Brent's 33rd Birthday!

We celebrated Brent's birthday last week. He turned the big 33 on Thursday the 24th. He loves the fact that I am almost 3 years old than he is, and he and his brother rub it in when they get the chance! I just tell him that whatever he does to me on my birthday, then I have almost 3 years to plan my revenge! Nah, he's always been very loving and thoughtful on my birthdays...

We had dinner at Ruby Tuesday...just so happened that we had a BOGO coupon...you know I love a coupon! We really LOVE their salad bar! It was fun...Harry of course, must announce himself to any public place that we go...with his HIGH PITCHED, EAR PIERCING scream. We are kind of use to it, but I have witnessed him scaring the heck out of some people with his outbursts! There is no warning...just NOISE! It's kind of funny. We can always tell who has children and who doesn't by the reactions we get. Mostly laughs and giggles at what we are going through.




Brent enjoyed his cards and opening his gift. He doesn't like to be the center of attention and may be embarrassed that I am dedicating a blog to his birthday, but he will take it in stride. He is such a humble person and I love that about him. Much different than myself and I try and learn from his example.

We had birthday cake at home that Henry and I made and decorated. We decided that since our daddy is such an awesome daddy that we we would make him our own superhero birthday cake. SuperDaddy! At first Henry wanted to do "Batdaddy", but we decided that black icing might not taste too good. So, we decided to do SuperDaddy! After all, superman could fly!



blowing out candles!!

The boys really enjoyed the fruits of our labor...well the dessert of our labor! Harry just about finished his cake and ice cream and Henry preferred to eat the icing from the cake using a candle as a utensil.

It always fun to celebrate birthdays! We don't get to take an entire day to honor someone that we love and cherish very often. I want our birthdays to be memorable because of the time we spend together on those days, the little things we do to make it special and because for that one day of the year, the birthday honoree gets to be the center of attention! We love you Brent and Happy Birthday!

Apple Picking

We made our first visit of the season to an area apple orchard...Minnesota Harvest. We woke to a cool Saturday morning and our neighborhood decided to head out apple picking. It was a great orchard, filled with tons of apples trees and an abundance of beautiful horses! You could even go on trail rides through the orchards ...seems like a lot of fun!

A very loud green tractor pulled our wagon out to the orchard...the kids loved that. We would stop at one area and pick from those types of trees and then the wagon would come back and get us and we'd head to another kind of apple trees. The kids couldn't pick the apples fast enough. Its so much fun to see their eyes light up when they see a tree just dripping in apples! I remember instances like that as a child...thinking, 'this is it...I've found the greatest thing ever!'

I think we got three different kinds of apples that day. McIntosh, Haralson and I can't seem to remember the third! I made an amazing apple pecan pie with the haralson apples and have enough to make an apple crisp this weekend. YUMMY!!

After the wagon ride and apple picking, we headed to the petting zoo and had a funny time in there. Henry and Harry aren't timid at all when it comes to most animals and loved being that close to the goats, mini horses, a cow and even a donkey. There were some llamas also, but they seemed to shy away this day.

Bought some awesome local honey and headed home for a bbq with the neighbors. It was a really fun day and we made some great memories...I hope its just our first trip of the season. I LOVE the fall!

Interesting Night...

Well, a couple of weeks ago on a Sunday night, Brent and I were just hanging out together after the boys were in bed. All of a sudden, we heard this scared, high pitched scream/cry from upstairs. We knew that it was Henry and thought he must have woken from a nightmare. He was already making his way down the stairs when I got to him. I asked him what was wrong and he could hardly answer me because he was so upset. Then he told me..."I swallowed a coin"..."you what?", I said!!! Again, he told me he swallowed a coin...( I love that he calls money coins...)

Brent and I weren't sure if he really did swallow a coin,or if he did indeed dream that he swallowed a coin. So, we began to ask him questions...are you sure? can you breathe? do you remember what the coin looked like? where did you get the coin? He could answer all of the questions without hestitation, so I knew that he was certain he did swallow one. He said he had his wallet in his bed and was playing with the coins... so I checked...sure enough, there it was.

I immediately was scared silly and so thankful that the coin didn't get stuck in his throat and we not know it...he had been in his bed for a while and we thought he was fast asleep! Thank you GOD for keeping him safe! I have to admit, I thought he was past doing something like that, but I guess I was wrong... he said "I wanted to see what it tasted like.."

So, off to the ER we went. We got there aroumd 9:30pm and sat in the waiting room for about 45 minutes (not too bad). As we checked in, he told the receptionist that he "swallowed a diamond!" He had calmed down by this point..we all had... and was quite talkative and excited to be receiving so much attention! We pulled out examples of coins to see which he swallowed. He pointed to the nickel and called it a freckle...so cute.

We were called back and taken to triage and he cooperated very well. Finally, the doctor came in...he was the 10th person we saw so far (one reason healthcare is so expensive???) and told us we needed an xray to see where the coin was in Henry's body. Henry was so brave! Brent went with him, but still had to stand outside the door. He didn't seem to be scared at all!

The xray came back and it was clear that the freckle...I mean nickel, was already in his bowel!! So, we were ok to go home and to check for the coin to pass. Needless to say, this was not fun. It would not be 'fun' in any circumstance, but during a pregnancy it seems to have another level of ....yak, barf, earl, to go with it!

Five days passed and each day an opportunity to check to see if the coin had passed...which it had not! So, we trecked back to the doctor and had another xray done to see where this infamous coin was! Luckily, we had just missed it....it was long gone!

So, this is one that we'll tell Henry's wife one day. Still when I think about what could've happened, I get chills. I am so thankful that he is ok and that it scared him enough that I don't think he'll be tasting money again. However, we are taking even more precaution to make sure nothing like this happens again. It was pretty scary. I will say though, that both of our families had experiences like this with my brother and brent's sister and they both survived as well. I think it helped to keep us somewhat calm to know that they had done the same thing.

Pretty cool x-ray, huh?

Preggers!

Well, most of you know that we're expecting our third child. We are so excited, but I do have to admit that I am starting to get a little nervous. Our second, Harry is a handful! He is so much fun and cracks us up daily, but boy, does he need attention! He is much less 'content' than Henry was at his age and definitely prefers to be up in the middle of it all! It's so much fun to see the difference in their personalities and know that those differences were designed exactly by God himself! I am exicted to continue to see who God will make them to be as they grow in a relationship with Him. What peace it brings me to know that HE knows the future He has in store for them...to give them hope and a future!

So, we are gearing up to have a tiny baby in the house again, sometime in Janurary. I love new tiny babies...my due date is January 8th based on early ultrasound, but I typically deliever late! So, I am thankful that I feel well most of the time. I have heard horror stories and I have truly been blessed with bareable pregnancies. I love being pregnant. It's probably when I feel most special. I don't think that I'll ever choose to say "this is our last pregnancy"...I can not imagine not feeling a baby kick again. Now, we'll see how I feel after this 3rd one comes! Those of you with 3 or more babies were probably thinking just that!

I am around 22 weeks pregnant and we had our ultrasound about 2 weeks ago. It is always so much fun to do that! We decided that we would not find out the sex of this baby during the ultrasound, which is not what we have done in the past. We couldn't wait to find out with the boys, but this time, something felt differently. Atleast for me. Brent was so funny...he wanted to find out, even trying to talk me into it while the Tech was doing the ultrasound. I am so grateful that he really was ok with waiting...he was just testing me I think! I am a planner and like to have 'all the info' I can, so for me to not know is a big deal!

Because I am 35, the risk of certain chromosomal issues goes up. We chose to have a quad screen done, which checks for certain risks. It really is a test to see "who should be offered an amnioscentesis"...I didn't really realize that and since I wouldn't do that anyway, there really was no need for us to do the quad screen. However, we did have an increased risk for having a baby with Down's Syndrome. The only way to know 'for sure' is to have an amnio...not doing that.

We did have a level 2 ultrasound. I don't know if that's because of our increased risk (from the test) or simply because of my age. That doesn't matter, but it was a really great ultrasound! We got to see so much! Everything looks 'normal' to the doctors, but I already knew that everything would look exactly as it was supposed to look, for my God placed that precious baby there exactly as he or she should be. I am so grateful for the peace that Jesus gave to me concerning this baby. It doesn't matter the 'labels' that could possibly be given to our child, I KNOW that my Father in heaven, knew this baby before He knit him in my womb. He knows every hair on his head and He knows the future that is planned for this baby! I love knowing that because He knows my future and the plans He has for me, for hope and a future, that I can handle anything...because He will be there with me. I rest in His sovereignty on a minute by minute basis.

I can not wait to meet this little one, who will probably end of with an "H" name! Any ideas? I love traditional names...ones with a past. Henry and Harry are both family names, and we will definitely have a family name somewhere...first or middle, but it doesn't matter which! We've been told some doozies....hortense...? I hope they were kidding...ha ha ha.

Well, left you with a 3-d pic of our new addition. Can't wait to tell you more in January!

SALSA RECIPE

One of my favorite things to eat is chips and salsa...I could eat it everyday. In the summer, I LOVE to make my own fresh salsa and pico di gallo, from tomatoes and cilantro that I grow myself. But sometimes, I just don't have the time! So, I have found a way to make any jarred salsa from the grocery taste almost as fresh as right from the garden. You may like it too...it seems to always be a hit when I make it.

So, grab a jar of any salsa. You'll also need cilantro, lime juice and minced garlic. I just add all of the ingredients together in a food processor and push blend. We like A LOT of cilantro, so I add more than some people might. I don't use any set amounts, I just add some of all at first, and then taste it to see what I need more of. The cilantro and lime juice give it the freshness that we love so much. I urge to to make a big batch, because it will go FAST!

Adios!

Happy Anniversary

Happy Anniversary, my love. I am so grateful and honored to call you mine for the past 6 years! You are amazing. You are honest, hardworking, strong, passionate, committed, fun, loving, playful, honorable...I could go on and on! You are such a wonderful husband and as your wife, I feel treasured. As the mother of your children, I am mesmerized by your acts as a father. There is nothing you will not do for me or for our boys. They are so blessed to have such a hands on father who cares about what they do daily. Who wants to be there for them daily. Who would rather be at home with us than anywhere else in the world.

I am not always respectful or the best helper, but I want to be. It is what God has designed me to be. I am not your equal and I do not want to be. I want to be right where God designed me to be...serving you, helping you become the man He created you to be. As I continue to learn more about my design and as God makes me into a Godly wife, I pray that you will be blessed. Thank you for your patience in this area!

We have had an amazing 6 years of marriage...6 moves to 6 different states, two beautiful boys and a life filled to running over with blessings from our God! I praise Him for you and for the strength of our marriage. I pray for protection of our marriage and for many more years to enjoy one another. I am excited to see where He will have us in 10 years....geographically as well as spiritually.

Thank you for loving me in spite of myself! You are a patient man!

I love you with all of my heart and I respect you more than you could EVER EVEN IMAGINE.

Cam

blog comment issues

It seems there have been some issues with leaving comments on my blog. I think I've gotten it figured out. I'm still pretty new at this blogging thing...there are a few things I want to get figured out! Like, how do you post a link to something and make the click-able link say something other than the link?..for instance...click 'here' to see .... You, my seasoned blogger friends are so good at this! Jessica, Amber....how do you do it??!!! So, just thought I'd let you know that I've changed some settings so that you may find it easier to comment now.

While I was at it, I thought I'd post some pics from Easter Sunday at our house. You'll notice Harry's white knee socks. Funny story...I searched high and low for those things. You see, down south, this is what little boys wear...John Johns and white knee socks with black and white saddle oxfords! I mean its just traditional there, and while not all of my friends with little boys do it, I do! I love if for a little while...until they turn 2 or so..

One of the places I looked was a very nice Macy's in a nice shopping area in Minneapolis. I thought for sure they would have these socks! Well, I asked for help from a lady in the children's department. She said "how old?" I said "He's one and I'm looking for white knee socks." Her reply with kind of a 'you're crazy' look on her face was, "Well, no one really dresses like that HERE!" What?!!!! OK, we'll now that you've insulted my taste in dressing my kids, do you have them?? Is what I wanted to say. But I restrained myself, because clearly she was the one who was crazy! Ha ha ha! Macy's did not have them, but as you see, I did finally find something to make do at Marshall's.

I hope you all had a wonderful Christ filled Easter. What He did on that cross wasn't just for everyone else, it was specifically for YOU my dear friends.