My Wonderful Husband

So today was a very special day for us. No I haven't had the baby. :) But Jeremy got called to be the 2nd counselor in the bishopric and so he got set apart today and also ordained to the office of a high priest. The Stake Presidency met with us Wednesday night and then it all happened today. Our new bishop is a wonderful man and we are both really looking forward to this new opportunity. The Stake President had a lot of really nice things to say about this new bishopric including a few jokes about whether or not Jeremy could grow facial hair yet. But he said that as sure as he was standing in front of us, he was sure these were the right men for the job. It will be a little crazy with our baby coming, but we know everything will be just fine. Jeremy is such a good man and no one was surprised at all at this new calling for him. I'm so grateful to have a husband who is worthy to accept such callings and who is such a good example to all around him. It was a very spiritual day for both of us and we're excited for this new adventure in our lives. :) He's in with the old men now! Jeremy's dad was able to fly in for the day to ordain him as a high priest, so that was really special to have him here. Everyone at church kept commenting on how easy it was to tell that he was his dad. (They do look quite a lot alike). So it was a great day for our family and we're grateful for how blessed we are.

Last one...the shower!

My mom and aunts and friend Rachel all helped to put on a great shower for me on Saturday morning. It was at my Aunt Laura's house in Sandy. I think there were around 30 people there and it was so fun! I felt very showered and loved and spoiled and all of the above. My mom made some delicious no-crust breakfast quiches, Wendy made coffee cake, and there was fruit, banana bread, pumpkin bread, juice, etc., etc. It was great! It was fun to be surrounded by so many people I love! I got a ton of stuff too, which of course is always nice. :) We are well-stocked on clothes now and I got toys, books, lotions, baby wash, pacifiers, diapers, wipes, blankets, baby towels, washcloths, etc. So thank you everyone! It was a fun time. Here are some pictures:
My cousin (behind me in the green shirt) and aunt (next to me) made this amazing diaper cake (shown above) and it not only had diapers, but it was stuffed with lotion, socks, washcloths, blankets and all sorts of amazing things, not to mention it was so cute!
Guests
Friends from home
Mom and Russell, and my hand
Heidi and Paige
Family
Angela, Rachel and WendyAmy
Cousins! Heidi, Michelle, Jamie, me, Katie and Jessica
My aunt Laura - the host
More guests
Wow! Lots of presents


Jeremy came at the end to eat some food and see everybody.
So last night we dismantled the diaper cake and then went through all the stuff we got to see how much of everything we had and what we needed. Some of those piles of clothes are from Amy (far right and left in the back). It's nice to have a nephew who just grew out of newborn-6 month clothes! Looks like a pretty good stash! (And I'm looking oh-so-lovely in Jeremy's sweatshirt and my pjs). :)

Singers Reunion

Now for the Singers Reunion. Friday night we got to go to a dinner at the Hinckley center (spouses got to go too). So we ate and then went over to Heidi's concert. Afterward we went back to the Hinckley center for dessert and a slideshow of the last 25 years. Wow, some of those tour outfits back in the 80's and 90's were terrible! I should have never complained about mine. :) So that was really fun to see old friends and visit. Wendy was in it 4 years, Amy for 2 and I was in it for 4, so we have 10 years altogether! Pretty awesome.

Then on Saturday we had a rehearsal from 4-5. The alumni got to sing 3 songs altogether. It was really fun to be singing under Dr. Staheli's direction again. Then our family went out to dinner at Macaroni Grille (yummy!) and then we had the concert at 7:30. The current Singers sang a great concert and then all the alumni joined for the last 3. Then there was another reception back at the Hinckley center, which by the way, I had never been to and it's very nice. So that was the reunion! We had a great time.

Girl Time

So I'll start with the "girls" part of the weekend. My mom and Wendy, and her 3-month old Vanessa, arrived Wednesday night around 8:30 so we picked them up and then stayed up way too late chatting. :) Then Thursday morning we relaxed and Amy came in around 11:00 with her 4 1/2 month old Russell. So many cute babies! (I must say it was really convenient having a bunch of baby stuff so they didn't have to bring carseats, pack & plays, etc. We had to borrow one carseat from my cousin, but other than that we were good. Now we know how to use all our stuff!) Anyway, so I picked up Amy and my mom and Wendy went to the store for diapers and then we just had fun catching up and oohing and aahing over the adorable babies. (They really are quite cute). Then that evening we all (Jeremy included) went to my grandparents' house for dinner and stayed visiting there for awhile.

Then on Friday morning I had a doctor's appointment (36-week checkup). So my mom came with me and the doctor checked me out and said I was almost dialated to a 1 and was 50% effaced. Woohoo! Now that doesn't mean much I know, but it was still exciting. So then we went to Walmart to get some groceries and came home and my mom and I did some pilates and Wendy made a delicious coffee cake for the shower the next day. Then Jeremy came home around noon (yes!) and we all drove down to Provo to meet Heidi for lunch before her choir rehearsal. So we ate and went to her rehearsal and then went back to her dorm to practice our song for Sunday and to get ready for the Singers stuff that night. It was beautiful weather but so hot! It was in the 70s on Friday and Saturday, but I don't think they had turned on the air conditioner anywhere on BYU campus yet, so I was dying. The joys of being very pregnant. :) So Friday night was Singers stuff, which I'll blog about later, and also Heidi had a Concert Choir concert that we went to and it was excellent!

So Saturday was the shower and more Singers stuff (blogging and pictures to come next) and then Sunday we went to my ward and sang a gorgeous arrangement I found of "Where Can I Turn for Peace". It splits into 5 and 6 parts at times (we had to leave out a note here and there since there's only 5 of us) and it was really hard and tight harmony. It's so fun to sing with family because we all blend so well. My sister Amy said she would put up a video of it on her blog, so I'll post a link when she does.

Then we came home from church and ate a yummy dinner and sat around and talked. We had this fun book called "The Color Code" where it talks about the four different "colors" or personality types. So we all found out what we were and it was really fun. To no one's surprise I am very red. :) Out of 45 questions I had 25 red, 9 yellow, 6 blue, and 5 white. Jeremy had 26 white, 11 blue, 7 yellow, and 1 red. No wonder we're perfect for each other! They actually said in the book that the red-white relationship is really good and strong - very complementary. Anyway, so my mom is a red/blue (you always have one dominant and one secondary; I'm a red/yellow), Amy and Wendy are blue/red and Heidi is yellow/red. It was really fun! We were laughing at the fact that everyone in our family is so red and hardly anyone has any white in them. Good thing we have Jeremy!

So Amy, my mom, and Heidi all left Sunday night and then Wendy left Monday afternoon. Wendy and I had a fun time relaxing on Monday. We rented Twilight and watched that and just chatted and got ready for her to go. It was so fun and I'm so glad I have such wonderful sisters and a wonderful mother! Thanks everyone for coming! We had a packed house (they all stayed at our house) but it was so much fun. Next time I see them I'll have a baby!!!

Thursday morning after Amy got here:
Jeremy bonding with Russell...the only men in the house. (Jeremy was a great sport this weekend).Cute baby Vanessa (breaking in our carseat):Dishing up ice cream at my grandparents' house:The babies! At our reunion in June there will be three!Trying to stay cool in Heidi's dorm lobby:After Heidi's concert. Way to go Heid!Hanging out after church on Sunday:Oh, and after 74 degrees on Saturday, this is what we woke up to on Monday:

Super Weekend

This past weekend was an absolute blast! My two older sisters (and their babies) and mom were in town (and my little sis is at BYU) so we got to have a great time playing together. I have a lot to catch up on, so I'll give a brief overview and then post about each event. My older sisters, Amy and Wendy, and I were all in BYU Singers and they were having their 25 year reunion this weekend so we went to that Friday and Saturday, I had a doctor's appointment Friday, I had a great baby shower on Saturday, we all sang in my ward on Sunday and we just had a great time visiting and playing together. After 5 trips to the airport and 2 down to Provo and a lot of late nights, we're a little tired, but it sure was fun! Here's a picture of my mom and all her daughters :) at my shower. More to come!

Yesss!!!

It's going to be a great week.

Blackberry and Childbirth Class

Today we attended an all day (well, 9:00-4:30) childbirth class. We had originally signed up for a 4-week course, but it got canceled because they didn't have enough people so we did a Saturday course instead. It was very good and now we're feeling a little more prepared. Our favorite part was probably the tour of the maternity ward. It was exciting to see what the rooms looked like and where we would be in a little over a month! So it was a fun day.

Another exciting thing is that Jeremy's work decided he needed a Blackberry. So he's feeling very important now. :) They gave him a cell phone shortly after he started working there, but now he's got the Blackberry. So he's been having fun playing with it this week trying to figure out how to use it and discovering all the cool features. Here's a picture of him with it. It looks pretty slick.

Baby Room Progress

So today we have been hanging stuff in the baby's room! It is so fun, let me tell you. :) I've been busy shopping around for good deals and painting and crafting cute things for his room. So let me take you through what I did.

I got these cube shelves at Michaels and they were just wood so I painted them white. I had seen these online and thought they were cute. I found a white set at Target for $19.99, but at Michaels they were only $5.99 for the set. Woohoo! And the paint was only $.50. So that was the first step.
Then I got inspired again online by these cute letters. I thought it would be fun to add a little color to the room, so I decided I was perfectly capable of making these myself. I found the letters also at Michaels and then Jeremy got some MDF board from work for the background and I painted the boards and the letters and then glued them together and voila! Here they are. By the way, online they were $16.00 each and about half the size of these, which I made for about $4.00 each. (Paint and paintbrushes included). I'm so proud of my savings, can you tell? Just don't look too closely, because they're far from perfect.
Here's a picture of Jeremy getting ready to help hang them up. He's so sweet and supportive. He drilled holes in them for me and always helps me with my little projects. :)
So here's that little corner of the room. A sweet lady in the ward gave me that teddy bear for the baby. Jeremy's mom gave us the rocking chair and Jeremy's dad made the cradle. Amazing!
Then I decided I wanted a shelf, so I got one at Home Depot, but I wasn't sure if I liked it just sticking out, so we decided to make it into a corner shelf. Using our amazing math skills we drew where to cut it and then Jeremy sawed off the edges to make it a corner shelf! I think it looks very cute. (I still need to put stuff on all these shelves, but I'll get there.)
And then finally (well actually I put these together first, but hung them last) are these great pieces of artwork. :) Jeremy painted these little paintings when he was a kid. There's one for each season and they are labeled as such: spring, summer, fall, winter, and all signed by the artist himself. We were going through old things of Jeremy's over Christmas break and I thought these would be really cute in the baby's room, so I framed them and put them up.

So that's what we've done so far! I still need some things for the shelves and something for the window, but we definitely made a lot of progress. Thanks for looking!

34 weeks

So yesterday I hit my 34 week mark. Woohoo! I had another doctor's appointment and everything is going well! I thought I'd put another photo of my growing self up for your viewing pleasure/amusement.
By the way, I'd like to thank my sister Amy for loaning me such cute maternity clothes. :) This shirt is hers and so is the green one I wore in the last picture. Thanks Amy!

Sunshine!

So the weather forecast for today says it's supposed to be 66!!! It's already over 60 and it's wonderful. Unfortunately we're getting over 30 mile/hr. winds, but it's still nice! Saturday was a nice day too. Jeremy and I spent a few hours out in the yard getting started on one of the many projects we have planned for this year. Whoever originally put the yard in didn't bother to level it out, so we have lots of lumps and an extreme slope in our backyard. So last August my dad and Jeremy started moving dirt onto the low parts and then this Saturday Jeremy and I did a lot more. Lucky for us, there is a huge pile of dirt in the empty lot diagonally behind us, so we've just been helping ourselves to lots of dirt! Poor Jeremy was shoveling one wheelbarrow-full at a time, but it's making a big difference. He would shovel and dump and then I would rake and spread it out and make it level. We got a lot done, but there's still plenty to do.

Also recently, we got our rebate check from American Express. (We have a Costco American Express card that gives you between 1%-3% on everything you buy). So it comes in a Costco gift certificate, so we decided to buy a new camera! We'd been scoping out this camera for a few months, and the price has been fluctuating. The day we went to buy it, it was at an all time low. Hooray! So we got a camera, some food and then they gave us the rest back in cash. It was a very happy day. So here's our new camera:
It seems pretty nice! It also came with a free 2GB memory card, so that was exciting. We decided we wanted a higher quality camera since we're having a baby. Now we just need to be better about taking pictures!

So that's what's new with us. I am doing much better, by the way, with my infection. I took my last antibiotic pill last night, so hopefully it's really gone. Thanks for all your concern! I'm feeling great though and can't believe I only have 6 1/2 more weeks till the baby's due!