Lucky Number 4

     August 2fird! A date we have all been hearing about for about 6 months and it has finally arrived! So we celebrated rainbow style! We had the birthday bash at my mom and dad's last night to celebrate and I guess 4 is our lucky number.  No crying, no whining, no freak-outs just pure unadulterated FUN! What a difference 3 years makes! We had rainbow cake and rainbow treats and with an August birthday there always has to be swimming!! Check out the fun afternoon we had celebrating!

I have to give myself dibbs on this cake.
Thank you Pintrest! You make a domestic goddess out of me!

We can't have a birthday without a little sass!

Beautiful right???
It turned out better than I could've imagined!

Britta being older and having AMAZING older cousins to help present opening was a BREEZE!

Birthday princess for sure! 

A year from now we will have a new baby and Britta will be a kindergartner! I can not wait to see what the next year brings us! 

I Don't Mind

After a two crazy years of trying to get pregnant... 
We finally are blessed with baby #2 on the way due on Feburary 11th!!! We couldn't be more elated.  Last time I was pregnant there really wasn't a "social network" per-se to announce this sort of stuff so I had debated back and forth to even "publicly publishing" the big news.  All this technology can get quite confusing on what is appropriate.  I hate to admit but in the past 2 years there have been too many tears shed when scrolling through status updates and pictures of newborn babies and adorable pregnant bellies.  But I did want those who do not already know that we are FINALLY expecting.  

There are many things that come from being pregnant this time around I have been able to experience many of them the good, the bad, the ugly. But I don't mind a lick.

I don't mind that for the past 9 weeks (I am currently 14 weeks but I don't count the 5 I didn't know) I had to divert my thoughts to food and smells that were appeasing

I don't mind that I mostly stick to skirts and stretchy pants because I am too lazy for real pants

I don't mind that I still use a rubber band to hold my pants up because my old maternity pants don't quite convey today's style.

I don't mind that up until now I have been too sickly to go buy the current style of maternity pants.

I don't mind that the past few trips up to Pinetop I have either had my head out the window of the car and then spent most of the vacay on the floor or the couch.

I don't mind seeing my midsection grow I swear by the day and expect it won't be long till the beloved stretch marks make their comeback.

I don't mind only being able to take tylenol to fight my migraines that show their face every once in while. 

I don't mind not cooking much anymore (Gunnar doesn't even complain at all!)

I don't mind any of the downsides to being pregnant and I have been trying to enjoy all the good things that come from being pregnant like ultrasounds and looking at baby stuff and not feeling a stab of hurt.  I feel like there was and is a reason why it took so long for us to have this baby I still don't really know why and there is a good chance I never will but, it takes me back to my testimony that my Heavenly Father knows us and knows our family far better than I will know us and He has a plan.  I know to have faith in His timing and trust that it will be better than I had ever imagined.  

Toleration

Unfortunately is has been a serious amount of time since our last little update.  Well, that's because there is nothing to update....


But what I can say is that it has come to my realization that in these past few months my strange, outlandish, impulsive, intense and sometimes ridiculous behavior are, to be put simply, being tolerated.


I, by no means want any pity or cast doubt that those around me don't love, support and completely adore me but as of recent, my habits and impulses have been quite erratic. 
Let me explain....


I can no longer use "drugs" (previous posts) as an excuse for my behavior.  My personal soap boxes and the occasional (ok, not so occasional) use of vulgar language ideas sound completely sane in my head then when I say it out loud I realize "that thought was much better in my head".  I have been finding many uses for spray paint. (and when I say many, I mean literally anything without a heartbeat) Did you know that you can spray paint those plastic boxes used for storing food? Yup, I spray painted that sucker, added glitter and WHAM! We have a new "cheer box" for scouts! 


Gunnar, being the creature that he is, just admires all I paint, plaster, sanding, more painting and seems amazingly supportive of my recent endeavors to start 10 house decor projects and not quite get them finished. He turns a quiet cheek when I have worn the same stretchy pants for 5 days and haven't washed my hair in a week and Britta and I are 'fighting' like we are two sisters who have been living in tiny cabin for the past month. The sad part about all this is that Gunnar isn't the only one who is tolerating the new Shay. No, no many others have shared in this new universe. 


Bethany (I hope she wont hate me for the shout-out) quietly listens when I am yelling and the stupid mini van who cut me off AGAIN, and even agrees with me on the fact the mini-vans should not be street legal in the US. I mean really? You choose a mini van?? She even LIKES my new pink in my hair that was originally just a short term choice turned into long term personal identity trait. 


I think my epiphany came when I explained to Gunnar one night that I don't think tattoos are THAT bad.  I mean, at least they are not CHANGING a persons features the way that those creepy plastic surgeons claim.  He listened, pondered and simply said "no, Shay, you cannot get a tattoo." No freak outs, no words of dissent just simple toleration. 


So when will this end? Maybe never.  I just count my lucky stars that I have enough people that love me enough to tolerate my idiosyncrasies.  Because without them.. who knows, I could have joined the circus as the tattoo lady and renamed myself Wanda. The world is my oyster and I intend to seize it! 




(PS I am sorry for any of those reading who have a mini van. When I say sorry I don't mean I feel sorry, I just feel sorry that you OWN a mini van :) 

Timing is Everything

Timing. One miss step, hiccup, pause or changing of events can completely  change the outcome of your life, a countries ultimate destiny and even change humanity itself.  One move or altercation in a different way can change so much. In history how many battles have been won by the army that had too few men, low supplies and disadvantage? How could Rome be defeated by a bunch of  barbarians?  How could a bunch of farm men and blacksmiths defeat the British Army?  When there is so much at stake how do things get placed so certainly without knowledge of the future consequences? In fact just one vote was the difference between the US becoming a German speaking country.   WHO KNEW?!


As I look back, one change in which Institute class I signed up for could have changed my entire life.  Who knows, I could be still looking for that someone special? One last minuet change in decision for Gunnar's work and we could be living in some far off country.  A decision of which Doctor to choose to try to get pregnant and we could still be just us.  The right house for sale at the right time when we were looking could have changed where we would be living? Just think.... we could be living in MESA! Oh, the possibilities! 


 The more you think about this topic the more paranoid you get.  The realization that we don't have any control over what goes on in our lives.  Our lives can and do change in one instant, second, minuet.  The comfort is in who is in charge.  Our Lord, knows us and knows our potentials, our limits, our minds and our lives. He placed strong men that lead those untrained yet valiant men into battle against the British.  He gave this country the brilliant minds that it needed to flourish and prosper. He guided me to take that Institute class (I can't even remember which one it was, I was a little distracted by the blonde RM sitting next to me.) He has given us guided inspiration to make the decisions we need to make and many times when we don't even know it.  


Here are some reflections of His guided inspiration in my life...
Oh, PS I don't have any wedding pics on my computer or else they would be here...

Just before we found out we were pregnant with Britta

Self explanatory...

This picture doesn't quite grasp the 'essence' of Britta. 

This one does.

We miss you Winter...
We have no decent family photos since Sedona.... 

School. It has saved our lives!

The cutest girls in Britta's playgroup!

I don't even know why I choose this picture but,
It may be my favorite one of her. 

I love how excited McKay looks in this pic!

It's not hard to find your guided inspiration.  All you have to do is look around you.