March 24th....I can't wait!!

Yep, that's right....we're having another girl! To say that we're surprised would be a huge understatement. See....about 5 weeks ago we had an ultrasound and were pretty sure we saw something "down there". We have been racking our brains for the perfect boy name and just when we decided for sure, this baby threw us for a loop! Now we'll be racking our brains for the perfect girl name. One that's sweet but not too sweet, one that will fit her throughout her entire life, one that she'll never be ashamed of, and one the actually means something to her and gives her something to live up to. Naming babies is so hard!

Introducing....

We just wanted to introduce all of you to the newest addition to our family. We are beyond excited and still in shock a little bit! I am 10 weeks along today and not feeling so great, but that's okay. Our due date is March 21, 2010...which seems forever away but will come before we even know it!

Our one and only camping trip of 2009

We went camping and had a great time! It was so nice to get away for a little bit and enjoy each other. Emily LOVED everything to do with camping...the creek, the fire, the tin foil dinners, the s'mores, and mostly...the tent. She thought sleeping in a tent was the best thing ever and wants to do it every night now. (Which is tempting because she hasn't slept that great in weeks!)

Days off are the best!!

Things Geoff gets to do when he has a Saturday off...

Sleeps past 4:30 am

Enjoys some scrumptious dutch oven cooking

Watches basketball...even though the Cavs lost

Sits on his rear-end for most of the day

Oh...and he has a blast at the park....

Can't you just feel the glee gushing out of him?? Days off are the best!!

Memorial Day weekend

Our holiday weekend began with a quick drive up to Rexburg for the baptism of Benny, our sweet sister-in-law's little brother. Benny has been through some tough things and is now permanently living with Russ and Amber. How proud we are of Benny for making such an important decision to be baptized! I love baptisms! The spirit is so strong and I always come away from them wanting to be a better person.

On Monday we had a great time spending it with family. The Meredith family has a tradition of visiting Jeanie's grave and then heading over to Tastee-Treat for some yummy ice cream. I love this tradition!
Afterwards, we enjoyed a BBQ with the entire family....except Rex & Jeigh :(. Emily had so much fun playing with her cousins!!

Emily, Anna, and Mason

Carter, Rylie, Emily, and Anna having fun on the tramp.

Anna, Emily, Rylie, Livvy, Carson, Carli, and Carter...so dang cute!!

Emily's new "eyes"

These are Emily's new eyes. She absolutely loves them! And I love that she calls them "eyes"!

A Closed Chapter

Well I guess this chapter of my life closed about 2 years ago...but, it officially closed on Monday when Inkley's shut their doors for good. This may sound strange, but my heart broke just a little when I found out my store was closing. Dumb, I know...but I loved the time I spent there. My job wasn't the most exciting and it didn't pay very good, but I truly loved working in the Photo Lab. I have so many great memories and have made life-long friends. So, goodbye Inkley's #655, I will miss you....but we always have our memories.

Smack dab in the middle of Happy Town!

For that last few weeks I have really been trying to come up with something cool to write about…sadly, I still haven’t come up with anything. For this little branch on the Meredith Family Tree, life is just fine…nothing exciting happening…just getting through each day and trying really hard to end it with a smile. The strange part is that this has really been bothering me and I don’t know why. I guess I’ve just been feeling a little dull…. like I’m not improving myself or moving forward in any way. But, I’m starting to realize that it’s okay to be dull….it’s actually quite refreshing….no life altering problems (just a few annoying ones), no contention, no heartache, just...life, I guess. And I'm happy with that!

Mary Ellen Edmunds said: "Enough of negativism! There has been too much recounting of trials and highlighting of personal martyrdom. On with remembering that life is about gladness, too. Yes! Find the joy!"

So, I guess I wanted to share with you where I find my joy (in no particular order). You know that feeling of pure joy. I just get goose-bumps when I think about what brings me the most joy.

1. My sweet red-headed husband

2. My sweet red-headed daughter

3. The gospel and a loving Heavenly Father

4. Going for walks on cool, crisp evenings with my family

5. A really good lightening and thunderstorm

6. My little apartment (especially the a/c!)

7. Picnics with our families

8. The sound of Geoff and Emily's belly laughs

9. The smells of camping in the mountains

10. Listening to good, uplifting music

This is just a small handful of things that I love.

So, what brings you joy????

A day of mourning....

Well, today is a sad day. After much thought and heartache, I'm announcing that it's time to be done with my daily guilty pleasure. Oh friend, how I'm going to miss you. I've decided to start making some changes in my life and you, my friend, are the first to go. What a sad, sad day.

Little Miss Em

On Wednesday we drove to Rigby and had Emily's 2 year pictures done. Why did we drive all the way to Rigby, some might ask? Well, just take a look at these pictures and you will understand why. Robin Spencer is one of the best photographers that I know of.....and I love her!! She took our wedding pictures and I still love to look at them. She is incredible!!! I loved the fact that she let Emily play for a little while before actually starting the photoshoot. I loved that fact that she allowed Emily to call the shots and just followed her around. Thus, we were able to get some pretty wonderful shots! Thanks Robin!

Just follow this link and it will take you directly to her blog. Scroll down to the bottom and you'll see our sweet Emily. And I must add that these are only a few of the great pictures that she took. It's going to be so hard to choose!

Our baby girl is 2 today!

It's so hard to believe that our baby girl is 2 years old today!

Emily has been such a joy to have in our home! She has a sweet personality and a laugh that's infectious. How grateful we are to have her in our family. I can still remember praying each night for the blessing of becoming a parent. I wanted nothing more than to be a mother. After spending 4 years with empty arms, our prayers were finally answered on August 13, 2006 when we found our we were going to be parents. What a wonderful day that was! Pregnancy was incredible! I loved it!!! After wanting it so badly for so long, it was such a blessing to be pregnant. Then, on April 23, 2007 at 10:26 pm, our sweet girl was born. I can still remember hearing her first cry and the instant and undescribable love I felt for this baby. These last two years have be wonderful and we look forward to many more years with our sweet baby girl.

These pictures were taken the morning after she was born by an incredible photographer, Maggie Chappell. You can see her website here. The hospital hired her to take pictures for one of their newsletters that was sent to every house in the county. We were so excited to be chosen for the cover! We thought that was a great way to announce the birth of this sweet girl!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY SWEET GIRL!!

Here are some fun facts about Emily....

*She loves pizza, ice cream, cheetos, chicken nuggets, and anything chocolate.

*She loves to sing and knows many songs.

*She loves to watch Mickey Mouse Clubhouse and Bolt.

*She LOVES to be outside playing.

*Her very favorite things to do are: jumping on the tramp, under-dogs on the swing, sliding, and blowing bubbles.

*She loves to go to nursery.

*She loves to give hugs and kisses.

*She loves Grammy and Grandpa Meredith's cat, Shadow.

*She loves to talk on the phone..and often calls Shadow.

An Easter message

I saw this video on our friend's blog and it has truly touched my heart this Easter day. What a powerful message!!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EpFhS0dAduc

Just like Daddy!!!

I was headed into the bathroom the other day to get ready and this is what I found....

This is one of Geoff's activities while he's in the bathroom...electronic sudoku. (Is that to much information???) Well, Emily must has noticed and now that's what she likes to do in the bathroom. Whatever......

Spring Fever

Yesterday was such a nice day, so we decided to take Emily to the park. The girl LOVES to be outside!! I have a feeling we're going to be regulars at the park now.

Everytime we go to the park, I swear she gets more and more brave! I think we've got a roller coaster girl on our hands!

CHEESE!!!!

I thought this was cute.

Sometimes I wish she would just smile instead of being silly!! She sure is cute no matter what face she pulls. What a fun time! We ended our celebration of the beginnings of spring by grilling hamburgers. Nothing says warm weather like grilled burgers!!! Now that we've gotten a taste of the warm stuff....it's probaby going to snow again!!!!

Potty training.....yeah, not so much

I have been wondering if it’s time to start potty training Emily. There’s a checklist that I found that tells you if they’re ready or not and according to it, she should be ready to go. So, we brought home a little seat that fits on the big potty, thinking that she would be thrilled to sit on it like mommy and daddy do. YEAH RIGHT!!! I asked her if she wanted to sit on it and she was excited…until I took off her diaper. That’s when she realized that you do it with a bare bum…she HATES to be naked. Let’s just say, she screamed the whole time. So we abandoned that idea. Next, we came home with a little people potty. I think she understands that poop goes in there…but not HER poop! Her babies can poop in it, all her stuffed animals can poop in it…but not Emily! I guess we’ll wait for awhile. In the mean time, we’re just going to let her play with her potty (she calls it a “Pot”) and see what happens. She loves sitting on it...with the lid down and her clothes still on her body. I have a feeling that this is going to take some time.

"Where's the poop?"

She was very excited this morning, when she remembered her new "pot." She insisted on sitting on it while eating her toast and watching Mickey Mouse Clubhouse.

I had the nerve to ask her if she wanted to take off her diaper and try going potty...she wasn't very amused.

Wouldn't that be great....a nice piece of toast and some cartoons while you're sitting on the pot...maybe she's got the right idea.