The Lee Clan

according to Amber.  I still haven't taken her cameras in to be developed, but she was asked to speak on Father's Day about girls camp,  so I am sharing her talk with you:

Good morning brother’s and sister’s my name is Amber Lee, and yes I was the shortest girl at Girls Camp. This year the theme was Hearts and Souls Under Construction. We were challenged to read the Book of Mormon before Girls Camp. I was able to finish the Book of Mormon before camp. When I finished the Book of Mormon I then knelt down in prayer to find out for myself whether the scriptures and the church is true, and I now know for myself that they are true. Well, I can honestly say that Girls Camp was not what I expected it to be. I thought that I would have more classes and that they would be harder than what they were. Also, I didn’t think we had to do chores, but we did, we had to do dishes, set tables, and clean the bathroom. At least it wasn’t what my dad had to do. Whenever there was a problem with the toilets my dad got to fix them and he was real busy on Sunday. So the day of rest was no day of rest for him. Another experience I had at camp was I was able to make new friends. I was able to learn a lot about people. Like, what ward they were in, what they liked about Girls Camp so far, and what they were interested in. During Testimony meeting when my sister Breanna went to bare her Testimony my friend Ashley was sitting next to me but I also felt as if someone else was sitting next to me. The Spirit was real strong and it reassured me that the Scriptures and Gospel are true. Some of my favorite classes are archery, craft, and dance. In dance you basically learn a little dance. The song we danced to was Kids of America. In craft we made necklaces. You take a scrabble letter and some scrap booking paper. You then cut the scrap booking paper to the size of the scrabble piece and you glue it on the back. Then you take ribbon and tie it and it’s a necklace. In archery you shoot bows. I liked archery the most because my dad was the teacher also because I just like it. For my first year at camp I got to be up there with my dad and sister. It was okay but I would of liked my mom to be up there too. I had an amazing time with my dad and sister. Before Girls Camp I was afraid I was going to go hungry because I am a very picky eater. I ate everything that they served my mom was surprised. They even made my favorite food Navajo Tacos they didn’t quite taste like my moms but they were still good. So my first year at Girls Camp was over the top, and I am looking forward to more experiences throughout my years at camp.

Amber did such a great job with her talk.  She was real nervous, and she talked fast.  I am so pleased to be her Mom.  I Love You Amber!

This year we had 2 girls going to Girls Camp.  Yes, you read it right, I wrote 2 girls going to Girls Camp, Oh and my husband. 

Breanna and Amber had a fun time. Amber was a little nervous this being her 1st year, but she survived and had a blast, she was surprised that she didn't get a break from chores.  Jared was up there as the Archery instructor and had a fun time teaching the girls how to shoot the bows, and was even more excited for the girls when they hit the targets.

The theme of Girls Camp this year was "Hearts and Souls Under Construction".  The girls were challenged to read the Book of Mormon and underline the words hearts and souls.  Both of our girls finished the BofM before they left for Camp, and both of them were able to pray and find out for themselves that the scriptures and our Church are true.  I was so excited and happy for both of them to be able to know for themselves the truthfulness of the Gospel.

Jared was such a good sport, when there were problems with the toilets he was called in to fix the toilets.  He received an award for "Best Camp Dad" for letting the girls in our ward paint his nails and then helping them paint their nails. Jared informed me that he got a clear coat with pink polka dots.

We are now the parents of a High Schooler!  I am sometimes still in shock that I am old enough to have a child in High School.

On May 18th we attended Breanna's 8th grade Promotion.  It was a nice, short and sweet program (it only lasted about 45 minutes).  We are very pleased with all of Breanna's accomplishments this past school year.  She tried out for Volleyball and made the team.  She tried out for Softball and made the team.  She was also a member of Principals Academy and FBLA.  She always work hard to keep her grades up, and I never have to remind her to do her homework, never had to worry about her getting her school work done. 

It has been a really long time since I have blogged...and I have so much to catch up on...I have no idea where to begin...so please stick with me as I jump around and try to do a lot of catch up, but for now I will begin with the newest member of our Family!

After we lost Edward, Jared and I weren't sure if we wanted to add another child into our family.  We were very indecisive, yes...no...yes...no!  We were scared to try again for fear of loosing another child, we did want to try again so we could end our Beautiful Family with Happy thoughts.  We soon decided that we would wait a year to make the decision and take the time we needed to grieve Edward and the time we needed to heal ourselves and our Family.

Not long after my spur of the moment trip to Colorado we found out that we were expecting again.  We were excited, scared, worried, we had so many emotions going on at the same time that we didn't know what to think. We went to my Dr. and found out that I was due May 4, 2011.  We went through the pregnancy finding it hard to get excited, once we got past 21 weeks it became easier (21 weeks is when we lost Edward), but we were still scared.  Once we hit 24 weeks it became even more easier (24 weeks a baby is viable and the Dr.s are willing to help save the baby when outside of the womb).  Once 32 weeks came even more easier (every week you can keep a baby in the better the chances are).  At 37 weeks we had an amniocentesis done to see if the lungs were developed, we got the results 2 hours after the procedure was done then went in the next day to be induced. 

*Side Note:  At 22 weeks gestation I was diagnosed with a condition called PUPPPS, I was and still am very itchy.  There are many times when I want to rip my skin off.  This is why we decided to induce early, we were hoping that it would go away once I delivered, but it hasn't.

On Thursday April 14, 2011 we went to the hospital and I was induced and at 4:15pm our Son Rowdy James joined our family.

Here are the Stats:
Name:  Rowdy James Lee
Born:  April 14, 2011
Time:  4:15 pm
Weight:  6 pounds 10 ounces
Length:  19 1/2 inches

We were so Happy to hear him cry, hold him and then to bring him home with us.  He is truly a blessing.  We are having fun relearning what it is like to be parents to a newborn again.  I got used to sleeping through the night (oh how I miss those days, but wouldn't trade what I have now to have them back).  Rowdy is a very easy going baby, don't get me wrong we have our moments, but I can't complain.  I am Thankful to my Heavenly Father for sending us our Rowdy, and am truly blessed to be his mom.  I am looking forward to the joys that will come as we raise him.

Back in July I had an opportunity to go to CO with the girls, unfortunatly Jared was unable to come with us (he had to work), but he encouraged us to go and take a break from the reality of our life for a brief moment.  I am truly blessed to have Jared in my life, HE is MY BEST FRIEND!  I LOVE YOU HONEY!

We had a wonderful time with family. 

on August 9th.  Yes, we are back in school, as much as I wish that we had longer summers, I think that we were all ready to be back into some sort of routine.  The girls were very excited, they were all looking forward to a new year and new teachers and getting in touch with all of their friends from school.  (Opps, a run on sentance, maybe I should go back to school...NOT) 

A couple of months ago we planted a tree in honor of Edwards short life, and also as a memory for us.  Something that we can look at and cherish and hopefully sit under and have shade in the heat of the day.  Jared's parents were so gracious and loving, when I had mentioned that I wanted to do this, they both said that they were buying the tree for us.  Thank you so much Mom and Dad.  The tree is called a Crepe Myrtle, it is a beautiful, fast growing flowering tree.  Looking forward to enjoying it for many years.

I know that I took pictures of us planting the tree and I can't find them.  As soon as I find them I will post them.

What a fun filled busy weekend...

It started at the 1st Annual Glen Lakes Spring Nationals (Pinewood Derby for the Adults). Jared helped his friend Evan prepare for this the whole week. It was a lot of fun, and Jared entered a car in the Pro-stock and I entered a car in the Stock category. The decorations turned out real good, and Jared and Evan are all ready planning for next years event. Jared won 3rd place in pro-stock and I won for best engine.

Jared's car is the black one, and mine is the blue car.


After Church on Sunday we left to go camping, we had a wonderful time up in the cool pines just outside of Camp Verde. It was nice to get away and be able to take our minds off of many things.  We found a Creek and the kids had a blast playing in the water, the men had fun shooting their guns, and I just took it easy.  We were there until Tuesday afternoon.  Jodi had a fun time learning how to drive our golf cart, she did a really good job.  I actually have video of it but you can't see it very well.  Amber had fun shooting her Bow, and Jared helped some of the children there try and shoot her Bow also. I also have pictures of our trip but the same thing.  I think that our settings on our camera got changed and I didn't realize it.  Bummer.  But all in all we had a wonderful time, and I wish that our trip was longer.  I will try and clean up the pictures and try to post them.

We wanted to share our son Edward with our Family and Friends. We are truly blessed to be the parents of such a wonderful spirit, and we feel of your LOVE and PRAYERS. We have learned that in being able to share our Son we are healing.

Create a picture collage

When you open the Smilebox you can click on the individual pictures and enlarge them to see them better.

I had the privlege of attending Mrs. Babin's 1st Grade Class "Readers Theater". It was so cute watching all of the children in Jodi's class perform the short plays that they prepared. All of the children had fun making their quick and easy costumes. Jodi was a Queen, so she wore a nice shirt and skirt, with her Sunday shoes and wore a Crown. All of the children did a great job. I have attached Jodi's play that she was in, enjoy!