Babe

 Well, the cat's out of the bag...Or to be less cryptic I just announced to the world that my husband and I are expecting a little human in April next year [Yay! Celebrate!]. We are completely over the moon.

Good news for those with a lot of time of their hands and an interest in our new addition, I have blogged a bumpdate--so to speak--each week since I found out I was pregnant, which was all the way back in August. So feel free to check those out if you feel so inclined. You can start here, or here, or here, or here, or just go crazy. It's your life.

Week 15 Bumpdate:

How far along? 15 weeks - almost finished with month four!
Baby is: Possibly 4 and 1/2 inches from crown to rump, or about the size of an apple.
Total weight gain/loss? Almost two pounds.
Maternity clothes? No.
Stretch marks? No.
Sleep? Great. 
Best moment this week? Telling the rest of the world the fun news!
Miss Anything? Lifting really heavy things. I've finally decided it's time to delegate tasks like moving 30-pound boxes and such.
Movement? Not distinguishably yet.
Food cravings? Nothing this week.
Anything making you queasy or sick? Nope.
Have you started to show yet? Yes.
Gender? We find out soon. 
Labor Signs? None.
Belly Button in or out? In
Wedding rings on or off? On
Happy or Moody most of the time? Happy. :)
Looking forward to? Finding out the gender in about a week and a half.

Ps, Happy Halloween! I love you, all!

A Spot of Good News (Week 5 Update)

Originally written around August 20, 2014.

I'm pregnant... [ohmygoshisthisreallife?!!!!]

First reactions:

Total excitement!!!!

Here's how I found out:

I was laying in bed trying to figure out what my due date would be if I were hypothetically pregnant right now. I began to say my closing prayer and asked Heavenly Father to let us be pregnant right now. I thought about taking a test in the morning because my period was a little over a week late (day 37 of my cycle) and spontaneously decided to take a test right then. I covered it with toilet paper because I'm suppose to wait at least three minutes before reading the test. I was a little hopeful, but realistically expected a negative result because it was nighttime (and HCG levels are highest in the first bathroom trip of the day) and because I had had 24 ounces of water about an hour and a half before. I figured everything would be too watered down to be accurate anyway.

BOOM! Pregnant. Right now. Watered-down pee and all. I am fairly certain the day of my last period was July 11, 2014, so my due date is... April 17, 2015. Perfect. Right between our birthdays. :) I am stoked for this little baby. The time is so right. I am so happy in my life since I moved to Texas. I am happier than I have been in about six years. By a long shot. I feel so peaceful about everything. Also, I know how badly Jeff wants a baby, even though he is in medical school. What a champ.

Notwithstanding all these perfect factors, I have to say I think the Lord was partially waiting on me. I reached a stage not long ago when I wanted to put off having children--by several years. I wanted more financial security, which we won't have for almost ten years. I wanted to prepare myself more. I wanted to be perceived by the world as a mature adult before having children. Then my friend Carerra texted me and said she felt like I should read this talk.

The talk tells the story of a man in medical school who thought maybe he and his wife should wait to have children so his wife could work. President Spencer W. Kimball told the man he didn't think the Lord would want the couple to put off one of the Lord's most important commandments so he could become a doctor. He asks the man, "Where is your faith?"

The talk also says that Adam and Eve did not have their children in the Garden of Eden. Tons of ancient (and modern-day) prophets had their children in days of tribulation. The Lord wants us to multiply and replenish the Earth. It is not possible to have kids when all circumstances are perfect because children will never be born in perfect circumstances.

After reading this, I gained faith in the Lord in regard to having children when His timing is right. It's amazing that as soon as I aligned my will with the father I found out I was expecting. Okay, I get it. :)

Anyway, I am so grateful to be pregnant. :)

We are SO blessed.

Liebster Award: Discover New Blogs

First of all, a big thank you to my friend, Marla from A Pendulum World for nominating me for the Liebster award! Do yourself a favor and check out/follow her blog. She is an amazing person, writer, mother, and friend. On her blog, she regularly posts about health, family, spirituality, and other uplifting, insightful topics. So yeah, she's great! I will be nominating some blogs later in this article. :)

This is how the award works:

• Post the award on your blog.
• Thank the blogger who presented this award and link back to their blog.
• Write 5 random facts about yourself.
• Nominate 5 bloggers who you feel deserve this award and who have less than 200 followers.
• Answer 11 questions posted by the presenter and ask your nominees 5 questions.

Here goes! 

Five random facts about me:

1. I am left-handed.

2. I used to believe Pokemon were real, just invisible. I was in fourth grade!

3. I could eat cereal for every meal.

4. I played the viola for just three semesters in college and my husband-then-boyfriend basically volunteered me to play in front of Julie B. Beck and thousands of people! I declined the invitation.

5. I am currently wearing a Texas A&M University tennis t-shirt (Jeff's suggested random fact).

I nominate:

P.S. My Name is Madeline

The Ordinary Snowflake

Hailey Josephine
The Petersons
Mrs. Draper's Stories

The questions the presenter asked are:

1. What is your favorite quote? "Don't judge me because I sin differently than you." -a bumper sticker mentioned by President Dieter F. Uchtdorf (how's that for a citation?)
2. Your favorite food? Utah food: Cafe Rio, Zupas, and J-dawg's, specifically.
3. Your favorite vacation? I love Canada and Costa Rica.
4. Your favorite book? The Book of Mormon. 
5. Your favorite color? I really like mint blue or that blushy, wedding pink. A lot.
6. Your favorite movie? I love "Matilda". It speaks to me. 
7. Your favorite outfit? I love waist-high skirts, cute tights and rider boots. And three-quarter-sleeve shirts.
8. Your favorite place? Possibly St. George, UT. I lived in Ivins for a year and it is beautiful.
9. Your favorite drink? Aloe Vera juice - trust me; it's delicious.
10. Your favorite flower? Ranunculus! 
11. Your favorite blog? I love Merrick's Art and Cotton and Curls. I am easily inspired by modest, incredible moms who can create whatever interests them. I can't even sew, but I spend a lot of time browsing through all of there projects.

Marla asked her nominees:

1. Why do you blog? (1) I like my friends and family to see what we're up to, (2) I like doing crafts and trying new recipes and blogs are such a conducive landing spot for that sort of frivolity, (3) I was terrified of medical school. Everyone told me it would be a nightmare. I found hope as I read through med-school blogs. I love writing and sharing experiences, so I wanted to contribute to what has already helped me so much as a med school wife.
2. Who is the person you look up to the most and why? My husband. My gosh, what a stud. Jeff is amazing. He also really dislikes being bragged about, so I'll stop here I guess [he is so smart, dedicated, disciplined, hilarious, close to God, psyched about family, patient, kind, and forgiving. There is truly no one like him. He is also very attractive, duh.]
3. What brings you the most peace in life? The knowledge I have that I am a child of God and a loving Heavenly Father has got my back. I seriously love God so much. Life is not meant to be easy, but God sure loves his children (me, and you, and everyone).
4. Where is your favorite place to vacation? Oh Canada...
5. What is your favorite book? the Book of Mormon. Get one for free!

My questions for nominees:

1. What is your passion in life?

2. What do you most want to be remembered for in life?

3. What is your purpose in blogging?

4.What is your funniest memory?

5. Who is your biggest inspiration?

You all rock! Have a great day. :)

What is this Day?

I haven't posted in forever--sorry. Today was so crazy I deemed it blog-worthy. Here's the short version:

(1) I was screened for ebola
(2) Jeff lost a tooth. Yay!!--oh wait.

I think I have the flu. I am staying home from work and going to an Instacare tomorrow. My conversation with an on-call nurse this evening went a little like this:

Nurse: "What's wrong?" In more words.
Me: "I have the flu."
Nurse: "Who told you you have the flu?" Seriously?
Me: "Um.. the internet."
Nurse: [typical symptom and health background questions]
Me: [typical normal responses]
Nurse: "I have to ask all patients this: have you been to West Africa in the last month?"
Me: "No."
Jeff: "Oh my gosh; she's screening you for ebola."
Nurse: "Are you confused? Do you know your address? Have you been exposed to anyone who has been out of the country in the last month?"
Me: "Uh...oh yes. I know my address. No, I'm not very confused at all. I work at a daycare with tons of kids from other countries. Oh, gosh. I have no idea if I've been exposed to anything."
. . .
Nurse: "Definitely see a doctor in the next 24 hours."

I am pretty certain I don't have ebola, but I better post something on my blog now in case I get quarantined. -__-

And yes, Jeff lost a tooth playing flag football. It's one of his front two top teeth. Thankfully, it's a tooth that has already been knocked out twice before (thrice if we're counting baby teeth, ha). The first time it was lodged in his best friend's knee; the second it broke off while eating a peanut-butter-honey sandwich, really. Tonight, some shorter guy clocked Jeff in the face with his head--I mean, can we just count our blessings that this is all happening to one already-fake tooth?!

He came home looking like a hockey player with his swimsuit trunks on purposely inside-out (it was his best shot at pocketless shorts).

Also, I watched Jumangi tonight. I just have no idea what is real life right now. Somebody get me another throat lozenge (<-- took me three tries to spell 'throat' correctly).