Happy Thanksgiving

Well, the last week and a half have been absolutely crazy, but tons of fun. Just wanted to take a minute for a quick update and to wish everyone a HAPPY THANKSGIVING next week. We're headed to Portland this Wednesday to visit my family for the holiday and won't be back until the 30th.

In addition to getting packed and the house cleaned before we go, I've spent the last two weekends at craft fairs with my jewelry, which went well. I managed to get some more stuff made in between, so that was nice. Grandma Jill and Grandpa Guy were huge helpers by taking Natalie for both Saturdays, so the only one I had to tote around was Beckett. He's sure a draw to get people to come to my table!

Anyway, we also had company this weekend. My good friend Lauren from college came down to visit with her new baby girl, Blake. They live in Montana, and Blake is almost exactly one month older than Beckett. She was born Aug. 5 and he was Sept. 4, so it was really fun to get them together. Natalie kept calling her "Baby Two." I guess she expects we're just going to keep collecting the little ones, so we'll have to number them! Lauren and Blake spent the night Friday and headed to the craft fair with us Saturday morning, and we had a lot of fun. Lauren is such a good new mommy!

Speaking of new mommies...welcome Gracie Ella! Our other good friend from college, Suzi, had her second baby girl last Monday, and we can't wait to meet her! We miss you guys tons and hope all is going well at home. We'll see you soon!!!

Kyle had to head up to North Dakota for a few days but came home last night. Iwasn't lonely though, because I had a hot date Saturday night! After we got done cleaning up the craft fair, my friend Amanda came over for dinner and a movie, which was so much fun. We've had no big snows here yet, but probably will have some by the time we get back. Well, here are a few pictures from the last two weeks (thanks Brune!). We hope you all have a wonderful holiday and remember how truly blessed we all are! Hugs to all.

Jess with Beckett, Lauren and Blake (Beckett wasn't up for a photo)

Miss Natalie made us a picnic on the coffee table in the family room...she's a great chef!

Here she is in her new Ladybug raincoat we gave her for her birthday...Yes we have had rain.

And here is Daddy with the kiddos.

"Whether you think you can, or you think you can't, you're right."~Henry Ford

Let's Catch Up!

OK, so I've been a bit behind. We'll give you all a quick re-cap of the last week! Belated Happy Halloween. We had a fun but short evening, and the weather was really nice. Grandma Jill and I took the kids to Mandy's neighborhood to trick or treat with Taylor (Kyle was working). I knew from the get go that it would be a short night because Miss Natalie had not napped. We went over a little after six and were home a little after seven! Grandma ended up carrying her the last half of the block while I pushed the stroller, but she did really well with saying the trick or treat and thank you, so it was all good.

Princess Natalie...I couldn't get her to wear the princess gloves or crown, but she had fun.

Little Man Beckett...he wasn't in full constume, but this onesie glows in the dark!

OK, time for the next update: We celebrated Beckett Lee's Christening this weekend with family and good friends at church, and it was such a joyfull day! The only hitch was a major poo explosion that came out of the diaper five minutes before the service started...and he was already in his gown. We cleaned it up as best we could and wraped a blanket around him, so maybe not everyone saw it! But you can tell in some of these pictures. He he he. What else can you do but laugh about it! Anyway, it was a beautiful day spent with wonderful people, adn we are so grateful to be raising our kids in such a nurturing and caring church.

Pastor Jack Christening Beckett...

Beckett Lee with Great Grandpa Chauncey Lee

Momma and Daddy with their beautiful boy...

And with both of our beautiful kids...

The whole extended Tharp family who could celebrate with us...

Here's the next update: Beckett is smiling and laughing now. His smiles are getting pretty regular, but his laugh is just at its beginning stages! Natalie can make him laugh really well, and he usually smiles when I lay him on a pillow to nurse (go figure). When he laughs it's usually one giant breath with a short, loud laugh when he lets the breath out. It's so much fun to see him start to respond to Natalie and how much she likes to make him laugh. She's started calling him "sweetheart" and "big boy" like I do.

2 months old!!!

Mr. Smiley

Laughing at Sister...

Well, now for the latest update: We took Natalie off her acid reflux medication last week to see if she had started to outgrow the problem as we'd hoped she would. I'll tell you now the answer to that one is a big fat NO! She started throwing up again a lot at night and while eating, so I took her to a pediatrician in Cody Monday. He said he was concerned she may have a growth or hernia that was preventing her stomach from doing its job, so we did some tests and x-rays and there is no growth. That was a huge relief. However, her stomach acid is too strong and there is too much of it, which is something her body does naturally. She may eventually outgrow it, he said, but she may very well be on medication the rest of her life. That I can live with, especially since he said if she's not on medication and we don't repair the damage to her esophagus and stomach lining, she could get esophagial cancer at a very young age. Give us those pills!!! He put her on a new medication and she has not thrown up in 2 days! He said if we can keep her from doing so for 6 months her body should heal itself, so that's what we're praying for. She was a trooper through the whole ordeal and all the tests. Jill went with me to help since I had to take Beckett, and she was such a huge help. Thank you Jill!!! You are a blessing.

Anyway, things are looking better at our house this week, and I'm now trying to get ready for two straight weekends of craft fairs (Christmas money!). We're still waiting for news of Suzi's new baby girl due any time now, and maybe we'll get a visit soon from Lauren and Miss Blake!
We hope you all have a great week. Hugs to all.

"We all live in suspense, from day to day, from hour to hour; in other words, we are the hero of our own story." ~Mary McCarthy