October 31, 2016

Ward Halloween Party

This year we dressed up as Tony Perkis and a fat kid from the movie Heavy Weights. Andy made an awesome Tony (it takes a real man to wear spandex)! And who better to play a fat kid than a pregnant lady?
Me & Andy.

Andy is Perkisizing!

Me, Andy & Ray.

Our friends Dani and Donny came to the Halloween party with us. It was fun to go trick or treating with their little boys.

There was a chili cook off and my recipe won 1st place. Yay! I won a bag full of mandarin oranges. 

October 29, 2016

Nesting + Attitude

They say when a woman is pregnant she will go through something called the "nesting phase." For most women this means deep cleaning, organizing, or decluttering something like your entire house. With all of our recent home improvement projects (patching walls, texturing, painting, repairing furniture, redoing other furniture, changing out light fixtures, etc.) I haven't exacting been able to "nest." As we finish one room, boxes get shuffled into it so we can finish the next room. Its an on going and viscous cycle that I hope ends very soon. I currently pride myself on being able to keep two rooms in the house clean: the kitchen and the bathroom.

Bye bye sea foam green bathroom. Thank you Andy!

Despite the clutter, tools, and saw dust that seem to surround me, I have found one small way in which I can nest. I have become the master at making to do lists, paying bills, filing paperwork, sorting through piles of paper, and donating things we no longer need to the local thrift store. While this may not be the ideal way to nest, it's working out okay for me.

As I was sorting through I stack of papers one day, I came across a handout I had received at church . I looked over this paper and thought to myself, "I can't throw this out, it has so much good stuff on it!" So, I'd like to share it with you- it's not your typical church hand out.

Nephi
Laman & Lemuel
1:1 Knew he had “goodly parents”
2:11 Murmured against their father
2:16 Believed all the words spoken by his father
2:13 Did not believe all Lehi’s words
2:16, 19 Went to the Lord for understanding
2:12 “Knew not the dealing of … God”
3:7 Was willing to go and do what the Lord commanded
3:5 Complained that the Lord had asked “a hard thing”
3:15 Refused to return without the records
3:14 Wanted to give up after one try
4:1, 3 Knew that the Lord was “mightier than Laban”
3:31 Doubted that the Lord could deliver Laban to them

When I look at this chart one thing really stands out to me- the difference in attitude that existed between the brothers. Nephi had a can do attitude and he trusted in his parents and the Lord. Laman and Lemuel didn't trust their parents or the Lord and the two brothers were very lazy.

As I started to ponder of the lives of Nephi, Laman and Lemuel it started to become apparent to me that our attitudes can really shape the path that our lives take. Nephi tried to be the best version of himself that he could be, despite the hardships in life and the Lord constantly blessed him. Laman and Lemuel didn't really care about anyone besides themselves and they complained constantly about the hand they had been dealt in life and as a result the Lord didn't bless them. The two turned against various family members and eventually wars were started that lasted for generations. This realization was mind blowing for me. Our attitude can be a really powerful tool for good or evil. What kind of attitude do you have? Are you the type of person you want to be? Does your attitude need to change? If so, what are you going to do about it?

October 22, 2016

Cravings

I have been learning that pregnancy cravings are a very real thing. Often when I tell Andy what I'm craving he laughs and then tells me that I need to make a list of everything I have craved during my pregnancy-- and that my friends is what this blog post is for.

I have had morning sickness my entire pregnancy, awesome right? Initially, I could only keep down the thing I despise- fast food. McDonald's and Taco Bell became my friends. Any sort of fruit or vegetable (things I would normally eat) would come back up. It was a tragedy!

Gradually I have been able to re-introduce most fruits and vegetables but there are still days they don't agree with me.

I have craved a wide variety of things this pregnancy and not all of these cravings have been satisfied. Are you ready for the list?

Rootbeer
Sour gummy worms
Pineapple mango smoothies from McDonald's
Chips and cheese sauce from Taco Bell
Tater tots
Black bean brownies
Turkey sandwiches with mayo and swiss cheese (I ate them for a week straight)
Meatballs (at 5:00 am)
Subway
Turkey with mashed potatoes and gravy (in the middle of the night)
Steak
Feta cheese (not allowed)
Bleu  cheese (not allowed)
Grapes
Strawberries
Artichoke dip
Every fast food restaurant on the block looked good one day
Green chile casserole
Salad
Tacos
Taco salad
Chocolate puffy rice cereal

October 11, 2016

A Russell Story

Julie, came up for my baby shower. When you got back home Russell (age 7) asked to see pictures of the baby. She said that she didn't have any pictures of the baby because it hadn't been born yet. Russell was confused and wanted to see the pictures. He was sure the baby had been born because Julie came to help give the baby a shower. Wrong kind of shower buddy!

October 10, 2016

Baby Shower

My friends in our old ward threw me a baby shower this past weekend. Words can't express how grateful I am for their love and support. Below are some of my favorite photos from the shower.

Some gifts.

Refreshments.

The cake.

This cake was so good! Poppy seed with raspberry.

One of my Young Women made this for Andy- so funny and clever!

This baby will be our greatest adventure.

Too cute!

This hat is pretty awesome!

Friends!

My Dad and Julie were able to come down and visit this weekend as well, it was super good to see them!

Andy and I both spoke in Sacrament Meeting on Sunday, it was nice to have my parents there to support us. I think both of our talks went fairly well.

October 8, 2016

The Ever Growing Bump

My bump is smaller than most people according to the doctor, but there is a full size baby in there.

The bump!

October 4, 2016

Picking Apples & Pears

I'm not sure why, but I thought it would be a good idea to go pick apples and pears in my third trimester. We drove out to our favorite farm and picked to our hearts content, I mean Andy picked to his hearts content. We came home with about 250 lbs of produce, eggs, jerky, cucumbers, and melons all for about $60.00.

Don't mind the out house in the background lol.

What does one do with that many apples and pears? One makes applesauce and pearsauce for baby of course! The pearsauce turned out so good! I'm not sure how long it will last on our shelves.

Fathers

I made a goal to read all of the April 2016 General Conference talks before the next General Conference happened. While I missed my goal by a handful of talks, reading the talks helped me to feel better prepared for Conference. I have started most mornings out reading a talk or two and I really feel like that set the tone for the rest of my day.

One talk really got me thinking and I am so glad I had the opportunity to read it, it was called Fathers and it was given by Elder D. Todd Christofferson. In this talk, Elder Christofferson talks about how the world and media view fathers. Fathers are often portrayed as dumb, pushovers and often they are blamed for everything being their fault. This is the sad reality of the world we live in.

Elder Christofferson went on to talk about the sacred role of fatherhood. Father's are to preside over the home. They are supposed to be the leaders of their family, especially in spiritual matters (Family Home Evening, scripture study, prayer, etc). In my mind I think of fathers as spiritual giants.

This talk got me thinking about what I would like our home to be like when our little one is born. What kind of father and leader will my husband be?

Then naturally my thoughts turned to my own father and I was overcome with so much love and gratitude for my Dad.

Most of my early childhood memories involve my Dad. I remember him throwing a mattress in the back of the truck and sleeping out under the stars. I woke up the next morning to find myself in the front of the boat in my sleeping bag. I remember Dad studying at his wooden blue desk while attending the local community college. I recall many occasions where Dad would ask me to sit on his feet so he could do sit ups. I recall going on many bike rides and runs with my Dad. I remember helping him mechanic on the cars, pulling parts at the wrecking yard, ripping out walls, putting up sheet rock, installing hardwood floors, re-roofing houses, and hunting along the Snake River. The first time I ever shot a gun was because Dad put my finger on the trigger and pulled it back, I didn't enjoy that much.

My Dad taught me how to work hard, never pay someone to do something you can do yourself. He taught me how to clean, how to shop for food by price per ounce, how to make a grocery list, how to set goals and achieve them, he taught me how to budget and track my spending.

Dad taught me some other important life lessons too. He taught me that I can do anything I set my mind to including math. There were many late nights spent crying over math assignments that I had a hard time with. Hard work pays off, I'm good at math now. Part of our family motto is failure is not an option. He taught me to trust in the Lord and His timing. That peace can be found in the Temple. He helped teach me the importance of prayer and scripture study - even when we were naughty kids and didn't want to sit still and pay attention. He taught me to give selfless service and to love others despite their weaknesses and perceived flaws. He taught me that money can't buy happiness. There have been many instances where he has sacrificed wealth for our well being.

He has been a listening ear both through the good times and some of life's darkest moments. He may not always have the answers, but he knows how to listen. He has also been one of my greatest cheerleaders and supporters. He came to many of my track meets and cross country races, even though I wasn't the fastest person on the team. He came to my concerts and plays and was there when I left to go out on dates.

He hasn't just been there for me he has been there cheering my siblings on too! Wrestling matches, musicals, football, soccer, baseball, band concerts, and the list goes on. I know how much he loves me and I hope my siblings feel that love too, it truly is unconditional.

Jake, Dad, and me.

My Dad may not be perfect, but he is the perfect Dad for me. The Lord knew what he was doing when he put my Dad and Andy in my life. I feel so incredibly blessed!