I Believe in Miracles!

We had an ultrasound with the perinatologist yesterday and the results are... I don't have placenta previa anymore! It is literally a miracle and mercy from God. Thank you for all of your prayers on our behalf. Two weeks ago, my placenta was still low-lying (covering my cervix and c-section scar) and really nothing short of a miracle moved it up! I am so grateful and blessed. The perinatologist did say that my placenta looks pretty vascular, but my doctor is not very concerned about a hysterectomy anymore, as the placement of my placenta takes it out of the high risk zone.

Happy baby day to us! We are scheduled for the c-section today at 1pm. The reason for the rush? Our little Brooklyn is already 9 lbs. 3 oz. and squished! So my mom raced over here (literally turned around from going to work so she could pack up and come over--what a saint, I know!) last night and is here playing with my kids so we can go in. I'm so grateful! And my mother-in-law is just as willing to drop whatever and come whenever. I have the best family ever. Thank you!

Here is baby Brookie the day before birth:

Jake gave Grammy lots of "wonderful gifts" this morning.

The Redlands temple. While I was there, one inspired lady told me exactly what I needed to hear. Heavenly Father knows we need all the help we can get and when we demonstrate our faithfulness, He always helps and blesses us! Simple, but just what I needed to hear, and I know it's true!

Finally! Happy Birthday to Our Princess!

Alisa turned two a few weeks ago... and I guess this is what happens when you are the second child! Just a little neglect. I am FINALLY getting on here to post some pictures and say how much we LOVE our little princess. She has turned quite feminine, although still plays trucks, cars, swords, etc. with Jake, whom she follows like a lost puppy. She has quite the personality lately. She likes things just so and it really throws her off if there is a spill on her tray or if something is out of order. It's pretty funny. Jake is the influence for the "nakey."

Thanks, Aunt Jenni! She loves it (so does Jake).

Thanks, Grandma Seaman! She loves sleeping with her puppy!

Lemon cake (mostly because Scott and I love it). She and Jake downed it, too!

Jake likes Alisa's princesses, too!

Spinning in her new princess dress. Thanks, Aunt Jacqui!

She would not hold still for a picture, but we tried!

Opening some little fancy cups. Alisa could spend hours playing in the sink, so this was just right for her!

Birthday breakfast: Bran muffin with a candle. Now when she sees the lighter or any kind of fire (even in a fireplace) she says, "Happy Dirday!"

Kimberly Crest and Jake's Graduation

This is such a pretty park in Redlands. We first went to the Kimberly Crest Mansion and walked the grounds, which are beautiful, then to the park for a walk. 

Jake the monkey

Jake loved the path up at the mansion.

A secret staircase

What a little sweetie!

Most of our happy family. Jake refused. Alisa is looking not so happy. That is a lily covered pond behind us. It's so pretty up here!

Pretty fountain

Aw... how sweet. She is always asking, "Where daddy?"

Jake and Hallie checking out the big fish.

Guess who else had an allergic reaction to amoxicillin? Both of our kids got this bad rash the last day of their dosage. Jake's lasted fewer days than Alisa's, and seemed a bit milder.

This is Alisa's new face. She pulls it when we are trying to be stern parents. You know, during lectures and scoldings for "no-no's." It's hilarious. Where did it come from?

Alisa at Jake's Graduation. She LOVES this princess skirt. So do I.

Jake with Mrs. Morales. What a momentous occasion... Is this celebrating mediocrity ("he's moving from the 4th grade to the 5th grade." Name that movie)?

Poor Jake woke up that morning with a "tickley bum." I didn't realize what he was talking about until he was getting dressed. I pulled off his shirt to find the rash. Poor guy. We still had a good time eating cake at 9:30 am--sugar rush!

Life and Death

It is strange how the Lord's timing works. I always think I've got it all figured out, or I guess I forget that the Lord has his own timing that may not be the same as my own. These past few weeks, it has been pretty clear that the Lord is in charge of our life, and that I am not. It is a good reminder--one that helps me be humble. It is also humbling to know that with all the billions of people who live and have lived and will live, God cares about me. Wow. I am slowly learning and relearning to trust in him. I feel at peace, even with so many uncertainties right now.

This week, Scott's Grandpa Frost passed away. We are so sad. We didn't expect it right now. It's interesting that without death, I don't think we'd value life. It helps me remember why we need opposition in all things. We would live, but would we appreciate it? Death seems to help me remember how precious and fragile our life is, and how the Lord has his hand in all life. Grandpa Frost was a wonderful man. Even right up to his final days in the hospital, he was worried about me--about this pregnancy, the baby, my placenta situation. How caring and unselfish. I am so grateful to have a loving family of in-laws. I am blessed to have known Grandpa Frost. We will miss him.

And life! So precious. Our nephew was born this week, a few days after Grandpa's passing. Life is such a miracle. Here's little Luke, so sweet. Every baby is a miracle. With our complex make-up, it is always a wonder that babies are born so healthy! Little Luke was a whopping 9 lbs. 3 oz. What a little man! We are so excited to meet him. It's strange to look at pictures of Scott's sister holding this baby, and think, "Wait a minute! She's a mom!" She was 16 (I think) when we got married. It's fun to see how life continues on and how we can still feel joy, even in sad times. 
I feel so blessed to know that no matter what happens, the Lord has a plan for me and for my family. 

Graduation Weekend

Graduation!!! Finally!!! I am so proud of Scott. It has been a long four years. He has worked so hard to get here. I can't believe it's finally come (and gone, as it was May 24th). To Scott's credit, I have never felt like a widow. He has ALWAYS made time for us and did a great job of balancing school, family, and church responsibilities. There were maybe only a handful of times that he didn't make it home for dinner. It was so good for our kids and such a relief to me to have him home every night, even if it was only for an hour before he went back to school. He worked and worked and worked and still thought I deserved something for his graduation, so he got me some beautiful flowers and a one hour pregnancy massage. I loved every minute of that! It was perfect, even if I didn't deserve it. Thanks, honey!

Our handsome graduate--way to go!

Having a moment while Alisa eats the beads and Jake makes faces. I love our family!

Our families--my parents with Jake, Kelsi, Jenni (Scott's sisters), Scott's dad and mom.

With my parents

With Scott's parents--can you tell our kids were getting a little tired? They did great--all four hours that evening!

Scott with friend Scott Krause

Scott and his friend, Mark Brown, were asked to do a musical number for graduation. What an honor! He sang "You Raise Me Up" while Mark played a beautiful piano part and there was a memories slideshow playing. It was really nice.

Scott waving to us from his seat.

After graduation, we had ice cream cake from Baskin Robbins. I forgot to take a picture before we ate it, but isn't it cute that they drew a tooth on the front? That's what that brown shape is.

On Saturday before graduation, Scott's parents took my parents, Jenni (Scott's sister), Scott, and me out to dinner at the Mission Inn. Thank you so much! It was such a nice place. We got to eat in the gorgeous courtyard. The weather was perfect and we opted for a babysitter, so it was a relatively stress-free night for all but my parents. They drove a 16' moving truck over from Flagstaff. It kept overheating so they crossed the desert sans AC and going a whopping 45 mph. 9 hours later, they pulled into Riverside, changed clothes in the back of the truck, and met us for dinner. Whew! Thank you for the sacrifice! We were happy to have both families there to support Scott! On Monday, after graduation, we loaded up 90% of our belongings and sent them to Flagstaff with Curtis and Colleen. Thank you so much for all your help loading the truck and driving it back to Flagstaff arriving late in the middle of the night. We owe you big time. We sent the little white truck back with the Seaman's--thank you for hauling it back to Flag. Goodbye 'whitey' we will miss you!

Scott and I in the courtyard at the Mission Inn. 

Spoiled by Grandma and Grandpa! Jake and Alisa were thrilled with the new towels they got from the Seaman's. Alisa is a butterfly and Jake is, obviously, Batman. Awesome.

Scott had a busy and award-filled week. Here it is for posterity's sake. Tuesday night his class had a class party and gave out funny awards. Scott (and his friend, Mark Brown) got the LDSDA award--the "Mormon vegetarian" (no, he's not really vegetarian) or the Seventh-day Adventist who doesn't drink coffee. In other words, the Mormon/SDA who most embrace the other??? 

He had an awards chapel at school Wednesday where he got an award from the Academy of Operative Dentistry, the American Academy of Implant Dentistry, and the Gold Award for Academic Excellence on National Boards Part I and II. He had an awards banquet at the Mission Inn Thursday. There he got chosen for Excellence on Clinic by his main faculty and got a $500 award. Nice! Way to go, Scotty! I am so proud of him. It has been a long, hard road. 

Scott with Eric, Dr. Suh (his main faculty) and Scott Krause. We're going to miss all the wonderful friends we've made here! Many have already left. It has been hard to say goodbye. 

Jake being silly. Hey! We still had furniture in this picture! 

Our blue-eyed princess. Who can resist that smile? Or that wispy hair? Hey, at least she's growing some hair!

More pictures & haps

When we bought Jake his fly hat, Scott picked up these princess ears for Alisa. She wore them all of about 2 seconds. I think they pinch her head. We took them back. Isn't Jake so hip?

I had the kids paint with "magic paint" the other day. Water on construction paper kept them busy for quite awhile. It's magic because it disappears as it dries. And yes, Jake still is always in his undies, though he does get dressed every day.

Scott's main faculty at school took his group out to Korean BBQ in LA's Korea town. Scott said it was really yummy. 

Most of Scott's group from school

When the kids were on the slip and slide, the soaking ground coughed up our nasty gopher... again. I guess they don't like to be wet. This time Scott caught him in a bucket and we tried to poison him with rodent poison. It didn't work. In the end, he died of drowning. Yuck. Glad he's gone. A few days later, the neighbors gopher came over to make even more holes out back. Nice.

Too Much for One Post

I will have to post again soon. So much has past since I have posted, but it's too much to fit in this post.

Here are a few fun times a few weeks ago...

Father and Sons Camp out

They decided just to have a Father & Sons bbq on a Friday night (maybe someone dropped the ball on that one) instead of a campout, so Scott and Jake camped out in our spacious back yard. It was a busy Friday, with a married dental student luau/swim party, then the bbq, then camping. Jake stayed awake for it all. He had a blast playing at the park, eating Doritos and brownies and drinking "spicy soda." I was surprised he was still awake when they got home around 8:30 or 9:00 that night. They had a fun time in the tent. 

Jake was in a little bit of a funk and wouldn't look at me for a picture. Above was taken after much arm-twisting. Alisa loved playing in the tent the next morning.

It was a good weekend to camp. Highs were around 100. The next day Scott set up the slip and slide we "won" in a gift exchange at Christmas time. The kids (and Scott) had a great time. 

Alisa is a girlie princess, but still loves to be like Jake.

We hit Disneyland, again. Only this time, as we were driving down the road, Scott noticed our friends in the car behind us. Total coincidence. We ended up spending all day together and going out to dinner after. 

Jake has been begging for a "fly hat" forever. We decided we'd get a souvenir on our last day at Disneyland. Then we figured, what the heck? and got it for him this day. He LOVES it. Very cool for a 4-year-old.

Our friends, the Records, and our family.

Impromptu trip to El Torito afterwords... YUM! I love their salsa.