Nicholas and His Ladies...

Make A Wish! {To Hong Kong with Jackie Chan}

2011-05-22T06:16:00.000-07:00

I was lucky enough to be a part of my younger brothers wish. He suffers from a brittle bone disease called Osteogenesis Imperfecta and Spina bifida Occulta. Back in August I called the Make A Wish foundation and referred him. They spoke with his doctors and determined that he was a candidate to receive a wish. (Hooray- kind of... In finding out that he is eligible, we had the realization that he has a "life-threatening" illness. We already new this, but it is a heavy realization.) So we got him to start thinking of what he would wish for.

Wishes (In order)

1: Meet Jackie Chan and go to China (We were told that is actually two wishes, so he said "Meet Jackie Chan")

2: Go on a New York City shopping Spree- and to a Yankees game

3: Design his own action figure and have it sold in Toy Stores

So there were the wishes and now the waiting begins...

Well, the last week of April Daynes wish granters called my Mom and said to get your passports ready because they may be an opportunity to meet Jackie Chan.

One week later they called and said that they have it all ready and we will fly out on May 1st at 8:00 am.

The Make a Wish foundation is amazing. Not only did they pay for all the travel costs, hotels, transportation, they also gave each person going a check to cover food costs while there.

Well, I feel very thankful that I was able to go and be a part of his wish, to watch his face as he met his hero. Of course he had high expectations of Mr. Chan. He didn't just want to meet him. He wanted Jackie Chan to be his karate teacher. We warned him that it would be hard to accommodate that with him living in a different country and all. Dayne thought about it for a while and said... "Maybe just one lesson then?" Well Jackie Chan spent quite a bit of time teaching Dayne some moves. He took us to dinner with his friends and took us on a tour of his office. He was so kind. He gave us all gifts, snacks, and attention.

Thanks Dayne for letting me be a part of his wish, and to the Make A Wish Foundation for making Daynes wish a reality.

China is NOT handicap accessible! Dayne was dying for McDonalds (But only if they had BBQ sauce-They did!) The only way to get this for him was to truck him DOWN A MILLLION STAIRS, then take the wheelchair down, then do this all over again to get back up. It was totally worth it. Without McDonalds we might just have starved to death in Hong Kong!
I seriously love this kid. I remember when I got married, Dayne was 5 years old. He cried on my wedding day and told Nic how mad he was that Nic was taking away his sister.
This picture was taken in the LA airport. We had survived our 1ST of 20 hours of flights. Not including our 9 hours of layovers. Dayne was a champ on the planes. All us adults were complaining of how uncomfortable we were but even with all his broken bones and swollen legs not a single complaint was made.
Note: Chinese food in China is Not as good as Chinese food in the USA!
Appearantly it is okay to hang your dirty undies outside of your place of work!!!! Seriously!!!
I loved the city of Hong Kong at night. This night in particular I was a little anxious that there may be some natural disaster involving water and I wouldn't make it home to my family.. (Haha- didn't happen)
I love this picture. Jackie Chan is so nice! He is in person just how he is in his movies. Same personality. Look at Daynes face, he is in heaven!
Karate Lesson #1

Me and my Mom in Jackie Chans office bathroom.

Lot's of Pictures...

2011-03-27T00:22:00.000-07:00

I am sitting here listening to y new favorite song "Whole Wide World" By Mindy Gledhill, if you haven't heard it you should check it out.

So I suck at the whole blogging thing and have no idea the order that these pictures will show up in. So here is a random run-down of descriptions of this unorganized post.

First of all this year has been so fun so far. I had the opportunity to stay with my sister in St. George for a few weeks total time to help out with her cute baby, my nephew Jackson. I love this little man. He was born Feb. 5.

And somewhere in this mix is a picture of my Grandpa Peterson ad two of my three little girlies. I have been so blessed to spend tons of time with my Grandpa. He had Bilateral knee replacement surgery and has been staying with my mom. Luckily I am a full-time Nurse for Harmony Home Health and Hospice and my full-time patient is my younger brother Dayne, so I get to see my family every day. Usually I will take one of the girls each time I work so they get a "Special attention day". They love it and so do I. I get to be a mom and get paid at the same time.

On March 20th my tiny little Preslee turned 5! I cannot believe she is starting kindergarten this year! We had her party at Boondocks. It was cold, but so fun. We were only missing one cousin- Kai'a, and MISS her we did. From the pictures we've seen she is getting squishy and we cannot wait to squeeze her! Little Noa in the blue sweater is so fun! He is Nic's brother Jamies son and I LOVE him! He can give some great kisses!

And last, There are pictures of my sis Giana, She passed away on April 15th 2007. We miss her a whole lot. Her birthday was March 22nd. It was hard to celebrate without her...I wonder if it will get easier... Anyway, LOVE LOVE your family and be thankful for them every day because life is short...sometimes too short.

Oh yah, Even though the Jazz lost the game I went to...I became a HUGE fan. We had awesome seats on the eight row. I think security felt bad watching me carry Dayne to his seat, that or they noticed Mr. Nourse, but either way they let us wait for the players and talk to them a bit. They warned us that they would be grumpy, but all in all they were pretty nice.

Life is good, and Im loving mine.

Macbook Pro

2011-03-11T16:49:00.000-08:00

It has been 14 months since my last post. I was inspired to post because of my cousins blog, it is so fun to read. It's called Leah Marie, Life is slow-shutter speed. She is so cute.

I just got a new computer and as you can see the kids love it as much as I do. These pictures are awful and shouldn't be posted, but they make me laugh.

I am at work right now. And these pictures were taken at work. I have the greatest job and I can choose to bring the girls if I want. I love it.

2010-01-06T21:06:00.000-08:00

The holidays are such busy times and now that it is over, I finally have time to settle down and organize my life. I feel like everything has been so crazy and I was finally able to do a couple much needed things...(seriously I don't really know what I do with my time).

1. Cleaned out my car. Trust me, it is an accomplishment.
2. Registered for some more classes. I am getting my RN by way of testing out of my classes, only I am dragging my feet so bad! I thought it might help motivate me if I started taking some more classes at the College with it, so wish me luck!
3. Getting organized so that I can start and catch up on my little girlies scrapbooks. Once again, wish me luck. Once you get behind it is so hard to catch up.
4. Got my job back. So I had decided to try something new and was working with the Geriatric population, mostly dementia patients. I LOVED working with the dementia patients, but having to be responsible for upwards of 35 patients was just too many. So I am happy to report that I am back where I was and happy to be there.

Our little family is doing great as well. Ellie is finally walking. It took her over 16 months to decide to do it and now she is a pro! And she finally got her teeth. The same week that she decided to walk she got two bottom teeth.
Charli is doing so good in Kindergarten. She is learning so quickly how to read. It is amazing to watch her "mature" as she is learning.
Preslee makes us laugh...then yells at us for laughing. There is always something new with this one. She has gone back to throwing fits. It is really strange, but our life is so busy I feel like throwing crazy tantrums sometimes too.
As for Nic...I have been begging him to read the Twilight series for so long. So that when we go see the movies he will LOVE them instead of just liking them, and currently he is sitting by my side reading Twilight. LOL.

Anyway, my brother-in-law got married over Christmas and I got some fun pictures of our family.
It would be very abnormal to have a family function without one of my children crying. Made for a good picture though!

We told Preslee to give Ellie a hug for our picture. She tackled her and did just that.

I don't even know what to say about this one...other than I LOVE IT! I love how pictures catch so much of our childrens personalities.

Handsome Lunnen men.

Just like I said...PeRsOnAlItY! This is so typical of each girl.

Ellie kept pulling this face when we would tell her to smile.

My wonderful in-laws.

Whew! That was long.

HaPpY hAlLoWeEn!!!

2009-10-31T20:30:00.000-07:00

Cute Ellie-bug. Grandma Val is in the background talking to Grandpa Rob. We really wish he could have been here to see the girls.

Such beautiful princesses!

This picture is of Nic's mom and the girls.

Our little family.

This year Halloween was so fun. Preslee and Charli were at such good ages. They ran from house to house and after each house gave them candy they would look in their buckets and say "Nope- we don't have enough yet, let's keep on going." Preslee would giggle the whole way between houses. Ellie-bug sat in the stroller the whole time just so happy. And of course the weather was awesome. We had so much fun! I love my girls!

We have been busy.

2009-08-03T14:04:00.000-07:00

Charli started kindergarten last week. I feel so old! But, she loves it and that makes me happy. I always pictured the first day of kindergarten with me and Charli both crying because she wouldnt want to go. That is not at all how it went. She giggled the whole way there because she was so excited to meet all her classmates. The only one that cried was Preslee because her playmate was leaving.

We went to California for a week right before Charli started school. We went to Disneyland, the beach, Sea World, and the San Diego Zoo. Towards the end of the trip my brother Dayne flew out to spend some time with us. We were so glad he did and we had a great time.

Nics dad loves to feed Ellie. He gave her this rib and she loved it. As soon as we took it away she just screamed.

Poor Preslee was having some wierd reaction to the combination of the heat and humidity and got a huge raised rash across her face. The only nice thing was that it really didnt bother her at all.

Nics parents were visiting his sister in California the same time we were there so we were able to meet up and hang out with them.

I love beach pictures.

We waited in line for almost 2 hours to see the princesses but the girls felt it was way worth it.

My younger brother got married.

2009-07-06T12:58:00.000-07:00

My pictures aren't in the order I wanted but I am too lazy to fix them. My younger brother got married the last week of June. It turned out really nice and we are excited to have our new sister-in-law. The wedding was at Rose Sachs Garden and then they had a small reception in my yard.

Our yard isn't exactly "reception worthy" but I think it turned out really nice.

Cute Ellie learned how to crawl two weeks ago and is getting into everything! She is nearly eleven months and crawled way later than our other girls, but we didn't mind at all. Now it is time to "baby-proof" again.

All our sibblings.

My brother Deryck (the groom) and my sister Tiffani.

Preslee was a self proclaimed flower girl... she told them that she was going to be a flower girl and so they let her and she did great!

Charli kept saying "I almost cried so many times...because I was just so happy!"

I love Ellie in the picture because her posture just demands attention. She looks like a southern belle. These are all the nieces and nephews.

My grandpa Peterson performed the ceremony and he did such a great job.

Hot Mama!

2009-05-28T09:40:00.001-07:00

Brittani will probably kill me for posting these pictures (for some unknown reason), but I liked them. I think they catch her for who she is. She is the best mom to our kids, the most loving sister, and the best friend I could ever have. And she's smokin hot to top it off! No really, I've known Brittani for over seven years now and I don't know a more beautiful human being.

Brittani is one vivacious woman. She's sexy, smart, really funny, and doesn't take crap from nobody (including me :). There are so many things I love about her that I don't know where to start. From the first day I met her till now there are so many things. I don't know if she realizes this, but I'm a bit of a collector at heart. I think it started with sports cards. I collect things that have special meaning to me. With Brittani I have collected daily memories of her. All of these memories are who she is to me, even the ones I never experienced like when she grew up. I wish I could have been there to see that.

Brittani naturally attracts people to her. She is outgoing and just has one of those personalities that everyone loves. Before we got married, I took Brittani to our famous Hunt reunion in Torrey Utah. We all stayed in my parents' motorhome. The reunion is kind of dorky I guess you could say. Sometimes, I don't even know what so fun about it. Either way, that first year I woke Brittani up the first day sucking on her neck. I gave her the biggest hickey and everybody saw it. It was awesome. She was a pretty good sport and even joked with one of my great uncles about it. I also remember her doing like 15 backflips in a row in this big grassy area that year. She fit right in with everybody. In fact, alot of my relatives say she looks exactly like a Lunnen. Kinda weird.

When we first married we were surprised with a little one in the oven right off the bat. Everybody was counting the days trying to figure out exactly when it was that we got pregnant. Anyways, I have some fond memories that first year of marriage. I used to come home from work and we would cuddle up on this double recliner that really wasn't big enough for the two of us. I would kind of hand off the edge, but it didn't matter. We took naps there quite often. When she was 8 1/2 months pregnant she decided to be spontaneous and move. I wish I had a picture of her helping me down two flights of stairs with our couch ( which was pretty heavy). She's bulging and we had to lift it up above the railing. It was crazy and really funny now that I look back at it. She's a serious tough cookie.

There is something to said about the woman who bears your children. I'll tell you, I've seen every birth of our children close up (again she kill me for saying that :). It was unreal and the most amazing thing I've seen or been apart of every time. I can't believe she carried each of them and cooked them as good as she did. I know women do it all the time, (and I salute all of you) but Brittani does it with style. She's a pretty cute pregnant lady. I kind of have a thing for her when she is. Again weird. She's worked or gone to school or both full time each time she was pregnant almost to the day she delivered. Like I said, she is a tough lady. The other funny thing is that she is pretty pleasant when she's pregnant. She never got all crazy on me even doing all of things she does. I love her for that. There is a unique and special love that is created during these experiences. I'll always have the deepest respect for her for doing all of this. It's something I can't quite express.

Brittani is suckin smart and drives me nuts. I always thought I was smart. I was good at school (until I started not going in high school! Sorry mom.) and things have always come pretty easy to me. Brittani is plain old gifted although she'd probably say the complete opposite. That's what's funny is she doesn't even know how smart she is. Recently when she was going to school to finish up her LPN she had these daily assignments. She would get to class and everybody would compare answers and change theirs. Then they would go over their answers. Everytime she would change her answers and get those ones wrong. She always had the right answer the first time. I would tell her all the time to stop doing that. That's why I say she has no clue how smart she is. Another time, Brit and I were interviewing for this Apartment Manager job. We had Charli at the time. So we go in and they tell us that part of the process is to take this IQ test. So they give me the test and send me off to a secluded, quiet room to take it. I think we has like 12 min to answer as many questions that we could correctly. Meanwhile, Brittani is in the main lobby with Charli and tenants coming in through the door taking the same test. I could hear Charli wiggin out, so Brit had to hold her while she took the test. We get done and if I remember right, Brit got about the same score as I did all while wrestling a crying baby. They said that we had gotten the highest IQ scores that they had seen. So yes, I am kind of smart but Brit is smarter and it drives me nuts.

I can always have a good conversation with Brittani. Yet at the same time we can appreciate the silence sometimes or atleast I can. Brittani is a talker. I don't think she like the silence. What's great though is that our conversations aren't about superficial things. We have a lot of meaningful talks about everything. You name it. It's nice to be married to someone that you are physically attracted to and still have a good talk with.

I could go on and on about Brit. Like I said, I have been collecting these memories of her for a while now. These are what she is made of and who she is. I love her more each day than the day before. She still makes me nervous. I wish she could see inside of my brain and what I am thinking all the time. I don't tell her or show her enough how special of a person she is. I love you Brit.

Spoiled Baby

2009-05-21T22:06:00.000-07:00

My in-laws watched the girls for us so we could go to a movie last weekend. A couple days later Charli told me this... "Mom, when we were at Grandma and Grandpas, Grandpa fed Ellie spagettios and he didn't even cut them up. I told him not to but he didn't listen." I told Charli that I didn't think that he would feed that to Ellie. When we saw them again I told him what Charli said and he started laughing and said that he couldn't believe that she told on him. It made us laugh because Nics dad loves to feed Ellie things that she has never eaten. Her grandma likes to feed her new things too. So we had to make a quick trip to their house the other day and Ellie got to try spagetti noodles and a green popsicle. Lucky girl!

Look at that face!

I had to throw this one in here. The other day I was on the phone and Charli came running into the kitchen to tell me that we had a "sad baby". I ran into the living room to find her napping in her "tea party toy".

Can you imagine being loved this much?!

Nicholas Graduated!

2009-05-15T10:33:00.000-07:00

This was such an exciting day for our family. Nic has been working on getting his Bachelors in Russian and English from the University for seven years. In everything that has gone on in the past seven years along with him working full time to take care of our growing family he has never given up on his education.

Nics mom and dad have been such an amazing support. They help us watch the girls while we have been in classes and on the weekend sometimes so we can go on a date.

Nic and his brother Alex

The graduation was a little longer than we expected. We lost the binky during the graduation and left Ellies bottle at home. Poor girl was kinda cranky...but still so happy. This is a picture of my mom playing with her while we took tons of pictures of our new graduate!

Nic gave me and his parents a stohl to thank us for supporting him while he was in school.

Nic and his grandparents.

Nics dad and the girls...we had to bribe our little stinker Pres with gum to take this...doesn't she look happy!?

Ellie walked with her daddy.

Since we forgot the bottle and lost the binky...she chewed on everything including the program.

A sandbox, s'mores, a murder mystery and chocolate!

2009-04-27T12:39:00.000-07:00

Cute Ellie is growing so fast and time is flying by. I cannot believe that she is already eight months old. She is such a good baby and so much fun.

Nic made the girls a sandbox and they LOVE it. This picture of course is not the finished product. They were so antsy to start playing in it that we decided to fill it before we finished painting it. What lucky girls to have such a good Daddy!

We had a fire in the yard last weekend and made s'mores. It was yummy. Deryck (my younger brother) and his fiance Tiara came over and cooked us yummy teriyaki chicken dinners.

Preslee loves making smores.

The LoVeBiRdS!

My sis-in-law Tiffany threw her husband a murder mystery dinner for his birthday. It was really fun.

This is my cute fathier-in-law with Ellie at the party...of course she is so spoiled with love and attention!

Solving the murder...

Me, Tiffany (who is married to Nic's brother), and Kim ( who will marry another one of Nic's brothers.)

I love this picture! These are my in-laws...totally in character! My mother-in-law was an awesome actress playing the part of the mayors wife. So funny!

Cute Preslee with her Pina Colada. Her name for the night was "Elsie Ramsey". At first she didn't love to be called that but she grew to love it. Now she keeps saying... "My name is Elsie Wamsey!"

The Lunnens minus my sister-in-law Cassidy and my brother-in-law Brady.

Lunnen guys! What a good looking group of guys! Right!?

Jamie and Tiffany were such good actors! That is what makes it fun. I loved watching them play their parts.

Ha ha! Nice face.

Party host Tif and the girls.

Ellie got some chocolate from her sister Charli...

Leggings, baby food and mini updates...

2009-03-31T22:02:00.000-07:00

A graduation, a birthday, a message to heaven, a haircut and pears.

2009-03-23T20:59:00.000-07:00

Even though I was finished with school over a month ago, the graduation was this last weekend. It was short and sweet and ended up being a better experience than I had expected.

Preslee had her third birthday at Classic Fun Center. It really was alot of fun. She had so much fun skating that we had to force her to open her presents.

All the kids enjoyed skating and playing on the bounce house toys, and we were so lucky to have all the cousins there along with so many other people we love!

Giana would have been 24 years old this last Sunday. Unfortunately we have celebrated 2 of her birthdays without her. We send her messages on balloons.

(watching the balloons make their way to heaven in the rain)

I had really hoped this day would never come. Preslee has had a hard time growing hair from her cute little head. We were finally making progress when she became a self-proclaimed hair-stylist and gave herself a little trim...right in the front of her hair. We spiked it so you could see the damage.

Ellie will not eat baby cereal, so today at her 6 month check-up (one month late) they told me just to give her baby food. And it didn't matter if it were fruit or veggies. I decided on pears. She gagged like crazy. Even though I know you are supposed to introduce foods one at a time I decided to try squash too. She liked it a little better, but not much.

2009-03-20T01:31:00.000-07:00

Happy 3rd birthday to our "SPICY" little girl...party pictures will be posted later. :)

Tutu's.

2009-03-12T15:19:00.000-07:00

I decided to do a quick little project. Since the girls are always playing dress up, I though I would make some tutu's. I think (though they need a little trim) they turned out pretty cute. And only cost $13.00 total to make.

I passed my LPN state boards!!!

2009-03-08T21:49:00.000-07:00

I love this picture! I think this is the first picture with ALL my cute girls in it where they are all looking in the same direction.

Today we went to the hospital and had dinner with Dayne and my parents. We had lots of fun, and Dayne is really looking good. Pretty soon he will get that trach out, and the NG tube as well. The tube is nice for now because he has so many medications to take each day. He is in the physical therapy dept. at the hospital and he is having therapy twice a day as well as working with Occupational therapy.

I am so lucky to have such a wonderful family. I FINALLY am finished with part of my schooling. I found out yesterday that I passed my LPN boards, and I am so excited. Nic gave me these roses, and my mom sent me the other pretty flowers in this cute vase. My in-laws took us out to dinner at Rodizio Grill to celebrate. They are so good to me. And the food was super yummy!

Charli and Preslee were so excited to see Levyn today at Grandpas birthday party. It was complete chaos with all the kids running around but they had a great time.

Happy Birthday Dad!

2009-03-03T20:38:00.000-08:00

All these pictures are just randomly placed on here, so it is hard to explain what is going on. But I will try.

-We had tons of fun watching Nic play volleyball last weekend.
-Charli is still going to preschool on Mondays and Wednesdays and she LOVES it. We have to count down the number of "sleeps" until she gets to go again. We do this for church too.

-Ellie is growing like crazy. (At least I think so.) Stats prove otherwise. We went to the doctor today and at six months she is a itty bitty 12 pounds. Think heavy thoughts for Ellie... they said she needs to gain some weight. This baby is such a blessing in our lives. She is so happy and calm. We are so lucky.

-With this cold weather we were having, we were taking the kids to the playland at the local fast-food places to let them work out some of their excessive energy so I can study some. Those places are nasty and need some serious sanitization!

-Dayne (my little brother) went in for another surgery yesterday. There is a picture of him, Ellie and I (And no- I am not breast-feeding in the picture) the night before the surgery. Then there is one with really chubby cheeks of his that was taken a few hours after the surgery. Everything went really well. The good news is that they will be taking his tracheotomy stuff out at the end of this week and training him to breath using his upper airway again. Then in five days when they would have discharged him to go home, he will actually be re-admitting to a different portion of the hopsital for in-house intense Physical therapy where he will stay day and night for a month or two. They will be re-training him to walk (Something he hasn't done since he was four.) They will also be helping him gain his strength.

-And finally, There is a light at the tunnel FINALLY for Nic's education as well as my own. I will finally be taking Nursing boards this week, and he has just finished mid-terms for his last semester for his bachelors degree.

Sorry so long. :)

2009-01-31T20:46:00.000-08:00

Nic is so funny, whenever he hears me unlocking the front door, he sets Ellie up in some wierd way so that I will see her right as I walk in the door. Well today I had my last clinical rotation for my LPN license and when I walked through the door this is what I saw. So cute!

Pick Your Battles...

2009-01-30T11:31:00.000-08:00

I made a couple really good friends while managing a storage facility. They both moved out of state so I never see them, but still consider them some of my best friends. Lexie posted on her blog the other day and titled it "Pick your battles". It was so familiar to what goes on at our house, so I had to post with her same title.

Preslee and Charli never ever stay in the clothes that I put them in after their bath. I spend alot of time going through their playroom finding socks, skirs, shirts (they are always shirtless), and whatever else I put on them.

Preslee loves to wear the most random things. I used to get tso frustrated and make them change back into their initial outfits for the day.

I got tired of being a "clothing cop" and decided to let them express their creativity. This girl is pretty creative and I love it!

2009-01-28T17:04:00.000-08:00

So last week while I was sitting in the couch studying, I looked down at Charli and this is what I saw... I felt really bad. Poor girls spend all day entertaining themselves, watching TV, and occasionally playing with me. So we put Charli back in preschool. When I went to pick her up after she was done, the teacher told me that she could not believe how smart Charli is. She asked me if I work with her at home. I sadly said no, that the credit should probably go to my mother-in-law who is a Masters in Education...I think it's Special Education specifically, and she teaches English at a High School. So-THANKS VAL!!! Anyway, she proceeded to tell me that after they had done their song for the day, coloring for the day and had 15 minutes of play time, Charli said "When are we gonna start the school work? I thought this was preschool, not playtime!" So she gave Charli some extra work. So Charli came home with this wonderful picture of an ice castle that she painted.

And this excellent piece of artwork was done by Charli in church last Sunday. For those of you who might not be too familiar with the founder of our church...This here OBVIOUSLY ;) is a picture of the man himself...Joseph Smith.

Happy Birthday Hubby!

2009-01-22T08:22:00.000-08:00

Happy Birthday Hubby!!! Nic is the best Dad, husband and friend. We are so lucky to have someone who treats us so well. Nic is definitely outnumbered in our home, and handles it really well. We LOVE you!

Homework

2009-01-14T16:06:00.000-08:00

It is not a wonder why I always feel underprepared for school. This is typically the way that it is every time I study. This is how I did my 25 page Case study today. I guess if distractions are inevitable...at least they are SUPER CUTE!

Ellies Blessing Day

2009-01-05T14:08:00.001-08:00

We had a really great day yesterday. Nicholas gave Ellie a really nice blessing. We had tons of fun with our family and friends and had yummy food. My grandma made this beautiful dress for Ellie. This is the third dress that she has made for me. Thanks Grandma!

Early morning

2009-01-03T12:17:00.000-08:00

So this morning we had to wake up at 6:30 after staying up until 1:00 am playing Rock Band. We had family pictures with Nics family really early. Preslee definitely needed more sleep and it was very obvious. She cried the whole time. Literally. I offered her a new barbie, a toy, a treat, anything she wanted if she would just smile. So I turned to her and said..."What would you like? What would make you smile? What do you want?" And she said "I just want to smash myself". I will have to post some pictures of our "adventure" once we get them back, but I did take some cute ones of Ellie in her new hat that she wore for the pictures, and Charli said "Mom, you and I don't have any together". So there is one of her and I too. I love my girls.

Nic and I also got our pictures taken together and it was really fun. We haven't had pictures of just he and I since our wedding day. He said it felt like we were dating. It was fun.

There isn't a better present this year than Ellie!

2008-12-17T21:57:00.000-08:00

Enough said.

"It's a flo-flake mom"

2008-12-17T21:55:00.000-08:00

Preslee has been saying the silliest things. Just tonight as we were at Cafe Rio (love that place) she was talking about "Ho-Ho"...Santa Clause. She told us that she won't be leaving him cookies, but he will leave her some, then she will look at him and say "trick-or-treat" and he will give her some surprises.

2008-12-10T17:12:00.000-08:00

We have been pretty busy taking care of our little family and helping take care of Dayne. But we did have a pretty fun week. For my birthday last week Nic took me to see the "Twilight" movie and unfortunately I was disappointed. I am glad I saw it and I will for sure see the next one with hopes that it will be better. No offense to anyone who LOVED it, I have found out that this whole "twilight thing" is a sensitive subject for some. :) I think that they could have taken a little more time to choose a better cast. I did however like Edward, Bella, Charlie, and James. The others were not my favorite...but I am not a movie critic so thats the end of my complaint. Then we went to Tepanyaki and it was way yummy!

Last Thursday I had to take Preslee up to the childrens hospital to have general anesthesia to get four root canals, and four crowns. Poor girl! Needless to say, Ellie will not be sucking down juice bottles well into her second year like Pres did. So Kory if you read this...we cannot wait for you to get out of dental school! Ha Ha! We will be looking forward to the "friends and family discount". I think she looks pretty cute, but she thinks they are way to big...funny girl!

Our Thanksgiving weekend

2008-12-01T18:04:00.000-08:00

Ellie got a new hat and it's super cute!

Charli's best friend is her cousin Carson.

Grandpa Rob is always trying to make us think he is feeding Ellie something she shouldn't have. Ha ha!

Dayne is going home from the hospital this week...HoOrAy!!!!

We had a really good weekend. Thanksgiving was good and we ate lots of yummy food. These are just a few pictures from the weekend. We took a quick trip to St. George to see my sister and her family.

Thankful for my hero

2008-11-25T21:34:00.000-08:00

Today I went to my second day of tracheostomy care training at the hospital. Being there with Dayne is very humbling. I (lately) have spent alot of time complaining. I am SO SO SO tired. School makes me tired. I complain that there is always something to do, laundry to fold, messes to clean, subjects to study, meals to cook...I could go on forever. But I won't. I heard from someone (can't remember who) to find something good in your complaints. Like...I am thankful for my laundry because it means that I have clothes to wear. Thankful for the messes because I have three cute girls making those messes that I have to clean. Thankful for my studies because I have an opportunity to get a education and to better my life for myself and those around me. Thankful for the availability of food to feed my family. But today I am thankful for my healthand for Daynes courage. Courage (I believe) is the one thing that cannot be taken from you. Dayne is so courageous every day, and so are all of the other children there. All fighting for their strength and their comfort.

Part of the trach training today was that I had to clean the ostomy site (I think that is what it is called), and replace the trach. Something that will be done at least once a week from now on. As we prepared for this we had a discussion on trust. Dayne did not want to do this, so he started to cry. He said it was because he did not trust ANYONE to do it. I told him that there was not a reason to not trust me...yet. Once I did something to harm him, or make him uncomfortable, it was then that he could lose trust in me. So I crossed my fingers that this little process that we were going to complete would run smoothly...that I wouldn't hurt his fresh surgical site, or that I wouldn't scare him to the point that he would think I hurt him, or that I wouldn't just pass out cold...because I was that nervous. The Respiratory therapist who was "coaching" me through this forgot to mention that there would be some "natural resistance" from the body as I tried to insert the trach...after about 15 seconds that felt ALOT longer it was in. Dayne now trusts me. But I was so proud of him and his courage to let me do that. After that his IV went bad again. This too made him very upset. One other thing that is important to mention is that this has not been a good day at all for him. Today he had a MOM enema, his NG tube got clogged, his IV went bad (AGAIN) and he got nauseated and had a vomiting episode. He also had somehow fractured his right hip since he has been in the hospital, and his "guts" are still not working after the surgery. Also twice a day, once in the morning and once at night my mom is to twist this La Forte device in his mouth, in doing this she is moving the upper part of his jaw forward 2 millimeters a day, and will continue to do this for five weeks. The reason for all the detail (sorry) is to show how strong of a person he is. After experiencing 18 days (so far) of pain, fear, nausea, and who knows what else. Tonight as he had just finished crying after mom turned the device in his mouth, he said "I just really hate being such a nice guy". He said that all these times that everyone keeps hurting him, he wishes that he could just yell at them all, and call them names. But that he knows that that would be wrong and that their feelings would be hurt and that is not what he wants. He is so strong, and so brave to have gone through all that he has and I am so thankful to be his sister. Dayne will go home next week sometime to have a break and enjoy the holidays in his own surroundings then will be readmitted just after Christmas for intensive physical therapy where they will teach him how to walk! We are so excited for him. I love my little brother, my hero.

The last surgery

2008-11-19T13:42:00.000-08:00

The doctors have been talking with my parents trying to make the best plan for Dayne. He has been having lots of anxiety since the first bad experience two weeks ago. They decided it was best just to finish the surgeries, let him recover, and send him home. This morning they took him in for a plastic surgery called "La Fort with destracters" (something like that). They warned that he would be swollen, and from the picture you can tell that he is already very swollen. The plastic surgeon said that the third day is the worst of the swelling so I imagine this is nothing compared to what it will be. This surgery they inserted some metal devices to his cheek bones to pull the top part of his skull forward to correct his underbite. Dayne has been such a good sport about all of this. He is polite to all the staff at the hospital and tries to be in a good mood regardless of what is presented to him. There is such a lesson to be learned from someone like this. The whole time I was visiting Dayne last night and previous times as well, he never once complained about his situation, but expressed concern about everyone else. He is such a good boy and really deserves a break. SO we are so thankful that everything went so well this time around, and hope that he will heal quickly and go home where he wants to be. We love you Dayner!!!

2008-11-16T12:11:00.000-08:00

I just decided to post some random pictures from the week because there has not been a whole lot going on.

Dayne is doing quite a bit better. We went and saw him last night and he was able to talk to us a little bit. They are going in to surgery again tomorrow to replair his tracheostomy from the last "scare". After that they will have him stay in the PICU for a few days, transfer him to another room outside of the PICU for a dew days, then send him home for two weeks. They will then go in again to do some more surgeries. They decided to send him home so that the trach can "mature" so there will not be any more "scares". (Cross your fingers.)

There isnt really anything exciting going on, we havent been taking many pictures this week because Charli and Preslee decided that clothes really aren't something that they are interested in this week. Just diapers and undies.

Preslee of course has a new goose egg. Right above her eye. It just wouldn't be a normal day if she didn't injure herself somehow. I think it is just the age, though I dont remember so many goose eggs with Charli.

Ellie is getting bigger finally. We took her in to the doctor to get her Sinegist injection (something that will help to prevent her from getting RSV), and she weighed in at 8 lbs 5 ozs and is 5 days away from being three months old. She also learned how to smile this week. I have tried to get a picture but havent caught it yet.

I have been going to my clinical rotations at a local hospital lately. I spent three Saturdays on the Orthopedic floor, one in the ER, and then this last week in the ICU. It has been a very good experience, and very challenging. I have wondered several time if this is really for me, but at the end of the day, I really feel good about it. 8 class weeks left! :)

Nic has been a huge help lately. He cleans ALOT, cooks ALOT, and lets me sleep in if there is a chance.

Crazy life, but we love it.

Daynes Update (Not a happy boy...for obvious reasons)

2008-11-11T21:39:00.001-08:00

(Dayne went in for surgery again yesterday to have the Tracheostomy repaired and his adnoids removed....All for nothing)
I really hate early morning phone calls. There is never anything good to be said. Today I got a phone call from Tiffani (my sister) at about 8:30 and that never happens. Immediately my heart sunk. She told me that they had another problem with Dayne and started to tell me the story. I decided to call my mom immediately because I had so many questions that she couldnt answer.
Dayne
At seven forty-five the nurses shift change was over and Daynes new nurse went in to do his assessment. Dayne hadn't been able to speak a word for about three days. The nurse started his assessment and asked Dayne how he was feeling. Dayne looked at him and for a moment was able to speak and said "I cant breathe". Then it was like everything shut down. Dayne "crashed" again. His O2 level was in the low 30's (obviously it should be 98-100) and his heart rate was down below 30. He was in respiratory arrest again and heading quickly into cardiac arrest. They had to tear out the tracheostomy (that is why the prior day surgery was a waste) and "bag" him, and he went unconscious. I am not sure how this happened, but his tummy blew up with air and it made him throw up several times, and he aspirated it into his lungs, now making him very susceptable to pneumonia. They were just about to do compressions (which would have been major trauma for him because of his bone disease) when his stats started to improve.
They put him back on the ventilator where he will stay for the next 24 hours, and they sedated him for the bulk of the day. He also has tons of swelling in his face which makes him really uncomfortable.
When he woke up he was really upset. They put an extra tube in his nose, his IV went bad, so they had to come in and stick him again, and tomorrow he will be getting another tube in his nose to feed him, and possibly having the tracheostomy tube repaired again.
Poor guy. Poor mom, she woke up in the middle of the "code" and sat and watched as they saved him yet again. They kept asking her if she would rather wait in the hall while they stabilized him, but she just wanted to wait there and make sure he was okay.
Thanks for all the support.

Prayers for Dayne

2008-11-07T22:19:00.000-08:00

Thursday afternoon my 12 year old brother Dayne went into the hospital for a surgery where he would have a device inserted into the roof of his mouth. (Before I go on, I should mention that Dayne kept crying that morning telling my parents that he didn't feel right about the surgery, and that he wanted to back out of it. They told him that it was important to have the surgery. Dayne insisted that it was a bad idea. He told them that he could feel our sister Giana who passed away almost two years ago. He said he felt like it was his time to go, though he wasn't ready for that.) This device is used to move his upper scull or his face forward to correct a severe underbite and to help clear his obstructed airway. Dayne was also ther to have his adnoids taken out. Due to a earlier surgery Dayne had where the discs in his neck were fused to his scull, there is no movement on his neck. In any surgery you need to intibate the patient so that they can have adequate oxygen exchange during the procedure. In doing this the person head is tilted back, and Daynes can't do this. The surgeons knew of this before they went into the OR. They had two anesthesiologists and two surgeons in the room just in case they ran into trouble. Before they were able to try to intibate him they went in with a scope to check the adnoids. Once they reached the adnoids Dayne started bleeding uncontrollably, aspirated some blood and went into respiratory arrest. They tried intibating him, but once he started going into cardiac arrest they were forced to do a Emergency tracheotomy on him to establish the airway to save his life. Due to the emergent situation they had to do the procedure quickly and there were more complications. Dayne will now have to go into the OR again Monday morning to properly place the tracheotomy. Thursday night they put Dayne on a ventilator at normal settings, but Dayne is not a normal size. His chest wall is smaller than others because of his brittle bone disease. The amount of pressure put in by the ventilator left him very bruised and in lots of pain. He will stay in the ICU for the next week for trach care, then back into the OR again next Thursday for the surgery that he initially went in there for. The device is meant to stay in his mouth for three months, where my mom will tighten it every night to extend his scull. Since they established a good airway with the tracheotomy they have decided to leave the trach in for the whole three months. You can imagine how Dayne felt about that. He cannot talk, cannot eat, and is constantly coughing which is very uncomfortable with the trach. We almost lost our little buddy. And we are so thankful for the quick reactions of the surgeons.

Happy 5th Birthday Charli Mae!!!

2008-11-04T22:17:00.000-08:00

She totally got spoiled! Thanks everyone for all her gifts!

I hope that I will always remember the way I felt the day she came into our lives. It was amazing. And we love her more every day. Five years ago Nic and I packed a bag and headed to the hospital at 6:00 am to be induced. They had me change into a gown, hooked up all the monitors, numbed my hand (with the worlds smallest needle) for my IV, and I passed out. LOL! I was so nervous. Thirteen hours later she was here. And that was one of the greatest moments of our lives. I remember watching Nic as he called everyone that he new on the hospital phone to let them know that our little Charli made it safely into the world. Having these little ones is such a miracle. And I am so lucky to have experienced it three times now.

Charli and her favorite cousin and best friend Carson.

All the cousins and their Uncle Dayne.

Charli and Grandma.

Charli and Grandpa and Grandma.

Charli and Mommy.

Me and Preslee had fun playing games. I am always so boring so I made sure to play with the kids tonight and we had a blast.

Preslee loved this little ride with a dog on it. I swear she fed that machine twenty tokens.

Levyn (my nephew) was hysterical. He loved Chuck E Cheese. (not many of the kids shared that love) He was dancing all night.

Charli wanted red flowers on her cupcakes.

This is right after the giant mouse tried to dance with her. Not happy.

Preslee hates having her picture taken- so I got lucky! This is a great one! This is the first ticket she won. She was so proud.

Happy birthday Charli we love you. Charli is a good kid and such a good helper.

I overheard a funny conversation today. Charli was talking very sweetly, but very matter of fact like...

Charli: "Preslee today is my birthday, not yours. And I am going to get lots of presents. You won't get any."

Preslee: "I want presents."

Charli: "Nope. It's not your birthday."

Me: "Charli, it isn't nice to say things like that."

Charli: "You always say that Jesus doesn't like it when we lie. I am only telling the truth."

Me: "Well sometimes there are things that we just shouldn't say."

Charli: "I guess I will just keep on lying then."

I love my girls. I am so thankful every day that I get to be the mom of these cute little ones. Don't get me wrong it is a challenge sometimes (life in general) especially with Nicholas and I both going to school. But at the end of the day when I sit and think about my life, with all the struggles that are presented to me, big or small, it is all worth it. This is what I am supposed to do. Be their mom. And for my second job I will be a Nurse (9 more weeks :)), but first and foremost their mom and Nics wife. And I love it.

Happy Halloween from two princesses and a itty bitty pumpkin!

2008-11-03T09:48:00.000-08:00

We had lots of fun this year. We went trick-or-treating with my sisters little boys Carson and Tyson, and my little brother Dayne. We went to build-a-bear workshop to try to find Ellie a princess costume too, and ended up leaving with a cute little pumpkin.

I am one lucky girl!

2008-10-23T21:10:00.000-07:00

Ive been tagged again! Time to air my dirty laundry!

2008-10-21T18:32:00.000-07:00

This one is a funny one that I really didn't want to do because I am a little embarrassed by it. i guess I could lie and say outrageous things but that wouldn't be fun...so here goes! Thanks Tais!

This one is where you are supposed to write seven quirky things about yourself....

1- I can burp ALOT better than most men! (Way attractive...I know :))
2- I have been known to floss my teeth with a piece of my hair in a time of crisis. (popcorn at the movies!- Once again..way attractive!)
3-I get really silly late at night...REALLY SILLY. I will laugh at ANYTHING and EVERYTHING! Especially my kids.
4-My husband thinks that I am crazy because I call my new baby Ellie "Tuk-Tuk!" (Not sure why or where I got it) and make up songs to sing to her to any tune that might pop into my head. The words usually consist only of "Tuk-Tuk". That way the girls can join in with me if they know the particular tune.
5-Like in number four...I like to make up songs. Just yesterday I was making up a song for Preslee as she was sitting on her new little pink potty. (She loved it and we haven't had any accidents today! Way to go Preslee!)
6-Me and the girls shake our "booties" in the living room to Fergie at least once a day. I love Fergie! (Charli definitely has the best "booty" shake.)
7-I am a HUGE sucker for grocery store advertisements! I cannot wait to get the mail on Tuesdays because I know that they will be there. (I love coupons too!) My family calls me to ask me where all the good sales are.

That was relatively painless... Now I want to hear all about you. I tag- Tiffani (My sister who NEVER updates her blog), Stephanie, Bethany,Jessica, Kim, Debi (Cute Mom), Kristi, and everybody who dares to do it.

Packs Pumpkin Patch

2008-10-20T10:50:00.000-07:00

This is my favorite time of year, as the weather cools down and the leaves start to fall. We have been feeling pretty bad for the kids because we have kept them inside and at home since the baby came home. We decided since the weather was so nice on Saturday that we would go pick pumpkins. I have never been to a pumpkin patch and neither had the girls so we had tons of fun. The girls kept running through the field and would catch their little feet on a vine and fall covering themselves in dirt and stickers. We all went home itching like crazy from the stickers and dirt, but we did have lots of fun. We tried to get a picture of all of us, but of course Pres wouldn't cooperate.

Man Tag.

2008-10-18T13:04:00.000-07:00

What is your husband's name? Nicholas Lunnen
How long have you been married? Six years this December...WOW!
How long did you date? Dated 8 months, and engaged for 2.
How old is he? 28 (almost 29)
Who eats more sweets? No question...ME!!!
Who said "I love you" first? He did, like after four days of knowing eachother. It definitely surprised me.
Who is taller? He has about six inches on me.
Who can sing the best? I don't think I have really ever heard him sing...only in church. I probably am better, but I an NOT a singer.
Who is smarter? Nic would say he is, but I think that we compliment eachother well...He knows things that I don't and I know things that he doesn't.
Who pays the bills? He brings in the money and I send it out.
Who sleeps on the right side of the bed? Nic sleeps closest to the door and that is the right side.
Who mows the lawn? Nic does, but I do it every once in a while. It is a good excuse to tan a little bit.
Who cooks dinner? Me mostly...but I LOVE take-out.
Who drives? Nic is the SLOWEST driver. So if I beat him to the car then I do.
Who kissed who first? Nic kissed me. I am not that brave.
Who asked who out first? Nic did. Funny story.
Who wears the pants? ME!

I tag- Tiffani, Breanna, Stephanie, and Rachel.

What we have been up to...

2008-10-15T19:33:00.000-07:00

Congratulations Uncle Dayne! Dayne was baptized this last Saturday. We are so proud of his decision. This is something that he has been wanting to do for a long time. Right after the baptism he said "Hooray- I am finally a member of the church!" We love you Dayne.

Our cute little Ellie is growing so much. This picture makes her lok so big, and so do her chubby cheeks, but she is still only 6 lbs 2 oz. Two more days until she is really supposed to be here. Her due date is October 17th and she is already almost two months old.
Od course we have been painting nails! I have decided to not get the girls dressed in the morning anymore because everyday I get them ready then they go up tp their playroom and take off their clothes and put on princess dress after princess dress. Waste of my time.
Nicholas is in love. If I didn't love her so much myself...I just might be a little jealous. The other day me and the girls were all laying in my bed watching cartoons when Nic was leaving for work, he leaned across me, Charli and Preslee to kiss Ellie goodbye...how rude!

Preslee loves to throw fits and the girl has some stamina! She throws fits until she falls asleep repeating the same thing over and over again.
This is the very next night, something had Preslee mad so she threw another fit until she fell asleep.
With that chubby little face you would not think that she is so small.
Charli has been such a good girl. She loves to be the "special helper". She just learned to make her very own snacks. Every day she pulls a chair to the counter and makes chocolate milk with carrots and ranch dip for her and Preslee.

I start another semester of school tomorrow. For some reason I am so so nervous. The exciting thing is that I will have my LPN license in just 15 weeks. That is if I last another 15 weeks...lol!

Poor Girl!

2008-10-09T15:51:00.000-07:00

I swear it has to be the worst thing...when your kids get hurt while they are trying to have fun. Today Preslee and Charli were playing in their little playroom while I was studying. I love sitting outside their playroom listening to them talk to eachother and sing songs. Preslee and Charli have so much fun together. Lately Preslee has stopped calling Charli "Aleena" when they play, and has started calling her "Alexa". This is because she has a new favorite movie. It is Barbie and the Diamond Castle, and Alexa is one of the main characters. I was sitting listening to them play and sing the song that they call "Connected". A few minutes later Charli said..."Can you see me mom?" So I peeked in the playroom and she was climbing on something so I told her to be careful and to get down, and just then there was a huge crash and Pres started screaming...Charli had pulled a shelf off of the wall and it fell and hit Preslee in the face. I feel so bad when they get hurt, but I will say that I love when they come to me for comfort right after!

2008-10-09T11:04:00.000-07:00

This is a great idea!
1. As you comment on my blog, leave one memory that you and I had together. It doesn't matter if you knew me a little or a lot, anything you remember.
2. Next, repost these instructions on your blog and see how many people leave a memory about you. It's actually pretty fun to see the responses. If you leave a memory about me, I'll assume you are playing the game and I'll come to your blog and leave a memory about you. If you don't want to play on your blog, or if you do not have a blog, I'll leave my memory of you in my comments. Have fun!!

2008-10-05T20:54:00.000-07:00

Nice face right! Well, it is the only picture that I have of me and the baby since we have been home. I have noticed that being the "photographer" in my home there are not many pictures of me...and those pictures that I am a part of I have requested that they be taken. Nic is so funny because when I ask him to take a picture he snaps it immediately...no time to get your "face on". And this is what I get. Usually he says "Let's take another." That is code for "That one looks like crap!" And I get that alot. (end rant)

The purpose of this post was to show my mom (who moved to St. George for "warmer weather") my haircut...TADA! Here it is- though you cannot see it well. Anyway, it was time for a change. I have decided that I have spent too much time having this person or that person cut my hair...and I finally found someone I LOVE! Thanks Whitney you are awesome! You cannot really tell from the picture but she put my hair in a pony tail and cut probably ten inches off. She gave me a great A-line! Even last night as I sat in the ER at the hospital, (suffering yet another huge kidney stone) throwing up in the very tiniest emesis basin, (sorry) one of the nurses said "Who cuts your hair...it looks fantastic!" Nice timing right!? So...Whitney I am going to have to get some more cards from you.

Of course since I got a haircut Charli needed one too. We just cut a couple inches off, but she cannot keep herself from combing her hair in the mirror for hours each day. (it does look pretty cute!)

See you next week mom!

Three cute girls!

2008-09-25T23:08:00.000-07:00

There hasn't been a while lot going on with us lately. And that itself has been really nice. We tool Ellie to her first doctors appt. and she now weighs 5 lbs 1.8 oz. So we are happy to know that she is growing well.

Charli LOVES her new sister. We have given her the new nickname "Grabby-girl" I think that speaks for itself. She loves to try to hold the baby when she thinks no one is looking.

Preslee is doing good...if only she would potty train! I think that with her it isn't even a matter of teaching. She knows what it is and why you do it, she just doesn't want to. It is more a matter of commitment for her. She just really prefers diapers to panties and she will tell you that.

Poor Nic is working so hard. Work, school, and family. Right now he is asleep beside me with the lights on and his book in his hand- enough said right!? A little sleep deprivation...he has been helping me with the babies feedings in the night. TMI- but I have to pump every three hours since she is being fed a supplimented breast milk bottle every three hours. I pump while he feeds her. What a good daddy!

Sorry for the boring post...like I said there is not alot going on.

But all is well and we are all finally together. That is all that we can ask for.

2008-09-18T14:41:00.000-07:00

So we are finally out of the NICU. All the nurses and doctors there were so great. We feel so blessed that we have such a healthy baby. Today before they let us go home they did a brain ultrasound on Ellie as a follow up to rule out different things and she is perfect. No problems at all. She was born with a intermittent heart murmer but even now it has gone away which they sometimes do. She truly is a fighter.
As we got back to Nics parents house we called the girls and they ran outside to greet their new little sister. So fun. We are happy to finally all be together. And now I will not have to run out the door with Preslee crying after me. I am tired of hearing her say "No Mommy, you can't go bye bye!" And "Can I go with you?" Knowing that I was going to say no because I had no other choice.
Currently Charli has locked herself in the bathroom because Daddy had a tiny chat with her. He told her that it is important that she "shares" her sister.(Charli said that NO ONE can touch her, NO ONE can hold her...only Charli) He told her that she cannot always be touching her and holding her. So she is a little upset right now. It really is neat to see how much she loves her though.
It is so amazing to look at this tiny little four pound baby so perfectly developed and think that she should still be inside my tummy for another four weeks from today. And yet she has been here for a month.
Thanks everyone for all your nice comments and prayers. We really did feel them all.

FINALLY!

2008-09-17T18:51:00.000-07:00

Tomorrow is Ellie 30th day of life and she will be coming home! We are so excited. Nicholas and I spent the night in the parents room at the hospital. They call it rooming in. They bring little Ellie and all her monitors into the room and we take care of her for the night. She then had to pass her car seat test where she sat in her car seat for an hour without breathing difficulties. Then Nicholas and I did our parenting discharge teaching and CPR class. Now we will finally be our little family of five. The funny thing is is that she is a month old and yet she isn't supposed to be here for another month.

Day 25. (First bath)

2008-09-15T11:04:00.000-07:00

SO today we gave Ellie her first bath. The reason why they wait so long to bathe these babies is because they are not able to keep their own temperature up and they worry that a bath will lower it to a point where it will take all their energy to bring it back up. It also burns alot of their calories trying to maintain their temp once it gets really low. We thought that she was probably ready to have her bath, but sure enough her temperature dropped really low, she went pale and got really really lethargic. BUT she came out of it a few hours later. (Good girl!) It was fun to give her a bath though, and she really did enjoy it.

Now for the good news. It might not mean much to anyone, but Ellie is on PO ad lib feedings today meaning that she can eat what she wants when she wants. This is the second to lasdt step in the feeding protocol to go home. Next step will be to take out the tube in her nose and still eat all her little meals. At this rate she could be home in just a few days. WISH US LUCK!!!

After being alive for almost a month she weighs a "great big" 4 pounds 8 ounces. HOORAY!!!

Before and After

2008-09-13T17:11:00.000-07:00

About two weeks before we had Ellie we layed sod and planted a little grass seed. When we had her we decided to stay at my in-laws which is an hour away from home. They had offered to help us with the kids. We were so worried about our lawn because we had invested so much time and money into the backyard and we dont have a sprinkler system. My brother has been living with us for a couple of months now and he said that he would water the lawn for us but we were a little nervous because we really did not want the grass to die. We came home for the weekend to a nicely cut and very green lawn- HOORAY! Never buy a house without a finished backyard. Maybe someday we will be able to enjoy the backyard. LOL!

Day 23 in the NICU

2008-09-12T22:56:00.000-07:00

So it has been twenty-three days since our new little addition arrived. It has definitely been a "wild ride" so far. Today was a good day because we had successful "feeds" all day. Who would have thought that it would be so hard for these premature babies to learn to eat. Tomorrow Nicholas and I will go to the NICU early to give her her first bottle and bath. There is a certain "protocol" in order for the babies to go home and it sounds really complicated. If I have it correctly...tomorrow she will be expected to eat one bottle per shift and she has to take in 75% of her regular amount which is 37mL. Then the next two days she will have to take two bottles per shift. (breast feeding counts too, but they do teach the premies to be breast and bottle fed because the Nurses have to feed them since we are not allowed to be there all the time.) The next two days she will be p.o. on demand which means all feedings must be taken by mouth (not the feeding tube anymore) and whenever she wants or gets hungry. She must do this for 24 hours. Then she will need to pass a car seat test and that is where the baby must sit in their car seat for two hours without a's and b's which is apnea (holding their breath) and bradycardia (which is the heart rate dropping below 100 beats). Then Nicholas and I will have to take a infant CPR class and another parenting class of a sort to take her home. WISH US LUCK! Maybe I will take this sweet baby home by next Saturday.

Yet another GREAT day!

2008-09-09T23:18:00.000-07:00

Today was such a (MUCH NEEDED) good day. My day started out at 5:00 am...(Not the good part of course) but I headed to the Care center for my clinical rotation, only the instructor did not come. So I waited for an hour just to say I was there, but he never came so I went back home. Also not the good part I am such a "blog surfer/stalker" so While I was laying in bed listening to Nic snore his brains out (Sorry babe- it was really bad!) I started surfing and ran into a blog www.sccsdecker.blogspot.com you have to check this out, this is the saddest story about a mom and the complications she went through and is still going through today due to childbirth and some underlying circumstances. Anyway, it is always nice to get well wishes so if you have time send them a message, and so will I. There is also information there about making donations to the family.

I think it is time for the good part. At 8:30 I woke Charli up and got her ready for her first day of Preschool...thanks to my teacher for not coming today to clinicals I was able to walk her there. She was so cute and way excited! We went to the store last night and debated on which backpack was going to be the best...it was alot of fun.

There are some pictures there of the girls holding their little sister, and I swear I am such a nerd but this was seriously my happiest "MoMmY MoMeNt" EVER!!! They were both so cute. Charli kept saying how in love she was and how tiny the baby is. She could not stop rubbing Elli's head and her hands, her face, really she just could not keep her hands off of her. Preslee said (probably 200 times) "She's waking up!" Over and over again. Last time we brought the girls to visit Ellie, she was asleep and probably like 200 times Pres would say "She's gonna wake up". So we were very happy that Ellie was awake when the girls were there and that she was such a good sport about them holding her. Thanks Daddy for not literally jumping out of your skin while they held her. Nicholas was a nervous wreck...convinced that something was going to go terribly wrong while they were taking turns holding the baby.

And last are the pictures of sweet little Ellie. She and I had a great day together. The last thing that we are working on with her is learning to eat. The doctors say that she can go home as soon as she takes all her feedings by mouth, and continues to show weight gain. Ellie now weighs in at a itty bitty 4 lbs 3 oz. Hooray! It is a huge improvement now that we are weighing her on a scale that works. But anyway, we had two great feeding sessions where she was able to eat by mouth and she did a great job. They say that at that gestational age the babies have a really hard time sucking, swallowing, and breathing, but she did GREAT! Maybe we will get to take her home sooner than later. I will cross my fingers.

Oh yah, I threw in the picture of Preslee listening to my ipod because I love it. She is so cute and growing so fast.

I love my girls and my wonderful hubby!

2008-09-04T19:39:00.000-07:00

So far everything is going very well with our new little baby. The Nurses and doctors tell me that she is making excellent progress. She is slowly gaining weight and will "graduate" from her little incubator (isolet) to a crib in just a few days. I was told that if she keeps making this kind of progress and stays in good health that we will be able to take her home in three to four weeks which is so much better than six weeks. I cannot wait!

And yes Charli lost her first tooth. Okay so she didn't lose it but they pulled it out today. Sunday after church she told me that she had broken her tooth. I got her the earliest dental exam that I could, but by Wednesday night she had a huge absess and I knew her little tooth wouldn't stay in her mouth too much longer. She is really excited to see what the "tooth fairy" has in store for her and her tooth is already under her pillow.

If you are wondering why there are never any pictures of Preslee, it is because she will not let me take them. But she too is gaining weight since she is eating so good at grandmas house. We love it. She has always been our little "stick" girl and now she is chubby! It is so cute!

Other than that it is school and work for Nicholas, school for me, and lots of driving in the car to and from the hospital. But it is all worth it. I love all my little girls and my hubby!

Day 12 with many more to go.

2008-09-01T19:31:00.000-07:00

So every time I go to visit the baby I ask the Nurses the same question (and I am sure that they are tired of hearing it) "Do you thing she will be here much longer?" I always get the same answer..."she will be here probably until really close to her due date." Which is in six weeks. AAAaaaahhhh! That is so far away. I seriously "crave" taking this baby home! I hate leaving the hospital each night, trusting that she will be okay when I return the next day. The good thing is that she is doing really well. She proves to be stronger with each day. I liked this picture that Nicholas took of the girls visiting their little sister. As we were leaving Preslee said "Okay, can we now go see the other one Ellie?" She is not used to seeing Ellie without all the tubes and oxygen and everything since she has only seen her one other time. There is a rule that sibblings can only see the baby twice a week for fifteen minutes each time. Anyway, everything is going well for now.

It's that time...

2008-08-31T10:30:00.000-07:00

We will be going private...Leave us an email address if you want an invite (blog stalkers and all).

Way to go Charli...(And an update on little Ellie!)

2008-08-28T23:10:00.000-07:00

We are so proud of Charli! She is learning to swim and just today showed me how she can swim under water without plugging her nose. Way to go Charli!

Ellie is doing great! (thanks for all your prayers thus far. It will continue to be a fight for our little one but she is working hard and it is paying off.) Today at five they removed her IV-HOORAY!!! The only tube that she is left with is her NG tube for her feedings. I was told today that she will be changing isolets because the one that she is in is for "sick babies" and she is not a sick baby. She is a little tiny baby and now her challenge is to gain weight.
I love this little pose. She definitely does not just lay there when they put her down. She squirms until she finds herself a cozy position. SO CUTE!!!

Just like her Daddy! This is how Nicholas often sleeps so when I saw her sleeping this way I had to grab a picture.
Today was such a good day. They let me hold her for an hour and a half. That was so nice and so needed. I loved every minute of it.
Look at the size of that binky...it is hilarious to watch her suck that thing!
Nicholas is the cutest dad! HE was so excited when the nurse told us that he needed someone to keep the baby warm while he changed her bedding...of course there was no question Nicholas was up for the task. She looks so tiny next to him.

* I tried to post a picture of all the kids today, but of course Pres had a grumpy day and told me not to look at her when I was trying to take a picture...maybe another time!

2008-08-27T00:23:00.000-07:00

I love my girls. And I miss them. This too is another reason that it is so hard to go through the challenges we are facing. My girls have missed their Mommy, and I too miss them. They are used to having me around more. I am constantly trying to find a good balance of spending good time with them and visiting the hospital to see my little Ellie. We have been staying with my in-laws (They are seriously the greatest!) And they took us to a park to let the girls play for a little while. I love these pictures of the girls sticking their faces in a little window on what Preslee called the "widge". Of course it was a bridge.

Charli is such a good girl and loves to take care of her little sister and cannot wait to hold her new baby sister. Today was the first time that Charli and Preslee got to meet and see their new baby sister and they fell in love. Preslee was a little hesitant to be around the baby but I think it was because the whole medical aspect of it with all the tubes and monitors made her nervous. Preslee was very clingy today and it made me so sad because I felt that maybe she is starting to feel a little neglected...I will have to work on that. But I love that she gets clingy because as much as she needs the love...so do I right now.

This is the most current picture of Ellie taken on Monday. SHe is now breathing oxygen on her own and no longer requires any assistance. She still has an IV for her antibiotics, but tomorrow is the last day of antibiotics and so (wish us luck) maybe they will take out that stinking IV. Every time I go up to see her it is in a new vein. Poor thing. This particular day it was in her head. It really didn't bother me as much as it does when it is in her tiny little hands or feet. She is making excellent progress.
This was taken the seconf time that I got to hold my sweet baby. They call this the "kangaroo" hold or "skin-to-skin" they say that it promotes healing. I was just so happy to be able to hold her. And today I got really lucky and the nurse let me hold her for twenty minutes and I swear it is the happiest I have been in a whole week now. If only my other girls could have been there with us.
Ellie still has a little Jaundice. It went away for a day and came back a little.
Daddy got to do the "kangaroo" hold too and he loved it! So did Ellie. It was amazing to see how she responded to it. You really could see a difference in her.

So I am a great big nerd. I told my in-laws that today was "Rub your baby in Brittani's face day"! I took the girls to the play land in McDonalds because Preslee is always begging to go to the slides and that means McDonalds. So We get there and there is seriously (I counted!) seven new babies in there. So I sat there and watching my kids playing and cried as silently as I could. But today was a bad day and really anything and EVERYTHING made me cry anyway.

When I got home from the Hospital there was a note and a gift on my bed for me. (We are staying with my in-laws until Ellie comes home) It was a note from my mother-in-law wishing me a better day tomorrow, along with a couple premie outfits, diapers, wipes, and a diaper bag and a couple other things. There was also flowers on the night stand from Nicholas' work...Tonight I really needed something like that. My in-laws have been so good to me (always) but also when this all happened. They are helping so much with the girls so I can go see Ellie every day, and feeding us and everything else. When I saw the gift (Of course) I started bawling! I love all the support that we are getting because we really do need it. Sorry it is such a long post and full of complaints...so I will end on a positive note. I love all of our family who has helped us so much this last week. And my little girls for understanding that sometimes they have to share their Mommy! I love Nicholas for all his hard work that he does, trying to make everyone happy all the time, while working, and going to school...You are the best! And I cannot wait for the day when my little family can go home together!

An Update on Little Ellie...

2008-08-23T23:30:00.000-07:00

Ellie is now three days old and doing great. Her first day she was on a ventilator, then next day on CPAP and today all she needed to breathe was a nasal canula. This means that so far every day she has made huge improvements. We are told by the nurses in the NICU that she is really quite a "feisty" little girl. I would have to pat her on the back for that...I think that must be why she is doing so well. I have always heard and loved the saying "It is not the size of the dog in the fight, but the size of the fight in the dog!" I think this definitely applies to our little angel. She is now only 3 lbs 10 oz but she is fighting the best that she can. She does have a little jaundice but they are getting on top of that right now.

This is by far the hardest thing that we have ever had to go through. Yesterday was the hardest day of my life as I was discharged from the hospital and had to leave without her. As soon as I walked in the door to my house and headed up the stairs I saw her little swing and completely lost it. I had it set up since I got it excited for the day that she will come home to lay in it.

Today when we got to the hospital we got the best surprise that we could ask for as the charge nurse told us that we would be able to hold her for the first time. So 72 hours after she was born exactly and she was finally in my arms. Of course it was not nearly long enough as ten minutes later I had to pass her on to her daddy.. They couldnt let us hold her too long because of the jaundice. She definitely preferred being held by her daddy and calmed right down for him. I think I was a little to nervous when I was holding her.

Then another big surprise when I got to my mother in laws house and was able to really hug my little Charli and Preslee. I had gone way to long without seeing them. We took them to a nearby park and played for a while, then Nicholas read them stories and I held them while they fell asleep.

I love being a Mommy and cannot wait for the day when I can take all three of my little girls home with me.

Please pray for Ellie. She needs all the help and strength she can get.

2008-08-21T13:32:00.000-07:00

(Just a few more pictures. ) Ellie was taken directly from delivery and handed to the NICU team at the hospital. It all happened so fast that I didn't even see her. The first time that I did see her was at 11:30 that night. She was on a ventilator which made her chest vibrate rapidly and scared me so bad. Luckily they were able to take her off the ventilator today and she has a cpap which is the breathing tube that she is using today. Overall she is doing very good and we just love her.

Ellie

3 lbs. 13 oz.

16 in

Ellie is here!

2008-08-21T08:28:00.000-07:00

Ellie came quite a bit earlier than we expected. It is a long story that I will post in a while when I get the energy to type it all up, but the REAL quick version is that I got what is called Chorio Amnionitis, which is an infection of the amniotic fluid and the lining of the Uterus. After 39 long hours of laboring, fever, tests, an ambulance transfer, and many other problems our cute little baby is here.

She was born August 20, 2008

at 5:58 pm.

Weighing 3 lbs. 13 oz.

Yearbook Yourself

2008-08-16T18:55:00.000-07:00

Aren't we a cute couple in 1964!? Okay maybe not. Love the hair though right!?

www.yearbookyourself.com

Another reunion in Torrey Utah

2008-08-10T20:49:00.000-07:00

We just got back from Torrey Utah. Every year in August we head south for a Reunion for Nic's family. Every year it gets a little bit more fun.

The best part of the reunion this year was the dance at the "big apple". We always have the dance and they hire square dancers to come and teach everyone how to dance. This year there was a rock band there whose drummer is related to Nic. Charli spent alot of time dancing with her Daddy, her Grandma, and her Grandpa.
But that night we saw a whole different side of Preslee. I don't think that I have had such a good laugh in a long time. Preslee would run in circles for the longest time with her eyes closed. Where she got her energy is the biggest mystery to all of us. Then she would run into the center of all the people dancing and strike a pose...she calls this her "trick". We have seen the "trick" before, but never quite like this. She meant business. Every time she hit her pose she stayed there for a good three to five minutes. Never smiling, just focused on doing her thing. At one point she started spinning on the ground doing break dancing moves. She had a blast and so did we. Between songs she would clap her hands for a minute, then fold her arms and yell "Do it again!"

Nic and I realized that night that we shared our first dance. After six years together we finally got to dance with eachother and it was so fun. We will make sure to dance more often! :)

Nic and his dad at the "big apple" before the dance.

Charli is a GREAT rock collector and made sure to collect just enough rocks to line the railing of this deck on the cabin that Grandma and Grandpa rented. GREAT PICTURE!!!

This is the yearly ducky race that I always buy ducks to race and NEVER EVER win...yes I am bitter...:)

I love this picture of Charli. What a great dancer. She has her own style but in our little family is famous for her booty shake. She really can shake it!

We had a great time and were so fortunate to spend such a relaxing weekend with family. Spending time in Torrey is always so much fun because there really isnt alot to do so we go on walks and swim and just hang out. It is so quiet there, which is really a good thing coming from the traffic that is always going on in Davis County...it is so busy here.

Sorry...Its a LONG post!

2008-08-06T19:46:00.000-07:00

We have been way busy but have been having tons of fun! These first pictures are from Nics brothers wedding...CONGRATS Jamie and Tiffany! People keep saying that I don't look pregnant...well here is the proof! I am getting LARGE!

These second set of pictures are from the wedding dinner prior to the actual wedding day. Nicholas' mom is Chinese and Hawaiian so she decided to get the girls in their family (Nic's grandma, then his mom, Charli, and his sister Cassidy- from left to right in the picture) together to do the Hawaiian brides dance. It was so cute and I am such a HUGE nerd I was like crying because Charli looked so cute doing the dance.

This last set of photos is the most exciting to me because pretty soon we will FINALLY have a backyard to hang out in. Note: To all those of you who may be interested in buying a house in the future:BUY ONE WITH A FINISHED BACKYARD!!! If there is snow on the ground...BE SURE TO ASK IF THERE IS A FINISHED BACK YARD!!!! To those of you ladies out there that are going to help your hubby order the materials for your back yard...make sure that you measure for your sod. I had three seperate deliveries sent to us and each time it cost a $50 delivery fee! What a waste! The most exciting part of our yard I think is our fire pit that Nic, me and my brother built. (A huge reason why I have been having signs of early labor...I am not as tough and resilient as I think I am) Another big issue is that I thought that I could save some money buy purchasing stone and brick instead of sod, SOD IS WAY CHEAPER!!! Oh well we will have tons of fun roasting marshmellows soon enough!

Thanks for reading!

Time-Out!

2008-08-02T16:32:00.000-07:00

I freaking love this picture. This last week has been so crazy!!! My brother-in-law got married in Manti which was a three hour drive from home, then we went to Highland to the reception and back home. We have spent most of the week in Highland helping out, having the kids babysat while I was in school, yada-yada it's been wild! Needless to say it is time to calm our lives a bit. Earlier bed times will make for happier children which will make for happier Mommies and Daddies. Well today we had to go to the bank and that alone was enough to make me near crazy. I thought that I had it all together...that I was calm and could handle anything...but two days shy of thirty weeks pregnant, 100 degree weather, a serious lack of sleep. I don't have it all together so I wasn't able to handle screaming children in the bank. Preslee threw a fit and ran down the hall into someones office and hid under their desk...when I came back Charli was crying for an unknown reason. Needless to say it was time for a little "time-out"! I LOVE THESE GIRLS!!!

Pioneer Day

2008-07-26T17:14:00.000-07:00

We had a really good holiday. We started our evening by going to the Days of 47 Rodeo. Unfortunately I didn't take any pictures but we had a great time! We were on the third row so the girls had a great view of everything that was going on. We were a little worried that Preslee wouldn't like it, but she loved it. Charli was a great spectator too. She clapped for all the riders and was full of questions as to why they were doing what they were doing.

After the rodeo we headed down to Nics parents house for a BBQ and fireworks. We had tons of fun with the chocolate fountain (being pregnant of course that was my favorite part) and the fireworks were a lot of fun to see.

The girls had a good time running around on the lawn and showing us all their "tricks". I got a great picture of Preslee doing some sort of "trick" while Charli jumped over her.

I love this picture of my mother in law and Charli. My mother in law is one of the nicest people I know. She meets me at my school every Tuesday and Thursday to watch the girls while I am in class. When she brings the girls back to me she always has a cup of ice and a soda for me. She is so great! She has so much patience for the girls, and always does fun things with them. Lucky little girls...they get to go swimming with her twice a week while I am in class. And (HOORAY!) I am not sure if I mentioned but Nics Dad is back for good! He just spent the last 18 months in Afghanistan. We are so glad that he is home safe we sure missed him!

Anyway- It was a really good day! We had Nic on a weekday all day long!

My Cute Girls...

2008-07-23T14:12:00.001-07:00

I haven't posted in a while because I have been really busy with school. Lets just say that Microbiology is not my favorite subject. It definitely keeps me busy. ALthough I am really enjoying my Pharmacology class and my Nursing classes. Those ones are a bit more interesting than the micro.

So I havent taken many pictures lately but today the girls requested that I take their picture after we curled their hair so I figured I could make a post out of it. This of course (curling their hair) is a daily routine for us. Along with painting nails and picking out dresses.

I lOvE My GiRlS!!! I have to post some of the funny things that they say. We will start with Charli. Charli is very interested in the baby in my tummy...so this is how the conversation went...
Charli- Is the baby wearing clothes in your tummy?
Mom- Nope...
Charli- Well then she is probably cold right?
Mom- Nope- it is really warm in there. She is in fluid...ya know water.
Charli- does she drink the water?
Mom- yep.
Charli- Well when I drink water it makes me need to go potty. Does she go potty?
Mom- Yes she does.
Charli- well if she is in the water and she is going potty in there...and she drinks the water, then she is drinking her pee!?
I didn't really know what to say to her. Yes the baby will drink the urine in the amniotic fluid. That is way too confusing for her so I answered like this.
Mom- Yes, she drinks the water, but it is okay. It is hard to understand but it will make sense one day.
Charli- I think we need a different baby...one who doesn't drink her own pee.

Then a couple days later we were at a bridal shower and I was wearing my wish box necklace. Charli asked how it worked and I told her that you open it, make a wish in it, and then wear it close to your heart...
Charli- "Can I wish in it?"
mom- "of course"
Charli- "Will my wish come true"
mom- "I dont know...but it is worth a try"
Charli- (whispering of course, with her mouth close to my necklace that she is now wearing) "Please please please turn my mommies baby into a boy. We don't need anymore girls in our house! I really really want a baby brother"
Mom- "Are you done with your wish"
Charli- "Mom- I took care of it...I am going to have a brother!"

Sorry this is a long post! If you are bored you have my permission to stop reading! I will not be offended.

Now for Preslee...
She is such a funny kid! She has this new habit of yelling something random from her bed the moment she wakes up. I had to write them down because they really are strange!
Monday- "Get me my binky! Wight NOW!!!!" (not so random...I know but it was really demanding. Not a pleasant sound to hear the moment you yourself wake up.)
Tuesday- "I need to go to the store!"
Wednesday- "Im hungy to Macawoni's!" (that is my favorite! She always says Im hungy to...)
Thursday- "Get me out of here! Wight NOW!!!" (She is quite a demanding little thing! And she is in a big girl bed and get out of bed herself!)
Friday- "Where is my mermaid?!" (she loves this mermaid...her tail is torn off, and it is Charlis, but she takes it everywhere!)
She just started inging these made up songs while she plays in the playroom. I love this. I love to sneak up on her and listen to them. Maybe some day I will figure out how to put the recording on the computer.

Anyway...thanks for reading about my cute little babies!

My funny girl

2008-07-08T14:36:00.000-07:00

One of the best parts of being a mom is the little everyday things that make me laugh. Nicholas called me while I was at school today to warn me of the "little" bruise Charli gave herself. Charli called me after Nic to tell me that when she was in the bathtub, she sucked on a cup til it stuck to her face. She left it on til her face felt funny. Now she is irritated that her face looks funny! Silly girl!

Practice doesn't always make perfect!

2008-07-01T19:40:00.000-07:00

My beautiful cousin Ashley got married over the weekend and little Charli Mae was her flower girl. We talked several times about how she was going to do this.

1. walk down the aisle

2. smile

3. drop flower petals

EASY!!!!!

We even rehearsed a couple of times. But when it all came down to it, she was too scared. I would probably be scared if there were a bunch of people staring and talking pictures of me...she just got nervous and started crying!

Either way...CHARLI LOOKED BEAUTIFUL!!!!

WE NEED YOUR HELP!!!

2008-06-26T13:04:00.000-07:00

My wonderful husband has set aside his pride and dressed up as Hannah Montanna to try to win tickets for Charli Mae to see Hannah Montanna in concert at the Stadium of Fire. We really want to help Nic win this for her and we need your votes...so, go to www.971zht.com and go to the Hannah Montanna part, select vote now, and vote for #36. They will have you scroll to the bottom of the page and enter your email address. They will then send you a email where you will confirm your vote.

Please do this for cute Charli Mae!

We love you all!

It really only takes a minute!

Happy Fathers Day!

2008-06-17T14:57:00.000-07:00

I know I am a little late but I did want to post how good of a dad Nicholas is. He is the fun parent. The one that is always pushing the kids on the swingset or giving piggyback rides, while I sit behind the camera and take pictures. Not only is he a good dad, but a great husband! He is always so nice to me. Occasionally I seek out an argument, but never get anywhere because he doesnt like to fight. He always ends up saying he is sorry that I am upset and that ends the argument right there! I love you Nicholas!

I finally got my way and took the girlies to Disneyland!

2008-06-03T22:49:00.000-07:00

Finding seashells with the girls.

Daddy was a good sport and played in the cold water.

Watching the (AMAZING water show) "Fantasmic" at Disneyland.

It was a quick desicion to make the trip...and I am glad that we did. The first night we stopped at my parents house in St. George to stay for a night and welcome them home from China. Then it was off to California. We had so much fun. Nics sister Cassidy lives in California and was able to meet us at Disneyland. I think one of the best parts of the day at Disneyland was the princesses. We waited for over an hour to meet them, but they were worth it. They really get into character and are very good at it. Our favorite was Belle and that is why we posted her picture. We also met Mulan and Jasmine. Nic went on his favorite rides...Pirates and splash mountain, and the girls were happy to ride anything that wasnt scary. The girls had so much fun on the rides, eating churros, and running around.

Then next day we took off to stay with Cass for a couple days and visit the beach. This was the girls first experience with the ocean and I was kinda sad that it was so cold. What is important was that they made the best of it. They had so much fun running in the cold water with their Daddy, finding sea shells with Mommy, and just playing in the sand. Preslee liked throwing sand at the scavenger birds that were constantly trying to steal our food.

The last day of our trip Cass took us to a museum called Noah's Ardc at the Skirball Exhibit. It was really fun. The girls had a blast and we enjoyed spending time together. The rest of our time was spent driving, eating, or just having a good time. We took the girls swimming at the pool in our hotel, sat in the hot tub for a while, and watched movies.

The trip was a definite success and we cannot wait until the next one. (Except next time we will fly, bring pain meds for those wonderful kidney stones, designate naps for Preslee, and stay longer at Disneyland!)

A Day at The Park.

2008-05-20T21:17:00.000-07:00

So Nic and I have really fallen in love with our new neighborhood. We feel really safe and at home here. We started taking nightly walks and found a cute little park. This day, while Nic was at work, me and the girls were going on a walk. We were not planning on stopping at the park of course (otherwise we wouldnt have put them in white dresses), but had to stop because they were so excited when we passed by. They had so much fun playing together, and of course it wouldnt be a normal day in our life without a minor injury. Preslee fell between the rungs on the arched ladder and landed on her tummy. Of course I ran to her aid right after taking her picture. I love my girls!

SUNSHINE!!!

2008-05-05T17:31:00.000-07:00

We were so excited to have such good weather on Sunday. We just couldn't let the day go to waste. So after church we headed to Gateway to let the girls play in the fountain. They had so much fun and so did we. It is amazing how much fun it is to watch your children play. They truly are the greatest thing that life has to offer!

It's a...WHAT!?!?!?!?

2008-04-25T20:43:00.000-07:00

So, we couldn't help oursleves and went in early to a fetal studio to have a gender determination ultrasound. The guy who did it was really funny as we were walking in. He said (seeing our two girls) "I charge extra for boys". We laughed and said that we would be happy to pay the extra charges. While we were having the ultrasound he kept referring to the baby as "she"...then we saw NOTHING between the baby's legs and knew that we would be having our third girl. The Ultrasound tech (who is an OB/GYN from Lithuania) took a lot of extra time to look for a little "ding-dong", but there was none to be found! It is true...we will be having our third girl, and after the initial shock, we realized that this baby is supposed to come into our family and we are so ExCiTeD!!! The important thing was that everything looked great. He checked for all major organs, and all the limbs and said that she is healthy to his knowledge. Now it is time to think of a name and throw some more pink on the walls.

Charli was tagged!

2008-04-19T20:44:00.000-07:00

*Charli is 4 1/2 years old.
*She loves to color. Her specialty is spongebob and his mom, butterflies, flowers, and "machines".
*Her favorite food is...(drumroll) RIBS!!! Thus the picture. This picture was taken right after she cleaned her face.
*One of her favorite things to do is bake with her Mommy!
*Her favorite toys are her barbies...she has 43 of them.

*Charli is a really good singer and knows all the words to her favorite songs- "No One" by Alicia Keyes, "Jesus Take The Wheel" by Carrie Underwood, "The happy Working Song" for Enchanted, and many others including of course the Primary Songs.
*Her favorite movies are Barbie movies, she has every one they make.
*Charli faces time out like a champ...She stares at us (while being disciplined) and says "Do what you want...I am not afraid, you can spank me, it won't hurt, put me on time out if you like...I think it will be fun!" Little stinker! But it is hard not to laugh!
*She loves hanging out with her cousin Carson. She was there recently while Carson was being disciplined and walked up to him and said "Are you okay? My mom is a naughty girl too." Kids are so funny!
*Charlis latest favorite snack is (in the same bowl)- orange cheese, peeled green apples and green olives with a sippy full of chocolate milk.
*WE LOVE THIS GIRL!!!
Charli tags- Addison, Carson, Kennedy,Preslee and anyone else who wants to play! It is nice to have the motivation to blog about something...I am not real good about it.

Where to start?

2008-03-27T14:06:00.000-07:00

I guess that I will start at the top. The first few pictures are of last Saturday. My mother in law had a "Tinkerbell" party for Preslees birthday. It was so much fun! She bought the girls wings and a wand and all sorts of fairy stuff to go along with it. Not to mention all the gifts. We are so spoiled. The same day we had our Easter egg hunt. It was tons of fun. Of course Preslee had a hard time, thus the pictures of her crying. She did not want to hunt for eggs. And also did not want us to sing Happy Birthday for her. Either way we had a blast.

The pictures of the balloons is a really fun ine for me. I have a friend who lost her dad a few years back and every year on his birthday she bakes his favorite pie. That is their way of celebrating his life, and I loved it. I wanted to think of something neat to do to celebrate my younger sisters life (Giana) now that she has passed. On Saturday March 22nd Giana would have celebrated her 23rd birthday. I spent alot of time thinking how we could send our love to her on her special day and came up with this. When we were little we used to think that we could write on a balloon, let it go, and someone in heaven would receive it. So no matter where we are on her birthday every year, we will write a message on a yellow balloon and send it to her in heaven. Deryck sent his from Bountiful, mine and Tif's family from Layton, and my parents in St. George. Kinda cheesy...but it is just what we needed.

The next pictures are of our "finally almost finished" house. WAY TO GO HUBBY!!! YOU DID A GREAT JOB!!! This has been a very long three weeks for us. We have spent every night until at least two in the morning doing our little "remodel". We are finally moved in and almost settled. I will post some pictures of the outside of the house once it is painted. For now it is yellow siding with green shutters and a purple door. Not sure what the previous owners were thinking, but our plans are to paint the siding tan, with black shutters and a black door. I did however post a picture of the back yard which is huge and we love it! It was so nice of the owners to post pictures on the sellers brochure of nice green grass, tulips and trees .(since we bought it snow covered) When the snow melted we were so frustrated to find out that their huge St. Bernard tore up all the grass, the flowers, and left 100lbs of huge dog crap ALL OVER the yard ( Id like to call that false advertising), not to mention the 100lbs of dog hair inside the house. Note to everyone thinking of selling...vacume your house for the new owners...it is the nice thing to do. Especially if everything including the inside of the fridge is covered in hair.

Well, last night we had a little bbq with my family came over for a little bbq for Preslees birthday and brought her a swingset. The girls are so excited! Now all we need is for Nic to put it together.

And last but not least...(if everything is still going well) we are expecting a little baby. I say it that way because I am not completely out of the first trimester yet. I am between 11 and 12 weeks, and have been working really hard helping remodel the house, cleaning and moving (I am really not one to sit and watch), and not getting any sleep (between clinicals at six in the morning, and school two other days a week...lets just say that I need a REALLY REALLY REALLY LONG NAP!!!). Hopefully everything is going good still (Pregnancy is such a hard thing because you go in once to hear a heartbeat and then you wait for another month to make sure that everything is going good still) I really think that I might be a couple if not at least one week further than they say as determined by "the good old first day of your last period", but I think that is how everyone always feels. Thank heavens that the nausea has finally subsided. That was a huge help. Pray for a boy PLEASE!!! ANd it will be the last little addition to our family! I think that Nic would really like to see some of the color blue in our lives. He is getting kinda tired of all the pink.

Sorry it was so long, and thanks for reading!

Happy Birthday Preslee Sara!

2008-03-20T13:02:00.001-07:00

My computer is being stubborn, (or I don't know what I am doing) it will not let me put new pictures up. Anyway, Our lives have been CRAZY lately! We have been working on the house every night. Last week the girls and I were sick. I am pretty sure we got walking pneumonia, but it sounds lame and irresponsible but I felt too crappy to take us all to the doctor. Either way HAPPY BIRTHDAY PRESLEE!

Today Pres turned two. She doesnt really understnad that it is her birthday because we are not celebrating yet. We are having a party with Nics family on Saturday, and mine on Monday. I will try to post some pictures then. But since today is her birthday I think I better make a little "tribute".

-Preslee thinks that she is Princess Annalise and likes us to call her that occasionally. She calls Charli - "Rayna", a fairy from Barbie Mariposa.

-Preslee loves to watch movies that have princesses, fairies, or mermaids.

-She has to wear a dress, and cries for a LONG LONG time if you do not let her.

-Her favorite song is "The Happy Working Song" form Enchanted and she knows every word.

-Another favorite song is "No One" by Alicia Keyes and she knows almost every word and loves to sing it.

- Preslee is a big time "mama's girl", and I love it!

I cannot believe how time flies. We love our little girls and love celebrating their special days each year.

It is not new...but it is new to us!

2008-03-09T10:25:00.000-07:00

Day 1- We finally closed on our new house on Thursday, but because our schedules are so crazy with work and school we were not able to go and see it until Saturday afternoon. We took 1000 sq ft of pergo flooring, 250 sq ft of tile, and about 20 gallons of paint up there. Because it is just me and him working on it (and I am not much help with the little girls running around) I am afraid it is going to take alot longer than I want it to. This room is the biggest project in the house, the cuboards need redone, the flooring and counter need replaced, and of course the paint. We went to Sherwin Williams and picked out our paint colors and they told us to make sure that we liked the color because it was not refundable. We found one we liked and ordered 8 gallons of it, took it to the house and tested it out, and of course we dont think that we like it. Anyway, I will post some pictures as we make improvements on our new little house.

Las Vegas!

2008-03-03T11:13:00.000-08:00

This weekend Nic and I were able to spend Friday and Saturday together in Las Vegas. In five years this is the only vacation we have taken (sad...I know). Nic's mom was so nice to watch the girls for three nights for us to go out and enjoy ourselves. We stayed at Treasure Island, and visited the Bodies Exhibit at the Tropicana. It was so cool to see all the displays at that museum. My favorite part was the fetal development room where they had different stages of fetus's preserved and injected with a red dye that binds to calcium to show bone formation. It was a little sad but very neat. We also purchased a dinner and show package and ate at a really nice steak house and saw Mystere. We loved it. We spent a lot of time walking around and just being together. It was really funny to get away and fun to get back to the cute little girls.

Our first home...

2008-02-20T19:53:00.000-08:00

Nic and decided that after five+ years of marriage and two little girls, it was probably time to stop throwing 905.00 away in rent. We Found a started home in Layton that we really liked. It is an older home so we will be making a few improvements before we move in. Today we found a great deal on www.ksl.com for some wood/laminate flooring and could not pass it up. So the girls and I took a trip to American Fork and loaded our Jeep with 1000 sq ft. of flooring. Since we have no where to put it and the house won't be ours for another few weeks, it will sit in our living room, and under our piano until we move it. After fifteen trips from the car and Charli's bloody nose (notice the bloody little nostril marks on Nics shoulder) we realized how sad we were that we would have to move it again shortly. But- it is definitely worth it because of the money we saved. This move will be either our ninth or tenth move since we have been married, and the sixth time we have had to pay a moving company 300.00 to move our piano. Needless to say we will try to stay in this home for a long while.

A random post...

2008-02-18T21:27:00.000-08:00

So- Nicholas and I just made our very first infommercial purchase. We were channel surfing really late on Saturday night and stopped on one of those dumb channels where they try really hard to sell you stupid stuff. Anyway...we were hooked, we seriously could not change the channel, so we bought it. It is called the "Air-stepper", it has a guarantee that you will lose ten pounds in ten days. Nic says that is stupid and could never work, but we will see. I could definitely afford to lose a few pounds in a certain region of my self. He was on the phone with the people for like 45 minutes...it took forever, I found out later that he was on the phone extra long because they talked him into buying the deluxe package with 6 extra DVDs, and better quality. It also came with gloves and a extra resistance cord. He makes fun of me and tells me that I spend money on things we dont need, but I think that we could ahve done without the extra DVDs. But he works hard for his money so we got it. Wish us luck, if it ever gets here...maybe we will be ten pounds lighter in a couple weeks...LOL! I guess we will have to stop the nightly ritual of a large bowl of breyers Rocky Road. That alone might allow me to shed a couple lbs!

Valentine Cookies!

2008-02-12T21:55:00.000-08:00

A couple of days ago Charli called my mom on the phone and was talking her head off, so I tuned her out alittle. A few minutes later I heard her say "Yah, my mom never takes me anywhere anymore. She doesn't play with me anymore because she is always doing her homework." I really felt like a bad mom. This is something that I have been struggling with for a while. I knew that my nursing program would be hard, but I never thought that it would take so much of my time. Needless to say, it was time to focus more of my attention on the girls. We have really been trying hard to do what they want. Well today Charli said that she wanted to make cookies with her family, so that is exactly what we did. We went to my sister Tiffani's house and took my little bother Dayne with us. There was some serious creativity going on with the decorating, especially little Preslee's. The most imortant thing was that we had a really good time, and the cookies were YUMMY!!!! I love my girls!

Big Hugs!

2008-02-02T18:57:00.000-08:00

I am so glad that all my sibblings started their families about the same time. I think that the best thing about families is that you have automatic best friends! We love getting the kids together to play, almost as much as the kids love getting together. This is Levyn, Preslee, and Charli at Grandma Nourses. We love to see Levyn, because he looks so much like his mom did when she was little.

This is my little brother.

2008-01-31T19:52:00.001-08:00

This is my little brother Deryck...aka Uncle D. Today Deryck came over to our apartment to hang out for a while. We always have a good time when he around. Deryck just decided to join the ARMY and will be leaving on March 19th to start all his training, and will not be able to come hang out with me anymore...At least for a really long time. To say the LEAST I am SAD!!! But he sounds really happy, so I will try to be happy for him.

Terrible Twos

2008-01-31T12:59:00.000-08:00

Preslee will turn 2 on March 20th. I think it is safe to say that we ave just entered a new stage in her little life...The terrible two's. She has always had this wierd obsession of putting lotions and soaps, and anything liquid in her hair, but as of late it has gotten worse. Most the time it ends up in her eyes. Last night she put tons of Spearmint soap from Bath and Body Works in her hair,that one did end up in her eyes. Today it was some seriously stinky lotion, but luckily I got it out before it bothered her. She kept saying "Yook Momma, Ine sO pitty!" So, I took a picture of course. I am sure there will be many more pictures like this one.

Happy Birthday Nicholas!

2008-01-23T12:38:00.000-08:00

Today was Nic's 28th birthday. We had lots of fun.
The girls helped me make a cake and put all 28 candles on.
Nic is such a good dad and husband, we are so lucky to have him!
We love you Nicholas!

"Fluffy-Fluffy"

2008-01-09T23:01:00.000-08:00

So...I have not posted in a while because our life is pretty boring. i went back to school after 18 days off for the holidays. Needless to say, I was very unhappy to go back. But I finally have found something that I think is "blog-worthy". Charli has this new "thing" for pinecones. This one is named Fluffy-Fluffy. And in this picture it is wearing it's swimming suit. She will pick them up outside of our apartment and carry them around for days. These are the things that make our sometimes very uneventful days wonderful. She makes us laugh all the time and we are so thankful for her wonderful personality and HUGE imagination!

Some random pictures from the holidays.

2007-12-31T15:58:00.000-08:00

Poor mom got called in to work on Christmas Eve.

My sister Tiffani told me that Pres looks like the creepy little guy from the Lord of The Rings...I think she is too cute!

Me and the girls on Christmas Eve at my family Christmas party.

So we have been fighting the flu alot lately. Preslee had it on December 30. Then she had a really bad sinus infection followed by pink eye. We could not believe how lucky we were that Charli never caught any of it. But today Charli woke up with the flu. Luckily it is a 24 hour flu. So we have about 19 hours to go. Wish us luck because when kids throw up it is a nightmare because they have no idea why they are going through that.

Merry Christmas!

2007-12-27T19:14:00.000-08:00

We tried to take a family picture to send out in Christmas cards but this is the best that we could do.
We took this picture at the airport when Grandpa Rob came in from Afghanistan. I think Preslee said "Do it again Axe" about a million times. She loves Nic's brother Alex and had so much fun.
Hooray- he is finally here. The girls were so excited. He grew a pretty nice beard while he was gone but shaved it off pretty quick.

Nic's family was all together for the first time in probably three or four years. Brady was on his mission in Argentina, Jamie was in Spain, Cass and Mike live in LA, and Rob went to live in Afghanistan. It is so nice to finally be able to spend some time together. We took advantage and got a good picture.

It's time for an update...

2007-12-23T11:46:00.000-08:00

Charli and Preslee love to play with the Little People at Grandma and Grandpa Lunnens.

Playing witht the new remote control spider. OOOHHH!!! GROSS!!!

Me, Mom, Tiffani, Bethany (Moms friend) and Carissa, (Deryck's girlfriend) in Park City for our annual shopping trip.
These are our very first ornaments we got as a gift six years ago from Nic's mom. We cannot believe that we are celebrating our sixth christmas together.
Me and Preslee taking a nap while I am really not feeling good.
"All aboard...do you have a ticket?" Preslee has been watching Polar Express and is fascinated with trains. She watched this train for about a half hour repeating that over and over again. She is so fun!

This is a picture that me and Tif took of ourselves. We didn't realize how close up it was going to be and we laughed really hard at the end result but whatever we were having fun. For my 25th birthday Nicholas woke me up and told me to get ready quick. He sent me to Akasha Day Spa for a facial, a manicure, and a pedicure. I didn't want to go alone so he invited my sister to go with me. We had alot of fun talking and being pampered.

Our lives have been crazy lately. For the past 13 days I have been in and out of St. Marks hospital for Kidney stones. It has literally been my worst experience yet. Nicholas and the girls have been so supportive. The picture of me and Preslee taking a nap was the last day that I experienced kidney pain. I was on Morphine and percocet but nothing helped, all I could do was sleep.

But we have been having fun when we got the chance. Me, my mom, and my sisters go on an annual shopping trip to St. George. This year we decided to do things differently since it was our first year without Giana. We went to Park City and took my brothers girlfriend and one of my moms friends with us. We went out to dinner and stayed in a hotel. We woke up the next day and shopped all day long. We had a great time.

Nic's dad came back from Afghanistan for a couple of weeks, and his sister Cassidy and her husband came in from LA, and we are so happy to have them home for a while. We went to their house last night and watched movies. Nic's Dad and Mom are really good cooks so they made some really yummy homemade pizza, my favorite was the Chicken Pesto. The girls got to play with their Grandparents, and aunts and Uncles, and tried out Daddy's new remote control spider. It was really fun. Now that I am not SUFFERING from kidney stones I will try to take some good pictures and post more often.

His Final Farewell...

2007-11-28T23:05:00.000-08:00

Tonight was such a fun night. We were at KSL for the "final farewell". If only my little girls could have been there. I left the little girls at home with Nic's mom because I new it would be a long night and they love to just run around. It was fun to see my entire family dressed up to have a good time. Tif brought her two little boys, my cute nephews Carson and Tyson. Tyson was dancing on the stage with the band. He is so cute. It made me wish I had brought the girls. The funny thing about the night was that I almost felt as if I was at a funeral. Everyone was saying goodbye and crying. It was really sad, but really neat to see how much respect everyone has for my dad Dick. They said said that in his career he had done over 25,000 newscasts. That is amazing. After 43 years he for sure deserves to stay home. I am excited for him. It was pretty cool- Pres. Bush sent him some Presidential cuff links and a tie tack, and KSL gave him a Rolex watch, and an HD video camera. My cute Grandparents were there and that made it even better. Oh yah, they even had my very favorite snack there...chocolate covered strawberries- yum! I seriously think I ate 10!!! They were so good.

But the saddest part of the night is coming home and the girls were asleep already! Now I will not get to see them until I get back from school tomorrow night. But I got some cute pictures of them sleeping!

My team lost...

2007-11-25T20:22:00.000-08:00

So- I really did not want to go to the game, but my family insisted and I went. I like football and all, but not enough to sit in the bleachers on a freezing cold day for hours and hours. But anyway- I had a great time! We were down on the grass in BYU's endzone. Everyone was in blue except for Nic, me and my brothers girlfriend Carissa. I didn't feel too out of place until we were all standing in a sea of blue, BYU's marching band, and who knows who else was down there, but needless to say I was and looked out of place. I was raised in a home of BYU fans, but married a UofU fan, so I was converted. Anyway, we really did have fun and I am glad that I went.

This is what it is all about!

2007-11-23T23:30:00.000-08:00

The thing that I am most thankful for is family. I am so lucky to have such a great husband who works hard and never gives up. He always makes sure that I have everything that I need and that I am happy. Everyone who knows him loves him and so do I. I am so blessed to have two cute and healthy little girls. Charli is another one of my best friends. She follows me everywhere. She loves to help me cook, clean or do whatever it is I am doing. She always tells me that she loves me. She used to cry every morning that I would leave for school until I told her that I had to go because I needed to learn how to help little kids feel better when they are sick. After I told her that she now walks me to the door and says to come home right after I am done learning how to take care of people. Then reminds me to have a snack and not drink too much Coke because it will make me sick. She has such a big heart. Little Preslee is growing so fast and becoming more independent. But every morning she still says "I hold you mommy" and lays with me and watches her cartoons. I will hold her until she won't let me anymore. I love being a mommy. I have always been told to keep good relationships with family because friends will come and go but your family will always be there, and it is so true. My mom is amazing and has always been there for me to be an example, listener, and friend. My dad Dick took in me and my brother and sister as his own, and without him who knows what our lives would have been like. I will always be grateful for the life that he provided so willingly for us. Tif and Deryck, my brother and sister are two of my best friends! And my in-laws are seriously the best. I love my family and a, thankful for them everyday.

Poor Dayne

2007-11-18T22:07:00.000-08:00

This is my little brother. He is seriously amazing! Dayne has Osteogenesis Imperfecta and Spina Bifida. Dayne had major surgeries in the beginning of the year but has been doing great these past few months. Last week he went to PCMC for a sleep study because they have been worried about his breathing pattern. My mom called me from the hospital to chat, and I asked her how he was. She said that he was just a little scared...I wonder why!? I think I would be a little scared with all the wires on me too! But Dayne- you are the man! I love you!

We Miss You!

2007-11-14T17:46:00.000-08:00

November 15th marks seven months since Giana passed away. We love you very much! It just isn't the same without you.

Jib Jab

2007-11-11T14:43:00.001-08:00

Star in Your Own JibJab! It's Free!We saw this website on someone elses blog and laughed for a really long time. We had lots of fun creating funny videos of our family!

My Parents doing the Disco

2007-11-10T12:46:00.001-08:00

Star in Your Own JibJab! It's Free!Ha Ha Ha!