Spring

Spring is here, and it has pretty much come and gone in a matter of a week! I've lived in Arizona my entire life and I've come to realize 2 things about this state:

1. Arizona has 2 seasons ("warm" winter, and "crazy hot" summer)

2. Arizona's weather is only consistent during the middle of summer, when the temperatures consistently stay in the triple digits. Otherwise, the weather can be 50 degrees one day and then 100 the next. Case in point....

This is Kylee and Emily swimming last week in 100 degree weather.

3 days later....it was 41 degrees and the heaters were cranked up! What the heck??

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As of lately...

Kylee was given an assignment in school a couple weeks ago and it was all about what you want to be when you grow up. This was Kylee's paper! I couldn't be more proud! Haha! If you can't understand it, it says that she wants to be a "volleyball girl"! YES!!!

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My latest obsession.....I can't get enough of these things!

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So David has been a police officer for almost 3 years now and I still have an extreme fear of guns. I always have. I have NEVER shot a gun before! Whenever I see his gun, I think death and accidents! So I make him keep them hidden from sight when he is home....in the safe they go!!! Well lately I've been wanting to go shooting so I can get over this fear and gain a little "gun knowledge". So yesterday we went to a shooting range and David taught me gun shooting 101!

David said there are a million things wrong with my form in this picture but I think it looks pretty good! Haha! Below is the "master" at work! I guess he does look a little more comfortable and relaxed than I do. I guess my posture shows what I'm really feeling inside....FEAR and anticipation of what's going to happen when I pull the trigger.

I bet you can't guess what bullet holes are mine in this target picture below?! Hahaha! This was the first target I shot at. It got better as the time went on. I almost hit the X!

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The "debt-free" journey has begun! We have officially moved out of our house and rented it out to an amazing family who is going to take care of our house....and we have moved in with family for the next few months so we can start paying off our fertility/medical debts! The past 4 1/2 years of uncovered fertility treatments and surgeries have really put us in over our heads with bills. I'm so thankful that David has an amazing SECURE job to help us pay off our debts fast! But we can't do it without the help of cutting WAY back on our day to day expenses. We have the most amazing family, on both sides, and they are more than willing to help us out by letting us live with them. We can't wait to have a clean slate so that we can prepare for our future children (through adoption or more fertility treatments). I joke and tell people that we literally have to make these sacrifices so that we can "buy" our future children. Not sure why it has to be this way for us but we are taking it as it is and know that this is the plan for us, and that blessings await us! We are willing to do whatever it takes to give our sweet Kylee girl a sibling and to have more amazing babies to love!

We just love her SOOOO much and are so thankful to have her in our lives. We wouldn't be able to keep a clear focus on our ending goal without having her sweet smile everyday. She keeps us going! She has given us the ambition to have more sweet spirits in our home no matter what it takes. I thank my Father in Heaven EVERDAY for blessing us with Kylee before sending us on this incredibly difficult infertility journey. I see friends and loved ones going through their infertility journey's without any children, and I just don't know if I could do it. I pray for them daily and feed off of their strength and faith to keep going. No one can EVER know the heart-wrenching pain of infertility unless they have gone through it themselves. It's a cancer of the heart...slowly killing you everyday. I am so thankful for the knowledge that I have...that I know I have a Heavenly Father that loves me and wants me to be happy. That I have a Savior that died for me so that I can live with my family for eternity. That even if I don't get to have more children here on this earth, that I will have that opportunity someday. I'm so thankful for an amazing husband who, even though he feels the same pains I feel, is my rock and supports me through all of it! Life is good and I LOVE LOVE LOVE my little family!

Spring Break 2011

We love spring break and Daddy's work schedule!!! We were able to get away for 6 days, and it only cost us about a fraction of what it should have. We left for California on Monday and spent all day Tuesday at Disneyland and California Adventure with the Walkers. Most of it was spent at California Adventure since we were just at Disneyland in July. We had a blast!

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Here is Kylee and Daddy trying to pass the time while waiting to see the Princesses at Disneyland...

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Belle!

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After the princesses, we spent the rest of the day at California Adventure. Londyn and Kylee loved the new Toy Story ride.

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Jumpin' Jellies were next!

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I'm happy to say that Kylee is FINALLY over her fear of real life characters! If you know her, she used to be terrified of them. The Chick-fil-a cow was the worst! She would scream and hide until it was out of sight. And even then, she would stay very close to me knowing that it might still be around. In July when we went to Disneyland in the summer, she was terrified of the princesses and any character she saw.....but she is finally over her fear! The Grizzly Bear at California Adventure got a big hug out of her!

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I'm also happy to say that David is ALMOST over his fear of roller coasters! It took him 31 years to FINALLY ride his first roller coaster! We are in the back (you can't see us), but this was the take-off of his very first ride. Not sure if he will ever ride one again, but at least he can say that he has ridden a roller coaster.....and not the little tiny tinker roller coasters at Disneyland! Hahaha!

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While standing in line for a ride at California Adventure, Kylee lost her second tooth! It was loose for a while but it finally joined it's friend and came out on Tuesday. Luckily the tooth fairy travels and knew just where to find her tooth.

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The family waiting for the World of Color show at California Adventure. This was the highlight of our entire trip. AMAZING! If you ever to go Disneyland/California Adventure, you MUST get a fast pass for this show and see it! We didn't get a fast pass but we found a REALLY nice worker who let us sneak in! It was awesome!

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After Disneyland, we drove to Vegas where we spent the next 4 days. I must say, it isn't the most "kid-friendly" environment, but I think we did a great job of keeping Kylee sheltered from the yucky stuff. We spent our time visiting all the family friendly places. Here we are at the M&M World...

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At the Flamingo Hotel looking at all the fish, turtles, swans, ducks, and flamingos....

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Eating at the Cheesecake Factory inside Cesar's Palace....after watching the Fall of Atlantis show.

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The Asian Acrobats after watching their show. It was really neat to watch. Got my heart racing a few times for sure! They are so strong and daring!!!

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Kylee's tooth was being stubborn! It was super loose for a few days and we tried pulling it a couple times. But Kylee would freak out and stop us. Here is one of my MANY attempts at pulling it (while in line at Disneyland)...

We had a great time with the Walkers and also spending some quality family time together. Vegas isn't exactly the "best" family vacation location, but it was free so we made the best experience we could out of it. Won't do it again....but still had fun! I love my little family so much. There's nothing I enjoy more than spending lots and lots of time together and making memories for life. We are home now and it's time to get back to reality. But we are so happy because David doesn't have to work for another 3 days! YAY! The life of being a police officer, and being the wife of a police officer, isn't always "easy".....but the ability to take time off and have a lot of it off is GREAT! Life is good!

Natalia Rae Miller

I don't really know how to word this post. There really are no words to describe how I'm feeling. So I'm going to do it the only way I know how....and that is in a letter to my sweet baby angel niece.

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Natalia Rae,

It's only been 5 short months that I have been able to bond with you and dream about how beautiful you were going to be and all the amazing talents you were going to possess. Oh how you lit up my sister's life when you were sent here to this earth. You see, your Mommy is my sister and I love her so very much. She is my best friend! Your Mommy waited 10 long years for you to come to her. And she finally got you and all her dreams were coming true! But little did we know that Heavenly Father had a different plan for you. You are so special and so perfect that this world just was not good enough for you! Your purpose and plan is far beyond our understanding. Your talents are so special and so great that Heavenly Father needed them in heaven with Him. Your Mommy will always be your Mommy forever, but she is going to have to wait much longer to be able to raise you, and hug you, and kiss you, and hold you again. But she will get to, and we will all get to be blessed with your sweet presence in this next life. We love you more than you'll ever know! Our selfish desires wish to have you here with us on this earth, but we know that what we want isn't always what our Heavenly Father has in store for us. We find peace and comfort knowing you are in the arms of your Father in Heaven. We love you so much baby girl and can't wait to be with you as an eternal family in heaven. Please send love and comfort to your Mommy and Daddy at this time. They miss you so much and love you more than words can express. Let them know that you are ok and that you are perfect and happy and whole where you are. Natalia Rae Miller....we love you baby girl. Thank you for blessing and changing our lives forever.

Love,

Aunt Stefany

Momentous Day!

It's official......Kylee has lost her first tooth! She is officially a BIG GIRL now! Haha! She has been a big girl for a while now, but it's just crazy to me that she lost a tooth. That marks the "official big girl" status for me. About a month or so ago, Kylee was at school and bit down on her plastic fork during lunch. One of the prongs of the fork got stuck between her two bottom teeth. She came home with semi wiggly teeth that day. Nothing ever came of it because they weren't loose enough to bother her or to wiggle around. But during these past few days, one of those teeth has become more and more loose. This morning she was complaining of it bother her, so we messed around with it a little and then.....pop! I was able to pull that sucker out with ease! She was so excited! Her first visit from the Tooth Fairy is coming tonight! Which makes me wonder.....what is the going "rate" of the tooth fairy these days? Hmmmmm!

Can't Forget!!

Between Facebook and my blog, I can't remember what pictures I posted where. Apparently I've only been posting pictures and updating "events" in our lives on Facebook. I scrolled through my blog and realized I missed quite a few things. I need to remember to post more on my blog because I print these into journal books every two years and I would hate to miss anything. Lesson learned.....post more on blog.....not so much on facebook! CHECK!

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Well, for starters.....I ran my first 1/2 marathon on January 29th, 2011! And, um, yes....that is my birthday as well. My present to myself on my "golden birthday" was waking up at 7am and running 13 miles! I can't think of a better present to give my body. It was so fulfilling and I felt extremely accomplished when I crossed that finish line. The name of the marathon was London's Run....in honor of 6 year old London Solomon who lost her battle to leukemia. This marathon has been held every year since 2006 (I believe) and I have always wanted to participate in it. Well, in 2010, I lost a lot of weight and became addicted to working out. So I decided to start training and prepare for the 1/2 marathon. I can't believe I did it.....but I did!

These pictures aren't very clear because I had to take a picture of them off of the computer! I didn't want to buy them. Haha!

My time was 2 hours and 14 minutes exactly. I was the 354th person to cross the finish line out of 531 people. Kind of sad.....but hey....it was my FIRST 1/2 marathon and the first time I've ever ran more than 8 miles at a time. Crazy stuff! So glad I did it! It came at a price though.....

OUCH!!!!!
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Kylee had her first big dance performance on February 4th. She got to dance at a Suns pregame show. She did so great! It is so fun to watch her grow and develop and do what she loves to do. She is becoming a great little dancer! Makes Mama proud!

Jaime is awesome and came to support her favorite little girl!

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Here is Kylee's entire dance group! They were so stinkin' adorable!!

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She's in the blue skirt on the bottom, in the middle...

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Gotta have the family picture!

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Grandma and Papa Montez came to support their princess too! Kylee was so happy they came!

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Another season has come! I'm in the middle of my 11th season of coaching Club. I have a super fun and adorable (and talented) 15's team. They are amazing girls and they make coaching fun! I love their energy and their ambition to grow and improve. I'm having a blast coaching with Erin Roth. I coached her on my very first High School team at Higley.....and she was a huge contributor to the reason why we won state that year. Love her!

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And now the "not so fun" part of my post......

Kylee has had a fever for 4 days now. It came out of nowhere and it refuses to go away! It's comforting to know that hundreds of others kids around us have gone through this already and the only signs of sickness was the fever. But it lasts for days and weeks! Her doctor said that it just has to run it's course. She has been pumping the fluids and motrin/tylonel everyday. Hope it goes away soon! I hate seeing her like this!!!

The crazy thing is that most of the day she is happy and normal.....like this below! But come 2pm, the fever comes back and she is back to looking like the picture above. And then it goes away again. So weird!

Since Kylee couldn't go to school today, we decided to have a little fun of our own at home and made today "crazy hair day'!! Gotta love these moments because in about an hour, the fever is going to hit and she will be down and out. It's amazing how I can track this fever! It likes to play "hide and go seek". I'll get you dang fever!!! Watch out!!!

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Times are changing for the Pews! We have decided to move. To the West side we will go! My sister Natalie is pregnant and due in a few months. I have always wanted to live closer to my family, but now that my sister is pregnant, it's given me even more motivation to move back there to be a part of that babie's life! I can't wait!!

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And that's that! Can't believe I missed all of this. I need to remember to post my pictures on my blog after I post them on Facebook! I would hate to miss out on anything for our journal books. LIFE IS GOOD!

2011 Family Pictures

We are a little behind on getting our family pictures done but I guess it's better late than never! We meant to send out Christmas cards but never got around to taking our pictures in time, so we decided to take pictures at the beginning of the new year and send out "Happy New Year" cards. We are also going to be turning these into pass along cards for adoption. With a new year, comes new hopes and dreams and goals. We feel good about our life and what is happening for us and we have a fresh ambitious attitude about finding a baby to join our little family. With the helps of our loved ones, we hope 2011 will be our year....the year that Kylee will finally become a big sister! If I don't have your mailing address, please email it to me at stefanypew@gmail.com. My goal is to send pass along cards to everyone I know! The more that know....the better! We are hopeful and optimistic about our future, and as always....LIFE IS GOOD! Hope you enjoy our pictures! My sister is amazing!!!