And Lilly makes 3...

So I guess 5 weeks isn't too late to finally getting to write up the report of Lilly's entrance into the world.  My dad took the time to write up the story of my birth and it is one of my favorite things to read/look at in my "file."  So here goes nothing...


Thursday, April 21st


Pret and I had been in the middle of watching  a movie for the last few days and we finally took the time to finish it  this night.  No contractions, no cramping, no nothing as we cuddled on the couch.


Went to bed about 11:00.  Pret was only planning on working till 11 or so the next day and had big plans for getting rock to fill in our parking strips (including having reserved a dump truck) and I was just excited that I had figured out what had happened to the camera I had ordered (it had literally become a "ghost order" at Best Buy), so I felt like baby could come now.


Friday, April 22nd.


2:45 am     Pret woke up to go to the bathroom.  I figured I was awake, I might as well go myself.  No indication of contractions...


3:45 am    Woke up thinking I had dreamed I was having contractions, then felt one start, so I guess I had been (maybe 3 or 4, not a lot and obviously not too strong...)  Figured I would get up and go to the bathroom again since I was awake, but as I slowly rolled over to sit up, I had a weird sensation that I had just peed my pants.  I got a little anxious as the thought hit me that I maybe my water just broke.  I went to the bathroom and checked--my underwear and pants were soaked, and it didn't so much smell like urine...  I went back into the bedroom for a change of bottoms and I grabbed my phone so I could call my sister, Melanie (who is a post-partum nurse and was at work) to see what I should do.


3:56     Was in the midst of another contraction (they were about 6 minutes apart at this point) and called Mel.  Since I knew I wanted to go naturally, I also knew that I wanted to labor at home as long as possible, so I was not in a rush to go to the hospital, but also knew that medical advice says to get to the hospital as quickly as possible after your water breaks.  So I asked Mel and she and the L&D nurse near her both advised me to get there quick.  I hummed and hawed and said I would get there as quickly as I could (ha!).


4:15    Had posted on Facebook (I seriously had people stalking me to know when I was going into labor...), sent a few emails, and finally realized that I had soaked through this pair of underwear as well, so figured I would go tell Pret and then take a shower.


4:20    Woke up Pret to let him know my water had broken.  First words out of his mouth (and please don't hold this against him--I find it hilarious!) "Are you sh--ing me?"  Needless to say, he is not one who likes to be woken up in the middle of the night.  He also lamented the fact that "what was he going to do about the dump truck?!?!"  I told him to go back to sleep while I showered and got ready, then I would wake him to shower.


4:25  Went in the bathroom and cried  (Pret doesn't know that--sorry Love.  It just took me an emotional minute to adjust to your "rude awakening.")  But then started getting anxious again as I showered and thought about what was happening.  Contractions moving to about 5 minutes apart...


4:45  Knew that I wouldn't be able to eat during labor once I got to the hospital, I had a bowl of cereal.  Lucky I did because I didn't get to eat again until about noon.  Now I wish that I had drunk a gallon of water, too!  I called Brenda (my mother-in-law) and Shannon (my sister) to let them know the day was here!  Told them we'd call again on our way to the hospital since they are both about the dame distance from the hospital as us.


5:00  Pret finally got up (said he hadn't been sleeping well since I woke him up to tell him--poor baby!) and showered as I started trying to gather things up (I had a bag packed already, but still was double-checking things and adding here and taking-away here).  I had also bought a Boppy-type pillow, but could not, and STILL CAN'T find it.


5:30  Made waffles for Pret, knowing that he would be without food for a while, too.  Contractions coming about 4 minutes apart...


6:00  Packed-up the car, hoping that we had everything that we would need.  Before we left, though, Pret had to wake-up our tenant next door to let him know we wouldn't be around to have him pay rent.  Pret spent 5 minutes knocking and ringing to get him to the door!


6:30  Arrived at the hospital at the same time as Shannon.  Nervously checked in with contractions about 3 minutes apart.


At this point, I pretty much lost track of time.  They got me into the delivery room and the nurse proceeded with the background questions.  She wanted to check my progress and asked about my water.  Pret and I exchanged a look as I told her that my water had already broken.  She said, "Well, we'll see about that."  This really upset Pret as he was mad that she wasn't believing me.  She did check me and "sure enough" my water had broken (?!?!?) and I was dilated to a 5/6 and about 80% effaced.  I was offered an epidural at this point, but I stuck to my guns and declined politely.  :-)

All decked out--actually happy between contractions!

My contractions moved to be about 2 minutes apart.  I knew I needed to start relaxing a little bit more.  I asked for a "birthing ball" (a non-glorified yoga ball) and that really did help.  Pret and I started some calming music and then I asked for a bath.

Shannon laughed at our "tech labor" of browsing during labor...
Really, we were just trying to get iTunes up and started!

So from the time I got to the hospital, I had started peeing and pooping like crazy (normal, I guess!)  I was shocked!  Well, as Shannon had started filling the bathtub, I went to pee one more time and while I was sitting on the pot, I had the sudden urge to PUSH!  I had heard/read that when you feel you need to push, you will know and it is like no other feeling.  SO TRUE!  The nurse told me that I shouldn't be pushing yet, but I basically said, "Too bad!"  Everyone encouraged me to NOT take a bath now and that my progress should be checked.  So up on the table I went, not to depart for a few hours.

When the nurse checked me again, I was up to an 8, and still feeling the need to push.  I hadn't done any breathing training (oops...), so everyone was trying to get me through it.  I have ALWAYS hated breathing in through my nose while exerting myself (I know, bad running technique), so it was really hard for me to do that during the contractions/pushing.  I kept yelling at everyone that I felt like I was going to pass out...

Everyone reassuring me that I was not going to pass out--they did appease me with and oxygen mask, though.

So my contractions had progressed to about 1 1/2 minutes apart and I was pretty much pushing every time.  I was SO thirsty in between but all they would let me have was ice cubes (at least they were the fun round ones!)  I begged for them!  I was also getting really hot while pushing, so Brenda was kind enough to apply cool, wet clothes all over my face to cool me off.  

Yes, that is my brown baby blanket next to me.  I knew I would want some comfort during the process.  It came in quite handy as I was trying to breastfeed later on.

So, just to give you a little background to how crazy the day as a whole was, there were 8 other deliveries that morning!  That is huge for this hospital.  My doctor was down south for the weekend, so it was up to the on-call Dr. to deliver my baby.  My contractions were progressing quickly and the nurse informed us that she did not want to deliver my baby, so she had Brenda push the call button to have the Dr sent to my room.  I kept contracting and pushing and the nurse had her do it again just a few minutes later to make sure that the Dr would be there.  


And just to give those of you who have not experience contractions before a glimpse of what it feels like, imagine the WORST gas pains while constipated (not that I would know how that  feels or anything...) and DOUBLE it, and maybe you'll get close.


So finally the Dr came in and they told me to try TWO pushes per contractions.  Enough already and just get this baby out of me!  The Dr let me know that I had just a tiny bit more to stretch and then I would be good, or she could cut me for an episiotomy.  That was a DEFINITE NO!  She kind of chuckled and I had a few more contractions and she let me know that it was ready.  


Pret, at this point, had seen the head and let me know there was lots of dark hair.  At one point, when I was really struggling with contractions, I caught his eyes and just stared at him intensely to help me through.  He was about the only one that I made eye contact and it was so reassuring to have him there and supporting me.  You can't really tell in any of the pictures, but even his shirt is a "Top Gun Wingman" shirt--he filled the part perfectly!  Previously the Dr had talked to him and let him know that  once the baby was delivered he had two jobs:  1)  tell everyone the gender and 2) cut the cord.


Finally, the moment was arriving.  I was ready!  I pushed and the head came out and then I didn't really even have to push for the body to come through.  Baby didn't really cry too much, surprisingly.  Pret was so taken aback (he really thought it was going to be a boy...) that he forgot to say what it was until the Dr. prompted him--"It's a GIRL!"  Then he was right there with our Lilly for the next hour or so...  It was really neat to have her there on my chest right away, but very surreal!  And about all I could think about was her HAIR!

Pret wasn't sure if he was going to cut the cord or not, but then his medical instincts kicked in and he couldn't resist.  I am glad that he got that moment...   I am glad that I had a smile on my face in this picture!

I guess that she was fussing a little bit.  Pret was over with her as they did all the initial checks and stuff.  I was a little pre-occupied with what the Dr was doing to me afterwards.  

 Lilly Arienne Dahlgren
Friday, April 22, 2011, 6 lbs, 11.5 oz; 19 1/2 in

Dad and Grandma Brenda went with Lilly for her first bath and shots.  Pret says she screamed through most of the bath--at least until she got her head washed!

Just chillin' after my first bath!

They brought her back to me after her bath and we tried feeding for the first time.  She had a little trouble latching on that sadly continued until I got some help the next morning.  She still won't feed without a few "accessories" for Mom, but when she does, she sure does!  Although she did NOT want to wake up to eat!  I can think of only once that I actually knew she was hungry and wanting to eat on schedule instead of me just trying to force her.

Lilly's first visitors were her cousin Katie and Uncle Michael who brought her a Cala Lily!  Katie is going to be a champion babysitter for us!  Thanks ahead of time, Kate.  :-)

Other guests at the hospital included "Uncle" Tyler and "Uncle" Steve, our friends who will be around enough that they get an "honorary" title; Jeff, Tanya, and future beau Nathaniel; my assistant principal, Jodi and her daughter Kennady; Roy, Beth and second future beau Finn; and of course, Papa (Dan) Dahlgren.

Not the first time he held her, but the first "Proud Papa" moment for Pret.  He's a great Dad.

I know it's blurry, but this was the first night as I had just tried feeding Lilly.  At the hospital they glue cute flowers on the hats of the girls so they can quickly identify the gender.  

Friday night, Pret had gone home and was trying to tidy up the house a little bit when he discovered his arch nemesis--ANTS--had invaded our house.  Every year Pret has spent hours trying to keep the ants and earwigs from coming into our home.  He had even sprayed once this year, but they had gotten past his barrier.  So he was up until 1:00 Saturday morning trying to get everything sprayed so it would have a chance to air out through Saturday and Sunday morning before we brought Lilly home.  He is such a hard worker!  


One of my Catholic co-workers pointed out to me that Pret and I were married on Good Friday in 2006 and then Lilly was born on Good Friday 2011.  I'm not sure that our budget can handle any more "special days" in the spring (Pret's birthday is 2/28, my birthday is 3/30, and our anniversary is 4/14), so I hope we haven't started a permanent trend.  But it was definitely a GOOD Friday for sure!

Grandpa "Papa" Dahlgren and Grandma Dahlgren

Papa admiring Lilly's hair, or is that Uncle Chad there?  Here, Dan looks so much like Pret's brother, Chad, it is almost scary!  :-)

Saturday, while Mom and Lilly chilled in the hospital with visits by Aunt Shannon and Grandma and Grandpa, Dad was busy at home with the dump-truck and rock.  He had been able to re-arrange the rental and worked hard all day hauling and shoveling rock.  He finally got back to the hospital around 9. We cuddled up on the bed together and watched the first half of "How to Train Your Dragon" before we both started falling asleep, so he went home for a better night's rest in our bed.

Cuddling with his little girl after a hard day working!

Ready for my first trip in the cars eat.  I am so tiny that Mom and Dad thought they would break me getting me in!  And the Binky is almost bigger than my face!  

The cute outfit Grandma Dahlgren got me "in case" I was a girl so I wouldn't have to come home from the hospital naked, with my Easter Bunny socks from cousin Kate.

We knew we had to leave the ease of the hospital on Sunday.  Pret went to Church, then did some arranging for showing the other half of our duplex (oh yes, amidst all of the other craziness in our life, our tenant was moving out and we were trying to find new renters...).  He came to pick us up around 1 and then we were home by 2.

Dad's first snuggle with Lilly in the rocker after we got home.

Our friend, Tyler, had "broken in" to our house while we were at the hospital and stocked it full of about 10 Easter Lilies (the ones in the purple wrappers).  It was beautiful to come home to.  Grandma Brenda brought us the bright carnations on the left and our friend Jim had sent a bouquet of Tiger Lilies to the hospital as well.  The flowers in the middle are ones that Pret had gotten me for our anniversary.  

So I made this picture extra big so you can see the expression on Pret's face!  It was totally un-intentional, I just caught him in the middle of a normal expression, but it was too funny!  I think that about summed up Pret's feelings of having Lilly home and knowing that she is "ours!" (Especially when she is crying like that!)

Pret worked hard with the dump truck again on the next Saturday.  I need to get pictures of the finished product to show.

Let the Predicting Begin...

So I just went for my 39 week appointment.  Staying strong at a dilation of 4, but effacement has increased to 90%!  I am measuring a little bit small (only about 37-38 cm), but the Dr. doesn't seem concerned...


So, I guess there are a few things to predict:


Weight
Length
Due Date
Delivery Time
How long I will be in labor (please be nice!)
Oh yeah, and GENDER!


So, I encourage you to have fun in your predictions and we'll see who gets the closest...

Maternity pictures

So my dad came and did maternity pictures for me back in March.  It was a really fun experience.  We set up in our living room.  He is planning on coming again right after the baby is born and will hopefully get to do some fun, cute newborn pictures for us.  

I love the coloring on this one.

This one is just so gentle looking...

Same picture, just with some color.  Can't decide which I like better.

My friend Megan came over to help with the shoot.  My dad caught her in a great candid moment.  I love it!

I've had this one for a while--first one my dad edited.  Love the light on my hair.

The look on my face just captivates me.  

I love this one; I just wish that the angle of my glasses was a little bit different.  I just feel so relaxed.

A definite favorite.  

I feel like I look huge in the picture--more what I would look like now.  But I still love it.

Again, I look huge, but this is probably my favorite picture.  The dots do make you go a little cross-eyed, but it is just a cute picture!

Thanks so much, Dad!  I love them all!  How blessed I am to have such a talented father.

Birthday Fun (and not so fun)

So the 30th was my 29th birthday!  I really can't believe that I am that old.  Not that I feel old, it just doesn't seem like I have lived that many years.  The scariest thing is to think that I was only 22 when I started teaching.  I can't believe that all those parents trusted me with their students at only 22!  And now those kids are in 6th grade!  I guess parents survived (and the students did too!)


I had a very relaxing day.  I didn't make a big deal about it at school--in fact I don't know that even half of my students figured out that it was my birthday.  I have been more excited about the baby, and they have too.  I left school early, visited at my sister's for a few minutes, did some window shopping (I forgot my coupon, so I figured I would buy later), then went home and put my feet up.


I couldn't decide whether I wanted Red Robin or Texas Roadhouse for dinner.  For TR, we would have had to be on the ball and there by 6 in order to get the early bird dinner and neither of us felt like rushing.  So we went to Red Robin and had some delicious Raspberry Limeades (they are bottomless and delicious!).  Pret got a burger and I got fish and chips.  We also got a small order of onion rings to share.  Our waitress (Lauren, at The District) was fabulous! 


Then we went home and watched the most recent episode of Modern Family and then I fell asleep while Pret did some stuff around the house.  All was great and it was a wonderful night with Pret.


Until...about 4:00 in the morning.  That's when all that greasy stuff finally caught up to me, and I was miserable.  I didn't know whether I wanted to throw up, let it all out the bottom, or just go into labor (my thoughts of a natural birth, as excited as I am about attempting that, were sounding a lot better than the discomfort I was feeling right about then).  With everything all squished in there, I could feel the food pass from my stomach into my intestines.  Luckily before I left for school, it ALL passed through me and I was feeling like a spry, pregnant 29-year-old once more.  


Lesson:  As much as you want to eat all things good for your birthday, when 36 weeks pregnant, you may want to avoid a meal made up only of fried foods.

Let the Countdown Begin!

Yesterday I had my 34 week appointment.  That means I only have 6 weeks to expected delivery...  Two months was a nice milestone, but 6 weeks to me feels almost like less than a month, I am not sure why...  It is also less than 50 days (42 to be exact) so that seems like "nothing" as well. 

Even better than that, is that I only have 5 weeks of teaching left.  This has been a trying year, as many of you know.  I think the Lord is letting me know that teaching will not last forever and it's OK if I want to move on.  Now, I am not quitting teaching forever or anything.  But next year will look a little bit different for me.  I won't be teaching full-day kindergarten anymore, nor will I likely be at Sandy Elementary.  The latter is most sad for me as I have grown to love the faculty and the community as a whole.  It will be hard to say goodbye to many of the families--some I have taught 3 students and would teach more if I stayed. 

But there is another plan in store for me and I look forward to finding out what that is.  Of course I know a great part of it will be motherhood and I am very excited about that.  But as for the school, the grade, the subject of where I will next year, it's a great unknown! 

Amazing Story

Some of you may know that I LOVE high school football.  Last fall I convinced one of my Beehives to go with me to the West Jordan football game under the guise that we were going to watch one of the Laurels in the color guard at half-time (which we did and she did a great job) but really it was just so I could watch the game.

Anyway, I was forwarded this story and accompanying video clip from a friend and ended up crying through the last half of it.  What an amazing story.  This is about the only time I wish I lived in Texas so I could cheer on the Gainesville State School every week.

The text tells the story and a few other details, but even if you read, it is worth it to watch, too.

"There was an unusual high school football game played in Grapevine,   Texas .  The game was between Grapevine   Faith Academy and the Gainesville   State School .  Faith is a Christian school and Gainesville State School is located within a maximum security correction facility. 

Gainesville State School has 14 players. They play every game on the  road. Their record was 0-8. They've only scored twice. Their 14 players  are teenagers who have been convicted of crimes ranging from drugs to assault to robbery. Most had families who had disowned them.  They wore  outdated, used shoulder pads and helmets. Faith Academy was 7-2. They  had 70 players, 11 coaches, and the latest equipment. 

Chris Hogan, the head coach at Faith Academy , knew the Gainesville team  would have no fans and it would be no contest, so he thought, “What if half of our fans and half of our cheerleaders, for one night only,  cheered for the other team?” He sent out an email to the faithful asking them to do just that. “Here’s the message I want you to send,”  Hogan wrote. “You’re just as valuable as any other person on the   planet.” 

Some folks were confused and thought he was nuts. One player said,  “Coach, why are we doing this?” Hogan said, “Imagine you don’t have a home life, no one to love you, no one pulling for you. Imagine that everyone pretty much had given up on you. Now, imagine what it would  feel like and mean to you for hundreds of people to suddenly believe in you.” 

The idea took root. On the night of the game, imagine the surprise of  those 14 players when they took the field and there was a banner the  cheerleaders had made for them to crash through. The visitors’ stands were full. The cheerleaders were leading cheers for them. The fans were  calling them by their names. Isaiah, the quarterback-middle linebacker said, “I never in my life thought I would hear parents cheering to  tackle and hit their kid. Most of the time, when we come out, people are  afraid of us. You can see it in their eyes, but these people are yelling  for us. They knew our names.” 

Faith won the game, and after the game the teams gathered at the 50-yard  line to pray. That’s when Isaiah, the teenage convict-quarterback surprised everybody and asked if he could pray. he prayed, “Lord, I  don’t know what just happened so I don’t know how or who to say thank  you to, but I never knew there were so many people in the world who cared about us.”  On the way back to the bus, under guard, each one of  the players was handed a burger, fries, a coke, candy, a Bible, and an  encouraging letter from the players from Faith Academy."

Hope you all enjoyed it!

Infulenza

Yes, it's true.  I got the dreaded influenza bug!  I am really not surprised as I had 4 students out over the course of 3 1/2 weeks with it, plus a very high-stress classroom on top of that, so I think it was bound to happen.  At first I thought it was just a chest cold and would have stuck with that if my OB/GYN had not pretty much insisted that I go get tested.  They were out of the tests in the office, so I had to go to the hospital lab to get the test.  My doc said she would call me with the results.  But then, she was the on-call doctor, so I didn't hear anything and didn't hear anything and didn't hear anything.  

Finally at 11:30 on Friday night, I called the office to leave a message for the "on-call" doctor knowing it was mine.  She called me back a few minutes later apologizing because she had been called in and didn't get out of the ER until 11:00 and figured that was too late to call me.  But she confirmed that the test was positive and sent a prescription to the Walgreens (luckily a 24 hour one is just a few blocks away) and my wonderful husband picked it up for me on his way home from a movie with friends. 

So basically, I spent 18 of every 24 hours in bed on Thursday, Friday, Saturday, Sunday and Monday.  My hips were very sore from being only on my sides so much and Pret was very glad to come back to OUR bed on Monday night after sleeping on the couch so I could stay in the bed (and he could get away from my hacking cough!)  I braved school again on Tuesday and life has been pretty good.  My kids are probably glad that I can't yell at them right now (I still have a VERY rough voice) and they have been as cooperative as my class gets with everything. 

In summary, I did get a flu shot back in September and I think that is the only reason that I didn't end up in the hospital with this.  But in the end, I think it was the Lord's way of saying, "You need a break and you won't take it without some intervening."  Thank you Lord!  I'm not even going to complain about the side-effects!

Amazing Sheep

Some of you may have seen this as it is going around Facebook, but I thought I would share it here.

http://www.samsung.com/my/news/newsRead.do?news_seq=13359&gltype=


In other news,  I have begun to develop a belly for sure.  I will post a few pictures here when I have a minute.  :-)

Pret is on his way home from 3 days of hunting in Arizona with his family.  He and Kate are pretty tired, but had a good time.  I got enthralled with West Wing, so easily kept my time occupied!

This made me cry!

I know it's a few days late, but I just saw this on someone else's blog and really felt like I needed to share. Makes me feel extra lazy for sleeping in and taking 2 naps on Christmas!

That's My Mom (and Dad)!

Hi Loved Ones,


So a friend of mine who used to live in Sheridan pointed me toward this blog post by someone who still does live in Sheridan, in my parents' ward.  My mom and dad worked together to create a really neat Primary sharing time and this lady posted about it.  I thought I would share the link (with her permission) and you can all enjoy it as well.  I can't wait until my parents live closer so my children can be a part of these fun things as well.


Love you both!


http://blog.ryanmuldowney.com/2010/12/christmas-story.html

10 Fingers, 10 Toes

So I had my ultrasound last week.  I have been waiting to post so I could add pictures, but since we don't have a scanner and I forgot to take the pictures over to my in-laws last night, I guess I will just post without.  Since Pret had to work late that day, my sister Shannon was able to come with me for the "show."  I think she had a good time as well and was very relieved for me that there just appeared 1 body, unlike her last one that revealed 3.  


We saw 10 fingers, 10 toes, a very healthy beating heart, and all parts of the face and brain necessary to show that it will be a healthy baby.  I could have watched that heart beating all day long--what an amazing creation this child is even at just 20 weeks (that's my official progress as of today!).  The baby was very stubborn as far as moving into positions where we would be able to see what we needed, and Shannon and I had commented on the fact that Pret is worried about how our child will look and especially the stubborness that could come with a red-headed child, so the technician even "drew" some curly red hair on the baby.


The baby had finally moved into a cooperative position and the tech asked, just to verify, whether I wanted to find the gender.  I stayed strong and said, "No" and haven't regretted that decision.  I will say, though, that there are a couple shots where I think if there was something to be seen, it would have been seen...if you get what I am implying.  So my bets are still on a girl!  


Either way, we realized that both of the names that we are thinking of start with the letter L, so for me, the baby is now "Little L."  I don't know what Pret thinks of that, but his name for the baby is not official until it is born.

Strollers, Highchairs, and Seats--Oh my!

So as the time is drawing nearer (I am officially 16 weeks=4 months), we are starting to think about some of the big things necessary for a baby. My sister, Shannon, has generously stored a crib for us for 12 years, so I think we have that part covered. But the others are still very much in the air.

When it comes to different varieties of all of the above-mentioned "big" things, I have heard many different opinions of all different types. And I would love to have them all "here" in one easy place to access. So if you would leave comments with your preferences on strollers, car seats/carriers, highchairs, etc., I would really appreciate it.

Thanks so much!

It's Officially Official

So I/we (Pret came with me for most of it, but felt the inclination to leave when I had to have a Pap-Smear and exam...) went to the doctor on Tuesday.  We met the OB/GYN, Kimberly Moreland.  She came highly recommended by a few former parents of mine.  She was very nice, but efficient--our kind of lady!

She attempted to find the heartbeat with the sonogram, but couldn't find it, so they had to pull out the ultrasound machine.  We were totally able to see it moving around (it's an active child already!) and Pret was regularly able to see the heartbeat, but I only caught it once.  It was a pretty neat experience and definitely made it more real for us both.

We also have an official date--April 25th!  If it comes at all early, then I will get a "free" week due to spring break.  That will be nice.  If not, it will still be a great break through the end of the year. 

Also, it's become more official as I have now thrown up a few times.  No big deal on either of them--both while brushing my teeth.  Lesson:  no more tongue brushing!  :-(  Please let me know if I have bad breath!

Security

Hello friends and family.

With all of the changes coming up, we have decided to join the world of the private blogs.  We hope this won't be too much of an inconvenience for those of you who enjoy reading our blog (I assume at least some of you who do, enjoy it! :-)  )

Anyway, we are doing this effective next Sunday, September  26th, so please contact us as quickly as possible if you want to be allowed to continue viewing our blog!

Thanks for all your support over the last few years!  I especially love the comments that come in!

Changes...

I've made a change to our blog--can you find it?

Just Biff It!

So as many who know me may know, I really struggle staying on my feet when walking. I guess it comes from my overpronation (the tendency to walk/run on the outside of my feet), but I have been pretty lucky/safe with it so far in my life, although there had been a few close calls. It doesn't help that I do like high shoes

(like these for instance) that I often have trouble staying on my feet in.

Well, this morning, I lost my fall-free streak. I biffed it--right in front of the school! And I almost took out a former student on the way down. It wasn't the least bit graceful, either. Luckily, I just ended up with a few small scrapes and bruises, but my shakes and red face lasted a bit longer. A few other 4th-grade students hurried to my rescue as the things in my arm went sprawling. They were very concerned and I was very embarrassed. Luckily, there were even some parents there to witness my tumble as well.

Anyway, I have just been thinking about it all day and hoped I could provide a chuckle for some today.

My Family

So I came across this picture quite accidentally while looking for a picture of Kate (our dog) for school. I just had to stop and look at it for a minute as I realized how much I love my family. I know my family has grown quite a bit with my wonderful marriage into the Dahlgren family, but nothing will ever beat my mom, dad, and brother and sisters. So, here's to the H. Michael Roberts family: (l-r) Shannon, Megan, DeDee, Mike, Melanie, and Craig.

I love you all so much! Thank you for being the best Mom, Dad, Big Brother, and Big Sisters that a "Baby" could ask for!

Love,

Boo