The sweet thing my girls did this morning.

Sooo cute. My kids have turned into the best helpers. This

morning Matt is yelling from our bathroom that he needs a towel to dry off.

Meanwhile all the towels were clean in the dryer in the basement. He sent Ellie down there with the instruction to just grab him one and leave the rest. Well, Emma heard and volunteered to help her sister and about 15 minutes later they came upstairs with 2 laundry baskets full of folded (very neatly I might add) towels and then proceeded to put them all away. I'm sure Matt had "drip dryed" by the time he got his towel but who could be upset after what they did. I sure love it when my kids surprise me doing things like that.

Finally...pictures and a kid post!

Okay so I'm finally getting around to posting about something other than the baby. It's taken a couple of months but we finally have a couple pictures to post. Our family scrapbook for the Winter of 2011 is not going to have any pictures since I was on bed rest. Oh well.

Moving on, the first couple of pictures are from Emma's 9th Birthday dinner at Red Robin. Matt was brave and went solo with the kids and Emma's good friend Mackenzie. He got some really cute shots. They all had a blast...and in spite of having 4 kids with him he actually enjoyed himself. He's the best Dad ever. Our kids are especially lucky.

Here's our 4yr. old throwing all manners out the window and using her hands to slurp her spaghetti. Hmmm....do you think Mom is missing?
Oh to be 9 years old and carefree.
Yeah! Grandma Eccles came to town at the beginning of March. She was able to go into Brady's classroom for his "Poetry Coffeehouse" and Reader's theatre performances. It was a special treat for both of them.

The last couple pictures are all about Fat Tuesday. I really LOVE the holidays and learning all about them. So, when Brady had to make a Mardi Gras float for school out of geometric shapes I thought it would be a good opportunity for us to learn the history of the holiday. So, we had a bit of a cultural FHE and then enjoyed King Cake for a treat. Our local bakery made them and since they were safe for Emma we indulged. It was a lot of fun. Ellie (our baby) got the piece with the baby so she was king for a day at our house...meaning she got out of her chores the next day. Next year, we're going to do it again. Fun for all ages.

Baby Update

I figured it was about time I gave a baby update. We just received several test results so I figured I'd copy my brief Facebook posts into a blog entry.

(Monday) The doctor just called and said that all three of my cultures came back positive...however they aren't the "raging" infections as they've been in the past so it's still encouraging that things are looking a bit better. More tests and more results to come Thursday.

(Yesterday at my appointment) Okay so the ultrasound showed that the fluid is increasing around both of Carson's kidneys to the "dangerous" level so it's back to the Perinatologist for a second opinion and another ultrasound on a higher quality machine. I will get the rest of the test results tomorrow. Thanks for all the positive thoughts.

(Last night) Darn...do you think that the reason I keep getting positive test results is become I'm trying so hard to have a positive attitude? Anyway, the doctor called and said my Fetal Fibronectin test came back positive. This means that my already high chances of going into preterm labor have significantly increased by 30% of actually having this baby within the next 14 days. Sometimes women get false positives, but since me and my doctors office took all the necessary precautions to avoid this, it is believed to be more accurate in my case. The best thing I can come up with is that this little boy is really anxious to meet his mama. Oh yeah...and so the strict bed rest and the drugs continue.

I was blessed last night with a short reprieve to my Relief Society Birthday dinner. Yes, I was highly drugged and yes I laid on one of the foyer couches that was moved to the entrance of the gym so I could be a part of things, but it was all still wonderful. For the first couple of minutes I was there, I was a little embarrassed and worried that all the sisters would think..."what is she doing here...why are we doing all these things to help her if she's able to be here tonight?" I have to say that those feelings were quickly replaced with feelings of love and concern...not judgement. I haven't been able to have any social contact with these wonderful ladies since January and it was exactly what I needed to give me that little boost to happily stay on bed rest. I found it interesting that my doctor called with the positive test results during the RS dinner. If I would have been at home all alone on my couch when I received that discouraging news, I would have started crying and probably become somewhat depressed. However, my experience was totally the opposite. I feel so strengthened by the love I received last night that I know I can handle whatever the Lord has in store for me. Thank you to all who were there. Thanks for lifting my spirits and giving me the strength I need to carry on. I love you all.

Brady Eagar Highlight Reel

Football is King in this house. Brady loves to practice his diving catches onto his bed (We will start with soft landings and work our way to hard landings). Hope you enjoy the video.