Remeber them....

O beautiful for heroes proved
In liberating strife.
Who more than self their country loved
And mercy more than life!

This is my Brother-In-Law, Max who is currently serving our country in Afghanistan.  

On this day as I think of my Grandpa Empey, Grandpa Taylor, and Ben's Grandpa Ray, and Dad and brother who all fought at some point in time for my freedom, I am so grateful for their sacrifice and service they have given to all of us. I am so very grateful for them and for all of the other brave men and women who are fighting for my freedoms.

October greatness:

A couple weekends ago my Mom and I went to a pumpkin patch in Shelley. It is only 2 miles from her house and not very busy. They also have very reasonable prices and have a HUGE selection. This year we learned that all the money earned from the pumpkins goes to the owner's grandson, who was in a bad car accident and is handicap. The owner doesn't seem to benefit at all from this pumpkin patch and puts so much work into making it fun. They always create a haunted forest and decorate a little shed to take pictures in. I admire people who are so unselfish and so giving. I will go there every year they continue to have it!

We had so much fun and got some pretty cute pictures of my sweet kids and our pumpkins: I absolutely LOVE these cute little faces!!!!!

Emily insisted on taking our picture and I think she did a great job! 

Also on Friday I had my 20 week ultrasound...yes the "gender" ultrasound. Luckily our little baby cooperated. We found out that our little banana is healthy, strong, and NOT shy. It is always a relieve to see the baby doing so many things like moving all of it's 10 fingers and 10 toes, moving and drinking, kicking and hitting and most of all in this instance spreading it's legs so we can tell what is between them...BLUE or PINK.

In our case we will be expecting BLUE!!!! I was somewhat shocked, but know that he will be the perfect fit in our family! I am sure Caleb will be excited to play with trains, trucks, and swords with a little brother. Emily is just excited that she gets to stay the ONLY princess and will have yet another brother to boss around. Daddy is excited for another boy to wrestle around with and tease. I am just hoping I survive motherhood with Caleb and this new little man :)....Here are some cute pictures:

Precious little face and tiny nose...

It is definitely a boy... 

 I can't wait to see what this little guy looks like, will he have BLACK BLACK eyelashes, will he have TONS of white, uh blonde hair? Will he have any hair or will he be tall and have blue eyes like Daddy or short and green eyes like mommy??? I guess we'll find out soon enough! 

It is hard to imagine but man, I already love this kid!

We can do hard things!

My mom has always had a great way of saying things! Today she posted this on her blog and I copied it because I could never explain my thoughts like she can. Yesterday my family sat in court for this sweet little girl and it was one of the hardest things I have ever had to listen to, my heart goes out to my sweet sister-in-law.

 

Modified a little from my Mom's blog: 

 

"When angels visit us, we do not hear the rustle of wings, nor feel the feathery touch of the breast of a dove; but we know their presence by the love they create in our hearts. "

 

 

Hannah Isabelle Covington

March 13, 2007 ~ November 26, 2008

Hannah Covington was a beautiful little girl,  with a sweet smile, a head full of blond curls, sparkling blue eyes, and a smile that could melt your heart in a minute. . . Hannah's life was cut short almost two years ago at the hands of a daycare provider. . . doctors and medical experts determined it was shaken baby syndrome.

Her mother, Diana, married my brother last May, so I never had the opportunity to know this beautiful child.  I feel like I know Hannah through the many wonderful stories I've been told, the pictures I've seen, and the videos I've watched.   My heart breaks for her family . . . my family, when I think about the terrible and tragic way that her little life ended.   

Yesterday, I sat in the courtroom and listened to the daycare provider who killed Hannah, plead guilty with an Alford Plea, which means she does not admit to being guilty, but does admit that if the case was presented to a jury, there would more than likely be enough evidence that a jury would find her guilty of Involuntary Manslaughter.   According to the Alford Plea,  she will only have to serve 5 months in a woman's prison.  At the end of her term, if the reports are good, she will be on probation for 5 years.   If she does not comply, or has a bad report, she could serve an additional 3-7 years in prison.   In Idaho, you could do more time for poaching an elk!  I feel like the judicial system failed in this case and let this little family down! 

Yesterday, as I watched Diana and Chris, with family gathered around them, supporting them, praying for them and buoying them up,  I could not help but feel pity for the woman who took Hannah's life.  She chose not to have her family there . . . she wanted to . . . spare them further pain, and . . . wants them to be able to . . . get their life back.   She has been a martyr for the last two years, making herself out to be the victim. . . I truly can feel only pity for this woman, she is obviously a very sick and very disturbed human being.  

Having said that,  my prayer is that Diana, Chris, Brody and Al, Hannah's father, can finally move forward.   This horrible tragedy could have been avoided if the caregiver would have just walked away.   Become informed, if you have children or grandchildren who are left with a caregiver, please, make sure that they are informed about shaken baby syndrome.  There are so many websites dedicated to this cause that are very informative - please visit them and pass along the information.   One brief moment of shaking can bring a lifetime of tragedy to an entire family.

Diana made a beautiful scrapbook for Hannah - she started the book with this saying:

"If there ever comes a day when we can't be together, keep me in your heart, I'll stay there forever"

~Winnie the Phooh~

 

 

 ♥ Hannah will forever be in our hearts! ♥

18 Weeks...

So yesterday I went to my 18th week appointment. I have been really nervous to go and even prayed really hard the night before that everything would go well. My doctor is like a "father-figure" to me and has been my doctor with all of my kids. He does a great job at taking care of me and if I ever need anything his nurse is so fast to help me. I have called him a few times at home and he has always been willing to help with me concerns. So yesterday after I took Emily to preschool, me and Caleb headed to the doctor. I never wait long, but I waited long enough yesterday to meet a lady whose child goes to the same preschool as Emily, it was fun to meet her and talk to her. Anyway after they got me in and did all of the usuall, the doctor came in and immediately found the baby's heart beat with the Doppler Machine, I was so relieved!!! Caleb had no idea what he was hearing but afterward told me he thought is was "pretty cool." I had only gained 2 pounds since I got pregnant and that makes me so happy. I don't want to gain unnecessary pounds (I crave pastries REALLY bad-but very rarely give in). I also have had REALLY bad allergies for the last 6 weeks and he gave me something that has been working well. After each appointment I always leave feeling grateful for the knowledge of my doctor and nurse. Pregnancy could be really miserable with out them!! When I think of the new technology that we have now verses when I was born it amazes me. I know that I was born to live in this day and age because I am high maintenance and  love the disposable diapers, ultrasounds, and mainly C-Sections. Although I hate C-sections, I love them because I wouldn't be here or have Emily without them. Caleb may have made it through okay, it is questionable he has a big head :) but I am grateful with all of the things I am blessed with and have learned to bloom where I am planted! In a couple weeks we find out if it is a boy or a girl....I am thrilled, nervous, excited and anxious! Wish us luck!

6 YEARS TODAY!!

So 6 years today Ben took me through the temple and we were sealed for eternity! It was an awesome day for the both of us! The Idaho Falls temple didn't have a lot of flowers in bloom at this time of year, but the Fire Bushes were in full bloom and made the perfect background. I was always scared that it would rain on my wedding day and sure enough after being outside for about 20 minutes, it started to sprinkled then turned into a pour down. Lucky the arch in the bridal garden served as a good shield from the rain and also made for beautiful pictures! I wish I could remember what our sealer (Elder Ward) said to us this day, but I am sure it was important :) . I knew Ben would take good care of me and make me happy. I also knew he would be a great husband and father. He has not let me down in any way. He teaches me something new everyday and always puts me first in our marriage. We have had so many fun memories over the past 6 years. We have also laughed until we practically cried, had sad moments together, had fights with each other, stayed up late into the morning talking, and learned what true love really is! He is one of the best people I know and I feel so lucky to be HIS wife. I love him and appreciate him SO much!

For our anniversary Ben surprised me and took me on an Anniversary trip. First we dropped our kids off and then he took me to the Destinations Inn. Our room was beautiful, the food was fabulous and the company was sensational-I love snuggling with him! The next day we headed to Salt Lake and stayed at the Anniversary Inn. Again our room was fun and we got to eat at P.F. Changs, one of our absolute favorites! We had long talks and enjoyed being together! The funny thing is, our main topic of conversation was our kids. We missed them, but enjoyed being together ALONE! We had a lot of fun and he planned everything out so perfect! He never ceases to amaze me!!

 

I look forward to the many, many years ahead with my best friend and the love of my life!! 

I Love you sweet man!!!!

Busy days of Summer....errr.....Falll.....

I can't believe that it has been almost 2 months since my last post. I rarely look at blogs anymore and have had SOOOO much "blogging guilt". I have needed to update my blog with tons of pictures and things that happened this summer. This will be a LONG, CONSUMED by pictures post, so congrats if you make it to the end.

So I guess I will start with the first event found on my memory card....

Camping at Paul Reservoir:

At the end of July my whole family was able to go camping together. Despite the flies, the rain, and the mosquitoes we had a blast!! I have so many fun pictures so I will just have to share my favorites.

The Scenery:

Emily caught the biggest fish out of everyone, look at that genuine smile!

The boys shot guns, while everyone else plugged their ears. We have some pretty sharp shooters in my family!

 

There are not words to explain this picture! Caleb loves Grandpa Empey!

 

Camping isn't the same without a huge fire and lots of smores and smiles!

 

My whole family (including Coal the dog)-Love them all!!

After camping we came home to a broken pipe-ugh!

 Old, broken pipe.....

 New Pipe....Looks much better!

 My kids who love tractors!!

Although it was bad to come home to a broken pipe we were totally blessed! My brother happens to work for Steadman Construction and I so I called him up, he called his boss and he came the next day. We had no water except for our emergency supply (which we used a ton of) so it was vital to get it fixed soon. His boss, Jeff dug up the pipe and replaced it all on the same day. When I asked him what I owed him, he was so nice and only charged me for the rental fee and not his time. What a kind gesture!! So if anyone ever needs any work done, Steadman Construction is who to call!

Next event....Summer Fun Days-Playing in the irrigation at Grandma and Grandpa Tanners...

Emily asked me all summer long to play in "Grandpa's Pool". They were really excited and Ben's Mom got in the water with them. They had alot of fun!

Our next adventure for this summer was swimming lessons:

Emily LOVED it!! She started out a little scared and ended up passing the class. She was so proud! She is now is level 2, she struggled the first day but is coming along every lesson.

Little Miss Sassy Pants!!!

Finally....SCHOOL STARTED!!

Emily has been so excited and asked me for weeks and weeks when school was going to start. It finally came and we went and met her teacher. She loves her teacher, the kids in her class and loves to tell me everyday what they did. I love to keep the cute little crafts they make, they show her personality so well. I can't believe she is in preschool, she has grown so fast!

So I feel like I am some what up to date. This isn't everything that happened but some of the fun highlights. I look forward to many more fun things this fall and winter...

Guess what???

Yep...I am pregnant!!!

On July 1st I had a good day, a really good day!! We had been praying and fasting as a family to have another baby and on this day I got a positive pregnancy test (I think I have taken over 100 of them in the past year and a half). I had prayed the night before and knew I was pregnant, but that one positive test made me SO happy!!! I have been more sick with this baby than before but it is well worth it! I know that it is what the Lord wants and that makes me happy and more appreciative of life.

I went to the Dr. today and I am 9 weeks pregnant (2 weeks further than I had thought...bonus) and will have yet ANOTHER March baby. March 8, 2011 to be exact. We are SOOO excited!

 Baby # 3

P.S. I think it is a girl.....I can't wait to see if I am right. Ben thinks it is a boy so I always love to be right when he is wrong...hee hee hee

Valiant Faith

 I love this song:



At Girls Camp our Stake Camp Leader and her daughter sang this song. I fell in love with it and have listened to it over and over again! The more I listen to it the more I feel like it applies to me and my everyday life. I love the first line "Too many people are just sliding be and missing the meaning of life" HOW TRUE is this. I have told myself OVER AND OVER again that I need to relax a little. Life is too short to worry about the little things in life. Since I had kids I have tried to keep my house in a tidy order ALL of the time. Do you know how hard this is?? If you have kids I think it is possible... for a couple of minutes. I don't have time to clean all day or run around being the referee of the house. My kids will grown up too soon and I will soon wish they were little again!! If all I do is worry about me, I feel like I am missing the meaning of life!!! I want my family and my Savior to be the center of my life.

Another thing I have thought about is my own personal righteousness. I have asked myself many times if I feel like I am doing ALL I can do to please my Heavenly Father. I wonder if I have sufficient faith to make it through the rest of my life. I sometimes find excuses to not be the BEST me I can be. I have heard it said that if "we do not have time to read our scriptures and say our prayers everyday we are way more busy than God ever intended us to be." I am NOT busy and I still find that there are days when I haven't taken the time to converse with my Heavenly Father. Why give us that opportunity to grow closer to him and give our burdens to him???  I still forget or not take the time to search the scriptures. I know they can teach us so much.

I want to "follow him fearlessly all of my days" this is the end goal, this is the reason we are here and the REAL meaning in life. I don't want to be someone who lives the gospel "halfway"!! I want to be an example to my kids and know I did EVERYTHING I could do to teach them the ways of Christ!

 

Summer Fun Day #3

Because of the fire at the INL Ben had Wednesday off from work. We decided to spend that day as a family. We counted it as one of our Summer Fun Days. We went to the "Wolf to Woof" Display at the Idaho Museum. It was a lot of fun!! I really like the Discovery Kids Area, my kids had fun climbing through tubes, dressing up and just plain being kids.

The discovery kids area, the people there were so helpful and wanted us to have fun!

Ben thinks he is an elk..???

My little pioneer girl, isn't she so adorable!! I love the bonnet!

This is a pretend avalanche tunnel. The dog above is there to show what it would be like to be stuck in a tunnel and have an avalanche dog find you....my kids thought is was really cool!

The Temple--a MUST see, the pictures displayed there are amazing!

It is fun to see how my kids re-act to The Christus Statue. I believe that the more familiar they are with what we believe and what Christ did for us, the closer they will become to him. I can't wait for the day when I can be in the temple with all of my kids, what an amazing event that will be!

It was a great day!!! I am glad Ben was able to spend the day with us, we love spending time with Daddy and Grandma Sheri!!!