Christmas and babies

It's time to blog because I'm so sick of seeing my Halloween post! I'm sitting in my little house and just LOVING the lights of the Christmas tree and planning out the remainder of my Christmas shopping. I'm almost done, which is extremely unusual for me since I NEVER know what to get Ben and always go to the mall and walk around about a bagazillion times hoping for some inspiration... but this year inspiration struck early and I can't wait to see his face on Christmas morning :)

There truly is something magical about this holiday... there's such a warm aura of family and love and joy and most of all an increased awareness of our Savior. He is so aware of us and gives us so many reasons to be happy!

On a rather personal note, Ben and I have recently hit a new roadblock on our journey to have children. For just under 2 years we've been trying to conceive, although we knew from the start that it would be difficult. After failed attempts on different fertility pills my doctor looked at me a few weeks ago and said "You're over my head now, you're complicated." The entire time we'd been trying there'd been a lot of peace and a complete reassurance that we had no need to worry. However, those words coming from my doctor stopped me in my tracks. I was at work (since I work at L&D I'm able to just pull my doctor aside when I have questions. So we were standing in the hall when he told me the news) and so I hurried into a supply room and called Ben, which is when I started bawling and freaking out. Of course Ben was perfect and comforted me and remained strong even though the news was just as bad for him. A few days later as I was trying to make my appointments with the specialists down at the U we realized how quickly the expenses would add up as we began this new step in the journey. Of course then the anxiety over whether or not we'll be able to have children of our own combined with the stress of the huge financial burden that this presented.

Ben and I talked a lot and yearned for direction and guidance from the Lord. He has given us immense peace through this entire experience and we still feel certain that He is watching over us. We have decided to put the medical procedures at the U on hold for a short while and feel very peaceful about this decision. I love my sweet husband so much and he's been amazing through everything. He is so faithful and calm and rarely gets his feathers ruffled. Because of him and because of our wonderful Savior and our faith in His plan we're able to be grateful for our time together, just the two of us! We hope for children soon but are peaceful and happy in the fact that all is in our loving Heavenly Father's hands, and ultimately everything will work out as it should!

Halloween weekend part one

Halloween is over at last! Once September ends I pull out my few Halloween decorations and the random costume parts and get really happy at what this all means... fall, snow, hot chocolate, and the nearness of the two most wonderful holidays of the year (Thanksgiving and Christmas... NOT Halloween, although it's a fun one!) I enjoy planning Halloween - the costumes, the activities, inviting family and friends, but when it ends I am definitely ready to move on to bigger and better. With that said, I'm sure Christmas decor will be up at our house in no time! (and don't be a hater... I know Thanksgiving comes first. But what's Thanksgiving without a little Christmas cheer?!)

On Friday we went to Frightmares with a few friends. Pics of that will be coming soon. For now, here is what our Saturday consisted of:

Ben and I greeted our guests in this manner (Ben's sister and her cute little family, and my brother with his. Small and cozy, yet enough to make a tight fit in our small and cozy little home!)

And yes, I did get another new hairdo, and if I say so myself I do love it. Real bangs for the first time in my life, it's so exciting! Although it wasn't looking its best under my witches hat.

We had a yummy dinner and then were off to trick or treat, although the kids were only able to make it through about 5 houses. It was a very cold night! Then we were off to Hogwarts! This is Ben's sister and I accompanied by Dumbledore. A tiny witch was meant to be in the picture but her darling head got cut off!

us witches, enjoying ourselves immensely

Hagrid asked the little boys (dressed as bats) if they had escaped from the Forbidden Forest

Luna Lovegood was not thrilled by Ben's costume, it was too scary for her taste.

Moaning Myrtle, complete with her toilet.

The Sorting Hat

Hope you had so much fun as well!!

LEMON CHICKEN

This, obviously, is not a cooking blog... although I read those like the news. However, I LOVE to cook. I love the smells as they mingle and I love to watch as it all comes together beautifully. That said, I'm a pretty simple cook, and more often than not the meals around my house are quick and last minute. However, as this tantalizing smell is filling my house I decided I must share this recipe with you. Why? Because it's my absolute favorite meal ever and you all must try it. It's very simple and incredibly delicious, at least we think so! So trust me on this, try it out.

Lemon Chicken

chicken breast halves

dried oregano

pepper

seasoned salt

2 TBS butter

1/4 cup water

3 TBS lemon juice

2 minced garlic cloves (opt.)

1 tsp or 1 cube chicken bouillon granules

Brown chicken in melted butter and sprinkle generously with spices. Once browned, remove from pan. Add to pan water, lemon juice, bouillon and garlic. Bring to boil. Combine chicken and liquid and cook. Crock Pot or Electric Skillet:3-4 hours. Oven: 350 degrees for 35-40 minutes.

I always double everything but the chicken and make extra juice as a gravy for potatoes as a side... mashed, baked, whatever, the juice is great on them all!

He is so sweet...

Really, I have no idea how I got to be so blessed. I try to be a good person but

Ben really is so much more than I deserve, pretty much always.

Sorry for the sappiness but it's true!

On Monday I was feeling pretty down and out. Work wasn't the worst

day ever but it was a bit rough. Then my fertility pills make me sick

and I had just upped my dosage on Sunday.

Ben got woken up at 6 am to our neighbors pounding on the door

because they'd been fighting all night and thought Ben could fix their

problems, so it's not like his day was off to a great start either. Then an hour

before his work day is over he has to run down to Salt Lake for a sign permit

so his day gets extended and he gets caught in traffic. But still what does he do?

He makes an extra stop to pick up donuts and roses just cause he loves me

and I've had a rough day.

Really, I'm telling you I don't deserve that guy. But man how I love him.

Three years and I am such a slacker!

I know, I really am such a horrible blogging slacker! And I hate when the blogs I stalk aren't updated regularly but it is what it is, sorry! Mostly it's that I'm so not computer savvy and have no idea what to hook up where to get the pics from my phone to the computer so I just wait til Ben does it for me. I know. I'm lame. And I watch him and see that it's insanely easy but I just don't bother to ask him what exactly goes where exactly. So it's on my to do list. We'll see how that goes.

So, on July 18 we celebrated our 3 year anniversary! Wow, who knew that life would fly by so incredibly fast? We first went to Hogle Zoo. We haven't been there in years and it was so fun! We saw little Baby Elephant Zuri and she is darling! She knew just how to play the crowd, what with running around with a bucket on her head and playing in the water like a two year old child. Really, it was the most adorable thing! Then we saw the bird show which was also impressive. After the zoo we checked in at a hotel and went swimming before going to the gateway and then the Spaghetti Factory at Trolley Square. After that we went to Liberty Park and just walked around. When we were dating we would always meet up at either Trolley Square or Liberty Park, so it was fun to go back there on a date!

They don't even move. That's got to be somewhat boring, wouldn't you say?

Not Zuri or her mother, but a rather cute elephant in itself.

Ben is such a sweetheart and we've had so much fun together. I'm so lucky to be with him. He blesses my life in ways I never imagined and I'm so glad to be a forever family!

In other news, our July was filled with lots of summer fun... here are just a few pics!

This is Tyrel and Meagan's little Mahala bug. We went to their house in Orem and went swimming a few times. She's got a little lobster she floats around in and Tyrel and Ben act like five year olds with Tyrel's water toys. It's always fun to go there and relax!

Ben's sister and her family from Idaho have been down a lot this summer and Ben absolutely adores the new little baby! He always steals him from me and never gives him back!

All we have to do is pull out our Iphones and the kids totally love us! What an awesome trick!

And lastly, over the 24th we went up to Kamas to the demolition derby. We love those! I had to work til 3 so Ben and his friend went up early and went swimming, and I got there in time for dinner at the friend's grandpa's. As always it was amazingly fun! There is just something about the summer sun, dirt in the air, Ben sitting next to me on a bleacher and cars crashing into other cars that just warms my heart! We loved it!

Vegas Baby!

At frighteningly close to 25 years of age I finally took my first trip to Las Vegas! Ben and I went with some friends and stayed in St. George, where we went 4-wheeling and ate too much, then ventured on down to Vegas for a day. It was so much fun... who knew? It never sounded like much fun, but being there with my sweet hubby in absolutely PERFECT weather with good friends made it seriously the most relaxing, fun trip ever! Plus as a bonus I splurged on a freaking adorable purse...

Chubby 7 month old Daxton, our friends' baby. He's a doll! Love the face he's making!

Fantastic 4-wheeling trails...

The lobby inside the Bellagio... it smelled amazing, everything was made of flowers

Isn't he cute?

Tantalizing reads

I am a girl with many love affairs. ...of course number one is my husband. ...then there are Sunday afternoons, perfect rainstorms and flip flops in the summer, just to name a few. And right there at the top of the list are delectable books. You know the kind I mean... the ones that you can't quite put down, even though there are a million more important things that you need to be doing at that exact moment. These are the ones I have a "love affair" with. When I read a good book it's like something fills up inside me and I melt away with the words, leaving behind any unimportant, stressful or mundane thing that would usually tempt my time. These are the books that I finally put down at night because I absolutely MUST go to bed... but after twenty minutes of thinking about it I have to sneak out to the couch so I don't wake Ben, just to catch a few more pages. Lately I have found a few of these treasures. Be careful not to mistake me. I'm not talking classics like The Catcher in the Rye or Lord of the Flies, literature whose purpose undoubtedly is to start your mind wheels turning in an effort to make you a more intellectual and aware person. No, these books are simply to sit back, relax and enjoy yourself for a moment. So if you're like me and absolutely can't pass up a good book, try one of these out. I hope they're as delightful for you as they were for me!

The Hunger Games By Suzanne Collins. Definitely an easy read, but the plot is amazing! It's the future of North America, where children's names are drawn annually and the winners are forced to participate in the Hunger Games. The sole objective of the games is to be the last one alive. This one actually does get those little thinking wheels turning... and if you have teenage siblings they're going to love it too.

Catching Fire is the sequel to The Hunger Games. The third one is due out next summer and I'm anxiously waiting!

Perhaps you've recently seen the previews for the movie The Lightning Thief? Well here's the origins, the first in a five book series called Percy Jackson and the Olympians by Rick Riordan. Also easy, humorous, and a really fun story. It's Greek mythology in present day as the mortal children of the gods are on a quest to save the world. Narrator for the story? None other than the son of Poseidon, Lord of the Sea.

Book 2 is The Sea of Monsters; 3 is The Titan's Curse followed by 4: The Battle of the Labyrinth. And my favorite? Book 5: The Last Olympian. Definitely loved this whole series.

Of course all those fun fictional works have to be grounded with a historical fiction intermission from one of my favorite authors of all time. Gerald N. Lund's newest book The Undaunted is wonderful. Not quite as good as The Kingdom and the Crown or The Work and the Glory, but still really good, and I learned a ton about a set of pioneers that I knew nothing about! It tells about the story of the Hole in the Rock pioneers and their amazing journey to the San Juan.

College Graduate!

May I present to you my sweet husband who is, as of December 11, 2009, a graduate of Weber State University! I'm so proud of him and we're so excited he is done! Plans for his MBA are in the near future, but we'll enjoy the break while it's here! Just before graduation, his boss came to him about an opening doing something a little different in the company. We were so excited; when a similar position had been open a few months earlier we'd considered him applying for it, but just didn't feel that it was time since he was still working part time while in school. The timing this time around couldn't have been more perfect and we feel certain that the Lord is watching over and blessing us. It's a new and exciting opportunity for him and he's doing great. He now sells signs for businesses, yes that's right... signs, billboards, you got it. It's a job full of opportunity and hard work and although we were a little nervous we are excited that the door was open for him. And now, a view of Ben the graduate:

Congrats, Babe!

Then of course I haven't posted ANY of our Holiday happenings around here, but they were busy, and they were the most MAGICAL and WONDERFUL time of year! This year our families ate their Thanksgiving feasts about three hours apart, so we were able to eat turkey dinner in Layton with much of my in-laws and then we made the drive down to Cedar Hills where we arrived in time to eat pie at my parents' house. It worked out perfectly and was so much fun. Christmas time is our favorite... the decorations were up well before Thanksgiving even arrived, and the Christmas music and cinnamon scents filled the house, making it deliciously magical. We spent Christmas Eve making candy and treats with my family... my twelve year old nephew Brayden even donned an apron and made the divinity with my mom! We got back by ten and then it was sweet dreams for me, since I had to work on Christmas morning. I worked from 5 til 11, and consoled myself with the thought that Ben would stay in bed til at least 830 and then he'd only have to spend a few waking hours alone on Christmas! But bright and early, 530 am to be exact, our DARLING nieces called and wished him Christmas cheer! Luckily work was slow enough that I got to receive my Christmas call as well. After that, Ben decided to go watch his nieces and nephew in Farmington open their presents and have a big breakfast with them. Once I got home we opened gifts and spent the rest of the day with family. Of course it was wonderful and full of goodness and cheer. We were so sad when it was all over! But of course there was the New Year celebrations with family and now we have a whole year to work on all of our resolutions! I will say I have actually made some, which is really a new experience for me! Let's hope I'm not a statistic that gives up by February 1st!