"You haven't been sleeping well for days."

Today is the first real nice day we have had in days. It's going to reach 74 today. It's almost June. My family and friends in Georgia have had their pools open for weeks. Don't get me wrong, I love the rain. I just don't like the rain when it's also cold. I love a nice spring rain, with the windows open and the air muggy after. I am glad Mother Nature has a smile on her face today and decided it was okay to let the sun shine down on us.

Will and I went to the mall yesterday to walk around while it was raining. We just needed to get out of the house. I was feeling so on top of this move...Now that it is literally 14 days away, I am feeling SO overwhelmed! I have gone through all of the baby clothes (It's weird that most of the clothes are no longer just Will's clothes. He's gonna be handing 'em down to his new little brother!) I have them organized and put into large bins. I have gone through my clothes and organized them, as well as have had Andy go through his clothes and get them organized. I have gone through, organized and packed all of my craft desk. (Yes, I have an entire desk just for crafting and sewing) Other then that, I don't think I have done much. I still need to go through the toys, box those up, go through the pantry and throw most of it away. I do not want to pack food that probably won't last the trip anyways. Changes in elevation will cause cans to explode. That's a mess I just don't feel like dealing with at this point in my life. I would rather start over anyways, get things which are healthier and we will actually use. I think I am going to get all the books packed. Andy has school books, which I will leave for him. It feels like so much, but so little. It doesn't help that I have been sleeping horribly the last few nights. My nose is so stuffy, I can't breathe well. My hips are killing me, so it hurts to sleep on my sides. So, I end up on my back, which also hurts. I am always hot. Andy and I have battle of the thermostat. I either turn it off because the temperature is perfect inside because it's cool outside, or I turn on the AC, to cool things down. When he gets home, he turns the heat back on. I don't know why the man does it, he's a furnace as it is. It seems like every time I finally get comfortable and fall asleep, I am rushing to the bathroom! I feel like I have exploded in the last two weeks. I actually look pregnant, which is nice. I just don't enjoy the growing pains and itching.

We are so excited about this move....I am pretty nervous about starting over and making all new friends. But, at least Andy and I will be starting over together. He'll have to make all new friends too! For now, I am going to do the dishes and put some things in boxes. Then, I am taking Will outside to enjoy Mother Nature's good mood!

The Results Are In....

I know, I know, you've all been waiting to hear about the gender of this baby. I have to apologize, I haven't had any time to blog since we found out on Friday. (We had one last trip to Idaho to visit Andy's sister, Nikki!). It was such a crazy day! I took Will to the park, to feed the ducks and play at the playground. That was a blast. I am afraid of Geese. And there are a ton of them at the park. I don't like to not let Will do things, just because I am afraid, or don't like something. (Which is why the child looooves peaches. Yuck!) So, we hung around the geese. Until they started getting aggressive. Not cool. Afterwards, my dear friend came over to watch Will while Andy and I headed out to the doctors office. We had the ultrasound done. The tech was actually an old neighbor of ours, so it was a lot more fun the usual. I honestly had NO idea what we were having. Last time, Andy and I could agree on names, which were all boy names. And we had a boy. So, being logical (and just trying to come up with a reason WHY I thought this baby is a girl) I thought because we had girl names picked out, we would probably having a girl. Well, this little baby is quite the mover and shaker! This baby would NOT cooperate with the tech. In fact, this baby did a complete somersault while we were trying to get a snap shot of the profile! The baby also waved at us in the first couple of minutes!

It was so cute, and great fun to get to see our little.....BOY!!!!

Yep, I am going to be even more out numbered! There were only two of you who thought we were having a boy! I am so surprised! I was completely shocked! The first words out of my mouth were "Are you kidding me?! What are we going to name this child?!" We're excited to have another little man running around our home (and to not have to buy all new clothes!) I am also glad they are far enough apart that I won't have two boys on missions!

Now...the name search begins!

Officially Utes!

I wanted to post the picture above, only because I feel like it captures our family how we really act all the time. Will isn't paying any attention, Andy is trying to get Will to pay attention and I'm being goofy to keep my sanity!
Here is the graduate! We are so proud of Andy! He worked so hard in school! He received a bachelors degree in History with a minor in Business. He also completed all the requirements for medical school, which is pretty much a double major in science. We are so grateful to him for all the hard work he has put into his education. He earned good grades, studied his tuckis off and pulled more all nighters then I can even count. Now, he gets a well deserved break. Once we move, he won't have a job, which means we can just all spend some quality time with him before he goes MIA during the school year!

Thanks for all you do for our family, Andy! We love you more then you can know! (Even though I know you get pretty peeved when you leave for work and Will and I are still snoozing in the bed and I have completely taken over your side! I love you!!!)


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We have our ultrasound on Friday to find out the gender of this baby. We're still kind of, well, ok, we ARE at a complete loss as to what this child should be called.

For a girl we like:
Katherine-We would call her Kate. (I wonder how many of you have put it together...William and Kate?!)
Sofia-Andy threw this one out there last night, I think it's pretty cute. But, I am pretty sure it's ridiculously common.

For a boy we like:
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Charles?-(we're going with a Royal family theme here. Apparently.) Charlie is a cute name...but I don't know.

So, I guess we will see. We still have 4 1/2 months to figure out what to name his kid. I can't believe I am nearly half way through this pregnancy...and I can't believe I still have half way to go!!

History, in the making, right before our eyes!

Well, I am a big history fan. I love to learn about the past. In high school, I took AP European History just because I wanted to take the class. I didn't even bother with the AP exam. Andy is a history major and I love hearing about all the things he is learning about. It's so fascinating. This past weekend has really made me reflect on history. With the wonderful Royal Wedding of Prince William and Princess Catherine, I was completely enthralled. I love British History. You can't learned about British history without learning about the rest of the world. They really were a total powerhouse (Until some Americans decided being free was better and totally kicked their butts! It's ok, we're the favorite ex-colony of Britain!) I actually debated staying up until 2 am to watch the entire wedding. Then, I realized it would be shown all day long, and I needed to do laundry. What's better then watching a Royal wedding and folding your undies? It was so fun to watch all the tradition! Reading about Royal weddings of many different Kings and Princes is much different then watching it. While there were obvious modernizations, I loved watching history in the making before my very eyes! It was such a treat for me to watch everything I have read about in the past. It was a real treat for me!

(Andy and I actually really love the name Catherine. Can you imagine if we have a girl and name her Catherine? We'd have a Will and Kate...bahahahahah!)

Last night, we were watching SVU (a guilty pleasure of mine). Andy was online. He turned to me and said "Have you seen the news? Osama bin Laden is dead." WHAT?! There is no way! How can that be?! So, we turned on FOX News and sure enough, there it was, in big, bold letters. "OSAMA BIN LADEN DEAD!" Osama bin Laden is actually dead?! I was 13 when he sent two air planes into the Twin Towers. I was late for school. (I was actually waiting on my mom to take me) I sat on our coffee table and watched the billowing smoke from the first tower. I walked into class and told my teacher, one minute later, our Principal came on the loud speaker and asked all the teachers to turn on the TV. We watched as they replayed the second plane crashing into the second building. Many of my friends checked out of school, their parents afraid that Atlanta (Delta Airlines Hub) would be next, or they had family in New York City. I have never actually been afraid for my safety until that day. My mom had the front page of the paper laminated the next day. For ten years now, our country has been fighting a war and searching for the man who was responsible for the death of so many American's.

It seems surreal to me, to be sure. But, I do think that credit is due where credit is earned. To all the men, woman and children who were lost on September 11, 2001, may peace be with you this day! To their families, may you also feel peace. May you feel a little bit of justice, which you so rightly deserve. To the men and woman who have bravely fought for our country, our safety and justice, may you know how grateful I am to you. Today is a great day to be an American. Today, I will wear red, white and blue. Because I am proud to be an American.

So, while you are going about your day, maybe take a moment and reflect on all the history that has happened in your lifetime. While history is amazing, it's even more amazing to me that my children will read about something I lived through.

Are we absolutely CrAzY?!

Well, the place we were going to live ended up being too good to be true. After I called them to confirm our move in time, the lady told me "Yes, we have you. You'll be getting our move-in special. First and last month free, as well as no security deposit OR move-in fees." Wow, really? That's...awesome! So, I told Andy. He was shocked. The more he thought about it, the more we realized this may be too good to be true. I had looked up the reviews on the complex. I did think it was a little odd that the reviews were mostly glowing and that they were just from about January. So, I dug a little deeper. I learned that the complex recently changed it's name (in December-ish) and the reviews I found for the old name were....less then glowing. Let's just say, we didn't feel comfortable living somewhere like that with Andy being gone 12+ hours a day. I was more then disappointed. I had done so much work to find this place. I guess my lesson is learned.

We weren't sure what we were going to do! My step-mom has family in Mesa, maybe we can stay with them while we try to find somewhere to live. Except we don't know them at all. It might be a little awkward. I was determined to find us a new place to live. I used a different search site and found a few places. We decided if we wanted something worth living in which had a good, safe reputation, we were going to need to pay more then we had originally planned. I was also ready to be disappointed. I not only searched reviews, but I searched Family Watchdog. The national sex offender registry. It not only tells you which offenders live in your area, but it also gives overall ratings for your area in categories like forced rape, murder/manslaughter, robbery/burglary, ect. While this doesn't seem like something fun, it is really important to us to live in a safe area. So, I contacted a place via e-mail. I was completely shocked when they called me back within the hour. This neighborhood is closer to the school, it is a gated community with an access card, they do monthly activities for the families, they have three swimming pools, two spas, a 24 hour fitness center and so much more! We decided this was an answer to prayer. We'd been praying hard, too. We figured if the Lord wanted us there, he would help provide a way. We were able to get approved and assigned an apartment the next day. They do rigorous background and credit checks. Which we passed. They also do a rental history check. I am absolutely willing to go through these steps in order to live somewhere I feel safe. We are very grateful The Lord sees fit to guide us in our lives.

So, I know you're wondering, geesh, enough talking already. But, I still have to tell you why we are absolutely CrAzY! You all know, we recently bought a VW Passat Wagon. We love this car, but it's falling apart before our eyes. The one thing we can't afford is to move, living off savings until August and have our car breakdown. We have been praying about it and we finally decided we would look into buying a new car. Not brand new, but something we knew would be safe. We were worried about paying rent, food and taking on a car payment. We searched online to see if there were cars which we would be able to afford, with good gas mileage and a great car fax report. Again, we figured if it was meant to be, the Lord would provide a way. We found a couple crossover cars which fit our needs. Last night, we test drove them both. One was a Buick Rendezvous and the other was a Chrysler Pacifica. We were pretty disappointed with the Buick. It was pretty trashed on the inside. We want something which will last. Andy went to the other dealership and brought the Chrysler to me at work. Let's just say, it was love at first site. I couldn't believe there was this wonderful car, right in front of me, with everything we need and we could afford it. I drove it around town. It drives as great as it looks! Well...you're looking at the new owners of a 2006 Chrysler Pacifica!

See, I told you were were crazy!

What do YOU think we will have?

I had another doctor appointment yesterday. Baby's heart sounds great! I talked with Dr. Lamb about my hip pain, my radical emotions AND the fact that I have lost six pounds since becoming pregnant. Oh, and that little bit about my progesterone shots. Well, my hip pain is normal...rest more. My radical emotions? While not typical for me, it's normal when pregnant. Loosing six pounds? Well, it's not unusual to loose weight. Someone brought up to me today that maybe I am having twins...Ekkk! We talked about new developments with the progesterone shots. I will be able to have them! That means NO bed rest starting in July for me! That means NO bed at all.
I set up my next appointment for May. I will be meeting with the High Risk Specialist at Millcreek Maternal-Fetal department as well as having my ultrasound done to find out what we are having! We are really excited and grateful to know what we are having before we make the big move to Phoenix!

Speaking of Phoenix...We officially have a place to live! We got a slammin' deal on some great apartments in the Phoenix area. I also have an appointment June 10 with the Doctor. So, I am hoping we can leave on the 11th. Or even after my appointment on the 10th. It's crazy to me to think we won't be living in Utah anymore. I have to say, with the weather being as it has been for the last, I don't know, MONTH, I am ready for a little dash of sunshine in my life. I have already started getting some things organized and just keeping up with some deep cleaning so it's not as much to do when we actually empty our place out. The Ronald McDonald House has been our home for nearly two years. It will be sad to leave the wonderful people we are able to meet here. That being said, I am also SO ready and excited for this new adventure of ours! It will exciting to have Andy for the summer, just with us! We're excited to have a new baby and work our way towards being 'real' adults!! Who knows, maybe we'll just stay a young, hip family forever ;)

As far as what we will be having in October, I have no idea! Sometimes I think "oh, a girl would be fun...but not if she ends up with an attitude..." "Boys are great...plus, I already have everything I need!" But, only the Lord knows for now. What you all think? I know some of you have a 6th sense about these things. I usually do, but this pregnancy is doing crazy things with my mind!

It's been an exciting time!

It's been a week since we made the final decision to attend Midwestern University and I have been VERY busy! I have decided I will be going through all of our things and getting rid of a bunch of JUNK, including my clothes I will probably never be able to wear again. I was doing some wishful thinking, don't judge me. I have also been busy finding us somewhere to live. At first, we wanted to BUY a house. The market is really soft down in Arizona right now and we could actually save some money with a small mortgage. Unfortunately, reality hit and we realized there is no way we could find a house and move into it...all in TWO months. So, we decided that renting an apartment or house right now would be the best option for our family. It will give us a chance to get to know the area and check out some places ourselves.

So, I have found some places to check out. And by "check out", I mean "This place has great reviews and the pictures are legit...let's apply". But, really, I spent the WHOLE day yesterday at the computer, compiling "pros and cons" lists of our top 6 places. I mean, I hooked the computer up at the kitchen table, turned on some Jimmy Buffett, and gave Will some paper and crayons. Of course, Will wanted to draw on the table. While we don't have the nicest table on the block, I still take pride in the little space I have on that table which isn't covered by Andy's school books and my borrowed Work and The Glory series. So, I taped about 10 sheets of blank paper to Will's half of the table and let him go at it! He LOVED it. I couldn't believe my stroke of genius! Last night, Andy and I went through the list and picked our top three to apply to. THAT is what I will be spending my day on today. We are SO excited to go to Arizona! We are so ready to be OUT of Utah winters, which last entirely too long. We are so excited to be on this adventure of building our lives and our family!

In other news, namely, WILL...We ordered him a big boy bed over the weekend! He was looking so cramped in his crib. We were going to wait until we move, but we decided that might be TOO much change at one time. We got a very cute bed from the internet. It's not very high, it's maybe 6-8 inches from the floor, and you just use a crib mattress. Well, it came yesterday. I thought we would wait to use it until the weekend, but Andy put it together last night, with the help of Will! It was so cute to see them working together! I love my family! One thing Will loves to do is 'pretend sleep'. He will lay down almost anywhere, squint his eyes shut, and proceed to snore. I told Andy that Will would probably do that when the bed was all finished...I was so right! The first thing he did was get under his blanket and snore! We have raised a "jumping child". We let him jump on the couch, our bed, the big chair and his crib. Well, now we let him jump on his BIG BOY BED! Last night was our first night. We were pretty laid back about it. We stuck to our normal routine. I let him climb into bed on his own, tucked him in and said a prayer with him. I turned out the lights and shut the door. He opened it about 5 minutes later, and Andy went in to put him back down. He came out two more times. The last time, with his horse in hand and he actually walked all the way into the living room. Andy told him "William RAY. You get back in your bed." Will then started to cry. I took him in bed, realized his noise maker was on the wrong setting, changed it, wiped away some tears, asked Heavenly Father to help Will to sleep and give me and Andy patience through this transition. I kissed him good night and walked away. He didn't make a peep the rest of the night. I woke up to use the bathroom at about 3am, peeked in at him and he was in the middle of the floor. I just put him back in his bed. I am grateful that our first night was a success! I think the fact that we were so laid back about it and that Will actually helped put the bed together and saw Daddy put his crib mattress from his crib into his bed helped a lot. It was only the first night, we still have our first nap time and night 2 ahead of us. BUT, I have faith that we can do this! It will be wonderful!