The Gentles

A Little Christmas Eve Miracle

2011-12-27T14:44:00.001-05:00

Mark and I loaded up the kids and went to finish some shopping. And by finish, I mean by myself something to wear on Christmas day to church. I ran in and he drove the kids around. I came out, went down a block to pick up some lunch, came out and Mark said “I think one of the kids just had an explosion back there.” I looked back and realized Marky had thrown up. And it was all over his car seat, his blankie, clothes and it was SOOO stinky. This was his first time throwing up, other than spit-up as a baby. So we undressed him, I jumped in the back seat, we buckled him up and drove straight home snuggled next to me. Then out of nowhere, he pulled out THIS black familiar looking item ↓

My sweet little green-faced man found my long lost camera. I knew it was somewhere, just didn’t know where. Now stay tuned for day 4 of our trip. It gets it’s own post. Thankful for please-help-me-find-what-I’m-looking-for prayers being answered. And to me, the camera being found was a tiny Christmas eve miracle. And the fact that my Marky wasn’t otherwise sick.

Day 1, 2 and 3… I think

2011-12-15T01:28:00.001-05:00

Our trip was so great. We were gone for 11 days. We visited family, friends, strangers and many parks, rest areas and malls along the way.

We set goals to get a certain distance each day. We knew with both little ones, we would have to make frequent stops. So in order to allow plenty of time, we broke down the drive to Chicago into 3 legs. And speaking of legs…look at all that leg room.

Day 1 our goal was Atlanta. It was a gorgeous day. When we stopped for a late lunch/early dinner break at a rest area. Mark and Marky walked around while I prepared sandwiches. We were lucky enough to spend the night with my Aunt Sandy just north of Atlanta.

Day 2 Goal: Get through GA, TN and end in Louisville, KY

It was so great to travel through the mountains and enjoy the scenery.

Babies sleeping

Can you believe they still use pay phones? In the middle of TN? Weird.

We made a fabulous stop in Bowling Green, KY. Highly recommend the parks there. WOW. It was beautiful. In the van that night, the kiddos fell asleep so we kept going. We made it to Indianapolis, IN. Which meant we were only 3 hours from Chicago.

Day 3 Goal: Get to Chicago

We loaded up after a great breakfast at Waffle House and hit the road. However, we stopped at the mall in Indy to let Marky enjoy the play area and I got to enjoy some retail therapy. Too bad to one kid’s version playing meant busting Marky’s mouth open from being rough. So back on the road.

The kids slept the WHOLE way to Chicago

Indiana was so pretty from the backseat.

And look at that cute baby. Just want to give a shout out for my little pork chop…She is 5 months old today. We’ll see about throwing her in here later.

Back to Chicago…We got checked into our hotel and hit the streets. Saw lots of awesome stuff in Chicago.

Santa’s Visit 2011 Round 1

2011-12-14T15:07:00.001-05:00

Marky and Callie sure do love Santa…

and this Santa is their Pappaw.

Good News/Bad News

2011-12-10T00:24:00.000-05:00

Remember when I mentioned my camera broke? Well, I figured out (just in time for Marky's birthday in Sept) that if I used it upside down, it worked. YAY!!! So we got some awesome video footage and everything. Then we got to use it on our AWESOME trip. We came home from our trip at ridiculous o'clock in the morning. That evening, we went to a high school homecoming football game where our niece was presented as the Junior class Princess (I'm a VERY proud aunt) and went home. After settling in from getting home Mark bought me a laptop. So I was all ready to load pics and our camera that we thought was broken but we could still use is NOWHERE TO BE FOUND. :( I'm devastated. I have avoided blogging from all the disappointment. And man, there was some great stuff on there. I'm still praying it appears. In fact, I just said another quick silent one. Now I shall move on...

Road Trip

2011-10-04T07:49:00.000-04:00

We're taking a trip and I am SOOOOOO excited. I haven't been on a real trip in so long. You might think we're crazy...cause I do--we're driving to Chicago and then going to Michigan with our two little ones. Along the way we get to stop and visit my Aunt Sandy in Atlanta, then through Louisville to get to Chicago. I've never been to Chicago so this is THRILLING for me. After Chicago, we're going to visit Mark's family in Michigan. Then on the way home, I get to visit my dear friend Sharon (a mission companion for 3 whole days) in beautiful western Virginia (not to be confused with regular West Virginia).

We're planning to be gone for 10+ days. I will miss my family and especially my bed, but I'm so excited!

Better Pictures?

2011-09-16T06:28:00.001-04:00

I can't sleep so might as well try to upload pics directly from my phone to my husband's laptop to see if they turn out any better...here's hoping

I love these little feet

finally caught a smile.

Love these eyes.

My OB/GYN told me that Callie looks just like Mark. I told her that Mark thinks Callie has my shaped eyes. Her reply, "Yeah, now that you mention it, she does! You have big eyes like Indians, like me. And Mark has Chinese eyes." Mark and I both think she looks like Marky and they look like both of us.

Two Months of Happiness

2011-09-15T18:39:00.001-04:00

Two months ago I was nervous and anxious and scared to death. Now, I could not imagine life without my Callie.

Callie's Blessing

2011-09-12T17:26:00.001-04:00

Not only did my computer blow up but my camera freaked out, too. All in time for Callie's blessing. We got a few family pictures using my niece's camera but forgot to get some of the main event by herself. So here is what we have...

We blessed Callie on September 4th. It was a beautiful day. Two babies were blessed in our ward and another close friend blessed her son, too. Well, a few other friends. We were all fortunate to have our babies around the same time.

As you'll see, we didn't go with a traditional blessing dress. And boy (or girl), am I so glad, look at the outcome. She borrowed shoes from her cousin, Georgia. Another reason I'm glad we went with a short dress, she showed off those shoes and you could hear people melting when Mark held her up to show her off. And if you're wondering about her super cute bow or bracelet, I have friends and I can pass along their info, just ask.

Our Little Lady Bear

2011-08-29T00:43:00.002-04:00

My awesome friend Katheryn was kind enough to give us the gift of photography!! She came to our house, set up in our dining room and waited ever so patiently while we tried to get ready after having a mega eventful morning.

So my laptop is broken, I use Mark's for a few minutes a day and if it didn't take about 5 minutes to upload each picture, more would be posted. But I just NEED to share these.

Callie is 2.5 weeks in these pictures.

One thing she got from her daddy are those toes!!

I love to dress up my little lady. I didn't realize it would be as fun as it has been. My sister and I made the flowers for her hair. I love them. Getting ready to make some more.

This is one of my favorites. I'm sure you all know that nothing melts your heart like your husband being sweet to your babies

We have many conversations like this, especially in the middle of the night.

We sure have loved having Callie in our family. She is such a sweetie. She looks SOOO much like her brother, I try my best to always have a bow on her for pictures so we don't get confused one day. Her blessing is this coming weekend. Hopefully, our little 13 lb pork chop will still fit in her blessing dress.

Thank you, Katheryn! And if anyone local is looking to have personalized, fabulous, fun, GORGEOUS pictures done, click HERE or anywhere yellow to visit her website.

The Intro

2011-07-27T10:47:00.000-04:00

Early July 15th, we made our way to the hospital and got all dressed up.

Here we are waiting patiently to meet someone very special...

Just a few minutes later, they wheeled me into the O.R. and voila, we have a baby girl! Warning: I requested gooey pictures this time around. And I now present you with my gooey baby girl.

My awesome OB, Dr. Thirumlai, holding up the prize winning ~~pig~~ little lady. She was breech, so when pulling her feet and legs out, they got a little stuck with her belly, then there was a pop, and our little ~~linebacker~~ ballerina came out.

Our first time seeing each other. I couldn't believe my eyes. She was gorgeous.

Mark hid behind the sheet. But he gave a thumbs up for the world's sweetest little lady.

I made a request to have my arms loosened so I could touch my baby, not just smell and kiss her. Request granted!

Now I didn't know what to do with my hands, but here we are with our baby girl

Now to get our squishy little lady weighed in...

Yes, 9lbs 5oz and 20 inches long

This cuddly little lady is stealing hearts with these delicious cheeks

Our family of 4. Marky was concerned with why Mommy looked so crazy.

Callie Rae Gentle

We are so blessed to have her in our family. We love you, Callie!

Thristy?

2011-07-01T10:09:00.000-04:00

Caution: arms are for reaching all the things on the counter...

...~~and pouring them all over yourself~~ and giving yourself a taste.

PDA

2011-06-30T09:37:00.000-04:00

I really have no problem with acceptable forms of PDA (public display of affection). Kissing is cute, holding hands, rubbing your spouses booty, etc. As long as the participants aren't down throats, doing things I'll have to really explain to my kids or relating on the scene, I don't feel it's my business. HOWEVER...I do find that putting your hands down your lady's butt at the grocery store is a little unsettling. It started as a soft little booty pat and some guy got the idea to put his hand down his lady's pants into her crack. This happened in about 3 seconds. And let's be honest, I couldn't help but wonder what all he had touched in the store after that. I left quickly. If you need your butt picked and you can't accomplish it from the outside, please don't do it near my groceries. :)

Take a Sniff

2011-06-21T10:40:00.000-04:00

My husband was cuddling close to me and started sniffing me like a dog (he's really good at that) and comes back to say "You smell like a scratch and sniff sticker." I'm not sure if that's good but at least he didn't say I smell like dirty gym socks or funky b.o. or even Rice Creek in Palatka. Cause those would have all ended our cuddle session. Hope you're smelling scratch and sniff-erific.

Girls Camp 2011

2011-06-20T11:35:00.001-04:00

It came. It changed. It was awesome!

After about 6 months worth of planning, we had to make some changes. I got a call from our camp Tuesday morning (a day and a half) before our time to arrive and set up camp. They wanted to go over check-in procedures with me. And let me know that having food outside wasn't a good idea because there are two bears on the loose that won't leave camp. "Wait, did you say BEARS?" Yes, she said BEARS. Now normally, I wouldn't be bothered by what wild animals are in the wild. However, the park we were camping at is small, in town (for the most part) and the camp didn't have indoor eating abilities. We HAD to eat outside. How was I going to feed 71 young women outside with BEARS on the loose.

Tuesday night, I was trying to pick up our thank you gifts for all our leaders. Had been working with a friend since March to get some awesome candles made. That way, it would be a gift to use and get rid of. No need to make a place to hold on to it for long. Upon contacting my friend, I found out she just didn't make them. So out I ran to grab jars, sugar, oil, etc. to make my own gifts of gratitude. After working until 2:30, we had 32 jars of sugar scrub for the sweet volunteers of camp.

Wednesday morning, the day of camp, I got a phone call from our camp nurse. She was very concerned. Due to the fires so close here in northeast Florida, there has been an unhealthy amount of smoke in the air. She let me know the hazards of breathing it in and how it could turn our good time into a terrible time, quickly. So considering the bears and the smoke, I made a call to our priesthood to make sure I was doing what was best for the beautiful young women of our stake. After talking with him, he seemed to think it would all be fine. About 2 hours later, I got a different call. It was now between me, my 2 assistant camp directors and the stake YW president to decide if we wanted to continue or cancel camp. CANCEL CAMP?? I could not imagine canceling camp and disappointing all the young women. But I also couldn't risk their health. I spoke to my assistant directors and they agreed, we needed a new plan. By 3pm, we had a new plan. We were going to take our camp experience to a ward building and spend the night at the Holiday Inn. I know, most say "that's not camping." But our girls had finished most of their certifications before camp. I thought of what a dear friend said this time last year, "when did Girls Camp become more about the camping less about the girl?" So we pumped up our plan, re-worked our entire schedule and made some delicious lemonade with all the lemons that were thrown at us. I must say, I don't believe for a second our girls missed out on any sacred experiences that camp brings. We had a great time, we laughed, we learned, we played, we shared the spirit and we went home with everything we needed. We had extra activities to make up for lost daytime swimming. At the hotel, we got permission to stay in the pool an extra hour, we had a Hawaiian shaved ice truck come and serve us (thanks to my sister Cassie) and we enjoyed every second. Most importantly, everyone was safe!

I felt so blessed. In a moment's notice, our plans had to change and the Lord provided a way. I suppose if ye are prepared, ye shall not fear. Even though we weren't exactly prepared for all that was coming our way, it gave us the opportunity to think clearly of what needed to change and take action. It was short. It was great. The spirit was there. We had everything we needed.

A huge thank you to everyone who helped make this year such a success. I couldn't have done any of it without you!

Now, in 3.5 weeks, I have a future camper coming. I have a lot to do to get ready for her arrival.

Birthday Party Scheduled

2011-06-09T18:00:00.000-04:00

Today we scheduled our daughter's birthday, the day we get to meet our sweet baby girl, the day our family of 3 turns into a family of 4, the day the bows come out, the day we will celebrate the rest of our lives. WOW. Who knew scheduling your a surgery could be so thrilling?

Watch out July 15th, you are looking VERY exciting. :)

Leaking Already???

2011-06-07T09:51:00.000-04:00

Why are my boobs leaking already?? I have 6 weeks to go. I'm already leaking sweat from far too many places. I suppose the boobs just had to follow suit? Udderly ridiculous.

Watch out world, Bessie the cow is about to be back in action.

Counting Down

2011-06-06T17:02:00.001-04:00

Most of you may be thinking I'm counting down 'til my baby girl gets here, not so. I'm counting down the days until girls camp is over. I'm excited for camp but until it's over, I can't really celebrate the beautiful miracle coming my way in just 6ish weeks. At this point, I feel guilty for not being more excited about my baby but then when I get to thinking about my baby, I feel guilty for not finishing up loose ends for camp. After camp is over, the guilt can fly right out the window and we can just move on to planning for a baby. So far, I have NOTHING done for this baby girl. Hopefully, in 2 weeks, the nesting fairy will make a stop my way and get me rolling.

Let the other count downs begin!

Monday Routine

2011-05-23T14:30:00.000-04:00

Monday is my day to strip the beds in the A.M. and jump into clean sheets in the P.M. One good thing about starting the week and facing Mondays.

This morning, I was determined to get a good start to the laundry, so as soon as I was out of bed, I started pulling the sheets off. My sweet and ultra understanding husband came in and said "Ahh Honey. Did you have a little pregnant pee-pee accident during the night?" With an extremely puzzled look on my face, I responded with, "WHAT!? Are you kidding?" He said "well, you're taking the sheets off the bed." I said "Well, that's what I do on Mondays--I strip the bed and wash the sheets."

Just to clear things up, in both pregnancies, I've NEVER gone pee-pee in our bed. I'm not saying it can't or won't happen...it just hasn't happened. Interesting how he jumped right to peeing the bed. :)

Basket Case Sunday

2011-05-02T12:38:00.003-04:00

Yesterday in Relief Society we had a beautiful lesson about women of faith. Our teacher is from Alabama and with the horrible tornadoes that ripped through, she shared a horrifying story with us that one of her friends experienced during the storm.

A family was in their home, ran down into the basement to the lowest point possible for safety. As the storm ripped the house from the foundation, it tore a newborn baby from it's father's arms. As of Friday, they still hadn't found their precious baby. What a tragedy on top of a tragedy.

After hearing that story, with all my pregnant hormones, I was crying. (I'm sure a big surprise) Then we were asked to think of the hardest and most trying times of our lives. No one wanted to share. One sister shared and then I decided to share. I lost it again. I had a hard time telling people about my hard time. I have to say, I am so thankful for the trials I went through, to give me the gratitude I have today. Even the fact that Marky played in his poop and smeared it all over himself this morning, I can only laugh and clean him up with pure satisfaction, love and excitement for that blessing. Cause let's face it, every baby plays in poop at one point. If I never had poop to clean up, I wouldn't have the blessing of a sweet little man in my life and a sweet baby girl on the way. Totally worth all the work.

After church yesterday, I told Mark the story and I cried again. I really turned into a basket case yesterday.

My heart and prayers go out to that family and all the families who lost loved ones and everything they have worked for in their lives. I pray those sweet southern brothers and sisters of ours can get the help they need and start rebuilding.

Good Morning Poop-tastrophe

2011-04-29T09:49:00.001-04:00

This morning I heard a few noises. Mark jumped up to go check on Marky. I then hear the bathroom door close and the bathtub start. I got out of bed, went into the bathroom and Mark tells me what a poopy mess there is in Marky's room: all over his sheets, all over his crib, all over the changing station. And how it was all over his hands, his face and everywhere. Knowing that this had Mark freaked out, I said I would clean and disinfect Marky's room.

Upon arriving at the scene of the accident, I grab some disinfecting wipes, wipe the little poopy prints from the crib and run to get a camera. I was laughing because I was expecting a Stacy Pettersen-size poop-tastrophe and was looking for the artwork and poop painted nightmare. Three little round stains on the sheets. I'm pretty sure my husband thought it would kill us all. Off I went to grab my phone for pictures, but before I could return, Mark had already stripped the ridiculously soiled sheets out of the crib. It's sad that I laugh, I just know one day we will really see what a poop-tastrophe is...and I pray I can get a picture of my husband's shocked face. ;)

Profile Shots

2011-04-25T21:55:00.001-04:00

Well, here she is again. Still haven't actually seen her parts. But I have faith she is a SHE! And still no name. I thought I could at least share the most recent profile pictures. I think she looks like Cassie. ;)

What's Your Dream?

2011-03-31T10:39:00.001-04:00

I don't mean goals, I mean what do you dream about at night? Lately, my dreams are CRAZY.

This morning I got a little love nudge from my husband telling me he had a super steamy dream about me, which is very flattering. However, I was busy dreaming that we dropped some coins in the floor and Marky was running after them. Better than dreaming neighbors are in our bed or that a garage door app on my phone opens 3 garage doors in the neighborhood to reveal weird stuff going on at their houses.

Isn't it funny how two people sharing the same bed have such completely different dreams?!

Under Construction

2011-03-30T15:56:00.000-04:00

I'm THRILLED to tell you my blog is about to be under construction. Did you see this blog post? Well, I entered and I WON!!!

Now I have an appointment to get a blog makeover from Jeannette, the fabulous designer at The Crafty Hippo. Look forward to seeing my mega-awesome remodeled blog sometime next week!! Field of Daisies, here we come!!

YAY for being a WINNER!!!!

Not-So-Great Options

2011-03-18T13:50:00.000-04:00

I can take a Zac Efron (zofran) pill every night before bed and close up ALL exits the next day or I can ignore Zac Efron and have all exits cleared. I think throwing up once in the morning is worth it to keep my freeways clear and traffic moving!

I know, way more than you wanted to know but after this week...I can no longer endorse Zac Efron, he has become a pain in my butt. ;)

My Sister's Giveaway

2011-03-16T11:43:00.000-04:00

Don't you just LOVE this Sweet Pea hair clip???

If you haven't been to my sister's blog to enter her giveaway, shame on you! Who doesn't LOVE free stuff? Especially GORGEOUS free stuff!? My great friend over at Sassy & Crafty is sending this to one lucky winner. So what are you waiting for? You gotta be in it, to win it!!

Serious Dinner Convo

2011-03-15T14:28:00.000-04:00

This time change has me fooled. Yesterday, I didn't start cooking until almost 7pm. Oops. But whatever, we ate...eventually. I fed Marky first, then Mark got home, we put the big guy to bed and we had dinner together. During dinner, Mark shared some of his feelings and thoughts about possibly not having a very long life. He insisted that I need to be healthy to raise our gorgeous kids. I said "well, why don't we both try harder to be healthy?" He said "Not just health for me. I'm thinking anything could happen. I could get hit by a bus, creamed by a runaway cement truck or bit in the face by a rabid badger."

I sat there and laughed at him while writing what he was saying. He said "What? Now you're gonna get online and make fun of my with your friends so you can all laugh at me?!" And of course I said DUH.

Be careful for runaway cement trucks with these wild hills and mountains here in Florida.

Good news: Badgers prefer to live in dry, open grasslands, fields, and pastures. They are found from high alpine meadows to sea level (or below in Death Valley, California).

We're Having a...Part 2

2011-03-12T12:43:00.000-05:00

You see, that really was what happened...until she said "But, if you'd like we can do a trans-vaginal ultrasound and see those parts, cause they are RIGHT there." So that's what we did. And as uncomfortable as that was, we got an answer (still no picture).

We're having a GIRL!!!

Now if we can just agree on a name, we'll be doing well!

We're Having a...

2011-03-08T12:54:00.000-05:00

BABY!!!!

Yep, this was what we got to see, two profiles and a foot. Someone is quite stubborn. However, Mark also had to hurry out to work, so we decided to go back in a few weeks. Patience for this patient.

What I Did See...

2011-03-03T10:53:00.000-05:00

So we didn't see if our baby is a boy or girl yesterday. What we did see was super sweet. Most importantly, we got a heartbeat! But we said that yesterday. We saw a ridiculously cute and sweet little profile and cute little thumb stuck in this baby's sweet mouth. Our hearts melted. And that was worth the 40 minute wait. Excited to see this little one again next week. And possibly the only time I'll ever say this...I'm hoping for a very immodest little person.

No Heart Beat = Gender Reveal?

2011-03-02T12:55:00.000-05:00

We had a Dr's appt today. I know the secret of getting an ultrasound. If they can't get the heartbeat on the heart doppler, we get to see this beautiful baby. And thinking about that, I just got excited. I'm far enough along to see if we have another hot dog or if we're getting our first little set of hamburger buns. So there I sat, crossing my fingers that we'd get to see this baby and especially the parts. My wish came true, no heart beat. Which is a little scary to think of but luckily, we heard this child move, so all was good. But they must record the heart beats per minute.
Then we waited to be called into the ultrasound room. Got called in, baby on the monitor, legs spread and guess what? Feet all tucked up, shielding the little baby parts that make this baby a boy or girl. AHHH NUTS! Have another week to wait.
Good news, we got a heart rate. It was 145 bpm. Any thoughts? What is your guess? Do you think Marky is getting a baby brother or baby sister?

Hash Brown Emergency!

2011-02-24T10:49:00.001-05:00

Don't you love one of those mornings? You know, you wake up puking (or just icky), you try to take care of your family and while making pancakes, your sweet child wants to join in while the pan is sizzling, so you carefully move him away, beg your husband to take him out of the kitchen just to have the glass bowl filled with pancake mix fall from counter and shatter all over? Then you get the honor of cleaning up the mess for the next 25 minutes making sure its ALL cleaned up. So at this point of starving, not wanting anything in the house, I called for a hash brown emergency! I walked out of the house exactly the way I looked waking up, plus a shirt and shorts (no bra, and still with gross breath) with little dude still in his jams. And McDonalds came to my rescue. Some days, you just have to be grateful for the little things...like hash browns.

And the Surprise Photo Winner...

2011-02-21T10:30:00.000-05:00

Last night was the youth missionary fireside. So while singing the opening hymn, I was looking around to see where the pictures would pop up...and guess what I found!? SURPRISE! No pictures at all. They didn't have time to get the projection equipment out. Kinda bummed. But whatever, it was really a great night. So glad I was invited to be part of that evening.

I think my top two favorite parts were:
1) President Rudd (2nd counselor in our stake presidency) singing I am a Child of God in Fijian. I had no clue of his musical talent. (Side note: I'm SOOOO excited his family is moving into our ward!)
2) Shaunna Sanders sharing her very sweet testimony of her mission in France and all that experience has meant to her. I didn't even know she served a mission. She touched my heart so much last night. So many missionaries are always concerned with numbers but she spoke of how she never got to teach one person the discussions 1-6. But she did bring souls to Christ. And the most important soul was her own.

Other things I enjoyed:
- Hearing others and their experiences that made their mission so special to them. Positive outlooks, testimonies in the language they spoke, and how we all truly believe our missions were the best...but I know the truth.
- Our Stake President letting the young men know that when they leave, not to worry about their girlfriends...there will be a missionary coming home to take care of her. And the don't worry part comes in because when they return, some other young missionary will leave a great girlfriend behind for him!
- Seeing the youth and so many of my young friends.
- Realizing I was the ONLY former missionary out of about 25-30 to NOT set up a table. Cause then I got to walk around and see everyone's tables. You know; South Africa, France, Guam, Las Vegas, California, Argentina, Netherlands, Brazil (which that one may have been the most festive, he even dressed in a Brazilian get-up), Figi, Texas, Oregon, Las Vegas, Idaho, Mississippi (mayo and all), Florida, Colorado (not me), Utah, Missouri, Montreal, etc. The world was well represented in our stake last night. Most brought treats from their areas to share. And really, what special Colorado food is there? I wasn't going to serve Rocky Mtn oysters. Other than that, I was going to whip up a Texas Sheet cake...but I didn't want to upstage TX with my TX-by-way-of-Colorado sheet cake.

I was most certainly blessed to be in GREAT company last night.

Surprise Missionary Fireside

2011-02-19T16:44:00.003-05:00

I got an email asking me to open the attachment and "HELP!" I'd been invited to join in on a youth missionary fireside, where I would speak for maybe 5 minutes about my mission and either share a funny story or a spiritual story. Dang. Do I really have to choose? There will be others sharing stories as well. And they asked us to send in 1 picture they will place on the projection screen while we speak. Well, I never replied because we had talked about visiting my husband's family this month.

Out of nowhere, I got an email asking where my picture was. So I didn't have a choice. Which is fine, I sometimes like being bossed around, ask my big sister! ;)

So here are my photo options I've given. Even though they said only 1 picture, I decided I'd send two and they could surprise me. I have a bunch of pictures elsewhere and glued and cut up (as if I'll ever finish that mission scrapbook, Amber!) I figured everyone gives the usual before baptism picture, so I wanted something that would bring a smile or maybe add character, since I don't have a forgeign language to share or a "dress caught in the pantyhose" story.

Here Sister B and I were at a birthday party. It was June and there flies everywhere. Sis. B couldn't handle it, so she put us to work while others were eating cake and opening presents. It was a good time. Those flies didn't know what was coming.

And here we are again. I think this one speaks for itself. I can't look at this picture without laughing. Possibly one of my favorites.

So now, which one would you choose? I think the flyswatter picture is a little dark, but I do love them both. I'll let you know which one surprises me tomorrow night. Hopefully they won't have to give me the your-two-minutes-are-up light!

Col. Sanders Strikes Again

2011-02-17T23:55:00.006-05:00

I was wondering where in the world (literally and figuratively) I'm getting views, so I decided to check my blog stats. Good news, When doing a google search for Col. Sanders, evidently my blog comes up because I found it hilarious that my husband thought Col. Sanders was fictional and I chose to blog about it.

So friends from around the world, please feel free to continue dropping by, comment, (in whatever language you speak) and visit again soon. Cause really, fried chicken unites us all.

Thursday?

2011-02-17T09:05:00.002-05:00

Man, all day yesterday I thought it was Thursday. Even though I watched my Wednesday shows last night, I still woke up this morning thinking "FRIDAY!" But, I'm wrong. I guess that gives me an extra day to get my house ready for the weekend. Yep, that's what I'll do. Hope you have a productive day.

Baby Names

2011-02-08T15:39:00.006-05:00

My husband obviously has great taste in women. I'm pretty sure that's where the great taste (or any taste at all) ends because his taste in music, movies, fashion, and now baby names...not the greatest. He wants to name this baby (if a boy) Zeus. I shot that down. He doesn't understand what's wrong with Zeus. But seriously, what is right it? Just so you know, Zeus is NOT on the list of names for our baby.

He told me to take it to Facebook and see what others thought. He said "I bet you'll be surprised at how many people actually like the name Zeus...I'm betting at least one third of your friends will shock you and love it." Well, in the event you didn't see it on Facebook (Amber), maybe 5 people liked it out of like 51 friends. And people had some hilarious things to say.

My husband's cousin, Troy, said "Just think of this..... what would Uncle Mark say about the names....... I can hear it now............'ARE YOU HIGH?!?!"

Biggest Mark always wins! So maybe I'll have to keep that quote in my back pocket. Naming Marky was so easy--it was done for me in 1956. Grandma Gentle did a great job.

Other names Mark loves: Chaos, Thor and Mayhem for boys and girl names: Evangeline, Victoria (not terrible but I can't see "Victoria's..." without seeing/hearing/reading 'Secret' to follow) and one more that we (thankfully) can't seem to remember.

{Side note: I went in the bedroom to ask Mark what his other girl name was, he said "why, so you can put it on Craigslist to make fun of it with all your friends?" Laughing, I said, "Yes, Craigstlist! It would read 'Free to a good home, terrible baby names."}

Man, no one told me this naming a baby thing was so hard on a marriage. ;)

Satan's address

2011-02-07T17:15:00.003-05:00

I went to church in Middleburg yesterday with my sister's family. The first Sunday of the month is always Testimony meeting. I was sitting in the foyer with Mark, Marky, my dad and my husband's best dude. So as people are bearing testimonies, we're playing name that voice. Then Mark was chasing after our wild man and this is what the rest of us hear from the woman at the mic:

"Satan is alive and real, and He lives at my house."

So Mark's best friend and I look at each other with big questioning eyes and he says "Who is that? I want to stay away from their house."

It was awesome. And good news for those of you who live elsewhere, Satan is evidently residing in Middleburg, FL. If you're tempted, it's not him personally. So, you have my permission to shoot his messengers.

The Grocery List

2011-02-01T13:35:00.002-05:00

I haven't exactly been great at things dealing with food lately. I can't even really tell you what I'd like to eat. Nothing really sounds good. Mark has been a trooper through this. So he made a grocery list for me and it reads as follows (spelling included):

bananas
cereal
juice
milk
paper plates
frozen pizza - Red Baron cheeze
Mac & Cheese
bread
fruity
tookys (obviously cookies, but he loves nicknames)
stuff for chili
tomatoes
stuff for fajitas
fruit cocktail for His Royal Highness
skeet-skeet-skeet
plain and tortilla chips
stuff for sheepless pie
stuff for beefless tips
burritos
salad

One of these items is not available at the grocery store. I guess later I'll get that personally delivered. One of my favorite things about Mark is his ability to make me laugh everyday!

Honey, I need some help

2011-01-17T21:15:00.004-05:00

Have I told you about my sexy beast of a mechanical husband?

As my husband is trying to negotiate a deal with someone who wants to buy a bunch of parts, He says "Honey, I need some help." I reply "I'm here sweetie" He's using his computer calculator and says "Which one of these buttons is for multiply?" I LOVE HIM!

I mentioned his sexiness, I did NOT mention marrying him for his mathematic skills.

Does it REALLY fit?

2011-01-11T15:32:00.003-05:00

Have I mentioned my awesome OB/GYN? We have a GREAT relationship. I went for my first official appointment. Did the normal bathroom cup fill, got weighed and was sitting there having my blood pressure taken when Dr. T came up behind me, grabbed me for a hug and said "CASEY!!!!" Then proceeded to grab my chart and ask her assistants "Which room is ours?" No "sit here while and the Dr will be right with you." We went, talked for a while and then she informed me she needed to do my "annual." So of course you have to strip down and wait under a sheet for them to come in to check all your mysterious lady parts. I always try to fold my clothes oh-so carefully, to keep my unders covered--you know what I'm saying.

In came the Dr and her assistant. She did my breast exam first. And we all (minus Nathan, if he's reading) know about those lovely breast exams, they really involve your breasts. Then as she is waiting for the speculum, she glances over at my pile of clothes and says "WOW! That's the biggest bra I've ever seen. Does it really fit?" And I reply that yes, of course it fits. I thought about it for a second and then I had to ask "didn't you just see and examine my chest? Are you really doubting the right fit?" She explained that it just didn't look like anyone could wear a bra that size. Which still makes me laugh. I said "once I get dressed, I'll show you what I got!" I got dressed and had to wait in her office for the ultra sound tech to come get me. As we're sitting there talking, her assistant walked in and asked "Did she show you her bra, yet?" I jumped up, showed the two of them and their responses were HILARIOUS. "wow, it really does fit!" and "kinda looks like it won't fit much longer."

Friends, I have a large chest. No apologies. Not even if they hit you or you hit them. But no mistake about it, my bra REALLY fits!

Whoa, Casey!

2011-01-09T20:56:00.003-05:00

Since getting pregnant again Mark has become instinctively protective...in his sleep. When I roll over during the night, Mark grabs me tight as if saying "WHOA!" I guess he thinks I'm falling off the bed or something!? Luckily he stopped grabbing me by hair and now just grabs my back and won't let go until I say "I'm just rolling over, Babe." I think I'd rather fall off the bed. I just laugh because he has no clue he's doing it.

Oh, Girls Camp

2011-01-03T23:00:00.000-05:00

Did you know I love girls camp? I have been every year since I turned 12 except the one summer I was on my mission.

A friend commented on my last post about not worrying about leaving my Marks for camp this year since I'm going to be very pregnant. Well, no such luck. A couple months back I was called as the stake camp director. I have to go. But we're shaking things up and doing a shortened camp and it will be at a mega close location (not even leaving our county). I really can't complain. If I have any trouble, I'll be 20 minutes from my Dr and my hospital.

Kelly, thanks for giving me something to blog about. And Happy New Year. 2011 is going to be a great year.

It's Official

2010-12-30T22:36:00.000-05:00

We're expecting another little sweet-smelling bundle of goodness. New baby is due July 30thish. That happens to be my mom's birthday. We are beyond thrilled and thankful for this new little person to join our family. Go ahead siblings, try to beat that birthday present! ;)

The BEST Thanksgiving. EVER.

2010-11-24T13:47:00.000-05:00

Thanksgiving has always been one of my favorite holidays. It has always been a big celebration for my dad's side of the family. And boy do the Gulletts know have to have a great time. We're the kind of family that goes places and takes them over. You know the kind, with matching shirts and all. That is my family. And I proudly still have our 1992 family reunion shirt. :)

In 2002, I was a missionary. Every family wants the missionaries over for Thanksgiving. Let's face it, missionaries make it better. Well, I didn't really want to visit with other families. I felt like my new family members were all the other missionaries. So we came up with the idea that all the missionaries in my zone (plus a few extra companionships) would do our own Thanksgiving. Our preparation day was changed to Thanksgiving so we could enjoy ourselves. We were permitted to be in p-day clothes, watch 1 football game, 1 G-rated movie and whatever we wanted within mission rules. We just had to be home by 9:30pm.

We found a family that let us take over their basement...which was more like a cabin in the mountains. They had big screen TVs, a kitchen, a foosball table, games, comfy furniture...whatever we wanted. Everyone signed up for food, drinks, paper products, etc. It was the best Thanksgiving. I don't even remember if the food was any good. I remember the feelings. We were happy. We were laughing. We were playing. We were relaxed. We were STUFFED. No one was homesick. We felt loved. It was such a great day. We stayed 'til we had to leave. We all cleaned up and left by 9pm. It was talked about all over the mission.

Thanksgiving is still remembered by those same missionaries. We talk about it. We laugh about it. We dream about doing it again.

I'm not sure any Thanksgiving will ever be like that Thanksgiving. And I'm content knowing I will always have my memories.

Former North zone (plus extras) missionaries, today I send pumpkin-roll-thoughts and mashed potato love all over the world. I am thankful for the wonderful memories we shared.

Off the Radar

2010-11-16T17:55:00.000-05:00

I haven't really wanted to blog. That's not true, I haven't found the desire to share what's going on. And really I haven't had my camera close.

Things that have happened since Marky's 1st birthday.

Marky started walking. Like took off over night! And he would just laugh the whole time. Now he's way more stable. He's into EVERYTHING! I find him in cabinets, bathrooms, closets, drawers (especially the one under the stove), refrigerators, boxes, laundry baskets, the laundry room, under tables and desks or sitting on the stairs (boxes block him from going up, but he still sits and enjoys the view). Toys are everywhere. Seriously, I found one of my refrigerators unplugged today. The one that holds the frozen treats and extra food--you know I plugged that one back up, quickly. He dances. If you haven't seen the video of him dancing on my facebook page, go there NOW! He's most certainly my kid. It is seriously SOOO fun at my house. He is a blast.

We moved. Kind of a good move. We live four blocks from the shop, two to three block from Taco Bell, Wal*Mart, Publix and El Apache, and about three minutes from my parents. That's my favorite part. Mark comes home every day for lunch. YAY! We're in a different ward (Orange Park 1st) and in a larger (but a lot less expensive) house than before.

Marky started really using his signs and started talking more. He loves to say "HELLO!" He'll try to sign "more" and it turns into "yay." So then, while signing it, I say "More? You want more?" and he'll say "Moh. Yeah. Yeah" while nodding his head up and down. But he is starting to really communicate and it is SO fun to see.

Right before we moved homes, Mark was thinking about moving the shop first. His rent was way too expensive for what we needed, so he looked around, found something for a great price, called his landlord and let him know we were going to move. His landlord came back and offered him a severely reduced amount to stay. So we decided it would be silly to move. However, just after we got settled in the new house, the landlord called back and told Mark he sold the property. So he has to move anyhow. But this is good. We're really excited about the new changes. Best part, between the new house and new shop, we'll be paying about 1/3 of the amount were originally paying.

I have a new calling coming. I've known about it for over a month, and I keep not getting sustained. I get to church, on time (don't faint) and expect it...then BAM! I get smacked upside my head with a whole lot of NOTHING. I kinda think the Lord wants me to be there on time. So I have two new callings: arriving at church on time; and the other. And if I can get then first taken care of, He'll then start me in the other calling.

We have each other, we're happy and we're close to just about everything. What more could a girl want? Except an island in the kitchen...oh wait, I have one of those now, too. Not a big island, but it has a plug and storage underneath. So its my baking island. And that makes me happy.

New Beginnings

2010-11-15T10:19:00.000-05:00

About 5.5 years ago, just after my wedding, one of my best friends from childhood broke up with me. It was so sad. It was a misunderstanding. I haven't stopped thinking of her all these years. I have dreamed about us being friends and doing things together and would wake up sad.

She has recently lost her beautiful mother. I found out through another friend. My heart hurts for her. I was so sad I wasn't there for support. However, I didn't waste another minute. I looked at my phone and her number came back to me. She invited me right over and I went running.

Things we had to catch up on:

Her engagement

Her wedding

Her pregnancy

My pregnancy

Her sweet son born June 2009

My sweet son born Sept 2009

The good things that happened while we were on a break. Some not-so-good things.

Funny thing, I was getting weighed in at an OB appointment and saw her birth announcement on the wall right in front of my eyes. We went to the same office. And not a big office, either. I was thrilled for her and sad we couldn't share those pregnant moments together. We were only a few steps away from each other, and didn't know.

I could never truly describe how happy it makes me to be reconnected with my dear friend. We have a new place to start. My husband is also thrilled, he and her husband were friends, too. Marky doesn't even realize all the good times he's up for. Now our families get to go on double play-dates. I'm thrilled for this new beginning.

Sept 23rd is...

2010-09-24T00:12:00.000-04:00

...the day of the Bear; MR. BEAR! First year in review.

And we love him more each day!

Marky, life just wasn't the same without you! Thank you for the joy you've brought. You are an answer to SOOOOO many prayers and beyond our wildest dreams. Happy 1st birthday Baby Bear!

To Whom It May Concern

2010-09-11T01:43:00.000-04:00

Dear Organized Bones,

GET IN MY BODY!!!

If you're already there, stop hanging around my funny bone and start getting serious about this organization stuff. This family really needs you.

Thanks,

The Unorganized Queen of CHAOS

Super Soaker

2010-09-06T23:33:00.001-04:00

For Labor day we decided to keep it low key. The Clarksons (my sister), Chalmers and Gentles hit up the pool and started our day off right. It was a lot of fun, relaxing and great company. After the pool, we relaxed some more with lunch, naps and plenty of cuddling. No labor today!

Now you see us

Now you don't!

My beautiful sister Cassie and her family

Their super soaker picture

Thanks for coming out to play with us! Hope you enjoyed your day as well!

And happy 40th anniversary to my parents. They got married in high school, have 5 children, 8 grandbabies and lots of love to share. Isn't that awesome?! I love you Momma and Daddy!

Honorable Mentions

2010-08-31T00:10:00.000-04:00

Mark has been using our Ninja every day. Sometimes twice a day. I haven't used it once. I clean it but that's it! He is a blending fool, mixing every concoction possible. He let me know he uses it all the time because he's getting his black belt in tastiness. Ninja-the gift that keeps giving.

Saturday we got up early and went to the beach to watch the sun rise. It was a fabulous morning. Never enjoyed the beach so much. YAY for an occasional early morning!

Longboat Key, while not a Key you hear of often (and not south of Miami), is GORGEOUS! The Sun 'n Sea is a great escape. Wow, talk about a view. We looked out our window and what did we see? The Gulf of Mexico staring back at me! We shared a cottage with some of Mark's family that came from Michigan. The Marks and I ate breakfast at this little cafe right on the water. Delicious food, delicious view and delicious company.

I forgot my random thoughts I had. And that's worth mentioning, too.

Birthday Love

2010-08-21T22:45:00.001-04:00

I've never felt so much love on my birthday. It has been the best birthday ever. EVER.
I woke up to kisses from the one snuggled up next to me, then realized someone was smothering me from the top too. I opened my eyes to my mom and sister taking me to Waffle House for breakfast. And that's a big deal for me! My little brother, JoJo, his daughter and his girlfriend joined us there. The whole place cheered for my birthday, it was awesome.

Came home, relaxed a little. Got blindfolded and carried away to my surprise bowling birthday party! Mark called everyone he could think of the night before and while I was at breakfast. It was so fun. And let me tell you, I'm super hard to surprise. My 19th birthday there was a HUGE surprise at my apt that my super swell roomie arranged. And that's one of the few surprises I've had in life, other than getting pregnant!

Later we had everyone over for dinner. We ordered chinese from the tastiest place around these parts and some ate pizza and we had a great time. We ended the night with a Carvel ice cream cake, a regular cake, ice cream and ice cream sandwiches. WOW!

I got my hair done, a pedicure, makeup money and a makeup gift card, a frizz control hair product, 2 jars of Vegenaise, my very own portable hard drive to store pictures (cause I have a gazillion) and a Ninja for my kitchen. And best of all, I got to be a Mom! The gift that keeps giving.

It was such a great day. I have to say, I am one lucky girl! Thanks to all my family and friends (Yep, that's you) that made my day MEGA special for me. And a super special thank you to my sweet husband, Mark. You surprised me! And I love you SOOOO much! BEST. BIRTHDAY. EVER!

Pictures to come

These are a few of my favorite things

2010-08-18T13:27:00.000-04:00

Things are a little rough (understatement of the year) in my financial world. We have a lot coming up that we're just not ready for. All we can do is our best and realize the opportunity at hand for learning and making memories.

And while we are surrounded with "issues" my birthday is coming. At times like these, I try to do as my favorite caller Julie Andrews says and think of my favorite things.

I love makeup. And by love, I mean LOVE. The smell, the feel, the colors, the textures. I love to test new colors and combinations on my hand while walking through Sephora or Ulta or Mac or wherever.

Cruises. I love cruises. Relax when and as much as you want. Eat when and as much as you want. Sleep when and as much as you want. Play when and as much as you want. Seriously, who doesn't love this idea??

Facials. Have you ever had one? They are GREAT! So relaxing, so refreshing, so rejuvenating.

Being spontaneous. Completely and irresponsibly spontaneous. "Let's go to lunch in Orlando or Savannah" "Hey, I found tickets to NYC, want to go??" "Watch out Disney World, here we come!" "

Roller coasters: the thrill, the excitement, the speed, the screaming, the ups and downs. Wash, rinse, REPEAT!

A good night of bowling. How fun is bowling? We used to make up silly rules like "if you don't get a strike, you have to dance" or sneak into the computer scorekeeper thing and change each others' names to some type of inside joke, to encourage a strike/spare so you can see what it says. Then laugh super hard at "Guacamole with Flies" or "Imfittintagoonabootarunwhichu" flashing across the screen.

That's better. I simply remember my favorite things, and now I don't feel so bad. :)

Thanks for indulging me.

right place, right time

2010-08-11T10:16:00.000-04:00

Saturday night we had our Girls Camp Graduation/Awards ceremony. Don't get too excited, I feel it was a slight flop.

Anyhow, I was taking the trash out to the dumpster as a mother was walking to her SUV. Her husband, two sons and daughter had been waiting.

Older son stands out the door and shouts:

"Mom, Dad doesn't want to go now. You need to come do whatever it is you do, to make him do it."

Smart kid!! I laughed so hard and said under my breath "well, she can't do that with you kids in the car!"

Talk about being in the right place at the right time.

SYTYCD

2010-07-08T12:49:00.000-04:00

If you don't know what that means, It's time for TV Talk. Today's subject is So You Think You Can Dance.

Things I love--DANCE. Especially some great routines. I love the great hip hop routines, super sizzlin' ballroom numbers, bollywood, contemporary, jazz, weird routines (anything Sonja), whatever.

Things I don't love or things I hate:

1. Mia Michaels as a permanent judge

2. The 3rd judge doesn't rotate anymore

3. There is NO hot tamale train

4. There were more guys than gals

5. Mia Michaels as a perm judge

6. Some of the 2 guy duos

Last week, Alex's duo with Twitch was AWESOME! This week, the African dance between Billy and Jose was just awkward. Really really awkward. If there are two guys that are dancing masculine together and its awesome, then great. But when one dances feminine because he's already feminine...I can't handle it.

I need Mary Murphy back. I have a severe love for ballroom and Mary Murphy needs to be there as the expert. Sometimes I think Mia and Adam don't know the lines for ballroom exactly. She could put them in their places.

Alex is a great dancer. Possibly my favorite. The two girls that are left, I think they are both good dancers. Kent is my other favorite guy. Jose is kinda like Russell from last season...very happy but not nearly as good. AdeChike is ok--the judges are really hard on him. I really don't care for Robert or Billy.

But seriously, I do LOVE me some dancing TV. Just ask Mark...cause he hates it and thinks I watch way too much dancing TV. But please people, dance on!

Memorial weekend

2010-06-24T16:29:00.001-04:00

Yep, you read that right. Memorial weekend we took Marky out for his first swim. He's had many since then...but my computer took a puke and Mark's had these pictures on it!

We took him in our neighborhood.
This one cracks me up--he was SO happy.

Momma's personal favorite...no clue why. :)

Marky loves to splash....

We splashed into Uncle Jason's pool for Memorial Day

We had such a great time. I couldn't pass up the opportunity to post pictures from his first swim.

3/4

2010-06-24T09:46:00.000-04:00

9 months is 3/4 of a year. And that makes our Marky 9 months old or 3/4 of a year, whichever you prefer. Can you believe it? I sure can't. Time has flown by. And in the past three months, he has learned so many new skills and has two ridiculously cute teeth.

Let me first tell you that I pretty much didn't put this gorgeous boy down for about 5 months. So he's had to learn to do everything recently.

Marky loves to: take a bath, raise one eyebrow at new people, play, army crawl (the knees are finally starting to come along), eat, reach for things/people he wants, play with remote controls, wave to pretty girls, use/eat cell phones, visit Mammaw and Pappaw, play with kitchen utensils, pull himself up, chase Cami the bulldog, laugh, jump, swim, pull down DVDs, sit himself up, kiss Mama, play with Daddy and bring joy to all those around him.

This is part of the loving to eat part

Here he is with Mammaw out in Idaho last month

He is happy to be outside

I can't get enough of these right-out-of-the-bath pictures

This was at the cemetery, he was there to bring smiles to family members

This little guy has been SO much fun. I can't imagine life without him. We have truly been blessed and we thank our Father in Heaven for him each day.

Thank you sweet little man for making us a family.

Feeling Anxious

2010-06-01T23:34:00.000-04:00

When I was 12, I didn't want this time of year to come. I never wanted to go to Girls Camp. I knew it would awful. Well, then I fell in love with it: the feelings; the atmosphere; the sisterhood; the SPIRIT!

I have only missed one year of camp, and that was because I was on my mission. In fact, I even received my mission call at camp! It was super cool--LDS Movie cool, if you ask me.

I now have an official calling in the camp program. I reluctantly said yes because the spirit. My anxious feelings come with making choices for my sweet baby. Marky is still nursing. In my head, I was going to be fine putting him on formula. However, I have decided to change my diet, Mark has changed his diet and I'm thinking we want the same for our baby. And let's face it, I'm not sure I'm willing to stop nursing yet. So how do I leave him home for the week without enough milk? When I pump, I express maybe 1-2 oz. Now, I could sneak him with me (without permission) but I'm not sure that's what is best for him either. When he gets hot, his eczema gets worse. Then you add the bugs with a little dude and that's not very nice either. I have a friend that lives 10 minutes from camp (seriously) who kindly offered to keep him during the day for me and she would bring him to me at night. Which is beyond sweet...but I don't want him to feel abandoned. All of this is making me feel anxious and unsure I've made the right decision. Help me OB1 Kenobi, you're my only hope!

Testimony of the Book of Mormon

2010-05-03T00:57:00.000-04:00

I read on FaceBook that today, May 3rd (no, I'm not in a time machine) is the Book of Mormon/YouTube challenge. You can read more about it on FB. I watched it and was reminded why I love having Prophets and Apostles!

I love this book and I KNOW it's words are true. There is great power in simply holding it.

Enjoy!

6 Month Pics

2010-04-17T00:34:00.001-04:00

I wanted to quickly post these to share them with you.

He really is worth the wait!

I love how tickled he is in the pictures

He's a total flirt. This was his Easter outfit...until my husband said he looked like a Mexican and proceeded to call him Hector.

Again, completely tickled

Rolling around in one of the most beautiful afghans ever!

Doing his push-ups

What he does best...suck his fingers

This is one of my favorites...this is what I am blessed enough to see every day. My sweet baby playing on the floor in pure delight. It's the best!

Such a little man isn't he???

My BuBu

2010-04-15T21:50:00.000-04:00

Introducing:

Munkherdene Mendbayar and Sosobarum Badamkhand

These two Mongolians got married Sept 15th, 2005. The Temple district they are in...Hong Kong. Only 1812 miles south-southeast of Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia. Needless to say, they had to wait to go to the Temple. The wait is over! They recently went to the Temple--oh happy day!! This picture was taken at Disneyland in Hong Kong, cause who can deny the chance to meet Mickey?

Since they couldn't make it to the temple first, they had a slightly traditional Mongolian wedding.

Aren't they beautiful?!

She is MY Mongolian. She was a missionary companion of mine, twice. Since Badamkhand is a little hard for some to pronounce (Bottom-hond) we called her Sister B. We used to laugh and have a great time together. I spent Thanksgiving, Christmas, New Years, Easter, Her birthday and 4th of July. Keep in mind, most of these were firsts for her. Ok, except New years and her birthday, she did celebrate those before. It was so fun to experience these things for the first time with her. Then I was able to attend the temple with her for the departing missionaries trip. And finally, I got to go with her to the airport, get her checked in and watch her head home. Nothing binds a friendship like sharing the spirit. And that sweet spirit turned our friendship into pure sisterhood. I love this sweet sister of mine.

Along the way, she picked up the nickname BuBu. Not once in the last 7 years has my BuBu lost contact with me, all the way from Mongolia! BuBu has a tender and loving heart. She is a great cook, loves to joke around, loves makeup (I know, perfect for me, right?), gets excited to see cute little children, loves dogs (not cats) and has a sweet love for the Gospel of Jesus Christ. My BuBu taught me about Mongolia: culture, delicious food (NOT Mongolian BBQ, those are lying Chinese people...LOL a whole other story), she taught me a very little bit of her language and that Genghis Khan is really pronounce Chinggis Haan. Most importantly, she taught me to connect with others by listening to their hearts if I can't understand their words.

I listened to her heart for one-third of my mission and loved every second of it. I love MY BuBu!

I have to say, I was very close with a few companions. My sisters were my heart and soul while I was a missionary. Such sweet memories. I feel as though these sisters prepared me to be a better wife.

Taking it Personal

2010-04-10T21:30:00.000-04:00

I tend to take certain things personally. I have a "best-good-friend" as she calls me, that is wonderful. She's good as gold. She is so fun loving and has a very similar sense of humor. We worked together for a few years. We diet and exercise together, go to concerts, eat out together and know each others' families very well. I saw a picture of her out with friends, drinking and smoking. I was so upset by the cigarette--I took it personal. As if I was offended that she picked up a cigarette. I knew about the drinking before but the cigarette just hurt my feelings. Growing up, that would happen with family members, school teachers, friends, friends' parents, celebrities, etc.

I've often wondered how I got so lucky to be born into an LDS family. Out of all the people in the world...me!?! I haven't ever questioned the truthfulness of the Gospel. I do wonder how others reject or don't know it as well. Or how someone goes from knowing to regretting? How does this happen? I met a lady at her baptism. She was so excited about joining the church--I took it personal. She knew I what I have known for so long. It's so exciting. Shortly after joining the church, she became my neighbor. She and her three daughters moved in with the man across the street--I took it personal. My heart sunk. Why did this bother me so much? She broke up and moved out and then got married to another man. She brought him to church a time or two and they moved. I just saw pictures of her facebook...pictures showing her Easter Sunday baptism at her new church and you guessed it, I'm taking it personally.

Sorry friends, I CARE! I take our friendship very PERSONAL! I don't want you smoking, drinking, doing drugs or leaving the church. So there, I said it.

Half way thru

2010-03-24T00:38:00.000-04:00

...Our first year.

Yep, that means our baby boy is 6 months old!!

At 6 months, Marky is a blast. Yesterday we had such a special moment together. We were laughing back and forth with kisses and hugs. My heart is full. I am so thankful. I am SO happy. Motherhood is the sweetest experience of my life. I may be completely consumed in this little guy (minus bunco, occasion date nights out and a few other trips to the store) but I wouldn't trade it for anything. I look forward to waking up each morning to spend another day with the most delicious baby boy ever! :)

The Colonel is REAL?

2010-03-22T17:02:00.000-04:00

Before getting started, you need to know two things:

1. My husband has never been one for eating any meat on the bone. He has come around to buffalo wings and ribs but that's about it.
2. My husband HATES Food Network. He would rather listen to fingernails on a chalkboard than watch Food Network (which I love).

This weekend, I left the TV on Food Network while trying to get my grumpy baby situated. Mark came in the room and was quickly mesmerized by the show "Titans of Taste." They were talking about Colonel Sanders and KFC's history. My husband then says to me "The Colonel is a real person??" He proceeded to talk about his new best friend, The Colonel, as we drove out to my aunt's house to deliver her car. He waved to him on all the signs, laughing and saying "look at that cute old guy with his 11 herbs and spices."

Seriously, he was so excited about Col. Sanders being real he wanted to take the plunge and bring home a bucket of chicken with his "cute old" face on it. Off he went to KFC, he brought home a bucket, some sides, some biscuits and of course a chocolate chip cake. After figuring out how much he now enjoys fried chicken, (bone and all) he said "I think I'll put the Colonel in my rotation."

I tried explaining that Popeye's is way better because it's spicy. But evidently, there's no cute old guy on the bucket with a great story...so he will keep grabbing his hot sauce. I guess one thing at a time. I'm just excited my husband tried something new and enjoyed it.

My husband also doesn't like cake...but who couldn't love the KFC cake? He liked it. I'm so proud of him! He came a long way this weekend.

Don't be surprised if you see my husband in a white suit and a black string tie...I love that man!

MI oh my

2010-03-17T23:49:00.000-04:00

We took a quick trip to Michigan. Marky did GREAT traveling by car and plane. Best compliment-- "I didn't even know there was a baby on this flight."

We planned for cold weather and really didn't need as much as we thought.

Mr. Patient as we were picking up our $20 a day premium rental car (thank you Priceline)

Mark's Grandma Gentle is his little lady. He's the oldest grandson. He is her heart. This is her first great-grandchild. She refers to Marky as the "littlest angel."

This is the view out into Grandma's backyard from the bathroom.

A bridal shower was the reason we chose to go up the first weekend in March. I was so excited to actually do something with Mark's family. His cousin Brian is getting married to one of the sweetest girls in the world, Jenny. Her shower was awesome.

Here is Mark's Aunt Anne and cousin Hannah. This was Hannah's first time holding a baby.

Again, Aunt Anne with Marky

Logan (aka Lacey) playing with Marky. First time with a baby...are you seeing a pattern?

Aunt Anne's oldest Nolan was also holding a baby for the first time.

Hannah and Marky were really enjoying their time together.

I went to the store and ended up visiting with Mark's mom's family. This is Mark's favorite uncle on that side of the family. Vernon was so excited to meet Little Mark. Actually, they all were. Who wouldn't be though?

Last pictures as we were getting ready to leave early the next morning.

G-ma and her boys

Mark, Marky, the banana and Mark's brother (from another mother) Tony

Here we are with Aunt Amanda (Mark's only sibling)

We couldn't get G-ma to look at the camera. That's ok, she was soaking in all the little man she could.

And who can resist the crazy face picture opp?

We had a great time! It was so wonderful being with our family and letting the little dude see where the "Sam Eagle" started.

Note: G-ma kept it nice and tropical in her house while we were there. My baby was not under dressed one bit. In fact, you may notice his red cheeks from being warm. :)

FYI

2010-03-11T00:52:00.000-05:00

If you are one of the people at Wal*Mart, Target or Publix (the 3 stores I shop) that enter the exit or exit the entrance- I Hate you! I'm looking at you like you're a fool because you are. Just letting you know. When I look at you dirty, it's for one reason. You. Are. Dirty.

Can you tell I've been in some mood lately?

Attack

2010-02-24T13:19:00.000-05:00

We had stroller club yesterday. We walk the mall on Tuesdays as many times as possible. On the way out of the mall, we had an attack of the Daddy. He attacks babies with kisses.

And this baby LOVES his Daddy's attack strategy.

5 Month Marky

2010-02-23T18:48:00.001-05:00

Our little bear is 5 months old today.

He's loves to sleep in Daddy's car

He loves eating. So far carrots, sweet potatoes and green beans.

Can you believe I found a bear coat for my bear?!

This bear loves his Daddy-Bear

And Momma-bear, too

He loved his first beautiful day at the beach. Slightly chilly though

He loves to have these tasty little cheeks smooched

He loves taking family pictures...even when I cut half his cute little face off.

Mark managed to all of us on there...but we thought a bird pooped on our baby bear. This is the proof he spit up!

I didn't know using the timer and beach setting together would cause the shutter to go off a whole bunch of times.

Other than me trying to get my hair out of my face, look how cute my boys are. You can see Mark singing to Marky and Marky is so intrigued. Such a sweet moment.

He loves when we sing to him. Especially on a gorgeous day at the beach in a bear coat. :)

And most importantly, we LOVE our little Marky. He certainly makes every day super special for us.

New Calling

2010-02-19T01:28:00.000-05:00

For those of you unaware...I have a new calling. I am one of the assistant camp directors for Girls' Camp.

I started going to Girls' Camp when I was 12. I love Girls' Camp. I used to live for Girls' Camp. I found my testimony in those woods. I shared my testimony there. I found so many friends there. I received my mission call at camp. Last year was supposed to be my last time for a while. I guess the Lord thought different.

How am I supposed to leave my baby for a week????

Anyhow, we're planning and I saw the staff list. Kim Jarvis is on there but of course she doesn't live in our stake. Kelly Thompson...why did you move? You were SO on the list! I'll miss you this year. But there could be others reading this blog that are on the list. I hope you're invited. I hope you accept. I'd love to spend the week with you. Come get ticks with me. :)

Details to follow. (Not too soon though)

My Not So Subtle Valentine's

2010-02-18T10:55:00.001-05:00

Saturday, Mark let me know he had running around to do. I know that is code for "I need to go shopping for you." So as we were parting ways I thought about Valentine's last year and Katheryn's post about her blatant hints, I said to him "I like the big chocolate covered strawberries, not the little ones. And just a few."

His response "Don't you be bad!" Always his response when I have him figured out, I always do. And I'll warn you, I'm SUPER hard to surprise. I had to stop guessing presents under the tree before I opened them cause it would break Mark's heart.

So here is something similar to what I got...

...I should have mentioned the word MILK in my request. Although I like dark chocolate, I normally only like it when milk and semi-sweet chocolate is not available.

Don't get me wrong, I ate the dark chocolate. They came with a gift certificate to get a mani and pedi, along with gifts cards from Torrid and Lane Bryant. I didn't even hint to those. Mark's observant- he looked around and saw my toes are jacked up and my wardrobe is kinda terrible.

Thanks to my main sweetheart. I love you for being so thoughtful of me.

Marky at 4 Months

2010-02-02T02:05:00.000-05:00

Yep, I said it...4 months!

At four months, Marky weighed in at 18 lbs 2 oz (95%) 25.75 inches (75%). He now has control of his cute little head, he's a ninja with his kicking maneuvers, he's been rolling over from tummy to back since 6 weeks (when he wants to-not on demand) but now he does little baby crunches as if he's trying to come from back to tummy. He wiggles, he squirms, he laughs, he cries, he eats, he sleeps and he poops. But the last few are a little more obvious. He loves singing and interacting and he gets some extra perks to go along with that....

...Like his Jumperoo (although he really doesn't care for it that much)

This is probably why he doesn't care for it, his toes barely touch

(Please don't tell Mark his toes are in this shot)

He loves his bath

He likes to help in the kitchen (or watch Mommy, and that helps)

He was so excited we were finished with the dishes

His favorite new thing, RICE CEREAL!

Boy, I love this little guy. I remember the days when I had to blog about other kids playing in my yard because I had no inspiration. I hope you're not bored hearing all about my little man, but too bad if you are. He is most inspiring.

Chinese New Year

2010-01-28T01:30:00.000-05:00

Man who waits to post pictures of new year, is in denial the new year has come and its almost February.

2010- year of the Tiger

Your lucky numbers are 9-25-10-25-8-21-9-23.

No, I wasn't trying to wait until Chinese New Year to share my New Years pictures with you. Especially since the pictures we took of Marky tonight are FAR too cute to wait. So let's roll.

This little guy's shirt says "I'm formal, yet I'm here to party." :)

For those who don't read the blogs of my sister, Cassie or our great friends, the Jammes...we spent NYE at Cassie & Jason's home playing Poker (didn't even know her).

Here are Cassie and Jason trying to up the ante.

Mark is flashing a chip...which I probably wasn't flashing because I couldn't seem to win a good round.

My sweet niece, GA--how gorgeous is she with those EYES!?!?

I know what you're thinking and you're wrong...it's a plant behind Mandi's head.

Mandi and Aaron. Thank you Aaron for your super bad poker set and the lesson in Texas Hold 'em.

My Happy New Year Family.

And CoCo in the background.

Jason was our big winner of the evening and Cassie couldn't handle it. So she went nursery class on him (no, its mine).

We had to wake up the little guy to take him home. But he was still oh so formal. :)

Better late than never...Happy New Year. :)

In case you were wondering...Chinese New Year is February 14th.

New Pukey the Bear

2010-01-26T03:17:00.000-05:00

In case the time stamp on this post is wrong...let the records show it is 3:17 am. 2 hours ago I woke up to Mark (the husband) asking for help. I can't seem to put myself in bed in case he needs something. I hate to see him not feeling well. I believe he caught a bug that my little brother had. I'm hoping my undercooked steaks and occasional cookie dough have helped build up my immune system to I don't catch it. But who knows? I just don't want a sick baby....that would be the saddest thing ever.

He looks so bad I couldn't even consider grabbing the camera. Plus his location would not permit photos.

Hope you're feeling well! And how in the world do I change my time stamp???

Cute for Hire

2010-01-10T19:33:00.000-05:00

Welcome to Blazin Performance. We have a new mechanic on ~~doody~~ duty. He works hard (at being cute) and doesn't ask for much pay (milk).

Front desk work is so fun...

...ok, enough of this front desk stuff

Boss man came to see where the new guy was...out to the shop little dude.

This is where we keep our tools

This is a wrench

I had to repost this one. Its just too cute.

Thank you for choosing Blazin Performance!

I love my mechanics.

Special thanks to my best friend, Penny Warlock. She's been saving this mechanic outfit for 2 years!

Amanda O- Hat came from B-R-U.

Ghost of Christmas Blast

2010-01-10T01:57:00.000-05:00

OK, There wasn't a ghost but it was a blast!!! We celebrated our Christmas with my family at my oldest brother John's home.

Here's the beautiful Christmas tree my sister-in-law, Nikki, decorated

Here we were all gathered up to open presents.

Left to right: [nephew] Cody, [niece] Brittney (can only see her black pants and arms) holding my little man, Mom, [niece] Ashlee (with their dog Toby in her lap), [s-i-l] Nikki holding GA (I still love how handy it is that her name is a state), [big bro] John, [little bro] Jo-Jo (making video of my taking pictures)

Better view of Cody, Brittney (you can actually see her this time) & Marky. Plus a portion of my daddy on the far left.

My sexy Christmas beast with my daddy...please note my dad's Christmas morning bus-hair!! I love it!

Here you can see [b-i-l] Jason and a portion of Wendy [adopted sister] a.k.a. Asian Spice and [nephew] Christian popped up in the bottom.

[nephews] Christan and Johnny were enjoying opening gifts. And yes, Christian is wearing a Gators Snuggie. :)

Missing from our Christmas was Jo-Jo's daughter Madison. Hopefully we'll get to see her soon. We haven't had the chance to celebrate her 2nd birthday or Christmas. We love and missed you, Madi!

After all the food we ate (which was delicious) and opening gifts, we all fell asleep at one point or another. Mark found himself a sofa that was in a different room from the rest of us. I fell asleep with Jo-Jo next to me. When I woke up, I found Jo-Jo moved from a comfy chair and joined Mark. Except he evidently wasn't worried about comfort. :)

We like our naps.

While those boys slept, my sweet little man was shining his eyes and flashing his smiles at us.

Then we (I think 9 of us) gathered around the kitchen table and played Loaded Questions. It was so fun I forgot to take pictures. I won! In case any of you were wondering.

Uncle Johnny with the babies- GA and Marky

Its always such a great time with our family. We didn't leave until almost 11pm. Lucky are we to have one another. Can't wait to do it again. And that folks, was our Christmas BLAST!

Baby's First Christmas Eve

2010-01-08T00:55:00.000-05:00

Our Christmas Eve was spent making gifts for our family and taking pictures of Marky in front of our tree. Please enjoy.

I think he was pooping here. :)

I had a hard time getting him to look and smile at me.

Now his dad on the other hand...he could get him to look and smile.

Then he started talking to him...

My men- Mark II and Mark III

Guess who is drooling?

In my family we adults draw names each year. This year we had to make the gifts for each other. Mark drew Jason's name (my sister Cassie's husband). I always make Jason a huge peanut butter and chocolate bar. So here Mark is, making it for him. I had to document it so everyone would see that I didn't do it for him.

See how happy he is to be baking!

I was so proud of Mark for doing it himself. Hope your Christmas Eve was special. Celebrating the birth of our Lord is always special for us.

Catch up

2010-01-07T23:54:00.001-05:00

I really need to catch up. Especially if our favorite little lady from Michigan is checking on her favorite boys. These boys love their Grandma Gentle!

Upcoming posts: Christmas Eve; Christmas day; Mini Mechanic Goes to Work; Happy New Year; And more. So here are a few pictures to hold you over.

Santa brought this thermal sleeper for the little guy. You can't tell but mixed into the camouflage is little brown bear faces. Its really cute. Thank you Santa!

This is one of my favorite pictures when I took our little mechanic to the shop.

Hoping to have some time tomorrow to share our first family Christmas. :)

Merry Christmas

2009-12-25T07:41:00.000-05:00

I LOVE today. As I look at my beautiful baby, I think of the most humble birth of my Savior. And celebrate the world's greatest gift, Jesus Christ. Merry Christmas friends! We have so much to be merry about! Our year has been one with great blessings. We are grateful for a loving Father in Heaven who has given us these amazing gifts. May we all remain worthy of the gift that was given that first Christmas night!

A Blessed Day

2009-12-15T14:03:00.000-05:00

Sunday, Dec 6th, Mark and I were thrilled to bring our sweet baby to church, surround ourselves with family and friends and bless our little man. It was really more than I ever imagined. After church we went to my brother & sister-in-law's home for some tasty food and great fellowship. That's right, I said it- fellowship!

Here's our first family picture since the hospital.

We were making a scene.

Best kisses are right when he's getting hungry.

We love to talk, and you can get a a good look at those little side and back rolls.

Today we called GiGi (short for great-grandma), Mark's Grandma Gentle so she could hear Marky talking. Grandma- these are the faces he was making!

These are all pictures a super good friend took for us. Thanks Lisa B (what up punk) for posting these pictures for us. I have to get my camera from Mark to show you how cute he was in his blessing outfit. It was to-die-for cute!

Party Pooper or Poo-Poo Party?

2009-12-10T15:26:00.001-05:00

Well you see...I had to drop my cousin Lisa off at the airport early (for me) Monday morning. Upon returning home I had a serious diaper to change. Mr. Marky had quite the poopy mess. I pulled a good amount off with the diaper, started wiping him up and noticed it was going up his back a little, getting caught by his pocketed waistband (thank you Huggies). I lifted his legs a little higher and guess what happened? Yep, he sprayed poop everywhere! It went all over. I was trying to get the poop moved away from him (since he had no changing pad cover on his changing pad) his legs were still up in the air when he started peeing. And it was going over the changing station down the wall. So I lowered his legs and began to block the pee with my left hand. Once we was done and wet I was back to work cleaning him up when his butt exploded again! Up his legs go so he's not sitting in poop when he starts peeing down the wall again. With pee in my left hand and poop in my right and laughing hysterically, I was unable to get a picture. Not that you would've wanted to see it but it really was a stinky good time. After about 57 wipes and 800 paper towels, every thing went into the washer and every one got in the shower. We got showered and had a much needed nap after that. It was a good day.

On an almost sad note-I packed up most of the 0-3 months clothes last night. The newborns have been gone a while. My little man is growing SO fast. 2.5 weeks ago he weighed in at 14 lbs 3 oz. I'm positive he's more than 15 lbs now. He's got the absolute cutest and cuddliest body ever. I really just want to eat him up. Here are some pictures of his beautiful body during a naked baby run.

Seriously...

2009-12-03T14:43:00.000-05:00

...CUTE!

My camera has smile detection. Once I hit the shutter it will recognize and capture 6 smiles at a time. I love all his smiles.

Today I'm in love with my camera! Every day I'm in love with my men!

2 Months

2009-11-23T11:17:00.000-05:00

Our little Marky is 2 months old today. He's gotten so big so quick. I can't wait til tomorrow to find out his new stats. Here are some more pictures of his sweetness. They are about 2 weeks old. He was smiling for us.

This one was last night. No baby wears a mustache like my little Marky! :)

This has been the best two months! This new love that I've felt has changed my world and my heart forever. We love our little Marky!!

Unwelcome Guest

2009-11-21T21:07:00.000-05:00

Are you kidding me? Since June we've had this CRAZY sound coming from under our house. Evidently an Armadillo has taken residence and we can't seem to get him to leave. We tried to tell him he wore out his welcome. We tried to block him...with a cement block. He has lived through it! He was blocked in for 2 months and lives to tell. I bet he laughs at us. We had to pull out all our bushes (which I hated anyhow) just to get to the hole he dug.

Since we pulled out all the bushes Now, we're getting letters saying we have to do something with our flower beds or get a fine. But we need this guy to leave so we can make it look nice. We Still hear the crazy noises he makes. Right now it sounds like he's vacuuming. Doesn't he have anything better to do on a Saturday night? Maybe my mom sent him. We always cleaned on Saturday nights to the oldies. I should probably put on some oldies music, do some dishes and make my mom proud. I would be VERY thankful for this guy moving out. He's not welcome but I do appreciate him reminding me to do my chores! :)

Today I'm thankful for my sweet hard-working husband. He is so patient with me and loves me in spite of my imperfections. I'm still trying to get the hang of all the time a new baby requires and getting all (or even some) of my housework done. Being here all day sometimes I get stuff accomplished and other days nothing gets done except there is a baby that has been fed, cleaned and loved. This morning he helped me clean up and reminded me again why I married him. And kissed me every time I passed him. Mark, I love you!

Now off to do my dishes.

Faces of an Angel

2009-11-13T10:59:00.000-05:00

Oh the many faces of my little Marky. He's also starting to smile and boy do we love that. My camera is acting crazy (ever since a certain cousin played with it) so I'm still trying to get it to take a good picture. Please bear with me!

Here he is after his pants were changed. He loves a clean hiney.

And then I caught this face too

More random pictures with my camera acting a fool but you can see his smile

Yay, this one is more clear

More gang signs (representin' for Roman numeral 3)

I kept asking if he wanted to get in the shower with me...this is his shower seat.

He's thinking about showering...

...of course he said yes to being clean!

I love him in a towel and that face makes me want to bite him.

Ok, so maybe I was a little close in this one because his eyes are crossed...but possibly one of my favorite pictures!

Who doesn't love a naked baby? I didn't position the towel, it just happened to cover his package, thankfully!

His faces are all so wonderful to me. Keep those smiles coming Little Marky. I have my very own angel in my home now. And that's something to be thankful for.

Camera Cord Found...

2009-11-12T17:07:00.000-05:00

...Finally!! I've uploaded a couple hundred pictures (no exaggeration) so let's pick up where we left off...

You saw his first bath, this is Little Mark's first shower! He tolerated this way better.

We started getting fogged up from these hot men of mine.

Halloween outfit since I didn't want to bake him in a Halloween costume. Do you love his shoes? Thanks Aunt Cassie for the hat and shoes! Funny story, I bought these shoes from Craigslist and my sister bought them at the Van's outlet. We're so good we bought different sizes! :) He also has a pair of shoes to match this hat.

This night he slept 7 hours!!! I woke up a bunch making sure he was still breathing.

We love bath time!

Little Marky fell asleep nursing and I had to jump up to let Cami out. I thought he looked so cute. Kim, can you see what is behind my boppy?

He's throwing up gang signs already. He knows he's Mark, III.

Do you hear that, Mommy is taking pictures of me!!

Something about his face when he yawns...just so cute.

I'm thankful for this little man in my life. He certainly makes me so happy. I'm also thankful he's healthy. Two Mondays ago at his 1 month check up he was 11 lbs 3 oz and 23 inches long. That puts him in the 95th percentile for height and 90th for weight. While we were there, he rolled over for the first time. I just couldn't believe it. So I took him to my parents' house the next day and he rolled over again. He's growing so fast. I have no choice in the matter, he's going to grow up and I'd better be on board and enjoy the ride.

More pictures to follow

Name Them One by One

2009-11-01T15:55:00.000-05:00

I'd like to take this month to count my blessings and share what I have to be thankful for, especially the small stuff.

Today I'm thankful we made it to church! We haven't been since having the little guy. We were super late (even with the extra hour on our side) but I convinced myself regardless of time, we'd be there. So at 10:45, we left the house and rolled into church just in time for Priesthood and Relief Society. The lesson was certainly one I needed to hear.

Our RS Pres gave us 7 minutes to find someone we haven't talked during the last week and see if there was a need or how we can be of service to them. I saw someone I wanted to talk to that I never see but got distracted by someone I talk to each Sunday. After talking to her a few minutes, I was headed over to the other lady. When I realized she was already talking to someone else, I started talking to our RS president. She was watching each of us but no one was talking to her. I guess we don't think about the fact that they may have a need too. I realized I need help my RS Pres take care of our ward. She seems to be doing most of it herself and I don't think that's part of His plan! So each week, I want to try my best to do some good in the world, help someone in need and get joy beyond measure!

We showed up for the first time in 6 weeks and got ourselves a new calling. We are both thankful for the new opportunity we have to serve. I'll be able to share that with you at a later date.

Now, I'd like to be thankful for a nap!

Happy Halloween

2009-10-31T17:17:00.000-04:00

We're carving pumpkins and baking up our Mummy dogs. No Halloween is complete without those two things. Last night was our annual family pumpkin carving party. I will have to post those pictures later. For now, I wanted to share our Little Man's newborn pictures.

Here he is in his little Halloween outfit. All the costumes seem to be made for babies trick or treating during a blizzard. Someone needs to make newborn size costumes for babies in tropical weather.

So small in his Daddy's hands

He looked up at me when I kissed him

My Marks- II and III

Mommy and her little sideburns man

We love this picture...he's just so cute and his arms have so much definition

I think he looks great in blue, I could really just eat him up

Still wanting to eat him and his little feet and cheeks and...well...I'm his Mommy, what can I say?

Can you tell we're in love?

My little Marky is 5.5 weeks old now. I can't believe how fast this month has been. I've got more pictures to post but need Mark to locate the camera cord to do so. I hope you have a very safe and tasty Halloween. Speaking of tasty holidays, we are looking forward to sharing just how thankful we are with Thanksgiving on the way.

Marky's 1st Bath

2009-10-18T14:07:00.000-04:00

Mark and I were so excited to give Little Mark his first bath. After his umbilical cord fell off, we started making our plans. Then, I went to change his diaper while Mark was at work and he peed all the way up his body into his face. So in these pictures, I'm the bather and the photographer...not easy with a slippery baby.

So here he is, he won't even look at me.

I love this cute body

I had to walk around the sink to get his face

So far so good...

....but what will happen when I wash his head???

Warning: the next two pictures may cause you to feel bad for my little man or to shoot milk thru your nose. They are adorably cute and almost pathetic all at the same time.

Yep, Mommy made him so mad. But I couldn't leave these pictures out. They are priceless.

Here he is recovering and getting ready to be wrapped in his towel.

He settles down easily, you can see he's not so upset any more.

Waiting for me to lotion him up and get him dressed

Now he feels better, he loves to be clean

Bath- check

Lotion- check

Diaper- check

Clothes- check

Full Belly- check

Happy Baby...

...CHECK!!

Our Baby Love

2009-10-05T21:09:00.000-04:00

Most of you know I had quite the experience in the hospital. Things did not go quite as planned. However, the end result was all the same- I'm a mom, he's a dad, we have a baby boy and now we're a family!

Our little man was delivered by c-section on Sept 23rd at 3:47 pm. He weighed in at 8 lbs 9 oz, 21 inches long and the cutest thing we've ever laid eyes on.

Introducing Mr. Mark Joseph Gentle, III. Hearing his cry for the first time was magical. I've never heard such sweet music in my life. It was just like I dreamed for so long.

Here we met on the outside for the first time. I was completely overjoyed.

Our first family photo.

While I was getting put back together, Daddy and his little buddy had to go get cleaned up and check his stats.

As my cousin Lisa said it best "I don't like to be weighed either!"

He was starting to feel better now that he's getting cleaned and warmed up.

One of the first things they told us was that he was so alert, they didn't lie!

This picture was taken in the recovery room by our niece Brittney with her camera phone. One of our all time favorites! Look at those cheeks. He is just so sweet and I might just eat him. Hopefully you get to meet him before that time comes though!

Daddy's first time holding him

Have I mentioned we love all things Bear?

And he is one cute little cuddly bear

We had so many nice visits. These cute girls, Ashtin and Natalie are additional nieces of ours. They are so sweet to me. They were in our nursery class. Mark and I are great friends with their parents, Larry and Jessica Chalmers.

We were waiting for my staples to be removed and to be released from the hospital in this picture. How cute is he?

My cute men being all cuddly.

Finally, time for our family to go home.

The week was much harder on the Marks...they were both exhausted!

My little bear and I were ready to roll out.

Here he is visiting with his Mammaw

All swaddled up and ready for bed

Again, look at those cheeks

Here he is in his bouncer...I love this picture! Another one of my favorites.

I love this face.

With a wink and smile

Napping on his cousin. I love that face.

Mark and I have never felt so much joy as this little guy brings us. Feeding Little Mark late at night or early in the morning has been some of my favorite times. It is such a sacred time for the two of us. I never knew I'd enjoy this so much. I feel I have truly been blessed. I will post more details and more pictures soon. Wait til you see his first bath!!

Last shot

2009-09-21T16:31:00.000-04:00

Here is the cutest profile ever!

So now I ask...does this look like the "Sam Eagle" nose we discussed a few months back?
Any thoughts on who this little guy will look like?
Does he look extra juicy?

Our plan for tomorrow:
1. Call L & D at 6am to see if there is a room for me. (If so, continue to #2)
2. Enter L & D at 6:30 am
3. 7:30 am start induction
4. Get used to people touching and seeing my vagina
5. Dr. will come back during lunch to check on me
6. If no baby by the End of day:
a. baby and I are fine, Dr will take me off meds, let me walk, eat and shower and start again
Wednesday morning at 4:30 am and continue
b. baby and I are not fine- Dr. will slice and dice to get baby out quick

Any guesses on:
His size?
Day/Time he is born?
How many hours I'll labor?

I've been an emotional mess. Mark and I went to church yesterday...last time without a baby. Passed the mothers' room....last time without it actually having a purpose for me (other than being the stinky room). When I go to bed tonight, its the last time Mark and I go to bed in our room without our little guy. We've had 5 wonderful years together and boy has it been fun. I'm so grateful for the time we've been able to get to know each other, laugh, cry and pray together. Now we're going to have a great time full of laughter, crying (loads of that I'm sure), prayers and getting to know the new people we are about to become. I can't wait to share this experience with him and share our little man with you each of you. Thank you for riding with us on this wonderful journey of sentimental feelings. Tomorrow we leave as a couple and later this week we come home as a family! :)

My Best Friend- The Birthday Girl

2009-09-17T13:40:00.000-04:00

Do you know her? This is Cassie Renee Gullett Clarkson. Today (Thurs Sept 17th) is her birthday. I think I get way more excited for her birthday than I do my own. I've been lucky enough to grow up with this gorgeous girl as my sister, my right hand, my best friend. She is unlike anyone you'll ever meet. She has a huge heart, she does anything she can for everyone she loves. She is LOADS of fun. She ALWAYS takes the best pictures...And I'm going to show her off for a moment.

Look how beautiful she is! This was from our sexy photo shoot we did for our husbands. :)

She even looks great up close!

She's always quick with a crazy face for pictures!

For Halloween one year, the three amigos from our office decided we should dress up as a great trio-we were Paper, Rock, Scissors. Cassie was Rock, I was Scissors...this is her crushing me.

Here we are with our super cute mama. This was a great weekend of Time Out For Women.

This was one of our fun Memorial Day trips- we love to ride go-karts.

Here she is with some crazy hair...looks like she's snorting to me. But why laugh if you don't snort? Cause that's when you know you're having a really good time!

This was a picture she was taking to send to a guy she met online...he's now her husband.

To go along with birthdays, here she is blowing out some candles after wishes were made for her and her baby girl, GA. She's great at picking out good cakes and desserts. This cake was super tasty.

Here she is super serious about the dessert table for my family shower. There were cupcakes, a yellow cake, chocolate cake with candied strawberries and a red velvet cake cheesecake from the Cheesecake Factory! She wanted nothing more than it to be perfection for me...and it was!

Cassie and I have always done just about everything together. We shared a room growing up, we shared clothes for a short period of time (when she wasn't looking), she always took me places with her even when my parents didn't make her, she taught me to drive a 5-speed when I was 12 (I won't tell Christian), she let me hang out with her friends.

As adults, we lived together again, did everything together again and each Sunday, she'd jump in bed with me until it was time to get ready for church. We vacationed together, we prayed together and we've certainly loved together. We've had the best life as best friends and today, is a super special day that we get to celebrate her!

She recently got me hooked on a show called Deliver Me on the Discovery Health channel. The theme song reminds me of Cassie every time I hear it.

When the end of the day has come and we're running out of time
You are the one who knows me and knows what's on my mind
I can't be Super Woman no matter how I try
But my strength is greater when I know you're by my side.

My sister, my right hand, my best friend
Deliver me to the bright eyes of fortune
Deliver me
I need your help to push me through
And I know you need me too
My sister, my right hand, my best friend
Deliver me.

At the end of the day and we've fought the good fight
We've given our blood and tears and it's still worth the ride
You have an insight into how far we've come
And I'm grateful for every moment and every battle won.

My sister, my right hand, my best friend
Deliver me to the bright eyes of fortune
Deliver me
I need your help to push me through
And I know you need me too
My sister, my right hand, my best friend
Deliver me.

Cassie-Thank you for always sharing a laugh, a cry and sometimes a bed. Thank you for being my sister, my right hand and my very best friend. I love you so much!

P.S. She also shares a birthday with her husband Jason...so Happy 40th Birthday UKJay!

Set the Timer for 11 days

2009-09-11T11:34:00.000-04:00

In 11 days I will no longer be walking around with a bun in my oven. Evidently he'll be golden brown (or nice and pink). I'll be checking in to the hospital for my induction. We might have a 22nd, 23rd or 24th baby. He could even really be sweet and show up on the 25th- our 5th anniversary! Hopefully, it won't take from Tuesday to Friday...but whatever it takes to get him here is what I'll do.

So 11 days it is. Mark and I are relieved we have a little more time to prepare for his arrival. I'm super excited I get to put on makeup and fix my hair before I head in! Hooray.

Tell 'Em Large Marge Sent Ya!

2009-09-10T17:14:00.000-04:00

We had an ultra sound today!

Questions: Is Little Mark head down?
How big is Little Mark?

Well good news...He's HEAD DOWN!!

The ultra sound tech's name is Jenn. We love her! She's always been good times. Jenn asked "so when is your due date?" I said "supposed to be Oct 5th but last u.s. you said he was about 10 days ahead of schedule." And she said "WHEN?" And Mark repeated Oct 5th to her. I said "why, is it different?" She said "well, looks like he's measuring with a due date of TOMORROW!" I said "WHAT?" You can imagine my surprise right? So I said to her "how much does it look like he weighs?" She said "I'm going to calculate that right now, I'll be back."

So Mark and I sat waiting and waiting and waiting. When Jenn came back, she wouldn't look us in the face. She kept saying "Well, I could be off by a pound, give or take." and things like "Do you know how much I told your sister her baby was to see if I was pretty well on target with her?" I said "No, I don't know anything about that." I said "Are you going to tell us or are you waiting for back up from the Dr?" She said "well, I told Dr. Thirumlai and she said she knew your baby would be big!" At this point, Mark and I are DYING to find out. "Jenn, just tell us!" She said "I'm measuring him at 8 lbs 9 oz!!!" Go ahead, re-read that. 8 lbs 9oz (give or take a pound). All I could do was laugh hysterically! I think everyone in the office heard me laughing. What a SHOCK!

Jenn said she measures large so realistically he's between 7.5 lbs and 8.5 lbs. She would put money on him coming out no less than 8 lbs.

If he was going to be a girl, I'd name her Large Marge! Just like PeeWee!

Tomorrow, we meet with the Dr and and we'll have a better idea of what to expect. I will be glad to share more info with each of you in our super exciting journey of the Little (or not so little) guy getting here.

Close enough I Can Almost Smell the Dirty Diapers

2009-09-09T15:43:00.001-04:00

...that's how close He feels!

I have to say, getting pregnant was misery. Wait, let me rephrase that...I loved the practicing part- that part was fun! The emotions of not being pregnant for 3 years, month after month, having people ask if we even wanted children and going through the fertility process. After finding out we both had fertility problems and we kept getting jerked around, we finally quit because it was far too stressful. Then with losing my job and my insurance I was running low on everything, especially hope!

I had 3 experiences last year that led me to believe a baby was close. I was exercising like no one's business (except maybe a personal trainer) last year in my zumba class and was overcome with emotion. I knew what I was doing wasn't just for me, it was for the little spirit waiting for me to be ready for him. I couldn't believe I was crying in zumba. I couldn't even blame it on my eyes sweating. I had to walk out. Then I tried a spinning class. It was one of the hardest things I've ever done. While spinning (not just the bike class, also my head) I wanted to quit so badly but as I was pushing along, I saw a face. A baby's face appeared as if it was there to cheer me on and finish the class. Then towards the end of December I finally started thinking about how Heavenly Father best answers my prayers. No matter what, if I need help finding something He ALWAYS helps me. So I decided to give it a try. I asked that He help me find my baby, regardless of where or how. I pleaded with Him to help me open my eyes, so I wouldn't miss any opportunities. Whether He direct me to a birth mother or a surrogate mother- I would accept His will with gratitude in my heart.

At that point, I knew I did all I could. I spoke to a very close friend and told her how I felt like there was a little boy close by, but I didn't know exactly what "close" was going to mean.

Well...my eyes were opened. As always, HF helped me find what I've been looking for. I have been so fortunate to have a smooth pregnancy. I've been blessed beyond measure. After trying for 3 years, the last 9 months have passed quickly. I've got my bag packed, I just need a few things to put in his bag and a few more things for him at home. I've got so much support and love pouring out from all over. I'm one grateful soon-to-be-Mommy. With a full heart and an always full bladder, I'm officially close! I really feel like I can smell the dirty diapers coming my way. I can't wait.

So, when will the little guy be here? Tomorrow I go in for an ultra sound, they will measure him and we will see if he's head down. If he's still breech, we will schedule a c-section. On the day of the c-section, they will do one more ultra sound to check him again. If he's turned at that point, they will send me home. Either way, we'll have a baby in the next 3 weeks. It feels SO good to be this kind of "CLOSE."

My Faves

2009-09-03T13:54:00.000-04:00

Feast your eyes on my FAVORITE car ever. Not because its my favorite color yellow and not because its a convertible and certainly not because its a Mustang. Mustangs are not important to me (my husband would divorce me if I thought otherwise). From the back, you can see that two people are in the car. Looks like they carpool to save on money and the environment. You will soon see why this is my FAVORITE car.

I tried to get close-ups. If you see it, you'll want to speed up so you can catch a glimpse of this for yourself.

This is why! Do you see the passenger? This is not my first time seeing him. I have been lucky enough to witness this fun for the 5th or 6th time. Let me get closer for you

Are you wondering if his head moves? Cause it doesn't. This is a real dummy! (and a real oxymoron)

I'm not sure if the driver keeps this guy around for protection or because she's a comedic genius...but either way is fine by me.

Lately, he's gotten a really nice tan, a new hat, an earring and some drawn on facial hair.

Last time I saw him, he was wearing a Steve Irwin (R.I.P.) type hat, a little bit lighter skin and he was clean shaven.

Don't you love that the seat belt has the cushion on it, for his comfort? If that cushion wasn't there and there was friction, they might start a fire in the car!

Oh yeah, and the window is down. Gotta make sure he stays cooled off!

New Shower!!

2009-09-02T14:34:00.000-04:00

This past weekend I was showered twice. One was a family baby shower which was absolutely beautiful. The other was a new shower head! It was a late birthday present from my sweet husband. When we moved into our house, we had a waterfall type shower head and were so excited about it. However, it has totally sucked for the past 3 years.

Here it is. Once Mark installed it we had to try it out. No photos of us in the shower...we'll save those for Mark and Little Mark showering. And I promise they will be G rated.

I wanted one like this so we can rinse the shower. Mark gets SUPER greasy during the day and at night it goes EVERYWHERE. So when I clean the shower, it takes about an hour because all the pitchers of water I have to slowly fill to rinse the walls and door of the shower.

So now, we're ready for spraying down the walls, a dog or anything else that comes our way. :)

The best part, if we want to shower together, we can both rinse off at the same time.

Thank you Mark! Showers won't ever be the same again. They certainly don't have to be lonely.

P.S. I remembered my camera cord!

Another Great Weekend

2009-08-31T11:57:00.000-04:00

Items needed to blog about my great weekend:

Good Idea- Check
Take pictures- Check
Camera- Check
Camera cord- Oops

I knew I forgot something as I was carrying way too many things to the car this morning. I guess tomorrow will be my updates. :)

One thing I can say is that today is technically my 35th week and 35 days until my due date. Although I won't be going to the full 40 weeks. So really I've got more like 3.5 weeks left. And I'm SO excited.

Happy Monday.

Baby Stuff

2009-08-27T12:02:00.000-04:00

Mark and I have been doing some looking and research. Mark (and this is the truth) was very concerned about using plastic bottles for the baby. He heard about BPA problems in plastic bottles and thought we should consider glass. I however, am very clumsy and would hate to drop a glass bottle. That being said, I jumped online and started looking around at different bottles. I found that most bottles are BPA free so that was no longer a big concern. With my history of G.E.R.D. (terrible acid reflux) and babies already having issues, I wanted to find something that may be able to help. I came across a brand that seemed different and had LOTS of great reviews. The main problem, they weren't in very many stores. Mostly available online.

Last week, I walked into Publix to pick up some salmon. I walked down the baby aisle and stopped at the bottles to see what they carry and there they were- MY BOTTLES! I bought all they had but that was only three 8 0z bottles and two 5 oz bottles. I was so excited I went home and took pictures to show all of you. Publix really made shopping a pleasure for me that night! And the fish was great too.

Then I got a birthday package and here is what was inside. I can't wait to see this on Little Mark's hiney! Thanks Becki! Now when are you going to update your blog???

Truth be told, I can't wait to see his little hiney! Forget putting stuff on it. :)

30th Birthday, Part 2

2009-08-26T16:26:00.000-04:00

Saturday we woke up and Mark's belly was upset. I went downstairs to get him some pepto. While I was down there, I let them know our room was smelling like smoke and it's not us (since entire Marriott line is completely smoke-free) and they changed our room. So that slowed us down for our most important activity of the trip...this gorgeous building. This is the Orlando Temple, where Mark and I were sealed 3.5 years ago. After arriving and walking in to the calm and peace that is the temple, the sweet little man at the desk let Mark know his recommend expired last month and he couldn't go in. I can't believe I didn't look at it. I keep both our recommends in my temple bag so that when we go, we don't forget them. Well, that's a good plan if you keep an eye on the expiration dates. That being said, we walked outside, took pictures for other people and went to Beehive Clothing for some new unders.

Mark quickly needed another trip to the bathroom (still wasn't feeling great, which is why I didn't go on in the temple without him) so we went back to our hotel until my parents were out of the temple. Then we met up with them for a very special lunch....

Who doesn't love Boston Market? Can I just tell you that nothing makes me happier than their mac & cheese and their sweet potato casserole? No birthday is complete without either.

After that, Mark and I had an appointment to visit a spa. We found a place that had a great deal. We had a 1 hour couples massage, 1 hour facial, 20 minute foot massage and a parafin treatment (which wasn't the big deal part of it...but it did make for a good photo opp). This was right after our 1 hour massage, which is why my eyes look swollen and Mark relaxed. We both felt like we had paws and started acting like kitty cats...which is completely normal for us. MEOW.

We walked around old town after our relaxation time. The band started playing and these women were up and dancing. I took pictures because that is totally me in 10, 20, 30 or 40 years. I will dance like no one is watching! Maybe I should say I'll dance like EVERYONE is watching, cause sometimes we all love a crowd. But they don't call me the dance machine for nothing!

Then after eating some dinner and getting back to the hotel in our smoke-free/smell-free room I was down for the count! Mark always takes pictures of me when I'm sleeping. So here you go, this is what a sleeping 30 year old looks like! :)

Sunday we woke up, had a lovely breakfast, utilized our late check out and made our way home. We stopped at my brother's house for a birthday gathering. My oldest nephew Cody turned 21 and we got to celebrate with pizza. It was really a great weekend and I have my husband to thank for taking time off to take me away.

Now...bring on the baby stuff.

My 30th Birthday, Part 1

2009-08-24T12:05:00.000-04:00

Well, It's official. I'm 30! Can't even believe it. But so far, so good. I can only be excited for all the new changes that will come with being 30. And for that, I'm thrilled to be 30.

Wednesday I got home late from Zumba and at my door, was this beautiful delivery. Grandma Rita (Mark's G-ma) is a wonderfully sweet little lady that I adore. She's got to be one of the nicest, sweetest, most kind hearted women I've ever met. She's always so thoughtful of us. Thanks Grandma! The flowers still look great.

I had a Dr's appt Friday morning, came home and there was a package at my front door. Inside there was a birthday card from my first roommate in Utah, Becki. Her daughter's handprint was in the card and I loved it. Hadley just turned 1 last week. She's a mover and Becki had a hard time getting her hand outlined. It says "her hand is normal. this is not an exact duplicate" and that made me laugh pretty hard.

After Mark got some work done, I was whisked away to Orlando for a fun weekend. Late Friday evening we went to the Cheesecake Factory. Not normally something I would choose for a birthday but I was feeling some appetizers, cheesecake and raspberry lemonade. Mark is always in the mood for nachos, even after an hour and a half wait.

That's what nachos can do to you! That's our cute nephew Christian. He was eating a Roadside slider. Which are basically expensive Krystal burgers. I prefer Krystals but those sliders were good too.

After we stuffed ourselves came time for cheesecake. YUM. This was my birthday slice of carrot cake cheesecake.

That's Mark's finger in the picture (cause he wanted to be in my picture too) with me blowing out my candle.

Mark doesn't like cheesecake or cake for that matter. So he ordered up a brownie sundae. He was super surprised to see how large it was. Evidently he didn't realize we were at the Cheesecake Factory where everything is larger than life.

This is their new red velvet cake cheesecake. Cassie ordered it. I was completely jealous. That cheesecake was the BEST thing there. I should've sent mine back. Instead I ate a few bites of hers and then took mine back to the hotel. I never ate it...was too busy dreaming of this one.

This was right before we left. These guys were full and happy and slightly ready to leave.

Here are the ladies of the evening (except GA was sleeping) and yes, no eating experience is complete without me dripping stuff down my front. :)

Mark and I drove back to our hotel and we were so excited to find some friends there to greet us. They were looking for dinner too. I was so tempted to feed them our leftovers.

There were a bunch of raccoons around the dumpster and one inside scavenger. It reminded me of growing up and raccoons coming into our backyard Sunday nights for hotdogs.

Part 1 of my birthday was great. Mark and I enjoyed ourselves and our time together.

Breakfast

2009-08-23T11:10:00.000-04:00

Mark has taken me out of town for my birthday weekend. We're celebrating both my 30th birthday and our 5th anniversary. This is kinda our last hoorah before the little guy gets here. I've got fun stuff to tell about our weekend and pictures from my actual birthday.

This morning we were having breakfast downstairs. Here at our hotel, they have a nice breakfast buffet and most importantly-Mickey Mouse waffle irons and Mark can't deny those. So we got down there, we started our waffles and next thing you know, Mark was making a huge stink with the middle waffle iron. His waffle was stuck in the top and bottom of the waffle iron. He pulled half of it out and then the rest was super stuck. There he was, people standing around him as he's trying to pull the broken and burning waffle out of the waffle iron piece by piece. At that point, I'm laughing at him (I still don't think he knows) and wishing I had my camera or cell phone or some way to take a picture. Then the waffle iron was falling to each side dropping on to the other waffle irons. I can't explain it as funny as it was...but I was snorting and moving away slowly with each piece he pulled off. When I walked back over Mark smiled and said "I get a do-over." I love him! He always makes me laugh. We have such a great time together.