A Few of My Favorite Things...

Band Wagon

2012-02-09T11:05:00.001-08:00

I am planning on getting back on the blogging band wagon but think it's a bit daunting to think about catching up. We had so many fun times in November, December and January. Trips to the Bills, my favorite place to visit in Arkansas, for both Thanksgiving and Christmas. Plus having fabulous weather in So Texas and going to the park everyday. Hopefully I'll get some pictures up.

In other exciting news...we are expecting!!!!!! We are super happy to be adding an addition in August. I have been put on bedrest (can this ever be easy?!). Hopefully it won't be for the next 6 months, wow can't even comprehend that. We should be finding out today if I get some more mobility privileges. My amazing sister, Rachel (and her daughter Adalaide) is here taking care of Benson and me. Oh she is wonderful! Benson has done pretty well, I think it's harder on me than on him. But of course it's all worth it. Anthony (and his work) has also been so amazing, what would I do without him?

Halloween : There's No Place Like Home

2011-10-31T17:43:00.000-07:00

I love family themed costumes for Halloween! Last year was the sports theme and this year the Wizard of Oz. Benson can say "dog" so it was fun to have him be Toto. He didn't mind the dressing up except the hood. Every time I wanted him to wear it for a picture I had to bribe him with candy. It was also really fun making his costume and my apron. And we can use them again next year.

Funny story of getting Anthony's shirt. We went to Good Will to get a shirt for him to wear and ruby slippers for me (I painted some nice $2 shoes red with house paint). I picked out a couple for him to choose from and he picked one out. He choose his because it looked more worn. When he got home he went to hand wash it and found shoulder pads! It was a women's shirt! Hilarious! I am still laughing about it. Then after it was washed and dried he put it on and it was skin tight, like the hulk just before his clothes tear off. Hilarious, again! Anyway, he had to wear it because we didn't have anything else. So that made for some funny moments all night.

We also had a fabulous meal. I want to do more fun halloween-eeish meals next year, but this was a good start. Plus I can never let a holiday pass without making some sort of treat. This year it was these adorable candy corn cookies (I actually hate the real candy corns but not these). In the last picture the cookies are frosted. That was the only plate I spent so much time on frosting like the candy, all the others had orange, white or yellow frosting.

Fall Fun

2011-10-29T08:52:00.000-07:00

Besides Benson's fun birthday we've been having a lot of fun this past month! Fall is my favorite season so it's too bad we live in the land of summer. But we have enjoyed the couple cold fronts that have come through and the fall-like and non-fall-like activities.

This fabulous church up the street does this huge fall festival every year. They have food, games, a puppet show, hay rides, and a pumpkin patch. The best thing about it is that it's all free! (except you have to buy any pumpkins you want from the pumpkin patch.) We met up with a few friends and enjoyed the festivities! Benson was too small do go in the big bouncy things but he loved going around picking up litter on the pavement (we have such a Eco friendly child).

A friend of mine has a season pass to the aquarium and took Bens and me one day. Benson loved looking at all the fish. At one point a huge sting ray was swimming right towards him and he started crying. But other than that it was a success. Thanks Heidi!

Here are a few other random pictures from this past month. Benson loves "helping" us vacuum. He actually loves to unplug the vacuum and carry the cord for us.

One sunday he had just woken up from his nap, it was hot and he loved not having any pants on (sorta tom cruise style). He loves his xylophone and the hand mixer.

There is also a chance we have the next Van Gogh on our hands. He loved coloring for the first time and loved eating the crayons even more.

Birthday Morning and Party

2011-10-17T08:14:00.000-07:00

Benson's birthday was a wonderful day! After he woke up we brought him downstairs to his presents. (I think he liked the banner more than the gifts.) We sang happy birthday and let/helped him open his gifts. Then we played until it was time to get ready for his party.

My fabulous sister helped me make his cute party invite (they cost an arm and a leg otherwise)! I love it! Thanks Michelle!

His party was at a park nearby and it was a perfect day. A few friends came to help celebrate. He loved playing on the toys (slide and swings) and eating all the rocks, plants and dirt. When it was time to eat the cake he wasn't sure what to do but Anth helped him. I'm sure he won't remember this party but he was a happy boy so I like to think he knew it was a special day.
(Also notice the cute sign and cupcake toppers, my amazing sister sent me these! Thanks Rachel!)

1 Year Old or 12 Months

2011-10-15T15:03:00.000-07:00

Today is Benson's 1st Birthday!

We can't believe that a year ago yesterday we were anxiously awaiting word from our birth-mom that Benson was on his way. With the original due date being the 18th we thought we wouldn't hear anything until the weekend was over. We had just purchased a house but the A/C was getting replaced so were spending a couple days at a friends house. The house was a mess but we had painted the nursery and set up the crib.

On Friday, the 14th, at around 9pm I got a text from our birth-mom telling us that she was having contractions but would wait to go into the hospital until the next morning. We didn't sleep that night and at 8am I texted her to see how she was doing and was told she was being admitted to the hospital; that he was definitely on his way! At 4pm we received a text, with some pictures, telling us that he was here, beautiful and healthy! We drove 4 hours the next morning to see him. It was definitely love at first site. It was amazing! It was a very emotional and spiritual experience for Anthony and me. Just 7 months previous we had lost our little William and here we were being blessed with this perfect little Benson. We all knew he was supposed to be apart of our family! We've felt that confirmation everyday since.

We can't express our appreciation enough, to our incredibly wonderful birth-mom!! She made an amazing, difficult and selfless decision. She will always be apart of our lives and we love her dearly.

It's been wonderful to watch Benson grow and change over these last 12 months, we've loved them!!

-He is now walking and has the bruises to prove it
-Trying to talk (words we can understand - duck, dog, bottle, no, yes, mom, dad, hi and bye-bye. And lots of other words we don't.)
-Going up and down stairs
-Favorite foods - beets, black beans, cheese and fruit
-Climbing up on anything he can
-Loves hide'n seek/where's Benson
-Loves being outside, preferably eating the leaves and dirt from our yard
-Loves to go get the mail
-Loves to play with other children, which is expressed by poking their eyes or pulling their hair (we are working on this)
-Has started throwing tantrums (didn't know 1 year olds did this)
-Learning to throw a ball
-Loves to read and has started bringing us books to read to him over and over

Here are some of our favorite pictures of Benson throughout this past year...
(Blogger was being difficult so they are all over the place, enjoy!)

Happy Birthday Benson!!!

11 Months

2011-09-15T08:31:00.000-07:00

I can't believe how fast times flies!!! Benson is 11 months today. He is such a big, happy boy! We love him to pieces!

His 11 month stats-
-24 lb
-30 1/4 in tall
-walking like a pro
-loves to fold his arms, for prayers or any other time
-has 8 teeth
-loves to crawl up the stairs and to be pulled down, repeat
-loves to read books
-still loves to bounce/jump (jumped on a tramp for the first time and cried when he had to get off)
-loves to be sung to, sometimes it's the only thing that will calm him down
-recovering from 2nd ear infection/fever/cold
-is still the happiest, flirt-y-est little boy!!!

We love having Benson in out family and can't imagine life without him!

Playing putt-putt with Dad

Loves to fold his arms

Reading his favorite book

Playing in the fountains with Dad

Jumping on the tramp with G-pa's help with cousin Weston

Who doesn't want a wall for their birthday?

2011-09-08T12:29:00.000-07:00

When we bought this house we were told by the inspector that one of the windowsills, along our back wall, had some water damage and would need to be replaced. We've had some other work done so asked the workman to look at the windowsill and give us an estimate. He told us he'd have to remove a bit of the siding on the back of the house to see how extensive the damage was. The damage was extensive! About a foot and a half, all along the back wall, was rotten! Apparently the windows weren't sealed very well and the previous owners covered up the damage with new siding :(

So for my birthday this year I got a new back wall. How many girls, or anyone for that matter, can say that? (Just to let you know, back walls are not cheap, this is the most expensive gift I've ever received.) And not only a wall but 3 new windows. I think the windows may be gifted to me for our anniversary and Christmas, after all there are 3.

We are just happy to have it all fixed and not rotten. And I hope we won't have any more "remodeling" to do for along time.

ps- Anthony did a great job of pampering me for my birthday, in spite of the wall.

The tarp they put up to help keep the cool in and the heat/mess out. (We pretty much cooled south texas for 2 weeks)

The back of the house. There are supposed to be three windows, one was being worked on. They had to do one at a time b/c our roof is at an angle and we didn't want it to fall in.

The finished product! Aren't those windows beautiful!! And the wall looks pretty good too!

The inside, finished product! We love this wall and the windows! If the rest of the house falls down this wall won't!

10 Months

2011-08-15T08:38:00.000-07:00

We can't believe Benson is 10 months, he should still by my little baby! I say this every month but it's still true, he's so much fun and such a good baby/kid!
Here's his latest and greatest...
-finally had two top teeth break through (yesterday)!
-claps and tosses it in the oven for patty-cake
-loves to wave hello and goodbye to everyone, all the time
-can crawl up the stairs but not down (and the great thing about it is he's afraid of the stairs so won't go up them unless I'm right there with him, so no gates)
-loves to suck out of a water bottle
-loves to talk/yell/laugh
-loves to pull out the outlet covers (it's a game to him)
-loves to rock in new rocking chair

Pulling out the outlet covers

After pulling it out he always looks at me to see my reaction

New pj's (halloween ones) first thing in the morning

New rocking chair and Anth wanted to make sure the U jersey still fits

Playing with footballs with Dad

We sure love you Benson and can't imagine life without you!!!

9 Months

2011-07-19T12:28:00.000-07:00

We've had another wonderful month! I love every stage Benson goes through. I keep thinking the one we're in is the best and then something changes and it gets even better! I hope I always feel that way. Here are his stats...
-weight 24.4 lbs
-length 29.5 in
-he's a pretty big baby!
-loves to be chased
-is such a tease
-loves to pull my hair
-eats only solid food or a bottle
-can stand without holding on to anything
-when we walk with him he would rather jump along
-still has only two teeth, but it looks like his canine are coming soon
-smiles and flirts with everyone

Can you see those chunky thighs? Oh they are so much fun!!

Here's a video of him walking/jumping. (I don't know how to turn it sideways so just turn your head, sorry)

Utah Trip

2011-07-18T12:48:00.000-07:00

We were up in Utah for a family reunion but also got to spend a day before and a couple after enjoying northern Utah. I love Utah! I realize I was born there but it really is a great place! We got to see more family and a few friends. There is never enough time to see everyone!

Anthony with his High School buddies (Nelson, Anth, David, and Daniel)

The Wilkinson's and us. They were dear friends here in Corpus and moved to Oregon

Vance family get-together. Bens with Grandpa Vance

Bens playing with cousin Beck

Bear Lake 2011

2011-07-18T12:30:00.000-07:00

Every year we have a family reunion up at Bear Lake, in northern Utah. We really look forward to this trip every year! Bens did great on the plane rides and it was so wonderful to be with family!!!

Here's the A B C babies (Adalaide, Benson and Calvin). They weren't too happy to get their pictures taken. And it's a tradition to have the babies take baths together, so fun!

We also love that it's up there because our little William is buried up in Laketown.

8 Months

2011-06-15T07:57:00.000-07:00

He just keeps growing!
In the past month he...

-fully crawls, everywhere
-pulls himself up on everything
-was sealed to us and blessed
-loves to eat whatever we're eating and hates baby food
-puts everything in his mouth
-went to the aquarium, saw a dolphin show and was scared whenever they jumped out of the water
-loves swimming (we got a little plastic pool)
-loves to turn off lights (we're working on learning to turn them on)
-loves to play with dad after work
-gives everyone we meet a super cheesy smile, such a flirt
-can have really poofy hair when dad combs it out
-is as big as most 1 year olds (has size 4 feet)
-still loves to bounce, be tickled, be read to and sung to

How I found him after a nap one day

New church shirt and tie from Gma Vance

We love you Benson and are so happy you're part of our family!!

FOR-EV-ER

2011-06-01T07:55:00.000-07:00

This past weekend was everything we could have hoped for and more!! Our family came into San Antonio Thursday night and we went up on Friday. We got to enjoy the sites, good food and of course just being together!

Playing with cousin Adalaide

Saturday was a wonderful day! As Benson was sealed to us I felt an overwhelming feeling of completeness. He's been ours for 7 1/2 months but to know we are bonded eternally, makes a big difference! During the sealing Benson looked at Anthony and then smiled and then at me and smiled and then at the sealer and smiled. He was such a happy boy! We took a few pictures outside the temple and then headed to Pappasito's for lunch. (Saturday was my mom's bday so we sang to her at every opportunity!) After lunch we all started the long drive to Corpus.

Once in Corpus Anth's brothers helped install a few appliances (more on that to come) and then we headed to the beach! Some great friends left us their boogy-boards when they moved to China so we had enough for everyone! The water was great and we stayed out there until it was pretty dark (that's what's nice about living in a place where it never cools down at night).

Going on a walk and sharing a stroller (Adalaide wasn't too happy)

Anthony gave Benson a name and blessing on Sunday, with his dad, grandfather, brothers, my dad and bro-in-law to help. It was a neat experience. Usually blessings are given when the babies are smaller, like around 1-2 months old. So it was pretty funny with a 7 1/2 month old. Benson fussed for a bit until he found the microphone and then loved trying to eat it.

It was really a wonderful weekend!! I know it was far for family to come and would have been cheaper if we'd just flown up but I loved that they got to see our life here. We really love our ward and wanted to share this weekend with them too. It was just really fun having everyone here. Thanks for coming and for all the support! It's fabulous to be a forever family!!!

Beach2Bay 2011

2011-05-23T09:04:00.000-07:00

Last year when Anthony ran Beach2Bay I decided I wanted to run it in 2011. (This is a pretty big thing for me to decide to do; I am not a runner.) So last summer I started walk/running with some friends and got up to running 1.5 miles (I was pretty excited about that). Then came the fall, a surgery and getting Benson so running took a back seat until January.

Then a friend in my ward mentioned getting a group of women together to run Beach2bay. So I started running each morning with Benson. About 2 months before the race we started running together as a group, upping our running distance each week. It was wonderful running together as a team, helping each other motivate and encourage each other, not to mention just fun talking.

The race was this past Saturday and it was so much fun!! Because I have been running 4.6 miles the last 2 weeks it wasn't difficult to run it for the race. After it was over I felt like I could have kept going. My next goal is to do a 10k (there is one in the fall), so I'll have the motivation to keep running and to increase my distance.

Team MST (Mormon Standard Time)
Everyone on the team but one (thanks for running with us Lisa!)

Anthony and Bens were at the end of my leg of the race, cheering me on! It was fun to have them there supporting me! In the video below you can hear Bens crying because Anth had just yelled really loud for me and it scared him :)

This is right after the race, nice and hot/sweaty

We got Benson!

2011-05-15T13:57:00.000-07:00

We've been waiting for this weekend for about 7 months. Adoption is an amazing journey!

We headed up to Houston Thursday night. Benson got to swim for the first time and loved it. The next morning we headed to the court house. There were two adoption cases before ours. (One was a little boy that was born a day after Bens, he was tiny! He looked about 3, maybe 4 months old. Bens looked like a one year old next to him.) Then it was our turn. As we stood in front of the judge our attorney asked me a few questions, like if I was satisfied with his growth and development, if we were prepared to take care of him for the next 18 years (she added it probably wouldn't end at 18), and if we wanted his name to be Benson William. Anthony was then asked to confirm. The judge then read through all the legal stuff and pronounced (is that the right word? Maybe "ruled") Benson ours!!! It was very exciting! The whole time this was all going on, Benson was flashing everyone super cheesey smiles. The judge and attorney kept commenting on what a flirt he was and how he was playing it up. It was pretty funny. (The judge also gave Benson a stuffed bear, he loved it.)

After court we were told we needed to get an adoption decree, which usually takes anywhere from 2-4 weeks to be sent. Of course we need it in two weeks, so we can go to the temple. So we went to the office and asked as nicely as possible if we could please get one that day. (The big deal is that the judge has to sign it and she was still in court, so they'd have to interrupt her and have her sign it, a big deal.) The lady in charge told us she'd see what she could do and came back with it about two minutes later!! (We're pretty sure Benson's smiles had a hand in getting it, he was really hamming it up to the office ladies :) So everything went really well! He is now ours officially!

(after swimming benson loved smiling to himself and licking the mirrors)

We then drove over to San Antonio b/c our friends were receiving their endowments and being sealed on Friday and Saturday. Anthony got to attend the endowment session while Bens and I went swimming again. On Saturday Anth went to help with our youth baptism trip and Benson and I slept in the car. He slept, I talked with some friends who came up for the sealing. After baptisms we both got to attend the sealing of our friends and then their sealing to their two little girls. It was such a neat experience! I'm so happy for them! The spirit was very strong and there was such a strong feeling that they were doing the right thing in the right place. It was a wonderful day! (And of course it gets me excited for the 28th!!! Our sealing date!!!)

7 Months

2011-05-15T13:37:00.001-07:00

We can't believe Benson is really 7 months old! He's growing so fast!! This month he...

-says "da da da" a lot and "ma ma ma" sometimes
-loves to shake his head
-spits with his tongue
-went swimming for the first time and loves it
-doesn't like baby food, just the bottle and sometimes a cheerio
-sleeps 11 hrs straight
-is a flirt and has a smile for everyone
-loves to bounce
-has two bottom teeth
-almost crawling

Happenings

2011-05-05T12:37:00.000-07:00

We've been having a lot of fun recently and I've been meaning to post, so here it is.

-Sandfest - pretty amazing sandcastles! We thought it was free so didn't have any cash on us but we took pictures through the fence. It was a beautiful day on the beach. It was in Port A and we left right after a baptism. Anth thought I was packing his flip flops and I thought he was - so he ended up wearing his church shoes :) But the beach was nice enough that we just went barefoot for most of it.

-Easter was wonderful! We colored eggs and ate yummy food with friends. We reflected on the Atonement of our Savior and how grateful we are that he made forever families possible.

An egg for Benson, Vance, the U of U and a couple others.

He's ready for church on Easter

-For this past semester I've been watching two of the cutest little girls while their mom went to school. It's been so fun! I'm sad the semester is over. Benson just loves them! He can sit and watch them for hours! They were always so sweet to him, calling him "baby Benson," and letting him play with their toys.

-I've been meaning to take Benson to the park and let him swing for awhile but last Friday was his first time. He didn't really love it. I'm hoping he gets used to it and will eventually.

-Another first, this last Monday he got to ride in the front of the cart. I'm so loving not carrying his car seat around! He really loves it and we always get lots of comments from people about how cute he is.

Other happenings to come...

-Friday, the 13th. We'll head up to Houston and go to court to have Benson's adoption finalized.

-Saturday, the 21st. I'm running in my first ever Marathon Rely (Beach2Bay). There are six of us running. My leg of the race is 4.6 miles. I've been training for awhile for this and just this week ran 4.6 miles twice!!! My personal best. Ever. Running really isn't my thing but I love it when I'm done.

-And then to the end of the month, Saturday and Sunday, the 28 & 29. Benson will be sealed to us in the San Antonio Temple!! Then blessed on Sunday. We are excited for all the family and friends that will be here and know lots more wish they could!

6 Months

2011-04-15T07:47:00.000-07:00

Benson is 6 months old today!!! He is such a fun baby! He amazes me daily with all that he's learned and continues to learn. We don't go to the Dr. until Tuesday so I'll have to update his stats then but here's a list of 6 month milestones...

-loves to jump in lap or on exercise ball
-eats green beans, squash, carrots, peas, frozen grapes and pears
-is a tease
-is very ticklish
-laughs easily
-says "baa, baa, blah, blah, daa, daa" (but we're pretty sure daa doesn't refer to Anthony yet)
-when on his stomach, goes up on knees and rocks back and forth
-has one tooth, bottom right
-grabs for everything
-scoots all over on his back
-loves to drink out of a water bottle
-sleeps 8-10 hours a night (usually straight but sometimes with one feeding)
-loves to be sung to
-loves "This little piggy...," "Knock on the door," and "Patty cake"

Playing

He loves bath time!!

Eating

Playing

We can't believe how much our lives have changed in a year! Last year at this time we would never have believed we'd have a baby in a year! We still thank Heavenly Father every day for our Bens!!

Happy Birthday

2011-04-11T14:55:00.000-07:00

Today Anthony turns 28! Wow, he's old.

We've been celebrating for the past 5 days! We've decided our new family tradition will be to have a week-long celebration for everyone's bday. I think it's a fabulous idea. He's gotten a present from Benson and me everyday. A few of the gifts have been a puzzle, lego figure, farkle game, string trimmer, garden hose, chocolate milk, etc. It's been fun to see his excitement opening the gifts everyday after work. Then on the final day, the birthday, the person gets to pick what's for dinner and then cake and ice cream. Tonight we're having take-out from PF Chang's and Banana Cream Pie, yummy!

I love birthdays and hope Anth has the best one yet!!!

Visitors

2011-04-07T10:30:00.000-07:00

My sister and her family had Spring Break the end of March so decided to come where it's warm, Corpus! (only 12 hrs away) We had so much fun!! My bro-in-law, nieces and nephews got to meet Benson. We fed the ducks, went to the beach, museum, park, flew kites, ate yummy food and just sat up late talking/laughing! A perfect vacation!!! Thanks so much for coming Bills family!!! Now it's our turn to come up!!!

Feeding the ducks, or seagulls

Men at the Museum

Anth reading to the kids

Issac, Benson, Sadie and Phebe

At Joe's celebrating Phebe and Anth's bdays

Benson ready for the beach

Silas at the beach

Flying kites at the park

Anthony's grandmother passed away about a week ago. It was sudden but she lived a wonderful life. We could only afford for him to go to Utah so Benson and I got to stay home. I called my friend Mandy and told her to come down. She said she'd look into it but it was pretty late notice. A day later she called me and said she was coming! She did the whole priceline thing, name your own price and it was accepted! We had a blast!! It was so fun to catch up and for her to see my life down here with Benson. I went up to San Antonio to pick her up so we did the River Walk and the Alamo (got attacked by a vulture, pretty sure it was). We went to the beach, did some shopping, watched conference, and ate yummy food. We're redoing some of our house (more on that later), and so we went to Lowes and she helped with some decorating decisions (thank goodness her mom does framing!) . It was so nice having someone here while Anth was away. Thanks for coming down Mandy!! We can't wait for you to come back!!!

At the Alamo

At the beach

Mandy and Benson

5 Months

2011-03-15T08:52:00.000-07:00

Just before church, wearing a hat my sister made

Benson is 5 months today! It seems like just yesterday we headed up to Houston to pick up this little guy! Everyday we talk about what a blessing he is in our lives! We can't imagine life without him! He's getting so big and changing so much, it's so fun!

-is 27 inches tall
-around 18 lbs
-loves to roll over
-grabs toys
-does 360's, maneuvers on his stomach
-is currently sleeping through the night, 8pm-6am
-had 3rd hair cut
-sits up
-eats rice cereal from a spoon
-loves to talk/yell
-is so excited when Dad comes home from work
-loves his walks/runs with Mom or Dad
-smiles and laughs easily

Sitting and playing

Bath Time

Sitting, Eating and a Garden

2011-03-11T13:24:00.000-08:00

March has been a busy month for us. We've been practicing sitting with Benson. Usually we sit him on the bed so that when he face-plants, he doesn't get hurt. He's really good at it but prefers to stand so when I sit him down he'll sit for a minute, smile up at me and slowly fall over. I try telling him not to fall over and he knows what I'm saying, hence the smile. It's pretty cute.

Although Bens is almost 5 months we didn't start feeding him solids until yesterday (trying to feed him solids). I wanted to wait until we had a highchair before starting, and it came yesterday. It was a joke, really. As I put the cereal in his mouth it just sat there. He had no clue what to do with it. So I then start chewing, to show him and then I even moved his mouth up and down, trying to help him. What did he do...started laughing. He thought it was so funny. I tried again today and it went a little better, maybe. Lots of people have told me what he's doing is not uncommon so I'm not concerned. Besides it's fun.

Since we bought our house in October I've been so excited to start a garden. One of the great things about living in Corpus is that they have 2 growing seasons! We were supposed to get everything planted in February but it didn't happen. It happened last Saturday. We didn't plant a lot of stuff but are excited with what we did (tomatoes, green peppers, basil, squash, arugula, and strawberries). Hopefully some of it will be successful!

Benson's Sealing and Blessing

2011-02-22T13:56:00.000-08:00

I'm sure I'll post more about this when it gets here but today we scheduled the temple for Benson's sealing to Anth and me! May 28, 2011!! In the San Antonio Temple! What a great date! Of course we wanted everything to take place in April (by law you have to wait 6 months from placement before being sealed and April 17 would be 6 months) but we can't go to court until mid May so Memorial Weekend it is!! We'll be heading up to Houston to finalize. The state of Texas is crazy, in that if we don't go back to the county Benson was born in, we have to redo everything, like background check, home study, home visits, etc. It'll just be easier if we go back.

We'll also do his blessing that same weekend!

We really can't wait for May 28 to come! We'll be together forever!

Can't wait to be sealed to this little man...

Jamison Sean Tuckett

2011-02-18T07:50:00.000-08:00

A month ago today my 15 year old nephew Jamison was hit by a car, riding his long board (he just made), and was killed instantly. To say the least it was a shock. I happened to be in Utah when it happened. Earlier that morning Jamison came over to my parents house to have my mom give him a perm. We had such a fun day with him. I ended up helping with the perm, all the while giving him a hard time for getting it. He told me his friend was going to bleach his hair so he was getting a perm. He was so excited about it! It actually looked really good. If I didn't know he had straight hair, I'd think it was natural.

Before Perm

After Perm

Jamison was such a fun kid! He loved life! His passions were anything outdoors, including sports, camping, fishing, scouting, snowboarding, and helping my dad in the yard. He also loved working with his hands and had just made his long board and a cabinet for his dad. The day he passed away I asked him what he wanted to be when he grew up and he told me he wanted to work in construction or forestry (really anything outdoors). Another passion was BYU football. He and Anth would argue about which Utah team was better. After any Utah and BYU game they would give the other a hard time, depending on who won and how the game went. When Utah won it was fun to see Anth get excited to gloat over Jamie and if they lost he'd say, "oh, I'm going to hear about it from Jamie." It was a fun relationship.

The services for Jamison were amazing! Over 1300 people came to the viewing and they estimated around 2000 were present for the funeral. The out pouring of love and support for Barbara, Sean and their family from their community was incredible! I was at their house the days following his death, going through pictures for the viewing, etc, and their house was like a revolving door. It was a neat experience to see so many expressions of love and condolence. One of the things that will always stand out to me from that week was the immediate feeling of peace. It was such a shock but we all felt that the Lord needed Jamison right then and that it was ok. From this tragedy came so many blessing, some yet to be seen.

Even though it's been a month I still can't believe he's really gone, that when we go home for our family reunion this summer, Jamison won't be there. Death is so hard for those left behind. Because of the gospel of Jesus Christ we know that Jamison is in a better place (I like to think that he and Will are hanging out together). I know we'll see him again. I can't imagine life without that knowledge.

Valentines Day

2011-02-15T14:38:00.001-08:00

I love Valentines Day! I really do and I love thinking of fun ideas, of what to get/do for Anth on v-day. But as I went to bed last night I was so happy the day was over.

I got a fun idea to do for Anth off someone elses blog (I can't remember who, I looked at too many, sorry), some fun little love hearts. At 12:30 I was up feeding Bens so I set them all out around the house, in his car, and bag that goes to work with him. I was so excited for him to find them. Come 5 am when he got up to get ready for work...I was just getting back in bed from feeding Bens (it was the 3rd time that night). I was still excited for him to find the fun little love notes but told him to be quiet getting breakfast and not to wake Bens. About 5 min later I hear this huge crash and the babe starts crying. I had not replaced the lid to our full-to-the-brim granola bucket so when he went to grab it, it crashed to the floor. Needless to say, I went up to comfort Bens and Anth apologized and said he loved the little surprises everywhere. At that point I really didn't care about the surprises and told him to have a good day.

The rest of the day was ok. But our little man is majorly congested so needed to be held all day and didn't sleep longer that 15 min. We had decided earlier that we'd just stay in that night, I'd make dinner and we'd watch a movie. We'll when I started making dinner I put the needed amount of butter in the frying pan, about 3 tbl, turned on the burner, to about medium heat and then turned it off b/c I realized Anth wouldn't be home for awhile and I didn't need to start it yet. At about that time Benson got really fussy. He likes to look at the trees in our yard so I took him outside to calm down. He loved it and we were out there for about 5ish min, when I decided to go back in the house for a blanket to sit on the grass with. When I walked into the house it was half filled with smoke. Just like it looks in the movies. The whole stove looked to be in flames (really it was just the one burner but the flames were huge). I'm sure I said something like "holy cow" or "oh crap." I promptly remembered all the kitchen safety lectures I'd given to my students. I grabbed the pan, set it on the tile floor and threw a dish cloth over it, smothering the fire, distinguishing it. Then Bens and I opened all the windows, doors, and turned on all the fans in the house, trying to ventilate. Our stove is old, I think it was made before vertical blinds were invented. Two of the knobs are stripped, so really they can't be used and the other two, the front ones, are almost stripped. When I had turned the burner off I turned the knob but it didn't turn the burner off, just to high. Hence the fire and smoke. Also, we recently bought some smoke detectors but haven't installed them yet. (We will soon, very soon)

Anyway, the fun night didn't stop there. Benson and I waited outside for Anth to get home and to let the house air out. I was about in tears but then my neighbor drove up and came over to talk. While we were talking Anth got home and we started saying goodbye. At that point I took a step backwards, onto a loose brick (lines our flower beds) and fell back, smashing a bush, and scrapping my leg almost to the point of needing stitches, not to mention my broken pride. Basically I sacrafised myself and can say Benson wasn't harmed at all.

I still really like v-day but hope next year will be a bit less eventful.

Some of the hearts

Example of how I put them everywhere

4 Months

2011-02-15T12:43:00.000-08:00

Benson is 4 months today! Where did all the time go?!? It's been such an amazing 4 months! I've loved every second of it!! He just had his 4 month dr visit today, so here are the stats...

Head 17.5
Length 26.5
Weight 16.135 lbs
(I don't know how he's doing on the charts b/c my dr doesn't have them or do them. I should google it.)

Here's a list of his accomplishments/talents:
-has found his toes, he loves to suck on his big one
-uses different voices, just loves to to yell at mom
-loves his saucer
-rolls over from tummy to back (see video below)
-hates his car seat
-has naturally crazy hair
-blows bubbles with his lips
-loves to look at/read books
-loves to grabs anything within reach
-pulls long hair, and short hair, and necklaces...
-loves baths
-laughs as dad takes him up stairs and mom runs behind
-survived 1st ear infection
-when he wakes up he'll just babble and talk until I come in and get him (the longest I've left him is about 15 min and he was as happy as can be)
-had 2nd hair cut
-had first trip to Utah/plane ride
-is the best/cutest baby in the world!

Here's some pictures of him recently.

Right after rolling over. He loves tummy time!

You can't see it but he's strapped onto the stroller, for a walk. It was a pretty chilly day.

He loves this thing.

Just before church, love the belt

Reading with Dad. He has to hold the book.

He loves his feet!!!

Rolling Over Feb. 1, 2011

1 Year

2011-02-02T10:03:00.001-08:00

One year ago today I gave birth to a beautiful little boy. William was perfect except that he came almost 4 1/2 months early. He is one of the strongest people I know. I feel so blessed to have sat by his bedside everyday for 2 months, encouraging him to fight to live. I experienced more emotions during those 2 months than I have before or since. Over the past year there have been many times that I've missed him and longed to have him. A few things that I miss about him: seeing his many facial expressions, talking and singing to him, holding him, holding his hand or foot, changing his diaper (it was just about the only thing I was allowed to do to take care of him), and all the wonderful nurses and doctors that took such good care of him. I love that I have all those memories. I was looking in my journal today and noticed that I wrote almost every day Will was alive. I am grateful that I have all those days.
I've been asked a few times if having Benson has helped in the healing process, and of course it has. We have often commented that we wouldn't have Benson if William would have lived. But loving Benson doesn't take away the loss of or the love I have for Will. When we first brought Bens home there were a couple times that I struggled understanding that. I would feel guilty, like I was betraying my love for Will. (Do other moms feel that way when they have a second child?) But I now know I can love both my little boys. I am sad that that they won't get to play with each other or grow up knowing each other but Benson's middle name is William, so I hope he will always feel close to him.
There is a part of me that hopes that I'll never stop grieving for Will. That if I stop missing him, those 2 months didn't happen, that he doesn't matter. So every once in awhile when I see a child that was born around February 2, 2010, I will wonder what William would have been like, what he'd be doing, etc. But I will also be thinking that I know I will get to see him again and I know he's in a better place.
My testimony of the Atonement has increased in ways I never could have thought and for that I'm grateful. Families are Forever!

Pre-Christmas Visitors

2011-01-04T18:30:00.000-08:00

We were lucky enough to have Michelle, my sister, and her two youngest, Weston and Calvin, come for a visit just before Christmas. Her in-laws live in Austin, just 3 hrs away, so she came down early to see Anthony and me, meet Benson and see what our life is like here in Corpus. We had so much fun!! Her boys are so cute and are getting so big. It was fun to introduce her to our friends here and have her experience a few Corpus-moments :) Thanks so much for coming Michelle, Weston and Calvin!!!!

Cousins: Weston, Benson and Calvin

Michelle and Weston playing on the beach

Feeding and getting attacked by seagulls

Sewing dresses for her girls

The finished product, so cute!

Cousins ready for church. 7 months apart. Calvin 9 months, Benson 2 months

First Video

2010-12-29T10:27:00.000-08:00

(the oneise says "Shawn and Bekah Rock My World")

I've never posted a video on here before so I hope it works.

Here's Benson. He's such a talker, it's so fun!

Updates on pre-Christmas visitors and Christmas will be coming soon!

Early Christmas Present

2010-12-21T14:36:00.000-08:00

I love being married to Anthony!! We celebrated 3 years this month! It's been a wonderful 3 years that keep getting better and better. One of the things I love about him is that he has the hardest time keeping gifts or surprises from me. Last night after we had been skyping with my family I was telling him that it was really hard to be away from family this time of year and that I just wanted everyone in Utah to meet our little Benson. He then turned to me and asked if he could give me an early Christmas present and made me promise not to say no. I said yes he could. He went on to tell me that he's sending me (and Benson) to Utah for TWO weeks in January!!!! Holy Cow!! That's a really long time but I'm so excited! I'm excited to see family, friends and to be cold! (It's 80 degrees today, 4 days before Christmas) I come on the 10th and stay until the 24th!!! I am a little nervous about traveling with a baby but others have survived so I'm sure I will too.

So THANK YOU ANTHONY!! You are the best husband ever!!!

Fun Pictures

2010-12-21T14:18:00.000-08:00

This "little" guy is weighing in at 14.6 lbs and measuring 23 3/4 inches. At his last apt he measured 24.5 inches, obviously they did it wrong last time b/c he's definitely not shrinking! Here's a few pictures...

Huge explosion after I had already cleaned out diaper

Cutest dimples ever!!!

Tummy Time

Shows his cute curly hair and that he's a cutie!!

2 Months

2010-12-15T06:52:00.000-08:00

Benson is two months today!!! We can't believe he's already that old, time flies! He's such a fun baby!

-He has the biggest smiles and coo's/talks to us.
-He loves watching our tongues move.
-He's eating every 3-4 hours, 4-6 oz.
-He has a blowout every day to day and a half.
-He slept once for 6 hours and since only about 4.
-I think he weighs about 15 lbs and is 25 inches long (we'll find out tomorrow if I'm correct, at the Dr. apt).
-His newest trick is to eat only two oz and then refuse more. When I try to coax him to eat more he just smiles and smiles, it's pretty funny!

We can't imagine life without him! I love every day I get to take care of him! We feel very blessed to have this little guy in our family!

1 Week 2 Weeks

3 Weeks 4 Weeks

5 Weeks 6 Weeks

7 Weeks 8 Weeks

Christmas Traditions

2010-12-14T07:50:00.000-08:00

One of my favorite Christmas traditions is making graham cracker houses! We had a few friends over and it was a fun night! Our houses took on a college theme. A couple families left early so I don't have pictures of their houses, but you get the idea. I think I could do this more than once a year!

Christmas Miracle

2010-12-11T10:15:00.000-08:00

Benson slept 6 hrs in a row last night!!! It was incredible! The most he's ever slept at once was 2.5, maybe 3 hours. He's done that a couple times. He's been eating every 3 hours religiously since birth but last night he ate at 10:30, went to sleep at 11 pm and didn't wake up until 5 am!!! We've been taking turns getting up with him, I take the week days and Anthony takes the weekends. And usually the one up with him sleeps on the couch because he only likes to sleep in his bouncer and is up and down all night. We really hope this isn't a fluke and that it'll continue forever :)

Christmas Beginnings

2010-12-07T08:12:00.000-08:00

I love Christmas!!! We've begun setting up our house for it. It's fun! Benson loves it, especially the lights on the tree. I wish we had snow but instead just 80 degree weather. I just finished our christmas pj's for this year, I love that tradition, I love all the traditions!!

We also had our ward Christmas party so I got to take a picture of Benson on Santa's lap. It was a really fun party; I love our ward!

Thanksgiving and U Game

2010-11-29T14:43:00.000-08:00

We had a fabulous Thanksgiving here in hot land! (It was around 8o degrees.) We got together with some families here in town and had fun relaxing and eating good food, thanks Warner's!! It was fun having Benson with us, boy having a baby changes your life :) Benson got to help Anthony make the turkey favors and it was nice to just be home with our family.

For Black Friday I let the boys sleep in and I went to JoAnn's. (Flannel for $1.29/yd!!) Then Anth, Bens and I went to a few other stores after the mad rush. I'm just going to say that it's fun to shop for kids, I know Benson won't remember it but we will and he needs to have something under the tree!

On Saturday we watched the BYU Vs UTAH game; the U won! Some good friends gave Benson this great jersey! It's an 18 month size so he'll be able to wear it next season too!

Mom and Benson ready for the game!

Smile

2010-11-21T17:02:00.001-08:00

The other night I went in to check on Benson and just took a picture in the dark. He's just a smiley guy! Right now he's sleeping in the day and not a night, which is tiring but I still love getting up with him!

4 Weeks Old

2010-11-12T09:05:00.000-08:00

Week 1

Week 2

Week 3

Week 4

Visitors

2010-11-10T17:08:00.000-08:00

The day after we brought Benson home my sister Rachel and her daughter Adalaide came for a visit. They stayed for a week and were the perfect baby-first-week-home visitors. We just sat around playing with babies all week, it was wonderful! Rachel was able to answer so many questions, as they just adopted Adalaide 4 months previously. We're pretty sure these two cousins are going to be the best of friends. The day before they left we were able to give them a tour of Corpus from a car, with hopes that they'll want to come back soon to really experience Texas (although Rach did get to experience texas cockroaches :)!

Us and our babies!

Cute cousins (4 months apart)

They were such good traveling buddies!

We ran out of blankets one night so borrowed one from Adalaide :) I think Bens looks good in pink!

Isn't she darling!!! Such a good baby!!

Since my parents were in China when Benson arrived my mom came down about a week and half after we brought him home. My dad came down a few days later. We've invited and un-invited them a few times so it was nice to finally get them here. If you know my parents, you know they are movers and shakers, they can't sit still very long. We recently bought a house that needs a lot of work so it was a perfect time for them to come and help! And boy did they! Just to list a few: making bumper pads and a valance for Benson, helping me bath Bens for the first time, making Bens a quilt (out of tricot!!), fixing a leak in the roof, painting one whole bathroom and the cabinets of another one, replacing rotting french doors with a beautiful sliding door, ect. I could go on but you get the idea. I'm pretty sure we wore them out! Oh and my mom would also take Benson at around 3 or 4 am so we could sleep! It was amazing!

On the last day of their stay we took them on a drive through Mustang Island, over the ferry (which we saw lots of dolphins), and back to Corpus to the USS Lexington. It's a carrier from WWII. It was lots of fun to do tourist-y stuff with them! We finished the night off at our favorite mexican restaurant, La Playa (which means 'The Beach.' I didn't know that when we first got here and thought it meant something else :). We loved having them here, thanks so much Dad and Mom!!!

Halloween

2010-11-09T08:21:00.001-08:00

This was Benson's first Halloween (and our first with a baby)! I love dressing up! How great is it that there is a holiday dedicated to dressing up!? In the past Anth has refused to dress up for Halloween but with Benson now here, he gave in! We got the idea for our costumes from Anthony's brother's family. Plus it helped that he had these jerseys from high school. My mom was in town so at the last minute we decided she could be the ref, I think she makes a good one!

Our little football!

Our Ward had a fabulous party and instead of doing the usual trunk-or-treat they had families decorate doors in the church so the kids could walk around inside. We got to man a door and it was a blast handing out candy :) (I don't have a picture, I was holding Bens at the time) For one of the activities they dressed up the Bishop and his counselor, then voted on which team did a better job. Alas, Anth wasn't picked but I think they did a pretty good job! It was a really fun night and I'm sure Bens loved it, even though he slept through it :)

Dress-up a Bishop

Dress-up the 1st Counselor (he won)

3rd Week Dr Visit

2010-11-04T14:27:00.001-07:00

Although Benson doesn't turn 3 weeks until tomorrow we had a Dr visit today so here are the stats: 10 lbs 15 oz
22 inches long

He's grown a lot since birth (8 lbs 8 oz and 18 3/4 inches long)! The Dr said "he obviously doesn't have a problem eating." Which he doesn't. He loves to eat 4-5oz, about every 3 hrs. At night he sometimes has a hard time sleeping, which we think is due to gas; just him figuring out how his body works :) The Dr said he looks great in every area!

We love him more and more every day, if that's possible! It's so fun to just sit and watch him, whether he's awake or asleep. He smiles all the time and often laughs while he sleeps. He's a very good baby and we feel so blessed to have him in our lives!!!

Just More Pictures...

2010-10-26T18:29:00.000-07:00

Group changing

Picture with Peanut (the elephant)

On the way to the Dr. office

Cute dimple!

Playing with mom!

Baby Shower

2010-10-25T15:21:00.000-07:00

Some amazing ladies from my ward threw Bens and me a shower on Saturday! It was so much fun, they really know how to throw a party!!! (I asked my pediatrician if it was ok to take Benson to the shower, he being just over a week old, and was told yes but no one was allowed to hold him. I succeeded 100%!) We played games, ate good food and talked about babies! Benson received so many wonderful gifts! Thanks for everything!

Such a cute cake!

Firsts

2010-10-20T15:35:00.000-07:00

First bath

First decorated door

First fruit bouquet

First ride home

First night at home!

First outfit and first time outside (giving a gangsta sign)

Just Pics......

2010-10-17T21:02:00.000-07:00

Drum Roll Please...................................

2010-10-16T15:41:00.000-07:00

Benson William Vance

Born at 3:03 pm on 10/15/10

8lbs 8oz and 19” Long

He’s here! As you can see we have decided to name him Benson William. He is such a cutie. On Thursday this week we received a text message from the birth mom telling us that she was having regular contractions about 3 minutes apart which lasted about a minute. They were progressively getting stronger. Needless to say, we didn’t sleep too much that night. She had been updating Lynette throughout the day and told us that she and her mom had both felt like they needed to get the bag packed. On Friday morning Lynette got a phone call from the birth mom letting us know that she had been admitted to the hospital and that Benson would be born later that day. She said that the delivery was not too difficult (thank you to modern medicine) but that she did have to push for about 45 min.

Benson is a cute little boy. The pictures don’t do him any justice. We were asked to come up today and arrived a little after 3 pm and were able to stay for an hour. We held him and fed him a bit and got see all his little features in person. He has some cute dimples that you’ll just have to see when you see him in person. He has big eyes and his hair is straight when dry but curly when wet and is very soft and black. He has long toes and fingers and both hands and feet are pretty big. He was all bundled up this afternoon and was just cute. He is full of expression and a very calm happy kid. We certainly love him.

We had some good conversation with the birth mom and her parents and again it was confirmed that this little boy is to be a part of our family. We are so grateful to have him and can’t wait till he is home with us. He will either be coming home with us tomorrow or on Monday. We are waiting for one remaining test. He is healthy and doing great. We will keep you posted and hopefully you will enjoy the pics.

Anthony & Lynette

Born

2010-10-15T15:14:00.001-07:00

Our little guy was born today, October 15, 2010. At 3:03pm, weighing 8 lbs 8 oz! And 20 inches! He's a big boy but are just glad he's here! The birthmom said labor and delivery went really well. We get to see him tomorrow and placement will be on monday morning. We'll post pictures as soon as we can!

Admitted

2010-10-15T08:11:00.000-07:00

Our brithmom texted us last night at about 9pm to tell us that she was having hard contractions every 3ish minutes, lasting 45-50 seconds. She said she'd wait until they got really bad before she'd go into the hospital. Fastfoward a sleepless night to this morning at 8am- I texted her and asked how she was doing. She promtly called me and said she was admitted into the hospital about an hour earlier and that she'd probably have the baby sometime day, most likely tonight. She told us to plan on making the 4 hr trip tomorrow so we'd be able to see him. It looks like placement will be on Monday.

I can't explain how excited we are!!! Imagaine a chicken running around, with or without head, that'd be us. I feel like we aren't ready at all but don't know what to do to get ready. We are in our house, the a/c just got fixed and the baby room is painted but the rest of the house is a mess. We can't beleive it's today, our little boy will be arriving today!! We'll keep y'all upated on how things progress and of course post pictures when we get them!!!

October 8, 2010

2010-10-08T07:51:00.000-07:00

We are closing on our house today! I know I may be counting our eggs before they are hatched because we've been given a million close dates, but I won't have time to post later so I'm doing it now. We should have closed a month ago but it's been one hairy mess after another. We are just so glad this day has finally come!! We are having a cleaning house party tonight and a move in party tomorrow (our uhaul has to be back in the pm, we've had it since sept. 30).

I can't begin to describe how excited we are to just be in! As we did the final walk-through last night I had to remind myself of all the reasons I love this house. I really do love it and can now start dreaming of life inside it.

We found out our birthmom won't be induced next week (like we thought earlier) but will continue on to the due date, October 18th. I feel like I've been so consumed with this house stuff that the baby stuff has taken a back burner. Now it's baby focus time! We can't wait to paint the nursery and start preparing everything! While we were watching conference last weekend we were commenting how at last conference, in April, we had just buried William and could never have drempt that we'd be "expecting" a little boy in 6 months. It's incredible! Heavenly Father is very aware of us! We are so excited that Will will be getting a little brother any day now!!! We have a couple names picked out but are waiting to meet this little guy before we make the final decision (and no it won't be Truck).

We'll post on here as soon as we get any word on his arrival. A big THANK YOU to all who have been so helpful these last few months and especially this past month with moving, being homeless and getting into this house!!!

September Update

2010-09-23T09:08:00.000-07:00

It's been a crazy month so far.

1st week: I made a quick trip home for our annual "Weston Sisters Weekend." It was so much fun. We've gone to Swiss Days up in Midway the lasts two years and are going to try Women's Conference in April at BYU. It was a great trip but much too short.

My sisters and mom threw me a surprise baby shower while I was there. It was a total surprise! It was so much fun! Thanks!!

2nd week: Had surgery up in Houston. I hate surgery and I hate recuperating (I'm still doing it). But it's for the greater good, right? Hopefully now my body will be able to carry a baby full term.

3rd week: In the 1st week I should have said we closed on our house but we didn't, we still haven't! I'm about as frustrated as I can get. Everyone keeps blaming it on the mysterious "third party." Who are they? And that it's a foreclosure. We better close by the 30th b/c we have to be out of our apt by then! I'm a bit nervous but can't really do anything about it. My advice, don't ever buy a house.

On-going throughout the month: Keeping in contact with our birthmom! She is so incredible! We love her! We've gotten to see her once and she's getting so big! About 4 weeks!!! I can't believe it. Adoption is incredible! When we were first chosen I wanted her to deliver early but now I'm hoping she goes two weeks over. I'm sure some of this is due to the fact that we're not in the house yet but a lot of is due to the fact that I feel very inadequate to be a mother in 4 weeks. I don't know how to be one. Will never left the hospital, and was taken care of by a nurse. I just need a nurse to move with me I guess.

I hope to be posting in a week that we've closed on our house and that we're moving in; cross your fingers! And that I'm totally prepared to be a mom :)

Here's the quilt I made, but it's getting quilted right now so here's the before picture. The nursery theme is vintage sports. Also we made a countdown chain in anticipation for this little guy!

CHOSEN!

2010-08-22T12:53:00.000-07:00

About 3 weeks ago we received an email from an expectant mother through LDS Family Services. She told us she liked our profile and was interested in getting to know us better. We were very excited, to say the least, and started corresponding with her. She lives about 3 1/2 hours from us, is expecting a little boy in the middle of October, and has been searching for parents for this little boy for a long time. We only got emails from her once a week and it was hard to gauge how interested/serious she was about choosing us. So this past week I asked our case worker to ask her case worker what she was thinking, etc. We also sent her an email asking if we could take her to lunch or dinner this weekend, to meet her. Our case worker let us know that she was interested in us but she was also looking at another couple. She decided to do a face-to-face visit yesterday with both couples to help her make a final decision.

Of course we were super nervous. I think I tried on a dozen outfits and kept telling Anth how I wish I knew what she was looking for so I could change everything about myself to become just that. Anth told me I didn't have to change myself, that she'd pick us for us and if it was the Lord's will for this to happen, it would. We also talked about the other couple, how they wanted a baby as badly as we did so it'd be ok if they were picked; there'd be another one out there for us. (Anth has been incredible, he always calms and talks me through everything.)

We got up at 5:30am and left shortly after for the long road trip. It was a good trip and we made it just on time. Before we went into the room with the birth mother we were told her sister, mom and dad were with her. We were told they'd ask us questions and we could ask them questions. (Anth told me later he was the most nervous at this point, he was shaking. I was nervous but had worked it through that I would do my best and just be myself and if she didn't pick us it wouldn't be because she didn't get to know us.) As we walked into the room there was a very peaceful feeling. We had a wonderful visit. The birth mother is incredible! She has been through a lot and has turned to the Lord and her ward for help throughout this experience. It really was a delightful visit. Afterward I had nothing to regret, either saying or not saying. After our meeting we were getting directions to the temple and the case worker came out and said the birth mom had one more question. She asked if we were still interested in going out to eat and if we'd like to meet them for a late lunch after they met with this other couple. We said of course we'd love to. After we left her we were so excited because she couldn't want to see us again if she was going to pick the other couple, right?! We enjoyed the temple and met up with her and her family at Macaroni Grill. When we got there she handed me a note, saying it was a thank you note for coming all the way to meet her. I put it in my purse but then her father leaned over and told me to open it right now. I opened it and it was a card with little baby feet on it. On the inside it said "Choose the paint, get the hand-me-downs ready, 'peanut' is coming your way. I'm so happy I finally found you!" I freaked out! I can't describe the feeling. We were all a bit emotional and the best word to describe how we felt but doesn't come close to really describing it, was happy. We all just felt pure happiness. It was such a neat experience!

As we talked with her and her family she described how she's had a very difficult time choosing a family to place her child with and how at the beginning she wanted to have a powerful confirmation that a certain couple was "the one." As the months passed and she never felt anything for any of the prospective couples she got very frustrated. She got to the point where she just wanted to feel "ok" about a couple and that would be good enough. She had recently chosen us and the other couple and wasn't going to do a face-to-face and was leaning towards picking the other couple. She had a strong feeling that she should meet with both of us and it would help her make the final decision. The whole family commented how from the moment we walked into the visit/meeting they felt a very peaceful feeling and the birth mom knew when she met us that we were the parents for her child. She told us that she has been very emotional and confused throughout the pregnancy but when she met us and decided to place with us she has felt peace and clarity.

Our ride home was much better than the ride there, I'm pretty sure we flew. Cloud 9 is amazing! This little boy is due on the 18th of October. We can't really believe this is happening but know that the Lord is very aware of us. We told the birth mother that with her choosing us, she has answered a lot of people's prayers! Thank you to everyone who's prayed for us and who is excited for/with us! We don't really know how everything is going to work out and will update our blog when we get new info.

Our House

2010-08-18T14:04:00.000-07:00

Well it will be on September 7, 2010! Here are some pictures of the house, purple carpet and all!

I don't have a picture of the front, I forgot to take one. I'll put one in when I get it :)

Here's the front door/entry:

Here's the kitchen and eat-in-dinning:

Here's the formal dinning and living room:

Here's the stairs:

Here's the half bath:

Here's the master bedroom and bath:
Here's one of the upstairs bedrooms and the storage room:
Here's the upstairs bathroom:

Sorry I don't have any of the backyard, but it has a great wood deck and area for raised garden beds. I'm glad I have these pictures so when we start painting, etc we can do before and afters. We know this house needs some work but are excited to update a bit at a time (we are keeping the purple carpet for now because it's new and really not too bad, I promise Anth).

July

2010-08-07T08:20:00.000-07:00

Can't believe it's August! Here's our last month...

4th of July weekend we went up to Houston to see Wicked with some great friends. It's an incredible show but I think we enjoyed the company more. From the singing in the car, 20 Questions, bathroom stop at Buc-ees's (they have the worlds nicest bathrooms!), shopping, walking around Houston, and more driving; it was fun weekend!

The next weekend we flew to Utah for a Weston Family Reunion up in Bear Lake. It was beautiful and our favorite part, cool at night. We had lots of fun hanging out with family, being at the beach, riding the water wienie, playing games, etc.

On Friday we were able to place a head stone on Will's grave. I didn't think it was going to be hard, just more closure but it brought back everything, like it was yesterday. It was pretty hard to leave him there, but wonderful to know he's in a beautiful place.

Saturday morning we sent all the men-folk with the children to Manatonka Cave so the women-folk could throw a baby shower for Rachel and Adalaide. Rachel and Paul adopted Addi about a month and half ago. She's such a blessing and we are so excited for their newest addition. It was so fun to be able to celebrate her arrival! It was a very quick trip to Utah but much needed.

The week after we got back Anthony was made Bishop of our ward. Yes he's only 27 and yes it's very overwhelming but we love this ward and are excited to be apart of it! His parents came for the sustaining, setting apart and a visit! We had a great time with them but I think they realized that July isn't the optimum time to vacation in South Texas, not with the heat and the humidity :)

Sara Anne came for what has now been phrased her "annual Corpus vaca." We had a blast! We made a quilt top, went to the beach, aquarium, pool, the bay, and every other fun thing to do in corpus. Thanks for coming!!

Since then we've looked at a bunch of houses. We almost got one but it wasn't right so we decided to wait for a bit and then start looking later this fall. Three days later our Realtor called us to come see a house. He said he usually doesn't call his clients but when he walked through this house he thought of us and wanted us to see it. We put in an offer, it was accepted, we've done the inspections, and we still want it! We close on Sept. 7! It's very similar to other one but this one has purple carpet throughout, my sister Rachel would love it! We'll post pictures when we can and hopefully everything will continue to run smoothly.

On the Adoption front: We've had some action on our profile and there are some possibilities but it's still too soon to tell anything or get too excited, or to start buying anything. We are grateful to everyone who's shared our profile/story with anyone and know it'll happen when and how it's supposed to. We have faith that the Lord is very aware of us and our desires to have children. So thanks again to family and friends!!!

House Update

2010-07-25T08:14:00.000-07:00

We aren't getting the house. The seller didn't want to fix any of the problems (new roof, a/c, water heater, foundation issues, etc). So we walked away. We are sad but will find something else. We just hate that we put $ into all the inspections, but I guess that's all part of growing up. Wish us luck in the hunting process!

House

2010-07-16T12:13:00.000-07:00

We are trying to buy a house. MLS #158009. We've been looking at houses in Corpus since we moved here and have come close to buying at other times but it never felt right or just didn't work out. We put in an offer last week, they countered, we countered back and they accepted! It all happened really fast. Everyone keeps asking if I'm super excited, and I am but there's still all the inspections to go through, all the really scary stuff. Just today I met with a roof inspector and was told it needs to be replaced. We are going to get a second option so maybe it's fine. Anyway we are excited and really like this house and can't wait to move in. Wish us luck!!!

it's about love

2010-07-13T06:37:00.000-07:00

Last September, after having a couple of miscarriages, we decided to pursue the adoption route to bring children into our family. Soon after starting the process we discovered we were pregnant so we stopped and concentrated on me being pregnant. Fast forward 5 1/2 months to the birth of our little William, who survived almost 2 months but passed away on March 28 due to being extremely premature and very sick. While we were in Utah for the viewing and burial I asked my mother, who had a similar experience, how long after their baby died did they start the process of adopting my brother. She told me they couldn't stand to wait very long and my brother became apart of our family less than a year later. I was quite shocked they could move on so quickly and told her I didn't think we'd be ready for at least a year to even begin thinking about adoption.

I was wrong. About two days afters we got home I started feeling like we needed to start the adoption process. I pushed the thought away and kept telling myself that we were still mourning our son and we weren't ready. The thought persisted so I mentioned it to Anthony a day later. He also felt that we should start working on it all. It's a pretty involved process. We started it in April and have just been approved as of July 13! We've been told the waiting time could be anywhere from 6 months to a year, or more. We are choosing to be optimistic and plan on getting a call any day now.

We are so excited about adoption! At some time in the future we'll try again on me carrying a baby but for now we'll go this route. We want children so badly but the thought of putting my body through all that again is a bit daunting. Not to mention the possibility of losing another child. So adoption is such a wonderful blessing!! We are grateful for the love, support and advice we've received throughout these past months! We've felt the Lord's guidance through this process and know He's very aware of our lives. We still miss Will every day but know he'd want siblings and we can't wait share his story with the rest of our children.

Please spread the word and send anyone thinking about adoption to our profile. The link is on the top right corner of our blog. We'll keep you posted on the progress!

Merry Month of (mostly) June

2010-06-24T11:53:00.000-07:00

This past month has flown by for various reasons. Here's a post of what has been keeping us busy.

-Anth ran in a relay race - Beach2Bay, 6 on a team, each member running a little over 4 miles. I'm pretty sure they came in first place :) I want to run it next year.

(He's in the white, long sleeve shirt, crazy- yes!)

-I flew up to New Jersey to watch Steve and Michelle's kids for a week while they went to Utah. It was a much needed break/get away/be with family time. I had so much fun! Their kids are hilarious and so well behaved! Plus the weather was beautiful, most days in the high 60's-low 70's, and cooler nights, not the 115 degree-with-heat-index-hotness of south Texas. We Ty-Dyed shirts, made cookies, painted and made a bus out of a huge box, went on bike rides and played in the back yard. Thanks Bruderer's!

-I finished 3 quilts but can only post pictures of 2 because I haven't given my newest niece Addi hers yet. Which means I have 2 new nephews and 1 new niece. Cutest babies ever!! (The first one was for Beck but I never took a picture of it when the last border was put on or after it was bound, so it's not so cute, but in real life it was. Think light blue border. The second one was for Calvin. I decided to machine quilt it myself, without a real quilting machine so it took forever but I love how it turned out.)

-Anth's first Father's Day! He got a grill so we did kabobs. We made Fazookies but I don't have a picture, delish! I also gave him a tie tac with Will's picture on it but the jeweler isn't finished with it yet. I think he had a pretty fun day.

-And for those that know I love a good battle wound or just any bruise here's a picture of Anth's sprained ankle.

-I have something else I want to post about but will wait for another week. Stay tuned :)

Houston

2010-05-10T13:21:00.000-07:00

Anth and co-workers had a training up in Houston last week so the wives decided to tag along. While they had a week full of long meetings we got to explore Houston.

Everyday: This was a typical sight throughout our stay. Even though it's in Houston, it usually takes 1-2 hours to get there. Not my favorite thing. It actually made me appreciate Corpus, crazy I know.

Day 1: Houston Zoo - Loved how shady it was, b/c it was hot! One of the wives that came brought her 2 kids which always makes for a good time. You can't go to the zoo w/o getting a drink from the Lion, scary!

Day 2: Houston Space Center - Pretty cool place. I have a season pass b/c it was only $3 bucks more than an all-day pass. The space ships are so huge! I highly recommend the tram tour, you get to see the control center and all the different space ships :)

Day 3: Lunch and the park. The plant where the men were meeting had a fabulous park. I didn't get any pictures but they had all the old, super fun and probably dangerous-by-today-standards toys. A merry-go-round, teeter-toter, medal slides, and bouncy chickens and horses. I'm pretty sure us wives had just as much fun on these toys as the kids.

Night of Day 3: Kemah Boardwalk. It was so movie-ish. Rides, games and shops right on the water. Anth had a pretty fun time.

Day 4: One of the moms had to head home (the one with the kids) so the other mom and I went to the Temple. It is such a beautiful temple!!! We also stopped by IKEA, I bought a peeler :)

I had a fabulous week. It was nice not to have to be alone and I got to experience one of the biggest cities in the USA.

Ooohhh Mandy!

2010-04-28T12:06:00.000-07:00

Hopefully you know I'm referring to the song by Barry Manilow.

One of my great-est friends came to visit us in last week. Anth had recruiting up in Utah so it was a perfect time. She flew into San Antonio b/c it's so much cheaper. Her plane was supposed to arrive at 3pm but it was delayed and she didn't get here until 10pm. San Antonio is 2.5 hours away and by the time I received word that she was going to be late I was almost there so there was no-way I was going to turn around and come back later. So I went to the temple distribution center (I would have gone to the temple but I wasn't wearing a dress), Costco, and then read at Barns and Noble for about 3 hours (they have very comfy chairs).

Her trip here was filled with swimming/body surfing in the gulf, a 16 mile bike ride (where we almost died), eating yummy mint brownies and mexican food, bonfires on the beach, ferry rides, and late night talks. It was so much fun having her here, thanks for coming Mandy!!

BIG 27

2010-04-15T09:07:00.001-07:00

Anthony turned 27 last Sunday! It was a great day! I'm pretty sure one of his best birthdays ever :)
It's hard having a birthday on a sunday and with all the crazy-ness of the past couple weeks it really might not have been the best one ever. But we got to go to church and the Young Men's Pres told everyone it was his birthday. We got invited over for some really yummy dutch oven and then pretty much invited the ward over for banana cream pie, his favorite. Thanks to the Warner's for great food and letting us invite everyone over and to everyone who helped make it a great day for Anth!

Anth and Melissa using the leftover easter candy as make-up (blue lips)

Anth and his banana cream pie!

A Beautiful Day

2010-04-12T15:13:00.000-07:00

William's viewing and grave-side service were beautiful. It was a perfect day. The purpose of the viewing was for our family and friends to meet our little boy. There was such an amazing feeling of love and support all day long. We can't thank everyone enough for everything. Thank you to everyone who came or wanted to come to the viewing and to everyone who drove up to Laketown. We miss Will so much but know we'll see him again and that he really is in a better place.

Viewing & Graveside Service

2010-03-31T17:28:00.000-07:00

We have finalized our plans for Friday. This is the tentative plan for now and any changes will be sent out:

Viewing:
Russon Brothers Mortuary (Bountiful, UT)
Friday 10 am

Graveside Service:
Laketown, UT (near Bear Lake)
Friday 1:30

There will also be a small luncheon afterward at a local church in Laketown.

For those of you who would like to come, please do but do not feel obligated to come. We love you all and again thank you for your continued support.

Anthony & Lynette

March 28, 2010

2010-03-31T08:33:00.000-07:00

William Anthony Vance
February 2, 2010 – March 28, 2010

This past Sunday our sweet little boy passed away. It was a very tender experience for Lynette and me. I mentioned last week the challenge of being able to hand over the reigns and let the Lord take full control of our boy’s life. We had the opportunity last weekend to sit down with a member of our stake presidency and discuss the situation. We asked for guidance and he recommended we attend the temple. We hadn’t attended the temple since before Lynette was on bed rest and never felt like we could take a day and leave William. He told us that as we made the sacrifice that we would be guided and blessed with the direction we needed. We decided to take the first opportunity and went on Tuesday afternoon. The temple was amazing. We were never given any direction concerning his life and what was going to happen, but we did feel an incredible peace about everything. We knew that all would be ok. He was in the care of He who knows all and that whatever occurred would be His will.

As the week proceeded, William’s condition started to improve and the blood tests we’ve been monitoring for the past month or so began to be normal. We were so excited and felt like he was starting to make the turnaround we’ve been praying for. However, they did mention that one level was increasing suggesting a potential infection. They immediately put him on an antibiotic to help fight anything that was there. They did a blood culture and found nothing. The tests were repeated on Friday but cultures were taken from everywhere an IV or line was going into him. We did not get these results until Sunday.

Lynette has been attending sacrament meeting and then going to the hospital to be with William. This past Sunday was no different. To our surprise the doctor on call was a member from Houston on a monthly rotation here in Corpus Christi. He sat down with Lynette and told her that the results of the culture came back positive everywhere. The infection was throughout his body and that it was a matter of time before it took his life.

On Saturday, in preparation for fast Sunday, we were discussing the purpose of our fast. We let one another know that we didn’t want to see him in so much pain. Of course we wanted him to get better but he had had a couple of down days. We considered everything and decided that if the Lord was ready for him, that we were ready to let William go. We also decided to fast that I would have an opportunity to give him a blessing and that I would know what to say. It was a very tender moment between Lynette and me, but just like many times before we felt peace. We moved forward with the fast and an hour before church finished, Lynette sent me some texts asking me to be with her at the hospital. She at this point had been informed by the doctor about the cultures and wanted me with her. I showed up and met Lynette and the doctor and she informed me of his worsening condition. William didn’t look particularly well but was still stable. The medications and ventilator settings had all been increased and his lungs were not expanding due to the fluid build up. He didn’t look healthy and it showed. It was very hard to see him like this. I asked the doctor to assist in the blessing and we got some curtains to give us some privacy and gave William a blessing. We blessed him that he didn’t need to fight anymore, that he could rest. We blessed him that his Heavenly Father needed and wanted him back and that we (mom & dad) loved him. After the blessing I watched the monitor to see if he was showing any signs of change but nothing happened. The nurses asked us if we wanted anything and I asked if I could hold him.

They made all the necessary changes to set this up and I was able to hold my son for the first time. He was so sweet and seemed to do so well. Other than appearance and knowing what his most recent test results shown you would never have guessed he was so ill. It was a special moment for me. I loved holding him! Lynette was next to hold and as she was holding him the doctor mentioned about the different options we had as far as his life. We could let nature take its course or we could do things little by little. He told us that it wasn’t necessary for us to make a decision then but we both felt like we needed to say good bye. One of the hardest things through out this whole process was making the decision to stop the IV’s and stop use of the ventilator. We had feared that we would have to make it but hoped and prayed that William would be the one to make it. We did feel like it was right as we both felt he had gone through enough and that prolonging it would only put him through more pain.

Once the IV’s were pulled and the ventilator tube withdrawn we went to another room where we could be in private with our son. He slowly passed away but before he did, he was able to open his eyes and look up at us. We guess it was his way of saying goodbye. I can’t really describe the feelings we had at that time except for peace. Things happened very quickly but we felt it was the right thing. We were able to hold him for a time after he had passed away and then participated in cleaning him up and giving him a bath. We made some molds to have as a keepsake and dressed him and wrapped him in a blanket Lynette made for him.

We said our goodbyes and we then returned home. The feeling is similar to returning home after a sibling has just entered the MTC for his mission. It’s hard to think about knowing that we will not be going to the hospital to visit him. Our prayers are no longer centered on his care and health. We miss him! We want more time with him but not at the extent of damaging his body. We feel the void especially Lynette who was at the hospital most the day helping nurses attend to him. She helped change diapers, clean him, and get things set-up. Needless to say, we will miss him as we think about what we had.

Lynette and I were talking about his life and feel like all the promises mentioned in our patriarchal blessings truly pertained to him. Both of our blessings mention our children and that some will be missionaries. We have sent off our first missionary and must rejoice in knowing that he will not have any greater call and when we pass on, he will be there to greet us.

About the time of holding William, our OB/GYN was able to come and be with us. She has been such an incredible support through all of this as she has answered countless questions and concerns that both Lynette and I have had. We were truly inspired to be where we are to be with such a wonderful doctor who made having a child possible for us. We love her and thank her for all of her help. We would also like to thank our Bishop for his service and love for us. We have had many wonderful opportunities with him as he has assisted in giving William his name and other blessings. Our ward has also been so wonderful through this process and we want to thank everyone for the prayers, meals, and phone calls. We love all of you!

We love our sweet little boy. Thank you all for your prayers, phone calls, and temple visits. We especially want to thank all the cousins for their prayers. We have been the recipients of very tender prayers offered by sweet children. We just want you to know that William is better now and he is with his Heavenly Father. He accomplished all that he needed to here on Earth but know that your prayers were answered. William was supported by all of you and your fasts and prayers. Thank you for being amazing cousins to a boy you have never met.

We love you all and thank you for everything!

He's been tapped!

2010-03-21T21:02:00.001-07:00

I can't begin to describe what this roller coaster feels like. It is up and down all week but when you step back and think about it, he's been fighting for almost 7 weeks. His up's and down's have been the story of our lives and as we have fought to only go day by day it's amazing to think how the time has passed. We have had some amazing experiences with our little boy. The experience that I had, as his father, to give him a name. To watch him grow, to feel his hand squeeze ours, to change diapers, to see him overcome odds week after week, to see Lynette hold him, to see him open his eyes for the first time one by one and then both together, to see him improve. We have truly been blessed with a little boy who is special. He has such a strong spirit and when times seem at their worst, he rises to the occasion and overcomes them.

Our testimonies have grown so much. I know we say that a lot but they have. They have grown in faith, in Jesus Christ, in the Atonement, in the Plan of Salvation, in Temples, in inspiration. Our testimonies are so personal and I am so grateful that the Lord has sought to strengthen ours.

William this week has shown some progress followed by some serious struggles. We began the week just the same way we ended last week, worrying about the kidneys and the urine output. They began to work with him and there came a day, Tuesday, that they thought they may have to tap him to relieve the pressure on his stomach. They did not proceed but we had the chance to sit down with the Neonatologist and discuss with him our options. He proceeded to discuss with us the different outcomes to our situation and even told us what he thought would happen. He described to us that we need to consider our child and his quality of life as we keep him alive. It was difficult to listen to as he spoke and I felt myself becoming very angry with him, and just said a quick prayer to speak calmly the thoughts I had. I told him we know the odds, we know that he has a huge mountain to climb, and told him that we would not quit trying as long as William was fighting. We told him that William would be the one to decide when enough was enough. I can only describe the feeling I had as that of a missionary when he feels so strongly the message to the point of confounding the doubters. We asked for another opinion about the possibility of tapping into him and other options for helping William remove the fluid from his body. He did seem bothered by this but we don't care. This is our son and we want to know we did everything possible for him if he doesn't make it. After this discussion, we began to see some improvement in his kidneys. He began to urinate with a little more regularity but not in large quantities. Then on Friday and Saturday he all but stopped and he began to swell up even more. His stomach was pushing 32 cm (2.54 cm in one inch) and his face and body were so swollen. This morning we received a phone call from the Neonatologist on duty. She explained that all the swelling was pushing up on his lungs and as they increased the ventilator settings it was doing no good. His lungs were unable to expand all the way. They told us that we needed to do something immediately to remove the pressure. She told me that they would tap into his stomach and begin to drain the excess fluid so the lungs could expand and profuse his body and organs. We said they could move forward and knowing we couldn't be there went to Stake Conference. We did, however, ask them to call us when it was done. They called us in and we were able to see his stomach so much smaller. He is supposed to be around 800 grams (460 grams in a pound). He was over 3 pounds and after tapping into his stomach, he has lost almost 400 grams of fluid. It was incredible, but the most amazing and wonderful part is that he began to urinate very well. Whether it was the pressure on his kidneys or what, all we know is we are extremely grateful for this change. We did find out that this wasn't just a simple procedure to remove fluid but a very critical procedure to make sure he still has a balance of fluid in his body. He is having problems keeping fluid in his blood vessels. They call this capillary leakage. If the fluid is not thick enough it will seep into his tissue and to his skin. When he was at his biggest, his vessels were very full and his heart had enough volume to pump and keep circulation. When the excess fluid is removed, this changes and the volume in the vessels changes and if it gets too low the heart will work even harder until it eventually wears itself out. We were shocked to hear this because they didn't tell us this when they called this morning. But we got to experience it first hand this afternoon. After returning to the hospital from conference we began to notice his blood pressure decreasing. He is usually in the 30's to 50's and began to drop into the 20's. I then noticed his heart rate drop below 100 but it came right back up. This is something we have seen multiple times and isn't too much of a concern. They do try and keep him between 120 - 180 bpm. We kept watch of his blood pressure and saw it drop in the teens. With this change we started to see his heart rate fluctuate more. The nurse saw the problem and worked very frantically to get more volume in his blood. His heart rate then dropped to about 65 bpm and I pulled Lynette away from his bedside and allowed the nurses to get him going again. It was so surreal. They got him stabilized but we then were very aware of the concern that they had mentioned. He is being watched very carefully and many are doing the best they can. We are so grateful for those doctors and nurses there who were able to help him recover and stabilize him. It was truly an answer to prayers.

I don't mean to scare you with this post or make it seem that he won't make it. We don't know. But we will be faithful and whatever the Lord see's fit He will do. It's much harder than I thought to fully hand over the reigns. He knows the path and how to get us there. He's been there before. We just need to trust Him. I always thought this meant believing in him but it quite literally means to trust that He knows what is best. Our Father in Heaven has a plan that some day we will understand in detail. As of right now, we must live day to day enjoying what is ours to enjoy. He blesses us in so many ways that I am starting to see more of them daily. The small things. The improved kidney function, the stable day, Lynette and I sharing our thoughts about him, talking with doctors, and friends about him, hearing how he has given faith and hope to many around him, and how Lynette and I have been considered a strength to others as well. Even though there is so much good, I still find myself reluctant to give him everything. That is our challenge, to fully trust in the Lord and let him lead us to an eternal home. What a bright light at the end of the tunnel. He lives, we know it!

"Sisters"

2010-03-19T09:11:00.000-07:00

Everyone should move to Corpus and into the 2nd ward.
Last night Anth told me we needed to stop by a lady in the ward's house to pick up something. As we drove up to her house there were a lot of cars parked outside. I tried to talk Anth into coming back another time because it looked like something was going on but he said we'd go up really quickly and it'd be ok. As we knocked on the door I looked through the glass and saw a couple of ladies from our ward. Then as the daughter of the lady opened the door and invited us in I saw a couple more. I still was clueless and apologized to the little girl and asked for her mom. She told me to follow her and led me into the family room. Around the room and in the kitchen sat and stood the sisters from my ward. They all shouted "Surprise!" It was a party for me. I was so shocked! It was such an overwhelming feeling of love and support! It's been a hard week; Will hasn't really gotten worse but he hasn't gotten any better and a few of the doctors have talked to us about how far we want to go with all this and when is enough, enough. It was a wonderful night of eating comfort food (chocolate fountain included), talking and laughing with good friends that I really needed. The sisters all brought me something that they do/enjoy to pamper themselves. These little gifts touched my heart and are wonderful. I've grown up with so many sisters that it's been hard to not have them here with me during this time but Heavenly Father inspired these sisters to give me the love, support and laughter I needed. Thank you to all of you, I can't express how much last night meant to me.

First Hold!

2010-03-13T19:22:00.000-08:00

I thought I would take a minute and share an amazing thing which occurred today. Lynette had the opportunity to hold William for the first time. It couldn't have been more tender or sweet. We were given a book the first time we were pregnant entitled, "Babyhood". As we were reading the author shares about how much he loved his wife and how beautiful he thought she was shortly after birth. I must admit, when birth came and went as it did, I was in complete shock but I am sure Lynette looked gorgeous. But I will say that I have never seen her look so beautiful as she did today holding our little boy. She's a mother! No one can take that away from her. To see her holding this baby was incredible. We shared in some tears and were so overcome by the whole moment. It couldn't have come at a better time. I have some pictures and movies of the event so take a look and enjoy.

We have had a pretty rough week. William started to suffer a bit last Monday and began to require more assistance. I believe last week he was eating, off meds, and doing exceptionally well. Monday came around and he stopped eating, got back on meds, and required a lot of help from the ventilator. I left work on Wednesday to go talk with the doctor in the NICU and he was less than cheerful. Summarizing what he said, he said Will would most likely not recover from his issues. As a result, he said he would probably die. Lynette and I broke down in tears and had a little discussion with Will to tell him what the doctor said. It was a difficult moment.

We have found out that Will's kidneys and liver are in pretty bad shape and have only limited function going on right now. The kidneys stopped passing fluids and he swelled up again. They put him on Dopamine to help get the blood pressure up and gave him some Albumin and Lasix to help him start urinating. This is very important obviously because if he doesn't he will not be able to remove the toxins in his body. The swelling in his body is due to fluid not being kept within the blood vessels. This is a cause of his poor kidney function. His liver is supposed to make a protein (Albumin) that helps draw fluid into the vessels and keeps it there to keep the body working nicely. But his liver is not working very well. It is having a hard time keeping up with the demand his body has right now. We could help his liver by giving him breast milk but he can't have it due to the function of his digestive track. He runs the risk of rupturing the intestinal wall and causing infection. So, the one thing that helps him will also hurt him.

I was able to talk with a doctor on Thursday who was not so pessimistic. He told us that his biggest concern was to get his kidneys going. He says that he isn't overly optimistic nor pessimistic. He said he was stable but had a long ways to go. He was upbeat and very good about explaining Williams needs. Then on Friday I came home to find William with a team around him to taking x-rays of his chest. He had a lot of garbage suctioned out of his lungs and it was yellow. They took it to go get cultured and tested for infection.

He is doing much better now and the cultures have come back negative for the first day. So, after all of this and hearing everything this week we had such a complete opposite today. It was such an amazing thing to see and ranks up there with the top moments of our lives.

We love you all and hope you are all doing OK. Again, thank you for the prayers and your faith.

Shunt-less...for now

2010-03-05T06:35:00.000-08:00

Will made the move to the new hospital successfully! It's a much bigger NICU, instead of the 16-18 babies there are over 40. I miss the small-everybody-knows-you feeling, but we are grateful he's where the specialist are and can get the help he needs.

The Dr's have decided to wait for a bit before they put in the shunt because Will's kidneys and liver are pretty well "shot." One Dr. told us that he's too little and too sick to handle surgery right now. They are trying to help him with meds but pretty much they just need to start working and heal themselves.

Here's a picture of us with Will at his new place.

1st Field Trip

2010-03-03T17:44:00.000-08:00

Will is being moved to the Children's Hospital here in town because he needs a shunt put in soon. His latest head ultrasound came back worse so they consulted a neuro surgeon who wanted him moved to his hospital to do the surgery. We're not sure if he'll remain there but we'll see.

We took this movie clip while preparing Will for his first field trip.

One Month

2010-03-01T07:52:00.000-08:00

Will doesn't actually turn one month until tomorrow. But holy cow! ONE MONTH!! There were days I wondered if we'd get this far.

Will is doing "OK." That's what one of our Dr's told us. After he was born they expected to finding bleeding in his head and didn't. We really thought we were past that concern but last weekend after Will pulled out his breathing tube they did a head ultrasound and found a level 3 bleed (they grade them from level 1-4, 4 being the worst). This now adds all kinds of concerns to our growing list. We're watching his head for swelling and will cross that bridge when/if we get there.

Our other main concern are his kidneys. He's been on a crazy cycle where they'll work and then they'll stop and then they'll pick up again. During the non-working time he retains fluid (edema) and gets all puffy. It's so sad to see him that way. They think he weighs a little over a pound now but with all the water weight about 2 lbs. (Don't think I don't try to encourage him to go, I often stand over him saying "think about waterfalls Will, tinkle, tinkle, running water, rivers, etc." I've also threatened to put his hand in warm water. I think it works pretty well.) The Dr's and nurses have been working with the meds to find what helps him. Today he is going pretty well so we pray that it'll continue. (Who knew you could get so excited about someone going to the bathroom?)

This was taken last night, Feb. 28. He's gone a lot but still needs to keep going!

This is one of his "not going" days, Feb. 22

We are still taking it one day at a time and loving every minute we get to be with him. He is such a fighter and we know that his faith is amazingly strong. Thank you to all those who are praying for him and please know that your prayers are being answered; he's a month old!!!

Blankets

2010-02-22T07:51:00.000-08:00

Will is being very well taken care of. Every 12 hours he gets a new nurse. Of course there are ones we love and ones we love less. There are two in particular that we always hope for on the day shift; they are wonderful! They know a lot, have had a lot of experience taking care of pre-preemies (my term, not theirs), call us by our first names instead of "mom and dad," and don't mind all my (dumb and not-so-dumb) questions. They just help me feel like I know what's going on and want me to be apart of it all. These two nurses always let me change his diaper if I'm there and allow me to hold his hands without giving me the evil eye (yes, some of the nurses don't want me to touch him). Last week they both told me that I should bring in some things to decorate his area (make more homey). They suggested I bring in rosary beads or a cross or prayer cards. They also mentioned that I could bring in some receiving blankets to be placed under him and around his little bed. Being the Home Ec. teacher that I am I immediately got excited about making him some blankets. We have held off getting/making anything for his nursery (plus I was on bed rest before he came so we haven't had the time) so I haven't made him anything. I quickly rushed to JoAnns and picked out a green striped, a blue striped, dinosaur, and baseball/bat fabric. Before I went on bed rest I worked at a quilt store and when I stopped by the other day she gave me some polka dot and minky fabric. Using all these I make 4 blankets. I love seeing him on them and just know he loves it too. It amazed me that making these pretty simple blankets really helped me feel more like a mother, that's corny but true. I haven't been able to hold him yet so this is my way of holding him!

PS- the little tan and red hat in the picture was made by my talented knitter of a sister Michelle. It's the smallest one she's made and it's still huge. Thanks Michelle!

Our Little Miracle

2010-02-17T10:16:00.000-08:00

As previously mentioned we were pregnant with a little boy, due June 1oth. I have struggled in the past keeping pregnant and this time was no different. I have a fabulous Dr. who because of past problems watched me like a hawk (ultrasounds weekly, etc). At around 16 weeks, Dec. 22ish, I started having contractions. Without going into too many details lets just say I have an incompetent cervix so they went in and sewed it closed and put me on strict bed rest at home, with bathroom privileges. Bed rest is hard. Everyone thinks it'd be so nice just to lay around all day, and it is for about 2 days. It's hard not being able to get up and grab a snack or answer your front door. Anth was amazing! He did sooo much for me! My ward was amazing! They brought over meals and so many came to visit, the highlight of my days. I was on bed rest at home for a month. On Jan. 20th I had a Dr. apt and was admitted into the hospital because my cervix was down to .3 cm. I was on even stricter bed rest, with no bathroom privileges (I'm amazed at the things we take for granted). The plan was for me to be in the hospital for the duration of the pregnancy, 4.5 months! Again Anth and the ward were wonderful in visiting and doing so much to make my time less awful than it was. Throughout my hospital stay they had me on all kinds of meds to help keep this little guy in. About a week into it my water broke but sealed over. On Feb. 2nd, 21 weeks and 5 days into my pregnancy, my body had had enough and at 5:08 pm William Anthony Vance was born. He weighed 14.4 oz and was 10.5 in long. Previously to all this the Dr.'s (specialist and neonatal) had talked to us about the chances of babies surviving if born earlier than 23-24 weeks. The survival stats were not good and of those that did survive had severe disabilities. When Will was born Anth was asked if we wanted them to work on him, knowing his less than 1% chance of survival, he said yes.

It's now been two weeks. We still have our little boy! It's definitely been a roller coaster! He's in the NICU but doing amazing well considering how underdeveloped he is. I can't begin to list all the miracles we've been blessed with! But to name a few, his brain has no extra fluid or bleeding, his heart is working great, he needs minimal oxygen (about 30%), his lungs are doing well, etc. In the last two days he has opened his eyes, it's incredible!!! He moves all the time which reminds me of how much he moved when he was inside me. He has so many facial expressions and because of the tubes down his throat we can't hear him cry but we can see it on his face, it breaks my heart. His biggest concern is a yeast infection he's fighting in his lungs. It's about the most aggressive infection he could have gotten but he's a fighter!

We don't know what the outcome of this experience will be but we've felt an amazing peace from the very beginning. We can't say how grateful we are for the Atonement! He's our little boy and will be forever! We've felt the numerous prayers in our behave and are humbled at all the support from family and friends. Thank you to all who have prayed for our little boy, they have sure helped him! Please continue to pray for his development and strength to fight this infection. My goal is to update this blog regularly, but know it my not happen as often as you or I would like :)

Wow, we're behind.......

2009-12-27T15:58:00.000-08:00

Well, for the second straight week I am posting. I am turning over a new leaf. I have been cleaning, cooking, working, and now posting on our blog. (more will be explained later) As you can tell many holidays have come and gone and we have not posted a word about them or who we were with.

First things first....

We bought a car. We flew up to Utah about a week and a half before Thanksgiving and picked up our new 2008 Hyundai Sonata and yes we love it. We were planning on waiting until we had a baby before we bought one but due to the over zealous men in Corpus Christi we decided we needed one sooner. One day Lynette was walking to work and a man pulled along side her and asked her if she wanted a ride. She declined and he again insisted on giving her a ride, and again she declined. I don't know about you but I was pleased to hear she was alright. And after buying the new, I drive the old one and Lynette drives the new one. :) Could you imagine anything different?

Second......

We had an awesome Thanksgiving with the Bills here in Corpus Christi. The first Thanksgiving I had with the Weston's came when Lynette and I were dating. At that time, I convinced some of Lynette's family that we should have ourselves a football game while waiting for the food. As we began to explain the game and pick teams it dawned on me that Lynette and family had not grown up playing football in the backyard as often as it was played at my house growing up. (Thanks Rachel for some good times.) Well, to get back to this Thanksgiving my ward Elders quorum was hosting a Turkey Bowl. If you don't know what these are, a Turkey Bowl is where 20 and 30 somethings get to show-off and try to impress everyone else with their amazing football skills. There are always a few that are a little too wound up about this game and are decked out in all of their get-up. Shawn and I got talking about the game and I thought it would be a blast to have him there with my ward. He didn't seem to thrilled to play so we let him off this year in hopes he will play next year. His kids, on the other hand, did play and had a blast. Shawn, Bekah, and Lynette came, watched, and cheered on the kids as Isaac, Sadie, and Phebe played with all the young kids. (If you haven't had the chance to see their football skills, I suggest you play catch with them sometimes. ) Well to make a long story short, I get Isaac, Sadie, and Phebe on my side the next time we play with the Weston's.

We had a wonderful dinner in our small apartment. Bekah expanded our view of Thanksgiving by introducing Egg Rolls, place settings, and place markings made by the kids. I introduced a tradition of my own by making turkeys out of pipe cleaners and netting being filled with nuts and M&M's. It was a wonderful dinner and afterward we all played a rousing game of Fat Dog. Thanks for the great times Bills Family.

Don't be jealous of the 65 - 75 deg weather for Thanksgiving.

Everyone making Crafts and no we didn't wear the hats. (Thanks Shawn.)

The amazing table! (Thanks Rebekah and kids for all the decor.)

My family tradition. Miniature candy turkeys for everyone.

Rebekah and Lynette showing off their bubble blowing skills at the Beach.

Third.....

As was mentioned in the previous post, my nephew died. I will not say anymore as I have already posted about it.

Fourth.....

We're pregnant! We are currently 16 weeks along and loving the fact that we have a little one on the way. It has been hard as Lynette has been sick but we are getting through alright.

Fifth.....

We just had Christmas here at home. We love family and had planned to visit the Bills Family for Christmas and the New Year. Unfortunately, Lynette was not feeling well enough to go and our plans changed. (Hence the reason why I am doing so much around the house.) We had a wonderful time, but to our surprise we each had one gift sent to the Bills home. Lynette got me a Nerf gun that I was so wanting. Every time we go to a store and see them I tell Lynette that we should get two for us but she always said no. Apparently she gave in. I gave in to her request too and got her a grain mill. It was a wonderful Christmas and we enjoyed it so much. Thanks to everyone for helping make it so wonderful.

Well, that about sums up the past few months of our lives. Hopefully we can post more frequently but I am not guaranteeing anything.

My Nephew

2009-12-20T12:09:00.000-08:00

I thought I would take some time today and post about by nephew. Many of you may know that I had a nephew who was battling a rare brain tumor called a Chordoma Tumor. In May of this year he was diagnosed and past away a few days after Thanksgiving. It was a very tender time as I began to think about what my brother may be feeling and thinking and realizing there is no possible way for me to comprehend what his family is/was going through. I love my nephew very much and it was so fun to be an outsider watching him grow up. Before making our trek to south Texas, Lynette and I found a second home with my brother Andrew and his wife, Jaime. We taught them the Weston tradition of Rook and Canasta card games and other fun games and spent many an evening with them. We watched their kids and played games, watched movies, read stories and many other things. As a result we became close to them and loved them. I am sad to see that Jared has passed away but I know that he is better and healthy. Unfortunately, for him to be happy where he is, his family is sad to have him gone. I thought I would attach the link to their story, I can only share it as an outsider and feel it should be shared from their point of view. Here is the link to their blog for those who would like to read it; jaredvance.blogspot.com. I thought I would attach a couple of my favorite pictures of my superhero of a nephew, Jared. The bottom shows Jared in the most touching picture (to me). There is something heavenly about seeing him resting with so much white around him.

I love my brother so much and am so sad to see him lose his son, but I know he has a testimony of the Gospel and will be stronger for it.

We love and we'll miss you Jared!

Fall Festivities

2009-11-05T13:12:00.000-08:00

CC doesn't get too fall-y but that didn't stop a few of us from doing all the Fall-ish activities. We carved pumpkins and coated apples with caramel and other goodies.

For the week of Halloween I went up to AR to take care of the Bills kids. The plan was for Anth to come up the after work on Thursday but he surprised me by taking off work on Thursday and getting there early. It was a great surprise! We had a lot of fun with the kids, going to their school parties, community festival, the Battlefield, and trick-or-treating. We had a great time - thanks Bills!!!

The Nurse

The Astronaut

Wonder Women

The Monkey

The Washed-Up Football Player

Battlefield 1

Battlefield 2

Yellow Brick Road

2009-10-20T18:43:00.000-07:00

For my profession I sew. After moving down here I got a job at a quilt store. Quilting is a different kind of sewing than regular sewing. I just finished my 1st quilt. I love it and want to make more. It was a fairly easy quilt, which I wanted for my 1st one (its name is Yellow Brick Road). I made a babyish size. So I picked out 6 fat quarters and set to work. I'm excited to start #2 soon.

Chosen Fat Quarters

Top

Top with small outside boarder

Finished with outside boarder

Finished quilted, backing and bound

Catch-Up

2009-10-20T17:57:00.000-07:00

I didn't die at girls camp. I know you were all worried.

But now I have a ton to catch-up on.

August 2009
-Blasted Hot Girls Camp, almost killed by a Javelina (sp?) in the form of leaders/girls in other ward attacking camp with recording of lion roar.
-Anthony took me to Wicked in Austin for my/his birthday. It was great and so fun to see with him!
-Went early to Utah to see family and friends. I tried to get pictures of everyone I saw but it didn't happen. I loved seeing friends from the ward, millcreek, old roommates, etc :)

September 2009
-Sisters Weekend: 8 of the 12 Weston Women up in Park City, shopping and Swiss Days. It was a blast and I can't wait for next year.
-My 31st Birthday. It was wonderful. Everyone should be 31 at least once.
-Anth got called as 2nd counselor in the bishopric.
-Anth had a trip to Utah for work, recruiting. He even got to go to a U of U football game.

October 2009
-Our first watching of General Conference on a computer. Including pictures of Prophet and Apostles on mantle with prior FHE reports (it was something we did growing up and I still love learning about those great men).
-Our first visitors. Anthony's parents came to visit so his Dad could ordain him a High Priest. Of course there was a cold front so they wondered why we complain about the heat.
-Next monday I'm flying to Arkansas to watch the Bills kids and then Anth will be driving up so we can be there for Halloween.

Below are some pictures of the above mentioned happenings. I'll try to put them in order but it never works.

Only picture at Wicked (really bad)

Greg, Teresa, Sara Anne, LeAnn, Holly and me

Eight sisters

31 years

Prophets and Apostles

Anth and his parents at the beach

Pre-Girls Camp

2009-07-24T14:41:00.000-07:00

I'm the Stake Asst. Camp Director and the Ward Camp Director. Don't ask. It just works.
I'm going to Girls Camp next week! I haven't been in over 10 years and I'm super excited! Just thinking of sitting by the camp fire, snuggling in blankets, going for hikes in the mountains sounds wonderful. But it's not the South of Texas way of camping. We're going to a lake about a half hour away where it'll be 95+ degrees every day (and night), we can't have fires because we're in a drought and we're at sea level with the highest point being the camp ground ant hill. I might die. I'll let you know. Or actually Anth will if I really do.

My 2 Jobs

2009-07-24T14:22:00.001-07:00

I have two jobs. I was planning on doing what most teachers do and taking the summer off but when opportunities present themselves, you have to take them.
Job #1:
Medical Billing - Not my dream job. A lady in the ward down here does it out of her home and offered me the job after being here one week. (I'm pretty sure she was impressed by how healthy I am.) I only work there part time, in the mornings. When I was younger I dreamed of working in the business world. It's not for me. I can't sit at a computer all day and not talk to people except to tell them they have a balance on their account and ask them how I can help them resolve it. I need interaction with people. But on the plus side I have learned a lot about insurances and how the system works, the ladies I work with are super great, and it's pretty flexible so if I need time off I can have it.
Job #2:
The Quilt Cottage - Last summer when we were here I found the shop and would occasionally buy fabric and dream about working at a place like it. After we got back in Utah when people would ask what I was going to do once we moved I would say perhaps teach but that I'd love to work at the quilt shop. But most quilt shops don't really hire people off the streets, they just have people they've know for a hundred years working for them. So after going in a few times my first week here and offering my services the owner hired me :) It's been heaven! I love it! I work about 3-4 times a week in the afternoons and sometimes Saturdays. It's so fun talking to women (and a few men) about fabric and the different projects they are buying fabric for. I do sew but quilting is totally different. I'm learning a ton and feel like this may be the only time in my life I get this opportunity. I've started my first quilt and will post pictures later.

The 2nd Time Was Worse

2009-07-08T11:38:00.000-07:00

I was so confident that the second one would go even better than the 1st. Not so. All was going well until I took a huge chunk out of the back. I told Anth that he would never even know it was there but he opted for the buzz. He says it's cooler (both senses of the word). I'm not giving up. I will be able to cut his hair. Next time for sure!! (or the next, or the next...ect)

Hair Styling 101

2009-06-21T18:36:00.000-07:00

I cut hair. Well I've only ever cut one persons hair, and only one time. But it looks dang good! He was such a good sport and only cringed a few times. You know the famous joke: "What's the difference between a good and bad hair cut? 2 weeks." It's pretty true. But it can't be worse the second time, right?

Pest Control

2009-06-21T18:20:00.000-07:00

I hate bugs! But we've moved to South Texas so they kind of come with the territory. When we moved we had a serious problem with ants. But the management came in and sprayed and we also put up a few motels (by we I mean Anth, of course). Just this past week we've been invaded by roaches. Ok, we've only found 3 but they are gi-normous! And "they" (whoever they are) say that you never only have just one. Where one is, hundreds are. I had Anth put them in a bag and I took them to the office, hoping the mere sight of the little buggers (pun intended) would scare them spitless. It didn't work. The lady just had me fill out a form and told me pest control would be around later that week. I was a bit disappointed (I may not recommed this place to anyone else). I'm now just hoping/praying the spraying worked and we're bug free. I'd love any good advice on keeping the little demons away.

Batter Up!

2009-06-21T18:02:00.000-07:00

Last Friday night we attended our first baseball game together. It was great fun. The Hooks are a AA Team that feed the Houston Astros (Anth just told me). We got to sit on the green grass behind the outfield, but they weren't bad seats, it's a pretty small ballpark (8 to 9 thousand seats). I was pretty disappointed that I didn't get to catch a foul ball (Anth just told me that we wouldn't have caught a foul ball seeing as we were sitting in right field and not on the baseline. I promise I grew up playing ball) but we got to see a beautiful sunset and we got to take pictures with the cardboard HOOK!!! If you come visit us before the end of September we'll take you to a game.

Louis, or should I say Lois, Graduated!!

2009-06-10T08:20:00.000-07:00

Both the program and his diploma spelled his name Lois.

It was a fun filled day celebrating Louis's graduation. I can't believe he's 18 and all graduated. The big event took place at the Dee Events Center (you would have loved it Rachel). I'd never been there so that was fun. Brown and gold definitely don't go with purple. Louis graduated with a class of over 700. Lots of "you'll go far" talks and shout outs to those accepting diplomas. We went to the Timberline or Timbermine restaurant after (I can't remember what it was called) with all of Pat's family. It was fun to be there and join in the grand event. Congrats Louis!!!

The Merry Month of May

2009-06-08T13:13:00.000-07:00

May was a crazy month!! Here's a list of going ons and some pictures to go with it:
-We finished tiling the floor

-Sara Anne came home, left again and then came home again
-Anth Graduated from the U of U (Family- thanks for all the support)

-Sanded and painted furniture (thanks Joey)

-Moved to Texas (I came back to finish school)
-Finished teaching school (really June 5th)
-Now in Texas for good (fun apt)

April 11, 2009

2009-06-08T13:00:00.000-07:00

Anth turned 26!!!

We had a great celebration! He got some great gifts and then I told him I was taking him to a new restaurant in town, the Mikado. For those that have been there I'm sure it's great but Anth is not a fan of anything seafood-y. He was a bit confused and kept asking why I chose that restaurant. I told him I heard it was really good and I was sure he'd love it. Just as we pulled in I told him that we were actually going to Texas Roadhouse. He was pretty happy about it. The best part was that it was a surprise and his/my family members were all waiting inside. He was totally shocked! I loved it! Dinner was good and the best part is that they don't sing "Happy Birthday" to you, they have you sit on a saddle while the WHOLE restaurant gives a shout out Yeee Haaaw. It was hilarious!

We finished the night back at the house eating Banana Cream Pie! Happy Birthday Anth!!

Books...

2009-04-20T10:40:00.000-07:00

I stole this from someone elses blog.

The BBC believes most people will have only read 6 of the 100 books here. How do your reading habits stack up?Instructions:Copy and paste, then put an 'x' after those you have read.Tally your total at the bottom.
1 Pride and Prejudice - Jane Austen (x)
2 The Lord of the Rings - JRR Tolkien (x)
3 Jane Eyre - Charlotte Bronte (x)
4 Harry Potter series - JK Rowling (X)
5 To Kill a Mockingbird - Harper Lee(X)
6 The Bible (X)
7 Wuthering Heights - Emily Bronte ()
8 Nineteen Eighty Four - George Orwell ()
9 His Dark Materials - Philip Pullman ()
10 Great Expectations - Charles Dickens (x)
11 Little Women - Louisa M Alcott (x)
12 Tess of the D’Urbervilles - Thomas Hardy ()
13 Catch 22 - Joseph Heller ()
14 Complete Works of Shakespeare ()
15 Rebecca - Daphne Du Maurier(x)
16 The Hobbit - JRR Tolkien (x)
17 Birdsong - Sebastian Faulk ()
18 Catcher in the Rye - JD Salinger ()
19 The Time Traveller’s Wife - Audrey Niffenegger ()
20 Middlemarch - George Eliot ()
21 Gone With The Wind - Margaret Mitchell (x)
22 The Great Gatsby - F Scott Fitzgerald ()
23 Bleak House - Charles Dickens (x)
24 War and Peace - Leo Tolstoy ()
25 The Hitch Hiker’s Guide to the Galaxy - Douglas Adams (x)
26 Brideshead Revisited - Evelyn Waugh ()
27 Crime and Punishment- Fyodor Dostoyevsky ()
28 Grapes of Wrath - John Steinbeck ()
29 Alice in Wonderland - Lewis Carroll ()
30 The Wind in the Willows - Kenneth Grahame ()
31 Anna Karenina - Leo Tolstoy ()
32 David Copperfield - Charles Dickens (x)
33 Chronicles of Narnia - CS Lewis (x)
34 Emma - Jane Austen (x)
35 Persuasion - Jane Austen (X)
36 The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe - CS Lewis (x)
37 The Kite Runner - Khaled Hosseini (x)
38 Captain Corelli’s Mandolin - Louis De Bernieres ()
39 Memoirs of a Geisha - Arthur Golden (x)
40 Winnie the Pooh - AA Milne (x)
41 Animal Farm - George Orwell ()
42 The Da Vinci Code - Dan Brown (x)
43 One Hundred Years of Solitude - Gabriel Garcia Marquez ()
44 A Prayer for Owen Meaney - John Irving ()
45 The Woman in White - Wilkie Collins ()
46 Anne of Green Gables - LM Montgomery (x)
47 Far From The Madding Crowd - Thomas Hardy ()
48 The Handmaid’s Tale - Margaret Atwood ()
49 Lord of the Flies - William Golding ()
50 Atonement - Ian McEwan ()
51 Life of Pi - Yann Martel (x)
52 Dune - Frank Herbert ()
53 Cold Comfort Farm - Stella Gibbons ()
54 Sense and Sensibility - Jane Austen (x)
55 A Suitable Boy - Vikram Seth (x)
56 The Shadow of the Wind - Carlos Ruiz Zafon ()
57 A Tale Of Two Cities - Charles Dickens (x)
58 Brave New World - Aldous Huxley ()
59 The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time - Mark Haddon ()
60 Love In The Time Of Cholera - Gabriel Garcia Marquez ()
61 Of Mice and Men - John Steinbeck ()
62 Lolita - Vladimir Nabokov ()
63 The Secret History - Donna Tartt ()
64 The Lovely Bones - Alice Sebold ()
65 Count of Monte Cristo - Alexandre Dumas (x)
66 On The Road - Jack Kerouac ()
67 Jude the Obscure - Thomas Hardy ()
68 Bridget Jones’s Diary - Helen Fielding ()
69 Midnight’s Children - Salman Rushdie ()
70 Moby Dick - Herman Melville ()
71 Oliver Twist - Charles Dickens (x)
72 Dracula - Bram Stoker ()
73 The Secret Garden - Frances Hodgson Burnet (x)
74 Notes From A Small Island - Bill Bryson ()
75 Ulysses - James Joyce ()
76 The Bell Jar - Sylvia Plath ()
77 Swallows and Amazons - Arthur Ransome ()
78 Germinal - Emile Zola ()
79 Vanity Fair - William Makepeace Thackeray ()
80 Possession - AS Byatt ()
81 A Christmas Carol - Charles Dickens (x)
82 Cloud Atlas - David Mitchell ()
83 The Color Purple - Alice Walker ()
84 The Remains of the Day - Kazuo Ishiguro ()
85 Madame Bovary - Gustave Flaubert ()
86 A Fine Balance - Rohinton Mistry ()
87 Charlotte’s Web - EB White (x)
88 The Five People You Meet In Heaven - Mitch Albom (x)
89 Adventures of Sherlock Holmes - Sir Arthur Conan Doyle ()
90 The Faraway Tree Collection - Enid Blyton ()
91 Heart of Darkness - Joseph Conrad ()
92 The Little Prince - Antoine De Saint-Exupery (x)
93 The Wasp Factory - Iain Banks ()
94 Watership Down - Richard Adams ()
95 A Confederacy of Dunces - John Kennedy Toole ()
96 A Town Like Alice - Nevil Shute ()
97 The Three Musketeers - Alexandre Dumas (x)
98 Hamlet - William Shakespeare ()
99 Charlie and the Chocolate Factory - Roald Dahl (x)
100 Les Miserables - Victor Hugo ()

I've read 36 of them! I now have some ideas of what to read next.

ps-I'll post pictures of Anth's party soon!

Happy Birthday Anthony!

2009-04-11T14:02:00.000-07:00

Anthony is 26 today!! Happy Birthday! Now we're just 4 years apart :)
(I'll post pictures later.)

SOLD

2009-04-09T19:17:00.001-07:00

We just sold our tan, microfiber loveseat! I love Craigslist and KSL.com! I listed it around noon and the first man that called on it came saw it and took it away. We bought it a year ago and hardly used it so it sold for what we bought it for. Nice.
We're getting more and more ready to move. Plans have changed a bit. We were planning on leaving mid June but now Anthony starts the end of May so we'll drive down mid May, and I'll come back to finish school. I still can't believe we're leaving.
I'm in the middle of sanding our furniture and can't wait to finish it all so I can post the finished product. Anthony is also getting the tiling finished and working on getting a couple, last huge, projects for school completed. It's going to be a busy month. Also we're getting excited for Sara Anne to come home!!! We can't wait!

Lame Life

2009-03-23T16:41:00.000-07:00

So I have no reason for not posting for over a month except that we have lame lives. Really. There's nothing going on. Just the same old. Anthony just went back to school after Spring Break (which he did get a lot of tiling done but we won't post about until it's done). He only has a month left of school!!! I'm still teaching school. I just have one term left, go me! We did buy a table but I don't want to post about it until I get it refinished and that won't happen until my Spring Break. We haven't started getting ready to move b/c we don't move until June. So that just about sums up the lameness. But just wait, I'm sure there's going to be something exciting to post about, maybe even before next month :)

Have a Seat

2009-02-07T15:36:00.001-08:00

On January 17, we drove all the way to Richfield (Annabella really, but who in the world knows where that is?) to get these beauties. The previous owners have had them for two years in their basement but never went downstairs b/c their 2 year old fell down the stairs and they put up a permanent gate.

We found them on KSL Classified, borrowed Sean and Barbara's truck, and made the 3 hour journey. We actually had a lot of fun and we're so excited to have them! Out biggest furiture purchase to date.

Tiling

2009-02-04T18:01:00.000-08:00

My parents bought a new house a month before they left on a mission a year ago. Anthony and I are lucky enough to be living there while they're gone. Anthony has taken on a HUGE project. He's tiling the kitchen, 1/2 bath, dining room, and part of the great room, all 700 sq. feet of it. The prep work took 2 weeks. Wow, home improvement is though. I'm not sure I'm cut out for it. It's now over half way done!! Anthony's brothers and friend Nelson have been such a huge help. Thanks!!

These pictures are for my parents.
The front entrance was rock, Anthony pounded it out.
The floors were uneven, Anthony evened them out.
The kitchen had linoleum, Anthony pulled it out.
The floor had no tile, Anthony put it down!

Christmas Past

2009-02-04T17:29:00.000-08:00

I'm just blogging about this for me, even though these things occurred over a month ago.

We got together with my family the week before Christmas to make gram cracker houses. Fun was had by all.
I felt like this was kind of our first Christmas because last year we'd only been married 10 days and were living with my parents and extended family (the Bruderer's, Elggren's, Daniel and Sara, and Sara Anne). Not that it wasn't fun; it was a blast. But this year was very different. The Vance's had a family party on the 23rd and we spent Christmas Eve just the two of us. It was nice, we started our own traditons and just enjoyed the Christmas spirit.

Santa definately found us! Aren't our PJ's darling?! We visited all the Vance's and met up with the Weston's for quiche and scones. De-lish!

The rest of the break consisted of tiling my parents house and hanging out/playing games with family. I love that both of us are on a school break schedule. I don't think it'll be like this again.

-blogger is being funny with my pictures, sorry about the misorder.

What A Week!

2008-12-21T10:33:00.000-08:00

Well, it has been a roller coaster week. We celebrated our first anniversary at the Roof restaurant in the Joseph Smith Memorial Building and just had a nice night out. Unfortunately, we couldn't do much due to me (Anthony) being in finals week. So we had planned to do something later after finals. Monday was a wonderful day and it was a great anniversary. Lynette received a dozen long-stemmed roses and I received a pair of cufflings for my new suit (one of my Christmas presents). It was a wonderful night.

What an amazing view. We got to see the lights turn on and the temple grounds just looked wonderful.

As many of you have noticed or seen, we have removed the baby ticker and our post about us being pregnant. On Tuesday morning about 5:3o am we thought Lynette's water had broken. We hurriedly rushed to the ER to see if it had. After spending a few hours in the hospital and having an ultra-sound, we were told the baby did not seem to be under any stress and that all looked as it should. We later confirmed this with our personal doctor. We felt very fortunate and left feeling like everything was OK.

Wednesday was a different story that began the same way. I was awakened by Lynette at 1:30 am with a terrible case of the chills. She was running a fever and no matter what I did I could not keep her warm. She also told me that a miscarriage had begun. We called the on-call doctor and he recommended Tylenol for the fever and pain, and she soon began to recuperate. She slept momentarily until the contractions and miscarriage really began. At 5:30 am we headed to the ER knowing that we were in fact having a miscarriage. After about 2 1/2 hrs, they sent us on our way to be at home and rest. They helped with the miscarriage a bit and that seemed to relieve much of the pain that Lynette was having (Lynette now loves Morphine).

We feel very blessed that the miscarriage came and went so quickly but feel as though something was taken from us. We know the Lord has a plan for our lives but wished it involved having children at this time. Whatever the case may be we are doing well. We have been surrounded by so many good people. Family and friends have sent beautiful flower arrangements and have prepared meals for Lynette and I. We love you all and thank you all for your love and prayers. We know that without much of your help, this week may have been worse. So, again from Lynette and I, thank you to all those who have made this time easier.

Christmas Stockings

2008-11-15T10:21:00.000-08:00

Anthony and I were married last year just before Christmas and it was a crazy time. We were living with my parents because they were about to leave on their mission and I didn't have time to make any Christmas stocking. So the day before Christmas I had Anth run over to Target to pick us out some stockings. Here's what was left. They just aren't me.

My goal this year was to make some and my sister-in-law Jaime said she had a pattern I could borrow. This weekend my husband and hers are out of town so it made for a perfect late night sewing party. Complete with takeout from Royal India, twangy country and Christmas music! (Jaime has made four for her family and needed to make one more for their youngest. She also started making Christmas place mats.)

The pattern was easy and I made both our stockings in about 4 hours. They are very plain looking but I'm not a frufru kind of person and eventually I'll have our names put on them but they'll work great this year! I'm very pleased with how they turned out! Thanks Jaime for a fun night!

UTAH vs TCU

2008-11-11T16:54:00.000-08:00

I attended my first UofU Football Game. They played TCU. It was a great game. The U won in the last minute 13-10. It was one of those games where all emotions are felt. Disappointment, fear, sadness, ecstatic joy, happiness, etc. It was fun to the see the stadium in black and the cool uniforms. My wonderful husband answered my most likely dumb questions and helped me understand the game of football a little better. It did feel a little weird cheering for the U, b/c in the past I've been a Utah State or BYU fan. But I guess this is what happens when you marry a UofU student. (Notice the black U on my face, I have many talents and apparently drawing U's with eye liner on my face is one of them.)

We had the wonderful opportunity of sitting in the student section. I kept telling Anthony that USU never had students who used such questionable language. But overall I'm glad I went. I can't wait for the UofU vs BYU game. I'm planning on braving the cold and bad language to see this momentous show of skill.

The last picture is of our neighbors pumpkins. He grows huge ones every year and usually is in the paper for them. I thought they went nicely with this post.