Something There That Wasn't There Before

Thought we'd spread some Christmas cheer.

Coming end of July, 2013. We are thrilled!!!

Merry Christmas to all!

It's the Little Things

This week was not the greatest. I guess it's just the little things.

Ryan was sick for a few days, I messed up a crochet project and had to start over, my quest for Brenton's birthday presents didn't pan out, you get the picture. I was hanging in there and soldiering through when I realized I would have been 20 weeks along and found out the gender of our baby this week. That was my breaking point, and I burst into a full meltdown this morning.

To quote Charlie Brown, lately it feels like "everything I touch gets ruined." My starter plants in the front yard were eaten by birds, my hanging basket of fuchsias died, our cucumbers are bitter, the peppers rot before they're ripe, and a bunny keeps eating our low hanging tomatoes and zucchini. It feels as though everything I try to nurture and raise either dies or falls apart. I would have been halfway along in my pregnancy yet here I sit, barren and empty as another month goes by without a positive test. It's becoming a disheartening trial for me. 

About the only thing that has been growing really well is our cherry tomatoes. I pick about 3 dozen or so everyday. Today, those little, bright red tomatoes taught me a comforting lesson. All by itself, a cherry tomato isn't much. Just a little, juicy morsel that brightens your day for moment. But put all of them together, and you have a whole basket full of juicy, delicious fruit. You sit on the front porch and pop several in your mouth at once, wondering how something so small could taste so delicious and make you so happy. 

Here's my lesson. "By small and simple things are great things brought to pass" (Alma 37:6). Instead of letting the negative things bring me down, I can focus on the little cherry tomatoes of life that bring me joy. A long hug from my son, a kiss from my husband, a call from a friend, an uplifting song on the radio, a particular verse of scripture. All by itself, a little moment isn't much. But put all of them together and I have a whole basket full of happy, uplifting moments of joy. 

I guess it's just the little things. 

Life in the Bluegrass State

Ok, now that I've written about the miscarriage and can process my thoughts better, I believe some updates are in order.

About 36 hours after we moved to Kentucky and unpacked the truck (with the help of our amazing church congregation out here), we headed out to DC for my little brother's wedding. It was great to see our family and all be together for such a happy event. In between wedding festivities and visiting with family, we took Ryan to the National Zoo. He loved everything, and made animal sounds left and right. Also during the week, Brenton and I went out to dinner to celebrate our 3rd wedding anniversary. We ordered three desserts at one of my favorite Greek restaurants. One for each year. They were delicious!  (strawberry cheesecake, white chocolate raspberry mousse cake, and creme brulee)

After the wedding, we headed back to Kentucky so Brenton could start his new job, and I could settle in the house. Brenton's first day of work was on our actual anniversary, May 1st. He had to work until around 9:30 in the evening, so we were grateful for the early celebration the week before. However, when he got home he surprised me with some sparkling cider, chocolates and a movie. We cuddled up on the couch surrounded by boxes and enjoyed the time together. 

Since then we've unpacked, settled in and started making our house a home. Everyone has been so kind here. I've never lived in an area where the people are more friendly. Honest.

Here's a little slideshow of our move, trip to DC, and our first month or so living in Kentucky. While we may have had a few bumps in the road, things are looking up, and we're very happy.

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RWH and IKEA

Some of you may know that Brenton's favorite motto is, "Return with Honor." It has always been important to him that wherever he goes he can give an honorable report of his work. I was impressed with that when we first got married and he worked as a door-to-door salesman for the summer. While other co-workers may have fudged the rules or given false promises to make a sale, Brenton was always up front and honest about the product and represented the company well. He knew that in the long run it is always better to be honorable.

When we were choosing names for our baby, we both agreed we wanted to name our little boy Ryan, but were unsure of his middle name. We both felt it would be a nice to give him a family name. After a bit Brenton said, "It should be Wayne." Wayne is my father's name, and the wisest man I know. He is an excellent choice for Ryan to pattern his life after. Brenton then said, "And his initials will be RWH: Return with Honor!" It was perfect.

I'm writing about this now because yesterday Brenton, Ryan and I drove up to Salt Lake City to see my brother Joe returning home from his mission in the San Francisco/Oakland area. Although he was flying home to DC, his flight had a four-hour layover in Salt Lake and we were able to see him. Joseph is an amazing guy. He served his mission with great humility, immense strength, and tremendous faith. As I anxiously waited by security, I knew it was him instantly by the way he walked, smiled, and held his head up. He truly looked like a missionary returning with honor. It radiated out of every piece of him.

I am so proud of my brother for giving up two years of his life to serve the Lord. He is amazing, and inspires me to do better. I love being his sister and I'm so excited that he'll be out here in for school in January.

After a great visit with Joe, we dropped him back off at the airport to catch his flight home and then headed to IKEA. Let me just say, I am a HUGE fan of IKEA! It is a fantastic store for a family on a budget. We got all of Ryan's Christmas presents there for under $50. Awesome. We also got him a highchair for only $25! What a great deal! It was fun to walk around the store with Brenton and pick out things to make our home lovely that we knew we could afford. Mostly, I just loved getting to spend a day out with my husband. He works hard to allow me to stay at home with our baby, and I am so grateful. He is a wonderful man, and I'm a lucky girl.

Ryan's Adventure: WEEK 2

DAY 8: Monday, August 30th, 2010

Happy first week, baby Ryan. I couldn't believe it had been a whole week since Ryan's birth. Brenton commented to me that it didn't feel like a week, but one very, VERY, long day. He got permission to work from home that day so that he could take care of me until my mother arrived from the airport. With his help, I managed to get a shower and get dressed. While I had plenty of great maternity clothes during my pregnancy, I realized this week I have almost nothing that works for nursing. I don't know when I'm going to be able to buy nursing clothes. Hopefully I find some good things online.

I called the NICU to see how Ryan was doing, and then waited for my mama. When she arrived I wrapped my arms around her and just cried. There are certain experiences in life when you simply need your mom, and nothing else will do. Having a baby is one of those times. Suddenly I knew everything was going to be all right, because Mama was here. She brought me several pretty nightgowns with button-down fronts so I'd be able to nurse in them. That was such a smart idea. If I was wearing a nightgown, it would help remind me that I need to rest, not clean the house, do the dishes, or try and attempt the stairs too often.

Soon after Mama arrived, we left for the NICU. I can't tell you how wonderful it was just to have my mother there as an added strength. I knew that with her at my side, we were going to get Ryan home, and soon. Ryan was making amazing progress. When he was first admitted to the NICU, he was on high-flow oxygen at 10 liters. On Sunday, he was down to 3, and when we saw him that morning he was down to 2. I knew I had a healthy baby who didn't need to be there anymore, and so it was frustrating when I'd talk about having him discharged and everyone would come up with lame excuses as to why he should stay. "Well, he still needs to be monitored." "Who knows what might happen!." What they were really saying was, "Well, we don't want you to sue us later on." "Who knows when we'll lose our funding, so we're going to keep him a few more days and milk your insurance for all it's worth."

It was a very tender moment to watch Grandma meet baby Ryan for the first time. She already has two sweet granddaughters, but this was her first grandson, not to mention he's absolutely adorable. She watched him hold his head up as I fed him, and talked to him. She looked at me and said, "Katie, that is not a brain damaged baby." She was right. He was doing things that are actually ahead of schedule for a normal baby. We knew Ryan was fine, and now it was just the long battle with the doctors to get him discharged. He had nothing left medically to do, it was all the legal junk he had to pass. Now if you think all that legal mumbo-jumbo is necessary, just you wait. You won't believe some of the stuff they had Ryan, Brenton and I do just to get him home.

Mama and I stayed for Ryan's next feeding, and then headed back home to tell Daddy how well Ryan looked. I was surprised when we saw Ryan in the NICU that he wasn't in his usual bed, but in one of the clear, bucket/cart beds that normal babies are in. I figured it was because he was scheduled for an MRI that day and they needed a way to transport him there. Much to our delight, while sitting with Mom and Brenton at dinner we got a call from the hospital saying that Ryan had been moved to the Special Care Nursery. He had graduated! Finally, a real step in the right direction from the hospital. After hearing all their negative feedback, the fact of the matter was that Ryan was progressing, and they needed the space in the NICU, making him no longer their concern. We knew his next step was coming home. I began to cry as I realized there really was light at the end of the tunnel.

That evening, although exhausted beyond measure, Brenton and I went to the hospital for Ryan's 7:00 and 10:00 feedings. I was so worn out, but I knew I had to show the doctors that I could handle Ryan being home. The Special Care Nursery was a very crowded little room, with beds set up in every cranny hooked up with wires and monitors everywhere. It was also severely understaffed. At first Brenton and I were horrified that this was where our baby had been moved. We wanted to snatch him up and run. We realized though that this was in our favor. The nurses were so busy that they'd want to get as many babies out as they could. So Ryan didn't have that much longer to go before we could bust him out of that place.

Rocking Ryan in the Special Care Nursery

DAY 9: Tuesday, August 31st, 2010

Mama came over first thing in the morning, as Brenton had to go back into work. She helped me with everything, and made me breakfast. It was comforting to know that while the hospital had seemed to forget that I was still recovering from massive surgery, my mom sure hadn't. She pampered me in every way that she could.

We arrived at the hospital at 10:30 to feed Ryan. He was down to 1 liter of oxygen, and only on fluids and sugar water. I made sure Grandma got some snuggle time in during that visit. Ryan nestled right into her chest and made himself comfortable. We talked and sang to the little sweetheart, and met with the nurses to fight the legal battles yet again. I was soooooo worn out. I wasn't getting sleep at night because there was no way to lie down without one or both of my incisions burning. In addition my mind was so overwhelmed with everything that I could never settle it down enough to rest properly. After feeding Ryan, my mom took me back to her hotel to rest a bit.

I was planning on resting until 7:30 when I'd go back to the hospital, but we got a call saying we needed to be back by 1:30 to meet with the doctor. It was amazing to me how none of the doctors seemed to care that I was in worse shape than my own baby. Traveling back and forth from the hospital was spreading me very thin, but because I was discharged, no one at the hospital seemed to care about my health anymore.

Back at the hospital I sat down with the nurse practitioner and spoke to her about Ryan and getting him home. He would be weaned off the oxygen by morning the next day, and had to stay off it for 24 hours. That was all that was left. So I said, "after that he can come home then." And of course, she responded with, "well after that we'll re-evaluate, etc..." Ugh! I wanted to scream, "Cut the crap and give me my baby!!"

After that visit Mama took me back to the hotel to eat dinner with Brenton. The hospital called again and said one of the requirements to get Ryan released was for Brenton and I to camp out at the hospital all night to prove we would feed Ryan and take care of him when he's home. So instead of resting, we headed yet again back to the hospital. I was so exhausted at this point. I'm exhausted just typing this all out. What a stupid requirement. Of course we're going to take care of our baby when he's home. But here's where it got really stupid. When we got there, we told the nurses that whenever Ryan was ready to eat, to call us so we could feed him and meet the requirement. They informed us that we only had to feed him when we wanted to, and if we were too tired they'd do it. So the requirement was just to camp out at the hospital, not prove we can feed our baby. How backwards is that?

DAY 10: Wednesday, September 1st, 2010

After camping out all night, Brenton dropped me off at my mom's hotel on his way to work, and she helped me get a shower and ready for the next very long day. I was so drained I could hardly think straight. However, instead of the exhaustion making me weepy and defeated, it made me angry and full of "mother bear" defenses. I was ready to do whatever I had to do, stand up to whatever doctors I had to in order to bring my perfectly healthy baby home.

Mama and I camped out at the hospital all day to complete more stupid requirements for Ryan to come home. At 10:30 I went to feed Ryan, and we got them to take his oxygen completely off. Of course, Ryan did just fine. He was fine three days earlier. The rest of the day was spent in feeding him, and trying to get some rest myself.

That night Brenton came to the hospital after work for our final camp out. Ryan had to be off the oxygen for 24 hours, and then there was nothing left to keep him there except for a bunch of stupid requirements which Brenton and I would complete that evening. First there were movies that he and I had to watch. Then, we needed to have "discharge training." Finally, the stupidest test of them all: the carseat test. Now, granted, I can understand that they would want to make sure we had a decent carseat to take Ryan home in, and would want to inspect that. Fine. So we bring it into the nursery for inspection, where they inform us that Ryan had to be strapped into it and monitored for 90 minutes. WHAT?!?! I'm dead serious. That was a requirement to get him released the next day. I was so sick of all the junk they were making us do, that I realized to fight them on it would just be banging my fists against a mountain, so they strapped our baby boy into his carseat, base and all, and had him sit in it for 90 minutes. Good grief!

However, Brenton and I were stubborn enough that by 2 in the morning, with Ryan now 15 hours off the oxygen, we were able to bring our baby into our hospital room with us. They had dragged their feet long enough. Ryan was like any other baby now, and he belonged with us. Brenton set up our camera on a shelf, and we took a picture of our family all in the hospital room, something I had envisioned happening a week earlier, but nonetheless was now happening.

DAY 11: Thursday, September 2nd, 2010

This time Brenton left for work from the hospital, and I stayed there. I was not going to leave that building without my baby, and no way on earth was any doctor going to come up with any more stupid reasons as to why my baby couldn't go home with me that day. I was so done with all their "covering our own backs" stuff, that I was going to do whatever it took to put my foot down and take my baby home. When my mom arrived, I tried to get some sleep until it was time to meet with the doctors. She held Ryan as we waited for the final discharge to take place.

Finally, now that the staff had nothing else to force at me to keep Ryan from coming home, suddenly everyone was all positive. Instead of " We'll keep our fingers crossed!" it was, "when he goes home today be sure to..." They were out of excuses, so all of a sudden Ryan was normal and the staff wondered why he was still here.

We had to wait for the doctor to do a final exam on our little guy, but finally around 2:00 a nurse came in to wheel him down to the NICU to be assessed. I marched right down with him. I was not going to let some doctor make up some excuse as to why my perfectly healthy baby could not go home that day. I was happy to see that even the doctor didn't care about Ryan anymore. All his monitors were taken off before the exam even took place. I knew that meant that in everyone's eyes he was done, and it was time to go home. Ryan passed with flying colors, of course, and we got the green light to pack up all our things.

Brenton raced from work over to the hospital, and I dressed Ryan in the coming home outfit I had envisioned him wearing a week ago. Tears filled my eyes as I knew that finally, our baby was free. He was coming home with us. We strapped him into his carrier and headed out the door. I realized as we stepped outside that this was the first time Ryan had seen daylight, and breathed fresh, outdoor air. We took a picture, place our baby in the car, and drove home. Finally, we had made it.

Now our little son is home, and while I still have a long recovery ahead of me, I'm not going to report everything on a day-to-day basis anymore. The long nightmare is over, and while we're still working out a few adjustments, such as getting him to nurse again because he's used to bottles now, we're working through them. The most important thing is that both Ryan and I are alive, he's a perfectly healthy, baby boy with no lasting side effects, and no more wires or tubes. He keeps us up from 12-4 AM every night just like any other healthy baby. Most importantly, he is so full of life, and when he looks up at me with that perfect little face my heart is overwhelmed with gratitude for the life of my little boy. We are a family, and will be forever. He is our little guy, and he's finally come home.

39 Weeks, Visit from Dad, and a Lovely Lunch Date

Well, here's a quick overview of my past week. For starters, it was odd to wake up each day and not go into work. However, I was so grateful for the much needed rest. Until little Ry-guy gets here, I've told myself that no matter what I'm up to, whenever I feel the urge to take a nap, I will. For the next 20-some-odd years I will no longer have that luxury, so I think I have every right to take advantage of it for a few short weeks. Since I'm still not getting sleep at night, these naps are wonderful.

Second, on Monday Brenton and I went up to Salt Lake to visit my dad for a few hours. He was here on business. We enjoyed a quiet lunch with him and had a wonderful time visiting. I can't tell you how great it was to see my dad. I have no immediate family out here, and so I miss them often. It was a joy to simply chat together and see his smiling face. Dad brought with him a build-a-bear for Ryan that my little niece Anny made with Grandma a few weeks ago. It's adorable, complete with a full Orioles outfit, including the glove, ball, and bat. Brenton thought to name him Cal, and then Dad chimed in with the last name of "Ripbear." So cute! I can just see a future little Ryan dragging his bear by the ear saying, "Mom, I'm gonna go watch the game with Daddy and Cal Ripbear." Dad also brought me a beautiful, real rose, preserved in a glossed coating and brushed with gold. It's the most enchanting "Belle" rose that I've ever seen. It took my breath away. I didn't know you could do something like that. A real rose! Preserved forever! It' s absolutely beautiful. We're getting a bell jar to put it in so it can be just like Belle's. I love it so much. Even though it was a short visit, I was so happy we were able to see my dad. It's nice to know that even though I'm about to become a mommy, I'm still his little girl, too.

Later in the week, Brenton texted me letting me know that he was coming home for lunch that day. A surprise lunch date! Yay! I was glad he let me know ahead of time, so that I could put on something cute, do my hair, and make a tasty lunch. I decided to make it as charming as I could so I set the table all pretty, and even put sprigs of sweet basil into our glasses for the cherry lemonade. Brenton was happy that he could come home and enjoy a meal already prepared, and I was happy because I got to see him for a little bit during the day. It's nice to know that we can still celebrate the little things, and show our affection for each other on any day of the week. He's still my white knight, and I'm still his lovely lady. It was a charming break from the day.

And now it's Sunday again, which marks my 39th week of pregnancy. Ryan is just days away from arriving! I'm not sure when I'll be putting another post on here, but this just may be the last one before the little guy decides to come out. We can't wait! So be checking for when I put up pictures of our little sweetheart.

Brenton's Birthday!

My sweetheart turned 24 this past week. Since it was on Tuesday, we opened his presents on Monday night for Family Home Evening. This way we didn't have to get up super early on Tuesday morning and open them before work.

Nationals hat and cap rack for his closet.

Golf tees that Ryan helped pick out by kicking to the right or left to show preference.

Digital picture frame that was on my desk at work, that will now be for his desk at work.

Then on Tuesday, we had cake and Brenton made his birthday wish.

I managed to get him a few presents he wasn't expecting, which was a success for me. I have a hard time getting Brenton presents. Boys tend to like expensive things, and when you've set a budget for the birthday, pricey stuff isn't really feasible. However, I feel I did pretty well, and Brenton was happy.

BYU game-day flags for the car.

Coach's size baseball bag for his work's softball team.

Official Bobby Flay cast-iron skillet and quesadilla flipper for my Master Chef.

Happy Birthday, Brenton. I love you more and more every single day, and can't wait to celebrate many more birthdays with you, including the upcoming official birth day of our little boy!

Catch-up

I've let another month pass by and haven't updated anything on here. Life just... happens, and sometimes it's hard to stop long enough to write about it. I'm going to attempt a quick catch-up here for those who are wondering how everything's going currently.

First off, Ryan is doing great. He's perfectly healthy and right on schedule at 27 weeks today. Last Saturday, the 22nd, we went up to Salt Lake and had a 4D ultrasound of the little peanut. It was one of the most amazing experiences of my life. We got to see his sweet face, and even watch him smile a few times. At one point he opened his eyes, and the nurse managed to snag a picture of it! It was so awesome. He also turned and waved right at us, which melted our hearts right on the spot. I can't believe that technology has gone so far that we can see his facial features before he's even here. I watched him make expressions that I've seen Brenton make. It was simply amazing. Brenton took a picture of Ryan on his phone that we sent out to family right away. When my mom got the picture she told me, "I can't believe I'm looking at a picture of my unborn grandson, on my phone!" Technology is incredible. We truly live in a blessed world. Here's little Ry-guy's picture.

As another update, Brenton and I had our first wedding anniversary this month. We spent the weekend down in Prescott, AZ with Brenton's family. I got to meet both sets of his grandparents, as well as a few aunts, uncles, and cousins I hadn't met yet. After a lovely visit with them, Brenton took me to Las Vegas for a few days. I'd never seen the strip, so it was really cool. We stayed in the Excaliber, which looks like a giant castle, and saw their "Tournament of Kings" jousting dinner show. Later we looked at all the neat hotels and watched the fountains at the Bellagio several times. It was really fun. The next day we went to the aquarium at Mandalay Bay and then enjoyed lunch at Bobby Flay's restaurant, Mesa Grill. He's our favorite Iron Chef, and the food was amazing. We had such a lovely time. It was great to have a few days off of work to be together and celebrate our marriage. Brenton took care of all the planning himself, and I was surprised every step of the way. We had so much fun!

In other news, we re-did our family room downstairs. It was looking so cluttered, like a crammed student apartment. We hadn't really decided how we wanted to organize the place with all our stuff together. So, a year into our marriage, we decided it was time to spruce up the room and make it look more aesthetically pleasing. When we visited with Brenton's parents, they gave us four tables that dramatically upgraded our current furniture, and that's where we got the motivation to re-do the room. We pulled our ratty love seat away from the wall, and faced it towards the t.v. so we wouldn't have to watch sideways anymore. That divided the room in two, leaving the back half for our rocking recliner and a bookshelf. It's our mock library now. The other huge problem was the lack of coordinating upholstery and curtains. Everything looked mis-matched and messy. The last big issue was all the clutter in our entertainment center. It was packed with boardgames, electronics, books, wii games, etc. Not to mention all our Guitar Hero stuff for the Wii on the side of it. Brenton put shelves in our storage closet, stacked up all the boardgames and Guitar Hero stuff back there, and I boxed up the excess electronic equipment and Wii games into stylish boxes. Then we went shopping for linens. I made a slip cover for our love seat with a set of blue, king sheets, an idea I got from my sister Liz. Next, I took some large brown rick-rack and sewed a border on the slip cover. I put a brown scarf over the curtain rod, and then made curtains for the bottom shelves of the entertainment center with the leftover blue, sheet fabric. With the new tables and adjustments we made, the room has literally been transformed. We are so pleased with how much more organized it is. I don't have a before picture, but you can sort of see what the room used to look like from the Easter video I posted up a few months ago. Here's the finished product. It feels much more like a home now, and we're very happy with our crafty selves.

There's not much else to report. Ryan's room now has a dresser, changing table, and crib, and is quickly coming together for him. We're excited for the upcoming three-day weekend, because for the first time since I started my job, we actually get this Monday off together. We were thinking about traveling somewhere, but with the expenses of a nursery, have decided it would be more relaxing to stay here. Hopefully this won't be the last post I have up here until next month. We'll see!

Easter and Emergency Root Canal

What a lovely Easter weekend. The weather was a bit cold, I'll admit, but Conference was wonderful. I loved getting to listen to general authorities from the church give excellent remarks on several gospel principles, particularly those on motherhood and the atonement of our Savior, Jesus Christ. Before Conference I always write down a few questions that I want answered in my life. This time most of my questions focused on how I can be a good mother, without ever being one before. I was amazed at how many talks were focused on raising children in the gospel. Surprisingly, there were also a fair amount on motherhood specifically. I particularly enjoyed Elder Ballard's talk on the relationship between mothers and daughters. I have always known that my mother has been the greatest influence in my life, but it was reassuring to hear from an apostle that the best way to be a good mother is to emulate the wonderful qualities my own mother has. That is a great place to start, and I feel like it won't be so scary being a new mom when I have the example of my own mother to guide me.

On Easter morning, Brenton and I surprised each other with Easter baskets. He got me the Primary songbook, and children's scripture stories on dvd. And of course, because he is so thoughtful and always tries to think of ways to make me smile, he hid five pink princess Easter eggs around our family room for me to search for. I never would have thought of something sweet like that. I know he's going to be a great dad because "the greatest thing a father can do for his children is to love their mother." There's never been a doubt in my mind how Brenton feels about me.

After the conclusion of Conference, Brenton and I along with two of his siblings, Garrett and Giselle, went up to Kaysville to visit Aunt Shelley and Uncle Brian's family for Easter dinner. We had a lovely time visiting with family and watching the kids hunt for eggs. We played games and spent time socializing together. As always it was wonderful getting to visit their family.

Today I went back to work as usual, ready to start the new week. Now as a quick update, I had previously been to the dentist and knew I had some cavities that needed to be taken care of next week. However, this morning my top back molar started to hurt, and within thirty minutes the pain was so bad I could hardly think straight. I raced over to the dentist and had an emergency root canal. While it was not how I wanted to spend my Monday, the dentist was very quick and skilled, and once the ridiculously painful numbing shots were in, the pain went away with the nerve he drilled out. And because he was so delicate with my mouth, I'm not in too much recovery pain either, even though I can only take Tylenol. I know that is because Heavenly Father is looking out for me, and He hears the prayers of me and my husband. We were very grateful that I was taken care of so quickly, and that I have good insurance to allow the work to be done with minimal cost to us. I'll be back to work tomorrow hardly the worse for wear.

The Lord loves us. He watches out for His children. I'm grateful for that. I know He watches over me, and helps see to it that even in times of emergency, I'm helped along the way.

Turning 23 means a gift from Tiffany!

I've mentioned a few times to Brenton that I would like a light pink necklace to match my light pink butterfly earrings my dad got me a few years ago. I have a deep, magenta-pink necklace that looks wonderful with bright pinks, but I've wanted a light pink one for awhile now. I figured Brenton would go to Macy's or Target and find a simple, cheap necklace that would work just fine. In fact, I was pretty positive that was what I'd be receiving on my birthday, and was perfectly pleased.

I woke up this morning to the smell of bacon, fruit, and pancakes. Brenton brought me breakfast in bed comprising of berry pancakes with a layer of whipped cream on the top and a smile made with berries, to create a pancake snowman face, scrambled eggs, and bacon. Of course the meal would not be complete without a glass of "birthday orange juice." In my early years of college, my roommates and I decided that the best orange juice from the store was "Simply Orange." However, that orange juice is immensely expensive, so we dubbed it Birthday Orange Juice, because we could only afford it on special occasions. The name and tradition has stuck ever since.

After breakfast Brenton asked me to close my eyes. I knew the pink necklace was on it's way. He placed a tissue-wrapped parcel on my lap. I began to untie the ribbon at the top when I noticed a very light printing on the tissue paper reading, "TIFFANY AND CO." I was shocked. There was no way he got me something from Tiffany's. Sure enough, as the tissue paper fell off there lay the infamous turquoise box with the white ribbon tied around it. I've never seen that color turquoise on anything else but a Tiffany's box. I pulled off the ribbon and lifted the lid. There was a small card inside in which Brenton had printed a quote from "Breakfast at Tiffany's." It read, "You know those days when you get the reds? The only thing that does any good is to jump in a cab and go to Tiffany's. Calms me down right away. The quietness and the proud look of it. Nothing very bad could happen to you there." And then there was the soft turquoise leather bag. I carefully loosed the ties, and pulled out a beautiful, silver necklace with a light pink, sparkly heart pendant. It was so beautiful. Every tiny little detail on it was perfect, and so delicate.

I have an amazing husband. He is so kind and good to me. I know that he is the best decision I have ever made. I love that he knows just how to treat and make me feel like quite a lady. So here's to turning 23! May it be all that I dream for it to be.

Thanksgiving Menu

I'm attempting to cook my own Thanksgiving dinner for the first time. It's going to be just me and my sweet husband, Brenton. Here's our menu.
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Stuffed Cornish Hens

Vanilla Cornbread Stuffing

Some type of rolls (Brenton's in charge of that)

Cheesy Potatoes (Again, Brenton's assignment)

Assorted Relish Tray

Steamed Asparagus

Creamed Broccoli

Fresh apple, with a zest of orange, Cranberry Salad

Sweetened Sweet Potatoes with a brulee'd marshmallow coating

Crisp Sparkling Cider

Fresh Apple Cranberry Pie

Whipped Pumpkin Cheesecake Pie

Mulled, Spiced Cider (for dessert with the pies)

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I know it will be a challenge, but I think I can handle it, and I'm pretty excited to try. One of the greatest things about the Thanksgiving meal is that you can pile everything on your plate, let it all blend together, and it still tastes good. It also makes fantastic leftovers. We're going shopping for everything this weekend, and we've been really careful with our grocery budget this month so that we can go all out for Thanksgiving. If you would like any of the recipes for the dishes on the menu, let me know. My mom can make all of this completely gluten, dairy, nut, and fresh fruit free by the way. She's amazing like that.

Top 10 Reasons to be Happy for Today, Nov. 5th, 2009

10. I finally set up an appointment today at work after literally hundreds of cold calls.
9. I discovered another one of my outfits that looks great with my new brown boots.
8. Did I mention that I have new brown boots? They're so cute.
7. Every time I look to the left of my desk, I see the D.C. temple, a picture of Christ, and a slideshow photo frame of pictures from my wedding.
6. My angelic niece left me a voicemail on my phone which I have now listened to over a dozen times.
5. Today was payday.
4. Tomorrow is Friday.
3. My sister celebrated her silver birthday today with my mom, and it made me smile every time I thought of them enjoying the day together.
2. I didn't lose my voice from the head cold I have until 6:45 this evening.
1. Today is the 2-year anniversary of the day I sat down next to a boy in the library who would one day become my eternal companion and very best friend. I love you, Brenton Adams Hoyos. Thanks for asking me for my number 2 years ago, today. I promise I'll spend the rest of forever showing you how grateful I am for that bold gesture.

Angels Round About You

It's been about a week and a half since I came down with the dreaded swine flu, and it was no picnic. I'm back at work and feeling much better, but I still get tired very easily. These past few days at work I've had to hit the ground running to make up for the days I missed, and it's been a struggle, but I've also noticed some wonderful blessings that have helped me get through the particularly rough patches. For me, it has been the fulfillment of the scripture in D&C 84:88 which reads, "And my Spirit shall be in your hearts, and mine angels round about you to bear you up."

First, it's been a miracle that Brenton hasn't gotten sick. After a week's worth of being my helpful nurse, he hasn't had a fever or any symptoms of the highly contagious virus. He was so sweet and took care of meals, dishes, cleaning the apartment, and even took me to the movies last Friday to celebrate when my fever finally broke, meaning I was no longer contagious. Saturday marked the one-year anniversary of the day we got engaged, and we celebrated with a bottle of sparkling cider and the last two "Hoyos Oreos" we'd frozen from our wedding reception.

Next, I have been so blessed by my family, friends, and good members of the ward. Last Thursday a sister from my Relief Society walked over a large package to my apartment so I didn't have to go and get it myself from the office. It may have seemed like a simple thing to her, but it meant so much to me to not have to go and get it when I felt so miserable. The package was from my sister, Liz, containing business clothes for me to wear to work. It was a thoughtful gesture that came just when I needed it. Then on Monday, my first day back from being sick, I had a particularly hard day. I came home during my lunch break to eat a quick sandwich and saw a card from my mother informing me that she was sending me two magazine subscriptions. I felt tears spill over my cheeks just seeing my angel mother's handwriting that I love so much. I'm always amazed at how my family knows just when I need help, even when they're on the other side of the country.

Finally, I am so blessed to have a worthy husband who can give me priesthood blessings whenever I need them. After work on Monday I knew that the next few months at my job were going to be very stressful. I asked my husband for a blessing of comfort to know that I would make it through the difficult weeks ahead and feel confident in my abilities. That powerful blessing has made all the difference this week. The very next day I felt like my burdens were lighter. Truly, I felt that there was another person next to me helping me stay calm, focused, and confident. The only other time I've felt that way was on May 10th, 2005 when I was taking my AP Psychology exam. I didn't know why there were angels helping take that exam until afterwards, when I came home to find our house taped off and gutted out from a fire that morning. Both of these experiences though have taught me that angels really do watch over us. Often times I like to think that the ones helping me are my ancestors, who take a few minutes of their time to help their great, great, great, great granddaughter/niece. Either way, I know they are real, and it helps me feel connected to them when I do temple work.

The Lord does love us, and most of the time the way He sends help to us is through His servants. I'm grateful for the angels in my life, whether on this side of the veil or the other, they are a continuous strength to me.

Why I'm Getting Married in the Temple

As I have been conversing with several of my friends about my upcoming marriage, often the topic of conversation turns to where the wedding will be taking place, and why I'm choosing to be married there. As a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, I have always made the conscious decision to get married in the temple. It is not just because it is the tradition of LDS culture, or because it is expected of me by my family. I am choosing to be married in a Latter-day saint temple because it will allow me to be sealed to Brenton not just until "death do us part," but for "time and all eternity."

There is no ordinance in the church more sacred than that of eternal marriage. By marrying Brenton in the Lord's Holy house, we have the opportunity to be together forever. Yes, forever.I can't think of a more beautiful promise. It is one that is binding on earth and in heaven. In addition, every child that we have the privilege of having on this earth will also be sealed to us. As soon as he or she takes their first breath, they are ours forever. There is no other ordinance that can do this other than the sealing ordinance performed in the sacred and holy temple. That is why on our wedding announcements we have the quote from "The Family: A Proclamation to the World" which states, "The family is ordained of God. Marriage between man and woman is essential to His eternal plan." There is no other way but through the temple that this can happen. It is not merely a beautiful building, but an essential ordinance.

To me, heaven would not be heaven without my family and my sweetheart. I cannot fathom a life of eternal joy and happiness if they weren't there. I know that the only way for them to be there with me is through the temple of our Heavenly Father. Because my own mother and father chose to be sealed in the temple, I know that I will always be with them so long as I keep the Lord's commandments and endure to the end. Now Brenton and I are making that same choice so that our children will have the same blessings. It is all part of our loving Heavenly Father's plan for us. This is why as a member of the church I believe so strongly in the family. The times that I am with Brenton and my family are the closest to heaven that I have ever felt.

I know that temples are the Lord's house on this earth. I know that families can be together forever, but it requires more than just a wedding certificate. It requires the sealing ordinance that can only be performed in the holy temple. It is through the Atonement of our Savior, Jesus Christ. I know that He lives. I know that He suffered for each one of us because He loves us. I know that the only way to return to Him is through His gospel. While His truth is made manifest throughout the world, the fullness of its glorious message is found in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. I know this to be true. I am so grateful for this knowledge and the blessing it has been in my life. I love my Savior, and I love His plan. It truly is the plan of happiness, and it is through that plan that I really can live happily ever after through the eternities with my husband and family.