Surgery.

I want warn those who read this, this post and the next will be VERY heavy and I put some pictures of baby girl that are extremely vulnerable. At least I feel they are. I want to put them because its real life, its her life. And if you really think about it, it's actually really amazing.

Anyway, moving on to the story. The next few days after she was admitted were just a waiting game. Unfortunately she was admitted on memorial day weekend so the doctors were MIA. They were around if there was an emergency but thankfully Brighton wasn't considered one. Shaun and I's days were filled by meeting with the doctors, running back and forth from the hotel, and trying to get little Carters temp under control. My little brother Caden even took a little bit of a detour to be there for Brighton and just stop in to say hi. I have never felt so lucky to have the family I do until that weekend. I still can't believe how everyone sprung into action to be here for little sis. We spent a lot of time meeting with the cardiologist and doing research on the surgeons and the hospital in general. We obviously wanted Brighton to be in the best hands she could be for this surgery so we were even talking about transferring her to Boston. We decided that Atlanta was the right place for Brighton and moved forward with planning and understanding her surgery. Since it was memorial day weekend the doctors were going to come in that Tuesday and have a discussion about what they thought was the best course of action. Things like exactly what surgery they should do, should they fix everything at once, and make sure they totally understood what they were going to see when they opened her up. The plan was for her to have surgery on Wednesday or Thursday after the doctors got together.

Since the surgery was a few days away our family all headed back home to get back to their own responsibilities. Everyone but my dad left, He stayed to help us get through the surgery and more or less be there to help make sure we weren't missing something, especially since Shaun's and I heads were still spinning. About 2 hours after we sent everyone home we got a call from a surgeon saying Brighton was to go into surgery the next morning. WHAT?! We thought we had 3 or 4 days to prepare for this! We rushed to the hospital to sit down with one of the attendings and talked about what exactly was going to happen the next morning. I remember sitting with him trying my best to not go numb... to keep my brain sharp and to really listen. My mind kept wandering off into random what if's which is a really scary place to go when it comes to something like this! Lucky Shaun and my dad were more on point and were asking all the right questions. Once we got everything squared away we went back to the hotel and tried to get some sleep.

That night Shaun and I said a prayer and begged that Brighton would be ok. We begged that she would be strong and that the surgery would go well. I can honestly say that no prayer has every been that hard or scary to say. I now know what it feels like to truly turn everything to Gods hands and to trust in his plan. I knew that it was all his will and that either way that was what was going to happen but I was hoping like crazy that his will was that Brighton would be ok.

The next morning we woke up and rushed to the hospital. Before they took her back we had a few minutes to hold her. Those minutes were so scary. She was going in for a major surgery that was really complex. The doctor was literally using his hands and tweezers to re-plum Brighton's strawberry size heart. She would be ok, She had to be ok.

The nurses and surgical team came to Brighton's stall and told us it was time. I laid our little girl on the bed and Shaun and I along with my parents walked her to the doors or the OR. They put down the side of her crib and told me to kiss her and say "see you later".  I bent down and kissed her on the head and felt her little hand wrap around my finger. I was a mess. I wanted to grab her off the bed and run as far from those doors as I could get. I wanted to be anywhere but there. I unwrapped her finger and kissed her one more time then turned around feeling like I was about to fall. But Shaun was there and wrapped his arms around me and held me up. He then passed me off to my dad so he could kiss Brighton as well and we all stood there sobbing as they pushed her through the doors. The next 8 hours were going to be the longest hours of my life, of our lives.

Every hour a nurse from the room would call the waiting room and the secretary would yell out the last name of the patient. From there a family member would go grab the phone and get an update. I knew they wouldn't call and tell us over the phone is something bad happened but I would still tense up and literally hold my breath each time Shaun went and answered it. I would stare at his face the whole time he was on with them trying to read into what was being said. If you know Shaun you know he's about as cool headed as it gets so reading into his facial expressions or body language never got me far. He was really good to always give me a nod to say things were good and I would take a deep breath. It was a really good thing my parents were there, they were a great distraction. We talked about horses, looked and ranches my dad wanted to buy, and they even talked us into going and eating.  Although the 8 hours were long it actually went by really fast. Until the last hour.

All thought out that day my stomach was churning and really starting to get to me, when they called to tell us Brighton was done, and that the surgeon was on his way out to talk to us I felt even worse. I went to the bathroom right away and tried to prepare myself for whatever we were about to be told. I so hoped that the surgeon would say it went absolutely perfect but I knew there was always a chance, and I was so scared of that chance.

We all walked into this little room and in walked the surgeon who looked like he had just been through the ringer. You could tell he was tired and worn. He looked like he needed a dang good nap after that. Can't blame him, he literally just spent the last 6 hours moving things around that were the size of pen tips and some were even smaller than a piece of hair! It amazing that he was able to do it! He told us everything went well and that the next 24 hours were extremely crucial. If she made it past that we could all breath a little easier.  He also told us that he left her chest cavity open and that he would reassess and close her in a couple days. It's extremely common for that to happen, since the body and heart become so swollen it puts to much pressure to try and close the chest cavity. Because of this they wait few days for the swelling to go down and then the surgeon comes back and actually does the procedure right in the CICU.

Since it takes awhile for them to get Brighton settled back in the CICU we decided to grab dinner. We went to a favorite little spot of ours. I was still feeling pretty sick so most of my time out was spent back in the bathroom, but the food did taste good so it wasn't a total loss. We grabbed a Popsicle to go and headed back to see our little miss.

Very different

The last couple weeks have been hard. A different kind of hard from the first time around, though. The stress is very different. Last time we were truly scared to death, she was going in for a huge surgery and we literally had no idea if she would be ok. This time I'm not worried about her dying at any minute and its very obvious that she's actually feeling pretty good! But this stress is more of a draining prolonged type stress. Hospitals are depressing as it is, add sick children to the mix and it is almost unbearable. I absolutely hate seeing all of these sick little ones around us and my stomach literally turns upside down when I see some that look so worn and fragile. It's not fair. These kids should be out playing and running. 

There's also a odd relationship you start to gain with the other parents. We can almost say everything with one glance. Today I was out in the garden area giving Brighton a little fresh air and looked up to see a mom and dad pushing their little boy who was probably 5 or 6 in a wheel chair. It was very obvious he was fighting cancer. I gave a quick smile to him the looked at his parents and it's as if we both said "I'm sorry, I get it." In one look. It happens with every parent I pass, I can tell they are saying it to me and I'm sure the feel the same way too. I'm part of the long term hospital crew now and I get it. I get the stress, the worry, the fear. I just get it. 

I've asked a few nurses how they can stand to work in a place that is so depressing. How they can stand to see such innocent children suffer and one told me that I have to learn to look at it different. Rather than seeing all the negative and all the sadness I had to see the positivity the children have, the light they shine, and allow myself to see it as an inspiring thing. That really hit me. I need to change me! These kids are suffering, they fighting things a lot of adults don't have to endure but they rarely complain or get down about it. They are happy and are making the best of the situation. I need to be like them. I am no where near that way of thinking yet, but I'll get there. I know one day I'll see the beauty in it and I know that I am growing every day. The problems or things I use to stress about seem so comical now, almost embarrassing. I have truly  been changed by thing experience and I know I will only continue to change. And I'm so thankful. My world has been re-centered and I am so thankful for that. Brighton has been the most life changing thing that has happened to me. I've become a much better mom, wife, and hopefully all around person because of her. I needed that little girl in my life right now and although this hard, scary and draining. It's been the best thing that has ever happened to me. I love my little ones, they truly are my everything! 

I'm working on writing everything down that has happened so far is Brighton's life. Hopefully I'll be all caught up soon.  

Day 1: The diagnosis.

Oh little Brighton how she has changed us. Lets start from the beginning shall we?

Shaun and I always said we wanted to have our kids close together so when we were pregnant with Carter we knew that #2 wouldn't be far behind. A few months later we were pregnant again and I was actually excited! I knew what to expect a little more and felt like it was going to be MUCH easier to take on, at least not as scary. Of course it would be wild having 2 kids only 14 months apart but I felt that if #2 didn't have the horrible reflux we would be able to handle it all just fine.

Then came the day for Brighton to come. Earlier in the day I started to feel contractions and they just seemed different. About 3 that morning I decided that I should probably call my doctor. The contractions weren't close together but they were consistent and were starting to hurt. I woke Shaun up, packed a bag, took a shower and we headed in. 5 hours later Brighton was here! My labor/delivery has shown to be pretty easy. This time I literally pushed once then my body just took over from there. It was weird. Brighton was perfect, she has a full head of hair, weighed 7 lb 2 oz and was 19 inches long. Oh and she was 3 weeks early, can you imagine if I went the full 40 weeks? YIKES. There must have been something off with my due date.

Shaun and I were sooooo in love. I called my mom right away to bring Carter and seeing them together was amazing. I had 2 kids! 2 awesome kids. My mom took Carter home and Shaun and I settled in for the night. That night was great Brighton would whine  a little when she was hungry so I would nurse her and then moments later she would be asleep. She also nursed PERFECTLY... total opposite of Carter. The next morning we woke up and started to talk about if we wanted to go home that day or not. I was healing great, Brighton was doing awesome so we figured we might as well get out of there!

At 24 hours old the hospital will run a few tests and one of those is the pulse-ox test. Its a brand new test and its only offered/required in a few states in the country. Carter had the same test done last year and we found that the machines that they use to run them are quite finicky. It took them a couple tries but eventually Carter passed and we were sent home.

This time was different. Brighton failed, and failed, and failed. I brushed it off chalking it up to the machines but the nurse was persistent and said she wanted to get the right score right away.  Now that I look back on it I realize how nervous that nurse actually was, she knew what was going on. She took Brighton to the NICU to get another test done and I decided I would take a nap and Shaun would run to check on Carter (who had a 104 fever) while we had the break. About an hour later I woke up to realize the Brighton wasn't back. I went to grab the phone to call the NICU and just as I was dialing in walked the nurse, a unfamiliar doctor and my OB. My heart sunk. Some thing was wrong. I could tell. They asked where Shaun was and told me that it would be best if they came back. Of course there was no way I could let them just leave with out telling me what was going on! The nurse sat behind me and my OB to my side and the unfamiliar guy pulled out a bunch of pictures with a cartoon like heart. "Brighton has a very significant heart defect" those are literally the only words I remember. I know he drew a bunch of things explaining what was going on but I wasn't processing anything. I then remember the nurse saying I'll rush Sydnee's discharge papers so she can go. I was confused because I couldn't remember what they had said about going anywhere.  Come to find out the doctor had already called the Children's hospital telling them to send the life flight. We were only 30 miles away from the Children's hospital so the fact that we needed a helicopter really showed how scary the situation was. They left the room and I called Shaun doing my best to tell him what had just happened. I sat in the room for a little while just trying to process what they said. They kept telling me Brighton is in Critical condition but she is stable. Once Shaun got to the hospital we went down to the NICU and had everything explained. During that time the doctors decided that the Helicopter wasn't necessary but she still needed the angel team ASAP, its just that the ambulance would be enough.

While we were signing papers Shaun and I decided Carter needed to go to the doctor since his fever was so bad and wasn't breaking with Tylenol or Ibuprofen. We learned quickly how to divide and conquer. We decided I would stay with Brighton and Shaun would take care of Carter. I can honestly say I have never been so stressed in my life. You know how people say that when things are bad they can feel things crashing around them? Well its true I literally felt like there was people surrounding me dropping glass bottles to shatter at my feet. Now that I say that its sounds very dramatic but I remember truly feeling that way. Carter was sick, Carter was stressed, Brighton was sick, Brighton was really sick, Brighton was about to have surgery, and Shaun and I couldn't even be together to deal with it all. It was intense, and scary. I remember calling my dad and the only thing I could get out was "its bad" within minutes he had everyone on a plane headed towards us. I remember feeling so overwhelmed that when he told me he was coming I literally about fell, It felt so good to know that Shaun and I's parents were on there way and were going to help sort everything out and get us through it. We weren't alone.

Once Shaun left I had a few moments to sit and snuggle Brighton. It was really weird to see her hooked up to so many cords when not even an hour before I thought she was completely normal and ready to go home. A few moments later a nurse popped her head in and said the angel team was there and ready to start the transfer. I will never forget how comical it was to see them walking in. They walked in like they were S.W.A.T and were VERY confident in their abilities to say the least. They were bad-a and they walked the walk and talked the talk. I loved it, it was great to have a little humor in my world. Once they got all the lines transferred over they stuck Brighton in a little blue box and we headed out to the transport truck. I watched them load her in the back then took my seat up in front. The ride down to the children's hospital was actually really therapeutic. For the first time that day I had absolutely no distractions and I was able to think and process everything. By the time we got to the hospital I felt like I could understand what the doctors were saying and understood the situation much better. I even started to remember the terms the doctors were using!

When we got to the children's hospital everything felt different. I understood what was going on and you could tell that the nurses, doctors and staff were all very comfortable with Brighton. She was just another patient and even though its sad to say I was so glad to see how they treated her as if it was no big deal. Heart defect and critical condition weren't scary words for them and it was nice, for once that day I felt calm. The room was weird however, since it was the Cardiac Intensive Care Unit or CICU everything was open the babies had stalls rather than rooms. There are a few rooms in the unit but those are reserved for the older children who are aware and need privacy. For Brighton she just had a little spot and the nurse sat at the end of it keeping a watchful eye on her at all times. The nurses were only assigned one patient and at a time so they never were far away. We weren't able to sleep at the hospital but we were able to stay as long as we would like, if our eyes were open. I waited for Shaun to come down after taking care of Carter. Turns out that the fever was rising for the poor boy and we were told that if it wasn't gone with in 3 days he needed to be taken to the Emergency Department, which didn't help calm my anxiety as your can imagine. Either way Shaun came down to the hospital and we finally had a minute to talk about everything that had just happened in our world. I think that night we ended up going to bed around 3 am.  That night I remember laying down and just begging for some type of comfort, for something to feel OK but I never did. I couldn't calm my fears but I could sleep and that was a blessing. Moving forward I would like to make this blog a journal for Shaun and I. Which means you may see some very vulnerable stuff pop up now and then. Its going to be quite the journey with this little one, but I know we can do it. She can do it. She is stronger than I am and I'm so proud of her. She truly is my hero.

Little Bug is One!

Oh my wonderful friends and family this last month has been GREAT!  First off another change happened with Shaun's job....  surprised? Me either.

A few weeks ago he was approached about moving to hay rather than high horse power tractors. The "hay guy" had accepted a job in the field and they(AGCO) needed someone that knew something about hay. Like many of you know Shaun grew up on a pretty big dairy and part of that was raising their own feed for the cows. Thus, he knows hay. He feels pretty good about changing products because he is more familiar in someways with the hay products and enjoys is just as much! He however is having to learn how to trust himself and take charge of some really big decisions. He feels like he's still too young and too new to the corporate world to make these type of decisions but he is doing great and starting to feel like he's getting the hang of it! Its been really interesting to see how Shaun's mentality about making decisions and being more assertive has changed the last month. I'm actually really proud of him. He's doing really well! Sadly all this means some crazy work days and crazy travel schedules. I thought his time would free up once he finished his MBA and in someways it has, But.... I think I see him less now, geesh. busy man.  Its fine though, he's working hard doing great and providing a pretty amazing life for us! So I don't complain too much.... ha. 

This last month we were able to head out to Utah for Ariell's wedding. Would you believe that I literally only took 1 picture the whole time we were out there? oops. Shaun was traveling that week so I headed out early to spend some time with Shaun's family. Especially since his sister was there from Costa Rica! After a few days of hanging around we kicked it into high gear on Thursday and headed up to Logan for the wedding.  Carter and I were the lucky ones that got to ride in the truck with Shaun's parents. It was a great ride until Carter started having a FIT. I couldn't for the life of me figure out what was going on,  it was intense. Then it happened. Throw up EVERYWHERE. Shaun's dad about drove off the rode when he heard Carter violate his poor truck. I hurried and got Carter out and started to undress him while we pulled into gas station. I should have waited, lets just say it very much came out both ends. Stinking Kid. literally. Why does that always happen in those type of situations?  So disgusting. 

Anyway, we got up to logan and immediately started setting up the reception. about an hour in I was DYING for food, well more like DYING for road house rolls and begged Shaun to come up with a way we could all go. Luckily it didn't take much convincing of his dad and we were all headed on our way. We made up for it by staying up till the wee hours of the morning finishing the decorating. Ariell's wedding was perfect and I loved going to the temple and being apart of a sealing again. There's just something different when you attend as a wedding, especially when that wedding is for family.  Welcome to the family KADEN! Like you already know, the Allred family is the best!

Another fun thing that has happened lately is that Carter turned ONE!  That little boy is truly awesome. I still remember the day I found out I was pregnant and I thought my life was ending. I wasn't ready, but then he came and I realized how lucky I am! Even though he was THE WORST newborn ever causing me more tears of frustration than I can count we still could tell there was a fun happy little boy in there somewhere. As soon as we got the reflux under control we saw the true carter start to come through. He's the happiest, easy going little guy around and his personality is quite fun. He now walks and "talks" all day telling me stories of who knows what. He also is OBSESSED with his dad. On the weekends poor Shaun has to hold him 100% of the time because Carter will push or swat me away if I come near. When Shaun is out of town Carter will grab our family picture and just stare and stare. I think having Shaun gone most weeks is hard on the little guy but he makes sure to make up for the lost time on the weekends. I love seeing it. I  decided to put together a slideshow movie deal with all the pictures and videos we took over the last year. Here is the link if you'd like to watch it! Carter's 1st  (<<< thats it)

As of late Carter LOVES....
His bus its now where he is about 75% of the day. Not kidding
Hot dogs
Toby- especially when he (toby) is being wild and playing with Shaun
Playing outside
His sandbox
"driving" the truck
Puzzles
Playing chase
Reading books
Riding his dad's four wheeler.

He's not so into...
Sitting
Eating
His carseat

We seriously love everything about that little boy. He's pretty fun.

Also and update on the little girl.
Have I mentioned that I HATE pregnancy? I know some love it and see some amazing magic and beauty in it but....i'm not one of them. This pregnancy has been much harder than Carters but my doctor warned me about that from the beginning. Something about getting pregnant 4 months after I just had one? Ha.... oops. No honestly, it hasn't been too bad at all. I really dont have anything really to complain about and i'm so thankful. We decided this last week that we probably need to get a few things in order and since I have Shaun home for a couple weeks he's getting put to work :) He's doesn't know it yet but this weekend will be full of painting and more painting. Geesh honestly I dont even know what to say about this pregnancy for an update, I really dont pay much attention to it, I  dont even know how many weeks I am!  I think i'm in the ball park of 32-33 so 8 months along. HA! 8 months????  Wow, i'm rambling we obviously need to shut this thing down.  Pretty much what you need to know for an update is, Shaun's work life is CRAZY, like we've seen him 3 weeks since January, crazy. (not including weekends thankfully.) Carter is one, and kind of the favorite around here. And I guess i'm 8 months pregnant... ha whoa.

Love you all! Happy reading! 

Georgia... You have 2 years.

Since Shaun is settled into his new role its safe to explain what it is! I'm so excited for him, saying he's overwhelmed is an understatement but the job is quite literally the "dream job"well for now it is! Other than the amount of stress the poor guy has been dealing with, He is loving it.   Anyways, he's the new marketing manager for High horse Power Tractors! Its great. Shortly after moving here Shaun realized he liked marketing much more than operations (what he got his BA in) and since then has been hoping to get more involved in (on?) the marketing side. Finally was offered a position as a marketing specialist last year, he loved the job it was pretty simple (comparatively speaking). His role was to support the marketing managers in anything they needed which of course seemed to still be a lot of data. The only problem was that he was over the small  (utility) tractors and that dang data. When the tactical director asked him to be the marketing manager I knew this was something we needed to stick around Georgia for. Thus... Shaun has 2 years and were otta here! Well now 1 year and 11 months :)

A lot of people have asked about our house situation. Well, the sale fell through!!! You have no idea how relieved we are! The buyers pretty much stopped doing anything towards closing and just ditched. We were more than ok with it. We really didn't want to buy a new home here, that would be lame. Were stoked to stay in our neighborhood, our ward, and our home that we've put so much work into!

Speaking of homes and projects, we now are creating another list. We're addicted. Since we've lived in this home 2 years i've parked in the garage....once. Literally. Shaun even calls the garage a shop. Its funny. Well we might as well make that shop a real shop! Shaun got a new planer, and table saw so the tools are adding up. I think it would be a great place for Shaun to be able to unwind, and I'm pretty excited for the things that comes from that shop! Like an entertainment center, buffet table and a new bed for Carter! Since the crib will soon be handed to a little girl.

Oh speaking of little girl. Things are going great. Oddly enough the 2nd trimester has been the worst so far, the reflux is back but thats fixed with a couple pills :) and my hips ache all day.  This whole 2nd pregnancy thing is WAY different than the first. I thought it would be the same, but nope not one bit. Weird. She also is a mover, nothing like Carter was though. I'm hoping that means that she will be much more chill. Carter is about doing me in!  We're at 25 weeks now so 4 more to go! C'mon body, you can do this.

How about little Carter eh? Heaven HELP US! He now 10 months and decided crawling is much better than the army crawl he's been doing for the last 3 months. Well it took him no time to really figure it out and that little boy can MOVE. He crawls faster than I can walk. And lately he's decided that walking is much better than crawling. So we are now always in a hunched over position holding him as we walk miles on end.  Its hilarious. He's also become quite the pill. He's a little tornado of disaster. Today we started the day out by him taking a bath. I started the tub then went to make our bed. I come back to garbage, towels and my phone taking a swim. Doi. Next i'm getting him breakfast and I look over to him throwing around formula that he some how figured out how to open. Then we found the toilets. Oh how he loves the toilets. So fun to stick our hands in and play in the water. Its even more fun to open the lid and slam our fingers. I cant help but laugh. Its funny how fast he can get into things and the face he makes when he knows he shouldn't be doing it but its just to fun not to. He also thinks the firm "no's" are hilarious. I love it. Oh a fun thing to mention is  our new thing is for us all to go upstairs just before his bed time and let him run around naked. Its adorable and so fun. He always has a crazy amount of energy and will giggle the entire time.  Kids are exhausting but sure are entertaining!

 Here's a list of his like and dislikes I want to remember. This is my favorite stage so far. Its been so so fun to chase that little bug around.

Likes:
Standing at the window and watching Toby in the yard
Being diaper free
Playing chase
Cheerios
Torturing Toby
Daddy (more than me most days)
Swing
Walking behind his walker (worst idea ever to get him that)
Rough house
Pretty much this boy just loves life!

Dislikes
..... uh.....
Strangers. Its driving me crazy.
Blueberries
I honestly can't think of any others!

In the new:
He's starting to stand alone and take a few steps
He crawls like a banshee
Opens every drawer & door in the house
Drinks from straws
Sounds like he says "what" and "sheesh" all day.
17 lbs. so 10% in weight and 40% in height.
Still hates naps and bed time.

           
Here are some of our pictures we did back in December.

Never Plan

The last month has been a month I know we will NEVER forget. Shaun and I both enjoy being busy but this, this was a little much. There are SO many things to update and write down that I honestly dont know where to start! 1st of all...

Thanksgiving.  In April Shaun's sister and her family moved to Costa Rica. Moving to latin/ south american countries is kind of their thing. Logan works in Global HR and went into that with the intention to live abroad. It honestly is SO amazing, i'm slightly jealous. Anyway, since its costa rica we decided we had to visit once while they were there!  We went down with Shaun's older brother Scott and their parents. It was so fun to spend time with family, and get to see our niece and nephew! We went repealing down waterfalls, surfing on an AWESOME beach, and hung out with toucans and monkeys, just to name a few highlights. Carter did great on the trip and didn't lack receiving any attention. Little Ansley was so cute with him and would pick him up, put him on her lap, then smile as big as her little face would allow. We loved it all.

After we got back from Costa Rica we unpacked our bags and  packed them back up for our trip to the NFR  just a few days latter. Poor Carter. The NFR is like the super bowl of rodeo and for those who dont know or understand it, just know you should want to go. AGCO (Hesston) is a major sponsor of the rodeo and has a booth  that they set some equipment out at. One of the tractors (global series) Shaun has been very involved in its launch so he was sent out to stand next to it and talk to all the farmers that came by. Since AGCO is awesome they invited me out as well, so of course we took them up on it. I LOVE the rodeo and it was so nice to be back in a place I felt like I knew and understood. I even pulled out my boots after 3 years of sitting in my closet and put them on. Whoa, big deal folks. I SO SO SO miss horses and rodeo, and  our hobbies. We've learned to just kind of cope with out having any of the things we love but when we go back to things like the NFR were reminded and... thus become slightly depressed. :) kidding, kinda. Anyway, being at the rodeo with AGCO was really nice they took care of EVERYTHING so pretty much all I ever had to do was walk down to the lobby and every need you can imagine was taken care of.

Another wild note, we're not moving to Idaho anymore. WHAT.THE. HECK. trust me were still trying to figure out how this all just happened. Back in October we accepted a job with Agri-service. We were stoked to be able to move back to a place where all our hobbies (camping, hunting, horses, 4-wheelers, faming) were much easier to get to. We put our house on the market and flew back and forth to Idaho looking for a place to live. Fast forward to last week.... We finally received an offer on our home that we felt was worth taking. We signed and now are under contact. About 2 hours later Shaun sent me a text the said... Want to stay in Georgia? I was just offered a position here.  Uhhhh.....  Once Shaun explained the job i new it was something he would love and be very interested in. When I get the word that it can be explained i'll be sure to tell everyone but, for now just know that about 70% of our conversations were about the products and  farming related... with this new job i'm expecting about that to jump to about 99.9%. At the same time Shaun had accepted the offer in idaho and we were at a complete loss to which would be better for him/us. We wanted to move west, he really wanted dealership experience, he likes the CEO ALOT and Agco told him it would be a great position. But this new one was a job that is a major compliment to receive and could push his career forward in hyperdrive. It was a HORRIBLE decision.  We would say, ok were doing Idaho then about 15 minutes later (not kidding) we would say eh... lets do Georgia. This crazy flip flipoppiness (pretend thats a word) went on for  about 3 days... until last night. We decided we had to stay up till we came to a final conclusion since we were to move in 4 days! We did it and were staying. I feel good about it. Agri-service is AMAZING and told shaun they support him in either decision and that the door is and will remain open. I think shaun needed their vote of confidence and understanding to fully decide that its ok to take this AGCO position. So, heres to a little bit longer in Georgia!


Side notes... Yes we sold our house here in Georgia, we have no idea what were going to do yet, I guess buy a new one? We'll be looking at them this week.

We would love to move to the country here but the commute for shaun would be way to long... stinking Georgia traffic!

OHHHH and  to make this post even longer... Sorry folks. We have an announcement!

That's right Little Cater is going to be a big brother! I'm about 15 weeks along and thanks to modern medicine we know that its a girl! oh and yes... it was planned  :) 

Here are some pictures from the last few weeks. Carter is now 8 months! whoa! I'm going to try and put together his little update thing I do and post it soon. He's a wild man!  Not sure why they are placed so weird. I gave up fixing them.

We were so excited to force this kid to be a cowboy :)
Guess he has a couple years before we do that. 

Vegas did work on the little guy

At the NFR

In Costa Rica with our little niece. 

6 months and Idaho

Obviously there is a few big things we must talk about! Idaho and a 6 month old!? Holy badwords.

As many know Shaun finished his masters in September! Which has be SOOO nice! Well when we originally came to AGCO there was also and offer to work in Twin Falls at Agri-service. But Shaun felt that the best thing would be to come to Georgia, work for AGCO, and get his masters. So thats what we did! Well, since that day Agri-service has mentioned multiple times that as soon as Shaun graduates he's going to work for them.  Of course it was flattering but we never really took it TOO seriously. Welp, they weren't kidding. Within days of Shaun's graduation a phone call was made and a few hours later we had a offer. WHOA. Agri-service was so good to work with when it came to negotiations and told us that we could come when we were ready. Who actually says that? Obviously a pretty a great company. Well, we felt we should finish the year up here, get the house ready to sale and accepted the offer for January 15th.  We spent many late nights talking about what to do and the decision was probably the most stressful one I've ever made! In the end, wefeel like Idaho is where we should go next!  Were excited to move out west but Im actually so sad to leave Georgia, (shocking right) and so sad to leave so much of our independence.  BUT I am excited to break out the snowboard again and have fun in the outdoors! So, its a trade off I suppose.

In the middle of trying to get our house on the market and going back and forth with AGCO and Agri-service we took a trip up to Columbus Ohio. Shaun had a farm show there for a few weeks and well... I'm sick of being home alone. So we decided to all pile in the car and drive up together!  It was an awesome trip I loved getting to hang out with Shaun most of the day at the show and Carter and Toby both became the crowd favorite.

Then... theres Carter. The one everyone (well family anyways) really wants to hear about. Well, he's out of control. He has became quite the efficient army crawler and can get across the room pretty fast! He has also learned how to reach up and pull things down. If he can reach it, he will eat it. He's also a huge fan of Toby. Anytime that dog walks in the room his legs start kicking a hundred miles an hour and his squeals jump up an octave. Then toby walks away and carter cries. No mercy. He also loves to be held while chasing Toby around the yard. He finds it hilarious and no matter how upset he may be its a sure fire way to get him giggling. Oh and those giggles! He thinks everything is funny and we love it! I love hearing his random giggles from the other room or over the monitor when Shaun is suppose to be putting him to bed :)  He also loves food. We found that if we leave it a little chunky he eats it right up. He however loves fries and ice cream more. Can you blame him?

This last week I feel like the boy kicked him energy up a notch, which I didn't know was possible. He has figured out how to push on on his arms and legs and will get in to the crawling position then fling himself forward. No exactly the normal way to crawl but it works, I suppose.  The kid also DOESNT STOP moving. Holding him is SUCH a chore. Church and Airplanes are quite literally the worst. I've had a random people I meet say funny things like "I had one like that, he never grew out of it" or  "He's sure active isn't he? Good luck" Or a really weird one was "He sure has some energy, you should try chamomile to quite him down" Uh..... what?

Anyways, I'm sorry I haven't updated family for awhile! Bare with us the next few months!

Here's a few pictures!

On a stake out watching  people view our home. 

Jetson came to visit! 

Little behind sharing this and that is suppose to say Nursery Rhymes. Oops.