I couldn't have wished for anything more

February 14th, 2013 was shaping up to be rather dismal. I had to work that day, of course, which wasn't so bad. The problem was, I was alone, and had been for 10 weeks. Don't get me wrong, I have wonderful family and friends around me that support me and are always taking good care of me. But I didn't have Brad, and not having my husband (especially such a rad one) around on Valentine's day, after he had missed Christmas, New Years, and his birthday, was lamesauce indeed. The good news was, however, that I would get to see him on Saturday night. So that cheered me up a bit!

Also, this sweet surprise on my porch from Nedra and Todd helped. :)

As the day went on, and as I was texting Brad, I remember telling him how much I wish he could be here. I told him that I missed him, and was so, SO excited to see him in two days. I had some surprises up my sleeve with fun stuff to do, and was anticipating him coming home so we could hang out FINALLY.

Toward the end of the day, I decided that I would leave work a teensy bit early because I had some overtime I had to try to get rid of. I told my nurse friends that I wanted to take off a little early because I had dinner planned with my mother-in-law, and thought it would be fun to get her a little something for Valentine's day. They all acted like that was crazy, and wanted to know how early I wanted to leave, and told me they didn't want me to leave too early because often it will get really busy right at the end of the day. I was a little surprised they cared so much, because we do that fairly often, but they seemed ok with the fact that I just wanted to leave 15 minutes early.

So, 4:10 rolls around, and all of the sudden one of our schedulers came into the room and told me she needed to talk to me, and turned around and left. I thought, "Uh-oh. What did I do?" I got away from my desk and followed her to the hallway, and there, right outside my door, was Brad.

Brad!

Brad, who had just gotten off work like 8 hours ago. Brad, who was texting me as he went to bed that morning (He had worked that night). Brad, who was in Florida 8 hours ago, and for all I knew, still was. Brad, who wasn't supposed to be home until Saturday night! What the???

I was in shock.

I almost didn't recognize him. Not that he looked different (just cuter and tanner), but it was so far beyond comprehension, it took me a few seconds to realize this was reality.

This was my face when it finally hit me that Brad was home!

I could not believe it. I just stood there staring at him, saying over and over, "Are you kidding me?!?" Finally he told me to give him a hug, which of course I did! But he had a huge thing of flowers, and I had a huge belly we had to work around.

I may have been crying a little bit in this picture. And I look awkward cuz of the parasite in my stomach making me a little larger than usual.

Brad had called my supervisor to ask if he could come surprise me and take me home a little early that evening. He also had spent hours looking online for an earlier flight. He had traded some shifts with another student out there so he could leave a little early. He had exhausted his resources to find a ride home from the airport, and had been awake over 36 hours. But he did it all for me, to surprise me on Valentine's day. My cup overfloweth.

Ashlee, Brad's sister also gave us some fun Valentine's Day goodies... They were delicious!

Little Update

I figured I should post some pictures of baby Claire's growth. Note I did not say "my growth" because really, lets not draw attention to that...
I will officially be 31 weeks tomorrow, Which means I am starting my eighth month of pregnancy. I'm super impressed I made it this far.
I left off at the 21 week mark, and Baby progresses as follows...

22 weeks.

Claire is the size of a papaya. Very clear bump, which makes for a silly face in the mirror. Sorry about the fuzziness, the phone...you know.

23 weeks

 Claire is the size of a grapefruit. This was taken at work. I can't tell you how difficult it was to take my own pregnancy pictures while Brad was away. But he insisted I do it! So, I got my friend Sue to take this picture for me. You can see my desk in the background!

24 weeks

Claire is the size of a canteloupe. I must have been feeling good that day since I got dressed, did my hair, and did my make-up.

25 weeks

Claire is the size of a cauliflower. And BRAD GOT TO TAKE THIS PICTURE. This is how big Claire was the first time he really got to see me pregnant. He was finally home! More on that later.

26 weeks, obviously

 Claire is the size of a head of iceberg lettuce. There was no way I was gonna get outta those comfy sweats that day. Nuh uh.

27 weeks/22 weeks: touching tummies!

 Claire is a rutabaga. You know, I don't think I've ever had a rutabaga. I don't know what those taste like.

27 weeks/22 weeks

 Here I am in Utah at 27 weeks with my baby sister who is 22 weeks along with a baby boy!! How fun that I get to be pregnant my first time while my sister is pregnant her first time, right? I'm totally carrying higher than she is I think. I hear girls tend to carry higher than boys, but who knows. Isn't she adorbs? (adorable-sometimes I abrev)iate.

28 weeks

 Claire is an eggplant. I'm wearing maternity pants in this one!!! (Why did no one tell me how comfortable elastic pants are? Seriously will be getting these out every Thanksgiving).

29 weeks (3rd trimester)

 Claire is an acorn squash.

30 weeks

I'm pretty good at wearing the same tops in my pictures. I feel like, while done accidentally, it actually helps visualize the growth. So I'm not apologizing. :)
THIRTY WEEKS!!!

Pregnancy lows. Maybe lifetime lows...

I think most, or at least many, women want to be healthy and have healthful habits while pregnant. I know I started out with great intentions of running for as long as I could throughout the nine months of growing a child. I also wanted to eat nearly exclusively nutritious foods. I thought I would allow myself to give in to a craving or two here or there, but mostly I wanted to be a standard of health to all who see me (exaggeration). I also wanted to have the minimum weight gain required for a healthy pregnancy. I don't know many women who want to gain MORE than they have to, though. But some probably don't care.

So, a confession. I have not been perfect.

Here are a couple of low points for me, this pregnancy:

Did you notice it's the bonus size? 10% more....

 I mean, Mac & Cheese. It's one of those foods that is associated with childhood. It's a comfort food, right? Well, I not only bought a couple of boxes of this food (which I normally don't ever do), but I ate an ENTIRE box in one sitting. It just fit so nicely into my apparently large bowls. But yeah. That's definitely a low for me.

Don't EVER try this at home. Especially if you are alone.

Who knew about Ben & Jerry's?? I had tried one flavor back in college with my sister, Robin, but other than that, I really hadn't had much of this ice cream. It's too expensive. You can get a pint of ice cream or half gallon of ice cream for the same price. You do the math. Well, trying the ice cream wasn't actually the low point. In fact, I had bought another pint a couple weeks ago that I made sure I only ate the recommended serving size of 1/2 cup. The low point here was that I ate this entire pint of ice cream in 24 hours.

I think overall I'm doing pretty well. I'm certainly not running much, largely because I feel like I might wet myself if I do. And because I'm too lazy. I am exercising here and there, and am gaining weight within the normal range of 25-35 lbs. So, overall, I'm kinda on track. But I thought I'd share the above experiences because I suppose I wonder if I'm the only one who sinks to such lows? And because I thought it was funny.

Fer serious...Geesh

Sometimes I think serious thoughts. Usually, it isn't intentional, as was the case last night. I thought I'd share, because, I dunno. Maybe it will help someone out there. I suppose I want to write my thoughts down so they don't disappear into nothingness (my memory).

What sparked this serious train of thoughts was watching a trailer for a documentary my friend Leslie posted on her Facebook page called Stuck. The documentary is about international adoption, and how there are countless children who are stuck in orphanages despite already having been adopted. The average time it takes for children to actually be placed with their adoptive parents is just under three years. During those three years, the children's basic needs are barely being met, all while they have families back in the US hoping and praying they will come home.

Sad, right? It made me very sad. It made me want to adopt a bunch of cute little Haitian children. I don't particularly like being sad, but I sort of got on a roll with it. There are so many sad, sad things that happen in our world. Wars, starvation, abuse, bullying, violence, lying, cheating, stealing, etc. There is real pain out there. And heartache. There is a lot of wrongness.

Then I thought about the known history of our world. There has been a lot of wrongness going on for a very long time.

Then I thought about the Savior. I thought about His promises to us, and how because of his suffering and Atonement, somehow, all the wrongness out there will be ultimately be made right; wrongs that seem impossible to right. Somehow, someday, all of us, His children, will feel justified and at peace with what is happening, or what happened, in our lives.

It takes a lot of faith to believe that! That is an incredible belief, that someone could right all wrongs. That eventually there will be peace on Earth and in all of our hearts. When I think about how awful things seem to be for some people, I don't have a clue how healing like that could take place. But, I'm grateful for my faith, despite my lack of understanding the mechanics of how or the specifics of when.

Then the thought came to me: The Savior can fix the world. He can fix it despite its being so unbelievably horrible at times. And He can fix it wholly and completely. If He can fix this sometimes wretched place,

He can fix me.

He can fix me! And not only me, he can fix the people I love, he can fix strangers, and he can fix even the people I'm not particularly fond of. He can and will fix anyone and everyone who will let him, and even those that aren't currently wanting to be fixed: He's just ready and waiting for the right time.

Why would I want to push anyone down, even people who aren't very nice or cool or fun, or even my own silly self, when Christ is so desperately hoping for people to reach up to him so he can lift them up? I guess, this long, serious blog post, is ultimately me reminding myself to be patient with myself and all my flaws. Be patient with my loved ones. Be patient with strangers. Be patient with my "enemies." Because, we are all fixable. We all need help being fixed. And, we are all, every one of us, worth it. 

That's all. 

Food 1st(s)

So, one fun thing I was introduced to recently by my mother-in-law: home-made elephant ears! Also, I used the oven for the first time since Brad left. I made sour cream enchiladas. They were pretty good. I like my mom's better, though. 

Loaded with butter, cinnamon and sugar. Uh... yummy. Next time,  I'll make one a little smaller. 

Guess what? The less often you use the oven, the less often you have to clean it. Trick of the trade.

Well, nothing super healthy to brag about. But, um. Some firsts for me.

Flowers!

Brad misses me terribly. 

See?

Aww!! These brightened my day. And my kitchen. 

I miss him too. But he is coming home in 5 and 1/2 days!!!

Christmas

This last Christmas was spent with my mom, dad, sister and family. But! Because Brad left in the beginning of December, we had to decorated the Saturday after Thanksgiving so he could have some semblance of a Christmas. 

We got our first real Christmas tree this year! Brad's family traditionally goes to a tree farm all together the day after Thanksgiving to pick out the perfect 14 foot tree. We, of course, do not have vaulted ceilings in our cute apartment, so we settled for a 6 footer instead. I actually have to say... the small trees are much easier to handle. 

So, guess what? My mom made me a beautiful Christmas tree skirt. It made me so happy inside. 

Here she is! Isn't she a beauty? The picture doesn't do it justice. It's ivory, gold, red and glorious.

And here it is all put together! Gold and red and green.  I am so proud of our work of art. Fully decorated for less than $40. Other than the tree skirt, of course. I mean, it was free for me, but not for my mom...

Here are our stockings, with the countdown in between. 

I sort of love these reindeer stocking holders!

Nativity set. 

This is our first Christmas tree! We keep it for sentimental reasons. Well, that's why I keep it.  Brad keeps it, cuz I keep it, and we live together and everything, so we BOTH keep it. 

And this is me after I got home, with all my Christmas booty.  New boots, a diaper bag, nursery set, and a Groupon for a  massage and a mani/pedi (thanks Bradley and Mom and Dad!).

Anyway, Christmas with my parents and sister/her family was really enjoyable. I did, of course miss Brad, but it was so nice to be able to spend time with my fam. We had great food, played fun games, and were able to reflect on the gift of our Savior. And, we of course read once again Charles Dicken's A Christmas Carol. 

Thanks Brad, for sending me home for Christmas, and thanks Mom and Dad for spoiling me, and thanks Robin, Nels, Calvin and Oliver for being there too! Love you guys!

Shower in a suitcase

So, my mum is pretty excited about us having a girl. I was able to spend some time with her, as well as with my dad, and my sister and her family over Christmas. That was my birthday present from Brad, by the way. A trip home for the holidays, since he left for Florida on December 6th.

Anyway, while I was there, my mumsy "showered" me with things she has been treasuring and holding onto. Things for baby Claire. So, when I got home I took some pictures of my shower in a suitcase.

My suitcase overfloweth.

Top view. 

I thought it would be fun to put everything underneath the tree. Look at it! Bibs, outfits, udder covers, blankets, a hand made "quiet book" for church, toys, and more. 

My Dad's contribution! It's a ball he made, and it's for the game "Potato."
We used to play it as kids. Definitely a tradition to carry on. 

This is a children's lullaby my mom
stitched and hung in our nursery.

Receiveing blankets galore

Funky/fun bibs. I love the bright colors. 

Little monster toy.

Smocked dress. I love these things. 

More smocked outfits.

Hand crocheted by my mom. 

Thanks Mom and Dad! Love you guys!

Um... hello, again.

So, I have been ACHING to blog for awhile now. I have a few picture to post, and some things to say. Mostly pictures, really. Here is my excuse this time: My computer broke. Actually, both my phone and computer broke right about at the same time. I have been without a screen larger than 2"x3" for over a month now, as well as without a keyboard. I hear you can blog via a smart phone, but that is way too complicated for me. Plus, I mostly like to put pictures up, and I can't do that through my phone unless they are just cell phone pictures. I think. Anyway. Too much effort, in other words.

BUT. Guess what? I finally, today, have a functioning computer. It's quite a little beauty, too. I didn't feel bad about getting it either because mine actually broke. I took it in to the Genius Bar and everything, and it was the logic board that stopped functioning. I don't know a lot about what that means, but from what it sounded like, it was gonna be a pain, and expensive to fix, all for a 6 year old computer. No thanks. I took it as a sign it was time for me to upgrade.

So, here is an update on my stomach:

11 weeks! I'm doing good, going strong! Still very nauseated. Still no throwing up.

 Baby is the size of a lime at 11 weeks. Apparently. All the food comparisons don't make sense to me. I mean, what peach is smaller than a lemon? I must have only ever seen tiny lemons or huge peaches.

Nearing the end of the 1st trimester! Finally. I thought I was going to feel 100% by the end of this week, but...

 Baby is plum size. In this picture, I was so excited that I was going to start feeling better! I actually kind of was feeling a little better, I thought.

13 weeks. This was by far the worst week. I lost 4-5 lbs this week, but you can't tell. :)

 But in week 13, when baby was the size of a peach, I finally threw up. It felt so good. I sorta wished I had been able to do that all along. Also, I had some kind of bug, so I happened to take off my one and only day for sickness during my pregnancy. So far.

14 weeks. Definitely a little bump!

 Finally starting to feel a little bit better. Baby is the size of a lemon. I'm also starting to crave carbs like crazy, and stopped having much nausea.

15 weeks. I forgot the 16 week picture. Actually,  Brad prolly reminded me, but I let it slide. Now I regret it. Oh well. 

No more nausea! Here I feel like my bump was starting to be a little more obvious, when baby was the size of a naval orange. However, now, I think I was just feeling bigger, and hoping people knew it was because I was pregnant.

17 weeks...

This was the week baby was the size of an onion, at 17 weeks.

18 weeks. 

The pictures just look worse and worse, trying to get that camera steady on the couch. Baby is the size of a sweet potato. Or, 5.6 inches. I feel like most sweet potatoes are bigger than that, but I could be wrong.

19 weeks. Can I just say, these pictures are really hard to take. I have to set the camera on the arm of the couch, and then run, but it's difficult because 60% of the time, once I have the camera positioned perfectly, as soon as I get up from the couch, it topples over. Brad needs to get back from Florida ASAP.

19 weeks: Mango. At 18-19 weeks, I had really awful sciatic pain for some random reason. It might have partly been because I set up the crib all by myself, but that didn't start it. It was pretty painful though. I'm hoping it doesn't return, because, um, OUCH.

Here I am at 20 weeks!!! Halfway done.

Yay! I made it halfway there! So exciting! Baby is as big as a banana! Honestly, the scariest time for me will be between 24 and 32 weeks. Once I'm at 32 weeks, I will feel slightly better. I'll feel even better once baby is 38 weeks, of course. At least, I'll feel less worry. I'll likely feel much more uncomfortable. Also, this is when we got our ultrasound. My mother-in-law came with me, since Brad couldn't be there, and it was such a cool experience!

21 weeks and 3 days. I seem to really like this shirt... Don't worry, I don't always wear it. For example, when I sleep, I wear something different.

And here is my belly at 21 weeks. Claire is the size of a pomegranate.

Our baby girl

Here is what Brad gets to do...

So, actually, the above picture is slightly misleading. Brad got to go out on a boat one time so far while in Tampa. Mostly he has to get up before the crack of dawn, go to a hospital, and work on learning anesthesia, which they make as difficult as possible for him. He's so great, and I'm proud of him for working so hard, and living in gross/tiny living conditions while there. 21 more days. Woot.