This Face...

...never fails to make us laugh!

Prestons "new" thing to do is scrunch up his nose and breath really hard in and out super fast haha! Where he learned this I have no idea! It is super hilarious though...and i think its cute! Ill do it back to him and he gets super excited! Boy do I love this little guy!

( hence the sleveless shirts....its getting SO warm here! )

Stretch Marks...

One of my friends from highschool, Minette, sent me an email with this story in it this morning. Im not really sure where she got it but I fell in love with the story and thought it would be awesome to share. Heres a little backround on the women this story is about: She is the mother to an angel baby named Gavin. Gavin was here on earth for a short time before he was called back home. Being such a special and valiant spirit, Gavin never had to feel anything but love in this life. He didn't have to know what it felt like to be picked last on a team. He didn't have to know what it felt like to feel lonely. He never cried over a broken heart or felt the sorrows of the world. All he knew was love, he was surrounded by it!



To become a mother, our bodies must make a great deal of sacrifice in order to bring our children into this world. We get together in our circles and compare loosened skin (you know what I mean--right?), widened hips, and even stretch marks. This post gave me greater insight as to what it means to be a mother. Is it possible that even stretch marks are a blessing... I think so.



Christ carries us on the palms of his hands, and on his feet. These, are sacred scars. We just had Stake Confrence this week and the Stake President made a comparison that changed my way of thinking. He spoke of Christ and the scars that he carries, to remind each of us, of the sacrifice that HE made for us. Then he spoke of how in this day in age we are so concerned with how we look that some of the more important things go unnoticed. We want to change things that maybe we should actually be proud of. We want to erase things, sacred scars, that we could hold dear instead. He then compared Mothers and the sacred scars they carry on their belly's, to that of Christ. We carry these sweet children in out belly's and sometimes they sign thier names across our belly's with red lines that most of the world would consider ugly. But they are sacred. Stretch marks. They are the battle scars that our bodies waged as we grew the precious bodies that would hold these fabulous little spirits. Truly SACRED scars.



I hated my stretch marks right after I had Gavin. They were so ugly and red and obvious. But then when I gave my sweet Gavin back, they became something so different. They became evidence that he was real, that he lived, that he loved me, and that at one point we were so close, we were literally one. He in me. One. Those stretch marks became his everlasting letter to me. "Mom, I love you. Thank you for bringing me here. Together for Eternity. GAVIN". And when the Stake President made that comparison, I guess it confirmed what I already felt. These are sacred Scars. Scars that I treasure. Thank you Gavin, for leaving a little "love you" note behind.
 
 
When I finished reading that I got all teary eyed...i have felt so "ugly" and tried so hard to get rid of the marks i have from my precious Preston. I will literally never look at stretch marks the same way again. I know Spencer thinks Im beautiful and I know how much he and Preston love me. I know Ill always be beautiful in our Heavenly Fathers eyes and thats all that matters right? Thank you Minette for sending this my way, it really lifted my spirits and touched my heart!

Us...

These are pics taken last week when Preston went and got his 2nd dose of shots :(. Look at him playing with those cars...doesnt he look so big!? He did really good and only ran a slight fever that night. Hes getting to be my big boy...

So Ive totally been slacking on my blogging lately...weve been SO BUSY! But Im finally back into our normal schedule and I should be able to keep up with this thing again. :). This month has started out crazy and I dont know when its going to end...We have Family pics/prestons 1 year old pics scheduled for the 24th...im so excited about them but im still trying to figure out where i want them done and what i want us to wear...Prestons birthday party is May 1st and Ive been trying to figure out how im decorating and what we'll eat and what to even buy for the little guy! Everything we have going on this month and next is fun stuff so im really excited just really busy as well.

Some new stuff Preston has learned recently is to wave goodbye and clap his hands. He does them both SO CUTE! He doesnt understand that we wave hello and goodbye so hell only wave goodbye haha. He can stand up now without holding on to anything so Im guessing hes getting pretty close to walking...CRAZY! Hes still absolutely adorable and so very fun! We love him to pieces!

Well thats all for now I have bathrooms to scrub...carpet to be vaccuumed...and clothes to fold!

At the Pool...

This week has come and gone SO FAST.

Actually let me rephrase that...the last 3 weeks have come and gone SO FAST. I cant believe that my family already left this morning. Ive spent the last 3 weeks with them and i have enjoyed every bit of it. Im really going to miss them a TON. And I know Preston is going to be like " where is everybody"...he really had tons of fun hanging out with all of them.

We really had a lot of fun...of course i wasnt that great about taking pictures like i said i was going to be...dang it. But i did take my camera when we went to the pool. We went to my grandmas senior community pool ( cause its heated ) and it felt so nice to be out in the sun and work on a little tan...Preston got some great color ( not red at all ) and of course I got red...i think preston is going to take after the coons skin and will be able to get tan easily...I just hope he gets my complexsion. Well see!

I loved this picture of Preston and Court...They both look super cute! I cant tell you how much Ive enjoyed having my family around...they are so funny, so helpful, and we all just get along SO WELL. If i could have one wish right now it would be that we all lived closer. I couldnt tell you how happy that would make me.

Preston had tons of fun with grandma! I told myself that i would take some really cute pictures of the two of them and did i do it? Nope. Im pretty mad at myself for not doing it. But they just love eachother and I know Preston will be missing his Grandma Bigelow TONS.

We love you Dad, Mom, Tanner and Courtney...And we miss you SO MUCH already!

Visiting Brandi...

Raycer Jaxx Kakavas

I have been dying to go to the Maricopa Hospital to visit Brandi and Raycer! She was airvacked to the valley the day I flew out to Utah so I couldnt come and see them untill I got back. Luckily I was able to go on Monday and see that adorable little boy. And when I say little I mean tiny...brandi said he was only 4 lbs 1 oz. He is so perfect looking and is getting healthier every day. I am so very thankful things worked out and mommy and baby are doing so well. We just love the kakavas family!

Isnt Brandi just gorgeous!? Im just so jealous of how tiny and beautiful she looks after having her 3rd baby!

Holding that tiny baby made me a little baby hungry again...though Im sure I can wait a little longer. haha. The only way i could go and see her was to take my little brother Tanner with me so that he could watch Preston in the waiting room while I went in and saw them. I guess Preston wasnt that good haha and Tanner said it was a learning "experience". I felt pretty bad especially walking up to them and seeing all the bread Preston had thrown everywhere and Tanners face when he handed preston over haha! Tanner said there was an older lady sitting behind him and he could tell she was talking about him when she said " Kids are getting younger and younger having babys! " and then " I wonder where his wife is! " haha poor Tanner. He says hes definantly not ready for a baby....HAHA I think i need to let all teenagers watch Preston for an hour and scare them out of doing things they shouldnt! ( Not that Tanner is a bad kid...at all! ) Tanner really is sooo good with Preston and Im so thankful he was willing to watch him for me. He really is the best little uncle!

Happy Easter...

Isnt his reaction to his basket priceless? I love this picture...he was so very excited to wake up to a new toy sunday morning.

I dont know about other familys but my family always got candy plus a little something extra in our basket...some kind of toy when we were little or money when we got older. I of course stuck to my tradition and since preston doesnt really eat candy he just got some little toys and bunny ears in his basket this year. I did get Spencer a little something this year...weve never done it for eachother before but Ive been gone and just did it to show how ive missed him and how thankful i am he let us go. He just got a new shirt and some candy!

We watched the morning session of conference at our house and then right when it was over we ran to my grandparents and had easter lunch with them....steak and potatoes, salad and rolls...mmm mmm it was dang good. After lunch we watched the 2nd half of conference and then visited with my family untill about 430. Then we went to Spencers parents house for dinner and read the story of the reserection in Luke. It was really nice getting together with both familys...we had a great day!

Preston is almost walking! He can stand up by himself...as you can kinda tell in the picture above. He is just getting too big...hell be one is less than a month.. i really just cant believe it. We had him wear his bunny ears to both of our familys houses...he looked adorable but it wasnt really his favorite thing to wear haha. Spencer kept telling me to get those things off his little boy! haha

Hope you all had a Great Easter Sunday! Love...the Coons!

Were Back!!!

We are finally back home with Spencer! We arrived saturday around 4:30...we had an awesome trip but we sure did miss Spenc. With Easter on sunday and part of my family still here with me in arizona I havent had time to post untill now...Easter pics to come soon!

 It was so nice to get away from it all and have no worries, I seriously just had time to relax and laugh...I had a ton of helpers with preston... so it REALLY felt like a vacation haha. I was there for 12 days and I really didnt take very many pictures :(...Im usually pretty good and I did take some but I wish I would have taken more of my dad with Preston and even my mom with preston...my mom is still here with me though so ill make sure and do that. Well some of our highlights of our trip were:

1. Preston was SO spoiled...my parents got him a crip to stay at there house, toys, clothes and pretty much whatever else he wanted haha...he loved it!
2. Chloe ( my parents dog )...Preston loves her to death and just wanted to be her best friend the entire time. Im not much of a dog fan but I really do love her...she lets him hit her and take her toys...shes honestly the best dog i have ever seen with children.
3. Grandpa let preston eat ice cream, played with him, read to him, let him drive and would give him any bites of food that he wanted haha He loves his grandpa

4.   We saw cousin Aaron...Preston got a little beat up haha but they had fun and it was so nice to visit with the Jensen Family.

5.   It was the best to be able to suprise my mom...she had no idea and it was sooo fun! Preston loves grandma to peices and got TONS of hugs and kisses!

6.   We were able to go to Courtneys Volleyball tournament that saturday and it was a blast to watch her play. She is amazing at every sport she plays...im so jealous of how athletic she is. Her team won that tournament!

7.  Courtney was so good with Preston and had tons of fun making him laugh...I had a blast staying up late with her...having sister to sister talks, playing mario, and watching girly movies...oh how i love my sister, i miss her tons!

8.   We met up with my friend whitney! We played games at the arcade, she helped courtney with her batting swing ( Courtney had softball tryouts the next day and Whit plays softball for the BYU team ). She is so fun and so sweet. I love being able to catch up with her while im in utah!

9.   Tanner is hilarious...Im serious he made me laugh the entire time. Hes so fun to be around and is great with Preston ( as long as hes not crying haha ) He makes preston laugh all the time...He loves that crazy uncle so much!...and so do I!

10.   We spent alot of time at my parents since the weather was pretty chilly...it was actually really nice to sit by the fire and talk and play with Preston. One of his favorites was playing in the hamper with grandma and grandpa. It was his " boat " and hed drive back and forth...he had a blast!

11.   We went to a scrapbooking expo and it was soo cool. There were a ton of fun stuff to look at and great ideas. I found the cutest watch i have ever seen and me and my mom had to buy them! We have matching watches now and we love them!

12.   I got my hair done by my cousin Sydnee and it looks so super cute! She did an awesome job!

We did alot more but Ill just mention those...I love my family and Im so very grateful I got to spend all that time with them. I really wish I could spend my days with my mom like i did for that week, i would give anything to be closer but i guess that will do for now.