February Pictures and Announcements

In January Ryan received a new calling to the Ward Building Coordinator. (Actually neither of us can think of what it is called, but it's where he is in charge of getting the building cleaned.) He was super excited about this calling. We have made it a family tradition to go every Saturday our ward is in charge anyway, so this was a pretty seamless transition. 

We had a great time. The kids really enjoyed it and we loved having the opportunity. Unfortunately it only lasted that one month because then Ryan was called to be First Counselor in the Elders Quorum and he was released. He was super bummed about it. Not about the new calling. He was nervously excited for that (he's never been in a calling outside of Young Men) but he was really sad they wouldn't let him keep the building cleaning one too. 

Necia sent us another care package and this one included a CareBear Cousin from Issy for Devry. If you happen to see this animal, it is indeed a cat. So yes, Devry does call it Kitty. It just happens to look exactly like the other CareBears, except that it has a long tail and slightly pointed ears. She adores it. Thanks Necia and Issy!

Here's a couple goofy pictures of Devry enjoying my morning protein shake. I am about at the point that I just need to make her her own because she will drink the whole thing if I give her the chance. 

Now THIS I am proud of. We have been married for 10 years. Never once have I hung up any family pictures. I really struggle decorating. It's not that I don't want to. I'm just afraid of committing to decor I don't love. Well we got our family pictures taken in August - and yes, it took me six months to really act on this, but after searching and searching, I finally made my choices and committed. And I LOVE it!!! Behold: Our Family Wall!!!

The irony of course is this: This wall will be outdated in September! We are expecting baby #3 September 12th! Yes, you read that right. SEPTEMBER! I didn't believe it either. In fact, I was really quite nervous about it. The timing of things was the exact same from when we miscarried between Pierscen and Devry. I got pregnant 2 months after we started trying and by week 6-7, I started bleeding and cramping. Well, this one was no different. I did start bleeding - but there was no cramping. We did our best not to get our hopes up. But we passed week 6, then week 7, then week 8, and I finally had my first appointment at week 9.

Here's my 9 week belly. And the best part is that we heard the heart beat! Everything looked great! And as I am writing this I am now two days shy of 27 weeks, so things are fantastic. 

One of the biggest challenges for me was the fact that my body knew what it was doing, and I could tell a difference right away. Even Pierscen, who we hadn't told, came up to me THE DAY I FOUND OUT, and put his hand on my stomach and told me it was getting bigger. I told him that that wasn't a very nice thing to say, but he quickly added, "It's because you are going to have a baby." I asked him how he knew and he said, "Heavenly Father told me." Pretty amazing stuff. We asked him a few times over the next few weeks if it was a girl or boy (he DESPERATELY wanted a brother) and he said, "I don't know! I prayed to Heavenly Father and asked him for a brother, but He didn't answer." I guess we would just have to wait and see. ;) So I stayed quite around here for a little bit, but not terribly long because I was already showing and I needed help with doctor appointments and what not. So we told some people locally and then told our family around week 12. We are super excited!

So that was our biggest piece of news. Here are some more fun pictures from the rest of the month:

Devry and Henry, her bethrothed. ;) Seriously, we love this kid. They are such good friends. She is two months older than him, but they are good pals in nursery. In fact, they have their own sense of humor where the two of them will make each other laugh and laugh and no one else will get it. It's awesome. Unfortunately his family is moving in a year. We are not happy about this. Boo.

The picture below was taken as Ryan and I were prepping for a date night jog. This is the same trail we run every time, but we've never entered the trail from this spot. We got quite a kick out of that sign. 

But the really funny thing about this was that less than a mile into our run, guess what we saw on the trail?! A coyote! No joke. Again - we have run this route many times and never seen any more wildlife than some beetles and ducks. But we really did see a coyote! I pulled out my phone to take a picture, but it disappeared into the woods. Bummer. 

Anyway, the rest of these I want to say all took place on Valentines. I know the later ones definitely did, but I guess it doesn't matter. Point being - it snowed!  

And there was even enough snow for the kids to build a snowman. It was absolutely perfect. They had a fantastic time!

The best part was that the kids got their snow fix and within a few hours, most of it was melted. That's the best kind of snow. haha. I think this is the first time the kids have really been able to play in the snow before it melted away, so it was pretty special. 

And here was my attempt to be festive for Valentine's: Pink chocolate chip heart shaped pancakes and lemon meringue pie for Ryan. That's love right there. :)