Heaven Got Another Angel

Today has been a rough one. My two year old is sick again, so I am staying home with her and trying to nurse her back to good health, then when I returned from school (prepping for the sub) Brent filled me in that our dear Nonie had passed last night. I have been very fortunate and I haven't ever gone through this kind of tragedy before. My grandparents are all still healthy and thriving which I am thankful for every day, along with my relatives.

As a tribute to a woman who made my Papa the happiest I had ever seen, I want to tell you a little bit about why she is so special and why I will miss her dearly. I met Nonie just shortly after Brent and I began dating. She was a friend of Papa's from his high school years and Papa had been going back to Iowa for frequent visits. When ever Nonie would come out to visit, we would meet up with them for dinner, wine and cheese, and of course coffee. I treasure the relationship that Brent has with his Papa and the special bond they share with each other. I think Nonie saw this bond and felt it was pretty amazing as well. I will never forget when Nonie painted Papa's front door robin's egg blue. He liked to give her a hard time about it but I thought it gave his house a little bit of character and charm. She had seen it on HGTV which was a subject she and I could talk about for hours. I thoroughly enjoyed going over to their house in the afternoon for some cheese and crackers as well as a little bit of Nonie's favorite boxed wine. That is if I wasn't pregnant. Nonie introduced me to Havarti Dill Cheese and Alouette spread that are delicious. I'm a finicky cheese person so for me to like something besides cheddar and mozzarella should tell you just how special she is. Then we would always meet Papa andNonie for coffee. This was a time that we took advantage of lately because we wanted to be with Nonie in a time of happiness and among her friends. Brent and I aren't coffee drinkers but we loved the socializing time with the two of them and their friends. Truly, our time spent with Papa and Nonie was a cherished experience that neither Brent nor I will ever forget.

More than anything at all, I just hope Nonie knows how much she was loved from the family and from Papa and that she made him very happy. This amazing woman will be missed, but I know that she is in a good place.

Nonie and Rylan at Whole Foods for coffee. I loved her glow when she was holding our kids.

Baby Tag

1. Were you married at the time? yes
2. What were your reactions when you found out you were pregnant? The first time was a complete shock because we weren't exactly planning the pregnancy. The second time was also a shock because my husband proved to me that we really could get pregnant with one try.
3. How old were you? 26 I think
4.How did you find out? Took a pregnancy test and then another and a third to be sure, you know the kind that reads pregnant, not pregnant in words, no symbols.
5. Did you want to find out the sex? Wouldn't have it any other way
6. Due date? My first due date was June 23rd, I think. My second was April 13th, I think. As you can see I'm still suffering from pregnancy amnesia.
7. Did you deliver late or on time? 3 weeks early with the first and 2 weeks early with the second
8. Did you have morning sickness? with both. I would say my morning sickness with my daughter was better simply because it was consistent and I could always plan around it so as to eliminate embarrassing moments.
9. What did you crave? Food in general, but I loved rootbeer floats with my daughter and oreos with my son which would definitely explain my inability to get rid of the extra poundage around my waist area.
10. Who/what irritated you the most? I don't really know. Didn't really love strangers touching my stomach during both pregnancies and totally annoyed with people saying "You are gonna eat that, I heard. . . or my book said. . . (blah blah blah) Last time I checked the author of that book wasn't me so I'm pretty sure they don't know how I feel or what I'm going through at this particular moment."
11. What was your first child's sex? I got that sweet little girl I had always dreamed of when I was little
12. How many pounds did you gain throughout pregnancy? I gained about 18 pounds with Payton and about 30 or so with Rylan which would explain why I still haven't lost all of it and I'd like to blame it on my new birth control plan:)
13. Did you have any complications during pregnancy? High blood pressure with both and bedrest
14. Where did you give birth? Poudre Valley Hospital
15. How many hours were you in labor? probably about 10 hours with my first and about 12 with my second, however, I only pushed with both of them for about 1-2 hours.
16. Who drove you to the hospital? Brent
17. Who watched? Well, Brent is the only one who watched the whole thing, but both of our moms were in the room up by my head so they couldn't see anything
18. Was it natural or c-section? both were natural
19. Did you take medication to ease the pain? Wouldn't have it any other way. An epidural is God's way of allowing a woman to enjoy childbirth from a man's pain tolerance.
20. How much did your child weigh? My daughter was 6 pounds 7 ounces and my son was 6 pounds 11 ounces
21. Did your child have any complications? Both were born very healthy.
22. What did you name your baby? Payton Marie and Rylan William
23. How old is your first born today? 2 and 1/2 years

Now I'm tagging Shauna, Ann Marie and Val

Highlights of Christmas in 2009

Oh how sad I am to be headed back to school tomorrow. This winter break has been so much fun and relaxing as well as productive and special. We were able to visit with many people, share a 1st Christmas, and squeeze my post pregnancy bod into a swimsuit (ugghh)! I'll explain with pictures what we loved about the break.

We started out by visiting one of my favorite people and families of all time: The Hostetters. We enjoyed a tasty lasagna lunch and Christmas gifts with the kids. It was so good to see my best friend of all time, whom I miss terribly every day. I can't get enough of that great gal and we have way too much fun talking and hanging out.

The Tan Man (Anner's Sweet Eyeore:)

Tyce (Love his glasses and all of his energy)

Tate (oldest and such a great brother) and Trin (sweet and absolutely adorable)

On Christmas Eve, I always give my kids a new pair of pajamas to wear and it is the only gift they get to open before Christmas morning. This is a tradition that my mom always did when we were growing up and I always loved wearing new jammies on Christmas Eve.

Rylan's Polar Bear Jammies

Payton's Sweet Dreams Jammies (She is trying not to smile or laugh)

First Cabin Christmas at the Kuhrt Cabin: We finally got to enjoy a Christmas at my parents Cabin in the Black Hills. Cabin Christmas is by far the best way to celebrate the holidays and carry on the traditions that my family has instilled in me, including stringing popcorn and cranberries for garland, hanging gingerbread boys for ornaments, drying apple rings for ornaments and other great activities that are homemade and great bird food. I am always the one that wants to string popcorn and cranberries for the tree and I have to work hard to recruit helpers. When we are done with the tree, we typically put the tree in a snow drift and let all of the little critters enjoy our Christmas Decorations, but my parents weren't real keen on the invite for varmints so we weren't able to do that this year.

Oh Christmas Tree, Oh Christmas Tree

. . . and the stockings were hung by the chimney with care. So this is where our stockings will hang in the future and not by stick pins. I failed to mention that our cabin isn't completely finished and the chimney is still under construction. There are still some things that need to be finished but we didn't let that hinder our celebration.

The Grandkids decked out in their Christmas PJs camping chair and all. Kale is holding on for dear life because he knows from the pumpkin patch what his cousin Payton is capable of. SCARY!!

TO BE CONTINUED!!!!