7 years and 4 months

Every month since Xander was born, I think I'm going to blog and then I don't. So rather than a monthly update I'm giving a 4 month Reader's Digest version update.
Also, last Saturday Brian and I celebrated our 7 year anniversary. We went to see the comedian, Gabriel Iglesias. Brian has been trying to see him live for years and it just happened to work out perfectly with our anniversary weekend. We had a great time and it was a good way to celebrate 7 years of marriage. We have crammed a lot of experiences and cars (19 not counting motorcycles) into 7 years. When I look back to 7 years ago when we lived in a little apartment with orange counter tops, I would have never guessed we would end up where we are, but I'm glad we got here.
Xander aka X-Ray, or Little Man is growing and growing. He's in the 35th percentile for height, 69 percentile for weight, and 99.5th percentile for head size. He loves to stand up, his bouncer is his favorite way to spend the day. He sleeps through the night and loves to try to feed himself. We are lucky to be able to have Brian stay home with him during the day. They are best friends. We think he is pretty awesome.

All Clean! -4 months

Trying to feed himself. He does not like to be spoon fed. 

Packered up! Teach him young

Pooping face. -2 months

Ready for church!

Smiles! 

May 12th 2015

*Spoiler Alert*

We had a baby!
Xander Ray
7 lbs 15 ounces


I woke up in labor at 7:30 am and by 10:45 am,  Xander was here. I am glad I said, "No" when the midwife asked if I wanted to try to labor at home for a little longer, otherwise Brian would have delivered a baby and been traumatized. We were home the same day, comfy and cozy in our own bed.  We have adopted the routine of a newborn: Eat, sleep, poop, repeat.  It's tempting to get up and be "productive" but I remind myself  babies don't keep so hold him as much as I can and settle in for another episode of NCIS. He is such a mellow good baby and we think he is pretty awesome, even at 3:00 am. 

He is already a Daddy's boy. 

An update....FINALLY.

Coming in May...

And it's a....

Empty rooms and empty closets. .

As I'm sitting here in my house looking at blank walls, empty closets, and the last few boxes waiting to be sealed, I remember how overwhelming moving can be. Sure there is exhaustion that comes from packing, lifting and cleaning but that's only a small part of it.  A midst the inevitable chaos (even if it's organized chaos) is an underlying emotional roller-coaster that always seems to come with moving. 
Every move has signaled the start of a new much anticipated chapter in my life.  College, marriage, teaching, Army. So there has always been excitement and even a bit of impatience surrounding a move.  Maybe it comes from having Army Brat parents who raised that moving was an adventure. Whatever the reason I've never as an adult dreaded moving.

There is also this sense of finality that always makes me a little sad. It's the same sadness you get when you finish a book, or watch the final episode of a great television series. I look around at my almost empty house and see the life that we have built here. As with every chapter of a life, it hasn't been perfect but any of that seems to become forgotten in a move. (Until you find out Georgia won't fill a prescription written by a PA...then I start to remember...)
But here in Georgia  was the first time we lived in a house not an apartment. It was the first time we celebrated every holiday away from our extended families.  We added a 160 lbs, 4 legged, cover in fur giant lap dog to our household. We went through 4 cars and 2 motorcycles more so by choice than by disaster. We've fed dinner to people and used our couch as a  bed more times than I can count. So I sit here happy to almost be done with moving,  antsy for the future, and sad that this phase of our life is ending. It's been a good phase.

2 years without a panic attack

While playing frisbee golf on Saturday, we were trying to find a disc that had gone into some woods. There were spiders (big spiders) everywhere. I kept thinking thinking how 2 years ago I could have been within 3 feet of a spider that big without panicking. This actually happens to me on a fairly regular basis, where something happens and I react or handle the situation is completely different than what I did 2 years ago. No, I didn't just grow up and stop being afraid of a lot of things. I realized that I had anxiety and decided to start taking medication.
Most people know I have narcolepsy, I'm pretty open about that one, plus it's harder to hide, even medicated I still nap and fall asleep more than most people or just make me laugh then people really wonder what is wrong with me. Anyway, I've always been less open about anxiety.  For years I had some pretty significant phobias (needles,spiders, bees) it was so bad that anything that might have resulted in stitches or an IV made me nervous. But that wasn't an anxiety disorder, especially not one that needed  medication. Honestly, I thought that in order to have an "anxiety disorder" I would have to be completely home bound and constantly feel like I was panicking. That wasn't me, I had friends and a job, I lived on my own, got married. To me my life was normal and anything that was a little off was just who I was, I was a "worrier". One time I told Brian that I worried about worrying too much. Brian telling me that wasn't normal was the first time I thought maybe being a "worrier" wasn't  how I had to be.
So 2 years ago, my husband had been gone for 7 months doing training for the Army, I was living with my parents, I was done working, and I had a lot of free time. My worrying had turned into me doing things like checking our bank account 10 times in 10 minutes. I would log on, check it, log off and repeat. I would constantly ask my husband, who was 1000 miles away, what was wrong or if everything was okay.  There were days would the only thing I wanted to do was curl up and hide in a corner because I felt like something bad was going to happen. I had always done this sort of thing or had these kind of days but finally I was fed up with it. Long story short, I ended up at the Dr.  on medication. Then I started to realize all the ways anxiety had affected my life. With medication I can...
1) Get a shot, have blood taken, be in the same room as a needle
2) Kill and/or walk by a spider
3) Drive at anytime of day, without crying.
4) Walk into a room full of people, even if I am late.
5) Eat in front of people I don't know
6) Go a day without checking the bank accounts. Make one budget and not check the math 100 times for hours.
7) Do parent teacher conferences without crying for days in advance.
8) Call and order pizza, food, or call customer support
9) Ask where something is, or for help on how to make something work
10) Sleep at night without being convinced there are people in my house coming to kill me.

I'll leave it at 10 because I like even numbers. This is just a few of the things. There are so many more. It's not that unmediated I never  did of these things (I'd called to order pizza). It's that now I can do them without crying, shaking, getting sick to my stomach, curling up into a ball, digging my fingers into my arms, or trying everything I can to avoid it.  I never realized how much better I could feel and  all the little ways anxiety ruled my life until I started to get medication. At first I was worried that with medication I wouldn't care about anything. This has not been the case. I still don't love needles and I still hate walking into a meeting late but with medication I am able to stop myself from overthinking or overreacting. I can tell myself that it's my anxiety talking and choose to ignore it. I still have good days and bad. When I'm sleep deprived and stressed it is harder. Yesterday, was one of those days when suddenly I just felt nervous and worried. But rather than shut down or obsess over everything that could possibly be wrong, I got up and got busy. Within 30 minutes, I didn't feel this impending sense of doom and had a productive day. I could go on for hours with all the examples of what I used to do or how I used to feel but this post is already getting too long. I mostly wanted to share because I think anything mental health related gets a bad reputation and that a lot of people think like I used to: that their anxiety or depression or whatever isn't that bad and that they have learned to cope. Now that I know how much better I feel and how much better my life can be I'm glad that I finally admitted and realized that I had chronic anxiety, that it was affecting every aspect of my life, and that I wasn't really coping with it I was letting it control me.

Dreaduary

I haven't written in a really long time. Several times I have thought about posting. I sort of skipped the holidays. I think there might be the annual Christmas draft on here somewhere, but for the most part life has been in a holding pattern for months. Brian is still in Georgia, I am still in Utah. It's not that nothing ever happens, there are times and thoughts that probably could be shared but mostly it's "that time of the year". Not the most wonderful time of year. No, if the the most wonderful time of year had an arch nemesis, February would be it. February is bleak, and frustrating, and exhausting. Just saying February sounds dreadful. Hallelujah this month has only 28 days. March will be better, it has to be better.I cross my fingers that ball is in motion again for Brian to get everything taken care of in Georgia so he can get out here finally!  Life will start to unthaw from the freeze that was February. SPRING IS COMING!

What Just Happened?!?!?

I'm pretty sure I tell this story a least once a day but for those of you who don't know here is how our life has completely gone crazy in the matter of  2 weeks:

Monday 10/14: My mom mentions that a 5th grade teacher at her school retired and they have an opening. I don't think much of it.

Tuesday 10/15: Brian doesn't pass his weigh and tape for the 3rd time in a year. This is grounds for a "Chapter 18 Discharge". It's an honorable discharge that basically means for medical reasons you don't meet the Army's height, weight, or body fat standards. This is frustrating because we have spent the last year trying to figure out what is making it so difficult to maintain a steady weight. He can gain and lose 10 lbs in a week. Realizing that there is a good chance that in 3-6 months, Brian could be out of the Army, we start talking about what to do. There are bills that need to be paid and Brian needs to get school done. With the government shut down and other things, our plan for him to use the Army Tuition Assistance to finish school hasn't been going very well. AND Brian's knee that he injured is not really getting better. It hurts constantly and the more he runs and puts stress on it the more likely he is to completely blow it out. I apply for the 5th grade job at my Mom's school.

Wednesday 10/16: I do an over the phone interview for the 5th grade position.

Friday 10/18: I get offered the job, and am told I need to start Monday. Brian finds out that he can take the discharge and be done.

Sunday 10/20: I fly to Utah

Monday 10/21: I start teaching 5th grade again.

So now here I am at my parents' house. Brian and the dogs are in Georgia *sigh*. Hopefully, by January he will be here and going to school full time. He has about a year left, then who knows what is next.
It's amazing how quickly our life can change. It seems to be a pattern for us though. The Lord definitely had a hand in making all of the pieces fall into place. I've sort of been in a jet lagged/exhausted from frantically trying to put together a classroom haze for the last 2 weeks, that it hasn't sunk in how much everything is changing.

5 Years!

So I am about a week and half late with this post but the last weekend in September Brian and I celebrated our 5 year anniversary! I was trying to explain to Brian that a part of me feels like 5 years has flown by and it can not have been that long but the other part of me feels like he has always been in my life, and it has been decades since we met.
For our anniversary we went to Jacksonville Florida for 2 nights. We went to Joe's Crab Shack, and met up with Brian's cousin and uncle that live in Jacksonville. We also went to the Jacksonville Zoo, they have a sting ray encounter and Brian could spend all day petting and talking to the sting rays.

See look at how excited he is!

This poor baby elephant got his head stuck between the wires of the fence and decided to just chill and eat the leaves on the tree. I made Brian hurry and do the train ride around the Zoo so I could get this picture. Don't worry he figured out how to get out.









We also went to downtown Jacksonville and saw dolphins! Real, wild, not in an aquarium or Sea World dolphins. Swimming up the river/bay. We also got to eat Panda Express. There are no Panda's close to us and our hotel was right by one. So rather than going out for another "nice" dinner we ate Panda Express for the first time in over a year and it was delicious. It was a great weekend and fun to celebrate together.

The "Friendship Fountain" in downtown Jacksonville

My hair is a mess and I'm all squinty because the wind was blowing the fountain on me.


The bridge that connects the two sides of Jacksonville. Its a "drawbridge" but rather than opening up like doors how most bridges do, this one the middle lifts up as one piece. Its older now and never really opens but its a nice walk.



In 5 years of marriage Brian and I have....

• Lived in 2 different states (I'm not counting Brian in training in Missouri, and Oklahoma) 
• Had 5 different addresses 
• Owned 9 different cars and 2 motorcycles 
• Had 4 dogs, 1 hamster and a rabbit
• Combined worked 7 different jobs
• Had 3 beds, 2 sets of couches, 3 kitchen tables, and 4 TV

Most importantly we have had fun, made it through the tough times, and loved each other! 

Now What?

Now what? Oh if only I knew.
Join the military -check.
Move to Georgia - check.
Substitute teach- check.
 Start adoption process- check.
 Brian does school- check
Get full time teaching job- NO check.
 Come to a screeching halt.
 So here we are feeling like we re in the right place at the right time. But what the heck are we supposed to be doing. Working right? But It seems as if constantly there is something trying to get Brian out of the military. Currently, his body has basically stopped making probiotics to break his food down which leads to weight gain. He has high blood sugar so his body may also have an insulin ( not diabetes) problem. Also leading to weight gain. Well not really weight gain but inches gained around the middle while losing lbs. Oh and his knee continues to get worse from hurting it in dive school, not better. So we pray that he doesn't get kicked out. Because he's doing school like he is supposed to. He just needs to get done, he just needs 15 months. Then by all means they can med board him out on account of his knee and we'll take the disability pay and be done. But not right now.
We are trying to get this homestudy done for the adoption process. Oh but wait the only way to have money for an adoption is if I make money. An adoption we want to happen so badly. I can't sub anymore. I can't start the job that technically I have because of paperwork issues. I can't get a full time teaching job. I can't even get a part time job. Even Wal Mart isn't hiring. So what the crap am I supposed to be doing? There was a plan and the plan isn't working. I find myself constantly asking Why? I'm trying so hard to not be grumpy or frustrated. In the most faithful, trying really hard to not be irritated or whiny way I pray to know what now, or why or something. I sigh and find it highly ironic that in January I decided this years scripture for the year was going to be Proverbs 3:5. Cause right now I really don't understand.
So everyday, I look for jobs. I remind myself that we moved from Cedar City to Salt Lake with no jobs. That I got hired 2 weeks before school started. That it has always worked out... That it will work out. We have a house. Brian has a job for now. We are doing what we are supposed to be doing...or at least we thought so.

Pinterest

My friend Megan, posted about her Pinterest challenge. The idea behind it is that we spend hours on Pinterest looking at so many awesome things, but never actually make these awesome things happen. So she suggested we pick 7 pins and try to use them/ do them in the next 2 weeks. I jumped on board with her challenge. You all should too! 

Today I am 25 years old...a quarter of a century. I've had some good milestones in 25 years and so has the world. 

In 25 years I've....

Lived in 6 states. 

Been to 9 different schools 

Had 9 cars

Been to 35 states and 5 countries

Had 5 jobs

Broken 2 bones 

I was alive for...

The fall of the USSR

The Gulf War

Dial up Internet 

Columbine 

Cell phones 

September 11th, War on Terrorism 

DC sniper 

Space shuttle Columbia

Y2k 

We will see what come up in the next 25 years. 

On being a Grown Up

You know how people always say "She's 6 going on 30"? I think I may be the other way around. I'm 24 going on six. I don't think I'm necessarily unique in this, I think most of spend our childhood wanting to be big and our adulthood clinging to youth.
Growing up my mom and dad used to do all this fun stuff for us/with us. Day trips, games, theme weeks. When I was little I sort of always felt bad, like poor Mom and Dad they have to go along with all this kid stuff. I was wrong! I realize now it was all an excuse. Water parks, Disney World, Art projects, hide and seek, they actually enjoyed it. I really thought growing up they put up with it for us. I know as an adult sure they wanted time away from the kids and wanted have adult fun but really isn't kid fun the best? As an elementary school teacher, I play tag and soccer, make slime, use glitter, play with math bears all in the name of my students. Now being the adult means I have to see the clean up after, safety,etc which takes away some of the fun but not all of it.
I don't have kids of my own, so there is no excuse for my kid fun. Not that it stops me. This weekend we will dye Easter eggs, and I will love it. Last year Brian was gone and I was at my parents house, my parents still hid the eggs and baskets and all 3 of us adult children went hunting with no complaints.
Kid fun is great, but it does get hard without kids. Today, while sitting at home all adult things done, I tried to take the dogs out to play, it didn't work. You can't put a mastiff on a trampoline. Neither dog wanted to play fetch, so I sit here all adult like, wishing I could make dinner in a pretend kitchen with plastic food, not real dinner with real dishes and real mess.
Don't get me wrong there are times and days as a teacher and as an adult that I want adult time, a break from kids but deep down I know I'm 6. I'd rather go to Harry Potter World than the Louvre. Clue and Sorry are my favorite board games. I read kid books, and have a deep love of Crayola.

Concert and a Bunny

I've got to work on better titles for my posts.
This weekend Brian and I headed to Atlanta for a Lindsey Stirling concert. It was worth every min of the 4.5 hour drive, and driving in Atlanta which Brian swore he'd never do again. If you don't know who Lindsey Stirling is...you should! She is a "hip- hop dancing violinist" She was on America's Got Talent and made it to the top 48. Also, she went to BYU, and served a mission in New York. But mostly her music rocks. The 1st video is a cover she did, and the 2nd is one of her originals. Watch them!

We stood outside for an hour and a half in the cold to get a good spot, we were about 5 
feet from the stage.
It was a great weekend trip! 
Also, I'd like you all to meet Gus, the rabbit, but the picture wont upload. We have talked 
about getting a rabbit a lot before and finally
We decided to do it. He is about 3 months old and very fun. Molly is way more interested in him
 than he is in her.
Also bonus points for anyone who can tell me why we named our rabbit Gus. (
Hint it relates to a TV  show)
If he had been a girl his name would have been Anya, also from a TV show. 
More bonus points if you know
that show. 
That's the latest and greatest from Georgia. One day I will actually get to start the new job
 I got oh 2
months ago with Child and Youth Services on base. 
Stupid background check paperwork is taking FOREVER
Hopefully, this week I can start. 
Well we are off to bed, Brian's day starts at 3 AM. So we are old and go to bed early. 

When 3 boys get together..

We have a big nice oak tree in our front yard. However, big nice oak tree had a big nice branch that hung over the driveway and dropped stuff onto cars. Well today Brian and his 2 buddies: Mount and Lefler. Decided the branch needed to go.
Stage 1: How do we get up there to cut down the branch? We don't have a ladder...
Solution: Hoist Lefler into the tree using a tow rope and his truck to pull him up.

Stage 2: Cutting the tree limb down...We don't have chain saw. So they used these 2 saws...

 Oh and its the tree branch behind his right knee. The left if you are looking at him.

This was the "power tool" That saved the day...sort of.
















Stage 3: Getting the branch down without hitting the house, and lets make a swing while we're at it!

Stage 4: How to get Lefler down from the tree.

 Brian and Mount on "belay"

He's hard to see, but Lefler is up there trying to figure out if he really wants to just slide down the rope. Don't worry Brian threw him up gloves so his hands didn't burn.






Stage 5: What do we do with the tree branch now in the front yard?

 You can see it isnt' a tiny branch. Remember our "power tool?" That's what they are using...

Molly's part in this:

After the branch came down. Mount announces, "Sergent Ricks has a chainsaw..."

However, no one ended up in the emergency room. Happpy Birthday to Brian...let's cut down a tree :-)

Healthy

I know it's cliche to write a post about getting healthy and in shape on January 3rd. However, in my defense this is something Brian and I have been working on since October.that being said here goes my great plan to get healthy.

I would like go start by saying I feel like I have an uphill battle facing me. There are a lot of factors that are encouraging me to stay out of shape and unhealthy. Besides being lazy which is the biggest one, I am on medication that has caused me to gain 20 lbs since Aug, increases appetite and makes me crave carbs. I love all things related to cake, and cookies. 60% of people with narcolepsy are obese and did I mention I'm lazy? Okay so all that being said I am determined to win this uphill battle. Thankfully Brian is on board with eating healthy mostly cause his job makes him stay in shape  or else they will kick him out.
Last week I started thinking about everything we needed to be doing differently to have a truly healthy lifestyle and it was overwhelming. I decided to come up with a 4 week plan to healthily eating and living. Each week I am implementing 1 new healthy habit. I am not giving anything up completely, I have tried that and failed too many times. I know I will drink diet coke, I'll eat ice cream and I'll order French fries. Plus giving things up makes me want them even more. Soinstead im adding good things in. Join us this month on adding 4 new healthy habits to your life. You can use mine or come up with your own. Here are my first four habits.

Week 1: Drink more water. Water increases metabolism and so good for you...but I'm not a big water drinker. For the most part unless its really cold I don't love plain water. Especially here in Hinesville we have to use a brita water pitcher cause the water tastes nasty. However I have discovered Mio. You add a couple of drops and poof flavored water. Zero calories. Wal mart makes a generic brand. For 3 bucks you get flavored water for a month. It's in a little container that fits in a purse or even a pocket. So now I have no excuse. I'm aiming for at least 72 oz of water a day.

Week 2: Eat veggies. I could go days and not a vegetable. This is a problem. So my goal is to eat 4 servings of veggies a day. I love smoothies so I'm going to add spinach to smoothies, make a veggie to go with dinner every night, and pre cut raw veggies to make them easily accessible.

Week 3: Measure food portions. This is something I have fought against for years. I didn't want to be "that girl" the high maintence one. Then I realized "that girl" looks and feels the way I want to. Also, I read that if you measure out food portions for even just 2 weeks you get a better idea of what you should actually be eating. It isn't something I have to do for every meal for the rest of my life but it will allow me to get in the habit of eating correct portions and not over eating. 

Week 4: Slow down. I eat way too fast. Brian and I can finish a meal in less than 15 min. There is something depressing about taking longer to cook dinner than eat it. Not to mention you eat more when you eat fast. 

There you have it. The 1st 4 weeks of healthy habits. I know a ton of people start each year wanting to lose weight, get healthy etc. Maybe if we all work together we can actually do it. 

Random Acts of Kindness

I got on the Elliptical at the gym and watched as the news unfolded: A school shooting, 26 dead, Connecticut, Elementary School, Kindergarteners. As the news story continued to unfold through out the day I found myself attached to it. As a teacher I know what a school community is. I've been through the drills of what each class does if there is a threat in the school. I could see clearly what those classes would have been doing first thing in the morning. The atmosphere of the school ready for Christmas break. While the news story unfolded I watched as it all came crashing down. I've spent days thinking about what I would have done in the situation. Where could I have hid kids? What would I have in my classroom that I could use to stop someone? And 1 thing that is true of every teacher out there, no one would get near my students while I was physically capable of standing in their way.
Now almost a week later the world continues to spin as it always must do after a tragedy. It's easy to get angry or just forget. Instead, my awesome sisters proposed an idea to put some good back in the world that is filled with evil. Each of us is doing 28 Random Acts of Kindness. Little things to brighten people's day. Simple acts to remind people and ourselves that there is good in the world. Not only is there good but the history of the world has been written and good will prevail. That knowledge, knowing that those little kids and teachers were welcomed into the open arms of a loving Savior and that their families can find comfort through Him is what we need to win.
28 little things, not hard, time consuming, or expensive and each time I do one I think to myself, "Satan is a punk". Join us, spread some happiness, fight back, heal.

Facebook group: 28 Random Acts of Kindness
http://www.facebook.com/groups/238709522926570/239216312875891/?notif_t=group_activity

Pants

Apparently, today is wear pants to church day. The Internet has been a buzz about this for several weeks. I've read the varying opinions and seen the Facebook comments. I know this is a sensitive subject for a lot of people. At the surface it seems a little silly making a big deal about pants. But I guess if we dig deeper its a problem that several women in the church confront. People I love and in my own family have struggled with women's role, sexism in the church, etc. I know my thoughts about this aren't profound or unique but I feel like I should throw in my 2 cents.
I want to start with saying that I was raised by the most amazing woman. As an adult now I give her a hard time about being crazy and we don't agree on everything but growing up she was a super hero. Now she's something better just my hero. I promise this has to do with women in the church. I grew up with a mom who could have been anything. She is a genius literally, not an exaggeration. Given everything she could have been I watched as she CHOSE to be a mom. If the smartest person I know chose and found joy in being a mom somewhere in my growing up brain that was a big deal. My mother is also a spiritual giant. She knows every book of scripture better than just about anyone. Not only does she know it but she loves it. So it is with her example that I grew up. She wasn't a passive part of our gospel centered home. I watched as she and my dad were truly partners. So with her example to try and live up to I have been blessed to love and understand the gospel including women's part in it.
Moving on, in high school I read a book called Defining Beauty. It was a book about the history and evolution of the beauty industry. In the introduction the author explains that 10 years before the book was published she started her research on a quest to expose the deeming and degrading nature of the beauty industry. 10 years later her view of feminism and women had changed. She realized that women's power comes for their femininity and by being different than men. When a woman try's to be a guy she looses her strength. This is stuck with me. Women and men are different, even outside of the church they are different. I choose to embrace the difference and being a girl. I know I'm a girlie girl, I love heels and dressing up. But I don't think that makes me less than a guy, less intelligent or weak.
I know that lots of women in the church feel as if their "different role" is actually a lesser role. I remember a great seminary teacher ( the best I had) once explained it like this Christ came to earth and did 3 major things: Organizing his church, the atonement and ressurrection to conquer spiritual and physical death, and ministering/caring for those in need. If we look at women's and men's roles. Each role of the Savior is given to each specific gender based on their uniqueness. Men are ordained to oversee the organization of the church and its ordinances. Women bring children into the world and nurture  them play a crucial role in the Plan of Salvation. In some small way women have a part to play in the atonement. And all of us are called to be disciples of Christ and minister to those in need. And one thing I have always loved is that as He hung on the cross Christ thinks of his mother and ensures that she is taken care of and the 1st person He appears to after being resurrected in Mary Magdolen. I believe Christ and Heavenly Father have a place for women in their hearts and church.
the gospel is perfect, LDS culture is not. In our current ward there are people in jeans, ACUs, tattoos up and down their arms, and no one blinks. Sometimes LDS culture gets in the way.
Lastly, I know that each of us has to come to understand our role in this life. Not just a male or female but as children of God. It's personal and different for each of us. I wish that we could all focus a bit more on the the central purpose of the Gospel. Christ came and dies for us so that we cw live together with our father in Heaven as families forever. Our role is to ultimately make that happen for ourselves, our families, and those around us. With everything horrible in the world going on perhaps the best way to find peace with who we are is put aside ourselves and get to work.
I not trying to offend anyone. I know this whole pants wearing lds feminist movement is a sensitive subject. But hopefully, we can all be understanding of each individuals personal struggles and be there and be Christ like.

Waiting...

You know, I spend a lot of my life waiting. There's the day to day waiting in lines, for Brian to come home, for the dishwasher to be done, etc. but then there's also the waiting for life: waiting on adoption stuff, waiting for Spring to apply for teaching jobs, waiting to see if Brian deploys, waiting waiting. It's hard to not get caught up in waiting for life. I have to be careful or else I miss life right now. I guess I've always been like this, couldn't wait for high school, then college, growing up. But right now life is really good, so I'm trying to not get stuck waiting for the future and pay attention to today. Speaking of today we are gearing up for Christmas and the decorations are up. I love getting to buy presents for people but I'm terrible at waiting to give them out. So I'm doing the 12 days of Christmas for Brian so each day I get to give him a little something each day. Here are the pics of our little Christmas decorations.

Our tree is starless...I can't find a non hideous one.

I'm still working on the sign to hang above our little centerpiece. Brian being more artsy than me got this to look nice

DCA

Diet Cokers Anonymous

I am a diet coke addict. I have been for several years. I've tried to quit multiple times. The longest I've ever gone was 14 days. 14 very long days. I know there are others like me out there. This is for all the Diet Cokers in the world.

You may be a Diet Coke Addict if...
10) By 7:30 in the morning you already have one
9) You can taste the difference between fountain, bottle, and canned
8) You know the places that serve the best Diet Coke in your area (Thanks McDonalds)
7) When asked what you want to eat your response is Diet Coke
6) You have taken Diet Coke to funerals, weddings ( including your own), church functions, etc
5) The back of your car, your desk, and house is littered with empty and partially drank Diet Coke containers
4) You have forgotten what all other sodas taste like
3) When you meet a fellow Diet Coke drinker it is like running into a long lost friend, you are "kindred spirits"
2) Needing a Diet Coke on Sunday  is considered an ox in the myer situation.
1) You are drinking a Diet Coke right now

Now onto other happenings, if you want to try something absolutely delicious make Nutella Banana Bread. I got the recipe from this awesome website called Chef in Training. Here is the link
http://www.chef-in-training.com/2011/10/nutella-banana-bread/
It will change your life. 
Brian and I had a nice quiet Thanksgiving. It ended up just being the 2 of us but we had a lot of fun.   
He was supposed to work on Friday but they told him he didn't need to come in but had to be on call. So we wo
on our fire pit. Our backyard is mostly dirt and leaves. After lots of raking we took bricks from the front yard
and made a fire pit. It is awesome we had a fire on Saturday night and roasted marshmallows. It really 
makes you feel like your far away from everything right in our own backyard. We had a good lunch. Date
at Chilis on Saturday and a sleepover Friday and Saturday night. This means we take the mattress off 
of our bed and put it in the living room. We have a TV in our room but there is something sort of fun 
about sleeping in the living room. 

Sunday we put up our Christmas decorations, I'm still working on some of them so I'll put up some pictures 
when I'm done. 
Overall it was a great weekend! 

Murder, mystery, hobby

3 things to blog about today: Murder, Mystery, and Hobby

Murder:
Our scene opens on a 24 year old female, home alone, in the shower. She is washing her long hair when suddenly there is a loud thud. Our heroine jumps, startled. She holds her breathe waiting for what she knows must be coming, the robber murderer responsible for the loud thud. A million things race through her mind, she doesn't have much to defend herself with. She isn't wearing any clothes that's gonna be embarrassing when the police find her, at least she's already shaved her legs. After what seems like forever there is no robber murderer coming and the house is quiet. She turns around in the shower  to find that the "robber murderer" is really the hanging shower caddy. It's slipped down  the shower head and landed with a bang.

Mystery
We return to our 24 year old heroine, standing where ever girl hates to be...the scale. She looks down at the number and curses. THAT can not be the right number. Tragedy strikes again that afternoon at the Dr's office when the scale again reads THAT number. THAT number is bigger than any before it. THAT number she vowed would only be acceptable if pregnant. Which is not the case, again our heroine is NOT pregnant. So how did that number appear? She had worked hard for a year at the gym and was feeling good. Then she moved to Georgia and gained some of the weight back during the month of getting settled. But she was back at the gym. Her and her hubby were eating healthier than ever. She was drinking diet coke once a week. She wasn't eating ice cream, candy, processed foods, etc. So how was she continuing to gain weight? How could ones weight change increase by 15 lbs in 1 month? How does one gain back a years worth of fought of weight plus an extra 5lbs and still wear the same size pants?  To add to our mystery, she isn't the only victim. Her hubby has gained 25 lbs in 2 months. Works out 2x a day. And hasn't lost a single pound or inch. What, what could be doing it? A lack of elevation? No cafe rios? The weather? It remains an unsolved mystery...

Hobby:
We close today with a final glimpse of our lovely female as she starts to cook dinner. Something we would have rarely seen a year ago. Now we see it 4-5 days a week. She seems to love it. Trying new recipes. Having success. Getting excited. This could be the beginning of an exciting new chapter.

That concludes today's saga. Tune in next week for move adventures!

2 in1 week.

I don't usually blog this often but since yesterday was so horrible, I'd figure I'd update. Yesterday when Brian got home from work, he and Jon ( aka Hunt who lives with us) went put to look at the Bronco. Brian went to show Jon how we had battery power but the car wouldn't start...well the Bronco started. After I and Brian tried multiple times through out the day to start it, it started right up like nothing was wrong. The boys think with so much humidity and a bit of a colder morning caused the problem. I think, divine intervention . Either way we'll replace the battery connectors for 10 dollars rather than the starter for 200. After having to have his bum swabbed yesterday, the Dr. called back and tomorrow Brian has to go to a gastroentology exam. Hopefully we can figure what is causing his weight gain, exhaustion, bloody poops, and as he puts it feeling like he isn't digesting anything, he says it just sits there. Who knows but at least they are doing something. I got to go to work today, so Tuesday is looking up.