Family Time!

Sorry for the lack of pictures with this post, I don't have my cord to put them on the computer at the moment. I wanted to give you all an update since its been a while. We are at my parent's house in WA. We flew in on Sunday, between snow storms. It snowed all day Monday and Tuesday. We now have about two feet and are expecting another big storm tonight and tomorrow. We are LOVING it! On the down side I have a nasty cold and I think Samantha might be getting it too. Other than that we are truly enjoying our time together and with our family! I will post pictures soon!

A Semester of Learning!

This semester has been crazy for our little family! Chris has had a pretty tough class schedule and work on top of that, and I have been busy with Sam, house keeping, and my calling! I have been blessed to learn so much. I am finding myself growing so much in ways I never expected (and not just because I'm pregnant). I love seeing Samantha learn new things everyday and can't wait to see her as a big sister! I am amazed at the things she has taught me! I have realized the importance of acting on the things I know to be right instead of waiting for things to happen around me. We have all been learning and growing so much and I am so grateful for the hard times and trials that have helped us do so. I'm so grateful for Chris and his dedication and hard work in all things, as well as his great love of the gospel and our family! I'm grateful for Samantha, her bright smile, and her unwavering, unconditional love of me and all of my faults! And finally, I'm grateful to be expecting another wonderful addition to our family and that so far things are going and growing very well! I know I'm a little late sharing the things that I'm grateful for but better late than never, right! We had a great Thanksgiving that we spent with some friends and their family. We are so excited for Christmas and the opportunity to see our family in Washington. I added an ultrasound picture from my 12 week ultrasound of baby #2 (I know its not very recent) but I will add an updated one in a few weeks!

Our Brave Little Girl!

Poor Samantha has had a very traumatic day! She had her 12 month Dr visit. It went very well, until...that's right, you guessed it! SHOTS! She had to get five of them today! Poor girl, one of the nurses hit a blood vessel with one of them so it started to bruise instantly! Then the Dr. informed us that she needed to get a blood draw to check her iron levels and stuff. We went to the lab at the hospital where she started crying and hanging on to me as if her life depended on it as soon as she saw the lady in scrubs! (She knew what was coming!) The poor lab tech. felt so bad and missed the vein on her first try because Sam was stronger than she expected. So, we had to wrap her in a towel and it took three of us to hold her still while she did the blood draw on the other arm. I was almost in tears watching the pain in her eyes. All total SEVEN needles in one day(more like one hour)! She is such a trooper though and was happy that they gave her a coupon for free ice cream at the cafeteria, even though she cried when the nice cafeteria lady tried to give the ice cream to her because she was wearing scrubs. Now this afternoon Mommy has a Dr. appointment but luckily Daddy is coming too! On the positive side she is growing very well! She weighed 20 lbs, 10 oz. and is (get ready for this) 30.5 in. tall! I can't believe that just over a year ago she weighed 7lbs, 13 oz and was exactly ten inches shorter at 20.5 in long!

Still More Birthday Pictures!

I know this is a lot of pictures! I'm posting all of these for our family and friends who couldn't be here to see it! We miss you all!More frosting please!Mmmmm....
My fingers are slippery! Look how far in my ear it goes!At least I'm not licking the same finger that was in my ear!Ouch! Frosting in my eye! I think I'm ready for a bath!
Pictures of the snow we got last week!

More Birthday Pictures!

She really picked up the whole piece!I love this face!
They weren't sure about the pinata until the candy started falling out!
Here Mom have a sucker!

She's giving her new GIANT lion a kiss!

Sam's 1st Birthday!

Wow! Where has the past year gone? I can't believe our baby girl is one already! It seems like just last week we were bringing her home from the hospital! We have been so blessed to have such a great daughter! She has such a big heart already at such a young age. When one of her friends falls down or when she hears a baby cry you can see the genuine concern on her face. She can tell when I'm not having a good day or when I just need a hug and she cuddles right up and gives me a kiss. We have learned so much through her example!

We had a party on Saturday to celebrate her birthday since Thursdays are crazy with Chris' schedule. We had some friends over and the kids got to break a pinata. Samantha loved all of her presents (thank you to all of our family and friends for your thoughtfulness!) and especially loved her cake!

Today was pretty low-key but we made sure she got a special breakfast on our special breakfast plate! Then tonight we went out and got frozen yogurt to take to Daddy while he was studying at school! All in all it has been a very memorable first birthday! We are so grateful for the many ways in which we have been blessed and for the wonderful family and friends we have in our lives!

Yay for presents!Her new journal! Now she has something to color all her pretty pictures in!Pretty new bed set! Its pink! Finally her room looks girly!Not quite sure about the candles!

Yummy! First bite of the frosting! This was only the beginning!

Trick or Treat!

We had such a great time trick or treating! Our apartment complex had their trunk or treat which Samantha loved! She would go to each car and then not want to leave until she realized that the next car had candy too! It was so cute to see her reaction to some of the other costumes. Then we went to TK and Tia's for candy too! Sam didn't like that she had to put the candy in her bag after she got it instead of in her mouth!
Mouthful of licorice! Thanks Aunt Tia!

Yay for candy!

She had to wear her glow necklace from Granny!

Not too sure about this whole costume thing!

More Halloween Party Pictures!

Help! I've fallen and I can't get up!

Sam won this apple and before I knew it she had eaten all the way down to the seeds! Yay for teeth!

Playing with her friends Sadie(the skunk) and Liam(Tin Man).

Look Mom someone smaller than me!

Sam and Sadie!

Carving our pumpkin!

Our ward had a pumpkin carving Halloween Party, it was so much fun! Samanta loved running around in her costume, especially now that she can keep up with some of the othe kids! Our pumpkins turned out pretty cute and we named him Ernie.

Great Service Opportunity!!

I got this idea from my sister-in-law Lisa and I think its great! We are excited to try and get this ready in time! Here is what Lisa's friend wrote...

I have an acquaintance, Kelly, whose husband is stationed in Iraq right now, by a city named Bartolla, a Christian town. Here's what he had to say about the city and it's people (from Kelly's blog).

Really, though, yesterday was the best day of the deployment for me. To have an entire town swarm us thanking us and wanting to chat was incredible. The older women did this really high pitched howl/whistle thing and other people banged drums and were just having a party. It was great. The best part was how I told you that they take care of their own town. No cops or army, just beefed up neighborhood watch. I have no issues fighting to help those people. They know what freedom is and anyone who tries taking it from them is an enemy of mine. I wish I could better explain how it was to be with those people. I got watery eyes walking the street trying to comprehend the huge difference in the people there and the people in Mosul.

Mosul is the neighboring town and things are not going so well there. You may have heard about it in the news. The Christians in Mosul are fleeing for their lives. They have been told that they need to leave or be killed. Once again from Kelly's blog:

As some know, by talking to me or just by watching the news, the Christians in Mosul are in trouble.. On the speakers that surround the Mosques, instead of the regular prayers being recited every 5 hours, now there are warnings to any and all Christians the leave the city or be killed. Tyler went back to the Christian city Bartolla, that neighbors Mosul. The same city he visited a couple of months ago when he was overwhelmed with the feelings of hope, love and gratitude they had for the US soldiers. The city has changed. Drastically. Most Christians from Mosul have now gone there to get away from the persecution and murderers in Mosul. There are multiple families per home, and they're running out of food, clothing, and medical supplies.

Tyler asked Kelly for help and she in turn has asked all of us to help. You can get all the info here and here. But basically it's this:

At any post office, you can ask for Flat Rate Boxes. To send the largest size box, no matter the weight, it's only $10.95. If you can, get a couple of these and just fill it with stuff you don't need at home. Old clothing that your kids have grown out of, unused tooth brushes, unused tooth paste, band aids, canned goods, even seeds for planting, just anything. This would be an incredible way for you to have a family project and have your kids understand how important it is to give.Have them draw pictures- and even stick some colored paper and crayons in the boxes as well.Anything you send will help more than you could ever imagine. If you send a box, 1, 2, 3.. post below. Let's see how many we can get over there.

Please send to:
SPC Tyler E. Adams
C/O Chaplain CPT Pratel
HHC, 1-8 IN BN
UNIT # 43179
APO AE 09334

Please send your packages no later than Saturday, October 25th. With this date, they will have all the boxes by the middle of November and be able to take them to Bartolla and start organizing distribution.

Adorable Little Mouse!

I know I'm spoiling the surprise but I can't help it! Sam is the cutest little mouse!

Seven Random Facts...

I was tagged to post 7 random facts about me that most people don't know, so here we go...

1. I have a fear of heights and I try to hide it.

2. I would love to have twins! Crazy...I know!

3. I miss working outside the home, but wouldn't change being a stay-at-home mom for anything!

4. I love snow and snowboarding, but hate being cold (go figure)!

5. Chris and I also have a dream of opening a bed and breakfast! (I promise I'm not just copying you Lisa!)

6. I have never had a swimming lesson in my life, therefore I'm not a very good swimmer!

7. I can do the Elvis lip thing, but only on one side.

I tag Samantha, Megan, and Julie if you so choose!

Free handbags!

Handbag Planet is giving away free handbags! Go to www.handbagplanet.com for more information!

My Birthday!

Wow, it has taken me a long time to finally post this! Well my birthday was on the 1st. It was really a great day! My husband and daughter never fail to make everything perfect (in my eyes)! Chris got up super early so he would have time to make me breakfast in bed, which Samantha helped me eat, of course! Then I opened my presents, and Chris went to class and work. Sam and I went to a playgroup at our neighbor's house and she played with her friends. Chris brought me stargazer lilies(my favorite flowers) between work and class. For dinner they surprised me with Thai food, cake, and friends! That evening we surprised our families with the news that we are going to have an addition to our family in May! It was great to be able to spend time with my family and friends! I love you all, and I am so grateful to be surrounded by so many wonderful people! The pictures are actually from a ward activity we had a few weeks ago, but they are too cute not to share! Sam and I got flowers painted on our cheeks!

She's So Close!

Sam is so close to walking WITHOUT motivation! She can walk but chooses not too! Here's a video to show what I mean!

My Amazing Family!

I'm a little late posting this. Chris and I shared our 2 yr. anniversary on the 16th. It was a crazy but wonderful day! Chris' company party was the same day and he had a leadership training meeting at church. At first I was a little disappointed because we couldn't do anything too special, but then I realized that we could still have a great day, and we did! The day started with Chris and Sam making me breakfast in bed before Chris had to leave for class and work. Then we spent the afternoon together. That night we went to his company party for awhile before his meeting. When we went to pick him up from his meeting he decided we needed to go to Coldstone for ice cream but I didn't realize that it was because he had ordered us an ice cream cake that said happy anniversary on it! Then on our way home we saw a car accident and stopped to help a 10 yr old boy and his little brother who had been hit but a pickup! They both ended up being okay. It was a crazy ending to a crazy day! As I was lying in bed that night I was thinking about how blessed I am to have such an amazing husband and a beautiful baby girl (who by the way is practically walking)! Heavenly Father has truly blessed me in so many ways and I am so grateful!!

We love summer!

We finally had an excuse to go fishing (even though we didn't catch anything)! Even Sam had fun!
It was a gorgeous day!
Nap time with Uncle Nolan!
Yay! We can finally put pig tails in her hair!! She pulls them out but that's ok!

More pictures!

This elk was way to close for comfort! It was even closer than it looks in the picture! We were waiting for it to get up and start chasing someone that was standing around us in the crowd! Road block!

Mommoth Hot Springs, they were pretty but they smelled horrible! Yay, Sam loves being on Daddy's shoulders!
Nap time with Gramps!

Finally...

Time goes by too fast sometimes and I have not been very good at keeping you all updated! My parents and little brother came to visit for a week at the end of August! It was great to spend some time with them! We got to go see some of the sights in and around Rexburg, including Yellowstone for a couple days. There will be plany of pictures to follow! Chris started school again on the 8th so he is busy, busy, busy again! He is happy to back in classes though. Sam is growing like crazy and trying to walk (she just doesn't have the confidence yet). I am enjoying watching her learn new things everyday!