We have had a miracle in our lives this week :) Yesterday my sister brought my beautiful nephew into the world!

Timothy James Verbick

Born July 5, 2011

at 1:20 p.m.

9 pounds 8 ounces

21 inches long

head: 14.5 inches

chest: 14 inches

Although Shannan was hoping for a normal birth process, she ended up having to do a c-section. For one thing he was 9 pounds 8 ounces and for another... he was breach. So we were able to be in the hospital the whole time the process was taking place. We were all so excited for his arrival! Of course with the ultrasound technology we have today, we were able to tell whose nose he had several months ago, but the rest was a mystery until yesterday :) And the conclusion is (drumroll please)............He looks just like his daddy! (except the nose) the hairline which has been in Mike's family for three generations has now graduated to the fourth. And he is just a bundle of sweetness and love! He is the biggest newborn I have ever seen! As we were watching the nurse take care of him yesterday in the nursery we noticed his massive cheek drooping down onto the bed. What a cutie! I promise we have more pictures, but when I tried to take them on my phone so I could upload them today, Mike insisted we use his camera which of course is much better quality, but that also means no pictures until later :( But I will post as soon as we get them :)

Shannan is doing well. She is really enjoying the morphine and had a blessing yesterday for a swift and smooth recovery. She is going to try and walk today to help the process along. She is a beautiful, strong, positive person! I am so proud of her and feel blessed to call her my sister! And I guess Mike is okaaay. :) They will be amazing parents who will teach Timothy how to be a righteous priesthood holder in Zion, who knows his Heavenly Father loves him and has a testimony of Jesus Christ! We love our little Timothy James Verbick!

Long time no blog

Man oh Man! It sure feels like it has been a lifetime since we found little Beyonce in Crowley.. Its crazy how time flies!! Since then we have put our house on the market and actually we now have a person interested, she just has to see if she can get a loan. So please pray for us to sell that house!!! It would make life sooooooo much better to have that off our backs.

Lets see what else has happened....

My choir has had a successful year :) With our glee-like homecoming performance! Our fun-filled Christmas Extravaganza and the Magical Beauty and the Beast! Man oh man was it hard! So many times I decided I would not be teaching at Leesville next year! So many times I just wanted to quit right then and there. But we made it! The kids were AMAZING and it was a super success!!! And now it feels so good to have it all behind us :)

In the baby-making realm, we had an HSG done in October and because of the results of that, were told that IVF was our only route to have a baby. Daniel and I didn't really believe it, but when we went to the specialist in Lafayette he kinda told us the same thing although he said in order to be sure he would have to do a laparoscopy to see what was up. Then he wanted us to pay 5000 smakaroos so we said no thank you.
Then we went to Dr. Grunert in Houston and he has been so so so awesome!! We had the surgery done and then he showed us pictures (eeewwwwwwwww) lol and it looks like the only problem is that I am not ovulating. And he says that is easy to fix! So we are beginning a clomed regimen in a couple of days and hopefully that works :)Pray for that too!!! :)

Daniel graduates in a YEAR!!!!!!!! Hallelujah!!!!!! Still don't know where we are going but I am sure it will be fun wherever we go :)

That is pretty much all the important stuff from us. Can't wait for summer break!! :)
Oh, I almost forgot! Daniel got me a HUGE towel for Mother's Day so when we visit Raul and Kelly I can use it to lay in the sun! Can't wait!!!

Beyonce comes to town :)

the other night Daniel and I were making one of our frequent late-night runs to Wal-Mart and on the way there we found this...

This thing was massive!!! And She was in the road, infact we almost ran over her. So we picked her up and were going to put her in this field by our house, but on the way to the field she decided to relieve herself all over Daniel!!!! Pretty disgusting. So then we needed to go home and let Daniel shower and change. In the meantime we put this beast in one of our extra aquariums from snakes. That's when we began trying to think of names for the beast..Daniel's first impression was Machomp from Mario, and we both liked it, but it didn't really fit. Then we thought maybe Hercules because she was so strong..but she was a girl..so we had to keep thinking...
As Daniel was getting cleaned up we both decided it wouldn't be good to put her so close to the road so we contemplated where we should put her so she would have enough room..(we think she might have been trying to lay eggs) and then Daniel remembered a place I told him about when I found a shortcut from one of my schools to another. It has this crazy pontoon bridge.Its a bridge that floats on the water and when you drive onto it, its like you are driving right on the water!..There is this pretty large bayou over there, so we decided that would, in fact, be the best place.
On our way to the bridge we noticed some marks on the back of her shell..It looked like she came into contact with either a large alligator or boat or something that kinda messed up the top center part, but it had healed and she was doing just fine and she sure was FIESTY!!! Man oh man she was trying to chomp Daniel all over the place!! he started singing, "She's a survivor. She's not gon' give up, etc....." Then, at the same time Daniel and I both said we had the perfect name!!!..Beyonce!!! And so the beast became known as Beyonce the turtle until we arrived at our desination.Then we had to say, "goodbye Beyonce. Have fun in turtle paradise." Daniel put her down on the bankAnd Beyonce ran away as fast as she could..gracefully getting caught on a couple of logs in her haste lol

SUMMER!!!!!!

I LOVE summer time!! Time seems to slow down and Life seems simpler. Its also nice not having to deal with crazy kids all day every day :) This summer is pretty busy but we are REALLY hoping to go to AZ like July 10 through the 19th. We were pretty sure it was gonna happen until we had to drop like 700 bucks for 4 brand new tires. Oh the joys of owning an SUV...I actually love it, but not the expensive tires part. Last week and this week we are trying to finish up the remodel of our house so we can put it up on the market. it is slow going. especially with the crown molding!!! I officially despise crown molding! lol IF we ever buy a house that needs remodeling again (which will not happen) we will make sure that we have the money for professionals to come in and take care of EVERYTHING before we even move in so there will be no remodeling while we live there. Plain and simple.

Other things happening this summer...My brother is getting married July 1st and we are all looking forward to that. He and his fiance Felicia are very happy and super cute together :) We are all going to Houston for the wedding so hopefully we will be able to pop by a Fiesta Mart and pick up some delicious Mexican food!! LOVE IT! Then most of July I have flagline camp. You see, I was stupid this year and said okay to being flagline sponsor at our high school! WOW! How many times to I have to fill my plate way Way WAY overflowing before I will learn to say NO!? Oh well. Hopefully I can whip them into shape so that next year someone can take over a great team that is self sustaining. :)

Changing the subject, Church was really awesome today! Our testimony meeting was so spiritual! We had two babies blessed and many wonderful testimonies borne. It has been a while since I felt the spirit giving me personal instruction. Plus the young women were bearing their testimonies about girl's camp last week because the bishop challenged them to. These young women are truly remarkable! They are so stalwart and so close to the spirit. I know what the leaders mean when they talk about the rising generation. They truly get better and better. That meeting was just what the (spiritual) doctor ordered. Then in Sunday School we talked about Samuel and how we all NEED to work to know what God's will is for us and we need to work to achieve His will for us. Very Powerful. And the Relief Society lesson was based off of Julie B. Beck's talk "Mother's who Know" I really enjoy Sister Beck's talks and this is one of my favorites. I ALWAYS feel thoroughly humbled yet uplifted after reading it and I want to be better.

I know I concentrate on the subject of infertility a lot, but it plagues me almost everyday. I have found on some days my testimony wavers because I think, "Haven't I done what I am supposed to do? I was a righteous young woman who found a wonderful priesthood holder to be sealed to for eternity. I got my education and am now inspiring young minds to be productive citizens....Where is my blessing of children?...Is it not a righteous desire? What else do I need to do to prove my worth?...... Buts its not about worth is it?

Recently, I was studying the barren women of the scriptures. Mainly Hannah, Elizabeth, and Sariah. All three of them were amazing women. Faithful and stalwart and dealing with infertility MUCH longer than I have. It doesn't say they were mad at God. No, in fact Hannah goes to the temple often and prays fervently and meekly. And from these women came mighty men of God! They each had GREAT work to do. Now I am definitely not saying Daniel and I might have a prophet waiting for us in the pre mortal existence....not anything even remotely like that, but I am saying I will strive to be more like Hannah and Elizabeth and Sariah of the bible. They were incredible women who were barren for a LONG time. But did they feel sorry for themselves? Probably not. Did they pout and think that God was giving them unjust punishment? I seriously doubt it. If I want to be a faithful daughter of God, I will look forward with faith, hope, and charity.

Wow it has been a VERY long time since I have posted! Time flies by so stinkin' fast I can't keep up! Heavenly Father is just blessing us so much I don't know where to begin...We are kind of established in Leesville now. My Mom's house is MUCHO cleaner because we all worked so hard before the wedding. My sister is now married and is Mrs. Michael Verbick. She is super happy. And I am so happy for them. Daniel is really doing well in school. He is so amazing! I know I will never be able to thank my Heavenly Father enough for the awesome husband he sent to me! I know eventually he will be an excellent father :) I think we make a great team!
I am also super grateful for the time we got to spend in Alabama with Raul and Kelly! You guys are so wonderful. We always have a great time with y'all :)

General conference was amazing! The people we got to watch it with were also amazing lol. Before the Sunday morning conference started the guys were watching some talks from the priesthood session and we watched Pres. Uchtdorf's talk. Oh my goodness..if you are having trouble waiting for something that is the talk to listen to! I am grateful he was inspired to give that talk because sometimes I get really frustrated with God...I see several pregnant high school girl's everyday. I see many abused teenagers come into my classroom. I see all kinds of things and wonder why myself and some of my dearest friends are not blessed to be mothers (yet). I mean what is the hold-up! But that talk has humbled me and brought my eternal perspective back. He says, "Patience, the ability to put our desires on hold for a time. is a precious and rare virtue. We want what we want and we want it now. Therefore the very idea of patience may seem unpleasant and at times bitter." We must have patience and know Heavenly Father knows what he is doing. In order to be perfect we must align our will to his and growing closer to God brings happiness. "Patience deepens happiness."

" Patience is not passive resignation...patience means actively waiting and enduring...not simply enduring, it is enduring well." I know patience is something I need to work on and I am grateful for the opportunity to work on it. I am so grateful for my savior Jesus Christ who has made it possible for me to repent and improve. I am grateful for a loving Heavenly Father who gave me the best man in the whole world to be sealed to eternally. I know growing together with Daniel and working on our eternal marriage has brought me closer to God and I try very hard to improve myself to be the best wife possible!!!

Just found this little video, love the interpretation.

How to discourage discouragement

Here's a little something we found on LDS.org. Its awesome! Good for the soul. Watch it and maybe comment with your reaction :)