My Uncle Ron

Recently I was having a conversation with my sister, Kathy, and she mentioned that she had come across a beautiful poem in this month's Ensign on page 11 titled, "The Prodigal". Upon finishing the poem my sister noticed a disclaimer at the end stating, "The author passed away just before publication of this article." She thought to herself how sad that was and scanned back to the top of the poem only to find that the author named was Ronald Petersen, our uncle and our mother's big brother. Of course I had to find it and read it too and I think it's beautiful as well. It wasn't surprising to find his work published because my Uncle Ron was a wonderfully talented writer but it was a little surprising to find his work published after his passing. What a beautiful legacy of faith, prayer and unconditional love he has left for our family. I just thought it was so special that I wanted to share it as well. So if you don't have your June Ensign nearby, here it is (if you click on the poem it may be easier to read)...

Pictures, Pictures, Pictures!!!

Tasha (my old college roommate) hosted Haylie's Baby Shower!

My sister (Karen) and her little family sealed in the Newport Temple!

Braeden giving Daddy a hand.

Total focus on the Easter egg hunt.

Showing off his eggs.

Dyeing the eggs with his cousins...

All set to go play outside!

Flying a kite with Papa! I love this picture!

Dinner just hours before Mommy had Haylie!

You have to appreciate the forced smile. :)

All set! Let's do this!

All pink, squishy and puffed up!
Happy Birthday Haylie!

Welcome to life little princess...

Haylie all wrapped up in her pretty blanket.

The first car ride going home from the hospital.

First time the big brother meets his baby sister!

Giving Haylie the baby doll he picked out just for her with Grandma Mia...

The doll isn't much smaller than her!!!

First time Braeden held Haylie. Such a proud little guy!

First family picture... glad we all got dressed up for the occassion. ;)

First car ride together as siblings!

Sweet dreams...

Haylie dressed up for her baby blessing. You know you love the ginormous flower!

Actually dressed up for the family picture this time!

Picture taken during our trip to Utah...

Braeden half laughing, half crying. :)

ALL of my siblings with my Dad!!!
(This never happens...)

Brooke & Lily's birthday party at the bounce house in Utah.

Hanging out at the pond at the family reunion.

Braeden cried when he realized he had to leave his singing/dancing stuffed friends behind...

Our little angel... seriously the cutest, most adorable, precious baby girl ever. She is the best gift and we just love Haylie to pieces. She has brought a special little light into our home. Cameron and I are so proud and fortunate to have such beautiful, sweet kids...

Haylie's Birth Announcement

Introducing Haylie Anne!

So our baby girl has arrived! She made her appearance Thursday, April 8th at 12:33pm. She weighed in at 7lbs 11oz and was 21 inches long. The birthing experience was beautiful... the doctor actually allowed me to pull her out of me and lay her on my stomach. The moment is one that I'll forever cherish and was more than I could have ever hoped for. Thank you to everyone who sent up your prayers on our behalf so that we could have an experience that wasn't traumatic like Braeden's birth had been.

If you want to see some beautiful pictures from Haylie's newborn photo shoot please go to www.ashleytownsendphotography.com. The moments captured are phenomenal. Thank you so much Ashley for your beautiful work! I'll post some of my home photos at a later date.

Haylie is truly a joy in our home. I have been waiting some time to be able to see Haylie and Braeden interact as brother and sister and it's the greatest blessing. Braeden showers his baby sister with kisses and always refers to her as "my Haylie!!!". I love my babies and my family is everything to me. My heart is so full and I have to thank my Heavenly Father for this precious gift. We are so blessed...

Feast Your Eyes on These Puppies!

Yes, these feet belong to me... brave right? I imagine most of you are probably cringing, wincing and maybe even throwing up a little in your mouth. My response? You're telling me!!! Okay, so I'm starting to feel the swelling begin in my legs, ankles and feet and I pulled this picture out to remind me how bad it really was when I was pregnant with Braeden. So awful and so... NOT... cute! My swelling with Braeden began at 6 months and I'm much further along than that now so I'm holding out hope... but every time I see this picture an involuntary tear falls from my eye as I contemplate what may be in my future... can I have a moment of silence please?

Baby's Name, Room & Contractions!!!

We have chosen the name for our little girl! Those of you who have been with us on this journey to picking a name know that it got a little heated so I'm happy to announce the winner - Haylie Anne. This name has great significance to us. "Haylie" is the name we had chosen for the little girl we miscarried at 11 weeks (the pregnancy just prior to Braeden's). And "Anne" is the name of my beautiful, angel cousin who passed at about the same time I learned I was pregnant (after trying for over a year) making our daughter a little ray of sunshine during a sad time for my family. My cousin, Anne, has a beautiful story she shared through her journey in life that you can read about on her blog: http://wardandannecreager.blogspot.com/.

So, I suddenly realized that the last time that I posted anything was back in December when I was 23 weeks along, and now I'm 34! There has been good reason for this. You see, starting January my nesting phase turned into a bit of a neurotic obsession. It was like I couldn't stop myself! I was working on dozens of projects around the house that I feared would never get completed if I didn't do it right that second! But most importantly, I felt very compelled to have our little Haylie's room ready and completed by the beginning of February. People would roll their eyes at me when I would tell them this goal and remind me I wasn't even due until April 21st giving me a nearly 3 month cushion. But I had this feeling inside I couldn't suppress telling me that I needed to have this prepared and ready, but I didn't know exactly why. When I would explain that to others, they first would say "you think she's going to come early?". Well, I didn't know at the time but I have my answer now.

I ended up not meeting my deadline of the beginning of February, but instead finished the middle of February beaming with pride and excitement. I had a week or so of soaking in my little Braeden who just loves on his mommy and baby sister all the time. Then suddenly like a switch was flipped, I was experiencing contraction after contraction... realizing that they were 3-5 minutes apart put me into tears as I called my doctor's office. Now to be clear, these weren't labor contractions but Braxton Hicks. However, I remember from a previous appointment that my doctor had specifically told me that any more than 6 in one hour was unhealthy and could put me into preterm labor. At 32 weeks, I was not ready to give this girl up!

The doctor's office told me "go to Labor & Delivery right now!". They were clearly less than pleased with me wanting to give it at least fifteen minutes to subside firmly insisting I not wait another second. So I did, crying the whole way there. For some reason, I thought by going to the hospital they would make this go away but that didn't end up being the case at all. Drugging me up with Terbutaline and monitoring the baby and the contractions, three hours later they let me go saying I was stable enough. But I was still having 6 contractions per hour! Thus, on bedrest I was put and remain (although bedrest is kind of a joke when you have a 2 year old at home!). At first, I could only keep my contractions at the max if I was laying down. Then soon that wasn't enough and 6 days later I found myself back in Labor & Delivery. I was promptly given a priesthood blessing following that experience and suddenly I could sit up and keep the contractions at bay. So that's where I stand at this point- 34 weeks, contractions on and off but last they checked my cervix was closed and not prepared for an arrival anytime soon.

Alas, you've survived my sob story and deserve a peek at our Haylie's room so here is the big reveal! I chose a purple and yellow Dragonfly theme, as I was strictly instructed by Cameron (who randomly decides to have a firm opinion on things of this nature) that he didn't want a pink room. :) Thanks to Jenn (my sister-in-law) for helping me paint the walls... also Gary (my father-in-law) and Cameron for installing the chair railing. If any of you want to try and duplicate anything you see or want to know where I purchased something, let me know and I'd be happy to share my secrets! ;)

Here's the big brother to be! Love this kid!

Picture of Christ
I was so excited when I found a Dragonfly set of hooks!
Who knew I had a creative bone in my body? :)
A look from a distance.

I even made the white knobs these are hanging on!

This was done by using a wall stencil.

Sooo tedious but loved the results!

Our gorgeous little girl...

So if you're as unlucky as me and have the anatomy that requires you to see an ultrasound specialist twice a month (in addition to your monthly visits to the ob/gyn), you know that the perk to this is being able to see your baby all the time! So without further adieu, here's our gorgeous little girl at 23 weeks...

Precious face:

Baby yawning:
Baby smiling:)

Now for a couple videos of this gorgeous girl in action... Enjoy!!