:: missing liam ::

as much as i don't like the idea of megan and her family living far away in another country must admit i do LOVE skype! this morning i got to see megan, weston, lyra, and liam. it was so fun!! but i must say it did make me cry when this little guy got on and said "hi linds!" and then he looked at megan and said "can we go to linds house?" sadly i don't know when this little friend of mine will come to visit me again. at least he has not forgotten me yet and still remembers fun times playing with me and brady at our house.

last year when i was not working megan, liam and i became even better friends than ever and got to hangout daily. it was really hard for me to move to st. george and not have their constant companionship. but i did survive and i will learn how to make this work also. i am so grateful for the Internet and it making communication so easy from one country to another.

i love you lime guy!

:: a holy calling next to angels ::

Is he not just the cutest guy in a pink apron? Yesterday for Mothers Day Brady made me a yummy dinner (steak, shrimp, potato crisps, and jello salad) and he made it all by himself and did all of the dishes. He even got out the cook book and found the recipes on his own. I have the BEST hubby EVER! It was fun to see him so proud of his master piece. Thanks sweets!!!

My first (hey I'm close enough right?) Mothers Day as a mom!

I think that moms are the best! I would not be who I am today if it weren't for my mom. She is always looking out for me and so willing to help me. As I have grown up I understand more and more why my mom stuck to her guns and am so grateful that she did. She is an amazing example to me and I love how smart she is. I can ask her just about anything and she know the answer and if she doesn't know it off the top of her head she always finds out the answer for me. She is my best friend. I love talking to her daily and some days multiple times a day. We love to cook, sew, watch movies, eat, talk about books, plant flowers, sit out in the back yard and relax in the sunshine, go to museums, travel, and play games together. I hope I can live up to her example. I love you mom and thanks for all that you do for us!

I know you have all been dying to see some baby bedding. When I started this project I never would have thought it would have taken me 2 months to complete it. This past weekend I FINALLY finished it!!!! Even though it took me forever to find the time and energy to complete it I am truly glad I made it myself. Because I absolutely LOVE it!! I cant wait to get to our new little apartment and get our nursery all set up.

Not only am I happy that the bedding is done and packed away I am THRILLED that I have my sewing mess cleaned up. As most of you know I HATE clutter and have to clean my house before we go to bed every night. Well lets just say this project mess of mine did not get put away daily and was always driving me crazy in the back of my head. So yeah for a clean house (for a few days until the boxes take over).

And the boxing has begins. Tonight Brady and I started boxing up our house. Wow did I forget how long this takes. We worked on it for about 3 hours tonight and our spare room doesn't even look like we made a dent in it. Thank you everyone who has asked us the question "have you started packing yet?" I had in my mind that it was not going to take us very long to get this done and we could do it all the week we are going to move. Well I am very grateful we caved in tonight and started because right now it seems like it will take us the next 2 weeks just to get it all done. Oh the joys of moving.

:: questions on my mind ::

This week I have had some weird questions on my mind. I guess I have had a lot of "thinking" time.

1. Why do some women think it is cool to brag about not showing that they are pregnant? Isn't being married and pregnant a good/happy thing? Don't you want everyone to know and share in your exciting news/time in your life?
2. Why do some women proud to not wear maternity pants during pregnancy? Do you like being uncomfortable? The day I decided to start wearing maternity pants I thought WOW why did I wait this long - I thought they were amazing and it was not until now that I am over all pants and have converted to only dresses and skirts. My belly likes that!
3. Why do they call it "heart burn" when its not your heart that hurts? I think I have been having "heart burn" but it just feels like yucky acid in my throat and makes me want to vomit. Oh the joys!
   Today our good friends Trevor and Lashel blessed their baby Kolman. Trevor gave him such a beautiful blessing and I think that our bambino really enjoyed it because he was kicking like crazy during the whole thing.

They had the luncheon at the park and it was CRAZY windy and cold. I kept thinking the wind was going to take my plate of food away from me and it would end up in someones hair or face. Good thing I was able to keep a tight hold on it.

It was so fun to be able to see Tom and Amanda one last time before our move also.

29 week basketball tummy. I love watching my stomach move around as Ryker wiggles. It is the coolest feeling. I also am loving my baby bump. Oh and in the background you can see the baby's crib bedding. I know its not the best picture but I don't have a crib up so you will have to wait for a better shot once we get settled into our new place in ATL.

Life is crazy as ever but I am finally feeling like I have things under control for this move and baby. We have been able to get a lot done this week and Brady has been wonderful at helping me.

:: saying good bye ::

Last weekend we headed up to Springville for one final whoRa before we head off to Atlanta for school. The party started Friday night at Tom and Amanda's with a wonderful "Delta Gang" dinner party and games. It was so much to see everyone and have lots of good laughs. Tom and Brady were making some good memories drinking energy drinks and getting fancy with hot dice.

My Delta wives - I love these girls so much and am going to miss them all a lot!

The Wood gals enjoying some sunshine at my baby shower on Saturday. Thanks everyone for coming and thank you for all of the wonderful gifts for our little guy. He is already so spoiled and we are so lucky to have so many wonderful people in our lives to support us.

The sun even came and made for a perfect day. Jenni and Lyra hanging out - Jenni was trying to kidnap her for her own.

The beautiful baby cake that Mugs made. It was her first time using fondant and it turned out so cute and oh so tasty!

The real housewives of Delta boys!

Thanks for coming girls it was a blast!!

Awww... I just love this guy so much and he is so amazing to put up with me and my crazy emotions. I feel that since being pregnant I can not control these hormones in my body and I am here and there and all over the place and crying all the time. But Brady is always right there to calm me down and be normal again. He is going to be such an amazing daddy!

Just hanging out with my best friend. I am really going to miss this little guy. I love how much he loves his "Auntie Linds". Liam enjoyed the shower food the most - everything was right within his reach so he got to have as many cup cakes, M & M's, and chips that he could get his little fingers on.

Thank you Mom and Mugs for throwing me such a fun shower. It was full of good people, good conversation, good food, good weather, and good gifts for our bambino!!

Ahhhhh.... look at how big my belly is getting. Wow this little guy is just a growing machine. Now lets just hope I can lose all of my baby weight as fast as Megan did and look as good as she does.

I am going to miss having her so close and being able to spend the weekend with her and the family (they are moving to France in a week). I guess there are a few good things about their move. 1. I now have a VERY good reason to go on a trip to southern France for a few weeks 2. Because of the time difference when I am up in the middle of the night and wishing I had someone to talk to/cry to it will be in the day time for Megan so it will be perfect timing! Oh how I love Skype and web cams.

I am really going to miss this sweet bundle of joy as well. She has the best giggle and smiles they can brighten even the worst of days. I cant believe that the next time I get to hold her she will be speaking French - and better than me - Ouch!

Brady is such a great uncle and multitasker. Hanging out with Liam and Lyra and talking on the phone way to go yoyo!

Lyra was showing Papa her newest trick of how strong she is. When you look at her you just think oh she is tiny, she cant be that strong. Then she grabs a full cup of water or full pitcher of water and dumps it all over you with ease. This little shrimp is getting pretty strong.

We had such a wonderful last trip home before our big move. Thank you everyone for making so memorable. The next few weeks are going to be crazy for us trying to get everything set up and I am a major stress ball so if you don't see a new post for a while at least you know why. We love you all and thank you for you support to us!!!

:: count down ::

• 30 hours until we will be in Springville and having fun with friends and family
• 38 hours until my Brady's 26th Birthday
• 40 hours until I get my hair cut - It has been since November
• 48 hours until our going away Delta gang dinner party - we have missed our friends in Provo a ton and can not wait to see them - Brady has not seen some of our friends since we moved down to St. George last July
• 60 hours until my baby shower and I get to see my loved friends and family
• 5 days until my physical therapy apt and I cant wait to see if they can make my back hurt less for these next few weeks
• 4 weeks until tuition is due
• 5 weeks + 1 day left of work - Im pretty much over working and cant wait to start my next job as a full time mommy
• 6 weeks until we move to Atlanta - Im not looking forward to driving for 30+ hours and am VERY grateful my parents are going to be making the drive with us - thanks Mom and Pappy you are the BEST!!!
• 8 weeks until Brady starts school
• 14 weeks until I get to meet my sweet bambino - We are already best friends - I talk to him and he kicks back - I love him so much already :)
• 15 weeks and I HOPE my back will be back to normal levels of pain that I can manage - this has been the hardest part of my pregnancy thus far

So much to do and no will power to get any of it done. I need to find some major motivation and FAST!!

:: Baby Projects ::

Who would have ever thought I would be a painter? Since being pregnant I have become even more crafty and keep having all of these great ideas of things I can make for our little bambino. I am really good at starting a project and then get distracted and don't finish (I know I'm not the only person this happens to).

This week has been a good one. I started and finished the two paintings I had wanted to make for the baby's room. Step one: make sure you have all of your supplies
Step two: find things to trace your circles on (you would be amazing what you can use flour, sugar, noodle, and salsa lids for).
Step three: use your steady hand and paint in circles

Step four: tada!

I loved how these turned out. They match my bedding that I am making. Sorry no pictures of it yet - its still a work in process. I need to find some motivation to finish it.

:: Happy Easter ::

What up thug? Brady was going through his basketball card box while we were in Delta last weekend and found some priceless treasures. These glasses about squeezed my brains out they were so small. Brady says he is giving these glasses to his little boy. So don't be shocked when you see a tiny baby boy wearing these. We had such a fun time in Delta for the weekend. We watched conference, played with Savannah, ate 10 cent hot dogs (its a Delta tradition), dyed eggs, ate candy, flew kites, played games, and slept a lot!
Savannah we even sweet enough to let me do her hair. I cant wait to have a little girl and be able to do her hair everyday.

Brady got to hunt the house down his Easter basket. I don't know where this tradition came from but as a child we always had to hunt for our basket so Brady gets to also :) He got tons of candy and some cute toys to entertain our little bambino.

Last week we had some friends over to dye eggs and have our tradition Easter egg roll. This is what Brady and I did on our first date so I am pretty sure it will be one tradition we never forget.

Brady was concentrating very hard on his eggs.

I hope you are all laughing at this as hard as I am. One night Brady and I were eating ice cream Sundays and this is what it turned into. I personally think I look like a grimlen. What do you think?

:: family visit ::

Brady and I love having family and friends in town for a visit. The past few weeks we have been really lucky and had lots of visitors to keep us busy and keep me on top of cleaning my house. I don't know what happened to me and my love of capturing every event and moment on camera. Lately I have been really bad about remembering to get my camera out. I am trying to be better! Last weekend we had a full house - mom, dad, Ben, Georgia (family dog), Megan, Weston, Liam, and Lyra all came down for the weekend to support Ben at his race. We did luck out and have a beautiful sunny Friday and got to enjoy playing outside at the park. Too bad Saturday had to be yucky weather. The race ended on this huge hill - Weston decided to run along Ben to the finish line!
Sunday we all headed up to Gunlock Reservoir for the final race of the weekend. It was crazy windy and freezing. But we still managed to have a good time. Liam loved sitting on the center conceal eating oranges with Nanna and Papa while watching the riders.
We had so much fun hanging out with everyone all weekend. Monday morning I had a harsh reality check that I wont get to see my family very often anymore. This is the worst part of growing up and having your family spread across the world. I am very excited for our move to Atlanta I am just not excited that I wont get to see these beautiful faces once a month.

Brady and I have been playing tennis a few times a week and I am loving it! It makes me feel very pregnant because my body cant move as fast as it once did but we still have a good time. When we played this week I noticed I had no pockets for the balls - so I thought I would put my belly to good use. Brady kept laughing at me and thought I looked so silly and had to take a picture. I think it almost looks like I have little puppies in my belly instead of a baby.

22 weeks and feeling great! The past 2 weeks have been wonderful. I actually feel like me again. I think it is because it has been so warm and sunny and I have been outside and exercising again. Its amazing how a little bit of exercise and sunshine can make you feel so good. I even tried a Zumba class this week with Courtney and it was a blast! I totally recommend it to everyone as long as you have a friend to go with you and you can laugh at yourself for being so silly.

:: kick kick ::

Last night was so amazing - I felt my little bambino kick for the first time!! It was the strangest/best feeling ever to feel my little guy. He was even active enough to let Brady feel him kicking around. I guess its starting to "kick" in that we are really going to be having a baby in a few months. The thought is still CRAZY!!!!

:: here we come Atlanta ::

Brady was accepted to Emory University today and that was our top choice school (a top 10 DPT program in the country). So we finally know where we will be moving - Atlanta!!! We are both so excited. I love the south and Brady was very impressed with the school and with the city. The humidity will take some getting used to but it will be a fun change. Hey and the nice part is we will be only 12 hours away from Peter/Shellie and Kelsey/Anthony. That means we could would actually be within driving distance of some family. Wahoo!!!

So the next few weeks will be crazy applying for grants, student loans, scholarships, insurance, finding a place to live, and finding a new doctor to deliver our baby. So if any of you know anything about Atlanta (Janine I know you do) please email me anything I need to know about the area.

On a baby note yesterday we had our 20 week ultrasound and they ran a bunch of test on our baby. He is growing right on target and all of his organs are developing as they should be!!! Such a relief to know my baby is healthy thus far. Oh and he is 11oz. already - so crazy to me he is almost 1 pound already.

Yeah for change and a good news week! We are so blessed and thank you everyone for all of your prayers and support through this process.

:: half way there ::

I never thought this day would come but I am now half way done with my pregnancy - 20 weeks!! I did manage to survive being home alone this weekend and Brady LOVED Atlanta. We now have a new number one school on our list. Brady says the university, staff, program, area, and city were all wonderful and would be thrilled to go to school there.

I even managed to keep my goal and start my sewing project. Much to my surprise I really enjoyed sewing - other than threading the machine wrong and getting VERY angry that I could not figure the problem. I finished the quilt and it turned out super cute. I will post pictures later this week. I even got to enjoy having a day full of chick flicks while sewing. Saturday reminded me of my childhood with my mom - sewing, chick flicks, and junk food. The only thing (person)that I was missing was my mom. I am so excited she will be coming down in 2 weeks!!

Today was a beautiful spring day. While at work all I wanted to do was go to the park and bask in the sun on a blanket with a good book. Good thing I get off work at 3pm so I can enjoy this beautiful weather some :)

:: missing my man ::

This is me! And this is my man!

And he is on his way to Atlanta right now for an interview with Emory Un. and I am really going to miss him this weekend. I guess I will really start my sewing project! Good luck Sweets! I know you will rock their socks off.

Oh and I forgot to tell ya'll Brady got accepted into Temple Un. in Phillie!!! We are very excited about the offer but Miami and Emory are ranked higher so we will see what they have to offer us. It looks like we have things narrowed down to 3 places - Phillie, Miami or Atalanta. They all sound like fun places to live to me so I will take what we can get. We did decide that we will be moving no matter what in May because of the baby. I will keep ya'll posted on the final decision.

:: weekend visitors ::

Brent and Jenni came down south for a sunny St. George visit. Only the sun decided not to come out... it rained their entier trip. But that is ok we were still able to have fun playing games (they even managed to keep me up past my 9pm bed time) and eating good food. Dont these two boys just look like they are the best of friends? Well guess what they are! And they had not seen eachother in person since June - yes Brady and I have been home since we moved but everytime we did it didnt workout to meet up with our friends while Brady was there. They had so much fun just being boys!
I have missed Jenni and our fun conversations. It was so wonderful to catch up on everything and laugh our heads off together. I just love how whitty she always is. The funny thing about our relationship is she and Brent were dating at the same time Brady and I were and she NEVER spoke to anyone much. Then they get married and out of no where she starts talking and making us all laugh and we are so happy she warmed up to us. Love you Jenni!

Oh and check out my tasty king cake. It was a few days late for Mardi Gras but having guest in town brought my love of cooking back. I am so glad for it also. I love this sweet bread and only get to make it once a year.

:: Baby Project #1 Here I Come ::

Any guesses what this adorable fabric is for?? Ok ok I will tell... after searching and searching for crib bedding that I LOVED I finally gave up and decided I am going to sew my own (with help from my mom and sweet friend Lashel). I have never been a big sewer but I have always wanted to... SO why not learn/practice now. Wish me luck with this BIG project!
Here is my prego belly at 17 weeks. I feel as if I am growing daily.

What I think of pregnancy thus far:

Fun Things:

• Finally having a cute baby bump (silly I know)
• Having Brady talk about being a daddy - he is going to be so good
• Getting to buy baby things
• Talking about names - much to my surprise we agree on most names
• Being 4 1/2 months closer to being a mommy - I have wanted this since as long as I can remember - my mom says when I was little if anyone asked me what I was going to be when I grew up I would say "a mommy" and my heart has never changed - I LOVE babies
• Getting a back massage just about every night
• Bought my diaper bag after months of searching - to most this may not seem like a big deal but to me it was. I love my purses and this diaper bag is going to everyday so I knew I better LOVE it

Not So Fun Things:

• Not feeling like myself
• Back pain - worse than normal
• Being sensitive to smells
• Potty breaks at 3am
• Baby things being so expensive
• Having such a limited wardrobe
• Not being able to stand or sit for long periods of time
• Not being able to wear heels - my feet too tired too fast
• Taking prenatal vitamins
• Being so tired all the time

its a BOY!!!!!!

This morning we found out we are having a baby BOY and we are so excited! Brady said all along that it was a boy and he was thrilled that he was right. So here is my baby bump at 16 weeks.

:: Brady & Lindsay Sitting in a Tree ::

Brady and Lindsay sitting in a tree k.i.s.s.i.n.g first comes love then comes marriage, then comes a baby in a baby carriage! Yep we are going to become parents on July 20th. 2010 is bringing us all kinds of change and fun! Brady has received many interview offers and one acceptance letter to ........................ Touro in Henderson, NV. So now I can officially say we ARE going to PT school this summer!!!!!!!!!!!!! This is not one of our top pick schools but now we have something if nothing else pans out. I am so proud of Brady for all of his hard work and cant wait to find out where we will be moving in just a few months.

{Best week EVER!}

We could not have asked for a better week to finish out 2009 and start 2010. Christmas was a blast and it was so wonderful to be able to spend time with all of our siblings on both sides of the family minus Pete and Shellie {we missed ya'll}. I was lucky enough to be able to stay in Springville until Wednesday to spend more time with Kelsey and her family. We had so much fun just hanging out in our jammies all day and playing games. I love vacations like that :)

Monday night I received the best phone call from Brady .................... he was just offered an interview at Temple University WAHOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Tuesday night I received another call from my sweet heart and he had more great news for me he has an interview with University of Miami also!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! We are so excited to be getting good feed back like this from schools. We still have 11 more schools to hear from so we hope to have more good news like this. All our our months of hard work and studying is starting to pay off and it is such a good feeling. Thank you to everyone who has helped us get this far!!

Our good week news does not stop there - I told you this has been the best week EVER for our family. Wednesday night on my drive back down to St. George I received a phone call from my bishop and he had a job offer for me to be his administrative assistant! So I start my new job on Monday and could not be happier.

I can say that our prayers have truly been answered this week and we are feeling the blessings of Christ in our lives daily. We have been so blessed and I know with all of my heart that if we always have HOPE, keep paying our tithing, fulfill our callings, attend the temple, and always strive to be more like Jesus everything in our lives will workout for the best. We may not always understand at that moment in time WHY we are having to go through something but Heavenly Father can see the big picture and knows what is best for us.

:: hope ::

Yesterday I was at my good friends house and she has a "hope" Christmas tree and it inspired to to have more hope towards life at the Christmas time of year. About 2 weeks ago I was laid off of my job at Henriksen/ Butler and now am back on the job search. This has been a rough year for me and employment. I have spent more months unemployed than employed and to some that may sound glorious but for me I am on the verge of loosing my sanity. I feel like a failure and that I can not help support my family. I am doing my best to try and find any form of work and trying not to be picky and I am still not having much success. The days are long and I am trying to keep myself motivated to have hope that everything will workout as long as I keep trying and doing my best.

my hope list for the day:

• being more hopeful about getting a good job
• keeping high hopes that Brady gets accepted into PT school
• hoping Brady's job continues going well
• hoping to be a better friend
• hoping to be a better wife and pay more attention to my sweet husband
• hoping to have good health
• hoping to be more productive daily
• hoping to cook dinner daily
• hoping to remember Christ daily and thank my father in heaven for all he does for me and my family
• hoping to be kinder and less judgmental
• hoping to start exercising daily again

Hope is a desire with an expectation of accomplishment!

:: weekend of firsts ::

Yesterday Brady and I decided to head down south to Las Vegas to finish up our Christmas shopping. We had a fun time spending all day with each other. It was also a day of many firsts.

Brady's first time shopping for 8 hours (mind you much of that time was spent getting lost and trying to find our way around Vegas). I must say thought Brady did VERY well for shopping for that many hours. He is such a good support to me :) I love you hunny.

Both of us made our first appearance in Bloomingdales - I was actually very disappointed with this store. We all know its supposed to be a very high class, expensive store but all of their furniture was falling apart, the wood was split, and scratched with the paint flaking off. I guess they don't know that the appearance of the showroom = people liking their products and wanting them in their home not showing us how poorly they really are.

It was also our first time in Neiman Marcus as well and yet again I was not thrilled by the store. I was searching the entire day for a new pair of black boots. Don't get me wrong I found hundreds of black boots at the 3 malls and DSW that we went to but nothing was hitting the spot for me. I for sure thought with such a wide variety of stores I would be able to find the perfect pair. 8 hours later I did finally find a pair I love and of all places that I found them it was Bakers.

It was also my first time ever stopping in Mesquite and my first time eating a whopper at Burger King in about 12 years.

Merry Christmas friends! Oh and we can't wait to see these lovely people in 13 days.