soon.....

so things started happening last night that make me believe that this little girl will be coming on the weekend. I'm excited, nervous, anxious, and loving the idea that my little girl will finally be home! I was thinking that I'd just go for walks with Quenton and the dogs to get things going, but I think just having my doctor's appointment yesterday was enough to kick-start things. I still feel like there are things that I'd still like to do, but I don't think anything can compare to holding our little baby. :)

Oh, and we got some maternity pictures taken on Monday, so here's a few to see. :) Thanks Kim!!!!

thankFUL

so it's been a good/busy weekend :) Quenton has been working 12 hour days, and we had been praying that he'd be able to get this job done before the weekend so we could visit my family and help celebrate my nephew's 1st Birthday. Well, by Thursday we thought that he'd have to work all weekend and we'd miss out on visiting family. Of course things turned out ok, and Quenton got off early Friday and had the whole weekend off. I love how prayers are answered! With Thanksgiving this last weekend, there really was so much for me to be thankful for. My brother-in-law was in a car accident last week, and although he was ok, he was very nearly not ok. His accident had us all thinking how quickly things can change, and how lives can become so different. I'm grateful that Heavenly Father watches out for our loved ones, and even though terrible things can happen, He knows how to comfort and heal us when we need it.
Anyway, my nephew turns 1 today, and his party on Saturday was so fun! I love visiting with family, and even though it was short, it was nice to get away. Happy Birthday, Zachary!
We finally got our maternity shots taken yesterday (photos to follow soon) and, as silly as it may sound, I now feel like this little girl can come anytime. :) I can't imagine how our lives are going to change, but I guess we're going to adjust :) We pretty much have everything we need, so I'm just trying to finish decorating the nursery. I think I'd like to get some blocks to spell out her name to have sitting out on the ledge. I just have to figure out where to get them and how much I want to spend. :) I'm hoping that I'm not overdue, at least not by too much. She'll come when she's ready, so I think I just need to be patient. It's been a good year, and there really are so many things to be thankful for. :)

as of late......

so, Quenton has been working wicked long hours, and I'm ok with it just because it's more $$$ for baby and for our needs. However, I'm starting to feel a little overwhelmed with the little things that I'm trying to accomplish here. I haven't been sleeping very well (typical in pregnancy, I know), so I often feel pretty groggy throughout the day. I've had some really productive days, though, and I felt so good at the end of those days. But, then the next day I see that I again have some dishes to do, more vacuuming, more laundry, organizing, and making lists of things I'd like to buy or do before baby comes, and I feel like it's all never ending. Maybe that's supposed to be normal in pregnancy too, but it makes it a lot harder knowing that there are things that I need to improve upon SPIRITUALLY as well before baby arrives. Where to begin?? Our home teacher talked about reading the Book of Mormon and how wonderful it is, and I was reminded of how infrequent I've been studying. How could I do that??? I need to be a better example for my family, and now's not the time to be slothful.
After talking to Q about testimonies and how now is NOT the time to be a fence-sitter, I wanted more than anything to improve those habits that will help our children know where we stand, and hopefully know where they stand. I like to think that even if we weren't expecting our first baby, that we would still pick up on the seriousness of our own spiritual standing and of those around us.
So, in a nutshell, I feel overwhelmed with the temporal things -cleaning, cooking, organizing- mostly because I don't want to have it all overpower me after the baby comes, and I feel an urgency to improve on my family's spiritual well-being. To repeat myself, where to begin?? I suppose with the temporal things, just doing what I can is sufficient. With the spiritual matters, I need to begin at the beginning. Just the simple steps that we all know of - reading, praying, keeping my testimony strong - is a good place to start. I suddenly feel the urge to preach repentance like in the good ol' mission days, but I'll refrain for now. :)
So, having said all that, I want to start being more domestic and bake more (it's amazing how much you can do when you don't have school and work getting in your way!) and to become the kind of mother mine was to me. I have a long list, and only 20 days to get things in order, but as long as I take the first step, I think everything will be ok. :)

it's Wednesday...

so, it's Wednesday, and I have 2 more days of school. AHHHH! I'm relieved and a little sad about it. I'm relieved because I have 29 days until this baby is due to arrive, and I want to get things ready enough to help me relax. ;)  I'm a little sad because I wanted to be able to continue into the Sign Language Interpreter Program right after. However, our little family is my priority, so having this certificate is a big stepping stone on the path to that goal of mine. :)
so, did I mention that there's 29 days? I remember when I was in the 100's, and it felt like forever before we'd get to this point. I went through her clothes the other day, and I was just picturing holding her all little and cuddly, and it made me lover her EVEN MORE. Is that possible?? You betcha!
also, Church was great on Sunday. I don't know what it was about it, but I love going every Sunday with Quenton. I don't know how many women who have to go alone for whatever reason, but it's one of the best things in my life. Isn't it great that Heavenly Father has this awesome plan where we can have an ETERNAL companion to stand with us, support us, and help us to raise children to love Him, His Son, family, and everything that MEANS something. It's sad when I talk to people around me who miss out on these important principles. I want so badly for them to understand these concepts. Sometimes the best that we can do is to just our best within our own families so they can be the examples the leaders of the Church so often talk about. That's my goal for our children. I haven't always been the best example, but maybe they can make up the difference. :)
AAAAND I can't wait to not have heartburn everyday. I'm  not complaining, but I forget what it's like. ;)

posts, posts......

so I was just reading some blogs to start my morning, and I felt that I needed to put up a new post. However, I realized that I don't often have anything profound to write about. Is my life that boring? Maybe I'm not reading enough books to elighten my life, or maybe I'm not doing enough service to have good experiences to share. Either way, life isn't maybe as enriched or as exciting as I'd like it to be.
oh well!! Maybe when I have time to read a good book, and our little baby is here I might feel more like someone who can be more of a positive influence. I know, that probably sounds lame, but it's hard to feel like you're doing good when you're being pulled in multiple directions. I guess I'll have to master that as a mom. Isn't that what they do? ;) Anyway, to whoever reads this, when you post on your blog insights into your soul, or things that you're passionate about, I read it and feel enlightened. Thanks.

visitor, and the mutts

so, my mom is coming for a few days on Sunday, and I'm pretty excited! We'll be going to Wainwright for the long weekend, then bringing her back. While she's here we'll be cooking meals to freeze for after the baby is born, and sewing receiving blankets, and buying baby stuff, and organizing, and just visiting. She's more of the "let's just get things done" kind of person, where, at the moment, I'm more of a "let's do a bit now, take a nap, and then do a bit later" kind of person. :) It'll be good for her to come here. My mom is amazing. :) She is a baking machine, and has so much good advice for when our little girl is here. I cannot wait to spend some mother-daughter time. I think that it will be good practice. :)
we've also KENNEL TRAINED the dogs!! For those of you who don't have dogs, it's a pretty big/important step for us. They sleep in their kennels at night, and they'll go in there whenever we want some quiet time. They're pretty good outside of the kennel, but I thought it might be nice not having to step over them and having them in the way when the baby is here. Plus, I'm starting to get annoyed about people (the SAME people) asking us if we've decided to keep the dogs or not. When did we ever say that we weren't going to keep them? I love having them as a part of our family, and nothing will change that. :)
so, lots of changes coming up, and I'm excited for all of it. :)

tick tock....

so we're almost at the 8 week mark.... only 2 months left. I'm kind of hoping that she comes early, but everyone tells me that most women are overdue with their first. That's not really what I want to hear, but I know she'll be here before we know it! We've got the nursery painted, and a new dresser put in so it's all coming together. Once everything is where we want it (maybe this weekend) I'll post pics. Having that done makes me feel more in control of things and that we'll have everything ready before our little one comes.
On another note, I have been sick more in the last 3 months than in the last 3 years! I know, I know, my immune system is pretty weak right now, but having/not having strep/viral infections isn't helping me enjoy this pregnancy! :) I do love being pregnant, though. I think I'm going to miss feeling the kicks, stretches, and expecially the hiccups at all hours of the day and night. It'll be worth it, though, to hold her in my arms and tell her how much I love her. :)
There's not much else to tell for now. Quenton has been amazing, as usual, and I know that he'll be even more so once the baby is here. I'm so grateful for him! My feet are starting to swell a little, and he is always willing to rub them whenever I need it. I had to teach Young Women's yesterday and the lesson was on procreation. One of the discussions we had was how being sealed to your "true love" and being on the same page with everything that matters is such a blessing to your family. I couldn't agree more! I know that there are SO many things that we probably aren't expecting, and I'm sure there will be moments of breaking down because I don't feel that I can handle things, but without Quenton's support there is no way that I could make it through any of this. He truly is my rock. :) He even said that he'd do a 10km run with me next summer. What a guy!