Eden Grace has entered our lives and hearts

Mike and I couldn't be more proud to be parents to our sweet little girl Eden Grace. She entered our lives and our hearts in a very big way on October 19th at 3:15am. It was instant LOVE! She is a little angel who will bless our lives forever.

After a easy pregnancy, easy labor, she is now such a easy baby and we feel incredibly blessed. A sweet gentle spirit that adds calm and clarity to our home and purpose to our lives. We knew we always wanted children and now that she is here it's hard to understand how our lives had meaning before her. She truly is our greatest gift.

Mike and I just find ourselves staring at her for hours. Watching her ever move and listening to her every sweet sound. We laugh at her scrunchy faces, and melt when she shyly smiles (in her sleep). We even love the unsavory things.. a dirty diaper a little spit-up and the rare times she is fussy. We race to ease her every whim. It's the best job on earth and I'm holding on to every second tightly because we know how quickly time passes.

I would love to have this sweet, pure, innocent infant to hold in my arms forever, but I know that isn't what she is here to do. She is here to grow, prosper, learn, excel and someday find love and become a mother as well. This thought although lovely, saddens me. I love my little baby girl in my arms and laying on my chest and feeling her every breath and hearing her sweet grunts, moans, squeaks, girggles as she looks deeply into my eyes.

Mike is already a great dad and spends time with her on the floor during tummy time. Helping strengthen her neck, her focus, and waving bright noisy toys in front of her hoping for a grin or giggle. His guitar has been dusted off and has found a new home near our bed. He strums gently on it nightly as she watches him curiously with bright interested eyes that quickly turn in to heavy sleepy slits before dozing off peacefully for the first half of the night. :)

We find every opportunity to tell our little angel we love her and give her gentle kisses on her head and full little cheeks. Although she can't understand our words, I like to think she feels how deeply we love her and knows that will never change.

We may soon have to say goodbye to these little faces. :'(

We have decided to give up our calling as sunbeam teachers at church to prepare for our little girl to come. This has been a great experience... a little frustrating at times (if I can be honest) and sometimes the lessons seemed a little bit redundant, but overall the kids have really grown on us and we finally started feeling we had a good handle on the class. They just started participating and sharing their thoughts and ideas and interacting with each other. This last Sunday's lesson was about being an example and I had to take some pictures of these cute little faces.

Nursery update...

Mike and I completed the last minute touches on the painting in the nursery over the weekend. Mike even wants to try out the new crib arrangement. (what do you think?) :) He said more people could gather around to see her! He's already a proud daddy! :) Now the only things left to do is the nightmare rocking chair and cleaning the carpets. The room has come a long way since February. We are excited to have it almost complete and more importantly...we are ready for you baby Eden. :)

Our fist year!

It's hard to believe it's been a year since we had our "legal ceremony" in our back yard before taking off to Tahiti for our wedding ceremony! Its been wonderful and there isn't a day that I don't wake up and feel so grateful to have waited for Michael to enter my life and not a day goes by that I don't recognize that we are meant to be together. He is patient, loving, supportive, and makes me want to be better, but most important he keeps me laughing. We have so much fun together and I feel like he is my best friend. What more could I ask for. So to 1 amazing year and hopefully a million more to come! Happy Anniversary Love Love!

knock knock.. who's there..

Last month we had some unexpected visitors. First we had Langdon (Mikes brother) from California at our door with his son Lincoln. It was a fun surprise and shortly after his sister Kristen arrived! They both only stayed a short time but it got us all together and we were able to have a great time. Mike, his brothers and sister Kristen all went dirt biking one day and his sister Angie and my sister in-law Taylor came to spend the day with me. We took Lincoln to the park and out to lunch and went grocery shopping to have the family over for dinner later that night.

The last day Langdon was here we made a trip to the S.L.T and walked around and through the visitor center. I haven't been there since December to look at the lights and at that time we just walked around the grounds.

It's nice to be visited with family! We had a great time and it was great to see them and all get together.

It's so great having langdon here. He is so great about taking pictures!

Baby showers = FUN!!!

I had a second baby shower Sept 17 (Holly's birthday) Fortunately, that didn't keep her from coming. I was so happy to have her there to celebrate with me. My AWESOME visiting teacher Brooke organized the whole thing and did a great job. Cooking 4 different kinds of bread and great food. I seriously don't know how she does it with 4 boys. She invited many of the girls from my ward who I haven't taken the opportunity to get to know and it really meant a lot to see how many girls are willing to celebrate this exciting time and get to know me. I felt unworthy of their love but VERY grateful.

My cousins & aunt made it and I was pleasantly surprised to see them. It made me so grateful for family and inspires me to be more active in their lives. Another fun surprise was my friend Melody. I met her while I was in CT living and she is such an amazing girl. I had an instant connection to her. Unfortunately, she moved back to UT after a year of the east coast, and we have remained in touch for the last 12 years but haven't seen each other for 10! Seeing her really made me remember what a great person she is and why I still remain in touch. I was also happy to have Mikes mom take the day off to join in the fun, and also my sister in law Taylor who has become a great friend. Mike also joined in with all the girls and stayed the entire time. He's good like that! He is my best friend and not having him there to share the moment with wouldn't have felt right. Plus, he never misses an opportunity to partake in Brooks food! :) (I know the real reason) ha ha

This baby shower was great in so many ways. It made me grateful for the blessing this little girl is going to be to my life and a reminder of all the many more I have currently. I found a greater appreciation for the girls in my ward, for my family, my extended family, and for meaningful friendships... and perhaps a deeper acceptance of myself and my worthiness for love!

Baby Eden is already changing my perspective and I know she is going to open my eyes to more blessings and a deeper love for everyone around me.

Showered with Lots of Love!

Well, my first shower has come and gone and all the anticipation has left with it. I was looking forward to my first baby shower and seeing all my old school friends. I was a little nervous about being the center of attention and even worse being the only one at my party! :) It's been 15 years since I really spent time in cedar city with my high school friends and wasn't certain anyone even remembered me or cared. Much to my surprise, we all picked up where we left off. It was perfect and I wouldn't have changed a thing.
Arynne is one of my oldest friends and our friendship is special. She predicted my 1st baby girl before I even knew I was pregnant! After a very convincing phone call about my unknown baby on the way, and a dr visit. It was confirmed she has a special power. I only thought it to be a MUST for her to join forces with my mom in organizing the celebration.

They did such a great job, Arynne made her "first" diaper cake that looked like a seasoned professional and my mom & dad made the cutest little bootie nut/mint holders for the guests that must have taken HOURS!

Here are a few pictures from the event.

The nursery update...

My Handy man is excited for me to blog about our progress in the nursery. He has been hard at work and it's to the point we are seeing the vision becoming a wee bit more tangible. We have found a lighter turquoise for the wall that doesn't scream "HEY I'M AN AQUARIUM" and Mike hung the groove paneling and crown molding which looks AMAZING! I love my handy man! We painted most of the trim and paneling with a nice vanillaish called "mother of pearl". It matches our crib (that we are both in-love with) perfectly and we plan to paint our custom wall piece and rocking chair with the same color. matchy matchy? Nah! I've fashioned some rather large letters to match the bedding and we are in the middle of expanding her closet to fit two rows of adorable little lovelies that i can't wait to get her in! We also painted the ceiling and closet a light pink, which adds just the right amount of girly!












Sunday morning Mike got up very quietly thinking I was still sleeping and he quietly took the pieces to the crib one by one out of our room into the nursery to assemble. He has been getting really excited and I love to watch him. I captured a few of those moments. Take a peek.. (hee hee)











Needless to say... I got up soon after to join him, and we stood back embracing each other and imagined our little baby girl sleeping peacefully in her room that has been prepared with so much love!!

We love you Eden Grace

Road trip'n- Wyoming style!

Mike had a economic summit in Jackson hole, WY and I decided since I had never been, that I would go along for the ride. It was a beautiful drive. We took the scenic route and enjoyed the scenery until it got dark. After that point I was pretty much paranoid that we were going to hit wildlife so instead of resting I sat tense until we arrived at our hotel shortly after 11pm.

JACKSON HOLE- Teton Village
We got up early and Mike went to his all day conference. I had a slow and easy morning. It was a beautiful day, and as tempted as I was just to lounge around I finally made it out of the room at 12pm and decided to take a bus to Teton village. This for some reason was not as easy as it sounds. I was nervous and anxious and had no idea what i was doing or if I was getting on the right bus or off at the right stop, but I figured it out and got there safely. It was VERY disapointing. Beautiful-yes, but BORING! It was just ski shops, bike shops, restaurants, and a chair lift. I thought I was going to Grand Teton national park not a winter ski resort full of mountain bikers. Being 6mths Pregnant and alone limited my options and I caught the next bus back to the hotel! In the mean time I tried to find something to enjoy. The pictures were all I got.

JACKSON HOLE- town square
Mike got home about 30 minutes after I did and we decided to head out and go grab some dinner. We ate at a place called Thai me up. From 1-10 it was a 6, but from the crowd outside we both expected more. It was in town square which was SUPER cute! A beautiful park in the center of historic, western Jackson Hole. Old buildings, boardwalk sidewalks, horse and buggies, gift shops, restaurants, etc. It was charming and enjoyable. We stopped for ice cream and went in and out of shops and stopped to take a few pictures before heading back to the hotel.









YELLOW STONE-old faithful
The next morning we were heading to Yellow stone before heading home. Our estimated 2hours north from Jackson hole seemed doable, so we loaded up and hit the road. An unexpected 4+hours later we were at old faithful. It was a longer ride then expected, but very beautiful. We stopped to take a few pictures before arriving at our destination.








We stopped and had some lunch and headed over to the main attraction. She was beautiful. We saw her through the observatory window spewing away high up into the air 100-130 feet to be exact. It's amazing that this is a NATURAL occurrence that happens every 90 minutes. We had arrived at the perfect time to see it up close. We walked along the boarded path that takes you to many more fascinating geysers and eventually ending up 1.5 miles above old faithful 90 minutes later to look from another look-0ut point.

















It was so late by the time we left and we were so tired and not prepared for the long drive back to Utah, So we called a few hotels back in Jackson hole and found one right in town square. We got back around 8pm and checked in and walked down the street to dinner at a Mexican restaurant before going back for some R&R! The next morning we took our time getting ready and hit the road. We took a different route home and it took us through Idaho a beautiful stretch of countryside and winding farm roads. Miles and miles of untouched land followed by miles and miles of green farming land. It was breathtaking. We got home around 6pm and were happy to sleep in our big, soft, comfy bed! :) There is no place like home!

I don't know if it's being pregnant or this stage in my life. But my need for adventure was not present during this trip. We saw sky divers, white water rafters, bike riders, campers, kayakers, hikers, etc on this trip and where this would have normally excited me, and ignited a interest, this time there wasn't one. A cool, bug free, sweat free, relaxing atmosphere was all I could think of enjoying. As beautiful as nature is, I wonder if I will forever more enjoy it better from the inside looking out.