Address Change

So we found out that the University has officially ended the dispute as to what our address is. There has been some confussion about the exact address. This is no longer the case. The University has officially changed our address and it is now permanently...not the one we have had for the last year and a half. Our new address is:

675 SE Forrest Apt 606
Pullman, WA 99163


Sorry about all the confussion!!!

SORRY THIS IS A DAY LATE!!!! HAPPY 234th Birthday Marine Corps

TODAY IS THE MARINE CORPS 234TH BIRTHDAY!!!!! YEAH!!!!

THE MARINE CORPS HYMN!

From the Halls of Montezuma To the Shores of Tripoli; We fight our country's battles In the air, on land and sea; First to fight for right and freedom And to keep our honor clean; We are proud to claim the title of United States Marine. Our flag's unfurled to every breeze From dawn to setting sun; We have fought in ev'ry clime and place Where we could take a gun; In the snow of far-off Northern lands And in sunny tropic scenes; You will find us always on the job-- The United States Marines. Here's health to you and to our Corpsa> Which we are proud to serve In many a strife we've fought for life And never lost our nerve; If the Army and the Navy Ever look on Heaven's scenes; They will find the streets are guarded


MARINE CORPS QUOTES!!!
"Once a Marine, always a Marine!" (MSgt Paul Woyshner, a 40-year Marine, is credited with originating this expression during a taproom argument with a discharged Marine.)

"I can never again see a UNITED STATES MARINE without experiencing a feeling of reverence." GEN. JOHNSON, U.S. ARMY

"Do not attack the First Marine Division. Leave the yellowlegs alone. Strike the American Army" ~ Orders given to Communist troops in the Korean War; shortly afterward, the Marines were ordered to not wear their khaki leggings to keep the enemy from immediately fleeing

"To observe a Marine is inspirational, to be a Marine is exceptional." ~ Unknown

Some people spend an entire lifetime wondering if they made a difference in the world. But, the Marines don't have that problem. Ronald Reagan, President of the United States; 1985

You cannot exaggerate about the Marines. They are convinced to the point of arrogance, that they are the most ferocious fighters on earth- and the amusing thing about it is that they are. Father Kevin Keaney 1st Marine Division Chaplain Korean War

I am convinced that there is no smarter, handier, or more adaptable body of troops in the world. Prime Minister of Britain, Sir Winston Churchhill

HAPPY BIRTHDAY MARINE CORPS!!!!

SEMPER FI!!!!!


(SORRY THERE ARE NO PICS OF FAITH or BROOKE IN MARINE ATTIRE, THEY DON'T HAVE ANY!!! I CANNOT FIGURE OUT WHY!!!)

FYI

Due to lack of funds our Cell Phones are being shut off. If you need to contact us call the house line. If you do not have that number please let me know so that I can get it to you!!!

Lots of Love~~
THE WASHINGTON JEFFERY'S

Alas Autumn Arrives

No more BBQ's...No more swimming...Rain...color changing leaves...clouds...cool days and Football season in Full swing. What does all this mean? It is Autumn or Fall or Harvest whatever you want to call it. OCtober 1st marked a change for the great. The weather changed and the leaves are beautiful and colorful and it Rained today. October 1st also marked a change in the house. That's right Fall Decorations. Then last night Garratt and I had warm tea for the first time of the season...YEAH!!! I love this time of year. Life is good...sorta!

A Very Adult Birthday

My Birthday was Thursday for those of you who forgot. Ha Ha Just kidding!! It was a very nice day. My husband got up early and went out and got me flowers and a cake. It was a very sweet surprise, and the roses were beautiful. Then I got phone calls from people like my mother in law, grandparents, and sister. I then got to go out to lunch with a friends without kids, Garratt kept the girls at home for me. After lunch I went home to relax. When I got home there was another set of flowers on the table, these ones were from my Grandparents. They were beautiful too, it was a rose and carnation combo. They are both now on my entertainment center and I love them. After hanging out with the kids for a little while I made dinner. Faith and Brooke played while Mommy sat on the couch after dinner. We put Faith to bed and then played a game while Brooke just kinda "hung out." Then we went to bed, (Garratt had school on Friday). Then yesterday Garratt took me out! We went bowling and then out for dinner. We also went shopping for a couple of things we forgot. Oh well! That was my birthday. I also recieved a few birthday cards that were all very sweet and very considerate. I appriciated everyone of them.

Great American Dine Out

This week is the Annual Great American Dine Out (20-26th). The purpose of this event is to help with ending Childhood hunger. Here is the scoop:

THOUSANDS OF RESTAURANTS ACROSS THE COUNTRY ARE HELPING TO MAKE SURE NO KID IN AMERICA GROWS UP HUNGRY.
The first annual Share Our Strength's Great American Dine Out rallied nearly 4,000 restaurants across the nation—from coffee shops to fine dining restaurants—and millions of consumers. These restaurants participated in a variety of ways— donated a percentage of sales, promoted select menu items, collected money from suppliers and guests and much more. The funds raised from this campaign will support:
Increasing participation in school food and nutrition programs
Increasing the number of community gardens
Food banks and food pantries
Increasing access to fresh produce
Increasing utilization of federal child food and nutrition programs, e.g. food stamps, school breakfast, etc.
Advocacy around Child food and nutrition-related programs

So do your part...go eat out this week. For a list of participating resturants in your area go to
http://join.strength.org/site/PageServer?pagename=GADO_homepage

From here you can input your zip code and it will give you a list of resturants that are participating. You have to eat so why not eat and make a difference.

When will it end??

Ok..so some of you know that we had problems with our car finance bank like a month ago. I took care of the everything and paid off the car or so I was to understand from them. There was the possibility that there might be a "SMALL" balance but the girl reassured me that it would be minimal if any and that I would get a statement telling me my balance. So today I get a phone call from the bank telling me that my monthly payment is LATE. How the heck is that even possible. I paid it off according to the girl I talked to on 9/2/09. Well apparently that girl was slightly new and misinformed me...story of their life around there...and so now there is a "LATE" payment. So I asked why I had not recieved a statement telling me that I have a balance anf that it is going to be due on X date? Her reply made me want to hit the roof...she told me that the way there system is that the issue we had cause the system to "mark" our account and that "marked" accounts do not recieve statements. WHAT??? That is just the way it is, was her statement after that. Ok so now I was pissed and she could tell so she went and talked to her manager and her manager is offering us a "settlement" on the account. She is willing to discount the $400 we owe down to $275 if we can pay it by the end of the month. CRAP. That is a fairly decent deal, but no I do not have a job. Basically the girl said that we have the option to take the "late" fee and make our monthly payments until we pay it off or we take the settlement but we have until the end of the month to do it. I am so frustrated right now because neither option is very doable at this moment in time with me not working. Just when I had things figured out so that we could "float" by until I find a job. There is always something. I am really starting to wonder when it is all going to end. If it is not one thing it is another. This whole process of deciding what to do about this and that and everything in between is really getting more and more trying. All I want to do is get my Career Certification in Event/Wedding planning and start my own business so that I can make a living and support my family and be able to make my own schedule so that I can be home when I need to be and be able to make enough money to pay our bills, put a little in savings and be able to go out on a "date night" with my husband once a month. Is that asking too much? Apparently so because it is not happening. Oh well here is hoping that something comes up in the Palouse Job Market soon because right now the only jobs are ones that require extensive degrees or are aimed at College students who are willing to work "ANY" hours. GRRRRR to life!

Loss of Job= Lots of Problems...GRRRR

Besides the obvious fact that a loss of job = the loss of income there is another very important factor that we have to deal with now. What is that?

LOSS OF JOB=LOSS OF MEDICAL INSURANCE
LOSS OF MEDICAL INSURANCE= VERY BIG DR BILLS FOR 2 GIRLS THAT NEED IMMUNIZATION SHOTS & 1 MOMMY THAT NEEDS BIRTH CONTROL PILLS

Yes ladies and gentlemen, when I lost my job and we lost our medical insurance I realized that this is right at the wrong time. Faith is scheduled for her 2 year check up and lots of immunizations (she has 2 to make up from when I was pregnant.) and In 2 more weeks we have Brroke's 2 month follow up which includes her immunizations too. Lovely. Plus, when I went to the OB last week He gave me my prescrption for my BCP and told me that because of the infant in our home that the other 3 of us all need to have both flu shots this year. GREAT! Now I am in a hard spot. I really need to find a job or come into some money and quickly.

All Smiles

Now What?

So I found out last week that somewhere along the line I lost my job. This was completly a shock to me. So at the beginning of the month a friend of mine who is a professor in the department I worked for called me and asked me if I had heard that the girl who was "filling" in for me while I was gone had gotten a permanent position in a different department. I said no and decided to email my department director and find out what that meant for my job. 3 days later I got a reply from him saying that they had already "posted" the job online to be filled and that I was more than welcome to apply for it. I emailed him back and asked him why it was posted when I was under the impression this whole summer that I would have a job to come back to after my maternity leave, as long as the money was in the budget for it. A few days later I got a response from him telling me that He was sorry but they had to act fast and they had already hired someone. He also told me that he did not realize in all our corespondances that I was "definatly" returning and that he assumed I was not. Then he proceeded to apologize for any inconvienience and said that he would be more than willing to write me an excellent reference letter if I ever needed it.
Needless to say I was rather pissed off and fumed over it for awhile and then I realized that obviously there is a reason that I "lost" this job. I know that God has something for me since he allowed for this to happen, I just wish I could figure out what. There really are no jobs here for a person like me with no degree and while I have the "financial aid" to go back to school I do not have the "financial" means to not work. I would love to keep the girls home and go backl to school. I could take some online classes for now and then eventually take some traditional classes later. I am still not sure what I want to do. There are 4 different things that I am really interested in and I do not know which way to go. 2 of the options would be "traditional" schooling the 3rd would be an online certification program, and the last would be an inbetween. The first two would involve traditional financial aid to pay for and the 3rd would be a monthly payment plan of $40-60 per month and the last I am still figuringout but I think it would invilve some sort of loan or payment plan, but it would be more exprensive. What are the options? 1) Nurse, I have always loved the field of medicine and the thought of helping people. 2) Teaching, I love working with kids and I think this would a great field to work in. 3) WEdding and Event Planning, this has been a passion of mine for a long time. I started the schooling for this back like 6 years ago and never finished it. Now I feel like I could get back into this, there is a real need in this are for that type of person and I could work from home and be able to set my schedule around Garratts. 4) Cosmotologist....I have thougth about this one for a long time. I wanted to fo this originally when I got out of High School but was told by a specific family member that it was a dead end and that I could not do it. So I guess at that point I gave up. This is also a carreer with a need and I think again I would be good at it and I again could work my schedule around Garratt's as needed. So now what? I do not know. I guess I put all this on hold and focus on tring to find a minimum wage job that will help us "float" by as much as possible and then maybe in 3 -4 years when Garratt is done with school and his internship and he has a good job then I can consider these options again. I guess that is what I have to do, be a supportive wife and mother and place everything else on the back burner.

And that's another...COUGAR FIRST DOWN!

So we may not have won but we sure had a great time.

Faith was all ready to go, she loves her jersy and her hair pom pom. We had to wait for Daddy to get home from work so Faith hung out by the door, opening it occassionally to see if Daddy was coming down the hill.

Brooke was all ready too in her Cougar colors, although you can't really tell in this picture.

Faith was facinated watching the players warm up, then she spent most of the game in this spot because she could watch the players run and she could watch the Marching band play, she was very excited about the band.

Speaking of the band here they are at the beginning of the game, approx. 5 mins prior to kick off. There are approx. 240 people in the WSU 2009/10 Marching Band.

Butch making his rounds at the game, making sure that everyone is cheering on the Cougars!!

Here is a picture of football players running...every together now..."ohhhhhh" "awwwww"

Garratt and Faith pause during 1/2 time to take a picture. We all had a great time. The Cougars lost to the Cardinals 13-39. This is the same amount that we lost by last year, although this year our team is showing SIGNIFICANT improvement. We are in our rebuilding years and we are hoping to have a better season this year than last year. Last year we won 1 game, the Apple Cup. We will keep you all posted on future games!! GO COUGS!!!

The Good, The Bad and The Ugly!!

Over the last week I have ssen it all. I have seen Horrible things happen to us, I have seen Bad things happen to us, I have seen Great things happen with my mom and her health condition, and I have see good things happen to other members of our family and I have seen the ugly part of members of our family, oh and REALLY EXCITING THINGS HAPPEN TO MY FAMILY. I cannot go into detail about it all but I can describle some of it.

Let me start with the REALLY EXCITING...

As of Yesterday, September 1st, 2009, My sister Sarah and her husband Joah are the "official" parents of my nephew Micah.(see picture above) The paperwork is all signed and the adoption is complete, the last step is to go before the judge and have all of the old records sealed and his new name legalized with a new issuance of a birth certificate and a social security card, but as far as the state of California is concerned he is legally and officially a permanent member of my Sister's family (meaning MY FAMILY!!!) YEAH!!

OK Now the good news with my Mom's health. They finally may have solved the year long "mystery" of what is wrong with my mom. The diagnosis is...peristalsis...what is this? Basically it causes a decrease in the digestive systems working ability. You see it takes the average person 55 minutes to digest a meal, through a special gastric test they determined it taked my Mom 11 hours to digest a meal, hence the pain and the lack of desire to want to eat. How would you feel if food sat in your stomache for 11 hours? The good news is that there are ways to help this. There are 2 different medications. 1 she has already been on and it did not work. The other can only be gotten from Canada, thank you Canadians!! SO she has to ship it in from Canada. If this second medication does not work there are a couple of more drastic options to consider. I am praying that the medication works.

The last item I will discuss is my anger with the Financial Aid system that our government has set up. One I think that they do everything in their power to screw the little people. Second, I think that thet purposefully decieve the people who are trying to get assistance for school. THat is basically what has happened to us. We recieved half of the money needed for Garratt's schooling for the 09-10 year and we had to take out a loan for the 2nd half of it. The problem is we were mis-lead into thinking that we would recieve the entire amount of the Private loan, instead they put it through the school to certify and then the governement got their fingers involved and it became a split loan do we only got 1/2 the money, and we will get the rest in January, which is great for January but sucks for December. Oh, well...there goes our Christmas!

OUR MASCOT

The Washington State University Mascot, Butch T. Cougar was choosen to be part of the Capital One 2009 Mascot Challenge. This is very exciting. Butch was also choosen in 2005 and 2006, He actually won in 2006. Please feel free to go to the website and vote to help Butch win. You can vote EVERYDAY, and each week he will be up against a different mascot, there are 12 of them on the team. Then in November they will compete in a "play-off" based on the standings from the combined 12 weeks. The winner will be "crowned" in December!!!

GO BUTCH!!!!!!

The link to vote... http://www.capitalonebowl.com/

Family Night Out

Last night I needed to get out of the house. I was feeling a little cooped up. Garratt and I decided we would head up to the CUB (Student Union Bldg) and get dinner at Panda Express. We then took a little walk around just because it was a really nice evening out and we wanted to enjoy it. Then we decided to take the girls to their first sporting event. We took them to the Girls Volleyball game. We were playing against UC Davis (irony). It was a lot of fun. We only stayed for about half of it because it was bedtime for Faith and I was not FULLY prepared to be out as long as we were, we did not bring blankie with us. Brooke slept the whole time we were there, well at least in between being startled by loud and happy college student cheering on their team. Faith LOVED it! We sat on the second stoy right behind the pep band and she watched for them to stand up because she know that was music time. She also loved watching the cheerleaders dance and cheering with Daddy everytime our team scored. After such a great time out we decided that we are going to do this MORE OFTEN. We have a great opportunity living on a college campus to do stuff and give the girls (ok Faith more than Brooke) the opportunity to see and experience some pretty neat stuff.

Happy Birthday Jon!!!

Today is My Brother In Law Jon's birthday. I will be nice and not tell you his age, only that he is OLDER than me...HA HA!! There is a lot that I can say about Jon. He has a heart of gold that is willing to give anything to help anyone. He has an amazing talent for percussion and a love for music (that runs in the Jeffery family). Jon is an great Dad and Husband (from my standards). He is always ready to hang out and have a good time. He is a fun loving guy with a great sense of humor and an ability to laugh at just about anything. Jon is very laid back and that makes him extremly easy to get along with. All in all he really is just a great person. He is a blessing to our family. Jon brings a balance to our family that no one else could bring. Thanks Jon for being YOU!!! Hope that you have an incredible birthday and that the rest of the year is filled with LOVE, LAUGHTER, FRIENDS, FAMILY and MANY MANY GREAT MEMORIES!!!

WE LOVE YOU AND WISH YOU A HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!!

The Mommy Feeling

As a Mom I have realized that there are many things that you have to put your children through that they so not like. As I have had to do thins more with Brooke than I ever did with Faith I am also realizing that as Mommy I hate having to put her through it more than she hates going through it. So far in the first 10 days of life Brooke has been poked 9 days out of 10 for blood work of various kinds, mainly her Billi Ruben, she has had to wear a yucky eye mask and be placed under ultra violet phototherapy lights (billi lights) (which she screams at the whole time she is under there) and now today I found out that the Dr wants to run another test on her, but this test requires an intra-vein draw, yes that means through her vein, do you know how diffuclt and horrible that is for an infant? I am so not looking forward to this. I know that it is my duty as her mother and the fact that I love her is the reason I put her through this, but still does not mean that I like it. Actually I HATE IT!!! I do not want to put my baby through anything that is going to hurt her. SO, as we head to the lab to have this work done, pray for me so that I do not cry. Lucky for me Garratt should be home from his first shift of the day at work and have enough time to go with me before he has to be back at work for his 2nd shift for the day ( yeah he is committed, or is it I should have him committed? LOL).

One More thing

We discovered that there were a couple of other things that I left off the list of things we could use for Brooke...

A Baby Bouncer: Boppy Cradle in Comfort Bouncer
Baby Pacifiers: Playtex Latex Ortho Pro Pacifiers (Newborn)


Also, because of how little Brooke is in comparisson to Faith, Brooke needs a few more clothes in Newborn size and 0-3 months. This will be more important come September when she is out to daycare on a regular basis...for now we are just deling with really big clothes.

Also, like we have said before...gift cards for Walmart and Babies R Us are great too!! (Especially since we found out we need NEWBORN size diapers for an 8 lb baby!!!)

Welcome to the World...

We are proud to announce the birth of Brooke Elizabeth Jeffery. She was born on Saturday August 8, 2009 at 2:59 pm. She was 7 lbs 15.9 oz. and 20.75 inches long. Mommy and baby are doing good. We got to go home on Sunday evening and that was very nice.

An Day of Adventure

Yesterday it was REALLY hot here in Washington...Pullman hit 99...which for us is hot becuase we do not have air conditioning in our complex....that was stupid of the University...we are one of the ONLY complexs that does not have air conditioning...GRRRR! Oh well, so we decided that it would be better not to sit in the heat of the house and boil so we decided to drive the 45 minutes to the nearest lake, that was a great idea until we got there. It was just around 1 and we had not eaten so we sat down to eat the picnic lunch I packed. Then the problem hit, there were tons of BEES ( for those of you that are thinking no big deal, WRONG!!! MEL is HIGHLY allergic to bees, so much so that I become anaphylactic if stung....). So Garratt and I decided it would be better to leave than risk me getting stung and causing bigger issues with baby (although if I had gotten stung I do have Epi Pens on hand, but medical people are not sure what the "official" affects are on babies in the womb of a woman who has to use an epi pen so they say it is better not to have to use one). We loaded back into the car with a very devidtated little girl who was all ready to play in the WATER!!!! We decided to take a drive and enjoy the air conditioned car, so Garratt drove back towards home and then we cut down into the Lewiston & Clarkston Valley which is about 45 mins south of Pullman. Once there we got out a little and looked at some stores, then we realized it was 5pm and Faith was getting hungry so we decided to grab a little dinner and then head home. When we got home the termastat at the house said it was 90 degrees in the house and it was 830pm by that point (we had to stop at the grocery store on our way into town). All in all it was a great day and we stayed cool and had no problems, Faith had fun and laughed alot, Mel enjoyed the AIR CONDITIONING IN THE CAR....and Garratt was just happy he got to just DRIVE!!!

Update on What we need for Brooke

For those of you who still want to know....here is an updated list of the things we need for Brooke. Most of it is the same but there are a few changes, I have also added a couple of links for some of the items so that you can see them.

WE NEED:

Burp Clothes- The Pre Fold Style
Bibs- Can you ever have enough?
Crib Mattress- Simmons Slumber Crib & Toddler Bed Mattress
White Crib Sheets
Crib Set- Disney's Delightful Day (At Babies R Us)
Ideally a new Rocking Chair and Ottoman Set
Microwave Sanitizer- Steam Guard Microwave Sterilizer By Munchkin
Monitor- Either of these two:
Fisher Price Remote Control Dual Musical Audio Monitor
Fisher Price Dual Private Connection Monitor


We DO NOT need clothes for Brooke She has plenty thanks to her Sister. If this changes I will let everyone know!!!

Gift Cards for Babies R Us and Wal Mart are always good too!!!

We are registered at Babies R Us if anyone wants to go that route too!!! Registry # 91257363

More Pregnancy Updates

So on Sunday we ended up back at the hospital. Saturday night I started feeling very sick, I developed a really bad headache and Brooke was just not moving like they said she should. We spent 4 hours in the hospital, they monitored me closely and they were going to let me go but my blood pressure was just not what they wanted to see. So, they went ahead and ran another round of Pregnancy Induced Hypertension (PIH) blood tests. They came back ok so the Dr. let me go home, still on bed rest. Monday we went back to the Dr. for the Appt. I had scheduled, this Appt. was with the other OB in the office. We discussed the background so far on this pregnancy as well as some of the stuff from Faith's pregnancy and then we discussed the option of inducing me early with all the issues I have been having with Pain and pressure and just plain crumminess. The Dr. was great he was very honest and very encouraging. He said that because of the size of Brooke and the issues with PIH that he though maybe a 38 week induction is not a bad idea. His biggest concern is that we do not push her to soon becuase she is not quite full term and her lungs may or may not be fully developed. He told me to continue the NST's 2x per week and to start coming into the office for weekly visits. He also had me set up another growth Ultrasound for 37 weeks (first week is August) to see just how big she is now. He told us that the average baby at 35 weeks (where I am now) is 4 lbs 8 ounces ( Brooke was 6 2 weeks ago). He also said that the average baby born at 39 weeks (when Faith was born) is 7 lbs. 6 ounces (Faith was 9 lbs 6 ounces). So there is a risk with the already larger size of Brooke. The concern is that if Brooke gets too much bigger that I will have more complications during delivery. So for now we wait. Although, he did take me off of FULL bedrest. He said that if my situation needed me to be on FULL bedrest that they might as well stick me in the hospital because it is redicoulous to be on FULL bedrest at home. HE did however tell me that I need to stay off my feet as much as I can, minimize my activity and no lifting or strenous activity. The better I am about these items the lower my blood pressure is going to be and the long we will be able to keep Brooke in the womb. I will keep everyone posted as things progress!

Ethan Michael

Here is a picture of the new nephew Ethan. Thanks Allie for sending this picture to me!!!

Welcome to the World....

I am so excited to announce the birth of Our nephew....Ethan Michael Jeffery. He was born to Eric and Jenette on Monday July 20, 2009 at 7:45pm...He weighed 9 lbs 15.2 ounces and was 22 inches long...what a baby. My sister-in-law was induced in the morning, he water broke around 7:30 and with 2 pushes he was out...GO JENETTE!!!! I only hope my delivery is that easy, but probably not, LOL!!!! I will post pictures as soon as I have some.

Updates

Just so no one feels entirely left out... I am going to give an update.

I started a Non-stress test regimine...that happens 2x per week, this past week. I did not think much of it these are pretty routine in the third trimester, we went through this with Faith too. So, we were looking to make sure that Brooke was a happy and active little baby. So Monday went well...they said everything was normal, Brooke's heartrate dropped at one point but it came right back up so they were not concerned. Then Thursday's NST started out ok, but my blood pressure was really high and that was a concern. They also noticed some contractions on the monitor so the DR. order some blood work, the blood work came back ok, but there was still some concern so the Dr decided to order a 24 hour Urine collection and then they decided they were going to admit me into the hospital overnight for observation and to run some more tests. So, I spent Thursday and Friday in the hospital. On Friday mornig my DR came through to see me, he was concerned with my blood pressure and the swelling I was having in the legs, which by the point was much better. He decided to keep me until the results came back from my Urine Collection Tests. In the end he decided that my protien levels were not high enough to cause imediate concern so he sent me home on FULL BEDREST with very STRICT instructions. He said I should be feeling baby very frequently and if I wasn't to come straight back in. He also gave me some other sympthoms to watch for and siad if those started or increased to come straight back to the hospital. Basically I am to do ABSOLUTLY NOTHING...which is hard to do when you have a toddler at home and a Husband who has to work, (as it was Faith had to go to daycare on Friday because Garratt had to work from 9-2). So, now I am doing absolutly nothing and bored out of my mind...there is nothing on TV, I have to have my legs elevated so that limits what my options are aropund the house, the only way I am on the Computer is that We have a wireless keyboard and my legs are up on another chair so they are elevated. I have a Dr appt. and another NST with more blood work and blood pressure test on Monday morning so we will see what they say.

So there is the update!!!

New Update On Brooke

Well, last week we saw the DR again and we had a groth sonogram done. The results...

1) Brroke's measurements was showing her at 36 weeks even though I was only 33 weeks along.
(I am now 34 weeks)
2) At 33 weeks she is already 6 lbs. and has a VERY big head.
3) Brooke is already head down...hello pressure!!!
4) A mature placenta

The Concerns
1) Is my due date off?
2) How much more is she going to grow?
3) Is the placenta maturing this early a concern?

The DR's Desicion
1) To take it one day at a time...
2) Non-Stress Tests 2x per week (starting today)
3) Another Growth sonogram at 35-36 weeks
4) Weekly visists starting at 35 weeks.

What the Dr is watching for
1) Movement...does the placenta maturity cause Brooke to not be as active?
2) Growth...does the maturing placenta cause a stop in Brooke;s growth?
3) Size...does Brooke start to get too big?
4) Mommy's Blood Pressure...although it has been better the last 2 visits I am not in the clear because I have a history of hypertension...

If any of the above become an issue then we are talking inducement... I will keep everyone posted.

What we need

I have recieved a few emails from people asking what we still need for the arrival of Brooke so here is what we need:

Burp Cloths
Bibs
Bassinet Sheets
Crib Sheets
A Crib Mattress
Brooke's Crib Set (If anyone can find it...It is being discontinued) It is called Patchwork Pooh and is located at Babies R US.
Ideally a new rocker
An ottoman

Gift Cards for Babies R US or Wal MArt are also great.

That's about it...right now she has a lot of clothes that I have to finish sorting through so for now no clothes...I will update this post later if this changes and let you know what clothes she needs.

The Brooke Update

On Friday I went to see the OB for my 2 week routine check up. We were a little anxious about this visit because on the previous visit my blood pressure was up and if it continued to stay up there were only 2 options BED REST (yeah right me sit all day with my feet up...hahahaha) or medication (NO WAY...I am not taking pills!!!). Lucky for me it was down enough that my DR. was not too concerned for the mean time, but said he would watch it because of my history of Hypertension in the 3rd trimester of my pregnancy. The other concern we had was the contratctions and pelvic pressure I have been having. Again DR. was not super concerned because they are not quite frequent enough at this point, again he said just to watch them and if I am getting more frequent or significantly more painful then to call him. What we did get from him is that we are probably not going to make it to our due date. There are pros and cons with this. Our due date is 8 weeks away. The concern right now is first to make it to next week because then the fetal lung development is complete, the next step is to make it to 35 weeks, here is why...Pullman Regional Hospital does not have a neonatal unit, so if you go into labor prior to 35 weeks then you are medi flighted to Spokane, I DO NOT WANT TO HAVE TO DO THIS!!!!
So right now we have 3 prayers...1) That I make it to next week without going into labor....2) That I make it to 35-36 weeks (or the end of July) without going into labor and 3) that I have everything ready for Brooke by the time I do go into labor, right now I do not feel very ready for Brooke!!!

A Dead End....

So, back in May Garratt and I decided we needed to obtain funds to help us pay a few things off and get through the summer since I am not working....THANK YOU STATE OF WASHINGTON!!! We got the loan...or so we were to understand...well we were sort of wrong. The loan was a student loan similar to the one we got last year...the problem is this time it is being dispursed to the school not to us...that is not good on so many levels...

Now I am tring to figure out exactly what the next step needs to be...the money we were waiting for is not actually going to make it to us until the end of August...but that only works if we pay off what we owe the school currently... except that we were suppose to do that with the loan...which we will not be recieving now...

So, as I monitor my blood pressure...monitor the pre term contractions...ward off collection calls...and keep a toddler happy all while tring to figure out how to get through the next 2 months...please keep us in your prayers....

Running out the Resources

When do you know that your resources are just about used up? Easy when you are looking in the panrty to decide dinner and you are thinking...what can I make using cornbread mix...or cereal...or how about egg noodles with no sauce? Yeah...that is a sure sign that your resources are used up...you are hanging on to every ounce of milk and every gallon of gas... praying that you will make it until the money you are expecting, that is taking A LOT longer to process and recieve, will make it to you in time. Oh well...I guess this is where life gets intresting and you just have to wait out each day patiently. Here's to getting through.

Happy Father's Day Garratt!!!

Happy Father's Day to the Best Father for My Children!!!!

I tell My Husband all the time that He is the Best Father a Mother could ask for, for her children!!! He plays with Faith and loves her. THey make eachother smile and they have there Momments of pain and anger too...but all in all they are "Best Friends"!!! The sight of my husband coming home after work and getting on the ground to "attack" Faith with kisses while she giggles or Faith yelling "DADDDDDDYYYYY" when she wants to get his attention. I love you Garratt, Happy Father's Day!!!!!

Glucose Test...ewwwwww

OK so last week when we got home from Cali I went in to have my standard pregnancy glucose test done. I drank the syrup waited 30 minutes, went to the hospital had my blood drawn and I was done!! No problem. I got a phone call the next day from the Dr. He said that I had failed my glucose test. Apparently the cut off is 140 and my score came back at 145. I failed by 5 points...really? Yes!!! So because that means I am on the boarder line with that score they made me do the full 3 hour panel. The only thing was that it actually took 4 hours. So Wednesday night I stopped eating at 8:30 and fasted...Garratt had to work the opening 5:30-9 shift yesterday so by the time I got to the hospital for my test it was like 9:30 ( so I am already at 13 hours of fasting and I am pregnant). I get in and the girl tells me that it will take like 4 hours not 3 because they have to test my fasing blood draw first to make sure I am under the 110 mark because if I am not then I cannot even do the test. So they draw my blood and I wait for the results. lucky for me it only took like 20 mins for them to run my blood and find out I was plenty under, then I got the yucky drink. I then got a timer and was told that when the timer got to 5 mins to ring the door bell and ket them know...1 hour later I went in for my blood draw...they handed me back my time and I waited another hour...draw again...and wait another hour. Now I kept myself occupied with suduko puzzles and Garratt's IPod, but the problem was this the Hospital cafeteria is right next to the lab, and I had to sit there and smell them cooking lunch while I waited and waited and waited. My final blood draw was at 1:30 and then I was done. I ran to the post office to pick up something and then ran home to eat I was SOOO hungry. I had been fasting for 18 hours by the time I finally ate at 2:30 pm. OH MY GOSH THAT SUCKED!!!!
The good news is the Dr had put a STAT on the results and so I got a phone call from the nurse yesterday around 4 telling me that my test came back negative for Diabeties. I passed!!! Yeah ME!!!!

Happy Birthday Mom

Today is My Mother-In-Laws birthday and I cannot even describe in words how I feel about her. She is more than a Mother in Law to me, she is my second Mother. She is strong, beautiful, patient, understanding, loving, and a prayer warrior. Garratt and I could not have made it through the last year without her support, prayers and love. We love you Mom!!! Have a great Birthday!!! Below is a little poem to try and show how we feel!!!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

There are times when only a Mother's love

Can understand our tears,

And soothe our disappointments

And calm away our fears.

There are times when only a Mother's love

Can share the joy we feel

When something we have dreamed aboutSuddenly is real.

There are times when only a Mother's love

Can help us on life's way

And inspire in us, the confidence We need from day to day.

Mother, thank you for your heart, faith and hope

And all your steadfast loveYou were fashioned by the Angels

And sent from God above...
Happy Birthday Mom

Happy Birthday Papa

So, I know that this is a day late (I did call him and talk to him yesturday!!) but HAPPY BIRTHDAY PAPA!!! I am so blessed to have such an amazing Grandfather!!! He has always been supportive and encouraging and generous. He has always been My PAPA and he always will be, and now he is also Faith's PAPA!! She calls him and talks to him and loves being around him, this was proven ever so more during our trip to California in May! Every Morning she woke up and crawled out to the Family Room and sat on Papa's lap with Blankie, and Bannana Nut Cherrios, Milk and PLayhouse Disney on the TV!! She was in 7th heaven!! So here is hoping and praying that you had a super birthday and have a terrific year. Happy Birthday Papa!! We all Love You!!!

Baby Brooke Update

So yesterday was my OB appointment. That went well. My amniotic fluid is completly back to normal...YEAH!!! They checked my cervix as a result of the many and painful contractions I have been having and everything looks ok for now. The OB wants me to go into the hospital for a Non-Stress Test the next time I have a contraction "episode" just to see what we are dealing with. We are also off and running with the 3rd trimester. As with Faith my blood pressure is up. So I am suppose to see the OB again in 2 weeks, yeah me!! If we do not get the blood pressure under control they may put me on medication...yuck!! They do not want me to deliver prematurly, so they are being very cautious and thourough, for this I am thankful!!!

We are Back

We are back home in Washington! We will miss everyone in Cali but it is good to be home. I also prefer my 60-70 degree weather over the 90-100 degree weather down there. We took 2 days to get home and decided to drive 95 home and that took us through Oregon. We spent the night in Bend, OR that was nice. The second day was a shorter driving distance but being 29 weeks pregnant it seemed MUCH longer and the 2nd day was harder for me. We got home on Monday afternoon and then needed to recover. Now we seem to be getting back into routine! Yeah for Routines!! I will post some pictures here and on Faith's sight over the next few days from our trip to Cali.

Ok...the phone works both ways!!!

I have always been very open and honest,about what is going on in our lives and how I am feeling,on this blog, so I am going to continue that trend because I do not feel like I am going to offend anyone becuase of my honesty and because I just could care less anymore if someone gets mad at me because of my opinion or my feelings.



So we arrived in California 4 weeks ago. Most of our immediate family knew that we were here almost instantly and most everyone else know within a week because either they read my blog where I posted that we were in California and willing to get together with people if they contacted us, or becuase they had talked to other people and found out the same information. I said in my blog that we are available, I do not know what anyones schedules are so I would like them tocontact us to work around their schedules. So why is it that when it comes down to the last 8-10 days we are getting phone calls asking us why we have not contacted them to get together. THE PHONE WORKS TWO WAYS PEOPLE!!!!



I am not the type of personality that just stops by someones house randomly (except like 3 households, My Parents, My Mother-in-Laws, and My Nana and Papa's). I also do not invite myself over. If you want to get together I will make time as best as I can but I am not going to ASSUME you want to see us. I am of the personality and mind frame that you get together with people because they want to see you so they have contacted you to come see them or meet somewhere.



So, we leave in 4 days and we have not seen everyone. There are people we probably will not see because there will not be anytime left. I have some time slots still open so if you want to see us give me a call or leave me a comment on here and I will contact you but I am not going to assume that you wnat to see us nor am I going to just "STOP BY." That is not me. Sorry!!!

Hello California

So for those of you that have not heard. We are here. We arrived last weekend and had a very packed week that included very little time to blog or call people to tell them we were in California. I needed lots of time to acclimate to the "HOT" weather down here again. I tell you once your body get used to something it is hard to put it through such a drastic change. You see when we left Washington to come down our highs were in the high 50's to low 60's...ohhh it was nice, we were enjoying it. Then we get down here and OH MY...here we go in the 90's -100's...yucky!!! I have decided that it is a much smarter idea to be pregnant during the winter. Much easier to stay cool and comfortable. So if you would like to see us shoot me an email, leave me a comment here, text me, or call (if I do not answer then leave me a message and I will get back to you). We would love to see everyone at least once. We do have a couple of things already planned so hopefully we can work around all that!!! Talk to you soon!!!!

REaching A Breaking Point

There are some days when I think that making ends meet is just a part of life and we will get through with no problem. Then there are days when I cry because I realize that the truth is we are in a downward spiral to never ending doomedness. We are suppose to be coming to California in May and that is looking very dreary, I only have 4 ish weeks of pt work left then I have just enough hours for June and July to keep our medical benefits in tack with the exception of having to come up with the balance for the premium every month and then there is the dreaded "summer hours" for Garratt on top of his O-Chem Class he wants to take, although I have to pay off a student account balance first so that he can register...plus the normal bills and groceries and gas money. Then on top of all that we have to take Faith to Spokane ASAP to see an Allergy Specialist and have a consultation and a bunch of specialized tests done. OMG!!!!!!!! When will it all end?????????? AWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWW!!!!

: (

CRAZY AND CONFUSSING

Hello everyone. It has been awhile since I gave you any updates. A few weeks ago I mentioned that the Budget was very gloomy here at WSU well, not it is not just gloomy it is downright depressing, not to be confussed with the overwhelming anxiety that CA is dealing with, but yet still just as dreary.

The WA state Senate and House released their projected budgets which will be finalized May 1st, to the shock of everyone. We were anticipating a 12-18% budget cut what we saw was a 20% budget cut from the Senate and a 29% budget cut from the House....AWWWW!!! This is now the situation we have all been dreading, this is going to hurt and bad!!!

My job is basically done the 2nd week of May. I will have 8 hours in June and 8 hours in July for now to hang on to my medical benefits as long as possible. August is currently up in the air. So please pray for us financially.

As for the situation with Garratt, well here you go. We found out when Garratt went to do his advising that there was a class that he was required to take that was not going to be offered anymore. This ment that he would be short on credits and a pre-req for his major classes. His advisor said she would talk to the department chair and instructor and see about an exception, but she was not very optimisic, she was wrong, they decieded to grant his the exception and allow him to take the class as an independent study course. Ok, one obsicle down. Then Garratt got a department email informing all the Nutritional Science students that the Dean of their department was stepping down as of May. Then a few days later Garratt got an email from his advisor informing him that she was leaving in May and refereing him to a Faculty Advisor. WHAT?? What is happening? Well, the jist of it is simple. The dietetic program is low on the WSU agenda as far as priority goes. It is one of quite a few programs being cut, although like many others the students have been told that they have a certain amount of time to finish up. This is partially true, meaning that as long as the budget holds out then they will allow the students to finish up, the more the budget goes down for cuts, the more likly that situation is to change.

All of this is happening while I am reevaluating the whole situation and realizing that there are no jobs here that fit my qualifications. I realized that I should have just stuck school out a long time ago. For awhile I have talked about going back to school and I just kept putting it off, why? Why is a good question, I had no answer either. I always said well now is not a good time ( I also said this about having kids, now we are going on baby #2) but the truth is as my wonderful husband has reminded me everytime I talk about going back to school, is there every a good time? There is always something that is going to stop you. So Garratt and I decided that we are going to look into possibly transfering to a school that is not considering Nutritional Science/Dietetics a low priority degree and we are going to take a leap of faith and see where God leads. Garratt is going to appy to some schools. At the same time that he is applying I am going to apply. I will be entering as a Freshman in the BSN program (Nursing).

All in all we have very mixed emotions about it. We know that God has the ultimate plan for us and He knows where we are suppose to be, yet the Human in us is scared for our family financially and emotionally as well as futuristically (is that a word). We are also excited to see what God does. So our request right now is for LOTS and LOTS and LOTS of PRAYER!!!! The big things are 1) Finances to get through the summer and a little into the fall until I can work again. 2) Finances for Application fees...those darn things are expensive. 3) Finances for visisting CA in May...we do not want to cancel this trip. My sister is graduating High School, Catie ( a special member of our family) is graduating from High School, my Mom is having surgery on her hand, my brother is turning 10, and this is the only time we can come down this summer because Garratt is planning on taking O-Chem this summer and it runs through the end of July. 4) Finances for a possible move 5) Peace as we have to make decisions wheather to move or not and when!

So there you have it the chaos of our lives!!! We love everyone very much and are thinking of you all.

AND THE WINNER IS...

We are proud to announce that we are having a baby Brooke (girl). We are sure, as you will see below in the pictures, she was not shy about showing us she is a GIRL. We are very excited. She is very healthy and active and size wise is measuring "average" and right on target, unlike her big sister who was always big, thankfully Brooke is not. Here are some ultrasound pictures for your enjoyment.

This is a profile picture. You can see her head (looks a little big to me) and her cute nose and mouth.

This is her showing us that she really is a little girl... hello world. The arrow is showing us too..HAHA Those are some long legs...must be those Jeffery genes!! : )

This is Brooke's foot. The arrow is pointing to the foot and the little smudge under that foot is her other foot, just like her Daddy she had her feet crossed at the ankle.

It's almost here...

Ok So the big day is approaching. The day we find out if we are having a baby girl or a baby boy. That day is Tuesday April 7th...So here is the chance to place your vote, leave me a comment and let me know if you think we are having baby Brayden (boy) or baby Brooke (girl). I am curious to see what everyone thinks!!! I will anounce the resuts on the 7th.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY JENN!!!

Today is my little sister Jenn's 17th Birthday...oh how quickly they grow up...she is getting to be so mature and responsible (well except for her room...typical teenager...ha ha). She is doing well in school and she is maintaining a job that she really likes. I just want to tell her how much WE LOVE HER AND WISH HER A SUPER WONDERFUL AND VERY HAPPY BIRTHDAY...Oh and P.S. your present is on its way I promise!!!

Updates

Hello Everyone!! Just a few updates for you.

1) My Mom is doing ok! She goes to Stanford on Wednesday for another EEG and hopefully some answers.

2) I found out last week that my position at WSU has been cut. The department has the funding to keep me on staff until the end of June. After that they currently have funding to have a PT "office aid" for the next 2 years. THe problem is there is no guarantee that when the State Legislature Votes on the Budget that they will allow the department to keep that funding. We wont have answers on this until May or June.

3) Faith is still growing by leaps and bounds. She is soooo close to walking. Today we even through a temper tantrum while standing up. Faith's Daycare Director Cassi and I are betting that by Easter she will be walking. That is one month from Thursday!!!

4) My Sister Sarah and her Family got baby Micah and he is sooooo cute. I am so jealous that my family has all gotten to spend time with him. I want to see him in person sooooo bad. Oh well I guess I will have to wait until the end of May.

5) We are still planning at this time to come down at the end of May and visit. We are planning on being there for 2 weeks, as we usually try to do so that we can see as many of you as possible. I will again be setting up a "schedule to see us so let me know if you want to see us whiler we are there. The main reasons for our visit is that My sister Stephanie is graduating from Turlock High School and Catie (a special extension on our family) is graduating from Pitman. We are very proun of both of them.

6) Pregnancy Update- I am doing pretty good. They finally found out what is causing all of my pain. It is not just the pregnancy as We had originally assumed. It is a Fibroid Tumor on my uterus. Right now it is nothing to worry about. As far as they can tell, based on blood work and visuals it is binine (i know that is probably misspelled). It is about 4cm and will continue to grow. It causes me a lot of discomfort but is completly manageable and for the most part I can function, but there are some days were the pain is almost unbearable and I cannot stand to do anything. These days are few but they happen. The Dr. says this is perfectly normal. There is not any harm to baby right now, as it grows we will have to watch it because they can have a tendensy to slow or completly stop the blood flow to the uterus. At that point we might have to do something about it, until then they will not do anything while I am pregnant because there are too many risks at putting me into premature labor and delivery and harming baby. The Dr says that there is a high chance that I will have to get it removed within a year of delievering the baby. Other than that everything seems right on. Baby is very active and very healthy according to the tests and ulrasounds. We will find out what we are having sometime at the beginning to middle of April. Trust me everyone will know when we know!!!

6) The last thing is that this last week we got word that the Diatetic Internship that is linked to Garratt's degree is being cut immediatly. This means that all the students currently on the "track" to completle their degree at WSU prior to the 2012 cutting of the entire Diatetic program will all have to find another form of internship on their own. This may not seem like a big deal except that the Internship is required to finish their degree. It is also required for the RD licencing procedures. So be praying for us as we look into ALL the options for pursuing Garratt's degree. Our main focus continues to be that Garratt finishes school with the DEGREES HE WANTS not a different degree.

Well, That is it for now!! I pray that everyone else is doing good and that life is treating you all well!!! We will enjoy the pummuling of snow that we are getting and think of all of you!!

More Updates

So here is one good news and one bad news.

The Bad news first, after thinking that we were making progress and possibly had some leads on what to do, my Mom landed herself back in the hospital again. This time I am not sure what they are going to do. She was suppose to be going to Stanford tommorow for some extensive testing, but now I am not sure what the plan of attack will be. I have, so far, been, what I would consider, very strong with all this but I think I am reaching my breaking point. I am really worried about my mother and there is nothing that I can do. She told me Tuesday that she really wished I was there and I felt horrible, although I know without a doubt that she was not intentionally trying to make me feel bad. I really wish that there was someway for me to go down and see her but that is just not possible financially. Oh,well for now I PRAY from afar. Hopefully I will have another update on this situation for you tomorrow.


Now the good news. Most of you know that my sister, Sarah and Her Husband Josh have been in the "ADOPTION PROCESS" for just over a year. They found out at Christmas that they were finally in "Child Ready" stage. This means that they could get a baby at anytime. So they have been going to the screening meetings were they get to look through profiles of children that need a home. They were looking to adopt a Boy between the ages of newborn-3ish. The problem is this is a VERY popular age group so you have to act fast otherwise the child will have been taken already. Any ways they placed the situation in God's hands. They had one child a few weeks ago that they went for, the difference was that this child was a girl and she was from a line of siblings who had been placed in the foster care/adoption pool. There were some concerns that there might be problems or complications medically down the road. So my sister prayed about it. As of last week they had heard nothing. Then last Thursday, my sister got a phone call from Her social worker, there was a little boy, who was about 3 months old and needed to be placed as soon as possible. The little boys social worker was looking for a family who was ready and willing to take on this little boy. My sister immediatly said yes. They were thinking that the normal process for placement is 2-3 weeks. So, Tuesday they went to the "disclosure" meeting and got all the information. Then once they had said yes they want Him, the Social worker took them to the Foster Families home to meet the little boy. Usually you have to set this all up at a 2nd meeting a week later. The social worker also told them that this was a very quick case and that they wanted to place Him with my sister on Thursday if that was ok with them. My sister was thrilled. They spent a few minutes with the baby then had to go. Then today they are took my nephew to the foster families home to meet the baby for the first time. They thought this would help him to understand what they were doing. Then Tomorrow (Thursday) they will go pick the baby up in the afternoon. They are so excited. The court date is set for April and the adoption agency and the social workers are all very confindent that the judge will terminate all parental rights at that time and then my sister and brother-in-law will be able to file adoption paper work at the end of July for legal custody. So that is the story for now. I will post baby pictures as soon as I have them. I cannot wait. I got a text picture Tuesday that was from when He was 14 days old. He is so cute.

Updates

I am very sorry that I have not done any updates lately. Things have been a little hectic. Oh well here are some of the updates.

1) We finally got benefits. I am in the process of doing the paperwork and getting them all set up.

2) With our benefits, we went with Aetna, because of the "NATIONWIDE" coverage, then found out that there is no OB/GYN on the Aetna network within 35 miles of my house. This sucks. Although, I did find out that I can do a special form that allows us to see an OB/GYN here in town. I just have to get it approved. Not too hard, but it takes a little longer to get seen. It kinda sucks. Oh, well!!

3) I am going to be "VOLUNTEERING" at Faith's daycare from 12:30-3:30 everyday to help pay for her daycare. They needed the help and so did we. It is a win win situation.

4) There is NO sign of a let up of the hiring freeze at WSU. The Gov. of Washington released the hiring freeze on the state back in December, but Pres. Floyd is not even considering lifting it anythime soon, so as of right now, my job is looking pretty dim. So I am going to be looking for another job and seeing what happens.

5) The economic situation has taken it's toll on EVERYONE and we are no exception to that!!

6) Garratt is looking into taking 3 classes over the summer.

7) We are planning our trip to California in May/June. We will have to be back by Sunday, June 7th, because Garratt's classes would start on June 8th. So we are planning on Driving down Wed. May 24th and Thurs. May 25th and leaving on Saturday June 6th. This is the plan at this point. We hope to spend time with as many people as possible, we shall see.

That is about it for now. I will try to be better about posting updates more often and posting pictures more often, especially on Faith's sight.

HAPPY VALENTINE'S DAY TO ALL OF YOU!!!

A Must See- Fireproof!

Last night Garratt and I got a babysitter for Faith, went out for dinner alone (what a concept) and then went to a movie night at our church.

The movie: FIREPROOF.

The movie was done by: The producers and creators of the movie "Facing the Giants"

The Background of the movie: At work, inside burning buildings, Capt. Caleb Holt lives by the old firefighters adage: Never leave your partner behind. At home, in the cooling embers of his marriage, he lives by his own rules.
Growing up, Catherine Holt always dreamed of marrying a loving, brave firefighter...just like her daddy. Now, after seven years of marriage, Catherine wonders when she stopped being "good enough" for her husband.
Regular arguments over jobs, finances, housework, and outside interests have readied them both to move on to something with more sparks.
As the couple prepares to enter divorce proceedings, Caleb's father challenges his son to commit to a 40-day experiment: "The Love Dare." Wondering if it's even worth the effort, Caleb agrees-for his father's sake more than for his marriage. When Caleb discovers the book's daily challenges are tied into his parents' new found faith, his already limited interest is further dampened.
While trying to stay true to his promise, Caleb becomes frustrated time and again. He finally asks his father, "How am I supposed to show love to somebody who constantly rejects me?"
When his father explains that this is the love Christ shows to us, Caleb makes a life-changing commitment to love God. And with God's help he begins to understand what it means to truly love his wife.
But is it too late to fireproof his marriage? His job is to rescue others. Now Caleb Holt is ready to face his toughest job ever...rescuing his wife's heart.

My Review: A great movie. Garratt and I both loved it. It is really a movie for all but I would ENCOURAGE ANY COUPLES to watch it. It really gives you an understanding as to what True Love should be and how to respect and love your spouse. Garratt and I already decided that this is a movie we want to own. We also want to read the "LOVE DARE" (watch the movie for more information on that) and I want to read the book about the movie, I just like reading books that have movies with them it sometimes gives you another perspective. This is a great movie for couples who are struggling in their marriage, who are going through a tough time or even those who have fallen into the "routine" of life and have let their marriage fall to the back burner. Garratt and I have been through and continue to go through a lot lately and the one thing that we have is communication, but I think that this movie was still an inspiration to us not to forget to remind the other half how we feel about them and do something nice for them, no matter how small. I will say this again...I ENCOURAGE EVERYONE TO SEE THIS MOVIE!!!!!! It is very real and very well done.

Happy Birthday Garratt

Today is my wonderful husbands birthday. I will be nice and not tell you how old He is, lets just say He is 8 years older than me...HA HA HA! So today Garratt got to stay home with a sick child while I went to work, then He got to relax and have lunch, followed by getting ready for and going to work. Oh the life of a responsible adult. He told me the other night that He can hardly remember what a "ChildLike" birthday is anymore, I guess I will have to change that one of these birthdays. For now I will remind Him that He is a MAJOR part of our lived. He takes great care of Me. He is loving, caring, patient and understanding. He does the laundry the dishes and takes out the trash and recycles. In those little things He is my HERO. He is also great Father. He is a Daddy Jungle Gym, a human trampoline, and a cuddler when needed. He is Faith's Hero time and time again because He just takes the time to play with her, watch TV with her, dance to music with her and tuck her into bed at night. He is the first thing she looks for and calls to when we get home from daycare everyday and He is the last one she wants to see before bed. So on this special day, His Birthday we want to remind Him and tell everyone else how wonderful He is and how much WE LOVE Him and wish Him a SUPER WONDERFUL FANTASTICAL BIRTHDAY!!!

With Lots of Love from His Wife, Daughter and Baby!!!

Baby Jeffery

Concern from Far Away

For those of you that follow my blog and or know me well, you are aware that my mom is very sick. Back in August was when it all got serious. She started to loose weight rapidly, she lost her appetite and could barely keep anything down. They did test after test trying to figure out what was wrong. Then in October, things got really bad. Mom landed herself in the hospital for the first time. They conducted exploritory surgery and found NOTHING. THey ran some other tests and they did some other procedures and still nothing. Over the course of the next 2 months Mom spent time back and forth in the hospital and home on bed rest. Her last stint in the hospital was just before Thanksgiving. We thought maybe things were going to start to get better, although we still had no answers to what was cauing all the problems in the first place. Then, early this month they conducted an LP test on her and she took a turn downwards. She was eating less and less until finally she was not eating at all, because she could not keep anything down. As a result last night the doctor put her back into the hospital. He was going to evaluate her and decide what to do. They decided that they would use a feeding tube to get nutrition into her. The rest of the story I am a not sure of other than the text message I got from her which basically said that at some point today she had collapsed, while still in the hospital, and so her doctor had order her to bed confinment with medication and tubes in her nose. As a daughter who has always been very very close to her mother this whole situation is very scary. I think that it is even more scary right now because I am so far away and I cannot go see her and make sure that she is as comfortable as possible. It has always been my job to make sure that Mommy was taken care of, since she took care of everyone else. Granted Dad helped but still I always thought that I had to take care of Mom and now I cannot. I know that I have to take care of my wonderful, caring, super considerate and wonderful at taking care of me Husband, my dauster who I love always despite her toddler temper and her desire to be super independent and the new baby that is growing inside of me, but I cannot help but still want to take care of Mom.

My biggest request are that everyone keep my Mom in your thoughts and prayers that the Doctors may finally be able to solve the mystery and that she will begin to feel better.

Second, pray for me. I do not know if it is because of how long this has gone on or if it is the distance and the fact that I cannot be closer to Her or if it is the hormones from my pregnancy but I am having a REALLY hard time with this situation this time. All the other times she was back and forth in the hospital I was ok. I was worried and of course wished I could be there to help but I was ok with it and I knew that everyone was there for her and they kept me informed about everything. This time I am really struggling withit. I am emotional and scared and just plain upset about the whole thing. The hardest part of course is trying to keep my cool and stay calm so I do not cause any stress on the baby.

Last, pray for my poor husband. He has to put up withthis emotional pregnant walkign disaster.

I will keep you all updated as much as I can. Thank You for your thoughts, prayers and support!!!

XO XO XO XO XO XO XO XO XO XO XO XO XO XO XO XO XO XO XO

Negative What?

Ok...so the past 2 1/2 weeks since we got back to Washington after our trip to California for Christmas, we expected lots of snow, that is not what we got. We got fog, chilly temps, ice, and a little sunshine. No SNOW!!!! It has been kind of nice because the town and University were able to clear many snow drifts that were large and blocking other things, everything was able to melt down and looked a lot like it did in the fall. Then this last weekend we got hit with some snow. Very Little, but snow none the less. It didn't really bother anyone and the maintenance people were very good about being on top of the roads. They were plowing and graveling right away so there were never any issues with roads or parking lots. It was great. It has been in the low 20's most of the weekend. Nt varing too much. Then this morning, Garratt went out to brush off the car and start warming it up so we could take Faith to daycare and me to work. He left me inside with Faith finishing getting ready and he came in and announced that is was"REALLY CHILY." Now, you have to know my husband well to understand that it has to be PRETTY COLD for him to say it's cold. So we got all bundled up, loaded into the car and headed for daycare. I assumed that it was in the low teens maybe into single digits, because it was pretty chilly but didn't seem too bad to me and that is saying something, but I think that my hormones have my whole body temperature off anywho. So, on the way to daycare we pass the Bank of Whitman, which has a large sign that rotates different announcements and includes the time and temperature, as we passed it this morning it read... -9 ... yes people you read that right...negative 9 degrees...that is the coldest we have gotten, so far...OMG...that is COLD. Oddly though it is REALLY COLD...it doesn't seem like it is THAT cold. WHY?? I have no Freakin' clue. I wish I had an answer, I swear I should be a popsicle...but I am not. I guess that as it has gotten colder over time I have adjusted to it rather well, and that my blood is thickening as a result. I guess you just become acclimatted when you have to.