Feb 07
Tyler watching TV on his bear chair, Tyler riding his rocking horse, and two pictures of Tyler playing the "rolling game" with grandma. :)

February 07 photos
Gary and I, Tyler in his Pooh hat, Tyler sitting at his desk drawing,Daddy and Tyler at Burger King, Tyler in his sunglasses.

Big Girls DO Cry! oh my oh my oh my. breathe Heather, breathe!!! OK - backstory- I bought some eggs a couple weeks ago and made something and one of the eggs I cracked was a double yolk. My pregnant/hormonal mind saw twins and I cried. I don't care for eggs very much- never have. In fact I hated them most of my life until I was pregnant with Tyler. Ate them all the time boiled, over easy, and egg salad. Tyler loves eggs by the way. I didn't eat any of the eggs I made but got over the crying knowing it was a hormonal/emotinal thing. No biggy. Friday, we went to the grocery store and got food. Trying to eat healthy I avoided all cookies and cakes and ice cream and came home and made a box cake. 3 eggs- another double yolk. Got teared up and rememberd how I wanted to blog about it the firts time it happened. Same dozen eggs now I had at least 2 twins i'd cracked. Today I'm down to 4 eggs so I must have made something else and i can't remember how many twins I got then but so far we've had 2 for certain right? So I"m getting ready to make noodles that Gary likes for supper tonight (which we probably won't eat b/c we'll go to his parents b/c they leave for Costa Rica Wednesday at like 4 AM.). Recipe calls for 4 eggs. First egg, normal. Sigh of relief. Second egg- twins. Third egg- twins. Fourth egg- twins. I kid you not. What is wrong with this farm?!?!?! Maybe we'll avoid the amish eggs for a while... like until I have my own baby... The thing is I knew I was running low so I got another carton on Friday. It looks different so it must be from a different grocery store but I really can't remember....

For some reason the video below only seems to work in firfox and not internet explorer.

Tyler playing with his tunnel in a new way!

Here are my last two Myspace Blogs- I don't have it in me (or the time to take) to write a whole new one. :) Enjoy! Love and friends and thoughts and things... You know, I write blogs in my head all day long and when funny things happen I always think "Oh, I can't wait to blog that" and then I sit down and it's like my creativity is zapped out of me by the computer or something. Maybe it's in Effingham? God sent me HUGE blessings this weekend in the venue of friends and I'm feeling a lot better about life because of it. Actually, the past entire week has been good (with the bad of course...) First of all, Gary got home safely and since he left the coference 6 hours early he still got home earlier than expected in spite of it taking him over 4 hours to make the 2 hour drive. He had also ordered me flowers for Valentines day and bless his heart the poor old delivery man had to treck up my driveway wich was unshoveled because we didn't have a shovel for me to go do it! It's a red mug with carnations and roses and a balloon. Tyler thinks the balloon is his Sunday I got to see Jennifer at church which made it totally worth getting up and putting myself together! It's really pathetic to go to a church that size and only really know 1 person. The nursery lady knows me now and know's Tyler's name but not mine... i guess that is progress. Anyways, I was leaving thinking about how it's such a waste of an hour of my life to get all dolled up to go to church to see no one and I look across the hall and here comes this adorable woman in a pretty red coat and black hat with the cutest little blonde girl in her arms and ... It's Jennifer!!! The ONLY person in the entire church I know- who always goes to the service opposite us - was there! We chatted a little and I got to hear the green and blue pee-pee story (see her blog!) and went our ways. I got into the car and looked at Gary and I was like "what a blessing!" Yesterday we had to go to our summer cottage (the Mansfield house) because the wonderful, customer service oriented COLUMBIA GAS OF OHIO installed a faulty reader the LAST time they were at our house (when Gary's mom spent the day over there waiting for them). YUP! Good thing they could come when Gary already had a day off so I didn't have to go sit in the freezing house with Tyler by ourselves. Anyways I got to spend some time with my friend Bethany who's also pregnant and has a 2 year old son. Then on the way home (oh yea, the blessed CGoH was 2 HOURS late...) we stopped at my favorite McDonalds in all the WORLD because my Tajie works there and she was actually working!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Usually when I"m in there (which is now practically never) she's not because I'm not a breakfast person and she usually opens. So not only did I get to eat my favorite fast food, and they actually made the fries correctly (I still can't get over how some places manage to ruin McDonalds fries... do they not all train the same?!?!?!) but I also got to see Taj!!!! Now today I read that MI Jackie (not to be confused with PA Jackie) is sending me not only scrapbooking stuff (which if you've spent more than 5 minutes with me you know is the way to my heart... after McDonalds fries....and taco's... and sour patch kids...ok, ONE of the ways....) but also some CD"S!!!! Satan is totally going to throw something at me I can tell! It's always when I'm at my highest that he tries to bring me down. (CRACKHEAD LUCIFER!!) Now I get to look forward to a GIRLS DAY OUT SHOPPING TRIP!!!!!!!!!! WHOO HOOO!! Gary's freaking about it and I don't care. I'm going to go and have fun and hang out with my girl Lori and we are not going to let the annoying men in our lives ruin our day (ARE WE!?!?) You don't realize how badly you need friends until you see one at church or get to go to thier house and spend some time wtih them. Lonliness really stinks but I'm thankful that the people i DO have in my life are true friends who love me and would do anything for me and expect nothing in return. Sixth Month Alright. Who encouraged me to get pregnant again? You are so going down. The fatigue is back. The nausious feeling has returned. Baby Girl Bush is high and caues me to be unable to digest so I'm sick after I eat and have to get to starving before I can make myself eat again. My back hurts, my hips hurt, my belly hurts and I have my constant headache/sinus pressure still. Body falls alseep at night on whatever side I lay on so I roll over adn wait for the tingling to stop and go back to sleep, then I have to pee. I seem to remember that I LOVED being pregnant with Tyler. Was it because I had nothing to do but sit around and enjoy it or was it easier last time? Is it the extra emotional stress? I woke up at 7:30 this morning (which is sleeping in) and hoped Tyler would slep till 8. Then at 8 when he was awake I prayed he'd play in there for awhile. I'm such a bad mom! it's now 11:30 adn I feel like i have not slept in 2 days. I stumbled down the stairs this morning holding Tyler's hand and thought to myself about how in a few months I'll be doing this with an infant and getting LESS sleep. Ugh. Still, I can't wait! There are only 4 items in her closet and they are all PINK! I hope she likes to read and loves princesses and barbies and dolls and playing house. Tyler can sing Jesus Loves Me almost by himself now and I can't wait till he can teach his little sister to sing and pray... Poor Gary... he has to work all day, play with Tyler and clean in the evening and sleep with a flipping whale at night. He needs your prayers!

Here we have a photo of me at 26 weeks, one of Tyler eating his Valentines Day cupcake at Grandma Bush's house, one of him standing in the tunnel, and a picture of him riding his rocking horse.

We are still alive. :) Somehow the more we have going on the less time I take to write. The main issue these days, if I'm honest, is that by the time I'm done checking my myspace and email my back and rear hurt from sitting in this chair!! I need a wireless keyboard to go with our new wireless mouse! he he! Gary and I recently read Debt Free Living by Larry Burkett and have moved on to the Journey to Financial Freedom through Crown Financial Ministires which is run by Howard Dayton. The Bush's expressed intrest on getting some of the materials you can purchase online so we have borrowed some of what they got and purchased a money map for ourselves. We are reading the book Your Money Map: A proven 7-step guide to true financial freedom. It will take us a lifetime to reach the goal since the final one involves retiring with enough to live comfortably and being generous with what you have left over... but hey, it's a goal right?!!? We have decided that we need to plan the rest of our lives around our current situation rather than what we hope our situation will be soon. For example, we hope to sell the house wich will cut our debt by more than half, however we can't count on that debt going away or the extra monthly income we'd get by simply not paying for it anymore- so we have to budget as if it'll be there forever. We've also decided that it's time to have an actual savings account. The last time we had one was when we both worked and saved money to buy the house= then we used the money in the account as a downpayment and went back to living paycheck to paycheck when my school contract ended and I stayed home. I guess we've simply been convicted to be better stewards of God's money and possessions he's entrusted to us. So, with a housepayment, credit card debt and school debt to tackle we've decided to stop looking at houses and make this rental home so that the next time we buy- we can do it right. We don't regret our decision to buy before but we feel a little wiser now and wnat to be more careful and intentional this time. All this talk of money and reading about how people used to live before credit was so readily available has made us realize that our attitudes and thinking were not reflecting Christ. It's also brought us closer together. It's interesting that most couples fight over money (us included) and it is the thing most blamed for divorce in America (did you know that a divorce happens ever 7 seconds in our country? With more and more people chosing to live together and not even get married that stat is even more scary!). We are trying to prevent money from becoming a hot issue in our marrige by communicating, plannig ahead, and keeping our focus on Christ, not our own "earthly" wealth. We'll see how we do in the future huh? :) Last week Gary went to Columbus for a technology conference and had a wonderful time. I found that I do have the strength to do things by myself and the endurance to keep Tyler alive for 4 days but i can't say I enjoyed it! I was reflecting all week on what I missed about Gary... the way he steals covers at night forcing me to cuddle with him when he's alseep and doesn't even know it... the way his loud breathing covers the noises of the neighbors and Tyler moving around and provides white noise to help me fall asleep... even his smell i missed! I know that sounds rediculously corny but it's true! No one to reach the dishes on the top shelf or the cereal above the fridge... no one to fill the gas tank or shovel the 12 inches of snow we got (I would have done it but guess where our shovel is??? MANSFIELD!!!!)... no one to run out and get me that one little thing at the store...no one to take out the trash or hog the remote.... it was just weird!!! I did find that my mom is right- Tyler is better company than I realize. In the past when he's gone out of town (which thankfully is not very often- once or twice a year at most) Tyler has been very little or not born yet and it's been just me. Now I have a little person to spend my time with and I'm still needed which is nice. I think it was good for me to see areas where I take Gary for granted too so I can appreciate him more when he is home. God kept us both safe and I'm unfathomly greatful. I'm also a little jealous that I was not the one in the fancy hotel with free meals that i didn't have to prepare.... Baby #2 is growing growing! I had an appointment today and things seem to be right on schedule. My ultrasound a few weeks ago was fine and the baby measured at or one week ahead of the due date. I guess that means she'll be early, or big, or (like Tyler) both. great... I'm hoping for small and a little early but I trust the Lord. Last time there was an obvious window that was very convenient for Tyler to come, not as much so with this one. I'd like to go early so I have time to recover before we go to the Outer Banks in July. :) Other than my back pain and the CONSTANT KICKING in places I didn't realize could hurt from inside, I'm doing well. She's carrying high but kicking low so i'm not sure what her deal is. I'm beginning to think she's pushed all my organs up into my lungs wich is why I can't breath and why I feel sick every time I eat. My digestive system seems to be squished and things just aren't getting through! She's clearly taking energy out of what I eat though because I can feel her side to side and up and down and I swear she's either trying to look out my belly button or climb my spine. If her movements are any indication of her personality she's going to be very much like her brother- only with hormones and (hopefully) a love of shoes! (although Tyler is a bit obsessed with shoes to be honest!!) By the time she's ready to face the world my insides will be bruised for sure. It will be so worth it though! I can't wait!!! (oh, but I'm also so scared that I CAN wait!) My grandpa still has cancer and is back in Ohio from Florida. hes' been in the hospital a couple times sine his return but a recent diagnosis indicates he could have another 8 months to live. This is actually a priase becaues several times it has sounded to me like he's not had more than a few hours or weeks. I just pray every day that he is not in too much pain, my grandma is able to take care of him without hurting herself, and if they have not already, they will both find Jesus Christ as thier personal Lord and Savior. I'm sure there is more but I know that those of you who do read this have other things to do so I will let you get to them. My couch and blanket are calling to me. I love you all and would love to hear from you either by blog or by email (or even phone call for the daring! HAHA!). Love and Prayers, In HIS Grace, Heather

I also had Gary take some pictures of me today to show off my growing belly. I'll include the one from Christmas morning to compare....

Expensive Date! Gary had Stephanie watch Tyler this afternoon so we could have a date! We had lunch with Gary and Stephanie then cam eback to the house, put Tyler to bed and left. We decided to go to the mall to walk around and we found Ohio State players were there signing autographs!!! of course we ran into 3 players, bought the autograph of Antonio Pittman and a picture for him to sign. Then we walked through the rest of the mall and realized there were a bunch more!! Including #7 Teddy Ginn Junior!!!! So we just had to get that one too! I think we would have only gotten Ginn if we'd have seen him first but we didn't . Then of course we forgot to ask Ginn how his ankle was and we kicked ourselves for that. Pittman shook both of our hands, thanked us and told me congratulations on the baby!!! They were both nice but I thought Pittman was nicer. Of course I was all upset b/c we could not afford to get all the signatures... and I think most of the people in the mall were the same way because several guys just sat there and I felt bad for them. Anyways it was so awesome to meet someone we actually spent so much time watching all winter. It was rediculous how much we had to pay for the autographs and of course, the first time I did NOT have my camera in my purse so I didn't get a picture. BOO! It was still fun.

Have you ever been undescribably happy and devistated at the same time about the same thing? I have. Apparently pregnancy only makes it worse. Wednesday night we were "out on the town" because we had to take back library video's and were looking for a toddler airbed we saw online. The site indicated our target had it in stock- not true. In fact it did not look like they had ever had them. Usually when something is out of stock there is a big empty space on the shelf and the item's price thingy is there all alone- not the deal. Furthermore no one seemed to know if they ever got them or if they'd ever get them again. "We get a truck every other day and no one knows what's on it until it gets here and we uload it." HUH?! Apparently I have no buisness savvy because that sounds rediculously stupid to me. Or, huh, here's a thought, the lady did not want to bother finding us real answers. ANYWAYS we've been talking about buying Tyler a big boy twin bed now instead of for his 3rd birthday- not because he needs to be out of the crib but because he's grown out of his playpen. We do enough traveling overnight that he needs to learn to sleep on the floor or a bed so we decided to bite the bullet and look for a bed. Gary's mom had coupons so we went to a mattress store (they should let you rent those places out for sleepovers!) and found the one we liked and bought it. 90 SAC baby! :) last night gary and his dad went to pick it up in big Gary's van and they brought it home. Gary also went out yesterday on his way home from work (yup- snow day and he went into work. ONly for 2 hours though) and got the rails we had seen at big lots. So Gary's dad leaves after dinner and we are playing and Gayr's like- So, we going to do it? I"m like "What?" "Put the bed up" At this moment it hit me how much I really was not prepared for it! Thankfully Gary is more adventuresome and prepared for change than I because sure enough, we took the crib apart, moved the pieces into what will be the baby's room, and put the big boy bed together! I just happened to have a set of twin sheets because my mom was going to get rid of my favorite set from when I was a kid at a garage sale and I took them. We still need a mattress pad and Tyler needs his own sheets that are more exciting than plain old white, but it works for now. I cried when Gary took it apart. I was so sad. I remembered him and my dad putting together my old crib when I was pregnant with Tyler, then someone giving us a much newer one and us switching them... I remember when we moved out of the Mansfield house and Gary took it apart... putting it back together here... and now taking it apart again because he's a big boy. :( I was not prepared for how emotional i'd be about it! I mean I got 10 inches of hair hacked off and didnt' cry yet putting my baby to bed in a BED made me lose it. We did our regular routine, and put him to bed just after 8:30 and he cried. That's when my heart just broke. My poor baby was up there scared! I let him go about 10 minutes and then we went back and re-tucked him in and he went to sleep! He slept all night! I had the monitors on and the gate up in case he got out and so I heard him every time he rolled over or made a small crying sound.... i've not listened to him so intently since he was a baby. It made me think of the nights ahead where I'll lay awake listening for the new baby... anyways he woke up at his normal time this morning and waited in bed until I went to get him! He just called for me like always! I was so proud of him last night and this morning. So proud and happy and thrilled... yet a piece of me is still a little devistated. I keep thinking about sending him off to school and other things ahead that I don't allow myself to dwell on in the day to day routine. It's a small step and a small thing, I know, and there is plenty of room for craziness in the future (like nap time in an hour) but for this moment I wanted to share just how happy, sad, proud, and devistated I am. Most of all I'm thankful to have a strong husband who made me do it!

Make your own Banner Here!

Whew! I'm exhausted already! My brother came home last tuesday evening and Friday when we got to my mom's I FINALLY got to see him! He looks so good I must say! So friday night we had dinner just the 5 of us- yum. I've always loved my mom's cooking but now that I have to cook myself it's even better when someone else does it. We just pretty much relaxed and hung out, did Christmas and I got fabulous earings and some other things, Gary got the wireless mouse he wanted (this thing is freaky i gotta tell you but Gary will NOT be slamming it into the desk like the old one!) and we, together, got TIVO!!!!! i've not figured out how to use it yet but it's neat so far! Tyler got a tent, a puzzle, book and a BIKE! it's so cute. It's a tricicle that has this handle in the back that raises up so you can push him and he has to steer and then he can pedal to but dosn't have to. He's not got the steering thing quite down yet.... but he loves it! Saturday we got up and went to look at a house my brother had seen and it was really cute. I love giong to look at houses. I"m not sure my brother's all that serious about buying in that area right now but it was fun. Then we got back to mom's and mom and I left for me to get my hair cut! I did it! I donated 10 inches to Locks of Love and it was SO short in the back!!!! She did this massive ponytail, braided it and then snipped it off! I seriously lost like 4 pounds. It was longer in the front and short in the back so she did some long layers and kept the front long and razored it and then gave me side bangs to frame it. My hair seems SO much darker this short! Ineed to get out in the sun man! You can't tell but the front kind of curls under and the back and sides all flip out and it's pretty fluffy on top. I love it. I took a pic of myself and it's not great but it'll do... (I should have powdered my nose first! whoops!) I washed it last night when we got home from my mom's and it took like five seconds and hardly any shampoo... i totally over conditioned it, it feels like silk. You don't realize how unhealthy the bottom 10 inches of your hair are till you are left with the top 10. :) I love that it's drasticly different and also a STYLE. I've not had a style in ages! It was so nice to go and be pampered. The lady even gave me a lip gloss to try. I didn't get it though.. $13 for a lip stain gloss? Sorry... not right now! Later that day Gary went to the mall to talk to the Altell people because on Friday when I got done talking to him on the phone I shut it jus tlke normal and the screen went blank. No time, no contacts list... no display at all! Do you know how hard it is? My dad is like "yea, all phones used to be like that" and i go, "Yea, and people used to have all thier numbers written down on paper too!" Gary went and somehow got a new phone but we have like 4 numbers in it now. :) That evening we had dinner with friends of my mom and Julie and then went to Dave and Busters where we saw the other Julie! It was SO MUCH FUN to get out without Tyler!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Plus I had my hair all done fancy- I kept thinking, If I were with Jackie (myspace jackie) she's be running around introducing me to people going "This is my friend Heather. Isn't she the shit?!?!" (you know you would!!!!) Tyler was left with my friend Danielle adn of course he was not at all interested in bedtime so she let him stay up and watch Thomas and was sleepign only like 30 min before we got home. :) It was so weird to get into the car to go out at 8:15. How sad that going out at 8:15 is late now! The last time i was out that late was driving to the Kelloggs after seeing Lori at the mall at Christmas! We are so pathetic- us old married people with kids. But we love it. Sunday morning is a bit of a fog- they let me sleep in instead of all of us going to church... i'm not happy that it was blamed on me but it was nice to sleep in! That afternoon the Pierre's came to visit and Julie again- her family was supposed to come but her brother had a little accident at work.... the story we got was that he cut half of his thumb off and they lost it in the salad where he works but by the end of the night it was that he just cut it deep and had to have it stiched. It was a fun evening regardless adn then of COURSE at 8 we had to watch 2 hours of 24 (not my 'cup of tea') as usual when someone is diong something fun without him Tyler would have none of going to bed so I was with him most of the first hour and read a Glamor magazine the rest of the time. Gary and my brother were in Heaven. My mom FINALLY got a real TV and also got DISH so we got to watch more than 3 channels the whole weekend. No, let me rephrase that, we had the OPTION to watch more than three channels... however I doubt that the 4 football games, one hockey game, and 6 doses of SportsCenter were on more than 3 different channels. Thankfully my brother is a big old softy and when Tyler got crabby he was happy to put on cartoon.s :) ok, so we watched like 5 channels... out of 300 or so... :) Monday my mom worked in the AM and we had to leave to go to mansfield to get the house listed with a realtor in another attempt to sell sell sell! The roof was leaking AGAIN so we got a new guy to fix it. He came right away to look at it, gave us the estimate, said he'd be back tomorrow (today) and have it done and bill us. SWEET! I wonder if he's there though.... It's always nice to have friends help out when they can but this time we needed someone in and out and to get it done quickly. It turned out to be a small thing but we were freaking out when we first got there. :) We finally got home (after a pit stop at Best Buy to buy the 70$ gizmo we needed to make the Tivo work), ate dinner, hooked up the Tivo, gave Tyler a bath and got him to bed. Whew! I have not even unpacked because this morning was my ultrasound! SO exciting!!! But, that's another blog....

I don't remmeber if I mentioned this but we came home from my grandma's on Christmas eve and went to the evening service with Garys parents at thier church. It was mostly singing with a drama and a small message. They offered no child care and we decided to take Tyler anyways. He seems to love music and I thought since he'd been hearing Christmas music for a month maybe he'd enjoy it and kind of sing along. I thought... famous last words! He did love the singing... especially the fact that his very own Pops was one of the singers on stage! Oh and they had drums! You could just see that he wanted to be up there so badly, not in the back row playing quietly, eating crackers or coloring! I had been thinking before this that it was time to begin taking him into church with us for the praise time so that he could begin to learn to be seated around other adults, experience the music, and maybe learn a thing or two about being quiet. Today, we finally did it. We took him into the service. He was enthralled by the little pencils but didn't wnat to color. He liked trying to figure out why when he sat back in the chiar it folded on him. And then the music started. I was right! My boy loves music! I had him stand between us and he could see fine and as I began clapping he looked up at me, and around at others and began clapping too. It was too cute. My little mimic. Then he happened to spot his dad who likes to sing with his hands in his jeans pockets rocking on the balls of his feet. SO, little Tyler busied himself shoving his little hands in his pockets and bouncing as well as he could without falling over. He was just too cute. After the first song someone sat in front of us so I held him and he clapped and I tried to point out the drums and piano and guitars. Then Gary held him some too ( that extra 30 pounds got to me!). He folded his hands and was totally silent throught the entire prayer time between songs- and it was longer than usual. He also enjoyed looking at the TINY newborn seated in front of us (which of course made me cry- saw about 10 babies- cried at every one...) but didn't yell to the baby or rock the baby's chair or anything... maybe there is hope he won't hate his baby sister/brother! As it turned out he did really well and I think he really liked it! He also went into the nursery just fine like any other week! yea! As I left to take him to nursery it was greeting time and it turned out that Gary went to school with the girl who was behind us and he told me she said Tyler was the cutest little boy she'd ever seen! Awww!! That totally made up for a hot chick talking to my Gary without me there.... ;)

We are going to California!!!! We purchased the tickets yesterday! Can you belive Gary found tickets for under $250? We are so thankful!!! It will be so nice to spend time with Joshua and Mom! This will be Gary's first time west and my first time in Cali. Yesterday was my first day babysitting a little boy named Matthew. He and Tyler played REALLY well together! They probaly wouldn't do so well if it was every day but I think the once a week will turn out to be just right. :) It was nice to see Tyler interact with another kid again- it seems so long since he's played with other kids and me get to see him. They always tell me in nursery that he's really good, but I know they just say that so you'll bring them back and stay at the church. :) Yesterday also was the first time Gary could feel the baby's kicks through my belly! For a week I did not feel any kicks and got very anxious that something was wrong. I'm also not growing much and my belly is not hard like it was with Tyler. However now my littel girl/guy is on the go quite a bit. "she" seems to especially like story time at night when we put Tyler to bed. It kind of makes it feel as if we are already a family of 4. I'll be 20 weeks on Saturday- halfway! 6 days till Joshua comes to OHIO!!!

We spend the last day of 2006 and the first day of 2007 at the Bush Cabin on Leesville Lake. It was wonderful. Praying you all had a safe, happy and healthy New Years Day! Sorry you didn't Hannah! :)

Tyler and Grandma playing with the new train table Tyler playing with Tyler, Lauren and Michaela (my cousins) Tyler and Daddy playing with new recorders Christmas morning. Our Christmas tree Christmas morning. WHY IS IT SIDEWAYS?!?!?! Marie: I could not get a good picture of the whole living room like you posted awhile back. I did try though!

As you know, my grandpa has been diagnosed with terminal cancer. Since he could have weeks, months or even a year, I wanted to be sure to get some photos of him and Tyler. We added me for one and intended on getting one including Grandma and Gary and my dad but we forgot. Hopefully when my brother comes home we can get a few good ones of all of us. These will still always be cherished.

We went for a weekend in Pittsburgh to see friends and Josh and Jackie took us to a train display near their house. Tyler loved it, especially the area that had Thomas stuff. :) Here are just a couple photos- on of Jackie and I (both of us pregnant and sick!) and one of Tyler watching the larger Thomas train.

Here is a cute photo taken during one of Tyler's bubble baths. I just like the expression. :) I'm not sure why it's sideways or how to flip it!

These are some photos from early December when we went to a Christmas party for a young couples small group at the Bush's church. We went to the local Fire Department and got to see and get inside all the trucks! As you can imagine Tyler LOVED it! My camera died but my friend Melissa took over 100 pictures of the group! These are my favorites of the ones we were in.

Whew! The Christmas whirlwind is over! Tyler did especially well this year and all I have to say is I hope we don't get this much stuff every year for every kid because there is simply no place to put it all! that being said, of course, he LOVES every single gift he got!! I've posted a picture of what the dining room looks like. As you will see we don't use it as a dinning room!! What you can't see in the pictures is the drum set that had to be taken to the basement already! :) The picture is of him playing it at my grandma's house. The last picture is him in his Thomas blow up train that came with balls! I'll try to post more family pictures this weekend. We hope everyone had a very Merry Christmas and we look forward to a Happy New Year!!

A special Thank You to Marie who is faithful to read and comment! Some days I feel I only do this for the two of us Ree! But that's ok. :) To others who may read, I hope you enjoy keeping up with us!

Tyler has developed some new personality traits the past few months in addition to his terrible two routines. He's becoming a climber for sure... He's still pretty obediant though and has kept off of all the restricted furniture. :) I think when the baby comes his big gift will be some sort of climbing apparatus (if we sell the house of course) that can be put outside or brought into the basement during the winter. We've started to learn about obeying and still working on the Jesus loves you thing. He seems confused by the endless Jesus being born stories we read and tell him and the information that there is a baby in my belly. :) He does kiss the baby and is getting better wtih being gentle and not kicking me as much but clearly he really does not get it and I don't expect him to. We dont talk about it much (only when he's being too rough) because it's still so far away and frankly he's just too little. He started to do a crazy dance yesterday wher he basically bounce/squats and runs at the same time stopping occastinally to swing his arms and clap. It's the funniest thing iv'e seen in a while. While I still have no doubt about the sinful nature at birth thing Tyler has reafirmed my faith in the ability for people to have compassion and selflesssness. Tyler's happy sweetness was evident from when he was born. he just always seemed to have a contented and happy look in his eyes and when he started smiling, his whole face smiled- sometimes his whole body! He'd wiggle and sqirm with delight when someone he loved was near and talking to him, later he'd jump and soon enough the running arond and showing off came. Now that he's learning better to speak in sentances he's begun to show concern and compassion. No matter what I'm doing if I make some sort of odd sound or drop anything he comes running and asks me "You alright?" or "You hurt" If I say I have a little owie he tells me to brush it off and gives me a hug or kiss or grin, sometimes all three. Today he drove his train into a door and when it wouldn't go anymore he bent from the waist, cocked his little head and said. "Train. What are you doing? uh oh! You hit door! You okay?" It just was so cute I had to write it down. Last night I didn't feel well and told him I wanted to watch "mommy TV" and he could play by himself or watch with me and he did a little of both. He may not be able to count objects correctly or care very much about sounds and letters, but he's learning and I'm learning too. I love him to bits and I'm so thankful for him, and for friends that I can share the joys of my life with.

Dear Non-Pregnant Person, I hope you find these guidelines helpful in your interactions withpregnant women as failing to follow them may result in serious physicalharm. If you are thinking, surely she doesn't mean me- then you shouldprobably read this twice. 1) The appropriate response to a couple telling you they are having ababy is "Congratulations!" with enthusiasm. Any other response makes you an a$$. 2) Through the wonders of science, we now know that babies are madeONLY by the mother and father- not grandparents. Unless the baby is in your uterus or you are the man that helped put it there, you may not ever use the phrase "my baby". 3) On the same note, unless you made the baby as defined in ..2, thepregnancy, birth and raising of the child are not about you. You donot have input. No one wants to hear your opinion unless they ask for it. 4) The body of a pregnant women should be treated the same as any otherbody. You would not randomly touch someone's stomach if they were notpregnant, nor would you inquire into the condition of their uterus,cervix or how they plan to use their breasts. Pregnancy does not remove alltraces of privacy from a woman. 5) Likewise, no women wants to hear comments on her weight- ever. Apregnant woman does not find it flattering that you think she is aboutis pop, must be having twins, looks swollen or has gained weight in herface. Telling her she looks too small only makes her worry that she issomehow starving her baby. Making such comments invite her to critique your physical appearance and you may not act offended. The only acceptable comment on appearance is "You look fabulous!". 6) By the time we are 20-30 years old, most of us have picked up on thefact that the summer is hot. We are hot every summer when we are notpregnant. We don't need you to point out that we will be miserably hot before the baby comes. 7) There is a reason that tickets to L&D are not yet sold onTicketmaster. Childbirth is actually not a public event. It may sound crazy, but some women really do not relish the idea of their mother, mother in law, or a host of other family members seeing their bare butt and genitals. Also, some peoplesimply feel like the birth of their child is a private and emotionalmoment to be shared only by the parents. 8) Like everything else is life, unless you receive an invitation, youare NOT invited. This includes doctor appointments, ultrasounds, labor,delivery, the hospital and the parents home. You do not decide if youwill be there for the birth or if you will move in with the new parents to"help out". If your assistance is desired, rest assured that you will beasked for it. 9) If you are asked to help after the birth, this means you shouldclean up the house, help with cooking meals, and generally stay out of the way. Holding the baby more than the parents, interfering with breastfeedingand sleeping schedules and making a woman who is still leaking fluid frommultiple locations lift a finger in housework is not helping. 10) The only people entitled to time with the baby are the parents.Whether they choose to have you at the hospital for the birth or ask for you to wait three weeks to visit, appreciate that you are are being given theprivilege of seeing their child. Complaining or showing disappointment onlyencourages the parents to include you less.

the latest on Tyler... He is a freaking poop factory! What is going on with my child??? I can't afford that many diapers either!! I really want to wait until after the hoopla of Christmas to even think about trying to potty train.... He's eating LESS fast food too!! In other news he's FINALLY developing a love of books. It may not ever be a love like mine but he doesn't view them as only blocks to stack and climb on and fall off of. He now looks at books on his own, especially if I'm reading something and he MUST have at least one (usually 3) bedtime stories. The Library has come in really handy for this! I've been trying to read mostly Chritmas books and he seems to like them. He now talks about "baby Jesus" which I'm sure he's confusing with the baby in mommy's tummy that he kisses...he also loves "santa" and "snowman" and "Christmas tree lights" (which is now pronounced "bi-bis-a-gee-i-eets") At least once a day he is adament about wanting something and I can't for the life of me figure out what he's saying. This tends to cause great dramatic trauma. :) This usually ends with distracting him with one of the many things that always calm him down- either playing with Thomas or watching something on TV. He's been doing this fake tantrum thing which gets him a one way ticket to time out where he continues until he either calms down himself or agrees to the alternate activity we offer. At least twice a day he trips over his own feet or falls off of a chair or the couch and acts like he's dying. If I pick him up he'll hold onto me and fake cry hysterically. He scrunches up his face and just goes "ahhhh" or "oooohhhh" and cries for mommy, daddy, tops (grandpa Pops), or mamatops (grandma). He likes to peek and check to make sure you are concerned and if you laugh at him he giggles and then gets louder and sometimes produces tears. I try to just tell him to get up and brush it off before the crying starts and then we are ok. One of his favorite words is cookie. My response of "no" when he asks for cookies and juice at 7:30 a.m. also causes tears. Ahh... he's caught onto the ways of a two year old. The question is do I have the energy to deal with this stuff the way I should? They say the patterns of defiance in toddlerhood revist in the teen years. I guess he'll be whiny teen like I was. My mom will be thrilled.

FINALLY... the Buckeyes are to play Florida. I'm just glad they finally decided... this BCS thing is rediculous. I can't believe I even care. What has Gary done to me? So last night I got to go to Malone College's Christmas Concert. It was WONDERFUL! It was in the building where we go to church, but the church is moving and today was our last service! Anyways, the concert was so so good. I got to go with my mom and some family friends. It was nice to hear singing and the band and not have to think about writing a paper for humanities or be listening for mistakes knowing the director would ask what I thought. I only knew one person performing and there was no pressure for me to watch only him so I actually got to just sit back and enjoy it. Not it feels like Christmas is officially coming. Back to the church thing- it was a very nice service today and I'm looking forward to being in the new building next week. I pray Tyler adjuts well! Our house has STILL not sold though there have been 2 interested parties. I'm trying to look at it and remember that God is not up in heaven wringing his hands together wondering why it hasn't sold and when it's going to and how we are going to pay for Christmas presents or the trip to California we have planned. He's got it all figured out. As usual I'd like the courtousy of a post-it warning but I suppose that takes the "fun" and the "trust" out of it. :) I think I've developed allergies now. I can't seem to breath out of my nose but it doesn't run unless I sneeze and then once I blow it everything dries out again...I'm only allowed to take Sudifed and I'm out. I held a jar of Vicks up to my nose for an hour while I watched TV before bed last night. Pathetic but it helped! I'm sure there is more worth telling but I can't think of anything. Too much energy is going into breathing at this point... Enjoy the picture of Tyler in his favorite Mickey coat and the new hat and mittens from Uncle Josh and Lia! If you think it's funny you should see him in his heavy coat! It's Randy all over again!

Well, today Tyler and I had special time together for the second saturday in a row. It is really a blessing to be able to spend extra time with Tyler while giving Heather a chance to to out with frinds last week and her family this week. This past week at work was an absolute bear ending with the school districts super intendent resigning. After all the craziness it was nice to relax and play with Tyler. I so often wonder what is going on in his mind. How nice it was when life was so simple. I pray every day that Tyler will get to know Jesus and give his life to Him. That way when he gets married and has kids he will have the same person I have to lean on and look to, Jesus. I cannot imagine going through this life with out knowing Him. We are truely blessed. Well I am going to get ready for the big OSU and Michigan game. My prediction is ......... OSU 38 -- Michigan 21. Go Bucks!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Yesterday I had a girl day!! It was SO fun. I left late of course due to the fact that I have not had to wake up, shower and put myself together with a deadline in so long! I also realized that I could not do my makeup in the car like usual because I'd be driving... then Tyler cried when I left. It made me so sad but a little happy that he loved me enough to want me to stay and play. :) So I drove over to the outlet mall and met my friends and we went into almost every store! I got 2 maternity tops for myself and 12 Christmas gifts! I'm on a ROLL! We had lunch (Subway- eat fresh) and then shopped some more and then we went to a mall! It was a lot of driving for me but it was nice to have not only some girl time to visit and fellowship, but also some alone time! I could crank the music to whatever I wanted and put the heat where I wanted and control the windshield wipers myself....it's the little things in life isn't it? On a side note, Tyler got some fabulous toys for his birthday and some money for his college acount. He got several Thomas the Train items that he loves and the new Tickle Me Elmo and I've got to tell you that it is an awesome toy!!! The technology in that thing is just unreal. Thankfully my dad didn't get mugged on his way from the store to his car. :) Now it's off to my mom's for her birthday!! She's 29 again! In a couple years we'll be the same age... i always wondered growing up how that would work so I guess we'll find out!

Why is it that the less there is going on in life the more tired we are? Is that just me? It must be because of all the extra emotional "crap" I'm dealing with on top of being pregnant. Today we had what I am calling a 3 hour vacation. We had a 'warm' sunny day and Grandma called and asked if she could take Tyler to the park and to play in the leaves at their house. DUH!! YES!! We litterally just layed around and watched TV but it was so nice! We actually could turn up the volume and visit at the same time! :) It was a much needed break for us and a much needed outside outing for Tyler. Gary's watching the browns and from the sigs and "what the" or "geez" comments I"m hearing I'm guessing they are playing badly or making stupid mistakes or both. Thank goodness for Fantasy Football or Gary would be lost on the sport entirely (NFL- College he loves) :) I"m already starting to think about Christmas. Last year we waited and waited to go and ended up rushing around last minute buying just about everything in a single weekend. That made me crazy. For me the fun of Christmas is thinking about those I love and trying to find them something they need and would never buy themselves or just something fun that reminds me of them. The fun is also in the reactions I get- trust me, you usually don't get much reaction from gifts you buy last minute SO i'm planning ahead! I've got my list together and am working on my card list too. It's time to begin planning my cookie baking! I just love Christmas! In other news Tyler will be 2 on Thursday. I'm just in shock that my little baby isn't a baby anymore. Now all these new illustrations of independance and need for control can be explained by the "terrible two's". I'm worried about what happens when there are two of them. Sometimes I think i'm a pretty good mom because Tyler is such a good kid overall. Then I start to think about not having the time or energy to train the next one. And what if Tyler's just created to be good natured and it had nothing to do with me? What if the next one is a terror? What if I never sleep again!?!? I look at Tyler and realize in the end, I don't care. I will love these kids with every bit of me until the day I die no matter how they behave. Sure, I want them to be good kids. I want it to have helped them that we've made so many sacrifices to keep me home with them. I want it to make a difference in thier lives and for them to appreciate it the way I appreciate my mom. Yea, the next one will prolly be crazy and Tyler will learn lots of bad habbits i've protected him from, but that will be another joy of parenting....something I've always wanted. :)

Tyler in his stroller at Geneva Collge Homecoming 2006. Lori and I "Roomates Reunited!" Gary and I in our booth at the Brig where we started dating and got engaged! Even with renovations, it's still there!

I found a peek-a-boo game on Elmo's World in the Sesame Street website. All you have to do is push any key and the characters jump out and say stuff. He LOVES it. He also likes the racing game on the Thomas website. He's going to be just like daddy!

Our family and Grandma Bush's work Halloween party. We HAD to get the (expensive) Thomas costume!

Where have I been?!?! It's been almost a full month since I last wrote and I'll tell you, I've been on the couch. I think the only muscle left in my body is my tonge and my heart. :) (Kidding mom) I got sick of saltines and moved onto pasta and grandma's sauce for a week, then that got gross, so i moved onto cereal but the milk was never tasting quite right and now we're onto onion bagles with margerine. With Tyler I didn't touch a carb for 17 weeks, this one it's all carbs and fruit. I did make chicken the other day and it was really good. Tyler is growing like a weed in spite of poorly made lunches and dinners on my part. Thankfully he loves cereal for breakfast and that rarely makes me sick. He's talking more and more every day putting sentances together and starting to put his sounds together better too. He loves to look at books by himself now and is more into Thomas and cars than ever. Most of the batteries in his noisy toys have died, I figure they must be made to last about a year because we are getting close to his birthday and Christmas when he got all this stuff. :) I'm NOT replacing the batteries mostly for my sanity and his hearing. Gary's still loving the new job and I do love being home. I'm bored a lot but we got Dish Network last week so my boredom is different now.:) Funny, I can watch the cooking shows but can't eat...I must be going to have a difficult and moody girl like I am. My mom will be so glad. Paybacks and all.... I'm 11 weeks tomorrow and praying that in the next 2 weeks i get that energy spike everyone talks about. I can't take feeling lousy AND my pants not fitting for very long! I'll try to post some recent pictures and thanks to all who leave comments! I love knowing someone is reading! Also, sorry that this particular entry is so boring! Hopefully the pictures are worth 1000 words. :) Love and Blessings!

Thank the Lord for saltine crackers and jello!! Its all I want to eat until about 4:00. Then I want tacos and burgers and chicken sandwiches and subs. It took a little longer for my 'morning sickness' to really hit full force but I think Monday night was the beginning of the end. With Tyler all I could eat was fresh fruit and veggies- no dip. Nothing fried, no carbs... if you know me at all you know those are the things I live on! Life without sour cream and ranch dressing and potatoes and bread and pasta is just not living! This could be why I am no longer a size 2. Right now the hardest part is making food for Tyler. I bought this pancake mix the other day to make pancakes for Tyler becaues he LOVES them and they are easy. Of cours I bought the cheapo kind and it was so gross! I could hardly stand the smell today! Now he's eating spagetti o's something I can't stand pregnant or not. Thank goodness he's eating his milk and grapes- a little something healthy... The big question now is... when will the morning (all day) sickness stop? Will it end on the morning of my 13th week like last time or go on and on and on?? Thank the Lord also for Thomas the train videos!! Especially days like today when he doesn't want to nap!!!!!!

Roses are Red Violets are Blue We are Expecting BABY NUMBER 2!!

I hope he is this willing when he gets older!

Another good week in the life of a Bush! Thursday was my birthday and cards, phone calls, emails and myspace comments made me feel very loved- Thank You. Gary surprised me by having flowers delivered to the house- ILOVETHEM so much! He also surprised me by taking me out on a real date! Friday Gary's parents took us out for Mexican to celebrate again- YUM! Then Saturday we got to go to Josh's house for the big OSU game which I actually watched ALL of! It was really fun to get another night out right away! Tyler stayed with the Bush's and they tell me he was good. Today I got to go shopping with my girl Lori and we had a great great time! She always makes me feel a little less lonely! Gary's new job is going very well and he's SO much less stressed. I think a combination of increased salary and being more comforable in our neighborhood helps a great deal. I wanted to let you know that we have this site set up so that you can leave us comments and let us know you read. You don't have to have a blogger account to do this so give it a try. If it doesn't work let me know so I can fix it. I also want to say that today especially, our hearts are with those whose lives were changed forever when they lost someone on September 11, 2001 or in the war that has followed. I cannot belive it's been five years. I cannot belive that days go by without me thinking of it... and yet there are those around the world who barely can go an hour without thinking of it. Our hearts weep for you.

Unsupervised Ravioli Lunch- Nuff Said

We had another wonderful and FULL weekend! Friday night I don't even remember what we did now because it seems so long ago...I'm sure it included eating fast food of some sort because Gary got the biggest paycheck we've ever gotten in our lives. :) Saturday we slept in!!! Tyler slept until 9 and so did I but Gary only slept in until 8. He's on a working man's schedule now. Then we got the car loaded up and drove down to the "Cabbage" to spend the day with Gary's parents. Tyler did really well considering it rained most of the day and he was inside a lot. Gary's mom, as usual, fed us to overflowing with great food and we just got to spend some time as a family. I also got to start the book I've been wanting to read- another novel- and really enjoyed it. We decided to drive home that night so we could go to church Sunday and we did. Nothing makes me more homesick for our old town than church. I think that only in church do I face with absolute certainty that we are here now and not going back. I do too much comparing our old church to this one we visited. It was a good service though and we had communion. I've always loved communion Sunday. After that we went to Applebees for lunch and I had the quesadilla burger. Oh My Gosh. That was the best burger EVER! Then we went to Big Lots where I got a bookshelf for 10$ to put Tylers toys on and then back to the cabin/cottage/cabbage. Josh and Lia (or Lea) were there with a bunch of friends, and also some other family and friends came for the cook out and we got to go out in the boat! Poor Tyler has to wear this life vest that is coast guard approved and it is horrible. He can't even reach his hand around the thing to his face to eat or drink, he can hardly see anything and can't climb very well. He gets very frustrated and, like me, when frustrated, he's not easy to be around. We went home again at Tyler's bedtime and Monday gary went to work while Tyler and I played. THEN Gary took me to the MALL!!!!!! I got two tops- one at Anne Taylor, one at learner and paid around $15 TOTAL including tax. Shopping is my best sport. Then we went to my mom's for dinner with my family and it was so fun! I got a candle and book from my mom for my birthday and got to visit with my grandma and great-aunt a lot. My mom's cooking is so good. It's no surprise I don't feel good today with all that eating I did this weekend! Today is the first day of school for Gary. He's been working a month to get all the computers ready and I pray he has a wonderful day!

Just had to get on and say GO BUCKEYES!!!! We had Tyler in his #7 Ginn Jersey today and he looked so cute!! Now those Fighting Irish better get it together and pull out a win!

So I have been reading a book about marriage lately and I have really learned a lot from it already! It's called The Four Seasons of Marriage by Gary Chapman. He's the guy who wrote the love languages book and I actually like this one better so far. It's a little harder to get through, but i've taken several pages of notes already! In my studies of marriage in the bible, biblical principles and especially this book I'm learning that just because my parent's marriage failed, does not mean mine has to. It's true that my example of a Godly marriage was flawed, but everyones is. I'm learning that when I see something wrong and Gary doesn't, that still means I need to do the work necessary to be the best wife I can be. Right now that means identifying where I've failed Gary as a wife, confessing those things to him, and allowing him to really forgive me and move on. I don't have to live in guilt nor does he want me to. And vice versa. I need to really forgive Gary and move on. One thing I don't do well is start fresh every day. Here are some quotes I wrote down. Winter season- "What brings a marriage here? Rigidity- the unwillingness to consider the other person's perspective and to work toward meaningful compromise." This season comes not because of what happens in life, but 'by the manner in which a couple responds to those difficulties.' I'm going to work hard to stay out of this season! Fall- It takes both partners to move from fall into spring (the season of growth and hope). It takes only one to get it into winter. I've got to be strong and do the work so that I don't pull Gary down with me. One strategy he discusses involves forgivness- "remember, forgivenes is not a feeling. It is a decision to lift the penalty for past failures and declare the spouce pardoned. Forgiveness does not mean that you will never think of the event again, nor does it mean that you will never feel the pain that accompaines the memory. Forgivness does mean that you will no longer hold that failure or hurt against your spouse." What if your partner won't forgive you? You forgive them anway- for every single thing they have done. "Following Biblical strategies is the most powerful way to influence a nonparticipating spouse." "The goal of marriage is that husbands and wives voluntarily serve each other, helping each other reach thier potential for God and promoting good in the world." Some good stuff huh? The best part is, Gary and I are in a place where we can talk about these things and I WANT to forgive him. I WANT him to reach his potential and I WANT to do all the work we need to on our marriage even with everything else going on in our lives. I DON"T WANT to wait until our kids are grown and out of the house to turn to Gary and realize I don't even know him. I don't strive for these things because of my fear we will end up like my parents, it's because of the Hope I have and the knowledge that we CHOOSE TOGETHER a different path.

Tyler got a haircut last week and he looks hysterical. The lady forgot to do the very bottom of his hairline in the back so when it's wet he looks like he has a rat tail! I hate it! Gary needs to help me cut it with his new razor. Tyler and I went on a 40 minute walk today and this guy mowing his lawn stopped to wave and talk to Tyler, then he yells to me "I like kids." I said "That's really nice." Then I kind of thought to myself that maybe he means he likes to eat them or something. Then I decided I watch way too much TV if that's how my thought pattern went! We also went up in to the rich people neighborhood and this one house had a Uhaul truck and trailer as well as a 53' SEMI infront of it! Now you think we have too much stuff? We could not have had all that! They had at least 2 maybe 3 moving men too. Oh what bliss... to just pack the boxes and make other people move them and load the truck... oh wait... that's what I do! I just get friends to do it and pay them in food! :) Now I have to go and figure out what I'm going to wear for my drivers lisence picture today....

Tyler in his jammies on our deck! 

We moved AGAIN! Gary has yet another new job and so we moved again. This house is our cleanest and most organized yet! We have less space than the last house but the layout is better for us. It's cleaner because I left most of our stuf packed away. :) Tyler is growing like a weed and recently got a haircut. He talks up a storm to anyone who will listen. He loves Bob the Builder, Sesame Street and Veggie Tales. His favorite activities are going for walks, playing outside, playing with his tools, balls, cars and buckling any buckle he can find- car seat, stroller, booster seat.... he's very mechanical! I'm enjoying my scrapbooking more and more but miss my friends. We are searching for a new church to get involved in too. The Lord has greatly blessed us! Pray our house in Mansfield sells SOON!!! 

Wedding Photo: Tim, Lynn, Heather, Tyler, Gary