Happy Birthday to my Baby

Emma turns 5 today! I can't believe how quickly she is growing up. Emma is the greatest joy of our lives. She loves to sing and laugh and dance, and she loves to make others laugh. Her smile is contagious, her sense of humor is hilarious, her heart is tender.

Emma is such a Daddy's girl. She loves to play in the garage with him, go biking with him, do yardwork and watch hunting shows. And yet she is such a Mommy's girl. She loves to dress up pretty, help cook dinner, go shopping and make cards. She's our "pirate princess". (I borrowed that phrase from somewhere....)

We are so grateful God blessed us with Emma Michelle. Happy Birthday baby! (She said I can still call her "baby" even though she is growing up.)

I will post some pictures from Emma's special breakfast, cowgirl birthday party and other birthday moments later on. Until then, here are some pictures of Emma in Texas and her new birthday bike.

I got kicked!

Last night I felt the baby kick for the first time! Well...I have been feeling little flutter kicks for a couple weeks now, but last night was the first kick I could feel on the outside of my tummy. I was so excited!!! Unfortunately, baby quit kicking when Tim tried to feel it. But I know he and Emma will be able to feel it any day now. I can't wait for them to experience that with me! It sures makes the morning sickness a little less frustrating.

Texas Tornadoes

We had a good weekend in Texas. I did feel better but not like Oklahoma. Guess 'cause the elevation isn't as low. Plus it turned into a stressful weekend. Sunday we had dinner after church and were getting ready to go to the park when the TV announced we were in a tornado warning! Within minutes we were dashing across town to my uncle's basement. No sooner did we get there and the tornado sirens went off. Three tornadoes touched down all around us but none hit the town. We watched golf ball-size hail and torrential rain, and in the end we were all just fine. We even ended up at the park that evening.

Hiding out from tornadoes is something I well remember from childhood because I grew up in West Texas. The thing that made this one so stressful was being crammed in a small basement room with 11 people and 3 dogs and all the old people making comments about dying while Emma cried because of all the dogs she was afraid of and me needing something to eat to ward off the afternoon nausea.

I {Heart} Low Elevation!

My midwife confirmed what I had been thinking all along: some women with horrible morning sickness feel a lot better at lower elevations! She said she has had other clients who had the same experience as me in Oklahoma.

In light of that news, we've decided to go to Texas this weekend for my Grandma's 90th birthday. I am soooo hoping I feel better there. And I have already made a reservation for Emma and I to go back to Oklahoma in a couple weeks. I'll put up with any amount of heat and humidity to feel human again!

The week in review and a distant memory

Friday/Saturday/Sunday ~ I had three wonderful days in Oklahoma City and didn't feel sick at all!

Monday ~ Back in Colorado ~ I still felt good but not great. I was able to take Emma to the zoo and park.

Tuesday ~ The nausea was back but I was still able to do laundry and clean the house.

Wednesday ~ The nausea was constant all day and I was back to throwing up at night.

I'm beginning to ask myself if those days of feeling great in OKC were even real. Did I really feel that good? I remember not feeling sick at all, but it's quickly becoming a distant memory.

Answered Prayer and Another Request

We had a wonderful weekend in Oklahoma City! Not only did I make it through the flights and long days of back-to-back activities, I actually felt good and enjoyed our time there!

It was really special watching my younger brother, Tomy, graduate from the same college I went to. He's one of my favorite people alive ~ and even though there is 13 years between us, we have a close relationship. It was also fun making the trip with my parents. Emma had a wonderful time playing with Nanny & Papa nonstop.

We ate at some of my favorite restaurants, saw lots of old and new friends, watched Tomy perform at the senior dinner (he is a guitar star!), went to graduation, had a fun reception, went to church with Tomy where he is part of the worship band and is now on staff, toured downtown, watched Emma kayak on her own on the little pond at Bass Pro Shop, and lots more!

Now I would post some pictures of all the wonderful things we did, but our camera is lost! I fear that we left it in the rental car (no, I am quite certain we did), so now I am praying that we get it back from lost and found. What are the chances? Well God answered my biggest prayer this weekend to feel good and not be miserable, so I know he can handle a little thing like a lost camera. Either way, I know we can get some of the pictures from other people, but I know there were some pictures that only we took. So I am hoping to get it back!

On a side note ~ I did not want to come home! I felt soooo good while we were there that I became convinced it was the change in elevation. As a matter of fact, I ran into a friend who said her sister-in-law from Colorado (whom I also know) came to OK just a few weeks earlier and her severe morning sickness went away while she was there but returned as soon as she got back home! I know I have heard other girls say that, so I was already making plans to move to OK for a few months! That's how much better I was feeling and a window into how miserable I have been everyday for the past three months! But I also knew I had to put it in God's hands, so I prayed hard all the way home. I woke up this morning feeling good again! So much so that Emma and I went to the zoo then had lunch at the park! And I am so happy to say that as the day has gone on I have not felt worse which is usually the case! Could it be that I have turned the corner? I am praying YES! But we haven't been home for 24 hours yet and I know it's still a daily thing so I will keep you posted.

Thank you everyone for all your prayers! The Lord answered in a BIG way this weekend.

Our weekend

Here's what we did this weekend.

Went fishing and Emma caught 8 fish! She was so excited to catch fish with the worms she herself had collected.


Emma learned to ride her bike without training wheels. (We are in our neighbor's driveway because they have flat area to ride.) It took about 3 minutes! Now she is off and running...never to slow down!


Had a wonderful Mothers Day! After a special breakfast we drove to my parent's house an hour away and spent the day. We had a wonderful lunch that my Dad fixed, went for a walk, played games, napped, and just had a wonderful relaxing day! Oh yeah ~ I felt decent most of the day. Monday was a MUCH different story though.


We are supposed to fly to Oklahoma City Friday morning for my brother's college graduation. Please pray I will be well enough to make the trip. We leave very early Friday and come back late Sunday night. I feel certain I can get myself there. It's just a matter of will it be a good weekend or a really miserable one. Of course I am praying for the latter.

MAY 1ST IN COLORADO

Independent Minds

Emma is only 4 ~ soon to be 5 in a few weeks ~ but still just 4! But she has this very firm opinion now about what does and does not look good on her. It's not uncommon for her to come upstairs dressed in something from the dirty clothes hamper because it is, afterall, her favorite outfit. Last week she wore the same outfit three days in a row! Now lest you think I am a horrible mom who lets my daughter wear dirty clothes all the time...well sometimes I do. On days when we are just staying home (which happens a lot lately), I let Emma wear whatever she wants ~ dirty or not. I only fight the "I'm not wearing that" battle on days that we have to leave the house.

This morning was a little different though. We aren't going anywhere today. It's snowing, which takes the park out the picture. We rarely go anywhere else unless Tim is with us because I'm just not up for it. So Emma came upstairs wearing the extremely dirty clothes she wore yesterday. I vetoed this one because she just had a bath last night and I couldn't stand the thought of those dirty clothes on her.

She went to her room ~ half crying, half mumbling ~ saying there were only two pair of shorts in her drawer and she didn't like either one. (Yes, she wears shorts even when it's snowing.) After a long while, she comes upstairs wearing her Halloween outfit from last year: a Broncos cheerleader dress, which I might add is way to short because she has so grown so much. "At least it's clean," I think to myself. And then I ponder half the morning: isn't she too young for this? Surely I didn't start this behavior till like junior high!? I think I hear my mom laughing!