Saying goodbye to 2009

As you can see by the date and time I am writing this post on New Year Eve. JC and I just got back from going to dinner and now we're just hanging out waiting for the ball to drop at midnight so we can kiss and drink sparkling cider. Before the late evening begins I just wanted to make a post about my thoughts of 2009.

Backing up to the end of 2008, I had some pretty strong, repeated, feelings that 2009 was going to be a really good year for some reason. We said goodbye to 2008 and welcomed 2009 with anticipation. The year continued on and the following happened:

--In January decided to do foster care.
--Started and completed the foster care classes in February, and moved into a bigger apartment.
--In March, late one evening, received a call that my Grandpa had passed away. Traveled home to Idaho to attend the funeral and be with Grandma.
--In May we went to Kansas to attend my brother's law school graduation. Also, JC got an e-mail
stating that he had been selected for the air traffic control posting he had applied and tested for and that we would be moving to Alaska.
--In June JC traveled to Chicago to attend his interview for the air traffic control position, where he found out we were going to Anchorage, AK.
--In July my cousin Jenny married her sweetheart. The following Sunday I started feeling sick as I was traveling back to Logan from the wedding weekend. The following morning I woke up sicker than a dog. The following Wednesday I tested positive for pregnancy. Thursday we told my parents and my friend Jenny. Then Friday we told JC's family at family pictures we had taken before the family reunion. While in Salt Lake getting family pictures, my parents SUV (that we were borrowing to move stuff with) was broken in to. Someone shattered the window and got away with our lap top. That same evening on our way to the reunion at Bear Lake we got into an accident (in my parents SUV that we were borrowing) as JC was turning at an intersection. After the reunion, we moved to Idaho (in with my parents, not knowing when JC would be assigned to go to Oklahoma City) and told my siblings of our exciting news of the baby!
--In August JC started working for LOWE'S in Idaho Falls and we attended our first OB appointment. A week later JC received his letter from the FAA stating that they had a spot open for him to come and start his 2 1/2 months of training. Three days later we started our road trip for Oklahoma City and to find JC an apartment.
--In October I heard the baby's heart beat for the first time. Also, felt the baby move for the first time.
--In November we were told that we were having a boy. JC got home from Oklahoma City. Three days later we started out for Seattle, put our car on a ferry, and flew to Anchorage, AK. JC began his air traffic controller job. We spent our first Thanksgiving away from home. JC felt the baby move for the first time.
--In December it was confirmed that we were having a boy. We spent our first Christmas away from home.

As you can see it's been a very eventful, but blessed year for us. With the arrival of our first born in 2010, we once again find ourselves welcoming the upcoming new year with great anticipation. I just wanted to express my gratitude to a loving Heavenly Father for all He has blessed us with. I also am SO grateful to loving and supportive friends, family, and in-laws. We love you all and hope the best for you all in the new year!

Goodbye 2009!

Blankets, burp cloths, and booties!!

Part of the excitement of having a baby is all the CUTE things you receive and can make! For Christmas JC's sister and Mom made a sent the sweetest blanket along with some pajamas, socks, and onesies.
My sister Jill crocheted a couple pairs of booties and mailed them with a sweet picture of Mary and baby Jesus. I SO can't wait for him to wear them!
With all the things people have been making and sending I got the bug for making something and have been working on some burp cloths. They are fleece on one side and denim on the other side. The yellow and blue one is an airplane one for his Daddy!

Christmas 2009

This year, being that we are so far from family, we spent our first Christmas away from home and family. At first I was pretty bummed about the idea but over all the day turned out pretty good.
Backing up though, for Christmas Eve JC made up homemade pizza for dinner-a tradition his family used to do. Then that night we watched a cartoon of the nativity story and read from the scriptures.
We started Christmas morning off by getting up at 6:3o a.m. to open gifts. JC's family has a tradition of getting up at 4 a.m. to open gifts but I was SO tired when that time rolled around, plus JC was still fast asleep and I didn't want to wake him. It was so funny though, when I woke up about 6:20 a.m. he was quietly playing a game on his IPhone so as to not wake me up. He's so sweet like that. I layed there for a few minutes and finally said, "are you awake?". He popped up and said, "YEP!" He's so cute! So we got up and opened gifts.
Santa brought JC some clothes, shoes, a video game, and a radio attachment for his IPhone. Santa brought me a sewing machine, sewing accessories, a new toaster, and a WAY cute shower curtain that I wanted. After being spoiled by Santa, were even more spoiled by our parents, grand parents, and siblings!
After opening gifts, I called and talked to my family and then we just hung out for a little while before getting ready to have the missionaries over for dinner.
Later that day the missionaries came for dinner. It was a first for both Elders to be away from home at Christmas, so we were all pretty much in the same boat--except JC, he already had his first Christmas away from home while on his mission. We had fun talking with the Elders and getting to know them. After a while they headed home and JC talked to his family. We finished up the day with a few Christmas shows and headed to bed.
We definitely missed being surrounded by friends and family but we made the best of the day. It was fun incorporating some traditions from home and starting some of our own before Zachary comes.
We hope everyone had a fun a safe Christmas day!! Merry Christmas and Happy New Year from the Howell's!

Gender confirmation

Today I went to my appointment with the Perinatologist here in Anchorage. I was seeing one back in Idaho and he said after his ultrasound that he felt the baby was measuring small and that my amniotic fluid levels were low. He wanted me to follow up with a Perinatologist when we moved to Alaska. I had told the nurse that when we had our gender ultrasound the tech was only able to give us an 85% confirmation that we were having a boy. She laughed and said, "yeah nothing gets by Dr. Richey. She can tell you".
The doctor came in and started the ultrasound and went through her checklist of everything to see that the baby was growing and functioning normally and on schedule. She had a hard time getting a good picture of the heart and the genitalia. I had to keep turning from side to back to side to back again to side, and so one. The baby was head down with his back to the camera and close legged. She finally caught the baby off guard, got a good open leg shot, and confirmed twice that it was definitely a boy. My motherly instincts from a few months into the pregnancy were that it was a boy but it's nice to have a second, medical confirmation. I saw his spine, legs, hands, fingers, toes, and for a few seconds he turned and looked right at us. Also she got a good side profile shot and he is SO cute! He has JC's side profile. I can't wait to see him--out of the womb that is!!
As for the growth, he is measuring big at this point (2 lbs. 12 oz. and we're only 27 weeks). I was counseled to really tighten up on my blood sugar levels so as to not give birth to a big baby that would end up on the NICU for a while. So now we're praying that things will go well from now until the delivery and that there will be little to no complications.

Happy 1st Anniversary Blaine and Kristin!!

On December 20th my little brother and his gorgeous wife Kristin celebrated their first wedding anniversary. We have LOVED Kristin's addition to our family. She is one of the sweetest people you will ever meet, and hilarious!! As for Blaine, he's my younger brother but I have always looked up to him. He has always honored his priesthood, had the FUNNIEST sense of humor, and is just an all around great guy.
I can still remember when he called and told me about Kristin. I could sense the love he already had for this girl, and I hadn't even met her yet. They make the cutest couple and I love them both to pieces!!
HAPPY ANNIVERSARY you two!!**This picture courtesy of my little sister Jamie-- I stole it from her blog. She's an AMAZING photographer!**

Contractions and Cravings

When I went to my last OB appointment I was asked if I had been having any contractions. I told the Dr. no but as I was leaving I thought to myself, "I don't even know what a contraction feels like! How would I know if I had been having them?" Well these last couple weeks I have been busy doing Christmas shopping and running errands (being the most active I have been since we got here). I got home after picking up JC from work and had felt some major tightening of my stomach. It was pretty uncomfortable so I laid down and it eased up after a while. This last week I felt it again. I talked to my Mom tonight (who is a Labor and Delivery nurse) and she confirmed that it was most likely contractions that I had been feeling. She confirmed that I could start feeling them at this point and to lye down, drink a lot of water, and take it easy. I'm SO excited for this little guy to come but not just yet. As JC puts it, "He's not done baking yet!"

Also, when I started this pregnancy I was NOT going to be an ice cream eater. I was going to try to eat only fruit and the healthy stuff. This last week after home evening I asked JC if we could PLEASE got get a hot fudge sundae from somewhere, ANYWHERE!!! We went to McDonald's and he got a chocolate shake and got me a hot fudge sundae. He handed it to me and I said, "Dang they need a pregnant lady size, this is TINY!" It was delectable though!! Then last night we went out to dinner. Very seldom do we get dessert. But, JC ordered me a hot fudge molten chocolate cake dessert. It was heaven sent!! MMMMM! My mouth still waters just thinking about it! I'm still trying to be good and eat fresh fruit and healthy stuff but I've given in to the ice cream cravings.

Like father, like son

The other day my sister Jamie e-mailed me this picture of JC when he was a baby. I've had my thoughts of what Zachary will look like. Will he have red hair, dark hair, what? When I opened up this picture of JC as a baby, I felt as if I were seeing my son for the first time. If he looks anything like his Dad we're really going to have a hard time telling him "no".

100 days to go!!

We have had fun with our baby ticker that is counting down the days left until our little guy makes his arrival. Today marks 100 days left!! I've been excited for this day to come!!
Some might think it kind of corky to think of it this way but I've waited for three brothers to come home from missions. The anticipation, excitement, and anxiousness increase as they days go by. The same has been for JC and I. I so can't wait to see and meet this little guy. Of course with all the excitement has to come at least a few nerves, right? Well those have been experienced as well. Those who know me know I'm a routine girl. I'm happiest when I'm in my normal routine. When that gets interrupted, I'm not so good at it. I was telling JC that it's going to be nice to have had him home for a few days and weeks and to get all three of us into a routine and feel some "normalcy" again.
Whatever lye ahead, we are so grateful to a loving Heavenly Father who has entrusted us with this sweet sweet little spirit to come to our family. I loved my sealing/wedding day for all the excitement it had to offer. Lately though it's has meant so much more knowing this little one will be our for the eternities.
Zachary we love you SO much already and can't wait to see your sweet little face. See you in a few months!

2 down, 1 to go!!

Today we are 25 weeks along! That means we're down two trimester with only one to go!!
My first trimester was not the funnest. I was always so tired, didn't eat much because of constant nausea, experienced "pregnancy hormones" for the first time, and was CONSTANTLY worrying about SO many things.
As for my second trimester, it was almost like a night and day difference. I have LOVED this last trimester. I felt the baby move, JC has been able to feel him move, I got to see the baby and find out that it was a boy, I've had more energy (still tired but more energy than before), and I've got my appetite back.
I can't wait for this trimester to be over and get to meet our little guy. Each day, and every time I feel him move I get more excited to meet him. On the other hand, I am realizing how fast this pregnancy is going. I have heard that some women miss being pregnant and I'm sure I will fall in that category. It took us a long time to get here and so far I can honestly say I've LOVED being pregnant.

24 weeks and counting!!

When JC was back in Oklahoma and calling every night, he would always ask if I had a pregnant belly yet. I always told him it would still be a while yet. The other day we sighted it and decided to take a picture to share with friends and family back home. In this picture I am 24 weeks and 4 days.
I am loving pregnancy and get more and more anxious by the day to meet this little guy!

New place of employment

Our sole purpose for coming to Alaska was for JC's new job. JC was hired on by the F.A.A. in August 2009 to work as an air traffic controller at the Anchorage, AK airport.
One night on my way to pick him up from work I took a few pictures for friends and family back home. (Notice how dark it already is and it's only 3:30 in the afternoon.)

The white stuff

After getting to Anchorage we were told that and this was the wrong time of year to come--that we should have come in the Summer and eased our way into the winters. We just laughed naively at everyone.
The night of thanksgiving it started snowing. The flakes were HUGE and they continued through the night and into the next afternoon. The next afternoon we were going to go out and run some errands and get a Christmas tree. JC went out to start and warm up the car and then I would follow a few minutes later. As I opened the door this is what I saw:
















Poor JC had to shovel a path for us to even get out of the driveway. I felt sorry for him and wanted to help but he didn't want anything happening to me. So, I grabbed the camera and took a picture of our first snowfall in Anchorage. We figured it snowed a good foot of snow. JC worked off his Thanksgiving dinner and then some. Poor guy. He's so good to take care of us though.

Needless to say, we can now counsel those who are coming to Alaska to wait until the summer if possible and ease your way into the winters here.

Home sweet home

Many friends and family from back home have requested pictures of our apartment here in Anchorage. We looked at a lot of apartments in many different areas and we felt after praying to be led to a good area that this is where we were suppose to settle down.
Anyway, here it is, the grand tour of our home sweet home....
The entryway (we are in the basement of a duplex)Storage and hobby roomLaundry room
Main Bath

2nd Bedroom (soon to be nursery--pictures will come after decorating) (Master bedroom is the same so I didn't take a picture of it)Kitchen and Dining

The living room (pre-furniture). This is our FAVORITE room because of the fireplace--LOVE it!The sledding hill at the park across the street. (Can you guess by the light of day what time it is? It's only 3:30 in the afternoon)

This baby is already a big TEASE!!

Lately I've been feeling the baby moving, kicking, summer salting, stretching, a LOT!!! It has been so cool to feel it but I've wanted so bad for JC to feel it as strongly as I have. Whenever I feel the baby start to move I call for JC to come put his hand on my stomach. The very moment JC puts his hand on my stomach, the baby stops right then and there. We wait a minute for him to move again but no success. Of course once JC walks away the baby starts moving again. His newest thing is when I feel him move, I lift my shirt to see if I can see my belly move and once I uncover my stomach he automatically stops moving. I then put the shirt back down and he instantly starts moving again.Of course it doesn't stop there. The other day I went to my monthly OB appointment and the OB went through all of her questions and then got the heart monitor thingy out to hear the heartbeat. She put the heartbeat monitor to my stomach and as soon as she would find the heartbeat it would fade away. She then moved it to the other side, found the heartbeat, and once again it quickly faded away. This happened four different times and she started laughing and said, "I think this baby is swimming away from me". I said, "Yeah he's been a big tease lately". She found him long enough to get a good heartbeat measurement and said things looked and sounded good.

Even though at times it's frustrating when JC can't feel him move, I still love this kid more and more each day. Instead of getting frustrated I just laugh at him and his already cute sense of humor.

Thanksgiving 2009!!

This year was our first year away from family during the holidays--well mine, JC's first was on his mission. We both felt some homesickness but are so grateful for the love and support from friends and family back home!
This year was my first attempt at making homemade gravy with the turkey drippings. I admit I was nervous and had JC pick up a gravy packet at the store just in case. Well I attempted it and it turned out to be DIVINE! It was SO yummy! JC really liked it and I was all sorts of proud of myself.
Our only disaster was that 2/3 of the stuffing fell out of the pan as I went to take it out of the oven (the pan slipped out of my pot holders). JC was so sweet and grabbed a rag and immediately started wiping it up off the floor without saying a word. I had to just stand there and laugh so as to not bawl my eyes out.
We have so much to be grateful for this past year. Our sweet little baby that's coming, JC's job which has allowed me to stay home and prepare to be a Mommy, my wonderful parents letting me live with them while JC was gone, and our overall health and safety.
Overall we had a great day of sleeping in, football watching, cooking, and eating too much food! Hope you all had a great Thanksgiving!

We're having a.....

On November 6th (the day after JC got into town) we went in to have the ultrasound to find out what our little monkey was going to be. After a LONG time of trying to figure out the gender the ultrasound tech said he was sure it was a girl. We said ok and thought we were done. He was taking a few more pictures and said, "Wait I think it's a boy! Yep it's definitely a boy!" and printed us off a picture of the proof. Before we left he took some more pictures to finish things up and confirmed again, "yep it's a boy! I'm going to say I'm 85% sure it's a boy--but keep your receipts, ha ha!"
We are so excited! We had names picked out before hand and if the techs 85% confirmation turns out to be 100%, we will be naming him Zachary John (after his Dad).

WELCOME HOME!!

Our time of being apart finally came to an end. JC made the LONG 19 hour drive from Oklahoma City to Idaho Falls. I was preparing myself for him coming home and wall all excited. When I finally saw him as he got out of the car I ran to him, hugged him, and the tears started. I had missed him like CRAZY and it was so good to finally have him home again!
The day before JC's arrival my sister Jill did some banners for the front yard of my parents house. The day of his arrival she helped me put them up. Yeah she's amazing and I don't know what I would do without her.
Here are some pictures of the front yard before JC's arrival.

Dinner with the boys

A few days before JC got back to town and we left for Anchorage, I spent the evening with my sister and nephews. We did a little shopping and went to dinner. I love these little guys and I'm gonna miss them like CRAZY!!

Halloween 2009!!

This year for Halloween I was living at my parents house and got to spend the holiday with the family! My brother Blake and his wife Bre hosted the family for soup bowls, soup, and yummy desserts. We all planned a game or craft for the kids to do and had a blast!
Sadly, I didn't get pictures of all the costumes but here are the ones I did get before my battery died: