The Shannon's

34 weeks

2012-01-26T20:11:00.000-07:00

Today I am 34 weeks pregnant. I praise God that this pregnancy has been so easy and complication free! Molly will be here in just a short time now, we are so ready to meet her!

2012-01-20T21:01:00.000-07:00

I know I haven't posted in a while. We were so busy during the holidays with traveling and everything that comes with the holidays and we are finally getting back to the swing of things when it comes to our normal routine. We had a lot of fun visiting out family in NC and seeing some old friends.

This is Sophie Christmas morning at our house.

Sophie with all her cousins in NC.

Sophie with her nana (Travis' mom) and her aunt Tonya.

My family gave me a baby shower while we were there too, that was a lot of fun :).

I can't believe that yesterday I was 33 weeks pregnant. Molly is going to be here so soon and we are all very excited for her arrival.

2012-01-20T20:45:00.000-07:00

Today we have been married 5 years :)

Funny Little Girl

2011-12-09T15:59:00.000-07:00

So for this story, you need a couple points of reference. First of all, we talk about the hospital sometimes with Sophie, just how we will go there to have baby Molly and people also go there when they're sick. Secondly, you need to know that my doctor is Dr. Parker and Sophie has been with us to see him a couple of times during this pregnancy.

Okay, so now for the funny thing she said today. Sophie hit her head when she got in the car today, she then proceeded to tell us that she needed to go to the hospital and that Dr. Parker would make her feel better. Haha, it was so funny, well at least we thought it was!!!

Christmas Time is Here

2011-12-06T15:52:00.001-07:00

We have been trying to come up fun things to do, in the evenings especially, with Sophie. The night we decorated our Christmas tree, Travis wanted us to dress up in our Christmas best, ha!

Then one day, Sophie made some Christmas crafts. She had a lot of fun with these.

Another night, Sophie wanted to dress up as a princess, so Travis dressed up as her prince and they had a dance in the living room. Our girls are lucky to have such a great daddy!

We've made gingerbread houses a couple of times.

We went to our Christmas parade, it was only 17 degrees, but we had fun!

Sophie and Travis dressed up as super heros another night.

We've had a lot of fun. Some nights we make hot chocolate or apple cider and watch a Christmas movie. Other nights we go riding around town to look at Christmas lights. This has to be one of Sophie's favorite activities. She always says, "look mama," or "oh goodness." It's cute!

This is Sophie after church on Sunday.

Snow Day

2011-11-19T15:07:00.001-07:00

We had so much fun playing in the snow today. We weren't able to build a snowman today, the snow was just too powdery, but we had fun anyways!

We even made snow cream!

Thursday's Beautiful Sunset

2011-11-19T14:58:00.000-07:00

2011-11-17T14:23:00.000-07:00

On Tuesday night, we helped Travis with something for youth group, Sophie was excited to paint.

Today, I took Sophie to the library for story hour and she got to make a turkey "hat." She had to best time there today and did so well participating.

Homemade Christmas Ornaments

2011-11-11T15:24:00.001-07:00

I'm excited to try some of these homemade Christmas ornaments. I like this one and a lot more on the Martha Stewart website: http://www.marthastewart.com

23 weeks

2011-11-09T14:13:00.000-07:00

I will be 23 weeks pregnant tomorrow. Little Molly Lin will be here before we know it! Sophie talks of her little sister often and is so excited. She already asks if she can take a bubble bath with her, it's so cute!

Cold Day Fun

2011-11-09T14:10:00.001-07:00

A while back, our friend Lori gave Sophie this felt activity book and I pulled it out for the first time today. Sophie absolutely loved playing with it and creating different animals and faces.

I also let her draw with markers and have stickers. We had a lot of fun!

Travis' Ordination

2011-11-09T14:03:00.000-07:00

Last night Travis was ordained in our denomination after completing 3 years of Master's work. I am so proud of him and his accomplishments and so thankful that God has allowed him this opportunity. We are so blessed here in Gillette with such an amazing church family and we are so thankful for those who came out last night to show their support for Travis.

Time Change and Christmas Trees

2011-11-08T15:43:00.001-07:00

One may ask what these two things have in common, time change and Christmas trees, well they have a lot in common if you have a two year old who wasn't made aware of said time change and still got up at what would be a reasonable time if it was before we fell back an hour! With all that said, Sunday and Monday Sophie woke up early, for her, so we had a lot more time in the morning than usual to do things. We filled our morning with reading, playing, snacks and a little TV and by that time, it was only around 10. So I might be crazy, but I decided to let Sophie put up her Christmas tree to have something fun to do. She has been talking about it since right after Halloween, so I put on some Christmas music and we had the best time decorating. Now I cannot wait to do the rest of the house. She loves her tree and had such a great time decorating it. On a side note, I let Sophie stay up later last night and I am happy to report, she got up at a more normal time for her this morning!

That's a 4 foot tree people, notice how tall our child is!!!

The finished product, Sophie loves to see it all lit up.

Halloween

2011-11-03T20:01:00.000-06:00

We had such a fun time this year at Halloween, Sophie is at such a fun age. Sophie liked carving pumpkins, but when I first put a knife in her pumpkin she freaked out! After she realized what we were going to do, put a happy face on it, she was fine and even helped clean out the pumpkin for baby Molly.

Our finished products.

Sophie was so excited to go trick or treating. We attended the trunk or treat our church put on. Travis participated in this, so Sophie and I went there first. After she made one round, she wanted to go again! We stayed for a while to hang out with daddy and then I took Sophie to a few houses of people from our church until Travis was done. When Travis was done, we headed over to another churches trunk or treat. Sophie loved trick or treating so much that she asked the next morning if she could go trick or treating again that day!

Story Hour

2011-10-13T14:40:00.000-06:00

Today I started taking Sophie back to the library for story hour since it is getting cooler out. They had firefighters there for a special guest, but they freaked Sophie out and we had to go look at books and movies during that time. After they left she was much better, but she kept saying, "I was scared of the firefighters." At the end, she got to make a firemen's hat and we ended up having a good time at story hour.

Trick or Treat

2011-10-10T18:52:00.000-06:00

We were just going to dress Sophie up as a cheerleader this year for Halloween, since she already has a cheerleading outfit, but she kept saying she wanted to be a princess. I went online to look for costumes/ideas and decided to make a costume for her since costumes can get pretty pricey.

Below is a costume that I used for inspiration when creating Sophie's. I found it on the Family Fun website.

Below is a picture of Sophie in my creation of a princess costume. She loves it and it was so cute to see her dancing around in it! She was ready to go trick-or-treating tonight!

Baby Girl #2

2011-10-06T15:04:00.000-06:00

We cannot believe we have been blessed with another healthy baby girl! She'll be here before we know it too. We are all so excited and Sophie is going to be such a great big sister. Two girls, we can't believe it!

Spearfish Canyon

2011-10-04T08:39:00.000-06:00

Last Thursday we left Gillette and headed for the Black Hills of South Dakota to stay in a cabin in Spearfish Canyon. We had so much fun together. We took Sophie to a couple of the waterfalls in the canyon and she absolutely loved them. She wanted to see more waterfalls! The leaves were beautiful and definitely got you in the mood for Fall.

The reason we decided to take this little mini vacation was to go to Spearfish to see our good friend Scott Simmons as he was in town for a Wesleyan Youth Convention. It was so great to see him and catch up. Sophie instantly became attached and keeps wanting to know where Scott is and what he's doing.

Here are a few pictures from our trip.

growing, growing...

2011-09-25T13:59:00.002-06:00

Sophie has grown so much over the summer and everyone always talks about how much she's grown since the last time they saw her, so I finally decided to measure her. She has grown over 2 and half inches since May! She is now a little over 38.5 inches tall. We are going to have one very tall girlie on our hands, better work on her ball handling skills, she's not going to get stuck in the post position just because she's tall, haha! :)

Something that I forgot to post last time is that Sophie is now using the potty!! I had been trying to convince her for a while, but she wasn't having it, so I just decided to pray that she would have the desire to even do it and one day she said she needed to go and the rest is history! I'm glad God cares for the little things in life too! I'm also glad I'll have a small break from changing diapers!

On that note, I'll be 17 weeks pregnant this week and on October 6 we get to find out if we are having a boy or a girl. We're all so excited and can't wait to see what the baby is!

Where Did Summer Go?

2011-09-21T14:31:00.000-06:00

Ok, so I know I haven't posted since June 25th, but we have been so busy and some new and exciting things are happening in the Shannon household. Let's just get you up to speed...

Travis and Sophie dressed up for church on July 3rd.

At the 4th of July parade downtown. Sophie loved it!

Sophie and her buddy Cameron on the 4th.

This Summer we made a lot of trips to our city pool. We had a lot of fun. This time, daddy even got to join us!

Sophie in our camper at youth camp.

Playing in the pool at camp.

In July, my sister Vanessa, her husband Chad and their little girl Shelby came to visit. We went to Yellowstone...

...over the Beartooth Pass...

...the National High School Rodeo...

...the Rec center...

...Bear Country USA...

...and Mount Rushmore! We kept them busy :)

At the beginning of August we took Sophie to the county fair. She got to ride the carousel...

...and the Ferris Wheel. She had a blast!

At the end of June we found out that Sophie is going to be a big sister, we kept it a secret until recently and baby number 2 due March 9th!!! Sophie is excited about being a big sister.

At the end of August and the beginning of September we got to finally take a mini vacation down to Colorado, just the three of us.

We took Sophie down to the Denver Aquarium. She really liked all the fish, but her favorite thing there was the TIGER!!

This past weekend, we put a tent up in the basement for Sophie to play in, she loves it and says she wants to go camping in the Big Horns.

So what have you been up to?

What We've Been up to the Past Month

2011-06-25T14:59:00.002-06:00

It has been such a busy Summer so far and we have been trying to make the most of it.

Here are pictures of some things we've been up to.

We took Sophie the the Fishing Lake Park and let her feed the geese.

It was a lot of fun and she loved it!

Playing at the park with Daddy.

We went to a Cattle Branding. This was Sophie's first time out there

and she loved seeing all the animals.

We traveled to Big Timber, MT and visited our good friends Michael and Liz.

Sophie and I have been to the City Pool a couple of times

and hope to go a lot more before Summer's over.

I got Sophie her first pet. His name is Clark and he is a goldfish.

Sophie and I enjoyed a nice concert at the Donkey Creek Music Festival.

Matt Costa

Playing outside.

Where has May Gone?!

2011-05-26T15:12:00.000-06:00

This month has been so busy and will be busy until the very end of the month! We got to celebrate Sophie's 2nd birthday this month. We had such a fun time celebrating. She got a gift card to Kmart and had so much fun going to pick out a baby!

Her big present was a climber! She loves it! We put it together the weekend before her birthday and good thing because it has been so rainy here, she has only been able to play on it a few times.

On Mother's Day we went to church and then picked up lunch for a picnic in the park. It was so nice that day.

Sophie had to take her new baby of course!

May 12th was Sophie's birthday!

We took her to lunch at Pizza Hut with her buddy Cameron.

That afternoon our friends Mike and Liz arrived and we had dinner and birthday cake!

On the Tuesday after Sophie's birthday, Mimi came for a visit!

We took her over to Bear Country USA in Rapid City, South Dakota. It was so much fun!

A bear got on our car while driving through the park. It was crazy! Sophie keeps talking about it!

Funny Little Talkative Girl

2011-05-03T11:34:00.000-06:00

So Sophie has been saying a lot more lately and putting sentences together a lot more often. Here are some of the little funny things she says/does:

Sophie will fall down and say, "I fall down." And I'll say, "you feel down?" She'll reply, "uh huh, I did."

She'll be looking for something like her baby and go around the house saying, "Baby, Baaaabyyyy." It's so funny. She also has done this while looking for a flashlight.

I have a done a little redecorating and rearranging around the house recently and she'll go into a room and say "Niiiice."

She also has an odd fascination with her toes and will look in between them and say "nice."

She has also tried to scare me a couple of times and I just laugh at her peeking around the corner and saying hi. Sometimes when we arrive somewhere and I open her door, she'll say, "Boo!" and laugh.

She's so funny and I see so much of Travis' personality in her.

Easter and Travis' Graduation

2011-05-02T12:12:00.001-06:00

On the Tuesday before Easter we dyed Easter eggs together. Sophie had a lot of fun doing this and would have loved to do more. I'm pretty sure there was a crack in every egg, but of well, she had fun!

On Easter Sunday we were all dressed up for church.

After church we went to the Morgan's house for lunch and an egg hunt. Sophie really had fun hunting for eggs.We let her hunt the eggs we dyed at our house.

This past Sunday, Travis received his Masters of Ministry from Pacific Evangelical School of Ministry in Portland, Oregon. People from the school came to our church to give him his diploma and hood him. It was such a nice thing for them to do! He has been going to Portland for the past 3 years, every other month! We are so proud of him and his accomplishments and so glad he is finished!

Busy Week

2011-04-18T15:31:00.001-06:00

Last week was very busy and packed with lots of fun activities. On Monday I moved Sophie's toys up to her room and gave Travis back full reign of the downstairs! She just didn't like to play down there very much and now loves to play in her room. We downsized the toys a bit and put away some that she had outgrown.

I showed her that she could have a tea party with her stuffed animals, I guess she couldn't just pick four to "invite" so she tried to include everyone! :)

On Monday afternoon we took Sophie to the circus.

She loved watching all the animals!

On Tuesday, we just played. Here Sophie dressed up in part of her Halloween costume from this past year.

On Thursday we went to the library. They had a puppet show and Olivia the pig! Here Sophie is waiting patiently to get close to her.

She wasn't to sure once she had her turn and wanted the library lady, not me, to hold her.

I think she liked her in the end, but still didn't want to get too close! After we left the library we picked up lunch and had a lunch/play date with my friend Katrina and her children.

On Friday, Travis decided to be weird...

On Saturday we got Sophie a new mattress set to go on my old bed, which my grandpa made. She's such a big girl!

She likes her new big bed!

On Sunday, we dressed like Spring, we have decided we don't care what the weather is like anymore, it's the middle of April!

All in all it was a great week, besides the fact of me being sick and now our sweet Sophie isn't feeling well. I guess this week will be pretty laid back, which we need so we can get well!

1 Corinthians 6:9-11

2011-03-27T15:37:00.000-06:00

⁹ Do you not know that the wicked will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived: Neither the sexually immoral nor idolaters nor adulterers nor male prostitutes nor homosexual offenders ¹⁰ nor thieves nor the greedy nor drunkards nor slanderers nor swindlers will inherit the kingdom of God. ¹¹ And that is what some of you were. But you were washed, you were sanctified, you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and by the Spirit of our God.

What a great scripture, we need to remember what God has brought us from, but remember that that is what we were, not who we are as a new creation in Christ! Praise God for salvation and life anew in Him!

2011-03-03T14:05:00.000-07:00

I found Sophie some big hair bows at Wal-mart yesterday for only a dollar a piece! I think they are so cute and they definitely make her look like a true southern little girl!

Curious George

2011-02-27T15:25:00.000-07:00

So Sophie's most favorite thing has to be Curious George. She loves to watch the movie, which I don't mind because I like the music in it, she loves the PBS show, she loves books about George, she loves her stuffed animal George, which she sleeps with and keeps in tow almost everywhere she goes, and she loves her George pj's, which she asks almost every night to wear. So far it has been pretty easy to tell her some nights that they need to be washed and she can't wear them. I found some Curious George material at Wal-mart a couple of weeks ago and I made her a pillow case for her pillow, which is behind her in the picture. A friend of mine at church found an almost 4 foot decal of George which is in her playroom downstairs, lots of times, she'll go down there and see him and say, "wow!"

For her birthday this year, she is getting her "big girl bed" and I have my eye on some Curious George sheets for her twin bed. I'm just glad that she is hooked on something so cute and not too annoying!

Snow Man

2011-02-07T15:08:00.000-07:00

On Saturday we built a snowman! Oh what fun :)

Big Girl!

2011-02-07T14:42:00.000-07:00

Sophie has been sleeping in her bed like this now for almost a week. She has done so well with the transition and I'm amazed at how easy it was to accomplish. During nap time though she likes to get out of her bed as she is supposed to be falling asleep, but when I go make her get back into bed, she goes to sleep. She's such a good girl and I can't believe she's growing up so fast. It's hard to believe she'll be 21 months old on Saturday and only 3 short months until she's 2. My goodness, where does time go?

2011-01-31T15:16:00.000-07:00

We have been so busy and sick lately, so I've neglected our blog a little. Here are some pictures to catch you up to date...

This is Sophie Christmas morning, she go a table and chairs for her 'big' present. She loved it and she loves to go in her room and color at them now!

Sophie and I traveled to NC to see our family the day after Christmas. This is Sophie with her cousin Duke.

This is Sophie with her Nana and Pop Pop.

This is Sophie with her aunt Mary. Can't you tell there related? :)

This is Sophie with Duke and Dalton.

This is Sophie with her great grandma and Shelby her cousin.

This is Sophie and Mimi going to check out a new baby cow at Vanessa's house.

Being silly with Shelby and Duke.

Hanging out with her uncle Chad.

Sophie and I at Vanessa's house.

Sophie loved Shelby's puppy Sam.

Mary with Duke and Sophie the day before we headed back to Wyoming.

Our first snowman, I built it, Sophie just ate snow, she loves it!

Playing with daddy.

Travis and I went to Denver for our anniversary on the 20th. We got to go to the Denver Nuggets game. It was so much fun!

Sophie playing dress up, she has a good time!

19 months!

2010-12-13T12:02:00.001-07:00

I cannot believe that Sophie turned 19 months old yesterday and in 5 short months we'll have a 2 year old on our hands! She is so fun and more of her funny personality shines through each day. She looks just like me, but is just like Travis, I love it! She really loves the snow, animals and babies! She had a check up last week and is now 34.25 inches tall and 29 lbs. She is full of energy and lights up the place with her smile. Her kisses are the best and we thank the Lord every day for the precious gift of our Sophie!

Travis Turns 30!!!

2010-12-13T11:54:00.001-07:00

On Friday we celebrated Travis' 30th birthday! On the morning of his birthday he got to open his presents from us. He was super excited and surprised. After that we had chocolate chip cupcakes and then prepared for his party that evening.

That evening we celebrated with friends, we had lots of goodies and so much fun celebrating Travis' birthday. I was so thankful for everyone who came and made his day even more special!

Dress Up

2010-12-07T18:36:00.000-07:00

It seems to be dressing up is one of Sophie's new favorite things to do. She likes to wear Travis' shoes and my jewelry. I was making cookie dough and icing earlier today and when I put my apron on Sophie wanted to wear one too. It's cute! She wanted to wear it again this evening and this time she accompanied it with Travis' hat. I think she is too cute!

2010-12-02T16:33:00.002-07:00

we have fun together!

Decorating for Christmas.

2010-11-30T10:39:00.000-07:00

After our friends left on Saturday, I started getting the Christmas decorations out. Sophie loves the trees and says "whoa" or "wow" when she sees them. It's too cute. She has already tried to get into the presents too, but after I got on to her, she has been pretty good about leaving the presents and the trees alone.

I really wanted to put a tree in Sophie's room too, she really likes it!

Thanksgiving

2010-11-30T10:32:00.000-07:00

On Thanksgiving, our friends Michael and Liz joined us. Sophie loves them so much and we all had a great time together. It was nice to just be at home, relax and catch up with our friends!

First Big Snow

2010-11-30T10:25:00.000-07:00

On the 20th we had our first big snow of the season. Sophie is really starting to take notice of it and she really liked playing in it. She likes to eat it too! She really likes her snow boots.

Sophie's 1st Haircut!

2010-11-30T10:18:00.000-07:00

We took Sophie in for her first haircut a week ago. She did really great until the last cut had to be made, so I had to do it at home. We made a family event out of it and all got haircuts. I was very proud of her!

Where Did October Go?

2010-11-02T11:45:00.000-06:00

I have been so bad about keeping up with things lately! I can't believe it's already November 2nd. We have been quite busy with church activities and just everyday life! We have been able to squeeze in some special moments with Sophie. One of my favorite things we did during October was take Sophie out to ride horses. It was so much fun and she loved it! She also got to play with the dogs, which she of course loved, and play on a tractor.

We had a youth party on the 27th, so Sophie got to dress up for that, which was fun.

On Thursday before Halloween, we carved our pumpkins!

We took Sophie Trick-or-Treating on Saturday night. Travis had to leave for Portland on Halloween and I didn't want him to miss her going trick-or-treating and arranged to go to 6 different houses a day early. After the 1st house, we put her back in the car and she looked at the things she had gotten and said "WOW!" It was too cute! After we left the 2nd house Sophie had to almost drag her bucket. She got a lot of candy and other special treats.

On Sunday we were busy up until Travis had to fly to Portland, but we had to make time for at least one picture on Halloween :)

We have had a fun October, and November is going to be very busy also. Before we know it, it will be Christmas!

Fall Fun

2010-10-13T15:56:00.001-06:00

It's hard to believe that it is already October 13th and we haven't had a snow. I think I like it, but it is kind of weird, I have to admit. We have been enjoying some fun fall activities though, even outdoors, because the weather has been so nice. To start we went to the Camels homecoming game, it was fun to go and socialize.

The day after the football game we took Sophie to the local pumpkin festival. She really enjoyed decorating her pumpkin and playing the games. She was so proud of her pumpkin!

Since it was so nice out, I decided to rake some leaves for the main purpose of letting Sophie play in them. She had a blast.

Last Thursday we went up to the Big Horn Mountains to stay in a cabin with some friends from Montana. It was fun to get away and catch up with Mike and Liz. We tried to go on a hike, but Sophie did not like being on Travis' back, so the hike was cut short. It was okay though because it was pretty cold in the mountains.

This was the view from our cabin.

Mike and Liz

Sophie loves Liz. We can't wait to hang out again in a few weeks!

So far it has been a great Fall,but I have a feeling it won't last much longer.

FALL

2010-10-01T13:13:00.003-06:00

I'm really looking forward to this weekend and upcoming week. We are going to the pumpkin festival in town tomorrow and next week we are heading to the Big Horns to stay at a cabin with some friends. We went up yesterday to check out the cabin and it was just so beautiful up there. I hope the leaves are as pretty next week. Pictures coming soon :)

Life Without Daddy...

2010-09-04T16:33:00.001-06:00

Travis is gone down to Texas this weekend, but will thankfully be back tomorrow. This starts a long year of him being gone for various reasons. It's always hard when he's not here and I guess I never really appreciate all he does around here until he is away. I'm so thankful I have a husband who is willing to help me out in whatever I ask. This has been the first time he has been away that Sophie has really taken notice too. She loves to have her daddy to snuggle with in the mornings and play with when he comes home from work, I think she gets bored with me when he's not here! She looked for him underneath our covers the other morning, it was too sweet. She is definitely a daddy's girl!

To help time pass while Travis is away we sometimes just have to get out of the house so we go on walks around the neighborhood. Yesterday, while on our walk, we saw pretty flowers, birds, trees and two antelope lying in a field. Something I did not anticipate seeing was a giant RAT swimming in drainage trench that runs through the park in our neighborhood! It was so disgusting and kind of freaked me out. I mean he was right there at us. I saw him as we were about to cross a small bridge, he went under and we quickly crossed to get away from him. Needless to say, we won't be going through that park for a while!

Another thing I am trying while Travis is away is getting Sophie off her pacifier. We'll see how this goes, I think I need to be the strong one here!

15 month check-up

2010-08-30T18:14:00.000-06:00

We had a very busy day today. It started out with Sophie's 15 month check-up. She is still around 25 lbs and is 34 inches tall!!! That's almost 3 feet. I think she will be around 6 feet tall when she is older, we'll see! She is very smart and the doctor was very impressed with her, which is always good to hear. She had to get two more vaccinations today and was such a trooper when it came to getting the shots. She even got to pick out a sucker in the end!

This was Sophie dressed up for church yesterday. She liked wearing her bracelet and her silver shoes! She's a very girlie girl, which I think is just great :)

2010-08-25T15:58:00.000-06:00

This was Sophie a year ago...

This was today!

What a difference, it's crazy how much they change!

SUMMER!!!

2010-08-18T14:10:00.000-06:00

We certainly had a busy summer and I cannot believe that it is rapidly approaching its end! We have been super busy and I thought pictures would best explain our summer :)

Mimi came out for a visit the week after Sophie's birthday. Sophie really loved having her around and all to herself!

We went to a pool party for Pastor Dan's grandson, Cameron.

Sophie has learned how to play dress up.

Sophie and I went to NC while Travis was on a missions trip. No one knew we were coming except for my older sister Vanessa and her family. It was such a great surprise and we got to be there for my nephew Duke's 1st birthday!

Sophie really loved Shelby's cows!

Before we had to leave for Wyoming, we had a big cook out!

We took Sophie to the Big Horn mountains for her first real mountain adventure. She loved the water!

We've been trying to take advantage of all the warm weather by going on long walks and taking Sophie to the parks. She loves to slide!

Sophie road a horse for the first time when we were at camp. She also turned 14 months old!

She also really enjoyed playing with our friends Mike and Liz dog.

Just playing at home in between trips!

We decided to drive to NC this Summer instead of fly. It was quite a long drive, but we got through it and Sophie was great. We got her a DVD player to help pass the long hours. I think we watched Curious George the most, I was just glad it kept her happy!

We stopped in VA on the way to NC to see Travis' grandma.

His mom was also there!

On this trip to NC we took Sophie to the beach for the very first time. She absolutely loved to water and we had to keep a close eye on her as she would often run straight for the ocean. I'm so glad she wasn't afraid!

She liked to be out far in the water.

We had one rainy day. She and Duke decided diaper boxes were the best entertainment!

Us on the beach!

Out on the pier, there are always pelicans. Sophie liked them!

On our way back to Wyoming, we stopped at Wall Drug and took Sophie to play in their backyard, she really seemed to enjoy that!

Sophie went to the fair for the first time. It was also the our first time to the fair in Wyoming. Of course Sophie loved the animals. Here she is petting a baby goat.

We rearranged when we got back from NC to make Sophie a playroom downstairs and reclaim our living room! Travis had to give up half of his "man-room," but the new set-up seems to be working great for everyone. Downstairs is now truly a family room.

Sophie at 15 months!

Snack Time!

2010-06-02T14:51:00.000-06:00

Sophie was enjoying a nice snack of Fruity Cheerios and a cup of milk. I started giving her the cheerios instead of fruit loops because I figured they have less sugar. They still, however, make her hands sticky and for whatever reason she likes to run her fingers through her hair. This is the hairstyle that resulted from her sticky fingers!

We are also glad that Summer has finally decided to begin in Wyoming and have been enjoying more time outdoors!

Sophie's 1st Birthday!!!

2010-05-18T13:40:00.000-06:00

Sophie's birthday was last Wednesday and was so much fun. It did however snow on her birthday, but that was okay! We just had a party with the three of us at lunch to celebrate her birthday, but I wanted the whole day to be special. I decorated the dining room, which she loved! For breakfast she had muffins and of course a candle!

Later when daddy came home for lunch we had birthday cake! She needed help from dad to blow out the candle and then I thought she'd just dig in, but she decided the better approach would be just to stick her face up to the cake and lick the icing off. She didn't eat much cake!

After lunch she got to open her presents!!! She got a lot of great things.

It was a Wednesday, so we had youth group that night. Travis and I decided to take cake so everyone could celebrate afterwards.

It was such a great day and at the end before bed, she got to enjoy her new bath toys! I think she had a great 1st birthday!

What a Difference a Year Makes!

2010-05-05T10:41:00.001-06:00

Where has this past year gone? It's hard to believe that I was still pregnant with Sophie at this time last year and only a week away from having her. Now we are only a week away from celebrating her first birthday!!! Travis always tells everyone that this has been the fastest year of his life, and it truly has. Sophie has been such a blessing to our family and I cannot imagine life without her. She is so funny and is a lot like her daddy, her personality really shines through and she is such a people person, which is good since she is a pastor's child! It's so fun watching her grow and discover new things each day. She is saying new things and trying to do new things; everyday she changes and it feels like if you blink, you'll definitely miss something! God has blessed in so many ways with Sophie and I never want to take one second with her for granted.

11 months already.....

2010-04-19T16:33:00.000-06:00

I cannot believe that Sophie turned 11 months old last week! It's just so crazy how fast life seems to go by these days. During her 11th month she went to the Zoo for the first time and absolutely loved it! She eats a lot of table food now and really eats anything I give her, which I am so thankful for. She has also been using a cup a lot more lately. Sophie loves to read books and brings them to us so we will read to her. She loves music too and cannot resist to dance when it comes on!

It's hard to believe that in a few short weeks she'll be a year old and I have already been getting things together for her birthday. We are not having a huge party, we are just going to do something special, just the three of us! I'm so excited :)

10 months old!

2010-03-12T16:11:00.002-07:00

Sophie is 10 months old today, oh my! I can't believe in just 2 months, we'll be celebrating her first birthday. Time goes by way to fast once children enter your life!

2010-03-01T10:25:00.004-07:00

I can't believe it is already March! Travis is up in Portland, OR finishing up his 2nd year of Master's work, only one more year to go!!! Sophie and I will be all alone this week, but we get to pick Travis up at the airport on Friday in Billings, MT and go to our youth camp for a winter retreat Travis is speaking at. This should be a lot of fun and it will be nice to see people we haven't seen in a while. Sophie was sick Saturday and Sunday, but is feeling much better today, which I am very thankful for! God is so amazing for caring for us in so many ways!

I know it is only March, but our summer vacation keeps coming to mind. We are already planning a trip to NC to visit family and go to Kure Beach. I love that place and since I didn't get to go to the beach last year, I'm even more excited! This will also be Sophie's first beach trip, which is very exciting, I think she will love the water, at least I hope she does!

We took Sophie swimming on my birthday a couple of weeks ago and she seemed to enjoy it. She loves water and in the bath she likes to stick her face in it, which is crazy because most babies don't like the water like that. I'm glad she does though and can't wait to go swimming again.

Sophie is going all over the house and getting into everything. She is so funny and I need to get into better shape just to keep up with her. I can't imagine what it will be like when she starts to walk!

Well, I hear her waking up from her nap, so I better go...

Me and Sophie

Sophie and I at the pool.

Sophie and Daddy swimming

In her Valentine's dress, it was mine when I was a baby and was made by my mama.

Sophie crawling!

Almost 9 months....

2010-01-28T20:27:00.002-07:00

I cannot believe that our little baby is 8 and a half months old. Where does all the time go? Lately she has been acting so much older. She likes to pull herself up on her toy box and dig around in there to find the best toy, she gets frustrated when she can't get to it. She "talks" a lot. She can say mama and she has learned real quick what the word "no" means! She isn't quite crawling yet, it's more like a backwards army crawl. When she is on all fours, she tries so hard that she ends up falling and eventually just rolls to where ever she wants. She is a very fast roller. She went to the dining room floor the other day and loved it! She liked to slide on it and the noise it made when she hit it.

She also likes to get on her stomach in the bathtub and slide around, I have to watch her very closely though because she'll put her face in the water before you know it! I'm just glad she isn't afraid of water. It will be fun to take her swimming this summer.

Sophie has learned to make a fish face, which cracks me up. She has some funny faces she likes to make and the more you laugh, the more she does it. She is so much fun and is just growing up so fast before my eyes!

Sophie also loves music and loves to "dance," especially with daddy. She just wants to stand and be moving all the time, she is hard to keep up with already, I can't imagine what it will be like when she really does crawl and walk!

half a year

2009-11-16T13:48:00.004-07:00

I cannot believe that our little Sophie is 6 months old. She turned 6 months last Thursday, but had her check up today. She is now 17lbs, 11oz and 27.25 inches long, whoa! A lady in the waiting room had a 12 month old and Sophie was as tall as her, she is going to be so tall! She isn't crawling yet, but she tries very hard to do so. She does roll around a lot though, we have to keep a close eye on her, it's going to be crazy when she does start to crawl. The doctor said that it seems like Sophie will be learning to crawl and walk on the same day! I don't know about that, but when I try to put her on all fours, she just stands up. She's so funny!

Sophie has developed quite the squeal, usually it is just because she is happy or excited, but sometimes it's in anger, which I don't like. She is starting to recognize people and reaches out to grab your face and give you a "kiss" now. She has the biggest smile and is so happy, I love that!

Sophie has tried lots of new foods and has only really liked her oatmeal, green beans and peaches. We'll keep trying things until she does like them though! :)

Baby It's Cold Outside...

2009-10-03T13:51:00.003-06:00

We've seemed to go from Summer to about 2 weeks of Fall straight into Winter. We saw our first snow on October 1st. It wasn't much to talk about, but it was snow! I'm not sure I'm ready for snow yet. Luckily Sophie is prepared and looking pretty darn cute, if I do say so myself!

Shots, Cereal and Teeth....Sophie at 4 months

2009-09-19T20:16:00.003-06:00

On Thursday after Sophie and I picked Travis up at the airport we had to take her to the doctor for her 4 month check up, whoa! She is now 13lbs, 5oz and 25 inches long. She is still low in weight for her age, but they attribute that to her being so tall. She had to get 2 shots which isn't very fun, but she handles them pretty well, although the second seemed to make her very mad. They tell us to watch her as if she were a six month old because she moves so much. The doctor also said that she can already tell that Sophie is very independent. I knew that by how she moves and when I hold her, she already will try to get down. I always ask her where she thinks she is going, I mean she can't even crawl yet! The doctor said that we can start introducing solids to Sophie. So we started that on Saturday. She didn't really respond one way or another, but did have a hard time keeping things in her mouth. We will try again in a week. She did look like such a big girl sitting in her high chair though.

On Wednesday, I discovered that Sophie has had a tooth break through! She really hasn't had any symptoms of teeth coming in and has taken it very well. Our little girl is growing up so fast!

little things in life...

2009-09-02T11:20:00.004-06:00

Babies change so fast and it is amazing how quickly they learn and discover things. Sophie truly amazes me and she just brings so much joy to our lives. One of my new favorite things is going into her room in the morning and getting her out of her crib. When she sees me her whole face lights up and she smiles so big and gets so excited she can hardly stand it. She has her arms and legs just a going until I pick her up. It's so great to see someone get so excited about the little things in life.

Speaking of getting excited about little things, she has discovered her feet and now try's to get them a lot. It's so cute. This in turn leads to her grabbing her feet and rolling over to one side. She is so funny. She also rolled over from her back to her stomach for the first time on her own yesterday at her daddy's office. She has rolled over before, but they have always just been flukes, but yesterday was for real and it was so exciting, to me anyways. So our baby girl is growing up so fast and she is so much fun!

3 months

2009-08-18T10:34:00.003-06:00

One day after we got back from North Carolina, Sophie turned 3 months old. She has changed so much and is growing like a weed! She is up to 9lbs, 9oz and is so long she needs to be in 3-6 month outfits. She is now sleeping in her crib like a big girl and has started eating formula because she is just growing so fast! Yesterday she had to have 6oz, wow! She might catch up with her cousin Duke soon.

She was amazing flying, it didn't even phase her, she just slept basically the whole time. We had a great time in North Carolina seeing all of our family and Sophie was great. She talks so much and smiles at everyone. The doctor is really pleased with how she is doing.

2 months old

2009-07-20T19:58:00.003-06:00

Sophie is now 2 months old, we were at camp when she turned 2 months old, so that's why this is a little late. She had her 2 month appointment today though and she is now 8lbs, 3oz and 23.75 inches long. She has mainly only grown in length and we have to work on getting some weight on her. Fortunately, I don't have to supplement her with formula, which I am very thankful for. She got four vaccinations today, 3 shots and one oral. It was so hard to watch her get shots, but she was great. The doctor said that we have to watch Sophie as if she were a six month old because of how she moves around so much. She is very strong. She was great with the doctor and cooed and just looked at her while she was checking her out. The whole ordeal wore her out though and she has been resting a lot today.

She was amazing at camp and I hope she does well next week when we travel home to NC. Travis took her swimming and she even went under!!!! She seemed to like it, which is good. Sophie is so happy when she wakes up in the mornings, very smiley. She also likes it when I say things about her daddy, I think she must like the way the word daddy sounds. She is amazing and I love her so much.

Working...

2009-07-07T14:32:00.003-06:00

I've been helping out at my old job lately because of people being gone for vacation and other things. Sophie is so great and and just sleeps most of the time. It's nice to get out of the house every once in a while, but I definitely don't want my old job back!

Rearranging....

2009-06-27T11:37:00.005-06:00

Last weekend, I decided I wanted to take the twin bed that was in Sophie's room and move it downstairs to Travis' man room. This led to the rearranging of 4 rooms this week. We finally finished last night, with the exception of putting the basement door back on it's hinges.

Travis' Man Room

Downstairs Guest Room

Living Room

Sophie's Room

Father's Day

2009-06-23T10:13:00.004-06:00

Sunday was father's day as we all know, but to us it was extra special this year because it was Travis' first ever. Since it was Sunday, it was kind of busy, but we were up early, since we do have a newborn, so Sophie and I decided her daddy could open his presents first thing. Travis got new golf clubs, which we had decided could be his father's day present, but he had to have something to open! Sophie also got him a net to practice hitting for golf in the backyard, golf balls, golf tees and a picture of herself in some Carolina stuff to go in his office. He loved it all! Later that day we went to the pastor's house for a grill out and when we came back home we set up his golf net for him to practice his swing. All in all I think that Travis really enjoyed his first father's day. He is such a great daddy and Sophie is so blessed to have him for a dad!

cat anyone?

2009-06-15T13:12:00.003-06:00

Okay, so here's the deal. I love George (our cat), but my love for him has changed since we had Sophie. He has become a nuisance to me ever since we came home from the hospital and yesterday was the last straw. I was about to put Sophie in her bassinet when I looked down and saw his stinking hair all in it. Yuck! I don't want his nasty hair all over the bed where my baby sleeps, that's just gross to me and I'm through with him. Travis doesn't believe that I have the heart to get rid of him, but I love my baby more than that cat and I know it may seem a bit anal to be so particular about his hair and stuff, but let's be serious, it disgusting! It bothered me before she as born, but now that she is here it is worse. I can't help but to think ahead to when she starts to crawl and roll around too. His nasty litter box and food are where she can get to it and I don't want to walk into the kitchen one day and find her in his food bowl. Believe me, I know some of you may think that I am heartless, but when you have a child you can maybe understand and little better. I'm afraid to leave her alone for even a second to run downstairs to change out the laundry because he might get in her face, even more so now since I know he can get up in her bassinet.

So anyways, if anyone wants a neutered ,completely declawed house cat, let me know. He really is a good cat, but I just don't want him around my baby.

One Month Old

2009-06-14T15:35:00.003-06:00

I can't believe it, but Friday our little Sophie turned 1 month old. My how time fly's! Speaking of time, we have been super busy and that is why I couldn't write this until today. Life has certainly changed and I can't imagine it without her now. She is such a blessing and I am so thankful that God gave us Sophie. I tell everyone who ask if she is a good baby that she is wonderful and that I prayed hard for a good baby. God is good!

She has already amazed us with how fast she is developing and growing. She is such a sweetie, even when she keeps us up every once in a while because she just wants to be held. I don't mind doing it though because before we know it she'll be too old to want to be held. On Friday night she was up until 2am or so and as I was holding her I was so very tired and I was getting aggravated, and I looked down at her and she was looking up at me and I told her I was sorry for getting ill. She just got the biggest grin across her face and it melted my heart. I love her so much, even when she keeps me up at night.

There are some things that we have learned about Sophie in this short little month of her life. She likes to take a bath in her tub, suck her daddy's nose, look at herself in a mirror, and be cuddled. She, however, does not like to be dirty, she has a very distinct mad cry which we usually only hear when she is very hungry or when she is so tired and just wants to be held. She doesn't like to have lotion put on her, but she has no other choice, she lives in Wyoming! She does however love her pacifier. She is starting to have longer awake periods which is fun, I love looking into those big, beautiful blue eyes of hers. She has lots of funny faces she makes too and we try to capture as many as we can on camera. She likes her carseat, which I am thankful for because I know some kids can't stand them.

All in all, Sophie is amazing and I thank God for blessing Travis and I with such a wonderful, beautiful baby!

3 weeks already?

2009-06-03T22:17:00.002-06:00

I can't believe it, but yesterday Sophie turned 3 weeks old. It doesn't seem like it has been that long already since she was born. I had to take her in to the doctors today to get her weighed and she is now up to 7 lbs! I think she is going to be a very tall skinny girl at the rate she is going now, but I guess we will just have to wait and see. I love her so much and she amazes Travis and I with the things she is already doing. She already looks at her self in this mirror toy she has and smiles and grabs at it, she is very strong and uses her legs to push herself up to the end of her bassinet and she sometimes rolls over to one side. A lot of people don't believe us when we tell them what she can already do, but oh well. My favorite is when I talk to her and say her name and she looks at me and makes noises and smiles. She is so amazing and I love her so very much.

Travis and I are so blessed that God gave us Sophie, she is a wonderful baby!

one week tomorrow...

2009-05-18T11:19:00.004-06:00

I can't believe it but tomorrow our baby girl will be one week old. It's so crazy. Last week was a whirlwind. We went to the doctor on Monday to have a check up and my blood pressure was very high, so the doctor sent us home to get our things together and had us go on to the hospital to be induced. We got there sometime between 3 and 4 in the afternoon and I didn't realize what a long road was before us. I started having contractions because of some medicine the gave me, they said that it may or may not give them to me, so I was excited they did, I thought that was a good sign, but they didn't make me progress any. It was a long night of constantly being bothered to have my blood pressure and other things checked and by 5am on Tuesday they started the pitocin, the medicine to make me go into labor. At 7:30am they took me back to a delivery room and at 9am gave me my epidural. What a long day and nothing much really happened. I had very bad back labor all day and my epidural didn't really work like it was supposed to. By about 8pm they were getting me ready for a c-section, which I was very thankful for since I was so exhausted from everything. They had to give me a spinal block since my epidural didn't work and at 8:43pm our baby girl was here!!!

The first time I saw her was so amazing and I will never forget it. She was gorgeous! After they got her a little cleaned up they brought her over for Travis and I to get a good look at her. That is a moment I will always cherish. She was very wide-eyed and I said to her "hey Sophie," and she looked right at me. It was amazing! After our little family time, Travis got to carry her to the nursery and I was taken to a recovery room for a little while.

We were in the hospital until Friday, for me to recover. We came home that morning and it was so surreal to finally have the baby we had waited so long for in our home.

So now here we are, almost one week later and all I can say is that I am truly blessed and humbled that God would let us have this amazing, healthy, beautiful baby girl!

back home

2009-05-08T11:35:00.002-06:00

I got to come home today!! So glad that I got to come home and do not have to be in that hospital again until next week. Looks like Sophie will be here in the middle to the end of next week. My mama is coming out on Wednesday to be here with us a couple of weeks, which is going to be such a nice help.

hospital

2009-05-07T18:51:00.002-06:00

We went to the doctor today to have my blood pressure checked and it was very high again. So now I am in the hospital so they can run some test and keep checking my blood pressure. I am only here until the morning unless my blood pressure just doesn't get any better, then they will most likely induce me. My labs have already come back good and one test has to be done over 24 hours, but they said I only have to do it for 12 hours since my labs came back alright. So only God knows when Sophie will come, but it may be tomorrow! She is doing well and the doctor thinks she'll be alright if she has to be delivered. So we'll keep you updated...

37 weeks and counting....

2009-05-06T11:17:00.000-06:00

I don't know if we can get any bigger!!!

nothing new to report...

2009-05-04T13:35:00.002-06:00

We had another doctor's appointment today. My blood pressure is good, I have lost a little weight and the baby is doing well. Nothing really new to report, which is good. I have to go in on Thursday to have my blood pressure checked and we are going to talk with the doctors to see if they are still planning on inducing, I forgot to mention it today. The doctor did say that we have made it to where he wanted us too in the pregnancy and if Sophie was born now, she'd be okay.

So another week down on bed rest and only God knows how much longer until Sophie is here, hopefully soon because Travis and I are getting anxious to meet her!

up in the air....

2009-04-30T19:57:00.002-06:00

We had another doctors appointment today, my blood pressure is fine and the doctor took me off the medicine! They are still planning on inducing me, just not sure when. The baby is doing well, but we have to keep a close watch on her. I have to go have my blood pressure checked tomorrow and go for a regular appointment on Monday morning where they will do another stress test on the baby. They have also asked that I start counting kicks every morning to keep an extra eye on her.

I was dilated 1cm today, but things are still up in the air about being induced, like I said before. I know I haven't been on bed rest long, but I have to keep praying for patience as my mind is racing on things that I feel I need to get done before she gets here and I have to leave them to someone else.

Travis has been amazing and has taken such good care of me, the animals and the house. People from church have also done so much and for that I am thankful.

Not much longer and I know that in the end, it will all be so worth it!

1 Week and Counting....

2009-04-27T13:55:00.002-06:00

Today marks one week since being on bed rest and it has already been a roller coaster ride of emotions. I really feel for people who have to be on bed rest for a long period of time and I am thankful that mine will be over soon. I think I have been having some false labor, but being my first time, I'm not 100% sure. I am excited about my doctors appointment on Thursday, one because I get to leave the house and two because I want to see how much closer we may be to having our baby girl here. Travis and I are both so ready for her to be here and just get on with things. I know God's timing is perfect and I am trying to be patient, but it is hard, especially being cooped up and it's all you think about.

Doctor's Appointment

2009-04-23T15:20:00.002-06:00

Just wanted to update everyone. We had a doctors appointment today to see if things have gotten any better and praise the Lord they have, thanks to all the prayers! My blood pressure has gone down by 20pts and I have actually lost 3 lbs, all that water weight I guess! All my test came back fine and the ultra sound showed that Sophie was doing great and apparently will be a good sized baby. The doctor wants to try to get me to 38 or 39 weeks, I'm 35 weeks now, almost 36, but he said we'll just have to see how things go from week to week. The bed rest has done it's job and we'll just have to wait and see how far we can go before they induce me.

Psalm 31

2009-04-22T09:56:00.002-06:00

My mom told me this morning that she read Psalm 31 so I decided to read it too. Verses 6 and 7 really stood out to me.

I hate those who cling to worthless idols; I trust in the LORD.

I will be glad and rejoice in your love,
for you saw my affliction
and knew the anguish of my soul.

I know God is in control and I am so blessed! Thanks for all the prayers and kind words. We really appreciate them!

Bed Rest...

2009-04-21T10:31:00.003-06:00

Just thought I'd update everyone as to what is going on with my pregnancy.

Last Thursday I had a regular check up and my blood pressure was high so the doctor wanted me to come back in on Monday to have it checked again. We got there as soon as it opened and my blood pressure wasn't any better, it had actually gotten worse. So the doctor walks in and says you are now on complete bed rest and Travis and I didn't think that it was that big of a deal, but then he started to explain that I had preeclampsia and how serious a condition it is. The only cure for this condition is to have the baby, but she needs to stay in a little longer. So we talked for a little bit and it seems that we may be having Sophie sooner than expected. Hopefully we'll know more on Thursday.

They did a test at the doctor's office to make sure she was okay and she is doing just fine, she just needs to develop a couple more weeks before she can be born, thus the bed rest. This will hopefully help keep my blood pressure down so she can develop more.

After we left the doctor's office we had to go to the hospital for some testing to make sure some of my major organs are okay and not being affected by the high blood pressure. Again, hopefully we'll know more Thursday. After we got home I got in the bed and had Travis get my prescription filled for my high blood pressure. He came home early to keep me company and said that he was going to start doing that, he's so sweet!

So now I am on day 2 of best rest with my cat George by my side keeping me company and Travis going above and beyond already to take care of me. I am so blessed and I am just trusting God, He knows what's best and I believe Sophie and I will be just fine.

Mason

2009-04-09T14:28:00.002-06:00

A lady that I work with got a new puppy this past weekend. His name is Mason and he is so cute,cuddly, and so sweet! It made me want a puppy, but I had to remind myself that I will have a cute, cuddly baby in just weeks. :)

Missions Trip

2009-04-07T09:57:00.002-06:00

Travis called this morning and I was so thankful to hear his voice! Anyways, he said that there are some great things happening in the teens lives and everyone has been just great! Praise the Lord! Please continue to pray for them as they grow in the Lord.

website

2009-04-06T11:41:00.002-06:00

Travis may be putting video updates from their trip up on you tube if you would like to check it out:

http://www.youtube.com/travjeff1

Please continue to keep them in your prayers.

My 33rd Week...

2009-04-05T12:28:00.002-06:00

I will be 33 weeks pregnant this week and it's hard to believe Sophie will be here so soon. It seems like it has taken forever, but now that it's so close, it seems like time has flown by!

Also this week, Travis is in Galveston, TX on a missions trip with some of the teens. He called me today as church was getting out and said that the hurricane damage is still unbelievable. He said that while driving today he literally saw an upside down house! It is so good that they are down there helping with the relief and I wish that I could have gone. If you would please remember them in your prayer times that would be awesome! I look forward to there return on Friday to see how God has changed and impacted their lives.

Snow Day 3

2009-03-25T21:58:00.006-06:00

The teens were out of school for the 3rd day today because of our blizzard, church was also canceled, so Travis decided to get them together to go sledding this afternoon and then come to our house for hot chocolate. It was so much fun. Here are just some of the pictures from the afternoon.

Blizzard Day 2

2009-03-24T12:30:00.003-06:00

Well we didn't have to go to work today either. Don't know how we would have anyways. The drift in the driveway was pretty huge, but luckily we got a snowblower from church to use. It would've taken hours to dig out if it wasn't for that thing!

This is Travis behind the drift.

Blizzard!!!

2009-03-23T21:55:00.004-06:00

This past weekend was just beautiful here in Gillette, in the high 60s, low 70s and this morning we awoke to the power out and a blizzard! We have such crazy weather here. We've been waiting for this big snow to hit and it finally did. I just hope that this is it until the Fall, but we'll see. These pictures were taken in the morning and it has continued to snow, even as I type, so it is a lot worse out there now. It was nice to have a snow day and not work and who knows we might not have to go to work tomorrow. We have to dig out of our drive way first since there is about a 4 foot snow drift in it!! We'll see what tomorrow holds, you never know, especially in Wyoming!

Sophie's Room!

2009-03-15T16:59:00.004-06:00

Sophie will be here so soon, so her daddy and I have been getting her room ready.

almost 29 weeks

2009-03-08T10:25:00.002-06:00

Boy, I'm getting huge! So ready to have my baby girl.

George's Haircut

2009-03-06T14:44:00.006-07:00

This morning was jammed full of things to do and one of the things on my list was to take George to the groomers to have a haircut. On the way there he was crying, I have never heard him like that before. After I dropped him off, I felt kind of guilty, but he was fine. After my doctor's appointment I went back to pick him up. He looked so cute through the holes of his kennel and I couldn't wait to get him home to see what he really looked like. When we got home, I let him out and I just laughed so hard, he is so skinny and you couldn't really tell it from all his fur. I told Travis he looked like he was a kitten again. I hope that the pictures of his haircut bring you a smile, it sure cracks me up to look at him. Don't worry, if you think what I did was cruel, I believe he really likes it. He has been running, pouncing, and playing around since he got home, I'm sure he feels a lot lighter!

George before he went to the groomers for his haircut.

George after his haircut! He looked so funny when I let him out of his kennel.

Spring Fever

2009-03-02T16:07:00.002-07:00

Today has left me longing for Spring even more! It got up to 65 degrees. We had to turn the air on at work and I rode with my windows down. It was great! By the end of the week we will be back to reality, but it is nice to have these bright, warm, sunny days. Travis is even having better than expected weather in Portland, he said it was around 70 degrees and not raining, which is nice. Seems kind of crazy that in North Carolina yesterday and today it was freezing cold and snowing, although they will be back to 70 by Friday. Like I said, I'm ready for Spring!

Busy Friday

2009-02-27T15:37:00.006-07:00

To begin with, we were out of our normal Friday routine of sleeping in and then eating our usual cinnamon roll breakfast in bed because my oven was broken. The phone call of the repair man woke me up, but we stayed in bed and decided we would call back later. When we did call back they said they were out and about town making their repair runs so we decided we better get ourselves ready for the day. Just as we were done with that the doorbell rings and the repair man was at our house already! It ended up he had to order the part and probably wouldn't get back to fix it until next week. I was kind of bummed out about that because I like to bake.

In the meantime, we decided that we needed to get Sadie to the Vet to have a bath, so we called to see how much it would be and if they could fit her in and they said they could at 11:30am which was in only 20 minutes! We got ready to go and got the Jeep warmed up and loaded her in the car and took her to the Vet. She wasn't going to be done until 12:30 or so, so we went to Wal-mart and got her a new bed, grabbed lunch and came home to eat. Almost as soon as we were done the phone rang and it was the Vet saying they were almost done with Sadie, but they needed Travis' help to hold her while they clipped her nails. So we went back to the Vet and Sadie looked so good, the best we have seen her! They tried to clip her nails, but she was not having it. We were okay with it though and she did pretty well considering she had never been groomed before. They brought out a golden lab that had been abandoned by his owner to meet Sadie and he was all over her, she wasn't sure what to do! We told them we would spread the word about him, but we just couldn't take another dog with a baby on the way.

We get back home and decided we needed to take Sadie's kennel to the car wash to clean it out where she was so dirty. So Travis went out to the garage and took it apart so we could fit it in the Jeep, when he was done, we took it to the car wash. We picked the worst possible day to do this because it is only 9 degrees and snowing outside, but we didn't want our nice clean dog to have to sleep in that thing at night. We got home from doing that and had a little bit of time to relax before the phone rings and it is the oven repairman calling to say they got the part in already and he would be over in a few minutes to fix our oven! It only took him about 5 minutes to fix it. I was so glad. After he left, Travis had to get ready to go to the office for a little while, so now I am waiting for him to get home and maybe our evening will be more relaxing!

Kicking!

2009-02-23T10:32:00.003-07:00

The baby has been kicking and moving so much lately. I love it. You can even start to see her move which I think is so neat. She is very active, I think she is going to be like her daddy. We can't wait until May gets here and we finally get to meet her!

Valentine's Birthday

2009-02-14T18:38:00.002-07:00

Today is not only Valentine's day, but my birthday! It has been a great day. Travis started the day off right with breakfast in bed and flowers. Then for my birthday he got me a rocking chair that I wanted for the baby's room. He is so good to me and I am so blessed to have him. This evening we enjoyed my chocolate heart shaped cake, a tradition that my mom started when we were little kids. Travis wasn't left out in all the festivities, he had a Valentine's gift also, a new ring that he wanted. We had a great day!

2009-02-10T14:27:00.001-07:00

I wasn't the only one happy Travis was home from Indiana!

25 weeks!

2009-02-08T21:08:00.002-07:00

I cannot believe that this week I will be 25 weeks into my pregnancy! September doesn't seem that long ago and now May is right around the corner! I cannot wait for our sweet little girl Sophie's arrival. This month I hope to get some more furniture for her nursery and start getting some stuff together for her arrival. Don't get me wrong, she already has quite the wardrobe, but I just can't resist buying more! It's so much fun and I already love her so much. Only 16 weeks and 3 days until my due date, but I'm hoping I don't have to wait that long :)

Our Pets

2009-02-04T11:01:00.006-07:00

I find Sadie sleeping like this often, but every time I try to get her picture, she rolls over. Finally, she was in a deeper sleep than normal and I was able to get this shot. She is such a sweet dog and we were so lucky to get her. She is definitely Travis' buddy and just looks at me as the disciplinarian, but I'm okay with that, I'm just glad she'll listen to me!

One night when Sadie was curled up asleep on her pillow, I noticed George go up behind her and start sniffing around her back. I thought he was checking things out and would go on as he usually does, but tonight, he just wanted to be close to her I guess. Before I knew it he was curled up behind her and I was like this is just too cute. I'm so glad they get along, Sadie is the only dog that George likes, I think it is just because he has known her since he was only weeks old.

In the picture above, Travis had gotten out his bag to go skiing the next day and for some reason George thought this would be a nice place to curl up and relax. He is so cute and it's so funny to see where he will decide to sleep next. He is definitely more affectionate toward Travis, I'm not sure why, but both our animals are this way.

Happy Anniversary!

2009-01-20T13:32:00.004-07:00

Today Travis and I have been married for two years. It's hard to believe it has already been that long, it seems like only yesterday we were making the preparations for our wedding. A lot has happened in those two years, good and sad, and without each other and God I don't know what we would have done.

Now travis and I are expecting our first baby, a little girl. She will be here in May and we are both so very excited. We look forward to this new chapter of our lives and pray that God will help us to be good parents.

Carving Pumpkins!

2008-10-27T14:42:00.002-06:00

So last night Travis and I carved our first pumpkins together. We didn't do it last year for some reason, but I decided that we needed to this year. We had so much fun! We will definitely not miss another year if we can help it. I had forgotten how much fun scooping out the "guts" and creating your pumpkin's face can be! When we were all done it was great to see them all lit up. I cannot wait to light them on Halloween for all our trick or treaters to see.

A Beautiful Surprise

2008-10-10T09:17:00.003-06:00

So this morning we woke up to beautiful snow! I love it and I was so very excited for our first snowfall of the year. I know some people might think I am crazy for that because we'll have a lot more to come, but there is just something so special about the first snow of the year. It makes you feel like a little kid again when you wake up and see it on the ground, I would have felt even more like a kid if I didn't have to work today and got to stay at home and enjoy it! Oh well. I just thought I'd share our beautiful snow with you this morning.

lemonade

2008-09-25T18:29:00.002-06:00

So today while making myself some lunch, Travis had already finished his and had come back into the kitchen for something else. Meanwhile, he had left his lemonade on the coffee table, which George our cat can jump up on. I just happened to look over to see George enjoying Travis' lemonade. He is so crazy, he will eat or drink anything!

End of Summer?

2008-09-07T16:28:00.003-06:00

Summer has already left us here in Wyoming, or so it seems. Ever since I got back from North Carolina on Thursday it has been cold and rainy. It feels so much like fall that I have already put out fall decorations! I have had my heat on since I got back too. Crazy.

I went to North Carolina on the 27th of August for my friend Rebecca's wedding. She got married down at the Outer banks, it was beautiful and the weather was great!

Also, when I was home I got to see my brand new nephew, Logan Vann. He was born on the 26th and I was so glad I got to see him and meet him. He is so precious. I love going to NC to visit all my family, but this past time was just so busy it flew by. Now I'm already looking forward to Christmas!

Now I am at home alone, Travis had to go to Portland. He is starting his Master's program at a school up there. I can't wait for him to get back, we haven't seen very much of each other lately since I was gone for a week too.

Anyways, I think I might go light the fire place and drink some coffee and enjoy the rest of the afternoon relaxing.

ROCKY

2008-07-25T09:23:00.002-06:00

On Tuesday, Travis and I picked up a dog in our neighborhood that had no collar. He was so well behaved and Travis really wanted to keep him, but we had to find out if he belonged to someone. So Travis took him to the pound and they took our information in case anyone called for the dog. In the meantime, Travis took the dog back home and let him meet Sadie. They really hit it off and they looked so happy together. Travis really wanted to keep the dog.

It was later in the afternoon when the owner finally called and said that the dog's name was Rocky and that he would be by to pick him up shortly. It turns out, Rocky only lives about 3 houses down from us and apparently he gets out a lot. So maybe if we are lucky, Sadie will get to play with her new friend again.

Summer Vacation

2008-06-28T18:06:00.003-06:00

I just got back from North Carolina and it was great!! Unfortunately Travis didn't get to come with me, but he'll get to in August! I was only there for a week, but it was so much fun. I helped out with the Tour de Kale, we went to a wedding, and then went to the beach! It was a packed week and I was glad to be back home. It was so nice to see my family and get to hang out with them. It was just a great mini-vacation!

Rain, Rain, Go Away!

2008-06-05T13:26:00.002-06:00

I know that I should be thankful for all the rain we are getting, but I'm just ready for summer to get here! It is only in the high 40s, low 50s today! Travis has some friends visiting and they went to Yellowstone a couple of days ago where the high there was only 44! Luckily though, they saw some grizzly's, moose and big horn sheep, along with some other animals. So that's good! Today they are in our mountains where it is snowing and stuff! Crazy huh? It's already June 5th and it's still snowing in some places near us! Well, I guess that is just Wyoming! I'll just be glad to get to North Carolina in a couple of weeks to experience some real summertime weather!