Twins?!?

One of our biggest hang ups about taking the Clomid medicine was that it increased the chances of having multiples. My doctor told me when he gave it to me that the chances really weren't that much higher and during all his years of practicing that he hadn't seen it happen too often. He basically made it sound as if it would never happen, easing my fears a little. Well, that was almost three years ago that he told me that and really all I could remember of that conversation was that there was a higher chance of having multiples with this medicine. I was a little hesitant but still took the medicine anyway.

As soon as I found out I was pregnant I had a feeling there was more than one baby in there. I started to show a lot sooner than I did with Chase and even though they say you show faster with your second, this seemed abnormal to me. We told Chase we were pregnant and he told us there were two babies in there right away. We corrected him and told him there was only one, but he seemed pretty sure of himself. We laughed it off like we do with all the other crazy things he says.

We went to the doctor when I was 8 weeks along and the doctor did an ultrasound since it was still too early to hear the heartbeats. My feeling was validated when we saw two little sacs with two babies inside. Yes, we are having TWINS!!!!  Chris just started laughing and all I could say was, "I knew it!" We really just laughed all day whenever we thought about it. I always said that I would love to have twins, I just never thought it would actually happen to me. 

It's really hard to tell in this pic but you can see the two black circles which are the two sacs with the tiny babies inside. 

It was a lot of fun to announce it to the family, I think everyone was as shocked as we were. It took a little convincing, but we were able to get these cute pictures of Chase announcing that he was going to be a big brother to TWO babies!

Not sure if you can tell or not, but this is Chase trying to act surprised!! haha!

The sunshine after the rain....

Right before I had Chase my doctor prescribed Clomid to me which is a type of fertility medication that makes you ovulate. Well, I never ended up having to take it with Chase but kept it just in case I ever needed it. I started to wonder if I still had it when Chris and I had been trying for another child for several months with no luck. Lucky me, I found it and it didn't expire until May 2014 (I found it sometime in March) So, the wheels started turning and I instantly knew I wanted to take it. After talking to Chris, he thought it would be best to call the doctor to make sure it would be OK to take. I called the nurse and she recommended not taking it but rather come in and take a blood test to see if I ovulated. So I did and the blood test showed that I did ovulate on my own. But with no prevail, I still did not get pregnant. The thought came to me again to just take the medicine. I must have nagged Chris enough because he finally agreed to let me take it. (I knew that would happen) 

Well, I took the medicine for 5 days like it said and hoped and prayed for the best! About 2 weeks later I took a test and low and behold........

 I was PREGNANT!!!!  Woo hoo!! My brilliant plan worked! I took the first test at night which they always say you should do first thing in the morning which is why the line is fairly faint. The next day I took another one and it was still positive with a darker plus sign!  Chris and I were SO excited!

Clare's Funeral

April was a really hard month for us. Chris' dad had been struggling for a few months and knew there was something wrong with him but the doctor's were unable to determine what it was and therefore, unable to treat in any way. He got to the point where it was even hard to breathe. Gwen took him to the ER one day because he was really sick and after some push back from Chris and his brother's they decided to admit him to the hospital to figure out what was going on. They didn't realize at the time how bad off he was but basically his diaphragm was not working properly and unable to release the CO2 out of his body, so it was slowly poisoning him. He was put on a ventilator since he wasn't able to get the oxygen he needed on his own and placed in the respiratory ICU.

They did several tests and diagnosed him with ALS, which is a muscle disease. He passed away a little over a week after he was taken to the hospital. That week, as hard as it was, was also one of the most special weeks our lives and especially Chris'. It's not too often that you are able to spend so much time with someone that you love before they pass on. Every night Chris, his brother and Gwen, along with all their families would gather around his bed and just be there. There was so much family and love surrounding him, it was amazing. April 25th was the day that he passed. We were all able to be there as they took him off the ventilator and as we said our last good bye's. That was such a special moment and one that we will always cherish. Going through something like this really makes you love a little harder and appreciate the small things a little more. We are so thankful for the Plan of Salvation and the fact that we know we will see and be with him again.

A few days before he passed the nurse said that she would allow Chase to come back and see his Papa, so we took him back there. He didn't seem scared at all and told Papa that he loved him. We also have several videos of Chase telling Papa to feel better that meant so much to him. Even to this day Chase remembers his Papa being sick and knows that he is in heaven and better now. To be able to see life through a child's eyes would be amazing, everything is so simple.

We lived with Clare and Gwen for a short time while we were building our house and I am so grateful for the opportunity we had to grow closer to Clare. I'm especially grateful for the time that Chase was able to spend with him and the special bond that they shared. He really did love his papa and misses him even more. We have some pretty neat pictures of the two of them that are now in Chase's room so he can always remember the fun times he had with his papa.

This is probably our favorite picture of Chase and Clare. 

We received an out pouring of love from friends and family. We were so overwhelmed by the love and support that we received from everyone, it was truly more than we could handle at times.

This was the table that was set up at the viewing and the funeral that displayed all the things that Clare loved and cherished. There were so many people that came to the viewing, it was really cool to see how many lives Clare touched. We are also really thankful for my mom and Heidi who helped out so much with Chase during this whole time. I'm so thankful for a wonderful family that we can count on in time of need. We love you all!!

I just had to add this picture because I think it is so cute. Chris and Chase were looking at pictures of Papa on the iPad.

Quincy's Birthday & Aquarium

For Quincy's first birthday we all met at the aquarium since it had just opened not too long before that. They still didn't have everything there so it was a little bare but we did get bounce back passes to go back by the end of August. I don't think the kids noticed though, they seemed to really enjoy it. Chase loves fish so he had a blast.

Afterwards we went to Cory and Elleny's house for dinner and cake. Of course Elleny had the cutest decorations and food. She turned a watermelon into a shark which was adorable. I will never be that crafty! And because I always forget to take pictures, I didn't take picture of how cute everything was.

Quincy really had fun with his cake, a lot different from Clara. It must be a boy thing because Chase loved it too!

Sweet Kenadee

In February, Kenadee lost her fight to Mitochondrial Disease. She has struggled and fought her whole life and finally got tired of fighting. I know she is so much happier now that she is whole and able to do the things she was never able to do before. She passed away on a Monday and the funeral was on Friday. I was so thankful that I was able to go and be with Lacie during the most difficult time in her life.

The funeral was a perfect honor to Kenadee and so emotional. Lacie and Dennis had a really hard time but it went exactly as they imagined it would be, It was so beautiful. Kenadee touched so many lives in her short 4 yeaers of life and it was apparent at the funeral. she had so many people there that loved her and her parents.

I didn't take many pictures but I did get the balloons that everyone released after the funeral for Kenadee. They were bright pink, green and white. The balloons were donated from a company in the community and it was really cool to see 500 balloons released into the sky.

Definitely love my Lacie!