An announcement

Well, if you haven't heard by now, which I'm sure most of you haven't, we have an announcement in our family. She came a little over 3 months early.

Meet Sharon Wilhelm.

Born: August 30th, 2009 at 3:33 AM

Weight: 1 lb. 12 oz.

Length: 13 1/2 inches I started having contractions on Saturday night. Once I figured out what I was feeling, we called the after hours number at my doctor's office & he recommended I go to the hospital to get checked out. They got me settled & the nurse checked my cervix. I was already dilated 8 cm.

They immediately transferred me to a labor & delivery room & called the doctor, who just happened to be LDS. A couple hours later I was dilated to a 10 & they broke my water. She was born early Sunday morning & was immediately taken to be put on a breathing machine. Then she was air evacuated to Maricopa Medical in Phoenix. I was discharged at about 7:00 AM Sunday morning (yes, insanely quickly!). We got a couple hours sleep, then packed and headed to Phoenix. We got to the hospital at about 4:00 where we saw our little girl all hooked up to all kinds of machines. She is very stable & doing well! She kicks a lot & her color is good. She tries to breathe on her own a lot, though she does get tired & is always hooked up to the ventilator & oxygen. She is doing well, & we are so thankful for all the prayers that have been offered in our behalf.

I took this picture today. Her color is good & her head is more normally shaped now. She did have some bruising on her head from delivery, but it is getting better. She is a very active baby & likes to kick & wave her arms. She is such a sweet little thing, & full of spice!

Here is a picture of me with her footprint card. Yes, they are tiny, I know!

I am doing great, actually feeling a whole lot better than I have been for the last 2 weeks. All the soreness is gone, & I really am feeling great! If you have any questions feel free to ask. We certainly don't have all the answers & are certainly relying on the Lord. We know that all things are in His hands. We hope & pray that we will get to keep our little Shari in this life, but know that if He has other plans we will see her again in the next life.

Welcome to our hearts Sharon!

4 Years

I just realized today that since we were down in Glendale for our anniversary, I didn't get a chance to blog about it. So, I hope you'll forgive me as I take a walk down memory lane for a moment to write about what my marriage means to me!

We were married August 13, 2005 in the Mesa Arizona Temple. That was certainly the happiest day of my life (though I have certainly had other such moments since then). In the four years (wow! Four years! It's gone by so quickly!) that we've been married I have learned that I truly married a wonderful man! We get along so well, & though we get grouchy sometimes, it doesn't take long for the other to say, "How about we have something to eat." We've found that the times we tend to squabble are usually moments where one or the other is hungry or tired. One of my favorite things is when Ammon gets up on Fast Sundays in church to bare his testimony. He is pretty reserved in Sunday School, & tends to just think deep thoughts to himself rather than raising his hand to share with the class (like I tend to do), but when he stands up there & states what he knows to be true, I can always see how strong his testimony really is! He is a deep thinker & surprises me with how knowledgeable he is about certain topics. He is truly a priesthood holder, & I am ever grateful that we have that precious power in our home. I know that I can lean on him & he will lift me up.

How blessed I am to have married a man that can make me laugh. He always tells me that as long as he can make me laugh every day he is doing well. Let me just say, I don't think we have any problems in the laughter area! I'm pretty sure he has made me laugh every day of our fours years together! His quick wit & dry humor (along with some very interesting faces) keep me on my toes, & constantly makes my day! I love that he tries to keep me happy, even if he may not be having the best day ever. Just be sure to stay about 10 steps away from him, just in case God ever decides that lightning just may be the best solution. =)

I am so glad that Ammon & I have so much in common! He always tells people that he knew he had found a keeper when I called him in the early afternoon one day & told him I wanted to skip class & go fishing. Fishing is just one of the many things that we love to do together! It really doesn't matter what we're doing, as long as we can be together. Some of the best times are made simply by walking around Wal-mart, holding hands & enjoying time spent together. I hope we can be sure to continue that as our family grows!

Ammon is a great worker. Not only does he enjoy his job & excell at it, but he loves to be doing things & making things for our home. Rarely have I come to him with a problem & he hasn't found a solution that costs a whole lot less than going to the store to buy it. He is great with his table saw & nail gun & our home enjoys many items that have been made by his hands. I am blessed to have a handy man as a husband. He is one that will try to fix it, even if he has little or no experience. I am also grateful that he has the common sense to know when he is unable to solve the problem & needs to take it to someone who can.

Ammon is kind of a stingy subject when it comes to pictures. Most of our family pictures capture him with a grim kind of face, or he looks like he's thinking about smiling. This is definitely one of my favorite pictures of Ammon because I was able to capture him as he looks most of the time. He is always smiling & laughing, & you can tell that this is his true smile because his eyes are all crinkly around the edges! I can truly grow old with him!

This is the most recent picture of us, taken a couple days after our anniversary. I am thankful for these past four years. For the chance we've had to grow together & hold hands along the way. We have certainly had our struggles, especially in wanting kids. I thank Heavenly Father every day for the opportunity we have to become parents soon & that I am going to be able to raise children with this wonderful man. He will be an amazing father & I can't wait to see him hold our little girl for the first time. Thank you Ammon for loving me enough!

It's that time of year again

No, I'm not talking about Christmas, though I do have all my Christmas songs loaded onto my iPod & they get shuffled in all the time. I am talking about the wonderful time of year when prickly pears ripen! Most of you who may not know me well are probably thinking, "Why in the heck would anyone be excited about a cactus fruit being ripe?" Well, because when those fruit get ripe, it means that it's time to make more prickly pear jelly, which I love!

Last year was the first time that I had tried my hand at making prickly pear jelly after I noticed a large cactus loaded with them over by the bank in town. It was definitely a success. As I started making more of this jelly, my husband pointed out that we were never going to be able to eat all the jams & jellies that I make (ie: I still have strawberry jam that I made in 2005 when we first got married). I just love to make it, though, so I decided I would try to sell the prickly pear jelly. I found quite a few people were willing to buy it at work, & was able to sell over 60 half pints last year. Yesterday was my first day of picking the fruit & making jelly. So, I've made 12 jars, & sold 6 of those already. I love the fact that I have a hobby that will pay for itself, plus a little extra! So, if you are nearby & want to try some homemade (absolutely delicious) prickly pear jelly, let me know! $3 a half-pint.

Vanishing Oatmeal Raisin Cookies Recipe

I had a craving for oatmeal raisin cookies today & just happened to find this one that comes under the lid of the Quaker Oats oatmeal tube. The cookies are very tasty & just chewy enough. I'm not even a big fan of having raisins in cookies, but these are delicious! Enjoy!

Ingredients:

1/2 pound margarine or butter, softened

1 cup firmly packed brown sugar

1/2 cup granulated sugar

2 eggs

1 teaspoon vanilla

1 1/2 cup all-purpose flour

1 teaspoon baking soda

1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1/2 teaspoon salt (optional)

3 cups Quaker Oats (quick or old fashioned, uncooked)

1 cup raisins

Directions:
1. Heat oven to 350 F.

2. In large bowl, beat margarine and sugars until creamy.

3. Add eggs and vanilla; beat well.

4. Add combined flour, baking soda, cinnamon and salt; mix well.

5. Add oats and raisins; mix well.

6. Drop dough by rounded tablespoonfuls onto ungreased cookie sheets.

7. Bake 10 to 12 minutes or until light golden brown.

8. Cool 1 minute on cookie sheets; remove to wire rack. Cool completely. Store tightly covered.

Yield: 4 dozen

Dad's Birthday

The National Guard

Aunt Susie's visit

Tali's Birthday Gift

For all of you who want to try to make your own duct tape roses, here is a similar tutorial to the one that we used when learning how to make them: http://ducttape.pbworks.com/Rose. Or you can go to YouTube & just type in duct tape rose or duct tape rose tutorial. Have fun!

Family Pictures

While we were down in Glendale this last weekend, my Mom wanted to take our family pictures, so that she can use them for her Christmas cards. This was pretty much the last time we can take them before Christmas if we'd wanted the whole family because Janelle leaves for basic training today & won't be back for about 6 or 7 months. I think they turned out really well! I took them, & with some slight editing on the computer they look even better. I just changed the brightness & contrast a little & increased the saturation slightly. You'll notice that Allyssa doesn't have an individual picture & that's because she was whining & didn't want to have it taken. I didn't really care at the point because I was ready to stop kneeling anyways. Enjoy!

Family Pictures 2

Here are the other two pages of our family pictures.