San Diego Trip

I'm working on the text, but I made a slideshow of most of our pics and don't want to forget to post it. Thank you to my sister's old roommate who posted a slideshow and gave me the idea to use the site to make an album. :)

Thanksgiving Fun

As it seems to be a continual joke, I thought I'd write really quick about the most bogus quirk since we have been married. Whether by fate or by chance, every time Desi and I go on vacation, I get sick. The one exception was the honeymoon.
Anyways, this last break was no exception. Thanksgivin roled around and I found myself sporting a sore throat that has followed me until today. I have been up most of the nights since then coughing my lungs out of chest. It has made for fun times.... kinda..... sorta...... maybe.....
The one perk, my abs are getting stronger from all of the coughing.

There was something.....

A week or so ago, my dear Duckie asked me to blog aomething that had happened to me, or us, or someone, but now I don't recall what that something to someone was.......... oh well. When she reads this blog, she'll probably remind me.
Anyways, my life is good...... real good.

Okay, having been sufficiently reminded, I know what I was supposed to write about. Almost three weeks ago, my two mission boys drove all the way down from Utah to visit their daddy. All I can say is, I was blessed to have trained two of the greatest young men that I have ever known. Brandon Orr and Brian Kissell are simply amazing and nothing short of being two awesome guys.

On the left- Brian Kissell; Middle- Me; Right- Brandon Orr

They arrived at our house on a Saturday night (I think it was October 25th) around 7:00pm. We stayed up until 1:00am the next morning eating pizza from Papa John's and reminiscing about Curitiba Brasil.

Here I am with the boys right before I returned home. We were in the city of Ponta Grossa at the Stake Center.

The following morning, we had a gourmet breakfast of eggs and pancakes. Unfortunately, they had to leave the house by 7:00am so we didn't get any more chat time in.

Halloween

The night before Halloween, Britt and I went to his brother’s house to carve pumpkins with the family. Unfortunately, we forgot our camera, and no one else had one there either. Bummer! It was fun to carve the pumpkins, and I think this is one of the only times I have actually used a stencil. We had our niece pick out which pattern to do - a ghost. Britt poked the holes to mark the lines, and I did most of the carving. My brother-in-law decided to get the most sophisticated with his and actually carved/shaved away on the pumpkin instead of merely cutting pieces out. It took a while before everyone finished, but the end products were great.

After we got home from making our Jack-O-Lantern, we remembered we had one more Jack-O-Lantern to make. My Halloween costume! Even though I was tired, we made my costume so I could wear it to work the next day. It really only took a few minutes with Britt's help.

I received numerous compliments at work on Halloween, so I guess Britt did a good job. And, it also confirmed for me that you do not have to spend lots of money to have a cool costume.

baby, oh baby

Monday was another doctor's visit for baby and me (and Britt). By the way, I absolutely LOVE my doctor. She seems to actually listen to me and is concerned about how I'm doing. She does a good job of telling me what she's looking at on the ultrasound and what she's checking for. I feel blessed to have he helping me through this first pregnancy.

Anywho, Dr. told us that she wanted to take some measurements of the baby this time. I think it was because last time the baby was measured she was kind of small. We got to watch the baby move around inside while Dr. tried to get the shots she needed to measure her. She sure is a wiggly little thing. (The first pic is actually from two weeks ago.) Btw, I've been feeling her move a lot more lately, and Britt's been able to see my belly move sometimes, too.

Here were the stats we got:

The baby is measuring a little small still, but she is within a normal range for growth. (I think the doctor is going to have to change my due date eventually.)

Her measurements ranged from a 27wk 5day baby to a 29wk baby (the long measurement was her femur!)

She is approximately 2lbs 8oz which almost doubled from about a month ago when she was last checked.

Baby is showing good breathing movements which is something Dr. likes to see.

Dr. said "A+" for the checkup.

Now, I know that we've still got some growing to do, but it makes me feel good to have the doctor smile and say things are going fine. Plus, I sometimes wonder just how accurate the machine really is.

Also, to put your fears at ease, even though it looks like the baby doesn't have a nose (and just nostrils) in the picture, she really does. The image changes as the doctor looks at different depths.

Make a Wish

After bowling with family, Britt and I decided we needed to get ready for the evening's events. By some small fortune, I had the opportunity to add myself and a guest to a list to attend the Make a Wish Foundation's annual dinner/fundraiser compliments of my work. Pretty exciting. I decided to jump on it as I will probably never have that chance again. Turns out it was a great idea. The theme was supposed to be cowboy chic, but a friend of mine who has a friend that helped organize it said that just country/cowboy would be fine.

Britt and I bought cowboy hats at a thrift store to complete our ensembles. We also had to buy Britt a shirt as he's not really into country that much - I was impressed he was willing to dress up in dreaded country attire. As for my outfit, I figured things were not going to fit as well since there's a little more to me around the middle. However, I had a variety of shirts to try on and choose between (and thanks to my sisters for offering me shirts and a belt as well). Poor Britt had to help me pick and had to put up with me trying on just about every shirt I could find that could be considered country. Let's say that by the time I was through there were shirts strewn all accross the bed, boxes down on the floor from the closet and a very exasperated wife. We took pictures before we left so that we'd have at least something to remember.


The great shirt debate made us later than we'd planned on. So, we rushed to get out the door and to the ranch where the dinner was being held. We drove about half way to Guam to get there, and we were afraid that somehow we were in the wrong place. Cell phone coverage cut out, and we laughed as we realized we were now cut off from all civilization. Finally we saw a sign and followed the winding drive up to the front of the ranch.

It was fun to check in because we got to say what organization we were with, and the woman behind the table looked us up, and lo and behold, we were on "the list." We had missed the silent auction, but that's okay because we probably would have spent money otherwise. We went in to dinner and found my work's table and made introductions. The whole evening was planned well (except that I had a hard time responding to the entertainment provided while trying to eat my dinner). The food was excellent, though I couldn't finish everything on my plate. After watching a magician and a stand-up comedian, the evening took a more serious turn.

One of the boys who had benefited from the Make a Wish Foundation got up to tell his story. This was quite special to me because this boy (really he's a teenager) was one of the first patients I got to take care of as a nurse extern. I remember him very well coming to our floor from the ICU and looking like he had just slipped past death. Now, I didn't get to know him very well, but I know I will always remember him specifically. So, it was really neat to hear him recount his illness and the wonderful blessings he had received, including having a wish granted to go see the Eiffel Tower. Yes, I had tears in my eyes as I listened to him speak. We also watched a slideshow/presentation with other children having wishes granted - tear-jerker as well.

After the audience was all prepped, the live auction began. I thought we might go ahead a bid a little to help the good cause, but the bidding even began out of our price range. $700 was the beginning bid for the first item. All the others got well into the thousands. It was pretty amazing to realize how "the other half" lives. After the auction ended, we took a few pictures with my work girlfriends and then headed out. It was a long evening and way past my bedtime when we left, but it was a lot of fun. It was fun for me to have an excuse to dress up and go out. I am so glad that we were able to go and see good works done by angels in the world.

Bowling

Well it seems as though I've waited long enough to post something new. I am glad that the Man posted something finally. It was a busy week last week as I was doing stuff for work Monday through Friday. I was ready for a break on Saturday.
First, I want to give a little update of what we did on Saturday the 11th. My sister's boyfriend came into town; my older sister, husband and I took them bowling (after having pizza with our brother). Here are a few shots from bowling. If I get permission from the boyfriend I'll post the picture I have of him with my sister.

My sister gave me permission to add the picture, so I hope that it's okay!

Britt was way excited with his final score, and I must say his performance was quite impressive at the end of the game. We even got to see the turkey flash on the screen!


We had a nice afternoon, and I was glad that I was able to bowl. I used the lightest ball my fingers could fit in so that I wouldn't risk hurting myself. I think I would have bowled a little better if I was able to use a slightly heavier ball. Just my opinion though.
I was just thinking that the last time I went bowling I was pregnant too. I think I've bowled more during my pregnancy than I have in the last couple of years. Hmmm.
The next post has what we did that evening.

I Guess its My Turn (the Man of the Blog)

Hello to everyone and anyone who cares enough to read this long intro and our blog,
So, my wife threatened to kick me off this blog if I didn't put my two bits in soon (I love you dear :D ). I figured I better get in why the deal still stands. I'm glad we finally made it into the blogging community.
I've thought a bit lately about how amazing the human body is. (Being a physiology person, I guess that's what I should do, think about the body every now and again.) Just yesterday I managed to cut my head open on the edge of a sharp, metallic picture frame and this morning I took off a nice bit of hand-skin on the door to the bathroom. Already, neither of them bleed and they are pretty much healed. How cool is that!!! Engineers would love to make machinery and toys which could instantly start the processes to heal themselves and regenerate brand new cells/tissues. Only living bodies have that type of power. As humans, we also have the power in our brains to generate deductive reasoning, cognisance, etc. It is all amazing.
Yes, completely random, but I guess that is the theme of pretty much all blogs, at least the ones I have read so far.

Working two days in a row at the hospital is a little too much for me to handle now it seems. How did I ever manage three in a row?! I also have to admit that my OB doctor would not be very happy with me -- I'm supposed to try to take it easy, and I don't think that working for 13.5 hours both days fits that. What am I supposed to do, I have people to take care of . . . charting just gets in the way, so I'm there late.

This past weekend was jam-packed, but totally awesome. I was put on call for work on Saturday, so I was able to stay home and watch General Conference with Britt. I felt a little sheepish hoping that I wouldn't have to go in to work, but I guess since it was for a good reason, the Lord helped to make it possible. I loved the messages that were shared but have already forgotton a lot. I plan on watching/listening and reading through the sessions again (especially Sunday afternoon session as we were with Britt's family and got a little distracted by a turtle and a niece).

On Sunday evening Britt and I had a fun dinner planned. Britt made his Brazilian specialty, feijoada, and I got to invite over some of my co-workers and their families. The food was amazing!!! The company was great!! And, let me recommend a fun, family game. Now, don't get confused by the title. It's called "Boxers or Briefs" and is a game of preference. :P Even a seven-year-old could play, and she was one of the best ones. Oh, and the just-three-year-old present also seemed to grasp the concept. I was reminded how good it feels to laugh and be with good people. I love having friends that can be almost as dorky as I am and are okay with it. (Sorry, we forgot to take pictures of the event . . . next time.)

The baby has been kicking a lot more now, or she's just getting stronger and I can't ignore her as easily. Britt said he felt something move across my side like an arm moving, not just a kick. Pretty exciting stuff! I'm still trying to figure out what I want to do for the baby's room. Just how decked-out do we want it, and how crafty can I be? If anyone has suggestions, feel free to tell me. So few decisions and so much time to make them in. Uh, strike that, reverse it.

If you're around Tucson, you should also consider going to Wilcox to pick apples. It's a fun family affair, and you can spend lots of money at the end of your trip eating yummy food and taking silly pictures.

the long awaited . . .

Okay, so I've been toying with the idea of starting a blog for a long, long time. And, I've even been planning on it for months now. So, here it is. Mostly this is my chance to keep a journal (since I've faltered on that one) and let everyone know what's happening without having to repeat myself over and over. Since my life is pretty much an open book, I decided that this was a pretty good idea for a title.

Now, this is actually a family blog, so I can't take credit for everything that gets posted nor will I want to I'm sure. As we prepare for our family to expand, we'll try to post relevant items relating to the pregnancy and so on. Watch for updated pictures . . . it'll be like one of the magazines you see at the check out in the grocery stores. There will be new issues with new photos and you can follow my "baby bump" like you do all the other famous people out there. Haha!! Just kidding.

I hope that those who read our blog will find life as entertaining for you as we find ours to be for us. Remember what Elder Wirthlin said and laugh about life.