Matthew and the Fence...

Matthew 3.5 months.

He is getting really strong and we often find him scooting around.

Look at him suck on that bottom lip! He started that in the last week or so.

Working on the gate, the last part of the fence to be built.

Day one: Ammon and Chris digging the post holes with the "Earth Drill".

Starting to put slats on

Chris with his favorite tool of the project

The finished project!

It has been a busy week, and an even busier weekend. Matthew is doing so well and growing fast, he will be 4 months soon. I am excited to take him into his 4 month checkup and see how much he has grown. I also think he is ready to start eating some baby food, so we will talk to the Doctor about that. I hear such conflicting information about the subject. Some say 4 months, some say not till 6 months... What do you think? We have tried a little with him and he likes it, but I don't want to hurt him somehow... Not sure. Chris thinks that he is ready and we should just feed him... 
The big project has been getting the fence in! We have been planning and trying to figure out how to do this since we moved it. We were going to do chain link, but that ended up being way more involved and more expensive, so we decided on a wood fence. When we were thinking about the chain link fence we looked into having a company come install it because we don't have the tools or know-how to put up a chain link fence. However the company that we actually got to come give us a quote wanted almost $2400 to do the job! It is only 1 gate and a little over 100ft of fence. So then we talked to some people from our ward and they said they would be willing to help us. We priced the difference between chain link and wood and found a great deal on materials. 
We could not have done this without everyone who helped us. We need to Thank Chris's Mom and brother Dan for loaning us the money for materials, and all the guys who came and gave up a Friday and Saturday to help install the fence. This was a big project and one that had to be done in order to be licensed as a home daycare, we are now almost ready. Soon we will have an income! I am hoping to be able to start enrolling kids in January of 2011!

Happy Halloween!

Lil' Picasso and the Pumpkin

Matthew is 3 months! (on Friday the 15th)

I'm a little early but Chris and I were able to get some fun pictures of Matthew over the past week or so. He has really started to like being on his tummy, he also likes this funny toy well he likes chewing on the antennas.
3 month stats:
24 inches
12 pounds 5 ounces

 This is the funny toy, it is like an alien or something. He loves to put that antenna in his mouth (notice the blue ball in his mouth).

 Matthew really likes to chew on his arm (this is how he gave himself the hickey before).

 Tummy time for Chris and Matthew! 

 I think the flash startled him. He is getting really strong and can hold himself up for a long time!

Church Responds to HRC Petition

Church Responds to HRC Petition

This is a well written article by the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints about the church's position related to the recent bullying and humiliation of a young man that led to him committing suicide. They explain very well the LDS Position on same-sex relationships, it is very nice to have it written out so clearly. I have friends who are involved in such relationships and we talked about this very same position. We are still good friends but we each know where we stand on the matter, it did not change my love for her.

It is sad to see all the serious bullying that has been occurring. It breaks my heart that people feel they have the right to treat others so poorly, and that those being bullied feel so helpless and hopeless. I just wish that they would know that it does get better. People will forget mistakes and choices that you have made, life can be wonderful again!

Splash time Oh I mean Bath time!!

We have been having lots of fun watching Matthew grow. He is changing constantly and learning new things. This first picture is of him at about two and a half months on the couch and the second one is from the same day, before you look at it you should know that he has developed this habit of sucking on his arm or wrist when he is not sucking on his fists. Well on this day he managed to give himself his first hickey!
Bath TIME!! I love giving Matthew a bath lately, he just has so much fun kicking his feet and splashing. He has figured out that if he kicks both feet together it makes an even bigger splash. You might be able to see that sometimes he is trying so hard to kick and splash that he has to stick his tongue out. He also sticks his tongue out a little like that when he smiles. I also had to take the TP off its holder and move it to the other side of the bathroom because it gets very wet from all the splashing.



It has been fairly uneventful lately we have been spending lots of time studying (Chris and I'm helping him), and getting the daycare stuff done. I still have lots left to do, and the orientation is less than two weeks away! Hopefully we will be opening Stay 'n' Play Preschool and Home Daycare by January 2011. It would be nice to have an income again! Matthew will be 3 months next Friday so I should be posting some 3 month pictures soon!

Matthew 2 Months!

Here are some pictures of our handsome little guy! We love playing with him now he has the cutest little grins and has really started babbling a lot. At his check up he was 11.4 pounds and 23 inches long, growing like a weed. Here are some pictures of the little guy :)

Matthew's Blessing

We blessed Matthew when he was about 3 weeks old. It was a wonderful day and we had lots of my family come and support us and Matthew. Chris gave him his blessing and that evening we had a family dinner. It was especially nice because we got to see most of the family and enjoy some time together before the big move back across the state. Here are some pictures of the day!

Jeffrey Wright

My cousin was killed in a single car accident last week, and as I reflect on his life and some of the unknowns surrounding his death I am sad that he never gets the chance to grow up and experience some of the great joys of life. He was 21 years old and still trying to figure things out. He had many wonderful qualities, and was a thoughtful kind person, he had lots of friends and family. I remember spending many days swimming in Mason Lake with him, camping trips, Easter egg hunts, Christmas dinners, he brought a wonderful energy to this world and to his friends and family.

As I read the following article from the Kitsap Sun, along with many of the comments people left below, it made me sad. The article infers that drinking was involved in the accident, I don't know if that is true, I don't think it was ever confirmed.
As I was thinking about the possibility that alcohol was involved it made me very upset that he would be risking his life and others lives by making such a stupid choice. I am strongly and firmly against drunk driving and I hope that is not the case, however if it was, if he did make that mistake he also paid the ultimate price, and unfortunately his family also has to pay and say good bye to him way too soon. Chris and I spent a lot of time talking last night about Jeff and the accident and the possible connection of alcohol and came to the conclusion that young people make stupid choices, I don't think too many people make it to 25 without making a dumb choice that endangers themselves or others. However, most people do get the chance to correct their choices and turn their lives around if needed, this is something Jeff doesn't get the chance to do, at least not in this life.

So then the question is... Should we hold or remember him as any less of a person because he may have made a big mistake. Absolutely not, I think that we need to remember him as a wonderful son, brother, grandson, nephew, cousin, and friend. we all need to remember him for who he was and not a choice or two that he may have made. Heavenly Father would want us to look past all the things that are negative because it is not our place to judge him on those factors and remember him as a wonderful child of God. All of us are children of God and all of us are here on Earth to learn and grow and sometimes we learn lessons the hard way.

Enough about the article and comments that followed it. I just needed to express to whoever reads this connected to Jeff or the article, that everyone makes mistakes and those mistakes should not be held against us forever, we are on this earth to love and help each other, not to judge and condemn each other. He will never have the chance to learn from this mistake, it doesn't make his choice right, but we must remember his potential, and all the wonderful contributions he did make.

Bremerton Man Dies in Central Kitsap Crash

• By Josh Farley
• Kitsap Sun
• Posted September 3, 2010 at 2:12 p.m.

CENTRAL KITSAP — A Bremerton man was killed late Tuesday in a one-car crash on Provost Road near NW Shelley Drive, according to the Kitsap County Sheriff's Office.

The sheriff's office identified the man as Jeffrey Wright, 21.

Wright was driving a 1988 Chevy Cavalier south on Provost Road just before 9:30 p.m. when the car left the road to the right and rolled, coming to rest on its top. Wright was pinned underneath the vehicle, deputies said, and pronounced dead at the scene.

A 36-year-old Bremerton man was riding in the car with Wright, but he was not hurt, deputies said.

Kitsap County Sheriff's Sgt. Mike Merrill said neither man was wearing a seatbelt. Merrill said it appears Wright lost control of the car going through some curves just before Shelley Drive.

Alcohol and speed appear to be factors in the crash, deputies said.

Wright is the ninth person to die in a car crash on a Kitsap County road this year.

Anyone with information about the crash is asked to call Kitsap County Sheriff's Deputy Andy Aman at (360) 337-4634.

© 2010 Kitsap Sun. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

Read more: http://www.kitsapsun.com/news/2010/sep/03/bremerton-man-dies-central-kitsap-crash/#ixzz0yrQUOopx

Matthew's Birth Story

Matthew was due on July 6th and we were anxiously awaiting his arrival, but he was stubborn and we ended up having to force the little guy to come. I went into the hospital to be induced on Wednesday July 14 at 6:00pm. We got all checked in and they started the inducing process. I was suppose to get two doses of a ripening agent to get me ready to deliver before they started the pitocin at 4:00am on the 15th. They came and put my IV in, only at first they put the IV on the top of my hand- not comfortable at all, I had them move it shortly after. Then they gave me the first dose of the ripening agent, I was having to many little contractions to do a second dose like they were planning, so the Doctor said that we would start the pitocin at midnight. This was not the original plan but I was okay with it, I was not sure what to expect. They told me it would start slow and I would be able to sleep for most of the night. HA HA that was a really funny joke, okay not really funny but I definitely didn't get any sleep. 

So at about 12:15am they started the pitocin to induce labor. They were suppose to come back every 1/2 hour to increase the dose gradually, I didn't see anyone for the next hour and a half, then the Doctor came back to see how I was doing. He was not very happy when he found out they had not been increasing the medication levels. A few minutes later the nurse came in and bumped it up the 3 levels they were suppose to have. Only now it was all at once, not fun. The contractions intensified a ton and then I found out how much it hurts. Everytime they came to increase the meds I wanted to kick the nurse. I didn't of course but I sure thought about it :) At about 3 am they came and checked my progress and I was about 3cm, so we were not even close. 

The contractions were really strong and close together, at one point I didn't even have a break between them. They didn't check me again until about 6 am, at that point they were having a problem getting the monitors to track Matthews heartbeat, so the Doctor decided to put a monitor on his head. I had no idea what they were doing at this point, and Chris was so exhausted because I would not let him leave my side. All of a sudden they broke my water, oh boy did that intensify the contractions! They said I was about 6cm dilated at that point.They started my antibiotics a little while after that. At about 7:15am I told the nurse that I needed to push, she said that I probably wasn't close but she would check. When she checked she found I was 9cm almost 10 but told me I couldn't push yet. That was not the answer I wanted. About that time my Mom showed up, and was shocked because I was almost ready to start pushing. I was so happy to see her, and Chris was relieved also. It took forever to get to 10 cm, I was amazed because of how strong my body was because it was trying to push that baby out and I couldn't stop it. At about 7:40 am the Doctor came in and I started pushing. Matthew was born a little over 20 minutes later at 8:02 am! I was so happy to be done and to see that little baby, and hear him cry, it was a beautiful sound! Then the doctor started pushing on my tummy to deliver the umbilical cord and such. I told him that I was all done hurting the baby was out he needed to stop, he didn't stop. They gave me meds to slow the bleeding because I was loosing blood at a pretty good pace. I just remember watching them clean up my baby, and weigh him, take his footprints. i got to see my parents hold their first Grandchild, my husband hold his brand new baby for the first time. Chris even cut the umbilical cord. There was so much going on and I'm sure this is written very scattered, but I remember it being very scattered. 

In the end I was excited because I did it! I did it with no epidural, I felt like I had in some way proven to myself that I was strong and could do anything. I was also excited for the pain medications that they gave me after I had a few bites of breakfast. They gave me this huge breakfast at about 9am and expected me to be able to eat it which I thought was funny I was still shaking and weak, and exhausted. All I wanted to do was sleep, I kept trying to get them to let me take a nap but I didn't get my way. 

The best part was holding that little boy in my arms! Oh how beautiful he was. We had lots of visitors that day and it was fun to see all my family and show off my precious baby boy. He was 7 pounds 8 ounces and 21 inches long. Just perfect!     

 

I will finish this posting when I get the pictures ready....

New Plans...

As children tend to do, mine is taking his sweet time to come into the world. In order to help him on his way we have been scheduled to go into the hospital on Wednesday the 14th and will be induced very early Thursday July 15th. I am very excited to know that by the end of the week I will be able to hold this little boy in my arms. His daddy is pretty excited too, currently he has been rushing trying to get ahead on his schoolwork so that he doesn't miss any assignments during the first few days of this little guys life.
I have to be honest that even with this big belly of mine I'm still not sure I completely believe that there is a little person in there. It just seems surreal, I would have thought that it would seem the most real now... I don't think it will be real to me until they put that precious baby in my arms. I have been really happy through the whole pregnancy process, it has brought Chris and I closer together and I feel closer to my Heavenly Father also. I had to laugh at myself because during our birth class every video they showed of a baby being delivered I started crying. It was so silly, but it is beautiful to see, and what an honor to be able to bring a new life into the world!
I am very excited to be parents and to begin this new stage in life. I know there will be challenges that I cannot comprehend at this time, but life is an adventure and I know that we will be successful. We have a very supportive network of family and friends and I am very thankful to know that they are there to help us through this wonderful new adventure.
Anyways we will have pictures up of the little boy soon, and hopefully we will even be able to decide on a name!

Baby Shower!

We had a baby shower on May 15th thrown by my good friend Liz and my mom. It was a very nice day and we were very happy to have everyone there who was able to make it. Here are just a few pictures from the shower, they do not show everyone or all the fun, but it is better than nothing. We loved all of the gifts and we think our little guy will too! 6 weeks and counting :)

What a summer this will be...

Chris and I have been overwhelmed with everything that is coming this summer. We have a new baby, a move across the state, new jobs, and need to find housing... Housing is where we are stuck right now and it is driving us crazy.. I hope we can find something soon, it is really hard to find housing when you live six hours away and have such specific needs out of a home. We may have to give up on the home daycare plan because it looks like the only way to do that is to buy a house in Colfax... Not sure if we are ready to buy a house, so then we need to find a pet friendly house and a new way to make an income where Chris doesn't have to work much and I can bring the little guy...
We are excited for the move and really do like Pullman it is just a stressful time while we try to prepare, and have been trying to prepare for the last few months.

On another note we are into our last 10 weeks of the pregnancy! I am still doing good, my 8 hour workday has been wearing on me, I am really ready to go home at about 7 hours. Oh well, money and insurance are provided by my job so I guess I have to stick it out as long as possible :) The doctor reports that my pregnancy is nice and boring just the way he likes it. No complications yet and very healthy, and that is the most important thing!

Chris was able to get some grants for next year and we are excited to have some money for school that is not loans, it will ease our financial situation a little bit. Having a baby makes us much more needy apparently because we didn't qualify for any last year. A definite blessing!

We were also able to make it down to California this month and see Robbie and CJ get married. These are two really great friends of ours and we were very excited to be there for them. Chris was a groomsman, and Robbie and CJ asked us to be there Godparents over their marriage. We were excited and honored to accept their request!



While we were in California we were also able to see some family. Chris's Dad and Diana (step mom) flew down on Friday morning and had lunch with us in Hollister at the Ding a ling Cafe, it was great to see them and spend some time with them while we were close. Then Jeremy (Chris's Brother) drove down to pick us up and we spent time with his family in Sacramento. We even got to see Mandy and Mom for a little while on Saturday! It was a quick visit but better than nothing.

Chris is halfway through his Spring quarter and then has two classes to take this summer. Then it is on to bigger and better things at WSU. I am very proud of him for doing so well in school and working as much as he does. It is hard to go to school and work, and I know he feels it sometimes but it will be worth it in the end!

Belly Pictures

It gets bigger everyday!
This was at 25 weeks

It's a BOY!!!!!

We found out that we are going to be having a baby boy and are very excited to be welcoming this little guy into our lives! We had our ultrasound and then went shopping! I have been waiting to buy anything until we knew whether it was a boy or girl and one of the parents (in my preschool class) had given me a gift card to babies-R-Us that was burning a hole in my pocket. It was so much fun to go and look for clothes that we will soon be putting our child in.
The pregnancy has been going really well, the doctor said it was nice and boring just the way he likes it. I am trying to figure out a good workout routine to prepare for the coming months. I feel the baby more and more, he even woke me up once which was interesting.
Good Times to Come!!

Boy or Girl???

Well I am very excited we have our 2nd ultrasound on the 9th! I can't believe it is already less than a week away at the same time it seems like I have been waiting forever. It will be nice to know so that we can start planning for him or her!!

First Ultrasound :)

We had an ultrasound on Monday to confirm my due date, and we found out that I am not quite as far along as once thought. Baby looked nice and healthy (according to the ultrasound tech... it just looked like a blob to me). The heart beat was a strong and healthy 153 beats per minute! I am about 8 weeks and due July 6th. We are very excited and hoping for a healthy 9 months, and a very healthy baby. I will keep updating this to let everyone know of developments. I cannot wait until we are through the first trimester and the risk of miscarriage is much much lower. It is going to be an eventful new year.

Looking Forward

It is crazy to think that it is already November! We are looking forward to Christmas and Thanksgiving and for the year 2010. It is hard to believe that it is only about 6 weeks till Christmas...
Chris has had a VERY busy quarter at school, but he is still doing great. I am still chugging away at Kindercare as a Preschool teacher (for another 7 and 1/2 months or so). Then we are going to head over to Pullman so Chris can attend Washington State University.
We are looking forward to ALL the BIG changes that are coming in 2010! We are praying for health, safety, and strength for us and our future little one.

Choose This Day

August 25th 2009 was our 2 year anniversary! We have had a great two years and time has just flown by, it is hard to believe it had been 2 years. For our anniversary we went and had some portraits taken at Sears, it was fun but more expensive than I had planned. Oh well that is life, it is generally more expensive than you plan. Anyways after we had our pictures taken we drove down to Portland, Oregon and met with an adviser from a pharmacy program in Portland. Then we headed over to Lake Oswego, Oregon and went to the Temple. It was our first time back inside since we were married. Then we had dinner and went home. It was a wonderful day with my wonderful husband. Below are some of the portraits we had taken at Sears.

Tuesday!

This Tuesday is our TWO year wedding anniversary!! We are very excited about this and have some cool plans that I just surprised Chris with, and he is very exited also. We will have pictures to document the occasion soon. The gift that we purchased for each other was a Blu-ray player because our DVD player broke and so Chris found a blu-ray player for a very good price and we have one blu-ray movie. It is very nice and even up scales our normal DVD's to a higher quality.
We are very excited for our trip to California in TWO weeks! We are planning to visit family and also visit the following places:
1. Calavaras Big Tree's
2. Santa Cruz
3. Lake Shasta
4. Sacramento Temple
5. Mt. Lassen Volcanic National Park
6. Bernie Falls
7. Lake Almanor (we will be camping here)
8. Lake Shasta Caverns
9. Visiting Friends and going Rock Crawling

And anywhere else that the wind blows, we are not trying to make our plans too structured. It is going to be a great trip and a great week off of work!!

Summer Time!

Well it has been a long time since my last post. We have been VERY busy. Chris is almost done with Summer quarter at TCC, 2 weeks left. It was a very busy quarter. I have been working 2 jobs and that has kept me very busy.

Some highlights from our 2009 summer:

In June we took a trip to Pullman and went with my friend Melissa through the Spokane Temple.

Melissa and her family came and stayed with us for a few days while they were exploring the area. It was great to have them here!

We spent the 3rd of July at Mason Lake and on the 4th we went up to Port Townsend.

We went on a killer hike near a very beautiful river and up onto a ridge. This was just beyond Lake Cushman in Washington.

We have spent time with some good friends who were back home for the summer.

We recently celebrated my 24th birthday.. I can't believe I am already 24! Chris surprised me with the night off from my 2nd job and a birthday dinner with my family. It was a wonderful surprise and I feel so blessed to have a wonderful husband like him :)

Yesterday was the Coy-Wright family reunion and it was great to visit with the long lost family :)

There you have it. A list of the main events so far this summer. I have to go eat some yummy dinner. I will post again soon!

2 down 1 to go...

We have added two new cousins to our family this week. We are still waiting on the 3rd who is due anytime now. Above is pictured Stella Nichole Brooks born on 4/23/2009. Below is pictured Benjamin Field born on 4/20/2009. All the parents and babies are doing well from what I have heard. I will put up pictures of Mandy's little man when he arrives.

Our New Car

The picture above is not our car, however it is the type of car we purchased. On Saturday Chris and I found and purchased a red 2006 Toyota Corolla with 31,000 miles. We got a great price, at just about $10,400! It is in great shape and retails for between $12 and $14,000. We even got it below Blue Book!
To top off our great deal we got a great interest rate of 5.25%!!
I'm not sure if all of that information is something that I should share but I am very proud of us for getting such a good deal on a great car.

On another not Chris got all A's winter quarter!! This past weekend was also great because my friend Julie from Utah was in Seattle and I got to see her for the first time in about three years. It was great to see her and to have her meet Chris for the first time. It went great and we had a good time catching up, even though we definitely didn't have enough time. A little time is better than nothing.

Oh and I got a new calling in church. I am no longer the valiant 12 teacher for primary, I am now the Beehive adviser. I have a whole new job to learn, but am very excited to serve these young women.

That's all for now I wish you all the best!