Thanksgiving Feast

Finally a post! I have lagged behind in my blog posts lately. If I get a spare moment, I just want to veg out to an episode of Heartland on Netflix.
Anyway, Thanksgiving was AWESOME. It was nice to vacation down in good ol' St.George. The weather is so nice down there. I hope we move down there one day becuase I am not a snow bunny.

We spent the holiday with Adam's family. My in Laws recently bought a cute house downtown so it was the first time we got to play in it.  We went on a few hikes and runs at the red rocks, had girl time, pawn shop hopped and just stayed entertained at the house. And yes, pawn shop hopped. I love the shops down here, they don't look sketchy and its fun to look through. Here's a few pics from the break!

Emery loves an evening dip. 

Watching A Knight's Tale with Mary in the hot tub :)

A fun Pawn shop

our little kitty climber

pooped after Thanksgiving's feast

Uncle Adams post dinner workout

Borrowed this from Lisa! We had a root beer tasting contest. Now, I know which root beer taste the best. A&W and IBC

The Root Beer King and Queen! We tied for 1st, getting 3 out of 6 right. It was tough!

Man and his best friend...2nd best friend.

If I were a hobo, this would be a palace. 

Most of the family!

I'm grateful for family. It is the greatest blessing to have the love of a famliy.
 And thank you to Mo and D for having us all down!

I hope everyone else had a fullfilling Thanksgiving as well!

Cruisin' on to Six Months

This bundle of joy is SIX MONTHS today!!!

I took the opportunity to have a baby shoot with her. She loved rolling around on my bed. 

I hear frequently that she "is so smiley." She is indeed. Today her stats are 96% height at 27.5 inches long, 60% weight at 16 pounds and her head is at 40%. But, even with a smaller head, she is so smart and is very active! She sits up, crawls and WARNING keep her away from your dinner plate! At my mission reunion she reached for my plate and suddenly, there goes a full plate of PEI WEI splattering all over us. MMMM

I still can't believe it's her half birthday. Six months ago I was anxious about our lives changing...but I couldn't have imagined it being this happy. I need her probably more than she needs me. She is a gift from God. Adam and I love her SO much...so much that I always want to nibble her sweet little sausage toes. 

Seriously, mommyhood ROCKS.

Gratitude time

One time in Primary sharing time, a woman quoted her friend saying "My children always say they are grateful for our home...but then they never do their chores." How interesting is that? I cant tell you I was in the same boat in some areas in my life. If we truly are grateful for the things we say we are, then our attitude and the way we treat it should be positive and consistent. I've had to reevaluate some things in my life, but this is a great comment to keep in mind! Here's a few things that I've been very grateful for lately.

I am grateful to be a stay-at-home mom(SAHM). Sometimes, it's not that glamorous but really, I am the luckiest mom!  I can tell you the time when Emery first sat up, crawled, smiled, giggled. I have the comfort knowing she is receiving the nurture she needs. I get to spend time with her all day..and sometimes all night ;)

Because I am a SAHM I get to still pursue the things I LOVE. I am a part-time photographer and I recently joined the cosmetic company Younique. I can do online classes when I have time. I can catch up with friends and family because I dictate my schedule. I have a lot to do, but life is fairly flexible. I couldn't ask for more.

I am grateful for General conference. We just had the opportunity to hear from the Prophet and leaders of the church. I know a few of those messages were intended just for me! And there is a message for everyone. I get so excited about conference because I know for the next six months, I have specific counsel to guide me through life decisions, trials and challenges. We are so loved by a Father in Heaven!

I am grateful for the mission I was called to serve in the Philippines. I had a wonderful time seeing old faces and reuniting with my second mission president at our mission reunion. I learned so much while I was in the field and I credit my experience there to my testimony and teaching me to be a better wife and mother. While in the field, I learned the power of weekly planning and companionship inventory. To this day we still use these sessions in our little family-it's been a blessing and it's so much more fun when you're married!

I am here with Amy and Megan


I am grateful for many other things that I hope to do better with showing it. I am grateful for my body-so I can exercise more. I am grateful for my home- I can keep it more tidy. I am grateful for my ward family-I can serve them more. It seems easier to do things when you view these things from an angle of gratitude instead of necessary evils. What are you grateful for? 

Summertime Shenanigans

Where have you gone summer? It was a cold and dreary weekend. I spent it shopping for fall clothes and eating pumpkin pie, lots of it. I'll miss the flip flop days but our schedule has gone back to normal and I am ready for the upcoming festivities. Are you ready for fall?

Adam is back in school at UVU full time, and work full time and has meetings for his church calling every week. Needless to say, he is really busy! I'm glad he still makes time for me and the baby and the puppy.

Emery is 5 and half months now! It's so fun to see her grow and hit milestones. She currently sits up by herself, crawls, sucks her thumb and puts everything in her mouth.  She is very active, just like our new puppy. I have to make sure she can get her energy out. I love her laughs, they are just so precious! And she is always so darling when she wakes up (and the complete opposite at bed time). She is so much fun. I just love this girl!

We got a new puppy! It wasn't something we had planned on...here's the story. One day I saw online that a cute lab mix puppy was for sale. I jokingly mentioned it to Adam and insisted we check it out. To my surprise, he agreed! The puppy was super cute but when we decided to buy it, the owners had sold it within minutes of us driving away to think about it. After that, we just couldn't get over it so after for days and seeing a few more dogs, we find her. Our puppy's name is Oakley. She's half chocolate lab, half German Shorthair Pointer.

 I was convinced it was the biggest mistake we had ever made as she was biting my pant leg while I tried to escape up the stairs the first night. I cried our second weekend with her because she was stressing me out. REALLY? Emery never made me cry. I'm pretty tough but I couldn't stand it! Anyway, obviously things have improved because we still have her. We are in a puppy training class and it's been a life saver. She is a sweetheart and we witnessed her pointing at a rabbit just yesterday! It was really neat. 

I'm looking forward to the last few months. I'm working on a few projects to keep me busy and enjoying spending time with my little girl.  What plans do you have for this fall??

Workin' on my fitness

One of the less anticipated changes of giving birth is welcoming the baby weight. Some ladies have miraculous genes and instantly are back to their pre-pregnancy bod. You lucky dogs, you! Others, such as myself are less fortunate and actually have to do this thing they call "Exercise" and "Eat Healthy" if we'd like to reunite with our pre-pregnancy bod. On top of that I have an auto immune disease which makes it even harder!

I'm proud to say almost four months after birth I'm about five pounds away from my pre-pregnancy weight! That's a 55 pound weight difference. I cut out pasta back in January, forever :(  with the addition of  healthy food options and exercise, I'm on my way to a healthier me.

Exercise is a huge part of this transformation. My heart took a beating with this last pregnancy so it was time to get down to business. Thank goodness Adam is so supportive and hey, a freakin MARINE who can work it out like no other! He's motivates me to run, yoga it up, sweat it out- you name it!

Emery's first hike! She slept the whole way up. 

I love doing an assortment of activities to stay fit. I believe in the spice of life and I am very ADD when it comes to excercisee. One thing we decided to do to spice up our fitness are races. We just completed our first 5k together and it was a blast!!! It's the Hit and Run 5k where there are obstacles along the way. We felt like little kids again bouncing across, getting wet, and getting hit as we made our way through the obstacles. We hope to get a bunch of people together next year for our team!

I looked so silly struggling to get through the obstacles and had a blast doing it!

Note to self, pants were a great idea but need ones that dry fast

Adam's Marine Corp training kicked in and he flew through the obstacles like a breeze. 

Can't wait for Hit and Run 2015 SLC!

Families are Forever

While growing up, my mom would always say "you'll never know what it's like to be a parent until you have your own children." Obviously, she was right. It makes sense. Though, I would try to guess, as much as experience would allow, what my parents must feel like raising a child...five of them to be exact.

When I look Emery in the eyes, I can't describe the joy boiling up inside me. She is our sunshine, our inspiration, our everything. Aside from her excessive crying at bedtime, she is so much fun! Her squishy cheeks, chunky legs and contagious smile could make a grown man melt inside.



 Life was and is still amazing with Adam and I, but the concept of love, responsibility and family took on a deeper meaning for us when Emery came into our lives. I'm learning a lot. I'm learning sacrifice fast. Most of all, I'm learning how to be the mom I have always hoped to be..

A friend of mine recently shared this quote by President Boyd K. Packer:
"Parenthood is a sacred privilege and, depending on faithfulness, can be an eternal blessing.The ultimate end of all activity in the church is that a man and his wife and their children can be happy at home."

I couldn't agree more with this statement. I have to say how grateful I am for the Gospel of Jesus Christ. Through it I am blessed with the understanding and knowledge of who I Am, what I am capable of and becoming, as well as knowing how to achieve joy now and for eternity. My family brings me the most joy and now I have my own little family. 

No, I never imagined motherhood to feel as great as it does. It's given me a glimpse of eternal happiness.
 I love my little girl. Knowing how much she means to me, I can only imagine how great Heavenly Father's love is for me and each and every one of his Children.

Emery: The Birth Story and More

     On April 14, 2014 at 12:00pm Adam and I walked into the hospital for my scheduled induction. I was full from eating at my favorite Chinese place just before we arrived! I was also anxious and a bit nervous and scared about stepping into the unknown part of parenthood. It seemed surreal that we would be coming out of the hospital with a baby in the next couple days! However, that's not exactly what happened. I don't think anything could have prepared us for what was about to occur next. Our life was going to change in more ways than one.

Around one in the afternoon, we started the induction. They broke my water and put me on Pictocin. I was ready for it. I couldn't take being pregnant any longer. I was always so tired and my feet and legs swelled up terribly throughout the week leading up to the induction. And of course, I wanted to meet this little person who decided to be fashionably late.

I have to say, I was a trooper. I went hours without the Epidural...or maybe I am just crazy?! Adam admittedly liked how I handled my contractions. He was massaging my hands to help me relax. And when I contracted, I had a lot of strength to put toward massaging his hands. haha! Anyway, this induction wasn't going well. The Pictocin was stressing my baby out and I wasn't dilating without it. After thirteen hours of labor, our only option was a c-section. Of course, I cried a little and asked Adam to give me a blessing. A C-section is not something anyone would ask for. It's a scary reality. But the strange thing is, I wasn't surprised. I kinda had a feeling it would come to this all week.

Next thing I know, I am in the operating room. Any moment now, we will meet our baby. Adam sat next to me holding my hand with his head tilted close to mine, reassuring me everything was going to be okay. Just a few minutes later we heard our baby let out her first sweet cry. This has to be one of the sweetest moments a couple can experience in life. I felt an overwhelming love for my husband and could feel our bond growing even stronger. We had made a baby! Without even seeing Emery yet, I already loved her. She took my breath away, my beautiful baby girl.

Grandparents are the best! One of the nurses made a name sign for Emery, I wish it didn't get water on it :(

During the labor, I had contracted a fever. Because of this they wanted to pay close attention to me and the baby to make sure we didn't get an infection. Our two-day recovery was rescheduled for four days, we wouldn't be discharged till Saturday morning. So, we enjoyed our next few days as a family in the hospital. 

First time Adam changed her diaper by himself and  I hear "Whoa! what is that?!" "No no no, don't put your foot in it!" Ahh! I got it on my hand!"

I was pretty out of it after the C section. Thank goodness Adam was there with me by my side every moment. He had taken off from work and school to take care of me and the baby. He immediately became pro at diaper changing, swaddling, bottle feeding, etc. He needed no practice being a dad. 

As the days went by, the swelling in my body had escalated. I looked like the Michelin man! I can't count how many hours my husband massaged my feet, legs, hands, back. I was in significant pain.

 Around Thursday I got another fever and had an anti seizure med hooked up to my IV. The doctor was concerned I may have preeclamsia. Other than that, I don't remember this day, the medication was not fun - it made me tired, loopy, and even more swollen.

Friday night came around and we were ready to leave in the morning. We strolled the halls with Emery so I could strengthen my legs again. But it seemed as though gravity pulled every ounce of blood in my body down to my feet and legs! The nurse walked in the middle of the night seeing me crying while holding Emery. Maybe she thought I already don't like my baby? I was hysterical. But my legs and feet were so swollen that I couldn't stand up and my skin felt like it was going to burst! I felt helpless. Does it really get this bad after giving birth?!? 

Adam awoke and saw how upset I was. He let me lay in his couch bed because the hospital bed was hurting my back. We elevated my feet once more and he started massaging them. He told me to take deep breaths, relax and just go to sleep. However, we noticed my breathing was off and it sounded like I had fluid in my lungs. A new nurse came and checked my vitals and determined I wasn't getting enough oxygen. Though it didn't seem to concern the nurse who had been monitoring my vitals throughout the entire morning, this nurse immediately recognized that there was something wrong. 

Things rapidly went downhill from there, and honestly it was all a blur. Soon after the nurse checked my vitals, I started coughing up blood. And then everyone got serious about my other symptoms. Initially, they thought I had pneumonia. What a terrible feeling it is to think you can't be in the same room as your baby because you could get them sick. They put Emery in the nursery until they were able to rule that off the list. One by one, they wheeled in different machines to test me. Chest X ray, EKG,  Echo-cardiogram, and a CT scan. My blood pressure and heart rate rose significantly. They finally noticed that the swelling was grossly abnormal and put me on diuretics to drain the fluid. I ended up losing 15 lbs in fluids the first day!

My doctor came in the room and immediately ruled out

 pneumonia, all of the occupants of the room let out a sigh of relief as they removed their surgical masks. But his next diagnosis was less-welcomed news. He said it appears I have an enlarged heart and it's not function correctly. This resulted in the heart pumping fluid back into my lungs, and they would need to take me to the ICU immediately in order to monitor my condition. Emery, however, was doing great, and she would have to be discharged. I watched my husband make the  call to his parents. I couldn't imagine what he was feeling, but I could see in his eyes how hard it was to split up our little family so soon.

Our special day was the complete opposite. I watched the nurses help Adam pack everything up and prep Emery to be discharged. I can't explain how sad it was to have my baby separated from me just days after she was born. Saying goodbye was heartbreaking, I knew she was in good hands though as we turned her over to my in-laws.  I was scared, I didn't know what was happening to me. But Adam - just like he was during my C section - was by my side holding my hand and reassuring me everything was going to be okay. His faith kept me strong enough to handle everything at once. 

I was able to see my little girl on Easter Sunday! Adam did an awesome job at entertaining and uplifting me in the ICU. David came to visit us the day I was admitted to the ICU, what a good friend!

 By Sunday, they were able to diagnose me. I had a mild case of postpartum Preeclampsia, and the worse news of all, I have developed a form of congestive heart failure called postpartum (peripartum) Cardiomyopathy. What is that you ask?

 "Peripartum cardiomyopathy is a rare type of heart failure that occurs during pregnancy or immediately after delivery. The damage weakens the heart muscle and causes the heart to become enlarged. As a result, the heart can’t pump blood properly throughout the rest of the body."

I had an episode of the condition Sunday morning. I woke up early around 5:00am. Not being able to sleep I just sat there when all of a sudden I felt my heart race. I looked up at the monitor and within seconds my heart rate rose from 94 BPM to almost 160. While that was happening my blood pressure also sky rocketed. I couldn't breath. I couldn't speak. My breath was shallow and then I started coughing up blood again.  I hope I never have to relive this. 

In very few words to sum up my feelings, It sucks. There are a lot of lifestyle changes ahead of me to manage this condition. I try to stay positive in light of this new obstacle. Not once did I ever ask God "Why me?" I don't need an explanation. However,  I am still human and need to cry here and there because of the reality of it. I'm 25 and now have a blood pressure monitor and heart rate monitor along with multiple RX on my nightstand to help me manage my heart. Not ideal in the least bit. But, like President Uchtdorf and the scriptures have taught us - be grateful IN all things. 

After 9 days, we were finally able to go home as a family.

We are definitely grateful for the the events that took place during Emery's Birth. Without the complications of labor bringing me into my c section, we would have never stayed long enough to help me discover this terrible heart disorder. We would not have been at the hospital at the same time a fellow ward member when he was rushed to the ER to get an emergency surgery (Adam was able to give him a blessing within minutes of him calling the Elders Quorum President informing him of his condition). He was also able to give other blessings to patients nearby.  Though difficult as the situation was, I wouldn't change a thing . We came out of this experience with many lessons learned, more of an appreciation for everything we have and encounter, a better understanding of the Plan of Happiness, and a beautiful baby girl that has given me so much joy I couldn't imagine possible. She is my sunshine. (Have we mentioned what a good baby she is?!? Another blessing...)

Famillies are Forever

It's been wonderful being home again, together.  I love being a mom! I still have a long recovery ahead, thank goodness I have my little bundle of joy, my loving husband, my family and friends to help us get through it. Our parents have been so supportive. We love them so much!

Message from Adam:
As Charlene said, Postpartum Cardiomyopothy is not something that anybody desires. However, before we left the hospital, we were able to speak with a nurse who specializes in cardiovascular disease. She informed us that we are actually quite fortunate - as this particular heart condition has a 50% mortality rate. We are extremely grateful that nobody told us that before she was recovering - as the news alone probably would have killed me. She said Charlene's test results looked good, and she is on track for recovery.

Words cannot describe the terror that Charlene felt during this time. The grace in which she handled these trials was truly remarkable. She accurately has outlined this past week - though of course, it is impossible to infuse these words with the fear of what she actually experienced. I married an amazing, powerful woman for whom I am eternally grateful.