Family Pics

Finally got some new family pics.  Here are a few random selections.  (The one of Brady and I is unedited...obviously!)

Growing Up

I was in Rexburg today.  I don't go there often because I don't care for it.  I realized why today.  I really never did know why before.  I saw college students walking down the road to and from grocery stores and restaurants, in groups and alone.  I saw them driving around and having fun.  Walking around the park and talking.  I was not happy as a single person in a college town dating and hanging out with roommates.  Having been forced to grow up at such a young age, it all seemed uninteresting to me.  I was unhappy for many of those years, until I met Brady.  I am happier now than I have ever been.  I am where I want to be.  I didn't like being single or dating.  Don't get me wrong, those things are good and appropriate and fun.  It just wasn't my cup of tea.  I am a different breed of cat altogether and I am willing to admit it.  Those times are for learning and growing and exploring.  I was pretty world weary by the time I graduated from high school, and the inherent instability that comes with being a young single adult was not fun for me.  I needed stability.  And finality.  And I really just wanted to get on with life.  I had learned what I needed to learn about life and relationships when I was in junior high.  I don't regret this since it has made me who I am, and I am happy with me.  I am so grateful for a husband who is a rock.  Who is the least selfish person I know.  Who is a worthy priesthood holder.  Who works hard to support and take care of us.  I am so thankful for my beautiful babies, who make me work harder and give me a greater reward than anything else could.  So, while those college days are great for most, for me, not so much.  So, just one more reason to be thankful that we are all different and get to make our own way in this life.

This is the best love song.  At least, I think it is!  It sums up how much I love my hubby and my babies and how blessed I am to have them!


"I Got You" by Craig Morgan


I've had big dreams come true and I believe in
Angels although I can't see them
They're watching over everything I do

Ain't no easy street around the bend on my road
No pot of gold at the end of my rainbow
But I don't mind 'cause baby I got you

The rain keeps the flowers from dying
The sun lights the world when it shines
The midnight sky has a blanket
Of stars and the moon, and
Baby I got you

I can't imagine one day without you in it
Life alone just wouldn't be worth living
Love would be a wish that never came true

Lord knows I got more than I deserve
But I don't question the prayers I've been answered
I did something right 'cause Baby I got you

The rain keeps the flowers from dying
The sun lights the world when it shines
The midnight sky has a blanket
Of stars and the moon, and
Baby I got you

Keeps the flowers from dying
The sun lights the world when it shines
The midnight sky has a blanket
Of stars and the moon, and
Baby I got you, yeah

Baby I got you
Baby I got you

I have been overwhelmed lately by the goodness of the people that are around us.  My kids have been sick for weeks and I have been stressed and worried and worn out.  Not to mention that my poor babies are miserable.  One particular day in the middle of this mess, I had no less than 5 people call me and offer to help me with my kids, my errands, and various other things.  I have had people offer to watch my kids so I could nap or go get groceries.  I have had people offer to go get groceries for me and to take the child who was well so I could take the other one to the doctor.  I have had people offer to bring in meals and teach my Sunday School class for me.  I have flaked out on people because my kids were sick and the reaction was only kindness and love and concern.  I have had doctors in my neighborhood come to my house to check one of my kids because both of them were sick and I just couldn't face dragging them both out the door to the doctor...again.  At the end of all of this, I am left feeling only love and gratitude for the people around me, and I am humbled by the outpouring of compassion for us.  I only hope that I can do the same when someone needs me.

My Babies

Caleb is the sweetest little man.  He smiles constantly and is completely content.  After his traumatic entrance to the world and his illness so early in his life, he has pleased us with his progress.  He is a little eater and is growing like a weed.  He weighs almost 20 lbs.  He started at just over 6 lbs when he was born a month early.  He is 8 months old now and I don't know what we would do without him.  He loves to play on the floor and will just roll and roll and roll.  He is up on his knees ocassionally, and I think he will crawl any day.  He has absolutely no interest in sitting, because that would mean he wasn't moving!  He is a little mama's boy and I don't mind one bit.  He is nice and chubby, so he is squishy and cuddly.  He weighs 3/4 of what Katie weighs, so he is definitely a handful!  I love his big grin and his big green eyes.  We just love our sweet boy and are so thankful he is part of our family. 

Katie will be 3 in April and she is more like 3 going on 16.  She is way too big for her britches.  She is always telling me how funny she is and how silly she is, and she is right.  She is constantly cracking us up.  She is so smart and she can recognize all of her numbers and most of her letters.  She loves to tell us what color everything is.  She is a super-sweet big sister and she adores her baby brother.  She talks baby talk to him that is just hilarious and smothers him with love and kisses.  She loves to read and do puzzles and she is a little bit of a tomboy.  She loves Cars and Toy Story more than princesses and loves to play with balls.  She does, however, have to make sure her socks match and that she has a bow in her hair.  She is a nice mix of tomboy and girlie-girl, which I love.  She is a major daddy's girl and the adoration is mutual.  We are so thankful for our sweet Katie and don't know what we would do without her.

REJOICE!

"He whose birth we commemorate this season is more than the symbol of a holiday. He is the Son of God, the Creator of the earth, the Jehovah of the Old Testament, the fulfillment of the Law of Moses, the Redeemer of mankind, the King of Kings, the Prince of Peace. . . .

"And now, after the many testimonies which have been given of him, this is the testimony, last of all, which we give of him: That he lives!

"For we saw him, even on the right hand of God; and we heard the voice bearing record that he is the Only Begotten of the Father--

"That by him, and through him, and of him, the worlds are and were created, and the inhabitants thereof are begotten sons and daughters unto God."(D&C 76:22-24).

"And we talk of Christ, we rejoice in Christ, we preach of Christ, we prophesy of Christ, and we write according to our prophecies, that our children may know to what source they may look for a remission of their sins."  (2 Nephi 25:26)

We are thankful for our Savior and for what he has done for us.  He has provided a way for us to return to him, if we will take advantage of his Atonement and improve ourselves and repent.  We are thankful for the opportunity to be an eternal family.  We are thankful for the gospel in our life and for the happiness it brings to our home.  We hope you all feel the love of the Savior this Christmas season, and that you can also know that he is the source that we look to for everything we have that is good. 

Family Pictures

Some random pics from our photo shoot today.

My handsome little man

Kate and Maddie at the spray park


Brady let Kate run through our sprinklers one night. It was hilarious!

This is a typical scene at our house these days. Kate has decided that she has to have all of these blankets all the time. I love dragging them around everywhere. Caleb is a little piglet and can't wait more that about one minute for food once he is ready for it. At least I am sitting down!

Tender Mercies

We were very blessed in the days leading up to Caleb being born. The Saturday before we had him my mom and sisters held a baby shower for us. We were given lots of fun gifts, and all of them were things we needed. The next day, on Sunday, I woke up and had a strong feeling that I needed to get all of my laundry done that day. I never do housework on Sunday, but I knew that I was being prompted, so I did it. On Monday I got some things from Amanda that I needed and bought the last few things I needed for him at Wal-Mart. That night I cut Brady's hair and got my hair cut the next night. All of these things were done because I felt an urgent prompting to do them. We had Caleb on Tuesday night at 11:29pm. It was so nice to come home after being in the hospital with a new baby being fully prepared. I didn't even have to worry about getting anyone's hair cut. I recognize that I was prompted to do all of these things. Had they gone undone it wouldn't have been the end of the world. It really wouldn't have mattered much at all. They were all things that could have been done after the baby was born. However, I am so thankful that Heavenly Father knew that I would feel more peace of mind with those things taken care of. It was truly a tender mercy that he extended to us so that we wouldn't have anything to worry about besides taking care of our new baby. It was his way of showing us he loves us and wants us to be happy. I am very thankful for a loving Father in Heaven who takes care of us.

Priceless

3 Months Fertility Drugs: $300
6 IUI's: $600
4 Ultrasounds: $550
Emergency C-Section: $11,000
12-Hour NICU Stay: $3000
OB/GYN Fee: $3000

Our little man: PRICELESS

Caleb Brady

On Tuesday night I started hemmoraghing at 10:45. We rushed to the hospital and had an emergency c-section. Caleb was born 45 minutes after I started bleeding at 11:29 pm. He weighed in at 6lbs 3oz and he was 18 1/2 long. He only had to be in the NICU for 12 hours and was given a clean bill of health. He is eating like a champ and is just gorgeous. I think he looks like Jake. We are so thankful for our doctors and nurses who worked so fast and hard to take care of us. We were in a lot of danger while they were working to get him out. Since I had eaten not long before the c-section we just had a spinal block. I threw up the entire time they were working on me. Dr. Hall asked me if I could, "Try to stop barfing so he could put my guts back in." In the end, all of my guts got put back in and I got all stapled up. I am feeling fairly well now and I am ready to go home with my new little man.

Baby Time...

Our c-section is scheduled for July 14th at 11am. I am hoping we make it until then and don't have to to it emergency style.

Easter...and Daddy's Girl

We had a really fun Easter. It was a nice day to spend with the family. Katie was fun this year because she actually had a reaction to her Easter basket, so we got some cute video. On a more serious note, we are so thankful for our Savior and for the opportunity he has given us to repent and to be resurrected and to live with him again. It gives us such a wonderful goal to work toward. We are thankful for an eternal family and are so glad we get to see them often.This girl LOVES her dad. She is his little shadow and just adores him. This is a favorite activity for both of them.
We are super excited to meet our baby boy this summer. I have complete placenta previa, so we are taking it easy right now and waiting to see if I will have to have a c-section. As long as the baby is fine and healthy, I am fine with however he has to get here. As Brady so eloquently put it, "He has to get out of there somehow." Easy for him to say when it isn't his belly getting sliced open! :0) We will know more on that about the middle of May.

It's a Boy!

Achilles Heel

"And then there was Achilles. Now there was a guy who had it all; the build, the foot-speed. He could jab! He could take a hit! He could keep on comin'! BUT THAT FORSLUGGINER HEEL OF HIS! He barely gets nicked there once and kaboom! He's history." Phil-Walt Disney's "Hercules"

On Thursday Jan 14th Brady got hurt playing basketball at the church with his friends. He thought someone had landed on his leg. He limped around until Saturday when we finally decided he had better go to the doctor. The doctor thought his Achilles was torn either partially or completely. We had an ultrasound on Mon and determined that it was torn. On Wed the 20th we saw the orthopedist who immediately opened him up and discovered that it was in fact completely severed. He was able to repair it well. He is in a lot of pain and is very nauseated, but we are glad it is fixed and he should make a full recovery. No basketball or snowmobiling for now, but he will be able to again. I was completely overwhelmed by the offers of help I received from our family and neighbors. I probably won't have to do anything but sit around. Seriously though, we really appreciate all the support and are glad he is okay. We are excited that he should be back on his feet (literally) by the time the baby comes.

New Year

It is a new year again, and once again I am trying to improve myself. Why, oh why, am I constantly having to do that?? My own fault, of course! I am looking forward to this year. It should be great. We are excited to have another baby and be done having babies. My first baby will be 2 and that happened in a blink. We still love our ward and our neighborhood and are just enjoying life. We feel like we are very blessed and are so thankful for our families. We are pretty lucky to live so close to all of our siblings and our parents. Our Katie is getting big and getting the funniest, cutest personality. She is a teaser like her dad and it constantly cracks up. She likes to tell us, "I funny." And she is, for sure!

Santa!

Santa came to our family Christmas party last night. It was lots of fun for all of the kids. This is all of my nieces and nephews with him at Amanda's house.

We're Expecting!

We are happy to announce that we are expecting baby #2 the end of July. We had our first appointment today and they heard the heartbeat and everything looks good. We are super excited!

Fall...

I love the fall. It is my favorite time of year. I love the colors and the smells and the activities. I love Halloween and Thanksgiving, and, of course, my birthday. It is so fun to see the leaves change and look forward to the holidays. It is also a time that I reflect more on what I have and am thankful for. I am so thankful for my family, both immediate and extended. We are very fortunate to have awesome siblings, parents, aunt, uncles...you get the picture. This is the time of year that I lost my Grandma Radford and Grandma Shumway and my Grandpa Radford. I think of them now, when it is cool outside and the season is changing and think how grateful I am that the made it possible for me to have the life I have. I am so thankful for my wonderful husband and beautiful daughter. They are the light of my life and make every day wonderful for me. This year we are cutting back on gifts and stepping up the Christ-centered activities for Christmas and I am looking forward to it. We are so fortunate to live in a time and place that we have the freedom to choose how to worship and celebrate and live. I have set a goal to be less worldly and more Christ-like. I am far from where I need to be, but the journey has been good for me.
Katie watching BYU football with daddy

Katie being silly

Summer Fun...

We are having fun so far this summer. Kate is getting so big and just talking all the time. She can say lots of words and she is starting to develop her own opinion and a little bit of an attitude. Right now it is more funny than anything, but I am willing to guarantee that the day will come that the attitude will no longer be funny. She is such a sweet baby and is so easy-going (mostly) and easy.


Fourth of July fun with cousins Hannah, Andrew, and Aaron Reading. Aaron is only 10 days old! We love cousins!


Cousin Kyle just home from his mission. Katie was born while he was gone so this is her first time meeting him.

Katie enjoying a radish.


Katie at Hogle Zoo with Daddy, Uncle Marty, and Grandma Dixie. Apparently all of the animals there say "moo" because that's what she told us!


Katie loves to swing!