It's Great to Be Eight!

Luke has been looking forward to his Baptism for months! It's hard to believe he is 8. I remember arriving at the hospital to deliver this sweet boy, experiencing all of the anxiety, stress, pains, and love that come with celebrating the birth of a child and, after months of anticipating his arrival, finally getting to hold and cuddle this cute little boy. He has always been sweet and kind. It has been amazing to watch him grow, watch the things he is interested in, and see him develop into the cute little boy that he is. Now he is 8 and I can't believe how quickly time has flown by.
Luke said he wanted a suit when he turned 8...he wanted to go to church dressed like his Dad on Sunday. So, Nanu and Grandpa took him shopping for a suit and, boy, did he look handsome! The Bishop kept referring to him as a missionary because he looked as such.
That morning, I was a bit frazzled as I arrived to the church. Every one had gone ahead and I entered the chapel just as it was time to start the meeting. As soon as I sat down, I could feel the spirit. It was as if we were in the Temple and the spirit testified to me of the importance of that day for Luke and, once again, testified to me of its truthfulness. When it was Luke's turn to enter the font, you could see how proud he was of his decision to be baptized and how happy he felt. When he came up from the water, he kept his eyes closed and wouldn't open them to look at anyone or anything. Later on he told me the water made his eyes sting. However, he was happy the water was warm and he said it "felt like he was in a hot tub."
It was so great to have sets of Grandparents, as well as, Luke's Great Grandparents (from my mom's side) in attendance. Our parents always make it a priority to be at these special functions and we feel extremely blessed.
These are all of the priesthood holders who participated in Luke's confirmation that day...Devon, Grandpa Roush, Grandpa DowDell, Grandpa Johnson, Grandpa Hand, and Bishop Larsen.
We have such a wonderful family and we are so blessed to have so many terrific role models/relatives for our children to look up to.

First Bike Ride X2

We got the above red bike from a friend that was moving. They did not have enough room for it in their moving truck. So Devon brought the bike home with him. Luke and Taylor's bikes both still had train wheels at the time. We had taken Taylor's training wheels off a little over a year before, with disastrous results. Devon had given up taking the training wheels off, just to put them right back on an hour later. Luke saw the new bike and said he was going to ride it. So Devon took him outside, held the bike up while Luke got on top, then with a little help Luke was off riding on his first try. The picture above was taken shortly after.

Well Taylor decided that was not acceptable! Taylor came out and demanded a try on the new bike, and with a little help she was off on her own. Seeing Luke ride free, was just to hard to watch.



We don't think Taylor would have ever learned how to ride a bike.... If luke did not learn first. Their sibling rivalry lead her to get over her fear of crashing. In the end it was great, they have been riding every dry day since. Both their bikes have the training wheels off now. They play little bike games, and get some great exercise, away from the wii.


Posted by Devo

Welcome Baby Jack

Now that Jack is 3 months old, I thought I should officially welcome him into our family and introduce him to the rest of our friends and loved ones via the blog!

There are many reasons for not blogging or sharing my feelings about this entire experience, but I now feel that I am in a place where I am ready to openly share my thoughts about our sweet little boy.

First, I would like to preface this post by saying that much of what I am going to share is personal to our family, emotional, spiritual, and and will continue to be an on-going journey. Much of what has happened over the last 3 months was unexpected and something that I would like to write down for posterity sake as well as for others who may or are experiencing something similar.

This definitely has been a joyous time in our lives, but there have also been moments of great sadness, fear, and uncertainty.

With much love and joy in our hearts we are so proud and happy to announce the newest addition to our family and we are so glad that he is here!!

Jack Robert was born October 3, 2010 at 9:30pm. He was 5lbs, 13oz and 18inches long.

Earlier that day, I woke up and was experiencing a few contractions with light spotting. I called the Doctor and he assured me there was nothing to worry about unless my contractions increased. I wasn't due for another 2 weeks and Devon was in Chicago training for a new job. I did not want to be in Labor and wanted the baby to wait until the scheduled induction day on October 8th. However, the contractions continued all. day. long.

My sister and her family had spent the weekend with me and were planning to go home later that day. I kept reassuring her that I was not in Labor and that they should go home. Finally, they packed up their car and left to go home. Soon after, my contractions got worse!! I texted her and told her I was going to the hospital and she told me they would turn around so that she could go to the hospital with me.

She and I hopped in the car at 7:30pm and arrived at the hospital shortly after. I sobbed all the way the way there....I did not want to be in Labor and did not want to deliver this baby without my hubby. I was really hoping the nurse would tell me it was just false labor and send me home. However, once there, the nurse checked me and announced that I was dilated 5cm. The tears wouldn't stop flowing from my eyes! I thought, "how can this be? How can I be in Labor and have my husband 2,000 miles away!!" I was scared, mad, and excited all at the same time. I called Devon and told him we were having a baby tonight and kept him on speaker phone.

A quick epidural, a couple painful pushes, and our cute little purple bundle had arrived. I took one look at him and thought something was "off". He was so purple...dark purple! And, there were no cries! The nurses quickly rushed him over to the warming table to do vitals and were speaking in hushed tones without relaying any information back to me. I thought, "phew, the worst is over...he's here...I did it...yay!" But, there was a dark cloud of unexplained gloominess in the air. I brushed those feelings and thoughts aside and thought it must be because Devon isn't here.

The nurses were still speaking in hushed tones and I heard my OB ask, "Is there a heart murmur?" Immediately, they responded "no" and he nodded his head "ok." I thought, "heart murmur? oh, good, no heart murmur."

The nurses pumped a large amount of amniotic fluid from his stomach and were having a hard time getting his temperature up so they gave him to me and laid him on me skin to skin hoping that would raise his temperature.

I finally got to hold our sweet little boy! He had tons of blond hair and cute chubby cheeks. He was tiny! Tinier than all my other babies. As I held him, he nestled right into my chest and my heart melted! All of these months waiting for him and wondering what he would look like and he was finally here and he was perfect and beautiful!!

After cuddling with him for a couple of hours, the pediatrician arrived to do his evaluation. He walked in the room announcing..."So, we hear he looks like Blake..." I had never met this Doctor before. I had chosen him based on local referrals and other than that had no idea what to expect of him. It was about Midnight and he looked at me confused and unsure of what to say and blurted out..."I don't know if you overheard the nurses talking or me talking to the nurses, but we think there is a slight chance the baby has Down Syndrome...oh, I shouldn't have said anything...I wish I could take that back...he probably doesn't...oh, I shouldn't have said anything...just put that out of your mind tonight and try to get some sleep because he probably doesn't...Besides, if you think he looks like your other kids...he's probably fine...they don't usually look like family members, but he probably doesn't and I wish I hadn't said anything..."

I was still in this euphoric-I've-just-had-a-baby-state-of-mind and couldn't get any words to come out of my mouth?!?! I was frozen and didn't know what to say! I just wanted that dumb Doctor who had just broken my husband-less world to leave! I just looked at my sister with tears in my eyes and she said, "it's ok, it doesn't matter, it's ok, you're going to be ok!!" I believed her and nodded my head and just looked at my precious bundle feeling confused and unsure of what this all meant.

I immediately called Devon. It was 1am in Chicago and as far as he was concerned everything was fine. The baby was here, he was healthy, I was fine, and he could relax knowing we were all fine! I told him they thought the baby might have Down Syndrome and that was it...I couldn't speak much more than that...it was hard enough saying those two words. He had a million questions, but I didn't have any answers and we hung up the phone.

Soon after, our brother-in-law, Curtis, and Devon's dad arrived to give both me and Jack a blessing. I don't remember much of what was said, but the feeling of that room was crowded. I do believe in guardian angels and I know they were watching over us that night. I still felt uneasy, but, at the same time, felt peace.

I was finally escorted to my recovery room. Robyn and I "tried" to sleep, but how could we sleep? I think we both closed our eyes, but our brains were on overdrive! We awoke before 6am and were sobbing. She was crying and I was crying and we couldn't stop...we needed answers, we needed sleep, I needed my husband, and we all needed to know Baby Jack was going to be ok.

The hours and days that followed all seem like a big blur! We still hadn't received an official diagnosis, but as far as we were concerned it didn't matter and we felt he was sent he was sent to the right family. Taylor, Luke, and Blake adored their new baby brother and couldn't seem to stop smothering him with kisses and loves.

Devon finally arrived from Chicago and my sister went home. As far as she was concerned, the worst was over...

Jack and I stayed over at the hospital one additional night because his glucose levels were low and his temperature continued to stay low. His poor little hands and feet were still dark purple and the nurses attributed that to his size and poor temperature. The FISH test for the Down Syndrome still hadn't come back and I had received many texts, emails, phone calls and visits from friends, family, and nurses assuring me that "everything was going to be ok". I even had one nurse go out of her way to explain to me about "A Trip to Holland." It's about planning a trip to Holland, but instead of landing in Holland you've landed in Italy...bla bla bla...

I just wasn't ready to hear any of that or go there...besides, nothing was "official." We were sent home. Everything was fine, other than a huge blood clot on the back of my knee that killed and that Jack still wasn't eating very well. He was very lethargic, hard to get to eat, but, again, I attributed that to him just being a "tired newborn" and thought all would be better once we got home.

The next day, the Pediatrician called with the FISH test results. He said, the test came back positive for Trisomy 21 (Down Syndrome). I couldn't breathe, I couldn't talk, all I could do was hold my sweet, precious baby and cry. He was so beautiful and perfect and yet now I had been told something with my beautiful, perfect little boy was different and life-changing. I wasn't sure how I felt about this news. I was confused, angry, and sad, yet happy and joyful to have this new baby in our home and as a part of our family.

It's hard to explain the feelings I experienced during this time. The best way to explain it is that when I was pregnant, I had a "dream", or so to say, about Jack and what he would be like and learning about the Trisomy 21 wasn't a part of that "dream." All of us went through a period of grief...grief for that baby we thought we thought we were having and grief for Jack and the challenges his life would bring for him in the future. But, every time we hold Jack and look at him we are overwhelmed with a great sense of peace and love for this little guy! Although, he won't be "perfect" in the eyes of the world, he is perfect to us and our hearts grow bigger every time we hold him and love on him and that is all that matters!!

The days and weeks that followed is when all the trauma began...
(to be continued...)

Blogging Again?

It is the end of summer. School has started, Devon FINALLY was hired for a job, and I am 6 weeks away from being induced to have this baby.

Summer went by so fast, I didn't even blink! Our summer, this year, was filled with lots of trips to Salt Lake. Devon interviewed for jobs, like crazy, all summer and was officially offered a job 2 weeks ago. We are so excited to transition from student life to normal life once again. He will start his job Sep. 15th in Chicago for 8 weeks of training and then will resume permanently in Salt Lake once his training is finished.

We have decided I will stay here, with the kids, while he finishes his training and move to Salt Lake once he is done. That way the I have his parents to help me with the kids and with the baby. Hopefully, I don't go into labor before my induction day!

Taylor and Luke are ecstatic to be back in school. It's hard to believe they are both gone all day now. Luke started 1st grade and Taylor is in 3rd. Luke is totally exhausted when he gets home, but loves art and PE and all that good stuff. He just wishes he didn't have to ride the bus home and that I would pick him up every day. Taylor is a happy 3rd grader and knows a lot of kids in her class this year, which helps! She happily watches over Luke at school. She is a little mother hen when it comes to taking care of her brothers and does this regardless of us asking her to.

Here I am, 8 months pregnant, packing up as much as I can before this baby arrives and still teaching Zumba 7 times a week. Zumba is my sanity and I love it! It is the most fun class to teach and the best way (in my opinion) to workout.

We were able to spend the weekend with my family 2 weeks ago. It's amazing how fast our family is growing and it is becoming more rare to have us all in one place at the same time. I love my family and love it when we can be together!

My blogging may be far and a few, but just know that I think of all my little blogging friends and family all of the time and love you all!

Taylor's Baptism

It's hard to believe this little girl is 8! Taylor had been anxiously awaiting her baptism and the arrival of family who would be coming to celebrate with her. It was such a joyous day! She absolutely sparkled. It has been amazing watching her grow, watching her testimony develop, and her love for the Gospel gradually become stronger. We just absolutely love and adore this girl and we are so proud of her and the choices she has made this far in her life.
Pre-baptism pictures...
Luke and Blake couldn't resist checking out the font and ended up getting their pants wet while attempting to swim in the water.
It was so nice having Nanu and Grandpa here...it made the day extra special!
Taylor with both of her Grandpa's
Taylor with both of her Grandma's
All of the men...
All of our family...
The "after" party...Parker and Blake are ready to dive in and open the presents themselves!
A special cake for a special girl!
Oh yeah, Luke lost his first tooth...UNBELIEVABLE...how cute is he?!

Luke turns 6!!!

It's hard to believe that 6 years ago, today, I was lying in a hospital bed awaiting the delivery of this sweet little boy. I remember the night before he was born, tucking Taylor into bed and singing to her for the last time, as an only child, and feeling unsure about having two kids and wondering if I would love him as much as I loved her. From the moment he was born, I was in love! Luke has brought so much joy into our home. He is kind, thoughtful, creative, silly, and fun! He loves to play with his legos and creates AMAZING airplanes and ships from his mind. He loves to talk, ask questions, and play Star Wars Wii with his brother. It has been such an amazing year watching him learn how to read, growing up and riding the bus to school, and making new friends. Once you are Lukes friend, you are a friend for life! He keeps his Grandma entertained by all of his creative energy and list of things to do...he is always on the go! His favorite things to eat are Spaghettios, Panda Express, and Ice Cream. Luke, we love you so much and we're so glad it's your birthday! Happy Birthday, Bud!

2 Adults, 3 Kids, + 1...

A few weeks ago we took the kids to the fair. It was probably one of the grimiest and creepiest fairs I have ever been too. Most of the carnival workers looked like they had spent most of their life strung out on Meth!

In their most husky voices, they would shout out invitations to play "throw the dart at the balloon" or "throw the ping pong ball in the fish bowl" and then give you the best toothless grin you can imagine!

Anyway.

We decided to let the kids take a couple of shots at throwing the ping pong ball in the fish bowl. After 50 throws, one ball finally landed in the bowl and our prize was 3 Gold Fish...yippee!!

You would have thought the gold fish were actual GOLD...that's how excited the kids were. Devon and I just looked at each other, like, "oh great," now what?

We rushed our 3 fish home and dumped them in a fish bowl (thanks to Grandma).

The next morning...one fish was dead...the tears over this poor fish were excruciating!

The kids blamed us for not having any food to feed them and made us promise to buy some food at Wal-Mart (stupid fish!)

We bought some food and a air thingy for the tank.

Kids were happy, 2 fish were still alive...all was good!

The next morning...

"Mom, my fish is sleeping with only one eye open and we can't find the other fish..."

As I approached the bowl, I noticed that the fish was floating strangely in the water and realized it, too, was dead.

As I announced it was dead, tears began to flood from Taylors face..."oh, no, poor fishy."

I was extremely confused when I couldn't find the other fish, but figured I would let Devon figure that one out later.

Moments later, Luke shouts "I found the other fish...it's on the floor...and IT'S dead!"

More tears!!!

All 3 fish died. Stupid Fair. Stupid Fish!

So. Now we have a new fish. A lazy, blue, beta (named Feather) who is, 2 weeks later, still alive. Luke comments every morning how he can't believe our fish is still alive.

I can't either!

Let's Start at the VERY Beginning...

What can I say...life has been busy!!

I can say, however, that I have deeply missed all of you blogging peeps and I am ready to give you some updates.

So, here is the first (of hopefully many more blogging updates)...
Luke graduated from Pre-School! He will officially start Kindergarten in the fall. Wow!
The whole fam was there...look at this cutie!
AND, this cutie too!!
Yay for Luke!

Luke turns 5!

Dear Luke,

It's hard to believe that 5 years ago you arrived into this world! You were a beautiful, perfect, and happy baby. You turned heads everywhere you went with your bleach blond hair and bright blue eyes. As soon as you learned how to walk, you were unstoppable! You've been on-the-go ever since. You amaze us everyday with your talents and love. A day doesn't go by when you don't say "I Love You" and we love you too! We love to watch you learn and grow. We love to watch you build Legos, dance, sing along with your favorite songs (especially HSM3) ,and are constantly amazed at how well you use your imagination to create such amazing things. Your brother and sister are your best friends and you include them in everything you do. This world just wouldn't be the same without you. You are such a joy to be around and we love you so much! Happy 5th Birthday Buddy!

Love,

Mom and Dad

Yesterday was Luke's 5th Birthday. How is 5 years has gone by so fast? He decided he wanted a Star Wars Birthday Party....so, here is my version of an R2D2 cake. It only took me 6 hours to make from start to finish, but I think it turned out really cute and Luke loved it!
Luke had a great day! And, here are the pictures below to prove it!

Mom and Luke

Luke, Mom, and Dad

The amazing 5-year old himself!

Luke called Michael Friday morning and asked him if he would come to his birthday party on "Sunday at Evening." So, Ann and Michael joined us for the party. What an awesome Uncle! He drove 3 hours just to wish his nephew Happy Birthday...thanks guys!

Luke blowing out candles.

Grandma, Luke, and Grandpa.

A few relatives who joined the celebration.

Opening presents. A new set of Legos, clothes, new personalized bedding, a BYU baseball shirt, ball, and bat, and a remote control Helicopter. I don't think he could have had it any better.

Happy Birthday Luke, we love you!

The Fourth Picture Tag

I've been tagged! Thanks Amanda!

This picture was taken when Blake was about 4 months old. Much of those days are a blur. I guess that's what happens when you have three kids in four years--eh? This was taken on a typical "pajama day" morning. Back when I had nowhere to go and nowhere to rush to. Aaaahh, those were the days! But look at those sweet faces! It's hard to believe Blake is 2.5 years old and Luke will be turning 5 next month. I miss those simple days of morning cartoons, playdoh, and playdates at the park. Now we've progressed to video games, light saber fighting, and Star Wars movies.

What is your 4th picture in your 4th picture file? If you're reading this consider yourself tagged!

Rules: 1.Go to your 4th picture folder
2. Pick your 4th picture
3. Write about it
4. Tag 4 other people

Say "CHEESE"!!

For Christmas, my parents gave Taylor and Luke their very own Fisher Price Digital Cameras. Immediately, Blake wanted nothing to do with his new remote-control WALLE.

{{Of course, that made cousin, Parker, happy because he loved WALLE! He even put WALLE in his bed with him at night so no one else could play with it}}

The picture above is of Luke taking a self-portrait. You can see how upset Blake is, in the background, that it isn't his turn to take pictures yet.
Poor Blake! It's so hard being the youngest sometimes...even though he doesn't think so...he would tell you he's not 2, rather 4 or 5.
Every kid should have one of these. They provide hours and hours of self-entertainment which allows me to load dishes, do laundry, and workout without being constantly interrupted!
The quality, however, is not the best. But, you have to love some of these simple pictures the kids have taken...too fun!!

I Can't Believe it's OVER!

Twas the night before Christmas and all through the house
Every child was strung out on candy and leaping and running all about the house.

The stockings were hung by the chimney with care
While the children (already strung out on sugar and candy) decorated cookies for Santa to share.

The family anxiously awaited turkey and trimmings to eat
While myself and grandma hurried to get it ready--it was quite the feat!

After opening Christmas Eve PJ's and getting the children all snug in their beds
Santa, and his helper, hurried to wrapped presents in blues, silvers, and reds.

Almost ready for Christmas, interrupted with sounds of screaming, while still wrapping presents,
I ran down the stairs to find a little one crying and throwing up, what seemed to be, gallons.

With a bath, some kisses, and new clean pajamas
We were ready to sleep deep without any shouts or yo mamas!

Without much sleep, Christmas morning finally arrived,
The children were giggling and full of jive!

Traditional pictures on the stairs was a must,
And then off to open presents starting with the youngest.

The air was filled with lots of ooh's and aah's,
And when it was over, I sighed with a pause...

The joy of Christmas is wonderful and sweet,
and this year we enjoyed it and felt quite complete!

Dance, Girlfriends, and More Snow!

Taylors dance recital was last night...woo-hoo! She did such a good job. It made me want to join her dance group just so I could wear cute, tight leather pants too!

It has been snowing ridiculous amounts of snow and so instead of trudging back home after the rehearsal, I stayed at the school and let the kids run and run and run in the school gymnasium.

All of a sudden, Blakey is going through an "I Love Girls and want to chase them EVERYWHERE" phase. Seriously! Who knew this was coming? At the school he met, and fell in love with little Emma. He chased her and chased her and hugged her and hugged her and when it was time to go he would not let go of her! He cried for her all the way out of the school.

Look at that sad face!
It continued to snow ALL NIGHT LONG! Luckily, it stopped long enough to build our first snowman! I forgot how hard it was to roll snow balls in the snow, but it was worth it!
And, "Ta Da" Luke is so proud!!