STS

I have this incurable (well for awhile, anyway) disease that I have rightfully named STS or Sudden Tear Syndrome. This disease has just attacked me since I've had a bun in the oven. It will just catch me off guard for a variety of reasons. It can be a commercial, a song, a movie or even a t.v show. The worst shows are the ones like Grey's Anatomy where it gets intense or "tender" and the music changes to sound all sad. If Jeff suspects an "episode" of STS coming on, he'll just look over at me, and more often than not, I'm crying. We were at Jeff's Grandma's house yesterday, and she was talking about the day she was on her misson and found out that Kirstyn, Jeff's sister, died. I lost all control! I got up and had to vacuum her house so I'd stop crying. It was the saddest story I've ever heard! So, watch out all you pregnant women! You may be the next victim of STS! On a positive note......it should be gone after 9 months or so! :)

What a wonderful husband!

For Mother's Day this year, Jeff gave me my first present. In years past, we've gotten cards for each other, but we call it Wife's Day and Husband's Day. Now that we're pregnant, Jeff got me a present. I was not expecting it, and it was such a wonderful surprise. He gave me this Willow Tree angel. It's called Cherish: Awaiting a miracle. I love my husband, and I could never ask for a better companion. Thanks for the gift, Babe! I love you!

Now I've just got to figure out what to get him for Father's Day. Does anyone have any good ideas?

Baby's first photos!

I know I am way behind, but here are the first photos of our little one. I was barely 5 weeks (we thought I was 8 weeks) prego with the first picture. We had a couple of issues at first, and this is just the solidification saying yes, we were pregnant, and oh, there's only 1 baby! Woo Hoo!

They had us come back 2 weeks later to see if the baby was alive or not, and sure enough, there was a viable baby with a strong heart beat. It was such a relief to know nothing was wrong. Now, here we are 15 weeks pregnant and the baby is now about 4 inches long. It's amazing how much they grow from week to week. Here we went from a small blob to a bean. Crazy, huh? We're excited to find out what we're having at the end of June.

I kicked the habit!

After a long, hard struggle with addiction I can finally say, with all the happiness in the world, that I have kicked it in the butt! WOO HOO! My parents (especially my dad) has gotten after me about it for a long time. I would give in to the temptation even when I didn't realize I was doing it. It's worn on my self confidence and everything. I know what you're thinking.............poor, poor me! I've had this issue my entire life, and I hate it!Sometimes it gets worse, and other times it's not so bad. What substance do I have issues with you might ask? Well, I hate admitting it, but it was biting my nails! I have successfully grown out a FULL set of nails for the first time EVER! I'm so excited. I had to actually file them the other day. I don't think I've ever used a nail file before yesterday. I know, I probably sound really stupid to you all, but to me it's huge! I guess the little peanut growing inside of my gut doesn't like the taste of human finger nails. Who does, right? If you fell for the above paragraph then GOTTCHA! I crack myself up!

Weeeeeee're baaaaaaack!

Well,we made it back from Mexico without any drug cartel trouble or the swine flu (as far as we know)! This guy is what I call the Evil Man-eater Iguana of death! If you know me, you know I DO NOT like "creatures." I lost a "staring contest" with 4 Iguanas. They were blocking my path, and I was scared! I know my pregnant hormones played a huge part in my reaction, but to put it mildly, I FREAKED out! Jeff had to shew the critters away with his snorkeling flipper. As soon as the coast was clear, I ran as fast as I could with bare feet. They look like little dinosaurs don't you think? Evil, evil, evil man-eater!

Here's a shot of our pool. Jeff did a good job taking this picture to cut out the topless ladies everywhere. It's pretty sad when you feel overdressed at the SWIMMING POOL! It was a great place to drink Pina Coladas and Strawberry Daiquiri's.. I'm not telling whether we said "virgin" or not! What happens in Mexico stays in Mexico!

Jeff loves to just soak up the sun(and looks good doing it)! This Eco park we went to had tons and tons of hammocks to just sit and relax. Watch out for the Iguana, though, they might bite you!

We went to the Mayan ruins called Tulum. It's not the big one, but it was awesome! We got an LDS tour guide, and he showed us all the resemblances of our church and the ancient Mayans. It's amazing how much physical evidence of our church was there. For me it was a huge testimony strengthener. It was terribly hot, but worth every minute. I recommend going to see a ruin if you get a chance. In stead of having a huge tour group, we only had our little family of 5. I loved it!

I must say it was really weird driving down the highway in Mexico and seeing stations of policemen holding machine guns! It was quite intimidating! One of our taxi drivers warned us that if we rent a car we might get pulled over by the police. He said absolutely do not give them your driver's licence. They usually just want money. Isn't that just scary? To say the least, we just stuck to taxis for our transportation.

On a final note: We're having a baby! We had a few interesting/scary moments right at the beginning, but now it's good. Our original due date was October 8th, then it went to the 23rd, and after 2 early ultrasounds, it's now November 1st. We are 13 weeks pregnant, and very excited for our next adventure. Our baby is the size of a small shrimp, and is fully developed. We will find out in June what we are having. It's a whole new world coming up for us!

Done esta el bano?

Jeff and I are so excited to be going to Mexico in a few weeks. We've had some stress in our lives for a couple of weeks, and we're very much looking forward to all the virgin pina coladas, and strawberry daquiris one can handle. We're going to see some Mayan ruins, snorkel, swim with sting rays (I'm not to excited about this one), and spend a coupl of days just relaxing on the beach. We can hardly wait. I know how to say "Where is the bathroom" and "how much is it?", and "I want to eat". With those few phrases and the hopes that heaven will open and I will be blessed with the gift of tongues, then we should get by. Plus, we're told that where we're going is very "americanized" so we can only hope! :) Oh, and don't worry about the drug cartel. I will give em the old heave-ho and then I'll kick 'em. I'm not afraid to use the tools I say on Miss Congeniality with the self defense. I'll use my elbows, jab em in the eyes, and of course (my personal favorite) the groin! Don't mess with me. I'll kick your butt! :) It's going to be a great trip!

Grandma Pennie

I visit teach this wonderful friend of mine in the ward named Pennie. I met my dear friend while working with her daughter at Stone Drug. This lady is amazing. She really is like my adopted grandmother. She would give the shirt off her back if she found someone who needed it more. Well I went with my partner to visit Pennie, and we were a few minutes early. She had modern, youthful music playing loudly, and she was in the kitchen. We came to visit her, but she had a pie baking in the oven for US! I love her! She gave us a fresh piece of pumpkin pie, a large glass of chocolate milk, and some homemade caramels that are to die for. I finally got to the spiritual message after awhile, and we chatted for a bit. I thanked her for my "dinner" and gave her a big hug. I told her and my companion that we would for sure come back more often :) I can only hope that when I am in my 70's, I can be as charitable and youthful as she is. She rides jetski's and 4-wheelers and wants to ride in a hot air balloon for her birthday. She's an amazing perosn,and I love her.

Was I ever like that?

As I serve in the Young Women's in my ward, I often think back to when I was 12 and 13. I don't EVER remember acting silly and girly like they do. I love the enthusiasm my girls show. Sometimes it gets too loud and chaotic, but I love 'em anyway! Maybe I had teenage blinders on, I don't know, but surely I wasn't giddy, right? I remember being a tomboy-ish, quiet, shy, and an awkwardly tall teenager with not many friends. That's what I remember about being 12 and 13. When my YW leader said to me "Boy, I'm so glad you came out of your shell." I didn't know what she was talking about. I was the same as always. I am so grateful that those awkward years are behind me, and you couldn't pay me to go back. What do you think? Do you remember me acting like that? I don't!

2 officers and a Gentleman

December has been a busy month. My sister had a new baby boy named Tanner(he actually arrived on Nov.30, but close enough to December). He is such a cutie. My oldest brother, Jared graduated from the Police Academy and is now a corrections officer. My brother-in-law Jeff O was commisioned to the rank of officer in the U.S. Army. It's crazy how fast time flies when you're busy. Jeff's been crazy busy at work with the Christmas season. We've been working to help a family for Christmas. It's been crazy, but very rewarding. May your Christmas be full of happiness and celebration. Have a Merry Christmas, and happy new year!

Forgotten Carols

So, it's been a few years since we've gone to the Forgotten Carols. This year we were 3 rows from the stage on the floor level. It was great. I would recommend it to anyone. They've changed quite a bit of the script, added more characters, and changed the lady who plays Connie Lou. I was sad to see Katie Thompson go. The new lady was good, but I like Katie better. This year was extraordinarily touching to me for some reason. One certain part really touched me. I found it ironic and funny because I usually don't care for this part very much, but this year, I felt like a bawl baby. If you know much about the play then you'll know that at the end of each show they have the audience sing a song and think about those who have passed on or in the military or on a mission etc, but it ALWAYS gets me. I automatically get thinking of my grandparents, and Jeff's little sister, Kirstyn. He loves her so much, and I'd give anything to let him see and talk to her again. They were very close. I know she's taking good care of our children up there for us until it's time for them to be here with us. Boy, how I wish I could meet her. Someday I will!