Love these

My Sister-in-law Kim, took some pictures of our family a few weeks ago. She e-mailed me a copy, and I love my kids and thought once again that I would share her talent with you.

Lost

Yes, I know it has been a LONG time since I've written anything. I have just come to accept the fact that if I am seriously going to wait until I can post a picture (which I can't do since I can't find the card reader), then I'm never going to write anything. Life is going pretty well. We are busy with the Christmas season, as I'm sure most of you are. I finally finished mostly decorating today....I know that December is like half over, but like I said things are busy!!:) Maybe not that busy...okay, I procrastinate.....ALOT. We are hopefully finishing up our Christmas shopping this weekend. I am excited to be able to have that finished up soon. The kids are doing well in school. Mike, is busy as usual with Young Men's, work and constantly serving those in need. I think his moto has become "See a need, fill a need." I promise to post pictures whenever I find our card reader though. I just wanted you all to know that things are going great.

Veteran's Day

Veteran's Day holds a special place in my heart. Since my Dad was in the military as long as I can remember and then my brothers and now my husband has been in for as long as I've known him, it has always been a part of my life. I don't say that as a bad thing either. I am very proud of my soldiers and airman. My Grandpa Stewart served in World War 2 and although he never wanted to talk about it much and has passed on, I still admire him for that too. War is never an easy thing. When the husband ( in my case) is deployed so is the rest of the family. I am so proud of the military men in my life and I just wanted to say "thank you" for all those that have served and continue to serve.

Toothless no more

Our little Zach is growing up so quickly. Lately, we've been going through the stage of waiting for that tooth to come through so we can all be happy again. This morning I felt his gums to see if anything had come through yet, and one finally has! The bottom left one! I hope that he feels better, poor kid has been though the ringer.

10-10-10

Can you belive today is 10-10-10? Or atleast I think it is. All my days run together, so if it really isn't, don't tell me just let me think I'm on top of things for once!!:) Life is pretty crazy around here as usual. Mike finally got back from being away for the past two weeks. I think I'd enjoy it more if it were the kids away for two weeks!! Just kidding, kind of!:) Life is good though. I just wanted to say Happy 10-10-10!

So funny and true

This past September I went to the Time out for Women. It was my first time going, and I went with some ladies from my ward that I love. We had a great time and Hillary Weeks sang. I love her songs. One of them that I really liked that really applied to my life is http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6I8FCgaoaG8
Sorry I'm not very computer savey on linking it up. I tried and couldn't get it to work. So just know I tried and if you want to check it out. It's by Hillary Weeks called "A Few of my Favorite Things."

Almost wordless

Today I am just posting a few pictures. I am not going to really tell about them because mostly, I don't have time right now, but I wanted to add a post and a few pictures of life! I am truely blessed to have such a wonderful family. Through out all the stress, there are some really great times!!:)

Picture less

Picture less is that one word or two? No matter, I am really feeling picture less. I have taken some pictures, but I cannot make into the office to download them. Life has been so crazy, and my house totally shows it. Especially the office. Imagine a mountain between the door and the computer desk and that is our office. I am not going to tackle that on my own. Although I might be ready to just take the stuff and put it out on the sidewalk with a FREE sign. I would if it wasn't expensive stuff. Mike went backpacking with his brothers last week and there is backpacking stuff everywhere mixed with military stuff and craft stuff. I'm not saying it's one persons fault, but it is very unsettling. I can't stand it. So, in the mean time you have to suffer with picture less blogs from me. When I get the rest of the house clean enough that I have time to do the office (hopefully with Mike's help, since the big stuff is his) then you will see some pictures. Even if I have to step over things, I would put pictures on, but I am not willing to HIKE to the computer desk!!:) LOL. Please say at least one of you has the same type of life that I do!! Life is good just overwhelming sometimes. I'd better go work on some of those other rooms and try to give myself a head start. I'll shoot for a pictured blog in 1 week!!

I love these

We blessed Zach on the 4th of July. I'd asked Mike to charge the camera and somehow we still forgot about that. So when our family was up here for the blessing Kim took some pictures for us. I hope she doesn't mind that I am using the pictures from her blog to show you, I just really wanted all of you to see these pictures. What mom doesn't like showing off her kids? So, here they are. Thanks Kim.

Just a bit

Hey everyone,

It's been a while and I thought I would post an update finally. Life is a little crazy right now. This past week I had my Galbladder taken out.....still on the mend from that. I think I'm doing well and so I'll do something and it just puts me one step back. Don't ya just hate that? On the day I had my surgery our dog ran away. Well, one of our dogs ran away. We still haven't seen him and it's almost been a week. So, we still have Smitty our white boxer, but he is pretty lonely. We have been trying to spend alot more time with him. We also recieved a new computer from Mike's boss and so all of my pictures are on the old computer. Hopefully I can get those pictures off sometime soon and post an update with pictures, or if I can ever find my camera I have some fun ones on there as well. We'll see what I can find. Other than all that life is pretty much our normal routine. So, for now this is the post and if I can find my camera I'll update when I'm feeling a little better.

Life

Hey Everyone!! Life is going well and I thought I would post a few pictures as well as a new family picture. The family picture is in the place of the old family picture in case you missed it on the top of our blog. My Brother Hunter is here visiting and having fun I hope so I took a few pictures at the park of the kids together and thought I would post one really quick.

Happy Father's Day

Yes, I know yesterday was fathers day, but I didn't have a chance to sit down and get a post written. So, I still wanted to do it. I just wanted to give a shout out to the fathers and the fathers that surround me. First came my dad. I have been so blessed to have my dad be my dad. He has a fun sense of humor and really helps me to see things clearly, when my emotional side is out of control! (When is it not?) He has taught me patriotism down to the core and I couldn't thank him enough for that. I love him so much. He'd better live forever because I don't know what I'd do without him. So, thanks Dad, Love you!

Since Mike is also a dad I'd better say something about him! He is truely an amazing guy. A wonderful father to our children. He's right there for the t-ball games and the dance recitals (that I don't forget about). He is even an awesome cook! I love him so much and am so grateful for the time he puts in at work to let me stay home with the kids. Love you honey!

Mike's dad, is Ken. He is a really fun grandpa. Cody loves to follow him around. He loves to go boating and spend time with his family. He is very supportive of Mike being in the military. He loves working with computers and is very smart. Happy Father's day Ken.

The little Gang!

I can't find my camera, but I wanted to put in a post that had a picture. So, I went through the pictures on my computer and thought I'd write about one you hadn't seen before. This picture was taken a few weeks ago. This year all of the sister- in-laws (at that current time) have had a baby within the past year. Kind of fun. So, here is a picture of the little gang. Yes, I am the proud mother of four of the grandkids!!

It's getting HECTIC

Lately I've realized more than usual, that this house only has one room that I really am not embarrassed by when people come over. That is the first room when you walk into the house. Since our house is kind of open when you walk into the house then you end up seeing basically 3 rooms right off the bat. I plan on hopefully fixing that a little bit. I went to the D.I. and picked up a few shelves and things that I thought might make this house a little more....a home?! I know it's already a home, but it feels more like a house compared to the style department. I'll give updates when I do something, if I actually like how it turns out. As for now, I have to decide on which project to do first. So many to choose from! I think I'll start with painting a wall or something...not the most fun, but maybe the best option for now. If any of you have fun ideas, send them my way if you think it might be something doable on an easy level!! I almost feel like I'm panicing once again on getting stuff done. I just want this to be my style. I think Mike would be happy with it just staying as it is, but I think he'd be happier when he sees the changes. Hopefully anyway. I am still going to press forward on it, so hopefully it will be great.

Thanks Kim!!!

My sister in law, Kim, came up a few weeks ago and took some pictures of our little "Zack Jack". She put one on her blog and I LOVE it. Since her blog is locked then most of you wouldn't be able to see it, so I thought I'd show it to you. Since Mike never checks our blog I don't have to worry about it ruining a father's day gift. I will write more of an update later, but for now I wanted you to see the awesome picture that she took for me.

The Boys

My one of my sisters just had a baby a week ago today! I went down and saw her and her kids this last weekend. Her little boy is such a cutie. It was the first time she has been able to see Zach as well. So, we both enjoyed holding eachothers baby. They are about the same length and weigh about the same as well. Crazy huh? Zach does have more chunks to him though!! I think it will be awesome having these two boys be close cousins, since they are so close in age. Can't you just see these two getting into trouble together? I sure can, and maybe that is because my kids seem to always find the things that get them into trouble!! I love coming from such a big family and it was so fun having my first baby at the same time (2 1/2 months apart) as my mom and then having my last baby at the same time as my sister. (26 days apart) It was a fun way to start and end having kids!! I just wish I could adjust as easily to life now as I did back when I had McKenna. I'm sure I'll be able to settle in some time soon. Honestly, I'm thinking the sooner the better!!;)

Be Present

I saw this title on a site on how to simplify your life....BE PRESENT. I've heard that before, but I don't think it really hit me on how important this is in my life right now. Life seems to be passing me by so quickly, and as a new mom again, I feel so stressed this time around that I am missing so much of my own life. I think right now I feel like I am barely keeping my head above the surface, but really I should be enjoying these times. I have to remind myself sometimes, that I will never have another newborn again. These times will never be here again. JUST BREATHE. For me right now that is easier said than done. My house seems to have fallen apart, and I seem to be clearly running on half function---I think that is because I am running on half sleep (if I'm lucky!) So, I wanted to just share how important I thought these two words are. Hopefully soon I can feel like I am finally present once again in my own life. As a country song says "You're going to miss this, you're going to want this back. You're going to wish these days hadn't gone by so fast. These are some good times. Take a good look around, you may not know it now, but you're going to miss this."

Almost 2 weeks old now

Yes, I know it's been a while. Really I am just trying to adjust to the new changes around here. Most of the changes have been easier to adjust too, I just forgot sometimes how hard the nights can be, and how hard it can be to get anything done during the day, when someone wants to eat every 1,2, or 3 hours!:) My sister has reminded me a few times that I still haven't posted pictures for her so she can see her new nephew....So, since I love her so much, I thought I really should take the time since time is definately not standing still, and put a post up for her.


We ended up naming him Zachary Cannon Chalmers. Honestly, I didn't think Mike would ever go for a different name for the middle name, but we wanted it to mean something family wise. Since my dad has been in the military for so long and loves cannons I was joking and just spit it out one day, and Mike loves guns- especially big ones, so he liked it. He weighed 7lbs 5oz. when he was born. He was born on April 14,2010 at 8:10 a.m. Our doctor has reasured us that we only had a 3% chance of Zach coming early so I hadn't even packed our bag yet. We weren't due for another week and I thought I had plenty of time to do it. On the morning of the 14th however I woke up at 5:00am to my water breaking. Mike asked if I was okay and I told him I was 99% sure my water just broke. When we got to the hospital they moved all of the schedualed C-sections and put us in the 7:30am spot since the contractions were pretty stong. The doctor informed us the we were smart to make this our last baby as he'd advised before. Zach ended up spending a day in the NICU but everything turned out fine. Now for reality, Zach is hungry, so I'd better get going. Love you all, and I'll post more pictures later.

2 Weeks

So, we only have 2 weeks left until our little boy Zach, should be here. Yeah, we are making it. I still have a to do list that is a mile long....some of it just might have to wait, or never get done. I thought I would clean carpets today because that is a nice and slow project...but it snowed 4 inches last night. No way am I cleaning carpets when I know the kids will track in snow and mud right after. So, today if I get up the motivation it will probably be cleaning out the fridge or the pantry. The fridge is a "must do" within the next 2 weeks. Yesterday I did clean out the microwave which was so bad....so bonus points for me there. Cleaning the office is also on my list. Mostly because I can bearly open the door wide enough for me and my belly to fit through!:) I think it should take a good day of cleaning to get it done. Mike has agreed to help me with it tomarrow. We shall see how far we get. I think the paper work stuff will take the longest....I dread that part the most. I feel like things are coming together in order to have a baby come though. Before I felt pretty stressed out and in pain. The pain is still here, but atleast the emotions have calmed down some. I will blog later about easter and our camping trip (We had to get atleast one in before Zach comes!!)

I finished it!!

Belive it or not, I finished my quilt for Zach. I really like how it turned out for the most part. I thought I would show it off since it took me more time than I thought, although it was pretty easy all in all. I already put it on the bassenett so that hopefully it wouldn't get dirty or lost in all my other sewing projects I think I am going to do before Zach comes.

Honestly, I have added more than sewing projects to my "to do list" before Zach comes. And although our counting down bear says that we have 33 days until Zach comes, it is currently only 26. That is unless I can somehow convince my doctor that I can't take this pain any longer. Mike and I joke that Zach is trying to be an escape artist and his tool of choice is an ice-pick. Today he was sure busy trying to chisle out! Good thing this baby is going to be cute (thanks to the peek from the ultrasound picture). As for now there is not much news to report. Everything is just really wearing me out, and I am hoping that I can take it all in stride..
Pregnancy Tickers from WiddlyTinks.com

Projects

So, I thought I would post a few projects I've done, or been working on in the last little bit. My biggest project is of course my quilt that I posted I'd be doing a few posts ago. It's taken me longer than I thought because my back has decided to go into "Attack Kenna" mode. Thankfully last year we bought a nice sewing desk that folds out so I'm not going to have to bend over so far. Hopefully my back will thank me later. I have only taken a picture of the fabric for the quilt, although I have already sewn strips of fabric together and will start on cutting the other strips today...hopefully. Today I made a wipes case with some of my left over fabric. I think with a little practice I would like it better, but for now I am pretty proud that I did it. I also made some cute candy bars for the people I visit teach last month. I got most of these ideas off of the Sisters Stuff blog. I love how creative they are. Lately, it seems like I have fallen in love with any blog that shows lots of crafty ideas. Not sure where I'm going to find the time to make all this stuff, but I am loving it for the mean time. Today I happened to have 2 boys sick at home with some tough colds, so I found the time for the wipes case!! Also, new news. Dr. Horsley told us that we would be having "Zach Jack" on April 20th. 6 days earlier than I thought, and I am super excited. I just need to finish that quilt. I also made t-shirts for my kids and my sisters kids for the big day when both of our babies will arrive. So, Brina if you are reading this...don't look at those pictures!!;) That is basically all for now that is new with us. I will post more pictures as I take them, but for now you can see my fun projects!

Happy Birthday Mom

I wanted to give a shout out to my mom on her birthday. I know everyone might think their mom is the best, and I am no different. I love my mom to death. I wanted everyone to know that she is so special and that I was so blessed to be born into the family that I am. Treasa, please don't be mad that I borrowed this picture. I looked everywhere and am not sure where Mike moved the pictures on our computer. Anyway, this is my amazing mom in the middle. ABOUT MY MOM: She was born on February 25th (I don't think I should put the year:) ) She has 8 kids, although she probably enjoys at times that only 2 are left at home!! She met my dad when she was 16, got married at 18 and Yes, they are still married! She is so loving. I can't thank her enough for all of the time and love she has always given to me. I'm bummed that I'm not there to celebrate her birthday with her. So, HAPPY BIRTHDAY MOM, YOU ARE THE BEST!!

Will I ever have energy?

So, I am feeling a little more tired lately. I probably should've been expecting it, concidering we only have 60 days left of this pregnancy. But, somehow I still think I can talk myself out of being tired. I still expect myself to be able to push through and pull out on top of everything. No idea why I expect that...but I do. I think my body is starting my really speak up about it now! Nothing major. Just more back pain, killer heartburn, sleepless nights. Basically, whatever it can throw my way without killing me!! Sometimes I think that I need to take a step back though and just breathe. Good luck finding the time though!:) I have started wondering, after I have this baby, will I ever have my energy back, or will it be consumed by more things that need to be done? For some reason having 2 kids didn't seem too different than having one. Then to me, three kids wasn't much harder than having 2. This time I am super nervous about having FOUR kids. I think most of that stems from the fact that Cody is almost 3 and we choose for the most part our own schedual. I LIKE CHOOSING MY OWN SCHEDUAL!!:) I am super excited though to be adding our new addition shortly. I can't wait to see him in person. His kicks have become alot stronger, I Love it! I decided a while ago to make a blanket for him. I have made something for each one of my kids, and figure I'd better get started on his soon before I fall asleep at the sewing machine! A photo of the quilt I'll hopefully be doing is here. http:// www.make-baby-stuff.com/easy-baby-quilt-pattern.html Although I plan on doing different colors. I think it is super cute though, and looks like something I'd be able to do

Funny kid

http://link.brightcove.com/services/player/bcpid1610699488?bctid=31812464001

Check this kid out. He is so funny. I love his facial expressions, and the fact that he actually mouths the words!

2 in one day??!!

My other blog was getting a little long, so I thought I would update you through a new post! For all of you mothers out there potty training...I am reminded once again of what you all are going through. Cody has been so cute through all of this. Last week (Tuesday I think it was), Cody started telling me he needed to go potty. Not that you all want to hear this story..... He's told me before, but usually it was when we would be in a store or somewhere that I hadn't brought in an extra diaper or anything to even give him the chance of trying, because I didn't want to put the old diaper back on if I took it off. So, I kept laughing it off. So, last Tuesday he told me. I figured okay we'll see if he really had an idea of what he is talking about. He was right. I had already decided before all of this started that we weren't going to start potty training until after we'd had Zach. I didn't want that regressing thing that I've heard so much about. After he was right though, I decided to go to the store and get a few things so he would really understand what wet and dry were. Nothing big. Just basically sticking our toe in the water and testing it out. Nope, Cody has basically taken charge of this whole thing and is moving right along. We haven't been perfect at it, but he has been so amazing about all of it. I am so proud of him. We are still working at it and hope to be still doing really well by the end of the month. I figure we are on such a good roll, no need to stop a good thing right? If any of you out there have any fun ideas to keep this fun for him, just drop me a line...It doesn't hurt to have good ideas right?!!

A few pictures

I was going to write and put some recent pictures on here....but as things would have it. Those pictures are on another camera that Mike currently has with him. So you'll have to settle for some old pictures, but still they are pictures that you haven't seen, so that counts for something....right?! When I down loaded my pictures I found pictures from a day the kids and I spent at the park before it became winter. They loved feeding the ducks, and it was just a really fun day. I also found some pictures of when Cody was getting his heart monitored for a few days. Needless to say I think we still might have some issues of his heart not beating correctly, but it's hard to monitor that since he can't say a ton of words yet. He can't really tell me that his heart is beating funny. I also have a few pictures of when McKenna broke her arm last month. I know I told the story already, so I won't really go into that, but the pictures that have her in a cast are on Mike's camera. So, although they are not too recent of pictures, they are still fun to look at.

Joys of expecting Zach

So, I have to keep moving my pregnancy ticker thing....mostly because it helps me have one less thing to track. I can just get on my blog and it already counts down for me on when our next amazingly awesome child will be here!! Seriously, I must be nuts because you know the picture I have on here of our little boys' face? I have that picture on our office and I look at it a LOT. I love this picture. I think it is because it shows a real baby. It doesn't look like an alien, or you can't just kind of tell that it's a baby. There is no mistaking that it is a baby. I know I probably sound a little wierd. Honestly, seeing this picture has helped me bond and be super excited about our soon to be, newest addition to our family. I love seeing a nose, eyes, mouth, chin and even elbows!! I also like that he looks so peaceful. I know there will be nights where I am thinking.....what happened to that peaceful baby in that picture?! As for now though, he is such a good baby!!:) In some ways it has been hard for me to know this is our last baby, but at the same time, I know that I can look forward to just the time spent together without interruptions on when the next one will come. In a way that is nice too. I went to the doctor today and everything looked good. So far, only pregnancy symptoms are getting worse which is good for us!! I am starting to wonder how this little boy (Zach Jack- as our family lovingly calls him, although the Jack part is not staying in the permanent name) plans on getting any bigger, because honestly, I'm not sure there is anymore room in there for him. I know this because I can hardly breathe!:) Life is great though. I am looking forward to all of the surprises and joys of a new baby! I think Cody is super excited to "help out" too. Well, my kids aren't cleaning their rooms like they are supposed to be, so I'd better get going.!

Yes, we are still ALIVE!!!

Hey everyone,

I'm sure you were all wondering if we were still alive. I am happy to report that yes, we are making it, but some of us have come out with a few bumps and bruises. It seems that Cody is the one who always gets bruises around here, and McKenna well...she's come out with a broken arm! Crazy huh? She is our only child to have broken any of her bones. I do feel a little responsible for this one though! When I was younger I used to watch figure skating with my mom, and I LOVED it! So one night I was flipping through the channels and saw it on t.v. and I had to share that with MY daughter. She LOVED it too. The next day she was at school and her and her friends were playing and found some ice and she decided she would be a figure skater. Maybe I forgot to tell her that figure skaters practice for hours and they do it on skating rinks not patches of ice at school. So, I recieved a call from the school to come and get her. Which I did and headed over to Mike's work to see what he thought I should do. He thought it was broken (for some reason he always seems to know), and I took her in and yes, indeed it was. I think she really enjoys the attention she receives from her new found friend named "purple cast"!! Other than that our computer died and we had to get a new one...which is why I haven't updated for a while. I will update when I know how to upload pictures again. Mike and I also celebrated our 8th year anniversary!! GO US!! It seems like we have always been together, yet I am excited about it being 8 years is kind of a long time. That probably doesn't make sense. Oh well. Life is good here, so keep posting everyone so I know that you are all alive too!