IT'S A....

BOY!!! Yep, we had our THIRD BOY yesterday! Can you believe it??? Here are the stats:

July 27, 2008
5:16 P.M.
7 lbs. 12 oz
19 1/2 inches long

He has a BUNCH of dark black hair and he is SOOOOO adorable! He is almost a pound and a half bigger then Boe was and almost 2 pounds bigger then Gage was! He seems ginormous to us! We named him...Ryder Cache Gatherum. The delivery was great. I was able to do it completely natural and it was an awesome experience! We are home and things are going really well. I'll update soon and post lot's of pictures...

One Last Day...

So today is the absolute last day that I will be pregnant. Most likely my last day ever, but for sure the last day with this baby. While I am so very excited and can't wait to welcome this new little person to our family, I am also a little bit sad. I in no way believe that my only purpose here on earth is to create and carry children, but I do feel that it is a big purpose of my life and to know that that chapter may be closing is a little bit of a weird feeling. I can't say 100% that I am done, but I am feeling very much at peace with this being our last baby. I can't believe that in less than 24 hours from right now, I won't have a baby inside of me anymore! Instead I will have a baby in my arms and I just cannot wait for that!
I am kind of going through a weird phase. Gage starts kindergarten on August 5th and Boe starts 3 day a week preschool at the end of August and I am just thinking how fast time goes by. I remember distinctly bringing both of them home from the hospital and I remember thinking then that I KNEW what kind of a mom I would be. I had so many hopes and dreams and ideals that I thought would be reality. As we all know, sometimes life steps in and reality is altered and we have to go with the flow. I try to be a good mom, I am in no way perfect or even great at it. As I sit here typing this, I hope HOPE hope and pray that I have at least started to give my children the foundation that they will need to not only get by in this world but to succeed and be happy.
Anyways, enough rambling. Well, we are on our way to the hospital! Wish me luck...I'll update as soon as I can!

Wow! I'm A Winner!

My cute friend Kami who truly is the ULTIMATE blogger, awarded little old me with a great blogging award! She invited me to play along so here are the rules:

1. please put the logo on your blog (in your post is good enough for me).
2. add a link to the person who awarded you.
3. you must nominate 7 fellow bloggers for this award.
4. add links to the recipients.
5. leave a comment so the recipients know they have received an award.

So, without further adieu, here are my 7 winners of this awesome BLOGGING award:
(I can't make links work on this post for some reason, so I'll just include their addresses or you can look them up under my links...)

1. Becky is my first winner. You can find her over at www.whatitisxo.com. I started blog stalking her because she is my friend Kami's sister and I love her positive, uplifting posts. She is a glass-half full kind of gal and I love reading her blog. Plus, she is truly one of the nicest people I have met.

2. Staci is next. You can find her at www.chavez-familia.blogspot.com. I have known Staci since Jr. High School but recently reconnected thru the wonderful world of blogging! She and her husband have COMPLETELY remodeled their home and it is honestly A-MA-ZING! Check out her blog and her past entries to see what awesome taste and style this girl has.

3. Amanda definitely deserves this award. Her adddress is www.littleturds.blogspot.com. She and her family are enduring a horrific trial as her mom is dying of melanoma. Between her and her brother Josh, they document their feelings and the things they are going through. Everyday I check both of their blogs first thing and get my daily dose of inspiration and strength. I so admire their family and I know they could use all of your prayers and thoughts during this difficult time.

4. Lara over at www.garnergossip.blogspot.com is one of my favorite bloggers. Her posts are HI-LARIOUS and get me laughing everytime I read one of them. She has currently taken a "blogging hiatus" and is on "blog strike" for one month where she has vowed to stay away from blogging for 1 month. She'll be back August 1st and I can't wait. I am sooooooo impressed that she has been able to stay away and keep to her guns for this long! I don't think I could do it!!!

5. My good friend Janelle at www.blackhamfamily.blogspot.com (she's private-I know, it sucks:) is an awesome blogger. I am sorry to those of you who can't read her posts. She is VERY real and it makes reading her blog so enjoyable. Sometimes I think we all put out the "pretend" us instead of the "real" us for the blogesphere to read and it's nice and refreshing to read her candid and honest posts.

6. Even though my friend Marti (www.nmdumas.blogspot.com) doesn't have time to update a lot, she deserves this award because she and her cute family just added TWIN girls to their numbers. They have cute little Hayley who beat cancer this past year and they just added Laney and Tessa to their family. So, anyone who can handle all of that in a year's time definitely deserves some kind of an award! Congrats Marti and Nic!

7. And last but CERTAINLY NOT LEAST is my awesome friend Jeri. You can find her and her darling family at www. proulx-x-4.blogspot.com. This family rocks! They have more fun then pretty much anyone I know. They are always doing recreational, entertaining and fun stuff. Jeri is a great mom and has a ton of energy. I hope to be able to keep up with her someday...

Well, that is it! I had a tough time narrowing my list to only 7! I could have named all of my awesome friends and family because I love all of their blogs...but, rules are rules...

Some funnies from Boe

*UPDATE*
Just got back from the docs, I am dilated to a 2+ and 70% effaced! WOOHOO!!! He scheduled an induction for Sunday morning unless I go before then...I will be doing everything in my power to go before, but worst case scenario, 5 days until #3 makes it's debut-CAN'T WAIT!!!


So, Boe just recently turned four. He is full-on the baby in our family. He loves his independence and he really likes the IDEA of being a big-boy, but deep down, he is still THE baby. He loves to be cuddled and coddled and held and babied. I just adore him and he is having a bit of a hard time with the arrival of our baby. Recently however, he has started to accept and even toy around with the idea and has said some seriously hilarious things that I thought I'd share:

*He walked in on me while I was showering and said, "WOW mom, I see 3 REALLY big things on you..."
*He asked me how the baby came out and I told him there was a special place and way that babies were born and he said, "so does it come out your bum?"
*He has noticed the recent increase in my chest size and is quite enthralled with it, probably because normally I am not well endowed in this area AT ALL. I explained nursing to him as best I could and he walked away saying, "you sure have some big knuckles, mom!"

Those are just a few of the things he has taken away from this pregnancy. I am hoping that once he meets his new little sister or brother, that he will instantly fall in love with them and that he will be okay. I'm going to have to be aware of him and give him a little bit more TLC and attention. I am going into my appointment today at 10:00! Wish me luck, I am hoping for AT LEAST a 3-I have been having semi-strong, consistent contractions since yesterday so fingers crossed! I'll keep you updated...

Time's a windin' down...

as I sit here typing, I can't believe that this pregnancy is on it's last leg. I am admittedly, a HORRIBLE pregnant person. Especially during the last two months or so, but I truly do try to cherish the experience and appreciate what a gift and a priviledge it is to be able to bring children into the world and raise them as my own for a short time. I am pretty sure that this is my last baby, therefore making it my last time having the opportunity of being pregnant. I wanted to document my feelings on this...let me warn you all that this is probably a post more for me than anyone else, so if you want to stop reading now, no hard feelings :).

I thought I'd make a list of all the things I love about pregnancy...

1. Getting that postivie pregnancy test is the best thing on the planet! It's so fun and so exciting and with each one of my pregnancies, I have been so happy-each of those days holds a special place in my memory.

2. Thinking about the new life that is inside of me is incredible. I love guessing if it's a boy or a girl...(this time, we have continued the guessing and it has been so much fun) thinking about his or her future and wondering what kind of person he or she will be. I love wondering what they will look like, what their personality will be like, if they will be like their other siblings and like Neal and myself. It's so fun to visulize and imagine them.

3. I love the first doctors appointment when you hear the little heartbeat and realize that this REALLY, TRULY is for real. I always fall in love instantly with my baby the first time I hear that heartbeat and it's always reassuring that things are going well.

4. The first ultrasound is always fun too. With this baby, I had 5 ultrasounds, the first one was at almost 5 weeks and I saw the little bean of a baby and heard and saw it's little heart just pumping away. I had had some complications and the heartbeat was low but the ultrasound tech told me that this baby was working hard to survive and told me to be cautiously optimistic about it. After many prayers, a few doctor visits and a couple of blessings from Neal, I went back in at 9 weeks and everything looked good. At 12 weeks things were looking great and by the time I had my 21 week ultrasound, we had a healthy active baby who also inherited some of the Gatherum zest and stubborness and wouldn't have let us see if it was a boy or girl, even if we wanted to know!

5. I absolutely LOVE feeling my baby move for the first time inside of me! Even now, I love to poke him/her and feel and watch him/her respond back to me. It's so reasurring that everything is okay and that my baby is safe. I love being responsible for this life inside of me and knowing that right it is solely up to me to keep my baby safe. I also have full control, something that as soon as birth occurs, I give up!

6. I am really scared for the birthing process, but I am excited at the same time. I am going to try to do this naturally (I know there are plenty of you out there who think I am crazy, and maybe I am) and it's a little nerve wracking and intimadating, but I absolutely love the miracle of birth. I love that after I give of myself physically to provide this child with life, I am rewarded by bringing home a perfect spirit who is able to teach me so much more about life and love then I could ever possibly teach them.

7. Lastly, I love the anticipation and excitment that surrounds an impending birth. We have painted the nursery, put up the crib, hutch and rocking chair, organized the closet with all the necessities (for both a boy and a girl for the time being)and have seriously organized and cleaned our house from top to bottom. Me, Neal and the boys love to go into the nursery at night and sit around and talk about our new baby and how excited we are for him/her to get here. I love that my kids are older and can anticipate and share in the arrival with us. To hear my little boys talk about their new baby is so sweet (well, sometimes it's not, like when Boe is going through his jealous stages and says that he doesn't want a baby and other things that I will not document because they are not nice) but usually, they are so excited and happy and they can't wait to be apart of it all.

Well, that sums up my feelings for now. Thanks for staying with me if you are still here:) My doctor has been out of town for the last 8 days and is back in the office Monday morning. I have an appointment on Tuesday and am hoping that some progress has been made. At my appointment last week, I was 0/0-seriously discouraging but since I want my doctor to deliver me, I have been taking it easy this week, but come Sunday...I'm gonna be out there jumping on the tramp, walking, no scratch that, running around the block and I may even convince my dad to take me to the lake and throw me around on the tube :) Anything to get this thing going. It's been glorious and fun (hahaha, who do I REALLY think I'm kidding) but it's time for the eviction notice to be handed over and for residencey to begin in the nursery crib! I'll keep you updated, send me some luck, karma and good wishes that things are looking CLOSE on Tuesday!

Happy Happy Birthday...

Today is my dad's birthday and I just wanted him to know how much I love him. He is a great example to me and my family-he is such a strong, steady person and I am so grateful to be his daughter and have his influence in my life and in the lives of my children. Here are my top 10 favorite things about my dad...

1. He and my little brother share a birthday. I know that this makes today a bitter-sweet day and I want him to know that I love both of them and am grateful for them in my life. My dad took such good care of him for so many years and I know that Nathaniel is so grateful to him and loves him so much.
2. He only chews half of a piece of gum and saves the other half for "later."
3. He is one heck of a waterskier.
4. He is an excellent bar-b-quer.
5. He always makes time for me,listens to me and talks me through things when I am struggling.
6. He is strong and steady, he never wavers.
7. He always has treats in the console of his cars. Things like fig bars, wafer cookies and altoids.
8. He is always there. When I think of the times in my life where it has been dark and sad, my dad is there. Likewise, when I think of the happy wonderful times, he is there. He is a pivotal figure in my life and I am so thankful for him.
9. He doesn't consider hell and damn to be swear words.
10.He is a "cowboy" at heart, even though he probably wouldn't admit to it!

Love ya Dad AND Nathaniel, hope you have a fantastic day!

Aughhh, Memories...

I've seen this one a few times and think it looks like fun. So, play along so we can get to know each other better!

Here are the instructions if you would like to play.
1. Leave a memory that you and I had together as a comment on my blog . It doesn't matter if you know me well or not so well, anything you remember.
2. Next, re-post these instructions on your blog and people will leave a memory about you. It's a fun way to get to know each other better. If you leave a memory about me I'll assume you are playing and I'll go to your blog and leave one about you. If you don't want to play on your blog I'll leave my memory of you in my comments on my blog.

Let Freedom Ring!

We had a fun-filled, busy 4th of July weekend. Neal took the day off on Thursday to pour a cement patio in our backyard (more on that in a later post) and then we went to the Riverton City parade where the kids got a TON of candy. It was also probably the HOTTEST I have EVER been in my entire life. I am not kidding. I was DRIPPING like a faucet. It was pretty gross. After that we went to the little ghetto carnival making a stop by our house, and spent way too much money on a few rickety rides, but the kids had a blast, so it was worth it. We finished off the night watching The Bee Movie in the park.
On Friday, the fourth, we woke up early and went to our neighborhood parade and breakfast. It was really fun. The kids drove their jeep and four wheeler and loved it! By the time we got home at 10:00 in the morning, it was already BLASTED hot and we all took a 3 hour nap! It was awesome. I can't remember the last time I did that. We finished off the night with dinner and fireworks at the park. The fireworks show was honestly AMAZING! It lasted for at least 10 songs and there were at least 7 false endings where I thought for sure it was over and that that had been the grand finale. The kids were spent and went home and slept for 10 hours straight! It was a great holiday.
I am always reminded at this time of year, how grateful I am for my freedom and for this country that we live in. I know that we have a lot of problems in the good ol' US of A, but we are so lucky and so blessed and we need to remember that and hold onto it and try to fight and preserve the freedoms that we cherish. Hope you all had a happy 4th!

So IF it's a Boy...

We are going to name him Cole Logan Gatherum.

AND....

IF it's a Girl...
We are going to name her Mia K. Gatherum.

Only THREE short weeks 'til we find out! I can't wait!!!
Thanks for your votes everyone! Have a great weekend...

SHE'S HOME!!!

Today my little sissie, Sister Kaylee Thomas, came home from her mission in Everett, Washington. She served an AWESOME and AMAZING mission (she baptized 63 people while she was there-can you believe that?!?!?!) We are so proud of her and SOOOOOO excited and glad that she is home safe and sound. We love you Kay-Kay!