Jeremy, Stacia, James and Elliana

January

2012-01-29T20:07:00.000-08:00

The Franceschini's were in town the end of December and beginning of January. We loved getting to introduce the babies to Eva and David. They love their cousins!!

We went to the zoo one day while they were here and used The BOB for the first time and LOVED IT!! Auntie Sarah and Grammy came too. The babies loved the animals and especially liked the Tropical Discovery part where they could look up close at the exhibits.

We love Shannie and Dave and their girls!! We miss them bunches!
I went back to work at the start of the new semester in January and have been so so sad to be away from my sweet babies so much. They are doing awesome with Jeremy and the nannies at home though. I love coming home to them and every second I get with them on the weekends. Ellie loves her baby doll and James is really into his rattles and cars. They both stick everything in their mouths now. My most FAVORITE thing is their laughs...they smile and laugh a lot. They are really interactive now and recognize people they know.

We started solids and they love it!! They are doing great with rice cereal and even though it is a mess they gobble it up!

It is so hard to catch their smiles but I kinda caught a couple today when they were playing in a box. So cute....

Meanwhile Jeremy got really sick, he had strep and mono!! So we have been taking it easy and hoping that he gets well soon. He is doing better after we finally figured out what was going on. I have cleaned and disinfected the house over and over so the babies and I don't get sick too and so far we are staying healthy.
Right now I am learning how to balance all the aspects of working full time and being a wife and mom. I am totally in love with being a mom and want to do it well. I soak in every moment that we get together as a family and my heart just overflows with love and joy. It is a crazy learning curve but so far it has been a remarkable experience! Happy January everyone!

A sweet memory...

2011-12-30T20:07:00.001-08:00

It's always amazing to me how certain smells, tastes, and sounds can resonate with you and bring back fond memories. For me the holidays are filled with these moments. This year I have savored the times I have gotten to have a peppermint mocha while I walk around Target, or dance in my living room while holding my babies and singing along with Christmas carols. My heart has been so full with these sweet moments.
I have always loved all of the family traditions and time spent together around the holidays. I cherish the memories I have of my siblings and I when we were kids on Christmas morning, of my parents, and grandparents. This year Jeremy and I got to start some of our own family traditions with our babies. Jeremy was scheduled to work Christmas Eve and Christmas day but a friend offered to work for him on Christmas day so he could be home for the babies first Christmas. It was so sweet to get to experience that as a family and I am so thankful for the thoughtfulness of the guy he works with to offer. Here are a few pictures from the morning...

Bronco's gear!

We got to spend Christmas day with Jeremy's parents and brother Matt and his girlfriend Stephany in Colorado Springs. Dianna (Jers mom) hosted a beautiful Christmas dinner and a warm and wonderful evening filled with presents and lots of time playing with the babies.

The Franceschini's just came into town so we will be celebrating Christmas with my family soon...more pictures to come!

Turkey day, Christmas trees, and Santa oh my!

2011-12-13T12:13:00.000-08:00

This post is totally backwards but still fun...
Merry Christmas! Darling Doubles Christmas Party with Santa.

James and Elli were dedicated on December 4th. It was really amazing to have our families there. Chris and Jen came in and Shanna was here too! It was really cool.

We cut down a Christmas tree with the babies this year.

Jeremy had to work this Thanksgiving so the babies and I drove to Cripple Creek to celebrate Thanksgiving with the guys on his shift. They are all such great people!

Such a proud daddy...

Elli
James

2 Months old

2011-11-19T09:32:00.000-08:00

Jeremy's dad Reid came for a visit and the babies loved getting to see their grandpa.

Jeremy is such a good daddy...
We were feeling rather stir crazy and so we randomly drove to Breckenridge for the day. It was beautiful as usual. We went for a walk along the river and then had crepes, yum!

The babies are 2 months old and I can't believe how fast they are changing. I know I say this all the time but they are such sweet babies.
James has become so smiley and interactive with us. When I go in to the nursery to wake him up he smiles and smiles at me and it just makes my heart bubble over with love. James is 9 lbs 9 oz now. He is long and lean but he has started to get little fat rolls on his thighs.
Elli is doing so well too. She is 11 lbs 2 oz now and soft and adorable. She is a really content baby most of the time and loves to be on her tummy. She has really good head control already!
The two of them could not be more different. We love their unique little personalities and are looking forward to the next milestones.
Jeremy's fire jacket and helmet
Happy 2 month birthday babies!!

We love fall!

2011-10-29T15:01:00.001-07:00

I had a Saturday with the babies so I decided to tag along with my parents and go visit my little brother in Fort Collins. I love the trees in Fort Collins in the fall they are so breathtakingly beautiful. We had sandwiches from the Pickle Barrel and sat in the Oval. As we were talking the lightest breeze would blow through the trees sending a cascade of golden leaves fluttering down. The image of swirling shimmers of fluttering leaves on such a beautiful day was so peaceful and relaxing.

Grammy holding Elli

Uncle Matt and James chillin'
Our picnic spot
James and Elli both got little coughs this week so we stayed in quite a bit and recovered. Both of the babies are so much more alert and aware. They are starting to really focus on us and smile at us which just melts our hearts.
The Newlyweds, Jeremy's brother Chris and his wife Jennifer, came and stayed with us for a night after they got back from their honeymoon.

James dressed up as a little monster
Elli dressed up as a lady bug

Not too happy

We joined the most awesome group it is called Darling Doubles and it is a group for families with twins. We went to the Halloween party on Saturday and had so much fun meeting other families with twins. They have great resources for families of twins and do playdates, monthly meetings, moms night out etc. It has been so fun to make new friends and feel like there are other people who can relate to our new life :)

Later we went to a little pumpkin patch with Grammy and Pop Pop.

Our little punkins'

Happy Halloween everyone!

Happy One Month

2011-10-21T15:07:00.000-07:00

Kinsey took some awesome pictures of the babies for us when they were about 3 weeks old. I wanted to put a couple of them on the blog so everyone could see our little cuties. They are growing so fast!! I want them to stay little and snuggly forever!

Tiny feet
Here is James--he didn't like the flash on the camera so he made some funny faces.

Elliana looking so cute on her blanket. I love this picture!
This picture made me laugh...
Elli and her mama
James and his daddy in their fire shirts
Thankfully the weather has been really nice and we have gotten to get out and walk and enjoy the colors.

James and Elli snuggling in the blanket that Grammy made them.
James One month old
Elliana one month old
Elli is a lot bigger than James still but they both are growing and so healthy. We are so thankful for our little ones! More pictures to come...

Happy 2 weeks babies!

2011-10-02T21:27:00.001-07:00

Our sweet babies are 2 weeks old today. They seriously change every day!! We had a lot of firsts this past week that I thought I would share...
First time of putting the babies in outfits other than the pj type onesies. We just had to wear the outfits their Great Grandmommy bought them!!
First trip to the grocery store with the babies!!
First doctors visit...it went so well! We have no complaints and are so thankful for healthy babies who are growing so fast!! Ellie is 6 lbs 12 oz and James is 6 lbs!! While at the doctors office Jeremy was attempting to change James diaper on his lap because the office was a little crowded to say the least. In the middle of the diaper change James started to pee as little boys often do. Jeremy thought he had caught it with the diaper but what he didn't realize until too late was that the pee had run out the sides of the diaper and soaked Jeremy's shorts!!! It was one of the many moments we have just had to laugh about!!
Wearing new pj's from Great Grandma in California!! SO Cute and Snuggly!!
And our first hike to see some fall colors. It was a gorgeous day and so nice to be outside in the mountains!!

D Day

2011-09-25T11:14:00.001-07:00

Well thanks to the help of my family and advice from many friends I tried and tried and tried and finally went into labor at 37 weeks 3 days!!

In the operating room to deliver the babies. Check out this crowd!! :) We love our family.

Here they are!!! James and Elliana both delivered naturally and so healthy!!

More pictures to come!!

36 weeks and still going....

2011-09-09T18:18:00.001-07:00

The past weekend was CRAZY busy for my family!! Sarah moved into college at Johnson and Wales and had a family day/ceremony that we went to. She looks so cute in her new dress! This is a picture of her and mom in front of her dorm. Way nicer than CSU's dorms!!
The family posing for a picture.
We love our brother Matty!!
My oldest sister Shanna and her family also moved this past weekend. They made it safely to Redding, CA. Makes me sad just thinking about it but they are chasing after their dreams of being in full time ministry.

Then my mom earned her new car from Mary Kay and we picked it up!! Pretty Snazzy!! She is signing the papers and getting the keys! Way to go Mom!
Mom and Dad in front of the Chevy Malibu! She looks pretty foxy driving this brand new car!!
And finally I am at 36 weeks. 2 trips to the hospital yesterday but turns out everything is ok. The babies got measured today and Ellie is approximately 6lbs 8oz and James is 5lbs 5oz. The babies could come anytime....
The anticipation is seriously dreadful! I just want to meet these sweet babies and hold them in our arms.

35 weeks

2011-08-31T21:21:00.000-07:00

At my doctors appointment today he said that I am 60-70% effaced and that labor could happen at anytime!! What exciting news!! They also put on the fetal heart rate monitors and contraction monitor and were surprised to see that I had what the nurse called a "triple contraction." I guess that is where you have a hard, strong contraction then it starts to let up and you have another, it starts to let up and you have another. The babies don't seem to mind all the contractions and their heart rates looked good. They were a little sleepy but once they woke them up they were really active and kicking the monitors. For the last 4 days I have been having over 12 contractions in an hour as close as 2 minutes apart and all through the night. Sometimes they are letting up and then they start back up again. I am off of Procardia which made the contractions less intense and I have noticed a huge difference for me in the strength of the contractions. SO needless to say I have been really drained from all the contractions and in a lot of pain/discomfort. I am trying to keep a good attitude but I have not been the sunniest person to be around. Sweet Jeremy has been wonderful and my family has been amazingly helpful! Mostly I am trying to stay distracted and just let things happen when it's time. Jeremy texts me from work every few hours to make sure I am still prego...I think he is a bit nervous to be 2.5 hours away from me at this point! Thanks for your calls and encouragement even if I have missed you, it has been an endurance challenge for me at this point. I can't wait to meet these babies and be able to see my toes again. I am always wondering if today will be the day but we will just have to wait and see.

My oldest sister Shanna and her family move to Northern California this weekend. And my little sister Sarah is moving to college at Johnson and Whales on Friday. Lots of good changes happening for everyone but we are going to miss them lots and lots.

Almost 34 weeks!

2011-08-24T07:08:00.001-07:00

Well we have almost made it to another really important milestone...34 weeks! Tomorrow I will be at 34 weeks which is a huge accomplishment! My doctor continues to be surprised by how well I am doing. The babies are looking awesome, growing like little peas in a pod. I am still on modified bedrest because they want me to try to go as long as possible and the more I am up and moving the more that I contract.
SO you may be wondering...what does one do to pass the time for weeks on end? And the answer is....puzzles, lots and lots of puzzles and movies and reading, and hanging out with my family and friends. Jeremy and I celebrated our anniversary early this year because he has to work this weekend. We got all you can eat crab legs and gelato!!! It was quite the little outing for me. We have been married for 5 years and gone through so much together. We had such a great time celebrating our life and we are right on the verge of such a big life change.
34 weeks...I am so thankful for having a healthy pregnancy and healthy babies!!
Who's belly is bigger?
I think I beat the watermelon on this one!
At this point I have had more grumpy days than usual just because I am barely sleeping, so uncomfortable, heartburn is raging, contractions are painful, nothing fits, and I waddle everywhere I go...but there is a light at the end of the tunnel. We scheduled a csection for September 22nd (38 weeks) if I make it that far, our babies will be here by then for sure!!

2nd Goal!

2011-08-10T16:17:00.000-07:00

We will be at 32 weeks tomorrow!! That was the second goal my doctor gave me. We are breathing a huge sigh of relief today. We had a perinatologist appointment today and they measured the babies and checked them out. They are still growing, both head down, looking great, and no concerns from the doctors!! Ellie is 4 pounds 1 oz and James is 3 pounds 11 oz. I can not express how thankful we are to have 2 healthy babies and to have gotten them this far!! Now we need to make it to 34 weeks and anytime after that the babies can come with a lot less worries about preemie issues. All this modified bed rest has been worth it!
Talking to Oscar about the babies! When will they arrive?? You can post a guess and I will add it to the calendar. Whoever is closest gets a gift card in the mail!

1st Goal

2011-08-02T19:39:00.001-07:00

Well we made it to our first goal of 30 weeks!! It has been 1 month since preterm contractions started and I have been on modified bed rest. I CAN NOT believe how big my belly is getting!! Check it out!
The stares I get when I do venture out are priceless!! Also in the 3rd trimester I have noticed heightened emotions aka lots more crying about things and more late night cravings like the one below...

Mmmmm s'mores brownies so delicious! So glad I have a hubby that will stay up late making me ridiculous things. HE IS THE BEST!

Update

2011-07-19T08:59:00.000-07:00

It's been a fun couple of weeks with lots of things to look forward to. Kinsey, Melissa, and Rachel threw me a lovely shower! It was so much fun and so so cute!!

I am at 27 weeks in this picture, just relaxing on the couch enjoying all the friends and family who came.

Everyone painted the cutest onesies and bibs.
Rae made the cutest diaper cake too!

These are a few pictures of the nursery in the making. My aunt came up and helped organize and wash a bunch of baby things, it was a huge help! My grandma in California is an incredible artist. She painted a mural on a canvas of the characters from the series "if you give a mouse a cookie." It turned out soooo cute! "It's cheerful, and bright, and a celebration of the babies,"she said was her inspiration.

Both the cribs are white--the girls bed is pink, the boys is green. Most of the accents in the room are green with a little bit of pink here and there. We didn't want to make it too girly.

Jeremy built these shelves in the closet so we could have more storage and made the hanging rack from one into two so that we could have a boy and girl rack.
The picture frames on the canvas are for putting pictures of the babies each year they grow.
This weekend my mom, shanna, sarah, and Jeremy's mom threw a combined shower for me. It was so much fun to see family and friends from all over. I really appriciated everyone who made such a long drive from Colorado Springs and Woodland Park.
My sisters Sarah and Shanna made the cupcakes and the fondant flowers. Soooo cute!
Everyone assembled day packs for Jeremy and I so we can grab them and throw them in the diaper bag and be ready to go! They will be a huge help.

Dad was busy making delicious frozen drinks for everyone because it was almost 100.

The showers were such a huge blessing!! We got so many wonderful gifts for the babies. Thank you to EVERYONE for being so wonderful and supportive!! Unfortunately during the shower the contractions started and got worse and worse and I ended up here.
Only to be sent home hours later because even though they were 1 minute apart and painfully uncomfortable they didn't change my cervix. This is just the story of my life right now...rest rest rest.

Scary!

2011-07-06T08:26:00.000-07:00

Well we had a little bit of a preterm labor scare that started on Thursday. I went to lunch with some of my girlies from college and had a great time. When I got home I felt really tired and laid down on the couch to talk to Jeremy. I started having contractions at 3:23 but they were like 20 minutes apart. We called the doctor because something just didn't feel right about it and we didn't want to wait until after the office closed. They told me to lay down drink 4 glasses of water wait and hour and they would call back. If they stopped great, if not I would need to go to the hospital. Well they didn't stop actually they got way worse. They were 2 minutes apart and intense. I started crying because I had just gotten to 26 weeks that day and it was just too soon for these babies to show up. We haven't even bought any diapers yet!! Jeremy loaded me up in the car and took me to the hospital. We went straight to labor and delivery and got hooked up to all the monitors. The babies did not like all those bands and monitors and would kick and push away from them every time. They were SUPER active (I think it was because they didn't like all the contractions either). The contractions got to one minute apart. They checked my cervix multiple times and felt that it wasn't changing enough to warrant staying in the hospital. They put me on some medication to take away some of the intensity of the contractions and sent me home. We got home at 12:30pm. The next day we saw our doctor and he checked my cervix again and saw that it was starting to funnel. He also said it had changed over a cm from two days ago at our last visit. He put me on another drug to try to stop the contractions completely and put me on restricted activity which means that I can get up to go the bathroom but that is it. I was instructed to lay on my left side until Tuesday. Thank goodness for Jeremy and my wonderful family! They kept me sane with movies, puzzles, food etc. We had another appointment yesterday and the contractions still had not stopped but they have lessened in intensity and they have not changed my cervix any more!! That was really good news! The doctor said that I am the size of a woman carrying one baby at full term right now and my uterus is reacting like it is at full term because it doesn't know there are 2 babies in there!! Unfortunately, this means I can not travel at all now so we had to cancel my baby shower in the Springs that Dianna was going to host. We are combining it with the one in Denver my mom is hosting because I am allowed to go to that one if I take it really easy! I am allowed to get off the couch a little more now, sit up, do very limited things around the house (no dishes, cooking, laundry, exercise, grocery store, shopping, etc, etc) I will stand on my head for a week if it will make any difference! I just want these babies to keep cookin'! Right now our goal is to get to 30 weeks and then 32, then 34, etc... I had the most awesome ultrasound tech take some profiles of the babies and a funny one at the end! They are so cute and still doing great in there! Hold on tight James and Ellie it's not time to come out yet!

Our baby boy's profile with his arm up.

Baby Ellie's profile--she is always so much harder to get pictures of! The boy's little bottom!! How funny!!

Everyone has a story...

2011-06-28T09:25:00.000-07:00

This is a long one...sorry

Everyone has a story…

Isn’t it true that everyone you meet has their own unique story? It’s what makes life so interesting when you are getting to know someone or when someone you have known for a long time shares deeper places with you. Each journey seems to be unique to that person with their own set of challenges and triumphs. Jeremy and I feel like we are embarking on a remarkable adventure right now-- getting the opportunity to be parents. But this part of our story, like so many others, did not come easy.

Many of you know this but Jeremy and I have struggled with infertility for three years. We were told in August this year, “You will never have children together.” I cannot sum up or even put into words the kind of pain that infertility inflicts on a couple. It is a deep, guttural, empty ache and if you are reading this and have had to endure infertility I am truly sorry (and I know that is not enough but I can at least understand a small piece of what you are feeling). I was looking back at some journaling from the time we were in the midst of our struggle…

“A guest speaker was talking about going through the deep waters of our lives. These are the seasons in life when things have crashed around you, you have hit the lowest low, the bottom of the barrel and then some. These moments are unable to be expressed with words because the words simply cannot express the pain and depth of feeling. He went on to say that when we have these moments and we feel like we are treading water, unable to move in any direction, terrified that at any moment our strength will go out and we will sink and be overcome, that is when God is most near to us, that is when He is carrying our weight.”

I wrote… It sounds a little like a hallmark card but when I think about the deep waters that I have experienced in my life and how they have changed me I can say that in those darkest moments I never once questioned the presence of God in my life. He has been my constant comforter. I can feel his sadness over what I have to go through, I can feel his broken heart as he watches me grieve, and his absolute acceptance of me regardless of how dark my life has become, and how much I have lost hope. I believe that even when I have lost all hope in myself, he still has hope for me.

A book I just read called Angry Conversations with God talked about the dark places as well. “A sixteenth century monk wrote a treatise called Dark Night of the Soul. When we first know God, he lavishes us with blessings and signs of his love, the way you do with your children when they’re small. But God wants us to grow up. So he removes his blessings. The sense of his presence. And even signs of love. Because he wants us to trust what we can’t see, to believe we’re loved even if we can’t feel it, to walk by faith and not by sight. And maybe he wants me to love him for himself, not for what I can get out of him. Well, if that’s where I am, then okay. I can be here. I’m in my own Dark Night of the Soul. And I’m just waiting for my sun to come up.”

I can completely relate to this as well. There have been many times in this process and in life where I feel like I am waiting for the sun to come up. Learning to love and trust God in the midst of life crashing down around me has been a process. Believing that God has a plan for me, he knows the desires of my heart, and even though his answer is sometimes “No or Not Now,” he is still good and his love is never failing.

During our journey with infertility we tried to adopt but one agency rejected us because of my medical history of having cancer. Other adoption agencies had closed doors at the time we were looking. Most infertility treatments were not an option because of our circumstances and the ones that were available were not what we wanted or we worried that my body couldn’t handle the stress of it all.

Through many different events, doctors, tests, and closed doors we were told by one doctor that the only thing we could try if we wanted to have ‘natural’ children was Invitro (this previously hadn’t even been an option because of our circumstances). Invitro is not covered by insurance, is very invasive for the woman, involves a lot of and a very strict regiment of drugs, and the place we found had a 70% success rate—which they make very clear in the beginning it doesn’t always work. Not to mention the moral and ethical views about invitro. But again God was faithful; he provided a way even though it was going to take some major sacrifices and steps of faith.

And here we are…almost 26 weeks pregnant with twin babies, a boy and a girl. As the guy at the pedicure place said “Oh, you so lucky!” Yes—I can’t express how truly thankful we are for this gift. It seems to me that it was meant to be…God knew all along the babies that he had for us. And in the midst of the struggles that Jeremy and I have been through I can tell you that we have found a deeper and more profound love and commitment for each other.

We wanted to share these pieces of our story so you could get a glimpse of why we chose the names we did. So the names of our babies are:

Baby Girl--Elliana Rae Slaughter

Elliana is Hebrew it means “my God has answered me.” Rae is English meaning “doe.” We are going to call her Ellie or Ellie Rae as a nickname. The other cool thing about her name is that her first and middle name have a letter that corresponds to a letter in our moms, sisters, and grandmas names--Elnora, Mary, Dorothy, Arleen, Sherilyn, Dianna, Shanna, Sarah. Elliana Rae will have a little piece of each of them in her name. What a tribute to all of the wonderful women who have poured into our lives.

Baby Boy--James Mark Slaughter

This name we chose more for the men who have impacted our lives in a substantial way, our dads. James Reid—is Jeremy’s dad, James is a family name. Mark—is my dad. We wanted to choose a strong name for our baby boy, the books of James and Mark in the bible are some of our favorites as well—there are profound truths in each and each points back to Jesus. James is Hebrew and means one who supplants, Mark means warlike. So to sum up his name he is a supplanting, warlike, slaughterer—reminds me of Mel Gibson in Braveheart.

So there they are James and Ellie. Please keep them in your prayers as we take one day at a time. Our prayer is for their health and growth and that my body would allow me to carry them for as long as I can. Thanks for taking the time to read this…I know it’s a long one.

Sarah's graduation

2011-06-02T16:12:00.000-07:00

My sweet little sister Sarah graduated high school last week!! She was a speaker for the graduation and did an awesome job! She has had just a great year this year and now she will be off to Johnson and Whales in the fall to pursue her dreams of becoming a master chef.

This is Sarah and her wonderful boyfriend Luke. He is a great kid!

Sarah had a really fun graduation party over memorial day weekend. I am at 21 weeks in these pictures.
Mom and Dad put on quite the party! The food was amazing and told the story of Sarah's culinary experiences this far.

Sarah and Caitlyn

Grandmommy, Auntie Gay, and Uncle Chris came up for the party too. It was so great to catch up with them.

Eva was admiring Grandmommy's beautiful necklaces.

Shanna and Dave being nerds :)

Oh baby!

2011-05-23T15:50:00.001-07:00

Well we are at 20 weeks now!! I can't believe how fast the time seems to be going! Twins are considered full term at 37 or 38 weeks so that means at the max I only have 18 weeks left!!! YIKES! My nesting instincts have fully overtaken my body. With the help of my fabulous mom and sis I found curtains, a rug, a lamp, and a great pillow (for the rocking chair) for the babies room. It is really starting to look adorable. My grandma is going to paint a canvas for us that is going to look so amazing in the nursery! Our ultrasound looked good but both the babies heads are down and OH MY GOODNESS the pressure! We also had our marvelous multiples class on Sunday and it revealed just how in over our heads we really are!! We couldn't be happier :)
I was so excited about this next project! Jeremy tore out a section of our grass and rototilled it all up and we planted a vegetable garden!!! It's got tomatoes, green beans, carrots, cucumbers, zucchinis, and a bunch of different peppers and jalapenos! We are also growing some herbs in planter boxes that Jeremy made to hang from our deck. Fresh salsa here we come!

Happy Mother's Day

2011-05-08T19:01:00.000-07:00

We celebrated mother's day with Jeremy's mom in the springs on Saturday. We had a great time seeing a movie and going to a yummy dinner!
Today we went to church and then had a picnic at the park.
I am at 18 weeks and growing right along.

Eva and Pop Pop were trying to fly a kite. She loved it!!
Mia was learning to blow dandelions. She kept making the funniest faces!
Jer and the fam were playing catch and Frisbee. Then they all had a croquet match.
Dave and Eva were trying to get the kite to fly.
Shanna with her girls. Looking at dandelions.
Me and my sisters.
All the girls!
Grammy and Mia
Pop Pop and Mia.
We had a fun time playing in the nice weather!! Only 4 more weeks of school!!

It's a.....

2011-04-20T15:14:00.001-07:00

We are at 16 weeks tomorrow and things are looking great. We met with the perinatologist today and she said they are both healthy and looking awesome! And we are having....

Yep! A boy and a girl!! Oscar had to be in the picture too! So now we can start registering and pick out all the fun stuff like bedding and nursery stuff!! We are sooooo soooo happy and thankful that the babies are healthy and wonderful!

Spring break

2011-04-03T12:48:00.000-07:00

Jen and Chris were in town for wedding stuff this week. We got to meet her mom and sister who were in town for some planning. We had dinner at Lola's in the Highlands, it was delicious.
Jeremy and I escaped to the mountains for a few days. Jeremy got some skiing in and I did a lot of relaxing!

I am at 13 weeks in this picture!! The babies are looking great! But my tummy is measuring 16-17 weeks because there are two babies in there.

Celebrations!

2011-03-05T08:04:00.001-08:00

Jeremy's fire department in Cripple Creek had their first annual awards banquet.
Dalton and Jeremy were in the academy together. Dalton and his wife Tessa are great friends and we love their girls too!!

A guy on Jeremy's shift Tyler and his family made the cake for the banquet. It was pretty fun!
Jeremy and his Chief after being given an award for his contributions to health and safety. He leads all of the physical fitness for the academies as well as monitoring the overall health of the department and working with each of the shifts.
The ice sculptures were about a week old at this point but still made main street look pretty cool.
Sarah competed in the State Prostart competition with her team from Standley Lake. The competition was at Johnson and Whales in Denver where Sarah is planning to go to college in the fall. Below was her team walking around the campus before their turn to cook. They were in the last group of the day.
Their station is set and they are waiting to prep. They were mentored by Chef Troy Gaurd who owns Tag restaurant on Larimer Square.
Let the games begin! They had one hour to complete an appetizer, entree, and dessert. The team worked flawlessly. Sarah was the team captain and did an awesome job encouraging each of her team members. She was an awesome leader.
It was so nerve wracking watching the team work. They were amazing and so focused!
Here are the final dishes.

They won second place in the culinary competition. Their management team won 3rd place for their restaurant design.
Both of their teams combined scores won them first place over all for the whole competition!! They took home the hospitality cup and $500 for their school. Each student also won scholarships!

Congrats Sarah!! We are so proud of you for all your hard work!!

Drum Roll Please.....

2011-02-18T20:06:00.000-08:00

We went out to dinner with my family tonight to celebrate my birthday and to tell them the news....

Should have spelled its twins but whatever tis works too...haha

So here they are....baby A

And Baby BTis Twins....
We are so excited we can hardly stand it! If I can only manage the morning sickness...which feels like all day sickness really...and never ends. Yuck! I was told today that morning sickness is doubled with twins...and I can say yes it really is. We can't wait for all that this adventure holds for our family!

Breck....need I say more

2011-02-16T15:51:00.001-08:00

We had an awesome time in Breckenridge for the weekend with our friends Melissa and Sean. I can't remember the last time I laughed so hard! We got to see the international ice sculpture competition, go snowshoeing, and the guys went skiing, and of course the crepe stand! YUM. It snowed the whole weekend and looked like a total winter wonderland!!

Oh and by the way...

Yep I am pregnant!

My perfect day....

2011-01-02T16:35:00.000-08:00

I can not think of a single thing that makes me happier than being in the mountains snowboarding. I truly love so much about it. The crisp sound of snow beneath my feet. The chill in the air and snowflakes lazily drifting the the ground. The quiet of being on a slope all along and taking in the beauty of the snow capped mountains brings me peace. I look forward to snowboarding season all year long. Jeremy loves to ski so we escape as often as possible to the mountains. This break I got to go with some friends too! Here are a few pictures from December.

Allison and I taking 1st time snowboarders up to Keystone. These guys were awesome!! We had a lot of fun!

And every perfect snowboarding day ends with a trip to the most delicious crepe stand and dinner at the Dam Brewery!! We loved spending time with Mel and Sean this time!! :)

Ugly Ugly Ugly Sweaters...

2010-12-19T17:20:00.001-08:00

Eva was dancing with a little ribbon toy she won for her awesome gingerbread house.
Mia is into everything now, and so adorable!

Jeremy and Matt were modeling the new Cripple Creek Fire hats he gave to the girls.
We had a Mexican Feast!

Sarah and Luke won the cutest ugly couple award! Sarah and Luke also won for the most AMAZING gingerbread house...you would think they were aspiring chefs or something ;)
Mom and Dad won for the ugliest outfits! Dad is wearing Sarah's sweaters from when she was a kid. LOL!
The girls at the party the weekend before! We had a lot of fun!
Our friends Allison and Luke
Jeremy's good friends from college Jeremy and Victoria! They won for ugliest sweaters that night!

You cant really see it but Jeremy has a come over goin on with his awesome yellow cardigan, and a woman's turtleneck!
It was a great time! Thanks for everyone who came!! We hope to do it again next year!!

Thanksgiving break

2010-12-04T09:20:00.000-08:00

Jeremy and I started out our break with a PERFECT day at Keystone! We LOVE our new gear and can't wait to go again!

This is Jeremy coming down the mountain...

I got totally covered in snow...thanks babe!

This was a really cool statue on Dillon Lake so we stopped to take a picture. It was such a gorgeous day!
I was so lucky to get invited to go with my mother in law Dianna to the Rockettes in Colorado Springs with Matt Slaughter's new girl friend Steph, and Ryan's wife Lindsey. It was a bunch of fun!

Thanksgiving with the Brown's and Franceschini's this year!! Smoked Turkey by Jeremy and Sarah was delicious!!

I love getting to spend time with my little army brother Matt!! I wish we saw him more often!
We did a few poses for Christmas cards too!
My brother and sisters!
Freezing family picture!
Sarah and her boyfriend Luke. Luke is an awesome guy! He and Jeremy decided to go with the girls for black friday shopping. We started at 8:30 pm on Thanksgiving. We went to the Castle Rock Outlets at 10pm, Walmart at 12pm, Kohls at 3am, and then some of us gave up and went to bed around 5 am. Mom kept going until 9am and Shanna went out again after a few hours of sleep. There were amazing deals!! But it took us 2 days to recover from staying up all night!!

I love Fall!

2010-10-16T19:49:00.001-07:00

So this post is totally backwards but oh well! Jeremy and I have gotten to spend some fun times with Shanna, Dave, Eva and Mia lately. We went on a beautiful hike to see the changing aspen trees. Colorado is so breathtaking in the fall. I am so thankful that we get to be apart of our nieces lives, I am so glad we live close!

Oscar got to come too!

My hill-billy husband
David climbing the stairs to the fire tower with Eva in the backpack.

We celebrated Eva's 4th birthday with the family! She had a busy day-a party at the bouncy castle place with friends, riding the pony, and then a special birthday dinner. Shanna slaved over Eva's favorite dinner, orange chicken and sauted veggies, and when we sat down for dinner Eva took one bite and said "this tastes different." It was hilarious!

A few weeks earlier Jeremy and I got to spend the day with Eva and Mia. It was tons of fun!! Riding the train with Uncle Jeremy, going to the park, painting and making necklaces!

Celebrate!

2010-09-29T19:57:00.000-07:00

Here are a few pictures from Shanna's 30th birthday. The girls from our family went on a cruise to the Bahamas!! These memories will last forever... I love these girls!

Mom arranged for a galley tour (the kitchens) and Sarah got her cookbook signed by the executive chef and the sous chef!! It was awesome!

Anniversary...

2010-08-31T18:17:00.001-07:00

Jeremy and I celebrated our four year anniversary together on August 27th. Over a scrumptious meal of crab legs, scallops, and wine we talked about how nothing we planned or imagined about our life together has happened the way we thought it would. We laughed about how unpredictable our life together has been but both agreed that we wouldn't change it for the world. We (Jeremy) are working really hard on building a new deck. Its going to be so AWESOME when it is done!! And I am back to work with a whole new bunch of kindergartners. They have been wonderful so far and I think it will be an amazing year with them. I am so thankful for the ability to teach and work with kids who need really good teachers. I think they impact my life far more than I impact theirs. Hope everyone is doing well!! It will be an exciting winter with so many close friends having babies and new changes in their lives. Lots of love!

Afghanistan Trip June 2010

2010-07-17T19:30:00.000-07:00

We literally have thousands of pictures from our trip that all members of the team took while we were there. We made a really awesome snapfish book that we would love to share with anyone who would like to see. But here is a few of our favorites from the trip. It was remarkable, the whole trip was like nothing we have ever done before. We fell in love with the Afghan people we met and hope to someday soon return. There is much that can be done and the people could not be more grateful for aid.

Team Picture

2010-06-20T20:33:00.001-07:00

Here is our first team picture for our trip to Afghanistan!! We are so excited that all the details are coming together and things are looking good for our trip. This is a great group of people it will be such an amazing experience to travel together. I can't wait for all the stories we will get to share soon. Check back this week for more info!!

Spring 2010

2010-05-26T21:19:00.000-07:00

Mother's day at the Aquarium with Jeremy's mom and dad. We had a great brunch then walked through the aquarium. It was a fun day!

We fed the stingrays!! It feels like a really strong vacuum on your hand...YUCK!

I got to go to the Flatirons Womens Retreat with my sweet friend Diane and Rachel. It rained and snowed most of the time but it was a really beautiful younglife camp outside of Winter Park. I loved getting to spend some time with these girls!!

Zoo day with my sis and nieces. They are getting so big!!

This is what we are doing with most of our time...landscaping. Our house was a foreclosure in great shape on the inside but the outside needed a lot of work. There has been a lot in the gardens that has survived but there has been a lot of rock moving, weeding, trimming, cleaning, and planting happening. The pictures below are when we bought the house, notice there was a huge evergreen tree on the far side of the house that was totally over grown and growing into the house. Half of it has been cut off so that the branches wouldn't grow into the house. It was in really bad shape and had to be taken out. There were also three bushes that were so overgrown that when it snowed you couldn't walk on our sidewalk at all because they would cover it completely. The whole front bed was also covered in rock and there was major drainage/erosion problems. SO...all that to say it doesn't look like too dramatic of a change but it has been a ton of work.
BEFORE

AFTER...so far

This is our lovely crab apple tree, the blossoms were amazing this year!! Still a lot of work to do but its been a big improvement so far.

Sarah's Junior Prom 2010

2010-05-01T20:15:00.000-07:00

Totally random story about Sarah...
We were at a rockies game with my parents a few weeks ago and she noticed this very cute boy sitting a few rows above us. I turned to see who it was and to my surprise I knew him. He is the little brother of one of my best friends!! To make a long story short they started hanging out, became fast friends, and Sarah asked him to her prom.
Sweet little Sarah and Adorable Andy went to her Junior Prom tonight. They both looked amazing!! So here are some pf the pictures from both Kinsey and I.

Sarah's friend Erin came over to do her hair and makeup. It looked lovely!! Then Zoe came over to put on the finishing touches and get dressed.

Andy and Sarah

Flowers Flowers Flowers

Kinsey and I

Kinsey and Andy. Sarah and I.

Playing in the limo!!

Ready to go!

Easter 2010

2010-05-01T19:51:00.001-07:00

We did Easter at our house this year because my parents were out of town at a wedding. We had Jeremy's mom, dad, and brother Matt, Shanna, Dave, Eva, Mia, Matt and his roomie Taylor, and Sarah. Then mom and dad showed up as a surprise!! They caught an early flight and made it there in time.

What a goober she is!! She loved the bunny cupcakes!

Dave and Mia, and Shanna and Eva.

What a lovely mama and her girls!!

This was the funniest thing!! I put Mia into an Easter basket and she was so CUTE!!

The dads hanging out eating. Matt and Taylor did a great job hiding the Easter eggs. I let Oscar outside when everyone got there and didn't realize that he could break open the eggs and eat the candy!! Oopse!!

I got a migraine headache! Yuck!! But I still love holding my sweet niece.

Eva had so much fun finding eggs!!

She loved the new twirly skirt that Dianna got for her and the bubbles from Grammy.

Sarah and I made these adorable bunny cupcakes!! They were so much fun!!

I am a crappy blogger!

2010-04-25T18:48:00.000-07:00

Sorry to all who read this from time to time it has been months since I have updated at all. So here are a few highlights from the past few months. These aren't in any particular order...

We celebrated my birthday at the Aquarium with my family. This creepy shark was stalking us the whole time...YIKES

Grammy and Pop Pop with baby Mia. And Uncle Matt holding Mia.

Eva spent the night with us one night and we went to feed the ducks, she is the cutest! Uncle Jeremy also started to teach her how to climb trees, way to go.

Sarah didn't know it but Mom and Dad bought my car for her and surprised her on her birthday. It was awesome to see the look on her face when she opened the keys!

After she opened her present we all went to dinner at TAG. It is an incredible restaurant!! Sarah works there with Chef Troy Guard. Its been an amazing experience for her.

More pictures of Mia Bella...we are such a proud aunt and uncle. We love our nieces so much!

Celebrating the 100th day of school with my kiddos! Only 4 weeks left until summer.

Our latest news is that we are going to Afghanistan with our church for 10 days in June!! More details about that soon!!

Mia Isabella Franceschini

2010-01-23T10:15:00.001-08:00

Grammy and Eva waiting for baby Mia to make her appearance...check out the Franceschini's blog for the whole story!

Here she is! 6 pounds 8 oz 19 3/4 inches. She is just perfect!
I was so glad that Mia was born before I had to go to Parent Teacher Conferences!!

Eva gets to meet Mia for the first time. She was so protective of Mia and just wanted to be close to her the whole time!

Such proud parents, Shanna and David with Mia.

Sarah, me, and Grammy getting to hold Mia.

Eva is so happy to be a big sister. Her daddy took her to get a big sister present and have some quality daddy and me time.

We are soooooo happy to be an auntie and uncle again. Baby Mia Bella is so precious. I am so thankful I got be apart of such special moments with my nieces.

January Parties

2010-01-23T09:54:00.001-08:00

Kinsey and Luke had a fantastic birthday party! It was a really fun wine tasting party. It was so good to see lots of college friends and hang out.
The Girls
Melissa, Rachel, Luke, Stacia and Jeremy.

The next day Mom, Sarah and I threw a baby shower for Shanna at Grandmommy's house. I was buried in cupcakes the day before working on the cupcake tower. The first batch totally flopped but the other ones ended up turning out beautifully. Sarah brought over all of her cool decorating tools and did a great job with the decorating. The shower turned out so cute!! We even made Shanna a water breaking throne to sit in! Crazy enough she ended up having a bunch of contractions that night!!

Shanna liked the cupcakes!! We had her friends get into teams and design super fashionable toilet paper diapers and model them, in honor of Shanna's Pretaporte design this last year. It was hilarious! They did a great job!

Me and my sweet Grandmommy...I love this lady!

Christmas... and a whole lot more...

2010-01-08T21:08:00.001-08:00

By far the funniest part of Christmas this year was the Christmas Jammie Competition with the Brown Family.
A little history: Every year as kids my mom would buy Christmas Pajamas that were matching, not just the PJ's but the socks, slippers, undies, bathrobes, etc. They were full on outfits. She would buy them for anyone who happened to be celebrating Christmas with us that year.
This year Shanna suggested that each one of us put together the best Christmas PJ outfit, model it and do a little dance, to compete for a trophy to be past down each Christmas. Well some how it turned into a G rated Strip tease that had us rolling on the floor. Here are a few of the outfits that weren't blurry from us laughing so hard.

Matt was this years champion but he deleted the evidence lets just say it was unlike anything you have seen before!

Fried turkey and of course Pop Pops Christmas bread. It was a relaxing and fun day with the fam playing David's new Wii and hanging out.

Christmas morning and Eva with her princesses. Jeremy and I carried on his families tradition of a huge Mexican feast on Christmas Eve. We had ping pong championships, and ate until we were stuffed with spicy goodness!!

Eva posing it up, Oscar in his new clothes from Grandma, and my dear friend Sara and her new baby Sadie. Isn't she a doll!!

I got to go to my first Bronco's game EVER!! It was such an experience!! THANK YOU SO MUCH TO RACHEL AND MICHAEL!! It was the Bronco's and Raider's game and they lost but it was still really fun to go! It was a blast to hang with the girls!! I love these ladies!

We celebrated Jeremy's birthday with his family at Claim Jumper. His mom Dianna and brother Chris flew in and Reid, Ryan and Lindsey drove up from Woodland. It was a great birthday, we are so thankful for our family. Then on Jeremy's real bday he had breakfast in bed, opened some cool presents, then we went to Avatar 3D and dinner. It was super fun to celebrate my sweet hubby!
,

Earlier that day we celebrated Christmas at our house with Jeremy's family. It was overwhelming to open so many thoughtful gifts and share the holiday together. We had a really nice visit with Dianna and got to show her our new house.

We also went to my work party and threw a cookie decorating party for my class. Here is a picture of my sweet teammate Allison and her daughter Aspen at the party. Allison and I are yoga buddies and have become fast friends. She is the best! Aspen is an amazing little lady and has been so fun to hang with!
We also had the big family party at Grandmommy's house this year and it was amazing to see how fast all the little ones are growing!! It was a great time to reconnect and support each other. Our hearts were heavy for our sweet cousin Valarie who is fighting Leukemia and her family. There weren't enough words or prayers that could be said for her and how much we love her.
This year and always we feel the importance of living life right now and not delaying, giving and serving, being present to the moment, and cherishing our irreplaceable relationships with friends and family. Merry Christmas to all and to all a good night!

NY 2010

2010-01-06T19:09:00.000-08:00

New York, New York!
WOW! It has been forever since I have updated this blog. I am so far behind!! Well I will just update you on the latest. Jeremy and I went to New York to celebrate the new year. Here are a few of the 450 pictures we took on the trip.
The highlights were the statue of liberty, the broadway shows, central park in the snow, museums, walking brooklyn bridge, and the south street seaport, times square at midnight 2010, and the empire state building where I got to talk to HUGH JACKMAN!! Yes the Wolverine and hottie Australia boy was there with his family and friends! The food was amazing and so much fun and there were so many sights to see we could never have done it all. It was a really fun trip and one we will never forget!

The Brooklyn Bridge--funniest homeless guy experience ever...

Museums, Flower Shops, Central Park, Pizza, and NY Public Library

Look who is walking behind Jeremy in this picture!!!

FAO Schwartz, Central Park, FDNY

.
5th Ave, China Town, Broadway

HAPPY NEW YEAR 2010!!

Anniversary

2009-08-29T15:37:00.000-07:00

Jeremy and I just celebrated our three year anniversary. I have had a crazy few weeks at my new job. I have 29 kindergarteners, many who don't speak English, and zero support so far. Its been challenging but so exciting to be apart of these kids lives. Jeremy and I are still looking at houses and we will let you know when we find something for sure.

We went to the Cheescake Factory in Boulder for our anniversary dinner. It was delicious!!

Neither of us can believe its been three years already! Still so in love...

We Moved!!

2009-08-05T16:01:00.001-07:00

Well Jeremy and I always keep it interesting thats for sure!!
We moved to Denver on Friday. When we made the decision, neither of us had jobs in Denver but both of us had interviews and lots of possibilities. I was getting to the point where I just had to make a decision about teaching for next year. So we decided that this would be a really good station for Jeremy to be at, its a good place for us to start a family some day with lots of friends and family around, and if I want to teach up here we needed to move quick so I could get a job and start immediatly.
It was so SO sad to quit my job at Columbine. I love so many people and kids that I work with there. It was an incredible place to work. With a heavy heart I moved all of my stuff out of my classroom and we left the next day for Denver. We will miss Woodland Park a lot, Jeremy's dad and brother Matt, and all our friends. It is a great town with so many great people.

We moved in with my family for now until we can buy a house. We are working with a realtor to find something in North Denver, near Boulder. Today I had two interviews and then got offered a full day Kindergarten position at Tennyson Elementary in Adams 50. My good friend Rachel works in the same district! I am SO excited but school starts really soon so I have a lot of work to do!!
Jeremy is still waiting to hear about cheifs interviews but we will let you know if we hear anything. For now he is still working in Cripple Creek.
We are looking at houses on Friday! Say a little prayer for us that we will find something great!
Lots of fun and exciting things happening!!

Vegas Baby!

2009-07-30T16:01:00.001-07:00

So this was quite possibly the most random trip ever. But fun bonding time with my sisters and mom. It all started with Sarah's 16th bday. She wanted to do a spa day with the girls. Then it turned into a weekend at a hotel with the spa and all that. Then the weekend kept having to be rescheduled because it is impossible to get all our schedules to work together. So then we picked the date and said we would not change it for any reason. Well...my mom got this cool new job as a consultant for several companies as a director of operations. Well one of the companies needed her in Vegas for a big convention on the weekend we had picked. So instead of rescheduling we decided to go to Vegas. Crazy huh? So here are some pics from the trip. We drove to Vegas all 11 hours. Shanna has morning sickness which really should be called all day sickness. But she was a trooper.

Happy Fourth of July!

2009-07-06T22:10:00.000-07:00

Jeremy and I spontaneously decided to go camping with my family for the fourth of July. We drove up to my parents house on Thursday and met up with everyone. We got off to a late start because we went after everyone got off of work. We drove to Fort Collins and went to the Poudre Canyon. After a long drive we got to Chambers Lake campground, but it was full. We went to campground after campground but each of them were full. It was about 10pm by the time we actually go to an open campsite in the middle of no where! We had to have been getting close to Wyoming by the time we stopped. We set up the tents and stuff, had a campfire, and crashed for the night. Eva was such a good little camper!! And Matty came up for a night before he left for Steamboat to see his new roomies.

The next day we went fishing at Lost lake. And Eva caught her first fish!! She was adorable in her little poncho.

It rained on us quite a bit, Oscar-the camp dog, was shivering and wet, Eva was wet too so we wrapped up in a blanket and snuggled.

We had so much fun fishing! Everyone caught their limit!!

Here's the picture of the big catch!

On our way back to our campsite Dad spotted a Moose! Its a female moose chillen in the wilderness. She just sat there and stared at us, it was so cool!

Eva tried her first SMORE. She didn't like it one bit. She got all sticky from the marshmellows too and decided that she didn't like roasted marshmallows either. Just "little big ones" that weren't cooked. She is the cutest!! And she loves her Uncle Jeremy.

Grammy and Pop pop are the best baby sitters!!

Shanna was such a trooper! Prego and camping with a 2 year old!! David made a really cool "story" stick that he whittled.

We had a great time camping! Gotta love Colorado!

Grand Canyon and Phoenix

2009-06-30T19:24:00.000-07:00

Jeremy had a conference for personal trainers in fire fighting, through the Phoenix fire department, that his work sent him to for training. Since his work was sending him down for a few days I decided to tag along. We added a few extra days onto our trip and went camping in the Grand Canyon. Here are some pictures from our trip...

We flew into Phoenix in the morning and then drove 4 hours to the Grand Canyon. We had to stop for supplies and food so it took us awhile to get there. By the time we got in all the campsites were full. So we took the rental car...a hillarious little HHR off roading into national forest to camp the first night. It was a new experience for me, total desert, lots of bugs and lizards, and totally bare bones camping.

We drove back in to the Grand Canyon after we got camp set up to see the sun set. The pictures are hazy because the whole time we were there they were doing controlled burns. So there is some smoke settling in the canyon.

The next day we went for an 8 mile hike down into the canyon. It was a pretty hike but we kept getting these random rain showers on our way in. We wanted to get to the bottom but it was a pretty long way. We got about 3/4 of the way to the bottom, saw the river, and headed out. It really is breathtaking there.

We took SO many pictures of the canyon I just put a few up.

We got a campsite in the Grand Canyon the second day. Here it is.

Last sunset and smores night! The next day we went to Phoenix. I am smiling because I finally get to take a SHOWER!! YIPPIE!!

Jeremy went to his conference and got a ton of great info for the fitness/health program he is in charge of for work. He is totally pumped to get to work on it! I hung out by the pool and worked on my homework. This last weekend I finished my last class for my masters program!!!! I am just working on my Practicum now. Almost finished!

We also got to go to a Diamondbacks game while we were there.

It was a pretty fun trip!

Mexico Extravaganza!

2009-06-13T21:44:00.001-07:00

Jeremy and I went to Mexico for his cousin Ryan's wedding. It was incredible!! Here are a few fun pics from the trip!

The trip was set in breathtaking Riveria Maya, Mexico. The Barcelo Maya Palace...on the beach.

There were lots of friends and family of Ryan and Lindsey there to celebrate. We had a great few days leading up to the wedding. We got to spend lots of time with his brothers and had a little too much fun at times!

Tequlia shots at lunch and fun times at the pool!

My favorite picture from the trip!! HAHAHA Matt and Chris sporting the short shorts!!! HAHA

Lindsey (bride) and me at the bachelorette party...

Catamaran trip to go snorkling the morning after the bachelor and bachelorette parties. Lots of sea sick people...Lindsey's cousin caugth this sail fish, really impressive catch!

Then it was the wedding day...couldn't have been more beautiful!

The groom...Ryan.

The blushing bride Lindsey and her dad.

My most favorite picture of Ryan, tears in his eyes the moment he saw Lindsey.

This was the most intimate and touching ceremony I have ever been to. It was so special to be there celebrating with Ryan and Linds.

Flaming shots at the reception. You had to drink the shot through a straw before the straw melted from the flame...good times.

We went into Play Del Carmen the next day with some friends from the wedding. We got to hold a monkey!

Jeremy and I spent a few extra days there after it was all over and relaxed and enjoyed the tide pools, beach, and pools. It was a great trip!

Girls weekends

2009-05-04T18:45:00.000-07:00

Sarah came to Woodland Park for the weekend we had a great time hanging out! She is such a blast!! Here are a few hillarious pictures of us. Just being sisters...

For Diane's birthday the girls all got together and went to Fort Collins for the weekend. We had a great time hanging out despite the rain. It was really fun to reconnect with my old roomies. Here are a few pics.

We had a great hotel that Diane picked out. The beds were SO comfy!!

We got margs from the Rio.

Then we did a little shopping when we walked through Old Town.

Aren't we cute! haha

We had dinner at Coopersmiths....sooooo good.

We went dancing at Washbar, it was hillarious.

We had a great time. We went to breakfast the next day and did some shopping. I love my girls!!

After hanging out with the girls I met up with Jeremy and his brother Chris. Chris is about to graduate and go to the Navy!! We are gonna miss him!

snow, Snow and MORE SNOW!!

2009-04-18T21:09:00.001-07:00

The snow storm of the year! It started about 5pm on Thursday with hail, lightning and thunder. Then it turned to thunder snow. It was incredible. Huge amounts of snow and the mountains shaking with the thunder rumbling through it. This is our little house that we rent from Jeremy's dad in Woodland Park.

We went for a drive Thursday night and this is what it looked like out in town. We live in such a beautiful town!!

The roads were crazy fun to drive on. The snow is heavy and wet with a layer of ice under it from the hail. It was great fun!

Jeremy out shoveling for the second time on Friday. We got a SNOW DAY!! It was so great to not have to go to work. We had a great day! We did our fit test for our new work out and started our diet! Taking before pictures can give you A LOT of motivation.

This is on Friday on our back deck. There is about 16 inches on Friday night. And it is still coming. This is after the sun came out for awhile and started to melt things too. Both Jeremy and I shoveled and shoveled and shoveled....and shoveled some more.

There is our little Oscar bean out in the snow. He hates it!! We have shoveled a little path for him to go outside and go potty. We have to shovel it every time we let him outside because the snow is so heavy and so deep!

Jeremy out shoveling again. This is a really long and big driveway. It is A LOT of work and A LOT of snow!

There is our Oscar baby out in the snow again. Isn't his sweatshirt so funny!!

Here is the table on our back deck Saturday morning at about 22 inches and STILL SNOWING!!

When will it ever stop.

Its Saturday night and its been snowing and windy most of the day, I would say there is at least 26 inches or more. Its still snowing and I am wondering if I will be stuck in the house forever!! Its been a good weekend to get a lot of Masters work done. Only a few classes left!! Hope everyone had a nice weekend!!

Spring Break

2009-04-01T20:37:00.000-07:00

So we didn't plan anything major for spring break this year but just getting to relax, sleep late, and so some needed catch up on my masters classes was refreshing. Here are a few highlights from the week.

We celebrated Sarah's sweet sixteen...isn't she a beauty!

The guys and the gals

We had dinner at Bennihana's the chef was really funny and got Sarah up to do some tricks. It was perfect for our aspiring little chef!!

Here is the family and the little buddah that Sarah's dessert came on (haha). Poor Matty has Mono and was pretty miserable the whole time.

Jeremy and I did the Incline in Manitou Springs. This is a hike that goes up 2500 feet in less than a mile. It is the most intense and gnarly incline I have ever done. When we started out, it goes up so fast and so intense that I immediatly thought I was going to throw up. I had had a big breakfast and thought I was going to puke my guts out. But with a lot of breaks and a slow pace I got to the top on my very first try!!

Jeremy is a pro because he is has been doing it a few times a month with his friend Dalton. He was a good cheerleader for me!

When we made it to the top it was the best feeling!! The hike was an awesome accomplishment!! We are going to try to do it once a week to get ready for our backpacking trip in Italy!!!

Birthday Present

2009-03-16T19:23:00.000-07:00

Ok so first I have to say that I have the most wonderful, thoughful, caring hubby in the world!! For my birthday he got us tickets to go and see Phantom of the Opera at the Buell theatre in Denver. I have always wanted to see it in the theatre and when it came to Denver around my bday I totally wanted to go. So Jeremy planned this whole fun date. My family gave me money to go shopping for a cute outfit for the show. Shanna and Mom and I shopped all day looking for the perfect outfit. I found the cutest dress at Anthropologie.

Jeremy and I got all fancied up and drove up to the show in Denver. I felt all glamorous in my new dress and adorable shoes :) It was an amazing show. Our seats were like five rows from the front dead center. The phantom was incredible. It was such a powerful show with amazing effects and music. We had so much fun.

After the show we walked to the Cheesecake Factory downtown and totally pigged out!! It was sooooooo good!! I am so thankful that I can tolerate gluten in moderation again. YEAH YEAH YEAH!!! We had the best time!! I love my sweet hubby!!

CT Results

2009-03-05T07:32:00.000-08:00

I can not even begin to explain the journey that this has been. I had a CT scan on Tuesday to check for any regrowth or spread of the nasty cancer. Going into the scan I felt like my whole life was riding on it. I didn't realize how much I want to do and have going for me right now until I am faced with the possibility of getting it all taken away. I was SO anxious in the days leading up to the scan. I got it all done...which is a miserable process. You have to fast, drink this NASTY goop that they call a smoothy...its filled with dye. Then you have to have an IV put in (I somehow always end up with the crappy IV person who misses before getting it). Then you lay on the CT bed and the zoom you in and take a few pics. Then they inject this iodine dye and oh my goodness it is bizarre! It makes you feel like you are having a hot flash, sucking on a bucket of pennies, and peeing your pants all at the same time. They take the pictures then you are done. And you get to wait. No one describes waiting better than Dr. Seuss in "Oh, the places you will go."
"Waiting for a train to go or a bus to come, or a plane to go or the mail to coem, or the rain to go or the phone to ring, or the snow to snow or waiting around for Yes or No or waiting for thier hair to grow. Everyone is just waiting."
In my anxiety Jeremy went down to the hospital and got the report for the CT. We didn't understand all of it and again had to wait for the doctor to call. She did and said "Its clear."
I was SOOOOOO relieved! Two words changed my life for the better in one instant.

Fort Fun!!

2009-02-23T20:08:00.001-08:00

We went to Fort Collins this last weekend to see Chris, Jeremy's little brother. We sold him our XTerra while we were there. We went to New Belgium with him and my brother Matt. Then we went to Coopersmiths. It was a really fun night!

The next day Jeremy found a Jeep he really liked...so we bought it!! We saved a bunch of money on it too!! How cool is that! Here's the new Jeep!! Isn't it pretty!!

Durango!

2009-02-23T19:37:00.000-08:00

My parents took me and Jer, Shanna, Dave, Eva, Matt, and Sarah to Durango for a four day weekend. We stayed at an awesome condo and had so many fun plans!! Unfortunatly the day before I was at work and got this NASTY stomach virus. I got so sick!! I was hiding behind my teacher desk while my kids were listening to a book on tape puking my guts out. YUCK. I threw up over and over that day and was sick until Sunday. It was a bummer because we had to miss out on a lot. I did make it down to Durango though and we still managed to have fun. We went out to a fancy dinner to celebrate Valentine's Day and my 26th.

The guys went snowmobiling, the girls got massages, and it was a blast.

On our way back from Durango we went to Pagosa Springs. Those are the sweetest hot springs ever!

Afterwards we went to lunch. Eva was sticking her finger in Matt's nose and ears and then laughing so much...she is the adorable. Eva does this thing where she gives you a nose rub and a cheek rub, its hillarious!

Thoughts...

2009-02-11T22:01:00.001-08:00

I am about to turn twenty six next week. I am contmplating how entirely old I feel. Being around kids who were born the year I graduated from high school makes me feel really old! I can't believe how much I have experienced in life up to this point. Its amazing really...how much there still is to do...hmmmm
Jeremy and I are doing pretty well. After the bomb shell news of Jeremy's parents getting divorced settled in (it still is) we started to really feel like Woodland Park is no longer the best place for us. We love our jobs we love how beautiful it is but this past year put such a black mark on this place. We are so ready for a change. We looked into moving to Alaska, and ruled it out because of no sunlight...yikes. Then we looked into a program that would take us to Antarctica (whats with the poles? and ice? ask Jer) but they wouldn't take me because of the cancer stuff. So then we started to think about what we want most...we want to be closer to our friends, family, and a church that we love. We want to move back to Denver.
Too bad its pretty crappy timing for that. The economy is terrible. We are looking and hoping that something will open up but yet again God has us in this limbo place where we don't know where we are going. We feel like we are waiting for the next answer. Hoping that God will shed some light, show us where to step, but so far nothing.
Maybe its because we are looking in all the wrong places? Who knows?

Oh and I went back to masters classes mostly because I wanted it to look good on my resume but I took on way too much and have been drowning in the work load. I am thankful each time I look at my classes though...I am thankful that I can even do it again. Amazing how God gives things back to us...

In the meantime...I got a call from my oncologists office reminding me that I need to get my next CT scan ASAP. I am dreading it. I know I should be one of those wonderful people who feels no fear, has no anxiety, and is totaly confident that God wouldn't do that to me again....but I am not one of those people. I am sure the day I go in for the scan I will be so nervous I will be sweating bullets. I know I have no control over what they do or don't find but I can't help but wonder. But it doesn't do any good to worry so until that day comes... I am going to try to ignore that reality in my life, turn 26, and pretend like I can eat whatever I want to for now...blissful ignorance. Maybe I'll get that tatoo I've been wanting...
This weekend we are going to Durango with my family for 4 days. My parents got us all a condo for the weekend. I am sure we will have lots of stories and pictures when we get back! Until then...

Favorite First Grade Quotes

2008-10-28T14:02:00.000-07:00

Gotta love first graders...

A little boy walking out of the bathroom saw a picture of the political candiates and said to his friend "John McCain will steal all your money."

Saying the pledge of allegiance "I pledge allegiance to the flag....one nation IN God, Under- is- a- ble. With lizbery and justice for all."

Our superentindant visits the school regularly... walking through a first grade classroom in his suit and tie a little boy looked up at him and said "Are you John McCain?" He laughed and said "I wouldn't want that job!"

I looked on the spelling list on Friday morning before the spelling test and realized that "bong" was one of the spelling words. Try using that in a sentence! All I could think of was drug accessories. YIKES!

Teaching the other day I went to sit on the stool by my overhead projector and slid right off of it! The kids looked at me in total shock. :) I am such a dork!

"Are you voting for Obama?" A little girl in pink said to her friend. Her friend said "Yeah." "Well I can't be your friend then." (Isn't that sad that kids think they can't get along with another child because of their parents political views! What are we teaching our kids!? We later talked about being friends no matter who you vote for.)

Walking back into class from recess the class is quietly getting ready to start the math lesson. "Sam peed his pants in the lunchroom!" A little girl blurted.

They always keep me on my toes. Its amazing what their little minds think of.

One foot in front of the other

2008-10-27T21:39:00.001-07:00

I was slowly getting better. We went for our post op appointment and we had to see a different doctor. He went over the whole pathology report and talked again about the problem of there being abnormal cells in the blood vessels. He wanted to do CT scans every six weeks once I was all healed and really monitor me closely. The team of surgeons were going to take my case to the tumor pannel in the springs. This is a pannel of doctors who all work with gastrointestinal tumors. He told me that he wished that he could tell me that this was all over, all behind me but he couldn't. I felt really unsettled. I didn't feel like there was a closed door there was still a question in my mind about what was happening. It was all really hard to understand. In hindsight I can see that this team of surgeons had never seen this kind of mass with the behavior that my mass had. Its such a rare type of mass that there was not much research and NO research with the types of traits that mine had.
I started working with a nutritionist to help with all of the digestion problems that came with having this surgery. She put me on a low glycemic gluten free diet which made a huge improvement in my energy levels, and with digesting food again. It was a huge change and it was and is a really difficult process. It doubled our food bill month after month but I am finally figuring out the tricks to it (thanks Lynn and Auntie Gay).

Food is such a social entity. I have felt really isolated and misunderstood by a lot of people because of the change in my diet. People who dont understand tease me about my weight, how picky I have to be, and ask if I have eating disorder problems. People are so judgemental when they don't understand that if I was to eat like most people I would be sick, and with out energy most of the time, and feeding the cancer cells in my body. I have a great quality of life when I make these better choices. I feel so amazing compared to how I felt before I started it. I have tried synthetic enzymes to help break food down but it just makes me feel awful. So by making these different, somewhat strange eating choices I can live healthy and strong and not let cancer win.
In August I got to see my brother graduate from BASIC. It was a hard trip for me but it was so good to be with the family and see all that he had accomplished.

I went back to work with a huge amount of help from my sisters, mom, jeremy, and friends. I could never have gotten my classroom set up with out all of their help. My friends Chaela and Sara were there the first weeks of school and beyond to take my class, give me extra breaks, help me teach lessons, and start the school year. It was really difficult to go back to work. The emotion of reliving all that had happened with everyone from work was a lot to handle. I found myself just wanting to feel normal but I wasn't.
Jeremy and I started having some pretty serious marital problems at this point. It was brought on by a lot of the problems we were facing and other things were being uncovered. We got some counseling and that gave us a lot of tools to work through things.

September came with more sadness. Jeremy's sweet grandma Elnora started to decline. She never recovered. Later in September she passed away. It was extreemly sad to loose such a dear person to us all. The day of her funeral I had an apointment with my surgeon to go over my latest CT scan.

It was clear but she had some hard news. She said that they had discussed my case at the tumor pannel. Rather than calling it an ok mass they started to refer to it as a low grade malignant tumor. The problem was that the cancer is in my blood. She said that we needed to see and oncologist to discuss options for chemo and radiation. She said that the cancer could come back in my lungs, liver, lymphnodes, bones, or again on my pancreas and if it did they would cut it out again. She expected this CT scan to be clear becuase this is a really slow growing mass so it may not show up anywhere for years.
We went to the funeral, put on the dinner for the family, and left to celebrate our 2 anniversary in Breckenridge.
When we got back we saw an oncologist in the springs. She was shocked at how long it had taken us to get into see her. She reviewed my case, did some research, and decided to send us to MD Anderson Cancer Center in Texas. She thought that by getting into one of the bigger cancer centers I would be able to get in front of a pancreatic specialist. She left it up to them to decide whether I would get chemo and radiation. She was not comfortable with doing radiation at that point because there were many places that the cancer could show back up. And by radiating the pancreas would not guarantee that it wouldn't come back.
It took me three grueling weeks to try to get an answer from MD Anderson. They were so SO AWFUL to work with. Every time I called I had to wait on the phone for 45 mins to a hour just to talk to someone. Once you got someone on the phone they were rude and transfered you all over the place and then eventually you would get hung up on. IT WAS TERRIBLE. And I was trying to do all of it while I was working because they were closed by the time I got home. Parents from my class started complaining to my principal. They made me jump through so many hoops trying to get in to see a specialist and in the end they wouldn't take my case.
So I went and saw a pannel of doctors at University Hospital in Denver. On Monday we went in thinking that we were going to see the pannel and we got scheduled with just one Radiation Oncologist. Like most people she kind of flipped out when she learned of the details of my case wanting to do a lot more tests and scans. They took more blood. She reiterated that we should have been in to see them weeks after the surgery rather than months. They gave us a lot of information regarding treatments. It was pretty frightening. The next day she scheduled us with the pannel. We went in and sat in a room with 3 oncologists, 2 med students, and a nurse. They all discussed my case and explained that there are 2 routes that they consider. The first is a survaillance route where they monitor me really closely for several years and then intermitten for the rest of my life. The other was using radiation and chemo and such to treat the cancer. In my case they decided that the survaillance was the best option. They were hopefull that I wouldn't have to deal with this cancer again. But also highly suggested staying on the diet that I am on and getting CT's every six months for 2 years. They also said that I shouldn't get pregnant for several years. They said this is going to be a part of my life but hopefully I can move on from it and get back to my life. They told me to eliminate as much stress as possible. But most of all they gave us some sense that we had done all that we could to be proactive about fighting the cancer and the rest was up to God.
So here we are. October. Our train is derailed. A lot of the dreams that Jeremy and I had as a couple are not possible right now. Slowly and with a lot of support and prayer we are getting back on our feet. Wrestling with God. Finding that he gives new desires, and dreams for our lives when the others get taken away. We don't quite know where we are going to end up in the long run but we are really open right now. We are paitently working through our struggles as a team and eventually I think God is going to show us what he has for us. We'll let you know when he does.