Poor Brian

Monday was such a crazy day! It started out with my sweet husband surprising me by bringing me home lunch. (He dropped it off and then went back to work.) About 20 minutes after he left I was at the sink washing my hands when I noticed there were emergency vehicles at the school where he teaches. (Its just down the road from our house.) So I decided to call Brian and and ask him if everything was okay. As I reached for the phone, it started to ring. It was the school calling to inform ME that Brian had choked on his lunch, and that he still had some food stuck in his throat, and they were getting ready to transport him to the hospital. Poor Brian, he told me later that he was eating alone in the teachers lounge when it happened. So he stumbled out and motioned to some kids for help, but they thought he was teasing and ran off. (He is normally so sarcastic; even the first teacher who saw him didn't believe he was really in distress!) Anyway, while he was being transported to the hospital I quickly found a couple really great people to help with the kids so that I could go to the hospital too.

Shortly after Brian arrived he was given some medication under his tongue which helped relax his esophagus mussels, which in turn made it so that he could clear his airway. Up until this point he was not able to swallow, and for part of the time he was only able to breath out of his nose. Then the Doctors decided to put a scope down his throat to see why he has such a hard time swallowing. They found that he has scar tissue built up around his esophagus due to acid reflux (which he didn't know he had). They also stretched out his esophagus so that his food can pass easier. Then they did a biopsy to make sure that the extra tissue was really only scar tissue.

Needless to say it was a very scary ordeal. I'm so glad everything turned out okay. From what I hear he will be getting a hard time from his co-workers. I guess he deserves it, especially because as I was trying to let everyone know that he was okay, he was in the background saying, "tell them that I passed".

Dumb

Lately I have been saying the dumbest things. It seems like nearly every conversation I walk away from I am left with my foot in my mouth.

My goal for the week: Keep my foot on the floor where it belongs.

What a snow! I cant believe how much we got. I have never seen so much in my life! Last week the kids had a late start on Tuesday, then the fallowing three days school was canceled, all because of the snow! It was so fun to watch it come down. The kids had a blast playing in it. My sisters kids came for a two day visit so that they could play in it too. We have a hill by our house that the kids had fun sledding down. Brian and I even spent a morning sledding down it. I will be so sad if anyone ever builds a house on the lot at the base of it! I'm sure one day it is bound to happen, but for now we are enjoying it!

Christmas 2009

This was my gift from Brian! I love it! So far I've made rolls, bread (both white and wheat) and cinnamon rolls. All of this has added to my own rolls! Next year he will have to get me a gym membership to go with it!

Christmas day 2009

Wow! Christmas went by so fast this year! It seems like we had just put up our tree and BAM it was over! It was good though. We went to a few Christmas parties (one week we had three in a row). We spent time with people we love. We enjoyed having our tree up and the warm feeling we had in our home because of it. We shopped and shopped and shopped. But most of all we felt the spirit of Christmas, which is love. I love Christmas. I hope I can fell it all year as I (hopefully) keep my new years resolution and make some homemade gifts throughout the year in preparation for next year.

Christmas Eve 2009

On Christmas Eve, Keith and Donna came over to see us. They got ALL of us a pair of PJ's. I was especially excited because normally I get the kids PJ's for Christmas, and this is the first year I forgot. I love Keith and Donna. I could never fully express my appreciation toward them. They are so good to us!

Callie and Jacob

Callie and I had fun putting this hat on Jacob. He started sitting up by him self when he was about 4 1/2 months. So he was able to pose for these pictures without being held up. Every time I look at him without clothes on I crack up. HE IS SO CHUBBY!

Look at me and.... SMILE!

Eric loves to play with my camera. Lately I've had to hide it so that he doesn't play with it when I'm not looking. On this particular day, I let him take some pictures. He decided to take one of this snowman. Before he did, he said to the snowman, "Look at me, look at me." (so I turned the snowman toward him) "Now smile!"

What an obedient snowman!

Eric took this picture

Then he asked me to take this one of him.

Happy baby

Jacob is such a happy baby! He smiles for almost anyone who looks his way.

Three reasons why I love his smile:

1. His chubby little face almost swallows his eyes when he smiles really big.

2. His sweet little dimple shows.

4. He makes cute little noises when he smiles.

I am so lucky that I get to see his smile every day..... It makes my day brighter. Just knowing its there waiting to come out makes the sleepless nights (a little) easier! That's right sleepless nights. This boy is not sleeping at night. He is the first baby I've had to not be sleeping all night by now. Oh well, as long as he smiles at me during the day I think I can get through the night!

Jacob's 4 month check

Jacob's 4 month health check found him to be a healthy 19.1 lb boy. He is a BIG baby!

Halloween 2009

I'm not sure where the time has gone.... but here I am trying to play catch-up with my blog again!

Halloween was a blast! Eric was soooo excited to be a tiger, we got his costume about a month before Halloween, so he had a lot of time to play with it and get pumped up about the big day. Jakey was a monkey..... He looked so cute with his BIG cheeks filling out the hood of his costume. Tyler was a vampire (again) I think he looked even better than he did last year (practice makes perfect)! And Callie didn't really want to dress up... It was the first year in her life that she didn't. She is growing up way to fast..... it makes me sad! In the end though she, along with her friend, Emma wore masks and went trick-or-treating together.

Chubby, Chubby, Chubby

My name is chubby!
My mom is chubby!
My dad is chubby!
Even my dog is chubby!
One day my mom said,
"Jakey, you are so chubby,
I bet you can't even smile"!
I said, "yes I can....SEE"!

He is the biggest baby I have ever seen! Brian is starting to get a bit worried about him... but I love it! His cheeks stick out farther than his nose does! I wonder what he is going to look like when he thins out...

Career day/ wacky hair day

Today was career day/wacky hair day. Brian went as a bum. Callie went as a snowboarder. Then I did Tyler's hair wacky. I also did Paula's hair (the kindergarten teacher I babysit for). Fun times...

My fat little baby :)

I love fat babies! Jacob is chunky from head to toe, and I think its so cute! Last time we went to the doctor he was in the 50% for his height, and the 98% for his weight. He is 10 weeks old now and weighs almost 16 lbs.

Never turn your back... not even for five min.

The other day I learned a big lesson.... NEVER leave your kids unattended for even five minutes. I was on the phone, nursing Jacob and watching the kids play in Eric's room. Then they decided to go down stairs, so I stayed up a little longer to finish feeding Jacob. When I went down I found this horrible mess....

I wanted to cry...


But I instead I took this picture and ate some chocolate :).

Hammy The Pig

Poor, poor Hammy! Here he is, livin' life. Being fed and cared for by this cute girl (aka Calllie) and before he knows it BAM he finds himself at the fair being sold to the highest bidder. So sad... But on a brighter note, Callie did a great job with her pig this year. Hammy won third place in his class. Then was sold for 2.75 a lb. He weighed 249 lbs. Callie is going to put her earnings toward her collage fund. Good job Callie!

Jacobs Blessing

Jacob was blessed on the first Sunday in September. His dad gave him a very sweet blessing. Grandma Bigler made him the cutest blessing outfit I have ever seen. And lots of family members came to share this experience with us. It was wonderful!

Happy B-day Tyler!!!

Tyler hit the big #9! On his birthday he invited a few of his friends over to have pizza and play some games. He had a fun day and even got the gift he had been asking for (an ipod). Happy B-day Tyler! I love you!!

Go Team!

Not long after I had Jacob we had the missionaries over. As we were all sitting in the living room, Eric came running by, my pump pressed up to his mouth yelling, "Go team! Yahoo!". What a creative little man.

Getting ready for church...

I love this picture... Not because Brian looks like he trying to breastfed, but because he was teaching Tyler how to put on a tie. Tyler wanted to learn so bad, so all morning he fallowed Brian around, practising. Tyler finally has it down now.

Just think Tyler one day you will be on your mission, putting on a tie every day, and when I'm thinking about you I can go back to this picture and remember the day you learned how.

Hanging out at the Biglers

This was Jacobs first trip to the Biglers. Nick and Jessica were there with their new baby, Camden (who is two days older than Jacob). Keith had fun holding them both. He is such a good Grandpa. It makes me feel good that the Biglers treat all of our kids so good. We are lucky to have them in our lives.

Baby Eric

A few days after Jacob came home from the hospital, Eric decided he was, "baby Eric" and he wanted to sleep in, "baby Jake's" bed...... So he did, and it was really cute!

Jacobs 1st REAL bath

This was Jacobs first real bath. It was a little scary, but nice to have a clean, sweet smellin' baby when it was all said and done!

First sponge bath

Jacobs first sponge bath was fun. Callie helped me. Jacob didn't like it much though :)

First day home

When we got home from the hospital, before we even went into our house we went over to see great grandma Bigler. Her house is next to ours, but because of health problems she had been staying with her son. (She came back to visit, and attend a family reunion) She left shortly after we went to see her. I'm so glad we got to spend some time with her, for myself, and especially for Eric. Its good for him to spend time with his family.

first day home

This is the first time the kids got to hold Jacob. Because Jacob was sick in the hospital, they were not able to see/hold him until we got home. Boy, it was nice to be home!

Eric

This pictures says a thousand words. Eris is such a good napper, he sleeps for 2-3 hours every day. He also LOVES sports. So, for him to fall asleep with his ball and glove in hand is so Eric. I bet he was dreaming about a big green field.

Jacob Ian Starkes

NOTE............These pictures/posts are in reverse order...............

I mentioned in an earlier post that the labor/delivery part of having Jake was great. Shortly after I had him though, they noticed his breathing wasn't quite right. So, after only getting to hold him for a few short minutes the nurses took him to the special needs nursery and there he stayed from Sunday until Thursday, when he got to come home.

The whole time he was in the nursery was like an emotional roller coaster. When he first went to the nursery, I wasn't able to go see him for a few hours because my legs were dead from the epidural. Then, Dr. Baily (his pediatrician) came in my room and told me that Jacob had fluid in his lungs and may have to be sent to a larger hospital that could better care for him. After the Doctor left I called my nurse and had her help me into a wheel chair, so that I could go see my baby. To say the least I was terrified.

In the nursery, I found Jacob with an IV in his arm, and oxygen in his nose and all sorts of monitors hooked to him. The Doctor told us we could touch him but we couldn't rub or stimulate him. During that first day, I sat by him all day, unable to feed or hold him. It was a very long, sad day.

That night Brian left because he had to be at work early the next day. Shortly after he left, Jacobs nurse told me that he was doing a lot better...... and I could hold him!!! I cant express how happy I was to get to do this. Poor Brian though, he hadn't got to hold him at all. Anyway, a few hours later the nurse told me that we could try to feed him. At first we just fed him with a syringe. After a few of these type of feedings, I finally got to nurse him.

On Monday, Brian came to the hospital and got to hold Jake. Jake also made a few big improvements (They were able to take him off 90% his oxygen but when they tried to stop the last of it, he would turn blue). Then on Tuesday, Dr. Baily said that Jake was showing signs of Pneumonia.... and that they may end up sending him to the valley after all. So I called Brian and asked him and President Whipple to come give Jake a blessing.

I feel like I witnessed a miracle, as Jacob stayed stable that day, and then in the middle of the night, the nurse tried again to stop the oxygen, and was successful!!!! Wednesday morning Dr. Baily called the specialist and the two of them decided together that Jake might not have Pneumonia after all. She also said that if he could go 24 hours without the oxygen then he could go home!!!

Thursday morning we were finally able to take our sweet little baby home. Dr. Baily did say that he might be a little more susceptible to respiratory illnesses, so we need to keep him home for a while.

Its so fun to have Jacob home with us. He is such a good little guy. I LOVE everything about him.....

Here is a picture of Jacob with a nurse that took care of me when I was a baby. My mom pointed her out to me a long time ago. So when I saw that she was going to be Jacobs nurse I told her that she took care of me. When I told her this, she gave me a big hug. She was so kind to us during her whole shift. She said she has been working there for 30 years now!

This is Jacob having his IV taken out. It was so sad to see everyone poke at him all the time. I was glad that it was coming out rather than in though!

Here we are getting ready to go home! This is the room I got to stay in after I was released from the hospital. It is right off the nursery and is for parents who have sick babies. I was the first one to get to stay there.

This is the first of many kisses that Eric has given to "baby Jake". Eric loves Jake and kisses him about every five minutes.

When Jacob started doing better, he finally got to have a bath.

Here is Jacob... all clean.

These are random pictures. Some of them are of his first bath, and some are of him right after he got off oxygen.

This is just minutes after Jake was born. At first they let me hold him with oxygen sitting right next to him. But when they saw that it was not helping, but rather, he was getting worse, they took him to the nursery.

This is minutes after I first got to see him in the nursery.

First diaper change that I got to see. When we got to start touching/ holding him I changed all his diapers.

This is where Jacob spent his first five days of life.

Our new addition.....

I am so excited to announce our new addition.... Jacob Ian Starkes was born on Sunday, the 19 of July. He was born at 4:50 in the morning after a smooth, and in my mind, an ideal delivery. He weighed 6.15 lbs and was 19 2/1 inches long. He has dark blond hair, which looks golden, almost red when it is wet. Jacob was the 9th baby born in the new OB unit of the Hospital. Everything was so nice, new and clean. I am happy it was done just in time for our little guy!!!

Here is my "freakin cool" hubby on Saturday night. He was so proud of what he wrote under the family comments. What was REALLY funny is when he fail asleep and my labor nurse erased "cool "and wrote "asleep" in its place, with an arrow pointing to him. We were both trying to get some sleep at that point because my epidural was going strong and I was feeling good.

Here is our little guy. I was so excited to see him. I was also shocked that everything turned out so EASY! I had painful contractions for about 8 hours before my epidural.... but I didn't have one contraction that was so painful that I couldn't talk, walk or laugh through it. Then when pushing time came, it only took four contractions to get him here. He did have the cord wrapped around his neck, really tight. Which could have contributed to the problems he had after delivery (I'll get into those problems in my next post..... so stay tuned).

Tomorrow is D-Day!!!

I went to Windy's office today (my OB) and she said she wanted to jump start my labor tomorrow!!! I'm excited, scared, worried, happy and relieved all at the same time. I know my actual due date isn't for a few more weeks, but I was told that my baby is going to be really big if he stays in much longer. Callie and Tyler were both born 20 days early and were still good sizes. So apparently I make big babies.

Windy said she will just do a quick procedure in her office tomorrow morning which should trigger some good labor contractions, and then meet up with me a little later at the hospital after I've progressed. I don't think it will take much to get me going because I've been having regular contractions for months now. I'm actually really surprised that I've made it this far. I'm sure that if we weren't doing this tomorrow I would still have him in the next few days. This weekend will be great timing because Brian, being a teacher, hasn't worked ALL summer, but now he happens to be in the middle of a two week job. So I'm really happy that he wont have to take time off work.

Callie, Tyler and Eric are so excited. Tyler wanted to tell everyone. So I let him call and tell my mom and a few other people. Callie cant wait to see her new brother. She helped me pick out an outfit to bring him home in. Eric is excited because we are all excited. I don't think he understands what is going on. I 'm really looking forward to seeing how he reacts to all of this.
Brian is excited too. He tells Eric to say "Come out baby Jake and play with me!" .

So, hopefully everything will be fast and pain free! I wish I could walk into the hospital tomorrow feeling fine, get an epidural and have the baby without feeling a thing! That would be soooo great....

Anyway, I hope that this time tomorrow I'll be holding my little baby! I cant wait to see what he looks like. I cant wait to hold him. I cant wait to show him to our other kids.
Wow, I hope I can sleep tonight ;).

Donald's Park

Not to long ago Brian was out of town, so I took Callie, Tyler and Eric to the McDonald's in Show Low to Eat and play. Eric loves to go there, he calls it "Donald's park" (I love how he says it). Anyway, as the kids were playing, Eric spotted a little boy around his age. This little boy was wandering around aimlessly, singing "do dood, do dood, do dood" so Eric walked up to him and said, "Hi Do Dood, lets play". Do Dood didn't acknowledge Eric, so Eric tried again, saying, "lets slide Do Dood". Do Dood still had no response for Eric, so Eric spit on Do Dood. I had Eric say "sorry" to Do Dood, and then we left. When we got into the car I tried to talk to Eric about how it was OK if some people didn't want to play. After I told him this, Eric got an angry look on his face and said, "I spit the Do Dood"! It was so hard not to laugh.
Eric still talks about poor little Do Dood. If you ask him where Do Dood is, he will say, "at Donald's park".

37 weeks

37 Weeks ago I was not expecting to get pregnant, but was open to the idea of it.

33 Weeks ago I was shocked as I watched the positive line on the pregnancy test turn pink.

31 Weeks ago I started getting pregnancy sickness.... and found out that that my pregnancy had a few complications.

24 Weeks ago my pregnancy sickness went away.

17 Weeks ago I found out that my earlier pregnancy complications were gone. We also found out we were having a BOY!

7 Weeks ago we decided to name our baby Jacob Ian.

3 Weeks ago I finished Jacob's room.

1 Week ago I went into labor and was given medication to have it stopped.

Now today I'm 37 weeks along, and was told at my OB appointment that the baby would be safe if he came now. So I am sitting here thinking about how FAST the last 37 weeks went by! I am am also thinking about how scared I am for the delivery. I'm sure everything will be fine, but I'm still scared....... On the other hand I cant wait to meet my little baby! Wow, I have a lot of things running though my mind!

Happy B-day Brian!!!!!

Yesterday was Brian's birthday! He ended up working ALL day, so it probably wasn't that exciting of a day for him. He told me mid-day that it was his 27th best birthday (he turned 27). He had a smile on his face when he said it, so I think he was just kidding. He probably thought of that line weeks ago and saved it for his birthday ;). I'm a year and a half older than Brian, so right now he is 27 and I'm 28. That doesn't seem too bad, but in a few short months I'll be 29 and he will still be 27. I keep trying to tell him that because I'm older, I'm also wiser, so he needs to listen to everything I say. He doesn't see eye to eye with me on that.... go figure!

Happy Birthday babe!

Made my day....

So how do you make a pregnant woman's day? You tell her (upon entering the local grocery store) that the ice cream freezer is down and they are giving away FREE ice cream!

So my day was totally made yesterday, when Keith and Donna Bigler, Brian, Eric and I all walked to the store to get Eric a piece of gum. We all left with at least one ice cream product in our hands. I got a gallon of chocolate ice cream and a package of Strawberry Shortcake Skinny Cow sandwiches. I was on cloud nine.

At the moment I'm trying to decide if it would be right or wrong to have ice cream for breakfast!

Swollen :(

So, here are pictures of my not so cute hands and feet. I'm not sure if the pictures do them justice, but they are quite swollen. The only thing that really bugs me about it, is that I cant fit my wedding ring on my finger! See how my finger has a permanent indention in it where my ring should be? I miss wearing it..... It wont be long though. I cant believe I will be 34 weeks tomorrow!!!

Callie's Pig

Callie is doing a pig for 4-H this year! She has been wanting to do one for a few year's now. So, after much waiting, she is finally getting to experience the joys of stepping in pig poop, remembering feeding times, and all the other smells and fun things that come along with having a pig. Luckily, she seem to be enjoying all of it. Tyler and Eric are also having fun with the pig. Tyler loves to get in the pin and help her feed it. While, Eric and I watch all the action from the car. Callie named her pig "Hammy" (Hammy is a boy pig). If all continues to go well, Tyler will do a pig next year when he meets the age requirement. He is quite excited about that!

Teamwork

Life would be SWEET if Callie and Tyler always worked this well together! I'm writing this on the hilt of having listened to them bicker at each other all morning while completing a job I've had them work on. Its crazy how they will be best friends one minute and then want to scratch each other's eyes out the next! I remember being like that with my siblings through and we made it though childhood with our vision intact.... As a parent, I'm sure their bickering is harder on me than them. I love it when they get along.....

Callie's 12th B-day

Callie, Emma and Jennifer showing off their new socks

I cant believe that I've been a mom for over 12 years now! It has gone by so fast!!! I really am so thankful to have Callie in my life. She is a good girl, and tries hard to do whats right. I feel like I'm a better person because of her.

On her Birth Day we had some family come over for a late lunch and cheesecake (Callie's favorite). She even put her own candles on her cake (nice job Callie). That night her friends, Emma and Jennifer came over to stay the night. The next day I took them to Show Low to get their toes painted, then we ate pizza, went bowling, and topped the trip off with ice cream.

I hope you had a fun day Callie, Happy B-day.... I love you so much!

Happy 60th DAD!

For my Dad's 60th b-day we all met at a park in Payson, which is a good halfway mark for my siblings (some came from the Mesa area, and some from Cottonwood). Anyway, we met and had a little picnic. It was so fun to see everyone.

I hope you had a good time dad.... Happy Birth day!!!!

Landscaping

This summer we are doing some landscaping!!! For the past couple of weeks Brian has been working on our sprinkler system. Hip hip hurray!

I cant wait to run around on soft green grass without any shoes on (sigh). It will also be so nice to have a dirt free place for our kids to play (sigh again).

We originally got a quote to have our yard landscaped by a company out of Pinetop. It would have been around $13,000.00 to sit back and have some one else make our yard look beautiful. Needless to say we decided to go the cheaper rout and do it our selves. Although, we couldn't have done it without the help of Nathan Western, who has spent much of his free time here helping us out. He has been so great. Next year we hope to add some trees and planters to our yard. We don't want to get in over our heads financially, so we plan to do it little by little.

Happy B-Day ERIC!!!!

I cant believe Eric is TWO! He is getting big way to fast. To celebrate his birthday, we decided to go to the Zoo. Eric was so excited to go see all the animals. After that, we went to Chucky Cheeses, which turned out to be the highlight of his day. He LOVED Chucky, and still talkes about him. We will have take him there again soon....
Eric we love you so much. You bring so much joy to our lives with all the fun things you do! Happy birthday!

Chicken Dinner Anyone?

A few months ago the Sister Missionaries told my sister that they wanted to butcher some chickens..... So my sister arranged for it to happen. When we got wind of it, we decided that it was something we'd like to see. One of the sisters said she was going to save the feet, paint its toenails and make a necklace for their Mission Presidents wife (who HATES chickens). They were really funny girls. We had a blast hanging out with them for for a few hours. I guess the next day (which was a Sunday) my sister cooked the chickens for dinner and the missionaries came back over to eat them... YUM YUM!

Tyler decided that he wanted to butcher a chicken also...... He did a good job. Its good to know that someone in our family has acquired this skill.... If we ever have to revert to living off the land, Tyler will be our official chicken killer!

Blue Eyed Boy

I love this picture of Eric.... He has such great eyes :)

Easter 2009 Pictures

I took these pictures of the kids Easter afternoon, right after church. They were each sporting a new Sunday outfit. After I took their pictures, I ran inside to finish making dinner. We had quite the group for dinner, which included a big portion of my family and also Brian's mom. We all had a really great time!

Easter 2009

Here we are decorating EASTER EGGS!!! We did it the Monday before Easter for FHE. I manned the camera while everyone dipped, colored and tried not to break the eggs. A few eggs were broke.... but it was a small price to pay for a good time!

Update time!!!

I feel so bad that I took such a long vacation from blogging! I'm going to do my very best to get caught up this weekend.

So many things have been going on in our lives. First, I'll start with a pregnancy update. I am 32 weeks along!!!! I cant believe that in just a few short weeks we will be meeting this little guy. Its weird because on one hand I can hardly wait to be on the other end of my pregnancy, while on the other, I wouldn't mind being pregnant for another 6 months (and its not because I love all the discomforts of pregnancy)!!! I'm just a little apprehensive about the EXIT. I'm also nervous about what life with a new little baby will be like. I'm sure it will be wonderful to have a new baby around..... but will I do a good job with everything? Will I be able to balance a newborn with all the other things I'm responsible for? (I worry about this stuff a lot in the middle of the night).
As for the pregnancy, everything is going really good. I had a few problems in the beginning, but thankfully they seem to have been resolved. I still have a lot of contractions, but I'm beginning to think that these contractions are normal for me. They don't seem to be doing anything though, so I'm not that worried about them. When they get extra bad I try to lay down for awhile.
I'm also seeing a Endocrine Doctor for my pituitary glan. I have a little tiny tumor on it called a micro adnomia. I've had it for the past 7 1/2 years (that I know of) and its never been that big of a deal, other than causing minor hormone problems. I guess that these type of tumors can be a little unpredictable during pregnancy though, so its needs to be monitored a little closer. If it grows I will have to start taking medicine to shrink it right after I have my baby, which would keep me from being able to nurse. If it doesn't grow, I'll be able to nurse for the first two weeks, then I'll have to get an MRI to see how nursing is affecting it. If it still hasn't changed, I can keep nursing.... I really, really hope I can!

We have also picked out a name for our little guy....... We are going to name him Jacob Ian. It feels so good to have a name for him. I love how Eric refers to him as "baby Jake". Brian (being his sarcastic self) says he might change is name when he blesses him. I cant imagine him really doing it, but it is kind of funny to hear him joke around about it!

P.S. Donna showed these links to me. They are funny songs by Hillary Weeks. I LOVE her!!!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lvQ0Sj6Qm_Y&feature=related

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ewmy_8AKkZw&feature=player_embedded

Tyler's race pictures

Here are some more pictures from Tyler's race......

The BIG Race

Tyler's Pinewood Derby race was on Tuesday. We were given his car kit about a month ago, and he was so excited to make his car. Unfortunately I am a BIG procrastinator, so we didn't start working on his car until the Saturday before the race. I'm sure the car would have been better if we would have put more time into it, but considering the amount of time we did put into it, I think we did a good job. Tyler picked out how we were going to cut and paint the car, and with a little help from Grandma and Grandpa Bigler we were able to put it all together.

Tyler had a blast at the race, and his car did REALLY good. He took second in speed. It was wonderful to see him light up each time his car won a race. I was also proud of the fact that he had a good attitude when is car didn't win.

GOOD JOB TYLER!!!

Amazing

I was just looking for something online and I came across this picture. Its of a 21 week gestation baby. He is having surgery while still in the womb to correct a spinal problem. It was a little extra touching to me because I am 21 weeks along. I guess during surgery the tiny little baby reached his hand out and grabbed onto the surgeons finger. Isn't it so amazing that his little hand is so perfect that early in pregnancy? I posted the link below, just so if anyone would like to read the story behind the picture.

http://images.google.com/imgres?imgurl=http://www2.focusonthefamily.com/images/CMS/317857.jpg&imgrefurl=http://www2.focusonthefamily.com/docstudy/newsletters/A000000792.cfm&usg=__3-Ol6vwfz2TZa8KrGOxIQecmyNE=&h=250&w=275&sz=16&hl=en&start=3&sig2=U8Frpk_EShnTp5ad_r28FA&tbnid=7fh94pUhrQCpOM:&tbnh=104&tbnw=114&prev=/images%3Fq%3Dbaby%2Bboy%2Brooms%26gbv%3D2%26hl%3Den%26sa%3DG&ei=IsbLSebcLIm0sAPumvi6Bg

Holy WIND!

It is such a windy day! I would rather it be windy any day of the week besides Sunday.... and today is, Sunday. Walking into the church building, Callie and I were holding our skirts down, hoping they wouldn't fly up, and luckily they didn't. The way out was much the same, only a bit different because as we let go to open the car doors POOF up they flew. Not only the front or back, but the whole thing! This happened simultaneously, and we both flew into the car, booth horrified and laughing at the same time! Luckily, we were the only ones outside because we left a little early (Callie had a headache). Unluckily, there was only one person sitting in foyer by the window who could have seen the whole thing. I wont mention any names (just in case HE didn't see)!!

To my Dad

Yesterday I went to Snowflake and spent the afternoon canning with my Dad. My dad loves to cook and can and spend time in the kitchen. I love this about him. On my way home I started thinking about how well rounded he is. Some of the things he loves to do include: gardening, building things, working on his year supply, hunting, fishing, hashing politics, traveling, and cooking (he can even make bread). These are only a few of the things he does regularly. I love that he is interested in all of these things because I know that I can go to him for help and advice. I also know that he would do anything within his realm of possibilities to help me.

When I was a kid one of my favorite things was to spend time with my Dad. Fortunately for me he was patient enough to let me tag along to many of the places he would go. I especially loved to go with him to work (he had a drywall business when I was young). He was always so willing to listen to me talk and talk and talk.... Now that I am a parent I truly appreciate all the patients he showed toward me when I was a kid and also now that I'm an adult.

I'm so happy that I got to spend some time with him yesterday. It seems like time is flying by so fast right now that I don't get to spend nearly enough time with the people I love. Thanks Dad for your help yesterday! I love you!

Brian's new BIKE

After my ultrasound on Tuesday, Brian and I stopped to look at bikes. (Brian used my bike a lot last year, so he thought it would be nice to have his own.) We must be really BIG suckers or something, because we not only ended up buying him a bike, but Eric got a trailer too! It was really cute to listen to Eric tell everyone, "I have a trailer". I'm really excited we got it too, because now he can come along with us when we ride. Also, there are two seats in it! This will be convenient because in no time at all we will have another little one to take along. Callie and Tyler are also happy we got it because now we will be able to ride as family.

We had to pick Brian's bike up the next day because they needed to tune it up, and he thought it would be cool to ride it home from Show Low..... I wish I could have recorded him talking about how excited he was to do this. He even went as far as to say he was going to ride his bike to Utah to see Brett and Deni this summer! I cant help but laugh when he says things like this, because I don't think he has a clue how hard that would be! Well I guess when he was saying it he didn't have a clue, but now he does..... After he was done with work the next day, I took him to Show Low and dropped him off. I don't think he left the shop until around 5:00, because they were still doing some work on his bike. Then I went to Walmart to do a little shopping. After that, I went to Jack in the Box and got him one of his favorite things: tacos, 6 of them, and just before I caught up to him at around 6:45pm I stopped and rolled all the taco rappers into our car windows. Then, as I reached him I slowed down and took a big bite of a taco. Now, you have to understand that by this time, he had been riding for 1 hr and 45 min.... He was almost half way home and he was cold and tired. He seriously gave me the funniest look I had ever seen! Then he made me pull over so he could eat the rest of the tacos (he LOVES Jack in the Box tacos). I offered to take him home, but he refused because he had already bragged to his class about riding home. About an hour later though, he called me because it got so dark that the car lights on the road were blinding him. Keith Bigler was the hero of the night because he took us in his truck to pick Brian up. Brian's bike computer said he rode 27 miles in 3 hours. Which is good considering that it was his first ride, he had to go up tons of hills, and part of it was in the dark. He hasn't talked about riding to Utah anymore though!!!

Brian after the BIG ride

Big NEWS!!!!

Okay, so today was a big day...... It was actually a very anticipated day by everyone in our little family. It was a day that we knew would give us insight into how we will need to prepare for our future. It was the day we found out that we will be having a......

~BOY~

Happy St. Patrick's Day

This year Tyler's teacher, Mrs. Elsworth has rallied her kids into getting excited about St. Patrick's Day. For the past few days, Tyler has been talking about little else. So before I went to bed last night, I messed up the kitchen, turning chairs and other things over. Then, I put green sprinkles all over the counter tops. His reaction to all this was really funny. He was the first one to go into the kitchen, and when he saw it he freaked out! To say the least, he was a very excited little boy all morning... saying "do you believe in Leprechauns now?".......

Well do you? I'm not sure if I do, but I have always loved St. Patrick's Day. But then again I love all the Holidays around this time of the year. I'm sure that Valentines Day, St. Patrick's Day and Easter will always turn me back into a little kid.

Happy St. Patrick's Day!!!!

Elder Yoshihiko Kikuchi

This weekend we had the privilege of having Elder Kikuchi come for our stake conference. He is such a great man. I truly loved listing to him speak. All the other speakers did really well also. I cant remember the last church meeting that I enjoyed as much as the two conference meetings I was able to attend this weekend. (Not that I'm saying I don't enjoy most meetings).

Its funny to say that I was actually dreading this conference, because on Wednesday night we were asked to say the prayers for the Saturday night adult meeting. This may sound silly but the thought of praying in front of all the adults, made me really scared. So ironically the time between Wednesday and Saturday flew by, and before I knew it I was walking into the Taylor Stake Center. Before the meeting started, Elder Kikuchi walked around to shake hands with some of the people. When he got to us, he first talked to my Brother-in-law, Cory (who was sitting by us). This was how their conversation went:

Elder Kikuchi: "Are you from Hawaii"?

Cory: "No".

Elder Kikuchi: "Are you Samoan".

Cory: "No".

Elder Kikuchi: "Are you from China".

Cory: "No".

Elder Kikuchi: "Then what are you".

Cory: "Indian".

Elder Kikuchi: "Are you Navajo".

Cory: "Yes".

Elder Kikuchi: "Well then I will say to you the only Indian word I know, Yat-ta-hay"!

And then he proceeded to tell us that "konnichiwa" means "hi" in Japanese. After that he shook our hands and moved on to the next row. I'm so glad we were able to have that funny experience with him.

The meeting that fallowed was amazing. I felt the spirit so strong as I listened to each of the speakers talk. I think that the fact that I was going to be praying at the end of the meeting helped me to listen more carefully..... I particularly enjoyed listening to Elder Kikuchi speak. He said some really funny things like, "If you want to be more romantic, you need to eat more rice".... He also said some serious things, but when he started talking about the life of Christ and the atonement, he spoke as an apostle of God, and it touched me so deeply.

He was the last speaker, so at the end of his talk he asked if he could change the song to, As I Have Loved You (that may not be to correct name of the song). He also asked who was saying the closing prayer. I kind of raised my hand, and others around me pointed my way. He then asked me to come up there so I could be ready. This really embarrassed me, and played a key roll in me not remembering anything I said in the prayer. I learned during conference the next day, that he must do that quite often because he did it to the poor girl who said the closing prayer.

Stake Conference was really good also. Toward the end of Elder Kikuchi's talk, he told of his conversion story and even now when I think of it I get goosebumps.

Our Weekend

About a week ago Brian and I watched the movie, "Taken"... It is one of those movies where you are on the edge of your seat the whole time. I actually need to use the bathroom about ten minutes into the movie, but I held it until the movie was over, because I didn't want to miss anything. (In my pregnant state, that is big for me :)) So, it was really good... but scary too, because I know that that people are taken for the very purpose portrayed in the movie. In fact on the same note, I recently learned that Phoenix has the 2 most kidnappings in the US. So, between watching the movie and learning this, I feel a strong need to be a little more protective of my children.


Anyway, to get to my point..... Callie was invited to go snowboarding with a friend on Saturday, which meant I needed to take her to her friends house at 6:30 am. Well, 6:00 rolls around and I couldn't hear her getting ready. (Callie is really good about getting up on her own.... she's definitely a morning person.) So, I get up and go to her room, turn on the light and.... no Callie. Sometimes she will go sleep by Tyler, so I looked in his room..... again, no Callie. I quickly look through all the rooms upstairs without finding her. That's when I notice a light on down stairs, so I figure she is down there. I walk through all those rooms, and find no sign of her. So I run up stairs, completely freaked out. I wake up Brian and explain to him how I cant find her. He asks if her snowboard and gear is still here, I say "yes its in her room". He jumps up and runs back toward her room, and I decide to look downstairs again............ Lets just say I felt dumb when I found her asleep on a couch that I had walked past 2 minutes before! I woke her up, and she said she had set the alarm on my phone, but it must not have gone off... I still feel a little dumb for that one. But for a minute I was scared out of my mind not knowing what to do. I feel so bad for all those parents who have experienced that kind of fear without finding their child two minutes later.


Now for the rest of our weekend. At noon on Saturday we went to a b-day party for Brian's nephew. It was fun to get out of the house and visit with other people for a while. I even tried my first ever hot dogless hot dog. They had hot dogs at the party and I didn't think my preggo tummy could handle one, but I was starving.... So I had a bun with everything on it but the hot dog. It would not be my food of choice, but it wasn't too bad!


After the party we went home and Eric and I took a nap. I got up before Eric did so I hung out with Tyler for a while. He and I decided that we needed to do something fun that night, so after we picked up Callie from her friends, we went to Pizza Time for pizza, then we rented a movie that we could all watch together. Tyler was the only one who ended up staying up for the whole movie. Callie, Eric and I fell asleep, and Brian got distracted doing something else. Good job Tyler for staying up!!!


On Sunday I was released form my scout calling... Which is a little sad because I really did like working with the boys in my group. But it was a blessing also because its really hard to do... because it conflicts with my babysitting. It was also hard at the beginning of my pregnancy and I'm sure it would have been hard at the end. After being released for that calling I was called to be the enrichment leader. I'm sure I'll enjoy doing that because I had that calling a few years ago when I lived in Snowflake. Brian and I still teach in the Primary also. So I'm sure we will still be as busy as ever.


Sunday night Keith and Donna Bigler along with Taya (Jessica's little girl) came over. We were all happy to see/visit with them. Eric loves Taya, so anytime she is around life is great for him. Donna brought us some really yummy cinnamon rolls too. They are soooo good. She takes such good care of us!

Yummy!

My brother, Sam also came over and ate a late dinner at our house Sunday night, and then stayed the night. It is so nice when he is passing though and can spend some time with us.



Monday morning: Callie, Tyler and Eric all ready to face another week!

ONE YEAR... WOW!!!

Last weekend was our anniversary.... I cant believe that a whole year has already passed! I guess that's a good sign right? I'll take it as one.... Because all in all it really was a good year. It was a little tough for all of us at times to get adjusted to our new life. But I'm happy that we were all willing to do our best and make it work out. For our anniversary we went on a weekend trip to Las Vegas. Brian had never been there so we had fun checking everything out. Although we had a good time, it was kind of sad also.... just seeing how so many people there are lost, and stuck in a pattern of making really bad choices, made me grateful for the life I have. With that in mind, I'm going to list some of my favorite things about the past year.


1. Student teaching at the same time as Brian. That was great because we taught the same grade and it gave us a lot to talk about!
2. Graduating from college.... I had fun walking, knowing that I wouldn't have to drive to Snowflake to student teach any more. It also was big for me because I knew I completed something I had worked really hard for.
3. Our trip to New York. It was such a spontaneous trip. We planned the trip two days before we left.
4. Riding my bike around Heber (with and without the kids). I think Heber is so beautiful, I loved riding around, checking everything out. I'm looking forward to being able to ride again after I have my baby.
5. Planting a garden. Last year was my first real garden. It didn't turn out as well as I thought it would, but I'm looking forward to improving it this year!
6. Watching Callie and Tyler make new friends here in Heber. I know they were kind of worried about leaving their friends back in Snowflake.... So it has been so great to have them make new friends here.
7. Making new friends myself.... I've loved all the new people I've met here and new friendships I've gained.
8. Watching Brian start out his first year of teaching and seeing how much he loves it!
9. Finding out that I'm pregnant.
10. Finally getting over the morning sickness!!!
11. (This really is number one) Tyler's baptism. It was so special to watch him take the first step in his life long journey of getting back to our Heavenly Father. It makes me feel so peaceful every time I think about it.


I really have had a good year. There where so many other good things about it that I didn't list.... I'm so grateful for Brian, and the good person he is. I'm grateful for Callie, Tyler and Eric; and that I get to be their mom. I love them all so much. I'm grateful for all the people that support and love us. Life is Good!!!

Blue and Gold Banquet

Last week was the Blue and Gold Banquet. Tyler was especially excited about it because he had been working extra hard to pass off some requirements. For every three requirements they pass off they get a yellow bead. He had six done so he was able to get two beads to wear on his shirt. Tyler is such a good little scout. He is blasting through his book and will be done with his wolf in no time!

Dinner and a Show

A few weeks ago we had some friends, along with the missionaries come over for dinner. After we ate, one of the elders played us a song. Eric left in the middle of it and came back with his own little instrument. It was so funny how he remembered that he had something that resembled what the Elder was playing, and made sure he was in on the action too.

As you can see from this picture, Paula and Tyler got a little crazy with the chocolate. Yum....

Crazy Kids

A few weeks ago I was doing the dishes, and listening to Eric and his buddy Coltin play, when I hear Eric calling for me. So I fallow his voice to the other side of the counter to find them in their own little self made jails. They were both pretty proud of themselves until they wanted to get out!!!

Party, Party, Party

My brother, Jason with Callie and Tyler

Tyler caught the only fish. Lucky guy!

Callie and Tyler both said that they want to have a lazier tag party next year! I wish we had a place to play it closer to where we live....


On February 7th we went to TWO Birthday parties. They were both in the Mesa/Chandler area. We were going to go as a family, but Eric ended up getting sick, and Brian volunteered to stay home with him. The first party we went to was for my friend, Paula's husband. She arranged for a surprise lazier tag party for him. It was exciting for Callie and Tyler because they had never played it. After that we went to a party for my nephew, Zann. He turned a whopping 4 years old. His party was a fishing one, and we LOVE to go fishing, so we had a great time there also. I feel bad that I didn't get a shot of either of the B-day boys. I wasn't feeling well during that trip, so I had a hard time thinking strait!

NEW BABY

On February 6 my sis-n-law Brandi Yarn had a little boy. They named him Madden. I got to go see him and snap a few pictures while they were in the hospital. I cant believe that in a few short months I'll be there with my new baby! WOW!!!

Christmas Day

All the Starkes grandkids doing a kids gift exchange. They always have one for the kids and one for the adults.

My parents, also at my sisters

Callie, after her little cousin Maddlyn gave her a makeover at my sister Maria's house.

Opening presents at Grandpa and Grandma Biglers house.

Christmas Morning -note: pictures are in reverse order

Christmas day was great. We spent most of the morning at home opening presents, visiting and eating a big breakfast. Then we went to the Biglers house.... It was really fun to see everyone there, and really kind of them to get us all gifts.

From the Biglers house we drove to Taylor to have lunch with my family. It was also nice to see, and visit with everyone there. I love it when we get a chance to spend time with my family. Sometimes it seems like there is 500 miles between Heber and Snowflake/Taylor, rather that 30......

From my sisters house we went back to Heber for a party at Brian's brother Brandon's house. He made us a really yummy dinner. Which was almost torture considering the fact that we had already eaten two big meals. I did my duty though and stuffed myself until I thought I was going to die! And, again we had a good time visiting exchanging gifts and enjoying each others company.

What a day! I cant believe I survived it. As crazy as it was I loved every min. of it, and cant wait until next year.

Today

Today I obviously took a break from updating my blog... But I do want to ramble for a bit about things that actually happened today.....
Today was spring picture day at the intermediate school (the school Brian teaches at) so I decided to take Eric over there so he can have a picture that matches Callie and Tyler's. We didn't go to the school until about 10:30, so as we were getting ready, I had him practice his "cheese face" quite a few times. He loves saying CHEESE, and has such a great smile he is nearly always willing to flash for the camera. I say "nearly" because he decided after we got to the school that he was done smiling on demand, and therefore we only got a half smile picture. It was still cute though....
Callie got her picture taken today also. She looked really cute, sporting a curly hair do. Callie has such great hair. It will do just about anything I want it to do.... Lucky girl.
Tyler's school pictures will be next week, which means he will need a hair cut.... I'm excited though, I cant wait to see how they all turn out.
Today was also scouts. We made bird houses, which turned out good except for the fact that I totally underestimated how long they would take to make, so Tyler's isn't quite finished....... Hopefully we will be able to finish it tomorrow. He had a good time though, and is anxiously waiting to start working on his car for the Pinewood Derby.
As scouts was wrapping up Donna (Grandma) called with really great news..... 1. She has another grandson on the way (Jessica is having a boy). & 2. She made us dinner!!!!! It was so yummy!!!
So.... we had a good day! Sorry if this post was boring. Its just nice to ramble sometimes!

Christmas Eve

We had a lot of fun things going on Christmas eve. Callie, Tyler and Eric had a good time decorating a log house that Grandma Bigler made for us. I had fun teasing Callie though, because she decided to paint the whole "log" house with frosting. Then Grandpa Bigler, I mean Santa came over for a visit. He makes such a good Santa... All the kids love him. After visiting with our kids, Santa took Brian to go visit other families. Brian said they had a lot of fun. Then it was off to bed, to rest up for the big day...... Well the kids got logs of rest, Brian and I stayed up late getting everything ready. Then at around 11:00 my brother Sam came over to stay the night at our house. We had fun visiting with him for a while before we went to bed.

Grandma Starkes

We love it when Grandma Starkes gets a chance to stop by. Here is a picture of Eric having fun with her.

TWO heads are better than ONE

The week before Christmas, Eric and his little buddy Coltin decided to put their heads together and find something a little funner to do with the baby formula, rather than use it to just make bottles. Lets just say that their opinion on whether or not they came up with a good alternative was a little different than mine!!! AHHHH!

Grandma Eighmey

In mid December we went to Phoenix for the sweetest surprise party I have ever attended. It was for Brian's grandma Eighmey. She was so sweet, she cried when she came home from church to find all her children, grandchildren, and great grandchildren in her home. I know she was so grateful to have us all there. It showed me how important family really is. She said having all her family together made her year.

Decorating the TREE!!!

(I think Eric had the most fun decorating the tree. He would put things on and then take them off and put them back on all over again....)

Here is a few pictures of us decorating our TREE!!! It was so fun to put it up. I cant believe that three months has past since we did that..... I feel bad that I got so behind on our blog, so I'm going to try to get caught up today. Sorry that I have to back track so much!!!

P.S. I guess the pictures of the kids I babysit were taken a few days after we decorated it.

Eric, Eric, ERIC!!!

Last Thursday was a crazy day for me. Right when it seemed like I couldn't do anything right, I went to take Eric out of his chair and I noticed his hands were a little dirty. Which was odd because since it was the first thing I noticed when I went to take him out, I definitely wouldn't have missed it when I put him in. Anyway, I noticed that whatever it was, was also wiped on his shirt and pants. So, I did the mom test and smelled his hand. Yuck! It was POOP! So, of course I got sick while I cleaned him up. Some how the poop seemed way worse with me knowing that Eric had eaten with poop on his hands, and when I smelled his hands they touched my lips!!!!

Tyler's Hunting Trip

Last week My dad and brother took Tyler camping/hunting. They went somewhere around Thatcher. Tyler had a blast, and came home dirty, dirty, dirty! Thanks Dad and Sam for taking him.... He is now anxiously waiting the next trip :).

P.S. I'm sorry I having posted anything for a LONG time. I haven't stopped taking pictures though, so I will try to play catch up later.

P.S.S I'm pregnant! I'm due on August 9th, which makes me 9 weeks today. We are very excited to add another little boy or girl to our family.

Uncle Sam

Okay, I am advertising my little brother on the Internet! (Don't get mad Sam... Its for your own good!) I was wondering if any of you know any good girls to set him up with??? Sam is going to be 24 tomorrow. He's going to school to be an industrial electrician, and only has one year left. He is a really good uncle (my kids adore him). He's also an amazing brother and friend. He's really, really good looking +++. If you cant tell form the pictures, one of his best features is his really great dark skin and hair. He is fun to hang out with too. He loves the outdoors, hunting, hiking, camping and fishing...... I'm not advertising him because he's desperate.... I'm just looking forward to gaining a new sister in law, and seeing him move on with his life. Sorry I don't have more updated pictures. These were taken over the summer, when he stopped by my house to show me his new toy. Leave me a comment if you know anyone...

Bath time

The other day I asked Brian to give Eric a Bath..... I'm not sure who had more fun.

O-no Dad! You put too many bubbles on my head!

All gone!

What I wont post a picture of, is Brian in the tub with Eric, getting major pay back as Eric dumped water all over him!

Pack Meeting

Last night Tyler had a pack meeting. He, along with the rest of the boys in his group, got their Bobcat award, played a few games and had lots of fun. My favorite game (to watch) that they played was one where they rolled a little summer squash across the room with their noses. All the adults laughed really hard during this! It was also neat to watch him get his award. Brian along with Jed Reidhead held Tyler upside down, while I pinned his award to his shirt right side up. Then when he stood up it was upside down! Everyone counted while I pinned, and the scout master said that however many seconds it took was how many good deeds he would have to do for me. I GET 12 good deeds!!! YES!!! Remember Tyler, you cant wear your pin right side up until you do the good deeds :).

Last of the Halloween pictures!!!

These are the last of our Halloween pictures. I just had to post them because they are so cute. Tyler made the pumpkin at school (and I loved having it sitting in my kitchen) but because its nearly Thanksgiving, I decided it was time for it to go. I just had to get a picture of it before it took the long walk. Good job Tyler! The pictures of Eric are of him in a costume Donna Bigler (Grandma) made for Ben (Uncle Ben that is) when he was Eric's age. That was at least 26 years ago! It has seen quite a few Halloweens since then, I'm sure. Thanks Grandma for letting us use it.

Bathroom

Painting Continued

Sorry about the last post. You see, I really do like painting.... Well, I only like the first part of painting. You know, when you can see the project in your head, and even paint one wall, and it makes the wall look so clean (sigh). What I don't like is when a project gets started, and then left for another day to finish. When I made that last post I was about to FINISH the bathroom painting project that I started weeks before. Now I am happy to report that its done and I'm happy with the results.

Painting

I just decided that I hate painting. That's all I have to say.
P.S. Did I mention that I hate painting?

First SNOW

Last night we got the first snow of the year. It started snowing just before we went to bed, so Callie and Tyler were excited to wake up to a thin layer of snow on the ground. We had fun playing in it for a bit before we ate breakfast. CRAZY TYLER DIDN'T WANT TO COME IN FOR BREAKFAST! He was willing to play outside until it was time to leave, without eating. Callie and Tyler had a little show ball fight, while Eric stood marveling at how different everything was. He is such an observant little boy. I wish I could have read his thoughts when he saw all the white stuff! It feels so cozy in our house, with snow on the ground, and a warm fire going. I feel like making soup and warm bread for dinner, while listening to Christmas music! In reality though, all the snow will be melted by the time the day is over. Oh well, I will look forward to more snows this winter, and hopefully a WHITE CHRISTMAS!!!

Great Escape

Nicloe, Me, Marinda, LeAnna, Shawna, Tiffani, and Sara

I had SO much fun this weekend! I got to hang out with some of the coolest girls ever! On Friday we went to the valley to do some shopping, then on Saturday we went to "Time out for Women and Girls". Friday night we ate at Texas Roadhouse, which was great because I had never eaten there. That night we stayed up late visiting, even after the front desk attendant called at 1:00 am to tell us we were being to loud. Time out on Saturday was AMAZING! It was the first one I had ever been to, and it definitely wont be the last. The speakers, and musicians were charming, motivational, and extremely talented. I left with a new dedication to be a better wife, mother, and daughter. For lunch that day we ate at TGIFridays (the one at the D-Backs stadium), which was also a first for me. Brian sent me off with some extra money to buy some clothes (thanks babe). He also watched Callie, Tyler, and Eric while I was gone (double thanks). I can not express how grateful I am that I was able to go to this conference, and even more, that I was able to spend time with such great people. Thank you Tiff for inviting me to go, I give you a standing ovation :).

Starkes family Rock Band

Thursday night Brian rented Rock Band. Callie and Tyler had fun playing it, when they were able to pry it away from Brian. It was hilarious to watch Brian jam out while he played! He is such a big kid....

Pizza and a cut!

On Thursday I gave Eric a hair cut.... Towards the end of it he started getting really restless, so I gave him a piece of pizza to eat while I finished up. It was a bit tricky to keep hair from getting in it :).

HAT fun

Uncle Mike left his hat in our car a few weeks ago, so we've been having a lot of fun with it. Doesn't E-Man the He-Man look so cute?

I Voted

I cant believe its election day! This time tomorrow we will have a new president. Its kinda scary to think that one person can have such a big impact on shaping our future. It will be interesting to see who it will be. I'm a little afraid to be honest.
It will also be interesting to see what happens with proposition 102 and other issues being voted on. I hope and pray everything turns out okay.

More Halloween

Brian's mom, Jackie was the Ketchup, she looked so cute. It was fun to eat at the Red Onion and see the girls there get all dressed up!
You better watch out Grandma, Tyler might suck your ketchup, I mean your blood!

Tyler got to be the Jester for his classes Halloween party. To entertain his class, his teacher let him do some magic tricks. It was really cool! Good job Tyler!!!

Halloween

Callie: Cave Woman

Tyler: Vampire

Eric: Frankenstein

See how excited Brian is!

Callie and Emma

We had a fun Halloween! Our kids had a blast dressing up. Eric was going to be a cute little pumpkin, but had a hard time keeping his costume on, so we did something else for him the last minute. Callie and her friend Emma wore matching costumes, which turned out so cute. Tyler had fun with his costume; we ate dinner at the Red Onion, and he ordered everything with extra "blood" (catchup). Brian's mom and some of the other girls at the Red Onion dressed up too. They looked really good. I cant believe Halloween is over and we are on to November!

Sleepy

A few days ago Eric was being a little crabby, and spent a lot of the morning crying. I put him down so I could do something really quick, after just a minute he got really quiet, and I found him asleep. He's so sweet!

Our little nursery boy

This is Eric's "cheese face" that he makes when we tell him to say "CHEESE"!

Tyler made Eric laugh so hard just before I took this picture. I
love watching Callie and Tyler play with him!

I love these three boys!

Eric's a nursery boy now! Sunday the 26th of October marked his 18 month. He went to church looking like quite the little man, wearing his white shirt and tie, while at the same time sporting his pacifier clipped to his tie. He ended up sleeping for about 45 minutes of his new class, but was a good boy and had a lot of fun!

8 BOYS

About a week ago we had seven extra kids at our house. They were ALL boys, so with Eric (Tyler was at school) we had eight boys!!! Callie says I need to find a few girls to watch. Sorry Callie, I think our house only attracts boys!

Eric

Eric is quite the diligent worker! He might just have a career in wood hauling. He could move wood from one pile to another, and then back again for hours. (Well maybe not hours, but for quite a while.)

Family Night

For family night we decorated a "haunted house" that grandma and grandpa Bigler gave to us. My sisters little girls were at our house, so it was fun to have them help out. As you can see Eric thought the BLACK frosting tasted really good! Thanks grandma and grandpa:). We had fun!!!

Lawnmower Fun

The kids have so much fun with Grandma and Grandpa Bigler. But then again, Grandma and Grandpa Bigler always make the time they spend together fun. It makes me feel so good that Keith and Donna treat Callie and Tyler so good. Callie, Tyler and Eric are very lucky kids!!!!

Halloweens of the past

I dedicate this post to all of the past Halloweens, and look froward to future ones! I am so excited to have Brian and Eric be part our future Halloweens :). It will be fun to dress Eric up this year!!! We are all excited to enter into a new season. The weather is starting to cool down, and I keep finding myself looking past Halloween, and into Christmas!!! I LOVE this time of the year.

Wacky HAIR day

This is Callie all ready for school on wacky hair day. I teased it all up and put about a bottle of hairspray in it to make it stay.... and then spent the whole morning laughing at her, because she looked so silly. She said it was fun to sport her new hair do at school, and that she got a lot of funny looks and complements. Callie literally got to have a "big head" for a day!

Eric + Vapor rub =

A few days ago I was doing a little house work when I started smelling something really strong (like vapor rub). So I fallowed the smell up the stairs, down the hall and into the bathroom, where Eric was rubbing baby vapor rub all over his hair! I stood there watching him for a minute before I went off to get the camera... He was literally digging out handfuls of the stuff and rubbing it into his hair, and then going for more. It wasn’t quite so funny when I realized how hard it was to get out. I washed his hair about ten times with his soap, and at least five with real shampoo. Then I drained the tub, wiped out the grease, and washed him with dish soap, then with his soap again. His hair still looked wet when it dried (from all the grease). The next morning after yet another bath he looked a lot better!

Eric's FIRST sWIm

Okay, I guess this post is old news, but I was looking though some picture CD's and I found one that my cousin gave me with some pictures of us swimming. It was the first time we took Eric. It was fun because we went with a bunch of my cousins who have babies Eric's age. They were all so cute!