Something old, Something new, Something, borrowed, Something blue

Something old is my old engagement ring. It was Justin's granny's wedding ring at one time. I am not sure how old it really is, but older than a new one. A few months back, I discovered my wedding ring (no pic.) had broken. The center "diamond" had completely come off and is missing forever. All that was left was the spiral around the middle with little, tiny, diamond specks. So, I was wearing this engagement ring in its place. Until we went on vacation to Branson, MO and a sign in a jewelry shop caught my eye: Ultra Diamonds 75% off clearance!!!!!

This leads me to the something new...my new wedding ring with "real" diamonds. It is just what I wanted. It is just a 14k gold band with 5 diamonds across the top. It is smooth, so it won't scratch my babies, and it is sparkly. It has a beautiful profile that makes the diamonds look like they are just floating, but my camera is obviously not good enough to capture that kind of a detailed picture, sorry. I can actually see the diamonds rather than specks painted in silver to make them look bigger. Needless to say, I am very pleased with my new ring which will hopefully be my last....wedding ring that is;)

Something borrowed has to do with Justin's new job. He was transferred to a new CCA facility (prison) out in Sayre, OK. The prison here had to cutback several of their employees and we are so thankful that he was able to transfer in-state and also receive a nice pay raise. He is staying with some good friends while he adjusts to his new position. We are going to take things very slowly and make sure we make the best decision concerning our current house, Merilee in school, wintertime, etc., before we move our family out to Western Oklahoma. We are grateful again that our friends have been so willing to let him borrow some space in their house and take care of him for me.
Something blue has to do with a pretty big secret we have been keeping for almost 5 months. You guessed it....we're having a boy!!! He is known as Huey or Dragon for now. He has a real name that will be kept a secret until he is born around Spring Break (March 25). It will be a repeat C-section, so I am hoping I will have some say as to the exact day he arrives (it only seems fair since I am the one being cut open!) I am 19 weeks today and will add a cute counter to the blog so you can count down the days with me. And I guess, for those of you who have been told to keep your mouth shut (or else!!) can now tell whomever you wish;) We are totally excited!!!

Old Time Photos

We took these "old time photos" in Branson, MO as our family picture for the year. It was really fun to do, but it took FOREVER. This place had a really good deal. We were able to purchase the rights to the pictures and get the disc with all the pictures so we can print our own. The little girls were VERY tired and did not want to cooperate all at the same time. All of these clothes tied on, so it didn't matter that we were all different sizes. These are just some of the best (in my opinion).

Kristi, Leighanne, Jakob, Morgan (in age order!)

The Luckinbill Family

My sister, Kristi, and her daughter, Maren.

Merilee, Cara, and Maren

The Whole "Brox" Clan

STATS

Cara had her 2 year well child check a couple days ago and here's how she measures up:

Height 34 1/2 inches--upper 50%
Weight 25 lbs. 13.8 oz.--upper 25%
Head 18 1/2 inches--upper 25%

She had 3 shots, a lead and iron test, and blood drawn for her food allergy test. She was a trooper with all the needles. Merilee was really worried for her and looked away and plugged her ears so that Cara's crying wouldn't give her bad dreams. We praised Cara for being so brave and it paid off because I just got off the phone with Cara's doctor. She said Cara's allergy test came back NEGATIVE for any food allergies. I am SO EXCITED. It has been a pain in the hiney this past year with packing her food around and making separate meals or only meals that Cara could eat. We have so many more options now. We can go on vacation and eat anywhere we want. My world is back to normal for the time being!!! YEAH, YEAH, YEAH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!