Thursday, February 27, 2014

Tranquility

Growing up I had a picture hanging above my bed. The title was "Tranquility" and above the title was a picture similar to this



I bring this up because a week ago, I took the afternoon off from research (well, I got to work at 530 and finished at 12) and went to sundance for a quiet afternoon of cruisin' the slopes. Before leaving, I knew I had to get back at 630pm for a grad school dinner. I decided to go skiing around 130-2, so that made things kinda tough! Fortunately, Sundance is only 20 min away from our house and there's a lift that goes straight from the parking lot, so it wasn't too big of a deal. Also, Lauren was out of town in SLC on business, so I had to hurry home, get the extra car keys, get ready, go back and pick up the car, go back to the house to get my stuff, and then head up to the mountain. Also, while home, I put a bunch of music on my iphone so I could enjoy some good tunes while makin' smooth turns! Turns out, as I was going up the lift on my second run, the music stopped. I looked at my phone and realized that only 4 songs uploaded during my selection time at the house. I was super bummed, and almost pissed because I wanted the experience I planned for and expected. Thank goodness, for Pandora, because I turned on the Nickel Creek station and enjoyed a solid 2.5 hours of mand'ln, banj'r, and geetar pickin!

It was great. The only thing that would have made it better was having my sweetheart at my side.

















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Sunday, February 23, 2014

Worth the Wait

Two nights before Valentine's Day, we were getting ready for bed and out of nowhere Ryan says - "so do you want to take over for Friday's plans?"  Suuuuuuuuuuure I thought being a little bugged by the late notice, but luckily I had a few things in mind already so I wouldn't have to stress.  I knew he was extremely busy with his master's and other responsibilities so I didn't mind taking the reins.  

Friday morning rolls around and I woke up a little earlier than usual to make him some love crepes - basically, crepes with strawberries :)  They just look so romantic.  So I set out his "You are Special" plate, gave him my mushy card, and we ate a yummy breakfast together.  




About two in the afternoon I hear a knock at my office door and Ryan comes in - for a Valentine's Day surprise perhaps??  No, he simply just stopped by to say hello on his way from class to work.  It's ok, nothing in the morning and no surprise right now, but I'm sure there is something special tonight! 

Meanwhile, I was finishing off my work day with a little less of the "love spirit" I was feeling previously, while watching coworkers give and receive cute little gifts and messages throughout the day.  But I knew there was something waiting, it was Valentine's Day!

After work, I mistakingly went to the most famous Indian Restaurant in town, and waited for over an hour for Ryan's favorite dish.  By this time, it was pushing 6:30, I was starving, and was feeling a little down that I hadn't even heard from Ryan.  

I walked through the door, put the leftovers on the table and walked past Ryan into our bedroom, plopped on our bed and cried.  "I feel forgotten!  Not a note or a flower or anything? I am your pregnant wife!  I think I deserve a little extra love today of all days!"

Ryan then confessed.  Turns out he had a surprise for me - but it had to wait until the next week.  He had talked to a coworker of mine to make sure I didn't have to work a certain basketball game, and she (after seeing my not-so-subtle unhappiness at work) had thought it a good idea to suggest to Ryan that he had better clue me in on his plans for a surprise.  It almost made up for how I had been feeling the entire day, but not quite.  We had a low-key candlelit dinner, read through the 2013 blog book I put together, and all through the evening Ryan kept saying his surprise would be worth the wait.


It was :)

Yesterday was like a day from the beginning of our love story, full of new things we had never done/had been wanting to do, and every minute was a blast.  I am so grateful that I have a husband who I could be around every second of the day, and be completely satisfied.  He really came through:

1.  Made me a yummy breakfast
2.  Took me to Thanksgiving Point to snoop around

3.  Saw the Walter Mitty movie
4.  Did a session at the SLC temple
5.  Ate at...the Roof!





Everything he had planned was on our Provo Bucket List - things we wanted to do before moving to Texas.  Ryan typically is not the best planner, so I was especially excited that the WHOLE DAY was decided ahead of time, and he did it all for me!  I felt so special, and it blew any Valentines plans he could have made out of the water.  Next time, I'll try not to be so quick to assume the very worst.





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Monday, February 17, 2014

A Spring Sense of Urgency

Caleb is becoming more active every day in Lauren's belly. It's amazing. He stretches, kicks, punches, wiggles his bum, and cruises around his "itty bitty living space." Each day we grow more anxious to meet, cuddle, and hold our little man.

Today, while making some delicious dinner/dessert treats, Lauren commented on how she hopes I finish school in April. In the back of my mind, I stewed over whether or not it would be possible to finish all my classes/research/and most of my writing by then. The thought of spending all my time with her and Cal after his birth is my growing motivation.

What an interesting time this is! I often wonder what other expecting parents (of the kidless kind) are thinking/feeling. Does the excitement fade into impatience as things get tougher (usually meaning as the wife gets bigger!)? Do they have dreams about their future child and prep for parenthood? Do they become fearful as the due date approaches? For Lauren and I, the past few months were full of faith, prayer, important baby purchases, video journal entries to Cal about what we're feeling/thinking, etc. In general, our journey through this pregnancy strengthens our faith, deepens our humility, and keeps up grateful for every move our little guy makes.

It is a blessed period of our lives. I'm glad that 1. we've been blessed with the ability to have children; our hearts and prayers go out to those who struggle getting pregnant or who are unable to, and 2. that we are able to learn so much from those who've gone before us, but also through personal study, questions, and listening for answers to prayer.


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Thursday, February 6, 2014

The real way to make a smoothie

A few weeks ago, Ryan and I wanted to learn a little more about our blender and spent way too long watching some cheesy tutorials.  It was late, and we were in goofy moods, so we decided we might as well make our own!  Ryan might kill me for this, but it is too good not to share:


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Monday, February 3, 2014

Simplify

I am ashamed to say that 95% of what is in this picture is mine:



Ryan and I have been on a cleaning RAMPAGE!!  We decided to venture into the dreaded storage shed...and came up with all of these treasures.  Yes, at one time I probably did treasure these things, but seeing as how I hadn't seen them in two years, we figured I wouldn't miss them too badly if we got rid of them.  High school camp shirts, ugly furry pillows, random books...it was time to part ways for good.  

4 bags and one giant box later, we loaded up the car and made our way to the DI.  We actually felt a little lighter after dropping everything off, and have vowed to be wiser in the future with the things we decide to haul along with us.
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