We Did It!!!

3.5 years of marriage, 3 Associates degrees, 1 Bachelors degree, 2 Babies, Car Payments, Dental Work and Doctor bills equal SEVERAL thousands of dollars worth of debt.... but as of today, after a lot of hard work and sacrifice, Justin and I are 100% DEBT FREE!!!! What a GREAT feeling it is to not owe a dime (other than basic living expenses) to ANYONE!!! It's quite an accomplishment for us.

Nesting....

So the time has come for my "Nesting" insticnts to kick in. Poor Justin... I've about run him ragged! I figured while I'm feeling good I might as well get as much done as I can before I have 2 little ones. This past week we've been cleaning out closets and pantries. Our big project was our GIANT pantry in which we store WAY TOO MUCH stuff!!! You'd be proud.... so far we've boxed up over 13 boxes of stuff and counting. We're hoping to have a yard sale next weekend if the weather's warm enough!

Estin's Turns 2!!!

Wow! Is it possible my baby is now 2 years old!!! I can hardly believe how fast the time has flown!! It seems like just yesterday we were bringing him home from the hospital. I'm amazed at how smart this little boy has become in 24 months! Monday morning Estin and I went to the "Mibrary" to get some books and a "show", we spent time at the park and had lunch at Grandma,Grandpa and GG's. After a good nap, Estin woke up to decorations and presents! He loved his new toys!! We had dinner at Arctic Circle playland and finished the night having cupcakes with Aunt Liisa and Christine. We plan on having a cupcake party at the park with all his little friends when the weather cooperates. Estin and his birthday dimes from GG He loved his new chair from Grandma and Grandpa Meier! A few days later a package came from Grandma and Grandpa Oswald and cards came from Grandpa Hover and Great Grandma Frazier! What a lucky kid!!!

Happy Easter!!!

This weekend was a lot of fun celebrating both the Bunny side of Easter and the important message of our Savior's triumphant Resurrection. Estin was a lot of fun this year looking for Easter eggs Saturday morning in Grandma's back yard. "GG" (Great Grandma Nelson) watched us from her window. Coloring eggs with "GG". Estin had green and purple hands for 2 days! It was pretty special spending time with Grandma Nelson. She painstakingly wrote on her egg... GG loves Estin. Estin with the creepy Easter bunny from Walmart (apparently Estin thought he was creepy too!) Outside with dad at the park... Grandma and Grandpa Oswald drove up from Utah and we had a picnic in the sun along with Mike, Liisa and Christine Easter morning giving his bunny (from Gwamma) "kishes" Easter morning How grateful I am for my Savior, Jesus Christ. For his sacrifice of pain and death that He might overcome the grave and come forth as a triumphant resurrected being. I know He lives and it is through Him that our families can be forever. how grateful I am for this knowledge.

Happy 30th Justin!!! (and Jordan)

Justin hit the big 30 as of yesterday! Wow! Where does it go? We went to Utah for the weekend. Friday night I was able to reserve a table for 20 at Chili's and we had an "adult only" dinner. That was nice. Afterward, Justin and I went over to Jordan's for "cake & ice cream." While there, Tiara mentioned she had Jordan's birthday present in the garage and asked if we all (Jordan included) wanted to see it. What Justin didn't know was that I had sectretly transported HIS present down from Idaho the month before. He has been wanting a chop saw since before I knew him. It's about $650-$700 and completely out of our budget, but I had been saving for awhile & with the help of some $ from a side job he did (which he thought went to bills) I was able to pull it off & get him his dream gift as a special reminder of his 30th birthday. Seeing his face alone was worth it! He knew it was a physical and financial impossibility for years to come... so that made it an even better surprise!

Every year, since we were friends, I've given him a T-shirt for his birthday. This year, due to lack of ideas, he got this COOL Pinto shirt from Kohls.

Yesterday, (his actual birthday) he worked until noon, then we dropped Estin off at Grandma's and went to Idaho Falls for lunch at Red Robin. Their strawberry lemonade and onion rings are to DIE for! Justin got all embarassed when they brought out an ice cream sundae and made him wear balloons on his head. It was pretty funny.

Afterward, we went and saw Monsters vs. Aliens. It was pretty good, although we won't own it. Last night we had about 15-20 friends over from the ward for cake & ice cream.

Fun in Utah...

While in Utah this weekend, we took Estin and met a few cousins at the Legacy Center in Lehi to swim. What a FUN time!

Estin and His Toddler Bed...

Estin is now officially in his toddler bed. He gave up his bottle on his own, all we had to do was tell him his binkey was broken, and now he's on night 4 of his toddler bed without a fuss. I hope potty training is this easy. :) We got back from Utah Sunday night a little earlier than planned. I had taken down his crib before we left (we needed the room) thinking that when we got back it would be late & he'd already be asleep... an easy transport. Well, we were home by 6pm and we just knew it was going to be a LONG night. We went through our bedtime routine (bath, pacorn (Popcorn Popping), Noman (Once there was a Snowman) and Jesus (Jesus wants me for a Sunbeam), had our family prayer and he crawled into bed without another word! Wow! It was that easy!

The Innocence of a Child...

Estin's new FAVORITE show is "Jesus Show" (Finding Faith in Christ). We watch it at least 2 times a day. How can you say no when he asks for the "Jesus Show?" Monday night we had a FHE lesson on General Conference. I cut out pictures of the First Presidency, the Conference Center, the Temple and Jesus. We talked about them for awhile & then I hung them up low where he could see. The next day the very first thing he did was run in the living room and point and say "Ookborf!" It was pretty cute.

An Answer to Prayer...

The other night Estin woke up at 3am SCREAMING! Justin and I spent an hour or more trying to calm him down and figure out what was wrong. We gave him milk, changed his diaper, gave him Tylenol, tried to rock him, let him come in our bed... NOTHING was working. We didn't know if his tummy hurt from the late dinner he had, or if he'd had a nightmare. Finally, I suggested we say a prayer in his behalf. Justin asked Heavenly Father to bless Estin to be able to tell us what was bothering him. Within seconds of saying amen Estin, in between sobs, says "Minner" (dinner). I looked at him funny and said, "Are you hungry? You want dinner?" IMMEDIATELY he stopped crying, perked right up and said "All Wight!" He was still HUNGRY!!! Justin and I couldn't stop laughing!!! Talk about an IMMEDIATE answer to prayer. So at 4:30am in the morning Estin ate a cheese crisp and ketchup and then slept until 9am the next day. What a night!!!

RSV

Sunday night Justin and I took Estin into the ER where he tested positive for RSV. I didn't realize he could get it at his age, but sure enough! He was pretty miserable. There's nothing good about watching your "baby" get poked with needles while you stand by helpless. Luckily, after 10 days of being quarantined... he's back to his old self again and is thrilled to have play dates with friends other than mommy! Last night for FHE we spent an hour or more sanitizing all of Estin's toys. Who knew that a little boy could have so much!!! It's crazy to think that before his arrival, 2 years ago, we had none of this stuff!

A House Full of Men...

I have to admit, I was SO CERTAIN I was having a girl that the news of another boy came as quite a shock. For a year now I've felt a strong impression that a little girl named Kate was to join our family, so needless to say, the results of our ultrasound was VERY unexpected. However, with that said, although it's left me questioning some... and I'm not sure what I am to learn from this experience as of yet... I am thrilled our little boy appears healthy! I LOVE that Estin will have a little buddy to grow up with and look forward to welcoming another little man into our family.

It's a....

Watch the ultrasound and see if your vote was right!

Baby Oswald is Growing!!!

We find out what we're having in 6.5 days (but who's counting!) We have to wait until 22 weeks because the baby was measuring a bit small and the Dr. wanted to make sure he could see something. With Estin we found out at 18 weeks... so an extra 4 weeks is killing me!!! Don't forget to place your vote in the baby boy vs. girl poll!!!! We'll let you know just as soon as we do!!! Wish us luck!!!