Villarreal Visits

Our Little Man's Necessities.

2010-01-05T11:14:00.000-08:00

I use to think the only things we needed in order to bring a baby home were diapers, wipes, blankets and clothes. I was wrong! We have discovered a new way to meet the daily needs our our child they are:

a swing that swings side to side, rather than front to back. It puts Kyce to sleep almost everytime. Having his little Glow Worm buddy next to him helps, too!

Thank you Tanshea for lending it to JoDell, Thank you JoDell for lending it to me and who knows who the next lucky baby will be? I hear by 5-6 months they are ready to move on..so we will gladly pass along this little piece of heaven..

Ahhhhh, the vibrating bouncy seat! We used this very seat for both of the girls and it was the one item I did not get rid of and are we ever so thankful. Right after Kyce is in his delirious state after eating he loves to hang out in the bouncy seat for his "activity time."
And the newest addition to our MUST HAVES... is the BUMBO! Thank you Grandpa and Grandma. This little seat didn't exist when we had the girls. Kyce loves the independence of sitting up that it gives him. He doesn't last in it for very long, his little head gets too heavy, but we can see that it will be very useful in keeping a happy independent baby!
We are just enjoying each and every moment with our little man...and with all that hair he does tend to look like a cute little old man..too cute!

Can You Guess Who..

2010-01-04T13:35:00.000-08:00

Kyce

Kaydree
Kyce
Kaydree

Karsyn
Kaydree

Karsyn

Question: Who do you think Kyce looks like, Kaydree or Karsyn?

Thankful for...

2010-01-03T19:30:00.000-08:00

I can't help but come home from church feeling extremely thankful for all the many blessings in my life. I am thankful for many things but some are on my mind right now...

a testimony of a loving Heavenly Father
Believing Christ and what he can do for me each and every day
an eternal marriage
a loving family
a baby that we didn't think we would have
helpful daughters that love each other and their brother
a warm home
friends that chose to be supportive and accepting of all my faults
sleep, sleeping in, napping, getting to bed early, dreaming, a sleeping baby...
working vehicles
food for my family
Benjy's job
a gym membership
a love for reading
running shoes
a soft bed
my blanket that a friend made that goes everywhere with me...
toothbrush, toothpaste and floss
Charlee (when he isn't out getting dirty or waking up Kyce by barking)
my computer
neighbors
wet wipes
wet wipe warmer
my new aloe socks...looooove them.
hot baths and hot tubs
Living in Minnesota because you never know what the weather will do....
paint
coupons
chocolate
being a wife, mom, daughter, sister, aunt, cousin, grandaughter, and friend.
That is my short list for today.....
P.S.
I am going to bed now...wish me luck!

Christmas by Candlelight...

2009-12-25T06:51:00.000-08:00

This is what we woke up to on Christmas Eve Morning.

All of us were so excited to have such a White Christmas..

The kids went outside for hours and played. Benjy's 4 Wheel Drive Truck that he has been waiting 10 years for...came in handy getting home! (Background)
Sledding down the rock pile... some exposed rocks (eek) but the guys covered them up.

We had both fireplaces going, thank goodness because...at 4:30 PM the kids put on their annual Nativity program, except this year we actually had a baby to play Baby Jesus. Right after the program the electricity went out and stayed off until 6AM Christmas Morning.
It was pitch black, but the camera flash makes it look like we had light, but this reindeer was all that lit our traditional oyster stew dinner.

The kids ate by the light of this little candle.
Auntie Em snuggled Kyce while we opened gifts in the dark.
Grandpa hung a camping lantern so that he could read the names on the gifts. It was fun.. whoever had flashlights would spotlight the person opening the gift. I almost wish the flash had been turned off so you could see how dark it was...

We all thought it was so cool and a Christmas to remember...but when the temperature in the house started to drop and we realized we couldn't flush the toilets or that the water wouldn't run because my parents have a well and the pump wasn't running, we started to get a little anxious about how long we would be without power.

I guess when my mom was 6 months pregnant with me...they got stuck without power for 3 days and 4 families piled into a little house that had a wood burning stove and they still have fond memories of that experience. I am sure all of us will remember this Christmas and remember to be thankful for modern conveniences.

Something to Make you Smile!

2009-12-19T06:00:00.000-08:00

My very talented friend Lindsay and her family made this awesome video and it makes me smile, so I wanted to share it with all of you!

A Rising Star and an Accident

2009-12-16T09:59:00.000-08:00

Although Benjy says the local papers will print anything, I know he feels like this is a huge honor, to be recognized by others in your profession as someone who is passionate about your work. I feel very blessed to be married to someone who enjoys his work so much. Benjy absolutely loves his work and it is nice to see that others recognize that, too. So this came out in the paper within a week of his accident and this is what Benjy had to say, "What is even more funny is that this "local attorney" rear-ended a car last week on the highway and stopped traffic for about 45 min. They also put me in the back of a police car to give me a ride to the nearby coffee shop. Don't worry I did not get injured but my "Mija" car was totaled."

So... we are shopping for a new/used car. I told Benjy that I haven't really minded being stuck at home during the day while he has my car at work. I really didn't want to rush into buying something that we didn't love or that wasn't a great deal...However, today.... changed everything! Kaydree hasn't missed the bus in 3 years, 3 years and today... she did! I didn't have a way to get her to school! So....once again, JoDell and Judy came to the rescue and brought her to school for me... thank you, thank you! Let's just say...enough of the one car family..one week to the day is enough. Wish us luck in our little adventure. I hate, yes I used the word, HATE...looking for cars! For an indecisive person, like me...this is torture!

Snug as a Bug..

2009-12-15T14:42:00.000-08:00

I feel like these pictures are already out dated. Kyce is growing so fast. He is out of his newborn diapers and almost out of all of his newborn outfits.

Little Nick looks so big holding his baby cousin. Kyce was definitely loved and snuggled at Thanksgiving, however he was very spoiled when we got home. Just as we are trying to have him adjust to some independent time... we know that next week he will be spoiled again and we love it!

Grandpa always loves up the Grandchildren, especially when they are babies!

I have to say Auntie Em, is known as the baby snuggler. She held Kyce most of the time and he slept and slept.

My nieces Courtney (15) and Korin (13) were found just watching him sleep. It made me chuckle, I told them, "We have spent many hours just watching our babies sleep."

Noah and Courtney

Auntie Lori

Uncle Steve

First thing in the morning with Grandpa, they have matching Bedhead.

Snoozing on Dad!

Hanging out with Teresa

Just love those little eyes!

A Great Way to Spend our Time on the Weekend.

2009-12-07T18:32:00.001-08:00

Benjy and I were able to help with the Faces of the Nativity this weekend which is a special holiday season event sponsored by the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints. Hundreds of creches, or manger scenes were on display at the Anoka Stake Center in Brooklyn Park, Minnesota. On Friday night, Benjy and 6 other "Elders" men from our church had the opportunity to serve as the SECURITY TEAM...from 9 PM to 3 AM. They brought snacks and played some games. Benjy said it was Blast. I am sure they were all tired on Saturday. Then on Saturday night we brought the kiddos to hear the Mormon Chorale sing at the display. It was absolutely beautiful. Our two good friends, Nicole Bator and Janice Anderson were singing in the choir. We then walked through with the girls and it brought tears to my eyes. It was amazing the quiet reverence that you felt just looking at all the different Nativity Scenes.

This picture really doesn't do the entire display any justice. It was mouth dropping, unbelievably beautiful in there and to hear the Christmas music quietly in the background was just so peaceful. I was so bummed that I forgot my camera on Saturday, so I told Benjy that I wanted to go back after church on Sunday just to get some pictures. Funny thing was that Benjy forgot that he signed up to help out on Sunday from noon to 3, so I freely volunteered to do it for him. I couldn't think of a better way to spend the rest of my day and I was so excited!

Here are some of the ones that really touched me. There were 530 different ones. INCREDIBLE!

How does one preserve a chocolate Nativity for 20 years?

I saw this one and said, " Oh, that is a pretty glass one." Wrong... I later heard through the grapevine.... that it is a Waterford Crystal one...estimated at $2,000. Now you know why they took security so seriously at this display. Not only were some valuable monetarily however I think the value was in the meaning behind each Nativity. There were ones from all over the world, Family Heirlooms, treasured gifts and many memorable missionary moments that some represented.

I only displayed 3 out of my 12 Nativities, and I happened to be assigned to the area by mine. The cute little coconut one from Hawaii was in my area and I just loved looking at the detail.Benjy's mom went to the Holy Land almost 2 years ago and brought us back the Holy Family made out of Olive Wood. It is the one in the front on the right hand side. There were a lot made out of Olive Wood.
My dad has started my collection for me. He started giving me a Nativity every year for Christmas nine years ago when I was pregnant with Kaydree. I love them all but thought this one was amazing on display with other ones just like it and especially with this picture behind them. Mine is the back one on the left, furthest away from the picture.
I don't know if these picture touched me so deeply because we have a beautiful baby boy this Christmas season or if it was just the spirit that I felt at this display. I kept looking at this picture throughout the day and just felt overwhelmed with gratitude not only for our little miracle we have been given but especially for the miracle of Eternal life that our Savior has provided for us.
I actually had the thought, I wonder if Our Savior was a sweet little baby? It felt like an odd thought to have but I am just in awe over our sweet little baby. In all reality aren't all babies just so sweet? November started out a little rough with the early arrival of Kyce and ended very tough with the loss of my beloved Uncle Lee. I am so thankful that December started out with celebrating in the true spirit of Christmas...the birth of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. A sign by this also said, " Each of us is an Innkeeper that has to decide if we will make room for Jesus."

Just Not Ready to Say Goodbye,

2009-12-01T14:29:00.000-08:00

even if it is temporary. This picture was taken of my Uncle Lee and my Grandma this summer, over our 4th of July Family Reunion. Lee is my mother's only brother and the "Big Brother" to my mom and her two sisters. I struggled with blogging my thoughts and emotions towards the end of the summer because Lee was diagnosed with Pancreatic Cancer on August 6th. There were so many times that I wanted to blog and plead for prayers, however it just felt like a time to remain silent and respect a need for this to be endured privately as a family. There were many days and nights that I would sit and cry out of helplessness and at the thought of the pain that Lee and his family were going through. I watched my Grandma deteriorate over the summer physically, mentally and emotionally and even more so after Lee's diagnosis . I watched my mom and her sisters try to support Grandma and Lee's family in any way that they could. At times, I could feel the tender Mercies of the Lord pulling us closer together as a family, even though the pain and the suffering were so great. And yet at times it was obvious that each and every one of us in our own way were struggling to keep some type of normalcy during this time.Three Months and Three weeks after being diagnosed, Lee passed away on Thanksgiving Day. Pancreatic Cancer is a very painful and absolutely horrible type of cancer they estimated that Lee lost almost a 100 pounds in those 3 months. I have tremendous faith in a Father in Heaven and his plans for all of us as his children and yet I am really struggling to try to find the tender mercies in the passing of my Uncle Lee. Why does life here on this earth have to be so much harder for some than others? Lee lost, Roben, his infant daughter to Sudden Infant Death Syndrome, his first wife Betty in a tragic car accident and his father to cancer, all taken too early and now Lee has been taken from us, too early and yet... I know we will all see him again. It is our time that we have left on this earth that feels so much harder without him here to share it with.

Lee has always been the rock for this family and especially after my Grandpa passed away from cancer, too. Kaydree was trying to comfort my mom at the funeral, yesterday and said, "Grandma, you know that you will see him again, someday." My mom said, " I know, but sometimes I really need to have him here to talk to."

For me, Lee in some ways was like a second dad. I look at my relationships with my Uncles and they have all helped shape me into the person I am today. They are second dads to me in a way that my children have uncles that are also like second dads.

I had a unique opportunity to work as a "mud tender" for Lee in his Masonry business. During the summer of my Sophomore year in college I was complaining to my dad that I couldn't get enough hours as a cashier at Shopko. He told me, "I bet your Uncle Lee would give you enough hours if you worked for him." I said, "Really?" Then my dad started laughing and said, "Kristen, you wouldn't last a day, working for Lee." Lee was well known for being a hard "A" to work for. (sorry didn't know how else to explain it) At the time he was laying brick on the Fox home in Marshall, so I asked him if I could try a day and he didn't even have to pay me, just to prove that I could last a day. Well he had me striking joints that day, which is the easiest thing I could have done! I thought it was a cake walk and really fun. At the end of the day he said, "Well, are you coming back, tomorrow?" and then I worked for him the rest of the summer and the next summer as well.

What I learned:

You work until Lee told you to wrap up the extension cords.

You don't complain or you would get twice as much to do.

You made it look like you are busy working even if you weren't.(don't lean on your shovel-ever!)

You always did it right the first time.

You always did it right every time!

If you dumped a wheel barrow full of cement...you would never hear the end of it.

You don't question who he told to do something (especially if it was me instead of Tim)... even if it didn't seem fair, or he would give you a look that could kill and make you wonder if he was going to jump out of the hole to let you know that you don't question him.

And most of all... he taught me...

TO LOVE TO WORK. I RESPECT HIM IN A WAY THAT I CAN'T PUT INTO WORDS.

It has always been fun to point out places, houses, buildings that I helped build with Lee to Benjy and the girls. It is crazy to think about how many building foundations, structures, basements, driveways, waste water plants, Casey's Gas Stations and the bricks that he laid around Marshall and the surrounding areas.

My Uncle Lee was amazingly talented at building things, but most importantly he built a beautiful family that loved him very much and will miss him dearly. Looking around at all the people that he loved and that loved him, yesterday, I was humbled. It seemed so unfair to watch my Grandma say goodbye to her son, my aunt to her husband, my cousins to their father, and their children to their grandpa and my mom and her sisters to their brother. I will be forever grateful for my uncle Lee and for all of the lessons I learned from him. Time spent together as a family will not be the same, however I look forward to spending time with him again, in the Eternities to come!

We are Learning..

2009-11-16T18:10:00.000-08:00

That Kyce loves to sleep all day and be awake all night. This should be fun for the rest of the family at Thanksgiving...;-) Should we apologize now?
This is what your heels look like when your Mom has gestational diabetes and they check your blood sugar too. Along with being checked for Jaundice every other day. Kyce cries if you even touch his feet. (Bad memories for him, I guess?)

He loves to be held.. notice it is daytime and he is sleeping.

He loves being in the sun which helps his Jaundice. It is a flash back from when Kaydree was a baby. He looks so much like her and we use to have to put her in a diaper in the sun, too. She also loved the same Nuk. Karsyn didn't take one and Kyce loves the same one Kaydree loved.

He looks so sweet and innocent, but he still loves to wee, wee all over us and his outfits, his hair, blankets and he even managed to get some in his ear? Karsyn and I have started a tag team effort of blocking his efforts. We are about 50% successful.

He hates having his little hands covered. Also, it is nighttime and he is wide awake!
Again, he was laying on his blanket so nice and then I noticed a stream...(next picture)

Yep, he is guilty again, it came right out the side. The laundry has doubled since this little one came home!
He loves to play with his hair, just like Karsyn. She still twirls to go to sleep or drink a cup of milk. I love seeing how much Kyce already is following in his sister's footsteps! It is fun noticing the similarities and differences and what makes him special and unique and yet very much apart of our family! Karsyn is starting to love up her little brother. He is no longer something that has upset her lifestyle but very much something she looks forward to seeing in the morning and when she gets home! Yay!

Things Don't Always Go As Planned.

2009-11-12T18:05:00.001-08:00

Although we got off to a tough start in the Level Two Nursery and things didn't go exactly like we planned, we were still able to have many tender moments with Kyce. We would have loved to have him in our room with us but my heart just aches for those parents that have gone through a lot worse than we did. We saw babies in there that made Kyce look like a giant, babies that have been in there for 6 weeks and babies that can't be held at all. If I think about it, I still get teary eyed. Having Kyce in the Level Two Nursery was difficult for us as I am sure it is for every parent. When Kaydree and Karsyn were born, they came to bring Kaydree to the Nursery once and they got half way down the hall and Benjy wanted to go and get her. So she had one short trip to the Nursery in 3 days, maybe an hour or so. When Karsyn was born they took her on the second night after we reluctantly said they could take her between a feeding and they actually brought her back to me and said she was waking up all the other babies. So obviously we had to let go the idea of how we wanted things to be with Kyce in the room with us as much as possible. Our little peanut loved this little snuggly thing they have in there. We thought it was so cute how it looked like he was praying with his feet. He still does this at home sometimes.

When we would get up every 2-3 hours to go feed him, Benjy would often look at me and say, "Aren't you tired." I have to admit, I don't know if it was the hormones or the pain medication, but I couldn't wait to go see him again and didn't feel tired. Often times the nurses would come in to wake us up and I was standing there waiting for Benjy to get up so we could go.

I would nurse him, but then we would do extra supplementing with my milk through a bottle, just to make sure he was always getting enough. Benjy did the bottling and was very good at it!
Once again, we threw out the idea of not giving Kyce any bottles for a couple of weeks, so that he would be a great nurser. Whatever...he is a little lion when it comes time to eat. Giving him the bottle doesn't seem to have effected that in any way. Bonus: He takes a bottle really well... great for the day after Thanksgiving Shopping Day and going to see New Moon!

I love those little toes. He looked like E.T. except the light was on his foot instead of his finger!

We have had so much fun already having him home. Although after the first 8 hours we had an entire full load of laundry of just Kyce's blankets, onsies, pajamas, socks and burp cloths. I mean really. I can't even tell you how many times we have been tinkled on! In fact Benjy took him to the room to have a little talk with him about this tinkling on us, himself and everything else. In fact if you ask Benjy about it , he could go on for hours about how ridiculous this is that we can't seem to get control of this little issue.
Finding good socks that stay on his feet is a task!
He looks so tiny in his little car seat. I told Benjy when we found out we were pregnant that this time, the hospital was going to have to kick me out before I would go home. I went home a day early with both girls because Benjy was ready to get home and get out of the hospital. Well this time I was the one who was ready to run out the door of the hospital. Other than two not so good experiences, overall we had a great nursing staff. I just couldn't wait to get Kyce home in order to have unlimited access to him, to be able to hold him for hours, to be able to watch him sleep and have him with us at all times! I seriously watch him with the girls and I am just so, so happy! I feel like he is our miracle little baby that for a couple of years, we just didn't think would happen and I thank my Father in Heaven and my husband for the blessing of this beautiful little baby.

Be Patient, For I am With You.

2009-11-07T14:21:00.000-08:00

I am having a hard time blogging about this. It is still very fresh in my mind and my emotions are pretty raw and with the hormonal changes, it makes it hard to keep a postive attitude about what transpired quickly after the birth of Kyce.

Without going into too many details about the events of last week and the very real fears I had about our family coming down with H1N1 this close to Kyce's birth, I want to share how serious the medical community is taking any type of exposure to H1N1.

Someone recently told me. "I guess I just don't take it that seriously and think that everyone is blowing this way out of proportion." In some ways I agree with this person in the fact that H1N1 has some people super paranoid about getting it or other people who are extremely angry with the people that they think are super paranoid about getting it.

I guess if I was one of those people who knew, loved and lost one of the 1,000 people who already have died from it this year, I wouldn't feel like anyone is being too overly cautious. Yes, I realize more people have and will die of the regular influenza than have already died of H1N1. That doesn't change the fact that people are and will die from H1N1.

Either way... it is a huge issue even here in the hospital.
This is the sign that started out on the floor in front of the Nurses station when we got there and ended up on a big stand blocking entrance onto the floor.

If you would have went through what I did in the hours following the birth of my son, you would be very serious about being exposed to H1N1! The first thing I noticed was that the nurses were very vague about when I could get up and go see the baby.

It was already really hard when Benjy left about an hour and a half after Kyce was born but he really needed to be home with some sick little girls who wanted their mommy and I couldn't be there. Kaydree's fever spiked at 103.5 right before I went into have Kyce and Benjy hated to leave her when she was feeling so yucky. Even though we knew they were in great hands with JoDell, we knew that it was important for Benjy to be there to comfort them through, not only their sickness, but with the changes of me being gone and them not being able to see Kyce. We really didn't want JoDell to be there any longer than she had to be, and risk getting it herself and bringing it home to her little ones.

My parents came up and got the girls and brought them back home with them until next Tuesday. (tomorrow) I am just so thankful that they are now with my parents at their house, being snuggled and comforted. Even with them being so sad and dissapointed that their brother is 5 days old and they still haven't seen him, the girls are excited to know that it will be very soon, now.

If they have not been exposed to H1N1 the girls would be allowed to come up, but at the hospital they have screening questions because of that exposure and possible diagnosis (no test) they couldn't come up to see us.

So... back to my nightmare which even existed at all because of this exposure to H1N1.

Throughout the night I kept pushing the nurses to let me get up and see Kyce. I saw him for a couple seconds in the operating room before they took him away. Which is exactly what happened with both of the girls, however within an hour I was nursing them and holding them.

They told be that Kyce couldn't come out even though he was breathing fine and doing well because was 2 days shy of 36 weeks. Which was also frustrating because my doctor told me that in my chart one due date said Dec. 2 and one said Dec. 4th. He originally told me right before the c-section that they were going to use my Dec. 2 so that Kyce would only be admitted to the level 2 nursery if he needed it.

Well after many lame excuses and 8 hours later I was starting to get frustrated. I kept pushing the nurses to let me go see him in there.I was ready to get out of bed myself, because by this time I already had with the girls, two nurses came into my room. This is what they told me..

"Because you might have been exposed to H1N1 we cannot allow you to see or hold your baby for at least one week to 10 days." I couldn't believe it! I wasn't showing any signs or symptoms. I was on tamiflu only as a 10 day precautionary (overkill as the doctor put it) and now they were telling me that the exposure itself was serious enough that I couldn't even see him! Can't I see him if I am masked, gowned and gloved? They said no. I asked can't I just see him through the glass? I haven't even seen him for more than a couple of seconds? They told me no, that required me going through the level 1 nursery and I could expose the other babies. I asked, "I can't even nurse him?" They told me no. I said, "I am not even showing any signs or symptoms." They said, the incubation period can be anywhere between 1-7 days and that you are contagious one day before the symptoms show up. They also said that Kyce would not be coming home for 7-10 days because your daughter is still contagious for that long. Therefore I couldn't hold him for at least that long, also.

So there I sat, all alone because my husband was home with our sick girls. I couldn't hold or even see my baby because I might have been exposed and I might have it. Even though there was no way to confirm it. They wouldn't test Kaydree or myself to see if we really had it....the exposure that each of us had was enough to warrant their reaction. They told me that they would supplement my baby with formula and maybe my breast milk, but they would have to check on that since I needed to be on tamiflu.

I cannot tell you the thoughts and feelings of helplessness that I had. I know that no one ever would intentionally ever want to expose this to anyone, but obviously the medical community is taking this very seriously and cautiously screening and using their best judgement when it comes to spreading the risk of exposure.

I called Benjy and my mom at 5AM, hysterical. All I kept saying was, "They won't even let me hold or see my baby because I might have been exposed to H1N1." That to me is not something I know that I will NEVER forget...and I NEVER would want anyone to experience what I did. That is why my children will not be going back to school for at least a week or be around other people. Now they won't be able to be home when we bring Kyce home and I have two little girls who want to be with their mommy and their little brother and just can't right now because of a virus that some people just don't take seriously.

When discussing this with someone about how we should all be very overly cautious and will not use POOR JUDGEMENT with being sick in the upcoming months especially when it comes to feeling like we need to be at work, school, church or out and about when we absolutely don't have to. If the girls were exposed it was because someone was somewhere other than home when they were still contagious. Maybe knowingly or not knowingly.

As I sat in that dark hospital room, all alone, I realized that everything was going to be okay and I realized I am never alone. I have the support of people who love and cared about me and most of all I knew that my Heavenly Father was watching out for all of us.

Then the words that Benjy said to me came back into my mind... he said, "Be patient, Kristen, it will all be okay." I will say that within hours and after pushing to see the written policy about being able to see Kyce, we were able to see him by 9AM in gowns and masks. As of now I am still symptom free and able to nurse my little one and he is doing great! Will it be a little bitter sweet bringing him home without the girls there? Absolutely, however there will be plenty of time for us all to bond as a family and enjoy our new little addition.

Kyce's Birth

2009-11-05T23:10:00.000-08:00

On Wednesday, I blogged about the calm before the storm in the morning. Little did I know then just how turbulant and exuberant our lives were about to come. The rollercoaster of life's ups and downs was nearing a huge mountain.

I felt incredible anxiety waking up with sick girls knowing that we might have been exposed to H1N1 and I was nearing the end of my pregnancy with a doctor planned c-section in order to avoid the chance of a ruptured uterine wall.

After many prayers and finally feeling peaceful and calm I took the girls to the doctor where he put into words, "I wouldn't normally treat your family, however with a birth of a baby a week a way, we are going to overkill this one and just be safe." I got a prescription from my ob/gyn for tamiflu and the girls each got one also.

In the stress of the moment worrying about my sick little peanuts and my little peanut on the way I started seeking out the girls' tamiflu, which most pharmacies seemed to be out of due to a back order. After hours we found a Walgreens that would have it ready in a couple of hours.

While sitting at the doctor's office I could feel the stress building and I started contracting pretty strongly, which has happened off and on throughout all of my pregnancies. I find once I relax, drink a ton of water and just lay down, they usually go away. However when we got home I did the normal steps and found that the contractions were getting closer together and very strong throughout my back and not just the normal tightening.
So after some tears and fighting with my stubborn self that kept saying, "I am not going to have this baby before 36 weeks." I asked Benjy what he thought I should do and he asked me, "Are you afraid of dying?" My response was, "No, but I am afraid to lose this little one." He said, "There you go, there is your answer, if you rupture, he doesn't have a chance." That was enough to get me to make the trip to the dreaded labor and deliver, in hopes that they would buy us both at least another week to the scheduled c-section.

Upon arriving, they put me into a back room with a mask (noted in the computer, H1N1 exposure) and hooked me up to the monitors and saw that the contractions taking place were very regular, about every 5 minutes, my blood pressures were coming in at 190/88-90, the babies heart rate took a big long dip and so they kept telling me for two hours...we are going to test this and that and hook you up to an IV in hopes to slow the contractions and buy you some more time. They didn't want to give me a shot of turbutaline to stop it because they didn't like the way my contrations were coming down. (words that were told to me 5 years ago with Karsyn) Benjy stayed with the girls, because who were we going to ask to subject themselves to possible exposure to H1N1, plus Benjy was waiting to be able to go the drive-thru with sick kiddos at Walgreens to get their tamiflu. We didn't want to subject anyone else to this unless absolutely necessary.
I kept asking them for 2 hours, "Should I call my husband?" They kept reassuring me that they were just watching me to see what would happend and that they would let me know.

All of the sudden, in what seems like a blur right now, the doctor came in and informed me that he didn't like the way things were looking and that we couldn't let this go any longer and that we were going to do a c-section. I was invisioning myself getting up and walking out and saying, "Nope, I'll see you next week because I AM NOT HAVING THIS BABY BEFORE 36 WEEKS!" However... I thought, "If I walk out of this hospital and I rupture, I would never forgive myself." So I said, "okay, when? I will call my husband." He said, "NOW. We are doing the c-section now." In walks an anesthesiologist, a nurse anesthetist, someone with a lot of papers, a couple of nurses and someone to draw more blood. As I am on the phone calling Benjy telling him, "you have to get here now," the nurse says, "we can't wait for him, do you have a camera, I can take pictures, we are here for you."

AHHHHHH .... slow down, way too fast. I am not having this baby without my husband here...

So Benjy thought I was kind of kidding and wasn't really sensing the panic in my voice until I hung up on him so that they could start prepping me to leave for the surgery.

Thank goodness, thank goodness for friends like JoDell and others who willingly told us to call, no matter what! Benjy called her and she ran out the door maybe in her slippers and was at our house within minutes because her mom, Judy, was already there to keep her children. She gave Benjy some quick tips on how to get here fast and how to park and RUN... (which I still get teary eyed to think that JoDell herself has a 2 year old with asthma and a 4 month old baby to worry about getting H1N1 and yet she came without hesitation)

The whole team waited about 5 minutes and said," we have to move for the sake of this baby, when your husband gets here, we will bring him in."
As they finished giving me the spinal tap, in walked Benjy and instantly I knew everything would be okay!

He grabbed my shaking hand, kissed me and said, "I love you and don't worry...it is going to be okay." Now...after what seemed like forever... out came baby Kyce at a whopping 6 pounds 8.6 ounces and screaming his head off, just like his sisters.

Benjy said, "no gorey pictures." I think these are beautiful.

A little of Kaydree, a little of Karsyn and a whole lot of hair!

Just as I felt a sigh of relief that he looked and sounded good, they told me that he would still be an automatic admittance into the level 2 nursery because he was shy of 36 weeks by 2 days and that coupled with the possible exposure to H1N1 in our house. Little did I know that my world was about to come crashing down...more to come. (Don't worry everything is a-okay now.)

The Calm Before the Storm.

2009-11-04T06:40:00.000-08:00

About 24 hours ago I sat at my computer enjoying the peaceful, quiet morning after the girls left for school. In fact I updated my facebook profile saying how I felt so content and peaceful , that life was good.....and then....

less than 24 hours later...
The storm has hit. I am trying to have faith that everything will be okay. I am maybe a week away from having this little one. In terms of pre-term labor this pregnancy has been so much better than with both of the girls. I will be 36 weeks on Friday and at the beginning of this pregnancy I kept hoping to make it at least to 36 weeks and best hopes for 38 weeks. We have experienced such blessings during this pregnancy and I am ecstatic that this little one is still cookin' and doing well. My doctor is always weighing the risk of a preterm baby versus a rupture of the uterine wall and has been monitoring me very closely. I have been trying to get the H1N1 vaccine but as of last week my doctor said they got 34 doses for 2000 pregnant women. Even with gestational diabetes and being considered high risk, I wasn't able to get a dose. They gave them to those pregnant women with Asthma and heart conditions first. Which is more than understandable. My doctor just kept saying, "Kristen do not get sick with H1N1." Which I would chuckle, thinking of course that is what I am trying not to get.

So yesterday I sat thinking...we are so close, everything is going so well and then... Kaydree and Karsyn both woke up this morning with fevers, coughs, sore throats and body aches. My doctor is putting me on Tami flu as a precaution so that when I need a c-section, I will be healthy and the pediatrician is going to see the girls and hopefully start them on tami flu also. He says they are eligible since I called within the first 48 hours of symptoms.

After a good cry and some panicked thoughts... I started praying, praying and praying. I know that I can not control whether we all get sick, when this baby will be born and how this will all turn out. It is amazing to me how just saying a prayer and asking for some peace, I thought of the Serenity prayer: God grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change, the courage to change the things I can and the Wisdom to know the difference. My wisdom is...I cannot control any of this...a common thought I get when I feel myself trying to control everything that is happening and I feel it building I think..."Let go...and Let God." I trust in him more than myself or anyone else, so I remind myself to TRUST in him and his plan...NO MATTER WHAT...I do not know or see all that he does or even a portion. What I do know is that he loves his children and these times of trials are for our Eternal benefit, our Eternal growth and help us continue to develop an ability to lean on him.

So my goal for today and whatever the next couple days/ or week brings... is to remember that it isn't important that we just make it through this storm but how we weather the storm. I want us to feel peace and faith and trust that ultimately it is our Father in Heaven who is aware of us and our needs and know that he has already provided a way for us to find safety and peace in times like this...

The Best of the Halloween Festivities...

2009-11-03T07:07:00.001-08:00

I have to admit we didn't make it to the biggest parade of all this year. After already being at 2 we decided to skip the 3rd. It was pretty cold and windy and we knew that we were going out on a hay ride later, so we decided to stay in the warm indoors and watch movies during the day.
I put on all of Kaydree's glittery nails, so Benjy and I tag teamed (which he was very excited about) for Karsyn's spider nails. She just loved them until...

We went to put on her gloves that show the fingertips and most of the nails fell off. Everyone was ready to go and Benjy and I were trying to stick them back on while she cried because her beautiful spider nails fell off. Benjy has forbidden nails for next year..;-) Actually there probably is a hint of seriousness to his joking. I wonder if being a witch this year has transformed Karsyn? Yesterday she came to the doctor with me and they let her pick out a sticker and out of all the Barbie and Dora stickers, Karsyn picked a snake. My doctor was very surprised and he asked her, "Do you like snakes?" Karsyn said that she loved them!????

I think there were 25 of us that rode around on the hay ride to go out trick or treating and 3 that stayed behind with 3 babies. Thanks again, Kyle for pulling us around and Seamans for getting us all together and for the yummy food!
We also rode down to a local church to participate in their Trunk or Treating and Free games. They had 33 cars decorated and 1 boat. It was my favorite part of the night. The themes were so fun and it was like hitting 34 houses in 10 minutes.
My favorite was the boat with President Bush and President Obama fishing and they actually would throw out the bucket on their poles and then reel them up for the children to get their candy. It was so funny!
Then we went inside for the kids to play games and of course the girls wanted their faces painted right away.
When we realized it was getting late we were in a rush to get home since Benjy has a meeting on Sundays that starts at 7:30 and Kaydree started choir so we have to be there at 8:30. As we were trying to collect everything, someone said, "Don't forget to turn your clocks back an hour!" I didn't even realize it was happening Saturday night...so we were excited to stay longer and have some more fun! I love getting that extra hour of sleep. We were actually REALLY early to church! It was a busy week and a great weekend!

Pumpkin Carving

2009-11-02T12:05:00.000-08:00

We decided to carve pumpkins for Friday Family Fun Night, since we realized if we didn't do it then, it wouldn't get done. Last year my parents were up here so my dad helped do the cutting. I didn't feel comfortable cutting that close to the baby belly so the girls drew the faces they wanted and Benjy got to do all the cutting work. Karsyn made incredible progress this year. She actually dug out the seeds herself. Actually I had to finally get her moving because she just kept playing with the insides. What a difference from last year. She about cried just thinking about touching it!

Kaydree is always so dramatic about trying to scare her sister. This year however, it didn't work, Karsyn just gave it right back at her!

Kaydree got laughing so hard, she couldn't even talk. When Benjy went to cut out the teeth she wanted and he cut the top ones right off. Then when he went to cut Karsyn's bottom teeth, he cut them off by accident. If only he could combine their teeth, they would have a full set...

Kaydree's pumpkin.
Karsyn's pumpkin. I think Benjy added a little of his own creativity to her face. She didn't have it drawn exactly like that!

2nd Halloween Parade

2009-11-01T17:32:00.000-08:00

On Friday, Karsyn and I went into Kaydree's classroom to help her get on her make up for the parade.

It was actually fun watching everyone get so excited about marching in the parade. Karsyn was a little sad that she didn't get to march this year but next year she will. She decided to wear her costume, anyway.
I have to say, walking into classroom still makes me a little nostalgic.
She loves her class!

Notice Kaydree's long glittery fingernails... she looked creepy with them.

Kaydree got to wear her costume 5 times this year and Karsyn wore hers 6. Like my mom said, "At least you get your money's worth out of them!" Considering I always buy them on clearance after Halloween, the 2 dollars for each costume, really did pay off!
Getting ready to go march in the parade.

Missionaries and The First of Three Parades...

2009-10-25T14:03:00.000-07:00

On Thursday we had the Missionaries over for dinner. We decided to serve a Turkey, Mashed Potatoes, gravy, Stuffing, Beets, rolls, a spinach salad and Apple pie with vanilla ice cream. Why would a crazy pregnant lady with Gestational diabetes do this to herself? I don't know... all I could eat was the Turkey and Spinach salad and one scoop of potatoes. Thank goodness our friends The Kennedy's minus Nate joined us, so that we didn't end up having weeks and weeks worth of leftovers. ;-) For some reason we got a chuckle out of one of the Elder's who is from Samoa wearing a stocking cap.... he just had that look like he is really enjoying the cold. He thinks all of this snow and cold is fun. I guess I can understand why...

I think we really are starting to get into the idea of living near the Halloween Capital of the World... We went to the night time parade in Anoka last night. The first parade of three. On Thursday there is another one and again the longest parade ever will be on Halloween. (but worth it) We have been here for 3 years and haven't hit this parade and now I am glad we went. It was really NEAT, the girls loved it! I think we all did.

You have to get there early to get a good spot and thanks to the Seamans, who set up chairs for us all, we got a great spot! Benjy wasn't too excited since, again, he missed the last half of the 4th quarter of his Notre Dame Game. Last week he missed it for the Fall Festival and he is calculating missing it again next week for Halloween.

Kaydree can never get her fill of babies. We shall see if this changes when her little brother is born.

The Kennedy's were so sweet they picked up pizza for everyone. Kaydree opted for her favorite (Subway) with me, maybe out of sympathy. I love pizza, I can't tell you how many times I have listed pizza as my favorite food and now I can't seem to tolerate it with my blood sugars. Guess what my celebration dinner will be when I get home after the baby is born?????

Little Norin was so cute. It was a little chilly but I was actually hot sitting there with a winter coat on.

Everyone seemed to dig out their warm costumes.

I am impressed that the Kennedy's and the Daileys made it to this Parade in their first year living near the Halloween Capital of the World!

I wish I could have gotten more pictures of some of the floats..they were so neat, but for some reason they turned out blurry or dark.

After Benjy found out that Notre Dame had won, he seemed to enjoy it more.

We were all so thankful that it turned out to be a great night..the weather was perfect and the Parade was really neat!

2009 Fall Festival

2009-10-19T06:36:00.001-07:00

We live in Ramsey, however we belong to the Anoka Ward and Anoka is...The Halloween Capital of The World! Benjy has always loved his Hill Billy Teeth and lost them a couple of years ago, so I made sure he had a pair for this Halloween. He found some of the girl's stuff that they weren't wearing and threw it together. I think he was a cross between a creepy Wendy's Girl, Pippi Longstocking and Little Red Riding Hood?

Here is the baby bump picture some of you have been requesting.

Kaydree just loves inviting some of her friends to the Fall Festival. I tell you, I don't remember being that giggly as a child? Maybe I was...but these girls sure do have a GREAT time together.

Karsyn invited her friend, Elizabeth, but she was sick and couldn't make it, so thank goodness at the last minute her friend from Kindergarten and neighbor, Jayden could come. Look at the height difference between these two girls....

I heard there were at least 20 different types of chili to choose from! I love chili and it doesn't hike up my blood sugar and they were YUMMY! I think the chili cook off is one of my favorite parts of the Fall Festival. I used some of my parent's canned Tomato juice and it was so tasty... maybe I am biased? Some of the kids passed and went for the hotdogs.

I think Kaydree had a smile on her face the entire time. She is a diva with funky hair. We might paint it with hair spray paint for Halloween. Everyone kept asking her is she was and OLD diva?

Kaydree has finally caught up to some of her friends after having a huge growth spurt this summer!

The girls loved the musical walk and won coloring books.

What a cute little couple. They were so good with the little ones and a huge help!

I am always amazed at the costumes that Jessica makes. Unbelievable!

The goofs.

The cutest little family! Two princess' and a lady bug! Nate was a skeleton, but was off chatting with the guys when this picture was taken.

The spiciest chili went to Andy, hands down....I didn't try it with pregnancy reflux, but Benjy said is was soooo good!

The start of Trunk-0r-Treating.

The dog and feet had the little ones wondering .

Kaydree's friends loved the "spooky" lights. The little ones liked the cute trunks.

Some even hid in their trunks...Don't try this at home!

I thought is was really fun to see everyone decorate so differently.

Would you let your child take candy from this guy? Benjy was so excited to hand out candy..

What a great activity for the whole family. Our girls were so excited all day long for the Fall Festival to start. Benjy even missed the last 20 minutes of his Notre Dame Game to go...Thank you to all of those who made it possible.

A Birthday at Benihanas

2009-10-15T15:23:00.000-07:00

Today we met my cousin, Samantha, her husband (Glenn) and daughter (Belle) and my Aunt Karen and Uncle Doug for lunch, since it was Sam's Birthday. They invited us to join them at Benihanas. Benjy and I had never been there, but we have been wanting to go.

It is very entertaining as they cook the meal in front of you.

Karsyn was mesmerized watching the chef. I knew there wasn't a lot on the menu that she would eat, but she enjoyed the entertainment. She did devour the steak and chicken, she is our carnivore.

Kaydree and Belle both ordered Steak and Chicken and had shrimp for appetizers. Kaydree really liked the food!
They thought the little volcano made out of fried onions was so cool!
Samantha got her ice cream with a candle on top as they sang Happy Birthday in English and Japanese.
The group minus the pregnant lady who conveniently gets behind the camera as much as possible. We thought the food was excellent!

My Dad is a Yo-Yo (Lawyer)

2009-09-30T17:03:00.000-07:00

I had a doctor's appointment today so Karsyn got to go spend some time with her dad at his office. It just happened to be a theme day for college football and a Birthday Celebration. Karsyn thinks that it is a fun snack day at Dad's Work, everyday. In fact she wants to skip school tomorrow to go to work with Benjy. At one point in time, when Benjy was on the phone with a client, Benjy's secretary took her to the board room full of 30 other attorneys. Of course she loved being the center of attention. When they got home he asked Karsyn what she thought about what he does for a job and here was her response:

By the way at the end she says, "You can rock the world." We aren't quite sure that means.?

An On-going Domestic Dispute

2009-09-28T09:29:00.000-07:00

The other night Benjy and I sat watching the show, Hoarders. He said to me, "Isn't it funny how, here we sit after 10 years of marriage, with another little one on the way, the girls are in bed and we are excited to watch a show about people hoarding." When we first started watching the show, I could see the anxiety building in Benjy as he watched it. Benjy's first priority with keeping a clean house is, "his floors," as he calls them. Second on his list would be the elimination of clutter. He considers most things to be clutter, decorations that sit around, especially. Benjy called me last week and said that he felt like a psychologist with one of his clients that he had been working with for a year. He said, "It just dawned on me after watching hoarders, that this person was a hoarder. So I used some of the logic that we have watched on hoarders and I think that it helped." Sometimes as we watch the show we enjoy bantering back and forth about which one of us is more of a hoarder. Then we would start naming the things that the other hoarded. He thinks I hoard paper work and junk mail that needs to be sorted through. I called him the t-shirt hoarder until today....I have decided I get to add another item to his list....TIES!

For years we struggle with what I call the, "TIE ISSUE." Benjy likes to leave his ties, tied so that he can just slip them on, without having to tie them every time. Which is fine for a little while, however what happens, which drives me crazy is, the tie starts to turn over. So I am constantly flipping his tie back around. I also think the top starts looking very thin, the knot too small and too tight. He also seems to have a hard time getting to his ties because they start to stack on top of each other. (see above picture, right?) So about every couple of months, I untie them, iron them and hang them in a color coordinated way. Benjy is not happy and definitely doesn't feel very thankful that his sweet little wife does this for him. ;-)So why did I feel the need to do this process of reorganizing and ironing this morning? On Saturday I was running to look for a dress for Kaydree, so I asked Benjy, "Do you need anything, like jeans?" He of course said, "I need some ties." Now... a little background. Whenever my family asks him what he would like for Christmas or for his Birthday, his reply always is, "dress shirts and ties." So on Saturday I went into the closet and said, "I don't think you need anymore ties, you just can't see half of your ties, how about some jeans, you only wear 2 pairs of jeans." He then must have gotten hurt feelings because when I called him from the store to see exactly what size neck I should get he informed me that he didn't NEED anymore ties. (Sarcastically)

Now Benjy is someone who really doesn't ever spend money... on himself, hobbies, clothes or anything, so I felt kind of bad that I reacted to his need for a new tie. So I bought him one which I am not sure he likes... however he just hit his 35th tie in his little collection. Maybe after he reads this blog, he will have time to adjust to the straightening of this little collection before he gets home tonight?

P.S. I turned on the comment section just for you, Dear, in case you felt the need to have a rebuttal to this post? Keep in mind that I love you!

Minnehaha Falls on Labor Day

2009-09-21T17:18:00.000-07:00

This was the group waiting for our bikes.

We all thought they were so fun except for those who had to do all of the peddling. Which was all of the adults. I guess myself and the children got to ride around and enjoy the scenery!
All the little ones loved riding on the front of the bikes.Kaydree, Karsyn and I had a blast while Benjy got to pedal all of our weight, plus his own, plus the bike around!
Let's just say we had the bikes rented for an hour but we all decided to check them back in after 20 minutes. I couldn't help Benjy, so he was thought we was going to die! In fact I was laughing so hard everytime he had to stop on the hills and we held up traffic.... there was nothing I could do to help him. Doctor's orders....so he was on his own for doing all the work! I guess I could have gotten off the bike and walked a little...;-)

The little ones were so excited to hop the pebbles in the little river. It was absolutely beautiful out there. I love Minnesota!
They were looking over the falls. I don't know why I didn't get a picture of the falls?
We then decided to take them for a dip in the wading pool.
Kaydree and Madisyn had fun cooling off in their clothes. The other picture I should have taken was when Kaydree who is 8 changed into dry clothes to wear which were Bella's size 4 top and Parker's size 3 shorts on the way home! That was pretty funny! It was the last day of our summer and it was fun making it memorable with family and friends.

Bunker Beach: Second Day

2009-09-21T07:33:00.000-07:00

It's hard to believe that summer has come to an end. I have to say that I really didn't enjoy the heat this summer, so I am kind of thankful it wasn't a really hot summer. I have to admit it's nice to feel fall coming on. Here is how we spent our last weekend together before school started. A Vikings game, Bunker Beach and Minnehaha Falls (pics to come). It was a beautiful end to the summer.

Karsyn had so much more fun the second time around!
Kaydree is our little fish... She loved Bunker Beach.

I guess we all did!

Bunker Beach: First Day

2009-09-19T05:45:00.000-07:00

Kaydree and Karsyn participated in the summer reading program at the library this summer and earned passes to Bunker Beach Water Park. Kaydree loved the wave pool. She was completely wiped out after swimming for a couple of hours in the wave pool.

It probably wasn't the best day for Karsyn to go because she had just gotten her kindergarten shots earlier that day, so she just wasn't as into it.

She did jump a couple of waves before she decided to lay in the sun with me.

The good news was she got a second chance just a couple of days later when a paralegal at Benjy's office gave him 4 more passes for us to go. Second day to follow...