32 Weeks

So here is my picture from 32 weeks. I was only a day late with taking this picture so I was quite impressed with myself (yes I know I'm a week late with posting it).
Things continue to go well and we are getting more and more excited for this little guy to come. We were able to take our Childbirth Preparation Classes this month which I think were informative and they really got Michael excited. He told me the other week that he feels like that it should be time for him to come now and he didn't like the idea that we still have to wait for almost two more months. I kindly informed him that he can wait to get excited until after he has his birthday and that this little boy could not come until after my last day of work which is January 29th.
The other thing that has happened was that a couple days ago my dad asked if Liam ever kicked me hard enough for it to hurt? I told him no, that he was a pretty chill little guy and was content with not moving much. So of course what happened the following day? He's decided that at least a couple times every day he needs to not just kick me but to stretch out and just leave what I think is his foot or knee just poking out! It isn't so bad but he's decided that he likes to do it in the exact same place every time so it does get a little tender and I'm thinking what happened to my laid back baby.
Michael however, has been having great fun with this because ever since he first felt Liam move he has tried to play this fun little game with him that his dad played with him before he was born. Liam has thankfully never cooperated with him until now. The game that Michael played with his dad which Michael is now playing with Liam is when Michael would stick his little knee or foot out his dad would shove his little knee back in, and then Michael would poke it back out, and then his dad would shove it back in, and this would go on until finally Michael would have enough and just kick or knee his mother really hard. So Liam is now cooperating with this fun little game and Michael thoroughly enjoys it. I, on the other hand, am glad that they are having bonding time, but do we really need to have the little guy kick me as hard as he can? I don't think so.

Christmas

This year Christmas was spent with my family since both Michael and I are working and really don't have a lot of time off we didn't feel we had enough time to justify flying down to Denver to be with his family. Plus we figure everyone there would much prefer us to visit in the summer when we have a third member of the family to join us.
We got to my family's house late afternoon Wednesday and the fun began shortly after. This Christmas holiday was a little smaller then Thanksgiving since it was the off year so only Michael and I, Betsy and her family, Nancy, and Janet were at my parents' house. However, even with it being a small group we were still able to find plenty of ways to thoroughly enjoy ourselves.
All of us girls decided to play a game that evening called, Loaded Questions. I have to say I cannot remember the last time I have laughed that hard. I was laughing so hard my stomach just ached and I was just wiping the tears. Thinking back to the game makes me begin to giggle again.
I know some of you are going what was so funny (especially my older sisters, well at least I thought the both of you would thoroughly enjoy this). Basically the game is you have a question that everyone except the person who read the question has to write their answer to and then the person who read the question has to guess who wrote what answer and for everyone they get right they move forward a space. So, my sister Betsy reads the question, "What would you never be willing to sell?" I quickly wrote my answer and got the other answers from my two sister and mom since it was my turn to read them out loud so Betsy couldn't guess from the handwriting. As soon as I saw the answers I quickly realized that there was two way to interpret this question and I just couldn't stop laughing...perhaps some of you won't find this as funny because it was late and we were all quite tired but it seriously took me a good couple of minutes before I could control myself well enough to read the answers. So, here were the answers that were read: my eggs (this was mine), life insurance (my mom's answer), my puppy (Janet's answer), and Viagra (Nancy's answer). So obviously some of us took it as our own possessions and others took it as just any item or thing in general that you would not sell. I'm sorry, but Viagra is the first thing that came to her mind? Oh my, Nancy really gave us all a good laugh.
Then to make matters worse my dad wanted to know what was so funny so we explained it to him and he chuckled and Nancy asked if he would every be willing to sell Viagra. His response was for a million bucks why not? Which of course made us all laugh even harder and Nancy then went on about how humiliating it would be to be at college and to have a commercial come on and for it to be her dad.
So, most of you would think this entertaining story is over but no, two questions later the question we were suppose to answer was, "Make up a fictional sitcom and name two people who would star in it." I immediately began to laugh uncontrollably and wrote my answer down. I came up with "Viagra Dad" starring my dad and Nancy. So of course the laughter began again. I don't know if this will be funny to the rest of you but we found it quite funny and since I print my blog for family history this was a story I didn't want to forget.
So, needless to say I really enjoyed my time with my family. We were able to talk, laugh, eat, play, and enjoy the Christmas holiday. We were also able to get a shopping trip in on Saturday to Seattle where I made my sister Janet try on clothes all day to see how they looked on her so I could figure out if I liked them and decide what size I would need to buy for them to fit me after I have this baby.
I just want to say how much I love my family and how I love this time of year. It really helps you remember what is important in life and I am so appreciative of my Savior and the Gospel and the directions it gives us in our lives. I hope you all had a fantastic holiday season and that you have a fabulous new year.
As usual no pictures but I promise this will change come February. Even if it has nothing to do with the post I'll put a picture.

Cold Weather

So, I have never been a person who likes the cold weather or a lot of snow. I remember when I was waiting for my mission call there was a part of me praying that it would be somewhere warm because I just hate being cold and it seems like my hands and feet are always cold. So, needless to say when I was called to El Salvador I was thrilled with the knowledge that I wouldn't be cold and this turned out to be true. There were only a handful of times when the temperature dropped below 70 degrees and I felt cold.
Now moving to Portland I was again excited because it's not suppose to get very cold here. Plus an added bonus to being pregnant and one I haven't complained of is that you also have a tendency to be a little warmer. I've enjoyed my hands and feet rarely being cold and I would venture that Michael has liked this too since I was always putting my hands and feet on him to warm them up!
Even when it dropped down to 30 degree weather I still wasn't cold as long as I had some form of a coat on. I began thinking this is great I love being pregnant and not being cold.
Well, I discovered that there is a cut off to this not feeling cold and sadly Portland experienced this cold for about ten days. Yup, I'd wake up and leave for work at 9am and the thermometer would show that it was 7 degrees outside! I know many of you are thinking I'm a wuss and you are suffering much colder weather. However, the difference is that I'm not suppose to have to endure cold weather here because it's Portland.
Anyway I've come to accept that wherever I go the cold follows. The last two years I spent in Spokane they either had or came close to record breaking snow fall and now in Portland it seems that they too might break some records with this awful cold.
On a brighter note the last three days it has been warm enough to rain and I all I can say is I LOVE 30 degree weather right now.

28 Weeks a little late

So, here is my 28 week picture plus a few days and no I'm not a fan of this picture but oh well. Maybe I'll have better luck next time.
I'm doing well and honestly can't believe how fast the time is going by. I have to admit that the idea of him being here in less than two and a half month makes me a little overwhelmed because there is so much I still need to do to be prepared for his arrival. Overall I'm feeling good besides the normal pregnancy aches and pains. My only thing is I still can't believe some of the comments that people think they are allowed to make. My most recent favorites are: "You look like you're having twins" and "Boy, you're sure about to pop." To the first comment I just laughed and thought to myself I bet I still weigh less than you (I know not very Christlike but come on, I'm not that big) and my response to the second was, "I sure hope not because he still has a couple months to go." Anyway those are just a few of the joys of being pregnant and thankfully most people recently have been very nice about their comments which I do appreciate.

Thanksgiving

Michael and I had a wonderful Thanksgiving and we were both able to take a couple days off work and spent sometime with my family. This year was the fourth consecutive Thanksgiving we have spent at my parents' house and I have to admit I feel a little guilty sometimes that we live so close to them so we're able to see them more than Michael's family.
This year all of my siblings were at my parents' house except for Sally. We had a great time but did miss seeing Sally and her very entertaining kiddos. While at my parents I was able to work on some of my craft projects, do a little craft with my nieces (I guess the nephews were too cool for crafts this year), eat tons, and get my fill of holding babies. My sister's little boy is just a couple of months old and he's always so content and happy and I have to admit it really got me excited about meeting our little boy in February. Michael also had a good time working, shooting shotguns, watching football, eating, more working, and watching more football.
Sorry I didn't take any pictures, I know we're terrible at that but here is the fun little craft that I did with some of my nieces.

Just to finish up I just want to express how grateful Michael and are for all the many blessings in our lives and I will just name a few (I made us make a list of 50 each on Thanksgiving Day, but we will keep most of those to ourselves.)

Our Savior
The Gospel
Each other
Liam (At least that's what we think we are calling him)
Our Families
Eternal Marriage
Our jobs
Health
Health Insurance
House
Heat
Running Water
Weekends
and the list can go on and on.....

Pregnancy Brain

So, I can honestly say that I have never locked my keys in my car since I've owned it except for on three occasions. The first was when Michael was trying to be helpful and attentive when we were first dating and when I was putting my coat on and my purse was still on the front seat he so kindly shut the door. The other two have been since I've been pregnant. The first time I was lucky enough that Michael was still not working so I was able to get a ride home from a co-worker and then I got his keys and my mom was visiting so she gave me a ride back to get my car.
This time however, I wasn't so lucky. Yesterday at lunch time I was gathering my things to drive home for my hour lunch break when I discovered I couldn't find my keys. I felt this sinking feeling worried that I had locked my keys in the car again. So, I walked out to my car and sure enough, there were my keys dangling from the ignition. GRRRRR....I now had no lunch and no way to drive and get a lunch. I called Michael and told him what I had done and I decided I'd walk to get lunch thinking there would be somewhere close and at the end of my day I'd go home on the MAX and wait until he was almost home and hop on the MAX with him and we'd retrieve my car. So problem easily solved.
So, for my one hour lunch I set off to find a little deli close by. Needless to say after 25 minutes of walking in the rain (luckily I did have my umbrella) I finally found a place suitable for eating. I had passed an Ethiopian cafe, and a pub and neither of those seemed to be quite appropriate. So when I saw McDonald's I was quite happy. I scarfed down my food since I had spent 25 minutes walking and then continued my journey back, once again in the rain.
I finished up my days of meetings and then walked a couple of blocks to the MAX (which is the train here for those of you wondering). Thankfully it was not raining this time but right as I arrived to the stop the MAX was leaving so I got to sit and wait for 15 minutes. Finally after my waiting I hopped onto the MAX and in 15 minutes I was at my stop I got off the MAX, thankfully still no rain, and I walked the couple of blocks to our townhouse. As I was getting there I thought I'm going to check the mail. I reach for my keys and realize, silly me I don't have my keys. I take a few more steps and then it fully hits me...silly me, I have no keys to get into my house! Needless, to say I was a little frustrated and getting really tired of walking.
I called Michael and told him I was home but I have a slight problem since I don't have any keys! We decided since he still needed to work for at least another hour that I would just take the MAX the rest of the way to his office since it was at least heated and dry. We would then grab some dinner and hop back onto the MAX to go and get my car.
So, I walked the couple of blocks back to the MAX and yet again as I was arriving watched it drive by so I yet again got to sit and wait for 15 minutes. I then hopped on and took the 40 minute ride to the stop near Michael's office and again walked a several blocks. When I finally arrived to his office he told me it would be a few more minutes before he'd be ready to leave but I was more than happy to sit in his cushiony chair and wait for him. We then grabbed some food at subway and waited for the MAX again for about 15 minutes.
When we got to the stop by my office it was REALLY pouring but thankfully we both had umbrellas so we did not get too wet and at about 7 pm we finally retrieved my car. Did I mention I initially left my office at 3:30 pm? Yup a drive home that should've taken me about 10 minutes turned into 3 1/2 hours...fun times.
So, today I am a little tired and sore but I figure it gave me something to blog about and it is quite funny now that it's all over. I'd also like to note that I never lock my purse in my car so I'll be making a spare key to keep in it so this hopefully doesn't happen again!

My Birthday

So, Saturday was my birthday and I turned 29 years old. I had a fabulous day and felt quite spoiled by my cute hubby. Michael surprised me this year with a facial, pedicure, and a haircut with highlights. I was quite excited since I'm too stingy to pay for these things myself and I really enjoyed my day. For the record of all the things I got the facial was the most relaxing. I have never had one and I highly recommend it...it was amazing! (I don't get my haircut and colored until tomorrow so that is why there is no picture.)
I also was able to enjoy the day receiving many phone calls, emails, texts, and cards from family members which made me feel appreciated and loved. Then I was able to end my day with my parents. They are going on a LONG drive to visit six of their seven kids and we were their first short stop on their excursion. We were able to visit for the afternoon with them and go out to dinner and then they were able to go with us to stake conference the following day. It was great seeing both of them and I was glad to show my mom everything I've gotten so far for the baby and talk to her about my quilt for him so she could give me a few pointers.

24 Weeks

So I can't believe I'm already 24 weeks along. I'm a little worried about how big this belly of mine is going to get and as you can tell my posture is already getting horrible. However, I'm glad to see that so far the only thing that is getting dramatically bigger is my belly so I can't complain. I feel pretty good overall but by the end of the day my body is tired from carrying this little guy around.

Our Traditional Pumpkin Carving

So every year Michael and I have been married we have carved a pumpkin for Halloween. Sad to say we have noticed that each year I pumpkin design is getting easier and easier.
Our First year pumpkin. Sadly we didn't document the second year pumpkin.

This year's pumpkin

Swearing In

So, Michael was able to be sworn in on October 8th and we were lucky enough to have his dad in town to enjoy it with us. Michael’s dad flew in Wednesday night and was able to stay until Sunday so we were able to enjoy hanging out with him some. Thursday the three of us drove down to Salem to watch Michael join the few other hundred new attorneys who recently passed the bar stand in front of Oregon’s Supreme Court to be sworn in. The ceremony was the perfect length so we were not bored out of our minds. It was exciting to see Michael become official and we our just so grateful that he does have a job as I overheard many others making snide discouraging remarks about the current job market. Here's a picture of Michael and I and Michael and his dad right after the swearing in. It was a beautiful autumn day and the weather was perfect.


While Michael’s dad was here we were also able to fit in going to a movie, visiting downtown Portland and going to the Portland Art Museum, admiring the view from Michael’s office and we had a fun long visit with Michael’s cousins Friday night. Once again we were glad to be able to spend the weekend with Michael’s dad and show him a little of the Portland area so he could see where we’re living.

20 weeks

I know, I know it says that I'm almost 22 weeks according to my blog count down but this is my 20 week picture I took and it just took me a while to get it posted. I'm slowly but surely getting bigger but I'm really enjoying the second trimester. Since I've found out we are having a little boy I have gotten busy on some of my projects so that I can hurry up to the next one so I'll be ready when this little guy gets here. This last week Michael and I were able to buy a crib and a dresser off of craigslist and we also found a carseat that had good ratings and was a decent price from Costco. This has relieved a lot of stress about cost and I can now focus on the fun stuff.

Right now I'm working on knitting the little guy a blanket which I've decided after all the hours of work I've put into it that I am going to classically condition him to attach to the blanket. I had a favorite blanket growing up and I still think of that blanket quite fondly and could describe it to you in detail. I would post a picture of it if I still had it but sadly enough my mother found it appropriate to burn it when she finally convinced me that I no longer needed it. (Don't worry mom no hard feelings.) When this is done my next project is decorating his room. I'm not going to go all out and make the bumpers and skirt for his bed but I am making the quilt for his bed and probably the curtains. I think I'm going to do a sailboat theme. I have an idea in my head and JoAnn's flannel is 60% off at the end of this month so we will see if what I have in my head looks the same when it's been through the sewing machine. If it looks decent I will post pictures when I'm done....but don't expect anything for at least a month since I still have to finish the knitting and I probably will get stuck along the way in my sewing and will have to take a break until I see my mom which won't be until Thanksgiving.

Soon to be Outnumbered

I guess come February I will be outnumbered in my household. Yup, that’s right we had our ultrasound yesterday and Michael and I are definitely expecting a little boy. We are very excited and I have to admit I was a little surprised that it was a boy. All of my sisters have had girls first so I really just assumed that it would be a little girl. However, when we got there and when the ultrasound started I just knew she was going to tell me it was a little boy. So I’m starting to think about colors and how I want to decorate his little room and it’s really starting to sink in that there will be a new addition to our family. I’m thrilled that all of my kids will have a big brother because I have always loved and adored my big brother (well maybe there was a short stage when I was much younger that I didn't adore him but for the most part I have.) So, I’m excited that if or when we do have a little girl she will have that. So, life is really good right now and I’m so appreciative how blessed Michael and I have been.


Here is a picture of me pregnant for those of you who were wondering what I’m looking like these days. This picture I’m about 17 weeks and I'll try and post a second one later where I’m 20 weeks. If you’re wondering why I’m wearing bright pink, which is not my usual color, it’s because my little sister, Betsy, who just had a little boy too was generous enough to loan me her maternity shirts and some dresses (she’s a bit shorter than me so the pants really didn’t work), but I’m so grateful for the 20 plus shirts, two dresses, and two skirts she loaned me.

HE PASSED!!!!!

Ok, so I'm not really surprised but it's always a relief to know for certain. Michael is now officially an attorney and hopefully he doesn't want to move for at least three to five years so that he won't ever have to take the bar again!

First Day

So I know everyone else is writing about the first day of school, but today was Michael's first day at work. He dived right in being his typical self and started work today at 7am and did not leave the office until 6:30 pm. I obviously not thinking clearly thought he would ease into the workload but oh no he's all about doing his best to impress those that hired him to convince them he's worth keeping around and he already has those billable hours in his head and he's quite determined to reach the minimum requirement and then go beyond that. So here he is on his first day (this is at the end of the day because he leaves for work before I'm up.) Also, here is his business card. Legally he can't hand these out yet though since he has not received his bar results. Just 24 more days and we'll find out...not that were anxiously waiting for the results or anything.

A Post with Pictures?

Yep, it’s been a while since we’ve posted with actual pictures but all of you should be so proud because Michael and I had a little weekend getaway this past weekend and we took pictures! I know, I know, this is totally out of character but we worked really hard at making sure we took at least a couple of pictures for everyone to enjoy.

So, we decided that we should go somewhere for a small mini vacation since Michael is starting work soon and with a baby on the way, who knows when we will be able to do that again. So, Friday I skipped my lunch break at work and took off a little early so we could head over to the coast to Lincoln City. I haven’t been to the Oregon Coast since I was really little and Michael has never been, so we were both pretty excited and didn’t know what to expect.

As we drove, 15 minutes from our house we found ourselves driving through all of this farmland. We saw berry orchards, hazelnut orchards, hay fields and basically just a bunch of farmland and little towns. Then in the middle of nowhere there is this huge Evergreen aviation museum. We were both kind like…huh…interesting place for an aviation museum, but hey lets take a little break and look around. So we walked inside and saw that they wanted to charge us around $20 a person to take a look around and we thought that was a little steep since we were only wanting to look for no more than a half hour so we went back outside where they had several planes and helicopters outside. We then hopped back into the car and continued on our merry way.

We now were driving on a windy road and were surrounded by forests. We once again thought…interesting that we have been in a major city, farmland, and now a forest and we’ve only been traveling for about an hour. We continued driving and soon discovered that we should be approaching the beach and Lincoln City within the next mile or two and there was still no signs of any beach and we were still in this lush forest. Well, suddenly there we were in Lincoln City and on one side of the highway you had the forest and then on the other side there was the gorgeous beach.

Needless to say it was beautiful and we both had a great time walking on the beach for the next day and talking about how crazy kids were to be swimming in the ocean since we were both in our jackets. While there, we were also able to go to this place where they offer a class and they help you blow your own glass. The price was a little steep but Michael and I decided it was worth it because not only did we get the gorgeous glass bowl that we could say we help made we also got the experience. We also ended up getting double the experience because right as we were finishing our glass bowl a gust of wind came up which caused the glass bowl to cool too quickly and our beautiful bowl broke and we got to do it again! Needless to say, we both thought the first bowl was prettier but the second one was nice enough. We couldn’t pick our bowl up until the next day which meant it will be shipped to us and we’ll get it in a few weeks (so we will post pictures of the final project later).

Our adventures also included me being able to get great seafood at Mo’s (Michael ate a chicken burger), and doing a little shopping at the outlet malls there at Lincoln City. So we both had a lot of fun and decided that we were excited when we have a 2 year old that we can take to the beach to play in the sand and fly kites (which Lincoln City is famously known for).

Just a quick note. I wrote the post over a week ago but I'm now finally just getting to downloading the pictures. I was half tempted to delete all of the pictures of myself because I'm abhorred by how bad my posture is in the pictures. I do look fat and yes that is because I'm pregnant. However, just for the record I'm not that big yet.

We Evolve from Fruit?

So I’ve been reading this book over the last six weeks and I continuously find myself scratching my head thinking, “What is it I’m growing?” When I first began the book, it talked about a blueberry, then this little blueberry somehow morphed, yes morphed, into a raspberry. I know amazing, I never knew fruit could evolve! Wait though, this gets even better. This little raspberry then changes to a large green olive. Yup, not a medium black olive but a large green olive. From there it goes from a prune to a plum. At one point it’s a peach and then a navel orange.
But wait this miraculous evolution is not complete because by the end you do not have a navel orange or any sort of fruit but a baby. That’s right many people out there thought humans evolved from apes (I’ve never believed this), but no, we actually still do evolve from fruit!

Many of you may be wondering what in the world is Stephanie on? However, I’m sure there are many of you out there who have recently had kids who have read the book that I’m talking about. The book I’m currently reading is “What to Expect When You’re Expecting.” I think this is probably the most popular book that doctors hand out and it is actually quite good; except I just find it interesting that throughout the book it compares our baby to fruit. Needless to say if you’re still wondering, yes Michael and I are thrilled to announce that we are expecting our first little one. I’m 12 weeks along and due February 17. So if I’m lucky maybe I’ll have this baby on my favorite day of the year….no Valentine’s really isn’t my favorite day of the year but I’m sure it would become one of my favorites if this little one decides to arrive on that day. So we’ll keep you posted.

Initial Thoughts About Stephanie’s Pregnancy

Michael's thoughts:

Stephanie is about 10 weeks pregnant, so for family home evening we decided to record some of our thoughts concerning this exciting time, including our thoughts about first realizing Stephanie was pregnant.

It seems a lot longer than only 10 weeks since I found out my sweet wife was expecting our first-born. In reality I do not think the idea has fully taken hold. I know I have no idea what to expect and that is a little disconcerting. But I am optimistic and excited.

Upon Stephanie first telling me she was expecting, I was a bit shocked, or at least surprised. Not in a negative way, just surprised. I knew we were getting close to finding out whether she was pregnant, but I had become somewhat hesitant to ask. I did not like seeing the disappointment in my sweet wife’s eyes when she would tell me she was not pregnant. Since we had been trying for so long, more than a year, I would always approach that time of the month with optimistic-hesitation. Optimistic because I knew we would be blessed with the opportunity to bring a child into this world when the timing was right, but hesitant to see my wife disappointed. I am sure I had a similar look as my wife, but I like to think I was able to conceal my disappointment to ease my wife’s sadness. Perhaps I was over-thinking everything, perhaps it was not that impactful on my wife, but I was worried about her happiness because I knew she wanted to be a mother very badly.

So, one night when my wife was in Portland, looking for a place for us to live, she simply said, at the end of the conversation and in a hushed voice, “I am late, 3 days”. I am pretty sure I was speechless for a few moments. Not scared. A sweet combination of surprise and excitement. But, the compartmentalized side of me thought…don’t get too excited, miscarriages often occur, especially with first pregnancies. But I was excited. Stephanie must have thought I was scared or something by my silence, but I was just excited and surprised. She later told me she had wanted to wait and tell me in person, but that she was too excited to tell me. In honesty, I liked finding out over the phone…though it was probably harder on Stephanie because she could not see my reaction (she probably would have delighted seeing me speechless…not an occurring condition). So, that night I found out I would be a father. Something I have looked forward to for a long time.

So, that brings me to where I am now. It is fun to read about the babies development…I think the baby is the size of a prune…or some other small fruit. The reality still has not set in concerning all of my future obligations; the financial, the emotional, and physical (though hearing the neighbors infant cry does give me a tiny little hint). I imagine I will have much more to write in the future as the pregnancy continues, but for now, it is still exciting, and a little scary!

Stephanie's thoughts:

I can still remember each month as the time neared to find out if I was pregnant I would try and convince myself that I wasn’t so I wouldn’t be too disappointed when I found out that I wasn’t. Shortly after Michael and I started trying to get pregnant I was already stressing about it so Michael gave me a blessing. I remember in that blessing he promised me that I would have children but that I might have to wait longer then I wanted to have those children. So, at that point I was happy to know that I would have children but a little saddened to know it would not happen as soon as I would like.

So, about a year later and a few months after we started seeing a doctor to see if he could help us get pregnant I found out that I was pregnant. I remember I was at my sister Trina’s and I was almost positive I was pregnant since I’ve never been late. I did want to wait to tell Michael until I got home but I just couldn’t stand the idea of me being the only one that knew any longer. So I told him over the phone and there was complete silence on the other end of the phone. I know he was a little shocked but we were both so excited.

When I got back from Portland we did a home pregnancy test and I then went to the doctor to get confirmation that I was indeed pregnant. At this time I began to worry that I was going to miscarry because of the stress of moving so I asked Michael to give me a blessing. During this blessing Michael reassured me that the pregnancy would go fine and that I would have this baby. I remember feeling so relieved afterwards and feeling a lot of the stress about packing, moving, finding a new job and how this would affect the baby leave.

Since I was moving the doctor’s office decided to have me come in one more time before we moved for a physical exam which was a little earlier than usual but they wanted to make sure there were no problems before I moved. I went into the doctor’s by myself since I was only a day short of being six weeks along and the nurse had told me that it was more than likely that the doctor would not do an ultrasound. So, I didn’t think they’d do any tests but I soon found out that they were going to do an ultrasound just in case they could seen anything yet and I felt so bad that Michael was not there. They then did the ultrasound and I was able to see the baby’s heartbeat. I think this is when it really hit me that I was expecting and the excitement about this baby increased.

So I’m now ten weeks along and I have been feeling pretty nauseous for the past few weeks. I sometimes get tired of feeling nauseous all the time but I always tell myself that at least I know that the baby is doing well and growing.

Update on our life

So, I have really not kept up with the posting and honestly don't really have a good excuse. So, since the last time I posted Michael and I have officially moved to Beaverton, OR which is a suburb of Portland. We made the big move on the 26th and 27th and really like our new place but when we arrived I realized just how dirty this new townhouse was. Just for an example, the fridge was not even wiped out when the previous people moved out. Needless to say it was just gross. I don't consider myself a germaphobe but I've discovered that I'm not a fan of other people's dirt in my house. So I spent a few days trying to get the House livable and we are slowly (very slowly) getting settled in. I just don't feel like I have the motivation I've had in the past to get everything organized and put together. I have finally decided that it's because I'm just tired of moving. I figured it out and since I have graduated from high school I have moved somewhere between 15 and 20 times. Needless to say it is definitely getting old.

Anyway, other news for us is that I have already been able to find a job since moving to Portland. I had an interview the Tuesday after we arrived and I felt the interview went really well and was told earlier this week that they'd like me to start on Monday. So we are excited that I was able to find a job so quickly and hope that I'll be able to finish getting all of my student loans paid off over the next couple of months. The job is with Volunteers of America and I will still be working with families in foster care system, but I think this position will be a lot less stressful then my last one. Although the pay is quite a bit less but that's what you get with a nonprofit.

Michael is continuing to diligently study for the bar and is getting nervous as the dreaded days are nearing. So I think that's about it for our news. Sorry we don't really have any exciting pictures, but I refuse to take pictures of the townhouse until I'm done decorating and organizing which might be a month or two.

Where's Michael?

So it's your typical beautiful Saturday and it's about 85 degrees outside and I can't seem to find Michael in any of his usual places for a Saturday.


He's not on his beloved couch playing his x-box.


And he's not in his bed, which he loves so much that if he's been gone for more than a day he will greet it when he returns. Where could he be?


There he is....that's right the studying has begun. After looking through all of the assignments, practice tests, and lectures he has to do I think we've both decided that law school was easy compared to these next two months of grueling studying. We were both just dumb founded by the stack of books that he would be using over just two months and then I looked at his lecture schedule and thought, this won't be too bad. He doesn't have lectures on Saturday or Sundays and a couple of other days. However, when I saw his calendar which included the studying, lectures, practice tests and essays my response to him was, "I forgive you for not helping me pack or clean this apartment so we can move to Portland." There is just no way he could find time to do this unless he cut out sleep, which he might have to do to get us moved on the actual date (one thing that I found funny about the calendar is that it's basically solid black with things for him to do and then on July 4th it says "Happy 4th of July...I just thought it was funny because like he'll be able to enjoy the 4th with the bar looming so near). So, I am somewhat husbandless for the next two months and I might be jobless in another month when we move so if anyone wants to come play in Portland you're more than welcome.
Please note the amazing looking chair in these pictures. Michael's wonderful grandparents gave him money for his graduation and on Friday morning, after six days of studying and sitting in our hardwood kitchen chairs he called me at work to tell me who knew what he was going to spend his graduation money on and that he no longer had any feeling in his bum....Needless to say we went and bought a chair that night. Thanks grandma and grandpa the money was definitely put to good use.

So here are a few other things that I've been up to lately. This is my garden...or at least the best garden I can have living in an apartment when we will be moving mid summer. My apartment complex actually was making a garden area where you could claim a 4x4 area to garden all yourself which I would have been all over that if we weren't moving. Oh well, maybe next year I'll get a proper garden.
If you can't tell the green plants are two tomato bushes and a bell pepper plant. We'll see how they do. I'm thinking I can make salsa with the tomatoes if I get any since that's about the only way Michael will eat tomatoes. Also, thanks to Westlaw, which is an online search engine for law students, I was able to get brand new Emeril pans for FREE!
Yup my kind hubby let me use all the points he had accumulated over three years from using Westlaw to purchase new pans! I have never had really good pans and I absolutely LOVE them. So hopefully I'll get another post done before we move but no guarantees.

Graduation Day...Part 2...first read Graduation Day Part 1

So...after Graduation, the fun was not done. Stephanie decided she needed to draw more attention to herself (blame it on middle-child syndrome). So she masterminded an incident. While preparing dinner she deviously sliced her figure open while cutting tomatoes (noxious weeds in my opinion). So, after only 1.5 hours in the Emergency Room, Stephanie left with 4 stitches, a cool bandage, and an amazing ability to tell me I am number one in her life.




To Stephanie's credit, after slicing her finger open, she calmly walks over to my mother, and says in normal and apologetic voice, "Can you cut the carrots, I just sliced my finger open." At first I thought everything was ok. I inquired how she was (I was playing xbox), Stephanie said she was fine, so I continued playing my game. Then my lovely wife sits next to me and I see a blood-filled paper towel wrapped around her wound. What did I do, I asked if I could finish my game. :o)



To my credit, we did not leave for the Emergency Room for another 3 hours...we thought it was under control. We tried using the liquid-skin (glorified super-glue) so we could catch a movie. However, we quickly discovered you cannot put the glue on if there is any bleeding. So, it did not work, and we eventually went to the Emergency Room. Good times. She is ok, was a trooper. I sure love my wife.

Graduation Day Part 1

After three long years, I graduated from Gonzaga University School of Law today, May 16, 2009. In fact, it was a great weekend, my lovely parents, Daniel and Bonita Quillen, joined us at our lovely home in Spokane Washington. We went to dinner, to Coeur d' alene, Idaho (a nearby resort town that is very pretty), toured my law school, went to my graduation, and attempted to attend a movie (more on that later). It was a lovely weekend.

Such events often cause one to reflect upon the journey and adventure completed. Looking back over the last several years, I recognize many blessings in my life. First and foremost, my darling wife. Stephanie has been a phenomenal source of strength and support these last three years. From her understanding of the demands on my time - both during our courtship and marriage - to her calming influence when I was frustrated with a class or work, Stephanie has been a constant partner in my endeavors and a great helpmate.

I am also appreciative of my extended family; specifically for your support and prayers as I completed finals and searched for a job. Speaking of which, as many of you have guessed, I was re-extended a position with Smith Freed & Eberhard in Portland, Oregon. We are very excited.




Finally, I had a lot of great friends that helped get me through this trial. Here are just a few of my friends (and a few additional pictures).


This is me and Adam Baird...good guy.

This is the Glad Family, Brit, Hilary, Sasha, and Braden...that is Stephanie and me (in case there was some confusion).


That's me showing off my doctoral hood.



Yep...we had bagpipes...cool huh!

Me receiving my hood from Dean Earl Martin of the law school.


Finally, me receiving my diploma from Father Spitzer, Gonzaga University President.