May 12th, 2008 It's official... Baby Heath is on the way!

Our first glance at Baby Heath...

Very nervous, happy, excited and feeling a bit surreal... due on Christmas Eve 2008!

First big baby purchase...

Baby??? April 16th, 2008

For many days now I've been wondering if I might be expecting a baby. I couldn't stand it any longer.. on my morning break at work I decided to run over to Walgreen's at buy a pregnancy test to see. The first test was positive. Unsure I was seeing the right answer I quickly took another test.. and sure enough.. it was definitely positive! Wow... I wasn't sure what to think... except that I was very very excited and couldn't wait to tell Aaron. When I got home Aaron was on the computer (where he usually is when i get home) and I snuck up behind him and showed him both of the tests. I didn't say a word.. he looked up to me and got a huge grin on his face! We are both so excited.. and very nervous, too. Wasn't going to tell anyone till after I went to the doctor. Aaron couldn't handle it and spilled the beans tonight at Amy & Drew's house. So, we started slowly telling everyone in the family the news. We're not telling Allana until this summer... just to be on the safe side. Whohoo... our life just flipped around :) in a very good way!

Family April 13th, 2008

its sunday afternoon and i just thought i'd stop and take a second to write something. what a beautiful day today.. close to 80 outside. the funny thing is it snowed wednesday and could possibly snow again this week. they say just wait 5 minutes and the weather will change on you here~ so true! last night i went to a jewelry party with amy & miss amiah.. was nice to spend some time with just them. then afterward, we went to amy & drew's house to put amiah to bed then amy & i went window shopping... trying to get ideas for a package for the kids. allana is so easy to shop for.. but, since i really don't know steven yet its a little more difficult until i get the chance to spend some time with him. we try to send allana packages every month and would like to do something for steven, too. of coarse he's older so sending him candy and toys would be goofy~ he seems to be such a sweet kid.. im sure anything we get for him he'll be happy to have. i can't wait to get to spend some time with him and us as a family. wish we were closer.. looking forward to this summer.. we always have so much fun outside. i talked w/allana last night.. asked her if she's decided what she wants to do this summer w/ me and dad. she informed me were taking her fishing! LOL! we plan on taking her camping this summer too. she also clearly reminded me that last summer dad & i promised her we'd both go in the water bumper boats at boondocks this time... she can hardly wait! she did also say how excited she is to spend christmas w/us this year. will be so nice. aaron hasn't had a christmas with her since she was tiny. well, i'd better go.

Our Family Grew March 20th, 2008

Allana... I’ve known since the day she turned 4. It was her birthday, July 16th, 2004. It was the same day I met my husband. They just moved in with Amy and Andrew. I briefly met them, and left. Little did I know what was to lie ahead in my future. One year, one month, and 3days ago... was one of the best days of my life. I married my very best friend, Aaron, and was blessed with my beautiful step-daughter... Allana! The road has been full of unforgettable experiences. Both good and bad. I love our little family. Being so far from Allana is a huge challenge for our family. Visits are precious and very special. About a month ago, I had an idea. Aaron hadn’t seen Allana since she was here for the summer. Her spring break was coming and Aaron wished he could be with her. Lucky for Allana, Nana lives nearby. So, I came up with a great idea. I wanted Aaron and Allana to spend her spring break together. As usual, work was stingy and wouldn’t let Aaron off. Since his work schedule is a bit unusual, I was able to get him a flight for his days off. It was a surprise! Much to my surprise, in planning, I realized I had goofed... bad! Allana’s spring break was the following week... AAAHHH! What a mess I had on my hands. But, with the help of many, I managed to get Allana out of school so she wouldn’t miss the opportunity to spend that precious time with her daddy. With alot of help, I surprised them both. Aaron flew in and was picked up by "Nana and Allana." Allana and Aaron were both shocked to see each other. So cool!

As their weekend continued... more emotional experiences happened. Aaron lost a cousin, Adam. Our prayers are with Uncle Randy and the rest of the family. What a weekend this was for our family... a loved one has passed on... and during the very same weekend... a very loved one was gained... our family grew! Aaron FINALLY was blessed with the most amazing opportunity ever! Steven is now back in his life... in our life... our family grew! What a blessing for us all. Since I’ve been with Aaron, I’ve known about Steven. Not much, but as much as Aaron could tell me. Steven’s little picture has hung in all of Aaron’s houses... it’s on our bookcase now. Steven and his Grandma Debbie contacted the family, and, for the first time in 14 years, Aaron was blessed to meet his Son, Steven. He now has a picture of He and Steven. What a handsome young man he is too... just like his Dad! I wasn’t able to get time off work so I could be with my family this past weekend. So, I wasn’t able to join the rest of the family to meet Steven. We are beside ourselves... can’t believe it finally happened! Last night I spoke with Allana at Nana’s house... asked her what she did today.... her response was " I saw my brother." I asked her if she looked like him.. she said "no," then I asked if he looks like daddy, she said "YES!" I asked her how she felt about having a brother... she said "HAPPY." Our whole family is so happy. I can’t wait to meet Steven. So excited! I don’t know how he feels about everything.... or having a step-mom (me) but, I hope that someday he feels part of our family. He is part of our family... our family grew and we are so happy!

I got married! Feb 16, 2007

I woke up at 7am... late... was suppose to be at the church at 7am to set up. I finally arrived about 7:40am. Nici and I munched on donuts.. (YES! donuts on my wedding day!) while setting up chairs and tables. Amy, Matt, Erin and all the kids showed up to help. Shortly after, Shelley, Kevin, and Kelsey came to set up the wedding cake!! (Beautiful) We left Matt in charge of children and continuing to set up while us "girls" took off to the Salon. We met Mom and all got Pedicures & Manicures.. I even put on Fake nails! It was very fun. They all rushed back to the church to continue setting up. I left to take stuff to Aaron and grab a sandwich (Connie bought me some lunch) and then rushed off to the store to pick up the rest of the flowers.. I made all of the boutonnieres and corsage’s. (sp?) While we were decorating, Connie took Allana to her appointment at "Monkee Doo’s" to have the works.. the "flower girl" package. So adorable! She got her hair up do, nails done, lip gloss and glitter all over!! Mom made bow ties for the nephews and Abryn, my "ring bearer", mom made him a cumber bun as well! So sweet!!! Aaron was getting ready at the church having a little help w/his tie.. while I was on the other side getting ready! Amy did my hair ( I also had fake hair in... so much fun!! ) and helped get me ready while we both helped Allana get ready. We took pictures at 4:30pm... Layton Maglecic *our good friend* was our photographer. Finally, it was time to begin. I took Abryn and Allana in the back of the gym (behind the partition doors) waiting for our cue. Everyone was quiet... Thomas, Abryn, and Allana were all sitting w/me... they were having the hardest time being staying calm! The music started... "Canon in D..." and they opened the partition. Allana was the first to walk the isle.. she threw white rose petals down as she walked over to her Dad (Aaron) and so sweetly stood next to him. Abryn followed Allana down the isle and handed the ring box to Uncle Aaron.. he then went to sit with his family. Gary and I walked down the isle.. and I stood across from Aaron. Uncle Karl Christensen "welcomed everyone" then Nici and Amy sang "It’s Your Love" by Tim Mcgraw and Faith Hill accompanied by Anna Young. Karl had a few words to say then Aaron and I said our vows. We were both very nervous... He Looked So Handsome! We both kept smiling... couldn't help it. We had a very small wedding. During the ceremony, the chairs were about 75% full of guests. Many people & family were unable to make it to the wedding... it was a very small crowd. The ceremony was beautiful.. decorations looked very nice. Right after the ceremony we had our reception. We opened the other partition to the back half of the gym where the food, tables, etc were set up. Everyone dug in! *Except for the Bride and Groom. Mom did such a wonderful job as always w/ food and decor. We served 3 different soups, breads, and dips. We had lemonade in a fountain.. and mom made purple popcorn balls in cute bags as favors. It was really nice. The cake was gorgeous! Shelley is so talented... very few people knew she had a full blown hysterectomy not even a full week before the wedding! The cake still turned out fantastic.. white w/silver ribbon around the bottom edge and a frosting flower pattern around the outer edge of the cake.. matched the pattern in my tiara! And on top, was white hydrangea... my topper was a porcelain groom and bride holding each other. It was beautiful. Mom had put lights and greenery all over. The centerpieces on the tables were tall plum candle glasses filled w/this iridescent tinsel and a light at the bottom glowing. The candle glasses were on top of a silver tray w/leafy green lettuce surrounding it and breads on top of the lettuce. My favorite dip for the bread was the jalapeno artichoke. Yum! I ate a little of the Mexican soup and a little bit of the Potato soup.. Once people were finishing eating, we cut the cake! We were both very nice to each other.. no smearing the cake all over. Then, it was time to dance... apparently, no one really realized that. Aaron and I danced to "Let’s Stay Together" by Al Green and the then Dad and I danced to "I Loved Her First" by Heartland. Then everyone kinda just stood and stared at each other. Aaron disappeared to visit w/his friends and I stood there on the gym floor all by myself! No one came and talked to me... the kids were having a great time dancing. By 8pm the whole thing was over. It was the shortest reception I’ve ever been to! Once everyone was done eating they all left. We stayed until everything was cleaned up... helping of coarse, and then went back to Aaron’s apt. Allana and I were together in the car and the rest the family had already left. We got hungry, and she wanted ice cream ( I thought it sounded good, too ) We stopped in Albertsons and she got to pick out the ice cream and then we went thru a drive thru at McDonald’s *not my favorite but it was close by) and then we headed home to Aaron’s apt. We opened our gifts. The cards, gifts, etc had mixed up so... we’re not exactly sure which gifts were given by whom. Oh well. We had ice cream and opened the gifts and it was time for bed!! It was so nice to spend time with Allana, Connie, and Art.