Lloyd Christmas Party 2008

More cute pictures

I think that the pictures say all there is to say. Nathan is the cutest baby, and we love him so much! He is doing very well, growing up too fast. He's started smiling and laughing a little, we are still trying to get it on film - either video or a snap shot... Hopefully we will get it soon!

Super Cute!

My Crafty Contribution

So my sister has a craft blog - the link is on my page- and I have added a craft to her collection of baby and kids crafts. I am making baby slings, they are so cool! If you are interested you can take a look at her blog or email me directly. The picture on there is Hillary holding Nathan in one and here are some self portraits of me with mine. They are reversible and have different sizes so they will fit individually. To find your size measure from Shoulder to opposite hip. There are a few different ways to carry a baby and work for bigger babies, they can sit on your hip, like a kangaroo, and you can even slide them around to be behind you, or the way to hold a little baby in the cradle position (which is what I do with Nathan now.)

If you want to get one they are $20, and can be custom ordered - the price may vary depending on fabric.

Pictures from Thanksgiving

Jake's Dad took pictures of Nathan on Thanksgiving, here are a few of our favorites! He's 5 weeks old in these pictures.

Some Pictures From Birth to a couple weeks!

Meet Nathan Henry Graves
Born October 23, 2008
10:24pm
6 Lbs 13oz 20 inches

Nate and Daddy - November 12, 2008

Two weeks later...

It has taken me a while to get my blog updated... This isn't going to be a long one but I thought I should let everyone know I am still alive and doing very well. I have the best and most beautiful baby in the whole world. We are doing awesome. A bit sleep deprived but that is to be expected. If I was smart I would be napping now like Nate is but whatever...

The delivery was pretty eventful. I went into the hospital on Wednesday the 22nd of October at night to be induced. They did 3 doses of a drug that should have put me into labor or at least prepared my body to go into labor. It did absolutely nothing... Then in the morning they started Pitocin and broke my water (which hurt a lot) I was on the Pitocin all day long, and at 9:00pm when I was still at a 2 and only 75% effaced. We all decided that nothing was happening and a C-Section was the best option. I was so exhausted and starving - I hadn't had anything to eat since 6:00 the night before, so I was relieved that we were going to finally have a baby. They got me all prepped for surgery and Jake and my mom came in to be with me, then we got started, everything went well until I started feeling everything... Yeah so the anesthesia wore off or wasn't strong enough or something because I felt everything after the cutting, that part I could tell they were doing it but it didn't hurt. Then came the pulling/pushing or something horribly painful. I could tell when they got Nathan's head out, he started crying right then. Then his shoulders and the rest of him. They held him up over so I could see him and then they knocked me out. I was in so much pain. I could move my leg and had to tell myself not to pull it out of the restraint thing it was in. So from then on I don't remember because I was unconscious. But they had to put a tube down my throat because I was swallowing my tongue. It was so exciting... Or scary... The next thing I remember is being in my room with a lot of people standing around me. There are details missing here about coming out of the OR and into the recovery room and them asking me if I wanted to hold the baby and me saying yes like they were stupid for asking because I was so excited to have him, and then I wouldn't share him. But I don't remember that. Jake said it was cute. He will have to fill in those details.

I have much more to say but its apparently time to eat again, so I gotta go. Here's a picture that I don't remember!

To the hospital we go!

Well we are just getting ready to go to the hospital now and I wanted to post one more picture of my big belly. My parents just took us out to Chuck-a-Rama for one last meal, then came over here to give me a blessing. I am so lucky to have the Priesthood in my home and available to me whenever I want! It really helped calm my nerves.

I think it will be a little while before the next post. But I will get some pictures loaded on as soon as possible! (I will make Jake do it!) So wish us luck as we welcome Nathan into our family!

Finished

I am excited to say that I am done working as of last Friday! Jake and I decided that it would be ok for me to take a couple days off before to get things ready and to try and get some rest before Nathan joins our family! Its really nice to not have to worry about getting ready and having to go to work. I am so grateful for my sweet husband and all his love and support through all of this! I am also grateful for my work and how wonderful they are and have been throughout the pregnancy and how good they are being for the post-pregnancy stuff! I am so lucky!

Doctor's Update 39 weeks

No change...

But, a date has been set for induction! We will be going into the hospital Wednesday night to have a baby on Thursday! YEAH!!! I am so excited! I just have no other words, its going to be awesome!

Week 39

Well the picture might be a night early but whatever... Here we are at week 39... Compared to the previous pictures I think things might be progressing.

My Awesome Friends!

I have some of the best friends possible! Two of the greatest are Suzanne and Tiffany, they were sweet enough to throw me a wonderful baby shower, it was so much fun! I feel so lucky to have them as well as all of my friends that came to the shower and even those who couldn't make it! We got some wonderful gifts, Janet was kind enough to take some pictures for me during the shower so I can share themon here!



Once again thank you to everyone! It was so great to have my friends and family together and I am so grateful to Sheri, Tiffany's mom for opening her house to such a roudy bunch!

Showers Galore!

So this month is a very busy one for the Graves' family. Not only am I having a baby, Brooke is getting married on Halloween, Jake's cousin, Seth, is getting married and another cousin, Brianna, is having a baby (well in January - but Janet hosted the shower a few weekends ago) So we have been having lots of showers, I only have pictures from Brianna's baby shower that Janet hosted so I wanted to share them!

Brent and Brianna are going to have a baby girl in a couple months and they are going to be awesome parents so much fun!

I am a bit behind...

So I haven't updated my blog as much as I should because of my feet I can't sit at the computer, so I am here on the couch with my feet up and a laptop, so its time to update!

My sister Hillary has a funny video on her blog but her blog is private so I thought I would put it on my blog so everyone could enjoy it.



I have a couple more posts I am going to put on here tonight!

The latest update

So I went to the doctor on Thursday afternoon and we are still pregnant! Everything is good, no progress so probably no early baby, but that's ok, he will come when he's ready! So everything is going pretty well, my back is doing remarkably better, I am not sure if its because the baby has dropped or because I have slowed down even more, but its tons better! My feet are gross and puffy most of the time. (I just got a pedicure though - so they look pretty!)

We are pretty much ready, I think... People keep asking what we need still and I am not really sure. I have thought of a couple things that I think we want but don't know if we really need them... We don't have a thermometer (I think the ear kind is what we want), diaper garbage can, baby monitor, or a baby hair brush and other grooming kit stuff.

Other than that we just need the baby!

What color crayon are you?

You Are a Purple Crayon

Your world is colored in dreamy, divine, and classy colors. You hold yourself to a sky high standard, and you are always graceful. People envy, idolize, and copy you without realizing it. You are an icon for those who know you. And while it is hard to be a perfectionist, rest assured it's paying off! Your color wheel opposite is yellow. While yellow people may be wise, they lack the manners and class needed to impress you.

What Color Crayon Are You?

I saw this on my friend Becky's Blog and wanted to know... What color am I?

New update

Sorry not to write very much, my feet and hands don't allow for much computer time they get too puffy.

I went to the doctor today and everything is still looking good. It doesn't sound like we will be having an early baby by any means... He said though that as of today he thinks he weighs about 7lbs 12oz. I am hoping he doesn't get too much bigger - ouch...

But everything and everyone is doing great!

Doctor's Update

So today is week 36, everything is going very well! The doctor said that things are looking good and that if I were to go into labor today (not that I will anytime before my due date) that as of today he'd say the baby is about 6 lbs. Can you believe it? That is so crazy to me... I am kind of hoping he doesn't get too much bigger, I have to deliver him, ouch!

Tomorrow Jake and I are going to go to a birthing class. I am a bit nervous for it but hope that I will learn lots and come away less nervous than I go in. We will see.

I asked the doctor about my swelling and he said that I was just one of the unlucky ones who has that and to make it go away I will have to have a baby... I don't need to force myself to drink 3 liters of water, thank heaven's that was too much.

(I guess a little info about that would be good.)

So last Saturday I got really puffy my feet, legs up past my knees, my fingers, hands, wrists and arms. My face was getting puffy too. So usually that goes down by the morning. Sunday I woke up and it was still bad and my feet were hurting really bad like I couldn't even walk on them. I was having muscle cramps in my arms and legs and I felt all around crappy. So I called Corrine and she told me to call the dr. so I called the dr, well the Women's Center and asked them what to do. They said I should be drinking 3 liters of water a day, to put my feet up and relax, check my bp and if it was really high to go in to the hospital to be checked out. So I have been doing those things and have been pretty nervous about it. I think though that the machine at my work is just not very accurate because I checked it at work today and it was 138/83 and at the doctors it was 123/7? but it was normal, like really good normal. So he's not worried, so I am not worried. But the best news was that I don't have to drink that much water. I am going to keep drinking lots because it does help but not that much.

Anyways.

I asked if there was anything I could do for my back pain... He said that pretty much having the baby was all that would really help. I told him that the physical therapy didn't really make a difference and he said yeah that I probably have some disk problems and that nothing really will help. No drugs for the pregnant girl...

He thinks that we will go to the due date or at least pretty close. (Hopefully before Halloween) That is the goal.

So that is what's new. Oh and I had Jake take my picture tonight, after some unsuccessful shoe shopping. I look really thrilled... But I figure its a pretty accurate picture of how I feel most nights. So Here I am in all my pregnant glory at week 36, with only 28 days until D day! I feel huge today. Maybe I will get a better picture tomorrow and put that on here instead... But for now.

Baby Showers

Last weekend was so much fun! We got to have 2 baby showers!!! I am so blessed to have such wonderful family and friends. I have a few pictures from each of the showers and a picture catalog of what we were given from both showers. I must also mention the awesome diaper cake my sisters made (its not really cake - it is really diapers).

There are lots of pictures but everything was so cute I couldn't not put it on here!

Thanks to everyone that helped plan, host, and came to celebrate!

7 months - August 24th

I figured that I probably should have at least one picture of me all big and pregnant to prove to Nathan one day that I really am his mom! This was taken 2 months from our due date so 31 weeks and a couple days.

Crazy Week

This has been an emotional week for me. It started out with my back hurting really bad on Monday, yeah Monday. I mean I can usually deal with it hurting like Thursday or Friday like it was, the stabbing pain that doesn't get better unless I lay down for a couple hours with heat and ice. So I was worried for the week because of that. Then Tuesday just got worse, because even after the heat, ice, and laying down on Monday night the pain was immobilizing after 2 hours of work on Tuesday. So I called my physical therapist to see when she could get me in, and her office people said that Monday was the soonest she had time available... That wasn't going to work. So I called her cell phone and left a message and then also called her other office (down town) to see if she had any availabilities there, I got a no, but we'll have her call you. So at 2 after a couple people went to lunch I went home. I got a call at about 2:30 from Laurie (my pt)saying that I could go in right then to her down town location or Wednesday at 7:30 to the Sandy location. I went then, to the downtown office. She got me feeling a little better, enough that I could walk and sit and stand without being in more than a little pain. She kept a spot open for me on Wednesday night, which was a really good thing because Wednesday was just as bad as Monday had been. So I went again and she taped my back which I think helped a little...

Then Thursday happened...

It should have been a day full of excitement because the Arveseth's moved back that day. But it turned out differently.

So I work in the afternoon Thursday's now, which makes it my day to get things done, phone calls, appointments, etc. I needed to get some details from the HR people at my work about how the disability/maternity leave stuff all worked. In case I had to leave early because of my back, and to see what happens after the baby comes. Well I called the Kroger corporate people and the lady looked me up. She in an very emotionless tone said, well since you have not been here a whole year you have no benefits. You will be terminated when you leave. Insurance will be canceled as soon as you don't meet the hour requirements. Then when you are ready to come back you will have to reapply, which means a new start date and the same waiting period for insurance.

Any other questions?

So then I called my mom, my poor mom... I lost it, complete hysterics, I couldn't breathe, I couldn't talk, I couldn't do anything. After about 5 minutes of not really being able to talk she spent the next 20 minutes trying to get me to calm down and to help me know that it would be ok and that everyone would do what they could to help and that with my license I would be very employable after the baby came, and told me that I needed to talk to my actual store people and the local people to make sure that was their policy as well. It was made so much worse with the state of my back because I was planning on calling in sick because it was so sore from the first thing in the morning.
I was a mess.
Jake started school this morning also so he called me between classes and probably 10 minutes after I talked to my mom, I was still crying, and he was in a panic when I couldn't tell him what was wrong. A hysterical wife is bad but a hysterical pregnant wife is much scarier plus my sister's family was on there way here flying cross country. He was about to run to his car and come home, I had to tell him that everyone was ok and get out the news about my job and insurance... He didn't freak out quite the same way as I did, I don't think he even cried - men are so lucky to not cry so easily. He also tried to tell me it would be ok and that I just needed to relax and that we'd figure it out. He told me to call in to work and see about taking the day off like I had been planning...

So I tried. They were short handed and if I didn't work my whole shift it would leave them with 2 people during lunches and at closing. So that wasn't an option, I had to find someone to cover for me. Well the people I could think of weren't answering their phones, one didn't even have an active phone number... I left a message for one person and hoped she would call me back as I tried to prepare myself for an emotionally and physically draining evening. Finally 30 minutes before I would have had to go in she called and could work half my shift for me. It saved me, I got to spend some time with Jake for lunch and then went and visited with my mom for an hour or so. By then I was emotionally in control enough to not get hysterical at the thought or mention of any of it. I worked my 4 hours, of which only the last hour or so was my back in complete spasm, so that was good.

Friday came around and I knew it was time to talk to the store people to see what they could do for me. It was hard to talk to the manager guy, luckily he is super nice and easy to talk to. I told him what the corporate people said and he quickly said no, no I won't take you off the payroll, you won't lose your job, you can pay for COBRA when you aren't working and then as soon as you are back up to the required monthly hours you will re qualify for insurance. I told him my concerns with being gone more than 6 weeks and he told me he's had people gone for much longer and not fired them when they had a reason to be gone. Phew. One hurdle for the day done. I also needed to make sure that my pharmacy people would help me out and to see if I could cut back hours. They were so very reassuring and said that all the maternity leave stuff would be fine and that Paige (the Smith's pharmacy guy, over all the Smith's in the area, also my old bishop) would make sure I get the hours I need, even if its at more than one location. And if I need more time off he would put me in the float pool and that would keep me from being able to be fired even if I didn't work. Phew again. And then with yesterday being pay day we all got our checks and the other tech's who have all worked for years for Smith's got raises... I didn't. Because I am considered an apprentice or something, but we looked and I am like 2 weeks away from the next pay step, its done by hours, so I will be getting a 60 cent raise sometime in September, isn't that awesome! I told them I wanted to cut back some hours because of my back, I was afraid because the scheduling has been kind of an issue at my work... But they were good with it and I will just cut back an hour a day, so work 9-4 MTWF and 2-9 Th which I think will really help me out and won't totally destroy my pay, like calling in sick or leaving extra early would do. Plus it will probably make it so I can work longer, like for the next 9 weeks.

Jake just called me this morning to tell me he just got his insurance packet from Target and that he will be eligible for insurance in September.

So with all of my freaking out and the horrible things from this week, it is ending on a happy note and with some extra reassurance that everything really will be ok and that God is listening to our prayers and will take care of us and not give us more than we can really handle.
(Sometimes I wish the reminders weren't quite so hard)

Birthday's are so much fun!

So I am so lucky I get to share my birthday with my sweet husband. Its not on the same day, mine's on the 1st and his is on the 4th. But they get grouped together and we celebrate for like a week or so.

This year was awesome! I can't believe that I am 25. Its crazy.

So we both took Friday (my birthday) off from work and spent the day together. We slept in, a little, went and got hair cuts, then went to lunch and did some browsing down at the Gateway.. Happy Sumo, mmm, so good. Then we went to Smith's Market Place where it was my work's double discount day and went birthday shopping. Yeah!!! My mom told me they were just giving us money, so we decided to use it... I got a new, small, and awesome digital camera. I can't believe how much they have changed in the past couple years, it was so inexpensive compared to our other camera, and has more megapixels. Its crazy. I love it, I can put it in my pocket, or in my purse... Or in a diaper bag... Where ever really. Jake got Super Mario Party 8 for the Wii, which is pretty fun!

Then we went to dinner, to Chili's, with Brooke and her boyfriend Dave - thanks Brooke!

The celebrations continued on Saturday with an early screening of the Mummy 3, which was cheesy but entertaining. Then we had a reunion/party for the Mad's of 2001. I must admit to being more than a little apprehensive to attending this, but it turned out to be lots of fun! It was so nice to see some old friends again and to see where they are in life, who has kids, and what everyone is up to. We made plans for after the party for Nate and Kristen to come up and to play some Wii with us, Nate was a madrigal with Jake, thats where they became best friends. It was so much fun to have them over, they live in Provo, which doesn't seem like such a long way, but we have a really hard time coordinating our schedules so we can hang out. But it worked great this weekend! So much fun!!



Then Sunday we had a birthday cake with Jake's family after church - Brooke made an awesome cake, she works at Cold Stone, So it was half white cake with cotton candy icecream, and half chocolate cake with chocolate/peanut butter icecream, so delicious! Then we went to my parents house for dinner and more celebrations... It was so fun, excellent dinner and an awesome cake from Corrine, it was triple chocolate cake with fresh strawberries mixed with whipped cream between two of the layers and then just whipped cream between the other layers. She makes her cakes with Diet Coke instead of the oil, water and egg. Its so much better calorie wise and tastes and looks just the same! Its brilliant! She is so talented with the decorating and stuff, I am so very impressed.



Today is Jake's birthday, and the poor boy has had to spend all day at school. But it was definately worth it, he is getting A's in pretty much every class! I am so proud of his dedication to his education. Its hard for him, always has been, but he has really stepped up and taken charge of his future. I am so very impressed with him!

Jake - I love you very very much and hope you had a happy birthday!

Walk Down Memory Lane

I've seen this around a bit, and I loved the idea so here goes.

Here are the instructions:

1. As a comment on my blog, leave one memory that you and I had together. (It can be Me or Jake or both... Yeah I am dumb and didn't notice this sooner...) It doesn't matter if you knew me/us a little or a lot; anything you remember.

2. Next, re-post these instructions on your blog and see how many people leave a memory about you. It's fun to see the responses. If you leave a memory about me, I'll assume you're playing the game and I'll come to your blog and leave one about you.

So Excited!

I was looking back at my recent posts and realized that I complain too much. Things are really going great! I just want to take a minute and highlight the great things that are happening.

We are having a baby, a boy, in 3 months!!! Its amazing, he is doing great, he's growing and moving around which is an awesome feeling. (Some times like a roller coaster) But knowing that my little one is in my belly growing strong and so active is such a great thing. I feel so blessed to have the opportunity to experience it. We went and registered at Babies-R-Us a couple weeks ago and it is so fun, all of the little things and cute stuff. It really made things more real, and put a timeline really into place. I can't wait until our little boy gets here and we get to meet him face to face. It will be the most amazing event ever.

My family is so supportive. Everyone has offered to help with Nathan after he gets here, its so good to know that I have loved ones around me close enough to me that I can depend on them when life gets crazy or when I will need a baby sitter for any reason. To have the support of people I trust and know will love my child as much as I do is such a blessing and a burden lifted from my mind. I mean I already have a babysitter lined up so I can go see Twilight when it comes out on December 12th(Thanks Janet!), I mean that is love!

I have a really good job, I enjoy so much getting to help people and to work with fun people and especially the 5 minute drive to work. Its great not to have to fill up my tank every couple days. Plus the willingness to work around my schedule and energy level is so nice. Being able to switch from 4 - 10's to 5 - 8's now is so nice, I don't come home totally exhausted. I love it. The fact that they are going to try to figure out the best schedule for me instead of me trying to work into their schedule is a huge blessing also.

I am also so very very very lucky to have Jake for my husband. He is so great and so loving and supportive of everything. He does the dishes and laundry and cooks and does all the things that I ask him to do, and he doesn't complain or get upset about doing them. I love him so much more each day for being there for me. He's going to be the best daddy.

I am so blessed in all areas of my life and really know that my Father in Heaven loves me and has a plan for me and I know that he will support me through all things, easy or hard. They are possible because of his plan.

Its hard to plan the unplannable.

So you all know I am a planner, I like to make plans for everything, even to make plans... I am finding it very difficult to plan for after Nathan arrives though. Even for before he gets here really. Everyone asks what my plan is for after and when I will go back to work and how long I get off and yada yada.

My most frustrated and honest answer is that I have no clue... I know I have to go back to work, probably 6 weeks after he's born. Which is like the second week of December. I know I will have to work at least 26 hours a week for insurance, but more for some financial stability... I know that I don't want to. I am really trying to think of a way to cut back to about 30-36 hours a week, I want to be home with my baby to raise him and take care of him.

My work asked me the other day what my plan was and I told them about the plan Jake and I had discussed, for him to work 4-8 m-f + Saturday's and me to work 9-4 m-f and him to go to school after that at night. They aren't sure if that will work or not. I am not sure either. I can't decide if it would be better to be gone for a shorter amount of time everyday or work like 3 days a week for 12 hours a day. What do you think? And if I am to work the 3 12's how would that work in with Jake's schedule. I just don't know what to do.

It seems so impossible to plan because Jake will be between semester's when I go back, and won't be able to even register for school until like November or something. So I don't know what his school schedule will be. And if he were to find some amazing job that pays well and has insurance and could work easily with school that would be amazing. Its just so hard to figure out a plan when there are so many unknowns.

My only plan as of now is to try to stay healthy, keep my back in shape, and work as long as I can before the baby comes so that I don't loose out on any time after he's here.

Pregnancy = brain dead.

I so was excited this morning when I was driving to work, I kept reminding myself not to forget to call and wish my dad a happy birthday...

I did...

He laughed...

His birthday is tomorrow...

A.C. repairs and a new outlook

Well its once again been a really long time since I updated my blog. Now that I work at Smith's I don't have time to blog like I used to.

So our air conditioner wasn't working like all summer it wouldn't get below 77 in the basement and it was usually between 81 and 83 most of the time. We had to go upstairs to get cool. So after about a month of being hot and uncomfortable we finally went out and got ceiling fans to put up in the basement. We got one installed and it works great! Thanks Tim and Jake for doing it! Then Jake's parents decided to call some one to come look at it finally. There was a loose connection... So the unit that was supposed to be cooling the main floor and basement hadn't even been working for who knows how long. So they fixed it and its back to being nice and cool down here. Sometimes its even cold! We are going to return the other fans or maybe sell them to a friend if they are what she's looking for. I am so glad its fixed. I was miserable in the heat.

Pregnancy update. Things are good we are at 24 weeks now and everything is good. I am a mess though, I spill on everything I wear, drop things constantly and get my words all mixed up... (some of that isn't new, just more severe) Also my back is being stupid. I am doing physical therapy for it but have been grounded from dishes and much laundry. Its really frustrating to me because Jake is so busy with school its hard for him to get everything done. And I feel bad that he has to do it. I am so grateful for him though because he does it without complaint and is trying to keep on top of it so I don't get even more frustrated. Its really hard for me to slow down, I shouldn't pick up my nieces and nephew, I should do any kind of bending and twisting or lifting at work and I need to be super careful because I am already showing signs of carpel tunnel wish is made worse with pregnancy. I am trying to do all the stretches and limit myself like the physical therapist has told me I need to. I just feel like a big lazy bum though because I want to do those things and be helpful and active. I never thought I would miss doing the dishes or laundry or cleaning... But I do.

Jake is really worried that it will get worse and I will have to stop working and what that might do to us financially and everything. I am worried but try not to think about it. Its too scary to ponder at this point.

Luckily my work is awesome and considerate. I know I could cut back hours or work short days or even split shifts if I needed to to make it work. I am so lucky to work where I do and with the people I do.

I am also so blessed to live where I do, Jake's parents are amazing and so generous to us. They are so willing and ever ready to help us with whatever our needs are and it is so kind of them to let us live with them for an unknown amount of time.

I can't believe how much love we have from both sides of our family. I don't know many people who have as awesome of parents as I do and such great in-laws as me. Usually its one or the other. I got both!!! I am the luckiest.

Tomorrow is my dad's 60th birthday, I can't believe it, he is still so young and can do so much more than I can. No one would believe that he is 60. He is an amazing example to me of love and hard work. He is always doing more than anyone knows to support his family spiritually and temporally. I hope I can be as good of an example as he is.

I can't say all these nice things without mentioning my mom. She is my rock and my guide. She just changed jobs so that when our baby is born she will be available to help us with him. This is a gift I will never be able to repay. Without her I don't know what we would do, she will make it possible for Jake to continue on with his education and for me to be able to keep my job (and our insurance).

Like I said I am the most blessed person to have such great family here for me to support, love and guide me through all my struggles.

New Pictures

I still don't know how to put the movie on here, but here are some of the most recent pictures!

More pictures and a DVD

Ok, so we had the real 20 week dr's appointment with the big utrasound and got more pictures and a DVD... Unfortunately our computer has a fan that isn't working properly and cannot be used until fixed... So we are borrowing Gerry's laptop tonight and Jake will scan the pictures tomorrow on Gerry's scanner, so then you will all get to see the cuteness that is our baby!

Until then - everything is perfect!

It's a...

Boy!

The picture that is labeled face, is kind of creepy I think... But he's laying on his side or stomach or something, I can't tell... But everything is good, he doesn't have a hole in his head.

Its so nice to be able to say he.

Tagged

8 Things I’m Passionate About
1) Family
2) Church and the Gospel
3) Clean Dishes - I mean sanitary clean!
4) Being comfortable
5) Sleep
6) Blogging
7) Grey's Anatomy
8) Twilight, I don't know what to call the series, but the vampire books... they are awesome.

8 Songs I Can Listen to Over and Over Again and Never Get Sick of(I am bad a song titles and don't feel like looking them up... so whatever... Plus I get sick of songs but not albums so we'll see what goes on here.)
1) To Make you Feel my Love - Garth Brooks
2) Anything by Liszt or any classical really
3) Lullaby (Good Night my Angel) Billy Joel
4) I Swear - only when Jake sings it though.
5) Blackbird - Beatles
6) Fire and Rain - James Taylor (pretty much all James Taylor though)
7) Josh Groban.
8) Annie's Song - John Denver

The Past 8 Books I’ve Read
1) Eclipse - Stephanie Meyer
2) Twilight - Stephanie Meyer
3) New Moon - Stephanie Meyer
4) Pride & Prejudice - Jane Austin
5) Mansfield Park - Jane Austin
6) Persuasion - Jane Austin
7) Harry Potter (all of them) - J.K. Rowling
8) Work and the Glory Series - Gerald N. Lund

8 Things I Say Often
1) Smith's Pharmacy
2) I am hungry
3) Be right with you.
4) It's a Boy!!!
5) We'll probably name him Nathan
6) Sweetheart... could you...
7) 5 more minutes, please.
8) I don't know.

8 Things That Attract Me to a Friend
1) Kindness
2) Relaxing
3) funny
4) Same standards
5) On time... Punctuality is important.
6) Dependable
7) Happy
8) Accepts me for who I am

8 Random Things About Me
1) I am pregnant.
2) I love Diet Coke, and am having a diet coke baby...
3) I am scared of being a mom of a toddler (I am a nursery leader right now and don't really like it... then again there's like 12-14 kids...)
4) I have Graves' disease. The irony of the name makes everyone laugh.
5) I wish Jake would pick out all my clothes, he's better at it than me.
6) I love Mexican food... Oddly enough its one of the only things that doesn't give me heartburn
7) Changing from an insurance person to a pharmacy person was one of the best decisions ever.
8) I am a bit of a control freak

8 Things I Want to Do Before I Die
1) Keep a journal and scrapbooks for future posterity *blogging is how I do it now*
2) Tour Europe
3) Raise well behaved kids.
4) Graduate College.
5) Have grandkids
6) Own a house
7) Go to all the temples
8) Tour the USA

8 Things I’ve Learned This Past Year
1) Things happen for a reason, and you have to wait and see what the reason is.
2) Change is good, scary but good.
3) Jake is the best husband
4) I have been entirely too dependant on Ibuprofen.
5) Being pregnant most of the time is fine, almost great, but some times really sucks.
6) I am kind of a control freak (as mentioned previously)
7) Complaining about work only makes work harder.
8) Humility is hard and when you think your there you are not.

8 People I'm Tagging
1) Jake
2) Corrine
3) Hillary
4) Kat
5) Mallory
6) Jamie
7) Kristin
8) Mary

Brooke's Graduation

Well its been a couple weeks now but on May 3, 2008 Brooke graduated with her Bachelor's Degree in Psychology. We got to go down to Cedar City and St. George for a couple days to be at the graduation and to celebrate with her!

Here are some pictures from the graduation!



We are very proud of her and a bit jealous that at 20 she has her bachelors... Early college high school would have been nice.

whrwhrwhrwhr

What an awesome sound. We had another doctor's appointment this week, everything is going great! We will have the gender check in 2 weeks and then some new pictures! All we got this Wednesday was to hear the heart beat, but that was enough for me. I am so excited and way less sick feeling. I am kind of an emotional monster some of the time though. I get really ticked off really easily. Unfortunately it seems to only trigger the urge to cry... Very annoying.

Its crazy even though I have only gained about 3 pounds none of my pants fit, everything feels tight and uncomfortable, so I am on a mission to find cute maternity clothes, its hard because all the stores are between seasons. Totally annoying. I have like 1 pair of pants that work... Hopefully I will find some more today.

I forgot to post about my broken window. So last Thursday was supposed to be my appointment, and I was on my way after doing inventory at work and then going to breakfast. I was going north on Bangerter and between 90th (where the doctor is) and 98th about half way something, I don't know what hits my window, my driver's side window and shattered it, in on me... I feel very blessed that it was a cold wet day because I had a jacket on so no cuts there and I also am so blessed that I wear glasses, because I am pretty sure I would have gotten glass in my eyes otherwise. So the government's economic stimulus money came just in time to replace my window... It was scary, I had to reschedule my dr's appointment (apparently).

Finished basement - Finally

Here we go, I finally got it cleaned up enough to take some pictures, its not perfect but yeah!

First Doctor's appointment

Everything is great!!! We are due October 26th as of now. I am so excited!!! It was awesome to go and have my first ultrasound done and to see and hear the baby, it was moving around and its little heart was just pounding away! Everything is going great from what we know!!!

Here's the pictures! The head is on the left.



Here's the heart it was beating at 169 which is perfect!

Coupons... And money saving tips...

Ok, so now that I have a kitched again and a baby on the way I need to learn how to not just be frugal but really cheap, a penny pinching, tightwad. I have clipped the coupons from Sunday's paper and have been told about a couple websites (coupons.com & savvyshopper.com) to find coupons from. I work at Smith's so I can get the ad for the week, and try to plan accordingly. But thats as far as I have gotten in the money saving, smart planning, menu making ways.

I need some help.

I would love some tips from all of you savvy shoppers and busy mom's or even just full time workers, I need to save time and cook at home but where do you find the time to do it? Let alone plan it out.

I wish I could to the neighborhood meal thing like the Hicken's but I don't have friends that live close enough by to make that work... So I am on my own...
Please any suggestions would be awesome!!!

(And Corrine - according to Hillary I need to go shopping and planning with you, she said you are the best around!)

SOLD - Oversized Pillow-Backed Couch and Loveseat Set for Sale

SOLD

Price: $250

*Sorry Becky, I would have prefered selling them to you, but we sold them last night at like 10:00.

Couch Dimentions: 97" (8'1") Long X 39" Deep X 30" Tall
Loveseat Dimentions: 60" (5') Long X 39" Deep X 30" Tall
7 Large Pillows
2 Small Pillows
1 Long Pillow


We are pained to get rid of this couch, but it won't fit into the basement we live in. The couch seats 4 comfortably and is long enough to lay down on. The loveseat fits 2 pretty snugly (its more of a chair and a half) But it is way comfy to lounge in and relax.

Both are in good condition, they are a few years old so they aren't perfect but we have taken great care of them. We do not smoke, have cats or dogs, nor any kids. Since the couch won't fit into the basement it is in the garage right now but it is clean and dry and there are no bugs.

The tones (as seen in the pictures) are light creamy and have accents that vary to a brownish tan. They are very neutral. All of the pillows have the two different tones, and are reversable (both patterns are shown in the pictures).

**If you are interested make sure you have transportation**

Our contact information:phone: 680-0723
Or send email.

If you have questions or want to set up at time to come and see please let us know!

Finished basement and More...

Well to all of those who are waiting for pictures of the basement, it is finished, but quite the disaster zone, we have stuff everywhere... Its such a mess.

I will get pictures up as soon as it is somewhat presentable. But for now, you will all have to wait!

In other news...

For those of you who don't always check Jake's Blog, you should. There is some very exciting family news on there. (Yep, that's right, we are pregnant!) We are very excited, I am a bit terrified of the whole having a baby thing, but I am sure when we get to that point, I will be ready for it... at least for it to be out... I haven't been really very morning sick, kind of an all around sick, but so far now throwing up or anything. My sense of smell is insane, its kind of annoying, except for the fact I can't do the dishes... That's nice, Jake is so sweet and he does them! Other than that my main thing is being tired and hungry too frequently... And pretty thirsty, for water of all things. My first appointment isn't until the 3rd of April which is getting closer but still seems too far away.

Anywho, I can't really think of anything else to say in this post... I will update soon!

Sorry to be a slacker...

So I have been back from Connecticut since Saturday, but have been totally busy with work and moving and being tired to update anything.

So I have tons of pictures from my trip to put on here. We had so much fun in Connecticut and New York, it was a blast as you could read from Hill's blog.



Here are the pictures, I hopefully will get on and put captions on, but here we go for these at least!

Connecticut Update

Hello everybody! I wanted to let you know that you should look at Hillary's blog, she's put some pictures on of the fun things we've done. I forgot to bring the cable to plug in my camera so all my pictures will be put on when I get back to Salt Lake!

Also Jake might be updating his blog soon with pictures of our nearly done basement! All that's left are closet doors! Yeah!!!

Connecticut

Well I am here now! I made it, my flight was great, the drive from the airport to the Hill's place was long, the buildings in New York are so cool to see in real life! I am so excited to be here.

I started reading Twilight on my way here, its an awesomely addictive book! I am excited to see what happens.

I will post pictures on here when I get a chance, it will probably be when I get home.

Also an update on the basement. The bath tub in installed and fully functional with the shower and bath fixtures in place. Its awesome. We also have countertops now, they are a pretty laminate - the installation was very smelly, but they look great. Jake and I got to pick out the tiles for the back splash, they are really cool and coordinate nicely with the rest of the basement decor. It will probably be finished this week and for sure be done when I get back from Connecticut. Yeah for our own space!

Exciting Events!

Well my license is coming in the mail finally! I even am able to print a verification of license from the internet!!! Its so exciting!

Yet more exciting is that Steve (Arveseth) is going to Brazil for a week for work, and I am going to CONNECTICUT!!! for 10 days!!! I am leaving on Thursday of next week and coming home the Saturday March 1st!!!

Basement 2/5

I am having a hard time keeping up with the changes, they are pretty big dramatic and beautiful changes! So here are some out dated pictures of what's going on down there!
Half are Tuesday before work and the other half are after work and on Wednesday

February 1 Basement Pictures...

Basement 1/23

Basement 1/16

Well I guess I complained a couple days before things started getting better. They painted! I think they will be leveling the floor in the kitchen area today and maybe even starting to tile, Gerry and Janet picked out and purchased the tile last night! The carpet people are coming either this week or next week (I think) and I think the cabinets have kind of been picked out, they will be from IKEA - and match the pretty doors we will have down there, the bead board. then the appliances are just waiting to be delivered when ever they are ready to be installed. So maybe its going to be done sooner than we were thinking. I think they have been paid and have a job coming up after they finish here so they are more motivated to get it finished! YEAH!!!!

Here's some pictures from this morning.

It's been a while...

Well I have been so busy with changes in work and life that I haven't really had time to update my blog. So here we go.

I changed jobs at the end of December and am now working Monday, Tuesday, Thursday, and Friday at Smith's from 9-7, they are long days but its pretty nice to only work 4 days a week. I am really enjoying my job and the work I do. I went down to DOPL the other day and got my finger prints done - electronically, it was cool. I turned in my application and paid my $99.00 for the licensing application and processing. Hopefully within a week or two I will be able to pull my licence numbers off the Internet at get the raise at work and really become a fully fledged pharm tech.

The basement... Is dragging and taking forever. They are so slow. They are painting this week and the carpet is scheduled to be installed this week, maybe... But they haven't done anything in the kitchen for finishing work and the bathroom isn't any more completed... I was hoping we'd be down there by now, but I am thinking its probably going to be March before it gets all finished. Also when it started being done we were under the impression that we'd have some say in what it looked like, but it turns out that our opinions or desires don't matter - not to the builder or the in-laws. So its going to be how they want it. I have resigned myself to it, and will just have to live in it like I would any other apartment and I will keep waiting until I have a place of my own. I just hope they will hurry up and get it done so we can move down there. (I am a bit claustrophobic)

I shouldn't complain, I am very lucky to have in-laws that will let us rent their basement from them and I am grateful to them for everything they have done for us.