It's Go time folks...

Yippee...only two days til the Edwardson family heads for Denver. We are very excited. Carter has mentioned several times how excited he is to see Katie. (Good thing he doesn't know that Jake had a crush on her first!) It's a bummer we're all spread out so far, but it will sure be fun to devote 2 weeks to playing with the Denver Lisoneakers.

In other news...Jake got a bearded dragon for his birthday. His name is "Beardie." He is quite lovely. He likes to eat crickets and sit on top of this wood climbing thing or just stare out the glass at you...He has been the center of our household for the last two days. Jake is very proud to be 8 years old. He's very much looking forward to being baptized...IF WE COULD JUST GET SOMEBODY TO LET US BAPTIZE HIM. This is my biggest irritation right now. As you know, we would like to have as much family present as possible for the baptism. Unfortunately, Elise is unable to travel to us so we will gladly travel to her. However, we're having serious trouble getting the stakes to let us do it. Our stake is fine with it but the Valencia stake is not cooperating. What is there problem any way? Our bishop is calling the Valencia Bishop today to try and talk some sense into him/them. In all fairness to Bishop Williams, he hasn't even been a part of this discussion yet. But we did talk to Elise's bishop and he's being a troublemaker. We'll see how it goes.

Our house will be done in 2 weeks! Happy day. We will have almost an entire week to paint and have our new furniture delivered before the big move...so I'm hoping it will all go smoothly. It sure looks good!

I will post some pictures whenever I get to a computer that can do it...until then, you can imagine Jake's toothless smile as he holds Beardie...

Bombers, Burgers and Babies

For your next installment of "you know you're in Texas when..." we bring you the 4th of July. Better late than never, right? Adam and I decided to keep the tradition alive so we went to a Rangers baseball game for the fourth. So first to the Bombers. The bomber above is just a snapshot I took from my weak sauce little camera but it turns out it's got a good zoom. This plane swooped right across the stadium during the national anthem. It practically floated across the sky, so graceful and pretty. Just awesome. I'm not going to lie. I may have gotten a bit teary eyed...or maybe it was just allergies.
This shot is another cool memory. Before the national anthem, 120 airport recruits were marched out on the field and stood along the first and third base line. They were about to ship off in the coming week and there they were on the fourth of July. Their commander stood at home plate and there they all raised their right hands and took the oath of the airforce. As they marched out, the entire crowd was on their feed and applauding. I saw many grown men all around me who appeared to be suffering from the same "allergies" I was feeling and many a tear was wiped away as these little guys who couldn't have been much older than 18 promised to sacrifice their lives if called upon. That little plane that the guy was sitting in was right behing home plate. It's a replica but evidently pretty close to the real thing. Texans are so patriotic. It was nice to be in a place where people were just proud and happy to stand and honor their country and those who defend it. I almost liked them gall durned Texans for a minute.
And here's Daleums and his kiddies. He invited us over to grill some burgers and chill with the kiddos. This is us moments before sitting down to our 4th of July bounty. Dale also invited us to watch fireworks with the kiddies the weekend before the 4th. It's always such fun to see stuff that can become mundane through a little kid's eyes. Plus, how do you not love a little girl in a tiara?!? ANYWAY, I thought I'd throw in that Adam and I promised to go all out on 4th of july and bring the homemade ice cream to the barbecue at Dales. It totally would have worked except that when we openede our brand new ice cream maker on the morning of the 4th, we read the instructions and found that you have to put the "freezer block" in the freezer a suggested 6-24 hours before beginning to make ice cream. Did anyone else hear the Clark W. Griswold symbols crash in the background? Because I sure did. That's all for us folks here in Texas. See ya'll later!

Piggyback Prayer Request

Hey folks,
Brando has not been feeling his Wheaties lately. Upon a recent body of test run, the docs found that his little heart has an enlarged atrium and that there are some irregularities with his heart's rhythms. He'll be reexamined on Thursday so Steph and Dale would be most grateful if you could keep the little dude in your prayers.
Fasting not requested yet, but we'll keep you posted.
Thanks,
Stephanie's humble secretary.

Piggyback Prayer Request

Hey guys,
Brando has been feeling a little under the weather of late. They took him in to have some tests and found he has an enlarged atrium as well as some irregularities in his heart's rhythms. He'll go in to be reexamined on Thursday so in the meantime, Steph and Dale would ask that we could keep them in our prayers as well.
Fasting not necessary thus far, but we'll keep you posted.
Thanks,
Stephanie's Humble Secretary

A bag of hammers

Currently I am debating that my intelligence is somewhere between a bag of hammers and a box of rocks. Seriously, I am taking my next section of the CPA on July 30th and after 8 weeks of studying I have not yet passed a practice test. I am really nervous with one week left that I am not as prepared as I need to be.
The CPA exams cannot possibly test all of the material that is included in the outline. You just have to hope that the sections that you are tested on a ones that you are strong in. On the last test I was tested on 5 subjects and 4 of them I was strong in. The reason that I give you that information is because this is what I need help with. I need help in this last week to be able to focus my efforts on subjects that I will be tested on.
If you wouldn't mind including us in your thoughts and prayers we would really appreciate it. We have a lot of time, money and sanity invested in this process and we are a little overwhelmed at the moment. All of the eligible CO laserbeams (me) will be fasting next week. Katie will be offering the pregnant fast (no Sacrament candy).
On a brighter note, we are really looking forward to this test being over because the CA laserbeams are coming to visit 2 days later. The kids are officially on the count down until Nana, Papas, Aunties and their cousins come to town. See you guys soon.

Howdy

Wow...I must say this blog has been less than fabulous lately...I can't post very often and I can't post any pictures because I don't have my computer out to upload them to.

Okay, today we went to a party for one of Jake and Bella's friends (they're brother and sister). In the middle of the party, the kids were swimming and the birthday boy got hurt, like hit in the face really hard...I was sitting in a chair talking to some other parents and heard the commotion and I said outloud...What did Carter do now? They all started laughing at me because there were 16 kids in the pool and I assumed it was Carter. Well, guess what? IT WAS CARTER. I knew it. I seriously love that kid, but he has no concept whatsoever of consequences. Like if I throw this hammer in a pool with 15 other kids in it, it might hit somebody. No, he just goes right ahead and throws it anyway.

Then later, the dad of the little boy said...hey Carter, maybe you could stop throwing rocks because somebody's going to get hurt. Again...in a party with all these kids and plenty to do, How does Carter entertain himself? Yep, by throwing rocks. Wow. Anyone else continually mortified in public?

SLACKERS!!!

I already know what is going on with me, what is up with the rest of you?

Updates from CO

The big girls started school and they are loving it, especially Camille. She keeps telling everyone how she is a kindergartner now. Emma lost another (her fourth) tooth last night, we were at dinner with my mom and a family friend who popped it out for her. Justin and I were cringing and trying not to look, but she didn't seem too upset about it. She has an alarmingly loose front tooth that looks an awful lot like Nanny McPhee, and one other that is slightly wiggly.

We rearranged our bedrooms again, to get ready for junior but also because Ashley is a royal pain at bedtime. She will stay awake for hours yelling for me, or pestering and arguing with Camille. So we switched and put Camille by herself, soon to be joined by the baby in a port-a-crib. Emma now shares the Pepto room with Ashley, because she stays up a little later so I'm hoping a half hour by herself will be sufficient for Ash to fall asleep before Emma goes in there.

Justin is working himself to death working at least a 50 hour week at work, studying for the CPA, working on his business with Mary's husband Joe, and doing Scout stuff, with fatherhood squeezed in everywhere inbetween. He takes his next test in a couple weeks, just before everybody comes to visit. I'm hoping the time off studying and hanging out with you all will help revive him for the third exam.

And me, I'm just getting fatter by the day, and working really hard on it Grandma.

the real reason my kids like bowling

It occurred to me that the reason my kids love bowling and camping is the amount of junk they are allowed to eat while we are doing those things. I might test my theory on bowling, but what is camping without smores?

Happy Birthday Mama Bear!

Mama! A couple of my friends wanted to say Happy Birthday. (Well, actually they wanted to say HBD but I told them I didn't think that would look all that nice on a cake.) Wish we could be there with you but I hear that you'll be taked care of. Hope you're having a wonderful birthday! We love you!

You know you're in Texas when...

You're minding your own business, waltzing around the grounds of the Texas capital when all of the sudden you find yourself standing face to face with this ginormous monument to none other than the Confederate Soldiers. Pictured Below is Mr. Braun trying to wrap his mind around the inscription. Essentially, it says that them there darned Yankees were nothin but a big fat bunch of poser jerkface bullies who only won because they outnumbered them there Confederates. Yep. If those Union Fellas hadn't had like 10 times the soldiers, those good ol' boys woulda done beaten them Yankees silly. Yeehaw...And now to your Pop Quiz: Which is bigger? The White House or the Texas State Capital? I'll give you a hint. Everything is bigger here. No seriously, EVERYTHING...like 14 feet bigger. And they go ahead and fly the Texas flag at the same height as the US flag...just for good measure. Giddyup.
Meanwhile, here's Adam and I proving to all you folks north of the Mason Dixon line that Texas is NOT a desert wasteland. These photos are all from a recruiting trip to Austin (for V&E). We took a bike ride around lovely Lake Austin...which we're pretty sure is a river. But that's neither here nor there. We were just blissfully excited to be outside, in a beautiful wooded area and riding around a really pretty, peaceful, placid body of water. Why wouldn't we be? And that, folks, is the update from the Great State. Ya'll come back now, ya hear?

What do a Monkey and a Snake have in common? (Besides that they're cousins???) Monkey-Enzie and Jake the Snake are MAD CRAZY GOLF O MANIACS! well...kinda.

Moms, ask your little darlings about their golfing adventures. Adam took the kiddies to the putting green to let them show off their mad skills and it turns out that they are amazing golfers...who knew? Seriously though, thanks for letting us borrow your kids for a few days. I have sure missed them and it was SUCH a blessing to get to spend a little time with them so thanks for parting with them. We had all out sleepovers and ate pop corn with marshmallows and M&Ms and watched the rescuers down under...a lot. Final count was like 4 times in one weekend. Of course I wasn't counting or anything. And yes, Kristin, the sleepover was complete with me waking up to a crushing blow of knees to my kidney thanks to some unnamed child while she was sleeping. Meanwhile the kids played fabulously together and were positively angelic. Thanks Jake and Kenzie for coming to Texas. You're welcome back any time.

7-7-07

I'm a little embarrased to post after that last one, because my worries seem pretty stupid in comparison, but in an effort to keep updated I'll do it anyway. Just don't laugh, I know I'm ridiculous.

I hope today is really lucky because I have an amazing amount of stuff to accomplish. My kids start school on Monday so I need to sort through all their supplies to make sure I got everything, then I need to pack them up somehow so they can carry them to school. I have at least 4 loads of laundry that have to be done today, because I'm going to girls camp on Monday morning and I have to have clean stuff to pack and also to send with my kids who are splitting the time staying at my mom's house and then at a friend's house during the day. Justin will pick them up after work and drop them off bright and early. I need to type out a schedule so Justin, my mom, and my friend know where they will be all the time, and also make sure the school knows someone besides me will pick them up. I have to type out a medical release also, just in case. I'll be doing those as soon as I'm done with this. I need to check and make sure I don't have any bills that will be late when I get back, little ones like my mortgage.

Next, all three of my kids are in sad need of a bath. I'm pretty sure Camille has been swimming for a couple days in a row now with no shower whatsoever, and Ashley's hair smells.

And if all those little things weren't enough, I have to prepare two lessons for church tomorrow. One is for my usual sunday school class, I have the 12-13 course, the other for Relief Society which I am more than a little nervous about. I haven't taught adults since I got married! I think I'm being picked on at church--I just gave a talk in sacrament meeting two Sundays ago. It may have somthing to do with my attitude towards church lately, but we won't go there.

Oh, and p.s., I'm on my own, Justin has to study and he goes into the office to concentrate. So on top of all that picture me with three kids following me around bored and whining. Now that I have my check list typed out I'm going to get started. I have a yoga class on Saturday mornings and it will be the best part of my day!

our miracle...the details

Yesterday was a good good day (and after reading some of the posts about all the crazy children, it makes me think that the fact my baby is still INSIDE is GREAT). I probably should call you all and personally thank you for all your prayers and fasting, but I'm hoping that this update for now will suffice! (Oh, and Tammy, Matt was in another lovely meeting last night until 11 and decided he shouldn't call you back at 1:00....).

ANYWAY. I really felt pretty good last week, went for three straight days without feeling a contraction and felt so hopeful about getting to the 24 week mark. I didn't even cry, and I really felt that my mood must have been improved from all the support. At my appointment yesterday, the doctor was suprised. I saw the look on her face and she also made a comment like, "Well, I really didn't expect..." - and I actually don't remember what she said after that because I was thinking, "BOO YA, fasting!" Thd good news is that she said it's "about the same" as last week, which is much improved then losing almost 50% of my (I'm not saying it over the internet) last week! But here's the thing...I can read that ultrasound monitor pretty fast and last week it said .8 cm and this week it said .96 cm. In my book - I GREW. And THAT'S a miracle. It's also a miracle that I looked good enough to come home for another week. It's also a miracle that my shot in the rear was totally a different experience than the one I had when I was four.

Lastly, the doc took all the baby's measurements and found that I she was all developed to 24 weeks except for the head, surprise, which is at 25 weeks. Thank you, Lisonbees.

Really, everyone - thank you SO MUCH. We just feel so great about making it this far and feel confident that we can keep going. We've felt your love and really felt like the fast came at a critical point. THANK YOU!!!

The library with Lia

Okay folks, Malia is slightly bipolar. She goes from "I happy Mom" to stark raving crazy in negative two seconds. Today, the library had a free magic show so we went...it's about 45 minutes long. Malia spent the entire time jumping up and down, sitting on every kid around, unloading and reloading my purse repeatedly, and making all kinds of noise. Afterwards, the kids wanted to get a couple books. I thought it was a good idea so we went to the children's room where Malia proceded to scream at the top of her lungs. I'm not talking your little baby scream, I'm talking your full fledged, "I'm mad as hell and I'm not going to shut up EVER" scream. I thought it would be fun to ignore her...which I did until the looks just got to be too much. So, I gathered up the kiddies to leave when I realized I was missing one of Malia's shoes...she had thrown it on the floor...so we got to walk up and down the aisles of the nice quiet library with crazy Malia just screeching at the top of her lungs. I think they like us. I am pretty sure they want us to come back...

The 4th

Okay folks...our first 4th in Fresno. I must say, me and the kiddies missed going to the parade in Balencia (as Carter would say). I know it's always ridiculously hot, but it's just tradition, that's all. So, we went to a movie in the morning (free, of course). Then, we bought our own fireworks and went shopping for some couches. We were hot and tired, but we pressed onward looking for that perfect couch...instead, we found a couch place that had popcorn, cookies, and a soda fountain. Now we're talking. We hung out there for awhile...I may or may not have put my head back and while coincidentally standing right under the diet coke fountain with that lovely liquid flowing freely down my throat. What? You know you've done that too...anyhow, didn't find a couch we liked, but felt a whole lot better when we left. In the evening, we had some tasty frozen pizza and then waited for it to cool down enough to venture outside. By 8:00 it was a mere 95 degrees or something, so we went to the park behind our house to do some fireworks. We did those whistling Petes and some sparklers. About 20 minutes into it, we noticed a park security guy sitting in his truck watching us. Rick and I decided we should probably make a quick exit. We gathered up our stuff and headed for the paseo leading to our apartments. The kids were asking why we were hurrying and why we went in the "wrong door" aka closer exit. So, the Edwardsons were running from the fireworks police on 4th of July. Now that's some kind of fun. Next year, remind me to be somewhere besides here on the 4th. It wasn't a bad day...especially when you take into account the free soda fountain drinks...but it was FREAKING HOT HOT HOT.

Talk about a Parteeeeey

Well, its about time for me to post on this blog. Its the 4th of July and we are having some fun. I can not remember the last time I heard a louder parteeeee. Unfortunately the party is next door, and we are sitting here inside. Ah well, overrated. On a more serious note, things here are going pretty good. Tomorrow we have another appointment with the doctor. Depending on how things go, they will give her some steroids...which means she is not going to be chasing any home run records soon. Yeah...she's gonna bulk up on roids. Well, actually it is for the baby to help her develop quicker. Also, depending on how things go, they might admit her to the hospital. They might take her in and just monitor her contractions for a few days, or they might keep her in there until the baby comes. So the next few days will be pretty interesting. Thanks for all of your prayers and fasting and thoughts. We appreciate it. As of tomorrow we are 24 weeks along, and as of 4 weeks ago, we were not sure we would make it that far. Everyday that goes by is one more the baby has to develop and helps tremendously. I hope you are all having a wonderful 4th of July.

Thanks,

Matty

Sundays...

I also wanted to say that our family is thinking of Matty and Lisa and their baby girl today. We have talked about fasting and this was a perfect opportunity to talk to our kids about having a reason to fast...so we're all thinking of you guys today. We love you and we're praying for you!

Millerton Lake

So, there's lots of outdoors stuff to do around Fresno. Yesterday, we decided to try out Millerton Lake which is really close. It was really fun! You could drive your car right up to the lake and just get out and get in the water or picnic, or whatever. The kids had a great time...Jake nailed Carter in the head with rock almost immediately. Malia was not at all amused by the mud as you walked in the lake. We have these double camping chairs that have a pocket thing under the arm rest. She found her way into the pocket and settled there...it was very funny, you couldn't even see anything except for her little head poking out. She definitely takes after me. I'm investing in a pair of water shoes because the lake was nice, I just don't like mush under my feet...

Anyway, in other news, we have pets! Rick caught some tadpoles last week and the boys are totally fascinated by them. We have 23! We also went to a discovery museum last week where everything is a "hands on" exhibit. They had a pond with nets so you could catch tadpoles and then put them in a holding tank. The boys absolutely loved it. Actually, so did Bella. The tadpoles were the size of my hand, so they were HUGE! Once you catch them, you're allowed to hold them which they all did. We spent 2 hours at that exhibit. Malia like to hold them too. Only, she would pick one up (Imagine Lenny here from Of Mice and Men)by the neck and then either throw it in the water or the ground...needless to say, she was not allowed to "hold" them for very long. Anyway, I hope you guys will come to freno to visit sometime...there's lots of stuff to do!