Thoughts about the Trek!

I posted this on my Facebook, but thought I would put it here too, even though I haven't had any views in several months.  It's about the Trek I went on about 8 years ago.  Our stake is going on another one in a few weeks and there have been many parents and youth that have been less than excited.  Here is my response to them:

I've heard a lot of comments from lots of different people in my ward and stake about the upcoming Trek.  Lots are good, however some are not as good.  Some are extremely pessimistic.  After talking to Josh about it for awhile, I decided that I was going to post this note with some of the thoughts I had while on the Trek.  

The Trek is not something to take lightly.  Sure we had fun, however, what we were doing was much more than simply pulling handcarts and getting sweaty, tired and hungry.  It put us in a situation that humbled us and, if we had the right attitude, it allowed us to feel the Spirit for 3 days straight.  The feelings that you have and the things that are done while on the Trek are not to be taken lightly.  You will be walking on ground that people gave everything they had to get to the next camp that night.  Lots of times, not even knowing if they were going to have something to eat, water to drink, or a warm place to sleep.  You will be standing on ground where people died trying to give their families a better life somewhere else.  

Preparing for the Trek might be time consuming, labor intensive, and exhausting.  All that considered, it is the best thing that any parent can do for their kids.  Especially those wavering.  I had experiences on the Trek that I still remember today and probably will forever.  I won't go into detail on what they were, but I definitely grew closer to heaven in those 3 short days that we were on the Trek.  

What I remember from the Trek isn't how hard it was or how much we walked each day.  I remember the feelings that we had each day and the friendships that were made.  I don't remember how dirty we got or how much dirt we ate.  I do remember how cold the water felt on my legs while crossing the river in the middle of August and thinking how cold it was in the middle of winter.  I remember how the rocks on Rocky Ridge felt under my feet as we were invited to take our shoes off if we would like.  I remember how hard it was when the girls had to pull the cart by themselves up the steepest hill I've ever seen to symbolize when the men got called to the Mormon Battalion, and also the girls that had already pulled a handcart up a hill coming back down to help the next ones up the hill.  I remember how I felt as we stood in Martin's Cove.  No one had to say a word for us to feel the Spirit and the sacredness of what happened there.

So excuse me if I don't take your comments about the preparation being "too hard" very seriously.  It is the best thing that your kids could be doing this summer.  Don't hinder their spiritual experience by your lack of morale.  Encourage all the young men and young women to go on the Trek.  And if you need help, give me a call!  I'd be more than happy to come share the experiences I had!  Sorry if this note offends any of you, but you need to know that I feel very strongly about the Trek and what happens on it.

MIA

Wow... I've been a little MIA lately!  It's been over a year since I've posted.  Here is a little update on how we are doing!

We now have another little one in our family!  She is pretty awesome and we can't imagine life without her!  Celes is the best big sister and Evie just loves her.  Celes was the first one to get a smile out of Evie and she still makes her happier than any of us.

We have had a lot of fun this last year too!  We have been to Seattle twice and Vegas and Nashville once, Josh became a Master in Taekwondo, and lots of other family fun.  Here is a little bit of what we have been up to:

The 2 pictures above are from my brother's wedding in Nashville.

Josh and I went with some friends to a Blink-182 concert and had SO much fun!

We picked pumpkins at the pumpkin patch in October.

Santa came to visit us at the studio! Celes was a little unsure at first but she warmed up!

We announced that we were going to have another baby!

We went to Seattle for Josh's tkd tournament and went to the zoo. This was Celes' favorite exhbit... Yes those are salmon and trout.

4th of July parade in Albion!!

We loved going golfing this summer

Always supporting those Cougars!

Celes fell off the front stairs and got to go to the Urgent Care.

We once again picked pumpkins and Celes and Benson got a ride from Nana!

Celes' pick for Halloween

Mom's pick for Halloween! They were SO cute!

We took familly pictures and Hazel and Celes weren't done.

Josh stepped on a piece of glass and also got to visit Urgent Care!

We blessed Evie and had a wonderful day with family and friends!

Can you believe?

One year ago, I still looked like this...

And we were patiently waiting for this!

And now she looks more like this...

I can't believe how much has changed in the last year.  I can't even begin to describe how much having Celes has changed our lives!  She is a wild, crazy, funny, smart, gorgeous, loving little girl and we love her very much!  I can't believe that my little girl is going to be 1 in just 11 short days!

I FINALLY WIN!

I can't believe I actually won a giveaway!  I always enter but never win!  To check out what I won, you should click here!  And to help me pick out what I want, go here!

Easter Fun!

So it's been quite awhile since I've posted something!  Sorry about that!  

Here are some of the highlights of our Easter.  

This is our CUTE family picture.  Notice how I'm taller (because of my AMAZING shoes!!!) and Celes isn't even looking... She is easily distracted!

AND THEN!!!!! Nick proposed!  It was awesome and I'm so excited to go to Nashville this Fall to see them get married!  Maybe we can sneak a little vacation in there too!  Here is a picture of her beautimous ring!

Here is the happy couple!  Aren't they perfect for each other?!

Oh AND Celes has officially decided that the butt-scoot that she currently was doing instead of crawling was so last week so she up and walked AND crawled... AN HOUR APART FROM EACH OTHER!!!  Needless to say, I'm not sure how I feel about her walking already...  Hopefully she doesn't grasp the concept of walking lots of steps without holding on to people... She can do up to about 5 before it gets too wobbly for her but it won't be long I'm afraid... 

Sorry...

It has been forever since I have updated this!  We are just too busy now that it makes it hard to update. 
Here are a few quick little updates. 

Josh is still working at Goode and it seems that he is getting more and more things that he's in charge of every day.  Ali is still at First Federal and I am back to my part-time position.  There for awhile, I was covering for everybody else and I hadn't been part time since before Celes was born.  I like being part-time so I get to spend more time with Celes.  Celes has started to crawl backwards but still is refusing to roll over.  She goes to her side but doesn't want to go the rest of the way.  She just alternates left and right until it scoots her close enough to whatever she's trying to reach.  She has started to rock back and forth on her knees so I don't think it will be too much longer and she will be crawling.  She is 15 lbs 12 oz and 26 in.  She is still little for her age but I would rather her be little for longer than huge.  She still wears 3 mos in most of her dresses and onesies and 6 in anything with pants and 9-12 in sleepers because her legs and feet are so long.  She is a fun little girl and we can't wait for her to have another cousin in a few days!  Hopefully tomorrow right Kira?  Sorry for no pictures.  I plan on getting some posted soon because we have our family pictures from November that I still haven't posted yet!

My newest obsession!

In case you haven't heard, I have started to sell Miche Bags! I'm SO excited and I can't wait to have my first party on Saturday! I'm hoping that I can sell all the stuff I currently have so I can get some more stuff! I can also take long distance orders so if any of you want anything, let me know and I'll get it shipped to you! Click here to view the inventory and pricing! If you order with the party I'm doing on Saturday then you will be entered into a drawing to see who gets the hostess benefits since I'm technically the hostess and I can't have the hostess benefits!

Celes Santa Visit!!!!!!!!!

Celes did SO good with Santa! I was a little bit nervous but it turned out AWESOME! We got a great picture!

I'm an AUNT!!!!

This is Benson Scott Bame! He was born on October 4, 2010 and he is 9 lbs 1 oz and 21 inches long! He is a very pretty boy and we love him so much! Josh keeps saying, "Hey Al! I'm an uncle!" It's so cute!

Here is my brother Scott with his little boy! Congrats guys!

Celes' 2 month Dr. visit

Celes had her 2 month Dr. visit today and she did awesome! She now weighs 10 lbs 4 oz and she is 23.5 inches long! She's getting so big now! She's starting to develop a personality and we are having so much fun talking to her because she talks back! I keep trying to convince Josh that when she says "Mlah!" She really said "Mom!" So far I have had no such luck but maybe if I'm determined I will eventually convince him.

Celes got her 2 month shots today as well...poor baby! She's been a little bit fussy today but I don't blame her! I hate shots...

It's About Time!

So I think it's about time that I finally posted something on here! It has been a crazy 2 months so I am going to do 1 post covering the whole 2 months.

Here is where it all began, me and Josh going into the hospital to our scheduled induction. Needless to say, we didn't sleep a whole lot the night before, nor did I put makeup on. And of course, I got pinkeye the morning of the induction. Just my luck!

This is me at 41.5 weeks.

Celes at 2 days old. She didn't even fit into her newborn sleepers. This is the very smallest one we had. Who knew we should have bought preemie?

This is Celes at 3 days old. Me and my mom did a little photo shoot while Celes was asleep.

After her first bath with daddy. She loves her dad so much (just like mommy!)!

Cuddling in her towel after her first bath at home!

This is my side's 5 generation picture. From left to right: My mom, me, my great-grandma Oram, my grandma Van Horn, and Celes

Josh's side of the family's 4 generation picture. From left to right: Josh, Grandpa Angle, Janiece, and Celes

Celes at 1 month old. It's crazy how much she has changed already! She is still in newborn clothes (all except for pants, thank heavens it's capri weather!). She is wearing 3 month sleepers because her feet are too long for the other ones...sorry Celes, that's from mommy's side of the family!

Mommy and Celes at 2 months! I can't wait to see her grow up and all the fun things we will do together!

Celes Marie Burgess is finally here!

Celes Marie Burgess was born June 21, 2010 at 5:44 pm. She weighed 7 lbs 2 oz and was 19 1/2 inches long. She is such a good baby and we love her!

This picture was taken about 15 minutes after I gave birth. I still hadn't gotten to see her yet because she wasn't wanting to breathe. When they broke my water, there was a little bit of meconium in the fluid so they called in a respiratory therapist to examine her right after birth. They had a little trouble getting her to breathe because she had so much mucus and fluid in her. After about 30 minutes, I got to finally hold her.

This is Josh getting to see her for one of the first times.

This is her right after they finished suctioning her.

This is her 3 days old. She loves to lay like this so we had to take her picture! Every time we lay her down or hold her, she immediately goes into this ball. She loves to cuddle! She is SO cute!

Still Prego...

Just a little update on the situation:

I'm still pregnant, in case any of you were wondering. I went to the doctor today and he said I was at a 3, 80% effaced, and she is at a -1 position. This was good news for us because she has been VERY comfortable at a 2, 70-80%, and a -2 position for the last 4 weeks. It didn't help comfort me when they handed me the induction appointment/instructions paper... Hopefully it doesn't come to that though! He stripped my membranes again and hopefully she will be here soon!

Baby "bump" Week 39

These are some recent belly pictures. 39 weeks... Only 10 days left(or less!)

So here is hopefully my last blog post while I'm pregnant. I have gone through the scared phase where I didn't want to have her anytime soon and now I've moved on to the "I want to have her now!" phase.

I am betting that it will be Friday afternoon at 4 pm. One of our friends called Saturday at 12:30 am. What's your guess?

NURSERY!!!

Here are some updates on the nursery:

Josh's cousin Daniel and his wife Summer gave us this swing! It is a cradle swing and will come in handy I am sure!

This is the changing table that Kirk and Janiece gave to us!

We painted this dresser white because it was kind of beat up and looks WAY better white!

We bought 2 of these uniforms for her to go visit Daddy at the studio! They are SO DANG CUTE!!! One is 0-6 and the other is 6-12 so she's good to go until we can get her into a real uniform and get her doing some taekwondo!

This is the pack and play my mom gave us that we are going to use as a bassinet until our crib gets here some time in July.

My mom and I (mostly my mom) designed and made this quilt! We put green minky on the back of it. It is so soft and will keep little Celes warm at night!

We still have a few finishing touches that we are going to do such as letters spelling her name to go above the crib and some very creative wall art we are going to make using scrapbook paper. I will post more pictures when it is done!