HOME AT LAST!!!! :)

Hi Everyone,
So I don't have any pics ready to post yet but I just wanted to let you all know that our girls are both at home!!!!!!!! We are THRILLED!!! They are just darling and we are all LOVING having them here, me home, and everyone together again. I will get pics up soon so you can see how absolutely gorgeous and matchy they are. :) Once again, thank you all for everything!! More to come so check back... :)

Still not home...

Hi everyone,
You get to hear from me (Kasey) this time. :) I just wanted to give an update. We are sad to report that our little girls are STILL not home. :( We are baffled, and all the nurses and doctors are baffled as well. For those of you who don't know, the girls are perfectly healthy...they just have to learn to eat and then they can come home. There are a number of feeding "tests" they have to pass before they can be released. So far we just finished our 3rd round of tests and they are close but still not passing. As of today, they are both "resting" and will start "testing" again in 2 days. Hopefully by then they will be strong enough to get through them. Please keep our little girls in your prayers. IF things go well they could be home by this weekend...
I also can't thank you all enough, especially our families, ward, and friends for all the love, babysitting, food, and words of encouragement and support you have given our family throughout this entire ordeal. We love you guys and feel very blessed by all your Christlike service and love. I cannot express enough how grateful to be surrounded by such wonderful, thoughtful people. We are praying for you and your families and have felt your continued prayers for ours. Hopefully we will be out of this soon.
By the way, the girls passed their due date on Monday and Abby is now weighing 7 lbs. 4 oz. and Claire is 6 lbs. 9 oz.

In my last post (October 29th) I said that our twins would be home in a week and a half to two and a half weeks, that was based on what the doctor said about the girls progress. Well here we are almost four weeks later and those stinkers are still at the hospital. However, things are looking good for our girls to come home in the next few days.

The reason that they are not home yet is that they are not eating completely on their own. Abby and Claire did very well with their feedings in the first few weeks but seamed to reach a plateau in the last few weeks. In the last few days however, they have been getting several full feeding on their own.

Tomorrow (Sunday) Kasey will be going to the hospital for a 12 hour test. If the girls eat on their own for the full twelve hours they will go to a 24 hour test. If they pass that then they can come home. They have told us that the girls should be home by Thanksgiving.

Abby and Claire have taken turns with who is doing better than the other. On the day they were born Abby had no issues while Claire needed lots of tests and treatment. Then Claire showed more progress than Abby for a few weeks. In the last few days Abby is eating a little better than Claire. The competition between siblings has already begun.

Last week at church someone said to me that he was surprised that Kasey and I aren't more stressed with this whole thing. I told him that we do have our moments. First off, we would be very stressed if the girl’s health were in question. If that were the case I am sure that we would have a hard time even leaving the hospital. We have been fortunate that Abby and Claire have been healthy since day one. The stressful part of this whole thing has been trying to live regular lives while dedicating several hours a day to taking care of the girls thirty miles from our other children. Kasey gets down sometimes because she can't bring the twins home. I get frustrated not having my wife home. But at the end of the day we are immensely grateful that our girls are healthy and that we live in an age and country where our children can get this kind of care. Plus, having babies in the NICU is a cakewalk compared to seeing Obama get elected and watching the stock market every day:)

Getting Closer...

Right after the girls were born I had several conversations with nurses and doctors about what we could expect for the next few weeks. The explained what the girls progression would ideally look like. They would need to gain weight, breath on their own, maintain body temperature, learn how to eat, and stay free from sickness or infection. Four weeks later they have either accomplished or made significant progress in each of these areas. They also explained that Kasey would need to come once a day at first, then twice a day, three times, and then acctually stay at the hospital for a few days. One nurse practioner said "it will feel like it is never going to end", she was right.

Currently Kasey is in the twice a day time frame. She will only go down three times and then stay at the hospital when the girls are almost ready to come home. Going to the hosptial is a three hour trip. She takes the kids to one of her in-law's some time during the day and then goes again at night after I get home from work. She is handling everything very well. I was expecting a basket-case for a wife during this whole thing. Turns out that I am still the only basket-case around here. Kasey misses her babies but just takes things in stride like she normally does. We have been blessed with a wonderful wife and mother.

The girls are making good progress. As you can see in the pictures, they are both on oxygen. They need it because they were having "apneic episodes" which is where their breathing rates and oxygen saturation levels go down. This is normal for pre-mature babies and the doctors say they will grow out of it just fine. Their eating is improving as well. Right now they are at about 40 cc's per feeding. At first they were only getting 0-5 cc's from Kasey but over the last few days they have been getting anywhere from 5-21 cc's from Kasey. They are also gaining weight. Abby is 5 lbs 4 ozs and Claire is 4 lbs 14 ozs.

They have been vauge about when the babies will come home ever since the beginning. However, yestday that changed a little. The doctor said that they would be coming home in 1 1/2 to 2 1/2 weeks! We are exicited about that. Can't wait to give up a full night's rest.

I am beginning to understand the dynamics between twins. I have brothers who are identical twins. Although they are too manly to admit it, they are closer to each other than anyone else. I also baptized a man named Jim on my mission who had an identical twin that passed away. He frequently talked about his twin and how he missed him. He wrote a song about his twin and played it to us on his guitar a couple of times. I was even able to catch up to Jim a few years later in Denver while he was at a conference for twins who had lost their twin. I remember teaching Jim about how he could be together with his twin again, he paid special attention to that principle.

Even though Abby and Claire are only four weeks old, I can see the closeness between them. At a feeding a week or so ago Claire started getting restless when Abby left to be feed. The nurses said that always happens when they are separated. Once when I was holding them on the same pillow but not touching, they slowed nudged their way until they could feel the other. I think that they will be blessed to have a close relationship and best friend through-out their lives.

The girls love their bath time
Even though Abby (right) is only a few ounces bigger than Claire, she looks huge in comparission

Always snuggling

Good Night!

Girls Pluggin' Along

Little Abby sound asleep.

Abby and Claire are now two and a half weeks old. They seem to be steadily improving day by day (unlike the BYU football team). As of their two week birth day, Abby was 4 lbs 3 oz (3 lbs 8 oz at birth) and Claire was 4 lbs even (3 lbs 5 oz at birth). They have both been tolerating full feedings, which means that they no longer get any of their nutrition through an IV. They started breast feeding a couple of days ago and are doing great at it. They have told us that for the week or two they are pretty much just practicing and to not expect them to actually do much feeding. The quantity of breast milk that they are getting is 37 cc's every three hours. They weigh the girls before feeding to see how much they got from Kasey and how much they still need through their feeding tubes. So far they have got from 2 to 18 cc's per feeding. Abby and Claire have also moved into the less intensive care portion of the NICU. They have also moved to a crib that does not assist them with their body temperature (holding their temperature on their own is a key step in being able to come home).

Here are the criteria that Abby and Claire need to meet in order to come home:

1. Maintain body temperature on their own - check


2. Maintain their oxygen levels and heart rate without assistance - they have had a little bit of trouble with this. They were having several episodes a day (normal for premature babies) but in the last few days they have had only one or two each.


3. Receive all of their nourishment from Kasey for a full 24 hours

Based on their progress, I would guess that they are still two or three weeks from coming home.

Kasey and I have mixed feelings about having them at the hospital. We obviously want the girls to come home but we are incredibly grateful for the advancement in health care that is taking care of them. Accommodating the babies needs is brutal at times. Kasey needs to be at the hospital to feed them twice every day. It takes her an hour of drive time and a couple hours of with the girls each visit. Morgan and Jake are acting up because they are being passed around much more than we would like. My evenings are filled with time taking care of the kids and helping around the house. A nurse mentioned a possibility that would be awful - one of the girls coming home before the other. So far they are pretty much progressing at the same rate, so hopefully that will not be an issue.

We are very grateful for all of the help that we have received from family and friends. So far all of the babysitting has been handled by family. We are trying to keep the number of places that they kids go to a minimum so that they have a little stability. The ward has kept us stocked with dinners, which seem to come at the most optimal times. Thank you for all of your offers of help and encouragement. Please keep Abby and Claire's healthy return home in your prayers.

Claire on the left, Abby on the right. I underestimated how cute it would be to have twins. They are always looking at each other and cuddling. The other night when Abby left to feed, Claire started getting upset that her sister was gone. Very sweet to see them together.

Kasey holding the girls together for the first time

Tomorrow will be one week since our Abby and Claire were born. They are as healthy as we could hope for at this time. They are breathing on their own and are free from infection. We have been able to hold the babies every day.

We are starting to get an idea of what the next few weeks will be like. In short, the reason that the babies will be at the hospital for the next five to seven weeks is that they need to learn how to eat. They started off receiving almost all of their nutrients through an IV and very little of Kasey's milk. At this point they are about 50% IV and 50% Kasey's milk. Next week some time they will be getting all of their nutrients from Kasey's milk and they will take out the IV's. Sounds easy enough right? The only issue is that they are getting Kasey's milk through a feeding tube. Learning how to eat on their own is the next big hurdle. They will start by getting one feeding from Kasey per day. Once they can handle one they will move to two, then three, four, etc. Once they can feed entirly from Kasey for a full day and maintain their temperature without assistance they will be able to come home. Kasey will be more needed at the hospital as the weeks go by and will eventually need to stay there for a few days. We are so grateful that we have a good ward and family that are so willing to help with our needs at this time.

In the meantime we are trying to keep a schedule. Kasey goes to the hospital every day for a few hours. I go and hold them for an hour or so after work. We can take Morgan and Jake on the weekends, but that only lasts a few minutes before Jake starts messing with machines that are tracking the baby's vital health measurments.

Kasey and I agree that this is harder then we anticipated. While at the hospital we thought that we would kind of enjoy having some time to get prepared for the babies to come home. We would be able to get a full-night sleep and let someone else change the poopie diapers - all while knowing that the twins are getting the care they need. We have found, however, that we really want those girls here with us. The best way I can describe it is that our home feels empty without them. You are suppossed to come home with Mom and the babies. Leaving them at the hospital has been tough for us.

We are happy to know that when we are not at the hospital with them, the girls have each other. A couple of days ago they put Abby and Claire in the same crib. They are now kicking and poking each other all over again. I am sure that it is very comforting for them to be together like they are used to.

Thanks for all of your prayers and support.

Daddy and his three girls. I am in trouble.

Day Three

After much deliberation we have decided to name the girls. We took into consideration several suggestions. Morgan wanted to name them Ni hao and Kai-lan, my Dad wanted to name them Cheryl and Barrel. However, we decied to go with names that are a little more traditional. Baby A is named Abigail Nell Lighten and Baby B is named Clarie Eliza Lighten (hopefully I got those spellings correct!)

The girls are now three days old and doing very well. They have already surpassed their Dad in the thickness of their hair. They have had no trouble breathing on their own since a couple of hours after birth. Their next big task is learning how to eat. They started off with miniscul amounts of Mother's milk and have tolerated it just fine. The staff will slowly increase the amount of milk each day. They are being supplemented with an IV of nutriants. It really is amazing to see the medical practice at work. Kasey and I have commented several times on how grateful we are that we live in an age and country with such advancement in health care.



Kasey came home from the hospital today. She was a little emotional as we drove away from the hospital leaving the babies behind. She will probably go up twice a day to hold and eventually feed the babies.



I saw something that really touched me yesterday. Kasey and I went to the NICU to hold the babies. The nurse put baby Claire against Kasey's chest and wrapped them tightly together with a blanket. For the first couple of minutes Claire kept looking up at Kasey making sweet baby sounds. I could tell that the familiarity of Mom came back to her and that Claire loved it. She then nestled her head against Mom and fell asleep. Seeing Kasey with her baby together like that was quite tender.

Below are a couple of videos that give a good size perspective of the girls. Thanks for all of your support and prayers.

Double Trouble - But All is Well

Let me start by saying that we are blessed to have two healthy baby girls. Now I will go on with the rest of the story because it sounds a little scary...

On Monday, Kasey went to her OB/GYN for a routine check on the babies. Kasey had a feeling to ask the doctor to check her cervix even though he was not planning to. After checking, the Dr said "oh, you are dilated to a four" and immediately sent her to labor and delivery at American Fork hospital. They gave her a steroid shot (helps pre-me babies develop quicker) monitored her for a couple of hours and checked her again. She had progressed to five and a half with a bulging sack of water. Being as how these babies were only 31 weeks along, Kasey needed to be transferred to a hospital with a better Newborn Intensive Care Unit. That hospital is Utah Valley Regional Medical Center in Provo. So they gave her some medicine to stop the labor and sent her to off in an ambulance to Provo (Kasey felt less important because they didn't use sirens:).

This was probably the scariest point of the labor. Kasey had Jake about an hour after her water broke so we were worried that if the water broke in transit the babies might be in trouble. They were also hoping to give here another steroid shot on Tuesday. She made it to UVRMC and the medicine stabilized the labor. She was able to get the steroid shot on Tuesday.

At this point we did not know if she was going to have the babies in hours or weeks. Kasey was told that she would not leave the hospital until the babies were born. Obviously, the thought of staying at the hospital for weeks was depressing, but we knew that the babies would be better off the longer they cooked. They transferred Kasey to the "long-term labor" area. She had friends and family come with stacks of videos, books, and magazines. Volunteers (who had spent weeks at the hospital in labor themselves) came to encourage Kasey. However, the feelings about staying at the hospital soon became irrelevant.

On Tuesday evening Kasey started having contractions and her cervix started dilating. The nurse said that since this was happening despite her having the medicine to stop labor, she would probably deliver that night. I ran down to the hospital at about 12:30 am. Kasey slowly progressed, knowing that each hour delayed was good for the babies. Finally, at about 9:00 the doctor said that they were going to break the water. His logic was that they had been exposed to the steroids long enough, and that the babies were going to come soon anyways. He wanted to deliver the babies with everything (staff, rooms, NICU) ready to go as opposed to waiting until her water broke and rushing things. We were off to have the babies delivered.

We went to a very high-tech room that was attached to the NICU. At 9:21 am on Wednesday "Baby A" was delivered, followed by "Baby B" at 9:23. The doctor pulled them out, let the babies give Mom a quick wave and they were off to the NICU. Each of the babies had a staff of five stabilizing them. Both were struggling to breath (as to be expected). Each baby was given a "cpap", which adds pressure to the lungs so that the babies won't have to work as hard. Baby A did fine with that but her sister had a little harder time coming along. They had to inject some medicine into Baby B's lungs that acts a lubricant to help the lungs expand. After this and a couple of other complicates she was doing well on the cpap just like baby A. After a couple of hours, baby A was breathing so well that they took her off of the cpap and gave her a bath. Baby B accomplished the same feet a few hours later.

The NICU is pleasantly surprised at how well our girls are doing. Their lungs are stabilized and developing and that is the number one concern with pre-mature babies. The next challenge will be eating. They have explained to us that eating is one of the last things babies learn to do before being born at full term. So pre-me's brains, mouths, and bellies are just not prepared to eat and digest. The nurses need to teach them how to eat in the NICU and it will take weeks to do so.
For that purpose we will probably not be bringing the babies home for seven or eight weeks. This will obviously be tough, especially on Kasey. But we have a wonderful family and ward that are all so willing to help.

In summation, we are grateful. We are grateful to our Father in Heaven for blessing us with two of his children. We are grateful for the spirit prompting Kasey to ask the doctor to be checked at such a crucial point. We are grateful for the wonderful medical facilities, doctors and nurses, and medicines. The babies would probably not have made it without any of these. We are grateful for the love, support, and prayers of friends and family.

Thanks and we love you all,

Trevor and Kasey, Morgan, Jake, A, B (we're still working on better names!)

1st video - Baby B (maybe Claire) 2nd video - Baby A (Ashley, Lydia, or Sydney)

Baby B (1st) Baby A (2nd)

I can't stop!!!

With twins coming, I have started going into "Get-It-Done" mode. So this page is a combo of Halloween pics from the last two years...I am really behind I know. :)

Another one....

Told you I have the scrappy bug... :)

A few scrappy pages...

I have got the scrapbooking bug again and so I thought I would post make latest creations. :) I love scrapbooking because not only does it help me document my life but it also gives me a chance to reflect on moments that I hadn't thought about in a while. Who knows...maybe I would forget them over time...sad thought. :( Enjoy!

Summer Fun...

This summer has been CRAZY, but SOOO FUN! From lots of camping to having company stay with us to being in the sunshine 24/7...I thought there is no way I can blog all of it. So I decide to do a random sampling of pics from our Summer-To-The-Max! :) Enjoy!

We started the summer off by ending Morgan's dance class and starting her gymnastics...Here is a pic of her at her Oh-Too-Cute recital with her BFF Addie!Next we went Camping with Rich and Lisa , Heather and Dallan, Megan and Ernesto, and all the kids! We went to this great place Rich found called Maple Grove...it was a perfect site with plenty of room for all of us and it even had a little stream that ran through the middle so the kids could fish. They loved it...although Uncle Rich caught most of the fish! :)

After Maple Grove, we went to Yellowstone National Park with our friends Brian, Julie, and Easton. The kids loved sleeping in our tent...especially since I made Trev buy a tent heater before we left. :) We saw tons of wildlife during the day and played some intense games of Settlers at night in Brian and Julie's tent trailer. The kids loved seeing all the buffalo, elk, deer, and even bears...that's right folks we saw 3 black bears! On our way home we stopped at Bear World in Rexburg and saw probably 20 bears as well. They also had these little kids carnival rides that our kids just LOVED! They still say their favorite part of the Yellowstone trip was Bear World. Expensive place, but definately worth it!

<---The kids rock-climbing.

-------->
Morgan and Daddy at the outlook to the Lower Falls...gorgeous view but 325 stairs to get there! Not the best idea when you are prego with twins. :)

<----- Jake watching the Upper Falls...much easier access. :)

--------> Back up the stairs and smiling again! :)

After Yellowstone the very next weekend we had our cousins Jordan and Ryan come stay the week with us. We partied NON-STOP!!! We went to the pool, played on our big waterslide, Seven Peaks water park, Girls' Night Out, Boys' Night Out, ran a 10K, went to 2 parades, visited temple square, and even went to the Miley Cyrus-Stadium of Fire Concert complete with an amazing fireworks display! Whew...it makes me tired just thinking about it! But it was sooo fun to have Jordan and Ryan here...we miss and love them soo much! Here are a few pics of that week...

*Just a sidenote: We got this waterslide at the beginning of the summer. I can't tell you how many times we have used it...and it is seriously one of the BEST purchases Trev and I have made! Major props to the Waterslide!!! LOVE IT!

Once Jordan and Ryan left we were off again...this time to Lake Powell!!!! Thanks to Heather and Dallan (especially Dall's parents) we get to go to Lake Powell once a year...play on Dall's parents boats and toys, and even stay at their home and shower regularly. We eat tons of yummy food and the kids have a blast! This year it was Trev and I, Heather and Dall, and Rich and Lisa - plus all our kids of course. The first day we had 2 waverunners and this was by far Jake's favorite part. He want to take a ride on the "boat" all day long! I even braved them as well...and wound up in the emergency room that night! :) No big deal, I just woke up with major cramps in my stomach and so the doctor told me to to go to the emergency room just to make sure everything was okay. I did and they did all sorts of tests and both of our little girls are just fine. They were however, in a big fight when we did the ultrasound. :) I hope this is not a sign of things to come... :) Here are some pics from this super-fun trip...THANKS Heather and Dall!

<---- Trev's new favorite toy....we got a water balloon launcher! He couldn't wait to try it out so we took it to Lake Powell and pelted each other. :)

Whewww...okay so that gets me all caught up! It's hard to believe that we have already done all of this and we only have about a month left of summer! As you can see it has been really crazy but super-duper fun and it's not over yet! We love SUMMER!!!

They are Girls!!!

The wait is over! We found out on Monday that we are going to be welcoming two beautiful, identical baby girls into our family. :) We are very excited and I have already begun scouring the pottery barn kids catalog for the cutest baby girl nursery ever! Too fun!

Changes....

Okay, for those of you who don't already know...Yes I cut my hair off!!! Just kidding, that's not the BIG news but fun news nonetheless. :) So here's our latest BIG NEWS: Yes, we are expecting...but this time there are TWO of them!!! That's right all....TWINS!!! Can you believe it???

Here is what we know so far...I am 14 weeks along, we don't know the sexes yet (and of course, we will find out as soon as possible), and the doctors' say it looks like they will be identical (so either two boys or two girls). We are INCREDIBLY excited and feel INCREDIBLY blessed to have two of Heavenly Father's precious little ones to come and join our family. Everything has gone great with the pregnancy...I don't get sick, which is WONDERFUL and both babies seem to be growing healthy and strong. We are a little blown away that the number of our children is doubling in one shot but we are all really excited and trying to stock up on diapers and wipes. :) I am trying to focus my efforts and resources on that right now because I know once we find out the sexes I will automatically switch into "matching clothes buying mode." :) I also recently found out that most childrens' clothing stores offer a "mulitiples" discount - of which, I plan on taking FULL advantage of! :)

Why I love being a mother...

I just want to take this opportunity to say how grateful I am to be a mother. I am convinced that Heavenly Father has blessed Trev and I with some of his most precious and choice spirits. Our children bring such joy into our lives and our world revolves around them. I just hope that I enjoy these tender moments in my life so that I don't look back and regret that I didn't. Morgan is the sweetest, most tender-hearted little girl. She is beautiful, intelligent, super-duper sweet, loving, and funny too. She melts my heart and I just think that Heavenly Father knew how perfectly she would fit into our lives. I am grateful for her thoughtful spirit and her example to me of Christ-like love. If only I can learn to be more like her. And my sweet boy, Jake. What can I say...he is ALL boy and I LOVE it! He is such an active, rowdy little guy that when he takes the time to just sit and snuggle (not often) I just melt. From day one he has always been a daddy's boy, but lately I have definately made up some ground! He is also sooo funny! He knows when he has an audience and he works the crowd like mad. We have people telling us all the time what a cool kid he is. From what I understand, he pretty much runs the nursery every Sunday and keeps the Nursery leaders in stitches. The other side of him I absolutely adore is that he has a loving heart as well. He ADORES his "sissy." If and when, he gets hurt he always wants to cuddle and won't be satisfied until we kiss his "ouchies" better. He is constantly showing me that I need to enjoy life. He is just the happiest, fun, out-going little guy and I just LOVE that about him. As you can see, I am a very blessed woman and that's not even mentioning how wonderful my sweet husband is. I could go on and on about him too. I just love my life and am so grateful that Heavenly Father provides us so much happiness in a life that is supposed to be difficult. I have learned a lot more about my Heavenly parents by becoming a parent myself. I love my family and I LOVE my Heavenly Father for bringing them into my life and creating so much joy for me.

No good reason....just haven't blogged lately. :)

Hey everyone (or atleast those of you who are still actually looking at my blog since I have posted in like 2 months!),

Sorry for the delay...I just haven't gotten around to blogging lately. No good reason, just haven't done it. :) But I am still here and I am going to try to keep up in the future. :)

Things have been pretty much the same in the Lighten home; Trev works, I raise our babies, and the kids make messes. Ya know, the usual. :) So I decided to post just a few little snapshots of life. One is of Morgan getting her first set of braids in her hair (which she loved, she called it her Silly Hair). The other is of Jake just lounging on the couch during the braiding, watching his favorite movie Cars, with one of his Vrooms, Vrooms (Jake's word for cars) strategically placed next to him. He is all boy and just LOVES his Vroom, Vrooms. :)

Tag...you're it!!!

I wondered how long it would be before this happened to me...I have been tagged. Here are the rules and a few interesting tidbits about me... :)
Rules:
1. The rules of the game are posted at the beginning.
2. Each player answers the following questions about themselves.
3. At the end of the tag, you have to name 5 people you are tagging. Then you leave them a comment on their blog letting them know it's their turn!

Here goes...

Q&A:
1. What was I doing 10 years ago? Well, since my birthday is TODAY I would have been turning sweet 16 and taking my driving test! About two weeks after which I got my very first speeding ticket...:(

2. 5 things on my to do list today: Take the kids to a puppet show at the library, do a spin class at the gym, have lunch with Trev at Cafe Rio (YUM!), play with my kids, and patiently wait for all the birthday well-wishers to ring in on my cell-io! I always expect to experience a high call volume toward the evening hours... :)

3. What snacks do I enjoy? I love pretty much any baked goods, chocolate, and candy on the junk food side. On the healthy side, I am a big fruit eater. I love pretty much all kinds of fruit. I would have to say my favorites are watermelon and strawberries. Yummm....

4. What would I do if I were suddenly a billionaire? First, I would pay off my home. Second, take a super-fun vacation. Third, make a major dent in the inventory of Nordstrom, babyGap, Pottery Barn, and Dicks' Sporting Goods. Lastly, I would buy myself a brand-spanking new Infiniti QX-56, fully-loaded of course! I would also make a fast offering donation that would blow the ward clerk's mind. :)

5. 3 bad habits: Not signaling when changing lanes (thanks to so much time driving in Utah), staying up too late, and not checking my voicemail on my cell phone (I have attempted to do better at this lately).

6. 5 Places I have lived: Centennial, Colorado; Provo, Utah; Kansas City, Missouri; Las Vegas, Nevada; and Lehi, Utah.

7. 5 jobs I have had: Hostess at Chili's; Secretary at Denver Reserve; Secretary for my Hubby (go pest control!); Sales Associate at Victoria's Secret; Photographer; and proud mother of two and homemaker!

8. 5 things people don't know about me: I can sleep right through my alarm clock if Trev doesn't wake me up. I have a secret desire to be a hip-hop dancer. I wore a fake tooth for about 3 years. I grew up in a trailer park...although, Trev likes to tell everyone that so maybe you already know. :) When I was young I had the biggest crush on Zach from Saved by the Bell (but seriously what 10 year old girl didn't?).

Okay, enough about me...I am tagging Amanda, Kim, Lindsey, Holly, and Jodi!

My latest craft...

Okay, so I am not the biggest crafter but thanks to my sisters-in-law mentors I am learning! Seriously, my ALL the women on Trevor's side of the family are incredibly talented when it comes to crafts. I feel so amateur to let them see my work...check out http://www.craftycraftygirls.blogspot.com/ and you will see EXACTLY what I mean! :) However, thanks to their tutelage I have am proud to post my new tote purses that I made...one for me and one for Morgan's dance shoes! TA-DAAA!!! Enjoy! :)

Blogging is the BEST!!!

I just have to give a little shout-out to the blogging society! I can't believe that so many people have blogs and it is such a great way to keep in touch with everyone. I think I added like 5 families that I know to my Fav's simply by going to one persons' blog and linking up from there! It is soo fantastic!! Love, love, love it!!!

GO MITT!!!

Well, the Giants just had a Super-Bowl upset tonight...hopefully we will see the same thing on Super Tuesday for the Romneys!!! I encourage all of you who are voting for Mitt Romney to make sure to do so...as for the rest of you...please stay home! :) I truly believe that Mitt can lead this country back into prosperous times and get us back on the right track. I am immensely concerned as to what the other candidates would do in the White House, both on the Republican and Democratic side. We have had enough people from Washington give it a go...why don't we try someone who has actually achieved the American dream we are all striving for! If any of you are on the fence as to who to vote for...please give me a call and I would be glad to tell you why I feel Mitt to be the right candidate! This is a very important Presidential year...let the government and the country know where you stand! GO MITT!!!

"My Prophet..."

I would like to take a moment and just express my love for President Hinckley. As probably most of you already know, he passed away this last Sunday at the age of 97. For those of you who are not of my LDS faith, you probably did not know him that well, or at all for that matter. But for those of you who did know him, I am sure you will agree that he will be sorely missed. I am so happy for him to be reunited with his sweet wife, Marjorie, his Savior, and his eternal Father in Heaven. Considering the life he lead, I can only imagine that that reunion must have been very sweet. He was a kind, loving man and an example of Christ-like love to all those he came into contact with. I never met him personally, but I feel as though I know him and I look forward to the day when I can meet him in the eternities. He truly is and probably always will be "my prophet." We love you President Hinckley!