Happier Than Ever

I have been thinking a lot lately and I have concluded that right now in my life I am happier than ever.
I can't tell you another time when I have felt happiness, peace and love at this kind of level. It has something to do with the fact that I am no longer a college student jumping through hoops for my professors and everything to do with the fact that I love my little family and the stage we are in at this very moment.

Our life together is not perfect but it is in my eyes as I seek to find the good in those less than perfect moments. We still make very little money working less than ideal jobs but somehow we make ends meet for the necessities and whatever we have leftover we spend happily on movies and food. We have always loved living close to both of our families but we find ourselves enjoying it even more as Rosie gets to know her grandparents, aunts, uncles and cousins so well. We are so fortunate to have good friends who we love spending our nights with playing cards and talking about life and of course laughing a lot too. Andrew and I have told each other countless times since Rosie was born how blessed we are to have a healthy and happy little girl. She fills each day with new and exciting wonders and so much joy. We have and are currently seeing so many blessings pouring into our lives and we are grateful for the gospel that helps ground us and provide hope for the future.

Life is simple but wonderful right now and I dare say that I am happier than ever.

Gone {for too long}

This guy left us last week to have himself an "internship adventure" in NYC. We were beyond thrilled when a summer internship was looking like a possibility for Andrew way back in January. It took a while for everything to become finalized and to figure out the finances but I am so proud of Andrew for working so incredibly hard this semester to make this whole thing a reality.

He will be interning with a freelance illustrator named Peter deSeve who lives in Brooklyn and works mostly from his home studio. Andrew will also have the chance to learn a little bit about the gallery system in Brooklyn as he has the chance to volunteer for my cousin out there who owns and operates his own successful gallery and non-profit art/dance organization.

Now I need to share for a moment in complete honesty...

Although I am beyond happy for Andrew to be having these life-changing experiences, my only wish is that Rosie and I could be tagging along with him. I wish that my job and our financial obligations would disappear for the month of May and that all three of us could be adventuring in the Big Apple together. I have been dreaming of the delicious food and walking the streets with Rosie as we chose to spend each day going to galleries, museums and spending time in Central Park. I really love traveling and getting to know places outside of my long-time home of Provo and despite the face that I have been to NYC a few times already, it is always a fun "new" place to visit.

So since Rosie and I will not have the chance to go to NYC with Andrew, we need to keep ourselves sane here without him. In the first few days I swear Rosie was trying her hardest to wear me down as she insisted on waking up every hour during the night to cry and then nurse and then fall right back to sleep. Even though I was not awake for very long, the repeated motion of getting in and out of bed was almost killing me as I had to peal my eyes open just to try and take care of her needs. I have a new-found respect for single mothers who do this ALL on their own ALL of the time. I know that I owe lots of thanks already to my family and friends for helping me with Rosie and letting me take an occasional nap.

I am hoping this month will fly by with as few breakdowns as possible on my side of the country and as many exciting experiences as possible on Andrew's side of the country.

Our Summer 2014 Plans

This upcoming summer is looking like it will be full of lots of new things, adventure, growth, love, fun and hopefully lots of time outdoors.

May:

-Andrew is leaving for the WHOLE month for an internship in NYC. My heart is aching to go along because I love that city so much but sadly Rosie and I will be staying in P-town on our own. We will miss him like crazy!

-The Annual Girl's Trip that I go on every year with my friends will be in May. We are going to St. George to relax and play. Rosie will be tagging along this year too. Lucky her!

-I have set some lofty goals to start painting again and to schedule a solo show in a gallery by the end of this month to push myself to make more work.

June:

-Zundels are putting a pool in their backyard that should be completed this month and we cannot way to take Rosie swimming everyday. Her grandma is an awesome swim teacher and I'm hoping Rosie will like being in the water.

-Both Andrew and my birthdays are this month so June always guarantees lots of celebration with cake, presents and family. (Not only are our birthdays this month but 3 of my sisters and 1 of my nephews as well.)

-We hope to make it out of Provo at least one during June. Typically our destination of choice is St. George since it is fairly close but still far enough to feel like we are getting away and because we have a free place to stay there and you can't beat free. We love the good local eats and the beautiful hikes we go on down there.

July:

-A Zundel wedding will take place. I cannot wait to have another sister-in-law. Adrienne is a doll! I foresee this month totally consumed by wedding plans and preparation.

August:

-So far August is free and open. We will have to plan some fun adventures for our little family to end the summer before Andrew starts school again.

What we did to celebrate

Our anniversary celebration this year included Rosie for several reasons. One being that she doesn't always take a bottle for a babysitter and another being just the fact that we love her too much to leave her. So we planned our day to be as baby friendly as possible and she tagged along.

Andrew worked a half day and I got our taxes filed in the morning and then at noon it was off to Salt Lake to play. We rarely make it up there so it is always a fun adventure when we do. We decided to go to the zoo and it was a blast. We loved seeing all of the animals and despite the fact that it was windy and chilly outside, it was a huge success. Most of the animals were out and about and so active. My three favorites were the otters, the little monkeys and of course the TIGER.

All of the animals seriously loved Andrew and came right up to the glass to play with him. The monkeys were the funniest by far and kept reaching out to touch his face that was right up close to the glass. So entertaining. After the zoo we did a little shopping. Andrew and I each got a few things to spruce up our wardrobe. It's always fun to get a few new things that I can look forward to wearing. Then it was off to our dinner reservation. I have to admit this part of the evening was not too baby friendly and we got some stares in the restaurant but Rosie was beyond perfect and allowed us to enjoy eating our fancy meal together. We met the sweetest couple sitting across from us at dinner. They overheard us telling the waitress that it was our anniversary and the man faked having to go to the bathroom only to order and pay for two delicious appetizers for us. The waitress came out to take our order and brought us the two dishes saying that some people in the restaurant wished us a happy anniversary.

I was blown away by the generosity.

I thanked them a million times because I knew it couldn't have been anyone else in the restaurant but them. We ended up talking to them for more than half of our meal until they were finished and ready to leave. At which point I thanked them again from the bottom of my heart for being so thoughtful and sweet to us even though we were practically strangers. They simply said how they remember being in our same situation not long ago

They asked us to pass it on one day in the future.
And to that I responded, "Will do."

I hope to remember this special act of kindness when Andrew and I are older and more financially stable. I would love to pass on the thoughtfulness of this sweet couple to another family. It made our night so memorable.

Year Three in Review

It's been 3 whole years since Andrew and I got married. And even though it's cheesy and cliche, I have to say, these have been the best years of my life. In this one year alone so many exciting things have happened so I decided to do a little recap.
Year 3 in review (March 2013-March 2014):

-finished up Winter 2013 semester (I was sick and tired and didn't find out why until April 18th)
-found out we were having a baby
-worked our tails off during the summer to save up money
-celebrated our birthdays in June and announced to family that a baby would be joining our family in December
-I was served court papers to be sued in a lawsuit for being involved in a three-car accident in the summer of 2012 (this is currently still going on by the way)
-went to the doctor more times in my entire life combined (over the whole nine months of pregnancy)
-got to see our baby on ultrasound 5 different times (one of which we found out we were having a girl)
-prepared a baby girl nursery in our second bedroom that was formerly storing art and lots of other junk that I was too lazy to go through and throw away until then
-Andrew got a new job illustrating courses for BYU Independent Study
-started my last semester of college in Fall 2013
-created lots of art (both Andrew and I)
-I finished my BFA show and put it up in the HFAC for others to see (all while 35 weeks pregnant)
-finished Fall semester in December two days before my due date
-spent Christmas relaxing and enjoying time together and with family
-got to meet our new baby girl on December 30th and spend two days of bliss in the hospital just the three of us
-our first night home from the hospital was New Year's Eve
-Andrew started school again in January (weirdest feeling that I wasn't going back!)
-Rosie had her two month doctor's appointment and had to get a few shots which was the saddest thing for me to watch
-currently I stay home and take care of Rosie everyday and continue to work part-time as an apartment manager and Andrew is finishing up this semester of school and still working for BYU Independent Study as an illustrator (he hates leaving home everyday because he says he misses Rosie too much)

Happy Anniversary Andrew
I love you
Here's to year four
Onward and upward (hopefully)

So This is LOVE

The arrival of our Rosie has sparked so much more love in our little family. More love than I even thought possible. And it's not like our marriage was lacking in this department before.

But this love is new.
It's different.
And it's special.
I'm not sure I can even describe it.

Her presence makes Andrew and I want to be better people so that she can grow up with good examples to pattern her life after. She has become a source of constant entertainment and makes us smile and laugh at even the simplest things. She brings a strong sense of the Spirit into our home. She is patient, kind, sweet, innocent and overall lovely to be around.
Thank you for bringing so much love into our home Rosie!

Rosie's Blessing

Rosie was able to be blessed by her sweet Dad this past Sunday. He put a lot a thought into the words he said.

He blessed her to be a faithful daughter of God with a strong understanding of who she is.
He blessed her with a desire to serve others.
He blessed her to be healthy and strong as she obeys the commandments.
He blessed her to have a desire to strengthen her mind and to learn about the joys and wonders of the earth.
He blessed her to be happy and caring toward others.

Probably my most favorite part is when he blessed her to be able to confront difficulties with joy.

This picture absolutely melts my heart.

One Month Ago...

...I had a belly the size of a bowling ball.
...I was still experiencing heartburn daily.
...I had swollen hands and ankles.
...I was still feeling sweet kicks and hiccups inside my belly.
...I endured contractions and labor that lead to the birth of our new baby girl
with my biggest supporter and cheerleader by my side (aka. Andrew).
...We enjoyed familiarizing ourselves with our baby's tiny features.
And... (according to Andrew) we stole the sweetest and most beautiful baby girl
from the hospital and brought her home with us for good.

One month ago we became a family of three.

..Meet Rosie..

Born: December 30, 2013

Weight: 7lbs. 13 oz.

Length: 20 inches

 
We love this little lady from the top of her head full of gorgeous brown hair... ...right down to her wrinkly little toes.

Love the One You Hold

Andrew's younger brother asked to interview us for an assignment in his Marriage Preparation Class. Andrew had many insightful things to say about marriage. I loved hearing his advice. I quickly jotted down this statement in my phone as he was talking.

"You have to love and care for that person because they are yours now."

He melts me.

We took family photos at Thanksgiving and despite the fact that I was swollen and 9 months pregnant, I always treasure capturing moments with Andrew. I am so grateful that I get to spend eternity with him.

Sonogram Photos

It has been so special to be able to see our sweet baby girl five times during my pregnancy. At each ultrasound she was bouncing around and wiggling like crazy. I have loved to watch (and feel) her grow and change over the weeks. I chose one photo from each of the ultrasounds that we got at 8, 11, 17, 20, and 26 weeks.

I can't wait to meet her soon...in about 4 weeks now!

That One Holiday Called Halloween

This year Halloween did not really consist of much celebration in our home. We did not go trick or treating with my nieces and nephews nor did we eat tons of candy. Don't get me wrong, I was craving sugary treats and junk food like mad for about a week but tried to maintain my self-control as I know the consequences of eating a lot of anything at this point in my pregnancy only results in heartburn. I was on campus that day from 8am to 7pm working non-stop on pieces for my final art show. It was exhausting and the last thing that I wanted to do that night was to go out. I just didn't have the energy. So I sat on the couch and watched a few shows before retiring to bed early while my husband went out and played basketball with his buddies for a few hours.

We did dress up for our ward Halloween party which was the day before. It was a blast. There was a cake walk, chili and corn bread cook-off, donuts on a string and a costume contest. There was a huge turnout and it was so fun to see everyone's creative costumes. I've decided that dressing up in couples/families is way more fun than dressing up on your own. I wish I would have snapped a few photos of the best and most creative costumes from that night but I was too busy enjoying them in person. I also decorated a bit in our house...the day before Halloween. It's never too late right?!

I hope your holiday consisted of eating lots of candy and dressing up and being with family.

Details of the Party and Reveal

THE REFRESHMENTS:


The pink ice cream floats were a very fun and festive way to announce that we are having a little girl (Andrew's idea) and they turned out so delicious.

THE REVEAL:


Also Andrew's Idea was the giant wonder ball present that we wrapped up for our families. They had a blast passing it around the room until suddenly it burst open and revealed a little pink rattle and a whole lot of pink and red starburst (only the best).