A Humbling Few Days....

On Wednesday, October 27, Nathan had his appendix taken out. It was a crazy week, to be sure! But, it was also very humbling to me and it was a good opportunity to see how the Relief Society works.

The weekend before, Nathan wasn't feeling very well. He had a small stomache ache and a head ache, but he took it slow that weekend and was feeling well enough to work on Monday and Tuesday. He was still having stomach pains, but it wasn't bad enough to keep him from his responsibilities. Then on Tuesday night they started to get really bad. He said it was like a sharp persistent pain in his stomach, primarily on the right side. He was able to sleep for a bit on Tuesday night, but then the pains woke him up. By 3:30 he could hardly walk. He woke me up and told me we needed to get the ER (Doesn't this sound like a labor and delivery story??? lol) I was a bit surprised, but not really. Interestinly enough, I had been waking up every few hours when he would come back into bed and he would tell me that he was in pain. I had a feeling that we would be taking him to the ER that morning, and he would be getting surgery. I was able to call our friends Jen and Jared and Jared came over to be here when the boys woke up.

When we got to the ER, they took some blood to run tests on and also gave him some "contrast" to drink. He was told he was going to have a CT scan to check for appendicitis, and the contrast would help them see what they needed to see better....or something...anyway. They also gave him some morphine to help with the pain....and THAT was interesting. I've never seen Nathan so out of it, but oh man, it was hillarious. I can't repeat most of the things he said--it would make him too embarrased--but he definitly had some wierd thoughts going around in his head!

So he went for the CT scan and then about 20 minutes later the doctor came in saying it was appedicitis and he would be having surgery that day. About 30 minutes later we met with the surgeon and he told us Nathan would be going in at about 12:30 for the surgery. At this point it was about 9:00 and Jared had class soon, so I went home to put Xander down for his nap and to spend some time with Michael. I was home for about an hour and a half, and I was busy the whole time! I had to arrange for people to watch the boys so I could be at the hospital with Nathan. I also took a shower and prepared the diaper bag and got the boys ready for the day. During this time, Jared had called to tell me that he had just been assigned to be our Home Teacher! I found it interesting that the one couple I felt the most comfortable calling in the middle of the night turned out to be our new Home Teacher! Coincidence? I think not! At about 11:00 Michael went over to Jen's house and stayed until 12:30 when he went on the bus for preschool. He stayed at preschool for most of the afternoon and come off the bus before 4:00 and went back to Jen's house. I took Xander over to Tony and Shayna's house.

Nathan went into surgery at 12:20 and was back in the room at about 2:00. The surgery went well and the doctor said by the time he got in to the appendix, it was pretty swollen. It's a good thing they got it when they did, because it looked like the appendix was pretty close to bursting. If that had happened, Nathan would have been in the hospital for about 10 days!!!! Which means, he would STILL be hospitalized, or at least coming home today! I'm so glad it didn't burst!

I stayed with Nathan until about 4:30 and then came home. That night was our ward halloween party, and I really debated on taking the boys, but I decided that they needed to have some normalcy/excitement in their lives! It was a crazy day, and I hated that they hadn't seen me or Nathan much that day, so I decided that I would take them. So I ran home, got the boys from Shayna's and Jen's, and then came home and got them dressed in their costumes. Then we went back to the hospital for a bit so the boys could see their dad, and so Nathan could see them in their costumes. On the way back I got Michael something from the drive through for dinner and we went to the Halloween party. It was a lot of fun, and while we were there I saw my visiting teacher and relief society president. I was surprised that they already knew what was going on. The visiting teacher offered to bring me dinner the next night, and the relief society president offered to help me figure out babysitting the next few days so I could be with Nathan and she also said she's help set up dinners. I was so grateful for those offers of help! While talking with the RSP that night, I discovered how she found out about our situation. Jared had called the Elders Quorum President, and then the EQP called her. Then she called my visiting teachers. It was just surprising to me how quickly word travels, and I was grateful for the system that is in place to provide RELIEF.

So after the party I came home and put the boys to bed. Then a lady from the ward came over to house sit (the RSP had called her and asked for me) so I could go up and be with Nathan again. I stayed up at the hospital until about 10:00 that night.

The next morning I called the Relief Society president and told her the hours I'd need babysitting. While she was calling around, a friend of mine called who'd heard about the surgery and offered to come over and watch the boys for me. We decided she'd come over in the morning, and then the RS president found someone for the afternoon. The great thing was that the person for the afternoon was able to drive over and get the boys and take them to her house. She had a boy that was the same age as Michael so they, of course, had a blast playing together. Xander, unfortunately, did not have a blast. I went to pick them up at about 4:30 and as soon as I got to the door I could hear the wailing!! I felt soo bad! She also had a daughter a few months older than Xander, and she was also wailing. When she answered the door she was holding both children on her hips. They both had huge tears running down their cheeks and their faces were bright red. It was quite the sight to behold.

We got home and I fed the boys, played with them for a few minutes, and then started calling around trying to find someone to watch the boys/house sit again so I could be with Nathan. It seemed like everyone I called was busy or not answering their phones. Finally I had the thought to call one of the ladies in my ward. It turns out, she was actually the compassionate service leader in the ward. So she knew about what was going on and offered to make some calls and figure it out for me so I could spend my time getting the boys ready for bed. She had a hard time getting someone too, so she came over with her baby and husband (they decided to make a date out of it...at my house....lol!) so I was able to go sit with Nathan some more. I think I stayed that night until about 10:30.

Finally the next day--Friday--we were told that Nathan could go home! So I quickly called someone that morning and she came right over and I was able to go back to the hospital and bring him home! It was such a relief to be home! It was such a relief to not have to worry about where my kids were, to not have to worry about if they were alright, to not have to worry about if they were missing us and how they would be when we got home.

Nathan has been home for a week now, and he's doing really well. He stayed home from work the full week after the surgery and went back to work yesterday (Friday). It's been slow going, but he's healing and getting better.

It's also interesting to note that a few months ago I was trying to decide if I would be able to fly to St. Louis for a work conference. I really wanted to go, but every time I thought about it I had a really bad feeling. I thought it was just because I didn't want to wean Xander so early and that was why I had the bad feeling. A few days later another opportunity came up for Boise and I decided that I would go to that meeting instead. Well, this week I realized that the meeting in St. Louis was for this weekend. If I had decided on going to that conference, I would have left yesterday!! There was no way Nathan would be ready to be with the boys one on one for 5 days! But, he will do just fine in 2 weeks, which is when my conference in Boise is.

It's just so humbling to take a step back and to realize how blessed we were through this whole ordeal!

Nathan Will Be On The Radio!!

So, for about a year and a half now, Nathan and a co-worker, Tony, have been doing weekly movie reviews. He gets to see all the movies and now he's going to be ON THE RADIO!! He just had the final meeting with the managers of the station today and finalized everything. He's going to be on every Friday between 8 and 9 in the morning. It'll just be a little 5 minute segment, but still...that's pretty dang cool!!!!

REVENGE

A few weeks while I was uploading pictures onto the computer, I discovered that Nathan was in a silly mood one day and decided to take some pictures of himself. I really debated putting them on the blog, but decided that I would save them for the perfect opportunity. Well, now is the perfect opportunity....

Remember that picture from the Farmers Market post? (click on the link to see it) You know, the one with the ugly picture of me eating a cob of corn. Ya, he posted it without my knowledge. I discovered the picture and removed it. I look hideous in it! Well, Yesterday, I was skimming through the blog and realized that Nathan had reposted it. So, instead of getting mad, I'm getting even.

Enjoy Nathan's silly mood! He rarely lets people in on this aspect of his personality, so enjoy! I know I am!

Revenge is sweet!

Nathan Is 26!

Today Nathan turned 26. We didn't really do anything big or major since Nathan worked most of the day. But I made some pierogi's (A polish meal that Nathan had growing up) and a chocolate pudding fudge cake. Michael and I also decorated the living room a bit. It was fun to celebrate, since Michael is getting more aware of birthday's and the specialness of the occasions. He's so fun!

The cake I made--YUM!

Now for the mushy stuff. I'm so grateful to have Nathan as my husband. He's such a great father and husband! I love watching him with our sons. He loves to get down on the ground and wrestle with Michael. He loves to hold and play with Xander. Xander L-O-V-E-S Nathan's glasses and the feel of his beard. And when Xander reaches for them, Nathan will gently explain what Xander is touching and the feeling on his hands, then gently pry the glasses from his stubby fingers. He truly loves our sons and it's so fun to see that love emanating from him! And Nathan is such a great husband! He's been so perfect during my PPD struggles. Nathan's job is incredibly demanding, but he makes sure to make the time for me so that I'm still sane by the end of the day. I just love him so much, and am so happy that he's my husband. Agreeing to marry him was the smartest decision I've ever made!

Family Pictures--Kinda

One friday Michael came home from preschool with a note asking that a family picture be brought with him to school on Monday. I read the note and put it down, making a mental note to find a decent picture with all of us in it. Then we went about our day and weekend and completely forgot until Sunday evening. Well, the last time we had family pictures taken was August 2008, so they obviously didn't have Xander in them and our printer is broken right now so I couldn't just print one off. So I decided that we would just all sit on the couch together and take a picture. It would be way easy and only take a few minutes. Well, 15 minutes and 16 attempted pictures later, this is what we got:

Nathan telling me I wasn't doing it right

Michael ended up taking a family picture from Aug. 08 and explained that Xander was not it.

The good news: This convinced Nathan that we need a new family picture!!!! (something I've been trying to convince him of for YEARS!) So stay tuned, new family pictures are in the works!

Random Pictures And A Video From Past 2 Months

I have been horrible with this blogging thing since finding out I was pregnant. And, to be honest, I've been horrible with most things in my life since early March! But, now that I'm getting out of that awful 1st trimester, I'm remember who I used to be and actually finding the energy to be that person again!!! So, I'm going to start with the blog. Hopefully by the end of the week we'll have pictures hanging up in our not-so-new-anymore apartment!! That would be nice!

Here is a picture of the crazy blizzard we had about a month or so ago. It was insane! The week before we had beautiful weather! It was bright and sunny, we got little sunburns, it was perfect! As we were getting ready for church, we noticed some pretty big storms clouds coming in and we had a fun little thunderstorm. As we drove to church it was coming to a close and it looked like it was leaving. But an hour later, after sacrament meeting, we looked outside and all we saw was WHITE!!!!!! It was storming, and bad! I've seen some crazy snow storms here in Rexburg, but this was the first time I felt confident in saying this was a true blizzard! It lasted for about 6 hours and when it was over we had a good 6 inches against both doors. Of course as soon as it was done the sun was out, blue skies were visible, and the snow was gone by the next day. That's what great about spring storms! The snow comes and goes pretty quickly. Oh, and even though it was pretty cold and stormy, Michael still wanted to play in it! He didn't care.

Michael scooping up snow with a snow shovel

Michael on his first day riding the bus

This video isn't the best (are they ever on this blog??) but it's Michael singing me happy birthday (I turned 26 on March 15th). I was pretty shocked that he knew this song! We sang it for his birthday and apparently it stuck! I wanted to get it on camera but of course when he saw the camera he was done. But you get a small sample towards the end.

Before the camera was out he didn't need any prompting from either of us. He really just knows it! I'll have to see if I can get a better video on Nathan's birthday (May 10th)

A View Of Nathan Many Have Never Seen

Okay, so this video needs to have some explanation before you view it. What is happening here is Nathan's foot has fallen asleep. I know we have all had that happen countless times in our lifetime. The foot falls asleep and as it starts to "wake up" it gets that tinkling feeling, sort of like pins and needles. For most of us, or least me, it's just annoying. But for Nathan, it makes him laugh HISTERICALLY for the whole length of the "waking up" period. He laughs even harder when some one (me in this video) touches or kicks the troublesome leg. So enjoy a moment of Nathan few have seen and lived to tell about...

I know it's not very long, but it will still give you an idea of what it's like...hilarious!!! I'm a very mean wife. And Nathan will most likely KILL me after seeing that I posted this...if he sees it....hehehe....

Graduation Pictures

First of all, I need to apologize to those who even really care about this blog for the giant lack of any pictures. I think I have just been so stressed with school and everything graduation that I haven't really thought about really taking the time that it takes to update this blog with pictures. And this blog has really become my journal, which is extremely evident, I'm sure. But, finally, here are some pictures!!! You will still have to read my words, if you wish, but at least there is something interesting to finally look at!

I was actually able to finish up most of my assignments, tests, and papers just before my parents came into town. They flew into Idaho Falls and I was able to take Michael and pick them up. It was so nice to be able to see them again. We always go too long before we're able to see them. We'll try and work on that!

Graduation day started with me attending my last day of classes (yes, classes were still held and assignments due on the DAY of graduation.) It was the beginning of the most stressful, busy, crazy, and tiring day of my life!

At 4:00 we went to the graduation Banquet. Here are some pictures of us there:

Nathan and I at the table waiting

My and Nathan with my mom and dad

After the dinner was over at 5:45, I had to race over to the Clark building where all the graduates were lining up for the "graduation march". Eventually we were able to finally get out of the heat and sit in the Hart auditorium for graduation. Too bad it was cooler outside than it was in the Hart building!! It was soo hot and I felt pretty bad for the speaker, Julie Beck. You could see from the screen that her top lip was totally shiny! She must have been soo sweaty and hot standing under all the lights and talking to the graduates. She did a good job, though.

I'm in here somewhere!!!

I was finally done in the Hart Auditorium at about 7:45 with another set of ceremonies to attend. This was the time that I would actually get a hold of my graduation cover. The problem? It was scheduled to start at 8:00 and was in a building on the other side of the campus.
Michael and I walking from the Auditorium to the Taylor building for Commencement

Finally it was all over at about 9:00 and I was able to start relaxing!!!

Can you tell Michael is about to fall apart from such a LONG and CRAZY day?
Me with my Diploma cover
My favorite part about this picture is Michael's face. I believe he's saying "cheese"
I'm so grateful that our children (if we are EVER allowed to have any more!) will be blessed with both parents having College Degrees!! And maybe even graduate degrees...we'll see...

The next day we all went up the temple to walk around it a bit and enjoy the reverence of the grounds.
And then on Sunday afternoon we went back up to campus to take pictures next to the buildings that we spent most of our time in at BYU-Idaho

Nathan and I both had commencement in the Taylor Chapel

The much needed picture in front of the sign

Nathan in front of the Spori building
Me in the Clark building entrance

These are just some random pictures of Michael that I found on our computer from the last month
I LOVE bathtime pictures!! Michael is the happiest in the bath

This was great! Nathan gave Michael a "snack bowl" and let him watch a movie. A few minutes later he turned around and Michael was OUT! Michael was fast asleep and Nathan was able to lift him up and carry him into his bed. He never even moved! I love it when that happens!

I also thought this picture was pretty cool. Michael loves, loves, LOVES his "Duddles"!!! This is a two in one bubble! Michael is starting to use the pedals on bikes!!! This is so fun and exciting to see him figure this out! He's been trying since last summer, but he's finally tall enough to reach them and still touch the pedals as they circle around!!! He gets caught going back words A LOT but he's making progress!! It's so fun being the mother of a young child!! I love it, I really do.

ETA:

My grades also came in and they weren't bad. They were better than I had thought in some classes and worse than I was hoping for. I got straight B's....So pretty good, but there was definitly one class that should have been an A and would have been but for a few short percentage points...oh well. At least I'm done!!!!!!!

Gratefullness

I actually did it!!! I can't believe it, but I did it! It was even a bit anti-climatic at the end. I think I had been stressing myself out by just thinking that the last 2 weeks of school were going to be stressful!!! I know realize that I had no need to stress that much!! I was able to complete each of my assignments about 2 or 3 days before they were due and I turned them in no problem. I don't have my grades just yet, but I'm thinking I did pretty well. Probably not as well as I had done the last few semesters, just becuase I wasn't taking any child development classes. I was taking boring psychology classes that were quite a bit more difficult than what I was used to. Still, though, I think I made it through with probably 1 C+ and 4 B's, with maybe one of them being an A. I hate it when it's on the borderline of being either an A or a B!! Hopefully I'll find out my official grades soon.

I have soo many people to thank for helping me through these last 6 1/2 years!!! The first being my husband, Nathan. He has been such a strength and support for me in the last 5 years! I honestly belive that I would NOT have done this if he hadn't believed in me so much! When we met, I was still pursuing Elementary Education but I did not have the Grade Point Average to be accepted into the program. I was spending all of my time trying to retake classes that I not taken seriously, all in hopes of raising my GPA. Finally he convinced me to just get on with my college career and finish up the basic classes. It was through his pushing in that area that I took my first Child Development class. It was just an introduction course, but I fell in love with it. Now, 2 years later, I have a Bachelor of Science in Child Development and am working for a wonderful program that is enabling me to continue learning about children and also allowing me to do what I had been trying to do for so long: Teach!

I also need to thank Michael. (I feel like I'm doing an acceptance speech or something!) He has done so well through all this!!! There were only a few times when I would have to tear him from my legs inorder to get to class on time. Seriously, maybe 10 times in 2 years!! Most of the time our routine would go like this:

Me: Bye Michael

Michael would run to me with his lips pursed and waiting for a kiss and a hug. I would lift him up and give him his kiss and hug, and then put him down.

Then, I would walk to the door all the while with him RIGHT behind me saying

"Dye, Mommy!" "Dye, Mommy!!" over and over again. (seriously, it was like one long sentence of 5 words one right after the other!)

As soon as the door was closed, he would have Nathan lift him up to the window to watch me get into the car. If Nathan wasn't available for that, he would run to the window facing the street to wait for the car to drive by.

Then when I would get home, if he wasn't napping, I would hear an immediate Mommy!!!! When the door would open. Then he would jump out of his chair (usually he would be eating lunch) and come running to me. Then the next 10 minutes would consist of:

Michael: Mommy, Mommy, Mommy, Mommy.....until I would finally answer! Seriously, he can go on for minutes if I don't recognize him!

Me: What?! (kind of annoyed with the CONSTANT mommy's!)

Michael: HI!!!!

And then it would start all over again. Cute and funny, but quickly annoying!

Anyway, Michael has been such a great help to me in not showing any ill effects in my basically neglectful parenting (I know, I wasn't being neglectful, but I sure felt like it at some points!) He has always been so happy and such a blessing to me.

I also need to thank my parents and my In-laws. They were such a help and support to me as well. I know there were many prayers on Nathan, me, and Michael's behalf and those thoughts and prayers really supported me and pulled me through the hardest times. It was so great to talk on the phone or visit in person with them and to know that they really cared for me and my education. I appreciate their support and enjoy knowing they will continue to support me in anything I choose to do.

And last, but certainly not least, I need to thank our friends David, Val, and Claire LeMieux. I don't know how many times they got roped into watching Michael for us. Sometimes even last minute, but they were always sooo willing and able to watch him! Michael really loves going over to their house and he loves Claire! They play together so well most of the time and we feel so blessed to have had them as our neighbors! I'm secretly hoping they don't ever have to move!!!! I have enjoyed their company so much in the last year and a half and it has been so fun getting to know their family!! Val is one of my closest friends right now and I'm so grateful for her and her support. I don't know what I would have done without her near me in these last few years!

I also want to thank you all out in blog world for all the support and encouragement you all gave me!! I'm sure my blog has been quite boring while trying to finish up, with all the to-do lists and all! Don't worry. I'm not offended if you agree with me!

I'm just so grateful that I'm finally done and feel so blessed with the opportunity to have a college degree!!!

Father's Day 2008

This father's day was really fun and Michael and I had a fun time putting it all together. I spent about an hour on the internet before Father's Day and got a bunch of ideas and they turned out pretty good.

For Nathan's main gift Michael and I made this apron

(That spot next to the 2008 isn't very noticable in person. Too bad it shows up so much in the picture!)

I bought the apron from Walmart (after going to EVERY other store in Rexburg) for less than 3 bucks and then bought some puff paint for 77 cents. Pretty good prices, I thought. So I just squirted a bunch of the red paint into a bowl and Michael didn't really know what to think of it, but he did comply. Then I just wrote the letters and let it dry for about an hour. Then I made him breakfast and put together the rest of his presents.

Here is everything else that we did

This is a shirt/tie that I found on the internet. It reads "There A Bounty Of Things I Love To Do With You, Like Playing, Reading, and Riding Bikes Too. One Thing That Makes Me Glad Is Giving Hugs and Kisses To The World's Greatest Dad!" It's pretty cute!

This note is supposed to be tied to the apple and it reads "Thank You For Being The Core Of Our Family"

This is supposed to read "My Pop Rocks!"

Here's the finished product!! Michael wore the apron into Nathan.

It was a pretty good day. My primary kids sang two songs in church (Daddy's homecoming and Home) and then we came home and had a fun little bar-b-que with our good friends and neighbors the LeMieux's. We had yummy teriyaki and pineapple burgers and then for desert we had rootbeer floats with Dad's Rootbeer. It was a good day and I'm pretty sure Nathan enjoyed it.

We Love You Nathan!!

Nathan's 24!!!!!!!!!!

On May 10 Nathan turned 24! We had a pretty good day, and I think Nathan enjoyed it. We spent a few hours in Idaho Falls and went out to eat at the Texas Road House Resteraunt and it was soo yummy!! We love their rolls! It was really nice, and a bit wierd, to go there with out Michael. It was a much needed retreat! After lunch/dinner we went to Best Buy and he got a cover type thing for his I-pod Touch (his grad. present from his parents) and then to Barnes and Noble and he got a few books. Then we went home and had cake. It was pretty simple but nice.

Nathan (and Michael) blowing out the candles on the cake. It was another yummy Dairy Queen Blizzard Ice Cream cake!!! So good!

Hair Cuts

So, I finally braved it a few weeks and gave Michael his first hair cut by me!!!!! Wow, was that an interesting experience!! We didn't get any pictures from the first attempt, but I can pretty much sum it up with one word: Screaming. And not just Michael. I'm telling you, it was quite the experience! It started out pretty good, for the first few minutes. Michael didn't really know what was going on but soon he just didn't want to be involved with the process. He kept touching his head and it seemed like he was annoyed he didn't have much hair in the areas I had already cut. He didn't like me trying to get the nape of his neck and behind his ears. I was trying to get Nathan to help me, but he didn't really like the idea of it much more than Michael did. So I gave up when it looked pretty good. But after a few windy days and some walks, I could see I had missed quite a few critical areas. (the hair would stick straight up in the wind...kind of looked funny) So we had to try it again. I think we waited for about a week and half before we tried it again, and it went a lot better. Here are some fun pictures of it. I thought I had done pretty good job, until Nathan said to Michael, "Next time we're going to a barber!" Oh well.

Just begining. He's saying "Cheese"

He hates it when the hair falls into his face

I just think this picture is funny. Here he's starting to get a difficult and protesting. I'm trying to get his head to bend forward and he's clutching his favorite necklace...don't ask about the necklace, but he loves it!

This last one is another of my favorites!!! As I mentioned, Michael was getting difficult and Nathan was desperate to find a way to calm him down and distract him when he saw the lime green permanent marker....This was the result.

Nathan started writing on his own stomach, he wouldn't let me take a picture of that, and then Michael wanted in on the action and Nathan drew him a nice little smiley face. But, you'll be happy to know that it worked!!!!! And Michael was so proud of his new little face! He was walking around shirtless for the rest of the night!

The Best Feeling In The World!!!!

So, today I finished my second to last semester for my Bachelors degree!!!!!!!!! It's such a great feeling, and a bit scary, to know that only 1 more semester and I'm done!!!!! I'm very grateful and relieved for this! It has been such a busy and fast semester and full of stress, but lots of learning.

I'm so grateful for Nathan and all he did to help me through this semester, even if it meant he couldn't always do what he needed or wanted to do. I'm also so grateful for Michael and for him being so forgiving! There have been many days when I would only see him in the morning for 30 minutes and then again just before bed. But he was always happy to see me! (sometimes a little too glad I was home and he had someone to whine to about Dad not letting him do what he wanted)

I'm also really learning that I'm enjoying having a two year old! Yeah, there are tantrums and defiance every now and then, but I love him! I love explaining to him how something works. He loves to watch balloons being filled with Hellium at the store and listens intently when I explain to him what's happening. I love that he gives me hugs when I seem to really need them, or for no reason at all. I love the little gasps he makes when he discovers something new, kind of like the video of the easter egg hunt. I love watching him play and when he enjoys getting a new book and how he will sit on the floor (right where he's standing at the time, sometimes just in the middle of the kitchen) and he will look at his new book for about 15 minutes! It's so fun watching him learn something new, and even if he's doing something he's been for a while! I love putting him to bed because it's soo easy!! It's hard to believe, but just 7 months ago we were still putting him to bed by either nursing him or swinging him in the little carseat (yeah, the infant carrier). We would never have thought that he could go to bed soo easy! I love it!! I love babies and babies are fun, but toddlers are also a joy. I really look forward to the rest of his childhood and am eager to see what that brings us!

Mommy and Daddy love you Michael!!!!

I love this man!!!!

(I know, it's not a good picture, but it's the best one I could find)

Okay, so I thought I haven't put enough about Nathan on here, and I don't think I've really shown all my appreciation for him as much as I should have. But I have been so grateful for all that he has done for me!! And not just this semester, although he is doing EVERYTHING right now, but I am grateful for all that he has taught me in the almost 5 years that we've known eachother. He has made me a much better person and I am a far better student now than I ever was. He has given me so much more self esteem just by allowing me to realize my true potential and telling me to stop putting myself down all the time. He challenges me a lot in what I'm thinking, and although I get mad at him a lot for that, I appreciate it. I'm learning so much more about politics due to his CONSTANT need to listen to talk radio (can we say Grandpa, family???? Ya, I feel for Nana!) I just love him so much and appreciate him for all he does.

I'm also really proud of him for the great job he has been doing with our new diet...I mean lifestyle. It is a hard diet but he is being really good. We have been doing it since about the middle of January, with me going off it for the 4 weeks I was pregnant, and he has already lost like 15 pounds!! I am so proud of him for doing so good and always having to be the strong one when I don't want to stick to it (I'm back on it again now that I'm not pregnant). This is the first diet he's really stuck to, and I'm proud of him for all his hard work!

He works so hard for all of us and tries to make sure everything is perfect for us. I really appreciate all he does for me and I'm lucky to be his wife!


This is what I found on the shower wall the day after my birthday. It really meant a lot to me.

Trunk or Treating and Costumes

We had a pretty fun halloween. Michael had a blast and was SOOO hyper at the end of the night. He still went to sleep really well, thankfully. First we went to our ward halloween party and did some trunk or treating there then we went over to the movie theater in town. They had about 10-15 cars from different businesses in town handing out candy. It was really fun to walk around and Michael loved it! Then we went out to Craigos (a really good pizza place) and had dinner.


Here is Michael on Halloween last year. He was a vampire and the reason we did that was because he had just gotten his top two teeth, but they weren't the middle. They were the spikey ones, like a vampire has. So we thought it was pretty cute.
Michael and Amy just before going home. Michael is taking in all his candy!!!
Nathan and Michael before returning home
Nathan and Michael walking around all the cars and gathering candy


An up close picture of Michael in his costume. I know that he looks really sad and depressed here, but he wasn't. I just wanted to get an upclose picture of his face so you can see I painted his nose, although it looks like it had already started to rub off.

I loved Michaels costume this year!! My favorite part about it was the tail at his rear. It stuck out just enough so that as he walked, it would wag. Sadly, I didn't get any pictures of it.