The Preston's

Crazy Week

2011-11-27T13:18:00.006-09:00

It's been a whirlwind of a week... my sister and Ryann left late last night to head back home to Missouri. It was such a wonderful blessing to have them here for the week- despite colds and coughs and adjusting to life with a new baby. Eden had a blast having her Auntie and cousin here.

Baby Justice is doing well... but as I mentioned, it's been a crazy week. Eden came down with a high fever a few days ago after a two-week-long cold, and then last night broke out in some sort of rash which kept her (and us) up most of the night. We called the Children's Clinic at midnight and the nurse said it sounded like Hand, Foot and Mouth disease- which if it is that, it should go away in a few days- but is highly contagious among toddlers. So we won't be going anywhere for a while and we're praying Justice doesn't get it. She's sleeping now- I just feel so bad for her and how uncomfortable she is. Bringing a newborn home to a sick sissy and family is no fun- for anyone.

On a lighter note, with the help of my sister and Ryann, we got the house all decorated for Christmas- which certainly boosts the spirit around here. ;) Charley went and cut down a cute little Christmas tree on Thanksgiving and we decorated it the next day...

Also, today Justice had his first bath since the hospital... he was quite a fan.

That's really about it for now. We're just hunkered down and trying to get well. Of course we are loving life with two precious little ones, we just look forward to when we can be healthy again. We also look forward to a visit from Charley's parents in the next week... as well as a shower for me and Baby Justice next Saturday- trusting of course that we're all well by then.

I'll sign off for now. Headed down to check on my sweet little girl. :)

Introducing Justice Charles Preston

2011-11-20T06:42:00.004-09:00

Well, he's here! Wednesday night I went into labor around 10pm and finally headed to the hospital around midnight since the contractions were getting pretty strong and consistant. At the hospital I was only dilated to 3 so we spent the wee hours of the morning (from 1am-3am) walking (hoping to dilate more so that they could admit me), but when they checked me at 3am, I was still only dilated to 3. We decided to lay down and rest for an hour, but when I woke up at 4, labor had stopped entirely. This was the second time I'd come to the hospital in a week thinking this little man was going to finally be greeting us... so you can imagine my disappointment. I cried. When the nurse came in, I told her I felt overwhelmed and didn't want to go home without this baby. We decided to wait a couple hours and call my doctor to see what she thought. At 6am, the nurse got ahold of my doctor and she gave me the go ahead for admition and induction. By 8am I'd had my epidural and they were starting the pitocin. At noon, my doctor broke my water. While I was comfortable and pain-free, by 3 pm I'd still not dilated past a 3 (even though the contractions were strong and only a minute apart- again, thanking the Lord for that epidural!!). We sort of just shook our heads in shock that I wasn't dilating faster, but kept hanging out. Charley and I were enjoying listening to Christmas music and relaxing... It was like a dream in how comfortable and relaxing this process was going. An hour and a half later, my doctor came in and checked me- I was a TEN- and baby was coming! All I could do was laugh and praise God! Still totally pain-free, I pushed baby out in two easy pushes... daddy got to cut the cord and our little man was here! I still can't believe how easy it all went- but then again, with how many people were praying for me (knowing how much of a nightmare my last labor and delivery was), I shouldn't be surprised. Thank you Lord! We are so blessed and excited! What a precious family God has blessed us with!

In labor- waiting for baby.. :)

Daddy holds his little boy for the first time...

First picture with baby Justice

My friend Ginger watched Eden for me while we were at the hospital. Thursday evening she brought Eden over to meet her baby brother. I think she likes him. ;)

First family picture

Mama and baby Justice

He has the longest fingers and toes! I love it!

Finally a picture with his eyes open! You can see his hair here too - looks like we might have another blondie! :)

Little Justice was 7lbs 13oz and 20 inches- born November 17, and is just perfect. We are so thankful to the Lord for a safe (and totally wonderful) labor and delivery. I'm recovering well and we are just soaking up precious family time here at home.

Another wonderful piece of news to mention is the fact that my niece Ryann was headed up to Alaska to spend the week with us helping us with Eden and such- she was due to come in Friday night. We were released from the hospital only hours before Charley headed to the airport to pick her up. When they got home, my SISTER walked in the door with them!! They competely and totally surprised me with her arrangements to be here while Ryann is here! I am sooooo happy to have BOTH of them here and Eden is absolutely eating up all the attention! She loves her Auntie and cousin Ryann! :)

"Every good thing given and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shifting shadow." James 1:17

"Those who wait on the Lord shall renew their strength"

2011-11-12T20:32:00.004-09:00

Well, I figured it was about time for an update... Lots going on around here! We are still waiting for our little man's arrival- should be any day now. Here's a picture of my dear friend Ginger and myself last weekend (I'm 38 weeks here).

I'm trying to be patient but it's getting harder and harder with the anticipation of labor and delivery looming over my head. I know I'm not supposed to be anxious, but it's a lot easier said than done... especially after such a horribly hard experience last time with Eden. All I can do is wait on the Lord and trust Him- but again, easier said than done. I'll expand on my thoughts here in a moment.

We've had an especially heavy snow year so far. I honestly can't remember the last time we got this much snow before Thanksgiving- but we're certainly enjoying it! It's taken Eden a week or so to really get used to it and become comfortable tromping around outside in the deeper drifts and such, but she's getting the hang of things- much to her daddy's delight. She asks every day if she can go out and 'play in the snowing' (which I happily oblige). She sure looks cute in all her snow gear- but I'll tell you what, I should get an award every time I (being 9 months pregnant) suit her up in all her snow gear without either of us shedding any tears! haha It's worth all the work though in the end when I see her big grins as she runs and plays outside and gets some much needed fresh air.

Not totally certain how many inches we've gotten now, but it's sure beautiful piled up all around our sleepy little neighborhood. Here's a pic out our back door. :)

It's been pretty cute how hard Eden lobbies to go play outside... she'll disappear downstairs and reappear wearing the funniest combinations of clothes/shoes/accessories in efforts to convince me that she's ready and geared up to go out and play. Cracks me up!

In between nesting, last minute touches on the nursery, playing outside with Eden in the fresh snow and trying to keep house, I've been passing the time experimenting with various bread recipes... This week I've been perfecting a Great Harvest Bread 'copy cat' recipe that I found online for Cinnamon Chip bread- and not to brag or anything, but it's pretty darn good! Think I may have found the perfect solution for Christmas gifts this year! ;)

Other than that, we're just waiting for little man Preston to make his grand appearance. Everyday I can't help but wonder if *this* will be the day he comes, but at the same time I'm also really trying to wait on the Lord and trust Him and His timing, knowing that it's perfect and far better than *my* timing. This week in Bible study (where we are studying through the second part of Isaiah), we happened to look closely -verse by verse- at chapters 40 and 41, especially examining the familiar passage about 'those who wait on the Lord shall renew their strength, they shall soar on wings like eagles, they shall run and not grow weary and walk and not grow faint' (my paraphrase). We looked at the context and what was going on during that time with God's chosen people the Israelites, and why that passage was so important and meaningful right then to them... and finally, cross-referencing verses in the new testament proving that the promise of God's faithfulness to sustain us and grant us strength in time of need when we wait on Him is still true today for His children. With where I am in getting ready to give birth- right NOW needing to wait on Him, and then trust that He'll give me strength in that moment, that passage spoke to me in a way it never had before. I love how God does that. His Word is truly 'living and active-sharper than a two edged sword'. He IS faithful. I'm so thankful.

Not sure when I'll post again but maybe- just MAYBE- I'll put putting up some pictures of our precious new little boy in my next blog post. :)

Good night friends!

36 Weeks and Moving Right Along!

2011-10-26T12:07:00.004-08:00

We've had quite a fun week! Eden started gymnastics last Monday and is having a total blast. She waits ALL week, and asks every morning if it's 'Mon-DAY' yet. :) Here's some pics from last week at her 'class'.

Bubbles!

This is from the other day when I went in to Eden's room and saw her and Freja giggling and reading books together on her bed. So cute. I love how good of friends they are.

And here's a goofy self picture of me from a couple days ago at 36 weeks. Went to the doctor today and it looks like things are moving right along. She thinks this little guy is going to come a little early- especially considering the fact that Eden (my FIRST) was early. Maybe it's about time I start thinking about packing my hospital bag. ;)

In other news, today was our first snow fall! Eden and I got up and headed out for my doctor's appointment and it was cute to watch Eden's reaction to the snow. She was a bit apprehensive but also excited to see our little cul de sac coveredhttp://www.blogger.com/img/blank.gif in white. I'm excited for Winter this year. She's at an age where I think sledding, snowballs, and playing outside in the snow is going to be really fun (last year it was really INTIMIDATING... for BOTH of us). ;)

Well, that's about it for now. Just thought I'd put up a quick post. I have some other things I need to get done while Eden sleeps, so I'll sign off for now.

Oh, one more thing: here's a video of Eden at Gymnastics... click HERE

Life is Good... But it sure Doesn't Slow Down!

2011-10-21T21:06:00.009-08:00

I seriously don't know where the time goes! I hoped to blog again DAYS ago, but somehow the things just come up and life gets in the way... but I found a few quiet moments this evening and figured I'd post a bit of an update on the happenings around here lately.

Charley had a 'meet and greet tonight' for work... guess that's a good thing? I never quite understand what all goes on in his world from 7-4, but I DO know that he does a heck of a job providing for our family, is well-respected in our community, known for being a man of integrity, and doesn't bring his work home with him... and that's good enough for me! So proud of him! Alls I really know is that work is good and he's keeping on doing what he loves to do. What a great guy I got. :)

Eden keeps growing. Go figure. A couple of days ago, she put on a set of headphones and tried to plug the end of the cord into my belly button... said she wanted to 'hear baby Justice'. That one definitely made it into the top '3 cutest things Eden did this week' list. Watching her vocabualry and sentence structure develop has been amazing these past few weeks. She is communicating in full sentences and her thought processes are growing substantially. While I always claim that I don't want her to get any bigger than she is, each stage has its own wonderful elements and fun aspects. I really enjoy being able to have conversations with my little girl now... and to be able to give her instructions that I can then watch her actually follow to completion (like cleaning up her toys, picking something up for me and putting it on my bed, wiping down her highchair tray after breakfast, etc). She's growing up! What a great helper she will be when baby gets here.

Speaking of baby- we've made it to the 36 week mark! Only a few more weeks to go! We're in the homestretch! Good thing, too, cause I have quite the torpedo belly making simple tasks like putting my socks on or picking up around the house seem like climbing mt Mckinley! I can't wait to hold this little man in my arms though.. or introduce him to his sister for the first time.

Lastly, we are also getting ready to wrap up our PATH Fall semester (a little early since we have a couple of babies on the way between myself and coleader Ginger). 4 weeks left- and the last two weeks I've warned that I may or may not be there. ;) PATH has gone well though this semester. We've read through 'A Chance to Die' (biography of Amy Carmichael by Elisabeth Elliot) and I've taught through the Proverbs 31 woman (how a young, single lady can begin practicing NOW in applying the skills and abilities the Proverbs 31 Woman demonstrates). It's been good. We've also amped up our outreach activities too. Tomorrow we are putting on a blanket making day at the church where women in our community have been encouraged to come sew baby blankets which will then be donated to the crises pregnancy center. Very cool. Speaking of that, I should probably get my stuff rounded up and loaded in the car. Gotta be there bright and early to set up! Charley is also heading up an outreach tomorrow with the men of our church changing tires and oil for less-privileged folks (single moms, etc). YAY Charley! Love that man.

Here are a few recent pics from around the house! I'm off to load the car and get some sleep!

The nursery

Eden and Freja hanging out

Brisk Fall Walks...

2011-10-07T15:06:00.004-08:00

Fall is one of our favorite seasons... it means pumpkin pie, Autumn-scented candles, beautiful Alaskan landscapes, and a cool, crisp feeling in the air that snow is on it's way! This year, I've been *especially* excited for Fall since it means the arrival of our new little sweetheart- due just a few days before Thanksgiving (as I mentioned before). One thing Eden and I specifically enjoy about our days together during this time of year is getting bundled up and 'walking down to the water' (a stream just down the road from our house). She loves walking down there, running across the bridge and sneaking down the narrow little path to the bubbling creek. We try to get out each day and head that direction.. sometimes stopping at the water and coming on back home, other days- if the weather permits- going all the way over to the school to play at the park. Today was just a 'down the water and back home' kinda day. Here are some pictures!

"Let's go Mama!"

On a mission!

Quick stop and smile for mama

Made it! "Look mama! Water going under the bridge!"

"DISS MAMA DISS!" (asking for a kiss)

After our walk we went in to have lunch at the office with Daddy. That's always a treat!

As I said before, we LOVE Fall. Yesterday I made a pumpkin cheesecake from scratch for the first time... and when I say 'from scratch', I mean it! I baked the pumpkin, scraped it out, mashed it and then made my cheesecake! Charley was impressed. So was I. ;)

I feel like I have so much to share, but I have a lot to do still this afternoon, so I'll close for now. But before I go, I have to just say it's been really cool to watch how much time I feel like I've already saved in not being on facebook all the time. There are moments that I miss it... and I won't say that I don't ever peek at my hubby's newsfeed just to see what's going on, but wow what a difference it's already made to not have it be something that I feel obligated to check every 20 minutes. My days seem to be rolling along much more smoothly.

Bye for now!

Coming Clean... Wasted Minutes.

2011-10-03T15:10:00.004-08:00

Well hello again! As you can see (looking at the date of the last post I published), it's been a *long* time since I've even visited our little family blog here. But alas, I decided this morning (after much thought, prayer and contemplation) to say goodbye to the fast-paced, popular and addicting world of facebook, and return to our quiet and much less time-consuming 'online newsletter' of good old fashioned blogging. So I here I sit, honestly just trying to remember how this works.

Before updating you on the *amazing* ways that God has blessed and worked in and through our family, I feel compelled to share a bit about why I decided to say 'so long!' to facebook. First of all, over the last few months, God has been nudging me to re-evaluate the way I order my days and spend my time. For the most part, I felt fairly ok with what I was coming up with... I'm a stay-at-home mom, play with my daughter, keep house, make meals...heck, I've even been making my own bread and jam lately. But still, I felt like the Lord was pushing me to take an even closer look. So, I did. And I began to note the minutes here and there which I give to facebook. Minutes where instead of reading a book to Eden, I'm shooing her away so that I can check my notifications on facebook. Minutes that I'm not praying or catching up on Bible study homework, I'm updating my status. Minutes that instead of talking to my husband or spending time with him, I'm laying in bed NEXT to him reading the posts and updates of my friends on my phone. Only a minute here and there... but over the course of the day, adding up to HOURS of completely wasted time that I could never get back.

At Bible study, I've been learning about setting my mind on things above and staying focused in this 'race' of life. As I've been reminded about how important it is to redeem the time and run with endurance 'as if to win the prize', I'm realizing how non-chelant I've been about just *how* I spend my time. I want every moment to count. I want every day to make a difference for eternity. Charley and I are in probably one of the sweetest life stages that we'll ever be in, and I don't want to miss ANYthing... but I was. Because of facebook. Does it sound like I'm being a little extreme? After all, it's 'only a little social networking website that helps you stay connected with friends and family'. Oh yeah? Then WHY was I convicted so strongly about the time spent there? and WHY, when I knew months and months ago that I'd probably be better off without it, could I not bring myself to deactivating my account? I heard a quote recently that said 'Satan wins by stealing minutes'... a few minutes here, a few minutes there... until, before you know it, you look back on your day shaking your head in bewilderment wondering where all the time went, and why half of what you wanted to accomplish today got done...

Anyways, I'm not trying to say that facebook is evil and that everyone should get off of it. But I am challenging that if you are like me and have a hard time ordering your day and not getting distracted, I would suggest that you re-evaluate your 'need' for facebook. And if you read that last sentence, and have a sinking feeling in your stomach that 'it'd just be too hard to give up' and that you'd miss it too much, that *alone* should cause you to re-evaluate your need for it. I'm thankful that the Lord prompted me to do what I did today, and I'm excited to see how He uses ALL those wasted minutes throughout my day to do something instead that matters.

So here we are, back on blogger. And as I said, God has certainly done a lot in our little family over the past year... the biggest to note is the EXPANSION of our family to include a precious baby boy, due next month - somewhere around the 19th of November. Eden is beside herself excited to meet her new little brother (as is her daddy and me). Charley and I have been busy working on the nursery and getting everything in place for our new little addition. Time is flying by! I have so much to share...and I will... but not in this post. For now, I must sign off and start to get things ready for dinner. I've got PATH tonight (yes, the young lady's Bible study that I lead. It's going good by the way!).

Thanks for stopping by our little blog- and please do check in regularly. I *promise* that I will be updating more often than before! Ha! Bye for now!

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"Therefore, since we have such a great cloud of witnesses surrounding us, let us also lay aside every encumbrance and the sin which so easily entangles us, and let us run with endurance the race which is set before us, fixing our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy set before Him, endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God" Hebrews 12:1-2

Edens new slide

2011-03-14T10:21:00.001-08:00

Christmas to Remember? Or Forget?

2010-12-27T13:49:00.007-09:00

Well, Christmas came and went. For the most part it was fine except for the fact that the whole week before Christmas, we were all sick with the flu, and then I still felt pretty bad on Christmas morning. I laid on the floor opening presents as best I could, and helping Eden open hers. Breakfast was scrambled eggs instead of the sausage and dried tomato quiche I'd hoped to make, and we canceled dinner plans with folks from church that we'd planned on spending the day with. I slept the rest of the morning after presents were done and ate saltine crackers for lunch. However, some of our good friends, the Olson's, who were also sick for Christmas, came over Christmas evening and spent the night. We all laid around recovering from 'the plague' together (as Charley called it) in our jammies, eating chicken noodle soup, and watching movies. Their little girl Freja and our Eden (same age) had fun playing since they were both somewhat crabby and not totally better either. It started on a bummer note but ended up being pretty happy.. and laid back. Anyways, here are a few pics from Christmas Eve (all dressed up to go to the service at church), and then a few from Christmas morning. There would have been more if we all hadn't been feeling so lousy.

Here's Eden and Freja at the Olson's Christmas Eve after the church service

And Eden with her bear on Christmas morning:

This is an ornament that Charley made for me.. isn't it beautiful?

In other news, we have signed the rental papers and are waiting for the final approval. If all goes well and the folks decide we're worthy tenants, we should be moving in about two weeks -- which isn't long from now. The idea of packing up my house and moving is intimidating and overwhelming at best. I know, however, that this is the best choice for us right now, and look forward to finally getting into Eagle River. Not to mention, I really do like the house we will be probably moving into. No, it won't be 'ours', but it'll be home for now. Besides, home to me is where Charley and Eden are. That's what really matters.

I'm still feeling a bit queasy so I'll sign off for now.

Long Time No Post!

2010-11-11T15:19:00.012-09:00

Gosh it seems like forever since I've updated my blog! Uhhh, let's see. Last time I blogged, I was posting from NYC. I'm not sure that I could even give the cliff notes of the remainder of our trip effectively, but I will sure try! How 'bout this... I'll do it in pictures:

(click on the pics to see them larger)

Our first day, Sunday, which I apologize if I already posted a few of these pics ... we went to South Street Seaport which is near Chinatown and Little Italy, which we walked over to later in the day and explored...

Ryann and me being goofy in a little store in Chinatown

Monday, our second day, was so fun! Monday morning Charley and I went to see Regis and Kelly live in studio and then that night we went to a baseball game at Yankee Stadium. The Rangers kicked their tush. ;)

Tuesday we set off for our road trip which would take us up through New Hampshire, Rhode Island, Connecticut, Massachusetts, Vermont and finally end up in Maine (not in that order)
There's no way that any of the pics we took along the way of the gorgeous Fall foliage would even come close to showing how just amazingly beautiful of a drive it was, but here you can see the countryside a bit and this particular view overlooks Westpoint Military Academy.

One of Charley's favorite stops along the way. Here's my handsome woodworker:

Kennebunk village was just one of the many many neat, quaint, little seaport towns we visited along the way.

We got to Boston on Saturday and spend the day going through much of the freedom trail. It was truly remarkable.

This was the site of the Boston Massacre

On our way out of Boston, we went and saw the USS Constitution. Charley and I did a guided tour of the ship which allowed us to see 3 of the 4 lower decks. Very neat.

Then we headed over to Plymouth Plantation - one of my personal favorite stops. This is a definite must for any homeschooling family studying US history. It is a complete re-creation of one of (if not THE) first colony in America, complete with characters in the 'homes' representing actual individuals who lived and worked to start the colony.

After that, we drove up to Cape Cod and visited this lighthouse. I can't remember what it was called, but I know that it starts with an 'n' and it overlooks Martha's Vineyard. ;)

Monday we went to Mystic CT and explored a sea port town which deserves it's own post (being Charley's number one favorite stop on the trip), so I will have him do a post on that in itself in the near future, but after visiting the sea port, we went to a local cider mill and had some of the yummiest cider and donuts we'd ever tasted! Here's Eden in the pumpkins. :)

Back in Manhattan on Tues, Charley and I finally got down to Times Square, visited a lot of the neat stores there (including the M&M Store, Hershey Store, and had dessert at the Olive Garden in the heart of Times Square).

Towards the end of the week, we took a boat over to the Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island. This was also an amazing sight/experience. I felt all patriotic walking through the incredible museum in the base of the statue which explains all of the facts about the creation and history behind the Statue of Liberty.

Our last day was a busy one. We made it down to Wall Street where Charley rode the famous bull representing a 'bull market'.

then we sort of stumbled upon another place we'd hoped to get around to seeing in the heart of NYC... Ground Zero. What an emotional stop..

the grounds/construction site of the new trade center memorial site.

That night we visited the Empire State Building and went all the way up to the top- the 86th floor and looked at the city from the observatory deck. Breathtaking.

Here's lunch the following day at a little Japanese Restaurant..

And of course you can't go to NYC without doing a carriage ride through Central Park.

I wish I'd been better about blogging along the way because I have barely scraped the surface here on all that we did, saw and experienced. But as I said, at least this is something. It was truly a trip that we will never forget. And bringing Ryann, my incredible niece was one of the best things we've ever done! She made the trip so wonderful by being such a huge help with Eden. Because of her, Charley and I were able to sneak out here and there for a dinner date, sight-seeing and even get in a game at Yankee Stadium.. not to mention sleep in and not have to worry about changing diapers or feeding Eden cause Ryann always jumped in and took care of her for all that. What a blessing!

Hopefully I'll get another post or two in to expand on a few of our favorite stops/moments on the trip, but until then, I'll close with just an update on life since we've been home.

WINTER IS HERE! It's cold and snowy and very welcomed! After enjoying such a beautiful, extended Fall- and then a wonderful trip back East, I was ready to get home and see some snow fly, and boy did it! In the past week, we've gotten record breaking snow (or so it seems) in Anchorage.. it's beautiful! Eden has LOVED playing in it. I try to get her out in it as much as possible. We've even built a snowman! Here's a video of her running in the snow:

She loves the snow, and will even point out the window and say "nooo" in a real sweet, high voice. Somehow it does sound different than her also recently learned word "no". ;) Other than that, I'm still working with my girls in PATH and they've told me that they want to continue after Christmas... so continue we shall! This Sunday night we will also be starting a new study with our church going through the Dave Ramsey financial university class which we are looking forward to. And on a less happy note, my dear friend Crystal and her family leaves this Saturday for Vegas (they're being transferred there with the military). That is bittersweet and I am trying not to think about it too much. I'm going to miss my best friend.

I better sign off for now. This is a long post and I have an unhappy baby needing my attention! Hope you are all having a lovely Winter!

NYC... Our First Day!

2010-10-17T17:41:00.006-08:00

We got to NYC safe and sound... ok, maybe not 'sound', but thankfully safely. Even when everything 'goes perfect', it's still trying traveling across the country with a one-year-old. No matter though. We're safe and sound NOW in our hotel room after the completion of our first full day in New York! We had a BLAST today! Last night we grabbed a quick bite to eat, and hit the sack. We were all pretty exhausted. Ryann (my amazing 16 year old niece) flew into JFK and met up with us yesterday when we got here. She'll be with us the full two weeks- helping us out with Eden and checking out NY and the surrounding areas with us. :)

This morning, Charley and I ventured out and went to Target to get a few things we needed. When we got back, all 4 of us headed out for the day. Our destination? Manhattan... South Street Seaport/Chinatown/Little Italy. We had the hotel call a cab and a limo showed up. HOW COOL IS THAT? Even cooler was the fact that we still only had to pay the fare it would've cost if it had been a regular old yellow cab. ;)

First stop was S. St Seaport. We had lunch at a little restaurant in the heart of Seaport sitting outside watching the hundreds of people stroll by. People watching in such a diverse place is fascinating! :)

Then we walked several blocks over and found ourselves in Chinatown... It was really neat- and it truly felt like we were in, China. Though, I can't say for sure since I've actually never been to China. But if I had to picture China, this is what I would imagine. haha

Finally, we ended up over in Little Italy and had dinner at a cute little restaurant there.

By then, it was getting late and Eden was SUPER tired. So we packed up, paid the bill and caught a cab back to the hotel. Tomorrow Charley and I are going to be in the Live audience of Regis and Kelly, later we plan to head over to the Empire State Building, and then tomorrow night we have tickets to go see the Yankees play the Rangers at Yankee Stadium for one of their post-season games! :) Should be a fun-packed, busy day! The following day, Tuesday, we plan to pack up and head out for a road trip where we hope to hit Boston, Maine, and drive up the East Coast just site seeing, and exploring the North East for the first time. We'll be back in NYC mid next week, but it'll be fun to road trip it a bit and see some historical landmarks that I've only ever dreamed about seeing before.

It's getting late.. gonna head to bed. :)

Eden is officially a TODDLER!!

2010-09-21T21:52:00.001-08:00

My big girl is walking!! :)

Here are a few video clips:

She started cautiously yesterday, gained confidence today, and by tonight she was cruising!!

this is SO fun!!!

Eagle River Nature Walk with Bryants!

2010-09-16T21:08:00.004-08:00

Tonight we went on a hike out at the Eagle River nature center with the Bryants. Since it's late and I'm tired, I won't have much commentary on this particular post, but I do hope to blog again soon and share some pictures from our 5 day road trip with the Olson's up to Fairbanks.

Here we are with the Bryants.. ;)

Our Manly men pushing the strollers..

Me and my best friend (and 'nephew')

Crystal and me in a tree.

Bryant family in a tree

me and Charley in a tree

Charley and Jessica "kissin in a tree" ;)

Here is Eden and me when we got back to the parking lot

and a tired out Eden after loading up...

Our 'hike' was only about an hour long, but it was fun to get out of Anchorage (where it's been dense fog for the past 4 days without letting up) and enjoy the sunshine a bit. The Eagle River Nature center is 7 miles out Eagle River road... there are a lot of trails that start or end at the center, including the crow pass mine hike (which goes all the way to Girdwood!).

We've had a busy couple weeks since getting back from MO. This week we start Awana as well as the Fall semester of PATH (my highschool girl's purity small group). PLUS, we are jumping into (just participating.. not leading) a young marrieds small group with our church which starts tomorrow night... So lots going on!

I'll try to get back on here soon and fill in some more details from the past few weeks. My life never seems to slow down! :) Eden and Charley are doing great! Eden is still not walking, but getting closer and closer!! She's saying a lot more words now and signs 'yes ma'am', 'thank you', and 'eat' as well. Being a mom is the best job EVER! :)

Valdez/Glenallen Trip

2010-08-10T14:01:00.004-08:00

We left Saturday morning and headed to Whittier where we took the ferry over to Valdez (about a 3 hour trip). We got there and set up camp after dinner around 7pm. We found a really pretty camp site and enjoyed an evening of just hanging out and enjoying the rain holding off. Here's Eden and me in our tent.

And Crystal with some berries she found in the woods

About 10pm it started to rain, so we huddled underneath an awning that Charley set up for us, ate pringles and popcorn and played skip-bo :)

Here's me and Crystal

And Me and Charley

The next day we packed up and drove about 100 yards down the road before leaving Valdez to check out a neat little waterfall in the same campsite that we'd stayed at the night before. Here's Eden standing up... and not too sure about it. :)

Our family in front of the water fall

Mama and Baby love

Charley and me in front of the falls

Then we headed out and stopped on our way to throw our lines in the water.

This little spot was an area where the salmon (humpies) were dying off after spawning.. there were so many of them coming through this drain thing that Crystal and Charley were able to catch them with their bare hands. haha

Then a little further up, we did some 'real' fishing and Gracey caught her first salmon!

High-fives were in order after THAT kind of accomplishment!

Gracey and her first catch!

Then my camera battery died, so until I get the pics Mikal took, I can't very well post any more, but I'll just say that after we left this little fishing spot, we headed on to Glenallen, driving through Keystone canyon and stopping at a big glacier (can't remember the name right now) on the way. It was BEAUTIFUL. That night (around 7 or 8) we pulled into Glenalen and found a really nice camp site on a stream where Gracey and her daddy caught some graylings (that was especially cool cause we didn't expect them to catch anything there). We set up camp and spend the night, heading home in the morning. Monday we finally had some sunshine which was a huge blessing, but even so, the whole weekend was a ton of fun. I'll have to upload some more pics once I get them from the Bryants. :)

This Friday my niece Ryann gets in from MO and will be here a week. Then she and I fly out together on the 22nd. It'll be fun to see my sister and family. I'll be down there for about a week and then head back.

Just a side note, today we found out that former senator Ted Stevens was killed last night in a plane crash. Made for a sad day for our state. He was a good politician and an even better man. He was 86 and accomplished many great things for this state.

my little one year old

2010-08-01T21:43:00.000-08:00

Fear...

2010-07-21T15:15:00.004-08:00

This has been a interesting/challenging week. A few of the girls in our Bible Study bring up the verse occasionally, "Because of the LORD's great love we are not consumed, for his compassions never fail. They are new every morning; great is your faithfulness". Lam 3:22-23. How that verse comforts me in a multitude of situations. I have to remind myself on a regular basis that I can do nothing in my own strength, "but with God, all things are possible". Mat 19:26. While I am thankful for my life, precious family, various ministries, and of course relationship with Christ, I feel as if I've been under attack physically and spiritually lately. I believe Satan is trying to derail me, and while it's not working, it's definitely a distraction. I've been overwhelmed, discouraged and somewhat exasperated with a few situations that are largely out of my control, and then again, overcome with gratefulness for what God is doing in and through my life. And then I think of John 16:33 where Jesus promised that "in this world you will have trouble, but take heart! I have overcome the world!". That simple (and yet profound) truth DOES encourage me, but it still leaves me wondering what tomorrow will bring and how I will handle "a, b, and c". And yet again I think of Christ's words (which I hear regularly on Eden's little 'Hide 'em in your heart" CD), "Do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself"... Matt 6:25.

Maybe it's just me, but I worry an awful lot. Since our cars were "broken" into (they were unlocked... largely our fault that it even happened), I've had a growing fear that the next step will be for them to actually break into our home. And who's to say they won't have guns... and, and, and.... the fears are sometimes relentless and never-ending. I almost always stop and pray for peace, safely and help to NOT be fearful, but before the next night, I find myself freaking out again. And then last night our neighbor across the street called us at midnight (which is terrifying in itself if you've ever gotten woken up out of a dead sleep in the middle of the night by someone calling you, you know what I mean), to let us know that someone was parked across the street in a dark vehicle and they wanted to 'just let us know'. You can imagine the difficulty going back to sleep after that.

I think some of us are wired to be more fearful than others... not an excuse, but perhaps an explanation? It may have to do with upbringing, past experiences, childhood, who knows. But it's definitely a harder struggle for some than others. I wish I were one of 'the others'. God is teaching me to trust Him and not be fearful, but the process is a difficult one. Charley left to get fish this past weekend and it wasn't any easier for me than it normally is. I can't imagine being one of these military wives whose husbands have to deploy for months on end. They have my greatest respect and admiration. Anyways, I don't know where I'm going with all this... just pouring out a few of my own struggles I guess. Pray for me on this?

In other news, the sun peeked out for a couple hours today which was a welcomed sight. Growing up in California, I definitely took the sunshine for granted. In the summer time, a cloudy or rainy day was something we longed for and enjoyed because the norm was just a string of days of sunshine. But here in Alaska, it's quite the opposite. Not better or worse, just different... a difference that I've not gotten used to yet- maybe never will.

Eden just woke up so I have to jump off of here, but I figured it was time to blog again.

Here are some pics from Eden's birthday. Her party is this weekend.

Where to Start?

2010-07-10T21:08:00.005-08:00

It's been so long since I've blogged, I sorta don't even know where to start. Well, for one, Eden is going to be having her FIRST birthday in only 4 short days... annnnd, she has the flu. However, she seems on the upswing. I was going to have a little birthday bbq for her today but had to cancel since she was so sick. I felt so bad for her... she's been throwing up, running a fever, super fussy and just all around miserable. You moms out there know that desperate feeling of just wanting to 'make it all better' but knowing the hard reality of just having to wait it out. I hate that. Anyways, thankfully, as I said, she's just about all better- from what I can tell. The past few weeks have been crazy for all three of us. We've been going non-stop and I think it's worn us all down a bit. I threw a surprise birthday party for a dear friend at Benihana last Thursday, then the next day took my Bible study girls out for a 'night on the town' in a limo complete with fancy dinner at Orsos and movie at my house afterwards. THEN, the next morning (yesterday), we were all up bright and early and BACK out in Eagle River for PATH (Bible study) where afterwards I wasn't able to take my sick baby home but rather head to the church and get some of the teens going on prepping dinner for a singing group that was performing at our church that night... THEN, and only then, did I go home, cancel ALL plans for the next three days, and here I am now: emotionally, physically and mentally drained- but thankful all the same for some downtime at home with my family.

There's a fine line between 'busying yourself with the things of the Lord, and being a "keeper at home". I tend to fall over the line into the former category. God is teaching me a few things right now- one of those being BALANCE and priorities. While I love to serve Him and be involved in His work, as well as spend time with friends and be on the go, I *have* to remember that my dear and precious family IS my number one, first and foremost responsibility. There's this little voice in the back of my head that says "Say YES! They're asking you for help! This would bless them and please God"... but I sometimes need to tell that little voice, "Yes, but how useful am I going to be if I show up completely beat and exhausted and only able to give 50%?". Again, balance.

The other 'couple things' God has been teaching me lately is contentment and thankfulness. I've been finding myself thanking Him throughout the day for the many blessings He's poured out on me and my family, which in turn has been helping me become more content. I like 1 Tim 6:6 where it says, "Godliness with contentment is great gain", and Eph 5:19-20 "Speak to one another with psalms, hymns and spiritual songs. Sing and make music in your heart to the Lord, ²⁰always giving thanks to God the Father for everything, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ".

I'm learning what 'always giving thanks to God the Father for everything' looks like, and how rewarding it is to follow those instructions that He gives us. I didn't intend to turn this post into a Bible lesson, but it's been exciting to see the ways that God is growing me. Speaking of Bible lessons, we just rolled over the halfway mark in our Bible study group (PATH) which I lead for highschool and young college single (or supposed to be) single women. ;) Every week God shows up and it's extraordinary to see the growth and change in these girls... I can see their hunger for God's Word and walking in righteousness grow stronger and stronger. They are falling deeper in love with Christ, becoming more bold about their faith, and making commitments towards purity and holiness. Each week the girls take turns giving their testimonies and just when I don't think they can get any better or more powerful, they do. I'm watching meaningful friendships blossom and reckless clinging to the truths of God's Word. It's amazing to see how God can use someone as dumb, flawed, and clumsy as me to reach and touch so many young women with the imperative and critical message of purity and holiness as 'Ladies in Waiting'. This past week I focused on the promise that without Christ, we can do, and are, nothing... but WITH Him, "all things are possible". My dear and wise Father-in-law reminded me to express to the girls the importance that it's not in us to make the right choices and live the way we ought, but it's Christ working through us, the 'hope of glory'. It's in HIM that we can "live and move and have our being'. Without Him, we are hopeless, but with Him, the possibilities are endless and our futures are bright! Each week God gives me exactly what I need in terms of strength, boldness, truth, and what He'd have for them to learn. And interestingly enough, it's been the weeks that have seemed the most shaky and chaotic which end up being the most powerful. Makes me think of the verse, "My grace is sufficiant for you", as well as the way He talks about, "in our weaknesses, HE is strong". While yes, I'm the leader of this group, I feel like I'm learning right along with the girls. As I've challenged them to submit to their parents and love their siblings, I'm finding myself practicing more submitting to my husband and being more thoughtful towards my interaction with Eden. God really does honor the person who obeys the promptings and prodding of the Spirit to step up and serve Him. I'm so glad I listened.

I don't know if anyone even reads this blog anymore... nor do I really care. In some ways, I feel like it's just my way of 'proclaiming the works of the Lord', at least in my humble little life. I don't know what He has for my husband, myself or my little girl in the future, but I know that as we strive to honor Him and obey those 'promptings' of His Spirit, it's gonna be good. :)

Charley has been doing wonderfully lately. Work is good and he's loving being a daddy. He's such a good man. I'm so proud of him.

I'll close for now, but I'll post some pics from the past few weeks. :)

Over the 4th of July, we went to Homer and took the ferry across over to Soldovia to meet up with some of our good friends who spent the weekend over there... Here's a few pics from the weekend.

Eden in a basket.. not sure.

Eden and 'Dandy' (Charley's Dad)

Eden and me on the ferry

Here are some pics from our girls night out the other day..

Good night! :)

More Giggles from Eden

2010-06-15T20:27:00.000-08:00

Camping 101

2010-06-03T09:47:00.009-08:00

Last weekend we headed North to Byers Lake with the Bryants for our first camping trip of the Summer! We got up there late Friday night. The Bryants had gone up earlier that day, so they'd put up our tent beforehand for us which made setting up camp when we finally DID roll in, MUCH easier. They are so thoughtful!

Saturday was beautiful. It was WARM and SUNNY. Crystal and I went out on the lake and did some kayaking at one point. That was definitely the highlight of the weekend for me.

We did some walking around and put BOTH babies in the chariot together. Amazingly, besides Eden stealing Mathan's binkie (and him surprisingly being okay with it), these two did awesome! Mathan was quite the little gentleman. :)

Gracey and I did some guitar playing... She loves music. :)

Charley

Crystal and Gracey

These two played beautifully all weekend. We had them in the playpen with the bug net over them for a lot of the time. They were great... although, Eden needs to learn to share. ;)

Sunday morning, we packed up and headed out. We stopped over in Talkeetna for the afternoon to have lunch and go down by the river for a little while. Here's the Bryant family:

Heading to the river..

Best buddies- the Bryants and the Prestons

Gracey!

Charley and me

...and Eden

Crystal and me

Preston family!

1 1/2 year old Mathan throwing rocks into the water..

Mathan and Mikal

Lunch! We had the famous burger that was featured on Man vs. Food...
Between the 4 of us, we STILL had leftovers!

Fryboy

The two littles

Aunt Jess and Mathan

Eden loving her some homemade ice cream!

All in all it was a fun weekend, though camping with a baby is definitely more challenging now. It was good to get home and cleaned up. :) Eden is officially 'Alaskanized!'

"All Fancy-Like"

2010-05-27T22:09:00.006-08:00

Tonight our best friends, Mikal and Crystal Bryant, invited us to a military graduation dinner. It ended being a wonderfully fun night, not to mention, Charley surprised everyone and rented a limo for the occasion! :)

Mikal, Crystal, Me and Charley

Mikal and Crystal

These are some pictures that Charley snapped of Crystal and I drinking Sprite out of wine glasses... classy no? :)

Best friends...

We had a great time at Alyeska yesterday... headed back this morning and tomorrow it's off to Byer's Lake (near Denali) for camping (again, with the Bryants). Crazy weekend ahead, but it should be fun! I'm off to bed! Have a great Memorial Day weekend!

Beautiful Days call for Walks in the Park!

2010-05-25T09:30:00.004-08:00

This week has been GORGEOUS. I love Summer in Alaska. It never gets too hot (though sometimes I wouldn't mind if it'd get just a little warmer than it does). We normally don't see temps above 65. But like I said, this past week has been awesome! It was up past 70 yesterday! So far, this Summer has been amazing- and to top things off, even the misquotes haven't been too bad... I've actually hardly noticed them! Here are a few pictures from our walk to the park last night:

This week is going to be crazy busy! Tomorrow is Charley's and my 3rd anniversary. He's taking us to Alyeska (with Eden of course), but his x-sister-in-law (I know, odd term but WONDERFUL lady who we love) is watching Eden so we can at least go to dinner together without the pickle. It'll be fun to spend some family time down there hiking, swimming, and just hanging out around the hotel. Then Thursday, we'll get back to town and we have a formal military graduation dinner to attend with our best friends, Mikal and Crystal (and Charley even arranged for a lemo to take us there and back!!!!). Should be a wonderful evening!! And then Friday it's off to Byer's Lake up North for our first camping trip of the season (and first EVER for Eden). And THEN, as soon as we get home, Charley's sister and family gets into town and will be staying with us a few days. I can't wait for ANY of it, but it's going to make for ONE HECTIC WEEK all the same! In fact, I shouldn't even be blogging right now (I OUGHT to be packing), but I think with SOOO much to do, I sometimes get overwhelmed and just zone out for a while, pretending that everything is under control. hahaha

Well, that said, I should probably sign off and get going, but I'll leave you with one final picture of the winners of Junior Town's annual 'Cutest Baby Photo' contest:

Remember, you can click on pictures to enlarge them...
bye for now!

2010-05-19T20:49:00.001-08:00

Here are a couple of recent videos of Eden! Enjoy! :)

Pigtails!

2010-05-17T10:53:00.004-08:00

Eden's hair is finally long enough for pigtails!! :)

In other news, we finally finished our living room.. we painted and replaced an old, beat up chair with a new, pretty leather one, and we got a new tv stand in place of our junky, falling apart corner entertainment center. Our whole living room looks fresh and much less cluttered. That's always a good feeling!

Our summer house projects are in full swing. We have started moving rocks along side the house so that we can have some top soil delivered for my garden. When he's not helping me paint walls, Charley's been hard at work trying to finish the shed and get ready to replace/add onto the back deck. We also need to get the gazebo up for the summer. This is probably my favorite time of year. The trees are full of bright green leaves (as opposed to the deep, dark green that they turn as Fall approaches), and I even saw some dandelions today!! In Alaska, frequently, dandelions are a (*gasp!*) welcomed sight since it means Summer is HERE! In a few weeks, when the excitement from winter finally being gone has worn off, then the dandelions will have to go. haha

That's about it for now.. gotta work on some- you guessed it! Projects! :)

Hello Summertime!! We've been waiting for you!! :)

2010-05-15T16:12:00.004-08:00

Here is our last week in pictures:

Daddy and Eden on the 4-wheeler

Me and Eden

Today we went to the park with some friends and their sweet little girl...

Eden and Bella

And last but not least: Eden in her new hat

It's been a weird last couple weeks. Life is interesting.

Hope you're all having a great summer so far!

Mother's Day

2010-05-10T13:51:00.004-08:00

Yesterday was my fist official Mother's Day since Eden was only in my tummy this time last year. Charley and Eden got me a card (with Eden's hand print on it), some flowers, and took me out to lunch at the top of the Sheridan Hotel after church. It was a great day! Here are a few pics:

I would have to say that it was a very good Mother's Day indeed!

Signs of Spring...

2010-04-29T19:01:00.004-08:00

Little things like this make my day happy... yesterday afternoon, these guys showed up in our back yard. I named them Ferdinand and Claudia. Aren't they pretty? I fed them some bread but only Claudia would eat any... therefore, I deemed Claudia the smart one and Ferdinand the handsome one.

There's been a lot going on around here lately.. and I have been a bit of a tardy blogger. Here's the last few weeks in pictures:

My little bookworm:

Our church's AWANA program just ended and we had our awards ceremony the other night... here is my friend's little girl, Gracey after receiving her 'diploma' from cubbies! :)

This year I was privileged to work with our church's highschoolers, or "LITs" (Leaders in Training"). Here's one of 'my girls', Hannah. She's such a sweet heart.

... and most of the LITs I worked with throughout the year. There are a few more missing, but this is the majority of them. What a GREAT group of kids. I've been prepping for a Bible study I will be doing with the girls throughout the summer. We begin in a couple weeks and will be going through Elisabeth Elliot's 'Passion and Purity'. I'm stoked to get to connect with the girls during the summer and provide a setting where they can share prayer requests, provide each other with accountability, and learn about some of the important (and Biblical) reasons to strive for COMPLETE and total purity as young women in the Lord.

At the end of the ceremony, our Pastor jumped up on stage to say a few words and end in prayer. He jokingly said, "I'll just be two minutes! If not, I'll drop and give ya 50!". Unfortunately for him, the front several rows of kids took him very seriously and eagerly timed him with their wrist watches. When he finished up (and had gone over by a few seconds), the kids demanded that he hold up to his end of the bargain- at which, without even hesitating, he dropped and 'gave 'em 50'. You can always tell when someone is x-military! :)

Eden has been eating anything and everything we give her.. one of her favorite snacks are these little banana flavored 'puffs'. Here you can see she missed by about a half an inch. haha

Eden loves her daddy...

...and her mommy:

and her mommy loves HER

Lastly, today, we had a visitor out back: a yearling! He was quite confident to tromp right up to our house and snack on the yummy shrubs against our living room window:

Like I said, it's been a busy couple weeks, and even as I type this my little girl is crying at my feet-VERY ready to be tucked in to bed for the night... so I better run!

HAPPY SPRING!!

Just a few Pics...

2010-04-15T11:01:00.003-08:00

Here's just a quick post with some pictures of the happenings in our last couple weeks....

Eden found her feet and it's her new favorite 'chew toy'. Awesome.

Happy Baby

Finally got a tooth shot! :)

Here are a couple more pics from Easter that John and Shelly sent us...

family pic

Eden's 'old man' face again

It's beautiful outside today but over the past week, we've gotten about a foot of snow. If I didn't know it was going to melt soon, I'd be VERY frustrated. This happens every year... we get all excited for Spring, the snow starts to melt, the temps rise, the trees sprout buds, and the sun shines for hours on end each day - and then we get dumped on. GRRRR. But like I said, it will melt again just as quickly as it came on, and it already is beginning to do so.

In other news, Eden gives kissies freely now and I just can't get enough of them!! :) She also loves to say 'dadadadada' (not knowing what she's saying, but we're pointing at her daddy every time she starts babbling it), and she also is getting really close to crawling. She rolls all over now and can definitely find a way to get to where she wants, but we haven't mastered that one hurtle of crawling yet. I'm sure she'll get there soon enough though!

I'm off to go wash some windows. Since I got home from TN, I've been on an 'Extreme Home Makeover' kick, which has also involved some deep Spring cleaning and organizing. Have a great week!

Whirlwind of a Week...

2010-04-05T09:27:00.007-08:00

I am sooo happy to be home, but at the same time, I already miss my Dad, Sister and all her family. We had the most wonderful trip. God is so faithful. The remainder of our visit back East was incredibly rewarding. My dad left on Thursday, and I left Saturday morning. I feel like there is just so much to say and I don't have the time or space in this blog post. I guess I'll just hit on the most important and precious moments. First of all, seeing my Dad and brother was just awesome. Each day with my Dad seemed to be more sweet than the day before. Sharing memories and hearing stories of his past, parents and grandparents were definite highlights of the trip. I also really enjoyed visiting with Coie when she drove up for the weekend. We were able to visit a little as she drove with me back and forth from the Taggerts (a wonderful family who let me stay at their home for the week) each night. Ryann and I spent some good quality time together as well. She and I drove up to Sevierville, and did some shopping at the Tanger Outlets which was also a highlight. We had some meaningful conversations and great fellowship. We all shed a lot of tears and made some great memories. After Dad left, I had another day and a half before heading out myself, so Jen and me spent some time together and went on a 'sister date' to dinner and also did some shopping. While the emotions were high and the atmosphere, at times, was heavy, the trip overall was one of the best I've ever had back East to see my sister (and in this case, my Dad and Brother as well).

Ryann and Eden

My Dad spent a lot of the time playing music with and giving lessons to the kids...
Here's Emmi and him playing a song he taught her...

More music time... playing Amazing Grace here.

Here's a 'game' Eden was playing with her Grandpa (she'd throw the toy and he'd lower her down so she could grab it.. he did this over and over and over. haha)

Geoffrey and Eden

Coie and Eden

My Dad and Eden again....

Eden and I left for the airport early Saturday morning. I nearly made myself sick worrying about the trip home. I don't know why I do that... worry. You'd think by now that I'd have learned to trust God with allllll that He's brought me through, protected me from, and done for me. Anyways, just as I did flying out there, I felt the prayers of my Sisters and Brothers-in-Christ all the way home. I was able to get an open seat next to me on EVERY flight, the people and flight attendants were all exceptionally gracious and kind and helpful, Eden didn't have a hard time going down for her naps, and she slept the whole time on the last (and longest) flight. It was amazing to see God work and bless as we traveled home all day and night Saturday.

Me and my Dad

Eden and me

My Best friend (my sister) and me

Dad and Eden

Yesterday was Eden's first Easter. We landed in Anchorage at 1 in the morning, and went to straight to bed when we got home. Since I was (and still am) on East coast time, Eden and I were wide awake by 6am and so we did end up going to church and had lunch at the Nielsens... It was also Charley's birthday. By 4:00 I could hardly keep my eyes open so we went home and by 5pm all THREE of us were in bed for the night. Not sure why Charley was so tired since he wasn't the one flying the whole day and night before, but he went to bed with Eden and me just the same. It was nice to sleep so long, but today I still feel a bit groggy. I'm just so happy to be home. I'm hoping to get a carrot cake made this week and have a small, late, birthday celebration for Charley... even though it'll only be the three of us. Our focus this week will be to get back on a schedule, get Eden sleeping through the night again, unpack, regroup, and get the house back in order (though it was pretty clean when we got home AND there was a huge bouquet of flowers on the counter that Charley had gotten me to welcome us home!!). He's so precious. I was so happy to see my husband again after being apart for two weeks.

Anyways, I have a lot to do today, so I will sign off for now...but here are some pictures from the trip and from our Easter yesterday...

Quick Update from TN

2010-03-29T16:04:00.003-08:00

I only have a minute, but I thought I'd write a quick update from TN on how things are going. I've been here a week now and God has been so good and blessed our time tremendously. I arrived last Monday and my Dad got here on Thursday. My brother arrived on Friday and Saturday felt like a little, wonderful, family reunion. :) We had so many precious moments together and enjoyed visiting, catching up, and a great dinner together. Here's a picture of my Dad, Jay, my sister Jen, and me.

My Dad has loved spending time with his grandkids... and is sooo good with Eden. She loves her Grandpa!

Dad leaves Thursday and I leave Saturday... so I will be here for another 5 days. I'm thankful that I haven't been too homesick, though I do miss my husband tremendously. The trip here was not nearly as bad as I thought it would be. We had 1 five hour flight and 1 two hour flight and it was during the day. Both flights I was able to get an empty seat next to me and everyone around us was kind and gracious. God was SO good and answered prayer. Going home, we will be traveling through the night and will have 1 five hour flight, 1 six hour flight, and 1 three hour flight. As you can imagine, I'm somewhat apprehensive seeing as that's quite a bit longer and at a much more difficult time to travel (in the middle of the night), so please pray that Eden does well and has no problem going to sleep.

I have to run for now, but will update again when I can. Thank you if you have been praying for us! This trip, so far, has been so wonderful. We're making some precious memories!

Family Time!

2010-03-20T18:33:00.007-08:00

We spent some good family time together today since Eden and I are leaving day after tomorrow for TN. It was a gorgeous, sunny afternoon, so we all bundled up in our carhartts and went out for a nice walk... here are some pics. :)

We saw this guy the other day...He was tromping right through our front yard... We showed Eden, but she didn't seem to care much. ;p

It has been SO pretty this week in Anchorage. We've had so much sunshine and lots of 'above freezing' weather (which translates as WARM). The snow is rapidly melting and we even saw some blossoms on a tree today!!! This is my very favorite time of year. When I lived in California, Spring was not something we looked forward to because it meant that the HOT weather was on it's way... but in Alaska, Spring is the kick-off to our most beautiful, perfectly lovely months of the year. While Charley loooooooves winter (and I grin and bare it), the excitement that is Spring in Alaska is never far from my mind. The way that the trees turn green almost overnight and grass turns green and the sun never quite sets opening opportunities for hiking, fishing, biking, picnicking, camping, and lots of other 'ings, all without heavy jackets, makes me down-right giddy! This summer will be no exception as we will get to introduce a new little person to all of the adventures we enjoy...

Speaking of a new little person, Eden had something exciting (and somewhat painful) happen this week. Wednesday she had a runny nose so we kept her home from Awana and prayed like crazy that she wasn't getting sick (since we have this trip coming up)... the next day we took her in for her shots and check-up and the doctor confirmed that she was getting a cold. I was so bummed, and just prayed even more fervently that she would get over it QUICKLY and that I wouldn't get it. That night at 1 in the morning, she woke up screaming and crying and I ran in to check on her. She was wet with sweat and running a high temperature of nearly 103! I called the 24 hour children clinic's line and the nurse told me that it was just a result of her shots from earlier that day and to give her Tylenol. I found that a little odd since she didn't run a fever or wake up in pain after the last time she got shots (the same ones in fact). But I listened to the nurse anyways, gave her the Tylenol and put her back to bed after she calmed down. After a bit she went back to sleep and did alright the rest of the night (waking up briefly once or twice more, but nothing too epic).

The very next day, she no longer had a runny nose or a fever or was fussy. I couldn't believe it... but I was happy all the same. We were in the office hanging out with her daddy, and I absentmindedly stuck my thumb in her mouth and felt her gums (I've gotten in the habit of doing this on a daily basis since she was about 4 months looking for any signs of a tooth popping through)... and low and behold, I discovered ... a TOOTH (or 'Toofers' as her daddy likes to call it)!! All this week here we thought it was the shots. or a cold. But we were all wrong (including the doctor!)... our little pickle head was getting a toofers! :) It's her first tooth and you can't see it very well, but you can sure feel it! I never realized how painful it is for these little guys to teethe, nor did I understand that this 'fever' I always heard people talk about babies getting when they teethe could get so high! That was scary, man! But anyways, we are praising God that she *wasn't* sick, and that she got the tooth NOW instead of while we were on the plane headed for TN. That would have been REALLY scary (not knowing what it was till after the fact).

Here she is, AFTER the tooth had made it's new home in her mouth.. happy as a clam. :)

Well, please keep us in your prayers as we head out Monday. I finished getting us all packed today so we won't have to worry about it amidst church and Sunday afternoon happenings tomorrow. It should be fine. God is faithful and knows my fears and apprehensions. He is good.

Homer in March... with Three FEET of snow

2010-03-16T20:38:00.007-08:00

Yep, that's right... three feet. Charley, Eden and I headed down Friday afternoon and got to his parents' house that night. They were already in bed, so we just hit the sack. Saturday, Charley went out snowmachining with his dad. Sounds like they had a great time and the weather was BEAUTIFUL. I hung out with his mom at the house, and then took Eden for a walk and met up with my friend Haley, and her baby girl Emma. It was soooo good to connect with an old friend. I hadn't seen or spent time with her in a few years. We had lunch and then walked back to the house (stopping for coffee on the way). The girls played together on the floor really well. It was cute to see them interact. They kept grabbing and playing with each others feet.

Playing together! :)

Here's Haley's little girl, Emma

Charley and I went to dinner with Josiah, Haley and Emma... but it was Eden's bedtime, so we left her with Charley's folks so she could go to bed. She gets cranky when she's up past her bedtime, otherwise, we would have brought her along for sure. I felt bad that they babysat her even for the half hour before she went to bed (not wanting to inconvenience them). But she's a good girl and went down easily for them... and I think they had a nice time with her anyways. Here's her 'Dandy' pulling her around in a box.

On Sunday, Charley and me and his folks played this game that he brought down with us called 'Ticket to Ride'. It took us FOREVER to figure it out, but once we got the hang of it, it was actually really fun. :) Then Jan made moose ribs for lunch which were SO good and we left for Anchorage shortly afterwards. Here's a few more pics of Eden and me hanging out at the house there before heading home:

On a side note, my Dad got some bad news that his cancer is not gone, and the doctors also found an unidentified mass in his chest. He is going out to visit my sisters and kids next week in TN, and then starts chemo and radiation next month. I asked him and my sister what they thought about Eden and me flying out to meet them as well and they seemed to like the idea, so we bought our tickets and leave early next week. I'm nervous about flying alone across the country with Eden, but I'm also trusting God to work out details and get me through rough spots... and I'm praying He'll even provide me with some empty seats next to us so that I won't have to hold my 20lb pickle head the entire time. In the mean time, I'm trying to scramble this week to get meals made for Charley, the house cleaned, errands run and all our stuff packed. We get back the day before Easter which is also the day before Charley's birthday. Please keep us in your prayers as we travel, and please pray for my dad too that God would just heal his body, give him wisdom, and help him to have peace about and through this whole thing.

Just a Video...

2010-03-11T21:42:00.003-09:00

How can such a little bundle of giggles and squeals so easily melt my heart and bring me to tears of thankfulness and joy?

Like this:

Oh how I love being a mommy to this little girl! :)

Hello March

2010-03-08T09:07:00.005-09:00

I was glad to see February be over with. Seemed like we couldn't get away from sickness, an overly-booked schedule, and minor catastrophes. Life is interesting the way we'll be going along just minding our own business for a few months, and then all of a sudden have a string of difficult circumstances or challenging events. Anyways, we were glad to see March ushered in with the increased light, and a promise of some fun activities this month including a visit with Charley's parents down in Homer this coming weekend, a drive up to Fairbanks to watch my friend Amy get married, and another possible trip to the cabin towards the end of the month. It'll be a busy, but fun month.

Eden seems to be growing and learning a new 'trick' or skill each day. Yesterday she was rolling around (finally) on the floor. She can't roll tummy to back yet, but she's got back to tummy down just fine. And she finally doesn't mind being on her tummy (getting ready for crawling I imagine). It's going to be so weird having her mobile, but I'm excited about it too. Last night was the first time I put her to bed and then went up to find her yelling for help after she'd rolled herself over on her tummy and couldn't roll back. I chuckled and turned her on her back and she went to sleep. It's amazing to see her change and learn and grow. I sure love being a mom.

Look how blue her eyes are getting!

this is Eden's new thing... she likes to gnaw on the ribbon of her binkie, having the two ends hang out like some sort of dog toy. SO CUTE.

A few days ago my good friend Audra called and let me know she was in town from WA with her little boy Elias (who I hadn't met yet), and she came over and spent the day with me and Eden. It was soooo good to see her... I was in her wedding a few years ago down in Spokane and don't get to see her nearly often enough...

Me and Audra

Eden and Elias (he's two months old)

I love this picture... it looks like she's got a hold of him for us like a puppy who's trying to get away... :)

Elias looks like he's about to sock someone in the nose here...

Me and Elias

In other news, it's snowing like crazy here right now (yep, that's March in Alaska for you... everyone else is getting their gardens prepped and flowers are blooming, but we're in the middle of a snow storm! ha!), but I actually like it a lot. It's blowing snow and reminds me, for some reason, of the descriptions of the blizzards in the Little House on the Prairie books... especially seeing the snow blowing outside and the woods and our little 'barn-look-alike' shed out back. There's something very cozy about sitting inside on a cold, blizzard-y day with the fire going and a cup of hot cocoa. :) Spring will be here soon enough, but after such a mild Feb where most of our snow melted, this front that's been moving in the last couple days is a welcomed change of scenery. Homer, I hear, has gotten 3+ feet of snow in the past few days which is UNHEARD of. Charley is beside himself excited about heading down there this weekend to play in it. We've gotten a good amount in the last 24 hours, too, here in Anchorage... and it's still coming down.

Well, I better get some chores done. Enjoy your Spring... whatever the weather! :)

Eden Takes Daddy for a Ride :)

2010-02-27T12:37:00.007-09:00

First of all, we're ALL BETTER!! Thank you, Lord! Woke up yesterday (Friday) and felt like a different person... and I've only gotten better since. You can imagine how amazing it feels to have our entire family better again. Charley took us out to breakfast this morning. What a fun time!

Eden LOVES water. She would drink as much as we'd give her. :)

I think she ended up getting more on her daddy than in her mouth.

After we got home, I bundled her up so she could go on her first 4-wheeler ride around the house with daddy. She. Loved. It.

In other news, SOMEbody is learning (and becoming quite proficient at) using her sippy cup. :)

This evening we are going downtown to see the fireworks. we're thinking that Eden would probably really enjoy the bright, colorful lights. It's neat that she's starting to be at that age where we want to introduce new things that she'd enjoy. She's just getting so big. Look how 'little girlish' she looks here:

Cabin Fever... Literally.

2010-02-25T12:30:00.009-09:00

We woke up this morning and it was snowing... and it kept snowing... and it's STILL snowing. This was a welcomed sight as it's been an incredibly warm February (nothing to complain about), and we've only seen rain and rapidly melting snow, which ends up looking quite drab and dreary after a while. It looks, once again, like a winter wonderland outside... and there's something about that scene which lifts even the heaviest of hearts.

Some before pictures of the snow-less trees and mud-mixed snow would better do these pictures justice, but since I have none of those, here are two that I just took of our back yard. If you look closely, you can see snowflakes falling:

Note the build-up just from this morning on the lid of that pot.

It seems like the last several posts have included an account of someone in our little family who was sick, last time being Eden. Well, sadly, I can't say that this post is going to be much different when shortly after that entry, Eden started feeling better, but *I* came down with a horrible soar throat and cold complete with fever, chills, night sweats and all over achy-ness. It's lasted about a week, but today- now on antibiotics, I'm feeling ever so slightly better... which, in contrast with the rest of the week, feels WONDERFUL. I just can't wait to be *totally* better now, and I sincerely hope that Charley and Eden stay healthy and well.

Look at this crazy baby... :) She wanted my camera, bad. haha

Her favorite Guy...

Just hanging out... little monkey

Waiting for mom to get better... a little on the bored side around here when mom is down

Anyways, in more serious news, my Dad is, as we speak, in surgery right now down in IL as the doctors and nurses work diligently to remove his thyroid (and the cancer therein). This is the second time my Dad has had cancer... the first time being kidney, and we all praised God when he emerged from the hospital cancer-free. This time I think it shook him up when he found out his thyroid had been attacked. Obviously, cancer likes his body... and that is a scary thing. But it sounds like he has excellent doctors and nurses, and that it's supposed to be a fairly simple procedure there today.

Other than riding the sickness merry-go-round in our home, things are settling down and feeling a little bit back to normal. All the chaos has forced us to slow waaaaaaay down (pushing us out of our 'comfort zone', but proving to be a good thing).

As the week progresses, and I - Lord willing - continue to feel better, we are hoping to go downtown and enjoy a few of the Fur Rondy events with Eden. The fresh air would do us all some good.

And finally, here is a video I took of Eden a couple days ago. It's amazing how fast she's turning into a little girl. Her 'manly' grunts are starting to be broken up by girlie giggles and squeals. I love it.

Under-the-Weather Prestons

2010-02-18T15:15:00.008-09:00

Do you ever feel exasperated with life? It seems like for the last several weeks, it's been something new almost every day. This past weekend, we had to cancel all of our Valentine's Day plans when Charley got sick with the flu and didn't start feeling normal again til Monday morning. Then a few short days later, Eden came down with a fever and became very fussy and lethargic. When the fever didn't go down this morning, we took her in to the doctor. At the office, she broke down and screamed and cried for about a half hour... I could tell that she was in horrible pain, and I was beside myself trying to comfort and help her. Because she wasn't having any diarrhea or vomiting, the doctor ruled out it being the flu or a cold... but rather that he was concerned it was an illness called intussusception, based on the violent way she was crying and screaming, and how fast it had come on. After the appointment, and a few hours at home, it became clear that it was not intussusception since we didn't have any more episodes of her crying, but now later in the day, I'm thinking it was just a little stomach bug as she's acting more and more like her little self aside from some lethargy and fatigue.

With all that's been going on lately, I confess it's been hard to be real thrilled with life, but at the same time, I am grateful that it's only been a lot of little things, instead of something truly terrible.

It looks like I may get my Tahoe back tomorrow from the shop, which will be wonderful. I still haven't had much pain from the accident (praise the Lord), but it has been a headache to be without my car these 3 weeks.

In other, more happier news, we are looking at a family vacation to Hawaii this May. In light of that promising get-away, here are some pictures of Eden trying to convince daddy to go ahead and buy those tickets.

That face must have done *something* right, cause her daddy now has some tickets to Maui on hold.. ;) He's a softy when it comes to his little girl...

and while our Valentine's Day plans were somewhat ruined because of the darn flu bug, Eden still looked the part when her Daddy felt good enough last minute to take her and me out to dinner at the Bears Tooth (not crab and Fillet Mignon at a 5 star restaurant like the original plan, but still pretty special). ;)

I'm hoping this next week might be a little less.. uh... "exciting".

My Valentine

2010-02-13T13:33:00.012-09:00

Last night we went to our church's Valentine's dinner. The LIT's ("Leaders in training", aka high schoolers) put it on for us married people. They did the cooking, childcare, activities, music, etc... and they did a great job. It's neat to go to a church where the teens are so mature, involved, and interested in interacting with adults just as much as their peers. Anyways, the main activity/challenge was to write a short essay about your spouse/a special Valentines Day/how you met/etc, and then the teens would judge and award the top 3. We didn't win, but I was still touched that Charley took the time to write something. Most of the entries, you could tell, were written by the women- as would be expected... so I was blessed when my husband decided to be one of the few guys to take initiative and submit something written from his perspective.

I thought maybe I'd share it here for those of you who are interested... It's about our first three meetings (before we started dating).

A Happenstance Meeting in the 21st century - An Epic Tale of Budding Love in the Last Frontier.

Her internet profile picture captivated my eyes. It was a grainy, black and white close-up, of a girl sticking out her tongue, contorting her face, and holding her beloved coffee cup. I HAD to communicate with this refined soul! And rid her of this enslaving caffeine addiction...

We met. At a coffee shop, where else? I was desperate.

Next place we met was Alyeska, a week later. I think she was stalking me; however my desperate little person liked this idea. We hugged...then God sent my skis and her snowboard in two separate directions…Later!

Number three was the Fifth Avenue Mall. She commandeered her pseudo-brother's truck, and proceeded to get pulled over for speeding en-route. Perhaps we were two desperate souls?! Fortunately for her, a “10-80” was "in progress", to which the kind officer responded to post- haste...leaving her ticketless. The mall commenced, and I gave her some Armani perfume. She thankfully accepted it with apparent glee, not reading anything ulterior into it. I will say however that the magazine ad smelled better than the bottle. Note to self: next time just tear out the page to rub on her wrist and save $70!

The final interaction prior to the relationship being official was a family snowmachine trip to the cabin. This can be summarized into riding around on my machine while she is shoving her helmet into mine and another pseudo-brother getting us royally lost. I won big brownie points by stopping at an occupied cabin to ask for directions. We finally coerced each other into dating while flopped in the snow in a swamp. And she thought I just wanted to be friends. Two years later we were married. Shortly after came the baby in the baby carriage.

If that’s not a romantic testimony to the sovereignty of God, I don’t know what is!

In light of Valentine's Day, I am reminded of all the reasons why I love my husband... the first and foremost being the great desire that he has to be a godly man, loving husband, and excellent father. While there are days that we get frustrated, and sometimes - to be brutally honest - we don't like each other very much, our love remains true and constant because it is based on a commitment rather than a feeling.

When we got married, we said our vows with the underlying belief that one doesn't "fall into love", but rather chooses to love. I think that in our society today, people have become extraordinarily self-oriented. Thinking back on my childhood and teenage years, I remember the Disney movies that stressed the message to "follow your heart", and the songs which tell us to "do what's right for YOU". How dangerous these instructions are. If I were to "follow my heart", I would have left my husband the first time we got in a fight, I would have not worked out friendships which have gone through hard spots, and I would have finished off that last sleeve of oreos the other night without a thought in the world.... Now, in the 21st century, it seems that even in some conservative/morally-based circles, we are told that "you deserve better than that...even if it means splitting up your family because you're married to a jerk", or "just do what makes you happy, life is short anyways". There's no accountability, no self-examination, we are ALL the victim, and everyone else is to blame. HOW SAD. Unfortunately, these "forward thinking" messages are creating a nightmare in our country.. broken hearts, broken homes, teenage pregnancies (too often ending in abortion...again, it's all about the woman... not the child or other people involved), little ones without any stability or morals, estranged family members, tolerance for perversion, parents in prison, women who feel it's more important to have 'me time' than to buckle down and take care of their families - and all because our culture is now one of doing what feels good instead of doing what we know is right.

I'm thankful that throughout my crazy childhood, those values and lessons of choosing to do the right thing even if it's hard were deeply ingrained within me. I'm thankful that I was taught to think logically instead of emotionally (not that I always do...but I do know better and strive for that). I'm grateful that someone told me that those who insist on being first will end up being last, and he who gives is even more blessed than he who receives (all lessons from God's Word). I'm thankful that those times when I grabbed the largest cookie on the plate, someone pulled me aside and said, "I want you to bless someone else with that, and take a smaller one please... you don't always have to have the biggest. Think of others first". These are all lessons that are paying off now in my marriage which requires total selfLESSness and humility, and me as the woman stepping aside and letting my husband lead, provide, and be the man. If he wanted to marry another guy, he could have (thankfully he did not... ew), but rather, he chose a lady... someone he could be the hero to, someone he could provide for, spoil, love on, care for, and have me be enthralled with his muscles, strength, and excitement to rescue me from this 'scary world'. ;)

Our marriage is not perfect and we struggle like crazy at times, but because we are committed to growth, playing out our God-given rolls as husband and wife, and loving one another 100% even when the other is only giving 40%, I believe that it will prove to be a marriage that not only lasts, but becomes more beautiful and lovely with time.

I love you Charley. Thank you for being so patient with me... and thank you for being such a wonderful man. Happy Valentines Day!

Cabin Trip that ended with the Flu

2010-02-09T14:30:00.007-09:00

This past weekend our friends, the Bryants, went to the cabin with us up in Petersville. Crystal and I left Saturday morning with the kids... the guys had gone up the night before to get the cabin all warm for us and bring up the gear ahead of time. We had a great weekend of sledding, shooting, snowmachining, playing games, hanging out, etc. Here are a few pictures:

Gracey and me on the snowmachine

Mathan in Uncle Charley's boots

Here I am shooting my new gun that I got for Christmas

One of my favorite pictures from our trip... the kids in the intertube

Eden had fun at first, but eventually decided that her snowsuit was too restricting and we had to go back inside where it was warm... Mathan on the other hand stayed out there for a good hour or so. He loved getting pulled around and having a break from being inside. :)

Here's Crystal and me

And our babies..

We went inter-tubing and somehow Charley got white-washed (this didn't happen to rest of us... he must have not known to 'lean back') haha

and here's Mikal and Crystal

And Gracey trying (and somewhat successfully) blowing up a baloon

On our way home, I started feeling really sick to my stomach. As it progressively got worse, I started to pray that I could just, please God, at least make it home before losing my lunch. He decided not to answer that prayer, and just as we pulled onto the off ramp for Elmendorf, I lost it. the rest of the night was a nightmare. I was up every hour, running to the bathroom (but at LEAST I was home and not at the cabin anymore). And thankfully, it ended up being only the 24 hour flu, so two days later now, I feel fine. But I never realized how difficult it is to be sick when you have a baby to take care of. Thankfully, Charley stayed home most of the day yesterday and helped with Eden...and I learned that when she slept, I needed to sleep - and did. Today, I'm not 100%, but close.

In other news, despite the fact that my sister HATES it, I LOVE Valentines Day. This weekend is already filling up with 'sweetheart' activities. We have a dinner at our church Friday night and Charley is taking me out Sunday. He gave me my gift early... which blew me away - a new laptop! I'd been wanted one for a few years since I've had his old one for a while and it's been on it's last leg...so you can imagine how thrilled I was yesterday when UPS showed up and Charley asked me if I wanted my Valentines present early. What a sweetheart my man is... :)

Finally Another Post

2010-02-03T09:54:00.009-09:00

The past few weeks have been really crazy. One weekend I had the high school girls from Awana (that I work with) at my house for a sleepover. Then, the following weekend I was hosting a baby shower for our friends Ashleigh and Sandor. Then, last weekend, I threw a surprise birthday party for my best friend, Crystal, and this weekend we're going to the cabin. The actual week DAYS between these nutty weekends have been just as busy... My good friend Chanel's little girl was in the hospital with pnemonia, Eden and I got sick with yucky colds, Charley has been moving his office from Girdwood to Anchorage which has require late nights for him, my Tahoe's transmission went out and had to be in the shop for a few days, Charley went snowmachining with some buddies and got stuck in Glenn Allen when one of the guys' trucks broke down on the way home, and then finally, this past Friday, I was in a car accident (with my Tahoe that we'd just gotten out of the shop) when someone ran a red light and hit me. Firetrucks, Ambulences, and cops were on the scene in minutes, and there was rubbernecking like I'd never seen before. Thankfully, there were plenty of witnesses to see that it was indeed the other guy's fault and so his insurance will be taking care of everything. I wasn't hurt badly and I'm praising God that Eden wasn't in the car.

Despite all the craziness/catastrophy, it's been really neat to watch God work through all of this. If I weren't a Christian, and didn't believe that my God is faithful and sovereign (in control and has a plan while letting difficult circumstances take place at times), these past few weeks would have been enough to put me in the nut house for a while. But because I know that the God I serve is one who's interested in my GOOD, and only allows me to go through what I can handle, and nothing more, it's been amazing to see the way that He has (and still is) working everything together for good (Rom 8:28).

For example, before the accident, we were planning on getting Eden a new car seat because she's starting to outgrow her's, AND it's getting really tough for me to lug her around in it. So two nights ago, we went and finally got her one...a larger, convertible, very safe model. It wasn't cheap. In fact, it was one of those most expensive ones in town. We swallowed hard and just did it anyways because we wanted the safest one we can find for her (knowing my track record with car accidents isn't great...ha). THEN, yesterday, someone told me that when you're in a car accident, the person's insurance is require to replace the car seat if it was in the vehicle at the time of the collision (which, it was). I called Geico, not expecting that they would shell out over a $300 reimbursement for the car seat we had just purchased, but surprisingly, she told me to go down to the body shop and talk to the Geico rep who was handling my claim. I did, and when I got there, he took my old car seat and wrote me a check on the spot for the new one without any hesitation for $329, not a penny less than we paid.

Also, we had no problem getting a rental, and not only will they fix my Tahoe, but since the guy hit my front right corner, I'll be getting a new bumper too (which the previous one was rusting and had dents on it). Another blessing.

The day after my accident, I wasn't hurting hardly at all which I know is testimony to the many prayers that went out for me the night before when posting the prayer request on facebook. After the accident, I immediately felt pain in my neck, shoulder, back and arm. There's no logical reason why I would wake up the next day without any pain, and still have no pain today 5 days later... thankfully, our God is not a 'logical' God, but a MIRACULOUS God. It was also a miracle that I had just happened to leave Eden with her Daddy at home so I could run some errands. I usually just take her with me, but Charley kept her. Again, totally a God thing. The next night, I was able to go ahead with the surprise party for Crystal, and it was a huge success and blessing. She didn't have a clue! She was so surprised. It was Alaska themed.

I'm thankful that at salvation (when making a choice to follow Christ), we become His children, and the Bible says that He sends His Holy Spirit to live in and guide us (1 John 3:24). We also know, according to the Word, that when we accept Christ and believe on Him, we are surrounded by His guardian angels (Hebrews 13:2)...something I think most of us forget at times. His children are precious to Him. He longs for us to trust Him, and remember that regardless of how lovely or crappy life is at the moment, if we are His children, He is there for us and hears us when we cry out to Him with our needs (Hebrews 4:16). It's easy to let difficult circumstances get us down, and even the most godly and mature of Christians will have days where we fall, say things we shouldn't, lose faith, and have heavy hearts, but he promises that if we ARE His children, and have put our faith in Him, He promises to "never leave us nor forsake us" (Hebrews 13:5), and that "nothing can snatch us out of the Father's hand" (John 10:28). In every other "religion", you can "lose your salvation", and have to "work" your way to heaven, but in Christianity, simply putting your faith in Christ, you only have to believe to be saved and to His child (Acts 16:31). No other "added" book is needed, just the Word of God - which is the Bible.

Anyways, I didn't mean for this post to turn into a Bible study/devotion, but I guess just in the light of what a crazy few weeks it's been, I just think it's important to remind myself (and everyone out there), that God IS faithful to those who put their trust in Him, and for you fellow believers to not lose heart, but to remember that God *does* "work everything together for good to those who love God and are called according to His purposes" (Rom 8:28).

This world is not my home...

But while I'm here, though I'm far from perfect, I want to honor Him.

Back from Vacation!

2010-01-18T10:38:00.004-09:00

We had a wonderful Christmas with my family in TN, but the trip home was kind of a nightmare. We missed our flight and ended up in a hotel in Portland. Traveling with a baby was a lot harder than I had thought it would be, but our visit with my family and the blessing to get to spend Christmas with them was worth it. We went to the Biltmore house and Creation museum while back East, which were both amazing experiences. We also got to meet my niece's fiance, a very nice young man from South Carolina. They all enjoyed seeing Eden and I was thankful for how well she did while out there. She loved all the attention, not surprisingly. :)

It is nice to be home though. 'Normal life' is definitely back in full swing. We've already had a whirlwind of activities since we've been back in the great state of AK. I hosted a baby shower for a friend yesterday, and this weekend I'm having my Awana girls (highschoolers) over for a sleepover. In the mean time, I've been busy cleaning my house, organizing, and trying to play catch-up on errands and commitments.

Eden has grown so much in the past month. She is now sitting up and more vocal than ever. She enjoys interacting with other babies/children, and is no longer so intent on ONLY being in mama's arms. She's also spitting up less, which is a HUGE relief. We love her soooo much and enjoy watching her grow. We have a doctor appointment tomorrow for her - mainly a check-up and the start of her immunizations. We wrestled with this decision and are moving forward with it prayerfully (and slowly). Please pray that she does well tomorrow, and doesn't have any negative side effects.

Here are some videos and recent pictures of her... :)

No, she didn't pull herself up on her own here... I stood her up, and MAN was she proud of herself standing there like a big girl. :)

Heading Out...

2009-12-18T17:21:00.005-09:00

We are leaving tonight for TN (stopping first in Atlanta to visit some friends there). I'm nervous about traveling with Eden. She's never been on a plane before, and this day has already been particularly difficult for some reason. She's just been very fussy since she woke up this morning. However, I AM really excited to get out East to see my family and friends. We have a lot of fun things planned for our visit out there. Since we're spending Christmas with the Igs, we did a little Christmas celebration with the Nielsens last weekend. Here are a few pictures from our time there.

Here's John and Seth's wife, Sarah

And Charley, Nathaniel and Laurie

Here's Shelly and Seth - Eden's the only one paying attention

And Eden all dressed up for Christmas!

Little ham

She finally fell asleep in Shelly's arms which is significant because she rarely falls asleep anywhere but in her bed.

then today, I saw a moose in our back yard..

John and Shelly came by the other night...

And Finally, here's a picture of Eden WORN OUT from all her bouncing..

We hope you all have a Merry Christmas! See you next year!! :)

Interesting what makes babies laugh...

2009-12-11T18:46:00.006-09:00

It's amazing to me how much joy and excitement our little picklehead brings us. She is so sweet and so happy all the time... well, almost all the time. Charley's aunt and uncle in Nebraska sent her the cutest little gifts for Christmas. I've never met them, but I already know that they are sweet, precious people. Look what thoughtful, fun presents they sent her!

They live and work on a farm, so appropriately, the gifts were of that nature. Are these not the cutest boots you've ever seen in your life? I can't wait till she can fit into them! :)

And look at these onsies... Charley is a big John Deere fan, so he was almost GIDDY when he saw them..

And they also sent this, a really neat Christmas book/calendar. This reminds me of something that my mom would have gotten Eden had she been here instead of Heaven this Christmas. I can only guess that she's watching from above with a big smile on her face every time she sees Eden grin or giggle..

Here's MY little earthly angel..

My Grandma's sister, Dora (who's been more like another Grandma than an Aunt) has been a huge part of my life and always blessed me by remembering my birthdays, sending Christmas cards/presents, and now sending Eden little gifts and things... we just got another box from her and I'm telling you, this lady has the BEST taste when it comes to baby clothes. Look at this little hat, teddy bear and stocking she sent (among many other things!) :

I am so blessed. Every day I am more and more grateful for how much God has chosen to bless me and my little family. I'm ecstatic that we get to spend Christmas with my sister this year. What are you all doing for the holidays?

Christmas with the Preston's!!

2009-12-06T22:26:00.002-09:00

We just got back into town from Homer. What a WONDERFUL weekend! Saturday morning we exchanged presents with Charley's folks (since we'll be out of state for Christmas), and then that night he and I went on a date to see the Nutcracker! Mom and Dad were kind enough to watch Eden for us. She had a pretty good time:

..and certainly didn't want for attention...

Charley got a lego set (which he'd specifically asked for)

and Eden got a few little fun things too from 'Nanny and Dandy'

One of my favorite things about Homer are the sunrises and sunsets

We had fun hanging around the house, visiting with some local friends there, checking out the craft fair at the highschool, but most of all, just spending time together as a family...

Look how strong this little girl is getting! Just this past week she's finally become somewhat tolerant of 'tummy time'. I think it's because she can finally lift that big ol' melon head to look around. Before, it was too heavy. ;)

"It's the most wonderful time... of the year"

2009-12-04T14:30:00.005-09:00

It's already getting even *busier* around here with the holidays fast approaching. We are leaving for Homer in about an hour to have an early 'Christmas' with Charley's parents, and go see their community production of the Nutcracker. Eden is taking a nap, so I thought I'd make a quick post before we leave. I'm excited for the next couple weeks. Next weekend we have two Christmas parties/get-togethers, and then the FOLLOWING week it's off to Tennessee!! I can't wait to see my sister and brother-in-law... and of course their kids. And I think they are looking forward to meeting Eden! She's at a really fun age right now... it's going to be an awesome trip. I'm thankful that we get to spend Christmas with them. It's been years since I've been able to spend ANY holiday with my sister. This is a real treat!

Eden is *trying* to roll over. She gets about half way there, and then falls back to where she started from. ALTHOUGH, last night she rolled- by herself- from her tummy to her back. Here's what she looks like as she tries to roll the other way... from back to tummy:

It's fun to watch Charley come home and Eden light up when she sees her daddy. Here's a cute picture I took yesterday evening when Charley got off work:

It's going to be a crazy couple of weeks, but I will try to keep updating my blog as often as I can! :)

2009-11-29T08:49:00.006-09:00

We had such a great Thanksgiving. Charley's cousin, Dana, who is currently attending Alaska Bible College in Glenn Allen is staying with us right now. Because she's from Eagle (and they close the road down for the Winter), she had no way to get home for Thanksgiving... and since the thought of her sitting in her dorm room alone on Thanksgiving nearly brought me to tears, I loaded up Eden and we headed North (well, Northeast) Wednesday morning to kidnap her for the weekend. We have had such a good time since she's been here!

Eden likes her... :)

Thanksgiving Day, Dana helped me clean the house and cook dinner... I don't know how I would have done it without her! She was such an awesome help! We had two couples over, ate tons of food, and played games. It was so much fun!

Here's the guys playing Rockband waiting for Charley to finish the turkey

Ta-da! Deep fried by Charley, once again... awesome job hun!

Ginger and Mary :)

Here's Eden's friend, Freja (Gustaf and Ginger's precious little girl), giving Eden a big kiss! Is that not the sweetest thing you ever saw?

We had lots of 'firsts' this Thanksgiving. Eden got her first taste of 'real' food! Sweet potatoes!

It took her a little bit to figure out if she really liked it or not...

but in the end, she was a fan

Here's a video of Eden laughing her head off.. at what, I don't know. but it's cute just the same! :)

Saturday night, Charley, Dana, Eden and I went downtown to watch the 'tree lighting ceremony'. The best part was the free hot chocolate they were giving out. That stuff was GOOD.

All bundled up

Today, we're headed to church and then back to Glenn Allen (this time as a family since Charley can come too), to drop Dana back off at school. It's been SUCH a wonderful holiday weekend! Hope you all had a great one too! :)

Our Week in Pictures...

2009-11-18T15:09:00.004-09:00

Eden continues to get stronger. She's holding her little - or, I should say, big - head up more and more. I love this picture of her... look at those baby blues! :)

She seems to get more personality by the day. Her new thing is that she doesn't like to be held by anyone but her daddy or me. While this is cute, and we love it, it's also becoming a little inconvenient... here's how she feels about it:

You're probably wondering why the heck I'm posting a picture of my new iphone. Well, because it's not just a picture of my new iphone. It's a picture representing an ORGANIZED life. Who knew such a little gadget could help a mommy sooo much! Anyways, it's actually Charley's hand-me-down... and my new favorite toy.

And yet, another random picture. You know how some people have a bin, box, or basket by the front door to catch all those mittens, hats, scarves, kids junk, etc? Well, I didn't want to do that because the last thing I need when heading out the door is having to dig through a BIG pile of stuff, trying to find my other glove, or Eden's hat... SO, I did *this* instead! ($15 at Target, shoe holder, used as my 'winter stuff' catch-all)

The other night, I came home from Fred Myers and this is what I saw. Have you ever seen anything more precious? They were watching Disney's EARTH...or as Charley likes to call it, ERF (why, I will never know).

Also this past week, we've been looking at houses in Eagle River. Even though it will be a few more months before we can realistically think about moving, it's been fun to start looking at what's out there. Anyways, besides that, I've been working on our Christmas letter. Can you believe it's already that time of year again??

Hope you are all having a wonderful week too!

A Couple Videos

2009-11-09T14:45:00.005-09:00

These two videos show Eden's vast range of emotions. One, she's laughing and giggling... the other, she's demonstrating her ability to 'tell me what's up'. Yes, for those out there who think all babies are perfect until their 2nd birthday, I feel sorry for you. These kids come out of the WOMB with an attitude... hence, the screeches.

On the flip side, while she's definitely got her own little will, it's pretty stink'n cute watching her express her 'feelings'. haha She better enjoy it now, cause in a few months it'll be mom's way or the highway when she throws those tantrums. ;)

In other news, we finally have snow on the ground...and it doesn't appear to be going anywhere!

"Good Morning World"

2009-11-07T15:47:00.004-09:00

As I mentioned before, Eden is such a happy, content baby. When she wakes in the mornings, or from a nap, she'll just lay there and wait for one of us to go in and get her. She doesn't so much as make a peep! She's almost *too* good sometimes! haha!

Here's an example of what she looks like when I go to get her from a nap...

Look at that sweet face. See what I get to gaze at everyday? Aren't I just the luckiest girl in all of Alaska?

Eden got an early Christmas present this week. REALLY early Christmas present.. it's a bouncer! ..and she loves it! :)

She also got a new hat. She looks like she belongs in a jack-in-the-box.

Some good friends, Marc and Chanel (and their darling baby girl) had us over for dinner last night. Marc, an avid hunter and sportsman guy, set *this* infront of Eden as she played in Bella's bouncer.

We're getting excited for Thanksgiving! What are you all doing? We're having a couple families over (friends of ours) and I'm going to cook! I've never hosted a Thanksgiving dinner before where I actually cooked the turkey. I'm kinda excited about it.. and kinda nervous. But Charley's AWESOME cousin who is currently attending Bible College up in Glen Allen is going to be here for Thanksgiving, and I'm sure she'll be able to give me a hand in the kitchen as well. She's such a sweet heart... we're excited to have her here for Thanksgiving weekend! :)

Mommy and Baby time!

2009-11-02T09:49:00.008-09:00

Charley went 4-wheeling this weekend with some buddies, so Eden and I got some great girl time in! She and I went shopping, hung out with our friends, went to church, and just had an all around great weekend.

One of my favorite things about being a mommy to a happy baby is going in to get her from her naps. Here's what I get to see everytime I go get her out of her crib...

We just got a super Walmart, so Eden and I went with our friends Chanel and her baby (Eden's friend, Bella), to check it out. Here's what we found!

It's a bumbo. and she loves it. It's made out of rubber.

In other news, it's officially winter in Alaska. It was 14 degrees on the way to church yesterday. Just in case you don't know... that's COLD. But it's been absolutely beautiful outside.

Here's a picture of Charley's new 4-wheeler... and if you look hard enough, you can see all the frost on the ground outside. It's freezing out there. Literally.

nice, eh? Well, I need to get my house cleaned. I hope you all have a wonderful week! :)

Happy Baby! :)

2009-10-27T18:54:00.000-08:00

A Post by Eden Grace!

2009-10-21T11:40:00.015-08:00

Hey Guys! Check out my new highchair! I'm a big girl now! :)

This week has flown by. Mommy and I have a lot more on our 'to-do' list, but we're making progress!

like getting pictures with mama...

...and smiling for her in the waiting room
while the nice man changes the oil in our car

...And watching mama make blankets for my friend's mommy's baby showers!

...and looking at great, big moose outside (check out the progress daddy is making on our shed!)

...and hanging out with friends

...and heading to church

...and playing with Daddy and uncle Toby

...and getting bigger every day!!

(that's the blanket mommy made for me BEFORE the one above that she made for a friend's baby shower. yep, same fabrics)

So as you can see we've been busy around the Preston house! Every day brings new adventures and fun things to do, explore and create! bye bye!

Gratitude

2009-10-09T09:49:00.005-08:00

I can't believe that Eden is already 3 months old this week. We are so incredibly blessed. I used to think the saying, 'i love them so much it hurts' was retarded, but I totally get it now. There are times that I look at my daughter and feel like my heart is going to explode. This week she's started to 'talk'. I love that she raises her eyebrows when she wants to 'tell me something' as if it's so important that I listen and not miss any of it.

She is so expressive. I'm pretty sure she's going to be a little chatter box like I was as a kid... which, can present its own challenges. "NO Eden, you don't say that in public". "Don't tell people their breath stinks, Eden. It's rude". "Eden, I thought we talked about this... You do NOT need to inform me when I have a big pimple on my chin. Trust me, I already know". It will be fun to watch her little personality and character traits as she develops into a little girl. Will she be shy and reserved...more of a follower and server? Or will she be more exuberant and forward - a leader and trend setter? It's such a privilege (and enormous responsibility) that Charley and I will largely dictate, through our training, guidance, and example, what kind of woman she becomes - wise and lovely with good character and godly attributes, someone who people can trust and love, OR a person with an entitlement attitude, selfish, rude and somewhat avoided. I pray that we have the wisdom and ability to raise the former. Knowing that we are human, and will make plenty of mistakes, I have so much peace and relief in knowing that ultimately, she's in God's hands and while we do our best as parents because we have initially given her to Him, we can rest in knowing that regardless of what the world throws at her, or the ways we screw up, God can still make her to be a beautiful person who is a blessing and joy to her family, others, and the Lord.

There are nights that I lay her down for bed and can feel fear creep over me (you moms out there know what I'm talking about): "what if she overheats while she sleeps?" "What if she gets a terminal illness?" "what if someone tries to take her from me?", "What if, what if, what if...". I'm thankful that I can just stop amidst it all, and cry out to God, "Lord, *I* can't protect this little one from all the hurts and pain of this world. I can't always keep her safe. I can't watch over her all night as she sleeps to be sure nothing happens...but You can. Thank you for protecting her and keeping her safe". It's amazing the way that once I place her in His hands, those feelings of doubt, fear or paranoia completely vanish. I don't mean to be preachy, but I'm just so thankful that we as a family can put our trust in something even more sure and constant, more secure than our own futile efforts and this world for safety, peace of mind, and security. And even if something horrible DOES happen, we can still know that it's already been worked out in His plan, He already has a purpose for it, and promises that we don't have to walk through the fire alone. When I lost my mom as a little girl, He was so near to me. Even as a child, I could feel His presence and comfort. I'm so thankful that I didn't turn my back on Him from anger that He would take my mother away... I can see now why He chose to do that, and the way He in turn poured out His blessings on me because of my decision to trust & love Him anyways - as hard as it was. He has been so faithful and I absolutely don't know how my life would have turned out had He not been there with me through it all. It's amazing to serve a God who is so real and faithful, so evident in my life, and so good. Ok, I'll step down from the pulpit now. I just feel so overwhelmed today with gratitude for all I have and how MUCH God has blessed me. :)

Eden is napping now, so I better take this opportunity to put the laundry away and get a shower. It's been really drippy outside. Fall is definitely here and it won't be long before the snow flies. Poor Charley is desperate to get his shed done. I hope that he can make some good progress on it this weekend. He's such a sweet heart. I can't believe how often he puts the needs and desires of our family before his own. Anyways, I hope you all have a great week... Here are a few more pictures of our little sweetie!

Giggling Babies and Construction Projects

2009-10-03T18:34:00.004-08:00

Charley's been working hard to build a shed before the snow flies (that sounds like a really gross insect... 'snow fly'). At any rate, he's been busy trying to get it done because as of now, we don't have any place to store our junk that has previously made it's home in either the "shop" (garage), or Eden's room, before it was "Eden's room". Now with a baby, it's going to be a little more challenging to get out and about because it gets so cold, so Charley wanted to get rid of the stuff in the garage, so I can park in there. It will be so nice to have a warm vehicle to get in to when I need/want to go anywhere! I have such a precious, wonderful, thoughtful husband. Check out the progress he's making:

Why there's a three-wheeler in the middle of it, I do not know.

And here's Charley, after a good day's work, playing some nintendo (thanks to Mikal and Sandor for helping him today!!)

And here's Eden, during what felt like the only 10 minutes today she wasn't crying her pretty little head off (not sure why she was more fussy today than normal... thankfully, it's almost bedtime!)

Nice hair, there, kid. She has daddy to thank for that.

Eden started giggling this week! She did it for the first time two nights ago, and then today while her daddy was holding her, I starting "booping" her little lip (her favorite game), and she started giggling again - and this time, long enough for us to catch it on camera! I felt bad though cause without thinking about it, I rudely brushed Charley's hand away to show you all (since I'm the one, he claims, with "the touch"). Anyways, he forgave me. ;) Love you, Babe.

Here she is, giggling away!

Good Week

2009-10-02T14:27:00.005-08:00

Well, my one-week facebook fast went... surprisingly quickly. It was a good week, and I was able to regroup and spend some time getting my priorities straight. I've decided to not delete my account, but instead simply try spending only about a half hour a day on there- AFTER Eden goes to bed at night and my household responsibilities are taken care of.

In other news, our church started their Awana program this week. Charley and I are both leaders and are excited about what God plans to do through us and the club this year. It feels good to get involved again. With Eden's arrival this Summer, and being so pregnant last Winter and Spring, we've been sorta out of the loop ministry-wise. Anyways, I'm serving in the "24-7 club" (highschool), and for now, Charley is working with T&T ("Truth and Training", 3rd-5th graders). Once they get another male leader in the the T&Ts, I think Charley is going to come join me with the highschoolers, which would be awesome. Awana has always been a huge blessing in my life, and so it's neat to be able to in turn, serve in that ministry now. Tonight is a "game night" for the highschoolers (since Wednesday nights they are busy working as "Leaders in Training" with the younger kids, once a month they have a chance to get together and just fellowship. SO, I'm busy making a billion chocolate chip cookies. Those kids can pack it away.

Eden is finally on a consistent nap schedule. PRAISE GOD. I thought we'd never get there. She's been taking a good nap for me today... still asleep. I find myself just gazing at her, amazed that God would give Charley and I such an incredible gift.

Reprioritizing

2009-09-25T16:23:00.003-08:00

Hello all. Is it just me, or does life fly by a *lot* faster after kids come along? Eden is the best thing that's ever happened to Charley and me, and yet, I feel like just as I'm starting to really enjoy one stage, it ends, and the next one begins.

Today I've been doing a lot of thinking, and praying, and crying. One thing that I believe the Lord's convicted me about is how much time I spend doing "non-family/undomesticated" things... such as *gasp* facebook. Funny how something so simple and innocent can so effortlessly suck so much time. I've got nothing against facebook, and think that in someways, it can actually be a neat tool for keeping in touch with people. However, without someone "regulating" me (as when I was a kid and was only given so many minutes to watch tv, be on the internet, etc), I can get carried away and lose track of time on there (despite my efforts to the contrary). Earlier this week, the Lord pressed upon my heart the reality of how often the tv is on in my house... and it's not that I necessarily watch it that much, but I seem to have it on a lot, just for background noise (Fox News, TLC, etc). Soooo, I did an experiment. I turned it off. And save for about a half hour a day (usually for Wheel of Fortune), it's STAYED off. Guess what's been the result? More peace and less fear on my part, more meals around the table, and a calmer baby. Now, I can't say for sure if they are tied together, but it certainly seems that way.

Then, like I said, today, I started thinking about how much time I spend on facebook... and once again decided to do an experiment - stay off of it. I set my "status" to "out doing more important things" (in so many words), and will now give myself a week to see if it makes a difference in my marriage or roll as mommy. If so, I'm considering deleting my account altogether. If not, well, maybe I'll simply cut back to 1/2 hour a day (if I can), and leave it at that. We'll just have to wait and see. It's been half a day, and so far - well, I've made banana bread, HELD my baby while she slept for once (and prayed, and cried as I watched her sleeping from pure joy and love for her), got some laundry put away, did the dishes, and cleaned out my fridge. SO, I guess so far, the continued life of my facebook account isn't looking so good. But again, the jury is still out so we shall see.

It may seem extreme, but I so long to be a good wife and mother, taking care of my responsibilities around my home, and doing things WORTH WHILE in my spare time (like sewing, reading, playing my guitar for my baby, etc). Yes, it's nice to connect with others, but I don't have to be online for 3, sometimes 4 hours (total) a day browsing through people's facebook walls to do that. Chatting at church, on the phone, emails, or even coffee dates can accomplish the same thing, and probably a lot more effectively. Anyways, I'm not saying any mom or wife out there who has a facebook account should get rid of it - I don't even know if I'm gonna close out MINE, but, I do think we should constantly be checking ourselves, making sure our priorities are straight, and that our household responsibilities are being tended to and that our interests and hobbies aren't being neglected because of some website, or tv show, or anything else that doesn't have any significant value. Since I started a facebook account, I've also done a lot less blogging, which, is not good. Blogging doesn't take a lot of time, but it takes more thought and "work"... and I don't want to neglect that. It's sort of our "family website"...and serves for a way for people to keep up with what's going on in our life.

I feel like I've kinda rambled, but that's what I've been wrestling with lately. If I'm being too dramatic, oh well. I have to do what's best for our family. You can pray that God will help me to manage wisely the hours in my day. This is one of the sweetest times in my life, and I don't want to look back and have regrets of neglecting my husband, beautiful daughter, or home because of some silly website that I couldn't seem to stay off of.

And with that, I'll leave you with a cute picture of my little sweetie pie. :)

Bath Time Baby!

2009-09-22T09:26:00.004-08:00

Ever since Eden was born, she's loved bath time... which is a blessing for her daddy and me, seeing as there's nothing worse than a wet, dripping, slippery, screaming baby. BUT, a wet, dripping, slippery, SMILEY baby... little compares.

She's looking up at her daddy here... she ADORES him.

She is getting so strong. She totally stood up here (with my help obviously). She's a little powerhouse... she's got daddy's strong muscles. :)

She also likes it when daddy "helps" with getting that gas out of her by moving her legs back and forth like she's riding a bike. For some reason, it cracks her up.

In other news, Charley bought me a brand new dining room set that I LOVE. It's totally cool, and TALL. And yes, I made that bunt cake. I've yet to find a word I like saying as much as BUNT.

And finally, we got Eden a new play mat... here she is trying to figure it out:

Our Happy Little Eden...

2009-09-14T22:11:00.000-08:00

A Week of Adventures!

2009-08-31T21:08:00.006-08:00

We have had quite the busy week! Thursday we went to our state fair with some good friends of ours, the Olsons. Ever heard of the Lumberjack show? It's kinda cheesy, but pretty fun. Here's evidence of Eden at her very first Lumberjack show with Daddy.

The guys with their girls... Charley and Eden, and Gustaf with Freja (pronounced "Fray-a")

Gustaf, Ginger, Charley and Eden

the girls! :)

Eden found her finger!

Then this past weekend we headed on down to Homer to visit with Charley's parents and go halibut fishing with some friends of ours, the Bryants and Micklers. Well, the guys went fishing, us girls stayed back and tooled around town.

Here's my friend Rachel and me

And me with Eden in her awesome carrier

Eden found her thumb!

And one of my best friends, Crystal and me

Cuddle time with Grandpa "Dandy" :)

And this NEXT weekend, we are road tripping North to Eagle! It's going to be another crazy week. Eden and I caught a cold, so I'm hoping we are better by then. Anyways, gotta run!

Our Little Sweetie...

2009-08-19T11:23:00.006-08:00

Daddy and Eden playing...

Eden's first time on Daddy's shoulders.

Eden after bath time

Cuddling with Mama

Starting to become more aware... one of her favorite things to focus on: Daddy.

Sleepy sleepy

One of Eden's many cute poses :)

We are having too much fun with this little cutie pie!

Fat & Happy

2009-08-15T10:26:00.005-08:00

My little Eden is starting to grin her head off at me now. Well, she's been a happy, smiley baby since day one, but now she's really learning how to grin *responsively* (as opposed to "responsibly" which I accidentally typed first... how does one smile 'responsibly'? I should make that into a bumper sticker, "Drink and Smile Responsibly"). ANYWAYS, while she's not really a FAT baby (the title was more describing ME then her... but whatever), it just so happens that when she grins, she shows off her two double chins- which equals 4 chins total (for those of you like me who were homeschooled and spent more time on grammar than math). So don't worry, she's a *healthy* size... not too big, not too small. Besides, the camera adds 10 lbs.

CHEESE.

"um, can I get some crackers with that cheese?"

"Helloooooo?? Can someone PLEASE roll me over?"

She informed me that this sign means "feed me... and quit making fun of my double chin."

Proof of who she inherited that chin from... not her dad. uuuuuh... moving on.

Cutest baby on the block fo sho.

Family time!

2009-08-07T20:51:00.003-08:00

Charley's family has been visiting this week. Here's a picture of his Dad (Jim) and his sister (Sarah), with her little girl Sylvia... and of course me and Eden.

Here's Eden the first time her Grandpa held her. She looks like she's about to karate chop him. Yikes.

And Daddy with his daughter - her expressions are starting to get fun...and at times, sorta freaky.

And mommy with Eden... I have given up on her hair and resolved to
simply stick a hat on her when going to church or any other social function. It's impossible.

And here I am modeling my WONDERFUL Ergo Carrier. LOVE that. You can also see what I do with MY hair when it's unmanageable... like mommy like daughter.

And sleepy time...

Eden's Newborn Pictures... 'nuff said

2009-08-01T17:29:00.006-08:00

Our New Routine

2009-07-30T19:56:00.015-08:00

With Charley back to work, Eden and I are settling into a nice, little routine. I can't believe how fast the days fly by. It's not like I'm working my tail off to keep the house clean, or cooking these big, elaborate meals (or even little wussy meals for that matter), but the time still flies by. The hours seem to consist of me holding Eden, feeding Eden, changing Eden, and changing my clothes from getting spit up on by Eden. Other than that, we don't do much. But I like it that way. I'm just soaking each minute in. I have been blessed to have people bring me meals, which ALLOWS me to spend that precious time with my little girl, and I usually tidy up the house after Charley gets home and takes his turn snuggling our little watermelon head. I love being a mom. Today was a little more challenging since I think Eden was dealing with a tummy ache from gas. Poor thing. I always feel bad when I can tell she's hurting and there's not much I can do about it. Praise the Lord for Mylicon. Seems to do the trick every time!

After deciding that she'd rather fuss and be held than take a nap from 11am-4pm today, she FINALLY zonked out just before Daddy got home.

Besides the hair, she also inherited this trait from me:

... the way she ALWAYS has her tongue sticking out. No, I don't go around with my tongue hanging out. I finally kicked *that* habit last year. But seriously, my tongue hangs out in EVERY SINGLE baby picture of me.

She's finally becoming aware of... uh... life.

"Hello there. Who are you? Um. Who am I? WHERE am I? I don't like this game. Wake me up later when it's time to eat"

And not to throw you off or anything, but here's a picture of a baby moose... not to be mistaken by a baby Preston. Just thought I'd mix it up by throwing a non-Eden picture in there lest you get bored.

Aaaaand, Eden. With Daddy

And Eden Again... contemplating... something. I'd like to think that this picture is a strong indicator that she is going to be one of those genius children who graduate college by age 7, but with me as her mommy, the odds aren't that great. She probably just has a booger in her nose and is off a few inches. Poor Eden.

The End

Around the House

2009-07-27T17:29:00.004-08:00

Life is sure different with a baby around the house. My Sis and Coie went back to TN yesterday, and Charley went back to work today, so things are royally different now here at home. Today was Eden's and my first day by ourselves. Since I'm still hurting some from tearing during delivery, I spent most of the day just holding Eden and orgnizing photos. My house is a disaster, but I'm coming to just accept it rather than stress out about it. Once I start feeling better, I will have the energy to do a little more around here.

Here are a few pictures of Eden from the past few days. Tomorrow is her second check-up at Dr. Tulip's. I'm excited to find out how she's doing and what she's gained since her last visit. She's such a good baby!

Daddy enjoying time with Eden

The ladies at my church threw me a lovely little baby shower. Here's a picture of my sister, Coie, Eden and me that night after opening our gifts! We are sooo blessed to have such precious people who love our family so much.

Eden in her little 20s hat again

Mama and Eden after church last Sunday

Eden in her little bouncer.. she LOVES it. Her hair was crazy here from just getting a bath... it takes a few days for it to 'mellow out' again after she gets it washed. haha

It's been such a crazy wonderful two weeks. I can't believe how blessed we are. We've had so many people bring us meals, flowers, gifts, or just stop by to love on our little girl.

Eden's First Week Home

2009-07-23T16:43:00.006-08:00

I really have very little time to post lately with my sister and Coie being here...and a steady stream of friends and family coming through to meet my new little one, but I wanted to at least do a quick update here with some pictures of Eden. She is such a good baby. She lets Mama and Daddy sleep each night for several hours at a time (waking 2 -3 times to eat), and is already grinning her head off all the time! She had her first doctor's appointment and is healthy as could be - Praise God. We have so enjoyed having my sister and Coie here to help with meals, cleaning and keeping me sane with these crazy hormones.

Here are some of our favorite shots of Eden..

My first time getting to hold Eden after they cleaned her up

Proud Daddy

Still in the hospital

Auntie and Eden shortly after we got home from the hospital

Grinning baby

Look at all that hair

Sleepy baby with groovy 20s hat :)

Baby feet!

Happy baby

Coie, Jen and me when we took Eden to Girdwood to do a little sightseeing

I went into labor at 5am on Monday morning and we decided to go to the hospital around 8 or 9. I was only dilated to 2, so they told me to walk the halls and see if we could get me to dilate to 3 so they could admit me (I was in a LOT of pain with contractions coming only minutes apart). Another hour past and they checked me again. I was dilated to 3! We realized at that point it was the real thing and I was SO thankful! It took another hour or so for them to get me into my room. Between 1pm and 4pm I dilated to 7, and then around 6pm I'd gotten to 8. They broke my water and I was becoming hopeful that Eden was going to be here soon. Little did I know! It turned out that she hadn't really "dropped" yet, and we spent from 8pm to midnight just getting her to drop. That was the most difficult part of the whole labor. Finally, she dropped around midnight and was born at 1am Tuesday morning... I was exhausted but overjoyed! By 4am Tues, they had me in my recovery room and I was able to get an hour or so of sleep which was nice. We spent most of the day Tuesday showing Eden to some of our friends and family who came to visit us in the hospital. She slept well that night and we were able to go home Wednesday. Jen and Coie got here Thursday night and will be leaving this Sunday morning. It's been such a wonderful week. She's laying on my lap as I type this (Eden, not Jen). I just never believed it was possible to love someone so much. Charley and I feel so incredibly blessed. She's simply perfect. Thank you to everyone who prayed for me while I was in labor and for my baby. God has been so wonderful and has blessed us beyond anything we could have imagined.

Introducing Eden Grace!

2009-07-15T18:31:00.004-08:00

Our Little baby girl, Eden Grace Preston, was born early Tuesday morning, July 14th at 1:04am. She is 8.3 pounds and 20 inches. She's already stolen our hearts completely! We got home from the hospital about two hours ago (4pm Wednesday), and are soaking her up! She is a terrific baby! I will share more info and pictures later, but for now I have a baby who wants to be fed so I'm off!

Thank you all for your prayers and encouragement! We are SO blessed!!

Love, Jess & Charley (and Eden too!)