Our miracle

Wyatt Kevin Broyles was born December 13, 2008 at 6:30 P.M. I had to have an emergency c- section after 12 hours of labor. It was the worst day and the best day. We are so grateful to our Heavenly Father for letting him come to our family. He really worked a miracle for us. The more we think about the circumstances the more we realize it. He is our Christmas miracle and we are so happy to have him. I would post pics, but our camera broke so I had to borrow one and haven't downloaded them yet. I will when I can. It is hard to find time with 3 now. I'm sure I'll get a handle on it soon enough.

major foodie friend

I'm reposting this from a friends blog. I don't think I've tried very many of these things. We'll see.
Here’s what I want you to do:

1) Copy this list into your blog or journal, including these instructions.
2) Bold all the items you’ve eaten.
3) Italic any items you'd never consume.
4) add up your total at the end and post it in a comment on my blog!
5) go over to Andrew Wheelers blog and look at the thousands of replies and add your own if you'd like!

The VGT Omnivore’s Hundred:

1. Venison
2. Nettle tea
3. Huevos rancheros
4. Steak tartare
5. Crocodile
6. Black pudding
7. Cheese fondue
8. Carp
9. Borscht
10. Baba ghanoush
11. Calamari
12. Pho
13. PB&J sandwich
14. Aloo gobi
15. Hot dog from a street cart
16. Epoisses (I had to look; a pungent cheese from France)
17. Black truffle
18. Fruit wine made from something other than grapes
19. Steamed pork buns
20. Pistachio ice cream
21. Heirloom tomatoes (if I could grow any one thing - this would be it, and yes - they are that much better...)
22. Fresh wild berries
23. Foie gras
24. Rice and beans
25. Brawn, or head cheese
26. Raw Scotch Bonnet pepper
27. Dulce de leche
28. Oysters
29. Baklava
30. Bagna cauda
31. Wasabi peas (I've had wasabi - but i don't think this is what they are after)
32. Clam chowder in a sourdough bowl (my kids live for this)
33. Salted lassi (I drank a lassi once at an Indian restaurant before my brother left on his mission - it was foul.)
34. Sauerkraut
35. Root beer float
36. Cognac with a fat cigar
37. Clotted cream tea (If you look this up on wikipedia, it's actually the clotted cream, jam and scones that makes up this "tea" dish - I drink herbal tea but not the Earl Grey the Brits would normally serve)
38. Vodka jelly/Jell-O
39. Gumbo
40. Oxtail
41. Curried goat
42. Whole insects (not intentionally)
43. Phaal
44. Goat’s milk (Here's a reference for some of you who have known me long enough - I used to drink this straight out of the goat at Paul Hatch's house when I was a kid.)
45. Malt whisky from a bottle worth £60/$120 or more
46. Fugu (I'm not ready to die from a piece of fish)
47. Chicken tikka masala
48. Eel
49. Krispy Kreme original glazed doughnut
50. Sea urchin
51. Prickly pear
52. Umeboshi (I think I might have had this - I think the husband might have ordered some of this in one time - but I don't remember for sure.)
53. Abalone
54. Paneer
55. McDonald’s Big Mac Meal
56. Spaetzle
57. Dirty gin martini
58. Beer above 8% ABV
59. Poutine
60. Carob chips (my mom went through this cooking naturally stage at one point)
61. S’mores
62. Sweetbreads
63. Kaolin (I couldn't even look up what this is...shar)(I don't think you actually eat this. From what I read it is mined in Georgia and is used in paper making and other things. It is basically clay-valerie)
64. Currywurst
65. Durian (maybe? it's that spiny fruit)
66. Frogs’ legs (Craig has on his mission claims they are great. I am not an adventurous eater)
67. Beignets, churros, elephant ears or funnel cake (all of the above, love beignets the most)
68. Haggis
69. Fried plantain
70. Chitterlings, or andouillette
71. Gazpacho
72. Caviar and blini
73. Louche absinthe
74. Gjetost, or brunost
75. Roadkill (if accidental kill counts, the husband can answer yes here)
76. Baijiu
77. Hostess Fruit Pie
78. Snail
79. Lapsang souchong
80. Bellini
81. Tom yum
82. Eggs Benedict
83. Pocky
84. Tasting menu at a three-Michelin-star restaurant (Herbfarm was a 5-star, but not a Michelin 3 star... So close! Actually a few of my positives are from that dinner.)
85. Kobe beef
86. Hare
87. Goulash (one of the best things I ate during my European summer in Budapest)
88. Flowers (again, the mom and her cooking naturally phase - dandelions to be exact)
89. Horse
90. Criollo chocolate (no - but I think this is on my short list of things to try soon)
91. Spam (I think husband may have forced it or it's a childhood thing, but I know I have unfortunately)
92. Soft shell crab
93. Rose harissa (it's possible but I'm not positive)
94. Catfish
95. Mole poblano
96. Bagel and lox
97. Lobster Thermidor(no but it sounds delicious-valerie)
98. Polenta
99. Jamaican Blue Mountain coffee
100. Snake

only 40, but there is no sorrow from me. Like I said I am not an adventurous eater. Especially when I'm pregnant.

Technology is Amazing

Today we went in for another ultrasound to track some things that are going on and the ultrasound tech suprised us with this 3-d picture of our baby Wyatt. Is this amazing or what. It just makes it so real. He kept blinking at us during the ultrasound. I can't believe the Lord gave us this power the create and how amazing it is. What a loving father. I know I'll never be able to give my kids anything nearly as cool as that power. In the top pic you can see he actually has his foot on his head. Wow. I can't get my foot anywhere close to my head.

hard times

On Monday Jeb had to have surgery to have an undesended testicle brought down. NOT FUN. We have known about the problem since he was born. When he was 3 we went to a pediatric uroligist and they ordered an ultrasound to try and find the testicle and instead found only a hernia, which they went in and repaired at the time. Well, it still hadn't dropped so we took Jeb to another Uroligist about a month ago. They did another ultrasound and found the T at that time and determined it needed to be brought down surgically, which we did on Monday. What they found when they got in there was that he previous surgery he had actually trapped his T so it never would have been able to drop on its own. They had to cut it out of the scar tissue, redo the hernia and bring the T down. he had to have 2 insicions and is walking like a bull legged cowboy. He's having a hard time not going to school and he is dying of boredom not being able to run and play. I would say this is really torturing us all, but we are so grateful that everything went well and for modern medicine to take care of these things. The Lord has his hand in all things and we are so grateful for that. Other than that we are all doing well.
My parents were here visiting last week and we had a great time. We had a fun halloween party and got all dressed up which was a real riot. Unfortunatly all the pics are on my dad's camera so when I get them I will post. Next week we are looking forward to a visit from Craig's parents and Halloween which I have determined to be my second favorite holiday next to Christmas. I mean come on when else as an adult can we get dressed up and be someone else for a while.

Catch UP!

So, I am doing a catch up blog of everything going on right now. Craig is super duper busy. He takes command this saturday and is so excited, even though he tries to under play all that. He's also coaching pee wee football and is loving it. He's really done great things for the kids and they love him. He is such a natural born leader, he can't help but make an impact. He is of course loving his job still and it seems he can't get enough.

Jeb is doing great in school, still loving it. He had early release yesterday and was so bummed about it. He wanted to stay longer and he hates the weekends. I think he must have a blast. His teacher is definately on our christmas list. His energy still amazes me.

Chloe is Chloe, she melts our hearts constantly and is a crack up just like her brother. They love to play together and have a great time. Chloe still cries everyday when Jeb goes to school. She hates it. I think things will be better when the baby comes, which she is so excited for. She kisses my belly all the time and says I love you baby Wyatt. Of course she might change her mind once my attention changes directions. We are having so much fun during the day when its just the two of us.

I'm doing pretty great. I'm keeping pretty busy with relief Society, crafting, sewing and trying to finish up all my projects before the baby comes. I live off a list. We are slowly getting there and it feels so good. It's nice to have our home feel like us. My belly is starting to get huge and baby is so active(of course following his bro and sis). I hate that my mind and body are on different wave lengths. My mind thinks it can accomplish twice as much as my body does. I'm also getting exited for the holiday season coming up. I took the kids to the craft store and they found these fun halloween masks so we brought them home and whipped them up. It's fun to have them getting older and wanting to do crafts with mom.

All Done

Well, we have finally finished both Jeb and Chloe's bedrooms. We started quite a while ago when Craig and I built Jeb's bed. This weekend we (mostly Craig) finished it all by redoing their closets and he did a great job. I couldn't be more happy. I love them. So here are pics of the finished product. The kids love their rooms. too. We call Chloe's the happy room and go the and do color therapy, it's definatly a cure for a gloomy day.

Getting into the routine

Well, we are now going into our third week of school here and Jeb absolutly loves it. He hates weekends, because he would rather be at school. Yay, for me! I hope it stays that way. He is finally getting used to telling mom and dad what he did at school everyday. He thinks giving us the run down is a real pain in the neck, but we are demanding. So the other day he came home from school and looked like he had a big bump on his head. I asked him what happened to his head and He went into a narrative about a boy angel(kind of a trouble maker) in his class and how he had been dancing around and Jeb walked by and was accidently tripped by his foot. He then fell forward hit his head on a desk and fell to the floor he then went to the nurses office for treatment. Naturally we were curious what the teacher had done about the event and asked what happened to angel. Jeb shrugged and said, "Oh, the teacher just took him and whipped him with the paddle." It wasn't until this moment that we knew we had been dupped. Craig and I both started laughing, Jeb couldn't figure out why. See, Craig had told Jeb about how he used to be whipped with the paddle when he was in school. I guess he missed the part where they don't do that anymore. In the end we had the talk that making up stories is the same as lying and we don't do that. I have to wonder though what has Jeb told his teacher about us?

While I admit, I hate getting up at 6:30 in the morning, it does help that it is bright and sunny at that time. I really hate getting up when it is still dark outside. I am also amazed at how much I can accomplish by noon. The days of late nights are definatly at an end.

Jeb and Chloe have also been enjoying art time, they are so cute.