family

When the phone rings it seldom makes my heart skip a beat. A few times in the past waiting for the phone to ring my heart has trembled. First time was probably when a crush called and I was worried my dad would find out. And the other times, far less melodramatic, but nonetheless meaningfull, was when my oldest brother Jake called to say he was being deployed to Iraq. Another time was finding out my sweet sister-in-law Amber and brother Tom are going to be pregnant. I swear the weeks (months) that followed seemed everytime the phone rang it meant she lost the baby. I know~ worry wart much Denise~ (Glad to say she is in third trimester and doing Great! Yeah for babies! )
But now I sit here and wait for my mom to call. It seems Grandma has approx. 2 hrs-to-two days left here upon the earth......
Heart trembling because I know when my phone rings what that means. My sweet grandma is 82. Has recently been diagnosed with cancer that has spread pretty much all through her body. When my Grandpa died it was so quick and unexpected...a major blow to our families exitence. My grandma has not been the same "happy" grandma since then. Sure she laughs from time to time, but the genuine happiness is gone. This is a blessing. She will pass away in her sleep. Our family is getting to say their "goodbyes." There will be no pain for her. I am not there. The guilt that rides inside my heart aches me to tears, because I want to be able to kiss her cheek and tell her how much I love her and how I will miss her loud inheritable "Swenk" laugh. (you know we both have it Lindsey) I will miss the way she tells barney, her yappy dog, to shut up, then picks him up and says "this dog." I will miss the way she squeezes hard when she hugs. The way she'll grab your face in her hands and say " I love you." Just because we get to say goodbye doesn't make it easier. I like to picture the way she'll hug my grandpa when she gets to see him again.
Heart trembling....wish I was there to hug my dad.

PITTER PATTER LITTLE FEET- now my lifes complete

Sweet little girl, Kayley Joy. I loved when she came and the doctor held her up so that we could say "its a girl!" My heart felt so full .Would've too if it was a boy, but meeting her and just seeing how great Lauren and Thomas are with her, she is perfect! Kisses from sister and brother! Lauren asked me "Mom, how come your belly looks like it still has a baby in it?" Thomas replied, "Maybe cause now she's gonna have a boy." He'll soon enjoy being the only boy. Dad told him that there is only two seats in his boat, so only he and dad will be going fishing. That seemed to appease him.

Lovin' on her new sister. I hope she lets me hold her every now and then :)

KAYLEY JOY MOORE- 4/30/2010

Sweet little girl Kayley Joy. 6 lbs. 15 oz. 20 in. long. Now the fun delivery story,well not fun. But I think needs to be written down somewhere. I was suppose to go in at 1 a.m. but they called and said they had no room, would call when they did. So at 4 a.m my phone rang and we headed down there! By 7/8a.m I was in my room and pit. (medicine) started..and until 12p.m I was seriously twittling my thumbs just waiting for the hard labor to start. It seemed to be taking FOREVER. Nurse Angel (really, that was her name. not just because she was one) came and checked me I was at a 5, so then the real hard contractions started and I said "you know I think I'll take that epidural now." By the time they got in there and gave it to me, I was dilated at 10. They laid me back on the bed and it was time to push. And at 2:36 p.m I got to meet my daughter. And although I didn't get to feel the relief of calm contractions, my legs and ass (sorry for those who don't cuss, I just think that word is so fun to say and since I just gave birth I can say it! ...) were like jelly. Good times- I didn't tear though and I feel so good. Babies really are worth it! Now I am off to the hermit cave!

9 MONTHS AND COUNTING!!

Soon- hopefully this time next week I'll have a baby monkey in my arms. OK- obviously it won't be a monkey..but it'll be a cute little Mark or Denise! I get tingles when I think its a girl, and if it comes out a boy I will be pleasantly surprised...Either way, we are so excited. When your pregnant your body is not your own, I embrace not being able to see my ankle bones, or rib cage, or hip bone....or even my elbows for that matter! I just know that soon enough and its all worth it! (Although I must admit the heartburn I get is enough to make me scream,"why did I do this?" O'well- YEAH FOR BABIES!

There are new super heros in town

Meet THOMAS, the incredible flying....um hitchhiker/magician. And his partner in action...LAUREN the "I let him do all the work, including building our fake fire pit" princess!

Thank you Mom and Dad (and Uncle Tom) for the box you sent- my kiddos loved it! I did too, because it made their imaginations roll!

The dragon slayers!

serious imaginations at work...Enter at own risk

Watch out any DRAGONS on the loose, this cowgirl/vampire-cowboy/ viking duo will take you down to china town. I think Mark has taught them right about hunting too because if you listen closely you can hear Thomas say "I shoot the dragons for meat." and then Lauren say "I shoot dragons for meat too." I told them to bring it home and momma will make jerky.

A little Moore please!

Baby shower for future little Moore! Kelly, my mother in law, and Dayna, my pretend sister here in Ajo threw me a shower. It was a lot of fun! With yummy food, a few games, cute decorations and froggy cupcakes! Here some ladies are playing a game where you had to move an Oreo from your forehead to your mouth without the use of your hands..because lets face it, moms rarely have their hands free, but sometimes you just gotta eat an Oreo!One of the diaper cakes Dayna made for me. Turned out really cute and if I have a girl, not only do I get the diaper loot, I also get pretty ribbon for her hair! And if its a boy- Lauren gets the ribbon- win win!

The cute little frog cupcakes that my good friend Carol made...She is very creative! I love frog stuff!

My crown Dayna put on me that I secretly loved wearing, but of course had to act annoyed to wear it! "Hear ye, Hear ye!"

Love this picture of my little Lauren feeling moms belly. Her face lights up whenever she feels the baby move! She is going to be a great big sister!

So appreciative to all those that came-wish I had gotten a picture-and especially to Dayna and Kelly, who were excited to do this for me. I felt like a special little (big) mommy. And am definitly excited to get all settled in with our newest little one! 33 weeks along, (maybe) only five more to go...we'll see! Motherhood is a challenging but the rewards outweigh the trials thats for sure~