and beyond.

2. Sick children. Babies and any child under 5 should not be sick. It just isn't right. They can't even tell you what's wrong or what hurts and they just don't understand. My little Sarah is sick right now and as much as I hate to be sick myself, I had much rather be sick than for either of my girls to be sick. I think you shouldn't be able to get sick until you reach the age of 5 (or maybe even the age of accountability) because at least by that age they are mature enough to deal with it a little better and they can tell you what hurts.

3. Crazy tiebreaker rules at the Olympics. It is SO unfair when you have the best routine on the uneven bars and you tie with a girl who didn't even do as good a routine as you did and then the dumb rule makes you second place. Poor Nastia.

4. Presidential candidates who don't 100 percent, whole-heartedly, and without question salute and absolutely adore the American Flag and all that it stands for. I don't think they should even be allowed the honor of running.

5. Chocolate being fattening. I mean, come on. It's been proven that women need chocolate, so why does it have to be fattening? It is made from all natural ingredients and other things that we need to sustain life aren't fattening, like water. When I get to create my own world, chocolate will not be fattening and Santa Clause will be real. And the Easter Bunny too.

That's all for today.

Second Grade, Here She Comes!

Katie went back to school on Friday. We went to Meet and Greet last Wednesday and met her teacher, Mrs. Conner, who recognized Katie from seeing her around school, but didn't know her name. She seemed very nice. Katie has a few friends in her class, including her friend Micah, which she is pretty excited about. Getting the supplies together and going to Meet and Greet really got her excited to go back to school. It is bittersweet for me though. While I love having her home with me and Sarah, I long for a routine that we can't seem to keep during summer.

Sarah asked when we got back home if Katie has to go back to school. I told her that she had to go back in a few days. She didn't say anything for a few minutes, and then I asked her if she was sad that Katie was going back to school. I fully expected her to say yes, because she loves to have Katie home and could hardly wait for school to get out in May. Much to my surprise, her reply was, "NO! We'll have lots of fun without her!" It was pretty funny, especially since I wasn't expecting that reaction. And we have been having a fun time together, just me and my sweet little Sarah. I really thought about putting her in preschool this year, but the fact that it is outrageously expensive and that I am not ready for her to be gone helped me to decide to put her in "Mommy School" instead. I have some workbooks that we are doing and a Hooked on Phonics program that I am doing with her. She is doing really well and LOVES to "do her school work". She also likes to do homework in the afternoon while Katie is doing hers, so I have now started assigning her some 'homework' to keep her occupied and to make her "Mommy School" seem more 'real'.

Our absolutely adorable 2nd grader! When she was in Kindergarten, she used to turn and blow me a kiss and wave to me each day as I dropped her off. In 1st grade, she would turn and wave to me at the beginning of the year, but then by the end of the year she wasn't even doing that anymore. (sniff sniff) So I'm trying not to be too disappointed that she's not doing anything of the sort this year. She's growing up way too fast.

Lunch Date with Maw Maw

The day before school started, Maw Maw came and picked up Katie and took her to lunch to spend some time with her before she went back to school. Katie was so excited, especially since she got to pick the place that she wanted to go eat. She picked 'The Chicken Store', more commonly known as Kentucky Fried Chicken. Afterwards, they stopped by Walgreens to pick up some very necessary last minute school supplies--Jolly Ranchers, lip gloss, and a Hannah Montana watch, which Katie LOVES. A special thanks to Maw Maw for spending some time with Katie, making her feel special, and getting her even more excited to go back to school to show off her Hannah Montana watch.

Happy Birthday Melissa!

I just wanted to wish my hilariously goofy little sister Melissa happy birthday! She is my best friend--right next to my wonderful husband, of course. She is so fun to be around and can always make me laugh. She is also beautiful, kind, and a wonderful mother to her three beautiful children. I love you Melissa and hope you have a fabulous day!

P.S. Please don't hate me for this picture. It just makes me smile and remember the fun we had that day at White Lake. =)

Long Time Gone

I was starting to think I was going to skip the whole morning sickness thing, until it hit me the very day after we got home from North Carolina. I don't know if it was just all of the traveling, lack of sleep, and not eating as well as I should have finally catching up with me, or if was my mom's fault. She prayed that I would feel good while I was in NC. She called me the day after I got home and told me this and I asked if she would start praying that I would feel good in Louisiana too!=) So for the last two and a half weeks, I have been rather pathetic and unproductive as I have only done what was absolutely necessary to try to recover and make it through the day, which obviously has not included blogging. I am very happy to report that my mom's prayers are being heard and I am feeling better, although I still get pretty tired, which is probably due (at least partly) to the lack of exercise in the last month. I hope to get back into my routine of going to SPAR next week, since I have to get up early now to take Katie to school. Hopefully that will help with my fatigue and give me more energy, and I could also use some of those endorphins, to chase away the blahs I've developed from not doing much of anything. I am much more productive when I have a routine. And luckily, I have a long to do list, which should keep me busy for a while.

Poor Cinderella

I just had to record this story about Katie at Camp Singletary before I forget it. Every morning she would wake up earlier than Sarah and I and go find some cousins to play with. One morning I happened to wake up when she was getting out of bed. She told me she was going to get dressed and go play. I told her that was fine, but she needed to brush her teeth after she got dressed. I guess she thinks being on vacation means you should be on vacation from brushing your teeth too because she didn't want to do it. But she did. And when she came back from the bathhouse to put her toothbrush away, I asked her to go and get Sarah's sippy cup for me from the mess hall. I could tell she wasn't happy about doing that either, but she did it and went off to play. A little while later Sarah and I got up and went to the mess hall to get breakfast. I saw my brother Neal and he told me he saw Katie earlier and noticed that she wasn't happy about something. So he asked her, "Why do you have the sad face Katie?" She said, "Because my mama makes me do all the work! It's like she doesn't have legs or something!" I couldn't help but laugh. I wonder how she would feel if I did make her do all of the work.