It Snowed!!

This might not be very exciting for those of you who get snow in the winter but in Houston it is very rare! Yesterday it snowed and we were so excited! The weather this week has been very extreme! Monday and Tuesday it was really warm, in the 70's and then came the cold front late Tuesday afternoon and evening it was in the 40's. When we woke up Wednesday morning to take Avery to school it was in the 30's and it was expected to rain or sleet. The wind was blowing and it was bitter cold- down to the bone! With the humidity here it gets really cold! Well it was almost time to get Avery from the bus when it started snowing outside. We got a call from our neighbour to look outside, "It's snowing!" I didn't believe it! Last time it snowed it was 2004 on Christmas Eve. We had Jake get out of his Batman costume and get his warm clothes back on with gloves and his hat and head out with Emily in her warm gear. They were so excited to see the snow falling; it didn't stick to the ground but they loved it all the same!





Wednesday night the Young Women and Young Men went to the temple and this was our welcome when we came out. I also got a picture of Spencer's car in the driveway. On Saturday the temperature will be back up the the 70's again.

Family Pictures

Ok family pictures are always an adventure with the Allreds. It's hard to get three kids to sit and take a picture. We have two active ones that would much rather run and play wherever they are than sit and be still. So the solution is to have someone take a TON of pictures and we'll eventually find one that looks decent. It was fun and Heidi took 70 pictures in all.

Inspiration

Advice from Elder Busche




Who doesn't need to be uplifted? This is a feel good message and gives hope when we may need it most. We are loved at all times even when we may not feel it. Stay positive and be uplifted!

Halloween

Halloween this year was busy. I think I should have more Halloween decorations for the outside of my house. I had seen a picture of a huge spider that had taken up a large part of a house and there was a huge spider web that went with it. It was pretty cool. I might try that next year. But to get a huge spider..... yuck! I could always use some of the spiders out here, they're HUGE!!
For a while we couldn't decide what Emily would dress up as. Then we found this...Spiderman! She's into all the superheros because of Jake. It fit her well. But since I was going as a witch and Avery wanted to go as a witch also, we decided to put her in a witch costume too. This costume didn't fit as well as the Spiderman one but it worked for the hour we spent at the Trunk or Treat Carnival at our church.
Emily dressing up as Spiderman, or Spidergirl!
I had to put this in. This is her "I'm too cute to get into trouble" smile. Sometimes it works and we end up laughing at her.
Avery and Jake at the Trunk or Treat. Jake was Ironman, if you couldn't tell who was the boy behind the mask.
Emily was already tired by the time we were getting ready to trick or treat.
The three witches. People couldn't tell it was me until they saw my big "shelf".

Fire Fest 2008

For the past three years now we have gone to the Fire Fest. HFD hosts a fun event with booths, food, games, pony rides, and a train ride. The best part is the fire demonstrations that they do. It's at the Academy so all of the fire training stuff is there. The first year we went they did a demo on a mock house fire. It was actually like a huge metal storage container like you would see on a train or shipping dock. It was in flames and Spencer and I both had a child on our shoulders so they could see. The fire gets really hot so we try to stay back a bit. Well the firefighters were in the container and putting out the fire and when one of them came out his helmet was on fire! There were some pretty upset people and kids. Luckily our kids missed that part. Spencer and I walked away pretty quickly. Last year, they had a bunch of those inflatable trampolines. The Life light Helicopter came to land and one of those inflatable trampolines flew up in the air and landed on some of the people. Luckily we were at the vending tables and were far from it but we had some friends that were not so lucky. They were knocked down, not hurt luckily! It was unforgettable! This year was pretty uneventful, as far as firefighters being on fire and inflatable tramps in the air. It was a lot of fun. We did watch some of the fire demonstrations and the one that always gets me is the car fire and extraction. Spencer's truck wasn't on fire but they did use the jaws of life to get him out. Last year it happened to be the same shift of firefighters from the same station that saved his life. It was pretty emotional for me, maybe because Spencer was still using crutches at the time. Even this year it was hard to watch. We had a great time and the kids got to crawl through a smokey house. It was a great day spent as a family!

Jake's First Day of School

Jake had his first day of Pre-K a few weeks ago, I'm just playing catch up. Here are some of those pictures.

This is my trio watching a cartoon just before having to get dressed and eat breakfast. It's perfect because Avery's bus comes about 7:45 and Jake's Pre-K starts at 8:30. This is the first year that Pre-K starts at 8:30. For the past three years it started at 7:30. Needless to say we were usually always late! This new time is SO much better!


Emily wanted to get with Jake and take a picture too. It's been good for Emily and I to have time just the two of us before the baby comes. She'll be a good helper.


The first day is usually busy so we were waiting our turn to get in and get a picture. Jake was excited to start school again, and so was I!

Dove ads are awesome!

Ok I love the Dove ads and commercials. Having two girls myself I worry about their self esteem. I want them to be happy with their bodies and know that they are beautiful no matter what anyone else thinks or says. I explain to Avery and Jake about what's real and what's not especially in some of the movies they watch. We love the Phantom of the Opera and I've shown them the extra footage where they put all the make up on the actor to make him have ugly scary make up on. I tell them that there is make up to make us look pretty also. I hope they get it. But these Dove ads are the best! I have a love hate relationship with the beauty industry. I don't have the confidence to go all natural all the time but for me to feel like I have to look a certain way to be accepted by anyone else is insane! Avery's in 1st grade and already is so aware of others. She notices things that I have become immune to like men jogging without a shirt on. Our children are growing up so much faster and have to deal with a lot more than I did 20 years ago being in elementary school. I am grateful that we have a diverse community around us, it gives another teaching opportunity that Heavenly Father made us all different for a reason whether it be the color of our skin, our body type, even language. Yes my thoughts are really random- I have 50+ things running around lately. I just had to share these videos. You can turn off the music while watching the videos. These two are my favorite! Way to go Dove!

The "shelf"

This was a Saturday when Spencer was working and I was trying to keep my sanity. I let Avery take some pictures because Spencer had been wanting pictures of my tummy, something that a friend had so kindly noticed and said, "I see you got your shelf back." What a way to make a pregnant girl feel good about her growing body! I have noticed more lately that a lot of things seem to rest on "the shelf"...
Avery and her bunny....
it's cleared off there- just Mommy trying to get some rest in Emmy's toddler bed and there is always room for little Emmy

Oh look! Jake can't reach all the way around Mom's shelf, so he decides to go under it.

And there's Spencer he's holding the shelf. It does seem to fall more and gets hard for me to carry the extra 20 pounds that I've already put on.

Here are a few other pictures:

Avery wanted me to take a picture of her and Emily with Harley.

After all the hair do's that I do on the girls Avery wanted to do my hair during quiet time. So I let her. This is how she decided to fix my hair. I enjoyed the brushing the most, her pulling it back into a ponytail was a bit painful!

A Little Break, only for a second or two if I'm lucky!

Ok so to update all the excitement that goes on in the Allred home: I've been working with Emily on potty training and she's doing really well for the past two months, only a few accidents in the beginning. Jake starts pre-school in two days, it was put off an extra week because of the hurricane. Thanks Ike!! We're all excited about that! This is a typical day of Jake and Emily- she's going to miss her big brother while he's at school.
We also went to ITZ for Jake's b-day and took some pictures there. We all had a fun afternoon! Avery and Jake had fun on this bouncy car!
Crazy Silly Avery! Oh how we love her so!
And there's Emmy! She wasn't so sure about being on something alone. She's so used to always having a hand to hold.
Emmy and Dad on the little roller coaster. I had to get in a hair picture too. I enjoy doing this one- it takes a bit longer but lasts for two days! Thanks to Jenn for this style (she has one of the cutest little girls!)http://girlydos.blogspot.com/2008/08/got-time.html

Avery on the other hand went back to school and had picture day coming up. We picked out an outfit and decided on a cute hairstyle and were all ready for the big day, 1st grade pictures! Well the day before picture day she looses one of her front teeth! The one next to it was loose also and with more wiggle room it became more fun to play with and eventually was crooked and looked like it belonged in the middle. It was really crooked and so funny looking! Then came picture day. She got dressed and ready for picture day with her silly crooked tooth. Maybe this is bad but I ordered the smallest picture package- I can't imagine how the picture will turn out! She said she smiled with her mouth closed but I can just see the lone crooked tooth hanging in the middle of her mouth! Well as it turns out she had so much fun playing and wiggling that tooth that it came out the day after picture day! She and I had taken turns wiggling, tapping, twisting, and pulling at that tooth for almost 30 minutes. Well Grandpa came along and gave Avery a dollar to hold and said if you feel anything lift a finger and I'll stop. She was hesitant at first but I told her trust Grandpa, he'll never lie to you. He had that tooth out in less than two minutes. Leave it to Grandpas! They are the best!

Avery losing her front tooth- Thursday night

Avery after losing her second tooth- Saturday afternoon

Fireproof

Spencer and I had our first date night out and away from the kiddos for a long time. I think it had been almost a month with the hurricane and all other chaos going on! We went out to dinner and then Avery's Open House at her school then to the movies. While getting out of the car I noticed that I didn't have my cell phone with me or in my purse. I couldn't find it but I really didn't care! We proceded to the AMC to see Fireproof. Check out the movie trailer http://www.fireproofyourmarriage.com/. It was really good and I highly recommend it! It wasn't just about firefighters it was about the marriage between a Captain and his wife. Kirk Cameron starred at the Captain and he's done those Left Behind movies that are based on the series. It's a good Christian movie that you don't have to worry about language, violence, or sex.


Another great movie that goes along with those values is The Ultimate Gift. http://www.theultimategift.com/home.php?cid=4294967295&cat=home I can't say much about it but that I hope Santa brings it to me in my stocking! It can be hard to find a good wholesome movie these days and these are two that are amazing! Fireproof is in theatres now and The Ultimate Gift is on video. Check them out! And I did end up leaving my phone in Avery's class- prego moment!

Girly Hair

I've really enjoyed doing the girls hair! It seems like it would take forever to do some of them but it takes only like 10-20 minutes. The funniest thing is when people ask me, "How do you get them to sit still for that long?" That really hasn't been a problem for me. My sister in law would put them in the bathroom sink to sit but Avery is a little big for that! I think she did that when they were little. My girls like to play with the combs and bows. They used to drink out of the waterbottle by spraying it into their mouths but that started to bug me so that stopped. The TV is a good distraction or also while they are eating. It really is fun for me and it takes my mind off other things. It's time with just my daughter and gives me bonding time. Anyways I couldn't do any of these styles if it weren't for the fun hair blogs. This is where I got the idea for Avery's hair http://shedoeshair.blogspot.com/2008/08/braid-flower.html. This is for Emily's http://cute2tryhairdos.blogspot.com/2008/08/double-criss-crossies.html This was the girls hair for church; so fun! It really is a stress reliever for me- that may sound really strange.

The ultrasound

In a previous post I had mentioned that I would be calling three times a day- which I did until I talked to one of the nurses. She said all of the calls are being routed to her home and the power and phones were still out at the office. The call came Monday about 1:45 pm to reschedule the ultrasound. I was thrilled and couldn't turn it down. I frantically called to find a sitter- school was still out so I had all three kiddos but I had my YW too for babysitting! Luckily I was able to get the kids taken care of and called Spencer- they only gave me until 2:30 to call back and my appointment was at 3:15 and it was at least a 25 minute drive with the power out at some intersections. I took some clean clothes to pick up Spencer- he was working on rebuilding a fence with friends, he was dirty and stinky, and raced to the doctors office. We were both so excited to find out what it was! It was strange walking up to the office door, the power was still out but they were using a generator for a few lights, fans, and the ultrasound machine. We had the typical wait for Dr. Hulme but the circumstances were different, there was no air conditioning- I'm so spoiled! Our turn came and we were the last appointment and it was a normal visit just minus the electricity. I went to the ultrasound room and he came in and got started. We got a good look at the baby and he said everything looks good and that the due date is January 24 according to the measurements of the baby. He asked if we wanted to know the sex and of course we were both really excited. The anticipation was killing us for the past few weeks! He got a good look and said there is no doubt that's a boy! He jiggled my tummy with the ultrasound mouse, or whatever it's called, and said, "Oh yeah, there's no doubting that. That's pretty clear!" I started laughing and we were both really excited! I took Spencer back to his fence building and went home. The kids were both really excited and we look forward to welcoming this baby into our family. Avery is just as excited as I am I think. She talks about holding the baby all the time and always talks to my tummy. She says," Love you baby!" before getting on the bus and before going to bed. She's so funny! She's going to be a great helper with this new one. Jake and Emily can just play together and come visit Mom and Avery with the new baby when they get bored with what they are doing.

More pictures of Ike

My sister-in-law takes pictures all the time and took tons of pictures of before Ike hit, getting ready for the hurricane, and the devistation that Ike left in its path. There are still people out here that do not have power! It's been two weeks! I don't know what I would do besides complain and cry. It is heartbreaking about all the homes that have been completely destroyed though. I am greatful that we were protected by a higher power! Thanks Heidi for the pictures!

So what is it?

So the big question for me is what is it a boy or girl? And I really want to know! I actually had a doctor's appointment Tuesday, yesterday, to find out what exactly is moving and kicking around in my tummy. I am already 22 weeks and I still don't know and with my anal personality that likes to be prepared, I'm already irritated. So the fact that my doctor's office has no power and the phone lines are still down only adds to my irritation. Spencer and I tried to go to Peekababy, a 3D ultrasound place and another imaging place and they both require a doctor's note- which of course I do not have. Aggghhh!!! I was reminded that I'm not really sick and there are some women who get sick and really need that appointment which should make me more grateful. Their phones are still not working as I continue to attempt to call morning, noon, and night. I'm hoping that I can get in by next week! He'll have a lot of catching up to do!

Hurricane Ike

Well the pictures on the news are all true! It is breathtaking to see the devastation. We were blessed to have come out with a ripped tarp from the play equipment and a missing shingle or two. Many of our neighbors have trees and fences that were blown down in the 75 mph winds that we had. We were as ready as we could have been though with food storage, water, gas, propane, flashlights, and the best of all the generator. Life would have been miserable without that! The winds lasted for about 12 hours some stronger than others and when the eye of the hurricane was passing it was official; the winds were so strong and the power was out, it was 4:30 am- yeah, I was awake. The path of Ike went up almost right along I-45 which is about 10-15 minutes from our home. We were really close but luckily not on the dirty side- the strongest side. So Saturday was our hunkering down and trying to celebrate Jake's birthday without power and listening to the wind and rain. The worst part of the hurricane was over by the afternoon and then followed the thunderstorm for another 24 hours. That was when we really got some rain. It was miserable to be inside with no air circulating and all the humidity that's when the generator was wonderful- we were able to plug in a box fan and get the air moving. Church was cancelled for Sunday so we decided to head over to Grandma and Grandpa Allreds home when we were getting cabin fever at our house and the weather had cleared up a bit. We were all amazed at the trees that had fallen and all the debris that covered the streets. Every street light was out and so it took a bit longer to get there but it was great to get out of the house and visit with family. When we got home later that afternoon our power was back on and we were SO happy! We invited the rest of the family over for a BBQ and to relax and enjoy the air conditioning. It was fun and so much more enjoyable with A/C!!

Things have gone back to normal for us but a lot of the Houston is still without power and the lines for gas are ridiculous! There is very limited refrigerated and frozen food available at the grocery stores. There again our generator saved our four gallons of milk I had bought Thursday before the storm. We won't need more for about five more days. My in-laws are going on day number five with no power. They also have a generator and filled up their gas cans after staying in line for hours and were charges $4.79 a gallon- can you say price gouging? It's really sad. The news also had people selling no name generators out of the back of a big van for $1400. That's insane and so sad; they had storm relief T-shirts on. Nice business to be in- taking advantage of people who need help.