SCORE!

Jeff and I have been having weekly FHE with our good friends Danny & Janneke. It has been so great to not only because we get to spend some quality time with good friends, but it has also been great to share spiritual messages, traditions, laughs, and yummy treats. Last week it was my turn to give the lesson. I really struggled coming up with something. I really wanted to do something relating to Christmas, but something more than just the usual Christmas stories. I flipped through the ensign, but nothing was really sparking my interest. I eventually found a short story written by a girl who attended a semester at the BYU Jerusalem center. I got so excited because I always wanted to go and actually almost postponed our wedding in order to do so. But I decided I wanted to get married more so I told my best friend Lindsey to apply so I could live the experience through her. Well she got accepted and went and I did live through as much as I could. I had recently been think...

Since the day I found out I was pregnant I signed up to receive weekly emails that update you on what is happening with you and your baby. It tells you approximately how big the baby is and what is developing that week. It also is very informative to what changes, and challenges you can expect to experience that week. I get so excited every Sunday when the email comes and I open it right away. As I was reading this week, this is what I found:"Since you have entered the third trimester," I stopped immediately right then. Is that real? Am I truly in my Third Trimester? HOLY COW! I was shocked. Not that that is a bad thing, of course not, it is a great thing, I'm that much closer to meeting my first child!! However, I must admit that I was filled with shock and anxiety all at the same time! I have been blessed with such an amazing pregnancy, (and I pray that all my pregnancies to follow are just as great) the time has just flown by! Everyone kept saying, it will get slower, ...

Well, I had another Pregnant lady emotional breakdown this week. You see, Jeff's favorite meal in the whole world is Turkey and Mashed Potatoes. Maceys, the grocery store, gives out Turkey bucks the whole month of November for you to use toward the purchas of a Turkey there. Well, we did not buy our actual Thanksgiving Turkey there because the family insisted on a ButterBall. Unfortunatly, that Turkey was so great, we had no leftovers which made us very sad. We decided since it was Jeff's favorite meal, we would use our Turkey Bucks to buy another one. We headed off to the store to find one and of course all they had left were 23 lbs or bigger. We bought it and were excited about it. We decided we would cook it Sunday and have a nice Sunday meal together and have fun making it together. I was already concerned because although I had now cooked 2 Turkeys prior to this Turkey, this was my first one all alone. All was going according to plan. The Turkey was done when we got home f...

So this might sound a little silly to many of you, but I figure since this blog has pretty much become my only journal I feel the need to write about it. I don't know how many of you have experienced the greatness of the Vanilla Flavored Tootsie Roll, but they are indeed great! They have always been my favorite type of Tootsie Roll. So Jeff and I strolled into Target the other day to get some Christmas decorations and much to our surprise found these, Vanilla Flavored Midgees in the Tootsie Roll bank. A entire little container filled only with Vanilla Tootsies! It took all of our strength to not purchase the entire shelf, especially since they were only 99 cents!! We limited ourselves to only two, but then returned again to Target a few days later and lucky us, they still had them so we bought two more! I honestly and truly want to buy more and contemplate driving there every single day. Lucky for our wallets and our health, Target is a little bit further then we would like ...

It is hard to believe that the year has gone by so quickly! It really did not feel like Christmas, but now that I see all the decorations and lights it is becoming so real! Last year Christmas on our end was pretty sad. We decorated a little . . . a wreath on the door and a few nativities set up in the house . . . but other than that is was really sad. We didn't even get each other gifts! Our first Christmas married and it was so pathetic! We both didn't mind, but looking back it kind of makes me sad. Mostly because we didn't even take a picture together. So this year I vowed would be different! Growing up, it was a tradition in our home to cut down our own Christmas tree. The Saturday after Thanksgiving was always the day. Ever since I was a small child I have always wanted to carry that same tradition on for my new family. Jeff however, never had a real tree. I was in shock! I seriously thought that everyone had a real tree. Little did I know, I was the not norma...

Hip Hip! Well, only 100 days left (approximately) until we meet our little man! I am getting SOOOO excited! I hope the last 3 months goes just as fast as the first 6! It is hard to believe that is all that is left. I am so many things to be grateful for on this day of Thanksgiving, but honestly the one I am dwelling on the most is this amazing miracle that Heavenly Father has blessed us with. I have been so healthy! The baby is doing great! Our family is so supportive of everything! Jeff is doing amazing in school. We finally picked which company we are going to go with (Ernst & Young by the way). Life is truly amazing! And as nervous as I am about entering into this world of parenthood, I could not be more excited! We are so blessed!! On a side note, Thanksgiving turned out great!! Honestly my favorite part was the Sweet Potatoes which is saying something because usually I get them just to get them. But I tried a new recipe and it was fantastic to say the least!! ...

Yes, it is 3:30 am. Yes, I am just now going to bed. Yes, my pies took a little longer than expected (bBut I was having fun with the fam today and didn't want to go hide out in the kitchen to make pies). Yes, I am waking up in a few hours to cook the Turkey. Yes, I am going to be exhausted. And Yes, I have the BEST husband in the world who stayed up with me and cooked the pies with me. Now we just are hoping it was all worth it. Happy Thanksgiving!

My bishop from back home sent us this link today. My heart filled with comfort, peace, love, and hope as I read these wonderful words written by both Prop 8 supporters & opponents. I have always been taught to stand up for what I thought was right, but amidst all that has been happening to us as members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints it has been scary to continue to do so. There is so much hate out in the world today, it just blows my mind and breaks my heart. I know it is such a sensitive subject on both ends, but the actions of some people have been out of control and extremely hypocritical. I just did not know how to respond because I was honestly scarred. I haven't told this to many people, but I had an experience a couple of weeks ago that truly scarred me and broke my heart all at the same time. I had just gotten back from California, the Friday after election week. Jeff's flight came in later than mine so I decided to go to Temple Square an...

So I started my post about halloween a couple of days ago, and although I did not post it until today it is hiding behind others. Is there a way to adjust the date? Who knows. But I did post about halloween if you are interested scroll down. :)

So a couple of days ago, as I was waiting to go to work, I happened to flip through the channels and found Oprah. Now I am not an avid watcher, in fact I had never even seen a full show; but this particular episode caught my attention. It was called Oprah's Clean Out Your Messy House Tour. She had a special guest Peter Walsh who is an expert in organizational design, an experienced educator and a skilled motivational speaker. Peter teaches people how to de-clutter their homes and their heads to improve their lives and personal spaces. Peter's unique approach confronts both the emotional and design obstacles behind the toughest organizational challenges with practical, easy-to-manage solutions that can make your home life better (yes I pulled that blurb off the web). I have seen him on other home-makeover type shows which I love and so this caught my attention. As I watched I was thrilled as they knocked on random doors and completely transformed people's homes. I do...

Yay for Halloween! We tried really hard to make Halloween a little more eventful than last year and we succeeded! We got together with some friends to carve pumpkins which was a lot of fun. Ours was a beast! It took a while, but every ones turned out really good! We also baked some pumpkin seeds and they were delicious as well! It was a great night! Our ward Halloween Party was pretty fun too. We threw together a last minute costume as you can tell. But we did spend a LONG LONG LONG LONG time on our cake for the scariest cake contest. I think it turned out pretty good, and although it was a lot of work, it was a lot of fun to make. I'm hoping to make it a new tradition! :) YAY! I'm always looking for things to make our own. Although I wasn't feeling great, we still had fun at the party. On actual Halloween we decided to go to the Cornmaze. We have gone every year for the past 3 and were excited to go with friends this year. Unfortunately when we got there - Cornbellys -...

Well, I had another Doctor appointment today and everything is going great! It was short and sweet but he is measuring perfectly and his heart is strong. I'm getting more and more excited everyday!! The time is passing really quickly which is neat. Unfortunately I am starting to get extra large and uncomfortable, but I knew that would happen eventually. I just had hoped it wouldn't be for another month or so. O-well. On a side note, we Started registering on Saturday. It was really fun and also made me super excited (however, we all know it does not take much to make me excited). It was slightly overwhelming because they have about a billion different options for EVERYTHING. I have no clue how to judge from one pacifier to another. We started with monitors, looked at them for about 5 minutes and then decided to move on because we had no clue, they all seem pretty much the same, so why is one almost $200 while another is $50? Do you really need something that snazzy t...

Long, Long, ago in the land of the DT dorms, one of my good friends introduced me to yahoo games. We found many awesome games that would keep us occupied for far too long. We tried a bunch of different games but our favorites were TextTwist & ZUMA . They brought so much joy and intensity to life, I loved it! Well, recently Jeff found ZUMA again, and brought it back to my attention and I have had WAY TOO MUCH fun being reunited with my good friend ZUMA . Jeff and I played almost everyday for a while, sick I know, but I can confidently say it has been about 2 weeks since I have even thought about it. Well, now I have the strong desire to play again. I am so addicted, it is pretty ridiculous. So perhaps you have heard of ZUMA , perhaps not, but I love it. It fits so well with my competitive nature and allows me to push myself and beat myself, granted at I wish I could be motivated in other areas of life the way this motivates me, but one step at a time. :) Silly post I kn...

As you may or may not know . . . I LOVE BYU BASKETBALL!! Lucky me for the past 6 years I have worked at every game, the last three of that work being done on the floor just steps away from play. Honestly, nothing better!! I of course was offered the same position on the Northwest corner of the floor this year, but being that I am getting larger everyday I sadly declined knowing that by the end of the season I will not want to stand for 4+ hours at a time. Honestly, this was one of the hardest decisions of my life! LOL. May sound ridiculous, but so true. Luckily I get to work in the office and watch the games on TV as I hear the muffled crowd through the walls. I'm actually working right now, so I suppose there are other perks to being in the office, but still nothing like watching from 5 feet away. For those of you who do not know me very well, I am an avid sports fan in general. Basketball however, takes the cake. Nothing else like it. Super intense, super loud, lots of skill, eve...

So I'm in CA right now visiting my parents and what a trip it has been so far. I flew in Monday and that night we went out and held up YES on 8 sings on busy streets in the pouring rain. It actually was a lot of fun and despite the few negative responses, overall we received a lot of positive feedback which gave me hope for the election. Now that it is almost over I am truly feeling so blessed. After working all day yesterday reminding people to get out and vote I can truly see the results of blessings from the Lord. It was a rough day and I was so worried at so many different times, but seeing how so many people were donating of their time, their means, and their money I knew the Lord would bless us for our efforts. Unfortunately , we are still missing 5% of the results, but so far prop 8 is passing with a 4 percent window. Being involved has been so much fun, but it really pulls on the heart strings. It is such a tender subject on both sides, and both side truly are votin...

So this years election has got me thinking quite a bit, as I'm sure it has for a lot of people. I wish I was better with words, to express all the things that I feel and think, but hopefully I can get my point across. So Proposition 8 . . . a sensitive subject indeed. I have struggled a great deal with so many friends comments and arguments regarding the proposition. It seems so many if not all feel it is just a matter of rights and how wrong they are. I'm sorry to be so blunt, but it is true. Proposition 8 will not give anymore rights, in fact if anything it will be taking away rights. You see, currently Civil Unions receive the exact same rights/benefits as a married couple, the only difference is it is not called marriage. Marriage is defined as a man and a woman, husband and wife, beyond the definition there is no difference in rights (If you cant tell, this is the stuff I'm not good at explaining). Now, on the other hand, if prop 8 fails there will be more consequenc...

20 Weeks! Since I already posted about the Ultrasound, here are the pictures that I said I would put up. I ended up taking a picture of the picture, so they aren't amazing quality, but still pretty awesome! Above: Profile - This one didn't come out very good because of the awkward position he was in at the time of the Ultrasound. This is one of my very favorites! His little spine! It is so amazing that you can see every single little vertebrate ! Technology is incredible! This one the nurse really liked, I personally don't think it is extremely fascinating. Kinda gives you the general idea of how he is positioned . . . kinda. This is a picture of the tip of his head with his hands curled up close to the sides of his head. This is my other Favorite! His little legs are crossed! You can see his feet, his shins, his knees, his thighs, and his lower waist. Pretty awesome! Last but not least his little foot! During the ultrasound we could see him kicking, it was so ...

Surprise, Surprise!! It is in deed a Boy! We are so excited! As much as I would have loved to have a little girl first I am THRILLED to death about our little boy. The Ultrasound was today and it was one of the best experiences of my LIFE! It was so amazing and made both of us so much more excited about his arrival. My favorite thing about the ultrasound was seeing his little heart beat. WHAT A MIRACLE! We saw everything from his Brain to his tiny toes. The most important thing about the visit was to find out that he is completely healthy!! He is even a little ahead in his development which is great! They said it isn't enough at this point to change my due date, but we were relived to hear he is healthy and growing perfectly! We are so blessed! We did it between classes so Jeff could be there and it truly was so special! One of Jeff's favorite parts of the ultrasound (and mine too) was seeing his little feet kicking. It was so awesome! He has been a lot more acti...

Now, I have known a lot of people who have had babies, as I’m sure most people do – for it is how we all got here right? So I of course new that the belly button eventually pops out, IE: goes from an innie to an outie . Although I know I am not the exception to the rule, I did not think it would happen for another few months. Now don’t get me wrong, it is not quite there, but it is extremely shallow and only getting shallower by the day. I wish it was something that was appropriate to show to the world because it makes both myself and Jeff crack up at least once everyday. We also both seem to have an obsession with touching it; it feels so funny. I wish everyone could feel it, however that is slightly awkward. But honestly, isn’t this supposed to happen like during the 7th or 8th month and not the 3rd or 4th? Who really knows because everyone is different, especially when it comes to pregnancy; but at least bring a smile to our faces.

So being an emotional pregnant woman is definitely taking its tole on both me and Jeff (what a wonderful, patient, and understanding man he is). Saturday morning I was so excited because for the first time in weeks we actually had a morning together. I had planned to make us a delicious breakfast just like my dad always did for me. We had Eggs, Hashbrowns, and even Bacon; we were so excited. So I started cooking the bacon first, knowing it would take the longest. Then when I thought they were close to being done, Jeff started cooking the eggs and I threw on the hashbrowns. Well, needless to say, the eggs finished super fast and the others were not even close. And then to add more to my frustration the pan I was using for the hashbrowns was awful! Despite my many tablespoons of butter the entire thing was completely stuck! I switched pans in the middle to try to save them. In the meantime Jeff ate his eggs so they wouldn't get cold. I insisted on waiting so I could eat th...

HIP HIP HURRAY!! We finally got to go to the doctor! I honestly never thought I would be so excited about a doctor appointment. After a few months of cluelessness and worry , the doctor examined me and said everything is going great! What a relief! We are so blessed! We got to listen to the heartbeat which was so exciting! It made everything so real. He also measured my pelvis to make sure it was an adequate size for the birth of the baby. Thank goodness it is! He also measured the actual size of the baby to make sure it is growing like it should. He said everything is great and we are so excited! We set up our ultrasound for two weeks from today which will be our half way mark! WOW! Time flies! Life is great. Heavenly Father Loves us so much!

I know I know, it's about time. I have had many request from both near and far so here are the pictures we have taken so far. Enjoy! This is about 5 or 6 weeks in 17 weeks! Almost halfway! And on another exciting note, I'm pretty sure I felt the baby kick today!! So exciting!

So most of you know that Jeff and I are expecting, what you don't know is the story behind it. We had been discussing when to start our family for a while. All I have ever wanted to be was a mother and I was eager to become one. However, life with just the two of us was perfect and we knew a little one would completely change our lives. We were excited and scarred about those changes. We did a lot of praying and decided that we at least needed to wait until I graduated. Well, April and graduation came quick. We prayed more and decided it was time to start our little family. We were told that it usually takes a couple months for the birth control to stop working so were expecting if we were lucky to find out around August which would have worked perfectly in getting insurance. Imagine our surprise when we found out in JUNE. Don't get me wrong, we were still super excited, just shocked! After talking to many other couples who have had trouble, we now thank God everyday ...

About 2 1/2 years ago, Rick and Grandma Hammon decided that when Rick returned home from his mission, and if she was in good health they would go skydiving together. Well, Rick got home in June and the talk began. Grandma had worked really hard to get into shape, and the doctors gave her the go-ahead to jump. We were all so excited! Grandma thought it would be neat to open it up to the whole family, so she did. She invited, her children and all of the grand kids and in-laws to join the Jump. I had been looking forward to it for a while and had been planning on jumping. Jeff on the other hand is scared to death of heights and the thought had not even cross his mind. Well, the day finally arrived. On the drive up the number jumping was 6: Grandma Hammon, Rick, Jason, Janelle, Levi & Uncle Marc (I had recently found out that I was pregnant so I unfortunately could not jump. I was pretty bummed but if I had had a miscarriage I would have NEVER forgiven myself.) While they waited in lin...