Our Happily Ever After

The Destructive Duo!

2011-09-18T22:20:00.000-07:00

Well, it's official: Zach is mobile! He started crawling about a month ago (he was 8 months old at the time), and is now probably the world's fastest little guy on four....appendages?

Anyway, since he has become so mobile, he goes wherever he wants, which is usually wherever Johnny is. It's actually pretty cute to watch him try to keep up with his big brother - I think that may actually be why he's so fast. Either that, or he's learned how to teleport. If we open a door to outside, he's right there within 3 seconds, no matter where he was in the house!

The real problem with Zach's newfound mobility is that Johnny's little moments of trouble are now twice as bad. He has the ideas, and Zach follows right along! It's a dangerous combination. We know if there's a long period of silence, there's probably been some sort of disaster: a purse relieved of its contents, a new technological something or other thrown in the toilet, a dirty diaper being chewed on, something small (you name it) lodged in Zach's cheeks (yes, he has a few chipmunk qualities), all the movies from the bottom shelf opened up and strewn across the living room, and the list goes on. I have to admit, aside from the frustration and messes, I really do love the spice that these two bring into our lives!

Another quick Johnny-ism that makes me smile - he now communicates if he has a problem. He'll come to me and say, "Uh-oh," and proceed to drag me across the house to find one of his cars stuffed too far under the bed, a fruit snack stuck in the air vent, etc. I love it! Every day brings a new adventure, and I just couldn't be more thankful that these two little hoodlums are MINE!

Happiness!

2011-07-25T12:32:00.000-07:00

After my last post, I figured I should definitely update all the happy things going on in our lives! (You don't have to read the surgery post, I mostly just wanted to write it down somewhere while it was still fresh in my mind.)

Anywho, here are all our happy updates!

1. Johnny is talking! He's 22 months old. It's basically just one word at a time (his favorites are sugar, ice, "Shysha" for Aunt Tysha, and ball), but he's working on stringing them together (i.e. "Bye, Da!" and "No way!").

2. Zach is a scooting machine! He only goes backwards, but he rolls a lot too, so he pretty much gets wherever he wants to go. He's been rocking back and forth on his hands and knees, so it's only a matter of time before he just takes off! He's 7 months old and is seriously THE happiest child alive.

3. Paul and I started a fence business. It's called Blue Diamond Fence Company, and it's going great! Our first job was a Parade of Homes house, so we've gotten our names out pretty well. We kind of put everything on hold while I was sick, but we're hoping to pick everything back up this week. Paul is still working at Alsco, but the idea of the business is for Paul to manage it while his guys do the labor. So far, it's been working great!

4. The same week that we started the fencing business, we traded in our cars for a van and a truck! We love them, and we found great deals on both so we only financed $4,000 total!

5. My sister Kelsey won the Price is Right in April! When I say she won, I mean she WON! $54,000 was her grand total in prizes, and it was CRAZY fun to watch!

6. Kyle and "Shysha" got engaged! They're getting married August 13th in the Twin Falls Temple, and we are seriously SO excited. Tysha fits into our family so well, it's crazy to think she's only known us for a year! We love her!

That's pretty much it as far as our exciting news! We're having a great time with our little family, and we really couldn't be any happier together! :)

Surgery City!

2011-07-24T23:10:00.000-07:00

Well, for some reason, our little family has decided to keep the health industry in business this past 7 months! We've racked up over $50,000 in medical bills over that span, and the number is still growing. As of right now, we only owe about $2,000 thanks to Paul's aMAZing insurance, which we are just so thankful for.

Needless to say, between Johnny's kidney surgery, my emergency C-section with Zach, and my emergency gallbladder removal last week, we are eager to move on to greener (and healthier) pastures! After Zach was born, I noticed I had a really hard time with digestion for a while. I thought it was maybe just part of C-section recovery or something, but then it started getting worse instead of better. I tried not to complain about it too much, but let's just say...I was miserable. The first time I had a real attack, I thought it was food poisoning. Then when it happened a few more times, I realized no one could possibly be THAT unlucky with food poisoning, so maybe I had a food allergy. I started trying to tweak my diet but that didn't help me either. Finally about a month ago, I decided to tell Paul what was really going on. I hadn't been telling anyone, but I would get really sick 3 or 4 nights out of the week. Paul goes to bed early so I didn't want to bug him about it, but then I finally couldn't take it anymore.

I had done a little research and discovered that the location of the sharp pain and all of the other symptoms were indicative of gallbladder disease. I told Paul I suspected it might be a gallbladder problem and that I was going to start eating differently. However, about a week after I told him this, I had a MASSIVE gallbladder attack and almost went to the emergency room. The pain started ebbing a little, so I decided I would wait until morning so we wouldn't have to pay huge ER bills.

First thing the next morning, I called the doctor and scheduled an appointment for 1:45. At noon, it hurt too much for me to wait any longer, so I had Kelsey come watch my boys while I drove myself to the ER. There they told me it would be at least a couple hours before I could see anyone, so I decided to just wait it out until my scheduled appointment. Dr. Roberts decided my symptoms probably were gallbladder problems, but they would have to do an ultrasound to double check. They couldn't schedule one until the next morning, so she sent me home with pain killers. The ultrasound, however, did not reveal any stones. The only next step was to do a HIDA scan (SUPER not fun scan where they make your gallbladder contract and watch it to see if it's doing its job), which they couldn't schedule until the following Tuesday.

SO.....we waited out the weekend, me on pain pills and basically just dying while family and friends helped with the kids. Tuesday finally came around, and I went and had the HIDA/torture scan done. I called the doctor later that afternoon, and (surprise!) she wasn't in that day! The super nice on-call doctor (I think it was Dr. Kohtz) finally called me back and personally contacted all the surgeons in town so I could get the fastest surgery possible. What a relief! It was still 2 days later that Dr. McKain did the surgery, but from a surgeon's standpoint, that's really fast.

I finally had surgery 10 days after my initial ER visit, and what a relief it was to have it done! It's been a rough week of recovery, but I can already tell a difference in the things I'm able to eat. All I know is that I am SO grateful for the medical knowledge we have today. I'm also grateful to a Heavenly Father who loves me enough to teach me patience and long-suffering. If it wasn't for these hard times, I wouldn't be able to experience so much joy during the good times. The law of opposition comes to mind frequently when I'm going through things like this. I know that in order to truly appreciate the beautiful blessings I've been given (and I HAVE been given so many), I have to endure trials. I'm just glad this one's behind me now!

Our Little Miracle - God Has Remembered

2011-01-07T18:14:00.000-08:00

Thanks to many prayers and a few miracles, we are now a healthy, happy family of 4! Baby Zachary Allen Young was born on Tuesday, December 28th, 2010 at 2:39 p.m. He weighed 6lbs and 9 oz. and was 19 inches long. We couldn't be more in love with our new little man!

This story is truly miraculous, so I have to share. We were scheduled to be induced on Tuesday morning (because our insurance starts over with the new year), so we showed up bright and early and as excited as two parents can be! The labor was going normally - albeit rather slowly - and we were just waiting for the arrival of our new baby boy. We were planning to name him Miles Alexander, and that's what we'd been calling him for 4 months.

Suddenly it hit me that he might not end up looking like a Miles, and something just felt wrong about the name. I turned to Paul and told him I thought we might need to reconsider. He agreed and we both thought that the name Zachary had a good ring to it. We couldn't find a name book at the time so we weren't sure what it meant, but we thought it sounded good.

Fast-forward about 15 minutes. Everything was still going great, and I was dilated to a 5. I had asked for a priesthood blessing, so Paul called our brother-in-law Ben and they gave me one. Paul blessed us that the doctors would know what to do when the time came, and that we would both be fine and healthy. I remember being concerned with the "when the time comes" phrase, but I hoped it didn't mean there would be any problems.

About 15 minutes after that, we did start having problems. Every time I had a contraction, the baby's heart rate would drop more and more. The lowest we saw it was at a 48 (his normal heart rate hovers around 140). Everyone was becoming more and more concerned, until finally the doctor came in and said we were going to do an emergency C-section because something was obviously wrong.

That was at 2:20. They wheeled me out of the room at 2:30, and we heard the first cry of our baby at 2:39. The cord was wrapped around his neck and he was completely blue. When they showed him to me, they said,"Congratulations, you had a smurf!" He pinked up very quickly thanks to Aunt Amanda, our amazing NICU nurse!

Part of the miracle of this story was how scared I wasn't during this whole procedure. I had received a wonderful blessing and I knew deep down that everything was going to be okay. I kept crying on the c-section table because I knew the blessing was working.

We heard later on that if we had waited 15 or 20 more minutes, our Zachary could have strangled. It is truly a miracle that we have our baby boy with us. Paul brought him over to me and we decided that his name was definitely Zachary, and we decided to use Allen for a middle name after Paul's dad. It wasn't until a few days later that I discovered what the name Zachary means - "God has remembered." He did remember us that day, and I know He loves our little Zachary just as much as we do!

Johnny's Birthday and Halloween!

2010-11-05T22:30:00.000-07:00

Johnny's birthday was September 22nd, and it was a blast! We went to eat at Golden Corral and he went crazy. He absolutely LOVES food, so Golden Corral is like Johnny's little heaven on earth! Then on the 25th we had a big birthday bash and he just loved it! We had lots of family there and Johnny got spoiled rotten. And once again, his favorite part was the food - here's the aftermath:*I have to say he definitely takes after his mommy when it comes to chocolate cake!*

Our Halloween was so much fun! We dressed up as Dorothy, the Scarecrow, and the Lion. Johnny is old enough this year that he got to trunk-or-treat with Daddy! SCORE! I think baby Miles ended up consuming more sugar than Johnny did. :) Here's our little get-up:

*I always knew Dorothy and the scarecrow had something going on - you didn't hear it from me though! :)*

We've been keeping pretty busy in between these exciting festivities! Our fall has been a little interesting what with Paul taking 14 credits and working 50 hours a week, while I'm chasing after a 13-month-old Johnny and also taking 8 credits. I'll be graduating 2 weeks before baby Miles is due - HALLELUJAH!

Johnny is going to be having surgery on his kidney on December 7th. That falls 1 week before finals, 2 weeks before Christmas, and 3 weeks before the new baby. He will have a tube coming out of his back for 2 weeks so we probably won't be taking him out much during that time. Needless to say, our December might be a little crazy! I guess it'll be nice to have some distractions though, just to keep me from going nuts during the last month of pregnancy (I pretty much lost my marbles during that month before Johnny!).

Speaking of Johnny, his latest little phase has been constantly "redecorating" the house :) I've found the most interesting things in the most interesting places. For example, here's a tennis ball that he obviously thought would help the bathroom decor a little:

We've also found my cell phone in the toilet, a spatula in the bathtub, a little truck in my favorite plant, a bathtub whale in the drawer under the stove, and squishy rubber balls in Paul's shoes. I have to say one of my many enjoyments is finding all the fun surprises around the house every day!

Well, I think that catches us up for now. We're having so much fun being parents and can't wait to meet our new little boy at Christmastime! We hope you all have a fantastic holiday season!

It's a.....BOY!!

2010-08-17T13:53:00.001-07:00

First Ultrasound! (12 weeks)

2010-06-24T12:20:00.001-07:00

Well, we had our first ultrasound today! I had forgotten what a miracle it is to see a little baby squirming around inside of me. It really is amazing that a baby the size of a peach already looks so human! Little fingers, toes and ears are all in place and they're just SO tiny. What with a sweet, beautiful baby boy to snuggle AND a little peach fluttering around inside, I couldn't be more in baby heaven. So, without further adieu, we introduce Baby Young #2! :

The Duck

2010-06-20T14:27:00.000-07:00

Jonathan has officially become too smart for us:

We've always had to have a replacement toy ready when we take away whatever objects of general untoyishness (i.e., cameras, cell phones, Mommy's hair, poopy diapers, etc.) have recently sparked his curiosity. The other day I was talking to Paul on my phone. I was sitting on the floor next to Johnny, who was happily eating a big rubber duck. All of a sudden, out of nowhere, he shoved his duck in my mouth and took my cell phone away. Then he looked up at me, with a grin full of cell phone, as if to say, "See Mommy, it's okay, you still have a toy!"

It is SO Update Time!

2010-05-30T13:29:00.000-07:00

Guess what! We're still alive! And our lives haven't exactly slowed down. Here's some of our most recent news:

1. I'm pregnant! I know I already mentioned that in the last post, but it seems to be the most demanding new development in our lives. I can NOT get enough sleep, especially with Johnny's happy little middle-of-the-night self. Needless to say, I eat a lot and I take lots of naps. And I still feel sick half of the time...but I know it's all for a great cause!

2. We finally moved into our new house at the end of March. We absolutely LOVE it! I can't believe how nice it is to feel settled in a place where we're going to live for a while. And I'm SOhohoho glad that we got all settled before we found out I was pregnant! I probably would have died. Okay, probably not. But still, yuck.

3. We finished yet another semester of school! Only 2 classes left for me and 7 left for Paul. I'll graduate in December and Paul will in May! HAPPY HAPPY day!! Poor Paul has still been working 50 hours a week with school on top of it. I honestly don't know how he does it. He's just a go-getter! Meanwhile, I've still been teaching piano and taking care of a short, fat little man named Johnny. I also make and sell jewelry on the side, which I LOVE!

4. Johnny is now 8 months old (and 21.5 lbs.) and thinks he rules the world. Now that he can move around (well, backwards, but still...progress!) he gets into absolutely everything. Nothing is inedible to that dude. We actually found a full piece of grass in his diaper the other day, and I'm REALLY hoping he put it there with his hands. I guess we'll never really know! He's also been diong a little modeling for a hat company, and our sister-in-law Marie Speirs is greatest photographer EVER!

5. We took Johnny to Boise again for his kidneys, and there's still a little blockage in his left one. They say as long as it stays the same and never gets worse, we won't have to do anything about it. If it does get worse, however, they'll have to do a minor surgery. (But, "minor" or not, it's still surgery, and just typing the word makes me queasy. Well, queasi"er"). This last time they had to put him under to check his kidneys, and as traumatizing as it is to watch your baby lie unconsious on a hospital bed, it's still pretty entertaining to watch him wake up. He was as tipsy as a sailor and kept trying to talk and dance. I SO wish we had a video, but you'll just have to take our word for it: pure comedy.

6. Johnny LOVES his daddy! I guess that's really not "news", per say, but it's still totally worth mentioning. He will NOT go to sleep unless his arms are both wrapped tightly around Daddy's hand. He lights up like a Christmas tree when his daddy walks in the door every day, and he's his happiest self when he's on Paul's shoulder's pulling all his hair out. They are so stinking cute together, and in fact, they're sleeping arm in arm in our new bed as we speak.

7. We got a new bed and it is glorious. It's a king-size pillowtop and we have never spent a better $825. :)

8. We won an awesome gameshow called "Sweet Huge Tax Returns!" We got almost $12,000 back this year, and we really did feel like we'd won a gameshow or something. I guess that's what happens when you buy a house and have a baby in the same year! Don't get too jealous, though. $4750 goes back to the bank for our down payment, and then $4000 more is going into our lawn. But it's still CRAZY cool to hold that much money in your hands at once!

Well, I think that pretty much sums up our lives at the moment. We are as happy as can be, and I feel like we are just so blessed in every way! Heavenly Father wasn't kidding when He said He would open up the heavens and pour out so many blessings that we wouldn't have room enough to receive them. We are living examples of this promise, and we are just so grateful!

You Guessed It!

2010-05-16T23:44:00.000-07:00

Yep! We're pregnant again! This time we're due right around Paul's birthday (Jan. 21st-ish). We're super excited!

CRAZY Week Ahead!

2010-03-28T22:20:00.001-07:00

Well, this next week is going to be just completely nuts. We're finally closing on our house on Tuesday! Which means tomorrow will be spent crazily throwing everything into Paul's big truck so we can just unload it on Tuesday. On Wednesday, my mom's going to come and help me set up our new house. I'll admit I'm SUPER excited about that part! It's sort of like playing "house" when we were kids, except for the fact that now it's for real. And I have a real husband and baby. And real dishes. (It's not nearly as much fun to clean real dishes. Maybe I should get some imaginary ones??)

ANYway, did I mention I'm really excited? Because I am! It was a year ago this week that we decided we wanted to buy a house, and now it's finally happening! The fact that we had it built is truly a plus. I love knowing that we're getting exactly what we want, down to the color of the doorknobs. It's also nice to know that no one has ever "gently used" our toilet before. Yep, I'm excited to finally move in!

Also, Thursday is my birthday. Paul's taking Friday off of work so we can drive down to Provo Thursday night and spend the weekend down there! We're going to have my birthday dinner at the Cheesecake Factory and then stay at Paul's brother's (Doug and Melanie's) apartment. Paul's mission reunion is Friday night and then Saturday and Sunday are conference! We really wanted to go to a session of conference, but we don't know what we'd do with Johnny. It's alright, maybe next year! Anyway, we're excited to go see Doug and Melanie and all of Paul's mission buddies. It should be a super fun weekend!

Well, hopefully I can find some batteries for our camera (I know they're in a box, but which one?) so I can take some fun pictures of our super awesome week!

Johnny is learning to type

2010-03-04T10:16:00.000-08:00

zdd addcxszzx Rwstrfy66y 3rs ,MM., shzcs2`38U7JYNH KOyhdtbveDXa1qsds4rfsan cngfb zzHG V NNB BCFG XXZcd zzvs x c xAzd
This is Johnny's first typed story. If you can translate it, let me know. I'm pretty sure he also changed all the settings on our computer while he typed, but at least he was having fun!

Jonathan's Happy Little Self :)

2010-02-26T13:50:00.000-08:00

Johnny is just too cute not to share. And just so you know, I'm not biased at all. Okay, since you can't hear my voice, that last sentence was dripping with sarcasm. Anyway, he's currently telling me a long, exciting story full of squeals and raspberries. He's also eating a plastic bug that now looks more like a 5-inch round ball of slobber. I just LOVE him! I'm pretty sure I grew a whole extra heart just to hold him in it. He makes me smile all day long. I always knew I'd love being a mommy, but WOW! It's so much fun!

Okay, it's not all roses. In fact, cleaning poop out of his hair is about as far away from roses as it gets. Roses don't smell like that. And then there are the hours he's spent "exercising his lungs." That's not very rosy either. Roses don't scream. Also, there was one Sunday when he pooped on a lady at church. Seriously, there was poop on her dress. Also not like roses. Roses don't make you want to hide your face forever. Then there was the other Sunday, when he had such a loud poo that it was echoing through the whole chapel, and then he looked up at me, smiled, and topped it off with a belch. I've never heard a rose (or anyone else's kid) do that!

ANYway, I think that's enough about poop.

Here are some videos that make me laugh. Enjoy!

Johnny's Bouncer (his favorite place in the whole world):

Johnny telling a great story with a surprise ending!:

2010-02-22T00:16:00.000-08:00

So... it's been a while! I finally decided it was time to come out of my blog hybernation. This doesn't mean that I'll stop looking like a mother bear who didn't hybernate quite long enough, but it does mean I'll start updating my blog again! A few minor changes have occurred in our lives since my last post:
1. I got even bigger.

2. Beautiful Baby Jonathan Nephi was born on September 22nd (only 5 days after my due date...) weighing in at 7 lbs. 12 oz. and 20 inches long! I'll skip the gory details and just stick with the facts: Labor lasted 21 hours, and I'm still in love with the wonderfully magical epidural doctor. Then came the big arrival, and I really don't think I've ever been so in heaven! I am so head-over-heels for this little man!

3. My big little brother Kyle came home from his mission in Ft. Lauderdale (Spanish-speaking) on Dec. 17th!
4. We had an awesome Christmas!

5. We decided to start building a house here in Twin Falls! It's actually really close to being done, and we'll be moving in a few weeks! We're in the middle of tiling it right now. We'll post newer pictures soon!

5. Paul and I are both back in school (I just have one online class, but wow that's enough!). I'm also teaching piano and making jewelry on the side of my 24 hour a day job (the Mommy one). Paul's also working 50 hours a week, still delivering linen for Alsco. Things are just a tad hectic at our house, but we're loving it!

Well, I think that's it! Life is great and we're super excited to see it moving forward! I know that we have a loving Father in Heaven, who has just opened up the windows of heaven and started pouring out so many blessings. We are so grateful for all we have and we hope life is great for everyone else too!

P.S. - If you're wondering who took all the super-awesome pictures, it's my sister-in-law Marie Speirs. She's amazing!

We're still here...!

2009-08-25T23:25:00.001-07:00

Well, just wanted to say we're still here! I'm still pregnant, but not for long...I hope! We are due in 3 weeks and everything's going great! I've been having tons of no-fun contractions, but they really aren't accomplishing much. It's a little disappointing, but oh well. We know he'll come when he's ready!
As far as life goes, the new semester started and Paul is pretty darn busy these days! He's taking 3 classes and working like crazy. Work will slow down for him after Labor Day, so that will be nice. Expecially since my "labor day" will be around the same time!
Well I guess that's about it for today! Next time I post, we'll probably have awesome news and super cute pictures! Woohoo!

Our fun summer! And lots of pictures!

2009-07-08T13:54:00.000-07:00

Hey everyone! I'm finally getting around to posting pictures of our fun summer! We've been doing all kinds of crazy stuff!
These first pictures are of our little dude, Johnny. We had another ultrasound last week and he still has some fluid around his kidneys, so next week we get to go see a specialist. He might have to have a little surgery after he's born, but that's the worst case scenario, so it's not too big of a deal. We do like having all these ultrasounds, though! We love being able to see our little man!

Here are some pictures of the nursery. Since I've been able to find the whole Fisher Price Rainforest set at yard sales (YAY!), we decided to go with that theme for his room. Gotta love vinyl stickers!

My sisters were tons of help. Yay for sisters!

Okay, so we didn't get any pictures of our 4th of July weekend. We took some with my mom's camera, so I'll have to steal them sometime. We spent the weekend in Buhl, which was really fun. We went fishing, and Paul caught 4 fish! It was awesome! I didn't have near as much luck. The one fish I got on my line fell off before I could get him to land. Oh, well. Fishing's always fun! After that, we went to the fireworks show in Buhl and then came back home and lit some of our own. It was super fun!
My little brother Kasey decided to come spend a few days with us after the 4th of July weekend. He came Sunday night and left Tuesday (last night). Yesterday Paul and I took him around to see some of the sights in Twin Falls. We went and walked the canyon rim trail. We actually got there just as some base jumpers were going, so that was pretty neat! I've never seen Kasey's eyes so big before. Then we took him down to the waterfall by the golf course, and we hiked down to the "secret cave" behind it. It was so much fun! Here are some pictures (and, yes, there's my big belly as of yesterday...sigh):

I tried to rotate that picture...I'm not smart enough. But you get the idea!

Anyway, those are some highlights from our super fun summer! We're loving our new duplex on Sparks, and we're way excited to bring our little Jonathan home here! We're pretty much all moved in, and I'm finished with school, so now we have time to play. Well, that's about it for now. I hope everyone else is having as great a summer as we are!

We're still alive! And we moved!

2009-06-30T12:12:00.000-07:00

Hey all! Sorry it's been so long since my last post. Summer school has been pretty crazy. Thay're not kidding when they say that each summer credit is equal to 2 normal ones! However, two of my three classes were shorter classes and finished early, so now I'm just down to one class! If only it wasn't Biology...
Anywho...we moved! We actually won't be able to get into owning a house until after the baby comes, so we decided we better find a place to rent for a while. We moved into a WONDERFUL duplex with 3 bedrooms and 1 bathroom. We absolutely love it! I got the nursery all set up the other day - with help from my cute sisters - and I am just so excited to put little Johnny in there! We actually have another ultrasound today, so I will be posting pictures of that and the nursery soon!
Paul's doing great. He loves his job, and he's so good at it! He's super excited to be a daddy. He actually woke up at 4:00 this morning so that he could be done with work and back in time for the ultrasound! He's also taking summer classes. We're actually doing the biology thing together, which is pretty fun. He's also taking an Intro to Business class, which he likes a lot better than biology. All of his classes have to be online, what with work, and it's working out pretty well.
Well, I think that pretty much sums up our busy life for now! It's a bit of a scatterbrained post, but I'm a scatterbrained me!

"A Special Rock"

2009-05-15T22:07:00.000-07:00

So, today, Paul and I were watching America's Funniest Home Videos - which we LOVE - and there was a super funny one. It was this little boy in a park with his mom and dad and suddenly the mom was like, "Hey, what does he have in his hands?" The dad (he's the one with the camera) called to the little boy and he turned around with a little piece of dog poop in his hands. The mom asked, "What do you have in your hands?" and he mumbled something. Then the dad was like, "What did you say?" And the little boy said, "I found a special rock!" He was super excited about it and it was SO funny! I hope our little boy is cute like that...minus the dog poop.

It's still a boy!

2009-05-06T22:47:00.000-07:00

Well, we had another ultrasound yesterday. It was actually the one where we were supposed to find out what it was, but we found out a little early at the emergency room. Anyway, he's still a boy! And he's still super squirmy and cute! This time we actually got a bunch of awesome 3-D pictures so I couldn't help but post them on here! It's so amazing what they can do with technology. In this one, he's sucking on his lower lip. He kind of looks like an alien because his face hasn't really filled out yet, but he's a cute alien for sure! Except it looks like he got my nose...poor guy.

In this one, you can totally tell he looks like Paul! Yay!

The Emergency Room

2009-04-21T23:45:00.000-07:00

I found out last night that the emergency room is not a fun place to go. I started having some pretty strong pains in my abdomen and they wouldn't go away, so I asked Paul and his dad to give me blessing. It was a great blessing, and I know it helped in a lot of ways. I also thought I might be leaking fluid, so we made some phone calls and found out we should probably go get things checked out. By that time, the pain had gone away, but it was still scary and I know I would have been a basket case if it weren't for that wonderful blessing.
Anyway, the emergency room wasn't fun. I'd never been there before, and it's not a place I necessarily want to visit again. They did all kinds of not fun tests, and I was just so worried the whole time that something was wrong. Finally they did an informal ultrasound to check the baby for trauma, and the first thing we saw was the heart beating away like it's supposed to. That was the first huge relief(everything turned out okay in the end, I just need to take it easy for a while). Then they decided to set us up with a formal ultrasound, although they assured us that everything looked like it was probably okay. The ultrasound was AMAZING! We have the squirmiest baby EVER. The doctor kept having to chase it all over my belly because it wouldn't hold still. AND.....we found out what we're having!! It's a........BOY! We're naming him Jonathan Nephi Young after my great-great grandpa, Paul's great grandpa, Paul's Grandpa Waite (who sealed us), and Paul (whose middle name is Nephi).
Anyway, after 4 hours of fun, we finally came home knowing everything was okay (and thanking our lucky stars for Medicaid). Plus, we have some great pictures! Yay!

Our new picture and summer school!

2009-04-19T22:14:00.000-07:00

Okay, so our new picture is not a particularly glamorous shot - especially considering the finger of the stranger who took it:) But I still love it beCAUSE...it's a picture of me, Paul, and John Schmidt after his concert! Yay!! If anyone doesn't know who John Schmidt is, A. Shame on you. B. Google or Youtube him - he's the most amazing pianist EVER! You will not be disappointed! The concert was way back in November, but I just discovered it on our computer and was too excited not to post it. :)
Anyway, about Summer School... I recently discovered that I'm only 18 credits (5 classes) short of an Associate's in Liberal Arts. I also discovered that most of the classes I need are offered online (all but one, in fact) and I can do 10 of the credits over the summer! Woohoo! Then next Spring, after the baby comes, all I have to do is take 2 really easy internet classes and - VOILA! - I'll have my degree! I'm really excited. And we get great financial aid right now, so everything should be good. I'm mostly just excited to finally finish what I started and be able to say I got a degree.
Paul is planning to take a few internet classes with me this summer to get a head start on his business degree. His degree is probably going to take him awhile what with his new job, but they've told him that as soon as he has his degree he'll be moved way up in the company. We're pretty excited, and we know that Heavenly Father has blessed us a million times more than we feel we deserve. We're just so grateful.
By the way, we find out what the baby is on May 5th, so stay tuned!

We moved!

2009-03-27T20:14:00.001-07:00

Paul and I have decided that now that we're making more money and have a baby on the way, we want to buy a house. We're super excited! In order to save enough for the down payment, though, we decided to move into Paul's parents' house for a few months. They are so kind to let us move in with them for awhile! So far it's been fun. And a lot of work (okay, the moving part doesn't actually qualify as "fun"). But ya, we're pretty excited and we spend lots of time scouring home ads. Paul's brother-in-law is a home loan officer and has been lots of help already! Apparently this is a great year to buy a house.
Also, last weekend we went up to the cabin in Island Park and had a blast! I love snowmobiling, and eating, and family, and kids, so all together it was a GREAT time! Well, I guess that's it for now! We'll keep ya posted!

8 Things

2009-03-10T13:06:00.000-07:00

Okay, I got tagged and I'm desperately trying to avoid doing the dishes, so here goes!

8 Favorite TV Shows:
1. The Office
2. Wipeout
3. Howie Do It
4. Avatar :) (This one's Paul's fault...but I really do like it!)
5. How It's Made
6. Home Improvement
7. The Red Green Show
8. Mr. Bean

8 Things I Look Forward To:
1. Having my baby
2. Paul coming home
3. Warm weather
4. Being skinny again (kind of goes along with #1)
5. New episodes of The Office :)
6. Going to Disneyland....someday!
7. Eating...I'm pregnant. It's all I ever think about.
8. Living in a house with laundry hookups...and more space!

8 Favorite Places to Eat:
1. My Mom's house
2. Outback
3. Canyon Crest
4. Applebee's
5. Jaker's
6. 9 Beans and a Burrito
7. Papa Kelsey's
8. Garibaldi's

8 Things on My Wishlist:
1. 20 piano students
2. Like Erica...Buying a house
3. Having lots of healthy babies! (lots as in 4 or 5)
4. Getting an air conditioner before this summer. Otherwise, Paul is going to have a very grouchy pregnant wife on his hands.
5. A maid. It's a wishlist, right? That doesn't mean it has to be realistic!
6. An incredible husband...oh wait! I already have that one:)
7. A baby grand piano...Steinway, if this is a wishlist!
8. Going to Russia with Paul

8 Favorite Movies:
1. While You Were Sleeping
2. Return to Me
3. The Bourne Trilogy
4. August Rush
5. Enchanted
6. Everything else Disney (except High School Musical and all the other teen drama crap)
7. It's a Wonderful Life
8. The Mask of Zorro

8 People I Tag:
1. Jennifer
2. Melissa
3. Megan
4. Rachel
5. Audrey
6. Natalie
7. Becky
8. Julie

Our (sort of...) 6 Month Anniversary!

2009-03-05T11:29:00.000-08:00

Okay, so Paul and I don't even technically HAVE a 6 month anniversary. We were married on August 30th, which means our 6 month anniversary would come on February 30th. Obviously a problem. So, we decided to go ahead and pretend it was our anniversary on March 2nd. However, we were pretty busy that day, so we didn't actually celebrate 'til the 3rd. It was really fun though! We went to Jack in the Box for lunch (classy, right?) and I ate curly fries to my heart's content. Then we went to D.I. and finally bought ourselves a VCR! We have a DVD player and most of our movies are DVD's, but some of my favorites we only have on VHS (like While You Were Sleeping, You've Got Mail, and Return to Me...classics!!). So we spent 10 dollars on a wonderfully-working VCR and then bought 10 movies at D.I.! The movies were only 2 bucks each, and there were lots of good ones like It's a Wonderful Life, Field of Dreams, and Back to the Future. It was a very exciting shopping spree! Then we came home so I could teach piano. After that, we went to dinner. Paul had received a gift certificate for 25 dollars at Canyon Crest, which we had saved for that night. We had never gone before, and it was WONDERFUL!! Lots of really good food and definitely the fanciest place I've ever eaten = wonderful. Then we came home and watched Return to Me. It was the perfect pretend anniversary!! I love you, Paul!

Paul's New Job...and other exciting stuff!

2009-02-25T13:37:00.000-08:00

So, some of you might already know this, but my dad spent the last few months trying to work out a business deal that Paul and I were going to manage. The business fell through, though, so now we've been trying to figure out what to do. Well, Paul's Dad manages American Linen here in Twin, and they had a job opening. It's a driving route from here to Sun Valley that pays really well and has great benefits! We're both really excited. He just started today. The nice thing is, he has Tuesdays and weekends off so school won't be such a strain for him when he starts back up in the fall. Yay!!!
As for me, I plan to build up my piano studio and am looking for lots of new students. If anyone knows of any, let me know! I'm way excited about it.
Well, I just spent the last 5 days staying with my family in Buhl. Paul came with me for 2 days and then had to go out of town for work, so I was left all alone! I'm way too much of a pansy to stay by myself in a house, so I stayed with my parents. We had lots of fun. We had to take our hamsters with us, and surprisingly, they lasted through all the torture my brothers and sisters put them through! I had lots of fun watching movies and staying up late with my sisters, just like the good old days. I love my family! Well, I guess that's it for now. We'll keep you posted!

I was Chasing a Cat...

2009-02-05T16:03:00.000-08:00

Okay, I've been trying really hard not to tell this story but I can't hold it in any longer. One snowy evening in the middle of December, my wonderful husband went outside to take the trash out. He took a little longer than usual, but I thought it was probably because he spent 2 years in Siberia and knew that you should walk slower on ice. I was wrong. When he finally came back in, his elbows were covered in blood and the rest of him was covered in that stuff that mud and snow make mixed together. I immediately felt sorry for him, because I figured he had had a tragic experience like the ones I have all the time. I pictrued him walking treacherously slow (as I would have done), slipping on the ice (as I would have done), and then trying really hard to fall gracefully while avoiding serious injury (as I would have...failed to do). Then I pictured him having a personal crying spell and then working up the nerve to go inside and admit the ice's victory. This is all how I would have done things. His story was a little...different:
"I was chasing a cat and then I hit a patch of ice. I did that whole cool thing from movies where they try really hard not to fall and they sort of run/fly in place for awhile before they land flat on their backs! Cool, huh?!" I was still stuck on the line, "I was chasing a cat," and it took me a while before the rest of it sank in. Needless to say, men and women handle things very differently.

We're pregnant!!

2009-01-08T16:37:00.000-08:00

So we just found out 2 hours ago that we're pregnant! I took 2 pregnancy tests and they both came back positive!! We're due on September 18th, so it'll be a while, but YAY!!

2009-01-06T12:37:00.000-08:00

Here We Are!

2009-01-06T12:22:00.000-08:00

Hi everyone! I've been wanting to start a blog for forever, and here I finally am! I'll give a little background of us:
Paul and I started dating in high school. Paul went on a mission to Siberia, Russia, and loved it! He came home April 12th, 2008 and we started dating again. He proposed on President Hinckley's birthday (June 23rd) on the Twin Falls Temple grounds. The temple was dedicated on August 24th and we were married there the next Saturday (August 30th, 2008).
We've settled here in Twin Falls where Paul's going to school as a business major and working as a store manager (starting in a few weeks). I'm working as a nanny - which I absolutely LOVE -and teaching piano. Well, that pretty much describes us in a nutshell!