Thanks Kara!

You really catch Emery's true beauty. I love looking at these pictures. It gets me through the day while I am at work.

Miracles and blessings

We often refer to Emery as our Miracle baby. It took us so long to get her here. Many hours of prayer, family fasts, invitrofertilization twice, drugs, bed rest...the list goes on and on. She definatly is a miracle!

July 1st of this year, we found out we are pregnant! After so many trials with trying to get pregnant with Emery, we never quite imagined being able to conceive naturally. I keep calling this pregnancy a blessing. We are so grateful for all the miracles and blessings the Lord has planned for our family.

Bike Ride

We are so lucky to have Uncle Ben here in Denver. He is so talented. I uploaded the video he made of our family bike ride.

California

We started our summer with a trip to California to see my dad,

Brett's family and of course the Angels!

Emery is into "things that go" so we went on a boat ride. She loved every minute of it.

I love the ocean, and views and being out on the water.

My dad made Jello Jigglers with Emery, it was so cute to see them together,
making the animal shapes.

We rented this bike and went around Coronado Island.

It was fun to hear Emery say "WEEEE, this is fun" the whole time.

She really enjoyed our bike ride.

Then we followed it up with a train ride.

She has been asking for a train ride for about a month and we saved it to do with Grandpa.

We didn't go anywhere too exciting, but it was the experience of the train.

A visit to California wouldn't be complete without visiting the beach.

We went to Corona Del Mar and had a wonderful time.

It has been a long time since I have really played in the beach,

and had that much sand in my swimsuit.

It was so fun.

Emery had no fear, just wanted to get out and go.

As I said, we visited family. Both, the Angels and the Brysons are family to us. We were lucky to visit both. Emery made a new friend Haleigh, the Bryson's daughter. Emery loved the baseball game, we even taught her the song, "Take me out to the ball game" and she has been singing it ever since.

While in Orange County, we had a great stay with Vicci, Brett's sister.
She is so kind and giving. I love spending time with her and getting to know her better.

In and Out, of course. Yes, that is a LARGE chocolate shake. MMMM...


We conclueded our trip in San Diego.

We went to Old Town, and then the Mormon Batallion visitors center.

They have really re-done it and it was exciting to see how hands on they have made it.

Overall we had a great time.

We visited a lot of family and friends and were able to relax a bit while doing so.

Brett and I love California!

We don't think we could ever live there, but our yearly trips are a treat.

Thanks everyone for making it a great time for us.

Butterfly

Right before we embarked on our trip to California, we found this outside our front door. Emery is in awe of the world around her. Brett helped her hold the butterfly.

Zoo

This summer I try to take Emery to the zoo every week. We went with some good friends the Ocasio's. Left, is Anna and Maya, and on the right is Alicia.

1st haircut

It was finally time to get Emery's hair cut. She was so good.

Aunt Kara and Uncle Ben

We are so lucky to have family live near us.

Emery loves spending time with her Aunt Kara and Uncle Ben.

Cafe Rio

Yumm. Cafe Rio finally came to Denver.

Happy Birthday Papa Steve, glad we could go and enjoy the great dinner with you!

Easter

I love having a girl! New dresses, and cute shoes. It is so much fun.

Such a cutie, and always on the go!
As a young child I always got a new dress for Easter and Christmas. I bought this last November hoping it would fit Easter. Yea it fit. Let's hope I can continue to find adorable bargain dresses at super prices so I can continue this tradition.

I love to bake

Today was my first day of spring break. I love to bake. I made all these good treats, homemade oreo's and snickerdoodles..... and then, we gave them ALL away!

A day at the zoo

Last Saturday was beautiful. We took a family trip to the zoo. Last summer I decided we needed a family pass and Emery and I went several times. This was our first trip taking Daddy. You can see what a fun time we had.

She is 2!

I can't believe it. I have a two year old. Life is great, she is so much fun and keeps us on our toes. What everyone says is true, "they grow up so fast." I try to cherish every moment with this one.

GOAL!

Not in the terms of soccer, but in reaching my goal weight. Yes! I didn't initially have the goal to lose as much as I did. As time went on and the pounds came off, my goal became higher and higher. I am not one to set a goal too high and then never reach it. I never in my life expected I would be my weight or size that I am today.
I have always been pudgy, and overweight but comfortable in my skin. A few years ago, while trying to shed some poundage I learned I was obese. I hate that word! It just sounds grose. I didn't feel obese, just overweight. Stress of life, infertility, all the hormones they pumped into me to get pregnant, and of course having a baby added on more pounds. Then of course I had to stay "healthy" (using this term very lightly) and eat enough so I would have plenty of milk for Emery, or so was my thinking. I found myself displeased with my physical body. what had I done? gained? I began this journey at 240 pounds!
This was March of 2009, time to get "me" back. My first goal was to lose 30 pounds. At 210 pounds, I could live with myself and be happy. Change of diet, making better choices. I hate the four letter word DIET though, I like to call it a change in lifestyle, or eating healthier. Give up the sweets, though a nightly indulgence of Dove Dark Chocolate was my reward for the day. I met that goal and thought to myself I can do this. I am going to lose another 20 pounds, then I will be 190 and fit into some of my older, nicer clothes. Pounds kept coming off, I kept sticking with it. I can do this. I kept setting small goals, and reaching them. As a fan of The Biggest Loser, I love seeing the excitement on the contestants faces when they reach their 100 pound mark. For my height charts say I should be between 125 - 160. I am at the top of that chart, feeling healthy but at this point I am 20 pounds away from 100.
You get the idea, sorry to bother you with the details. Anyway, my point....this week I reached my goal. One that definitely wasn't set from the start.
100 pounds lost!
I feel great! I feel like losing the weight wasn't difficult, though I know the maintenance will be. About 40 pounds ago, when I decided to go for the 100, I needed a reward....100 pound vacation sounded perfect! No vacation planned yet, but maybe a weekend getaway will be nice, or even a evening out with my patient husband. Thanks for all your support honey! Love you.

I am a loser!

I know this sounds bad, but it is good.
In fact, in my opinion I am "The Biggest Loser."
Bold statement, I know.

Yes, I am a fan of the show. More details to follow.