Something Sparkly

My sweet husband got me this ring for my Birthday, isn't it beautiful? I asked for something sparkly, and this is what he came up with! Next to my husband of course, I would have to say that diamonds are my best friend. I really am so girly - and a little spoiled! Thanks hun.

TRADITIONS

If you know anything about my family, you know we are all about TRADITIONS. We get it from my dad, who just hates change, which makes life turn into a huge TRADITION!

However, I have caught the bug too. Now around any holiday or event, it doesn't seem right if I don't do it the TRADITIONAL way!

This is us at Spaghetti Factory for my birthday. A long lived TRADITION. I think this is like the 8th year in a row or something. I guess I just wouldn't eat on my birthday if we didn't go to Spaghetti Factory!!

We went to Temple Square last weekend with my family. It was very fun, but of course very cold! A few people forgot to wear their black puffy coat!

BRING ON THE PINK!!

There is pink in our future!!! Yup, we are 99.9% sure our little one will be a girl. I can't tell you how excited I am, of course I would be happy either way, but a girl was icing on the cake to me! When we first started the ultrasound, the tech said, "I already know the sex of the baby." She wanted to finish all of her testing before she told us though. So I sat there for 10 minutes absolutely sure it was a boy because of how fast it was determined. Then we saw her spread eagle, with no we-we! She is a mover though, she was turning cirlces when we were doing the ultrasound. We would see her butt in one picture and then all the sudden, her face would pop up. No wonder I am not a huge fan of feeling her, it is so constant!! We got a really great picture of her face, you can see both eyes, her nose, and her mouth. We are hoping her forehead will not grow any more, it was quite large. We are both very excited to be having a girl, as for now we are calling her Lucy - and maybe it will just stick!!

I know this video is really long, and probably shows more than you need to see, but the first few seconds are really cute!!

Bored, bored, bored!!!

I feel like a child every year at this time of year. You see, it is my birthday today, and Christmas next week. The anticipation of this month kills me. Every year on December 16 I can not fall asleep. I don't know why. It is not like I am so excited for my birthday, it is not like we are doing anything extra special, but it is just the anticipation that for one day you truly get to feel extra special!! I am also one who has a love/hate relationship with surprises. I love thinking about what I might be receiving for my birthday, but I honestly can not stand it. I beg Rhett everyday just to tell me what it is (although if he told me, I would be extremely disappointed in him!), will I be able to wear it? what letter does it start with? will it be for the house? is it something that I have wanted for a long time? does it come with a gift receipt? That is usually the most important question!! It is the same way with Christmas Eve. I remember as a child looking at the clock at 1, 2, and 3 o'clock, not able to sleep. Of course, back then I was hearing Santa upstairs - and I am the lightest sleeper you will meet - he was always at our house for hours, our Santa has a sleeping problem all year round!! Poor Santa!

I have seriously been up since my last bathroom break at 5:00 am. I feel a little trapped, because it is a rule, you can not clean one bit on your birthday. So here I sit stalking blogs and decided I might as well share my dilemma with others! I guess another big reason for the anticipation for me today is we will find out what color our nursery will be! I guess that could truly be the reason for depriving myself of sleep.....we shall post again soon.

Some new pictures!

Here it is, the requested belly picture. This is me at 4 1/2 months!!!

This video shows when we told my family we were having a baby. We gave the pregnancy test to my neice for her birthday. Notice how she reacts to it - yuck!

The Christmas Season

I guess I was in a bit of a negative mood yesterday! I will redeem myself by tagging myself and revealing what I love about the holiday season...

- I love all the lights. I love to drive around different neighborhoods and seeing different displays people have.
- I love spending more time with our family. It seams like you always find more time during this season.
- It is my Birthday season also! Rhett likes to call my gifts 'Birthmas Presents'. I do not like this term!
- As much as I do not like to be cold, I love it when it has just snowed and all the trees are holding as much snow as they can on their little branches, it is so beautiful.
- I love time to reflect on the year and know what you want to do better for next year.
- I love all the shopping I get to do. I love getting that perfect gift for everyone - although that usually means many many returns before I find that perfect gift!
- It is a great time to reflect on the life of Christ and all he has done for each of us.
- The decor - I love to decorate my house festive. It makes it feel so cozy.
- Christmas sounds - the bells at the front of the store, the great music, the bustle at the store, the crackling fire, and the silence when the snow is falling.
- Parties - although I don't ever get invited to any really fun fancy parties that I would get to wear my little black dress to (like I see on every tv show and movie), I still enjoy going to parties and visiting with friends and family.
- Talking to kids about Santa - I love the excitement they have for this jolly old soul. I wish I still had the same excitement about him that they do!!!

Well, here is an early Merry Christmas - may you enjoy the season as much as I do!!! I now get to tag people - how fun! I tag Lisa, Hannah, Beth, Amy, Juli, and Kim! Enjoy!

3 Down, Many More to Go!

We had our third doctor's appointment yesterday. I have gained a few pounds and I must say my doctor was very proud of me! Wow, proud to gain weight, it is such a weird feeling. All my life (well, the past 10 years) I have always tried to keep my weight, always hopeful that would mean I would loose just a few pounds. Who was I kidding, I have never lost weight until I got pregnant - go figure.

Everything looked great at the appointment and we will be doing the ultrasound on my birthday! Yay! I can not wait to find out what this little creature is. I swear, it keeps me up at night having to try to figure out what color the nursery will be painted, what color my diaper bag is going to have to be, and what bedding we will get. I know I am so silly, but it is all so much fun to think about. I need something positive to keep me from thinking about how sick I have been the past four months.

Why did no one tell me pregnancy was so hard? Why is it that I only saw all the cute happy little pregnant people running around? As you can see, I am getting a little frustrated. I was okay until about 15 weeks, and then I just got mad - this is when I am supposed to feel better! If I read any more lines about how I 'should' be feeling, I swear, I will hurt someone! I have read so many lines saying - this is when you will have all of your energy back, you should be feeling great, this is the honeymoon stage of your pregnancy, the nausea is gone, and you are able to do the things that you enjoy most !!!! I find them to be comical now. I just don't know when this is going to end. I was talking to a friend in my ward and she said you think it should just be bliss because all the women you see are enjoying it, while all the women that have a hard time during pregnancy are at home in bed! I thought she had a great point! I did start on the Phenegran, so we are crossing our fingers it will help.

Monarch Butterflies

As I would say when I was a kid 'I have Butterflies, huge Monarch Butterflies!' Well, I felt my first set of real Monarch Butterflies on Wednesday, and I think they were the biggest Monarchs I have ever felt. It was so great to feel the little baby. At first I thought that is new, do I need to go to the bathroom? Do I need to eat? Am I full? Am I on a roller coaster? And then I realized, it was her (we are calling a her these days for the sake of not calling her an it). I was in the car with my family taking my little brother to the MTC. I felt 4 little flutters and then realized what was going on. Later that night I turned to lay on my side - apparently I am not supposed to lay on my back anymore, there are so many rules during pregnancy - And I felt many little movements once again. It was a neat step in the pregnancy, but I also need to admit, it was a little freaky. It always grossed me out when other people would say they can feel their baby all the time, but I thought it would maybe change when It was me. I guess I will just be a little grossed out for the next few months!

Thanksgiving!

Well, I am really trying to do better at this whole bloggin thing. Usually I just feel like I have nothing to say except that I was sick today! How fun is it to hear about that? I guess I do have a few more things to discuss, but I do feel silly talking to the computer, a few friends, and some random people that end up finding my blog. I must admit I am one of those random people who fall onto many blogs, people are really amazing. I am so intrigued by other people's lives. I guess that is the whole idea of this, to share with other people your life experiences.

I was tagged by my cute cousin Juli last week about Thanksgiving. I know I am a bit late, but I would still like to share what I am thankful for...

1. Family - I am so lucky to live by all of my siblings and my parents. I get to see family almost everyday!

2. My brother Daniel - He is leaving on his mission today and I know he will be an amazing missionary. Good luck Dan.

3. Nieces and Nephews - If I love motherhood as much as being an aunt, I will be in a great place!

4. My fetus!! I know that is silly, but I feel so blessed to be able to be having a baby.

5. Days, hours, or even minutes when I feel okay. I pray for those minutes. Hopefully it will soon turn into days and weeks!

6. Cold cereal and apples. I never thought I would like these 2 foods, but I can't get enough of them. I could eat 4 apples a day. It is keeping me regular!!!

7. Rhett - He is so good to me. He has loved me through the past few months, which I know has not been easy. He will bring me anything I need and he vacuums my house! Thanks honey.

8. The beach- although the past few years I have only been once a year. I am still able to feel the calm of the ocean. I love it. I love to just lay in the sand and soak up the sun.

9. Heaters- we got this great heater this year at Costco. It keeps our room warm all night. I love it.

10. TV- I know that sounds terrible, but I really do love to lay down and watch some good tv. I am lucky to have a husband who even sells them. We have been able to get some great deals!

11. I just have one more - my house. I love my house. I love my neighborhood. I love being able to do whatever I want to my house. It is so much fun. I must admit, I have a cute house!

THAT'S A POSITIVE!

Because this is our first post in the blogging world, we thought we would make it an extra special one by letting you know that we are expecting a baby May 10, 2008. We are so excited. We think we will be even more excited once Holly stops throwing up!!! She is currently 14 weeks, so we are praying it will only be a few more weeks until she is up to her normal self. We give all of you women who get sick during pregnancy much praise, and for all of you who don't, you are blessed (and I don't like ya much). Rhett is hoping for triplets so he doesn't have to go through it again! He doesn't know what he is asking for! He has been wonderful taking care of Holly and bringing her 90% of her meals in bed...thanks babe!!

update on our lives

We built a house last year in North Salt Lake located in the Foxboro community. We were able to move in just before Christmas, it was great timing. We love where we live and couldn't ask for better neighbors. In May our ward grew to over 800 members, it was huge. They finally split the ward in June. We enjoy having a more intimate Sunday experience. A few weeks after the ward split, I was called as the Ward Chorister, a very scary place for me to be. I had to learn a lot, and gain a lot of courage to stand in front of the whole ward each Sunday, 4 times! It is much better now and if the songs are easy I don't even get nervous - I thought that day would never come. Rhett currently does not have a calling - I am working on him subbing for me when I can't make it - he won't have it.

Rhett works at RCWilley selling electronics and appliances. He has been there almost 5 years. He enjoys his job, and I enjoy the discount! It has been a perfect place to have a discount when furnishing a new house. Rhett is a great at what he does, no one can resist his great smile!

I currently work at my dad's law firm - as much as I can! It is hard to work when you are miserable so it has been so nice to have a very flexible schedule. I try to work as much as I can, and somedays we are lucky if I show up! I have never felt so flaky in my entire life. Hopefully in a few weeks I will be able to work up my hours again.

We have been married over 3 years, and can't believe how time has flown. We feel so fortunate to have everything we have. We truly couldn't ask for anything more. We are so blessed to be having a baby, and just can't wait for those sleepless nights!