A birthday, a baptism, and a baby blessing!

September was a busy month with all of the kids in school, David and I both back to school, and having a newborn baby. On top of that, it was little Miss Madisen's birthday! This was the big number 8, and she was soooo excited. She didn't get to have a birthday party due to the recent birth of Jack, but she was okay with it.

 Here is our adorable little lady! She has the attitude to match that stance. We are so proud of the young woman she is growing into, and look forward to all of our future years with such a spunky, happy, bright girl!

Since she didn't get a party, we took her to Jump-On-It with her cousin Mia. They had a blast! This is her and Andrew. I like to call these pictures "PROOF." Proof that she really does love her brother and has a great time playing with him when they are not picking on each other!

 She is fearless and quite the natural gymnast!

She is such a unique little girl! She always keeps us on our toes!

Madisen can never do anything the easy way, so for her birthday she wanted this delicious white chocolate raspberry cheesecake. Not just the kind out of a box, but the kind that took me an hour to put together, 90 minutes to cook in a "water bath" and hours of cool down/refrigeration time! Since I love her so much, I did this without any hesitation. It was soooo good! I made it while she was at school and she was so surprised when she got home!

 Madi wanted all LaLa Loopsy's for her birthday. Wish granted!

This little surprise came for Madi on her birthday, from her "favorite uncle." She loved them, especially when she found out they were from Uncle Luke! What a sweetheart he is to her!

Since it was Madisen's 8th birthday, in our religion she can get baptized and become a member of our church. Madi went back and forth about whether or not she was going to get baptized. This was simply due to her nerves, not to do with becoming a member. I am the kind of parent that lets my children make their own decisions, therefore I told her if she didn't want to, she didn't have to. I got a little flack for that from family members, but we knew in the end Madisen would decide what was best for her and if we tried to push her into a decision she would just get upset. In the end, she did go through with it! 

Since Madi planned to be baptized in October, we decided to go ahead and do Jackson's baby blessing at home on the same day. Madi was so excited to share her special day with her favorite sibling, and it was truly memorable. Madi helped me design invitations to send out. Here it is:

 Here she is in her baptism dress. Its special and was worn by both KayDee and Jenna when they were baptized. She looked like an angel.

Here is Jackson in his blessing suit. Brought back fond memories of when Andrew wore it.

 These two truly are best buddies! She is just like a mini mom to Jack and her face just lights up when she sees him. Jack is quite fond of her too!

This is one of my favorite pictures of all time! I was so happy I was able to snap this shot, with everyone looking at the camera and smiling! I love these three handsome men!

Of course I had to get a single pic of this strapping young boy! Doesn't he look so handsome?!

This is the cake that KayDee and Oma made for Madi's baptism. They did such an amazing job, and even though the cake didn't taste very good it looked awesome! KayDee sure does love her sister!

In the end, after all of the planning, food preparation, and countless hours of getting everything ready. The day was a huge success and I could not be happier for the events that took place that day. I especially loved Jackson's baby blessing. It spoke of his grandfather Michael (David's dad) and the council that Jack had received from him in the preexistence. It is comforting to know that Grandpa Awtrey was watching out for our boy, has a special connection, and will continue to lead and guide Jackson through this life.It is very humbling to hear the words that our Heavenly Father has in store for the little ones that come into our life. I know that Jackson is part of our family for a very special reason, and I am thankful that Heavenly Father entrusted him with us. We have 5 special spirits that are in our charge, and I look forward to every minute with all of them!

Now of course I can't leave off a few updated pictures of Jack. He is growing so fast and had almost doubled in weight at his 2 month checkup! Our pediatrician joked that I just needed to give birth to Jackson so that he could really start growing. I like to think its all that yummy, creamy milk I am making for him! ;)

Update of the Year! First up...August.

Our life has been very busy, to put it lightly, the last few months and my blog has been deeply neglected. I have about six months to make up for, and will try to do it in multiple posts by month. Bare with me...

First up,more pics of the first few weeks of little "Jackman." He is such a good baby; quiet, content, and a great sleeper.

Jack's siblings absolutely adore him, and have since day 1! There is something to be said about having a large age gap in between your children; they are soooo excited to have a baby around. For David and I, it was like a new adventure. It seemed like I was a first time parent all over again! Five and a half years is a long time without a baby around! I can't even tell you how many times I was peed and pooped on, you'd think I had no experience changing a diaper. Heck, six months in and David still tells me I am a rookie (I don't change that many diapers considering I work full-time and he is at home all day with Jack). We are so blessed that Jackson came to our family, and I couldn't be more grateful!

We were also very blessed to have my in-laws, Luke and Nichole, here for the first week. Nichole is a great cook, maid, and nanny. She stepped in and helped us immensely. She is also the mother of 6 children and was a God-send who listened to my late-night postpartum anxiety, worry, and aches and pains, and assured and comforted me as only a mother could. Her kids kept mine company while mom and dad tried to adjust to the great change in their lives and we are infinitely grateful.

Also, my dad came up from Arizona and stayed for two weeks. This helped immensely with my fear of being alone. After my seizure during delivery I was afraid to be alone. I worried that it may happen again and I would have no one for my newborn baby. He also stepped right in and helped with housework, carpooling, and just being a companion while David was at school. We spent our days with Jack, watching Law and Order, CSI, and NCIS. I am so burnt out on those shows that I cringe when I see them in my guide menu on the TV! We also were very daring and put up 10 dozen ears of freezer corn! Dad also canned beets, yuck! We love him so much and always appreciate his support.

Next up, the first day of school! This year we have a Freshman, 7th grader, 2nd grader, and Kindergartner. Quite the spread...I know you are jealous. They were not as keen on having their pictures taken, but I coaxed Jen, Madi (sort of), and Andrew into it! 

Jenna started Jr. High and if you couldn't tell from the picture she was thrilled. ;) I think she had a mixture of nerves, coupled with all of the excitement about starting the first day. Alas, she only got lost a few times, KayDee was a tremendous help, and she had a fabulous first day!

Madisen HATES having her picture taken, unless it is her idea of course. Luckily I was able to snap this one! She had a terrific start back to school, made lots of new friends, and loves her teacher this year. Madi is such an advanced student and her teacher gives her challenging work, it is such a blessing. She recently just took 5 hours of tests to get into the ALL (Advanced Learners Lab) program at the Magnet school in Highland. She is at the top of her class!

Andrew was so excited to start Kindergarten, he could hardly wait! I was so proud of him, and only got a little teary eyed as David and I walked back home. I think it made it easier having Jackson 2 weeks before Andrew started school; my baby wasn't in school, I still had one at home. Also, our elementary school is only one block from our house and during the three months of my maternity leave I was able to frequently walk Andrew to school which gave us some bonding time. So proud of this little guy! He's a smart, motivated little boy and an excellent big brother!

As you can see, I have no picture of KayDee. I will leave it up to your imagination as to why that is... ;) I don't have any birthday pictures of her, all she wanted was the clothes she had already picked out for herself online. She has become quite the little shop-o-holic! I do of course have this lovely picture of her! She will not be very happy about my posting this, but this is her with her new braces. She hates braces thus far and curses them daily. I tell her she better just love them since they are costing us $5,000!

This pretty much sums up August. I will post September happenings soon!

Jackson Chase

I am a little behind, okay that is a HUGE understatement! Life has been a whirlwind the last two months with the arrival of our newest precious gift...our baby boy. 

On August 13th, after much anticipation, we welcomed Jackson Chase to our family. He is our fifth child, and our second son. He was born at a healthy 6 lbs 14 oz after a kind of scary delivery. I thank my Heavenly Father everyday that Jackson and I both came out okay, and know that he truly watches over me and knows me personally. Heavenly Father knew my fears going into my delivery and watched over us both as only a loving father could. Two months later, I am so grateful for the wonderful spirit that he sent to our family. We couldn't live without him!

There is a very miraculous story behind our little Jackson. Last year I was facing some scary health issues and with that came numerous tests. On the eve before a particularly scary test, I asked my father if he would give me a Priesthood blessing. He agreed and invited his Bishop to participate in the blessing. After the anointing, my father's bishop gave me a wonderful blessing of healing and comfort. During this blessing, he told me that the Lord blesses me with the health and strength I will need to bring our spirit children to my family. He promised me that if I have faith, I will raise my children in the righteousness he desires. My blessing left me comforted and at peace, while at the same time a bit puzzled...

Driving home, David and I discussed what was said in my blessing. We were not planning to have any more children, and I tried to rationalize what the bishop had said about more children by stating that he didn't know we already have children and maybe he was speaking about them. David told me that if I believe in what had just taken place, I could not honestly believe that that is the case. Due to what the next day would bring, as well as numerous trials that followed, I soon forgot that special promise.

In December 2012, I told David that I was feeling a little "bizarre." David teased that maybe I was pregnant. Knowing this could not be the case, I tried to push it from my mind. That was impossible and I begged David to go and buy a pregnancy test. Sure enough, it came back positive. I cried. My husband is a full-time student and stay-at-home father, I am a full-time graduate student and full-time employee outside of our home. We couldn't have a baby! We were past that point in our lives! Andrew was getting ready to turn 5! This wasn't happening to us! And then it all came flooding back...the morning sickness with Andrew, the traumatic delivery, the colic, etc. I was overwhelmed, terrified, and scared all at once, and this lasted for a few months. Eventually I warmed up to the idea that we were expanding our family, and I could not feel more selfish about how I felt in the beginning. My pregnancy went very smooth, and now that I have recovered from pregnancy and childbirth I am loving every second of our newest child.

Jackson is my blue eyed, chubster man. He brings so much light and happiness to our life! I would miss him even if we had never met. It's amazing how Heavenly Father knew there was a piece of my heart that was missing when even I didn't. Jackson is that piece. He is an absolute angel and a miracle.  I am so grateful that Heavenly Father knows what is best for me, and I need to have more faith in his path for my life. As Jackson lays next to me sleeping, I can't help but melt at how blessed I am. Heavenly Father has entrusted me, us, with five special spirit children. He trusts us to raise them and love them so that one day we can all return back to him. I am so thankful that my family is sealed together for time and all eternity, they are my everything.

Here are some pictures of our beautiful baby boy!

So pure and innocent. He truly is a blessing!

This picture shows how much he looks like Madisen!
He has strawberry blonde peach fuzz and big blue eyes!

So Little!

Daddy's hands look huge compared to his tiny little head.

This is probably my favorite picture ever! It truly
captures how quickly my whole world changed for this
amazing little boy! He is now part of my everything.

Guess this picture is now outdated! I will post a new family picture
as soon as we get one done! 

Ohhhh baby!

Well, I am now 37 weeks pregnant and two weeks from induction day. I feel very ready, while at the same time extremely nervous to be having another baby! With Andrew being 5, I haven't been around a newborn for a while. People say it is like riding a bike...we'll see.

Luckily for us, in all the excitement for our little boy, the fabulous ladies I work with and my amazing sister-in-law Debra threw me baby showers last week. It was a great time, and little baby Awtrey received all kinds of good stuff! Here are some pics from all the excitement!

The "Work Party"

Please note that my pictures do not do it justice. Marci, a good friend at work put together an adorable baby shower for my colleagues. We ate, laughed, and opened gifts. They even got me the awesome new swing I have been coveting for a while! Not a cheap gift, and it is very appreciated!

Really cute decoration!

There was so much food!

Me with one of the gifts. I just love
unflattering pictures!

The "Family & Friends Party"

My sister-in-law Debra threw me a Star Wars themed baby shower! As you all know, I am a TOTAL and COMPLETE Star Wars fan! My favorite movie is "The Empire Strikes Back" and my favorite character is Han Solo. Debra spent so much time and effort to make this shower amazing and it was a great time!!

As you can see, I got a pure chocolate Han Solo frozen in carbonite! My favorite character, movie, and scene!

I don't know what I would do without the amazing family and friends that I have! I truly appreciate all of their efforts to make this baby a fun and joyful experience. Little Jackson and I are so blessed.

Now its countdown to baby time! I am soooo excited for my new little guy, can't wait to share his with the other amazing guys and girls in my life!

Our Baby Boy

Had my 33 week doctors' appointment this morning. Boy, where does the time go?! Our little guy is progressing really well, getting fat and happy! It's amazing to think that in a few short weeks we will be welcoming our 5th child! I may be crazy, but it is going to be quite the adventure. 

Our kids are all very excited. We have just about everything we need to hit the ground running. After we set up the crib, a couple of weeks ago, Andrew was convinced it was time for him to be born. I told him we had to wait a couple of more months but he stated, "We have his bed for him to sleep, and diapers and clothes and bottles! That means its time!" Ahhh... I love kids. I wish it were that easy!

Madi on the other hand is quite worried about what I am about to go through. She loves watching "A Baby Story" on TLC and has seen what labor actually entails. For any of you that tune in, it can be quite a traumatizing rendition of labor and delivery! She is giving me quite a bit of sympathy for my upcoming experience and I try to calm her fears by saying "I have done this NUMEROUS times, I know what ready." She is comforted by that. Maybe if I keep telling myself that I will be comforted to. Although I have been through labor and delivery several times I still have some anxiety! It has been 5.5 years and I have a degree of amnesia when it comes to labor, I just always remember the sweet little angel in the end that makes it all worth it! 

Alas, here is a picture of my pregnant belly! I know women do this, I never have before, but thought I would join the "norm." Heck...why not? This pregnancy has been nice in many respects, I have not gotten very big and have only gained 11 lbs. That said, I think he rearranges my lower spine weekly and I have some pretty heinous back pain. You win some...you lose some. It still beats the awful morning sickness I had with Madi and Andrew!