{Brady & Shaylin}

{The First Week...}

Believe it or not, Shaylin is a week old!

This week has been hectic, but wonderful. I just love the spirit a new baby brings into a home. Shaylin has only gained an ounce since birth, and is in the 25th percentile for weight and 75th percentile for height. She took to nursing perfectly! Seriously, she got it on the first try.  She is such a calm baby, and has even slept through the night a couple times!

When I say this week has been hectic, I'm not just referring to bringing home baby. Ryan started his new job last Mon, two days before Shaylin was born. So, he hasn't taken any time off....we're just grateful for the work! Luckily I have received a lot of help.

Back off to mommy-land....

{Another Princess In The Castle...}

She's HERE! 

Ryan and I welcomed the 3rd of our children this week!

Shaylin McKell Bergen was born Thur morning at 2:49am and she weighed 7lbs 4ounces.

Tues I had a DR's appt where he told me I was at a 3 and he stripped my mebraines. Labor contractions started that night and we almost went to the hospital. I labored all day Wed (mind you, Ryan was gone at work and Brady was fussy with a 103 degree fever-nice timing...) at home. By 6pm the pain was more than I could stand, and Ry and I took off to have our baby! Upon arrival, I was dilated to a 7 and 100%effaced. I was given a room and an epidural. They broke my water at midnight, and gave me some pitocen to speed things up. They had to stop my labor for about 4 hours while I was given a dose of anti-biotics, so at midnight they started things up again, and at 2:45 I began pushing. At 2:49 Shaylin was born, I literally pushed three times and she was out!

At first she was silent and I was panicking, but shortly after she started wailing and screaming, all was fine.

We spent two days in the hospital and are home tonight. The kids LOVE their new sister! Alenna won't let Shaylin out of her sight, and Brady points and says, "baby!"

Another link in the chain of our Eternal Family has been added and we are so grateful for her!

We just love this lil lady!

{All About Nanny Girl}

Alenna you say the funniest things. The ideas that you come up with are hysterical. And correct, most of the time! Daddy and I love how "girly" you are, it has been fun to spoil you with pink frilly things. You are so intelligent. You amaze us. We expect big things from you, missy.

You are such a great big sister, always looking out for Brady.

Alenna, today you are three and this is what you are doing:

You love to color

You love having your nails done and your hair done

You love dressing up, you call yourself a princess daily

You love play dough, and being outside. You especially love to plant flowers.

You love to sing and hear stories

Your favorite movie is "Little Mermaid"

Your favorite food is "Loo-Loos" or noodles

You love nursery

Though a bit moody at times, you are very caring and have a soft heart. Alenna, Daddy and I could not have asked for a better daughter-you really have been the perfect child for us.

Happy Birthday

We love you
Mommy's advice:
"People are often unreasonable, irrational, and self-centered. Forgive them anyway. If you are successful, you will win some unfaithful friends and some genuine enemies. Succeed anyway. If you are honest and sincere people may deceive you. Be honest and sincere anyway. What you spend years creating and building, others could destroy overnight. Create and build anyway. If you find serenity and happiness, some may be jealous. Be happy anyway. The good you do today, will often be forgotten tomorrow. Do good anyway. Give the world the best you have, and it may never be enough. Give the world the best you have anyway. You see, in the final analysis, it is between you and God. It was never between you and them anyway."
--Mother Teresa

{When A Princess Has A Birthday...}

                             alenna is 3!

Our princess had her birthday on Saturday! Feels like just yesterday I was holding her in the hospital, she was all wrapped in pink and sleeping like angel...

Saturday was a very full day, we took her shopping, and than to lunch. After naps, daddy and Alenna went horse back riding, because all the Princesses ride horses. That night we had a party for her. Because mommy is so heavily pregnant, we just did a dessert bar and presents, I'm not even going to pretend like I have the energy to entertain a houseful of 3 year olds.

She had a great day, got a TON of new stuff.  No idea where we will put it all!

Happy Birthday Alenna! We love you!

{Some Fan-Freaking-Tastic News!}

Has this week been an insane one! An insanely great one I might add!

We received a rejection letter from Ryan's nursing school yesterday and after a lot of frustration and hours on the phone (ok and a couple angry tears...) we found that the school made a huge mistake. Ryan made the long drive to CAC, which is about an hour away to get everything sorted out. We than received a call from the nursing director herself telling us they had made a mistake, and they were accepting him after all!

So, Jan 2010 he will officially be a nursing student!

Everything is just falling right into place! We were in limbo for so so so long, its so nice to finally be moving in the rigtht direction!

The baby can come now!

(like any of this matters in the long run, right??)

{Blessed}

Well, some great news....after 9 months of unemployment, Ryan was offered a job on Wed at PMT Ambulance where he will be an EMT. This is a wonderful break for us, and a great foot in the right direction for Ryan in starting over in his career. I'm not going to go on and on about how bad the economy is, just turn on your TV. But it is so rough out right now, honestly, if you haven't been affected you are very very lucky, things are very bad right now.  

Scary bad. Like, Walmart isn't-even-hiring bad.

My advice?? Don''t spend ONE MORE DIME than you NEED to right now! You just never ever know...

So, Ryan starts Mon at 9! He has orientation Mon Tues Wed and than will start his shift shortly after that! He has chosen to work 24 hour shifts, which I think will work awesome. He will work 24 hours, than have two days off, and so on. Which will be nice to have him around to help with the kids and he will be able to stay in school.

When you're unemployed it totally shakes the foundation of everything you have ever known, any sense of stability is totally gone. We have never been through anything so hard. And if you haven't been through it, you honestly have no clue. You leave unemployment a totally different person than going into it, you just can't help but change.

And just because you have a job today doesn't mean anything. Things change over night. No one is immune.

So, my heart goes out to all our friends who are currently unemployed, our thoughts and prayers are with you.

As for Ryan and I, we are a stronger couple for our struggles. We have grown together by leaps and bounds.

But we are excited and more than anxious to close the chapter on this crappy part of our book and start anew. We are feeling so grateful to Heavenly Father, he clearly, has heard our prayers.

{Halloween At The Bergens!}

Happy Halloween From The Bergens!

Halloween was great, the kids had a blast. Mommy & daddy have been enjoying their candy.
we just went around the block, which was perfect, about 40 houses. I don't think Alenna's attention, or her candy bag, could take much more!
we nailed down  that both mommy & Brady waddle though....