The Boyd Family

Birth Story

2014-04-28T15:49:00.001-06:00

The last three months have been kind of a nightmare! A lot has been going on and I am relieved that it is over. I found out that I had placenta previa again at my 20 week ultrasound on December 11, 2013. I had no faith that it would move. From that point started planning for a C-section. But was not excited to have to go through one. I hoped down deep that it would move but knew that I shouldn't plan on it. At 26 weeks I had another ultrasound to confirm that it hadn't moved and it hadn't. My parents had just gotten home from a cruise and my mom was having some health issues we were trying to help her with. Then my dad found out he needed surgery. On March 3 I started bleeding, went to the dr and all seemed to be ok, I was put on "modified" bed rest and told to watch for more bleeding, that it would happen and would probably be worse the next time. That night my husband went to a volleyball game by my request that he get out of the house and do something fun to relieve the stress. It was like we were reliving the nightmare after syd was born. About a half hour after he left I started to hemorrhage. it was about 8:45 and there was so much blood and it wasn't slowing down at all. I called the hospital and they told me to call the doctor on call. I called him and he said that I needed to go in to the hospital to be seen. I called my mom and dad to get a ride to the hospital and someone to be with my kids, then called Andy at the game to have him meet me there. The dr called back after I got off the phone and asked if i was on my way. I explained that I was home alone and was waiting for my ride. He asked if the bleeding had slowed down and I told him no. He said, you are worrying me and I think you need to call an ambulance, now. Terrified I had my mother call an ambulance since they had just arrived at my house. The bleeding had started to slow down a little. I changed my clothes and waited what seemed like forever for the ambulance to get there. I was admitted to the hospital in the women's center and was told that I had to have no bleeding for 24 hours before I could go home. I was there until 3/6. When I got to go home I was on strict bed rest. I had someone at my house 24/7 for the next time I were to start bleeding, which I was told would happen... it was just a matter of when... and again it would be worse. We had the emergency services aware of my situation and ready for it to happen again. My anxiety was through the roof! 3 weeks I felt like I was waiting around for an emergency. I couldn't go anywhere without worrying about it happening again. And because of what happened after syd it felt like I was waiting to die... sounds dramatic, I know. I also had the baby to worry about too. It wasn't just me this time. I started spotting the first monday I was home. Somewhere in there we found out my mother had breast cancer. And needed to have surgery to remove the cancer. SO SCARY! I was an emotional wreck! After 3 weeks of bed rest at one of my very regular appointments I asked when I could be done. My anxiety was getting worse, she said that she was surprised I had made it that long and was feeling more comfortable doing the C-section early and making sure it wasn't an emergency than waiting for the emergency. We agreed. My C-section was the next day at noon. It ended up being a little earlier, Maxx was born at 11:47am. He was 7 lbs 13 oz 21 inches long at 4.5 weeks early!! And I decided that I hate C-sections! They are NO fun! I also hate having a baby in the NICU. His IV kept going bad, the 10 days he was in there, he had 7 total IVs and bruises everywhere! He had a hard time breathing at first, and wouldn't eat. We finally got him eating and were able to bring him home. That was an adjustment too. He was used to it being light all the time and pretty warm too. After a week he started sleeping so good! going somewhere between 5-7 hours between feedings at night. Then he started loosing weight or not gaining enough weight and I started supplementing him. My mom's surgery was scheduled for the 21st. Then my sister went into labor with her baby early too. Her baby was born at almost 37 weeks on April 24th. The next day we found out the the tests they ran on my mom's lumpectomy that the abnormal cells were not cancer after all! So many prayers were answered! Angie's baby is doing good, they named her Reecelyn Rose Madsen. She was 7 lbs 7 oz had a little bit of a hard time remembering to breathe at first. And thinks it takes too much energy to eat. She is so cute though! 2014 has been a little rough for my family, I hope it gets better.

Nursing School

2013-02-02T17:44:00.000-07:00

I am way behind... but I don't have any current pictures. I will one day post pictures of our basement. Not entirely sure when that day will be. But to update on school... it is really hard! I keep getting down on myself for not finishing school before having kids. It would have been so much easier! But one thing I have noticed is that I have a lot more life experience to help me in school. I am doing better now than I ever did before. Our schedule has been nuts! We both have 3 tests each week that have to be done by a certain day, plus assignments, quizzes and reading up to 9 chapters each week. I am trying so hard to keep my head above water with my homework, his homework, our house, laundry and kids. I am actually doing pretty good at juggling it all. I try not to think about it so much. We are 4 weeks in.... 9 tests down... 3 more before thursday & drum roll please.... I have an 86% average on my tests!!! I am so surprised! Even better.... I have A's in my classes!! No way I could be doing this alone! I am so grateful for all the help we are getting! From family, friends and upstairs :)

Family Pics

2012-10-23T09:56:00.000-06:00

I am one lucky girl! Thanks to my uncle Randy for taking such great pictures!

Look Alike?

2012-10-05T10:05:00.002-06:00

So I kinda think that our kids look like us as kids, what do you think?

Melissa at 4

Kyler at 5

Andrew at 2

Aiden at 2

Melissa at 5 months

Sydni at 4 months

Our kids' pictures

2012-10-05T09:30:00.000-06:00

Can't get enough of these kids! I may be partial.... but they are all so dang cute!!

Thank you to Natalie Williams Photography! She did such a good job, I just wish Sydni would have smiled!

4 Months!

2012-09-17T21:21:00.001-06:00

Time is going by way too fast! Sydni is 4 months old & has us all head over heels! The boys love her so much and are always wanting to hug, kiss or even just see her! Tonight they were helping to feed her, her bottle & it was so cute! I am so blessed to have such great kids! Here are some fun facts about miss Sydni:

She is 14 lbs 10 oz.
25 inches long
her head is 16 inches
She wears size 2 diapers
Inbetween sizes 3-6 & 6-9

She absolutely loves her blanket! She won't sleep without one of her fuzzy blankets, and when she is fussy she likes it in her face, with her binkie in her mouth.

She is on Cereal and veggi's now & loves them! She eats so good!

She is sleeping from 7:30-around 7ish,

Nap time isn't scheduled really, she gets fussy and wants to go to sleep, once in the morning and once in the afternoon, occasionally she won't sleep long and will be awake for a little bit and go back to sleep later.

She is loving the jumper and swing she likes to play and put everything in her mouth.

She nurses 3 times a day and 1 bottle before bed.

She loves to play! She is starting to giggle and smiles all the time!

She loves her brothers and smiles at them a lot, but she prefers them at a distance and not really in her face :)

She does not like getting her hair done!

She has been so fun! I love all her fun hair and that I get to do hair now... She has only gone a few days in her little life without bows or her hair being done! I'm so proud of myself for doing so good with that!

She is pretty particular, and not really very patient... but we love her so much!!

Thanks to Natalie Williams for taking these pictures.... I wish my daughter would have smiled....

I love this girl so much!! We didn't get any smiles.... but still SO cute!

Blessing Dress

3 Months old!

2012-08-13T18:23:00.002-06:00

My sweet Sydni Sue is 3 months old! I cannot believe it! I love this cute little girl to pieces!! Some things about sydni

* She weighs 12 lbs 14 oz

* Since her tongue was clipped she SLOBBERS EVERYWHERE!! & blows lots of bubbles in the slobber! :)

* She loves to play and is very smily.

* She loves her brothers... but doesn't love them in her face.

* She Sleeps so good!! Last week she went 12 hours.

* She likes to have a bottle (4oz) at 8 pm, regardless of when she ate last, and go to bed.

* She loves her swing

* She doesn't like you playing with her feet, and has to be in a good mood to be tickled, but is very ticklish.

* She sleeps on her belly

* Nurses every 4 hours

* She HATES whiskery kisses

* She is ok with the jumper for a minute

* She hates having a wet diaper

* She loves her mommy... not a good thing.... and wants me to hold her.

* Size 2 diapers

* Likes her blanket in her face when she is tired

* In size 3-6 clothes... some 6-9 fit

* If I don't do her hair in a piggy tail it goes crazy and stands straight up!

she has been so fun! Its a little crazy at our house with 3 kiddos... but I am trying to love every minute of it! some days are harder than others :)

1 Month Old!!

2012-06-07T21:37:00.000-06:00

My sweet baby is 1 month old!!

A few things about Miss Sydni:

* She LOVES to cuddle
* Nap time needs to be in her bed
* She has SO much hair, she had pig tails this week!
* She is SUCH a good baby!
* She is on an every 4 hours schedule, has gone 5-6 hours at night, but not consistently.
* She HATES when her daddy kisses her cheeks... because of his whiskers.
* She HATES having a dirty diaper. Wants changed immediately
* She Loves to ride in the car, she falls asleep shortly after
* She loves her brothers and is starting to stare at them.
* She is awake a lot more
* Starting to coo and smile a little bit.

Sydni -- 3 Weeks!

2012-05-26T15:30:00.001-06:00

The last three weeks with our little princess has been SO FUN!! She is such a doll and we are so in love! Here are some pictures from the last few weeks!

Too close for comfort

2012-05-24T18:36:00.000-06:00

On Tuesday, May 15, at 1:30am I got up to feed Sydni. While I was nursing her I felt like I was bleeding. I had been bleeding on and off heavily for the previous few days so I didn't worry about it. I finished feeding her got a drink of water and went into the bathroom to check the bleeding. That is when I realized that I was bleeding a lot more than I thought. There were two clots the size of small lemons and I was bleeding very heavily. I knew that I needed to get into the shower to at least clean up the mess. I went to get in and dripped blood all over the floor I knew I was in trouble. I got in as fast as I could but got blood on the wall and on the tub. I started to panic and called for andy. When he walked into the bathroom I started to feel light headed and felt myself start to collapse. I laid on the floor of the shower with a steady flow of blood while I gathered myself enough to stand up. Sydni started to cry and andy left to go get her. Two more clots the size of lemons and several that were smaller. After 20 minutes and the blood wasn't stopping I hollered at andy to get my phone so I could call the hospital. When I told them what was going on they told me I needed to go to the ER. We took Syd to JaNae, downstairs & explained what was going on and left for the ER. On the way I bled through the new pad I put on, my garments, my pants and the sweatshirt I was sitting on. We got checked into the ER, at about 3am, they had a room for me, but no bed. I sat on a towel in a chair while we waited for a bed. We then waited what seemed like forever before a doctor came into see me. When he did, he put a speculum in with a light and tried to suction the blood out. He pushed on my abdomen feeling my uterus and tried to push blood out? Is all I could think he was doing. It hurt so bad that I couldn't hold back the tears. At 4:30 they told me that I was going to have to have surgery, but never explained what kind of surgery. They needed to get ahold of the OB that was on call, which just happened to be Dr. Robison. I was then taken to ultrasound. The tech told me that there was a lot of gunk inside my uterus causing the bleeding. When I got back they told me my surgery was scheduled for 6:30 and they were going to move me to the 3rd floor to wait. When I got to the 3rd floor they told me my surgery was moved up to 6 and they were going to be on their way to prep me soon. I had barely gotten checked into my room when surgery came to get me. Outside the operating room Dr. Robison came to talk to me said the procedure would only take 15 minutes and they showed Andy to the waiting room. An hour later Dr. Robison went to talk to Andy and told him I lost a lot of blood that there was a "satellite placenta" in my uterus that had caused the hemorrhaging. (they think I had more than one baby at one point early on). They had to suction it all out, have ultrasound check to make sure he had gotten it all and then my uterus didn't want to contract back down and they needed to give me 3 medications to get it to contract. I was very out of it when I got back to my room. I remember hearing voices but don't remember seeing anyone. Andy & my grandpa gardner gave me a blessing. At lunch time I ate a good amount of my food and started to feel better. My grandparents came back to check on me and brought me a strawberry shake. I was feeling good! I told the nurse I needed to get up to the bathroom. I was doing really good, except my blood pressure, it was really low, I think the lowest reading was 65/34. Andy went to grab lunch. When sitting in the bathroom I started feeling nauseous and shortly after started to throw up. Mom went to grab the nurse when I started to feel light headed & very dizzy. Andy got back and was holding me up on one side and mom on the other keeping me from falling. Mom, Andy and the nurse tried to help me back to the bed, as soon as I stood up Andy said that my eyes rolled back and I went stiff, Mom said that all the color drained from my face and I went a scary grey color, I was unconscious. The nurse ran to get more people to help. The charge nurse did a sternum rum to get me to wake up. I don't remember any of it! They had 2 male nurses, my nurse and the charge, plus mom and andy trying to help me back to bed. At that point my nurse called the doctor to see if I needed to have a blood transfusion. At that point it was decided that I needed blood...I got 2 liters of blood, it took 6 hours to transfuse. The doctor told me that after I got the blood if I could get up and walk the halls without getting sick, dizzy or passing out again that I could go home. I was determined to get out of that place! I ate as good as I could, and waited patiently for the blood to finish. When I got up to walk I was in quite a bit of pain, but was determined to walk! I never felt sick or dizzy & I wanted to go home! It was 10 O'clock pm. The nurse came and asked how I was doing and if I wanted to go home, she started getting all the paperwork ready. I was out of there by 10:30. The next 4 days were, for lack of a better word, HELL! I was so sick, VERY weak & so exhausted. I could barely get dressed without feeling like I had run 100 miles! My family came to my rescue. They took the kids, helped me clean my house, made meals for us and made sure that I was never alone. On Saturday I finally started to have a little energy, but the smallest of tasks would wear me out. It was Monday before I started to feel somewhat normal.

Through is whole experience I learned that I am not ready to go. I had thoughts too many times about leaving my kids without a mom and my dear husband alone to raise my babies. I know that I was never that close to actually dying, but it was close enough for me. I was terrified to think about all the possibilities that could have gone wrong, and there were a lot. I'm just grateful for the priesthood and knowing that everything worked out.

Sydni Sue-- Birth story & picture overload!

2012-05-11T10:21:00.000-06:00

On Thursday night May 3rd we went to the hospital, hoping it was the night! My contractions were 3 minutes apart for 1 1/2 hours then sped up to every 2 minutes for another 1 1/2 hours before we went in at 10pm. However when we got there they slowed down. I did dilate from a 4 to a 5 but didn't thin out enough, they sent us home at 7 the next morning. :( They told me if the contractions picked up intensity to come back. I had contractions the whole next day, not consistently and were like they had been the following day. Getting very nervous about doing more than I thought I scheduled an appt with dr. Steve Robison, just to make sure that I wasn't in labor. He checked me out and said that I was in early labor still at a 5 and only 50%. I told him about my worries and how my labors are fast. He stripped my membranes again and told me when my contractions picked up intensity to go to the hospital and he would start me. Relieved I left the office and went to my moms and walked up and down the road a few times. After feeling like my contractions were sortof picking up I went home to wait. We decided to go back in about 9 O'clock afraid they were going to turn me away again. Dr Robison told the nurse to admit me and he would help me out. At 10:30 he came in and broke my water. I was at a 6 but still not thinning. Her head was not engaged. I got the epidural at 11. At 11:30 I was at a 7 and 85%. At 12:30 I was at an 8 and 95%. At 1am I felt pressure and called the nurse, I was ready to go! As soon as Dr. Robison came in I pushed through 2 contractions total of 5 times. The cord was around her neck. As soon as the shoulders cleared a WHOLE bunch of amniotic fluid came out! Almost soaked the doctor and nurse! Sydni Sue was born at 1:14 am. 9 lbs 1 oz and 21.5 inches long. Her head was 14 inches!! Bigger than both of the boys! She cried a little as soon as she came out and they worked on the cord. As soon as they had her under the heat lamp she stopped crying and was content! Barely cried the rest of the night, unless getting poked by a needle! She LOVED the bath.

She slept the whole next day, not even really waking up to eat. You are one loved little girl, Sydni! We are so grateful for you in our lives! You have been such a joy already!! Your brothers love you so much too, maybe too much!

Nursery Pictures

2012-05-02T10:42:00.000-06:00

I have been slowly getting this nursery ready, and have been having so much fun! Here are some pictures! I got nursery set for Christmas and have gotten all the clothes from my sister. I finally feel ready! I finished this morning and can't wait to meet this little girl!

Our little monkey :)

We decided on Sydni Sue for her name

Crib is ready to go

My small collection of bows

Closet

Lots of Clothes

and even more clothes... don't look in the drawers... you'll find more! She had more clothes than I do!

Andy's snowmobiling trip in Palisades

2012-03-30T17:20:00.000-06:00

29 weeks and counting!!!

2012-02-29T14:11:00.000-07:00

I am nesting so much these days!! I feel like I am going CRAZY! However this pregnancy has been a breeze compared to the other two. I have been way more sore this time and very uncomfortable. I have actually been going to the physical therapist and have now been finally able to sleep at night without constant pain, which has been fabulous! I love feeling all the movements and she moves SO MUCH! I am so excited to dress this little girl up and I am so curious what she will look like! My family is all voting that she is going to be a red head, Andy is not excited about that idea and doesn't think so, but we'll see. I just can't wait to meet her!

29 weeks

First visit to the ER

2012-02-27T08:40:00.000-07:00

Being a good patient

Bandaged up

Getting a little impatient

OUCH!!!

Getting stitched up!

He negotiated popsicles after getting stitched up

The day after

Waiting for the Dr

Kyler fell at my mom and dad's house last night and ended up with 8 stitches! He'll have a nice battle scar! He did so good at the hospital, the drs and nurses called him Patient of the day!

Baby Bump!!

2012-01-18T16:35:00.000-07:00

18 weeks

21 Weeks

Feeling great! This pregnancy has been a breeze compared to the other two! So glad that I am feeling good!! Not comfortable.... but good! :)

Its a.....

2012-01-03T16:55:00.002-07:00

On Thursday the 22 we went in for my 19 week (cuz I'm inpatient) appointment. Andy and I had discussed that it was going to be really hard for me to not know what I am having and trying to prepare for a baby... I just didn't want to be stressed out for the next 4 months! I told him that I thought it would be really cool to find out when the baby was born... I just couldn't see how to get from here to there without stress. He agreed and said that it would be nice to know for picking out names so we decided that we would have the tech right the gender of the baby in a sealed envelope and open the envelope on christmas day. I was so excited to do that... what a christmas present! My sister and cousin were both going with us and didn't know that is what we decided. Well as soon as we walked in I handed the card to the tech and said... "we would like you to write down the gender, we don't want to know." So the ultrasound started. She had shown us a profile picture and her face, the heart before she started organs and measuring the head she said, I am going to measure the femur. I looked at the screen and there for the whole world to see.... A GIRL!! I knew!! I GASPED and Angie (my sister) did too. i didn't say anything. When the tech got to finding out the gender she said... ok close your eyes or something... turn your heads. I wanted to make sure I was right so I didn't turn my head! Not knowing what was going on in Andy's head the same thing had happened to him and he wanted to make sure too... so he didn't turn his head! lol. The tech took a couple pictures with an arrow pointing to what I had seen... and I knew again! Angie realized... "HEY neither one of you have your heads turned or eyes closed!" and turned to look too... the tech then looked at us and said... "you guys are cheaters, did you see?" I smiled and said... I had already seen and just wanted to make sure I was right... IT'S A GIRL!!! She said... yep you are right and laughed!! Anyway... WE ARE SO EXCITED!!!!!! I'm a little nervous for her to have 2 older brothers who are going to pick on her mercilessly! But I can't wait to see what she looks like! I got bedding for her new room and we have already moved the boys out of that room. I am now trying to figure out what color I am going to paint.... do I go pink or not?? I want to spice the room up because it has been SO boring. We'll see what happens. So excited!! We got a whole bunch of fun pictures. Here are her tiny toes :)

Christmas 2011

2011-12-18T12:56:00.000-07:00

This year has gone by so fast! It has caught me off guard that Christmas is here already!! We are all so excited to celebrate the Christmas season this year! To do a quick update on our family this past year here it goes:

Andy is working at the Good Samaritan Village as a full-time CNA and is LOVING it! He is such a hard worker and is so pleasant to be around that everyone at work loves working with him. He comes home talking about employees at work and new people he met and funny stories from the night. He works Friday thru Monday from 2pm to 10pm. He loves that shift. He loves being a Sunbeam teacher and doesn't ever want to be released!! He enjoys spending time with his family and playing games. He is such a good dad and the boys love to play with him and wrestle! He will be waiting until the next applications are due, he is applying here and Cheyanne, WY and possibly a few programs in Phoenix, AZ. We are unsure of how things are going to go with applications here. We are HOPING he gets in and we can stay!

I am SO glad that my classes are over and I can finally be home with my kids all week! It wasn't too bad and I got A's in both classes!! :) However they told me that the only way that I will get accepted into the program is if I got a full time job as a CNA to get some hours. Not planning on doing that anytime in the future... so It might be awhile before I get in. :) Which is ok with me... I am more worried about andy getting done than me getting done with school. I have been feeling GREAT! I am so glad that this pregnancy has been relatively mild compared to the boys. If I wouldn't of had that dang cold I probably wouldn't have been sick at all!! We are still planning on not finding out the sex of the baby, which will be fine.... I guess. I am giving up fighting :) lol. This is something Andy is dead set on and there is NO changing his mind... believe me I have tried!! lol. I love being a stay at home mom, even though some days I want to pull my hair out! lol.

Kyler is an energetic little boy! He loves playing with friends and his little brother... even though they fight most of the time they are playing. He has been going to BHS preschool and has LOVED every minute of it! He loves primary too! He is such a good boy and so tender hearted. He acts a little too much like his mommy some days :). We love him so much and can't imagine life without him!

Aiden has become quite the little stinker... and bully! He very much enjoys beating up his older brother. He has things figured out! He has already started telling fibs and I can't believe it! He is a VERY busy little boy and keeps me on my toes. He is also very much a follower and will do whatever Ky tells him to do.... even when he knows he will get into trouble. He is a very snuggly little boy and loves to be held when he wakes up from naps and in the morning. He loves to climb into mom and dad's bed in the morning and cuddle with us. It gets a little annoying having a little person in our bed every morning but can't complain about the cuddle time! He is very independent and wants to do everything Ky can do. He adds so much to our family... and we love him so much!

We are going to be adding another little person to our family the middle of May and are so excited. I am crossing my fingers for a little girl... I seriously need some pink in my life :), but will be so happy and grateful for a happy healthy baby.

This Christmas season has been such a great one for our family. We have been able to spend so much time with family who live far away, if only he could spend time with all of them! We are so grateful for our amazing ward and such great neighbors, people who care about others and are so giving to those around them. From the bottom of my heart Thank you!

I sincerely hope that all who read my blog have a very Merry Christmas! And keep the ultimate gift at the center of your holiday!

With all our love,
The Boyd Family

Thanksgiving 2011!!

2011-11-30T10:53:00.001-07:00

We had a fabulous Thanksgiving, spent surrounded by family. Half of Andy's family were in Virginia with his Sister so this year Thanksgiving was spent with my family. I saw cousins I haven't seen in years! It was so great! And I didn't take ANY pictures :( Boo! I have lost my brain!

We have so many things to be thankful for! Just to name a few: Our beautiful home, our amazing little boys who are so loving and love to fight (lol). I am so thankful for the new life we are going to be adding to our family. I am grateful for my AMAZING husband who is willing to do whatever it takes to support our family! He works so hard to get good grades and be here for me and the kids too. He is my best friend and is such a good man! I love you so much honey! I am grateful for this country and the freedoms we have. For the gospel in my life and all it means to me and my family. For a Temple marriage and the chance to be with my family for eternity! I am grateful for our extended family and all they do for us! For good friends! We are so blessed!

HIRED... We are so blessed!

2011-11-15T13:30:00.002-07:00

I am not sure why I have been putting off this post... but we are excited to say that Andy found a job! Not exactly the one he wanted... but no time to be picky! He will be working evenings at Good Samaritan Village. He did his CNA clinicals there and actually enjoyed it. We are not sure when the unemployment will end, but assuming in the next couple of weeks. He has started orientation and will be doing his training in the next week ish. We are so excited that he found something so fast!! It will help him to get more points when he applies to the program again in March. We have also been looking into other programs... out of state.... I know... NOT EXCITED! We are really hoping that this next time around he will be accepted.

As far as my pregnancy... I am 14 weeks and doing great!! If I could finish getting rid of this darn cold I would be much better. I have placenta previa, which means that my placenta is covering the birth canal and if it doesn't move by 20 weeks I will have to have a C-Section. I have had a lot of bleeding associated with the previa, which makes us a little worried. I am not so excited about the c-section thing, but I am so glad that the baby and myself are ok. We have also decided that we are not finding out the sex of the baby. I am really nervous about that and not really excited.... I like to be prepared way before the baby is born. But if we are ever going to not find out... this would be the time, my sister is done having kids and gave us all her baby girl stuff... we are well prepared for both!

I am so excited for another little life added to our family. This has been quite the stressful time for us, not the best timing but he/she must need to be here now for a reason. I struggled with this actually quite a bit at first, Andy has been so excited the whole time, he is so good about this stuff. When we get a prompting about something he is all for it day one! I on the other hand question, doubt and make up as many excuses as possible, I also went through a time where I was sure I wouldn't be able to get pregnant and hoped that was true (how sad is that? My poor sisters struggle with being able to get pregnant and here I was wishing for it... oh ye of little faith!). During conference Elder Anderson gave an amazing talk on families that hit me pretty hard. His main point was "that there is no shame in a couple having to scrimp and save. It is generally during these challenging times that you will grow closer together as you learn to sacrifice and to make difficult decisions." What hit me the most was "Where is your faith?" I knew it was coming, I knew that was what we were supposed to be doing & I knew it was not what I wanted. Where was my faith? Now that this little life is growing inside me I have been better. I am getting more and more excited, and more and more nervous and anxious about how to make it all work.

In the past year and a half Andy and I have grown so much closer together, we have not had near the stress of money, and have had MUCH less than before. We have been so blessed and I am so grateful to the Lord. It has been a hard year. Making really hard decisions and trying to be faithful. I am so grateful for my beautiful little boys who keep me on my toes.... ALL THE TIME! They are such a joy and blessing to us. I want to thank everyone who has been there for us, helped with our kids while I took classes and for the prayers said on our behalf. Thank you!

BUMMED!!

2011-10-29T15:40:00.000-06:00

So we found out this week that Andy did not get into the LPN program. It was something we were expecting but hoping for a miracle. So... trying to figure out plan B. If he would have gotten in, it would have been the easy road. Since when do you get the easy road... right? So he re-applies in March and we have until then to increase his points, so he is trying to find a CNA job. If he gets in then he will have to be working full time while attending school since the baby is due right around the time he starts school again. Unemployment will run out as soon as this semester is over. Trying my hardest to find the positives!!

Family Pictures.... HELP I can't decide!

2011-10-21T13:18:00.001-06:00

Thanks to Natalie Williams for taking these pictures! I love them.... just can't decide which ones I like better... lol! Check out her blog at nataliewilliamsphotography.blogspot.com

Homecoming Queen

2011-10-12T12:00:00.001-06:00

My gorgeous cousin Shannon Simmons was nominated for Homecoming Queen... and she asked Kyler to Escort her. He LOVED it and was so excited to see Shanny the princess :)

We borrowed a suit from Ashlee Olsen and Shannon got him some Sunglasses. He loved everyone cheering for him and shanny :)

All Dressed up and ready to go!!

Being crowned

And she WON!! So that night we got to go to the Homecoming game where Shanny, the Homecoming king and Kyler rode in a Camero around the field. When they got back all Ky said was " I wanna go again!"

Getting back from the ride. After that he was glued to Shanny's side. He didn't want to leave her!

He had so much fun and loved every minute... I may be biased but he was ADORABLE too!!

Update

2011-10-08T17:04:00.001-06:00

It feels like forever ago since I updated my blog on us. Life has been slightly crazy... I decided to go back and take a few more classes at EITC to finish pre-req classes for the LPN program. I only need 2!

Andy is finishing up his last 12 credits for the LPN program as well. We have the 2 classes I need together, that has been interesting. lol. Seeing him in a classroom setting has been kinda funny. He is the type that sits in the back corner leans up against the back wall and never looks at the book.... yet he answers all the questions right and is a little smarty pants. lol. He has helped me A LOT in our math class, I probably lean on him more than I should. He is doing so well in his other classes too.

Kyler starts pre-school at the High School in a few weeks. This semester and next. He is SUPER excited that he gets to go to the BIG school!! He has been so funny the last few months. JaNae told him that if he eats all his dinner and stays in his bed ALL night then he will grow to be big like Daddy. He has taken that to heart and has been eating so much better and sleeping much better. He has been telling us since about February that he wants a baby girl. He was telling us a lot! Two weeks ago he walked up to my aunt without even saying hi and said "my mommy has a baby in her tummy"! So the secret was out. Yes, I do! Andy says that we are not going to be finding out what the sex of the baby is. Not sure if I can do that. Might stress me out the whole time, but we'll see if it happens. :) Kyler is so excited!! We went and had an ultrasound yesterday and all is well. We saw the heartbeat... and only one baby! For the past few weeks andy has been convincing me that we were having twins. But sorry babe... only one! We are really excited, not really the best timing, but hoping all works out in the end.

Aiden has gotten to be a little bit of a bully. He beats Kyler up a lot, most every day. He loves him though. Since they started sharing a room he wants kyler in his room when he goes to sleep or it is "scary" (learned that word from ky). He talks so much and repeats EVERYTHING said around him. He loves to play and is very cuddly still. But can be quite the little stinker! He LOVES nursery.

We are doing great!

Happy Birthday Ky!!

2011-10-04T13:17:00.002-06:00

Kyler turned 4 a couple weeks ago! I can't believe he is 4 years old. Its crazy to me! He is such a good little boy & we love him so much! He has gotten so funny and the things he comes up with just crack me up!