(A More Real) Love Story

18 weeks!

A couple of things today..... First off-- I swallowed my pride and got in a wheel chair so I could go around CostCo and WalMart. It was much better than just waiting in the car, I will say that...and a thank you to my aunt who is letting me use the chair. I just have to not care what people think- easier said than done.
And- a note to the nice ultra sound lady today---- thank you for saying the clot looked smaller!! She said that she didn't know what the other lady was measuring last time -that had looked like something they'd missed- she said it was definitely looking smaller. :) YEAH! And the baby is still a boy and looking great! (That's what keeps me going!)
He would not hold still for a decent profile pic! :) He still looks good though.

He was constantly playing with his hands- which I think is one of the cutest things in the world to see!

Rock climbing and rappelling

Today ( Saturday) was beautiful!! Our friends the Browns went with us to go rock climbing and rappelling. (I sat in my lounge chair don't worry. :) ) Adam bought a child's harness so the kids could go. I was pretty nervous watching the guys and Kim go over the edge- and I told Adam I REALLY didn't want the kids doing that!! ( maybe someday) So he and Shayne pulled the kids up from the ground to the top and then back down again. I felt a little better about that, but I was still nervous! ---these aren't the best pictures they were on the phone and facing the sun- but it was quite a sight!

Aaron went first! That white speck his helmet! ( I made them wear helmets!)

Aaron half way down. He was brave!

Dylan getting instructions from Shayne

Dylan getting comforted by his mom and his uncle Mike. :)

Ashton getting ready.

so you can only see the speck of white--- but I promise that's Ashton. I have some very brave (or crazy) kids!

Bridger going up!

Bridger made it half way!!

Allyson made it to the top

Ella gearing up!

Ella at the top!

Ella coming down---So I'm kind of glad I had the pregnancy/bed rest as an excuse not to do this adventure! I don't know if I could do it! But I had fun cheering my kids and husband on! And I definitely enjoyed just lounging in the sun on a beautiful day!

Ashton's 4th birthday!

On Friday it was Ashton's 4th birthday! My aunt from Boise came to help us out while my mom was in Provo for the weekend. So my aunt took Ashton and Aaron to the park and they played outside all day. He could NOT decide what to have on his cake....so many choices! Finally he decided on a "Ben 10" cake (this is from Cartoon Network :) ). ---My aunt made and decorated most of the cake. Thank you!

The toy swords were a hit! (literally) They transformed into light sabers by the way.

And a Star Wars transformer from grandma! It doesn't get much better than that for a 4 year old! He also got a bike-- which I'll try to get a picture of some day. He is an amazing bike rider! He's been riding with no training wheels for a while now and just loves it. We had a great day- we love you Ashton!!

Two steps forward, three steps back....

Week 17 and we are backtracking- so it seems... :( The baby is doing great though- that's the important thing, and in this picture he's on his side with his hand by his face. It looked to me like he was sucking his thumb. :) And if you look closer, under the baby you see a large black thing- that's the blood clot. The ultrasound tech had told us last week it was getting smaller, but this week, she said she actually had missed a part that keeps going up around the baby towards his head. So apparently it hasn't shrunk yet. But it is turning more grey in the pics which means it is solidifying- so that's good. So for this week-----more bed rest.

Updates for the 16th week.....

We had some GOOD news today. :) The blood clot is now getting smaller!! It was 11 cm. last week, and this week it is 6 cm. YEAH! I am still definatly on bed rest until it's completely gone- but I am grateful for the good news. I thought this picture today was cool. I can't believe all the detail you can see! The ultrasound lady was counting his fingers and toes, and in this picture you can see some of the brain!! Technology is amazing.

Priceless

This is one of those quiet moments that are few and far between at our house lately. :)

Well......

I had my weekly doctor visit and ultra sound today. I was really hoping he'd say the blood clot was all gone, I could go off bed rest now, and officially be back to normal--but that was not the case. The blood clot actually got 2 cm. bigger and he said I'd better REALLY be on strict bed rest now.. ( Like I wasn't before?) The nurse gave me a little ray of hope when she said the last couple of patients that had the same thing I have- that their clots got bigger, and then just disolved. So....that's what's keeping me going this week----and this exciting news..........

I thought we'd might as well share these very expensive pictures that we're having taken!! So enjoy!!! We sure do. :)

Easter at home

We had a very nice Easter at home with my mom. (Thanks dad for sharing her!) We decorated the eggs on Saturday, and they looked so nice and colorful. The kiddos had fun dying the eggs, and we had no major spills, or anything to report, so I guess it was a success! The beautiful Easter eggs!

My view (from the couch) of the kids dying eggs. My mom laid the ground rules- and the kids did great.....I hate anything to do with dye in my house by the way...... but we survived. :)

Liv came to visit me on the couch. What a sweetie!

More egg dying----this is all I could see from the couch----so I guess there could have been spills I don't know about. :)

For Easter dinner on Sunday Adam smoked a turkey breast. It was amazing!!! I'm not even a huge turkey fan, but this was some of the best meat I've ever eaten!! Great job Adam!

Adam's view of Easter morning....This must be what it looks like six feet five inches high. Cool!

More Easter morning. Nice head phones Ashton! Everyone got a year's supply of candy- that was inhaled in about 3 minutes---It really was a nice, relaxing day- and wonderful that we could watch/listen to our church's General Conference too. It helped us all remember what we really celebrate at Easter, and how grateful we are to have a Savior.