Here are some updated pictures of the girls. Audrey is growing so fast, I can hardly keep up. She's crawling around now and loves to be on her own to discover everything there is to discover (on the floor). Audrey still loves her big sister, and Alyssa can make her laugh with the drop of a hat. Audrey mimmicks our sounds and tries to talk. Charlie was laying in bed with her and was saying "da da" over and over until Audrey copied him. Once she said it she wouldn't stop. "da da", "da da" (broken up in two). It was so cute, you could just see Charlie's excitment all over his face! He's such a proud daddy.Since my mother-in-law has been buggin' me to write, I thought I'd better get on it, but just to explain why I haven't written, here's a very brief, very summarized version of my life this past little while... (oh and BTW... mom, need more comments to spin off of).
We've had a rough couple of months, me being overwhelmingly busy with work while Charlie studied for the Bar (which he took last Tuesday and Wednesday). I've felt like a single mom... I don't know how they do it! I felt fine at first, but toward the end, I was so exhausted, I couldn't wait for him to be done taking the Bar. Then to top it all off, Audrey had an ear infection and was cranky, woke up in the middle of the night several times (I know, poor me right?... well when you've trained your babies to sleep through the night, it's harder to get back into waking up again). We got through that, then Alyssa got a cold which later developed into the first stages of pneumonia. She stayed with my parents the nights before 
Charlie took the bar and they noticed her breathing, so I brought her home and monitered her, and then decided to take her to the doctor the next day. She was breathing really shallow and fast. You could see it in her stomach and her neck. I was so afraid she was just gonna stop breathing (welcome to motherhood). So after 2 days of on-and-off sleeping sitting up on the couch watching over my first baby girl, she was finally breathing normal, but still with a cough. We were so relieved that we caught in time so that there were no expensive costs, waits and frustrations of the emergency room or urgent care. So, now that things have calmed down a bit... Charlie's done studying, work isn't so crazy and Alyssa's feeling better, you'd think I'd have time to clean my house or something, right.... well take a look!!! :) Now I'm sick (just a cold, but still feeling tired and unmotivated) and so is Audrey. Does it ever end???? I hate this sick season. Especially now with more than one kid, they keep trading back and forth, plus Alyssa is in Playschool (which she LOVES) and I'm sure brings home viruses, and we are constantly with other kids. It's so hard to stay unsick. I don't want to say healthy because they are otherwise very healthy little girls, and I am extremely blessed to have such happy, healthy kids!
Charlie took the bar and they noticed her breathing, so I brought her home and monitered her, and then decided to take her to the doctor the next day. She was breathing really shallow and fast. You could see it in her stomach and her neck. I was so afraid she was just gonna stop breathing (welcome to motherhood). So after 2 days of on-and-off sleeping sitting up on the couch watching over my first baby girl, she was finally breathing normal, but still with a cough. We were so relieved that we caught in time so that there were no expensive costs, waits and frustrations of the emergency room or urgent care. So, now that things have calmed down a bit... Charlie's done studying, work isn't so crazy and Alyssa's feeling better, you'd think I'd have time to clean my house or something, right.... well take a look!!! :) Now I'm sick (just a cold, but still feeling tired and unmotivated) and so is Audrey. Does it ever end???? I hate this sick season. Especially now with more than one kid, they keep trading back and forth, plus Alyssa is in Playschool (which she LOVES) and I'm sure brings home viruses, and we are constantly with other kids. It's so hard to stay unsick. I don't want to say healthy because they are otherwise very healthy little girls, and I am extremely blessed to have such happy, healthy kids!
Ok, so there's more... We own a home here in Arizona which we are currently renting out. Our renters of 3 years (whom we love and appreciate since they have taken such good care of the home and made it their own and whom we will miss so much) decided to leave us and move to Snotsville! :) Well, to say the least, I hate to lose them, but I know they needed to go. I was worried at first about finding a renter, but after much prayer and fasting, I was surprisingly very calm about the whole situation; I knew it would work out. Well, we found renters who LOVE the house as much as Joe and Teri. We clicked with them, they have excellent rental history and I know will be good for us. They seem like awesome people. They were able to move in the day Joe and Teri moved out, so Luckily we had no lapse in rental coverage. In other words, we weren't out any money. And since times have been tough (we made our first student loan payment today), I am very grateful for that.
I just need to say one last thing before I logg off. I was talking to Charlie yesterday and said, "Ya know, we really have a great life. So much to be thankful for!" Of course he asked why and as I started naming off all of the great things in our life, my heart was overwhelmingly full of gratitude. Even though my life hasn't always been everything I've expected, it has been even better than I could have ever imagined. I know that Heavenly Father has a hand in my life. He watches over and protects me (sometimes from myself). Since going away to Law School and struggling to make ends meet, I have come to really understand what it means to have Faith. Sometimes He may not always answer our prayers the way we want Him to, but if we have Faith in him and trust him with our lives, I know that everything will turn out for the best. . . Only He sees the big picture; I only see the here and now. I have learned that to have Faith in God does not mean that we will get what we pray or ask Him for, but it is to know that God will answer our prayers in His own way and that He knows what's best for us. I am so grateful for a Heavenly Father who loves me and is always watching over me.
Sara
