Home Is Where We Hang Our Flag

Washington

2011-08-08T13:13:00.000-07:00

After spending 3 weeks in Baker, me and the boys came back to Bozeman. We were here for 3 days and then we were on the road again. We drove to Spokane, WA and stayed with my friend Diana and her family. The next day Ken's parents picked us up there and we drove out to western Washington. We stayed the night right outside Ft. Lewis and picked Ken up. It was so great to all be together again. We then visited Ken's grandma in Napavine, WA, which is south of Ft. Lewis. After spending the afternoon there we headed up to Seattle. Ken's aunt June and her daughter April both live there. Ken, the boys and me stayed with April and Byron and Linda stayed with June. We did a lot of sightseeing in Seattle. We have seen it all a million times since we were stationed at Ft. Lewis from 2000-2002. We really enjoy the city though and always love going back.

Getting ready to go up the Space Needle

Diana and her boys and me and my boys

Linda, her mom Pat, Dennis, Byron and all my boys

Matthew and Linc with Great-Grandma Pat

Checking out the zoo map

At the zoo with Ken's aunt June, his parents, and his cousin April and her kids, Sofia and Quinn

Matthew and Sofia

Grandma Linda and Lincoln

Daddy and his boys

Sofia and the boys

Byron, Linda, June, April and Quinn

Pike Place Market

Puget Sound

Getting ready to go to a Seattle Mariners baseball game

We met our friend Kevin at the game

Matthew and Sofia dancing, trying to get on the big screen

And they made it!! Dancing on the big screen!!

Seattle Children's museum

3 Weeks in Baker

2011-08-08T12:42:00.000-07:00

We stayed in Bozeman the week after Ken left to finish off the t-ball season. We then headed to Baker to spend 3 weeks at my parents. We had a great time there. Most days were spent playing with Ashlee and Kynlie. The boys had so much fun with Grandma and Poppy too. Over the 4th of July we headed to Dickinson, ND and Bismarck, ND. While there we took in a rodeo, I ran a 10K race, we went to the zoo, water park and demolition derby. We camped in Ashlee's camper and Matthew really enjoyed that. My parents and brother and his wife joined us too. It was a great family trip!

Poppy and the boys

Playing on Kynlie's playset

Me and Linc

Ashlee and Kynlie

Grandma and the boys

Poppy and the grandkids

Aunt Ashlee with the kids

Cousin story time

Grandpa-Great, Grandma-Great and all the great-grandkids

Grandpa-Great and Matthew

The frog pool in Miles City

Ashlee and Kynlie

Matthew going down the slide

Dairy Queen

Matthew and cousin Riley

Me and Linc camping

Lincoln telling Kynlie to wake up

Matthew camping

Snacks at the water park

Water Park

Napping babies

Enjoying the Baker Lake

Uncle Neil and Matthew

I'm Back!!

2011-08-08T12:24:00.000-07:00

Wow!! Summer has been flying by! I am going to do some posts with mostly pictures to catch you up on our summer. Ken left Bozeman June 10th to spend 5 weeks at Ft. Lewis, WA. He evaluated cadets going through an army camp there. My sister, her husband and daughter were here visiting the first weekend Ken was gone. Ashlee and Kynlie stayed the week with me. My friend Christina and her girls also came up and spent most of the week. We had 3 adults and 6 kids. Everyone had a great time!

Cousins

Matthew with Danica and Kendall Shepherd

Kynlie and Aunt Ashlee

Memorial Weekend

2011-05-31T13:20:00.000-07:00

We had a house full of company last weekend. My parents and Ken's got here Thursday afternoon to watch Matthew play t-ball. Luckily the rain held off and the game wasn't cancelled. My parents stayed until Monday and Ken's went home on Sunday. It was cold and rainy here so there wasn't a whole lot we could do. The boys loved having both sets of grandparents here. My dad's sister and brother live here so on Sunday they came over to visit.

Ken leaves for Ft. Lewis on June 10th. We are trying to soak up as much family time before then that we can.

The boys with Ken's parents

Matthew and Poppy playing

Matthew and Poppy in their matching cowboy shirts

Grandma reading with the boys

Uncle Dan, my dad, Aunt Mo

Planting

2011-05-31T13:12:00.000-07:00

The weekend before Memorial Weekend Matthew and I got our flowers planted. We are hoping this Montana weather doesn't freeze them!

Lewis and Clark Caverns

2011-05-25T14:46:00.000-07:00

Last Friday we drove to the Lewis and Clark Caverns. They are about 40 miles from our house. The hole in the side of the mountain lies 1,400 feet above the Jefferson River. The caverns are known as the most colorful caverns in the Northwest. The caves are lined with a variety of stalactites, stalagmites, column, and helicites. The tour was a 2-mile, 2-hour walk. We went at a great time of the year. Usually tour groups are made up of 30 people. Our tour had us and another couple. At first Matthew was unsure but he ended up loving it. At the end when we were walking down the mountain Matthew said to Lincoln, "See Lincoln, I told you there was nothing to be scared about". I am pretty sure Matthew was the one who was scared at first!

Hiking to the entrance of the cave

Daddy and his boys

Inside the caverns

Lincoln learning to use the hand rails

Exiting the caverns, Matthew couldn't hold it any longer

Bridger Ridge Run

2011-05-18T12:26:00.000-07:00

The Bridger Ridge

The Bridger Ridge Run has been called America's most rugged trail run. It is a 20 mile race that takes place on the top of the Bridger Mountains here in Bozeman. I have friends who have completed it and they said it is the hardest thing they have ever done. After I ruptured my achilles in January I figured it was out of the question for me this year. I was wrong, hopefully! Ken and I entered yesterday but it is a lottery to get into the race. 300 racers will be picked. We find out the middle of June if we are 2 of the 300. In past years whoever signed up first got into the race. Last year it filled up in 7 minutes! We are keeping our fingers crossed that we will get in. Our friends Brian and Annie Aschim have also applied so we are hoping to all 4 secure a spot in the race. It takes place August 13th, my 30th birthday!

My achilles seems to still be on track for healing. I did a 4 mile run this morning with the last mile at an 8 min mile pace. It is nice to be able to have some speed again. It definitely doesn't feel normal though. I am pretty sore the end of every day and have a hard time walking normally first thing in the morning. I still have two more months until I am cleared for any plyometric activities or trail running. I am getting there! It's hard to believe it's been 4 months since surgery.

T-Ball Practice

2011-05-18T12:08:00.001-07:00

Our T-Ball Star

The Bozeman Rec Department has a new 3 & 4 year old league for t-ball this year. We signed Matthew up and Ken volunteered to co-coach. There ended up not to be another coach for our team so Ken is the only one. He wouldn't mind except he will miss the last three games. He heads to Ft. Lewis, WA (our first duty station) for 5 weeks on June 9th. He will be working a camp out there for cadets who will be seniors next year. We have great parents on our team and many have volunteered to help out which is great. Matthew's team in the Orange Crush and there are 10 players. It is a co-ed league. Practice started last week and the first game is tonight. It is so cute to watch the kiddos. Matthew LOVES it! There will be one game and one practice a week for 3 weeks and then 2 games a week for two weeks. Matthew has really started to come out of his shell in the last month. It is amazing for us to watch our once shy boy starting to really blossom.

Good Catch!

Playing catch with daddy before practice

Time to stretch!

Ken is the coach

More stretching

"Nose, Toes, Throws"-Learning how to throw

Matthew's biggest fan

Batter Up!

He's off to first!

Old Friend

2011-05-18T11:48:00.000-07:00

My friend Darcy and her boyfriend, George, where in town for the weekend. They had spent a night in Chico Hot Springs celebrating Darcy's 30th birthday. Darcy and I have been friends since 4th grade. We have had countless sleepovers and too many good times to mention. It is always great spending time with an old friend!

Ken and me with Darcy and George

First Hike

2011-05-14T14:03:00.000-07:00

The last couple of days we have FINALLY had some nice weather here. Ken skipped out on work a little early yesterday and we went on our first hike of the year. We hiked up to the "M" which is 3 miles round trip. Matthew is a good little hiker. It was so nice to be out in the sun and warmth!

Snack break at the top

This is why we love Montana!

13 1/2 months

My boys and me at the top

Cousins

2011-05-05T11:40:00.000-07:00

Matthew, Kynlie and Lincoln

Monday Ken had to go to Billings for work. My sister and Kynlie were going to be there for the day so me and the boys rode along. Ashlee was there with her sister-in-law Connie to do some shopping. It was great getting to see them even though it was a quick trip!

Bloomsday

2011-05-04T12:13:00.000-07:00

Last weekend I had a much needed girls weekend away to Spokane, WA. Ken and the boys headed to Libby Thursday afternoon to spend the weekend with his parents. I left Friday about noon for Spokane. I went with my good friend Emily, Hilary (who I knew a little) and their friend MacKenzie (who I met for the first time). We went for the Bloomsday race which was Sunday. Friday night we got there, checked into the hotel and went to dinner. Then we found a fun bar and did some dancing until about midnight. Saturday we went and picked up our race packets, shopped and had a yummy dinner at P.F. Changs.

Saturday I also got to see my good friend Diana. We met in 2001 while we were both going to school at Pierce College. She is from Tacoma, WA and we were stationed at Ft. Lewis, WA at the time. She moved to Spokane and has been there for the last almost 10 years. She has a wonderful husband, Andrew and two little boys. She walked the race with her family.

Sunday was race day. It is a 12K (7.46 miles) race and there were around 50,000 racers signed up. I didn't think my achilles would be able to make it the whole way running. The longest I had run post injury was 3 miles and I am still supposed to jog and not run. My plan was to run until it started hurting and then walk the rest. When I got going I felt surprisingly good and was able to run the whole way. My time was 1:13 something. A healthy me could have ran it about 10 min faster. I was very happy with how I did though. It was a really awesome race. There were bands playing along the way and beautiful scenery.

I had an awesome weekend with great company. Ken and the boys also had a great time in Libby. There were able to see friends and do a lot of relaxing.

Diana and me

Nicely Family

View during the race

Me with Emily, Hilary and MacKenzie

Matthew's Buddy

2011-04-28T15:03:00.000-07:00

For the past two days I have watched our good friends boy. We met Brian and Annie Aschim this fall and became friends quickly. Brian and Ken share a love of the MSU Bobcats and Annie and I share a love of running. There are some people when you meet you just click. We are so happy to have met them and to have them in our lives.

Annie is away on a girls trip so Brady has been coming over while Brian is at work. He is 5 and Matthew has so much fun with him. They play non-stop from the time Brady gets here until he leaves. Even with the two year age difference they do well MOST of the time.

We have a busy weekend planned. Ken and the boys headed to Libby this afternoon to spend the weekend with his parents. I am going to Spokane tomorrow for the weekend. Some friends and I are running the Bloomsday 12K race on Sunday. It is going to be so weird to be home all alone tonight. It is my first time away from Lincoln and my first time away from Matthew since Lincoln was born. I am super excited for a girls weekend but I did tear up a little when they drove off. My heart is a little achy without them but I know a weekend away will do me good. I am really excited for the race. I started running a couple of weeks ago (well the doctor gave me permission to jog) and my achilles has been doing pretty good. We will see if it can go 7.46 miles. The doctor just kind of looked at me funny when I told him I had registered for the race. My healing has been going as good as I could hope. The middle of July is when I will be cleared for all activity. I can start pushing my running a little harder in a couple of weeks. I am so ready to be back to myself again!

Watching the construction outside

Buddies

Letting little brother play

I love my rocking horse!

Army Man

2011-04-28T14:44:00.000-07:00

Matthew's friend Brady saw Ken in his uniform for the first time yesterday and he thought it was pretty cool. We take for granted seeing him in it. To a little boy who doesn't see it every day it's pretty awesome. Brady had a ton of questions about the army for Ken. We are so proud of you for what you do babe!

Ken and Brady Aschim

Easter

2011-04-25T12:47:00.000-07:00

We had a great Easter weekend. My brother Jordan and his wife Ashley came Friday and spent the weekend. We hung out and dyed Easter eggs on Friday night. Matthew has so much fun when family comes to visit. Him and Uncle Jordo are pretty good buddies. Friday we tailgated before the Bobcat's spring football scrimmage. There was also a big Easter egg hunt right before the scrimmage. The boys got a ton of eggs. Sunday morning the boys had a good time looking for all the Easter eggs that the Easter Bunny left. We had a ton of snow outside so the eggs were hidden inside. We went to my Aunt Brenda's for Easter lunch. We love having family in town. The boys also have a lot of fun with my cousin's Brooke and Clancy. Ashley and Jordan had to head back home to Dayton, WY Sunday afternoon. We are looking forward to when they can visit again!

The boys with Uncle Jordan

Uncle Jordan, Aunt Ashley and the boys

Dying Easter Eggs

Smiley Linc

Mommy and Matthew

Still Newlyweds

Me and My Brother

Easter Morning

Linc finding eggs

The Easter Bunny brought Matthew a bike

Thanks for visiting us guys!

Brooke and the boys

Easter Sunday

Aunt Brenda and Linc checking things out

Cousin Clancy and Matthew

Aunt Brenda and Linc

Happy Birthday Zoe

2011-04-21T15:14:00.000-07:00

Yesterday our Siberian Husky Zoe turned 10. Ken and I have had her since she was 6 weeks old. We found out right before her 1st birthday that she had a severe case of hip dysplasia. The options where surgery on both hips or have a short life living in pain. It was an easy decision for us. She had her first surgery right before her first birthday and had the other one about 4 months later. She has lived a healthy and happy life since then. She has moved with us from Washington to Missouri to Italy to Kansas and now to Montana. She was a pain in our butts for about the first 5 years of her life. She could escape any yard we ever had and she would run away from us. We have chased her over many roads and pastures. For some reason when she was five that all stopped. Luckily she decided to stop stressing us out! She loves being outside and giving kisses. She is very sweet and howls instead of barking, but rarely. We love her very much! Happy Birthday Zoe.

The Party Crowd (Lincoln was sleeping)

Matthew reading Zoe her card

Anxiously waiting

Sniffing it out

Do you like your squeaky toy Zoe?

Me and My Date

2011-04-21T15:00:00.000-07:00

I had a extra special date with my little man Matthew last weekend. A couple of months ago Ken told Matthew that he had to make sure and tell him if I ever went on a date with anyone besides him. Matthew said that he wanted to go on a date with Mommy though too. He treated me to McDonalds for lunch and we went to the movie Rio. We had an awesome day and it was nice to spend some one-on-one time with Matthew.

ROTC Ball

2011-04-21T14:56:00.000-07:00

Our family

My handsome hubby and me

Last weekend was the ROTC ball. Every military unit usually has a ball every year. We have been to many Military Police balls and I always enjoy getting to dress up. Ken, on the other hand, gets crabby every time he has to put his dress uniform on. He sure looks good in it though. Usually there is dancing, but this one was just dinner and an awards ceremony for the cadets. There were two extra special guests at the ball, Mr. and Mrs. Saltz. They are the parents of our good friend Matt Saltz, who was killed in Iraq December 2003. They come to present a cadet with the Matt Saltz award. They live in Bigfork and we have had the chance to keep in touch with them and visit throughout the years. They are amazing people.

AND WHILE WE WERE NOT AT HOME........

there was a party going on!! My awesome cousin Brooke is our babysitter. The boys love her and she loves them. It doesn't get any better than that. They made party hats and had a party. Matthew always makes sure they get a couple of games of hide and seek in also. We are so happy to have Brooke in our lives!

Still Springtime in Montana

2011-04-19T11:54:00.000-07:00

This is what April 19th looks like in Bozeman, MT. The snow we got a week and a half ago was long gone. We woke up to this this morning. I do love Montana but SERIOUSLY, I am ready for some nice weather.

Band Aid Boy

2011-04-18T13:24:00.000-07:00

Matthew with the band aid

Last Wednesday afternoon Matthew was supposed to be resting in his room. He outgrew naps about a year ago. I try to have him rest in his bed for about 30 min when Lincoln goes down for a nap. He came downstairs and it looked like he might have had a little bloody nose. When I asked him about it he said that his band aid was stuck in his nose. He had had a teeny weeny cut on his pinkie and had been going through about 5 band aids a day. I tried to look up there and saw nothing. Then I had him lay on the couch and I got the flashlight. I saw it and it was way, way, way, way up there. I got out the tweezers and he wouldn't even barely let me get them in his nose. I decided it was time to call the doctor. They said bring him right in. Lincoln was sleeping so I called Ken to see if he could come home and stay with him. He said he would like to take Matthew to the doctor. I wasn't about to argue with that.

Matthew was calm and doing good the whole time. He didn't really want to go to the doctor but there weren't many options. Ken said it took the doctor about 10 tries and various methods before they got it out. They finally had to numb the area and apply an anti-swelling medicine. Then Ken said they strapped him down and got it out. Ken said Matthew wasn't happy when they were trying to get the band aid. He said in between tries he was fine though. I am pretty sure he will never do that again!

Paint Time

2011-04-18T12:28:00.000-07:00
I taught preschool for three years and I love having a preschooler in the house now. We usually wait until Lincoln is asleep to do any projects. He is such a busy body and makes it about impossible to get anything done. Matthew loves doing art projects. Here he is painting with his cars.

Matthew puts his cars in the paint and then drives them on the paper

Big monster truck tires

Circus

2011-04-18T12:23:00.000-07:00
Last Monday the circus was in town. Although it was a little long we had a great time. The boys really enjoyed it, especially all the animals.

Waiting for the circus to start

Tigers

Elephants

Spring in Montana

2011-04-13T11:59:00.001-07:00

April 7th, 2011

Our Baby is 1!

2011-04-12T13:35:00.000-07:00

April 1st 2010

Birthday Boy

April 1st Lincoln turned one year old. We celebrated the night before in Bozeman since Ken had to leave on the 1st. He had to go to the field with his cadets for work that weekend. We had an awesome party with great friends and family. On the first we drove to Baker and celebrated with friends and family there that night. The boys and I spent the weekend in Baker at my parents.

Lincoln has been the sweetest, easiest baby. We are definitely seeing some toddler come out in him now. He has quite a temper and it is going to be interesting to see how his personality develops. He isn't walking yet but could if he would only try. He loves his big brother and always wants to be doing what Matthew is doing. He is quite stubborn and he has a mind of his own. He likes to get into anything that he isn't supposed to and keeps me on my toes. He has been the perfect addition to our family. He is super friendly and everywhere we go people stop to chat with him. He usually brings a smile to everyones face. I am so excited to watch him and Matthew together as they grow. Happy Birthday Lincoln James!

Beehive Birthday Cake

Lincoln and his buddy Sadi

Bozeman Birthday Party

Aunt Ashlee and Kynlie helping us celebrate

Baker Birthday Party

Poppy, Grandpa-Great and Lincoln

Family

2011-04-11T12:18:00.000-07:00
The last week in March my sister Ashlee and niece Kynlie stayed with us. It is always so nice having them around. We pretty much just hung out but the week flew by. Matthew loves having Aunt Ashlee around to play with. They were here for Lincoln's 1st birthday party too so that was very special.

Lincoln 1 year and Kynlie 18 months

Cousins

Matthew loves Aunt Ashlee

Spring Break

2011-03-22T12:32:00.000-07:00
March 12-19 we had an awesome vacation in California. We flew into LA and then drove down to San Diego. While there we went to the San Diego Zoo, Sea World and San Diego Zoo Wild Animal Park. Then we drove back north and stayed a couple of blocks from Disneyland. While there we went to Hollywood's Universal Studios, Disneyland and Disney's California Adventures. The weather was prefect every single day. After being cooped up in the house for months we all enjoyed being outdoors for six straight days.

The boys did perfect on the trip. I thought there would be some extra whining but we couldn't have asked for them to be better. My achilles also held up really well. I got out of my boot and into an air cast the Thursday before we left. It didn't hurt at all while we were there. I was pretty impressed since we spent about 8 hours a day walking around the different places. After a week of beautiful California weather, we are in the middle of a big snow storm today. Gotta love Montana!

San Diego Zoo

Hanging out at Sea World

San Diego

San Diego

Watching Shamu and Sea World

Sea World

San Diego Wild Animal Park

Precious

Meeting Goofy at Disneyland

In Mickey Mouse's House

Disneyland

Disneyland

He ate it all!

Disney's California Adventures

Febuary 2011

2011-03-08T18:08:00.000-08:00

Night out with the Brian and Annie Aschim and Dave and Renee Keeney
Time has been flying. Lincoln is almost one which I can't hardly believe. We spent February going to MSU basketball games and hanging out at home. My parents came up and spent the last weekend of the month. I have been walking in boot since the middle of the month. It was a painful transition but now is going good. I have been going to physical therapy 1-2 times a week. The physical therapist says it is one of the best recoveries for an achilles rupture she has ever seen. I am so happy! I taught my first class since my injury last week. It was a spin/strength class. I got on and rode with my boot and everything went good. It is so nice to be back. In two weeks I will start teaching an hour spin and also the spin/strength class. I go Thursday to the doctor and if all is well will get out of the boot. I can't wait!! I am hoping to be running again the beginning of April. I still won't be cleared for all physical activity until the middle of July. I have a long ways to go but seem to be progressing well. We had a fun night out on the town this month too. We have some great friends here and always have fun getting together. We leave Saturday for a week in southern California. We are planning on going to Sea World, San Diego Zoo, Disneyland, Universal Studios, California Adventures and much more. It is going to be so nice getting out of this cold and snow.

Lincoln 11 months
Matthew with his now signature smile. He's going to hate it when he's older:)
My boys
There's the smile again
Reading the book grandma recorded for them
Laundry Time

Weekend at Home

2011-03-08T17:49:00.000-08:00
We made a quick trip to Baker last weekend. There was a baby shower for my cousin Shantel and her baby Tryppton and a 80th birthday party for my great-uncle Herb. My brother and his wife came home also which was great since we hadn't seen them since Thanksgiving. Matthew loves going back to Baker. You can tell it still feels like home to him after living there for a year. We got to see a lot of family which we love. My three best friends from high school live there now so it is always fun getting together.

Four generations of Rustads
Grandma-great with her 4 great-grandkids
My sweet baby Linc
Matthew and Poppy
Matthew and Grandma
Sis-in-law Ashley, sis Ashlee and me
Our whole O'Donnell family
Matty, Uncle Jordan and Aunt Ashley
Our family
Poppy and Grandma dancing with the grandkids
Lincoln and Kynlie playing
Poppy in his usual position when the boys are there
Still best of friends after all these years
Toni and Gracee (2 yrs), Darcy with Linc (11 months), me and Matthew (3 yrs), Christina with Kendall (almost 6), Danica (3 yrs) and Allie (8 months)

Achilles

2011-02-08T12:57:00.000-08:00
A week and a half ago I got my stitches out and this splint made. It's open in the back and I can take it off and on to shower. It keeps my foot at a certain angle to protect my achilles. I am supposed to put about 40% body weight on it when walking with crutches to get the blood flowing there again. The healing seems to be going good. Last week Lincoln got underneath me and I hopped over him and landed on my injured foot. It hurt like hell and has been sore every since. I can feel my achilles is still intact though which is most important. Next Tuesday is my next doctor's appointment. I should be out of this splint and into a walking boot. I can't wait for that day! I am a little nervous to walk though since I think it's going to be painful at first. Physical therapy should start next week too.

Notice the nice Cars sticker Matthew gave me since I 'm hurt

3 weeks post surgery

Matthew and Lincoln

2011-02-04T13:42:00.000-08:00

Painting with pudding

Lincoln is now 10 months old. He weighs almost 20 pounds and is very tall. He is in the 98th% for height. He hadn't gained much weight from 6-9 months so he has to go back in a couple of weeks to see if he has been gaining. He started crawling at about 8 months. I am guessing that is why his weight gain slowed down. He went from being in the 80% for weight at 6 months to 30% at 9 months. We aren't too concerned, the doc just wants to keep an eye on things. Lincoln waves, claps, dances and has began standing up not holding on to anything. I don't think it will be too long before he takes off walking. He sleeps from about 8:30-8:30 and takes a couple hour nap in the afternoon. He is almost always happy and loves doing anything big brother does. He doesn't have any teeth yet but has no problem eating a whole slice of pizza. I cut everything up for him in tiny pieces and he uses his gums to "chew". He isn't very interested in baby food anymore so we just feed him whatever we are eating. He is an awesome eater. I can't believe he almost isn't a baby anymore!

Yummy finger paint

Matthew has been my awesome helper since I have been hurt. He still goes to gymnastics once a week and loves it. Story time has been put on hold until I can walk again. We have been concerned about his speech and talked to our pediatrician about it at his 3 year check-up. He has a great vocabulary but can be hard to understand at times. We did a hearing test which he passed. The next step was a speech evaluation with a pediatric speech-language therapist. The evaluation showed he has a weak tongue and jaw. He knows how to make and say all the sounds. When the word is more than one syllable he often leaves off the first or last sound of the word. That is because his tongue/jaw is too weak for him to pronounce the whole word. He started going to speech twice a week for 30 minutes. He loves his therapist, Christa, and every morning he asks if it is a speech day. Most of the therapy is through play so he loves being able to go and play with Christa. She says that he is such a good kid and always does everything she asks him too. He has homework that we do with him also. She said that he can recognize that he isn't pronouncing the words how he should. When he is talking we can tell that he tries so hard to say things the right way. The therapist said it could take 6 months to a year of therapy, it all just depends. So far it has been a very good experience for all of us.

Everything Is On Hold

2011-01-25T14:55:00.000-08:00
I had an awesome weekend January 8th and 9th. That was until Sunday afternoon. I attended a training at the college to become a Pink Gloves Boxing Trainer (I will post more on that later). It was an intense two day workshop where both our minds and bodies were challenged. I rushed from training on Sunday to my city league basketball game. We were up by at least twenty at the half and with only five players were playing a great game. Not too far into the second half it felt like someone kicked me in the back of my ankle and it dropped me to the ground. It was a terrible pain. I got to the bench and knew this was more than just a twisted ankle. Ken got me home and we contemplated what to do. He was looking online about Achilles tendon injuries as we both feared that might be what was wrong. He felt my uninjured side and then felt my injured side. On the side I hurt he said where my achilles was supposed to be there was nothing there.

We called my Aunt Maureen to come and stay with the boys and we headed to the emergency room. There they confirmed that I had ruptured my achilles tendon. They put a splint on it and I went to see the orthopedic specialist on Monday. I couldn't walk on it and at the appointment they scheduled surgery for the next Monday. Luckily my mom came up and ended up being here for almost 2 weeks. The surgery to reattach my tendon went good and now I am in for a long recovery.

I have been on crutches for over 2 weeks and have 3 more to go. Then I will be in a walking boot for 1 more month. Three months after the injury I can start running on the treadmill. Four months out I can run outside again. Six months until I am released to do all physical activity. The wait sounds like an eternity to me. I was scheduled to teach 4 (5 starting the end of February) Group Fitness classes this semester, I was training for a half-marathon in March, and playing city league basketball. All that came to a screeching halt. Not to mention that I can't even take care of my family now.

My mom was so much help the first two weeks and Ken has been going like crazy working and taking care of us. Luckily his job is pretty flexible so he is able to take Matthew to his activities and come home to help at lunch. This is my first week at home with the boys and we have been doing good. Matthew is an awesome helper which has been great. I go on Thursday to get my stitches out. The pain has finally started to subside starting yesterday. Now it's just my heart and head that ache from not being able to work out. We have some amazing friends here who have made meals which has been a big help too. Now I just wait.

Splint I have on now

My only way to get around

Grandma helping out

Grandma and Matthew making Valentine's

New Years Eve

2011-01-25T14:13:00.000-08:00
We spent New Year's Eve at Fairmont Hot Springs. There are two pools outside and two pools inside. The water temperature ranged from 96 degrees to 104. The boys loved it! Our great friends Brian, Annie, Sadi and Brady Aschim were also there. We swam all afternoon, had a great dinner and then danced until midnight.

Road Trip

Farimont pool

Sadi is an awesome helper with Linc

The biggest Christmas tree I have ever seen

The Aschims

Dancing the night away

Linc crashed at the dance

Christmas 2010

2011-01-25T14:00:00.000-08:00
We had a great Christmas in Libby with Ken's parents this year. We spent a week there and got to see a lot of friends. Holidays are so much fun with the boys!

Christmas Eve

Lincoln, 9 months

Lincoln and Grandpa Byron

Zariah and Grandma Linda

Christmas Eve

Christmas morning

Linc and Zoe

New Years 2011

2011-01-03T10:17:00.001-08:00

Confetti Countdown Filmstrip New Year's
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View the entire collection of cards.

Cookies!!

2010-12-19T08:45:00.000-08:00
Yesterday my aunt Brenda had a cookie decorating party at her house. We had yummy appetizers and good company. I think Matthew did more eating than decorating. The same is true for when he helped me bake the cookies. He kept saying "I really like eating that mom". It was like a broken record playing over and over.

We are spending this Christmas in Libby. We leave Wednesday for a week. Then we are going to Fairmont Hot Springs with some friends for New Year's Eve. Happy Holidays!

Matthew with the finished cookies

Lincoln with Great-Aunt Brenda

My cousins Clancy and Brooke

Some of the crew: Karl, Clancy, Jasmine, her mom, and some of Brooke's friends


Snowshoeing up Triple Tree

2010-12-12T16:23:00.000-08:00
Bozeman has a ton of awesome running and hiking trails. In the winter they turn into snowshoeing and cross country skiing trails. There are probably at least a dozen trails within a 15-20 minute drive from our house. Matthew is an outdoor lover which is great. I would have to say that so far I am really enjoying this winter. If we are going to live in Montana we have to take up winter sports so we can stay active all year long.

Great Season Cats

2010-12-12T16:11:00.000-08:00
Every other weekend from the beginning of September to the beginning of December we were going to Bobcat football games. We have a great group of friends that we tailgate with. Our day would usually begin at 10 at the tailgate. Every couple took turns cooking with a couple games that were potluck. Our day would usually end around 5:30 when we would pack up and head home. Some of the people that we tailgate with are Ken's good friends from college. We usually planned to feed at least 30 people. Ken's parents came down to 4 games and my sister and family made it to two. Matthew and Lincoln did great with the long days. They only missed one game, the last one since 16 was the high for the day. My parents came up to watch them for us. These pictures were taken at the last game. The Cats had a great season and we are looking forward to next year!

Three Years Old

2010-12-09T10:22:00.000-08:00
Matthew turned three on December 1st. We had a party in Baker Thanksgiving weekend with family and friends. Then on the 1st we had a party here in Bozeman with family and friends. He got spoiled and had so much fun. He went for his three year check-up this week. The doctor says he looks great. He weighs 29 pounds (20th %) and is 39 inches tall (90th %). I am having his hearing tested because although he has an amazing vocabulary, I don't think he pronounces words as well as he should. We are doing that next week.

December 1st, 2007 was the best day of our lives (until April 1st, 2010 came along). Matthew was born 4 years after we started trying to get pregnant. After trying to get pregnant for over a year, we went through 3 unsuccessful intrauterine inseminations from April 2005-July 2005. Then we went through 2 unsuccessful in-vitro fertilizations from December 2005-March 2006. That was all done while we lived in Italy. It was all incredibly heartbreaking and stressful. We moved back to the states and had to wait another year to try IVF again. We doctored in Seattle and in March 2007 had a successful IVF cycle. I was a nervous wreck throughout the pregnancy. After trying for so long it just didn't seem possible we were finally going to have a baby. The day he was born was surreal. He came three weeks early but was a perfectly healthy baby boy. I think it took me months to actually wrap my mind around finally being a mom. He's been an awesome kid since the day he was born. We love you so much Matthew. Now stop growing up so fast!

Thanksgiving

2010-12-09T10:17:00.001-08:00
We had a great Thanksgiving in Baker with my family. All of us kids were home so that was awesome. We just hung around out at the ranch for the weekend. Matthew loves being back at my parents. He is Poppy's #1 helper to feed the cows. He still remembers when we lived here. He says we had to wait a long, long time for daddy to come home from Iraq. My mom's birthday was the day after Thanksgiving so it was nice for us all to be with here for it.

Boys

2010-11-16T14:14:00.001-08:00
Matthew
He is almost 3 years old! I can't believe it. He goes to gymnastics once a week and we usually make it to story time too. He loves the outdoors and going for runs at night with Zoe and Zariah. He has pretty much outgrown naps which I am not too thrilled about. He has an amazing vocabulary but doesn't pronounce all his words right. He is finally in big boy underwear for good! Matthew has enjoyed going to the football games this fall. He has a play date every Friday with Brady. Ken watches the boys while Annie (Brady's mom) and I go for a run at lunch. He can get a very sassy mouth, especially when he's tired. I can tell he misses Grandma and Poppy's house as he talks about them a lot. He remembers we lived there while daddy was in Iraq. He says we had to wait a long, long time for daddy to come back home. He is a caring and kind big brother.

Lincoln
He is 7 1/2 months old now. He sits up great and is close to crawling. He moves his hands and then goes down on his belly without moving his knees. Lincoln is a laid back and very sweet baby. He loves his big brother and is a mommy's boy. When daddy gets home from work it puts a huge smile on his face. He weights 20 pounds!! It's crazy. Matthew was about a year and a half before he weighed 20 pounds. It is getting hard for me to haul him around. He is still a good sleeper and loves any food. We haven't found anything he doesn't like yet.

I love my boys so much. I don't think I could be any luckier!

Halloween

2010-11-16T14:04:00.000-08:00
Here is my little puppy and MSU football player. Bozeman downtown businesses hosted a trick-or-treat the Friday before Halloween. Matthew thought Halloween was over after that so we skipped trick-or-treating on the 31st.

It's Already November!

2010-11-16T13:32:00.000-08:00
Once again I am updating for a couple of months at a time. I guess with two little boys at home I have an excuse to slack on my blogging. We have had a busy couple of months. We have had visitors at our house every weekend except one since the 25th of September. Ken says we are moving back to Italy! His parents have been here 4 times and my parents once. Me and my little boys went to Baker in October for a weekend. Ken had to work in Missoula. They did great traveling. My sister and Kynlie came for a week while Neil was elk hunting. Then all three came the beginning of November for a Bobcat football game. We have went to every home MSU football game. We have a blast tailgating with our friends. We are keeping our fingers crossed that the Bobcats will have a home play-off game. I am now teaching three classes a week at MSU. I teach two Spinning and one Boot Camp. It works out that Ken can watch the boys while I teach. I love it! Ken is enjoying teaching ROTC. It doesn't keep him too busy which is great.

Grandpa Byron and Linc during one of their many visits

Mom and dad with the boys when they visited

Grandma and Grandpa with the grandkids

Visiting Zoo Montana in Billings

Ashlee, Neil and Kynlie's visit

Matthew enjoying our first snow

Updates

2010-09-16T14:42:00.000-07:00
Sorry that I have been neglecting my blog lately. Here's a quick update of what we have been up to this last month and a half.

Lincoln got baptized in Baker the beginning of August. His Godparents are Neil Moore (my sister's husband) and Ashley O'Donnell (my brother's wife).

My brother got married August 7th to Ashley O'Connor. They have been dating since their junior year of high school. We felt like Ashley was already a part of the family. It's nice that it is "official" now! They make their home in Dayton, WY. Ashley is a high school math teacher. Jordan is going to school for his master's degree in education. Matthew was the ring bearer.

Matthew and Lincoln are becoming best buddies. Matthew always talks about when Lincoln can play with him. He can't wait! Matthew is in a gymnastic class now. The recreation department classes will start up again in October. Lincoln is still a great baby. He can sit up pretty well on his own. He rolls like crazy. He has his first cold this week so he's required some extra snuggling.

Matthew competed in his first race the end of August. He did a 1K run. It was so cute. They ran around the football stadium one and a half times and then down the length of the football field. It took him 8:40. Ken said he ran the whole time. He came over to me after and said "Mom, I'm really, really tired. I want some ice cream." Ken and I also did a 10K run that morning. It was my first race back after having Lincoln. I need to cut about 7 minutes off to get back to my race time. I also need to drop the last 10 baby pounds. That weight just seems to want to stay with me. Ughhhhh! I got 2nd in my age group and Ken got 3rd. Keep in mind that he pushed the boys in the jogging stroller the whole 6.2 miles.

The first Montana State University football game was the beginning of September. We have a tailgate spot with some friends. We have had a blast so far. Every family takes a turn cooking for one of the games which is nice. Go Bobcats!!

We got pretty busy once September rolled around. Ken started teaching his ROTC classes. He has two classes Tuesday and Thursday. I think he has enjoyed it so far. I got hired at Montana State University as a group fitness instructor. I teach spinning Tuesday and Thursday from 5:30-6:30. Along with that I am training to teach a Pink Glove Boxing class. I also am filling in for some instructors who have to miss a class. So far I've taught a Legs and Butt class and a Max Core class. We juggle the kids between the two of us.

We made a quick trip to Libby last weekend. Ken and his dad spent Saturday hiking in the Cabinet mountains. Ken's parents are coming next weekend for a football game. The first weekend in October my parents are coming up. We are loving Bozeman and making some great friends!

Big Brother Matthew

2010-08-03T14:03:00.000-07:00

Matthew has kept us busy this summer. He took a Music and Movement class through the Rec Department earlier this summer. He is now in soccer and a Planes, Trains and Things that Move class. Classes for 2-3 year olds are parent participation. I put Lincoln in the Baby Bjorn and we go to all the classes. He has had fun having so many visitors this summer. His vocabulary is expanding by the day. He's very chatty and I bet I hear "Mommy" followed by something hundreds of times a day. He has become quite the singer and wants to know the name of every song he hears. His favorites now are "Rain is a Good Thing" by Luke Bryan and "Our Kind of Love" by Lady Antebellum. He will be 3 December 1st. He is very tall and skinny. He is a GREAT kid and I don't think I could ask for a better 2 year old. We love you buddy!

4 Month Old Lincoln

2010-08-03T13:53:00.001-07:00

Lincoln is 4 months old. It is so crazy how time is flying. He weighs 16 pounds 8 ounces and is 27 inches long. That is about the size Matthew was at 8 months. He's our BIG boy. He is in 6-9 month clothes. He's helping my arms get buff by hauling him around all day! He has been sleeping through the night for about a month. He has a sweet and easygoing personality. He only cries if he is really hungry or really tired. We are going to start him on solids soon. He can roll over from front to back and has started to reach for things. We love our sweet baby boy!

Christina's Visit

2010-08-03T13:45:00.000-07:00

Christina Shepherd and her three girls (Kendall 5, Danica 3, and Allie 3 wks) spent last weekend with us. We have been friends for about 14 years. She lives in Baker and we got to spend a lot of time together this past year when I was there. Matthew got to be good friends with Kendall and Danica. I look forward to Lincoln and Allie becoming buddies as they grow up. It was great having them visit. That's one of the nice things about being back in Montana. We have had many friends and family visit since we have lived in Bozeman. It is so nice not being so far away from everyone.

Grandpa and Grandma Great

2010-07-26T13:14:00.000-07:00
This post is a little out of order. We saw my grandparents the beginning of July when we went to Baker for my family reunion. It was an O'Donnell reunion and they are my Rustad grandparents. Here's them with all their great-grandkids. I grew up getting to see them all the time as they lived in the same town as me. Matthew got a great relationship with them the year we spent in Baker. My grandma would watch him a couple times a week while I exercised. They got to be pretty good buddies.

Crazy House

2010-07-26T12:43:00.000-07:00
This past week Ken's sister's kids spent the week with us. They live in Maryland and have spent most of the summer in Libby with Ken's parents. Byron and Linda brought them down weekend before last and came to get them last weekend. While here last weekend Byron helped us put our fence up.

We had a fun but very busy week. Darius is 10 (11 in Aug.), Siane is 8 (9 in Aug.) and Latasha is 4. The kids were great although I know I don't want to have 5 kids. A week with that many was plenty. Matthew had a blast having kids to play with too. We went swimming, did some art at home, played at the park, went to a splash park, took in the Farmer's Market and kept busy all week. It was sad to see them go yesterday as we don't get to see them very often.

O'Donnell Family Reunion

2010-07-14T12:33:00.001-07:00
Every five years my O'Donnell family has a reunion at Camp Needmore. It's about 40 miles south of Baker, MT, where I grew up. There were about 200 people who attended. We had a great time camping, game playing, dancing and catching up with everyone.

3rd Generation O'Donnells

My family

Matthew playing with my cousin's daughter Shelby

Smiley Lincoln

All of the Ray O'Donnell (my grandpa) family that attended

Our little family

Playing games with Dalton

My lovely sis and me

Matty and Linc

2010-06-29T13:42:00.000-07:00
June 2010

Best of Friends

2010-06-29T13:40:00.001-07:00
Zariah LOVES playing with the hose. Those two can keep each other entertained for hours.

Libby

2010-06-29T13:26:00.001-07:00
We spent June 1st-17th in Libby with Ken's family. We had a great time visiting and relaxing.

Enjoying one of our few days of sunshine

Mommy and Matthew on top of the Libby Dam

View from the top of the Libby Dam

Family on top of the dam

Another view

Inside bottom of the dam

Matthew being Grandpa Byron's doggie

Swinging bridge over the Kootenai River

Kootenai Falls

Matthew and Ken with Grandpa and Grandma Phillips

Kootenai Falls

Another view

Gardening with Grandma

Quick Updates

2010-06-15T17:45:00.000-07:00
We've been at my in-laws in Libby, MT since Memorial Day. They don't have wireless Internet so I've been slacking on blog posts. We've had a great time visiting. The weather has been nice on and off. We have taken advantage of every sunny day we have had here and spent it outdoors. We also went to Spokane, WA last week to visit some good friends. Our relaxing is about to come to an end. We head back to Bozeman on Thursday. Here's some quick updates on us:

Ken and me: Ken's enjoyed having more time off of work. It's been 1 1/2 years since we've spent much time in Libby. He's had a great time catching up with old friends. We started the workout program Insanity June 1st. It's a 60 day program and it's a ton of fun. (At least I think so!) I am working my butt off to get back in shape. The baby weight has steadily been coming off and I love that I can work out hard again. It's been awesome having so much time together as a family.

Matthew: Our sweet 2 1/2 year old needs desperately to get back on a schedule. He hasn't taken a nap in almost a month. He has been so great for as crazy as his life has been these last couple of months. He's had fun with grandma and grandpa in Libby. His potty training has went downhill fast. He went from being completely potty trained to mostly going in his Pull-Up again. We're all ready for some structure in our lives again. He's excited to move into our new house.

Lincoln: He's now 2 1/2 months old. At his 2 month check-up he weighed 12 pounds 13 ounces and was 24 inches. He was in the 90% for both. It's a total change from Matthew. Matthew was always on the low end of the charts. We have ourselves a big boy! He is in 3-6 month clothes and still growing fast. He has a great personality. He rarely cries unless he's hungry or really gassy. He wakes at night around 3 and then at 6 or 7. He goes back to sleep and usually sleeps until 9. He eats about every 3 hours during the day.

House: It should be done by Thursday! Everything has been going good. We are planning on staying there Thursday night. Our stuff is getting delivered on Monday the 21st. My parents, sister and Kynlie are coming Friday and staying for the week. It will be nice having so many hands to help move in.

I'll post a lot of photos next week once we get internet. I can't wait to be settled finally.

3405 South 28th Street

2010-05-27T20:33:00.000-07:00
Living room downstairs

Bonus room

Tile ready be layed in the master bath and entry way downstairs

Hardwood that will be in the kitchen, dining room and living room

Front porch is poured, driveway and sidewalk get poured next

North side of the house

Back of house

South side/garage side

Two Cute Boys

2010-05-25T13:07:00.000-07:00
Here are some photos from the last week or so. Lincoln will be 8 weeks old in a couple of days. He has been smiling and cooing a lot lately. He especially loves Matthew. We went to Missoula, MT last weekend for the wedding of a good friend. It also happened to be the state tennis tournament for Class B. We were lucky enough to watch my cousin, Jamie, in the championship doubles match. They won and it was an awesome game. We are so ready for the weather to warm up. We have had one nice week here this whole month. It's hard to believe it's almost June. Hopefully in a month we will be all settled in our house here.

Feeling Like Home

2010-05-17T12:34:00.000-07:00
It's hard to believe we've been in Bozeman over 2 weeks now. The vacation house we're staying in is working perfectly. We are anxious to be settled in our house though.

Work is going good for Ken. His summer schedule is VERY relaxed. He goes in for PT from 9:30-11:30. Then he comes home for lunch and goes back until about 4:00. We've never had this much time together as a family. It definitely isn't your typical army work schedule. He will be a little busier during the school year though.

The Rec Department here has a lot of summer activities for Matthew. They start June 14th and I think we'll sign him up for 2 activities a week. He needs to meet some friends. We've found a lot of fun parks in town to take him to play at too. He decided the day before we left Baker he wanted to be potty trained. It took him one day and he was completely potty trained. We did Pull-Up's for 2 weeks and he's now in big boy underwear. He seems to be adjusting to our life here good.

Lincoln is almost 7 weeks now. He wakes up at 3 a.m. and 6 a.m. to eat. He is a happy baby and has started smiling a lot. He gets a little crabby at night before bed but other than that is super easy.

I'm doing good and staying busy with the boys. I got the OK to start working out again which I'm loving. When I get back into shape I'll try to start teaching a couple of group fitness classes a week. I've been running a lot and hope to compete in some races this summer. Moving here has made me realize how tired I am of moving around. It is so much work to start over and try to meet people. Hopefully when we get settled in we can start meeting some people.

For the last week we've finally had some good weather. We've taken advantage of it and explored the local trails. The town has a lot of trails and there are some awesome hikes in the area. Our first hike was to the "M". Matthew hiked about half way up and he made it the whole way down. He fits right in with our active lifestyle. Lincoln snuggles up in his Baby Bjorn and doesn't make a peep. We are so happy to be living in Montana again!

The top of the "M"

Another shot

Matthew trying to drink with the girls

What a view

The beginning of the hike. You can see the white "M" we hiked to.

More Progress

2010-05-16T18:20:00.000-07:00
Front view of the house

Garage

View from our living room

Bonus room above the garage with a closet in the back

Matthew and Lincoln's bathroom

Lincoln's bedroom

Matthew's bedroom

View from the master bedroom

Master bedroom

Master bath

Master shower

Another view of the bonus room

Office/Extra bedroom downstairs

Living room windows

Standing in the living room, view of the kitchen to the left, dining room to the right.

Kitchen to the left, dining room to the right. Sliding glass doors to the back yard.

Standing in the dining room. View of the living room and front door.

Kitchen

Laundry/Mud Room. You come into this room from the garage.

Front of the house

South side/Garage side of the house

Back of the house

North side of the house

Final Touches

2010-05-12T11:30:00.000-07:00
We have been busy finalizing things for our house. The builder is telling us he's expecting we can move in June 15th. Right now it's getting taped and textured inside. It's been nice being here to see the progress. I'll get photos of the house to post soon. Here's what we've picked out for the inside.

Big Sky Ash hardwood floor. It will be in the kitchen, dining room and living room downstairs.

Slate looking laminate for our mudd/laundry room which is off the garage.

Laminate flooring for the downstairs and upstairs bathroom.

Carpet that will begin at the bottom of the stairs. It will continue up to the bonus room and all three bedrooms.

Granite that will be used for our kitchen and master bath countertops.

Tile that will be used in the master bath. It will be on the floor and shower walls.

Brothers

2010-05-11T14:55:00.000-07:00
When we first brought Lincoln home Matthew didn't know what to think. We couldn't get him to hold Lincoln or even touch him. As you can see things have changed. He loves him very much now!

Photo Session

2010-05-05T14:27:00.000-07:00
Photos by Bohle Images. Lincoln was 3 weeks old, Matthew 2 1/2.

Kynlie's Baptisim

2010-04-25T15:00:00.000-07:00
Our sweet niece Kynlie Faith Moore got baptized last week. Ken and I are very blessed to be her godparents. She's our little miracle baby and we love her so much.

We Have a Roof

2010-04-22T17:57:00.000-07:00
.......and an awesome view of the mountains!

3 Weeks

2010-04-22T17:44:00.000-07:00
Lincoln is 3 weeks old today. It's flown by. Luckily this week we've had no medical issues. He had his 2 week check-up on Monday in Dickinson. The doctor says he looks great. He weighs 8 pounds 8 ounces now and is 21 inches long. She also discovered that he'd broken his collar bone during birth. It's healed now. She said it's been years since she's missed a broken collar bone on a newborn. She says even if they know there's nothing they do for it. The poor guy had quite a time coming into this world.

I also had a check-up on Wednesday in Miles City. The doctor said it seems like I'm doing great after the issues last week. I go back and see my OB/GYN next Thursday in Dickinson. Then hopefully we won't have doctor appointments for awhile.

The boys are both doing great. Matthew is slowly warming up to his brother and we couldn't ask for a better baby than Lincoln. We'll be busy in the upcoming week getting ready to move. Our movers come Wednesday and we leave Saturday, May 1st, for Bozeman.

It Looks Like a House

2010-04-17T11:12:00.001-07:00

As always my Uncle Greg has been great about sending us pictures. It's been nice to follow the progress on the house. It's actually looking like a house now!

Our Boys

2010-04-16T08:45:00.000-07:00
Lincoln 1 week old

Matthew 1 week old

April Is Not Going as Planned

2010-04-15T14:40:00.000-07:00
April was supposed to be a relaxing month. We figured after I had the baby we'd be able to spend some great family time together. After we got home from the hospital with Lincoln, he was readmitted 3 days later with jaundice. We spent 2 nights in the hospital and he's now doing great. When we got home I promised Matthew there would be no more hospital. My body decided different.

On Sunday it seemed I was almost back to normal after having the baby. Sunday night I had some heavy bleeding that was a little alarming. Monday I seemed to be back to normal. Monday night the same thing happened. I called my doctor first thing Tuesday morning. I wanted to see if what was happening was normal. Tuesday morning I seemed to be back to normal again but I wanted some reassurance from my doctor. While waiting to hear back from him, I started hemorrhaging and the blood wouldn't stop. The doctor called and said it sounded like there might be some placenta left inside. He wanted me to go to Bowman (45 miles away) to get an ultrasound. Bowman would then let him know what they found. We'd called my mom to come and help with the boys. They were loading them up and I was waiting until the last possible moment to get in the vehicle. At this point I'd been bleeding non-stop for almost an hour. I think I lost a minimum of 7 cups of blood. When they were ready I got up to go and I couldn't walk. I told Ken that I better just go to the emergency room here in Baker. Ken helped me to the car and I fought the whole time not to pass out.

At the emergency room the bleeding hadn't slowed down. The doctor here got a hold of an OB/GYN in Miles City (80 miles away). They started me on an IV and gave me a shot of something that would help slow the bleeding down. I was then taken by ambulance to Miles City. Ken rode with me. My mom and the boys followed along with my sister, her baby and my grandma. Once I got to the emergency room in Miles City the bleeding had slowed down. The doctor wanted me to be more stable before doing anything else. I got admitted and got a blood transfusion. I had 2 IV's in, a catheter, blood pressure cuff, and blood oxygen monitor on. I didn't get a very restful night of sleep. I wasn't allowed to eat or drink. I was also on IV antibiotic and pitocin to help my uterus contract. By Wednesday morning my blood count was back up. The doctor wanted to do a D&C to scrape out my uterus to see what was going on. I went into surgery Wednesday afternoon. The doctor didn't find any placenta left inside which was a good thing. He thinks there might have been some sort of infection. The tissue was sent to pathology to see what they can find. I got to leave the hospital about 3 hours after I was out of surgery. It was nice to sleep in my own bed last night.

I'm feeling better today. I'm pretty weak and nauseous. I go back next week for a follow-up. What I was most worried about the whole time was Lincoln. I'm nursing and I was afraid my milk would dry up. He's never taken a bottle and I don't want him to have to. Luckily they let me continue to feed him. Him and Ken stayed at the hospital with me and he didn't miss a beat. They wouldn't let me eat or drink for over 24 hours. The IV's that I was on gave me just enough to keep up my milk supply though.

Thank God for my mom and sister too. They've been there these last 3 weeks to help, especially with Matthew. Ken and I have been in and out of the hospital a lot and couldn't have done it without their help. My dad has been a great dog sitter too:)

Hopefully now everything will be back to normal. Matthew's doing great, Lincoln's a great baby, life is good! Here's some pictures from the last week.

Moving Along

2010-04-09T13:16:00.000-07:00
The house is slowly moving along. They're saying it'll be done the beginning/middle of June. Keep your fingers crossed for us!

What a Crazy Week

2010-04-09T12:50:00.001-07:00
I'm a bit behind on posts. Ken got home Tuesday, March 30th. Thursday, April 1st I started to have contractions about 2 a.m. We left for Dickinson around 6:30 a.m. and Lincoln James was born at 11:45 a.m. We got home from the hospital on Saturday. Lincoln was a little jaundice when we left so the pediatrician wanted to see him again on Monday in Dickinson. (Dickinson is 120 miles from Baker. Yes, I grew up in the middle of nowhere.) His bilirubin level was 14 when we left the hospital and 20 on Monday. The normal range is 4-8 in newborns. She sent us home with a portable light to wrap around him and hopefully bring his levels down. We took him to get his level checked in Baker on Tuesday. They sent the results to Dickinson and the doctor called from there and said his level had went up to 25. She wanted us to get to Dickinson as soon as we could and get Lincoln admitted to the hospital. Poor Matthew was not happy about mommy and daddy having to leave again. Thankfully I have my mom and sister here to take care of him. We got to Dickinson and the doctor examined him. She said she hadn't seen a level that high in a long time. She had a feeling that the blood results from Baker might not be accurate because Lincoln seemed fine. He got his blood done again and the level came back at 21. She was thankful the first results were wrong. The level was still high enough that she wanted him to stay at the hospital and go under the florescent lights. He got admitted to the hospital about 3:00 p.m. on Tuesday. He had to be under the lights unless he needed to be fed. Ken and I got to stay in the hospital with him. He did great and slept the entire time he had to be under the lights. We got released from the hospital Thursday morning. His bilirubin level was down to 13. The doctor said the level will slowly continue to come down. He goes back for a check-up the 19th. He got poked and messed with so much in the hospital. It's nice to be back home again and he is doing great. We decided Matthew probably needed a little extra love from mommy and daddy after we'd been gone again. We took him to the park last night and had a picnic and played. Lincoln stayed home with my parents. Matthew's had a lot of changes in his life this last week. He seems to be adjusting great though.

Welcome Home

2010-04-09T12:41:00.000-07:00
This was taken as we were saying goodbye to Ken last April. After a long year he made it home! He got to Baker March 30th about noon. His dad had drove from Libby, MT to Kansas to pick him up. They then made the drive to Baker so we could be reunited.

Matthew is so happy daddy's home. He acts like Ken was never gone. It's amazing they have such a great bond after a year apart.

Kynlie is meeting her Uncle Ken for the first time.

My silly boys.

My sister made shirts for Matthew and Kynlie. They say "He's not just my daddy (uncle), he's my hero. Welcome home daddy (uncle)".

Lincoln James Phillips

2010-04-04T16:50:00.001-07:00
Lincoln James Phillips was born Thursday, April 1st at 11:45 a.m. He weighed 7 pounds and was 19 1/2 inches. He's doing great and we came home from the hospital on Saturday. We got to the hospital at 8:45 a.m. and he decided to move things along quickly. I didn't get an epidural which was NOT the plan. I know a lot of people go that route. I'm not sure if I could ever do it again. I still feel a little traumatized. Maybe I just need to toughen up a little bit:) Matthew pretty much ignores him, he's just happy his daddy is home. Ken's off the whole month of April. We will have some awesome family time.

Almost Home

2010-03-29T17:07:00.000-07:00
Ken is back in the states. He flew into Kansas City on Saturday and met his dad that night at Fort Riley. He visited with some friends Sunday, outprocessed today and is on his way to Baker. He should be here tomorrow afternoon. Yeah!! I had another check-up at the doctor today. I've progressed a little bit from last week. Ken's going to make it for the birth though. I can stop stressing now. I'm so anxious for tomorrow. We will finally be together again!

A Day at the Shepherd Ranch

2010-03-23T13:05:00.000-07:00

Sunday we went with my friend Christina and her girls to their family ranch. It's about 50 miles from Baker. The kids had fun riding in the tractor with Chad, Chris's husband, watching Chad bottle feed a baby calf, and just being outside in the fresh air. My dad hasn't started calving yet so this was the first we've got to see some baby calves this year.

What Can I Say, He's a Two Year Old

2010-03-22T17:49:00.000-07:00
Last night after dinner I did NOT find Matthew licking the plate with Zoe.

OK, maybe I did:)

Baby Update:
I had another appointment today. I'm dilated to 2 cm, almost 3. My cervix is now 85% effaced. I'm progressing towards labor, which is good. What's not good is that I don't want to have the baby until Ken's here. The doctor said to stop exercising and take it as easy as I can. That's about all I can do to prevent labor. I am full term so the baby can come any time. I've been getting really strong contractions for the last couple of days. Nothing regular though. The same thing happened when I had Matthew. I had about a week of irregular, strong contractions before he was born. I'm not going to stress over anything though. If Ken doesn't make it for the birth I know he'll be here soon. I go back next Monday to get checked again.

10 Day Countdown

2010-03-20T08:37:00.000-07:00
Today starts our 10 day countdown until daddy's home. We made a chain with 10 links and Matthew will pull one off every day until our family is complete again.

This past week was my last week watching my niece Kynlie. I'm so happy my sister will now get to be a stay-at-home mom. It'll be great to now get to hang out with Kynlie AND her!

I just had to add this photo because it's so dang cute! When I'm frustrated with my dogs (them waking me up in the middle of the night to go out and at 6 every morning) I just need to remember moments like these. They really do bring so much joy to our lives.

Good progress has been made on the house. The foundation was poured this week, we should have a floor soon, and walls should start going up on Monday.

We Might Have a House After All

2010-03-12T13:03:00.000-08:00
Update:
Yesterday the forms for the footings were done and they poured them. (That was done after these photos were taken.)

Original Post:

After the problem with our original lot, we've moved lots and work is underway again. These are pics from a couple of days ago. My uncle Greg lives in Bozeman and has been checking in on the progress for us. It's been so helpful to have him there. He's also great at taking/sending pictures to us. Today they set the footings and should be pouring the foundation within the next couple of days. Then the framing will begin. I asked if we'll be in the house by the end of June and was told yes. I said I could handle that, if it's later I might have a minor meltdown. I'm not going to stress about it and I'll just have faith it'll be done in June.

Our Little MSU Bobcat

2010-03-09T18:40:00.001-08:00

Matthew is all ready for our move to Bozeman, MT. When you ask him where his daddy's going to work when he gets back from Iraq, he points to his Montana State jersey and says "Right here".

Grandma and Matthew are the best of buddies!

Baby Update:
I had a doctors appointment today and the doctor checked me to see how I was progressing. I'm dilated to 1 cm and my cervix is 60% effaced. I asked if he thinks the baby will wait 3 weeks for Ken to be home. He said he thinks so. He told me I can wait 2 weeks to come back if I feel comfortable with that. Everything looks great so my next appointment is March 22nd. I'm starting to feel a little more uncomfortable and have been having a ton of Braxton Hicks contractions. It's funny the difference a week makes. I felt great last week and definitely feel the change this week. I have a 120 mile drive to the hospital when it's time to deliver. The doctor has reassured me that in his 21 years of practicing he's never had a patient not make it to the hospital to deliver. It's just a little different than living a less than a mile from the hospital when Matthew was born.

The Snow Is Finally Starting To Melt

2010-03-09T18:27:00.001-08:00

The good news is that it's finally been warming up to the 30s during the day here. The bad news is this is how my vehicle will look until we move from here in May. My parents yard becomes a muddy mess this time of year. The dogs are messy every time they come in from being outside and there is no hiding from the mud. It makes for a lot of extra work. It's hard to complain about our snow melting though. It's been a very long and cold winter.

Matthew and I took advantage of the warmer weather (still not warm but much nicer than it has been) and played outside yesterday. I filled a water bottle up with water and food coloring and we "painted" the snow. He had a blast and it didn't take him too long to figure out how to work the water bottle. We're looking forward to spring and hoping for no more snow. As you can see, we still have a long ways to go until the snow is melted here.

What We've Been Up To

2010-03-04T13:37:00.000-08:00
February flew by and we're down to less than 4 wks until Ken gets home. He should get to Fort Riley on March 28th. His dad is driving from Libby to get him there. Then they will make their way to Baker and will be here the 30th hopefully. My sister came out to get Kynlie today and said it looked like cars vomited on the carpet. This is the usual state of our living room.

Here's my view of the baby belly. I'll be 35 wks tomorrow. Matthew loves saying "Mama's big belly" and giggling like he's the funniest kid alive. I have a doctor appointment on Tuesday and he'll check to see if I'm dilated. Matthew was born at 37 weeks. I'm not ready for the little guy to come in two weeks. I'm hoping the doc will give me news that he thinks the baby will wait for his daddy to get here. I've been feeling great. I still am working out although I'm pretty slow moving at that.

Here's poppy with his grandbabies. Pretty cute kids, huh?!

My sister went back to work last week so I've been taking care of Kynlie. It's been an adjustment taking care of two little ones. They are both great which helps a lot. It would be easier if I wasn't in my last weeks of pregnancy I'm sure. I'm just so dang tired all the time. Kynlie has adjusted to life at home great. She's on a heart monitor but other than that is just your typical newborn (except that she's almost 5 months old). She weights 6 pounds 5 ounces and is the cutest little thing. She truly is a miracle. Matthew has been doing great having her around. I wasn't sure how he'd like sharing mommy's time but he's been a trooper.

Lastly, here's Ken and my first baby. With everything going on around here she sometimes gets lost in the shuffle. Zariah will be 10 this summer. We got her when she was about 6 wks old. She requires way more attention than our husky, Zoe. Wherever the family is, is where she wants to be. Every once in a while I'll leave the room and come back to find her curled up in my dad's chair. She's such a sweetie and the perfect family dog. Matthew absolutely loves her. He calls her his "Zariah girl". I know that her and Zoe are missing Ken just as much as Matthew and I are.

It's hard to believe this deployment is coming to an end. I've had a wonderful year in Baker but am so ready for my hubby to be home. Words can't describe how much I've missed him. It will be an awesome couple of years in Montana for us to have a lot of family time.

Will We Ever Have a House?

2010-03-04T12:46:00.000-08:00

I think I'd mentioned in a previous post that we're building a house in Bozeman, MT. I went up to Bozeman the beginning of February to pick out everything for the inside (flooring, cabinets, paint colors, light fixtures and so on). It was overwhelming but also fun. It would have helped if Ken would have been there to give his opinion. He'll just have to trust me. After anxiously awaiting the building to begin, ground was broke this week. We've been told the latest we should be in is the end of June. Just when it looked like things were underway, we got bad news. There are mailboxes for part of the neighborhood on our lot. We were told they would be moved but found out this week they will not move them. So we now have to change lots, which means the architect has to redraw our site plan, and the city has to approve the new plans. What the heck?! This is not what a VERY pregnant lady should have to deal with. I'm actually scared to ask how much this will put is back time wise. I don't even want to know. We do have a plan of what we're going to do when Ken gets back though (which is now in less than 4 wks!). We're going to stay in Baker the month of April. It'll give us a chance to get settled in with the new baby. We found a fully furnished house to rent for the month of May in Bozeman. http://bozemancottage.com/Peach.House.htm We will probably go to Libby the first 2 wks in June to spend time with family there. Then we were hoping to move into our new house mid-June. Who knows what will happen now.

Here's pictures of what was supposed to be our future house. I'm just hoping the rest of the process will go smoothly.

January

2010-02-05T13:07:00.000-08:00

I thought January would just drag and and be the longest month waiting for Ken to come home. It actually flew by so I'm hoping February and March do too. Then we'll be a complete family again. I've been busy this month working on our house we're building in Bozeman. When Ken gets back we'll be moving there for at least two years. He got a job working at the college for ROTC. It should be a pretty laid back job as far as army jobs go. While in Bozeman on R&R we did a little house shopping. We found out it's actually cheaper to build than to buy. We'll get the house we want in the area we want to live. It's been a little bit of a headache though. I'm going Sunday to spend a couple of days picking out everything for the house. The architect is finishing up the final plans and we have a builder picked and ready to go. We're hoping it'll be done by early June.

I'm 31 weeks today and have still been feeling good. I had an ultrasound this week and the baby's head is down so hopefully he'll stay that way. Baby Kynlie came home the end of January from her long stay in Bismarck and it's been so nice having them back. My sister is going back to work the end of February and I'm going to take care of Kynlie until my baby comes. I'll get a head start on what it's like having a toddler and infant.

Last weekend we took a 3 day trip to Billings with my good friend Christina and her girls. Our friend Laurie Quenzer and her daughter came up and met us there too. It was nice getting out of town with all the kiddos. We swam, shopped, went to a movie, played at Chuckie Cheese and just hung out and relaxed. It was a perfect way to end the month.

Matthew has been doing awesome. He's such an easy going, laid back little boy. His mouth jabbers constantly and I love hearing what he comes up with. He's not too sure about his baby cousin Kynlie. We haven't got him to hold her yet. If he doesn't want to do something he tells me "No way, Jose". He's always playing with me, my mom or my dad. He's went from calling my dad "pappa" to "pop" and now it's "poppy". I think it's because he experiments with what to call me too. It's either "mamma", "mom", and more recently "mommy". He's even called me "mamma Gina" a couple of times. He's going to miss grandma and grandpa terribly when we move. He thinks daddy's coming home to live in grandma and pappa's house.

We have less than 2 months until Ken gets back. We're in countdown mode now. He said he hasn't slept good the whole time he's been gone. I told him that won't change when he gets back since we'll have a newborn!

It's a Boy Again!

2010-01-14T13:47:00.000-08:00

These ultrasound pictures are 7 weeks old and I have another one next week. I'll post them after my appointment. We found out we're having another boy. We're super excited! I'm going to have 3 guys in the house to treat me like a princess. I don't think I could get luckier! I don't think I've done a blog post about my pregnancy so I'll start from the beginning.

Most of you know Matthew was conceived by doing In Vitro Fertilization in Seattle. After getting pregnant with him we had 9 frozen embryos in Seattle. We knew we wanted our kids around two years apart. It took three years to get pregnant with Matthew, so even though Ken got deployed to Iraq, we didn't want to put our family plans on hold. After a month of hormone injections and appointments here, I traveled to Seattle the middle of July to prepare for my frozen embryo transfer. It wasn't a process I wanted to go through without Ken, but I knew he was with me even if he wasn't physically there.

With so many embryos we had different options with how we wanted to proceed. They were frozen on day 3 and embryos can get put in you on day 3 or day 5. Ken and I decided to unthaw all 9, grow them two more days and pray we had an embryo left at that point to transfer. 8 embryos survived the unthawing process. Those 8 were then monitored to grow to day 5 embryos. On day 5, the day of the transfer, we had 2 remaining embryos. With our fresh IVF cycle with Matthew we were told the success rate was around 60%. With a frozen embryo transfer the success rate was around 30%. When my embryos were put in the doctor told me I had a 35%, maybe 40% chance of success. I then traveled back to Baker and had a 10 day wait for the pregnancy test. God was sure with us because I had a positive pregnancy test and have continued to have a healthy pregnancy. I'm due April 9th. Ken is due back around the first of April so now I'm praying this little guy will wait for his daddy to be here. We now have no frozen embryos which is such a blessing. To have to decide what to do with them is too tough so God decided for us. We're anxiously awaiting #2's arrival!

R & R

2010-01-14T13:27:00.000-08:00
Ken was back for his 15 day R&R from the end of Nov-early December. It was so nice being together as a family again. We spent a couple of days in Baker, a couple of days in Libby and the remaining 10 days in Bozeman. Ken got to see Matthew be a ring bearer in my cousin's wedding. We celebrated Matthew's second birthday in Libby with family and friends there. In Bozeman we rented a house and spent our time there relaxing. One adventure we did try was dog sledding. It was not a good idea. It was too cold and Matthew cried the entire two hours. We'll have to try again when he's older. It was incredibly hard saying goodbye again. He's supposed to be back in the states the end of March. It can't get here fast enough!