Memorial Day Fun!

Although it had only been 5 days since Koralyn was born we had to get out of the house for a little break... what better place than swimming! The boys are growing up SO fast! Here are some pics of the swimming fun!

Glen Allen got stuck in the kitchen and then out by the BBQ while everyone was swimming! What a trooper!

Announcing... Miss Koralyn Kay!!

We are tickled PINK to announce the arrival of Miss Koralyn Kay Jones! She finally joined our family on Thursday the 27th at 7:41 am, weighing in at a whopping 7 lbs. 6 oz. and 20.5 inches long. We are so happy to finally have her in our family. She is such a joy and brings such a wonderful, peaceful feeling in our home. She is a great baby... just sleeps the day away. :)

We had so much support and help while in the hosptial and we are so grateful for that. Thanks to all of those who watched our boys and cleaned my house (Sarah, you are unbelieveable)! Not only did we have a lot of help, we had a ton of visitors in the hospital which was so nice... it made the stay bearable! :)

Here are a few pictures of her so far...

Day 1: She was not happy to be getting her first bath just minutes after delivering. Here is Aunt Rachel as well as Glen David holding her. Glen just LOVED her from the first minute... it took Jaxon a little bit longer to warm up to her but he loves her so much now.

Day 2: The pediatrician said she is doing great and doesn't even need to "sun tan" under the billy lights. The boys in their true form! :)

Day 3: Home again... Home again! On Friday, Glen Allen went to pick up the boys to bring them over to see her again and they stopped by the store to pick out an outfit for her. They were so excited to give them to her. She wore Glen's cherry outfit home from the hospital on Saturday.

She is doing great! The first night home we gave her a bath and she hated it! But she absolutely LOVES her nightly massages with lotion though. That's my girl! :) This is her with daddy right after her first bath and lotion rub down.

Day 4: She woke up to lots of loves and kisses from her brothers and enjoyed cuddling with her daddy! She already has daddy wrapped around her finger. He is SO in love with her! She is sporting the "kitty" outfit Jaxon picked out for her. He was so excited to see her wearing it. It's so cute to see the boys so involved in her.

We are all doing great and love having Koralyn home with us. More pictures to come...

Count your Many Blessings....

I know... I know... it's been forever since I have posted. I have such good intentions and then it seems like I never take the time to update everything. I have a bunch of good pictures from Glen's birthday party, Easter, etc., and maybe eventually I will update them. For now, instead of seeing the cute pictures of my boys... it's reflection time. This last 2 months have been some of the most trying times in my life and I can't express how grateful I am for the gospel. I literally would be emotionally lost without it. It's amazing how Heavenly Father tries us and gives us challenges we never thought we would be able to handle but at the same time gives us His constant love and support to help us through them. He does this all while providing tender mercies to allow us to understand the lessons that He would have us learn in the process. I am also grateful for family and friends who are close enough to the Spirit to recognize when those they love and care about are in need... and who offer their unconditional love and support no matter what. I am grateful for the blessings I have in my life and for the gospel I have to get through it. It is amazing the blessings you have that you don't even think about until you are faced with difficult times in your life. Be grateful for what you have and never underestimate the power of the gospel... without it, life would be unbearable!

MARSHMALLOW PUFF WOMAN!

Just an update... Koralyn is growing just fine, moving like crazy and my belly is getting HUGE! I had my monthly appointment yesterday and I walked out of there with mixed feelings of whether I wanted to break down in tears and go into starvation mode or punch my doctor in the face. I heard the standard comment I have received during both of my other pregnancies right about this time (starting my 3rd trimester), "It looks like your weight jumped a little bit this month, try to keep an eye on that." I was hoping to avoid that comment this pregnancy but I guess I'm not that lucky! Why can't I be one of those women who literally just looked like they swallowed a basketball instead of the blessed curse I get of looking like the marshmallow puff man?!?! I have really been trying to consciously think about the blessings in my life lately and although I look like the marshmallow puff man, I am just grateful to have the ability to have children and to know that Koralyn is healthy and strong.

Oh, just in case anyone is wondering... I already have the c-section planned and scheduled! May 27th at 7:30 am! YAHOO!!! I love knowing the exact date!

Harvest time!

If you remember, a little less than a year ago we attempted to start our own little salsa garden. We planted our sad little tomato plants, peppers, jalapenos and herbs which we didn't know whether or not they would actually grow and produce anything. Now they are all HUGE and we have these....

Glen Allen made his first batch of salsa, which was very yummy...but we now have tomatoes coming out our ears. If anyone wants some, just come on over!

Fly away butterflies....

For Christmas the boys got the coolest gift from Harmony and Chad's family (their aunt/uncle and cousins). They recieved a little jar that contained 5 tiny little caterpillars (unfortunately I didn't get a picture). Anyway, the concept is to watch the caterpillars grow, then cocoon, and then eventually turn into butterflies. Of the 5 caterpillars we were able to successfully see 4 of them cocoon and come out of their cocoons as butterflies. After we kept them in their butterfly habitat for a while to feed them and watch them grow, we let them go. It was a neat experience and the boys loved being able to see them grow and change so much through the whole process.

Here is Glen Allen trying to get them to come out of their butterfly habitat.

Both boys had the opportunity to hold one before they flew away.Isn't it beautiful? It's amazing how they go from ugly little caterpillars to this!

MONSTER JAM!

The expressions on their faces say it all! The boys absolutely LOVE Monster Trucks and everytime Monster Jam is on TV, they are glued. For Christmas this year we bought tickets for Monster Jam which was the end of January. The boys were so excited and asked almost daily when it was time to go. Jaxon loved it when the Monster Trucks would crash and loose their tires and Glen thought Spanky Spangler was awesome! I am so glad we had the opportunity to take them... they will never forget it!

This is Spanky Spangler... he had this old Volkswagon with this trailer attached and he was going to attempt to jump a ramp.

Here's the jump off the ramp! The boys thought it was so awesome when the fireworks went off at the same time he hit the vans/cars on the other side!

Infamous Batman...
And who could forget the best Monster Truck of all time (according to the boys)... GRAVE DIGGER!!!!!!!!