But maybe it's more because of the fact that I had to see it with my own eyes.  Or maybe just because, for once, I wanted a different result - to prove myself sane as opposed to insane (you know the definition: someone who does the same thing over and over again expecting different results).  Regardless of my reasoning, I did it: I took an at-home pregnancy test.  You know what?  I'm pregnant!  If you've checked my blog in the last week, you obviously already knew this, but I decided to share the lovely news anyway :)

Thank you so much to all of you who responded to my initial blog post with congratulations!  We are incredibly excited about the new addition to our family.  Life has been pretty crazy since we arrived home.  Ellis starts soccer tonight (well, official practices start tonight, though he's already been to an optional practice) and I am their team manager (honey, did I mention that I decided to accept this task?!  If not, I'm sorry that you're finding out on here!  I love you!!).  It shouldn't be too bad, though.  I'm basically just the point-of-contact for the families on our team.  I give out directions to games, figure out some fundraising details and cheer on the team like I already do!  It will be a lot of fun!

Iain starts baseball tryouts this coming weekend, also.  It's going to be a crazy season!  Last year I don't think we had one night where everybody was home for dinner together during the soccer/baseball season.  We will make it work, though!

Claire is competing in the Future Problem Solvers state competition this coming weekend, as well.  I don't know all that much about this program, other than the fact that she wants me to be there, so after my Pampered Chef show that morning, I'm going to drive up to Roseville to watch the competition!  Crazy crazy crazy!

Life is busy, but I am lovin' every minute of it!

So, how are you?

Hello hello!  I have just a couple of minutes of spare time (who am I kidding?  I have all the spare time in the world!) and figured it was time to hop on the hotel computer and give you a little update on our vacation!  We have kept an extremely busy schedule while we've been here, which has been good, as I've discovered our kids have a tendency to quickly bore of things!  We have taken hikes up mountains (and prayed that the rattlesnakes stayed away!), visited a ghost town, visited the Luke Air Force Base and received a tour compliments of two very awesome air force employees.  We have eaten out and eaten in, spent many hours in the pool and much time in the sun.  I'm hoping to come home with this beautiful burn I've got going on :)

Through all of this vacationing, though, I must admit that I miss home and am so very ready to head there tomorrow!  Thank you Woody and Marion for an amazing vacation!  It has been fabulous :)              

Well, I've been gone for awhile, but it's entirely my own fault.  You see, I've been unable to get to a computer with internet access.  We brought our laptop with us to Arizona (did I mention that my family is currently on vacation, visiting my inlaws in Arizona?!), but unfortunately we are still having problems with the internet connections on it.  For some reason our wireless card will detect the networks available, but won't give us the option to connect to them.  So, that is a problem I will deal with when we get back home.  For now, I will just enjoy my vacation, enjoy this beautiful 87 degree weather, enjoy the peace and quiet of spending the afternoon with my daughter and my mother in law.

Did I mention that I'm using my inlaws' computer to type this?  Because I am.

I've been thinking about this blog post for awhile now, wondering just how I'm going to encompass everything that I have to share - and I decided to be brief about it.  However, I didn't know if I should go the directly blunt route, or to skirt around the subject.  So instead of having to make that decision, I'm going to give both of them to you.

This one is me skirting around the subject: I'm just relaxing, enjoying the beautiful Arizona weather, being thankful that I am not experiencing any morning sickness with this pregnancy, touring ghost towns, touring the air force base ... staying incredibly busy!

This is me being directly blunt: Does anybody have any maternity clothes that I can borrow .... cause I'm going to need them soon!

In case that wasn't blunt enough for you, let me tell you that I AM PREGNANT!!!!  I had blood drawn for a pregnancy test at my OBGYN's office on Monday before we left and then heard the results yesterday morning.  To say I'm completely elated doesn't even begin to describe how I feel!  We're really excited .. even the kiddos were thrilled to hear about our great news!  I definitely will not forget the fact that God gets all the glory for this amazing life growing within me!  It worked out so perfectly that, when I finally truly gave my concerns to Him, He blessed and rewarded me with the desire of my heart!

Unfortunately my time is limited online right now, so I have to be brief, but I couldn't wait to share my great news!  I hope you're all doing well :)

It's been awhile since I've participated in a "Not Me! Monday", so I decided that today was a good day to start!  Hop on over to Jennifer's blog to see what other people are not doing ...

This past week I certainly did not throw myself into hyper overload mode just to survive the planning of my sister's adoption shower.  In doing so, I was not instantly relieved once the shower was over and just my mom, my sister, my niece and myself were left to relax and hang out.  I did NOT at all think that it was THAT moment that I had been waiting for all week!

I also did not spend hours making a beautiful dessert, only to scrape it against the top of the refrigerator when taking it out to serve, only to ruin the appearance of it's beauty.  Nope, I'm far more careful than that!

My family is leaving to visit my in-laws in Arizona tomorrow, so by no chance have I yet to still pack, still do all of our laundry and still clean our house before we leave.  I am way more organized than that and would never ever leave those tasks until the last minute.

Speaking of which ... it is absolutely NOT after 10:00am and I most definitely did not refrain from doing any more than brushing my teeth and getting dressed this morning.  I always get ready and make myself perfectly presentable before I head out the door!

And worst of all, I most definitely did not come home from this weekend away with a COLD.  I would never let myself get worn down to the extent of feeling like crud.  Now, I am not taking this cold with me to Arizona, because I definitely am feeling 100% ..... errrr NOT.

Lauren at The Little Things We Do is hosting this blog hop - and I'm more than thrilled to join in!  Visit her site to read other fill in the blanks as well as participate in this fun tradition!

1.  The best day ever was   my wedding day.  It was my dream come true - the day that I got to forever claim Monte, Claire, Iain, Ellis and Colin as mine!

2.  My favorite meal of the day is   dinner   because that's when my entire family is home, sitting around the table together and enjoying each other's company.  Sometimes it's a whole lot of chaos - but that's the way I like it! 

3.  This weekend  I am going to Perham to co-host an adoption shower for my sister (and her family).  I am also bringing Colin with me (this was not originally in my plans). 

4.  Never in my life have I   worn pantyhose on my head.  It just doesn't sound interesting enough for me! 

5.  The only thing better than  Tostitos "A Hint of Lime" chips is  Tostitos "A Hint of Lime" chips with a soda!  

6.  I could really do with some  motivation to get organized!  My kitchen is a MESS (partially due to construction, partially due to building pull out drawers for my cabinets, and partially due to me just not cleaning it!). 

7.  The most recent thing I bought myself was  peppermint tea from Teavana.  Mmmmm ... YES please! 

Have you ever felt like you have too much on your plate, but yet it's all stuff that you put there, so you just have to work through it and make it all happen?  I'm there!  You see, this weekend my dear Claire is competing in the regional spelling bee (which is confusing to me why it's not called the state spelling bee, entirely because if you win you move on to compete in nationals.  I digress ...).  Unfortunately, I won't be attending, as I will be out of town.  My reasoning for being out of town, however, is not unfortunate.  You see, my mom, my sisters-in-law and myself are throwing an adoption shower for my sister before she heads to pick up her beautiful little girl.  The shower is at my mom's house this weekend.  The preparation for it has been insane!  I'm not complaining, though, as I truly am an organizational nut and I really enjoy planning events!  Today I have to work in the MOPPETS room at church (the place where your kids go to play while moms are in MOPs), and afterward I am heading to do some grocery shopping - then the rest of the evening is devoted to preparing my desserts, packing my stuff and getting ready for Friday.

So, just in case you don't hear from me, it's entirely because I am in hyper overload and slowly working my way back toward sanity!

One of the things that my boys have loved to play with is a huge styrofoam container that protected something our friend, Chris, had ordered.  When he had the container left over, he knew it was something the boys would enjoy, so he brought it over for them.  What they discovered in this is an instant hockey goal!  They've had a lot of fun hitting "pucks" with their "hockey sticks" (which is usually a golf club!) into the goal and using a laundry basket as their goalie.  The things these amazing boys come up with never cease to amaze me!

I can't find a good title for this blog post.  This topic is something that's been on my heart for awhile and I think it's definitely worth sharing.  I remember at a young age having a very idealistic perception of how my married life was going to be.  We would always be happy with one another, my house would never be messy, life would flow smoothly and things were always going to be great.  Marriage is what I longed for, what my heart desired, as my lifelong dream was to be a wife and a mom.  Well, I can tell you that, truthfully, my marriage is not that far off from that idealistic picture I had in my mind!  I am incredibly blessed in my marriage, but I believe it's because we both work very hard at making it so wonderful.  Granted, that whole 'my house never being messy' thing probably needs a lot of work, but I'm proud to say that my first fifteen months of marriage have been fabulous!  

What's the catch?  Well, I think a lot of it has to do with the fact that we work really hard to edify one another.  I make it a very big deal not to cut Monte down.  In fact, I do just the opposite - I lavish him with compliments!  I make sure that he knows how much I appreciate the hard work he does at his job.  I make sure he knows how much I love the way he interacts with our kids.  I also make sure he knows how much I appreciate how wonderful and helpful he is to me, how much he loves me (and you know that I make sure to let him know how much I love him!), how great it is to have him home after work ... you name it!  If he's done something that pleases me, I make sure to let him know.  Much like the way we use positive reinforcement on our children, I also use it on my husband.  By no means do I think this is a demeaning tactic to use.  Put yourself in those shoes and think about whether you want the good things you do to be recognized and appreciated or not.  I know I most definitely do!

Another thing I think is extremely important is recognizing my need to put my husband before my kids.  Oftentimes (especially in sports season!) things get to be really chaotic with our kids' schedules and everything else can so easily be swept by the wayside.  While it's not always easy, during these crazy moments I remember that my husband comes first.  This doesn't mean that we skip an obligation (practice or a game) because one of us just doesn't feel like doing it, but it does mean that, no matter how busy I am getting dinner in my kids and rushing them off to their sports, I always welcome my husband home from work with a kiss and with a few minutes of undivided attention.  I can tell you that it makes a huge difference when you have your priorities in line.  We learned in premarital counseling that we should first consider our relationship with God, then our relationship with each other, and finally our children's needs.  By no means does this mean that we leave our kids screaming in hunger/irritation/pain/etc. while we gaze into each other's eyes, but it does mean that I work very hard to let Monte know how absolutely important he is to me.  I work hard at letting him know how thrilled I am that he's home from work.  I work hard at letting him know just how much my life is blessed because he is a vital part in it.

Now, I'm not saying that we've never had disagreements, because after all, we are human!  The great thing about it, though, is that we know that we need to devote time to each other in the midst of these arguments to resolve whatever conflict has arisen ... and it usually takes only about 10 minutes!  When we put such a strong emphasis on the importance of our marital relationship, the benefits of that relationship will flourish!

Ladies, if there is one final tip I can give you, it would be this: don't dump your frustrations of parenting on your husband all the time!  I know that being a mama to young children can sometimes be completely overwhelming, but when you're in the high tide of a frustrating day and feeling like you're about to be swept under, take some time out for yourself.  Call a sister, call a girlfriend, call another mom who's been in your shoes!  The one thing Monte and I used to have disagreements about was the fact that I was having frustrating moments in my day, and I would vent those out to him.  While I felt much better after these phone calls, he was then feeling a lot worse because, as a man, he wanted to be able to fix this "problem" for me - when all I really needed was someone to listen!  If you come to an understanding that men like to make everything better while women usually just want someone to hear them out, you will find yourself in a much better place!  I now talk to my mom or my sister when I need to vent about a frustrating day - and later (when I'm not upset about it) I tell Monte about it.  I find this to be much easier because, not only am I telling him about the frustration of the day, I'm also telling him about the solution I used to get through it.

More than anything, make your husband know that he truly is the love of your life.  I promise the rewards will be abundant!

If there is one thing that I have learned this week, it is the fact that almost everything is easier to do if you're not obligated to do it.  The most obvious of these tasks, to me, is housework.  You see, Tuesdays are my reserved day for housework - this is when I clean the house and do laundry.  The funny thing about that is the fact that it is so hard for me to motivate myself to do the work even though I've set aside that specific day to get it done!

Another obligation I have a problem with is waking up early.  You see, during the week, when I'm helping the kids get ready for school, getting Colin ready for preschool or MOPs, or attending an early morning event (such as I did this morning when Colin and I went to Claire's DARE graduation at her school) I have such a hard time waking up and getting myself out of bed.  It's almost like my body is on strike against getting out of bed!  However, flip that shoe to the other foot and bring on a weekend and I find that I have no problem getting up early - it's the sleeping in that I have a problem with!

However, my most recent obligatory problem surprised me to the extreme.  You see, I have just had another appointment at my OBGYN for the fertility process that I've been undergoing (yes, I did say that I am done, but my being done starts after this round, as I already had my prescriptions at home).  The appointment went well, extremely well, in fact.  I think this is the first time in my fertility treatments that I have left the OB feeling happy and not mad at my doctor (which I informed him of as well!).  This past appointment I learned that I have an egg that is ready for ovulation and ready to be fertilized.  This is HUGE for me, as I haven't heard those words once since I began treatments.  So, I left the OB with a written prescription for Prometrium (which supplies my body with extra Progesterone) as well as instructions to, ah ... attempt to fertilize that egg for the next three nights.

I truly wasn't concerned, as this is an area that we don't struggle in at all.  However, I quickly learned that even the great parts of life, when they become an obligation, are oftentimes hard to do.  We're currently through two of the three nights and I have to admit that both of those nights were a struggle!  I now completely understand what women mean when they say that infertility completely imposes on the enjoyment factor in their intimate life!  Before this, Monte and I have never counted days, never had to know exactly when this and that were going to occur.  I have to say, I'm praying that this one is our ticket because I won't go through this for another round ... it just seems to be too much obligation and a lot less fun, and I'm ready for the fun part to come back!

I have fallen off of the face of the Earth and I'm wondering when I'm going to come back down!  Wow what a busy weekend it has been!

This short and sweet post is just to let you all know that I haven't forgotten about you, but I am in over my head with laundry and cleaning, planning an adoption shower, planning my family's meals, running to this activity and that, and preparing preparing preparing!

More to come!