She's OK!!

After a hectic morning we made it to Houston this past Wednesday for our appt with all of the specialists.  We started the morning with an ultrasound and after meeting with the Dr they decided that things looked so great that they didn't feel I needed to have the MRI.  That was awesome news!!  Not only did our sweet little Eden Rose look great and healthy, we didn't have to fork out the money for a very expensive MRI.  The Drs checked with the specialist that sent me to them and he still wanted us to get the echo on her heart.  So after a lunch break it was back to another exam room for an ultrasound of just her heart.  Next we met with the Cardiologist and she said that her heart looked great.  You can imagine our relief after such wonderful news.  They cancelled the rest of our appts we had scheduled and sent us on our merry way. :) 

We did learn a few things about the baby that we didn't know.  They informed us that she doesn't have a nasal bone and that her arms and legs are a little shorter than typical at this stage of gestation.  Her bowels are still "glowing" a little bit but the Dr said that they still looked good so they weren't concerned about them at all.  So basically all of that means that she may or may not have down syndrome.  We are so happy that our baby girl is healthy!  Thanks to all for your prayers.  We are truly blessed and are definitely counting our many blessings this Thanksgiving.

Playing catch up

Wow I didn't realize how long it's been since I've posted anything on here.  Well for those of my followers that I for some reason do not have as friends on Facebook lets catch up.  First things first, the kiddos. 

Ashlyn is 7 and is in the 2nd grade.  She is so super smart is scares me sometimes.  lol.  She is an excellent student and an AWESOME big sister!  Jade will be 5 in January and is in preschool and LOVES it!  Her teachers were so surprised at how easily she went to class without any mommy withdrawal and how social she is.  Oh yeah, she'll be the one I hear from the teachers about for talking too much during class.  hahaha.  Dallin will be 3 in February!!  He was only 4wks old when we moved to Texas.  Crazy how fast that's gone by.  Dallin is a sweet boy that sure does love his mama!  He has a great relationship with Jade and loves Ashlyn.  The girls both dote on him so much.  I will be 30wks pregnant this Thursday with our third little girl.  Her name will be Eden Rose Walter.  We weren't expecting to have another baby at the time but even Heavenly Father enjoys a good surpsrise every now and again.  Things have been emotional with this pregnancy.  We have been seeing a specialist these past few months because they found eco lighting in Eden's bowels in the ultrasound.  Basically it means where her bowels are they are showing up bright on the screen when they should be dark.  We were given six different possibilities of what it could be.  I had a lot of blood work done to narrow the search.  Through that adventure we learned that I am a carrier of Cystic Fibrosis.  Wanna scare yourself about your unborn child?  Read up on CF!  Thankfully Kenneth is not a carrier so it's impossible for any of our children to have CF.  However they could be carriers of it as well which I will inform them of as they get older so they can be prepared when starting their own families.  Since all of the other tests came back negative/normal we were expecting the follow up appt to tell us things were all better and that they cleared up on there own.  Unfortunately we found that her lungs are also now bright in the ultrasound when they too should be dark.  So in two days, Nov 14 we will be in Houston ALL day.  I'll be getting an ultrasound followed by an MRI followed by an eco on the baby's heart, afterwhich we will meet with the cardiologist to go over what was found in the eco and then meet with the surgeon to go over what was found in the MRI and to discuss if the baby needs to be born at Texas Children's Hosp (in Houston) and if she will have to have surgery or not.  The good news is that Texas Children's Hosp is the number 2 hospital in the nation.  So she would be in very capable hands.  My sweet cousin Kirk is a neonatologist and has been very helpful.  If they do find problems that need correcting Kirk will call the Drs we see on Wed to find out the diagnosis and planned procedure(s) and then explain it all to us in lamens terms so we'll know what's really going on.  I'm not afraid of this appoint I'm rather anxious for it.  We have been walking around not knowing what on earth is wrong, or if there even is anything wrong and I'll be the first to admit it's no walk in the park and I have cried...a lot.  Come Wednesday we'll finally know something!  I'm thankfull for the gospel and the priesthood. 

So Kenneth is doing well at work.  They have stayed busy and are expected to be getting super busy once the new year rolls around.  He's training to run a marathon this February.  I know, CRAZY!!  He amazes me everyday. :)  We are really enjoying each other in this journey of life and I'm thankful to have him as my eternal companion. 

If things go well on Wednesday and the Drs are okay with how Eden looks we will be coming home for Thanksgiving and I am very much looking forward to that!! 

Two years ago I was called as the YW President and I am still loving every minute of it.  I have such wonderful girls and love watching them grow in the gospel and watching them become their own.  It's a beautiful thing to see.

Well if I can continue to make time to write on here I'll post again really soon.  I hope I still have friends that follow this even though I haven't written in over a year. :/  Sorry friends!

Pictures Out of Order

Dallin's 1st bday (Feb 2011)

My sweet Ashlyn

The new cut!

Jade's 3rd Bday (Jan 2011)

I got my haircut!! (March 2011)

Catching WAY up

(We didn't mean to have Kenneth and Dal wear the same color, but Dallin spit up and that was close by)

(This pic is a little old, probably 4months old, but SO funny. Jade did it)

Okay so it's been forever since I last posted anything. I have so much catching up to do it's not even funny. Where should I start? Okay I'll start with the usual, the children.

Ashlyn: Ashlyn is now the proud loser of two bottom front teeth! I know, shocking she's old enough to be losing her teeth. But here we are two dollars poorer and she's two dollars richer. She also has four more loose teeth. We LOVE asking her to say words that begin with "sh." lol. Yeah. That's right. We pick on our children. Anyway she loves showing everyone. She is doing quite remarkable in school and likes her teacher. She has friends at school and church and has adjusted well. She is very smart. And honestly is one of the most beautiful 5yr olds I've ever seen. EVER! Sorry I don't have a posted pic yet, but I will soon. She is still super tall and looks older than she is.

Jade: Jade is completely potty trained!! We got that finished up in October. YAY! It was a beautiful moment. Jade is still extremely narrow as ever and tall. You probably wouldn't recognize her. Her hair is so long now and she talks like a big girl. Most ppl confuse Ashlyn and Jade's voices on the phone. She is still our biggest tease. We continue to work on numbers and letters and all that fun stuff. She catches on quickly, the problem is her stubborn personality. lol. Everything has to be her idea. You can just imagine our fear of her teenage years. She's a happy little girl and has also made friends at church. She keeps us on our toes with her little adventures around the house. And of course we still can't keep Ashlyn or Jade away from Dallin, not that we would. They just love him SO much. They are both very nurturing. This morning I heard Jade talking to Dallin and she said, "Baby I'm you're best friend." It melted my heart like butter. It was just so sweet. Hopefully that will last a long time!

Dallin: Dallin will be 10 months old next week! Time has gone by so fast. He was 4wks old when we left for TX and now we are soon aproaching his first bday. He crawls everywhere. He's pulling up on his knees and if we had more carpet he would probably already be pulling up to a standing position. He has his two bottom front teeth, (his were coming in good when Ashlyn lost hers. Funny to watch). He has the sweetest smile ever. Every night when I tuck him in I always whisper in his ear, "Good night baby. I love you." And for the past like 3 months after I say that he will grab my shoulders and pull himself closer to me. He hugs me! I'm not even kidding. It's the sweetest thing on the planet. I love him so much. I already feel that he and I have a strong relationship, it's very special. He is a very layed back baby. He's down with whatever. He is a lot like Jade was as a baby. They also resemble one another the most.





Kenneth: Kenneth is staying busy with work as usual. He's doing well and enjoying his job. He is now serving as the Secretary in Elder's Quorum. He plays bball every Tuesday and enjoys that. He is ready to take up running again. He has been going back and forth with working out at the gym. They started doing it together as a company. His family will be coming to TX this year for Christmas with the exception of one sibling who just had a baby. So we are looking very forward to that. He hasn't seen them in awhile so this will be nice for him. He is such an amazing husband and provider for our family. I truly appreciate the things he does for us and the sacrifices he makes for us. He is the love of my life.

Me: My life seems to have changed so much this past year. First I was uprooted from the only place I've ever lived. Then I lived in a horrible apartment. Now we are in our house and have been since Sept 6. We LOVE the house and the kids do as well. It's the perfect place for us. We are anxiously getting ready to paint and decorate.

My first calling here in Texas was as the Laurel Advisor. I was happy to serve the YW and was so nervous when the Bishop asked to see me and Kenneth about 4wks ago. He told me I was being released, (my first emotion was sadness, and pleading in my mind please not primary) then he told me it was because he had another calling to extend and that it was a big one. My next emotion, OH CRAP! I immediately knew what it was then. I am now serving as the Young Women's President. I so did not see that one coming! As scared to death as I was I am really loving it. The girls are so great. I love them so much. I had so many fears, and still do have a few, but things are going well. I have an amazing presidency. My sister-in-law (Sarah) is serving as my first counselor so that is tons of fun! We just recently had a Friday and Saturday stake girls camp, (they had Trek this past summer and the stake still wanted them to get together). They learned quickly how crazy I am. Enough said. I'm really looking forward to the wonderful experiences I'll have and the relationships I'll gain with these extraordinary YW. I was praying for spiritual growth just before I got the calling, if this doesn't do it I don't know what will. lol. But I do know that this is why we moved to Texas.

The family is happy to announce that we will be visiting South Carolina on December 28-January 5! I cannot wait to go home. It will be so amazing to drive around and KNOW where I am and where I'm going without using my GPS. lol. I cannot wait to see my family and my little neice and nephews born just before we left. I miss everyone so much. It's so hard knowing that my friends back home are pregnant and living life and I'm not there to help and to live it with them. It sounds like I died, but you know what I mean. I miss everyone. I also really miss Bo*jangles and La Brascas. I'm looking forward to eating that wonderful unhealthy goodness. I look forward to seeing everyone very soon!

New Pictures!

So Dallin is getting SO big! On June 14 he rolled over for the very first time. It was awesome because I was sitting right in front of him when he did it. I'm just loving him! And my girls are So great! We are still having an attitude problem with Ashlyn, but I'm praying. lol. Anyway, enjoy the pictures and I hope to be taking some new ones soon, probably this weekend. Have a great Independence Day everyone!

Okay the picture is a little fuzzy but still SO cute. Jade swimmin'.

Is this a mischievious face or what?

What a big boy!

I went to a luncheon and came home to find EVERYONE asleep, (Dallin is in his crib which is beside our bed).

I LOVE this picture of Ashlyn. I think she is just SO beautiful.



Everyone has to have at least one of these pictures. Sorry your tub is pink Dallin, it was Jade's and I didn't want to buy another one just to have it in blue, you'll grow out of it in no time.

Random Pictures

G.G. and Dallin after his blessing Feb. 21, 2010.

I told Jade to smile, she had other plans, but Brooke listend well.


Okay so he's pretty much the CUTES little boy ever! If only I could stop Jade from sharing her girly toys with him.

Jade posing for the camera.

Ashlyn is in LOVE with her baby brother. She's the best big sister ever! She burps him too. It's great!

They had so much fun taking these pictures!

Again, I can't keep Jade from sharing her girly toys. He really doesn't seem to mind though. Don't worry, I won't let this become a habbit, (sorry about the pic, I couldn't get it to stay rotated).

Jade at the Easter Egg Hunt at church here in Beaumont, TX.

CRAZY

Well we've made it to TX safely. I have SO much to blog about and so little time to do it. There are so many things to catch up on. I have SO many pictures to post! Kenneth surprised me the other day. He came home from work and after dinner went to his truck and when he came back inside he brought in with him a new computer, printer, etc. and a GPS (for my lack of sense of direction). He's the best, and not just because he bought me something. It's been So great being together again. I feel like my world has been sown back together again. I was really starting to lose it. I'm still trying to get the kids back on their routine. We had SUCH a great one before and then after we sold the house and moved in with my mom things got a little off track, but now they are WAY off! Little by little we're getting closer.

Okay so about TX. I live in the best area! The mall, Target, Bed Bath and Beyond, Hobby Lobby, Babies R Us, Toys R Us, Kohls, Ross, Pier One, The World Market, Wal*Mart, Kroger, the movie theatre, our bank, and a little putt putt place are ALL around the block from our apartment! The whole street on both sides is lots of shopping centers. I know, I am in SO much trouble. lol. I am also in trouble because there are SO many One Way streets here. I get confused easy enough, sure lets go ahead and make it more confusing. Thank goodness for the new GPS. Our ward here is really nice. There are lots of young couples here with children and if you know Kristina Tuttle Cash, she will be joining us here soon. What a small world! I can't wait! There is another young new couple from SC that just moved here too. I don't know her and her fiance, but I've seen her around at church at Stake things. What's up with all of us South Carolinians moving to TX? Beaumont for that matter. Who's ever even heard of Beaumont, TX? I surely hadn't until the job offer. I did very well the day we left. I cried while saying good bye to everyone, especially my Grandmother. She told Kenneth she would try to stay alive long enough to see her great grandchildren again. That was a dagger to the heart! Her bday just passed. She is 89yrs old and just as funny, sweet and beautiful as ever. Love her! I haven't broken down yet emotionally. I think it's because everything is still new to me and I feel like we're on vacation in a VERY small condo. lol. I'm sure the first time I get lost somewhere or the first holiday I miss it will hit me, and probably hard. I do miss everyone, don't get me wrong. I'm just still having fun experiences. That and I'm sure Heavenly Father is still uplifting me, but I'm nervous about when and if that will wear off. We shall see.

The kids updates are as follows:

Ashlyn is almost five and the BEST big sister EVER! She loves her little brother. When he cries she is there ready with pacifier in hand. She is very helpful with feeding and burping him. Though I do have to get on to her about picking Dallin up when I'm not in the room. She won't walk with him, (any more) but she sometimes doesn't quite have his head supported the way I'd prefer. Scary. I know. She is a wonderful big sister and huge helper. However we are still having issues with the attitude. I know this probably will not go away until she's like engaged but still. Today's attitude problem went as follows:

Me: Ashlyn are you picking up your toys like I asked?
Ashlyn: I am not going to clean up my room. I am not going to help you. I am not going to listen to you.
Me: Ashlyn listen to yourself. Do you hear how rude and disrespectful you sound? That's NOT how you talk to me. You just lost your toys.

For some reason she didn't see that one coming. As far as Jade goes we are still just as cute as ever! Seriously it's hard to resist her charms. She is the BIGGEST tease ever. She too LOVES her baby brother. She really enjoys putting the pacifier in Dallin's mouth, even when he's fast asleep and doesn't seem to want it, she will shove it in. Poor Dallin. She will also take the paci and put it in her mouth backward (with the nipple of it hanging OUT of her mouth) and run. She knows she isn't allowed to do it so of course she does it anyway. Oh that girl is gonna give me gray hair and soon too I can feel it. I've been working at being more consistent with her. I got really slack with both of the girls while Kenneth was away. I am paying for it now! They are protesting hard, but I'm not pregnant or recovering any more and they are astonished at how fast I am! lol. Jade is talking SO well. I wish y'all could hear her. She's still stubborn so don't ask her to say anything because it has to be her idea, but I did get her to say the prayer at bedtime tonight. It took a LONG time to get her to repeat what I was saying, but when she did it was the sweetest sounding thing ever. She and Ashlyn share a room and we put Jade in a big girl bed as soon as we moved here. Lots of adjustments, but she's doing quite well.

Dallin is smiling at us now. I love him so much. I can't explain it, but the love you have for your son really is different. Not more or less, but different. I am loving it so much. He is now 7wks old. He is such a good baby. He goes to bed around 10 or 11pm and won't wake up again until 5 or 6am. Occassionally at 4am but usually 6am. The thing that really gets me is that it's been this way for several weeks. He was born a sleeper that's for sure. Then again I have also worked hard at keeping him on a schedule so I will take credit for most of it. He is so layed back and easy. Too bad he'll soon be following the rebels that are his sisters. I just want them to be close and to be friends like me and my sibblings. Dallin was a bit on the small side after all of the feeding issues but he is quickly advancing. His cheeks are "puffier" now and he is filling out quite nicely. He is SO tall! He has the longest fingers EVER and I'll be sure to post pictures soon.

Well this is a short novel so I'll stop here. We love and miss everyone back home. Please keep in touch everyone.

Heavy Thoughts

I finally did it! I finally got a car/minivan. I will never forget the day that Kenneth suggested that our next vehicle be a minivan (Ashlyn was a baby at the time). I told him I would NEVER drive one and that I was too young to be behind the wheel of one of those things. LOL. Boy am I eating my words now. Let me be the first to say that I LOVE this Odyssey. The purpose of our new car is for me and the kids to be able to get around without having to worry about the car cranking or stopping etc. and for us to have a safe way to travel to Texas. Ah, Texas. The place that will take me away from all that I have ever known. From my roots, the state that I call home and the family that I want to spend eternity with, that I was raised with, that love me. This may be melodramatic for some, but I am not the wandering type. I love where I am and I'm with the ppl I love and that love me so why go any where else? That was my way of thinking. I haven't been thinking at all about how real it is that I'm moving so far from my family. I haven't been thinking about not being able to call up my nearest and dearest friends to see if they want to bring their kids over to play, or have a girls night. I haven't been thinking about my new neice and nephews that will grow not knowing who Aunt Heather is or my older neice and nephew who will miss me, but especially my children. I haven't thought about all of the bday dinners for my sibblings and their spouses that I'll miss out on. Or Mother's Day and all other holidays I will miss. My mom gives the BEST hugs, I'll miss those a LOT especially on those hard days. My sisters. Oh my sisters! We are so close and I'll be out of the picture missing everything. My little sister is a new stay at home mom. Who will she hang out with and run to when she's going stir crazy or needing help? Who will Wendy and Matt play "Hand-n-Foot" with until 4am? My girls won't be able to visit Aunt Amy and Jade will REALLY be asking where Uncle Matt is now! When Amy and Matt expand there family where will I be? When Dallin starts showing his personality and growing who will I show it to and who will get just as excited as I will? I haven't cried yet because I haven't allowed myself to think about the hard stuff so that I can avoid the feelings and tears. Well now I'm lying because while writing this I began to cry and honestly admit that I still am. I know it sounds really dramatic, but please bare with me as I "spread my wings and grow." I don't know what is in store for us in TX, but it's obviously important that we go. Otherwise we wouldn't have sold our home in 7days, we wouldn't have found the perfect apt., I wouldn't have found a reliable vehicle and the buying process would not have been SO easy. I wouldn't have recieved all the help that I have and I wouldn't be having the wonderful experiences that I have. I KNOW that this is what our family is supposed to do. Of course I could just tell Heavenly Father no thank you and that I'm going to stay here with my family where I'm comfortable. It would be REALLY stupid, but I could do it. But I won't. I know that we are going to gain experiences in our life to teach us and help us grow. We will face trials, and we will be prepared for them because of these experiences. I know all of this to be true. And more importantly I know that my Father in heaven will be there all along the way holding my hand and my head up. Now I just have to think of a way to not break down completely infront of my children after saying good bye to my family. If they don't cry I can probably manage it. But if you know me and you know how sensitive I am to feelings and emotions, then you also know that the rest of my family is the EXACT same way. Hmm. Maybe I should have my brother-in-law Jim drive the car away until I can gather myself. I'd hate to wreck my new car because I couldn't see through all of my glossy tears. I don't see a cop having pitty on me for that one. Well enough of the crying and drama for now. This is what is on my mind tonight.

Baby Dallin Update

Dallin is now 2 and 1/2 wks old. Wow those two wks were like counting down to your wedding day, (the longest wks of my life)! So the mastitis was horrific and then Dallin decided he didn't want to latch any more and he and I would both get very frustrated and it was horrible. Needless to say I am now pumping. That electric double breast pump is the greatest thing in the world! The inventor of the breast pump is going to heaven. lol. While Dallin and I were going through our nursing trials he quit gaining weight. He didn't lose any, but wasn't gaining so I'll be taking him to the Dr. office for a weight check on Thursday. I've been giving him formula and breast milk. I started drying up so I don't make enough every feeding time to fill up his tummy. He eats 4oz! I thought at this age they only eat about 2oz, maybe he's having a growth spurt and trying to catch up on his weight. After giving birth we women are pretty hormonal, but I must admit that I don't think I have EVER cried so much. It was hard without Kenneth while I was having such a hard time. My mom has been great, but we really do NEED our husbands. Huh, they do serve a purpose! JUST KIDDING! I can't wait for next weekend to see Kenneth and finally be together with my whole family. So...it's time to brag on my boy. He is the BEST baby ever. The boy is a sleeper. Heavenly Father has taken mercy on my soul and given me a baby that is well tempered amid all the trials I'm facing. He is just so content all the time. Well, feedings are sad because he always gets a tummy ache after eating and burping. I'm not sure if it's because he gets breast and formula milk, or if he's just sensitive, I'm not sure. I'm considering changing his formula. We shall see. He's so sweet and cuddly and I am just really enjoying every moment with him. His sisters are so in love with him. Of course Ashlyn thinks she's a big girl and that means that she can hold him whenever she wants no matter if I'm around or not. Scary! We had to lay down some serious ground rules. Jade goes to him all the time and rubs his face or head and says, "Hi baby!" or "Hi Dallin!" Oh I wish you could hear her say it, too cute. He's very patient with his big sisters, well for now anyway. I love his LONG fingers and the way his hair comes to a natural mohawk (sp). He loves the pacifier and takes it SO well. He looks like three different ppl to me. He looks JUST like Kenneth. He makes faces that remind me of my older brother Jesse, and of Kenneth's little brother Kevin. He is one handsome fella. I think his hair will continue to lighten and he will be a blondie like his father. We are so in love with him!

We are currently looking to buy a new, used minivan. We found one we like and they are transferring it to Cola from Atlanta. I can't wait to test drive it. If I love the way it drives and feel like it's right we will buy it asap. My current vehicle will NOT make it to TX, muchless down the street. lol. I'm excited about getting a newer car. It surprised me with how excited Kenneth is about it, especially a minivan, but he is. We have looked at the Toyota Sienna XLE and the Honda Odyssey Touring and EX. We LOVE the touring, but it's the most expensive, so we're sticking with the EX. We like the Odyssey more and found a good deal on one, lets pray it works out. Well he just fell asleep so it's time for me to put him to bed and get some sleep myself. I'll update again when and if I have some time.

A baby boy

Now that I'm home from the hospital and Dallin is 10 days old it's time to tell the baby story. Originally I was to be induced at 5am on Friday Feb. 19. To my surprise I was told they had a full house and needed a few more hours. They told me to call back at 8am. Thankfully Kenneth and I were able to get some more sleep. So we got up and I took a shower and did my hair and make up before leaving, (I didn't want to scare the poor baby). We got their at 9am and I was given the pitocin at 9:30. At 12:10pm they broke my water. At 1pm I was given newbane and phenergin. Right after I was given the pain meds I immediately began slurring my speech and losing the ability to keep my eyes open. Luckily I've had these meds before and knew what was coming. lol, Kenneth LOVES to tell everyone that I actually snored after falling asleep. I slept from about 1:10 to 3:30. After waking up Kenneth suggested I get checked again. I had gone from 2cm to 4cm during my nap. At 4pm I requested the epidural because the contractions were really getting hard to breathe through. At 4:15ish every laboring woman's favorite man entered the room to give me the epidural. I was really struggling with the contractions by this point even after he was done. Usually you begin to feel a SLIGHT bit of relief. Well I was getting REALLY uncomfortable feeling lots of pressure etc. The nurse checked me and I was at 9cm. She called the nurses station and said call Kenneth in NOW and get the midwife! They luckily entered the room at the same time and as soon as Kenneth was by my side they said okay Heather push, (hence the reason the epidural had no time to work). Eight minutes later there was our little Dallin. He was born at 4:28pm and weighed in at 7lbs 8oz. 21 and 1/2 inches long with beautiful blonde hair and the longest fingers I have ever seen on a baby! He's absolutely perfect. He's a VERY sleepy baby unfortunately for me. It's quite difficult to nurse a sleeping baby. To make a long story short the second day I was home, (I left after 24hrs so that I could share Kenneth with the girls) I noticed something just wasn't right with my breasts. I could feel the milk let down, but it never came out, well except when he ate. So after a day or so of my milk coming in I got mastitis. For those of you who don't know, mastitis is an infection in the breast. You get a high fever and flu like symptoms and it hurts like you know what. I will spare you all of the gory details, but it was the worst experience I've had and one of the most spiritual experiences too. I am so grateful for the restoration of the priesthood.

We had Kenneth for a full 5 days. After not seeing him for two months it was really wonderful getting to finally spend time with him. I never understood how wives of military men made it through, and now I REALLY wonder. 5days was great but of course it wasn't nearly enough. Ashlyn begged for Kenneth to take her with him and she cried so hard as we watched him being driven away. I would have taken him myself with the girls so that we could all say goodbye, but my car is on it's last leg and we didn't know if it could make it their and back. My brother in law took him and it was difficult to say goodbye. My mom cried just as hard as Ashlyn! She said she didn't know if she could let me go in March. That is a day I try not to think about. Oh the headache I will have after the tears from that day!

We are very blessed and so in love with our little baby boy. I can't wait for us to be together in Texas and see what the Lord has in store for us.

More Dallin

I think he is a little over 21" I can't find where I wrote it down.
He is so adorable!!!

Dallin!!!

Here he is! 7lbs 8oz.
Heather and Dallin

I just have to say this

I really felt like I needed to let everyone know that Morgan is my best friend ever. She is wonderful and selfless and I am sorry to everyone who is disappointed over this news but I just had to say it.

Just kidding, this is actually Morgan. Heather gave me her password so that I could mess around with her blog and then post some pictures of DALLIN!!!! Sorry Heather, you can totally delete this when you get the time but I couldn't help myself. If I get any power, I have to abuse it.

A new baby on Friday!

I think just about everyone knows by now, but if you haven't heard the marvelous news here ya go, I will be induced on Friday February 19!!! I don't really want to be induced, I'd rather Dallin come when he's good and ready. I feel that often times if you induce labor you'll have to labor longer than if your body was really ready. Anyway, since my husband is 15hrs away we could only ensure that he'd be here for the joyous event if I were induced. I was scheduled for 6am on the 19 until yesterday afternoon when I received a phone call from the Dr. office informing me that my time had been bumped up to 5am :-O on the 19th. It sucks, but at least we got to keep the date the same. Kenneth will be home tomorrow, Feb. 18 at 9pm and I can't wait to see him! It's almost been two months since we saw one another and that's just crazy! Anyway, we'll be able to see one another very soon and then have 5days together before he heads back. He's only allowed 3days off so that's why we chose the 19th, it's a Friday so he'll get the weekend too. The girls are SO excited about seeing him.

I had a Dr. appt this morning and I am still 2cm dilated and 50% efaced. I thought for sure I had progressed more from last wk with all of the contractions I've been having, but to no avail. Oh well. It's better than nothing. I'm just praying my body will progress more before 5am on Friday. She said my cervix is very soft and that he's dropped more since last week, so that's positive at least.

Well I feel like a horrible mother. It snowed almost 7in at my house and I don't have not one picture of the snow, or my children playing in it. Why you ask...because I was moving! That's right, last Friday my dad met me and we went to the U-haul place and he drove the 24' truck to the house as I followed behind him in my car, in the pouring snow. I must say I have never been so scared in all my life. I slid the whole way home, and so did dad in that big huge truck. I prayed all the way home and made the girls sing primary songs all the way. lol. It made me feel better. I was thinking that the roads would be just as bad Sat. morning so I wasn't expecting a big turn out for help moving. I wasn't at all upset about that thought. If it was gonna be as bad Sat. as it was Friday night I was more comfortable with no one showing up so that I wouldn't be endangering anyone's safety. But to my surprise there was a big turn out of helpers and the roads were SO much better. I have the MOST awesome elders quorom presidency, and ward for that matter. A HUGE thank you to the Steve Mejia, Kenny Whetstone, Jeff Webster, Ashley Rowe, Mike Campbell, Dan Chambless and his two oldest boys, Bro. Peck, Denise Campbell, Noel and Aubrey Cottrell, Brenda Nininger, Jessica Castle, and Morgan Webster. I could NOT have moved or gone to Dr. Appts. without all of your help. I know I'm probably forgetting tons of others, I have it written down somewhere. Anyway thank you to everyone and to everyone's spouse. I appreciate you supporting your spouse to do service for a helpless pregnant lady. May the Lord bless you and your families. We hit a few bumps on Sat. with the storage unit, but got it taken care of just in time. I am now living with my mom in Columbia. I have to say I never thought I'd be living with one of my parents again after I got married. Actually I vowed I would never do such a thing. LOL! But here I am with the girls and it's been great. Mom has been a HUGE help with the girls and making me relax. Sometimes only mama knows how to fix things and make it all seem like it will be okay. Unfortunately we aren't sleeping very well. For starters mom and I can't seem to shut up at night to go to bed because we're too busy talking. Jade has been steadily waking up EVERY morning at 5am, I'm guessing for more Tylenol. She's getting those last molars and she's either congested, or her nose is running. The girls are sharing a room for the first time and they aparently like to talk too, especially Jade to Ashlyn. We hear a lot of "I want out Ashyn." lol. I'm too pregnant to sleep restfully, so all combined together we are one tired bunch. My poor mom has to get up to go to work every morning. We are praying that they will adjust soon to the new arrangements and sleep like they used to. Well I think that's all of the updates for now. Be watching for Dallin Roam baby pics soon. A friend will be by to get some shots of him and post them for everyone to share in our joy. =D Love to all and wish us good luck!

Updates!

A lot has happened since I last posted. We put our house on the market on January 14 and exactly 7 days later someone made us an offer. We counter-offered back and forth a few times and they accepted our last offer!!! Can you believe our house sold in 7 days? Of course the contract is "pending" but it's pretty much a done deal. The couple that is buying our house REALLY love it, (as they should, and who wouldn't). Today all of the different inspectors came by and they were in and out pretty quickly. The home inspector has a very short list of things for us to do and it's things we were expecting, so that's good. Unfortunately they weren't fixed before the inspector came, but I can't make ppl do things on my watch, even though I wish I could. We are looking to close on February 22, 2010. The appraiser will be out some time hopefully next week. After that the closing date will be given for sure, but the lender doesn't see any reason that it would be later than the 22. So I'm in the process of packing and getting ready to move in with my mom. I will be induced on the 19 of February so that Kenneth can be here. I'll move in with my mom the week before I'm induced so that I won't have to worry about moving again until we leave for TX. So I'm also looking for a storage unit. I have NO idea what size unit I need. I am also having a garage/yard sale the first weekend of February to get rid of a LOT of stuff. Hopefully a lot of ppl will turn out for the event and give me lots of money. lol. I have sold a few things on craigslist which is nice. Wow! You know that you're busy while you're going through your days, but when you see how much you're doing when it's written down it makes you wonder, "How on earth am I going to do all of this and how have I done ALL the other stuff!?" I have truly been blessed! My Ward Family has just reached out and gone above and beyond! I feel so loved and supported. I can also see Heavenly Father's hand in this entire process. I mean come on, who sells a home in 7 days? Heavenly Father does! I am really gaining a stronger testimony in so many different facets of the gospel. The girls have been great. We of course have our days that I can't wait for bed time to come, but for the most part they are better behaved than not. That too I believe is coming from our Father in heaven. He is really uplifting the girls. They miss Kenneth SO much! Ashlyn draws him pictures regularly and they each talk to him on the phone every night before bed. I've taken a few videos on the cell and sent them to his Blackberry. He says it's like Christmas when he gets to see them. Ashlyn just learned to tie her shoes to the point that I don't really help her ever with her shoes any more and I was able to catch it on video and send it to him. He is VERY impressed. Jade's vocabulary is just taking off. She pretty much says whatever she wants and hears. Of course I don't always understand it, but for the most part I can tell what she's talking about.

Well I'm just a few wks away from delivery and I cannot wait to see Kenneth! I know this sounds horrible, but I don't want to share him with the girls. But I also know that they really need him. I'm not looking forward to him leaving us again though. I just know how emotional I'll be from just having Dallin and the girls will be sad that he's not staying. Ashlyn can understand so much, but Jade will probably just be really confused. I hope that they both just RUN to him when they get to first see him in February. I know Ashlyn will, but I'm starting to wonder about Jade. Even though she talks to him all the time on the phone, she hasn't seen him in over a month. I know he'll be hurt if she's shy toward him. Well, we'll see what happens. Well I think that pretty much sums everything up. Then again I have the pregnancy brain and am still trying to recover from the other two pregnancies as far as memory goes so I'm sure I'm forgetting a few things, important things even. It may be quite awhile before I'm able to post again. I'll do my best, but I can't make any promises. I will have a friend take pics of Dallin when he arrives and let everyone know when he makes his debut. I cannot wait to see what he looks like! The drs. say he's very small. Maybe a 6 pounder. Weird for me, I haven't had one under 7. Who's complaining!? I love you all and hope to have the chance to say goodbye to everyone.

Preparations and Concerns

Okay so I figured it would be really stressful to get ready to have a baby, prepare my house for selling, keep it clean for walk-throughs of potential buyers and do everything else a mom does day to day all without the help of my husband. I had NO idea how much of a strain it really would be. I've always been a night owl but when you have two small children, you're 8mo pregnant and you are constantly on the go you should really rest a lot more often than I have been. Our house went on the market on Thursday Jan. 14. On Friday Jan. 15 I had just finished feeding the girls lunch and put Jade in her crib for nap time and began paying my bills online when all of a sudden the phone rang. It was our Realtor, Sherry Smith (whom we LOVE) asking how quickly I could have the house ready and be out of it so someone could stop by and look at it (here we go)! So I asked for 30minutes and jumped up as fast as I could. Jade luckily for me was and had been talking quite loudly in her crib not yet asleep. So I kept her there while Ashlyn and I ran through the house picking up. It worked out quite nicely because Jade couldn't go behind us and make a mess like she usually does when I try to clean (however she did manage to take off half of her clothes and throw everything out of her crib). I got the house ready grabbed the girl's things and headed to the car. Just as I was buckling Ashlyn's seat belt I saw a car approaching and just knew that it was them. They past the house and waited at the end of the rd while I was backing out. I realized right before getting into the car that I was having some contractions. I knew they would subside once I was able to rest and settle down. I didn't really know where I was driving to until Ashlyn suggested we do our grocery shopping. I figured that would give them plenty of time to look at the house and give me some driving time to calm my body down. By the time I got to Wal*Mart my cheeks were so red and I was sweating, (yes in 63 degree weather with the window down and the AC on) and Ashlyn thought it important to tell me how red my cheeks were. lol. I sat in the car for awhile before getting out and the contractions passed. We did our shopping and went home. Unfortunately Jade missed her nap and fell asleep in the car at 5pm. Not a decent napping hour so I had to keep her up, that wasn't fun either. After the day had ended for the girls and they were asleep I got to talk to Kenneth. He said that Sherry called and said the ppl that looked at the house really liked it but that they had some concerns. Their concerns included the backyard where we have some standing water, the storm drains in front of the house, (for some reason they thought they were part of our property and our responsibility) and the cracked tile in the master bathroom caused by the settling of the house (which by the way is TOTALLY normal). The good news is that all of these things are temporary problems. The backyard was supposed to be finished before Thursday but the man's equipment broke down. He'll be here early this coming wk. The storm drains are not our responsibility and there only purpose is to catch run off water from the street, (I thought everyone knew that). Next the tile will be fixed probably this weekend. It just needs to be cut out and re-layed and it's only 5 tiles. The couple wants to come back after the backyard is finished and to their surprise the tile will be done by then too. YAY. Now we just hope that they REALLY want the house. We'll see what happens. I understand that my chances of the first ppl to look at our house and buy it are not likely, at all but, a girl can dream. Ashlyn has been SUCH a big helper. She helps me clean up all the time. I know it's not really fun to clean so if anyone has any ideas of how I may be able to make it exciting for the girls I'd love to hear them. I'm sure you're wondering where I'll go if my house sells before we're supposed to leave for TX (March 20). We'll move in with my mom. Now you may wonder "Why don't you just move in with her now rather than hustle to clean the house every time someone wants to see it?" The answer my friends is that my mother lives about 45 minutes away from me and Ashlyn is still in school. I would have to drive an hour there and then an hour back EVERY Monday-Thursday. Not worth it in gas. I don't want to pull Ashlyn out of school either, at least until we have to so that we can move. She's already got enough on her plate about leaving her friends and cousins and especially her house. The girl prays that we won't sell it! It's the only house she's ever known, or remembers anyway. I'm wondering if maybe I should move in with my mom after the baby is born because how can I be in the middle of breastfeeding and clean at the same time if someone wants to come look at it? Oh the possibilities and problems and decisions. If anyone has a LOT of experience with this kind of thing or any suggestions I'm open to hear them. Well that's basically the update for now. I have a Dr. appt on Monday morning and I'm hoping we can go ahead and schedule my induction date. I'd love to be able to go ahead and buy Kenneth's plane ticket and prepare even better. Well here's to much prayer...and cleaning.

Oh I almost forgot! When I was talking to Kenneth last night he told me he got me something. It's not my birthday, or our anniversary, or even V-Day yet. He just wanted to get me something to let me know that he was thinking about me and how much he appreciates all that I'm doing and wishes he could help. Too sweet! I cannot wait to see what it is. He was going to surprise me but he accidentally slipped and mentioned that he went to the mall. What man just goes to the mall intentionally and willingly when he's alone? Of course that sparked questions on my behalf. Why was he at the mall? Even I don't go to the mall anymore, (not by choice of course). He asked if I wanted it hand delivered, (meaning when he flies down for Dallin's birth) or if I wanted it shipped. If you know me well you know I can't wait. I'm not good with surprises because I get too excited and just HAVE to know. lol. But I love to be surprised if you can keep it from me, (which not many have succeeded with). Otherwise watch out! I'm very sneaky. =D So to wrap things up I'm basically losing my mind stressed out and I have the best husband in the world.

We are moving

So it's been two months plus since I've blogged about anything. Sad I know, but I've been so tired and I forget what I wanted to blog about etc. So to catch you all up on our current events here it goes...

1. Our son has a name, Dallin Roam Walter. I LOVE it so if you don't be a pretender. ;)
2. Ashlyn is getting way too smart for us. However she thankfully cannot lie convincingly yet.
3. Jade remains to be sneaky and getting better at it all time while bullying her sister around.
4. The girls are also really beginning to play together.
5. Jade says Ashlyln's name now and it sounds a lot like, "Atchy or Atchin." Too cute!
6. Kenneth turned 30 on Dec. 10!!!! My older man. ;)
7. I was recently placed on bedrest for about 4 or 5 days. I LOVE the sisters of the church! Thank you all that helped me out I couldn't have been obedient to bedrest without you!
8. Kenneth was offered a job in Texas on Dec. 16
9. Kenneth was layed off on Dec. 17
10. We have accepted the job in Texas!

Okay so I'm sure everyone is trying to close their mouths right now. We knew that Kenneth would be layed off with how slow things at work were moving, it was only a matter of time. Their office hasn't had a sale in a little over two months. Why would they need more than one super. Of course we were crossing our fingers it wouldn't happen until AFTER the baby is born, but it worked out better for us this way. Kenneth was offered the new job the day before he was layed off and then we quickly became more serious about taking the offer after he lost his job. The new company only had one more superintendent position to fill and we got in just in time. So here's the VERY condensed version of the story. After MUCH prayer and planning and organizing we both felt the confirmation of the spirit to move. A VERY difficult thing for me seeing how it is that I've never lived anywhere but SC and that ALL of my family is here and I've never lived without them, not to mention that I have two small children and one on the way. Leaving my support group is hard to swallow. But I have been feeling the love of my father in heaven and know that I will be okay. The good news is that Kenneth has a job and we can pay our bills and support our family. I will also have two sisters-in-law in TX with me. Yes, two of Kenneth's brothers will be there as well working for the same company. They also have a sister that lives in TX, 8hrs away from where we will be, but visiting will be SO much closer! We'll also be closer to Kansas so we can visit his family next Christmas, something we haven't been able to do in years. Kenneth leaves on Dec. 27 to begin working right away. I will stay here in our house until after the baby's born. We're hoping to rent out our house until we and the house are ready to sell. If you know of anyone looking to rent please let me know, I have a GREAT house, (at least I think it's great). Anyway, Kenneth will come and get me and the girls and our things around mid March or so. Not every detail is planned out, there is a lot of the unknown, but we do know that this is what we are supposed to do. So if you ever get the feeling to "call Heather while Kenneth is away," please listen so that I may keep my sanity and my BROWN hair. lol. It will be very difficult being away from Kenneth. The longest we've ever been apart was 5days when he was in superintendent training 5yrs ago. He will be visiting about every other weekend or so, if the budget allows. While he's in TX he'll be staying with his brother Jonathan and looking for an apt for us to move into when we're ready to move there. Things will be very tight for us, not that it's much of a change lol, but it will be difficult. Hopefully someone will just LOVE our house and want to buy it! =) A girl can dream can't she? Well that's my update. This contract in TX, if things go well will be for two years. We may either come home by then, or stay if that's where the work is. We'll see where the Lord directs us.

We are expecting a...

Kenneth and I went to my Dr. appt yesterday to have an ultrasound and see the sex of our baby. We both had different opinions about what we thought the baby is. Kenneth thought we were having a boy and I thought it was another girl. So who was right? Kenneth was the winner! We are going to have a little baby boy! We are SO excited. Even though he guessed boy his face was just as shocked as mine was. We were of course hoping he was in fact a he, but when he wasn't a girl it just took us by surprise. After having two little girls already I had a hard time imagining that we were capable of having a son. lol. I'm glad that I was wrong. I teared up a little after we could clearly see that he is a boy. Now to pick out a name. Ashlyn thinks his name should be "Baby Kenneth." Sweet, but I'm not one for naming after the father, unless it was like a passed down tradition, or something. So we have much thinking to do. In case you're wondering Kenneth doesn't feel the need to name him after himself either. I am a nice wife, I try to compromise. Well it sure will be different seeing blue instead of pink around our house. I was so excited that when we left the appt. to eat lunch I actually left my car running! Can you believe that? I surely couldn't. It was funny because Kenneth locked his keys in his car right before my appt. and so we decided to eat lunch down the street while waiting for triple A and then I go and leave my car running! What a day! Thankfully no one took the car or anything out of it. It's a good thing it was pouring down rain ALL morning and afternoon long. Well we are SUPER HAPPY about our baby boy. Much love to everyone and we hope everyone is doing well.

Hospital $ Giveaway!

I have had a rather smooth day today which doesn't happen to me very often. Ashlyn's favorite thing to do when getting home from school is getting the mail. The other day she came in with an envelope I've been waiting for, Kenneth's rebate check for his Blackberry. Thank you Sprint for giving us back $100. Well this afternoon Ashlyn saw the mail man at the box and rushed outside to gather all of our mail. When she came in I saw something from Lexington Medical Center with my name on it that I wasn't expecting. They sent me a check for $130.00! Apparently I over paid on a bill from a while back and they sent me a check. There's nothing like getting checks in the mail, especially when you aren't expecting them! I'm also babysitting my niece Brooke while her parents are attending a U2 concert in Atlanta, GA. I was nervous she might be homesick and missing mama and dada, but she hasn't shed a tear yet. I have her until tomorrow and she's taking it like a champ. I babysit her a good bit and she usually does very well, but her parents were gone for five days two wks ago and she's been extra clingy ever since so I was a little nervous for her. But all three of the girls are playing so well together and I'm just loving it! I'm having such a good day today I just had to share it with everyone. I don't even have to cook tonight! Left over tacos here we come! =D Please pray with me that the day will continue to go this well. I'm keeping my fingers crossed that this whole day hasn't been the calm before the storm. lol.
Some news on Jade. She's growing more and more in her vocabulary. I asked her to apologize to Jacob (Webster) for hitting him in the face and she literally walked over to him and said, "sorry." Then she proceeded to put her face to his and keep it there for an extended period of time. lol, I think she was waiting for a kiss. Morgan and I agree it's cute now, but scary later! Oh my little flirt! What will we do with her? She was loving up on Jacob all morning! Lots of hug attempts. He was so patient with her just waiting for her to walk away and give him his space back. lol. Thanks Jacob! Jade is doing so much better with saying words that I ask her to say. Before she would purposefully not say a word when asked just to be stubborn. She's being way more cooperative so HOORAY FOR JADE!
We find out the sex of our baby in 6 days! We are SO excited! We're hoping for a boy but certainly won't be upset if it's a third girl. I am just so curious as to what a little Kenneth and Heather boy baby would look like. I for one think he would be one handsome little devil. Well I will update everyone on the news when we find out next Monday. Love to all and hope things are going well for everyone.

Kindergarten Noodles

Ashlyn is LOVING preschool! She loves it so much that Kenneth uses it for punishment, i.e. "if you don't listen you won't go to school tomorrow." Which is then followed by, "okay okay! I'll listen, I'll listen!" I personally think it's a horrible discipline attempt. He may think he would follow through with it and that's great, but who has to stay home with the children? I'll give you a hint it's NOT Kenneth. I am very glad that she loves school so much though. She has a wonderful teacher and teacher's assistant. She's doing very well writing her letters and getting closer to writing her name, darn that squiggly "S." Not only does she love it but it wears her out! She comes home and gets a snack and watches her favorite cartoon and usually passes out on the couch. HOORAY FOR SCHOOL!!! =D

Okay so you are probably wondering why this post is entitled "Kindergarten" when she's only in preschool. So here's the story. I hope you all love it as much as I do and laugh just as hard, it's a good one! So the other day I picked Ashlyn up from school and when we got home she wanted to watch a movie. While we are watching it the main characters are eating and Ashlyn says, "Mom I want to go to Kindergarten." So I told her that she would and soon, (next yr). She said, "Oh good! I can't wait I LOVE their noodles!" I'm thinking noodles? What noodles? Has she heard about what a caffeteria is already? So I asked her what noodles she was talking about. Her response, "Oh they are so yummy! They have white sauce on 'em and they are big." LOL! Baby girl doesn't want to go to "Kindergarden" she wants to go to the OLIVE GARDEN! lol. I laughed so hard for so long. It was a great moment during that very stressful day for mommy. Making memories. My grandmother took us there for lunch a few months back and Ashlyn is still remeniscing. What a funny girl. I have to take her back now!

Sorry to all of the far away family for not doing a better job with my updating. Life has been rather stressful and busy including an ear infection and all kinds of other fun things. Hopefully soon I will feel like a have a brain again. Jade continues to grow more in her vocabulary but is still VERY stubborn. She has also won Kenneth over so completely we may not be able to rescue him. lol. He says to me all the time, "How can you get mad at her? She is SO darn cute!" How he asks! Well if HE were the one staying home with the beautiful Jade that screams, (and I do mean screams) when she gets frustrated because she can't do something on her own which all children her age do, and if HE were the one that she was taking her hitting stage out on, and if HE were the one cleaning up all of her millions of messes throughout the day I think he may be able to relate. What do you think? Not only this but she is Kenneth trapped in a female toddlers body. She knows exactly what she's doing and what she is supposed to be doing and she just gives you this irresistable grin that makes you want to laugh, just like her father. Kenneth if I can be frustrated with you, YES I can be frustrated with Jade too. lol. Silly men. Do you think that in the after life men will get a little taste of what women did on the earth? Probably just another fantasy of mine. Just to be clear I do love my family. lol. I guess this paragraph doesn't exactly sound uplifting. I'm actually really enjoying my time alone with Jade while Ashlyn is in school believe it or not. We do have a lot of fun together and share many sweet mother daughter moments. But because of an out of routine nap schedule she is SO done by 4pm and so is mom! So when Kenneth gets home I'm looking for LOTS of help but she just wants mama. Sigh. This too shall pass. I just need to focus on the good moments. Kenneth does do a very wonderful job helping me with the girls and getting things done. I'm very blessed because not all men are that willing to help and serve their wives! Well I hope I've caught everyone up enough. I look forward to your comments! Love y'all!