This Man

I just wanted to take a minute and write about this awesome guy. I wish I could write down all the amazing things he does for our family, and I wish words would be adequate enough to express my appreciation and love for him. But I'm not very good with words, and I'm sure this post will sound like rambling to most of you, but I just want to attempt to share some of my feelings...

It was 7 years ago that Nate and I started dating. I knew that I wanted to marry him even before we went on our first date. Through working with him for 9 months and getting to know him, I saw many sides of him. Let me be clear... at first, I did not even like him or thought he was cute. But gradually, we got to know each other as friends, and gradually, I started to like him. I'm so glad that we were friends first. There wasn't any pressure to impress him, and I wasn't constantly worrying if he thought I was cute... I just didn't care! But eventually the inevitable happened, and I started to fall "in like" with him. I was seeing other guys, and dating a ton, but I always found myself comparing these guys to Nate. And pretty soon, it became crystal clear on who I wanted to be with.

It's funny how I always found myself wanting to be with him... but after 7 years that want has turned into a need. I need to be with Nate. He is my rock. He knows who he is and what he wants from life, and is unwaivering in his faith. I would be utterly lost without him. He doesn't require a lot of attention and is happy with whatever he has. He is a home-body and can be pretty quiet at times. Some people think that because he is quiet, he doesn't have opinions, or that he can be a pushover... However, once you get to know him, you will find that he does have opinions (and they can be quite strong at times) and that he isn't a pushover.

Nate is an amazing husband. People often say that the first year of marriage is the hardest.... but I have found that to be completely untrue in our marriage. Nate and I have had trials and hard times come our way, but actually being married hasn't been hard at all. In fact, I would never want to go back to the dating scene. Being married to Nate has brought me complete joy and happiness. I have never felt tied down, in fact, I've felt very much free and alive. Nate provides me with a sense of purpose and direction that I need at times. He encourages me and supports me in anything I do. 

At night, he falls asleep pretty much the minute his head hits the pillow, and I lie awake just thinking about how lucky I am to have him by my side in this journey. I thank God every night that Nate is mine and that we are sealed for eternity. To some, eternity might seem like a long time to be with someone, but I don't think it could ever be enough.

Though we have gray hairs appearing, crow lines forming, the pounds on the scale go up and down, and our joints creek and pop when we walk up the stairs, I wouldn't want to experience life with anyone but Nate.

 

Little Miss Ava turned 5 on the 19th. It's so surreal thinking Nate and I have beenparents for 5 whole years. My oh my... the time has flown! Everyday I look at Ava and am amazed at how grown up she is and just how darling she is. She is so compassionate and sensitive... Heavenly Father definitely knew I needed her. :)

 

For Ava's 5th birthday, I wanted to do a little more than I have in years past. I think 5 is a big milestone birthday, and combine it with the fact that I'm due pretty much any day and we won't be going out for awhile, we spread her birthday over several days.

 

 

 On the 18th, we went to the pumpkin patch and picked out our pumpkins. Ava was very specific with what she wanted. It had to be dark orange and tall and long... yep, those were her specifications.

 

 

On Friday (Ava's actual birthday) we ended up sending Nate on a surprise overnight fishing trip, so we made her birthday a girls day.

(On a side note... Nate deserved to go on a little man adventure to Seaside to go fishing. It was the last available weekend before the baby comes, so I collaborated with a couple of his friends and we totally surprised him! There will be more on that later, though...)

 

So for our girls day, we went to the movies and saw "Hotel Transylvania". It was only Ava's 2nd time going to the movies and Halle's first time going, so it was quite an adventure. We don't ever go to the movies, so it was a real treat!

 

 

After the movie, we headed to McDonalds. It's fun going on Ava's birthday because they have their Halloween buckets for the kids meals.

 

 

Ava has also spent many hours riding her new bike! She has been learning to ride without training wheels, and I'm sure she'll have it down in no time. She's been wanting a bike forever, and I had her convinced that she needed to ask Santa Claus for one. Well,  she was super surprised when she got it for her birthday!

 

 

Then, on the 27th we had a friend birthday party for her. She wanted a Halloween costume party and only wanted girls to come. I have a rule that she can only invite as many friends as her age, so this year we had to pick 5 friends. 3 of them couldn't come, so we had a little party with just 2 girls, but it was great because they just wanted to play. We decorated some foam pumpkins and had a pinata (another one of Ava's requests) and ate cake and ice cream. Nothing major, but it made Ava's day. She also wanted a spider cake... as we spent time looking for cakes, she specifically wanted a spider cake and she didn't want it to be cute. She wanted it to be scary looking.... Well, we comprimised and found a cake that she liked. I thought it turned out pretty well. :)

 

 

While there are moments that Ava drives me crazy, I would honestly be lost without her. She is such a big helper, and she has amazed me with her ability to help me out. When there are days when I need to lie down and just rest, or when I need her to pick up something because I can't bend over anymore, she is my special helper. She is very eager to mind and to please Nate and me.

 

Ava is very smart and has an amazing ability to learn songs pretty much after the first time she's heard it. She knows the first 5 Articles of Faith because we sing them at night. She loves to sing and I can often hear her making up her own songs. Ava loves to go to Primary and loves to get picked as the Reverence Child or to get "mail" which means she's either giving the talk, scripture, or prayer the following Sunday. She really takes to heart the teachings of the gospel. One night, we were reading the scriptures and we were reading about how we can pray and ask Heavenly Father if the things we are reading are true. I stopped reading and told Ava that she can pray to know that the gospel is true, and know for herself... she looked at me and said, "Mom, I already have. I know the gospel is true. It makes me happy." She knows she can pray when she is sad or needs help, and her prayers are becoming more and more personal.

 

She is so darling, and I can't wait to see what the next 5 years bring!

Small Miracles.... Great Evidence

     I have been going crazy the past 2 weeks getting ready for a craft boutique I'm in, so I'm a little behind on what's been going on around here. However, I just wanted to take a minute to reflect on some things that have happened lately.
     You would think that since we're having our 3rd child, we would be a little more financially prepared and have everything we need... However, this is not really the case. Yes, we are no longer students and Nate has a grown up job, but we also have more expenses and 2 other kids to provide for... and to top things off, we sold ALL of our baby stuff and girl clothes before we moved up here because we had no where to store everything.  Needless to say, the past year I have been nervous about how we are going to manage to get everything ready for this baby.
     Some people may put off having kids until they are absolutely stable, and while this is great for them, Nate and I felt that another child was to come to our family, and knew that the Lord would provide for us if we followed the promptings we were having.
     So, a year ago, we started preparing to have another child.  This decision was a huge leap of faith for me, and it has been absolutely nerve wracking at times. But I cannot tell you just how blessed we've been, and how I've seen small miracles come about. These small miracles have been great evidence that the Lord really does have a hand in our lives and is aware of our needs. My faith has been greatly (and I mean GREATLY) tested and has been stregthened. I have learned more about myself and have had to rediscover my testimony this past year, but it has been worth it.

I wanted to just take a few seconds and record some of the small ways the Lord has provided for this baby...

     1. We needed bunk beds for the girls, so we saved up and bought them some. But have you ever looked at bedding? It can be quite pricey, and of course I wanted their bedding to match, so I went on the hunt for matching comfortors. One day, I was at Target just browsing around when I saw a pink twin quilt on the clearance rack. I looked at the price, and it said $7.50. As you can imagine, I quickly snatched it up and went scouring for another one to match. A few rows over, I found one, but some lady was looking at it. Well, she looked at it and looked at it and looked at it some more.... I finally went to an aisle near her and watched her, praying she would put it down, and a half hour later, she set it down!! Yes, I stalked her for a long, long time, but it was worth it! I got both of the girls' bedding for a total of $15.00.

     2. My friend just gave us her carseat. Wow.

     3. My other friend gave me her old maternity clothes and her baby girl clothes since she's done having kids. I can't tell you how greatly this relieved some stress of mine! Baby clothes are expensive, and while I do shop at Goodwill and DI (and proud of it!) each piece can still add up!

     4. My friend threw me a shower. I blogged about that awhile ago, but it was a huge blessing, and I received a lot of things I needed.

     5. My other friend (don't I have great friends?) was moving away, and gave us her swing and a play mat.

     6. There has been a couple of consignment sales here, and I have been able to purchase some things for dirt cheap. I found a snap 'n' go stroller frame for $10 and a bouncer for $15 as well as clothes for all the girls for cheap. Let me tell you, shopping for 3 girls is fun, but extremely exhausting!

     7. We have been provided with a bigger place to live, and just the way it came about and the timing of it was amazing.

    8. And today, I needed some maternity pants and rain boots for the girls. I was stressing about the price of all these things, and I decided to take a look at Goodwill. I didn't have high hopes because it's always hit and miss. For instance, a couple of months ago, I struck gold when I found winter shoes for both the girls. I found a pair of rockin' Puma shoes for Ava and some cute white shoes for Halle. So, I set out, thinking my hopes would be dashed and I would have to go to Ross or something. However, I found rainboots for both the girl, and I found 2 pairs of maternity pants for me. Now seriously, what are the odds of that happening? I have been on the lookout for pants for awhile, and I always browse the racks at Goodwill, but have found nothing. But today I found 2 pairs! And one pair was even brand new with the tags still attatched! And finding rainboots in the exact sizes for both my girls is practically unheard of... but the Lord provides.

     9.  One of the last things I needed was white onsies. They aren't too expensive, but I always like to have a onsie under each outfit... and if this baby has blowouts like Ava and Halle, then we'll be going through 2 or 3 outfits a day, and that adds up to a lot of onsies... especially if I don't want to be doing laundry every day... but I went to pick something up from my friend who had a baby back in June, and she had a bag full of white, newborn onsies.

     10.  For the past 17 weeks, I have been getting weekly Progesterone shots to reduce the chance of preterm labor. When I first heard about these shots, everyone told me how expensive they were, so I was highly concerned as to how we were going to pay for them... As I talked with my doctor, she told me how they actually go through a compounding pharmacy, and it should be about $7 a shot. So, instead of paying hundreds (and these shots get up to about $1500), we've been getting them for dirt cheap. Then, Nate had to learn how to give these shots to me. Normally, I would have my mom show us how, but obviously we live hundreds of miles from her. I didn't know of anyone else to help us. Then, I remembered that my visiting teacher is a nurse, and she was able to show us how to inject them into my thigh muscle. :)

     11. One of the major blessings we have seen has been my health. I have been closely watched this pregnancy, and so far so good. I have had energy to keep up with my kids, and to complete another move. I know Heavenly Father has blessed my body. He knows that I don't have a lot of help up here with the kids, and with doing everything, and I know that's why things have gone the way they have.

      These are just some of the ways we have been blessed. Some may say these aren't miracles... that they are just coincidences, but I don't believe that for one second. These miracles are proof that God exists and that He hears prayers. He hears my prayers, even when they are uttered in the shower or while I'm crying into my pillow. It's also proof that when we pay tithing, the blessings of heaven really are poured out upon us.

    

Best Friends

     Having 2 children close together is difficult... Ava and Halle are only 22 months apart, and in the beginning, I felt extremely overwhelmed and was just exhausted by the amount of work that went into taking care of these two girls. But as time has gone on, it has gotten a lot easier. Ava is a lot more independent and can dress herself, brush her own teeth, and help me with simple chores. Halle is now potty trained, and is learning to dress herself. When I go run errands, I can just pick up my purse and go without having to worry about having snacks or drinks or binkies or any of that. I also don't have to worry about bringing a stroller anywhere, since both girls love to walk beside me and stay by me...
     They have also recently started playing really well together. Halle is great a entertaining herself, while Ava struggles a little with being self-entertained. But when you put Halle and Ava together, they play really well together.
     I love watching them interact, and listening to their little fights, and the games they come up with. And while they fight, like most siblings do, more often than not, I hear them giggling. What I love the most, is that their giggles are reflecting pure joy and happiness. They love playing Barbies, dress up, Guess Who, as well as coloring, drawing, and riding their bikes outside.

     By the way... we recently got them both helmets since the people we are renting from left a little bike, and we'll be getting Ava a bike for her birthday (which is coming up in a couple of weeks! Ah!) and Halle won't take her helmet off most days...
     The other day, I was watching them play outside, and I realized how blessed I am to have darling girls so close together. And while it was exhausted and many days I just simply cried because I didn't know how to handle them, watching these two sit on the porch and talk about finding treasure made it all worth it. They are best friends, through and through.

Farmer's Market

     This summer, we've gone down to the farmer's market quite a few times. The first time we went, I have to admit that I was a little overwhelmed. It was complete madness, and I didn't even see why people would pay such ridiculous prices for produce....
     However..... after going a few times, I finally decided to satisfy my curiosity, and I bought some produce... and now I know why people are willing to pay more. The first thing we bought were peaches, and good heavens, these peaches were the best peaches I'd ever tasted! They were absolutely humongous, and were just juicy and extremely flavorful. I went back a couple of weeks later and purchased a lot more produce, and I absolutely do not regret it!

We bought....

lettuce

Cherry Tomatoes

Pears and Apples

Peaches (of course)

Strawberries

    

and much, much more...



     I am sad that the market is coming to a close the end of October, but I definitely plan to go a lot more next summer. You definitely get what you pay for!

Moved

     Well, another move has come and gone. Remember that townhouse that we were supposed to move in awhile ago, and it fell through? Well, while we were in Utah, things fell into place for us to move. After our short little vacation, I came home and packed up the house. It made for an awful lot of work, but we are now getting settled in our new place, and it's starting to feel like home.

     I decided to take things easy this move since this is my 2nd time... yes 2ND TIME, moving while I've been 30 weeks pregnant. The first was with Halle, and 3 weeks later, I delivered her, so I didn't want history to repeat itself. Needless to say, things were a little more chaotic than I would have liked them to be, but I wasn't going to risk overdoing myself and going into early labor.

  This is the first time in our married lives that we haven't lived in an apartment. I know.... 6 1/2 years of marriage, and all we've ever done is apartment living... but hey, you do what you've gotta do to get through school, right? It feels amazing to be out of an apartment and into something a little bigger.  I love living in this townhome. It has 3 bedrooms, 2 1/2 bathrooms, a little front yard, and a little back yard. I actually have to water the lawn and put the dumpster out... I feel so grown up. :)

  I know it may not seem like much to some of you Utahns... but here in Oregon, townhomes are all the rage. Ha! Just kidding... houses are so darn expensive here, and property taxes are through the roof, so most people buy townhomes. But we're just renting for now, so we don't have to worry about any of that.

      I am grateful the Lord has provided this place for us to live. I have been constantly reminded that He does indeed have a plan for us, and that things happen on His time, and not ours.