The Omness Family!

So, we've consistently had snow for what, 2 weeks now? And while it was pretty at first, I'm done. I'm sure a lot of it has to do with the fact that I can't see my feet, and I'm terrified of slipping and falling and hurting myself while 8 months pregnant.
Also, car troubles, not so fun in the winter. Damian's Buick desperately needs a new alternator, which he can change himself, but it's cold and yucky outside and I feel bad for him! And, my car had a flat tire last week that poor Damian had to change in the freezing rain. Car troubles are never fun, and always expensive, but winter makes them that much worse!
Isabel, however, loves the snow. She loves to go outside and play and never gets cold. That kid is a furnance! We took her sledding last week, and she loved it! A few friends came with us, and Isabel loved going down the hill on a sled with friends and not having to have daddy go with her everytime! I stayed at the top of the hill and watched, because I'm pretty sure had I gone down, I wouldn't have made it back up! But the kids (including Damian) had fun.

Our Christmas tree is up. It's nice to have it up already and be able to enjoy it for like a month (we put it up right after Thanksgiving). It's pretty. I'll post pictures if I ever find the cord to my camera!

So, another Thanksgiving has come and gone. I was fortunate enough to not have to work on Thanksgiving, so instead I got to spend it with family!
On Wednesday night, we went to Lowell to Damian's mom's best friend's family dinner (did everyone follow that?). There was a ton of good food, and it was nice to catch up with some people we hadn't seen in a while.
On Thursday, we went down to South Haven to my Grandma Peggy's house for a late lunch. Again, a ton of really good food. It was really nice because my uncle and his family came from Iowa. Also, another one of my cousins was there as well with her husband and kids. Celeste (my cousin) is due with her 3rd child (a boy!) about 2 weeks before I am due. So it was nice to talk to her about babies, and we had an impromptu baby shower. It was a great day. And, it was really good to be able to see Grandma Peggy before she left for Florida this week!

I also was able to reflect a little about how blessed I really am. Despite our struggles, we are so very fortunate and so blessed. I am deeply Thankful for all of our family and friends who do so much to support us and love us. I'm thankful we have enough to eat and are able to have a roof over our heads. I'm not sure how sometimes, but for the most part we are able to have enough to make ends meet each month. I have an awesome husband and a fantastic daughter, both of whom I love deeply, and who love me in return.
It's so easy sometimes to wish that we had more, or a little more wiggle room in our budget, etc. However, we truly have so much and are so blessed!

And, still no pictures because I still don't have my cord!

Damian and I went up to Ludington for his birthday/our 5th anniversary/one last weekend away before the baby is born. We had no major plans other than to relax! We stayed at the Best Western of course. We had a "Penthouse Suite" with a whirlpool and a gas fireplace and a balcony that looked over the pool. We also had brought our dvd player and some movies. So we pretty much spent the weekend eating and watching movies. But it was just what we needed! Damian also took me around town and showed me the houses he and his mom used to live in a long time ago.
Isabel got to stay with Grandma and Grandpa Adkins, and she had a blast! She loves to have sleepovers!

On a side note, I lost the cord to my camera, so no pictures until I find it!

Friday I had my 28 week appointment, a little late because I'm 29 weeks. Oh well! I also had to do the glucose test, as well as get my Rhogam shot since I'm Rh-negative. Everything went well. I have a huge bruise from where they drew the blood, and my arm hurt for a day where the Rhogam was injected. My Glucose test results were in the normal range, which is such a relief because of my insulin resistance.
Isabel got to come into the exam room with me and got to hear the baby's heartbeat, which was 138 beats per minute. She's getting pretty excited. I can't believe I'm in the 3rd trimester already! This pregnancy has flown by compared to Isabel's!

This past weekend we went up to Shelby for the annual Thanksgiving/Christmas Eat-a-thon. It is always lots of fun! And there is always so much food! To try to give you an idea of how much food, let me just say that Damian is on the small side for an Omness man. He also eats less than the average Omness man. It takes a lot of food to fill up everyone! Damian's aunt had cooked 31 pounds of beef. 31 lbs! Which is about what Isabel weighs! Crazy!
Anyway, we went up early so we could check into our hotel, and then we took Isabel swiming in the pool for a few minutes. The party started at 6pm, and it was pretty much nonstop eating until 10pm. I tried to limit myself, and I think I did an okay job.
After the party, we dropped Isabel and Damian's mom off at Damian's Aunt Robin's house for a sleepover (Isabel adores Aunt Robin) and Damian and I headed back to the hotel and promptly feel asleep. We were all fighting colds, and were exhuasted! Sunday morning, we headed back down to Grand Rapids, still very full from the night before!
And, of course, I left the camera in the car, so no pictures. Oh well.

Isabel's preschool class had a Halloween party, of course, on Thursday the 30th. Damian and I were both fortunate enough to attend. I think Isabel had a lot of fun. Damian and I were put to work, so our fun level varied! But it was great to be able to go!

Isabel and Jainyn

The girls.
She decorated a little treat box. Then she put it in her cubby for safe keeping.
Instead of bobbing for apples, they eat donuts off strings. Isabel enjoyed her donut.
Damian helping Isabel and Jainyn decorate sugar cookies.
Sampling the decorations.
Isabel made a bracelet, with the help of her Daddy.
Her preschool class. The witch is her teacher, Miss Jessica. She's actually very nice, and not at all witch-like.
Finally, they got to eat their cookies!
Closeup of the cookies!

So, because I've been a slacker, and Damian reformatted our computer, I haven't updated in a while, so I have like 3 or 4 posts to do! Yay for being a night owl!
Up first, we have our Ward's "Harvest Party." Just Isabel and I went, because Damian thought it would be more fun to go play video games with a friend. He was wrong! We had a lot of fun!

This is Isabel really wanting to go to the party instead of having her picture taken!


Finally, at the Party!

Getting ready for the hayride!

Isabel and Jainyn on the hayride (and my hair)!

Ready to go home after a fun night!

On Saturday, October 18th, my cousin Stephanie passed away. It was very sudden, and unexpected. My mom, Isabel and I had just attended her wedding in August. Although it is sad that she is gone, we know that she is in a much better place, free from the physical suffering and health issues she was dealing with. And I'm sure Grandpa and Grandma Lykins were there waiting to welcome her when she arrived.
This picture is from her wedding. Isabel and Stephanie danced in the kitchen and had a fabulous time together. It's a great memory to have of her.

This week, Isabel was her class' Star of the Week! Miss Jessica sent home a poster for us to fill out all about our special little girl! She also got to be line leader while going in and out for recess. On Thursday, she got to pick out her favorite toy for the "Mystery Bag." She picked out her white stuffed kitty, and we had to write 3 clues so her classmates could guess what the toy was. But Isabel was too excited to wait for them to guess, and ended up telling everyone what her special toy was! Oh well! All in all, she had a very good week at school!

Today we went to Country Basket with our Ward's playgroup. Country Basket is where Isabel's field trip was 2 weeks ago. I, of course, forgot the camera. Oh well. It was really cold, like 45 degrees, and I had forgotten to grab Isabel's heavier jacket, and instead she only had a lightweight one on top of her sweatshirt and long sleeve shirt. She was a little chilly until she started running around.
I bought 6 fresh doughnuts to take home and a glass of hot apple cider to warm us up afterwards! It was fun! I really enjoy being able to go to these probably just as much as Isabel does. It's so nice to be able to talk to other moms from our ward! Finally, after living in this ward for 4 years, I'm starting to learn who people are and I'm getting to know some really wonderful women! And it's helping me overcome me problem with being really really shy.
Isabel and I are going to try to make a lot more of these before the baby comes. She's starting to have a harder time lately, and I have a feeling part of it is because of the pending arrival of her baby brother. I really feel guilty about having to work now when she's having such a rough time. I wish I could just stay home and really focus on her for these last few months while she's still the only child.
Alright, this is where I'm going to end this post. I've been having a weird pregnancy hormonal emotional day. Who knows where this post will end up if I keep going!

I had my 24 week appointment this morning. Isabel and I were running about 10 minutes late, which ended up working out fine since the office was running about 15 minutes behind! Lucky me! Anyway, baby sounded good, heartbeat was around 148 beats/min. Had a little bit of a growth spurt this past month, but we're still well within normal range! Isabel got to help move the chair up and down, and loved hearing her baby brother.

On Tuesday, we went to Craigs Cruisers with our friends Zach and Gwen, and their adorable son Jonathan. We had a lot of fun! And, of course, all the pizza we could eat thanks to the pizza and pasta buffet. Damian and Isabel rode on the indoor go-cart track, while I watched. All in all, a great evening!

Isabel driving! Ack!
Ice Cream!
Us!
The kidlets were starting to get grumpy!
Maybe because Zach was attacking them with balloons...
Damian had the camera all night, so there weren't very many pictures to choose from. Oh well, I think we did okay!

To the right. Self explanatory. What do you think of the name Cael, for the next Omness boy. Middle name will be Douglas, if that affects anyone's answer. Please please please be honest. I stress a lot about baby names, so I really need honest feedback! Thanks!

So, Isabel came home from school with a dot of pink marker on her forehead today. Evidently, a certain little blonde girl whom my daughter adores marked her during a coloring project. Which, I think is cute, kind of like marking her territory. So, I tried to take pictures, but by this time Isabel had rubbed at the marker, making it harder to see, and with my lacking camera skills, I got a few cute pictures, but none that showed the little "love marker" spot. Oh well.

This weekend, we went up to Shelby to watch Damian's younger cousin Trent play his last home football game of his high school career. We had a blast! It was chilly, so we stayed wrapped up in blankets, but the game was really good. Shelby won (yay!) against their rival, Hart. This game was especially fun to watch because there is a tradition of Omness boys playing for Shelby, starting with Damian's father and 2 uncles, and then a few cousins as well. Damian would have played for Shelby had they not moved to Lowell in middle school. We sat with Damian's Aunt Robin and Uncle Denny, cousin Travis and his wife Melissa, and cousin Hailey and her friend Dustin. Post game, we had pizza from local favorite Pizza Factory, and stayed up way too late! We also received a bag of bluegill and salmon caught by Damian's cousin and grandfather. So, we'll have a fish fry and Salmon bake (something? any good salmon recipes out there?) soon. And now, Damian is busy looking for jobs in the Shelby/Hart area, because he desperately wants to move back! I'm not so sure!
And now, pictures!


They had really yummy elephant ears at the game, as evidenced by my hands in the picture. The scoreboard reads 6 to 6 (at almost the half) but the final score was 24 to 18, I believe.

We have Isabel's first field trip! They went to Country Basket, and had a blast. And, I got to go with! Bonus! We had made-that-morning doughnuts, apple cider, we got to pick an apple, and a pumpkin! Very cool! And, after a good lunch at Culver's, we went home and took a nap!



This is seriously the best picture I got of her and her doughnut!

So really, the last thing I need is another excuse to be online. Really, between the multiple message boards, facebook/myspace, and blogs I read, I really spend way too much time online. But, it would be nice to have a place to post cute pictures of my really cute kid and I guess this would count as journaling, right? So here we are!
And, just to start off with some super cute pictures, we have, Isabel's first day of preschool!