Making Wrapping Paper

I am trying to involve the kids with our Christmas service project. Here they are making wrapping paper to wrap the gifts up in. We bought a role of white butcher paper from Sams Club like 4 years ago....it is still here, it is used for every project and just keeps going and going! Man, for $18 or so, SUCH a great buy!!

Here is another thing we are doing. It is inspired by the book the Christmas Jar, we have been saving all of our change through out the year, and the kids are adding their hard earned quarters. When it is time we will add it all up and buy our gifts!

Family #1

All right, we have Family #1!

This family consists of a mom and her 3 small kids. A 7 year old girl, a 5 year old boy and an 18 month old boy. She is recently divorced, doesn't have a job and isn't receiving any notable help from the dad. She doesn't have enough money to stay in her home and is going to have to move in with family/friends. She is an amazing woman and could really use our help. She could use a little help with Christmas presents and such. Here is a list of what I would like to start with.

• 2 presents for each child. The 7 year old LOVES horses. The 5 year old loves transformers/ monster trucks. The 18 month old would love anything.
• a gift card for the mom or a gift basket with things for her, maybe a bath and body works kind of thing.
• If you want to do a cash donation, there is a need for help with bills.
  

I know times are tough right now, if you can do anything to help, even if it is just $10.00, that can be put together with others $10.00 and make a difference.

We are going to get the gifts together through out the next month and a half. My plan is to surprise them on Christmas eve. If any of you would like to go and help and deliver it, let me know!

Email me with what you would like to do to help nichole@itsmylifephotography.com or call me 602 692 3079. Please feel free to pass this on to your friends, anyone is welcome to help. Post it on your blogs, let's see if we can get this going!! Thank you!!

Amazing Video!!

Looking for families in need! I need some help!

This Picture was taken almost 2 years ago. There was a family in my ward that would go down to Mexico each year and take car loads full of needed supplies to families in need. It ended up being quite project, getting all of the stuff together, getting bags of rice, beans and toiletries together, not to mention books, toys and so on. And I was just on outsider looking in, I am sure there was TONS involved that I don't even know about. They headed out the beginning of December. It was 3 Years ago that I first heard about it, those that wanted to be involved got up very early one morning piled into the trucks and drove down to Mexico and handed out all of the supplies. Well, I REALLY wanted to go. I was pregnant with Brock and was on bed rest at the time. I was SO bummed. I thought it would be a great experience for my kids to see what other people go through, to see how blessed they are and to give them an opportunity to serve. I vowed that the next year, we were going, but we did at least go and help get the supplies together. Well, the next year came around, Jess stayed home with Brock and Ace, I didn't feel they were old enough to help. So Jacee and I went. I have since been grateful for the opportunity, because it has blessed the life of my little girl.

We started the day a little nervous, right after we passed the border, trucks of armed police officers pulled in front of a store we parked in front of while it was being robed (nice way to start a day with my 5 year old). We headed into the slums of the city and split up into groups. We went around to as many places as we could. Jacee stayed in the car (she was a bit nervous) and handed out candy and hats through the window. But as I felt more comfortable, she got out with me and we walked to the doors together. It was a little scary for me, something I had never done before, knock on strangers doors or cardboard doors as it were, and hand them a stack of gifts. There will always be a few faces that I will remember. But what I will remember most is when I turned around and Jacee was gone....I started to panic and asked the others if they saw where Jacee was.....I turned to see my little girl walking to this home and talking to this sweet lady. The lady had tears in her eyes as I walked up, she didn't speak english but the look on her face as she saw my little girl knock on her door filled me with so much joy. I was so proud of my little girl being willing to serve and understanding the need these people had and being willing to serve them. It was a VERY cold rainy day, and she didn't complain. She still talks about our trip to Mexico. I hope she always remember the power for good that we all have within us.

We weren't able to go the following year, I was on bedrest pregnant with Shelby among other struggles. This past October marks a year for us. The most difficult year both Jess and I have ever had. We have delt with personal and family struggles, financial struggles, physical struggles and emotional struggles. In just one year both Brock and myself were in the ICU. I can not begin to explain how trying it has been at times. And I can not begin to tell you how blessed we have been. I have learned a few things. Our Heavenly Father gives us trials to help us see our weakness's and our strengths and to help us realize what is most important. He helps us get our priorities in line and gives us character. And then he blesses beyond measure. The power of a prayer is real. Priesthood blessings are from God. I have felt them. I have seen miracles.

I have been blessed to have great people in my life. These people have popped up out of the woodwork when I thought there was no hope. When I REALLY needed it, they were there. People have served me, even when I didn't want their help. (Yes, I tend to like to do things myself....I know, I am working on it!). And so this brings me to why I am even writing this blog post. I have been blessed by people who have shared their talents with me. Purely out of the kindness of their heart. I want to do something now. I am not fully better, but I am good enough to do something. But I need help.

I know the holidays bring the holiday spirit with them and so, I am taking this opportunity to get this started. I am looking for at least 2 families in need in the phoenix area. And I would like to organize something to help them. I know in this economy there are many struggling, I am looking for a family that is REALLY struggling. I need your help finding these families. If you know of one, please email me (nichole@itsmylifephotography.com ) and let me know the details. I would like to keep their names private, unless they choose otherwise. I am also looking for people to donate of their time, talents and means. If you have wanted to be involved in something, I ask you to look at your situation and see if there is anything you can do. I am going to give each family a free Portrait Session and CD, pictures aren't something people spend money on when they are struggling and everyone should have an up to date family picture, that is something I can do. My family will be donating gifts that they are saving up for and will buy for the families. Here are just a few things that we will need to give you an idea:

• gifts for the family members
• clothes for the family members
• gift cards (groceries, movie tickets, home depot, etc..)
• Christmas tree
• wrapping paper
• man power getting all the gifts wrapped and organized
• the list goes on, as we find out the needs, I will let you know

What I am going to do is get a few families stories and details and post the info on my blog (of course we will keep the families personal info quiet) but I am going to let you all help me vote on which families to do. The more help, the more families we can do. Please take a moment and email me (nichole@itsmylifephotography.com ) and let me know what you can do. I look forward to working with you all and helping make someone elses life a little bit better. I am open to ideas if anyone has anything you would like to share. I will keep you updated on the blog with what we are doing. And remember, we are already in November, time is ticking, lets get this started now! Thanks so much! I hope you all have a wonderful holiday season!

Lollipop, Lollipop......

Uuummmmmmm, I love my boy!!

Birthday Surprises!

I received this package in the mail yesturday....an early present, from my mom and dad. Well, I had to see what it was and make sure it wouldn't go bad!! I was good and am saving it for my party today!! But check this out! The kids are SO excited, you would think it was their birthday!!

Henderson Family

Meet the Hendersons! We have been friends for years now, I took pictures when their youngest was born, right before I got into seriously taking pictures. Look how time flies! It has been so great to have them near by and always there when we have needed them! Thanks for everything guys!!

A tale of the retail clerk and the returned shoes

A girl heads out on her merry way to do a few errands. It has been a few weeks since I have been able to get out thinks the girl as she drives into town. She fights the thoughts in her head thinking the world can be a scary place, if only people were a bit nicer. She wonders if fears really ever go away, well, put on a brave face and head out she thinks. She pulls up in front of the store to return a pair of shoes that just didn't fit right. As she pulls her two kids out of the car, carrying one of them (weighing 20 lbs), she can't wait to get home, she is tired and has done too much today. She heads into the store and somebody says hello, can I help you? I have a return the girl says. The retail clerk says, oh, just leave them on the counter while you look around. Oh, I just need to return the shoes says the girl. The retail clerk comes over and asks with a little irritation, do you have a receipt for those. Yes, it is in the bag. The clerk opens the box and starts examining the shoes and looks at the girl and says, did you wear these? The girl looks up, did I wear them, no, well I did when I tried them on in my bathroom. The girl was a little caught off guard. Well these shoes look like they have been worn says the clerk. They are all worn out, are you sure you didn't wear the shoes. Yes I am sure I didn't wear the shoes, I couldn't, they didn't fit right says the girl. As the clerk continues examining the shoes over and over and over between throwing the girl a few not so nice looks, the girl starts thinking, can't you tell I am telling the truth, there are a few smudges on the edge of the white soled shoes that could easily have come from walking on the carpet in the store or my bathroom. Surely people try on shoes. The girl starts to feel uncomfortable, wishing the clerk would finish up instead of making a scene as the other customers walk around the store. As the clerk announces, oh, right, and tosses the shoes back in the box. She then continues with the transaction refusing to look at the girl. As the girl feels about an inch tall and pretty much wants to cry, she wonders if the girl has any idea of who she really is, and that the accusal of her lying is so far from the truth. If she only knew that honesty is one thing that this girl values more than most. She wonders if she might have been a little nicer. She turns as the retail clerk waves and says goodbye to the other customers as they walk out the door and quietly says thank you as the clerk ignores her and turns away. The girl walks out the door looking at her little kids and hopes that life will be easier for them.

Todays Adventure

I have the most awesome neighbors across the street! They have become like family, and our kids LOVE to play out front most nights while all the adults hang out! It really is great!

Well JJ and Kera got married in May, and today we took their wedding pics, as well as family pics. They have been SO supportive and encouraging, I am so grateful to have them in my life! Thanks guys! Meet JJ and Kera!

I'm Back!! (well sort of)

I have to tell you all how good I have been doing! I have tried for months to regain my energy level and stamina, all to no avail. I would end up pushing myself, after all it had been months since all my life's drama, but I would end up exhausted with anything I did and end up in bed for days recovering. I was feeling very frustrated, and the thought of more time in bed was killing me!! Well, I have this awesome neighbor that happens to be a Physical Therapist, and as Jess was over helping him one night, he mentioned that he was trained to help people in my situation and since Jess had helped him so much over the years with projects that he would be willing to work with me and get me back to where I needed to be (for FREE!). I was ecstatic!! I have spent the last month and a half going in twice a week for an hour and a half. HOLY COW, it was the missing link!! He is working all of my core muscles, which in short means I have had a personal trainer, working my whole body! It is the best thing I could have ever asked for, I have doubled what I could do the last 4 months in a month!! Mind you, that still isn't very much, but compared to being in bed ALL the time, WOW! I am so grateful, I can't tell you what a relief it is to be able to get around a bit, and get stuff done around the house, poor Jess is past stressed with trying to be mother and father!! So, my number one goal right now is focusing on my family and trying to keep up with as much as I can around the house. I would say I am at about 50-60% now, a month and a half ago I was at 30%! I am trying to spend some much needed time with my poor attention deprived children. And honestly, life is good that way! I am so grateful for the experiences I have been through, one great thing about trials is how blessed you are during and after!

Well, I have had an itch for taking some pics, and conveniently Jess cousin (might as well be my sister) Karina got married and I promised her I would take her wedding pics years ago. I couldn't do a whole wedding, and I was her bridesmaid, so Jess's dad came and helped me out! I was worn out for a couple days after and then everyone got sick, but I was glad to be able to do what I did!

So, I have had a few people ask if I am taking pictures again!? Well, the answer is yes, although, I am limiting how many, I need to not over do it and be able to take care of my family first. I am starting with people that I have traded with, I have done quite a few trades for babysitting, hair, x-rays, and so on. Which if anyone is interested in trading, let me know what you have to offer, I think it is great! I trade price for price. Check out my website for pricing. I am booked until December, so if you want pictures, let me know and I will get you scheduled!

I took the opportunity of being in bed to design a new website!! It made me feel productive! I am SO excited, I have been wanting to do this for quite a while, check it out! I have updated my pricing. Now I understand times are tough right now, so if my pricing doesn't work for you, I totally understand. I spend a lot of time making sure you get top notch pictures, I am a perfectionist and I LOVE beautiful pictures! Rest assured you are getting the best I can give you!!

I am SO excited to be alive and so excited for the future and all the opportunities that come along with that! Guys.....I'm back!

Here are a few of my new pics!

Pig Tails!

A few new pictures

I haven't taken pictures of Ace for a LONG time, so here are a few of my handsome little man! And Shelby has been having tummy time and is holding her head up so well, so, I had to take a few pictures of that too!

First Day of School

Today is a day I have been waiting for! When we had Ace right after Jacee, I always found relief in the fact that once Jacee went to school Ace would be right after her! Well, today felt bitter sweet! I feel a little emotional about having my 2 little muchkins in school, how could they have grown SO fast....but then reality is beautiful! I only have 2 kids at home!!!! Could life hand me anything more wonderful!?!? Now, our very deprived and a little bit out of hand Brock can have some one on one time with mommy.....time out, I hear you calling! I am just glad that after a year of not being able to disipline that kid, I can now! I can't wait to do things with just HIM, he is SO sweet when it is just him and me! And with him still taking naps and shelby too of course, I can finally get the rest I need to hopefully start getting better! I bet my kids can't wait till that happens! LOL! SO.......summary......today is a VERY happy day!

Shelby 3 Months Old

Design Contest- PLEASE Vote!

So I was looking for fabric everywhere that I liked for a swimsuit that a friend is going to make for me (just wait....it is going to be SO cute!), but I couldn't find anything that I just LOVED.........so I decided to design my own! Fabric on Demand is a place that prints your custom designs.....how COOL is that! Well, they are having a fabric design contest and asked if they could enter my designs......the winner gets $500.00 so I said SURE!!

http://www.fabricondemand.com/chair-project/chairs.html Check it out, it is kind of fun! You can vote every day until July 31st. If you get a chance, check it out and vote!! Here are the 2 designs that I entered.

Thanks!!

My Sweet Little Girl!

Taking a Break

As most of you know, I have tried my hand at a photography buisness for the past year and a half. It has been a wonderful experience and I am SO glad I did it. I have decided to take a break for a while. I have 4 little munchkins that I need to spend my time with! Not to mention recovery! So much fun!

I am cleaning out the things I will not be using, if you are interested in anything, let me know! Please feel free to pass this on to friends, I would LOVE to get them sold! Thanks! Email at davis1girl2boys5@gmail.com

Nikon D1x Professional Camera in GREAT condition for $450.00

Nikon 24-120mm f/3.5-5.6 zoom Lens in Great Condition for $400.00

2 Little Munchkins

My little munchkins....off to church!

....is that a smile?!

A Blessing

Mark it on your calendars, we would love to have you all there!

It's in the house!

Well.....it isn't completely finished, but it is in the house! Jess is finishing up the panels and ordering in new keys and a few other things....but we are already enjoying playing around on it! It is nice to have music(at least our attempt at it)in the house! Jacee is already asking if I can teach her how to play....where is grandpa when you need him! :0)

A SURPRISE!

So Jess tells me Friday morning that he got his cousin to babysit for us so we could go on a date.....I sat there and stared at him and thought, did he just say what I thought he said.....I could be imagining it, but I am pretty sure I heard him right! OH MY GOSH.....a date!! and HE got a babysitter.......WOW!! I went on with the day.....I figured, we would probably just go get some errands done.....after all.......money is tight! I called him up before I layed down for a nap and he told me we were going to dinner.........okay, time together without kids is one thing, but dinner, and I didn't have to ask for it or argue about it......I think this is a first! I was SO excited, I couldn't even fall asleep! So, we headed out about 5pm, we start heading into town, I noticed he turned the opposite direction I thought he would be going......interesting......but we kept talking, and driving, I was enjoying the suspense......where were we going? About an hour later, I started asking.......SO......how long till we get there.......where are you taking me........he just kept talking as if I hadn't asked any questions with a little smirk on his face......the only answer he would give me is that he was taking me out to the middle of no where so no one could find my body........I reminded him his cousin knew I was with him! LOL! About an a half hour later I told him I had to go to the bathroom, were we going to be there soon?........he stopped at Mc Donalds and wouldn't tell me anything else.......we kept driving.....by now it was about 7pm.....I was starving.......so I asked him how much longer it would be......he wouldn't tell me anything, but he pulled out a sandwich and chips and said he thought I might get hungry.......at that point I wondered how we were going to have time to get somewhere, eat and get home before it was too late........so I asked him if we were going to make it home that night.......he just smirked and kept talking........then I remembered, before we left I saw him staring at my clothes in my closet and thought that was weird, and right before I left I noticed my camera had been moved, I figured he was taking pictures of the piano before we left.........and the fact that he had been VERY pleasant all day.........we weren't going home.......then I started to worry, what about Shelby, and I didn't say goodbye to Jacee.......where are we going??!! I was feeling a little stressed, because it was SO not like him to plan out a trip, and to not tell me about it, and I had NO idea where we were going.........I am a plan ahead kinda person, I didn't know what to do with all of this suspense!! Well, we made it to Pinetop about 8:30pm, Jess's Dad has a membership with Trendwest and we were able to get a room at a resort in Pinetop! Really it was like a little house, it has a kitchen and everything.....it was SO nice!! We had to head back the next afternoon......a quick trip......but not before sleeping in, enjoying the spa and checking out a few antique shops......I could do that more often!! I did realize right before we got there that our anniversary is on tuesday......and Jess planned a trip and surprised me........:0)

A few pics of Shelby

....comin along

Here it is with some nice lookin stain!

These were broken, but in the bottom of the piano, Jess welded them together and put a clear coat on them....Nice!

here it is with one coat of gloss....there will be more still to come! I can't believe how nice it is looking, I was expecting so much worse!

.....a little project

Jess has been wanting to refurbish this old piano (used to be Jess's when he was growing up) we have had in our garage for years....but you know how time goes! I haven't really wanted it, it will go in our front room, and I didn't want an old stand up piano in that room, I wanted something like...I don't know... a grand piano maybe...:0) But lately, I have been wanting a piano around, it would be nice to have and tinker on. So I asked him if he would finish it....after his inital shock.....he never thought he would hear me say that....and after getting motivated a little, he said yes! He loves the idea of getting it out of his garage.....so...we have a little project this weekend!

You know your in trouble when....

....this is your daughters KINDERGARTEN Graduation photo!

Free Gift Cards

okay.....I am going to share a secret with you.....I am sure that you could use some extra $$$$ as much as me!! So, here is what I do.......My high school math teacher always told me there were ways to make money on credit cards, you just have to be smarter than the average person (which as we all know make the credit card companys RICH!!), and this only works if you have serious self control in the spending department.... other wise you add to the credit card companys wealth! You have all seen the credit cards that offer 5% back on gas, or grocery store purchases and so on. Well, I LOVE Citi, so I got a Citi card that offered 5% back on gas, hotel stays and resturants. Jess uses that a lot for work. I put almost ALL of my purchases on my credit card (only do purchases you have budgeted for), and then when the statement comes I pay the entire balance (this is important!!) I get thankyou points for each dollar I spend and bonus points for the gas, hotel stays and resturants. I also bank through Citi and get thankyou points just for using my account that I would use either way. Well, I opened my citi credit card 3 years ago........and as of today, I have received........drum roll please........$2, 285.00 in FREE gift cards (and have never paid a finance charge!)!!!! My favorite thing to do is get the old navy gift cards and when they have a great sale, use my free gift card and get all my clothes for FREE!!

SO.....you want to know WHY I LOVE citi SO much......because they PAY me to use their credit card and bank with them......bet they weren't expecting ME when they came up with their reward plan! LOL!

Twins!!

Oh....I have to tell you about our chickens......well, 2 of them started laying brown eggs, and they are all small when they start laying, but we got this one egg that seemed a little long and skinny. We cooked up the brown eggs, Ace wanted to see what they tasted like (......maybe chocolate)..... and sure enough, Jess had wondered.....twins!! How cool is that! Now I wish I had taken a picture!

Life is good!

Life is good...it really is! I feel like I have this happy, calm resolve inside. I am almost finding myself grateful for everything that has happened......purely for the growth I have felt from it. I still have had moments wishing this would all go away, the little inconveniences....but after talking to others and hearing what they have gone through, and even picturing how much worse my situation could be....I feel like I am the lucky one! And as I look at my little Ms. Shelby...:0)....and my other little munchkins.....I think, there really couldn't be anything greater in this life......the joy and blessings that come after we are tried...... are worth every bit of struggle and pain. If you haven't already read Elder Steven E. Snow's conference talk.....you must....it is great......it is called Get on with our lives.

Ace had another speech evaluation today, I meet with his teachers tomorrow to get him ready for Kindergarten! He is SO excited.

Jacee only has a few more days left and can't WAIT to be in 1st grade!! I only hope this excitment lasts until high school...LOL!

Brock has been loving Shelby, the only thing that can get his attention when he is determined to do what he wants is "the baby crying"!! He runs over like the speed of light, gives her the binkie and rubs her! SO sweet!

Little Ms. Shelby.....what a girl! She is SO nice to her mommy!! and daddy for that matter! She just lights up when she sees me and gives me smiles....ohhh....man it feels good!

Jess is working away, trying to keep up with all of us! He is probably wondering when he is going to get a brake...LOL....with 4 kids and me for a wife...there is NO hope! :0)

Getting SO big!

For the past 2 years, Ace has been picked up and dropped off by the bus 3 times a week for preschool.....and now.....it is over! I am going to miss him waving as he drives off....he starts waving and blowing kisses as soon as he is on the bus (they have to help him put his seat belt on because he is too busy waving! LOL!) and then continues until he can't see me anymore. My little boy is growing up!! He is however SO excited to start kindergarten in the fall! Now I will have 2 kids in school.....seriously, is this possible!

Here he is on his last day of Preschool!!

Interested?!

okay, so after counting all the eggs I have in my fridge, I thought I would put this out there and see if anyone was interested. We are getting more eggs then we will eat....and once our last 3 chickens start laying we will have even more!!

We were thinking of selling them by the half dozen (6) for $1.00. These are all natural eggs from cage free chickens (they are part of the family!). They are small to medium in size. Each week (Saturday) we will have 2 half dozen white eggs and possibly 1 half dozen brown eggs avaliable.

If you are interesed in some or know someone who is, and live in or around the Queen Creek area....let me know! You can email me at davis1girl2boys5@gmail.com .

Let me know if you are interested in them each week, every couple weeks, ect...

Here are some pictures of the girls! They got big SO fast!!

Daddy Daughter Dress

Remember this....

Well, now we have this....

funny thing is this....

.....So if any of you want this cute little dress (handmade by me), let me know, I am not going to use it again! LOL!

Great Day!

Yesturday was a great day!! Today...not so much. I was SO excited yesturday to wake up and for the first time in over a month not want to cry because I was in so much pain!! Don't get me wrong, the pain is still there, just getting better....my poor muscles and everything else...but I didn't want to cry!! I was also excited that when I stood up, I didn't immediately black out!! I had drunk some water before standing and decided that I was going to drink as much as possible, so all day I drank and drank and drank!! The blacking out isn't gone, who knows when it will be, but drinking water helps! So I was very pleastantly surprised at how enjoyable yesturday was!! The boys were even great!! But as it goes, all good things must come to an end...I thought I had figured Shelby out....she tends to cry a bit, okay alot, she goes from perfectly happy to holy cow mad in about 1 second, but I noticed it was if you try to lay her down or bother her, and so on. But if you hold her and walk around she is GREAT, or if you hold her facing you and talk to her she is also GREAT! (and it is double great for me, because she smiles at me!!!) But yesturday afternoon was the beginning of a LONG evening....I couldn't figure out what was wrong with her! So needless to say, last night..not so good (although she does still sleep through the night)....this morning....I am a little grumpy....maybe after nap time it will go back up again! LOL!

Shelby going to church

I haven't been up to dolling my little girl up, but thought it was about time we did her hair! So here is Shelby going to church dolled up for the first time!

Eggs!

I am just now getting around to posting our exciting news!! Our Chickens are laying eggs!!! Well really they have been for just over a month now. A couple of days before we had Shelby, Ace was out playing with the chickens and saw something white, he got Jess and sure enough it was an egg.....they laid them under our water barrels, they like to hide under there. When Jess went to get the eggs he saw quite a few.....after gathering them all we counted them...22!!!! Apparently they had been laying them for a few days. We have 3 older chickens that are laying, the other 5 weren't yet, but today we found a brown egg, so one of them is! So once they all start laying, we will get between 8-11 eggs a day! Anyone need eggs?! Who knows, maybe we will have to start selling them! I love our little start of a farm!

Shelby's Birth Slideshow

Photos taken by A+R Photography

Shelby Nichole Davis

Shelby is 4 weeks old today...I finally got around to taking a couple pictures. Here is my sweet little girl!

Another Update

Life is SO exciting...or crazy....or nuts....there are a few moments of calm....ahhh. Jess's mom left on Saturday morning, we have been working it out with Jess and I.....I would definitely say this is difficult for me....Jess is handling it better (I think, he won't tell me otherwise, sometimes I wonder if he isn't just trying not to add more on me...LOL). The kids are doing great, it is just hard for my head to deal with my issues (and let me tell you, there are a few!) and 2 kids trying to tell me what they are doing or asking questions, at the same time....while Brock is trying to empty the dishwasher or make himself dinner and Shelby is crying, which she likes to do...still trying to figure her out....although I have really enjoyed the 2 nights now that she slept for 7 hours!!!! I am figuring that the timing is a blessing in disguise.....I don't know how I would be surviving with no sleep, I get tired SO easily! I am figuring it is going to take a while to get it all adjusted, but each day is better....so there is hope! Brock has turned into this crazy whirlwind, or should I say the energizer bunny, he just keeps going and going and going.....from one thing to the next....he is always trying to help or take care of himself, but most things aren't age appropriate....in which case it just causes problems....poor kid! All of the kids are LOVING Shelby, especially the boys....they are SO sweet! It is really kind of cute! Jacee is such a good helper, outside of her little crazy streak, she is SO responsible. I have the kids making their own lunches the night before, she does a GREAT job! Ace loves giving mommy hugs....he is very aware of how I am feeling and is so sweet!! Jess is back to work, poor guy is SO behind, but he is working hard trying to get on top of everything! Shelby is cute as ever! She stills sleeps a lot....thank goodness....she loves snuggling, and I think her and her daddy have a little thing going on....when I can't get her to stop crying, her daddy seems to do the trick! We are all hanging in there....glad to be where we are at! I am really looking forward to a few more weeks from now....and even more for a few months from now....I can't wait to feel like myself again! I am hoping to take a few pics this week...we will see, Shelby is 4 weeks old today.....time flies.....and I only have a few pics....I need to catch up!

Pictures of Shelby

My mom has been asking for some pictures....I really want to bust out some amazing ones, but until I feel up to it, here is us playing outside today.

Also, Shelby got weighed today, she weighs.....11lbs 4 oz.....man, what a girl!

Update

I wanted to update you all on how I am doing. I thought I should write it when I am feeling positive as compared to my harder poor me moments. LOL! It has been a week.....I have had ups and downs.....I have had such great support! My mom has been my extra pair of arms filling in with everything I couldn't do. Jess has tried to get back to work, helping me when he can. I can't imagine how this has all weighed on him, but he is being strong for him and me. I am SO blessed to have him helping me along the way. I wouldn't want anyone else. I got my staples out yesturday, now I have tape for another week. I was feeling very down this morning, and so my mom made me get out of bed and took me out to the store to go shopping. Thank goodness khols has wheel chairs......it was SO refreshing! All the while, Jess watched all 4 kids! I am working on keeping a smile, I have struggled with that, it is SO easy to get caught up in all the pain and discomforts. My dad got here today and is taking my mom home tomorrow, that women has been through a lot with me, I am SO grateful she has been here to help me!! She deserves a brake! We will be on our own tomorrow and monday, Jess's mom is coming tuesday morning. I have to admit I am very nervous. My mom has been taking Shelby during the night.....now it is my turn.....uh oh! Jess's mom will be here until the weekend and then we are officially on our own.

Thanks to all those that have helped out with meals, play dates and loving and supportive comments. They have been WONDERFUL. I am looking forward to better times but am grateful to be as well as I am!

A couple pics of Shelby

My friends Gina and Debbie came over and took some 3 day pics of Shelby, here are some of them.

Home!

Hello my family and friends!!

The past 2 weeks has been the most difficult challenge of my life. I know there are many of you that have been SO concerned and worried. I have felt your prayers in my behalf and am sure that your love and prayers is what has helped me through this!! I Thank you SO much!!

I know most of you don’t know exactly what happened and so I would like to share a brief version of my story.

I had not been feeling well toward the end of my pregnancy…..but who does! Well, come to find out, there were reasons. I had strep A, which is what causes strep throat. My body had been trying to fight it off, but was so weak. This pregnancy did a number on my body.

We had our sweet little (okay, not little……she was 10 lbs and 22 inches long) Shelby Nichole on April 7th at 10:19pm. We had her at home with our wonderful midwife, Lucy. Jess’s mom was also there, along with some family members and friends. It couldn’t have been a more beautiful birth! It was more special than words can express! We are SO grateful to have been blessed with a special little girl!

I immediately didn’t feel well, it took all I had left. That night I knew something wasn’t right, but had no idea how bad I was. I got through the next day, really not feeling well, but trying to enjoy this special gift I had been given. By that night, it was evident, I was not well, I got through the night with the help of my husband and mother in law. The next morning I talked to my mom, and she was worried and encouraged me not to wait too long to do something, she was very worried. My midwife came over and did my vitals, and said you have 2 minutes to get dressed and get in the car, we are going to the hospital NOW!

What happened was the most painful experience I have ever experienced, I wanted to die! In the ER, they put me on a few medications including pitocin thinking my uterus needed to shrink down more. I was in the worst labor for hours with constant contractions and no medicine because my vitals were SO bad. Hours later, I don’t remember how long, they gave me 4 doses of Morphine that didn’t touch the pain! That night I finally looked at Jess and told him they were killing me…..I wasn’t going to make it. I have never been SO scared. They wouldn’t give me anything else, I BEGGED for an epidural thinking that had to work! They wanted to try other things. Finally that night a combo of drugs did the trick, I had not felt such relief for months…..but that would be momentary.

After TONS of ultra sounds, EKG’s, cat scans, blood work……every test you can imagine……this is what we found out. I had strep A (not to be confused with Strep B), and was trying to fight it off, when I had Shelby, my body couldn’t do anymore and the infection went into my uterus……EXTREMLY rare, but has happened before. It got SO infected that it sent toxins into my blood and infected it. It sent toxins into my bowels which caused it to stop functioning, I couldn't eat or drink (I looked like I was 9 months pregnant) and they also went to my heart and caused my heart to work at about 45%. They had me on every antibiotic you could imagine, major pain killers, fluids……you really don’t want to know! I had a team of 11 specialized surgeons, ob/gyn’s, cardiologists, infectious disease and respiratory doctors. My intestines started to suffer as the infection spread…..I only had a small window and they said I might want to start thinking about having a hysterectomy, if it didn’t get better soon, it would have to go.

A couple of hours later, one of the surgeons came in and said that we needed to get me in and take out my uterous, my vitals were holding, but if they started to go down, they would lose their chance to do surgery and I would die (let me tell you, it is very weird to have someone actually say that to you, so blunt!)

They went in on Easter Sunday and did the Hysterectamy, they found that the infection was worse then they thought, if they had not jumped on it, I would have lost my chance. They told my family that I made it through the surgery but that I would nose dive in the next day and if I survived it would only be because of my age and strength. They let them all come and give me a hug after I came out of surgery, I knew something wasn't right, everyone was acting funny, my mom told me that I needed to be strong and fight! (I was thinking I made it through the surgery, I was going to be fine....kind of scary to find out how close it was!) I was in Critical condition for a couple of days, but pulled through (I am sure it is because of everyone's prayers, I swear I could feel them!)

I spent 8 days in the hospital. They released me Friday night. I am SO glad to be home. It will be months (they told me 6 months to a year) before I am better…..they won’t let me do anything!! But each day will be better! I get to spend my time getting to know my new little girl!

I am SO grateful for the blessings I have been given, my family, friends and special moments. I have felt all of your love and feel so blessed to enjoy this life and all the wonderful things to come!

(my friend Aimee Cooper took the pics of the birth.....check out her website, she is awesome!)

It's a girl!!

Well, she is finally here, and she IS a girl!! Shelby Nichole Davis decided to join our family last night at 10:19 pm......she weighed 10 lbs and is 22 inches long. I will post some pics later. Yeah!! Now I need a nap!

Conference packets for the kids!!

My ward sent these links for conference packets for the kids. I already printed them out for my kids......I LOVE help with good ideas. Here are the links:

Packet 1

Packet 2

enjoy!

37 weeks pregnant!!

The Boys got Buzzed

Well, after 7 weeks of bedrest and 3 more to go, I was SICK of the boys hair......poor kids were starting to look like a girls! So, I decided a buzz would be good for a bit, Brock has only ever had the same hair cut.....so, this is a change....I kind of like it, he has a whole new look!! Handsom little boys!

What a Goof!

Our Little Boy......what a GOOF! He LOVES to wear the kids backpacks and pretend he is a "big" boy. And he LOVES to wear Jess's hat.....so sweet!

Hail

It Hailed at our house on Sunday, the kids had a BLAST playing in it!!

Jacee has Bangs!

All who knew Jacee when she was little will remember a familiar look. I have wanted to cut bangs again for a while, but Bangs don't happen to be Jess' favorite look.... I gave up. But lately Jacee has asked almost every day, and begs me to ask daddy for her...LOL....well yesturday he said she could, she wanted it SO bad. I guess a friend at school has them and she wanted to too!

Jess is the Man!!

I had to give a shout out to Jess, for those of you that don't know, I have been on bed rest for the past week. I had been having contractions but still had lots to do, so I was doing as much as I could for a couple days and then resting for a couple.....well, that eventually caught up with me! I stayed in bed for the last week, trying to get them to calm down. Which means Jess has had to do double time! Actually he has been helping out a ton for weeks now, but he has been full time daddy and mommy recently. Well today, he passed up his "work on his car" day and help out around the house. Here is what he did.....I am telling you, he is the man!....he did laundry, washed our sheets, cleaned our bathroom (it needed it), cleaned TOILETS!!, vacumed, took down the Christmas tree (yeah, we have been busy) and Christmas lights, did dishes, swept and I think mopped the floors, washed windows and went to the store! Now, I don't know if even I could have done that much!! I wanted to share what a great guy he is!!

Our Family picture

So this morning I attempted to take our own family picture.....what a day to pick....we got out there in the freezing cold......and took exactly 4 pictures when it started raining...... so much for our family picture. Guess you take what you can get! So, until we attempt it again (which I am sure will be sooner than later) .....here it is!

I got an IPOD!

I just had to share my excitement! I have been wanting an ipod for who knows how long, but it is totally not something needed, so it has always been pushed to the bottom of the list. Well, for Christmas, Jess told me he was trying to get one for me.......trying?...... apparently he had been turning in used ink cartridges to Staples (for those of you that don't know they take hp ink cartridges and give you $3.00 for each one) for a while now and was waiting for the reward check to come in the mail. Well it finally came, and we went and got me an ipod!! Yeah!!!

We got a Trampoline!!

Our neighbors down the street moved out and didn't want their trampoline.....so now WE have a trampoline!! We are very excited! The kiddos are exhausted, what a great way to wear them out!! We are all going to sleep good tonight!

Stevens Family

Meet the Stevens Family! Oh my gosh, what a beautiful family!! There were SO many great pics, it was hard to narrow it down!! Here are a few. Thanks guys for a great time!!

Merry Christmas

We just wanted to wish our Family and Friends a Merry Christmas!! Hope you guys are enjoying your Holiday!! Here are the kids playing with their NEW toys!!

Baby Brooklyn

Today I got to take pics of little baby Brooklyn, here is a sneek peak! SO Sweet!!

Christmas Giveaway!! Only 2 Days Left!!

This time of year it is FUN to give gifts and bring a little cheer! SO, staying with the holiday spirit, I am going to have a Christmas Giveaway!!

I will be giving away......

• 2 Portrait Packages (worth $100.00 each)
• 1 $75.00 Giftcard
• 2 $50.00 Giftcards
• 3 $25.00 Giftcards

If you are wanting pictures, this is how to get them!! Pass this on to all your family and friends!!

Here is what you need to do:

• email me at nichole@itsmylifephotography.com with your name, address and who passed this on to you. I will give a $20.00 Giftcard to anyone that passes this on to 3 or more friends/family that enter the contest.
• I will be accepting emails until December 24, midnight!
• Giftcards will expire on 12/2009

Jacee is turning 6

Today I took Jacee's 6 year old pictures..... I think I am going to be in trouble, does anyone know where I can find a cage to lock her in?!? LOL!

25 Weeks Pregnant

This is my attempt at a Self Portrait.......with the help of my little girl! (who now informs me she is going to be a photographer when she grows up!) I am 25 Weeks Pregnant now, time is flying by......I am finding myself a little excited about my new little one. We aren't finding out what he/she is, we thought a nice surprise would be fun!!

Our Little Christmas Present

Yesturday Jacee had her first Christmas Concert. She was a present, so we wrapped her all up!! SO cute!!

My Little Boy

I think he is the darn cutest little boy ever! When he isn't getting into trouble, he is SO sweet!! He would only let me take pics of him if I let him push some buttons on my camera, so we took a few, I showed him how to play back the pics, then we took a few more.......what a kid!!

SO sad......

.....today was a very sad day!! I opened the door to let Brock out and saw a bird fly out of the bushes.....I thought, gosh that isn't my chicken, but SO pretty! Then I noticed it was holding my chicken.....dead. It dropped it as it flew off. I looked around for the others and couldn't find them, Jess came back home we looked all over and found them TOTALLY quite hiding in a corner under something. They were very scared!! We got a box and put them in the house, there were only 3 left, we don't know what happened to the fifth one. So our poor chickens are safe in the house, Jess is going to be building a safe chicken coop for them! It was SO sad, I have never seen a hawk around here. Jess ran out and got some pictures of it on the tree a few houses down in the wash.
As I headed out to go get Jacee, I noticed it came back and got the chicken and started eating it, I put on my zoom lens and got a few shots. (Sorry, any of you with weak stomachs, it is eating my chicken, but I wanted to see what kind of bird it was, thought I would share)

I opened the door to get a bit closer and it got scared, it tryed to fly away but couldn't carry the chicken with it, so it did this.....kind of cool!

......it calmed down and concluded I wasn't a threat.

Comparing chickens....

What were so little and sweet....

.....have grown up in only 6 weeks!!

Jacee's Party

We had Jacee's Party on Saturday, her birthday isn't until the 22nd, but who has time for a party right before Christmas! We started by having everyone make their own pizzas, YUMMY! and then sang Happy Birthday to Jacee before they started decorating their own cupcakes, and then of course.....presents!

The kids all played outside, what a hit our chickens were!! Brock was SO excited that he caught one all by himself!!........just don't ask who put the chicken in a tiny box with a lid on it, and don't ask how many hours it took us to realize one was missing.....poor chicken!!! She is okay!

McNamara Family

I got to shoot the McNamara Family last night....here are a few of their adorable pictures!!

Also here is something kind of cool, Brian Decks out his home each Christmas with an AWESOME light display. Check out his website, there is lots of fun info. This year he has 25,000+ lights! Sure wouldn't like to have that electric bill! We took some pics for his website while we were at it.

McGhan Family

Here are some friends of ours, the McGhan's, we did their family pics the other day....SO cute!! By the way, if any of you are looking to get your hair done, Nicole does an awesome job!! She does my hair! Check out her blog!

Baby Kate

Our good friends Ryan and Emily came and visited us. We have known each other for years now, we lived by each other in Las Vegas, that was when we each had 1 kid, now they have 3 and as you know we are on our 4th. We get together at least once and year, usually more and LOVE seeing each other. They were down for Thanksgiving and we got to FINALLY meet Kate, she is almost 6 months now.....last time we saw them was a week before she was born, SO......introducing Kate:

What a doll!! She is beautiful, and after 2 boys, a much deserved little girl!!

Happy Birthday Jess!!

I have to share that today is Jesse's Birthday........31......old man! Happy Birthday Jess!!!

We are home!!

We are home! We had a good time.....as usual, it goes by way too fast! Here are some pics!

Here is our ship as we were heading to Catalina. Jess, being a goof! Me on Catalina.

Can anyone guess what this is....... Our tour guide in Mexico made a quick stop so we could take pictures. My kids are so excited!!

Jess had WAY too much fun taking pictures of me, I prefer to be on the OTHER side of the camera! :0)

Jess on the beach in Mexico. The beaches there are empty and beautiful.....I don't understand?!Here is one of the towel animals they fold for you each night when they turn down your bed. I thought it was kinda cool!Now, this one is funny!!! Jess thought he would enter the Hairy chest contest, they needed another person, so why not...... well, he had NO idea what he was getting himself into!! They had all the guys strut their stuff down the deck while taking their shirt off! I thought it was hiliarious!! Then they had them do their best pick up line.....(Jess's was....hey baby......yes, it made everyone laugh!) and their best Tarzan roar! He didn't win, but he did a great job!!

Baja Mexico......here we come!

SO, we are heading off on our Baja Mexico 4 day Cruise in 1 hour.....SO excited!! I can't tell you how grateful I am for this heaven sent FREE cruise (but really after taxes and port fees and gratuity, fuel and so on......where did the FREE part go??) I won it a year ago and was holding off for a SO wanted European Cruise.....but, you know how money goes....we stuck with Mexico, and good timing to! I am 20 weeks pregnant now and you can't go on a cruise after 24 weeks! Just in time! Jess' and my parents are watching the kids (SO grateful!!) and we are heading off on our first trip ever! Yeah!! Watch for pictures! You know there will be some!

........a few random things

Jess found this Jeep in a trash or on the side of the road somewhere, it didn't have a battery and the gas pedal was broken.....so Mr. fix it fixed it and rigged a car battery to it. I think it went faster than intended for children, but the kids LOVED it!!

Jess, hard at work, still trying to get the cars done in his spare time. LOL
Ace trying to catch the chickens! The kids LOVE them!!
Our Chickens love to run around the yard, the other day we found them in our vines, they can get a little height when they flutter around! It was kind of funny!
.....and this nasty little bugger! Ace and I found him in the living room as we were waiting for the school bus! I still don't understand why they feel the need to be in my living space....... freaks me out! He was BIG! We chased him outside with the broom and then squished him!!!!!! Bet he won't come in my house again :0)

Like Father.....Like Son!

oh my gosh, I have to share!! Brock had been playing outside for a while........without bothering me, which immediately sent up a warning flag. What did he get into now? I go to look out the door, carefully, don't want to disturb a possibly entertained almost 2 year old!!! Here is what I found! I watched him for a few minutes before I noticed how into it he was. Now, so everyone understands, my almost 2 year old knows how to operate these wonderful tools, even when you put the safety on, he can figure out how to turn it back on! He was totally drillin on his car!

He caught me and gave me this grin!

What a man........I mean boy!

The ZOO

Today Jacee's class got to go to the ZOO! I really wanted to go, but am not able to walk that much......so, I sent Jess! Here are a few pics of the days events. I think Jacee had a good time with her daddy!

Playing at the park

We played at the park the other day, here are a few pics of the kids.well, here are some Jess took, I will add a few more later.....heading out.

Rohner Family Pictures

What a great ending to a Great day! I took some pictures for my friend next door. We just went down to the park and played around a bit, Jess and the kids helped. I LOVE how they turned out!!

Halloween

I really should have planned better and took pictures when it was light out, but I was busy making homeade bread!!!! (My first time, I am very excited!! They turned out great!) The kids had a blast, candy heaven, Brock helped me hand out candy after he we trick or treated at a few doors. He was a lion and even ROARED for you!! Hope you all had a great Halloween!

Some new additions to the family!

We have been wanting to get some chickens so we could have eggs. Yesturday Jess looked on craigslist and found someone by us that had a whole bunch that were just born. Ace, Brock and I went and picked them up....the boys were SO excited! We got 5, they were $3.00 each and in 20 weeks we will have eggs! Fun!

Surprise!

So I open the door to get Jacee off to school this morning and find this...... someone decorated my house for my birthday! The Hendricks across the street take Jacee to school and I pick them up. I am thinking it was them.....they didn't admit anything, but they were very talkative this morning! :0) Thanks!!!!!

Don't tell me my husband is not a kid!!

Jacee wanted to have some mommy time, so of course Ace wanted daddy time, the boys headed into Ace's room and came out 20 mins later with this creation! It is pretty big, they are the big legos, they just busted it out! Ace was soooo excited! and I do have to say, you should have seen the grin on Jess's face!

Planting our Garden

Our neighbors the Rohners motivated us to do our garden. We have been wanting to do it again, and just haven't done it. Jess went out there and worked away one afternoon, then we went to a nursery nearby and bought some 4 week starts....... it is magic, and instant garden! We have brussel sprouts (I am sooooo excited about), lettuce, broccoli, cabbage, carrots and onions!

Beach Bums

Here they are, my little Beach Bums!

Drama...... and the Beach

Jess had to head to CA for work this past weekend, so we went along and enjoyed a free ride. It was a nice break, hanging out with my parents, life has been a bit stressful, it was a needed change of pace!

So, I have wanted to take the kids to the beach, they haven't been often and Brock has only been once. Jess worked at his dad's house on Saturday and my parents took me to the beach....well there had to be some excitement, what is a trip with out some unplanned drama! We were driving, almost to the beach when I turn around to tell the kids to be quite, again, that Brock was trying to sleep as he, poor kid, starts throwing up all over him self......multiple times. oh boy, let me just tell you, he has now only thrown up twice in his life, and both time have been strapped in his car seat in our truck......I felt so bad. We stopped by a gas station and borrowed their water (don't ask me about the jerky guy that said it wasn't a public water supply and my little boy is laying life less on the gas station driveway and we are hosing off throw up.....kiss my....Yeah, you got the idea). My mom was quick enough to think to grab the camera, it was set to manual, so lighting was way off, this is the best fix job I could do, but it gives you the idea. Thanks mom! We cleaned up everything, wrapped him in a towel and headed to the beach, we were going to have lunch on the pier and we were starving. I am voting the whole bag of gummy bears (Grandma's treat!) before lunch had something to do with the throw up, he was fine after that. (Sorry mom!) We stopped and bought him some new clothes and had a good lunch and played for a bit on the beach and headed home....... what a trip to the beach!

Donuts.......yum!

My family used to make donuts when I was a kid, I have always wanted to make them but didn't know how and never remembered to ask my mom...... here is the secret, frozen bread dough and frosting (homemade)! I watched Lia for Jess' cousin on Wednesday and we had to end the day with a treat!

They tasted just like I remembered. And of course we had to finish the evening with a game of settlers, which I have to point out that I WON!!! This was a memorable occasion, because everyone knows that Jess ALWAYS wins!

Karina..........what would we do with out her!! Life might be boring! :0)

And in keeping with tradition, we must mess up the pieces!!

Awesome girls bows!!

I posted a while ago that I had edited some pics of awesome girls bows. My friend Sarah took the pics and I made them look beautiful for her friend, Christian's website. Well, Christian has been crazy busy getting all this together, but the site if now up and running!! Check it out!

I am selling my Nikon D1x

I am selling my Nikon D1x. I purchased it in February, used, from someone stating it was in pristine condition.....which it turned out not to be(we are not sure if something happened with shipping or a memory card, he helped pay for repairs), I had to send it in to get fixed, they ended up replacing the whole circuit system (the main functioning system). It took months to get back, I needed a camera, so I bought a D200 (which I am LOVING!!) I got my camera back the beginning of June (so much fun waiting!!), it is like new. It has all the updated firmware from Nikon and is in excellent condition. If you know of anyone looking for a camera, feel free to pass this info along. I am selling it for $550.00 It comes with 2 batteries and a charger, the manual and original packaging. It is just sitting around now, and I would rather have someone using it.

I am also selling my Nikon 18-55mm lens for $100.00. To check out the specs look here

Allen Family

Saturday I got to take pictures of these handsome little guys! They were so sweet! Here is their slide show.

Daddy-Daughter Dress

Emma Earl in my ward (an extremely talented woman!!) sews and makes things like you wouldn't believe. She had a class at her house on how to make a dress out of a dads button up shirt. I thought it would be fun to make, and after it is finished, I would say it was. It is a first, I did make a few mistakes, but I LOVE the idea!! Here is a before and after. If you want to check out the tutorial to make your own, here it is. (notice the spot on Jess's shirt, he can't wear it anymore, so I thought I would put it to good use!)

Others made larger dresses for their daughters.......I really wanted a bitty small one for a little newborn girl. No this isn't an announcement......this is a statement, I am WISHING for a little girl! :0)

Ever had a bad day?????

Having a bad day, week, month.............LIFE! :0) Here is my suggestion!
I was a bit disappointed in the texture, I was going for crunchy.......they were more soft like a cake.....but not too disappointed, they are still cookies!!Brock completely enjoyed helping me..........as you can see, he is doing well!!

A trip to the ER.....an Ambulance......and the ICU

What an experience we have had!!! We have all been a little sick over here, just colds, sore throats, you know how it goes. So it was no surprise when Brock started sounding a little sick. That was Wednesday morning, he was such a good boy!!! (He is quite a whiner these days, he just wants to do everything like Jacee and Ace) I was enjoying how calm he was...... how snugly...... very nice brake! I put him down for a nap that afternoon, and when he woke up, he sounded bad! Obviously he had croup, you could hear him breathing, poor boy. We went outside and hung out with the neighbors, I held Brock, he just sat there....no big deal, right, kids get sick all the time! We came in, he ate a little and was tired again, it was about 7pm I figured it was good if he got some more sleep. So I put him to bed.......I was nervous to close his door so I kept it open, not something I usually do (to find out later that was our saving grace!!!) Jess's cousin Karina came over for dinner and we were hanging out. Ace came down and said Brock was up, I didn't hear him crying.....I immediately felt worried.... I ran to the stairs to find him climbing down, barley able to breath, his chest was sucking in really hard, and it was so loud, he looked panicked......my heart sank. Jess came around the corner and grabbed him..... we thought, oh no, what do we do? Jess called his mom (a pediatric nurse), I called Jodi (she is a nurse in our ward and lives a couple of houses down). They could hear him over the phone and both said it sounded like Croup. We tried a hot shower, but his breathing was so bad, it sounded like his last breath. Karina was here and watched the kids, we ran off, the urgent care was closed (at 7:30, what good is an urgent care if it isn't open???) so we went strait to the ER. We were a little nervous on the drive..... that was scary! Once we got there I felt relief. They took him right in and started with a breathing treatment...... it took a while before I noticed they seemed a little worried. Then they gave him another breathing treatment and a steroid shot. Then they ordered an x-ray.....so sad, they had him squished in this plastic thing with his arms above his head, it was so sad looking, he didn't even cry.The meds weren't lasting very long, about 15 mins and then it would wear off and he would have a harder time breathing again. They gave him another breathing treatment, and told us that it looked like they were going to need to transport him to a children's hospital. He did better for a while, he woke up and ate some crackers and some food. Played around with us, it looked like maybe this was it, he was doing better.... so Jess went to rest in the car (hospital chairs are the worst!!) I stayed with Brock and held him while he rested. About 20 mins later, it was clear, this wasn't working. All the Doctors came in and talked and decided he needed to be transported. So, they made some calls, but all the beds in the pediatric department in the valley were full, we had to wait for a bed. I headed home to get the kids so Karina could go to work. That was at about 5am.......long night, no sleep. I got home and made some calls to get some help for a blessing. Got Jacee off to school, got Ace over to Aunt Jill's (thanks Jill) . Meanwhile, Brock had more breathing treatments, another shot and x-ray, had an IV put in and had been transported in an Ambulance to Scottsdale Shea Hospital. Jess went with him. I headed up there about 10 am. He had his own little room, with a crib! (Holding him on the bed wasn't comfortable). They had a rocking chair and bathroom (you don't want to know how many times I had to use the bathroom the night before which required me passing the nurses station each time...... when you look pregnant it is one thing, but I am not showing that much..... I got a few looks! Fun times!!) The doctor didn't seem too happy about how much medicine they had given him and decided to observe him on his own and just make sure he didn't stop breathing. We hung out with him for the day. He stayed the same for a while, but that night, he was doing better. He was very restless though, so I asked the nurse if they had any crayons and paper. She looked surprised and asked if I had seen the facility yet, I said no. They had a play room with every toy you could imagine, coloring, glue, video games, puzzles, games, books, even a fish tank. They also had any child's movie you could dream of and dvd/vhs players in the room and they had wagons you could give them a ride around the floor!!!! I was so impressed, so we got permission to take off his monitor and let him play a little..... he really enjoyed getting out, and he LOVED the fish! We got some sleep that night, Jess held Brock in the chair with him so I could sleep, I was dying!! I don't do well with no sleep normally, but pregnant too.... I was beat! The Doctor came in the next morning and said they had no reason to keep him any longer. He was stable all night, he was still sick, but was getting enough oxygen on his own, and that it would work its self out. They gave him another dose of steroids and a prescription. He was released yesterday afternoon. So, he is home and doing better. We took him out on a date last night (we had one planned and we never go on dates, we were going!) He was doing really good, he had fun getting out! He is doing even better today! It was a severe case of Croup. Usually it doesn't get this bad, but it can. All you can do is use a humidifier or steam from a hot shower. Thank goodness for hospitals at times like this! Thanks for all our family's and friends love and support! We feel very blessed, we love our little boy and would do anything for him! Here is a slide show, he is so sweet!

I have to tell you about the cookie, we ordered him lots of food, and offered him anything he could want, he kept saying no and getting mad, he even got mad when I gave him chocolate pudding???!!!??? We just thought he didn't feel good and would eat when he wanted to. Jess showed him a cookie, more as a joke because we offered him tons of treats even and he didn't want them. He spit his binkie out faster that the speed of light and shoved the cookie in his mouth. We sat there laughing, it was so funny!! After he ate the cookie he had dinner and munched the rest of the time. Apparently he just wanted a cookie....duh!!!

Wedding

Yesterday I was with Aimee and Riley assisting at Lindsey and Chad's Wedding. It was held at the beautiful Villa Siena here in Gilbert. I had a blast, it was nice to get out and enjoy such a beautiful wedding! I shot a little, mostly I assisted with the lighting! So amazing!! Check out the slideshow of their wedding!! They are amazing photographers!! Here is a link to their engagement photos.

Mustang update

For the Men out there, here is a Mustang update:

Jess has been working on one of his mustangs to get ready to sell it, in all of his free time (like that exists), so as you might assume, he doesn't really exist to the kids and I these days..... good times, poor guy :0), can't wait until they are finished, he can't either, he is killing himself to get it all done!!

He painted the dash

and the ceiling and inside of the car

He cleaned, painted and put in the gas tank

I am not very good with the details, he just blows me away with all the detail work he puts in, I wouldn't be able to do all this, and get it to actually run like a car should!!

We are being over taken by Ants!!

The ants in our yard are very unruly! We haven't sprayed for a while, and it seems as though they are over taking our yard! And best of all, they are red ants! This morning was such a beautiful morning (which doesn't happen often here!) so I headed outside to enjoy the morning. It was just Jacee and I a few minutes before she headed off to school. I sat down and within 2 seconds, I had 4 ants on my feet trying to bite me.......really, not my most favorite thing. So, Jacee came and saved the day, she squished as many as she could! I was pretending to take pictures of the ants, she doesn't like to have her picture taken, but I snatched a couple!

Popsicles for Sale!

Jacee has been asking for months to sell something like our neighbor does, she sells snow cones. I kept telling Jacee she wasn't old enough......then our other neighbor and a friend of Jacee's started selling Lemonade....... well, if she is old enough, maybe Jacee is too! So we got some popsicles for her to sell, and Ace and I had made some Mini Carmel Apples earlier in the day, they were a HIT!! We got a table and signs ready and they went out to sell them...... they made $5.00!! Guess we are doing that again, you should have seen Jacee's face when people handed her money......she could hardly contain her excitement!!! Does that face look excited ?!? Mini Caramel Apples
The neighbor kids enjoying their treats! $$$$$ :0)

The Mini Caramel Apples were alot of fun to make, I got the receipe from the Family Fun Magazine. Here is the receipe.

Mini Caramel Apples

You will need:

-4-inch lollipop sticks
-Melon baller
-Granny Smith apples (one apple makes about 8 mini apples)
-Butterscotch or peanut butter chips (we used caramel)
-Chopped nuts, sprinkles, shredded coconut (optional)
-Small paper candy cups

First, cut the lollipop sticks in half at an angle (pointy end will go into the apple pieces easier). with the Melon baller, scoop little balls out of the apple. Each ball should have a section of apple peel. Push half of a looipop stick into the peel of each ball. Pat the apple pieces dry. Melt the chips according to the package directions. Dip and swirl the mini apples in the melted chips, then roll the apples in nuts, sprinkles, or coconut if desired. Place the mini apples in paper candy cups to set. ( I would add, put them in the fridge asap to harden, but it is really hot here!!)

Painting

We busted out the paints this morning. They had a blast for the 3.5 minutes that they were entertained, I think they had more fun mixing the colors and making black paint! :0)

New Blog!!

Well, I have had two blogs for the past little while and it is kind of pointless to post things twice. Neither one worked for both family and photography......So I decided to start a new blog. If you would like to check out either of the old ones here they are:

It's My Life Photography
1Girl+2Boys=My Life