Randomness from our Disney trip...

This is a super blurry picture, sorry. They said no flash photography, so I was abiding by the rule (unlike a lot of people in there) and got a blurry picture.

This was at the Finding Nemo Musical. It was great and totally worth the time Ally and I waited in line (Matt went and rode Everest a few times while we stood in line).

That is a dinosaur behind her.
Our family.

Ally and mommy on a dinosaur ride in Animal Kingdom (daddy was riding Everest).

We rode the boat in Norway.

Epcot

Fishface

Our family on the Safari Boat ride.

Magic Kingdom on New Years Eve.

The first ride I rode with Ally we got ears because of a sweepstakes for Year of a Million Dreams. So everyone on the ride at the same time as us got ears.

Ally and Goofy

Hugs

Its a Small World

Ally and Daddy on Dumbo.

Ally and Daddy on the carousel.

Our first day in the Magic Kingdom.

On the bus on the way to the Magic Kingdom.

Sticker Fun...thanks Grandma Horn

Ally loves stickers and normally puts them in a book, but the other night she decided she'd decorate herself.

She even had them on the bottom of her feet.
On her face.

Ta Da!

Childrens Museum

On Friday Ally and I went to the Childrens Museum. We had a lot of fun. We got to see the new LEGO exhibit, rode the carousel 4 times in a row and were the only ones on it, and just had a great time together.

This is a dragon that they built with LEGOs

This horse thing was a bit too big for Ally, but she kept going back to it.

The DUPLO table.

The masterpiece for the day...

I did french braids on both sides, with upside down french braids meeting the normal ones in a ponytail. It turned out quite cute.

Sledding-Tuesday night and Wednesday Morning

I am playing catch up with my pictures. Ally loved sledding and would have been up for staying longer, but the guys were getting tired of pulling her up the hill.

Matt and Trent walking back up the hill.
Ally was staying nice and warm, until the gloves kept falling off. The night before I had her wear 2 pairs of her gloves and that didn't work well, so I tried having her wear mine.

It worked well that the sled had rope on it, so then the guys could pull Ally back up the hill. All she had to do was lay there and enjoy the ride both ways.

Trent and Travis walking back up the hill.

Cheese!

Ally and Matt. You can't really see her face.

He tried to have her walk up by herself, that didn't last long.

She reminded us of the boy on "A Christmas Story".

28 weeks

Today was my 28 week appt and I had to drink that horribly nasty cup of orange grossness. I really think the cup gets bigger with each pregnancy. Oh it is so gross and makes me all shaky. I really hope I pass so I don't have to go in for the LONG test. I've passed the other 2 times, so hopefully this will be the same. I get to start going in every 2 weeks now. I have 4 more appts that are 2 weeks apart and then I go every week, until I deliver. Can you tell I'm getting antsy? OH and I've decided I don't like being this pregnant during the winter (I know I'm not even THAT pregnant yet). I think late May/early June is a good time to have a baby. Don't be surprised if that is when the rest of my babies come.
While Matt and I were at my dr appt, Ally went swimming with my sister. She had a great time and is now sleeping soundly. She is totally wiped out.

What we've been doing...

On Friday Ally and I went to the zoo with our friends. It was in the 40's, so we wanted to take advantage of the warmer temps and get the kids outside. We had a great time and were glad to spend it outside. I didn't take any pictures when we were there, but I took these before we left.

I love doing Ally's hair, especially when she cooperates with me.

On Thursday Ally and I went to the park, to once again, enjoy the 40 degree temps. I had been watching the weather and saw that it was suppose to get cold this week, so I KNEW we had to get outside. I still had her bundled up like it was below freezing because I didn't want her getting sick.

She had so much fun playing.

Here she is striking a silly pose.

So the last few days (not today) have been rough for me. I know I'm going to have my ups and downs and this has been one of them. I had been organizing pictures yesterday when I came across those and hadn't really looked at them since we got them (they're from Matt's dads camera and he made us a copy of the pictures). They were taken in the fall and I remember just about every bit of that day and what we did. Those pictures definetely capture "Cosette" and it brought a lot of memories to the surface. Today Ally was singing Happy Birthday and all of a sudden she was singing it to Cosette. Then she said that Cosette was eating cake at Jesus' home. I told her it wasn't Cosette's birthday, but maybe she was eating cake in celebration of someone else's birthday. She informed me that it was Cosette's cake and she was eating it with Jesus. I'm not going to doubt Ally on this one, for all I know Cosette is eating cake with Jesus. I guess I'll find out when I see her!

I miss this little girl so much

i miss all her faces. she has so many faces she pulls and we love each one of them. she has such the personality. i miss her curls and playing with her hair.

i can't wait to see her again. her hugs and kisses were the best.
she always knew how to make me smile.

she knew what she wanted. when she said "no" she meant it with every morsel of her body. i love you Cosette.

Just my thoughts...ramblings..and randomness

I ordered a book 2 weeks ago and have been excited to read it. It is The Gateway we call Death by Russell M. Nelson. I love this book. It has brought so much insight as I've read it. Here's a bit of what I like: we can't fully appreciate joyful reunions later without tearful separations now. The only way to take sorrow out of death is to take love out of life. I thought that was so good. Here's another: Parents who have surrendered the sweetest and smallest flowers from the family's garden need to remember our loving Heavenly Father. He has promised a special reward to those who now suffer in silence, who spend long days and longer nights through their trying times of bereavement. Our Creater has promised glory. He said, " For after much tribulation come the blessings. Wherefore the day cometh that ye shall be crowned with much glory; the hour is not yet, but is nigh at hand." (D&C 58:4) Elder Bruce R. McConkie said, "Little children shall be saved. They are alive in
Christ and shall have eternal life. For the family unit will continue, and the fulness of exaltation is theirs. No blessing shall be withheld. They shall rise in immortal glory, grow to full maturity, and live forever in the highest heaven of the celestial kingdom." Elder Nelson said, "Birth is the gateway to mortal life; death is the gateway to immortality and eternal life. Spiritually mature and sensitive children are called by their Creator prematurely to pass through the gateway to immortality and eternal life." "To every thing there is a season, and a time to every purpose under the heaven: A time to be born, and a time to die." (Ecclesiastes 3:1-2)
I have a few more chapters left in the book, but it has really helped with understanding and putting things in perspective.
Honestly there are more ups than downs by far for me. I feel like Heavenly Father had prepared me for this (if that is at all possible) not that I was ready to let Cosette go, but I feel like she has been with me several times and reassured me that things are going to be okay. I feel like not having Cosette here with me physically has been a huge reminder to me that I am still a mom, I still have other children that need me, and I will get to finish raising her. She makes me try harder everyday. Tomorrow it will be 7 weeks since she left us. It definetely feels like SO much longer. She left a huge hole in our family and I can't wait for it to be filled with her again. I'm sure she's making everyone laugh with all of her many faces, her desire for independence is probably driving someone crazy. Her looks are melting hearts. She's blowing everyone away with all that she knows. She is helping take care of all the young babies that are there with her. She is giving lots of hugs and kisses. I want to do all I can to make sure my family ends up together again. I am doing what I can right now, but feel at some point I will be able to do more. I am so thankful for the gospel, for my eternal marriage, and that I have all of my children sealed to me. We don't know how many more tomorrows we have, so we need to live each day like its our last. Smile more and help others smile as well. It's easier and more fun to go through life smiling, than to sulk through it.
Thank you to all for keeping our family in your prayers. We appreciate your friendship and heartfelt thoughts and prayers.

Day 4 & 5

We went to Myakka State Park and got to see alligators. It was nap time or just about, so little miss was not the most cooperative 2 year old. She ended up falling asleep during our drive through the park.

We had shorts and t-shirts, no need for a big huge coat. Boy do I miss that right now.
Ally is trying to see through her glasses. Silly girl, for some reason she has issues with looking through the lens.

This was before we went to the state park. We stopped at Crescent Beach in Siesta Key. We found lots of neat shells.

Before we had left Ally had been wanting to make a snowman and we kept telling her that when we go to Florida well make a sandman. Here he is.

A sandy beach bum.