OH MY GOSH! Tell me it isn't so...

My computer crashed. It was fine one night, and the next morning, everything was gone. Dave looked at it before leaving for work and realized it wasn't a quick fix and said he'd look at it when he got home (this was last Thursday). So Thursday night he was working on it when I went to bed and the last thing I remember him telling me was "I think the hard drive is toast." It may seem silly to you that I didn't sleep a wink that night, but let me just tell you...MY LIFE IS ON THAT COMPUTER! Most importantly, 7 years worth of pictures are on that computer. I know, I know...did you back them up somewhere else? Well, I did make discs up to 2006. So technically I've only lost 2 years of pictures. But that is still so much. I now have no pictures of Ava's 1st year of life, except for the ones I'd already printed for her scrapbook (which is a small fraction compared to what I actually snapped.) So Friday Dave took the hard drive into work to test it on a machine there. I feel bad for the pressure I put on him. I was pretty intense in telling him that if he could save anything, save my pictures and my contacts. I stressed over and over and poor guy...it's not like it's his fault. So, long story short...the conclusion he has reached up to this point is this...the hard drive may not be gone after all! He thinks it may just be the control board (?) on the hard drive. So he found another hard drive on ebay (you know, since ours is 7-8 years ancient) and we are waiting for it to arrive. Then he's going to switch out the control board and hopefully my life will still exist as I know it! I know this may seem a little overly dramatic to you, but my pictures mean so much to me and the thought of them being gone just crushes me. So we are waiting. And this has been the longest week of waiting. In the mean time, I've had to use Dave's laptop. I don't like laptops. So, for those of you out there...as of right now, I don't have any of your email addresses, phone numbers, and many addresses. I'm not going to have you send me that info just yet though. Please just know that I haven't completely fallen off the face of the earth and I'm not ignoring you if you've tried to reach me. I'm trying to stay calm and have high hopes that everything is going to be fine and my sweet sweet husband is going to tell me those 3 little magic words that I anticipate hearing...."Yes, everything's here!" Pray for me! (Is it silly that I've never prayed for anything harder in my life?!) I will keep you posted...

My "Tiny Dancer"...

is growing up so fast! Ella's dance recital was this weekend. It was busy; we had to be there early Friday afternoon for a full dress rehearsal and the recital was Saturday evening. She was so worn out after it was all over; but she danced so beautifully! We are so proud of her and all she has learned. It's very exciting for us to watch her develop talents and find things that she enjoys. Several times throughout the recital I thought about my Grandma Ella and know how proud she also would have been of our little Ella (she reminds me of her in so many ways). I'm sure she was smiling down on her! Here are a few pictures...I know the stage ones aren't very good, but that's not going to stop me from blogging them or scrapping them!

Tap first...

With her tap teacher, Ms. Christina


Then ballet...

As fast as she seems to be growing up, I love this picture of her holding on to her daddy. She is still very much, and always will be, our little girl. We love you Ella LeiAnne!

Holy Cow!

I post long blogs! Sorry! I guess I just like to give lots of details so you can really get the picture! I bet I could write a whole book on hardly anything at all! Oh well....

Angels

I wish I had taken a picture of the 2 that visited me last night, but it is a picture that will forever be fixated in my mind. They came in the form of visiting teachers. Overall, yesterday really was a great mother's day, but our family was kinda out of sorts the whole day. Among other things, I think the main reason was that our church schedule changed from 8:30 am to 2:30 pm. So by the time church was over we were all hungry and tired. We went straight to my parents house for dinner, but while we were there I started feeling sick. We left around 8 pm. On the way home Ella started a tantrum because she was hungry (in all her excitement to be with her cousins, she didn't really eat much dinner) and Dave was tired and not feeling too well either. We got home, I ran to the bathroom because I was all of a sudden feeling REALLY sick, and Dave was getting Ava and all our stuff unloaded from the car. Ella's tantrum was full blown by this point (our rule is that dinner is when we eat, and that's that...no snacks or anything later.) Dave sent her to her room to get jammies and stay in there until he was able to go "deal with her." Just as he was unloading everything, my visiting teachers showed up. I forgot that one of them said she had something for me that she wanted to bring by and that I was supposed to call her when we got home. I didn't call (honestly, I had forgotten, plus we had JUST pulled in) and she showed up anyways (about 45 minutes after I told her I'd be home...she would have missed us if she came when I told her we'd be here) with her companion. Dave warned them that I wasn't feeling well, we had just rolled in, and the house was a mess....but come on in! They did. And when I came out, they were picking up the living room for me. I'm sure they heard Ella and could sense what was going on. Dave went to make a bottle for Ava, and handed her to me with her jammies and diaper. Just as quickly, sweet Jarah took Ava from me and changed her and got her ready for bed. In the mean time, Inga was in Ella's room talking to her and totally had her calmed down. (I'm sure Ella would have been mortified had she known they could hear her!) I didn't hear another word from Ella about dinner or having a hungry tummy or anything. Next thing I knew she was in jammies on her way to brush her teeth. Inga read her a night time story while Jarah and I chatted and gave Ava her bottle. Then Dave took Ava back and Ella followed and they were both in bed for the night! My v.t. shared a message with me about mothers and left me with a yummy treat and a mothers day card. They left and Dave and I both hit the sack, just before 9:00. Oh, and right after they left, Ella came out of her room, gave me another hug and kiss, very sweetly wished me a happy mother's day and then promptly went right back to bed. HOLY COW! I really do believe it was inspiration that brought them to my house last night. They calmed the storm that was brewin'! And they brought the spirit with them, which if I'm being honest may have been gone from me by this point! It was Mother's Day. They have families of their own; they are both mothers and this day was just as much about them as it was me and here they were in my house serving this sick, tired mom. I don't know if they know what an impact they made last night. I woke up this morning still in awe about what they did for me and with a desire to express my gratitude to a loving Heavenly Father who knows us so well and blesses us so richly. These two ladies have been my visiting teachers for a very long time now and have become dear friends to me. While these sisters are amazing women, I don't know that I would have developed such relationships with them had it not been for the visiting teaching program. We are so blessed by the programs our church has in place and are so grateful that Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ are the head of these programs. I know that it is because of them that these two ladies came to my home last night and provided the strength that I needed at that very moment. Thank you to my 2 angels! I love you both so much!

BOYS ARE GREAT!

I got this email from my sister the other day. It made me laugh and made me feel better and I thought it'd be fun to share it. Also, just to clarify...It's not that I don't like little boys or think that I couldn't love a boy, I KNOW I will adore him! But boys certainly are different from little girls and there are a few things that scare me out of my mind. However, as I've had some time for it to all sink in, I am finding myself getting more and more excited. So here's part of my sister's email and the 10 ten list of things she came up with to look forward to with a baby boy:

Per Noelle:
"Just remember, you HAVE to have a sense of humor! Here it goes:

10. Little boys like to stick things up their noses (beans, m&m's, dog food). Sounds gross, and it will freak you out, but looking back, you'll laugh about it!

9. Little boys are drawn to mud and puddles. They get wet and dirty after you've reminded them not to, but it's innate, and you learn to appreciate how they are created.

8. Little boys do not whine. They may yell, holler, and scream to get your attention, but they do not whine!

7. They climb. Anything they can. It may require trips to the emergency room when they've cut themselves open, but they just can't help it. And you learn to appreciate their athleticism and cute little muscular legs.

6. Little boys look so handsome when they get a haircut (by a REAL barber, not by mom). The barber combs their little bangs over and they look like little men in little boy bodies.

5. They don't care AT ALL what they wear! They have no concept of matching. They don't even care if their shirts are inside out AND backwards. There is never a fuss over what they will wear to school that day. If mom lays it out, they put it on.

4. Have I mentioned the hair? In the summer, you just shave their heads to keep them cool. That makes combing hair really easy! No standing in front of the mirror to get it "just right."

3. There is no such thing as an accessory. No belts, bracelets, matching hairbows, or even shoes. In fact, little boys only need two pairs of shoes: one for play and one for church.

2. You get to be a real soccer mom. Sure, you could be a soccer mom with little girls, but something tells me it's just not the same. There's something so fun about driving a car full of little boys to a baseball or soccer game.

1. They love their moms more than anything in the world. They may get upset at times, but they get over it quickly. When they are hurt or sad or sick, all they want is to be in their mom's arms. There is never a question as to whether a little boy loves his mom!

Okay, so there it is. I could go on and on. I'm very excited for you. I always say it only takes one shopping trip to get excited about your baby!"

Thank you Noelle! I have read this SEVERAL times since you sent it the other day! A few other things I have been told or thought about that I look forward to...

"You are in for an education!" ~ Our pediatrician, Dr. Wardell
"If they aren't hitting or kicking it, they are jumping off of it!" ~ Inga
"Camping trips, peeing on the wall, or peeing your name in the sand…Remarkable things that only little boys can do!" ~ Anjanette
My mom pointed out to me that this is my little priesthood holder. That excites me! I'm going to have my own missionary! And I will also have someone (besides Dave!) to help get the nasty bugs out that find their way in the house (except for when he's the one bringing them in!). And he won't change clothes 10 times a day like other members of our family like to do! And Dave will finally have someone to help with his house chores, like mowing the lawn! Even better, Dave will have a sidekick to teach all the cool things that he knows about...like fixing cars and other "manly" things! Mostly, I am banking on having a momma's boy that thinks the world revolves around me! My girls do now, but I don't know how long that will last. I have 2 brothers that are still big time momma's boys, so I know that it can last a lifetime! It's one less wedding to pay for and one more mission to pay for! And though he is a little brother, my girls will still have a protective brother that will always want what's best for them!

I'm sure I will be able to come up with even more as time goes on. Thanks to all of you that have been so excited for me and shared your enthusiasm! It's contagious! I can't wait!

IT'S A.....

BOY!!! BOY!!! BOY!!! BOY!!! BOY!!! BOY!!! BOY!!! BOY!!! BOY!!! BOY!!! BOY!!! BOY!!! BOY!!! BOY!!! BOY!!!

One year old and wiser too...

Here's my cute birthday girl! Friday, May 2nd was Ava's 1st birthday! We had her party that night and it was so much fun! Things have been hectic lately so this party got put together pretty quickly. In an effort to be an equal opportunity mom though(I went all out for Ella's 1st birthday), I tried to make it a special one for her. I know I know, it's not like she'll remember, right? I disagree though. She won't remember but she will have a lifetime of looking back at pictures. So take it from the 4th child, the day will come that she will know! And I want her to look back and know that her 1st birthday was a special one. Plus, mom loves to throw a party!!! Everything was light pink and bright pink with touches of white, with a teddy bear theme because she is our little snuggly bear! I have to add a special thank you to my friend Jennifer who made Ava's birthday dress and bow. I thought it was just perfect! And so did our guests! You're awesome Jennifer!

This was Ava's cake. Unfortunately I didn't get a picture of the cake for the guests. It was a sheet cake with white frosting, a light pink border and pink polka dots and it said "Happy Birthday Ava!" Then I made another one of these little bears to go on the big cake for all the guests.

I made these little candies to add a little touch to the teddy bear theme.

I've made suckers for all kinds of parties, and did them this time as party favors...but I stole this idea of how to display them from my friend Amy. She is amazingly talented and crafty. I made two of them and used them as centerpieces. Thanks for the great idea Amy!

Opening presents! The wrapping is always more fun than the present, don't you agree!?

I was a little bummed that I didn't get a better picture of her birthday hat...but it's still cute!

Getting ready for cake! Ava definitely had her cake and ate it too! She wasn't even a little bit shy about digging in and was pretty oblivious to all those around her laughing and taking pictures!

Hmmm, what's this?!

Let's use both hands!

Yeah!



"Eat it like you mean it!" is what Ava's boy cousins kept telling her. I think this picture depicts that well!



Wow!

Ava was so happy and definitely sugared up after such a special treat! I wish I could know what she was thinking. I was surprised how much she actually ate and how little of a mess she actually made (which you may not be able to tell from this picture!) Very little cake fell down in her seat or on the ground, none in her hair. She really did pretty good at getting it in her mouth!

I can't believe my baby is one! That past year has gone way too fast. We sure do love our Ava Joy though and are so grateful to have her in our family. She has brought us so much happiness and joy and truly does make our lives brighter every day. Happy birthday baby girl!! We love you SOOO much!