Oh my they were babies not long ago!!!

Just practicing...

I am working on some baby announcements for a friend. I started working on this at 4:15am...because I'm an insomniac. :) I won't post the inside, but the outside is so cute...I don't have any pictures of the baby yet, so I used my own- its my sweet Ava when she was *tiny*! Such funny little expressions...somethings never change!

The actual print will not have a watermark. :)

PS

I'm out of panic mode now. I was just having a moment. :)

Thanks for all the love!

Panic Mode

Last night after the girls were in bed and before Todd had come home from his fireside- I was just goofing off a bit on the computer. I checked my friends' blogs, FB, etc...anyhow on our family blog we have a little counter that says how big the baby is and how much longer I have to go. WELL! I have a melon in this belly with a little over 5 weeks to go. When I clicked to see more information- it said that I should have my hospital bag packed and to be resting as much as possible. Well, that sent me into panic-mode. I didn't have my bag packed! We're still so unsure about what to do when the baby comes, and WHOA- I have to give birth again, and people- it hurts! I was reading on the list about the things to bring and it reminded me of the pain...hello, wasn't thinking about that at all! Guess there's no way around it, though! Anyhow- it gets worse! Once Todd got home and saw what I was looking at he wanted to see a drawing of what the baby looked like right now. So I went to BabyCenter.com where I had kept up with that stuff with my other two and logged in all of the information. I hadn't updated Sydnee's status since she was born and it reminded me of her actual due date- which was 6 days before her due date. So SO SO! That means that BOTH of my babies have not made it to their due date! Ava was 9 days early and Sydnee- although it was a scheduled- was 6 days early! Whoa, people! And that all means... my due date is 4 weeks and 9 days away! Are ya with me? Panic Mode!!! And then there's the whole vehicle thing, so don't even get me started on that- but I think we have confirmed that if we do get a newer vehicle- we'll get a Honda Odyssey. So there- that's my present hysteria.

Moving on....

Yesterday was really good. After church Brandy and I did birthday visits to 4 sisters in the ward who have a birthday in January. The visits were all really nice. There are 30 women with birthdays in January- so we're trying to get to all of them, but we're behind so far! We are also trying to get the VT interviews done- so we're CRAZY busy. Anyhow, the last sister we went to visit was in the hospital. She is presently in the Medical ICU, so we went in and talked to her, but she was asleep and unresponsive. I had not met her before because she has not physically been able to go to church for years. Anyhow, she was one of the founders of the church in the Waco area, and is loved by many of the long-timers here. We also have another sister in the hospital fighting stomach cancer. I love this lady, so I hope she can kick this. And although it sounds like a lot for 1 person to be thinking about- in addition to my own crisis- I'm grateful to it. Being in this calling gives me a badge to care for people in a way that perhaps I wouldn't on my own. It gave Brandy and I the "right" to walk into a hospital and visit a sister whom we didn't know, leave her with a note and prayer- so that when she woke, she would know that someone from the Relief Society came by to show her love. In my service I often think about being on the other side of the service- meaning the receiver. We all need a little love every once in a while whether it is the form of a visit, a prayer, a hug, a smile, or a card. I'm grateful this calling pushes me in the forefront to be on the thinking-end of it all. Who is in need? Who wants to hear from me today? Who needs my smile, my hug, my visit, my card? It is a blessing. It keeps me grounded and closer to the person I want to be. I've eaten a lot of humble pie to get to the place I'm in now and I know I still have a ways to go, but I'm in a good place. I don't know exactly when I'll be released, but I am grateful for the 2 years I've served. I think it took me 1 year to get over the shock, 1 year to keep my chin above water, and now I am seeing more clearly the blessings that this calling has given me. I grateful the Lord saw me as a leader for the women in Waco, even when I did/do not.

SO, that's what's on my mind today. Pretty deep, huh?
Now then...when did my house get so messy? Actually, its not- but I think that nesting phase is in full force because dust in corners of the hallways is driving me nuts.

Thanks Mom & Dad

So Friday night wasn't *quite* what we expected for our big night on the town, but we sure had fun! We love our friends, the Moores, and were happy to spend some fun time with them even if most of it was spent waiting...let me explain.

The restaurant we wanted to eat at told us it was going to take 15-20 minutes to set us...OK, no big deal, right? Well, we got there right at 5:30 and were right next to the theatre BUT at 6:15pm and we're still not seated. Our show starts at 7pm. So after trying several times to get them to seat us- we left. Darn. I was excited to eat some real food. So where did we end up? Wendy's of course. Todd and Sydnee were thrilled. So- scarf it down, eat it up style- and then we ran to the theatre to see "A Year with Frog and Toad" at the Hippodrome.

It was such a cute little show and the kids LOVE going to the "fancy theatre" so we always try to make the kids' shows. This is our 3rd. My Mom & Dad gave these tickets to us for Christmas. Here are some silly pictures of the girls (and handsome Preston) after the show. They gave out balloons this time...you'd have thought it was cash, the girls were SO excited.

It was a super fun night with some of my favorite people. No- we didn't get to REALLY "eat out" but I didn't have to cook- and we did have fun, so I can't complain one bit. Thanks for giving us a reason to hang out with, Mom & Dad...it might be the last time for a while since Mandy & I both have #3 on the way!
xoxo

PS These are their new dresses from the Prices, we saved them for something special- aren't they great colors?

Who is Santa Mouse?

He's this mouse! This is story I read in my childhood, its a darling little tale- so that is why we leave cheese for Santa Mouse each year. :)

Todd's Big Surprise!

So Todd's parents got him a very early birthday present (his birthday is in April). A friend of mine had asked if I knew anyone interested in buying a piano, and I said...uh, yah. Me- but being Christmas time, I had pretty much blown my budget for Christmas since she was e-mailing me mid-December and I'm an early shopper. Anyhow, I had e-mailed Todd's parents to see if they would be interested in getting it for Todd- and they agreed. They too had already bought for Christmas- so its a very early birthday gift! :) Todd was super surprised and very excited. He played "I am a Child of God" for FHE last night on it. His face was priceless, he was very excited.

And New Year's Eve!

So we had a lovely New Year's Eve- just the girls and I; Todd was at the church for the Youth Party. Before he left, we decided to light a sparkler that we still had from our wedding. Instead of rice or bubbles, I thought sparklers would be a fun way to leave the reception ya know...but this pretty much sums up what happened on that night AND on New Year's Eve! We're getting a bit smoked out!After that we made cookies- a slightly different recipe for PB cookies with chocolate stars- and this was the bomb. I'll post the recipe b/c it was so good. Here are Ava & Sydnee in their new aprons made my Aunt Heather- aren't they cute? I chose PB cookies (again) because the girls can help make them by pressing the fork marks AND b/c I wanted to use the Brach's Chocolate Stars I had been looking for- so yum! And way better than a Hershey Kiss (not that we're biased).So we had our cookies, milk, and watched Tinker Bell until it was almost 11pm. We pulled the couch bed out and moved it in front of the TV, which is a big treat. When the movie was over, we read for a bit, then watched the ball drop in New York. I was shocked the girls were able to stay up so late, but they were troopers. Ava had watched a cartoon on New Year's Eve, so she knew exactly what to expect, and wanted her noise maker (which we didn't have because- hello, why would I get a noise maker that would drive me crazy for weeks to come until it amazingly found its way into the trash? haha). Once the tv went off, & lights were out, so were the girls. I soon followed. Then my sweet husband called at midnight to wish me a Happy New Year...he was up, I was not- but its the thought that counts. :) He didn't get home until 1:30am and then couldn't get to bed- so he puttered around the house a bit. Overall, it was a fun way to ring in the New Year. We're excited about 2010 and all that is will bring- including a new little Blackhurst!

Christmas aka Christmas Eve

Wake up everyone, its Christmas! (OK Christmas Eve, but who's counting?)
The haul of all of the girls gifts from us, Santa, and the Prices...

Santa ate his cookies, the reindeer nibbled their carrotts and all of Santa Mouse's cheese is gone!
Showing the girls their new gaming system... Vtech's Motion thingie :)

We had a fun time with Uncle Jim & Aunt Melanie. It was a fun way to begin the celebrating. Playing Elephun...

Here are some of our pictures from our Christmas Eve eve... we were out of town for the actual Christmas Eve, and besides that's when Santa came. We called and made special arrangements. :)

Opening our Pjs- can you tell I LOVE my picture taken?Making Santa some Chocolate Milk- shake it up, little ladies!
Making cookies for Santa- PB Doves.
Watching the Grinch Who Stole Christmas while Mommy & Daddy cleaned up- AND the cookies were baking!

Our gift to Santa, the reindeers, and Santa Mouse.
Before the girls saw what Santa brought: