It's a Girl!!!

I know not everyone knows yet that I'm pregnant, but now you can all know. I wanted to wait until we had the first ultrasound to make sure that there really is a baby that is growing before we announced it to the world. And now we have, so now all can know.
I am only 17 weeks along, but the ultrasound technician will do gender checks early, so I jumped at that opportunity to not only find out what we're having, but just so I could actually see my baby before my dr. apptointment at 22 weeks.
We went in yesterday and got to see our baby for the first time moving around on the screen. It was great to actually see it. Although, the experience didn't really make it feel any more real to me. The only thing that made me feel pregnant was the horrible nausea and exhaustion during my first trimester. Now that I'm over that, I just plain don't feel pregnant. I have to keep reminding myself that come July 18th, we are going to have a baby, and life is going to be very different for us.
Dave and I are very excited to have our first baby (aside from the two babies we already have - Emmy and Porter). It will definitely be an adventure to add a baby with two full time jobs and full time school between the two of us.
Dave will still be in school, as he still has another two years ahead of him (I feel like I've been saying "two years" for the last two years .... oh, wait, I have... hopefully, it's really two years this time). For those of you who don't know, Dave changed his major last semester from Construction Management to Secondary Education in Business and Marketing. He is extremely excited about the change and loving his classes so far. He has also decided to double major while he's at it in Business Management. It will be a lot of work and take a lot of patience and endurance to get through, but it will be worth it.
I will keep working at the neurology office where I am right now, and Dave will hopefully still be with Kohl's Dept. Store. He recently got a job there in Customer Service and Cash Office. He is only working part-time for now, but we are hoping he will be able to get a full-time management position soon.
So that is where we're at right now. Staying busy and planning for a new baby girl. I will keep everyone posted as time goes on.

Funny Videos

I posted these on my facebook account as well, so you don't need to watch from both. Porter was being hilarious on Sunday, so I decided to record a little bit of his personality. Dave was sitting at the counter going through coupons when he heard Porter knocking on the wall. When he finally looked over, he noticed Porter was trying to get the reflection on the wall, from Dave's watch. He loves to chase a laser too, but we just thought this was funny since we weren't even trying to get him to play. Now you can all get a little taste of our funny Porter.
With the first recording, I didn't realize I wouldn't be able to rotate the picture, so I apologize for the sideways video, but you'll get the idea.



The second video is the funniest, I think (you'll be able to tell from my uncontrollable laughter in the background). He was looking for the reflection for like 5 minutes before I started recording. Even today, two days later, he was in the kitchen looking for it. He is so stupid, yet so smart at the same time.

Holiday Update ... A little late

So I know I'm a little late in posting, but I've been too busy and tired to even get online lately. Just like I usually report on these posts, we didn't really do anything too exciting, but still had a good Christmas and New Years.
We spent Christmas with my family in Syracuse and had a lovely time with them. And again, as usual, I am horrible at taking pictures so I don't have any of Dave and me, but I did take some of Camille's family on Christmas Eve. After doing a little nativity skit, Camille read some Christmas stories, and the kids loved them.
It turned out to be a pretty humorous Christmas morning as we opened presents and discovered that my parents got both Dave and me the same presents we got for each other. I guess that goes to show how boring our lives have become -- we are so predictable and with such little variety that there are only so many things we want and need.
The next week, we were able to go to Blanding to spend a New Year's Eve and a few days with Dave's family. We had a good time getting away from the hustle of our life at home and being able to just relax for a few days and spend some slow-paced days with family.
Unfortunately, we are now back into the groove of life and back to work and school. I hope we can last until the next holiday ... whenever that will be.

Goodbye Ashley

This past weekend was a sad one, as it came time to say goodbye to my best friend of ten years so she could leave me and move to warm and sunny Florida. Ashley and I met when I moved to Utah my sophomore year of high school. Ironically, we didn't really like each other when we first met, but somehow, we started hanging out more during our junior year of high school, and we became best friends.
There have been many times throughout our friendship that we have had to say goodbye. The first being our Freshman year of college when I dropped Ashley off across the country at what was then Southern Virginia College. She returned to Utah for a short time, and then it came time to part ways once again when she decided to move to San Diego. Shortly after that, I then left for a year and a half for my mission in Chicago. Upon returning from my mission, we moved to Provo to be roommates for the first time, and it was a blissful time with so many great memories: the Southbeach Diet, working out at 24-hr. fitness (when we actually mustered up the energy), watching reruns of NYPD Blue, eating regularly at the healthiest of restaurants - Burger Supreme, taking Sunday naps in our shared room, crushing on stupid boys and strategizing ways to see them and make them love us.
After a year and a half of living together, Ashley decided to move forward in her eternal progression and she got married. That, too, was a type of good-bye.
Although we have had many times that we have parted ways, this good-bye is the first real one, as we will now be across the country from one another for the rest of our lives. This good-bye just made me realize even more that I am really growing up. (You'd think at age 27, I would have already realized this, but I think I've been in denial). It is amazing to think back to that time when you were still in high school, or even the beginning the years of college, and you don't even come close to understanding the changes that life will bring. It seems like I went from being a young, single girl, without too many cares to being a married woman preparing to raise a family in just a blink of an eye. It is truly amazing how quickly time flies.
With time's passing, and changing circumstances, it is nice and comforting to reflect on the great memories of the past. It is also a blessing to reflect on the friendships you've had and to think about the impact others have made on your life.
So although it is hard for me to say good-bye to Ashley and let her move clear to Florida, I know that it is part of life, and a good part of life. And I can say that I have truly been blessed by her friendship and the experiences we have shared together.

And the stockings were hung...

Unfortunately, we don't have a fireplace and mantle to hang our stockings on, so our little shelf will have to do for now.
My make-shift holly-berries with pine. I think it looks much prettier in person. My little pine tree branches have pine cones in them and are frosted. They are so pretty with the berries.
Porter has found that he loves to lay and play underneath the Christmas tree. He is sooo cute. If only our Christmas tree skirt wouldn't end up all tangled every day from him running around the tree with Emmy. I guess I can just count my blessings and be grateful that they haven't attempted to eat our ornaments or any part of the tree.
A horrible picture of me and Dave at the Festival of Trees. We went with my parents, Kathryn, and Brittany. It's just not the same to us anymore without going for a Sunshine Generation performance. Yeah, we're all geeks, but we have great Christmas time memories from it all.
And of course a cute picture of my too perfect sisters, Brittany and Kathryn. Their cuteness just makes me sick.


The weekend after Thanksgiving I was so excited and motivated to decorate my house for Christmas, and I got parts of it done, but still have yet to finish. I've been waiting to do all my decorating to post pictures, but at the rate I'm going, my house may be as decorated as it's going to get. I thought I'd post pictures of the few things I have done. The tree is a work in progress, so I am not going to post that picture yet. Of course I do have a cute one of Porter under the tree, so that I will have to post that one even though the tree is incomplete.

Even with all the decor, I still don't feel like it's Christmas time. I was so excited for the holidays as soon as October came around, but I'm just having a hard time getting in the holiday spirit and really feeling like it's Christmas. I've been trying to do all I can -- listen to Christmas music, decorate the house, work on making Christmas gifts, and we even went to the Festival of Trees. However, I'm just not feeling it. I am going to blame my lack of Christmas spirit on work. Work just seems to get in the way of everything. Unfortunately, work is going to have to remain a part of my life, so I will continue trying to get into the spirit of giving and holiday cheer.

Gratitude for Trials

For most of you who know me, you know that I generally have an early bedtime, so to be awake and writing at this time of night is a rarity. However, there is reason for my being up late. Tonight started out as a less than average night. I came home from work tired and worn out as usual to Dave, who was not so happy with me because of a little disagreement we had earlier in the day. So after sitting down for the night, we began a discussion talking about where we're at in life, where we're at in our marriage, and what things we need to work on right now. Although the discussion started out with more frustrations than anything, it ended on a really good note and with an overwhelming feeling of gratitude for what our Heavenly Father has given us.

As I've mentioned in a previous post, the beginning months and years of our marriage have had their fill of trials (as do most). Through this time, as we've suffered from multiple job losses and trouble getting pregnant and watched others our age seem to have success with both matters, we have wondered why these specific trials are those that we've had to face. I grew up in a home where my father had the same job for 30 years and layoffs were not something I understood. Dave has grown up as a hard worker who has always been valued for his strong work ethic and never thought that holding a job would be a challenge he'd have to face. And yet here we are, two years into our marriage, with three job losses already and an overwhelming question in our minds wondering if job stability will ever be something that we will be able to experience.

During these specific trials, I have listened to many people speak about their gratitude for the trials they have been given and the blessings that have accompanied those trials. And I have continually wondered how they could be grateful. I honestly never thought that I would come to a time in my life when I would be grateful these specific challenges I have been given. I had lost hope that I would ever see the blessings from these times.

Finally, tonight, it all clicked for me. As we have talked about our struggling economy and the large amounts of people who are also experiencing job losses, I couldn't help but feel grateful that these challenges have come at this time in our lives. There are so many people out there who have lost jobs while they have had large families to support and large bills to pay. Although we have suffered job loss, we have been lucky to experience it while we're young, without children, and while I am still working with an income.

And I realize that just because we have experienced layoffs early in life doesn't mean we will be immune to them later in life. But how grateful I am that we have learned how to deal with these challenges so that we will know how to face them in the future. I also think about how grateful I am for these life lessons that we have gained at such a young age. We are being taught how to live within our means and prepare for ourselves for any upcoming struggles in our economy and in turn within our family.

I can finally say that I truly feel blessed for these specific challenges that we have faced. I am grateful to our Heavenly Father for the many opportunities he is giving Dave and me to learn and to grow together. I only pray and hope for those of you who, too, are facing challenges that seem unbearable. I pray that you will get to your day when you can understand the reasons behind your trials and feel the incredible blessings that come with them.

Nothing Really

So, I'm feeling quite bad that I haven't posted anything in almost a month. But I have no exciting things going on in my life, and I have no pictures, and I just assume no one wants to read a boring, no picture, no excitement post. Well, too bad, cuz I'm subjecting all of you to the boredom today. It is about noon on Saturday, and I'm laying here still in my pajamas in complete misery. I started to get sick last Saturday with a sore throat and slight cough, and it has just progressed throughout the week. Unfortunately, I haven't been able to take time off work to rest and I haven't really been able to sleep at night with the horrible coughing, so I have just continued to go down hill and I feel like it's a never ending cycle. When will the misery end? I really hope I can get better soon, because I'd like a good night's rest soon. And I'd really like to feel well during the holiday festivities with family.

As for any updates with life, I really don't have too many. I started training this last week for a new position at work. I'm currently the office manager at work, but my biller is having a baby next month and won't be returning. I thought this would be a good opportunity for me to learn a new skill. However, I didn't really want to give up managment and my boss didn't want me to stop managing, so I am bringing more stress into my life and will take upon the billing and remain the business manager with an assistant/office manager to help me. I'm looking forward to the change, but not looking forward to having extra work while I'm still learning the billing. I hope it will come quickly and I will be able to handle both positions without getting too stressed out.

As for Dave, he is currently looking for a new job, so if anyone out there knows of anything available that would provide an okay income, but flexibility while he's in school, please let us know. I know that with the economy right now, it is near impossible to find a good job (we learned that lesson well when he was laid off last year), but we are going to continue to hope and pray that he will be able to find something soon.

Well, I hope all is well for everyone and that this season is a good one for everyone.