Albertson Family

Karlee

2010-06-22T23:22:00.006-06:00

Decided to upload some pictures that I took recently of Karlee!! Hopefully between swimming lessons, summer, work, babysitting twin 3-month old girls and remodeling our house, I will have time to do a real update soon!!

AMAZING Father's Day

2010-06-22T22:03:00.010-06:00

As most of you know, Father's day in Billings turned out to be a very scary, destructive, shake you to core and yet AMAZING day!!! For the first time since 1958, a tornado touched down in Billings and caused major destruction but left NO and I repeat NO injuries or fatalities!!

The day was FINALLY a nice day! The sun was finally shining and the temperature was rising!! Karlee asked Mike if he wanted to go to Toy Story 3 for Father's day and he of course said yes!! We left the theater at about 4:20 and while we were in there, a storm had rolled in and it was eerily dark!! We talked about going to eat supper somewhere but decided to waste some time at Toys-R-Us first!! Just as we had walked into Toys-R-Us, I received a text from a friend saying that she had gotten word that a tornado was spotted on the north side of town and asked if I could hear sirens!! I walked to the door of Toys-R-Us and couldn't hear sirens but noticed that it had started really raining! I told Mike that we needed to at least get to the car so we could turn on the radio and hear what was going on!! We made it to the car and decided to start heading home so that we would at least be there if there was going to be a tornado!! Shortly after that, I get a phone call from my friend stating that she had heard that a tornado had touched down at Metra Park and was heading up Main Street in the Heights!! My heart immediately sunk...we live in the heights and not too far off Main from the Metra!! We start driving as fast as we can towards home to see if our house is okay all the while my phone starts going crazy with texts and phone calls and also with me trying to text and call people and see if they are okay! The rain is falling so hard that we can barely see even with the windshield wipers on high!!

I will NEVER forget what we saw as we approached the Metra and up Main Street (tears are filling my eyes as I type this)!! It was minutes, maybe 10 after the tornado had it!! Debris...insulation...wood...metal was EVERYWHERE! In the roads, hanging from power lines, trees and then I saw it........The Metra....THE ROOF WAS GONE!!!!! I have soo many memories of different events at the Metra.....going to concerts, tournaments, bringing an electric blanket to keep warm while take stats at the High School basketball tournaments cause the floor was on the ice, I graduated from College in that building, taking Karlee for her first meeting with her HERO Mickey Mouse....SOOOO many memories!!

We continued down Main Street through more debris on the road and strewn everywhere to the next business that we can see that is damaged!! There were only 2 walls and a pop machine left of this business!! Then across the street, it looks as if what was a casino is now a pile of rubble and several other business had windows broke out and then just a few more business down the street, no damage at all!! I started praying that nobody was injured but in the back of my head, I figured there was no possible way that there could be such destruction and no injuries or fatalities!!

We kept heading toward the house to see how it was as I had been getting reports from friends of golf ball size hail through out the heights and lots of broken windows and flooding!! We got home to find that our lawn looked like a driving range at a Golf Course but thankfully no windows were broken and we had no flooding!! Mike's car was heavily damaged by the hail along with our roof, gutters, and bbq!! Those are all just things!! We are all okay and that is the most important thing!!

When you drive by the path of destruction it is sad to see the destruction but AMAZING all at the same time!! Everywhere you look, you see GOD's hand!! He protected us all that night when a tornado was sent down the busiest street in the whole state of Montana!! When the adrenalin wore off that night and I got a chance to reflect on what had happened and that the tornado could have touched down anywhere in Billings, I had a good cry over how lucky and blessed we all are!!

Here are some pictures of the destruction and also a video that was shot of the tornado!!

This is a short part of the video below that shows some of the tornado touching down at the Metra!!

This is a 10 min video of the tornado hitting the Metra and also the destruction afterwards!

Cell phone picture taken of the tornado about 1/2 mile from where it was touching down

Upper Parking lot at the Metra littered with debris

Ariel view of the damage to the Metra

Inside the Metra

Back of Fast-Break Auto Glass

Front of Fast-Break Auto Glass

Enclosed Trailer that was hurled through the air

Our Front Yard!!

Hail that I picked up 2 hours AFTER the storm! That is a quarter in the bowl with it!!

We received over 2 inches of rain in 2 hours with the storm that added to our already very saturated ground! There has been wide spread flooding throughout the town! Some house have had as much as 7-8 feet of water in their basements!!

Click here to read the articles and see the pictures that the Billings Gazette has published!!

Also, Click here to view some of the photos that uploaded to Facebook!! & Here

When I Grow Up.....cont.!!

2010-05-26T21:14:00.006-06:00

I have been busy making some more cakes and really enjoying it! This weekend I will try my hand at a graduation cake for my cousin!!! Every time I am done, I am truly amazed that I was able to make that!!! I have found it to be very relaxing and keep trying to think of more fun cakes I can make!! I am having to find people who are willing to take a cake off my hands though as I am on a diet and that diet doesn't include cake!!

Here are my latest creations.....

A friend's twin baby girls were born early and had to spend about 3 weeks in the NICU! I made a cake to celebrate their homecoming!!

Michele is one of the 2 gals that run the daycare that Karlee goes to!! She also is Mike's cousin!! Karlee was so thrilled to bring Michele this cake!!

I made a cake for Mike for our anniversary! Our wedding cake was white with a pearl pattern with fresh red roses on it! This is my interpretation of that!! It was my first time making a fondant rose which was kind of interesting!!

This is a cake that I was inspired to make from a tank top and shorts outfit I bought Karlee!!

I promise a full update on life in the Albertson family this weekend!! That is if I can find the time while making a graduation cake!! :-)

A letter from Karlee

2010-04-16T15:21:00.001-06:00

My name is Karlee Albertson and I am a MIRACLE (at least my mommy says so). I just couldn't wait to meet my mommy and daddy and so I arrived 9 weeks early!! When I was born, instead of lying with my mommy I was put into an incubator which made me very sad! There were tubes, lights and all sorts of sounds and things that I didn’t understand. When I was born, I had to have help to breathe and I saw other babies that were smaller than me and they had to have tubes to help them breath as well. I knew my mommy and daddy and all the other mommy and daddies were sad as I would sometimes see them crying but they didn't know just how strong I would be!! My mommy and daddy were always by my side even though I was so small (3lbs 6oz) they couldn't hold me right away. When they did get to hold me it wasn't for long but I loved every second of it. I can still remember the way my mommy smelt the first time she held me. It was so hard not going home to my special room after I was born, but I was never alone. I remember how tired mommy was, it seemed like she lived in the hospital and I also remember how sad daddy was that he couldn't be there with me every second. I am so thankful for my family and how much they love me. I am also very thankful for the people who helped me be able to finally go home. So now that I have been out of the NICU for 3 years. I want you to help me save babies like me. Without all of the research from the March of Dimes I might have never came home. My mommy and I will be walking in the March of Dimes March for Babies on April 24. Will you Sponsor me as we walk cause ONE DAY.ALL BABIES WILL BE BORN HEALTHY BUT WE HAVE TO WALK TO GET THERE!!

Thank you!

Love,

Karlee

www.marchforbabies.org/karleealbertson

Princess Bed

2010-04-06T20:56:00.003-06:00

Karlee got a new twin bed!! We decided it was time to trade in the toddler bed & to say she is in LOVE with it is an understatement!!

From an Incubator to a Princess Bed.....She has came a long way!!

When I Grow Up....

2010-04-06T16:22:00.012-06:00

When I grow up..........I want to decorate cakes....specifically FONDANT cakes & be the next Ace of Cakes!!

I have always LOVED watching cake decorating shows!!

So I decided to try out what I have seen on TV!!

I baked a few cakes (Lemon and Strawberry) & stacked them.....

Bought some fondant tools.....

And started decorating!!

I thought they turned out okay considering I can't even frost a cookie decently!!

This is was my second time EVER decorating a cake (first time can be found here)!!

So I then decided to try something a little harder and make a cake for Easter!!

I was again plesently SUPRISED at the results!!

Someone pinch me that I ACTUALLY made that!!

Move over Duff...here comes KANDIS!!!

Happy Easter

2010-04-04T14:16:00.003-06:00

St. Patrick's Day 2010

2010-03-17T17:35:00.010-06:00

Once upon a time a Leprechaun visited!!!

He left some gold coins, beads....

Cookies.....

Some Leprachaun poop....

And a very HAPPY little Girl!!!

This past weekend we went to the Annual St. Patrick's Day Parade!! We love going & I especially LOVE the bagpipes!!

Happy St. Patrick's Day
From Karlee

The faces of Karlee......

2010-03-03T15:39:00.004-07:00

Happy Valentines Day

2010-02-09T15:33:00.006-07:00

Here's hoping that everyone has a great Valentines Day!! Mandy wrote it best about what the "true" meaning of Valentines day is here!!

Karlee has been sick with a horrible cold that included a double ear infection so we have been spending a lot of time at home trying to get better!! I was bored and decided to try my hand at some Valentine goodies!!

First up was Valentine Petite Fours!! MckMama gave me this idea in this post!! They were very tasty and very easy to make!!

After making those, I decided to try my hand at decorating a cake with fondant!! I bought some supplies and got to work while Karlee was napping!! This was my first time ever decorating a cake and only my second time working with fondant (first was making the Valentine Petit Fours)!! I thought it turned out good which really made me happy beings I secretly dream of being Ace of Cakes or Cake Boss or something like that in my next life!!

Karlee had her Valentines Day Party at daycare on Friday and from the pictures, it looks like she had a good time!!

Hope today and every day, you are surrounded by the ones you LOVE!!

Punxsutawney Phil

2010-02-04T20:40:00.004-07:00

So I guess he......

...was right cause we woke up to this today!!
...MORE snow!!

Blog Makeover

2010-02-03T21:25:00.003-07:00

What do you think of the new blog look?? I won a blog makeover from an amazing designer!! Her name is Mandy and let me just tell you a little about how amazing she is!! She has three a personal blog that she chronicles her and her husbands adventures...I usually get a good laugh when reading her blog!! She also has a website that I have talked about before called Survival Mode Parent!! It is where you can sign up as a volunteer to help other families in your area that have a child(ren) in the NICU or PICU!! Having been in the NICU, it is a great organization and a much need organization!! Visit the page and sign up today!!

& this is her last website (along with also working full-time)!! She does blog makeovers and not just any blog makeovers but blog makeovers where a portion of the cost you pay goes to a charity of choice for the month!! Right now she is supporting the National MS Society so now until April 30, 2010, 20% of everything you spend at Blogs by Mandy goes to The National Multiple Sclerosis Society. If you are ever in the market for a blog makeover, please check out Blogs by Mandy!! She is sooooo easy to work with and does amazing work!!

Where Dreams Come True.....

2010-02-02T08:59:00.005-07:00

**I am reposting this cause I just realized that it never made it out of a draft the first time when I posted it here!!

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Here are a few pictures from our Disneyland trip!! It was an amazing, once in a life time trip!! Karlee had the most amazing time and really was a very lucky little girl!! She got to go to the Bibbidi Bobbidi Boutique and get her hair, nails and makeup done like a princess for her birthday!! She also got to have a birthday party with Pat-E-Cake!! The day of her birthday, we met an angel named Cheryl that absolutely fell in LOVE with Karlee!! We saw her various times through out the day with the characters!! The next day after Karlee's birthday we went to Toon Town's morning madness!! As soon as we entered the gates, the first person we saw was Cheryl again!! Her and Karlee had a little reunion hug and then Cheryl completely made our whole trip...she asked us if we would want to be in that mornings show!! What that meant was that we would get brought on stage and get a certificate from Mickey making us the Honorary Family of the day!! It was AMAZING!! The fun didn't stop there for Karlee though!! Amazing Cheryl had some more tricks up her sleeve and Karlee ended up getting to hold Pluto's hand and then Donald's hand and walk across the park and then....the icing on the cake.....she got to hold her Mickey's hand and walk through his house with him!! HOW AMAZING!!! We were truly blessed to have met Cheryl and thank her for the great care she took of us and the great things she did for us!!

We are already planning our next trip back!! Next trip will be in October so we can go Trick-R-Treating there!!! We are already counting the days!!

When Life Hands You Snow.....

2010-02-01T22:08:00.006-07:00

When life hands you snow....

......You make snow ice cream!!

....Pink snow ice cream to be exact!!

....2 quarts of fresh snow...Mix in a cup of sugar, a teaspoon of vanilla and milk until it reaches the consistency you want!!

.....& then ENJOY!!!

Smile

2010-01-30T10:18:00.002-07:00

My baby girl is growing up but she still has that AMAZING melt my heart smile!! Absolutely LOVE it!! :-)

Merry Christmas

2009-12-24T16:32:00.002-07:00

Merry CHRISTmas!! Love to you all!!

Mike, Kandis & Karlee

At the NECKU

2009-11-30T22:42:00.003-07:00

I am blogging about this for my own memory but it is also an adorably cute story on Karlee to share!!

After I picked Karlee up from daycare today, we were heading to Costco!! All of a sudden, she says to me, "Mom, you need to buy 2 baby beds." I asked why to which she replied, "Cause I have 2 babies in my NECK and they are coming soon". I then said, "In your neck? Are babies usually in your neck?" To which she replied, "Sometimes they are! Michele & Melissa (daycare gals) have them in their necks sometimes". Okay then....I didn't ask anymore but decided to ask her more about it when she got up from her nap!!

I asked her if she had her babies yet and she said "No..on the 14th when I am bigger!!" I then asked her how they were going to get out to which she replied with the funniest answer I have ever heard.................

She says, "I don't know...at the NECKU!! Like how you had me at the NECKU!! I need to go to the NECKU with you and have my babies!!"

It was all I could do to keep a straight face....she was completely serious about delivering babies in your NECK at the NECKU!! I guess when she hears us saying NICU, she thinks we are saying NECKU!!

Out of the mouth of babes!!!

10 Years Ago

2009-11-04T11:47:00.003-07:00

....10 years ago today my dad was given the GIFT OF LIFE

....a kidney and a pancreas transplant

....10 years ago today some amazing family said goodbye to their dad & their son and gave my dad another chance at life

...THANK YOU

....Thank you for giving me my dad back and for allowing my daughter to know her grandfather

**Here is a poem that I had read at my wedding and then made this to give to the donor family!! Sorry for the poor quality!!

When I was a little girl

I used to run around and play

And wonder in my own way

What would come about the next day.

Then....................

As I grew older and became more aware

Mom would always say

(Daddy's gonna be okay).

Years went by and I would always pray

Becuase Daddy was still sick eveyday.

Then....................

All at once when hope was thin

God reached down

And gave Daddy his life back again.

Mom was right as all Mothers are

(Daddy is okay)

And he is here to give me away

On this, my wedding day.

Author Unknown

Amazing Giveaway

2009-11-02T09:44:00.001-07:00

Tracy at Just Another Mommy Blog is having an amazing giveaway on her giveaway/review blog!! Check it out the giveaway here and be sure and get entered for your chance to win!! Good luck!!

Halloween 2009

2009-11-01T00:12:00.002-06:00

Hope everyone had a wonderful and safe Halloween!!

Happy Halloween!!

2009-10-30T22:26:00.002-06:00

3 Years Ago

2009-10-08T21:50:00.006-06:00

We interrupt this regularly scheduled blog hiatus for this very special post (sorry, hopefully life will let me get back to blogging soon)........

3 Years Ago today after 6 LONG weeks of bedrest, 6 VERY LONG weeks (40 days to be exact...reminiscent of the time Jesus spent in the desert) in the NICU, we were FINALLY able to bring our precious miracle home!! It was the best day of my life...I was finally being able to walk through those hospital doors with a baby in my arms and not with empty arms and a heavy heart!! She weighed a whopping 5lbs 2 oz when we left the hospital and now today weighs close to 28lbs...the kid likes to eat!! It was very scary to think that she was home and no longer had all those monitors hooked to her so I knew if she forgot to breathe, to know if her heart was beating to slow, etc. but it was also very JOYFUL!!

Pictures taken right before we left and taken right after we got home!!

Our time in the NICU was great (if you can say that about having to be there)!! The nurses were absolutely wonderful as were the doctors that took care of me and Karlee!! It is very hard to be on the NICU roller coaster as it is called!! I literally LIVED there....got there for her 9:00 a.m. cares and left at about 1:00 a.m. after her midnight cares!! While I was there, I had lots of support from my friends and family and thankfully I didn't have any other kids at home as I don't know how I would have done it!! There is a new website that was just started for caring individuals to register to help a family that has a child(ren) in the NICU!! It is called Survival Mode Parent (the name could not be more fitting...I was/am often asked how I did it and my response always was that Survival Mode kicked in and you just do what you got to do) and it is for individuals to sign up to help provide the basic needs of parents with kids in the NICU!! Please visit their website and sign up to be a volunteer in your area!! You can have the opportunity to make a families life a little easier during a very difficult time. It can be providing something so simple as a meal at the hospital (I would have given anything to have a home cooked meal brought to me vs. having to always eat cafeteria food) to helping with childcare for the other kids the family may have at home!! Please, if you are able, visit the site and sign up as there are lots of families out there that need help!!

I am closing with one of the most amazing pictures of GOD's work I have ever seen! I took this picture of Karlee at just a mere 5 days old! I kept this picture with me the whole time she was in the NICU to remind me that if she can be smiling while going through it, so can I!!

SMILE, GOD loves you!!

Where Dreams Come True....

2009-09-10T23:44:00.015-06:00

We are already planning our next trip back!! Next trip will be in October so we can go Trick-R-Treating there!!! We are already counting the days!!

Karlee's Birthday/Disneyland

2009-09-08T15:16:00.004-06:00

We are home from our Disneyland trip and will hoepfully be posting pictures soon! It was an amazingly MAGICAL trip with LOTS of great memories!! I am waiting on my CD of pictures of Disney to edit all my photos but will be posting them as soon as it arrives!! Till then, here is a sneak peak into our trip!!

Not My Child

2009-08-24T22:52:00.003-06:00

Did you almost die of embarrassment when your child pulled their own pants down at the library? Want to scream bloody murder when your toddler took a pair of scissors to the dog's fur? Feel like a terrible mother when your kid said a four-letter-word at a back to school event? Well don't! Mothers aren't perfect and neither are children. Let's 'fess up today because it's Not my child! Monday!
Sound liberating? Then let's get going!
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Karlee did NOT through such a tantrum in the Dollar Store this week that Mike did NOT have to take her out to the car kicking and screaming!! I mean, she is well behaved enough that she can be told NO and not go into a tantrum!! Nope, Not My Child...she is an angel!! (Side note...not sure who deserved the time out more...Karlee or Daddy!! Daddy handed her a toy to look at and then attempted to pry it from her hands!! He learned a valuable lesson...don't give it to her if you don't plan on buying it!!)

Karlee most certainly did NOT stuff a doll necklace up her nose to the point that it was not visible which did NOT force me to have to get out the tweezers and remove said necklace from said nose!! Nope, Not My Child...she would never do such a thing!!

Karlee is NOT turning 3 years old this Sunday!! There is absolutely no way that is happy...I mean, I just gave birth to her yesterday...my baby CAN'T be growing up....I forbid it when she was born!! No, Not My Child...she is staying a baby forever!! SNIFF, SNIFF!! :-)

Hope everyone has a great week and weekend!! 4 days till we leave for Disneyland!!

Not Me Monday (on Thursday)

2009-08-20T09:13:00.009-06:00

Things have been a little hectic and so I am finally getting my Not Me Monday done today...better late than never!!

This past week we most certainly did not make 3 trips to the fair just so that I could indulge myself in the not so good for you fair food!! My mouth is watering right now thinking about how good it tasted...fried pickles, strawberry kabob, greasy french fries, corn dogs...I mean watering THINKING about how good they would have tasted had we actually went cause I would never go to such a dirty, germ infested place to eat such unhealthy food nor would I subject Karlee to that...No, Not me!!

I also would have never taken a picture of said delicious fair food had we gone just to be able to remember how good it was!! Of course I didn't, cause of course we didn't go to the fair!!

I also didn't almost have a panic attack walking into the Wal-Mart that Mike works at for the first time after an employee was shot there by another employee!! No, not me...I am always calm, cool and collected...never over-react!! I mean my husband is perfectly safe going to work every day cause I mean who would bring a gun to work at Wal-Mart anyway!!

Lastly, I am not counting down the days till we leave for Disneyland like a 2 year-old. I am an adult and don't need to count down such things! No, I am not counting...but if I was, we leave in 8 DAYS!!! :-)

Hope you all join in the fun!! If you want to know the rules and the ins and outs, check out this blog post on MckMama's blog!!

Not Me Monday

2009-08-10T08:15:00.012-06:00

I decided to participate in Not Me Monday for the first time....sooo here goes!!....

Welcome to Not Me Monday! This blog carnival was created by MckMama. You can head over to her blog to read what she and everyone else have not been doing this week.

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This weekend we most certainly didn't make 2 back to back trips to Chuck E Cheese after having already been there just a week prior to that as well! No not me...I wouldn't let my child play at such a place!!

While leaving from the last said Chuck E Cheese visit, I didn't say that it would be the last time I was there for quite some time only to come home and have Karlee finally poop in her potty chair which means she will be getting to go to said location soon to have a celebration party!! (I bribed her months ago with a celebration party at said Chuck E Cheese if she started using her potty chair to you know, go to the bathroom instead of her diaper. She has gladly potty all this time in her potty chair but wouldn't go poop...until today just to make me have to go back to Chuck E Cheese again soon) No, not me...I wouldn't ever make such a statement cause I am smart enough to know that such statement will bite me in the butt as soon as I say it!!

Yesterday, I didn't let my daughter miss her nap only so that I knew she would go to bed extra early being so tired so that I could catch up on some blog reading and get some Farmtown and Farkle played on Facebook last night! No, not me...I wouldn't do such a thing as making my daughter miss her nap to later benefit me, Not me!!

I am not completely on the edge of my seat wondering where MckMama and her family went on her ohhh so secretive trip!! No, Not me, I wouldn't ever been so concerned with a strangers family as to care where they went on a trip and why all of us blog readers weren't told in advance....No, Not ME!!

Well that wasn't tooo bad! Hope you all join in the fun!! If you want to know the rules and the ins and outs, check out this blog post on MckMama's blog!!

Bugs BITE!!!

2009-08-06T22:22:00.004-06:00

So 2 weeks ago on Saturday morning, we set off for Yellowstone with Mike's brother, his partner Eddie, & Eddie's nephew Tommy!! We had planned to drive the Beartooth Pass, enter Yellowstone at Cooke City, spend the day in Yellowstone, exit at Gardiner and spend the night in Livingston. Well about part way up the pass, I noticed that Karlee's ankle was a little swollen and figured she had a bug bite and that we were repeating the reactions that she had last year!! Little did I know that she was repeating the reaction and that it was going to be even worse!! Within a couple hours more, it was really swollen and had started to blister with those blisters popping, draining and reblistering (it was so bad that one time I was holding Karlee while stopped to look at a waterfall & a lady started freaking out saying, "OMG...have you seen her ankle??)!! I had no children's benedryl with me and we were in the middle of Yellowstone!! We made it to Old Faithful and I was able to get some adult benedryl and gave her half a tablet till we could get to Livingston. We arrived back in Livingston late that night and by that point her, foot, ankle and leg up to her knee was three times the size of her other leg (poor kid looked like she was 9 months pregnant) so we took her to the ER! They said she had and infected bug bit and gave us an antibiotic and some children's benedryl. Well throughout the next day, the bite proceeded to keep swelling, keep blistering (getting new blisters) and turn bright red...it was pretty scary as then I was afraid she had a poisonous spider bite. Well, (trying to shorten the very long story) by about Thursday, it had started to look lots better and we only had a few open spots where the blisters had been and a small tinge of purple left!! The pictures below are from the bite and the subsequent days following!!

So we thought we were good to go and the infection was clearing up!! On Friday of last week, Karlee and I headed to Baker for our annual Knipp Family get together and to celebrate my Grandpa Everett's 80th birthday!! We spent the entire day out at my Aunt Karen's house with family on Saturday. That night, I noticed that the inside of Karlee's foot was swollen and so I thought that even though she still had one more day of the antibiotic left that the infection must not be getting better (wow..was I wrong). Karlee had a horrible time sleeping that night as she was itching all night and by morning, she was a wreck from the mosquito bites! The inside of her foot was swollen again cause she got a new bite and was reacting to that along with a bite between her eyes that was welted and 3 bites on her arm that was causing her wrist to swell. Long story short, by the time I got back to Billings with her on Sunday night, her eyes were almost swollen shut, her foot was soo swollen she couldn't wear her shoes and her little wrist was swollen!! We took her to the ER here and they gave us a steroid for the swelling and gave us another week of antibiotics. These pictures are the progression of those bites!!

After watching these bites, I decided to get her into her pediatrician cause it is SOOOO miserable for her when she gets these mosquito bites! Her pediatrician only works Wed, Thurs, & Fri and so she hadn't seen her when she had a horrible bite. I printed off all the pictures of her last 2 bites and also the pictures from her reactions last year (3 rounds of antibiotics to heal bites last year) to show that the reactions were getting worse and that we needed to figure something out. She looked at Karlee and the pictures and determined that Karlee is severely allergic to mosquitos. She said that she has only had 3 patients like that in all her years of practicing. She prescribed an EPI pen for us to carry, Zyrtec to give her everyday and then a steroid to use if she gets a bite that swells badly. We are going to try the Zyrtec for now and see how things go and how her reactions to the bites are. If they don't improve, then I will take her to an Allergist and see what else we can do.

I feel soooooo bad as you can't KEEP a kid away from mosquitos cause you can't lock them in the house all summer. I have tried every bug spray out there with her and she still gets bit and bit lots!! I hope the Zyrtec works and if not, I am scared to see what her reactions will progress to!!

Pray for Stellan

2009-07-27T10:49:00.004-06:00

You may recall me asking for prayers for Stellan before but he needs them more then ever right now. Things have taken a turn for worse and Stellan is very sick! Please pray for him, his family and his doctors for all the right choices to be made! You can read about Stellan's story & get updates on his condition here! Thanks!!

Favorite Recipe

2009-07-22T21:40:00.002-06:00

Welcome Blog Hoppers!

This week's MckLinky Blog Hop theme is favorite recipes, so here's mine:

Taco Soup

Ingredients:
1 1/2 pounds Hamburger
1 Onion
1 Green Pepper (optional)
1 can pinto beans
1 can red kidney beans
1 can great northern beans
1 can whole kernel corn
1 can diced Tomatoes (Rotel)
1 pkg. Hidden Valley Ranch Dressing mix
1 pkg. taco mix
3 or 4 cups water

Directions:
Brown Hamburger, onion, and green pepper. Drain. In a large pot combine hamburger, pinto beans (juice and all), kidney beans (juice and all), northern beans (juice and all), corn (drain), tomatoes, ranch dressing mix, taco mix, water, and salt & pepper to taste. Simmer about 45 minutes. Serve with grated cheese and fritos, tostitos tortilla chips (crumbled).

Reminder: SEND YOUR RECIPES so that a MckLinky Recipe Book can be created, FREE for all the blog hoppers! Submit your recipe here: http://www.mcklinky.com/recipes.asp

Not My Child

2009-07-20T22:32:00.004-06:00

MckMama is changing up Not Me Monday with Not My Child Monday so I thought I would play along!! If you would like to play along as well, hop on over to MckMama's blog to find out how!!

So here goes.......

Karlee certainly didn't fight with her cousin Fayth over her imaginary baby while at the zoo!! No, not my child!! First of all, my child wouldn't fight with any kids and especially not over the fact that she thinks another child may have picked up her imaginary baby and secondly, my child wouldn't have an imaginary baby!!

Karlee didn't have to go into timeout a mere 2 minutes after we arrived at Reading Rocks today!! No, not my child...she is well behaved and never needs timeout!!

Karlee most certainly didn't call some driver in front of us while stopped in road construction on the way to the zoo a F&^*ing slow driver!! No, not my child!! My child always uses appropriate language and if my child had said such a word, I certainly would have disciplined her instead of laughing like a 5th grade school boy!!

Hope everyone had a great weekend and has a great week!!

Fingerprint Friday

2009-07-17T17:38:00.003-06:00

There is a song by Steven Curtis Chapman that says:

I can see the fingerprints of god
When I look at you
I can see the fingerprints of god
And I know its true
You're a masterpiece
That all creation quietly applauds
And you're covered with the fingerprints of god

So look around you and see where YOU can see God's fingerprints. Is it in nature? Kids? Animals? Where do you see them? Here's how to join in.

1. Blog with your interpretation of God's fingerprints. Be sure to link back here so others can find the entire list of participants!

2. After you've posted your blog, sign the Mr. Linky below. Have fun exploring the other links as well! Please only sign in if you're participating. Hopefully this will make us look at things through fresh eyes throughout the week!

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God's fingerprint is all over this picture!!

A Favorite

2009-07-07T08:16:00.003-06:00

MckLinky is having a blog hop featuring favorite photos!! This is one of my faovorite photos of Karlee! It was taking at 5 days old and it was like she was telling me...."Stop worrying mommy, God is taking good care of me & isn't going to let anything happen to me". It also was very much an indicator of the type of personality that Karlee was going to have...always smiling and always enjoying life!!

4th of July Festivities

2009-07-06T18:08:00.003-06:00

I decided that instead of trying to catch up (I will add some posts later to do that), that I would just forge ahead with what is happening now!! We had a GREAT 4th of July and I had soooo much fun watching Karlee enjoy the holiday. She is finally getting to an age where she gets what holidays are and I can honestly say that because she is getting older, I think this has been her favorite holiday so far.

Mike had to work for part of the day so Karlee & I ventured to Laurel to watch the parade. My Uncle Jeff & his wife Dawn ended up meeting us over there as well and we all had so much fun watching Karlee figure out what a parade is all about.....CANDY!! She would ask the floats as they came by, "Please, can I have some candy"!! It was tooo CUTE!! She waved her flag and was even blowing kisses sometimes to the floats. We ended up being there for about 3 hours and she was engrossed the whole time which is no small feat to entertain a 2-year old with the same activity for 3 hours. As soon as we got in the car and started driving home, she right away said, "I had fun at the parade with you Mommy" so I knew she had really enjoyed it!!

After the parade, we headed home to take a nap so that we wouldn't be grouchy staying up late for fireworks!! After nap time, Mike made it home and then Mike's bother Dustin & his friend Eddie came over. We bbq'ed and did a few fireworks (sparklers, snakes and blooming flowers). Karlee loved doing the sparklers and was a little disappointed she couldn't light the snakes herself!!

After lighting our fireworks, we all headed over the Laurel to watch their fireworks display. This was the first year that Karlee stayed up to see the fireworks and I wasn't sure how she would do with the loud booms! She was a little worried when they first started that they would fall on us but after she realized they wouldn't she loved them!! It was sooooo fun to watch her face react to the fireworks and see how much she enjoyed them.

It was a good time had by all of us and I can't wait for many more 4ths to make even more memories. I hope everyone else had a great 4th of July and also remembered to thank the Service Men/Women who protect our freedoms.

P.S. After the fireworks, Eddie received a call that his niece, her boyfriend and their baby had been hit by a drunk driver and that she was hurt pretty badly (the boyfriend & their baby and the drunk driver were uninjured). Please keep her in your prayers for a speedy recovery. The guy who hit her already has 3 DUI's and unfortunately was out on the roads to be able to drink and drive again and hurt another person.

Happy 4th of July

2009-07-04T09:11:00.001-06:00

Hope everyone has a great 4th of July and thanks to all those that have fought for us to have our freedom!!!

MckLinky

2009-06-30T14:57:00.001-06:00

There’s a great new “linky” service available and I wanted to let you know about it. It’s called MckLinky – http://www.mcklinky.com/. After realizing the need for a new, reliable linky capability, Brent Riggs and MckMama got together to create a free, easy to use linky service for all their blog friends.

MckLinky is a free link list feature that allows you to do include lists of other blog links like MckMama does on Not Me! Monday. You can use MckLinky any time you want your blog readers to leave a list of links on your blog. It’s simple, reliable, free...and loads of MckFun!

Happy Father's Day!!

2009-06-20T18:48:00.003-06:00

I know I have been very absent from the blog!! I promise a real post soon but wanted to share Mike's Father's Day present!! I go the idea from Beki!! I printed it off and framed it for him and am hoping he loves it!! Happy Father's Day to everyone!!

Albertson Family Happenings

2009-04-21T15:11:00.007-06:00

It has been a while since I last updated.....sorry for that!! Here are a few pictures since the last update!!

Karlee wasn't sure at all of the parade when we first got there!! She is such a chicken and at first was afraid she was going to see something that was scary!! Once the parade got going and she realized there was candy involved, it was all over!! She had fun hauling in the candy and in the end, had way more candy than she needed!!

We took Karlee to the Shrine Circus!! When we told her that the circus was going to be here and that we were taking her, right away she said, "I have to get my hair done". I was like, "WHAT?" She said again, "I have to get my hair done for the Circus Town Whoop-De-Do ". I was LMAO....There is a JoJo Circus episode where JoJo's lion Goliath gets his hair done for the Circus Town Whoop-De-Do so as soon as Karlee heard Circus, that is all she could think of!! Needless to say, I had to get her hair done after that so the day of the Circus, I took and had her hair braided! She was sooo excited to have her hair done for the Whoop-De-Do. When we got to the Circus, she right away started whining being afraid of the clowns and 5 minutes after sitting down, she told Mike and I that it was time to go Bye-Bye!! Once the Circus started and I got her to realize that the clowns weren't going to come over to her, she started to relax and by the end of the night was clapping and having a great time!!

My parents, sister and niece came for Easter!! Karlee waited till Tay-Tay was here to dye eggs! As soon as they got here, Karlee was ready to start dying and was not going to wait any longer!!

We had a great Easter!! The Easter bunny, Grandma & Grandpa & Aunt Kodi majorly spoiled Karlee with toys and candy!! After all the eggs were found and mommy had all the candy hid, we had Easter lunch at our house! Mike's 2 brothers and their families joined us along with my parents, my sister, my niece and my mom's brother, Jeff and his family!! It was great having all the family over!!

The Easter Bunny brought Karlee a water table!! It was a BIG hit and she is loving washing her dishes and even her hair!! :-)

My baby is growing up way toooo FAST!! It is amazing to me how her imagination works!! She picks up the craziest things and imagines them as something!! This is a plastic Christmas Light holder that she found outside yesterday when we were doing yard work!! She right away started carrying it around calling it her baby!! I went in the house to start dinner while she kept helping Mike outside!! All at once, I heard screaming and crying and ran outside thinking that she was hurt!! When I got out there, she is crying and starts saying, "I can't find my baby"!! She was hysterical because she had lost her baby (plastic Christmas light holder) and couldn't find it! THANK goodness Daddy came to the rescue and was able to find it!! I just love watching her grow and learn new things but at the same time it makes me sooo sad!!

The next few week for the Albertson Family are very busy!! Work is busy for me.......we have the Parade of Homes this weekend and next weekend that I will be working!! Then on Sunday, May 3, Mike and I fly to Las Vegas for 4 days to celebrate our 5 year anniversary!! This will be the first time that Karlee has stayed without me and Mike both!! She stayed once overnight without me but Mike was here!! My parents are coming up and staying here with her so hopefully it won't be too hard on her since she will be at home!! Say a prayer for Mike and I though that we will actually enjoy our trip and not spend the whole time missing Karlee and worrying about her!!

Lastly, I would ask that you all be in prayer for Baby Stellan. I have posted before about Stellan and he is still in need of prayer! He had heart surgery today and they were not able to do everything that they needed to do to repair his heart!! The next few days will be very telling for of the path God has chosen for this precious baby boy!! Please visit MckMama's blog to update yourself on his story and to also leave your thoughts and prayers for him and his family!! I can't imagine Karlee ever being sick and having to go through that!! Kiss your kids and be very THANKFUL for their health!!

This has turned into a very long post and I apologize for that! I hope that everyone is loving the summer weather we are having and are all doing well!!

Please pray for Baby Stellan

2009-03-24T09:17:00.006-06:00

I'm asking everyone to please pray for 5-month old Baby Stellan...he has been in the hospital with some very serious heart issues for the past few days, and it seems to be getting worse (Click here for his website). Some of you may know Stellan's story, but if not, I encourage you to read about the miracle that was performed on him while in the womb. He desperately needs another miracle to survive, so please pray for Stellan, his medical team & his family as well!!

Happy St. Patrick's Day

2009-03-17T07:26:00.002-06:00

Fingerprint Friday Sunday

2009-03-15T10:23:00.007-06:00

So I am trying something new here!! Pampering Beki does Fingerprint Friday and I thought I would also do it but on Sunday!!

There is a song by Steven Curtis Chapman that says:
I can see the fingerprints of god
When I look at you

I can see the fingerprints of god
And I know its true
Youre a masterpiece
That all creation quietly applauds
And you're covered with the fingerprints of god

So look around you and see where YOU can see God's fingerprints. Is it in nature? Kids? Animals? Where do you see them?
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------
I have seen God's fingerprint on my daughter!! I am reminded daily of the amazing miracle that she is & I was especially reminded of it this week when looking through pictures!!

These are her little toes the day after she was born, at a time when we didn't know if the next picture was something that we would ever get to enjoy with our beautiful, sick little girl!!

This picture was taken this past weekend while making cookies, something we are very happy to have the chance to do!!

January, February & first part of March

2009-03-10T22:35:00.012-06:00

Sorry for the long delay in postings. Seems like at the end of the day, the last thing I feel like doing is sitting down to the computer and typing out a post! I will try to be better at it as I know I love reading other people's blog posts!!

The big news for us is that on February 7, Karlee got to see her idol, Mickey live and in person!!!! She was sooo excited to go and kept saying she was going to hug him! Playhouse Disney Live was here in town with the Mickey Mouse Clubhouse gang, Handy Manny, My Friend Tiger & Pooh and The Little Einsteins! I was able to get front row seats and my parents, Kodi and Taylor were able to join us at the show and boy, oh boy did Karlee have fun! Aunt Kodi bought Karlee some Mickey ears because Karlee has always thought you have to have Mickey Ears to meet Mickey Mouse! She danced up a storm and was not ready for it to be over when it was! It was such a great time just getting to watch her excitement to the whole thing! Here are some pictures from the big day and also a short video of Karlee dancing!!

The only other big event we have had is that Karlee has now started going to day care! Mike and I have been working opposite shifts for the past year so we could always be home with her but decided that she was at the age that day care and playing with other kids would be good for her! She isn't there very much (10 mornings a month) but she is loving it and is really liking the chance to play with the other kids!! It is wearing her out and she is sound asleep in her car seat every afternoon by the time we get home. Mike's cousins Michele & Melissa watch her and we were so grateful that someone we knew had an opening so we could feel comfortable leaving her!! Here are a few pictures of her first day! She wasn't too thrilled with mom taking her picture when we left...guess I know what the first day of school is going to be like as well!!

Other than that, things are pretty quiet around here! Just spending lots of time hanging out with Karlee and playing at the mall play area a lot as it has still been pretty cold here!! We did get a couple of nice days and of course right away we hit the parks!! Here are a few other pictures from the last few months!!

Karlee just loves to make cookies!! The whole time she is helping make them, she repeatedly says, "This is fun, This is fun".

Remember the Mickey Tent Karlee got from Santa, well she loves to pitch it in the living room, pop popcorn, and watch Little Bear!! She would do this every night if we would let her!!

I would just like to ask for prayers for my Grandpa right now! He is suffering horribly with Alzheimers right now and has had to be admitted to a nursing home!! It is so terrible to see a man that worked so hard all his life wither away to the point that the can barely walk, can't talk and so on!! Grandpa Everett is the kindest, most hard working man you will ever meet and to see him like this just breaks my heart! This disease and caring for my Grandpa has put quite a strain on our family and we need lots of prayers right now for everyone to pull together and do what is best for Grandpa!! I just hope that a cure can be found soon before anyone else in my family has to suffer with this horrible disease!!

Profoundly Seth

2009-02-27T19:55:00.006-07:00

Please watch this video about an amazing family that really need our help and prayers! Their 7-month old son is profoundly death and needs cochlear implants to have a chance at hearing. Their insurance will only cover a portion of the surgery so they are "stepping out in faith to raise the rest of it for Seth". Please take a moment and watch this video. This family really shows us all how to never give up and to always believe even in our darkest moments!! Visit their website to hear more of their story....http://www.profoundlyseth.com/

Ummmmm.....Yeah!! So you want the truth!!

2009-01-07T09:46:00.007-07:00

I have received an award from my dear friend Sassy Pants Freckle Face and I will now attempt to fulfill the guidelines and pass this oh so wonderful award on to others!

The Rules
A) first list 10 err....I mean 7 honest things about yourself - and make it interesting, even if you have to dig deep!
B) pass the award on to other bloggers that you feel embody the spirit of the Honest Scrap.

The Truths
1) I LOVE, LOVE, LOVE being a mommy but am SCARED TO DEATH to have another child. Could I live with myself if the outcome wasn't so good!! But yet, I want another child or maybe 2 or 3. Life isn't fair!!

2) I DESPISE slow drivers. I have no patience for you slow idiots! There are only so many minutes in a day and I don't want to waste them following you!!

3) I am scared of my future as an old person. Alzheimers is a horrible disease and I see the toll and the division it is causing my family with my Grandpa and don't want to think about the possibilities of doing that to Mike or Karlee. Let's find a cure!!

4) I can't stand it when someone is mad at me. I am strong as hell but when I think I have done something to upset or hurt someone, I am as weak as ever no matter if I am right or not!!

5) I can burp the alphabet!! (Not something I am proud of but hey we are being honest here, right)

6) I love to take Karlee to the mall to play just so I can sit and people watch. Thank God for cell phones and texting so I can share my people observations with all my friends who are not at the mall!!

7) I am a horribly forgetful person and even if I do remember to write something down to remind me that I need to do something......I forget to look at the paper to remind me to do it!! I need a personal assistant!!

The Nominations

Now, I pass the award on to the following bloggers......
1. Kristin
2. MckMama
3. Deena
& anyone else that wants to participate!!

Thanksgiving to Christmas

2009-01-05T20:53:00.008-07:00

Okay....so I know I have been slacking on the blogging lately! The hustle and bustle of the holidays kicked my butt. I am finally getting caught up it seems!!

We had a great Thanksgiving with my parents, sister, niece and Mike's brother John, his wife Jennifer & daughter Sapphire joining us. We ate lots of great food and made our game plan for our annual black Friday shopping trip. The shopping on Friday was lots of fun with lots of great deals. We ended the day of shopping with the annual Christmas Parade and Spaghetti dinner! My parents were able to go with us and Karlee loved the parade. It was very cold but we wrapped up in blankets and enjoyed the candy. Karlee got to see Dora, fire trucks and Santa Clause to name a few of the floats. Every time the fire truck goes by the house now, Karlee thinks it is Santa.

On the 12th, my cousin Aimee welcomed her fifth child, Kennadee. Aimee is an amazingly strong person going through a very rough time right now so please keep her and her family in your prayers. Look at this adorable Christmas Miracle!!

The rest of our month was filled with Christmas parties and other Christmas activities building up to the main event!!! Here are a few photos from the month!!

If I look super cool & cute, can I open them early???

The Main Event......

Christmas was great for us. We stayed at home and had Christmas once again at our house. We started Christmas Eve off with a great church service and then headed back to the house for a soup dinner. My parents & Mike's bother John & his wife Jennifer were able to join us. We ate lots of good food and opened presents. Karlee was sooo excited to get a bike from Uncle John & Aunt Jennifer and MOMMY was soooo excited to get a Wii from Grandma & Grandpa!! We cleaned up, got ready for the next morning and got to bed very late!!

Christmas Morning.....

We got up about 8 to get the turkey and stuff started for Christmas dinner but Karlee was sooo tired from the late night that she slept till after 10:00. She was soo excited when she got upstairs and saw her Mickey Mouse Clubhouse tent and that Papa was inside. After she decided to join him, she noticed there was a doll house in the tent as well and it was all over from there. She loved it and hasn't stopped playing with it. Way to go Santa!!! Thanks for bringing such a great toy....now Mommy has time to play Wii while Karlee plays doll house. After we finished opening gifts, Mike's brothers and families joined us for a yummy meal and then the exhaustion set in. We all took naps, got our second wind and headed out to end the night looking at Christmas lights.

We hope that all of you had a very Blessed & Merry Christmas!!

The laughter of a child

2009-01-05T09:34:00.004-07:00

I know I am way slacking on the blogging but I promise that an update is on its way but until then........

Here is a sneak peak!!

March for Babies

2008-12-30T20:31:00.005-07:00

**Remember to turn off the music that is below and to the right on the sidebar**

Please support Karlee and I as we fight to end prematurity. You can support us by clinking on the link on the sidebar or by visiting www.marchforbabies.org/karleealbertson! Thanks!!

Merry Christmas!!

2008-12-30T10:44:00.001-07:00

Pray for Stellan and MckMama

2008-12-30T08:23:00.005-07:00

Baby is Stellan is 8 weeks old and currently fighting a hard case of RSV. Stellan is in the hospital and has stopped breathing a few times. He is still fighting hard to breathe and is on the brink of being intubated/ventilated. Please remember him and his family in your thoughts and prayers and also stop by MckMamas blog if you haven't already to read about the MckMiracle that baby Stellan already is...it is a truly amazing story and to also let her know that her family is in your prayers!!

Fisher-Price's Little Mommy Real Loving Baby Cuddle & Coo Doll

2008-12-01T17:49:00.007-07:00

You be the judge of what this doll is saying!! This is a doll that of Karlee's and there is quite the contraversy over what the doll is saying. This is an actual video of her doll!! Comment with what you think it says. I have the doll go through it twice so you can hear it twice. People are being outraged by this doll saying it says al qaeda is the light, islam is the light or even some that say satin is king. See if you can hear either of the 3 statements in this doll. Karlee has 2 of them and we returned a third one a month ago. Crazy!! It has been all over the news and Wal-Mart pulled them off their shelves. Fisher-Price says the dolls just jabbers and says Mama and that it is just a bad recorder!! You be the judge!!!

Albertson Family

2008-12-01T14:19:00.002-07:00

March of Dimes 2008 Prematurity Conference

2008-11-25T10:30:00.006-07:00

This past Friday, I was invited to Helena to participate in the March of Dimes 2008 Prematurity Conference & Volunteer Leadership Conference. It was an honor to get invited to participate in anything that raises awareness on the issue of prematurity. The conference started out with Dr. Jordan Perlow an OB-GYN from Phoenix who is an expert in pre-term birth talking about if Premature Birth in the United States is preventable. That was a hard talk filled with lots of tears for me to listen to from a personal perspective as I sit here struggling with trying to decide if we should tempt fate and try for another baby when we have been guaranteed another preemie. How can I help fight to end prematurity when I would be knowingly and willingly giving birth to a preemie? So, long story short, after hearing his talk, I had came to realization that I probably wouldn't be having another baby. BUT THEN........I got to speak to him one on one about my case and what I was told by my docs here and he gave me hope that I have a chance of not having a preemie. Will I go to 40 weeks.....NO....but possibly 35 or 36 weeks which is 4 more weeks than I made it with Karlee.

**Me, Tana, Amity & LaShay**

After the conference, we had the Volunteer Leadership Dinner and Awards. This past year when Karlee & I participated in the March for Babies, we walked as part of the team Montana Mamas and with a very dear friend of mine, LaShay who was blessed with a beautiful daughter, Chezni born at 26 weeks. Unfortunately God needed Chezni and after 2 months, took her home. Well LaShay, LaShay's mom, and Amity (founder of Montana Mamas) attended the conference and dinner with me and we were all given an award for being one of the top fundraisers for the walk. It was a great to know that the money we worked so hard to raise will be going to great research to help give all babies a healthy start at life. We are very inspired to work even harder this next year and raise even more money for the babies that need our help. Someone worked hard years ago and that work helped to save Karlee's life and I owe it to give back. Needless to say, when the invite to the conference went out, they should have said in big letters to bring tissues as I shed a lot of tears of joy, sadness, thankfullness, pain....it was just an emotional day!!

Give all your babies, no matter how old, a big hug and kiss and be THANKFUL and CHERISH every moment with them!!

Preemie Prayer

2008-11-14T11:56:00.006-07:00

Preemie Prayer

Heavenly father full of grace

A ray of sunshine upon her face

On this night there's one thing I pray

You gave her life so please don't take it away

You sent her an angel to stand by her side

Thur heal pricks for gases, not a tear did she cry

All ten fingers and all ten toes

Barely as big as a giant rose

From three pounds to five pounds

Your on your way home

My precious little girl, oh how you've grown

On this night there's one last thing to say

Thank You God for letting her stay

**This is a prayer that I read daily while Karlee was in the NICU and I am still thanking GOD everyday for letting her stay!!**

Hey Diddle, Diddle

2008-11-06T21:12:00.004-07:00

If this doesn't make you laugh.....nothing will!! :-)

Voted

2008-11-04T20:46:00.001-07:00

Prematurity Awareness Month

2008-11-02T20:50:00.010-07:00

**Karlee the day she was born-9 weeks early-3lbs 6oz**

In the United States today, 1 in 8 babies is born prematurely, and millions of children face serious health challenges or have trouble learning in school because they were born too soon. It's time for our country to do more to help moms have healthy, full-term babies.
Will you help me this November, Prematurity Awareness Month? Sign the Petition for Preemies at marchofdimes.com/petition and let your voice be heard. Then send to your friends and ask them to take a stand, too. More newborns die from premature birth than any other cause — but solutions are within our grasp. Join me this November in spreading the word and show our support for the March of Dimes and give hope for all babies for a healthy start in life.

We need to focus the nation’s attention on the impact premature birth has on babies and families, and on the opportunities for prevention. Today more than 1,400 babies in the U.S. will be born prematurely. Many will be too small and too sick to go home. Instead, they face weeks or even months in the intensive care unit. (NICU). These babies face an increased risk of serious medical complication, and death; however, most eventually will go home. What can you do to help....sign the Petition for Preemies! The Petition for Preemies addresses the following: 1. We urge the federal government to increase support for prematurity-related research and data collection as recommended by the Institute of Medicine and the Surgeon General’s Conference on the Prevention of Preterm Birth, to: (a) identify the causes of premature birth; (b) test strategies for prevention; (c) improve the care, treatment and outcomes of preterm infants; (d) and better define and track the problem of premature birth.

2. We urge federal and state policymakers to expand access to health coverage for women of childbearing age and to support smoking cessation programs as part of maternity care.

3. We call on hospitals and health care professionals to voluntarily assess c-sections and inductions that occur prior to 39 weeks gestation to ensure consistency with professional guidelines.

4. We call on businesses to create workplaces that support maternal and infant health. View our 14 recommendations.

Please help give all babies a chance at 9 months!!

**Karlee @ 5 days old**

P.S. Please feel free to copy and post to your own blog!! Help spread the word!!

Halloween 2008

2008-11-02T16:40:00.005-07:00

Our Halloween started off bright and early with a 7:00 a.m. flight home from Arizona so needless to say we were exhausted by the time we got home. It was an early nap for Karlee so hopefully she would be ready to go Trick-r-Treating. Her cousins Cora and Fayth (Fayth & Karlee are 2 months apart in age) were in town so we met up with them and headed to the Mall to get some goodies before heading out to hit the streets. Everything was going great till the dang Easter Bunny (Karlee is deathly afraid of him) had to poke his butt into Halloween. Then it was all over for Karlee! She kept crying and saying, "GO BYE-BYE" so we left. We then decided to go to a neighborhood and go door to door. The girls were all excited and ready to go again till we got to the first house and there were Trick-r-Treaters with masks (who would have thought it)! Scared the crap out of them both and there wasn't enough candy in the world to make them walk up to a door to get candy!! So we decided to call it a night. Karlee did really good though considering we had been gone the whole week and completely out of our routine. Here are a few pictures from the night! Hope everyone had a great Halloween!! :-)

How cute am I????

2008-10-24T18:49:00.001-06:00

Halloween Bunco

2008-10-22T22:30:00.005-06:00

My Bunco group had our Halloween party on Monday night!! It was a lot of fun and everyone's costumes were great!! I was McKracken the plumber and won best costume which is so ironic because I am not at all in to dressing up and actually almost cancelled going this month beings we were suppose to dress up!!

Pickin' Pumpkins

2008-10-22T22:22:00.006-06:00

On Saturday we went to the pumpkin patch for our annual picking of pumpkins. It was cold, rainy & VERY muddy!! We all had a good time which is all that matters even though we all had to hose our shoes off before we could get in the car to leave!! This weekend we will have the fun task of carving the pumpkins. Thank God for pumpkin carving patterns or who knows what they may look like!! Scary!! Hope everyone is having a Happy Fall!! :-)

More Snow Fun

2008-10-12T21:45:00.004-06:00

The snow kept falling until early this evening and we ended up with 22" of snow!! We ventured out in it again today with Karlee even trying to take her jeep for a spin in it!! Needless to say, she didn't make it far!! We are suppose to be in the 60s by Wednesday so we will have a sloppy mess on our hands in a few days!! I will probably be posting mudd pictures next weekend!! :-)

Hope everyone has a great week!!

1st Snow of the Year

2008-10-11T20:57:00.003-06:00

We had our first snow storm for the year and Karlee was ready to get out and play it! She had a blast making her first snow angel, eating snow and going down her slide. I am sure we will be back out there tomorrow playing in it and hopefully will be able to get a snowman made!!

Not much else to report for this week!! Been kind of a lazy, slow week for us and it has been nice!! Hopefully everyone had a great week and is enjoying a wonderful weekend!!

2 Years ago today.....

2008-10-09T21:26:00.007-06:00

......we brought our miracle home from the hopsital!! It was the happiest day of our lives and also the scariest!!

For the first time, we were solely responsible for her care and had no monitors to tell us if something was wrong!! The last 2 years have been amazing and can't imagine what the next 2, 4, 6, 10, 20, 30 years will bring!! Love ya more than anything sweetie!!

SNOW!!!

2008-10-09T21:07:00.006-06:00

It is SNOWING!! It is SNOWING!! It is SNOWING!! It is SNOWING!! It is SNOWING!! It is SNOWING!! It is SNOWING!! It is SNOWING!! It is SNOWING!! It is SNOWING!! It is SNOWING!! It is SNOWING!! It is SNOWING!! It is SNOWING!! It is SNOWING!! It is SNOWING!! It is SNOWING!! It is SNOWING!! It is SNOWING!! It is SNOWING!! It is SNOWING!! It is SNOWING!! It is SNOWING!! It is SNOWING!! It is SNOWING!! It is SNOWING!! It is SNOWING!! It is SNOWING!!
Yippe!!!! Love the snow!!!

******Update--Pictures from the snow on Friday*****

******Update--Pictures from the snow on Saturday & it is still snowing!! Yeah!!! *****

Feeding the Squirrels

2008-10-04T20:16:00.011-06:00

Today Mike had a Saturday off for the first time in a long time so we decided to drive up to Red Lodge. We love going up there every fall and seeing the trees changing colors!! It is beautiful!! We drove up Beartooth Pass to the lookout where the squirrels are always happy to see a friendly face and eat anything you will feed them. Here is some video of Karlee feeding the squirrels and some pictures of our day!! While we were there another little girl...Elli was there with her parents and Karlee and her became BFF's!! Hope everyone is having a great weekend!!

***Yes she does eat the chip in the end!!! Yucky!! :-)

Squidoo

2008-10-03T10:07:00.004-06:00

Squidoo (an online group that raises tons of money for charities) is giving $80,000 to the charities of your choice just by you simply voting. There are lots of charities to choose from including the March of Dimes (we know they can use lots of money to give every baby a chance at 9 months). Click here to vote for any charity of your choice that you believe could use $2. You have until Oct. 15 to vote! It is free and you don't have to sign up for anything! Thanks!!

http://www.squidoo.com/squidoo-charity-giveaway

This week's Randomness

2008-09-25T22:59:00.016-06:00

Nothing special to report this week so I thought I would just post some random items that I found interesting.

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The first picture is of Dave Mahon. He is a Baker, MT native and grew up next door to my mom with his other 12 brothers and sisters and my mom's other 8 brothers and sisters. So yes....half the town's population was on one street corner. Okay....back to the picture!! Dave is the Superintendent at the Huntley Project High School in Worden, MT. Their school was burned to the ground by 4 troubled young kids (ages 19, 16, & 2 14 year-olds) on Thursday, September 18. This picture is so powerful to me in the fact that no matter how hard government tries to take religion out of schools, you just can't. In their hour of desperate need, the first person they turned to was GOD. Amazing!!

**Huntley Project school superintendent Dave Mahon starts a morning meeting off with a prayer in the Huntley elementary school as the Huntley Project High School burns next door Thursday morning. Firemen, teachers and the public attended the meeting.**

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Next......back in July Karlee had a stubborn mosquito bite on her elbow that decided to don an infection a month after she was bitten. Well, not to be outdone, she has another infected bug bite to end the summer with.

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Next......Random pictures of the week.....

Hope everyone had a great week and is having a great week!! :-)

On the Move

2008-09-14T17:17:00.007-06:00

On Saturday, Karlee & I along with some of my family members participated in the 2008 Alzheimer's Association Memory Walk in honor of my Grandpa Everett Knipp who is suffering horribly from the disease and in memory of my Grandma Bertha Koenig who suffered from it before her passing.

Alzheimer's is a horrible diesase that has had a huge impact on my family. Grandpa had a bad episode at the end of March and has not been the same. We all knew that Alzheimers had already started with Grandpa before March as he would forget things and would get confused often. Although all this was happening, Grandpa still had his sense of humor, smile and his willingness to always help one of us grandkids or his kids. Grandpa also did all of the yard work and snow removal and most of all the driving in town and short out of town trips. Things are very different in just 6 short months. Grandpa cannot walk very well as he has a slow shuffle, he is very weak and shaky and so he needs help going up and down stairs. Grandpa does not talk very much anymore and you can tell he is struggling to put words together. He cannot remember much of anything, but does still remember who we all are, but I am sure that will be going soon. Grandpa hardly ever smiles; he has totally lost all of his great personality. It is very hard to see him struggle with this terrible disease and it is very hard to see the toll it has taken on my Grandmother, as she helps him all that she can.

I know that all we can do for my Grandpa now is support him and my Grandma but hopefully we can make a difference for the other generations of my family and other families by finding a cure. I don't want to have to worry about Karlee being inflected with this horrible disease.

Here are a few photos from the walk where the Knipp Krew team won an award for the most money earned for a team!! It was quite an honor to know that we will be making a differenceL-R: Karlee, Myself, Renee (My Uncle Jeff's Daughter), Rachel (Karen's Daughter), Aunt Karen

**Click on the pictures to view it larger**

My Grandpa in June of this year--The one thing I will always remember about my Grandpa no matter what is his smile!!

Jeep Videos ...

2008-09-03T10:14:00.008-06:00

Okay..finally!! Here are videos of Karlee with her jeep that she got from Aunt Kodi aka Kookie!! :-) I had to split it into 4 vidoes as blogger doesn't allow a big video!!

Video #1

Video #2

Video #3

Video #4

Karlee turns 2

2008-09-02T21:59:00.008-06:00

Karlee had her 2nd birthday on Saturday!! It was a lot of fun and she got alot of GREAT gifts. We started with a yummy bbq, then opened gifts and then stuffed ourselves with a great JoJo Circus cake!! Thanks to everyone who was able to attend the bbq...we really appreciated it!! Here are a few pictures from the party! Hope everyone had a wonderful Labor Day weekend!! :-)

Having Fun @ the Water Park

2008-08-26T18:37:00.005-06:00

This past weekend Karlee & I went with my friend Lindsay and her son to the new water park here in town. Mike was in Arizona visiting a friend so he missed out on all the fun. I wasn't sure how Karlee would like it as the few times we have taken her in a pool, she has freaked. We have been going to the spray park up here by our house a lot and that has seemed to help her get over her fears as she loved the Water Park. She had a blast going down the slide and even enjoyed herself on the inter tube with Bridger in the wave pool. Thanks Lindsay and Bridger for the invite. It was fun getting to hang out with you guys again. We will have to get together again soon!! :-)

**Click on the picture collage to see it bigger**

Karlee's Birthday Party

2008-08-26T12:10:00.003-06:00

Please join us in celebrating Karlee's 2nd Birthday!! Her party will be Saturday, August 30th @ 5:00p.m. at our house. We are going to bbq and then celebrate with her JoJo Circus cake.

Blogging

2008-08-18T16:47:00.006-06:00

I am new to this but I am going to tryyyyyyyyyyyy and post blogs at least once a week to keep everyone up on what is going on in our lives!! Hopefully I won't bore everyone toooooo much!!

Our Miracle is almost 2

2008-08-17T19:02:00.006-06:00

So our little miracle is turning 2 soon!! It is so crazy to think back to those frightful first few days and to think where we are now. My how time flies!! Mike and I have been truly blessed by our TINY MIRACLE and she brings us so much joy and happiness everyday. Here are her 2 year pictures.