Takin' a stroll...

So I thought I would write about an incident that we had a couple weeks ago...

I was packing up all our stuff getting ready to leave for Utah in a couple hours to drop the kids off at my folks house so Kregg and I could head off to Florida for a week. I went over to my neighbor Kat's house to drop off our keys so she could keep an eye out for us while we were out, and when I came back Mary was gone. I had left the garage door open.

I searched our house hoping that she might have just been hiding or fell asleep somewhere, but no luck. I searched through the neighborhood- looking in people's backyards and talking to neighbors and noone had seen her. My friend Kat was also looking for her. I got in my van and drove around trying to find her and still no luck. I have never been so scared in my whole life!!!!!!

After about 45 minutes I was really starting to freak out, and was wondering if I should call the police. But I never know how long to wait to call!! I decided that I would go take one more lap around the neighborhood and Kat would drive on the other side of the busy street to see if she had crossed and gone over there.

On my last lap around the neighborhood there was a cop driving down the street, so I stopped him and told him that I had lost my 2-year old. He asked me a whole bunch of questions about me- where I lived, what I had been doing, how long I had been looking, and calling it all in... I was like, "Enough about me- can we talk about my daughter???" He said that they had my daughter. I had never been so relieved EVER!! By now there were about 5 cop cars there. Then he said, "She's at the MesaView Hospital." I just froze... and started freaking out. He said, "She's okay... Are you aware that she is swollen all over her body????" Oh man- I said, "Yeah- she has Turner Syndrome!!" I was so relieved- I thought in my mind, I'm going to laugh about this tomorrow!

I guess what happened was that she decided to take a little stroll, and someone found her in the middle of a street just outside of my neighborhood. She picked her up and took her to the Lutheran church across the street, and they called the cops. The cops came out and everyone was concerned about her hands, so Mary got to take a joe-cool trip in an ambulance to the emergency room.

The cop came and searched my house, and asked me a bunch of questions about my kids, then I got to go pick her up from the ER. They had about 5 people huddled around her and a couple cops (remember this is a small town, outside of the casino's there's not a whole lot going on out here). But I'll never forget that moment when I got to give her a big hug and tell her how much I love her (even with a bazillion people watching you). None of them seemed to know anything about Turner's (look it up! You're a hospital!!). They were very concerned that Mary got into the car of the lady who picked her up, went to everyone at the Lutheran church, sat on the lap of the cop the whole way to the hospital, and cooperated with everyone at the ER. That scares me too, that she would go to anyone... but what do you do? She's 2! Especially Mary who is the socialite of the town. I thought everybody knew her!!

The cop asked me why I didn't call them. I just wasn't sure when it was okay to call- you always hear about that they can't do anything until a certain amount of time had gone by. He told me to just call next time the minute you notice they are missing- mental note for all of you out there!!

The police officers really did a wonderful job- I'm glad that they were right on top of the whole thing. But I think what I probably need to do is get Mary an ID bracelet or something so that it will keep me from taking another unneccessary(sp??) trip to the ER.

I also decided that I am the kind of mom who reacts first, then freaks out later. I think that really helped me in this situation. Just find her... and you can break down later!!!

Anyway- I know that Heavenly Father was there with me and with Mary through this whole ordeal, and am eternally grateful to Him. We are so blessed!!!!!

Bubbles!!!

Our Birthday Boy is 32!

Gotta love the fun-fetti cakes... the boys pretty much made this themselves.
Here he is making his wish... What a spaz.
Still taking forever to make his wish...
My adorable family with kool-aid mustaches, Little Ceasar's pizza tattoo's and all!! I can't believe that I lucked out like this. I have the greatest husband in the world- and with out him I wouldn't have these 3 1/2 beautiful children that have turned out so well because he cares about them so much. His family is everything to him- and I'm so grateful for that. I love him more and more every day. I also think that Karson gets his spaziness from Kregg.

Baby Mary

So I thought I would share some baby pics of Mary- since I have kind of a funny little story that happened last night. Kregg and I were sitting in the living room watching TV, and I had Mary sitting on my lap. Then just out of the blue she starts playing peekaboo with someone that we totally couldn't see. She would play a little peekaboo, then start laughing histarically, then play some more peekaboo. She was looking up to someone who was totally there! I turned to Kregg, and said, "Maybe whoever it is she's talkin' to can tell her that she doesn't need her bottle (Mary's being a little stubborn with her bottle)." She she looks for a second, then hides her bottle so we couldn't take it away. Anyway- it was kinda wild. I know we have angels around us, and that babies were always talkin' to them, but Mary's 2, you know?? It was a very comforting feeling to know that someone else is helping me with my kids! BTW- Aren't these pics kinda funny? She looks the EXACT same!! Only she has more teeth!

We are having...

We're having another girl!! Everything is looking good as far as I know. We haven't really even started thinking about names, so if you have any ideas we are all ears (Sorry Tony and Lacie- Rogerina is not gonna happen)! Having a girl means for tests for me and the baby, but we will deal with it all when it comes. We're really excited for our family to finally be complete! 2 boys and 2 girls- what's more balanced than that??

Mary and her favorite movie

So Mary just cracks me up sometimes. Her favorite movie right now is "Hairspray" (kind of funny, huh?). Anyway- she has all of the actions down to "Good Morning Baltimore"- so I thought I would show you just a little piece. At the end all the songs she always has her arm-pumping big finale. She's pretty entertaining. I'm sure she gets that from Kregg!

Ty's Touchdown

So we miraculously (did I actually spell that right?) captured Ty making one out of 3 touchdowns tonight. It's pretty cool as a parent to watch all the other spectators from both sides with their jaws dropped commenting on how fast he is. Good job Ty! Keep it up!

Ty's first flag-football game

He's gonna really like this sport. He needs to work on actually slowing down and concentrating on which way to go. But he really is hilarious. He's running to catch this kid's flag from the other team, but he's more worried about beating everyone else on his team who is trying to catch the kid. He's looking on both sides while he's running to make sure he's the fastest- it's kinda funny. It should be a fun season, though.
So these are pretty much what the sunsets look like every night in Mesquite. If we would have taken the pic a couple minutes earlier, you would have seen the pinks and the reds and the oranges... Gorgeous!

Play-dough time!

So my kids love playing with the play-dough, especially Karson. He was so excited- he made an elephant!!! He was so excited to take this picture. Mary likes to take the dough out of the can and then put it back in.
After Mary started taking off with the play-dough, that was my cue to find her something else to do. A tunnel fixes everything!

My kids obsessions...

So my kids have a few obsessions. Ty likes dinosaurs and is obsessed with cup-stacking right now. Karson is animals- especially his zebra (that he seems to be eating in the picture). Mary is her baby that she got from Aunt Heidi and Uncle Kendall for Christmas. We can't go anywhere without the zebra and the baby, though. Mary is constantly taking her baby for walks and dancing with her. She also feeds her (I'm constantly prying waffles and cheerio's out of her mouth), and puts her down for naps. At bedtime- the baby has to be right next to her and have her own blanket. You always wonder where she gets these instincts from- we don't really have a lot of babies around to watch, you know? But at any rate it's pretty comforting to know that she knows how to be soft and caring and careful (except for the prying food down baby's mouth) she is considering in a few months we will have a real baby taking over around here.

Plays hard and sleeps hard...

Ty and the Pledge

So this morning Ty got to be the one to announce and lead everyone in the Pledge of Allegience (sp?) for his school's flag ceremony. He did a great job!

The Chicken Dance

Sorry it has been so long since I have posted anything! We really haven't been doing anything! Except for dancing- so here you go...

You asked for it...

So it turns out that a lot of you like Karson's possessed, creepy, scary, pirahna face. So here is the second picture we took on his birthday- Kregg thinks this one is creepier.

Finally an update!

Hey everyone!
Thought I would give you the latest-
I had an ultrasound yesterday and of course this little spitfire in my belly was jumping all over the place and shooting me peace signs. That's always good. Then today I had my appointment today, and he told me that the placenta has moved up and that it isn't even an issue anymore. He has no idea, though, why I am still bleeding. So he told me to go ahead and get back to my life (except that Kregg still can't look at me funny...), and just take it easy if I'm cramping or what not. So I have a little bit of freedom back! Yay!!

It also looks like Kregg is going to take the store in St. George. We are waiting for the final details with Ace Hardware, so we will still be around if it works out. The part that Kregg is not looking forward to is the time change in St. George. If he has to be there at 7am, that is 6am our time. Which means he has to leave at 5am our time, which means he will have to wake up at 4 or 4:30 in the morning. That ought to be pretty entertaining. But he's not looking for it to be long term out there- and if it is our lease will be up in June and we'll move up there. We will probably still have the option of being able to go up to California if things don't work out. Hopefully everything will go the way we are planning!

Anyway- on a really great note- my sister and her friend Monika decided to surprise me today by showing up on my doorstep from SL. So we're going to play tonight! I'm stoked!!!!!

Love you all! Thanks for all of your concern and your prayers! We really don't know how we could have gotten through all of this without you! Julz

Mmmmm... Cake....

Karson helped our friend Keri make those cupcakes. Way yummy!


You all know about the "Clemens' Scowl" that Karson pulls off so well. Ty also got this game for Christmas where whoever has the best "pirahna" face gets to go first. Karson always wins hands down. This picture is just downright freaky. I hope we aren't raising a serial killer! I think we are the psychos giving a 4 year old a knife just to take a picture.

Karson's 4!

He was so proud! He put together this puzzle all by himself! I'm very impressed! Thanks Grandma LeFevre!
He loved all his gifts- but this zebra takes the cake. Funny how a 99 cent toy does that.
I can't believe he's 4! He is such a good kid. He is a great helper, he's smart, stinkin' hilarious, and he is always trying to make "good choices". We are so proud of him, and definitely blessed to have him as part of our family! We love you Kars!

More blah blah blah...

So I know that this is annoying- but I ended up back in the emergency room today for more bleeding. But we heard the baby's heartbeat, so he (oh I mean "it") is still going strong! They called it another "close-call miscarriage". So here I am- still having to do nothing. I actually like all of the extra rest- but I never realized how much I appreciate doing even just the little things! Kregg has been so great. He has all this stuff going on with his job, yet he still comes home and takes care of me and the kids. He's done all the laundry and the dishes, and even gets me drinks when I want one! My Ward has also been AMAZING. We have gotten dinner (and even some lunches) all week. My friend Keri has taken my kids all week until Kregg gets home. My friend Michelle even came over and cleaned! We've also had lots of phone calls and visitors. I can't even explain to you how grateful we are for all of this. We are in awe that so many people go so much out of their way for us!!! Makes me cry just writing about it!

Kregg is still waiting to hear from Walgreens on his future. His inventory is in less than 2 weeks, so we are starting to get a little bit concerned. But the big region guy from Rite Aid is coming out next Wednesday to give Kregg their offer. The general manager of Smith's came to visit Kregg yesterday about offering him a job with them, and there are a few other options that we might have. But for right now- we are just waiting!!!!

Okay- so let's get onto brighter pastures... we had Ty's first parent-teacher conferences yesterday. He's doing a really great job! He's always the first to raise his hand, always sitting in the front, and always has lots of questions (surprise). We're really proud of him.

Karson was really excited to start preschool back up. They are learning about planets this month. He and his dad get to work together to come up with a few things about Saturn so he can share with the class. He also started Sunbeams, and they sang to him for his birthday. So I'm sure he is going to like it.

Mary is a little chatterbox. She's still obsessed with the movie Elf, and she enjoys taking her stroller she got from Tony and Lacie and beating her brothers with it. Every once in a while she'll put her baby in the stroller, buckle it very carefully, then beat her brothers with it. We have a little bit of work to do! :)

Went to the Doc today!

So I had my appointment today- they did another ultrasound and the baby is still kicking and heart is beating. I'm not bleeding anymore- so that's good, too. I guess that my placenta is right on my cervix, so they said that I probably will bleed again, and when I do, go to the ER again. Annoying, huh? Sometimes it fixes itself, but if it doesn't then I'll have to have a cesarean. There is still a chance of a miscarriage, but it looks better than it did. He did take me off of bedrest, and put me on "light". He also told me to make sure my husband doesn't look at me funny, and come back next week for another ultrasound. Kregg hasn't heard anything on his situation, although he's left a message for the Walgreens district manager and should hear his offer from Rite-Aid hopefully tomorrow.Anyway- thanks for all of your support- it's been amazing! It makes this whole thing a lot more managable!

Our Latest Drama!

Hey everyone! Just wanted to give everyone a heads up on the last 2 days here... Yesterday we found out that Rite-Aid has sold all of the stores in Nevada. Some in Vegas are going to a small grocery store, some are being bought by Walgreens, and some are closing. Kregg's store is being sold to Walgreens. His inventory is in 3 weeks, then they shut down the store for a month and open it up as a Walgreens. We have a couple options: he will have an interview with Walgreens, but they usually bring in their own management. Rite-Aid is talking about transferring him to Northern California and giving him an extra $20,000 (we'll find out more about that on Monday hopefully). Or he could try looking for another job, but there really isn't anything here in Mesquite. I'll keep you posted on what we decide to do. If we decide on CA, Kregg will probably be out of here in 3 weeks to find us a place. It will happen pretty fast.
Also today we spent all day in the emergency room- I've been having some heavy bleeding. But as of right now the baby is doing good- heart beat is good, and he was like a little jumping bean in my belly. But they did put me on bed rest (since I'm still bleeding), and I have to go see the doc on Monday. So your prayers would be appreciated!
Anyway- I just thought I owed you guys an update- thanks for being so great! Love you all!! Julie