This year's portrait

Every year we take a photo of ourselves on our anniversary and I thought I'd post this year's since I am soo pregnant. Thanks to Tyan for taking it. I had some without my glasses but my eyes look slightly crazy since I can't really see the camera.

Ocho

Well, today is my eighth wedding anniversary. Can you believe it's already been a year since my last one? This anniversary I wanted to talk a little bit about my man if you'll permit...
I first saw Mike on my first day of college at BYU. He and I were sitting across the circle from each other at our orientation group. I saw him and was immediately attracted so I decided I would smile at him and not look away until he did. That was a first for me. Anyhow, Mike decided he would be confident too so we had a good long look at each other. It was probably only two seconds long but it felt like an eternity! Within a few minutes of introduction and some silly get to know you activities some girl came up and said he and his roommate were in the wrong group and were supposed to be in hers. I was totally disappointed and for the rest of the day I looked for him among the thousand or so students wandering around with their "Y" groups. I saw him a few times that day and that night at the dance I looked everywhere for him. I finally spied him leaving the dance with a couple other guys. I grabbed a roommate and a new friend and dragged them after me in hot pursuit. Another act of confidence that was totally not me - I was trying a new way of being at college. Really I was kind of trying to do what I thought my best friend and hottie from high school Marisa would do. Anyhow, we finally caught up to them a little ways out of the dance and said, "Hey, where do you think you're going?" Mike turned around and said something like, "Us? Nowhere...we're going back to the dance." So I grabbed his hand - trembling the whole way and walked back to the dance. We danced and I thought he was an amazing dancer and was terrified that he would feel how much I was shaking by this point! We finished out the night talking and dancing and that was it - we parted ways and went home. I didn't see him again for a couple days and didn't know if I ever would again.

Then that Sunday I was a couple minutes late for church(me, late? never.) It was held in a amphitheater-like classroom so when my roomie Mary and I walked in we were seen by everyone and could in turn see everyone there. As I was about to sit I thought I caught a glimpse of that guy from the dance so I spent the next twenty minutes or so trying to non discreetly turn around and see if indeed it was him. You can't really do that non discreetly by the way. Well, it was him and by some chance we had ended up in the same ward or congregation. And the rest is history...well, not really but I don't have time to explain how quickly I fell for him, how he then left to serve a two year mission, and how we married very soon(4 months) after he got home - too quick from my now adult perspective! But it all worked out so I guess it's okay.

So here we are many years later - with two kids and one on the way(like in two days). And I really never knew it could be so good. Somehow looking across that orientation circle many years ago my subconscious sensed that this man would do the dishes and vacuum pretty much every day, and that he'd not mind that I am a gassy person, and that he'd like the same movies as me and would want to watch them as often as I do, or that he'd have almost as many moles as me(well, not that many - but at least he's got a few). Because somehow he does/has all of those things and I'm not sure I knew that he would before I married him. Sometimes fate does really good things for you.

He's the boy/man of my dreams. If you look at the list I made when I was 17 or so he'd fill every requirement and then some. Except he is still not really amazing at back massages and I did put that towards the top of my list. But he's getting better all the time... And I love him more than ever. He's so good to me. He is the most unselfish person I know. And that is amazing that I can say that when I get to see him behind closed doors. But he works like a dog all day and comes home and serves us all until he goes to bed. He's really funny and makes me laugh hard all of the time. But most people don't know that because he is kind of shy. He is also super nice and gets teary eyed any time he hears about others going through pain or rough times. And he's a great Dad. I only hope my boys can grow up to be a man like he is. He keeps getting better at things too - amazing me every step of the way. Lately, he's gotten really good at fixing things around our house or our cars. Neither of us thought he'd be good at it but he decided he wanted to be so he has learned how to be and works hard to solve all of the problems around the house. And in the end, he's totally hot. And he keeps getting better looking. I hate that boys can do that.

Here are some facts you may not know about him:

-He graduated with a degree in Marriage, Family, and Human Development which means he's an awesome husband because he read all of those relationship books we're all trying to get our husbands to read!

-He had a leading role in several plays in high school including playing Snoopy in a musical. And I said he is shy? Weird, but he is sometimes.

-He's a really good runner though he works so much(like his short days are 12 hours) that he doesn't get much time to pursue it - but he's always trying to.

-He's a really good movie critic. And even though I spent years in school studying it - he may be a better one than me. I get too emotionally involved and sometimes I'm kinda dense. He always has really good perspective on them. I wouldn't rather watch a movie with anyone but him.

-He is destined to be a pastry chef - his baking skills are impeccable - but will probably keep that talent only as a hobby - much to my delight(because I eat all of his treats) and my demise(because I eat all of his treats).

Whew - that was a long post. In the end I just wanted to say that I'm really happy to be married to Mike. That I'll take whatever life can throw at me as long as I get to be with him when it hits.

But anyhow, happy anniversary sweetheart!

Name my hen - starts tomorrow...

Tomorrow, on my other blog I will be asking for name ideas for my little unnamed hen. If you've got any go on over and comment on that post. Click here!

Muffins and final Sundays

After church today I happily changed out of my church clothes - knowing it would be the last time for a long time I'd be trying to slither out of panty-hose while pregnant. Ahh...

Anyhow, this beautiful rainy afternoon I also tried making the muffins Meghan suggested on her blog. It's a recipe from Deceptively Delicious that she put on her blog.

Peanut Butter Banana Muffins.

They are soo tasty. I mean like ridiculously tasty. They are really easy to make and sort of healthy. You should give them a try.

Pretty papers

My multi-talented friend Tyan has begun selling her ultra pretty stationary on etsy. It's simple, stylish and oh so elegant. You should check it out.

One year ago today...

....I was sitting in my OBGYN's office waiting for my ultrasound. I was HUGELY excited. Mike was with me and we had gotten Elijah out of school so could find out if he was getting that sister he was praying for or another brother. Andrew was at my sister-in-law Anna Lisa's house since he was only 2 and wouldn't have really gotten what was going on.

After getting there we found out that my appointment was an hour earlier than I had thought and they were going to make me come back the next week. I was sooo bothered - as any pregnant girl would be to have to wait. But then they decided they could fit me in if I would wait. We waited and finally got in. Immediately I knew something was wrong by the look on the technician's face. She then went out and got my doctor and when my doctor came in they checked a few things together and then they sent Elijah out. Once that happened I started getting tears in my eyes. Mike still had no idea that anything was wrong but I knew something big was about to happen. All I could say to my doctor was, "The baby isn't doing so well, is it?" She replied, "No honey, the baby's not alive."

It turned out that the baby died sometime in the days before the ultrasound - probably about two days before. We had to go out and explain to my excited 5 year old that the baby had died. We were all profoundly sad. It was really hard. We then had to make the calls to moms and dads and sisters and brothers to let them know what had happened. We still aren't really sure what happened with the baby. Though she was a little girl - 19 weeks along. She looked healthy but it appears that my placenta got some sort of infection which in turn in the weeks before my ultrasound made it so my baby wasn't getting the rich healthy blood it needed.

At that time we were living in Kingwood in a big house that we wanted to get out of and Mike was in a job that was going down hill because of the housing crunch. Here's my post from that time last year. I am sharing all of this because now this morning I was once again at my OBGYN's office waiting for my appointment. Except this time it's a week before I am going to give birth to my third son. We live two hours north of where we used to live. Mike is working in a new job with great oppurtunity and we live in a small rental home with five chickens out back. In some ways, we are so far from where we were last year and yet we couldn't be happier. If someone would have told me that in a year we'd be here with all of the changes that have gone on, I know I wouldn't have had the faith to believe them. In fact, my faith is what was most affected by that experience. It took me a long time to hope again. To believe that good would come in my life. I feel bad that I lost that hope so easily and I also feel grateful for a patient Father in Heaven who was willing to gently show me the way back to hope again.

I already was learning that you never know where you are going to end up but this year has really exhibited that for me. And even though you may not have any idea how things will all work out or how the path goes on or where it ends up - you cannot give up hope. I really hope now that I can gain the strength that nothing can beat me. That no matter what life throws at me I am going to keep going forward. That I won't ever give up. Hopelessness is an ugly place to be. I decided after the miscarriage and other things that were happening that I couldn't put my trust in the "arm of flesh" - meaning my husband's job, my house, or even the lives of my children or my husband. It's a hard thing for any mom to even fathom when it comes to losing a child or husband - but I now believe that even those experiences won't give us a "get out of life free" card. We cannot be beat. We must get up, brush ourselves off, and keep going. Though the pain will be intense and sometimes, if not often, seem overwhelming, I think if we are willing to get back up then we will be strengthened and joy will return to us.

I have been so blessed this year. By things such as this pregnancy, by a loving relationship with my husband, and by the little things friends and teachers have said. When we moved it had only been three months since the miscarriage and our new church congregation or ward asked us to speak - as is customary for the new people. The topic they gave us was, "Blessings after tribulation". I was like, "Are you serious? Did someone put you up to this?" At that time I had some things to say about that - but this year has been a case study in it. So, for all of you who are feeling like you don't know how you're going to get out of where you are now, or how you'll ever get what you are hoping for...don't worry - it's coming. And though it may not be the simple point A to point B that you thought it would be, all those extra stops in between will make the destination all the sweeter and fuller. As long as you don't give up hope in God. Keep on trusting. Even in if means you have to chuckle, shake your head and say, "I have no idea how this is all going to work out, but it'll sure be fun to see how He does it."

I'm sure many of you are learning these same things and could share amazing stories of ending up somewhere completely different then where you thought. Wouldn't life be dull if it were any other way? We should look back and remember those changes & share them - to remind all of us of the beauty of life and the necessity of hope. "For we are saved by hope" -Romans 8:24

So now, I wonder where I will be next April 24th?

If I were a rich man...

When I was growing up my dad kept a huge water bottle in his closet that he would empty the change in his pockets to at the end of each day. Then at the beginning of December, we'd pour it out on the floor, count it up, and then divide the money between the kids. We used that money to buy each other Christmas presents with. It was always so exciting and there was always way more money in there than we thought there'd be. Well, not to long ago my dad gave us a water bottle just like he had along with some change to get us started. We've been filling it for about 8 or 9 months and tonight we decided we'd count our spoils so far...

It was a math lesson, history lesson, and bonding time all in one. We even found a penny from 1824! My dad must have slipped that in there.

We first divided each coin by it's type and then by dollar increments. We started with the smaller coins first and ended with the quarters just because we knew that would be the most exciting pile to count.

As you can see above the bottle is barely full of coins at all and yet the grand total was(drum roll please): $148.20

We were so excited and as we counted we all came up with what we would use the money for once the entire bottle was full - years from now. We're pretty sure we want it to be a trip of some sort and it seems that if you fill the whole bottle you've gotta have roughly between two and three thousand dollars - maybe more! It's a really easy way to save - I empty out my wallet of coins whenever there are some in there and any coin we find around the house, on the street, or in our pockets goes right in. Of course it's not a get rich quick kinda thing but I it'll do for now...

We also had a lot of fun with these photos...disregard my boys fingernails in these photos. Needless to say they got a trimming after this photo was taken!

So, thanks Grandpa - for all that you do. We love you!

p.s. Here's that penny - it's 184 years old!:

No wonder I don't like the news...

No joke, these were the top 5 stories on a news site I was on today...geez louise people! Are you kidding? All five about death? It's so ridiculous!

Worlds of wonder

I love terrariums and for a new post I had to make a few. You can read how to do it at the other blog. It's the perfect activity for those of you who don't want a garden yet but do like plants...

lousy.

if the way i'm feeling today is indicative of how these next two weeks are gonna go then i'm bummed. i am soooo tired. i went to the grocery store today and got:

frozen burritos
canned soup
pasta and pasta sauce
and some more canned soup

how do you like that, family? i just couldn't get myself to buy anything that required any sort of effort. it's sad though - you hear stories of pregnant woman running in races days before they deliver. i don't even want to push a grocery cart through the store. next time around i really must start better so am exercising. with andrew i ran until i was 8 months prego. and i remember feeling pretty great most of the time but...

i don't remember how i usually feel at the end of pregnancy. this time around it's lousy.




p.s. as i was looking for an image to go with this post i found a few images that made me laugh - a lot. maybe you need to be really tired and looking at lots of images of cats but these were some of the ones that i laughed about...

p.p.s. i usually hate photos with captions...next thing i'm gonna find myself buying posters with babies playing saxophone like angela from the office...

I never took typing in school...

63 words

Speedtest

Mike says I have a weird way of typing but it works for me. I never took any typing class at school so I never learned that whole hand positioning thing. Maybe I'd be faster if I did. My mom is like a million miles fast. Maybe I can convince her to go take the test so she can wow us all. In any case, go take it and tell us what you got!

Check it out, ya'll

On my other blog we are having our first contest with actual prizes! It's a recipe contest so go check it out!

Another man's treasure...

Doesn't every body dream of finding some hole in the wall thrift store that no one goes to and yet it holds complete treasures? I thought stores like that were things of the past because of ebay and dealers but I've found one! I had driven past it a million times. It's this junky little place with bars on the windows with a tiny parking lot in front. I finally ventured in and struck gold. I've only gone 5 or 6 times since and every time I find something amazing. If you are looking for mid-century furniture, retro typewriters, books, toys, etc. you are in luck! And the best part is that there are no price tags so you bring something up to the front and in your most nonchalant voice possible say, "How much are these?" and every time they look at what your getting like it's complete junk and say, "A dollar." Or for this cool sofa I got, "Five dollars?" like, would you pay that for this sofa?...and I try to remain calm and say very quickly, "I'll take it!" If I were to add up the value of the few things I've gotten there in the past three months it would be in the hundreds for sure but I don't care - I'm not selling them. They are all for me.

Another time I found one of these - in near perfect condition. I honestly had seen this toy and wished I could get it for my kids but it was soo expensive I knew it didn't make sense. Well, when I found it at the store they gave it to me for $5 bucks! See how much it usually costs?!
And it happened again today...

A couple of years ago I went to a used book store to find some cool old books that I could put in my boys room as decoration and also for use. You know, like real simple or Martha Stewart always has the coolest stack of books in all of their rooms? Well, I found some perfect ones and finally got the lady to give them to me for about $4.00/each. I couldn't afford many for that price so I picked out my favorite six depending on color/subject. Well, I've loved those books. They have been the inspiration for my entire boy's room. And they love them too because they are all about science. Well today at my fav store I first found a really big fish bowl and immediately picked that up. It doesn't look big but if you see Andrew's hand in the back you can see better it's size. Then I wandered over to the book section just to look real quick and happened upon all of these, from the same series I had gotten before: I starting breathing quickly and looking around to see if anyone was watching. At other thrift stores it seems the minute you look interested you get a crowd around you to see what you are looking at in case you put it down or look away. Well, the only other lady in the store was not interested in the slightest so I ran up to the front and asked for help getting them down. I had no idea what they would cost but there were 34 of them, they were in beautiful shape, and I wasn't going to let them go. I took them up to the front and the girl looked at them and started typing on her calculator. I was thinking maybe she'd charge me $50 bucks and I was willing to pay that. She turned around and said, "If they are a quarter a piece that makes it $8.50, that ok?" I about died and said, "YES! That's great." and the fish tank was another $.75 cents I think. So here were are. We went to the pet store and picked up the fish, named Arthur, and the stuff for the tank.

And we are all very happy with our days conquests.

For Sale

Hey everyone - we are selling our van since Mike rides his bike to work and I use the landcruiser. We also don't want to move with both cars so if you are interested check the link on the side or pass this along to someone who might be. Even though minivans aren't super cool - this is a really nice one with all of the features moms love.

Want to go shopping?

I do. But my version of shopping is looking at beautiful things, pretending like I am actually going to buy them, and then getting off the computer or leaving the store. I don't do it too often because you walk a thin line between fun and covetous depression. But, this post on the real simple blog about art for kids has led me to my new favorite girl. Elizabeth Soule.
I plan on unabashedly copying her for some personal work. I love taking photos of things - way more than of people. So, it's like TOTAL eye candy. Go and shop - or at least pay her site a visit.

Essential skills for danger loving boys...

My oldest has been asking for me to teach him how to sew for a long time. There may come a time or an age when he realizes that most boys don't sew and wouldn't want to know anymore but luckily he doesn't feel that way yet. I decided it was time to start because I see that reality looming and because I think he's got enough hand eye coordination now to pull it off.

Even if your son isn't into sewing this book may convince him to be. This has got to be one of my top favs of all time. It's got great stories, activities, articles, etc. all on being a boy.And there's one little paragraph in the front of the book that may be good material for convincing your boy of the value of sewing. See number 6 under essential gear? Click the image to see it larger...it's some good stuff.


And since we've got him into the basic hand stitching - it's pretty easy to get him onto the machine. Actually, I think every kid wants to play around with a sewing machine - it's pretty much a power tool. Luckily mine isn't too nice a machine so I'm not stressed about him using it. But I've seen some really cool kid-friendly sewing machines at the craft store. And they only cost around $25.00 - we may have to invest in that someday. Our first project now that we've got the basics down is going to be making a bag to hold all of his essential gear. He's totally excited - and so am I!

Good day sunshine and the snake's den

Today is one of those days where you walk outside and it's like a breathe of the freshest, coolest, most perfect air possible. All of the windows are open and the thermostat is at 72 degrees and holding. I am in serious nesting mode and have been crafting all morning including getting to those bandanna shorts/pants. Andrew is a little small for them but he assured me that he likes them, "kinda goofy."
Here's both boys in their shorts. I'm really digging them actually.I told them if they sat really quick so I could see their shorts they could play with their water guns. They're ready to go.
As you can see here...
Also, on an earlier post I had pictures of Elijah with some snakes he had found - he lost one but I let him keep the other. We found a terrarium at the thrift store($1) and put some soil, rocks, and a little log in it. The snake seemed happy enough and immediately buried himself because he is noctural. I'm not sure if I should be calling it a "he" but anyhow...we researched it and found that it is a "rough earth snake" and likes to eat earth worms and snails. "He" is about 8-10 inches long which means it's an adult. I wonder if we'll be seeing some baby snakes any time soon...Everyday Elijah has been gathering snails for the snake to eat and we've found that watching the snails is more fun than the snake! That red stuff is watermelon and snails love to eat it. They are all munching on it as I type, in fact. Aren't they cute?

Phew! That's a long post. I am totally blogging a lot lately. It makes up for those weeks where I don't even try to post something...

It's baaack...

The new office episodes started tonight! We don't have TV so we'll have to wait to watch the show until tomorrow online.




I know this is from a past episode but I love "second life" Dwight.

My broody Donut

I have a cute little hen who thinks her eggs are fertilized and won't move - that's called going broody. I'm not sure yet what to do about it but here's a cute video of her getting mad when I'm trying to get my other hen's eggs out from under her.

Baby booties from an old sweater...

When I read the challenge on blue yonder I was SO excited to come up with something. I had a hard time falling asleep for several nights as I thought of all of the things I might make. I finally decided I wanted to make something from felted sweaters so I went over to the local thrift store in search of wool sweaters. I was bummed though when the girl working there said that just the day before she had pulled all of the winter clothing and put it in storage. So, pretty let down, I looked around the store and found no inspiration in anything else there. A few days passed and as I was cleaning up my boy's room I found an old sweater vest that my husband had accidentally put through the wash. I kept it because I thought that the cabled knit looked cool once it was felted. Then I realized I could still make my project though the sweater is red so these little booties probably won't work on the little boy that's coming at the end of this month. So, here it is...

Here's the sweater I started with...
I had no idea what I was doing since I've never made anything like this so I made a pattern on some yellow paper and then traced it out on some cotton.
I sewed that together just to see if it would work and though it doesn't look like much, I was more confident that I could move forward...
Here are the pieces all cut out and ready to be sewn. I did it by hand because the felt was bulky and the pieces were small so I think that's the only way it could be done.Ta-da! My first one is done. I was even able to use the button and the botton hole from the sweater - I'm glad because I didn't know how I was going to sew a button hole by hand!
And here are the finished booties. I still have plenty of felt left and I think I'll make a little rattle or a little bunny or something with it. But for today, I am done. My coloring is terrible on these so that the felt looks different in every photo...oh well.
It was actually a really easy project. I like felt because it's so forgiving and you don't have to sew any seams. And aren't they so cute? Now I've just gotta get this baby to come!

p.s. I made a little friend to go along with the booties. Does this strange looking little guy make you all realize how bad I am at doing things like this? Even though he is strange - Andrew couldn't wait to get his hands on him.

The book I forgot...

On an earlier post we were supposed to share our favorite children's books and I was so afraid I'd forget one...well, I did and here it is:


This is a little story of planting a garden starting from seeds and all of the beautiful colors the garden produces. This book is really huge - it's probably 16"x20" or more and is so beautiful. I found it at a thrift store last year and since then have been trying to figure out a way to decorate my kid's room with it's pages. I also love the first page of the book:Here's the boys with the book open - you can see how big it is:


I'm so glad I remembered.