James turns GOLD

Happy 28th *GOLDEN* Birthday...

Turning 28 on the 28th of September

For the past few years since we have been married, James has always eluded to the fact that he didn't/doesn't want a whole lot of hoop-la for his big day. 

I have usually respected his wishes... casually giving small gifts and maybe going out to eat. 

Nothing too fancy. This year was different.

It was his golden birthday.

How could I just celebrate with mediocrity...

PLUS I found out by his sister Ashley and Grandma Smith

 that while growing up he really treasured having all of his 

*significant moments exactly on his birthday.

What?!? The whole time I just thought he was being Mr. Causal "don't fuss about me" James.

So with this new knowledge I gave myself the go ahead to do something different.

***Note: Birthday's growing up were always celebrated BIG in my family... sometimes a full week.

When I got home I questioned James about my new discovery...

He responded that he didn't care too much about presents and materialistic things, but felt it was important to have his special moments  exactly on his day of birth.

Hmmmm.... so the wheels started to turn.

  

We started the day with visiting Mr. P at work bringing with us lunch from the golden arch.

We also allowed Avery to pick out a few things for her daddy's present.

Her present mostly included games, play-duh, and candy... not a big surprise.

 

And then, after Mr. P got off work, it was my turn.

We had dinner, Homemade Mac and Cheese, and opened gifts.

My gift started as a treasure hunt-- to find golden nuggets (treasures) around town.

We started off late, and we aren't too familiar with Cedar so I had to help him with some of the clues.

He discovered all 12 "locations" (favorite memories) and collected the 16 pieces of gold. 28 total.

Then the last "clue" led him to our bedroom...

to our bed.

Don't worry this is a g-rated post. 

His treasure chest was hidden in the pillows. 

Inside the golden chest were 16 envelopes

 that correlated with the pieces of gold found earlier.

Each envelope held a special moment written by a loved.

I know Cheesy... 

but I wanted to share with him how much he is loved and respected by those around him.

He enjoyed reading each entry... while watching a little baseball in between. Classic James.

I am not going to post what was written, 

since I promised the "authors" the words would stay private.

But through all the kind words, I couldn't help but smile. 

This gift made me more appreciative of Mr. P and 

realize that he treats everyone with compassionate and kindness.

My purpose wasn't to personally get anything out of this gift idea...

only to express appreciation through loving thoughts and memories, 

but it didn't turn out that way.

Love you, sweetheart. 

Happy 28th to a loving husband, father, son, brother, and friend!!

**Special moments: Baptism, Priesthood organizations.

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Genetic {Counseling}

Counsel-- (noun) advice thats given formally.

Since the readers (all probably 10 of you...) to our blog consists of 98% family members or loved ones, most of you already know that we had to see a perinatologist to check out our lil boy's feet and see if there were other concerns. There was some speculation that his right foot might have a genetic condition called club foot. So off we went to St. George to get things checked out. We decided to make a day of it....  we planned to hit up the Saint George Temple in the morning and arrive at our appointment by 1:30. Who knew that on tuesday morning, the session would be packed (mostly with elderly couples) and when we finally made it to our appointment, they would turn us away for 45 mins due to overbooking. Turns out the nurse was misinformed, but we didn't know nor were we corrected, since we headed to Bajio for some lunch-- turns out that our "little" trip took a lot longer than expected.  It was worth it, though. We were able to met with an amazing doctor (Dr. E), who I think James wished was my actual new OB/GYN. He began the process of thoroughly checking everything out... even though lil man wasn't cooperating-- which is definitely his style. Remember it took us till 34 weeks to find out baby J was a lil man and NOT a lil lady.

GOOD news: Lil J's brain and spine look good and are developing well. BAD news: it looks like possibly both feet are clubbed. GREAT news: club feet are 99.9% treatable using methods such as the Ponseti method. We are just hoping that everything else is developing properly since an ultrasound can only tell so much before the baby is born. After Dr. E shared with us his professional opinions ranging from VBAC, Cesaearn, which hospital lil man should get treatment to the likelihood of "other" complications, he informed us we would be talking with a genetic counselor.

Wait... hold the phone. James was definitely not interested in this last "phase" of the appointment, and as soon as the door shut, he informed me... " I am not going to counseling". I chuckled laughed out loud that genetic counseling explained options while giving informational pamphlets about the process of dealing with a child with "special" circumstances, and it did not mean you had to talk about your feelings. Oh, Mr. Pendleton... you made me smile and still do. Thank you. So we walked out of the office feeling a little more "aware" of what lies ahead of us and a few sheets of paper about club feet. No feelings shared or tears shed... at least not that day:).

So there you have it... a long overdue update.
Hopefully also provided some clarification for those that think genetic counseling means you will be talking about feelings, emotions, etc in a therapy session. Our counselor was nice enough to suggest if James wanted to share his feelings about our (Baby J's) situation, she was more than to happy to oblige. He declined, of course.

** Disclaimer: James is currently in the process of petitioning a name change for genetic counseling so people are not misled by such title.

We are very optimistic about our options and delighted to bring baby J into this world very soon.

Sooo much to finish before his arrival in OCTOBER. Yikes.

PS Happy Birthday shot-out to my sis, Geneve.  Enjoy your day! We love you. 

You need someone to through you a party like the one you gave Litte C for his 1st birthday. Adorable.

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The {Leather} Year. Three years and counting...

Marriage is one of those experiences, decisions, sacrifices, blessings--- 

a "thing" that is impossible to universally define or explain through words.

It is unique to each 'couple' giving them their own experience together.

{Cedar Mini golf... I am pretty sure it is abandoned. What do you think? Free putt-putt anyone?}

I have been blessed to be married to Mr. Pendleton for 3 years.

In celebrity style, that is a lifetime. In "reality" and/or with our eternal perspective, 

it is just a slight niche in the endless ring.

Yet, these past few years I have grown closer to the love of my life.

Our 3 year stats:

-- helped Hubby finish his BS degree in Communications. Ya buddy:)

-- lived in 3 states

-- lived in 6 different homes

-- drove 7 different cars

-- gave birth to 1.5 children (Second peanut due 10/22/2011)

-- Went on three cruises

-- made cross country drive twice

-- and experienced a ton of laughter, a few tears, but mostly delight.

The 3rd year modern gift is {LEATHER}.

Therefore, I planned a little western themed dinner.

Since we moved to Cedar, we have been missing one of our favorite restaurants-- 

TEXAS ROADHOUSE. 

So I tried to recreate the food and atmosphere. 

I even had Mr. P get dressed in his western duds... boots and all.

The menu-- Steak, corn on the cob, rolls, green salad, and mashed potatoes.

The activity-- Miniature golf 

(not really western, but horseback riding is a pretty penny and not very toddler friendly)

Attendees-- Mr. P, myself + bun in the oven, and our cute ball girl.

 

 

{Perk of crappy/closed course: Miss avery can ride her bike around picking up our balls.}

 

 

We talked about our 10 year anniversary. 

The plan: James will blindfold me and take me all the way to fiji or some other tropical oasis.

But this year when Mr. P got blindfolded, he knew exactly where we were going because Cedar City is  so small that it only has 3 exits off the interstate. 

He did think I was taking him to the gas station across the street, so it was kinda surprising to pull down the scarf and see a golf course over run by weeds.  

***The best part was spending time with my sweet family... 

and the mister sleeping on the foot of the bed facing north. Love you. 

Thank you for always doing the small things that matter the most.

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