pumpkin carving time!

our "pumpkin pizza" from papa murphy's...a perfect way to start our family pumpkin carving night!
my little punkin' with her little pumpkin!
she drew the face all by herself and i carved it out for her.
kyri actually likes posing for the camera now!
kyri giving her pumpkin a kiss...such a little love.
daddy's pirate pumpkin was super cool!
check out that cheese smile!
i really do love my little family.
i love the fun memories that we create together.

emmaus women's retreat

what an amazing weekend! our first emmaus women's retreat was just incredible! it was so neat for kerri and i to see our vision for this retreat actually come to life. it was so relaxing, refreshing, and renewing...in so many ways! the house was GIGANTIC and perfect for our retreat. the second floor was all bedrooms, the third floor was the kitchen/living/dining rooms (where we spent most of our time), and the fourth floor was bedrooms as well. kerri, sandie, and i were in the master bedroom. oh man. it was awesome! the bedroom was enormous, with a much-too-big t.v. (which we never used) and sandie and i shared the cozy king size bed. the bathroom was a dream come true! a huge shower that had 4 shower heads and no shower curtain, which was interesting but we made it work. the closet was the size of a bedroom. it was pretty fun getting ready in the morning in such a beautiful bathroom!

every part of the house was ideal for our theme of the retreat..."relax. refresh. renew." when we arrived on friday, we had to unload a van-full of food and supplies, up 2 flights of stairs! i had these really cute bags made for the women and filled them with a journal and goodies. i also made name tags for their beds so they could find their spot when they arrived. we put verses all of the house that had the words, "rest", "renew", or "refresh" in them. all of our meals we kept super simple, by bringing pre-home-made enchiladas and soups. friday night we had enchiladas (so good!) and spent the rest of the evening playing super fun games! i love it when girls can be crazy and silly together! saturday morning we had a yummy, easy breakfast with lots of options...oatmeal with all the fixings, mini quiches, yogurt, granola, pumpkin muffins, fresh baked rolls, and fruit. so great! we had a speaker and worship after breakfast, followed by solo time. such a highlight for most of us! God really spoke to me about some changes that i need to make in my life and gave me a clear direction, as a wife and mother. after our solo time, we had the afternoon to just relax. some women went on a hike, some went to the lake, and then there was a group of us that just stayed at home and lounged around. that was me! for lunch we did a sandwich/wrap bar and everyone loved that!

after free time, we gathered for dinner. soup and potato bar = a huge hit! i loved our food choices! we gathered for a time of reflection and prayer when our bellies were full. a few women shared about their experience during solo time. it was so encouraging to hear what other women had to say. (did i mention that i love our group of women?) we broke up into groups of 4 to pray for one another. this was my favorite part of the whole weekend. i really opened up for the first time about everything that is going on with my parents. i guess i haven't really processed the fact that they are getting a divorce. i know its real, but it doesn't "feel" real. i also was able to receive prayer for my health and the whole trying to get pregnant thing. this has been such a rough few months in my life and it was so refreshing to express what i've been going through and have women lay hands on me. it was such a bonding time too, getting to know the women in my group. God is so good. it is in those moments that i praise Him for the community at emmaus. i really have never experienced anything so genuine and life giving. we have such a great group of women, so many that i look up to and have learned so much from. i am so grateful for my church!

we ended our evening with a spa night...woohoo! paraffin wax baths for our hands and feet, mary kay facials, pedicures, and manicures! oh yeah, we also had a snack table at the retreat, that was out the entire weekend. everyone brought a snack food to share so the table was covered with yummy food! awesome! sunday morning didn't start off too well...our room was awoken by an annoying wood pecker at 6:45, right outside our window! AAAHHHHH!! we wanted to shoot that stupid bird! after breakfast, we had another speaker, worship, and communion. so wonderufl. we did our traditional communion that we do every morning at emmaus, except we went around in a circle and served each other. when we were all through, we ended up holding hands while singing with just our voices. so powerful. i just wanted to stay in that moment. it was now time to pack up our belongings and load everything into our cars. not having to clean the house was so great! we locked up and everyone headed to chevy's for lunch. a great way to end our weekend! when we arrived back to lincoln, i was both relieved and exhausted. hugging my baby girl was priceless. i missed her so much...and my husband too! she had such a great time with daddy. even though i was happy to be home, i was sad that the retreat was actually over. after months and months of planning, it has come to an end. now i can't wait to start planning the next one! i am so blessed to be in this position with the women's ministry and allowing God to use me for his glory. i love every minute of serving him, by serving these amazing women!

the gorgeous, amazing house in zephyr cove!
sandie is such a dear friend...we have too much fun together!
the sweet bags that i had made...the women loved them!
the late night girls after mary kay facials.
kerri, sarah, and sandie loungin' in the HUGE tub!
sarah and kerri...we love doing ministry together!
retreat committee...karen, sandie, carmen, sarah, and kerri.
lake tahoe. i will never get tired of this beautiful place.
i love these beautiful girls.
this retreat wouldn't have been the same without them!

off to the women's retreat!

i can't believe it is already here! i leave tomorrow for our women's retreat...the first emmaus women's retreat! kerri and i decided to plan this retreat earlier this year and now we are saying, "what were we thinking?!" its been lots of work, many obstacles, hard decisions, thousands of emails, and many hours of planning. no blog posts for a couple of days so if you come to my blog and there is nothing new...use that as a reminder to pray for the women on the retreat. its going to be amazing and God's going to do great work. pray for relaxation and renewing of our hearts and minds. lake tahoe...here we come!

muffin tin monday

macaroni and cheese...mini marshmallows...raisins...
peanut butter pumpkin to decorate...witch's hat apple slices

let's celebrate halloween! kyri ate all of the marshmallows first (of course) and then covered her pumpkin in raisins...yummy!

bishop's pumpkin farm

on kevin's birthday, we decided to head to bishop's pumpkin farm. it was a very windy, cold day, but kyri really wanted to take daddy to see the pumpkins. she still tells us everyday, "i went to the pumpkin patch!" when we first got there we saw that they had a pony ride...so exciting! they didn't the ponies last years, so i knew that it was a must. kyri couldn't wait to ride a pony! as i'm sure you can see from the video i posted, she was so brave. she had a huge smile on her face and was such a big girl! after the pony ride, we spent some time petting the goats, jumping in the hay, going down the big slide, and ridding on the ever so popular train. kyri was actually scared to go on the train this time, but not the horse...a live, huge animal. silly girl. she was fine once we started going. after the train ride, we hopped on the hay ride to take us out to the pumpkin patch. we actually found the perfect pumpkins right away...a big one for daddy, medium for mommy, and a just-the-right-size for kyri. by this time, the wind was getting to be too much. we grabbed a yummy treat and some apple cider to go and we were on our way home. it was a very eventful few hours and we all had a great time. now we are looking forward to carving our pumpkins for halloween!

now that is one happy girl on her pony!
she just looks so big to me...where did my baby go?
her daddy always knows how to make her giggle!
kyri looooves those smelly baby goats.
probably my favorite picture of the day...beautiful girl.
looking at the giant pumpkins with daddy on the train ride.
i could look at those blue eyes all day long...oh wait, i do.
looking for the most perfect pumpkin in the whole patch.
classic family portrait on the hay ride.
"i love my tiny pumpkin."

MRI #2...seriously?!

i had my appointment with my neurologist today. it went, well, ok i guess. i really like her and she was really nice and funny. very laid back and easy to talk to. she asked me lots and lots of questions about what i've been experiencing and went over all of my symptoms, in a lot of detail. she then did all of these neurological tests on me, checking my reflexes, vision, strength, and coordination. i brought my MRI scans with me and she looked over them and explained to me everything that she was looking at. i now have scans of my brain...pretty cool! the weirdest pictures are the ones where you can see my eyeballs. she told me that my brain looks "beautiful" and there is nothing abnormal. the bad news...i have to get another MRI. what?! are you kidding me? my first MRI was only of my brain. she now wants me to get an MRI of my neck. i asked her, "well, why didn't they just scan my neck when they scanned my brain?" they always rule out the brain first because that is such a vital organ and especially with all of the tingling down the right side of my body, that was their main concern. the next MRI will be of just my neck, the top of my spine, and will be shorter. i will have to be injected with this blue dye that will help them to get a better scan. that sounds like fun!

my doctor sent me over to get more blood work done when my visit was over, primarily to look at a vitamin B deficiency. i am sort of hoping that that is what it is, only because that sounds more easily treated than something in my spinal cord, in my neck. i should be getting the blood tests back early next week. i have been having a lot of tingling in my neck on the right side and even some pain. the tingling is all over the right side of my head, neck, arm, side, and even in my leg. it was pretty bad today and now my arm is really sore from that stupid needle that they jabbed in me.

why can't i just be pregnant? why can't i be healthy? why is all of this happening in the midst of our desire to have another baby? my heart aches. i am full of sadness. there are so many unknowns and i know that this journey is going to be a long one. thank you to all of you who are praying. God IS giving me peace, even in the midst of all of the confusion. i will keep you updated as the news comes. please pray for this next week as i am planning the women's retreat for our church, along with my friend kerri. we leave next friday and there is much to get done in the final preparation. it is going to be an amazing weekend in tahoe, in a beautiful house. "relax. refresh. renew." is our theme and i know it is going to be so much fun! pray that i can put my health issues aside for a few days and really focus on what the Lord has for all of us...also that my husband will enjoy every minute of being mr. mom while i'm gone! kyri is going to love having so much daddy time, but i know she will also miss her mommy. it will be my first time leaving her overnight (i know...she is almost 3!). that is a lot of prayer requests....thanks friends. love you lots!

pony ride!

kyri riding on a pony at bishop's pumpkin farm...such a big girl! just in case you couldn't tell, she is smiling from ear to ear!

(click on the video to watch on youtube in higher quality)

"it's your birthday, daddy!"

friday was kevin's 28th birthday and all day kyri would say to him, "it's your birthday, daddy!" she was even more excited than he was to celebrate his special day! kyri and i started out the morning by letting daddy sleep in while we made pumpkin muffins. daddy received breakfast in bed...pumpkin muffins with one birthday candle, cheesy eggs (kev's fav), fruit salad, and orange juice. we came into the room singing "happy birthday"...kyri only sang one line and left me hangin'. she was thrilled to give daddy his breakfast and to help him eat it too. after breakfast, we opened presents. kyri got daddy a super awesome batman helicopter, which she picked out herself. it shoots these little, yellow discs that i'm sure will be lost by next week. i also gave kevin a picture frame collage that had pictures of kyri and i that my friend took for me. he loved it (i'll post a few of the pics later). i also ordered him a new pair of plugs for his ears that are made of this really cool black wood...earrings, not ear plugs. when presents were done we got ready to go to the pumpkin patch, which i'll blog about later today (3 posts in one day...crazy.)


after the pumpkin patch, we had some family time at home. i made artichoke spinach dip (kev's fav of all time) and for dinner we had turkey meatloaf and mashed potatoes. the best treat of the day was kevin's batman cupcakes. i had this idea a long time ago and i was so excited to try it out! how cute are those chocolate batman logos?!


on saturday, kevin and i had a much-needed date night. my mom came up to visit and to be with kyri. kev and i started our date with a little shopping so kev could use his birthday money from his parents. he got a really cute sweater from gap and new jeans from old navy. for dinner, we went to lucille's BBQ...they have AMAZING BBQ! we waited for an hour for a table, but it was so worth the wait! we enjoyed the live music and ended up sharing a full-rack of baby-back ribs, along with yummy, southern sides. the food was finger lickin' good and we left there fuller than full. now that we know we can share a meal, we might be going more often for their delicious BBQ! kev's birthday weekend was super fun in every way. i love celebrating birthday...especially for my precious husband!

playgroup at the fire station!

playgroup on thursday was too cool...we went to the fire station! the kids were in heaven from the moment they arrived! we had a scheduled visit and they gave us the full tour. kevin was actually able to join us because he had the day off. we got a tour of where the firemen live while on duty, the kids climbed all over the firetrucks and rang the bells, and the best part...they let the kids turn on the fire hose outside and knock down the orange cones! this was the coolest part of the day! the kids thought they were just so big and strong. they were all very well behaved during our visit, considering they are all 4 and under. the firemen were so nice and worked great with the kids. this was such a fun and free field-trip for our little ones...we can't wait to come back and visit the lincoln fire station!

kyri yelling "hello" into an old fire hose.
kyri, aaron, nathan, and micah just chillin'.
seeing what its like to drive a big fire truck!
little ducks all in a row...
look at my big girl!
i sure do love that kyri gets to grow up with these precious kids.

for those of you waiting...

i received my MRI results. i called my doctor's office on tuesday and they said that the scan came back "normal". that was all they said. even though that was good news, i wasn't happy with that answer. i knew that if that was the outcome, i would have to keep searching to find answers. what was i to do next? my symptoms are not going away, just getting worse. after talking to a couple other women who have experienced similar symptoms, they encouraged me to go to a neurologist to really get a more detailed analysis of my MRI. i called my doctor again and they wanted me to come in for another appointment to go over my options. i knew that wasn't necessary. all i needed was referral. i told them to talk with my doctor and tell her that i would like to be referred to a neurologist. i received a call yesterday from a neurologist in roseville and i have an appointment next friday. pray that they either find something in the MRI as to what is causing these symptoms or can refer me to someone that can help. it looks like this road will be a long one. i just need to be aggressive, or i won't be getting any answers. pray for patience and wisdom. thank you to all of you who have been praying for me. i have definitely felt God's peace this week.

muffin tin monday

ranch dip...baby carrots...sesame street crackers...
grapes...chicken roll-ups...organic vanilla yogurt

bishop's pumpkin farm

we had so much fun at bishop's pumpkin farm on thursday with our playgroup! the weather was perfect. the kids had such a great time exploring. it is seriously the best pumpkin patch! we rode the train, they climbed on tractors, jumped in lots of hay, fed the baby goats, pet the baby goats, and got plenty dirty while enjoying every minute of it! the best part for me was the delicious slice of apple pie with ice cream...so divine! before we headed back home, we all stopped for a treat. they have the best pies, cookies, and caramel apples. i had pie and kyri had ice cream. delicious! i picked up some of their apple cider to take home (which i look forward to every year!) and kyri helped me pick out a couple of baby pumpkins. "one for daddy, one for mommy, and one for kyri." she thought they were the cutest thing ever! this was kyri's fourth time going and we will be going again next week with daddy. when we go back, we will take the hay ride out the pumpkin patch and pick out our pumpkins to carve for halloween. i just love bishop's pumpkin farm...i'm so glad we are able to create so many memories there with our little kyri.

riding on the choo-choo train with all of our friends.
so excited to see the horsey and cows!
rebecca, jonah, and aaron...we love them lots.
kyri and aaron being goofy on the big ol' tractor!
kyri is three feet tall! a foot taller than her first trip to bishop's.
jonah + zander + ava + aaron + kyri = forever friends
"here you go baby goat...here's some hay to eat."
her most favorite part of the day.
kyri would have brought him home with her if i let her.