What's in a name?

So, what's in a name? A lot! It sticks with you for the rest of your life!
I'm at a standstill with our sweet girl's middle name!

Her name will be Elise _fill in the blank_ Armstrong.

Our family of SIX!!

We went in today to get an ultrasound to see how the baby is doing and things look wonderful!
We are having a little GIRL!!!!
Gabriel and Brooke are so excited to be getting a sister! I asked them right before we left what they wanted this baby to be. Of course Brooke wanted a sister, and Gabriel said he also wanted a baby sister!

We were in the room looking at the baby and Brooke kept saying "The baby is glowing!!" she thought it was awesome that we had a little glow in the dark baby! She also wanted that baby to come out right then an there!

I would show you the picture of the goods, and it's such a cute picture, but I'll save her from being humiliated. But I will tell you that the picture is a perfect outline of her bum (she was facing away from the camera).

We are so excited to have another sweet little girl in our family! I honestly couldn't have planned it better myself!

General Conference

There are 2 times a year that I always look forward to. General Conference. I always learn so much, from things I already knew but needed to be reminded of, and things I needed to hear.
I feel so thankful to be a member of my church. I'm thankful for the knowledge I have about the gospel.

Also, since Conference was on Easter Weekend, I would like to add at how grateful I am for the Atonement and Resurrection of Christ. Without it, we would not rise again.

17 weeks

Today I went to the Dr.'s and brought the whole family along. It was fun because Gabriel understood a little bit that what he heard was the baby's heartbeat.

The baby's ♥beat is at 162. I am measuring exactly where I'm supposed to be. It's fun seeing my belly grow and to feel how hard it's getting. I also love feeling this baby move! I can't wait until he/she moves all the time!!

Stay tuned for the 7th!!
I go for an ultrasound to determine what baby Armstrong will be!

6 years ago today!

It was March 27, 2004. I was on an LDS Dating site, and really thought if I was ever going to meet "the one" on this dumb site!

I was 20, about to turn 21, so I went ahead and started the process of preparing to go on a mission! I really felt kind of weird about doing the whole process, but never knew why, like I had something bigger coming my way.

Saturday the 27th I checked my mail on this dating site to see if there were any guys "interested" in me. I found this one guy who "winked" at me, and thought he was pretty darn hot, so I "winked" right back at him! It was then I started to read his profile and found he was into a lot of the same things I was into. He was a very passionate guy!

He then saw that I was online and sent me an IM. We chatted for a while until we thought it would be ok to call each other. He called me about 2 min after that, and that's when both of us knew this wasn't just any call to any random person, this was a call to our Eternal Companions! (corny...yeah, maybe)

We talked about everything we could think of that day, until I had to go to work. I thought about him the whole time while at work, it was embarrassing! I was blushing the whole time! Oh, young love!

I went to church the next day and my girls that I taught could tell there was something different about me. I was smiling all the time. I was just happier in general. We called each other that day and figured out this was totally meant to be. The Lord had something to do with this, no doubt!

Matt told me that he too was on this one site a while before our talking and had some bad encounters with girls who pretended to be good members of the church. He canceled his account, and vowed to never do on line dating again!

He was running one night and had this amazing prompting to go back on line, on this exact site that he vowed to never go on again. Matt was a bit weary, but signed up again and that very night saw my profile on there.

A few weeks before this ever happened, his father gave him a father's blessing and in that blessing he was promised that he would soon be with his wife. Matt was taken a back a bit because he wasn't dating anyone at the time!

Those are some of the reasons why I know the Lord had a lot to do with our getting together again here on earth!

We talked on the phone every chance we got until we finally met in person in April. That first encounter was like nothing else. We knew each other before we came to this earth. When we "met" for the first time, it was reuniting again! I felt like I had known him my whole life, and even more.

He proposed to me at the Boston Temple, then a few weeks later we drove out to Missouri to meet his family. I could write a whole different blog about his family, they are amazing!

Today, I couldn't be happier with my decision on my Eternal Companion! He's absolutely my best friend! He's an amazing father and husband. I look forward to what life has in store for us, but most importantly, I can't wait to spend the Eternities with him.

Sticker obsessed!

Brooke loves Tinkerbell and stickers. Can you tell? She's such a girl! How I love her!

Those Little Answered Prayers...

This little girl gave Matt and myself a mini heart attack yesterday while at the mall.

For those of you who don't know Brooke, know she's a wild child. Always up for adventure, and more days then not, will find her own adventure. Everyone loves her, and people draw to her because of her personality. She's basically a carbon copy of Matt's sister!

So, we went to the mall to buy some clothes for Matt and I. I was in Motherhood Maternity when Matt called my cell phone telling me Brooke ran off and he can't find her.

My heart skipped a beat. Knowing my innocent girl was out in the mall by herself scared me to death. I was more afraid that some sicko would take her. The longer she was gone, the shorter the chances were we would find her.

Matt told me he was letting Gabriel go up and down the escalators, and felt bad that he wasn't letting Brooke do the same, so he let Brooke go. He told her that she only go up and down the escalator and no where else! That didn't happen...

Brooke went up while Gabriel was going down and Brooke ran off into Sears. Matt tried hard to run up the escalator, but had no luck with people on it. He had to wait for Gabriel to get back up to go look for Brooke, but by the time he had Gabriel with him and looked in Sears, Brooke was no where to be found. That's when he called me.

I looked down stairs and even went to Godiva to see if Brooke wandered into that store (she's as much of a chocoholic as I am) but no Brooke.

I said a little prayer in my heart that Brooke would be safe, where ever she was. I instantly felt at peace, and a voice said "she's ok"! The worry instantly went away and I knew that we would eventually find her.

Matt and I both came out of Sears and Matt went back in while I had the two boys to look for her himself. He walked by a worker and overheard on his walky-talky that there was a girl missing from her mommy and daddy. He asked the guy where she was and he said she was in the toys section! Of course!! We looked everywhere, BUT there.

Brooke was ashamed. Matt told her she scared mommy and daddy and then picked her up and loved on her. She knew she did something she wasn't supposed to do. We always tell the kids that they are to never ever run off because there are bad people out there that could take them, and they seemed to understand. I guess her curiosity got the best of her.

She was gone for about half an hour, but it seemed like hours! We are so very thankful she was found and that she was safe!! I'm thankful for answered prayers and for the peace I felt when I prayed.