A new addition to the Melin Family

Baby James Ole Richard Melin

was born on 09/05/06 at 10:53 P.M.

Weighing in at a hefty

9 Lbs. 11 Oz.

He and Mom are doing great!

I am sure there will be millions of

photos to follow. This will have to

do for now....Love, Proud Dad

SEPTEMBER 5th AFTER ALL!

Sister Jill here-
I talked to Jamie yesterday morning while she was packing her bag for the hospital. She just returned from a Dr appt. where her doc said it was the day. She was making progress and it was TIME!!! I have the priviledge of being a guest blogger! I recieved another call around 11PM last night, and guess what? Baby Boy Melin is here!!! You will never guess his weight- 9lbs 11ounces!!! Born at 10:53PM, I am sure the proud parents are so happy he is finally out of there! Congratulations Jamie and Rich!

Saturday: On the River

My father-in-law helped get everyone on canoes & rafts
Petersen Canoe: Jack, Jill, Drew, & Nana

(This is the canoe that sank just beofre it reached the ranch; Nana, Jill, & Jack got out and walked back while Drew got the canoe going again and rowed into the beach at the ranch)
Willy, Melanie, & Liam
The Lehman Canoe: Darrin, Jared, Gabriel, & Laura
The Post Canoe: Liam, Mel, Spencer, Will, & Audrey (Brent rowed with them, too)
Spencer & Brent at the ranch beach
Addie in the sand...any wonder she STILL has sand in her pants???
Melanie in the sand
How the ranch looks through the smoke of two big wild fires

Saturday: Dinner at the Ranch

While everyone was floating, I kept Baby Ben and helped Mom Melin set up this dinner. We had burgers, brats, fried chicken, grilled chicken, potato salad, green salad, fresh fruit, cherry cobbler and cherry pie (also quite fresh, made by Mom M.).Jess, TJay, Mom Melin, Laura, & Melanie admire the spread.
My pretty niece, Ally
Lots of cousins gathered at the new kids' picnic table:

Liam, Danny, Addie, Jared, Heidi, Ally, & Belle
Jill with Ben, Angie with Rosalie (Ben is one day older than Rosalie).
My nephew Gabriel was a really good sport about being the only "big kid" this weekend. The other kids had lots of fun with him. We're so glad he and his family moved out west!!!

Saturday: Silly Heidi

After dinner, Heidi got really silly and wore my sunglasses and kept smashing her face into my face. It was really cute because she was laughing so hard.

Melanie's Baptism

We have about a million pictures to post from this fabulous family weekend, but we wanted to get the most important event posted first. My cutie-pie niece, Melanie Marie (who turned 8 last month), was baptized at our church building on Saturday morning by her Dad, Willy. They had planned to baptize her in the Yellowstone River, but we had a cold snap and she changed her mind...she opted for warm font water instead! Our beautiful Baptism Girl
Melanie with her parents, Will & Audrey
My cute mom--NANA--with the grandkids after the baptism

front: Jack, Belle, Addie, Ally, Spencer, Heidi

back: Melanie, Gabriel, Nana with Ben, Liam, Jared

Melanie with her Dad

Melanie with Nana (I love this picture!)

Baptism Speakers: Uncle Rich conducted, Uncel Drew and Cousin Brent gave talks (Nana & Aunt Jamie did the music).

Totally unrelated--Mom took this photo of the Billings Temple when she arrived. It's beautiful.

Why I Get Up in the Morning

If there were words for the discomfort I am feeling today....ugh!...I'm sure you know what I am talking about if you've had a baby. Let me just say, all instincts tell me to stay in the bed or the tub and ride it out, but these two sunshines get me up everyday, and life goes on.Daddy took this photo of the girls when we stopped by the office today.

This Should Cheer ANYBODY Up...

Something changed overnight--the left hip pain has pretty much faded and shifted squarely in the center of my pelvic floor. I am guessing this is engagement. There has also been a hormonal shift in which all of my senses are heightened to almost unbearable levels. Everything stinks, everything tastes gross, everything grates on my last nerve...I am trying not to react to the sensory feedback, but it is definitely making me grumpy! However, I downloaded these pictures from Monday night's dinner and they made me laugh, even in my grumpy state. Heidi putting on geek glasses
Heidi wearing geek glasses
Heidi posing with arugula on her eye
Addie pouting because we made her eat her Taco Salad.

Good News

Okay, I have no good news from the doctor--my regular doctor was not there and the one I saw wouldn't even check me (even thought the nurse said there was blood in my urine, which means my cervix is "doing something"), and she called another doctor and they decided to change my scheduled induction to 38-1/2 weeks since my non-stress tests have been so good. So now they set it for the 7th or 8th. Which of course made me cry like a little baby. I was so embarassed, I made Rich go pick up the girls from the sitter's house so I could come home and cry in my pillow. I always feel stupid when I cry about things that are obviously out of my control.

But I did come home to the fine news that Warren Jeffs has been arrested without incident in Nevada (read all about it here). My friend Tara is a social worker in Colorado City and has to help all those poor polygamist kids, so she was especially excited to share the news.

So I am done crying for now. I have hatched a plan to have this baby ASAP...it's all up to me and the kid now. :)

PS: CLICK HERE TO SEE THE TINY PRINCESS!!!!

HOORAY!

This here is my Cousin Maren & her husband Matt.

They are darling.

Today they had their first baby,

a (most certainly) beautiful daughter named Morgan.

Congratulations, Allreds! We Love You!!!

(Congratulations to proud Grandma & Grandpa, Aunt Marti & Uncle Ralph, too!!! Yep, that's the same Aunt Marti who got smashed by a horse in May and stood up for the first time this week! What a GREAT WEEK!!!!)

Manic Monday

First of all, I am still pregnant. Nothing exciting happened over the weekend, in spite of my trying every labor-inducing home remedy out there, short of castor oil (I have a hyper-sensitive digestive system--no thanks). I have had irregular contractions all weekend and a horrible sacro-illiac pain that has kept me up since 4am. But I'm good.

I can't believe this week is already here. But then again, I can...we've been waiting for it forever! I have a check up tomorrow, which will hopefully produce some promising results (maybe she'll feel sorry for me and break my water--??--we can hope). Then on Friday, my mom flies into Billings from St. Louis (hopefully I will be able to pick her up!). That same night, my sister Jill and her family, my brother Willy and his family, and my sister Laura and her family, plus my cousin Brent and my Dad Post will arrive. Willy is going to baptize his daughter, Melanie, in the Yellowstone River on Saturday morning, and then we are all gonna hang out for the weekend. Part of me is hoping I have the baby before they all get here, and ALL of me is hoping that NOTHING happens while the company is here. If I don't have the baby tomorrow, it just has to wait for next week's induction! :)

Anyway...all is quiet over here. I'll go in for my non-stress test tonight, doctor tomorrow, and be back with an update. For now, it's time to bake the enchiladas! Happy Family Night, all yall!