Amazing technology

Many of you know this already. But, many of you don't. So, I am so excited to share this next photo with you.

Yep! W'ere pregnant! I am about 22 weeks along. This photo was taken when I was 18 weeks. I was lucky enough to get the one 4D ultrasound machine at Loma Linda that morning. The tech took some amazing photos of the baby. Isn't SHE cute!

We are still trying to adjust to the thought of having a girl. We are so in tuned to the boys and what they are like that I am not sure I will know what to do with a girl. One thing is for sure, she will have an awesome wardrobe (thanks to my 2 sisters-in-law, who have 6 girls between them), and she will be one spoiled little girl! My mom has already started knitting some pink little girl things!

David and Luke are very excited about their baby sister. David has said that he wants to name her "Flower" ever since we found out we were pregnant. Now Luke has joined the bandwagon and wants her to be Flower too! It's too cute. We haven't picked out a name yet and we'll probably will take a long time to decided on one.

My official due date is October 18th, but both the boys were early so we are hoping for an October 5th birthday. See, each of us was either born on the 5th or the 22nd. I was May 22nd, David was March 22, Mark was November 5th and Luke was May 5th. So, we have to continue the trend right? And since my babies have been early by one and two weeks, we figure we can't have an October 22nd baby. So, there you have it, our due date prediction. If you have a due date prediction, leave it in the comments. Maybe there will be a little prize for the person who guesses right!

Home Improvements

So, many family members have been asking just what do Mark's parents do when they are out here in California visiting us. We'll, I decided to show a little slide show on one of the major projects we did this year. This project started in October of last year and was finished in June of this year. Mark worked on it in spurts, when he had some time off from his usual crazy schedule (i.e. light research rotations).

Here goes!

Pic #1: what our back yard used to look like: Note, the lack of fence and lots of grass weeds invading the garden. Where Mark and our neighbor are standing will be a new sand box soon.


Pic #2: The new sand box frame, a retaining wall made of railroad ties















Pic #3: Everything covered with weed barrier fabric.















Pic #4: The first part of the deck framed.
















Pic #5: Floor boards going on!











Pic #6: Fast forward 6 months - second part of the deck (on the other side of the sand box) dug out and covered with weed barrier.




Pic #7: 2 months later and the deck is framed, floorboards are down, the steps are done and the railing is complete!

Pic #8: Here is the view of the first deck (from the second deck)










So there you have it! Our little backyard oasis! Do you think the next owner of this house will appreciate how much hard work, sweat, and time went into this project? We will be sad to leave here in a year.

Here is a photo of the boys. I caught them sneaking apples in the rocking chair in our bedroom! Sneaky boys. At least it wasn't candy.

And here is a layout I did of our Mother's day trip to San Diego for the "Gator by the Bay" Zydeco, Blues and Crawfish festival. What a fun day that was.

My First Blog Post!

Yep, I finally did it. I started a blog. What a great way to keep my family and friends updated on our comings and goings. Hopefully I can keep up to date with photos of the kids, recent scrapbook pages, family news and what we are up to. Please feel free to leave comments when you want to and give suggestions on how I can make this a great way to communicate with you!