I really just can't get enough of her!!!

Oh, and the birthday pics are not for Maddie's birthday, it was my Mom's. I am just so in love with this girl and thought I would post some over due and needed pics of her :)

"What are YOU thankful for?"

THANKSGIVING:

One of my favorite times of year. It is not crowded with the stress of buying presents and the forgetting of why we even celebrate these holidays in the first place. It is purely a holiday where you sit around with the people you love the most and celebrate everything and everyone you are grateful for.

I am thankful for my family and to know that we are an eternal family. My husband and daughter are my world. Waking up to them everyday makes my life already feel complete. I feel so complete with them, I cannot even fathom why the Lord is so gracious to bless me with another perfect little gift from him.

I am thankful for trials. By no means are they punishments from God. They are disguised gifts that make us stronger, more humble, more grateful and closer to those who really matter. They help us to realize our potential as children of a perfect being.

I am thankful for the sheer knowledge that God lives, loves us, and wants nothing more than for us to live with him once again and for us to be eternally happy.

I am sooooooo blessed and do not have ONE thing in my life to not be grateful for.

I would love for you to share what you are grateful for?

Click here for a sweet Thanksgiving message.

I LOVE THANKSGIVING!!!

We have no need to apologize!!!

Our European arrogance in alphabetical order

1. The American Cemetery at Aisne-Marne , France . A total of 2289 of our military dead.

2. The American Cemetery at Ardennes , Belgium . A total of 5329 of our dead.

3. The American Cemetery at Brittany, France . A total of 4410 of our military dead. Excuse us.

4. Brookwood , England American Cemetery. A total of 468 of our dead.

5. Cambridge , England .. 3812 of our military dead.

6. Epinal , France American Cemetery. A total of 5525 of our Military dead.

7. Flanders Field , Belgium . A total of 368 of our military.

8. Florence , Italy . A total of 4402 of our military dead.

9. Henri-Chapelle , Belgium . A total of 7992 of our military dead.

10. Lorraine , France . A total of 10,489 of our military dead..

11. Luxembourg , Luxembourg . A total of 5076 of our military dead.

12. Meuse-Argonne. A total of 14246 of our military dead.

13. Netherlands , Netherlands . A total of 8301 of our military dead.

14. Normandy , France . A total of 9387 of our military dead.

15. Oise-Aisne , France . A total of 6012 of our military dead..

16. Rhone , France . A total of 861 of our military dead.

17. Sicily , Italy . A total of 7861 of our military dead.

18. Somme , France . A total of 1844 of our military dead.

19. St. Mihiel , France . A total of 4153 of our military dead..

20. Suresnes , France . a total of 1541 of our military dead.

Apologize to no one.

Remind those of our sacrifice and don't confuse arrogance with leadership.
If I added correctly the count is 104,366 dead.
And we have to watch an American elected leader who apologizes to Europe and the Middle East that our country is "arrogant"!
HOW MANY FRENCH, DUTCH, ITALIANS, BELGIANS AND BRITS ARE BURIED ON OUR SOIL, DEFENDING US AGAINST OUR ENEMIES?
WE DON'T ASK FOR PRAISE ... BUT WE HAVE ABSOULUTELY NO NEED TO APOLOGIZE!!

Actually if you want to help out our troops, please go to my friend Kelly's blog here. The troops in Afghanistan are cold and need the help of your knitting fingers.

Inquiring minds want to know.

This is not my ultrasound, I just always feel the need to post a pic.

So, I know I told all of you that my appointment was on the 4th and it was, however they scheduled the ultrasound for the next day. I guess the ultrasound person wasn't in on the 4th, or something like that. So, I had to wait YET ANOTHER day to find out how far along I am. Since most of you probably know me pretty well, you know that patience does not exist in my vocabulary. By Halloween I am dying to know what I will be getting for Christmas basically.

Well, I know all of you were probably pacing your rooms all night last night and even biting your nails, so your fingers are probably just little nubbins now, as you were dying to find out the results.

The results were quite unexpected actually. After I had Madeline I got an IUD (a form of birth control for those who are not familiar). When I got it out I was totally fine, but my woman stuff was all irregular. Well, it turns out there was good reason my woman stuff was acting all weird. I actually got pregnant while I had the IUD in and I was lucky to have not lost the baby.

So how far along am I? Drum roll please..............

I AM 21 WEEKS!!! and there is more. THERE IS MORE THAN JUST ONE IN THERE. THERE ARE TWO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! YES, I SAID IT, 2222222222222222, IF YOU DID NOT HEAR THE FIRST TIME, OR IF YOU VISION IS GETTING A LITTLE BLURY.

Both Matt and I almost passed out together. Good thing he didn't though, because he was holding Madeline. I am still in shock. I still really can't believe it myself. But, the main reason it is so hard for me to believe is that I am so full of crap. I had to keep you on the edge of your seat. Ok, the truth is I am 11 weeks and 5 days and they are not sure of the sex quite yet, but they said I will be able to find out in a couple of weeks when I go in for a different test. Ha, I had you going didn't I? I am good! Really though, the baby was so cute and it was so exciting. Even though this is the second time around, it is still just as amazing. So, the winners of the pole are all those who guessed 12 weeks. They were the closest. Congrats to those who won. You get a whole day of bragging that you are always right, well, that you are right most of the time! Do what you want with your win. I think you should go out and celebrate your rightness!

I will post the pics of the ultrasound soon :)

How far along do you think I am?

fyi: This is not my belly of course.

So, Matt and I have been betting each other on how far along in my pregnancy we think I am. I wont tell you how far along I think I am. I will however give you some helpful hints.

Hints:

-My woman stuff was totally off before I got pregnant, so I really have no idea when my last woman thing took place.

-I have been throwing up for about a month now.

-I have been off birth control since July and I know I did not get pregnant right away.

-My belly is poking out a tiny bit. No one else would probably notice in clothes, but I am showing a little.

I hope that helps. The winner of the pole gets absolutely nothing. Sorry. I am not very creative, so I have nothing amazing to make that I could send you. If you lived near me however I would make you very yummy cookies. All you will get is the satisfaction of being right, which I think is a wonderful feeling anyway.

I am going to the doc Nov 4th; that is this Wednesday. I will tell you the results then.

Grandpa's visit to NM

So before Gary headed off to a business trip he stopped by for a few days to visit us in New Mexico. Madeline fell in love with her Grandpa during this trip. It was hilarious when they would wrestle around on the floor Gary kept saying "oh my." Even the day after he left she came down stairs looking for him and kept saying "oh my" as well. Now if you want to wrestle around with her that is all that she says. We got to go to the balloon fiesta, which was so amazing to experience. The fireworks were absolutely gorgeous. Madeline was a little scared of them at fist, but this time Grandpa held her and she LOVED it. I stayed home while the men took Madeline to Santa Fe, but they had a great time and took some beautiful pictures. We really had a great visit. Here are the pics. I know most of them are of Madeline, but really who else would you rather stare at?

Madeline went crazy on the bus. She loved it and screamed with delight the whole time.


I looooooovvvvveeeee that smile.

Precious!


A camera can never capture how gorgeous fireworks are. Well, maybe a professional one could. I love fireworks.
Don't you love her crazy hair. Those were in for like 3 days.

I think she is going to be weird like her Mom. The faces she makes cracks me up.


These were all taken in Santa Fe.
So, if you put lotion, or sanitizer on Maddie's hands she thinks that her hands are stuck together or something. She will not take them apart for at least a half hour or so. I have no idea why, but it cracks us up. If you feed her during this as well she will just pick everything up with her mouth, while keeping her hands together. I wish I knew what was going on in that head of hers sometimes.