One Day, Two Babies

On Sunday morning while we were in Lake Almanor I got a phone call from my friend Alesia letting me know she was having contractions about 8 to 9 minutes apart. This is exactly what I DIDN'T want to happen while we were on vacation. We have two friends, Alesia and Tatiana, who were pregnant when we left for vacation and they were due the week we got back home. I really didn't think the babies would come early. So, when I got the call from Alesia I was in a panic. We were 11 hours away!!! But nothing changed that whole day so I thought for sure we would make it home in time for little Violette's arrival. Monday morning we woke up and started getting ready to make our trip home. Brian came into the room I was in and said, 'I got a text from Jonathon. Tatiana is in the hospital and she is 7cm dilated.' AHHHHH! What?! Tatiana?! He must have said the wrong name. Alesia was the one who was contracting. Nope. He said the right name. Tatiana went into labor during the night. So we packed as fast as we could. When we got all settled in the car I pulled my phone out to text Jonathon to find out the progress of Tatiana. When I turned my phone on I realized I had a text from Alesia. She said she was in the hospital and was 4cm dilated! Both friends in labor at the same time?! How does this happen? Needless to say we missed both Levi and Violette's arrival but how cool for them to be born on the same day, right? AND not only were they born on the same day, they were only 8 minutes apart! Look how big my little Caleb looks next to them.

Hard Life In Lake Almanor

We were able to spend a whole week in Lake Almanor to visit Dawn and Kenny a couple weeks ago. We had a blast! Brian was able to golf twice. Caden had a huge jacuzzi bath tub to bathe in every night. We were all able to enjoy the lake thanks to a few of Dawn and Kenny's friends. They had boats with wake boards and huge inter-tubes to ride on, paddle boats and row boats. Caden was very willing to test out all of it but he was very cautious...which made me very happy. Every night we would sit out on the deck and listen to all the "creatures", as Caden called them. There is so much wildlife out there! One of the highlights of my week was the chocolate malt from The Lassen Gift shop! Words cannot describe the greatness of those malts! Thank you Dawn and Kenny for a great week!

And this big guy was Paul Bunyan but Caden told us it was God.

Zachary James Smith

I find myself missing a dear friend today. He passed away just two and a half short months ago. He was a great friend and mentor to my husband. He passionately loved Jesus and was a great example of what a Christian should be. I am so thankful to have known him on this side of eternity and can't wait to see him again. I miss his sarcastic humor. I miss his knowledge of, well, everything. I miss his Friday blogs of his 'Top Ten Gadgets O' The Week'. I miss hearing him and Brian talk about church, ministry and Jesus. I miss him picking us up at the airport and updating us on everything on the drive to his house. I can't wait to see him again. We love you Zac!

For those of you who do not know his story go to this link: 

http://www.hello-righton.com/2010/03/01/zacs-story-video/ 

Be prepared, though, God will use it to change you.

It's Hunting Season...Egg Hunting That Is

We went to my mom and dad's for Easter and enjoyed a house full of kids. Holidays are just more fun when there are a lot of kids around. We had an Easter egg hunt. Caden is still young enough to not care that he only got 5 eggs and the other kid's bags were full. Haha! He was just happy to have candy. =D

Master Egg Dyer

Caden's favorite part of Easter is dying eggs. Although, it is always a challenge to just let loose and let him enjoy the process because he doesn't really know yet how to gently place them in the cups of dye, therefore, causing a very colorful watery mess. But, i try my hardest and I think he enjoys himself. =D

Brotherly Love

So far Caden loves his brother to pieces! He shows no signs of jealousy. He is so protective of his baby brother. When we were still in the hospital a nurse came to take Caleb for some testing and Caden started crying, "Don't take my baby!" I am so thankful that Caden loves our new addition.

So Much Love

Between Caleb's grandmas and papas he's got a lot of love surrounding him. My parents drive back and forth just to see him and Caden and to help me and Brian. Dawn stayed in town for three whole weeks so she could be here when he arrived and Kenny drove 10 hours just to come see him when he was finally born. I don't know what Brian and I would do without our parents! What a blessing they are!