Time goes by so fast, the moment comes and the moment passes by in the blink of an eye

Although this is hard to write about without crying, probably more because I am pregnant, but also because I am the oldest out of seven children and I have watched each one of my siblings grow up into great individuals and I couldn't be more proud of all of them. One advantage of being the oldest is being able to watch your siblings go from one stage of life to the next rooting them on in their adventures. That time has come when my little brother (not so little anymore, in fact taller than me) has turned 19 and he will be venturing out into the world as a missionary representing our church, the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter day Saints. He has chosen to spend two years of his life serving the Lord and has been called to do so in the Texas, San Antonio Mission.  He is the first of my siblings to go on a mission (because he is the oldest boy). My brother inspires me through his example, his hard work, his willingness to serve and his testimony of the gospel. I am quite a bit older than him so we have never been super duper close but this kid is amazing! It's so weird that I won't be able to just call him up or text him whenever I want, and more than anything it will be so weird having a piece of our family missing but I am so excited for him and the fact that he will be an excellent missionary. I pray that the people of San Antonio Texas will take care of my little brother and be his family while he is away. Joshua, I love you so much and I am so proud of you and the decision you have made to serve a mission. You are so awesome and you will inspire and lift up many! 

"You're off to Great Places!

Today is your day!

Your mountain is waiting,

So...get on your way!"

-Dr. Suess-

Getting fitted for his suit pants for his mission

Also getting fitted for his suite jacket for his mission

Most of the family after church on the day he gave his talk in his Orem ward

One Ladybug Shower coming up!

I think one of the greatest parts about pregnancy is the exciting time when you get together with friends and family to celebrate the life about to be brought into the world! Everybody pretty much knows that I love a great party no matter what or who it is for. I mentioned to my Grandma and my aunts that if I had a baby shower the best place to do it would be in Orem at my Grandma's since all my friends and most of my family is there. They concurred so the planning has commenced! I am pretty bored with nothing to do at home so even though, traditionally, the mother to be is supposed to stay out of anything to do with baby shower planning I have asked to help in the planning. Because my little brother is going into the MTC on August 8th, and I want to be there and I am starting school at the end of August we decided the best date would be August 11th since I will already be down there and my travels have to stay limited due to all my complications so this date naturally seemed perfect!

The chosen theme is my personal favorite LADYBUGS! This theme is quite fitting since I am a fan of everything ladybug and I will be gently but forcibly passing that on to our baby through her nursery decoration. I have found so many fun and cute things that can be made, and my Aunt Brittany and I have gotten pretty giddy about everything. My Aunt Brittany made the baby shower invite and I think it is the cutest thing I have ever seen. It was inspired by two different invites on Etsy and she went above and beyond to pull them together and make it look stunning. In the search for everything ladybug I have come across from very fun things, thanks to talented women everywhere!

Here are some other things we have found:

We got this set from Etsy.com from a company called LeeLaaLoo (and by set I mean just all the things you see like all the signs and water bottle covers)

This idea was taken from http://pinterest.com

This idea was taken from http://bestfriendsforfrosting.com 

I just can't wait to celebrate our sweet baby and the blessing she has already been and will continue to be in our lives, and I am grateful for my family who is making the celebration happen!

One crazy eventful pregnancy!

This pregnancy seems to be going by so fast when I look back at the past few months. It is crazy to think that I am now 23 weeks and more than halfway to D-Day. We are entering a whole new realm of exciting experiences from feeling the baby move, being able to purchase baby things and even planning a baby shower! Of course this fast paced pregnancy has come with a few scares. On Friday the 29th of June I woke up with what I thought was just a routine backache that I had pretty much gotten used to. I was staying at my Grandma's with my mom and siblings who were also there visiting so I tried to just go about the day like there was nothing wrong...unfortunately this plan failed as the back pain got significantly worse and more focused on the left side. I was hot and sweaty and threw up in my moms car on our way home from BYU's campus (where we went to the Bean Museum, and I tagged along because my mom and aunt said it would be good for me to walk around). After fighting the paid for a few hours and after failing to try and sleep it off I called my doctor in Cedar City...who as luck would have it was out of town, which meant I had to deal with a doctor that I don't know and really doesn't know me. After a few phone calls back and forth they told me to go see the doctor I had previously seen when I lived in Orem. Unfortunately, all the doctors were out of that office so I was told to go to Labor and Delivery. Now I was just barely 21 weeks at this point and they just told me to go to the LABOR & DELIVERY!!! Not somewhere I want to be at 21 weeks! After bawling to by myself then texting my mom telling her what needed to happen (she had to take children to swimming lessons) she came home and we reluctantly went to the hospital. After about 3 hours in the hospital, finding out what a catheter felt like, finding out I had kidney stones, an IV and bag of fluid and two percocet later I was released. Although kidney stones really stink, I was thrilled it was nothing more. 

FAST FOWARD a little more than 24 hours later on Sunday...

I was back home in Cedar City in the comfort of my home with my husband, however, I woke up Sunday morning with cramps... which is another thing I have gotten used to... when it happens OCCASIONALLY! These cramps were coming about every 6-7 minutes and knew exactly what I was feeling...CONTRACTIONS!! After laying in bed waiting for them to go away, drinking a lot of water and walking around for a little while I finally called Labor and Delivery here and told them what was going on. They told me to drink some water, take a warm bath and take two tylenol and if that didn't stop the contractions to call back an hour later. By this time it was about 5:30 and I decided I should probably wake up my husband and update him on what was going on. My poor husband was a mess...he wouldn't say it but he had worry in his eyes and a sad face. I told him it was probably nothing  and that the kidney stones probably started the contractions (which they are known to do, along with UTI's and kidney infections). Well, after the hour was up I was still have contractions so we went in. Again, not somewhere I wanted to be and quite frankly not somewhere my husband wanted me to be. So after about 3 1/2 hours, monitoring my contractions, an ultrasound of my kidneys and bladder, another urine test and blood test they sent me home telling me to take it easy, which for me is easier said than done. Although we were grateful that it was nothing serious I was really starting to get frustrated, especially when Tuesday afternoon rolled around and I got sick again with what I was sure was a bladder infection- by this time I'm mad...ARE YOU FREAKING KIDDING ME! All I wanted was a semi easy going pregnancy, if not for my sake, for my poor baby's sake who I was just praying was protected from everything. After another urine test and two prescriptions from my understanding doctor who was thankfully back in town things have slowly gotten under control but I have really tried to stop pushing myself and I am grateful for my husband who waits on me hand on foot. We are so blessed to have made it this far and I am amazed at our baby's strength through all of this. Shaun and my dad gave me a blessing which calmed my fears and let me know that my baby would be coming to my home as soon as she was healthy enough!