Children will make love stronger, days shorter, nights longer, home happier, the past forgotten, and the future worth living for.
Austin kept us entertained while we waited for our food
We had yummy pancakes, eggs and toast. And to top it off with some yummy maple syrup compliments from Dan and Debbie. Thanks!
mmmmmmmmmmmm
Austin keep asking "mmm dat?" (What's that?)
Getting ready to go outside, but not excited how long it took mom to put on all his gear.
Frolicking in the snow
Making sure the snow is every where
Finally making the decision to go down the slide, head first of course.
We love snow days, especially because they are few and far between!3. What are you naming your baby?
Well to answer the all popular #3 question...many of you know Paul and I are incessant planners. We already have planned how many kiddos we want (6) and all of them are named (first and middle names). So far we have 4 boy names and 2 girl names. The problem is that the names aren't assigned to birth order. We prefer to see the baby first and then pick from our pool of names without any outside influence besides inspiration.
This time around we know we have 3 boys names left so we decided we were going to write all 3 on seperate post-it notes and let Austin pick one of them in the hospital. This will be his first offical big brother task.
It doesn't stop there...he can also climb in the pack n play, the swings and the bassinet.
Oh boy are we in for it!
16 more days!!!!!
with a little help from daddy at the end for safety. He was so proud of himself.
Holding on for dear life as he went down the slide.
Daddy also holding on for dear life.
Daddy teaching Austin about tether ball, apparently Paul was some sort of champion in Junior High.
Nothing completes the day like running down the hill and falling into mud, thank goodness for washing machines!
that's a lot of hair
After...not to bad and NO tears!
Happy boy, happy mom! 
Then we went to build a tower as big as we could only to knock it down!
Some of the workers helped Austin build a ramp for his ball, he was playing with this for about an hour. He loves balls!
We also did a little painting
and finished the day off by playing with more balls.
Turn your head to the right, mouth is open trying to take in his forearm
3d of his chubby cheeks, so kissable already
resting his head on his forearm, if you look closely you can see his fingers :-)
I can't believe he is almost here. Austin has kept m so busy that it seems that this pregnancy has gone by so fast. We can't wait to meet him!
So I started going to different churches. Never really asking questions but thought it might be a good place to start. So I would spend the night at friends houses and go with them and their families to church the next morning. Still didn't find my answer, but I guess that's hard when your not vocalizing your questions. Again I was only 15 so I probably wasn't ready to receive what ever answer would come my way. So I continued on this plan of going to different churches for a couple of years.
Then when I was 17 I was invited by my then boyfriend and other friends from high school to come to their church, The Church of Jesus Christ of Later-day Saints, otherwise known as the Mormon church. I responded with "sure" as I did all of my other invitations. When we were in Sacrament meeting it felt different. It felt calm and comforting. I went on the first Sunday of the month, which at this church meant that people from the congregation could bear their testimonies. I thought it was so amazing that all types of people young and old would get up and profess how they knew this church was true and share a spiritual experience they had. I wasn't sure but I wanted to know more. So I found the missionaries and invited them to my home to teach me more.
Most people recognize missionaries as Elders (young men) but in the area that we lived in we had sisters who were serving a mission. They came to my home and taught me about a boy, Joseph Smith, who like me questioned religion and was trying to figure out which church was right. They taught me I was a daughter of God and that he was aware of me and loved me, they told me there was a savior, Jesus Christ, who not only was sent here to atone for our sins but lead a life that was the best example for us that included charity, service and love. They taught me about an additional set of scripture, the Book of Mormon (stories and events that took place in the Americas). Everything they taught me seemed to fall into place. It all made sense
(For more information on our faith or FAQ's please visit mormon.org)
They taught me all the introductory doctrines of the church. They told me they knew it was true and bore their testimony to me but then told me not to believe on their words but that I had to find out for myself. They taught me how to recognize the spirit (the third member in of the godhead who bears truth) OK, so how do i do that...Well that night I knelt down in prayer...I have prayed before but this time I really wanted an answer and I prayed with all of my heart. Heavenly Father nor Jesus Christ appeared in my room...there was no angel but I did receive an answer that night. It was quite but shook me to my core. In an instant I knew that was the spirit telling me it was of God and that I had found what I was looking for. I knew everything they taught me and everything that I would learn along the way was true and I had to be apart of it. I knew the truth or at least where it was.
11 years ago (I was 17) I was baptized. A choice that would not only effect my life but the family that I would one day create. It's been 11 years since I was baptised and I believe every bit of it as I had then if not more. I am so thankful for those who were an example to me and helped me on my journey. I am thankful for my parent's who may not of understood why I was doing it but supported me anyways. But most of all I am thankful for a loving Heavenly Father that put events and people into my path that would lead me to the truth. I am thankful for a loving Savior who would save a sinner like me. I am thankful that everyday I can try to be better than yesterday. I may not be perfect and probably never will be but through the gospel of Jesus Christ I have been given the tools to help me become better and help me find away back into the presence of God and be with my family forever!
and now he is a big boy wow!
Mom I want to use this color
Putting his crayons away when we were all done
