Wordless Wednesday ~ Welcome to the World ~

Monday August 2, 2010
Olivia Grace was born at 10:34 AM. She is our smallest baby, she weighed only 5 pounds and 5 ounces and was 17 inches long.

Let's catch up! =)

Hey everyone, how's it going? It has been a long couple of weeks here, but things seem to be calming down and getting back to normal - for a few days/couple weeks anyway, then we will be having our baby!!!

Last week, the girls and I went to Modesto, CA with my mother-in-law for a funeral. It was the first funeral that I have ever been to, and it couldn't have been for a more wonderful lady. I would appreciate if you could please pray for the family of Donna Allen, who passed away July 7.

We still don't know whether the baby is a boy or girl, and people still ask when we are going to find out. My answer is any day now! :) The due date is still 2 weeks away, but a girl can hope for a few days early - right!?!

The heat...the heat is killing me! I don't think that I would survive with out the cooler! Seriously! The sunshine makes for nice days to play outside and swim, just ask Emily!!

I hope to post more often and stay much more up-to-date with all of you. What have you been up to so far this summer??

Wordless Wednesday ~ Summer Fun

Summer is finally here, and it is hot!! Here are some pictures of the girls playing outside, and of Emily and Andreu playing on the swing set when they came up from Montana!

Hope that you are all enjoying your summers as well!

If you have a Wordless Wednesday, leave a link and I will be sure to come check it out!!

~Katrina

B-Natal Giveaway Winner

The winner of the B-Natal product of their choice is...
Comment #6:

bluerose_shelnut said...
Please enter me. I stayed extremely sick thru most of my last pregnancy. We're planning on #2 soon, so these would be great. I'd pick the lozenges.

Congratulations, I will be in contact with you soon for your mailing information! And good luck with #2!!!

Katrina

Fun Follow Friday

This is the first time that I have participated in this weekly blog hop, but it looked like as good a time as any to start! :)
Fun Follow Friday is simply a way to get your blog link out there and find some new, fun blogs to follow! If you are interested, click the button below and link up!

Hosted by My Wee View and Simply Stacie

Wordless Wednesday -- A Look Back to 3 Years Ago -- Wedding Pictures

Today is my 3rd Anniversary with my wonderful husband, Zack. So I am having more pictures than normal in my Wordless Wednesday post, because it is a special day!!
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This is our first kiss as husband and wife!!!!
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This was our first communion together as husband and wife!!!!
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Gotcha!!!
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Mr. and Mrs. Zackery Brandenburg
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If you have a Wordless Wednesday on your blog, please leave a comment and I will be by to check it out! If you just feel like commenting, that is always welcome too!
Hope you all have a blessed day!

Katrina

B-natal Thera-Pops {Review & Giveaway}

Thanks to MomSelect I was given the opportunity to review and host a giveaway of an amazing product - B-Natal Thera-Pops, also available in lozenges! I chose to review the cherry flavored thera-pops, but there is also an apple flavored lozenge available.

I was pretty much past the MAJOR morning sickness phase by the time that I received the thera-pops, but still got nauseous at times. When I did get nauseous, I had a thera-pop. They taste like a yummy cherry sucker, not something that can make you feel better...and they did seem to help relieve the queasy feelings I was having.

Vitamin B6 is the active ingredient in the B-natal products. You can read more about the role of B6 in treating morning sickness here.
B-natal was developed by a mom who was unable to find something natural and safe to quell her own morning sickness. You can read about the birth of B-natal on their website, where you can also order online!

My experience with B-Natal was awesome and I would definitely recommend these products to any expecting mother who is having problems with morning sickness. I tried a number of things to ease my morning sickness, to no avail until I tried thera-pops! And they taste a lot better than ginger tablets!! :) The only thing I recommend is that if you already have little ones at home, is to get the lozenges or stock up on suckers for the kids!



There is going to be a B-Natal Twitter Party tomorrow, June 17th from 8-9 P.M. EST. The twitter party is hosted by @MomTalkRadio and will be using the hash tag #Bnatal

Thanks to MomSelect and B-Natal, one reader has the opportunity to receive their choice of either B-Natal Cherry Thera-Pops or Apple Lozenges!! WINNER WILL BE SELECTED 6/30/2010 AT 11:59 A.M P.S.T
To enter to win, please let me know whether you would prefer to receive the thera-pops or the lozenges...that's it, it's that easy!!!
For more chances to win, complete the following entries and leave a separate comment for each that you do:
**Follow this blog publicly through Google Friend Connect - Left Sidebar
**Follow through FB Networked Blogs - Left Sidebar
**Subscribe to email updates from my blog (top right sidebar) for 2 extra entries
**Blog about this giveaway or leave a link on any giveaway linky (leave a link in your comment) 2 extra entries
**Follow me on twitter and tweet about this giveaway - 1 extra entry daily, leave link
**Comment on any other post

Wordless Wednesday - Big Jumps!!

Last night we went to the mall in Reno, and they have a trampoline where the kids are attached to bungee cord-type things. Emily has always been interested in it, but was always too scared to try it. Last night, she decided it was time, ans so did Natalie!!! They had a blast! Sorry for the image quality and the blurriness, but I took the pics with my cell phone and they were jumping!!!





Happy Wordless Wednesday! Leave a comment or a link to your post so I can come check it out too!!

~Katrina

Thankful Thursday

It has been a while since I really had the time or energy to blog much. I love when I haven't really written anything and come to find myself writing a Thankful Thursday post! Really, focusing on the blessings that we have in our lives is a much better use of time than looking at everything that may be wrong.

Today I am thankful that God has given me the perseverance to make it through this last semester of school. Chemistry was quite difficult for me and my Philosophy class was a gigantic waste of time and energy for the most part. Last night I finished taking my final for Chemistry and will find out in about a week how I did. I still have a paper to finish for Philosophy - due tomorrow.

The main reason that I am thankful that school is out for a while now, is that I can spend all of my time focusing on my family. Right now, they really need it. Emily, the 3 year old, is starting to become defiant and I think that has a lot to do with her not getting enough positive attention while I was focused on school. Natalie is potty training, and anyone who has ever been down that road before knows that is a time consuming process - well worth it too!!

I have been facing many obstacles in life recently, and was not sure what to do or where to turn. Through lots of prayer and reflection I am back where I need to be, praise God! I am thankful that even when we are not sure what to do or think about turning our back on God, He will never do the same - He is everything we need, always! And He is good enough to remind me of that daily!!



Please join us at Women Taking A Stand this month as Laurie hosts Thankful Thursday. You can link up your post or just read through some thoughts from amazing women!

I hope you have a truly blessed day!

Never a Wasted Tear?

I have heard before that there is never a wasted tear. I don't remember the conversation or the exact circumstances leading up to the conversation, but I remember enough...and it was too similar to my day today.

I am not really sure if I believed then that there were no wasted tears. From each one comes some realization - some profound, some simple - and with each tear the soul is cleansed a little. It sounded good. So I kind of hung on to it for a number of years. Maybe it is like a child clinging to their favorite blanket for comfort - no matter how old, tattered, or torn it might be.

I feel myself trying to cling to the comfort that I have not wasted literally hours today crying, that somewhere in there something wasn't wasted. But to be honest with you, I don't feel comforted, cleansed, or anything other than sad, wondering, lost. These are the times that I should really rely on God, but right now I cannot find it in myself to do so.

I am scared. I am terrified that no matter how much I want for something to be different, there is nothing that I can do. Life seems to be full of surprises, something at every turn. I have been, for the past 4 years, in a pretty good place. I found the strength that I needed to get out of and away from a lot of crap. I believe that I did not do that by myself or for myself - it was all God. And right now I am trying so hard not to blame Him for not doing the same for all who need it.

If you could, please take a minute and say a prayer for my brother and those in his life. He really needs to change his life before it is too late.
Thanks.