Such a relief!

Late last fall my sister Chelsie found out she was pregnant, yay! So in February Chelsie had an Echo-cardiogram done on her heart. She has a leaky valve and she has known about it since she was in 1st grade. Well the results came back that her valves were fine but her heart wasn't. She found out she was in Heart Failure. They weren't sure if it was due to the pregnancy or if it came some other way. I was in shock. How could this be happening? I swear every week went by so slowly. She had so many doctor appointments it was ridiculous how often she was going. They wanted to make sure her heart wasn't getting any worse than it already was. While pregnant your heart is under more stress due to the double amount of fluid and blood your heart has to pump. They decided to induce her 10 days early, that way the right doctors would be at the hospital.


On May 11th, 3:57PM Emma Kate was welcomed into her family. She was 7 lbs 3 oz and 20.5 inches long.

 

The most dangerous time for her heart was the week after delivery. Due to the fluid change, it's really hard on a weak heart. Luckily everything has gone smoothly. She stayed a couple extra days at the hospital and wore a heart monitor home. She goes to the doctor weekly to check her heart function. So far so good.

 

I am so thankful both Chelsie and Emma are doing well. I broke down multiple times during her pregnancy thinking of the worst case scenario. I literally had panic attacks. It has been so hard living so far away knowing she is going through this trial. Even now thinking about it I am in tears because Chelsie is one of the most important people in my life and I couldn't do it without her. I am thankful my tears are tears of happiness and gratitude that she is still here with me and made it through such a scary time in her life. And I am also thrilled to have this new sweet baby in our lives.

 

 

 

 

Chelsie I want you to know that I love you so very much. You are my very best friend and I would do anything in the world for you. I cannot wait to hug you in 2 weeks, get ready for some tears because I have missed you so much. Love you all, congratulations on sweet Emma...I can't wait to snuggle with her!

Celebrate!

To celebrate our 7th year of marriage we drove to Chicago! We bought tickets to see the Cubs play against the Pittsburg Pirates at Wrigley Field. I've heard a lot about Wrigley Field but seeing it in person was absolutley amazing! It is a site you all need to see. The field is in the middle of a neighborhood and the energy is overwhelming, it's hard to describe.

 

 

Family picture before the game...

 

We had really good seats, especially for Cambree because she was such a busy little body. She didn't really want to sit there and enjoy the game.

 

 

 

 

After the game we caught a taxi and went to the Water Tower Place, which is a mall that has 7 levels. It was raining outside so our plans of walking down Magnificent Mile (mile long of shopping) was changed, guess we'll have to go back to enjoy shopping outside! And yes, I changed Cambree's clothes into some shopping appropriate clothing instead of ball game attire :)

 

 

Benton and I agree going to the Cubs game was one of the best things we did since we moved here, definitely something everyone should experience! Happy Anniversary babe, hope you had as much fun as I did! Love you!

 

Our Anniversary!

Today we are celebrating our 7th year of marriage! When I was a little girl I dreamed of the day when I would meet my husband. What would he be like? What would he look like? What would our lives be like?

As the years past and I started dating I wondered "Is this guy the man I'm going to marry? Is he worth marrying? Could he make me happy?"

 

 

I often think about how just one decision could change the outcome of my life. What if my parents ended up choosing to live in Bountiful vs Layton when we moved back to Utah from Minnesota? What if after graduating my parents hadn't moved to St. George but instead stayed in Layton...what would have happened? I think everything happens for a reason. Thankfully my parents moved to Layton, Utah and in 8th grade I met the love of my life.

Now I don't have to wonder what my husband is like and how our lives will be. I know that I have married the perfect man for me. He is such a loving husband, he makes me laugh like no one can, he can read my mind and finish my sentences, he knows what scares me and how to comfort me, he is my protector, and the one I lean on during tough times, he is my best friend.

Here's a snapshot of us 2 together for the past 7 years! This is the night my love asked me to marry him...

 

Us on our honeymoon in Oahu, Hawaii...

 

 

 

 

We made it to our 1st year of marriage without killing each other :) We stayed at the Homestead in Midway, Utah.

 

For our 2nd year we celebrated in Orlando, Flordia...

 

Went out to dinner for our 3rd year...

 

Our 4th year...

 

San Fransisco for our 5th year...

 

6th year, well I was 9 months pregnant so we had to stay close by!

 

And tomorrow we're off to Chicago to go see a Cubs Game at Wrigley Field, we can't wait (pictures to come later this weekend)!

Benton and I have been through a lot of changes this past year and our marriage is still strong. We finished our basement, Benton graduated from college, we welcomed our first child into our lives, I quit my job and so did Benton, we moved across the U.S. to Illinois, now I stay home and Benton started a new job...gees what else did we do? Those are big changes and we did it together. I'm excited to see what this upcoming year will bring!

Benton I love you very much, you are everything to me! Happy Anniversary!

What I learned...

Call me crazy, but I am a HUGE Oprah fan! My mom watched her as I grew up and I kept watching her when I left home. I don't know how many times I've said "Well on Oprah..." It's almost like everything I hear on her show I claim as a fact and I know why something is the way it is because I heard it on Oprah :)

I'm sad today was her last show, yes I admit, I shed a couple of tears. I look forward to watching her every single day. Now what am I going to look forward to watching in the afternoon? I've never understood why people don't like her? My mind just can't wrap around that thought. She really is one of the most giving people I can think of. So what are some things I learned on Oprah over the years that stuck with me?

~Forgiveness. When you forgive someone it doesn't mean you have to be "best friends" with them, you are actually doing it for yourself and your soul. Otherwise you are carrying around hate/anger which can make your heart feel heavy. Forgive them and move on. Oprah says "Forgiveness is letting go of the hope that the past can be changed."

~Everyone has a calling, you are responsible for your own life.

~Love yourself for who you are, you are worthy.

~Everyone needs validation. I see you, I hear you, and what you say matters to me.

~When you know better you do better.

~Don't judge a person by their cover. You don't know what they've been through.

~When your child walks in the room, does your face light up? Let your face speak what's in your heart.

 

~Slow down. I always think about the episode where the mother left her child in the car and forgot about them. Now as a mom, I know how busy life gets and how you have a 1,000 thoughts a minute but you need to remember to slow down and make sure your priorities are where they should be.

~Texting while driving is absolutely absurd. I don't support anyone who does it. It's just not worth the risk. I really need to be better about not talking on my cell phone. I stopped when the show came out but as time has past, I also have been talking more on my cell phone while driving. I will say right now, I will consciously make a decision to wait til I arrive at my location before I talk and drive at the same time.

Research found that talking on a cell phone quadruples your risk of an accident. "For comparison purposes, someone who's drunk at a 0.08 blood alcohol level has a four-time crash increase. So talking on a cell phone is about the same as driving drunk," he says. "When you're text messaging, the crash risk goes up to eight times."

~Trust yourself, if you have a feeling about something, listen to it.

I could go on and on, but I doubt you all want to read about it. I will say I really have enjoyed The Oprah Show and even though it is over I will remember all the good things I have learned over the years. Also, it's not the end of Oprah, since she has her channel on OWN (Oprah Winfrey Network) so I guess that's what I'll be watching in the afternoon :)