just for a smile

since that last video was so dark and short, i'm posting a much better one. seriously, it's worth the download. for some reason, essie thinks that any noise you make with your mouth is hilarious....


essie laughing

so cute

pretty baby!

holiday essie

a pictorial update...

a whole lotta nothin'

For those of you who have been following the drama that is essie's life, we figured out a remarkable way to help her sleep and also not be on the floor in a carseat. it just made me uncomfortable that she was sleeping in there, especcially after we have such nice REAL sleeping arrangements for her. bassinets are so cute, but only if there is a baby inside :) so (drumroll please) she sleeps in her bassinet with a boppy shoved in the back. i squeeze her little body in the middle and her head and back are supported by the boppy pillow. it's amazing. and she can actually sleep all by herself without grunting and groaning all night. maybe someday she will be like her papa (my dad) and enjoy sleeping in recliners. for now, the boppy it is. and what a lifesaver it's been while trying to pack up this house. i thought for sure it was never going to happen when she wanted to be held all the time. also, for those of you who are wondering what the heck happened to my phone.....it doesn't work in cambridge so we shut it off. house phone is 309-752-0218. please no creepy calls from strangers, all you blog stalkers. but for actual friends and family, that's the number until we move on saturday. after that, i'll have to post a new one when the phone people come out. well i better go, so much to do so little time and choir practice in a few hours! pics to come, if i could ever figure out which cord to buy :) i know everyone is dieing to see the princess!

1 samuel 1:27

"I prayed for this child, and the Lord has granted me what i asked of Him." 1 Samuel 1:27

so i haven't posted for awhile....we have been very busy with our new little blessing essie lynn. we are so thankful to have such a beautiful *and well behaved i might add* little girl. life is good, but God is great.

"rasing mccain" by john rich

this is an amazing song for any red blooded, blue collar, "commonsense conservative"...trust me it's worth the download everyone. i think i may actually be in love with john mccain. or sara palin. i can't decide which. and we all have to give the mac props for finding the only attractive girl in politics (with an NRA membership, i might add).

left, left, left, right left...

for those who have been wondering....i have been confined to my left side. bedrest is junk and i believe it's even worse when they start telling you what position you have to lay in. chris and i are enjoying our last weekend as a kid free couple. i'm a little nostalgic about that already! it's weird to think it will NEVER be just us again (because even with a babysitter, it's still not the same) i wish he had a week off before the baby comes too, not just after! lol

for christopher...happy anniversary

new favorite song...amazing

matt is pregnant too! yay!

what a good friend, trying to make me feel better about being a large pregnant woman. this picture cracks me up. good luck, mariah, you're gonna need it!

they tried to push me back in the water, then they realized i wasn't a whale...

"swimsuits are not flattering, hence the sad face. also, it was hot"


"i love my baby daddy"

so after church on sunday, we thought it would be a great cheap and easy way to beat the heat by going to the public pool. i think we were the only people there over the age of 15 without children, but that did not stop me from sitting, yes sitting, in the baby pool for four hours. i tried to go in the big kid pool, but some kid threw a football at my face and chris yelled at me for being mean to small children. long story short, we had a blast but we're paying for it now. i am on a mission to get tan for mariah's wedding on august 2nd (also happy anniversary to the Nelsons i might add) and since i can't go to a tanning bed, i thought SPF 6 would suffice. no, no, no. i forgot that i haven't been out in the sun AT ALL since last august due to the whole bed rest thing. and apparently christopher put vegetable oil all over his body because i have never seen anyone burn like that in my life. it's ridiculous. to make matters worse, we were out of power from 5AM until about 11PM. it is so hot in our house and all of our food is gone. sad. so we spend all day trying not to touch things with our burnt bodies and putting aloe vera on. we are going back to the pool on thursday, but this time i think we will bump the SPF up to 30. i will not be the only girl without a tan in the bridal party.

the saddest day of my life...

"Throwing out any pretense of being neutral in the culture war, McDonald's has taken up the rhetoric of gay activists, suggesting those who oppose same-sex marriage (SSM) are motivated by hate.

AFA has asked for a boycott of McDonald's restaurants because of the company’s promotion of the gay agenda. AFA asked McDonald’s to remain neutral in the culture war. McDonald’s refused.

In response to the boycott, McDonald's spokesman Bill Whitman suggested to the Washington Post that those who oppose SSM are motivated by hate, saying "...hatred has no place in our culture." McDonald's has decided to adopt the "hate" theme used by gay activist groups for years.

Whitman went on to say, "We stand by and support our people to live and work in a society free of discrimination and harassment." Mr. Whitman has intentionally avoided addressing the reason for the boycott. This boycott is not about hiring gays or how gay employees are treated. It is about McDonald's choosing to put the full weight of their corporation behind promoting their agenda.

McDonald's donated $20,000 to the National Gay and Lesbian Chamber of Commerce in exchange for membership and a seat on the group’s board of directors. The NGLCC lobbies Congress in support of same-sex marriage.

McDonald's CEO Jim Skinner said the company will promote issues they approve. "Being a socially responsible organization is a fundamental part of who we are. We have an obligation to use our size and resources to make a difference in the world...and we do."

Take Action
• Sign the online Boycott McDonald's petition.
• Forward this to family and friends and ask them to sign the petition.
• Print and distribute the Boycott McDonald's petition.
• Call your local McDonald's. Speak with the manager. Tell him or her (in a polite manner) that you will be boycotting McDonald's until they stop promoting the pro-homosexual agenda. To find the phone number of your nearest McDonald's, click here."

~from the AFA website. there's tons more info on there, just too much to post.

goodbye big macs. goodbye dollar menunairres. goodbye twenty piece chicken mcnuggets meal. and the worse part is, after i read the article i REALLY wanted some french fries. supersized.

painting!!

so we found paint that was low fume for $16.00!! can you believe it!! the poor girl can't live in a blue room. and by the way, i only LOOK like i'm not wearing pants in this pic. i really am. i promise.

bonfire at the york's!

so fun times at our house last night...my sister robin and her husband anton and all their assorted children came to our house for a cookout and then a bonfire last night! super fun! the puppies were a big hit with the girls and adam even made an attempt to pet Boyface. chris came up with the great idea to get sparklers and that definately made the night exciting. i forgot how much fire it took to light sparklers. we made s'mores over the bonfire and had birthday cupcakes (i had to make sure all her kids had a suger overload right? what are aunts for!) but now i need to kick back and relax for a few days because by the end of the night, my feet looked like tobbogans. i could have went skiing on those suckers. ugh pregnant.



we are pooped after a fun night of food and family!


uncle chris helping adam light his sparkler...i love adam's face in this picture. it's priceless.


okay this is just getting ridiculous. i look like a very large bandana.

"while the djs play us, yellin Jesus saved us"

for anyone who is a secret christian rap lover....gospel gangstaz. love love love cuz "you can't turn a rat into a housewife"

salad shmalad.

YEP I DID TAKE THIS PICTURE IN THE DONUT SHOP where i ate
two donuts and hot cocoa.

so the funny thing about doctors is that in a week's time they decide i'm not fat anymore. i don't understand. my appointment was yesterday and everything is great and i'm perfect size and blahblahblah. i didn't care much for the disruption last week, i'll tell ya that much. yesterday she said whatever you're doing with you weight keep it up. so apparently to all you preggo girls out there, just ignore your doctor and eventually sometime in your pregnancy, you'll be doing the right thing. fat. ha. although i did have a cupcake for breakfast. shhh.

nap time in the york house

yes, she DOES like to sleep on a heating pad under a blanket. she is baby pancakes and she does what she wants. i can't help it, she's my favorite.

Ninja would sleep in front of the back door all day if he could...when we put him outside in the afternoons, he sleeps on the back porch for hours. he is probably the best dog in the world. he never gets in any trouble. on the other hand, there is one bad puppy....

Boyface likes to wrap himself around the leg of the couch. it's cute until he does something bad and hides all the way behind the furniture. Pancakes is the worst at that, she will hide and you can't find her all day sometimes. she gets scared easily.

Bear with me, until the baby comes i have nothing else to do except take pictures of dogs. i'm bored a lot.

it only LOOKS skanky.

i love this show and i can't wait until season four comes out. especcially since i can spend all summer watching the first three seasons that chris got me for mother's day. don't worry, it only looks sensationaly and skanky. it's really quality programming. AND lauren conrad would totally be my best friend if i lived in california. soooo next summer when we go there for vacay, i'm going to look her up. she'll be interested, trust me. we have so much in common! she hangs out at a place called le doux, i love chris ledoux; she always has a tan and beautiful clothes, i am a white girl in sweatpants. the list goes on and on. we could totally eat pizza together. well i bet she'd have a salad.

so mostly, i'm just really bored. this would be day number five that chris has worked in a row. and for those of you who think that's no big deal...he goes in to work in the afternoon and comes home at like nine am. so five days in a row is a loooooong time. i hate it here.

maybe too ambitious?

so after reading some of my friends blogs who are obviously more creative than i am, i really want to learn how to sew. except i have no sewing machine, fabric, talent, or patience. are those things that can be fixed? hmmmm....i think this may be like the scrapbooking thing. i really enjoy it....twice a year. and sewing machines are a lot of money for a fake hobby.