Shane's New Airplane

Year Book

Renee did this on her site and I thought this was so funny. I had to try it.

www.yearbookyourself.com

1952 and 1966


1976 and 1990

1998 & my REAL graduation picture in 1998. This cracks me up because the hair is almost identical! So I was was either up-to-date with the hair trends (which would be shocking... generally I'm severely challenged when it comes to fashion or hair trends!) That, or I had the worst hairstlye of 1998. I was thinking these hairstyles from this website are probably a collection of all the worst hair-do's of the past 50 years, you know....just to make the whole year-book thing funny. Which would make more sense with my hair and fashion problems! ha ha And yes I really had bleached blond hair in highschool...lol

Conference Weekend

Shane's parents came to visit for the weekend. They are usually off traveling the world for business, but finally their travels brought them to Nashville. Jada was so excited for them to come visit us!

In between Conference sessions on Saturday, we made our way to the Country Ham Fest in Spring Hill. We had a rootin' tootin' good time!

I got up early and went for a 6 1/2 mile run/walk on Saturday. Jada even walked/jogged most of the last mile with me! I set my iPod to shuffle and every now and then the Tabernacle Choir would come on. It was a nice start to conference weekend. My favorite song that they sing is Consider the Lilies... it always makes me a little teary, and sometimes in a downright cry. The simplistic lyrics help me remember how important we are in the Savior's eyes.



He loves all of his creations, big and small. "He clothes the lilies of the field, He feeds the birds of the sky." How easy it is sometimes to forget just how much he loves us. If he cares about the lilies of the field, something that is so simple and easily overlooked... then why would he ever forsake us? His atonement extends to everyone of us. All we need to do is have faith and believe that he loves us and will heal us. "He will heal those who trust Him."



I need that healing daily in my life and I am so grateful for it. Sometimes when we are stressed, depressed, or detached.. and not feeling so great about ourselves, it's hard for us to believe that He could love us in the state we are in. But that's when we need to put our faith into play even more. I have experienced His healing countless times in my life and that's why this song touches me so much. Conference was so great. It uplifts me so much and gives me a spiritual recharge and healing that I need. I'm so grateful for our leaders, they emanate the Savior's love and concern for us so flawlessly and I feel that as they speak and as they bear testimony of Him.

20 Week Belly Bump

Okay, I know this is a little belated! This is my 20 week belly shot that happened to land on my hubby's birthday. This post is pretty belated as I am almost 22 weeks now! But it is so nice to be over 1/2 way though! Wahoo!!!

I think my scanner needs a cleaning... these didn't scan so well! I think we've told almost everyone, but just in case you didn't catch the news, we are having a baby girl! Shane I think, was a little disappointed. He was really hoping for a son. I guess he's really outnumbered now... ha ha. But Jada on the other hand, couldn't be happier to have a little sister to love and play with. I'm so excited to have another girl. I'm already feeling quite a bit of movement. She loves to dance for me at 10 o'clock every night. I love to just lay down and feel her move... it's amazing! I'm so in love with this little girl already. I think little girls are so much fun.
Like we didn't have enough frills and lace in our house!



The ultrasound came out normal, and they said she looks very healthy! Here's some pictures of her doing summer saults.



Okay, I have a dilema, I have no idea how many months pregnant I am! I could never figure this out when I was pregnant with Jada too. I have a book.. pregnancy week by week. So I remember which week I am.. but never know how that correlates to months.. I know.. pretty dumb, eh? People ask me all the time.. and I feel so dumb not knowing! Okay, I found a chart that broke up the months depending on what week you are. Tell me if this is right.

1-4 weeks - 1 month
5-8 weeks - 2 months
9-13 weeks - 3 months
14 - 17 weeks - 4 months
18 - 21 weeks - 5 months
22 - 26 weeks - 6 months
27 - 30 weeks - 7 months
31 - 35 weeks - 8 months
36 - 40 weeks - 9 months

Okay, so I am almost 22 weeks, does that mean I'm 6 months along? Or do I say I'm 6 months when that month is over? Does that make sense? It's so confusing to me!

Ode to My Man!

 

Shane just recently celebrated his 33rd birthday.  He's probably cringing.. he doesn't like to remember how old he is.  One year he thought he was turing 27 when he was really turning 28! Sorry babe! But 33 is still young. This is a picture of him a couple weeks ago. His sis said she'd pay for his game if he'd wear these ugly brown socks while they were bowling... ha ha... that's my man!

Here's just a few things I love about Shane:

1) He's the best dad ever.  I knew he'd be a good dad when I saw him with my down syndrome cousin.  When we were dating, we drove out to California to my cousin's missionary farewell.  We walked in the church a little late, and I had to use the bathroom. When I came out, he was helping my little down syndrome cousin reach the water fountain and get a drink.  He didn't even know that he was my cousin.  It melted my heart.  And he has proven to be a wonderful dad to Jada.  Recently he caught an earlier flight home from a business trip, just so he could come watch her triathlon! He has picked up a new hobby (flying model airplanes) and always offers to take Jada with him when he goes to spend some time with her.  She loves being with her daddy.  And I'm so excited that pretty soon we'll be the proud parents of two adorable little girls!

2) He calls me every day.  I don't think there's been a single day where he hasn't called me from work at least once, just to say hello and that he loves me.  He knows I love to hear that!

3) He's the best at surprises, and I love it!  Once I was in Utah visiting family, and I wasn't expecting him to come out, but he surprised me by flying out for a weekend and took me to a Peter Breinholt concert. It was the best!  Once he called into a radio station to answer, "What have you done to simplify your life." His answer was, "I got married to a wonderful woman, and has made my life simpler and better in so many ways." (Awwwww)  He won front row tickets to a Mary Chapin Carpenter concert.  And lately he's been surprising me every now and then by showing up to my prenatal appointments, just to spend a little bit of time with me, hold my hand, and hear the baby's heart beat.  He really is the best.

4) He has a sense of adventure. I love to do crazy things, and he's right there with me.  When we were dating I thought that this guy was the coolest! He took me backpacking for 5 days at Capital Reef, white water rafting on the Snake River in Idaho, roller-blading in Santa Monica, Hiking in Zions National Park, and we often drove his motorcycle up Provo Canyon for hikes and picnics.  We still love to do crazy things like scuba diving, kayaking, rock climbing, and wake boarding.  But aside from the adventure sports, he is just a blast to be around and never a dull moment around here!

5) He's incredibly helpful.  I don't think there is a day that goes past where he doesn't ask, "Is there anything I can do for you or anything I can pick up for you at the store?" He also just helps when I don't ask for help.  If I'm folding laundry, he'll jump in and start folding laundry with me not only to help, but also to be near me and spend some extra time with me.  

6) He's a great dancer and loves to dance.  And I know I'm lucky!  We have a blast doing that together, and I know it's something we can do together till we're old and gray. We met dancing at a club in Pleasant Grove, and I was super impressed at how good he was... he didn't seem to be there just to pick up chicks like everyone else.  He enjoys it and is a blast to dance with! I didn't have much experience partner dancing, and he's patiently taught me how to two-step, swing, west-coast swing, cha-cha... and a lot of others. 

7) He loves music. He's not very musical, but he loves music very much, and he loves to sing in the ward choir (really!). He always changes what he listens to, but he has great taste in music (and I'm thankful he puts up with some of my 50's favorites :)

8) He's a great provider. He works very hard and I'm so happy for him that he has a job that he loves very much.  I really truly appreciate everything that he does for us, and the necessities and comforts that his hard work provides. He often brings his gadgets, wires, and things, home with him to try new things with ours house.  I try to hide the wires the best that I can :) but truly, deep down I really do love all the wires! :)

9) He loves to serve and help others.  I have such a strong testimony of service and I'm so happy that he shares that.  Once I put together a huge yard sale to help raise some money for someone who was about to lose their home.  And he was right along there to help me with everything.  He has a big heart and its one of the things I love most about him.  

10) I think the thing I love about him most, is that he inspires me and motivates me to be a better person every day.  There are a million things I love about him and it just makes me want to be the kind of person that he adores right back. 

I love you so much babe! Hope you had a wonderful 33!

Agape Carpet Cleaning

I have to give a big shout out to my carpet cleaner today. They did an amazing job for a fraction of some of the big chains like ChemDry. I originally got a quote from ChemDry, they originally quoted me $300 by e-mail. Then they came by, and saw the carpet, they said it would be more to spot treat, and to get out some of the tough stains. I decided to hold off for a while to shop around.

So I came across this local company, and they gave me an estimate by e-mail of $120. So I called him up, to ask some more questions. I told him there was a lot of dirt and stains, we had never had it professionally cleaned, and it was about 7 years old and pretty dingy. I asked if it would cost any more to treat the stains. He said, no, unless there was any red dye stains or pet stains. I was really impressed by their website, testimonials, and straight forward answers, so I decided to book it. He originally told me it would take probably about an hour and a half. So I took Jada and Cami over to the Rec Center to swim while he cleaned. Later, he called and told me it was going to be at least another hour. He just laughed and said, "Your carpet is a bit challenging, but I think you will be pleased with the results." He called when he was done, and we came home. When I saw my carpet, I was very impressed!!! As you can see, we have this awful light carpet... and it's never been replaced or professionally cleaned (and like I said, it's at least 7 years old), so it was really bad, but now it looked fantastic. I wish I had some before pictures. But anyone who's been to my house can vouge for how gross it was!

Anyway, I was expecting him to say it was going to cost more since it was difficult carpet... so when I asked him how much I owed him, he said.. $120. (And btw... this cleaned my living room, 3 bedrooms, and hallway). He said that if I had known it was going to be so difficult, he probably would have charged $200 since it took quite a bit of time... but he said, "I'll stick to my estimate." I was floored! He said, "All's I ask is you send me some referrals. I get all of my business by word of mouth." So, here's a big shout out to Agape Carpet Cleaning.

Their website is: http://www.agapecarpetcleaning.com/
(615) 392-2252
(931) 374-3316

You won't be sorry!

Jada's First Triathlon

Our community Rec Center held their first annual triathlon for 3-6 year olds.  It was probably one of the most adorable things I've ever seen. They had to ride their bikes around a loop, then run a short course, then run through the sprinklers for the "swim" portion. They even had race numbers to pin to their shirts.  It was set up pretty much like a real race, except they didn't time the kids.  It was so cute.  When I saw the advertisement, I asked Jada if she wanted to do a race, she said, "I get to do a race like mommy and daddy races?" She was so excited.  

She was the only girl in her heat, and the only one on a trike, but I was impressed, she did really well.  She had a very serious "race face" that was just adorable.  And notice her little camelback!  When I saw that at the store in her size, I couldn't resist. And of course she wanted to wear it to the race. Ha ha... Afterwards they gave all the kids medals and t-shirts and they even had a "refuel" station with kids power bars and apples and drinks.  So, I guess this year, our whole family did our first triathlon... and come to think of it... even the new baby went a long with me when I did mine. ha ha.. :)

Her friends Nathan and Cami also raced and she was sooooo happy to have them there. We went out to dinner with some friends later that evening, and she couldn't stop talking about how she and Nathan and Cami all "won" the race and got medals! :)

Check out the serious race face.

A natural runner.

So proud!