Vote on your favorite name.

So last night Jake compiled a list of baby names. We thought it would be fun to have our friends and family vote on their favs.

Here is the link to follow to cast your vote!

http://www.babynames.com/namelist/9379616

IT'S A BOY!

Well, we had our latest ultrasound on Monday. And this time our little baby showed off!

We are so pleased to announce that we are having another BOY!

Well, most of us are pleased....Faith wanted a sister very badly, but it seems that the promise of a doll that cries and needs diaper changes and feedings to arrive for her the same time our real baby arrives has smoothed things over.

Here are the latest ultrasound pics!

Samuel turns 2!

Can you believe it? Our little Sam turned 2!!!

We celebrated with the family, and then had a little party with his little friends. Fun fun parties!

We got Sam a T-Ball set, and he's already a pro. Jake has even taught him to bat left handed to make him a better player (hmm, is he dreaming of a son in the MLB??) So now I am ducking constantly from plastic baseballs flying across my living room. Thankfully nothing has been broken (yet) but this just reminds me we need a bigger place with a playroom!!

Will post some pics soon!

Field Trips are Fun!

Well, it's been a while since I have blogged. I have just put in a quick entry about our 20 week ultrasound, but here is what else has been going on in the Snowden Household!

Preschool for Faith is so much fun. She loves it so much and we have had 2 very fun field trips so far! Our fist trip was in October to the pumpkin patch. The kids got to feed the cows, go on a hayride and pick their own pumpkin out of the field. The kids had a great time! Sam, since he's a younger sibling, gets to tag along on the trips. So he just loves to be a "Big Boy" and try to fit in with the preschool kids.

Here are some pumpkin patch pics!

Our second field trip was in November, and we got to go to the horse stables and the kids got to go riding. Faith was VERY excited about this trip. Jake got to come along on this one, since parents had to walk the horses, and we figured it was not the greatest idea to have the preggo mamma walking a horse around!

I was a bit concerned the Faith would get timid once face to face with the horses, but she was amazing! The kids all got to groom the horses, feed them and ride. She got right into all of it and just fell in love with these awesome animals. It was great fun to watch!

Horse Trip pics!

Pregnancy update!

We had our 20 week ultrasound! The baby is doing soo well! But didn't show us the goods, so we still don't know what we are having. I was hoping to find out since Faith is so insistant that she has a little sister in there.

Here are our ultrasound pics!

The ultrasound also answered some of our questions as to why I've been having complications. Seems that I have a "low lying placenta" basically meaning my placenta formed in the wrong part of the uterus. It usually forms at the top of the uterus, mine did at the bottom. So, seems that as I get bigger, it should move up and get out of the way of the baby exit! If not, then we will need to get a c-section.

We are firmly believing that we will have this baby the good old natural way! And that no c-section will be needed. We get another ultrasound at 32 weeks to see where we are at. We will keep you posted!!

Faith starts preschool!!

Well we have hit a milestone in the Snowden household. Faith has started preschool!

She is attending Surrey Christian School two days a week. Her classes are 2 1/2 hours long and she is LOVING IT! Here are some pics from the first day!

Getting ready!

Faith's cubby in the hallway.

Me saying goodbye! *sniff sniff* and Faith playing in the kitchen, one of her fav toys

Saying goodbye to Sam, and reminding me where the exit is...lol

And Faith on the second day of school. She thought I was going to take pics daily

This pregnancy is a little challenging.....

It's been a while since I have last blogged. And as usual, lots of things have been happening in our world. But for me personally, I have been consumed by this pregnancy and all the complications that have come along so far.....

At 11 weeks, I started bleeding....lots! To the point that I thought for sure I was losing this child. I called Jake at work, and he came home and off we rushed to the hospital. I as you can imagine was an emotional wreck! While Jake on the other hand was as cool as a cucumber, reminding me that God's hand is on this child and that everything will be fine! He was right. After waiting 2 hours, we finally got to see a doctor and had a very quick ultrasound. Baby was kicking away and I was told to go home and see the doctor in a couple of days. (Not the response I was looking for, but seeing my baby kicking was enough for me at that point)

Two days later I am off to the doctor. They check me out and my cervix is still closed, so she puts the doppler on to hear the heartbeat (which had been picking up with no problems since 9 weeks along) After 10 minutes of trying, we had nothing. The doctor was asking me if I was sure the baby was moving on the ultrasound...I was sure....I was sent for another ultrasound and then given the "baby's terminate themselves when something genetically is not going right" speech....
I really did not need to hear that speech!!!! So off to the ultrasound we went, and baby's heart was beating away, and no cause for the bleeding could be determined. I was then put on 2 weeks of rest.

It's been a month now. I'm still on "rest". I really do try to do as little as possible, but with 2 kids at home I can't just sit on the couch eating bon bons all day long. Jake has been a huge help with keeping the house tidy and doing the majority of the kid duties when he's home. I have had to stop singing at church and have stepped down from overseeing the nursery. So life has suddenly started slowing down a bit. Seems though that as soon as I try to do too much, the bleeding starts again. So really I am doing the best I can to listen to my body and do whatever I need to to get this baby to term and out healthy!

That means no more lifting Sam (which he was not so happy about at first, but has discovered that holding my hand is just as good!) Faith is a great help. She seems to understand that "mommy's not feeling well" and will run and get things for me and put her and Sam's dishes away properly and help straighten up. She will even pull out clothes for the both of them, and does a pretty good job! She has yet to select a clashing outfit! She has grown up a lot this last month!

So yeah, this last month has been challenging for me. I'm just trying to get through this season the best I can and am praying that we can get some answers soon as to why this is happening. Really, hearing "we don't know why, some people just bleed" is getting a bit old, and I really am hoping my next ultrasound will show something!

And baby makes 5!!!

So this summer Jake and I decided that we were going to try for another baby. A lot of people are surprised by this, especially those of you who knew we had an appointment set for the ever so lovey "snip snip'!

So here is what went down. We had the biggest discussion on wether or not to have another baby....and decided that 2 was a good number, one of each was cool, and that we were close to the point of making it through a resturant meal before Sam lost his patience, trips are fun, we don't have to worry about the "middle child thing" Our kids are close, they play well together (well, most of the time!), etc, etc, etc.

So, I made Jake's appointment...and then we both felt very unsure....we had a couple more discussions.....and were just on the fence. There are also so many good things about having another baby too....so we just left it. We had 2 months before the appointment. We figured that if it was "meant to be" we would get pregnant in those 2 months.....2 months later....still not pregnant....

Now we are at the day of Jake's appointment....I am driving him to work (since I had to take him to his appt. They don't let you drive home by yourself after a snip snip) and we are just both...well sad....we did not want to do something we would regret later on in life. So, Jake cancelled the appointment.

So now here we are, 7 weeks PREGNANT!!!! YAHOO! This is a pic of Jake's response when he found out!

So we are doing it! We are going to be outnumbered! Baby #3 is due on March 5/09. The day before Faith's 4th birthday. Faith is very excited and when she found out the baby would be coming around her birthday, she said "Mommy, I will give the new baby a piece of my birthday cake" She is the sweetest! Sam of course does not fully understand what's going on, but does love to lift up my shirt, say baby and then kiss it and hug it.

We are very excited!

Journey of a Lifetime

So Jake had an amazing opportunity to go on a cross country road trip. The trip is called the "Journey of a Lifetime" It is through our church. Basically the teaching for the summer is about how life is a journey, so our pastor sent 3 guys in a van across Canada. Jake was chosen for his media experience to document the journey. The trip will then be turned into a documentrary.

So I had to go without my hubby for 16 days! That kinda sucked. But he had an amazing time and it was just an awesome experience for him to be a part of. Me and the kids enjoyed some time visiting my parents in Princeton, and just getting caught up on some projects around the house.

To see the blog on Jake's journey, go to familyvictory.com and click on the journey of a lifetime link.

Jake's Birthday

So Jake turned the big 30 this year, and we celebrated with a couple of little trips.

First, we were off to Seattle to catch a couple of Angels games. We do this almost every time the Angels visit Seattle, since we are not in California anymore to just go to a game whenever.....

A couple of weeks after that trip, we were off to Whistler. We got a great package that included a boat rental, rec center passes, and a GREAT ROOM! There was a jacuzzi tub right beside the bed....nice....

Other then going out on the boats, we had some great walks around the village, and of course, Jake went to do what is becoming his "annual" bungee jump. I was offered a free jump, but could not do it...that bridge is way to high....and I'm not nuts like Jake! :)

Fun times indeed, and great memories were made.

Fun Filled May!

May has been a busy, fun filled month.

We started off the month by having Jake's mom and little brother Isaac come visit us from NY. We did a lot of fun things in the short week they were here. The first few days we were busy with our Life Women Conference. Jake's mom got to enjoy some great teaching, and I put Isaac to work in the nursery's! Thanks for all your help guys, you are amazing! xo

After the Conference was all over, we had some great weather and took advantage of it and spent the afternoon at a great spot, Bear Creek Park. We had our wedding pictures done in the gardens of the park, so it was cool to take Mom and Isaac back and remember our special day. Can you believe we've been married 5 years this November??!! Crazy how time flies!

Jake and I were both blessed to get the day off on the day we had to take Mom and Isaac back to Seattle for their return trip to NY. Since their flight didn't leave until really late, we decided to go to the Seattle Zoo! Isaac has never been to the zoo before, so he was totally excited! It's nice to go to the zoo in the "off season" It was so quiet, seemed like we had the place to ourselves. Most of the animals co-operated and were close to the glass for us to look at. The lion even came from the back of her cage right up to us!

Faith was a little afraid of the animals at first. She thought everything was going to eat her. Once she realized they couldn't "get me!!" then she was cool. She loved the petting zoo, and made sure she pet and hugged every goat.

The Gorilla's (which are my personal favorite) were outstanding! There was a mom and her baby right in the front of the exibit, and the baby was even nursing at one point. I really could have sat and just watched them all day. I find them quite facinating.

Just when you think things are about to slow down, it doesn't. The weather has been quite nice lately, so every chance we get we are out for walks, at the park, or the waterpark at the end of our street. (How convient is that!)

Last week we decided that since our summer is looking a bit on the busy side, we would take advantage of the long weekend and pay a visit to my parents in Princeton. So on Sunday after church off we went on our 3 hour tour to Princeton. The great thing about Princeton is that it's such a quiet place. My parents live on a dead end street, so what a perfect opportunity to get the kids out on their bikes! Poor Faith has been attempting to ride her new Dora bike that she got for her birthday around in circles in our living room. She loved being outside on her bike and just kept trying to go faster and faster down the street! Although it was a short visit, we made time for the bike riding, checking out Princeton's new Water Park, and a nice walk and playtime at the park with my Dad.

So to finish off the month of May, on Sunday we headed out to one of our favorite spots, Harrison Lake. It is so beautiful there with the lake surrounded by the beautiful BC mountians. Really Jake and I would love to live there. But it's about an hour drive from the city....so that would be a lot of commuting to and from work everyday!

We met up with our friend Leighton and Melissa and their little guy Beckam. The kids had a great time playing in the lake and making castles in the sand. There even is a little playground too. Loads for the kids to do to keep busy. We ended the afernoon with some ice cream and the storm clouds started rolling in. We got in our truck just as the first rain drops started falling, and after about five minutes on the freeway, it was a full downpour. It was perfect. We soaked up all the sunshine, and I came home with rather red shoulders that have now turned into quite the nice tan!

So now we are getting into June, and starting that off with a trip next week to Seattle. The Angels are in town to play the Mariner's, so we are off to check out some games. Seems like the fun never ends!!! Stay tuned for a blog and baseball pics once we return! :)

Birthday trip to Victoria

I have had such a great time reading up on my friends from California that I have decided to follow suite and start of blog myself!

Welcome to the SNOWDEN FAMILY BLOG!

For my birthday this year, Jake decided to take me to Victoria for a few days. It was really nice to get away.

We had hardly seen Jake the week before our trip because of the editing he has been doing for our church's live album/DVD. But editing is done, and the album will be released next week at our Life Women's Conference!!! It looks great (I have gotten a sneak peak) and sounds great too.

So how nice to just "get away from it all". Vancouver Island is so beautiful, and it had been a good 10 years since I had been on the Island. Jake had never been, so what a great place to take a trip!

Our first day we started with a scenic drive/getting somewhat lost, but ended up finding some beautiful views of the ocean. That was followed by some nice walks around the city, and a little boat cruise. We ended the day with a trip to the petting zoo, which the kids just loved.












Over the next couple of days we took in some more attractions (Undersea Gardens, Wax Museum, a Castle, Butterfly Museum) And of course, since it was my birthday trip, we had chocolate cake! We had a great time!

I really love our little weekend getaways. We get so busy with life, church and other activities that it's nice to just have the 4 of us and nothing else going on.

So now we are back to the busy life. Our Women's conference is next week. Jake is doing media for that, and I am running the Nursery. We are expeciting 1500 women. It's going to be amazing.

Jake's mom arrives next Tuesday for a week. She is bringing along Isaac, Jake's youngest brother. My little suite is going to be full! But it's going to be so much fun!

And of course, as I said at the beginning of my post, our 3rd live album "One" is going to be released next week!!!! I'm totally excited!!!!!! :)