You've Had A Birthday, Shout Hurray!

We want to sing to you today! One year older and wiser too! Happy Birthday to You!

Happy Birthday to my Ambitious, Loving, Stubborn, Happy, Helpful, Demanding, Imaginative, Funny, Creative, Friendly, Compassionate, Sometimes Obedient, Leader, Lexie Lou!

Keep Be'in you! We Love You!

Lexie joined our family 10 weeks earlier than we had planned. Goes to show you who's the boss. Here is a trip down memory lane.

Some of the first things I remember noticing about Lexie were: She cried immediately after she was born. I thought for sure being Preemie she wouldn't cry. She had a lot of hair. She was long and skinny. Her feet were so tiny.She was only on a ventilator for a few hours.

Brindley and Karissa loved to see her and were so excited to have a new sister.

Her first outfit! A doll outfit that Grandma Rowley got for her.

After 50 days of being in the hospital, she is all dressed and ready to go home.

They did a carseat check at the hospital before we could take her home. She had to stay in her carseat for an hour without her oxygen levels dropping. She did it!

Lexie's first Christmas. The girls' dolls were bigger than her.

First photo shoot was at home with Mom. We didn't take her out of the house for several months except for Dr. appointments. She was too tiny and fragile.

We participated in the March of Dimes for the first time.

Here is Lexie sporting her March of Dimes shirt.

Lexie's first b-day!

I think she liked it!

Another hospital stay when she was 16 months. She got Bronchialitas.

At 18 months wearing clothes that are 6-9 months.

2nd Birthday

A trip to McKay Dee Hospital in Odgen where Lexie was born.

March of Dimes Ambassador Family 2007

Lexie's 3rd Birthday!

Lexie loves being an older sister.

Lexie's 4th Birthday!

I Love this girl!

I HATE THIS!!!

It's killing me! I am so frustrated. I have been holding on to this ever since we found out that we had to move. I knew we had deer tags so for sure we would be going home. I should be leaving today. It's not happening. Seeing others post on their blogs or on FB saying they are deer widows or talking about the hunt is making a knot in my stomach. The picture of the big buck on my calendar is starring at me right now. Ahhhhhh! I can't take this. I need the mountains! I need some camping! I need yummy camping food! I need to wake up before dawn and put my cold shoes on, layer myself in jackets/sweatshirts topped with blaze orange, fill my pockets with mini candy bars, load my gun, put extra bullets in chest pocket, make sure I have a few matches and some toilet paper, makesure I have my tag, a sharp pocket knife, and a string to tie the tag on if I get "ONE", shiver a little with buck fever, then head off to the hill behind camp. UGGHHHH!

Pumpkins and Magicians!

We visited a small fall carnival last weekend that also had a pumpkin patch. When we first got there we noticed how expensive everything was so we decided to pass on the rides and just get some pumpkins. Still expensive! When we first walked in a guy that was leaving gave Jim his left over tickets. There were 5 tickets. All the rides were atleast 4 tickets. Not enough for the girls to each have one ride. After picking pumpkins we noticed that there was a magic show. It was 1 ticket. Yes, there were five of us if you don't count Samantha, so we decided to watch the show. As the show started, Jim and I both were thinking, "This is lame." It was not smooth at all. Towards the end the magician started asking for volunteers. A few kids went up, then for the final one he went up to Lexie and asked her to help. She surprised us and joined the magician. She was a little timid, but had fun. Seeing her up there made the whole magic show for us.

Dressing the magicain

Her name was Chicken Nugget...don't remember what he called himself.

Stuffing the handkerchief in the egg....

Yes, I did it, I turned a handkerchief into an egg!

Rocky's New Home

Since our move from Hyrum, Rocky has had a couple of different homes. My mom and dad took Rocky to their house for us while we were living in the trailer. He spent a few weeks there, then was moved out to some land they have where my brother has some dogs. During this time he got loose a few times and spent a day traveling from where his dog house was to Greenwich, then back to Koosharem and back to his house. All with different people. Thanks to those that tried to locate where he belonged. Thanks to mom and those that kept track of him for us.

Mom and Dad brought Rocky to us a week ago. We are so happy to have him back. To keep him contained and not chew or tear everything up (which he has already done a little) at the house we are in, we decided to get him a kennel. Here are a few pictures of building his house.

Rocky Boy!

Here's a good view of our backyard. Not that big, but it works.

The girls were excited to help.
Lexie will do anything if it's with her dad....even eat her breakfast!
Here are the hardworkers. It's so good to see them play with Rocky and not be scared of him. My girls have always been a little apprehensive around him. They were hugging him and trying to play fetch with him. Lexie even went in and got one of my good corell cereal bowls and filled it with dog food for him!

Lexie would grab him by the collar and lead him back to the kennel. Rocky would start to trot while she had a hold of him, going faster than her then pull her over.

The finished product! The girls spent awhile playing house. Who knew that a kennel could be a playhouse!

Having fun with pictures!

Presenting......The Rowley Girls!

My girls love to dress up and do fashion shows. After doing some school shopping they begged to do a fashion show. We were still in the trailer at the time so we tried to figure a way for them to do this. We took two coolers and placed in front of the trailer door for a walk way. The girls would get ready in the trailer then come out on the "walk way" and strut their stuff. Jim, I and Samantha sat on the picnic table outside the trailer and enjoyed the show!

4 Years Ago.....

Hard to believe that it has been four years today that my life changed so much. I'm sharing this picture with you because I learned so much about myself as I would stare out this window. I spent just over three weeks in this room waiting for the arrival of my "Lexie Lou Lou"!

A few of the things that I noticed from this window were, an American flag flying in the wind. It was located on the left side of the dome shaped building. You can't see it in this picture. It was a reminder of how blessed we are to live in this country and to have the freedoms that we have. I loved to see that flag waving every day. I also noticed the cars on one of the highways in the distance. Bustling back and forth, up and down the road. As if they were too busy to enjoy the simple things in life. This also helped me remember that life is still going on outside of this room.

I watched the leaves change on the mountainside and on the trees around the pond. What a spectacular sight. Leaving me in awe of all the creations Heavenly Father gave us and how everything is planned out and timed just right to bring about better things. This leads to one of the biggest lessons I learned while starring out this window. I gained a better understanding of the atonement. I struggled being in this room. I hated being away from my family and would cry everyday praying for help to get through this time. Something wonderful happened while I was feeling this. Things suddenly became better. I still wanted to be with my family, but I was able to bare the time that I was there. Everything was ok. I know that through the atonement, my burden was lightened. I was carried through this time. I know that the atonement is not only for the repentance process, but also for when we need that extra help to get us through any trials we may be facing. What a wonderful blessing. Understanding this has helped me with so many other things since being in this room.

We can't do it alone. If we ask and are patient and do our part, we are then given the help we need and can get through anything.

I love Heavenly Father and our Savior, Jesus Christ. I love my family. I am thankful that I had this experience and for everything that I learned from it.