1 Month

Today Eithan is officially 1 month old! Time is simply flying by, and yet it doesn't seem like much has happened at all. (Does that make sense?)

I decided earlier this month to do a little photo shoot of my own with Eithan. He was sooo good during the whole process, and because of that I was able to get some of these adorable photos. I have more, but I have to 'fix' them up still.

Here is Eithan's 1 Month photo. (I have to give credit for the 1 month picture idea to Collin's sister Erin- Thank you for being so creative all the time!)

We are all doing well, and we are excited for Christmas. Though, does it seem that as we get older that it just doesn't take such an importance in our lives like it used to? I want to work on that, because this truly is the time of year to be celebrating the birth of our Savior and remembering that it is HIM that we all desire to return to.

We love you all, ENJOY the pictures!

Winks

Achievements

Life as a mommy is much harder than I expected it to be. I'm tired all the time, my breasts hurt, I can't seem to keep my house clean, and no matter what I do... there is always something that I'm behind on or needs to be done. So... in spite of all that... I decided that I needed to remind myself of the things that I do and what I do accomplish.

1. All of my pump stuff is washed and clean right now.

2. I gave Eithan a bath all by myself... and didn't hurt anyone in the process.

3. Eithan actually breastfed on the breast this evening, amazing!

4. The house is semi-decorated for Christmas.

5. I folded some laundry and did some dishes.

6. I have provided lots of milk for my little one through pumping.

7. Eithan was given "Tummy Time" tonight and actually worked on lifting his head and body.

and finally... 8. I haven't gone crazy yet! (wink wink)

All the little things count right? So keep it up moms of the world, because if my little list is an accomplishment, then all the things that we get done everyday are accomplishments as well!

Joy

12:50 AM

This is for all those mothers out there that I never really appreciated until moments like this....

I woke up Eithan at 11:30 PM to feed him (yes, I do really wake him up to eat.) He breastfed for a few minutes, then ate some from a bottle... and decided he was full. I took him back to bed with Collin so that I could pump. When I get back, he is still wide awake and looking around... not interested in going to bed at all.

Now, here I am... on my couch at 12:50 AM holding my little one and waiting for him to fall asleep. Yet despite all that... I still think he's the cutest little thing out there.

Joy

I Just Love This Picture....

One of the nurses at the NICU did this for us; isn't it adorable?

(The dots on his face were to hold on his "sunglasses" when under the bilirubin light.)

We are so excited to have our new little one!

Announcing the Arrival of Eithan Owen Winks

Born November 18th, 2010

@ 10:12 AM

5 pounds 6 ounces

18 1/2 inches

33 Weeks Pregnant

Here I am again! You guys have got to be sick of looking at me and my big belly. But that's too bad.. because I'm going to be posting weekly pictures from here on out. Why? You may ask. Because.. we are having a baby in 4 weeks! Ahh!! That is soooo crazy.

So, I'm going to break it down for you all, so that you know what is going to happen. I have normal appointments from now until Nov. 30th.. that's when I have my Pre-Op appointment. Then on Dec. 1st I get to have an amniocentesis. (For those of you who don't know what that is... it is when they insert a needle into the uterus and draw out amniotic fluid. They then test this fluid for things... in my case to see if the baby's lungs are developed enough for delivery.) If the amniocentesis goes well, Collin and I will be having a baby on Dec 3rd. Yes, it will be another c-section. I will have those for the rest of the time that we are able to have children. But, you know what? I'm ok with that. Because I will never have to wonder when I'm going to have a baby, and I will never get to that REALLY uncomfortable stage in pregnancy.... because I have to deliver early! (Don't you all just hate me right now?? wink wink)

Besides slowly getting bigger... Collin and I haven't been up to too much. I am finishing Christmas presents and trying desperately to get all that I can ready before the baby comes. I am really close, but normally I'm not this far behind... so I feel like a slacker this year. We are also both working on our callings. I am in Primary (8 year olds) and Collin has some scout calling that he doesn't know what he does for yet... and he also teaches Elder's Quorum. I know.. a busy guy. Besides those main things.. we are just trying to get by. I must admit... life as a grown-up... not in school... is a little harder than we expected it to be. But hopefully things will improve soon. (It can't all be downhill right?)

Oh... and something else that I am learning... how to update my blog. Doesn't it look fabulous! I know... I know.. Thank you. (giggle)

I don't know what else to say... I will try to post more pictures... of our apartment... our new car... Collin in his work clothes, etc. I'm sure you guys are all dying to see what is going on over here! We are thinking of you all.. and I really appreciate all of you who read this.

Winks

Joshua's 2nd Birthday and 29 Weeks Pregnant

It was Joshua's birthday on Sept. 29th. He turned 2 years old! It was a sad and a good day all at the same time. I cried. Collin hugged me. We mourned the loss of our little one again. But there is always the knowledge that we will see him again someday. That brings hope. That is what makes it a good day. Because even though we don't get to celebrate that day with him, we know that we will celebrate even better, brighter things in the future. Plus, I really don't think that I can compare to heaven. I bet he's having a blast up there right now. (wink wink)

My mom and dad were kind enough to send us some beautiful flowers. Those are what you see. There were 3 dozen roses, all different colors. They bloomed beautifully. I'm so grateful that we have people who remember us and Joshua on these special days. We still miss our little man, but even here... we are doing well.



Here I am at 29 weeks! I know I still don't look very big, and BELIEVE me... I hear about it all the time when I tell people how far along I am. What can I say? I'm naturally thin... giggle... (Ok, I thought that was funny, hopefully other people think it is too.)


So far, everything in the pregnancy is going well. I am visiting the doctor often. (More often than I want.) I am taking medications to help me ward off pre-eclampsia, and I am taking my blood pressure regularly. I can't say I ever thought that I would own a blood pressure cuff, but I do. So... anyone else need to check theirs????

I have had an ultrasound recently, and our little one was already 2 pounds 2 ounces! He's double the size that Joshua was when he was born... so this is a very GOOD thing. He also is a little wiggler. Collin and I have been enjoying watching my stomach. (That sounds weird, doesn't it?) Collin wants me to say that "He puts a whole NEW meaning to belly-dancing." So, all is going great there.

All in all we are great right now... I'll try and post a picture of Collin so you guys can all see how good he looks in his new "office" clothes. He actually looks pretty darn good all dressed up. We love you guys and hope all is going well with all of you!!

Winks

My very first "Rag" Quilt

Well. Since becoming a homemaker. I have had a little bit more time to do things that I normally didn't have time to do, and this is one of those things. I really wanted to make a baby rag blanket. I must admit that it took a little longer than I expected it too, and I definitely learned a thing or two about making them in the future, but all in all, it turned out splendid.

Another thing that I learned, always buy fabric on sale! This blanket cost me about $23 to make, and though that doesn't sound like that much. I really think that I could have made it for cheaper. But if anyone is thinking about making one of these in the near future. Let me know! I now know some things about putting it all together.

Collin and I are still doing "swell". We're getting into the grove of this new life, and the grove of the kicking baby. He loves to kick and wiggle and make my stomach bounce up and down and all around. Sometimes this is absolutely amazing, and others (like when I want to take a nap) it can get really irritating. But I'm trying to be optimistic. He is a really blessing in our lives.

Another occurrence in our life is that we were able to see some friends. The Lindstroms! They stopped by and visited us in our new abode. And I even have a picture to prove it. (wink wink)

All is well over here, though. We are living and loving life for all we're worth. (well.... kinda.. :} )

24 Weeks Pregnant

I know that there are some of you out there who are "dying" to see my baby belly bump. So, I finally have a little bit of one to show off...

I hope that it's not too disappointing to those who have been wanting to see it. I'm doing my best over here! I still think it's pretty darn cute, though.

Oh... and we've thought of a name for the little guy.... but I'm not telling anyone what it is yet!! (giggle)

Other than my slowly growing belly, not much is going on... I'm still trying to figure out what I am going to do with my life as the chores around the house slow down. Any ideas???

Love you guys!

The Winks

Camp Little Lemhi- Located in Idaho (near Idaho Falls)

Joy, Collin, and Drew Winks just enjoying a nice rain.

The best picture I was ever able to get of the two of us!

Collin talking to all of the staff after a campfire. (Isn't he a handsome man in charge?)

Collin belly-flopping for a competition that was done at camp every week. It is called Tendoy's Test, and it is like a relay-race... except more boy-scouty.

Collin doing his best to look like a man in charge.

This is the Commissary staff. The guy on the left changed from time to time, but the other three and I were the main ones in there all summer long.

Hello Everybody!

I am so sorry that I have been neglecting this for so long. Once I start telling you about camp, I think you will understand.

Camp Little Lemhi started June 5th and ended July 31st. Collin worked as the Program Director there. Now, many of you are probably asking... what on earth is that? Ok. He was the main guy in charge of all the different areas at camp. Examples of areas include: Shooting Sports, Nature, Water Front, River Front, Scout Craft, etc. So, when these people needed items or were having concerns or desired something to be changed, etc... they would come to Collin. He would also check up on them during the course of a day to make sure that everything was going smoothly with the scouts and that everybody was doing their job correctly. Needless to say... it was a long day and lots of work for him. He would get to the Lodge at 7:30 AM and not leave until 10:00 0r 11:00 PM at night. (No, we did not see each other very much during this time.)

I (Joy) worked in the Commissary. This is the place where all the scouts would come to get their food. What this means... is that myself and a few other people prepared all 3 meals (didn't cook them, just prepared the items) and placed this food in totes. When meal time came, the scouts would come to the Commissary and pick up the tote, take it to their camp, and cook the food at their camp. I was up at 5:15 AM every morning and would finish around 5:00 PM every night. This did leave me some time in the evenings to do things, but let's be honest.... by then I was so tired I couldn't move or think or.... I think you get the picture.

It was a really neat experience, though. Collin and I learned a lot, simply being there. He was able to learn some really important interpersonal communication skills, and I was taught even more that I need to be patient. (Go figure on that one.. right? wink wink)

So.... camp ended and we moved all of our stuff to the Tri-Cities to stay with our parents until Collin was able to find a job. Well. We left Idaho on Monday, finished driving to Washington on Tuesday, drove to Yakima on Wednesday for a job interview, and had a job offer that day! Collin is now working for the BSA as a District Executive in Moses Lake, Wa. We have moved into an apartment here, and are working on settling in as we speak. (This mostly means that I am cleaning and organizing while Collin works, but that's ok because I enjoy doing that kind of thing.)

In all of this... I am 23 weeks pregnant, and so far all is well. We keep praying that all will be ok, but even if the pregnancy goes normal... I will still have a c-section in December, and they will take the baby early. So, it looks like early December is the due date now. I'll let you guys know more as we know more.

We're really excited to be settling in somewhere for a while, and we are both way excited to GRADUATED!! YAY! All in all, life is good. I can't complain.

Pictures of What We've Been "UP TO"..

Collin and I went on a "mini" vacation to the Washington Coast Beach a little while ago. (Don't ask me when, because I honestly do not remember...) When we were up there we tried to go on a hiking trail that goes around part of the peninsula that we were on. Needless to say, it was swamped.... so Collin and I try to press on and get to the other side. This is where Collin decided to take a few pictures of me, and as the whole world can see now... I am NOT an "outdoorsy" person. It was horrible! My feet were soaked, there were mosquitos everywhere, and then once we finally go to the other side.... there was more swampy parts! So we had to go back through it again! Ugh...

Other parts of the beach were amazing. We flew a kite (after we broke 3 of them... that's another story). We drove on the beach for miles and we played in the ocean just a tiny bit. That water is darn cold! Then after it was all said and done... we came home... to relax from our vacation!

Hopefully you guys enjoys these photos... I will try to post more as more fun pictures of us come up! We love you guys!

Joy and Collin

Life

Ok, to all those who are even interested in the life of the Winks Family. I am finally doing another post. I hope to someday do this with some regularity. But until our lives are regular... I don't think that that is possible right now.

Collin and I graduated in April from BYU-I. Well... technically I graduated and Collin still has an internship to do. So that's what we've been waiting around to do. Boys Scout Camp starts around June 1st. Until then Collin and I have been in the Tri-Cities with our families. We've been trying to be productive, but I must say... It's a lot harder when you don't have a place of your own and a list of things to do. (In many ways I've been going CRAZY!)

We stayed with Collin's family first and now we are staying with my family. Isn't it so interesting how night and day families can be? I sometimes have a hard time with Collin's family, but he feels the same way about mine too. We both love each other's families, but it's hard to be living with them for extended periods of time. We love what they are doing for us, and are so grateful that they can be here for us in our lives, but we truly miss having our "own" space.

Other than all this -exciting- stuff... it's been kinda slow. I am going to post pictures later of some things that we've done, but they are all on the IPhone and Collin has it... so I promise to post them later. You guys can see how "beautiful" we've both become.

We love you guys... or whoever is reading this.