12 weeks!

I am pretty much done with my 1st trimester, thank goodness! This pregnancy has been SO, SO different from my other two. The nausea is almost completely gone and I have much more energy these days. I am so blessed to have such a wonderful husband who has been so understanding, patient, and caring with me as I have not been able to carry through with many of my normal day to day activities around the house. I foresee a cleaner house and more homecooked meals very soon. Thanks honey!! Kalyn and Sheldon have also been so helpful in doing more things for me around the house...love you two SO much for helping mommy without complaining (most of the time anyway)!

Ricky and I went to a doctor's appointment this morning to do a 1st trimester screening to check for any possibility of birth defects...they do this when you hit the magic number of 35 (pfffttt). Anyway, we talked with a genetic counselor and she got both of our family histories and explained some further testing (amniocentesis, CVS, Cystic Fibrosis, etc) that we could opt to have after today's bloodwork and ultrasound. Ricky and I both feel strongly that God has blessed and entrusted us with this little life that there is no need for any further testing. We will love this kid no matter what!! We went into another room and the nurse did the blood test on me which results would be combined with the results from the ultrasound to determine the birth defect risk precentage. She poked my finger and it HURT...Ricky laughed and got a kick out of my facial expression and said it was just priceless (whatever!) Then we proceeded with the ultrasound to check the fluid space behind the baby's neck and the wall of my uterus...all was normal (if the measurement was over 3mm, I think, that would indicate a "chance" for Downs Syndrome, Trisomy 13, Trisomy 18, etc). Our measurement was 1.5mm. The heartbeat was 157 per minute and all measurements were within the normal range. Ricky and I were relieved to hear this wonderful news...praise God! It was so AMAZING to see how much this little one is moving around and everyone in the room had fun witnessing that. I loved watching Ricky experience that joy for his very first time...God is so good! Here is a cute picture of our "wiggle worm"...she/he had arms behind her/his head and legs kicking in the air! Looks like an active kid already...gotta get ready! :o)

Skye

We had a Life Group meeting for lunch after church yesterday. We meet every 4th Sunday of each month with the same group of brothers and sisters for a whole year to fellowship and get to know each other on a more intimate level. We also do a short devo after our meal which is centralized around our congregation's theme for the year. We have loved being part of different groups the past three years!! Well, yesterday we were at the Deans' house for hamburgers after church and they had seven CUTE puppies. TROUBLE!! Ricky and I both said we would wait a little longer be efore getting another puppy, but we caved because we just love puppies!! We fell in love with one of them...white with black spots and blue eyes. We ended up taking her home with us and she has been so sweet...we love her! Her name is Skye and we have been having so much fun spoiling her rotten.

Lee County Junior Livestock Show

Kalyn joined 4-H back in September wanting to focus on cooking. We went to most of the monthly meetings to learn more about opportunities with 4-H for Kalyn. She decided to enter the regular cake exhibit in the stock show. We looked through many recipes and cookbooks before Kalyn decided to make a "sock-it-to me" cake for her exhibit. The recipe for that cake comes from my mother-in-law and is a favorite for several of us in the family. She practiced making the cake several times until she got it right...she said that greasing/flouring the pan was the hardest part because the first couple times she didn't do it well enough and the cakes fell apart when trying to get them out of the pan. Sheldon said it did not matter because it tastes just the same...and he ate every crumb...ha! On Wednesday after school Kalyn made her cake before we went to church, then did the glaze after we got home. Thursday morning we were up early to take the cake to the show barn in Giddings by 8:30am. We met my parents and they followed us so that my mom could spend the morning with us while my dad went back to Austin for a dental appointment. With this being my first personal experience with 4-H it really helped to have my mom there to interpret what was going on!! (Thank again mom!) Kalyn had an interview with one of the exhibit judges at 10:20. She went in and was out within two minutes...said it was very easy and nothing she should have been so nervous about..ha! Not too long after Kalyn's interview the kids and I took mom back to Elgin to meet my dad for lunch. We were all HUNGRY and had a great visit. After we said goodbye to my parents the kids and I headed back to the show barn for the rest of the afternoon. We waited around and visited with friends until a little after 5pm before we found out the results for Kalyn's cake exhibit. Kalyn's cake got 3rd place!! She was so excited and proud to do this well for her first time. Even though she got 3rd, only the top two cakes went on to the auction...darn!! Sheldon spent the day playing with the boys...football, relay with tennis balls, and just walking around the barn.

The pretty girl with her cake Cute kids! Sheldon playing football with the boys Kalyn's cake in the showcase...3rd place!

Kalyn, Sheldon, and I were back at the show barn yesterday morning to watch all the shows that would be going on during the day. Kalyn was also required to sign up for clean-up duty so she picked to do the shift after the hog show which ended around lunch time. We watched the hog show and saw a few friends from church show their hogs..they did very well! After clean-up duty we went into Giddings to eat a late lunch and run a few errands before the lamb show at 2pm. The lamb show looked hard as many of the kids had trouble managing their lambs...they kept jumping on them and just wouldn't cooperate. At 3:30 was the goat show which seemed better than the lamb show...much better. Several of Kalyn's friends showed their goats and did pretty well. We all had a fun experience, enjoyed having two days of no school, and ate many snowcones!! :o) Kalyn says she will definitely participate again next year making another cake and perhaps showing hogs...we shall see! Ricky and I are so excited that Kalyn...and Sheldon...enjoyed their first stock show experience and we are looking forward to next year!!

Hog show (Kynslie, friend from church, showing her hog on bottom right)

Tyler (friend from church) showing his hog

Lania showing her hog (school friend of Kalyn's)

Sheldon walking back and forth between arena and barn area (sucking on a ring pop)

Goat show

Wesley showing his goat (school friend of Kalyn's)

Malorie showing her goat (another school friend of Kalyn's)

A small crack!

Kalyn was riding her bike last week before she left for Pearland and she somehow fell and hit the gravel road. She bruised her knee and scraped her hand pretty good. After getting medicine and bandaged up along with some TLC she was fine and back outside. When the kids came home on Sunday Kalyn mentioned her other hand was sore but nothing too bad. We figured she probably just bruised it when she fell. On Monday morning it still hurt some, but by yesterday morning she said it hurt even more so I called our family doctor and got an appointment for Kalyn to get her hand checked out. Kalyn had x-rays taken and the doctor said there is a small crack in her hand (palm area) so she is now wearing a splint for the next couple weeks. I'm really glad I took her in before it got any worse. Kalyn has been enjoying her new "accessory" so far. Silly girl! :o)

Rabbit Hunting

Sheldon loves to hunt, obviously. He looks out the window regularly to see if there are birds or squirrels in the yard then he is often seen rushing to get his bb gun. Sometimes he will come back inside holding some kind of bird ever so proudly...ughhh! The other morning he woke up, looked out the window and ran outside in his boxer shorts and boots with his gun in hand...it was so funny and cute! I figured he wouldn't appreciate me taking me a picture of him, but I will forever have that image in my mind!

Last night Daddy Ricky took Sheldon rabbit hunting and he loved it! Kalyn and I laid outside in the hammock and she could hear many shots from the distance. About 30 minutes after dark the boys came back and Sheldon was holding a rabbit in his hand. Ricky said Sheldon was determined to kill that rabbit which they followed for a long while...ha! Hard work and perseverance does pay off and now we have a rabbit in our refrigerator ready to be eaten. We'll see how I like it...if I can stomach it!

What a hog!

We have been seeing lots of hogs around our property lately. They are soooo ugly!! I teach ASL classes in town on Monday evenings and as I was coming home I saw something hanging from a lift on the truck at the end of the driveway by the house. It was a black hog! Ricky said that he and the kids were walking outside and they saw hogs in front of our house so he shot at one. Kalyn and Sheldon were excited of course and had to take a picture with it. :o)

SPRING is here!

I love, love, love this time of the year. Even more so when the bluebonnets and wildflowers are in full bloom. Unfortunately, this year isn't the case with the little amount or rain we have gotten. Pray for more rain!!

While Kalyn and Sheldon were in Pearland having fun with their dad, Ricky and I decided to start working in the yard in the flowerbeds and in our garden. We went into town and bought a bunch of flowers, dirt, manure, seeds, etc, etc. This year we decided to build a raised bed for our garden in the backyard to make it easier on me to water and keep an eye on our crop. We planted onions, cucumbers, squash, carrots, okra, peas, peppers and probably others I've forgotten at the moment. Tomatoes were planted in plastic tubs beside the garden. We also have blueberry, blackberry, and raspberry vines planted as well. My herb garden is planted and consists of dill, cilantro, basil, thyme, lavender, chives, and of course my favorite... sunflowers!! Different flowers were planted into two flowerbeds and several pots. We still have lots to do, but we are enjoying every minute of being in the dirt!! :o) Here's to a wonderful Spring!!!

My mint pot...love the fragrance right by the door!

Gerbera Daisies are one of my favorites!

Our work station

Herb/Sunflower garden

Garden with tomato plants in tubs

Love those elephant ears too!

I LOVE my hubby!!

My sweet hubby had a surprise waiting for me when the kids and I came home from Llano. He knows how much I love flowers so he bought some and planted them in my flowerbed to get my planting off to a start. I love you Ricky!!

Spring Break!!!

As soon as Kalyn and Sheldon were out of school on Friday we headed to Llano for a few days. Ricky decided to stay home and enjoy being a "bachelor" which he very much deserved!! He had fun hog hunting with his friends and just doing whatever he wanted whenever he wanted without worrying about me and the kids being around. Anyway, after a few stops for potty breaks (darn preggo symptom!) and a snack for all of us, the kids and I got to Llano just in time for a taco supper. It felt so good to be back at the ranch with my parents...it always feels like home there. Carie and her kids joined us in Llano on Saturday morning then Caleb came later that night.

Kalyn and Sheldon had been looking forward to seeing Colten, Cambry, and Carrys alllll week so as soon as Carie's gang arrived, the boys were off and running! Kalyn and Cambry had fun playing house, school, etc and I just loved snuggling with my sweet niece, Carrys. She is such a good baby and it was hard to put her down!! The boys were outside most of the time playing cowboys and indians, shooting baskets or throwing the football, digging in mud, riding bicycles, and who knows what else!! I just know they were stinky and dirty every night before bathtime...ha!! All the grandkids enjoyed numerous trips on the gator, helping Granden "check on the heifers", driving the gator or truck with Granden, and going to the park in town. Oni stayed busy cooking, cleaning, and taking care of all of us...we couldn't thank her enough!! We didn't leave Llano without doing a little shopping, visiting with family members, and eating at the Burger Bar too. The kids and I were not ready to leave on Tuesday morning, but felt refreshed and eager to see Ricky after being gone for several days.

Swingin'

Sweet Cambry

Granden bonding with Carrys...so sweet!

Being "Aunt Chera" is fun!!

Kalyn and Carrys

Kalyn getting some practice!! :o)

Bird hunting..I think?!

Colten and Sheldon

We stopped in Round Rock for lunch on our way home to see Mimi and Landen (cousin) for a little while. I had told the kids we would go shopping with the gift cards they got for Christmas and their birthday after lunch so we got that taken care of...whew!! A visit to the park was a must for the kids and Mimi before we got back on the road to get back home in time for supper. It was a quick visit, but it was good to see Mimi and Landen!

We finally made it home and spent some time with Ricky. With Kalyn and Sheldon leaving the next day for Pearland to spend the rest of their Spring Break with their dad, I got busy unpacking, washing clothes and re-packing their stuff...whew!! It all worked out and the kids slept in late the next morning and were well rested, ready for their next adventure!