Such a Big Girl!...and some Garrett!

So I realized it has been forever since I've updated about Madison. She is getting so big and it's going by crazy fast. So here are a few random pictures of her in the last month or so.

Look how big she is! And those chunky monkey legs are so cute...I could just eat them!









This was Madison when she got home from the hospital and now. You can tell how much she has grown. It's amazing to me.




Here's a somewhat smiley picture, I can't seem to capture her with a smile, if I do it doesn't look like a smile really anyway. But look at that hair! It's all staticy from the couch, but her hair is always a mess like that.




And here are some sleeping pictures. I wish I could sleep anywhere like she can. No matter what noise or position if she is tired enough she can fall asleep, how nice.

My dad put his cowboy boots on Garrett and he was walking around in them, it was so cute...Beth is adorable too!


Garrett thinks it's funny to get in Madison's carseat and rock back and forth.


And here are Garrett and Madison together. She kept kicking Garrett and he would get bugged and push her feet, it was so funny. Oh what cute kids! Love them!

My Interesting Day

So today was quite an interesting day for me. Early this morning I woke up with some sharp pains in my lower abdomen. I kind of just wrote it off and went back to sleep (I was able to sleep just fine). So I woke up around 7:00 with Madison, worked out, watched some tv and realized that the pain was getting a little worse. At first I thought it was a bladder infection or something like that. So I went to the store and got a test for it, but the test was negative so I had no idea what was going on. Then all of a sudden the pain struck me like I was stabbed by a knife. Honestly it was the worst pain that I had been in in my entire life. Even worse that anything to do with labor. It was horrible. I called Alan and told him that I was in some pain and what did he think I should do. He was like well call the doctor. This was probably about 11:30. I had a doctors appointment for Madison at 2:30 so I was like well I will just wait until then. But there was no way that I could wait. I thought it was painful then, but it just kept getting worse. I didn't know that one person could feel that much pain and still be alive. I know that sounds dramatic, but it was so bad. So I tried to call the doctor, but because it was lunch time no one would pick up the phone I just kept getting voicemail after voicemail. By this point I was screaming in pain. I was so blessed that Madison just sat there in her carseat. I don't know what I would have done if she had started crying, there would be no way that I could have taken care of her, and that scares me. Anyway, so after not being able to get through to the doctor I called Alan back and said, through tears, I really need you to come home. He came home (it felt like a lifetime waiting for him) and I had made it upstairs and was ready to go to the ER. (Again, the drive to the ER felt like a lifetime.) No position, nothing eased this pain. I just screamed and cried all the way, and apparently I told Alan that I loved him because I thought I was dying. (I don't remember that part.) We got to the ER, and all I wanted to do was lay down, but they wouldn't let me. When we finally got registered they finally let me lay down. But the pain just continued. Finally after a little while of laying down the pain magically disappeared. What the heck!?!?!?! But the sharp pain that I was having early in the morning was still there. Anyway, they did an ultrasound and found out that I have a kidney stone and a Urinary Tract Infection. So they gave me some pain meds and antibiotics and I was on my way. So now I just have to wait for this thing to pass and be prepared for a lot more pain. Hopefully the pain meds will help with the pain the next time and the antibiotics will help the sharp pain that doesn't go away. Anyway, so that was my crazy day. I have never experienced anything like that ever in my entire life, so it was quite an adventure. And the one thing that keeps me going...

My beautiful girl. She had to get shots today, sad day.

Demolition

There is this really neat place called the Habitat for Humanity Restore here is St. George, we know about it because Alan is on the board for Habitat. The Habitat gets things donated to them and sells them to the public for discounted prices. It's a really cool place. Anyway, we found a slab of Granite that fit our upstairs bathroom counter almost perfectly so we decided to get it. The slab already has a sink built in. We got it for about $250, which was a great deal. Alan talked to a granite guy in town and he said that a slab that size would normally retail around $700-$1000. So anyway after that long introduction, we decided to redo our upstairs bathroom. Here is the demolition so far.










Alan has been working really hard on this and it's coming along really well. We started with the bathtub, we are having a guy come and do the plumbing for it tomorrow, so that's exciting! This is what it looks like so far, but there will be much much more to come.



And last, but definitely not least, here is my beautiful baby. This is how Madison looks when she wakes up in the morning, very photogenic.

Food Storage

So after going to lunch with some family and friends today I walked in the house to find this...

all of our food storage (or food that is) out of the cupboards and on our counters. Alan had the day off today...and this is what his project was. He took inventory on all the food storage that we have. I must say after doing this, I feel a little bit more confident about what we have. We for sure don't have enough for two years like the church recommends, but we have a good start.

These are what two of our cupboards look like now (you should have seen how disorganized they were before). That lazy susan is full of the #10 cans we filled at the cannery.
I know what you are thinking...who is that bald man standing in your kitchen...yes it's Alan. Oh that hair :( or should I say head (there isn't enough hair there to be classified as such). He was so proud of himself and I must say that I was pretty proud too! Good job honey!

To see how you are doing on your food storage go to http://www.thefoodguys.com/foodcalc.html

Isn't she adorable?

Okay here she is again. Madison is pretty much my life now, so that's all I really have to post about. I know that it never gets old for me to look at her, I just hope it's the same for you.

Here is Madison after her bath this morning. She didn't cry at all the entire time. What a big girl. When she had her first bath she screamed the whole time, but this time she actually seemed to enjoy it.

I love picures of her sleeping, she looks so peaceful.

This is the first time that all of my mom's grandkids were all together. JD, Madison, and Garrett. What a good looking bunch. Look how big JD is. I can't believe how much he has grown since the last time I saw them.

This is the first time I put Madison in blue, I was nervous because I was so afraid that someone would call her a boy or something (even though she completely looks like a girl). But look how cute blue looks on her.

This is the first picture that I have been able to get with Madison somewhat smiling. She has this adorable gummy smile that she really only uses after she eats and is so happy. But she was just coming out of it so it just looks like her mouth is open, but I promise it really was a smile.

Madison's Blessing and such...

Last Sunday we blessed Madison. I had bought a blessing dress for her, but it turned out that it was way too big for her so the day before the blessing I still didn't have anything for her to wear. I called my mom to see if she would go shopping with me and she said well maybe I have your dress still and you could use that. What a great idea! Madison wore my blessing dress for her blessing. It fit great and amazingly it was still quite white after 20 years. She looked so pretty. I was nervous that she was going to cry during her blessing, but nope she was perfect the entire time. Thanks to everyone who was able to come and support us, we really appreciate it.

Some of Alan's family was able to come for the blessing and it's always fun to have them down. While we were at his parents house we had to find a safe place for Madison to sleep and we decided that under this side table was the best idea. Isn't she cute? Look at her little ruffle butt :)

Alan's sister Debbie and her family stayed at our house. We love when they come to stay with us, we have such a good time with them. This is their youngest son, Jackson, holding Madison. The nieces and nephews loved holding Madison, it was really cute. They would come sit by me and slyly say "Man, I wish I could hold her." It was adorable and I was really amazed at the way they all knew how to hold a little baby. I wasn't ever very far away though :)

A day at the Cannery

Last summer my parents made an appointment to go to the cannery to can some food storage. On Monday the day finally arrived, they were booked that far in advance. Alan and I have really been trying to focus on getting our food storage up. With all the uncertainty in the world right now we just feel that it is really important.

We canned 72 cans altogher for Alan and I, Beth and Jeff, my parents, and Alan's parents. We actually had a really good time and it only took us like an hour to do it. That's my dad and Alan's dad in the background.

Here is Me, Beth, and Madison. Madison did really well the whole time. She just sat there and watched. I think that because there was so much going on she didn't get bored.

So I said that once I got my hair colored I would put a picture of me on here. I love my hair! Alison did such a good job with the cut and color. It's definitely different than I have ever had it, but I think it's perfect. Thanks so much Ali!!!

On Monday my mom had to take my grandpa to the hospital. I guess he was having a hard time breathing and she had thought for a while that he had pneumonia, but he is so stubborn he wouldn't go to the hospital. Finally she forced him to go and it was a good thing. Apparently they think he had a pretty minor heart attack and they are having to give him blood transfusions. It was a good thing she went when she did though. We went and visited him tonight and he seems to be doing well, but he for sure doesn't want to be there. The doctor wants him to stay for rehab, but he said he's leaving before that, he just has to find a way out. That's what he said tonight, he is so funny. Anyway, just keep him in your prayers.