Luke James Evans

Luke James Evans arrived Sunday, Nov 22nd, 2009. My labor started around 3:30 p.m. and wasn't all that bad so I thought that maybe it was false labor again....so I took a shower and cleaned our room. Then about 5:00 the contractions started to get more intense so I had Jimmy start to time them...they were still like 10 min apart so I called my sister to come sit with the kids (she lives 45 min away). I couldn't get a hold of her but at this point I wasnt all that worried. At 530 she called me back and I was still calm...I told her just to take her time and start on her way. Shortly after that the contractions jumped to 4 min apart but I figured we still had time. 10 min later they were one min apart and I was crying through each contraction. Jimmy started to panic at this point because my sister had just left her house. So, he started calling people we knew to come sit with the kids but no one was home...he finally got a hold of his friend who was here in like 5 min. We left for the hospital and when we got there I could barely walk to the Labor and Delivery floor....when we got up there they took one look at me and put us right in a room. I was only dialated to four when we arrived so everyone was thinking we had plenty of time...by the time they got my i.v. in I was already feeling pressure like I needed to push...they checked me again and said I was still at a four...but they broke my water anyway and he was out 5 min later. The doctor had nothing ready and was not prepared for him to come out that quick, so she literally held him inside me (ouch!). I was so shocked that he had come so quickly...that it took my mind a min to register that he was out. Anyway, he is wonderful. He is a sleepy head and loves to drink his mama's milk :) We are so happy to have him.

Well, I am getting induced on Mon at 8 a.m. Although I am anxious to meet my little man, and happy that the doctor isn't going to let him get too big, I am scared to death to be induced!! It goes against everything I believe about childbirth. I am an advocate for natural childbirth, I really think that it is better for the mom and the baby. Getting induced just seems so strange to me...forcing your body to do something it is not ready to do just doesn't seem healthy. BUT....I do realize that sometimes it is better for the baby to be born healthy than to let a pregnancy go on too long. On mon I will be 5 days past my due date, so I guess this is the best choice :( I still have 2 days before mon...so I am willing my body to naturally start on its own...

First time skatboarding

Uncle Michael bought Sarah a skateboard for her birthday and she was VERY excited about it! She wanted to ride it right away, so daddy put all her gear on and helped her get the hang of it. She picked up on it quickly....I guess there are some benefits to having a big brother :)

Can't believe my baby is 3!!!

We decided to celebrate Sarah's birthday a little early this year...we didn't want her special day to go by the wayside when little brother decided to make his appearance.... So we took her to walmart last night and let her choose a new bike. She was so excited to find one that had purple on it!! Her only complaint was that it didn't have a basket, so we will most likely be purchasing a basket for her bike soon :) I took her out to ride it today and she had so much fun with it...we only had one minor mishap when she took a corner a little too fast :)

I can't believe my baby is three! She is such a joy to us. We wouldn't be complete without our little girl! She is the apple of Daddy's eye, Seth's best friend in the world, Mommy's little sidekick, and I know she will be a great big sister to Luke. Happy Birthday to my Angel!

Aquarium of the Pacific

Daddy got scared of the Stingrays and soaked Sarah :)

Gotta love California!! There is always something close by to do.... and its even better when its free!!! Jimmy got tickets to the Aquarium from his work...so we made a whole day of it. We had so much fun! After we visited the Aquarium, we walked around the Long Beach harbor and the kids were thrilled to see a real lighthouse, the Queen Mary, tons of boats, and all kinds of people!!

Family Update.....

I have been so bad about posting. Things are good here in the Evans household. We are three weeks away from meeting our sweet little Luke (at least we hope he will be little...at least till after the delivery, then he can grow as fast as he would like). Mom is feeling good, except for some swollen feet and heartburn, but no problems with this pregnancy so far. Jimmy is in the final stretch at RCC....soon we will off to BYU!!! Seth is finishing up his second season of T-ball and loves every minute of it. He is trying desperately to learn to read...(we are not pushing this, he is just excited to be able to read a book by himself). Him and I do preschool about 3 days a week and little miss Sarah loves to join us. She has learned all her shapes and colors and we are currently working on recognizing numbers 1-10. She can spell and recognize her name and so far she can write the S and the H. They are best friends and have so much fun playing together every day. They LOVE doing any kind of art...they are both so creative with the things they make/draw. Oh yea, Jimmy and the kids will be in our wards roadshow this year...so that should be fun and interesting :) Stay tuned for more updates :)

Mommy's Little Monkey

Mel's Spaghetti Sauce

So I will let you in on a little secret about myself..I have always wanted to create my own recipe for spaghetti sauce. Probably sounds stupid, ok it DOES sound stupid. But..every woman I know either makes great sauce or they have their mother's/ grandmother's recipe that they use. Since I don't have my mommy around to learn from, and my grandma uses whatever spaghetti sauce is on sale, I have just always wanted to create my own. Well, I have tried different concoctions and recipes but just have never found one I loved. Today I am a changed woman. I have created a sauce that I LOVE!!!! I created it from about three different recipes and some things my sister in law told me she does (thanks Lisa). I hope you have the guts to try my recipe (I know some ingredients sound weird, just trust me). You won't be disappointed (and if you are just don't tell me). Ok, here goes....

Mel's Spaghetti Sauce

Chop: One stalk celery
One large carrot
Two or three garlic cloves
1/2 an onion
(chop the carrot and celery very small)

Saute veggies in two tbsb. olive oil for ten minutes on med heat
Add 1/2 pound lean ground beef
saute until beef is browned.

Add one jar of your fav pasta sauce
1 can tomato sauce
1 large jar baby food carrots
1 can tomato paste
1 tbsp brown sugar

Slice a thin strip of green bell pepper and lay on top
Let simmer for about 45 min

Take out the bell pepper
(unless you love the taste-leaving it in too long will give your sauce too much of a bell peppery taste)

Simmer for about another hour and ta da!!
You have a delicious sauce for all your pasta needs :)

Go Cougars!

Congratulations to my hardworking hubby! Jimmy just found out that he has been accepted to BYU for the spring semester! The kids and I are so happy for him...he has worked incredibly hard to get in ( keeping straight A's, a full time job, two kids and a wife happy). We are excited and feel like this is where the Lord wants us at this time in our lives. We have a lot to do and a lot of logistics to figure out, but we know that everything will fall into place for us...it always does. Its fun to think about what the future holds for our little family. Congrats again to my main man :)

Sarah Rose

I got a new lens a couple of weeks ago and of course made miss Sarah model for me! She loves it (most of the time).

Anticipation

Before Seth was born I had no idea how much my life would change. I was excited but naive. But when that sweet little boy entered the world we went from Jimmy and Melissa to a family. We just sat there after he was born and marveled at the amazing little boy we had created. The spirit was so strong and we were so happy. Life had brought us the little boy we never knew we needed to be complete.


Sarah came into the world much differently than Seth. Her birth was hard on both of us and she was whisked away to the NICU before I could even hold my sweet baby girl. Jimmy and I were scared because she couldn't breathe and so in a split second we decided that Jimmy needed to go with her. The NICU was far away from Labor and Delivery...so I didn't hear from Jimmy for hours and nobody on the L & D unit knew how my baby was. I was frantic and emotional to say the least....Jimmy and a nurse finally brought her to me later that night, and soon after Jimmy had to leave to go be with Seth. When everyone left it was just Sarah and I and I remember looking at her and thinking of what a tremendous responsibility it was to be the mother of a little girl. I felt the spirit strong that night....I wasn't just a mom anymore, I was the mom of a daughter.


Now I have less than four weeks to go until my little Luke is born. I have already felt such strong promptings about this little boy. Jimmy and I both feel that he is going to bring so much joy and happiness to our family. Even though I am so excited to meet him...part of me is little bit nervous. I keep wondering how it will be to have two boys. The dynamics of our family are so different then they were with the other two. This little boy is so lucky to have a big brother and sister that already love him so much. They get so happy just talking about him. I can't to meet him, snuggle with him, kiss him, and share him with my other two angels!

Just Thinking.....

So I was talking to my little sister today (she is getting ready to teach her first year of second grade) and she was telling me about a little girl in her class. The little girl's mother and father were in plane crash this past year....and thank heavens they both survived. But, they were both burned really badly. The mother was burned so badly that she is not even recognizable except for her sweet spirit...her own baby wouldn't even go to her for months. It makes me cry just thinking about it. I know my own disappointments and trials in life don't even compare to this woman's or her family's....but it sure has made me think. I have never given much thought to the Resurrection I guess... I mean I know that is a gift and something amazing, but I just never thought much about it until I heard this story. I don't even know how to put into words how I feel about it now. It became so sacred and special to me once I realized how it would change this woman. Not only her outward appearance, but all the emotional damage that has come from this tragedy will be taken from her. It has strengthened my testimony of Jesus Christ and the amazing gift that he has given to us.

Dancing With Daddy

Jimmy's dad got married last night. It was a beautiful wedding but I was taking the pics so I didn't really get to spend too much time with Jimmy or the kids....but later I found Sarah dancing with her daddy. It was so sweet. She was so happy and proud to be dancing with him. Jimmy later told me that she had asked him to dance with her!! Too sweet!! I love that little girl!

Five Years and Counting :)

Next month Jimmy and I will celebrate five years of marriage! I am sitting here reminiscing about the last five years and so far we have lived in five homes and two states, have become parents to two and half children, and have survived the first half of Jimmy's schooling! Marriage experts say that if you can last seven years...you will most likely be together forever....so we will see if Jimmy can put up with me for two more years :) I know I am so blessed to have such a great hubby, he is wonderful to me and our children will someday thank me for choosing the best daddy in the world for them :)

UGH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

So my camera has been broken for a year and a half....I have been borrowing a friends camera to do photo shoots....but nothing is like your own camera that you know like the back of your hand. Anyhow, my dear sweet hubby is getting my camera repaired for my birthday and wouldn't you know it now my good lens is broke! Now I will have a working camera with no lens to take a picture with! They quoted me 289.00 plus tax to repair the lens (which is good considering the lens still retails for 600.00) But, when you have to save for a year and a half to repair the camera...who knows how long it will take to get my lens repaired!!!


Signed,
A very sad photographer :)

Little League and Little Boys

I am officially a "baseball mom"! I have been waiting for my sons to be in little league since before I even had any sons...so today was super cool! Seth started t-ball. His team is the Angels and his coach seems really great. He played really good and loved every minute of it. And by the way....we are having another BOY!!! So we have many more years of little league ahead of us.

Big Kid Beds

Our little man has gotten a LOT taller! So....no more toddler bed for him! Seth got a new bed yesterday so Sarah decided to inherit his firetruck bed. So now we have a firetruck bed with tinckerbell sheets....pretty cute if you ask me.

Fishing

Daddy's friend called us Saturday morning and invited us to go fishing with his family. So we went to walmart 3 times and on the third time finally got the right equipment! (Were not avid fisherman here). Anyways, we had a blast! It was Sarah's first time and the first time Seth has ever caught anything, so they love fishing and keep begging us to go back :)


Sarahs first fish! (Sorry about your head honey).




Seth's first fish!

Father and Sons outing

I know I know these pictures are like two months old...but I never posted about the fathers and sons outing. Seth and Jimmy went up to the mountains for our wards annual campout. Seth starts asking about the next fathers and sons outing as soon as it ends every year so he was super excited. They rode up to the mountains with Seth's best friend Wyatt and his dad...so Seth was happy about that! It turned out great and Daddy even took Seth fishing!

Internet!!!!

Well, I finally have the internet at home! I have always had to go to Jimmys office to check email or update my blog....but now I have no excuses!

Aaaaahhhhhhh!

Left for two hours with the kids and rushed back to clean the house and alas......hubby had surprised me and cleaned the whole two hours!! (Yes, my house took two hours to clean). What a guy..maybe I don't give ole hubby enough credit, but he is pretty darn good to me :)

Bleeding Purple and Gold

Yes, here in the Evans household we are Lakers Fans!!!! I personally am a bandwagoner.... I became a Lakers fan when I married Jimmy...but everyone else in the family have been fans since they were born. We are having so much fun since the Lakers have been in the playoffs...we have "Lakers partys" everytime they play. Jimmy loves it because it is the ONLY time he is allowed to keep the t.v. on at dinnertime. (We keep it on mute so that we can still talk with the kids, we just like to watch the score). Anyhow, Seth and Sarah both want to be Kobe Bryant when they grow up. They practice thier basketball skills every day- it is very cute watching two little white kids try to mimic Kobes moves :)

Two peas in a pod
Loving his new Lakers clothes

Daddy smiles

Back in the real world....

I know, I know, I have been a terrible blogger. But, the good news is that my morning sickness is kind of going away. I now throw up more, but don't have the sickening, debilitating, depressing nausaus feeling every second of the day. For an update on the family....Seth is turning four on Saturday. I can't believe that he starts school next year, I cry anytime I think of my baby leaving me all day. Sarah has somehow completely potty trained herself while I have been sick. I guess she got tired of being left in a pull up all day. (It was just easier than cleaning up messes and taking her potty when I could barely get out of bed). And my poor little Jimmy is less his appendix. We were driving to the grocery store last Sat and he started feeling kind of sick...so we stopped and got him something to eat. We sat in the parking for about 45 min so he could eat and he thought he was feeling a little better so we went into the store, but about 20 min into shopping he was doubled over in pain. We checked out and went home (of course him being male and all, he refused to go to the hospital at that point). After a couple more hours of pain he was finally convinced that he needed to see a dr. At the ER they knew exactly what was wrong and rushed him into surgery. Poor guy, it all happend so fast. He is still trying to recover...but he is in a lot of pain. Thank you to all of our friends and family that watched kids and brought over food....Your the best :)

How can this be?

How is it that I can deliver a 10 lb baby without medication but can't seem to get through one moment of morning sickness without complaining?!?! Seriously, i'm bad. I think I am about to drive my family completly insane. I have had two pregnancies completely morning sickness-free, so I was definititly NOT expecting this! Between 2 and 3 in the morning are the worst.....so on any given night you can find me on my couch eating crackers and sipping milk. T.V. is not very entertaining at 3 in the morning.....so if anyone is looking for a way to get rich quickly just let me know. I have memorized just about every infomercial on cable. Apparently if you are watching T.V. at 3 in the morning, they assume you have no life and no job and need a quick way to get rich.

Cutest boy ever

Isn't this the cutest darn boy you have ever seen? I know this is an old picture (it was his Christmas pic) but I just love it. Seth gave his first talk in primary this sun. It was sooooo sweet. Daddy came in and helped him, and mommy sat in her chair and cried proud tears. He is such a good boy. I love that I was blessed to be his mommy.

5th Member of our family :)

I am sure you have seen glimpses of "doll doll" in previous posts. She was born in December of 2007 to Sarah, the proud mother (yes, I am a grandma at 29). Sarah takes wonderful care of her...except for the dislocated arm and the fact that she never combs the childs hair. But other that she is a great mother. Doll doll goes everywhere with us. She gets buckled in the car, the shopping cart and is very well behaved at church (she was even counted one sun by the ward clerk (true story). Sarah will not go to sleep until her and daddy sing Doll doll her "Jesus song" every night. It is quite funny to watch Jimmy tuck in a doll at night :)

Working....well, kind of :)

I get up in the morning to clean our apartment building (oh the joys of managing an apartment complex) and the kids are usually asleep...but yesterday Seth woke up and asked me if he could come with me. We had so much fun together....Seth was a wonderful helper and we had fun taking silly pictures of ourselves!

Supergirl!!!

Can you tell she has an older brother?

Photo Shoot

I usually don't post any of my photo shoots on this blog.....but I just had to share this adorable baby! She was the easiest baby I have ever had the opportunity to photograph! (I apologize if I have photographed your baby, but seriously I don't have too many infant shoots that go this well). She fell asleep and stayed asleep for the entire session...not only that, she let me move her around and pose her in all sorts of ways without any complaints at all!!! I love photo shoots like this :) Welcome Kylie :)

Daddy's helper

Seth is dad's little helper. Anytime Jimmy has a project to do, he always lets Seth help him. (I know this takes like 5 times as much patience and time, but Sethie is always very grateful). This week Seth got to help daddy paint an apartment. Seth was very excited and couldn't wait to show me "his own wall" that he got to paint.

Seth Update

Seth is doing much better. They still have no idea what he has, but his fever has gone down. We are just waiting on the results of two more tests.

Sick Little Boy

Our poor Seth has been extremely sick. The scary part is that the doctors have no idea what it is. He has had a fever of 103-104 for ten days and he has lost five lbs in the last week. The poor guy has been in and out of the hospital and dr. appts and has had to endure blood work, x-rays, poking and prodding, peeing in cups...... Most of the blood work came back abnormal and his white blood cells are really high...so they something is going on, they just don't know what. Hopefully we will get is figured out soon.

Winter in Southern California

We have such a hard life here in So Cal :) Today Jimmy and I took the kids to the beach. Yes, the beach in Jan!! The water is a little too cold to play in (although it didn't stop Seth), but it was like 70 degrees.....plenty warm enough to lounge on the beach and make sand castles. We spent the whole day there and then went to In & Out for dinner (the best hamburgers on earth). I always used to wonder why people paid so much to live in Southern Ca.....but after living in Indiana for 2 years...I know why.