JT's birthday party

When I found out that JT had never had a big kid birthday party I immediately jumped on the party train!  I love this man and of course I LOVED the idea of celebrating the day he graced the world with his presence.  Ok...maybe grace isn't the right word choice.  Howabout conquered?  ;)

I started planning this party about 2 months ago so that I could spread the damage to our pocket book over 4 paychecks.  I highly recommend this strategy!!! I also highly recommend scouting out your local Dollar Store. No joke, I purchased 90% of my supplies there.

I made this sign using stencils and spray paint. We attached it to a fence post we had lying around. I love it!

      

Anna helped me set up the decorations.  We ended up borrowing the tables and chairs from a neighbor. I love feel that the US and USMC flags give.

We definitely wanted a strong red, white, and blue presence but didn't want it to scream 4th of July TOO loudly. :) Hence, the decision to add yellow.

It looked so cute to have the balloons as the centerpiece of each table! Unfortunately, it was the one time Provo decided to have wind this month.  To make things easier on ourselves (not wanting to chase balloons through the lawn) we decided to just tie them to the banisters.

Anna made these ridiculously cute flag banners.

I bought a few 3 packs of foam star wands and spray painted them the right colors. I love how they came out!

I found these adorable patriotic hot dog trays at JoAnne's for $1/6 pack. LOVE them. I also spent one evening wrapping the individual utensils. 
This is Brandon and Anna's table. They painted it this wonderful blue/white strip combo so they would never have to worry about a tablecloth! That's about as brilliant as it gets.

It's cake time!

JT desperately wanted a tres leches cake so one of his coworkers pointed me in the right direction. Flores Bakery in Orem is fantastic! The cake was SO moist and absolutely beautiful.  Of course, I misplaced the candles right before I brought out the cake so we ended up using sparklers!

Christina, Joe, and Zach were able to make it towards the end of the party. We were grateful they came!

All in all, JT had a great time at his birthday party and it was very well attended. It was good food, good friends, and all in a relaxed atmosphere that JT thoroughly enjoyed. Thank you to Brandon and Anna for helping out SO much! We're gonna miss these friends but I know they're gonna tear it up in Nashville.

Happy birthday JT! I love you SOO much! MWAH!

We don't do anything the easy way...

We got a new dog. A while ago.  JT found a 2 year-old purebreed german shepherd that he fell in love with her.  She's 100% an outdoor dog and so the 3 of us are happy with the situation. That is, we WERE...

Meet Liberty!

Meet Liberty's puppies!

Yep. That's right. The previous owners gave her to us already PREGNANT.  We honestly didn't know.  She likes to lay back inbetween some trees and quit jumping up to meet JT.  He figured she was tired and hot from the summer weather.  JT had no reason to suspect pregnancy.  Come on now, neither of us have ever even been around pregnant dogs, much less puppies!  So last Monday night JT finally noticed her "udders" were drooping and figured it out. All Tuesday we googled serious questions about dog labor and then some ridiculous questions like "how do you make your dog not go into labor?"  We laughed hysterically more out of stress than actual humor. All at once I felt my stomach twist into knots and I told JT that I thought she was going to be having the puppies that night.  Unfortunately, we both laughed this prompting off.  Lesson learned.
Our neighbor Diana is super smart about dogs and came over to walk us through the preparations.  JT went outside to bring Liberty in to prepare a "nest" for her.  He came sprinting back to the house to tell us she had already had her puppies!  ALL THIRTEEN OF THEM.
From that point on, things have been pretty touch and go.  Liberty is HIGH anxiety and keeps thinking her puppies are in danger.  She doesn't lay down long enough for her babies to eat or to even keep them warm.  It's so sad because all she wants to do is to protect them but she's being her own worst enemy.  We finally were able to lock her in the bathtub with them and she sometimes calms down now....but only sometimes.

Since Liberty wasn't feeding her babies, we had to.

The problem is that JT is the only person she explicitly trusts with her puppies.  She has nipped at Diana and even bitten me (not hard. It was just a warning).  So when he's gone at work 8 hours of the day there is no one able to feed the puppies.  They need to eat every 2 hours...

 

It's now been 5 days since the puppies were born and 6 are left.  We've dealt with losing puppies, sleepless nights, Liberty destroying our home (ripping curtains down, bleeding and peeing, jumping on things, ripping and shredding things), Liberty slamming her body into doors, Delilah having a fever, and JT's birthday party all in the same week.  Thank goodness for wonderful friends.  Jenny and Jason took the twins for 2 days, Anna has come over to help and spent time with me, Diana is constantly helping with the puppies (in fact, she's taken them all for the next 3 days to try and get them healthy), our neighbor Tricia has also come to help and provided us with supplies and knowledge, and my dad tracked down the leader of a german shepherd rescue group in New Mexico.  THANK YOU ALL! 

 

Say a prayer for our remaining 6 puppies if you can.  As of 2 hours ago they were beginning to get cold and had lost the strength to eat...

He's smitten

This morning it was probably just before 6 am when Delilah woke up.  JT normally takes care of the twins at those hours and threw the covers off as usual.  Since he had developed a cough during the night I offered to take her.  JT decided he liked the idea and went back to sleep after providing me with a bottle for our daughter. Delilah and I snuggled into bed and it wasn't long until the only sound was the steady chugging of a bottle.  Five minutes later JT suddenly flips over and props himself up to look at Delilah. I asked him if she was making too much noise for him. He said, "No. I just wanted to see her."  Right before he went back to sleep he smiled and said, "she's perfect." 

In honor of this sweet moment I thought I'd post this cute Daddy-daughter moment from Monday.

Fathers' Day Recap

I've been really bad lately with not blogging about the big events in our lives. I'll start with Fathers Day since my pictures from Mother's Day still have to be assembled.
This was JT's first Father's Day as a daddy! I put a lot of thought into what to get him.  I wanted it to center around his relationship with the twins. Regular presents are for his birthday!
One of the most awesome families we've ever had the pleasure of meeting, the Thorntons, agreed to help me out. So the Thursday before Fathers' Day we headed up to their house to do a special little photo shoot! I needed the pictures for a photo album I was putting together for JT. I wanted it to chronicle his life as a father up to this point. Didn't the pictures come out wonderfully?! Jason did an amazing job with the photography and Jenny did a great job setting the shots up.

 Oh I could just stare at these photos all day! Once the pictures were done I was able to put together the album and include special memories or thoughts on how great a dad JT is. He loves it! Since there's no space on his desk at work for pictures, this is the perfect solution! He can just pull out his album whenever he wants and stare at his beautiful little babies.
Now when you ask what big amazing thing we did for Fathers' Day...I'll tell you: nothing!  That's what he wanted.  JT wanted one day where he didn't have to think about things that needed to be done and he could just relax and play video games.  So that's what he got!
Happy belated Fathers' Day hunny! You're the best father in the whole world!

Happy Fourth of July!

We hope that all our family and friends are enjoying this fine sabbath Fourth of July!  It's been a nice quiet day for us. It was spent together as a family with a nice dinner to wrap up our evening.  Thanks to Lacie and Brandon for making our dinner complete! We enjoyed hot dogs, corn, and chips with salsa. It was really nice for me to catch up with Lacie and I know JT enjoyed talking and playing video games with Brandon.

Yesterday JT got our flags put up. Yay! It's so exciting to finally have them up.  The American flag is a few feet bigger than the Marine Corps one.  JT says that's as it should be. My little-big patriot. :)

On this Fourth of July I've really tried to slow down and think of what it means to me.  As someone who's really interested in history, it means dates/names/places. July 4th, 1776 the United States declared its independence from Great Britain and penned the Declaration of Independence. This was not the start of the Revolutionary War, nor was it the end of it.  When I think of how hard it was to decide to separate from England and of the price they paid to back up that decision, my heart is touched.  We tend to either ignore or glamorize history. Declaring independence from the only country they had ever known was hard.  It came with many consequences and one of those were lives.  People across the colonies split according to their loyalties and the blood of countrymen was shed on both sides.  The Star-Spangled Banner sends chills up my spine when I sing "and the rockets' red glare, the bombs bursting in air..." I can't look at those beautiful Fourth of July fireworks without knowing what they stand for. Our forefathers committed themselves to the cause of freedom no matter the cost.  They could lose everything but they would not lose the will to fight for their convictions.  This nation has had the hand of God over it. As this Fourth of July comes to a close I give thanks for His guidance and inspiration that led this nation to freedom.  I give thanks for all those who have served and continue to serve on freedom's behalf.  I've seen where some would say that the War on Terror isn't a war about freedom.  That's up to the individual to decide, but my response is found in both the Bible and Book of Mormon. "In righteousness shalt thou be established: thou shalt be far from oppresion; for thou shalt not fear: and from terror; for it shall not come near thee." --Isaiah 54:14/3Nephi 22:14  We have the right to be free from terror. That is a freedom.  So in that spirit (meaning being grateful for whatever capacity they served under) I thank our servicemen and women, veterans, and my wonderful, sweet, and amazing husband Jonathan. Thank you for the service you were willing to render on our behalves.

(this photo was taken right before he got on the bus to leave for his second Iraq deployment)

And to all those who are willing to make the sacrifice that JT and I were not, thank you for leaving your spouses and your families to answer the call of your country.  My heart goes out to you (JT's 2 brothers and their families are counted among this special class of people).

Happy Fourth of July!