Bye 2009

We made it through another amazing year!

Christmas Take 2!

Merry Christmas from the Engel side!

The soon-to-be mommy and daddy!

Grandma and Zoie strummin up some Christmas tunes!

My Movie Review

My Sister’s Keeper

So, I normally don’t do this, but hey…

Shan and I watched this movie last night – we love movies that are based on a true story. We were very disappointed by this movie.



It does:
*portray the real side of people suffering with Cancer from a physical standpoint
*show the turmoil families go through with a terminally ill member of the family
*show the realty of death

It doesn’t:
*have faith
*have purpose
*have reconciliation
*have peace
*have assurance
*have the aspect of surrendering

...all of which made this movie very hard to watch!

With all of the aspects that were missing I wouldn’t recommend this movie to anyone. Leaving God out of anything leaves people / families with feelings of hopelessness, lack of purpose, feeling of being alone, doubt, questions and a blah about life and each day. With Christmas (the birth of Christ) being just one day ago I realize how easy it is to only focus on Jesus one day a week or one day a year. Being a Christian is about carrying Jesus in our hearts DAILY, searching for Him DAILY, loving Him and wanting to be more like Him DAILY – not just when the greeting cards hit the shelves. Being a Christian isn’t about a religion it’s about a relationship.

These are just a few thoughts we had while watching this movie…

Famous Family Picture

We take a family picture taken each Christmas at grandma’s house. The couch seems to have shrunk this year. Can’t wait to see next year!

20 Weeks!!! Half Way...

Twenty down, 20 to go!! :)

Merry Christmas, Everyone!

Christmas Came Early

After the Honda got broken into we took it to the shop to see how much it would cost to get it fixed up - not only from the vandals, but also from many ongoing leaks, knocks and grinds. After getting the estimate we knew there was no way it would be reasonable to put more money into a car than it’s even worth. So we started car shopping. After a couple of weekends we found just the right one – a diamond in the rough! God blessed us with a wonderful car that will be reliable, safe, will be great with the family and is even a bit sporty! A 2006 Mercury Milan with only one previous owner and 34,000 miles we couldn't go wrong! Yay – Merry Christmas to us!

19 Weeks

We met with our midwife yesterday. I was finally able to hear a very soft, but very strong little heartbeat! What a wonderful blessing! At 19 weeks I am measuring 3 weeks bigger than expected. With dates that are right on – could this mean twins? We don’t know yet. Either way we will be thrilled!

I’ve been feeling great! The baby weighs about 8 1/2 ounces and measures about 6 inches, head to bottom. The baby loves music. Anytime we put on music my tummy comes alive – so fun!

I can’t believe that at this time next year we’ll have a 7 month old – AMAZING!

Merry Christmas!!

Ms. Bella here again. It's that time of year for Christmas cards, caroling, mittens and warm fires! This has been one eventful year here at the Hager's home! Last year we found that we're so busy - going here and there that we ran out of room on the paper when writing our Christmas letter. So instead of writing you a book, this year we've decided to send everyone to our blog. Most everything that we've done has been posted here and there's even pictures!!! Please enjoy reading through all of our fun adventures and even read about one of our BIGGEST adventure and blessing coming in MAY - we couldn't be more thrilled!

From what I've over-hear at the dinner table 2010 is going to be an amazing year full of new experiences, challenges and hopefully more trips to the dog park. :) Stay tuned as Amber will be keeping up with the blog throughout the year.

We look forward to hearing from all of you soon!

Have a very MERRY CHRISTMAS!

Have you opened your gift?

In Ephesians 2 God tells us about “the gift” that He sent to us. This gift is the gift of salvation through Jesus Christ. The problem with this gift is that many people throughout history have left this gift outside of their lives and unopened. How do you open God’s gift, Jesus Christ, and let Him into your life? John 1:12 tells us - But as many as received Him (Jesus), to them He gave the right to become children of God, even to those who believe in His name (Lord Jesus Christ). Read Ephesians 2:1-9 and Romans 10:9-13.

God sent us Jesus to take way our sins. (Read Matthew 1:21.) This forgiveness gives us eternal life with Him, stopping an eternity of bad days in hell. God also sent this gift so His Spirit could live within us. (Read Ephesians 1:13.) Is God’s gift waiting outside of your life for you to open? God longs for you to open His gift… If Jesus is in your life do you treat God’s greatest gift to you as you should? Or do you treat Jesus as a gift that doesn’t mean a whole lot to you? (You know the type that sits and collects dust.) Read Isaiah 30:18, Mark 12:29-30, 1 Corinthians 6:11-20 and Ephesians 5:1-2.

A Surprise in Minnesota

Shan and I just got back from Minnesota. Surprisingly it was warmer there than it has been here in Colorado! Shan had a neurology seminar and I went along to relax and sleep.

As we were waiting for the shuttle to take us to the hotel I saw a brochure for the MALL OF AMERICA!! I had no idea it was here – I had heard of it, but didn’t know where it was. I told Shan maybe I would take a cab and check it out.

As we were driving to the hotel I joked – better yet, maybe we’ll be able to see the mall right outside or hotel window! When we got to our room I opened the window and no kidding the mall entrance was right there.

So now in the midst of my sleeping, swimming, and relaxing I squeezed in SHOPPING!! I got in enough walking for whole next month! I had fun and Shan learned more about nerve pathways and brain stuff…

18 Weeks

We had an appointment with our midwife today… all is looking great. We are now 18 weeks! I measured 2 weeks larger than expected, especially for this being our first baby. I’m starting to feel more activity and the thumps are getting stronger - many times I’m still caught off guard by the life that’s moving around inside of me. :)

Shan and Jeni (midwife) were able to hear the heartbeat with a fetoscope (a stethoscope for listening to babies), but to my untrained ear all I heard was a very hungry Amber.

We have another appointment right before Christmas, so maybe I’ll be able to hear something then – if not that’s okay too.

Toilet Paper

Pregancy is like a roll of toilet paper. The closer it gets to the end, the faster it goes...

The Family!

Our nephew Jeremiah's first grade picture - What a handsome little man! We miss you and hope to see you soon!

Shan's mom and sister (Jackie and Brandi) lookin mighty fine! Such a wonderful picture of mom and daughter. We love you guys!

16 Weeks!

Finally I can say I'm 4 MONTHS - what's up with the week thing anyways!?!

Baby Hager is the size of a Rubber Ducky - how cute!



I have been feeling awesome!

I think there may be a mix-up as Shan has been “spring cleaning” for the past 2 weeks --- I thought I was the one who would be nesting…? I’m not complaining in the slightest – I love it. He even organized my jewelry!!!

Time is flying - the baby will be here before we know it!

More Scrapbooking Pages

Yes it's official - I'm caught up with my scrapbooking... for today anyways! :)

Poor Honda

Sunday morning when we went out to our car we realized it had been broken into. The bandits broke the latch to the hood and took almost everything out of the trunk (they left some jeans – I guess they weren’t their size). When we made the police report they said we were the 4th people to call in, but that there didn't seem to be any connections. We’re thankful as it could have been worse.

Better Than Turkey?

What’s better on Thanksgiving than turkey and stuffing…?

Being surprised by the love of my life with beautiful flowers!


Thank you Honey – we LOVE them!

15 Weeks and Growing!

Feeling GREAT and enjoying this amazing process!

Yes, it is true – I had to give into the world of maternity clothes… really they are much more comfortable than squeezing into my regular clothes!

Baby Hager is growing and now measures about 4 inches long, crown to rump, and weighs in at about 2 1/2 ounces (about the size of an apple). :)

?

TWO?

Ultrasound = "Unnecessary Exposure"

Ultrasound, sonograms, and dopplers use high frequency sound waves to produce an image of the baby on a viewing screen or amplify the baby's heartbeat so it can be heard more easily. NO STUDIES have been done which prove the safety of these devices, and the American Medical Association recommends AGAINST unnecessary exposure.

"Unnecessary Exposure" includes the use of ultrasound to:
1. Confirm the sex of the baby.
2. Assess gestational age (how many weeks old the baby is).
3. Assess fetal size and growth.
4. Confirm multiple pregnancy.
5. Determine fetal presentation (the position of the baby in the womb).

Many health care professionals still use ultrasound for these purposes anyway, even though the American Medical Association has not approved its use for these purposes.

Before you allow an ultrasound to be done on you, do some research, thoroughly question your healthcare provider about safety as well as the value of the information that would be received. Don't be afraid to refuse the test if you are not comfortable with the information you have discovered. It is your constitutional right to refuse any tests you do not want.

To give you some means of comparison, I offer this analogy. Have you seen a woman with an extremely high voice break a glass by singing an extremely high pitched note? That is an example of what just ONE relatively slow sound wave can do. Ultrasound technology is based upon ultra high-frequency sound waves, which bombard the child in the womb at an extremely high rate of speed. If one slow sound wave from a woman's voice can break a glass, what can super high frequency sound waves do to your child? Ultrasound waves in laboratory experiments have been known to damage chromosomes, produce internal cellular heat which damages cells, retard the normal development of cells, and many other phenomenon.

http://www.unhinderedliving.com/pultra.html

Another week bites the dust...

I grow people - - - What's your superpower?

Yum! Yum!

Getting to the scrumptious morsels inside can be challenging, but it's well worth the work!!!

Prenatal Yoga

Tonight I’m starting a prenatal yoga class. They say prenatal yoga poses have many benefits: increases flexibility, decreases muscle tension, it balances and strengthens the systems and organs of the body and it will prepare mama for an easier birth. Pregnant women have reported a shorter labor, less stress or anxiety, depression, weight gain or back and leg pain after doing prenatal yoga. And what expecting mom doesn’t want that?

We’ll see how it goes - I’m not much of a yoga person, but maybe things will be different now…?

A Karaoke Birthday!

Happy Birthday Dadio! Thank you for allowing us to share in your BIG day and sing/dance along to some of our favorite songs!

Stay forever young at heart – WE LOVE YOU!

Until next year...

13 Weeks!

We're already almost 1/3 of the way done… this is the last week of my first trimester. This week baby Hager can make a fist and even suck his or her thumb – that’s amazing and too cute!

This is an awkward in-between stage…my normal clothes don’t really fit and neither do maternity clothes (which mom and I found a killer deal on craigslist for). Anywho...


I thought this was a cute quote:

Everything grows rounder and wider and weirder, and I sit here in the middle of it all and wonder who in the world you will turn out to be. -- Carrie Fisher

HAPPY DAY!!!

What a great week! I’m hungry, feel like eating and food tastes GREAT! Life can’t get better than that!! YAY!
(12 Weeks 5 Days)

How baby Hager is growing this week:

Baby Hager’s fingers will soon begin to open and close, his (or her) toes will curl, his eye muscles will clench, and his mouth will make sucking movements. Also his intestines, which have grown so fast that they protrude into the umbilical cord, will start to move into his abdominal cavity about now, and his kidneys will begin excreting urine into his bladder.

WoW – lots of very important stuff going on this week!!

Baby Hager is about the size of a lime.

First Halloween

Jacoby's 1st Halloween!!
Too Cute!
Ribbit!

Snow Day!

It started snowing last night and hasn’t stopped yet. We had to reschedule our presentation for tonight and Shan even closed the office for the rest of the day!

I stayed home today and made soup – what’s a snow day without homemade soup???

Yay for snow days!

11 1/2 Week Bump Update

And She’s Off!

Grandma Engel is off on a new adventure! She moved down to Arizona to live with Aunt Sue. We sure hope she is able to find true happiness and contentment there. I know all of her children, grand children, great-grand children and everyone else in the family will miss her. Aunt Sue will have to teach her how to use the internet so we can all stay in contact!














The 3 new mama's!

10 Weeks Today!

We are 10 weeks and this cartoon couldn’t be more right on. Finding something that sounds good and tastes good has been a HUGE struggle. I’ve been told this will just magically end one day – each day I keep hoping that’s THE DAY!

Shan says the worst part of pregnancy is all the food that gets wasted. He said he’s thrown out more food in the past 5 weeks than in his entire life. Not only that, but he’s given up on making me dinner as “I never want what he fixes”. He’s too cute! I guess pregnancy affects the guys in many unique ways. He’s great though – been cleaning, fixing his own dinner, making my protein shakes and much more. He’s AWESOME!

Other than that everything is going well. I went shopping for some longer shirts and am fortunate to have found the BellaBand (a band that allows me to wear my regular pants unbuttoned and unzipped without falling down). This has saved me from needing to buy new pants or hitting the maternity section. All of that will come soon enough!

We have our first appointment with our midwife next week – stay tuned!

Jacoby's getting BIG!

He's already almost 5 weeks old. I can't believe how much he's changed! And boy does he love his Aunt Amber and Uncle Shan! Danielle is doing great and is a wonderful mama!

Baby Update

We are at 8 weeks! We wanted to give you all a quick update. I’ve been feeling great for the most part. I’ve found as long as I eat and get enough rest everything’s just fine.

Shan made his first trip to the grocery store last week at 9pm for a few of the things that I have been “craving”: Organic Red Pepper Tomato Soup, Rice Noodles and Vinegar and Sea Salt Chips.

I’ve had a rough time eating meat over the past few weeks, which has unfortunately meant that I haven’t been cooking any meals. Shan’s been on his own – he’s been doing great. I guess guys really do to feel the affects of pregnancy. This weekend was a huge treat for Shan when I made a full dinner (meat included).

We’ve interviewed a few midwives and hope to make our decision on who’s the best fit this week. We’re excited to have a home birth and experience everything that’s involved with that!

We’ve gone rock climbing a couple of times and really enjoyed that – I do need to see about getting a different harness within the next few weeks. ;o)

That’s about all for now.

Boulder Canyon

Sunday we went climbing up the Boulder Canyon with some friends. It was FREEZING!!! Fall is defiantly on it’s way! My hands were so cold that I only climbed one time (baby Hager’s first time rock climbing at only 6 weeks along). Everyone else got 4-5 climbs in – they all did awesome! This was the first time for most of us climbing outside! It was fun, but I think I’ll stay inside until next summer when we can give it another try.

Hager News!

Yeah we’re (well I’m) not very good at keeping secrets – especially one like this! We’re thrilled! What an exciting time!

Thank you everyone for all of the wonderful words of encouragement and love!

Pizza Party

This weekend Grandma Engel hosted a pizza party! It was great to see all of the family! Grandma was frustrated with Shan and I, wondering why we can’t be “normal - like everyone else and eat pizza”. We do a lot of things people wouldn’t consider “normal” but that’s fine with us – most of the time things that are “normal” aren’t all that great.

As for me and my family this is what we choose to do – if you don’t… that’s just fine! :)

The kids enjoyed getting balloon animals and running around outside. You’ll see below even the big kids found things to keep them entertained.

Congrats Grandma & Grandpa!!

It's a BOY!!!

We have been blessed with the safe arrival of baby

Jacoby Rey Salazar!!!

He was born at 1:38pm on September 12th 2009.
Weighing 8 pounds, 6 ounces and is 19 inches long.

He is a beautiful, calm baby. He was born in his very own room – not many people can say that! The home birth was picture perfect! We look forward to this new adventure!

Congratulations Danielle!!! We love you!

Labor Day in Cortez

We spent Labor Day this year in Cortez with Shan’s grandma and dad. There was a lot of work to be done on our jeep, so while Shan and Don worked on the jeep I napped – I thought I better do it while I had the chance! We also experienced a Ranch Rodeo – they had some very interesting events. Besides both Shan and I getting burnt to a crisp we had a great time! It was a nice, relaxing visit. Don brought us a huge cooler of meat he just had slaughtered – our freezer is now filled plum full! :) Of course before we left grandma’s house we had to stock up on fresh, home grown veggies – nothing gets better than that! Thanks grandma!

Cha Cha Cha

We kicked up our heals last night salsa dancing. We learned a couple new dances and had a great time.

Later that night we caught up with Kelly and Richard – it was great chatting with them and sharing a few laughs! Lets do it again soon!