Hi friends.  Today I can officially announce where we will be moving, though the date is not yet set in stone (sometime within the next month, though).  We are going to be moving to Spanish Fork to live in my grandmother's basement and help her as needed.  My sweet, amazing grandmother is almost 94 and although she's still living on her own and doing not too shabby, she recognizes that it's time to start getting a little more help.  I'm the lucky one who has the ability and is in a time of life, to be able to help. 

Life is going to be crazy this summer as we pack and move, settle into a new routine with Grandma, and welcome a new baby into our lives.  I'm looking forward to the excitement and trying to avoid the stress!

Oh, and I'm almost to the end of my ultrasound drama.  I found out that the ultrasound could still be covered by my insurance and I had a copy of the results faxed to my doctor.  A few days ago my doctor's office called me and told me that they just would feel more comfortable if I came in and let THEM do an ultrasound.  This was fine by me because I've been worrying that the ultrasound tech, since she didn't know me or my medical history, might have missed something that my doctor needed to know.  And so this Friday I get another chance to look at my precious little boy (whose first name will more than likely be Gregory though a middle name is still very much up in the air) and make sure all is well.  Before you start worrying if my insurance will cover TWO ultrasounds...let me tell you how awesome my doctor's office is.  They called the ultrasound tech who did my ultrasound and chewed out basically everyone at the office.  It was against protocol for them to accept me without doctor's orders and especially where they didn't even have any record of me!  I will not have to pay for that first ultrasound.  Yay!

Before the weather turned awful again (snow this morning, blech!) we spent more time outside.  In fact, we spent an hour playing on the slide at the park.  I'm including some fun pictures because what post would be complete without Jamison's sweet smile?

Guess what friends?!  Life is super, duper crazy right now.  I have so much to share, it's hard to know where to begin.  Let's start pretty much where my last post left off: with my ultrasound (and a new picture of my pregnant belly).

When I went to get the ultrasound done, I forgot to grab the address for the office before we left the house.  Normally I go to their Orem office but they do ultrasounds in their Provo office instead.  So we just googled the address on my phone (the joy of modern technology!) and got there with two minutes to spare.  Not that it mattered because the office was running way behind.  We had to wait over an hour but it was fine because my sister was watching Jamison and all was good.  When we got back to actually get the ultrasound, the tech asked me if I have the doctor's orders.  I didn't remember being given anything to bring so she tells me to make sure they fax her the order.  I thought it was kind of weird because I was just going to the doctor's Provo office instead of the Orem one I normally visit...why on earth didn't they have the order?!  Well, I went home and got busy and forgot about it until it was too late to call.  And then the next day when I remembered to call, no one answered.  I forgot about it again until yesterday (Wednesday).  And the receptionist at the office was VERY confused  when I called and told her what I needed.  She told me I'd never even shown up for my ultrasound and they had my order.  I'm like...yes...I did....According to her records, though, I had been a no-show.  Anyway, skipping past the details of my conversation with her...I went to the wrong doctor's office.  Apparently there is a Valley OBGYN and a Utah Valley OBGYN.  I went to the Utah Valley OBGYN instead of the Valley OBGYN.  Their offices are a few blocks apart.  Ooops!  The weird thing?  1-When I didn't show up for my ultrasound, why didn't they call to find out where I was?  I mean, who really misses their gender ultrasound?!  And even if they didn't have time to call me then, why haven't I heard from them since about rescheduling?  2-When I showed up to the wrong office, why didn't they say, "Who the heck are you?  We don't have you on the schedule and we don't have any of your information on file.  Go home.  We are already overbooked" (because they were)?  The blame is not all mine, that's all I'm saying.  So now I am in the process of trying to get a hold of the ultrasound tech who did the ultrasound so that I can get the results faxed to the right doctor.  Only she's out of town this week.  And the only other person who can access the information is also unavailable.  Also, I have yet to mention this little mishap to my insurance company...hopefully they don't kill me for this.  I have no idea if the people I went to are covered by my insurance.  Is that not the most ridiculous story ever?!

Moving on to Easter!  YAY!  (Have I ever mentioned before that Easter is my favorite holiday?  Not only because I LOVE Easter candy better than any other candy but because of the beautiful reason for celebrating Easter). We didn't have the Easter bunny visit Jamison until I got off work (I had to work the lunch shift) and he woke up from his nap.  When I got home from work he was still sleep so I just put his Easter basket where he could see it when he woke up.  Watching his excitement at getting some eggs with candy and a book was so darling.  He kept saying, "wow!" and was super giddy.  It was so sweet. 

We had dinner at my parents' house and then my mom did an Easter Egg Hunt for Jamison.  He is such a funny kid.  His current favorite candies are Candy Corns (heaven only knows why!!!) and Life Savers.  So Mom bought him a bunch of the Easter colored ones. When he realized that was in the Easter Eggs (along with some cars and money) he got super excited.  He was dancing around and he told us "I got candy corns that I like!"  We have it on video and it's the cutest thing!  (If you are friends with me on Facebook, my brother posted the video and tagged me in it.  Go watch it, you won't regret it.  I promise.)  I would say it was a pretty successful Easter for my little man.  And me too.  I enjoyed Sacrament meeting (which was the only part of church I could attend because of work) and the sweet Spirit that reminded me that I have an older brother who loves me enough that he will do whatever it takes to help me be happy in this life and in eternity.  It gives me warm fuzzies.  :)

Now for more news!  Keeping with our tradition....we will be moving again this summer.  We knew our landlord was planning on moving here this summer, but what we didn't know was what he planned to do about us renting the basement.  At one point he'd said he'd keep us around.  But he hasn't kept us in the loop and so Tyler finally asked him and...yeah, we have to move out.  Sigh.  I'm so tired of moving.  We'd hoped to stay here for a while. So we have started looking around at our options.  We found an AMAZING deal in Orem.  It's a basement apartment, 1350 sq ft., and under $750 a month with utilities included!  We went and toured it the other day.  Tyler was hoping we could hand them a deposit and take it then and there and be done with the apartment search but....the people had a lot of interest (imagine that, with that much space and such a low price!) so they were doing tours all week and said they would let us know when they decided who they were going to rent to.  It felt like a job interview.  We filled out an application, gave references, and were told they would let us know.   We've since found out that we won't be getting that apartment, so the search continues with another tour tonight and probably even more in the future.  We are just praying that we will find the right place...and find it soon.  Moving + pregnant = not so awesome.  Plus, I probably haven't mentioned this before, we don't know if Tyler will get to keep his job.   Because of Obama-care, the school district wants to cut back their employees hours so that they don't have to give them benefits.  Tyler's boss is really pushing to get to keep Tyler at full time but we are still waiting to see what will be decided.  And they don't technically have to give us an answer until July.  So it's just a waiting game for now. It all feels a little reminiscent of when I was pregnant with Jamison and Tyler lost his job.  I'm hoping we don't have a repeat with every baby!!!

So that's us.  We keep life exciting.  :)  I shall now end with more cute pictures of my darling son and handsome husband.  They play so well together!

This post is going to be short, but informative.  Tyler flew back from Germany Wednesday, got into Salt Lake late, spent the night with my parents, and Jamison and I finally saw him on Thursday morning.  SO happy.  It's amazing how after being apart for two and a half months, life just fell right back into place.  It just feels perfect and oh-so-right to have Tyler here.  Jamison was a little confused at first, and every day he seems surprised that his daddy is still here, but he's happy to see him.

We are moving in a week (and a day), so we are down to the final packing and cleaning process.  We've made a list of what still needs to be done and assigned everything to a different day.  I'm hoping this will help keep the stress level down.

I know that this move is right, and good.  There are certain things I'm looking forward to like having more space and being near family.  But at the same time, I don't really want to move.  Sometimes I like the independence of living further from the family.  And I've made a lot of friends here that I will miss.  Onward and upward, though!  We'll make new friends, establish ourselves in a new home, and keep moving forward!

Oh, and happy Father's Day!  I'm so grateful for the good fathers in my life, specifically my dad, father-in-law, and husband!

Moving=my constant nightmare.  But it's going to be okay, and I know this is a good choice for us at this time in our lives.  Tyler will be much happier in this program.  And I will have free babysitters (Right guys?  Right? You'll baby sit for me....won't you?)  Plus it will be warmer than Rexburg, and I'm always complaining about how cold this crazy place is.  So yes, it's time to stop complaining and crying in my spare time and look for the good and happiness in this instead of the STRESS.  Once we find an apartment, I'll feel a little bit better.  Though really the best way to cure this stress is to have the move finished and everything unpacked in our new place.  Hang in there, Tenika.  Just a few months.

This cute little guy:

(I know, he's adorable) thinks he's too cool for naps.  I don't agree.  And I will fight him over this.  I need that small break every day.  It's how I keep my sanity.  (Plus he's so cranky without a nap!!!)  Hopefully this is just a phase.  I did get him to sleep today.  He was so droopy eyed I kept waiting for him to fall asleep while he played.  When I put him in his crib, he screamed bloody murder, but I wasn't about to give in.  I KNEW he was tired!  His body knew it too, even if his little mind was fighting it, because he fell asleep within 5 minutes.  *sigh of relief*

Currently I'm working on way too many projects and I don't know how many of them will get completed.  It's been frustrating, honestly, because I took on too much and I don't want to give any of it up.  And then things keep happening that prevent me from working on the projects.  Like being unable to work the sewing machine.  Ugh.  But look at this cute page out of the quiet book I'm working on! (waaaay bigger project than I expected but I will NOT give up!!!)

This post is so disjointed, I'm sorry.  Since it started out that way, I'll just stick with it and end with some fun pictures that have nothing to do with anything I've talked about so far.  My friend, Christine, and I took our kids to the park the other day.  It was so nice!  I'm grateful for her friendship.

These two are birthday buddies and Christine thought it would be cute to put them in the swing together.  She was so right!  (If they end up married, I'm totally displaying this picture at the wedding...just sayin')

This week has been so long.  Seriously, it feels like the longest week of my life.  And since I made the goal to enjoy my life more?  God has been throwing a lot my way to challenge me.  My week:

Jamison started the week with a cold.  Actually, he got it last week.  But it got really bad over the weekend and we had to skip church.  He was mad every time I suctioned his nose but other than that he was still pretty perky.

Jamison gets a horrible diaper rash.  It's his first ever and makes me feel like the worst mom.  All I could think was...how could I have prevented this?  What did I do wrong?  Did I not change his diaper enough?  Am I not cleaning him well enough?  But every one keeps reassuring me that sometimes it just happens.

Tyler informed me that instead of coming home to visit on January 28th, he won't be coming until the 1st of February.  Kind of a bummer, but a blessing that he will have extra days of work.  We definitely need those.  And anyway, it's only like 4 extra days apart.  No biggie.

I came down with the flu.  Horrible, horrible, horrible for anyone...but especially when you have no one to take care of you or your baby.  Thursday I lay shivering in a blanket and half-heartedly pushing a ball to Jamison.  And I let him watch several episodes of Blue's Clues.  I swore I'd never let my babies watch t.v.  So much for that.  But God does show some mercy because Jamison took a three hour nap that afternoon.

Friday, while still battling the flu, I got my visit from mother nature.  I haven't had a period in 65 days, and it has to show up while I have the flu?!  We'll just leave it at that.

Oh, and because of the flu and my period, my milk supply has diminished super, super bad.  I wasn't producing enough milk to feed my baby and yesterday I had to start supplementing with formula, which I have been trying soooo hard to avoid.

Yay life, right?  Okay, so despite the crazy awful week it's been, there have been tender mercies and it's not all awful.  Like I already mentioned, Jamison took a three hour nap when I was at my worst.  He's also been pretty good about entertaining himself.  After a few weeks of refusing solids, he has started eating apple sauce again.  Even though now I have to supplement, I went almost nine months without needing to.  My doctor told me that for pumping exclusively, that's really good/rare.  My mother in law came over last night and made me dinner, did my dishes, took out my trash, played with my son, and brought us some extra strength Desitin.  Such blessings.  After she left and I saw my clean kitchen, I almost cried.  I feel so frustrated when I have a dirty kitchen.  It was nice to have it clean again.  And Jamison's diaper rash is looking so much better this morning thanks to the Desitin (no, they did not pay me to say that...it's just the truth.)  Jamison had stopped sleeping through night a few weeks ago and it had gotten really bad...he'd wake up 4 or 5 times a night and it would be really hard to get him back to sleep.  But since I've gotten sick he's only woken up once or twice and after being given a little bit of water in a bottle, he'll go back to sleep.  The little things like this make all the difference in the world.  I am so grateful not only that God shows so much love, but that I'm recognizing it.  Because I know that when I show gratitude, God will continue to bless me...and I could use all the blessings I can get!

P.S.  Isn't my baby adorable?  I love him.

...Then Came the Rain

Ummm...forget about that last post. We got an email today saying that they can't train him. Lame.

In other news....well, nothing really. I have no job, so I just chill around the house and sometimes venture out to the post office or WalMart. Are you impressed that I can get to those places on my own? I am. I can also find the church and where my mother in law works and the grocery store where my sister in law works. I'm starting to know where the main roads are and I'm not as scared to use them.

Along with not having a job, our membership records haven't been transfered to the Sumter ward yet, so Tyler and I don't have to worry about callings for now either. It probably won't be much longer though...last week the bishopric was asking Laurie how long we would be staying.

Saturday Tyler and I have discussed going around town so that I can get some snapshots to show everyone what this place is like. So if we really do that...you can look forward to a post all about Sumter. If not...my blog will continue to be a boring place where I tell you what a bum I am. :p

Staying Strong

I was watching Discovery Health today. There was this show called "6 Going on 60" and...I cried like a baby. Is that ridiculous? It's just so sad and somehow touching to see these little girls with an illness and how their family is able to keep living.

At the same time, it's scary. I can't help but worry when I see things like that. I can't help but ask...what if it happened to me? Would I be as strong and brave?

Growing up and thinking about starting a family...it's scary. There are so many things that could go wrong, so many disappointments I might have to face. How do people do it???

How Do You Do It?

How do you wives/mothers/seeming super-women do it? I feel incredibly overwhelmed, discouraged, and like I fall hopelessly short.

My dishes are only half done. My laundry is sitting in the dryer, unfolded. My kitchen floor needs to be swept and mopped. The stove top needs to be wiped down. The spare bedroom looks like a tornado hit, and the bedroom isn't much better. The car floor is covered in dirt and loose gravel. There's a thin layer of dust covering the whole apartment. I haven't been to the gym in at least two weeks. I have a disgusting rash on my face. There are four callings to be made and my mind is blank. I didn't read my scriptures yesterday. I have no lesson plan ready for my clients tomorrow. The reading for Sunday has not even been touched. I can't figure out my husband's math homework. I need to write a letter to my missionary friend...

I can think of a million other things that I haven't done. A million things that need to be done. A million things that make me feel like I will never be a good housewife, mother, etc. So how do you do it?

When it feels like there is way too much to be done and you just want to relax, how do you justify it? Or how to you keep working through the feeling? When you are frustrated and angry, how do you keep from crying and yelling and assuming the fetal position? When your husband is super stressed after only two days of school, how do you support and comfort him?

HOW DO YOU DO IT ALL???

Looking for a Mini Get-Away

Tyler is stressed with school (probably most specifically with his five credit math class), and family responsibilities...

I am stressed with work, my new calling, and a plethora of other (mostly insignificant) things...

So I'm hoping this weekend we can take some time to relax.

I'm trying to come up with a fun, romantic, activity we can do that won't take too much time (since we can't just abandoned our other responsibilities completely) or too much money.

Any suggestions?

And as a sort of P.S....I read this quote today and it hit me really hard. Anyone else remember it from conference?

"True love requires action. We can speak of love all day long-we can write notes or poems that proclaim it, sing songs that praise it, and preach sermons that encourage it-but until we manifest that love in action, our words are nothing but sounding brass, or a tinkling cymbal." --President Dieter F. Uchtdorf

Dear Life...

Dear Life,

Can I please catch a break? Pretty please???

Sincerely,

Tenika

Roller Coaster!

Tyler and I have had a roller coaster ride the past two days. It's nothing too major, but at the time it sure seemed like a huge deal. (Yes, I still have a long way to go with my attitude change!)

As I mentioned before, Tyler has been looking into changing his major. He has been doing an Exercise Physiology major with the idea of becoming a physical therapist. However, he has decided that physical therapy really isn't the career for him. Now he plans to go into Computer Engineering. Yeah, my husband is smart.

Yesterday, Tyler planned to go on campus and talk to an adviser about making the switch. He went to what he thought was the right building, and they told him he had to go to another building, half-way across campus. On the way, he did some sort of funky trip down the stairs and messed up his ankle somehow. (Like he did on his mission, for those who know anything about that). So trying not to die on the spot, Tyler limped his way back to the truck and got himself home (I was at work). Tyler spent the rest of the afternoon on the couch with his ankle elevated. Poor boy.

Last night after dinner (delicious homemade pizza!) Tyler got an email from his boss with a flight itinerary for Sunday. They wanted him in Fort Riley, Kansas, to start work Monday. Being completely honest, yes, I was very upset. I don't want to be apart, which I think is understandable. But as I was lying in bed later that night, unable to sleep, I realized I need to be counting my blessings. At least my husband has a job. At least we'd have over a week together before he left. At least I knew he'd be back when school started in April (saying we stayed up in Rexburg). So I worked on my attitude, sang a hymn, said a prayer, and finally fell asleep.

First thing Tyler did this morning was check his email. There was another email from his boss. This one saying that his trip to Ft. Riley was canceled and he most likely won't be working again until the middle of March. There was a slight sigh of relief on my end, although we do want him to be working.

Then, after breakfast, I played chauffeur and took Tyler back to campus to talk to the right adviser. We waited for 40 minutes, with three other people in front of us, and finally got in. Tyler has now successfully changed his major to Computer Engineering. And (slightly to my dismay...I'm craving a change...) it looks like we will be in Rexburg for a while still.

And just a funny side note...Tyler is going through facial hair withdrawal.

This morning as we were brushing our teeth and all that fun stuff, Tyler began singing a song. Anyone who has heard Tyler sing knows that he has an awesome voice, and is very creative...he makes up his own words to the song if he doesn't know the words. So he was singing his little made up version of a song and I told him it was "silly." His response was so funny.

"It's not silly. But you know what is?" (at this point he is staring in the mirror and rubbing a hand over his now smooth chin) "my face."

My husband sure does make me smile.

Little stresses...big goals!

My mom has started a blog and as I read hers, and keep up with my other friends', I am realizing that I am an awful blogger. I write so irregularly and only when I think I have something *amazing* to say. I don't find my life very amazing, so I don't write much.

I have spent the past week pondering how I can improve myself. You could say that I am starting New Year's Resolutions a little late. So I've come up with some goals for myself and I think maybe I will add blogging to the list...though it will be closer to the bottom of the list than say...oh, reading my scriptures...

Things in my life are a little hectic, but not in the sense that I am always running around with things to do; just that the things I am doing cause a lot of stress. Let me revise that a little. Not even the things I am doing...the things that people I am interacting with are doing. For example: My grandpa is dying. Personally, I have no control over the situation and I haven't DONE anything (besides be sad and say my goodbye) yet it has caused a lot of stress within myself and in my family.

One big problem I have discovered while going through this experience with my grandfather is that I am not a patient person. I already knew that I had a hard time waiting in lines and hated waiting for big holidays or for visits from friends...but I had no idea I had such a short temper! I have been so frustrated with people who haven't responded the way I think they should to my grandfather's situation. I had a friend ask me the other day how I was doing and when I told them my grandpa was dying this friend kind of breezed over it...I was so offended!

When I really think about though, people don't know how to approach death. Even having dealt with death in my life before, I still don't know how to approach it. The experience is such a personal one, and everyone deals with it different. Even the same person will deal with different deaths in different ways. You can be darn sure I am feeling differently in this situation with my grandfather than I felt when I was informed that my dear friend had passed away. Yet I still get offended when people don't respond to my feelings the way I want them to where death is concerned. That's something I personally need to work on.

Other stressful things in my life: (a) work! Who knew it could be so darn stressful trying to find green eyeshadow??? There is a lady who wants a very specific shade of green eyeshadow to match a very specific outfit and I have had the hardest time trying to please her. (b) church. More specifically, my church calling. And even more specifically...learning how to deal with kids who can't sit still and shut their trap while you are trying to teach!!! It has been so frustrating to me that 3 of the kids will sit and be quiet and really try to learn, and the other 2 or 3 will be silly and refuse to pay attention or even be quiet. What's a teacher to do?! (c) the future. People have sometimes told me I need to live more in the present and stop thinking about the future so much but...I just can't help it. I like to have a plan. Plus how can we not all be a little stressed with economic doom being preached on television. I don't want to live in a cardboard box!