Happy Birthday Hubby!!!!

Today is my husbands birthday! I cannot tell you how much I LOVE THIS MAN!!

My love grows for him everyday and I really mean that. Being sick and pregnant there are a lot of things that I can't do right now. Jim has been so selfless, always taking care of what I need first.

We started dating when I was 18, which seems like so long ago! We have definately gone through our ups and downs but Jim has always been solid. He loves God and has always been the strong one in our relationship. He is everything to our kids that I didn't have as a child, this means the world to me.

He is very compassionate, loving, only talks when he REALLY has something to say and slow to anger. He is good at all the things I am not, which makes us a pretty good pair.

Whenever I need something handy done around the house, he is my man! There is nothing that he is not willing to try once. I LOVE this about him!

He is the smartest person I know. He started at a teller at the bank and has worked up to a V.P. and manager of his department. I am so proud of him and even prouder to call him my husband.

I love you Jim! You are a great daddy and an even better husband! Happy Birthday!

Family of 4 will soon become 5!!!

We are so excited to announce our new little bundle will be arriving in June 2010!! It was the Saturday before Halloween about 6:30am and Riley and I were cuddling on the couch. She leaned over, rubbed my tummy and said, "Mommy, baby tummy." I have to admit, I was a little offended! But Sunday something prompted me to take the test and positive it was!

It has been hard keeping it a secret (sort of) for this long. My pregnancies are a little hard to hide. With Riley I had hyperemisis which is when you have uncontrollable nausea and vomitting in pregnancy. The best way I can describe it is having stomach flu for months! We did a lot of praying about this pregnancy that things would be different. At 6 weeks, I wasn't feeling sick at all and I thought I was in the clear but boy was I wrong!!!! Lets just say, I have gotten to know our toilet pretty well! The nausea is so intense that I take a medication that is typically given to cancer patients after chemo!

On a lighter note, I actually left the house for a Costco trip with the family today and didn't get sick! I really hate throwing up in public places so I actually will try to make it to the car and throw up in a bag! TMI I know, but I have to do what I am comfortable with you know?

Anyway, we are beyond joyed to be blessed with another little munchkin this coming summer. I can't believe that I will have three kids at 26 years old! I bought two and got one free and I wouldn't have it any other way. I cannot believe that Riley is going to be a big sister! We are going to have to work on the whole sharing thing for the next 7 months.

Have a Happy Thanksgiving! We have so much to be thankful for in the Merrill household!

*In the picture I was 29 weeks pregnant with Riley

Remembering.....

Do you have someone in your life who passed away and every time you think about them your eyes well up with tears? This is how I feel every time I think about my Grandpa. A couple of years ago he was diagnosed with his second round of prostate cancer. He had battled and conquered it over 10 years before he died. I remember calling him when we found out we were pregnant with Riley. He was so overjoyed. I could hear it in his voice. He remarried a wonderful Christian woman after my grandma died. You see, he never wanted to be alone. He rode motorcycles, traveled, golfed, etc. He was very active and lived life to the fullest, literally! He did everything big!

Jim and I would go down to visit him in Palm Desert where he lived in a beautiful gated community on the golf course. Jim couldn't wait to get down to see him. My grandpa really loved Jim. The relationship that they formed in such a short amount of time was amazing. When my grandpa came to our wedding, he knew Jim would take care of me for the rest of his life. As we danced, he told me how proud of me he was. He loved me so much!

His wife called me the morning he died and needless to say I was hysterical. Not only because he had passed but I really wanted him to have the chance to hold Riley just one time. Riley was born a week after he died.

When Riley was 12 days old, we drove down to Palm Desert for his Celebration of life. As my dad and aunt introduced all the kids, grand kids and great grand kids, Riley was the last to be announced. Riley brought so much joy to our family on a weekend that would have been filled with only sorrow otherwise.

Jim and I will often talk about him while we lay in bed. We miss him dearly and he would be so proud of us today!

My Real Life Hero

I have a real life hero, my brother. Years ago he was deployed to Iraq, I was devastated to say the least. I think he was gone around 15 months and this was the hardest time of my life. I remember driving to the Sacramento Airport with his girlfriend to pick him up. When I saw him coming down the escalator it took my breath away, literally! Ever since he has been back, we have been closer than ever. I feel like I can talk to him about a lot of things and we really appreciate eachother. Since our parents weren't around a lot when we were little, my brother was always the one to watch out for me. My brother walked me down the aisle on my wedding day, he could tell I was nervous so he told me jokes from the movie Anchorman to help loosen me up! I know it's a day late, but Happy Veterans Day to the hero in my life!

Yes Please!

Lately I have been thinking about sprucing up my shoes for Fall and I couldn't help but
fall in love with these two lovelies. Both are pretty reasonably priced. I found both of them online at http://lulus.com/

The boots are vegan leather and run about $45.00 and the other delicious ones are $29.00 What do you think?

"More Trick or Treat!"

I was somewhat unmotivated on Riley's costume this year so I opted for a flower costume that I believe my sister in law gave us. And I was so happy we used it, I thought she looked so cute! Everytime someone opened the door they went crazy over her! It was a hoot! Halloween has never been my favorite holiday but trick or treating with Riley this year was so much fun, not to mention how many times I have scavenged through her candy basket!