Miracles still do happen!

I forgot to mention a neat coincidence that happened while Jeff and I were in Portland. My cousin, Amber, who we were staying with, had a girl over to play with the twins (5 years old) one day and told us her name was Cheney, like VP Dick Cheney, but not after him. She said she was really cute and was coming over later that morning because her mom just had a baby and they finally got to bring him home from the hospital that day. I asked why the baby was there and she said the doctors thought he had a hole in his head and that his brain was growing outside his head. They told her to abort the baby and she said no. When the baby was born there was no hole and no brain matter anywhere except where it should be...in his brain. The only thing wrong with him was that he had a swollen bump on the back of his head filled with spinal fluid. They removed that and put in a stint to drain the fluid from his head that he will have to have permanently in there. There is a chance he could be a little slow, but he is perfectly healthy. Other than that, he should be fine! What a miracle, I said! Then I told her about a family Jeff used to know that still lived here in Portland and her doctor said the same thing about her baby. How many of these could there be in one town at the same time? Oh well.

Then we met her and it turned out to be the same person! Jeff recognized her and she him and they talked and we put two and two together and wahla (sp?)! She told us she had her baby and his name is Ryan and he is at home now and is healthy and fine and the doctors are amazed! We also talked about how many other babies have probably been aborted due to this condition when they may have been just fine. Lisa (the mom) said when the doctor told her to abort and she said no, she asked, "What do we do now? Does he have a chance to live?" He said, "I don't know. I have never had anyone not abort." How sad, but happy they are doing well! And to think she was prepared to give birth to a baby and not bring him home...Miracles do happen and that took a lot of faith on their part.

A Spider in my Bed

I have this fear of spiders, as many people do, but I am probably a little extreme. Every night before I go to bed I check under my blankets, sheets, and pillows and around the perimeter of the bed for spiders and other crawling things. You may call me paranoid, but I will say that at least THREE times in the past two years that we have lived in our Wymount apartment, I have found spiders in our bed. The first time it was under my husband's pillow. I don't remember what kind it was, but it was about medium size for spiders around Utah. I killed it. Then next time it was a medium spider crawling in my bed under the covers and I felt it on my leg. I killed that one too.

Then last night I freaked when I saw this in my bed last night:

This is the biggest spider I have ever seen in Utah! I posted two so you can see get a better view of the fangs. It was a Hobo Spider and it was huge! I have seen these spiders before. We actually found four of them in our house last fall but got the house sprayed and haven't seen any since then until now. I am guessing they come in through the window screens, but I can't see how they would fit cuz they are so BIG! Their bodies can get to bigger than half an inch long and their legs go on forever. Then there are the huge black fangs. Anyway, so now you know why it actually is possible for you to eat a couple spiders in your sleep each year. These are just the spiders I have found before getting into bed. I am now quite positive they much crawl around and night and end up in our bed during sleeping hours too. Gross!


P.S. Jeff killed it. FYI: Hobo spiders are poisonous and their bites look like Brown Recluse bites.

Portland, Oregon Trip

Jeff and I just got back from a trip to Portland, Oregon. That is where he is from and I have a lot of family over there right now. My sister is currently nannying for my cousin, who I nannied for two summers as well, once right after my Freshman year of college and the second time right after Jeff and I were married.

The first day we went out to eat breakfast with the kids and then took them to the zoo. Here is a pic with all of us. From left to right is Katey (twin, 5), Valissa (my sister), Emily (10), me, Abbey (twin, 5), Jeff, and Lily (2). Jake is missing from this pic. He is their only brother and is 7. They have another brother on the way and his name will be Josh. Six kids in all! How fun!

Below are Katey and Abbey at the zoo. I was nannying for Amber (my cousin) when they were born and then again when they were two. Katey (left) wants to be a horse or a prince when she grows up. Abbey wants to be a princess and thinks she is one already. She will only wear her coat hanging off her shoulders as she thinks that is prettier and more princess-like and usually at home she has on a princess dress. Abbey has a horse book and can name all the horses in the book. She likes her new haircut because it is short and more prince-like. Funny girls!

Here is Jeff playing with Abbey and Katey. We were having a puzzle race to see who could put a puzzle together the quickest. Abbey and Katey were on my team and needless to say we were a little behind, so they decided to distract Jeff while I finished the puzzle. They tied shoes to his hands so he couldn't work on the puzzle. They thought it was hilarious and Jeff was so patient!

On Saturday we went boating at Silver Lake at the base of Mount St. Helens, which you can't see in the background because it is cloudy. Can you tell I am freezing? Jeff was all gungho (sp?) about it though, so we went and he LOVED it!
Here is Jeff wakeboarding. I took like 15 pics of him jumping but kept getting him before and after because of the time delay on my camera, so I will just tell you he did great and ended flying upside down trying to do a flip. He actually got pretty far around before hitting the water.
This is from left to right Josh, Jeff and Adam. They were all roommates in college and all graduated this past April. Josh is still single, but Adam was married to a wonderful woman (Claudia) last January and they now all live together in an apartment in Beaverton (including Josh). They are all really tall with Adam the tallest at 6'7" and Josh at 6'5". Jeff is the shortest at 6'2".

After boating all day we drove up to Mount St. Helens. The volcano is directly behind us but right now it is covered with clouds. It was so interesting to see everything and learn about it. We were able to watch a video at the Visitor's Center and hear survivor stories. The eruption was actually a lateral eruption out the side of the volcano, which is very rare. Thus, the whole north side of the volcano is still baren and there is a big hole in it, while the south side is still trees. The "valley" that is at the base of the volcano now holds 500 ft. of volcanic matter and the top of the volcano. The actual blast of the volcano was more powerful than 27,000 atomic bombs and blew rocks the size of a soccer ball 17 miles north. The ash cloud travelled around the whole world and caused a blackout for most cities in Washington and Oregon. Where I am from, Kalispell, MT, received a layer of ash. My dad still has the ash that he collected.

One funny thing that happened was right when we got out of the water and were about to head up to see the volcano. Valissa noticed what she thought were small ash-like things falling from the sky. It made her nervous to go up because the people who were close to the volcano actually didn't hear the volcano erupt because it travelled overhead of them. Turns out it was just they way the sun was reflecting off extremely small drops of rain. :)

Box Creek Trip

A couple weekends ago Jeff and I went to Box Creek to go fishing with my cousins. They all camped, but we just came for the day on Saturday. I had never been there without my mom, so was going off of memory on how to get there, so it won't be a big surprise when I tell you we got lost! We did find the dirt road that turned off to go to Box Creek, but we missed the turnoff to go to the creek and ended up driving for half and hour on a one lane dirt road up into the middle of nowhere high up in the mountains. We finally saw a sign that said Upper Box Creek Reservoir 1 mile and then I knew we were really lost. Jeff was about to turn around when I said we should just go there and at least see what the lake looks like and eat our lunches. What a coincidence when we drove in view of the lake and saw all my family out on the "beach" fishing! They had taken a break from the actual creek to come try the lake out! So we stayed here for awhile and fished.

Here is a pic of me (and my cousin Casey) after catching my first fish. It actually wasn't my fish. Jeff was busy putting a worm on my fishing pole's hook because I have a slight problem with getting worm guts all over me and I was holding his pole for him when I got a fish on his line. I tried to give it back to him to reel in, but he told me to reel it in. What a great husband!
Here is a pic of Jeff fishing. He didn't catch any fish at the lake...mainly because of me. First, I caught his fish (story above). After that incident, he used my pole the rest of the time, but I put the barbs on the hook down so the fish wouldn't be injured by the hook. I hate to hurt them or have to kill them. Anyway, he lost a huge fish because it slipped off the hook, plus at least one more. I felt bad. Good thing we went down to the creek and he caught two there!

More to come later!

Fun Facts

One of those surveys things where you fill in the blanks. Don't feel pressured to read it...I was bored at work, so I thought I would give it a try. I have never done one before.

FAVORITES
Favorite color: pastels…probably sea foam green if I had to choose one. It is the color of my carpet in my room in MT.
Favorite foods: usually I would say Mexican all the way, but being pregnant has changed that. Right now I love fruit of all kinds!
Favorite month: November because we get to eat a lot of food and the spirit of Christmas and Thanksgiving is in the air and people start to be really nice to each other.
Favorite song: Heard the World…don’t know who it is by though
Favorite sport: Running! I LOVE it and also volleyball.
Favorite season: Fall. I love the feeling in the air and I love the first snow.
Favorite day of the week: Saturday…the only day where I don’t have to be anywhere.
Favorite ice cream flavor: I don’t eat sweets and haven’t now for 4 ½ years, but if I did eat ice cream it would be oreo cookie.
Favorite time of day: Right after dinner about 7:00 p.m. (good TV shows come on then)

CURRENTS
Current mood: Excited because one of my friends just had a baby boy!
Current taste: I am craving rice a roni (weird huh?), but I just ate part of a bagel with strawberry cream cheese.
Current clothes: I am at work, so I am wearing work clothes.
Current time: 9:49 a.m. I am bored!
Current surroundings: My coworkers and an office setting
Current thoughts: I really wish I had some rice-a-roni!

FIRSTS
First best friend: Kelly Peterson
First screen name: goldilocks
First crush: can’t remember his name, but he had red hair! J

LASTS
Last drink: water (I crave water too…?)
Last kiss: Jeff this morning J
Last movie seen: Pete’s Dragon (Jeff and I watched it on Sunday)
Last phone call: my mom

THINGS
5 things you are wearing: socks with slip on shoes…a no-no, but it is always freezing in my office, light jacket, glasses, ugly brown work pants that are faded and I can’t wait to throw them away
5 things you’ve done today: ate oatmeal for breakfast, took medicine, kissed my husband, tickled/teased my husband, checked my email a million times
5 things you can’t live without: water!!!, food, medicine (I hate this one but have to keep my body healthy), my husband, my family
5 things you do when you are bored: watch TV, read a book, tease my husband, dance and sing (I remind you I am not good at either one)

I found the coolest, neatest thing in the whole wide world! It is called Dream Dinners! Perfect for you to still provide your family with food right after you have a baby or for me it would have been perfect while I am in my first trimester when I don't care for food at all, but the rest of my family still does! Check it out and see if there is one near you. Click on "Menus and Sessions," then "Select Dinners and Session" and you will then see where to type in your state and info. A coworker went and did it last weekend and said it was great! She prepared 18 meals in 30 minutes. They are all frozen meals and it cost her about $3.00 per person, depending on the meal and the location of the Dream Dinner outlet. Plus, it lists the calories and fat in each meal and seems to be relatively healthy and still tastes yummy! I am definitely going to look into this around November before the baby is born!

Montana

I am from Montana. Born and raised and I love it (now that I am gone). Growing up it was really hard because there was a lot of drinking and other activities that usually go along with drinking going on...and everyone did it! Even my Mormon friends. Of course, they have all turned their lives around, but I think I am the only one who made it through without drinking, etc. I have never been so thankful to be a dork, but I did have friends. I just hung out with them when they were engaged in wholesome activities.

Anyway, one of the HUGE complaints you will hear from native Montanans is that the Canadians and Californians are taking over our state, moving here during the summer to build huge, elaborate homes and ruining our countryside. I used to live in the country. The closest store was about 25 minutes away into town. Now the town has moved out to my house and gets closer every year. Currently, it takes about 10 minutes to get to the closest store. So so sad! The traffic is horrible, especially in the summer months for tourist time. In a nutshell, this website says it all: http://www.montana-sucks.com/index.html

They even have a department with T-shirts, cups, hats, bumper stickers, tank tops and other various items to buy to spread the word. I have to admit it is a little crude. I hate the word "sucks." Maybe you could order one that says "Montana Stinks" instead. So please everyone, buy a T-shirt and spread the word!

P.S. Just so you know, this is just a joke; Montana is really the last best place, but don't tell those Californians!

Pregnancy Update

In two days I will be 15 weeks-pregnant, that is. That means only one more month until I find out if I am having a boy or a girl. I am starting to feel a little better. The nausea pretty much disappears during the day and most of the evening. The only time I still have a hard time is right when I wake up in the morning. If I do not eat ASAP-and I mean ASAP-I will throw up. But even that isn't so bad because it is just the yellow juices from my tummy and no food. This morning I started to throw up during my prayers. Still, feeling better is a miracle! I still can't stand the thought of some foods, especially Mexican, Italian, meat, and most vegetables. I know, I know, I need to eat vegetables, but I just can't handle it yet! Everything I loved before I was pregnant I now can't eat. But give me a couple more weeks and I hopefully should be able to hold down a salad. For now, my multivitamin will have to do. I do LOVE fruit though. Peaches, raspberries, apples, cherries and smoothies. I have a hard time with strawberries and grapes...probably because I had a "rough" encounter with them a few weeks ago. I just hope I can eat Mexican food before we leave Utah for Kentucky because I don't think they have Cafe Rio or Bajio out there!

As for my tummy growth, I think I am over the bloating stage. This week I can button my pants again! Last week I was struggling. My stomach pretty much just looks like I am full. Yesterday I was washing my hair in the shower and lifting my hands above my head, which pulled on my stomach muscles and I thought I felt something a couple times moving, but it may have just been a muscle twitch.

I am still on progesterone, but hopefully should be able to get off soon. And the tear I am guessing is healed up. No blood ever came out and I am crossing my fingers it won't ever!

P.S. Only 14 1/2 days of work left!

Camping

Jeff and I are going to do pretty much our first oudoor outing in Utah this weekend...really sad, I know. We might be going to Box Creek just outside of Koosherem, Utah. That is where a lot of my ancestors are from and is a tiny tiny town with a small gas station with one pump and maybe 10 houses. But the fishing is great! We used to go there for family reunions growing up. It was a blast, so we are all (meaning my cousins) going this weekend AND it is FREE fishing on Saturday, no license needed! Wahoo! I usually let my fish go anyway, but still, I am so excited and Jeff is being such a good sport about it.

I just hope I am feeling better by then. Yesterday the nausea started to go away a bit, so hopefully it continues, but I have these headaches, which I am guessing are just hormonal, and the tear thingy to worry about still, so there won't be much hiking/walking for me, but I think fishing will still be okay. We are camping overnight on Friday and fishing all day Saturday! We will probably leave that evening to come back home.

Have I mentioned I am excited!?!?! I love camping and I love the outdoors and I love fishing! I don't love rattlesnakes, however, so we will have to watch out for those. Once when I was little fishing with my mom and sister and a couple cousins, we were following a trail back up the creek to our campsite and my sister almost stepped on one! Good thing she scared it and it took off instead of getting mad and standing its gound.

The Middle Wife

By an Anonymous 2nd grade teacher

I've been teaching now for about fifteen years. I have two kids myself, but the best birth story I know is the one I saw in my own second-grade classroom. When I was a kid, I loved show-and-tell. So I always have a few sessions with my students. It helps them get over shyness and usually, show- and-tell is pretty tame. Kids bring in pet turtles, model airplanes, pictures of fish they catch, stuff like that. And I never, ever place any boundaries or limitations on them. If they want to lug it in to school and talk about it, they're welcome.

Well, one day this little girl, Erica, a very bright, very outgoing kid, takes her turn and waddles up to the front of the class with a pillow stuffed under her sweater. She holds up a snapshot of an infant."This is Luke, my baby brother, and I'm going to tell you about his birthday.

First, Mom and Dad made him as a symbol of their love, and then Dad put a seed in my Mom's stomach, and Luke grew in there. He ate for nine months through an umbrella cord."[She's standing there with her hands on the pillow, and I'm trying not to laugh and wishing I had my camcorder with me. The kids are watching her in amazement.]"

Then, about two Saturdays ago, my Mom starts saying and going, 'Oh, oh, oh, oh!' " [Erica puts a hand behind her back and groans.] "She walked around the house for, like an hour, 'Oh, oh, oh!'[Now this kid is doing a hysterical duck walk and groaning.]"

My Dad called the middle wife. She delivers babies, but she doesn't have a sign on the car like the Domino's man. They got my Mom to lie down in bed like this." [Then Erica lies down with her back against the wall.]"

And then, pop! My Mom had this bag of water she kept in there in case he got thirsty, and it just blew up and spilled all over the bed, like psshhheew!"[This kid has her legs spread and with her little hands are miming water flowing away. It was too much!]"

Then the middle wife starts saying 'push, push,' and 'breathe, breathe.' They started counting, but never even got past ten. Then, all of a sudden, out comes my brother." [She took the pillow out from underneath her shirt at this point.]

He was covered in yucky stuff, they all said it was from Mom's play-center!, so there must be a lot of stuff inside there."[Then Erica stood up, took a big theatrical bow and returned to her seat. I'm sure I applauded the loudest. Ever since then, if it's show-and-tell day, I bring my camcorder, just in case another Erica comes along.

I thought this was hilarious...I hope you all enjoyed it! Happy Monday!