Happy Pre-Thanksgiving

We are so excited to be spending Thanksgiving with the Baker side. Holdyn and Kimber have been anxious all week and asking when we could go to Grandma Baker's for Thanksgiving!

We made it this afternoon and we've been busy preparing ever since! The girls LOVED helping Grandma in their aprons with the home made rolls and pies!!

Above is Holdyn's 'Thanksful Turkey' and

below is Kimber's.

I love this time of year to reflect on what I'm thankful for! One of those

amazing blessings I have is our little Holdyn. She is such an awesome helper and big sister.

She is almost always willing to help with anything...even without being asked. She loves to clean and help daddy with ANYTHING outside. Holdy-locks is very sensitive and aware of other's feelings. She is so good about stopping what she is doing and sitting with Kimber while she does her vest and breathing treatments.

It is no fun for Kimber to have to be pulled away from kids playing, but Holdyn almost always comes along with her so she isn't alone.

I am also thankful for little Kimber and that Kimber's health is currently so great!

She is getting better about doing her 30 minute long treatments morning and night and she takes ALL of her medicines like a champ. She even reminds us to give her her enzymes before

she eats. She is growing like a weed and we are so thankful for her!

HAPPY THANKSGIVING EVE!!!

Baker Family hits Lake Powell

Time to catch up again! Awhile ago we met up with some of the Baker side to party at Lake Powell. Grandma and Grandpa Baker had their houseboat and family came in and out to the lake as their schedules allowed. It was super fun, but we were bummed we didn't get to spend as much time with everyone as we wanted. We still enjoyed every minute!

Nothing like soda on the beach.

Here are Brenda and her boys riding on top of the houseboat.

Megan, Holdyn, Courtney, and Kimber enjoying every minute on the boat!

Courtney sayin 'Cheese!'

Holdyn, Jill, and Kimber enjoying the ride on the houseboat!

Captain Mason and co-captain Brooklyn.

Taking showers on the back of the houseboat.

Ready to swim!

Kimber and Holdyn both went down the slide!!

We got to ride grandpa's four-wheelers on the beach.

Holdyn was a fish....she didn't care if anyone else was in the water or not.

Mom and Kimber's dirty feet!

Holdyn paddling out to get some waves.

She seriously LOVED the water!

Playing on the shore by the houseboat.

Ready for a fun ride!

If you were a booger....Luke would pick you ;)

Night fishing....carp, catfish, and sunfish.

Holdyn....literally wanted to be in the water from sunup to sundown.

Kid picture before and after some of the kids had gone.

It was a great get away! There are some pictures from others' I need to track down...Brenda and Grandma Baker....stay tuned for more fun shots!

New House in Fredonia

As you know, Ben and I were living in a small guest house outside of Ben's parent's home.

It was a one bedroom/bath/kitchen-livingroom area. The girls slept downstairs in the bedroom. Ben and I had our bed upstairs or the "up-ladder" (loft/crawlspace/storage) area since there wasn't any stairs, but rather a ladder. Once you made it to the top of the ladder we had to duck and walk/crawl about 12 feet to get to a small space where we could stand...and that is where our bed was stuffed. It was working and we were super grateful to have a place to stay. But as I am getting more and more pregnant and my nightly trips down the ladder to the bathroom were getting more frequent...our concerns of adding our little one to the mix were growing. I certainly wasn't excited about climbing the ladder multiple times a night when I was 9 months pregnant, and where were we going to put the little one? I didn't want to have to climb the ladder with a new baby....or have to up and down after just having a baby.

We were planning on making it work, and would have done it with gratitude, but when this opportunity presented itself, we knew it was a blessing which we are SUPER grateful for!!!

One of Ben's cousins inherited a house from his grandparents in Fredonia, AZ. He is living about 6 hours North and wasn't sure what to do with the house. He didn't want to leave it vacant, and wasn't super excited about renting it out to strangers. He called Ben one afternoon after being told we lived in the guesthouse in Ben's parents yard. Anyway, he called and asked if we wanted to stay in the house and keep it up. When Ben told me I almost teared up! Another answer to prayer!

However, there was a lot of hard work involved to get the place ready to move into. The house is a 3 Bed/2 Bath home, on a large lot. It was fully furnished and you can use your imagination, but it had 5-6 cats living in it and the young couple who lived in it just before us smoked and did drugs. It was left in quite a mess. We didn't let Kimber or Holdyn come down for awhile....not sure what they might find in the filth! We moved everything out, painted most of the inside, and had the carpets professionally cleaned. We also had some help from the awesome Andrus family on putting tile down in the bathrooms (Yucky carpet in the bathrooms before) and helping clean out the kitchen cupboards. We owe them big. Ben and I did the painting and scrubbing of walls/curtains/etc. It was TONS of work but it was a good project to do together! Plus, it has been well worth it! I wish I would have taken some before and after pictures, I'm a slacker... but here is a shot of the front of the house.

We've been having so much fun working together as a family....yesterday we did the yard work. The girls are so excited to be able to rake the leaves and jump in the piles. They are also happy to have room inside to run and play!

One of our favorite features in the whole house is the master bathtub. The girls LOVE to take their baths in here because the water comes up to their shoulders and they can turn on the bubbles! So FUN!