Yeah Visitors!

Family of 4

Autumns first walk 4 days old
Grandma Michele and Autumn playing

Baby Autumn in MaMa!

The corner tree in Autumn's room, courtesy of MaMa's painting skills...

Sisterly love...two beautiful, smart girls!

More of her first walk...

Sister Mariah holding sister Autumn at the hospital

Much Love

Welcome Autumn Mary Sue

Forward On!

This photo is from the end of July before my baby shower... I am much bigger now! For a preggo I look pretty hot in this pic! ;-)

As nervous as I am about having this baby, the days just can't get any closer; but then again I'd like them to linger on. This belly is fascinating and has taken on it's very own personality. Yes, the baby inside has a personality but the actions through the belly has give the "belly" its own way of being. We are very round and sometimes oblong, sometimes egg shaped... I am in love with this little life already and cannot wait to meet her or if the doc's are wrong, him. Curious of her/his features; from legs to fingers, hair, ears, and all that makes up a little human. So darn cute! How much she'll resemble us, her dad or her sister...maybe she'll look like a mixture, beautiful, graceful, and bright!

More to come and newer pictures soon. Wanted to touch up a little and express myself... Luck and Love till next time! (MMMMWWWAH)

A Tribute to Loving Friends & Family

Let me be the first to say that I know deep down I haven't always been the best person/friend/sister. . . . . . .

The love that we withhold and are shown since birth can sometimes get lost amongst the racing - almost betrayed ways of the world. Understanding, compassion, and truth get lost and adrift when we consume ourselves only around the ME ME ME-ness of our society. "What will make ME happy?" or the now, sadly too common - "What is in it for me?"

Feeling that we, as individuals are supposed to know our place here in our human form on earth, some of us tend to lose ourselves as spiritual individuals, and lose out on the most important tributes life here has to offer: Love
LOVE comes in many different expressions: from holding the door open for a stranger - to falling asleep next to your partner in life, or providing companionship for all and not judging anyone and giving without expecting anything in return. I can't say forever, but as far back as the fifth grade I have felt some of these unlatching - being stripped away, and then eventually turning me into another one of the hustling aristocrats out there today... I thought I knew what I wanted to become or how I should be.... but surrounding me all along was everything I needed-truth in friends, true love (within oneself), and the one and only mighty God. Now, I'm not referring to God as the Jesus that represents Christianity, but the Creator of all. After many tribulations, and being put through so many tasks of worldly responsibility at such a young age, the roller coaster of human life burdens only just began for me at 11....now, I'm not using this in any way as an excuse for the hurt I've inflicted onto others; however, not until the last year or so have I had such an unveiling of truth. The truth of love and it's power it can have to bring us back into ourselves as an open rose, unveiling our own self to be exposed and truthful. As humans we go through cycles just like a rose. Changing and reemerging into something beautiful again, only when we choose truth, love, and light... While we are here, I've learned to love without receiving and live without waiting to die.... I hope each of you know what you mean to me and how much I love all of you for still loving me, even though I'm still learning on how to be - Me...

I give Thanks, Courage and Love to my sister, Mary

(Isn't she a beauty-inside and out)

I give Thanks, Health, and Love to my older sister, Krista

(She took me to my first concert-NKOTB: New Kids On The Block!

(Hey what's so funny they WERE cool once)

I give Thanks, Apologies, and Love to my wonderful friend Christine

(10 yrs outta high school and she still rocks!)

I give Thanks, Hope, and Love to my friend, Monique

(Wassup! Wassup!)

I give Thanks, Health, and Love to my partner, Chad

(aka "Baby Daddy")

I give Thanks, New Beginnings, and Love for my partner's mama, Kat

(aka Sue)

I give Thanks, Hope, and Love for my lil' family that once was of 3

(and give Thanks, Hope, and Love for the upcoming family of 4)

I give Thanks, Peace, and Love to my mom, daughter, & Grandpa Reynolds

(Wish we got to know each other more - Rest In Peace)

I give Thanks, Health, and Love to my grandma, Anne

(I am her namesake as she would say)

I give Thanks, Health, and Love to my dad, stepmom, and stepbrother

(Heres to many more adventures)

~There are many more of you out there, and I am thankful for you all for befriending, caring, and loving me or better yet putting up with me! We are spirits in human bodies... let's love & live for living & praise one another!

To Life, Love and Living!

PEACE

Mother's Day 2007

Happy Mother's Day 2007

Peek-a-Boo through the poppy field!

Beautiful yellow, orange and yellow-orange colored poppy's...

Sooo Beautiful like us girls!

Mariah and I in a poppy field out in Blue Lake, CA. Off of Hwy 299 not too far up the road from here. It's awesome to bike ride through the hatchery and the levees have trails that go along the Mad River. You can see baby in my belly poking through the bathing suit top. We rode our bikes all over, and had snacks while playing in the river. We watched birds through binoculars, chased polly wogs, collected rocks and Mariah did some fishing.

You can see Mariah with the fishing pole behind me here, looks like she's poking me with it! Little turkey, but naaah she's just trying to catch a fish. I'm slightly blocking my baby belly which at this time wasn't so big. Aagh and I could still wear those shorts too! Happy Mother's Day! YEAH!

We rode our bikes through the hatchery and across a bed of rocks to get to this spot, it's all the way in the back of the hatchery. Chad and I don't have fishing licenses so Mariah was fishing ;-)

This is one of my favorite places to go, especially for a bike ride!

The Infamous MJB turns 11 on May 19th 2007!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY MARIAH JUSTINE BOYCE

born May 19, 1996 - weighing in at 8lbs 6oz

Mariah wanted to cut her own cake, check out this monsterous piece, you know it!! Check this piece out baby! Number 11 representing on the softball! Woot woot!

Good morning birthday girl in her ever so COOL p-jay's

Mariah turned 11 on May 19th, 2007. WOW! 11 years has already soared by faster than one can blink. She just graduated the 5th grade and is moving onto middle school this year 6th -8th grade. Cannot believe how much she has grown up already. MJB has become a wonderful athlete, musician, and outdoorsgirl. Mariah plays all sports and is very competitive. Mariah's favorite sport as for now is SOFTBALL, but she plays basketball, soccer and is going to expand her horizons this next year at her new middle school ZANE, wonder what fall sport she'll try out for, they are offering volleyball (which her mom wants her to try because she is gonna be a tall girl) also they have golf and soccer. So we'll see which one she trys out for, maybe all three and see which one she makes!

She loves to bike, hike, go body surfing, boogy boarding, skateing, skateboarding, camping, and loves to play her instruments: recorder, trombone, guitar (acoustic and electric), and she even tries to play the keyboard. Mariah is a fan of legos, and can build them up and so detailed more than any kid out there I know! She got a new mountain bike for her birthday with gears, so she can keep up with the big folks' when we're out on our mountain terran bike rides-splishing and splattering mud all over! The best is when it flicks up from the back and splatters your clothes... woohoo!

Can you tell if it's a BOY or GIRL?

This is a photo of the fetus' bottom and privates.... can you tell?

Here SHE is in 4D...

Isn't SHE beautiful, it looks like she has her daddy Chaddy's forehead and such a combination of both of our features. She looks so beatiful already...

May 4, 2007 - UCSF

Many women who have been pregnant in the last 5 years has had the option given to them for an alpha feto protein SCREENING blood test also known as AFP. This test SCREENS for various birth defects i.e. genetic defects but can only be done between 15-20 weeks of pregnancy to get an accurate cholesterol, horomone, and protein count.
This SCREENING is an advantage to some, but can cause others false positives. The AFP SCREENING is interesting: when the fetus sheds its skins cells they recycle into the mothers blood stream, and from there the lab can draw the mothers blood looking at the babys level of horomone, cholesterol, and protein.

At the end of April I had gone in to have my AFP screening done. They took my blood, I watched them label it and put it into the State of California Genetic Diagnosis Center bag for shipping. All was going well until I received a phone call at work on Monday April 30th from the midwife at my doctors office. She asked me how I was, and asked if I was okay to talk. She proeceeded with letting me know the levels of my AFP SCREENING and that they were a little off in a certain area. The area that it came back was the horomone area and it gave a result that there was a 1/55 chance that this baby may have downs syndrome.

I started to cry...not the small tears but chunky, gloppy tears and snot.
She further explained what the results meant, but still to me it was unclear. She reminded me again that it was just a SCREENING and alot of women have false positives. She gave me the information for the UCSF genetic diagnosis ceneter and also let me know my options. They would do a level 2 ultra sound which see into the fetus in 4D, and I also have the option for an amniocentesis. I called UCSF immediately for an appointment. They got me in on Friday, May 4th. We spoke to a genetic counselor before our ultra sound. She explained to us that there was a 2% chance the baby would have downs syndrome, and a 98% chance not.
My heart began to feel some relief. The 4D ultra sound looks into their organs, including the brain functions and monitoring the heart beat. They checked the kidneys, digestive system, heart, lungs, limbs, brain (extensively0, and monitored the heart valves extensively as well. They told us that all looked normal, and nothing was leaning towards the downs. If downs were presence the heart may have had problems, the umnbilical cord would only have two blood vessels instead of three, limbs would have been formed shorter i.e. short neck, legs, and facial features. But SHE was beautiful. Yes, SHE... they called her a photgenic fetus.

Check THIS out

"In a number of carefully controlled trials, scientists have been able to demonstrate that if we drink one quart of water each day, at the end of the year we would have absorbed more than one quart of Escherichia coli ( the E. Coli bacteria that is found in feces). In other words, we are consuming 1 quart of poop.

However, (and many of us will be glad to hear this), we do nut run that risk when drinking wine, rum, whiskey, or other liquors. Alcohol has to go through a purification process of boiling, filtering, and fermenting.

So remember: water is poop; wine is health. Therefore, it's better to drink wine and talk stupid, thant to drink water and be full of shit."

WHEN I'M AN OLD LADY (poem I got off the bathroom stall at work for Mother's Day)

When I'm an old lady, I'll live with each kid,
And bring so much happiness...just as they did.
I want to pay back all the joy they've provided.
Returning each deed! Oh they'll be excited!
(When I'm an old lady and live with my kids)

I'll write on the wall with reds, whites and blues,
And I'll bounce on the furniture, wearing my shoes.

I'll drink from the carton and then leave it out.
I'll stuff all the toilets and oh, how they'll shout!
(When I'm an old lady and live with my kids)

When they're on the phone and just out of reach,
I'll get into things like sugar and bleach.
Oh, they'll snap their fingers and then shake their head,
And when that is done, I'll hide under the bed!
(When I'm an old lady and live with my kids)

When they cook dinner and call me to eat,
I'll not eat my green beans or salad or meat,
I'll gag on my okra, spill milk on the table,
And when they get angry...I'll run...if I'm able!
(When I'm old and live with my kids)

I'll sit close to the TV, through the channels I'll click,
I'll cross both eyes just to see if they stick.
I'll take off my socks and throw one away,
And play in the mud til the end of the day!
(When I'm old and live with my kids)

And later in bed, I'll lay back and sigh,
I'll thank God in prayer and then close my eyes.
My kids will look down with a smile slowly creeping,

And day with a groan, "She's so sweet when she's sleeping!"

God Bless All Mom's

(When I'm an old lady and live with my kids)

Be Bop N' Bowl - March 2007

ABOVE: This is Mariah and Anne (ME) if you look closely you may see baby to be... do we look like we're back in the 50's... Mariah wanted to dress up like this everyday, she told me that I should dress like this all the time.
BELOW:
From Left to Right: Larry (co-worker), Aileen (friend), Anne (w/bun in the oven), Chad, and Mariah (center...of attention)In March the Humboldt County Big Brothers Big Sisters had their annual "Bowl For Kids Sake" Bowlorama! I organized a team through Mad River Community Hospital (where I work) and only got one employee to join in (Thanks Larry!), he's on a bowling league so he was a willing participant, can't say much for the others.... whatever :-(
We had so much fun, bowling and laughing and taking pics! The team captain (yours truly) started off with a strike (pure luck I tell ya! Good ol' irish charm).

This event raises money for the program and is a whopping 60% of their yearly budget! Our team raised almost $300!
We rented our costumes- total 50's theme! I had a red poodle skirt on, and Chad had on a matching letterman jacket just like the Rydell High School colors from Grease! Aren't we cute?!?
BELOW...
Mariah, looking like the rebel without a cause (I think she literally wishes she was). She wore that outfit to school the following Monday, and wanted to wear it again a couple days later in the week... UMMM No.

Here is our little Greaser in her leather jacket and slicked back, literally oiled back greaser style hair! It took lots of combing and bobbie pinning to make her look like an official T-Bird.

March 15, 2007 First Photo!

This is our cute little fetus taking a jump in mommy's belly on March 15, 2007. Isn't he/she sooo cute already. He/She was jumping, almost like a hiccup motion during the ultrasound. Can't tell what it is yet! At this time we are estimated to be at about 13 weeks. You can see his/her hand over the top of its belly there. Tiny little fingers are so defined! Long legs and pretty good sized feet, wonder if that means its a boy!? Big head already, must have its dads brain. How exciting!!

Everything looks great! Mariah and Chad had front row seats during our visit. Mariah seemed happy and confused/scared at the same time. Watching the monitor go across my belly and seeing this lil' thing move inside of her mom was pretty intense and educational! Daddy Chaddy was sure happy too. Of course mama me got tears in her eyes to see him/her moving around. The baby only gave us a profile and a front shot of the face (briefly). It almost looked as if the baby fetus was trying to get away from the ultrasound waves. I wonder......

Can ya'all tell if it's a boy or girl?

This is our "water proof" camp that we made at Patricks Point. My Chad is quite the woodsman! Patricks Point is full of ferns and thick plant life, just up the road is where they filmed parts of Jurassic Park. We used this tarp to cover our tent because it decided to rain on us. We went camping for our friends birthday weekend, so we toughed it out! The reason its called Patricks Point is there are these big boulders that line the ocean and go out into points, they even have one called "Wedding Rock". (hint hint)

This is at Patricks Point State Park in Trinadad which is up the road from us, We are walking along the rocks that are covered with barnicles. We camped here for the weekend with our new friends we made up here, can u see them and Anne behind Mariah, who looooves to be the center of attention.

This is Easter morning 2006, Mariah loves her mama can't ya tell??

This is a photo of the house before we even stepped foot in Humboldt County as residents. Cute little thing isn't it?

This picture is taken from the dining area, where our kitchen table is. This is looking into the kitchen area and the first door is the bathroom, second door is a bedroom and past the refrigerator is the other bedroom. Stairs to the left go upstairs to Mariahs room.

The house was originally built in the 1890's, refurbished by our landlord. The top window is a peaked ceiling room, which is now where Mariah resides along with the lizard tank and the treadmill. The house is brown with white trim, shingled roof and a cute red door! We've always wanted a house with a red door. Just something "old time" about it!

In the Beginning...

I will start off by introducing our great adventure into the wild blue yonder of rural northern California. A little joke I have goes to the nursery rhyme song:

"Over the river and through the woods, and over another river and through more woods, oh look! more woods, to Anne, Mariah, and Chads house we gooooo!" Let's check out this little old house, and property we live on. This is what the back of the house looked like in the beginning: possible date of March 06', since then we've added redwood stumps that connect together around the bottom of this big redwood in the backyard to make a flower bed which has pink snap dragons, garlic, rosemary, and other plants/flowers growing in it. To the left of the photo is the other half of our yard, just can't see it, DARN IT! I'm trying to locate the photo of Mariah mowing her big ol' lawn she so longingly prayed for. This is where the good old saying comes into play:
Be careful what you wish for....... she ended up with an acre of yard!