We're Leaving on a Jet Plane

So it's official. We have purchased our tickets and we are coming home to Utah for 3 1/2 weeks in June and July. We are so excited. It's nice to know that we are actually going home, but now we just have to wait for 4 months. Oh well. It will have been a year since we've seen most of our family and so it will be a great trip. It's amazing how much people change, mostly the nieces and nephews so we will be excited to see them and show off our new little one. Our baby will be 2 months by then and Jackie will be having her baby anytime before we get there. We are coming out June 18th-July 13th. We have some fun family campouts to go to , as well as just relaxing and having fun. It will be a nice break. The only thing that makes me nervous is leaving our silly cat. I'm sure she will be happy to have the crying baby out of the house, but I'll still worry about her. We are probably just going to have some youth in our ward cat sit for us. Oh, the joys of having pets. We saw Bolt over the weekend and it was a really cute show. We really enjoyed it. Mike has now decided that we need a dog.:) This will probably not become a reality for a few more years, when we actually get into a house. I think we'll have our hands full until then. So we can't wait to see you all in 4 months.:) (Thanks again Heidi for your help.)

Just a little bit of Random

So this post is for my sister Kim who is anxiously awaiting a new installment of our lives. The only problem is that I really have no idea what to write about and so this may be just a bunch of random thoughts. First off, for those of you who like to watch American Idol, Mike and I are totally in love with Danny Gokey. He has such a good and unique voice. We're pretty sure that he will go far, but I guess we'll have to see. Mike has a class until 10:00 p.m. on Tuesdays and so my nighttime lineup has consisted of the Biggest Loser and American Idol. I think I will need to start a new book so that I don't get to much t.v. watchin in.

So I finished the "Twilight" saga in a week and a half. It was o.k.. It's funny because I wasn't really "loving" them while I was reading them, but I was obviously obsessed with finishing them. It was so frustrating because I tend to have some OCD in certain areas and "finishing" things is one of them. I hate to start something and not finish it, so hence why I read all the books so fast. My poor husband never talked to me and so it was a relief to finally get it over with. I think I will not read a series in awhile for that exact reason. Of course after reading the series I had to go and see the movie again so I guess I enjoyed it enough.:)

We have another ultrasound on Friday which will be nice. It is always fun to see the baby and it helps me not get too worried that something is going wrong. Hopefully everything will be o.k.. I'm still trying to get Mike to write a post about everything that he is doing this quarter, but he is super busy and so it might be awhile. He just has a lot of classes, and is trying to do research on top of it. He's a pretty hard worker though and likes to get things done far in advance, which is unlike me who usually does everything last minute. I must learn from him. Well, that's enough randomness for one day. Sorry if this post was totally boring. We'll come up with something good soon though.

28 Weeks and Counting

So here's the most recent belly shot. I'm getting a little bit bigger, but I keep getting shocked comments when people find out I am due in April. I am just waiting to poke out any day now. (Any day now.....) She is sure moving a lot more and it is fun when Mike is able to feel her as well. It is a crazy feeling when she turns all the way around. Work is going pretty good, but I am definitely getting anxious to be done. I will miss the kids though, sometimes.:)

Mike has a crazy quarter right now. He decided to overload himself this quarter so that when the baby comes it will be a lighter load. He is working pretty hard and trying to stay on top of everything so that it doesn't get too overwhelming. His research is also starting to progress which is great as well. We are sure being blessed and are thankful for the hand of the Lord in our lives.

Lazy Day

So yesterday was my day off and I was very lucky that it was because we had some pretty bad weather conditions. Mike and I don't mind the snow that much, but here in Ohio we get this stuff called "freezing rain" and it's exactly what it sounds like. By morning the ground was covered in a thick blanket of ice. Fortunately for Mike the University was closed as well so he didn't have to drive on the ice rink. We ended up having a very lazy day. Mike was pretty ambitious and worked on as much homework as he could at home, but I just read "Twilight" all day. I haven't read a new book in a long time, and although I haven't had a huge desire to read the Twilight series my curiosity got the better of me. The only problem when I start a book, or anything for that matter, is that I like to finish it. So, pages turned into chapters, which turned in to the whole book. It was entertaining enough. I had already seen the movie and so nothing was a big surprise. Perhaps the other books will be better in that regard. We did manage to get a little bit of laundry and dishes done, and then we made our bi-weekly trip to Walmart. It is pretty depressing but we are literally there at least once or twice a week. It's a hapnin place let me tell you. So, regardless of the crazy weather we were able to have a nice day just relaxing and taking it easy. (By the end of the day Mike was reading to us from the scriptures about being too "idle".) I guess we were reaching that point.:)

The Latest Hair Styling Techniques

I just had to share a fun story from my class yesterday. There a couple girls in my class that LOVE to play with hair. They will grab any plastic utensil they can find, preferably forks or "dingle hoppers" from the play food area and use it has a brush. I normally have a lot of fun with this process unless they begin to fight over who gets to tug on my hair, but yesterday was a unique experience. I had one child on the left side of my head and another on the right. I was preoccupied with building a marble tower with some other children that I had not been paying close attention to the styling techniques of one of the children doing my hair. I had slightly noticed my hair getting a little moist around my face and as I looked back I saw why. The little girl was wetting her finger tip with her mouth and using her spit to smooth my hair into place. After I got over the yuck factor I decided that it was pretty funny. I wonder if that is something her mother does while fixing her hair? I eventually had to offer her an alternative suggestion. Oh the joys of child care.

(P.S. If you can't tell this boy is enjoying a nice relaxing day at the salon.)

Life is Good

So Mike's birthday went pretty good. We really didn't do a whole lot. Last year we decided that for our birthdays we would save up and do something fun like go to a play or a sports game, but it just didn't work out this year which is fine. I made Manicotti and a Key Lime Cheesecake which is all he wanted for his b-day so hopefully it turned out o.k.. That night we had the wonderful opportunity of going with the youth from our ward to perform baptisms for the dead. Mike's sister Monica sent us some family names and so we were able to get the baptisms performed for those names. It was a nice night to be able to spend in the temple.

Today we had another doctors appointment and ultrasound. It is always fun getting to see the baby. They wanted to check and make sure everything was progressing the way it needed to be and everything looked great. They were a little concerned last time that my placenta was a little low, and that her chin was small which I guess can be a sign of some disabilities, but everything looked great. She looks normal and weighs in at perfect sizes, and my placenta has finally moved up so Yeah!!!! I had to take my gestational diabetes test today as well and I failed miserably. I was thinking that I might. Next up is the 3 hour blood draw session which will tell us for sure if I do have gestational diabetes or not. My doctor is pretty positive that I don't, but those with Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome have a higher risk of getting it so I guess I'm prepared for whatever the results may be. I sure could use a change in my diet and exercise habits. Hopefully everything will work out o.k..

It is Friday!!!! I usually have Wednesdays as my day off but this week I had Friday off. It's amazing the difference having a day off in the middle of the week makes. I was so tired when I got home yesterday and felt so lazy, but it will be nice to have a longer weekend break. I just have to tell about some fun things that make my day at work. Whenever we arrive at work all of the kids will run up to us and give us hugs. "Amy!!! Miss Amy!" It's a lot of fun and sometimes I take it for granted the love of these children. Also, there is this one boy who tends to get into trouble quite a bit, but he is just in need of some positive attention. I am always taken back when he says things like. "Miss Amy, I like your hair" :) or he'll come and give me a big hug and kiss on the cheek. Oh, the unconditional love of kids. I really have been blessed to be able to work with children. Sometimes it is easy to get stuck in the rut of wanting to make them do or behave in the way that I want them to, but I just have to sit back and really decide if it is just for my benefit or for theirs. Oh, the things I have to learn. So life is good and we are being very blessed.

Happy Birthday Honey!!!

Top 10 reasons why Mike is the best husband in the world!

10- He is a hard worker and very dedicated. He loves to learn new things and is always willing to try or test new things before making an opinion.

9- He loves animals and is very compassionate. We will probably end up running a zoo out of our house some day because we will have to adopt every stray animal that comes our way.

8- He rarely has a bad attitude and if he ever has one he is really good about changing his attitude quickly. He is a great example of being positive.

7- He is always looking for the best in others and is slow to pass negative judgement. Even when his wife is having a bad day, he does a great job at finding the positives about her. :)

6- He is very goal oriented. He likes to set goals and stick to them. This is a great quality since I can set tentative goals but have a hard time following through. He helps me accomplish many important things.

5- He is so well balanced. He loves to follow his favorite sports teams, especially the Jazz, but he is also the one who wants to take me to the ballet or the opera. His favorite groups are Led Zeppelin, the Beach Boys, and Classic Country/Banjo. He just likes a good variety of things which keeps life interesting.

4- He has a great sense of humor and loves to have fun. He knows when to be serious, but doesn't take life too seriously. He helps me laugh when I just want to be a grump. He can make everyone smile and children just love to be around him. He is a lot of fun.

3- He loves the Lord and as a result tries very hard to magnify his callings and his responsibilities with the priesthood. He helps to keep the spirit in our home and is a great example of love and faith.

2- He loves me for just being me. He is very appreciative of the little things and is so willing to help out wherever needed. He is very patient and understanding.

1- Because of all the aforementioned he is going to be the best father I could have ever hoped for our children. I can't wait for all that they will learn from and experience with him. What a blessing.

Happy Birthday Sweetie, I Love You!